The efficacy of a simple, electrically small, low-profile, Huygens source antenna that radiates in its broadside direction is demonstrated numerically and experimentally. First, two types of electrically small, near-field resonant parasitic (NFRP) antennas are introduced and their individual radiation performance characteristics are discussed. The electric one is based on a modified Egyptian axe dipole NFRP element; the magnetic one is based on a capacitively loaded loop NFRP element. In both cases, the driven element is a simple coax-fed dipole antenna, and there is no ground plane. By organically combining these two elements, Huygens source antennas are obtained. A forward propagating demonstrator version was fabricated and tested. The experimental results are in good agreement with their analytical and simulated values. This low profile, ~0.05λ0, and electrically small, ka = 0.645, prototype yielded a peak realized gain of 2.03 dBi in the broadside direction with a front-to-back ratio of 16.92 dB. A backward radiating version is also obtained; its simulated current distribution behavior is compared with that of the forward version to illustrate the design principles.


The Researcher has been employed as a manager in a private healthcare firm for many years. The advancement of technologies and abundance of social media platforms have led to innovative marketing methods for businesses in an era of continuous pressure to cut cost for long term sustainability. However, healthcare organisations still rely heavily on traditional and costly marketing methods for their businesses. The research seeks to investigate how private Healthcare Organisations are using social media and its platforms as marketing tools in the UK. The research objectives are:
• To critically evaluate how organisations are utilising SM as marketing tools. • To critically examine the use of SM platforms as potential marketing tools across healthcare organisations. • To evaluate the effective use of Social Media as marketing tools in healthcare organisations. • To explore the challenges and barriers of using SM and its platforms as a potential marketing tool across healthcare organisations in the UK. • To make recommendations for formulating a Social Media Marketing Strategy that managers and marketers could use to market their organisations in the healthcare industry effectively.
Through literature reviews and empirical methods; an extensive search was performed to establish and understand the main subject areas within healthcare marketing and social media. The research uncovered the gaps in the subject area to answer the research question and objectives. A conceptual framework was created using combined elements from the literature review: preferred SM platforms, effective use of SM and challenges and barriers need to be considered when using SM for Healthcare Organisations. By identifying the philosophical positions for the research objectives, the research design was developed and decided to use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data. Having looked at the various methods to collect data, it was agreed that a case study strategy approach would be most suited to address the research objectives. The researcher uses a case study strategy and through Observation, and Semi-structured interviews to collect the research data.
As a result of the findings, the recommendations that have been made are:
1) Use Linked In, Twitter and Facebook for SM marketing in healthcare organisations.
2) Determine resource needs, focus on 2 or 3 platforms if new to SM marketing.
3) Know their audiences and target them accordingly.
4) Design SM activities for long term strategies to include content strategy and frequency of post.
5) Determine and agree on company policy for content clearance.
6) Participate in and listen to customers' online conversation.
7) Encourage and use sponsor adverts to reach their target customers.
8) Encourage posts with a combination of texts and photographs.
The combined results from the research methods are: Linked In, Twitter and Facebook
are the most used and preferred platforms in Healthcare Organisations. The effective
use of SM and its platforms are: share and communicate healthcare-related
information, marketing, monitoring and creating brand awareness, recruitment
activities, Building trust, customer relationship, viability, creating good brand identity,
good images and communicate better with customers, interactive communication and
monitor their competitors. The challenges and barriers identified for using SM
marketing practices during this study were : Negative comments, Lack of knowledge
and understanding, Budget/cost, Lack of focus, lack of time and resource, Lack of
engagement, culture and age, personal preference, return on investment, Privacy,
confidentiality and ethical and target. Finally, a new conceptual framework was
developed to reflect the research findings.
The research contributed to the development of UK based research and literature
within the field of promoting the use of social media for marketing healthcare
organisations. It would allow the marketing strategies for healthcare Organisations to
be up-to-date, efficient and cost-effective; similar to the USA and other advanced
nations.


This paper examines current literature on edible insect consumption in western culture through an inductive lens, addressing environmental, nutritional, food security, anthropological and psychological aspects of the topic. Findings show that western aversion towards edible insects is deeply psychological and cultural, mostly ignoring the pleasure dimensions such as taste, texture and flavour. The nature of the problem appears to be predominantly social. Results suggest that a beneficial route of introducing edible insects into the western diet could be formed through a societal perspective. Tourism and hospitality can potentially play a big part in the edible insect development. For instance, food as a tourism product can attract visitors from different backgrounds whilst food consumption as a tourism experience subliminally promises an experience of novelty and potential newfound pleasure in food. Food as an integral part of various cultures and local heritages entails local dishes that can be considered 'cultural artifacts' and their consumption symbolises the consumption of 'other'. Tourism experiences can expose an individual to lasting personal change, self-discovery and intellectual development. Hence, taking into consideration that acquiring new cultural knowledge increases openness to experience, it is possible that tourism could contribute to adopting the practice of insect consumption in the western cultural sphere.


Damage caused by lodging is a significant problem in corn production that results in estimated annual yield losses of 5-20%. Over the past 100 years, substantial maize breeding efforts have increased lodging resistance by artificial selection. However, less research has focused on understanding the genetic architecture underlying lodging. Lodging is a problematic trait to evaluate since it is greatly influenced by environmental factors such as wind, rain, and insect infestation, which make replication difficult. In this study over 1,723 diverse inbred maize genotypes were crossed to a common tester and evaluated in five environments over multiple years. Natural lodging due to severe weather conditions occurred in all five environments. By testing a large population of genetically diverse maize lines in multiple field environments, we detected significant correlations for this highly environmentally influenced trait across environments and with important agronomic traits such as yield and plant height. This study also permitted the mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for lodging. Several QTL identified in this study overlapped with loci previously mapped for stalk strength in related maize inbred lines. QTL intervals mapped in this study also overlapped candidate genes implicated in the regulation of lignin and cellulose synthesis.


The current surveys recorded high infant mortality in North Province of Rwanda where, in 2005, the highest infant mortality levels were recorded in the East province. In Kenya, urban areas recorded highest infant mortality than rural areas. Therefore, the alm of this study was to establish the determinants of infant mortality in Kenya and Rwanda. The study used descriptive statistics and Cox regression analysis. The results obtained indicated significant differentials in infant mortality according to study variables in both countries. The results of multivariate analysis using Cox regression indicated that, household wealth index, maternal age, preceding birth interval, source of drinking water were significantly associated to infant mortality in Kenya. In Rwanda the results indicated that mother's work status, maternal age, and preceding birth interval were the statistically significant determinants of infant mortality. The study further found that infant mortality risk was higher, though insignificant, in urban areas of Kenya and Rwanda. While majority of the variables showed hypothetically expected results, in both countries, households with piped water were likely to report higher risk of infant mortality in Kenya. This finding was not in expected direction. The study used Cox regression and confirmed the findings of other scholars like Kibet (2010), Omedi (2011), Mustafa and Odimwengu (2008)


ABSTRACT Various Ca2+ antagonists used in animal research, many of them known to be Ca2+ channel blockers, inhibitedEscherichia coli chemotaxis (measured as entry of cells into a capillary containing attractant). The most effective of these, acting in the nanomolar range, was ω-conotoxin GVIA. The next most effective were gallopamil and verapamil. At concentrations around 100-fold higher than that needed for inhibition of chemotaxis, each of these antagonists inhibited motility (measured as entry of cells into a capillary lacking attractant). Various other Ca2+antagonists were less effective, though chemotaxis was almost always more sensitive to inhibition than was motility. Cells treated with each of these Ca2+ antagonists swam with a running bias, i.e., tumbling was inhibited. Similarly, some Na+ antagonists used in animal research inhibited bacterial chemotaxis. E. coli chemotaxis was inhibited by saxitoxin at concentrations above 10−7 M, while more than 10−4 M was needed to inhibit motility. Cells treated with saxitoxin swam with a tumbling bias. In the case of other Na+ antagonists in animals, aconitine inhibited bacterial chemotaxis 10 times more effectively than it inhibited motility, and two others inhibited chemotaxis and motility at about the same concentration. In the case of K+ antagonists used in animal research, 4-aminopyridine blocked E. coli chemotaxis between 10−3 M and, totally, 10−2 M, while motility was not affected at 10−2 M; on the other hand, tetraethylammonium chloride failed to inhibit either chemotaxis or motility at 10−2 M.


Nanopores in minerals can have a significant impact on cation adsorption, known as the nanopore inner-sphere enhancement (NISE) effect. Four zeolites representing three size classes of nanoporosity were used in this study to further elucidate the NISE phenomenon and describe its effects on the adsorption of Na, K, and Ca. Sodium and K ions have the same charge, but different ionic diameters. Sodium and Ca ions have similar ionic diameters, but different charges. Adsorption envelopes were created for these three cations on the four zeolites: zeolite Y, ZSM-5, ferrierite, and mordenite. Comparisons of the magnitudes of the adsorption of Na, K, and Ca on the four zeolites indicated that all cations adsorbed weakly on zeolite Y (large nanopores), Na and K adsorbed strongly on ZSM-5 and ferrierite (medium nanopores) while Ca adsorbed weakly, and all three cations adsorbed strongly on mordenite (small nanopores). It is noteworthy that in the medium nanopores, the two monovalent cations Na and K adsorbed more strongly than Ca, a divalent cation. The NISE effect is responsible for the changes in the relative strength of each cation's adsorption. This is an unusual adsorption mechanism and is counter to the traditional understanding of ion exchange reactions.


Marche Region is a complex valley-coastal area in central Italy comprising valleys, hills, highly populated areas and industrial districts. During the past fifty years (namely from 1954 to 2010) the built-up area has almost tripled no way proportional to the increase of the resident population (+16%). In the same time span, airborne emissions have dramatically changed. Emissions from industrial facilities decreased due to the use of Best Available Techniques and the deindustrialization while small and/or mobile sources have become the most important players. This led to a significant deterioration of air quality in the cities of the Marche Region, especially due to road traffic and residential heating. For the new types of sources, emission estimate is the only way to assess local impact. The aim of this paper is to understand why the particulate matter concentrations in urban areas of the Marche Region are often above the legal limits, although several emission sources have decreased. To achieve reliable modelling, the authors applied two very different air quality models: CALPUFF and CAMx. CALPUFF is a non-steady-state puff dispersion modelling system while CAMx is an Eulerian photochemical model, able to estimate both primary and secondary particulate matter. CALPUFF results are useful to evaluate the concentration of primary particulate matter from the main industrial activities, and their contribution related to the total measured in the environmental monitoring unit. These values have been compared with the results of CAMx simulation which considers all the emissions allocated in a regular grid, so it is possible to assess the contribution of non-point sources such as urban traffic, residential heating and natural emissions.


The goal of this dissertation is to investigate mountain smallholders' land-use strategies and examine how the changes in their land-use strategies are linked to the broader land-cover change patterns. Using a cross-disciplinary, multi-scalar approach that integrates ethnographic and survey data with remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) applications, this study: (1) analyzes the household conditions and the community context of the changes in landuse strategies in Lamjung district, Nepal; and (2) identifies the district-level land-cover change patterns between 1976 and 2003 from multi-temporal satellite images (i.e., Landsat data of 1976, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1999, and 2003). In doing so, the processes of land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) and their social drivers are discussed in relation to the patterns of land-cover change. An in-depth analysis of the land-cover change trajectories illustrates dynamic transitions between forest, agricultural land and shrubland and suggests that there is no linearity in landcover change as is generally assumed. One significant change, however, is the loss of shrubland coverage to agriculture and forest over the years, decreasing from 37,825 ha (22.33% of the total area) in 1976 to 16,717ha (9.86%) in 2003. Although forest coverage steadily decreased from 75,582ha (44.2%) in 1976 to 64,453ha (38.02%) in 1990, it was no "massive deforestation" as claimed in the "Himalayan Environmental Degradation" debate. Forest in fact gained in areas in subsequent observation years to reach 71,582ha (42.22%) in 2003. Agricultural land also expanded from 30,3360ha (18.1%) to 42,048ha (24.8%) between 1976 and 2003. The context of smallholdings also changed in Lamjung during this period. The most notable changes were in the resource allocation rules, local economy, labor management and agricultural system. Combined, these mediated the effects of population pressure and poverty and influenced smallholders' land-use decisions. Understanding the context of changes in agricultural strategies also explains the dynamic transitions observed between different land-cover categories. The results of this study help establish general relationships underlying the subsistence behaviors of mountain smallholders, their dependence on agricultural and forest resources, and the extent to which their behaviors are influenced by the changing local demography, expanding market economy, shared cultural knowledge and institutions. INDEX WORDS: Ecological anthropology, agricultural anthropology, smallholders, mountain agriculture, Lamjung, Nepal, the Himalaya, Gurungs, cultural ecology, ethnoecology, farming, land-use, land-use strategies, land-use and land-cover change, land change science, human dimensions, agricultural change, agricultural intensification, deforestation, GIS and


Objectives To identify predictors of older adults' likelihood of quitting following engagement in a proactive tobacco quit line. Methods Older (>60 years) participants (N = 186) enrolled in a four-session quit line with 8-weeks of nicotine replacement therapy reported demographics, beliefs, and information about tobacco use. Point prevalence abstinence was reported at 3 and 12-months. Results In final models, endorsement of quitting to take control of one's life and confidence in quitting were positively associated with 3-month cessation (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.16, 2.62; OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.21, 2.52, respectively). At 12 months, stronger endorsement of quitting to take control of one's life and decreased nicotine dependence were associated with higher cessation (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.05, 2.17; OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.71,0.99, respectively). Discussion For tobacco cessation among older adults, programs should provide additional support to those with higher nicotine dependence, promote quitting self-efficacy, and encourage quitting as means to gain control of life and health.


Recently, new trends in application development for distributed platforms, such as the composable services model, attempt to provide more flexibility in system design, deployment and execution. Such trends, and particularly the referred composable services model, can also be beneficial in real-time distributed embedded systems, also providing a means to support more adaptive behaviors, reacting to the execution environment or coping with system reconfiguration. This paper explores a relatively new direction, which is the extension of the service-based model to dynamic, i.e. at run-time, composition in real-time distributed environments, in order to support the level of flexibility and adaptibility referred above. The paper proposes an architecture to support such dynamic service composition that is based on the flexible time triggered communication paradigm (FTT).To achieve the desired goal, we also redefine the concepts of service and service-based application in the concept of the FTT paradigm. Finally, we show experimental results obtained with a prototype implementation of the proposed architecture that confirm its feasibility and good temporal behavior


Background and purpose: Hospitalized patients experience at least one hospital-acquired infection. Antibiotics are usual drugs used in such conditions that impose high cost burdens on patients and community. Moreover, they cause bacterial resistances. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usage of antibiotics in intensive care unit in a teaching hospital. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted within six months in 101 critically ill patients who were on antibiotics in intensive care unit in Sari Bouali Sina Hospital. The patients' and antibiotics' information were recorded and then analyzed. Results: Among the samples 23.8% were not sent for bacteria cultures. In 58.4% there were negative cultures. Bacteria were detected in 41.6% and the comments were E. coli 24.4%, Klebsiella 17.1%, and Acinetobacter 9.8%. The most commonly used first-line antibiotics in hospital were ceftriaxone (72.3%) and meropenem (10.9%), while in second-line treatment meropenem was given more often. Conclusion: Suitable sampling, identifying the bacterial species, and selecting an appropriate antibiotic are of great importance in successful treatment of infections. Irrational use of antibiotics could lead to false negative results, and thereby bacterial resistances.


OBJECTIVE A major impetus of the "brain attack" campaign is the early recognition and treatment of acute stroke. Critical to this goal is the education of physicians during their residency training. METHODS Resident physicians in Los Angeles who were in family practice (18%), internal medicine (51%), emergency medicine (20%), and neurology (11%) and had already completed their first year of training responded to a questionnaire on stroke and the treatment of carotid stenosis. RESULTS Of the 266 respondents, 76% had heard of the "brain attack" campaign, 22% did not identify dysarthria as a symptom of stroke, and 21% did not identify obtundation as a presentation of stroke. Twenty-eight percent chose not to use tissue plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke, and 60% recognized the need to begin treatment within 3 hours. More than 90% of respondents were able to identify correct screening tests for patients with suspected carotid stenosis. However, 56% responded that they would not advocate operating on patients with asymptomatic severe stenosis (>70%) until stenosis reached a critical value (85%). Conversely, 45% would recommend operative treatment for symptomatic patients who had less than 60% stenosis. Sixty-eight percent would refer patients to vascular surgeons, 14% to neurosurgeons, and 17% to both for carotid endarterectomy. CONCLUSION Recognition of stroke as a medical emergency is improving. However, significant progress can still be made in the recognition of stroke symptoms. Primary care and neurology residents remain skeptical about carotid endarterectomy for asymptomatic patients, whereas there is enthusiasm for treating stroke survivors. Education by members of the surgical community could promote the aggressive treatment of asymptomatic patients to prevent stroke.


Many non-pharmacological interventions have only been tested in adults, and evidence on using these in children is lacking. To enhance child healthcare, research is required into these interventions in children. However, current rules and regulations make it difficult to conduct research into these low-risk, minimal-burden interventions. We describe the current rules and regulations on conducting research in children in the Netherlands and discuss the possibilities for adapting certain rules in accordance with the type of research that is performed.


Objective: To investigate the mechanisms of zerumbone in proliferation and inducing effect on apoptosis of human esophageal cancer cell line Eca-109.
Methods: Eca-109 cell lines were divided into two zerumbone treatment groups (10 μmol/L and 20 μmol/L) and one blank control group (0 μmol/L). Thereafter, MTT assay was performed to observe the inhibitory effect of zerumbone on the in-vitro growth of Eca-109 cells; flow cytometry was performed for detecting the distribution of cell cycles; inverted phase contrast microscope was used to observe the morphology of Eca-109 cells; RT-PCR and Western blotting assay were carried out for detecting the changes in mRNA and protein expressions of CXCR4.
Results: Zerumbone had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of Eca-109 cells, and the inhibitory effect was continuously elevated with an increase in concentration (p<0.05). Besides, zerumbone could induce the apoptosis of Eca-109 cells, and the apoptotic rate was increased in a concentration-dependent manner (p<0.05). After 48 h and 72 h of treatment with zerumbone in different concentrations, we found that the incidence of poor adhesive growth and cell death was increased against the augmentation in concentration of zerumbone; with the time extension, the quantity of Eca-109 cells would be decreased gradually after treatment with zerumbone in a certain concentration. The results of RT-PCR and Western blotting assay also showed that compared with the control group, the mRNA and protein expressions of CXCR4 in 10 μmol/L and 20 μmol/L groups were significantly decreased (p<0.05), in which the decrease in 20 μmol/L group was more significant.
Conclusion: Zerumbone can inhibit the growth of Eca-109 cells with a promoting effect on apoptosis, and the mechanism might be correlated with the downregulation of CXCR4.


Nanocrystalline metals demonstrate a broad range of fascinating mechanical properties at the nanoscale, namely a significant increase in hardness and superior yield stress. In this regard, understanding grain growth in nanocrystalline metals is crucial, particularly because nano size grains are characterized by a high curvature, which results in a high driving force for grain growth. In this work, the effect of annealing conditions on grain size of copper nanocrystalline thin films was investigated. The nanocrystalline copper thin films were first deposited by d.c. magnetron sputtering on a copper substrate. The specimens were then annealed in vacuum at 100, 300 and 500°C from 10 minutes to 5 hours. Transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that the as-deposited thin films have a bimodal grain size distribution; an average grain size of 43±2nm and the presence of nanotwins. Abnormal grain growth was observed for some samples annealed. Increasing the annealing time induced significant grain growth and promoted twin formation in the larger grains. Finally, the hardness of these nanocrystalline Cu thin films was determined using atomic force microscope. The relation between mechanical properties, annealing conditions and grain size was analyzed.


We present a new branch-and-bound type search method for mixed integer linear optimization problems based on the concept of offshoots (introduced in this paper). While similar to a classic branch-and-bound method, it allows for changing the order of the variables in a dive (shaping) and removing unnecessary branching variables from a dive (trimming). The regular branch-and-bound algorithm can be seen as a special case of our new method. We also discuss extensions to our new method such as choosing to branch from the top or the bottom of an offshoot. We present several numerical experiments to give a first impression of the potential of our new method.


Seismic data are often inadequately or irregularly sampled along spatial axes. Irregular sampling can produce artifacts in seismic imaging results. We present a new approach to interpolate aliased seismic data based on adaptive predictionerror ltering (PEF) and regularized nonstationary autoregression. Instead of cutting data into overlapping windows (patching), a popular method for handling nonstationarity, we obtain smoothly nonstationary PEF coecients by solving a global regularized least-squares problem. We employ shaping regularization to control the smoothness of adaptive PEFs. Finding the interpolated traces can be treated as another linear least-squares problem, which solves for data values rather than lter coecients. Compared with existing methods, the advantages of the proposed method include an intuitive selection of regularization parameters and fast iteration convergence. Benchmark synthetic and eld data examples show that the proposed technique can successfully reconstruct data with decimated or missing traces.


IntroductionPsyCymru was established to investigate the feasibility of linking a prospectively ascertained, well characterised (linked clinical cohort) of people with psychosis in Wales, UK with large amounts of anonymised routinely collected health record data. We are now additionally linking genetic data.
Objectives and ApproachPsyCymru aimed to create a research platform for psychosis research in Wales by establishing two cohorts. The first was a well-characterised clinically assessed cohort with genetic data. Consented individuals underwent structured interviews using well-validated questionnaires and gave blood sample for DNA extraction, sequencing, and candidate gene identification. This data was then linked to routinely collected health and social datasets with identity encryption. The second is a larger e-cohort of prevalent psychosis cases created using a validated algorithm applied to anonymised routine data. Both cohorts were tracked prospectively and retrospectively in the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank.
ResultsIn total, data from 958 individuals for the clinical cohort were imported to SAIL. Among these individuals, genetic data for 740 were analysed. The genetic data included robust loci for schizophrenia, pathogenic copy-number variations (CNVs) for various conditions (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, congenital malformations), polygenic risks scores for schizophrenia, as well as pathogenic/non-pathogenic duplications or deletions of chromosome spanning more than 500kb or 1Mb. For the e-cohort, 29,797 individuals were found having a psychosis diagnosis from primary and secondary care between 2004 to 2013. Social demographic data for both cohorts were also analysed based on sex, age, area deprivation, urbanicity, and employment status.
Conclusion/ImplicationsThis unique platform pooled data together from multiple sources; linking clinical, psychological, biological, genetic, and health care factors to address assorted research questions. This resource will continue to expand over the coming years in size, breadth and depth of data, with continued recruitment and additional measures planned.


Brazilian test is a standardized test for measuring indirect tensile strength of rock and concrete disc (or cylinder). Similar test called indirect tensile test has also been used for other geomaterials. Although splitting of the disc into two halves is the expected failure mode, other rupture modes had also been observed. More importantly, the splitting tensile strength of rock can vary significantly with the specimen geometry and loading condition. In this study, a numerical code called RFPA2D (abbreviated from Rock Failure Process Analysis) is used to simulate the failure process of disc and ring specimens subject to Brazilian test. The failure patterns and splitting tensile strengths of specimens with different size and loading-strip-width are simulated and compared with existing experimental results. In addition, two distinct failure patterns observed in ring tests have been simulated using RFPA2D and thus this verifies the applicability of RFPA2D in simulating rock failure process under static loads.


Children's poor performance on object relative clauses has been explained in terms of intervention locality. This approach predicts that object relatives with a full DP head and an embedded pronominal subject are easier than object relatives in which both the head noun and the embedded subject are full DPs. This prediction is shared by other accounts formulated to explain processing mechanisms. We conducted a visual-world study designed to test the off-line comprehension and on-line processing of object relatives in German-speaking 5-year-olds. Children were tested on three types of object relatives, all having a full DP head noun and differing with respect to the type of nominal phrase that appeared in the embedded subject position: another full DP, a 1st- or a 3rd-person pronoun. Grammatical skills and memory capacity were also assessed in order to see whether and how they affect children's performance. Most accurately processed were object relatives with 1st-person pronoun, independently of children's language and memory skills. Performance on object relatives with two full DPs was overall more accurate than on object relatives with 3rd-person pronoun. In the former condition, children with stronger grammatical skills accurately processed the structure and their memory abilities determined how fast they were; in the latter condition, children only processed accurately the structure if they were strong both in their grammatical skills and in their memory capacity. The results are discussed in the light of accounts that predict different pronoun effects like the ones we find, which depend on the referential properties of the pronouns. We then discuss which role language and memory abilities might have in processing object relatives with various embedded nominal phrases.


In the glossary to Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation by David Huron, the term sweet anticipation is defined as "the positive feelings that arise from conscious thought about some future event". As such, the term constitutes a rather strange choice of title for a book that focuses to a large extent on unconscious processes involved in musical expectation. Presumably, the intention was to place emphasis on "positive feelings" since this account differs from most written by researchers in music cognition in terms of the prominence it gives to music's ability to invoke pleasure. However, Huron's approach is distinctive in other ways. The prominence given to psychological theories, models and methods as tools for understanding music will come as no surprise for those familiar with his field of research. But the emphasis on taking subjective musical experience seriously, modeling music perception as a process of (statistical) learning, examining music from wide range of cultures and understanding cognition in an evolutionary context represent characteristic hallmarks of this work. We shall return to these themes in more detail later on.


Because Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) often have a high packet loss rate, the formerly used protocol for video streaming, Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), is no longer suitable for this specific environment. Previous conducted research has offered many new protocols to solve this problem; however, most of them cannot make full use of the existing Internet video streaming resources like RTP servers. Our work proposes two models to solve this compatibility issue. The first model is called the converter model. Based on this model, we first modify RTP using Erasure Coding (EC) technique in order to adapt it to the high packet loss rate of VANETs. This newly developed protocol is called EC-RTP. And, we then developed two converters. The first converter stands on the boundary between the Internet and VANETs. It receives the RTP packets which sent from Internet. And then it translates them to the EC-RTP packets. These packets are transported over the VANETs. The second converter receives these EC-RTP packets, translates them back to the RTP packets. It then sends them to the RTP player, so that the RTP player can play these packets. To make EC-RTP can carry more kinds of video streams other than RTP, we proposed a second model. The second model is called the redundancy tunnel. Based on this model, we let the protocol between the two converters carry RTP protocol as its payload. We use the same technique as we have used to modify RTP. At last, we did some experiments with Android tablets. The experiment results show our solution can use the same player to play the same video resources as RTP does. However, unlike RTP, it can reduce packet loss rate.


We propose computationally efficient algorithms for \textit{online linear optimization with bandit feedback}, in which a player chooses an \textit{action vector} from a given (possibly infinite) set $\mathcal{A} \subseteq \mathbb{R}^d$, and then suffers a loss that can be expressed as a linear function in action vectors. Although existing algorithms achieve an optimal regret bound of $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{T})$ for $T$ rounds (ignoring factors of $\mathrm{poly} (d, \log T)$), computationally efficient ways of implementing them have not yet been specified, in particular when $|\mathcal{A}|$ is not bounded by a polynomial size in $d$. A standard way to pursue computational efficiency is to assume that we have an efficient algorithm referred to as \textit{oracle} that solves (offline) linear optimization problems over $\mathcal{A}$. Under this assumption, the computational efficiency of a bandit algorithm can then be measured in terms of \textit{oracle complexity}, i.e., the number of oracle calls. Our contribution is to propose algorithms that offer optimal regret bounds of $\tilde{O}(\sqrt{T})$ as well as low oracle complexity for both \textit{non-stochastic settings} and \textit{stochastic settings}. Our algorithm for non-stochastic settings has an oracle complexity of $\tilde{O}( T )$ and is the first algorithm that achieves both a regret bound of $\tilde{O}( \sqrt{T} )$ and an oracle complexity of $\tilde{O} ( \mathrm{poly} ( T ) )$, given only linear optimization oracles. Our algorithm for stochastic settings calls the oracle only $O( \mathrm{poly} (d, \log T))$ times, which is smaller than the current best oracle complexity of $O( T )$ if $T$ is sufficiently large.


1. The suprarenal cortex of the guinea pig can be transplanted autoplastically into the abdominal wall and may remain for months, growing to fairly large size. 2. The suprarenal cortex of the guinea pig can be transplanted homoplastically but these transplants usually degenerate after a few months. 3. Small autoplastic transplants are capable of maintaining the life of a completely suprarenalectomized guinea pig for weeks and large transplants maintain the animal indefinitely in good condition. 4. Irritation phenomena follow the grafting of suprarenal cortex due to the entrance of epinephrine into this tissue during the manipulation involved in removal of the gland.


Abstract Speakers frequently produce elaborate hand movements during talk that have been shown to serve a communicative function. Nevertheless, two-thirds of the semantic content of these hand movements is encoded linguistically elsewhere in the discourse (Beattie and Shovelton, Semiotica 184: 33–52, 2011). The present experiment demonstrated that while 62.9% of semantic information in gesture was elsewhere, most gestures (81.8%) retained at least one semantic feature that was never represented linguistically. Semantic features were more explicit when they occurred in gesture than when represented linguistically. Even in cases where the imagistic gesture appeared somewhat redundant, gesture at the narrative level preserves a discernable communicative function.


New technologies that comes with recent trends like Internet of Things, Cloud and 5G are promoting new platforms and communication solutions. These trends have also started to impact traditional industrial automation systems, since end customers are starting to expect new services, such as, business intelligence and diagnostic information anywhere at any time. Moreover, the cloud providers lease their infrastructure to be used for deployment of applications using virtualization. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring the possibilities of different virtualization platforms offered by various cloud providers and benchmark the technologies with platforms frequently used within industry. The platform performance was evaluated by conducting experiments with an industrial application, focusing on typical industrial aspect such as latency, jitter and availability. In addition to more industrial focused metrics, the findings in comparison with other related experiments indicate that specific application requirements have an effect on performance. Hence, application specific evaluations may be necessary before taking any decision on where an industrial application may be deployed.


In this article, we show that photoexcitation of radical anions facilitates electron transfer from sodium atoms in femtosecond encounters. Thus, excitation of 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (TCNQ) and fluorinated TCNQ (TCNQ-F(4)) anions to the second optically active state at 478 nm led to increases in the yields of dianions of about 20% and 10%, respectively. Photoexcitation with a nanosecond-long laser pulse was done a few microseconds before the ions entered the sodium collision cell so that none of the ions would be in any of the initially reached doublet-excited states. We suggest an explanation for the higher electron capture cross section based on the formation of long-lived quartet state anions. Excitation of TCNQ anions within the lowest-energy absorption band, where there are no accessible quartet states, led instead to a lower yield of dianions. There are at least three explanations for the lower dianion yields: (1) Depletion of the monoanion beam due to photodetachment after the absorption of minimum two photons; (2) Formation of short-lived vibrationally excited dianions that decay by electron autodetachment prior to identification; and (3) Lower electron capture cross sections of vibrationally excited monoanions. Similar losses in dianion signal can occur at 478 nm so the actual yield of dianions at this wavelength due to the population of quartet states is therefore greater than that observed. Our methodology devises a more efficient route for the production of molecular dianions, and at the same time it may provide information on long-lived electronic states.


In this paper we present some results of the ongoing research aimed at studying the limitations attached to the increase in transmission line (TL) density for the high speed interconnects at the board, multi-chip module and on-chip integration levels. For any interconnect solution the important quality in the frequency band of interest is the signal to noise ratio obtainable, where noise could be due to additional amplification required, TL itself and any cross talk signal picked up by the line. First part of the paper deals with modeling the coupling between two TL sections in the attempt to formulate simple guidelines on how to chose the TL dimensions and adjacent trace separation to maintain reasonably low trace coupling. Second part of the paper deals with the influence of TL cross- sectional parameter upon the high frequency losses. Area efficiency parameter is introduced to allow the measure of the tradeoff between obtaining smaller loss (with wider central strips) and smaller cross talk in order to obtain the best possible throughput per board cross section at any bit error rate.


Acute bacterial meningitis is a life-threatening disease in humans. Discussed as entry sites for pathogens into the brain are the blood-brain and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). Although human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) constitute a well established human in vitro model for the blood-brain barrier, until now no reliable human system presenting the BCSFB has been developed. Here, we describe for the first time a functional human BCSFB model based on human choroid plexus papilloma cells (HIBCPP), which display typical hallmarks of a BCSFB as the expression of junctional proteins and formation of tight junctions, a high electrical resistance and minimal levels of macromolecular flux when grown on transwell filters. Importantly, when challenged with the zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus suis or the human pathogenic bacterium Neisseria meningitidis the HIBCPP show polar bacterial invasion only from the physiologically relevant basolateral side. Meningococcal invasion is attenuated by the presence of a capsule and translocated N. meningitidis form microcolonies on the apical side of HIBCPP opposite of sites of entry. As a functionally relevant human model of the BCSFB the HIBCPP offer a wide range of options for analysis of disease-related mechanisms at the choroid plexus epithelium, especially involving human pathogens.


Chorus waves are usually generated outside the plasmapause in the equatorial region of the magnetosphere. The discrete characteristics of chorus elements are quantified by the three parameters: lasting time, frequency bandwidth, and repetition period. A systematic study in the lasting time and frequency bandwidth in terms of background plasma and magnetic fields has not been performed in the past. Here we use burst mode waveform data from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interaction during Substorms (THEMIS) probes and the random forest method of machine learning and Pearson's correlation analysis to investigate which background plasma and magnetic field parameter is dominant over the lasting time and frequency bandwidth. We find that the temperature is the most important parameter that controls the lasting time. The lasting time is shorter when this temperature is higher. We also find that the normalized bandwidth by the local electron cyclotron frequency is controlled by the number density of energetic electrons. The normalized bandwidth is wider when this number density is larger. These results can be well explained by the threshold and optimum wave amplitudes for the nonlinear generation of chorus waves (Omura & Nunn, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JA016280). The findings derived from this analysis can be used to serve as a guideline for a deep understanding of the generation mechanism of chorus elements and help choose input for a modeling of wave‐particle interactions in the radiation belts.


This thesis focuses on the study of dissolved organic matter (DOM) as one of the earth's largest carbon reservoirs and one of the most complex naturally occurring mixtures of organic material. DOM is a critical component on biogeochemical processes which relevance, origin, fate and chemical composition, which are still relatively poorly understood. In chapter 2, a detailed review on the on the extraction, fractionation and chemical characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from seawater and freshwater sources for the rapid and effective processing of this complex sample prior to mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis is presented.
This thesis also explores new single- and multidimensional chromatographic approaches to the fractionation of DOM. Within chapter 3, a relatively new chromatographic method, high-performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC), was applied to the study of DOM. A HPCCC method was developed for the quantification of solid phase pre-extracted low molecular weight dissolved organic matter (DOM) from natural water sources. The method was applied to the determination of the concentration of DOM in seawater and compared with traditional quantification, demonstrating a clear advantage for the determination of the amount of DOM in water by using small volumes of samples.
Detailed within chapter 4, a new separation technique based on Eleven Onyx monolithic C18 columns connected in series was developed in order to obtain a high capacity reversed- phase HPLC column providing 110,000 theoretical plates for the fractionation of the components of DOM. The method was complemented by coupling the main fractionation with a second dimension of reversed-phase HPLC and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) detection. Successful fractionation of the major compositional materials within DOM (i.e. carboxylic-rich alicyclic molecules, CRAM) in order of decreasing polarity was confirmed.
This research also seeks to provide improve pathways to the characterization of DOM by addressing the extraction of DOM from fresh and marine waters by using three different solid phase extraction (SPE) adsorbents, the selectivity of, phenyl-hexyl functionalised silica gel, a novel in house prepared adsorbent, and the commercially available polystyrene di- vinyl-benzene (PS-DVB), and octadecyl-silica gel (C-18) based adsorbents was described in chapter 5. Compositional differences between DOM extracted using the three different types of adsorbents could clearly be seen. DOM obtained from phenyl-hexyl functionalised silica proved to be richer in aromatics, aldehydes and aliphatics molecules than the other adsorbents.
Finally, within chapter 6, for the first time, the characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from seafoam samples extracted via solid phase extraction SPE using C18 and PPL functionalised adsorbents was performed. The results highlight the different selectivity of the examined adsorbents and underlining the potential to isolate specific classes of compounds within complex mixtures such as seafoam. Furthermore, NMR and HRMS analysis of the seafoam samples, confirmed the presence of the following classes of compounds: aliphatics, unsaturated, aromatics, aldehydes, peptides and carbohydrates in high concentrations within DOM.


Locating the car license plate in an image or video frame of a car is an important step in car license plate recognition/identification applications. This problem poses many challenges like location of license plate from images taken in poor illumination and bad weather condition; plates that are partly obscured by dirt and images that have low contrast. This paper presents a new morphology based method for license plate extraction from car images. The algorithm uses morphological operations on the preprocessed, edge images of the vehicles. Characteristic features such as license plate width and height, character height and spacing are considered for defining structural elements for morphological operations. Connected component analysis is used to select the band containing license plate from the candidate segmented. The experimental results with a reasonably large set of car images are very encouraging.


The mapping of shorelines and monitoring of their changes is challenging due to the large variation in shoreline position related to seasonal and tidal patterns. This study focused on a flood-prone area in the north of Java. Shoreline mapping and monitoring are needed to support efforts to recover the eroded land and to reduce the rapid shoreline degradation. We show the possibility of using fuzzy-crisp objects to derive shoreline positions as the transition zone between the classes water and non-water. Fuzzy c-means classification (FCM) was used to estimate the membership of pixels to these classes. A shoreline is represented by a transition zone between the classes, and its spatial extent was estimated by using fuzzy-crisp objects. We analyse the differences between successive shorelines from multi-temporal images. A change category was defined if the membership difference between two years T1 and T2, represented by change magnitude values, differs from zero, whereas a no-change category corresponded to a magnitude equal to zero. This resulted into an overall change magnitude and the change directions of the shoreline. It allowed us to jointly identify the trend of the fluctuating shoreline and the uncertainty distribution. Fuzziness of the positions of the shoreline was assessed by using change confusion values. The overall accuracies of FCM resulted into a fuzzy error matrix (FERM) with values ranging from 0.84 to 0.90. Change areas were identified as well as the magnitude, direction and confusion values of the changes for the observed objects at the pixel level. The proposed method provided a way to analyse changes of shorelines as fuzzy objects and is wellsuited to apply to coastal areas around the globe.


: The indication for the i.v. application of fat can be for energetic as well as structural reasons. In immature infants without sufficient fat stores there is a constant requirement for polyunsaturated long chain fatty acids of the omega-6- and omega-3-families for the formation of central nervous structures. There is increasing consciousness to consider fatty acids as precursors of bioactive mediators (eicosanoids). This leads to the concept to directly modify eicosanoid synthesis by means of the application of selected fatty acid families for to influence pathophysiologic events, for instance the mediation of inflammatory reactions. In case of an existing indication for the i.v. fat administration the metabolic tolerance has to be controlled, using serum triglyceride, free fatty acid and glucose determinations. The necessary ideas forming the basis of decision making are summarized and interrelated in a flow diagram.


Microthermometric and crush-leach analyses of fluid inclusions in ore and gangue minerals of the Upper Silesian Zn-Pb deposits, Poland, along with first results of Rb-Sr geochronology on sulfides, provide important constraints on the paleohydrogeologic and metallogenetic models for the origin of these ores. The analyzed samples comprise two generations of dolomite, two generations of sphalerite, galena, and late calcite. The two dolomite generations and the late calcite were also analyzed for their oxygen and carbon isotope compositions, allowing a characterization of the mineralizing fluids. The ore-forming fluids represent highly saline (20–23 wt % CaCl 2 equiv) Na-Ca-Cl brines, episodically introduced into the Triassic host carbonates. They had an oxygen isotope composition of ~0 per mil V-SMOW. Their Na-Cl-Br content (molar Na/Br and Cl/Br ratios between 99 and 337 and between 248 and 560, respectively) suggests that they originated by evaporation of seawater, which most likely occurred in the Permian-Triassic. The relative concentrations of potassium (molar K/Cl between 0.0147 and 0.0746) and lithium (molar Li/Cl between 0.0004 and 0.0031) further indicate that the fluids significantly interacted with siliciclastic rocks. The ionic and calculated oxygen isotope compositions of the fluids indicate that they were more evolved than present-day brines in the Upper Silesian coal basin, and the present-day brines show more extensive mixing with low-salinity fluids. The first results of direct Rb-Sr dating of ore-stage sulfides yield an isochron model age of 135 ± 4 Ma for the mineralizing event. This is consistent with hydrothermal activity and ore formation in Upper Silesia occurring in response to Early Cretaceous crustal extension preceding the opening of the northern Atlantic Ocean. The data presented support a model in which bittern brines migrated down into the deep subsurface and evolved into mineralizing fluids owing to extensive water-rock interaction. They were episodically expelled along deeply penetrating faults during the Early Cretaceous to form Zn-Pb deposits in the overlying Mesozoic carbonate rocks.


Abstract Faculty are required to publish. Naïve and "in-a-hurry-to-publish" authors seek to publish in journals where manuscripts are rapidly accepted. Others may innocently submit to one of an increasing number of questionable/predatory journals, where predatory is defined as practices of publishing journals for exploitation of author-pays, open-access publication model by charging authors publication fees for publisher profit without provision of expected services (expert peer review, editing, archiving, and indexing published manuscripts) and promising almost instant publication. Authors may intentionally submit manuscripts to predatory journals for rapid publication without concern for journal quality. A brief summary of the open access "movement," suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals, and suggestion for avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. The purpose is to alert junior and seasoned faculty about predatory publishers included among available open access journal listings. Brief review of open access publication, predatory/questionable journal characteristics, suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals and avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. Time is required for intentionally performing due diligence in open access journal selection, based on publisher/journal quality, prior to manuscript submission or authors must be able to successfully withdraw manuscripts when submission to a questionable or predatory journal is discovered.


The aim of this paper is to establish an analytical method for the design of the Improved low pass Broadband Passive harmonic Filter (IBF) that absorbs current harmonics caused by three phase bridge rectifiers used in motor drives. The design attempts to comply with the IEEE Standard 519-1992 recommended harmonic limits applied to the current harmonic limits of three phase rectifier systems. In this paper an analytical design method of the improved broadband passive harmonic filter (IBF) for three phase diode rectifier front-end type adjustable speed drives is presented. The method is based on frequency domain modeling of the rectifier and filter. The success of the method involves accurate representation of the load harmonics. With the harmonics well defined, the harmonic and fundamental frequency equivalent circuits are utilized to analytically calculate the voltages/currents. Thus, the size and the performance of the filter can be optimized. The analytical method is verified via computer simulations and laboratory experiments. Also a performance comparison of various passive harmonic filters for three-phase diode rectifier front-end type adjustable speed drives is provided. The comparison involves the input current total harmonic distortion, input power factor, rectifier voltage regulation, energy efficiency, size, and cost. The parallel/series harmonic resonance problem related issues are addressed and unbalanced operation performance investigated. The comparison is based on analysis and computer simulations and the results are validated by laboratory experiments.


Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is an approach and movement in innovative educational practices from the primary level internationally. This would provide a platform for an inquiry approach, creativity, and innovation in young children and formulate a path for changes in existing practices. The STEM approach is widely accepted as a key educational practice; however, it is dealt with as a combination of disciplines in actual teaching and learning practice. Coherence in this interdisciplinarity and integration has yet to be evolved as a practice in synthesising and designing instruction and could be harbinger for an effective design for future practice. Integrated and interdisciplinary STEM can only generate powerful knowledge to deal with issues that are affecting the planet and bring abiotic and biotic equilibrium. Interdisciplinary and integrated powerful knowledge (IIPK) can act as a roadmap for innovation that can bring changes in existing practices, produce informed citizens, build capacity for informed decisions, and generate sustainable living practices. Interdisciplinary and integrated STEM could lay foundations for IIPK and generate a mindset, approach, and practice. IIPK could lead to the formation of new paths for energy generation, transport, agricultural practices, medical treatment, and clean environment. Interdisciplinary and integrated STEM is not seen in actual practice anywhere nowadays. For coherence in curriculum, implications in instructions need reform and development by the governments across the world. That could lead to a new policy for interdisciplinary and integrated STEM.


Abstract Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, is one of the most important insect pests of soybean in the north central United States. Management of A. glycines currently relies on applications of broad-spectrum insecticides. However, broad-spectrum insecticides can negatively impact the natural enemies associated with aphids. Selective insecticides, on the other hand, are promising control tactics for reducing the negative impact of insecticide applications. Here, we compared the effects of sulfoxaflor (a new selective insecticide) and broad-spectrum insecticides on A. glycines and predators in a two-year field experiment. We sampled A. glycines and aphid predator populations using visual whole-plant inspection. In addition, sweep-net sampling was performed to monitor predator populations. To evaluate the toxicity of the insecticides on predator populations, laboratory bioassays were performed on Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville, Orius insidiosus (Say), and Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister). Field results showed that sulfoxaflor was as effective as the broad-spectrum insecticide in suppressing soybean aphid populations and was less impactful on predator populations. The laboratory bioassays showed that sulfoxaflor was moderately harmful to O. insidiosus, harmless to slightly harmful to H. convergens, and harmless to C. rufilabris. These studies suggest that sulfoxaflor holds promise for improving integration of chemical and biological controls for A. glycines management.


Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome-specific probes enables several new areas of cytogenetic investigation by allowing visual determination of the presence and normality of specific genetic sequences in single metaphase or interphase cells. However, it is difficult to obtain the characteristic or three-dimensional information of individual DNA sequence in nuclei using the conventional fluorescent microscope. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) was applied on the touch preparations of ovarian neoplasia and tissue sections of melanoma, which were hybridized with centrometric or c-erb B 2 (HER-2/neu) oncogene-specific probes. It enabled us to observe clear optical sections in vertical or horizontal directions at any depth from the top to bottom of samples and also to reveal the difference of distribution of specific DNA sequences in nuclei using image-analytical devices.Copies of chromosome 6 centromeres showed an eccentric localization on optical sections, although those of c-erb B 2 distributed throughout the plans. Furthermore, the reconstructed three-dimensional images revealed that the centromere of chromosome 6 localized close to the nuclear membranes and c-erb B 2 oncogene spread sparsely, or in a dendrometric shape, throughout the nuclei. Since an application of CLSM on the samples which hybridized with DNA sequences specific probes clarified the individual localization of sequences in the nuclei of interphase, this is an especially useful method for biological dosimetry and cancer biology.


El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are classically associated with a significant increase in the length of day (LOD), with positive mountain torques arising from an east–west pressure dipole in the Pacific driving a rise of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) and consequent slowing of the Earth's rotation. The large 1982–1983 event produced a lengthening of the day of about 0.9 ms, while a major ENSO event during the 2015–2016 winter season produced an LOD excursion reaching 0.81 ms in January 2016. By evaluating the anomaly in mountain and friction torques, we found that (i) as a mixed eastern–central Pacific event, the 2015– 2016 mountain torque was smaller than for the 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 events, which were pure eastern Pacific events, and (ii) the smaller mountain torque was compensated for by positive friction torques arising from an enhanced Hadley-type circulation in the eastern Pacific, leading to similar AAM–LOD signatures for all three extreme ENSO events. The 2015–2016 event thus contradicts the existing paradigm that mountain torques cause the Earth rotation response for extreme El Niño events. Copyright statement. All the authors have agreed to the licence and copyright agreement.


Nation-states, forming a patchwork, have made intellectual property laws for their respective territories and coordinated these laws in the classic Berne-Paris treaty regime, most notably by applying the principle of national treatment. However, with the emergence of global networks, creations typically protected by intellectual property laws increasingly cross many borders at once, and the national laws applicable to online transactions and infringement tend to enter into more frequent and volatile conflicts. This article initially outlines short-term, strategic options with which private parties might respond to this paradigm shift and then asks how long-term, law-making methodologies should take account of such options in the light of public policy. In the short term, self-help measures, such as encryption, in tandem with software and contractual rules, can be used to supplement intellectual property laws both to protect contents online and to maximize profits from such contents. Also, choice-of-law approaches, as well as varying jurisdictional rules, can be manipulated in litigation between private parties with divergent interests, for example, between content-providers, service-providers, and end-users. It is here argued that, in the long term, recourse to the classic treaty regime coordinating the patchwork of national laws does not suffice to optimize the results of such strategies for private parties or for the public. Optimization guidelines are proposed: (1) avoid patchwork law-making; (2) organize private-public initiatives to elaborate network law; and (3) formulate such law compatibly with diverse cultures.


The development of new approaches for understanding processes of urban development and their environmental effects, as well as strategies for sustainable management, is essential in expanding metropolitan areas. This study illustrates the potential of linking urban growth and watershed models to identify problem areas and support long-term watershed planning. Sediment is a primary source of nonpoint-source pollution in surface waters. In urban areas, sediment is intermingled with other surface debris in transport. In an effort to forecast the effects of development on surface-water quality, changes predicted in urban areas by the SLEUTH urban growth model were applied in the context of erosion-sedimentation models (Universal Soil Loss Equation and Spatially Explicit Delivery Models). The models are used to simulate the effect of excluding hot-spot areas of erosion and sedimentation from future urban growth and to predict the impacts of alternative erosion-control scenarios. Ambos Nogales, meaning "both Nogaleses," is a name commonly used for the twin border cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The Ambos Nogales watershed has experienced a decrease in water quality as a result of urban development in the twin-city area. Population growth rates in Ambos Nogales are high and the resources set in place to accommodate the rapid population influx will soon become overburdened. Because of its remote location and binational governance, monitoring and planning across the border is compromised. One scenario described in this research portrays an improvement in water quality through the identification of high-risk areas using models that simulate their protection from development and replanting with native grasses, while permitting the predicted and inevitable growth elsewhere. This is meant to add to the body of knowledge about forecasting the impact potential of urbanization on sediment delivery to streams for sustainable development, which can be accomplished in a virtual environment.


The descriptions of liquid polymer flow in the injection mold channels, presented in the literature data, have been discussed. The flow is unstable and non-isothermal. Most often the symmetrical model is used to describeit although this model is true only at determined stable conditions. When thermal or kinetic conditions at both sides of the channel vary (e.g. because of the differences of temperature or surface roughness) thermokinetic flow asymmetry occurs. This asymmetry may be also caused by the change of flow direction in the channels e.g. in the area where the sprue joins the runner or in the cavities with inserts, bosses and ribs. In multicavity molds the polymer stream can change the direction even several times that lead to non-uniform filling of cavities. As well the weld lines areas are areas of polymer flow disturbances. Asymmetrical and non-uniform flow affects the injection molding efficiency evaluated on the basis of determinations of functional properties and surfaces qualities of molded parts.


In this work, we present a new model, the Low-Rank Gaussian Mixture Model (LRGMM), for modeling data which can be extended to identifying partitions or overlapping clusters. This model is motivated by the effectiveness, yet limited scalability, of the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) for the problem of accent identification. The curse of dimensionality that arises in calculating the covariance matrices of the GMM is countered by using low-rank perturbed diagonal matrices. We also demonstrate the LRGMM for finding communities in social networks. We see that the efficiency of the LRGMM allows us to process larger networks than alternative approaches. Altogether, the LRGMM experiments reveal it to be a efficient and highly applicable tool for working with large high-dimensional datasets.


Successive active phases observed in periodontal diseases may be explained either by a sudden activation of the pro-forms of tissue-stored degradative enzymes such as metalloproteinases (MMPs) or by an imbalance between metalloproteinases and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs). To discriminate between these two hypotheses, we quantified the levels, the percentage of active form, and the activities of four metalloproteinases (MMPs -1, -2, -3, and -9), as well as the levels of two tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP-1 and -2) and the activity of cathepsin C in tissue extract supernatants and their corresponding gingival crevicular fluid samples collected from periodontitis-affected and healthy patients. Our results supported evidence that tissue destruction results from an imbalance of metalloproteinases over their tissue inhibitors rather than from a sudden activation of the pro-forms of these enzymes. A significant reduction in the activity of cathepsin C also contributed to the degradative process.


IntroductionA severe health shock can threaten a patient's life and alter the lives of their family. Spouses often provide care, and may change their work situation, affecting family income. This could mean less work to allow for more caregiving, or more work to make up for the patient's lower income.
Objectives and ApproachWe used the Canadian Hospital and Taxation Database to quantify the impact on workforce participation and changes in earnings among spouses of working-age Canadians who survived a heart attack, cardiac arrest, or stroke. All 40-61 year-olds who experienced a health shock between 2005 and 2010, and survived for at least 3 years, were included, along with their spouses. We use 15 variables to match case spouses with up to 5 (weighted) potential control spouses. The main outcome was Total earnings, which included the sum of wages and salaries, net self-employment income and other employment income, normalized to 2012 Cdn dollars.
ResultsOur analysis included 11,208 spouses of heart attack patients, 622 spouses of cardiac arrest patients, and 2,228 spouses of stroke patients, matched with spouses in the control group. For all three health shocks, we found no significant difference in the distribution of changes in earnings between cases and matched controls (p=0.30 for heart attack; p=0.72 for cardiac arrest and p=0.27 for stroke). We also found no difference in levels of working status (ie being employed). We found mixed impacts by spouses' sex, age, and pre-event earnings for heart attack and stroke patients. These results are consistent with previous findings, but drill deeper by analyzing the distributions of changes in earnings among spouses of patients experiencing health shocks.
Conclusion/ImplicationsDespite known decreases in work and earnings among patients experiencing heart attack, cardiac arrest, or stroke, the proportion of spouses whose work and earnings were increased, decreased, or unchanged was the same as for control spouses. This combination implies a significant reduction in family income after serious health events.


Within a semantic approach to different aspects of language experience language phenomena need to be revealed in their significance. In particular, what should be clarified is
the common sign-structures of things and words at three different levels: of theoretical form, of actual existence and of socio-cultural values. This will help overcome the main referential illusion of dealing with "existent objects" irrelevant to their significance, or the sign-valued understanding. Respectively, the illusionary semantic study of word-meanings irrespective of
their anthropological, social and psychological value-connotations would be avoided. The claim in this paper is that in human experience we have access to actual objects via sensations of physical, material character but we perceive or apprehend these objects as signs.
Without being a sign, an object is not recognizable, nor communicable or understandable. This means that to become a sign, every single object has to identify some other object or any object like it, or be understood as presented in its specific features in an actual act of communication of any form. Such objects are predicative signs of speech or thought. A thing obtains its reality as an object on the level of cultural values or social functions as a sign-type
with its own name, meaning and connotations. These connotations as values of meanings (or of values) govern the dynamics of object and word-transformations. As a result of a connotative analysis of word semantics, it may be possible to clarify the general types of word meaning:
iconic-metaphorical, object-symbolical and symbolic-allegorical. Finally, it is necessary to extract the main semantic features (or marks), understood as named substantiated qualities like soundness, lightness (darkness), substantiality, formality, corporeality, humanity, etc. in their construal function as words' iconic etymons. On these grounds – on the grounds of
sign-words' meanings – it is possible to build lexico-semantic architectonic categorization and systematization of words' meanings in order to establish a lexico-grammatical system of language and to understand lexico-semantic development of values, transformations of
meanings and word-formation processes.


This article focuses on the racialized consequences of neoliberal juvenile justice practices. Based on over two years of ethnographic fieldwork inside of one state's secure residential facilities and alternative to incarceration programs, the article scrutinizes contemporary intervention practices used with young people. These practices emphasize the cultivation of individuality, rationality and "responsibility" by young people. The author argues that to be successful in these programs, these forms of behavior invariably define "success" as deference and submission to program staff and standards. In other words, "responsibility" is often a form of repression. In a youth justice system where a vast majority of the young people in detention and residential placement are African-American, it is quite possible to trace the direct line between the early forms of social control directed at African-Americans in the United States and those that exist today.


This paper studies the impact of collaboration on research output. First, we build a micro founded model for scientific knowledge production, where collaboration between researchers is represented by a bipartite network. The equilibrium of the game incorporates both the complementarity effect between collaborating researchers and the substitutability effect between concurrent projects of the same researcher. Next, we develop a Bayesian MCMC procedure to estimate the structural parameters, taking into account the endogenous matching of researchers and projects. Finally, we illustrate the empirical relevance of the model by analyzing the coauthorship network of economists registered in the RePEc Author Service.


In spite of the many studies conducted over the past decades, the field of inquiry known as cross-cultural gerontology remains atheoretical. This is because of its shortcomings in generating culturally-relevant theoretical frameworks of its own. In this article, I address this failure and adapt Kluckhohn's model of value orientations for use in the study of ageing-related concepts. I discuss possible applications of the adapted model and, in particular, its application to one of the most frequently debated concepts in gerontology, successful ageing. In the light of this discussion, I conclude that the culturally-relevant theoretical framework hereby proposed could lead to the rectification of the current atheoretical predicament of cross-cultural gerontology.


Who talks about themselves most frequently? Recent research has explored the top correlates of self-focused language use. Depression and negative emotionality tend to appear as key positive correlates. Surprisingly, narcissism—which is largely known for its trait of self-centeredness—is not a major correlate of self-focused language use. Studies demonstrating this null effect have only measured grandiose narcissism, while entirely neglecting vulnerable narcissism. By using a survey methodology with carefullyselected trait inventories and a language task, the purpose of this study is to fill the gap in the literature—to see whether vulnerable narcissism accounts for talking about oneself, above and beyond the common correlates of depression and negative emotionality. Our findings from a large number of college students (valid N = 471) indicated that vulnerable narcissism is significantly positively correlated with first-person singular pronoun use; however, it does not predict the outcome above and beyond traditional predictors. Along with establishing this novel correlation, these findings have clear practical implications which will be detailed further in this paper. Thesis Mentor:________________________ Dr. Nicholas Holtzman Honors Director:_______________________


Information has been proven to have significant impacts on consumers' behavior and willingness to pay (WTP). In this study, information on GM soybean oil is given in the form of real-life cases involving GM food. These cases recorded from actual media reports. Using a hybrid of the double-bounded and payment care elicitation approaches, Chinese consumers' WTP for soybean oil is examined both before and after these cases are presented to them. Results indicate that media reports on positive cases do not increase consumers' WTP significantly, while reports on negative cases drastically lower their WTP.


In this study, we examine the regional impacts of the 1997 Asian Crisis on Governance. We use World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators (i.e. WGI) which includes six dimensions of governance. These six dimensions are "Voice and Accountability", "Political Stability and Absence of Violence", "Government Effectiveness", "Regulatory Quality", "Rule of Law", and "Control of Corruption". The seven regions that we examine are North America, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, East Asia and Pacific, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Middle East and North Africa. Our findings show that, due to the crisis, while the overall rankings of Latin America and Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa improved, the overall rankings of Europe and Central Asia, East Asia and Pacific, South Asia, and Middle East and North Africa declined. There was no change in the ranking of North America due to the crisis. Both pre- and post-crisis, North America has the highest ranking in all six measures of governance.


: Nowadays, traditional synchronous generators are replaced by distributed renewable energy sources (DRESs), which are connected to the grid via power converters. This shift towards non-synchronous generation leads to low inertia power systems and affects considerably the frequency control procedure. To provide an inertial response and to enhance grid stability, DRESs can be equipped with fast discharging energy storage systems, such as ultracapacitors. This feature allows distribution system operators (DSOs) to provide an inertial response as ancillary service to transmission system operators (TSOs) by coordinating the operation of many DRESs. For this purpose, DSOs should develop tools to quantify and control the provision of inertial response. Towards this objective, in this study, two new methodologies are proposed. The first one aims to evaluate the maximum aggregated inertial capability of active distribution networks (ADNs). The second one aims to dispatch DRESs to provide specific, TSO-defined, inertial response with the minimum cost. Both methods are tested on a medium voltage grid. Several cases are examined highlighting the impact of different parameters, such as converter limitations, line congestions, on the inertial capability of ADNs. Results indicate that the proposed methods can fully exploit operational limits of ADNs and maximise their inertial capability.


The advent of the laser has generated much interest in its use for communication. Consideration is given in this paper to obtaining a communication channel model of the atmosphere for laser frequencies. For this purpose a fairly exhaustive, tutorial, and partly critical review of a major part of the extensive literature pertaining to theoretical and experimental results on the propagation of laser signals in the atmosphere is given. Some of the basic characteristics of the channel for Which detailed results are given are 1) channel time spread (or, equivalently, channel coherence bandwidth) due to multipathing and dispersion, 2) channel gain, 3) channel doppler spread and coherence time, 4) channel spatial coherence and amplitude covariance functions. Consideration is given to both point receivers and area receivers, heterodyne and direct detection receivers, nonplanar (i.e., spherical and beam) wave propagation, and infinite plane-wave propagation. The results are given for clear weather conditions. Brief attention is given to additive noise. In reviewing the extensive literature dealing with the propagation of optical signals through a turbulent medium, an attempt is made to put this varied, diverse, and in some instances controversial material into proper perspective; to note where theoretical results derived for one set of conditions were applied to experimental results obtained for another set of conditions; to correct some invalid conclusions drawn from some theoretical results as far as signal degradation effects and parameter variations; and to indicate where out-of-date vertical profile models were used with updated models being given, and where possible the new theoretical predictions based on these models provided. The paper should, as a result, be of help to those familiar with the literature as Well as those who are not. For those not acquainted with the literature, in addition to providing a fairly in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of propagation through a turbulent medium and an indication of the status of our understanding of this subject, the paper should provide a stepping stone for obtaining a more thorough understanding of the subject and for doing work in the field.


In order to compensate the unbalanced moment introduced by POS into an aerial 3-axis ISP system, a balance weight unit is put forward. Based on the structure characteristics of ISP, an initial sample of balance weight unit is first designed. To minimize the mass and maximize the compensating moment meanwhile, the topological optimization on the connecting frame is followed via FEM that leads to the mass reduced as much as 60%. Then, the design optimization on size parameters about whole unit is carried out further until a satisfied structure gotten. The results show that the mass of the optimized structure is decreased more than 5.5% than before under the condition of compensating moment keeping unchanged.


Abstract A previous study by the author of 35 titles in Elsevier's Earth and Planetary Sciences digital back file package revealed that 73.6% of the 6,038 issues published before digital format was available had at least one figure with unacceptable quality. During 2006–2009 Elsevier conducted a rescanning project to improve the quality of the images in their backfile packages for issues published prior to 1995. The author conducted a follow-up study to determine the effectiveness of Elsevier's rescanning project. Although the project corrected many problems, a noticeable number of line drawings are still unacceptable, as well as images in issues published during the 1995–1998 time period.


Electrical stimulation has been used clinically to promote bone regeneration in cases of fractures with delayed union or nonunion, with several in vitro and in vivo reports suggesting its beneficial effects on bone formation. However, the use of electrical stimulation of titanium (Ti) implants to enhance osseointegration is less understood, in part because of the few in vitro models that attempt to represent the in vivo environment. In this article, the design of a new in vitro system that allows direct electrical stimulation of osteoblasts through their Ti substrates without the flow of exogenous currents through the media is presented, and the effect of applied electrical polarization on osteoblast differentiation and local factor production was evaluated. A custom‐made polycarbonate tissue culture plate was designed to allow electrical connections directly underneath Ti disks placed inside the wells, which were supplied with electrical polarization ranging from 100 to 500 mV to stimulate MG63 osteoblasts. Our results show that electrical polarization applied directly through Ti substrates on which the cells are growing in the absence of applied electrical currents may increase osteoblast differentiation and local factor production in a voltage‐dependent manner. Bioelectromagnetics 34:599–612, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Epidemiologic studies have found associations between low levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and increased risk of coronary artery disease, using myocardial infarction or angina pectoris as endpoints. However, since most studies have not correlated HDL cholesterol with the presence, severity, or location of anatomically proven coronary disease, the present study measured HDL cholesterol levels in 483 men and women undergoing coronary arteriography. Consistent and statistically significant trends of decreasing mean HDL cholesterol levels with increasing numbers of diseased coronary arteries were observed in both men and women and in younger and older age groups. Although women without coronary disease had much higher levels of HDL cholesterol than men without coronary disease, the differences between men and women with similar degrees of coronary disease were small. Low levels of HDL cholesterol were associated with left main coronary disease; patients with both triple vessel disease and left main disease had lower levels of HDL cholesterol than did patients with triple vessel disease without left main disease. These results were not explained by the possible associations of low density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides with HDL cholesterol. These findings suggest that low levels of HDL cholesterol are important risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis and that they may be useful for identifying patients at high risk of certain anatomic patterns of coronary artery disease.


Previous studies have shown that adrenalectomy augments arginine vasopressin (AVP) messenger RNA levels in the adult paraventricular nucleus. It is now demonstrated that unilateral lesions in the lateral septal nucleus enhance the adrenalectomy-induced expression of AVP mRNA. This effect was entirely ipsilateral to the lesion and most prominent in the rostral paraventricular nucleus and related nuclei. Moreover, AVP and AVP mRNA were found to be colocalized with oxytocin in a few neurons. These results indicate that mRNA expression is modulated by synaptic influences and raise the possibility that synaptically mediated selection of neuronal phenotypes is a dynamic feature of the mature central nervous system.


Numerous studies have investigated the effectiveness of neural network quantization on pattern classification tasks. The present study, for the first time, investigated the performance of speech enhancement (a regression task in speech processing) using a novel exponent-only floating-point quantized neural network (EOFP-QNN). The proposed EOFP-QNN consists of two stages: mantissa-quantization and exponent-quantization. In the mantissa-quantization stage, EOFP-QNN learns how to quantize the mantissa bits of the model parameters while preserving the regression accuracy in the least mantissa precision. In the exponent-quantization stage, the exponent part of the parameters is further quantized without any additional performance degradation. We evaluated the proposed EOFP quantization technique on two types of neural networks, namely, bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) and fully convolutional neural network (FCN), on a speech enhancement task. Experimental results showed that the model sizes can be significantly reduced (the model sizes of the quantized BLSTM and FCN models were only 18.75% and 21.89%, respectively, compared to those of the original models) while maintaining a satisfactory speech-enhancement performance.


The new Milwaukee Streetcar system has been in the planning, design and construction phases for over 10 years and on November 2, 2018, operations with a combined overhead contact system and streetcar battery power commenced ushering in a new era of growth for the City of Milwaukee. Many challenges in the design and construction of the overhead contact line and power system were encountered during this time period including budgetary constraints, multiple pole location changes, underground obstacles, low clearance bridges, alignment changes, utility conflicts, and changing vehicle requirements.
 The line was originally designed for pantograph operation but soon adapted for pole/pantograph current collection and then changed back to pantograph only current collection during the final design. The original design consisted of underground feeder cables to supplement a 4/0 contact wire but eventually not utilized due to budgetary constraints. Instead, a larger 350 kcmil contact wire was used with no paralleling feeder cables. The added weight of a 350 kcmil wire with wind, ice and low temperatures created high forces in the overhead contact system (OCS) leading to challenges in pole and foundation design where compliance to the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) was required.
 The OCS style originally proposed and finally constructed used an inclined pendulum suspension (IPS) system that was constant tensioned with rotating springs deemed by the installing contractor superior to balance weights. The pendulum system was chosen as it is simple, lightweight, less visually obtrusive, and more economical than other suspension systems such as stitch and steady arm that are being used on other streetcar or light rail systems. IPS has provided Milwaukee with an excellent operating overhead contact system.
 Buildings along the route that were not historic structures were utilized where possible for span wire attachment but in many locations long bracket arms up to 40 feet long had to be used requiring special designs to keep the size of the pipes standard with the rest of the system. Challenges arose at low bridge underpasses where the contact wire had to be below required code height and special precautions had to be undertaken. Other areas such as the St. Paul Lift Bridge proved challenging as well where special electrically interlocked OCS devices were initially designed to de-energize the overhead wires and is further discussed with the reasoning for their use.
 This paper outlines the phases of design, the changes to the design that occurred over time, the challenges encountered to the OCS design, the method of design, and the final disposition of the design for construction. It further outlines the construction of the system and problems encountered with poles, foundations, bracket arms, traction power substations, contact wire, feeder cables, and winter conditions affecting the integrity of these structures and how some of these problems were solved.


AIMS
Examine the growth and diffusion of research on the concept of nurse rounding and provide definitional clarity on forms of nurse rounding.

METHODS
Bibliometric and content analysis of primary research on nurse rounding were used to map development of the field. Manuscripts were identified from a keyword search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases for the period 2000 to 2015. Titles, country of origin, and year of publication along with details on the characteristics and sample of each study were coded on a database. Content analyses were performed on the coded data to derive a taxonomic understanding and identify publication trends.

RESULTS
Thirty-eight primary research studies were identified. Overall, there has been an increase in the number and diversity of studies on nursing rounding. A typology of 4 variants of nurse rounding was devised to enhance clarity and enable comparative analysis.

CONCLUSION
There has been continued interest in nurse rounding and its potential benefits. However, poor definitional clarity is evident in this body of research, with various label used interchangeably in studies reporting similar rounding designs. The field would benefit from improved conceptual clarity and investigation into forms of nurse rounding that remain largely unexamined.


Hedge fund activists are the bright new hope of the shareholder empowerment movement. Free from conflicts of interest and with high-powered compensation incentives, activist hedge funds are shaking up corporate boardrooms. The recent surge in activism has provoked criticism against activist investors portrayed as short-term agitators seeking to obtain short-term profits at the expense of long-term value. Although the view of hedge fund activists as short-term speculators has been discredited by empirical evidence, innovative tactics employed by hedge funds allow them to secretly accumulate large stakes in target companies within a short-time period. In response to the adverse effects of activist tactics on market transparency and fairness, European regulators have tightened disclosure obligations for major blockholders with US regulators following suit. While calls for tightening disclosure obligations in the US have been accompanied by a lively debate between proponents and opponents of tighter disclosure rules, the amendment of disclosure rules in Europe was not preceded by any meaningful empirical analysis of the benefits and costs of tighter disclosure rules. The result is that current European disclosure rules tilt the balance heavily against activist investor seeking to operate in Europe. In line with the growing debate across the other side of the Atlantic which has highlighted the importance of empirical analysis before proceeding with a modification of disclosure rules, the present article urges European regulators to reconsider the current disclosure regime by conducting a careful empirical analysis of their benefits for market transparency and fairness and their costs on shareholders and companies as a result of a reduction in the incidence of activist shareholdings.


: The toxicological evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs in foods of animal origin, which is done within the framework of the Netherlands Veterinary Drugs Act, is based on an EEC guide line in which, in addition to the clinical and analytical criteria, the requirements regarding the pharmacological and toxicological evaluation are laid down. In principle, this evaluation is based on classical toxicological criteria. As veterinary drugs have a specific pharmacological action, it is essential that these pharmacological effects should be in included in the toxicological evaluation in view of an adequate protection of public health. The selected starting point is that a pharmacological effect desired in a target animal is regarded as an undesirable effect in consumers. In this presentation, two examples are referred to, viz. the beta agonist clenbuterol and the beta-blocking agent carazolol; the approach is compared with a 'classical' toxicological evaluation. This shows that the acceptable daily intake in human individuals (ADI), based on pharmacological criteria is lower by a factor of approximately 50 than is the ADI on the basis of 'classical' toxicological criteria. This clearly illustrates the value of this approach in protecting the health of consumers.


We investigate reactive fluorine atom spectroscopic characterization in atmospheric pressure of He/SF6 plasma using atomic emission spectrometry. As input radio frequency (RF) power levels are raised from 140 to 220 W, the emission spectra of 685.60 (3p4D-3s4P transition) and 739.87 nm (3p4P-3s4P transition) increase significantly. Moreover, an optimal value of SF6 volume concentration in the production of fluorine radicals, which is 0.8% is achieved. Addition of certain amounts of O2 into He/SF6 plasma results in the promotion of SF6 dissociation. Emission intensities of fluorine atoms show the maximum at the O2/SF6 ratio of 0.4.