Permafrost is a product of a past colder climate. It underlies most of the terrestrial Arctic, where it influences landscape hydrology, biogeochemical environments and human activity. The current thermal regime of permafrost is mediated by different environmental factors, including snow, topography, vegetation and soil texture. The dependence of permafrost on these factors greatly complicates the modeling of permafrost thermodynamics. Accurate modeling of permafrost is critical for evaluating potential impacts of climate change on permafrost stability. The objectives of this study were to a) improve modeling of ground temperature during snow season; b) analyze the effects of post-fire environmental changes on permafrost thermal stability; and c) predict 21st century ground temperature dynamics in Alaska with high spatial resolution. To achieve the proposed objectives, near-surface air and ground temperatures were measured at permafrost observation stations across Alaska. Measured ground temperatures were used to evaluate simulated ground temperatures, which were generated with the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory (GIPL) numerical transient model. The GIPL model takes into account climate, snow, soil texture, soil moisture, and the freeze/thaw effect. To better model ground temperatures within the soil column, it was necessary to improve the parameterization of snow layer thermal properties in the model. To improve ground temperature simulations during snow season, daily snow thermal properties were estimated using an inverse approach. Modeling bias was improved by including ground temperatures simulated using estimated daily snow thermal conductivities. To address the effects of fire disturbance on permafrost thermal stability, we applied the GIPL model to lowland and upland boreal forest permafrost environments. The results indicate that permafrost vulnerability depends on pre-fire organic soil layer thickness and wetness, the amount of organic matter burned during the fire, and post-fire soil organic layer recovery rates. High spatial resolution permafrost maps are necessary for evaluating the potential impacts of permafrost thawing on Arctic ecosystems, engineering facilities, infrastructure, and the remobilization of soil carbon. Simulated ground temperatures in Alaska during the 21st century indicate widespread permafrost degradation in the discontinuous permafrost zone. High ground temperature warming trends are projected for most of the continuous permafrost zone north of the Brooks Range.


Intense heat and drought in the summer of 1988...greenhouse warming...acid rain...the ozone hole...rain forest destruction...Hurricane Hugo: The Endangered Earth is making headlines around the world, and we are aware as never before of the fragility of the global environment and our own vulnerability to climate change. Yet, despite the technological advances of the last three decades, our knowledge of how the Earth's systems work and interact remains incomplete at best. To determine environmental policies for the future, we need more information and better global climate models. In Planet Earth D. James Baker provides a concise, up-to-date overview of the ongoing international research efforts that will improve our ability to predict global climate change. In straightforward terms, Baker describes remote sensing from space. He reviews extant spacebased satellites and their instruments and describes the areas in which operational and research missions are gathering ever-increasing data--on Earth-sun interaction, land vegetation patterns, ocean color, temperature, the atmosphere, the ice sheets of the polar regions, the shape and motion of the Earth's crust, the Earth's gravity field--which fill in gaps in our knowledge even as they raise new questions about critical global processes. In view of these questions and the subsequent need for more accurate global models, the satellite networks being planned for the 1990s will require state-of-the-art instrumentation, a new generation of supercomputers, and a high level of international cooperation if they are to succeed. Baker focuses on the United States initiative, Mission to Planet Earth, a long range attempt to study theplanet as a whole using polar-orbiting, geostationary, and special orbit satellites coupled with a network of ground stations. In the concluding chapter, the author looks to the next century and examines the difficult long-term problems-of national security, technology transfer, data dissemination, cost, international coordination--that could undermine the achievement of the global operational system he proposes. Planet Earth is a timely, well-illustrated introduction to Earth-observing satellite technology for the nonspecialist and specialist alike. It distills complex information that is otherwise available only in the technical literature. For those who follow space research, it will prove an indispensable guide.


High risk human papillomavirus types 16 (HPV16) and 18 (HPV18) can cause cervical cancer. Efficient infection by HPV16 and HPV18 pseudovirions requires interactions of particles with cell-surface receptor heparan sulfate oligosaccharide. To understand the virus-receptor interactions for HPV infection, we determined the crystal structures of HPV16 and HPV18 capsids bound to the oligosaccharide receptor fragment using oligomeric heparin. The HPV-heparin structures revealed multiple binding sites for the highly negatively charged oligosaccharide fragment on the capsid surface, which is different from previously reported virus-receptor interactions in which a single type of binding pocket is present for a particular receptor. We performed structure-guided mutagenesis to generate mutant viruses, and cell binding and infectivity assays demonstrated the functional role of viral residues involved in heparin binding. These results provide a basis for understanding virus-heparan sulfate receptor interactions critical for HPV infection and for the potential development of inhibitors against HPV infection.


Plant growth regulators are naturally biosynthesized chemicals in plants that influence physiological processes. Their synthetic analogous trigger numerous biochemical and physiological processes involved in the growth and development of plants. Nowadays, due to changing climatic scenario, numerous biotic and abiotic stresses hamper seed germination, seedling growth, and plant development leading to a decline in biological and economic yields. However, plant growth regulators (PGRs) can potentially play a fundamental role in regulating plant responses to various abiotic stresses and hence, contribute to plant adaptation under adverse environments. The major effects of abiotic stresses are growth and yield disturbance, and both these effects are directly overseen by the PGRs. Different types of PGRs such as abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), and jasmonates (JAs) are connected to boosting the response of plants to multiple stresses. In contrast, PGRs including cytokinins (CKs), gibberellins (GAs), auxin, and relatively novel PGRs such as strigolactones (SLs), and brassinosteroids (BRs) are involved in plant growth and development under normal and stressful environmental conditions. Besides, polyamines and nitric oxide (NO), although not considered as phytohormones, have been included in the current review due to their involvement in the regulation of several plant processes and stress responses. These PGRs are crucial for regulating stress adaptation through the modulates physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes and activation of the defense system, upregulating of transcript levels, transcription factors, metabolism genes, and stress proteins at cellular levels. The current review presents an acumen of the recent progress made on different PGRs to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress such as heat, drought, salinity, and flood. Moreover, it highlights the research gaps on underlying mechanisms of PGRs biosynthesis under stressed conditions and their potential roles in imparting tolerance against adverse effects of suboptimal growth conditions.


Find books and articles on Music Business along with resources for Marketing, Statistics, the Music Industry, and Copyright & Music Industry Associations.


This simulation project aims to solve forensic anthropology issues by using the computational method. The positive identification on gender is such a potential field to be explored. Basically, gender identification in forensic anthropology by comparative skeletal anatomy by atlas and crucially affect the identification accuracy. The simulation identification method was studied in order to determine the best model, which reduce the total costs of the post-mortem as an objective. The computational method on simulation run improves the identification accuracy as proven by many studies. Fuzzy K-nearest neighbours classifier (FuzzyNN) is such a computational intelligence method and always shows the best performance in many fields including forensic anthropology. Thus, this intelligent identification method was implemented within the determining for best accuracy. The result of this proposed model was compared with raw data collection and standard collections datasets; Goldman Osteometric dataset and Ryan and Shaw Dataset (RSD) as a benchmark for the identification policy. To improve the accuracy of FuzzyNN classifier, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) feature selection was used as the basis for choosing the best features to be used by the selected FuzzyNN classification model. The model is called PSO-FuzzyNN and has been developed by MATLAB and WEKA tools platform. Comparisons of the performance measurement namely the percentage of the classification accuracy of the model were performed. The result show potential the proposed PSO-FuzzyNN method demonstrates the capability to the obtained highest accuracy of identification.


ABSTRACT This study uses four examples of bookplates printed in Edwardian Britain (1901–1914) to demonstrate how the adoption of an ethnohistorical approach to social semiotics can vastly strengthen multimodal analysis. It argues that situating choices of image, colour, typography and materiality in archival research and the broader sociohistorical context of the Edwardian period can help to uncover the external motivations for a bookplate's structure. The case study reveals that bookplate designs were primarily influenced by the social status and wealth of owners, as well as the specific, well-established norms of the bookplate genre. It also highlights the significance of connecting semiotic choices to the traditions of Edwardian society and the ways in which meanings can shift over time. The findings demonstrate the importance of grounding hypotheses concerning the function and form of artefacts in concrete historical documents, in addition to the vast potential of this methodology for exploring other texts within a particular historical period.


Introduction Fetal fibronectin (fFN) and cervical length are the best predictors of preterm birth (PTB). No studies have attempted to predict PTB in asymptomatic high risk women by combining demographics, past obstetric history and biochemical markers. We have developed an algorithm for predicting PTB before 30, 34 and 37 weeks' gestation. Methods We analysed 219 women attending the Preterm Surveillance Clinic at our institution between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2009. These women were at high risk of PTB following previous PTB (16–37/40) or cervical surgery. Multiple linear logistic regression analysis was performed using Stata. Results fFN, shortest cervical length and gestation of fFN test were the only variables that influenced PTB risk when combined; previous PTB, ethnicity, smoking and BMI had no effect on ability to predict PTB. The area under the ROC curve for the prediction models was 0.96, 0.84 and 0.77 for delivery before 30, 34 and 37 weeks' gestation respectively. We have produced a formula for calculating percentage risk of delivering before 30, 34 and 37 weeks', and within 2 and 4 weeks of the calculation. This has been developed into a freely available iPhone application. Conclusion Predicting PTB in high risk women is principally based upon cervical length, fFN result and gestation of fFN test; women with a positive fFN at an earlier gestation, with a shorter cervix are at greatest risk. Additional demographic information and past obstetric history are superseded by these variables and need not be applied to a high risk prediction model.


This paper considers the influence of wild-land fires on air quality in Europe using the spring and summer seasons of 2006–2007 as prominent examples. The preliminary results for the season 2008 will also be presented. The experience of Air Quality forecasting with the SILAM modelling system, which considers anthropogenic, natural and fire-related emission sources is discussed. The fire emission is deduced from the near-real-time MODIS satellite retrievals using two sets of products of the instrument, which are assimilated daily by the emission pre-processor. We analysed several episodes and compared the impact of fires with contributions from anthropogenic sources. For example, high concentrations of nearly all pollutants were detected in Central, Eastern and Northern Europe in late spring of 2006. Simulations showed that this episode was formed by contributions of all main sources: major wild-land fires in Russia and substantial amounts of anthropogenic and natural air pollutants were accumulated for a few days over Eastern Europe. A synchronization role was played by meteorology. Specific weather conditions promoted formation of the multi-component pollution cloud, which was then transported across most of Central and Northern Europe causing widespread allergic symptoms and other illnesses associated with poor air quality. Several other episodes were more localised. Thus, August of 2006 was particularly difficult in Portugal and Spain, but also in Finland, while August 2007 was particularly difficult in Greece. The model predictions were compared with available information from ground-based monitoring sites and the satellite retrievals. The agreement was fairly good, especially for timing of the rise and fall of concentrations, while the quality of absolute levels reproduction appeared to depend on the original fire product.


In reading Chinese words, learners may process segment and tone either separately or as an integral unit, as evidenced in previous research. The present study compared two ways—Segmental versus Whole-Syllable-Based Training—for improving learners' phonological and word learning in Chinese as a novel language, while controlling for learners' musical ability, an important factor that may contribute to phonological learning. Forty-two American college students learned Chinese words represented by Pinyin, a Romanized script which denotes the pronunciation of Chinese characters. Before the training, all participants were introduced to the phonology and Pinyin system. Then, they were trained on the pronunciation and meaning of the Pinyin words with or without an emphasis on separating the tonal from segmental information. All participants' musical ability was assessed using a musical ability test. Learning outcomes were measured through tasks of same-different phonological judgment, tone identification, and word comprehension. Results showed the equal success of the two training methods, probably due to the consistent involvement of Pinyin and learner's reliance on segment and tone as an integral unit rather than separate cues in phonological and word learning. Furthermore, musical ability seems to play a role in phonological and word learning among novel learners of Chinese.


For exiting products, statistical agencies often impute inflation from surviving products. This understates growth if creatively-destroyed products improve more than surviving ones. If so, then the market share of surviving products should systematically shrink. Using entering and exiting establishments to proxy for creative destruction, we estimate missing growth in US Census data on non-farm businesses from 1983 to 2013. We find missing growth (i) equaled about one-half a percentage point per year; (ii) arose mostly from hotels and restaurants rather than manufacturing; and (iii) did not accelerate much after 2005, and therefore does not explain the sharp slowdown in growth since then. (JEL E23, E31, L14, L15, O30, O41)


Disaster by Design: The Aral Sea, Lessons for Sustainability addresses the impacts of the Aral Sea disaster. The virtual disappearance of what was the world's fourth largest inland body of water was neither natural nor accidental. It was the result of deliberate policy decisions. The sea's disappearance is hardly the entire disaster. Instead, we find an accumulation of cascading effects, beginning with the decision to grow cotton, reached remotely in Moscow that altered the farming practices surrounding the Aral Sea. Unsustainable choices resulted in soil salinization, water pollution and toxic blowing sands, impacting the entire bioregion and beyond. A remote island was used to test biological weapons. Uzbekistan, most notably Karakalpakstan, was the autonomous republic at the epicenter of the disaster. Sustainable prospects exist, including renewable energy, permaculture and strengthening the social fabric amidst poverty and ecological collapse. This volume of Research in Social Problems and Public Policy is essential reading for everyone concerned with averting environmental disaster and instead creating livable, sustainable communities. Disaster by Design is a clarion call and an insightful study of Central Asia today.


1. We examined the effect of the exotic macrophyte, para grass (Urochloa mutica), on benthic and epiphytic macroinvertebrates of a tropical floodplain in northern Australia. Macroinvertebrates were sampled from four grass communities: (1) para grass, (2) hymenachne (Hymenachne acutigluma), a native perennial; (3) rice (Oryza meridionalis), a native annual, and (4) areas where para grass had been sprayed with herbicide. 2. Macroinvertebrate richness, abundance and community similarity showed very few differences among the grass communities, particularly in the epiphytic habitat. Benthic invertebrates showed some differences among grasses, with lower richness and abundance and different community structure associated with hymenachne. Herbicide control of para grass had no apparent effect on benthic invertebrates but reduced the abundance of epiphytic invertebrates in the short term. 3. The results of this study indicate that para grass has very little impact on macroinvertebrate communities, despite the changes to macrophyte communities. This is probably because para grass has similar physical structure to the native grasses and because none of these grasses contribute directly to aquatic food webs. Control of para grass using herbicide has little impact on aquatic invertebrates. This suggests that predicting the impact of weed invasion in wetlands requires an understanding of both the functional properties of macrophytes and the habitat preferences of the macroinvertebrates.


BACKGROUND
Identifying biological measures that are predictive of mortality for elderly people aged over 65 years has not been fully elucidated in oriental studies.

OBJECTIVE
The associations between these biological measures and long-term mortality were therefore investigated, and classifications for risk of death were developed among Taiwanese elderly people

METHODS
Data used in this study were derived from a total of 597 apparently healthy subjects aged over 65 years identified from a nationwide survey that was conducted between 1989 and 1991 in Taiwan. Each participant received a physical examination and a wide range of biological measures. These 597 apparently healthy subjects were followed to 31 December 1999 to determine the cause of death. The grouping technique using factor analysis was first used to aggregate similar characteristics of biological measures into reduced components. Risk of death for each subject was classified into four groups: good (A), fair (B), modest (C) and poor (D). Hazard ratios for groups B, C, D against A were calculated.

RESULTS
The overall 10-year survival rate was 72% [95% confidence interval (CI) 68-76%]. The adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause death in high and mid-level categories of haematological components versus the lowest group were 0.51 (95% CI 0.33-0.80) and 0.56 (95% CI 0.37-0.85), respectively. Group D had a 6-fold risk of death as compared with group A (relative risk = 6.34, 95% CI 3.85-10.52). The corresponding figures were 2.48 (95% CI 1.43-4.29) and 1.60 (95% CI 2.88-6.89) for groups B and C, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The relationships of biological measures to long-term mortality were elucidated. Information on classification for risk of death may be helpful for elderly people to pay attention to their health status after receiving a health check-up.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) will represent a crucial enabling technology to interconnect sensors and actuators in future smart cities. Since many applications will demand for reliable and low-latency communication, current standardization efforts are focusing in the definition of novel wireless standard architectures, e.g., the 6TiSCH architecture, to improve reliability and introduce support for quality of service. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of the 6TiSCH architecture during the initial network formation. Specifically, the performance of the 6top protocol, defined in 6TiSCH for distributed negotiation of resources, is evaluated. Simulations highlighted how the initial negotiation of resources is influenced by the routing protocol and the link-quality estimation mechanism adopted. The performance evaluation allowed to draw a set of guidelines for network configuration to guarantee the reliability of the initial allocation of resources.


In 2009 the Environment Agency (EA) implemented a series of investigations into possible improvements to the flood defences within and around Low Crosby, Scaleby, Cumbria (NGR NY 446 593). The development area is located within an
area of archaeological potential, with Hadrian's Wall less than 1 mile to the north and the route of the Roman Stanegate road believed to traverse the village itself.
Accordingly, the Environment Agency Archaeologist requested that an archaeological watching brief be maintained during any ground disturbance activities.
OA North was commissioned by the Environment Agency to undertake the watching brief which took place on the 19th, 20th and 25th of March 2009. The monitored
groundworks consisted of nine hand-dug inspection pits located at various points around the village. Each pit measured 0.3m by 0.3m and was 1.2m deep, but revealed
no archaeological features or finds.
Excavation of the test pits was followed by percussion boreholes within the same locations. Given the low impact and limited capacity for interpretation of archaeological deposits associated with boreholes, there was no requirement for archaeological monitoring of that element of the investigation. However, the programme of works meant that it was feasible for the drilling of one such core to be observed, which revealed a sequence of alluvial deposits, but no archaeological remains.
The absence of identified archaeological remains is likely to pertain to the limited works.


Sequential approximate optimization (SAO) methods aimed at structural optimization often use reciprocal-like approximations in a dual setting; the method of moving asymptotes (MMA) and CONLIN are important and telling examples. Using a different (if related) approach, we have previously demonstrated that replacement of the reciprocal approximation by its own quadratic or second order Taylor series expansion may result in equally efficient dual SAO algorithms. In this paper, we show that the quadratic treatment is not only to the benefit of dual SAO statements, but may also make (sparse) sequential quadratic programming (SQP) methods viable for the solution of large-scale structural optimization problems. We solve several test problems by means of a series of diagonal Lagrange-Newton or QP subproblems generated from the quadratic treatment of the objective function and constraint function approximations. We conclude that the proposed SAO method using a QP statement is a very promising alternative when the Falk dual methods become expensive, which may for instance happen for problems with both the number of design variables and the number of constraints very high. As expected, dual methods however remain the most efficient for problems with only a few constraints.


Petrographic, chemical and isotopic studies of marine sediment-hosted septarian concretions from Lower Jurassic Whiteaves Formation in the Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C., Canada, reveal a complex diagenetic history that has resulted from bacterially mediated reactions at shallow burial depth as well as hydrothermally modified meteoric waters. The general diagenetic sequence in cement-filled septaria cracks includes: 1) fibrous calcite, 2a) bladed calcite or 2b) ferroan "saddle-like" calcite, 3) blocky calcite with early ferroan and late non-ferroan stages, and 4) barite. Each cement generation has a characteristic chemical and isotopic signature. Oxidation of upward-diffused methane contributed to an extremely negative value ofdelta C (ca. -35 per thousand ) in the early generation of fibrous calcite. The delta O (ca. -3.0 per thousand ) and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.70683) values of these calcites, however, reflect Jurassic seawater composition. Plutonism during Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous time provided hydrothermal discharge that altered meteoric waters. This process became the main factor for the precipitation of "saddle-like" and bladed calcites. These two generations of carbonate cement are characterized by relative depletion in delta 18 O (-11.5 to -17.4 per thousand ) and less radiogenic 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (0.70532 to 0.70575) signatures. Progressive modification in pore water chemistry and increasing depth of burial occurred during the formation of late ferroan blocky calcite.


Abstract The ITER blanket modules (BM) are geometrically complex with many water coolant channels in a SS316 structure. Detailed mapping of nuclear heating, radiation damage, and helium production is an essential input to the design process. Previous high fidelity, high-resolution results calculated with the CAD based DAG-MCNP code revealed important heterogeneity effects on nuclear heating and helium production near steel/water interfaces. We carried out additional analysis for a simplified geometry to understand the reasons behind the observed peaking in the steel nuclear parameters at the interface with the water coolant. The results show that the peaking in nuclear heating is due to the softer neutron spectrum in the portion of steel adjacent to water which results in more gamma generation. Helium production peaking in steel adjacent to the water is due to the softer neutron spectrum which results in increased helium production primarily in B-10 impurities present in the SS316 in addition to a two-step reaction of low-energy neutrons with Ni.


Hedge funds are not "normal" institutional investors. They launch proxy fights for corporate control. Their recent successes and "wolf pack" tactics have garnered headlines, but leave us with a question: what does hedge fund activism mean for corporate governance in the United States? This Article undertakes a legal, empirical, and theoretical study in an effort to answer this question. The heart of the Article is an empirical study of obtainable instances of hedge fund activism during 2005 and the 2006 proxy season. The Article starts by showing that the SEC opened the door to hedge fund activism when it stopped censoring most proxy material in 1992 and started allowing proxy "free communication" in 2000. This Articleâ018s empirical survey found over 50 instances of hedge fund activism, and also found the in terrorem effect of these examples to be considerable. The survey further found that the combination of "wolf pack" tactics and the increasing influence of activist proxy advisory firms (the recommendations of which many institutional investors follow automatically) have made hedge fund activists a real power in corporate governance. Despite some claims that hedge funds often hold short positions or are otherwise dangerously conflicted, the survey found very limited evidence for this; the survey also found that hedge funds have, in fact, disclosed these conflicts, though the proxy and Williams Act rules in this respect should be clarified. The Article then subjects these results to theoretical analysis using current nexus of contracts, shareholder primacy, director primacy, team production, connected contracts, and other theories, and finds none completely satisfactory. The Article concludes that an almost unprincipled balance-of-power political model best explains the hedge fund activism phenomenon. In the end, if these activities cause managements to review and reassess their strategies, corporate governance is improved.


Today's wireless communication systems having limited computational resources and communication bandwidth find certificate less public-key cryptosystems very attractive and vital to their operations in the sense that they help in reducing a significant amount of data load on the network. To eliminate the need of public key digital certificates Shamir proposed ID based cryptosystems in which the user's identity (e.g. name or email id) is used as the public key. However this method had a major drawback of the key escrow problem as a result of which certificate less digital signature (CDS) came into light. The main idea behind CDS is that there's a private key generator (PKG) which generates a partial private key for the user .Then using that key and some of its own private information the user computes its actual private key. PKG's public parameters and the user's private key together calculate the user's public key. Harn, Ren and Lin in 2008 proposed a CDS model which consisted of four generic modules namely PKG, user key generation, signature generation and verification. In this paper, we propose an improvement of the aforesaid CDS scheme in terms of time complexity and signature length and implement the new scheme in an e-cash model proposed by Popescu and Oros. Performance analysis of both the schemes has been carried out in details.


Adiabatic shear banding during high speed machining is important to understand material removal mechanisms. This paper investigates the microstructure of adiabatic shear bands (ASBs) in the serrated chips produced during the high speed machining of AISI 1045 hardened steel. Optical microscope, scanning electronic microscope(SEM) and transmission electronic microscope(TEM) were used to explore the microstructural characteristics. It was found that there are two types of adiabatic shear bands. One is the deformed adiabatic shear band composed of a significantly deformed structure generated in a range of low cutting speeds, and the other is the transformed adiabatic shear band composed of very small equiaxed grains generated under high cutting speeds. The results indicated that the deformed band has a tempered martensite structure that formed through large plastic deformation and the transformed band has experienced a dynamic recrystallization process.


This article invites readers to consider the role our childhood heroes and ideas of heroism play in shaping the lawyers we become. It interprets Gerald López's Rebellious Lawyering as a rejection of reigning views of heroism that society inculcates and law school reinforces. The article differentiates López's vision of lawyering from the client-centered approach, clarifying how lawyering can be client-centered, but not rebellious. The article responds to three main criticisms of the book—that it too harshly judges "regnant" lawyers, sets too high a standard for rebellious lawyers, and paints too rosy a picture of clients and communities. These critiques, the article argues, fail to appreciate that López aims to depict a model of practice toward which to aspire, one he recognizes none of us will consistently reach, but nonetheless hopes to entice some of us to pursue, as we work to remake our world.


Choosing appropriate referring expressions requires assessing whether a referent is "available" to the addressee either perceptually or through discourse. In Study 1, we found that 3- and 4-year-olds, but not 2-year-olds, chose different referring expressions (noun vs. pronoun) depending on whether their addressee could see the intended referent or not. In Study 2, in more neutral discourse contexts than previous studies, we found that 3- and 4-year-olds clearly differed in their use of referring expressions according to whether their addressee had already mentioned a referent. Moreover, 2-year-olds responded with more naming constructions when the referent had not been mentioned previously. This suggests that, despite early social–cognitive developments, (a) it takes time to master the given/new contrast linguistically, and (b) children understand the contrast earlier based on discourse, rather than perceptual context.


Background: Anemia is a very common medical disorder in pregnancy with 55% prevalence in India. Every Second women in India is anemic. Hence this study was conducted to evaluate the causes of anemia, maternal and perinatal outcomes of anemia in the Indian population. Objective: To evaluate the causes of anemia, maternal and perinatal outcomes of anemia in the Indian population in a tertiary care Centre government rajaji hospital OG department for a period of 3 months. Methods: This study was carried out in Government Rajaji hospital, Madurai for a period of 3 months from July 2016 to August 2016. A total of 1153 patients were studied. Maternal and perinatal parameters were studied. Results: 82.9% of the mothers had hypochromic microcytic anemia. 43.1% of patients had positive urine culture for latent infections. More than 36% of babies were of low-birth weight. Conclusions: There was a significant correlation between anemia and low-birth weight. Anemia predisposed the mothers to postpartum Wound infections and Sepsis.


Intraoperative fluid optimization is important for improving the prognosis after thoracic surgery (1,2). Several prior studies have demonstrated that excessive intravenous fluid intake may be linked to an increased risk of pulmonary complications following these operations (3-5). Therefore, a restrictive fluid therapy strategy that aims to achieve a negative fluid balance is currently the preferred technique for achieving a good prognosis after thoracic surgery (2,6). Additionally, and despite known adverse effects such as renal injury and coagulation impairment, colloids including hydroxyethyl starch are often used to reduce the total intravenous fluids administered during thoracic operations (6,7).


An overview of the oilseed industry locally and globally is provided, followed by measurements of the comparative and competitive advantages of the South African and Argentine oilseed industries. Three indexes are used to calculate the comparative and competitive advantages namely the Net Export Index (NXI), the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and the Relative Revealed Comparative Trade Advantage (RTA) index. According to the results South African groundnuts and sunflower seed have a competitive advantage in their primary form. Oilseeds to which value has been added have, in most cases, a competitive disadvantage, exactly the opposite to Argentinas oilseed products. The finding that South Africa is only competitive in the primary oilseed market, lead to the secondary oilseed industry. In the analysis it was found that the South African oilseed industry is price driven. Since price plays a large role in the competitiveness of the industry, imports of cheaper bottled refined oils are considered to pose a major threat.


Objective: Evidence from several cross-sectional studies indicates that an increase in omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) may negatively affect cognition in old age. The hippocampus is among the first neural structures affected by age and atrophy in this brain region is associated with cognitive decline. Therefore, we hypothesized that a lower omega-6:3 FA ratio would predict better hippocampus-dependent spatial memory, and a higher general cognitive status. Method: Fifty-two healthy older adults completed a Food Frequency Questionnaire, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA; a test of global cognition) and virtual navigation tasks that assess navigational strategies and spatial memory. Results: In this cross-sectional study, a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 FA intake strongly predicted more accurate hippocampus-dependent spatial memory and faster learning on our virtual navigation tasks, as well as higher cognitive status overall. Conclusions: These results may help elucidate why certain dietary patterns with a lower omega-6:3 FA ratio, like the Mediterranean diet, are associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline.


Background: Proteinuria is a cardinal sign of chronic kidney disease, which is a major healthcare problem that affects millions of people worldwide. Recent advances in molecular genetics and cell biology have revealed the podocyte as the primary functional regulator of the tri-layered glomerular filter. Since podocyte foot processes (FP) and their interposed slit diaphragms (SD) form the final barrier to protein loss, podocyte injury causes proteinuric kidney disease. Summary: A fundamental mechanism of proteinuric glomerular diseases is podocyte FP effacement and the loss of podocyte SD integrity, both of which involve the active rearrangement of the podocyte actin cytoskeleton. Initially, these early changes are reversible, but later can progress to cell detachment and death. Based on the importance of the actin cytoskeleton for podocyte development and the maintenance of the glomerular filter, podocyte research is heavily focused on studying actin's molecular make-up and regulation. In this review we provide a comprehensive summary of the about 100 actin-associated proteins that have been described in podocytes to date, and we point out that so far only about one quarter of them have been shown to be functionally relevant for podocyte function in rodents or humans. Since actin-mediated cell plasticity is a key feature of normal podocyte function, and alterations in actin dynamics appear to be a major driver in changing podocyte morphology and glomerular permeability, we discuss the current work on proteins and mechanisms that regulate actin polymerization and stress fiber contraction in podocyte FP in greater detail. Key Message: Without a doubt, the actin cytoskeleton is the key component of podocytes and proper glomerular filtration. Over the past 20 years many actin-associated proteins and actin-regulating mechanisms have been identified in podocytes. However, since most of these proteins are widely expressed and regulate actin in different cell types, it remains unclear if the podocyte actin cytoskeleton can be specifically targeted, and if and how actin-associated proteins can serve as novel drug targets in proteinuric kidney disease.


Clinical and experimental data suggest that autoimmunological mechanisms may play an important role in the pathogenesis of postmyocarditic cardiomyopathy. This may be due to the viral infection itself, or may be induced by persistence of the virus. Apart from the clinical signs of myocarditis, which are usually not specific, the diagnosis of acute myocarditis should be enabled by the histological examination of endomyocardial biopsies. In accordance with the Dallas criteria the histological diagnosis of acute myocarditis is defined by the presence of inflammatory cells in the myocardium associated with myocyte necrosis and degeneration of adjacent myocytes. This morphology, however, is only seen within the first 7 to 10 days of the acute stage of the disease. Later, most cases of clinically suspected acute myocarditis are histopathologically consistent with the diagnosis of "borderline myocarditis". Although endomyocardial biopsies have markedly improved diagnostic possibilities, the diagnosis of myocarditis by light microscopy has its limitations. Mainly the differentiation of infiltrating mononuclear cells from interstitial fibroblasts or pericytes is visually difficult. New immunohistochemical methods were therefore introduced to improve the specificity and sensitivity of the diagnosis. Using monoclonal antibodies against cell surface markers from lymphocytes (CD3, CD4, CD8) the identification, characterization and quantification of lymphocytic infiltrates in the myocardium is improved very significantly. Furthermore, the use of monoclonal antibodies against MHC-class-I and class-II-antigens provides further information about the immunological status of the myocardium. In conclusion, the use of these new immunohistological methods offers the possibility of establishing immunological criteria in addition to histological parameters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The importance of a cladistic approach in reconstructing the phylogeny of bryophytes is discussed and illustrated by an analysis of the major groups of bryophytes with respect to the tracheophytes and the green algae. The cladistic analysis, using 51 characters taken from the literature, gives the following tentative results: (1) the embryophytes as a whole are monophyletic; (2) the bryophytes (sensu lato) are paraphyletic; (3) the mosses share a more recent common ancestor with the tracheophytes than do the liverworts or hornworts; (4) the hornworts appear to share a more recent common ancestor with the moss-tracheophyte lineage than with the liverworts; however, the existence of several homoplasies makes this placement more problematical; (5) the origin of alternation of generations in the embryophytes, based on out-group comparison with their oogamous, haplontic, algal sister groups, was by progressive elaboration of the primitively epiphytic sporophyte generation; and (6) the presence of vascular tissue (xylem and phloem) can best be interpreted as a synapomorphy of the moss-tracheophyte clade, and tracheids (xylem with ornamented walls) as a synapomorphy of the tracheophytes; therefore, the prevailing designation of "vascular plants" for the tracheophytes alone is inaccurate.


Abstract A protocol, called common driving notification protocol (CDNP), is proposed based on the classified driving behavior for intelligent autonomous vehicles, and it defines a standard with common messages and format for vehicles. The common standard format and definitions of CDNP packet make the autonomous vehicles have a common language to exchange more detail driving decision information of various driving situations, decrease the identification time for one vehicle to identify the driving decisions of other vehicles before or after those driving decisions are performed. The simulation tools, including NS- 3 and SUMO, are used to simulate the wireless data packet transmission and the vehicle mobility; the experiment results present that the proposed protocol, CDNP, can increase the reaction preparing time with maximum value 250 seconds, decrease the identification time and the average travel time. Prospectively, it is decided to implement the CDNP as a protocol stack in the Linux kernel to provide the basic protocol capability for real world transmission testing.


Using a large redshift survey covering 95 deg2, we demonstrate that the infall region of Abell 2199 contains Abell 2197, one or two X-ray-emitting groups, and up to five additional groups identified in redshift surveys. Our survey shows that the X-ray-emitting systems, located at projected radii of 1.°4, 1.°9, and 5.°1 (2.2, 3.1, and 8.0 h-1 Mpc), are connected kinematically to A2199. A2197 is itself an optically rich cluster; its weak X-ray emission suggests that it is much less massive than A2199. The absence of a sharp peak in the infall pattern at the position of A2197 supports this hypothesis. The outermost group is well outside the virial region of A2199, and it distorts the infall pattern in redshift space. The two X-ray-emitting groups are roughly colinear, suggesting the existence of an extended (8.0 h-1 Mpc) filament. The identification of these infalling groups provides direct support of hierarchical structure formation; studies of these systems will provide insights into structure evolution. Groups in the infall regions of nearby clusters may offer a unique probe of the physics of the warm/hot ionized medium (WHIM), which is difficult to observe directly with current instruments.


Within genetically identical inbred and F1 hybrid test animal populations there exist subpopulations with different levels of sensitivity to induction of toxic endpoints, e.g., neoplasms, in response to toxicant exposure. These subpopulations differ from each other by other phenotypic characteristics as well. Presumably, these differences reflect alterations in the quantitative expression of some genes. These alterations are most probably directly or indirectly induced by subtle prenatal, neonatal or postnatal changes in endogenous microenvironmental conditions or factors. Such subpopulations have been identified within a population of agouti A/a and mottled yellow Avy/A (C3H x VY)F1 hybrid male mice. In these subpopulations differential body weight gain and formation of multiple liver adenomas in response to phenobarbital treatment were correlated with altered constitutive and inducible hepatic drug-metabolizing isozyme activities. These subpopulations could be identified by body weight as early as weaning age. In a different population of (YS x VY)F1 hybrid female mice, three phenotypes with different patterns of sensitivity to liver and lung tumor formation form visually separable phenotypic subpopulations by postnatal day 7. Two of these phenotypes, obese mottled yellow and lean pseudoagouti, are genetically identical (genotype: Avy/a), while the third phenotype, lean black a/a, differs from the others by just the Avy allele. The yellow and pseudoagouti mice, fed lindane (gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane) for 24 months, differed with respect to liver tumor incidence but had similar incidences of lung tumors. In contrast, the black mice, fed lindane, were totally resistant to both types of tumors. Analyses of phenotypic variation within other inbred or F1 hybrid populations have identified analogous subpopulations. In carcinogenicity assays this phenotypic variability can be used to mimic differential sensitivity to toxicant exposure among individuals in human populations. Data obtained from such phenotypic subpopulations should assist in improving risk assessment efforts.


There have been numerous articles written in detail regarding industrial-based supplier certification programs. These programs generally concentrate on suppliers of raw materials. After reviewing them, it is difficult to visualize how these programs could support the ambulatory or inpatient operations of a healthcare institution. The University of Maryland Medical Center, a 747-bed teaching hospital in Baltimore, took on the challenge to adapt the supplier certification program to support its healthcare institution. After months of struggle, a program emerged by expanding the Medical Center's current process management philosophy, to include its suppliers. Documentation from the program developed by the Medical Center indicates the level of supplier support has increased. Through this certification program, the supplier is aware of the Medical Center's expectations and needs. In turn, the Medical Center has become aware of how its internal processes can hinder the supplier's operation. The supplier certification program has provided a valuable communication conduit. This article covers a brief summation of the industrial-based supplier certification program and how the University of Maryland Medical Center has adapted the program to support all its operations.


Mungbean Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek is a grain legume widely grown in the tropics and subtropics and is an excellent source of dietary protein. Many biotic and abiotic stresses such as disease and drought limit the mungbean yield. In this study, 2 mungbean cultivars KP11 and MN93 were subjected to PCR analysis using 3 primer pairs (F1, F2, F3). A 4.2 k b phospholipase C3 (PLC3) gene fragment from the mungbean genome was successfully amplified by PCR. The PCR products containing the PLC3 fragments were cloned in pTZ57R/T and sequenced with three primer pairs (3 forward and 3 reverse primer). The cloned PLC3 gene had 4215 nucleotides in length, including start codon and stop codons, intron and exon. The coding region of PLC3 comprised 1776 nucleotides, encoding a polypeptide of 591 amino acids.


The main purpose of this paper is to observe the system performance under solar irradiation and temperature variation of grid-connected photovoltaic system. The photovoltaic generator is connected to the boost DC-DC converter to get the DC link constant voltage, and then integrated into the AC utility grid by DC/AC voltage source inverter via the step up transformer. The boost converter control is based on the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) with incremental conductance algorithm. Pulse width modulation with phase lock loop control technique is applied for controlling the performance of the three phase three levels voltage source inverter which interfaces with the utility grid line. The technical characteristic of photovoltaic array is simulated for the proposed system capacity of 80 kW, and then, the power converting performance of the system components are observed under variation of solar radiation and temperature. The overall system output which injected into the utility AC grid line is investigated by simulating with MATLAB/ SIMULINK, and the proposed system performance is analysed for the input variations which depend on weather conditions.


During millions of years, the evolutionary arms race between viruses and their hosts has resulted in mutual adaptation. The host has equipped itself with an extensive arsenal of antiviral mechanisms to defend itself against these intruders, while viruses have developed strategies to counter, evade and even exploit host immune responses. RNA viruses, such as myxoviruses, picornaviruses, and retroviruses, evade immune responses mostly through antigenic variation. This may be related due to their limited coding capacity. DNA viruses, such as poxviruses and herpesviruses, have a larger coding capacity and can afford to encode proteins dedicated to manipulating the hosts immune system. Scope of this thesis Most of our current knowledge on ERAD stems from early studies performed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This is related to the difficulty of gene manipulation in mammalian cells compared to yeast. In addition, the ERAD pathway in mammalians is considerably more intricate than in yeast, probably because the ERAD pathway has seen a high diversification and specialization due to the emergence of complex life and the expansion of the proteome. While many of the findings in yeast can be translated to mammalians due to the high conservation among eukaryotes, our current understanding of ERAD in mammalian cells is still far from complete. Recent advances in mammalian gene manipulation have created new ways for extensive interrogation, such as the generation of lentivirus-based high-throughput wholegenome shRNA libraries for conducting RNAi screens. Additionally, in early 2013, a groundbreaking new gene manipulation technique for use in mammalian cells emerged: CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering. This technique utilizes the bacterial nuclease protein Cas9 in combination with a guide RNA (gRNA) to promote programmed editi ng of DNA within mammalian cells. By matching the gRNA sequence to a desired sequence present in the human genome, the Cas9 molecule can be programmed to cleave any given site in the human genome, thereby producing a double-stranded break (DSB). The DSB is recognized and repaired by the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) system, but due to the error-prone nature of NHEJ, the introduction of mutations is inevitable. These mutaƟ ons may result in gene disruption, ultimately producing a target gene knockout. The CRISPR/Cas9 genome-engineering technique was quickly adopted to effi ciently produce gene knockouts and knockins, in both small and large scale setups. After a publication in early 2013, in which the CRISPR/Cas9-tool was first used to modify the mammalian genetic code, the amount of publications using this technique for gene editing has skyrocketed. Herpesvirus immunoevasins not only demonstrate how viruses evade the immune system, but also represent valuable tools to further unravel the MHC-I anti gen presentation pathway and general cellular processes, including ER-associated protein degradation. We decided to study mammalian ERAD using the HMCV immunoevasins US2 and US11 as a model; the latest RNAi library screening and CRISPR/Cas9 genome-engineering techniques were employed to identify novel players in MHC I degradation. In Chapter 2, we review the interactions of herpesviruses with the MHC-I anti gen presentation pathway. In Chapter 3, we employ a pooled lentiviral genome-wide shRNA library to screen for host factors essential for US11-mediated MHC-I downregulation. We identify the previously uncharacterized protein TMEM129 as the elusive E3 ubiquitin ligase and UBE2J2 and UBE2K as the E2 ubiquitinconjuga ting enzymes exploited by US11. We also find evidence that TMEM129 might play a more general role in mammalian ERAD. In Chapter 4, we explore the topology of TMEM129. Many of the E3 proteins involved in ERAD are multi-spanning transmembrane proteins. We show that TMEM129 is an ER-localized tri-spanning transmembrane protein with a C-terminal cytosolic RING domain. In Chapter 5, we generate a CRISPR/Cas9 library focused on known human p97 co-factors to find the ones that are essential for US11- mediated MHC-I degradation. We identify UBXD8 as a p97 co-factor that is essential for MHC-I degradation by US11. In Chapter 6, we establish a CRISPR/Cas9 library targeting all known E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes. Using this library, we screen for E2 enzymes essential for US2-induced degradation of MHC-I. We identify UBE2G2 as an E2 ubiquitin-conjugati ng enzyme that is critically involved in US2-mediated MHC-I degradation. Surprisingly, we find UBE2J2 to counteract degradation of MHC-I by US2. Chapter 7 summarizes the findings of this thesis and discusses the potential of combining various cuting-edge techniques to study mammalian ERAD.


Carbocations can appear as transient species, for instance, in elimination reactions and various rearrangements. Hyperconjugation (or conjugation) can then stabilize the cationic character and form a partial π bond. The effect of the electronic delocalization from strained substituents to a carbocation part was calculated. Very large hyperconjugation was found, sometimes more than 80 kcal mol(-1) , which is much larger than typical conjugation effects (56 kcal mol(-1) for the allyl cation).


Leaders in health professions education schools and programs are under pressure to respond to new accreditation requirements for interprofessional education (IPE). The work of creating and sustaining an IPE program at an academic health center is in many ways analogous to the challenge of creating and sustaining a "commons"—a set of resources shared by many, but owned by none. In this Commentary, the authors borrow from the work of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrum to describe the "design principles" necessary to build and maintain the set of common resources needed to successfully implement and sustain an IPE program. They interpret these principles in the context of their own experiences implementing IPE programs and recommend three institutional structural elements necessary to build and sustain an IPE program: (1) a representative governance body, (2) an accountable director or leader, and (3) a structure supporting vertical and horizontal communication and authority.


Mushrooms are able to accumulate both primary and secondary metabolites. Medicinal and antioxidant properties of mushrooms are an excellent combination of their nutrition value. Recent studies have demonstrated that edible mushroom species contain non–hallucinogenic indole compounds and their derivatives. The indole skeleton is the basis of the substances serving important functions in the human body, such as serotonin and melatonin. These compounds fulfill the role of neurotransmitters or their precursors, exhibit antioxidant, anticancer, anti–aging actions, regulate the diurnal cycle in humans and participate in blood coagulation. These compounds and their derivatives are also anti– inflammatory and analgesic therapeutics.


More than 60 years ago, the first video games started appearing, and game controllers followed. Since then, the video and computer games market has become one of the largest entertainment industries in the world. Millions of dollars are spent on research and development of new game controllers, and the most popular ones have followed a similar design over the past two decades. This report studies nonconventional gaming controllers and how they might be used in creative ways to create new gaming experiences. The first part of this study explores different game controllers, their evolutions, and their parallels. It aims to explore innovative ways for a non-controller device to be used as a game controller. Frameworks for game enjoyment are studied, and form the basis for several game concepts. One of these concepts is made into a rhythm-game which uses a non-controller as the primary gaming device. This game was tested using the frameworks for game enjoyment to ascertain the quality of the game. Results from the tests indicate that the use of a non-conventional game controller can affect the gaming experience in a positive fashion. However, several flaws have been discovered in the design, but these can be fixed to further improve the positive effect.


Logic locking has been a promising solution to many hardware security threats, such as intellectual property infringement and overproduction. Due to the increased attention that threats have received, many efficient specialized attacks against logic locking have been introduced over the years. However, the ability of an adversary to manipulate a locked netlist prior to mounting an attack has not been investigated thoroughly. This paper introduces a resynthesis-based strategy that utilizes the strength of a commercial electronic design automation (EDA) tool to reveal the vulnerabilities of a locked circuit. To do so, in a pre-attack step, a locked netlist is resynthesized using different synthesis parameters in a systematic way, leading to a large number of functionally equivalent but structurally different locked circuits. Then, under the oracle-less threat model, where it is assumed that the adversary only possesses the locked circuit, not the original circuit to query, a prominent attack is applied to these generated netlists collectively, from which a large number of key bits are deciphered. Nevertheless, this paper also describes how the proposed oracle-less attack can be integrated with an oracle-guided attack. The feasibility of the proposed approach is demonstrated for several benchmarks, including remarkable results for breaking a recently proposed provably secure logic locking method and deciphering values of a large number of key bits of the CSAW'19 circuits with very high accuracy.


Bringing the material up to date to reflect modern applications, Algebraic Number Theory, Second Edition has been completely rewritten and reorganized to incorporate a new style, methodology, and presentation. This edition focuses on integral domains, ideals, and unique factorization in the first chapter; field extensions in the second chapter; and class groups in the third chapter. Applications are now collected in chapter four and at the end of chapter five, where primality testing is highlighted as an application of the KroneckerWeber theorem. In chapter five, the sections on ideal decomposition in number fields have been more evenly distributed. The final chapter continues to cover reciprocity laws. New to the Second Edition Reorganization of all chapters More complete and involved treatment of Galois theory A study of binary quadratic forms and a comparison of the ideal and form class groups More comprehensive section on Pollards cubic factoring algorithm More detailed explanations of proofs, with less reliance on exercises, to provide a sound understanding of challenging material The book includes mini-biographies of notable mathematicians, convenient cross-referencing, a comprehensive index, and numerous exercises. The appendices present an overview of all the concepts used in the main text, an overview of sequences and series, the Greek alphabet with English transliteration, and a table of Latin phrases and their English equivalents. Suitable for a one-semester course, this accessible, self-contained text offers broad, in-depth coverage of numerous applications. Readers are lead at a measured pace through the topics to enable a clear understanding of the pinnacles of algebraic number theory.


In 1932, the United States government sought to cancel the citizenship of Dinshah Ghadiali, an immigrant from India, alleging that Ghadiali "by reason of his not being a free white person or a person of African nativity or descent is, and was, ineligible racially for naturalization." Ghadiali was one of dozens of Indian immigrants targeted for denaturalization in the wake of United States v. Thind (1923), in which the Supreme Court declared that "Hindus," though capable of cultural assimilation, would remain visually unassimilable. At his denaturalization trial, Ghadiali submitted into evidence a series of photographs, assuring the judge, "You will see my family became so American." How do these photographs purport to show that Ghadiali and his family had become "so American"? In this essay, through a through a close reading of Ghadiali's photography, I explore a tension between the visualization of race—a practice at once institutionalized by law and inextricably bound with the medium of photography—and the performance of national belonging.


Background: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy is performed as diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. Hence; we compared the clinical profile of propofol and dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy. Subjects and Methods: A total of 20 subjects scheduled to undergo gastric endoscopy were included in the present study and were broadly divided into two study groups as follows: Group A: included subjects who were given propofol, Group B: included subjects who were given dexmedetomidine. All the baseline parameters were recorded. Gastric endoscopy was performed in all the patients according to their respective groups. Patient satisfaction score was recorded in all the patients. All the results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet and were analysed by SPSS software. Results: Mean heart rate among the subjects of group B at baseline, intraoperative and postoperative time were found to be 72.1, 66.8 and 69.4 respectively. Non- significant results were obtained while comparing the mean heart rate in between the two study groups at different time intervals. Mean PSS (Patient Satisfaction Score) of subjects of propofol group and dexmedetomidine group was found to be 42 and 45 respectively. However; the difference was found to be statistically non-significant. Conclusion: Both the anaesthetic solutions can be used with equal effectiveness among patients undergoing gastric endoscopy.


Background: This paper provides a systematic review of the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) techniques in fighting against the effects of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Objective & Methods: The objective is to perform a scoping review on AI for COVID-19 using preferred reporting items of systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was performed for relevant studies published from 1 January 2020 till 27 March 2021. Out of 4050 research papers available in reputed publishers, a full-text review of 440 articles was done based on the keywords of AI, COVID-19, ML, forecasting, DL, X-ray, and Computed Tomography (CT). Finally, 52 articles were included in the result synthesis of this paper. As part of the review, different ML regression methods were reviewed first in predicting the number of confirmed and death cases. Secondly, a comprehensive survey was carried out on the use of ML in classifying COVID-19 patients. Thirdly, different datasets on medical imaging were compared in terms of the number of images, number of positive samples and number of classes in the datasets. The different stages of the diagnosis, including preprocessing, segmentation and feature extraction were also reviewed. Fourthly, the performance results of different research papers were compared to evaluate the effectiveness of DL methods on different datasets. Results: Results show that residual neural network (ResNet-18) and densely connected convolutional network (DenseNet 169) exhibit excellent classification accuracy for X-ray images, while DenseNet-201 has the maximum accuracy in classifying CT scan images. This indicates that ML and DL are useful tools in assisting researchers and medical professionals in predicting, screening and detecting COVID-19.


Reaching one's maximum jump height requires optimizing one's jump techniques. In order to find this optimal jump technique, three high school participants with varying vertical jump (VJ) abilities recorded videos of themselves with varying degrees of maximum/minimum shoulder, knee, and hip angles—with or without respect to the horizontal—at the isometric phase of a regular countermovement (CM) VJ or countermovement jump (CMJ). We hypothesized that VJ height would increase as each joint's angular displacement increases from its initial position. We generated six graphs—two graphs per joint and each graph with three separate lines—using the VJ height measurements with the respective independent variables to determine the optimal relevant joint angles for maximum VJ height. Results showed that the shoulder angle without respect to the horizontal (SA), knee angle with respect to the horizontal (KAH), and the hip angle with respect to the horizontal (HAH) possessed a more consistent correlation with VJ height across the subjects compared to the same respective angles with opposite relations to the horizontal. We found that the optimal respective joint angle differs across subjects with varying levels of sport and VJ experience: participants with greater relative experience showed a better capability to absorb CM force exerted from greater limb displacement from its initial position.


the daily composition of time spent sedentary, in light physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and time in bed (movement behaviors) with blood pressure (BP) among white- and blue-collar workers. Methods : Systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP) and body mass index of 827 workers were objectively measured. Daily composition of movement behaviors was derived from an Actigraph placed on the thigh for 1 to 5 d using the Acti4 software (2012–2013). The composition was expressed as isometric log-ratios. The cross-sectional associations between daily movement behavior composition and BP were investigated using the Compositional Data Analysis approach. The associations were adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, lift/carry duration, medication intake, and job sector. Results : Daily composition of time spent in movement behaviors was significantly associated with SBP ( F = 2.84, P = 0.04), but not DBP ( F = 0.48, P = 0.69). Specifically, time reallocation to sedentary time and light physical activity from the remaining behaviors was deleteriously associated with SBP, whereas time reallocation to time in bed and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from the remaining behaviors was beneficially associated with SBP. However, the results were only significant for time spent sedentary ( P = 0.01) and in bed ( P = 0.047). Conclusions : Daily composition of movement behaviors is associated with SBP among workers. Spending more time sedentary compared with other behaviors was deleteriously associated with SBP, whereas spending more time in bed was beneficially associated with SBP. How time is spent in different movement behaviors throughout the day is important for BP and needs to be further investigated to be included in future clinical practice guidelines.


The increased susceptibility of infants fed on cows' milk preparations has been attributed, at least in part, to differences in the nature of the large-bowel content—owing to the acidity of the faeces and their high content of Lactobacillus bifidus. In an attempt to mimic these features of the breastfed infant in one who is fed artificially, a breast milk substitute was devised which resembles breast milk in several important ways. When this material was fed to newborn infants the faeces developed the characteristics of those of the breast-fed child.


The analysis of factors affecting multi-dimensional poverty of the Khmer ethnic minority in Tra Vinh province was conducted by the use of primary data collection, direct interviews with 300 Khmer ethnic households living in 07 districts and cities in Tra Vinh province. The research has found the factors that affect multi-dimensional poverty of the Khmer households: the occupation of household owners, the educational level, and dependency ratio, the participation in health insurance and telecommunications services. In particular, the occupation, educational level and dependency ratio are the factors that have the most impact on the poor status of the Khmer ethnic people in Tra Vinh province. Since then, the research has proposed a number of solutions such as vocational training to raise incomes, building preferential credit policies, building telecommunication infrastructure and medical services, etc. so as to raise incomes, life stabilization, multi-dimensional poverty reduction for the Khmer ethnic people in Tra Vinh province in the future.


1. Measurements were made under controlled conditions to determine the contribution of the swimbladder to the reflexion of acoustic energy from the perch, Perca fluviatilis . 2. The amplitude of the echo fell by 50% when the swimbladder was emptied; this was observed both when the dorsal surface and when the lateral surface faced the direction of the incident sound energy. 3. The polar diagram of the fish with its natural swimbladder is similar in shape to that obtained with a false 'Onazote' swimbladder.


In recent decades, the service sector is gaining in importance. In a good part of the developed world, its growth takes place very rapidly, and in some countries 60% to 70% of gross national income (GNI) in the services sectors, so that it far exceeds the percentage of industrial or agricultural production. At the same time, customers are increasingly demanding, expecting more value and profits of the services they purchase. In their relations with service companies are trying to gain greater influence on decision-making. Specifically, users are looking for a new relationship based on a new marketing, which is known as relationship marketing. His clear and characteristic feature is the creation and maintenance of long-term mutually beneficial relationships with a defined group of users. Accordingly aim of this paper is to discuss the role of marketing services in the hotel and restaurant through the prism of marketing concept that is tailored to the service sector. The research results show it is necessary to develop a marketing approach that is suited to current trends in the hotel and restaurant, which also provides a significant marketing information base on incentive and restrictive factors of the development of the service sector, which can contribute to the optimization of business decision-making.


There are three commonly used methodologies for modeling inflation in securities fraud cases: the "index method," the "constant percentage method," and the "constant dollar method." I have previously argued that the index and constant percentage methods, if applied without adjustment as the measure of damages under the out-of-pocket rule, generally result in an overstatement of damages under certain interpretations of loss causation. The Supreme Court's ruling in Dura did in fact endorse an interpretation of loss causation that requires that an adjustment be made to the index and constant percentage methods in the process of going from inflation to damages. The need for an adjustment has been addressed in various ways by experts and the courts, most recently with a ruling finding that the index method (without adjustment) "collides directly with loss causation doctrine" and that the constant percentage method (with what we argue is an inadequate adjustment) creates damages with properties for which even the expert proffering the methodology could provide "no 'economic or logical reason'" and also impermissibly provides investors with a "partial downside insurance policy." Here we address the type of adjustment to certain inflation models necessary to comport with the loss causation doctrine in Dura in a consistent and logical fashion.


Older adults are at higher risk of falling and of suffering greater devastating effects from such falls. The objective of this study was to longitudinally examine predictors for risk of falling such as cognitive composites (reasoning, memory, speed of processing) along with traditional predictors. Data on falls, cognition, objective functional tests, visual acuity, and demographics were collected on older adults at baseline (n = 698) and at a two-year annual follow-up (n = 550). By using hierarchical multiple regression, we found that older age, being an older Caucasian woman, poorer performance on Turn 360 at baseline, and having a better memory at baseline predicted higher reports of falling in the past two months at the two-year annual follow-up. These results confirm prior findings except for memory; however, better memory as a predictor of falls may indicate that there is a recall bias dependent on memory function.


Researchers have examined the effects of the SIOP, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, model on English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States. With the SIOP model, teachers use research-based instruction that benefits all students including ELL students. However, there is a need to examine its effects for students in other countries. This study compares the performance and engagement of students in a rural setting in Uganda when they experience instruction that follows parts of the SIOP model. Many students in Uganda struggle in mathematics because of the lack of support due to class sizes of about 65-105 students. This study will highlight the use of researched methods for ELLs within the United States for students in other countries, such as Uganda, that will help students in Uganda's educational system. Based on the observations of participation, engagement, and performance on the tests given by the researcher during this study, the data gathered from the researcher and the local teachers will show that the methods are working for the students at Ekitangaala. The analysis of this observational data has resulted in cross-cultural symbiotic pedagogical learning. The results show that the students are more engaged when they are learning in an environment that employs SIOP researched methods and better retain content for testing which allowed for better performance.


Rural tourism is an important component of integrated and sustainable development and revitalization of villages, as well as an important factor in encouraging the development of local agricultural and nonfarmer activities in rural areas and villages, and also a special incentive to employment. In many countries of the European Union rural tourism is included in the development strategies of regions and rural areas and villages. Rural tourism helps maintaining the population in place, creates new jobs, and contributes to socio-economic progress of outstanding areas. In Serbia, also in Voivodina nearly half of the population lives in villages and the region has numerous resources for rural tourism development. Rural tourism can also play an important role in increasing the diversity of the tourist offer in Vojvodina. This work highlights the importance of rural tourism in the function of the revitalization of the village, focusing on the challenges of the environment and the possible directions of development in the context of creating a recognizable tourist product and brand of rural tourism in Vojvodina, which could target both domestic and international market.


Startle stimuli elicit various physiological and cognitive responses. This study investigated whether acoustic startle stimuli affect saccadic reactions in an emotional pro- or antisaccade task. Startle probes were presented either 500 ms before or simultaneous with an imperative stimulus that indicated whether a saccade towards or away from positive, neutral, or negative peripheral target pictures had to be performed. Valence interacted with saccade direction according to an approach-avoidance pattern of gaze behavior, with delayed prosaccades to negative targets and antisaccades away from positive targets. Acoustic startle stimuli preceding the presentation of peripheral target pictures speeded up the initiation saccades, irrespective of stimulus valence. Results indicate a speeding of cognitive-motor processing by preceding startle stimuli.


Demographics Population aging is accelerating worldwide and has significant socioeconomic implications, including a decline in the size of the labour force, an increase in the age-dependency ratio and a redistribution of income and wealth. Hence, the redesign of pension systems has become a priority. Taxation is crucial to influence behaviour and tackle These issues, e.g. tax incentives for pension savings. Yet, whereas some progress has been made, much remains to be done to increase the effectiveness and fairness of pension systems. Thus, we urge G20 governments to take a systemic view of pension systems including socioeconomic aspects such as education, migration, labour force participation and informality. Moreover, governments should take into account the distributional impact of tax policies for pension savings.


Sequential outbreaks of pseudorabies virus and porcine parvovirus infections were documented at a swine farm in southern Minnesota. Data for the prevalence of mummified fetuses born and the preweaning mortality were recorded over a 3-year-period. The farm was a farrow-to-finish facility, with breeding females housed in 4 groups according to their stage of pregnancy. The herd consisted of approximately 130 breeding females in December 1981, and expanded to 220 females during the 12 months of 1982. Excluding the outbreaks, the mean preweaning mortality was 20.43% (SE 1.59) and the number of mummified fetuses per litter was 0.19 (SE 0.01). An outbreak of porcine parvovirus infection caused the preweaning mortality and number of mummified fetuses to increase to 50% and 4.10 per litter, respectively. Two outbreaks of pseudorabies 27 months apart, caused the preweaning mortality to increase to 95% and 82%, and the number of mummified fetuses to increase to 0.96 and 1.25 mummified fetuses per litter, respectively. The increase in mummification was observed 1 month after the increase in preweaning mortality caused by pseudorabies virus infections, whereas the increase in mummification and preweaning mortality was simultaneous with porcine parvovirus infections.


Abstract Medieval stained glass (13th-15th centuries) from three restoration works (Santa Maria del Mar and the Pedralbes Monastery church in Barcelona, and the Tarragona Cathedral in the northwestern Mediterranean area have been studied to characterize glass decay. Electron microprobe analysis gave evidence of two types of glass: an Na-rich type (stable, Mediterranean, of Roman-like tradition), and a K-Ca-rich type, similar to coeval Central European medieval stained glasses. The latter shows glass decay in the form of destructive (micro- and mesopitting) and constructive (patina and microcrust) glass surfaces. Nevertheless, this type of decay in the K-Ca-rich group of glasses is in terms of thickness reduction in flat glass an order of magnitude less than that commonly found in Central European countries with a continental climate. Macroscopic and microstructural studies (SEM-EDS, XRD) allowed us to identify biodeterioration decay with chemical effects similar to that for pure chemical hydration leaching and corrosion, associated with biomineralization with unspecific sulfate (gypsum, syngenite) and calcite mineralization as well as bioinduced (weddellite, whewellite, etc.) mineralization. Medieval-stained glass biodeterioration decay in the Mediterranean area shows patterns and products comparable to those developed on stone in the same historic buildings.


Introduction There is a wide variation in the provision of TB screening services for migrants worldwide. New entrant screening for TB helps to identify and treat active and latent TB at an early stage, reduce risk of transmission and identifies those at a high-risk. It is common practice to screen new entrants from countries where the prevalence is high. However, it is sometimes perceived that screening for immigrants can be stigmatising. In addition, there is a poor understanding of this disease and large cultural differences in perceptions exist. This study explores the different attitudes towards screening and the current awareness, perceptions and attitudes towards TB, in order to tailor the current screening programme to different cultural backgrounds. Methods 27 participants (63% male) were recruited at the weekly multi-disciplinary Liverpool TB contact-tracing clinic. Semi-structured interviews (18% interpreter help) exploring the attitudes towards screening and the disease were conducted. Results 59% of participants were aware of the causative agent, 74% identified at least 1 associated symptom and 89% recognised that transmission was air borne. 89% considered TB curable, 33% were aware of the link with HIV and 44% stressed that a greater awareness of TB among the general public is needed. The main source of information about the disease was family and friends (43%) and clinic (42%). The majority (59%) felt there was a stigma attached with fear of social isolation and an impact on occupation. 59% expressed a positive attitude towards screening and perceived it to be acceptable due to the availability of free treatment. The majority of the participants regarded screening as prevention of transmission and felt it was their responsibility in society. 22% of the participants thought it was unnecessary or were unsatisfied with the current screening process. Seven per cent of the participants demonstrated poor understanding of the screening process, having already undergone screening. Conclusions The majority of the migrants found TB screening to be acceptable and demonstrated a positive attitude, although some barriers still exist. Improving TB awareness in the communities will help increase the acceptability of screening.


Although monozygotic (MZ) twins arise from the same gametes and a single zygote, they can at times reveal molecular genetic discordance. Differences in ploidy, chromosomal rearrangements and structural anomalies as well as different copy number variations (CNVs), point mutation discordance and genetic mosaicism have all been documented in MZ siblings. Depending on the type and magnitude, genetic discordance may lead to markedly different phenotypes. Traditionally, the best-evidenced type of discordance encompasses a range of chromosomal abnormalities, partly due to their significant multiple effects on a phenotype. In contrast, surveying for single nucleotide polymorphism and CNV discordance globally poses more challenges. In the recent decades, growing evidence for low-level CNV and point mutation discordance as well as mosaicism has amassed, although their frequency and phenotypic significance are yet to be established. High-throughput sequencing strategies are likely to provide answers.

Key Concepts:

Despite stemming from the same zygote, monozygotic twins may develop genetic discordance.

Postzygotic genetic alterations often result in genetic mosaicism in one or both of the twins.

Confirmed genetic discordance in MZ twins encompasses mainly known disorders with clear or multiple/global effects, including five extremely rare cases of point mutations responsible for monogenic disorders and a range of chromosomal abnormalities as well as a few cases of trinucleotide repeat disorder discordance.

The most common type of genetic discordance in MZ twins are aneuploidies, particularly 45,X0 monosomy and, to a lesser degree, trisomies 21, 15 and 13, whereas discordance for structural rearrangements is even less frequent.

In MZ twins affected by aneuploidies, somatic mosaicism often plays a critical role in phenotypic discordance.

Genome-wide studies of SNP and CNV discordance in twins face technical difficulties and have not yet brought a definite answer, although there is limited evidence for very low-level discordance.

It will be challenging to fully ascertain the magnitude of genetic discordance in twins due to possible small-scale SNP and CNV mosaicism across different tissues.

Keywords:

aneuploidy;
CNV ;
de novo mutations;
discordance;
genetic;
twins


Tidal wetlands play an important role with re-spect to climate change because of both their sensitivity to sea-level rise and their ability to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Policy-based interest in carbon sequestration has increased recently, and wetland restoration projects have potential for carbon credits through soil carbon sequestration. We measured sediment accretion, mineral and organic matter accumulation, and carbon sequestration rates using 137 Cs and 210 Pb downcore distributions at six natural tidal wetlands in the San Francisco Bay Estuary. The accretion rates were, in general, 0.2 – 0.5 cm year − 1 , indicating that local wetlands are keeping pace with recent rates of sea-level rise. Mineral accumulation rates were higher in salt marshes and at low-marsh stations within individual sites. The average carbon sequestration rate based on 210 Pb dating was 79 g C m − 2 year − 1 , with slightly higher rates based on 137 Cs dating. There was little difference in the sequestration rates among sites or across stations within sites, indicating that a single carbon sequestration rate could be used for crediting tidal wetland restoration projects within the Estuary.


In this article, the authors examine the dynamics of the correlation and volatility of REITs, stocks, and direct real estate returns using monthly data from January 1987 to May 2008. In order to explore asymmetries in conditional correlation, the authors use a multivariate asymmetric dynamic diagonal conditional correlation (AD-DCC) GARCH specification. They document that the time-varying conditional correlations can be explained by macroeconomic variables, such as term and credit spreads, inflation, and the unemployment rate, and they find a strong relationship between correlations and REIT returns and that the patterns are distinguishable for different types of REITs. Interestingly, when the correlation between REITs and the S&P 500 is at its lowest, the future performance of REITs is at its highest. For equity REITs, a robust relationship exists between correlations and future returns; that is, the higher (lower) correlation between equity REITs and direct real estate, the higher (lower) the future returns of equity REITs. The authors' results have economic implications regarding the time-dependent diversification benefits of REITs in a mixed-asset portfolio and the unique risk and return characteristics of REITs.


Analssl« IIf .,"ell' Soutl« Wales Regis/mtiolls, .1Ia.y, l!17J young doctors would be an ideal way of helping the busy general practitioner with new developments. As well, better provision of locums to allow general ,practitioners to attend teaching hospital postgraduate training weeks would be possible. Although this letter has done nothing to help with the problem of implementation of the proposal it has been written to support this idea.


Indirect taxes—customs duties, sales tax, excise duty and
 export duty -are an important source of revenue to the Government of
 Pakistan. These taxes may be changed to bring about changes in
 production structure and consumption patterns. However, in the case of
 Pakistan, changes in sales tax and excise duty in particular seem to
 have been brought about mainly for revenue purposes. In¬direct taxes
 accounted for 64 percent of the total revenue receipts of the federal
 Government of Pakistan in the year 1972-73 [ 4 ]. The contribution of
 indirect taxes to the revenue receipts of the federal government shows
 some fluctuations, but over all, the share cf indirect taxes does not
 show any definite trend. Whereas the share of indirect taxes in total
 revenue receipts is almost constant, there have been important changes
 in the revenue receipts from different indirect taxes, e.g. sales tax,
 excise tax and import duties. In the early fifties, excise and sales
 taxes accounted for 15 percent of the revenue receipts, but they
 contributed as much as 27 percent of the revenue in the seventies. This
 shows that sales and excise taxes are emerging as important sources of
 revenue to the federal Government of Pakistan. In view of the growing
 importance of indirect taxes in Pakistan it will be instructive to
 determine who will bear the burden of taxes. Shifting or non-shifting of
 a tax has an important bearing on the economy.


The use of marginal-quality waters, not limited to brackish/saline and treated sewage effluent (TSE), is called reclaimed water. Reclaimed water is a sustainable source in the future for use in agriculture, essentially required to offset the food demand of a rapidly growing population. Moreover, the sustainable recovery of reclaimed water is essential for humanity to satisfy extreme sanitation and water-supply demands. To increase access to water supply, alternate water resources' use, existing water resources' degradation, and improved water-use efficiency are imperative. There is a high potential to address these factors by using reclaimed water as an alternative source. The reclaimed water treated at a tertiary level has the potential for use in crop production, especially for forage crops, irrigating urban landscapes, recreational and environmental activities, industry, and aquifer recharge to increase strategic water reserves in water-scarce countries. This way, we can save precious freshwater that can be utilized for other purposes. Eminently, freshwater applications for industrial and agronomic sectors account for 20% and 67%, respectively, depleting freshwater resources. The use of reclaimed water in agriculture can significantly reduce pressure on freshwater. However, if the quality of reclaimed water does not comply with international standards, it may cause serious health risks (diseases) and soil pollution (heavy metals).


While there is great potential for successful use of neural network (NN) algorithms in automatic target recognition (ATR) and other pattern identification/classification applications, significant barriers have been encountered that, to date, defy rigorous use of NNs within feedback control designs. The status of several problems and contradictions involving NNs relating to control and estimation theory applications (and to practical failure detection within INS/GPS navigation systems) are summarized here. To give a positive spin and for a balanced perspective, we also mention many novel laudable NN results obtained by invoking the techniques and results of control and estimation theory.


During the last decades, the variable agricultural commodity prices and the increasing producer and consumer prices illustrated the need for more transparency about the pricing of food products in the European food system. Therefore, the European Commission launched in 2009 a public tool, the European Food Prices Monitoring Tool (EFPMT), to compare prices to increase transparency for price transmission in the food chain and to facilitate comparisons across the European member states. The main purpose of this paper is to examine how the EFPMT can contribute to a fair competition and increase the price transparency and competitiveness in the European food system.


As of 1st January 2016 the Banking Union is fully in place; a Single Resolution Mechanism, along with the Single Supervisory Mechanism are in charge of preserving the financial stability in the Eurozone. The work analyses the new regulatory framework for crisis management as a pillar of the Banking Union, based on the SRM regulation and the BRRD directive, focusing on some aspects that deserve further reflection and possibly a revision. Some shortcomings of the institutional framework may be identified in its starting phase, namely: the separation between the competent and the resolution authority, which is not sufficiently defined at present and may create frictions and duplications of work; a complex decision-making process to start resolution whose effectiveness is still to be tested; the design of the bail-in tool that too closely mirrors the effects of an insolvency, casting doubts on its capability to preserve financial stability; the mutualisation of funding that concerns primarily private sources of funding and only in extreme, very unlikely situations regards common public funds. Finally, the newly established framework has still to be completed with the set-up of a common deposit guarantee scheme and a public backstop for the Single Resolution Fund. The author concludes that significant steps have been made to facilitate crossborder resolution within the euro area, thus paving the way for increased financial integration in the internal market; however, further adjustments are necessary to improve the framework and ensure that financial stability in the Eurozone is truly and effectively preserved.


This thesis investigates the origins of Islam, and their relations with the Arabian context, with the help of two types of materials the Qur'an and Muslim tradition, and the archeological finds. First, I analyze the external and internal situations of pre-Islamic Arabia. Then, I discuss the conditions of Mecca and pre-Islamic Arabian polytheism, and their roles in the emergence of Islam. After that, I examine various monotheistic elements in Arabia that may form the origins of Islam, as well as the origins of God's names. Finally, I focus on the condition of Yathrib and the relation between the old monotheisms (Judaism and Christianity) and Islam. Mecca and Yathrib were two crucial places for the emergence of Islam. Due to the differences of their milieus, the early Muslims were persecuted by polytheists in Mecca, while Yathrib (later Medina) became an arena for polemics with the old monotheisms according to the Qur'an and Muslim tradition. Based on the simple Abrahamism that was once popular in northwest Arabian peripheries, Muhammad's new proposition of Abraham's religion and the Ḥanīfīya may have played a key role in the emergence of Islam, producing a connection between his new monotheism and pre-Islamic Arabian history. The establishment of the Kacba in a central position in Islam, signalled the independence of early Islam from the old monotheisms. Later, the Arab Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia and the cultural and religious integration that followed added to the final shape of Islam. All these elements contributed to the origins of Islam.


The privilege against self-incrimination has been widely attacked as lacking any sound theoretical basis. This article seeks to craft a new one, a variant on the supposedly discredited mental privacy rationale. Drawing on cognitive psychology and linguistics, this piece argues that the privilege is best understood as designed to prevent the compelled disclosure of words or their equivalent. The piece takes oral speech as the paradigm case but expands the argument to written and internet communications. Compelled revelation of words actually changes the speaker's thoughts, feelings, and character while exposing him to unfair judgments about his fundamental nature based upon incomplete information - judgments that his audience will make based upon his words and paralingustic cues alone. The privilege seeks to protect the speaker against this re-definition of his identity in ways that he has not chosen. The privilege is thus more about privacy of words than of thoughts, more about voice (in a very literal sense) than simply about silence.


The invention provides an image signal processing apparatus including a receiving unit that receives a display signal including an image signal containing both two-dimensional and three-dimensional images and a region information in each predetermined unit in the image signal and separates the image signal and the region information from the display signal, a display control unit that generates a first display control information for controlling rendering positions of the first and second regions in the image signal according to the region information and a second display control information for selectively displaying a three-dimensional image in a region corresponding to the rendering position of the second region based on the region information, and a processing unit that generates a display image signal indicating an image where the first and second region are arranged according to the first display control information based on the image signal and the first display control information.