Due to the characteristics of the construction industry, human skills are essential for working with and through others in managing safety. Previous research has shown that emotional intelligence, interpersonal skill, and transformational leadership are human skill components that generate superior performance in today's workplace. The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of project management personnel's human skills (in terms of emotional intelligence, interpersonal skill and transformational leadership) on the implementation of safety management tasks and development of safety climate in construction projects. The structural equation modelling (SEM) method was applied to analyse the quantitative data collected via surveys and to establish interrelationship among the research variables. The results indicate that emotional intelligence is a key factor for developing interpersonal skill and transformational leadership, and for implementing safety management tasks which leads to the development of safety climate. This research also found that interpersonal skill is needed for becoming transformational leaders who contribute to the development of safety climate.


Planners and urban designers across the globe are promoting transit-oriented development (TOD) to encourage sustainable precincts around public transport stations. TODs are compact, mixed-use developments that facilitate walking, bicycling, and use of public transport through its urban design. This article presents a method to evaluate the sustainability of TODs based on six aspects of outcomes, including 1. travel behaviour, 2. the local economy, 3. the natural environment, 4. the built environment, 5. the social environment, and 6. the policy context. Data were collected in five rail precincts across Perth, Western Australia. The major goal of the study was to determine which indicators were possible to collect and establish baseline data.


AMPHION is a generic architecture that is specialized to a particular domain and subroutine library through a domain theory and domain-specific theorem-proving tactics. This paper discusses AMPHION-NAIF, the application of AMPHION to the domain of solar system kinematics as implemented in the SPICELIB subroutine library. The Navigation Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is charged with developing software to support the planetary science community in planning and analyzing the observation geometries of solar system bodies in interplanetary scientific missions. The objective of SPICELIB is to enable end-users in the planetary science community to construct their own application programs.<<ETX>>


Coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to climate change and have been identified as sources of uncertainty in the global carbon budget. Here we introduce a recently established mesonet of eddy covariance towers in South Carolina and describe the sensor arrays and data workflow used to produce three site-years of flux observations in coastal ecosystems. The tower sites represent tidal salt marsh (US-HB1), mature longleaf pine forest (US-HB2), and longleaf pine restoration (replanted clearcut; US-HB3). Coastal ecosystems remain less represented in climate studies despite their potential to sequester large amounts of carbon. Our goal in publishing this open access dataset is to contribute observations in understudied coastal ecosystems to facilitate synthesis and modeling analyses that advance carbon cycle science.


We propose a new object descriptor for three dimensional data named the Global Structure Histogram (GSH). The GSH encodes the structure of a local feature response on a coarse global scale, providing a beneficial trade-off between generalization and discrimination. Encoding the structural characteristics of an object allows us to retain low local variations while keeping the benefit of global representativeness. In an extensive experimental evaluation, we applied the framework to category-based object classification in realistic scenarios. We show results obtained by combining the GSH with several different local shape representations, and we demonstrate significant improvements to other state-of-the-art global descriptors.


Zephyranthes fosteri is a wild species distributed in Mexico, it is popular for its ornamental quality. Anthropogenic activities perturbed its natural habitats and threaten its survival. At present time, there is not enough information about the genetic relationships and structure among Z. fosteri distributed in Mexico. The objective of this investigation was to elucidate the genetic relationships and structure among accessions of Z. fosteri collected in western and southeastern Mexico. ISSR markers were used to establish the genetic variability and genetic structure among 60 accessions randomly collected in western Mexico and one population found in southeastern Mexico. Jaccard's coefficient and AMOVA analysis determined the similarity and variability among and within accessions, and Bayesian model was used to assess the genetic structure. A mean heterozygosity of 0.49 was found indicated a moderate variability. The AMOVA analysis showed that 75 % of this variability was within accessions, and 25 % among accessions. A 56.75 % polymorphism was detected with ISSR markers, and genetic structure analysis identified four genetic groups.


Low self-esteem is an early prodromal sign of psychosis in adolescents. Early intervention is needed to prevent psychosis among this age group. Thus far, no studies have investigated the effects of group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and family psychoeducation (FPE) on the selfesteem of adolescents in Indonesia. The present study aimed to explore the influence of CBT and FPE on the self-esteem of adolescents with early prodromal signs of psychosis. An experimental study was conducted. Of the 79 participants selected after screening using the prodromal questionnaire and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale questionnaire, 39 were further classified into the intervention group and 40 into the control group using the random sampling technique. The analysis was performed using the paired t-test and analysis of variance. Results revealed that the RSES score of the CBT and FPE groups was significantly higher than that of the control group (p <.05). CBT and FPE, which are considered early therapeutic interventions, are recommended to increase the self-esteem of adolescents with early prodromal signs of psychosis. Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2019; 12(1): 318-322)


Most existing approaches to train a unified multi-organ segmentation model from several single-organ datasets require simultaneously access multiple datasets during training. In the real scenarios, due to privacy and ethics concerns, the training data of the organs of interest may not be publicly available. To this end, we investigate a data-free incremental organ segmentation scenario and propose a novel incremental training framework to solve it. We use the pretrained model instead of its own training data for privacy protection. Specifically, given a pretrained $K$ organ segmentation model and a new single-organ dataset, we train a unified $K+1$ organ segmentation model without accessing any data belonging to the previous training stages. Our approach consists of two parts: the background label alignment strategy and the uncertainty-aware guidance strategy. The first part is used for knowledge transfer from the pretained model to the training model. The second part is used to extract the uncertainty information from the pretrained model to guide the whole knowledge transfer process. By combing these two strategies, more reliable information is extracted from the pretrained model without original training data. Experiments on multiple publicly available pretrained models and a multi-organ dataset MOBA have demonstrated the effectiveness of our framework.


Larger and more devastating flood events are happening more frequently across the planet, but flooding is a natural occurrence for any river system. It is only due to human modification of the river system, through the removal of natural features and attempts at flood control, that creates flood hazards that cause damage to communities and ecosystems.  Kapiti Coast's terrain consisted, pre 19th century, of a mixture of dense coastal forests and extensive wetlands. The landscape has and always will be prone to flooding. With the addition of the expressway to the region, making it easier to travel to and from the capital Wellington, it is expected that the population of Kapiti will grow. But biodiversity may get lost, and flooding may become increasingly more frequent. How might new settlers learn to live with flooding and the constant risk that every time it rains it may cause damage to their homes or businesses? Can there be other benefits to floodplain management, such as biodiversity and recreation?  The aim of this research is to investigate and develop strategies to aid in the settlement of floodplains so that biodiversity is improved, allowing people to live with floods and without the fear that flooding may cause damage. Specifically, the design-led research seeks to generate solutions that improve both flood awareness and flood protection along the Waikanae River. The design seeks to allow the river to express its own flow patterns, and then secondly, how settlement will work within that. It can then be a catalyst for settlement of floodplain areas along the edge of the river.  This thesis will explore how ecology, rehabilitation and natural flood protection can be employed amongst an expanding urban context to create a new way of thinking about our rivers and mitigating the ever pressing issue of flooding.


This thesis traces the making of a social world of the musicking Cape through sound, which it calls sonic anticipation. Sonic anticipation is threaded through a Cape-based musicking milieu called goema in the Nineteenth century, and through the regional jazzing culture that emerged in Cape Town in the latter part of the Twentieth century. A key concern is to read the sonic archive of Cape music without folding into a representational discourse of (apartheid) group identity or of a Cape exceptionalism. First, the thesis explores goema's emergence as folk music. In a central example, sonic anticipation is discernible in the intensities of a song called Daar Kom die Alibama [translated as 'There Comes the Alibama']. This song enabled goema to secure a status as racialised folk memory. Later in the Twentieth century, the song set the scene for a rearticulation that laid claim to the city as a response to the 'anxious urbanity' of race formation. This shift from the Nineteenth to Twentieth century musicking tradition is at the heart of what we have come to know as Cape jazz. In its genealogical construction of Cape jazz, the thesis traces a prefigurative aesthetics and politics that proposes new ways of thinking about the political significance of jazz. It traces the pedagogic strategies that musicians – Tem Hawker, Winston Mankunku, Robbie Jansen and Alex van Heerden used in pursuing 'ethical individuation' with this racialised folk memory. By the early 1960s, jazz had become a method 'archive' or formative canon for these musicians. The thesis outlines how musicians used 'nomadic' pedagogies; following the energies that moved through the city, inside the technological, and discursive formations by which the social world was made. This thesis on goema's refrain and the musicking Cape offers a way to consider a 'difference that is not apartheid's difference'.


Research on congestion and propagation in large urban city networks has been mainly based on microsimulations of link-level traffic dynamics. However, both the unpredictability of travel behaviors and high complexity of accurate physical modeling remain challenging and simulation results may be far time consuming and not realistic. It has been recently shown that amacroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) linking space-mean network flow, density and speed exists in the urban transportation networks under some conditions. An MFD is further well defined if the network is homogeneous with links of similar properties. This collective behavior concept can also be utilized to introduce simple control strategies to improve mobility in homogeneous city centers without the need for details in individual links. However many real urban transportation networks are heterogeneous with different levels of congestion. In order to study the existence of MFD and the feasibility of simple control strategies to improve network performance in heterogeneously congested networks, this thesis mainly focuses on three issues: (1) static partitioning of traffic networks, (2) congestion propagation and dynamic partitioning, and (3) the effect of network structure on congestion propagation. Firstly, we study the static partitioning of transportation networks based on the spatial features of congestion during a specific time period. A partitioning mechanism which consists of three consecutive algorithms, is designed to minimize the variance of link densities while maintaining the spatial compactness of the clusters. Secondly we explore the dynamics of traffic conditions and thus the corresponding dynamic partitioning scheme. We reveal the hidden information during the process of congestion formation by exploring empirical data from large-scale urban networks. Specifically, we aim at studying the spatiotemporal relation of congested links, observing congestion propagation from an macroscopic perspective, and finally identifying critical congestion regimes to aid the design of peripheral control strategies. Finally, we study the formation of traffic congestion by simulation in large scale cities with different network structures. A parsimonious model of congestion propagation is developed and validated by real data in San Francisco in US and Shenzhen in China (20000 taxis with 30 million logs per day). The effect of network structure on congestion propagation is investigated by simulations conducted in a variety of network structures.


A theoretical geomorphic model is developed for the progradation of a river delta in which the patterns of deposition and movement of sediment on the delta front slope are dominated by bulk-transport processes, such as creep and landsliding. The model predicts an exponential delta front profile, in which the maximum slope is controlled by the sediment supply to the delta, the rate of sediment transport on the delta front slope, and the depth of the receiving basin. Applications of the model to the Fraser and Mississippi River Deltas and to the Rhine River Delta in Lake Constance give good agreement with the progradation and morphology of these deltas. A difference in transport coefficient between the Mississippi River and the other deltas is attributed to differences in sediment composition and/or rate of sediment supply between this and the other deltas. The derived sediment-transport coefficients are found to be much higher than those for subaerial hillslopes. Our results suggest that deltas prograding by the processes considered in this paper will adjust quickly to changes in sediment supply.


During the design process of monolithic ribbed slabs, engineers face a common issue how to correctly evaluate stiffness of the beams. When Bar and Plate elements are used for analysis of the slabs, the neutral axis of those members are in the same level, therefore the stiffness of (T) shape cross-section is not considered correctly in the calculations. In this case the internal forces are obtained incorrectly as well as deflections of the beams are overestimated. A simple method is discussed in this paper, which allows engineers to calculate internal forces and deformations of mentioned type slabs more accurately with FEM programs by using Bar and Plate elements. The method is based on Bar elements moment of inertia adjustment. After the comparative analysis of differences between moment of inertia of (T) and (+) shape cross-sections as well as deflection discrepancies, the adjustment coefficient expression is presented. In order to reflect the actual behaviour of ribbed slabs even more accurately the influence of shear deformations is also considered. In this case not only the member geometry but the material properties, loading scheme and even supports are taken into account in the calculations of the adjustment coefficient. Selection of the most appropriate (effective) flange width of (T) shape cross-section is also analysed in this paper. Comparative calculations were done using different effective flange widths beff calculated by EC2 (Eurocode 2), "STR" (Lithuanian Construction Technical Regulations) and ACI (American Concrete Institute) methods. In order to assess the reliability of the proposed calculation method and the calculation results all plates were also analysed using Solid elements. Application of the presented expressions of moment of inertia coefficient will allow engineers to evaluate stiffness of (Γ) and (T) shape cross section beams simply, fast and accurately enough for most of structural engineering calculations.


This paper examines the knowledge transfer process in ERP post-implementation projects, and specifically between the ERP project teams and the IT support team. Case studies were conducted in three large organizations and data was collected via semi-structured interviews. Descriptive and graphical representations were used to analyze knowledge transfer processes for each case and a cross-case analysis was performed. Results from this exploratory study shed light on the relation between the ERP evolution structure and the use of knowledge transfer mechanisms based on different types of knowledge (functional and technical). This paper highlights the necessity of relying on both formal and informal knowledge transfer mechanisms to cover recurring and ad hoc exchanges between the different stakeholders responsible for the evolution of an ERP. The paper also highlights the impact of the ERP integrator and its different inclusion strategies that are critical for the knowledge being shared by the ERP project stakeholders.


: The risks for developing occupational pathology and its specific features were studied in 358 Kola Transpolar copper-nickel miners who were diagnosed with 722 cases of occupational diseases (OD) in the years 1990-2013. The highest risk for developing OD, which are dominated by the diseases of the musculoskeletal system, has been found in tunnellers (OR = 12,8) and operators of drilling rigs (OR = 10,4). A significant increase in the risk of OD has been established in miners with length of service at 11-15 years and over 25 years. The conclusion is made about the need to improve the technical, medical and organizational measures targetted at preventing health problems in this group of workers.


HEALTH POL ICY P R O J E C T Recognizing the influence of gender-based inequality on health outcomes, international organizations have advocated integrating a gender perspective into health programs.1 To recommend evidence-based strategies to accomplish this, the Gender, Policy and Measurement (GPM) program—funded by the Asia bureau of USAID—conducted a systematic review of published and unpublished literature documenting gender-aware programs. GPM wished to identify strategies that health programs had used either to accommodate (work around) or transform areas of gender inequality, and whose influence on key health outcomes had been measured. This review yielded 145 gender-integrated interventions conducted in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) worldwide—32 of them in India—that had been evaluated for their impact on


The book aims to highlight the relevance of Universal Design at major sporting events by exploring accessibility through the various guides and regulations, while not neglecting the rights of the disabled. It also aims to identify the role that Universal Design has in the sport environment and why it is so important in sport as it is in life. The analysis is conducted on the sites of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and on those of the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games to be held in Toronto in 2015. It intends to evaluate whether London maintained its promise to host "the most inclusive games ever", in terms of accessibility and universal design, from the perspective of both designers and users. The study also discusses whether London's experience will impact on future sporting events, such as those to be held in Toronto in 2015.


A self-tuning PID control approach is presented for improvement of the head and tail strip thickness accuracy in a reversing cold mill for offering a cost saving. A neural network is used on-line to tune the parameters of a conventional PID controller in AGCto improve the !esponse of strip thickness during a transient rolling process, which results in a reduction of off-gauge strip length, The effectiveness of the presented approach has been demonstrated through a simulation example. The results of simulation show that a neurai network can reduce the strip thickness error quickly during mill starting process while the Pl controller parameters are being tuned on-line, so that asaving of off-gauge strip length about 730/0 is achieved.


BACKGROUND
There are few prospective studies on the recurrence rates of basal cell carcinoma after different surgical modalities.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
263 primary basal cell carcinomas in as many patients were included from five dermatological departments in Norway. Patients on immunosuppressive medications were not included. All diagnoses were confirmed by histopathology. Primary end point was recurrence after five years, secondary end point cosmetic outcome.

RESULTS
Observational data were available in 245 patients, in 160 at 5 years. Recurrence rate at 5 years was 7% after both surgical excision and cryosurgery. The cosmetic outcome was satisfactory in most cases. Tumour size was a risk factor for recurrence, localization was not.

INTERPRETATION
Excision surgery and cryosurgery achieve low recurrence rates and acceptable cosmetic outcome in basal cell carcinoma.


This essay reconsiders the relationship between Spenser's earthly and divine hymns in terms of the dialogic possibilities of the palinode, suggesting that the apparent ''recantation'' of the first two hymns is a poetic device used for philosophic effect. I argue that Spenser uses the poetic movement of action and retraction, turn and counterturn, to embody a philosophical oscillation and synthesis between a newly rediscovered Lucretian materialism and the Christian Neoplatonism, traditionally ascribed to the sequence. The stimulus for this seemingly unusual juxtaposition of two fundamentally different philosophies is the subject of the Fowre Hymnes: the poems are not only an expression of personal emotion and faith, but seek to make a significant intervention in the late sixteenth-century revival of cosmology and natural philosophy. Therefore, the essay takes seriously the hymns' generic claim towards the grand style of philosophic abstraction, showing how Spenser explores the dialectic between matter and form, chaos and creation, mutability and eternity, through his repeated emphasis on the creation. Each hymn contains a distinct creation account; together they contrast a vision of a dynamic, de-centered, material cosmos (identified textually with the cosmos of Lucretius's De rerum natura) with the formal symmetry and stable order of the Christian-Platonic universe. In this syncretic relationship between Lucretius and Plato, Spenser may have seen a powerful model for harmonizing the traditionally opposed motivations of poetry and philosophy, and for reconciling, albeit very uneasily, a concern with the flux of worldly experience and a desire to comprehend cosmic stability and formal order.


While operational firefighters in the UK fire and rescue service traditionally retired in their 50s, their working lives are now extending. However, external pressures and the emotional and physical demands of firefighting work, lead to questions about whether operational firefighters will be able to extend their working lives. In this article, we engage with Van der Klink et al.'s sustainable employability model, which focuses on situations that allow individuals to make valuable contributions through their work and reveal how working lives can be extended. We consider implications of the characteristics of operational firefighting work, individual circumstances and contextual factors for the extension of working lives. Drawing on interviews conducted with firefighters, crew managers and watch managers working in a UK fire and rescue service, we highlight the unsustainability of many future working lives because of wellbeing and organisational pressures.


This document describes a set of extensions to the proof scripting language of the Coq proof assistant. While these extensions were developed to support a particular proof methodology - small-scale reflection - most of them actually are of a quite general nature, improving the functionality of Coq in basic areas such as script layout and structuring, proof context management, and rewriting. Consequently, and in spite of the title of this document, most of the extensions described here should be of interest for all Coq users, whether they embrace small-scale reflection or not.


Objective: Gastric cancer is one of the most important common tumors in the world. It remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The prognosis of patients with unresectable or metastatic gastric cancer remains poor. New targeted drugs were evaluated in clinic, such as lapatinib. The potential for making beneficial progress is to investigate innovative therapeutic strategies, such as immunotherapy. Methods: We used combination therapy including immunotherapy for treating gastric cancer. We treated a patient of metastatic gastric cancer for which lapatinib plus ipilimumab was effective after progression on trastuzumab. Results: The patient has prolonged overall survival after treatment. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography examination showed that some of the cervical lymph nodes and retroperitoneal lymph nodes reduced and glucose metabolism decreased. In blood examination, the tumor marker (carcinoembryonic antigen) decreased. The patient has been lived for 4 years after multiple lymph node metastasis. Conclusion: Targeted therapy combined with immunotherapy might be a useful option for metastatic gastric.


This paper presents how hot spot detection methods can be extended to allow for temporal dimensions. Major concerns are how temporal dimension is incorporated into the framework of point pattern analysis, while maintaining the capability of multi-scale analysis. The study elaborates on expanding the scope of (space) K function in order to count time in the analysis. With the explicit treatment of time as well as space, K function falls into three category depending on the way space and time are controlled; (1) space K function, (2) time K function, (3) space-time K function. Space K function is equivalent to the original K function, the method for detecting spatial hot spots where time is controlled. Time K function is the method for detecting temporal hot spots where space is controlled. Space-time K function is broken down to three distinct types: The first type examines spatial pattern of observations disaggregated into temporal category. The second type examines temporal pattern of observations disaggregated into spatial category. The third type detects spatio-temporal pattern, or any interaction between space and time. A set of K function is tested on traffic crash data. The case study illustrates how each category of K function can be used to answer different queries, such as whether there is significant spatial/temporal hot spots, in which scale, and where if any. In addition, temporal variation of spatial hot spots can be explored using the first type of space-time K function. This study demonstrates the explicit treatment of temporal dimensions can enhance the process of knowledge discovery. Newly formulated K functions can provide the methodological framework for exploring spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal patterns of point events across varying scales.


Lactobacillus coprophilus subsp. confusus (NCDO 1586) and 18 other strains of slime-forming heterofermentative lactobacilli obtained from diverse sources are considered to form a new species on the basis of their physiological characteristics and similarities of their pyruvate reductases and lactate dehydrogenases. It is suggested that these strains should be named Lactobacillus confusus (Holzapfel & Kandler) comb. nov. (L. coprophilus subsp. confusus Holzapfel & Kandler), reasons being given. The type strain is NCDO 1586 (NCIB 9311, ATCC 10881). Strains of Lactobacillus vermiforme and Lactobacillus viridescens also form slime. However, L. vermiforme was readily separated from the other two by the criteria used. Although physiological characteristics separated L. viridescens from L. confusus, a relationship between these two species and also between them and the leuconostocs was indicated by the properties of the pyruvate reductases and lactate dehydrogenases. The slime produced by all species was found to be a glucan, probably a dextran, containing primarily alpha-1-6-glycosidic linkages.


It is known that the diffusion of Ag and Cu in Cd1 xZnxTe crystals exhibits unusual concentration profiles depending strongly on the external vapor pressure of Cd during diffusion. Recent experiments show that the dopant Na forms qualitatively the same diffusion profiles including the phenomenon of uphill diffusion. Also the transition elements Ni and Co show a strong dependence of the diffusion behavior on the external Cd pressure, but the shapes of the concentration profiles differ significantly from those known for Ag and Cu. The different behavior of Ag, Cu, and Na, on the one hand, and Ni and Co, on the other hand, are proposed to be connected to the respective charge states of the dopants at interstitial positions in Cd1 xZnxTe. For the dopants K and Au, unusual diffusion properties have not been observed. The respective diffusion coefficients are DK = 1.2(2)•10 10 cm2/s (750 K) and DAu = 8(2)•10 8 cm2/s (800 K).


Housing sector is very important sector in the world. The greater importance of the housing sector broadly defined, to include, financing, upgrading, repairs, management, valuation, taxation, population. The article contains the comparison of housing policies in Turkey and Lithuania. The housing strategiesntheir differences and common points in Turkey and Lithuania are presented in the article. The housing strategic principles and preferences in the countries under investigation have been analysed. Some economic aspects are underlined. The policies of social housing in investigated countries are presented. The housing problems are presented in both analyzed countries. Special attention paid to sustainable housing and social cohesion in housing.


In this paper, a tool for prioritising social sustainability parameters in product development is described. The tool's core element is a two-step Delphi exercise carried out in the product development team. The purpose of the tool is to (i) select critical social impact indicators suitable for guiding the product development process, (ii) enhance the product development team's understanding in the field of social sustainability and (iii) engage the team in the sustainability assessment, with the further aim of ensuring the assessment's influence on the product development process. Applied in a real product development project, the tool proved successful for selecting indicators and increase understanding of social sustainability within the product development team. Selected indicators' usefulness for the product development process remains an open question to be addressed later on as the project evolves.


Although transplanted trees typically establish and grow without incident in frequently irrigated turfgrass, their performance in precisely irrigated turfgrass in an arid climate is not known. We investigated the effect of precision irrigation scheduling on growth and water relations of balled-and-burlapped littleleaf linden (Tilia cordata Mill. 'Greenspire') planted in buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm. 'Tatanka') and kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). Over 2 years, trees in turfgrass were irrigated either by frequent replacement based on local reference evapotranspiration, or precision irrigated by estimating depletion of soil water to the point of incipient water stress for each turfgrass species. Predawn leaf water potential and stomatal conductance of trees were measured during fi rst-year establishment, and predawn leaf water potential was measured during a mid-season water-defi cit period during the second year. Trunk diameter growth and total tree leaf area were measured at the end of each year. Values of predawn leaf water potential and stomatal conductance of trees in precision-irrigated buffalograss were lower (-0.65 MPa, 25.3 mmol·m -2 ·s -1 ) than those of trees in the other treatments near the end of the fi rst growing season. The longer interval between precision irrigations resulted in mild water stress, but was not manifested in growth differ- ences among trees across treatments during the fi rst season. During the water-defi cit period of the second year, there was no evidence of stress among the trees regardless of treatment. At the end of the second season, total leaf area of trees grown in precision-irrigated kentucky bluegrass (1.10 ± 0.34 m 2 ) was 46% of that of trees grown in buffalograss (2.39 ± 0.82 m 2 ) that were irrigated frequently. Trunk diameter growth of trees in frequently irrigated kentucky bluegrass (1.91 ± 2.65 mm) was 29% of that of the trees grown in buffalograss (6.68 ± 1.68 mm), regardless of irrigation treatment, suggesting a competition effect from kentucky bluegrass. We conclude that frequent irrigation of balled-and-burlapped trees in turfgrass, particularly buffalograss, is more conducive to tree health during establishment than is maximizing the interval between turfgrass irrigation. Regardless of irrigation schedule, kentucky bluegrass appears to impact tree growth severely during establishment in an arid climate.


Many complex biological systems such as metabolic networks can be divided into functional and organizational subunits, called modules, which provide the flexibility to assemble novel multi-functional hierarchies by a mix and match of simpler components. Here we show that polysaccharide-degrading microbial communities in the ocean can also assemble in a modular fashion. Using synthetic particles made of a variety of polysaccharides commonly found in the ocean, we showed that the particle colonization dynamics of natural bacterioplankton assemblages can be understood as the aggregation of species modules of two main types: a first module type made of narrow niche-range primary degraders, whose dynamics are controlled by particle polysaccharide composition, and a second module type containing broad niche-range, substrate-independent taxa whose dynamics are controlled by interspecific interactions, in particular cross-feeding via organic acids, amino acids and other metabolic byproducts. As a consequence of this modular logic, communities can be predicted to assemble by a sum of substrate-specific primary degrader modules, one for each complex polysaccharide in the particle, connected to a single broad-niche range consumer module. We validate this model by showing that a linear combination of the communities on single-polysaccharide particles accurately predicts community composition on mixed-polysaccharide particles. Our results suggest thus that the assembly of heterotrophic communities that degrade complex organic materials follow simple design principles that can be exploited to engineer heterotrophic microbiomes.


Lozouet P. 2009. — A new Neritopsidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Neritopsina) from French Polynesia. Zoosystema 31 (1): 189-198. ABSTRACT Neritopsis richeri n. sp., the fourth Recent species of a group of "living fossil" molluscs, is described from the Austral Islands (French Polynesia). Most of the material was collected during the BENTHAUS cruise. This species differs from its congeners in teleoconch sculpture, which has 1 to 4 secondary cords in the interspaces between the primary cords. The spiral ribs are also weakly beaded. In addition, and in contrast to the common species N. radula (Linnaeus, 1758), N. richeri n. sp. has a multispiral protoconch that implies a planktotrophic larval development. Its relationship to N. aqabaensis Bandel, 2007 described from an immature specimen is difficult to assess, the sculpture of adults suspected to be N. aqabaensis being identical to that of N. radula. Neritopsis richeri n. sp. appears to be restricted to French Polynesia but possibly has been confused with N. radula in previous publications.


To detect near-surface voids and cavities is a common task in engineering geophysics. The worldwide spreading of multi-electrode resistivity measuring systems caused that the geoelectric measurement became one of the most amiable methods applied for cavity detection. Dimensions and position of the cavities can be determined by inversion method. An inversion based on Marquard algorithm was used for estimating the parameters of a 2D model representing the cavities along the profile. The process also resulted the reliability values of each parameter. The method was tested on numerical models and was successfully applied in practice as well. Numerical tests showed high correlation between the depth (h) and radius (r) parameters of the inverted model. To improve the reliabilities of the geometrical parameters (h, r) a simultaneous inversion process was developed. Applying joint inversion for data measured by two different types of geophysical method (e.g.: seismic and resistivity or EM and resistivity etc.) is well documented in literature. However the point of the joint inversion process is that two independent datasets of the same area must be used so using different types of measuring methods is not obligatory. That is why the developed simultaneous inversion process is based on only resistivity datasets but measured by different electrode configurations.


This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study that included undergraduate trigonometry students at a private university in the southwestern United States. The present study examined if a review of operations on fractions prior to learning trigonometric identities would improve students' success on a trigonometry test. The course instructor administered a pretest consisting of ten fraction questions. Students identified their errors and made corrections to the pretest. The instructor then taught the chapter on trigonometric identities and administered the chapter test and fraction posttest. The findings suggest that having students review prerequisite skills before teaching advanced topics might aid in improving mathematical skills.


A semi-measure is a generalization of a probability measure obtained by relaxing the additivity requirement to super-additivity. We introduce and study several randomness notions for left-c.e. semimeasures, a natural class of effectively approximable semi-measures induced by Turing functionals. Among the randomness notions we consider, the generalization of weak 2-randomness to left-c.e. semi-measures is the most compelling, as it best reflects Martin-Löf randomness with respect to a computable measure. Additionally, we analyze a question of Shen from [BBDM12], a positive answer to which would also have yielded a reasonable randomness notion for left-c.e. semi-measures. Unfortunately though, we find a negative answer, except for some special cases.


The [symbol: see text] sinus-catheter was used to treat purulent sinusitis with septal perforation or defective septum of the sinuses. The procedure described implies simultaneous introduction of two sinus-catheters the functioning channels of which unite into one output by means of T-joint. The method has been successfully tried in the treatment of exudative and aggravated chronic purulent hemisinusitis (6 cases). The authors hold that communication between nasal sinuses is not a contraindication for sinus-catheter application. This fact widely extends potentialities of its use.


From the Publisher:
Ten years ago, college student Linus Torvalds retreated to his own computer to write code. He quips, "I couldn't afford software that I liked, so I wrote my own operating system." Not only did he write the operating system, he gave it away and invited other software engineers to improve it.
The rest is history. Today, Torvalds has become the key figure in the open source software movement. The powerful operating system he wrote, Linux, has grown into a major force in the computer industry, while its voluntary development model has made Linux the world's largest collaborative project. Hundreds of the world's best engineers contribute to the improvement of Linux. Over 12 million machines, including many of the servers that power the World Wide Web, now run on Linux, as do the top-of-the-line offerings from such hardware giants as IBM and Compaq.
Just for Fun chronicles Torvalds's amazing life—from his eccentric childhood in Finland, to his gangly, geeky teenage years when his greatest joy was writing programs on his grandfather's VIC-20 computer, to his rise to world-wide fame with Linux. Brimming with Torvalds's candid observations and opinions, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to know where high tech and business are going in the future.


Slender, bipolar, immature, Ascaris suum oocytes assume a smooth, spherical configuration as they traverse the oviduct. The present investigation was conducted to determine if this morphological alteration might be accompanied by changes in surface membranes. Immunocytochemical studies were conducted utilizing (1) fluorescein-labeled, sheep, anti-rabbit IgG, (2) Sternberger's unlabeled, antibody-enzyme technique, (3) ferritin-labeled, sheep, anti-rabbit IgG, and (4) an immunobead, labeled-antibody technique. These procedures clearly demonstrated that the surface of both immature and mature oocytes possessed different specific antigens. It is assumed that this acquisition of new antigens (or the loss of older ones) by the mature oocyte is somehow related to a conditioning phenomenon which prepares the oocyte for fertilization.


Dental disease is now recognised as a major but often unrecognised disorder of equids, including horses and donkeys. However, very few large clinical studies have documented the prevalence and type of dental disease present in different equid populations and no dental studies have been reported in Zamorano-Leonés or Mirandês donkeys, two endangered donkey breeds. Clinical and detailed oral examinations were performed in 400 Mirandês and 400 Zamorano-Leonés donkeys in Portugal and Spain. It was found that just 4.5 per cent had ever received any previous dental care. Cheek teeth (CT) disorders were present in 82.8 per cent of these donkeys, ranging from a prevalence of 29.6 per cent in the <2.5-year-old group to 100 per cent in the >25-year-old group. These CT disorders included enamel overgrowths (73.1 per cent prevalence but with just 6.3 per cent having associated soft tissue injuries), focal overgrowths (37.3 per cent), periodontal disease (23.5 per cent) and diastemata (19.9 per cent). Peripheral caries was present in 5.9 per cent of cases, but inexplicably, infundibular caries was very rare (1.3 per cent prevalence); this may have been due to their almost fully foraged diet. The high prevalence of enamel overgrowths in these donkeys, most which never received concentrates, also raises questions about the aetiology of this disorder. This very high prevalence of CT disorders, especially in older donkeys, was of great welfare concern in some cases and emphasises the need for routine dental care in these cases on welfare grounds and in order to help preserve these unique breeds.


Neuromorphic computing — brainlike computing in hardware — typically requires myriad CMOS spiking neurons interconnected by a dense mesh of nanoscale plastic synapses. Memristors are frequently cited as strong synaps e candidates due to their statefulness and potential for lowpower implementations. To date, plentiful research has focused o n the bipolar memristor synapse, which is capable of incremental weight alterations and can provide adaptive self-organisa tion under a Hebbian learning scheme. In this paper we consider the Unipolar memristor synapse — a device capable of nonHebbian switching between only two states (conductive and resistive) through application of a suitable input voltage— and discuss its suitability for neuromorphic systems. A self-a daptive evolutionary process is used to autonomously find highly fit network configurations. Experimentation on two robotics tasks shows that unipolar memristor networks evolve task-solving controllers faster than both bipolar memristor networks and networks containing constant nonplastic connections whil st performing at least comparably.


Coloured filters blocking short-wavelength light ("yellow" filters) have been shown to influence the circadian regulation of melatonin release, while blue filters blocking long-wavelength light have been used in the treatment of dyslexia, migraine and photosensitive epilepsy. We have been investigating the effects on sleep quality of wearing blue and yellow filters for 1 hour in the morning . Healthy volunteers wore blue filters for an hour after waking each day for 4 weeks followed by 4 weeks of yellow filter use, or vice versa. They completed a daily questionnaire to report the number of times they had woken during the night and marked visual analogue scales to indicate the quality of their previous night's sleep and their alertness on waking. During the period of blue filter use participants reported improved sleep quality (p=0.05), felt more alert when they woke (p=0.05) and tended to wake less frequently (p=0.08). In contrast, yellow filter use did not significantly influence any recorded attribute of sleep or alertness. These findings suggest that blue filter use increases retinohypothalamic drive and consolidates circadian entrainment. Thus blue filters may prove to be an inexpensive and effective means of improving sleep quality in a number of conditions.


The crystalline rocks of the Beartooth overthrust in southwest Montana and northwest Wyoming were uplifted and thrust over the northwest margin of the Bighorn basin during the Laramide orogeny. The timing and geometry of that event is well documented in the synorogenic Paleocene and early Eocene sedimentary rocks that were deposited ahead of the rising Beartooth basement block and partially over-ridden as the block advanced. The absence of post-Laramide sedimentary rocks on the block and in the adjacent Bighorn Basin has, however, precluded the reconstruction of the post-orogenic tectonothermal history of this region. We report here the results of fission-track analysis of apatite from the three components of the Beartooth over-thrust with the aim of reconstructing the Laramide and post-Laramide tectono-thermal history of the southeast margin of the Beartooth Mountains.

Apatite fission-track ages and corresponding horizontal confined track length distributions (HCTLDs) from Precambrian basement rocks constituting the upper plate of the Beartooth overthrust indicate that from 7 to 12 km of uplift of the Red Lodge corner of the Beartooth block has occurred since early Paleocene time. This amount of uplift occurred in two stages, with an intervening mid-Tertiary period of tectonic quiescence. The latter was a period of either (1) Oligocene and/or Miocene deposition or (2) tectonic quiescence. Uplift of 4 to 8 km occurred during the first phase of cooling, which lasted from early Paleocene time (∼61 Ma) to early Eocene time (∼52 Ma). During the second phase, which began in late Miocene-early Pliocene time and continues to the present day, about 4 km of uplift occurred.

Our fission-track data suggest that the thermal regime in rocks above the Beartooth overthrust was relatively stable during Tertiary time. The maximum geothermal gradient permitted by model thermal histories generated from our observed fission-track data during post-Laramide time is 17 °C/km. This value is the same as that of the present-day geothermal gradient measured in the Amoco Beartooth well and suggests that a low geothermal gradient prevailed throughout Tertiary time.

Apatite fission-track ages and HCTLDs from Jurassic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks beneath the Beartooth overthrust indicate that these rocks have remained 10-20 °C cooler than overlying rocks in the shear zone and the lowermost part of the upper plate since ∼61 Ma, an observation that is not consistent with the stratigraphic position of these rocks. We interpret this temperature to be the result of a persistent thermal regime in which ground water circulating through the sedimentary rocks of the lower plate cooled them and insulated them from conductive heat transfer from hotter overlying rocks; this ground-water circulation may have been responsible for flushing hydrocarbons out of the rock column explored by the Beartooth well. Shear-zone rocks experienced a higher temperature during Cenozoic time than did rocks of the upper and lower plates; this condition was maintained by flow through the shear zone of ground water heated to higher temperatures at deeper levels along the thrust.


Shear-Wave Velocities and Derivative Mapping For the Upper Mississippi Embayment During the past two decades, University of Kentucky researchers have been acquiring seismic refraction/reflection data, as well as seismic downhole data, for characterizing the seismic velocity models of the soil/sediment overburden in the central United States. The dataset includes densely spaced measurements for urban microzonation studies and coarsely spaced measurements for regional assessments. The 519 measurements and their derivative products often were not in an organized electronic form, however, limiting their accessibility for use by other researchers. In order to make these data more accessible, this project constructed a database using the ArcGIS 9.1 software. The data have been formatted and integrated into a system serving a wider array of users. The seismic shear-wave velocity models collected at various locations are archived with corresponding x-, y-, and z-coordinate information. Flexibility has been included to allow input of additional data in the future (e.g., seismograms, strong ground-motion parameters and time histories, weak-motion waveform data, etc.). Using the completed database, maps of the region showing derivative dynamic site period (DSP) and weighted shear-wave velocity of the upper 30 m of soil (V30) were created using the ArcGIS 9.1 Geostatistical Analyst extension for examination of the distribution of pertinent dynamic properties for seismic hazard assessments. Both geostatistical and deterministic techniques were employed. Interpolation of V30 data yielded inaccurate predictions because of the high lateral variation in soil layer lithology in the Jackson Purchase Region. As a result of the relatively uniform distribution of depths to bedrock, the predictions of DSP values suggested a high degree of accuracy.


The fourth subunit of the epithelial sodium channel, termed delta subunit (δ ENaC), was cloned in human and monkey. Increasing evidence shows that this unique subunit and its splice variants exhibit biophysical and pharmacological properties that are divergent from those of α ENaC channels. The widespread distribution of epithelial sodium channels in both epithelial and nonepithelial tissues implies a range of physiological functions. The altered expression of SCNN1D is associated with numerous pathological conditions. Genetic studies link SCNN1D deficiency with rare genetic diseases with developmental and functional disorders in the brain, heart, and respiratory systems. Here, we review the progress of research on δ ENaC in genomics, biophysics, proteomics, physiology, pharmacology, and clinical medicine.


We obtain a family of first-order symmetric hyperbolic systems for the Bianchi equations. They have only physical characteristics: the light cone and timelike hypersurfaces. In the proof of the hyperbolicity, new positivity properties of the Bel tensor are used. PACS number: 04.20.Ex


The effect of beat noise and other types of additive noise in time-spreading optical-code-division multiple-access (TS-OCDMA) networks is analyzed in this paper. By defining the coherent ratio kt, the ratio of the chip duration to the coherence time of the light source, TS-OCDMA systems are classified into incoherent, partially coherent, and coherent systems. The noise distributions and the bit-error rates are derived, and system performance is discussed for different cases. The performance of coherent systems is limited by the beat noise. With increasing kt, the effect of beat noise decreases in incoherent systems, and they eventually become free of beat noise. Possible solutions to the beat noise problem in coherent and partially coherent systems are also proposed and discussed.


Report. (Continued from p. 285.) Sarcoma of Maxillary Antrum; Lateral Rhinotomy; Recurrence in Glands; Radium Treatment.—Irwin Moore.—Further notes of a female patient, aged fifty, upon whom lateral rhinotomy was performed for sarcoma of the right antrum. Previously shown at a meeting of the Section on November 3, 1916.* Summary of Treatment.—Lateral rhinotomy, September, 1916. Recurrence in the right pre-auricular gland first observed in March, 1917. Radium treatment, March and April, 1918. Recurrence in right orbit, July, 1918. Radium treatment again in July, 1918. Growths dispersed. I am indebted to Dr. Lynham, Radium Institute, for the following later notes of the case: "Lateral rhinotomy was performed on September 18, 1916, by Dr. Irwin Moore, for removal of a round-celled sarcoma from the right antrum. The growth had arisen apparently from the ethmoid, and had almost filled the antrum, penetrating its bony wall, and extending into the soft parts of the cheek, but not invading the skin. The floor of the orbit was intact, and proptosis was attributed to upward pressure of the floor, and not to any invasion of the orbit. The growth was thoroughly removed, together with the ethmoid cells and a portion of the muscular 1 JOURN. OP LABTNQOL., EHINOL., AND OTOL., vol. xxxii, p. 10i. 20'


Chirality, handedness, is one of the most fundamental intriguing asymmetries in nature. By definition, chiral objects cannot be superimposed onto each other after mirror reflection operation. Numerous examples of chiral structures can be found in nature, for example, chiral molecules and chiral magnetic nanostructures. Moving electrons are associated with handedness by their own spins due to spin-orbit interaction thus exhibiting various emergent phenomena as they interact with chiral materials, which otherwise would not be observed in achiral systems. This new paradigm allows the potential development of new forms of devices or methods by utilizing reciprocal interaction of chiral objects with moving electron spins. This review updates the remarkable progresses in Spintronics on Chiral Objects that have been made over the past few years providing provides an outlook for new opportunities and potential applications with new insights.


Convergence bidding, has been adopted in recent years by most Independent System Operators (ISOs) in the United States as a relatively new market mechanism to enhance market efficiency. Convergence bidding affects many aspects of the operation of the electricity markets and there is currently a gap in the literature on understanding how the market participants strategically select their convergence bids in practice. To address this open Problem, in this paper, we study three years of real-world market data from the California ISO energy market. First, we provide a data - driven overview of all submitted convergence bids (CBs) and analyze the performance of each individual convergence bidder based on the number of their submitted CBs, the number of locations that they placed the CBs, the percentage of submitted supply or demand and CBs, the amount of cleared CBs, and their gained profit or loss. Next, we scrutinize the bidding strategies of the 13 largest market players that account for 75 % of all CBs in. the California ISO market. We identify quantitative features to characterize and distinguish their different convergence bidding strategies. This analysis results in revealing three different classes of CB strategies that are used in practice. We identify the differences between. these strategic bidding classes and compare their advantages and disadvantages. We also explain how some of the most active market participants are using bidding strategies that do not any of the strategic bidding methods that currently exist in the literature.


Recent years have witnessed a surge of successful applications of machine reading comprehension. Of central importance to these tasks is the availability of massive amount of labeled data, which facilitates training of large-scale neural networks. However, in many real-world problems, annotated data are expensive to gather not only because of time cost and bud-get, but also of certain domain-specific restrictions such as privacy for healthcare data. In this regard, we propose an uncertainty-based active learning algorithm for reading comprehension, which interleaves data annotation and model updating to mitigate the demand of labeling. Our key techniques are two-fold: 1) an unsupervised uncertainty-based sampling scheme that queries the labels of the most informative instances with respect to the currently learned model; and 2) an adaptive loss minimization paradigm that simultaneously fits the data and controls the degree of model updating. We demonstrate on benchmark datasets that 25% less labeled samples suffice to guarantee comparable, or even improved performance. Our results show strong evidence that for label-demanding scenarios, the proposed approach offers a practical guide on data collection and model training.


Globalization and networking technologies have transformed the contexts, means, and uses of foreign language learning. The Internet offers a vast array of texts, films, music, news, information, pedagogical resources, sounds, and images from around the world as well as unprecedented opportunities for direct communication with native speakers in real time. However, the very technology that delivers these materials and interactions can produce subtle mediational effects that can influence how learners evaluate and interpret them. Focusing first on technological mediation broadly, and then on the specific context of desktop videoconferencing in a telecollaboration project, this article outlines the benefits and the potential pitfalls that computer mediation presents for the learning of languages and cultures. Specific attention is given to the question of what it means to mediate the foreign culture through interfaces that are familiar from one's home culture. The principal argument is that the dynamics of online language learning call for a relational pedagogy that focuses on how medium and context interact with language use. The goal of such an approach is to expose students to a broader scope of symbolic inquiry, to connect present text-making practices with those of the past, and to foster a critical perspective that will prepare young people to understand and shape future language and literacy practices.


Background The aim of this study is to identify factors based on radiological characteristics and nature of presenting history, that are predictive in functional outcome at two to nine years follow-up, in patients that were treated conservatively after a midshaft clavicle fracture. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients that presented to the emergency department of Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep Alkmaar in the Netherlands, between 2004 and 2006. Follow-up was performed at 2 to 3 years and at 7 to 9 years after injury. This resulted in a total amount of 48 and 31 included patients, respectively. The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score (DASH score) was used to assess patient reported functional outcome. Statistical analyses were performed to detect correlations between characteristics of the patient or fracture and functional outcome. Results There was a significant decrease of 4.3 in DASH scores between the mid-term and long-term follow-up of patients with complete angulation of their fracture (p=0.041) and of 2.6 in DASH of patients who were not involved in a high energetic trauma (p=0.031). Conclusion With regard to completely angulated clavicular fractures and noninvolvement in a HET, an increase of functional outcome is to be expected from mid- to long-term.


As with deformities of the forefoot, deformities of the rearfoot often respond well to conservative therapy. Rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications are often used. Patients with plantar fasciitis may benefit from corticosteroid injections. Surgery may be helpful in refractory cases. Haglund's deformity is associated with pain in the area of the osseous ridge on the posterosuperior aspect of the calcaneus. The retrocalcaneal bursa may be inflamed. This disorder is diagnosed by palpation of the painful area. Conservative treatment consists of minimizing pressure over the osseous ridge. Corticosteroid injection is not advised since it may weaken the Achilles tendon. Surgical intervention consists of resection or reduction of the osseous ridge. Posterior calcaneal spur is another cause of heel pain. The spur can be visualized radiographically in the tendon insertion. Treatment is conservative, with footgear modification and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy. Surgery to remove the spur may be indicated if conservative measures fall to relieve the pain. Tarsal tunnel syndrome is characterized by pain and numbness from the medial malleolus to the sole of the foot. Conservative treatment includes reducing abnormal pronation with an orthosis.


Ternary mixed magnetic Co1?xMnyNix?yCl2?2H2O has as its components three well studied antiferromagnets. Each is characterized by MCl2MCl2M...chemical and structural chains, with intrachain exchange interactions antiferromagnetic for the Mn component but ferromagnetic for the other two components. Competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic intrachain exchange interactions occur in two different pairwise combinations. Reported here is the magnetic behavior of an equimolar mixture of the three components. One maximum appears in the magnetic susceptibility vs temperature, at 4.85 ? 0.05 K, a quite interesting result since decidedly lower than the locations of susceptibility maxima in the pure components. A pronounced upturn in the susceptibility below 2.3 K also appears. Magnetization vs field isotherms display increasingly strong convex upward curvature and associated hysteresis with decreasing temperature. All of these characteristics differ markedly from those of the pure components.


We examined the relationship between density-independent and density-dependent factors on the demography of a dense, relatively unexploited population of brown trout in Spruce Creek Pennsylvania between 1985 and 2011.
Individual PCAs of flow and temperature data elucidated groups of years with multiple high flow versus multiple low flow characteristics and high versus low temperature years, although subtler patterns of variation also were observed.
Density and biomass displayed similar temporal patterns, ranging from 710 to 1,803 trout/ha and 76–263 kg/ha. We detected a significantly negative linear stock-recruitment relationship (R2 = .39) and there was no evidence that flow or water temperature affected recruitment.
Both annual survival and the per-capita rate of increase (r) for the population varied over the study, and density-dependent mechanisms possessed the greatest explanatory power for annual survival data. Temporal trends in population r suggested it displayed a bounded equilibrium with increases observed in 12 years and decreases detected in 13 years.
Model selection analysis of per-capita rate of increase data for age 1, and adults (N = eight interpretable models) indicated that both density-dependent (five of eight) and negative density-independent processes (five of eight, i.e. high flows or temperatures), affected r. Recruitment limitation also was identified in three of eight models. Variation in the per-capita rate of increase for the population was most strongly affected by positive density independence in the form of increasing spring–summer temperatures and recruitment limitation.
Model selection analyses describing annual variation in both mean length and mass data yielded similar results, although maximum wi values were low ranging from 0.09 to 0.23 (length) and 0.13 to 0.22 (mass). Density-dependence was included in 15 of 15 interpretable models for length and all ten interpretable models for mass. Similarly, positive density-independent effects in the form of increasing autumn–winter flow were present in seven of 15 interpretable models for length and five of ten interpretable models for mass. Negative density independent effects also were observed in the form of high spring–summer flows or temperatures (N = 4), or high autumn–winter temperatures (N = 1).
Our analyses of the factors affecting population regulation in an introduced population of brown trout demonstrate that density-dependent forces affected every important demographic characteristic (recruitment, survivorship, the rate of increase, and size) within this population. However, density-independent forces in the form of seasonal variations in flow and temperature also helped explain annual variation in the per-capita rate of increase, and mean length and mass data. Consequently, population regulation within this population is driven by a complex of biotic and environmental factors, although it seems clear that density-dependent factors play a dominant role.


An Englishman, an Irishman and an American are locked up together in a cell in the Middle East. As victims of political action, powerless to initiate change, what can they do? How do they live and survive? Frank McGuinness explores the daily crisis endured by hostages whose strength comes from communication, both subtle and mundane, from humour, wit and faith. Someone Who'll Watch Over Me premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in 1992 before transferring to the West End. On Broadway, it was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play and nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 1993.


The article presents results of the research on modernization strategies implemented in Russian economy. Authors have identified three dominating approaches: institutional, innovation-technological and import-substituting modernization. They have stated that import-substituting modernization in Russia is ongoing in terms of sanctions, a shortage of investment resources, insufficient home demand and significant regional differentiation. This necessitates strict coordination in modernization processes. To achieve this, authors have proposed a toolkit for transregional coordination in modernization processes to implement import-substituting policies based on integral indicators. Findings confirm that regions, in their efforts to achieve modernization targets, use their potential in a inefficient and counterproductive manner. One might use the developed toolkit as a classifier of regions and sectors of economy by criterion of dynamics in modernization processes, as well as a basis for indicative planning.


In the advent of the "new normal" during the pandemic era, strategies to teach and learn switched to online. Students' behavior and attitude also shifted from face-to-face to online. This study aims to assess the students' profiles and the prevalence of cyberbullying in the higher education institutions in Central Luzon, Philippines. The study used a descriptive-correlational technique with the help of an online survey to gather data. Using a convenience sampling technique, 300 higher education students participated in the online survey during the first semester of 2021–2022. In order to attain the objective of the study, the investigators used a standardized instrument. With the help of SPSS 23, the data analyst analyzed the gathered data using the following statistical tools: frequency, weighted mean, and non-parametrical tests like Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman rho. The investigator found that the student-respondents were "never" cyberbullying victims or offenders. Furthermore, statistical inferences showed a variation for cyberbullying offenders as to age and sponsorship/scholarship and a weak indirect relationship between cyberbullying offenders and sponsorship/scholarship characteristics of the students. The investigators recommended pertinent implications for the new normal of learning among students and the institution from the study results.


The paper shows how a large class of interprocedural dataflow-analysis problems can be solved precisely in polynomial time by transforming them into a special kind of graph-reachability problem. The only restrictions are that the set of dataflow facts must be a finite set, and that the dataflow functions must distribute over the confluence operator (either union or intersection). This class of probable problems includes—but is not limited to—the classical separable problems (also known as "gen/kill" or "bit-vector" problems)—e.g., reaching definitions, available expressions, and live variables. In addition, the class of problems that our techniques handle includes many non-separable problems, including truly-live variables, copy constant propagation, and possibly-uninitialized variables.
Results are reported from a preliminary experimental study of C programs (for the problem of finding possibly-uninitialized variables).


This article places a new account of the English state's changing framework for economic regulation alongside what economic historians have demonstrated about the phasing and arenas of economic growth between 1660 and 1714. It places studies of parliamentary legislation into a broader examination of the state's means of regulation (which included the privy council and parliament) and sets this account of regulatory actions against a new account of the changing ways in which petitions approached the state as a regulatory body and how the state responded to those approaches. It also offers a more textured account of the changing styles of economic regulation in this period and of the important (though neglected) role played by commercial interests groups. It argues that the executive colluded with these interests during the Restoration period to use the state to increase the scale of England's overseas trade. With the rising importance of parliament after 1689 regulatory initiative diffused to either local interests which focused on infrastructure projects or trading interests bent on defeating regulating statutes in ways that would lead to deregulation as other constitutional means of regulation (especially the privy council) retreated from view. The state continued to regulate to protect manufacturing (which also provided customs revenue) and to support the monopoly of the East India Company (which provided money and materiel for the wars against Louis XIV). As such the article offers a broader and more agile means to understand the economic connotations of constitutional change in this critical period.


Terror kills, inciting words can kill, but what about online platforms? In recent years, social networks have turned into a new arena for incitement. Terror organizations operate active accounts on social networks. They incite, recruit, and plan terror attacks by using online platforms. These activities pose a serious threat to public safety and security. Online intermediaries, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others provide online platforms that make it easier for terrorists to meet and proliferate in ways that were not dreamed of before. Thus, terrorists are able to cluster, exchange ideas, and promote extremism and polarization. In such an environment, do platforms that host inciting content bear any liability? What about intermediaries operating internet platforms that direct extremist and unlawful content at susceptible users, who, in turn, engage in terrorist activities? Should intermediaries bear civil liability for algorithm-based recommendations on content, connections, and advertisements? Should algorithmic targeting enjoy the same protections as traditional speech? This Article analyzes intermediaries' civil liability for terror attacks under the anti-terror statutes and other doctrines in tort law. It aims to contribute to the literature in several ways. First, it outlines the way intermediaries aid terrorist activities either willingly or unwittingly. By identifying the role online intermediaries play in terrorist activities, one may lay down the first step towards creating a legal policy that would mitigate the harm caused by terrorists' incitement over the internet. Second, this Article outlines a minimum standard of civil liability that should be imposed on intermediaries for speech made by terrorists on their platforms. Third, it highlights the contradictions between intermediaries' policies regarding harmful content and the technologies that create personalized experiences for users, which can sometimes recommend unlawful content and connections. This Article proposes the imposition of a duty on intermediaries that would incentivize them to avoid the creation of unreasonable risks caused by personalized algorithmic targeting of unlawful messages. This goal can be achieved by implementing effective measures at the design stage of a platform's algorithmic code. Subsequently, this Article proposes remedies and sanctions under tort, criminal, and civil law while balancing freedom of speech, efficiency, and the promotion of innovation. The Article concludes with a discussion of complementary approaches that intermediaries may take for voluntarily mitigating terrorists' harm.


There has been major contest over the taxation of business income. Questions are twofold: the factual one of defining the boundaries of the business activity. Second, that of determining whether a particular gain comes within the ambit of 'business'. Recent NZ cases have sought to apply the guiding principle that it is not the size of the gain but the source of it that determines the taxation consequences. Logically, this principle should apply to specialist businesses such as those dealing with banking and insurance. However, the NZ Commissioner has, until 10 years ago, argued that it is the size rather than the source of the gain that is the determining criterion. And since the questions of what is the scope of the particular business activity and whether the particular gain has arisen in the course of such activity are purely factual ones, they are to be guided by the facts of each case. This article concludes that the decisions are indeed based on their particular facts. Further, it investigates how important it is for the taxpayer to ponder the strategy that is to underpin the particular business. The evidence of such strategy being in place and having the practical effect of guiding the decision making of the taxpayer company's business activities are highly significant in determining the taxation consequences of such decision making. The consistency with which such corporate strategy or policy is formulated and implemented tends to determine their taxation consequences.


Ab initiocalculation based on density function theory (DFT) is an accu-rate and efficient method for modelling material properties. It is performedby solving the Shrodinger equations with a few assumptions to obtain thephysical properties of the system. It is very computational demanding whendealing with large systems or long-time simulations. Developing empiricalpotentials on the basis ofab initiocalculations on smaller systems is a possi-ble way to solve this problem. The empirical potentials will benefit from theaccuracy ofab initiosimulations and can facilitate applications to large sys-tems and long-time simulations. In this thesis, we have performed two studiesregarding fitting empirical potentials: one is fitting an empirical Sutton-Chenpotential based onab initiosimulations for iron under extreme conditionsand the other one is fitting an improved Finnis-Sinclair potential for ternaryV-Ti-Cr alloy.In the first part, we focus on fitting a Sutton-Chen potential for solid Feunder the Earth's inner core condition. Based onab initiomolecular dynam-ics (MD) simulation results, the Sutton-Chen potential is fitted to energies ofthe configurations obtained fromab initioMD simulations at the pressure of360 GPa and temperature of 6000 K. The method applied for the fitting isthe Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The Sutton-Chen poten-tial can reproduce theab initioenergies with an error of 6.2 meV/atom. Setas the same withab initioMD simulations, classical MD using Sutton-Chenpotential can obtain the consistent results with those fromab initioMD sim-ulations at the pressure of 360 GPa and temperature of 6000 K. In order toexplore the size effect on the results, we extend the classical MD to large-sizesystems (from 1024 atoms to 65536 atoms). We also extend the temperaturerange to see the temperature effect on the results.In the second part, we develop an improved Finnis-Sinclair (IFS) potentialfor ternary V-Ti-Cr alloys. The interaction parameters of V-V, Ti-Ti andCr-Cr are fitted to the experimental lattice constants, cohesive energies andelastic constants. The binary alloy potential parameters are obtained byconstructing 3 binary alloy models (V15Ti, V15Cr, V8Ti8) and fitting to theirtheoretical lattice constants, cohesive energies and elastic constants. Finally,the IFS potential is successfully used to calculate mechanical properties andthe monovacancy formation energy in V-Ti-Cr alloy. It is also applied toinvestigate the composition effect on the mechanical properties of ternaryV-Ti-Cr alloys.


Practically oriented flux‐calculation techniques based on correction functions to the neutral drag and heat/mass transfer coefficients are further developed. In the traditional formulation, the correction functions depend only on the bulk Richardson number. However, data from measurements of turbulent fluxes and mean profiles in stable stratification over different sites exhibit too strong variability in this type of dependencies. Indirect evidence from climate and weather prediction modelling also shows that the traditional flux‐calculation technique is not sufficiently advanced. It is conceivable that other mechanisms besides the surface‐layer stratification and, therefore, other arguments besides the bulk Richardson number must be considered. The proposed technique includes a newly discovered effect of the static stability in the free atmosphere on the surface‐layer scaling and accounts for the general essential difference between the roughness lengths for momentum and scalars. Besides bulk Richardson number, recommended correction functions depend on one more stability parameter, involving the Brunt–Väisälä frequency in the free atmosphere, and on the roughness lengths. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society.


This paper presents the conception and analysis of a switch-mode power supply (SMPS) with desirable characteristics of high-frequency isolation, high input power factor, low harmonic distortion, and high efficiency. Nearly unity input power factor can be obtained by using an interleaved boost converter associated with a nondissipative snubber, as high efficiency of the ac-dc front-end stage results. Additionally, a soft-switching full-bridge topology performs the dc-dc conversion, providing isolation to the SMPS by using a high-frequency transformer. By cascading both stages, the aforementioned characteristics are achieved. Theoretical background on each one of the converters is presented, and experimental results obtained from a laboratory prototype are presented and discussed in order to validate the proposal. In addition, the evaluation tests demonstrate the operation with nearly unity power factor, high efficiency, and good dynamic response over a wide load range.


Formate dehydrogenase (EC 188.8.131.52) from Pseudomonas oxalaticus has been isolated and characterized. The enzyme (molecular weight 315000) is a complex flavoprotein containing 2 FMN, 18–25 non-heme iron atoms and 15–20 acid-labile sulphides. In the last step of the purification, a sucrose gradient centrifugation, a second catalytically active species has been found apparently originating from a dissociation of the enzyme into two equal subunits. The enzyme is specific toward its natural substrate formate. It transfers electrons to NAD+, oxygen, ferricyanide, and a lot of non-physiological acceptors (dyes). In addition electrons are transferred from NADH to these acceptors.

The (reversible) removal of FMN requires a reduction step. Reincorporation has been followed by the reappearance of the reactivity against formate and by fluorescence titration. The deflavo enzyme also binds FAD and riboflavin. The resulting enzyme species show characteristic catalytic abilities. Activity against formate is peculiar to the FMN species.


is presented. The system has no {\it a priori} knowledge of passwords. A hybrid HMM/ANN system is used to infer the phonetic transcription of the password. The emission probabilities are then modeled by a multi-Gaussians HMM model. Evaluation experiments, conducted on PolyVar database, showed results comparable with a system where the correct phonetic transcription of the password is known {\it a priori}.


he present experiment was conducted in twelve earthen ponds 2100-m 2 at WorldFish Center research facility at Abbassa, Egypt, to assess the efficiency of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in controlling unwanted Nile tilapia (Oreochrmis niloticus) reproduction in grow out and to evaluate the performance of tilapia in polyculture system with catfish under low-input production system. Mixed sex tilapia fry (averaging 0.15 g total body weight) stocked at the rate of 2 fish/m 2 and African catfish fingerlings (223 g) were introduced two month later at stocking rates of 7 and 13% of tilapia into T2 and T3 respectively in addition to T1 which had no African catfish introduced to it. Ponds were fertilized weekly using chicken letter at the rate of 500 kg/ha. Water quality parameters were monitored weekly for measuring DO concentration, temperature, Secchi disk, pH and NH4. Also monthly water samples were taken for measuring pH, alkalinity, TAN, NO3, NO2 available phosphorus, chlorophyll a, and total hardness. Statistical analysis of the obtained fish production data at the end of the thirty-week experimental period, showed that catfish significantly (P< .05) reduced the biomass of recovered tilapia reproduction to 14.9 and 8 % fry as percentage of the total fish yield in T2 and T3, respectively as compared to 26.6% obtained in T1. Tilapia production in polyculture with catfish was significantly lower than tilapia monoculture while, on the other hand, total fish production was significantly (P< .05) higher in the case of both of the two polyculture treatments compared to the tilapia only treatment. The overall conclusion of the present experiment showed that under such stocking rate and production system, introduction of catfish at the rate of 13% of total Tilapia stocked has not only eliminated 70% of total Tilapia recruitment but also enhanced total pond production of marketable size fish in both of the polyculture treatments. T


In recent years, biological tests have been developed based on cell cultures and successfully used to the hygienic assess of a variety of samples. In vitro assays become the complement of conventional chemical methods. They do not narrow the results only to the quantitative and qualitative information on toxic substances, but also increase knowledge on the direct impact on the organism. They are also an alternative for animal testing, which are currently given up for ethical reasons. At present, the market is steadily increasing in the number of tests and bio-assay techniques. Based on our own studies we conclude that the MTT test is perfect as a diagnostic method for evaluating the cytotoxicity of materials of different composition such as mycotoxins, pesticides, bacterial cultures, moulds isolates, food, feed, as well as a vast spectrum of other environmental samples.


Electrolyte gated thin film transistors (TFTs) based on sol–gel processed zinc oxide (ZnO) are investigated using imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs), namely [bmim][BF4] and [bmim][PF6], as electrolytes. The capacitance of the ILs is determined by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The frequency dependence of the capacitance measurements indicates that the electric double layers (EDLs) form below 1 kHz. Impedance measurements are also acquired at different gate voltages and the effect of the bias is discussed in detail. The experimental data suggest that the double layer capacitance of the two ILs depends on the polarization voltage. In terms of transistor characteristics, minimum hysteresis is observed in the case of [bmim][BF4]. Being smaller in size out of the two, a higher ionic mobility is expected. Therefore, faster formation of the EDL can account for suppressed hysteresis in the I–V characteristics. The estimated capacitance was 1.17 μF cm−2 for [bmim][PF6] and 4.05 μF cm−2 for [bmim][BF4], which resulted in a TFT field-effect mobility as high as 6.0 and 1.4 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. Also the on–off ratio of the EG-TFT is particularly high, being 104. Moreover, transient current measurements showed that the two ILs behave differently under continuous bias stress. The effect of the metal gate electrode on the device characteristics is also investigated. Five metals of varying work functions are employed for establishing a gate/IL interface. The data do not support that there is a correlation between the threshold voltage and the work function of the metals. On the other hand, the capacitance seems to be more susceptible to changes of the metal gate.


Technology trends show the importance of modeling process variation in static timing analysis. With the advent of statistical static timing analysis (SSTA), multiple independent sources of variation can be modeled. This paper proposes a methodology for modeling metal interconnect process variation in SSTA. The developed methodology is applied in this study to investigate metal variation in SSTA resulting from chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP). Using our statistical methodology, we show that CMP variation has a smaller impact on chip performance as compared to other factors impacting metal process variation.


Innovation platforms are a development tool used increasingly to support the stakeholders in complex systems for agricultural development in developing countries. This article presents the results of a study measuring the impact of innovation platforms on improving agricultural production for the beneficiaries of a project in Yatenga province, northern Burkina Faso. This innovation platform was installed in 2011 as part of the activities of the Volta2 project, operating jointly in Burkina Faso and Ghana. The results of surveys using Likert scales to quantify the project beneficiaries' perceptions and qualitative surveys of the various partners revealed that there was an improvement in agricultural production. This improvement has been attributed to the Volta2 project's innovation platforms, which enabled an increase in the beneficiaries' social and human capital, empowering them to seek and find local solutions adapted to their problems.


Abstract The newly described Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) is a species of concern for management because of marked declines in distribution and abundance due to the loss and fragmentation of sagebrush habitat. This has caused remaining populations to be unusually small and isolated. We utilized mitochondrial DNA sequence data and data from 8 nuclear microsatellites to assess the extent of population subdivision among Gunnison sage-grouse populations in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, USA. We found a high degree of population structure and low amounts of gene flow among all pairs of populations except the geographically adjacent Gunnison and Curecanti populations. Population structure for Gunnison sage-grouse was significantly higher than has been reported for greater sage-grouse (C. urophasianus). Further, we documented low levels of genetic diversity in some populations (particularly Dove Creek/Monticello and Piñon Mesa with an average of only 3.00 and 2.13 alleles per locus respectively) indicating that translocations from larger, more genetically diverse populations may be warranted. Bayesian analysis identified 3 potential migrants (involving San Miguel, Dove Creek/Monticello, Crawford, and Curecanti). Further, this analysis showed that 4 individuals from Cerro/Cimarron were more closely related to birds from San Miguel than to its geographically closer neighbors Gunnison and Curecanti. This suggests the Cerro/Cimarron area may act as a stepping stone for gene flow between San Miguel and Gunnison and that habitat restoration and protection in areas between these 2 basins should be a priority in an attempt to facilitate natural movement among these populations. Conservation plans should include monitoring and maintaining genetic diversity, preventing future habitat loss and fragmentation, enhancing existing habitat, and restoring converted sagebrush communities.


To assess the employment effects of labor costs it is crucial to have reliable estimates of the labor cost elasticity of labor demand. Using a matched firm-worker dataset, we estimate a long run unconditional labor demand function, exploiting information on workers to correct for endogeneity in the determination of wages. We evaluate the employment and deadweight loss effects of observed employers' contributions imposed by labor laws (health insurance, training, and taxes) as well as of observed workers' deductions (social security, and income tax). We find that non-wage labor costs reduce employment by 17% for white-collars and by 53% for blue-collars, with associated deadweight losses of 10% and 35% of total contributions, respectively. Since most firms undercomply with mandated employers' and workers contributions, we find that full compliance would imply employment losses of 4% for white-collars and 12% for blue-collars, with respective associated deadweight losses of 2% and 6%.


Culture can be defined as a strong sense of an action, behavior, or way of thinking is understood to specific values; one of which is a green reduce, reuse, and recycle waste. Unfortunately, modernization, instant lifestyle, and lack of understanding or indoctrination of the family, the external environment and formal education institutions make the application of green with millennial Indonesia is relatively low. Millennial growing community that cared for in particular green waste management not only provide positive solutions for environmental management, but also the business and revenue opportunities candidate or beneficial to the family, the environment and local residents. The literature research is intended to sharpen the issue of the importance of the application of green culture in the millennial generation. The effectiveness of the application of green to the millennial culture requires active encouragement of formal educational institutions, companies and governments; thus providing a positive impact to inspire young people care more about the environment, and the rise of social-preneur generation participating improve the welfare of society.


Inadvertent entrapment of a nasogastric tube within a stapled gastrointestinal anastomosis is a preventable and infrequent surgical complication. We report our experience with this complication and describe a successful endoscopic approach to management.


This paper studies credit allocation when government loan programs are distributed by private banks. The study focuses on Brazil, where private lenders can operate in two credit markets: competitive loans with own funding and earmarked loans that rely on government funds to finance firms at below-the-market interest rates. Using rich loan-level data between 2005-2016, the paper finds that banks are disproportionally more likely to extend earmarked loans to larger firms and firms with an existing credit relationship. The paper further documents a cross-selling strategy whereby banks increase the price of free-market loans of riskier borrowers that also obtain earmarked credit. Inadvertently, the government selects winners and losers, since mostly larger businesses, those that bank with the largest private lenders, and those willing to bundle free-market and earmarked loans disproportionally access the program.


Rain gauge data are often employed to estimate the rainfall depth for a given return period. However, the number of rain gauge records of short‐duration rainfall, such as 15 min, is sparse. The obvious advantage of radar data over most rain gauge networks is their higher temporal and spatial resolution. Furthermore, the current quality of quantitative precipitation estimation with radar and the length of the available time series make it feasible to calculate radar‐based extreme rainfall statistics. In this paper an 11‐year radar data set of precipitation depths for durations of 15 min to 24 h is derived for the Netherlands (3.55 × 104 km2). The radar data are adjusted using rain gauges by combining an hourly mean‐field bias adjustment with a daily spatial adjustment. Assuming a generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, the index flood method is used to describe the distribution of the annual radar rainfall maxima. Regional variability in the GEV location parameter is studied. GEV parameters based on radar and rain gauge data are compared and turn out to be in reasonable agreement. Furthermore, radar rainfall depth‐duration‐frequency (DDF) curves and their uncertainties are derived and compared with those based on rain gauge data. Although uncertainties become large for long durations, it is shown that radar data are suitable to construct DDF curves.