&NA; With the patient's consent, physical injuries sustained in a sexual assault are evaluated and treated by the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and documented on preprinted traumagrams and with photographs. Digital imaging is now available to the SANE for documentation of sexual assault injuries, but studies of the image quality of forensic digital imaging of female genital injuries after sexual assault were not found in the literature. The Photo Documentation Image Quality Scoring System (PDIQSS) was developed to rate the image quality of digital photo documentation of female genital injuries after sexual assault. Three expert observers performed evaluations on 30 separate images at two points in time. An image quality score, the sum of eight integral technical and anatomical attributes on the PDIQSS, was obtained for each image. Individual image quality ratings, defined by rating image quality for each of the data, were also determined. The results demonstrated a high level of image quality and agreement when measured in all dimensions. For the SANE in clinical practice, the results of this study indicate that a high degree of agreement exists between expert observers when using the PDIQSS to rate image quality of individual digital photographs of female genital injuries after sexual assault.


A direct methodology for the design of flight control systems is introduced. The design approach uses a control selector and an inner/outer loop structure to achieve robustness and performance across the flight envelope. A control selector normalizes control effectiveness with respect to generalized inputs. An inner loop uses dynamic inversion to equalize plant dynamics across the flight envelope. An outer loop is designed around this equalized plant using μ-synthesis to achieve performance and robustness goals. The methodology is applied in the design of a manual flight control system for the lateral axis of a fighter aircraft. Analysis shows that the inner/outer loop approach produces designs which exhibit excellent performance and robustness for a broad range of operating conditions. The direct incorporation of design goals such as flying qualities requirements and the elimination of gain scheduling make this direct methodology an effective and efficient alternative to traditional flight control design approaches.


: The importance of parental involvement in the successful performance of children in schools is well recognized. A research was conducted by the authors in 2019 which examined parental involvement in their children's education in selected secondary schools in Da es Salaam, Morogoro and Kagera Regions of Tanzania. The findings indicated that parental engagement in thei r children's educational activities was low and suggested that interventions be taken to encourage parents to be more involved in school academic programs. This paper outlines a proposal for follow-up interventions based on the research carried out in 2019.


Background Children with acute abdominal pain represent most of the admitted cases to the pediatric surgical department, one third of these cases are acute appendicitis. Early diagnosis of "no appendicitis" or "appendicitis" on the basis of pediatric appendicitis score could potentially save emergency department's time and resource use and could avoid time cost and risks for further evaluation. Objective Evaluation of Samuel scoring system in diagnosing children with acute appendicitis and their need for surgery. Methods One hundred and twelve patients aged between 5 to 15 years who presented with abdominal pain suggestive of acute appendicitis were studied. A complete data from patients were analyzed by using Samuel score. The clinical findings used by previously mentioned scoring system were analyzed to determine reliability of pediatric appendicitis score (PAS). The Final diagnosis was determined by histopathological report for patients' undergone appendicectomy. Results The mean (median, SD) score for children with acute appendicitis and non-acute appendicitis were 4.9 (5, 1.8) and 4.6 (5, 1.7) respectively. No variable (of the known signs and symptoms regarded as pathognomonic for acute appendicitis) shows a significant value in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. A PAS of ≥ 4 had a sensitivity, specificity, Positive predictive value (PPV), and Negative predictive value (NPV) of 0.78, 0.27, 0.87, and 0.16 respectively. Conclusion The diagnosis of acute appendicitis and the need for surgery is still a matter of clinical judgment which can be built with practice, and although the PAS could provide useful diagnostic information in children with suspected acute appendicitis, it cannot be used as sole method for determining the need for surgery.


This article describe about Supervision Process and Technique. This is one of them about competence in understanding the processes and techniques in supervision. The supervision process is a series of activities carried out in the supervision of education. This process is important in seeing the extent of the success of a goal in the teaching and learning process. Supervision techniques are ways to achieve certain goals, both related to solving the problems of teachers in teaching, the problem of principals in developing institutions and other problems related to and oriented to improving the quality of education. Educational supervision processes and techniques are necessary and important to be learned and applied properly and correctly in an educational institution. Because of these two things, of course there will be concerns about the quality of schools.


This paper presents clinically-based studies of two acquisitions that received very different stock market reactions at announcement one positive and one negative. Despite the differing market reactions, we find that ultimately neither acquisition created value overall. In exploring the reasons for the acquisition outcomes, we rely primarily on interviews with managers and on internally generated performance data. We compare the results of these analyses to those from analyses of post-acquisition operating and stock price performance traditionally applied to large samples. We draw two primary conclusions. (1) Our findings highlight the difficulty of implementing a successful acquisition strategy and of running an effective internal capital market. Post-acquisition difficulties resulted because: (a) managers of the" acquiring company did not deeply understand the target company at the time of the acquisition; (b) the acquirer imposed an inappropriate organizational design on the target as part of the post-acquisition integration process; and (c) inappropriate management incentives existed at both the top management and division levels. (2) Measures of operating performance used in large sample studies are weakly correlated with actual post-acquisition operating performance."


Neuronal hyperexcitability is a phenomenon associated with early Alzheimer's disease. The underlying mechanism is considered to involve excessive activation of glutamate receptors; however, the exact molecular pathway remains to be determined. Extracellular recording from the CA1 of hippocampal slices is a long-standing standard for a range of studies both in basic research and in neuropharmacology. Evoked field potentials (fEPSPs) are regarded as the input, while spiking rate is regarded as the output of the neuronal network; however, the relationship between these two phenomena is not fully clear. We investigated the relationship between spontaneous spiking and evoked fEPSPs using mouse hippocampal slices. Blocking AMPA receptors (AMPARs) with CNQX abolished fEPSPs, but left firing rate unchanged. NMDA receptor (NMDAR) blockade with MK801 decreased neuronal spiking dose dependently without altering fEPSPs. Activating NMDARs by small concentration of NMDA induced a trend of increased firing. These results suggest that fEPSPs are mediated by synaptic activation of AMPARs, while spontaneous firing is regulated by the activation of extrasynaptic NMDARs. Synaptotoxic Abeta(1-42) increased firing activity without modifying evoked fEPSPs. This hyperexcitation was prevented by ifenprodil, an antagonist of the NR2B NMDARs. Overall, these results suggest that Abeta(1-42) induced neuronal overactivity is not dependent on AMPARs but requires NR2B.


Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) may be able to improve ischemic conditions as they can actively seek out areas of low oxygen and secrete proangiogenic factors. In more severe trauma and chronic cases, however, cells alone may not be enough. Therefore, we have combined the stem cell and angiogenic factor approaches to make a more potent therapy. We developed an engineered stem cell therapy product designed to treat critical limb ischemia that could also be used in trauma‐induced scarring and fibrosis where additional collateral blood flow is needed following damage to and blockage of the primary vessels. We used MSCs from normal human donor marrow and engineered them to produce high levels of the angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The MSC/VEGF product has been successfully developed and characterized using good manufacturing practice (GMP)‐compliant methods, and we have completed experiments showing that MSC/VEGF significantly increased blood flow in the ischemic limb of immune deficient mice, compared to the saline controls in each study. We also performed safety studies demonstrating that the injected product does not cause harm and that the cells remain around the injection site for more than 1 month after hypoxic preconditioning. An on‐demand formulation system for delivery of the product to clinical sites that lack cell processing facilities is in development.


This research investigates the relationship between narcissism and eating disorders (EDs). Two forms of narcissism are studied, as each are present in the individual (O'Brien, 1987). The first form, core narcissism, is major, and refers to the way the individual views themselves while the second form, narcissistic defenses, are minor, serving only to protect the sense of self (Waller et al., 2006; O'Brien, 1987). Core narcissism is exhibited as grandiose or vulnerable narcissism where grandiose includes feelings of entitlement and high self-esteem while vulnerable includes low self-esteem and self-criticality (Maples et al., 2011). The narcissistic defenses can be displayed as poisonous pedagogy ("bad you") or narcissistically abused ("poor me") (O'Brien, 1987). Furthermore, the eating disorders studied were the second and third most common eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, respectively (National Institute of Mental Health, 2017). Within anorexia nervosa, both the binge-purge type and restricting type were included. This study was conducted as a review of studies and scholarly articles. The specific question asked within this review is: does a correlation exist between the two forms of narcissism, core narcissism and narcissistic defenses, and anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa? This study thus concluded that there is a positive association between those with an eating disorder and high levels of narcissism. Specifically, there is a clear correlation of vulnerable narcissism to eating disorders, and bulimia nervosa is the eating disorder most strongly linked to high narcissism levels.


OBJECTIVE
Panic disorder (PD) has been linked to perturbed processing of threats. This study tested the hypotheses that offspring of parents with PD and offspring with anxiety disorders display relatively greater sensitivity and attention allocation to fear provocation.

METHOD
Offspring of adults with PD, major depressive disorder (MDD), or no disorder (ages 9-19) viewed computer-presented face photographs depicting angry, fearful, and happy faces. Offspring rated (1) subjectively experienced fear level, (2) how hostile the face appeared, and (3) nose width. Attention allocation was indexed by latency to perform ratings.

RESULTS
Compared with offspring of parents without PD (n = 79), offspring of PD parents (n = 65) reported significantly more fear and had slower reaction times to rate fear, controlling for ongoing anxiety disorder in the offspring. Offspring with an anxiety disorder (n = 65) reported significantly more fear than offspring without an anxiety disorder but not when parental PD was controlled. Social phobia but no other anxiety disorder in offspring was associated with slower reaction times for fear ratings (but not greater fear ratings). Parental PD and offspring social phobia independently predicted slower reaction time.

CONCLUSIONS
Results support an association between parental PD and offspring responses to fear provocation. Social phobia in children may have a specific relationship to allocation of attention to subjective anxiety during face viewing.


This research presents a framework for incorporating the unique operating characteristics of multi-modal freight networks into the calibration process for microscopic traffic simulation models. Because of the nature of heavy freight movements in United States Department of Transportation Region VII (Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas), the focus of the project is on heavy gross vehicles (HGV), or, trucks. In particular, a genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization technique was developed and used to find optimum parameter values for the vehicle performance model used by "Verkehr In Staedten-SIMulationmodell (VISSIM)," a widely used microscopic traffic simulation software. At present, the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), which is the most common reference for analyzing the operational characteristics of highways, only provides guidelines for highway segments where the heavy vehicle percentages are 25 or less. However, significant portions of many highways, such as Interstate 80 (I-80) in Nebraska, have heavy vehicle percentages greater than 25%. Therefore, with the anticipated increase in freight-moving truck traffic, there is a real need to be able to use traffic micro-simulation models to effectively recreate and replicate situations where there is significant heavy vehicle traffic. The procedure developed in this research was successfully applied to the calibration of traffic operations on a section of I-80 in California. For this case study, the calibrated model provided more realistic results than the uncalibrated model (default values) and reaffirmed the importance of calibrating microscopic traffic simulation models to local conditions.


Title A risk-informed decision support tool for holistic management of fatigue design, inspection and maintenance Authors(s) Zou, Guang; Banisoleiman, Kian; González, Arturo Publication date 2018-01-24 Conference details Smart Ship Technology 2018, London, United Kingdom, 23-24 January 2018 Publisher Royal Institution of Naval Architects Link to online version https://www.rina.org.uk/Smart_Ships2018.html Item record/more information http://hdl.handle.net/10197/9414


racialized "Other"—can have over a white subject and narrator. Ahab's sublime vision dominates the entire crew of the Pequod. And the sublime novel uplifted some readers, enabling them to respond creatively to the text. The black abolitionist and intellectual, James McCune Smith, and Clara Guernsey, a popular writer and reformer from Rochester, New York, creatively reinterpreted Melville's sublimity in Moby-Dick. Guernsey, who published six novels and numerous stories in well-known magazines, was a friend of the Senecas and eventually became an adopted member of their tribe. Two of her novels, The Merman and the Figure Head (1871) and The Shawnee Prisoner (1876) vividly reveal Melville's influence on her as a writer; and The Merman and the Figure Head is the most sustained engagement with Moby-Dick in the Civil War era. In it Guernsey transforms Moby-Dick into a domestic tale of interracial romance; and she focuses on and gives voice to characters who are silent in Moby-Dick: the white whale and sea creatures, especially the protagonist, a merman, who lives in a republican society of mer-people off the coast of Massachusetts, whose fancy for humans is his undoing. "From Typee to Clarel: 'Across the Chasm'" Samuel Otter University of California, Berkeley Neither persistent critical narratives of decline or exhaustion nor Melville's weariness with his typecasting as "the man who lived among the cannibals" should obscure the importance of Typee in the epic reflections of Clarel. In Clarel, Melville rewrites his Marquesan encounters. Memories of Nuku Hiva mark the terminus of the poet's pilgrimage in the Holy Land. When critics do avoid a narrative of loss in moving from Typee to the poetry, they tend to interpret Melville's Pacific depictions as retrieving a balance or repose associated with the South Seas. I would like to suggest something different: that the Marquesas continue to disorient and surprise and that these effects are valued, maybe given the highest value, by the poet. Tommo's view of Nuku Hiva at the beginning of Chapter 7—the ascent that gives access to gaps, the line of sight that turns out to be composed of precipitous ridges—seems to have made a deep impression on Melville. Much of the pleasure and the challenge of reading Typee and Melville's other prose and poetry involves the longing to, as Tommo puts it, stride "from summit to summit" and the necessity of heeding gaps. Melville continually figures such interrupted rhetorical advances. In Moby-Dick, the narrator describes both the course of the ship and an experience of reading: "The strange, upheaving, A J O U R N A L O F M E L V I L L E S T U D I E S 125


SIGNIFICANCE This review evaluates model-based online approaches to visual-motor control in baseball batting in light of research studies on this topic. Throughout the history of research on baseball batting, there has been a presumptive winner in terms of how visual-motor control occurs for this complex skill. Because of the severe time constraints and the short duration of the action, it has been assumed that a baseball swing must involve model-based control. That is, hitting involves using an open-loop, pre-programmed movement that is parameterized based on situational probabilities, advance cues from the pitcher's delivery, and information early in the ball flight, which are used by an internal model to predict the future location of the ball. In this review, the author contrasts two variants of this type of model-based control (a 3D world model and spatial memory of trajectories) with an online control approach in which the batter uses only currently available perceptual information to control the swing prospectively via information-movement coupling. It is shown that the assumed necessity of predictive control in baseball batting is based on too narrow of a conception of online control. Although work still needs to be done to elucidate the specifics of the control, it is argued here that online control provides an account of visual-motor control in baseball batting that is both more parsimonious and more consistent with published research findings.


The Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) problem is a problem to accurately capture short to medium term market trends and anomalies in order to allocate the assets in a portfolio so as to optimize its performance by increasing the risk adjusted returns. This project seeks to address the Tactical Asset Allocation problem by employing Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) Algorithms in a Machine Learning Environment as well as employing Neural Network Autoencoders for selection of portfolio assets. This paper presents the implementation of this proposed methodology applied to 30 stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). In (1), the Introduction to the project objectives is done with the Problem Description presented in (2). Part (3) presents the literature review of similar studies in the subject area. The methodology used for our implementation is presented in (4) whilst (5) and (6) presents the benchmark portfolios and the DRL portfolios development respectively. The evaluation of the performance of the models is presented in (7) and we present our conclusions and the future works in (8).


The aim of this work is to propose a new routing protocol for a Delay-Tolerant Networks (DTN) called Adaptive. This protocol is based in predictable contacts concept and uses the history of meeting nodes to determine the best way to route and drop packets on network. The following performance metrics were used to evaluate the Adaptive: delivery rate, average delay and average number of hops. The Adaptive performance was then compared to the following routing protocols commonly used in the literature: First Contact, Direct Transmission, Prophet, Epidemic and Spray and Wait. The simulations were based on a vehicle DTN build from real traces collected from city buses. Two scenarios were simulated: 1) alternating transmission range of all the nodes and 2) alternating the amount of data generated on the network per user. The simulations showed that the Adaptive presented satisfactory results in both scenarios. It was able to achieve the best delivery rates when nodes had a transmission range of 300 meters or more. In addition, the Adaptive has shown that it is able to adapt well to the various data traffic intensities imposed on the network.


Contract cheating refers to students paying a third party to complete university assessments for them. Although opportunities for commercial contract cheating are widely available in the form of essay mills, only about 3% of students engage in this behaviour. This study examined the reasons why most students do not engage in contract cheating. Students (n = 1204) completed a survey on why they do not engage in contract cheating as well as measures of several individual differences, including self-control, grit and the Dark Triad traits. Morality and motivation for learning received the greatest endorsement for why students do not engage in contract cheating. Controlling for gender, individual differences predicted students' reasons for not contract cheating. This study supports the use of criminological theories relating to rational choice, self-control and opportunity to explain why students do not engage in contract cheating. Practically, this study may inform academic policies and assessment design that may reduce contract cheating.


Fe-C system hard alloys were produced from mechanically alloyed powders and their properties were examined by means of hardness testing and microstructural examinations. Mixtures of iron and graphite powders (Fe-2-6mass%C) were mechanically alloyed with vibration-ball-mill in Ar atmosphere. MA powders obtained were packed in stainless steel tubes and then sealed in vacuum after degassing at 873K. The stainless steel tubes were hot-rolled in the temperature range of 923K-1273K to consolidate MA powders. Bulk materials were subjected to isothermal annealing at 1273K, followed by water quenching. After the ball-milling of 360ks, extremely large deformation energy was stored within powder particles. This leads to the formation of ultra-fine α-Fe grain and very fine dispersion of graphite. On heating to a consolidation temperature, the reaction forming Fe3C takes place at around 600K. MA powders were completely densified to full density by hot-rolling at 1123K where the structure is of (Fe3C+γFe) two-phase, and this consolidation process does not accompany significiant coarsening of the microstructure. In a case of an Fe-6mass%C MA bulk material, the structure at room temperature is composed of 80vol% Fe3C and 20vol%α-Fe, so that hardness of a bulk material reaches to Hv900. But, Fe3C is not so stable at elavated temperatures that it easily decomposes to Fe and graphite after long annealing.


As known, the water energy is a renewable and clean source of energy. Energy production from hydropower has been the first, and still is today a renewable source used to generate electricity. The optimal location and sizing of a small hydropower plant is a very important issue in engineering design which encourages investigation. The aim of this paper is to present a formula that can be utilized for locating the position of a small hydropower plant although there is a high dependence on economic, environmental, and social parameters. In this paper, the economic and technical side of the problem is considered. More specifically, there is a critical terrain slope that determines if the plant should be located at the end of the slope or not. Of course, this formula can be used for a first estimate and does not include detailed economic analysis. At the end, a case study is presented for the location of a small hydropower plant in order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed formula. Keywords—Critical terrain slope, economic analysis, hydropower plant locating, renewable energy.


Nest architecture of the arboreal Neotropical termites Nasutitermes acajutlae (Holmgren) and N. nigriceps (Haldeman) is described, with special reference to carton inclusions or nodules found within the normal gallery matrix of some nests. Nutrient analyses of these nodules show that they have high cellulose and low cutin concentrations in comparison to normal nest carton. These data support the hypothesis that the nodule inclusions serve as a form of facultative food storage in some nests of these termite species. These cases appear to represent a rare situation in which food is not stockpiled or cultured by termites, but rather some partially processed, masticated food is incorporated into the nest matrix for future consumption.


Study Design. Prospective short-term longitudinal study. Objective. To investigate changes in the bone turnover rate in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) before and after decompression surgery. Summary of Back ground Data. Decompression surgery enables elderly patients with LSS to participate in daily activities and physical exercise by reducing or alleviating leg and back pain. However, there have been no studies to date regarding the effect of decompression surgery on bone metabolism in such patients. Methods. Twenty-three patients with spinal stenosis who were scheduled to undergo decompression surgery were enrolled in our study. Ten patients were given oral bisphosphonates after the operation (B+ group), while the remaining 13 patients did not receive oral bisphosphonate (B− group). In both groups, walking distance without rest, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores, duration of symptoms, bone formation, and resorption markers, and bone mineral density were recorded before surgery. Three months after surgery, bone turnover markers, a single trial for walking distance without rest and ODI scores were measured for both groups. Results. Three months after the operation, the bone resorption marker u-NTx was decreased significantly for both groups. Although there was a decrease in bALP, a bone formation maker, in both groups, the change in each group was not statistical significant. Distance in a single trial walk was increased and ODI scores were decreased significantly for both groups. Conclusion. This study suggests that decompression surgery has a beneficial effect on bone metabolism in patients with LSS who have walking intolerance and limited physical activity.


For now, technologies for ripping, mixing, and burning digital technology are lawful to manufacture and distribute in the United States. But for how much longer? The motion picture industry among other groups of copyright holders, wants Congress to mandate that standard technical protection be installed in all digital media devices. In March 2002, Senator Ernest ("Fritz") Hollings (D-S.C.), with the endorsement of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) and others, introduced legislation to do just that. His Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CB DTPA) would give representatives of technology companies, copyright holders, and consumer groups 12 months to agree on such "standard technical measures". The act would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a rulemaking that would lead to the requirement that a standard protection measure be embedded in every digital media device. This latter term is broadly enough defined to include general-purpose computers. Making or distributing digital media devices without the standard measure, or removing or altering the measure, would be illegal and, if done for profit, would be a felony.


In the present study, thin films have been successfully prepared by using various deposition methods. The electrical
behaviors of obtained thin films were investigated by using Hall Effect measurement and Van Der Pauw technique
as reported by many researchers. The experiment results show that the electrical resistivity reduces with increase in
temperature and film thickness as well.


Three dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) built with through-silicon vias (TSVs) have smaller planar dimensions, shorter wire length, and better performance than 2D ICs. Many 3D stacks will combine digital and analog/RF circuitry, requiring a strong analog/mixed-signal capability. Because of the unique packaging requirements of stacked die, an IC/package co-design capability is required. Hence there must be some standards to facilitate smooth and effective design of 3D ICs. Thus the main purpose of an exchange format (EF) between dies is to permit sharing of information necessary for design by external parties without disclosing their intellectual property (IP). The requirements of the standards should be the minimum necessary to produce satisfactory answers. Producing such models is a customer support function, not a core engineering function, i.e. it is not generated by the chip design scheme. The role of the standards is to facilitate the transfer of information through a compact model, not necessarily to build one. This paper presents initial efforts in designing such standards or EF. Steady state electrical and thermal simulations are performed in this paper to demonstrate the necessary information that needs to be exchanged between the dies to ensure adequate co-design.


Online meta-learning has recently emerged as a marriage between batch meta-learning and online learning, for achieving the capability of quick adaptation on new tasks in a lifelong manner. However, most existing approaches focus on the restrictive setting where the distribution of the online tasks remains fixed with known task boundaries. In this work, we relax these assumptions and propose a novel algorithm for task-agnostic online meta-learning in non-stationary environments. More specifically, we first propose two simple but effective detection mechanisms of task switches and distribution shift based on empirical observations, which serve as a key building block for more elegant online model updates in our algorithm: the task switch detection mechanism allows reusing of the best model available for the current task at hand, and the distribution shift detection mechanism differentiates the meta model update in order to preserve the knowledge for in-distribution tasks and quickly learn the new knowledge for out-of-distribution tasks. In particular, our online meta model updates are based only on the current data, which eliminates the need of storing previous data as required in most existing methods. We further show that a sublinear task-averaged regret can be achieved for our algorithm under mild conditions. Empirical studies on three different benchmarks clearly demonstrate the significant advantage of our algorithm over related baseline approaches.


Playing the piano requires various kinds of techniques such as correct keying, fingering and rhythm. Our research group has developed a piano learning system to support correct keying and fingering for beginners. However, the system does not account for the difficulties of learning rhythm. Rhythm consists of various kinds of notes and rests, and it is difficult for beginners, who are not used to reading a score, to understand the different duration of each note and rest. Moreover, there are piano roll scores, which describe timing of keying and releasing clearly, but which do not teach player how to read musical staff. Therefore, the goal of our study is to construct a piano learning support system that has a rhythm check function. We discuss methods to indicate information for piano performance such as rhythm information effectively while teaching how to read musical staffs. We have developed a prototype system, and evaluated its effectiveness by actual use of the system.


While complex predicate constructions, including light verb structures and verb serialisation, are found in many of the world's languages, there has been little diachronic work on these structures to date. In this paper I survey the state of the field and describe current ideas on the origins and development of complex predicates. In particular, I show that the assumption of cline-like development from parataxis to affix (through serialisation, light verbs and auxiliation) is too simplistic. Finally, I review arguments in favor of and against views of light verbs as stable structures.


In my research, I have performed an extensive experimental investigation of harmonic-drive properties such as stiffness, friction, and kinematic error. From my experimental results, I have found that these properties can be sharply non-linear and highly dependent on operating conditions. Due to the complex interaction of these poorly behaved transmission properties, dynamic response measurements showed surprisingly agitated behavior, especially around system resonance. Theoretical models developed to mimic the observed response illustrated that non-linear frictional effects cannot be ignored in any accurate harmonic-drive representation. Additionally, if behavior around system resonance must be replicated, kinematic error and transmission compliance as well as frictional dissipation from gear-tooth rubbing must all be incorporated into the model.


The modern theory and practice of medicine, as well as a number of other edological (helping) disciplines and practices, have been supplemented by a very productive area called "evidence-based medicine". Its occurrence is associated with a large number of bioethical problems, including the problem of the conflict of interests between a doctor and a patient. A conflict of interest is born as a result of conflicting motives of relationships and interactions between the activities of a medical worker. The contradiction of interests and motives of activity is manifested in the phenomena of professional psychological burnout and professional deformations. The article highlights the main motives contributing to the conflict of interest, as well as ways of preventing and correcting conflicts of interest in connection with the implementation of these motives. Among the main motives, one can name the motives associated with the unresolved personal and interpersonal problems of a specialist: his need for power and control, for confirmation and for belonging


We consider shallow-water flow past a broad bottom ridge, localized in the flow direction, using the framework of the forced Su–Gardner (SG) system of equations, with a primary focus on the transcritical regime when the Froude number of the oncoming flow is close to unity. These equations are an asymptotic long-wave approximation of the full Euler system, obtained without a simultaneous expansion in the wave amplitude, and hence are expected to be superior to the usual weakly nonlinear Boussinesq-type models in reproducing the quantitative features of fully nonlinear shallow-water flows. A combination of the local transcritical hydraulic solution over the localized topography, which produces upstream and downstream hydraulic jumps, and unsteady undular bore solutions describing the resolution of these hydraulic jumps, is used to describe various flow regimes depending on the combination of the topography height and the Froude number. We take advantage of the recently developed modulation theory of SG undular bores to derive the main parameters of transcritical fully nonlinear shallow-water flow, such as the leading solitary wave amplitudes for the upstream and downstream undular bores, the speeds of the undular bores edges and the drag force. Our results confirm that most of the features of the previously developed description in the framework of the unidirectional forced Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) model hold up qualitatively for finite amplitude waves, while the quantitative description can be obtained in the framework of the bidirectional forced SG system. Our analytic solutions agree with numerical simulations of the forced SG equations within the range of applicability of these equations.


The mule (Equus mulus mulus) is a domestic animal that results from the breeding of a male donkey (Equus asinus) to a female horse (Equus caballus). The number of metacentric and acrocentric autosomal chromosomes in horses and donkeys differs approximately by one-third, resulting in pairing failure of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Probably for this reason, spermatogenesis in mules rarely advances beyond spermatocytes and leads to sterility in this hybrid equid. The results found in a recent study developed in our laboratory, comparing testis structure and function by using light microscopy in donkeys and mules, suggested that mules' seminiferous tubules are probably able to sustain complete spermatogenesis. In order to further investigate this hypothesis, we performed an ultrastructural analysis of Sertoli and Leydig cells in both mules and donkeys. The Sertoli cell tight-junction morphology and the morphofunctional integrity of the Sertoli cell barrier were also investigated in these species utilizing lanthanum as a tracer. The results showed that somatic cells of both donkeys and mules had similar structure and organelle morphology. This indicated that Sertoli and Leydig cell structure and function in mules were apparently normal and functional. The same was observed for Sertoli cell tight junctions and the integrity of the Sertoli cell barrier. Taken together, our results support the light microscopy data already obtained indicating that mules are potential viable candidates for transplantation of germ cells originated from donkeys, horses, and other equids.


This report was written at the request of the Dutch Ministry of Housing,
Physical Planning and Environment to comply with the European Unions
Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism (Council Decision 93/389/EEC). The
member states of the European Community have adopted the objective of
stabilising CO2 emissions in the Community as a whole by 2000 at 1990
levels. The monitoring mechanism provides a means whereby the Commission
can monitor progress towards this target on the basis of annual emission
inventories supplied by the member states and national programmes which
set out emission trajectories and policy measures to limit CO2 or to
increase sinks. It also requires member states to report inventories of
other greenhouse gases. Under the monitoring mechanism each member state
reports its greenhouse gas emissions by the 31st of July each year. By
each reporting deadline member states should supply inventories based on
provisional data for the previous year and final data for the year
previous to that. The first submission of provisional inventories in
1995 should also include data for the base year 1990. A review will be
carried out under the responsibility of the European Commission. This
report is also written to comply with the obligations under the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The inventory is
compatible with the reporting requirements under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change. It contains a greenhouse gas
emissions inventory for the years 1993 and 1994, together with a short
description of how the internationally adopted IPCC Guidelines have been
applied in the Netherlands. Temperature corrected carbon dioxide
emissions in 1993 and emissions of methane and nitrous oxide were
slightly higher than 1990. A dip in the economic development especially
in the chemical industry sector prevented a further growth in emissions.
Provisional data for 1994 suggest a significant increase in carbon
dioxide emissions due to the prosperous economic developments. Energy
efficiency improvements prevented an even further growth in
emissions.


Enhancement of the conversion efficiency of high-order harmonics (HHG) generated from an atom in the superposition of two quantum states instead of the ground state is essential because of the recent application in the generation of ultrashort isolated attosecond pulses. In this study, we first confirm the enhancement for a more real system with full three-dimensional geometry and then investigate an interesting effect—the influence of the depletion on the HHG cutoff. For this purpose, we prepare a hydrogen atom initially in the coherent superposition of the ground and the first excited states and calculate the HHG by numerically solving the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrodinger equation (TDSE)—the TDSE method. We find that the plateau of HHG spectra with the coherent superposition state ends earlier than that of the ground state, which can be attributed to the depletion of the excited state. We justify this link by adopting the classical simulation and time-dependent ionization rate. Besides, we show that the conversion efficiency is sensitive to the existence of the excited state. Particularly, for some values of laser field intensity, the excited state population of about 1% increases HHG intensity by more than 5 orders. However, after a critical excited state population, the HHG intensity is stable with continuously increasing initial population of the excited state that is meaningful for experimental setups.


Historians continue to debate how much of the International Military Tribunal (IMT) proceedings at Nuremberg concerned the Holocaust. The official goal of the Allies in Europe was to end the war by militarily defeating Nazi Germany. Stopping the atrocities was of secondary importance. Once the war ended and the top Nazis were put on trial at Nuremberg, they were not tried for the mass murder of the Jews. Chief Nuremberg prosecutor Justice Robert Jackson announced at trial that the supreme crime committed by the twenty-one German defendants on the dock was the crime of waging aggressive war. This article aims to show that during the IMT trial, the genocide of the Jews — today known by the term Holocaust — was a running theme of the trial. To illustrate the significance of the subject of Jewish persecution at the IMT, the article examines actual testimony and other evidence introduced by the prosecution during each stage of the trial. Those who mine the IMT proceedings will find much about the fate of the Jews in territories under Nazi occupation. The historiography of the Holocaust began at Nuremberg.


This paper describes a unique robotics project, Comprehensive Access to Printed Materials (CAPM), within the context of libraries. As libraries provide a growing array of digital library services and resources, they continue to acquire large quantities of printed material. This combined pressure of providing electronic and print-based resources and services has led to severe space constraints for many libraries, especially academic research libraries. Consequently, many libraries have built or plan to build off-site shelving facilities to accommodate printed materials. An autonomous mobile robotic library system has been developed to retrieve items from bookshelves and carry them to scanning stations located in the off-site shelving facility. In subsequent stages, remote users will be able to trigger this process through a web interface in order to achieve real-time browsing of printed materials. Enhanced commercial robot systems are used in this project. The developments of the robot design, control systems, simulations, experiments and results are presented.


Iterative learning of B-spline basis functions model for the output probability density function (PDF) control of non-Gaussian systems is studied in this paper using the recursive least square algorithm. Within each control interval, the basis functions are fixed and the control input design is performed that controls the shape of the output PDFs. However, between each control interval, periodic learning techniques are used to tune the shape of the basis functions. This has been shown to be able to improve the accuracy of the B-spline approximation model. As such, the overall B-spline model of the output PDFs becomes a dual-model related to both time and space variables. The algorithm has been applied to a simulation study of the molecular weight distribution (MWD) control of a styrene polymerization process, leading to some interesting results.


SUMMARY Signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreed to the effective protection of at least 17% of the terrestrial environment by 2020 (Aichi Target 11). Here, we assess the coverage of terrestrial protected areas (land protected by legislation) on the UK's Overseas Territories. These 14 Territories are under the sovereignty of the UK, a signatory of the CBD, and are particularly biodiverse. Eight Territories have protected areas covering 17% or more of their land, but the extent of protection across these Territories as a whole is low, with only 4.8% of this land designated as protected. This protection covered 51% of sites already identified as of conservation importance (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), although only 8% of the area of these sites was protected. The expansion of effective protection to meet the 17% target provides an opportunity to capture the most important sites for conservation. Locally led designation will require an improvement in knowledge of the distribution and density of species. This, together with measures to ensure that the protection is enforced and effective, will require provision of resources. This should be seen as an investment in the UK meeting its obligations to Aichi Target 11.


A treatment of 285 out-patients with different types of dementia and concomitant behavioral and psychiatric disorders has been conducted in gerontopsychiatric unit of Moscow mental out-patient clinic No. 10. The sample analyzed consisted of 88 (31%) men and 197 (69%) women, aged from 60 to 98 (mean 74.5 +/- 6.4) years. Each patient had an epidemiological record registering demographical and clinical details as well as information on the drugs and doses prescribed, etc. Tranquillizers and hypnotics used separately or in combination with other drugs were prescribed to 60% of the patients, neuroleptics--to 37%, vasotropics and nootropics--to 35%, antidepressants--to 16%, antiparkinsonic drugs--to 8%, anticolvunsants--3%. Most frequently different drugs have been used in combination (58% of the cases) and in 33% cases--as monotherapy. Only in 9% of the patients psychotropics have not been prescribed. The choice of psychotropics was dependent on the patient age and disease severity. At older age and severe dementia neuroleptics were prescribed to the patients more frequently.


The motivating problem concerns the estimation of the growth curve of solitary corals that follow the nonlinear Von Bertalanffy Growth Function (VBGF). The most common parameterization of the VBGF for corals is based on two parameters: the ultimate length L∞ and the growth rate k. One aim was to find a more reliable method for estimating these parameters, which can capture the influence of environmental covariates. The main issue with current methods is that they force the linearization of VBGF and neglect intra-individual variability. The idea was to use the hierarchical nonlinear model which has the appealing features of taking into account the influence of collection sites, possible intra-site measurement correlation and variance heterogeneity, and that can handle the influence of environmental factors and all the reliable information that might influence coral growth. This method was used on two databases of different solitary corals i.e. Balanophyllia europaea and Leptopsammia pruvoti, collected in six different sites in different environmental conditions, which introduced a decisive improvement in the results. Nevertheless, the theory of the energy balance in growth ascertains the linear correlation of the two parameters and the independence of the ultimate length L∞ from the influence of environmental covariates, so a further aim of the thesis was to propose a new parameterization based on the ultimate length and parameter c which explicitly describes the part of growth ascribable to site-specific conditions such as environmental factors. We explored the possibility of estimating these parameters characterizing the VBGF new parameterization via the nonlinear hierarchical model. Again there was a general improvement with respect to traditional methods. The results of the two parameterizations were similar, although a very slight improvement was observed in the new one. This is, nevertheless, more suitable from a theoretical point of view when considering environmental covariates.


Abstract A set of historical specimens collected by the American mycologist Charles Leonard Smith in southeastern Nicaragua during 1896 and currently deposited at the Herbarium of the Charles University in Prague (PRC) was examined for the presence of microfungi. Despite the age of the specimens, twenty-two taxa were identified, seventeen of them to species level and other five to generic level. All of them are recorded for the first time from Nicaragua. Cryptophiale cf. kakombensis and Sporoschisma juvenile were found associated with their putative teleomorphic states. Historical facts surrounding the expedition source of these samples and bibliographical data about Smith are also given.


In 2004, a lexicon-based deidentification tool was developed at The Norwegian EHR Research Centre (NSEP). The tool was never properly tested due to lack of proper and available data material. In 2007, an annotated data set consisting of genuine encounter notes from the Norwegian primary health care was created, which had features highly appropriate for deidentification performance analysis. This project was the result of those two works, in addition to the vision of taking deidentification one step further. Questions of importance were which types of data could be found in the data set and how did the lexicon tool handle them? Which changes or additions should be implemented to enhance the overall performance? To answer these questions we had to analyze the lexicon-based deidentification tool, the sensitive data, and the deidentified ouptut from different test runs. In order to interpret and quantify the results, we used true/false positives/negatives in addition to precision, recall and F-measure, which are standard metrics in the deidentification field. Our tool performed with an overall F-measure of 66 %. The annotated data set were found to consist of 5 292 instances of personal health information (PHI), distributed over eighteen different categories. When deidentifying with respect to individual PHI categories, large variations on performance were found, with the best ones resulting in recall values up to 91 %. We found that our lexicon-based deidentification tool could not compete with the results presented by comparision projects. However, to its defence our deidentification tool had to relate to a wider variety of PHI categories than the other tools, many of which it was not constructed to handle at all. Unless PHI ambiguity issues are handled more gracefully, and the local context is interpreted, we found that our pure lexicon-based approach would not be sufficient for handling all types of PHIs.


LeaA-iree ferroelectric Nao.sBio.sTiOa (NBT) in both bulk and thin film forms we processed via solid state reaction and solution deposition respectively. SEM investigations showed dense samples with fine grained and smooth microstructure for thin films. A pure perovskite structure was observed by the X-ray diffraction for both specimens. The frequency dependencies of the dielectric constant and loss tangent are investigated at room temperature and revealed a decrease in the dielectric losses in the case of thin film. The energy storage density (W) was calculated using the obtained ΡΕ loops. The stored and delivered energies are found better in the thin film sample.


In Ethiopia, agricultural markets are characterized by seasonal price fluctuations as price seasonality is a fact of life in any agrarian production system. Prices of Agricultural crops typically fall immediately after harvest and rise gradually thereafter until the next harvest. This study was conducted to analyze the factors that dictate farmers to sell their produces immediately after harvest and thereby create price fluctuations. The study used household survey data to estimate Tobit model for the propensity and intensity to sell crops immediately after harvest. The econometric result indicates that education of head of household, number of markets, input cost, labor cost, and credit are found to affect quantity and intensity of early sale positively while family size and technology use affect intensity and propensity to sell early negatively.


We present a scalable design for accelerating the problem of solving a dense linear system of equations using LU Decomposition. A novel systolic array architecture that can be used as a building block in scientific applications is described and prototyped on a Xilinx Virtex 6 FPGA. This solver has a throughput of around 3.2 million linear systems per second for matrices of size N=4 and around 80 thousand linear systems per second for matrices of size N=16. In comparison with similar work, our design offers up to a 12-fold improvement in speed whilst requiring up to 50% less hardware resources. As a result, a linear system of size N=64 can be implemented on a single FPGA, whereas previous work was limited to a size of N=12 and resorted to complex multi-FPGA architectures to scale. Finally, the scalable design can be adapted to different sized problems with minimum effort.


Infection of asexual stage of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum induce morphologic, functional and antigenic changes in their host erythrocyte membranes. The consequence of these changes is that infected erythrocyte develop the ability to sequester by binding to capyllary endothelial cells, venula and to uninfected erythrocyte is termed rosette formation. Recently, rosette formation be interesting phenomenon because it was presumed imprtant to phatogenesis of severe malaria such as cerebral malaria through sequesteration of parasite in microvasculature. Rossete formation is a binding mechanism between Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocyte to the normal ones, which involve the role of parasite protein ligands such as PfEMP1 expressed on infected eythrocyte as surface antigen through DBL1-alfa domain that bind to CR-1 receptor and/or A-antigen on the uninfected erythrocyte as target cell. Taking into accounts that all strains of P. falciparum parasite could cause rosette formation, therefore information of rosette formation still needed such as site of sequesteration, identity receptors, haemodinamic enviroment of microvascular and domain mapping on rosette formation to elucidate the role of rosette formation in phatogenesis of severe malaria.


Hydro generator excitation system is one of the most maintenance intensive subsystem in hydro power plants. A real time embedded maintenance system of the excitation system is studied. A knowledge bank, which summarizes both the expert knowledge and the analytical knowledge on the failure modes and their manifestations as well as their effects, is established. An expert system is developed to optimize the control parameters, to detect and diagnose the equipment degradations or/and failures, and to give both control and maintenance remedy on base of the on-line state monitoring and performance evaluation of the regulating system. This expert system is integrated into the powerful microcomputer of the regulator and runs in parallel with the regular regulating tasks. A successful application in industry is presented.


Because of its simple structure, high density and good scalability, resistive random access memory (RRAM) is expected to be a promising candidate to substitute traditional data storage devices, e.g., hard-disk drive (HDD). In a conventional three-dimensional (3D) bipolar RRAM design, an isolation layer is inserted between two adjacent memory layers. The fabrication of the isolation layer introduces the extra process complexity, increases fabrication cost, and causes some potential reliability issues. In this paper, we propose a 3D High-density Interleaved Memory (3D-HIM) design for bipolar RRAM, which can eliminate the need for forming isolation layers and further improve the density of the memory island. Meanwhile, we propose a Bi-Group Operation Scheme for 3D-HIM to access multiple cells among multiple layers and to avoid unexpected overwriting. The simulation results show that the proposed design is promising for a 3D stacking RRAM application with acceptable operation margin for a 32 × 32 × 8 array in a memory island. The sensing margin degradation and programming bias confine the size of the array due to sneak path conducting currents. We diminish impact of sneak path conducting current by applying a high Ron RRAM device which can be achieved by a small-scale RRAM device.


One of the most significant shifts in science policy of the past three decades is a concern with extending scientific practice to include a role for 'society'. Recently, this has led to legislative calls for the integration of the social sciences and humanities in publicly funded research and development initiatives. In nanotechnology – integration's primary field site – this policy has institutionalized the practice of hiring social scientists in technical facilities. Increasingly mainstream, the workings and results of this integration mechanism remain understudied. In this article, I build upon my three-year experience as the in-house social scientist at the Cornell NanoScale Facility and the United States' National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network to engage empirically and conceptually with this mode of governance in nanotechnology. From the vantage point of the integrated social scientist, I argue that in its current enactment, integration emerges as a particular kind of care work, with social scientists being fashioned as the main caretakers. Examining integration as a type of care practice and as a 'matter of care' allows me to highlight the often invisible, existential, epistemic, and affective costs of care as governance. Illuminating a framework where social scientists are called upon to observe but not disturb, to reify boundaries rather than blur them, this article serves as a word of caution against integration as a novel mode of governance that seemingly privileges situatedness, care, and entanglement, moving us toward an analytically skeptical (but not dismissive) perspective on integration.


A line of SV40-transformed mouse cells (SV/3T3-4E) was isolated and four clones were derived from this line. Spontaneous production of small amounts of infectious SV40 DNA was detected in the parental line and in three out of the four clones tested, although no synthesis of virions could be demonstrated. The yields of SV40 DNA were significantly enhanced following treatment of these cells with mitomycin C and infectious virus particles became detectable occasionally.


The design of optimal dynamic disturbance-accommodation controller with limited model information is considered. We adapt the family of limited model information control design strategies, defined earlier by the authors, to handle dynamic-controllers. This family of limited model information design strategies construct subcontrollers distributively by accessing only local plant model information. The closed-loop performance of the dynamic-controllers that they can produce are studied using a performance metric called the competitive ratio which is the worst case ratio of the cost a control design strategy to the cost of the optimal control design with full model information.


An improved method has been developed for the preparation of autoradiographs for electron optical study. The refinement lies principally in the routine production of uniformly thin layers of photographic emulsion over the tracer-labeled cell sections. This is accomplished by means of a centrifugal spreading mechanism. Maize root tips grown in the presence of H3-thymidine were examined electron microscopically by this technique and were found to display nuclear labeling with impressive clarity. The new procedure utilized here yields objects in which the finest cell structures are easily resolvable without recourse to gelatin digestion techniques.


Abstract: The modulatory effect of vitamin C and E supplementation during dihydroartemisinin administration on the body weight and serum liver enzymes in wistar albino rats investigated. Thirty two adult albino rats weighing between 180 – 260g were used. There were divided into four groups of eight rats each. Group A served as the control and was administered distilled water. Groups B, C and D, were the experimental groups and were given cotecxin + vitamin A and cotecxin + vitamin E respectively for two weeks. The animals were weighed at the beginning and at the end of the experiment; water and feed were allowed ad libitum. In all the parameters estimated, there were significant differences at p group and the control, as well as, between the cotecxin group and the group that received cotecxin and vitamin C and cotecxin and vitamin E groups. The results suggest that cotecxin is hepatotoxic in wistar albino rats, and that these effect can be ameliorated by antioxidants vitamin C and E supplementation.


Growth hormone release inhibiting hormone (GHRIH) was administered by constant infusion over 75 minutes to eight acromegalic patients at different doses. 100 to 1,000 μg were equally effective in reducing circulating growth hormone (GH) levels; 25 μg lowered GH levels in only five patients, and at this dose the extent of the fall was smaller than from doses of 100 μg or more. 10 μg was ineffective. Injection of single doses of 500 μg by intravenous, subcutaneous, and intramuscular routes caused only small and transient reductions in GH levels, though the effect was improved by injecting the hormone intramuscularly in 2 ml of 16% gelatin. Injection of a suspension of 4 mg GHRIH in 1 ml of arachis oil lowered growth hormone levels for between three and four hours. In four acromegalic patients an oral 50-g glucose tolerance test was performed during a continuous infusion of either saline or 1,000 μg GHRIH. The "paradoxical" rise in growth hormone seen in these patients during the saline infusion was suppressed by GHRIH. The blood glucose responses were, moreover, modified by GHRIH in that the peak was delayed and occurred at the end of the infusion in each case. A "normal" glucose tolerance curve was converted to a "diabetic" type of response in two patients. This effect could be accounted for by the inhibition of insulin secretion known to occur with large doses of GHRIH. We speculate that acromegaly may be primarily a hypothalmic disease due to deficiency of GHRIH resulting in excessive secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary and adenoma formation due to inappropriate and prolonged stimulation of the pituitary.


A large (40 mm ϕ) composite membrane with mesoporous silica nanotubes (F127MST) was coated with a thin carbon layer (1–2 graphene sheets) by carrying out chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using acetylene, and the obtained carbon-coated F127MST (C/F127MST) was used directly as an electrode. After evaluating the electrical conductivity inside the continuous mesopore network, the enzyme bilirubin oxidase (BOD) was loaded into the mesopores of C/F127MST to form BOD–C/F127MST. Indeed, this loading procedure was effective and achieved direct electron transfer between the enzymes and electrodes. The loading also was found to enhance the stability of stored BOD (it was stable for 15 days) and could be used to control the enzymatic reaction by varying the electric potential. We therefore consider BOD–C/F127MST to be a promising candidate as an effective bioelectrode in various fields.


Uneven growth and a decline in non-metropolitan Australia is cause for ongoing concern (Simpson, 2005) as currently, Queensland has Australia's highest level of disparity (Premier's Department 2003). To address this concern, the Queensland Government realise the need to develop closer communities if Queensland is to grow and remain sustainable (Premier's Department 2003). The north eastern sector of the Lockyer Valley (LV) is one of Queensland's disparate and disconnected communities. Lying close to the Brisbane-Ipswich conurbation, and seen by some as dormitory suburbs or satellite towns of the Brisbane Ipswich conurbation (Department of Communities 2005), the LV's north eastern sector residents are experiencing feelings of disconnection. Disconnection refers to residents experiencing feelings of a separate self-schema and feeling separate or distinct from other residents (Babin and Harris 2011). The feelings of disconnection are of concern because for a community to grow and be sustainable, the residents should have a shared sense of belonging, a shared vision, and social connections with each other (Mathwick, Wiertz and Ruyter 2008). The connections within and between social networks, as well as among individuals, are important as they are drivers of community growth (Grillo, Teixeira and Wilson 2010).


We apply formal methods to lay and streamline theoretical foundations to reason about Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) and physics-based attacks, i.e., attacks targeting physical devices. We focus on a formal treatment of both integrity and denial of service attacks to sensors and actuators of CPSs, and on the timing aspects of these attacks. Our contributions are fourfold. (1) We define a hybrid process calculus to model both CPSs and physics-based attacks. (2) We formalise a threat model that specifies MITM attacks that can manipulate sensor readings or control commands to drive a CPS into an undesired state; we group these attacks into classes and provide the means to assess attack tolerance/vulnerability with respect to a given class of attacks, based on a proper notion of most powerful physics-based attack. (3) We formalise how to estimate the impact of a successful attack on a CPS and investigate possible quantifications of the success chances of an attack. (4) We illustrate our definitions and results by formalising a non-trivial running example in UPPAAL SMC, the statistical extension of the UPPAAL model checker; we use UPPAAL SMC as an automatic tool for carrying out a static security analysis of our running example in isolation and when exposed to three different physics-based attacks with different impacts.


This thesis is an historical study of the development of the Information Systems (IS) discipline as it has been implemented in specialist academic departments and undergraduate programs in several Australian universities. The thesis traces the evolution of the discipline through the formation of these departments and their programs, and analyses the differences in perceptions of the nature of the discipline, as it has been expressed through their undergraduate program curricula. As well as examining the development of IS across the group of universities as a whole, the study also provides an in-depth case study of the formation and growth of the discipline within Monash University, which is the largest university in the group, and also the largest in Australia. The main stimulus for the research was the ongoing debate about the nature of IS as an academic discipline. Debate and discussion about a variety of issues relating to the nature of IS have been a major theme in the discipline's academic literature since the time of its birth as a field of study in the early 1960s. The last decade has seen an intensification of these controversies, with few signs of any resolution of the differences in perceptions of the discipline. The study uses the examination of the implementation of the discipline in practice across the case study universities as a means of describing the key differences in perceptions of the nature of the discipline, analysing and understanding how these different perceptions have formed, and assessing their implications for the discipline's future. The study shows that across the case study universities, the formation and growth of the discipline has generally followed an evolutionary path. Differences in perceptions of the nature and cognitive content of the discipline have followed as a consequence of differences in its evolutionary path in each university. Three interacting sets of forces are identified as having been the dominant influences on these patterns of evolutionary growth:
• Disciplinary forces: Felt through the influence of the 'parent' discipline from which IS programs evolved; they caused each IS department/program to inherit, at least in part, some of that discipline's key characteristics.
• Organizational structural influences: Felt through organizational decision-making within each university about where the academic groups which taught IS programs should be located relative to other disciplines.
• Market forces: Felt initially through the influence of the nature of work force demand for skilled computing professionals, and then through
the impact of changes in patterns of student demand for IT-related programs.
The study shows how the unique combination of these influences shaped the IS discipline and its curriculum in each university. It shows how the differences in these influences were reflected in differences in the nature of the discipline as practised in each institution, and how these were in turn expressed through variations in the curricula of their undergraduate IS programs. In doing so, the study demonstrates the contribution which historically-based research of the implementation of IS in practice can make to our understanding of the discipline and its future prospects.


This study examined the need to provide English communication training to engineers and quantity surveyors (QS) in the United Arab Emirates. Engineers and quantity surveyors working in Dubai need communication skills training to use English effectively in their workplace. Moreover, to plan effective English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons for trainees, there is a need to conduct an Error Analysis from their written reports, which are submitted to UK based professional certification exam centre.  Therefore, there is a global need for using English at engineering and quantity surveying workplace as English is a lingua franca. This research has identified the tasks that require English and common mistakes made by QS and engineers. The research has also discussed the existing curricula for engineers and their barriers. After collecting the results from survey and Error Analysis, a collaborative ESL program is developed. The findings indicate that there is a strong need to provide customized ESL training programs to the QS and engineers in UAE.  It is also found that English is of great importance for the working professionals in listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. These findings are significant because they show that fluency in English is an essential requirement in today's world. The findings of the intervention also show that there is a need to provide ESL training integrated with Vygotsky's social constructivism theory. Moreover, the results also show that the Error Analysis can help in designing a useful course for corporate trainees. The paper recommends that such training programs should be provided to all types of profession for their career growth.


This paper presents a new approach to co-designing communication systems and their respective hardware architectures. We show that by taking into account the specific needs and assumptions of the algorithms running on hardware, the circuit specifications targeted by ASIC engineers can be relaxed. This in turn leads to optimal designs in both power consumption and robustness. A case-study of a complete WCDMA modem incorporating this approach shows a savings of 23% in embedded memory power consumption and a total of 13% power savings for the whole system.


The method of producing molten metal powder according to the European laser sintering system (EOSINT) was used to prepare the experimental material. The used powder metal material was designated EOS Maraging Steel - MS1. It is a steel powder, which is optimized especially for processing in EOSINT M 280 systems. The measurement of tribological characteristics of prepared materials was performed using the standard STN ISO 20808: 2004. The ball-on-disc dry sliding friction and wear experiments have been made on prepared materials in contact with steel ball. For the experiment, there were determined the following conditions: the value of normal load 5 N, the sliding radius 2 mm. Wear testing was carried out at room temperature 25°C using the ball-on-disc technique. Wear behaviour of the prepared material was studied in dry sliding; relative humidity was 26-28%. The normal load of 5 N; and sliding speed of 0.1 m/s was applied. The total sliding distance was 1000 m. The worn surface was analysed by confocal microscope and scanning electron microscope.


The molecular cloning of two previously unknown human sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase 3 (SERCA3) 3'-end transcripts, 3b and 3c, has been recently published. Data were lacking, however, for the presence of these SERCA3 variants in different tissue or cell types at the protein level. Here we report the co-expression of three human SERCA3 protein isoforms in platelets and T lymphoid Jurkat cells. Isoform-specific polyclonal anti-peptide antibodies have been generated that recognize specifically the SERCA3a, 3b or 3c splice variants at their C-termini, and this has been confirmed by peptide-competition experiments as well. None of these antibodies cross-reacted with the housekeeping SERCA2b isoform co-expressed endogenously with SERCA3 proteins in non-muscle cells. Although all three SERCA3 isoforms could be detected in platelets, the 3a form was the most abundantly expressed species. Its size matched the apparent size of SERCA3a over-expressed in HEK-293 cells. Immunoprecipitation of the SERCA3 variants from platelet membranes using a PL/IM 430-affinity matrix provided evidence that the putative pan-anti-SERCA3 antibody, PL/IM 430, recognizes all SERCA3 protein isoforms. The epitope for the PL/IM 430 antibody could be localized in a 40 kDa N-terminal tryptic fragment common to all three SERCA3 variants. Comparative Western-blot analysis showed that the expression level of the SERCA3a, 3b and 3c isoforms was more than 10 times lower in Jurkat cells than in platelets, whereas expression of the ubiquitous SERCA2b was nearly identical. This work highlights new Ca(2+)-transporting proteins of haematopoietic cells and provides specific antibodies for their detection.


Quantum Darwinism builds on decoherence theory to explain the emergence of classical behavior within a quantum universe. We demonstrate that the differential geometric underpinnings of quantum mechanics provide a uniquely informative window into the structure of correlations needed to validate Quantum Darwinism. This leads us to two crucial insights about the emergence of classical phenomenology, centered around the nullity of quantum discord. First, we show that the so-called branching structure of the joint state of system and environment is the only one compatible with zero discord. Second, we prove that for small, but nonzero discord, the structure of the globally pure state is arbitrarily close to the branching form. These provide strong evidence that this class of branching states is the only one compatible with the emergence of classical phenomenology, as described in Quantum Darwinism.


The objective of this study is to analyze the urban area that emerged after construction of Yavuz Selim Boulevard, in Trabzon City, Turkey. Cities contain many functional elements, such as businesses, gardens, parks, shops, medical and educational institutions, and transportation arteries such as roads, streets, boulevards, and avenues, which enable contact between all elements of a city. Cities change culturally, economically, and also physically and ecologically. However, although urbanization provides convenience for people, it also has disadvantages, such as causing a loss of natural features within the living space. In particular, changes made without appropriate design and planning disrupt the spatial integrity. Ninety-two buildings are situated on the south and north sides of Yavuz Selim Boulevard. In this study, the front and frontages of buildings and the area of road associated with each building are examined and spatial components are determined. In addition, building function and number of storeys, the differences between elevations of the road and entrances of buildings, road width, and the structural and botanical landscape elements are determined.


AIM
The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential effects of laser irradiation, which is commonly performed in periodontal surgery, on the surfaces of restorative materials.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Five different restorative dental materials were used in this study, as follows: (1) Resin composite, (2) poly acid-modified resin composite (compomer), (3) conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC), (4) resin-modified glass ionomer cement (RMGIC), and (5) amalgam. Four cylindrical samples (8 mm diameter, 2 mm height) were prepared for each restorative material. In addition, four freshly extracted, sound human incisors teeth were selected. Two different laser systems commonly used in periodontal surgery were examined in this study: A 810 nm diode laser at a setting of 1 W with continuous-phase laser irradiation for 10 s, and an erbium-and chromium-doped yttrium scandium gallium garnet (Er, Cr: YSGG) laser at settings of 2.5 W, 3.25 W, and 4 W with 25 Hz laser irradiation for 10 s. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed to evaluate the morphology and surface deformation of the restorative materials and tooth surfaces.

RESULTS
According to the SEM images, the Er, Cr: YSGG laser causes irradiation markings that appear as demineralized surfaces on tooth samples. The Er, Cr: YSGG laser also caused deep defects on composite, compomer, and RMGIC surfaces because of its high power, and the ablation was deeper for these samples. High-magnification SEM images of GIC samples showed the melting and combustion effects of the Er, Cr: YSGG laser, which increased as the laser power was increased. In amalgam samples, neither laser left significant harmful effects at the lowest power setting. The diode laser did cause irradiation markings, but they were insignificant compared with those left by the Er, Cr: YSGG laser on the surfaces of the different materials and teeth.

CONCLUSION
Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that Er, Cr: YSGG laser irradiation could cause distortions of the surfaces of restorative materials. Diode lasers can be preferred for periodontal surgery.


Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, akin to type 2 diabetes. However, screening for, management of, and education about co-morbidities is not always adequate and as a result, the co-morbid risks may be overlooked by the general public, some health professionals and policymakers alike. Dr. John originally developed and piloted a programme in group format in Dudley to educate RA patients about their cardiovascular risk and help them change their lifestyle to improve their health; it achieved promising results. The format however limited the number of people who could access it and NRAS wanted to make it as widely available as possible. The sad reality is that it is not unusual to meet someone with RA who does not realise that they are at an increased risk of heart disease, so they are far less likely to address factors such as smoking, weight and diet which are firmly within their control. Objectives Our aim was to create an engaging and interactive online programme to educate people with RA about heart disease and atherosclerosis. This programme should; explain in simple terms why they are at increased risk; include the opportunity to determine individual risk factors thereby allowing a QRISK2 score to be performed; provide a cognitive-behavioural framework to empower people to change their behaviours and achieve a healthier lifestyle, thereby reducing risk of premature death from heart disease. Methods The participant manual created for the group programme and working closely with Dr. John and other health professionals in Dudley (exercise physiologist, smoking cessation nurse, dietician, health psychologist) and patients who had attended the programme, we explored with our creative film production team the best way to adapt this to create a really engaging on-line experience which would allow participants to undertake the programme over time whilst working through the behaviour change goal-setting process. Two days of filming were done in Dudley and Maidenhead followed by a period of editing, additional recording and review. Beta testing of the programme will be conducted in February, piloting in March and launch anticipated for April 2017. Results Evaluation of both the programme and the potential to change health behaviours will be measured on completion of the programme and actual behaviour change will be measured at 6 months. Quote from a patient who participated in the face to face programme: "Before I did this programme I thought that I was doing pretty well in terms of diet and exercise but it showed me that there was a lot I wasn't aware of, that my knowledge of lifestyle factors wasn't adequate and I needed to do more to help myself. I found it a valuable and life-changing experience to do this programme." Conclusions We are very excited about the launch of this programme as it is an important new resource addressing the major co-morbidity which shortens the lives of those with RA. It is unique in that not only does it provide patient education, but it also provides a structure through which patient can change their behaviour. Furthermore, it also illustrates what can be achieved when patient-led charity organisations work alongside healthcare professionals; we are hugely excited by its potential. Disclosure of Interest None declared


This research paper analyzes archival and quantitative data from multiple research studies from various areas around the world. According to research, weather and crime have been found to have a significant correlation. This review essays advocates for further research regarding the correlation between weather and crime. The studies mentioned below, show evidence of a positive relationship between weather and crime. Studies of this nature are important baseline however, further research needs to be done to better enhance research resources for police departments.


68 pregnancies were observed with an intrauterine device in place, and the threat no longer visible in the cervical canal. The various diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities are described. Ultra-sonography is capable of localizing the I.U.C.D. in 4/5 of the cases. In some cases a positive identification of the I.U.C.D. is only possible by radiographic methods. In order to reduce the maternal risk of infection and to increase the chances for an uncomplicated course of the pregnancy the intra-uterine device needs to be extracted even when the threat is no longer visible. The hysteroscopic localization and extraction was found to be the safest and most effective method of retrieval. Among 26 cases, removal was feasible in 25 cases, and 21 pregnancies remained undisturbed.


With the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and its agreements relating to technical barriers, much attention has been devoted to the possibility of harmonizing international regulatory policies to reduce the impediments to commerce that result from regulatory heterogeneity. This paper argues that, as a normative matter, harmonization is inferior to a legal system that tolerates regulatory differences subject to legal constraints, and that relies on mutual recognition where appropriate (the exception to this claim being matters of technical compatibility between products). Related, as a positive manner, harmonization will often lack any political constituency and thus instances of true harmonization will be rare. To develop these claims, the paper carefully elucidates the unnecessary trade impediments that may result from regulatory heterogeneity, and shows how measures short of harmonization can usually address them adequately. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.


SIR, -There have been a number of worrying case reports when flumazenil treatment has been used in mixed poisoning with tricyclic antidepressants. 2 Dr Jonas Hojer and colleagues3 quite correctly state that a normal electrocardiogram recorded before giving flumazenil to an unconscious patient will imply a minimal risk of adverse reactions. The specific criteria used to define normal in this situation must, however, be clarified: a rate less than 100 beats/min, a QRS width less than 0-I s, and a corrected QT interval less than 0-418 s.4 It is also important to point out that only 10% of unconscious pauients in the study of Hojer and colleagues had taken a large amount of tricyclic antidepressants. In another study this figure was as high as 48%,' and the risk of adverse reactions may be higher in this group. We therefore suggest that readers consider the local prevalence of overdosage with tricyclic antidepressants before accepting the widespread use of flumazenil in comatose patients.


Bio-detection specially dedicated to distributed diagnostics is emerging as a quite important application for Nano-bioelectronics. Bio-detection is required to be highly sensitive in order to succeed in sensing small amount of bio-markers in patient's blood sample. Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) provides devices in the scale of the target molecules, thereby opening up possibilities to sense few bio-markers. Moreover, bio-detection is also required to be highly specific in order to succeed in disease discrimination. FET technology provides control in multi-panel biochip to enhance specificity. The aim of the present paper is to design an array of Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors (CNFETs) to provide nano-biosensing based on cytochromes P450. In particular, a novel CNFET biosensor array design is proposed which is robust to the imperfections in the CNTs thereby achieving high level of sensitivity. The proposed CNFET based design assures the improved specificity by means of a multi-gate controller at the nano-scale. The proposed application in distributed diagnostics is on detection of drugs in multi-components samples by multiplexing different P450 probes.


Significant quantities of generated peels are been thrown on dumping sites in southwest, Nigeria thereby constituting a source of environmental pollution. This study assessed the awareness of cassava peel utilization forms among cassava processors in rural communities of southwest, Nigeria. Interview guide was used to elicit information from 200 cassava processors through a multistage sampling technique. Data were analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. Result revealed that majority of the cassava processors were women (76.5%), married (75.0%), and members of cassava processing associations (89.5%) with 73.0% having at least primary education. The mean age and cassava processing experience were 53.01 and 22.76 years respectively. About 23.0% of the processed cassava tubers constituted peels. The study also revealed that 50% of the cassava processors discarded peels as waste, 26% sold generated peels while 24% fed the peels to their livestock. Also 93.5% of the cassava processors were not aware of any cassava peel utilization technology. Chi-square analysis revealed that significant association existed between existing practice on cassava peel utilization (χ2=17.341, p<0.05) and cassava processors' awareness of cassava peel utilization forms. The study concluded that substantial quantity of peel been generated is discarded as waste due to lack of awareness of cassava peel utilization technologies in the study areas. The study therefore recommended that improved technologies on the utilization of cassava peel should be popularized through result demonstration among cassava processors in southwest, Nigeria.


Viral infections can present with different patterns of joint and soft tissue involvement, and the etiologic role of viruses in various rheumatic diseases is a subject of continued great interest. Recently, new immunoenzymatic assays have brought a better understanding of the relationship between hepatitis C virus serotypes and their immunologic manifestations. Our knowledge of the consequences of parvovirus B19 infection has broadened to include the variable clinical spectrum the role of inflammatory cytokine production in parvovirus-induced arthritis, a postulated causative role for B19 in rheumatoid arthritis, and a negative association between parvovirus and Still's disease as well as chronic fatigue syndrome. New, specific antibodies to nonstructural protein NS-1 in parvovirus B19-associated arthritis have been detected. Arthritis related to hepatitis B virus vaccination or measles and mumps vaccination was also reported. The papers reviewed here demonstrate the continuing efforts in defining the etiopathogenesis of virus-induced rheumatic diseases.


In this paper, a novel constraint-following control for uncertain robot manipulators that is inspired by analytical dynamics is developed. The motion can be regarded as external constraints of the system. However, it is not easy to obtain explicit equations for dynamic modeling of constrained systems. For a multibody system subject to motion constraints, it is a common practice to introduce Lagrange multipliers, but using these to obtain explicit dynamical equations is a very difficult task. In order to obtain such equations more simply, motion constraints are handled here using the Udwadia-Kalaba equation(UKE). Then, considering real-life robot manipulators are usually uncertain(but bounded), by using continuous controllers compensate for the uncertainties. No linearizations/approximations of the robot manipulators systems are made throughout, and the tracking errors are bounds. A redundant manipulator of the SCARA type as the example to illustrates the methodology. Numerical results are demonstrates the simplicity and ease of implementation of the methodology.


Symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing, especially obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), are common in asthma patients and have been associated with asthma severity. It is known that asthma symptoms tend to be more severe at night and that asthma-related deaths are most likely to occur during the night or early morning. Nocturnal symptoms occur in 60-74% of asthma patients and are markers of inadequate control of the disease. Various pathophysiological mechanisms are related to the worsening of asthma symptoms, OSAS being one of the most important factors. In patients with asthma, OSAS should be investigated whenever there is inadequate control of symptoms of nocturnal asthma despite the treatment recommended by guidelines having been administered. There is evidence in the literature that the use of continuous positive airway pressure contributes to asthma control in asthma patients with obstructive sleep apnea and uncontrolled asthma.


Classical process control methods are not suitable when the number of observations is low. In this study, a Bayesian scheme is considered for a statistical process control problem where process mean is unknown and has jumps in both sides for normal observations. The aim of the study is to detect the changes in the mean for a short-run process. A random walk is defined to indicate the changes of the process mean in time. The posterior distribution of the process mean at time n is found to be a mixture of normal distributions.


Data hiding with deep neural networks (DNNs) has experienced impressive successes in recent years. A prevailing scheme is to train an autoencoder, consisting of an encoding network to embed (or transform) secret messages in (or into) a carrier, and a decoding network to extract the hidden messages. This scheme may suffer from several limitations regarding practicability, security, and embedding capacity. In this work, we describe a different computational framework to hide images in deep probabilistic models. Specifically, we use a DNN to model the probability density of cover images, and hide a secret image in one particular location of the learned distribution. As an instantiation, we adopt a SinGAN, a pyramid of generative adversarial networks (GANs), to learn the patch distribution of one cover image. We hide the secret image by fitting a deterministic mapping from a fixed set of noise maps (generated by an embedding key) to the secret image during patch distribution learning. The stego SinGAN, behaving as the original SinGAN, is publicly communicated; only the receiver with the embedding key is able to extract the secret image. We demonstrate the feasibility of our SinGAN approach in terms of extraction accuracy and model security. Moreover, we show the flexibility of the proposed method in terms of hiding multiple images for different receivers and obfuscating the secret image.


Uranium resources of the Lamar Quadrangle, Colorado and Kansas, were evaluated using National Uranium Resource Evaluation criteria. The environment favorable for uranium is the Lower Cretaceous Dakota Sandstone in the area east of John Martin Reservoir for south Texas roll-type sandstone deposits. Carbonaceous trash and sulfides are abundant in the Dakota Sandstone. The unit underlies a thick Upper Cretaceous section that contains bentonitic beds and uraniferous marine black shale. Water samples from the Dakota Sandstone aquifer contain as much as 122 ppB U/sub 3/O/sub 8/. Geologic units considered unfavorable include most of the Paleozoic rocks, except in the Brandon Fault area; the Upper Cretaceous rocks; and the Ogallala Formation. The Dockum Group, Morrison Formation, and Lytle Member of the Purgatoire Formation are unevaluated because of lack of data.


In Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992), the Supreme Court, by limiting the scope of its new per se rule to real property, made clear that it viewed property in land as entitled to a higher degree of protection against regulatory takings than other forms of property. In so doing, it made explicit what had been an implicit favoritism towards real property in the modern law of regulatory takings. The Court gave two reasons in Lucas for its favoritism towards land: the historical treatment of land in the American legal tradition and the expectations of property owners themselves. Neither of these explanations, however, can carry the weight of the Supreme Court's distinction. Nor can the Court turn to normative theory in support of its position. Libertarianism, utilitarian theory, personhood theory, public choice theory, and natural law theory, which together constitute a comprehensive cross-section of the normative accounts of property and takings law, all fail to support a categorical distinction between real and personal property in the regulatory takings context. Because favoritism towards land within regulatory takings law is unjustified, the Lucas doctrine (and, indeed, regulatory takings doctrine as a whole) should apply equally to real and personal property or not at all. The Court's own apparent discomfort with the implications of applying Lucas's per se rule in the context of personal property suggests problems with the Lucas rule itself. And, to the extent that the modern expansion of regulatory takings law has been made more palatable by its artificially narrow focus on land, the unjustified nature of that narrow focus may be a reason for rethinking that expansion.


This paper presents techniques for constructing full view panoramic mosaics from sequences of images. The goal of this work is to remove too many limitations for pure panning motion. The best reference block is critical for the block- matching method for improving the robustness and performance. It is automatically selected in the high- frequency image, which always contains the plenty visible features. In order to reduce accumulated registration errors, the global registration using the phase-correlation matching method with rotation adjustment is applied to the whole sequence of images, which results in an optimal image mosaic with resolving translational or rotational motion. The local registration using the Levenberg-Marquardt iterative non-linear minimization algorithm is applied to compensate for small amounts of motion parallax introduced by translations of the camera and other unmodeled distortions, when minimize the discrepancy after applying the global registration. The accumulated misregistration errors may cause a visible gap between the two images. A smoothing filter is introduced, derived from Marr's computer vision theory for removing the visible artifact. By combining both global and local registration, together with artifact smoothing, the quality of the image mosaics is significantly improved, thereby enabling the creation of full view panoramic mosaics with hand-held cameras.