Background, context and evidence base for the innovation, including, wherever possible, its international relevance: In the UK, GMC guidance requires all postgraduate medical trainees to have named, accredited clinical supervisors in every placement from July 2016 (GMC, 2012). Given the time pressures, difficulties of geographical access, and the national drive for professional standards for clinical educators, there is a need to identify appropriate solutions for faculty development. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have made online learning on various topics accessible to learners worldwide with several MOOCs suitable for postgraduate medical training offered by USA-based platforms eg. Coursera and EdX (Subhi et al, 2014). To the best of our knowledge, MOOCs have not been previously trialled for faculty development of clinical supervisors in Europe or elsewhere. Aim/focus of the innovation: To offer faculty development for clinical supervisors using a MOOC format and explore the role of interprofessional and social learning among healthcare professionals engaging with the MOOC. Implementation of the innovation: We developed a two-week MOOC to provide technology enhanced learning to clinical supervisors (Rodrigues, 2015). The course was conceived, developed and facilitated by a group of experienced medical educators from various specialties, including a postgraduate trainee. 'Clinical Supervision with Confidence', our two week MOOC, addresses the professional standards framework developed by the Academy of Medical Educators, UK (AoME, 2010). The content works through the rationale for clinical supervision and focusses on two areas that supervisors often find challenging: 'Giving and receiving feedback', and 'Managing trainees in difficulty'. We used the FutureLearn platform for course delivery as it promotes social learning through opportunities for conversations and at each step (FutureLearn, 2014). Methods used to assess the innovation: Between January and December 2015, we had three runs of the course. Data were obtained from pre- and post-course surveys for each run of the MOOC (March, July and November 2015), FutureLearn course statistics, and thematic analysis of learner comments. Key findings: Over the year, we had 7,225 course registrants though 6% of these left the course without starting. A total of 3,055 learners began the course and of these, 35% (1073/3055) were social learners who interacted with other participants. Of those who began the course, around 31% (960/3055) participated fully. This significantly higher than the FutureLearn average of 22% (Nelson, 2014). Responses to pre- and post-course surveys suggest that 68% of the learners worked full-time, with over 75% accessing the course at home or while commuting, using laptops, smart phones and tablet devices. Learners found the bite sized videos, animations and steps manageable at the end of a busy working day. Learner comments suggest that interprofessional discussions and social learning made the learning environment more engaging despite having several hundred international participants on the course during each run. The discussions were rated by learners as high quality and led to sharing of personal experiences, reflections, and resources relevant to the discussions.


Obesity is currently one of the most common chronic diseases and has become a major health concern in Western countries. Consequently, rise of bariatric surgery nationwide, has been increasing. The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) is a type of surgery indicated in the treatment of morbid obesity. At our institution, we report a case of a 48-year-old female with a history of morbid obesity, who underwent RYGB 13 years ago for weight loss, and was admitted to the hospital for abdominal pain. Upper endoscopy then revealed small bowel cancer. J Med Cases. 2015;6(3):137-139 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2027w


Human alveolar macrophages release in vitro a factor that inhibits both random migration and chemotaxis of human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). This factor is not cytotoxic and is recovered in culture supernatants of alveolar cells from most nonsmoking normal subjects. The inhibitor can be detected 30 min after cell cultures are established and is still produced after 24 h in culture. Its release was inhibited by cycloheximide. When supernatants are separated by molecular sieving (I-60 Waters HPLC column), most of the inhibitory activity is recovered in the low-molecular-weight fractions of the chromatogram (less than 1,000 D). The inhibitor has a broad spectrum of activity against known chemoattractants in that it reduces significantly the chemotaxis of PMN induced by the formyl peptide FMLP, by the complement fragment C5a, and by leukotriene B4; it also decreases the chemotactic activity associated with a monocyte-derived interleukin 1 preparation and the chemotactic activity derived from alveolar macrophage culture supernatants. The inhibitory factor is partially heat labile, is sensitive to aminopeptidase M, and is nonpolar. Both phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and FMLP-induced superoxide release by PMN are diminished significantly in the presence of this inhibitory factor (p less than 0.01 for PMA and p less than 0.05 for FMLP). The inhibitor also reduces monocyte chemotaxis but has no effect on monocyte random migration. Finally, studies with [3H]FMLP indicate that this inhibitor does not act at the site of receptor binding on PMN. Thus, human alveolar macrophages can release in vitro both neutrophil chemotactic factors and an apparent neutrophil-inhibiting factor that may modulate positively and negatively the movement and the respiratory burst of neutrophils in the alveolar space.


Objective Lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) has been defined as a significant adverse prognostic factor in early-stage endometrial cancer, primarily because of its high association with nodal metastases. This study aimed to determine if LVSI provides any prognostic significance in pathologic node-negative surgically staged (T1N0) endometrial cancer patients. Methods/Materials This retrospective cohort study included all patients with pathologic stage T1N0 endometrial carcinoma treated at The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre from 1998 to 2007. Patient demographics, pathologic findings, treatment, and outcome data were collected. Univariate and multivariate cox regression modeling was used to assess significance and adjust for demographic and histopathologic covariates. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the 5-year overall and recurrence-free survival. Results Our study included 400 pathologic stage T1N0 patients who received an initial total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with lymphadenectomy. The median age at diagnosis was 62 years, and the median follow-up was 66 months. Fifty-four patients (13.5%) had a positive LVSI status, and 346 (86.5%) had a negative LVSI status. The 5-year overall survival was 97.3% in patients without LVSI and 90.9% in those with LVSI (P < 0.001). The 5-year recurrence-free survival was 95.2% in patients without LVSI and 85.9% in those with LVSI (P = 0.006). Univariate analysis identified grade, stage, and LVSI as the covariates significantly associated with time to recurrence, and identified age, grade, stage, and LVSI to be significantly associated with overall survival. There were no significant covariates for recurrence-free survival by multivariate analysis, and only age and LVSI were significant for overall survival. Conclusions Lymphovascular space invasion is an overall poor prognostic factor in T1N0 endometrial cancer. After adjusting for other factors, LVSI remains an independent risk factor for worse overall survival. Therefore, estimation of overall survival in patients with early-stage, node-negative endometrial cancer should take into account LVSI status.


This paper presents the results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-aided design calculations of a transonic linear cascade wind tunnel. The purpose of the wind tunnel is to generate data for the validation of numerical methods employed to calculate aerodynamic damping for forced response cases in transonic compressors. It is common for transonic wind tunnels to use transonic walls (perforated walls with controlled suction) to adjust the transonic flow in the experiment. Unfortunately, perforated walls are difficult to model in CFD simulations, and they complicate the validation process. One of the goals of the new tunnel is not to use perforated walls. The main difficulty in the design of a transonic linear cascade is achieving periodic flow for the central blades due to shock reflections from the side walls and the sensitivity of transonic flow to small changes in geometry. Other design constraints are the maximum available mass flow of 4.5 kg/s and the minimum required blade thickness of 2 mm for instrumentation. The purpose of the current CFD simulations is to determine the optimum geometry (sidewalls, tailboards, and throttle) of the tunnel with the goal of achieving near periodic flow conditions for the central blade channels at the similar condition in a typical transonic compressor.


Mountainous regions are more sensitive to climatic condition changes and are susceptible to recent increases in temperature. Due to urbanization and land use/land cover (LULC) issues, Cameron Highlands has been impacted by rising land surface temperature (LST) variation. Thus, this study was carried out to explore the impact of the LULC change on LST in the Cameron Highlands from 2009 to 2019 using remote sensing images acquired from Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI/TIRS), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 11A Thermal sensors. A split-window algorithm was applied to Landsat 8 images (2013–2019) to derive the LST. Air temperature data of the study area were also obtained to cross-validate data sources. Based on the validation results, the accuracy of LULC and LST outputs were more than 94.6% and 80.0%, respectively. The results show that the current trend of urban growth continues at a rate of 0.16% per year, and the area experienced an LST increase of 2 °C between 2009 and 2019. This study is crucial for land planners and environmentalists to understand the impacts of LULC change on LST and to propose appropriate policy measures to control development in Cameron Highlands.


Using a stress-process and attachment theory framework, we identified salient aspects of the parent–adolescent relationship and tested the extent to which those aspects were longitudinally associated with depression, withdrawal, delinquency, and aggressive behavior outcomes among a sample of high-risk adolescents (N = 498). First, four dimensions of the parent–adolescent relationship were identified: emotional closeness, communication, autonomy, and conflict. Next, latent profile analyses were conducted, and four distinct parent–adolescent relationship profiles emerged: secure, avoidant, anxious, and detached. Adolescent outcomes were assessed 2 years later. Results indicated that (a) adolescents in the avoidant and anxious profiles demonstrated higher depression symptoms than did those in the secure profile, (b) higher levels of aggression were demonstrated in the avoidant profile, and (c) higher levels of delinquency were demonstrated in the detached profile. Implications for parent–adolescent relationships and family therapy interventions are provided.


In this paper, we present a technique for visual analysis of documents based on the semantic representation of text in the form of a directed graph, referred to as semantic graph. This approach can aid data mining tasks, such as exploratory data analysis, data description and summarization. In order to derive the semantic graph, we take advantage of natural language processing, and carry out a series of operations comprising a pipeline, as follows. Firstly, named entities are identified and co-reference resolution is performed; moreover, pronominal anaphors are resolved for a subset of pronouns. Secondly, subject -- predicate -- object triplets are automatically extracted from the Penn Treebank parse tree obtained for each sentence in the document. The triplets are further enhanced by linking them to their corresponding co-referenced named entity, as well as attaching the associated WordNet synset, where available. Thus we obtain a semantic directed graph composed of connected triplets. The document's semantic graph is a starting point for automatically generating the document summary. The model for summary generation is obtained by machine learning, where the features are extracted from the semantic graph structure and content. The summary also has an associated semantic representation. The size of the semantic graph, as well as the summary length can be manually adjusted for an enhanced visual analysis. We also show how to employ the proposed technique for the Visual Analytics challenge.


Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are being adopted as components in software systems. Creating and specializing DNNs from scratch has grown increasingly difficult as state-of-the-art architectures grow more complex. Following the path of traditional software engineering, machine learning engineers have begun to reuse large-scale pre-trained models (PTMs) and fine-tune these models for downstream tasks. Prior works have studied reuse practices for traditional software packages to guide software engineers towards better package maintenance and dependency management. We lack a similar foundation of knowledge to guide behaviors in pre-trained model ecosystems. In this work, we present the first empirical investigation of PTM reuse. We interviewed 12 practitioners from the most popular PTM ecosystem, Hugging Face, to learn the practices and challenges of PTM reuse. From this data, we model the decision-making process for PTM reuse. Based on the identified practices, we describe useful attributes for model reuse, including provenance, reproducibility, and portability. Three challenges for PTM reuse are missing attributes, discrepancies between claimed and actual performance, and model risks. We substantiate these identified challenges with systematic measurements in the Hugging Face ecosystem. Our work informs future directions on optimizing deep learning ecosystems by automated measuring useful attributes and potential attacks, and envision future research on infrastructure and standardization for model registries.


This book is part of the Oxford Reading Tree Fireflies series which offer a wide range of stimulating non-fiction titles for young children. It includes a variety of topics covering all areas of the curriculum, from science to citizenship. The books have a bright modern page design, and are illustrated with colour photographs. They are carefully graded across 10 levels and contain built-in progression and vocabulary repetition throughout. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.


This article recovers the Zionist elite's preeminent, but now largely forgotten, cultural project of the Jewish State's first decade: the attempt to locate the new post-colonial State as a part of the West, through the memorialisation of its first President. A significant literature has emerged in recent years on Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's desire for Israel to join the West. But this scholarship has focused on Ben-Gurion's political aims, philosophy, and constitutionalism. It has missed the fact that the cultural re-presentation of the post-colonial State— the act of location— was at the very centre of the Government and its partners' Westernness enterprise.

In addition to debates about the relationship between Israel and the West, the article contributes to the historiography of memory and Zionism. While scholars have produced an extensive corpus of research on how Zionists used history and memory to underscore the Jewish nation's attachment to the Holy Land, little has been written on the endeavour to memorialise Zionism's wider belonging to the West. More broadly, the article is also an intervention in the debates about Israel's place within the space of the post-colonial world.


Subpicosecond wavelength-degenerate differential transmission optical spectroscopy was used to characterize the electron capture time in a 10-period InxGa1−xN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) structure. Photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopies demonstrated enhanced MQW emission for injection within ±50 meV of the barrier energy. Time-resolved differential transmission measurements for excitation in this region reveal efficient electron capture in the quantum wells with a time constant between 310 and 540 fs. A slower exponential relaxation, with strongly wavelength-dependent subnanosecond decay constants, is also observed.


A bandpass filter using two coupled transmission lines is considered. Two ports of the coupled-line four port are both short-circuited (or open-circuited); the other two ports are terminated in the characteristic impedances of the lines (e.g., 50 Omega). For a constant coupling along the coupling section l the attenuation poles are fixed at l/lambda = n/2 (n = 0,1,2,...). If, however, the coupling changes along the coupling section in three steps with the coupling factors k/sub 1/, k/sub 2/, k/sub 3/ = k/sub 1/, the stopband between two adjacent passbands can be extended for certain values of k/sub 1/ and k/sub 2/. A simple calculation method for the coupling factors k/sub 1/ and k/sub 2/ is described. A practical design example shows good agreement with theoretical results.


The OH + HCl → H2O + Cl reaction releases Cl atoms, which can catalyze the ozone destruction reaction in the stratosphere. The measured rate coefficients for the reaction deviate substantially from the Arrhenius limit at low temperatures and become essentially independent of temperature when T < 250 K, apparently due to quantum tunneling; however, the nature of the quantum tunneling is unknown. Here, we report a time-dependent wave packet study of the reactions on two newly constructed potential energy surfaces. It is found that the OH + HCl reaction possesses many Feshbach resonances trapped in a bending/torsion excited vibrational adiabatic potential well in the entrance channel due to hydrogen bond interaction. These resonance states greatly induce quantum tunneling of a hydrogen atom through the reaction barrier, causing the reaction rates to deviate substantially from Arrhenius behavior at low temperature, as observed experimentally.


We consider the problem of estimating a rank-one matrix in Gaussian noise under a probabilistic model for the left and right factors of the matrix. The probabilistic model can impose constraints on the factors including sparsity and positivity that arise commonly in learning problems. We propose a family of algorithms that reduce the problem to a sequence of scalar estimation computations. These algorithms are similar to approximate message passing techniques based on Gaussian approximations of loopy belief propagation that have been used recently in compressed sensing. Leveraging analysis methods by Bayati and Montanari, we show that the asymptotic behavior of the algorithm is described by a simple scalar equivalent model, where the distribution of the estimates at each iteration is identical to certain scalar estimates of the variables in Gaussian noise. Moreover, the effective Gaussian noise level is described by a set of state evolution equations. The proposed approach to deriving algorithms thus provides a computationally simple and general method for rank-one estimation problems with a precise analysis in certain high-dimensional settings.


In order to evaluate the sensory perceptions of users who visited a train station, this study aimed to conduct an evaluation of their spatial emotions and identify the distance and type of transfer. For evaluation and verification, emotional recognition and wayfinding types were analyzed according to types in the groups (gender, age, and spatial familiarity) of experimental participants. There were two research questions: "Will the length of movement patterns in the experiment environment vary depending on the types of the participant group?" and "Is there any moderating effect in the interaction between spatial familiarity and the types of the participant groups?" A total of 28 participants were recruited with consideration of gender, age, and familiarity with spatial experience, which were used to analyze the participant groups. The experiment was conducted at a train station, and a vignette was presented to the participants to record the route and pattern of their wayfinding, followed by providing a questionnaire to record their spatial perception. SPSS was used to conduct a T-test, factor analysis, and multidimensional scaling (MDS). The differences in spatial perception were arranged in visual positioning based on emotional vocabulary, and average movement distances in the participant groups were compared in accordance with the type of wayfinding and interaction effect by ANOVA. The results showed that there was a difference in spatial perception depending on the negative emotional vocabulary and type of participant. An emotional positioning map for average comparison was prepared for each participant group (gender, age, and spatial familiarity) by using the factors extracted in the factor analysis (emotional factor, management factor, and aesthetic factor). Female and unfamiliar groups displayed negative results in the emotional factor (F = 7.202, p < 0.05). In addition, male and familiar groups displayed negative results in the management factor (F = 3.058, p < 0.10). In wayfinding, there was an interaction between gender and the resident group based on the status of their spatial familiarity. Through this, it was possible to extract negative emotional evaluations according to the type of participant and the interaction factors for the type and length of the wayfinding.


The study explored the relationship between self-control and alcohol consumption among students at the University of Botswana, and was entrenched within the socialcognitive theory of self-regulation. Data were collected from 135 undergraduate students (42.2% female, 57.8% male) with a mean age of 21.22 years (SD = 2.16). Self-control was measured by the Brief Self-control Scale. Self-reported alcohol consumption on weekdays and in specific situations was converted into alcohol units. Participants who reported not drinking alcohol at all (55.6%) scored significantly higher in self-control. For those participants who reported drinking alcohol (44.4%), total self-control scores correlated moderately and inversely with alcohol consumption per week, in situations of stress, happiness, and when with friends. Standard multiple regression analysis revealed that self-control was a stronger predictor of the amount of alcohol consumed than were age and gender. The results are discussed with regard to the role of self-regulatory behaviour in the consumption of alcohol. Key words : Alcohol consumption, Botswana, self-control, self-regulation, undergraduate students


Mutations in the B incompatibility factor of Coprinus cinereus were obtained using two techniques. Both selected for the expression of B-controlled functions (associated with nuclear migration during dikaryon morphogenesis) in heterokaryotic mycelia where these were blocked by having identical B alleles present. The first technique selected for clamp cell fusion in a common B heterokaryon, the second selected for septum dissolution in a heterokaryon following a common B mating. Two mutants, one derived by each of the selection techniques, were studied in detail. In both, mutation was inseparable by recombination from the B locus and resulted in self-compatibility. Mutant monokaryons had uninucleate cells and intact septa. Thus, full regulatory control of morphogenesis in the mutant monokaryon was maintained. However, both mutations promoted clamp cell fusion in dikaryons formed between the mutants and monokaryons having the progenitor B allele or the mutant self allele. Therefore, mutation leads to the loss of regulation of clamp cell fusion. A combination of a B mutation and an A mutation (Amut Bmut) in the same nucleus gave a haploid mycelium which resembled a true dikaryon; thus, both the A and B morphogenetic sequences which are expressed in the dikaryon were operating. However, these dikaryons were not fertile.


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This study explores the determinants of ethnolinguistic diversity within as well as across countries shedding light on its geographic origins. The empirical analysis conducted across countries, virtual countries and pairs of contiguous regions establishes that geographic variability, captured by variation in regional land quality and elevation, is a fundamental determinant of contemporary linguistic diversity. The findings are consistent with the proposed hypothesis that differences in land endowments gave rise to location-specific human capital, leading to the formation of localized ethnicities.


Leicester University has a prodigious history with its Karate Club and this paper investigates the total force transferred in a Karate punch and the mass limit needed for a person to be able to break wood with such a technique. The results show that the mass needed to overcome the Ultimate Tensile strength of wood is 104 kg.


Conversion of biomass to heat and power plays an important role in the transition of the Swedish energy system from fossil based to renewables. For manufacturers and users of medium scale combustion plants (0.5 – approx. 15 MWth), a spectrum of challenges are accounted with both today's and future flexible use of modern biomass fuels. Such challenges are e.g. fuel handling and processing together with combustion instabilities caused by new fuels with resulting ware-and-tear and elevated emission levels. However, the possibilities to test and try out new innovations is very limited, which is why a Test Bed has the potential to significantly contribute to the innovation growth within the sector. The purpose of this feasibility study therefore to investigate the prerequisites for the establishment of a Test Bed for Medium Scale Biomass Combustion. The fundament of the feasibility study is a survey of the existing infrastructure for testing and innovation development of medium scale biomass combustion, which could be further developed and interconnected. Furthermore, a broad inquiry has been performed among market actors, focusing on the present and future need together with existing conditions for taking part in the development of a test bed. These first two steps has then been synthesized into recommendations on how a test bed should be developed and exploited by relevant actors. The major conclusions and recommendations of the feasibility study are:  A cost efficient and innovative Test Bed system for medium scale biomass combustion could be developed by enhanced cooperation between passive test-bed like plants and systems, industrial testing plants and research activities,  Development of a test bed system is hindered by the fact that there is no clear receiver of such system on the market. Stake holder cooperation is today weak, which makes common investments and financing impossible  There is no economic support for the erection of new, dedicated test bed facilities for medium scale biomass combustion,  Pre-treatment of biomass raw material with the purpose of enhancing fuel quality simultaneously refining products from the biomass has been found to show good potential for further development of test beds. This study therefore recommends that such investigation should be taken under consideration.


The purpose of this thesis was the further development of a rule set used in an automatic text simplification system, and the exploration of whether it is possible to improve the performance of a rule based text simplification system by manual training. A first rule set was developed from a thor- ough literature review, and the rule refinement was performed by manually adapting the first rule set to a set of training texts. When there was no more change added to the set of rules, the training was considered to be completed, and the two sets were applied to a test set, for evaluation. This thesis evaluated the performance of a text simplification system as a clas- sification task, by the use of objective metrics: precision and recall. The comparison of the rule sets revealed a clear improvement of the system, since precision increased from 45% to 82%, and recall increased from 37% to 53%. Both recall and precision was improved after training for the ma- jority of the rules, with a few exceptions. All rule types resulted in a higher score on correctness for R2. Automatic text simplification systems target- ing real life readers need to account for qualitative aspects, which has not been considered in this thesis. Future evaluation should, in addition to quantitative metrics such as precision, recall, and complexity metrics, also account for the experience of the reader.


Alkyd paint continues to be used indoors for application to wood trim, cabinet surfaces, and some kitchen and bathroom walls. Alkyd paint may represent a significant source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) indoors because of the frequency of use and amount of surface painted. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting research to characterize VOC emissions from paint and to develop source emission models that can be used for exposure assessment and risk management. The technical approach for this research involves both analysis of the liquid paint to identify and quantify the VOC contents and dynamic small chamber emissions tests to characterize the VOC emissions after application. The predominant constituents of the primer and two alkyd paints selected for testing were straight-chain alkanes (C9-C12); C8-C9 aromatics were minor constituents. Branched chain alkanes were the predominant VOCs in a third paint. A series of tests were performed to evaluate factors that may affect emissions following application of the coatings. The type of substrate (glass, wallboard, or pine board) did not have a substantial impact on the emissions with respect to peak concentrations, the emissions profile, or the amount of VOC mass emitted from the paint. Peak concentrations of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) as high as 10,000 mg/m3 were measured during small chamber emissions tests at 0.5 air exchanges per hour (ACH). Over 90% of the VOCs were emitted from the primer and paints during the first 10 hr following application. Emissions were similar from paint applied to bare pine board, a primed board, or a board previously painted with the same paint. The impact of other variables, including film thickness, air velocity at the surface, and air-exchange rate (AER) were consistent with theoretical predictions for gas-phase, mass transfer-controlled emissions. In addition to the alkanes and aromatics, aldehydes were detected in the emissions during paint drying. Hexanal, the predominant aldehyde in the emissions, was not detected in the liquid paint and was apparently an oxidation product formed during drying. This paper summarizes the results of the product analyses and a series of small chamber emissions tests. It also describes the use of a mass balance approach to evaluate the impact of test variables and to assess the quality of the emissions data.


Using the technique of time-correlated photon counting, the time-resolved
photoluminescence response of n-type gallium arsenide (n-GaAs) in contact with aqueous
KOH – Se^2- - Se2^(2-) electrolytes was monitored before and after exposure to aqueous
0.010 M solutions of ruthenium, cobalt and osmium ions. Cobalt ions caused the rate of
carrier loss from the GaAs to increase relative to that for untreated samples, as evidenced
by faster decays. It was inferred that hole and/or electron transfer to the selenide redox
species was catalyzed by the cobalt ions. A model incorporating ambipolar diffusion, bulk trapping, radiative bimolecular
recombination, surface trapping and surface charge transfer and employing a finite-difference
algorithm was applied to the photoluminescence decays. Under high intensity
illumination, the photoluminescence decays from the gallium arsenide samples with
aluminum gallium arsenide overlayers could be fit using the expression for bimolecular
kinetics, indicating that radiative recombination dominated the decays in these samples. For the samples immersed in aqueous KOH – Se^(2-) – Se_2^(2-) solutions, with and
without chemisorbed metal ions, a time-dependent increase in the GaAs photoluminescence
indicated that changes occurred at the surface during the course of the experiment Prior to
metal ion treatment, the lifetime in KOH - Se^(2-) – Se_2^(2-) solutions stabilized at about 3.7 ns, which could be fit with an effective surface hole capture rate constant of 5.1x10^3 cm/sec.
After cobalt ion treatment photoluminescence decays with 1/e lifetimes on the order of 0.6
ns were measured and, if it is assumed that surface hole capture dominated the decay,
correspond to a surface hole capture rate constant of 1.7x10^5 cm/sec. The 1/e lifetimes for
ruthenium and osmium treated surfaces were never observed to be less than 1.5 ns and
quickly returned to the 3.7 ns lifetimes observed prior to metal ion treatment It is inferred that the cobalt treated surface is more chemically inert under illumination than either ruthenium or osmium treated surfaces. Preliminary measurements for GaAs immersed in acetonitrile with and without
dimethylferrocene and dimethylferrocenium indicated that the rates of carrier loss at the
surface are much higher than they are for the aqueous selenide redox species, even in the
absence of the redox species. However, small increases in rate of loss were discernible
after addition of redox couple to the acetonitrile, and further work is warranted.


A sampling programme has been undertaken to investigate the nature and fate of natural organic matter (NOM) through a water treatment works (WTW). Specific focus has been given to the effect seasonal changes have on NOM. Water samples were collected from the reservoir inlet and after the filters at Albert WTW in Yorkshire. Samples were taken in January, June and November 2000. Changes in the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultra-violet (UV) absorbance at 254 nm, specific UV absorbance (SUVA) and trihalomethane formation potential (THM-FP) were measured for both the filtered and raw water. The waters were fractionated by XAD resin adsorption techniques into hydrophobic acid (HPO-A) and hydrophilic acid (HPI-A) fractions. The fractions were analysed for DOC, UV, SUVA and THM-FP. The reactivity of the fractions changed throughout the year with the lowest reactivity (THM-FP) in January, increasing in June and reaching a maximum in November. This corresponded to the water being more difficult to treat in November and an increase in the proportion of hydrophobic acid. Information was obtained through the fractionation that would be impossible to predict from only the bulk water parameters.


Background: Disparate COVID-19 outcomes have been observed between Hispanic, Non-Hispanic Black, and White patients. The underlying causes for these disparities are not fully understood. Methods: This was a retrospective study utilizing electronic medical record data from five hospitals within a single academic health system based in New York City. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify demographic, clinical, and lab values associated with in-hospital mortality. Results: 3,086 adult patients with self-reported race/ethnicity information presenting to the emergency department and hospitalized with COVID-19 up to April 13, 2020 were included in this study. While older age (multivariable OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.05-1.07) and baseline hypoxia (multivariable OR 2.71, 95% CI 2.17-3.36) were associated with increased mortality overall and across all races/ethnicities, Non-Hispanic Black (median age 67, IQR 58-76) and Hispanic (median age 63, IQR 50-74) patients were younger and had different comorbidity profiles compared to Non-Hispanic White patients (median age 73, IQR 62-84; p<0.05 for both comparisons). Among inflammatory markers associated with COVID-19 mortality, there was a significant interaction between the Non-Hispanic Black population and interleukin-1-beta (interaction p-value 0.04). Conclusions: This analysis of a multi-ethnic cohort highlights the need for inclusion and consideration of diverse popualtions in ongoing COVID-19 trials targeting inflammatory cytokines.


Hair roots are a very attractive source of DNA for microsatellite-based parentage control of breeding animals. However, unlike blood samples, irregular DNA typing results have been observed in assays utilizing hair follicles. The amount of starting material and DNA preparation method are the crucial factors. In order to improve DNA typing results for horse hair roots, two quick preparation methods and additional purification steps were evaluated. PCR efficiency for each approach was expressed as percentage of samples with complete DNA profiles for 12 horse microsatellites. The lowest percentage (22%) of complete DNA profiles was obtained for samples prepared by the proteinase K digestion method. The best genotyping results (94%) were achieved after phenol- chloroform extraction of DNA from samples prepared by the proteinase K digestion method. Direct cleanup of DNA samples with an ethanol-sodium acetate mixture gave comparably good results of microsatellite genotyping (91%). DNA preparation from hair roots with proteinase K digestion followed by DNA purification with ethanol was chosen as the most efficient approach for horse DNA typing under parentage testing.


High-end servers that can be partitioned into logical subsystems and repartitioned on the fly are now becoming available. This development raises the possibility of reconfiguring distributed systems online to optimize for dynamically changing workloads. This paper presents one approach to solving this online reconfiguration problem. In particular, we learn to identify, from only low-level system statistics, which of a set of possible configurations will lead to better performance under the current unknown workload. This approach requires no instrumentation of the system's middleware or operating systems. We introduce an agent that is able to learn this model and use it to switch configurations online as the workload varies. Our agent is fully implemented and tested on a publicly available multi-machine, multi-process distributed system (the online transaction processing benchmark TPC-W). We demonstrate that our adaptive configuration is able to outperform any single fixed configuration in the set over a variety of workloads, including gradual changes and abrupt workload spikes.


The first edition of The Economic and Social Review was published fifty years ago in October 1969. We are happy to mark the anniversary of the journal with this special edition to reflect both its history and ongoing vibrancy in contributionsto academic research and policy debate. The edition contains a mix of papers with some looking back on the contributions published over the years in a subset of the many fields that have appeared and others examining some current issues of debate within the social sciences. Ireland has gone through profound economic and social change over the past fifty years and the papers in this edition show how the Review has documented and analysed many aspects of it.


The Cognitive Radio project aims to develop radios that can sense the existing spectrum and identify and use free frequency bands. Primary users using time division multiple access (TDMA) are licensed users who are assigned with certain channels, and secondary users using carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) are unlicensed users who are allowed to use the channels assigned to a primary user when it is free. This paper introduces a novel spectrum sharing protocol for secondary users combining multichannel non-persistent carrier sense multiple accesses (CSMA) and reinforcement learning. Simulation results show that the throughput performance improves when reinforcement learning is applied in conjunction with non-persistent CSMA.


The technology of image segmentation is widely used in medical image processing, face recognition pedestrian detection, etc. The current image segmentation techniques include region-based segmentation, edge detection segmentation, segmentation based on clustering, segmentation based on weakly-supervised learning in CNN, etc. This paper analyzes and summarizes these algorithms of image segmentation, and compares the advantages and disadvantages of different algorithms. Finally, we make a prediction of the development trend of image segmentation with the combination of these algorithms.


Background/Context Researchers have begun to document and understand the work youth do as they compose in multiple media including video games, online virtual worlds, participatory fan cultural practices, and in the digital media arts. However, we lack mechanisms for analyzing the products, especially when it comes to understanding the relationship between storytelling and identity. Objective In this article, I bring together prior research on youth-produced media, social semiotic analysis frameworks for analyzing these products and the formal analysis of films to construct an analytic framework for understanding youth-produced films as spaces for identity construction and representation. Research design The research reported on in this article is the design and illustration of an analytic framework for understanding how youth construct and represent their identities through the films they make. The framework design begins with Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) work on the analysis of visual design as a set of semiotic resources for describing how we make meaning with multimodal texts. However, this work does little to depict how the specific tools of film both cinematic (e.g., editing, cinematography) and filmic (music, action) (Burn & Parker, 2003) are used to construct and communicate identities. Therefore, I turn to film theory to develop a coding scheme that can assist in the meaningful interpretation of the phases and transitions of youth-produced films. I then illustrate this framework in action by analyzing one youth-produced film, Rules of Engagement, as a multimodal product of identity. Conclusions/Recommendations This analysis demonstrates how films like Rules of Engagement display the construction of a viable social identity primarily through the interactions among filmic elements. Specifically it is in the transition spaces between phases of the film where youth actively insert their understanding of how to represent complex portraits of how they see themselves, how others see them, and how they fit into their communities. Analyzing the products of a rich, complex literacy practice is a critical way to make sense of how youth engage with issues of identity through the media they create. This is especially important for youth who feel marginalized in mainstream institutions and do not have opportunities to explore a positive sense of self in traditional institutional contexts. Understanding how the construction of multimodal representation supports identity development processes can help us to bring these new media literacy practices to youth who are most in need of alternative mechanisms for engaging in positive identity work.


An illustrated survey of the graphic arts from the cave paintings of Southern Europe to the sophisticated images of today.The information is organized by time periods showing how graphic design parallels and mirrors historical and cultural events. Each section gives general historical information and reviews the fine arts, graphic arts and other cultural developments in context. By listing important dates and establishing a chronological sequence of cultural developments a framework is established for landmarks of graphic design history. The author, James Craig has published four books on graphic design , including "Designing With Type" and "Graphic Design Career Guide".


Congenital insensitivity to pain is a rare hereditary neuropathy. We present patients from a large family in Norrbotten, Sweden with a mutation in the nerve growth factor β gene (NGFs). Using a model of recessive inheritance, we identified an 8.3-Mb region on chromosome 1p11.2-p13.2 shared by the affected individuals in the family. Analysis of candidate genes in the disease-critical region revealed a mutation in the coding region of the NGFs gene specific for the disease haplotype. All three severely affected individuals were homozygous for the mutation. The disease haplotype was also observed in both unaffected and mildly affected family members, but in heterozygote form. We have identified 43 patients, 3 homozygous and 40 heterozygous. The homozygous patients have a severe congenital form with onset of symptoms at an early age, most often affecting the lower extremities with insidious progressive joint swellings or painless fractures. Fracture healing was normal, but the arthropathy was progressive, resulting in disabling Charcot joints with gross deformity and instability. These patients lacked deep pain perception in bones and joints and had no protective reflexes, leading to gross bone and joint complications. They also had abnormal temperature perception but normal ability to sweat. There was no mental retardation. Clinically, they fit best into the group HSAN type V. Sural nerve biopsies showed a moderate loss of thin myelinated fibers (Ad-fibers) and a severe reduction of unmyelinated fibers (C-fibers). 14 of the 40 heterozygous adult patients had mild or moderate problems with joint deformities, usually with only slight discomfort. Treatment was conservative with (if needed) different kinds of orthosis and in some cases joint replacement. Three patients had only neuropathy, and 16 patients had no symptoms. In congenital disorders like these, it is important to evaluate the age and also the slowly progressive nature, when considering treatment. There is an increased risk of growth disturbances in the very young. The orthopedic operations should therefore be planned from a long-term point of view, but patient education and orthosis are cornerstones in the treatment—to delay the development of neuropathic arthropathy. Arthrodesis, limb lengthening and spinal decompression with fusions are the only elective procedures that seem reasonable. This Norrbottnian disease is also interesting as a model system for the study of pain.


The purpose of this research is to search for directions in engineering education development in a knowledge-based society in terms of ``engineering ethics education``. Engineering ethics education, having been recognized as an inter-disciplinary research field between engineering and philosophy, is a field that has been a major issue in countries that execute engineering education accreditation. And engineering ethics education has been a peculiar research field focused on EAC(Ethics across the Curriculum). Therefore, this study has deduced several results by critically reviewing the extant EAC-related literatures. First, accomplishments by various researchers that may well quoted as the leader of engineering ethics study and education or the educational achievements of Kanazawa Institute of Technology in Japan are considerably substantial. However, the EAC discussions thus far still raise numerous barriers and unsolved issues. Second, the discussion of EAC thus far comprehends limitations such as a shortage of the recognition of inter-disciplinary study in the field of education and insufficient participation by education majors. Third, the engineering and philosophy field experts who have been leading EAC discussions have been pursuing integrated education courses either consciously or unconsciously. Fourth, EAC discussions may expand by again illuminating the intent of integrated education courses in terms of ``education and the study of education``, and this new facet can be summed up with a new term, EAL, which stands for ``Ethics across the Living.``


Ian Coulson was at the time of the interview school history adviser for Kent. He discusses the changes which have taken place in his work as an adviser since the 1980s. He talks about setting up the History Centre which supplied resources on local history for teachers in Kent. Over the past ten years these have been transferred to the web. Ian's first big ICT project for schools was in 1986-7, when data on the Armada was made available at the History Centre - latterly, he has created ICT links to enable schools to work together on history projects and visits to archaeological sites. This has particularly helped those teaching history in primary schools. Interviewed by Nicola Sheldon.


Aims: To describe incident and recurrent work-related back injuries among union carpenters, describe the hazard function for each and associated risk factors, and explore predictors of subsequent musculoskeletal back injury based on different definitions of the initial injury. Methods: This study identified a dynamic cohort of 18 768 carpenters who worked in the State of Washington 1989–2003, their hours worked each month, and their work-related back injuries and medical claims for treatment including ICD-9 codes. Using Poisson regression we calculated rates and rate ratios (RRs) of incident and recurrent injury adjusting for age, gender, union tenure and type of carpentry work. Predictors of subsequent musculoskeletal back injury were explored based on different definitions of the incident injury, as were time periods of greatest risk following return to work. Results: Recurrent back injuries occurred at a rate 80% higher than initial injuries. Survival curves were significantly different for incident and recurrent injuries, but patterns of relative risk were similar. Individuals with greatest union tenure were at lowest risk, likely reflecting a healthy worker effect or lower physical exposures with seniority. Individuals with long periods of work disability with their first injury were at particularly high risk of subsequent musculoskeletal injury compared with those with no prior history (RR 2.3; 95% CI 2.0 to 2.7), as were individuals with degenerative diagnoses (RR 2.0; 95% CI 1.5 to 2.6). Risk for second injury peaked between 1000 and 1500 h after return to work and then gradually declined. Conclusions: Carpenters with long periods of work disability following back injury warrant accommodation and perhaps better rehabilitation efforts to avoid re-injury. Challenges to workplace accommodation and limited ability to clearly define readiness to return to work following injury demonstrate the need for primary prevention of back injuries through attention to engineering solutions among carpenters involved in strenuous work.


We analyse and explain the increased generalisation performance of Iterate Averaging using a Gaussian Process perturbation model between the true and batch risk surface on the high dimensional quadratic. We derive three phenomena from our theoretical results: (1) The importance of combining iterate averaging with large learning rates and regularisation for improved regularisation (2) Justification for less frequent averaging. (3) That we expect adaptive gradient methods to work equally well or better with iterate averaging than their non adaptive counterparts. Inspired by these results, together with empirical investigations of the importance of appropriate regularisation for the solution diversity of the iterates, we propose two adaptive algorithms with iterate averaging. These give significantly better results than SGD, require less tuning and do not require early stopping or validation set monitoring. We showcase the efficacy of our approach on the CIFAR-10/100, ImageNet and Penn Treebank datasets on a variety of modern and classical network architectures.


Objectives Variations in the blood pressure response to salt-loading, the lack of quality control measures, and the need to prepare the strains for genetic studies led to renewed secondary inbreeding of the original colony of Sabra hypertension prone (SBH) and resistant (SBN) rats in order to regain genotypic and phenotypic homogeneity of the substrains. Methods Animals from the original breeding colony were selectively inbred for basal normotension and for susceptibility or resistance to the development of hypertension following salt-loading with deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt Efficacy of inbreeding was tested by genome screening with 416 microsatellite primer sets. Phenotyping was based on measurements of systolic blood pressure by the tail-cuff methodology in awake, undisturbed animals maintained on standard diet and after salt-loading with DOCA-salt. Telemetric measurements of blood pressure were performed in a small number of animals to validate tail-cuff measurements. Results Animals from the new colony were designated SBH/y and SBN/y to differentiate from the original colony. Fourteen generations have been inbred over the past 4 years. Of the 402 microsatellit.es that amplified, 183 (45.5%) were polymorphic between the two substrains, and not a single locus was found to be heterozygous in either substrain. Phenotypic characteristics are provided for SBH/ y and SBN/y rats with respect to tail-cuff systolic blood pressure. The values obtained, which were validated by telemetry, demonstrate classical features of salt sensitivity or resistance, respectively. Conclusions The genetic homogeneity found in SBH/y and SBN/y, the phenotype demonstrating salt-sensitivity or salt-resistance in terms of development of hypertension, and the relatively high frequency of informative genetic markers identify this Sabra rat model as highly suited for studies concerning the molecular genetics of gene-environment interactions affecting blood pressure regulation.


Medicinal plants have been indispensible in treating diverse forms of diseases. Therefore, searching for plant species and highlighting their applications in tradition medicine provide an overview of their curative activities. This study is carried out to assess the cytotoxicity of four medicinal plants namely, Ambrosia maritimaL., Ammivisnaga L., AristolochiabracteolataL. and Lawsoniainermis L., grown in Sudan, traditionally used as antitumor. Furthermore, the study extent to investigate their safety profile on RAW 246.7 normal cell line. Dichloromethane (DCM) and 80% methanolic (MeOH) plant extracts were screened for their cytotoxic activity via the Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA). The potential cytotoxic extracts were estimated for their safety profile using MTT assay. The most active and less toxic extract was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening. The plants extracts, except those of A. visnaga, showed lethality against brine shrimp (LC50= 0.015 to 6.6 μg/ml). Of all of the MTT assessed extracts, A. maritima DCM, A. bracteolata seeds and branches MeOH extracts showed no detrimental effect on RAW 246.7 normal cell line. Preliminary phytochemical screening of A. maritima DCM extract revealed the presence of coumarins, flavonoids, sterols and


Product Quantization (PQ) has long been a mainstream for generating an exponentially large codebook at very low memory/time cost. Despite its success, PQ is still tricky for the decomposition of high-dimensional vector space, and the retraining of model is usually unavoidable when the code length changes. In this work, we propose a deep progressive quantization (DPQ) model, as an alternative to PQ, for large scale image retrieval. DPQ learns the quantization codes sequentially and approximates the original feature space progressively. Therefore, we can train the quantization codes with different code lengths simultaneously. Specifically, we first utilize the label information for guiding the learning of visual features, and then apply several quantization blocks to progressively approach the visual features. Each quantization block is designed to be a layer of a convolutional neural network, and the whole framework can be trained in an end-to-end manner. Experimental results on the benchmark datasets show that our model significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art for image retrieval. Our model is trained once for different code lengths and therefore requires less computation time. Additional ablation
study demonstrates the effect of each component of our proposed model. Our code is released at https://github.com/cfm-uestc/DPQ.


This paper presents an analysis of the forced vibration of an initially stressed rectangular composite plate containing two neighboring cylindrical cavities. The initial stresses are caused by stretching or compressing of the plate with uniformly distributed normal static forces acting on the two opposite end-planes which are parallel to the central axes of the aforementioned cylindrical cavities. The influence of the initial stresses on the stress concentration around the cavities caused by the additional uniformly distributed time harmonic forces acting on the upper face plane of the plate are given. The considered problem is formulated within the framework of the Three-Dimensional Linearized Theory of Elastic Waves in Initially Stressed Bodies. For the solution to this problem 3D FEM is employed. The numerical results on the influence of the initial stresses on the stress concentration around the cavities, as well as on the fundamental frequencies of the plate are presented and discussed.


Flow is an intrinsically rewarding psychological state associated with an enhanced state of consciousness and the harmonic combination of body and mind. Jockeys often refer to the highly pleasurable experience of racing performances and allude to characteristics resembling the flow experience. Little is known about how the manifestation of the flow experience differs in an equine sport, which features an atypical sporting partnership comprising a human–horse dyad. The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions that (a) facilitate, (b) inhibit and (c) disrupt the occurrence of flow in flat horse racing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Irish professional Flat jockeys regarding their experience of flow in horse-racing performance. Based on the raw data responses, higher-order themes and general dimensions were developed to capture the essence of the flow experience amongst Flat jockeys. Content analysis revealed that conditions similar to those which emerged in other studies involving elite athletes were prevalent, which included effective preparation, environmental and situational conditions, experience, physical readiness, trainer/owner interaction, focus, motivation, arousal, confidence and performance feedback. The narratives also revealed the emergence of two conditions unique to equine sports that were termed relationship between horse and jockey and horse demeanour and performance. The optimal horse–jockey partnership was characterised by confidence, optimal arousal and harmony, which emanated from the fusion of conditions pertaining independently to both the horse and jockey. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research on flow and the horse–human relationship. Recommendations for future research and practice are outlined.


A practical example of applying two- to three-dimensional (2- to 3-D) global/local finite element analysis to laminated composites is presented. Cross-ply graphite/epoxy laminates of 0.1-in. (0.254-cm) thickness with central circular holes ranging from 1 to 6 in. (2.54 to 15.2 cm) in diameter, subjected to in-plane compression were analyzed. Guidelines for full 3-D finite element analysis and 2- to 3-D global/local analysis of interlaminar stresses at straight free edges of laminated composites are included. The larger holes were found to reduce substantially the interlaminar stresses at the straight free-edge in proximity to the hole. Three-dimensional stress results were obtained for thin laminates which require prohibitive computer resources for full 3-D analyses of comparative accuracy.


Neonatal exposure of rodents to an immune challenge alters a variety of behavioural and physiological parameters in adulthood. In particular, neonatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 0.05 mg/kg, i.p.) exposure produces robust increases in anxiety-like behaviour, accompanied by persistent changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Altered autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity is an important physiological contributor to the generation of anxiety. Here we examined the long term effects of neonatal LPS exposure on ANS function and the associated changes in neuroendocrine and behavioural indices. ANS function in Wistar rats, neonatally treated with LPS, was assessed via analysis of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the adrenal glands on postnatal days (PNDs) 50 and 85, and via plethysmographic assessment of adult respiratory rate in response to mild stress (acoustic and light stimuli). Expression of genes implicated in regulation of autonomic and endocrine activity in the relevant brain areas was also examined. Neonatal LPS exposure produced an increase in TH phosphorylation and activity at both PNDs 50 and 85. In adulthood, LPS-treated rats responded with increased respiratory rates to the lower intensities of stimuli, indicative of increased autonomic arousal. These changes were associated with increases in anxiety-like behaviours and HPA axis activity, alongside altered expression of the GABA-A receptor α2 subunit, CRH receptor type 1, CRH binding protein, and glucocorticoid receptor mRNA levels in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus. The current findings suggest that in addition to the commonly reported alterations in HPA axis functioning, neonatal LPS challenge is associated with a persistent change in ANS activity, associated with, and potentially contributing to, the anxiety-like phenotype. The findings of this study reflect the importance of changes in the perinatal microbial environment on the ontogeny of physiological processes.


The electronic and magnetic properties of varying width, oxygen-functionalized armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) are investigated using first-principles density functional theory (DFT). Our study shows that O-passivation results in a rich geometrical environment which in turn determines the electronic and magnetic properties of the AGNR. For planar systems, a degenerate magnetic ground state, arising from emptying of O lone-pair electrons, is reported. DFT predicts ribbons with ferromagnetic coupling to be metallic, whereas antiferromagnetically coupled ribbons present three band gap families: one metallic and two semiconducting. Unlike hydrogen-functionalized AGNRs, the oxygen-functionalized ribbons can attain a lower energy configuration by adopting a nonplanar geometry. The nonplanar structures are nonmagnetic and show three semiconducting families of band gap behavior. Quasiparticle corrections to the DFT results predict a widening of the band gaps for all planar and nonplanar semiconducting systems. This suggests that oxygen functionalization could be used to manipulate the electronic structures of AGNRs.


Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) are subject to substantially greater risk of HIV infection, compounded both by their lack of access to stable housing and the disproportionate representation of youth of marginalized racial, ethnic, and gender identity groups among YEH. A key goal for health equity is to improve adoption of protective behaviors in this population. One promising strategy for intervention is to recruit peer leaders from the population of YEH to promote behaviors such as condom usage and regular HIV testing to their social contacts. This raises a computational question: which youth should be selected as peer leaders to maximize the overall impact of the intervention? We developed an artificial intelligence system to optimize such social network interventions in a community health setting. We conducted a clinical trial enrolling 713 YEH at drop-in centers in a large US city. The clinical trial compared interventions planned with the algorithm to those where the highest-degree nodes in the youths' social network were recruited as peer leaders (the standard method in public health) and to an observation-only control group. Results from the clinical trial show that youth in the AI group experience statistically significant reductions in key risk behaviors for HIV transmission, while those in the other groups do not. This provides, to our knowledge, the first empirical validation of the usage of AI methods to optimize social network interventions for health. We conclude by discussing lessons learned over the course of the project which may inform future attempts to use AI in community-level interventions.


The system for visual autonomous vehicle guidance which has been developed at UniBwM, has been installed into VaMoRs-P, a Mercedes 500 SEL sedan passenger car. To meet the requirements implicated by high cruising speed (up to 130 km/h) and low camera position, some changes in the design of the road detection and tracking algorithms had to be implemented. For robust visual road tracking and for reliable estimation vehicle position and heading parameters as well as of the road course, the maximal look-ahead range must be about 100 m. The 4D approach for estimation of the vehicle ego-state and the road course parameters by Kalman-filter techniques has been extended to a road model which is segmented into sections. These segments are modelled to be locally fixed, which leads to a better separation of the vehicle's ego-motion and the road course dynamics. Rearward viewing has been added to the already existing bifocal forward vision. In this paper, the basic concepts of the road recognition module are introduced and discussed.


Inorganic pyrophosphatase (pyrophosphate phosphohydrolase; EC 22.214.171.124) was purified from pig scapula cartilage by fractionation with N-cetylpyridinium chloride and (NH4)2SO4, followed by ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. Enzyme preparations of high purity were obtained, with specific activities (100-400 units/mg) higher than those previously described for mammalian pyrophosphatases. The enzyme activity could be separated into several subfractions on ion-exchange columns.


The study consists of four parts. The first part is devoted to the beginnings of cultural linguistics in Poland, connected with the Wroclaw-based programme for research on Polish national culture, the emergence of the "Language and Culture" research network (and a publication series with the same title), and the launch of the Lublin-based journal Etnolingwistyka in 1988. The second part contains examples of linguistic facts being viewed in cultural perspective, with a special role of the lexicon as the "mirror of culture". Part three presents a repertoire of seven conceptual constructs proposed in Lublin cognitive ethnolinguistics (linguistic worldview, stereotypes as cultural concepts, cognitive definition, viewpoint and interpretive perspective, profiling of base images, values, and the experiencing, conceptualizing, and speaking subject). Finally, the fourth part illustrates the application of this theoretical framework in an analysis of the Polish cultural concept of PRACA 'WORK'.


Contents PART ONE: MARKETS AND MARKET FAILURE IN HEALTH CARE
Health Care Financing Reforms: Moving into the New Millenium
Markets and Health Care: The Basic Theory
Market Failure in Health Care PART TWO: HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS AND THEIR OBJECTIVES
Methods of Funding Health Care
Economic Objectives of Health Care PART THREE: A REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL FINDINGS
Countering Consumer Moral Hazard
Countering Doctor Moral Hazard
Countering Moral Hazard in the Hospital Sector
Achieving Equity PART FOUR: FUTURE CHALLENGES
Future Considerations: Setting The Health Care Budget
Health Care Financing Reforms: Where Are We Now?


Nation is a perfluoro-sulfonate anionomer. Free-standing and solution cast membranes of Nation have been shown to preferentially incorporate large hydrophobic cations from either aqueous or nonaqueous solutions. The specific type of ion or ionic complex incorporated into the membrane determines the chemical and structural properties of both the CF2backbone region and the ether region of Nation. Nation has been used extensively to prepare biosensors and chemically modified electrodes for electrochemical analysis in both classical and chromatographic detection. The physical and chemical effects that an incorporated species could have on film modified electrodes needs to be characterized. The goal is to establish long term mechanical stability and signal reproducibility of Nation chemically modified electrodes. In this study, freestanding H+ Nation films were exposed to a series of alkali, alkali earth, and transition metal cations. The study also included a preliminary investigation of complex inorganic and organic cations and their effects on the viscoelastic behavior. Several experimental procedures for preparing the freestanding films were implemented in order to study the overall effects that the different cations could have on the Nation films. The first set of conditions guaranteed a high level of neutralization within the films with respect to the incorporation of ions. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis of the films then established the extent that the various counter-ions alter the mechanical properties of Nation. It was found that varying the temperature at which the films were dried after exposure to the aqueous and non-aqueous solutions controlled the amount of water retained in the membrane. Water content in the membrane also was dependent on the hydration characteristics of the counter-ion being incorporated. The dynamic thermal mechanical studies have shown Nation to have three distinct regions: a fluorocarbon region, an interfacial region and a region of ionic clusters. Charge density, size, and entropy effects were among the characteristics of the counter-ions that helped to establish which region they would be located after exposure. A second set of experimental conditions that resulted in the partial neutralization of the Nation films were also used. The dynamic thermal mechanical analyses indicate the creation of heterogeneous cluster regions within the ionomeric membrane.


The Horizon 2020 interim evaluation (2017) indicates a steep increase in citizen engagement in European Union Citizen Science (CS) projects, with less than 1% in budgetary terms and minimal influence. Research findings attribute weak CS influence to the restriction of citizen actions to data collection, with minimal or no engagement in co-design, co-creation, data analysis, and elucidation of results. We design a participatory GIS and CS methodology aimed at engaging the citizens in the entire Earth Observation (EO) project cycle. The methodology also seeks to address previous CS project challenges related to data quality, data interoperability, citizen-motivation, and participation. We draw the high-level requirements from the SENDAI framework of action and the three pillars of active citizen engagement, as enshrined in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration and the Aarhus Convention. The primary input of the methodology is the Haklay (2018) approach for participatory mapping and CS, and the Reed (2009) stakeholder analysis framework. The proposed methodology comprises of three main parts: system analysis, stakeholder analysis, and a six-step methodology. We designed the six-step methodology using an iterative and flexible approach, to take account of unforeseen changes. Future research will focus on implementing the methodology and evaluating its effectiveness in the Solotvyno Saltmine case study in Ukraine.


This paper reports on the evaluation of an Australian Government and NSW State funded Mental Health Integration Project in remote far western NSW. The project was part of the Mental Health Integration Program, developed from the Second National Mental Health Plan. The project implemented a model of community-based mental health services and used innovative financing arrangements to allow the provision of community-based specialist mental health teams to remote communities and to recruit visiting psychiatrists to support the local primary care providers. The evaluation strategy included a survey of general practitioners (GPs) in the Upper Western Sector and Broken Hill, designed to investigate their level and type of contact with psychiatrists and community-based specialist mental health care teams, their perceptions about the impact of the new services, and their interest in further professional development in mental health care.The project has shown that visiting specialists can be deployed in a primary care setting with a focus on meeting the needs of local GPs, primary health care staff and their patients.


Modern pig farming is a significant sector of modern agriculture in many countries. The attractiveness of its products is associated with their excellent taste and economic affordability. The intensive development of pig breeding considers the latest achievements in the field of pig biology during their early ontogenesis. Optimal functioning of hemostasis in growing piglets relies on platelet activity. Its low severity during the phase of milk and vegetable nutrition provides them with the optimal functional state of primary hemostasis, the success of microcirculation in the internal organs, and sufficient activity of all functional and biochemical processes. In the blood of healthy piglets during the phase of dairy and plant nutrition, a decrease in the number of peroxidation products was noted due to an increase in the level of antioxidant protection of their plasma. This minimized their platelet and vascular wall alteration and provided optimal platelet-vascular interactions. This study shows that the gradual increase in the platelet aggregation that develops in piglets at this age is functionally balanced by the increase in the disaggregation properties of blood vessels and creates conditions for optimal blood flow in small-caliber vessels.


Recent experimental studies, both in vivo and in vitro, have revealed that membrane components that bind to the cortical actomyosin meshwork are driven by active fluctuations, whereas membrane components that do not bind to cortical actin are not. Here we study the statistics of density fluc- tuations and dynamics of particles advected in an active quasi-two dimensional medium comprising self-propelled filaments with no net orientational order, using a combination of agent-based Brow- nian dynamics simulations and analytical calculations. The particles interact with each other and with the self-propelled active filaments via steric interactions. We find that the particles show a tendency to cluster and their density fluctuations reflect their binding to and driving by the active filaments. The late-time dynamics of tagged particles is diffusive, with an active diffusion coefficient that is independent of (or at most weakly-dependent on) temperature at low temperatures. Our results are in qualitative agreement with the experiments mentioned above. In addition, we make predictions that can be tested in future experiments.


In this paper, we propose an Enhanced Genetic Algorithm (EGA) to find the optimal path for a mobile robot. The workspace of the mobile robot is assumed to be of known environment with many static obstacles. The space of environment is divided into equally quarters by projection of a grid of specified distance on the environment space. Each quarter represents a node in the workspace. Moreover, each node has assigned by a unique number. So, all these nodes are distributed uniformly in the workspace. Each node may link to another node by straight line unless this line crosses one or more obstacles. New operator named Validation of Links operator introduces here to check all valid links between any two nodes. The GA operators adjusted and enhanced to suit the path planning problem and further more we develop new other operators to increase the efficiency of the algorithm. Simulation studies are carried out to verify and validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


The major economic interest of the dairy cattle industry is the production of replacement females of high genetic merit for traits of commercial importance. Sex-sorted semen represents a key means of achieving this goal. Its combination with ICSI may be an efficient alternative to overcome the detrimental effects of cell sorting which renders sexed sperm less suitable for artificial insemination and/or in vitro fertilisation. However, bovine ICSI success is less than that observed in humans where ICSI is employed as the first choice for the treatment of male infertility. Failure in sperm chromatin decondensation and pronuclei formation are thought to be the principal problems linked to low fertilisation success and poor embryo development following bovine ICSI. However, another factor may be the ability of bull sperm to induce egg activation following ICSI. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to develop improved sperm preparations and suitable artificial oocyte activation (AOA) protocols. Sperm preparation focused on removal of acrosomal membranes by either heparin (Hep) in combination with Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) or high dose Calcium Ionophore A23187 (CaIo). Sperm decondensation was induced by Hep and L-glutathione (GSH). Conditions were optimised to attain the maximum percentage viable fully-Acrosome Reacted (AR) spermatozoa and decondensed sperm heads. Similarly, new combinations of AOA protocols following ICSI were also investigated. These used strontium chloride (SrCl2) as the principal activating agent to enhance embryo development. Finally, 2 pronuclei formation (PN, 16 h post-activation), cleavage (Day 2) and blastocyst development (Day 8) were evaluated following ICSI using bull spermatozoa pre-treated differently and egg activation by the newly developed protocol (CaIo+SrCl2/CHX) which led to higher parthenogenetic embryo development (36%) compared to conventional protocols (~22%). These studies revealed that male gamete pre-treatment increased pronuclear formation (Hep+LPC- or CaIo-2PN = 32% vs. non-treated-2PN = 5%) following ICSI. Despite this improvement in bovine ICSI success, however, blastocyst development requires further enhancement because the percentage inseminated eggs that reached the blastocyst stage (~6%) and quality were poor compared to conventional IVF (23% blastocysts of inseminated). Therefore, further research is required to develop more suitable sperm preparation protocols to fertilise and activate eggs following ICSI in the absence of AOA. Similarly, other factors such as oocyte source (abattoir vs OPU) and maturation system that lead to greater post-insemination competency should be investigated.


We investigate the statistical dependence of the peak intrinsic colors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) on their expansion velocities at maximum light, measured from the Si ii λ6355 spectral feature. We construct a new hierarchical Bayesian regression model, accounting for the random effects of intrinsic scatter, measurement error, and reddening by host galaxy dust, and implement a Gibbs sampler and deviance information criteria to estimate the correlation. The method is applied to the apparent colors from BVRI light curves and Si ii velocity data for 79 nearby SNe Ia. The apparent color distributions of high-velocity (HV) and normal velocity (NV) supernovae exhibit significant discrepancies for B − V and B − R, but not other colors. Hence, they are likely due to intrinsic color differences originating in the B band, rather than dust reddening. The mean intrinsic B − V and B − R color differences between HV and NV groups are 0.06 ± 0.02 and 0.09 ± 0.02 mag, respectively. A linear model finds significant slopes of −0.021 ± 0.006 and −0.030 ± 0.009 mag (103 km s−1)−1 for intrinsic B − V and B − R colors versus velocity, respectively. Because the ejecta velocity distribution is skewed toward high velocities, these effects imply non-Gaussian intrinsic color distributions with skewness up to +0.3. Accounting for the intrinsic-color–velocity correlation results in corrections to AV extinction estimates as large as −0.12 mag for HV SNe Ia and +0.06 mag for NV events. Velocity measurements from SN Ia spectra have the potential to diminish systematic errors from the confounding of intrinsic colors and dust reddening affecting supernova distances.


This paper proposes a method of geometry modeling for indexing cam mechanism by using screw theory and exponential product formula. Kinematic analysis based on screw theory is introduced firstly. Then, method to model surface of indexing cams is presented when screw theory and exponential product formula are applied. The paper gives examples to obtain the geometry models of roller gear cam, barrel indexing cam and parallel indexing cam. Our work suggests that this method can avoid the burdensome work on building coordinate systems, transformation matrixes and understanding on the mechanism. Moreover, this method can be used to innovate and design new types of indexing mechanism.


Degradation examinations of outer surface of low-emission steam boiler evaporator tubes are presented in the paper. Metallographic evaluation of scale morphology as well as determination of chemical composition of micro sites and distribution of elements on cross-sections is reported. Water-wall tubes were exposed in steam boiler for up to two years period. Common tubes produced from 16Mo3 steel suffered sulphide and molten salts corrosions. Thermal sprayed tubes with the single layer of 70%Ni 30%Cr alloy demonstrate better corrosion resistance, but become susceptible to sulphide corrosion due to presence of internal voids and cracks. Double layer Al2O3/Ni-30Cr coatings withstood corrosion attack for more than one year of operation, and then failed due to internal heterogeneity and crack generation.


In this paper, we present a lightweight authentication scheme designed to enable mobile devices to achieve robust client-anonymity and computation efficiency. Instead of the heavy encryption and decryption modules of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), we adopt the key agreement operation of ECC as the core technique in the proposed anonymous authentication scheme. This eliminates significant computation cost and thus does not exceed the inherent resource-limitations on mobile devices. Security analyses are conducted to guarantee the robustness of the proposed authentication scheme. Moreover, when we implement our proposed scheme, the demo-system we have named AuthDroid, into the Android system, the implementation results demonstrate a practical execution time, e.g. 149.7 microseconds, on an Android-based smartphone, i.e. HTC ONE X, to complete the whole authentication procedure of AuthDroid.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.44.2.8335


In order to maximize the network profit competitive service providers shall utilize their resources efficiently and price their services taking into account the demand responsiveness in the market. Pricing strategies play an important role in the network performance since they explicitly influence the user demand. Demand uncertainty would cause providers to face lower profits. In this paper, we analyze the price-demand relationship and based on that, we study a competitive pricing game and address an open wireless access market (with different market shares) where service providers' objective is to maximize their profits. The resources are allocated among the users through a proportionally fair divisible auction mechanism. Simulation results show that a resource allocation model, which attracts users to actively participate in the auction, assures fair access while maintaining service providers' profit by adapting the pricing policy with a change in the user demand. Our analysis reveals that the service providers can establish a competitive price of the resources, while capturing a reasonable portion of market share. Under this setting, service providers could learn and predict which pricing policy is beneficial in a competitive environment.


Do general amnesty programs lead to reductions in the crime rate among immigrants? We answer this question by exploiting both cross-sectional and time variation in the number of immigrants legalized generated by the enactment of repeated amnesty programs between 1990 and 2005 in Italy. We address the potential endogeneity of the "legalization treatment" by instrumenting the actual number of legalized immigrants with alternative predicted measures based on past amnesty applications patterns and residential choices of documented and undocumented immigrants. We find that, in the year following an amnesty, regions in which a higher share of immigrants obtained legal status experienced a greater decline in non-EU immigrant crime rates, relative to other regions. The effect is statistically significant but relatively small and not persistent. In further results, we fail to find any evidence of substitution in the criminal market from other population groups - namely, EU immigrants and Italian citizens - and we observe a small and not persistent reduction in total offenses.


Objectives To determine the indications for which meropenem was being used and to assess whether these indications adhered to Trust guidelines and national recommendations. This was prompted by the emergence and proliferation of ESBL-producing pathogens and the increase in meropenem use throughout the Trust.1–4 Methods The standard used incorporated local and national advice. At least one of the following criteria had to be met for a course to be 'appropriate': ▶ Compliance with Trust guidelines (including febrile neutropenia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa eradication in cystic fibrosis, central venous line infections caused by ESBL-producing pathogens and meningitis following neurosurgery). ▶ Recommendation by the infectious diseases (ID) team. ▶ Treatment of infections caused by ESBL-producing pathogens or by multi-drug resistant pathogens. Data were obtained from the Centralised IV Additive Service and dispensary records of all doses of meropenem prescribed for inpatients from 1st November 2009 to 1st November 2010. Case notes and medication charts for each patient identified were located to gather information regarding the indication and microbiological findings. Results 102 courses of meropenem were prescribed for 62 patients during the 12 month audit period (seven courses were excluded due to being initiated at other Trusts). 70 courses (68%) were found to be compliant and 32% were found to be non-compliant with the audit standards. ▶ 31 courses were compliant with Trust guidelines, although only 40% of indications were covered by the scope of these. ▶ 32 courses were advised by the ID team. 40% were advised due to ESBL-producing pathogens. ▶ 34 courses were prescribed to treat infections caused by ESBL-producing pathogens. 47% of these were attributable to Klebsiella pneumonia and 30% due to Escherichia coli. These pathogens were responsible predominantly for causing septicaemia and febrile neutropenia. ▶ 44 courses were to cover for non-ESBL-producing pathogens. Most of these courses adhered to Trust guidelines (22), were advised by the ID team (9) or were multi-drug resistant bacteria (5); however 8 courses of meropenem were prescribed despite the bacteria being fully sensitive to cephaolsporins. These were classed as non-compliant. ▶ 24 courses were prescribed in the absence of any microbiological support at all. Conclusion It is concerning that meropenem use is not adequately controlled by existing guidelines (in the case of septicaemia, where use of meropenem is widespread), by ID recommendation or by the presence of ESBL-producing or multi-drug resistant pathogens. Recommendations to the Trust are to add meropenem to the list of restricted drugs and educating pharmacists to challenge inappropriate use of carbapenems, thus limiting injudicious use.


In this paper we review the structure of the conserving sum rules in the mesoscopic regime, from the weakest driving fields to the strongest. As compact quantitative expressions of the microscopic conservation laws, the sum rules entail a set of straightforward criteria to be met by proper theoretical descriptions of metallicelectron behavior. As we discuss below, these criteria are quite enough to rule out models of mesoscopic processes that fail to uphold the conservation laws.


In recent years, the numerical simulation technology has been applying more and more efficiently over the world including Vietnam where the ANSYS software has perhaps become the most popular CAE software in mechanical engineering, in civil construction and in science of materials namely with composite material and hybrid-materials structures. In this paper, we would like to show some results obtained in our research in numerical simulation with ANSYS software: a deep forming process of a double sink, a stadium roof under the wind effect, and a ferro-concrete beam reinforced by Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips. The simulations were carried out with help of various modules of ANSYS software. Those are ANSYS multiphysics, ANSYS-CFX and ANSYS-LS Dyna.


Abstr A ct Tissue- and device-associated biofilm infections are important medical problems. These infections are difficult to treat due to a high-level of tolerance to antibiotics. Telavancin has been studied in several in vitro biofilm models and has demonstrated efficacy against staphylococcal and enterococcal-associated biofilm infections, including those formed by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Telavancin was effective against the difficult-to-treat vancomycin- and glycopeptide-intermediate strains of S. aureus in these models. Furthermore, the efficacy of telavancin has been evaluated in several biofilm-related in vivo models, including osteomyelitis, endocarditis and deviceassociated infections in rabbits. Overall, telavancin exhibited similar or greater efficacy than vancomycin and other comparators in these animal models and maintained activity against vancomycin-intermediate and daptomycin nonsusceptible strains of S. aureus.


During the development of medicines, people try to minimize the risk of unwanted side effects. In particular, the "torsades de pointes" side effect (TdP; a chamber rhythm disorder) is feared. Patients with the hereditary long QT syndrome are particularly sensitive. They may unexpectedly faint or sometimes suddenly die. In this research, a unique model was developed to study the development of TdP in detail. The studies were done in narcotized dogs so that the animals did not experience any pain or stress. We identified a groundbreaking new parameter, the electromechanical window (EMW). This parameter has the potential to more adequately determine the risk of TdP during drug development. Currently EMW measurements are successfully evaluated by means of computer models and safety studies in cells by the pharmaceutical industry and in clinical studies with different patient populations by academic specialists worldwide.


This article describes the microstructures, chemical and phase compositions, surface morphologies, and internal structures of three ZrO2 x 8Y2O3-type of powders obtained by different manufacturing methods. The first of the analyzed powders was a conventionally prepared form of the material obtained by the spraying method. The second powder was a spherically shaped form of the material obtained from the spray drying process. It displayed a distinctive surface morphology characterized by a rough structure with visible cavities. The particle sizes of these two powders were comparable. The third form of the powder was classified as "nano" and was obtained by a grinding and crushing method. The shapes of individual particles were generally polyhedral with smooth surfaces and no visible porosity. A study of the chemical composition of each form of the powder did not show significant differences, similar to the results obtained from the phase composition study. The results of thermal diffusivity and electrical impedance studies indicated that the electrical and thermal properties of the powders with spherical structures, i.e., sprayed and spray drying, were very similar. The thermal diffusivity and impedance properties of these two powders were greater than those of the ground powder with a finer grain size.


The hyaluronidase activity of pneumococcal strains isolated from 39 patients with purulent meningitis, 26 patients with acute internal otitis and 130 healthy carriers was studied. All strains isolated from patients with purulent meningitis and meningoencephalitis and 84.6% of strains isolated in cases of otitis were found to have hyaluronidase, while in healthy children hyaluronidase-synthesizing strains were detected only in 11.5% of cases. Hyaluronidase titers in pneumococcal strains isolated from patients with meningitis and meningoencephalitis were significantly higher than in strains causing purulent otitis. At the same time strains with high hyaluronidase titers were also isolated from 7% of healthy carriers. Noncapsular pneumococcal strains had no hyaluronidase. The average value of the reverse correlation between hyaluronidase activity and the virulence of strains for mice was established. Hyaluronidase activity did not correlate with different serotypes of pneumococcal strains. The intranasal administration of hyaluronidase in high titers (> or = 1:8) to mice and rats led to the penetration of the infective agent through the hematoencephalic barrier of the animals and to their death from generalized pneumococcal infection. The role of hyaluronidase as the invasiveness factor of pneumococci was confirmed in experiments on the intranasal infection of mice with low active strains mixed with the preparation of exogenous hyaluronidase.


The paper presents an approach to data mining involving search for complete, or nearly complete, domain classifications in terms of attribute values. Our objective is to find classifications based on interacting attributes that provide a good characterization of the concept of interest by maximizing predefined quality criteria. The paper introduces the notion of the classification complexity and several other measures to evaluate quality.


Nullum crimen sine lege and related doctrines that limit extraterritorial jurisdiction and confer immunity ratione materiae are not inconvenient obstacles to be circumvented, but crucial safeguards to be respected. These doctrines respond to the reality that the international community remains beset by serious moral disagreement, both about what count as just ends and about which harsh measures those ends might justify in circumstances of high-stakes political conflict. In such a world, in which very few hands are truly clean, unilateral invocations of universal principles must be viewed skeptically, and associated exercises of power treated guardedly. Prosecutions undertaken in the name of the international community must establish a requisite social, and not merely a moral, basis for condemning acts - including acknowledged human rights violations - as crimes, and for holding their state-authorized perpetrators as subject to individual penal responsibility.An over-assertive approach to international criminal justice, to be pursued unilaterally in domestic justice systems, is troubling because it risks undermining what is arguably most valuable about international law. International law provides a framework for accommodation among the non-like-minded, and a normative basis for mobilizing broad opposition to the self-righteous violence of the powerful (even as it licenses uses of force where there is genuinely no reasonable alternative). Penal processes aim to identify villains, consequently to exclude them as bearers of recognized authority, and thus as partners in negotiation and accommodation. Appropriate though such outcomes are in an important subset of circumstances, it is dangerous to distract from the deeper truth that peace means peace with others as they are, not as we might like for them to be. One must seek peace, not always with the gentle, but often with the ruthless. A repudiation of that truth risks setting in motion, willy-nilly, a new ruthlessness to end all ruthlessness.


We formulate a notion of local stabilization, by which a system self-stabilizes in time proportional to the size of any perturbation that changes the network topology or the state of nodes. The notion implies that the part of the network involved in the stabilization includes at most the nodes whose distance from the perturbed nodes is proportional to the perturbation size. Also, we present LSRP, a protocol for local stabilization in shortest path routing. LSRP achieves local stabilization via two techniques. First, it layers system computation into three diffusing waves each having a different propagation speed, i.e., "stabilization wave" with the lowest speed, "containment wave" with intermediate speed, and "super-containment wave" with the highest speed. The containment wave contains the mistakenly initiated stabilization wave, the super-containment wave contains the mistakenly initiated containment wave, and the super-containment wave self-stabilizes itself locally. Second, LSRP avoids forming loops during stabilization, and it removes all transient loops within small constant time. To the best of our knowledge, LSRP is the first protocol that achieves local stabilization in shortest path routing