Over the last decade there has been significant interest in the design and production of acoustic metamaterials with physical qualities not seen in naturally occurring media. Progress in this area has been stimulated by the desire to create materials that exhibit novel behaviour when subject to acoustic waves,such as negative refraction or the appearance of band gaps in the frequency response of the material. Proposed designs range from locally resonant phononic crystals to arrays of Helmholtz resonators within ducts and past research has investigated both passive and active materials. Much of the research into active acoustic metamaterials remains theoretical, therefore to determine whether such materials are physically realisable and of potentially practical use it is important to understand the physical constraints that may arise in a produced active metamaterial. In this paper a 1-dimensional active acoustic metamaterial derived from a passive, Helmholtz resonator based design is considered where the applied control forces produce controllable double negative behaviour. The physical dimensions and active forces required to achieve the desired novel behaviour are explored for different architectures and any trade-offs that might have to be considered when producing a practically useful active metamaterial are identified


A committee of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine recently released a report on reorganizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This report responds to a request by Congress in connection with the fiscal year 2001 budget for the NIH. The report contains some pragmatic proposals, avoids postulating an ideal NIH but does propose a radical new "special programs office" that would function as does the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and advocates that clinical research be strengthened.


Nowadays, organizations are resorting to Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems to monitor and manage their network infrastructures. SIEMs employ a data collection capability based on many sensors placed in critical points of the network, which forwards events to a core facility for processing and support different forms of analysis (e.g., report attacks in near real time, inventory management, risk assessment). In this paper, we will focus on the defense of the core facility components by presenting a new firewall design that is resilient to very harsh failure scenarios. In particular, it tolerates not only external attacks but also the intrusion of some of its components. The firewall employs a two level filtering scheme to increase performance and to allow for some flexibility on the selection of fault-tolerance mechanisms. The first filtering stage efficiently eliminates the most common forms of attacks, while the second stage supports application rules for a more sophisticated analysis of the traffic. The fault tolerance mechanisms are based on a detection and recovery approach for the first stage, while the second stage uses state machine replication and voting.


The purpose of this paper is to show that a hybrid and/or a fully online course can be an effective alternative for large enrollment classes, summer courses, and/or for non-traditional students. In our situation, we were trying to escape the big lecture hall and the challenges that such a format presents, like finding a successful way to deliver the material to a large number of students, keeping teacher-student and student-to-student interaction, and promoting active learning. This article describes and explains the steps involved in developing and teaching a hybrid and a fully online versions of a third-year Spanish grammar class. Multiple technological resources are employed: Flash Learning objects, such as Adobe Presenter, to transform PowerPoint presentations into Flash, CLEAR Conversation and Skype to have asynchronous and synchronous video conferencing, Googledocs for group homework, and the university�s Course Management System for practice activities and online quizzes, some of them including spoken language samples. The screen capture program (Jing) was also employed to create video tutorials. Detailed information is provided so that similar courses can be created.


Nowadays an extensive attention is given to UAVs and their applications. One applications category can be underserved by hybrid systems composed from UAV and ground WSN. UAV can gather data from ground WSN which, at its turn could be initially deployed by the UAV itself. Ground nodes are limited in battery life, therefore, an efficient communication algorithm will improve their energy autonomy. This paper presents an algorithm with this purpose which makes use of directional antenna for ground nodes together with a novel communication synchronization mechanism. The paper also presents the necessary assumptions related to directional antennas.


Aim In this study, we examine patterns of local and regional ant species richness along three elevational gradients in an arid ecosystem. In addition, we test the hypothesis that changes in ant species richness with elevation are related to elevation-dependent changes in climate and available area. Location Spring Mountains, Nevada, U.S.A. Methods We used pitfall traps placed at each 100-m eleva- tional band in three canyons in the Spring Mountains. We compiled climate data from 68 nearby weather stations. We used multiple regression analysis to examine the effects of annual precipitation, average July precipitation, and maximum and minimum July temperature on ant species richness at each elevational band. Results We found that patterns of local ant species richness differed among the three gradients we sampled. Ant species richness increased linearly with elevation along two transects and peaked at mid-elevation along a third transect. This suggests that patterns of species richness based on data from single transects may not generalize to larger spatial scales. Cluster analysis of community similarity revealed a high- elevation species assemblage largely distinct from that of lower elevations. Major changes in the identity of ant species present along elevational gradients tended to coincide with changes in the dominant vegetation. Regional species rich- ness, defined here as the total number of unique species within an elevational band in all three gradients combined, tended to increase with increasing elevation. Available area decreased with increasing elevation. Area was therefore correlated negatively with ant species richness and did not explain elevational patterns of ant species richness in the Spring Mountains. Mean July maximum and minimum temperature, July precipitation and annual precipitation combined to explain 80% of the variation in ant species richness. Main conclusions Our results suggest that in arid eco- systems, species richness for some taxa may be highest at high elevations, where lower temperatures and higher precipita- tion may support higher levels of primary production and cause lower levels of physiological stress.


The accumulation of tritium-labeled xylamine ([3H]XYL), an irreversible inhibitor of neuronal norepinephrine (NE) uptake, was studied in organ-cultured rat superior cervical ganglia (SCG). At concentrations below those which significantly inhibit NE uptake, [3H]XYL accumulation was linear with time for up to 2 hr; at higher concentrations, accumulation slowed within the first 10 min. [3H]XYL accumulation was inhibited by desipramine, cocaine, bretylium and by NE at concentrations similar to those required to inhibit NE uptake. Replacing Na+ with Li+ in the bathing medium also inhibited [3H]XYL accumulation by about 70%. After 2 days of organ culture, SCG [3H]XYL accumulation was increased in parallel with an increase in NE uptake. Reserpine pretreatment of SCG did not affect [3H]XYL accumulation. The hydrolysis product of XYL, xylaminol, was also accumulated by SCG, but its accumulation was not inhibited by desipramine or the absence at Na+. By using trichloroacetic acid precipitation followed by ethanol extractions, about 40% of the accumulated tritium appeared to be irreversibly bound to protein, whereas about 30% appeared to be bound to lipids. We conclude that XYL is accumulated in sympathetic neurons by the NE uptake system and that this accumulation may be necessary in order for XYL to produce its irreversible inhibition of NE uptake.


Not for the first time, the banks and other financial institutions have got themselves – and the rest of us – into a mess, this time on an unprecedented financial and geographical scale. It is no surprise that opinions about causes, consequences and cures abound with ethical issues, as well as technical and economic concerns, a focus of attention. It is to be hoped that useful lessons for the future will be learned.

In this chapter, however, we step back from a direct engagement with the stated ills of the financial system itself, whether actual or perceived, chronic or acute. Our starting point is that crisis in the financial system not only makes us stop and think; but it might also, particularly under conditions of moral panic, prevent us from thinking well. Our contention is that a further impediment to thinking well about financial crises is the lack of a substantial body of academic knowledge that might be termed 'financial ethics' – a corpus of well developed conceptual insights and appropriate empirical evidence. We identify some of the reasons for this situation and proffer some suggestions regarding what might be done to remedy it – including the development of knowledge that is as relevant to everyday practices during periods of normality as it is to providing perspectives on crisis. The chapter is structured as follows: the next section provides a perspective on debate during times of crisis; the middle section seeks to explain why academic financial ethics is not a significant constituent element of debate on the financial crisis post-2007; and the final two main sections explore ways in which an academic agenda for financial ethics might be constructed. In a curious way this chapter echoes some of the themes and especially the conclusion of David Bevan's chapter in this work (chapter18) although the reasoning to the conclusion that finance ethics is an empty set follows a rather different Badiou-inspired path in chapter 18.


Supplier selection has received extensive attention in the just-in-time approach. Supplier selection and evolution are decisions of strategic importance to companies. Thus, supplier performance evaluation is very important in choosing the right supplier for the right product. In this paper, a method for supplier selection using fuzzy logic was performed. Fuzzy logic enables us to emulate the human reasoning process and make decisions based on imprecise data. The method is based on calculating a fuzzy suitability index for the efficient vendor alternatives, and then ranking the fuzzy indices to select the best supplier alternatives.


War-broken parts can be repaired quickly without electricity and gas in the wild by use of the thermit welding technology, so it is of great significance to study on welded quality of thermit welding parts for its military application. As the crack resistance of welded parts is an important target to estimate the welded performance, crack resistance test and microstructure analysis have been conducted on test specimens made of Q235 welded parts. Results showed that as the crack ratio was less than 20% in the Y-groove crack test, the crack propagation would not occur in the practical welding structure and that the crack resistance of welded joints could meet the welded demand.


Objective: Although developmental stages and identity have been studied as part of aging, one category of both identity and biological difference that has received little attention in the medical and public health literature is that of older adults who were born deaf and/or who identify as part of the signing Deaf community. Research Method: Researchers conducted a systematic search of the literature for barriers to care access related to both aging and deafness. Results: Lack of cultural competence among providers, coupled with inconsistent access to interpreters in medical settings, puts deaf individuals at risk for treatment without adequate consent, or insufficient care due to communication barriers or misperceptions of expression or culture. Conclusions/Implications: Individuals may face unusual challenges, indicating a serious public health crisis on the horizon as the demographic of deaf older adults continues to grow. This paper will discuss what is known about the intersection of aging, Deaf culture, and health care access, and suggest policy and practice recommendations for the future.


We create a new NLI test set that shows the deficiency of state-of-the-art models in inferences that require lexical and world knowledge. The new examples are simpler than the SNLI test set, containing sentences that differ by at most one word from sentences in the training set. Yet, the performance on the new test set is substantially worse across systems trained on SNLI, demonstrating that these systems are limited in their generalization ability, failing to capture many simple inferences.


The intensity dependent absorption was measured on the D1 line (6S1=2 ! 6P1=2 transition) in atomic cesium. The magnetic field applied to the vapour and the spatial cross section of the laser beam were controlled and varied during data collection. A three-level rate equation model is presented in an attempt to explain the results. We show that this well known approach does not sucessfully model the data obtained in the absence of a magnetic field. Hence, a more complex and complete model that explicitly includes all of the hyperfine magnetic sublevels (a multilevel model) is presented. This approach accurately models all of the data collected. The good agreement betweeen this model and the data allows the determination of the transit relaxation rate (due to atomic time of flight through the laser beam), 0t D.1:13 0:20/vrms=D, where vrms is the two-dimensional root-mean-squared speed of the atom and D is the FWHM of the Gaussian laser beam spatial profile.


The market share of organic wine is remarkably lower than the market share of organic food in general. The objective of this paper was to analyse the wine preferences of consumers of organic food in Germany in order to identify how demand for organic wine could be increased. Choice experiments and structured interviews were conducted with 600 consumers of organic food. In the choice experiments, the participants clearly preferred organic wine over conventional wine. However, preferences for organic wine were lower among people with a high interest in wine, i.e. people who place high importance upon vintage, grape variety and winery. We conclude that targeted marketing activities are needed to convince these people about the quality of organic wine. Interestingly, medium-priced wine (4.99 € and 6.99 €) was preferred over low-priced wine (2.99 €). It is therefore recommended to avoid a low-price strategy for organic wine.


Introduction: Distinguishing between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia can be challenging because of the variations in symptom patterns, which commonly overlap. Although the principles of electrogastrography (EGG) have been known for years, it is contrvesial whether alteration of gastric electrical activity (GEA) could be of clinical relevance in functional gastrointestinal disorders. Aim of the work was to assess the role of electrogastrography and gastric emptying in diagnosis of overlapping dyspepsia in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Subjects and methods: 120 patients with IBS were compared with 60 healthy controls. EGG was performed before and after a standard meal. Furthermore, gastric emptying (GE) and symptom scores were assessed. Results: Of 120 IBS patients, 52 (43.3%) had dyspeptic symptoms as well as delayed gastric emptying. IBS patients with overlapping dyspepsia showed significantly more bradygastria (26.9%) than controls (5.9%) (P < 0.01) , also they had statistically significant lower PR compared to non dyspeptic patients(2.1±1.3 vs. 2.9±1.6 respectively P<0.05), moreover gastric emptying time was delayed in IBS patients with overlapping dyspepsia (14.7±1.8) compared to those without dyspeptic complaints and controls (10 ± 1.27 & 10.6±2.1 respectively) (P<0.01). Conclusion and recommendation: IBS patients with overlapping dyspepsia frequently reveal impaired gastric emptying and increased bradygastria, lack of a postprandial increase in the EGG amplitude, which may have pathophysiological significance in these patients .Using both EGG and gastric emptying test can aid in the detection of functional disorders associating IBS and therefore achieve greater patient satisfaction with their treatment. [Nature and Science 2010;8(3):115-120]. (ISSN: 1545-0740).


In 1993, the Navrongo Health Research Centre launched a new demographic research system for monitoring the impact of health service interventions in a rural district of northern Ghana. The Navrongo Demographic Surveillance System uses automated software generation procedures that greatly simplify the preparation of complex database management systems. This paper reviews the Navrongo model for data collection, as well as features of the Navrongo system that have led to its replication in other health research projects requiring individual-level longitudinal demographic data. Demographic research results for the first 2 years of system operation are indicative of a pretransitional rural society with high fertility, exceedingly high mortality risks, and pronounced seasonal out-migration.


In this second article, statistical ideas are extended to the problem of testing whether there is a true difference between two samples of measurements. First, it will be shown that the difference between the means of two samples comes from a population of such differences which is normally distributed. Second, the 't' distribution, one of the most important in statistics, will be applied to a test of the difference between two means using a simple data set drawn from a clinical experiment in optometry. Third, in making a t-test, a statistical judgement is made as to whether there is a significant difference between the means of two samples. Before the widespread use of statistical software, this judgement was made with reference to a statistical table. Even if such tables are not used, it is useful to understand their logical structure and how to use them. Finally, the analysis of data, which are known to depart significantly from the normal distribution, will be described.


An in vitro tissue model for specific application to noninvasive transmittance pulse oximetry is discussed. The model was used to assess the effect of variations in carboxyhemoglobin concentration on noninvasive measurements of arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation. The model is also potentially useful for assessing the effect on the accuracy of noninvasive pulse oximeters of other physiological and physical variables, such as blood hemocrit, methemoglobin concentration, arterial blood pulsations, blood temperature, and variations in the peak emission wavelengths of the LEDs in the optical sensor.<<ETX>>


Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, defined as the presence of macrovascular steatosis in the presence of less than 20 gm of alcohol ingestion per day, is the most common liver disease in the USA. It is most commonly associated with insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. It is manifested by steatosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and, rarely, hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatic steatosis results from an imbalance between the uptake of fat and its oxidation and export. Insulin resistance, predisposing to lipolysis of peripheral fat with mobilization to and uptake of fatty acids by the liver, is the most consistent underlying pathogenic factor. It is not known why some patients progress to cirrhosis; however, the induction of CYP 2E1 with generation of reactive oxygen species appears to be important. Treatment is directed at weight loss plus pharmacologic therapy targeted toward insulin resistance or dyslipidemia. Bariatric surgery has proved effective. While no pharmacologic therapy has been approved, emerging data on thiazolidinediones have demonstrated improvement in both liver enzymes and histology. There are fewer, but promising data, with statins which have been shown to be hepatoprotective in other liver diseases. The initial enthusiasm for ursodeoxycholic acid has not been supported by histologic studies.


This paper deals with studies on the flow field around three types of linear cascades of low pressure turbine (LPT) airfoils with different chordwise loading distributions, while keeping the aerodynamic loading index almost the same. The purpose of the low-speed linear cascade study is to clarify the performance of newly designed two ultra high-lift blade (UHL blade) and compare each of them to that of the conventional LPT blade (Base Model) with low solidity through the measurements of boundary layers accompanied by separation bubble for low Reynolds number conditions. Cylindrical bars on the timing belts work as wake generator to emulate upstream stator wakes that impact the boundary layer on the airfoil suction surface. Freestream turbulence is also enhanced by use of passive turbulence grid. In addition to the pneumatic probe measurements of the midspan loss characteristics of each of the cascades, hot-wire probe measurement is conducted over the blade suction surface to understand to what extent and how the interaction of incoming wakes as well as freestream turbulence affect the boundary layer and separation bubble. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses are also applied to the flow fields around the cascades, mainly using Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) with dynamic Smagorinsky subgrid scale model.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


Specialists consider that when a person is interested in the concept of quality, it will be considered as a reference point in both private and professional life, also associated with excellence and perfectionism. Nowadays, when the whole world appears to be saturated by ideological inventions, the authors were surprised and intrigued by the dynamism and complexity of this concept. Furthermore, considering the fact that the current research's applicability lies in the services field, the authors consider that this subject is a current one, very developed and debated by specialists. The heterogeneity of services brings along challenges, which create new methods of evaluating the quality, others than in industry. Consequently, the current research intends to analyse the following: the evolution of the concept of quality, the quality of the provided services, as well as its competitive advantage in a hotel, aiming to draw up the Ishikawa (cause-and-effect) diagram. The realisation of quality in services is not possible anymore without strong management knowledge, and especially knowledge concerning competitiveness and competitive management. Therefore, the managers and the employees of the companies should desire, be able to, and know how to obtain quality through performance, to evaluate it, and to constantly improve it.


A 6-week series of seminars addressing replacement of harmful animal use in education and training was held across Latin America in March-April 2008. Organised by InterNICHE and partner organisations in Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, the events built on the experience of previous major outreach in Russia and India. Up to 6 full-day seminars were held at universities and independent venues in each country. Smaller meetings with campaigners, teachers and professional bodies complemented the large presentations. All events included spoken presentations, demonstrations and free trials of a wide range of alternatives. Speakers included InterNICHE experts and those from the host countries who are involved in replacement work. Partner organisations were empowered through the process of planning and execution of the seminars, and the tour helped to identify and provide support to others who are progressing humane education initiatives. Further collaboration is now planned. Information on the current situation concerning animal use and alternatives, including laws and regulations, was also gathered from each country. The tour succeeded in raising awareness and generating interest in replacement alternatives, also by national-level interviews and media coverage. Information and freeware alternatives were widely distributed, and further translations of material into Spanish and Portuguese are in progress. To continue the hands-on access to alternatives provided at the seminars, a Mexican / Central American Alternatives Loan System has been established, and others are being built in Peru and Brasil. The donation of computers and alternatives to selected universities is also being planned in order to establish multimedia laboratories that will promote alternatives through example.


In this paper we present the result of our reverse-engineering of DPAPI, the Windows API for safe data storage on disk. Understanding DPAPI was the major roadblock preventing alternative systems such as Linux from reading Windows Encrypting File System (EFS) files. Our analysis of DPAPI reveals how an attacker can leverage DPAPI design choices to gain a nearly silent backdoor. We also found a way to recover all previous passwords used by any user on a system. We implement DPAPI data decryption and previous password extraction in a free tool called DPAPIck. Finally, we propose a backwards compatible scheme that addresses the issue of previous password recovery.


A novel, precise angle gauge is proposed. Incoming laser light is fed to the system through two separate condensing lenses. The phase difference between two rays is compensated by a phase modulator to hold a constant interference condition. The angle of the incoming light is measured by the modulation voltage. In comparison with conventional angle gauges, its advantages are high measurement accuracy, simple structure, and compatibility to feedback control systems. Because of these advantages, the angle gauge is suitable for navigation using angular information. Some examples of possible applications are provided. The experimental system was formed to be compatible with practical conditions and performance were verified experimentally. It is shown that an angle resolution less than 1*10/sup -7/ rd can be expected. >


Abstract There has been longstanding concern about achievement differences across ethnic groups. Inattention is a significant factor associated with underachievement, and higher ratings of inattention have been found for some minority groups. The present study examined the relationship between inattention and achievement across Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic first graders. Thirty-three teachers rated over 600 students on their academic achievement, inattentive classroom behavior, oppositional behavior, hyperactivity, and anxiety. Only attention problems, and not other behavior problems, were independently associated with diminished academic achievement. Of particular interest is that a substantial portion of the achievement gap between African American and Caucasian students was related to higher rates of attention difficulties among the former, even though attention problems and achievement were more strongly associated among Caucasians. The implications of these findings for efforts to promote student achievement, and to reduce the achievement gap between African American and Caucasian students, are discussed.


This paper introduces a model using Petri nets for weight round robin (WRR) packet scheduler for Ethernet switches. This model uses the IEEE 802.1Q specification to schedule seven different classes of services in order to support quality of service at link layer. The proposed model can be used in performance analysis simulations and to educational purpose.


This study examined the sea cucumber industry in the Philippines through the value chain lens. The intent was to identify effective pathways for the successful introduction of sandfish culture as livelihood support for coastal communities. Value chain analysis is a high-resolution analytical tool that enables industry examination at a detailed level. Previous industry assessments have provided a general picture of the sea cucumber industry in the country. The present study builds on the earlier work and supplies additional details for a better understanding of the industryA†s status and problems, especially their implications for the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded sandfish project A´Culture of sandfish (Holothuria scabra) in Asia- PacificA¶ (FIS/2003/059).


Alternative methods for accurate in vitro assessment of skin and respiratory sensitizers are urgently needed. Sensitization is a complex biological process that cannot be evaluated accurately using single events or biomarkers, since the information content is too restricted in these measurements. On the contrary, if the tremendous information content harbored in DNA/mRNA could be mined, most complex biological processes could be elucidated. Genomic technologies available today, including transcriptional profiling and next generation sequencing, have the power to decipher sensitization, when used in the right context. Thus, a genomic test platform has been developed, denoted the Genomic Allergen Rapid Detection (GARD) assay. Due to the high informational content of the GARD test, accurate predictions of both the skin and respiratory sensitizing capacity of chemicals, have been demonstrated. Based on a matured dendritic cell line, acting as a human-like reporter system, information about potency has also been acquired. Consequently, multiparametric diagnostic technologies are disruptive test principles that can change the way in which the next generation of alternative methods are designed.


Abstract. A new climate modelling project has been developed for regional climate simulation and the attribution of weather and climate extremes over Australia and New Zealand. The project, known as weather@home Australia–New Zealand, uses public volunteers' home computers to run a moderate-resolution global atmospheric model with a nested regional model over the Australasian region. By harnessing the aggregated computing power of home computers, weather@home is able to generate an unprecedented number of simulations of possible weather under various climate scenarios. This combination of large ensemble sizes with high spatial resolution allows extreme events to be examined with well-constrained estimates of sampling uncertainty. This paper provides an overview of the weather@home Australia–New Zealand project, including initial evaluation of the regional model performance. The model is seen to be capable of resolving many climate features that are important for the Australian and New Zealand regions, including the influence of El Nino–Southern Oscillation on driving natural climate variability. To date, 75 model simulations of the historical climate have been successfully integrated over the period 1985–2014 in a time-slice manner. In addition, multi-thousand member ensembles have also been generated for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 under climate scenarios with and without the effect of human influences. All data generated by the project are freely available to the broader research community.


The aim of the present paper is to describe, in acoustic and perceptual terms, the prosodic pattern distinguishing English compound and non-compound noun phrases, and to determine how information structure and position affect the production and perception of the two forms. The study is based on the performance of ten English-speaking subjects (five speakers and five listeners). The test utterances were three minimal-pair noun phrases of two constituents, excised from conversational readings. These were analyzed acoustically, and submitted to the listeners for semantic identification. The results indicate that the distinction, when effective, lies primarily in the different prominence pattern: a sequence of an accented constituent followed by an unaccented one in compounds, and of two accented constituents (the second heard as stronger than the first) in non-compounds. It is also based on a different degree of internal cohesion, stronger in compounds and weaker in non-compounds. F 0, associated or trading with intensity, has proved to be the main cue to this distinction — more than duration, the major differentiating parameter in production. When an item is excised from the context, the perception of the intended category depends heavily on the communicative importance it had in the discourse. This means that information structure, through its effects on accentuation, becomes the determining factor in the perception of the distinction. The distinctive accentual pattern weakens or is completely neutralized when the test items convey old information. The degree of deaccentuation also seems to be affected by an immediately following focus, and, to a certain extent, by position. The data are viewed in the framework of speaker-listener interaction, and it is argued that deaccentuation, as well as accentuation, can have a communicative function.


Numerical images are becoming more and more important and an increasing emphasis on multimedia applications has resulted in large volumes of images. However, images need a large memory space to be stored, so their efficient storage and retrieval generate challenges to the database community. This paper proposes a new algorithm for an efficient storage of sets of images. It is based on a version approach used in databases. It shows how to store and operate on similar images; two images are defined as similar if the quad-trees encoding them have only few different nodes. A data structure called Generic Quad-Tree (GQT) is proposed. It optimizes the memory space required to store similar images and allows an efficient navigation among them. An Image Tree stores the ancestors and descendants of an image, like a version hierarchy. Using the Image Tree, the Generic Quad-Tree allows an image to share common parts with its ancestors and descendants. The GQT approach and some algorithms for reading, modifying or removing images from the Generic Quad-Tree are described. Examples using black and white images and gray scale images are presented.


The P-star inflation model is based on the long-term quantity theory of money and puts together the long-term determinants of the price level and the short-run changes in current inflation. The P-star model-based indicator has replaced the previous monetary policy procedures in a number of countries because it offers by far more information and predictive power than monitoring movements in money supply and the rate of monetary growth. In this paper we used the P-star model to calculate the leading indicator of inflation, and also to test the forecasting performance of the P-star model-based leading indicator of inflation. The results of the study show that compared to the simple autoregressive model and the M2 growth augmented model, the P-star model can be used to obtain the leading indicator of inflation in Pakistan because it has additional information about the future rate of inflation. Therefore, this paper provides a useful tool to the policy-makers to assess the future movement of inflation in Pakistan.


JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL PROCEDURE. By Frank Charla Touton, University of SouthenI California; Alice Ball Strother., Principal Elect '1'honm stariKin. Junior High School, Los Angela. Boston, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Columbus, San Francisco: Ginn and Company. Los Angeles was not only the first city to permanently establish the junior high school idea, but it has developed DANTE the junior high schools with the nt'S CONCEPTION OF IUSTICE. By Allan H. Gilbert, promost care to relate them to elementary fessor of English in Dulce Univerand senior high schools for the adsity. Cloth. vii+2<U PIlla. Durvantage of both. The University of ham, North Carolina: Dulce UniverSouthern California has taken a vital sity Press. interest in the evolution of the Los One of the most lBetul activitiel of Angeles schools through the iDtroducthe greater Duke Univenity is evition of the junior high school, an:! dentIy to be the publicatioDl of -the Professor Touton and Miss Struthers Dulce University PraL A.mona have rendered an important national the books that have already service in giving a clear statement of appeared are ''The Story of Durliam," "Junior High School Proeedure," in "QririDs of the Whig Party," "John which they draw upon personal exSlidell," "The Tillman Movement iD periences of fifteen yean iD junior South Carolina," "Organised Labor high schools in Los Angeles, and an and the Law," "An AntbololY of intimate knowledge of the deve1opVerse by American Negroes," and the ment of the system in that city. They present volume. Many of the anthors deal with the Junior High School preare memben of the faculty of Dulce eedure in organization, administration, University. supervision and instruction. Professor Gilbert', hook is a detailed analysis of the nature and genesis of the ideas of justice that inform Dante's masterpiece, the Irfftlt "Di1'iDe Comedy." Particular attention has been given to the fifth book of the "Ethics" of Aristotle ud to the commentary on Ariltotle by St. Thomu Aquinas, the great IChoIutie p1u1osopher, as well u the "Summa Theologica" of Aquinas ud Dante'. own treatises, the Latin "De Yonarehia" and the Italian "Convivio." After a discussion of the materia1s for Dante's treatise on justice and of the "Divina Commedia" as a poem of justice, Professor Gilbert paIIeI to a consideration of the three books of the "Di1'iDe Comedy; representing "Justiee in the life of the wicked" (Inferno), "Justiee iD human lUfferiDg" (Purgatorio) I1Ill "The jUltice of variation in human talentI" (Paradiso). This oonception maka IIIlIdt clearer the allqorical lipilcante of CALEB PEASLEE. By Frank K. Rich. Cloth. New York: Altemu.. Caleb Peaslee is a keen old Maine farmer and there is always relish iD his remarks, almost a David Harum. "The charm of this story is its understanding portrayal of those quaint and rugged rural types now met far leu frequently than in earlier years. There is nothing of caricature in Yr. Rich', study, which shows a fine and sympathetic presentation that the ,ubject merits and has too rarely received. The story centres largely around "the old Manset place" and its ownership, with Caleb Peaslee, the friend of eYerYbody, playing a role of importance in the romance that threads its way through the novel. Yr. Rich knowI his rural Maine from the core outward, as every situation indicata clearly. He introduces few c:haracten, but makes them very real. And he BOOK TABLE


In addition to development of complicated disease behavior itself, children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are at risk of several complications, including malignancies, severe sepsis, or venous thrombosis, which can ultimately even cause death. Due of the rareness of these events, little evidence exists on underlying causes and risk factors, and little experience with these events in clinics hampers development of management guidelines.

 In the ongoing international PIBD-SETQuality Safety Registry, participating paediatric gastroenterologists monthly completed an electronic survey since September 2016. In this survey, they indicated whether or not they had seen any predefined rare and severe complication of paediatric IBD (PIBD) or related treatment in a PIBD patient <19 years. In an annual denominator survey, participants also reported the number of PIBD patients under their care. Together with the duration of participation, this number was used to calculate incidence rates of each complication in the registry. Upon report of a complication, specific follow-up forms were sent, collecting patient demographics, complication details (diagnostics, management, outcome) and IBD details (Paris classification, disease severity, IBD treatment).

 From September 2016 to October 2021, the registry reached an all-time number of 222 participants. Currently, 139 paediatric gastroenterologists actively report from 127 international pediatric IBD centers in 30 countries, covering a total of 23,239 PIBD patients. The average duration of participation per center was 39.7 (IQR (29 – 55) months, resulting in a total study population of 65,099 patient-years. In total, 245 complications were reported, including 78 classified as other rare and severe complications (Figure 1). Incidence rates for some complications (e.g. renal failure, venous thrombosis, opportunistic infection) were relatively increased, while other complications, (e.g. hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)) were rare. Among reported malignancies were Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 6) and hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (n = 2). Causes of death were IBD-related in 73% of cases and included cancer (n=2), cerebrosinus venous thrombosis (n=2) and severe sepsis (n=2).

 After 5 years of international collaboration of more than 200 PIBD specialists, the Safety Registry project has confirmed several complications in PIBD have increased incidence over the general paediatric population. HLH and HSTCL were rarely reported. Clinical phenotyping of patients has resulted in better understanding of underlying aetiologies and outcome of complications. Ultimately, in partnership with PIBD experts, this project will develop and share management guidelines to improve patient care.


Abstract A Linear Approximated Almost Ideal Demand System (LA/AIDS), estimated in first differences, was used to anticipate the demand relations for meat (beef, chicken, pork and mutton) in South Africa from 1970–2000. Two tests for weak separability, including an F and Likelihood ratio version, failed to reject the null hypothesis of weak separability, confirming that the four meat products are separable, and should be modelled together. According to the Hausman exogeneity test, the expenditure term in the South African meat demand model is exogenous. As a result, a Restricted Seemingly Unrelated Regression (RSUR) was used to estimate the model, whereafter the parameters were used as to calculate compensated, uncompensated and expenditure elasticities.


Pulmonary infection due to opportunistic organisms and usually nonpathogenic mycobacteria may occur whenever immune defenses are weakened by external factors. These factors include neutropenia, treatment with corticosteroids or cytotoxic agents, previous antibiotic therapy, and nosocomial hazards (eg, catheters, ventilators). Nutritional deprivation is also often implicated as an important coexistent variable. An infection due to Mycobacterium xenopi (usually a nonpathogenic mycobacterium) in a patient with anorexia nervosa and no other predisposing factor for infection provides a model for discussing the possible effects of malnutrition on pulmonary immunocompetence. Since pulmonary infection in anorexia nervosa is often subtle, early evaluation of depressed cell-mediated immunity is appropriate.


Inactive Medical Record is a medical record document that reaches for 5 years and never used to visit health service. Often the storage of inactive medical records is not properly managed. M any inactive medical record documents are stored and stacked on the floor because of insufficient shelf capacity.The purpose of this study is to understand the management of inactive medical records In ulin banjarmasin hospitals.The method used in this research is qualitative descriptive.The study subjects were inactive medical record storage officer , which consisted of a medical record head and two storage officers . Storage of inactive medical records is on the 6th floor and active medical records are on the 2nd floor, outpatient and inpatient are combined, on retention of inactive medical records are not stored in the form of microfilm and disk but stored in books and computer . In medical record room , there is no room temperature control, there is no humidity control room, and light arrangement of room using lamp . Maintenance of the record room cleaning inactive medical record storage is done by cleaning service, on the exchange of air through the door. There is no maintenance of the inactive medical record file , such as hygiene, air exchange and medical record control . In today's inactive medical record storage still uses a centralized system and an active medical record file using a decentralized system . The requirements of inactive medical record storage room on temperature control, storage shelves and humidity of the room do not use air conditioner. And there is no control on the maintenance of inactive medical records files such as cleanliness, air exchange.


The finite element alternating method (FEAM), in conjunction with the finite element analysis (FEA) and the analytical solution for an elliptical crack in an infinite solid subject to arbitrary crack-face traction, can derive the stress intensity factor (SIF) of surface cracks by using the FEA results for an uncracked body. In the present study, the FEAM was applied to evaluations of SIF for noncoplanar multiple surface cracks. The SIF was evaluated for two surface cracks of dissimilar size, and three crack of the same size. The results suggested that the interaction is greatly affected by the relative crack size and negligible when the difference in the crack size is large enough, and the interaction can be evaluated by taking into account the adjacent cracks even if there are many cracks around them. Finally, the crack growth simulations were conducted and a possibility of the direct evaluation of influence of interaction between adjacent crack without using the combination rules was revealed.


Testamentary intent is consistently heralded as the cornerstone of a will. Moreover, judges and scholars explain that the decedent's intent should guide probate courts as they supervise the distribution of the decedent's estate. But despite the importance of testamentary intent within the law of wills, a clear and consistent testamentary intent doctrine has failed to develop. Courts frequently espouse the significance of testamentary intent without explaining what testamentary intent is, and when they do give more detail regarding the meaning of testamentary intent, their explanations are often vague and at times confusing and contradictory. Likewise, legal scholars have done little to untangle the specifics of testamentary intent.The lack of a clearly defined testamentary intent doctrine has caused both practical misapplication and theoretical misunderstanding of various aspects of the law of wills. The need for a clear understanding of testamentary intent will continue to grow as the law of wills moves away from formalistic approaches to the validation, interpretation, and construction of wills and toward approaches that grant courts greater discretion to decide issues related to the decedent's intent. Without a firm grasp of testamentary intent, greater judicial discretion could lead to inconsistent and unpredictable outcomes, thereby promoting costly probate litigation.The goal of this Article is therefore to cultivate a better understanding of testamentary intent. It pursues this goal by developing a taxonomy of testamentary intent that clearly distinguishes the primary issues related to the court's task of fulfilling the intent of the decedent and that identifies the major rules and doctrines that courts should apply when deciding these issues. With this taxonomy in place, a more consistent testamentary intent doctrine might emerge and a deeper understanding of the role of the decedent's intent within the law of wills can develop.


Why did US farmers fare poorly even as most other segments of the US economy prospered during the 1990s? I develop three arguments to explain why US agriculture was prospered in the 1970s but has underperformed relative to the rest of the US economy in most of the 1980s and 1990s. Measures of the performance of US agriculture are based on 50 years of historical data starting with 1949. The three arguments are: (1) Agriculture does well in early stages of a period of time when there is rising inflation. However, the 1990s were dominated by periods of low and declining inflation; (2) Agriculture prospers when export markets are strong. Export markets have been weak because of factors such as the strong US dollar, weakness in economies of major importers, and increasing ability of foreign countries to produce basic agricultural commodities for their own use, and (3) Changes have occurred in consumer tastes and preferences for agricultural commodities and products, both here and abroad, and farm-level production systems have been unable to fully accommodate these changes. There have also been changes in US families that have resulted in more two-career households, less time spent in the kitchen, and more pre-prepared and restaurant meals consumed.


: Family medicine programs need faculty well trained in the roles of educator, administrator, researcher, and clinician. While the need for faculty development is recognized in all colleges and departments, it is a particular problem in family medicine due to the shortage of faculty, diverse backgrounds of existing faculty, and current pressures to develop the research base for the discipline of family medicine. This study was conducted to gather information about the effectiveness of the two-to-three day workshop format for faculty development in family medicine. In a pre-post comparison and a nine-month follow-up of four faculty development workshops, significant and persistent changes were found in participants' ratings of their abilities to do faculty related skills. The three-day residential workshop was found to be an effective means for promoting faculty development.


Abstract Aim: Microcomputers play an increasingly important role in the delivery of radiation therapy. Exposure to neutron irradiation can produce undesirable effects in modern microcomputers. The objective of this study is to measure acute and cumulative effects of neutron exposure of Intel-based microcomputers in photon and proton therapy treatment environments. Materials and methods: Multiple computers were irradiated with neutrons produced from MEVION S250 passive scattering proton therapy and from Varian 21EX Linear Accelerator photon therapy systems. The energy of the proton beam was 232 MeV and the photon beam energies were 6 and 18 MV. Rates of fatal errors in computer processing unit (CPU) cores were measured. Results: Varying rates of fatal system errors due to upsets in the CPU cores were observed. Post-exposure routine stress testing revealed no permanent hardware defects in the random access memory (RAM) or hard disk drive (HDD) of any tested systems. Microchip manufacturers fit increasingly high numbers of transistors in the same volume and the susceptibility to radiation thus increases. Conclusions: This work explores if the process size of a microchip is the dominant factor and also looked at the short- and long-term effects of neutron irradiation on modern microprocessors in a clinical environment. Additionally, methods of effective shielding are proposed.


To authorize and initiate necessary investments and enforce appropriate policies and procedures, decision-makers need to have at least a fair understanding of computer security fundamentals. This paper presents the course design and the laboratory settings that have been developed for, and used within, the high rank officer curriculum at the Swedish National Defence College. The developed course looks at computer security from an attack versus defend viewpoint, meaning that computer attacks are studied to learn about prevention and self-defense. The paper discusses the pedagogical challenges related to education of high rank officers and similar personnel in light of recently-held courses and contrasts the course relative to similar undertakings. A standpoint taken is that computer security is best taught using hands-on laboratory experiments focusing on problem solving assignments. This is not undisputed since, e.g., high rank officers are busy people who are not fond of getting stuck learning about the peripherals.


Sensor networks are formed by fixed or mobile sensor nodes and their functions are to capture the events that occur within a certain area and then relay to a central node. Normally, sensor nodes are not able to transmit or receive information over long distances due to the need to use less energy and thus extend their useful life. Therefore, the number of sensor nodes in a given area directly influences the coverage of this area and the ability of information to be relayed by several sensors to the central node. If there are many missed messages, the application will have its performance compromised. In this paper, we use a statistical method based on Monte Carlo approach to estimate the probability of message loss and area coverage. The position and proper motion of the sensors are randomly chosen and from that we estimate how many nodes can communicate with the central node directly or through another sensor working as relay. The free variables in our analysis are node density, node displacement velocity, and sensor quantity. The results obtained are compared analytically with simple cases in order to validate the results obtained by the simulations performed.


Long-term effects of inorganic and corn stalks organic nutrient sources on yield, soil organic carbon(SOC) and the relationship between crop yield and SOC were investigated in Dry-Land Farming Institute of Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Hengshui, Hebei Province, China from 1981 to 2005. Hengshui is a part the North China Plain and the dominant cropping systems are Winter wheat-maize rotations. Recently the use of organic manure with grain crops has almost disappeared. This could reduce soil fertility and crop productivity in the long run. There were sixteen treatments applied to both wheat and maize seasons: Inorganic fertilizers as main plots and corn stalks as subplots and the main plot and subplot all have four levels expressed A and B respectively. So there are sixteen treatments with three replicates were set (A1,A2,A3,A4)*(B1,B2,B3,B4). After more than 20 years crop yield and SOC decreased in treatment of without fertilizers and only applicate corn stalks just sustain it. Combine application of inorganic fertilizers and corn stalks increase SOC and crop yield very strongly. For crop yield the more fertlizers the more increase. But the SOC will decrease as the more inorganiac fertlizer application and increase with the increase of corn stalks.


In this paper, we study a monitoring method for neutron flux for the spallation target used in an accelerator driven sub-critical(ADS) system, where a spallation target located vertically at the centre of a sub-critical core is bombarded vertically by high-energy protons from an accelerator. First, by considering the characteristics in the spatial variation of neutron flux from the spallation target, we propose a multi-point measurement technique,i.e. the spallation neutron flux should be measured at multiple vertical locations. To explain why the flux should be measured at multiple locations, we have studied neutron production from a tungsten target bombarded by a 250 Me V-proton beam with Geant 4-based Monte Carlo simulations. The simulation results indicate that the neutron flux at the central location is up to three orders of magnitude higher than the flux at lower locations. Secondly, we have developed an effective technique in order to measure the spallation neutron flux with a fission chamber(FC), by establishing the relation between the fission rate measured by FC and the spallation neutron flux. Since this relation is linear for a FC, a constant calibration factor is used to derive the neutron flux from the measured fission rate. This calibration factor can be extracted from the energy spectra of spallation neutrons. Finally, we have evaluated the proposed calibration method for a FC in the environment of an ADS system. The results indicate that the proposed method functions very well.


This event, coordinated by Nadia Maizi, MINES ParisTech, focused on the design of climate-friendly strategies for cities to address climate change vulnerability and promote sustainability. Presenters introduced concrete initiatives, including from academia, local authorities and industry. On the technological tools to visualize a climate-impacted future, Maizi emphasized the importance of having scenarios that do not solely rely on prediction, but also on identifying solutions. She stressed the need to develop environmental goals through involving the different sectors of society, including industry, local governance systems and research. Edi Assoumou, MINES ParisTech, presented on simulating alternative 2050 urban energy strategies, using the city of Bologna as a case study. On the available modeling tools, he identified analytical and numerical models, and called for: an emphasis on transport network analyses; integration of local renewables; and detailed building models. On exploring potential 2050-pathways, he proposed simulating long-term strategies, including through: energy consumption mapping; driving useful energy needs to address future energy service levels; and anticipating technological changes and altered external choices. On the potential range that the research explored, he noted: combining multiple dimensions; the scale of population uncertainty at the urban level by 2050; and achievable mitigation thresholds. Vincent Mazauric, Schneider Electric, presented on the role of energy management in empowering "wiser" cities. He noted that global energy consumption will double in the next 40 years and electricity consumption will double in the next 20 years, but said that in new economies driven by urbanization, this will occur in just a decade. On the essential steps to addressing these challenges, he urged: constructing flexible buildings that can adapt to an uncertain future; introducing the holistic view of the district; and moving towards an energy-positive district through rebalancing its energy mix.
During discussions, participants posed questions on ways to include behavioral change within society in modeling initiatives; and the energy consumption trade-offs between different sectors.


We have studied the electrical characteristics of p‐GaAs/n‐Si (100) heterojunction diodes grown by molecular beam epitaxy in an effort to determine the interface polarity. A Ga or As pre‐exposure was used prior to the growth of p‐GaAs on n‐Si substrates to prevent antiphase domains. The Ga prelayer induces a shift in the built‐in voltage of −0.2 V, while the As prelayer shifts it as much as +2.0 V depending upon the As coverage. From the shift, the electrical charge and its polarity can be determined which is not possible by structural analysis. These electrical measurements are very sensitive to the interface charge properties and show very clearly that even with a submonolayer pre‐exposure, antiphase domain‐free material can be obtained.


There are many methodological problems associated with cross—
cultural studies and these have not always been given serious
consideration either by psychologists or anthropologists. One of
the methods has been that of comparing equivalent groups across
cultural borders. This has often resulted in interpretations of
the observed differences in genetic terms. Also, certain assump—
tions have often been made regarding the tools employed and the
samples compared. Their role in dictating a certain type of
interpretation has been ignored.
These and other related theoretical matters are discussed in
the first few chapters with reference to the studies of the intelli—
gence of American Indians, Negroes and Africans. The use of Western
tests of intelligence in studying the changes in ability that result
when children from the Commonwealth countries come into the United
Kingdom is justified.
The present study deals with the measured intelligence of immi—
grant children from the Indian Subcontinent. Two groups of such
children living and attending schools in Hertfordshire are tested for
their ability and the difference assessed for significance in terms
of the degree of exposure they had to the environment here. They are
compared with a group of school children in India and another group,
here, of English children.
Various hypotheses are postulated regarding the changes that
could be expected in the ability scores of the immigrant children and
results analysed in terms of these hypotheses. Some other aspects of
the schooling of immigrant children are also considered in terms of
the data provided by the study.
In the concluding chapter the main findings are summarised.
Suggestions are made for other studies that could be undertaken
with this and other immigrant groups. Consideration is also given
to what can be done in the context of English schools to educate
these immigrant children in an efficient manner.


Smart grids (SG) emerged as a response to the need to modernize the electricity grid. The current security tools are almost perfect when it comes to identifying and preventing known attacks in the smart grid. Still, unfortunately, they do not quite meet the requirements of advanced cybersecurity. Adequate protection against cyber threats requires a whole set of processes and tools. Therefore, a more flexible mechanism is needed to examine data sets holistically and detect otherwise unknown threats. This is possible with big modern data analyses based on deep learning, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Machine learning, which can rely on adaptive baseline behavior models, effectively detects new, unknown attacks. Combined known and unknown data sets based on predictive analytics and machine intelligence will decisively change the security landscape. This paper identifies the trends, problems, and challenges of cybersecurity in smart grid critical infrastructures in big data and artificial intelligence. We present an overview of the SG with its architectures and functionalities and confirm how technology has configured the modern electricity grid. A qualitative risk assessment method is presented. The most significant contributions to the reliability, safety, and efficiency of the electrical network are described. We expose levels while proposing suitable security countermeasures. Finally, the smart grid's cybersecurity risk assessment methods for supervisory control and data acquisition are presented.


Warthin tumor (WT) is the second most common benign tumor of the parotid gland with male predominance and is seen in the elderly population in the left mandibular and cervical regions. Extraparotid WT rarely presents as a mass in the right cervical region in middle-aged adults. Here, we present two extraordinary cases of WT seen in middle age, both in the right cervical region. The first is a 50-year-old man with an asymptomatic neck mass, and the second is a 60-year-old woman with a fast-growing mass with enhancement in positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) with suspicions of malignancy.


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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of surface structural changes caused by graphite and phosphate investments on the biological characteristics of pure titanium castings. METHODS: Round casting pads of pure titanium were processed by graphite and phosphate investments respectively, then grouped into four. With the control of guta purca of the same size, Ultraviolet spectrometry was used to test the cytotoxicity of samples via the ISO, GB and Shanghai biomaterial research and testing center's standards. Mucous irritation test was performed on hamsters' pouch. RESULT: Titanium castings obtained from both investment materials have reached the national standard of cytotoxicity and mucous irritation test no matter they have been undergone surface treatment or not. CONCLUSION: Both investment materials cause no obvious changes on biological characteristics of pure titanium castings with the existing of surface structural changes.


Abstract. More intense rainfall may cause a range of negative impacts upon society and the environment. In this study we analysed trends in extreme ETCCDI (Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices) rainfall indices in Montenegro for the period between 1951 and 2010. Montenegro has been poorly studied in terms of rainfall extremes, yet it contains the wettest Mediterranean region known as Krivosije. Several indices of precipitation extremes were assessed including the number of dry days and rainfall totals in order to identify trends and possible changes. A spatial pattern relationship between extreme rainfall indices and the North Atlantic Oscillation has also been examined. The results generally suggest that the number of days with precipitation decreased while rainfall intensity increased, particularly in south-western parts of the country. A slight tendency towards intense rainfall events is suggested. The examined rainfall indices and North Atlantic Oscillation over Montenegro seemed to be directly linked to changes in one of the major large-scale circulation modes such as the NAO pattern that is particularly evident during the winter season.


Book synopsis: First handbook for the discipline of IR concerning science and technology
Features well-known scholars from various disciplines
Presents interviews about the core themes of the book
Offers a methodological toolbox for experts and students
An increasing number of scholars have begun to see science and technology as relevant issues in International Relations (IR), acknowledging the impact of material elements, technical instruments, and scientific practices on international security, statehood, and global governance. This two-volume collection brings the debate about science and technology to the center of International Relations. It shows how integrating science and technology translates into novel analytical frameworks, conceptual approaches and empirical puzzles, and thereby offers a state-of-the-art review of various methodological and theoretical ways in which sciences and technologies matter for the study of international affairs and world politics. The authors not only offer a set of practical examples of research frameworks for experts and students alike, but also propose a conceptual space for interdisciplinary learning in order to improve our understanding of the global politics of science and technology.

The second volume raises a plethora of issue areas, actors, and cases under the umbrella notion techno-politics. Distinguishing between interactional and co-productive perspectives, it outlines a toolbox of analytical frameworks that transcend technological determinism and social constructivism.


Background In order to maintain homeostasis, ruminants submitted to alternating shortage and refeeding situations manifest switches in metabolic pathways induced by undernutrition and body reserves (BR) replenishment cycles. The objective of this experiment was to study adaptive regulatory mechanisms present during subsequent feeding transition periods and the inherent lipolytic activity of the adipose tissue in individuals with contrasted BR. Three diets containing different levels of energy were offered to 36 mature, dry, non-pregnant Mérinos d'Arles ewes in an experiment lasting 122 days. Ewes were selected with similar body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS) and were allocated into three equivalent treatments according to the plane of nutrition: normally fed (Control); underfed (Under) or overfed (Over). The BW, BCS and individual energy metabolism were monitored. At the end of the experiment, lipolytic activity of adipose tissue was studied through a ß-adrenergic challenge to the same ewes, with body conditions according to the offered diet (Normal, Leans and Fat, respectively). Results Anabolic or catabolic responses to energy dietary manipulation were accompanied by synchronised metabolic regulation, leading to contrasting metabolic and BR profiles. Average BW and BCS were higher and lower in Over and Under ewes, respectively. The higher and lower BR variations were observed for Under and Over ewes. Higher plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentrations were accompanied by lower insulin, leptin and glucose. Differences in leptin were consistent with the dietary energy load (Over > Control > Under). After refeeding, a rebound in BW and BCS was observed for the three groups whereas NEFA was drastically reduced in Under ewes. No differences among treatments were detected in NEFA profiles at the end of the study but lipolytic activity responses to the ß - adrenergic challenge were different and coherent with the adipose tissue mass (Fat > Normal > Lean) and, importantly, was also different between ewes from the same group or BR status, thus evidencing diversity among individual adaptive capacities. Conclusions The ability of ewes to quickly overcome undernutrition situations by efficiently using their BR was confirmed. There is potential for a simplified ß-adrenergic challenge protocol helping to identify differences in adaptive capacity among individuals.


Feature extraction is unquestionably an important process in a pattern recognition system. A defined set of features makes the identification task more efficiently. This paper addresses the extraction and analysis of features based on statistical texture to characterize images of timber defects. A series of procedures including feature extraction and feature analysis was executed to construct an appropriate feature set that could significantly separate amongst defects and clear wood classes. The feature set aimed for later use in a timber defect detection system. For Accessing the discrimination capability of the features extracted, visual exploratory analysis and confirmatory statistical analysis were performed on defect and clear wood images of Meranti (Shorea spp.) timber species. Results from the analysis demonstrated that there was a significant distinction between defect classes and clear wood utilizing the proposed set of texture features.


A method of supersonic flow investigation that uses plasma glow and afterglow visualization is analyzed experimentally. Plasma is generated on-board by pulsed electrical discharges between a truncated cone-cylinder model and an isolated physical spike protruding axially through the frontal side of the body. The model is placed in non-ionized Mach 2.5 airflow. Important plasma induced effects on the flow aerodynamics around the model, including changes and transformations on shock waves, boundary layer, and expansion waves were observed. In the main discharge region, plasma glow distribution did not show the shock wave pattern, rather a conical shape of smaller angle around the cathode-spike, most probably a conical streamline in that region. The thickness of the afterglow boundary layer on the cone surface was found larger than that of an unperturbed viscous thermal boundary layer of a similar cone, but decreasing along the surface toward the end of the body. At the cone-cylinder interface in the expansion fan region, plasma afterglow flow did not change noticeably the forward Mach waves angle, but caused in some instances visible changes in the rearward Mach waves. In one case, it was observed that the plasma afterglow could flow simultaneously along two paths, the rearward expansion fan Mach lines and the cylinder boundary layer. Finally, the radial afterglow intensity profile of the boundary layer was calculated at one location by an Abel integral technique. Although, these observations strongly suggest that this diagnostic technique may not be nonperturbative, the technique can be used as flow investigation method, but it cannot provide all the features of the flow field in a single measurement.


The use of the student evaluation of teaching (SET) for high stakes faculty employment decisions amounts to a lapse in leadership. A scholarly consensus has emerged that using SETs as the primary measure of teaching effectiveness in faculty review processes can systematically disadvantage faculty from marginalized groups. The growing body of evidence shows that women and minorities get lower ratings of their teaching than white men. Using biased evaluations allows colleges and universities to discriminate against faculty whose identities deviate from white male heteronormativity.

Despite the knowledge that empirical research demonstrates these instruments are biased, the academy has accepted them as credible. Bias in student evaluations can lead an institution to determine that a faculty member who differs from the straight white male stereotype is an inadequate teacher. Faculty with lower student ratings are penalized in the hiring, retention, compensation, and promotion processes.

This article summarizes empirical research demonstrating that student evaluations are biased against female faculty and faculty of color; describes the impact on student learning; details the influence on institutional culture of using student evaluations for assessing teaching quality for performance evaluations, compensation, promotion, and retention; and suggests recommendations for evaluating teaching effectiveness in fair and responsible ways. Law schools should lead the change in this discriminatory higher education practice because they are institutions dedicated to social justice and to training leaders who will drive social change in the legal system, government, business, media, and philanthropy.


The twenty-second Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) was held at the Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main in spring 2012. During the three-day conference fifty papers were delivered, discussing issues from a wide range of geographical regions of the Roman Empire, and applying various theoretical and methodological approaches. An equally wide selection of subjects was presented: sessions looked at Greek art and philhellenism in the Roman world, the validity of the concept of 'Romanisation', change and continuity in Roman religion, urban neighbourhood relations in Pompeii and Ostia, the transformation of objects in and from the Roman world, frontier markets and Roman archaeology in the Provinces. In addition, two general sessions covered single topics such as the 'transvestite of Catterick', metal recycling or Egyptian funeral practice in the Roman period. This volume contains a selection of papers from all these sessions.


Reliable server pooling (RSerPool) is a protocol framework for server redundancy and session failover, currently still under standardization by the IETF RSerPool WG. An important property of RSerPool is its lightweight architecture: server pool and session management can be realized with small CPU power and memory requirements. That is, RSerPool-based services can also be managed and provided by embedded systems. Currently, there has already been some research on the performance of the data structures managing server pools. But a generic, application- independent performance analysis - in particular also including measurements in real system setups - is still missing. Therefore, the aim of this paper is - after an outline of the RSerPool framework, an introduction to the pool management procedures and a description of our pool management approach - to first provide a detailed performance evaluation of the pool management structures themselves. Afterwards, the performance of a prototype implementation is analysed in order to evaluate its applicability under real network conditions.


Each of these volumes contains ultraviolet (UV). infrared (IR), proton nuclear magnetic nance (NMR). mass spectrometry (MS). gas chromatography (GC), and high pressure id chromatography (HPLC) data on approximately 300 drugs. In addition a brief monograph ach drug gives the title name (usually the generic name) molecular formula, molecular hts, (one acceptable by IUPAC convention and another using the most abundant rally occurring isotope of each element), the Chemical Abstracts name, other common, ial, or trade names, a therapeutic use, and the structure of the compound. HPLC data cate the column, coded solvent composition, and retention time in minutes. GC data ude a Kovats index for defined column, flow rate, and carrier gas, together with the mn temperature. Other data are displayed as charts on two 8- by 1 l-in. facing pages. two volumes include about 600 drugs.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and neoplastic progression in hamster with tongue cancer.

METHODS
Forty-eight specimens of hamster tongue cancer were divided into control group (n=6) and experimental group (n=42). The pathological grade of the specimens was assessed (including 3 stages, namely atypical hyperplasia, carcinoma in situ and early invasive carcinoma). The sections of the tongue were stained with Masson and aldehyde-fuchsin (AF) staining for microscopic observation of the elastic fiber and collagen fiber changes.

RESULTS
Within the connective tissue cores (CTC) of the papillae in the control group was a framework of numerous and fine Gomrori's aldehyde fuchsin-positive elastic fibers. But in the stages of dysplasia and carcinoma in situ, these elastic fibers decreased and further diminished in the CTC in early invasive carcinoma. In dysplasia and carcinoma in situ stages, most of the elastic fibers collapsed with scattered elastic fibers, and the elastic fibers decreased significantly in early invasive carcinoma. The control group showed a significantly greater number of elastic fibers in the experimental group. The collagen fiber was obviously increased and irregularly arranged in dysplasia and carcinoma in situ stage; in early invasive carcinoma, the collagen fibers became thicker with deposition in the lamina propria.

CONCLUSION
An excessive deposition of collagen fiber and reduction of the elastic fibers is an important factor contributing to the development of tongue carcinoma in hamsters.


This paper shows that regardless of how good the economic situation is, sooner or later certain difficulties will appear. Hence, the idea has emerged to give the analytical form to the logistic law based gradient measurement (synthetic measure) of selected financial data, which enables forecasting crises and economic downturns. The presented proposal of determining the economic cycle and the model of forecasting using the modified logistic function (log-logistic function) was tested with use of data regarding the Polish economy


Bauxite residue, also known as red mud, is generated during alumina production and is an abundant industrial waste material. Continuously increasing environmental concerns, together with scarcity of traditional mineral resources, have created a thrust to re-use the material. Red mud contains significant amounts of iron oxide and sodium hydroxide, hence a highly basic (pH > 10) slurry. In this research, the use of red mud as starting material for preparation of iron refining fluxes was evaluated.

Red mud based fluxes and hot metal were equilibrated in graphite crucibles at the temperature range of 1300 ºC to 1400 °C and oxygen partial pressures range of 10-2 atm to 10-6 atm. It was found that the sulphide capacity increases with lime addition to a maximum 32 wt% CaO and decreases with increasing A12O3, TiO2 and SiO2 content in the fluxes saturated with lime. An iron foil equilibrium technique was employed to obtain precise measurements of phosphorus distribution between carbon saturated iron and red mud based fluxes. The measurements indicate that the equilibrium phosphorus distribution ratio initially increases with rise in FeO or CaO concentration of the fluxes and then drops.

The melting behavior of the fluxes was also studied by visualizing the deformation of flux pellets as they were heated using a high temperature microscopy technique. Measurements of characteristic temperature for different fluxes indicated the melting property is a function of slag basicity. Therefore, optical basicity was used to establish a correlation between basicity of the red mud based fluxes and their melting properties.


There is considerable evidence that enforcement efforts cannot fully explain the high degree of tax compliance. Previous studies have found differences in compliance behaviour across cultures. Novel in this paper is to investigate the impact of culture differences within a country rather than between countries. Thus, the main purpose of the paper is to see how culture affects tax morale, using World Values Survey (WVS) and European Values Survey (EVS) data. The empirical findings focus individually on Switzerland, Belgium and Spain, countries with a certain cultural variety. In general, the results indicate that the cultural background seems not to have a strong effect on tax morale within a country. However, there is evidence that there is a strong interaction between culture and institutions, which has a strong impact on tax morale.


Photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on buildings will be playing a major role in providing renewable energy and support the transition to a sustainable energy system. Rooftop PV systems will be mainly connected to the low voltage grid. Typically, these grids are not designed to accommodate large scale decentralized PV electricity production. This calls for research to effectively and efficiently integrate electricity generated by rooftop PV systems in our energy system. One of the possibilities for more integration of PV in the energy system is increasing the amount of directly consumed energy and consequently reducing feed-in PV power peaks to the electricity grid. The main objective of this thesis is the assessment of technical, economic and environmental benefits that can be obtained from the local use of energy generated by rooftop PV systems. The technical benefits include enhancing PV self-consumption and reducing PV feed-in peak power to the grid. This PV self-consumption is affected by the PV system design, electricity consumption patterns and energy technology used in the building, for example by using heat pumps. This thesis focussed on PV systems installed on residential and commercial buildings located in the Netherlands. About 33% of the PV generated energy of residential systems can be directly consumed by dwellings. This is 44% by commercial buildings. Stationary battery energy storage can charge surplus PV electricity and therefore increase self-consumption. A 1 kWh storage capacity per MWh of annual electricity consumption increases self-consumption by 23% for residential buildings and by 22% for commercial buildings. Only 4% of PV electricity during the systems lifetime is lost when a feed-in limit of 0.5 kW per kWp is imposed. This can be reduced to 0.2% using a 1 kWh storage capacity for each MWh of annual demand. Discounted payback times for PV systems are around 10 years for residential systems and 12 years for commercial systems. Dwellings with a PV capacity of 1 kWp for each MWh of annual demand contribute with about 17 tCO2eq to avoided life cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Recommendations for policy makers to support the growth PV systems on buildings were given for both short and medium term perspectives. Policies for the next five years should financially support PV systems larger than a 1 kWp per MWh annual electricity demand. When additional PV capacity is limited by the grid capacity, a feed-in limitation of 0.5 kW per kWp of PV is advisable to implement. Beyond 5 years, policies should provide rules and guidelines to enable new value streams from grid services provided by third parties. Also, a dynamic tax tariff based on marginal emissions factors could enable emission reduction by battery energy storage systems. Future research should focus on how storage and electrification can enable more variable renewable energy in our energy system. Therefore, methods to define dynamic electricity tariff structures and to assess the environmental impact of energy storage must be further developed.


Neuroleptic drugs used in the treatment of schizophrenia and other affective disorders are known to produce extrapyramidal side effects. Catalepsy induced by these drugs in animals has been used as a model for the extrapyramidal side effects associated with antipsychotic agents in human beings. In the present study, we have attempted to evaluate the protective effect of the ethanolic leaf extractof Ocimum sanctum (OS) on haloperidol (1.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneal administration)-induced catalepsy in mice by employing the standard bar test. Mice were allocated to seven groups, each group containing six animals. The effects of the test drug OS (at 1.75, 4.25 and 8.5 mg/kg doses) and the standard drugs, scopolamine (1.0 mg/kg) and ondansetron (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg doses) were assessed after single and repeat dose administration for seven days, 30 minutes prior to the haloperidol. The results suggest that OS has a protective effect against haloperidol-induced catalepsy, which is comparable to the standard drugs used for the same purpose. Our study indicates that OS could be used to prevent drug-induced extrapyramidal side effects.


"The Man in the Panther's Skin" is the masterpiece of Shota Rustaveli (c. 1160—after c. 1220), the greatest Georgian Christian poet, who has been translated into nearly 45 languages in the world so far. In this article we are going to study the Motifs of ʿUd̲h̲rī Love (AR: al-ḥubb al-ʿud̲h̲rī) in Rustaveli's book. The Ghazal (ode) of Ud̲h̲rī is a literary product of the Islamic-Arab community in which love derives its principles from religion of Islam and the like. In fact, during the era of the Umayyad caliphate (661-750 BCE) was born ʿUd̲h̲rī as a new kind of ode in the Arabic poetry in the Arabian Peninsula and has made its way into other lands, including Iran, and this kind of love poem penetrated through Iran into Rustavli's poetry.ʿUd̲h̲rī poem was narration of true, intense and chaste love between lover and a beloved far from sensuality, debauchery and lechery. Therefore, their lifestyles were very similar to mystic. The main purpose of this study is to find out the extent to which Rustaveli was influenced by ʿUd̲h̲rī poem. The research method in this article is to compare the specific and objective features which inferred from the Arabic-PersianʿUd̲h̲rī literature with the narrative in the Rustaveli's work. This does not mean, of course, that we will examine all the ʿUd̲h̲rī poetry works written before Rustaveli's book in the world; rather, we mean matching the specific Motifs of Arabic-Farsi works with the Rustaveli's poem. The results of this study show that there is a complete similarity between the motifs in the poems of Rustaveli's work and the motifs of the ʿUd̲h̲rī poets in all its components. This study also confirms that if we omit some details of the story in Rustaveli's book, we will find that Rustaveli was thoroughly familiar with Islamic ʿUd̲h̲rī literature and implemented it in his book "The Man in the Panther's Skin".


The US food system utilizes large quantities of liquid fuels, electricity, and chemicals yielding significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are not considered in current retail prices, especially when the contribution of biogenic emissions is considered. However, because GHG emissions might be assigned a price in prospective climate policy frameworks, it would be useful to know the extent to which those policies would increase the incremental production costs to food within the US food system. This analysis uses lifecycle assessment (LCA) to (1) estimate the magnitude of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions from typical US food production practices, using wheat and beef as examples, and (2) quantify the cost of those emissions in the context of a GHG-pricing regime over a range of policy constructs. Wheat and beef were chosen as benchmark staples to provide a representative range of less intensive and more intensive agricultural goods, respectively. Results suggest that 1.1 ± 0.13 and 31 ± 8.1 kg of lifecycle CO2e emissions are embedded in 1 kg of wheat and beef production, respectively. Consequently, the cost of lifecycle CO2e emissions for wheat (i.e. cultivation, processing, transportation, storage, and end-use preparation) over an emissions price range of $10 and $85 per tonne CO2e is estimated to be between $0.01 and $0.09 per kg of wheat, respectively, which would increase total wheat production costs by approximately 0.3–2% per kg. By comparison, the estimated lifecycle CO2e price of beef over the same range of CO2e prices is between $0.31 and $2.60 per kg of beef, representing a total production cost increase of approximately 5–40% per kg based on average 2010 food prices. This range indicates that the incremental cost to total US food production might be anywhere between $0.63–5.4 Billion per year for grain and $3.70 and $32 Billion per year for beef based on CO2e emissions assuming that total production volumes stay the same.


Multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) with intravenous bolus contrasting is a currently available method for radiodiagnosis of laryngeal cancer. MSCT is of much higher informative value in estimating the extent of a tumorous lesion than the traditional radiodiagnostic techniques: linear tomography, lateral X-ray study, roentgenoscopy and roentgenography of the laryngopharynx and esophagus with barium meal.


Education aims to enable students not only to acquire knowledge but also to become capable and enthusiastic lifelong learners. Prior research has found that learning is more likely to be effective where a student plays a proactive role in the learning process. Such a proactive process, including learning on students' own initiative and strategies, is often described as "self-regulated learning" (SRL). The present study aims at investigating SRL in Hong Kong students as compared with students in other countries that participated in the first cycle of PISA (Programme for International Students Assessment) study. Using Hierarchical Linear modeling, the study also investigates the relationships between SRL and academic performance of 15-year-old students in Hong Kong. The findings suggest that most of the SRL constructs are positively related to academic achievement in reading, mathematics, and science domains in Hong Kong students. Particularly, the results show that control strategies and self-efficacy appears to be the two most important learning strategies associated with performance in all three domains; but instrumental motivation and memorization have negative associations with mathematical and scientific literacy performances. Although most of the SRL indices are found to have positive relation with academic achievement, it is interesting to find that Hong Kong students use SRL strategies far less frequently than do students in other countries in PISA except competitive strategies. If educating students to self-regulate their own learning and to become intrinsically motivated to learn is crucial for the Hong Kong educational reform, further studies should be conducted to find out how


Milk against Poverty: Nutrition and the Politics of Consumption in Twentieth-Century Mexico Maria del Pilar Zazueta This dissertation examines how and why food consumption and nutrition became legitimate public policy issues in Mexico between the 1930s to the 1980s.In the postrevolutionary era, Mexican public officials began to systematically consider diet a social problem that affected not only individual well-being but could influence the economic development of the nation. This belief resulted in the implementation of policies with the goal of improving the quality of the Mexican diet. Several government actors participated in formulating and executing food and nutrition policies. Economic authorities, doctors and nutritional experts became convinced that food consumption could be managed, rationalized and perfected to obtain optimal results both in terms of expenses and health benefits. For economic officials, the primary goal of food policies was to maintain the stability of the factors of production, primarily labor costs, to encourage industrialization. Thus, from the early 1930s, the Mexican government regulated prices and intervened in food markets to control the supply side. Since the 1970s, government officials also sought to influence the demand side through the behavior of consumers. Diet came to be regarded not only as an object of health intervention and macroeconomic policy, but also as a crucial component of the new consumer culture. The Mexican government also promoted the study of food consumption scientifically, looking for ways to optimize food consumption with low wages. This scientific research done at public hospitals helped solidify diets as a legitimate sphere of intervention. Most doctors and nutritional experts agreed that Mexicans in general were malnourished due to the quality of their diets, which lacked animal proteins. Based on the findings of their studies, which indicated that diets had effects on mental development, these experts insisted that malnourishment was the explanation for the poverty and backwardness of Mexican society. Milk production and distribution is presented as a case study of the multiplicity of processes and actors involved in food consumption and nutrition policies in Mexico. For both doctors and economic planners, it was not enough to recommend increased consumption of animal proteins if these products were not available in the market or were not affordable enough for low income consumers to buy them. Government officials implemented policies to increase the production and consumption of the product. This dissertation traces how the milk sector was transformed and how the interactions between local producers, government agencies and transnational companies shaped an incipient industry in the early twentieth century into an important economic sector in several regions of Mexico.


When grammar-based techniques for natural language generation (and analysis alike) find their way into collaborative projects or actual application, big grammars tend to become hard to extend and debug. The MUG system represents a new tool set with a graphical debugging environment for functional unification grammars, which is designed to help grammar developers inspect the results of their work. The particular formalism supported is Multimodal Functional Unification Grammar (MUG, [4]), which is similar to Functional Unification Grammars (FUG: [2], [1]), but supports several coordinated modes, such as voice prompts or structural and/or language-based screen displays. For each input description, the grammar can generate a range of coherent realization variants, which are ranked by a scoring function in order to optimize the output towards situational and device-related factors.


The standard counterexamples to David Lewis's account of intrinsicality involve two sorts of properties: identity properties and necessary properties. Proponents of the account have attempted to deflect these counterexamples in a number of ways. This paper argues that none of these moves are legitimate. Furthermore, this paper argues that no account along the lines of Lewis's can succeed, for an adequate account of intrinsicality must be sensitive to hyperintensional distinctions among properties.


The present study is a review of the results of Cohen's operation performed on 43 ureters in 32 children. Treatment results were assessed through the comparison of cystographic and 131I-hippuran renographic findings obtained before and after surgery. Urodynamic recovery in the affected ureter was demonstrated in all children. One year after surgery, there was no improvement in the activity of the resected kidney in 37% of patients. In the remaining patients, secretion improved by 10-13% in the affected kidney. Seventeen children returned for follow-up examination 2 years after surgery. The activity of the affected kidney and the contralateral one improved in 13 of 17 patients. There was no upper urinary retention due to ureteral stricture in any of the children. The rate of recurrent vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) was 5.3%. Augmentation or persistence of purification deficiency in the affected kidney, detected in 12 patients at first postoperative follow-up, was qualified as a result of aggravated chronic pyelonephritis rather than that of surgical complications related to methodologic specifics. This assumption was verified by the results of the next follow-up examination 2 years after surgery. Therefore, Cohen's method can be recommended for large-scale application in the treatment of VUR in children and is expected to essentially reduce the rate of relapses and improve the standards of surgical care of children with this grave disease.