The general trend in models for flow in unsaturated fractured porous media is to regard desaturated fractures as nonparticipating elements that impede flow. Mounting experimental and theoretical evidence shows that fractures retain and conduct liquid in the form of film and partially filled corner flow to a relatively low degree of saturation. A simple geometrical model for rough fracture surfaces is developed offering a tractable geometry for calculations of surface liquid storage due to adsorbed films and capillary menisci. Assuming that under slow laminar flow the equilibrium liquid configurations on the fracture surface are not modified significantly, the average hydraulic conductivities for film and corner flows were derived and used as building blocks for a representative fracture roughness element and an assemblage of statistically distributed surface roughness elements. Calculations for a single representative element yielded excellent agreement with surface storage and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity measurements of Tokunaga and Wan [1997]. A statistical representation of surface roughness using a gamma distribution of pit depths resulted in closed‐form expressions for unsaturated hydraulic conductivity averaged across the fracture length (transverse to flow) or weighted by the liquid cross section occupying the fracture surface. An important attribute of the surface roughness model is the direct link between fracture surface and matrix processes unified by the matric potential. The proposed model represents a first step toward development of a comprehensive approach for liquid retention and hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated fractured porous media based on details of liquid configuration for different matric potentials.


Summary The effects of adriamycin (AM) and daunorubicin (DM) have been compared in DBA/2 mice bearing an ascitic murine lymphocytic leukemia (P-288). Over a range of doses (either a single dose, or 1 dose daily for 5 days), the i.p. administration of AM increased the average survival times of leukemic mice from about 12 days (controls) to 25 days or more, and 10 to 20% of the animals were long-term survivors. In contrast, DM increased survival time only about 40% or less, with no long-term survivors. Mice given whole-body irradiation (250 R) or cyclophosphamide (150 mg/kg) prior to tumor implantation showed markedly decreased differential responses to these drugs. When AM was administered daily for 5 days, concurrently with methotrexate to mice bearing L1210 or P-288, the increased average survival times due to AM alone were reduced by the drug combination in both tumors. Tissue concentrations of the agents were determined by fluorometric analysis. Uptake of AM by P-288 in normal and irradiated hosts was generally less than that of DM during the early times after administration, although such differences diminished by 3 to 4 hr and after high doses. There were no marked differences in uptake of AM and DM by liver and thymus; in contrast, DM was found in spleen at concentrations about twice those of AM. These concentrations were reduced when mice were given irradiation and P-288 cells prior to administration of the drugs. The results indicate that DM may be more toxic to the spleen and, therefore, more immunosuppressive than AM. This difference may account for the greater efficacy of AM in various transplanted tumors.


J Korean Med Assoc 2010 July; 53(7): 544-547 c Korean Medical Association This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. J Korean Med Assoc 2010 July; 53(7): 544-547 DOI: 10.5124/jkma.2010.53.7.544 pISSN: 1975-8456 eISSN: 2093-5951 http://jkma.org


Adversarial test generation techniques aim to produce input perturbations that cause a DNN to compute incorrect outputs. For autonomous vehicles driven by a DNN, however, the effect of such perturbations are attenuated by other parts of the system and are less effective as vehicle state evolves. In this work we argue that for adversarial testing perturbations to be effective on autonomous vehicles, they must account for the subtle interplay between the DNN and vehicle states. Building on that insight, we develop DeepManeuver, an automated framework that interleaves adversarial test generation with vehicle trajectory physics simulation. Thus, as the vehicle moves along a trajectory, DeepManeuver enables the refinement of candidate perturbations to: (1) account for changes in the state of the vehicle that may affect how the perturbation is perceived by the system; (2) retain the effect of the perturbation on previous states so that the current state is still reachable and past trajectory is preserved; and (3) result in multi-target maneuvers that require fulfillment of vehicle state sequences (e.g. reaching locations in a road to navigate a tight turn). Our assessment reveals that DeepManeuver can generate perturbations to force maneuvers more effectively and consistently than state-of-the-art techniques by 20.7 percentage points on average. We also show DeepManeuver's effectiveness at disrupting vehicle behavior to achieve multi-target maneuvers with a minimum 52% rate of success.


In modern shipbuilding industry, merchant ships tend to increase in size. Accurate prediction of the vertical bending moment in large-maplitude waves has become important for structural design. For establishment of an accurate estimation method, more detailed local hydrodynamic quantities such as the spatial pressure distribution on the whole ship hull surface should be checked. For that purpose, the experiment has been conducted by means of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensing technology. Using the measured local pressure distribution by only sticking the FBG pressure sensors onto the hull surface, we can evaluate the wave loads; which may lead to establishment of a new evaluation method for the wave loads without using a segmented model. We confirm favorable agreement of the pressure distribution between measurement and computation by Rankine Panel Method (RPM). Furthermore, the vertical bending moment computed at some transverse sections shows favorable agreement between measured and computed results.


Abstract This paper reports an ongoing practice attempting to promote learning awareness and self-monitoring in a Japanese language oral communication classroom of a 12-Week Preparatory Course under the local in-service teachers' Japanese language teacher training programme. It aims to share the experiences and challenges faced in planning and implementation of the practice. In providing a mid-term review on the effort taken, an online questionnaire was administered to the 15 course participants. The results of the questionnaire obtained from 14 respondents, together with reflection reports submitted by 3 selected participants were examined to find out the influence of the practice onto their learning and perceptions among the participants towards the practice within the first half of the course of 6 weeks. The initial findings showed positive results in the aspect of learning awareness in all participants. However, there were only a few cases with indication in the aspect of self-monitoring. Keywords: active engagement, learning awareness, self-monitoring, Japanese language, oral communication, teacher training


We find the general solution to Polchinski's classical scattering equations for (1+1)-dimensional string theory. This allows efficient computation of scattering amplitudes in the standard Liouville{times}{ital c}=1 background. Moreover, the solution leads to a mapping from a large class of time-dependent collective field theory backgrounds to corresponding nonlinear {sigma} models. Finally, we derive recursion relations between tachyon amplitudes. These may be summarized by an infinite set of nonlinear partial differential equations for the partition function in an arbitrary time-dependent background.


Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma (CUP). Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary academic hospital. Subjects and Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on patients with new occult primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with nondiagnostic imaging and/or endoscopy who were treated with TORS at a tertiary hospital between 2009 and 2012. Direct costs were obtained from the hospital's billing system, and national data were used for inpatient hospital costs and physician fees. The proportion of tumors found in 3 strategies was used as effectiveness to calculate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Results In total, 206 head and neck robotic cases were performed at our institution between December 2009 and December 2012. Three surgeons performed TORS on 22 patients for occult primary squamous cell carcinoma. The primary tumor was located in 19 of 22 patients (86.4%). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for sequential and simultaneous examination under anesthesia with tonsillectomy (EUA) and TORS base of tongue resection was $8619 and $5774 per additional primary identified, respectively. Conclusion Sequential EUA followed by TORS is associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $8619 compared with traditional EUA alone. Bilateral base of tongue resection should be considered in the workup of these patients, particularly if the palatine tonsils have already been removed.


This paper presents a new training system for 3D audio space localization, part of a more complex project, Sound of Vision, which is intended to be an object recognition and navigation aid system for visually-impaired people.
As a large number of people are suffering from a visual handicap which impedes them from normally accomplishing their daily chores, there is need for an assistive device that replaces sight with another sense, for instance, hearing. The most important aspect in the sound localization techniques is the human capacity to discriminate between different sounds playing at various locations in space. The aim of the presented audio system is to train and test the subjects' space localization ability, hence to develop and improve their 3D recognition skills.
The solution uses binaural sounds conveyed through headphones as basic blocks, applying HRTFs to various sounds (Head Related Transfer Function - a physical propagation characteristic that describes how the ear perceives the sound coming from a particular point in space).
The acoustic signals represent short (e.g. 20ms long) white and pink noise sounds, externalized with non-individualized HRTFs recorded in dedicated lab environments. Thus, from a monaural noise sound, through the process of mathematical convolution with the corresponding angular HRTF impulse for both the left and right channels, we obtained a 3D binaural sound which is perceived as coming from the particular direction specified by the angular value of the convoluted HRTF.
The program is composed of a training module, where the user moves the mouse cursor inside a circle and hears a continuous binaural sound that corresponds to the azimuth angle indicated on the circle- ranging from 0 to 355 degrees, and a test module- where the subject is presented 10 different sounds that correspond to 10 different locations, being required to point out on the circle the presumed emitting location of the sound, as he perceives it. Through learning and training, the users (both normal-sighted and visually impaired subjects) performed various auditory tasks- identification, recognition, discrimination- and improved their sound localization capacity.
This paper gives on overview of 3 aspects: the technical realization of the system, the experimental results with a set of training subjects and the advanced observations about sound localization that we made.


Abstract I discuss current shifts in cultural understandings under postcolonial conditions with particular regard to the French-African-Antillean area. Through a short reconstruction of culture constitutive approaches, their continuation and criticism in the Antillean area and furthermore the Afropolitan interpretations by Mbembe, Enwezor and African artists, I come to the conclusion that we need an epistemological shift in the cultural studies discourse itself. Along the lines of the affirmative-critical aesthetic of the mentioned African theorists, curators and artists, I advocate that the cultural studies discourse distances itself from descriptions in terms of cultural contrast, of the same and the other, of white and black and so on. I argue that the discourse should abandon the idea of unified or oppositional cultures and instead emphasize the "composite-cultural", i.e. the entanglements of respective personal or societal forms of articulation and existence as well as profile the types of symbolic interpenetration, the temporally and aesthetically conditioned "dividuation". With examples from the African art context, I attempt to outline certain dividual procedures and to stress the fact that nowadays even western articulations are bound to endure forced cultural participation [Zwangsteilhabe]: Instead of discursive contrasts we are in need of analyses of the respective participation and (self-)dividuation processes.


This essay envisions a "world of fifty facebooks," where numerous companies would offer interoperable services, similar to the one currently provided by Facebook Inc. As is the case with telephones, where customers of AT&T can call and text those of T-Mobile or Verizon, users of A-Book should be able to find, communicate with and see the content of customers of B-Book, C-Book, etc. Facebook Inc. should be obliged by the law to allow potential competitors to become interoperable with its platform and to grant them access to its network. Today, Facebook Inc. uses its artificially created monopolistic position to impose excessive costs and unnecessary harms on consumers and on the society.

A contribution of this piece is a new theory of "price" that Facebook Inc. charges for its services, going beyond the conventional wisdom that users pay for access with their "personal data and attention." Instead, it argues that Facebook Inc. imposes on its users: (i) cognitive harms (emotional manipulation, risk of psychological and mental of health problems); (ii) behavioral harms (unwanted purchases, wasted time, risk of addiction); and (iii) privacy/security harms (risk of having the sets of amassed personal data stolen by hackers). The company also (iv) freerides on users' creative content and labor. Each of these harms constitutes a higher "price" or lower quality than could be available in a competitive market. Importantly, these costs do not result from the necessary features of "a facebook" but rather from Facebook Inc.'s data-collection-heavy, targeted-advertising-driven, business model. However, less harmful models are available.

The essays surveys possible legal strategies for achieving and sustaining "the world of fifty facebooks." As the debates about regulation of large platforms continue in the US and the EU, the piece serves as a reminder that, as a society, we face a choice. We might accept the central role that platforms like Facebook Inc. currently play in our socioeconomic lives and focus solely on taming the most abusive behaviors they engage in. Alternatively, we might embrace the fact that there's nothing natural nor necessary about this position and concentrate on re-structuring the online power relationships. Doing so requires imagination and political will, and this essay aims at fostering both.


Professional misconduct has become seemingly ubiquitous in recent decades. However, to date there has been little sustained effort to theorize the phenomenon of professional misconduct, how this relates to professional organizations, and how this may contribute to broader patterns of corruption and wrongdoing. In response to this gap, in this contribution we discuss the theoretical and empirical implications of analyses that focus on the nature, antecedents and consequences of professional misconduct. In particular, we discuss how the nature of professional misconduct can be quite variegated and nuanced, how boundaries between and within professions can be either too weak or too strong and lead to professional misconduct, and how the consequences of professional misconduct can be less straightforward than normally assumed. We also illuminate how some important questions about professional misconduct are still pending, including: how we define its different organizational forms; how it is instigated by the changing nature of professional boundaries; and how its consequences are responded to in professional organizations and society more widely.


iAbstract This was a cross-sectional study investigated the degree of depression among students of Islamic Azad University living in Takestan, Abhar, and Bouin-Zahra dormitories. A total of 407 male and female students were included in the present study performed in 2009. The Beck questionnaire was used as the measuring tool to collect data. The proposed theories were examined by statistical tests including chi square test, Mann Whitney test, Somers' D, Pearson's, and Kendall's correlation coefficients. Our data showed that 18.2% of students suffered from severe depression. The depression rate in Takestan, Abhar, and Bouin-Zahra dormitories was, 17.5, 14.7, and 21.9%, respectively. There was no significant difference in depression rate between the students of three dormitories. However, a significant correlation between the degree of depression and the conditions of dormitory was found (P=0.001).


The Locked-In Syndrome (LIS) is classically caused by an anterior pontine vascular lesion and characterized by quadriplegia and anarthria with preserved consciousness and intellectual functioning. We here review the definition, etiologies, diagnosis and prognosis of LIS patients and briefly discuss the few studies on their quality of life and the challenging end-of-life decisions that can be encountered. Some clinicians may consider that LIS is worse than being in a vegetative or in a minimally conscious state. However, preliminary data from chronic LIS survivors show a surprisingly preserved self-scored quality of life and requests of treatment withdrawal or euthanasia, though not absent, are infrequent.


tive multicentre trial of the ovulation method of natural family planning. 1.The teachingphase.Fertil Sterill981; 36: 152. II. The effectiveness phase.Fertil Sterill981; 36: 591. 4. TietzeC, Lewit S. Use-effectiveness of oral and intrauterinecontraception. FertilSteril 1971; 22: 508. 5. Klaus H, et 01. Use-effectiveness and client satisfaction in six centers teaching the Billings ovulation method. Contraception 1979; 19:613. 6. Mascarenhas MM, et 01. The use-effectiveness of the ovulation method in India. Trap Doc 1979; 9: 209.


In order to determine whether molecular features of odorants are represented spatially in the glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb, we used metabolic mapping of [14C] 2-deoxyglucose uptake in rats exposed to equal vapor concentrations of odorants differing systematically in chemical structure. The odorants were ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, isoamyl acetate, and isoamyl butyrate. Statistical analysis of anatomically standardized arrays of uptake revealed that each ester produced a characteristic spatial pattern of activity in the glomerular layer. The patterns were similar in different rats exposed to the same odorant, and their complexity increased with increasing odorant carbon number. This finding suggests that the presence of more potentially recognized molecular features is associated with a greater number of activated receptors. Individual regions of the glomerular layer responded specifically to isoamyl esters, and other regions preferred ethyl esters. Regions of similar specificity occurred in lateral and medial aspects of the bulb, the medial representation being more caudal and ventral than the lateral one. This pattern correlates with projections of olfactory sensory neurons expressing the same putative olfactory receptor gene. The patterns overlapped greatly in the posterolateral and posteromedial glomerular layer, a finding one should predict, given the large overlap in chemical structure across the aliphatic esters. Thus, molecular features appear to be encoded spatially in the glomerular layer, and the identity of the odorant may be determined by a subsequent decoding of the combination of molecular features represented in the glomerular layer.


The success of future military coalition operations—be they combat or humanitarian—will increasingly depend on a system's ability to share data and processing services (e.g. aggregation, summarization, fusion), and automatically compose services in support of complex tasks at the network edge. We call such an infrastructure instinctive—i.e., an infrastructure that reacts instinctively to address the analytics task at hand. However, developing such an infrastructure is made complex for the coalition environment due to its dynamism both in terms of user requirements and service availability. In order to address the above challenge, in this paper, we highlight our research vision and sketch some initial solutions into the problem domain. Specifically, we propose means to (1) automatically infer formal task requirements from mission specifications; (2) discover data, services, and their features automatically to satisfy the identified requirements; (3) create and augment shared domain models automatically; (4) efficiently offload services to the network edge and across coalition boundaries adhering to their computational properties and costs; and (5) optimally allocate and adjust services while respecting the constraints of operating environment and service fit. We envision that the research will result in a framework which enables self-description, discover, and assemble capabilities to both data and services in support of coalition mission goals.


The Need for Fundamental Change In his 1862 message to Congress, Abraham Lincoln stated that "the dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew (Lincoln, 1862/1940, p. 745). The words of Lincoln, president when Gallaudet University was established, are a timely challenge to the present educational system for deaf and hard of hearing children, many of whom have the dubious distinction of being the only students in this nation who go to school without access to the most fundamental of educational components: communication. The need and right to communicate with others, to exchange ideas and thoughts, to discuss the Russian Revolution or one's favorite author or the high salaries of professional athletes, the need to ask a teacher about a math problem-in short, the "right to language"-is necessary to educational growth and central to the human experience. Society exists, as John Dewey (1931/1967-1987) suggested, in and through communication. What parent of a hearing child would tolerate the placement of his or her child in a school where there were no language peers or where the teacher could not communicate directly with that child? What parent would tolerate the inability of the school system to teach basic reading and writing skills, even as we tolerate the inability to develop and enhance a deaf or hard of hearing child's communication skills? While it does not seem possible that there are children in America at the beginning of this millennium without communication, too many deaf and hard of hearing children have little or no language skills and limited communication access, both of which lead directly to social and linguistic isolation and high rates of academic failure. The one unchanging educational statistic continues to be that deaf and hard of hearing children leave school with third-grade reading skills (Marschark, 1997). Why is this so? The reasons are complex, rooted in ignorance about hearing loss and communication development, lack of information and support for parents, and the failure to provide early and effective communication for deaf and hard of hearing children. Of equal importance, our educational system does not provide quality, communication-based educational programs for deaf and hard of hearing children. There is neither universal communication access nor constant, programmatic communication development in school. In addition, important fiscal and programmatic determinations inexorably flow from the least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate, limiting communication access and development and making it difficult for any kind of systemic change to occur. There is no little irony here since the law and policy that should open doors for deaf and hard of hearing children do quite the opposite. Under the LRE mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a rich language environment is not required and indeed is often considered legally "segregated," whereas a communication-poor environment is often viewed as legally "inclusive." For many deaf and hard of hearing children, education is therefore a kind of Alice in Wonderland experience, where up is down and inclusion means exclusion. Until there is clear legal recognition of the primacy of communication, the educational system cannot serve deaf and hard of hearing children in a broad, effective way, and we will lose another generation of those children. The American ethic has been to ultimately recognize barriers placed before some American citizens, barriers that are so fundamentally harmful as to require a significant change in how our institutions function. But 46 years after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education ended the de jure (if not de facto) segregation of African American children, 27 years after the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 25 years after what is now known as IDEA was enacted to ensure that a child's "unique" needs were met, and 135 years after Gallaudet University was founded, deaf and hard of hearing children continue in an educational world where there is insufficient communication and therefore insufficient education. …


Micro-grinding is a machining method to create submillimeter structures, and it can be applicable to various kinds of materials with a flexible forming ability. However, the micro tool may be easily bended by the grinding force, which results in relative low form accuracy and worse ground surface roughness. To solve these problems, ultrasonic assistance was applied to micro-grinding. This paper proposes a method to calculate ground surface roughness theoretically using statistical approach, and the ground surface improving mechanism of ultrasonic assistance was clarified. Finally, the theoretical calculation was confirmed experimentally using a developed ultrasonic-assisted micro-grinding device.


Through the analysis of the positions taken in the discussion on Academic Writing, the article shows that the experience of Academic Writing adopted from Anglo-Saxon educational practices in many Russian universities is based on the traditional EAP (English for Academic Purposes) methods which have been systematically criticized for text-centricity and cultural universalism. The critical revision of the traditional EAP methods requires implementing a discourse analytical approach and cultural relativism in Academic Writing course. A review of critical studies on Academic Writing concludes that the criticism of the traditional EAP methods is developed on the basis of concepts worked in the Russian rhetoric tradition by researchers of the Bakhtin circle. The article points out that in the Russian educational context the EAP experience is to be implemented through a discourse analytical approach that has been adopted in the EAP practices in response to criticism. The concepts developed in the Russian rhetorical tradition are required to apply a discourse analytical approach in the Academic Writing course in Russian universities.


This paper describes the results of a feasibility study to test the usefulness of MERIS for land cover mapping. The Netherlands was used as a test site because of its highly fragmented landscape. Results showed that the geometric and radiometric properties of the studied MERIS images of the Netherlands are suitable for land applications. Calculation of principal components and correlation coefficients revealed that the 15 MERIS bands provided a lot of redundant spectral information. For land applications, information came from the visible part of the spectrum on the one hand and from the near‐infrared part on the other hand. In addition, the red‐edge slope of the reflectance curve (in particular MERIS band 9 at about 708 nm) provided supplementary information. The Dutch land use database LGN5 was used as a reference for classifications in this study after aggregation from 25 m to 300 m and recoding to 7 relevant land cover classes. For land cover classification best results in terms of classification accuracies were obtained for the image of 14 July 2003. For the seven land cover classes selected the overall classification accuracy was 67.2%. A multitemporal classification did not improve the overall classification accuracy.


Most of the companies have firewalls in order to protect their internal networks and assets from the attacker of the cyber space. Firewall policies should be maintained and organized with high importance. However, considering the length of time needed in analyzing the highly complex policies and the risks of disabling firewall that may arise in case of a false policy setting. It is extremely hard to securely optimize the performance of firewalls. This paper is to suggest a visualization tool that shows the status and the types of policies applied throughout the firewalls so that such difficulties related to the maintenance of firewall policies can be resolved. The proposed tool is designed in six different angles; (1) Hierarchy-view, (2) Anomaly-view, (3) Distributed-view, (4) ANYPolicy-view, (5) SearchResult-view, and (6) Top and Bottom Used-view. The core of the overall function is to facilitate the easy identification of the policy interrelationships. The visualization tool has been tested by being applied across approximately 24 different firewall policies. The processing speed of each function and abuse detection rate were all reviewed positively. By the help of the tool, identifying the services, performance improvement, and visibility of the policy relations, which thereby will lead to better safety in preserving the assets intact. A video of the proposed visualization tool can be found on the web site: https://youtu.be/43OfHN8dteU


Many of the UK's seabird species have displayed high variation in breeding success since the 1980s, largely due to changes in the availability of Lesser Sandeels Ammodytes marinus, their main prey. During this time, Arctic Skuas Stercorarius parasiticus experienced a rapid decline in the UK and the species has subsequently been placed on the Red List of birds of conservation concern. Although shortage of Lesser Sandeels is likely to be an influential factor, the Arctic Skua's breeding range overlaps with that of the Great Skua Stercorarius skua, a larger bird with a more varied diet, and interspecific interactions for nesting habitat may exert an additional pressure on Arctic Skua breeding populations. Results from four censuses, spanning 21 years, were used to model habitat use and analyse distributional change in nesting Arctic Skuas at a major colony located on Fetlar, Shetland, Scotland. The decline in Arctic Skuas was not uniform across the island and competition with Great Skuas for nest-sites appears to have influenced localized breeding distribution. By 2006, Arctic Skuas had been almost entirely excluded from shrub heath, blanket bog and coastal heath habitats, which were identified as preferred habitat in 1986. In 2006, Arctic Skua breeding territories were mainly restricted to one core area of preferred habitat where over 90% nested in high density as this habitat became increasingly occupied by Great Skuas. The more generalist foraging habit of the Great Skua allowed the population to grow rapidly as numbers of the more specialist Arctic Skua decreased during times of low sandeel availability. Our model suggests that both interspecific competition for territories with Great Skuas and food limitation have played important roles in the decline of Arctic Skuas on Fetlar.


NullPointerExceptions (NPEs) are a key source of crashes in modern Java programs. Previous work has shown how such errors can be prevented at compile time via code annotations and pluggable type checking. However, such systems have been difficult to deploy on large-scale software projects, due to significant build-time overhead and / or a high annotation burden. This paper presents NullAway, a new type-based null safety checker for Java that overcomes these issues. NullAway has been carefully engineered for low overhead, so it can run as part of every build. Further, NullAway reduces annotation burden through targeted unsound assumptions, aiming for no false negatives in practice on checked code. Our evaluation shows that NullAway has significantly lower build-time overhead (1.15×) than comparable tools (2.8-5.1×). Further, on a corpus of production crash data for widely-used Android apps built with NullAway, remaining NPEs were due to unchecked third-party libraries (64%), deliberate error suppressions (17%), or reflection and other forms of post-checking code modification (17%), never due to NullAway's unsound assumptions for checked code.


Several woven fabric self-lubricating liners with weft densities of 200-450 root/10cm in a spacing of 50 root/10cm have been prepared to investigate the tribological performances of the liner under severe working conditions, such as low velocity and heavy load (110, 179 and 248 MPa) and high velocity and light load (9, 18 and 27 m/min) by utilizing the self-lubricating liner performance assessment tester, and MMU-5G friction and wear tester respectively. The worn surface is characterized using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The tribological results show that the fabric self-lubricating liners with different weft densities share almost the same tribological property variation tendency. Fabric tightness affects the wear rate and the stability of wear resistance of liners under severe working conditions. The overall level of friction coefficient and the wear rate of liners with different weft densities are influenced by the cold flow degree of the polymer. In addition, proper weft density improves the tribological properties of liner and a preferred weft density for the liner under severe working conditions is found to be 300-350 root/10cm.


The efficiency of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning depends critically on the presence or absence of multiple local minima in the feasible search space. We analyse the convexity of the generalized equivalent uniform dose equation (Niemierko A 1999 Med. Phys. 26 1100) when used either in the objective function or in the constraints. The practical importance of this analysis is that convex objective functions minimized over convex feasibility spaces do not have multiple local minima, likewise for concave objective functions maximized over convex feasibility spaces. Both of these situations are referred to as 'convex problems' and computationally efficient local search methods can be used for their solution. We also show that the Poisson-based tumour control probability objective function is strictly concave (if one neglects inter-patient heterogeneity), and hence it implies a single local minimum if maximized over a convex feasibility space. Even when including inter-patient heterogeneity, multiple local minima, although theoretically possible, are expected to be of minimal concern. The generalized equivalent uniform dose function (EUDa) is proved to be convex or concave depending on its only parameter a: when a is equal to or greater than 1, minimizing EUDa, on a convex feasibility space leads to a single minimum; when a is less than 1, maximizing EUDa, on a convex feasibility space leads to a single minimum. We also study a recently proposed practical, yet difficult, IMRT treatment planning formulation: unconstrained optimization of the objective function proposed by Wu et al (2002 Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 52 224-35), which is expressed in terms of the EUDa for the target and normal tissues. This formulation may theoretically lead to multiple local minima. We propose a procedure for improving resulting solutions based on the convexity properties of the underlying objective function terms.


Regulations of gonadotropin secretion by circulating inhibin, estradiol, and progesterone in cyclic hamsters. Am. J. Physiol. 277 ( Endocrinol. Metab. 40): E876–E882, 1999.—The physiological importance of gonadal hormones in feedback control of gonadotropin secretion during the estrous cycle in golden hamsters was investigated with immunoneutralization methods. Anti-inhibin serum (inhibin-AS) treatment always induced a drastic increase in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion and occasionally raised luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. Anti-estradiol-17 b serum (estradiol-AS) treatment increased LH secretion typically. Although estradiol-AS ele- vated FSH secretion occasionally, the elevation was much less than that by inhibin-AS. Plasma FSH reached ovariecto- mized levels by a synergistic effect of both antisera. Elevated plasma LH with both antisera was much less pronounced than in ovariectomized animals. Plasma LH increased dra-matically to the levels in the ovariectomized group when antibody against progesterone (progesterone-AB) was given together with inhibin-AS and estradiol-AS, although proges- terone-monoclonal antibody alone did not alter plasma gonadotropin levels. These results indicate that in hamsters FSH secretion is mainly regulated by inhibin and LH secretion is regulated by estradiol-17 b and progesterone during the estrous cycle.


This paper introduces an XML representation for the parametric data model handling temporal data. The parametric data model represents an object either in a single tuple or in multiple tuples. This feature reduces query complexities at the user level and provides elegant approaches to manage temporal data. However, this property requires the data model to have flexible attribute value sizes and causes the implementation complexity despite its advantages. To solve this problem, parametric databases have to manage variable attribute value sizes, which are in the same attribute field. XML can provide a feasible solution to represent parametric databases. XML does not have any boundary restrictions. In this paper, we introduce an XML representation scheme for the parametric data model and show that the scheme reflects the properties in the parametric data model.


Background
Youth who are obese have high risk of poor knee health and cartilage damage. Understanding factors which may affect knee health in youth who are obese is critical for preservation of knee integrity and function.

Objective
This study compared standing frontal-plane knee alignment and knee loading patterns between youth who are obese and those of healthy weight and determine the association between knee alignment and knee loading patterns during walking and jogging.

Design
This study used a cross-sectional matched pair design.

Methods
Twenty youth who were obese and 20 youth who were healthy-weight (ages 11-18 years) were recruited. Three-dimensional motion analysis quantified standing frontal-plane knee alignment as well as frontal- and sagittal-plane knee moments during walking and jogging. Paired t -tests, multiple analysis of covariance, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were used for analysis.

Results
The youth who were obese demonstrated greater knee valgus in standing ( P  = 0.02), lower normalized peak external knee adduction moments during walking ( P  = 0.003), and greater normalized peak external knee extension moments during jogging ( P  = 0.003) compared with the youth who were healthy-weight. Standing knee alignment did not correlate with knee moments in the youth who were obese.

Limitations
Results are limited to small, homogeneous cohorts. The standing alignment methodology is not validated in this population and may limit interpretation of results.

Conclusion
Youth who are obese stand in more knee valgus and have altered knee loading patterns during walking and jogging compared with youth who are healthy-weight. Frontal-plane knee alignment does not correlate with frontal-plane knee loading patterns in youth who are obese. A better understanding of other mechanisms related to joint loading in youth who are obese is necessary to maintain long-term joint integrity in this population.


The next generation of embedded systems will be dominated by mobile devices, which are able to deliver communications and rich multimedia content anytime, anywhere. The major themes in these ubiquitous computing systems are applications with increased user control and interactivity with the environment. Therefore, the storage of dynamic data increases, thus making the dynamic memory allocation of heap data at run time a very important component with heavy energy consumption. In this paper, we propose a novel script, which heavily customizes the dynamic memory allocator according to the target application domain and the underlying memory hier-archy of the embedded system. The dynamic memory allocator resides in the middleware level or in the Operating System level (whenever it is available). The result of our script and automated tools is the reduction of energy consumption by 72% on average and the reduction of the execution time by 40% on average, which is demonstrated with the use of 1 real life wireless network appli-cation and 1 multimedia application.


Fouling is a serious problem that can reduce the performance of the membrane. Therefore the provision of a membrane with low fouling (non-fouling) is an important thing to do. Non-fouling membrane preparation can be done in two ways, namely modification of the membrane surface after it is created (post-modification) and with mixing (blending) during the manufacturing process. However, the surface modification requires an additional step, while the blending method, produced modification is less stable because there is only mixed without a chemical bond. This paper presents the process  of Ultrafiltration membrane (UF) of polyether sulfone (PES) by mixing polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an additive and exposed to ultraviolet (UV) that will form a non-fouling membranes are stable. In general, the experiment was conducted on the preparation of the solution casting, followed by irradiation with UV light before it immersed in water for one day and dried. The research was carried out by varying the concentration of PEG, photo-initiator benzophenon, type of UV rays, and long irradiation. Characterization of membrane permeability measurements made with pure water, the appearance of the membrane surface with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and determine the functional groups on the membrane by FTIR. The results showed that irradiation with UV light and the PEG has a significant influence on the characteristics and performance of the membrane.


The discursive construction of short contract counselling in an Irish third level college This study uses a Foucauldian discourse analysis methodology to explore the discursive construction of student counselling in general, and short contract counselling in particular, in an Irish third level college. Short contract counselling is defined as a small standard number, usually no more than six or eight, sessions of counselling which is offered at the outset to most student counselling clients. This is a widely accepted but little researched model of delivery in student counselling. This study seeks to understand the discourses involved when student counselling and short contract counselling is spoken about. It explores the operation of disciplinary power and how the effects of the short contract model operate in practice.
Thirteen students who had been offered more than the standard number of six sessions were interviewed. This group, who do not fit the 'norm', were selected based on the Foucauldian notion that it is at the margins of a phenomena that the elements which contribute to its social construction become more visible. A focus group was also held with student counsellors.
Participants drew on a number of discourses which included stigma, risk, recovery, consumer rights, professional knowledge, managerialism, productivity and surveillance.
Different positions were adopted in response to these discourses. For clients there was oscillation between the position of being dependent and stigmatised and inhabiting the discourse of a rights based entitled consumer. For the counsellors the positions adopted moved between the role of the expert to one of being influenced by a protocol driven managerial discourse of accountability.
The discourse of productivity with its emphasis on promoting a rapid return to academic functioning suggests that student counselling functions in a Foucauldian sense, as a disciplinary practice. These developments suggest the increasing penetration of a neoliberal agenda into the sphere of student counselling.


The Pomerol vineyard (France) is located 35 km east from Bordeaux, on the left side of the Isle river. Its area is approximately 800 ha. The geology is made of a system of fluvial terraces, including gravels and stones of various sizes. The underlying substratum is made of tertiary clays and sands. This stratification of terraces of various thickness leads to overlays of very different materials in which various soil development are observed.We studied the distribution of soils and produced a 1/25 000 soil map showing four main soil scapes and 11 soil maping units. The four main soil scapes were : a plateau, mainly characterised by the presence of swelling clays ; a large area (south and west) made of filtering sands on underlying more clayey materials ; the lower terraces with deep sandy soils ; and areas of immature soils from recent colluvial or alluvial origin. The soil survey pointed out the great variability of soils within the Pomerol vineyard. The textural properties exhibited a very broad range from very sandy to heavy clayey ones, with abrupt changes, both laterally and vertically. These various textural changes might induce various water behaviours.All basic soil data were stored into a geographical information system. Besides its interest for map production, this computerization enables a better characterization of mapping units variability. Actually, from a soil map user point of view, the range of variation - and even the statistical distribution - of a given parameter is as important as the mean observed value. This study gives an exarnple of spatial output taking into account this variability. These georeferenced data will also allow the overlay with other sources of geographical information.


Hospice service redesign aims to achieve the greatest impact for the greatest number of people within limited resources. The strategic direction within the NHS is towards care as close to home as possible, reducing avoidable admissions and improving patient experience of end of life care. However there is little published evidence describing patient use of hospice inpatient services, despite this significant resource. Our aim was to enhance understanding of why patients are admitted to two hospice inpatient units within one Health Board area, to describe the characteristics of patients admitted and explore their needs and wishes in this process. We are conducting a prospective mixed methods evaluation. Using case note review, we are collecting data on approximately 250 hospice inpatient admissions. In addition, we are conducting up to 40 interviews with patients and carers to explore expectations and feelings around the admission; and seek feedback from the referrer and the receiving staff about appropriateness of admission and alternatives to admission. We will present preliminary data on the reasons for referral to the hospice inpatient services, describe characteristics of patients referred including Adapted Karnofsky Performance Score, Phase of Illness and iPOS on admission; along with preliminary qualitative findings regarding patient and carer perspectives about hospice admission. Our findings will inform our understanding of the use of hospice inpatient services and how resources can be most effectively allocated to meet patient and family needs and preferences within a locality. This will allow meaningful service redesign, ensuring the patient experience informs change.


Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) is one of the required inputs for estimating the PMP design flood. In estimating the PMP, currently no allowance is made for long-term climatic trends. This study aims to assess how climate change might affect estimates of PMP. Preliminary results from this work will be presented. Changes in factors used in PMP estimation, such as storm type and depth-duration-area curves, were assessed using a storm database covering the period 1893 to 2001 (Beesley et al, 2004). Based on the last 50 years, there is little evidence to support the notion that tropical cyclones (connected to major rainfall events) are penetrating further south or have become more frequent. A recent event that led to widespread flooding (Gold Coast, June 2005) was found to have very high storm efficiency. Changes in observed and projected moisture availability were assessed on the basis of a high-quality dataset of surface dew point temperatures and climate model output. It is assumed that PMP received by a catchment is not uniformly distributed over the catchment but rather follows a typical spatial pattern. A pilot study to revise design rainfall estimates is currently under way at the Bureau of Meteorology. The methods developed in the pilot study were used to assess whether the spatial distribution of design rainfall estimates might be changing under a changing climate.


OBJECTIVE
Previous research has suggested that antidepressants can be used in oral health care. The aim of this systematic review was to search for scientific evidence of the efficacy of the use of antidepressants in dentistry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The clinical question was as follows (PICO question): dentistry patients (Patients); antidepressants (Intervention); no use or placebo or other drug (Comparison); and efficacy in oral health problems (Outcome). An electronic search was conducted in seven databases, as well as a manual search without restriction regarding language and date of publication. Two independent reviewers selected studies based on eligibility criteria, extracted data and assessed methodological quality based on the PEDro scale. The PROSPERO record is number CRD42016037442.

RESULTS
A total of 15 randomized controlled trials were associated with the use of antidepressants to control chronic or acute pain in dentistry, among other conditions such as bruxism and burning mouth syndrome. The most commonly used drug in clinical trials was amitriptyline (more than 50% of studies).

CONCLUSIONS
Antidepressants may be effective in dentistry for acute and chronic pain, but there is a large amount of methodological heterogeneity among the evaluated studies. In summary, there is rationality for the indication of this class of medicine in dentistry in specific clinical situations.


It is beyond doubt that location selection plays a vital role in retailing. Even though the reasons upon which customers base their destination choice are well investigated, there are only few studies considering a retailer's location selection process. Moreover, most of them look either at a subset of location factors or don't examine the perceived relevance to a retailer's location decision. Thus, the aim of this paper is to explore in what way retail location factors influence the attractiveness of a prospective site from a retailer's point of view. Therefore, a comprehensive catalogue of relevant location determinants was developed based on a systematic literature review. The final catalogue has been operationalised by drawing on qualitative data from expert interviews in order to implement it in the applied Hierarchical-Individualised-Limit-Conjoint-Analysis (HILCA). Then, a quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted amongst food retailers in the German-speaking area to determine the weight of each factor in location decisions using HILCA. The empirical results provide evidence that other factors besides the well-known (e.g. population density, competition conditions or assumed catchment area) have notable influence on the retailer's location decision. (author's abstract)


OBJECTIVE
Treatment of posttraumatic osteoarthritis of the upper ankle joint by implantation of an uncemented total ankle joint prosthesis.

INDICATIONS
Painful osteoarthritis of any kind affecting the upper ankle joint with adequate joint stability, without significant bone deformity of the ankle axes (deviation of the lower leg axis in the distal third in the horizontal and sagittal planes < or = 20 degrees ), without manifest osteoporosis, with normal peripheral vascularity, correct alignment of the hindfoot, minimal sports expectations on the part of the patient, and good residual range of motion.

CONTRAINDICATIONS
Avascular talus necrosis > or = 25%. Degenerative neuropathic joint disease (Charcot's joint). Acute or chronic ankle joint infection. Sensory or motor dysfunction of the foot. Preceding arthrodesis of the ankle with resection of the malleoli. Medial instability of the upper ankle joint. Tibiotalar varus or valgus deformity > 20 degrees .

SURGICAL TECHNIQUE
Anterior approach to the upper ankle joint. Resection of the distal tibial joint surface and the cranial talar surface including the sides of the talus. Uncemented implantation of the talar cap, and the tibial component. Insertion of a polyethylene sliding core.

RESULTS
From January 2004 to March 2005, 13 patients with posttraumatic osteoarthritis were treated by implantation of an uncemented S.T.A.R. ankle prosthesis (Scandinavian Total Ankle Replacement). The indication for total joint replacement in all cases was advanced osteoarthritis of the upper ankle joint that could no longer be managed by conservative treatment. In one patient, the medial malleolus fractured intraoperatively and had to be stabilized with a screw. There was neither deep nor superficial infection. One patient developed persistent chronic regional pain syndrome without radiologic evidence. After an average follow-up period of 6.8 months (3-12 months), the range of motion had improved in all patients from 10-0-20 degrees to 15-0-30 degrees on average. The AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society) Hindfoot Score improved from 53 to 89 points.


People aged 50 years and over often show nutritional vulnerability in South-Asia including Bangladesh. Consequently, they present physical weakness and illness that escalate overtime. In Bangladesh, community-focused investigations have potentials to inform healthcare interventions, but current studies examine older adults' nutrition status which are not all-encompassing [e.g., wetland communities]. We, therefore, assessed the malnutrition status among wetland community-dwelling older adults aged ≥50 years in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey with 400 older adults was conducted in the north-eastern wetland community of Bangladesh through simple random sampling. Demographic and health information were collected using a structure questionnaire and the Nestle Mini Nutrition Assessment-Short Form criteria was used to assess the nutrition status. Respondent's socio-demographic and health profiles were assessed, and the Pearson's Chi-square association test was performed to identify the associated socio-demographic and health factors of older adult's malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition were 59.75 and 39.75 percent respectively. Malnutrition prevalence rate was higher with increasing of age and female were more malnourished than male. The age, gender, educational status, occupation and income were significantly associated with older adults' malnutrition. The wetland community-dwelling people who are suffering sleeping disorders and poor self-rating health condition were found to be more malnourished. The findings confirm that the prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition are high among community-dwelling people aged ≥50 years in wetland communities. Our findings suggest the health professionals to implement public health and clinical interventions simultaneously to improve nutritional status of this cohort.


Objective: To investigate the in vivo and in vitro therapeutic effect of 188Re -MAG3-depreotide on nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: MTT was done to measure the cell proliferation; flow cytometry to detect cell apoptosis; Transwell invasion assay to determine the invasiveness of NSCLC. In addition, HE staining, TUNEL staining and immunohistochemistry for CD34 were employed to investigate the influence of 188Re -MAG3-depreotide on the growth of NSCLC. Results: 1) Within 2-6 days, the inhibitory effect of 188Re -MAG3-depreotide on the proliferation of A549 cells and SPC-A1 cells increased over time. 2) At 48 h after treatment with 188Re -MAG3depreotide, the apoptosis rate of A549 cells and SPC-A1 cells was 23.1% and 22.6%, respectively. 3) After 188Re -MAG3-depreotide treatment, the number of invasive A549 cells and SPC-A1 cells was reduced by about 3 times when compared with control group. 4) The cancer in the control group presented with unlimited growth. The cancer growth continued after treatment with 188Re or MAG3-depreotide alone, while the cancer growth was markedly inhibited after 188Re -MAG3-depreotide treatment when compared with control group. Conclusion: 188Re-MAG3depreotide can inhibit the proliferation and invasion of A549 cells and SPC-A1 cells. Treatment with 7.4MBq 188ReMAG3-depreotide via tail vein can significantly suppress the in vivo cancer growth and induce the apoptosis of cancer cells. These findings demonstrate that 188Re-MAG3-depreotide can induce the apoptosis of NSCLC cells and directly kill the NSCLC cells, which provide evidence for the radiotherapy of NSCLC.


Minimally invasive surgery has been widely adopted in general surgery as well as many surgical subspecialties and has multiple benefits including lower perioperative complications and decreased length of stay (1). Despite a consistent increase in the use of laparoscopy in colorectal cases over a 10-year time period, from 22.7% in 2005 to 49.8% in 2014 (2), colorectal surgery tends to lag behind other specialties, including general (3,4). Further, as mentioned by Abu Gazala and Wexner, these rates are likely lower than actual national rates given the more academic and urban makeup of institutions participating in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.


We assessed the correlation between HIV-RNA viral load in blood (BPVL) and seminal plasma (SPVL) in a cross-sectional cohort of 119 asymptomatic, antiretroviral-naive and experienced HIV-1 subjects (BPVL < 50 copies/mL for minimum 12 months and stable on one drug regimen). The cohort was divided into 3 groups: 2 according to the non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) and protease inhibitor (PI) used, and 1 untreated group. At the initial visit, subjects were screened for gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis. Blood was collected for CD4 count, BPVL, and general biochemistry and haematology. Semen was collected concurrently and SPVL determined by the NucliSens HIV-1 QT PCR (BioMerieux, Boxtel, The Netherlands). At a subsequent visit, a second semen sample was obtained and SPVL was repeated for 10 subjects on ART. All NNRTI subjects (n = 36, mean treatment 33 months +/- 14) and PI subjects (n = 45, mean treatment 31 months +/- 25) had BPVL < 50 copies/mL and SPVL < 250 copies/mL at baseline and with repeat sampling. 9/119 subjects (8%) had an asymptomatic STI; 4 cases in the treated groups and 5 in the untreated group. Treated subjects were less likely to have an STI than untreated subjects. In conclusion, asymptomatic STIs had no effect on BPVL or SPVL in either treated group and SPVL remains undetectable over time. STIs minimally increase, or do not increase, SPVL in untreated patients. Our data supports the role of ART in lowering the risk of sexual transmission of HIV-1.


(1969) also studied alopecia areata and thyroid disease and confirmed Muller and Winkelmann's findings but were unable to show an increased prevalence of thyroglobulin antibody in comparison to Dingle et al. (1966) in a survey of a general practice population in northern England. On the other hand, Kern et al. (1973) looked for additional evidence of autoimmunity in 40 cases of alopecia areata and showed a significantly raised prevalence of antibodies against thyroglobulin, parietal cells, adrenal cells, and thyroid cells. They could not, however, find antibodies against cells of hair follicles. Munro and Chanarin (1974) have confirmed an increased prevalence of intrinsic factor and parietal cell antibodies in female patients with alopecia areata compared with a control group. Benda (1949) noted a history of thyroid disease in 38-5% of mothers of mongols. Other workers (Kurland et al., 1957; Coppen and Cowie, 1960; Hayles et al., 1965; Fialkow, 1966) have confirmed this and shown mongols themselves to be particularly susceptible to thyroid disease. Recently thyroid antibodies have been shown to be unusually common in mongols and their relatives (Mellon et al., 1963; Fialkow et al., 1965; Saxena and Pryles, 1965; Burgio et al., 1966; Dallaire and Flynn, 1967; Vanhaelst et al., 1970). Similar findings occur in two other chromosomal abnormalities-namely, Klinefelter and Turner's syndromes (Sparkes and Motulsky, 1963; Williams et al., 1964). In our series 8 (35%) of the female mongols with alopecia areata had thyroid antibodies compared with only 2 (9%) of a group of age-matched female mongols without alopecia areata. Fialkow (1970) found that 34% of 106 mongols in an institution had thyroid antibodies. He did not specify whether any of them had alopecia areata. Jacobs et al. (1969) measured antibodies to thyroid cytoplasm, parietal cells, and intrinsic factor in a randomly selected normal population in Wales. They found thyroid antibodies in 12-2% of the female subjects under the age of 55 and in 17-8% of those over this age. Doniach et al. (1963), in a survey of 100 normal female subjects selected at random, found antibodies in 13%. Our findings in female mongols with alopecia areata differ significantly (P <0-01) from both those series, whereas the results in the female mongols without alopecia areata do not. Mongolism is a chromosomal disorder and yet thyroid autoantibodies are often found in the condition. Alopecia areata occurs commonly in autoimmune disorders. We have shown that alopecia areata occurs more frequently in mongols than would be expected by chance, which suggests that there is a link between autoimmunity and chromosomal abnormalities.


Research has shown that group support systems (GSS) can be used to substantially improve learning at all levels of formal education. However, some instructors are reluctant to adopt GSS because they are concerned that learners will engage in flaming, or verbal attacks intended to offend either persons or organizations and often characterized by profanity, obscenity, and insults. This paper posits that flaming is caused by hostility engendered by a perception that vested interests have been or are about to be violated. It further posits that the relationship between hostility and flaming is moderated by personal values and risk of reprisal. A longitudinal experiment is presented that provides empirical support for the model. The paper then reports five field cases highlighting various strategies used by instructors for reducing or eliminating flaming.


Present study aims to investigate the migration of materials onto the surface of workpiece and electrode during fine-finish die-sinking and milling micro-EDM of tungsten carbide using pure tungsten electrode. The effect of materials transfer on the machined surface characteristics is also presented. The machined surfaces have been examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) in order to investigate the changes in chemical composition due to the migration of materials. It has been observed that materials from both workpiece and electrode transfer to each other depending on machining conditions and discharge energy. A significant amount of carbon migrates to both electrode and workpiece surface due to the decomposition of dielectric hydrocarbon during breakdown. The migration occurs more frequently at lower gap voltages during finish die-sinking micro-EDM due to low spark gap and stationary tool electrode. Milling micro-EDM suffers from lower amount of carbon migration and fewer surface defects which improve the overall surface finish and reduce surface roughness significantly.


Inefficient marketing service increases price spread, which is a common feature in developing countries. The study aimed to analyze factors affecting retail-price spread of rice in Nepal using the Relative Price Spread (RPS) model with cross section data collected from four districts namely Jhapa, Morang, Chitwan, and Rupandehi in 2008. The flow of the product was traced forward and backward from the selected wholesaler respondents for selecting the farmer and the retailor respondents randomly. The marketing margin is higher in the farm to wholesale market as compared to the wholesale to retail market. The result revealed that the marketing cost, wholesale price of rice, retail prices of rice, and market information to the farmer significantly influence the marketing margin. Reduction in the transportation cost, improving the market information system, and improving the role of farmer in price determination help reduce the marketing margin. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 47-52 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7587


Superconducting flux qubits with three Josephson junctions are promising candidates for the building blocks of a quantum computer. We have applied the imaginary time evolution method to study the model of this qubit accurately by calculating its wavefunctions and eigenenergies. Because such qubits are manipulated with magnetic flux microwave pulses, they might be irradiated into non-computational states, which is called the leakage effect. By the evolution of the density matrix of the qubit under either hard-shaped π-pulse or Gaussian-shaped π-pulse to carry out quantum NOT operation, it has been demonstrated that the leakage effect for a flux qubit is very small even for hard-shaped microwave pulses while Gaussian-shaped pulses may suppress the leakage effect to a negligible level.


ISO 185/JL/350 is a higher-tensile-strength gray cast iron that has a pearlitic matrix, and a tensile strength of 350–450 MPa (51–65 ksi), when determined on test pieces machined from separately cast, 30 mm (1.2 in.) diameter test bars. It provides a combination of high strength while still maintaining good thermal conductivity compared with other types of cast iron. This grade approaches the maximum tensile strength attainable in gray cast iron. Applications therefore tend to be confined to those where thermal conductivity requirements in service preclude the use of one of the other higher-strength materials such as spheroidal graphite cast irons, which have inferior thermal properties. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, and tensile properties. It also includes information on wear resistance as well as casting and heat treating. Filing Code: CI-85. Producer or source: International Organization for Standardization.


The paper reports on the power system simulator tests that were performed on the actual control system of the Forbes static VAr system (SVS). This SVS, commissioned in May 1994, is one of the major components of the Manitoba-Minnesota Transmission Upgrade (MMTU) project. The MMTU project and the need for a SVS at Forbes are first discussed. The main characteristics of the SVS and the testing methodology used on the simulator are also presented. The main results of tests performed to evaluate the steady-state and dynamic performance of the SVS controller, as well as the control-based protections are presented. Field tests are also discussed and typical test results are compared with those obtained on the simulator. Finally, the paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of simulator testing to optimize control systems, and to identify and resolve potential problems which would be extremely difficult to resolve in the field.


In this paper, the pre-training method based on denoising auto-encoder is investigated and proved to be good models for initializing bottleneck networks of Vietnamese speech recognition system that result in better recognition performance compared to base bottleneck features reported previously. The experiments are carried out on the dataset containing speeches on Voice of Vietnam channel (VOV). The results show that the DBNF extraction for Vietnamese recognition decreases relative word error rate by 14 % and 39 % compared to the base bottleneck features and MFCC baseline, respectively.


PURPOSE
First, to determine if thresholds exist for the development of amblyopia and subnormal binocularity with various types of anisometropia and to confirm or refute existing guidelines for its treatment or observation. Second, to delineate any association between the degree or type of anisometropia and the depth of amblyopia and severity of binocular sensory abnormalities.

METHODS
Four hundred eleven (411) patients with various levels of anisometropia, no previous therapy, and no other ocular pathology were evaluated. The effect of anisometropia (both corrected and uncorrected) on monocular acuity and binocular function was examined.

RESULTS
Spherical myopic anisometropia (SMA) of > 2 diopters (D) or spherical hypermetropic anisometropia (SHA) of > 1 D results in a statistically significant increase in the incidence of amblyopia and decrease in binocular function when compared to non anisometropic patients. Increasing levels of SMA and SHA beyond these thresholds were also associated with increasing depth (and in the case of SHA, incidence as well) of amblyopia. Cylindrical myopic anisometropia (CMA) or cylindrical hyperopic anisometropia (CHA) of > 1.5 D results in a statistically significant increase in amblyopia and decrease in binocular function. A clinically significant increase in amblyopia occurs with > 1 D of CMA or CHA. Increasing levels of CMA and CHA beyond > 1 D were also associated with an increased incidence (and in the case of SMA, depth as well) of amblyopia.

CONCLUSIONS
This study provides guidelines for the treatment or observation of anisometropia and confirms and characterizes the association between the type and degree of anisometropia and the incidence and severity of amblyopia and subnormal binocularity.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, lung ultrasound has been revealed as a powerful technique for diagnosis and follow-up of pneumonia, the principal complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nevertheless, being a relatively new and unknown technique, the lack of trained personnel has limited its application worldwide. Computer-aided diagnosis could possibly help to reduce the learning curve for less experienced physicians, and to extend such a new technique such as lung ultrasound more quickly. This work presents the preliminary results of the ULTRACOV (Ultrasound in Coronavirus disease) study, aimed to explore the feasibility of a real-time image processing algorithm for automatic calculation of the lung ultrasound score (LUS). A total of 28 patients positive on COVID-19 were recruited and scanned in 12 thorax zones following the lung score protocol, saving a 3 s video at each probe position. Those videos were evaluated by an experienced physician and by a custom developed automated detection algorithm, looking for A-Lines, B-Lines, consolidations, and pleural effusions. The agreement between the findings of the expert and the algorithm was 88.0% for B-Lines, 93.4% for consolidations and 99.7% for pleural effusion detection, and 72.8% for the individual video score. The standard deviation of the patient lung score difference between the expert and the algorithm was ±2.2 points over 36. The exam average time with the ULTRACOV prototype was 5.3 min, while with a conventional scanner was 12.6 min. Conclusion: A good agreement between the algorithm output and an experienced physician was observed, which is a first step on the feasibility of developing a real-time aided-diagnosis lung ultrasound equipment. Additionally, the examination time was reduced to less than half with regard to a conventional ultrasound exam. Acquiring a complete lung ultrasound exam within a few minutes is possible using fairly simple ultrasound machines that are enhanced with artificial intelligence, such as the one we propose. This step is critical to democratize the use of lung ultrasound in these difficult times.


Three important issues impinge on estimating the risk of cancer to a population: (1) How can one use epidemiologic studies on one population to tell us what is likely to happen to other populations? (2) How can one use nonhuman data (i.e., laboratory experiments) to tell us what is likely to happen to humans? (3) What reasonable assumptions can be used to guide the logical extension of information from the laboratory to expectations for man, and what research is needed to support or modify these assumptions? Four principles currently guide our laboratory-to-man extrapolations: effects in animals, properly qualified, are applicable to man; methods do not now exist to establish a threshold for long-delayed effects such as cancer; the exposure of experimental animals to high doses is a necessary and valid method of discovering possible carcinogenic hazards in man; materials should be assessed in terms of human risk rather than as "safe" or "unsafe".


This descriptive article illustrates the casual sexual behaviors of a diverse sample (N = 311) of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) regularly attending gyms in New York City. Approximately 88% of the sample noted sex with a casual partner in the previous 6 months. Participants reported the frequency of unprotected sexual acts, the perceived HIV status of their partners, and the contexts where they met their casual sex partners. The study findings suggest that the context in which MSM choose to meet casual sex partners has an effect on both the number of casual sex partners they meet and the number of casual sex partners with whom they engage in unprotected receptive anal intercourse and unprotected insertive anal intercourse. We found that the highest risk sexual behaviors took place at bareback sex parties, which are often held at private venues. Men who meet their sexual partners at bareback sex parties are also likely to frequent bathhouses/sex clubs and nonbareback sex parties, suggesting a varied exploration of sexual contexts, partners, and behaviors. We attempt to enhance individual-level models of understanding sexual behavior and risk by proposing that the individual is influenced by the physical context where he makes his decisions.


This paper proposes a scheme for secure authentication of classical messages with single photons and a hashed function. The security analysis of this scheme is also given, which shows that anyone cannot forge valid message authentication codes (MACs). In addition, the lengths of the authentication key and the MACs are invariable and shorter, in comparison with those presented authentication schemes. Moreover, quantum data storage and entanglement are not required in this scheme. Therefore, this scheme is more efficient and economical.


This paper presents an investigation of the time development of dynamic and static elastic moduli of eight mortars made using CEM I cements with contrasting properties. Mixing and the preparation of dynamic testing prism specimens conformed to EN 196-1. A non-standard specimen and bending test setup was devised for measuring the development of static Young's modulus. It was determined that dynamic Young's moduli determined using an ultrasonic pulse velocity test are often but not always greater than those determined using a resonant frequency test. The ratio of static Young's modulus to dynamic Young's modulus for a particular cement mortar increased nearly linearly with increasing static modulus after age 3 days, and this increase can be predicted using the measured 3-day static modulus. Also, methods for predicting the increase of static and dynamic modulus and decrease of Poisson's ratio of mortars, from age 3 to 56 days, using measured 3-day elastic moduli are presented. Predicted 56-day values of static Young's modulus, dynamic modulus, the ratio of these, and Poisson's ratio for the eight different mortars were within 5 % of the measured values. The observed relations between different elastic properties may be useful for verification of prediction models.


The Department of Child Studies was founded in 1988 to provide a research and learning environment geared toward the theoretical and empirical study of both children and the social and cultural discourses that define what children are and endow them with specific capacities, problems, and subjectivities. A specific target of research is the processes through which understandings of 'normal' children and a 'normal' childhood are constituted, and the roles that children and others play in reinforcing or contesting those understandings. The various research projects carried out at the department focus on understanding the ways in which children interpret their lives, how they communicate with others, and how they produce and/or understand literature, language, mass media and art. Research also documents and analyses the historical processes and patterns of socialization that structure the ways in which childhood and children can be conceived and enacted in various times, places and contexts. The Department of Child Studies offers a one year Masters program, and a four year PhD program. Admission to the PhD program occurs every second year, at which time the department admits approximately six new students, all of whom are guaranteed full funding for the duration of the program. Both the Masters and the PhD programs stress interdisciplinary competence, and classroom instruction covers historical, psychological, developmental and anthropological dimensions of children and childhood. Against this interdisciplinary background, students in the PhD program are expected to specialize in their chosen academic field (history, social psychology, anthropology, etc.). The PhD program consists of 2-3 semesters of classroom instruction, followed by a 5-6 semesters of supervised work on a PhD thesis, which include a semester or more of supervised reading courses, or external courses, specially designed to fit the individual student's area of specialization.


Rotordynamic and leakage data are presented for a see-through tooth-on-rotor (TOR) labyrinth seal with comparisons to a see-through tooth-on-stator (TOS) labyrinth seal. Measurements for both seals are also compared to predictions from XLLaby. Both seals have identical diameter and can be considered as relatively long labyrinth seals. The TOR seal has a length-to-diameter ratio of 0.62, whereas the TOS seal is longer and has a length-to-diameter ratio of 0.75. Both seals also differ by number of teeth, tooth height, and tooth cavity length. TOR labyrinth tests were carried out at an inlet pressure of 70 bar-a (1,015 psia), pressure ratios of 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6, rotor speeds up to 20,200 rpm, a radial clearance of 0.1 mm (4 mils), and three preswirl ratios. For comparison, TOS labyrinth tests were run at identical conditions as the TOR tests but for only one positive preswirl ratio.TOR labyrinth measurements show a pronounced dependence of rotordynamic coefficients on rotor speed, especially when compared to prior documented TOS labyrinth seal tests run at a radial clearance of 0.2 mm (8mils). The TOR labyrinth cross-coupled stiffness is higher in magnitude and increases at a higher rate than that of the TOS labyrinth across all test speeds. However, the TOR labyrinth effective damping was determined to be greater due to higher measurements of direct damping. Measured leakage rates for the TOR labyrinth were approximately 5–10% less than the TOS labyrinth. XLLaby underpredicted the rotordynamic coefficients for both seals. However, as with measurements, it predicted the TOR labyrinth to have higher effective damping than the TOS labyrinth.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


In this comment, we contrast different conceptions of mind wandering that were presented in 2 recent theoretical reviews: Smallwood and Schooler (2006) and Watkins (2008). We also introduce a new perspective on the role of executive control in mind wandering by integrating empirical evidence presented in Smallwood and Schooler with 2 theoretical frameworks: Watkins's elaborated control theory and Klinger's (1971, 2009) current concerns theory. In contrast to the Smallwood-Schooler claim that mind wandering recruits executive resources, we argue that mind wandering represents a failure of executive control and that it is dually determined by the presence of automatically generated thoughts in response to environmental and mental cues and the ability of the executive-control system to deal with this interference. We present empirical support for this view from experimental, neuroimaging, and individual-differences research.


drug were studied. They all showed an increase in serum lactate, ketones, and nonesterified fatty acids and a decrease in serum bicarbonate, indicating the development of compensated metabolic acidosis. These findings in normal patients dictate increased care in the use of salbutamol, particularly in diabetic women, in whom the exaggerated changes in glycolysis and lipolysis may contribute to the development of severe acidosis. M G CHAPMAN


Majority of trim-less PVT insensitive voltage reference generators are limited to minimum supply voltage above 0.7 V. This delimits use of energy harvesting techniques in CMOS circuits and systems. This paper proposes a low-cost CMOS voltage reference, which steps up the supply voltage by charge-pump based voltage booster. The raised voltage helps to drive a traditional parasitic BJT based bandgap voltage reference. The proposed voltage reference scheme is analyzed theoretically and compared with other methods. The circuit is designed and simulated in standard 180 nm mixed mode CMOS technology. The minimum required supply voltage is 400 mV. A worst case temperature coefficient of 4 ppm/°C is achieved over 0-100°C temperature range. The reference voltage exhibits mean value of 169.37 mV with worst case deviation of ±1.35 mV across process corners and temperature range of 0-100°C. Achieved PSRR at 100 Hz and 1 MHz is -86 dB and -30 dB, respectively.


Industrialized tomato production faces a decrease in flavors and nutritional value due to conventional breeding. Moreover, tomato production heavily relies on nitrogen and phosphate fertilization. Phosphate uptake and improvement of fruit quality by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are well-studied. We addressed the question of whether commercially used tomato cultivars grown in a hydroponic system can be mycorrhizal, leading to improved fruit quality. Tomato plants inoculated with Rhizophagus irregularis were grown under different phosphate concentrations and in substrates used in industrial tomato production. Changes in fruit gene expression and metabolite levels were checked by RNAseq and metabolite determination, respectively. The tests revealed that reduction of phosphate to 80% and use of mixed substrate allow AM establishment without affecting yield. By comparing green fruits from non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal plants, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found to possibly be involved in processes regulating fruit maturation and nutrition. Red fruits from mycorrhizal plants showed a trend of higher BRIX values and increased levels of carotenoids in comparison to those from non-mycorrhizal plants. Free amino acids exhibited up to four times higher levels in red fruits due to AM, showing the potential of mycorrhization to increase the nutritional value of tomatoes in industrialized production.


Lutein is concentrated in the retina and since it cannot be synthesized by the human body, its uptake depends on nutritional intake. Lutein-enriched eggs are a good lutein source, but whether changes in lipoprotein status following lutein-enriched egg consumption may affect an individual's lutein response is not yet clear. Data from three intervention trials with lutein-enriched eggs or products made from the enriched egg yolks were combined (n=294) and analyzed to investigate the dynamics of the lutein response in relation to lipoprotein levels. Cross sectional correlation was tested at baseline between lutein and lipoprotein profiles in all participants. Subsequently two groups were selected from the combined database whereby individuals receiving lutein-enriched egg yolks (n=137) were compared with controls not receiving eggs (n=117). Significant correlations between blood lutein concentrations and total cholesterol (r=0.309; p<0.001), HDL-C (r=0.246; p<0.001), LDL-C (r=0.241; p<0.001), ApoA1 (r=0.301; p<0.001), and ApoB100 (r=0.199; p<0.005) concentrations, but not with serum triglycerides were found at baseline. Following a three to twelve month intervention, blood lutein concentrations increased from 238 to 463 ng/ml (p<0.001) in the lutein group, whereas levels in controls remained unchanged. The lutein increase in the lutein-enriched egg group correlated significantly with changes in total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, ApoA1 and ApoB100 concentrations. To conclude, individuals showing the largest lipoprotein increase following egg consumption were also those with the strongest increase in blood lutein concentration. This indicates that therapies directed at altering lipoprotein levels may indirectly affect lutein bioavailability.


During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, German cultural attitudes of paternalism and partriarchy heavily influenced the entrance of women into the labor force. To make German working women visible in their nation's economic and social history, Franzoi examines the relationship between female labor and the production process. This book focuses on women at the intersection of work and family and discusses their work choices during a time of rapid economic development.


Previous studies have shown that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) have combined effects on the precipitation (PRP) variability over South America. The combined impacts have been assessed considering four mean states as the averages of the variable anomalies during sub-periods overlapping time intervals of the PDO and AMO phases. Since these sub-periods include years under El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) extremes, the extent to which these years' occurrence affects the averaged anomaly patterns during different mean states is investigated. The analyses are done for the PRP and surface air temperature (SAT) during the austral winter (June to August) and summer (December to February) of the 1901–2014 period using a composite technique. The nonlinear ENSO response in each mean state for a variable corresponds to the sum of the anomaly composites of the El Niño and La Niña events. In each mean state, the nonlinear PRP and SAT anomalies are not negligible and show similar patterns of the corresponding mean state, with larger magnitudes. For both seasons and all mean states, these similarities are more pronounced for SAT than for PRP. Thus, the ENSO variability affects the mean state's PRP and SAT anomaly patterns in different ways. As far as we know, analyses of the nonlinear ENSO response of the South American climate during distinct mean states were not performed before. Our results also indicate that the ENSO variability should be considered in the studies of the low-frequency modes and their effects on the mean state over South America. The results presented could be relevant for climate monitoring and modeling studies.


Title of thesis: COMBINATORIAL ALGORITHMS FOR THE ACTIVE TIME AND BUSY TIME PROBLEMS Saurabh Kumar, Master of Science, 2016 Thesis directed by: Professor Samir Khuller Department of Computer Science In this thesis, we consider the problem of scheduling jobs in such a way that we minimize the energy consumption of the machines they are scheduled on. Job scheduling itself has a long and rich history in computer science both from theoretical and applied perspectives. A multitude of different objectives to optimize have been considered such as weighted completion time, penalties for missed deadlines, etc. However, traditional objective functions such as these do not capture or model the energy consumption of the machines these jobs run on. Energy consumption is an important facet of job scheduling to consider not only because of its relationship with the financial costs of scheduling (such as those related to cooling and the cost of powering the machines) but also due to its impact on the environment. This is especially true in the context of data centers as more and more processing is pushed to the cloud. We study two problems related to these issues the active time problem and the busy time problem. First, we give a purely combinatorial algorithm for the active time problem which matches its best known approximation ratio (the existing algorithm is based on a rather involved LP rounding scheme). Second, we describe a local search based heuristic for the problem and also consider an experimental evaluation of these algorithms on artificially generated data. Finally, we describe two very simple algorithms which match the current best upper bounds for the busy time problem when all job lengths are equal. Combinatorial Algorithms for the Active Time and Busy Time Problems


From the perspective of microscopic mechanism to study the origin and the macroscopic behavior of the magnetic viscosity characteristics need to discuss the magnetic viscosity effects of the magnetic fluid dynamics, and the magnetic viscous forces in the magnetic fluid dynamics equations is the root cause of the magnetic viscosity effects. In the paper, the common expressions of first-order viscous force and quatratic viscous force of the magnetic fluid are derived from combining the magnetic fluid viscosity expression forms under different concentrations together, while based on the molecular circulation theory and electromagnetic dynamics principle, the quatratic magnetic viscous force model of magnetic fluid is derived from the basic relationship between the magnetic relaxation process. Furthermore the coefficient correction model of the quatratic viscous force is given when the solid particles of magnetic fluid present the formation of chain. Finally it shows the magnetic fluid viscous force model and a clear description of the external magnetic field influence on the magnetic fluid viscosity changes.


Prisons remain a priority population in the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) in Australia. To improve treatment uptake, we created a novel telehealth‐based model of care for prisoners with HCV that is both cost‐effective and requires minimal infrastructure. Over a period of 30 months, a total of 332 patients was initiated on treatment, achieving a per protocol sustained virological response (SVR12) rate of 91%. A large number (29%) of patients was lost to follow up after release from prison – highlighting the vital opportunity for HCV treatment during incarceration. We propose that similar models of care can be used to improve HCV treatment access for other priority populations in Australia.


Family quarrels over inheritance, although not new, have been featured prominently in the news in recent years. Thus, the issue of executing wills for the purpose of dividing inheritance is worth investigating. Acrimony caused by family disputes or distribution of inheritance has a negative impact on society. Thus, we seek to construct a method of constructing a secure and private escrow will.

The concept of secret sharing was proposed by Shamir and Blakley in 1979. Our method seeks to alleviate problems associated with secret sharing. We divide secret S into n pieces and distribute those pieces to n specific objects. We call the n owners the shadows. We then reconstruct these shadows and retrieve the original main key. Our method functions on the basis of the secret sharing mechanism. The proposed scheme combines the convenience of the Internet with cryptology technologies to solve the security problems of the online wills. It not only reduces cost and improves performance, but also prevents family infighting. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Many new control techniques and energy dissipation systems which can decrease the response of wind vibration and earthquake. But there is less research on the mixed control system of Damper and TMD. In order to improve the shortcomings of Damper system and TMD system, combining their respective advantages reasonably, the mixed control system of Damper and TMD were analyzed in this paper. A 20-storey Benchmark model was used to compare the effects of various control systems under 2-directional earthquake. Taking the displacement reducing coefficient (DRF) as the objective function, Damper system, TMD system, and the mixed control system of Damper and TMD are optimally designed based on Genetic Algorithm (GA). Numerical results show that the mixed control system of dampers and TMD proposed in the paper can work in coordination and complement each other to achieve better control effect.


Pathologically-Validated Tumor Prediction Maps in MRI Alex Barrington Marquette University, 2019 Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive cancer with an average 5-year survival rate of about 5%. Following treatment with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, diagnosing tumor recurrence requires serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Infiltrative tumor cells beyond gadolinium enhancement on T1-weighted MRI are difficult to detect. This study therefore aims to improve tumor detection beyond traditional tumor margins. To accomplish this, a neural network model was trained to classify tissue samples as 'tumor' or 'not tumor'. This model was then used to classify thousands of tiles from histology samples acquired at autopsy with known MRI locations on the patient's final clinical MRI scan. This combined radiological-pathological (rad-path) dataset was then treated as a ground truth to train a second model for predicting tumor presence from MRI alone. Predictive maps were created for seven patients left out of the training steps, and tissue samples were tested to determine the model's accuracy. The final model produced a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) area under the curve (AUC) of 0.70. This study demonstrates a new method for detecting infiltrative tumor beyond conventional radiologist defined margins based on neural networks applied to rad-path datasets in glioblastoma.


To win its seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in both 1993-94 and 2015-16, New Zealand campaigned using the same prime pillar; its ability to act independently on the world's prime authority for maintenance of international peace and security. With the substantial change in New Zealand's international relationships between the two UNSC tenures, most particularly with the United States of America and China, many commentators have questioned whether New Zealand still acts independently in international affairs. Employing analytic eclecticism, this thesis applied a combined analytical framework to assess the drive behind New Zealand's actions during both its 1993-94 and 2015-16 UNSC tenures, allowing both traditional international relations theories of neo-realism and neo-liberalism and the constructivist lens of national identity to be combined for greater explanatory power for the state's actions in the contemporary era of complex international interdependencies. This research determined that most of New Zealand's actions aligned with pursuit of its interests, as a small state, as ensured through multilateralism under the lens of institutional neo-liberalism. However, a number of actions taken, and strong positions held, by New Zealand on the UNSC in both periods did not align with the state's pursuit of material interests under traditional international relations theories. By first establishing the popularly internalised national identity characteristics (or content) during each UNSC tenure period, defined as residing in public opinion, this thesis argues that a 'win-set' of national identity content relative prioritisation during each period enabled, and arguably drove, New Zealand's political elite to take actions or hold positions not aligned with those of powerful states on which the small country's material interests depended. It is argued that New Zealand's actions on the UNSC in 2015-16 reinforced the social construction of New Zealand's internationally regarded national identity content as an independent advocate for the global good, which was strongly established during its 1993-94 tenure.