PROBLEM
Without a doubt, the transition to a professional nursing role is a challenging and stressful experience for many new nurses, regardless of where they are employed; yet, no study has been conducted to comprehend in detail the transition experiences of newly graduated nurses employed in a resource-scarce rural health care setting.

PURPOSE
This study describes the transition experiences of newly graduated Filipino nurses during their initial clinical placement process.

METHODS
A qualitative phenomenological approach using structured interviews with 15 newly graduated Filipino nurses were used along with the Coliazzi's methodological framework for data analysis.

FINDINGS
Four distinct themes emerged from the content analysis, as follows: experiencing transition shock, feeling pressured, learning excitement, and needing support.

CONCLUSIONS
Similar to the findings of other international studies, newly graduated Filipino nurses described their transition experiences as a stressful and challenging journey. Both academic and nursing administration team members can play key roles in facilitating a smooth transition and the integration of new nurses into the nursing workforce through the employment of evidence-based educational and structured organizational strategies.


Purpose: To demonstrate the dose reduction potential in CT using a novel algorithm (NC‐PICCS) based on a non‐convex l0 homotopic approximation. Methods: We generalized the Prior Image Constrained Compressed Sensing (PICCS) algorithm to solve an l0‐quasinorm by homotopic approximation using continuation on the parameter p (lp‐norm) which starts at p=1 and ends at p ≅ 0. The algorithm was validated using both computer simulations and in‐vivo animal studies. A pig perfusion study dataset was used to show the advantages of this novel method over existing compressed sensing approaches. Results: the NC‐PICCS method allows exact image reconstruction to be achieved from fewer projections than with methods such as standard CS or PICCS, both of which employ a convex l1 norm. For the synthetic data used, we were able to reconstruct the image with as few as 4 projections when a prior image was available in contrast to 12 projections without a prior image. When the method was applied to the in‐vivo pig perfusion data the number of projections required for exact reconstruction was about 20. Conclusions: the NC‐PICCS method provides a framework to highly reduce the dose in CTtime series studies. Although there is no theoretical guarantee of finding a global minimum due to the non‐convex nature of NC‐PICCS, substantial empirical evidence suggests that it performs better than previously reported compressed sensing methods for CTreconstruction in practice.


The proton- and the sodium ion-bound glycine homodimers are studied by a combination of infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy in the N-H and O-H stretching region and electronic structure calculations. For the proton-bound glycine dimer, in the region above 3100 cm (-1), the present spectrum agrees well with one recorded previously. The present work also reveals a weak, broad absorption spanning the region from 2650 to 3300 cm (-1). This feature is assigned to the strongly hydrogen-bonded and anharmonic N-H and O-H stretching modes. As well, the shared proton stretch is observed at 2440 cm (-1). The IRMPD spectra for the proton-bound glycine dimer confirms that the lowest energy structure is an ion-dipole complex between N-protonated glycine and the carboxyl group of the second glycine. This spectrum also helps to eliminate the existence of any of the higher-energy structures considered. The IRMPD spectrum for the sodium ion-bound dimer is a much simpler spectrum consisting of three bands assigned to the O-H stretch and the asymmetric and symmetric NH 2 stretching modes. The positions of these bands are very similar to those observed for the proton-bound glycine dimer. Numerous structures were considered and the experimental spectrum agrees with the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) predicted spectrum for the lowest energy structure, two bidentate glycine molecules bound to Na (+). Though some of the structures cannot be completely ruled out by comparing the experimental and theoretical spectra, they are energetically disfavored by at least 20 kJ mol (-1).


In this work we apply low-loss electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) to probe the structural and electronic properties of single silicon nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in three different dielectric matrices (SiO2, SiC and Si(3)N(4)). A monochromated and aberration corrected transmission electron microscope has been operated at 80 kV to avoid sample damage and to reduce the impact of radiative losses. We present a novel approach to disentangle the electronic features corresponding to pure Si-NCs from the surrounding dielectric material contribution through an appropriate computational treatment of hyperspectral datasets. First, the different material phases have been identified by measuring the plasmon energy. Due to the overlapping of Si-NCs and dielectric matrix information, the variable shape and position of mixed plasmonic features increases the difficulty of non-linear fitting methods to identify and separate the components in the EELS signal. We have managed to solve this problem for silicon oxide and nitride systems by applying multivariate analysis methods that can factorize the hyperspectral datacubes in selected regions. By doing so, the EELS spectra are re-expressed as a function of abundance of Si-NC-like and dielectric-like factors. EELS contributions from the embedded nanoparticles as well as their dielectric surroundings are thus studied in a new light, and compared with the dielectric material and crystalline silicon from the substrate. Electronic properties such as band gaps and plasmon shifts can be obtained by a straightforward examination. Finally, we have calculated the complex dielectric functions and the related electron effective mass and density of valence electrons.


This paper presents Olympus, a modular processing architecture for a distributed ambient intelligence. The system is aimed at detailed reporting of people wandering and gesturing in complex indoor environments. The design of the architecture has been driven by two main principles: reliable algorithm testing and system scalability. The first goal has been achieved through the development of Zeus, a real time 3D rendering engine that provides simulated sensory inputs supported by automatically generated ground truth for performance evaluation. The rendering engine is supported by Cronos, a flexible tool for the synthesis of choreographed motion of people visiting museums, based on modified force fields. Scalability has been achieved by developing Hermes, a modular architecture for multi-platform video grabbing, MPEG4 compression, stream delivery, and processing using a LAN as a distributed processing environment. A set of processing modules has been developed to increase the realism of generated synthetic images which have been used to develop and evaluate algorithms for people detection.


A brief introduction summarizing the author's professional career and his literary style and procedure precedes this annotated translation of the chapter "The Restaurants of Paris" from Eugene Briffault's 1846 text, Paris a table . Along with an historical discussion and a look back at the glorious days of the Empire's establishments, the chapter examines the specialties, the decor, and the patrons of the grand restaurants of the author's time and before. Looking at the changing restaurant scene since the fall of Napoleon, Briffault criticizes, in particular, the contemporary preference for the opulence of the surroundings over the quality of the food. Along with several anecdotes about specific meals and peculiar characters, he also observes restaurant owners and their staffs, with particular regard to the skills and temperament of the Parisian waiter. Briffault considers such celebrated restaurants as the Cadran bleu, Rocher de Cancale, and Chez Very—restaurants famous for their cuisine, the lively crowds, and the novelists (along with many of their characters) who dined there. But he does not ignore the role of the mid-range restaurants and bourgeois tables, and he descends as well into the lower depths, visiting the eateries catering to workers and the students on the Left Bank, the gargotes, the tapis francs , the prix fixes, the Flicoteaus and Rougets.


ABSTRACT There is convincing evidence of the transmission of anxiety and depression from parents to children; however, mechanisms by which this vulnerability is passed on are unclear. Cognitive models and a small body of cross-sectional research suggest that parental attention biases (ABs) may be one mechanism involved in transmission. Longitudinal associations of maternal and offspring ABs with offspring symptoms have been scarcely studied. Forty-three mothers–child dyads were included. All children (7–12 years old) were diagnosis-free while 24 mothers had a lifetime emotional disorder (anxiety or depression) (high risk, HR) and 19 mothers had no psychiatric diagnoses (low risk, LR). This study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of maternal and child AB and child anxiety symptomology at initial and 12-month assessments. ABs were assessed using a visual-probe task with emotional faces. There was a significant cross-sectional but not longitudinal association of increased child anxiety symptoms with increased maternal threat AB for HR but not LR dyads. At the cross-sectional level, increases in HR but not LR offspring anxiety symptomology were associated with maternal threat AB. Larger longitudinal studies are required that examine the interplay between parent–child variables and include multiple time-points of assessment and measures of AB.


Background: Poor patient compliances toward diabetic retinopathy (DR)-related care are associated with the barriers at a personal, interpersonal, societal, organizational, or a policy level. The personal factors contributing to noncompliance are linked with their negative attitude toward the disease management. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based, prospective study. The study involved 232 participants from different provinces in Oman and with different socioeconomic and educational levels through a convenient sampling method. Participants' attitude toward DR was assessed using the responses for the provided statement related to the condition through a self-designed and validated questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: The Shapiro–Wilk normality test was applied and observed the nonnormal distribution of the attitude scores. Hence, the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test was applied to compare the percentage score with the independent groups of the study. Practicing pattern of the participants having a personal or family history of diabetes mellitus was evaluated using descriptive statistics. Results: Two hundred and thirty-two participants having mean age of 31.12 (standard deviation [SD] = 12.02) years responded to the questionnaire, of which 39.22% were male and 60.78% were female. The mean percentage attitude score was 83.09 (SD = 12.90, 24.44–100). About 82% of the study participants had a very positive attitude. Very few (12.73%) were noncompliant toward routine ocular examination. 82% of the study participants had a positive attitude and 87.27% were positively following eye care visits. Conclusions: Majority of the study participants have positive attitude toward the management of DR and practice for follow-up eye care visits as recommended by their eye care practitioners. DR-related health promotional activities within the population having lower educational status can support in improving their compliance.


For future magnetic recording, one challenge is that the shield to shield spacing (SSS) of readers cannot be scaled down to achieve the linear density requirement. A differential dual spin valve (DDSV) has been proposed to improve the linear resolution as it does not rely on the magnetic shields to diminish the interference from adjacent bits. The side reading becomes more and more challenging as the track width shrinks to below SSS to accommodate high track density, in particular for a DDSV reader in which no magnetic shield or larger SSS is used. A self-biased DDSV structure is proposed to replace the conventional abutted junction stabilization scheme. In the self-biased DDSV readers, two side shields are put at the both sides of the sensor across the track direction in the replacement of the hard bias (HB). The stray fields from the two free layers in the DDSV sensor bias each other to stabilize the domain structure of the free layers. Preliminary analysis shows that the self-bias DDSV is also robust against the spin torque-induced magnetic instability. Simulation results indicate that the self-biased DDSV reader has much better reading sensitivity for the opposing fields generated by magnetic transitions than HB-stabilized sensor. It is found that for DDSV readers, the mag-noise is less significant due to a larger signal field and thicker free layer. Current perpendicular to the plane (CPP)-DDSV sensors have been fabricated and show very good differential effect in the real operating mode. The magnetoresistance performance of individual spin valve in CPP-DDSV sensors has been obtained through measurements with applied field and pinning field parallel to the easy axis of the free layer.


Seagrasses are distributed across the globe and their communities may play key roles in the coastal ecosystems. Seagrass meadows are expected to benefit from the increased carbon availability which might be used in photosynthesis in a future high CO2 world. The main aim of this study was to examine the effect of elevated pCO2 on the net photosynthesis of seagrass Zostera marina in a brackish water environment. The short-term mesocosm experiments were conducted in Koiguste Bay (northern part of Gulf of Riga, the Baltic Sea) in June-July 2013 and 2014. As the levels of pCO2 naturally range from ca. 150 μatm to well above 1000 μatm under summer conditions in Koiguste Bay we chose to operate in mesocosms with the pCO2 levels of ca. 2000, ca. 1000 and ca. 200 μatm. Additionally, in 2014 the photosynthesis of Z. marina was measured outside of the mesocosm in the natural conditions. In the shallow coastal Baltic Sea seagrass Z. marina lives in a highly variable environment due to seasonality and rapid changes in meteorological conditions. This was demonstrated by the remarkable differences in water temperatures between experimental years of ca. 8°C. Thus, the current study also investigated the effect of elevated pCO2 in combination with short-term natural fluctuations of environmental factors, i.e. temperature and PAR on the photosynthesis of Z. marina. Our results show that elevated pCO2 alone did not enhance the photosynthesis of the seagrass. The photosynthetic response of Z. marina to CO2 enrichment was affected by changes in water temperature and light availability.


The continuous increase of disturbances on the interconnected electric power system resulting in its inability to reliably meet demands. This paper presents an application of a series capacitor compensation in transmission line and shunt reactors. Wherever all inductive loads required two kinds of power to operate with active power (P) and reactive power (Q) in design and operation of alternating current electric power systems. There is an important interrelation between reactive power and voltage of electrical power system which depends on losses compensation using series capacitors compensation. The reactive power losses in power system distribution can be reduced by connect series capacitors and shunt reactors with transmission lines. From noticing the location of reactive power control in distribution substation we can see the reactive power, series capacitors and shunt reactors, economical considerations which are effected on selection of using apparatus and equipments in power stations. Certain switching conditions of circuit breakers of electric power systems can result very high transient recovery voltages comparing with its normal conditions of working. Using Metal-oxide varistor (MOV) and shunt reactors helping on damping high voltages and return systems to its normal state. The paper describes how can we design and implement series capacitors compensation to solve problem working of reactive power and collapse voltage in transmission lines using simulation methods.


The paper presents - with experimental evidence - a highly fault tolerant, cost-effective and carrierless solution to synthesize voltages (or currents) across the series (or parallel) connection of several voltage-source (or current-source) cells. Hundreds of voltage-source cells already characterize modern multilevel HVDC converters and structures based on current-source cells could become industrially meaningful too, if sufficient advancements in semiconductor and magnetic materials will occur. Exactly by relying on a large number of cells, the key approach is characterized by an unconventional absence of any determinism. The voltages (or currents) of all cells are generated as discrete independent random variables whose distribution is parameterized by the desired reference waveform to be synthesized. This is a radical difference from the already existing random PWM modulations, where only the switching instants are aleatory. The essence of the proposed method lies in observing that multilevel converters, which synthesize the desired waveforms through additive linear combinations (e.g. the simplest sum) of several elementary contributions, become naturally ruled by the Central Limit Theorem of the theory of probability. Such a fundamental law of nature assures also that the greater the number of cells, the more the waveform synthesis becomes inherently robust, fault-tolerant and accurate. This property strikingly differs from those of deterministic centrally ruled modulations and it is also achieved with reduced hardware complexity and cost. The proposed method benefits from emerging technologies employing smaller mass-produced cells based on devices capable of improved switching characteristics, like SiC or GaN, thereby suiting design philosophies characterized by a high number of cost-optimized standard elementary units. Equally important, the proposed synthesis eliminates most physical communication channels (e.g. optical fibers) among the controller and the switches, thereby greatly improving the system reliability. The paper introduces also a hybrid variant of the method conceived for fewer cells.


An in vitro propagation protocol was developed for Sesame (Sesamum indicum L. cv.SVPR 1). In the present study the most important aspects of callus induction (CI) in vitro and regeneration of sesame seedlings (Sesamum indicum L.) were investigated. The explants were grown in basal medium Murashige and Skoog (MS) supplemented with different concentrations ratios of auxins and cytokines for the in vitro CI and the regeneration of plantlet. The callus commencement and induction was distinguished within 8 and 15 days after inoculation. Among the all combinations, 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) and BAP with their respective concentrations of 2.0 and 0.5 ppm were more effective for IC frequencies in all explants. The maximum number and maximum length of shoots (11.8 ± 0.7, 9.2 ± 0.6 cm), the maximum number and maximum length of roots (6.2 ± 0.7, 6.6 ± 0.8 cm) were well demonstrated for MS with 2.0 ppm Kinetin (Kin) and 2 ppm indole-3-butyric acid in the explant of callus derived from the root. Seedlings with 3 to 5 shoots were transferred to pots of mixtures with equal amount of sand, soil and perlite for acclimation of field conditions and further multiplication.


The Authors report the results of a study on the diffusion of CIN and of invasive carcinoma of the portio in the Trieste population over the 1977-1986 decade. In order to achieve this aim all the bioptical specimens analyzed in the Institute of Pathological Anatomy and Histology of Trieste University were reviewed. Over this period 313 cases of CIN 1-2, 314 cases of CIN 3 and 289 of invasive carcinoma were diagnosed. The average age for CIN 1-2 lesions was 33.5 (range 17-78), for CIN 3 39.9 (range 18-81) and for invasive carcinoma 58.6 (range 26-89). The distribution by age group was markedly different in the three types of lesion dealt with, showing a substantial presence of preinvasive lesions under the age of 50. During the period considered a significant decrease in the incidence of invasive carcinoma was not recorded, in contrast with other reports. This datum may be explained by the fact that the number of women undergoing cyto-oncological screening has not increased over the last decade.


The goal of the present paper is presentation of the structural mapping of the karstified limestones, and the relations between the surface and the underground karstification. When mapping on the large scale the frequency of the dip and strike must be increased. Possible intebeds of alien rock must be registered. Measurements of the dip make it possible to ascertain possible plicative deformations. Intercalations of non-carbonate rocks influence the underground water flow and affect the formation, shaping and location of the karst voids as well as the surface karst features. For the understanding of the karstification processes exhaustive collection of structural data, and recognition of broken, crushed and fractured zones within and parallel to fault zones, plus thrust– shear–zones are essential. As spatial organization and dimensions of the underground karst voids, as the surface karst shaping are guided by thrust parallel and fault induced deflection structures. All structural elements, which include tectonic elements as well as bedding planes, lithological changes, lithological partings, less permeable or impermeable interbeds, plus structural elements contribute to the structural framework. It directs both vertical percolation and horizontal streaming within the limestone and influence the frequency, size, spatial distribution, and shape of interconnected karst voids. The later form the speleogenetic network. Due to the permanent denudation the intersection of the Earth surface and the structural framework and speleogenetic network permanently moves downwards. New structural elements emerge while speleological structures change to less recognizable succession objects. The surface of the karst may be characterized as a dynamic, spatial, hydrogeological and speleological succession system permanently affected by the current tectonic activity.


This paper discusses a versatile wheelchair control system of potential use to complete quadriplegics. This system employs plug-in components using a common control protocol between the distributed computers. Two headset plug-in units have been developed together with two prototype wheelchairs and an automatic shopping trolley. The trolley would be of most use to a paraplegic, but suggestions are made to show how this could potentially be developed to plug into the control system as a type of "personal assistant". The system has been prototyped using language-independent commands so that it can potentially be used by quadriplegics speaking any of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken on Earth. LEGO MindStorms NXT equipment has been used to prototype this system.


Computer Graphics is evolving as a discipline characterized by the fusion of artistic and technical theories and skills. The goal of the SIGGRAPH Curriculum Working Group has been to create a knowledge base that defines this discipline. This knowledge base is presented as a palette of subject areas and skills that forms the necessary educational framework for creation of undergraduate curricula that specialize in computer graphics. It facilitates the development of attributes that will create paths toward professional work, graduate studies, and lifelong skills-development and learning. The knowledge base is offered for faculty members designing new computer graphics programs or those evolving existing ones, students crafting their own programs of study, and administrators and accreditors seeking guidance for framing and assessing computer graphics programs.


The surface modification of commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) by pack cementation treatment at 973 K using tetracalcium phosphate (Ca4(PO4)2O, TTCP) slurry was investigated. An HAp phase and a CaTiO3 phase were observed on the reaction layer of the CP Ti substrate after pack cementation treatment at 973 K for 86.4 ks. TTCP powder decomposed to HAp and CaO, and CaO reacted with TiO2 to form CaTiO3. The reaction layer on the CP Ti substrate consisted of inner and outer layers and the particles were in the outer reaction layer. The pores observed on the reaction layer were formed by the detachment of particles from the outer layer. The bonding strength of the reaction layer was 68.1 MPa. Apatite completely covered the surface of the pack-cementation-treated CP Ti after immersion in Kokubo solution for 21.6 ks; such rapid apatite formation suggests that pack cementation treatment improves the biocompatibility of titanium.


Earth has a long geological history and palaeo-wildfire is one of the key factors which is responsible for the evolution and extinction of our earth systems. The most important extinction of our earth systems is the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the product of wildfire in terms of distribution and occurrences from the Late Permian North China basin. Fourteen rock samples were collected from a drill core of Hanxing Coalfield of North China basin. The samples were analyzed by macro and micro petrography, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to study the evidence of wildfire. Charcoal (inertinite) particles are observed in the samples, which established the occurrences of wildfire during the upper Middle and Late Permian time in North China. Additionally, high-molecular-weight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in the studied samples which also reinforce the presence of palaeo–wildfire events in the North China basin in Late Permian due to the fact that these aromatic compounds were formed under high temperatures.


Objectives The aim of this study was to identify correlations between sleep apnea severity and tongue volume or posterior airway space measured via three-dimensional reconstruction of volumetric computerized tomography (CT) images in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for use in predicting OSA severity and in surgical treatment. We also assessed associations between tongue volume and Mallampati score. Methods Snoring/OSA male patients (n = 64) who underwent polysomnography, cephalometry, and CT scans were enrolled in this retrospective study. OSA was diagnosed when the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was greater than 5 (mild 5–14; moderate 15–29; severe>30). The patients were also categorized into the normal-mild group (n = 22) and the moderate-severe group (n = 42). Using volumetric CT images with the three-dimensional reconstruction technique, the volume of the tongue, posterior airway space volume, and intra-mandibular space were measured. The volumes, polysomnographic parameters, and physical examination findings were compared, and independent factors that are related to OSA were analysed. Results No associations between tongue volume or posterior airway space and the AHI were observed. However, multivariate linear analyses showed that tongue volume had significantly negative association with lowest O2 saturation (r = 0.365, p = 0.027). High BMI was related to an increase in tongue volume. Modified Mallampati scores showed borderline significant positive correlations with absolute tongue volume (r = 0.251, p = 0.046) and standardized tongue volume (absolute tongue volume / intramandibular area; r = 0.266, p = 0.034). Between the normal-mild and moderate-severe groups, absolute tongue volumes were not different, although the standardized tongue volume in the moderate-severe group was significantly higher. Conclusion Absolute tongue volume showed stronger associations with lowest O2 saturation during sleep than with the severity of AHI. We also found that high BMI was a relevant factor for an increase in absolute tongue volume and modified Mallampati grading was a useful physical examination to predict tongue size.


In the Netherlands, over 40% of nursing home residents are estimated to have visual impairments. This results in the loss of basic visual abilities. The nursing home environment fits more or less to residents' activities and social participation. This is referred to as environmental fit. To raise professional awareness of environmental fit, an Environmental Observation tool for the Visually Impaired was developed. This tool targets aspects of the nursing home environment such as 'light', the use of 'colours and contrasts' and 'furnishing and obstacles'.  Objective of this study is to validate the content of the observation tool to have a tool applicable for practice. Based on the content validity approach, we invited a total of eight experts, six eye care professionals and two building engineering researchers, to judge the relevance of the items. The Item Content Validity approach was applied to determine items to retain and reject. The content validity approach led to a decrease in the number of items from 63 to 52. The definitive tool of 52 items contains 21 for Corridors , 17 for the Common Room , and 14 for the Bathroom . All items of the definite tool received an Item-Content Validity Index of ≥ 0.88 and a Scale-Content Validity Index of ≥ 0.71. The content validity index of the scale and per item has been applied, resulting in a tool that can be applied in nursing homes. The tool might be a starting point of a discussion among professional caregivers on environmental interventions for visually impaired older adults in nursing homes.


The concept of customer loyalty has received much consideration and attention from both academics and practitioners in different industries. In increasingly competitive markets, being able to build consumer loyalty is seen as the key factor in winning market share and developing a sustainable competitive advantage. Banking industry is no exception as it has high interaction with the customers, so managers must understand the factors which influence the loyalty of the customers towards their respective banks. It is always costly to attract new customers, so the managers always try to find ways to retain their current customers and concentrate on different factors which enhances the customer loyalty among the customers of the organizations. This research attempts to find the factors of customer loyalty and their relationships with the banking industry in one of the developing countries, which is Pakistan. Then analyzing the relationship among different factors, a model for the customer loyalty is proposed at the end of the research. In order to do this, a questionnaire is designed and validated, then based on the data which is gained from the 316 respondents' answers to the designed questionnaire, the analysis is done and the results and the relations among the factors are explained. Perceived quality, satisfaction, trust, switching cost and commitment are the factors which influence the loyalty of the customers. These factors also influence each other as well. The relationships of different factors with each other are also studied and the SPSS software is used to analyze the data gathered from the respondents.

 Key words: Customer loyalty, switching cost, banking sector.


We present an approach to design from scratch planar microwave antennas for the purpose of ultra-wideband (UWB) near-field sensing. Up to about 120 000 design variables associated with square grids on planar substrates are subject to design, and a numerical optimization algorithm decides, after around 200 iterations, for each edge in the grid whether it should consist of metal or a dielectric. The antenna layouts produced with this approach show UWB impedance matching properties and near-field coupling coefficients that are Hat over a much wider frequency range than a standard UWB antenna. The properties of the optimized antennas are successfully cross-verified with a commercial software and, for one of the designs, also validated experimentally. We demonstrate that an antenna optimized in this way shows a high sensitivity when used for near-field detection of a phantom with dielectric properties representative of muscle tissue.


In conversation, a general response (e.g., "I don't know") could correspond to a large variety of input utterances. Previous generative conversational models usually employ a single model to learn the relationship between different utterance-response pairs, thus tend to favor general and trivial responses which appear frequently. To address this problem, we propose a novel controlled response generation mechanism to handle different utterance-response relationships in terms of specificity. Specifically, we introduce an explicit specificity control variable into a sequence-to-sequence model, which interacts with the usage representation of words through a Gaussian Kernel layer, to guide the model to generate responses at different specificity levels. We describe two ways to acquire distant labels for the specificity control variable in learning. Empirical studies show that our model can significantly outperform the state-of-the-art response generation models under both automatic and human evaluations.


We develop an analytical framework to investigate the competitive implications of dynamic pricing technologies (DPT), which enable precise inferring of consumers' valuations for firms' products and personalized pricing. These technologies enable first-degree price discrimination: firms charge different prices to different consumers, based on their willingness to pay. We first show that, even though the monopolist makes a higher profit with DPT, its optimal quality is the same with or without DPT. Next we show that in a duopoly setting, dynamic pricing adds value only if it is associated with product differentiation. We then consider a model of vertical product differentiation, and show how dynamic pricing on the Internet affects firms' choices of quality differentiation in a competitive scenario. We find that when the high quality firm adopts DPT both firms raise their quality. Conversely, when the low quality firm adopts DPT, both firms lower their quality. While it is optimal for the firm adopting DPT to increase product differentiation, the non-DPT firm seeks to reduce differentiation by moving closer in the quality space. Our model also points out firms' optimal pricing strategies with DPT, which may be non-monotonic in consumer valuations. Finally, we show that consumer surplus is highest when both firms adopt DPT. Thus, despite the threat of first-degree price discrimination, dynamic pricing with competing firms can lead to an overall increase in consumer welfare.


A review of three commonly used classes of chemical sensor technologies as applicable to implementation in portable, handheld field instruments is presented. Solid-state gas and chemical sensors have long been heralded as the solution to a wide variety of portable chemical sensing system applications. However, advances in optical sensing technology have reduced the size of supporting infrastructure to be competitive with their solid-state counterparts. Optical, solid-state, and hybrid arrays of sensors have application for portable instruments, but issues of insufficient selectivity and sensitivity continue to hamper the widespread introduction of these miniaturized sensors for solving chemical sensing problems in environments outside the laboratory. In this article, we evaluate three of the major classes of compact chemical sensors for portable applications: (solid-state) chemiresistors, (solid-state) CHEMFETs, and (optical) surface plasmon resonance sensors (SPR). These sensors are evaluated and reviewed, according to the current state of research, in terms of their ability to operate at low-power, small-size, and relatively low-cost in environments, with numerous interferents and variable ambient conditions.


This article considers how the SEC currently approaches the question of regulating cryptoassets and ICOs. It includes a brief overview and history of cryptotransactions (including problems of terminology), and then looks at the current crypto space to consider the kinds of interests being promoted today in comparison to Bitcoin and the original altcoins. It then examines the traditional approach taken by the SEC with regard to these interests and explains briefly the kinds of compliant offerings that are currently possible. It then covers the range of reasons why a specialized regulatory approach is called for, rather than simply relying on the conventional investment contract analysis currently being utilized.


To the Editoc-In their study, "The Outcome of CPR Initiated in Nursing Homes," Applebaum et all confirm the notion that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is inappropriate for certain chronically ill patients. Based on this and other similar studies, the authors suggest changing the current policies that "dictate CPR be attempted on all residents unless a spealic order to the contrary is written." The authors outline the burdens of current policies in bold strokes. I would like to add two more burdens to their list of seven (not that I think their argument to change policies is not convincing enough). First, futile attempts at CPR in nursing homes tell us something about ourselves as health-care professionals. They are symbolic, or should I say symptomatic, of our fear of litigation. These attempts do not, as we would like to believe, symbolize our respect for patient autonomy or sanctity of life. The integrity of the medical profession is burdened enough with the fear of litigation. The second burden relates to the point made by Dr. Solomon in his editorial, "The US and the U K An Ocean Apart?" Dr. Solomon does tear away the "extra layers" when he identifies the problemAmericans have a hard time accepting death. The problem, however, involves more than the fear of death. We also lose our respect for death with futile attempts at CPR? Twenty years ago I was on rounds with my father, an internist, when he was called to the bedside of an elderly woman who had just died. I followed the lead of my father and stood silently for a minute. He then placed his hand on her forehead. More silence. Then we left. I am not sure what he was thinking, but I sensed a respect for death and all it implies about our limitations as healers. Throughout training I was compelled to perform a different ritual at the deathbed, one that discouraged me from reflecting after it was clear that death was inevitable. These rituals, which are encouraged by current policies, were indeed burdensome. As Applebaum and colleagues suggest, it is time for a radical change in some of these policies.


Cyanobacteria are an ancient lineage of slow-growing photosynthetic bacteria and a prolific source of natural products with diverse chemical structures and potent biological activities and toxicities. The chemical identification of these compounds remains a major bottleneck. Strategies that can prioritize the most prolific strains and novel compounds are of great interest. Here, we combine chemical analysis and genomics to investigate the chemodiversity of secondary metabolites based on their pattern of distribution within some cyanobacteria. Planktothrix being a cyanobacterial genus known to form blooms worldwide and to produce a broad spectrum of toxins and other bioactive compounds, we applied this combined approach on four closely related strains of Planktothrix. The chemical diversity of the metabolites produced by the four strains was evaluated using an untargeted metabolomics strategy with high-resolution LC–MS. Metabolite profiles were correlated with the potential of metabolite production identified by genomics for the different strains. Although, the Planktothrix strains present a global similarity in terms of a biosynthetic cluster gene for microcystin, aeruginosin, and prenylagaramide for example, we found remarkable strain-specific chemodiversity. Only few of the chemical features were common to the four studied strains. Additionally, the MS/MS data were analyzed using Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) to identify molecular families of the same biosynthetic origin. In conclusion, we depict an efficient, integrative strategy for elucidating the chemical diversity of a given genus and link the data obtained from analytical chemistry to biosynthetic genes of cyanobacteria.


Abstract Aetosauria is a clade of obligately quadrupedal, heavily armoured pseudosuchians known from Upper Triassic (late Carnian–Rhaetian) strata on every modern continent except Australia and Antarctica. As many as 22 genera and 26 species ranging from 1 to 6 m in length, and with a body mass ranging from less than 10 to more than 500 kg, are known. Aetosauroides scagliai was recently recovered as the most basal aetosaur, placed outside of Stagonolepididae (the last common ancestor of Desmatosuchus and Aetosaurus). Interrelationships among the basal aetosaurs are not well understood but two clades with relatively apomorphic armour – the spinose Desmatosuchinae and the generally wide-bodied Typothoracisinae – are consistently recognized. Paramedian and lateral osteoderms are often distinctive at the generic level but variation within the carapace is not well understood in many taxa, warranting caution in assigning isolated osteoderms to specific taxa. The aetosaur skull and dentition varies across taxa, and there is increasing evidence that at least some aetosaurs relied on invertebrates and/or small vertebrates as a food source. Histological evidence indicates that, after an initial period of rapid growth, lines of arrested growth (LAGs) are common and later growth was relatively slow. The common and widespread Late Triassic ichnogenus Brachychirotherium probably represents the track of an aetosaur.


Abstract Structural, geochronological, geochemical and mineralization patterns in the Nigeria–Borborema province of western Africa and NE Brazil reflect a complex Proterozoic evolution culminating in the Neoproterozoic Pan-African/Brasiliano orogenesis (c. 600 Ma). Reworking of the Archaean–early Proterozoic crust produced heterogeneous deformation exemplified by prevalent shears, migmatization, granitization and intrusion of large volumes of granitoids typical of a Himalayan-type thickened crust resulting from continent–continent collision. Dominant north–south to east–west structures, with prominent penetrative fabric and mylonitised wrench faults, refolded, transpressed, or even obliterated older structural trends, which are preserved in nappes of the central Sahara region (NW Africa to Nigeria) and in NE Brazil. Anatexis and recrystallisation were coeval with emplacement of Pan-African granitoids throughout this mobile belt. Bulk chemical modification, especially affecting magmatophile elements and REE patterns, attest to chemical exchange between Archaean basement and Pan-African/Brasiliano rocks. Older crust is present in both regions, including early (3.6–3.5 Ga), mid (3.1 Ga) and late (2.7–2.5 Ga) Archaean, as well as large areas of Palaeoproterozoic rocks reworked by the c. 600 Ma tectono-thermal events. The extent and interpretation of Eburnian/Transamazonian (2.1–2.0 Ga) events have not yet been resolved due to inadequate structural and isotopic data. Litho-structural control of Au, Sn, Nb and Ta mineralization relates to main or late-stage Pan-African deformation.


This paper discusses the pros and cons of contract production of agricultural products and specifically investigates contract pig production in the USA. Discussion includes the impact that contract production will have on the traditional farm life as many think of it. The author discusses the major global trends impacting the role of the farmer and concludes that agriculture at the farm is continuing its rapid change. Farm families of the future will be required to change rapidly and to adapt to changes in farm management structure.


The process of generating some useful information from a huge volume of data is called learning. There are two types of learning i.e. supervised and unsupervised. Clustering is a type of unsupervised learning. Clustering is the core of any data mining application. This paper present a brief description of different clustering algorithm as well as the past work presented by different authors in clustering method. In this paper, a general working of the popular existing clustering algorithm is presented followed by some noteworthy contribution.


Recent advances in natural language processing, computer graphics, and mobile computing are driving a new wave of interfaces, called here personified interfaces, which have clear and distinctive human-like characteristics. The paper argues that personified interfaces need to portray coherent human traits, deal with conflict, and handle drama, driving a need of new design methods. Using theoretical frameworks drawn from different disciplines, concisely described in the paper, four design methods are presented to support the design of personified interfaces, merging traditional design techniques with the use of personality models, improvisational theater techniques, comics-inspired storyboards, and even some ideas from puppetry and movie animation. The design methods are exemplified with results from three student workshops aimed at designing a service recovery interface for e-commerce.


Nowadays it seems that businesses have no other choice but to incorporate the e-commerce platform into their business operations if they wish to have unrestricted access to beyond national borders markets. Before they will do so they have to be careful as researchers revealed that due to culture and its effect on attitudes towards e-commerce some consumers willingly participate in online shopping environment while others seem to reject this convenient form of shopping. In the present-day global economy however, world researchers cannot follow traditional approaches and definitions of culture; instead they have to recognise many new multicultural aspects and dimensions and the effects of these on consumer processes. Consumers and their attitudes it seems are not only influenced these days by their native culture, but also by the culture where they temporarily reside. Therefore researchers are driven to provide comprehensive solutions to the challenges raised by globalisation, and to illustrate advanced research methods of cultural influences on behaviour. Hence, by investigating whether any change of cultural environment results in a change of consumer attitudes towards e-commerce, this research project aims to offer a fresh approach and method, which might guide and inform us in the face of such emerging challenges.


Employment among mothers has been rising in recent decades, although mothers of young children often work fewer hours than other women do. Parallel to this trend, approval of maternal employment has increased, albeit not evenly across groups. However, differences in attitudes remain unexplored despite their importance for better understanding mothers' labour market behaviour. Meanwhile, the employment of fathers has remained stable and attitudes towards paternal employment do not differ as much as attitudes towards maternal employment do between socio-economic groups.
This paper examines attitudes towards maternal and paternal employment. It focuses on Germany, drawing on data from the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA). The survey explicitly asks whether mothers and fathers should be in paid work, work part-time or full-time, presenting respondents with fictional family profiles that vary the youngest child's age. Unlike previous studies, the analysis compares the views of respondents with different origins: West Germany, East Germany, immigrants from different world regions, and second-generation migrants in West Germany.
The results highlight remarkable differences between respondents from West and East Germany, with the former group displaying strong approval for part-time employment among mothers and fathers of very young children and the latter group reporting higher approval for full-time employment. Immigrant groups are far from homogenous, holding different attitudes depending on their region of origin. Taken together, the results offer a nuanced picture of attitudes towards maternal and paternal employment. We discuss these findings in relation to labour markets participation in Germany.
* This article belongs to a special issue on "Family Research and Demographic Analysis – New Insights from the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA)".


This paper examines the cause of Nigeria's folly in her quest for economic and social development. Every successive administration has made the claim that Nigeria is on the path of economic renaissance, especially from the outset of the fourth republic till this time. Continual dependence on the Western allies is traceable to the comatose nature of the economy, albeit not disregarding the monster called corruption. Nigeria has been the laughing stock of the international scene. Her resources (both human and natural) still remain greatly underutilized. Hence, the worries and anxiety that the country is edging towards the precipice should have been curtailed by her abundant/untapped resources. After clinging to the apron strings of the western allies to help rejuvenate/revitalize her economy (by taking to their prescribed policies and their loans), there has not been any significant change in the real performance of the economy. Rather than liberate the economy, these measures have made the country more indebted, handicapped and chronically illiquid. Consequently, the emphasis/modus operandi has to systematically shift from kowtowing to western orthodox policies designed by her allies (whether economic or foreign) to heterodox economic solutions enunciated by economists. This will reverse the trend of stagnation and lay cornerstone of development and sustainable growth the country needs to experience. Keywords : orthodox, heterodox, renaissance, stagnation,illiquid


In this investigation, we drew from social constructivist understandings of place to explore both the meanings participants of an urban garden project in Austin, Texas, ascribed to place and the sentiment they attached to those meanings. Specifically, we asked participants to articulate the ways in which their participation was shaped by and/or had subsequently affected their feelings toward a given garden plot, neighbourhood, city, and/or the region of Central Texas. Our findings illustrate that participation in the gardening project shaped their place meanings and sentiment through two principal processes: (1) a sense of connection to the different garden plots through the resulting produce and the physical transformation of the site, and (2) a sense of connection to and identification with the community at large via links to other individuals who are involved in Urban Patchwork activities.


Abstract We measured the apatite etch rate vR in 5.5 M HNO3 at 21 °C as a function of orientation. Results for Durango apatite evidence that vR varies by a factor >5 with angle to the c-axis. Our measurements also provided track etch rates vT and surface etch rates vS. However, these cannot be combined for calculating track etching or counting efficiencies. By inserting the measured etch rates in a recent model, we calculate the geometries and dimensions of surface tracks in different apatite faces. The proposed model must be recalibrated for different etching protocols and adapted for other minerals. We submit that the new model justifies reviewing track counting efficiencies based on the existing (vB-vT) etch model. We anticipate that this will have an effect on practical aspects of fission track dating. Single-track step-etch data show that the confined track lengths increase with etch time at a decreasing average rate vL that differs from the track etch rate vT and the apatite etch rate vR. Both vT and vL exhibit large track-to-track differences that produce irreducible length variation related to the latent-track structure resulting from formation and annealing. Step etching and track width measurements are effective for reducing or eliminating procedure-related artifacts from track length data, and so for accessing more fundamental track properties.


This paper presents, for the first time, a novel rat-race coupler design with tunable power dividing ratio. Wide tuning ratio is accomplished by the use of two tuning diodes and a single control voltage. Ideal port isolation and return loss characteristics, evaluated at the center frequency of operation, are proven for all dividing ratios. The structure is simple to construct and involves 50-ohm lines only. For verification, the simulated and measured results of a 1-GHz rat-race coupler implemented on microstrip are shown.


BACKGROUND: An increase in urinary indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) has been reported in children with ASD who suffer with bowel problems in comparison to ASD children without gastrointestinal (GI) problems. The case for dietary intervention for ASD children with GI symptoms might be strengthened were such a difference to be autism-specific. METHODS: Quantitative analysis of urinary IAG levels was performed for 53 children on the autism spectrum and 146 age-matched controls. The parents of each child were asked to provide information on bowel symptoms experienced by the child and their eating habits over a period of two weeks. RESULTS: We find no significant difference in urinary IAG levels between the ASD children with GI problems and ASD children without GI problems. Although we see some difference between ASD children with GI problems and controls in mainstream schools with GI problems, the difference between non-autistic children with other developmental disorders and controls in mainstream schools is more significant so that any difference is not autism-specific. We find a strong correlation between bowel symptoms and diet problems in ASD children, especially idiosyncratic feeding behavior and we show that ASD children suffering from multiple bowel symptoms tend to be those who also have dietary problems. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that children with ASD who suffer with bowel problems have increased levels of urinary indolyl-3-acryloylglycine in comparison to children with ASD who do not have gastrointestinal problems.


In this paper a method is proposed for identification of Roman, Devanagari, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam scripts at text block level using features of Correlation property of Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and multi resolutionality of Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) of input handwritten document text blocks. The two-dimensional DWT extracts spatial features and Correlation of GLCM is used to extract texture features. Typically it can be observed that the patterns of any handwritten text block encompass spatial texture primitives. Therefore, the primary aim of this paper is to show the efficiency of DWT and Correlation of GLCM in describing the handwritten text blocks of six Indian scripts. Exhaustive experimentations were conducted on a dataset of 100 text blocks of each script, with bi-script and tri-script combinations of six scripts and script recognition is carried out using three classifiers namely nearest neighbor (NN), LDA and SVM. Using SVM classifier average script classification accuracy achieved in case of bi-script and tri-script combinations are 96.4333% and 93.9833% respectively.


The presence of protests, sometimes during violent conflict and civil war, across the globe, seems to contradict the common view that civil war and protests are mutually exclusive episodes and do not belong to a continuum. Instead, peaceful – and less peaceful – protests can coincide with civil war and other forms of armed violence like civil war. This article reflects and questions the dominant understanding that violent conflict and protests are disconnected forms of conflict and contention. To achieve this aim, the chapter discusses how both phenomena have been explained and theorized. The document starts examining similarities and differences in the definition and understanding of civil war, on the one hand, and protests and protest campaigns (Chenoweth & Lewis, 2013) . Departing from the important work of T.R. Gurr (2011) and others (Skocpol, 1979; Tilly, 2006), on protest, rebellion and violent conflict in the process of state-building, this article research aims to reevaluate how protest campaings and civil war can relate to each other over time. The document discusses under which conditions, processes such as protest campaigns escalate into a low intensity or high intensity civil war, and on the circumstances that define the de-escalation from civil wars protest campaigns. The article argues that in the aftermath of civil wars, protests are more likely to be observed in post-agreement scenarios. In addition, it argues that before civil wars, protests campaigns do take place, and where venues for negotiation with dissidents are closed and state capacity is weak and armed conflict is more likely. The article proceeds to present a theoretical framework for understanding different possible 'patterns' of transition between protest campaigns and civil war, and from civil war to protest campaigns. The possibility that civil war and protest campaigns belong to a continuum is thus theorized through a series of trajectories. These trajectories are conditioned, by a series of factors that relate to the nature of the state where the contention is taking place.


The developmental course of new religious movements is influenced by the founder's personality and by a series of changing conditions that inevitably accompany growth. The way in which the founder and staff respond to these conditions helps detennine whether religious movements achieve stability or undergo the dramatic and unpredicted changes of course and fortune that characterize such movements as Rajneeshism, the Children of God, Christ Commune, and the People's Temple. This article is about some of the factors affecting the way new religious movements develop during the period when their founders can influence the shape these movements assume. My focus will be on the actions of the founders and their chief disciples. I will concentrate on two sets of factors bearing on the developmental course of new religious movements. The first is a psychological factor, and the second is purely sociological. I make no claim that these two factors are "the key" to explaining how new religions develop. I claim only that they are important enough to be singled out for systematic study because they help determine whether new religions achieve stability, and they are usually of critical importance in understanding the dramatic and unpredicted turns of events that characterize some new movements.


A pedological study was made of five soils occupying a small relatively elevated (30-
50 metres ASL) area of the University of Tasmania Farm, Cambridge, Tasmania.
The soils formed above unconsolidated Tertiary sediments. Examination and sample
collection sites were chosen to represent areas of minimal erosion/deposition (UF1 and UF2)
and a sequence on a straight uniform toeslope (UF3, UF4 and UF5) exposed to colluvial
activity. Soil morphology was recorded at each site.
A major difference in primary profile form was noted as between a uniform, black
cracking clay (UF1) and four duplex soils (UF2,UF3, UF4 and UF5) three of which (UF2,
UF4 and UF5) were very strongly duplex.
Laboratory examination included physical, chemical and mineralogical analysis, viz,
particle size analysis, bulk density measurement, soil reaction (pH 1:5 H20), electrical
conductivity (EC 1:5 H20), cation exchange capacity and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K,
Na, Al and H), X-ray diffraction of oriented clay samples, micromorphology, and separation
of light and heavy mineral fractions and magnetic minerals in selected sand separates.
All of the soils were shown to be slightly saline but strongly sodic and magnesic in
the subsoil, increasing slightly in salinity but markedly in sodicity and magnesic character with
depth with an apparent reversal of this trend deeper in the profile. The major source of salt
was arguably atmospheric cyclic salt of marine origin.
The black cracking clay soil was shown to have formed by in situ weathering of a
granular, base-rich, basalt glass sediment deposited on a Tertiary clay surface, now seen at
150 cm depth in the profile. Weathering and soil formation produced a mixed smectite,
kaolinite material (80% clay) to 55 cm depth below which smectite was found to be dominant.
The less weathered material below 74 cm depth contained only 25-30% clay above an abrupt
lithologic discontinuity to dense, lenticular, Tertiary clay (up to 80% clay) at 150 cm depth.
The strong to very strong duplex form of the texture-contrast sodic soils was
attributed to in situ weathering of clay-forming minerals and/or inheritance of clay from parent
Tertiary sediments. No evidence in the form of depositional argillans was found to indicate an
eluvial/illuvial process in the formation of the B2 horizons. The sandy A horizons were considered to have formed in part by weathering and by wind sorting with a strong indication
of aeolian sand accession from the sandy foreshore of Pitt Water, a shallow embayment
receiving the flow of the Coal River, with extensive sandy flats exposed at low tide.
The UF2 soil, located on the broad summit of a gently domed and sloping spur, was
considered to have formed within undisturbed Tertiary sediments apart from the effect of
aeolian processes on the sandy A horizon. It contained secondary carbonate and manganese
oxides in the lower B2 horizon.
The UF3, UF4 and UF5 soils, on a straight, 9% - 6% toeslope, were considered to
have formed in colluvium of which Tertiary sediments were the dominant source. The parent
material of the (uppermost) UF3 soil was strongly stratified with alternating sandy and clayey
layers. A striking feature of this soil was the occurrence of a very large concretionary mass of
iron oxides beginning at the base of the sandy A horizon and extending into the upper B2
horizon. Also notable was the occurrence of secondary carbonates just below the large
glaebular mass of iron oxides. The sandy layers in the stratified sand-clay sequence below
were marked by precipitation of iron oxides, disseminated or in small, soft glaebules. These
features were considered to be the result of groundwater movement from a ridge of weathered
Jurassic dolerite a few hundred metres to the west and directly connected with the study site
via a backslope and footslope.
The UF4 and UF5 soils contained only small to medium, soft, iron-enriched
glaebular segregations and no secondary carbonates were detected. However, the UF5 soil
formed in fine sediment deposited above a basal channel deposit of well-rounded (water worn)
coarse stones in filled by clay (a clast-supported deposit).
Physical and chemical characteristics and the clay mineralogy of the soils provided an
explanation of management problems encountered in their use for agriculture. In the case of
the black cracking clay (UF 1) these include wide and deep cracking as the soil dries, a
dispersed condition of the material within coarse structural units (peds) at shallow depth
resulting in high bulk density and unfavourable pore-size distributions both of which were
associated with sodicity. Together with the clay mineral composition this has resulted in a
very narrow range of moisture content within which soil working and trafficking can be
conducted with satisfactory results. The duplex soils have a moderately thick sandy topsoil which has had the effect of reducing the rate of drying of the upper subsoil, with greatly
reduced shrinkage and cracking. However, high bulk densities were measured for the sodic,
dispersed, clay subsoils. The observed very slow internal drainage, poor aeration and poor
root development may thus be explained.
Finally the soils have been classified in the new Australian soil classification (Isbell,
1996) in which it has been possible to place them precisely, providing an accurate summary of
their, properties.


Since the beginning of the decade, numerous economic and monetary unification projects have aroused a lot of interest. The reinforcement of economic and monetary integration, especially in Europe, has set a trend for the creation of a monetary union in many others regions of the world. Since then, the debate has moved towards the study of the parameters that justify the creation of a single currency. However, another current of thought emphasized the fragility of the traditional theory and considered the criteria as incomplete, since this theory insists solely on a few elements concerning the adjustment process under various exchange regimes (Bogdan 2004). Also, many monetary unions have existed and lasted without meeting this theory's criteria. Other economists recommend studying the history of these monetary unions so as to define the necessary conditions for the success of a monetary integration (Sharp 2005, Jonung 2002). Within Maghreb, the completion of the regional integration process, initiated in 1989 by the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and the establishment of the Maghreb monetary union would have a positive impact on economic growth, good governance and political stability. In this paper, we showed that the Maghreb Countries can not constitute a monetary block that satisfies the criteria of optimality. Moreover, the study of historical experiences also allowed us to verify that the MCs have to strengthen their political coordination and improve their budgetary and financial situations to establish a lasting monetary union. Finally, with the aim of a Maghreb monetary unification, we conclude with the idea that these countries have to make more efforts to gather economico-institutional conditions essential to the institution of one of the two preliminary proposed monetary systems, namely a pure float with inflation targeting or a currency board.


Our societies are changing such that the gender roles rapidly change. The 21st century has seen a shift in gender roles due to multiple factors such as new family structures, education, media, and several others. The article examines the influence of social change on traditional gender roles. Two hundred and twenty seven respondents consisted of 135 Females (59.5%) and 92 Males (40.5%) participated in the survey. The study adopted descriptive method of research design. The age of respondents ranged between 15 to 56years with the mean age of 36years. Two hypotheses were tested and the results revealed that there is statistically significant difference between traditional gender roles and contemporary gender roles in selected local government areas of Lagos State, Nigeria. The study further reveals that there is statistically significant difference between social change and female gender supports in selected local government areas, Lagos Nigeria. This research work attested to the fact that the shifts from male breadwinner and female career model to double-income and singleparent or female headed households have transformed the established ways of distributing work between men and women. In policy terms at least, women are no longer seen as being solely responsible for family work and care. House chores that were regarded as solely the females' work are now being shared by women and men. Contemporarily, though Male gender is still regarded as the head of the family and is still ahead of female gender in the provisions of family needs, female gender share in all household expenses, such as house-rent, decision making, payment of children school fees. To promote gender equality in this post millennium development goals (MDGs) era, there is need for more women empowerment programmes and projects, enlightenment campaign on more female involvement in decision making and inclusion of women interest in development policies in Nigeria.


The Mauritian Lotto was first introduced on the 7th of November 2009 by lotto tech. The first jackpot was Rs 12 million. To play the game, choose 6 numbers from 1-40. Drawings are held once a week on Saturdays. The odds of winning Mauritius Lotto are one in 3,838,380. For a pick-6 lotto game, the Mauritius Lotto 6/40 lottery game has relatively excellent odds when compared to other pick-6 lotto games around the world. The present study tries to attempt to understand the attitude of Mauritians' towards the lotto game and the impact of socio-economic, psychological and demographic variables on addiction towards these game. For this purpose, a double–hurdle frame work was used, having conducted a drop-off survey of households with a paper and pencil, comprising of 3 distinct sections, namely, personal profile of the respondents, demographic characteristics and personality traits comprising 30 questions of open-ended, close-ended, partial open-ended and psychometric scales questions. 1027 respondents' involvement and the spendthrift nature are analysed. This study brings in the light to the influence of personality trait heterogeneities, coupled with socio-economic and risk-taking behaviours are controlled in the model. Recommendations on future areas of innovation in personality research and policy implications on social perspective ladder, such as alcohol beverages and cigarettes and indulgence in other forms of gambling have serious consequences on both the lotto participation and expenditure decisions. Retailers and corner shops can come up with marketing strategies which will help them to capitalize on cross-buying behaviours. Suppliers' coffers will see new height in terms of revenue at the detriment of public health in terms of cross-addictions. State intervention via consumer laws will have to be made more stringent while sufficient rules and regulations need to be implemented to protect the growing generation from such potential health risks associated with gambling.


Objective: Experimental models suggest estrogen has a renoprotective effect, but human studies show variable results. Our objective was to study the association of hormone therapy (HT) and albuminuria in postmenopausal women and to synthesize the results with outcomes from prior studies. Methods: We analyzed data from postmenopausal women who participated in the second study visit (2000-2004) of the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study. The exposure was self-reported HT use and the outcome was albuminuria (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio >25 mg/g creatinine). We also conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the association of HT and urine protein in postmenopausal women. Continuous and dichotomous measures of protein excretion were converted to a standardized mean difference (SMD) for each study. Results: In the GENOA cohort (n = 2,217), there were fewer women with albuminuria among HT users than nonusers (9% vs 19%, P < 0.001). HT use was associated with decreased odds of albuminuria (odds ratio 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.45-0.95), after adjusting for significant differences in age, race, education, comorbidities, and the age at and cause of menopause. The SMD of the effect of HT on urine proteinuria/albuminuria in the randomized control trials (n = 3) was 0.02 (95% CI, −0.29 to 0.33) and −0.13 (95% CI, −0.31 to 0.05) in the observational studies (n = 9). There was significantly less albuminuria among HT users (SMD −0.15, 95% CI, −0.27 to −0.04) in the 9 studies that only reported albuminuria as an outcome and in the 10 studies with a comparator arm (SMD −0.15, 95% CI, −0.26 to −0.04). Conclusions: HT is associated with decreased odds of albuminuria, but some of the observed benefits may be related to reported outcomes, the presence of a comparator arm, and the type of study design.


The typically disparate literatures on organizational learning and impression management have both separately sought to examine how organizations respond following failure, with the former asking how organizations learn from these events and the latter investigating how organizations use public disclosures to manage perceptions following these events. This study integrates these perspectives to ask how disclosures might impact learning through failure. The study distinguishes between major and minor failures, asserting that public disclosures exert a distinct influence on learning through either form of experience. Related hypotheses are tested on failures arising within the US air-traffic control system. Although no support is obtained for predictions about major failures, the study finds that facilities can learn through minor failures but the process is impeded by public disclosures, suggesting the notable influence that these disclosures have over audiences' perceptions of the organization or its role in these events. This approach addresses a longstanding tension regarding why some organizations learn more effectively than others by emphasizing how organizations shape interpretations of their experience.


A high quality amorphous silicon (a-Si) nanostructures has grown experimentally to study the origin of light emission and the quantum confinement effect in a-Si. The quantum confinement effect increases the band gap of material as the size of quantum structure decreases, which results in a blue shift in optical luminescence and energy absorption. Here we demonstrate this effect using extended Huckel method to calculate fundamental band gap and optical absorption energy of a-Si samples with various dot sizes. As result, when the dot size was decreased from 2.2 to 1.0 nm, the absorption spectra peak shifted toward higher energy from 2.278 eV to 3.856 eV.


was measured at its thickest in the orthogonal planes. The area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUC) was used to estimate diagnostic test accuracy and Youden's index was used to find the best cut-off value. Sensitivity, specificity, negativeand positive-likelihood ratio (LRand LR+) were calculated. Results: 310 enrolled patients were considered (215 and 95 class U0 and U2 patients, respectively). Mean age was 33 years (SD ± 7). Mean L thickness was significantly thicker in the t-shaped compared to the normal uterus (19.5 ± 2.4mm vs 13.4 ± 1.4mm, respectively). Mean L/AP ratio was significantly higher in the t-shaped compared to the normal uterus (t-shaped 1.5 ± 0.2mm vs 1.1 ± 0.1mm). Conclusions: The best strict, proper and reproducible diagnostic parameter to diagnose t-shaped uterus is the assessment of the lateral thickness on the coronal plane. The best cut-off value is 16.5mm.


To satisfy the applications in certificateless environment, many researchers have been investigating certificateless aggregate signature schemes. Several schemes that are independent with the aggregated numbers are proposed to reduce the computation overhead. In these schemes, the pairing computations that in verification procedure needs are a constant value. Recently, Hou et al. proposed an improved certificateless aggregate signature scheme. They demonstrated the scheme is provably secure in the random oracle model. However, we find that their scheme is insecure in their security model by giving a concrete attack. Then, we propose an improved certificateless signature scheme and use it to construct a new certificateless signature scheme with enhanced security and aggregation. Furthermore, we provide formal security proof of our new scheme. Compared with other four schemes, our enhanced protocol is more suitable for realistic applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The etiology of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is largely unknown. One hypothesis is that immunological factors are responsible for disease development. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) at position +874 of the IFN-γ gene and at position -168 of the MHC2TA gene have previously been shown to associate with infl ammatory and autoimmune disorders. We analysed their possible infl uence on susceptibility and prognosis in patients with DCM. Genotypes were determined by real-time PCR in 442 patients and 425 controls. Genotype frequencies were found signifi cantly different between patients and controls for IFN-γ (p=0.029), but not for MHC2TA (p=0.26). In a logistic regression analysis, the high producing TT genotype of IFN-γ was signfi cantly more common in patients than controls (OR 1.55 [1.12-2.15], p=0.009). None of the polymorphisms had an infl uence on long-term outcome, 10-years mortality with a HR of 0.94 (p=0.74) and 0.85 (p=0.30), IFN-γ and MHC2TA, respectively. A 50% higher risk to develop DCM for individuals with the TT genotype of the IFN- gene is a new finding and emphasize the role of IFN- in DCM pathology.


With increasing complexity of electronic systems, automation tools are dominating the design activities. Though there has been marked progress towards hardware synthesis and software synthesis independently, interface synthesis still remains a troublesome issue for large systems due to its inherent intricacies. We present the interface synthesis problem in a general codesign environment, discuss the issues involved and highlight possibility strategies for solving it. The paper also presents a survey of some approaches for interface synthesis and compares them in a broad framework.


This paper undertakes a detailed review of the policies that have shaped China's explosion of a global supply of exports, and examines long trend statistics on the evolution of China's trading partners and the goods it trades in the post-reform period. This review notes common characteristics in China's trade experience with those of earlier successful export-based economies of East Asia, such as South Korea and Japan. The survey finds that China's pattern of trade and trading partners are similar to those of more market-based Asian economies, but that the Chinese economy's orientation toward foreign trade is considerably greater than expected for an economy of its size and level of development. The authors argue that China still has a long way to go in terms of its export boom, especially if compared to the experiences of South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. This suggests that China is on track to become one of the world's most formidable trading powers and its export policies and export performance will exert increasing influence on how the global trade regime evolves in the future.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) in unprocessed cereals and soybean sampled in 2014 and 2015 from different fields located in Croatian regions. A total of 306 samples were analysed for DON and 415 samples for ZEN concentrations using quantitative ELISA methods. In 2014, DON and ZEN were determined in all samples in the mean concentrations of 1,461 ± 2,265 µg/kg and 656 ± 853 µg/kg, respectively, while in 2015 these means were 2,687 ± 2,731 µg/kg and 1,140 ± 1,630 µg/kg, respectively. The cultivation year significantly (p < 0.05) influenced mycotoxin concentrations, whereas the influence of cultivation region was seen with ZEN for all cereals except soybean, and not seen with DON at all. A higher contamination determined during 2015 could be explained by high to extreme humidity evidenced in the period of cereals' growth and harvesting.


We report on an empirical study where neighborhood stakeholders' views of the Job Co-op future vision were investigated. Taking on the values of a grassroots service agency, while also drawing on emerging practices of peer-to-peer sharing systems, the Job Co-op matches homeless young people, up to age 30, to suitable jobs and job sponsors. Community members were invited to engage the future vison at a streetfair exhibition, comprising a carnival wheel of barriers and solutions to homelessness for beginning conversations; a storyboard for introducing the design vision; and a questionnaire for eliciting feedback. Qualitative analysis of 71 collected questionnaires explicated the socio-technical design space for addressing the problem of youth, homelessness, and jobs. The method demonstrates the use of exhibition design for constructing a design-oriented social context---for community engagement, for educational outreach, for disseminating research and design possibilities, for conducting research, and for cooperative design.


The robustness of ecosystems to species losses is a central question in ecology, given the current pace of extinctions and the many species threatened by human impacts, including habitat destruction and climate change. Robustness from the perspective of secondary extinctions has been addressed in the context of food webs to consider the complex network of species interactions that underlie responses to perturbations. In-silico removal experiments have examined the structural properties of food webs that enhance or hamper the robustness of ecosystems to species losses, with a focus on the role of hubs, the most connected species. Here we take a different approach and focus on the role of the connections themselves. We show that trophic links can be divided into functional and redundant based on their contribution to robustness. The analysis of empirical webs shows that hubs are not necessarily the most important species as they may hold many redundant links. Furthermore, the fraction of functional connections is high and constant across systems regardless of size and interconnectedness. The main consequence of this scaling pattern is that ecosystem robustness can be considerably reduced by species extinctions even when these do not result in any secondary extinctions. This introduces the possibility of tipping points in the collapse of ecosystems.


The tokamak is currently the most promising device for realizing commercially-viable fusion energy production. The device uses magnetic fields to confine a circulating ring of hydrogen in the plasma state, i.e. a cloud of hydrogen ions and electrons. When sufficiently heated the hydrogen ions can overcome the electrostatic forces and fuse together, providing an overwhelmingly abundant energy source. However, stable, high-performance operation of a tokamak requires several plasma control problems to be handled simultaneously. Moreover, the complex physics which governs the tokamak plasma evolution must be studied and understood to make correct choices in controller design. In this thesis, two key control issues are studied intensely, namely the optimization and control of the plasma current profile and control of the plasma rotation (or flow). In order to maximize performance, it is preferable that tokamaks achieve advanced scenarios (AT) characterized by good plasma confinement, improved magnetohydrodynamic stability, and a largely non-inductively driven plasma current. A key element to the development of AT scenarios is the optimization of the spatial distribution of the current profile. Also, research has shown that the plasma rotation can stabilize the tokamak plasma against degradations in the desired magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium. In this thesis, new model-based control approaches for the current profile and rotation profile are developed to allow experimental exploration of advanced tokamak scenarios. Methods for separate control of both the current profile and rotation profile are developed. The advanced model-based control methods presented in this thesis have contributed to the understanding of tokamak profile control and in some cases they have been successfully validated experimentally in the DIII-D tokamak. 1 Chapter


This research surfaces the complex process of managing trade credit within small
professional firms, exploring drivers of idiosyncratic practice within particular contexts.
Despite the acknowledged macro-economic significance of trade credit, little is known of
its management at firm-level. The well documented susceptibility of small and medium
sized enterprises (SMEs) to liquidity problems implies the importance of the management
of internal resources for such firms. Small professional firms provided the opportunity to
explore trade credit management where the length of the work in progress cycle can be
pronounced, and where amounts receivable represent a crucial element.


Preparation of SNEDDS aims to improve solubility and absorption of furosemide in the body to reduce the dosage and minimize the side effects of drugs. Ternary diagram constructed from composition mixture produced nanoemulsion in the range of 20-40% of capryol-90, 20-40% polysorbate-80 and 40-60% PEG-400. Formulations of SNEDDS using Design-Expert®10 with simplex-lattice-design method in the study was aimed to investigate the effect of SNEDDS each component's proportions towards test responses. Emulsification time, drug content and viscosity were best demonstrated by run-7 with consecutive values of 131.68±2.14 seconds, 99.89±2.68% and 0.87±0.0043 mm2/s. The optimum formula was obtained through entering test response parameter data of all thirteen formula. Drug content and emulsification time was 107.0 ± 1.44% and 155.59±1.56 seconds with viscosity value 0.91±0.00 mm2/s. From the physical stability studies, SNEDDS formulas were stable and did not show phase separation when exposed to temparature stress testing.


Water sorption kinetics in thin Nafion films prepared on silver and silicon oxide substrates was examined by surface plasmon resonance and neutron reflectivity measurements. It was found that the films thickened in three regimes. The asymptotic swelling ratios in regimes I, II, and III were 1.05, 1.26, and 1.41, respectively. These values were independent of the substrate species and were coincident with the transition points of different hydration states in the bulk Nafion; water binding to sulfonic acid groups, the formation of sphere-like ionic clusters, and bridge formation between clusters. The swelling was much slower in thin films than in the bulk due to the mobility restriction of Nafion near the substrate.


PCANet, as one noticeable shallow network, employs the histogram representation for feature pooling. However, there are three main problems about this kind of pooling method. First, the histogram-based pooling method binarizes the feature maps and leads to inevitable discriminative information loss. Second, it is difficult to effectively combine other visual cues into a compact representation, because the simple concatenation of various visual cues leads to feature representation inefficiency. Third, the dimensionality of histogram-based output grows exponentially with the number of feature maps used. In order to overcome these problems, we propose a novel shallow network model, named as PCANet-II. Compared with the histogram-based output, the second order pooling not only provides more discriminative information by preserving both the magnitude and sign of convolutional responses, but also dramatically reduces the size of output features. Thus we combine the second order statistical pooling method with the shallow network, i.e., PCANet. Moreover, it is easy to combine other discriminative and robust cues by using the second order pooling. So we introduce the binary feature difference encoding scheme into our PCANet-II to further improve robustness. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed PCANet-II method.


Author(s): Mansfield, Terry M.; Charlton, Kristin G. | Abstract: Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are widely distributed and have apparently expanded their range and increased in abundance in California since the early 1970s. Conflicts between mountain lions and humans have increased during this period. Trends in verified mountain lion damage to livestock and pets are reported for the 26-year period 1972 to 1997. Confirmed mountain lion attacks on humans are summarized for the period 1890 to 1997. This information was analyzed by county, and related to mountain lion habitat suitability, livestock distribution, and human population trends. Health and physical characteristics of a sample of 417 mountain lions were also analyzed for the period 1990 to 1996. Public policy related to mountain lions is discussed with emphasis on trends in conflicts with humans and management implications.


Background Unintentional injuries due to fall are a leading cause of emergency department visits in children under 14 years. Aim The aim of this study is to report the existing baseline facts on fall related injuries. Methods This was a secondary analysis of a childhood unintentional injury surveillance database setup in the emergency department of the Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan for 3 months. The data was collected by interviewing caretakers of children under 12 years of age presenting with an unintentional injury to the emergency departments of the four major tertiary care hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan. Results There were 281 cases of falls injuries. Of these 186 (66.2%) occurred in males giving a male female ratio of 1.95. Majority of fall were seen in the 5–11 years age group (n=170, 60.5%).Most of these injuries took place at home (n=238, 84.7%). Main reasons for these injuries were fall from height (n=147, 52.3%), from stairs/steps (n=70, 24.9%), playground equipment (n=28, 10%), from bed (n=25, 8.9) and attendants' arms (n=9, 3.2%)..The fall injuries were mostly minor (n=177, 63%) in severity. Around 84% (n=236) cases were directly discharged from the ED and 20 (7.1%) were admitted to the ward. There were two expires (case fatality 0.7). Short-term disability was found 104 cases (37%) and long-term in 47 (16.7%) cases. Conclusion Fall is common unintentional injuries occurring mostly at home. Strategies at home like installing stair gate or other barriers to heights can reduce the burden of fall related injuries.


Dramatic increases in levels and volatility of gasoline prices observed in recent years may create market incentives for adoption of alternative fuels characterized by lower price volatility. This hypothesis is investigated by applying the real-options pricing approach to develop optimal thresholds for switching from conventional gasoline to alternative fuels such as ethanol blends. The main result of the paper is that given the historical price patterns of conventional gasoline and ethanol, switching to ethanol blends is an economically sound decision provided this does not decrease efficiency of the vehicle. Analysis of data subsamples during the periods of higher volatility of gasoline prices (Gulf War and War on Terrorism) provides even stronger support for this result.


This paper introduces the design of the industrial architecture in the attempt of ecology and energy via three aspects of concise, namely ecological planning considerations, ecological energy-saving strategy according to the local climate and how to improve the efficiency of energy use. This paper expounds the new site building culture, combined with the characteristics of ecological design ideas of modern industrial building. Design in the expression of cultural industrial times building at the same time, is also based on the original environment through the planning and design of optimized design, create an ecological balance of the built environment, form an organic body and the natural environment.


In this paper, we present a new kind of bifocal kinoform lenses in which the phase distribution is based on the Fibonacci sequence. The focusing properties of these DOEs coined Kinoform Fibonacci lenses (KFLs) are analytically studied and compared with binaryphase Fibonacci lenses (FLs). It is shown that, under monochromatic illumination, a KFL drives most of the incoming light into two single foci, improving in this way the efficiency of the FLs. We have also implemented these lenses with a spatial light modulator. The first images obtained with this type of lenses are presented and evaluated.


The consumer awareness and interest in food quality is growing which leads to greater demand for organic products. Organic farming is helping to maintain biodiversity in the agro-ecosystems, as well as to preserve traditional species and varieties of crops and rare breeds of animals in certain regions or countries. The main objective of the paper is to observe the technical and economic efficiency of the three species of ancient wheat, grown under different technologies of organic fertilization and sowing rates. The study is conducted at the experimental centre for organic production at the Agricultural University – Plovdiv during the period 2014 – 2017. The analysis of results showed different levels of technical efficiency of the three wheat species, grown under different technologies of bio fertilizer treatment. On the other hand, the high prices of the approved fertilizers for organic production do not guarantee the economic efficiency of their application. In fact better economic results were observed without use of fertilizers. It was also concluded that higher sowing rates of the wheat species impacts positively on yields.


Dementias, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), are the main reason for availing of nursing home care. In the course of the illness, the clinical picture is affected by cognitive decline and by other psychopathological, "non-cognitive" symptoms such as apathy, depression, delusions or agitation. Little attention has been paid to these symptoms, although they lead to an increase in strain on the patients and their relatives as well as complications in nursing care. Psychopathological symptoms were evaluated by using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory in 145 nursing home residents (age: 85 +/- 7 years, duration of stay: 35 +/- 48 months); the majority of them with moderate to severe dementia (GDS: 5 +/- 2; MMSE: 11 +/- 9). In addition, the Apathy Evaluation Scale was applied. To meet potential regional effects, residents were recruited in nursing homes in the areas around Heidelberg as well as Munster. 87% of the participants showed psychopathological symptoms of an at least moderate degree, depressive mood (52%), apathy (41%) and agitation (38%) being most frequent. General condition, nutritional status and care status were evaluated as 'good', likewise general health care. In contrast, only 27% were treated by psychiatrists. 70% received psychopharmacological treatment, mostly sedatives (44%), while antidementive drugs were used only in 11%. The findings underline the need of further information and advanced training.


A 27-year-old woman developed acute pain, pallor and feeling of cold in her left arm. She had been a smoker of 15-20 cigarettes daily since the age of 15 years, but had not previously had any serious illness. In addition to contraceptives she had had been taking one to several suppositories containing caffeine and ergotamine tartrate (2 mg) daily against migraine. Angiological examination 5 days after onset of symptoms discovered a weak brachial pulse low in the left upper arm, while ulnar and radial pulses were absent. All other pulses were normally palpable. Colour duplex sonography demonstrated occlusion of the brachial artery which angiographically was due to a 5 cm severe narrowing without thrombus, blood flowing distally via collaterals. No improvement was achieved by local injection of 100,000 IU urokinase, 0.5 mg nitroglycerin, 20 mg tolazoline and a 3-hour infusion of alprostadil. On infusion of 560 ml hydroxyethylstarch over 8 hours, 400 mg naftidrofuryl, therapeutic doses of heparin and abstinence from ergotamine (since admission) the vessel diameter increased by 50% within 23 hours and after a further 24 hours to almost 100% of the comparable arterial segment of the right arm while merely on heparin infusion.


Doppler tissue image (DTI is a newly developed method for measuring myocardial velocity using pulse wave Doppler (P-DTI, or color Doppler (C-DTI imaging. The major application of DTI is is quantifying systolic and diastolic heart function. DTI can be applied for the quantification of systolic myocardial velocity (Sm during myocardial ischemia at rest and with pharmacologic or exercise testing. DTI can also detect myocar- dial dysfunction earlier than the conventional wall motion score system. It is also used for the discrimination of viable and non-viable myocardium. P-DTI is particularly useful in the detection and identification of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. In particular, it can differentiate normal and pseudonormal patterns. One ad- vantage of DTI is that it is less dependant to the preloading condition of the heart than the conventional method. Recently, DTI has also been applied in the early detection of graft rejection in a transplanted heart. This review summarizes the principles and clinical applications of DTI in the evaluation of left myocardial function. (Korean Circulation J 2002;32( ( ( (2 :99-105