A method has been developed for estimating shun-line position from airborne scanning laser data. This technique allows rapid estimation of objective, GPS-based shoreline positions over hundreds of kilometers of coast, essential for the assessment of large-scale coastal behavior. Shoreline position, defined as the cross-shore position of a vertical shoreline datum, is found by fitting a function to cross-shore profiles of laser altimetry data located in a vertical range around the datum and then evaluating the function at the specified datum. Error bars on horizontal position are directly calculated as the 95% confidence interval on the mean value based on the Student's t distribution of the errors of the regression. The technique was tested using lidar data collected with NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) in September 1997 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Estimated lidar-based shoreline position was compared to shoreline position as measured by a ground-based GPS vehicle survey system. The two methods agreed closely with a root mean square difference of 2.9 m. The mean 95% confidence interval for shoreline position was ±1.4 m. The technique has been applied to a study of shoreline change on Assateague Island, Maryland/Virginia, where three ATM data sets were used to assess the statistics of large-scale shoreline change caused by a major 'northeaster' winter storm. The accuracy of both the lidar system and the technique described provides measures of shoreline position and change that are ideal for studying storm-scale variability over large spatial scales.


Abstract Thirty four cases of isolated extramedullary relapse after complete remission of acute leukemia were reported. The relapse took place in central nervous system (CNS), genito-urinary system, skin, serous cavity, tonsils, lymph nodes, liver, spleen, gastro-intestinal tract, pancreas and ocular fundus. These 34 cases of isolated extramedullary relapse of leukemia was found in 206 cases with complete remission, constituting 16.5% of the total. In order to discover CNS relapse with no symptoms and signs, the author strongly suggest that cerebrospinal fluid examination be carried out periodically. If some symptoms signs in the patient can not explained by infection, congestion or other causes, extramedullary relapse should be considered and further examination and appropriate treatment are needed.


Identification of the machining process producing a specific engineering surface is very important in manufacturing facilities. Computer vision has become center-stage in automatic identification of these processes, with benefits of man-power reduction as well as the drawbacks of human involvement such as inconsistencies caused by fatigue. In this paper, we propose a computer vision framework that takes into consideration workpiece images' intensity histogram and edge features to identify the six machining processes of Grinding, Turning, Horizontal Milling, Vertical Milling, Shaping and Lapping. The support vector machine (SVM) classifier is explored with various kernels being investigated. The experimental results show that the SVM with the linear kernel using edge feature statistics provides the best performance for a dataset that consists of seventy-two workpiece images. KeywordsMachined Texture Classification, Support Vector Machines, Gray-Level Histogram, Edge Detection, PCA


Objective To determine the optimal regimen of different first-line Helicobacter pylori eradication therapies according to the clarithromycin resistance rate. Design Electronic search for articles published between January 2005 and April 2016. Randomised, controlled trials that reported the effectiveness of first-line eradication therapies in treatment-naïve adults were included. Two independent reviewers performed articles screening and data extraction. Network and traditional meta-analyses were conducted using the random effect model. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine the ranking of regimens in countries with high (>15%) and low (<15%) clarithromycin resistance. Data including adverse events and therapeutic cure rate were also extracted and analysed. Results 117 trials (totally 32 852 patients) for 17 H. pylori eradication regimens were eligible for inclusion. Compared with 7-day clarithromycin-based triple therapy, sequential therapy (ST) for 14 days had the highest effectiveness (OR=3.74, 95% CrI 2.37 to 5.96). ST-14 (OR=6.53, 95% CrI 3.23 to 13.63) and hybrid therapy (HY) for 10 days or more (OR=2.85, 95% CrI 1.58 to 5.37) represented the most effective regimen in areas with high and low clarithromycin resistance, respectively. The effectiveness of standard triple therapy was below therapeutic eradication rate in most of the countries. Longer duration was associated with higher eradication rate, but with a higher risk of events that lead to discontinuation. Conclusions ST and HY appeared to be the most effective therapies in countries with high and low clarithromycin resistance, respectively. The clinical decision for optimal regimen can be supported by referring to the rank ordering of relative efficacies stratified by local eradication rates, antibiotic resistance and safety profile. Trial registration number CRD42015025445.


Sea ice acts as both an indicator and an amplifier of climate change. High spatial resolution (HSR) imagery is an important data source in Arctic sea ice research for extracting sea ice physical parameters, and calibrating/validating climate models. HSR images are difficult to process and manage due to their large data volume, heterogeneous data sources, and complex spatiotemporal distributions. In this paper, an Arctic Cyberinfrastructure (ArcCI) module is developed that allows a reliable and efficient on-demand image batch processing on the web. For this module, available associated datasets are collected and presented through an open data portal. The ArcCI module offers an architecture based on cloud computing and big data components for HSR sea ice images, including functionalities of (1) data acquisition through File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transfer, front-end uploading, and physical transfer; (2) data storage based on Hadoop distributed file system and matured operational relational database; (3) distributed image processing including object-based image classification and parameter extraction of sea ice features; (4) 3D visualization of dynamic spatiotemporal distribution of extracted parameters with flexible statistical charts. Arctic researchers can search and find arctic sea ice HSR image and relevant metadata in the open data portal, obtain extracted ice parameters, and conduct visual analytics interactively. Users with large number of images can leverage the service to process their image in high performance manner on cloud, and manage, analyze results in one place. The ArcCI module will assist domain scientists on investigating polar sea ice, and can be easily transferred to other HSR image processing research projects.


Abstract My comments aim to cast light on a specific political proposal that can arise from a discussion of the topic of the 'refusal of work' and its implications for a social radical change. Autonomist, anarchist and feminist activism, have been and are the main sources of a long-term conceptual and empirical work on the refusal of work. Refusal of work is a very complex concept that has traversed history and is reduced for uncritical dominant common sense to unemployment, laziness, idleness, indolence but it is in reality one of the basic foundational qualification to think any radical change. Among many important intuitions, the added value of Silvia Federici's work is to have offered a different perspective on the refusal of work discussion and how it can be expressed to develop different forms of communing. Her work provides the backbone for this brief excursion on the issue of the refusal of work. Emerging and consolidated social movements, for example in Southern Europe, have, consciously or not, taken position, often contradictorily, regarding what refusal of work means. In the context of current neoliberal capitalism, an increasing structural unemployment and precarious jobs are one of the trademarks of austerity policies to 'revive' economies. Drawing on Federici's insights on the women exclusion as a useful way of thinking about the spatial dimension of these issues in feminist theory, this article looks at examples of prefigurative politics that define their strategies of refusal of work building significant spatial patterns.


Contemporary approaches and trends, in software engineering courses have been continuously updated over the last four decades. Adaptation to industry needs is crucial for future educational purposes. The goal of this poster paper is to present some preliminary results related to what degree contemporary industry trends are being adopted in updating software engineering teaching approaches. This study is a systematic mapping. A total of 138 papers were selected based on education goals, research, and contribution type. Of the primary education topics, around 78% are related to teaching approaches, 9% to globalisation and training methods, and less than 5% to tech startup and industry innovation. Less investigated areas that have recently become common industry trends, such as tech startup models adopting lean methodology, require further attention and might create opportunities for updating the curricula. Future work will investigate possibilities for exploiting tech startups as a means for renewing future capstone courses.


Cicatrius (in)visibles (The Invisible Scars), a new book edited by Ana Porroche-Escudero, Gerard Coll-Planas, and Caterina Riba was published in March (2016) by Capsa de Pandora. The book, translated into in Catalan, demystifies the dominant discourses of pink ribbon culture, analyzes androcentric, political, and economic biases in breast cancer biomedicine, and explores embodied resistance to socially constructed body rules and conventions about breast cancer. The editors are seeking opportunities to translate and publish the book in English and Spanish, so stay tuned! Table of Contents: Preface. Breast cancer: the feminist rebellion has just started – Mari Luz Esteban Chapter 1. Introduction – Ana Porroche-Escudero*, Caterina Riba and Gerard Coll-Planas PART I. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF BREAST CANCER Chapter 2. The ideological context of the experience of breast cancer – Gerard Coll-Planas Chapter 3. Breast cancer movements: history, ideologies and politics – Gayle Sulik* Chapter 4. Critical analysis of breast cancer awareness campaigns – Ana Porroche-Escudero* Chapter 5. Cancer's margins: sexual minorities, cancer care, knowledge and subjectivities – Genevieve Rail, Mary Bryson, Tae Hart, Jacqueline Gahagan and Janice Ristock PART II. ANDROCENTRIC, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL BIASES IN MEDICINE Chapter 6. Breast cancer: the relationship with the environmental and working conditions – Carme Valls-Llobet Chapter 7. Controversies on breast cancer screening: does it save lives or does it damage health? – Julia Ojuel and Grazia de Michele* Chapter 8. Breast reconstruction: The multiple ways to reconstruct femininity? An analysis of the strategies of femininity construction after mastectomy – Cinzia Greco* Chapter 9. The social context of oncofertility – Dorothy Roberts Chapter 10. Sexual desire, embodied knowledge and women cancer patients' realization of their sexual rights- Ana Porroche-Escudero* and Begona Arrieta PART III. PLURALISTIC FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNTS OF BREAST CANCER Chapter 11. Taking responsibility for one's body. Alternative narratives of cancer – Caterina Riba Chapter 12. Economic rights of persons living with cancer – Ana Porroche-Escudero* and Beatriz Figueroa Chapter 13. Experiences and expressions of a contraphobic – Victoria Fernandez Chapter 14. Oncogrrrls: dance as a political space for creating new narratives of breast cancer – Caro Novella and Marisa Paituvi Chapter 15. Autobiography of a cancer-butch – Ainhoa Irueta Epilogue – Teresa Forcades i Vila


This composition presents a digest of research that investigates aspects of forensic accounting that shape its development from practice to an academic research perspective. This submission is based on six outputs that cover the period of 2006 through 2008. My research theme is, in the context of valuations of privately held companies, identifying the skills of a forensic accountant, and how to use them. This research not only breaks ground in the growing field of forensic accounting as it applies to private company valuation, but also lays a firm foundation and gives direction for further research. It provides insights into a growing sector of accounting for which there is a pressing need due to a dearth of research in the area.

Statistically significant results of Output 1 indicate that there are systematic trends in court preferences for valuation methods, and provides empirical evidence of best valuation choices for decision makers involved in proposition of methods to the courts. Study controls indicated that macroeconomic factors such as GDP and inflation are related to court choice of valuation methods for some types of cases. Specifically, market methods are preferred during
higher economic growth and the capitalized earnings method is preferred during times of higher economic inflation.

Output 2 contributes to research by producing new knowledge with the understanding of the trend of investigating a potential insurance fraud in a routine business interruption.

Output 3 hypothesized that valuation approaches for closely held companies preferred by court vary by industry type. Income approaches were more popular that either asset or market approaches for manufacturing industries, and that the market approach had a higher proportion of cases than asset approach for holding companies. Significant results for logistic regression analyses indicated that income valuation approaches had odds ratios approximately five times greater for manufacturing companies than other types of companies, which substantiated the results from the univariate analyses.

Output 4 found a statistically significant odds ratio of 6.27 indicating the matrimonial court preferred the capitalized earning method when inflation was high and involved a manufacturing company. In addition, the excess earning method was far more likely to be preferred in marital dissolution when the case did not involve a service company.

Output 5 defined the relevant skills of forensic accountants, and the perceived importance of these skills among three important stakeholders; forensic accountants, accounting academics, and users of forensic accounting services. These empirical findings are the first of its kind.

Output 6 presented the results of a moderated multiple regression analysis to show that, all else held equal, there exists a positive premium in the relative valuation of S corporations over C corporations in the period subsequent to the Tax Court rulings that started this debate. The model also allows for the moderation of this premium by varying different levels of a set of interaction variables. The results of the study indicate that the magnitude of the "S corporation premium" depends on the level of these variables. My contribution to knowledge is presented in table format with the number of citations of each publication according to searches on Google Advanced Scholar, Lexis-Nexis, and a general World Wide Web search. In addition, since the World Wide Web has essentially created an environment where information is simply a point and a click away, the relevance of manuscript downloads are an important indicator of the interest and contribution of a paper. There are recorded downloads of my publications from various publishing sources either selling academic articles online or simply providing working papers available for download. Included in table 1 and table 2 are the aggregate number of downloads and source, respectively.


Introduction Intact cognitive functioning is necessary for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to understand the value of healthy lifestyle guidelines, to make informed decisions and subsequently act on it. Nevertheless, brain abnormalities and cognitive impairment have been found in patients with COPD. To date, it remains unknown which cognitive domains are affected and what the possible consequences are of cognitive impairment. Therefore, objectives of the study described are to determine neuropsychological functioning in patients with COPD, and its influence on health status, daily functioning and pulmonary rehabilitation outcome. Furthermore, structural and functional brain abnormalities and the relationship with cognitive and daily functioning will be explored. Methods and analysis A longitudinal observational comparative study will be performed in 183 patients with COPD referred for pulmonary rehabilitation and in 90 healthy control participants. Demographic and clinical characteristics, activities of daily living and knowledge about COPD will be assessed. Baseline cognitive functioning will be compared between patients and controls using a detailed neuropsychological testing battery. An MRI substudy will be performed to compare brain abnormalities between 35 patients with COPD with cognitive impairment and 35 patients with COPD without cognitive impairment. Patients will be recruited between November 2013 and November 2015. Ethics and dissemination The study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Maastricht and Maastricht University (NL45127.068.13/METC 13-3-035) and is registered in the Dutch trial register. All participants will provide written informed consent and can withdraw from the study at any point in time. Assessment and home visit data material will be managed anonymously. The results obtained can be used to optimise patient-oriented treatment for cognitively impaired patients with COPD. The findings will be disseminated in international peer-reviewed journals and through research conferences.


Abstract Interactions between biotype E greenbugs, Schizaphis graminum (Rodani), and two near isogenic lines of the greenbug resistance gene Gb3 of wheat, Triticum aestivum L., were examined for 62 d after infestation. By comparing aphid performance and host responses on control and greenbug-preconditioned plants, we demonstrated that systemic resistance to greenbug herbivory was inducible in the resistant genotype with varying intensities and effectiveness in different parts of the plants. Preconditioning of susceptible plants resulted in modification of within-plant aphid distribution and reduction of cumulative greenbug densities, but it showed no effect on reducing greenbug feeding damage to host plant. Preconditioning of resistant plants altered greenbug population dynamics by reducing the size and buffering the fluctuation of the aphid population. Preconditioning in the first (oldest) leaf of the resistant plant had no phenotypically detectable effect in the stem and induced susceptibility locally in the first leaf within the first 2 d after infestation. The preconditioning-induced resistance reduced greenbug density, delayed aphid density peaks and extended the life of younger leaves in resistant plants. Expression of induced resistance was spatially and temporally dynamic within the plant, which occurred more rapidly, was longer in duration, and stronger in intensity in younger leaves. Host resistance gene-mediated induced resistance was effective in lowering greenbug performance and reducing damage from greenbug herbivory in host plants. Results from this study supported the optimal defense theory regarding within-plant defense allocation.


Spermatozoa exhibit remarkable levels of morphological diversification among and within species. Among the passerine birds, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) has become a model system for studies of sperm biology, yet studies of closely related Estrildidae finches remain scarce. Here, we examine sperm morphology in the masked finch (Poephila personata) and place the data into the broader context of passerine sperm morphology using data for an additional 189 species. The masked finch exhibited high levels of within- and among-male variation in total sperm length and in specific sperm components. Furthermore, among-male variance in sperm length was significantly greater in estrildid (N = 12) compared with non-estrildid species (N = 178). We suggest that the high variation in sperm morphology in the masked finch and other estrildid species is likely to be linked to low levels of sperm competition, hence relaxed or weak selection on sperm length, in the clade. Our findings highlight that the highly variable sperm of the masked finch and widely studied zebra finch are 'typical' for estrildid species and stress the relevance of studying groups of closely related species. Finally, we suggest that further studies of Estrildidae will enhance our understanding of sperm diversity and avian diversity more generally.


We present a new method for obtaining sharp asymptotics of solutions of the defocussing nonlinear Schr\"odinger (NLS) equation, based on dbar methods and under essentially minimal regularity assumptions on initial data.


Rocks of the Quesnel Lake area belong to three terranes. These are, from east to west, the Barkerville terrane (a continental prism sequence), the Slide Mountain terrane (an ocean-floor sequence), and the Quesnel terrane (an island-arc-marginal basin sequence). The major deformation of these rocks occurred during the Jurassic. There has been renewed discussion recently as to whether the Barkerville terrane was deformed prior to the Jurassic. Two conglomerate localities within the Quesnel terrane contain clasts we identify as being derived from deformed rocks of the Barkerville and Slide Mountain terranes. These include gneiss, orthoquartzite, graphitic phyllite, and grit from the Barkerville, and serpentine-talc and chromite fragments from the Slide Mountain terrane. Some clasts inferred to be from the Barkerville terrane show two predeposition foliations, implying two phases of deformation prior to the deposition of the conglomerate (Middle Jurassic at the latest). One of these events may be deformation associated with the intrusion of Devonian granitoid bodies. Deformation must also have accompanied the emplacement of the Slide Mountain terrane some time between its deposition (Mississippian-Permian) and its erosion (Triassic-Jurassic).


In 2013 Elon Musk inspired engineers and entrepreneurs with his idea for a 5th mode of transportation: the Hyperloop. Using large near-vacuum tubes as a medium, Musk envisioned sending humans and cargo in levitating pods from Los Angeles to San Francisco California in 35 minutes or less. Consisting of multiple subsystems, these pods would use magnetic or air-bearing technology for primary levitation to accommodate speeds approaching 700 mph. To address Musk's call for a traditional deployable wheel system to provide added safety and low-speed mobility for the pods, a patent-pending Hyperloop Deployable Wheel System (HDWS) was developed. This report details the author's contribution to the design and development of the award-winning HDWS and examines the constraints and limitations imposed by the Hyperloop concept: small operational space, near-vacuum low-pressure conditions, high-speed use and smooth ride requirements.


Recombinant Ralstonia eutropha capable of producing poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) copolymer [P(3HB-co-3HHx)] from fructose was engineered by introduction of genes for crotonyl-CoA reductase (CCR) from Streptomyces cinnamonensis (ccrSc) and for PHA synthase and (R)-specific enoyl-CoA hydratase from Aeromonas caviae (phaC-JAc). In this recombinant strain, C6-acyl-CoA intermediates were provided via beta-ketothiolase-mediated elongation of butyryl-CoA, which was generated from crotonyl-CoA by the function of CCR. The recombinant strain could accumulate the copolyester up to 48 wt % of dry cell weight with 1.5 mol % of 3HHx fraction from fructose, when the expression of ccrSc under the control of the PBAD promoter was induced with 0.01% L-arabinose. The absence of L-arabinose or the deletion of ccrSc from the plasmid resulted in accumulation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) homopolymer, indicating the critical role of CCR in the formation of the 3-hydroxyhexanoate unit. Higher CCR activity obtained by the addition of a larger amount of L-arabinose did not affect the composition but reduced the intracellular content of the copolyester. The P(3HB-co-1.5 mol % 3HHx) copolyester produced from fructose by the recombinant R. eutropha showed relatively lower melting temperatures (150 degrees C and 161 degrees C) and lower crystallinity (48 +/- 5%) compared to those (175 degrees C and 60 +/- 5%) of P(3HB) homopolymer. It has been found that the incorporation of a small amount (1.5 mol %) of 3HHx units into P(3HB) sequences leads to a remarkable change in the solid-state properties of P(3HB) crystals. The present study demonstrates the potential of the engineered pathway for the production of copolyesters having favorable characteristics from inexpensive carbon resources.


This paper describes an original solution for improving inductive contactless telemetry powered devices. Rather than implementing asynchronous logic to provide digital circuit performance, we propose to apply the asynchronous logic paradigm to the whole system, providing high data rates, low power consumption on tags and dynamic performance adaptation. This flexibility allows a dynamic compromise between performance, power consumption and data rate, according to environmental conditions. To achieve this, the contactless system is based on asynchronous event-based communication and a tag architecture that is self-adaptive to data rate. This paper describes the communication scheme and self-adaptive to data rate front-end architecture which were validated on silicon. Test chip implementation and results are given, showing that any communication, up to 1.02 Mbps, is demodulated up to 6 cm from its reader with a power consumption on tag below 100 muW


Infrared system provides a feasible alternative to radio system for indoor wireless communication. Direct spread CDMA format is a promising candidate for infrared transmission system. In indoor systems, transmission is severely impaired by noise and interference produced by artificial light. In this thesis, the performance of the DS CDMA indoor wireless infrared system on diffuse channels is analyzed by taking the effects of inter symbol interference (ISI) and electronic ballast florescent light interference into account. Moreover, to mitigate the effects of ISI and electronic ballast florescent light interference, an adaptive filter technique is proposed for noise cancellation and equalization. This is done by considering a ceiling bounce model for the channel and electronic ballast florescent light for noise. Analytical and simulation results show 7dB improvement in SINR and 10-15 times improvement in BER.


Electrical steels are used in flux carrying machines, divided in grain oriented and non oriented electrical steels mainly used in transformers and electrical motors, respectively. Their industrial production is not always easy due to the alloying elements which produce brittle order structures in the steel. Therefore hot dipping was found to be an alternative way of producing electrical steel with a high concentration of Al and/or Si: in a first series of experiments different steel substrates were coated by immersion in an Al + 23 m.-% Si hypereutectic alloy, followed by a high temperature diffusion annealing. The present contribution reports on the growth kinetics of Al-Si-Fe intermetallics formed during the dipping process in a hypoeutectic Al – 5 m.-% Si bath of Fe-substrates with 3 m.-% Si, previously cold rolled to different thickness. This bath composition allows a liquid phase at temperatures lower than the hypereutectic one with 23 m.-% Si and also less amount of eutectic formation. No Na-addition was made to the bath (the occurrence of a needle-like morphology of the Al-Si eutectic was not relevant for these experiments), furthermore this element might lower the magnetic properties of the steel. The preheating of samples and bath temperatures were not varied and set to 670°C. Short dipping times of 1 to 60 sec. were applied. The different layers formed were characterised by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), using the Back Scattered Electron (BSE) detector and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS).


The developmental status and situation of Yunnan Bazi agriculture are introduced. The prominent problems of Yunnan Bazi agriculture are put forward from the restriction of natural environment and the limitation of social economic conditions. The factors that affect the development of Bazi agriculture in Yunnan Province are analyzed. The factors include the burdens born by Bazi agriculture, the natural endowment of Bazi culture, policy preference of Yunnan Province, the potential and direction of the development of Bazi agriculture. Countermeasures on developing Bazi agriculture in Yunnan Province are put forward: the first one is to improve the level of agricultural science and technoogy; the second one is to intensify the balanced development between mountainous areas and mountainous areas, industry and agriculture, urban and rural areas; the third one is to pay attention to the development and adjustment of ecological agriculture; the fourth one is to keep rational development.


Short-period Rayleigh waves, Rg, provide strong constraints on the depth of shallow seismic events and are of interest for monitoring small explosions. Characterizing the seismic sources that generate Rg requires an understanding of how shallow crustal structure affects Rayleigh wave propagation. In support of these efforts, this study utilizes observed waveforms from small shallow explosions recorded on temporary seismic network deployments in the Bighorn region, Wyoming. We study regional near-surface geology by measuring changes in surface-wave amplitude and polarization during propagation through basins, foothills, and mountains. We develop additional insight by carrying out surface-wave eigenfunction analyses and numerical-wave simulations, which together reproduce many characteristics seen in the observed waveforms. Our results show how sedimentary basins in the Bighorn region allow for amplified prograde-polarized higher-mode and retrograde-polarized fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves, whereas adjacent mountains only support retrograde motion. These different modes provide distinct constraints on the Earth structure and source characteristics, potentially enabling targeted inversions in future studies. Our findings provide insight into Rg propagation through complex near-surface geology, improving our understanding of shallow propagation and source effects that are relevant to explosion monitoring efforts.


Graph classification is critically important to many real-world applications that are associated with graph data such as chemical drug analysis and social network mining. Traditional methods usually require feature engineering to extract the graph features that can help discriminate the graphs of different classes. Although recently deep learning based graph embedding approaches are proposed to automatically learn graph features, they mostly use a few vertex arrangements extracted from the graph for feature learning, which may lose some structural information. In this work, we present a novel motif-based attentional graph convolution neural network for graph classification, which can learn more discriminative and richer graph features. Specifically, a motif-matching guided subgraph normalization method is developed to better preserve the spatial information. A novel subgraph-level self-attention network is also proposed to capture the different impacts or weights of different subgraphs. Experimental results on both bioinformatics and social network datasets show that the proposed models significantly improve graph classification performance over both traditional graph kernel methods and recent deep learning approaches.


The management of heart failure has evolved to become a multidisciplinary affair. Constraints of time and resources limit the amount of counselling that is given to heart failure patients in hospital and, with the advent of community heart failure specialist nurses, there is a trend to move more of these services into the community. Most heart failure patients are elderly and may find the information given to them, at the time of diagnosis and later on at home by heart failure nurses, difficult to grasp. In this study, patients' perspectives of a diagnosis of heart failure, their understanding of the diagnosis as well as what being diagnosed with heart failure means to them were recorded. Patients were questioned on whether the news of the heart failure diagnosis was broken to them in a sympathetic manner and how they felt about the information provided at diagnosis.


The epigraphic record pertaining to the auxiliary fort from Buciumi is quite scarce. This is especially true for onomastic evidence, indeed virtually none of the members of the local garrison is known to us by name. The graffito discussed in the paper, although incomplete, reveals the names of two individuals: a centurion and a common soldier. While the name of the centurion ( Genialis ) is quite usual, the miles displays an extremely rare name of uncertain origin ( Zanax ). The object of the paper is twofold. On one hand it discusses the phenomenon of military graffiti, especially ownership inscriptions, on the other hand it analyses various possibilities regarding the origin of the enigmatic name borne by the soldier in question.


Archaeological excavation by Oxford Archaeology East extending over 260.31m² was conducted at 132-136 Newmarket Rd, Barnwell, Cambridge (TL 4629 5886) between 23rd September and 27th October 2014 in advance of 13 residential flats with four commercial spaces at ground floor. This work followed on from a trench evaluation within the site (Barlow and Thompson 2014).
Deeply stratified remains up to 1m deep was uncovered across the site. The earliest features dated from when the site was part of the lay settlement of Barnwell Priory. At least three phases of medieval activity was found with firstly, possible fragments of enclosure ditches which date from c.AD 1200. Secondly, part of a post hole building with a hearth was found fronting onto Newmarket Road and behind this building were contemporary pits. In the late medieval period part of large building was uncovered, comprising a robbed wall, fragmentary remains of two clay floors abutting up to it on its eastern and western side. Within/cutting the floors were a hearth and a possible stone latrine feature with the results of a bulk environmental from its backfill supporting the latter interpretation. Further pits were contemporary with this building and some of these contained large quantities of charred plant remains.
After Dissolution there was a reduction in the quantity of features. The western half of the plot was part of the former Barnwell Priory Estate with possibly a farm house directly to the west of the excavation area. Two well-made clunch walled features found in this part of the plot comprising a detached latrine complex which went out of use by the early 17th century, and a well backfilled in the later 18th century. A small post hole backplot structure and a ditch also belonged to this phase. The eastern half was within part of a plot owned by Benet College. In this area was a substantial quarry pit which had been backfilled with a notable assemblage of artefacts including building demolition waste dating to c.AD 1600.
In the post AD 1800 period there was a dramatic increase in the quantity of features found. Remains of five early 19th century buildings were uncovered, two of which had dual use, comprising The Jolly Butchers which was both a butchers and a pub, and the other being both a grocers and a baker. Three domestic buildings were also found, with one surviving in good condition with brick floors, an internal chimney and an outside brick paved courtyard. Three pits dating to the 1820's, probably in the courtyard of the Jolly Butchers, contained notable assemblages especially clay pipe remains which these have been classified as regionally important.
All five buildings seemed to have survived, albeit with some changes, to c.1969 when all were demolished for the widening of Newmarket Road. An industrial building was then constructed within the site.


Most of the references at the end of this review should be year-marked 1991 or 1992, with a few earlier ones if they are relevant to the discussion. Asthma is excluded because its worldwide importance merits a review of its own, and who better to do so than Professor Peter Barnes (see August 1992 issue of Postgrad Med J). This review embraces techniques, Wegener's granulomatosis, occupational lung disease, infections, various pulmonary syndromes, neoplasia, granulomatous disorders and therapeutics. This year, therapeutics highlights the newest immunomodulators which are in use or about to become available. They provide an exciting glimpse ofwhat lies ahead.


Various eye movement metrics were recorded during the visual perception of international traffic signs embedded within an e-learning course designed to familiarize participants with foreign signage. Goals of the were to gauge differences in task types, sign origin, and ethnicity (American, Chinese, and Austrian) as well as effectiveness of the e-learning teaching materials in terms of prior preparation. Results, in contrast to other studies, suggest that teaching materials had no overall effect on either eye movement metrics nor on task success rates. Instead, sign origin had the strongest effect on gaze, as foreign signs in mixed presentation with domestic signs, elicited a larger number of fixations with longer mean fixation durations, highest regression rates, and lower performance scores. Possible effects of ethnicity were also noted: Americans showed lower mean fixation durations over the entire experiment, independent of test conditions, with Chinese participants fixating faster on (correct) road signs than the other ethnic groups.


Both numerical and experimental studies are carried out to investigate the transient heat transfer characteristics of 5kWth dish type solar air receiver. Measured solar radiation and temperatures at several different locations are used as boundary conditions for numerical simulation. Many parameters' effects (reflectivity of the reflector, the thermal conductivity of the receiver body, transmissivity of the quartz window, etc.) on the thermal performance are investigated. Discrete Transfer Method is used to calculate the radiation heat exchange in the receiver. A transient heat transfer model is developed and the rates of radiation, convection and conduction heat transfer are calculated. Comparing the experimental and numerical results, good agreement is obtained. Using the numerical model, the transient heat transfer characteristics of volumetric air receiver for dish-type solar thermal systems are known and the transient thermal performance of the receiver can be estimated.


This article presents the results of a case study of the use of a microblogging tool by a university academic to increase their knowledge and experience of social media for educational purposes. The academic had the role of digital steward in a university and attempted to use microblogging (Twitter) to increase professional contacts within the framework of a community of practice. Several types of data were collected and analysed. These included the structure of the network arising from the links formed with others by microblogging, the similarity of stated interests between the academic and others in the network, and the contents of postings such as their external references. It was found that a personal network had been established, with some of the characteristics of a community of practice. The activity demonstrated the utility of social media in supporting the professional development of academic staff using technology.


Abstract This study aims at investigating and assessing the efficiency of the public procurement system and its main factors in the Republic of Kosovo. For this purpose, we collect data for a random sample of 243 economic operators (companies) eligible to benefit from public funds. We analyzed the data using descriptive analysis as well as econometric modeling, and we have used classical and ordinal logistic (o-logit) econometric models. In the absence of a direct indicator, the efficiency of procurement is measured by two proxy variables, discrimination-tendering criteria and a favor made to specific companies to win tenders, by their average as a third optional variable. Discrimination and favor are found to be present to a large extent, meaning that efficiency is very low. Among the major factors of the low efficiency of public procurement were political intervention, the non-transparency of the procurement process, a lack of capacity to implement procurement legislation and manage contracts, corruption and insufficient knowledge about procurement. Based on these results, important implications would lie in introducing measures for enhancing transparency, improving legislation, recruiting especially qualified staff or providing continuous training for the current procurement staff as well as improving the motivation of the staff to properly implement legislation and manage the procurement contracts.


Background: The article is devoted to the study of clinical and laboratory characteristics of the current of hemorrhagic vasculitis in children in the Republic of Buryatia. Patients and methods: The study included 27 patients aged 7,6±4,02 years, who conducted clinical and laboratory tests, immunological study of antiphospholipids of antibodies, genetic testing for thrombophilia markers of candidate genes. Results: The results showed that hemorrhagic vasculitis often affects children of Buryat nationality. In 96% of cases there are mixed clinical forms of the disease. 63% of children of hemorrhagic vasculitis preceded by various factors, a higher percentage of infectious diseases. The first clinical symptom in 63% of patients is a typical purpura hemorrhagic rash. Results of clinical laboratory blood tests revealed no significant deviations. Circulation of lupus anticoagulant was detected in 37% of subjects . The аCL IgM detected in 3 children, aβ2-GP-I IgA — in 4 , aβ2-GP-I IgM — in 1 patient. Carriers of thrombophilia polymorphisms were in 95% of children. Noted that homozygous variants of genes polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolateredreductase and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 correlate with the presence of urinary symptoms and recurrence of the rash. Conclusion: The study shows the risk of recurrent flow of hemorrhagic vasculitis and nefritis of Henoch–Schonlein in children with thrombophilia gene polymorphism.


Summary Planning support systems, such as geographical information system (GIS) and traffic flow simulation models, are widely in use in recent urban planning research. In this paper we propose a method to apply traffic impact assessment (TIA) to large-scale, commercial developments. In TIA research we often encounter the problem of increasing amount of data that is necessary for detailed investigation and analysis, as the scale of commercial developments become larger and more complex. As a result, TIA presents two problems. The first problem is the difficulty of data acquisition. The second problem is the reliability of data. As a solution, we developed an integrated database system.


Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is a new alternative surgical treatment for aortic pathologies, which is more minimally invasive. The aim of current study was to summarize the single-center experience of general anesthesia for patients undergoing TEVAR. In adult patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease, the strategy of "fast-track" anesthesia with early extubation in theater is associated with a shorter intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and lower health-care-related costs. Fast-track anesthesia has not been assessed in patients under TEVAR. Adult patients who received general anesthesia for TEVAR in our center from January 2020 to December 2020 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. A total of 204 (171 male, mean age 58.1 ± 11.5 years) patients met inclusion criteria for this study. The distribution of pathologies included 29 descending thoracic aneurysms, 87 type B dissections, and 88 intramural hematoma/perforating aortic ulcer. Etomidate was the induction agent in 190 (93.1%) patients, compared with propofol in 16 (7.8%). Cisatracurium was the muscle relaxant in 201 (98.5%), compared with rocuronium in 3 (1.5%). Midazolam (benzodiazepines) was given to 124 (60.8%) patients during anesthesia induction. General anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane in 85.3% (174) patients, dexmedetomidine in 201 (98.5%) and propofol in 204 (100%). Postoperative length of stay (LOS) in the hospital was 6.0 (5.0–7.8) days. LOS in the ICU was 23.0 (20.0–27.8) hours. Overall neurologic event rate was 2.0% (n = 4) (spinal cord ischemia 1.5% [n = 3]; stroke 0.5% [n = 1]). After matching, patients who received "fast-track" anesthesia had a shorter LOS in ICUs (21.0 [18.0–24.0] vs 24.0 [20.0–44.0] hours; P = .005), and a shorter postoperative LOS in hospital (5.0 [4.0–7.0] vs 6.0 [5.0–8.0] days; P = .001). There were no in-hospital deaths. Fast-track anesthesia is feasible and safe in patients underwent TEVAR. This management strategy is associated with shorter LOS of ICU and total postoperative hospital stays. An early extubation strategy should be implemented for hemodynamically stable patients.


The Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) system plays an important role in cellular apoptosis and is involved in cancer cell death induced by the immune system and anticancer drugs. Increased serum levels of soluble Fas (sFas) are associated with a number of different disease states and with tumor progression and metastasis in patients. In this study, we examined the plasma levels of sFas in 94 women with metastatic breast cancer undergoing high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) treatment with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) using a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Thirty-one patients (31/94, 33%) had plasma sFas levels greater than the optimum cut point of 1.90 ng/ml (median 2.47, range 1.98-13.54 ng/ml) and were designated as sFas positive. Sixty-three patients (63/94, 67%) had sFas levels below 1.90 ng/ml (median 1.14, range 0.47-1.89 ng/ml). In univariate analysis, patients with sFas-positive status, HER-2 overexpression, and the presence of liver metastases had a significantly shorter time to disease progression (PFS) and significantly decreased overall survival (OS). Multivariable analysis (Cox proportional hazards model) for PFS determined that sFas status significantly predicted disease progression (p = 0.004) with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 2.0 (95% CI, 1.3-3.3). HER-2 status and liver metastases were also significant independent predictors of disease progression (p < 0.001) for both. sFas level was also an independent prognostic factor for OS with an adjusted HR of 2.0 (p = 0.006; 95% CI, 1.2-3.4). HER-2 status and liver metastases also remained highly significant independent prognostic factors for OS (HER-2: p < 0.001, HR 2.3, and liver metastases: p = 0.001, HR 2.7). In conclusion, these results suggest that plasma levels of sFas may be a valuable clinical prognostic factor in predicting outcome (PFS and OS) for patients with metastatic breast cancer undergoing HDCT with ASCT.


The subjects are a group of bilingual pupils in 3rd grade. They live in an area dominated by Norwegian, but their parents have chosen Sámi as their first language in school. The pupils communicate in Sámi with one or both parents, the teacher, classmates during lessons, and in some cases other family members. In play, both in their neighbourhood and school, the children use Norwegian. Earlier research has showed that bilingualism for some groups has a positive effect on education, for other a negative effect. The motivation for this study is to describe the language environment and the pupils' reading competence in the context described above. The most of the children manage decoding rather well, and the decoding mistakes are of the same types in both languages. There is a connection between decoding proficiency and understanding of the text, but this is complex. The reading comprehension for all the children was at least twice as good for Norwegian texts compared with Sámi texts, for some of the children more than three times better. There was a clear connection between the children's language environment and their comprehension of the texts from school books written for the class level.


In the present work, we prepared cellulose microbeads by dissolving it in a mixture of 7 wt% NaOH and 12 wt% urea aqueous solutions and coagulating in hydrochloric acid medium. To the mixture of NaOH and urea, different concentrations of ZnO were added to study the effect on physical and morphological properties of the prepared beads using different analytical techniques like, FT-IR, TGA, BET isotherm and scanning electron microscopy. It has been observed that cellulose beads prepared with lower concentrations of ZnO show shrinkage while drying, whereas cellulose beads prepared with higher concentrations of ZnO do not exhibit much shrinkage. Overall, the size of dried cellulose beads was found to be in the range of 2-2.5 mm. The skeletal density of all the dried cellulose beads was calculated as 1.5 g/cm3. FT-IR spectra reveal that the structure of cellulose I transformed as cellulose II during the dissolution and regeneration process. The beads prepared with NaOH/urea/ZnO aqueous solution exhibit better thermal stability. Cellulose beads prepared with 0.5 wt% ZnO show higher surface area of 407 m2/g with large porosity (94%) and increased pore volume of 1.56 cm3/g compared to control cellulose beads (1.48 cm3/g). SEM images show that all the beads exhibit good spherical shape and further evidence that dense fibrillary nano network structure was formed in the interior of the cellulose beads prepared with 0.5 wt% ZnO. All the results indicate that the bulk density, surface area, pore volume and pore size of the cellulose beads could be tuned by changing the concentration of ZnO.


Growth-limiting stresses in bacteria induce the general stress response to protect the cells against future stresses. Energy stress caused by starvation conditions in Bacillus subtilis is transmitted to the B transcription factor by stress-response regulators. RsbP, a positive regulator, is a phosphatase containing a PAS (Per-ARNT-Sim) domain and requires catalytic function of a putative / hydrolase, RsbQ, to be activated. These two proteins have been found to interact with each other. We determined the crystal structures of RsbQ in native and inhibitor-bound forms to investigate why RsbP requires RsbQ. These structures confirm that RsbQ belongs to the / hydrolase superfamily. Since the catalytic triad is buried inside the molecule due to the closed conformation, the active site is constructed as a hydrophobic cavity that is nearly isolated from the solvent. This suggests that RsbQ has specificity for a hydrophobic small compound rather than a macromolecule such as RsbP. Moreover, structural comparison with other / hydrolases demonstrates that a unique loop region of RsbQ is a likely candidate for the interaction site with RsbP, and the interaction might be responsible for product release by operating the hydrophobic gate equipped between the cavity and the solvent. Our results support the possibility that RsbQ provides a cofactor molecule for the mature functionality of RsbP.


Mesoporous silica particles with high loadings of Al (Si/Al molar ratio 20 to 2) and Zr (Si/Zr molar ratio 37 to 5) were synthesized by evaporation induced self assembly (EISA) using an aerosol route. The aerosol synthesis process allows us to produce mesoporous silica particles with a high loading of heteroelements (Al or Zr) while retaining uniformity of composition and an ordered pore structure. 27Al NMR TRAPDOR experiments indicate that Al is in close proximity to Si, within the mesoporous silica structure. The submicron particles are spherical and consist of interconnected, hexagonally ordered domains of pores. The hydrothermal stability of these composite mesoporous silica particles was tested in 10 mol% water vapor at various temperatures (500 °C to 750 °C) and also in boiling water. Pure mesoporous silica particles were not stable under hydrothermal treatment and their surface area dropped from 1300 m2 g−1 to 300 m2 g−1 after treatment at 750 °C in steam. In contrast, the aluminium and zirconium containing powders retained a surface area of 800 m2 g−1 after similar treatment. The improvement in hydrothermal stability was found to be dependent on Al and Zr content. The three-dimensional interconnected network of pores, higher loading of heteroelement and their hydrothermal stability, make these spherical particles attractive as adsorbents and as supports for heterogeneous catalysts.


ABSTRACT The Chinese Radical Assembly Game (CRAG) is an online platform that assesses the lexical competence. In which, individuals select different Chinese radicals to combine them and form a legitimate character. This concept is similar to that of creative synthesis. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether the CRAG response process involves creativity through eye-tracking technologies and behavior scales. In Experiment 1, the eye movements of 40 participants in the CRAG process were tracked with an eye tracker, after which the average fixation duration (AFD) and average fixation count (AFC) were calculated. Additionally, we analyzed the correlation among AFD, AFC and participants' radical assembly performance. In Experiment 2, 75 participants of CRAG and the Chinese Remote Associates Test (CRAT) were collected to analyze the correlation between their CRAG and CRAT performance. The results indicate that individuals' saccades of different Chinese radicals per unit of time contributed to the accuracy of radical combination. Long fixation durations on certain Chinese radicals reduced the accuracy of radical combinations. The accuracy rates of the CRAG and CRAT correlated positively. This study presents the cognitive process in the CRAG based on implicit and explicit evidence.


This type of descriptive qualitative research, which aims to find out and analyze how Rurals Banks (Rurals Bank) who face challenges in the form of competition from non-bank financial institutions and commercial banks engaged in micro and Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) No 5 / POJK.03 / 2015 regarding the requirement for minimum capital supply. Respondents from the study
were Managing Directors of Rurals Bank from four districts and cities, namely: Sidoarjo, Krian, Gresik and Surabaya. The results of in-depth interviews are known, in the face of challenges used: 1) branding strategies to build a positive image; 2) institutional strengthening and internal reform through: overcoming capital through mergers or inviting new investors; improve governance because success does not depend on the size of the business but depends on the speed in anticipating change;
improve the quality of human resources with integrity where thoughts and speech must be the same, and the last to make products and services that are more varied, Ninety-nine percent are the same as competitors but one percent must be different from looking at niche markets


ABSTRACT There is a lack of validated measures for assessing self-awareness of deficits after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). The current study aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Paediatric Awareness Questionnaire (PAQ), and investigate factors related to self-awareness. The PAQ was administered to 32 children aged 8–16 years with mild to severe TBI (72% male, M age = 11.75, SD = 2.9), their parents, and treating clinicians, and to 32 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls and their parents. Children with TBI and their parents also completed the Knowledge of Injury Checklist (KIC), and parents completed the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21. The PAQ was found to have fair to excellent (α = .79–.97) internal consistency for all versions across both groups and good concordance between parent and clinician total scores (ICC = .78). There was also evidence of convergent validity between the PAQ and KIC for both child (r = −.45, p < .05) and parent ratings (r = −.66, p < .001). Poorer self-awareness was significantly related to younger age at injury for the TBI group and lower parental education for the total sample. ANCOVA identified that children with TBI demonstrated significantly poorer awareness than controls after controlling for parental education. Children with TBI typically overestimated their functioning compared to their parents, whereas typically developing children tended to rate their functioning lower than their parents. These findings provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the PAQ for assessing self-awareness after pediatric TBI.


Ursolic acid (UA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid extracted from various plants, inhibits cell growth, metastasis, and tumorigenesis in various cancers. Chemotherapy resistance and the side effects of paclitaxel (PTX), a traditional chemotherapy reagent, have limited the curative effect of PTX in esophageal cancer. In this study, we investigate whether UA promotes the anti-tumor effect of PTX and explore the underlying mechanism of their combined effect in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Combination treatment with UA and PTX inhibited cell proliferation and cell growth more effectively than either treatment alone by inducing more significant apoptosis, as indicated by increased sub-G1 phase distribution and protein levels of cleaved-PARP and cleaved caspase-9. Similar to the cell growth suppressive effect, the combination of UA and PTX significantly inhibited cell migration by targeting uPA, MMP-9, and E-cadherin in ESCC cells. In addition, combination treatment with UA and PTX significantly activated p-GSK-3β and suppressed the activation of Akt and FOXM1 in ESCC cells. Those effects were enhanced by the Akt inhibitor LY2940002 and inverted by the Akt agonist SC79. In an in vivo evaluation of a murine xenograft model of esophageal cancer, combination treatment with UA and PTX suppressed tumor growth significantly better than UA or PTX treatment alone. Thus, UA effectively potentiates the anti-tumor efficacy of PTX by targeting the Akt/FOXM1 cascade since combination treatment shows significantly more anti-tumor potential than PTX alone both in vitro and in vivo. Combination treatment with UA and PTX could be a new strategy for curing esophageal cancer patients.


A compact and robust grating-based monolithic optical pulse compressor is proposed. By integrating diffraction gratings onto opposite surfaces of a solid fused-silica block whose index of refraction is larger than that of air, one reduces the effective physical optical path length and hence the requisite longitudinal separation between the gratings. Furthermore, appropriate distributed Bragg reflectors coated on the two transverse surfaces of the block are used to fold the physical distance diffracted light travels between the gratings; this is accomplished by multiple reflections within the block before the beam impinges on the second grating. Ultimately, the combined effects of the Bragg reflectors and the optically dense solid block contribute to reducing the physical volume of the compressor. Two approaches for analyzing the function of the proposed compressor are presented. Parameters from a conventional compressor are used to validate the method for a comparative calculation of the volumes of the new and conventional compressor system.


The main objective of this thesis was to evaluate and monitor the morphological response following treatment interventions in patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy by using different MRI techniques. For this purpose, we investigated different types of sequences, including gadolinium contrast medium‐enhanced T1‐WI images (CME T1‐WI), and developed a precise method to measure tendon volume and mean intratendinous signal of the Achilles tendon. Study I aimed at evaluating 15 patients with chronic, painful Achilles tendinosis, before and 2 years after surgical treatment. There was marked regression of the intratendinous signal postoperatively. The most sensitive sequence for depicting an intratendinous lesion in this study was CME T1‐WI images. They showed a regression of the intratendinous signal abnormality from 13/15 patients preoperatively to 4/15 postoperatively. The clinical outcome was excellent in eight, good in five, fair in one and poor in one patient. In study II, the early contrast agent enhancement in the dynamically enhanced MRI signal (DEMRI) was correlated with the histopathologic findings in 15 patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy. Early contrast enhancement (within the first 72 s) was seen in DEMRI in the symptomatic Achilles tendons, with a significant difference compared to the asymptomatic contralateral tendons. Increased severity of tendon changes, including fiber structure abnormality, increased vascularity, rounding of nuclei, and increased amount of glycosaminoglycans, correlated to CME. In study III, we developed a computerized 3‐D seed‐growing MRI technique to measure tendon volume and mean intratendinous signal. This technique showed an excellent inter‐ and intra‐observer reliability. The technique was also used to follow up prospectively the tendon adaptation and healing described in studies IV–VI. In study IV, using serial MRI during a period of 1 year, we evaluated the biological effect of tendon repair following iatrogenic tendon injury by five transversal ultrasound‐guided core biopsies employing a needle technique in chronic Achilles tendinopathy. Alterations found during healing, such as tendon volume and intratendinous reactive changes, could be monitored by MR imaging, and subsided as noted in the 7‐ and 12‐month follow‐ups. In study V, we evaluated the effect of treatment with a 3‐month, daily performed, heavy‐loaded calf‐muscle strength training program in 25 patients who had been suffering from chronic, painful Achilles tendinopathy. Tendon volume decreased by 14%, and the mean intratendinous signal by 23%. The clinical outcome was improved. In study VI, we revealed tendon adaptation immediately following calf‐muscle strength training. An MRI examination within 30 min of the performed exercises resulted in increased total tendon volume (12%) and mean intratendinous signal (31%). Conclusion: MRI techniques can be used as an adjunct to clinical evaluation by monitoring morphological effects following different treatment interventions, thereby adding evidence in clinical studies on patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy.


The codified texts of Ayurveda were composed in the few centuries preceding and succeeding the common era. This period marked the emergence of a rational system of medicine in India from the moorings of religious medicine practiced in the Vedic period. Ayurveda made several advancements in theory and practice of medicine that have not yet been recognised as milestones in the history of medical ideas. This paper is an attempt to review the knowledge of pathogenic organisms and their role in diseases based on textual evidences in the early writings on Ayurveda. A careful study of the early writings on Ayurveda reveals that these ancient physicians were aware of not only pathogenic organisms but also non-pathogenic organisms that naturally inhabited the human body. Pathogenic organisms mentioned in Ayurveda include parasite, worms and perhaps microbes also. These texts provide insights on early notions and ideas about the nature of pathogenic organisms, some of which are microscopic and their role in diseases. There are also interesting observations on communicable diseases, epidemics and infection. Many plants and formulations mentioned in the classical Ayurvedic texts have been found to be effective against pathogenic organisms including microbes.


One hundred and seventy-eight lower extremity amputations performed on 103 diabetic patients were reviewed. Although the healing rate for the above-the-knee amputation was higher, the probability of prosthetic use and ambulation was greater with the mid-leg amputation, particularly if the patient required bilateral amputation. Late breakdown of the mid-leg stump, once healing had occurred, was not a significant problem. We feel that the proper amputation level is bestdetermined by the skin temperature and appearance at the proposed amputation site rather than rigid reliance on the presence of pulses, oscillometry, or arteriography and that every effort should be directed to retaining a functioning knee.


Abstract
 Species distribution patterns are determined not only by habitat preferences but also by biotic factors. Particularly, the presence of conspecifics may yield different types of benefits and costs for the individuals involved. This study analyses the spatial distribution of Little Bustard families during the breeding season in relation to the distribution of male core areas in three Spanish populations of the species. A compositional analysis is used to evaluate habitat selection and the habitat types most preferred by females with offspring. Spatial analyses were performed to evaluate the proximity of Little Bustard families to male core areas and male displaying sites. The habitat selection pattern was similar between regions, with semi-permanent vegetation and stubbles as most preferred habitats while others, such as ploughed land, were avoided. Families were located closer to male core areas than expected by chance and were spatially associated to male displaying sites. Little Bustard females may obtain different benefits from this spatial association such as access to more food resources and chances for second matings after a clutch loss. Also in stubbles, the capture of prey by chicks would be easier and semi-permanent habitats would serve as shelter. These results highlight the importance of intraspecific interactions in the definition of the habitat selection pattern of females and families. This study shows how spatial point pattern analysis may be a useful tool for integrating landscape and behavioural ecology.


The aim of the study was to ascertain how the concepts of rare book, valuable book and old book functioned in the book culture of Soviet Lithuania. Two standpoints have been adopted as a basis for revealing the peculiarities of the conception and usage of these concepts: 1) the conception of Lithuanian bibliophily in the occupation period; 2) the practical work of bibliographers, librarians and researchers in preparing the national retrospective bibliography. Officially, there were two dominant attitudes towards bibliophily in Soviet Lithuania. In the broad sense, traditions of elite bibliophily, developed in Lithuania in the interwar period, were rejected, and the strained interpretation of bibliophily as mass / socialistic / real bibliophily came into use, which was the merest liking of books, or a hobby (positive view); bibliophily itself in the narrow sense was interpreted as collecting rare and valuable books and identified with bibliomania or elite bibliophily (negative view). In the latter case, the concepts of rare book and valuable book first of all were identified with old and expensive books; in case of mass bibliophily, these concepts meant deficit of books, which emerged because of an increasing demand for new books. It should be noted that the concepts of rare book, valuable book and old book were not analyzed on the theoretical level, and the classification of old Lithuanian books in the occupation period was not applied, either. Such concepts as a rarity or very rare book were used only as synonyms of the concept of rare book. The concepts of rare book, valuable book and old book were used by bibliographers most often alternately, i.e. an old book was named in the same breath as a rare and valuable book. The sore point was the periodization of the retrospective bibliography Books in Lithuanian among bibliographers. According to the archival material, the following dates of the end of the old rare Lithuanian book were suggested: 1) 1800, 2) 1825, 3) 1861, and 4) 1863. The year 1861 was chosen as the date related to the manifest on the abolition of serfdom, promulgated by the tzarist Russia in that year.


It is pointed out that a common practice in the evaluation of large fault trees is to truncate the computation by neglecting high-order or low-probability cutsets. A major disadvantage of most simple truncation methods, however, is that their accuracy is indeterminate because they do not establish rigorous bounds on the combined probability of the neglected cutsets. A truncated with residuals algorithm is presented. It uses probability-based truncation and determines a rigorous upper bound on each event-probability by propagating the effect of all the truncated cutsets in the form of numeric residuals. The method applies only to fault trees constructed entirely of AND and OR gates and allows unrestricted use of repeated events. >


What informs members of the church community as they learn? Do the ways people engage with information differ according to the circumstances in which they learn? Informed learning, or the ways in which people use information in the learning experience and the degree to which they are aware of that, has become a focus of contemporary information literacy research. This essay explores the nature of informed learning in the context of the church as a learning community. It is anticipated that insights resulting from this exploration may help church organisations, church leaders and lay people to consider how information can be used to grow faith, develop relationships, manage the church and respond to religious knowledge, which support the pursuit of spiritual wellness and the cultivation of lifelong learning. Information professionals within the church community and the broader information profession are encouraged to foster their awareness of the impact that engagement with information has in the learning experience and in the prioritising of lifelong learning in community contexts.


Researchers have been searching for molecular features that could make avian H5N1 influenza transmissible among people since the first report of human infections with this virus in 1997. A recent study surprisingly demonstrated that only five mutations, fewer than previously estimated, are needed to make avian H5N1 influenza transmissible between ferrets through the air, raising fears that a human pandemic is possible if this virus escapes from the lab. Of the five mutations found, four of them are located in the HA gene that is responsible for the viral entry into the host cells. A crucial step for avian influenza to go across the species boundary to infect humans is the switch of its receptor binding specificity from avian to human types. The first task of this study was to quantify the individual as well as the collective effect of the known HA mutations from the previous research on receptor binding selection. Our second task was to identify new combinations of HA mutations that could change the receptor binding preference of H5N1 from avian to human types. Our findings thus deepened our understanding of the previous research and also extended its results by discovering new combinations of mutations that could enhance the binding of avian H5N1 to human type receptors while reduce that to avian types.


My partner and collaborator Callaway Fox and I use queer surrealist installation, craft practices, and performance in order to address queer and disabled temporality, articulating our experiences as disabled queer femme artists through abstracted and literal exploration of femme bodies in space. In performance and installation works Hospital Performance: Part I and Hospital Performance: Part II, we responded to our experience of marginalization, medical malpractice, and emotional isolation, ultimately exploring queer and disabled temporality through queer surrealism. Hand-poured scented candles became metaphors for queer and disabled bodies, and along with other craft practices used in this work, are a part of a larger context of queer femme appropriation of craft and femme aesthetics. Medical equipment served as witnesses to trauma, and we reclaimed these objects as a way to come to terms with the severity of my illness and its treatment. Through performance, we blended reality with elements of femme camp and drag, using our bodies as direct evidence of our experiences. Influenced by contemporary queer artists Caitlin Rose Sweet, Mars Hobrecker, Leah James, and Mindy Rose Schwartz, as well as the historical queer surrealist precedent of Frida Kahlo, we are interested in continuing to explore the intersectionality of our identities and the strength of queer femmeness through installation and performance work.


What is the relationship between recognizing objects and drawing objects? We examine the possibility that both functions are supported by a common internal representation. First, we show that a model of ventral visual cortex only optimized to recognize objects in photographs generalizes to drawings of objects, suggesting that the capacity for visual abstraction is rooted in the functional architecture of the visual system. Next, we tested whether practice drawing objects might alter how those and other objects are represented. On each trial, participants sketched an object. The model then guessed the identity of the sketched object, providing realtime feedback. We found that repeatedly sketched objects were better recognized after training, while sketches of unpracticed but similar objects worsened. These results show that visual production can reshape the representational space for objects: by differentiating trained objects and merging other nearby objects in the space.


Reintegration of Former Soldiers of the Haitian Armed Forces

NIXON MOMBRUN CAMILIEN
Department of Criminology, Law and Justice
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois (2012)

Chair: John Hagedorn

This is a study about problems with the reintegration of former soldiers of the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd'H). In dialogue with the relevant literature, I applied three variables measuring reintegration through interviews to a sample of 32 former FAd'H soldiers, namely 1) employment status, 2) ties to former commanders, and 3) stake in the political process. I also used written documents and informal conversations to enhance the analysis. The research found that FAd'H did not embrace demobilization and reintegration; instead, they advocate and pursue remobilization more for economic than ideological reasons. There exist networks of communication that allows FAd'H soldiers to maintain a military identity and sustain hope of resuming their military career. In addition, the demobilization and reintegration program (DRP) that was implemented to facilitate the reintegration of soldiers as civilians was at best ineffective for the long term reintegration of demobilized FAd'H soldiers. This failure of the DRP to have a long term positive impact raises serious questions about theories and implementation of Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration (DDR).
In the end, this research establishes that the government should officially retire all FAd'H with a financial settlement and a legally binding agreement. This would address the grievances of demobilized soldiers and cut the risk of spoilage activities by taking away the legitimacy of their grievances. Then, the constitutional issue must be addressed by either amending the constitution (Article 276-2) to abolish FAd'H or by recruiting a new generation of soldiers. This would delegitimize any future use of the name of FAd'H by illegal armed groups.


Independent analysis of police, fire, and ambulance calls for service demonstrates common patterns in emergency service activity. Targeted, place-focused interventions have been demonstrated to prevent future problems for emergency services. This research builds on these findings to examine the spatial and temporal intersection of police, fire, and ambulance incidents to explore the potential utility of enhanced collaboration between emergency-first responders. Using police and fire data from Surrey, BC, Canada, from 2011 to 2013, spatial and temporal patterns of police-, fire-, and ambulance-related incidents were examined. Initial analyses demonstrate that 36% of the City's area experienced 72% of incidents responded to over this 3-year study period. Focusing on this high-volume area, the spatial and temporal intersection of these incident types was explored. Spatially, lattices of varying cell sizes (250 m, 500 m, and 1,000 m) were placed over the study area. Temporally, incident volume was examined across the entire 3-year study period, and at yearly and monthly intervals. Incidents were placed within these spatial and temporal frameworks and visual inspection was utilized to assess the convergence of service demand. Regardless of the cell grid size, police, fire, and ambulance incidents were spatially and temporally concentrated, with the top 10% of cells accounting for approximately 50% of all incidents across all services. Furthermore, there was considerable spatio-temporal convergence in cells which account for the top decile of call volume for all incident types. A 2 × 2 typology is proposed to classify locations (in this case grid cells) based on (1) the frequency at which they generate high demand for services (sporadic versus persistent), and (2) the combination of agencies required to respond to high demand problems (single versus convergent). The spatial and temporal convergence of emergency service problems observed in this study suggests that an interagency approach to problem identification will enhance problem analysis processes. Working in conjunction with established problem-focused intervention strategies (such as problem-oriented policing), the volume-service typology provides a framework that can contribute to the development of appropriate problem-responses. This, we hope, will support emerging efforts to increase the extent to which emergency-first responder agencies collaborate to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and reduce harm.


The authors show that economic development increases the probability that a country will undergo a transition to democracy. These results contradict the finding of Przeworski and his associates, that development causes democracy to last but not to come into existence in the first place. By dealing adequately with problems of sample selection and model specification, the authors discover that economic growth does cause nondemocraciesto democratize. They show that the effect of economic development on the probability of a transition to democracy in the hundred years between the mid-nineteenth century and World War II was substantial, indeed, even stronger than its effect on democratic stability.They also show that, in more recent decades, some countries that developed but remained dictatorships would, because of their development, be expected to democratize in as few as three years after achieving a per capita income of $12,000 per capita.


Centurion is an expendable heavy lift launch vehicle (HLLV) family for launching lunar exploration missions. Each vehicle in the family is built around a common two-stage core. The first stage of the core uses kerosene (RP-1) fuel and utilizes four staged-combustion RD- 180 rocket engines. The upper stages consist of liquid oxygen (LOX)/liquid hydrogen (LH2) propellant with three 220,000 lb thrust-class expander rocket engines. The larger variants in the Centurion family will also use either one or two pairs of five-segment solid rocket motors which are now being developed by ATK Thiokol. The Centurion family consists of three vehicles denoted as C-1, C-2, and C-3. The first vehicle (C-1) is a four RD-180 core with a LOX/LH2 upper stage. The C-1 is designed to deliver a 35 metric ton (MT) CEV to a 300 km X 1000 km highly elliptical orbit (HEO). This HEO allows the CEV to more easily transfer to a lunar trajectory, while still having the ability to abort after one revolution. The C-1 also is designed to meet mission requirements with a failure of both one RD-180 and one upper stage engine. The C-2 and C-3 Centurions are both cargo carrying variants which carry 100 MT and 142 MT of cargo to a 407 km low earth orbit (LEO) respectively. The C-2 utilizes two five-segment solid rocket boosters (SRB), while the C-3 uses four SRBs. Details of the conceptual design process used for Centurion are included in this paper. The disciplines used in the design include configuration, aerodynamics, propulsion design and selection, trajectory, mass properties, structural design, aeroheating and thermal protection systems (TPS), cost, operations, and reliability and safety. Each of these disciplines was computed using a conceptual design tool similar to that used in industry. These disciplines were then combined into an integrated design team process and used to minimize the gross weight of the C-1 variant. The C-2 and C-3 variants were simulated using the C-1 optimized core with different configurations of SRBs. Each of the variants recurring and non-recurring costs were computed. The total development cost including the design, development, testing and evaluation (DDT&E) cost and a new launch pad at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), was $7.98 B FY'04. The theoretical first unit (TFU) cost for the C-2 variant was $532 M FY'04. A summary of design disciplines as well as the economic results are included.


Four antiamoebic drugs currently used in many Kenyan hospitals and health centres were compared for their efficacy on symptomatic luminal amoebiasis in Kiambu, Kilifi, and Machakos hospitals during this study. The drugs were; the brand metronidazole (Flagyl, May & Baker, Kenya Ltd.), the generic metronidazole (Metrozol, Cosmos Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya), the brand tinidazole (Fasigyn, Pfizer Laboratories Ltd.) and the generic tinidazole (Tynazole Laboratory and Allied Equipments, Kenya Ltd). Clinical cure was achieved in all individuals receiving any of the four drugs. Parasitological cure was better for those receiving either Flagyl or Fasigyn, than those receiving the generic counterparts. Both parasitological and clinical cures were achieved in about 50% of all those who received either Flagyl or Fasigyn. It appears that Flagyl and Fasigyn are not as efficacious as previously reported but are still much better than their generic counterparts for the treatment of symptomatic Entamoeba histolytica infections.


In this paper, the author intended to analize the mechanism of acceleration in the growth of Brown-Pearce Tumor (BPT) after splenectomy, described in my previous paper. Considering the intimate relationship between spleen and reticuloendothelial system (RES), author followed up the function of RES in BPT bearing rabbits and examined the influences of splenectomy upon them. The phagocytability of RES detemined by use of Adler-Reimann's Congored Test and the ability of antibody formation was estimated from the value of haemoagglutinin (HA), formed after the intravenous injection of 5% physiologic saline solution of healthy O-type human red blood cells, of 3cc per 1 Kg of body weight, into rabbit, 3 or 5 days after the transplantation. The result revealed as follows; 1) The phagocytability of rabbit was not disturbed by the implantation of BPT into the testicle and by continuous localized growth of tumor tissue, but in accordance with the beginning stadium of remote metastasis, an impairement of this function appeared gradually. 2) It was the noticeable fact that the marked deterioration of HA formation in BPT bearing rabbit occurred from such early stage of transplantation as the tumor was hardly palpable in the testicle. And that this phenomen was not due to the tissue transplantation was proved by the experimental results showing no decrease in HA formation after the implantation of the liver homogenate into a testicle of normal rabbit. 3) The fluctuation of increase in serum γ-globulin level accompanied with HA formation went parallel with values of HA in seruem. This suggested that the lowering of haemoagglutination did not depend upon the inhibition by such substance in serum as mucoprotein, but upon the poor formation of HA itself. 4) In BPT bearing rabbit, although the phagocytability was not influence by splenectomy, but the deterioration of HA formation ability showed further increase in its grade by splenectomy. 5) From the results described above, the author presumed that this marked deterioration of HA formation ability in BPT bearing rabbit was specific for the existence of growing tumor tissue, and was due not to the exhaustion of the function of RES, but probably to the preceding formation of antibody against the tumor tissue in RES, aud, in this point of view, splenectomy would give an influence upon the tumor growth as a sequela of an influence upon the fuction of RES.


We show that the highly excited rovibrational spectra of a diatomic molecule and the closely related slow atomic collision processes contain more systematics and require less parameters to characterize than the Rydberg spectrum of an atom. In the case of a single channel, for example, we show that a single short-range parameter gives a complete description of slow collisions for practically all angular momenta, and covers an energy range of hundreds of millikelvins. The same parameter also describes the highly excited rovibrational spectra in the threshold region, including states of different angular momenta. Sample applications and predictions of the theory are discussed, including comparisons with experiment. PACS number(s): 34.10.+x,33.20.Vq,32.80.Pj Typeset using REVTEX


In early 2007 the African National Congress majority within the local government authority of Durban, South Africa, approved two phases of a street renaming process, which culminated in the renaming of over one hundred prominent streets after various anticolonial and antiapartheid 'struggle heroes'. The process led to an unprecedented degree of public attention and debate, expressed through a range of arguments and symbolic gestures, and local state representatives responded by casting this opposition in terms of 'countertransformation'. This paper examines the Durban case with a critical analytical perspective that sees acts of place naming through the heuristic frames of 'text', 'arena', and 'performance', drawing attention to the complex spatial and material dynamics that attend acts of symbolic transformation and resistance. It contributes to theoretical discussions surrounding "naming as symbolic resistance", by arguing that a performative conception of symbolic capital and resistance may aid our understanding of naming processes in contested memorial landscapes.


Hypertension is a common problem among patients with glomerular disease and CKD. Optimal blood pressure targets for these patients have been the source of much debate. Careful review of the available data supports a blood pressure target of less than 140/90 mmHg. Consideration for a lower goal of less than 130/80 mmHg should be given for patients with heavy proteinuria. Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors should be used as the cornerstone of therapy for all patients with glomerular disease and CKD.


P‐to‐S receiver functions (PRFs) from the Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET) GPS and seismic leg of POLENET spanning West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains deployment of seismographic stations provide new estimates of crustal thickness across West Antarctica, including the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS), Marie Byrd Land (MBL) dome, and the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) margin. We show that complications arising from ice sheet multiples can be effectively managed and further information concerning low‐velocity subglacial sediment thickness may be determined, via top‐down utilization of synthetic receiver function models. We combine shallow structure constraints with the response of deeper layers using a regularized Markov chain Monte Carlo methodology to constrain bulk crustal properties. Crustal thickness estimates range from 17.0±4 km at Fishtail Point in the western WARS to 45±5 km at Lonewolf Nunataks in the TAM. Symmetric regions of crustal thinning observed in a transect deployment across the West Antarctic Ice Sheet correlate with deep subice basins, consistent with pure shear crustal necking under past localized extension. Subglacial sediment deposit thicknesses generally correlate with trough/dome expectations, with the thickest inferred subice low‐velocity sediment estimated as ∼0.4 km within the Bentley Subglacial Trench. Inverted PRFs from this study and other published crustal estimates are combined with ambient noise surface wave constraints to generate a crustal thickness map for West Antarctica south of 75°S. Observations are consistent with isostatic crustal compensation across the central WARS but indicate significant mantle compensation across the TAM, Ellsworth Block, MBL dome, and eastern and western sectors of thinnest WARS crust, consistent with low density and likely dynamic, low‐viscosity high‐temperature mantle.


Thiolate-protected platinum nanoparticles have become promising for applications in heterogeneous catalysis and the fabrication of new materials for hydrogen storage. Once nanoparticles have been synthesized and conveniently grafted onto a particular support, thiol removal might be required before its use. Here, thiolate and sulfur electrodesorption from nanoparticle and planar platinum surfaces are comparatively studied by combining ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical techniques. We show that alkanethiolates and sulfur adsorbed on Pt surfaces are more stable against reductive desorption than these species on Au substrates. Furthermore, for short-chain thiol-capped platinum nanoparticles we observe complete removal of sulfur-containing species. Hence, these results make this procedure suitable for its use in electrocatalysis. As an example, we demonstrate that 2 nm thiomalic acid-protected platinum nanoparticles markedly improve the performance of a hydrogen storage alloy ma...


Objective: To determine the cognitive outcome of young children with global developmental delay at primary school entry and to examine the parental preference of primary school placement for these children in Hong Kong. Method: A retrospective cohort study was done in Child Assessment Service of the Department of Health. Cognitive outcomes of children with various degrees of developmental delay at initial diagnosis were reassessed before their primary school entry in the year 2004 and the parental choice of primary school placement was also analysed. Results: 493 children were included in the study. At the initial diagnosis, 60.4% (298) of children were diagnosed to have borderline developmental delay, while 39.6% (195) children were found to have significant developmental delay reaching mental retardation (MR) level. At pre-primary reassessment, among those children with borderline delay, 42.0% (125) were found to have normal intelligence (IQ); 26.9% (80) were found to have limited IQ; while 31.1% (93) were found to have MR. On the other hand, among those with significant developmental delay, 81.0% (158) were found to have MR, while only 9.2% (18) and 9.8% (19) were found to have limited and normal IQ respectively. Half (49.0%) of the parents with children of limited IQ declined remedial service in mainstream schools; while around 40.0% (37.9%) of the parents with children of MR insisted their children to be integrated into normal schools. Conclusion: Children diagnosed to have borderline developmental delay during the preschool period had nearly half the chance in catching up of cognitive function at the pre-primary school stage. However, if a child had significant delay at initial diagnosis, there was more than 80.0% chance that the child would have cognitive impairment at primary school level. Since a substantial proportion of parents with MR children favored school placement in mainstream schools, the need for providing support to mainstream schoolteachers in managing the educational needs of these children must be addressed.


Introduction Evidence-to-decision (EtD) frameworks intend to ensure that all criteria of relevance to a health decision are systematically considered. This paper, part of a series commissioned by the WHO, reports on the development of an EtD framework that is rooted in WHO norms and values, reflective of the changing global health landscape, and suitable for a range of interventions and complexity features. We also sought to assess the value of this framework to decision-makers at global and national levels, and to facilitate uptake through suggestions on how to prioritise criteria and methods to collect evidence. Methods In an iterative, principles-based approach, we developed the framework structure from WHO norms and values. Preliminary criteria were derived from key documents and supplemented with comprehensive subcriteria obtained through an overview of systematic reviews of criteria employed in health decision-making. We assessed to what extent the framework can accommodate features of complexity, and conducted key informant interviews among WHO guideline developers. Suggestions on methods were drawn from the literature and expert consultation. Results The new WHO-INTEGRATE (INTEGRATe Evidence) framework comprises six substantive criteria—balance of health benefits and harms, human rights and sociocultural acceptability, health equity, equality and non-discrimination, societal implications, financial and economic considerations, and feasibility and health system considerations—and the meta-criterion quality of evidence. It is intended to facilitate a structured process of reflection and discussion in a problem-specific and context-specific manner from the start of a guideline development or other health decision-making process. For each criterion, the framework offers a definition, subcriteria and example questions; it also suggests relevant primary research and evidence synthesis methods and approaches to assessing quality of evidence. Conclusion The framework is deliberately labelled version 1.0. We expect further modifications based on focus group discussions in four countries, example applications and input across concerned disciplines.


Formation mechanisms are fundamental to the study of complex networks, but learning them from observations is challenging. In real-world domains, one often has access only to the final constructed graph, instead of the full construction process, and observed graphs exhibit complex structural properties. In this work, we propose GraphOpt, an end-to-end framework that jointly learns an implicit model of graph structure formation and discovers an underlying optimization mechanism in the form of a latent objective function. The learned objective can serve as an explanation for the observed graph properties, thereby lending itself to transfer across different graphs within a domain. GraphOpt poses link formation in graphs as a sequential decision-making process and solves it using maximum entropy inverse reinforcement learning algorithm. Further, it employs a novel continuous latent action space that aids scalability. Empirically, we demonstrate that GraphOpt discovers a latent objective transferable across graphs with different characteristics. GraphOpt also learns a robust stochastic policy that achieves competitive link prediction performance without being explicitly trained on this task and further enables construction of graphs with properties similar to those of the observed graph.


Energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) offer an opportunity to tremendously scale decarbonization projects, given their paid-from-savings premise. However, prospective customers still question whether ESPC is worth the effort and expense. This study evaluates the savings realization rates of ESPCs compared to direct-funded projects using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) benchmarking data. It compares normalized EUIs from ESPM before and after energy conservation projects implemented via ESPC or direct funding in roughly 450 federal buildings. This documented change, ideally a savings, can then be compared to the estimated savings from the energy conservation initiative in order to generate a rough realization rate. Preliminary results indicate a notably greater savings realization rate for the ESPC buildings (median = 105% of estimated savings) than those that underwent direct-funded projects (median = 46%). Because of a shortage of good quality data and the wide range in results, the difference is only significant at the p < 0.20 level. However, the higher savings realization of ESPCs corroborates the authors' 2014 findings using a different comparison method. With continued soft government funding and regulatory impediments for climate change mitigation in the U.S., financed, paid-from-savings project models (e.g., ESPC, PACE, EaaS and others) certainly merit more attention. This study's results are particularly compelling (and encouraging) given the country's likely reliance on these vehicles to address existing building retrofits.