Combining qualitative and quantitative evidence may enhance understanding of how complex healthcare interventions work. How best to integrate quantitative reviews of interventions with reviews of qualitative research on patients' views on issues relating to components of such interventions is challenging. In this thesis I used adherence to therapy as a worked example to answer: 1) How can qualitative evidence of patients' views help understand heterogeneity of effect in complex healthcare interventions? (2) What approaches to combine different data, collected from different research disciplines, can best be applied to the mixed review evidence? I used evidence from qualitative reviews on patients' suggestions on how to promote adherence with outputs from quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of trialled interventions promoting adherence. I compared in a table, patients' suggestions with the content of interventions. I summarised narratively, and used analytical approaches: qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and regression. The approaches differed in data requirements. Regression was most restricted, even when adapted for smaller datasets. QCA and regression differed in presentation: regression sought across trials the most parsimonious factors in relation to outcome; whilst QCA sought to identify multiple pathways and combinations of factors. QCA may offer understanding of most relevance in its presentation but does not provide a measure of the precision of its findings, and its weaknesses are not fully understood. The approaches generated new findings. Some concurred. The suggestions most commonly found linked to effective interventions corresponded with two distinct ways to promote adherence, one being interactive (focusing on personal risk factors) and the other more didactic (emphasising clear information). This thesis compares methods to integrate qualitative evidence on patients' views with evidence on the effectiveness of complex interventions. It advances discussion on the value of qualitative evidence in intervention development and provides new evidence on how to promote adherence to therapy.


Amorphous titania-based photocatalysts are synthesized using a facile, UV-light mediated method and evaluated as photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution from water/methanol mixtures. The photocatalysts are prepared through the direct injection of a titanium alkoxide precursor into a water/methanol mixture, with subsequent hydrolysis, condensation, and polycondensation to form TiOx(OH)y species under UV-irradiation. The resulting amorphous titania materials exhibit an overall higher hydrogen evolution rate compared to a crystalline TiO2 reference (P25) on a molar basis of photocatalyst due to the highly porous structure and high surface area (~500 m2/g). The employed titanium alkoxide precursor did not play a major role in affecting the hydrogen evolution rate or the catalyst surface and morphology. A blue coloration, which is associated with the formation of Ti3+ species, was observed in the amorphous titania but not in P25 upon light irradiation and is enabled by the porous and disordered structure of the amorphous photocatalyst. The Ti3+ species are also used to reduce protons to H2 in the absence of light irradiation or reduce Pt2+ to form Pt nanoparticles. These Pt nanoparticles are smaller and better dispersed on the photocatalyst compared to particles prepared using conventional photodeposition, leading to higher H2 evolution rates. The results show that the direct injection method is a facile approach for the preparation of high surface area titania photocatalysts containing Ti3+ species with good photocatalytic activity for production of H2.


Isaacson, Cheney and Seager have demonstrated that simultaneously applying trigonometric patterns of current to a circular electrode array optimizes the sensitivity of EIT to inner structure. We have found that it is less desirable to measure voltage at an electrode that also applies a current due to variable contact impedance. In order to preserve the optimum sensitivity while minimizing the effect of electrode artefacts, we have devised an approach where we sequentially apply a current between each individual electrode and a separate, fixed ground while measuring voltages at all other electrodes for each consecutive current impulse. By adding weighted sums of both the applied currents and corresponding measured voltages from individual passes, we can synthesize trigonometric patterns of any spatial frequency. Since only one of the electrodes in any given acquired data set is used as a source, this approach significantly dilutes the effect of contact impedance on the resulting voltage measurements. We present simulated data showing the equivalency between the synthesized and actual trigonometric excitation patterns. In addition, we report experimental data, both in vitro and in vivo, that show improved results using this data acquisition technique.


Soil-borne plant-parasitic nematodes are microscopic, eellike roundworms. The root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) and root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus vulnus) are among the most damaging in California, which are difficult to control and can spread easily in soil on tools, boots, and infested plants. Root-knot nematodes can attack many different crops, including nut and fruit trees, usually cause unusual swellings, called galls, on affected plants' roots. It is not easy to recognize the infestations of these nematodes. For instance, researchers need to dig up walnut trees with symptoms, wash or gently tap the soil from the roots, and examine the roots for galls. The nematode extraction procedures, identification, and enumeration under a microscope are tedious and time-consuming. Therefore, in this article, the authors proposed to use a low-cost contactless radio frequency tridimensional sensor "Walabot," and Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), to perform the early detection of nematodes in a walnut site. Radiofrequency reflectance of walnut leaves from different nematode infestation levels was measured. The hypothesis was that waveforms generated from walnut leaves can estimate the damage caused by nematodes. DNNs with Tensor-Flow were used to train and test the proposed method. Results showed that the Walabot predicted nematode infestation levels with an accuracy of 82%, which showed great potentials for early detection of nematodes.


In recent years there has been a proliferation of writing on the meaning of home within the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, history, architecture and philosophy. Although many researchers now understand home as a multidimensional concept and acknowledge the presence of and need for multidisciplinary research in the field, there has been little sustained reflection and critique of the multidisciplinary field of home research and the diverse, even contradictory meanings of this term. This paper brings together and examines the dominant and recurring ideas about home represented in the relevant theoretical and empirical literature. It raises the question whether or not home is (a) place(s), (a) space(s), feeling(s), practices, and/or an active state of state of being in the world? Home is variously described in the literature as conflated with or related to house, family, haven, self, gender, and journeying. Many authors also consider notions of being-at-home, creating or making home and the ideal home. In an effort to facilitate interdisciplinary conversations about the meaning and experience of home each of these themes are briefly considered in this critical literature review.


Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) encodes a thymidine kinase (TK) that markedly differs from mammalian nucleoside kinases in terms of substrate specificity. It recognizes both pyrimidine 2'-deoxynucleosides and a variety of purine nucleoside analogs. Based on a computer modeling study and in an attempt to modify this specificity, an HSV-1 TK mutant enzyme containing an alanine-to-tyrosine mutation at amino acid position 167 was constructed. Compared with wild-type HSV-1 TK, the purified mutant HSV-1 TK(A167Y) enzyme was heavily compromised in phosphorylating pyrimidine nucleosides such as (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine and the natural substrate dThd, whereas its ability to phosphorylate the purine nucleoside analogs ganciclovir (GCV) and lobucavir was only reduced approximately 2-fold. Moreover, a markedly decreased competition of natural pyrimidine nucleosides (i.e., thymidine) with purine nucleoside analogs for phosphorylation by HSV-1 TK(A167Y) was observed. Human osteosarcoma cells transduced with the wild-type HSV-1 TK gene were extremely sensitive to the cytostatic effects of antiherpetic pyrimidine [i.e., (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine] and purine (i.e., GCV) nucleoside analogs. Transduction with the HSV-1 TK(A167Y) gene sensitized the osteosarcoma cells to a variety of purine nucleoside analogs, whereas there was no measurable cytostatic activity of pyrimidine nucleoside analogs. The unique properties of the A167Y mutant HSV-1 TK may give this enzyme a therapeutic advantage in an in vivo setting due to the markedly reduced dThd competition with GCV for phosphorylation by the HSV-1 TK.


Differences (disorders) of sex development are diverse conditions with variations in chromosomal, gonadal, and/or genital development. Fertility potential in this population is variable. Recent investigations into fertility potential in those previously thought to be infertile suggest that the majority may have fertility potential through experimental protocols. Fertility preservation may be more successful if pursued in childhood. As fertility research and techniques advance, it is important to carefully consider pediatric ethical issues specific to this population, including gonadectomy, consent/assent, experimental treatment and false hope, cost and insurance coverage, genetic transmission to offspring, and gender dysphoria.


In this paper we address invariance principles for nonlinear switched systems with otherwise arbitrary compact index set and with constrained switchings. We present an extension of LaSalle's invariance principle for these systems and derive by using detectability notions some convergence and asymptotic stability criteria. These results enable to take into account in the analysis of stability not only state-dependent constraints but also to treat the case in which the switching logic has memory, i.e., the active subsystem only can switch to a prescribed subset of subsystems.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

Tumor suppressor p53 plays a pivotal role in cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Promoter selectivity of p53 depends mainly on post-translational modification. Notably, the apoptotic function of p53 is related to its phosphorylation at serine-46 (ser46) to promote pro-apoptotic genes. However, little is known about the pro-apoptotic genes induced by Ser46 phosphorylation. Our research achieved to investigate the pro-apoptotic genes induced by p53 in a phospho-ser46-specific manner using microarray and ChIP sequencing in human cancer cell lines. As a result, palmdelphin (PALMD), an isoform of paralemmin protein, was strongly elicited from the phosphorylation of ser46. The mRNA and protein expression of PALMD increased only in wild type p53 transfected cells, but not in ser46-mutated cells. Importantly, PALMD moved to the nucleus in response to DNA damage and the apoptotic function of PALMD was tightly exerted with localization into nucleus. Interestingly, down-regulation of PALMD by siRNA resulted in necroptosis-like cell death through ATP depletion. Moreover, we found vimentin as a PALMD interacting protein and the depletion of vimentin increased PALMD level to accelerate apoptosis. These results demonstrate that p53 regulates cell death fate (apoptosis or necroptosis-like cell death) through promoting PALMD expression in a phospho-ser46-specific manner in response to DNA damage.

Citation Format: Nurmaa Khund Dashzeveg, Kiyotsugu Yoshida. The phosphorylation of p53 at serine 46 is essential to induce cell death through palmdelphin in response to DNA damage. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 24. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-24


Cleft lip and palate deformities are the most common congenital abnormalities of the head and neck. Advancements in the various multidisciplinary fields involved in cleft management have substantially improved functional and aesthetic outcomes. The legitimacy of such controversial topics as gingivoperiosteoplasty, primary rhinoplasty, and presurgical nasoalveolar molding is heavily contested. Bone morphogenetic protein and other recombinant growth factors may play important roles in future cleft care. As the candidate alleles that contribute to cleft lip and palate are further elucidated, the complex interplay of environmental influence and genetic predisposition is emphasized. Translational research from fields such as fetal wound healing, tissue engineering, and gene therapy may have clinical applications as cleft care continues to evolve.


Background: Gram Staining is an essential diagnostic procedure where bacteria are stained to be properly identified. However, the stains used were found to be toxic with carcinogenic properties and (insert may) potentially harm living organisms as well as the environment. Methods: To address this issue, plant extracts were utilized in different experiments to test their staining capability on the bacteria. This study provides a systematic review of online articles and studies related to the staining capabilities of various plants. Results: Following the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 137 papers were reviewed and only 11 papers were included in the study. Both the presence of phytochemicals and the pH concentration influenced the staining capacity of most plant extracts. In the following studies that were examined, most of the plants were able to stain gram-positive bacteria in comparison to the gram-negative bacteria. Conclusion: It was found that oxidized aqueous (hot or cold) extract of Lawsonia inamis, methanolic extracts of Solanum melongena L., 100% concentration of ethanolic extracts of Ipomoea batatas , ethanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea , Pterocarpus osun extracts, Bixa orellana extracts, and Hibuscus sabderiffa extract were able to stain the bacteria. Meanwhile, certain extracts have poor staining capability namely Garcinia kola mesocarp , Vitex doniana fruit , Lantana aculaeta fruit , Cnestis ferrugnea fruit , and Pterocarpus soyauxii stem. It is recommended to find other alternative extracts along with various extraction methods and concentration levels that may further enhance the affinity of the stain. Anthocyanin The use of Ipomoea batatas extract with the concentrations of 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% in staining gram-positive bacteria showed substandard results. The bacteria did not stain well as compared to using crystal violet dye. However, a 100% concentration of the extract was revealed to have a good staining capacity. On the other hand, all mentioned concentrations of the extract were able to stain gram-negative bacteria thoroughly.


Nowadays, the world of Geospatial Information System is somehow facing to a new paradigm which is the appearance of open source tools as trustable well-formed applications. This pattern, the origin of which goes back to some ten to twenty years ago, is going to strengthen its position by providing more features, attracting more people from GIS community and taking greater market share. This study explores WebGIS Free/Open Source (FOSS) tools, especially UMN MapServer and MapGuide OS, and FOSS spatial databases, mainly PostGIS. It tries to analytically compare different tools available in the field of WebGIS, taking into account various essential parameters. Also, it uses Open Source Maturity Model (OSMM) for a comprehensive evaluation of these tools from different aspects including the product itself, technical support, documentation, integration with other products, and professional services with a unique weighting scheme.


Ann Burack-Weiss explores a rich variety of published memoirs by authors who cared for ill or disabled family members. Contrary to the common belief that caregiving is nothing more than a stressful situation to be endured, memoirs describe a life transforming experience-self-discovery, a reordering of one's priorities, and a changed view of the world. The Caregiver's Tale offers insight and comfort to individuals caring for a loved one and is a valuable resource for all health care professionals. Identifying common themes, Burack-Weiss describes how the illness career and social meaning of cancer, dementia, HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and chemical dependence affect the caregiving experience. She applies the same method to an examination of family roles: parents caring for ailing children, couples and siblings caring for one another, and adult children caring for aging parents. Jamaica Kincaid, Sue Miller, Paul Monette, Kenzaburo O , and Philip Roth are among the many authors who share their caregiving stories. Burack-Weiss provides an annotated bibliography of the more than one hundred memoirs and an accompanying chart to help readers locate those of greatest interest to them.


Upgradation of olefin-enriched Fischer–Tropsch cuts by the synthesis of alcohols leads to drop-in-capable biosynthetic fuels with low carbon emissions. As an alternative to the conventional two-step production of long-chain alcohols, tandem catalytic systems improve the energy and resource efficiency. Herein, we present an auto-tandem catalytic system for the production of alcohols from olefin–paraffin mixtures. By utilization of a tertiary alkanolamine as the ligand as well as the switchable component in the solvent system, a lean reaction system capable of catalyst recycling was developed. The system was characterized with regard to the switchable solvent separation approach and reaction parameters, resulting in alcohol yields of up to 99.5% and turnover frequencies of up to 764 h–1. By recycling the catalyst in 10 consecutive reactions, a total turnover number of 2810 was achieved.


Online MBA programs have become ubiquitous, as they have been meeting the huge demand of pursuing MBA degrees by students who cannot or choose not to access traditional brick and mortar MBA classes. The literature about distance MBA programs has focused on practical advice on how to teach online MBA courses. The need for more of a focus on philosophy and theory is called for to fill potential theoretical gaps. A trial and error approach to distance MBA education with little consideration being given to theoretical framework would be a fragile construct. In this paper, we review theories that add productive frameworks to the philosophy and practice of distance MBA programs. We start with reviewing learning theories such as objectivism, constructivism, behavioral theory, cognitive theory, social learning theory, and vicarious experiential learning, which indicate MBA courses can be taught effectively from a distance. Next we present and critique distance education theories including theory of independent study, theory of transactional distance, theory of interaction and communication, andragogy, and equivalency theory, noting applications to distance MBA courses. We conclude with recommendations for implementing the theories examined into useful conceptual frameworks, as well as giving insights into the limitation of those theories for further application and research purposes.


Starting from the normative approach, a decision as the outcome of the decision-making process should represent a rational choice made by a completely informed decision-maker. With the development of the behavioral perspective of the decision-making process, certain mistakes in decision-makers' behavior have been noticed, emerging as a consequence of their limited cognitive capacities and the information asymmetry. The application of heuristics as simplified mental strategies, as well as certain deformations in decision-makers' thinking and perception, leads to the different biases that affect their attitudes and approach to problem solving. The aim of the research study is reflected in identifying the biases that most often occur in the decision-making process, as well as their causes and consequences. The qualitative methodology of the research has been applied in parallel with the relevant methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction. On the basis of the conducted empirical studies, the recommendations for overcoming biases have been defined, which represents the main result of the research study. The derived conclusions with respect to the possibilities of overcoming biases can help decision-makers to improve the decision-making process in real situations.


ABSTRACT Working memory is a cognitive system that allows for the simultaneous storage and processing of active information. While working memory has been implicated as an important element for success in many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, its specific role in geoscience learning is not fully understood. The major goal of this article is to examine the potential role that working memory plays in successful geoscience learning. We start by reviewing two popular approaches to studying working memory in science learning—the individual differences approach and the cognitive load approach—and consider how these two approaches have been utilized in geosciences education research. Next, we highlight examples of various activities and curricular materials that have been used in geoscience classrooms in an effort to improve student learning and offload working memory resources, including using concept sketches and providing varying levels of scaffolding. We outline recommendations about how to structure geoscience classrooms and labs to maximize student learning and suggest potential avenues for future research aimed at investigating the role of working memory in geoscience learning.


In the present study 40 albino wistar rats were divided uniformly into four equal groups viz. I, II, III & IV. Group I served as control and received groundnut oil. Group II and group III rats were orally administered with vitamin E @ 100 mg/kg b.wt. and dimethoate @ 40 mg/kg b.wt, respectively suspended in groundnut oil. Group IV rats were orally administered with both dimethoate & vitamin E @ 40 & 100 mg/kg b.wt, respectively for 28 days. The clinical signs observed were decreased physical activity, dullness, depression, diarrhea, piloerection, excessive sweating, salivation, mild tremor and conjunctivitis in group III rats. Similar signs with reduced severity and absence of conjunctivitis were seen in group IV rats. There was no mortality observed throughout study in any group. Body weight of rats was significantly (P < 0.05) decrease in group III and IV rats from 21 st day onwards till the end of experiment. At the end of the experiment (28 th day) there was significant (p < 0.05) improvement in body weight of group IV rats as compared to group III rats. Hematology reveled significant (P <0.05) decrease in Hb, PCV, total erythrocyte count & MCV and significant (P <0.05) increase in total leukocyte count in male and female rats of group III & IV as compared to group I. Significant improvement in hematological parameters were reported in group IV rats treated with dimethoate and vitamin E as compared to group III rats treated with dimethoate alone.


[1] The partitioning of semi-volatile compounds between the gas and particle phase influences the mass, size and chemical composition of the secondary organic aerosols (SOA) formed. Here we investigate the partitioning of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and the formation of SOA in Los Angeles (LA), California and Atlanta, Georgia; urban regions where anthropogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are dominated by vehicles, but are contrasted by an additional large source of biogenic VOCs exclusive to Atlanta. In Atlanta, evidence for WSOC partitioning to aerosol water is observed throughout the day, but is most prevalent in the morning. During drier periods (RH < 70%), the WSOC partitioning coefficient (Fp) was in proportion to the organic mass, suggesting that both particle water and organic aerosol (OA) can serve as an absorbing phase. In contrast, despite the higher average RH, in LA the aerosol water was not an important absorbing phase, instead, Fp was correlated with OA mass. Particle water concentrations from thermodynamic predictions based on measured inorganic aerosol components do not indicate significant differences in aerosol hygroscopicity. The observed different WSOC partitioning behaviors may be attributed to the contrasting VOC mixture between the two cities. In addition, different OA composition may also play a role, as Atlanta OA is expected to have a substantially more aged regional character. These results are consistent with our companion studies that find similar partitioning differences for formic acid and additional contrasts in SOA optical properties. The findings provide direct evidence for SOA formation through an equilibrium partitioning process.


To date three beta subunits of the GABAA receptor have been identified in rat brain as a result of cDNA library screening. The beta 2 subunit has been reported to have a wide distribution in rat brain based on in situ hybridization studies quantifying beta 2 mRNA. To study the beta 2 subunit more directly, we have raised a polyclonal antibody to a synthetic peptide representing residues 315-334 of the intracellular loop of the beta 2 subunit. The antibody, which had been affinity-purified, recognized the beta 2 peptide but did not immunolabel homologous beta 1 and beta 3 subunit peptides, indicating that this antibody is specific for the beta 2 subunit of the receptor. In western blots of the purified receptor, the antibody recognized a major diffuse band of 54-58 kDa and exhibited minor labeling of lower-molecular-mass polypeptides. In western blots of cortex homogenate, the antibody exhibited nervous system-specific labeling of a 55-kDa band that comigrated with the 55-kDa band of the purified receptor. Quantitative immunolabeling of this 55-kDa polypeptide permitted direct determination of the relative amounts of the beta 2 subunit in different brain regions. The brainstem contained the highest relative specific activity of the beta 2 subunit, followed by the inferior colliculus, olfactory lobe, and cerebellum. Lower levels of immunolabeling were seen in hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and cortex.


The mitochondrial DNAs of house mouse, Mus musculus in twenty-five different laboratory strains showed identical cleavage patterns on digestion with nine different restriction endonucleases. The cleavage patterns were identical to those of Canadian wild mice, M. m. domesticus but clearly different from the patterns of three Asian subspecies, M. m. bactrianus, M. m. castaneus and M. m. molossinus. Based on comparison of the cleavage maps of the four subspecies, the time of divergence between M. m. domesticus and three Asian subspecies was estimated to be 1-2.5×106 years. These results suggest that the genetic background of laboratory mice is mainly derived from M. m. domesticus.


The flow structure and dynamics of turbulence are investigated by means of three-dimensional stereo particle image velocimetry (Stereo-PIV) measurements within the tip leakage vortex (TLV) of an axial waterjet pump rotor. Both the blades and casing of the pump are transparent and their optical refractive indices are matched with that of the pumped fluid, providing unobstructed optical access to the sample area without image distortion. Data are acquired on selected meridional planes in the rotor passage as well as in three-dimensional domains obtained by stacking closely-spaced planes situated within the rotor passage. Presented data have been sampled in one of these 3D regions, at 67% of the blade tip chordlength. All components of velocity and vorticity are calculated, together with the whole strain-rate and Reynolds stress tensors. The entire set of contributors to the turbulence production-rate is also available. The TLV and associated flow structures are completely 3D and change significantly along the blade tip chordwise direction. The vortex originates from the rollup of a multi-layered tip leakage flow, and propagates within the rotor passage towards the neighboring blade. Because of layered backflow rollup, vorticity entrained in the TLV is convected along different paths and re-oriented several times within the vortex. As a result, the TLV consists of a core surrounded by a tube of three-dimensional vorticity that wraps around it helically. Propagation of tip leakage backflow into the passage and subsequent TLV rollup also cause flow separation at the casing endwall with ejection of boundary layer vorticity that is finally entrained into the outer perimeter of the TLV. This complex TLV flow dominates the tip region of the rotor and involves non-uniform distributions of strain-rate and Reynolds stresses resulting in well-defined peaks of turbulence production-rate. For instance, turbulence is produced locally both at the flow contraction point near the region of aforementioned endwall separation and in the shear layer that connects the vortex with the suction side corner of the blade tip. The spatial inhomogeneity of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) distribution within the TLV, and the mismatch between locations of TKE and production-rate peaks can be explained by analyzing the 3D mean flow advection of turbulence, for example from the region of endwall boundary layer separation towards the outer region of the TLV. In addition to being spatially non-uniform, turbulence is also anisotropic in both the shear layer and periphery of the TLV. Conversely, turbulence is intense and relatively isotropic near the TLV core, as well as monotonically increasing along the vortex centerline. This trend cannot be described solely in terms of local production of turbulence; it must also involve slow turbulence dissipation associated with the meandering of relatively large-size, interlaced vortex filaments in the TLV core region.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


Elemental abundances of stars are the result of the complex enrichment history of their galaxy. Interpretation of observed abundances requires flexible modeling tools to explore and quantify the information about Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) stored in such data. Here we present Chempy, a newly developed code for GCE modeling, representing a parametrized open one-zone model within a Bayesian framework. A Chempy model is specified by a set of 5-10 parameters that describe the effective galaxy evolution along with the stellar and star-formation physics: e.g. the star-formation history, the feedback efficiency, the stellar initial mass function (IMF) and the incidence of supernova type Ia (SN Ia). Unlike established approaches, Chempy can sample the posterior probability distribution in the full model parameter space and test data-model matches for different nucleosynthetic yield sets. We extend Chempy to a multi-zone scheme. As an illustrative application, we show that interesting parameter constraints result from only the ages and elemental abundances of Sun, Arcturus and the present-day interstellar medium (ISM). For the first time, we use such information to infer IMF parameter via GCE modeling, where we properly marginalize over nuisance parameters and account for different yield sets. We find that of the IMF $11.6_{-1.6}^{+2.1}$ % explodes as core-collapse SN, compatible with Salpeter 1955. We also constrain the incidence of SN Ia per 10^3 Msun to 0.5-1.4. At the same time, this Chempy application shows persistent discrepancies between predicted and observed abundances for some elements, irrespective of the chosen yield set. These cannot be remedied by any variations of Chempy's parameters and could be an indication for missing nucleosynthetic channels. Chempy should be a powerful tool to confront predictions from stellar nucleosynthesis with far more complex abundance data sets.


 Abstract — This article contains information from our investigation in the field of voice recognition. For this purpose, we created a voice database that contains different phrases in two languages, English and Spanish, for men and women. As a classifier, the LIRA (Limited Receptive Area) grayscale neural classifier was selected. The LIRA grayscale neural classifier was developed for image recognition tasks and demonstrated good results. Therefore, we decided to develop a recognition system using this classifier for voice recognition. From a specific set of speakers, we can recognize the speaker's voice. For this purpose, the system uses spectrograms of the voice signals as input to the system, extracts the characteristics and identifies the speaker. The results are described and analyzed in this article. The classifier can be used for speaker identification in security system or smart buildings for different types of intelligent devices.


This paper presents a novel method for detecting ships from high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. This method categorizes ship targets from single-pol SAR images using texture features in artificial neural networks. As such, the method tries to overcome the lack of an operational solution that is able to reliably detect ships with one SAR channel. The method has the following three main stages: 1) feature extraction; 2) feature selection; and 3) ship detection. The first part extracts different texture features from SAR image. These textures include occurrence and co occurrence measures with different window sizes. Then, best features are selected. Finally, the artificial neural network is used to extract ship pixels from sea ones. In post processing stage some morphological filters are used to improve the result. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified using Sentinel-1 data in VV polarization. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm can be implemented with time-saving, high precision ship extraction, feature analysis, and detection. The results also show that using texture features the algorithm properly discriminates speckle noise from ships.


We introduce a new approach to optimal image scaling called resolution synthesis (RS). In RS, the pixel being interpolated is first classified in the context of a window of neighboring pixels; and then the corresponding high-resolution pixels are obtained by filtering with coefficients that depend upon the classification. RS is based on a stochastic model explicitly reflecting the fact that pixels falls into different classes such as edges of different orientation and smooth textures. We present a simple derivation to show that RS generates the minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) estimate of the high-resolution image, given the low-resolution image. The parameters that specify the stochastic model must be estimated beforehand in a training procedure that we have formulated as an instance of the well-known expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. We demonstrate that the model parameters generated during the training may be used to obtain superior results even for input images that were not used during the training.


I wear my two hats proudly now, that of a mother of a child with a disability and that of a doctor. My 'mother hat' is not removable. I have tried to separate myself from it at times, but that is too painful--it is a part of me. My 'doctor hat' is rather like a smart balaclava. It is appropriate and useful in specific situations. It can be pulled over my eyes to hide how I feel and, at times, offers some protection. But it can also obscure my vision and sometimes causes me to stumble over obstacles I may otherwise have successfully negotiated.


Elastic full waveform inversion (EFWI) provides high-resolution parameter estimation of the subsurface but requires good initial guess of the true model. The traveltime inversion only minimizes traveltime misfits which are more sensitive and linearly related to the low-wavenumber model perturbation. Therefore, building initial P and S wave velocity models for EFWI by using elastic wave-equation reflections traveltime inversion (WERTI) would be effective and robust, especially for the deeper part. In order to distinguish the reflection travletimes of P or S-waves in elastic media, we decompose the surface multicomponent data into vector P- and S-wave seismogram. We utilize the dynamic image warping to extract the reflected P- or S-wave traveltimes. The P-wave velocity are first inverted using P-wave traveltime followed by the S-wave velocity inversion with S-wave traveltime, during which the wave mode decomposition is applied to the gradients calculation. Synthetic example on the Sigbee2A model proves the validity of our method for recovering the long wavelength components of the model.


A 2-year-old girl was seen by her pediatrician because of a 3-day history of runny nose, cough, congestion, and low-grade fevers. A viral upper respiratory tract infection was diagnosed and supportive care was recommended. The child returned 2 days later with persistent cough, mild tachypnea, and an episode of vomiting. The cough and tachypnea prompted the pediatrician to order a chest film, which revealed an enlarged cardiac silhouette.


Previous study showed so many factors will contribute to the durability of concrete, such as cement content, water cement ratio, admixtures to be used, compaction dan curing methods. Two types of admixtures for concrete mixture can be used, e.g. chemical admixture and mineral admixture. Materials can be categoried as mineral admixture such as fly ash, silica fume, risk husk ash, and bagasse ash. Sulfate resistance of concrete is one of the examples of chemical durability of concrete. Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) known as concrete which can flow within its self-weight and without forming honeycombing, segregation and bleeding, even with no compaction. In this experimental work, bagasse ash was used in concrete mixture as partial replacement of cement with the percentage of 10%, 15% and 20%. The variation of w/b were used e.g 0.275, 0.300 and 0.325. For the purpose to stipulate the sulfate attack on concrete, the cylinder specimen with size of 100 x 200 mm and magnesium sulfate solution with 5% and 7% molarity were used. To observe the percentage of concrete weight loss, all the specimen were immersed in this solution within 28 days. The result showed that the value of compressive strength for the specimen with w/b = 0.275 and 15% bagasse ash was up to 67.240 MPa for 28 days and 68.096 MPa for 56 days without immersion in magnesium sulfate solution. The highest percentage of concrete weight loss is 3.030% yielded from the specimen with w/b = 0.325 and 0% bagasse ash which was immersed in 7% molarity of magnesium sulfate solution.


Suspended particulate matter (SPM) changes light penetration depth in water and thus is an important component of marine ecosystems in the coastal and shallow regions of the world, i.e. the North Sea. The visible effect of SPM presence in seawater is the change of water color from blue to yellow depending on the SPM concentration under different ambient conditions. This study combines numeric modeling with satellite data assimilation in order to investigate the dynamics of SPM in the North Sea over a time period from 2002 to 2003.

First, a coupled three-dimensional Circulation and Transport Model for Suspended Particulate Matter (CTM-SPM) was designed based on the existing, improved and newly developed modeling routines. CTM-SPM was then applied to calculate the dynamics of SPM in seawater, as well as the dynamics of the fine sediment in the seabed in the southern North Sea. Modeled SPM exchange processes at the seawater-seabed interface, such as resuspension and erosion are forced by the shear stress due to currents and waves. Model results, the role of these two forcing components of the shear stress velocity is different in the shallow and deep regions, as well as during calm (from April to October) and storm (from October to April) periods. Therefore, this study investigates the relative impact of currents and waves on the horizontal and vertical distributions of SPM and its seasonality in details.

Calculated SPM concentrations in the North Sea for the years 2002 and 2003 are in good agreement with satellite and in-situ observations. The model results reveal two different patterns in the SPM dynamics typical for the calm and for the storm periods. This study explains the origin and evolution of the zones with high SPM concentration in the coastal areas and in the open North Sea. The results indicate that it is essential to use a coupled circulation and SPM transport model with realistic forcing data with a temporal resolution of <1 hour and instant values of shear stress velocity in order to resolve the SPM processes of different time scales, for example flash erosion events and long-term transport by currents. Utilization of the instant values of the shear stress velocity leads to the more realistic representation of the exchange processes at the water-seabed interface and to the more convenient comparison between the snap-shot satellite measurements and model results.

Second, newly developed and validated tool for satellite data processing and quality control based on the flags approach was applied for more than 400 ENVISAT MERIS snapshot scenes in order to provide the SPM concentration fields derived from satellite images for the assimilation into the CTM-SPM model. The satellite data was assimilated into the model using the sequential Optimum Interpolation scheme.

This thesis presents the first attempt of continuous satellite data assimilation into an SPM transport model. The results of this study indicate a great potential for the application of satellite optical data in the SPM modeling. Analyses of the model results with and without satellite data assimilation shows that assimilation effects not only SPM concentrations in the whole water column, but also the fine sediment distribution in the seabed. The data assimilation signal remains in the model for several days after assimilation. Also the seasonal averaged distributions of SPM changed due to assimilation. Satellite data assimilation improves the horizontal SPM distribution, especially its fine structures in the location of SPM fronts in the German Bight and near the English cliffs.

The concept presented in this study can be used as a basis for continuous calculations of SPM based on the modeling and satellite data assimilation. It can be used in operational purposes and in ecosystem modeling.


This paper addresses the problem of Wiener system identification. The underlying linear subsystem is stable but not necessarily parametric. The nonlinear element in turn is allowed to be nonparametric, noninvertible, and nonsmooth. As Wiener models are uniquely defined up to an uncertain multiplicative factor, it makes sense to start the frequency identification process estimating the system phase (which is common to all models). To this end, a consistent estimator is designed using analytic geometry tools. Accordingly, the system frequency behavior is characterized by a family of Lissajous curves. Interestingly, all these curves are candidates to modelling the system nonlinearity, but the most convenient one is the less spread of them. Finally, the frequency gain is in turn consistently estimated optimizing an appropriate cost function involving the obtained phase and nonlinearity estimates.


We examine the problem of tracking dynamic boundaries occurring in natural phenomena using a network of range sensors. Two main challenges of the boundary tracking problem are accurate boundary estimation from noisy observations and continuous tracking of the boundary. We propose Dynamic Boundary Tracking (DBTR), an algorithm that combines the spatial estimation and temporal estimation techniques. The regression-based spatial estimation technique determines discrete points on the boundary and estimates a confidence band around the entire boundary. In addition, a Kalman Filter-based temporal estimation technique tracks changes in the boundary and aperiodically updates the spatial estimate to meet accuracy requirements. DBTR provides a low energy solution compared to similar periodic update techniques to track boundaries without requiring prior knowledge about the dynamics. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm; estimated confidence bands indicate a loss of coverage of less than 2 to 5 percent for a variety of boundaries with different spatial characteristics.


Multiple imputation (MI) is a statistical technique that can be used to handle the problem of missing data. MI enables the use of all the available data without throwing any away and can avoid the bias and unrealistic estimates of uncertainty associated with other methods for handling missing data. In MI, the missing values in the data are filled in or "imputed" by sampling from distributions observed in the available data. This sampling is done multiple times, resulting in multiple datasets. Each of the multiple datasets is analysed and the results are combined to give overall results which reflect the uncertainty about the values of the missing data. This talk will explore what MI is, when it can be used and how to use it. The content will be accessible to a wide audience and illustrated with clear examples. Disclosure of Interest None declared


In 1969, a curious picture entered the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, as part of a major bequest by American banker Robert Lehman (1891-1969). Identified as a Hudson River Scene, the painting, undated and unsigned, depicts an idyllic river landscape, surrounded by green hills, indeed reminiscent of the Hudson River School. Yet the attribution devised by the museum for might appear curious at first glance, as it does not rule out the possibility of a work produced by a little-known French painter named Victor de Grailly. Born in Paris in 1804, Grailly died in the same city in 1887. Mentioned in several museum collections, his pictures constitute a debatable body of work to this day. But if only a few biographical elements have been saved about the artist, the crunch of the debate lies elsewhere.


[Abstract]Pressure on water resources in Australia necessitates improved application of water to irrigated crops. Cotton is one of Australia's major crops, but is also a large water user. On-farm water savings can be achieved by irrigating via large mobile irrigation
machines (LMIMs), which are capable of implementing deficit strategies and varying water application to 1 m2 resolution. However, irrigation amounts are commonly held
constant throughout a field despite differing water requirements for different areas of a crop due to spatial variability of soil, microclimate and crop properties.

This research has developed a non-destructive cotton plant dimensional measurement system, capable of mounting on a LMIM and streaming live crop measurement data to
a variable-rate irrigation controller. The sensor is a vision system that measures the cotton plant attribute of internode length, i.e. the distance between main stem nodes
(or branch junctions) on the plant's main stem, which is a significant indicator of plant water stress.

The vision system consisted of a Sony camcorder deinterlaced image size 720 × 288 pixels) mounted behind a transparent panel that moved continuously through the crop
canopy. The camera and transparent panel were embodied in a contoured fibreglass camera enclosure (dimensions 535 mm × 555 mm × 270 mm wide) that utilised the natural flexibility of the growing foliage to firstly contact the plant, such that the top five nodes of the plant were in front of the transparent panel, and then smoothly and
non-destructively guide the plant under the curved bottom surface of the enclosure. By forcing the plant into a fixed object plane (the transparent panel), reliable geometric measurement was possible without the use of stereo vision. Motorisation of the camera enclosure enabled conveyance both across and along the crop rows using an in-field chassis.

A custom image processing algorithm was developed to automatically extract internode distance from the images collected by the camera, and comprised both single frame
and sequential-frame analyses. Single frame processing consisted of detecting lines corresponding to branches and calculating the intersection of the detected lines with the
main stem to estimate candidate node positions. Calculation of the 'vesselness' function for each pixel using the Hessian matrix eigenvalues determined whether the pixel was likely to belong to a stem (i.e. a curvilinear structure). Large areas of connected
high-vesselness pixels were identified as branches. For each branch area, centre points were determined by solving the second order Taylor polynomial in the direction perpendicular to the line direction. The main stem was estimated with a linear Hough transform on the branch centre points within the image. Lines were then fitted to the centre points of other branch segments using the hop-along line-fitting algorithm and these lines were selectively projected to the main stem to estimate candidate node positions. The automatically-identified node positions corresponded to manual position
measurements made on the source images.

Within individual images, leaf edges were erroneously detected as candidate nodes ('false positives') and contributed up to 22% of the total number of detected candidate nodes. However, a grouping algorithm based on a Delaunay Triangulation mesh of the candidate node positions was used to remove the largely-random false positives and to create accurate candidate node trajectories. The internode distance measurement
was then calculated as the maximum value between detected trajectories which corresponded to when the plant was closest to the transparent panel.

From 168 video sequences of fourteen plants, 95 internode lengths were automatically detected at an average rate of one internode length per 1.75 plants for across row measurement,and one internode length per 3.3 m for along row measurement. Comparison with manually-measured internode lengths yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.86 for the automatic measurements and an average standard error in measurement of 3.0 mm with almost zero measurement bias.

The second and third internode distances were most commonly detected by the vision system. The most measurements were obtained with the camera facing north or
south, on a partially cloudy day in which the sunlight was diffused. Heliotropic effects and overexposed image background reduced image quality when the camera faced east
or west. Night time images, captured with 850 nm LED illumination, provided as many measurements as the corresponding daytime measurements. Along row camera
enclosure speeds up to 0.20 m/s yielded internode lengths using the current image processing algorithms and hardware. Calculations based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation indicated an overall algorithm run-time of 46 ms per frame which is suitable for real-time application.

It is concluded that field measurement of cotton plant internode length is possible using a moving, plant-contacting camera enclosure; that the presence of occlusions and other foliage edges can be overcome by analysing the sequence of images; and that real-time
in-field operation is achievable.


The authenticated key agreement protocols are widely used mechanisms for users to negotiate session keys and authenticate each other. Until now, there are many authenticated key agreement protocols proposed. However, many of them suffer from various attacks such as guessing attack, replay attack, impersonate attack, etc. In this paper, we propose a simple password-based authenticated key agreement protocol to solve these problems. The proposed protocol not only provides forward and backward secrecy, but also can resist replay attack, modification attack, and password guessing attack. Moreover, the computation cost of the protocol is very low.


This paper discusses the continued denial of climate change despite overwhelming scientific evidence and agreement, through viewing climate change as a "hyperobject"—that is, a concept of such massive temporal and spatial dimensions that it defies traditional understanding. One of the challenges of the scientific community is to combat such scepticism through new ways of framing information, and the sonic arts offers an alternative presentation of truth through its ability to create emotional and narrative rapport, and also humanise esoteric information. This paper will focus on various methods of communicating climate change data aurally—such as sonification of data, and ecoacoustic methods of surveying environments.


We introduce a q-weighted version of the Robinson-Schensted (column insertion) algorithm which is closely connected to q Whittaker functions (or Macdonald polynomials with t=0) and reduces to the usual Robinson-Schensted algorithm when q=0. The q-insertion algorithm is `randomised', or `quantum', in the sense that when inserting a positive integer into a tableau, the output is a distribution of weights on a particular set of tableaux which includes the output which would have been obtained via the usual column insertion algorithm. There is also a notion of recording tableau in this setting. We show that the distribution of weights of the pair of tableaux obtained when one applies the q-insertion algorithm to a random word or permutation takes a particularly simple form and is closely related to q-Whittaker functions. In the case $0\le q<1$, the q-insertion algorithm applied to a random word also provides a new framework for solving the q-TASEP interacting particle system introduced (in the language of q-bosons) by Sasamoto and Wadati (1998) and yields formulas which are equivalent to some of those recently obtained by Borodin and Corwin (2011) via a stochastic evolution on discrete Gelfand-Tsetlin patterns (or semistandard tableaux) which is coupled to the q-TASEP. We show that the sequence of P-tableaux obtained when one applies the q-insertion algorithm to a random word defines another, quite different, evolution on semistandard tableaux which is also coupled to the q-TASEP.


AIMS: To determine the effect of pH changes occurring in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after sampling on the viability of meningitis causing bacteria, and on the performance of agglutination assays used for the rapid detection of bacterial antigens. METHODS: The pH of CSF collected via lumbar puncture was measured by various methods, and the effects of the following different incubation conditions on subsequent changes were determined: air at 4 degrees C; air at room temperature (22 degrees C); air at 37 degrees C; and air with 5% CO2 at 37 degrees C. The growth/survival in pooled CSF of 15 bacterial isolates collected from 74 patients with meningitis was assessed in these incubation conditions over 24 hours. The effects of pH changes in the CSF on the sensitivity of two latex agglutination and one co-agglutination kits for detecting Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis groups B and C, and Streptococcus pneumoniae were determined. RESULTS: The measured pH of CSF was highly affected by the method used and particularly the time delay between patient sampling and assay. Measured pH values at the time of sampling (mean 7.5) increased rapidly within 60 seconds by about one unit. CSF pH continued to increase during incubation in all tested conditions (up to approximately pH 10), with the exception of in air with 5% CO2 at 37 degrees C where pH changes were reversible and near physiological values were attained. Bacterial survival for all species tested was poorest in CSF incubated in air at 37 degrees C and best following exposure to air with 5% CO2 at 37 degrees C. Agglutination in rapid antigen detection kits with CSF incubated in air as opposed to air with 5% CO2 generally took longer to occur and in some instances was less prominent. In one case a false negative result was obtained with CSF seeded with N meningitidis group B incubated in the former but not the latter conditions. CONCLUSIONS: CSF pH increases after patient sampling are minimised and/or mostly reversed by incubation in an atmosphere containing 5% CO2. CSF samples should ideally be placed in such an atmosphere as soon as possible after collection, and left there until laboratory processing occurs, to reduce the detrimental effects of pH stress on bacterial survival. pH increases may also reduce the likelihood of obtaining a positive result in rapid antigen detection assays.


Background: Globally, shortage of clinicians health workforce is among the major challenges facing the health systems of many countries including Tanzania.  Migration of medical doctors from clinical practice to non-clinical practice partly contributes to this challenge. This study aimed to explore factors influencing Medical Doctors' decision to migrate from clinical practice in the public sector to non-clinical practice in the private sector in Dar es Salaam Tanzania.
Methods: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted using 12 in-depth interviews with medical doctors working in the private sector but formerly worked in the public health sector. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed.
Results: Three main themes emerged; health system-level drivers that has three sub-themes, namely poor work environment, heavy workload due to shortage of clinicians and underfunded public health sector; individual-level drivers, which include four sub-themes: Age, area of specialization, marital status and empathy to patients; and external environment drivers consisting of two sub-themes: peer pressure and community culture.
Conclusion: Improving the work environment through increased funding will partly address the main health system drivers underlying migration from the clinical practice. Furthermore, nurturing junior doctors to be enthusiastic and adapting to cultural shocks can partly help to address the individual and external drivers.
Keywords: Shortage, Medical Doctors, Clinicians, Physicians, migration, health workforce, Tanzania Clinical Practice, Non-Clinical Practice.


Introduction The notion of environmental space has much to offer to those who wish to advance sustainability and sustainable development. Based on two main principles, the recognition of environmental limits and a strong equity principle, it provides guidance, and a methodology, for 'making sustainability concrete', and a framework for the development of coherent and integrated policy from the global to the local level. However, important questions remain about whether and how it can and should be institutionalised, especially at the global level. This paper will discuss three means, or rather approaches, by which the concept of environmental space could be institutionalised at the global level: the commercialisation of environmental space in the form of tradable entitlements, as exemplified by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading schemes; global 'green planning', of which Agenda 21 and the adoption of the Millennium Goals can be seen as (weak) examples; and the adoption of a global income policy. Although the latter has hardly entered the international agenda, there are good reasons for considering this option seriously. All three options will be discussed and assessed on their relative strengths and weaknesses, especially with regard to their ecological effectiveness (the extent to which they prevent a further erosion of the ecological basis), equity (in terms of the relative shares of environmental space used by groups and individuals), feasibility (the availability and practicability of means of implementation and the political support basis for their adoption and implementation), and efficiency (their relative costs of implementation). But first, I will provide some further clarification of the notion of environmental space. Environmental space The notion of environmental space was first introduced by Horst Siebert in 1982. It has been defined as "The total space provided by the earth for our use without diminishing the possibilities for the future" (Davidson 1995), and has been advanced specifically with the aim to "make sustainability concrete" (Buitenkamp, Venner and Wams 1992, 17-18, Opschoor and Weterings 1994). Environmental space analysts set out to determine the total 'allowable' resource consumption on a geographical basis (depending on the resource in question), and to provide guidance to governments on the extent to which resource consumption within their territories should be reduced or can be expanded. It is based on two core principles: respect for ecological limits, and equal access to resources. To these, several other principles have been added, depending on the advocate or author (Carley and Spapens 1998, 8-9, Moffatt 1996, 50-52). The first core principle, the need to respect ecological limits, is based on the idea that there are limits to the capacity of the earth to absorb the pollution and waste associated with resource exploitation and consumption ('throughput' of material). Although it is not possible to determine these limits with absolute precision, and they often only become apparent only once they have been transgressed, enough is known to be able to set indicative (and adaptable) targets. Environmental space advocates also concur with the precautionary principle: uncertainty is not an excuse for not accepting and setting limits. It should be noted that the argument about limits does not so much refer to the idea that the world is running out of resources, which has been characterised by some as a 'red herring' (Carley and Spapens 1998, 85). In most cases, limits are imposed by the 'new scarcity' (ecological limits)(Simpson, Toman and Ayres 2005), not by available reserves, although Hille and others note that, for a range of non-renewable materials, depletion may indeed pose a problem, providing a case for restrictions on consumption on the basis of absolute scarcity (Cohen 2007, Hille 1997, 15). The second principle associated with the notion of environmental space is that all people (those living now and future generations) have equal rights to resource consumption (strong equity principle). …


The top seven Low-Cost Airlines in the EU, as ranked by 2018 passenger travel, are evaluated over a four year time frame using stock market performance in order to ascertain which airlines provide superior performance in relation to the others in the group and in relation to the European stock market. Several topics are discussed relating to this group of airlines including business models, operating strategies, airline networks, regional airports, and standardized fleets. Three airlines emerge with superior stock market performance: Jet2, WizzAir, and Ryanair.


AIM
This paper is a report of a study into how children and young people constructed their experiences of visiting a critically ill family member in an intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND
Previous intensive care research has focused almost exclusively on adult family members, and so far children and young people have been excluded from family studies in this area. Consequently, very little is known about children's and young people's needs or their understanding when visiting an adult intensive care unit.

METHOD
Between 2002 and 2005, nine family interviews (12 adults and 12 children) were conducted. A constructivist grounded theory approach was employed in gathering and analysing data.

FINDINGS
The way in which children and young people discussed their intensive care visiting experiences suggest two different levels of understanding. Children tended to speak about intensive care on a concrete level, focusing on the environment (intensive care unit as environment). Young people, in contrast, understood their visiting experiences on an abstract level, focusing on the function of intensive care (intensive care unit as function).

CONCLUSION
A structured and age-appropriate approach to support children visiting an adult intensive care unit still needs to be developed. It is time for nurses to reflect on current practice, challenge beliefs and attitudes towards child visitation. Crucially, nurses need education in listening skills and understanding children and young people's needs when an adult family member is in an intensive care unit. Further research is needed to develop appropriate support interventions and to investigate the importance and effects of intensive care unit visiting on children and young people.


The level of digitalization within transport companies is much higher than the level of digitalization across organization boundaries. This fact suggests that there is room for improvement. However, this situation is not likely to change as long as there is no financial incentive for the whole sector to cooperate in establishing a shared communication infrastructure. In this paper, we present our approach for building such an infrastructure using the method of design science. The goal is an open, Web based, de-centralized network operated by transport organizations themselves. Based on expert interviews, we argue that the current situation causes frictions that our approach may help reduce, thereby providing the incentive to participate. The proposed system is described in terms of its existing technologicial base, the Web of Needs, and the extensions needed to provide the required functionality, giving an overview of the current state of implementation.


Testing-based software quality assurance often does not provide an appropriate level of efficiency and reliability. To aid this problem, different kinds of static verification techniques can be applied, like code metrics and code inspection. Many quality assessment methods that are based on static source code analysis has already been proposed, yet these can be used is particular industrial environment - in which often proprietary programming languages are used - only after appropriate adaptation. This paper presents experiences in adapting an existing technology and tools suitable for quality assessment based on source code analysis. The technology has demonstrated its success and usability in industrial environment; being capable of comprehensive and continuous quality monitoring of large and complex software systems involving proprietary technologies.


Positive-Unlabeled (PU) learning is an analog to supervised binary classification for the case when only the positive sample is clean, while the negative sample is contaminated with latent instances of positive class and hence can be considered as an unlabeled mixture. The objectives are to classify the unlabeled sample and train an unbiased PN classifier, which generally requires to identify the mixing proportions of positives and negatives first. Recently, unbiased risk estimation framework has achieved state-of-the-art performance in PU learning. This approach, however, exhibits two major bottlenecks. First, the mixing proportions are assumed to be identified, i.e. known in the domain or estimated with additional methods. Second, the approach relies on the classifier being a neural network. In this paper, we propose DEDPUL, a method that solves PU Learning without the aforementioned issues. The mechanism behind DEDPUL is to apply a computationally cheap post-processing procedure to the predictions of any classifier trained to distinguish positive and unlabeled data. Instead of assuming the proportions to be identified, DEDPUL estimates them alongside with classifying unlabeled sample. Experiments show that DEDPUL outperforms the current state-of-the-art in both proportion estimation and PU Classification.


One aim of environmental enrichment techniques is to replicate 'wild-like' behaviour in captivity. In this study, three captive troops of Sulawesi crested black macaques (Macaca nigra) were each observed for 100 h in large naturalistic enclosures. Activity budgets constructed from these observations were compared with published data collected from wild troops in the DuaSudara Nature Reserve, Sulawesi (O 'Brien & Kinnaird 1997). No significant difference was found between the activity budgets of the wild and the captive macaques, although social, resting and feeding behaviours were significantly different between zoos. There was more rest and less movement and feeding in captivity, although these differences were not significant. The relatively large number of individuals, the wide variety of age-sex classes and the large and complex naturalistic enclosures provided for them may have been important factors in promoting wild-like behaviour. This study shows that captive primates can exhibit wild-type activity budgets.


Cox, Villegas, and Barlow (2018) published a reply to an article in which I ( Shyman, 2016 ) argued that there were fundamental philosophical problems with behavior analytic intervention that prevent it from being considered as a humanistic approach. A number of important points were raised about the argument including criticisms and the need for clarifications, as well as merits. This article will provide a response to three of the main critiques proffered by the authors.


The Nordic tradition of architectural competitions is over a hundred years old and is very significant for an architect's professional and practical external training. Approximately one hundred competitions are arranged annually in Sweden, Norway, Demark and Finland. The majority are organized by the public sector, state promoters and local councils. The European Union's (EU) regulations for competitions are used as a means of developing good solutions for design problems and as a tool for negotiating competitive architectural services. This has brought competitions into focus again. These regulations have been incorporated into the Swedish Public Procurement Law (LOA). When the building sector became more market oriented in the 1990s Nordic governments developed an architectural policy programme. Architectural competitions were described in these programmes as a means of securing quality and renewal. The competition method of course raises dilemmas such as conflicting goals, roles and interests that juries must confront during the assessment process. Power is divided. Juries are composed of representatives from organizing bodies and members appointed by the Swedish Association of Architects. Organizers may choose politicians, civil servants, property developers and end-users as members of the jury. The jury's composition reflects the different interested parties in the competition and its task is to identify the best solution for reaching the competition's goal. It must be a united effort. The difficulty lies not only in the fact that the jury must consider the various interests in the competition but that there are always several good solutions to design problems in architecture and town planning. Choosing the winner is therefore a decisionmaking process riddled with doubts and genuine insecurity. All aspects of one proposal are seldom overwhelmingly better than the others.


vascular cases. HDU/ITU bed crisis leading to cancellation of major vascular cases may also reduce the number of vascular cases trainees are exposed to. Vascular anaesthesia being removed from the core training/key module may have a negative impact on training. Conclusion(s): For various reasons discussed above, trainee exposure to vascular anaesthesia cases and their satisfaction is declining. Can newer teaching techniques like simulator based teaching or blended learning be of any help in future? References: 1 The Certification of Completion of Training (CCT) in Anaesthesia Interim edition: The Royal college of Anaesthetists. April 2006 III 30–31. 2.The CCT in Anaesthesia Interim edition: The Royal College of Anaesthetists. April 2006 IV 37–38.


One of the most important overlooked components in mathematics education is ensuring that students understand the logic and proof process. This workshop addresses this gap in pedagogy by introducing university math lecturers to two strategies for teaching the experimental nature of math results. The first strategy (problem-solving methods) involves describing the reasoning behind mathematical proofs (i.e., a series of logical statements establishing a conclusion from given premises), and the second strategy (student-driven problem solving) puts undergraduate students in charge of solution development using guided discussion and collaboration. While the first method teaches the tools of proof and allows the instructor to share insight, set standards, and provide examples, the second method actively engages the students in discovery, investigation and experimentation, ultimately shifting the analysis, understanding, and evaluation into their hands. In this workshop, participants will learn about creating and guiding class discussion regarding mathematical proof and student-driven solving in which students work collectively to generate solutions and proofs. They will learn how to best present reasoning and experimentation behind the proofs in their classes and tutorials.


BACKGROUND
To compare the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and the mean parasite density in pregnant women at first antenatal visit with those of the control subjects at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi.

METHOD
A case control prospective survey using a structured questionnaire to collect data from pregnant women attending antenatal clinic between 1 April and 30 September 2001 and matched controls at the GOPD during the same period. Peripheral blood smears were examined in 420 pregnant women at their first antenatal visit and 200 control subjects to compare the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and mean parasite density in pregnant women and controls.

RESULTS
The prevalence of parasitaemia was 79.3 percent (i.e. 333 of 420) for pregnant women and 31.5 percent (or 63 of 200) for the control. For both pregnant women and controls, an overall prevalence of 63.1 percent was observed. The study found the mean parasite density for the pregnant women to be 1978 +/- 1531 (Mean +/- SD), while that of the controls was 766 +/- 1923.

CONCLUSION
This study demonstrates the higher prevalence of malaria parasitaemia and mean parasite density in pregnant women when compared with the matched controls.


We introduce a class of "Lipschitz horizontal" vector fields in homogeneous groups, for which we show equivalent descriptions, e.g., in terms of suitable derivations. We then investigate the associated Cauchy problem, providing a uniqueness result both at equilibrium points and for vector fields of an involutive submodule of Lipschitz horizontal vector fields. We finally exhibit a counterexample to the general well-posedness theory for Lipschitz horizontal vector fields, in contrast with the Euclidean theory.


There are many task in surveillance monitoring such as object detection, person identification, activity and action recognition etc. Integrating variety of surveillance task through a multimodal interactive system will benefit real-life deployment, and will also support human operators. We first introduce a dataset which is first of its kind and named as Surveillance Video Question Answering (SVideoQA) dataset. The multi-camera surveillance monitoring aspect is considered through the multimodal context of Video Question Answering (VideoQA) in the SVideoQA dataset. This paper proposes a deep learning model where VideoQA task on the SVideoQA dataset is attempted to solved in a manner where memory-driven relationship among appearance and motion aspect of the video features are captured. At each level of the relational reasoning respective attentive parts of the context of the motion and appearance features are identified forwarded through frame level and clip level relational reasoning module. Also, respective memories are updated which are again forwarded to the memory-relation module to finally predict the answer word. The proposed memory-driven multilevel relational reasoning is made compatible with the surveillance monitoring task through the incorporation of multi-camera relation module, which is able to capture and reason over the relationships among the video feeds across multiple cameras. Experimental outcome exhibits that the proposed memory-driven multilevel relational reasoning perform significantly better on the open-ended VideoQA task compared to other state-of-the art systems. The proposed method achieves an accuracy of 57\% and 57.6\% respectively for the single-camera and multi-camera task of the SVideoQA dataset.


Nuclear atomic bombs release a large amount of energy when they explode (through uncontrolled fission). They go through a chain reaction where the splitting of uranium atoms induce further splitting. The aim of this paper was to calculate the amount of energy released if all the nuclear bombs in the world were to explode together. We found a lower boundary of 2.586×10^19 J would be released, assuming that every warhead is involved in the same continuous chain reaction.


Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are important economic events. They not only transform firms and industries but also have significant wealth implications for shareholders. In the past decade, investment in merger and acquisition activity has reached unprecedented levels, and the increase in M&A activity and the economic significance of this form of corporate restructuring provide the fundamental motivation for the study of the antecedents and consequences of mergers and acquisitions. In particular, this thesis is motivated by three areas within the M&A literature that demand further research, and it intends to address these gaps in the literature in three separate but interrelated essays. The results from the first essay provides evidence that while target firm's financial distress and overvaluation permit the bidder to offer a negative acquisition premium, it is the combination of the negative market reaction to the negative premium bid (resulting in a convergence of the target's stock price to bid price) and high block ownership (resulting in lower share liquidity) that lead target shareholders to prefer the negative premium bid over selling at market prices. The second essay investigates the issue of long-run post-acquisition underperformance, and contributes evidence to the literature that target firms in terminated deals not only outperform their own pre-acquisition performance but also outperform financial and operating performance of targets in completed deals. The third essay investigates the issue medium of exchange choice (i.e., cash or stock) under conditions of asymmetric information. This third essay reports evidence that the information content of announcement returns of bidding firms in stock financed deals is associated with the bidder valuation and the quality of the combination, but only the quality of the combination for cash bidders. The three essays, though investigating different aspects of the construction of the acquisition bid, each identify that the deal construction (e.g., deal consideration, medium of exchange) and deal outcomes (e.g., failure or success) is a key determinant of post-combination outcomes, both in terms of financial and operating performance.


In this study, we have investigated N2O oxidation of various off-angled 4H-SiC (0001) epilayers and characterized the properties of MOS interfaces. The oxide thickness almost linearly increases with increasing off-angle. Oxidation on highly off-angled (0001) 4H-SiC is faster than that on 8o off-axis (0001). The off-angle dependence of Dit is very small for the MOS capacitors in the off-angle range from 8o to 30o. The depth profiles of carbon and nitrogen atoms near the MOS interface on 15o off-axis 4H-SiC(0001) are similar to those on 8o off-axis (0001).


Aberrant DNA methylation is often involved in carcinogenesis. Our initial goal was to identify DNA methylation biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer. A genomewide methylation study was performed on DNA from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and endocrine pancreas tumors. Validation of DNA methylation patterns and concomitant alterations in expression of gene candidates was performed on patient samples and pancreatic cancer cell lines. Furthermore, validation was done on independent data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Finally, droplet digital PCR was employed to detect DNA methylation marks in cell‐free (cf) DNA isolated from plasma samples of PDAC patients and cancer‐free blood donors. Hypermethylation of the SST gene (encoding somatostatin) and concomitant downregulation of its expression were discovered in PDAC and endocrine tumor tissues while not being present in chronic pancreatitis (inflamed) tissues and normal pancreas. Fittingly, treatment with a somatostatin agonist (octreotide) reduced cell proliferation and migration of pancreatic cancer cells. Diagnostic performance of SST methylation in a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was 100% and 89% for tissue and plasma samples, respectively. A large body of TCGA and GEO data confirmed SST hypermethylation and downregulation in PDAC and showed a similar effect in a broad spectrum of other tumor entities. SST promoter methylation represents a sensitive and promising molecular, pan‐cancer biomarker detectable in tumor tissue, and liquid biopsy samples.


Casein grafted acrylonitrile fibers were treated by different concentration alkali solutions. The fibers component were investigated using chemical analysis before and after alkali treatment. The effects of alkali pH value on homopolymer PAN, free casein, grafted casein and grafting degree of the fibers were discussed individually. At the same time, the mechanical properties of the fibers treated by alkali at various pH values were tested, and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting fibers mechanical properties were analyzed. The results can play a certain reference role to the early manufacture and finishing process of casein grafted acrylonitrile fibers.


Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to phosphorylcholine (PC) could be elicited by mixtures of monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies. Using this system in DTH transfers, the question was asked of whether anti- idiotypic antibodies could elicit antigen induced DTH in H-2- incompatible mice. Transfer of PC-activated BALB/c lymph node cells into BALB.K mice and subsequent elicitation with anti-idiotypic antibodies resulted in a positive DTH response. In contrast, elicitation with the antigen PC showed the expected H-2 restriction.


Due to their unstructured and dynamic nature, construction sites present many challenges for robotic automation of tasks. Integrating human-robot collaboration (HRC) is critical for task success and implementation feasibility. This is particularly important for contact-rich tasks and other complex scenarios which require a level of reasoning that cannot be accomplished by a fully autonomous robot. Currently, many solutions rely on precise teleoperation that requires one operator per robot. Alternatively, one operator may oversee several semi-autonomous robots. However, the operators do not have the sensory feedback needed to adequately leverage their expertise and craftsmanship. Haptic interfaces allow for intuitive human-robot collaboration by providing rich contact feedback. This paper presents two human-robot collaboration solutions for welding and joint sealing through the use of a haptic device. Our approach allows for seamless transitions between autonomous robot capabilities and human intervention with rich contact feedback. Additionally, this work opens the door to intuitive programming of new tasks through haptic human demonstration.


This study examined the effects of self-regulated learning (SRL) and epistemological beliefs (EB) on individual learner levels of academic achievement in Web-based learning environments while holding constant the effect of computer self-efficacy, reason for taking an online course, and prior college academic achievement. The study constituents included 201 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of asynchronous Web-based courses at a university in the southeastern United States. Data was collected via a Web-based questionnaire and subjected to the following analyses: separate exploratory factor analyses of the self-regulated learning and the epistemological beliefs question items, correlations between the independent variables and the dependent variable, and linear regression of final course grades with all the variables in the model. Analysis of the data revealed that three independent variables (GPA, Expectancy, and GPA_Exp) were significant predictors in the model of learning achievement in asynchronous online courses. Discussion of the study's predictive model follows.


The most complete succession of the Callovian-Oxfordian boundary recorded in European Russia is the Dubki section, where the authors have carried out integrated paleontological and magnetostratigraphical studies. A continuous sequence of the West-European biostratigraphic units in the interval from the Lamberti to the Cordatum Zones is present in this section, and 10 ammonite biohorizons have been recognized. Additional data concerning nannofossil assemblages, foraminifers, ostracods, belemnoids and the paleomagnetic polarity for the Dubki section are also presented. The Callovian-Oxfordian boundary, marked by FAD of the genus Cardioceras, is placed at the base of the scarburgense biohorizon. The paleontological richness and continuity of the succession make the Dubki section a possi- ble GSSP candidate for the Callovian/Oxfordian boundary. Correlation of the Dubki ammonite succession with those of the other GSSP candidates, Redcliff Point and Thuoux, is proposed. Other sections studied in Russia have yielded some additional observations on the Callovian-Oxfordian boundary beds. Although in the Dubki section the praemartini biohorizon is not found, its existence is proved, how- ever, in Orenburg region (Khanskaya Gora). In the Datchovskaya section (Northern Caucasus) the paucicostatum biohorizon is character- ized by an unusual combination of Subtethyan and Boreal ammonites, including Kosmoceras, which is not typical of the paucicostatum biohorizon outside the Northern Caucasus.


This paper investigates the use of the case-based reasoning methodology applied to the game of Texas hold'em. The development of a CASe-based Poker playER (CASPER) is discussed. CASPER uses knowledge of previous poker scenarios to inform a betting decision. CASPER improves upon previous case-based reasoning approaches to poker and is able to play evenly against the University of Alberta's Pokibots and Simbots and profitably against other competition.


Nowadays, grease lubrication is frequently used in rolling element applications such as bearings or constant velocity joints. The advantage of grease is to supply lubrication to the application without leaking thanks to its consistency. Nevertheless, starvation can occur leading to damage such as scuffing. In the present study, starvation is analyzed using the Starvation Degree parameter through tests with different operating conditions and different types of greases.


This paper proposes an architecture of intermediate system-to-intermediate system (IS-IS) for the ATM based multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) system. IS-IS is a link state routing protocol designed to provide routing in network layer protocols with datagram service. IS-IS has favored scalability in the aspect of minimizing storage and computing in level 1 routers. Therefore, it is important to support IS-IS for the MPLS system used in backbone networks. We propose the architecture of IS-IS routing protocol and extensions for traffic engineering in MPLS system. We also describe its implementation and test results.


The most important operation in the image processing field is detect the objects inside an image or video, which it is used in many applications, especially in real time systems. Real time image processing in modern systems demands fast technologies, and there are variety methods to achieve this goal. This paper compare between the performance of (MATLAB) and (Open CV) to detect circular shapes that have specific color (blue) from live video in a real time. The input is a live video with resolution (640*480) pixels, taken by a web camera, and then processed by a sequence of image processing operations. The results refer to a program written in (Open CV) speed up the system up to 174% more than the same program written in (MATLAB) to do the same job.


Triterpene saponins are a group of bioactive compounds abundant in the genus Medicago, and have been studied extensively for their biological and pharmacological properties. In this article, we evaluated the effects of the ectopic expression of AsOXA1 cDNA from Aster sedifolius on the production of triterpene saponins in barrel medic (Medicago truncatula Gaertn.). AsOXA1 cDNA encodes beta-amyrin synthase, a key enzyme involved in triterpene saponin biosynthesis. One of the four transgenic lines expressing AsOXA1 accumulated significantly larger amounts of some triterpenic compounds in leaf and root than did control plants. In particular, the leaf exhibited significantly higher levels of bayogenin, medicagenic acid and zanhic acid. The amounts of medicagenic acid and zanhic acid, which represent the core of the M. truncatula leaf saponins, were 1.7 and 2.1 times higher, respectively, than the amounts extracted from the control line. In root, the production of bayogenin, hederagenin, soyasapogenol E and 2beta-hydroxyoleanolic acid was increased significantly. The increase in the total amounts of triterpenic compounds observed in the leaves of transgenic lines correlated with the AsOXA1 expression level. Interestingly, the plants expressing AsOXA1 showed, under different growth conditions, improved nodulation when compared with the control line. Nodulation enhancement was also accompanied by a significant change in the soyasapogenol B content. Our results indicate that the ectopic expression of AsOXA1 in barrel medic leads to a greater accumulation of triterpene saponins and enhanced root nodulation.


The development of psychiatric conceptualization in traditional Chinese medicine is traced by reviewing the descriptions of psychiatric maladies appearing in Chinese medical documents of various periods. The theory of mental illness has gone through a sequence of supernatural, natural, somatic, and psychological stages. Psychiatric illness has been recognized in medical literature in the following order: organic mental illness, excited psychosis, hysteria, depression, and minor psychiatric illness. This is discussed in comparison with the development of psychiatric concepts in the West in an attempt to understand how the perception and interpretation of mental illness, associated with the increase of man's knowledge, have changed and developed through time in different sociocultural environments.


Pervasive computing applications deal with the incorporation of intelligent components around end users to facilitate their activities. Such applications can be provided upon the vast infrastructures of Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge Computing (EC). IoT devices collect ambient data transferring them towards the EC and Cloud for further processing. EC nodes could become the hosts of distributed datasets where various processing activities take place. The future of EC involves numerous nodes interacting with the IoT devices and themselves in a cooperative manner to realize the desired processing. A critical issue for concluding this cooperative approach is the exchange of data synopses to have EC nodes informed about the data present in their peers. Such knowledge will be useful for decision making related to the execution of processing activities. In this paper, we propose n uncertainty driven model for the exchange of data synopses. We argue that EC nodes should delay the exchange of synopses especially when no significant differences with historical values are present. Our mechanism adopts a Fuzzy Logic (FL) system to decide when there is a significant difference with the previous reported synopses to decide the exchange of the new one. Our scheme is capable of alleviating the network from numerous messages retrieved even for low fluctuations in synopses. We analytically describe our model and evaluate it through a large set of experiments. Our experimental evaluation targets to detect the efficiency of the approach based on the elimination of unnecessary messages while keeping immediately informed peer nodes for significant statistical changes in the distributed datasets.


Training and athletic competition frequently results in exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of repeated cold water immersion (CWI) on recovery following a simulated rugby union match. Sixteen male, club level rugby players were matched for body mass and randomly assigned to either a CWI group or control (CON) group. Following the simulated rugby match the CWI group underwent 2 x 5 min immersions at a temperature of 10°C separated by 2.5 min seated at room temperature, whilst the CON group remained seated for 15 min. Creatine kinase (CK), perceived muscle soreness, counter movement jump (CMJ) and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of the knee extensors were measured pre-exercise, post-exercise, 24 h and 48 h following exercise. Large effect sizes were observed for muscle soreness at 24 and 48 h post exercise with lower soreness values observed in the CWI group. Large effect sizes were observed for CMJ at all time points and at 24 and 48 h post for MVIC with improved recovery of muscle function observed in the CWI group compared to the CON group. Lastly a moderate effect size was observed for CK immediately post exercise followed by large effect sizes at 24 and 48h post exercise, with CK concentration blunted in the CWI group. Overall these findings provide some support for the use of CWI to enhance recovery from EIMD following a simulated rugby union match.


We report a series of experiments on laser pulsed photoacoustic excitationin turbid polymer samples addressed to evaluate the sound speed in the samples and the presence of inhomogeneities in the bulk. We describe a system which allows the direct measurement of the speed of the detected waves by engraving the surface of the piece under study with a fiduciary pattern of black lines..We also describe how this pattern helps to enhance the sensitivity for the detection of an inhomogeneity in the bulk. These two facts are useful for studies in soft matter systems including, perhaps, biological samples. We have performed an experimental analysis on Grilon® samples in different situations and we show the limitations of the method. Received: 7 December 2012,  Accepted: 19 June 2013; Reviewed by: V. Lakshminarayanan, Waterloo University, Canada;  Edited by: J. J. Niemela;  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4279/PIP.050005 Cite as: P. Grondona, H. O. Di Rocco, D. I. Iriarte, J. A. Pomarico, H. F. Ranea-Sandoval, G. M. Bilmes , Papers in Physics 5, 050005 (2013)


Geo-specific road database development is important to a driving simulation system and a very labor intensive process. Road databases for driving simulation need high resolution and accuracy. Even though commercial software is available on the market, a lot of manual work still has to be done when the road crosssectional profile is not uniform. This research deals with geo-specific road databases development, especially for roads with non-uniform cross sections. In this research, the United States Geographical Survey (USGS) road information is used with aerial photos to accurately extract road boundaries, using image segmentation and data compression techniques. Image segmentation plays an important role in extracting road boundary information. There are numerous methods developed for image segmentation. Six methods have been tried for the purpose of road image segmentation. The major problems with road segmentation are due to the large variety of road appearances and the many linear features in roads. A method that does not require a database of sample images is desired. Furthermore, this method should be able to handle the complexity of road appearances. The proposed method for road segmentation is based on the mean-shift clustering algorithm and it yields a high accuracy. In the phase of building road databases and visual databases based on road segmentation results, the Linde-Buzo-Gray (LBG) vector quantization algorithm is used to identify repeatable cross section profiles. In the phase of texture mapping, five major uniform textures are considered pavement, white marker, yellow marker, concrete and grass. They are automatically mapped to polygons. In the chapter of results, snapshots of road/visual database are presented.