In the present study the relationship between Rn and hydrochemical parameters in groundwater samples with the intense tectonics that prevail in the broader region of Aigion were investigated. Radon concentrations were measured in water samples collected from the unconfined aquifer, hosted in Plio-Pleistocene deposits, along the major faults of the research area. The spatial distribution of radon concentrations revealed the existence of three distinct zones along Aigion, Pyrgaki and Helike faults, respectively. The first two zones are characterized by high radon concentrations, whereas the third by low radon concentrations. It is also shown that Rn and CO2 concentrations display similar spatial distribution suggesting a common origin for these two gases, with CO2 being the major carrier gas for radon in deep fluids. The deformation and fragmentation of rocks along the fault zones enables the circulation of those fluids resulting in elevated radon concentrations in groundwater. However, other factors, such as the mineralogical composition of the sediments along the fault planes may restrict this process. The distribution of radon along the fault zones suggests that radon measurements can be used as a tool for the detailed mapping of active faults and if combined with seismic data even as a tool for study earthquake prediction.


In recent years the usefulness of fast Laplace solvers has been extended to problems on arbitrary regions in the plane by the development of capacitance matrix methods. The solution of the Dirichlet and Neumann problems for Helmholtz's equation is considered. It is shown, that by an appropriate choice of the fast solver, the capacitance matrix can be generated quite inexpensively. An analogy between capacitance matrix methods and classical potential theory for the solution of Laplace's equation is explored. This analogy suggests a modification of the method in the Dirichlet case. This new formulation leads to well-conditioned capacitance matrix equations which can be solved quite efficiently by the conjugate gradient method. A highly accurate solution can, therefore, be obtained at an expense which grows no faster than that for a fast Laplace solver on a rectangle when the mesh size is decreased.


Objectives: To evaluate infection control and the incidence of bacterial pathogens in Emergency Medical Service (EMS) ambulances in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The effectiveness of fumigation techniques used for these ambulances to minimize the spread of infection to transported patients and pre-hospital care providers was also assessed. Methods: Based on previous literature review indicating a higher propensity of microbial load, 3 areas within the ambulance, such as, stretcher handle, oxygen flow meter knob, and interior handle of the rear door were selected for specimen collection. Swab samples were collected both in the day and night shift, after the intended disinfection and cleaning (before and after fumigation). Micro-organisms were identified using standard procedures. This phase-I study was conducted at the Emergency Medical Services Department, Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz College of Emergency Medical Services, Al Malaz, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between October and November 2013, wherein a total of 10 ambulances from the Saudi Red Crescent Authority in Riyadh were selected for inclusion in the study. Results: The specimens from all 10 ambulances showed similar results. In post disinfection and before fumigation, swab samples showed positive cultures that grew moderate to large quantities of environmental and skin flora. However, almost all organisms were susceptible to the fumigation technique. Conclusion: This study confirms the importance of evaluating the frequency and efficiency of various fumigation techniques as an ambulance is a potential reservoir for microbial transmission to patients and staff.


A Study on Intercollegiate Athletics Should Student-Athletes Receive Pay for Play? As can be said for many organizations, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will have many issues to contend with in the 21' century. New rules and regulations have been implemented over the past 10 years among all three divisions. Different and similar issues face all universities and colleges holding membership in the Association, which is based in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of the major issues facing the NCAA is whether student-athletes should be paid for their services due to the commercialization that has taken place over the past 25 years. AU NCAA sponsored sports are amateur based. However, with many millions of dollars being distributed between member conferences and institutions, why are these essential individuals (the student-athletes) left with what is perceived as insufficient finding (a fullathletic scholarship). Within the three divisions of the NCAA, the issue of paying college athletes only really effects Division I, which produces the most amount of professional athletes in all sports on an annual basis. In reality, only two NCAA sports produce the major source of revenue. These are the "big two" (football and men's basketball), which generate enormous television and radio packages. In a seven-question survey distributed to college administrators, it became apparent that many issues stand in the way of student-athletes receiving payment. One could contend that as the "big two" are the only sports drawing enormous profits that student-athletes in these two respective sports should be paid. However, federal regulations such as Title IX would not allow payment in men's sports without similar compensation in women's sports. In the coming years, the issue of compensating student-athletes will not vanish. There will likely be some unsuccess~l attempts to expand the traditional scholarship (tuition, room, board and books) in the future. One can only hope and demand that those people making these difficult decisions are making them with the interests of the correct people in mind: The Student-Athlete.


Nut skins are considered to be a rich source of polyphenols and may be partially responsible for the numerous health effects associated with nut consumption. However, more bioavailability studies of nut skin polyphenols are needed to understand the health effects derived from nut consumption. The aim of the present study was to determine the profiles of both phase II and microbial-derived phenolic metabolites in plasma and urine samples before and after the intake of almond skin polyphenols by healthy human subjects (n = 2). Glucuronide, O-methyl glucuronide, sulfate, and O-methyl sulfate derivatives of (epi)catechin, as well as the glucuronide conjugates of naringenin and glucuronide and sulfate conjugates of isorhamnetin, were detected in plasma and urine samples after consumption of almond skin polyphenols. The main microbial-derived metabolites of flavanols, such as 5-(dihydroxyphenyl)-gamma-valerolactone and 5-(hydroxymethoxyphenyl)-gamma-valerolactone, were also detected in their glucuronide and sulfate forms. In addition, numerous metabolites derived from further microbial degradation of hydroxyphenylvalerolactones, including hydroxyphenylpropionic, hydroxyphenylacetic, hydroxycinnamic, hydroxybenzoic, and hydroxyhippuric acids, registered major changes in urine after the consumption of almond skin polyphenols. The urinary excretion of these microbial metabolites was estimated to account for a larger proportion of the total polyphenol ingested than phase II metabolites of (epi)catechin, indicating the important role of intestinal bacteria in the metabolism of highly polymerized almond skin polyphenols. To the authors' knowledge this study constitutes the most complete report of the absorption of almond skin polyphenols in humans.


While vanishing point (VP) estimation has received extensive attention, most approaches focus on static images or perform detection and tracking separately. In this paper, we focus on man-made environments and propose a novel method for detecting and tracking groups of mutually orthogonal vanishing points (MOVP), also known as Manhattan frames, jointly from monocular videos. The method is unique in that it is designed to enforce orthogonality in groups of VPs, temporal consistency of each individual MOVP, and orientation consistency of all putative MOVP. To this end, the method consists of three steps: 1) proposal of MOVP candidates by directly incorporating mutual orthogonality; 2) extracting consistent tracks of MOVPs by minimizing the flow cost over a network where nodes are putative MOVPs and edges are putative links across time; and 3) refinement of all MOVPs by enforcing consistency between lines, their identified vanishing directions and consistency of global camera orientation. The method is evaluated on six newly collected and annotated videos of urban scenes. Extensive experiments show that the method outperforms greedy MOVP tracking method considerably. In addition, we also test the method for camera orientation estimation and show that it obtains very promising results on a challenging street-view dataset.


The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) was created to meet the needs of National Guard members and their families throughout the deployment cycle. This study examined the perceived utility of the YRRP's delivery of information and assistance during the postdeployment reintegration period by National Guard members and accompanying supporters who were mostly spouses. Over 22 months, from 10 YRRP events, 683 service members and 411 supporters completed questionnaires immediately after the YRRP. We analyzed questions on information and avenues for help, timeliness and concerns related to education, employment, legal, family, and health. Service members and supporters most often endorsed information delivery on education being met (76.8% and 78.2%, respectively) and were least likely to endorse legal information delivery (63.5% and 60%, respectively). Significantly more supporters than service members (p < 0.0001) reported that the YRRP was the first time they learned of available services across all domains. Service members were significantly more likely than supporters to report concerns about education, employment, and health, while supporters were significantly more likely to report concerns about family. Results suggest the YRRP fills gaps in supporter knowledge and provides needed information and resources to most National Guard families 2 to 4 months after a deployment.


The enhanced suffix array is an indexing data structure used for a wide range of applications in Bioinformatics. It is basically the suffix array but enhanced with extra tables that provide extra information to improve the performance in theory and in practice. In this paper, we present a number of improvements to the enhanced suffix array: 1) We show how to find a pattern of length m in O(m) time, i.e., independent of the alphabet size. 2) We present an improved representation of the bucket table. 3) We improve the access time of addressing the LCP (longest common prefix) table when one byte per entry is used in representing it. The basic idea behind these improvements is the extensive use of the minimal perfect hashing technique, by which n static items can be stored in linear space while retaining O(1) access time.


The oncogenic ROS1 gene fusion ( Fig-ROS1 ) was first identified in glioblastoma cells over two decades ago. Recently, ROS1 gene rearrangements were further discovered in a variety of human cancers, including lung adenocarcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, ovarian cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, colorectal cancer, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, angiosarcoma, and epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, providing additional evidence for ROS1 as an attractive cancer target. The 1st generation Met/ALK/ROS1 inhibitor XALKORI ® (crizotinib) has demonstrated promising clinical response in ROS1 fusion positive NSCLC. But similar to what was seen with acquired ALK secondary resistant mutations in XALKORI refractory patients, a ROS1 kinase domain mutant–ROS1G2032R has been identified in a ROS1 positive NSCLC patient who developed resistance to XALKORI. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop agents that can overcome this type of resistance.

PF-06463922 is a novel, orally available, ATP-competitive small molecule inhibitor of ROS1/ALK with exquisite potency against ROS1 kinase. PF-06463922 inhibited the catalytic activity of recombinant ROS1 with a mean Ki of < 0.005 nM, and inhibited ROS1 autophosphorylation at IC50 values ranging from 0.1 nM to 1 nM cross a panel of cell lines harboring oncogenic ROS1 fusion variants including CD74-ROS1, SLC34A2-ROS1 and Fig-ROS1. PF-06463922 also inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis at sub- to low-nanomolar concentrations in the HCC78 human NSCLC cells harboring SLC34A2-ROS1 fusions and the BaF3-CD74-ROS1 cells expressing human CD74-ROS1. In the BaF3 cells engineered to express the XALKORI resistant CD74-ROS1G2032R mutant, PF-06463922 demonstrated nanomolar potency against either ROS1G2032R cellular activity or cell proliferation. In vivo, PF-06463922 demonstrated marked cytoreductive antitumor efficacy at low nanomolar concentration in the NIH3T3 xenograft models expressing human CD74-ROS1 and Fig-ROS1. The antitumor efficacy of PF-06463922 was dose dependent and strongly correlated to inhibition in ROS1 phosphorylation and the downstream signaling molecules pSHP1, pSHP2 and pErk1/2, as well as inhibition of the cell cycle protein Cyclin D1 in tumors. To our knowledge, PF-06463922 is the first reported ROS1 inhibitor that is capable of blocking the resistant ROS1G2032R mutant at predicted pharmacologically relevant concentrations. Our data indicate that PF-06463922 has great potential for treating ROS1 fusion positive cancers including those from patients who relapsed from XALKORI therapy due to acquired ROS1G2032Rmutation.

Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):A277.

Citation Format: Helen Y. Zou, Lars R. Engstrom, Qiuhua Li, Melissa West Lu, Ruth Wei Tang, Hui Wang, Konstantinos Tsaparikos, Sergei Timofeevski, Justine Lam, Shinji Yamazaki, Wenyue Hu, Hovhannes Gukasyan, Nathan Lee, Ted W. Johnson, Valeria Fantin, Tod Smeal. PF-06463922, a novel ROS1/ALK inhibitor, demonstrates sub-nanomolar potency against oncogenic ROS1 fusions and capable of blocking the resistant ROS1G2032R mutant in preclinical tumor models. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A277.


The study was designed to examine access to credit markets and performance by small scale agro-based enterprises in the Niger Delta. A multistage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 264 and 96 agro-based enterprises that accessed informal and formal credit respectively through the use of structured questionnaire and oral interview. The logit model was used to examine the factors that had significant influence on credit access by the enterprises in the region. Results revealed that the factors that significantly influence informal credit access by small scale agro-based enterprises are Gender, Age and Social Capital, while factors that influence formal credit access are Education, Age, Enterprise size and Collateral. Majority of enterprises accessed informal credit but the few that accessed formal credit performed better. Government should ensure easy access to formal finance by small agro-based enterprises in the region as they are the engine of economic development.


There is provided a technique for outputting an appropriate message in accordance with an access request to a content or a service. A communication control device (10) receives a packet of an access request to a content to a service and judges whether the access is enabled. When the access is inhibited, the communication control device (10) instructs a message output server (130) to output a message such as an error message. A message holding unit (132) holds a message to be outputted to the access request source, for each of the access request sources or for each of the URL and categories of the access request destination. A registration reception unit (135) receives registration of a message and instructs a charging unit (136) to charge the registration fee. The charging unit (136) performs a processing to subtract a registration fee from the account of a user. A message output unit (131) acquires a user ID of the access request source from the communication control device (10), references the message holding unit (132), and outputs a message set for the user.


Location prediction based on contextual information is the core of a plethora of personalized location-based services (LBSs). Several applications require the use of techniques for predicting travel destinations based on human movement. Network analyses of human behavioral data show how the spatial-temporal regularity of human movement can be harnessed for inferring human mobility patterns. However, techniques are often based on a limited number of contextual features, which may limit prediction accuracy, especially if only historical location data are used. Using movement data obtained from public transportation users, we investigate the utility of contextual features derived via the installation of Bluetooth beacons in transportation vehicles and software tools in end-users' travel applications. Using a multiclass random forest classifier, we show that contextual information of a user's past travel history and at journey onset goes beyond spatial information and boosts destination prediction accuracy. The likely destination and travel-path length obtained at journey onset can then serve as the input for a stochastic-based model to predict a destination based on acquired trajectory information. Here we show that previously predicted destinations boost the performance of a Markov chain network. Thus, various contextual information at the start of a journey provides information beyond the location information acquired during a journey's progression that can be employed for destination prediction. These findings have strong implications for LBSs as they require accurate destination prediction at early stages of a journey while at the same time mitigating the privacy concerns associated with collection of location data.


Study of thermodynamic principles forms a key part of the basic curriculum in many science and engineering fields. However, there are very few published research reports regarding student learning of these concepts at the college level. As part of an investigation into student learning of thermodynamics, we have probed the reasoning of students enrolled in introductory and advanced courses in both physics and chemistry at a large Midwestern university. The total sample size was over 1800 students in the physics courses alone, and approximately 90% of these students were engineering majors. Part of this work included examination of learning difficulties encountered by physics and engineering students enrolled in an upper-level (junior/senior) thermal-physics course. We used a combination of free-response diagnostic questions administered in written form, and hour-long clinical interviews with individual students in which they explained their reasoning while solving problems. We found that up to 80% of the introductory students were unable to make practical application of the first law of thermodynamics in problem solving even after instruction had been completed, and many had a seriously flawed understanding of the meaning of heat and work. In addition, a large majority retained significant confusion regarding the role of entropy within the context of the second law of thermodynamics. In many cases, part of the difficulty could be traced to interchanging the roles of state functions on the one hand with process-dependent quantities on the other, to overgeneralization of conservation principles in inappropriate contexts, or with confusion regarding the meaning of commonly used terms such as "system" and "surroundings." We found that a majority of the upper-level students at the beginning of their course retained most of the specific learning difficulties seen among the introductory students. We have attempted to address these difficulties through learning strategies that emphasized working in small groups on research-based guided-inquiry worksheets. Our experience in probing and addressing these learning difficulties may provide insights into analogous pedagogical issues in upper-level courses in engineering which focus on the theory and applications of thermodynamics.


Viral Marketing, the idea of exploiting social interactions of users to propagate awareness for products, has gained considerable focus in recent years. One of the key issues in this area is to select the best seeds that maximize the influence propagated in the social network. In this paper, we define the seed selection problem (called t-Influence Maximization, or t-IM) for multiple products. Specifically, given the social network and t products along with their seed requirements, we want to select seeds for each product that maximize the overall influence. As the seeds are typically sent promotional messages, to avoid spamming users, we put a hard constraint on the number of products for which any single user can be selected as a seed. In this paper, we design two efficient techniques for the t-IM problem, called Greedy and FairGreedy. The Greedy algorithm uses simple greedy hill climbing, but still results in a 1/3-approximation to the optimum. Our second technique, FairGreedy, allocates seeds with not only high overall influence (close to Greedy in practice), but also ensures fairness across the influence of different products. We also design efficient heuristics for estimating the influence of the selected seeds, that are crucial for running the seed selection on large social network graphs. Finally, using extensive simulations on real-life social graphs, we show the effectiveness and scalability of our techniques compared to existing and naive strategies.


Summary

1
The distribution and abundance of animals are influenced by factors at both local and wider landscape scales. Natural enemies of pests in arable fields often immigrate from the surrounding landscape, and are also influenced by local management practices. Thus, landscape diversification and farming methods may both enhance farmland biodiversity, but their relative roles and possible interactions have been little explored.

2
The relationships of ground-dwelling spiders (Araneae) to landscape features and to organic agriculture were studied in 12 pairs of organic vs. conventional fields of winter wheat Triticum aestivum along a gradient of landscape complexity.

3
High percentages of non-crop habitats in the landscape increased local species richness of spiders from 12 to 20 species, irrespective of local management. This indicates that larger species pools are sustained in complex landscapes, where there is higher availability of refuge and overwintering habitats.

4
Organic agriculture did not increase the number of spider species, but enhanced spider density by 62%. Additionally, spider density was positively related to the percentage of non-crop habitats in the surrounding landscape, but only in conventional fields.

5
Synthesis and applications. The species richness of ground-dwelling spiders in crop fields was linked to large-scale landscape complexity, while spider densities responded to local management practices. Organic agriculture benefits farmland spiders and augments the numbers of predatory spiders, thereby contributing to pest control. However, measures to conserve species richness must also take landscape-scale factors into account. Complex landscapes including perennial non-crop habitats should be preserved or restored to achieve high levels of spider diversity.


According to Kotler (2014), a brand is defined as "a name, sign, term, design, symbol or combination of them which is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors". Brakus et al., (2009) further discuss that brand can be defined as "a label designating ownership by a firm, which we experience, evaluate, have feeling towards and build associations with to perceive value." Definitions show how companies use their brands to be recognized by their customers and differentiate from their rivals in the industry. These differences can be either functional, tangible or rational those related to product performance. Kotler and Keller (2006) suggest that there are some differences as well, like symbolic, emotional or intangible that is related to what a brand represent.


A novel method for obtaining dense displacement fields from a sequence of frames is presented. The algorithm is based on modeling the displacement field as a Markov random field, hence making it possible to use the equivalence of a Markov random field and a Gibbs distribution. The Gibbs distribution is used to define a mean field probability density function, and the displacement field is found using a mean field annealing algorithm. Mean field annealing is a technique which finds the global or near global minima in nonconvex optimization problems. Analysis of the algorithm and experimental results are presented.<<ETX>>


This study investigates the response frequency conversion characteristic of a nonlinear curved panel mounted with a centre mass and the sound radiations. A set of coupled governing differential equations is set up and used to generate the nonlinear vibration responses, which are used to calculate the corresponding radiated sounds. The vibration, sound levels, and the ratio of the antisymmetrical to symmetrical mode responses are plotted against the excitation level and compared with a set of experimental data. The frequency conversion characteristic is investigated from the frequency spectrums of the vibration responses.


We present and evaluate the performance of a reduced complexity variation to the source encoding assisted multiple access (SEAMA) protocol for integrating voice and data over a wireless network. This protocol, denoted as slow movable-boundary SEAMA (SMB-SEAMA), uses the same embedded and multistate voice encoder used in the original SEAMA protocol. However, in SMB-SEAMA, the movable voice/data boundary is not set based on the frame-by-frame bandwidth demand of the voice subsystem, but on the number of ongoing voice calls and the acceptable average distortion level. This results in a protocol that, at the network layer, is packet switched for both voice and data; however, from the data traffic point of view, voice looks like circuit switched. Analytical results show that SMB-SEAMA is a very efficient MAC protocol and present a model for analyzing the performance of queuing systems with a variable number of servers, each with constant service time. Consequently, while reducing the refreshing rate of the movable boundary by three orders of magnitude, simulation results demonstrate that SMB-SEAMA does not significantly degrade the system performance (less than reduction in throughput) and it still performs better than packet reservation multiple access (PRMA), the other known packet-switched scheme, which updates the boundary during every transmit frame.


Genetic Algorithms have been widely applied to optimisation problems for which existing approaches are computationally too expensive. This paper presents a genetic algorithm for finding a constrained minimum spanning tree. The problem is of relevance in the design of minimum cost communication networks, where there is a need to connect all the terminals at a user site to a terminal concentrator in a multipoint (tree) configuration, while ensuring that link capacity constraints are not violated. Test results show that the solutions from the proposed algorithm are broadly comparable with, and in several cases, better than, those obtained from traditional heuristic methods, such as the Prim and Esau-Williams algorithms.


In digital radiography, conventional DQE evaluations are performed under idealized conditions that do not reflect typical clinical operating conditions. For this reason, we have developed and evaluated an experimental methodology for measuring theeffective detective quantum efficiency (eDQE) of digital radiographic systems and its utility in chest imaging applications.To emulate the attenuation and scatter properties of the human thorax across a range of sizes, the study employed pediatric and adult geometric chest imaging phantoms designed for use in the FDA/CDRH Nationwide Evaluation of X-Ray Trends (NEXT) program and a third phantom configuration designed to represent the bariatric population. The MTF for each phantom configuration was measured using images of an opaque edge device placed at the nominal surface of each phantom and at a common reference point. For each phantom, the NNPS was measured in a uniform region within the phantom image acquired at an exposure level determined from a prior phototimed acquisition. Scatter measurements were made using a beam-stop technique. These quantities were used along with measures of phantom attenuation and estimates of x-ray flux, to compute the eDQE at the beam-entrance surface of the phantoms, reflecting the presence of scatter, grid, magnification, and focal spot blur. The MTF results showed notable degradation due to focal spot blurring enhanced by geometric magnification, with increasing phantom size. Measured scatter fractions were 33%, 34% and 46% for the pediatric, adult, and bariatric phantoms, respectively. Correspondingly, the measured narrow beam transmission fractions were 16%, 9%, and 3%. The eDQE results for the pediatric and adult phantoms correlate well at low spatial frequencies but show degradation in the eDQE at increasing spatial frequencies for the adult phantom in comparison to the pediatric phantom. The results for the bariatric configuration showed a marked decrease in eDQE in comparison to the adult phantom results, across all spatial frequencies, attributable to the combined differences in geometric magnification, and scatter. The eDQE metric has been demonstrated to be sensitive to body habitus suggesting its usefulness in assessing system response across a range of chest sizes and potentially making it a useful factor in protocol assessment and optimization.


This paper uses data from interviews with eleven Skills for Life (SfL) practitioners in the North East of England to highlight how instruments for the implementation and evaluation of SfL policy are shaping practice at the local level. The paper concludes that the means being used to implement and evaluate the success of SfL policy are constraining practice in a number of ways which are not in line with the intentions of political or policy professionals. Such unintended consequences range from responses to SfL policy which simply frame practice in terms of outward imperatives of the market; through to technical-instrumental responses construed in terms of the simple acquisition of a set of pre-specified 'skills'; to other, more inwardly directed responses, premised upon concerns for the more holistic educational needs of learners.


This paper depicts a typology of regions, capturing the diversity of regional innovation systems across the EU-10 (the enlargement member States). Following the Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) literature, our research selects 21 variables related to the ability of a region to generate and absorb knowledge, and its capacity to transform R&D into innovation and economic growth. Based on the results of principal components and cluster analyses, we identify 3 types of regional innovation systems where regions group together according to their sectoral specialisation, technological and economic capacity, and performance. For each group a number of policy recommendations are suggested, contingent to their local-specific characteristics. Moreover, the paper allows us to identify similar and more advanced regions so as to facilitate comparisons and benchmarking between homogeneous regions, thus enabling more accurate policy learning. In short the contribution of this paper is twofold. In the first place it provides the first RIS typology for the EU-10 regions completed using a large number of variables. Secondly, the conclusions obtained from the analysis may be used to lead policymakers' actions in the field of regional innovation policy in the EU 10, which groups the less developed countries in the European Union from the economic and technological points of view. Moreover, policy implications in this paper could give certain insights useful to policy makers in other parts of the world (always with a need to adapt them and take into account local social and economic conditions, institutions and development paths).


The soil water regime is a defining ecosystem service, directly influencing vegetation and animal distribution. Therefore the understanding of hydrological processes is a vital building block in managing natural ecosystems. Soils contain morphological indicators of the water flow paths and rates in the soil profile, which are expressed as 'conceptual hydrological soil responses' (CHSR's). CHSR's can greatly aid in the understanding of hydrology within a landscape and catchment. Therefore a soil map could improve hydrological assessments by providing both the position and area of CHSR's. Conventional soil mapping is a tedious process, which limits the application of soil maps in hydrological studies. The use of a digital soil mapping (DSM) approach to soil mapping can speed up the mapping process and thereby extend soil map use in the field of hydrology. This research uses an expert-knowledge DSM approach to create a soil map for Stevenson Hamilton Research Supersite within the Kruger National Park, South Africa. One hundred and thirteen soil observations were made in the 4 001 ha area. Fifty-four of these observations were pre-determined by smart sampling and conditioned Latin hypercube sampling. These observations were used to determine soil distribution rules, from which the soil map was created in SoLIM. The map was validated by the remaining 59 observations. The soil map achieved an overall accuracy of 73%. The soil map units were converted to conceptual hydrological soil response units (CHSRUs), providing the size and position of the CHSRUs. Such input could potentially be used in hydrological modelling of the site.


* ABsTrACT environmental changes occurred in southern hemisphere in response to the separation of Antarctica from Australia, around eocene/ oligocene boundary, and from south America, during the late oligocene, greatly affected biodiversity in southern ocean. Although it is generally accepted that the Antarctic thermal isolation affected the Cenozoic biodiversity by changing environmental conditions, there is no available study concerning the Cenozoic dynamics of Antarctic bivalve diversity in relation to climatic changes. in this study, an assembling of all available bivalve family and genera described from Antarctic Cenozoic deposits as well as modern bivalve family and genera were analyzed in order to evaluate possible effects of Cenozoic environmental changes on Antarctic bivalve diversity along the Cenozoic. The main conclusion of this work is that the currently known Cenozoic record of the Antarctic bivalves does not reflect Cenozoic environmental changes. This is probably related to the restricted record of Antarctic bivalves, and therefore to the scarce knowledge on the Cenozoic diversity of the group. The analysis also revealed that Cenozoic intervals of highest diversity are attributed to few areas in Antarctica that are available for paleontological exploration. Besides, the large number of recorded bivalve taxa in some Cenozoic intervals may be related to the stratigraphic control of deposits.


Social sciences act as catalysts for Biological sciences. The implications of social
sciences whether it be extension, economics, statistics or any other discipline, had taken
a long stride in its development and applicability from its general nature to the specificity
in the biological sciences especially in the Agricultural and allied sectors. There is no
second thought in the dictum "Man is a social animal". Social sciences personifies human
behaviour. There are no activities or issues which remain untouched by these sciences.


Long-term experimental watershed studies have significantly influenced our global understanding of hydrological processes. The discovery and characterization of how stream water quantity and quality respond to a changing environment (e.g., land use change and acidic deposition) has only been possible due to the establishment of catchments devoted to long-term study. One such catchment is the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF) located in the headwaters of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, a region that provides essential freshwater ecosystem services to eastern and mid-western USA communities. Established in 1934, the FEF is among the earliest experimental watershed studies in the Eastern USA that continues to address emergent challenges to forest ecosystems, including climate change and other threats to forest health. This data note summarizes some of the seminal findings from more than 50 years of hydrologic research in the FEF. During the first few decades, research at the FEF focused on the relationship between forest management and hydrological processes – especially those related to the overall water balance. Later, research efforts included the examination of interactions between hydrology and soil erosion, biogeochemistry, N-saturation, and acid deposition. Hydro-climatologic and water quality datasets from long-term measurements and data from short-duration studies are publicly available to provide new insights and foster collaborations that will continue to advance our understanding of hydrology in forested headwater catchments. As a result of its rich history of research and abundance of long-term data, the FEF is uniquely positioned to continue to advance understanding of forest ecosystems in a time of unprecedented change.


It is suggested that only those patients in whom symptoms begin within two weeks after application of the cast should be included in the cast syndrome. Early diagnosis with prompt treatment in the form of replacement therapy and a nasogastric tube is important. Operation should be reserved for those patients in whom conservative treatment fails or the cast cannot be removed.


In the quality control laboratory of a chemical firm, 11 of 16 men developed dermatitis. Of the allergenic substances used, seven men reacted to benzisothiazolone, two to dinitrochlorobenzene, and none to diphenylamine. Two men were negative to all three substances. A poorly ventilated humid working environment was thought to be an important contributory factor.


This thesis investigates higher order asymptotic properties of a semiparametric averaged derivative estimator. Classical parametric models assume that we know the distribution function of random variables of interest up to finite dimensional parameters, while nonparametric models do not assume this knowledge. Parametric estimators typically enjoy - consistency and asymptotic normality under certain conditions, while nonparametric estimators converge to the true functionals of interest slower than parametric ones. Semiparametric estimators, a compromise between the two, have been intensively studied since the 1970s. Some of them have been shown to have the same convergence rate as parametric estimators despite involving nonparametric functional estimates. Semiparametric methods often suit econometrics because economic theory typically does not provide the whole information on economic variables which parametric methods require, and a sample of very large size is rarely available in econometrics. This thesis treats a semiparametric averaged derivative estimator of single index models. Its first order asymptotic theory has been studied since late 1980s. It has been shown to be n-consistent and asymptotically normally distributed under certain regularity conditions despite involving a nonparametric density estimate. However its higher order properties could be affected by the property of nonparametric estimates. We obtain valid Edgeworth expansions for both normalized and studentized estimators, and moreover show the bootstrap distribution approximates the exact distribution of the estimator asymptotically as well as the Edgeworth expansion for the normalized statistics. We propose optimal bandwidth choices which minimize the normal approximation error using the expansion. We also examine the finite sample performance of the Edgeworth expansions by a Monte Carlo study.


There is evidence that the developmental trajectory of cortisol secretion in preterm infants is altered, with elevated basal cortisol levels observed postnatally through at least 18 months corrected age (CA). This alteration is possibly due to neonatal pain-related stress. High cortisol levels might contribute to greater risk of impaired neurodevelopment. Since maternal factors are important for the regulation of infant stress responses, we investigated relationships between infant (neonatal pain-related stress, attention, cortisol) and maternal (stress, interactive behaviors) factors at age 8 months CA. We found that interactive maternal behaviors buffered the relationship between high neonatal pain-related stress exposure and poorer focused attention in mothers who self-reported low concurrent stress. Furthermore, in preterm infants exposed to high concurrent maternal stress and overwhelming interactive maternal behaviors, higher basal cortisol levels were associated with poor focused attention. Overall, these findings suggest that maternal factors can influence the cognitive resilience at 8 months of preterm infants exposed to early life stress.


There was a local epidemic of Salmonella enteritis in southern part of Taiwan during the summer of 1989. From July through September 1989, a total 162 cases of enteritis were analysed in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung. Among them, 46 cases were proved to be Salmonella enteritis by stool and/or blood culture. The identified flora group mainly group B (Salmonella typhimurium, 87%), group C (Salmonella choleraesuis, 6.5%) and group D (Salmonella enteritidis, 6.5%). The drug resistance of Salmonella enteritis of traditional antibiotics such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) in apparently increasing. We found that 43.5% of cases were uniformly resistant to all 3 antimicrobial agents as mentioned above. Of the 4 infants who developed bacteremia, 2 were less than 3 months old and their blood culture grew out group B. Salmonella, but fortunately no complication were found during hospitalization. The other 2 cases were proved to be caused by group C Salmonella which was reported to have higher incidence of ensuing bacteremia. This study revealed that persistent bacteremia could be present in the absence of fever and toxic signs. Newer, third generation cephalosporins such as cefotaxime of ceftriaxone should be initiated promptly.


Rotating platform mobile bearing knees are an appealing approach to the problems of tibial loosening and rotational malignment in fixed bearing knees. A potential disadvantage is the additional large articular surface that accommodates tibio-femoral rotation. Accurately assessing the tribological performance of this additional articular surface is important to understanding how mobile bearings perform in terms of generating polyethylene wear debris and associated osteolysis. A series of 76 retrieved Sigma Rotating Platform bearings were assessed for damage rating according to conventional protocol and through-thickness wear measurements were taken. The results show that the rotation surface of these bearings is very commonly subject to moderate and severe damage and that damage can occur early following implantation. The decrease of the through-thickness dimension is strongly correlated with time in vivo. The rotation surface damage rating shows a weak though statistically significant correlation to through-thickness wear. Three dimensional surface profilometry on the bearings illuminates phenomena that can explain the paradoxical observations that severely damaged bearings may not be worn and worn bearing areas are smoother and show less damage than unworn areas. This study finds that bearing damage is distinct from bearing wear and the two terms are not interchangeable in the context of assessing material loss from artificial knee bearings. While both processes are important in the tribology of knee devices, it is not accurate to use damage on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene as a proxy for wear.


This research aims to solve an adapted version of the general assignment problem. This assignment
problem is the representation of finding a revenue maximizing assignment of products of a store to the
physical locations within this store, where the assignment should satisfy additional feasibility require-
ments that induce a store layout which is intuitive from a customers' point of view. The main focus in
this intuitive store layout, is assigning products of the same kind to physical locations within the store
that are in close proximity to each other. It appears that the adapted assignment problem with this
requirement can be modelled as the maximum weight connected subgraph problem, which turns out to
be NP-hard.
This research consists of two parts. First the expected weekly revenue of every product on every physical
location within the shop will be estimated by an intuitive statistical method using the available weekly
sales data. These expected weekly revenues are used as input to determine the revenue maximizing
assignment of the store.
The second part is the main focus of this research and consists of a NP-hardness proof of the considered
adapted assignment problem and an Integer Linear Program to find the revenue maximizing assignment
of the store, including a penalty in the objective function in case there is no feasible solution possible


The authors present two cases of pseudo tumoral type Mucus Secreting Tumours (MST) of the appendix. In this type (32% of the cases), the clinical presentation, barium enema, ultrasonography and most importantly CT scan generally confirm the preoperative diagnosis. We found three advantages this preoperative diagnosis. 1) Primarily it allow selection of a large surgical approach that permits full exploration of the abdominal cavity especially the ovaries (2-18% associated lesions); 2) also it allows a histopathological examination (frozen section) of the appendix to be performed during the operation; 3) and finally the surgical treatment will depend on the operative findings and the result of the histopathological examination: in the benign forms simple appendicectomy will be sufficient but the malignant forms (12% of the cases) should be treated by right hemicolectomy.


Introduction: Hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation portends the greatest risk of rehospitalization and mortality. Treatments that prevent hospitalizations could significantly lessen COPD morbidity and mortality. Methods: We performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of roflumilast 500 ug daily versus placebo in patients hospitalized for acute COPD exacerbation. Primary outcome was time to all-cause mortality or non-elective rehospitalization at 180 days post-randomization. Secondary outcomes were death or hospitalization from a respiratory cause, quality of life, change in health status, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and roflumilast tolerance. Results: A total of 64 patients with moderate to severe COPD (FEV1, 37.6 ± 16.4% predicted; 61% female, 61.6 ± 7.9 years old) were assigned to roflumilast or placebo. No deaths occurred in the follow-up period. There was no difference in the time to first readmission between the roflumilast and placebo groups (46.1 days versus 47.3 days respectively, p=0.93). There were 29 and 30 readmissions in the roflumilast and placebo groups, respectively (p=0.47). The St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) decreased 10.8 points and 7.8 points in the roflumilast and placebo groups, respectively and were not different. EuroQuality of Life Five Dimension scale (EQ5D) scores improved, but not significantly in either group. Weight loss and nausea were more common with roflumilast but not different from placebo. Change in glycosylated hemoglobin percentage (HgbA1C%) was not different between groups. Sub-analysis for the impact of chronic bronchitis did not affect outcomes. Conclusion: In this pilot study conducted in patients hospitalized with an exacerbation of COPD, roflumilast did not affect time to all-cause rehospitalization, quality of life, FEV1 or any other measured parameter.


Reinforcement learning (RL) methods often rely on massive exploration data to search optimal policies, and suffer from poor sampling efficiency. This paper presents a mixed reinforcement learning (mixed RL) algorithm by simultaneously using dual representations of environmental dynamics to search the optimal policy with the purpose of improving both learning accuracy and training speed. The dual representations indicate the environmental model and the state-action data: the former can accelerate the learning process of RL, while its inherent model uncertainty generally leads to worse policy accuracy than the latter, which comes from direct measurements of states and actions. In the framework design of the mixed RL, the compensation of the additive stochastic model uncertainty is embedded inside the policy iteration RL framework by using explored state-action data via iterative Bayesian estimator (IBE). The optimal policy is then computed in an iterative way by alternating between policy evaluation (PEV) and policy improvement (PIM). The convergence of the mixed RL is proved using the Bellman's principle of optimality, and the recursive stability of the generated policy is proved via the Lyapunov's direct method. The effectiveness of the mixed RL is demonstrated by a typical optimal control problem of stochastic non-affine nonlinear systems (i.e., double lane change task with an automated vehicle).


Event dependencies associated with correct parallel discrete event simulations are preserved by using synchroniza tion protocols. These protocols ensure that at the end of the simulation each event has taken place in chronological order in its respective logical process. To this end, the pro tocols apply a method to advance in the simulation time which can be synchronous or asynchronous. This paper presents an analysis of the relevant factors affecting the performance of known protocols for the bulk-synchronous parallel model of computing.


Germ cell development and gametogenesis require genome-wide transitions in epigenetic modifications and chromatin structure. These changes include covalent modifications to the DNA and histones as well as remodeling activities. Here, we explore the role of the mammalian SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex during spermatogenesis using a conditional allele of the ATPase subunit, brahma-related gene 1 (Brg1, or Smarca4). Not only do BRG1 levels peak during the early stages of meiosis, genetic ablation of Brg1 in murine embryonic gonocytes results in arrest during prophase of meiosis I. Coincident with the timing of meiotic arrest, mutant spermatocytes accumulate unrepaired DNA and fail to complete synapsis. Furthermore, mutant spermatocytes show global alterations to histone modifications and chromatin structure indicative of a more heterochromatic genome. Together, these data demonstrate a requirement for BRG1 activity in spermatogenesis, and suggest a role for the mammalian SWI/SNF complex in programmed recombination and repair events that take place during meiosis.


Embryonic stem (ES) cells can be differentiated into many neural cell types that hold great potential as cell replacement therapies following spinal cord injury (SCI). Coupling stem cell transplantation with biomaterial scaffolds can produce a unified combination therapy with several potential advantages including enhanced cell survival, greater transplant retention, reduced scarring, and improved integration at the transplant/host interface. Undesired cell types, however, are commonly present in ES-cell derived cultures due to the limited efficiency of most ES cell induction protocols. Heterogeneous cell populations can confound the interaction between the biomaterial and specific neural populations leading to undesired outcomes. In particular, biomaterials scaffolds may enhance tumor formation by promoting survival and proliferation of undifferentiated ES cells that can persist after induction. Methods for purification of specific ES cell-derived neural populations are necessary to recognize the full potential of combination therapies involving biomaterials and ES cell-derived neural populations. We previously developed a method for enriching ES cell-derived progenitor motor neurons (pMNs) induced from mouse ES cells via antibiotic selection and showed that the enriched cell populations are depleted of pluripotent stem cells. In this study, we demonstrate the survival and differentiation of enriched pMNs within three dimensional (3D) fibrin scaffolds in vitro and when transplanted into a sub-acute dorsal hemisection model of SCI into neurons, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes.


The German electricity market is facing two major challenges: competition and climate protection. The liberalization of the electricity sector in Europe following the directive on the single internal market is increasing competition between suppliers of electricity, while the trading in emissions certificates, which started in January 2005, aims at reducing emission of carbon dioxide. This gives a competitive advantage to electricity suppliers who can produce cost-efficiently while protecting the environment and the climate. As conventional power stations retire and have to be shut down there will be a need for major replacement of generation capacities in the next two decades. In the longer term a technology that enables CO2 to be captured and stored could enable electricity to be generated from coal without damage to the climate. If emissions certificates cost more than 30 euros per tonne of carbon dioxide electricity generation both in coal-fired power stations with CO2 capture and storage (CCS) and from renewable energy sources - especially in more advanced wind power plants - could become economical. Hence the development of both these technologies is important to secure future energy supplies.


Histologic activity of chronic cholestasis and lymphocytic piecemeal necrosis, a characteristic finding of chronic active hepatitis, was examined semiquantitatively in 157 liver biopsy specimens from 122 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Although both of these lesions were usually admixed variably in a single liver specimen, semiquantitative assessment made it possible to classify liver biopsy specimens into four groups: group A, no or minimum cholestatic or hepatitic changes (58 specimens); group B, predominantly cholestatic changes (37 specimens); and group C, predominantly hepatitic changes (54 specimens). Only eight specimens fell into group D, prominent cholestatic as well as hepatitic changes. Serial liver biopsies of specimens within groups B and C showed a persistence of group B- and C-type pathologies, while liver biopsies of group A specimens frequently changed to group B or C. Immunohistochemical studies illustrated that lymphocytic piecemeal necrosis mainly consisted of activated T lymphocytes as seen in chronic active hepatitis. Our data suggest that either of two hepatic parenchymal lesions predominates and persists in each liver biopsy specimen. A high cholestatic score appeared to relate to poor prognoses of the patients and also to the degree of cirrhotic transformation. This grouping system may be valuable in the clinicopathologic assessment of PBC, when it is combined with ordinary staging.


Processing of the amyloid beta-protein precursor is believed to play a critical role in the development of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology. The localization of the human Abeta epitope within mature neuroectodermally differentiated embryonal carcinoma (P19) cells, stably transfected with the cDNA coding for a wild form human amyloid beta-protein precursor (AbetaPP 751) was investigated. For this, we applied high resolution electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry with a newly developed, highly specfic monoclonal antibody (McSA1). We observed immunoreactive signals in a number of subcellular organelles such as early endosomes, the trans-Golgi network and in the dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum, but not in lysosomes. Occasionally Abeta immunoreactivity was associated with microtubules and filaments, with the outer mitochondrial membrane, and with the nuclear envelope. These observations expand on current data regarding intracellular trafficking of AbetaPP fragments and provoke further questions regarding the role of intracellular Abeta peptides in basal conditions and pathological states.


With the availability of massive trajectory data, it is highly valuable to reveal their activity information for many domains such as understanding the functionality of urban regions. This article utilizes the scaling patterns of human activities to enhance functional distribution of natural urban places. Specifically, we proposed a temporal city clustering algorithm to aggregate the stopping locations into natural urban places, which are reported to follow remarkable power law distributions of sizes and obey a universal law of economy of scale on human interactions with urban infrastructure. Besides, we proposed a novel Bayesian inference model with damping factor to estimate the most likely POI type associated with a stopping location. Our results suggest that hot natural urban places could be effectively identified from their scaling patterns and their functionality can be very well enhanced. For instance, natural urban places containing airport or railway station can be highly stressed by accumulating the massive types of human activities. * Corresponding author


The etiology of obesity is multifactorial and is becoming a problem of public health, due to its increased prevalence and the consequent repercussion of its comorbidities on the health of the population. The great similarity and homology between the genomes of rodents and humans make these animal models a major tool to study conditions affecting humans, which can be simulated in rats. Obesity can be induced in animals by neuroendocrine, dietary or genetic changes. The most widely used models to induce obesity in rats are a lesion of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) by administering monosodium glutamate or a direct electrical lesion, ovariectomy, feeding on hypercaloric diets and genetic manipulation for obesity.


The present article contributes to the research on emigration from the People's Republic of China and the relations between emigrated Chinese and their hometowns. Focusing on the investment project Emigration Hometown Qingtian's Imported Commodity City highlights the intersection between the Chinese consumers' patterns and the local indigenous emigration practices that produce a particular model of local development predicated on the mobility of people and objects. As this development aims to transform the "emigration town" from an exporter of labour to a regional tourism centre offering visitors a cosmopolitan and internationalised experience of "Europe in China", the in-depth analysis of policy documents, participant observation, and expert interviews reveals that this is a precarious model for which changed global and national conditions can strongly jeopardise its viability and success.


Synchronously controlled switching to suppress transient overvoltage and overcurrent resulting from when the circuit breakers on medium voltage systems are closed is described. Firstly, by simulation it is found that if the closing time is synchronously controlled so that the contacts of the circuit breaker close completely at the instant when the voltage across contacts of the breaker at each of the three individual phases are zero, the resulting overvoltage and overcurrent is significantly suppressed when compared to conventional three phase simultaneous closing. Next, an algorithm for determining the closing timing based on a forecasted voltage zero waveform, obtained from voltage sampling data, is presented. Finally, a synchronous closing operation experiment utilizing a controller to implement the algorithm and a VCB with an electromagnetic operation mechanism is presented. The VCB was successfully closed at the zero point within a timing error of 200 microseconds.


The true distribution of the pH in tissues can be determined from the in vivo 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum by converting the parts per million (PPM) axis of the pH responsive resonance to pH using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. In addition, the intensity axis of the resonance must be divided by the derivative of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to correct for the nonlinear relationship between pH and PPM. This nonlinear relationship causes the apparent center of the resonance in PPM to be dependent not only on the center of the pH distribution but also on its width and distance from the pKa, where Ka is the association constant. Therefore, the pH determined from uncorrected spectra may be in significant error, particularly if the pH distribution is distant from the pKa and is broad. The method was applied to the isolated perfused Morris hepatoma 5123C to determine the distribution of intracellular pH (pHi) using resonances from two intracellular compounds. The two resonances did not report the same pHi unless the spectral data were properly corrected. The method should be of interest to anyone interested in pHi.


We study preimages of permutations under the bubblesort operator $\mathbf{B}$. We achieve a description of these preimages much more complete than what is known for the more complicated sorting operators $\mathbf{S}$ (stacksort) and $\mathbf{Q}$ (queuesort). We describe explicitly the set of preimages under $\mathbf{B}$ of any permutation $\pi$ from the left-to-right maxima of $\pi$, showing that there are $2^{k-1}$ such preimages if $k$ is the number of these left-to-right maxima. We further consider, for each $n$, the tree $T_n$ recording all permutations of size $n$ in its nodes, in which an edge from child to parent corresponds to an application of $\mathbf{B}$ (the root being the identity permutation), and we present several properties of these trees. In particular, for each permutation $\pi$, we show how the subtree of $T_n$ rooted at $\pi$ is determined by the number of left-to-right maxima of $\pi$ and the length of the longest suffix of left-to-right maxima of $\pi$.
Building on this result, we determine the number of nodes and leaves at every height in such trees, and we recover (resp. obtain) the average height of nodes (resp. leaves) in $T_n$.


One of the most resorted techniques for cartographic generalization is that of collapse, the operation by which a geometric feature is transformed into another lower-dimensional geometry. Issues in this respect are: Solving the location of the lower-dimensional geometry for each feature. Approximating the set of alternative spatial configurations that may be defined by the derived patterns as a consequence of the the spatial extent of the higher-dimensional geometries, since alternative locations for the lower-dimensional features will hence result in different spatial patterns. From the analytical viewpoint, the effect of this variability on the signal of a measure that uses the spatial structure of the lower-dimensional primitive depends on the size of the window of analysis and on the size and shape of the higher-dimensional geometries, as the interrelation between both conditions makes the extent of the positional uncertainty be resized with respect to the extent of the window of analysis. Such a cartographic problem is typical in landscape studies involving area features. In our study case disconnected scatters of lithic artefacts recorded on the terrain surface are modelled as polygon objects and these in turn collapsed into point objects located at the mean centres of the polygons. To assess the degree of positional uncertainty of the data set caused by the collapse operation, under the spatial domain of the specified window of analysis W , two exploratory techniques are applied: The first uses the length of the links that connect all possible pairs of points in a point realization. For each alternative point configuration of collapsed polygons a_i, a_j,... , the list of interpoint distances t_xy is measured for every pair of points {x,y} . Then for each pair {a_i,a_j} the absolute difference between each t_xy(a_i) in a_i and its equivalent t_xy(a_j) in a_j is computed. The resultant differences are next standardized by dividing them by the square root of W (in order that the standardization result from measures with the same dimensions). The frequency distribution of the ratio signals for each {a_i,a_j} can finally be summarized. In this respect the median and extreme quantiles provide robust measures of the interpoint distance discrepancy signals. The second involves the transformation of the point pattern into a scalar model and the use of measures of association. Now, for each a_i, a_j,… , the density surface of each a , say alpha , is estimated and structured in a grid dataset. Next, for each pair {alpha_i,alpha_j} the bivariate association of the scalar values at colocalized grid cells is estimated. In this regard the following techniques have been applied: Bivariate plotting of colocalized cells. Individual plots can be accumulated in order to jointly explore the dispersion of the density patterns in the sample of alternative point realizations. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, as its improves robustness against bias generated by non-Gaussian density distributions. Evaluation of significance should take account of autocorrelation processes and be associated to specific support sizes (due to the sample size variability introduced by the modifiable blocking of the grid).


The use of solar control film on windows as one of solar passive strategies for building have becoming important and is gaining recognition. Malaysia located close to equator is having warm humid climate with long sunshine hours and abundant solar radiation throughout the year. Hence, befitting solar control on windows is absolutely necessary to capture the daylight whilst moderating thermal impact and eliminating glare problems. This is one of the energy efficient strategies to achieve thermal and visual comfort in buildings. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effect of window solar controls on thermal and visual performance of naturally ventilated buildings. This was conducted via field data monitoring using a test building facility. Four types of window glazing systems were used with three types of solar control films. Data were analysed for thermal and visual impact with reference to thermal and optical characteristics of the films. Results show that for each glazing system, the surface temperature of windows are influenced by the Solar Energy Absorption property, the indoor air temperature are influenced by the Solar Energy Transmittance and Solar Energy Reflectance, and the daylighting by Visible Light Transmission and Shading Coefficient. Further investigations are underway to determine the mathematical relation between thermal energy and visual performance with the thermal and optical characteristics of solar control films. Keywords—window, solar control film, natural ventilation, thermal performance, visual performance


Abstract Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments are facing increasing pressure from multiple threats. The Antarctic Treaty System regularly looks to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) for the provision of independent and objective advice based on the best available science to support decision-making, policy development and effective environmental management. The recently approved SCAR Scientific Research Programme Ant-ICON - 'Integrated Science to Inform Antarctic and Southern Ocean Conservation' - facilitates and coordinates high-quality transdisciplinary research to inform the conservation and management of Antarctica, the Southern Ocean and the sub-Antarctic in the context of current and future impacts. The work of Ant-ICON focuses on three research themes examining 1) the current state and future projections of Antarctic systems, species and functions, 2) human impacts and sustainability and 3) socio-ecological approaches to Antarctic and Southern Ocean conservation, and one synthesis theme that seeks to facilitate the provision of timely scientific advice to support effective Antarctic conservation. Research outputs will address the most pressing environmental challenges facing Antarctica and offer high-quality science to policy and advisory bodies including the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Committee for Environmental Protection and the Scientific Committee of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.


In communication systems, the channel noise is assumed to be white and Gaussian distributed. Therefore, in general practical systems, optimum receiver structure designed for the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel is employed. However, in wireless communication systems, noise is often caused by a strong interferer, which is colored in nature. Color of the noise is defined as the variation in power spectral density in the frequency domain. Designing the optimum receiver for different channel models is difficult and not reasonable because channel model is not known at the receiver and channel statistics are needed. In this paper, we propose neural network (NN) based approach to demodulate the transmitted signal over unknown channels. Simulation results in various signal environments are presented to the performance of the proposed system. It is shown that the proposed approach has the same performance with the conventional demodulator structure for AWGN channels while it has clear advantage for unknown channel models.


Background: Little is known about infection rates for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other diseases that can be transmitted sexually in Bangladeshi women who may be at intermediate levels of risk—that is, women who are not commercial sex workers (CSWs) but whose sexual contacts may include men at high risk for STD. This study examines HIV/hepatitis/STD and other genital tract infections in women living near Tejgaon truck stand in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods: This population based study was conducted from January to December 1998. A random sample of 384 women provided urine and blood samples and participated in an interview; 261 of them also had a physical examination in which vaginal and cervical specimens were taken. Laboratory tests included PCR on urine and cervical swabs for gonorrhoea and chlamydia, culture for trichomoniasis, serology tests for syphilis, herpes simplex 2, hepatitis B, C, D, HIV1, HIV2, and clinical diagnoses of other genital tract infections. Results: None of the participants tested positive for HIV. In the 261 women who had a physical examination, trichomoniasis was detected in 19.5%, chlamydia in 3.4%, gonorrhoea in 5.4%, bacterial vaginosis in 37.2%, and candidiasis in 10%. In the full sample of 384 women, with tests of urine and blood, prevalence of infection with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and herpes simplex 2 was detected in 0%, 6.3%, 5.7%, and 32% respectively. Almost 50% of the subjects had ever been exposed to hepatitis B, 3.6% were currently infective, 1.6% had hepatitis C, and none had hepatitis D. Conclusion: The high prevalence of certain of these infectious diseases indicates the need to implement prevention interventions with these women and, perhaps more importantly, with their male partners. Qualitative research is needed to provide insights into their sexual behaviour and the contexts in which high risk behaviours occur.


Abstract Allelic and haplotypic variations at 27 SNP sites identified in four CpG islands of OAS1 were described in a group of Anglo-Arabian and Hucul horses. Variation in the type of less frequent alleles was the source of variability among breeds. A number of putative LD blocks were identified which could be used to study changes in the genetic structure between generations of both breeds concerning susceptibility to flaviviral infections. Some of the identified SNPs may have an impact on the transcriptional activity of OAS1 or could lead to amino acid substitution influencing proper function of OAS1 enzyme. In the light of recent studies, the described genetic variability of investigated CpG islands might be important in view of the effectiveness of viral incorporation into the host genome.


We consider critical percolation on Galton-Watson trees and prove quenched analogues of classical theorems of critical branching processes. We show that the probability critical percolation reaches depth n is asymptotic to a tree-dependent constant times n. Similarly, conditioned on critical percolation reaching depth n, the number of vertices at depth n in the critical percolation cluster almost surely converges in distribution to an exponential random variable with mean depending only on the offspring distribution. The incipient infinite cluster (IIC) is constructed for a.e. Galton-Watson tree and we prove a limit law for the number of vertices in the IIC at depth n, again depending only on the offspring distribution. Provided the offspring distribution used to generate these Galton-Watson trees has all finite moments, each of these results holds almost-surely.


This article expounds the design and control of a new variable stiffness series elastic actuator (VSSEA). It is established by employing a modular mechanical design approach that allows us to effectively optimize the stiffness modulation characteristics and power density of the actuator. The proposed VSSEA possesses the following features: no limitation in the work range of output link; a wide range of stiffness modulation (∼20 N·m/rad to ∼1 KN·m/rad); low-energy-cost stiffness modulation at equilibrium and nonequilibrium positions; compact design and high torque density (∼36 N·m/kg); and high-speed stiffness modulation (∼3000 N·m/rad/s). Such features can help boost the safety and performance of many advanced robotic systems, e.g., a cobot that physically interacts with unstructured environments and an exoskeleton that provides physical assistance to human users. These features can also enable us to utilize variable stiffness property to attain various regulation and trajectory tracking control tasks only by employing conventional controllers, eliminating the need for synthesizing complex motion control systems in compliant actuation. To this end, it is experimentally demonstrated that the proposed VSSEA is capable of precisely tracking the desired position and force control references through the use of the conventional proportional–integral–derivative controllers.


Two generalized reciprocity theorems for homogeneous bi-isotropic media are presented that do not invoke a complementary space. One of them is eminently crosspolarized involving real sources and fields, while the other is a generalization of the Lorentz theorem and is therefore eminently copolarized, invoking generalized sources or fields. These theorems constitute the foundation for new variational expressions leading to a reaction-type development with capabilities to handle biisotropic/nonactive/chiral/isotropic materials.


OBJECTIVE
The increasing prevalence and earlier onset of chronic health conditions amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has become a concerning and significant problem. Telehealth may be a useful application for the early detection, monitoring, and treatment of chronic diseases such as ear disease and vision impairment. This study evaluates whether it is feasible to integrate a mobile telemedicine-enabled ear and eye-screening service with existing community-based services for Australian indigenous children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A collaborative service was established with the local community and delivered from a van fitted with screening equipment and telemedicine capabilities. Indigenous children (0-16 years) were assessed at school by an aboriginal health worker for conditions impacting hearing and vision. Screening data and video-otoscopic images were uploaded to a database and made accessible to specialists via a secure Web site. Those children who failed an ear-screening assessment, tele-otology clinics were conducted remotely by an ear, nose, and throat specialist, who reviewed cases and provided a diagnosis and treatment plan. Similarly, children who failed vision assessments were referred to an optometrist for follow-up care.

RESULTS
During the first 6 months, the service visited 12 of the 16 schools in the region, screening 442 of the 760 consented children (58%). Of the 183 (41%) children who failed ear screening, 59 were reviewed remotely by an ear, nose, and throat surgeon, with 9 children booked for surgery. Three hundred and four or 41% of the consenting children completed an eye assessment, in which 46 (15%) failed and required referral to the optometrist.

CONCLUSIONS
It is feasible to integrate a mobile telehealth screening service with existing community-based services to provide specialist review and treatment planning at a distance. Community consultation, engagement, and collaboration in all areas of the project have been important.


The snow transport model of Alpine3D is augmented with a drifting snow sublimation routine. Contrary to other three-dimensional high-resolution snow transport models, Alpine3D now accounts for feedback mechanisms on the air temperature, humidity, and snow mass concentration in three dimensions. Results show that the negative feedbacks of sublimation on the snow mass concentration, temperature, and humidity are, in general, small but relevant on the slope scale. We analyzed the deposition on a leeward slope for simulations including sublimation and compared these to a reference simulation of the model without sublimation. Including sublimation, but neglecting sublimation feedbacks, leads to a reduction in deposition of approximately 12% on this slope. In a simulation including sublimation and its feedbacks, the reduction in snow deposition on the same slope was 10%. The feedbacks thus reduced the loss of snow due to sublimation by 2%. The sublimation process is therefore quite important for a leeward slope influenced by drifting snow. However, we also show that the spatial variability is large and that drifting snow sublimation will mainly affect small regions within a catchment. Averaged over our model domain (2.4 km(2)) in the Swiss Alps, drifting snow sublimation causes a reduction in deposition of 2.3% during a 43 h test period, which is comparable to the sublimation loss from the snow cover during the same time.


A variety of subterranean habitats share an absence of light and a dependence on allochthonous productivity, but they differ in many features, including habitat volume. We examined the hypothesis that habitat volume is an important factor in community organization, especially with reference to body size, for a variety of communities for which data were available. We analyzed the results of ten studies that compared body sizes of obligate subterranean dwelling species with respect to habitat. All of the studies confirmed the hypothesis that habitat size was an important determinant of body size. However, surprisingly little information is available on the relationship between body size and habitat size, and only two of the studies reported directly on the size of habitat spaces. Habitat size appears to be an important determinant of body size in subterranean species, but more detailed studies, especially of habitat (pore) size are needed.


T follicular helper cells (Tfh cells) affect essential immune pathogenesis in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The CCR7loPD-1hi Tfh subset has a partial Tfh effector phenotype and is associated with active Tfh differentiation, whereas the CCR7hiPD-1lo Tfh subset is a resting phenotype. We recruited 20 healthy volunteers and 77 patients with chronic HBV infection, including those in the immune tolerant (IT) phase (n=19), immune clearance (IC) phase (n=20), low replicative (LR) phase (n=18), and reactivation (RA) phase (n=20).The expression of CD4, CXCR5, PD-1, and CCR7was detected in T cells fromperipheral blood by flow cytometry.The frequency of the CCR7loPD-1hi T subset was significantly higher in the patients than in the healthy controls (14.92±4.87% vs 12.23±2.95%, p=0.018). The frequency of this Tfh subset in the IC group (18.42%±3.08) was increased compared with the IT group (11.94±2.87%, p=0.001) andLRgroup (13.65±4.93%, p=0.031) andwas higher in the RA group than in the IT group (16.03±5.37% vs 11.94±2.87%, p=0.030). We observed a weak positive correlation between the CCR7loPD-1hi Tfh subset population and the alanine transaminase (ALT) level (r=0.370, p=0.001). The CCR7loPD-1h Tfh subset in the chronic HBV-infected patients was elevated to various degrees among the different immune phases. CCR7loPD-1hiCXCR5+CD4+ T cells are correlated with the immune status of chronic HBV infection patients and may be developed as a potential indicator for antiviral treatment.


We describe the use of DGGE multiplex systems for rapid analysis of 15 exons of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, in which about half of the known CF molecular defects are clustered. We have previously determined the spectrum of mutations affecting the CFTR gene in the French population using a strategy based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of amplified gene segments. Analysis of CF patients' DNA with five DGGE multiplex systems permitted us to characterize nearly 35% of non-AF508 CF alleles and increased the CF allele detection rate to almost 82% in this population. This simple and rapid multiplex analysis strategy, which allows a significant proportion of the most frequent CF mutations in Caucasians to be detected, will be helpful in the implementation of genetic screening programs.


Generally, the learning process in classes still
used worksheets that does not link the matter and
instructional topics with local knowledge of local area.
Though it is able to increase the students' conceptual
understanding of the specific physics topics. This study
aimed to analyze the practicality and effectiveness
student' worksheet based on Ethno science in improving
student understanding of rigid body' concept. The study
used a quasi-experimental with pretest-post test control
group design. The sample was students' senior high
school in Lampung' province, Indonesia. The sampling
technique used simple random sampling technique. Data
were obtain through the questionnaire, responses of
teachers and students, and test of learning outcome in
multiple choice questions reasoned type. Data were
analyzed by percentage, N-gain, and effect size. The
results showed that student worksheet based on Ethno
science was practically using in learning and effective in
improving conceptual understanding which is indicated
by the differences in test results between the control and
the experimental class.
Keywords—Effectiveness, Ethno science, Conceptual
Understanding, Practicality, Student Worksheet.


With the fast development of Internet technologies and mobile devices, space-time boundaries of people's daily activities become blurred. This makes people utilizing their fragmented time become possible. In recent years, micro learning, which aims to make good use of people's fragmented time and deliver micro-format of open education resource to learners, has drawn wider attention. The generation and delivery of micro learning materials are two essential steps for the micro learning service. This paper first discusses the characteristics of three significant stages of a sophisticated micro learning system: segmentation, annotation, and recommendation, for learning materials. Then various state-of-the-art techniques for different processing stages are reviewed in this survey. Different segmentation and annotation strategies based on different information sources (such as content and users' interaction) are demonstrated and analysed. Soft computing, transfer learning, reinforcement learning, and context-aware techniques are also compared and discussed for solving different difficulties in recommending scenarios. We contribute this paper as the first work focusing on the three-phased techniques in micro learning.


Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), the causative agent of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), is considered to be the most common viral pathogen found in bovine semen. BHV-1 is associated with several clinical conditions, including infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, infectious pustular vulvovaginitis, balanoposthitis, conjunctivitis and generalized disease in newborn calves, causing great economic loss to the livestock industry. A total of 101 semen samples from breeding bulls of different Artificial Insemination Centres were screened for the presence of viral genome by employing PCR using two sets of primers viz., gB1/gB2 and gC1/ gC2 from gB and gC genes coding for viral envelope. Viral DNA was extracted from semen using QIAamp DNA Mini Kit and was then subjected to PCR. In gB gene based PCR, 47 (46.53 %) semen samples were found to be positive, producing an amplified PCR product of size 478 bp. While in gC gene based PCR, 43 (42.57 %) were found to be positive for presence of viral genome, producing an amplified PCR product of size 173 bp. In comparison of the efficacy of the primers, the results of these two primers were in agreement for 95 samples out of the 101 tested samples. Thus, both the primers can be applied effectively in detection of BHV-1 DNA in semen. In sequencing of gB-gene based PCR products, a consensus sequence of 459 bp was obtained. The sequences of field isolates matched completely with the sequence of BHV-1.1. Finally, the study revealed the presence of BHV-1 in the semen of breeding bulls of Gujarat. Thus, under the Sexual Health Control Programme proper measures must be taken at the State level for controlling BHV1 infection. The bulls must be free from BHV-1 infection prior to use.


In this article, we present a multiple connection method for a optical switching architecture and discuss the control plane to connection. In optical network, there are three function planes and every plane has its important role. Fast provisioning enables bandwidth on demand service, where a user or its proxy can directly request a connection by using appropriate signaling via the user-network interface. A call may embody any number of underlying connections, including zero. Benefits of this separation include supporting such optical services as scheduled bandwidth on demand, diverse circuit provisioning, or bundled connection.


abstract With many visual speech animation techniques now available, there is a clear need for systematic perceptual evaluation schemes. We describe here our scheme and its application to a new video-realistic (potentially indistinguishable from real recorded video) visual-speech animation system, called Mary 101. Two types of experiments were performed: a) distinguishing visually between real and synthetic image- sequences of the same utterances, (fiTuring testsfl) and b) gauging visual speech recognition by comparing lip-reading performance of the real and synthetic image-sequences of the same utterances (fiIntelligibility testsfl). Subjects that were presented randomly with either real or synthetic image-sequences could not tell the synthetic from the real sequences above chance level. The same subjects when asked to lip-read the utterances from the same image-sequences recognized speech from real image-sequences significantly better than from synthetic ones. However, performance for both, real and synthetic, were at levels suggested in the literature on lip-reading. We conclude from the two experiments that the animation of Mary 101 is adequate for providing a percept of a talking head. However, additional effort is required to improve the animation for lip-reading purposes like rehabilitation and language learning. In addition, these two tasks could be considered as explicit and implicit perceptual discrimination tasks. In the explicit task (a), each stimulus is classified directly as a synthetic or real image-sequence by detecting a possible difference between the synthetic and the real image-sequences. The implicit perceptual discrimination task (b) consists of a comparison between visual recognition of speech of real and synthetic image-sequences. Our results suggest that implicit perceptual discrimination is a more sensitive method for discrimination between synthetic and real image-sequences than explicit perceptual discrimination. ___________________________________________________________________________________


As the energy demand is growing and fossil fuel based energy resources are getting depleted, there has been an increased focus on the use of renewable energy resources. Wind energy is a highly suitable energy resource that can be harvested for the purpose. This research deals with the design and fabrication of novel designs as a mean to harness wind energy using a 'Savonius' Turbine. It is generally employed to harvest the low to very low wind speed potentials. The paper introduces a novel concept about a Ducted Savonius wind turbine where power generation can increase more than 10 folds. The paper provides experimental validation of the effect of using a converging ducted structure with a single stage and double stage configurations of a Savonius wind turbine. The paper also compares the turbine's performance with and without endplates and compares Single Stage and Double Stage Turbine. The experiment results show that around 15% increase in tangential blade velocity in single stage rotor when end plates are used. The results of the study proves that power coefficient increases with the addition of a converging ducted structure with the Savonius wind turbine, and also with the use of endplates.


This paper discusses the possibility of removing water from the earth into space using only capillary action. The paper finds that a capillary of radius 2.332x10^-10 would be required meaning that though theoretically possible not realistically plausible to create.


Recently, corpus comparison has been used by a number of researchers for extracting single-word terms (SWTs) from specialized corpora. It is viewed as a means to supplement multi-word term (MWT) extraction, the focus of which is on noun phrases. However, little is known about the value of this technique in a terminological setting. This paper examines two different methods for finding French SWTs in the field of computing. The first one (M1) compares the specialized corpus to a corpus considered to be a reflection of language as a whole. The second one (M2) breaks down the specialized corpus into six topical subcorpora that are compared in turn to the entire specialized corpus. The calculation relies on standard normal distribution and is carried out by a program calledTermoStat. The specific units produced by both methods are then evaluated by comparing them to the contents of two specialized dictionaries. We also compare the results yielded by the two methods. Results show that precision is fair (approximately 50% of units extracted by both methods can be found in specialized dictionaries). However, recall is lower in both methods. Results also reveal that, even though M1 yields better results that M2, both methods are useful for identifying SWTs and should be considered in terminological work.


A search technique is applied to determine focal mechanisms from the surface-wave spectral amplitudes of recent earthquakes in the eastern U. S. and Canada. The technique provides the five source parameters of dip, slip, strike, depth, and seismic moment through a combination of criteria requiring best correlation coefficients, least residuals between theoretical and observed spectral-amplitudes and equality between independent seismic moment estimates from Love and Rayleigh wave data. This technique is applied to eight earthquakes of m b ≈ 5 that occurred in the North American continent in recent years. The focal mechanism results, constrained by P-wave first motions, indicate that near horizontal pressure axes are in the ENE-WSW for the 1982 Miramichi, New Brunswick (Canada) mainshock and one large aftershock (another large aftershock has ESE-WNW P-axis), the 1982 Gaza, New Hampshire mainshock, the 1982 Arkansas mainshock, the 1983 Goodnow, New York mainshock, and the 1986 Perry, Ohio mainshock. On the other hand a near horizontal tension axis in the direction NNE-SSW is found for the 1984 Wyoming mainshock in the western part of North American continent. The results obtained are consistent with the regional stress patterns and generally agree with the solutions of other investigators who used other aspects of the seismic wavefield.


The microstructural evolution during annealing below the recrystallization temperature of a commercial purity aluminum (99wt.% purity) cold rolled to a true strain of 2 has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy concentrating on microstructural and orientational aspects. The deformation microstructure was a typical lamellar structure with extended lamellar boundaries, GNBs (geometrical necessary boundaries), and short interconnecting boundaries, IDBs (incidental dislocation boundaries). The microstructure was divided into regions representing typical rolling texture orientations and regions of other orientations. During annealing the structure coarsened towards an equiaxed structure and it was observed that this coarsening was significantly slower in regions of rolling texture orientations than in regions of other orientations. This difference was discussed based on the characteristics of the deformation structure.


The design and performance of several generations of wavelength-selective 1/spl times/K switches are reviewed. These optical subsystems combine the functionality of a demultiplexer, per-wavelength switch, and multiplexer in a single, low-loss unit. Free-space optics is utilized for spatially separating the constituent wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) channels as well as for space-division switching from an input optical fiber to one of K output fibers (1/spl times/K functionality) on a channel-by-channel basis using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) micromirror array. The switches are designed to provide wide and flat passbands for minimal signal distortion. They can also provide spectral equalization and channel blocking functionality, making them well suited for use in transparent WDM optical mesh networks.


Infragravity waves (IG) are generated due to the non-linear interactions between the short (in terms of length) waves. IG waves propagate bounded to the short wave groups
and they are released when fluctuations to the short wave energy occur. Aim of this research is to determine the behavior of IG waves around and inside the two-dimensional
domain of Barbers Point Harbour on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. In order to achieve simulation of IG waves, an extensive investigation is taking place, aiming to propose the most accurate numerical wave model for the particular case. The conclusion is that an effi�cient simulation of the harbour domain needs the usage of a phase-resolving and nonlinear wave model, SWASH. SWASH showed consistency for the IG wave calculation(inside the basin of Barbers Point harbour) and its predictive skill measured approximately
0:84. Finally a further analysis is taking place, in order to decompose the IG signal. Aim is to separate the IG waves to free and bounded by using bispectral analysis
and the separation method proposed by Sheremet et al. [2002]. The results are presented for the area outside the harbour. IG waves seem to be generated 500m seawards of the
inlet. Additionally, the shore is identi�ed as partially re
ective boundary, even for the IG waves (R2 IG = 0:6). Finally, the behavior of the IG waves are a�ected by the entrance channel. IG waves (as long waves) are strongly refracted by the channel and continue to propagate inside the basin, when the short waves follow another path, leading to the adjacent shores.


The authors have built the first three-dimensional, kneed, two-legged, passive-dynamic walking machine. Since the work of Tad McGeer in the late 1980s, the concept of passive dynamics has added insight into animal locomotion and the design of anthropomorphic robots. Various analyses and machines that demonstrate efficient human-like walking have been developed using this strategy. Human-like passive machines, however, have only operated in two dimensions (i.e., within the fore-aft or sagittal plane). Three-dimensional passive walking devices, mostly toys, have not had human-like motions but instead a stiff legged waddle. In the present three-dimensional device, the authors preserve features of McGeer's two-dimensional models, including mechanical simplicity, human-like knee flexure, and passive gravitational power from descending a shallow slope. They then add specially curved feet, a compliant heel, and mechanically constrained arms to achieve a harmonious and stable gait. The device stands 85 cm tall. It weighs 4.8 kg, walks at about 0.51 m/s down a 3.1-degree slope, and consumes 1.3 W. This robot further implicates passive dynamics in human walking and may help point the way toward simple and efficient robots with human-like motions.