Test-time adversarial attacks have posed serious challenges to the robustness of machine-learning models, and in many settings the adversarial perturbation needs not be bounded by small ℓ p -norms. Motivated by attacks in program analysis and security tasks, we investigate relational adversaries , a broad class of attackers who create adversarial examples in a reflexive-transitive closure of a logical relation. We analyze the conditions for robustness against relational adversaries and investigate different levels of robustness-accuracy trade-off due to various patterns in a relation. Inspired by the insights, we propose normalize-and-predict , a learning framework that leverages input normalization to achieve provable robustness. The framework solves the pain points of adversarial training against relational adversaries and can be combined with adversarial training for the benefits of both approaches. Guided by our theoretical findings, we apply our framework to source code authorship attribution and malware detection. Results of both tasks show our learning framework significantly improves the robustness of models against relational adversaries. In the process, it outperforms adversarial training, the most noteworthy defense mechanism, by a wide margin.


This study presents a calculation of the free energy of the ice–water interface using molecular simulation. The method used is an adaptation of the cleaving method, introduced by Broughton and Gilmer, and subsequently enhanced by Davidchack and Laird. The calculation is direct in the sense that an interface is formed during the simulation: isolated ice and water systems are transformed, via a sequence of reversible steps, into a single system of ice and water in contact. The method is essentially computational, that is, it does not correspond to any possible physical experiment, since non-physical potential energies are introduced (and subsequently removed) during the transformation process. The adaptation of the method to water presented significant challenges, notably the avoidance of hysteresis during the transformation, and the devising of an 'external' energy potential to control the position and orientation of water molecules. The results represent the first direct calculation by simulation of the solid–liquid interfacial free energy for a model of a molecular (as opposed to atomic) system.


The overall acceptability of 202 consumers has been analysed by ANOVA, multiple means comparison, cluster analysis and internal preference mapping (MDPREF). Three clusters are found with different preference criteria. These clusters can also be characterized according to actual purchase behaviour, declared consumption habits and sociodemographic characteristics. This study demonstrates the importance for the agro-food industry of examining consumers' individual preferences as well as average ones, to obtain relevant information including not only the consumers' preference trends, but also the most suitable segment to target a new product. In this way, the MDPREF shows that although consumers' preferences tend to Iberian hams over white-breed hams, there is a cluster of consumers which prefers PDO Teruel ham over one of the iberian hams. This cluster shows also some sociodemographic and purchase and consumption habits peculiarities.


A set of east-trending magnetic anomalies located in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean near the Phoenix Islands is Early Cretaceous in age. The use of magnetic reversal model studies shows that this lineated anomaly pattern correlates with one east of Japan that trends east, and with one west of Hawaii that trends northwest. These patterns were formed in their present relative positions, but about 40° (4,500 km) south of their present geographic locations. The configuration of these three contemporaneous sets of magnetic anomalies implies that the Late Mesozoic tectonic pattern consisted of five spreading centers joined at two triple points. In this interpretation, the oldest part of the Pacific Ocean lies just east of the Mariana Trench and is Early Jurassic in age. This Mesozoic system evolved into the Cenozoic spreading pattern recorded in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The details of this transition are open to speculation because it occurred during a period in the Late Cretaceous that lacked magnetic reversals. We propose a model that suggests the northern triple point jumped southeast about 2,000 km at 100 m.y. B.P., and that the Emperor Trough was a transform fault of large offset during the Late Cretaceous. The southern triple point migrated rapidly toward the south-southeast, approximately parallel to the Eltanin Fracture Zone–Louisville Ridge complex that we extend o t the westernmost of the Phoenix lineation fracture zones.


Most organizations have critical data, i.e. customer data or large databases. If these data are lost, organization's existence is in danger. As a consequence, backups for the systems are produced. However, some data are stored only on the computers of employees. These data are usually less critical, but their value cannot be neglected. At DATEV eG in Nuremberg, the question has risen whether it is economically justified to install backup mechanisms for these data. To answer this question, we first present a model to perform an assessment. With the help of this model, we calculate the expected annual cost of repair employees' computers and data including all side effects. Finally the break-even point in cost-efficiency is computed for the example of DATEV eG.


Y-chromatin of nerve cells and fibroblasts in culture has a similar morphofunctional organization. The average number of fluorocentres in the above-mentioned cells is different, i.e. the number of fluorocentres in neurons is less than that in fibroblasts. The fluorescence intensity of fluorocentres does not depend upon the body size. The data of a comparative study of Y-chromatin permit two classes of bodies to be distinguished depending on fluorescence density and their size.


Individuals with a diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) show abnormal spoken language occurring alongside normal non-verbal abilities. Behaviorally, people with SLI exhibit diverse profiles of impairment involving phonological, grammatical, syntactic, and semantic aspects of language. In this study, we used a multimodal neuroimaging technique called anatomically constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) to measure the dynamic functional brain organization of an adolescent with SLI. Using single-subject statistical maps of cortical activity, we compared this patient to a sibling and to a cohort of typically developing subjects during the performance of tasks designed to evoke semantic representations of concrete objects. Localized patterns of brain activity within the language impaired patient showed marked differences from the typical functional organization, with significant engagement of right hemisphere heteromodal cortical regions generally homotopic to the left hemisphere areas that usually show the greatest activity for such tasks. Functional neuroanatomical differences were evident at early sensoriperceptual processing stages and continued through later cognitive stages, observed specifically at latencies typically associated with semantic encoding operations. Our findings show with real-time temporal specificity evidence for an atypical right hemisphere specialization for the representation of concrete entities, independent of verbal motor demands. More broadly, our results demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of using aMEG to characterize individual patient differences in the dynamic functional organization of the brain.


Chemical warfare agents (CWA) have been used in the World Wars and in terrorist attacks, and hence there is an urgent need to find means of their decontamination. Metal oxides offer a rapid means of their disposal, since they contain reactive Lewis acid and basic sites, on which adsorption of the CWA, and subsequent hydrolysis, can take place. Destructive adsorption of CWA on metal oxides yields non-toxic products. Nanoscale metal oxides display enhanced reactive properties toward warfare agents due to their high surface area, large number of highly reactive edges, corner defect sites, unusual lattice planes and high surface to volume ratio. Both experimental and theoretical studies have established that decomposition of nerve agents is facilitated on nanoscale Al2O3, MgO, CaO, TiO2, ZnO and small edge and corner clay mineral fragments. Compared to sulfur mustard, nerve agents are more potent. We first briefly describe their mode of action. Many experimental and theoretical studies have been performed to study their decomposition on various metal oxide surfaces, such as MgO, CaO, Al2O3, TiO2, V2O5, and clay minerals. The results of these studies are reviewed here. Photochemical degradation on TiO2 nanosurfaces has also yielded promising results. Because of the toxicity and risk involved, experimental studies have been mostly confined to the benign simulants, whereas theoretical studies have attempted to compare the real agents with their mimics. These studies establish a qualitative correlation between the G-agents and their simulant DMMP, and, hence, decomposition on metal oxide surfaces can be analyzed by observing the surface chemistry of DMMP on a wide variety of metal oxide surfaces. This review attempts to compile the literature concerning CWA and their simulants. Copyright © 2013 VBRI press.


The purpose of this study was to determine how many courses exist, or how much course content exists in Division IA colleges/universities regarding the Armenian Genocide in undergraduate higher education throughout the United States. Armenians throughout the world commemorate the genocide of 191 5 on April 24 each year to remember the slaughter and displacement of the thousands of Armenians during the rule of the Ottoman Empire (Balakian, 2003; Hovannisian, 1986; Melson, 1992; Miller & Miller, 1993). The Ottoman Empire succeeded in killing an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and eliminated the possibility of their living as a group in the homeland they inhabited for 3000 years (Boyajian & Grigorian, 1998; Dadrian, 1995). As presented in this research, there are numerous, scholarly historical analyses and survivor accounts that contend the Turks desire to exterminate the Armenian race (Balakian 1997,2003 ; Dadrian, 1995; Hartunian, 1968; Jemazian, 1990; Miller & Miller, 1993). However, the most unbelievable aspect of this particular genocide is that the Turkish government has yet to admit their guilt or responsibility for these killings (Balakian, 1997,2003; Dadrian, 1995,1999q 1999b, 2003). The data for this study were collected by accessing every Division 1A college/university web page and then researching their program catalog for courses on the Armenian Genocide. There were a total of three universities or 2.6 % of the 116 Division IA colleges/universities that offered stand alone undergraduate courses on the Armenian Genocide and nine other schools or 7.8% (excluding stand-alone courses) that offered course content, through their undergraduate Holocaust/genocide courses, on the Armenian Genocide. A total of 12 or 10.3% of the 1 16 Division LA schools offer undergraduate stand-alone courses andlor course content on the Armenian Genocide. This research discusses the possible reasons as to why this horrific event is presently not covered in college/university curricular programs in the United States. The question remains, why, since this topic, this atrocity, which was so massive and so controversial historically and politically to this day, is the Armenian Genocide not being reviewed and discussed in a scholarly environment such as higher education in the United State of America?


Titania(B) nanobelt and anatase titania nanobelt could be prepared by calcining hydrogen titanate nanobelt at 450 °C and 550 °C respectively. When the hydrogen titanate was previously treated with HNO3 for some time before calcination at 450 °C, titania(B) and anatase mixed phase titania could be obtained. The ratio of anatase phase in the product could be changed by control the time of HNO3 treating. TEM images show that the mixed phase product was anatase nanocrystals doted on titania(B) nanobelts. The mixed phase product shows higher photocatalytic activity on the decomposition of Methylene Blue (MB) than the pure titania(B) nanobelt and anatase nanobelt.


The evaluation of radioimmunotherapy using 131I-anti HCC isoferritin IgG antibody in the multimodality treatment of HCC was reported. Forty three patients with surgically verified unresectable HCC have been treated by radioimmunotherapy as a part of multimodality treatment during 1985-1990. The short-term responses and prolong survival were compared with that in control group of 39 patients with HCC receiving conventional multimodality treatment. The rates of tumor shrinkage, AFP level decline and second resection in radioimmunotherapy group were 67.4% (29/43), 69.6% (16/23) and 30.2% (13/43) respectively, significantly higher than those in control group 23.1% (15/39), 40.0% (8/20) and 10.3% (4/39) respectively. The 1, 3, 5-year survival rates were 61.5%, 40.4% and 35.5% in radioimmunotherapy group, however, in control group were 51.3%, 20.1% and 15.5%, respectively. The results suggested that radioimmunotherapy is one of modalities of choice, particularly for the treatment of unresectable HCC in the multimodality treatment regimen.


Abstract In this paper, using Sicilian and Australian rainfall intensity data, a comparison between different estimators (modified Fournier index F, FF index) of the rainfall erosivity factor in the USLE was made. The relationship between the modified Fournier index and the mean annual rainfall, P, was theoretically derived. The K constant, linking the FF index and P, and its cumulative distribution function (CDF) were used to establish hydrological similitude among different geographical regions of southern Italy and southeastern Australia. To predict the erosion risk for an event of given average recurrence interval, the probability distribution of the annual value F a.j of the Arnoldus index was studied. In order to establish the theoretical CDF to use as a regional parent distribution, the descriptive ability of LN2 and EV1 distributions was studied by both an at-site analysis and a hierarchical regional procedure. The analysis showed that for each sub-region of southern Italy and southeastern Austral...


Different isolates of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vary in the cell tropisms they display, i.e., the range of cell types in which they are able to establish a productive infection. Here, we report on the phenotypes of recombinants between two molecularly cloned strains of HIV-1. Our results prove that the envelope glycoprotein gp120 is solely responsible for the difference in cell tropism between the two parental isolates and that no other genes or sequences are involved in determining the cell tropism of these strains. The region of the envelope involved in the determination of cell tropism includes sequences which encode the V3 loop of gp120. Control of cell tropism by this region of the virus env gene is a general phenomenon which applies to many different HIV-1 isolates.


This paper explores the relationship between environmental tax, environmental performance and economic development in China and Sweden using time series data over the period 1985–2016. The mainly research method is constructive study method and this study mainly aims at improving environmental tax system of China. We performed ARDL Bound test to see if there is evidence of a long run relationship. Based on the results, we found that both countries have cointegrating vectors. Moreover, by setting up ARDL-ECM model we find out the triadic relation and testify the EKC theory and Double Dividend theory existing or not in China and Sweden. The Granger causality tells us environmental tax in China does not play a role in reducing carbon dioxide, environmental tax benefits to economic growth and economic growth of China will weaken growth of carbon emission but the function is not significant. To ameliorate this condition, governments should accelerate public relative environmental tax policy especially carbon tax to decrease emission of carbon without restricting growth of economy.


Background and Aims: Use of intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) is now a common practice. The present study was taken up to study the clinicopathological changes in endometrium following use of IUCD. Methods: Endometrium obtained from 65 cases who had IUCD of varying duration, presenting with different symptoms were studied by Hematoxylin and Eosin stained slides. Results: Patients presented with various menstrual irregularities and pelvic inflammatory disease. Duration of IUCD use ranged from 4 months to 10 years. The spectrum of endometrial changes were interstitial edema 22(33.8%), hemorrhage 36(55.3%), focal hyperplasia 18(27.6%), diffuse hyperplasia 2(3%), cystoglandular hyperplasia 4(6.1%), predecidual changes 5(7.6%), inflammatory cell infiltrate 9(13.8%), lymphoid follicles 2(3%), vascular changes 2(3%), metaplasia 1(1.5%). Conclusion: The present study tries to focus on the spectrum of endometrial changes associated with IUCD use, their clinical symptomatology and possible pathogenetic mechanisms. The endometrial changes were possibly due to inflammation, hyperplasia and metaplasia induced by IUCD.


Clock synchronization between different entities in a system has been approached using two main methods, decentralized and centralized synchronization. Examples of centralized synchronization include Network Time Protocol (NTP) and the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) as a central clock. The synchronization of clocks in distributed systems is a well-studied and difficult problem. Current solutions possess a significant convergence delay and a non-perfect synchronization window. This thesis approaches the problem of clock synchronization in decentralized systems by analysing and using pulse-coupled oscillator models, like the Kuramoto model and the Mirollo-Strogatz firefly model, while leveraging the knowledge of internode latencies to form a biased gradient overlay topology, and creating a custom firefly synchronization model. The system node coordinates are indicative of internode latencies if they are assigned statically using a latency data set or through a dynamic coordinate protocol, which assigns coordinates according to current internode latencies. The coordinates are then used to create an overlay over the physical topology by having larger number of links with lower internode latency. Neighbours are selected based on an information need basis. Logical time on the nodes is set in sync along with the phase synchronization using fine tuned algorithms to set a common timestamp on each cycle, and to optimize the synchronization window and the convergence time. The results show that the gradient firefly synchronization is efficient in convergence time as well as synchronization window. The protocol works better with a single cluster of nodes as compared to multiple clusters. It is concluded in the thesis that latency aware gradient firefly synchronization protocols can be used per cluster and the performance can be improved further with the incorporation of dynamic coordinate protocols.


Objective Increased evidence indicating ghrelin's direct influence on bone has been reported, but previous studies did not investigate its relationship with osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) in vivo. Coagulation disorders are considered to play important roles in ONFH. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of ghrelin, von Willebrand Factor (vWF) and other potentially relevant indicators with non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Methods Patients with non-traumatic ONFH (including steroid-induced, alcohol-induced, and idiopathic ONFH) and healthy controls were recruited for the study. We evaluated levels of plasma ghrelin and vWF. Other potentially relevant indicators, von Willebrand Factor cleaving protease (vWF-cp), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and lipid parameters were also assayed. Correlation coefficients and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations. Results Patients with non-traumatic ONFH had significantly lower ghrelin levels, higher vWF, PAI-1, CRP levels than those in healthy controls. Ghrelin level was negatively correlated with vWF after adjustment for other variables. Logistic regression model revealed that non-traumatic ONFH was independently associated with plasma ghrelin and vWF. Conclusions This study indicates that plasma ghrelin, vWF and PAI-1 levels were changed in patients with non-traumatic ONFH. Ghrelin in combination with vWF may prove to be involved in the pathogenesis of non-traumatic ONFH.


The variability in sediment concentration and spatial distribution of meltwater discharges from tidewater glaciers can be used to elucidate climatic evolution and glacier behaviour due to the association between sediment yield and glacier retreat (e.g. Domack & McClennen 1996). In an accelerated deglaciation environment, higher sediment concentrations in the water column can change the glacimarine costal dynamics and affect productivity and sea floor ecosystems (e.g. Marín et al. 2013). In the Antarctic Peninsula Region, meltwater or turbid plumes were previously believed to be rare or without an important role in the sedimentary glacimarine environment (e.g. Griffith & Anderson 1989), but recent studies have shown that this is a common phenomenon in subpolar and transition polar climates (Yoo et al. 2015, Rodrigo et al. 2016). In the current climate change scenario, accelerated glacier retreats and mass losses can produce an increasing input of glacial meltwater into the fjord regions, a situation that is not yet well evaluated in the Antarctic Peninsula. In this short note, after in situ observation of an unusual waterfall from the southern side of the main western tidewater glacier (Shoesmith Glacier) of Horseshoe Island (Lystad Bay), Marguerite Bay (Fig. 1), we report high turbidity values associated with plumes from the glacier, whose values were higher than reported data from subpolar/transition polar Antarctic climates.


The demands of increased populations, increased food production, industrial and manufacturing activities, natural resources extraction and power generation are likely to contribute significantly to the deteriorating state of water security in the Pacific Islands in the future.
This report presents recognised approaches and best practices that will contribute to improved current state of water security in the region. The purpose of this report is to help decision-makers, water resource and sanitation practitioners make best use of the relevant knowledge provided by the wealth of experiences gained from implementing water-related projects at the community and national levels. These initiatives aim to address various specific objectives such as the installation or expansion of a central water supply system, water safety planning, water resources monitoring, rainwater harvesting, seasonal rainfall projections and public outreach and awareness.
While using information in this report, readers are advised that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to water security. Water security issues are not always the same in all Pacific countries. Small low lying islands have different water problems than higher and larger Islands. Water security is complex and multi-dimensional in nature. The report aims to be a descriptive guide rather than a prescriptive manual. It is hoped that the positive lessons presented in this report will help water practitioners to select and design a strategy best suited to their circumstances and specific needs.
Pacific countries face major challenges in achieving water security. Fragile ecosystems are under pressure from human induced activities, and urbanisation further exacerbates water stress. Increasing population will increase the demand for food and, therefore, agricultural production and food processing.
Climate change is one of the biggest threats faced by Pacific countries. Floods, droughts and cyclones are frequently experienced in the Pacific causing damage to infrastructure, property and crops; and loss of human lives and livestock. At the current rate of population growth in the region, more people are likely to be affected. While infrastructure development may be a preference for many PICs in achieving long-term water security, this is not always possible. Alternatively, a more feasible approach is to improve water resource management as a preparedness strategy in addressing water resources issues that arise due to the impacts of climate change.
The report recognises that water security is complex and multi-dimensional, with many contributing factors such as biophysical, infrastructural, institutional, political, social and financial. The various approaches that can be undertaken to address water security are explored.
The right enabling environment is a prerequisite for the achievement of water security. The report will discuss major important ingredients of the right enabling environment for water security, such as the legal framework, policies, plans, institutional arrangements, financing mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation and human capacity.
Conducting water resources assessment is necessary, as part of the enabling environment, to determine the status of water security. Water resources assessment is a tool for measuring, collecting and analysing water information for the purpose of improving the management of water resources. Data is a fundamental requirement in water resource assessment and it is vital to have information in the following critical areas: Hydrological data; Physiographic data; Basic and applied research data; Manpower training and knowledge; Mapping technique and Socio-economic data.
This overview and best practices report will also include a list of valuable lessons learnt which are recommended for water and sanitation practitioners and decision-makers for the planning, design and implementation of future water-related projects.


Objectives: To determine the dental arch dimensions and arch forms in a sample of Saudi orthodontic patients, to investigate the prevalence of Bolton anterior and overall tooth size discrepancies, and to compare the effect of gender on the measured parameters. Methods: This study is a biometric analysis of dental casts of 149 young adults recruited from different orthodontic centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The dental arch dimensions were measured. The measured parameters were arch length, arch width, Bolton's ratio, and arch form. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 22.0 (IBM Corporation, New York, USA); this cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2015 and May 2016. Results: Dental arch measurements, including inter-canine and inter-molar distance, were found to be significantly greater in males than females (p<0.05). The most prevalent dental arch forms were narrow tapered (50.3%) and narrow ovoid (34.2%), respectively. The prevalence of tooth size discrepancy in all cases was 43.6% for anterior ratio and 24.8% for overall ratio. The mean Bolton's anterior ratio in all malocclusion classes was 79.81%, whereas the mean Bolton's overall ratio was 92.21%. There was no significant difference between males and females regarding Bolton's ratio. Conclusion: The most prevalent arch form was narrow tapered, followed by narrow ovoid. Males generally had larger dental arch measurements than females, and the prevalence of tooth size discrepancy was more in Bolton's anterior teeth ratio than in overall ratio.


Three-dimensional electromagnetic methods are fundamental tools for the analysis and design of high-speed systems. These methods often generate large systems of equations, and model order reduction (MOR) methods are used to reduce such a high complexity. When the geometric dimensions become electrically large or signal waveform rise times decrease, time delays must be included in the modeling. Design space optimization and exploration are usually performed during a typical design process that consequently requires repeated simulations for different design parameter values. Efficient performing of these design activities calls for parameterized model order reduction (PMOR) methods, which are able to reduce large systems of equations with respect to frequency and other design parameters of the circuit, such as layout or substrate features. We propose a novel PMOR method for neutral delayed differential systems, which is based on an efficient and reliable combination of univariate model order reduction methods, a procedure to find scaling and frequency shifting coefficients and positive interpolation schemes. The proposed scaling and frequency shifting coefficients enhance and improve the modeling capability of standard positive interpolation schemes and allow accurate modeling of highly dynamic systems with a limited amount of initial univariate models in the design space. The proposed method is able to provide parameterized reduced order models passive by construction over the design space of interest. Pertinent numerical examples validate the proposed PMOR approach.


Figures and Tables. Foreword (Leonard Burrello). Acknowledgments. The Author. Preface. Part One: The Origin and Design of Schoolwide RTI. 1 Defining RTI. Features of RTI. Standard Protocol RTI. Schoolwide RTI. Evolving Definitions of RTI. Standard Protocol Definitions. Combined Standard Protocol and Problem-Solving Definitions. Schoolwide Definitions. Comprehensive Schoolwide RTI. To Sum Up. 2 Schoolwide RTI: Why Does It Matter? The Frame of Disability. RTI as a Potential Frame for Education Policy. A Focus on literacy. A Shifting Perspective. RTI as a Basis for Education Policy. Prevention. Problem Identification. Interventions. Accountability. A Focus on Sociobehavioral Factors. RTI and Academic Progress. Transdisciplinary Problem-Solving Teams. Decision Rules for Selecting Interventions. To Sum Up. 3 The Social-Behavioral Side of RTI. School Discipline. The Tactic of Exclusion. The Tactic of Inclusion. Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support. Understanding SWPBS. Evidence-Based Practice. Practical, Multicomponent Interventions. Lifestyle Outcomes. Sustainable Systems Change. To Sum Up. Part Two: How Schoolwide RTI Works. 4 Universal Screening for Prevention. Determining Success Criteria. Behavioral Screening Under RTI. School-Based Screeners for Behavioral Risk. Internalizers or Externalizers. Standardized Screeners for Behavioral Risk. Systematic Screening for Behavioral Disorders. Academic Screening Under RTI. Universal Academic Screening. Screening Accuracy and Efficiency. Normative and Criterion-Referenced Screeners. Curriculum Based Measures. Universal CBM. DIBELS, AIMSweb, and iSTEEP. Advantages of Universal CBM Screening for Teachers. Combining Results of Behavioral and Academic Screening Under RTI. RTI Team Processes and Coaches. RTI and School Teams. Coaches. To Sum Up. 5 Progress Monitoring to Measure Success. Educational Accountability. Types of Assessment for Progress Monitoring. Proximal Versus Distal Assessments. Formative Versus Summative Assessments. Categorical Versus Aggregate Assessments. Behavioral Progress Monitoring. Direct Measures of Problem Behavior. Level 3 Progress Monitoring for Behavior. Wraparound and SIMEO. Academic Progress Monitoring. Level 1 Progress Monitoring. Level 2 Progress Monitoring. Level 3 Progress Monitoring. RTI and the Organization of Service and Supports. To Sum Up. 6 Sustaining RTI Through School Reform. Challenges Confronting Schoolwide RTI. Silos Revisited. Human Capital. Professional Development. School Reform as a Context for RTI. Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Project. A Universal Design for Learning. The Schoolwide Applications Model. Fidelity of Implementation. SAM Fidelity Assessment Tool. Scaling Up School Reform. Moving Schoolwide RTI to Scale in a District. Action Planning in Schoolwide RTI. Program Evaluation. Structural Elements of SAM. A Model for Technical Assistance. District and Site Leadership Teams. To Sum Up. Part Three: Seeing RTI in Action 7 How RTI Looks at the Schoolwide Level. Critical Features of Schoolwide RTI. RTI and the Achievement Gap. Student Motivation. School-Based Video. Leadership and Structure of the RTI School. Distributed Leadership. Leadership Teams. Madison Elementary School. Screening at Madison. Building-Level Versus State-Level Assessments. Reading Interventions. Fidelity of Intervention. Professional Development. Scheduling. Reflections on Madison Elementary School's RTI. Coaching and Collaborative Teaching. Coaching. Collaborative Teaching. To Sum Up. 8 How RTI Looks at the Districtwide Level. Scaling Up in the District. Creating Some Fanfare. Policy Analysis. Engaging the Board of Education. Managing Publicity. Getting Started in the District: Selecting Schools. Clusters and Cohorts. Leadership Qualities. Manageable Cohorts. Professional Development. Capacity Building. RTI in the Louisiana Recovery School District, New Orleans. RTI Team. Progress Monitoring. Level 1 Interventions. Level 2 Interventions. Level 3 Interventions. The Role of Special Education. Reflections on the Recovery School District. To Sum Up. 9 How RTI Looks at the Statewide Level. Federal Policy and RTI. Kansas Multi-Tiered System of Support. Colorado Multi-Tiered Model of Intervention and Instruction. New Hampshire Responds Model. State Request for Application. Components of New Hampshire Responds. To Sum Up. Conclusion: The Shape of Schools to Come. No Child Left Behind and Adequate Yearly Progress. A Privatization Agenda? Response to Intervention. Three Facets of Teaching. Science. Relationships. Inspiration. A Framework, Not a Magic Bullet. RTI for the Endangered School. Capacity Building and Sustainability. Leadership. Stability. Capacity. Potential Traps in Implementing RTI. Multilevel Sets of Interventions Screening. Progress Monitoring. Interventions. Fidelity. The Undeniable Thrill of Success. To Sum Up. Sources, References, and Additional Resources. Index.


Predicting the resistance of a high-speed catamaran has been of interest to naval architects for the last three decades. Even though considerable amount of research has been carried out in this area, there remains a degree of uncertainty in the accurate resistance prediction of catamaran hull forms in the early design stage. Researches carried out so far have generally ignored the resistance characteristics of unconventional and unsymmetrical catamaran hull forms. This thesis attempts to undertake a comparative analysis of resistance characteristics between newly developed unconventional catamaran hull forms of different configurations derived from existing conventional NPL series of round bilge catamaran hull forms (Molland et el 1991). For this a set of catamaran hull forms with the main hull length of 1.6 m, and with a different range of slenderness ratio (L/), B/T ratio are generated by using standard modelling software. The resistance analysis had been carried out by using slender body theory and by using STAR CCM+, a CFD package for Froude numbers 0.25, 0.3, 0.6, 0.8 and 1 respectively and with different separation ratios (s/L) of 0.3 and 0.4. The main objective was to perform a comparative analysis for a wide parameter space which would be encompassing different unconventional hull configurations against conventional hull forms. Literature survey establishes that there is scant literature in public domain to perform resistance analysis on unconventional catamaran hull forms. iv As this is not feasible due to lack of data in areas that were considered crucial, separate resistance analysis will be carried out for each hull configuration. The new resistance analysis is proposed for a broad range of geometrical parameters especially for asymmetrical hulls so that a designer will be able to make a decision regarding powering prediction in the design stage. Finally, the compared resistance results will attempt to conclude whether unconventional and unsymmetrical catamaran hull forms are more efficient than the conventional hull forms. The results obtained from this analysis shows that asymmetrical catamaran hull forms irrespective of the separation ratio outperformed the normal catamaran hull forms at higher Froude number. But there still lies a conspiracy about the resistance characteristics among the Froude number ranging between 0.4-0.6 which is typically a transition range for high-speed. A finer analysis on the range of Froude number should be carried out in obtaining a closer look over the fluctuation of the resistance at high-speed transition range. It is expected that this study would help to provide a foundation in obtaining greater insight regarding resistance characteristics of unconventional catamaran hull forms especially with regard to slenderness ratio (L/), separation ratio (s/L) and interference effects between the demi-hulls. The conclusions would be beneficial to any early stage designer whose interest lies in advancing the catamaran studies.


Many digital libraries have identified learners as a core audience. Indeed, many of their resources can be reused in educational contexts. Nevertheless, the search criteria used for retrieving texts as a specific multimedia type are limited. They often do not include properties specific to educational contexts. Assigning LOM metadata to a theatre play or a painting is difficult, since it was not created for a particular learning context. However, it is possible to assign metadata to textual resources based on their characteristics and map these characteristics to an IEEE LOM or DCMI Audience metadata element. Text readability metrics for instance can be mapped to educational audiences. In the scope of the iCase project, we are developing an assessment item generation system. We have therefore analyzed metadata models for assessment resources and defined a set of metadata which should be assigned to the multimedia components of assessment items. A major challenge consists in relating multimedia resources to the specific audience metadata. In order to include external resources such as texts, we developed a component available as a Web service to assign metrics related to text readability. In this paper, we present metadata for assessment items and introduce readability metrics.


PURPOSE
To correlate the presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies and rheumatoid factor (RF) with ocular symptoms typical of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS
The records of 451 patients who had been examined by an ophthalmologist and tested for anti-CCP antibodies over a 3-year period at the Mayo Clinic were reviewed. Records of 255 patients with titers of anti-CCP and RF were analyzed for ocular surface and inflammatory disease associated with ocular RA.

RESULTS
Of the 33 anti-CCP+/RF+ patients, all were diagnosed with RA; ocular surface disease was present in 11 (33%) and inflammatory disease in 7 (21%). Of the 17 anti-CCP-/RF+ patients, 4 were diagnosed with an unspecified inflammatory arthritis and 1 with rheumatoid arthritis; a separate 5 (29%) had ocular surface disease. Out of 5 anti-CCP+/RF- patients, 3 were diagnosed with RA but none had ocular symptoms. Out of 200 anti-CCP-/RF- patients, 32 (16%) had ocular surface disease and 2 (1%) had ocular inflammation. Of the 74 patients diagnosed with any form of inflammatory arthritis, anti-CCP+/RF+ patients had more and worse inflammatory ocular RA disease compared to the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients who were both anti-CCP and RF positive tended to have more and worse ocular disease. In patients diagnosed with an inflammatory arthritis, the presence of anti-CCP antibodies and RF provides useful information to ophthalmologists for identifying patients most at risk for inflammatory ocular disease.


Overnutrition in modern society has created many pathological conditions that have personal and social consequences. Fatty liver is one of such conditions that used to be considered transient and benign but is now known to be the beginning stage of more severe liver diseases. Excess lipids due to overnutrition are usually manifested in the liver by the appearance of subcellular structures known as lipid droplets (LD). LD are composed of a monolayer of phospholipids wrapping around a neutral lipid core mostly comprised of triglyceride (TG). TG is classically known to be catabolized by lipolytic-enzymes, such as Triglyceride lipase (ATGL), Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). This study describes a new mechanism of TG catabolism not by lipases but through cellular scavenger system – autophagy. Through experimentation, data suggests LD is not only composed of lipids but also proteins that potentially regulate LD formation and catabolism. Plin2, one of the lipid droplet proteins, suggests a pivotal role in the regulation of lipid levels in the liver via autophagy. Previous studies showed that in the absence of Plin2 the hepatic TG level reduced to only 50% of the control. Results from western blotting and imaging analysis has identified Plin2-deficiency in correlation to increased autophagy activity. The absence of Plin2 on the LD concomitantly caused the elevation of other proteins such as ABHD5, and Plin5 on lipid droplets. By analyzing the TG levels and autophagy flux in different knockout combinations of these LD proteins there can be a more versed understanding of how autophagy regulates TG catabolism in the liver.


Dendritic nanomaterials are emerging as key building blocks for a variety of nanoscale materials and technologies. Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers were the first class of dendritic nanomaterials to be commercialized. Despite numerous investigations, the environmental fate, transport, and toxicity of PAMAM dendrimers is still not well understood. As a first step toward the characterization of the environmental behavior of dendrimers in aquatic systems, we measured the octanol-water partition coefficients (logK(ow)) of a homologous series of PAMAM dendrimers as a function of dendrimer generation (size), terminal group and core chemistry. We find that the logK(ow) of PAMAM dendrimers depend primarily on their size and terminal group chemistry. For G1-G5 PAMAM dendrimers with terminal NH2 groups, the negative values of their logK(ow) indicate that they prefer to remain in the water phase. Conversely, the formation of stable emulsions at the octanol-water (O/ W) interface in the presence of G6-NH2 and G8-NH2 PAMAM dendrimers suggest they prefer to partition at the O/W interface. In all cases, published studies of the cytotoxicity of Gx-NH2 PAMAM dendrimers show they strongly interact with the lipid bilayers of cells. These results suggest that the logK(ow) of a PAMAM dendrimer may not be a good predictor of its affinity with natural organic media such as the lipid bilayers of cell membranes.


Importance
Although suicide is a leading cause of death for children in the United States, and the rate of suicide in childhood has steadily increased, little is known about suicidal ideation and behaviors in children.

Objective
To assess the overall prevalence of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and nonsuicidal self-injury, as well as family-related factors associated with suicidality and self-injury among preadolescent children.

Design, Setting, and Participants
Cross-sectional study using retrospective analysis of the baseline sample from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. This multicenter investigation used an epidemiologically informed school-based recruitment strategy, with consideration of the demographic composition of the 21 ABCD sites and the United States as a whole. The sample included children aged 9 to 10 years and their caregivers.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Lifetime suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and nonsuicidal self-injury as reported by children and their caregivers in a computerized version of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.

Results
A total of 11 814 children aged 9 to 10 years (47.8% girls; 52.0% white) and their caregivers were included. After poststratification sociodemographic weighting, the approximate prevalence rates were 6.4% (95% CI, 5.7%-7.3%) for lifetime history of passive suicidal ideation; 4.4% (95% CI, 3.9%-5.0%) for nonspecific active suicidal ideation; 2.4% (95% CI, 2.1%-2.7%) for active ideation with method, intent, or plan; 1.3% (95% CI, 1.0%-1.6%) for suicide attempts; and 9.1% (95% CI, 8.1-10.3) for nonsuicidal self-injury. After covarying by sex, family history, internalizing and externalizing problems, and relevant psychosocial variables, high family conflict was significantly associated with suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% CI, 1.07-1.16) and nonsuicidal self-injury (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.05-1.14), and low parental monitoring was significantly associated with ideation (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.98), attempts (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.97), and nonsuicidal self-injury (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.93-0.98); these findings were consistent after internal replication. Most of children's reports of suicidality and self-injury were either unknown or not reported by their caregivers.

Conclusions and Relevance
This study demonstrates the association of family factors, including high family conflict and low parental monitoring, with suicidality and self-injury in children. Future research and ongoing prevention and intervention efforts may benefit from the examination of family factors.


The traditional methodology for estimating vehicle emissions based on vehicle miles traveled and average speed is not reliable because it does not consider the effects of congestion, control devices, and driving mode (cruise, acceleration, deceleration, and idle). We developed an analytical model to predict vehicle activity on signalized arterials with emphasis on oversaturated traffic conditions. The model depends only on loop detector data and signal settings as inputs and provides estimates of the time spent in each driving mode, which consequently leads to more accurate vehicle emission estimates. The application of the proposed model on a real-world arterial shows that it accurately estimates the time spent and consequently the emissions per driving mode. We also applied the model to evaluate the effectiveness of signal timing optimization in reducing vehicle emissions.


Thermal Fatigue tests of a Ti-24Al-11Nb matrix composite unidirectionally reinforced with SiC fiber, SCS-6/Ti-24Al-11Nb, have been carried out without external load in air and in vacuum, under various thermal cycling conditions. The following characteristics of the material subjected to thermal fatigue and isothermal exposure were investigated: (i) crack nucleation and the change in density with thermal cycling; (ii) change of the fiber/matrix interface morphology by means of Electron Probe Micro Analyzer and Scanning Electron Microscope; (iii) change of the interfacial shear strength by fiber push-out tests, and (iv) effect of environment on the properties from (i) to (iii). Methodologies are also proposed for the characterization of damage due to thermal fatigue.


Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. Expanded cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats (polyQ) in the huntingtin gene cause the aggregates of abnormally expanded polyQcontaining huntingtin protein, and striatal medium spiny neurons are shown to be the most vulnerable. Affected patients develop cognitive, motor, and psychiatric symptoms typically in middle age, and several pharmacological drugs are currently used for symptomatic relief. Since the effect of current therapies is very limited and there is no way to modify disease progression, there is an unmet need for developing new therapies for HD. Toxin or genetic rodent models are widely used for drug development, and large animal models are also available. Previous studies trans‐ planting cells originating from embryonic or fetal striatal tissues, neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in HD animal models have shown the possibilities of clinical trials. Because clinical trials performed using human fetal striatal cells have shown variable outcomes, future directions of cell therapy in HD should consider the reconstitution of a functional dynamic information-processing circuit without ectopic connections. Another major challenge is to achieve controlled differentiation of embryonic stem cells or iPSCs into specific neuronal phenotypes.


A mucoadhesive drug delivery system for local delivery of metronidazole through vaginal route was formulated. Films were prepared by solvent evaporation method using various compositions of Carbopol, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, chitosan, Polyox and propylene glycol. The films were evaluated for their weight, thickness, surface pH, folding endurance, mechanical, drug content uniformity, in vitro drug release, swelling, gelling and mucoadhesion property. All the films possess satisfactory film characteristics. Films made of Polyox found to possess acceptable, physicochemical, mechanical, gelling and mucoadhesion property for delivery of metronidazole.


When we treat an animal's welfare as an individual experience, we should consider the possibility that it may be associated with individual differences in personality. We tested for such associations in 44 socially housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) that lived at the California National Primate Research Center. For each macaque, we obtained ratings on a 16-item welfare questionnaire, a 4-item subjective well-being questionnaire, and a 54-item personality questionnaire, the last of which we used to define each macaque's standing on six personality domains—Confidence, Openness, Dominance, Friendliness, Activity, and Anxiety—identified in an earlier study. Finally, we used focal animal sampling to obtain measures of behavior. We found evidence for interrater agreement for all the welfare items, all but one item from the subjective well-being questionnaire, and all but four items from the personality questionnaire. Using principal components analysis, we found the welfare and subjective well-being survey items loaded together onto a single component. Macaques higher on this dimension received less aggression, engaged in fewer displacement activities (e.g., scratching), and were rated as higher in Confidence, Openness, Dominance, and Friendliness. These results are consistent with reports on chimpanzees and brown capuchin monkeys and constitute further evidence that observer ratings are based on observed behavioral states, suggesting them to be a psychometrically valid way to assess primate welfare.


BACKGROUND: To minimize the recurrence rate after local excision of rectal cancer, the false-negative rate of nodal staging should be minimized. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop a set of criteria using preoperative MRI that would minimize the false-negative rate for the diagnosis of regional lymph node metastasis. DESIGN: A prospectively maintained colorectal cancer database and MRI images were retrospectively reviewed. SETTINGS: This study was conducted at a multidisciplinary tertiary center. PATIENTS: A total of 246 consecutive patients who underwent MRI and curative-intent surgery for MRI-staged T1/T2 rectal cancer from January 2008 to July 2012 were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: MRI features significantly associated with lymph node metastasis were identified using a &khgr;2 test. Five diagnostic criteria for lymph node metastasis were created based on these predictive MRI features, and their false-negative rates were compared using the generalized estimating equation method. RESULTS: Small size/homogeneity of lymph nodes and no visible tumor/partially involved muscular layer were significantly associated with lower risks of lymph node metastasis. When tumor invasion depth was not considered, the false-negative rate did not decrease below 10%, even when the strictest criterion for morphologic evaluation of lymph nodes (not visible or <3 mm) was used. Adding invasion depth to the diagnostic criteria significantly decreased the false-negative rate as low as 1.8%. LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by its small sample size and retrospective nature. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing both the depth of tumor invasion and lymph node morphology may reduce the false-negative rate and can be helpful to better identify candidates suitable for local excision of early stage rectal cancer. However, strict MRI criteria for oncologic safety might result in considerable false-positive cases and limit the application of local excision.


Knowledge of N and assimilate partitioning in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) improves management efficacy and crop model development. Our purpose was to describe N and dry matter distribution during vegetative growth of blades, sheaths, and internodes on four culms. Winter wheat grown at the Colorado State University Horticultural Farm was sampled at Haun Stage 5 and jointing. Samples were dried, weighed, and analyzed for N. As the canopy developed and older tissue contributed more of total tissue, N concentration decreased although N mass and dry weight increased. Dry matter and N mass decreased from MC to T1 and T2 to T11, while the reverse order was found for N concentration. Dry weight and N mass decreased as culm order increased (culm age decreased), because phytomers were smaller and fewer existed. Nitrogen concentration had the opposite trend because new tissue contained about 40 g N kg -1 but declined as the tissue aged to 30 g N kg -1 . Initial growth of all tissues had concentrations >50 g N kg -1 and at senescence declined to 19 g N kg -1 . Phytomer positions on different culms tended to have similar N concentrations while identical phytomers on primary tillers tended to have greater dry weights than those on the MC and secondary tillers. Phytomers tended to increase in N concentration and mass and dry weight acropetally. Results show that viewing the canopy as the interplay of appearance, growth, interaction, and senescence of culms or phytomers can increase understanding of canopy N and dry weight dynamics.


ABSTRACT Typhoid fever remains a serious problem in developing countries. Current vaccines are licensed for individuals who are 5 years old or older. A conjugate of the capsular polysaccharide (CP) of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Vi) bound to recombinant exoprotein A of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Vi-rEPA) enhanced Vi immunogenicity and protected 2- to 5-year-olds in Vietnam. In this study, Vi-rEPA was evaluated for use in infants. A total of 301 full-term Vietnamese infants received Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) vaccines alone or with Vi-rEPA or Haemophilus influenzae type b-tetanus toxoid conjugate (Hib-TT) at 2, 4, and 6 months and Vi-rEPA or Hib-TT alone at 12 months. Infants were visited 6, 24, and 48 h after each injection to monitor adverse reactions. Maternal, cord, and infant sera were assayed for IgG anti-Vi and for IgG antibodies to Hib CP and the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis toxins at 7, 12, and 13 months. No vaccine-related serious adverse reactions occurred. In the Vi-rEPA group, the IgG anti-Vi geometric mean (GM) increased from the cord level of 0.66 to 17.4 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay units (EU) at 7 months, declined to 4.76 EU at 12 months, and increased to 50.1 EU 1 month after the 4th dose (95% of infants had levels of ≥3.5 EU, the estimated protective level). Controls had no increase of the IgG anti-Vi GM. Infants with cord anti-Vi levels of <3.5 EU responded with significantly higher IgG anti-Vi levels than those with levels of ≥3.5 EU. Anti-diphtheria, -tetanus, and -pertussis toxin levels were similar in all groups. Vi-rEPA was safe, induced protective anti-Vi levels, and was compatible with EPI vaccines, and it can be used in infants. High cord IgG anti-Vi levels partially suppressed infant responses to Vi-rEPA.


A novel evolutionary TSK-subsethood fuzzy-neural network model along with its parallel implementation on a LAM/MPI cluster is presented in this paper. The proposed four-layered network is inspired by the subsethood class of models, which have ability to seamlessly compose numeric and linguistic data simultaneously. The proposed model embeds TSK rules into the network architecture, while transmitting information using subsethood products and a linear weighted sum of fuzzy sets. L-R arithmetic is used in the internal operation of the network. Differential evolution learning is employed to evolve tunable parameters of the network. A parallel implementation using a master-slave approach efficiently distributes the computational load of string evaluations on a LAM/MPI cluster.The proposed model is tested on two benchmark problems: Iris Classification, Mackey Glass time series prediction.


Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of progressive muscle relaxation on state anxiety and self-efficacy in hospitalized patients admitted for an extremity fracture receiving elective surgery. Eighty four patients met the inclusion criteria and all were randomly assigned to either the progressive muscle relaxation group or the control group. The control group received standard orthopedic nursing care, and the experimental group received standard care along with daily progressive muscle relaxation throughout their hospitalization. The State Anxiety Inventory and Self-Efficacy Scales were administered before and after the intervention. Both paired-sample t tests and independent t tests showed that progressive muscle relaxation is effective in reducing state anxiety and enhancing the self-efficacy of patients with extremity fracture undergoing an elective surgery. 1 Changsha Social Work College, People's Republic of China 2 Department of Psychiatry of the Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, People's Republic of China


Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays with 100-200nm diameter and about 1μm length were vertically grown on quartz substrate at relatively low temperature by a solution deposition method. The effects of reactant ratio, water-bath temperature, growth time on crystal structure were discussed. Microstructure of the arrays was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), optical properties were examined using fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results show that a Zn/C6H12N4 molar ratio of 1:1, bath temprature 70°C, growth time of 24h are the optimal condition for the preparation of densely distributed ZnO arrays. XRD and FE-SEM analysis confirmed that the ZnO nanorod is a single crystal with a wurtzite structure and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra exhibit coexistence properties of ultraviolet (UV), blue and green emissions.


A simple photoelectrochemical method is developed to measure the intrinsic electron transport resistance (R(0)) of TiO(2) photoanodes. R(0) is considered as the sum of electron transport resistance at the TiO(2)/FTO interface and among TiO(2) nanoparticulates during electron transport process, which is independent of the manner of electron injection, its physical and chemical environments. Because TiO(2) photoanodes are the common electron transport pathways for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) process and the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation process, R(0) can be also considered as a quantitative measure of the electron transport resistance of the photoanodes in the DSSC process. The proposed method will provide a simple and rapid alternative to quantitatively evaluate the quality of the TiO(2) photoanodes for DSSCs using R(0) values. A series of TiO(2)/FTO photoanodes with different electron transport resistance were fabricated using conventional screen-printing technique, surface modifications using titanium organic sol and TiCl(4) aqueous solution. R(0) values of the photoanodes were characterized and subsequently used to correlate with the important performance parameters of the corresponding DSSCs. The preliminary results suggest that these surface modifications do not significantly affect the surface area, film thickness, dye loading and optical properties of the TiO(2) film, but significantly decrease the R(0) values. Furthermore, the DSSCs photoanodes with lower R(0) values due to the organic sol or TiCl(4) modification bestow better photovoltaic performance than the corresponding non-modified photoanodes. Therefore, it can be concluded that the performance improvements were mainly attributed to the decrease of the R(0) values, which validates the proposed electrochemical evaluation method.


Studies on the priorities for agricultural research in Eastern and Central Africa concluded that milk was the most important commodity for research and development in the region, based on its potential contribution to the agricultural GDP (gross domestic product). According to ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), the right policies, marketing systems and technical support must be sought for dairy development in Africa. In order to determine the right development pattern, appropriate analytical tools must be applied. The TIPI-CAL (Technology Impact Policy Impact Calculations model) was used to analyse and rank the impact of various policies and farm strategies on the most typical dairy farming system in Uganda. Policy scenarios were identified and described by panels consisting of farmers, government officials, veterinarians, extension workers, NGO officials, milk processors, researchers and others. Seven influential policy areas were identified: provision of veterinary services, consumption promotion, marketing promotion, input provision, credit access improvement, milk quality improvement and genetic improvement. In general, the policy impacts were very little on smallholder extensive dairy farms, having less than 10 local cows, which were the most typical farms in the region. These results could however be magnified up to threefold, if the farms had graded cows. Policies which improve farmers' accessibility to markets had the greatest impacts on the livelihoods of farmers, through improved income generation from dairying. Genetic improvement of cattle breeds was recommended as an initial strategy, which could improve the impact of other farm policies. The adoption of graded breeds and appropriate technology could be facilitated by farm credits. However, at current interest rates of 4% per month, obtaining credits for genetic improvement will double the cash costs of the farm, hence discouraging farmers from this investment. It was concluded that, a set-up with a more incentive-based environment is required to support such private initiatives and the adoption of intensive farm technologies. This study further illustrates the role of various stakeholders such as the government, national and international organisations as well as farmers in the allocation of land, labour, capital and expertise to promote sustainable dairy development.


BERT has set a new state-of-the-art performance on entity resolution (ER) task, largely owed to fine-tuning pre-trained language models and the deep pair-wise interaction. Albeit being remarkably effective, it comes with a steep increase in computational cost, as the deep-interaction requires to exhaustively compute every tuple pair to search for co-references. For ER task, it is often prohibitively expensive due to the large cardinality to be matched. To tackle this, we introduce a siamese network structure that independently encodes tuples using BERT but delays the pair-wise interaction via an enhanced alignment network. This siamese structure enables a dedicated blocking module to quickly filter out obviously dissimilar tuple pairs, and thus drastically reduces the cardinality of fine-grained matching. Further, the blocking and entity matching are integrated into a multi-task learning framework for facilitating both tasks. Extensive experiments on multiple datasets demonstrate that our model significantly outperforms state-of-the-art models (including BERT) in both efficiency and effectiveness.


Around the globe, the latest fashion in corporate governance circles is "Say on Pay," a shareholder vote – sometimes precatory, other times mandatory – on CEO remuneration. Country after country has adopted Say on Pay in response to shareholder disgust over the size of CEO pay packets. Beginning with the U.K., and later followed by the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the U.S., there has been a widespread acceptance of the shareholder vote on executive pay around the world. In this article, we ask the question: Should New Zealand follow the crowd and adopt Say on Pay, or should it continue down its own path, leaving directors with near total control over executive remuneration levels? Academics are divided over the desirability of Say on Pay – those that believe in strong managerial power are firmly against it, while shareholder activists come out heavily in its favor. The main theoretical arguments revolve around whether: it will tip the balance of power against managers; shareholders are competent to evaluate executive remuneration; third party voting advisors will gain too much power if it is enacted; there will be any reduction in the size, and rate of growth, of CEO pay packets; and it will strengthen the relationship between pay and performance.The experience in the U.K. and the U.S. to date sheds some light on the validity of these arguments. On average, shareholders have voted strongly in favor of executive pay practices at most companies. Say on Pay seems to have had little impact on the size and growth of average CEO pay, but it does appear to have impacted pay practices at poorly performing companies that have unusually high pay. There is a greater level of engagement between shareholders and managers on pay issues at many companies, and firms have become more responsive to negative shareholder Say on Pay votes. Third party voting advisors, such as Institutional Shareholder Services, have become important corporate governance players, whose recommendations have a significant impact on shareholder voting outcomes.In light of these academic arguments, and practical experience in the U.K. and U.S., we believe that New Zealand should carefully consider whether to adopt Say on Pay. We do not view the evidence as compelling the conclusion that Say on Pay is essential, but we can understand why some shareholders might want to see it implemented. However, the existing evidence shows that it is unlikely to have a big effect on current pay practices at most companies in New Zealand if it is adopted.


Retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements that accomplished transposition via an RNA intermediate. These elements can be transcriptionally activated by stress factors, such as UV light, ozone, pathogens, wounding and drought. A red alga, porphyra yezoensis has recently been recognized as a model plant for fundamental and applied study in marine biological science. In this paper, pulsed streamer-like discharge in liquid was used as a new stress condition, and the transcription level of a copia-like retrotansposon gene PyRE1 of a red alga, porphyra yezoensis was investigated. From the results of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiments, the transcription of PyRE1 was activated by applying pulsed streamer-like discharge. The results suggest that pulsed streamer-like discharge in liquid can be used as a new stress condition to activate retrotransposon genes and can provide a useful tool for insertion mutagenesis and genome research in biology field.


Policy makers in developing countries have been concerned with the economic and political risks associated with heavy dependence on specialized raw materials as main sources of government revenue and foreign exchange. Development partners and donor agencies have equally extolled the need for these countries to diversify their export base as a poverty alleviation strategy. To this end, several African countries have tended to focus on non-traditional exports which reflect their comparative advantage and for many countries the export of non-traditional horticultural crops has been favoured. In Ghana, crops such as pineapples, mangoes and papaya appear promising because of their high labour intensity and the expanding demand for fruits in industrialized nations. However, the appropriate strategy for achieving pro-poor growth in most countries is still a subject of intense debate. Consequently, few studies have examined the linkage between export diversification and microeconomic performance.

The study focuses on a household survey undertaken in the forest and coastal savannah transition zones of Ghana, where the farming system has undergone a remarkable transition from an established system of food crop farming for sale to urban consumers to an intensive production of horticultural products for export to European consumers. Probit and Logit regression models were used to estimate the determinants of participation and caloric availability whiles a linear function was to used to compare the incomes of households producing only horticultural export crops with those producing only food crops vis-a-vis those indulged in the combined scenario.

Whereas the contribution of diversified exports to macro-economic growth cannot be disputed, evidence from our study indicates that the micro level distributional effects has not favoured some groups. Results show that households involved in export horticulture are better off than those which are not. An assessment of the determinants of participation in the sector however suggests that, some households may face important constraints to participation in the sector. The paper concludes that non-traditional exports as a source of livelihood among smallholder farmers depends on several factors including access to local institutional services, technological know-how, policy environment, trends in international markets and most importantly, their interplay with livelihood adopting strategies.


In many firms, the marketing department plays a minor role in new product development (NPD). However, recent research demonstrates that marketing capabilities more strongly influence firm performance than other areas such as research and development. This finding underscores the importance of identifying relevant capabilities that can improve the position of marketing within the NPD process as part of the quest to improve innovation performance. However, thus far, it has remained unclear precisely how the marketing department can increase its influence on NPD to enhance a firm's innovation performance. The results of this study demonstrate that the relationship between marketing capabilities and innovation performance is generally mediated by the decision influence of marketing on NPD. In particular, both marketing research quality and the ability to translate customer needs into product characteristics serve to increase marketing's influence on NPD. This increased influence, in turn, positively contributes to overall firm innovation performance. Hence, these results show that in addition to having the appropriate marketing capabilities, the marketing department must achieve a status in which these capabilities can translate into performance implications.


In the design of deepwater foundation for bridges, the interaction between water and the structure especially under earthquake motions should be addressed. This paper presents a practical simplified method to analyze deepwater pile group foundation to determine its dynamic characteristics by combining approximate analytical solutions with the finite element method. The applicability of this proposed method is shown in a case study of a nine-pile foundation. Compared with those from complete numerical method, the analysis results from this simplified method are in agreement when the pile cap is not submerged in water. Furthermore when ignoring the vertical hydrodynamic added mass of the pile cap, the vertical vibration mode results are greatly affected, but not for other non-vertical vibration modes. This simplified method is also used in the study of the influence of water on the dynamic characteristics. The deeper the water is, the more obvious the impact of water is, particularly for the pile cap lateral bending modes, and there appears no evident difference for the pile lateral bending modes, on which water effect is stronger than that on pile cap lateral bending mode.


Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) on aqueous flare and intraocular pressure (IOP) in the early period. Methods: Eighty-eight eyes of 44 patients were included in the study. The patients underwent a full ophthalmologic examination including the best corrected visual acuity, IOP measured by Goldmann applanation tonometry, biomicroscopy, and dilated fundus examination before PRP. Aqueous flare values were measured by the laser flare meter. Aqueous flare and IOP values were repeated in both eyes at the 1st and 24th h after PRP. The eyes of the patients who underwent PRP were included in the study as the study group, and the other eyes as the control group. Results: In eyes treated with PRP, 1st h (19.44 pc/ms) and 24th h (18.53 pc/ms) aqueous flare values were statistically higher than before PRP (16.66 pc/ms) (p<0.05). In the study eyes which were similar to the control eyes before PRP, the aqueous flare was higher at the 1st and 24th h after PRP compared to control eyes (p<0.05). The mean IOP at the 1st h (18.69 mmHg) after PRP in study eyes was higher than both pre-PRP (16.25 mmHg) and post-PRP 24th h (16.12 mmHg) IOP values (p<0.001). At the same time, the IOP value at the 1st h after PRP was higher than the control eyes (p=0.001). No correlation was observed between aqueous flare and IOP values. Conclusion: An increase in aqueous flare and IOP values was observed after PRP. Besides, the increase in both values starts even in the 1st h, and the values at 1st h are the highest values. At the 24th h, while IOP values return to baseline, aqueous flare values are still high. In patients who may develop severe intraocular inflammation or cannot tolerate increased IOP (such as previous uveitis, neovascular glaucoma, or severe glaucoma), control should be performed at the 1st h after PRP to prevent irreversible complications. Furthermore, the progression that may develop in diabetic retinopathy due to increased inflammation should also be kept in mind.


Aim: To determine the short-term outcomes of newborn infants and mothers exposed to antenatal amphetamines in the state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory during 2004. Methods: Amphetamine exposure was determined retrospectively using ICD-10 AM morbidity code searches of hospital medical records and from records of local drug and alcohol services. Records were reviewed on site. All public hospitals (n  =  101) with obstetric services were included. Results: Amphetamines were used by 200 (22.9%) of the 871 identified drug-using mothers. Most women (182, 91%) injected amphetamines intravenously. Compared with the other 669 drug users, amphetamine-using mothers were significantly more likely to use multiple classes of drugs (45.0% vs 7.8%), be subject to domestic violence (32.1% vs 17.5%), be homeless (14.8% vs 4.9%) and be involved with correctional services (19.8% vs 9.7%). The incidence of comorbid psychiatric illnesses were significantly higher (57.4% vs 41.7%) and their infants were more likely to be preterm (29.5% vs 20.4%), notified as children at risk (67.0% vs 32.8%), fostered before hospital discharge (14.5% vs 5.5%) and less likely to be breastfed (27.0% vs 41.6%). Conclusions: Amphetamine-exposed mothers and infants in public hospitals of NSW and the ACT are at significantly higher risk of adverse social and perinatal outcomes even when compared with mothers and infants exposed to other drugs of dependency. Increased vigilance for amphetamine exposure is recommended due to a high prevalence of use, especially in Australia, as a recreational drug.


This thesis explores a recently developed concentrated solar thermal (CST) central receiver technology, known as the solid particle receiver (SPR). Calculations of long and near term thermo-economic competitiveness for promising potential applications were preformed, for the first time within the Australian context. With these results, the most suitable SPR technology configurations and technical developments, required to reach the commercial potential, were identified.

An innovative simulation tool which included a variety of different thermodynamic and economic models, was developed to compute the annual performance of solar SPR systems. This simulation tool was then applied to design and to optimise CST SPR tower systems based on hourly simulations utilising meteorological data, the NREL Solar Position Algorithm, solar field efficiency matrices generated by DLR software HFLCAL, as well as a mathematical SPR model for calculating receiver efficiency. The SPR model was calibrated using results from DLR receiver prototype tests. To allow economic assessment of the entire SPR system, a financial model was implemented within the tool and detailed CST component costs were generated.

The optimisation process utilised in the CST tower system design is more detailed than typical for a research project, since it adds a new degree of freedom when optimising the receiver and solar field. By decoupling the connection between solar field and receiver, the energy delivered from the solar field relative to the design receiver power becomes an additional optimisation variable.

Applications of SPR systems for electricity production and industrial process heat generation have been identified for the Australian market. Promising heat supply uses of SPR technology examined in this thesis were: thermal enhanced oil recovery, preheating scrap metal during steel production, and solar augmentation of coal-fired steam power stations.

Before this project, there were no detailed investigations on utilising SPR based CST power plants in Australia. This thesis has identified several potential applications, the required sub-components and system integration methods which should be further developed for commercialisation of this solar technology in the Australian market.


 Abstract — In this paper, a new design of antenna array with integrated functions of filtering, harmonics suppression and radiation is proposed. The device employs a multi-port network of coupled resonators, which is synthesized and designed as a whole to fulfill the functions of filtering, power combination/division and radiation . The 50 Ω interfaces between the cascaded filter, power divider and antenna in traditional RF front-ends are eliminated to achieve a highly integrated and compact structure. A novel resonator-based four-way out-of-phase filtering power divider is proposed and designed. It is coupled to the patch array, rendering a fourth-order filtering response. The coupling matrix of the resonator network is synthesized. The physical implementations of the resonators and their couplings are detailed. Compared to a traditional patch array, the integrated filtering array shows an improved bandwidth and frequency selectivity. In addition, the harmonic of the antenna array is suppressed due to the use of different types of resonators. To verify the concept, a 2 × 2 filtering array at S band is designed, prototyped and tested. Good agreement between simulations and measurements has been achieved, demonstrating the integrated filtering antenna array has the merits of wide bandwidth, high frequency selectivity, harmonics suppression, stable antenna gain and high polarization purity.


The HYPER-II device has been constructed in Kyushu University to investigate the flow structure formation in an ion-unmagnetized plasma, which is an intermediate state of plasma and consists of unmagnetized ions and magnetized electrons. High density plasmas are produced by electron cyclotron resonance heating, and the flow field structure in an inhomogeneous magnetic field is investigated with a directional Langmuir probe method and a laser-induced fluorescence method. The experimental setup has been completed and the diagnostic systems have been installed to start the experiments. A set of coaxial electrodes will be introduced to control the azimuthal plasma rotation, and the effect of plasma rotation to generation of rectilinear flow structure will be studied. The HYPER-II experiments will clarify the overall flow structure in the inhomogeneous magnetic field and contribute to understanding characteristic feature of the intermediate state of plasma.


This is a case study analyzing and discussing how a former championship-winning professional sports franchise eventually made an economic decision to end a more than 3-decade long relationship with a committed fan base and long-time business partners and eventually move to an adjoining market. The paper outlines the history of the Stanley Cup-winning New York Islanders, its various ownership tenures, the multi-year battle for a new arena, and the surprising decision in 2013 regarding the franchise's future in its new home of Brooklyn, NY. The case study questions what the loss of the team means for its original home market of Long Island, NY, and does the ultimate financial and development arrangement finally struck for a planned renovated Nassau Coliseum portend a movement when it comes to sports facility funding around the country.


Purpose Radiation exposure during an angiographic procedure may present a significant health risk to patients. The goal of this multicenter case study (CARE) is to compare such exposure in patients treated with the novel Penumbra Coil 400™ System (PC 400) vs. conventional coils. The PC 400 coils are a new generation of platinum embolic coils designed specifically to enhance filling efficiency, which can allow faster procedure times. This could lead to less radiation exposure than with conventional coils in comparable size aneurysms. Methods CARE will enrol up to 90 patients, including the control group, presenting with intracranial aneurysms at 15 centers in the USA. They will receive coil embolization therapy with the PC 400 or conventional coils (2:1) in accordance with the cleared indications for use. Adjunctive use of stents, balloons or liquid embolics is permitted. The primary endpoints are: 1) Acute radiation exposure at immediate post-procedure [air kerma, kerma-area product (KAP) or dose area product (DAP), and fluoroscopic time]; 2) Procedural serious adverse events up until 3 days or discharge, whichever occurs first. Results It is predicted that patient enrollment will require 12 months. Patients will be monitored and assessed until 3 days after the coiling procedure or discharge from the hospital (whichever occurs first). IRB approval is pending for this study. Conclusion Limited literature is available about treatment-related radiation exposure in patients treated by the PC 400. We hypothesise that due to the unique large volume of these coils, procedural time for embolic coiling of intracranial aneurysms may be shortened over conventional coils, leading to significantly lower radiation exposure. Disclosures A. Chowdhary: None.


This paper was presented at the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Association of Educational Assessment (IAEA) on "Assessment in an Era of Rapid Change: Innovations and Best Practices", held in Singapore from 21 – 26 May 2006


ABSTRACT The Miami Limestone is a late Pleistocene ooid sand body which has undergone 130,000 years of meteoric diagenesis. The resultant limestone has a generally high, but variable (15-60%) porosity which is indirectly related to the amount of primary aragonite remaining in the limestone (0-45%). The predominant textural theme in porosity development is the role of the primary sediment fabric, which controls early cementation and porosity development on the scale of individual grains and sedimentary structures and is still influential during late development of channel and cavernous porosity. The porosity development within the Miami Limestone reflects a change from an early system wherein fabric-selective diagenesis occurred primarily as a function of the ability of the sediment to retain pore water to a system wherein the cemented sediments channelize water flow and effectively isolate portions of metastable (aragonitic) limestone from meteoric waters.


Exploring the role of values in scientific inquiry, Hugh Lacey examines the nature and meaning of values, and looks at challenges to the view, posed by postmodernists, feminists, radical ecologists, Third-World advocates and religious fundamentalists, that science is value free. He also focuses on discussions of 'development', especially in Third World countries. This paperback edition includes a new preface.


This paper examines the new audiovisual form emerging from the video game field, Machinima. Machinima is the "art of making animated movies in a 3D virtual environment in
real time" (Marino, 2004, p. 2). More simply, it means making films from video games. Studying this new hybrid form, this communication seeks to investigate the present and the future of these practices, which aspire to become a medium itself.
After the exploration of the characteristics of this new technology, I will investigate its consequences on the video game industry, demonstrating how video games are used in new ways, i.e. not as a playing hobby but as a technology for producing audio-visual art, animated films to be more exact.


Upon excitation by a surface magnetic current, a power/ground plate-pair supports only $\mathrm{TM}^{z}$ modes. This means that the magnetic field has only azimuthal components permitting a simple but effective domain decomposition method (DDM) to be used. In the proximity of an antipad, field interactions are rigorously modeled by a quasi-two-dimensional (Q-2D) finite element method (FEM) making use of three-dimensional (3D) triangular prism mesh elements. Since high-order $\mathrm{TM}^{z}$ modes are confined in the close proximity of the antipad, field interactions in the region away from the antipad only involve the fundamental mode and are rigorously modeled by a 2D FEM. This approach reduces 3D computation domain into a hybrid 2D/Q-2D domain. The discretization of this hybrid domain results in a global matrix system consisting of two globally coupled matrix equations pertinent to 2D and Q-2D domains. In this article, these two matrix equations are "decoupled" using a Riemann solver and the information exchange between the two domains is facilitated using numerical flux. The resulting decoupled two matrix equations are iteratively solved using the Gauss–Seidel algorithm. The accuracy, efficiency, and robustness of the proposed DDM are verified by four representative examples.


Advances in medical science have led to effective preventive steps that can be used by all physicians; however, most current preventive evaluations and applications are given in primary care settings. Hence, integrating preventive care into practice has become an important challenge for all primary care physicians. This article reviews the delivery of clinical prevention including implementation, barriers, and management. It is clear that preventive care leads to healthier people and that should be the goal of all medicine.


Consider a source, {X/sub i/,Y/sub i/}/sub i=1//sup /spl infin//, producing independent copies of a pair of jointly distributed random variables (RVs). The {X/sub i/} part of the process is observed at some location, say A, and is supposed to be reproduced at a different location, say B, where the {Y/sub i/} part of the process is observed. Similarly, {Y/sub i/} should be reproduced at location A. The communication between the two locations is carried out across two memoryless channels in K iterative bi-directional rounds. In each round, the source components are reconstructed at the other locations based on the information exchanged in all previous rounds and the source component known at that location, and it is desired to find the amount of information that should be exchanged between the two locations in each round, so that the distortions incurred (in each round) will not exceed given thresholds. Our setting extends the results of Steinberg and Merhav as well as Kaspi, combining the notion of successive refinement with this of two-way interactive communication. We first derive a single-letter characterization of achievable rates for a pure source-coding problem with successive refinement. Then, for a joint source-channel coding setting, we prove a separation theorem, asserting that in the limit of long blocks, no optimality is lost by first applying lossy (two-way) successive-refinement source coding, regardless of the channels, and then applying good channel codes to each one of the resulting bitstreams, regardless of the source.


Social capital is considered a structural determinant of social development and wellbeing. Its cognitive component assesses the degree of confidence of the population in their systems for social organization, as well as community interactions to coordinate social responses to social problems. There are few available scales for measuring this construct. This work presents the adaptation to Spanish and psychometric validation of a scale for measuring social capital in a rural setting. The Wang Social Cognitive Scale was also adapted to Spanish. 1200 questionnaires were applied to adults in 12 villages of the municipality of Tierra Alta, (Colombia) recruited by random sampling. Factor analysis of the scale was performed based on a polychoric correlation matrix. Exploratory factor analysis suggests the existence of two principal factors distributed as follows: 7 items for factor 1, trust (eigenvalue 3.23) and 2 items, for factor 2, distrust (eigenvalue 1.40). As observed by Wang, Q9 and Q10 could be ambiguous questions which do not contribute enough to either of the factors. The first factor validation to Spanish language of the Wang Social Capital Scale is presented in the social context of rural Colombia.


We complete the Wilf classification of signed patterns of length 5 for both signed permutations and signed involutions. New general equivalences of patterns are given which prove Jaggard's conjectures concerning involutions in the symmetric group avoiding certain patterns of length 5 and 6. In this way, we also complete the Wilf classification of $S_5$, $S_6$, and $S_7$ for both permutations and involutions.


Bernard Shaw fashioned public images of himself that belied the nature and depth of his emotional experiences and the complexity of his intellectual outlook. In this absorbing biography, noted Shavian authority A. M. Gibbs debunks many of the elements that form the foundation of Shaw's self-created legend - from his childhood (which was not the loveless experience he claimed publicly), to his sexual relationships with several women, to his marriage, his politics, his Irish identity, and his controversial philosophy of Creative Evolution. Drawing on previously unpublished materials, including never-before-seen photographs and early sketches by Shaw, Gibbs offers a fresh perspective and brings us closer than ever before to the human being behind the masks.


My doctors said it was impossible... After all the radiation and chemotherapy, I was told that I would not be able to have children. We searched for a surrogate, we looked into adoption… it seemed so hopeless and then, it happened. I was a bit nervous to tell my program because I am the first University of Alberta cardiac surgery resident to become pregnant. I did not expect their response, "Michiko, our job is to create excellent surgeons. Being an excellent surgeon does not just include being technically skilled. It involves being well rounded and excelling at all areas of life. If part of your life involves being a mother and having a family, then we are here to support and encourage you all the way." I am proud to share that I am the mother of a beautiful baby boy.
"Welcome to Motherhood" is an illustrative photograph that represents my experience as a surgical resident and, at the time, a soon to be mother. I am the first cardiac surgery resident at the University of Alberta to become pregnant. I am so thankful to my program for all their support and encouragement throughout my pregnancy and after, when I entered motherhood. The relevance to cardiovascular science is that I feel it is important to acknowledge my cardiac surgery programs response to my pregnancy announcement. In a male dominated field with no experience of pregnant trainees, they did an incredible job to support and encourage me along the way.


We studied the effects of anonymity on the outcome of idea evaluations within the context of
organizational ideation. Due to the rising popularity of topics like open innovation and knowledge of
the crowd research on the subject of ideation in general and idea evaluation in specific is becoming
more important. Response Bias is a known problem in Idea Evaluation. Evaluations are influenced by,
for example, Social Desirability Effects and Rater Bias. Research shows that response bias can
negatively affect the validity of results between 10% and 75%. Organizations that are using idea
evaluations in there innovation or ideation strategy rely on the outcome of these evaluations for there
future strategy. Therefor it is important for these organizations to be aware of the effect of response
bias and to take steps for eliminating these biases. One of the known methods of eliminating response
bias is anonymity and more specific, in the context of idea evaluation, the anonymity of both ideator
and evaluator. In this study we have researched the influence of anonymity of both the ideator and
evaluator on the Crowd Evaluation Score. We have conducted a field experiment in two
organizations. We collected 863 idea evaluations which we used for analysis. Our study shows that
there is an interaction effect between the anonymity of both ideator and evaluator. We have found that
the Crowd Evaluation Score is considerably lower when an evaluation is completely anonymous.


The authors report two cases of female, genital tuberculosis with predominantly abdominal symptomatology, which required a laparotomy. In one case, the affliction was discovered during the gynecological period, whereas the second was found during the gravidic period and led to an abortion. The authors cover the classical clinical, biological and radiological aspects of this affliction, which is still current in their region. They stress the need to intensify anti-tubercular prophylaxis as the only means of improving obstetrical prognostic for the genital localization.


Recently, an approximate $SU(4)$ chiral spin-flavour symmetry was observed in multiplet patterns of QCD meson correlation functions, in a temperature range above the chiral crossover. This symmetry is larger than the chiral symmetry of massless QCD, and can only arise effectively when colour-electric quark-gluon interactions dynamically dominate the quantum effective action. At temperatures about three times the crossover temperature, these patterns disappear again, indicating the screening of colour-electric interactions, and the expected chiral symmetry is recovered. In this contribution we collect independent evidence for such an intermediate temperature range, based on screening masses and the pion spectral function. Both kinds of observables behave non-perturbatively in this window, with resonance-like peaks for the pion and its first excitation disappearing gradually with temperature. Using symmetry arguments and the known behaviour of screening masses at small densities, we discuss how this chiral spin symmetric band continues into the QCD phase diagram.


ABSTRACT Delicate hollow spheroids (1 to 2 mm) composed of radially fibrous calcite occur in, and on the surface of, calcareous travertine being deposited from water of the Orenda Spring, Saratoga Springs, New York State. Field observations suggest that spheroids form by the precipitation of calcite on the surface of water droplets that contain newly formed bubbles of CO2. Although many of the spheroids subsequently disintegrate, some grow by the addition of laminae consisting of radial bundles of fibrous calcite, commonly separated by thin (? seasonal) laminae of fine-grained calcite and detritus. These spheroids are either incorporated into laminar travertine sheets or grow by successive increments into fresh-water ooliths and pisoliths with both a concentric and a radial structur .


Radical changes have occurred in America's health care system in the last twenty years. Technological and research advances have given medicine the knowledge to treat and to cure diseases once only dreamt about. But in the race to cure, the focus of health care has shifted from treating the W patient to treating the disease. Attending to the psychological and psychosocial aspects of disease has been lost, leaving patients feeling increasingly afraid, ignored, neglected, and bureaucratically managed. This honor's thesis presents a new program of care to bridge the existing gap between the treatment of the disease and the treatment of the patient by examining the problems currently facing Huntington's disease patients in respect to prediagnostic testing, and suggest ways to improve the protocol for testing and for patient care. The study will be presented in five parts: Part One examines the nature and scope of Huntington's disease; specifically, the nature of the disease, advances in research in technology, the impact of the disease on patients and patients' families, and issues surrounding pre-diagnostic testing for the disease. Part Two traces the development of protocols that are currently prescribed for the pre-diagnostic testing of Huntington's disease by the International Huntington Disease Society (IHDS) and the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA), and examines how Shodair Children's Hospital in Helena, Montana, has revised and adopted them for use. Part Three examines the strengths and weaknesses of Shodair's protocol through a random survey of Helena physicians. Based on these analyses, Part Four proposes revisions to all the existing protocols that will enhance the treatment of patients. Part Five concludes the study with a discussion of the implications of the revised protocol for health care.