Abstract The past 50 years has witnessed the ongoing development by public defenders of what it means to "provide the effective assistance of counsel" through strong legal advocacy. More recently, many practitioners contend that in addition to the defense attorney, professional support services, such as social workers, paralegals, and criminal investigators, are critical to effective assistance of counsel in indigent defense cases. The umbrella of what we call the holistic defense model covers the most developed concepts and practices of an integrated defense team. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) evaluated the implementation of holistic defense practices at three public defender offices: the Department of Public Advocacy in Bowling Green, Kentucky; the Hennepin County Public Defender in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Rhode Island Public Defender in Providence County, Rhode Island. In all offices, on-site interviews and surveys were conducted with attorneys, judges, social workers, investigators, and others with knowledge of practices at the site. Results from the evaluation clarify (1) how indigent defense providers have implemented the principles of holistic defense in practice, (2) how holistic defense practices vary among providers, and (3) what factors have facilitated or impeded implementation of holistic defense practices. A team-based approach to representation was most prevalent at Hennepin County and Rhode Island, where social workers, investigators, and attorneys worked closely together and perceived themselves to be part of a "defense team," while local constraints reduced the level of teamwork at Bowling Green. The findings make clear that each site approaches the practice of holistic defense differently, largely driven by local priorities and funding realities.


Context. Twisted coronal loops should be ubiquitous in the solar corona. Twisted magnetic fields contain excess magnetic energy, which can be released during magnetic reconnection, causing solar flares.
Aims. The aim of this work is to investigate magnetic reconnection, and particle acceleration and transport in kink-unstable twisted coronal loops, with a focus on the effects of resistivity, loop geometry and atmospheric stratification. Another aim is to perform forward-modelling of bremsstrahlung emission and determine the structure of hard X-ray sources.
Methods. We use a combination of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and test-particle methods. First, the evolution of the kinking coronal loop is considered using resistive MHD model, incorporating atmospheric stratification and loop curvature. Then, the obtained electric and magnetic fields and density distributions are used to calculate electron and proton trajectories using a guiding-centre approximation, taking into account Coulomb collisions.
Results. It is shown that electric fields in twisted coronal loops can effectively accelerate protons and electrons to energies up to 10 MeV. High-energy particles have hard, nearly power-law energy spectra. The volume occupied by high-energy particles demonstrates radial expansion, which results in the expansion of the visible hard X-ray loop and a gradual increase in hard X-ray footpoint area. Synthesised hard X-ray emission reveals strong footpoint sources and the extended coronal source, whose intensity strongly depends on the coronal loop density.


The rapid growth of Alt-tech platforms and concerns over their less stringent content moderation policies, make them a good case for opinion mining. This study aims at investigating the topic models that exist in specific Alt-tech channel on Telegram, using data collected in two time points of 2021 and 2023. Three different topic models of LDA, NMF and Contextualized NTM were explored and a model selection procedure was proposed to choose the best performing model among all. To validate the model selection algorithm quantitatively and qualitatively, the approach was tested on publicly available labelled datasets. For all the experiments, data was pre-processed employing an effective NLP pre-processing procedure along with an Alt-tech customised list of stop-words. Using the validated topic model selection algorithm, LDA topics with Ngram range = (4, 4) were extracted from the targeted Alt-tech dataset. The findings from topic models were qualitatively evaluated by a social scientist and are further discussed. The conclusion of the work suggests that the proposed model selection procedure is effective for corresponding corpus length and context. Future work avenues are suggested to improve the outcome of Alt-tech topic modeling.


Abstract Objective: To examine the impact of commonly used case definitions for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations on case counts and outcomes. Design, patients, and setting: Retrospective analysis of all adults hospitalized between March 1, 2020, and March 1, 2022, at 5 Massachusetts acute-care hospitals. Interventions: We applied 6 commonly used definitions of COVID-19 hospitalization: positive severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay within 14 days of admission, PCR plus dexamethasone administration, PCR plus remdesivir, PCR plus hypoxemia, institutional COVID-19 flag, or COVID-19 International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes. Outcomes included case counts and in-hospital mortality. Overall, 100 PCR-positive cases were reviewed to determine each definition's accuracy for distinguishing primary or contributing versus incidental COVID-19 hospitalizations. Results: Of 306,387 hospital encounters, 15,436 (5.0%) met the PCR-based definition. COVID-19 hospitalization counts varied substantially between definitions: 4,628 (1.5% of all encounters) for PCR plus dexamethasone, 5,757 (1.9%) for PCR plus remdesivir, 11,801 (3.9%) for PCR plus hypoxemia, 15,673 (5.1%) for institutional flags, and 15,868 (5.2%) for ICD-10 codes. Definitions requiring dexamethasone, hypoxemia, or remdesivir selected sicker patients compared to PCR alone (mortality rates 12.2%, 10.7%, and 8.8% vs 8.3%, respectively). Definitions requiring PCR plus remdesivir or dexamethasone did not detect a reduction in in-hospital mortality associated with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. ICD-10 codes had the highest sensitivity (98.4%) but low specificity (39.5%) for distinguishing primary or contributing versus incidental COVID-19 hospitalizations. PCR plus dexamethasone had the highest specificity (92.1%) but low sensitivity (35.5%). Conclusions: Commonly used definitions for COVID-19 hospitalizations generate variable case counts and outcomes and differentiate poorly between primary or contributing versus incidental COVID-19 hospitalizations. Surveillance definitions that better capture and delineate COVID-19–associated hospitalizations are needed.


Network traffic is modeled as Poisson process for analytic simplicity, even though a number of traffic studies have shown that packet interarrivals are not exponentially distributed. Packet arrivals deviate considerably from Poissonity and follow statistical self-similar and long-range dependent behavior (LRD). We propose a novel discrete distribution for the counting process and show that for such a process the interarrivals are Pareto distributed. This new process is self-similar and exhibits long-range dependent behavior.


Smart devices have deeply modified the user consumption expectations getting used to rich interactive experiences around new media services. In this emerging landscape, TV rises as the central media device integrating the home network ecosystem. In the race to create more dynamic and customizable content, computer generated 3D graphics get a prominent position combined with video and audio to provide immersive and realistic environments in advanced applications where the user interaction is crucial. However, current home devices lack the required specific hardware to perform it. The proposed 3DMaaS System faces this scenario by performing 3D cloud rendering through streaming sessions with each client device, taking benefit of the Internet connectivity and video streaming management capabilities that most of thin devices have. In order to deal with the wide spectrum of device features, 3DMaaS provides a complete set of streaming formats, including RTSP, HLS and MPEG-DASH, that also fits new trends in media consumption brought by HTML5 and HbbTV. This paper presents latency performance profiling over the different streaming protocols which have a direct influence on the user interaction experience.


This paper examines and compares the moderating impact of organisational communication on the level of job satisfaction experienced by public sector administrative employees compared with private sector administrative employees. The findings from this pilot study suggest the significance of communication variables in moderating the job satisfaction of employees within all workplaces. In addition, the research findings suggest that there are significant organisational communication differences experienced by public and private sector employees in the workplace. There are implications emerging from this research. Firstly, management must acknowledge the importance of communication factors in moderating the impact of job satisfaction variables because these variables in turn affect employees' productivity. Secondly, this study has provided some evidence that the assumptions about the superiority of private sector communication and organisational processes are probably not warranted. The perception that private sector communication practices are significantly better than public sector practices appears not to have been substantiated in this study.


In some circumstances, huge mass, if not cushioned, may pull the piston to a halt at rod side or head side at ease with a tremendous velocity causing huge impact. As a result of this issue, the boom cylinder of hydraulic excavator provides cushioning apparatus at the rod side stroke end. This paper discusses and analyses the cushioning apparatus structure of boom cylinder, and then proposes a numerical simulation model with SimulationX. It is known to us that many dynamic parameters of boom cylinder vary as mechanical structure or motion of excavator attachment changes. Thus in order to study the relationship between kinetic parameters and cushioning capability of boom cylinder, an excavator attachment model is built next. The last part of this paper is devoted to the obtained simulation results.


The data of an experimental study of the influence
of feeding and the conditional stimulus on digestive function in birds is
presented. It is
stated that feed consumption is a powerful stimulator of pancreatic secretion
in broiler chicks. The secretory response of the pancreas was the highest in
the morning when secretion of pancreatic juice was 1.8 times higher, amylase
activity 3.2 times, proteases activity 3.3 times, lipase activity 2.1 times
higher than before feeding (basal levels). The regulation of pancreatic
activity is known to be complex-reflex with conditioned-reflex component being
very important since it provides 25% higher juice secretion and 42% - 74% higher enzyme secretion compared to the basal
levels during few minutes after the conditional signal.


Precocious pubarche is the appearance of pubic hair before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys. The most frequent etiology is idiopathic precocious adrenarche, suggested, after long-term follow-up, to be associated with metabolic syndrome. One of the factors involved in the genesis of precocious adrenarche is Angiotensin II (Ang II), which promotes cell proliferation and steroidogenesis through type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2) receptors. In order to study Ang II receptors mutations, 50 children with idiopathic precocious adrenarche were evaluated and compared to a control group of normal individuals. Mutations were not detected in the AGTR1 and AGTR2 genes; however, two polymorphisms were identified in the AGTR1 gene: the C573T (exon 5) and the A1166C (3' untranslated region). The polymorphic allele T573 was found in 35% of the patients and 38% of controls. The polymorphic allele C1166 was present in 24% of the patients and 26% of controls. There was no statistical difference between groups. There was also no correlation between the polymorphisms and clinical and laboratory findings, as well as their family history of metabolic syndrome.


Over 50% percent of melanomas carry activating BRAF mutation with a vast majority of these mutations (>90%) resulting from a single nucleotide switch at amino acid 600 resulting in a glutamic acid substitution for valine (V600E). As a result of this mutation BRAF Kinase is constitutively expressed and results in disregulation of the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK protein kinase pathway that controls cell proliferation and apoptosis. Although, Vemurafenib, a specific inhibitor of the V600E BRAF mutant, has shown to have initial positive clinical response in clinical trials, drug resistant develops after several months of continuous exposure resulting in the recurrence of the treated cancer. We have developed a modified adenovirus vector (AdILV-19) that effectively kills vemurafenib resistant cells. We demonstrate that AdILV-19 suppresses expression of c-Myc, survivin, cyclin D1, B-catenin, and Mcl-1 in BRAF V600E mutated cells that are resistant to vemurafenib. This novel vector, AdILV-19 is derived from our previously published adenoviral vector TAV-255 through an additional modification of the adenoviral genome. In order to facilitate and maximize recombinant adenoviral induced apoptosis by this new vector, we removed the first 200 base pair of the adenoviral E1b 19k protein, a human BCL-2 homolog. Using this newly modified virus in two highly Vemurafenib resistant melanoma cell lines (451lu-R, Mel1617-R) we were able to not only infect and express viral proteins i.e. E1a, but also induce a significant cell killing in these resistant BRAF mutant cell lines by MTT as well as crystal violet assays. MTT assay showed 35% to 45% cell killing at an MOI as low as 15 to 80 to 90% killing at an MOI of 50. Crystal violet assay on the other hand showed a significant cytotoxicity in these resistant cells at a low MOI of 15. Additionally, we were able to show using Immunoblot analysis a postinfection reduction in the expression of major pro-survival proteins in time dependent manner. We observed as early as 24hrs postinfection c-Myc (an oncogenic transcription factor) and survivin (Pro-survival protein) expression were turned off while expression of cyclin D1 (a regulatory subunit of holoenzyme) which shown to be amplified in BRAF inhibitor resistant melanoma cells and Mcl-1 (a pro-survival protein) were turned off as early as 48hs postinfection in both 451lu-R and Mel1617-R melanoma cells. Furthermore, colony formation assays showed a substantial reduction in the ability of single cells to form colonies after infection at MOI of 20 with AdILV-19 in both of these resistant melanoma cell lines. As an extension of these studies we also studied the activity of AdILV-19 to treat a xenograft nude mouse model with subcutaneous injection of 451lu-R melanoma cells. When the tumor volume reached 100 mm3 the mice received 3 intratumoral injections at an MOI of 20. Following treatment, we observed a significant inhibition of tumor growth (p≤0.02) in treated mice (n=4) when compared with PBS treated mice controls. Taken together these data we show this newly modified adenovirus vector AdILV-19 alters and silences cellular oncogenic protein synthesis in vemurafenib resistant BRAF mutant melanomas and has a great potential as therapeutic for the treatment of these human resistant melanomas. Citation Format: Farah Hedjran, Lingzhi Zhang, Jason Sicklick, Tony Reid. Novel oncolytic adenovirus (ILV-19) induces apoptosis in BRAF inhibitor resistant (V600E) mutant melanoma cell lines 451lu-R and Mel1617-R. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: The Translational Impact of Model Organisms in Cancer; Nov 5-8, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2014;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A38.


AFLP is a frequently used DNA fingerprinting technique that is popular in the plant sciences. A problem encountered in the interpretation and comparison of individual plant profiles, consisting of band presence-absence patterns, is that multiple DNA fragments of the same length can be generated that eventually show up as single bands on a gel. The phenomenon of two or more fragments coinciding in a band within an individual profile is a type of homoplasy, that we call collision. Homoplasy biases estimates of genetic similarity. In this study, we show how to calculate collision probabilities for bands as a function of band length, given the fragment count, the band count, or band lengths. We also determine probabilities of higher order collisions, and estimate the total number of collisions for a profile. Since short fragments occur more often, short bands are more likely to contain collisions. For a typical plant genome and AFLP procedure, the collision probability for the shortest band is 25 times larger than for the longest. In a profile with 100 bands a quarter of the bands may contain collisions, concentrated at the shorter band lengths. All calculations require a careful estimate of the monotonically decreasing fragment length distribution. Modifications of Dice and Jaccard coefficients are proposed. The principles are illustrated on data from a phylogenetic study in lettuce.


While the systematic review process is intended to maximize objectivity and limit researchers' biases, examples remain of discordant recommendations from meta‐analyses. Current guidelines to explore discrepancies assume the variation is produced by methodological differences and thus focus only on the study process. Because heterogeneity of interpretation also occurs when experts examine the same data, our purpose was to examine if there are reasoning differences, ie, in how information is processed and valued. We created simulated meta‐analyses based on idealized randomized studies (ie, perfect studies with no bias) to ensure differences in interpretations could only be due to reasoning. We recruited published meta‐analysts using purposeful variables. We conducted 3 audio‐recorded interviews per participant using structured and semi‐structured interviews, with paraphrasing and reflective listening to enhance and verify responses. Recruitment and analysis of transcripts and field notes followed the principles of grounded theory (eg, theoretical saturation, constant comparative analysis). Results show the complexity of meta‐analytic reasoning. At each step of the process, participants attempted to reconcile disparate forms of knowledge to determine a right answer (moral concern) and accurately draw a treatment effect (epistemological concern). The reasoning processes often shifted between considering the meta‐analysis as if the data were whole, and as if the data were discrete components (individual studies). These findings highlight paradigmatic tensions regarding the epistemological premises of meta‐analysis, resembling previous historical investigations of the functioning of scientific communities. In understanding why different meta‐analysts interpret data differently, it may be unrealistic to expect objective homogenous recommendations based on meta‐analyses.


The purpose of this article is to propose a theoretical foundation on the impact of a transfer scheme on income inequality in the redistribution process among participants in a related agreement. Our example involves the study of the Common Agricultural Policy implemented by EU Countries. First, we show that ex-post inequality (after the distribution process) may increase if either initial aggregate income or the amounts of fiscal contributions are sufficiently high. Second, we characterize a multifactorial methodology according to Palestini and Pignataro (2014) to gauge the impact of redistribution and the effects of different income sources to the inequality profile. Finally, we propose an exercise where a hypothetical policy is implemented and we apply the Banzhaf and Shapley values to determine the marginal contributions of each factor to overall inequality.


Seasonal variation in the availability of essential resources is one of the most important drivers of natural selection on the phasing and duration of annually recurring life-cycle events. Shifts in seasonal timing are among the most commonly reported responses to climate change and the capacity of organisms to adjust their timing, either through phenotypic plasticity or evolution, is a critical component of resilience. Despite growing interest in documenting and forecasting the impacts of climate change on phenology, our ability to predict how individuals, populations, and species might alter their seasonal timing in response to their changing environments is constrained by limited knowledge regarding the cues animals use to adjust timing, the endogenous genetic and molecular mechanisms that transduce cues into neural and endocrine signals, and the inherent capacity of animals to alter their timing and phasing within annual cycles. Further, the fitness consequences of phenological responses are often due to biotic interactions within and across trophic levels, rather than being simple outcomes of responses to changes in the abiotic environment. Here, we review the current state of knowledge regarding the mechanisms that control seasonal timing in vertebrates, as well as the ecological and evolutionary consequences of individual, population, and species-level variation in phenological responsiveness. Understanding the causes and consequences of climate-driven phenological shifts requires combining ecological, evolutionary, and mechanistic approaches at individual, populational, and community scales. Thus, to make progress in forecasting phenological responses and demographic consequences, we need to further develop interdisciplinary networks focused on climate change science.


The exploration of social artifacts for the disabled is an important and timely issue. The affordances of new technologies like the Semantic Web allow more intelligent handling of educational learning resources that open up the potential of personalisation of services to individuals. Contemporary legislation calls for "reasonable adjustments" and "reasonable accommodation" to be made to services in order to accommodate the needs of disabled people. Here, the authors examine, from a design perspective, how this might be done in the context of higher education. Specifically, they advocate a design based upon an ontology-based personalisation of learning resources to deliver to students' real needs. To this end, so far little effort has been directed towards disabled students in higher education. The authors note some of the problems and issues with online assistive/adaptive technologies and propose a methodological fix. Here, they propose an ontology-based methodology for a Semantic Web community of agents that personalises learning resources to disabled students in higher education, specifically highlighting a disability-aware Semantic Web agency development methodology. The authors also present the results of usability evaluation of the implemented visual interface with some disabled and non-disabled students.


This thesis describes the operation and performance of an acousto-optic demodulator system consisting of a laser source, an acousto-optic cell and a bi-cell detector. The bi-cell detector is made up of two photodiodes positioned side by side, separated by a small gap. Theory is developed to predict the following; the linear operating range for different gap sizes, absolute frequency sensitivity, system output in response to discrete phase changes, optimum gap size for phase demodulation, absolute descrete phase change sensitivity, the performance of the system in the presence of carrier noise and the effect of clipping the carrier signal on both frequency and phase modulated signals. A detailed model of the system has been written, using the software package Mathcad, which incorporates all the parameters that affect the performance of the physical system. The model has been used to study how the performance of the system changes as these parameters are varied. It is shown that the AO demodulator can be used in a number of ways; as a frequency demodulator, a phase demodulator and to demodulate digitally modulated signals, and that the optimum values of some parameters are different for each application. The model is also used to investigate the response of the system to a number of the most common forms of digital modulation. It is shown that it is possible, without any a priori knowledge of the signal, to identify each of these forms of modulation, and ultimately decode messages contained on the signals. The system can also be used to measure the frequency shift on pulse doppler radar. It is shown that the rms frequency error on a pulse using the AO demodulator is 150% better than that of existing systems. Experimental results are presented that are in good agreement with the results gained from both the theoretical and modelled analysis of the system. Finally suggestions are made for areas of further work on the signal processing of the output signals and possible uses of the demodulator in the future.


The policy question is clear: state laws that ban out-of-state direct shipping of wine but permit in-state wineries to ship directly hurt consumers and provide little to no off-setting public benefits, such as promoting temperance. (1) The legal question, however, is more opaque. For any other product, such discriminatory laws would be forbidden by the dormant commerce clause, but the issue of whether a state can discriminate in favor of in-state liquor sellers remains unsettled because, as Judge Easterbrook has noted, a state can "control alcohol in ways that it cannot control cheese." (2) The reason for this difference--and hence legal uncertainty--is the confusingly written and frequently misunderstood [section] 2 of the 21st Amendment. (3) As the Supreme Court again will be faced with interpreting [section] 2, an analysis of the clause's original meaning is timely. (4) This note will argue that, as originally intended, [section] 2 did not permit discrimination. An examination of the legal and legislative landscape that existed behind the ratification of the 21st Amendment demonstrates that while [section] 2 carved out for the States an expanded "police power zone," (5) it did not repeal the anti-discrimination principle. This is true despite the proposed deletion of [section] 3. In fact, the removal of [section] 3 reinforces this view. I. INTRODUCTION A plain text reading of [section] 2 leaves much to be desired, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized. (6) As a result, the Court has often tried to reconcile [section] 2 with the rest of the Constitution. (7) This has been relatively straightforward in matters relating to equal protection and the First Amendment, but controversy has surrounded the relationship of [section] 2 to the Commerce Clause--and therefore the dormant commerce clause--to the extent that some present members of the Court appear to favor the notion that [section] 2 de facto repealed the Commerce Clause as it relates to alcohol. (8) To support this view, Justice O'Connor in particular has extensively (and incorrectly) cited [section] 2's history. (9) It is time to set the historical record straight. II. LEGAL CONTEXT To understand [section] 2, one needs to understand the legal and political environment surrounding prohibition. Most importantly, one needs to consider the Court's early views on the states' police power. The desire for prohibition began long before the 18th Amendment was ratified in 1919. In the License Cases of 1847, the Supreme Court upheld a state's right to regulate alcohol as being within that state's police power. (10) However, in 1888 the Court held in Bowman v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. that because of the dormant commerce clause, and despite the police power, "a state could not regulate liquor, even as part of a general prohibition, until after importation, when the liquor has been 'mingled with and become a part of the general property of the State.'" (11) This seriously undermined liquor regulation (as out-of-state sellers could disregard local laws) and led to the passage of two congressional acts. The first was the Wilson Act of 1890; under the Commerce Clause, Congress mandated that state laws should apply to liquor, in its original package, imported from other states "to the same extent as though such ... liquors had been produced in such state." (12) However, in 1898 the Court restricted the scope of the Wilson Act in Rhodes v. Iowa, wherein it held, based on the act's language, that "state control commenced only after the liquor reached the consignee in the state, and not at the state line. This narrow construction undermined the Wilson Act so as to permit mail-order commerce in liquor which could circumvent the laws of dry states." (13) Congress then passed the Webb-Kenyon Act of 1913. (14) "This act forbade the transportation of intoxicants into any state where its receipt, possession, sale, or use was prohibited. …


Permanent magnets based on intermetallic compounds are employed in dentistry to fix dental prosthesis. However, these materials are very sensitive to corrosion. In this study the corrosion behavior of a sintered commercial Nd-Fe-B magnet has been investigated at neutral pH in a phosphate buffered solution (PBS). With this aim demagnetized specimens were immersed in the test solution and their corrosion behavior were monitored at increasing test times by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy ( EIS ), potentiodynamic polarization curves and surface observation by scanning electron microscopy ( SEM ). Experimental results indicated that the corrosion resistance is seriously affected in this solution. Moreover, no decrease in the intensity of the corrosive attack was verified during test periods of up 4 hours. Impedance results have indicated the occurrence of diffusion controlled phenomenon, likely linked to the presence of pores in the magnet microstructure.


The color of natural teeth depends on their capacity to modify the incident light (to change the wave length of incident light). Mainly two types of observation modes are used: diffuse illumination 0% and 45%; the angles represent incidence of illumination and observation on the surface of the object whose color is determined. The patients have been properly selected to receive direct resin veneers on their frontal maxillary incisors. Visually we observed and determined color directly using natural incident light between 10 am and 16 pm, the observer was positioned away from patient so the tooth to examine was at the level of observer's eye (incidence angles were mainly similar). Vita Easy Shade colorimeter was used to establish the color of the restoration before and after it was performed. The EVRSAM supplied statistically comparable data as the literature; the comparison between visual and colorimetric data makes us suppose that visual color determination is a necessary but not sufficient tool for the esthetic success of any veneer restoration.


This text is a modified excerpt from YEAR 1, a project in the reconfiguration of knowledge (as well as a book forthcoming from MIT Press in 2021). The focus is on the first century that starts the numerical countdown to the present. All of the schemata of modernity—time, space, concepts, and categories [as in Kant's First Critique]—are put to the test of comprehending this alleged beginning, and none survives unscathed. Walter Benjamin's understanding of the task of the translator, when applied to historical rather than linguistic translation, provides the methodological armature for the analysis. The excerpt printed here is the methodological introduction to Chapter 2: "Translations in Time."


This article argues that in order to adequately comprehend and explain change, the field needs to engage more completely with the challenges of researching change over time, and ground the theorizing of change more firmly in empirical research. The goal of this article is to foster a more concerted discussion on these issues that will hopefully move research forward. The first part of the article reviews the breadth and diversity of existing empirical approaches to comprehending change over time across the field. The article then identifies some of the problems and oversights of current approaches and discusses possible solutions, drawing both on proposals developed by communication and media scholars and those developed in other disciplines.


In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor's Degree from the Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, I agree that the department may make copies or post it on the departmental website so that others may better understand the undergraduate research of the department. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes or financial gain is not allowed without my written consent.


Background The paradigm of research in sexually transmitted diseases (STD) has recently shifted to HIV/AIDS. Recent trend of sexually transmitted diseases in India is lacking. Objective To determine the trend in the syndromic diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (STI). Methods Data of patients attending our STD clinic between 2008 and 2010 was retrieved. Aetiological diagnosis of individual patients as practiced in our clinic were fit into any of the following syndromic diagnoses—vaginal/cervical discharge, non-herpetic genital ulcer, herpetic ulcer, lower abdominal pain, urethral discharge, ano-rectal discharge, inguinal bubo, scrotal swelling, genital warts, and other STIs that could not be characterised into above syndromes. The syndromic approach as suggested by National AIDS Control Organization of India was followed. Trend of syndromic diagnosis of STIs was determined. Results In 2008, majority (51.1%) of the new patients registered to the clinic (36, 26.66% herpetic genital ulcer, 33, 24.44% genital warts) had one or the other viral STI. In 2009, 43.68% patients had viral STIs (21.35% herpetic GUD, 22.33% genital warts). In 2010, there was a significant increase in the incidence of viral STIs; 72.6% patients (36.94% herpetic GUD and 35.66% genital warts) had one or the other viral syndromic diagnosis. Conclusion In concurrence to observations worldwide, proportion of viral STIs have increased significantly recently due to widespread use of broad spectrum antibiotics. One more reason could be recurrent or persistent nature of these viral STIs. In our setting, incidences of herpetic GUD and genital warts were almost similar.


Purpose – The study goes beyond the more frequent interest in information privacy to identify other notions of privacy within the workplace. The purpose of this paper is to explore how these additional notions of privacy relate to key demographic and employment characteristics and how data protection training, often instigated as a means of highlighting and addressing issues relating to privacy of customers' data, is related to employees' notions of their own workplace privacy.Design/methodology/approach – The study was undertaken in two telephone call centres since they offered a working environment where staff are highly monitored and hence there are likely to be issues relating to employee privacy. The study is exploratory in nature and adopts a mixed method approach based on a questionnaire survey that was followed by semi‐structured, qualitative face to face interviews.Findings – The survey findings identified three distinct notions of privacy; the concern for personal information privacy (CfPIP), th...


The perceptual experience of next-generation wireless networks is nowadays coexisting with a unified heterogeneous system. It uses advanced internet protocol (IP) features with scalable infrastructure to optimize the efficiency rate of the core networks. Of late, the Internet-of-Things has played a significant role in the growth of smart devices that derive a forward and backward interface to provide a low-rate data flow. Moreover, a software-defined network (SDN) is openly chosen to explore the promising features such as controller and switches to separate the control and data plane. To fulfill the standard constraints of 6G networks, this article presents dynamic-driven congestion control and segment rerouting. It has two essential purposes: 1) to mitigate the flow rate and signal congestion and 2) to enhance the monitoring process and path adjustment. The approach of Deleroi superimposed, forward–backward interface, and segment rerouting have been implemented and configured in the IMSCore platform that examines the quality metrics such as throughput rate and transmission delay. To probe the signaling traffic and congestion rate, two superposition principles were derived that can minimize the transmission rate and signaling congestion to achieve the demands of the media zone.


The research of rock deformation and breaking has important scientific significance and engineering significance. Deformation is a long process, while the breaking happens in a monent relatively. In this paper the rock uniaxial compression test was simulated by using PFC2D. The complete curve of stress-strain was devided into six stages: compaction stage, elastic deformation stage, plastic sclerosis stage, plastic softening stage, breaking stage and breaking residual stage. It was found that the deformation localization generated the formation and extension of the cracks. When there were enough cracks, the specimen began to damage. Only a few crack bands evolved to breaking bands. The specimen's breaking was mainly caused by indirect tension, supplemented by shear.


In this study, we optimized the reaction conditions for the bioconversion of green tea using tannase, and to evaluate its radical scavenging activities. Tea catechins such as (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) or (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) were hydrolyzed by tannase to produce (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) or (-)-epicatechin (EC), respectively, and a common product, gallic acid. The bioconversion of tea catechins by tannase was increased as enzyme concentration, substrate concentration and incubation time for enzyme dose. The results indicated the optimum reaction conditions for tannase were tannase 30 U/mL (enzyme concentration) on 1% green tea (substrate concentration) for 1 hr (incubation time for enzyme). Tannase enhanced the radical-scavenging properties of green tea; the 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals scavenging abilities were significantly (p<0.001) greater for the tannase- treated green tea extract compared to the untreated green tea extract. It is reported that ECG has the greatest antioxidant activity among the catechins in green tea, and the release of gallic acid is considered to be beneficial because of its significant antioxidant potency. The results of this study suggest that the tannase- treated green tea increases antioxidant activities under optimum reaction conditions.


Ten physically active subjects underwent two cycling exercise trials. In the first, aerobic capacity (VO2max) was determined and the second was a 45 min submaximal exercise test. Urine samples were collected separately the day before (day 1) , the day of (day 2), and the day after (day 3) the submaximal exercise test (12 samples per subject). Metabolomic profiling of the samples was carried out using hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) coupled to an Orbitrap Exactive mass spectrometer. Data were extracted, database searched and then subjected to principle components (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares (OPLSDA) modelling. The best results were obtained from pre-treating the data by normalising the metabolites to their mean output on days 1 and 2 of the trial. This allowed PCA to separate the day 2 first void samples (D2S1) from the day 2 post-exercise samples (D2S3) PCA also separated the equivalent samples obtained on day 1 (D1S1 and D1S3). OPLSDA modelling separated both the D2S1 and D2S3 samples and D1S1 and D1S3 samples. The metabolites affected by the exercise samples included a range of purine metabolites and several acyl carnitines. Some metabolites were subject to diurnal variation these included bile acids and several amino acids, the variation of these metabolites was similar on day 1 and day 2 despite the exercise intervention on day 2. Using OPLS modelling it proved possible to identify a single abundant urinary metabolite provisionally identified as oxo-aminohexanoic acid (OHA) as being strongly correlated with VO2max when the levels in the D2S3 samples were considered.


Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus is a global health problem that can lead to cirrhosis, hepatic disease and hepatic cancer. One of the standard treatments for hepatitis C genotype 1b is Peginterferon plus Ribavirin for 48 weeks that has different response to treatment. Response to treatment could be influenced by different factors. In this study we aim to evaluate the factors related to response to treatment and the rate of response to treatment with Ribavirin plus Peginterferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b. In this analytical cross-sectional study, 90 patients including 44 male and 46 female with mean age of 38.01±11.10 years with the definite diagnosis of Hepatitis C who were treated with Ribavirin plus Peginterferon were included and followed for 48 weeks. In all patients demographic findings, underlying disease and social habits were recorded. Response to treatment was defined at weeks 12, 24 and 48 and different factors were evaluated between groups. Response to treatment was observed in 68 cases (75.6%), recurrence in 16 cases (16.7%) and treatment cessation in 7 cases (7.7%). Opium was used in 1.1%, alcohol in 7.8% and smoking in 22.2%. Also, hepatitis B in 2.2% and diabetes in 6.7% were observed. There were no significant differences between cases with and without response to treatment regarding age, gender, weight, alcohol use, smoking or diabetes. Results of current study showed that treatment with Ribavirin plus Peginterferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1b unlike previous studies accompanies with higher response to treatment (75.6%) and different factors have no significant influence in the response to treatment.


Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of diarrhea among children in developing countries. Since free-ranging chickens are a major source of Campylobacter infections, we hypothesized that corralling of these chickens would result in decreased rates of Campylobacter infections and Campylobacter-related diarrhea. We tested this hypothesis in Peruvian families in a periruban shantytown with free-ranging chickens and randomized by household using a (corralling) intervention versus control study design. Samples from participants and chickens were cultured for Campylobacter at the start of surveillance, and samples from children less than six years of age with diarrhea episodes and two sentinel chickens were cultured for Campylobacter monthly. Overall, 4,257 human stool specimens and 3,950 avian stool specimens were cultured over a 17-month period. Rates of Campylobacter-related diarrhea in children were significantly higher in the corral group, which demonstrated twice the incidence of Campylobacter diarrhea compared with controls overall, and seven times the rate of Campylobacter diarrhea versus controls in the subset with more than 20 household chickens. Rates of asymptomatic infection with Campylobacter were similar. Although corralling may be useful if corrals are distant from living quarters, it is not advisable as a control measure for Campylobacter in communities such as this.


The anesthetic procedures used and the responses observed during maternal instrumentation on 38 pregnant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) during the second half of gestation are reported. A laparotomy with maternal instrumentation was performed in all animals. Anesthesia was induced with ketamine and maintained with halothane. Two animals delivered within five days of anesthesia and surgery and were unable to undergo experimentation. The remaining 36 animals underwent successful experimentation. Dysrhythmias, hypotension, and hypothermia were identified as complications of anesthesia.


Aim: We aimed to evaluate the variation in planktonic ciliate species composition in different strata of the Guaraná Lake, encompassing high and low water periods, at the Upper Paraná River floodplain. Methods: Samplings were collected monthly between March 2007 and February 2008, from the epilimnion, metalimnion and hypolimnion. Ciliates samples were filtered using a plankton net of 10μm mesh size and identified in vivo under an optical microscope. Results: Among 112 species identified, 13 were found exclusively during the high water periods and 39 during the low water period. Results of nonparametric extrapolation indices evidenced that the observed richness represented between 70% and 90% of the estimated richness. Regarding the variation in species composition, Beta1 index showed that the alteration in composition between strata during the low water period was slightly greater than that registered during high waters. Cluster analysis evidenced a higher dissimilarity in ciliate species composition between periods than among the different strata. The greatest variation in species composition was verified during the distinct hydrological periods, whereas no significant differences were observed for the different strata analysed. Conclusions: We found that in the pelagic compartment, ciliate species composition changed significantly between hydrological periods, and a higher similarity in species composition among strata was observed during the high water period. Therefore, alterations in the vertical distribution seem to be related to the homogenizing effect of the floods in the water column stability.


This dissertation investigates adaptive decision feedback equalizers for high-speed
serial data links.An adaptive data-transition decision feedback equalizer (DT-DFE) was developed. The DT-DFE boosts the eye-opening of the high-frequency components
of data without attenuating their low-frequency counterparts. Reference voltages
were obtained by transmitting consecutive 1s and 0s and measuring the output
of the continuous-time linear equalizer using a pair of successive approximation
register analog-to-digital converters in a training phase. It uses loop unrolling
to detect data transitions, activate tap-tuning, launch DFE, and combat timing
constraints. The performance of the DT-DFE and its advantages over commonly
used data-state DFE were validated using the schematic-level simulation results
of 5 Gbps backplane links.A new adaptive DT-DFE with edge-emphasis (EE) taps and raised references
was developed. Loop-unrolling was further developed for DT-DFE with EE-taps.
The reference voltages were raised beyond that set by the low-frequency components of data to increase vertical eye-opening. Clock and data recovery was performed using 4x oversampling. The DT-DFE was validated using the schematiclevel simulation results of 10 Gbps backplane links.A pre-skewed bi-directional gated delay line (BDGDL) bang-bang frequency
difference-to-digital converter and a BDGDL integrating frequency difference-todigital converter (iFDDC) were proposed for clock and data recovery. Both frequency difference detectors feature all-digital realization, low power consumption,
and high-speed operation. The built-in integration of iFDDC results in a zero
static frequency error and the first-order noise-shaping of the quantization errors
of the BDGDL and digitally-controlled oscillators. Their effectiveness was validated using schematic-level simulation results of 5-GHz frequency-locked loops.All systems validating the proposed adaptive DFE and frequency-difference
detectors were designed in TSMC's 65 nm CMOS technology and analyzed using
Spectre from Cadence Design Systems.


The present study investigated the relationship between narcissistic personality traits, body attitudes, and muscle dysmorphia. Participants were 117 men, aged 18 to 58 years, identifying as men who currently weight train (n = 78), former weight trainers (n = 28), or who had never weight trained (n = 11). Results indicated that male body attitudes were significantly associated with indications of muscle dysmorphia. Moreover, men who currently weight trained reported more positive body attitudes than former weight trainers. Specifically former weight trainers reported significantly more negative body attitudes compared with men who currently weight train if training frequency was reported as once per week or less. No significant association was found between narcissism and muscle dysmorphia. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between current and former weight trainers in levels of narcissism or muscle dysmorphia. These results highlight avenues for further investigation and the importance of understanding the complexity of body image issues in men in clinical practice.


The IEEE 802.11e protocol is designed to enhance the QoS capability of wireless local area networks (WLAN). In this paper, we propose a three dimensional Markov chain model for the 802.11e enhanced distributed coordination function (EDCF) mode and compute the maximum sustainable throughput and service delay distribution for each priority class when under heavy load. This provides an analytical approach to pick the parameter values associated with EDCF to meet the QoS requirements of each priority. This is accomplished by modeling the performance impact of all the major QoS-specific features (i.e. CWMin, CWMax, AIFS, internal collision resolution) of the 802.11e EDCF mode.


This paper aims to share knowledge and the theoretical basis for understanding herd dynamics in pastoral communities of Hadiya, Southern Ethiopia, with the intention that it may improve effectiveness of development interventions. The study is based on data collected from two districts considering 160 pastoral households. Focus group and key informant discussions were also made to generate data to supplement the personal interviews. A Probit model was utilized for analyzing factors that determine cattle stocking. The Hadiya pastoralists stock cattle not mainly as a security against risks but it is also the cultural obligation to attain the cultural titles to some clans. Social interaction expressed as marriage bond and social capital as well as herding experience determines willingness and intensity of herd stoking, besides natural factors. However, financial factors have little effect on cattle dynamics. The results imply that, if any kind of development interventions is planned to improve the livelihood of the community and or the environment, strategies related to optimal stocking rates (considering cultural dimension of stocking) should be developed.

 Key words: Ethiopia, herd stocking, Hadiya, pastoralism.


Purpose: Coronary artery bypass graft is the standard treatment for unprotected left main disease; however, some patients are poor surgical candidates due to comorbidities. We assessed the safety and clinical outcome of elective, unprotected left main coronary artery stenting in nonsurgical patients. Methods: Between October 2004 and June 2006, 50 consecutive patients underwent elective, unprotected left main coronary artery stenting at our institution. Patients were followed for a median of 16 and 96 months and clinical outcomes monitored. Results: Median logistic euroSCORE was 28.6 (interquartile range: 14.6-43.4). Median baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 50%. Procedural success rate was 100%. The rates of cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization and cardiovascular death were 2%, 4%, 4% and 2%, respectively, at 30 days, 2%, 6%, 6% and 2% at 16 months, and 2%, 6%, 12% and 4% at 96 months. Major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event rate was 12% at 30 days, 16% at 16 months and 24% at 96 months. Median LVEF at 16 months was 55%, significantly improved from baseline (P<0.001). Conclusion: In nonsurgical patients with left main disease, stenting of the unprotected left main coronary artery is safe, with acceptable rates of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event up to 96 months poststenting. (J Patient-Centered Res Rev. 2014;1:114-120.)


: The harvesting operation is a recurring task in the production of any crop, thus making it an excellent candidate for automation. In protected horticulture, one of the crops with high added value is tomatoes. However, its robotic harvesting is still far from maturity. That said, the development of an accurate fruit detection system is a crucial step towards achieving fully automated robotic harvesting. Deep Learning (DL) and detection frameworks like Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD) or You Only Look Once (YOLO) are more robust and accurate alternatives with better response to highly complex scenarios. The use of DL can be easily used to detect tomatoes, but when their classification is intended, the task becomes harsh, demanding a huge amount of data. Therefore, this paper proposes the use of DL models (SSD MobileNet v2 and YOLOv4) to efficiently detect the tomatoes and compare those systems with a proposed histogram-based HSV colour space model to classify each tomato and determine its ripening stage, through two image datasets acquired. Regarding detection, both models obtained promising results, with the YOLOv4 model standing out with an F1-Score of 85.81%. For classification task the YOLOv4 was again the best model with an Macro F1-Score of 74.16%. The HSV colour space model outperformed the SSD MobileNet v2 model, obtaining results similar to the YOLOv4 model, with a Balanced Accuracy of 68.10%.


Background and Goal of Study: Stellate ganglion block (SGB) is a type of sympathetic blockades. Although there is much interest in the effects of autonomic control on the cerebral vasculature, controversy still exists regarding the physiological outcome of sympathetic blockade on these vessels. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of SGB on the cerebral vessels using magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Materials and Methods: Nineteen healthy female volunteers (mean age±SD of 46.4±8.9) participated in the study. After obtaining informed consent, MR imaging was performed before and after SGB using a 1.5T MRI scanner (Avanto, Siemens, Germany). Time-of-flight (TOF) MRA and magnetization transfer rapid acquisition gradient echo (MPRAGE) were utilized to investigate the vascular changes induced by SGB, to identify abnormal anatomical brain structures. A blind technique for SGB was used and the success of the block was determined by the appearance of Horner syndrome. Results and Discussion: Substantial changes were observed in the main trunk of the external carotid artery (ECA) and its branches, e.g., superficial temporal artery (STA). In the signal intensity change measurements of the major arteries, a significant signal increase was observed in the main trunk of the ECA ipsilateral to the SGB site (11.16±5.76%; P<0.001). In addition, we observed striking changes in the ipsilateral meningeal artery(MA) and facial artery(FA), which were rarely detectable by routine MRA prior to SGB (Figure 1(a) and (b)). The MA and FA were not quantitatively analyzed due to the inability to visualize these vessels before SGB administration in several subjects. Representative ophthalmic artery(OA) images before and after SGB are also displayed in Figure 1(c).


: During chronic use of seduxen various changes of correlation connections between different parameters of general behaviour are revealed in dogs. The character and degree of expressiveness of these changes depend on the drug dose and typological characteristics of animals. The most general and significant manifestation of favourable effect of the drug action on animals behaviour is an increase of the number of "strong" correlation connections (correlation coefficient is more than 0.7) of the parameters of various components of conditioned activity, reflecting the state of inner inhibition processes, and to the parameters of vegetative provision of conditioned reactions. The character of reconstructions of correlation connections between different conditioned, vegetative, neurotransmitter and general behaviour parameters allows to judge of the direction of pharmacological influence on separate functional systems and the behaviour as a whole.


Stoneware especially tableware is manufactured by mixing the clay, quartz and flux such as feldspar. Thus, the aim of this work is to investigate the possibility of two alternative fluxing agents namely; soda-lime-silica glass (SLS), and borax decahydrate (BD) on characterization, and physico-mechanical properties of stoneware to demonstrate its suitability for tableware production. SLS and BD are incorporated into stoneware at the dosage of 5 %, and 10 % by weight, respectively. The sample was performed by uniaxial pressing (40 MPa) sintered at 1000, 1050, 1100, and 1150°C (2 hours soaking time) to establish minimum sintering temperature. Bulk density, water absorption, and modulus of rupture (MOR) were measured for each sample. Characterization of XRF, XRD, and SEM was carried out and discussed. Results indicated SLS, BD showed higher physico-mechanical properties and vitrified at 1050-1100°C, lower than normal temperature applied for stoneware (1150°C). Consequently, it was determined that the usage of SLS and BD as fluxing agent in stoneware is possible.


We present ALMA observations of the Orion Nebula that cover the OMC1 outflow region. Our focus in this paper is on compact emission from protoplanetary disks. We mosaicked a field containing ∼600 near-IR-identified young stars, around which we can search for sub-millimeter emission tracing dusty disks. Approximately 100 sources are known proplyds identified with the Hubble Space Telescope. We detect continuum emission at 1 mm wavelengths toward ∼20% of the proplyd sample, and ∼8% of the larger sample of near-IR objects. The noise in our maps allows 4σ detection of objects brighter than ∼1.5 mJy, corresponding to protoplanetary disk masses larger than 1.5 MJ (using standard assumptions about dust opacities and gas-to-dust ratios). None of these disks are detected in contemporaneous CO(2-1) or C18O(2-1) observations, suggesting that the gas-to-dust ratios may be substantially smaller than the canonical value of 100. Furthermore, since dust grains may already be sequestered in large bodies in Orion Nebula cluster (ONC) disks, the inferred masses of disk solids may be underestimated. Our results suggest that the distribution of disk masses in this region is compatible with the detection rate of massive planets around M dwarfs, which are the dominant stellar constituent in the ONC.


This study aimed to depict Unnes students' ability in writing formal letters using English; design and develop correspondence material for English subject in Unnes; and evaluate the effectiveness of correspondence learning by applying Task Based Approach (TBA). This study has been done within a year in Universitas Negeri Semarang by using Research and Development approach. The results indicated that most of the students did not understand formal letter writing using English proven by their lack of knowledge about types of formal letter, letter style, and concept of letter sections. The main problems encountered by the students were garmmar, spelling, and punctuation. Thus, Task Based Approach (TBA) is an effective learning model to teach English correspondence. Correspondence material designing is an urgent need in regards to the advantages obtained by the students that is to develop their skills and ability in writing formal letter in English.


Neutrophil trafficking is essential for a strong and productive immune response to infection and injury. During acute inflammation, signals from resident immune cells, fibroblasts, and the endothelium help to prime, attract, and activate circulating neutrophils at sites of inflammation. Due to current limitations with in vitro and animal models, our understanding of these events is incomplete. In this paper, we describe a microfluidic technology which incorporates a lumen-based vascular component with a high degree of spatiotemporal control to facilitate the study of neutrophil trafficking using primary human cells. The improved spatiotemporal control allows functional selection of neutrophils based on their migratory capacity. We use this technology to investigate neutrophil-endothelial interactions and find that these interactions are necessary for robust neutrophil chemotaxis to interleukin-8 (IL-8) and priming of the neutrophils. In agreement with previous studies, we observed that transendothelial migration (TEM) is required for neutrophils to enter a primed phenotypic state. TEM neutrophils not only produce a significantly higher amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) when treated with PMA, but also upregulate genes involved in ROS production (CYBB, NCF1, NFKB1, NFKBIA), cell adhesion (CEACAM-8, ITGAM), and chemokine receptors (CXCR2, TNFRSF1A). These results suggest that neutrophil-endothelial interactions are crucial to neutrophil chemotaxis and ROS generation.


Transformational catalytic performance in rate and selectivity is obtainable through catalysts that change on the time scale of catalytic turnover frequency. In this work, dynamic catalysts are defined in the context and history of forced and passive dynamic chemical systems, with classification of unique catalyst behaviors based on temporally-relevant linear scaling parameters. The conditions leading to catalytic rate and selectivity enhancement are described as modifying the local electronic or steric environment of the active site to independently accelerate sequential elementary steps of an overall catalytic cycle. These concepts are related to physical systems and devices that stimulate a catalyst using light, vibrations, strain, and electronic manipulations including electrocatalysis, back-gating of catalyst surfaces, and introduction of surface electric fields via solid electrolytes and ferroelectrics. These catalytic stimuli are then compared for capability to improve catalysis across some of the most important chemical challenges for energy, materials, and sustainability.


This article argues against the conflation of digital and computational that ails contemporary critical discourse. Searching for a common logic among the three modes of computing (namely analog, digital, and quantum), it ends up finding an answer in the individuating backbone that runs through histories of postal, civic, and technological addresses. Borrowing the concept of addressability from computer science and adapting it to explain procedures of identificatory mapping at large, the article theorizes addressability as a cultural technique that can be traced back to the origins of the modern disciplinary state. In doing so, it not only posits addressability as one of the core operational logics for all computation and an alternative analytic to the digital but also suggests a longer arc of computation that considers the ubiquitous digitality as a mere subset of modern state apparatuses and their urban infrastructures. The article concludes by reflecting on this computational addressability and its relationship with ideological interpellation, proposing computation as a multiscalar assemblage of political techniken.


In this paper, we use a novel technique to solve the nonlinear fractional Volterra-Fredholm integro-differential equations (FVFIDEs). To this end, the Legendre wavelets are used in conjunction with the quadrature rule for converting the problem into a linear or nonlinear system of algebraic equations, which can be easily solved by applying mathematical programming techniques. Only a small number of Legendre wavelets are needed to obtain a satisfactory result. Better accuracies are also achieved within the method by increasing the number of polynomials. Furthermore, the existence and uniqueness of the solution are proved by preparing some theorems and lemmas. Also, error estimation and convergence analyses are given for the considered problem and the method. Moreover, some examples are presented and their results are compared to the results of Chebyshev wavelet, Nyström, and Newton-Kantorovitch methods to show the capability and validity of this scheme.


We make use of product integrals to provide an unambiguous mathematical representation of Wilson line and Wilson loop operators. Then, drawing upon various properties of product integrals, we discuss such properties of Wilson lines and Wilson loops as approximating them with partial sums, their convergence, and their behavior under gauge transformations. We also obtain a surface product integral representation for the Wilson loop operator. The result can be interpreted as the non-abelian version of Stokes theorem.


This paper discusses the problems of managing an acquisition windfall in a Nigerian university library after over a decade of acquisition drought brought about as a result of a serious downturn in the economy. The windfall, which came in the form of a World Bank $120 million facility to 20 federally owned Nigerian universities for the purchase of books, journals, library and laboratory equipment as well as staff training and expatriate supplementation, drastically changed acquisition patterns and rates in the affected university libraries. The responses by the library of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, to the challenges of involving the faculty in the book selection processes, ensuring balance, processing the orders and receiving the materials into the library are highlighted. Post World Bank faculty prospects of Nigerian university libraries are also explored.


We briefly review the existing database of supernova spectropolarimetry, concentrating on recent data and on results from our group's research. Spectropolarimetry provides the only direct known probe of early-time supernova geometry. To obtain reliable conclusions, however, it is very important to correctly account for interstellar polarization. We find that Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn) tend to be highly polarized, perhaps in part because of the interaction of the ejecta with an asymmetric circumstellar medium. In contrast, SNe II-P are not polarized much, at least shortly after the explosion. At later times, however, there is evidence for increasing polarization, as one views deeper into the expanding ejecta. Moreover, core-collapse SNe that have lost part (SN IIb) or all (SN Ib) of their hydrogen (or even helium; SN Ic) layers prior to the explosion tend to show substantial polarization; thus, the deeper we probe into core-collapse events, the greater the asphericity. There is now conclusive evidence that at least some SNe Ia are intrinsically polarized, although only by a small amount. Finally, SN spectropolarimetry provides the opportunity to study the fundamental properties of the interstellar dust in external galaxies. For example, we have found evidence for extremely high polarization efficiency for the dust along the line-of-sight to SN 1999gi in NGC 3184.


OBJECTIVE
The authors evaluated the efficacy of a new cognitive rehabilitation program on memory and functional performance of mildly impaired Alzheimer disease (AD) patients receiving a cholinesterase inhibitor.

METHODS
Twenty-five participants in the Cognitive Rehabilitation (CR) condition participated in two 45-minute sessions twice per week for 24 total sessions. CR training included face-name association tasks, object recall training, functional tasks (e.g., making change, paying bills), orientation to time and place, visuo-motor speed of processing, and the use of a memory notebook. Nineteen participants in the Mental Stimulation (MS) condition had equivalent therapist contact and number of sessions, which consisted of interactive computer games involving memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills.

RESULTS
Compared with the MS condition, participants in CR demonstrated improved performance on tasks that were similar to those used in training. Gains in recall of face-name associations, orientation, cognitive processing speed, and specific functional tasks were present post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION
A systematic program of cognitive rehabilitation can result in maintained improvement in performance on specific cognitive and functional tasks in mildly impaired AD patients.


Prison sentences vary depending on the crime committed. When sentences come to an end, prisoners return to society. Society does not just accept these prisoners back into everyday life with open arms. This paper explores the challenges incarcerated individuals experience when they reenter society after incarceration? The discussion focuses on the different challenges that these individuals face in their battle of entering back into society and being accepted by individuals in the communities they return to. Some key elements will focus on how reentry affects work, housing, rehabilitation and relationships.


A method is presented for calculating the light absorption and scattering characteristics of nondeveloped photographic layers. The diffusion of a large number of photons in the layer is simulated on a digital computer. The physical data entering into the computation are: (a) the probability-distribution function for the free path of a photon in the emulsion layer, (b) the probability-distribution function for angular scattering, (c) the thickness of the emulsion layer and of the base, and (d) the index of refraction of emulsion layer and base. The ratio k=σabs/(σabs+σscatt), in which σabs and σscatt are the cross sections for absorption and for scattering of the silver halide grains, is used as a variable parameter.The following results are obtained: (a) the modulation transfer function, (b) the total reflectance, transmittance, and absorption of the layer, and (c) the distribution of the absorbed light in the direction perpendicular to the emulsion plane. The convergence of the method is discussed. Results of the application thereof to a typical layer are given.


This study was set up to compare risk behaviours between IDU and no-IDU inmates and among IDUs and to elicit the differences of preventive and risk behaviours according to sex. It was carried out in the Baumettes Prison, France, from November 16 to December 21, 1992; 295 male and 137 female inmates were interviewed using a self-questionnaire checked by the medical staff. Twenty per cent of participants (85/432) declared to be IDU (heroin); half of them reported needle sharing. After adjustment for age and sex, the number of sexual partners during the last year was significantly higher among IDU inmates (more than two partners: 19% vs 9.5%); similarly, sexual intercourse with an IDU during the last five years was reported more frequently by IDUs (47% vs 5%). After adjustment for the number of sexual partners, the proportion of IDUs who declared using always condoms was higher than that of non-IDUs (30.5% vs 13%). IDUs reported a prior HIV testing more often than no-IDUs (93% vs 49%). Multidimensional analysis showed that IDU female inmates reported having been HIV tested (100% vs 88%), had sexual intercourse with an IDU (73.5% vs 25.5%) and practised needle sharing (62% vs 43%) more often than male IDU inmates. This survey shows that, beyond drug taking which is the main risk factor for HIV infection in the carceral population, sexual behaviours could be an additional risk factor among IDU inmates, especially among women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Target detection performance in ground-penetrating radar (GPR) deteriorates highly in the presence of clutter. Multi-scale (wavelet transform) or the recently proposed multi-scale and multi-directional decomposition based methods can efficiently remove the clutter, however they have high computational complexity. In this paper, we propose a new multi-scale method which requires only 1D fast subband decomposition of the rows of the GPR image. The resulting detail layers directly provide the clutter-free target component of the GPR image. The proposed method is compared to the state-of-art clutter removal methods both visually and quantitatively using a realistic simulated dataset which is constructed by the gprMax simulation software. The results show that the proposed 1D subband decomposition scheme approximates the classical 2D wavelet decomposition successfully and even presents a performance increase as well as a complexity decrease for fast decomposition methods based on lifting wavelet transform and a trous wavelet transform.


By removing the primary fines from an oxygen-delignified mill birch pulp, a fiber fraction was obtained having low metals content and no extractives. After DEDeD bleaching the fiber fraction had somewhat higher brightness and better brightness stability than the birch pulp containing the primary fines. The fines fraction was enriched with lignin, extractives, xylan, and metals. Bleaching the fines fraction in a QQP sequence did not affect the extractives, whereas a ZeQP sequence clearly reduced the extractives content. In a biorefinery concept, the fines fraction could be utilized as a source of xylan, fatty acids, sterols, and betulinol. Another possibility is to use the fines fraction unbleached or separately bleached as a bonding material in various fiber furnishes.


This article argues that it is both important and viable to develop a diachronic perspective on the profits of literary authors in the Low Countries. Up to now, conceptual and theoretical boundaries between different subdisciplines within Dutch literary studies have resulted in a compartmentalized, fragmentary narrative of the economic, social and symbolic profits of literary authors throughout the centuries. On the basis of a survey of the theoretical frameworks dominant in the subdisciplines of medieval, early modern and modern Dutch literature, we highlight the opportunities and difficulties for a diachronic perspective on financial advancement, focusing both on practice and discourse. In addition, we propose a schematic model that tries to overcome the difficulties and enables us to profit from the opportunities. This proposal allows for a sharper focus on both the practice of and discourse on literary authors' economic gain from a diachronic perspective.


Author(s): Hong, Aayoung | Advisor(s): Lo, Roger S | Abstract: About 50% of metastatic melanomas harbor BRAF V600 mutations, most commonly a V600E substitution, which constitutively hyper-activate the MAPK pathway and result in oncogene addiction. Therefore, the emergence of BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi) into the clinical arena have represented a true therapeutic paradigm shift for advanced melanomas. However, the almost universal occurrence of acquired resistance to BRAFi and the overabundance of initial partial responses (innate resistance) are urgent clinical problems that limit prolonged patient survival. Our recent efforts have identified 2 core resistance pathways exhibited in disease-progressive melanoma, MAPK reactivation mechanisms and PI3K–PTEN–AKT–upregulating genetic alterations. We hypothesized that these essential survival signaling pathways play a significant role in acute or adaptive resistance in BRAF-mutant melanoma. We observed that BRAF inhibition leads to early and adaptive PI3K–AKT pathway signaling, where preexisting determinants of AKT activation (e.g., PTEN mutation/expression status) limited this BRAFi-elicited PI3K–AKT signaling. However, the presence of a gain-of-function AKT mutant, for instance, would lift this restriction via BRAFi-mediated signal amplification. This study provided a mechanistic link between early, adaptive and late, acquired BRAF inhibitor resistance in melanoma, rationalizing clinical studies to target both MAPK and PI(3)K/AKT/mTOR pathways as combination therapy to delay tumor relapse. Combining BRAF/MEK targeted therapy, to combat acquired BRAFi resistance mechanisms reactivating the MAPK pathway, has been tested to be clinically superior to BRAFi monotherapy but is still challenged by acquired resistance. We show that melanomas acquire resistance to combined BRAF/MEK inhibition by augmenting or combining mechanisms observed in single-agent BRAFi resistance. Hyper-activated MAPK signaling configurations strongly favor ERK phosphorylation, leading to growth/survival finely tuned to the levels of dual inhibitors present. We show that excessive ERK rebound from MAPKi withdrawal induces cell-cycle slowdown (mediated by p38-FRA1-JUNB induction) in weakly addicted, MAPKi-resistant melanoma cells but cell death (by DNA damage and AIF cleavage) in strongly addicted cells. Insights on mechanisms of drug addiction have provided translational potential of novel combination therapy utilizing the synthetic lethality between ERK super-activation and DNA damage. Taken together, our studies have provided rationale for rapid translation of novel combination therapy to overcome relapse.


Many animals exhibit personality types, for example, with some individuals being consistently both more aggressive and more willing to explore novel situations than others. Often those behavioral syndromes are shaped by pleiotropic genetic and physiological mechanisms or joint selective pressures that constrain variation within and between 2 seemingly different types of behavior. Here, we used wild zebrafish to ask whether the behavioral syndromes typically measured within populations also occur across populations, as might be expected for syndromes created by forces such as a hormone with multiple effects. We found major differences across populations in both aggression and boldness. Zebrafish captured in the wild from running streams in Northern India were both bold and aggressive, approaching predators and conspecifics more frequently than did zebrafish from slower moving irrigation canals or a large, still, lake near Kolkata, India. We did not find any sites that were bold, but not aggressive, or aggressive, but not bold, suggesting that these behavioral combinations are not physiologically possible or that they are eliminated by population-level selection. Within populations, however, we found evidence for an aggression-boldness syndrome within only 1 of 5 measured populations (from an irrigation canal). Zebrafish also became markedly more aggressive after 3 months in a laboratory environment. These results offer a natural example of population-level personality types in wild organisms and show that population-level patterns and environmental plasticity may be as important as within-population constraints. Our work also confirms that wild zebrafish offer promising insight into higher order phenomena such as clade diversification and selection.


Striae are linear abrasion features on the rock surfaces, which are produced by relative motion of rock particles in contact (Atkins, 2004). Their genesis is reflected in morphology, orientation and relative position on the particle surface. Thus, they can be used as a tool to distinguish glacigenic from other diamictons and fault zones. So far, glacial striae have been found on 25 locations with Pleistocene in NW and SW Croatia. The locations in external Dinarides were described by Marjanac, 2012, whereas those in inland sections around Zagreb are currently under study. The studied glacial striations can be categorized by morphology (size, curvature and complexity), orientation, grouping and relationship (see Fig 1). The size categories are: microstriae ( 10 mm wide and/or >100 mm long). The curvature categories are: straight, curved and very curved whereas the complexity categories are: simple, grooved and complex. The orientation of striae is observed relative to clast long axis and can be (sub)parallel, oblique and perpendicular. The grouping categories are: single, chaotic/noise, parallel and grouped. The mutual relationship of striae can be described as spaced, in contact, superimposed and radial. The relationship of development of striae on clast lithology, size and shape is studied on clasts from 25 localitites in Dinarides, both External and Internal. The striations are well developed on calcerous clastics (Jelar breccia and Promina conglomerates) and limestones, but are less developed on dolomites and quite poor on sandstones. Their development potential is smaller in softer lithologies and that also applies to weathered magmatic and metamorfic rocks. The clast size shows no apparent relationship to abundance of striae but there is dependance of their sizes, where larger clasts by the rule harbour larger striae. Sphericity is also not in apparent relationship to abundance of striae while higher roundness normally supports more striations. Striations were found on most bullet shaped clasts. Conclusion The studied glacial striae are easy to distinguish from tectonic and antropogenic striae, although not always readily apparent to the untrained eye. Unlike tectonical striae (which are generally uniform, parallel, and developed on only one or on (sub)parallel clast faces) and antropogenic striae (which are shallow, often unweathered, with serrated edges due to small exerted pressure), glacial striae are variable in morfology, orientation, grouping and relationship. Their overlapping and divergent relationship documents rotation of clasts, and their number documents the abundance of hard objects within the moving mass of debris under heavy load of the overlaying ice. Recognition of glacial striae is crucial in correct interpretation of the genesis of glacigenic diamictons.


Directly driven ablative Rayleigh—Taylor (R—T) instability of modulated CH targets was studied using the face-on X-ray radiography on the Shen-Guang II device. We obtained temporal evolution images of the R—T instability perturbation. The R—T instability growth factor has been obtained by using the methods of fast Fourier transform and seeking the difference of light intensity between the peak and the valley of the targets. Through comparison with the the theoretical simulation, we found that the experimental data had a good agreement with the theoretical simulation results before 1.8 ns, and was lower than the theoretical simulation results after that.


Objective: To assess the additional benefits of individualized nutritional counselling by a registered dietitian in geriatric patients' home after discharge from hospital, in relation to risk of re-admissions, functional status, nutritional status, use of social services and mortality. Design: Twelve-week single-blind randomized controlled study. Setting and subjects: Geriatric medical patients (65+ years) at nutritional risk. Interventions: Participants were randomly allocated to receive a visit in their homes, either three individualized nutritional counselling by a registered dietitian complemented with three follow-up visits by general practitioners or three follow-up visits by general practitioners alone. Main measures: Primary outcome was risk of re-admissions. Secondary outcomes were functional status (hand grip strength, chair stand, mobility, disability and tiredness in daily activities, rehabilitation capacity), nutritional status (weight, BMI, energy and protein intake), need of social services (home care, home nursing, meals-on-wheels) and mortality. Results: One hundred and fifty-two patients were included; 132 (87%) completed the first and 124 (82%) the second data collection after 12 weeks. Ten per cent of the participants had three contacts with their general practitioner, while compliance with the dietetic intervention was almost 100%. Odds ratio for re-admission and mortality after 26 weeks was 1.62 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85 to 3.10) and 0.60 (95% CI 0.17 to 2.13). The intervention had a positive effect on functional status (i.e. mobility, P = 0.029), and nutritional status (i.e. weight, P = 0.035; energy intake, P < 0.001; protein intake, P = 0.001) and the use of meals-on wheels was reduced (P = 0.084). Conclusion: Follow-up home visits with registered dietitians have a positive effect on the functional and nutritional status of geriatric medical patients after discharge.


http://jpst.ripi.ir Journal of Petroleum Science and Technology 2018, 8(4), 3-15 © 2018 Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) ABSTRACT Aerogels are a special class of porous material, which have excellent physicochemical properties such as low density, high porosity, high surface area and adjustable surface chemistry. Aerogels were first prepared several decades ago, but never truly commercialized due to their high cost. Technological advancements in the production and quality of different types of aerogel cut costs down and market factors increase demand. Therefore, the viability of this porous material on the several applications has been widely studied. Among the various high-performance applications, aerogel has attracted significant attention as a chemical sorbent and catalyst for CO2 capture and conversion as well as methane conversion to value-added products. Although aerogel performance for zero CO2 emission to the environment is promising, some drawbacks of aerogels such as complicated drying process, mechanically weak structure and processing cost should also be considered in material development. Ultimately this review article will cover an overview regarding the aerogels synthesis, processing and their recent applications in CO2 capture and conversion.


Context-sensitive rewriting is a computational restriction of term rewriting used to model non-strict (lazy) evaluation in functional programming. The goal of this paper is the study and development of techniques to analyze the termination behavior of context-sensitive rewrite systems. For that purpose, several methods have been proposed in the literature which transform context-sensitive rewrite systems into ordinary rewrite systems such that termination of the transformed ordinary system implies termination of the original context-sensitive system. In this way, the huge variety of existing techniques for termination analysis of ordinary rewriting can be used for context-sensitive rewriting, too. We analyze the existing transformation techniques for proving termination of context-sensitive rewriting and we suggest two new transformations. Our first method is simple, sound, and more powerful than the previously proposed transformations. However, it is not complete, i.e., there are terminating context-sensitive rewrite systems that are transformed into non-terminating term rewrite systems. The second method that we present in this paper is both sound and complete. All these observations also hold for rewriting modulo associativity and commutativity.


Real-time grasping-force optimization is a vital problem in dextrous manipulation with multifingered robotic hands. In this paper, we review two prominent approaches that have recently been proposed for this problem, and identify their common need for an appropriate initial condition to start the recursive algorithms. Then, we propose an efficient algorithm that combines a linear-matrix-inequality method with a gradient method for automatic generation of initial conditions. By incorporating the initial conditions, optimal grasping forces can be generated efficiently in real time. Finally, we implement and evaluate all the algorithms for grasping-force control in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology three-fingered hand platform. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.


The Molecular Distance Geometry Problem consists in finding the three-dimensional conformation of a protein using some of the distances between its atoms provided by experiments of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. This is a continuous search problem that can be discretized under some assumptions on the known distances. We discuss the case where some of the distances are subject to uncertainty within a given nonnegative interval. We show that a discretization is still possible and propose an algorithm to solve the problem. Computational experiments on a set of artificially generated instances are presented.


Letters have been sent to tens of thousands of former practising nurses in England urging them to return to the profession.


Computer simulation has been applied to the investigation of intergranular stress corrosion cracking in Ni-based alloys based on a hydrogen embrittlement mechanism. The simulation employs computational modules that address (a) transport and reactions of aqueous species giving rise to hydrogen generation at the liquid-metal interface, (b) solid state transport of hydrogen via intergranular and transgranular diffusion pathways, and (c) fracture due to the embrittlement of metallic bonds by hydrogen. A key focus of the computational model development has been the role of materials microstructure (precipitate particles and grain boundaries) on hydrogen transport and embrittlement. Simulation results reveal that intergranular fracture is enhanced as grain boundaries are weakened and that microstructures with grains elongated perpendicular to the stress axis are more susceptible to cracking. The presence of intergranular precipitates may be expected to either enhance or impede cracking depending on the relative distribution of hydrogen between the grain boundaries and the precipitate-matrix interfaces. Calculations of hydrogen outgassing and in gassing demonstrate a strong effect of charging method on the fracture behavior.


This article focuses on the political and institutional process by which the privatisation policy was approved in Argentina during the 1990s. It concentrates mainly on the relationships that the President maintained with Congress and the political parties sitting in it. By looking through the lens of the privatisation case-study, the article aims to analyse the institutional capacity of Argentine democratic presidents to enact policy reforms. The article shows that the Presidency's constitutional resources in combination with the President's strong base of partisan support permitted the adoption of the innovative privatisation policy at an institutional level. However, the article also explains that the political and institutional resources of the Presidency were not invariable and permanent. Rather, the approval of the privatisation policy shows that policy-making processes involve a dialogue between President and Congress, an institutional interchange that can serve either to enhance or to constrain the powers of the President. By showing that congressional intervention should not be underestimated, this article claims that the Argentine presidential regime is better characterised as one of limited centralism than as an example of hyper-presidentialism. The first characterisation not only acknowledges the complexity of the institutional relations, but also the fact that, given a situation of presidential centralism, institutional relations are variable and, most importantly, contingent upon political conditions.


Therapeutic apheresis combined with pulse therapy with small doses of corticosteroids was used in 7 patients with secondary progressing multiple sclerosis (MS) during 4 years. Before perfusions, we investigated the lymphocyte sensitivity to methylprednisolone in vitro in the reaction of leukocyte migration with myelin basic protein in each patient. The introduction of test doses of corticosteroids in each patient's blood sample before perfusion procedures showed the different rate of leukocyte migration with the myelin basic protein. On this basis, we selected an individual optimal methylprednisolone dose that was infused intravenously just after each perfusion procedure. The number of patients sensitive to low doses of methylprednisolone increased after therapeutic apheresis. These findings allow to consider the reaction of leukocyte migration with the presence of myelin basic protein as a new method of individual selection of corticosteroid doses for increase of treatment efficacy of secondary progressing multiple sclerosis.


Background Intra-arterial (IA) administration of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is an important therapeutic modality in the treatment of acute stroke. Three randomized, multicenter, placebo controlled trials have been performed evaluating IA thrombolytics within 6 h of onset of acute ischemic stroke; two of the trials were positive on some but not all functional end points and a third trial showed non-significant trends on all outcomes. We performed a meta-analysis to estimate with more precision the effect of IA tPA on several key clinical end points. Methods We evaluated the PROACT, PROACT II and MELT trial methodologies to assess for compatibility in study protocols and statistical analysis. Data were then abstracted from these three trials and statistical analysis was performed using RevMan (RevMan V.5.0, The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Cochrane Collaboration, 2008). The following end points were evaluated: modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤1; mRS≤2; National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score 0 or 1; 90 day mortality; and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) within 24 h. Results Despite minor differences in protocols, the three trials appeared suitable for combined analysis. Functional outcomes were significantly improved by IA thrombolytic administration: IA thrombolytic treated patients were significantly more likely to have a mRS ≤1 (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.6); mRS ≤2 (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.9); and NIHSS score 0 or 1 (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3 to 4.4) at 90 day follow-up. There was no effect on mortality at 90 day (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.5 to 1.5). The risk of SICH was significantly increased in the active treatment arms (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 16). Conclusions Meta-analysis of the randomized trials assessing IA administration of thrombolytics demonstrates that all standard functional end points for stroke trials were substantially improved in the active treatment arms. Despite a significantly increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage, there was no net effect on mortality. These results support endovascular treatment of acute ischemic stroke patients with intra-arterial lytics.


ABSTRACT A November 2015 video broadcast of a high-level meeting of Russian military and defense industry officials gave viewers a peek at Russia's ostensive plans for Status-6, an underwater nuclear drone to be armed with a high-yield thermonuclear warhead capable of radioactively contaminating vast coastal areas. The author's analysis is that the video was staged to send an intimidating message to the West, and that the drone itself does not fit the Russian pattern of maintaining absolute, centralized control over nuclear weapons delivery. Nevertheless, the author considers the leaked video to be cause for concern, because it demonstrates a growing Russian willingness to make nuclear threats as a means to achieving political ends.


The concept of the "digital factory" has already been successfully implemented in the automotive and manufacturing industry. An adaption, following lean principles, to the construction site seems promising. Combining sensors, information technology, and approaches of Building information modeling (BIM) allows a cross-linking of construction machines and therefore offers a higher level of information transparency. This enables construction machines a faster way of discovering changes through the dynamics of the construction process (change of soil class, weather conditions, etc.). Higher transparency and reduced waste can lead not only to a higher utilization of one construction machine but also to a higher efficiency of the whole process chain by the related lean management methods. The collected information can also be used for a new and dynamic type of allocation of the construction machines based on a flexible Kanban system. An improved constructive cooperation and coordination (e.g. reduced waiting or unproductive times) ensures that potentials will be exploited and a value maximization achieved. This paper will show a theoretical model, based on expert interviews and stochastic simulations. It provides an estimation of the implementation cost and running expenses in comparison with the mentioned potential for optimization.


ABSTRACT Robust security measures are integrated into new release versions of operating systems (OSs) to ensure that users have a more secure and reliable environment in which to run their daily tasks. In this article, through extensive practical experiments, we evaluate and compare the resilience of popular versions of Microsoft Windows OSs and Apple Mac OS X against Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache poisoning attack in a local area network (LAN). The experimental results demonstrate clearly that all tested versions of Windows OSs and Apple Mac OS X are vulnerable to the ARP cache poisoning attack, and do not deploy built-in efficient security features to prevent success of this attack. In addition, the experimental results directly contradict the common belief that Windows OSs are always less secure than Apple OSs. On the other hand, the article analyzes the efforts that have been made and the different methods that have been applied to detect and prevent ARP cache poisoning attacks. The article shows that none of these efforts and methods has been able to give satisfactory results.