To the editor: A 69-year-old man presents with cough and SOB approximately 3.5 years following diagnosis of a poorly differentiated acute lymphocytic leukemia (progenitor cell phenotype). By flow cytometry, the initial leukemia in 1998 was positive for HLA-DR, CD34, and CD45 and negative for lymphoid and myeloid markers including: CD3, CD5, CD7, CD19, CD10, CD20, CD13, CD33, CD11b, and CD14; CD1a and S-100 protein staining were not available on this sample. A pathologic diagnosis of a progenitor cell leukemia most suggestive of acute lymphocytic leukemia was made. The patient received induction therapy in November 1998 and achieved a complete remission. Consolidation therapy was discontinued after one cycle due to severe cytopenias. Maintenance therapy was discontinued after 6 months secondary to methotrexate-induced hepatoxicity. Approximately 3.5 years after the initial diagnosis, the patient presented with back pain and leg weakness and found to have a paraspinal mass with cord compression. He underwent surgical resection followed by consolidative radiation. The lesion (see Fig. 1) was composed of sheets of medium to large sized mitotically active cells with relatively abundant cytoplasm. Occasional multinucleated tumor giant cells were also identified. The cell nuclei were vesicular with irregular contour and occasional grooves. Considering the remote history of a lymphocytic leukemia and the morphologic features which raised the possibility of an epithelioid/dendritic cell neoplasm, a panel of immunohistochemical stains was used to characterize the lesion. The tumor cells were positive for vimentin, CD1a, S-100 protein, CD43 and focally for keratins, CD45, CD68, and lysozyme. Negative immunostains included EMA, Melan-A, CD3, CD20, CD21, CD35, Kappa and Lambda light chains, and MPO. Leder's histochemical stain was negative. Based on the morphology and the immunohistochemical profile, a diagnosis of a dendritic cell neoplasm most consistent with Langerhans cell sarcoma was rendered. Electron microscopic studies were not performed. Bone marrow biopsy revealed trilineage hematopoiesis with no evidence of leukemic involvement. Approximately 2 months later, he developed a similar soft tissue mass in the right upper chest extending into the right supraclavicular area. Radiation treatment resulted in a complete clinical response in the chest mass and he had no evidence of progression for 1 year. The patient then developed shortness of breath and fevers. A CXR showed a right upper lobe infiltrate. A bronchoscopy was performed and biopsy specimens showed LCH. The patient was treated with a course of Cladribine, but did not respond. The patient died from pulmonary complications of LCH. The morphologic features of the para spinal lesion and the autopsy lesions (in the lungs, thyroid, and multiple intra-abdominal lymph nodes) were similar. Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder involving the proliferation of the specialized langerhans histiocyte normally found primarily in the skin. LCH affects children in 66–90% of case reports and has an incidence in adults of 1–2 per million population based on case series [1–3]. LCH has been associated with malignancy, including malignant lymphoma and solid tumors in adults and children [3]. While LCH has been associated with acute leukemia, a literature review reveals only 15 cases where LCH occurred after acute leukemia; all but one case were in children [4,5,6,11]. LCH, formerly histiocytosis X, is a clonal proliferative disease, however, the pathogenesis remains unclear [3]. The disease ranges in severity and presentation and can affect virtually any organ system [2]. Diagnosis of LCH depends on the identification of the tumor cells. These cells are antigen presenting and express HLA-DR and CD1a. Langerhans cells have characteristic HX bodies (Birbeck granules) in the cytoplasm [3]. LCH is associated with a variety of neoplasms and chemotherapy. In one study of 47 patients over the age of 15, 17% had an associated hematological or solid tumor [7]. Of the cases currently reviewed in the literature, the relationship between malignancy and LCH remains unclear as LCH may precede, develop concurrently, or as in this case, develop after malignancy. The relationship between LCH and ALL may be explained by several mechanisms including a chance occurrence, treatment induced effect, a common progenitor cell, or a cytokine-mediated phenomenon. A registry of patients in whom LCH was associated with malignancy was established in 1991. LCH was most frequently associated with malignant lymphoma, leukemia, and lung carcinoma. A series looking at LCH in adults included an association with breast cancer as well [7]. The first review of the registry, in 1994, included 91 patients with LCH associated with malignancy. Of those 91 patients, five patients had LCH associated with ALL. In four of the five cases, ALL preceded the diagnosis of LCH by 6–12 months [6]. A later review of the registry included an additional seven cases of LCH preceded by ALL. In each of the seven cases, LCH was diagnosed while the patients were receiving chemotherapy [5]. Only patients less than 18 years of age at the time of diagnosis were included in the report, excluding two patients with LCH associated with malignancy ages 75 and 79. The time course in these cases suggests a chemotherapy-related pathogenesis of LCH either by chemo induced mutagenesis or immunosuppression. Raj et al. describe a case of a 7-year-old male who developed LCH 2 years after the completion of chemotherapy for ALL [8]. This time frame suggests that development of LCH was not related to immunosuppression. In support of this hypothesis, Raj et al. demonstrated that the standard tests for Tand B-cell function in their patient were normal [8]. More recent reports also support an alternative pathogenesis of LCH developing after ALL. Feldman et al. report on two cases of LCH developing after ALL in children. They demonstrate a clonal relationship between the two neoplasms in each patient with identical T-cell receptor rearrangements [9]. A follow-up study by Rodig et al. in these two patients investigating a role for NOTCH1 did not show evidence to suggest that the lineage switch was mediated through NOTCH1 down regulation [12]. However, progenitor cells with lymphoid and dendric cell potential remains a likely mechanism for the observed relationship of these two neoplasms. While NOTCH1 expression is known to influence cell fate, there are other epigenetic factors that play a role including the cytokine environment. Interestingly, Ko et al. describe two cases of LCH and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma in the same lymph node both of which were CD561. The Feldman cases were also CD561, although most LCH are not CD561 [9,10]. CD56 function in hematopoietic cells is unclear. Much of the literature regarding LCH and malignancy relies on pediatric populations. As noted by Tavernier et al., because adult patients with ALL Fig. 1. Infiltrate of atypical cells with occasional grooved nuclei and with scattered multinucleated cells. Insert shows that the tumor cells are positive for CD1a. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which is available at www.interscience. wiley.com.] Correspondence


Software is taking a leading role in automotive development and innovation. It is commonly estimated that software and electronics account for 90% of all innovations. Already today cost for software and electronics in current premium cars make up 40% of the overall cost. The applications are not anymore limited to classical embedded control systems, such as airbag control software, but cover a broad range from mission critical embedded systems in the X-by-wire field, driver assistance to infotainment and personalization in the MMI (Man Machine Interface) area.


Background Mountain Rescue Teams in Snowdonia endeavour to use pelvic splints as per JRCALC guidelines. However, mountain casualties with major mechanisms of injury are often found in precarious locations where application of splints is challenging. We wondered whether the pelvic fractures seen in mountain casualties are of the type likely to benefit from splintage. Method The Bangor Mountain Medicine database (all casualties brought to Ysbyty Gwynedd following contact with MRT and/or RAF SAR helicopter) Jan 2004–October 2012 was interrogated and pelvic fracture cases identified. Fracture type was analysed from all available imaging using the Tile classification by a Consultant musculoskeletal radiologist. For fatalities, post-mortem reports were examined. Results Of 913 casualties in the study period, 730 (80%) were injured rather than ill. 18/730 (2.5%) of trauma casualties had a confirmed pelvic fracture. 14/18 (78%) had fallen from height; 2 were mountain-biking; one crashed his paraglider and one sustained an acetabular fracture in a simple fall. 4.3% of casualties who had fallen from a height greater than standing sustained a pelvic fracture. 2/18 died at scene: post-mortem reports implied severe pelvic disruption but could not be classified further. In a further 3 cases, imaging was not available, leaving 13 cases for radiological analysis. 13/13 (100%) of fractures could be classified using the Tile system: 61% A1, 31% A2 and 8% C2. Conclusion Pelvic fractures are uncommon in Snowdonia mountain casualties, and, in survivors, the vast majority are stable (92%, cf. 55% in urban casualties). Severe pelvic disruption was seen only in casualties declared dead at scene. Only one casualty in a nine-year period had a pelvic fracture that might benefit from a pelvic splint. Our data suggests that application of pelvic splints need not be considered a high priority in mountain casualties, especially in precarious locations.


The Netherlands is historically known as one of worlds' best-measured countries. It is continuing this tradition today with unequalled new datasets, such as the nationwide large-scale topographic map, our unique digital height map (nationwide coverage; ten very accurate 3D points for every Dutch m2) and a range of public and private collections of environmental and socio-economic geo-datasets. Despite the wealth of existing and well-maintained geoinformation (GI), the access to GI for our academic community is rather poor. In particular, science domains discovering the enabling power of GI have difficulties in accessing and using it. Initial analysis shows that i) legal and commercial licence restrictions, ii) technical inability to deal with more advanced types of spatial data and iii) lack of awareness are the top three barriers preventing large uptake in science. This is a missed opportunity to achieve scientific breakthroughs in a wide range of scientific disciplines. Nowadays, science groups gain competitive advantage through using the ICT infrastructure in a creative and productive way. As 80% of all data has a spatial component, the emerging availability of GI and the growing ability for real time monitoring make it a very powerful enabler in many scientific fields. Maps4Science will provide scientists with the required geo-information and associated tools and services for discovery and analysis. It will provide a geo-ICT infrastructure to allow unrestricted experimentation, linking and discovery of information, as much as possible. Setting up such a facility requires a combined effort of several universities, research organisations and data providers. Maps4Science will provide the science community with an adequate infrastructure overcoming the main barriers: accessibility, handling of huge spatial datasets and awareness. It will perform research to create and renew the facility in the fields of: Digital Rights Management - in particular related to the issues regarding geo-information; Spatial Cyber Infrastructure (SCI) - related to handling huge datasets and services for processing spatial data; Science-with-GI - addressing the science cases of various academic domains (provide SCI requirements and validate if these are met). In addition, the facility will study the SCI itself as a scientific field in which the Netherlands have achieved a Top-5 position worldwide which will be reinforced. The SCI research results will be implemented in the operational facility. The facility will need a 2 year initial stage to start and develop its required SCI. This will be followed by a 5 year operational stage. In its 5 year operational stage the facility will develop science and talent cases that will exploit the abilities of this facility in creating science that makes a difference. The consortium includes the participation of university libraries, DANS, and main data producers. They will play a role in continuation of the facility after its conclusion. The living lab will consist of a community construction with public and private bodies to recognize and develop potential valorisation aspects. This may include participation in EU calls for FP7 and FP8 or ICT Research. The facility will require a budget of 22,8 M€ of investments, operational costs and additional research. Consortium partners will bring in at least 25% of own contributions (today already spent on sub-optimal local facilities), possibly much more if the value of the geo-data provided and maintained by partners is considered.


This is a study of the contexts in which urban experimentation flourishes. I aim to understand how favourable environments for experimentation form and how they may be mobilised to generate the capacities that underpin urban transformations. Experiments - practice-based, learning-oriented, and challenge-led initiatives and projects - feature prominently in contemporary attempts to rekindle urban governance to address climate change and foster sustainability. Despite current research interest, how certain cities sustain vibrant experimentation and whether that generates transformative capacities remain underexplored.
Research on urban experimentation is blooming within the field of sustainability transitions. However, there is little clarity about how place and context matter. The uneven geographies of experimentation are under-conceptualised. Most empirical research traces specific experiments or sequences of experiments associated with a given technology. Hence, there is a neglect of the multiplicity of experimental processes embedded in a particular urban context. To address these issues, I draw, critique and expand on strategic niche management and the geography of transitions, to argue for an alternative analytical strategy and conceptualisation of urban experimentation.
The thesis begins with an extended background chapter engaging with conceptual debates on the role of urban experimentation in urban transformations, followed by three interlocking research articles. The first presents a place-based approach and a case study of the environment for civic energy experimentation in Bristol (UK). The second scrutinises studies on the contexts for urban experimentation, deriving three lenses that facilitate context-sensitive studies to pluralise the debate on how to foment experimentation. The third examines the contextual dynamics influencing the mobility experiments and development of transformative capacities in Medellin (Colombia).
My research contributes to understanding how experiments and context co-evolve, highlighting the recurring dynamics which allow the generation and retention of urban transformative capacity. It enables stakeholders to reflect on how to mobilise experimentation to further urban transformations.


Using the familiar insight that principals and agents can jointly gain by reducing agency costs, this essay argues (1) that lawyers hoping to attract clients should seek to improve the quality of representation in mass tort cases and to signal their reliability and honesty; (2) that lawyers have sought to adopt innovations that would reduce agency costs, including governance arrangements designed to address monitoring problems, facilitate collective choice by clients, and provide in advance for the allocation of settlement funds; (3) that courts, relying on state bar rules and other laws designed for single-client representations, have undermined lawyers' efforts by stifling these innovations; and (4) that, by preventing lawyers from innovating, judges have insulated agency problems in mass tort representations from attack and have disserved clients despite seeking to protect them. This essay comments on articles by other authors that were presented at a conference on the American Law Institute's Project on the Principles of Aggregate Litigation, of which the author is Associate Reporter. The papers and this essay will be published in a symposium issue of the George Washington Law Review in 2011.


Electromagnetic fields in uniaxial anisotropic media can be obtained based on spherical vector wave functions in isotropic media. Applying the boundary conditions of electromagnetic fields on each interface of an impedance sphere coated with a uniaxial anisotropic layer, the expansion coefficients of electromagnetic fields in the uniaxial anisotropic medium and free space can be derived. The present method is very general, which can be reduced to many isotropic subcases. The present method has been validated in those subcases. Scattering by an impedance sphere with an anisotropic coating is presented and discussed.


Infrastructure, specifically Transportation forms the backbone for the continuous development of any country and its economy. The cities around the world are facing critical problems due to improper planning and non implementation of modern transportation techniques. Metro being Low Carbon Transport, it is considered as an Eco Sustainable solution to reduce pollution in the city. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the requirement of implementation of metro rail system in an important corridor (Porur to Kamarajar Salai) in Chennai city (India). Methods/Statistical Analysis: In the present work Chennai city is divided into various zones for easy identification and demarcation. The population growth and the vehicle growth along the corridor for the base year 2015 are projected for the future. The survey of passengers in the corridor is done online using Google forms under various headings like trip purpose, trip time, trip cost, trip mode etc. Findings: The results provide the summary details of the existing scenario of the transportation density and its viability for future expansion in this sector. The passengers expect the metro rail travel cost to be around the expenses incurred per kilometre travel in their present mode of transport. Rs.30/- per metro trip is levied in the Corridor- I by Metro is almost closer to the expenses incurred by the commuters in Porur-KamarajarSalai Corridor, making the patronage favourable towards metro. The results of travel characteristics especially the trip purpose and trip distance give a cutting edge in the Sustainability of metro rail in the longer run. The short distance trip by daily trip users will bring more revenues for metro with regards to the infrastructure investment and running cost. The survey shows that the sure patronage of commuters is 84% i.e., are willing to switch over to Metro Rail for commuting, once the services are available. The travel comfort and reduction in travel time are the main considerations in preferring metro rail. It is seen from the analysis that this corridor requires immediate attention for the implementation of the metro rail system before it becomes too late. Application/Improvement: This method is a quick application for finding out the feasibility study on any corridor taking into consideration the details pertaining to the particular corridor and its surroundings. This study involves only the important characteristics that play a cardinal significance on the outcome. Hence it is closer to reality in identifying the information quickly.


Hi-early cement. Aiguille. Darby. You' re in the middle of a home improvement project and suddenly you' re confronted with words you' ve never seen before. You don' t know what these things are, how to use them or how you' re supposed to even recognize them at the hardware store. Help is here for every homeowner or do-it-yourselfer who' s ever stumbled over strange terminology, misleading instructions or inadequate explanations. Now, with this unique, fully illustrated dictiona you' ll have the one tool every successful do-it-yourselfer needs-- a complete understanding of your next home improvement project. This comprehensive dictionary features: Straightforward, plain-English explanations covering 4,000 building tools, terms, materials, and techniques-- 850 of which are shown in practical, helpful, cross-referenced illustrations Complete coverage of building, plumbing, electrical wiring, solar heating, hardware, architecture, heating, air conditioning, and more-- including everything from archaic and slang expressions to the latest technical information Dozens of useful charts, tables, and illustrated guides to common abbreviations, lumber, and plywood grades, hardware specifications, construction measurements and formulas-- a wealth of reference information Full cross-referencing and grouping of related terms under a single heading to keep all the information you need accessible and ready to put to work Tackle your next project with this do-it-yourselfer' s reference power tool and feel the self-assurance that comes from knowing every professional term, technique, and tool-- no matter how obscure.


Crystal orientation fabric – i.e. the spatial distribution of crystal c-axes in a defined depth interval – and its evolution with depth contain information on deformation processes in the ice column. Recent pilot studies on Alpine and polar ice indicate that fabric evolution provides more information than just on deformation if examined on the sub-meter scale, where the interaction between climate-related impurities and fabric evolution, i.e. their mutual influence, comes into focus and needs to be investigated.
We studied crystal orientation fabric from an Alpine ice core from Colle Gnifetti (4450 m asl, Monte Rosa,
Switzerland), a small glacier saddle with low net accumulation which is uniquely suited as a test site for studies under polar conditions.
We calculated orientation tensor eigenvalues as measure for fabric strength in cm-resolution for several depth ranges of about 1 m between the firn-ice-transition and bed rock of the 73 m long ice core drilled in 2013. We found significant variations of fabric strength occurring within only 10 cm in all assessed depth ranges, revealing a complex anisotropic ice structure.
In order to understand the mechanisms that lead to the observed short-scale variability we evaluated impurity data in cm-resolution from continuous flow analysis of the ice core. As a new approach we collected sub-mm impurity data from several features of the ice microstructure, where fabric changes occur, by means of a new laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry technique to explore the direct comparison of sub-mm impurity data and ice microstructure.


Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infects nearly 500 million persons globally, with an estimated 21 million incident cases each year, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). HSV-2 is associated with increased human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) acquisition, and this risk does not decline with the use of antiherpes drugs. As initial acquisition of both HIV and HSV-2 infections is subclinical, study of the initial molecular interactions of the two agents requires an animal model. We found that HSV-2 can infect RM after vaginal inoculation, establish latency in the nervous system, and spontaneously reactivate; these features mimic some of the key features of HSV-2 infection in women. RM may provide an animal model to develop strategies to prevent HSV-2 acquisition and reactivation. ABSTRACT Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) is a common sexually transmitted infection with a highly variable clinical course. Many infections quickly become subclinical, with episodes of spontaneous virus reactivation. To study host–HSV-2 interactions, an animal model of subclinical HSV-2 infection is needed. In an effort to develop a relevant model, rhesus macaques (RM) were inoculated intravaginally with two or three HSV-2 strains (186, 333, and/or G) at a total dose of 1 × 107 PFU of HSV-2 per animal. Infectious HSV-2 and HSV-2 DNA were consistently shed in vaginal swabs for the first 7 to 14 days after each inoculation. Proteins associated with wound healing, innate immunity, and inflammation were significantly increased in cervical secretions immediately after HSV-2 inoculation. There was histologic evidence of acute herpesvirus pathology, including acantholysis in the squamous epithelium and ballooning degeneration of and intranuclear inclusion bodies in epithelial cells, with HSV antigen in mucosal epithelial cells and keratinocytes. Further, an intense inflammatory infiltrate was found in the cervix and vulva. Evidence of latent infection and reactivation was demonstrated by the detection of spontaneous HSV-2 shedding post-acute inoculation (102 to 103 DNA copies/swab) in 80% of RM. Further, HSV-2 DNA was detected in ganglia in most necropsied animals. HSV-2-specifc T-cell responses were detected in all animals, although antibodies to HSV-2 were detected in only 30% of the animals. Thus, HSV-2 infection of RM recapitulates many of the key features of subclinical HSV-2 infection in women but seems to be more limited, as virus shedding was undetectable more than 40 days after the last virus inoculation. IMPORTANCE Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infects nearly 500 million persons globally, with an estimated 21 million incident cases each year, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). HSV-2 is associated with increased human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) acquisition, and this risk does not decline with the use of antiherpes drugs. As initial acquisition of both HIV and HSV-2 infections is subclinical, study of the initial molecular interactions of the two agents requires an animal model. We found that HSV-2 can infect RM after vaginal inoculation, establish latency in the nervous system, and spontaneously reactivate; these features mimic some of the key features of HSV-2 infection in women. RM may provide an animal model to develop strategies to prevent HSV-2 acquisition and reactivation.


Water saturation in the bedrock or colluvium is highly related to most landslide hazards, and rainfall is likely a crucial factor. The dynamic processes of onsite rock/soil mechanics could be revealed via monitoring using the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technique and Archie's law. This study aims to investigate water saturation changes over time using time-lapse ERT images, providing a powerful method for monitoring landslide events. A fully automatic remote resistivity monitoring system was deployed to acquire hourly electrical resistivity data using a nontraditional hybrid array in the Lantai area of Yilan Taiping Mountain in Northeast Taiwan from 2019 to 2021. Six subzones in borehole ERT images were examined for the temporal and spatial resistivity variations, as well as possible pathways of the groundwater. Two representative cases of inverted electrical resistivity images varying with precipitation may be correlated with water saturation changes in the studied hillslope, implying the process of rainfall infiltration. Layers with decreased and increased electrical resistivity are also observed before sliding events. Accordingly, we suggest that high-frequency time-lapse ERT monitoring could play a crucial role in landslide early warning.


A Cable Discharge Event (CDE) is an electrostatic discharge between a cable and a connector. CDEs occur on unshielded Ethernet based communication interfaces and inject currents into the pins directly [1-3]. The charging processes are in general understood; however, the discharge processes are complicated due to the number of pins involved and their connections to a system. Based on an understanding of the factors which determine the severity of a CDE, this article describes how to setup a variety of repeatable CDE tests and how to analyze the measurement results.


Given its various accomplishments and distinctions, the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth in Bordentown, New Jersey (which existed from 1886-1955), is surprisingly little known in the state or among historians of education. A state-supported boarding school for boys and girls, it combined a solid academic program with practical work experience through a highly structured school day and a dedicated faculty that also lived on campus. Its mission was to direct students, many from unstable backgrounds, into stable jobs or further education. Though frequently called "Tuskegee of the North," the school as led by long-time principal William R. Valentine was arguably influenced as much by John Dewey, who in a 1915 book about progressive education had praised another school Valentine headed earlier. As a meeting place for black cultural leaders in the state from the 1920s through the 1940s, the school also exposed its students to avenues through life that could enable them to become leaders themselves. Thus, the school can be viewed as manifesting the priorities articulated by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, as well as by Dewey.


Feminism internationally aims to realizing the liberation of women from all types of oppression and providing solidarity among women of all countries. However, the remarkable difference is growing gap between North and South. Women from the North are harvesting the fruits of capitalism and global economy, whereas women from the South are all too often confronted with poverty and terrible labor conditions. The aim of this review is to analyze the African and Western feminism philosophical debate and its implication for women's rights in Ethiopia context. All available materials were reviewed. The analysis revealed that the difference between Western and Third world feminism is found in their conceptualization of women as the subject of struggles. Third World feminism considers gender discrimination neither the sole nor perhaps the primary locus of oppression of Third World women. According to them, other types of oppression like racism and economic exploitation also to be defeated.  In their view, feminism is more widely defined as a struggle against all forms of injustice to attain advancements in women's rights.  Despite of this, women's movements worldwide seem to concern themselves with the same grand themes on women's rights like women's legal and political rights, and reproductive rights in Third world countries including Ethiopia. The review concludes that Western feminism has negative implication for women's rights in Third World countries, including Ethiopia. While, African feminism is positive implication for Third World countries to women's rights since it considers both reproductive and productive roles of women. Therefore, the federal government of Ethiopia should follow African feminism and revise the laws, regulations and policies to protect women's rights especially on the issues of harmful traditional practices (HTP), reproductive rights and public spheres participation by considering women's in the world.

 Key words: Feminism, comparative analysis, philosophical debate, African feminism, Western feminism, women's rights, Ethiopia.


Digital algorithms for robust detection of phase arrivals in the presence of stationary and nonstationary noise have a long history in seismology and have been exploited primarily to reduce the amount of data recorded by data logging systems to manageable levels. In the present era of inexpensive digital storage, however, such algorithms are increasingly being used to flag signal segments in continuously recorded digital data streams for subsequent processing by automatic and/or expert interpretation systems. In the course of our development of an automated, near-real-time, waveform correlation event-detection and location system (WCEDS), we have surveyed the abilities of such algorithms to enhance seismic phase arrivals in teleseismic data streams. Specifically, we have considered envelopes generated by energy transient (STA/LTA), Z-statistic, frequency transient, and polarization algorithms. The WCEDS system requires a set of input data streams that have a smooth, low-amplitude response to background noise and seismic coda and that contain peaks at times corresponding to phase arrivals. The algorithm used to generate these input streams from raw seismograms must perform well under a wide range of source, path, receiver, and noise scenarios. Present computational capabilities allow the application of considerably more robust algorithms than have been historically used in real time. However, highly complex calculations can still be computationally prohibitive for current workstations when the number of data streams become large. While no algorithm was clearly optimal under all source, receiver, path, and noise conditions tested, an STA/LTA algorithm incorporating adaptive window lengths controlled by nonstationary seismogram spectral characteristics was found to provide an output that best met the requirements of a global correlation-based event-detection and location system.


Objective: To analyze the difference of dosimetric parameters between pre-plan and post-plan of 125I radioactive seed implantation assisted by 3D printing individual non-coplanar template (3D printing template) for locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). Methods: From February 2016 to April 2016, a total of 10 patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer received 125I seeds implantation under CT guidance assisted by 3D printing template in Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital.Each patient underwent CT simulation, three-dimentional treatment planning pre-implantation, 3D printing template design, radioactive seed implantation assisted by 3D printing template and dosimetric verification post implantation. The median activity of seed was 0.63 mCi (0.58 to 0.7 mCi) (2.15- 2.59×107 Bq), and the median number of seeds was 80 (19 to 192). D90, D100, V100, V150, CI, EI, HI, D5cc, D2cc of bladder and bowel of pre-plan and post-plan were calculated, respectively.Paired t test was used to evaluate the difference of dosimetric parameters between pre-plan and post-plan. Results: The median D90 of pre-plan and post-plan were 13 761.0 and 12 798.8 cGy, respectively.The median D100 of pre-plan and post-plan were 5 293.6 and 5 397.9 cGy, respectively.The median V100 of pre-plan and post-plan were 90.0% and 90.0%, respectively.The median V150 of pre-plan and post-plan were 63.8% and 62.4%, respectively.The median CI of pre-plan and post-plan were 0.73 and 0.67.The median EI of pre-plan and post-plan were 0.22 and 0.30, respectively. The median HI of pre-plan and post-plan were 0.29 and 0.31.The median bladder D2cc of pre-plan and post-plan were 3 088.8 and 4 240.4 cGy, respectively.The median bowel D2cc of pre-plan and post-plan were 7 051.6 and 7 903.9 cGy, respectively. Conclusions: 3D printing template might be helpful for locally recurrent rectal cancer patients who received 125I radioactive seed implantation assisted by 3D printing individual template.Seed implantation might have more chances to achieve prescription dose and dose limitation of organs at risk of pre-plan, which is important for precise implantation and quality control.


This work presents the validation of satellite (TMPA and IMERG) rainfall products against the India Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded data sets (0.25° × 0.25°) of dense network of rain gauges distributed over the monsoon core region of India. The validation uses the data sets covering the 20 years (1998–2017) and detects the time series bias; inter annual variations and Intra Seasonal Oscillations (ISO). The bias in the two data sets is found to be very less over the core region compared to whole India. The correlation between daily rainfall IMD and satellite is found to be +0.88 which is of 99% confidence level. The dominant periodicities in the rainfall patterns of IMD and satellite are Madden Julie Oscillation (30–60 days) and local oscillations (less than 20 days) are conspicuous and the normalized power varies from year to year. During the El Niño and La Niña years, the normalized power of rainfall pattern is low and high in satellite data sets which infer the suppressed and strongest activity of MJO over Indian Ocean that modulates the rainfall pattern over India.


While electoral gender quotas are rapidly disseminating all over the world, they are also meeting with fierce resistance. A closer look at quota debates reveals that a considerable number of arguments for and against quotas take the form of quotas. This article identifies a number of key predictions from the quota debate in relation to three dimensions: descriptive representation, substantive representation and symbolic representation. Through examples from the growing quota research, the article discusses how nine selected pairs of predictions have been or could be tested empirically. By this we hope to move the discussion of quotas away from the present deadlock between quota proponents and opponents. A central argument made is that the differences in research results do not only derive from variations between the countries, but also from the use of disparate criteria of evaluation. The article points to the need for clarification and the development of common concepts and criteria.


Transport measurements are presented up to fields of 29 T in the recently discovered heavy-fermion superconductor UTe_{2} with magnetic field H applied along the easy magnetization a axis of the body-centered orthorhombic structure. The thermoelectric power varies linearly with temperature above the superconducting transition, T_{SC}=1.5  K, indicating that superconductivity develops in a Fermi liquid regime. As a function of field the thermoelectric power shows successive anomalies which appear at critical values of the magnetic polarization. Remarkably, the lowest magnetic field instability for H∥a occurs for the same critical value of the magnetization (0.4  μ_{B}) than the first order metamagnetic transition at 35 T for field applied along the b axis. It can be clearly identified as a Lifshitz transition. The estimated number of charge carriers at low temperature reveals a metallic ground state distinct from LDA calculations indicating that strong electronic correlations are a major issue.


Aim: Anti-diabetic evaluation of Vernonia amygdalina and Ocimum gratissimum on alloxan induced diabetic rats was investigated. Methods: Thirty rats were divided into six groups of five per group. The rats were fed with aqueous and ethanolic plant extracts of the plants. Results: On day 2 post induction, fasting blood glucose of all the animals across the groups increased significantly (P<0.05) compared to pre induction across all the six groups for both water extract and ethanolic extract treated groups. On day 8 post induction (ethanolic extract), O. gratissimum had the lowest fasting blood glucose of 81 (±10.02) mg/dl when compared to other test groups while the highest fasting blood glucose of 600 (±0.00) mg/dl was observed in alloxan only group. On day 8 post induction (water extract) the control group, glibenclamide group, O. gratissimum group, all recorded reduced fasting blood glucose level of 98 (±6.35) mg/dl, 98.33 (±7.27) mg/dl, 105.67 (±10.02) mg/dl, 305.67 (±68) mg/dl respectively compared to values obtained on day 6 post induction. A drastic reduction in body weight of animals in groups treated with V. amygdalina, combined extract, glibenclamide and alloxan only can be observed (for both ethanolic and water extract treated groups). Out of all the extracts used, the extract of O. gratissimum significantly reduced the fasting blood glucose and increased the body weight of the rats at the end of the experiment. Conclusion: O. gratissimum can be used to reduce elevated blood glucose of diabetic animals, and it proved to be more potent than V. amygdalina.


In the manufacturing organization cost or more specifically cost reduction is an everyday obsession with managers and engineers. To compete globally and win new contracts, manufacturing firms need to learn how to be responsive, lean and efficient. On the other hand, in order to retain and motivate workers, improve systems efficiency and conform to various regulations including health, safety and the environment, manufacturing firms need to continuously invest. Both opposing pressures create a challenging environment for manufacturing managers and engineers. This paper introduces research into how the manufacturing environment is changing and in particular the type of issues that manufacturing managers and engineers need to learn. The paper presents the first results of a study being conducted by a number of academic institutions and industries from around the world into manufacturing education issues. The principle aim of the research consortium is to anticipate the needs of manufacturing organization of the future and to provide a framework for curriculum development within universities that meet these needs. This paper specifically outlines the results of a study of existing manufacturing curricula from around the world and takes an in-depth look at four recently developed masters programmes.


The Veterans Administration (VA) is the largest single provider of surgical care in the United States. It operates 166 hospitals, containing approximately 5% of all the accredited surgical beds in the country. However, the importance of the VA to the surgical profession depends far less on its size than on its contribution to the education of future surgeons. More than 1,800 surgical residents received training in VA hospitals in 1970. Roughly one half of all residents who finish surgical training programs in the United States have some portion of their clinical experience in a VA hospital. The quality of surgical care in the VA is obviously a matter of general concern, both because of the large number of patients treated and because of the great influence such hospitals have on surgical residency training. Widely publicized articles in the lay press have recently criticized the VA medical program. Its hospitals have


Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy caused by the JC virus, results in a lytic infection of mainly oligodendrocytes of the central nervous system in immunosuppressed patients. With the advent of the HIV pandemic, the incidence of PML has risen sharply, but very few cases from Africa have been reported, even though this continent carries a very high burden of HIV infection. Explanations for the paucity of reports of PML from Africa include non-recognition of the condition, diagnostic challenges, death due to other infections, as well as suggestions of decreased neurovirulence of African JC virus types, and interactions between these types and different HIV clades. In this report we focus on reports of cases with PML from Africa, suggesting that with the availability of more sensitive assays and greater awareness, the diagnosis of PML may be more readily made in the future.


We investigate numerically the inverse participation ratios in a spin-1/2 XXZ chain, computed in the "Ising" basis (i.e., eigenstates of σ^z_i). We consider in particular a quantity T, defined by summing the inverse participation ratios of all the eigenstates in the zero-magnetization sector of a finite chain of length N, with open boundary conditions. From a dynamical point of view, T is proportional to the stationary return probability to an initial basis state, averaged over all the basis states (initial conditions). We find that T exhibits an exponential growth, T∼exp(aN), in the gapped phase of the model and a linear scaling, T∼N, in the gapless phase. These two different behaviors are analyzed in terms of the distribution of the participation ratios of individual eigenstates. We also investigate the effect of next-nearest-neighbor interactions, which break the integrability of the model. Although the massive phase of the nonintegrable model also has T∼exp(aN), in the gapless phase T appears to saturate to a constant value.


Lung cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths, consists of two major groups: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the NSCLC accounting for approximately 75% cases of lung cancers. It has been suggested that molecular changes including overexpression of oncogenes and decreased expression of tumor suppressor genes are responsible for lung carcinogenesis. In this study, we analyzed protein profiles of four different human NSCLC cell lines compared with normal human bronchial epithelial cells using two-dimensional PAGE and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We identified 12 protein spots with different expressions between the normal and cancer cells. Of these proteins, vimentin, cytokeratin 8, YB-1, PCNA, Nm23, hnRNP A2/B1, and HSP90beta were known to be up-regulated in lung cancers, which is consistent with the current study. We also found that the expression of M-type pyruvate kinase is altered in NSCLC likely due to changes in translational control and/or differential phosphorylation of the protein. Interestingly, the expression of the tumor suppressor gene 14-3-3sigma is down-regulated while that of the proto-oncogene TEF1delta is up-regulated in NSCLC cells. On the basis of these observations and previous studies, we propose that the altered expression of 14-3-3sigma and TEF1delta may be involved in lung carcinogenesis.


Studies of determinants of occupational exposure frequently involve left-censored lognormally distributed data, often with repeated measures. Left censoring occurs when observations are below the analytical limit of detection (LOD); repeated measures data results from taking multiple measurements on the same worker. A common method of dealing with this type of data has been to substitute a value (such as LOD/2) for the censored data followed by statistical analysis using the 'usual' methods. Recently, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) methods have been employed to reduce bias associated with the substitution method. We compared substitution and MLE methods using simulated lognormally distributed exposure data subjected to varying amounts of censoring using two procedures available in SAS: LIFEREG and NLMIXED. In these simulations, the MLE method resulted in less bias and performed well even for censoring up to 80%, whereas the substitution method resulted in considerable bias. We illustrate the NLMIXED procedure using a dataset of chlorpyrifos air measurements collected from termiticide applicators on consecutive days over a 5-day workweek. We provide sample SAS code for several situations including one and two groups, with and without repeated measures, random slopes, and nested random effects.


In analytical separation technology there is a great demand for faster and more effective separation process. Miniaturization is a suitable technique for satisfying this demand because the reduction of the separation systems in size would give increased separation speed and higher efficiency. Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a separation technique, where the liquid flow is generated by an electric field. The main advantage of using an electric field instead of pressure to generate the flow is the flat profile of the electroosmotic flow (EOF). CEC is one of the best candidates to construct a novel, high throughput micro-analytical system. The aim of the present work was to develop the principles for applying the microfluidic approach to chromatographic separations. First of all the physical structure, the fluidic channel had to be constructed. Glass microstructuring and fusion bonding was used to create a closed channel structure with fluid reservoirs at the channels' end. Using chemistry developed for stationary phase synthesis for HPLC and CEC, the microchannels were transformed into chromatography columns. To be able to manipulate the liquid on the microchip, different connection and support units were developed. The developed microfluidic chip with a special connection and support unit was tested at high pressure and in an electric driven mode. The unit was made out of clean-room environment and able to operate under 150 bar pressure. In the next step, a nano-flow measurement and control unit was developed and constructed for the electric driven mode or for general application, where the liquid flows from an open reservoir. The novel, non-invasive fluid flow sensor can measure the flow in quasi real time giving an excellent basis for adaptive flow control in micro-fluidics. The flow-control system was modelled and its function was demonstrated. Finally, the developed micro-fluidic system was coupled with two different detection systems.


We consider the problem of learning a set of probability distributions from the empirical Bellman dynamics in distributional reinforcement learning (RL), a class of state-of-the-art methods that estimate the distribution, as opposed to only the expectation, of the total return. We formulate a method that learns a finite set of statistics from each return distribution via neural networks, as in the distributional RL literature. Existing distributional RL methods however constrain the learned statistics to predefined functional forms of the return distribution which is both restrictive in representation and difficult in maintaining the predefined statistics. Instead, we learn unrestricted statistics, i.e., deterministic (pseudo-)samples, of the return distribution by leveraging a technique from hypothesis testing known as maximum mean discrepancy (MMD), which leads to a simpler objective amenable to backpropagation. Our method can be interpreted as implicitly matching all orders of moments between a return distribution and its Bellman target. We establish sufficient conditions for the contraction of the distributional Bellman operator and provide finite-sample analysis for the deterministic samples in distribution approximation. Experiments on the suite of Atari games show that our method outperforms the standard distributional RL baselines and sets a new record in the Atari games for non-distributed agents.


The aim of this article is to compare the economic well-being associated to the distribution of earnings in Italy. To this purpose, dominance techniques are extensively used to minimize the disagreement about the set of social values introduced into the analysis. We will show that even in a simple economic framework, dominance conditions do not allow extensive ranking. Indeed, unanimous welfare prescriptions are hardly achieved at any dimension, which means that more specific indicators are needed to allow a rank on the basis of specific value judgments. Using the Analysis of Gini (ANOGI), we are able to show that differences among regional distributions accentuate over time, confirming the persistence of the Italian dualism among geographical areas.


Background: Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity contribute to the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases in Nepal. Lifestyle is formed in childhood and in the Nepalese context influenced mainly by mothers, it is to date unknown how influential mothers are.
Objectives: To assess changes in children's diet and physical activity as perceived by their mothers after a health promotion intervention.
Methodology: The Heart-Health Associated Research, Dissemination and Intervention in the Community is a community trial conducted in the Jhaukhel-Duwakot Health Demographic Surveillance site, in Bhaktapur district of Nepal. We conducted a health promotion intervention on diet and physical activity targeted at mothers with children aged one to nine years old in August-November 2016. Duwakot was randomized as the intervention site and Jhaukhel as the control. We conducted a follow-up study after three months to determine the outcome of the intervention. Nine trained enumerators conducted door-to-door visits to all households with eligible mothers. We calculated mean, frequency and
percent changes for children's behavior.
Results: As responded by mothers, children in Duwakot consumed more healthy snacks after the intervention compared to Jhaukhel. Children in Duwakot increased consumption of water and milk. Children's consumption of packet juices and soft drinks was decreased by 30% and 4% respectively. There was 21% increment in the duration of outdoor playing among the children at Duwakot during follow-up.
Conclusion: The Heart-Health Associated Research, Dissemination and Intervention in the Community that focused on mothers showed indirect positive impact on their young children's diet and physical activity behavior. In future, the longterm effects of such intervention should be assessed.


Aims; To study the prevalence of and describe factors associated with depressive symptoms and to observe the course in a cohort of elderly primary care patients with mild to moderate depression. To compare a structured patient-centered consultation model with a validated instrument when screening for depressive symptoms and to investigate if recommended cut-off values for a self-rated instrument should be adjusted for this population. Method; Cross-sectional data were collected for all papers from one observational two-year follow-up study, using questionnaires, interviews, consultations and medical records. Consecutive patients aged 60 and up were screened for depressive symptoms at a primary care center in 2003. Included patients (n=302) completed the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Questionnaire (PRIME-MD PQ); the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, self-rated version (MADRS-S); and a structured interview with a nurse. They then saw a general practitioner (GP) who assessed whether there was "possible depression", with a structured patient-centered consultation model. The psychometric properties of the consultation model and the PRIME-MD PQ were calculated using the MADRS-S, at two cut-off levels, as a reference. The GPs performed a diagnostic interview using the PRIME-MD Clinical Evaluation Guide (CEG) with patients who had screened positive with any of the methods. In patients with mild to moderate depression (n=54), the course was observed during two years and risk factors and prognostic factors were studied. The optimal MADRS-S cut-off value for a depressive diagnosis was calculated by Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. Logistic regression analysis was used for studying associations between the different variables and depressive symptoms as well as mild to moderate depression. Results Several psychosocial factors and somatic symptoms were associated with depressive symptoms. The point prevalence of depressive symptoms was 15 % (Paper I). The consultation model exhibited moderate to good properties for screening for depressive symptoms in the elderly (Paper II).While median MADRS-S scores declined during a two-year follow-up period, three course patterns were identified: remitting, stable, and fluctuating (Paper III). There were indications that the MADRS-S cut-off value should be lowered when screening for mild to moderate depression in this group (Paper IV). Conclusion Most elderly individuals with milder forms of depressive disorders are seen and treated in primary care. They are important to recognize since the conditions are associated with considerable functional disability and morbidity. A structured patient-centered consultation model, adjusting self-rated instruments' cut-off values and knowledge of risk factors, prognostic factors, and course may be helpful for GPs in detecting, assessing, and managing depressive disorders in elderly primary care patients.


We present a quantitative analysis of international capital flows induced by differential population aging and pension reform. It is well known that within each country, demographic change alters the time path of aggregate savings. This process may be amplified if pension reform shifts old-age provision towards more pre-funding. While the patterns of population aging are similar in most countries, timing and initial conditions differ substantially. Hence, to the extent that capital is internationally mobile, population aging will induce capital flows between countries. In order to quantify these effects, we develop a multi-country overlapping generations model and use long-term demographic projections for several world regions to project international capital flows in the course of population aging. Our simulations suggest that capital flows from fast-aging industrial countries such as Germany, Italy or Japan to the rest of the world will be substantial. We also conclude that closed-economy models of pension reform miss quantitatively important effects of international capital mobility.


OBJECTIVES
Ozone and particulate matter 10 microns in diameter or less (PM10) are associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. This paper will report ozone and PM10 trends in Wisconsin and provide estimates of potentially susceptible populations and adverse health outcomes associated with current levels of these pollutants.

METHODS
Ozone and PM10 monitoring data is provided by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) air monitors. Exposure-response modeling and data, provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), was used to estimate hospital admissions associated with ozone and PM10 pollution.

RESULTS
Days with high ozone concentrations have become less frequent and the annual PM10 levels have decreased over the 1990s. However, the potentially susceptible population has increased, the number of children who could experience a lung function decrement due to ozone is between 12,978 and 38,653, and high PM10 concentrations are estimated to have resulted in 43 hospital admissions.

CONCLUSION
Despite decreasing ozone and PM10 levels, the burden of respiratory and cardiovascular disease affected by these pollutants remains significant.


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, finite fields were successfully used to construct linear block codes, especially cyclic codes, with large minimum distances for hard-decision algebraic decoding, such as Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) and Reed-Solomon (RS) codes. This paper shows that finite fields can also be successfully used to construct algebraic low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes for iterative soft-decision decoding. Methods of construction are presented. LDPC codes constructed by these methods are quasi-cyclic (QC) and they perform very well over the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), binary random, and burst erasure channels with iterative decoding in terms of bit-error probability, block-error probability, error-floor, and rate of decoding convergence, collectively. Particularly, they have low error floors. Since the codes are QC, they can be encoded using simple shift registers with linear complexity.


This paper focuses on the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method in which the compatibility condition on the mesh skeleton and Dirichlet boundary condition on the outer boundary are enforced with the help of one-dimensional finite difference (FD) rules, while in the standard approach those conditions are satisfied by the penalty constraints. The FD rules can be of arbitrary degree and in this paper the rules are applied up to fourth degree. It is shown that the method presented in this paper gives better results in comparison to the standard version of the DG method. The method is based on discontinuous approximation, which means that it can be constructed using arbitrary local basis functions in each finite element. It is quite easy to incorporate some global basis functions in the approximation field and this is also shown in the paper. The paper is illustrated with a couple of two-dimensional examples.


ABSTRACT The main aim of this study was to design, develop and test the instructional effectiveness of a web-based English vocabulary drill program developed for visually impaired middle school students. In this respect, the study focused on the educational affordances of the program and its contribution on VI students' spelling and semantics knowledge in English vocabulary. Depending on the purpose and the nature of the study, exploratory case study and single-subject research were implemented. Face-to-face intervention sessions were applied from October 2015 through to February 2016. There were two groups of participants in the study, which were students and experts. The data were collected through interviews, vocabulary and retention tests. Collected data were analyzed with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques. Based on the qualitative data analysis, educational affordances of the web-based drill program were identified as instantaneous access to content, individualized instruction and tracking progress. Quantitative findings revealed that students showed substantial progress on the vocabulary tests and maintained their achievements after the study.


There has been considerable academic consideration of the adverse economic impact of divorce upon women in Canada. However, most of the attention has been focused on the manner in which the law has been interpreted by the courts. Yet less than 10 per cent of the all divorce settlements are decided in court. What is more, negotiated settlements reflect lower support than the courts likely would have ordered. To understand the unequal impact of the law on women, one must look at the conduct of negotiations. This article brings negotiations theory to bear on the analysis of why women might be disadvantaged in negotiations for spousal support within the framework established by Canada's divorce laws. Rather than accept any inherent gender-based differences in negotiating ability or approach as an explanation, the article argues that the legal framework is structured in such a way as to systematically place the spousal support claimant at a disadvantage in negotiations for support. The argument is advanced by examining the structure of the negotiations from the perspective of prospect theory and other aspects of negotiation theory. The application of these theories suggests that the support claimant is placed in a position of real weakness relative to the respondent. The claimant is likely to be less loss-averse, less concession-averse, and more risk-averse than the respondent. These characteristics by themselves have been demonstrated to be disadvantageous in negotiations. Moreover, the greater risk-aversion makes the support claimant more vulnerable to strategic behaviour and reduces the subjective value of her best alternatives to a negotiated agreement (BATNA). These systemic tendencies are caused by the extent to which support is characterized by the law as a redistribution of the respondent's income, at the sole discretion of the court, and then only if the claimant can prove need or a right to compensation, in combination with the vagueness of the provisions and the indeterminacy of the process.


This workshop aims to explore various mathematical topics that emerge from examining classes of chains and their properties. Basic concepts are taken from topology, an area of mathematics that is concerned with notions like connectedness, how many holes there are, and orientability; geometry, including symmetries; and collapsibility and degrees of freedom. These topics are explored through an examination of a small number of chain designs including examples that are not topologically linked at all, examples in which the relative position of the links determine the symmetries, degrees of freedom, and the way in which their structure is analogous to that of a Moebius band, and finally a model of a chain design with a fractal structure. The workshop will include building human models to explore various properties and other activities where the participants will be able to play with necklace models to better understand the theory and to come up with their own questions to investigate.


Efficient consistency maintenance of incomplete and dynamic real-life databases is a quality label for further data analysis. In prior work, we tackled the generic problem of database updating in the presence of tuple generating constraints from a theoretical viewpoint. The current paper considers the usability of our approach by (a) introducing incremental update routines (instead of the previous from-scratch versions) and (b) removing the restriction that limits the contents of the database to fit in the main memory. In doing so, this paper offers new algorithms, proposes queries and data models inviting discussions on the representation of incompleteness on databases. We also propose implementations under a graph database model and the traditional relational database model. Our experiments show that computation times are similar globally but point to discrepancies in some steps.


Purpose

– Using the developmental process of interpersonal relationships as a metaphor, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effects of trust and cohesion on the links between psychosocial factors and work outcomes among Chinese employees.

Design/methodology/approach

– A three-wave survey method was used to collect data from 388 full-time employees working in virtual teams in diverse industries in Taiwan.

Findings

– Structural equation modeling confirmed that trust and cohesion were two key psychological mechanisms linking up team psychosocial factors (i.e. psychological similarity, shared activities) and work outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, team performance).

Practical implications

– This study examined virtual teams, which are increasingly prevalent in cloud computing applications, from a largely overlooked social psychological perspective. The results clearly demonstrated that the development and functioning of work teams is similar to the formation and functioning of social relationships. Thus, psychology in general, social psychology in particular, should have a lot to contribute to the better understanding of the rich dynamism of work teams, virtual and face-to-face.

Originality/value

– This is the first study testing a comprehensive model of the process of attraction-identification-trust-performance in the virtual team context with a non-western sample. The unique individual-level analysis underlining the human factors complements more often taken approach of organization- and/or team-level analysis of virtuality tackling structural and strategic issues.


In patients undergoing endoscopic transsphenoidal hypophysectomy, the nasal mucosa is often infiltrated with local anesthetic solutions that contain epinephrine to aid hemostasis. This may, however, result in hemodynamic changes, especially hypotension. We characterized the cardiovascular changes using a LiDCOrapid monitor in 13 patients after the infiltration of 4% articaine containing 1:200,000 epinephrine. Nine (69%) had a >20% decrease in mean arterial pressure at a median time of 116 seconds after the infiltration of articaine with epinephrine. Analysis of the cardiac output data revealed that this was caused by a sustained reduction in systemic vascular resistance. The arterial blood pressure normalized over a period of 60 to 90 seconds secondary to increases in stroke volume and heart rate producing an elevation in cardiac output. Transient hypotension following the infiltration of epinephrine-containing local anesthetics may be caused by epinephrine stimulation of &bgr;2-adrenoceptors producing vasodilation.


This note analyzes export production in the presence of exchange rate uncertainty under mean-variance preferences. We present the elasticity of risk aversion, since this elasticity concept permits a distinct investigation of risk and expectation effects on exports. Counterintutitive results are possible, e.g. though the home currency is revaluating (devaluating) exports of the firm increase (decrease). This fact may contribute to the explanation of disturbing empirical results. JEL classification: F21, F31


SEASONS, STORMS AND SEAWALLS: A COMPARISON OF CONSTRAINED AND UNCONSTRAINED BEACHES IN GROTON, CONNECTICUT by Katherine A. Serafin Chairperson of Supervisory Committee: Doug Thompson Department of Physics, Astronomy and Geophysics A study was done in order to evaluate the impact of a seawall on a beach in Groton, Connecticut. Literature predicts beaches containing seawalls will inhibit functioning as a normal beach and lead to increased erosion. Groton Long Point is developed and backed by a seawall while Bluff Point is located on a state park and receives much less human usage. Profiles were measured to study the affect of storms, seasonality and time on these two barrier beaches. Two transects at each beach were used to determine changes in profiles throughout the year. Profiles were then compared to previous research (Campbell, 2004) to analyze long-term change. The beach at Bluff Point reacted normally to the seasons and the storm and showed a trend of accretion over the four year period. On the other hand, Groton Long Point beach showed no change in beach features in regard to the seasons and storms and exhibited extreme variability in the long-term. While it cannot be proven the seawall at Groton Long Point is increasing erosion, there is strong evidence of erosion on the beach. The irregular system created makes it hard to predict how the beach will behave in the future.


Many applications of tomography seek to image two-phase materials, such as oil and air, with the idealized aim of producing a binary reconstruction. The method of Tamburrino and Rubinacci (2002 Inverse Problems 18 1809–29) provides a non-iterative approach, which requires modest computational effort, and hence appears to achieve this aim. Specifically, it requires the solution of a number of forward problems increasing only linearly with the number of elements used to represent the domain where the resistivity is unknown. However, even when low measurement noise is present it may be that not all domain elements can be classified and hence only a partial reconstruction is possible. This paper looks at the use of a Bayesian approach based on the monotonicity information for reconstructing the shape of a homogeneous inclusion in another homogeneous material. In particular, the monotonicity criterion is used to fix the resistivity of some pixels. The uncertain pixel resistivities are then estimated, conditional upon the fixed values. This has the effect of both producing better reconstructions and reducing the computational burden by up to an order of magnitude in the examples considered. The methods are illustrated using simulation examples covering a range of object geometries.


Breakpoint cluster region/Abelson (BCR/ABL) tyrosine kinase enhances the ability of leukemia cells to infiltrate various organs. We show here that expression of the helix-loop-helix transcription factor Id1 is enhanced by BCR/ABL in a signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5)-dependent manner. Enhanced expression of Id1 plays a key role in BCR/ABL-mediated cell invasion. Down-regulation of Id1 in BCR/ABL leukemia cells by the antisense cDNA significantly reduced their invasive capability through the Matrigel membrane and their ability to infiltrate hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic organs resulting in delayed leukemogenesis in mice. The Id1-promoted cell invasiveness was seemingly mediated by matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9). Transactivation of MMP9 promoter in BCR/ABL cells was dependent on Id1 and abrogation of the MMP9 catalytic activity by a metalloproteinase inhibitor or blocking antibody decreased invasive capacity of leukemia cells. These data suggest that BCR/ABL-STAT5-Id1-MMP9 pathway may play a critical role in BCR/ABL-mediated leukemogenesis by enhancing invasiveness of leukemia cells.


Scours account for significant losses to the US swine industry every year. A common treatment for scours is the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics, a practice with increasing unpopularity in the eyes of consumers. Currently, no treatment is available to reduce or eliminate the fluid losses associated with scours that is both inexpensive and easy to use. In the present study, a variety of prospective drugs were used to determine if a single compound might inhibit the effects of bacterial toxins in a laboratory setting. The results indicate that a new class of drugs, which we call DASUs, likely will prove useful for the treatment of watery diarrhea. Additional studies are underway to validate this conclusion.


In Smart Grid applications, as the number of deployed electric smart meters increases, massive amounts of valuable meter data is generated and collected every day. To enable reliable data collection and make business decisions fast, high throughput storage and high-performance analysis of massive meter data become crucial for grid companies. Considering the advantage of high efficiency, fault tolerance, and price-performance of Hadoop and Hive systems, they are frequently deployed as underlying platform for big data processing. However, in real business use cases, these data analysis applications typically involve multidimensional range queries (MDRQ) as well as batch reading and statistics on the meter data. While Hive is high-performance at complex data batch reading and analysis, it lacks efficient indexing techniques for MDRQ.

In this paper, we propose DGFIndex, an index structure for Hive that efficiently supports MDRQ for massive meter data. DGFIndex divides the data space into cubes using the grid file technique. Unlike the existing indexes in Hive, which stores all combinations of multiple dimensions, DGFIndex only stores the information of cubes. This leads to smaller index size and faster query processing. Furthermore, with pre-computing user-defined aggregations of each cube, DGFIndex only needs to access the boundary region for aggregation query. Our comprehensive experiments show that DGFIndex can save significant disk space in comparison with the existing indexes in Hive and the query performance with DGFIndex is 2-50 times faster than existing indexes in Hive and HadoopDB for aggregation query, 2-5 times faster than both for non-aggregation query, 2-75 times faster than scanning the whole table in different query selectivity.


Abstract. Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar(POLSAR) imaging principle determines that the image quality will be affected by speckle noise. So the recognition accuracy of traditional image classification methods will be reduced by the effect of this interference. Since the date of submission, Deep Convolutional Neural Network impacts on the traditional image processing methods and brings the field of computer vision to a new stage with the advantages of a strong ability to learn deep features and excellent ability to fit large datasets. Based on the basic characteristics of polarimetric SAR images, the paper studied the types of the surface cover by using the method of Deep Learning. We used the fully polarimetric SAR features of different scales to fuse RGB images to the GoogLeNet model based on convolution neural network Iterative training, and then use the trained model to test the classification of data validation.First of all, referring to the optical image, we mark the surface coverage type of GF-3 POLSAR image with 8m resolution, and then collect the samples according to different categories. To meet the GoogLeNet model requirements of 256 × 256 pixel image input and taking into account the lack of full-resolution SAR resolution, the original image should be pre-processed in the process of resampling. In this paper, POLSAR image slice samples of different scales with sampling intervals of 2 m and 1 m to be trained separately and validated by the verification dataset. Among them, the training accuracy of GoogLeNet model trained with resampled 2-m polarimetric SAR image is 94.89 %, and that of the trained SAR image with resampled 1 m is 92.65 %.


The determination of the Key performance Indicator (KPI) can be used to measure the level of competency needs of the transportation sector based on Permenhub No. PM 7 of 2018. In determining the KPI, weighting each statement in the questionnaire is first done, then recapitulating the total value of each respondent, ranking the competency according to the respondent's answer and presenting it in the form of a frequency distribution table . This study aims to determine the level of need from the implementation of the master plan for the development of Indonesia's national work competency standards (SKKNI) in the transportation sector . The results of the study showed that the port operators that were used as respondents really needed the competence of the non-regulator sea transportation sector ports, as evidenced by the results of the average level of competency requirements in the category of Need and Very Need. Then the application of the transportation sector SKKNI based on Permenhub No. PM 7 of 2018 must be implemented so that operators at the port have competencies in the form of knowledge and skills as well as attitude / or behavior in implementing.


The assimilation by the medical community of terms belonging to current language is a rare phenomenon. The word 'tic' constitutes a remarkable exception to this rule. In this article, the author explores the origins and some historical and epistemological consequences of this case of osmosis between two different discourses, focusing on the attempts, by the XIX Century French medical community, to appropriate from common language and redefine both the term and the concept of 'tic'. Consequently, I highlight the substantial semantic shifts to which the term was subjected in the course of this dispute.


Milk and dairy products can be contaminated in different ways. One of the most important and most challenging contaminations is due to heavy metals. In present research key words, including Milk, Dairy products, Heavy metal, Iran in the database pub med, Science Direct, Elsevier, SID, MagIran, Civilica, the World Health Organization and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations were searched. All articles indexed in domestic and international journals related to the topic were collected over the past several years. Heavy metal contamination in milk and dairy products play an important role in public health, as it can be the reason to the prevalence of diverse illnesses and lesions. There are various ways to measure the amount of contamination in milk and dairy products. One of the best and most efficient methods is atomic absorption. Moreover, collecting samples, storing and preparing them with different materials and solutions are also an important method. Heavy metals can enter the food chain in many ways. Sewage, factory waste, garbage, dust and etc are the common ways for heavy metals to enter the food. Cow's body acts like a biological filter about heavy metals, especially Cadmium and the absorbed Lead and Cadmium move to its bones and start to accumulate. Due to extensive consumption of milk and dairy products, it is critical to lessen contamination. Water and foods with both animal and plant resources must be monitored and examined before use. Materials used for food packaging must be harmless for human health so the present elements used in the containers must be reconsidered.Key words: Milk, Dairy products, Heavy metal, Iran


Digital ultrasound (US) probes integrate the analog-to-digital conversion directly on the probe and can be conveniently connected to commodity devices. Existing digital probes are however limited to a relatively small number of channels, do not guarantee access to the raw US data, or cannot operate at very high frame rates (e.g., due to exhaustion of computing and storage units on the receiving device). In this work, we present an open, compact, power-efficient, 192-channels digital US data acquisition system capable of streaming US data at transfer rates greater than 80 Gbps towards a host PC for ultra-high frame rate imaging (in the multi-kHz range). Our US probe is equipped with two power-efficient Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and is interfaced to the host PC with two optical-link 100G Ethernet connections. The high-speed performance is enabled by implementing a Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) communication protocol between the probe and the controlling PC, that utilizes a high-performance Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) interface to store the streamed data. To the best of our knowledge, thanks to the achieved datarates, this is the first high-channel-count compact digital US platform capable of raw data streaming at frame rates of 20 kHz (for imaging at 3.5 cm depths), without the need for sparse sampling, consuming less than 40 W.


The years of excessive use of thiabendazole to control Penicillium expansum has induced the development of resistance. Sensitivity of fourty eight strains collected from orchards and packinghouses in Emilia Romagna to pure and commercial TBZ was determined in vitro on TBZ amended medium (400μg/mL). Out of 48 strains, 35 were thiabendazole-sensitive (S) and 13 were thiabendazole-resistant (R).
Microtiter assay adapted to P. expansum, showed EC50 values ranging from 54 to 320 μg/mL for ten TBZ-resistant strains. At the highest dose (50 μg/mL), resistant strains growth was not inhibited and the reported MICs value were >1000 μg/mL. Therefore, preliminary screening combined with microtiter assay, can be a good strategy to test susceptibility to TBZ.
Mutations in the β-tubulin gene were studied on amino acid sequences from residue 167 to residue 357 of 10 P. expansum strains. Mutation at codon 198 was associated with TBZ-resistance. However, its absence in 3 resistant strains can be explained by the involvement of other mechanisms.
Moreover, a P. expansum strain LB8/99 showed good antifungal effect against some fungal pathogens through double petri dish assay. It inhibited both mycelium growth and conidia germination of B. cinerea, C. acutatum, and M. laxa, and reduced significantly by 53% and 18% respectively P. expansum. Three major VOCS: geosmin, phenethyl alcolhol (PEA) and an unknown substance were identified by GC-MS analysis. Consistent fumigation of fungal pathogens with PEA (1230 mg/mL), inhibited both conidia germination and mycelium growth of all pathogens, except conidia germination of P. expansum that was reduced by 90% with respect to control. While, the concentration of PEA produced naturally by LB8/99 was ineffective in controlling the pathogens and seemed to have a synergic or additive effect with the other VOCS.
Investigations to study the biofumigant effect of LB8/99 on other commodities like seeds and seedlings are in progress.


Many engineering structures suffer damage and deterioration with time, and need to be monitored in order to sense and predict risk of failure during its remaining service life. Damaged structures require repair work to be undertaken in order to prevent further loss of structural integrity and externally bonded Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is one of the most widely used repair technique. In order to assess the damage and ascertain the appropriateness and effectiveness of the repaired system, various tests can be conducted on the structural element concerned. In this study, experimental modal analysis was conducted on undamaged, load induced damaged and CFRP repaired reinforced concrete beams. A total of sixteen reinforced concrete beams were cast and categorised into three groups with different loading conditions. The first group of beams were tested under a concentrated point load at mid-span to induce flexural damage while the remaining two groups for shear damage with loading positions at quarter span and close to the support.
Previous studies have used modal parameters for damage detection and the assessment of repair work, and showed that existing algorithms used for damage detection sometimes produced inaccuracies and anomalies. Thus in this study, new algorithms based on natural frequencies and mode shapes for damage detection are proposed to overcome some of the shortcomings which are related to reinforced concrete (RC) being a composite and heterogeneous material. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the CFRP sheets as flexural and shear repair system was assessed based on modal data extracted from the tests.
The results showed there was evidence of the influence of the RC composite action on the natural frequencies. By utilising the proposed algorithms in the form of damage detection indices, the type and cause of damage were identified and gave better sensitivity with regards to damage severity. Furthermore it was also apparent that the indices were sufficiently reliable in assessing the effectiveness of the CFRP repair for both flexural and shear damage. The failure modes obtained from the CFRP repaired beams were identified as debonding when subjected to flexure, combination of flexural cracks and CFRP delamination together with a concrete layer for shear at quarter-span and a combination of shear and CFRP debonding for shear close to the support. Based on the results of this study, changes to the existing ACI equations for design of CFRP repaired beams under flexure and shear were proposed. These included modified equations for concrete and shear stirrups contribution, contribution of the external CFRP sheets and the contribution of the flexural steel. The predicted loads based on the modified form gave better agreement with the experimental results from this study.


Infestation with gastro-intestinal nematodes (GIN) in small ruminants can cause server economic losses and endanger animal welfare. The development of organic farming systems, the increased public awareness for drug residues in agricultural products and the development of resistant strains of parasites have enforced the search for sustainable alternatives.

The aim of this review is to summarise the current scientific knowledge of alternative strategies to prevent and control endo-parasitic diseases in sheep and goat farming systems. Many scientific studies and projects have shown big discrepancies between results obtained under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Often research has been carried out under clinical conditions for extended periods before being moved to on farm trials and it was observed that extensive clinical research on a topic does not necessarily result in the discovery of a practical control option.
Effective pasture management on the other hand proved promising and offers solutions that can be successfully transferred to most farming situations with applied knowledge about host-parasite interactions and interrelations building the base for low pasture infection rates for grazing animals. There are also a number of possible management strategies (e.g. stocking rate reduction and regular intensive monitoring of animal condition) that can also help optimise animal health status. The area of selective breeding has also shown promise as a viable control option. The influence of nutritional status was also investigated in the context of non-chemotherapeutical options for control. It was found that optimised nutrition improves the ability of animals to cope with the adverse effects of worm infestation.

Protein nutrition proved to be playing a key role as it is needed for growing processes as well as for immune responses. The investigation of alternative anthelmintic treatments like bioactive forage, phytotherapy, homeopathy and copper-oxide are not discussed in this paper.


The Internet is fast becoming the standard environment for client-server applications that involve multiple users. The proliferation of Internet-based application development tools opens new doors to transportation researchers who work in real-time decision support system development. In the 1990s, one of the most important problems in advanced transportation management systems research was the development of better incident management systems. Although the incident management process has been well studied, the development of real-time decision support systems that can be used by all the involved agencies remains a challenging area of transportation engineering research. Existing incident management systems are developed on various traditional computing platforms, including UNIX and Windows. However, with the advent of the World Wide Web and Internet-based programming tools such as Java, it is possible to develop platform independent decision support tools for the incident management agencies. Web-based support tools offer an invaluable opportunity to develop next-generation online decision support tools for real-time traffic management. The applicability of Web-based tools to the development of online decision support systems for incident management is explored and demonstrated, and a prototype incident management decision support system (DSS) that has most of the capabilities of similar UNIX-based DSS support systems is developed and tested. Briefly described are the implementation and development of a prototype wide-area incident management system using Web-based tools.


Due to their renowned regenerative capacity, adult zebrafish are a premier vertebrate model to interrogate mechanisms of innate spinal cord regeneration. Following complete transection of their spinal cord, zebrafish extend glial and axonal bridges across severed tissue, regenerate neurons proximal to the lesion, and regain their swim capacities within 8 weeks of injury. Recovery of swim function is thus a central readout for functional spinal cord repair. Here, we describe a set of behavioral assays to quantify zebrafish motor capacity inside an enclosed swim tunnel. The goal of these methods is to provide quantifiable measurements of swim endurance and swim behavior in adult zebrafish. For swim endurance, zebrafish are subjected to a constantly increasing water current velocity until exhaustion, and time at exhaustion is reported. For swim behavior assessment, zebrafish are subjected to low current velocities and swim videos are captured with a dorsal view of the fish. Percent activity, burst frequency, and time spent against the water current provide quantifiable readouts of swim behavior. We quantified swim endurance and swim behavior in wild-type zebrafish before injury and after spinal cord transection. We found that zebrafish lose swim function after spinal cord transection and gradually regain that capacity between 2 and 6 weeks post-injury. The methods described in this study could be applied to neurobehavioral, musculoskeletal, skeletal muscle regeneration, and neural regeneration studies in adult zebrafish.


Abstract Objectives  To investigate the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on stress and anxiety of preclinical and clinical dental students. Materials and Methods  Dental students (participants) in their clinical course (CC; n  = 64) or preclinical course (PCC; n  = 53) were included in the study. The subjective perceived levels of stress and anxiety were evaluated using the Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) questionnaire. Cortisol levels were measured in saliva samples collected from participants. Knowledge of the pandemic was evaluated using a 100-mm visual analog scale. All data were collected twice: once during the university holidays and once during term time. Statistical Analysis  Results from DES, DASS, and salivary cortisol tests were compared between baseline and follow-up using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Multivariate linear regression models were computed with DES, DASS, and cortisol values as dependent variables to analyze possible influencing factors. Results  Participants showed medium levels of stress and anxiety at baseline and follow-up. The DASS score in the "anxiety" subdomain was significantly higher in the PCC group than in the CC group at baseline ( p  < 0.001) and increased during term time. DASS scores in the "stress" subdomain also increased during term time. However, both subdomain scores were lower than the cutoff value for a psychological disorder. The mean total DES scores were 615.9 ± 97.7 in the CC group and 580.40 ± 98.9 in the PCC group. These scores indicated medium stress levels and were not significantly different between the groups, nor did they change during the study period. Mean saliva cortisol levels were higher in the CC group (9.2 ± 5.2) than in the PCC group (4.9 ± 2.2) at baseline ( p  < 0.001) but converged by follow-up. Multivariate regression models showed that intraindividual perception of stress at baseline was consistently the most important aspect for changes in stress and anxiety levels during term time. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected stress and anxiety levels in some participants, but this was not ubiquitous. Conclusion  Intraindividual differences in stress perception seem to be more relevant than course affiliation (preclinical or clinical) or the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to stress and anxiety levels in dental students.


Cost-effectiveness analyses suggest that if outcomes are approximately similar, examination of practice and price variation provides potential targets for improvement in quality and/or reduction in cost. We examined variations in practice patterns and price with regard to congenital heart disease in nine countries. Standardised descriptionptions of 5 typical patients, 1 each with aortic stenosis, pulmonary stenosis, atrioventricular septal defect, tetralogy of Fallot and tricuspid atresia were provided to the investigators who quantitated a typical course (from birth to 21 years of age) for each patient in terms of: clinic visits, outpatient echocardiogram, outpatient Holter, diagnostic catheterisation, therapeutic catheterisation, medical hospitalisation, surgical hospitalization and years on medication. Payments for each service in the public and private system were based on data from each country. We found that in respect of practice patterns, there was an average of 400% variation, with the greatest variation in clinic, outpatient echocardiogram, outpatient Holter and medical hospitalization costs. The overall use of services was lowest in Australian and Japan and highest in Canada and Italy. Pricewise, there was a 380% variation, with the greatest variation in the prices ofi?½ medication and inpatient services. In the private sector in particular, prices were highest in Japan, the USA and Germany, and lowest in South Africa and France; in the public sector, prices were highest in Canada, Japan and Germany, and lowest in South Africa and Australia. Overall, the average worldwide payments for congenital heart disease from birth to 21 years of age were as follows: mild aortic stenosis $3 851; mild pulmonary stenosis $7 319; tetralogy of Fallot $36 456; atrioventricular septal defect $39 772; tricuspid atresia $74 940. The mean was $32 968. Payments were highest in the USA, Japan and Italy, and lowest in Australia and South Africa. In conclusion: (l) there is significant practice and price variation in paediatric cardiology services. throughout the world; and (il) further study of the need for services in which there is high variation (outpatient echocardiogram, Holter and medical admissions) is warranted, since significant reduction in these services may be possible with considerable savings and no reduction in quality.


A systematic general rounding procedure is proposed. This procedure consists of 2 steps: constructing a rounding table and selecting a prediction scheme. Optimization guidelines are given in each step to minimize the hardware used. This procedure-based rounding method has the additional advantage that verification and generalization are trivial. Two rounding hardware models are described. The first is shown to be identical to that reported by Santoro, et al. The second is more powerful, providing solutions where the first fails. Applying this approach to the IEEE rounding modes for high-speed conventional binary multipliers reveals that round to infinity is more difficult to implement than the round to nearest mode; more adders are potentially needed. Round to zero requires the least amount of hardware. A generalization of this procedure to redundant binary multipliers reveals two major advantages over conventional binary multipliers. First, the computation of the sticky bit consumes considerably less hardware. Second, implementing round to positive and minus infinity modes does not require the examination of the sticky bit, removing a possible worst-case path. A generalization of this approach to addition produces a similar solution to that reported by Quach and Flynn. Although generalizable to other kinds of rounding as well as other arithmetic operations, we only treat the case of IEEE rounding for addition and multiplication; IEEE rounding because it is the current standard on rounding, addition and multiplication because they are the most frequently used arithmetic operations in a typical scientific computation.


Tania or cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott) is a member of Araceae; the cormels contain carbohydrate that is valuable in the food industry and to supports food security. However, information on the diversity in cocoyam accessions to support higher productivity and breeding program is still limited. The research aimed to characterize morpho-physiology and diversity of cocoyam accessions. The research was carried out from December 2018 to July 2019 at the Leuwikopo Experimental Farm, IPB Bogor. The research used seven accessions collected by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) namely S8, S22, S27, S29, S31, S32, and S37. Accessions were maintained with a spacing of 50 cm x 50 cm under 50% shading net. Cluster analysis used the unweighted pair group method using the arithmetic average (UPGMA) method. The study showed that there was diversity in 31 of the 51 morphological and physiological characters. Of the 31 various variables, only 14 variables had a PIC value of more than 0.5. The color of the inner petiole and stomatal density were important characters in the characterization of cocoyam because it had the highest diversity. At the accession level, they were grouped into two groups, Group I had accession S29 members, and the rest were grouped into Group II. Group II had three subgroups, namely A (S8 and S32), B (S22, S27, and S31), and C (S37). Accessions S27 and S31 had a high degree of similarity.
Keywords: Araceae, climate change, dry land, food security, tannia