Understanding and improving how humans adapt to climate change are priorities in our research community, and coastal settlements are good places to study adaptation. Severe storm events and sea‐level rise are threatening coastal communities with increasing levels of flood damage. Because ownership of coastal assets is distributed among many private and public actors, both individual property owners and public officials must take adaptive actions. This paper introduces an integrated agent‐based and hedonic pricing modeling system to simulate coastal real estate market performance under non‐equilibrium conditions that reflect the effects of storm events. The modeling system, which is used for policy analysis, is calibrated to conditions in two towns in Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA, which were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The key findings are that (a) coastal real estate markets capitalize flood risk into property values but this discount diminishes rapidly as time passes between storm events, and (b) there is a distinct equity versus efficiency tradeoff in designing public policies to reduce the cost to society of coastal flooding. Stringent regulation of building practices reduces flood damage but drives away poorer home buyers and owners, whereas informational and incentive‐based policies are fairer but less effective. Hands‐off, market‐based retreat from risky areas is socially costly but allows less wealthy people to remain at the shore, albeit in vulnerable situations. Managed retreat should emphasize improved recreational access to coastal amenities while discouraging people from living there.


Introduction: Both premature ejaculation(PE) and erectile dysfunction(ED) are prevalent sexual health disorders that have been inadequately investigated in Malaysia, a multiethnic and conservative nation.The objective of the study was to study the relationship between PE and ED, and other common mental health issues, i.e. anxiety and depression in Malaysian urban population. Methods: The diagnosis for PE was established by clinical diagnosis using DSM-5 and ISSM definition criteria for PE, whereas a diagnosis of ED was established by the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire. Anxiety and depression levels were detected from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Based on DSM-V and ISSM clinical diagnosis for PE, the prevalence of PE was found to be 25%. Erectile dysfunction (p = 0.035, OR = 3.315, 95% CI 1.088, 10.103) and severe anxiety (p = 0.020, OR = 7.656, 95% CI 1.383, 42.396) significantly predicted presence of PE. Conclusion: There was a strong association between PE and ED and between PE and anxiety. Routine examination for PE in male patients should address the issue and the management of both ED and anxiety among PE patients, especially in an urban Malaysian clinical and medical care setting.


Fitts, Douglas A., Jeannine R. Lane, Elizabeth M. Starbuck, and Chi-Pei Li. Drinking and blood pressure during sodium depletion or ANG II infusion in chronic cholestatic rats. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol. 45): R23–R31, 1999.—After a chronic ligation of the common bile duct (BDL), Long-Evans rats are hypotensive and have elevated saline intake during both sodiumdepleted and nondepleted conditions. We tested whether BDL rats have exaggerated hypotension during sodium depletion or an elevated dipsogenic response to angiotensin II (ANG II) that might help to explain the saline intake. After 4 wk of BDL, rats were hypotensive at baseline and developed exaggerated hypotension during acute furosemide-induced diuresis. Without saline to drink, BDL rats increased water intake during depletion equal to sham-ligated rats. However, with saline solution available at 22 h after sodium depletion, the BDL rats drank more water and saline than did sham-ligated rats. This rapid intake temporarily increased their mean arterial pressure to equal that of sham-ligated rats. Intravenous infusion of ANG II induced equal drinking responses despite reduced pressor responses in the BDL rats relative to sham-ligated rats during both ad libitum and sodiumdepleted conditions. Thus BDL rats have exaggerated hypotension during diuresis, and their hypotension is corrected by drinking an exaggerated volume of saline, but they do not have an increased drinking response to ANG II.


We present a new research task and a dataset to understand human social interactions via computational methods, to ultimately endow machines with the ability to encode and decode a broad channel of social signals humans use. This research direction is essential to make a machine that genuinely communicates with humans, which we call Social Artificial Intelligence. We first formulate the ``social signal prediction'' problem as a way to model the dynamics of social signals exchanged among interacting individuals in a data-driven way. We then present a new 3D motion capture dataset to explore this problem, where the broad spectrum of social signals (3D body, face, and hand motions) are captured in a triadic social interaction scenario. Baseline approaches to predict speaking status, social formation, and body gestures of interacting individuals are presented in the defined social prediction framework.


1. Hepatic lipogenesis in vivo and the activities of enzymes associated with fatty acid synthesis in the liver were studied in rats fed for 21 days on liquid diets containing ethanol. 2. The ethanol-fed rats developed a moderate hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation during this period. When carbohydrate was replaced by ethanol in the diet, the rate of fatty acid synthesis was slower in the ethanol-fed rats on low-, medium- and high-fat diets than in the appropriate controls. However, when the fat/carbohydrate ratio was kept the same in the ethanol-fed and control rats, ethanol had no influence on the rate of fatty acid synthesis. 3. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was lower in the ethanol-fed group. ;Malic' enzyme activity did not change during the ethanol treatment when the fat/carbohydrate ratio was kept unchanged. 4. The ATP citrate lyase activity was lower in the ethanol-fed rats on all diets, whereas acetyl-CoA synthetase activity was independent of the composition of the control diet, but was lower in the ethanol-fed rats, in which the concentration of the active form of pyruvate dehydrogenase was also lower. 5. It is concluded that hepatic fatty acid synthesis does not play any major role in ethanol-induced triacylglycerol accumulation. Careful design of the diets is necessary to reveal the specific effects of ethanol on the enzymes associated with lipogenesis.


This paper describes an innovative regular non-blocking, point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, low latency interconnection network scheme with sliding window connectivity, which allows arbitrary parallelism among large sub-systems. The area overhead of interconnect is only 30% of the chip area which is much smaller as compared to 80% in case of FPGA. The interconnection scheme is partially and dynamically reconfigurable. The configware is reduced 5.6 times by using binary encoding which allows energy efficient dynamic reconfiguration1.


Following a paper given at the 2008 Architectural Humanities Research Association (AHRA) 'Agency' conference, Goodbun was invited to submit a paper to the peer-reviewed international AHRA online architectural journal 'Field'. The paper was accepted for publication in the fourth issue of the journal, which was on 'ecology'. The published paper is a synopsis of key aspects of his PhD research, which informed his contribution to the SCIBE research project and the AD 'Scarcity' publication. This paper was the first publication of much of his thinking with regard to this material, and is referenced in recent PhDs (eg Jody Boehnert and Doug Spencer), and university reading lists (including the Bartlett School of Architecture, and the seminars of Peter Harries-Jones, a leading Bateson scholar).

The paper considers how ecology – a term that emerged into popular consciousness in the 1960's as a byword for holistic/ systemic thinking – has returned to prominence in recent years across disciplines beyond its original terms of use, including design theory and practice. Within the natural sciences, ecology is above all characterised by a holistic approach that focuses on organisation and the internal/external relational dynamics of 'wholes' or 'assemblages' such as ecosystems. Goodbun reviews how the concept of ecology has developed historically, and defines ecology by drawing together the ecological aesthetics in the work of Gregory Bateson, and the urban political ecology of contemporary neo-Marxist geographers such as Erik Swyngedouw, David Harvey and Matthew Gandy. He adds to a growing body of research relating political conceptions of ecology at an urban and planning scale to the possibility of an aesthetics of ecology more directly related to architectural and design-based thinking.


This essay is an analysis of Emily Bronte's novel "Wuthering Heights" and revolves mainly around the love between the two main characters, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how they express this love, either through words or through actions. Paradoxes concerning their love and paradoxes concerning the narration of the novel are of interest as well. The analysis employs Genette's theories and terminology in the narrative analysis. The essay first discusses the effect of the narrative levels and paradoxes that can be found concerning these narratives and then investigates some events in "Wuthering Heights" that are linked to the two main characters' love for one another. The events are analyzed in chronological order and discuss the paradoxes found in those events. The essay concludes by giving a short summary of the way Catherine and Heathcliff expresses their love for one another and the paradoxes found concerning this love. The narration is of importance since its complex structure allows for the entire novel to be read as one paradox. Disregarding the narration, the paradoxes found are many. The paradoxical love of Catherine and Heathcliff concern their love for one another in the sense that Catherine chooses to marry Edgar instead of Heathcliff and that she claims that Heathcliff killed her. They concern the way the act upon their love for one another in the sense that Catherine was double natured. The most prominent paradox, however, is the one concerning Catherine's statement that she is Heathcliff. It is the most prominent because it is referred to throughout the novel in different ways.


Purpose Protein adsorption, cell adhesion and graft patency was compared in hydrophilic versus hydrophobic polymer-coated prosthetic vascular grafts. We hypothesize that in vivocompatibility of hydrophilic polymer-coated prosthetic vascular grafts is superior to in vivo compatibility of hydrophobic grafts. Methods A pairwise side-to-side common carotid artery interposition graft was placed eight female landrace goats (mean weight 55 kg). Protein adsorption was assessed using Western Blot in two hydrophilic and two hydrophobic grafts harvested after three days. Graft patency was monitored for 28 days in six goats with continuous wave Doppler ultrasonography. Adherence of endothelial cells, leukocytes and platelets was determined with ELISA and compared between the two graft types after 28 days. Results After three days, more ApoA-l, albumin and VEGF and less fibrin adsorbed to hydrophilic grafts. After 28 days, compared to hydrophobic grafts, higher numbers of endothelial cells were present on hydrophilic grafts (P=0.016), and less thrombocytes and leukocytes (P=0.012 and 0.024, respectively). Two out of eight hydrophobic grafts lost patency, while none of the hydrophilic grafts failed (P=0.157). Conclusions Hydrophilic polymer-coated vascular grafts have superior in vivo compatibility when compared to hydrophobic grafts as characterized by reduced platelet and leukocyte adherence as well as higher endothelialization.


The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the concept of personal innovativeness through an application of the Ettlie and O'Keefe (1982) innovativeness scale. A mixed-mode approach to data collection involving online and postal surveying was used to obtain responses from 404 practicing UK managers. Although the work has a number of limitations relating to the personal innovativeness scale employed and difficulties associated with comparative analysis of the results, the findings are statistically significant and appear to have face value. The most important finding from this study is the identification of five key dimensions of personal innovativeness which suggests that the concept is fragmenting and becoming more complex. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the findings in terms of recruitment of managers, their education and training, the design of reward packages, and the allocation of resources.


Drawing on a wide array of sources, this anthology sets out to analyze the concepts of mystery and secrecy that occur in the ritual and rhetoric of antique Mediterranean religion, with an emphasis on Gnosticism, Christianity, and Paganism.


According to national and provincial energy consumption and specific NOx emission factors for different sectors and fuel types, NOx emissions resulted from commercial energy consumption in China in 1990's were presented. Specially, NOx emission inventories by provinces, sectors and fuel types in 1997 were developed and discussed. Total NOx emissions increased from 8.4 Mt in 1990 to 12.0 Mt in 1996. However, compared with the peak value in 1996, NOx emissions in 1997 and 1998 decreased by an amount of 0.34 and 0.82 Mt respectively. It can be seen remarkable imbalance of NOx emissions by fuel types, economic sectors and provinces: 3/4 of the totals came from coal burning; sectoral emissions were dominated by industry (39.56%), power (36.74%) and transportation (11.22%); NOx emissions in Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi, Guangdong, Henan, Heilongjiang and Hubei province exceeded 0.5 Mt, while those in Qinghai, Ningxia and Hainan were lower than 0.1 Mt. Regions with highest NOx emission intensities (> 10 t.(km2.a)-1) were Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing municipality. In sum, NOx emissions and pollution mainly concentrated in the populated and industrialized areas of China: the Eastern Central and Southeastern provinces.


This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of partnerships for the conservation and sustainable use of tropical forests involving various stakeholders at different levels or scales. It focuses on extractive reserves in Brazilian Amazonia and the partnerships and interactions that have evolved between local populations and NGOs (national and international), government agencies and international donors for their creation, implementation and management. Extractive reserves are protected areas designated for the sustainable use of natural resources by the resident population. They aim to achieve multiple goals including conserving biodiversity, satisfying the basic needs of the population and strengthening social organisation as a means to guarantee their participatory management. The paper concludes that partnerships have played an important role in the formal creation of extractive reserves as a new management regime relying on collective action between individuals and organisations. However, it also argues that different actors become involved in extractive reserves as a means to achieve different goals, which are not always complementary or even compatible. Partnerships are affected by a number of unconstructive dynamics and incentive structures, which emerge when there are significant power inequalities between the different actors, including inequalities related to access to financial resources.


Letters of condolence are in chronological order, with correspondents on the same day arranged alphabetically. Writers include Straight's army and business associates, his college friends, and many persons who had known him in the Far East. On the third Harold J. Laski wrote, "Willard seemed to me one of the half a dozen men of distinction in America who really found himself in the sheer joy of service," and on December fourth Emory Roy Buckner wrote, ". . . the sorrow is not confined to a few, but is shared by almost an army of people who knew and admired and loved him ..." Daniel A. de Menocal, a Peking associate, wrote on the eleventh, "There is no man with whom I have ever come in contact for whose qualities of character I have such admiration. I feel that we have all lost from amongst us the best personal example that we had to follow." Some tributes from organizations are included among the letters. Some prominent persons represented on the reel are Norman Angell, William Cameron Forbes, Felix Frankfurter, Learned Hand, Florence Jaffray Harriman, Walter Lippmann, Charles Merz, Ernest Peixotto, Frances Perkins, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Henry L. Stimson.


This paper describes a comparison of adaptations of the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) approach for the determination of 14 organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues in strawberry jam by concurrent use of gas chromatography (GC) coupled to electron capture detector (ECD) and GC tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Three versions were tested based on the original QuEChERS method. The results were good (overall average of 89% recoveries with 15% RSD) using the ultrasonic bath at five spiked levels. Performance characteristics, such as accuracy, precision, linear range, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), were determined for each pesticide. LOD ranged from 0.8 to 8.9 µg kg−1; LOQ was in the range of 2.5–29.8 µg kg−1; and calibration curves were linear (r 2 > 0.9970) in the whole range of the explored concentrations (5–100 µg kg−1). The LODs of these pesticides were much lower than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) allowed in Europe for strawberries. The method was successfully applied to the quantification of OCP in commercially available jams. The OCPs were detected lower than the LOD.


This paper presents the results of unsteady probe measurements and numerical flow calculations in a 1.5-stage low speed axial turbine with a straight labyrinth seal on a rotor shroud. The unsteady development of the leakage flow in the three cavities is described and analysed in detail. For the investigation of the leakage flow detailed time-accurate measurements of the three-dimensional flow field were carried out in five measurement planes from casing to the rotor shroud over more than one pitch. These measurements were carried out with a miniature pneumatic five-hole probe and miniature triple hot-wire probes. Both probes have a spherical head for better adjustment in flow direction. The high resolution of 330 measurement points in each of the five measurement planes represents the flow field in great detail. The unsteady experimental data was compared with the results of the unsteady numerical simulation of the turbine flow, calculated by the 3D-Navier-Stokes Solver CFX-TASCflow. The calculated data correspond well with the experimental results and allow a detailed analysis of the flow in the cavities of the labyrinth. As demonstrated in this paper the investigations show that the leakage flow at the inlet ant outlet of the labyrinth is strongly influenced by the different positions of the rotor to the stator. The unsteady experimental and numerical data indicates intensive effects of the leakage flow caused and influenced by the trailing edge of the first stator and the potential effect of the rotor leading edge. An intensive vortex develops depending on the rotor position in the first cavity. This vortex is also influenced by a small corner vortex above the axial inlet gap of the labyrinth. After the fins this unsteady influence of the leakage flow decreases and below the jet a large vortex moves in circumferential direction. The intensity of this circulation vortex is reduced at the end of the last cavity due to the interaction with the main flow and the flow direction out of the labyrinth. Therefore the unsteady behaviour of the leakage flow grows up, which is also caused by its uneven entry into the main flow.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Urbanization becomes increasingly important in our modern life. This is undoubtedly a huge opportunity and challenge for construction industry. More and more bridges are constructed to improve the infrastructure and develop the economy. For more than a century, reinforced concrete bridges are the most common bridges due to its durability, relatively low maintenance cost and rapid construction. In general, concrete bridges are designed to ensure a service life of at least 100 years. However, mechanical and environmental factors or excessive use accelerate the deterioration of the bridges. Some bridges even failed in their early-life. Thus, we are faced with the necessity to monitor health condition of bridges at every moment during their life which is also the aim of Structure Health Monitoring (SHM). Most deterioration and failure mechanisms are connected to the development of micro- or macro-cracks. Ultrasonic Coda Wave Interferometry (CWI) method using diffuse wave is one of the most promising method to detect subtle changes and cracking in heterogeneous materials such as concrete. Moreover, the data acquisition system has a high portability and the size of data recorded is small. If needed, even real-time assessment can be performed with an optimized algorithm. Embedded ultrasonic sensors can be installed inside the structure to avoid changes in coupling or excess influence of environmental influence factors. The measurements will focus more on the internal of the structure. Research shows that CWI has high sensitivity in detecting temperature change, stress variation and cracks in laboratory size concrete specimens. A young reinforced concrete road bridge in Gliwice, Poland has been monitored in a first step. Results have shown that the bridge is in good condition. However, the method has so far not been implemented on existing middle-aged bridge. In this paper, the monitoring of a 46 years old reinforced concrete road bridge close to Cologne, Germany will be discussed. Multiple sensors (thermocouples, strain gages and embedded ultrasonic sensors) were installed in the bridge. The bridge will be monitored for at least one month and subjected to a load test. As a result, the influence of temperature should be detected and quantified and a diagnosis of the bridge condition (especially changes in cracks) should be established.


Obesity is a multifactorial disease making difficult the determination of the precise role of one specific factor such as physical activity or sedentary. Nevertheless, numerous arguments, derived from epidemiological observational studies or from randomized controlled interventional trials, support a favourable role of regular physical activity in the control of body weight. Physical activity contributes to prevent the occurrence of weight excess, especially in children or adolescents, to obtain a satisfactory weight loss, in general in combination with reduced-energy diets, and to maintain long-term weight loss. In addition, physical activity improves both the metabolic profile and health of obese subjects.


Social anhedonia has been linked to the development and exacerbation of psychosis. The present study explored the hypothesis that scores in social anhedonia are related to deictic relational responding, empathic concern, and experiential avoidance, as suggested by relational frame theory and acceptance and commitment therapy. College students (N = 110) from a Spanish university completed self- report measures of social anhedonia, empathy, and experiential avoidance. Deictic relational responding was measured by performance on a behavioral task. Sequential multiple regression indicated that deictic relational responding, empathy, and experiential avoidance have a large relationship size with social anhedonia, accounting for 26% of the total variance, and minimal overlap among each other. These data support the utility of these processes as predictors of social anhedonia, suggesting new psychological targets for its prevention and treatment. The implication of these processes for the development of psychosis should be explored.


In this study, Schiff bases compounds were synthesized from the condensation of 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid and 4,4′-diaminobenzanilit with salicylaldehyde, o-vanillin, 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde, and 2-hydroxy-l-naphthaldehyde. The derived monomers were changed into their polyphenol species by oxidative polycondensation in aqueous alkaline medium by using NaOCl as the oxidant. At the optimum reaction conditions, the yield of 3,5-bis((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)metyleneamino) benzoic acid was 69%. The structures of the monomers and polymers were confirmed by FTIR, ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis), 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR analyses. The 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR data showed that polymerization preceded by C–C and C–O couplings of the monomer units (phenylene and oxyphenylene groups). The molecular weight distribution of the product was determined by size exclusion chromatography. The number-average molecular weight (Mn), weight-average molecular weight (Mw), and polydispersity index of P-4,4′-DABAVA were 20,970, 15,420 g mol−1, and 1.36 for NaOCl oxidant, respectively. The CV behaviors electrochemical HOMO, LUMO, and energy gaps (Eg) were investigated using glassy carbon electrode as the working electrode. Optical Eg band gaps were made UV-vis measurements. Solid-state electrical conductivities of both doped and undoped states of the synthesized polyphenols were evaluated showing that conductivity of P-3,5-DABAHNA is better than other polymers. Optical properties were investigated by UV-vis and fluorescence analyses. Maximum fluorescence intensity was obtained from the solution of P-3,5-DABAVA.


Abstract It is evident that teachers' and students' perceptions of interactions on Facebook directly relate to the utilization of Facebook regarding not only an interactional tool but also a learning and teaching environment. However, not many studies appeared on English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' interactions with their students on Facebook, specifically in the Turkish EFL context. This descriptive research aims to examine the level of EFL teachers' interactions with their students on the social networking service, Facebook, along with the differences between certain variables and the utilization of Facebook as an interactional tool. The sample group consists of 146 EFL teachers who work at public schools in Turkey. A background questionnaire and a survey which contained 46 items to investigate the level of teachers' interactions on Facebook and their perceptions of their students were administered to the sample group. The frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations were calculated. To analyze the relationship between certain variables and survey items, t-test and ANOVA were used. The results indicated that teachers preferred passive behaviors when interacting with their students on Facebook. Furthermore, they had the perception that their students preferred passive behaviors while interacting on Facebook as well. In addition, the findings showed that their interaction levels significantly differed in accordance with gender, school types, graduate degrees, and time spent on Facebook which consequently affected some items in the survey. The study suggests that EFL teachers should create a positive environment for interaction on Facebook to support their learners' personal and academic development.


We present a machine-learning photometric redshift (ML photo-z) analysis of the Kilo-Degree Survey Data Release 3 (KiDS DR3), using two neural-network based techniques: ANNz2 and MLPQNA. Despite limited coverage of spectroscopic training sets, these ML codes provide photo-zs of quality comparable to, if not better than, those from the Bayesian Photometric Redshift (BPZ) code, at least up to zphot ≲ 0.9 and r ≲ 23.5. At the bright end of r ≲ 20, where very complete spectroscopic data overlapping with KiDS are available, the performance of the ML photo-zs clearly surpasses that of BPZ, currently the primary photo-z method for KiDS. Using the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) spectroscopic survey as calibration, we furthermore study how photo-zs improve for bright sources when photometric parameters additional to magnitudes are included in the photo-z derivation, as well as when VIKING and WISE infrared (IR) bands are added. While the fiducial four-band ugri setup gives a photo-z bias 〈δz/(1 + z)〉 = −2 × 10−4 and scatter σδz/(1+z) < 0.022 at mean 〈z〉 = 0.23, combining magnitudes, colours, and galaxy sizes reduces the scatter by ~7% and the bias by an order of magnitude. Once the ugri and IR magnitudes are joined into 12-band photometry spanning up to 12 μm, the scatter decreases by more than 10% over the fiducial case. Finally, using the 12 bands together with optical colours and linear sizes gives 〈δz/(1 + z)〉 < 4 × 10−5 and σδz/(1+z) < 0.019. This paper also serves as a reference for two public photo-z catalogues accompanying KiDS DR3, both obtained using the ANNz2 code. The first one, of general purpose, includes all the 39 million KiDS sources with four-band ugri measurements in DR3. The second dataset, optimised for low-redshift studies such as galaxy-galaxy lensing, is limited to r ≲ 20, and provides photo-zs of much better quality than in the full-depth case thanks to incorporating optical magnitudes, colours, and sizes in the GAMA-calibrated photo-z derivation.


We propose to measure inequality of well-being with a multidimensional generalization of the Gini coefficient. We derive two inequality indices from their underlying social evaluation functions. These functions are conceived as a double aggregation functions: one across the dimensions of well-being, and another across the individuals. They differ only with respect to the sequencing of aggregations. We argue that the sequencing that does not exclude the Gini index to be sensitive to the correlation between the dimensions is more attractive. We illustrate both Gini indices using Russian household data on three dimensions of well-being: expenditure, health and education.


SYNOPSIS Regulators and legislators have long been interested in the auditor change process and in auditors' learning curves. We find that auditor changes closer to the year-end are associated with longer reporting lags and lower audit quality. We find that both audit fees and audit report lags are higher when there is a hiring lag between announcements of the predecessor auditor's dismissal and the hiring of the successor auditor. We also find that the appointment of new executives is associated with the timing of the auditor change, suggesting that client executives have a significant role in the auditor-hiring process.


Poverty Early Childhood Domestic Violence Dedication This series is dedicated to the memory of Susan Schechter (1946-2004). Susan Schechter was a visionary leader in the movement to end violence against women and children. Her work and infl uence were national in scope, though her home base in recent years was Iowa City, Iowa, where she served as Clinical Professor at The University of Iowa School of Social Work. Susan was a founder of the battered women's movement, and throughout her career was a respected leader and thinker in the fi eld. She was the author or co-author of several pioneering books and monographs, including the widely cited Women and Male Violence, which was an early history of the battered women's movement, and the Greenbook that is currently the guide for many reform efforts around the country. Perhaps Susan's most signifi cant and enduring contribution was her path breaking and persistent effort to help the children of battered women. This work began in 1986, when Susan developed AWAKE, (Advocacy for Women and Kids in Emergencies) at Children's Hospital, Boston, which was the fi rst program in a pediatric hospital for battered women with abused children. She also served as a consultant to several national domestic violence and child welfare initiatives and as a member of the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women. Her analysis, writing, advocacy, and speeches played a major role in shaping current policy and practice regarding family violence and children. On a less public but no less signifi cant stage, the positive way in which Susan touched the lives of those around her was among her greatest gifts. Susan was a remarkable person, thoughtful and good-hearted; many individuals from diverse fi elds were fortunate to call her a mentor and friend. Her leadership, warmth, humor, wisdom, and passionate advocacy will be missed. This series of papers refl ects the integrity of Susan's work and is a fi tting tribute to her intellect and her unique skills, which bridged the fi elds of child advocacy and domestic violence in ways that encouraged multidisciplinary approaches to evolve. It was her hope that this series would be a catalyst for change that would bring safety and stability to young children and families affected by domestic violence, racism and poverty. This paper is part of a series that addresses a widespread but often hidden challenge: how to mobilize community and programmatic …


BACKGROUND
Angiogenetic factors play an important role in the formation of new blood vessels involved in the growth and metastatic spread of solid tumors, but there is limited information regarding the clinical significance of serum bFGF levels in gastric cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Serum bFGF concentrations were measured by quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique in 30 controls and in 30 gastric cancer patients before surgery. The association between preoperative serum bFGF levels and clinical pathological features were evaluated.

RESULTS
Preoperative serum bFGF levels in patients with gastric cancer were significantly higher than those in control patients (p=0.027). On the other hand; there is no relationship between serum bFGF levels and clinical-pathologic parameters in gastric cancer patients.

CONCLUSION
Circulating bFGF might not be a marker suitable for assessing tumor progression (Tab. 1, Ref. 7). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.


PURPOSE
To quantify the potential impact of implementation of IHE-RO Quality Assurance Plan Veto (QAPV) profile on patient safety of external beam radiation therapy operations.

METHODS
An institutional database of events (errors and near misses) was used to evaluate the ability of QAPV to prevent the clinically observed events.. We analyzed those reported events which were related to inconsistencies between DICOM RT plan parameters between the intended treatment (treatment planning system) and the delivered treatment (treatment machine). Critical DICOM RT plan parameters were identified. Each event was scored for importance using the Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA) methodology. Potential error occurrence (frequency) was derived based on the collected event data, along with the potential event severity, and probability of detection with and without the theoretical implementation of QAPV plan comparison check. FMEA Risk Priority Numbers (RPNs) with and without QAPV were compared to quantify the potential benefit of clinical implementation of QAPV. This analysis considered the highest risk parameters with RPN>200.

RESULTS
The clinical implementation of the IHE-RO QAPV reduced RPN scores to below 200 for 7 (out of 8) high-risk parameters. For example, RPN values reduced from 324 to 108 for 'beam MU' s' inconsistencies, 288 to 96 for 'treatment machine' inconsistencies, 200 to 40 for 'beam limiting device type' inconsistencies, and 252 to 72 for 'wedge' inconsistencies.

CONCLUSION
This analysis quantifies the value of the IHE-RO QAPV implementation in clinical workflow. We demonstrate that although QAPV does not provide a comprehensive solution for error prevention in radiation therapy, it can have a significant impact on a subset of the most severe clinically observed events.


: Workers are not instantly eligible for Social Security retirement benefits on their 62nd birthdays, nor can they receive benefits in the month they turn 62. This note discusses how well researchers can do using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to identify respondents old enough to receive and report early Social Security retirement benefits. It shows that only some workers aged 62 at the time of an HRS interview will be "62 enough" to have received a Social Security benefit and reported it in the survey. In general, workers become eligible for a retirement benefit the month after they turn 62, and they may receive their first payment the month after that. Until recently, payments were received very early in the month, but in mid-1997 and later, the Social Security Administration (SSA) staggered benefit payments over the course of a month. Therefore, many beneficiaries will not be able to report the receipt of their first benefit payment until the third month after their birthday in more recent HRS interviews. This note describes the best approach for approximating the pool of HRS respondents who are old enough to have reported the receipt of their first retirement benefit. It then applies the procedure to an analysis by Burkhauser, Couch, and Phillips, who used the 1994 HRS data to distinguish between those who took early retirement benefits upon turning 62 and those who postponed the receipt of benefits. Because these authors did not provide for respondents who were not "62 enough" to receive a benefit at the time of the interview, they understated the proportion of respondents who took retirement benefits at age 62.


The activity of the digestive enzymes lipase, α-amylase and disaccharidases (sucrase, maltase, isomaltase and trehalase) was studied in slow-growing and fast-growing groups of farmed Eurasian perch (Percafluviatilis) of different ages.The activity of carbohydrases (disaccharidases and α-amylase), lipase, trypsin and chymotrypsin were also compared in Eurasian perch andArcticcharr (Salvelinusalpinus).No effect was noted of growth rate and age on the digestive enzyme activities in Eurasian perch.Total lipase activity was higher than total combined carbohydrase activity in both species (142.0 vs. 6.2 and 111.0 vs. 2.5 Umg-1 protein for Eurasian perch and Arctic charr respectively; P<0.001 for both). Compared with Arctic charr, Eurasian perch had higher lipase activity in the pancreasand lower lipase activity in the pyloric caeca and mid-intestine. Total chymotrypsin activity was higher than total trypsin activity in both species, whereas total chymotrypsin activity was higher for Arcticcharr than for Eurasian perch (192.8 and 110.2 Umg sample-1 respectively; P<0.001). The high lipase and protease activity, and low carbohydrase activity in both species can be linked to their carnivorous feeding habits. Moreover, Eurasian Perch had a higher total carbohydrase activity than charr, suggesting a greater capacity for digesting carbohydrates, especially starch.


This paper examines the prevalence of non-standard workers in EU-28, rules for accessing social security, and these workers' risk of not being able to access it. It focuses on temporary and part-time workers, and the self-employed, and offers a particularly detailed analysis of their access to unemployment benefits. It focuses on eligibility, adequacy (net income replacement rates) and identifies those workers which are at the greatest risk of either not receiving benefits or receiving low benefits. It offers a special overview of foreign non-standard workers, who may be particularly vulnerable due to the absence of citizenship in the host country. The paper also analyses access to maternity and sickness benefits for these three groups of workers, as well as their access to pensions. Its key contribution is in bringing together the different dimensions of disadvantage that non-standard workers face vis-a-vis access to social protection. This allows us to comprehensively assess the adaptation of national social security systems across EU-28 to the changing world of work over the past 10 years. The paper shows that there is a lot of variation between the Member States, both in the structure of their social security systems, as well as the prevalence of non-standard work. Most notably, the paper concludes that: i) access to unemployment benefits is the most challenging component of welfare state provision for people in non-standard employment; ii) policy reforms vis-a-vis access to social benefits have improved the status of non-standard workers in several countries, while they have worsened it in others, particularly in Bulgaria, Ireland and Latvia; iii) some Eastern European countries can offer lessons to other Member States due to their experiences with labour market challenges during transition and the subsequent adaptations of their social security systems to greater labour market flexibility. The paper also implies that a country's policy towards non- standard work cannot be examined in isolation from its labour market conditions, as well as its growth model, and that uniform policy solutions for non-standard work cannot be applied across EU-28.


Individual variation in ecologically important features of organisms is a crucial element in ecology and evolution, yet disentangling its underlying causes is difficult in natural populations. We applied a genomic scan approach using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to quantify the genetic basis of long‐term individual differences in herbivory by mammals at a wild population of the violet Viola cazorlensis monitored for two decades. In addition, methylation‐sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) analyses were used to investigate the association between browsing damage and epigenetic characteristics of individuals, an aspect that has been not previously explored for any wild plant. Structural equation modelling was used to identify likely causal structures linking genotypes, epigenotypes and herbivory. Individuals of V. cazorlensis differed widely in the incidence of browsing mammals over the 20‐year study period. Six AFLP markers (1.6% of total) were significantly related to herbivory, accounting altogether for 44% of population‐wide variance in herbivory levels. MSAP analyses revealed considerable epigenetic variation among individuals, and differential browsing damage was significantly related to variation in multilocus epigenotypes. In addition, variation across plants in epigenetic characteristics was related to variation in several herbivory‐related AFLP markers. Statistical comparison of alternative causal models suggested that individual differences in herbivory are the outcome of a complex causal structure where genotypes and epigenotypes are interconnected and have direct and indirect effects on herbivory. Insofar as methylation states of MSAP markers influential on herbivory are transgenerationally heritable, herbivore‐driven evolutionary changes at the study population will involve correlated changes in genotypic and epigenotypic distributions.


When applying model-based techniques to the engineering of embedded application software, a typical challenge is the complexity of dependencies between application elements. In many situations, e.g., during rollout of products or in the evolution of product lines, the understanding of these dependencies is a key capability. In this paper, we discuss how model-based techniques, in particular, model transformations can help to reduce the complexity of such analysis tasks. To this end, we realised a representation of Simulink models based on the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF). The resulting integration allows us to apply various model-based frameworks from the Eclipse ecosystem. On this basis we developed a view that increases the visibility of functional dependencies, which otherwise would have been hidden due to a lack of abstraction in the native Simulink representation. The provided analysis framework comes in handy, when such a model has to be modified. Consequently, the developer is supported in reusing existing models and avoiding errors. The concepts and techniques are illustrated with a running example, which is derived from a real industry model from Automotive Software Engineering.


This paper presents a model of the demand for reproducible capital, labor, and nonfuel mineral resources in six manufacturing industries that process exhaustible mineral resources. Partial substitution elasticities are estimated from translog unit cost functions and factor demand equations. These estimates are then used to simulate input demands in a setting of exhaustible resources scarcity. The principal finding is that substitution possibilities are much more limited than those implied by Cobb-Douglas production technology, and this has important implications for the possible conservation of exhaustible resources.


Bebop saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker (1920-1955), a man of extremes in his personal life, was a disciplined musical genius who expanded and transformed the boundaries of jazz. Richly illustrated with extensive musical notations, this in-depth study of hundreds of works in the Parker discography takes into account newly discovered recordings and CD reissues. Koch meticulously documents each recording session and provides an array of musical details on theme structure, key, chords, distinguishing phrases, and performance format. Comprehensive biographical material -- including the "Bird stories" of Parker's eccentric behavior, sexual appetite, drug addiction, and compulsive drinking -- is interwoven with the musical analysis to fully illuminate both the man and the musician. This volume will appeal to Bird fans, jazz buffs, and musicologists alike, and it will make an essential companion for listeners of Charlie Parker's superb recordings.


A mutational and genetic analysis of the poliovirus protein 3A has led to the identification of a single amino acid mutant virus with a restrictive phenotype to form plaques in Vero cells. This mutant (I46T 3A) can be grown and amplified in HeLa cells, where virus replication takes place at wild-type levels. However, Vero cells infected with this virus cannot complete the growth cycle. I46T 3A virus has a defect in the ability to kill Vero cells, as estimated by FACS analysis of propidium iodide uptake by dead cells. Since these defects are observed under conditions where no abnormalities in the rate of synthesis and processing of the mutant polyprotein occur, the inability to induce the cytopathic effect in infected Vero cells denotes the existence of a defect in the activity of 3A, but not the level of expression of the viral genome. As a consequence of this impaired capability to generate the cytopathic effect, I46T 3A mutant viruses cannot be titrated by plaque assay in Vero cells. Only revertant viruses with the wild-type sequence arise and form lysis plaques in Vero cells. Our results suggest a role for the 3A protein (or a precursor thereof) in the virus-induced cytopathic effect. The mutant virus characterized in this work may be a useful tool to understand how poliovirus kills infected cells and carries out the final step of its life-cycle, the release of virus progeny.


In recent years, there has been both more widespread evidence of the declining health of many of NSW's rivers as a result of increased irrigation extractions and increasing community concerns about environmental issues. This has led to a greater focus on the need to re-balance in-stream and consumptive uses of water. In NSW, the issue is being approached mainly through the introduction of environmental flow rules across regulated catchments with the nature of such flow rules determined by community based Water Management Committees within an overall framework set by Government. A key issue in deciding on appropriate environmental flow rules is not only the ecological benefits that arise but also the trade-offs associated with re-allocation in terms of reduced production from irrigated agriculture. This paper looks at the nature of this trade-off in the Murrumbidgee catchment. A combination of linear programming and hydrology simulation modelling is used to assess the impacts on agriculture from the implementation of environmental flow rules as developed by the Water Management Committee for the Murrumbidgee Valley.


An algorithm is derived that allows calculating all optical parameters relevant to the design of a high-power CO2 laser, taking into account the practical needs of a flying-optics type of laser cutting machine. The novelty of the approach taken is that the resonator and the beam delivery optics are treated simultaneously, which allows for greater flexibility in design. To begin with, the often-used optical configuration of a stable resonator combined with a beam expander for collimation is modeled and optimized. The remaining focal shift over the cutting table, mainly due to the fact that the part of the beam close to the resonator still has appreciable wavefront curvature variation, is calculated. The resulting function is programmed into the machine CNC, which continuously adjusts the lens position depending on the actual beam length, to compensate for this effect. Next, attention is paid to the well-known problem of changing beam parameters with thermal load of the output coupler. It is found necessary to model both mechanical deformation of the ZnSe window and lensing due to the temperature dependent index of refraction. The former is derived from a finite element model, for the latter, the formula of Miyamoto et al. [Proc. SPIE 1276, 112 (1990)] is used. Finally, as an example of novel resonator designs studied using this approach, the characteristics of an intracavity reflective telescope are determined for two different goals: first, to increase the fundamental mode spot size for the given resonator (and hence to improve beam quality without sacrificing power), and second to preserve beam quality when extra resonator layers are added to increase power. The beam is modeled using the concept of the "embedded Gaussian" and the "complex radius of curvature" due to Siegman [Lasers (University Science Books, CA, 1986)].An algorithm is derived that allows calculating all optical parameters relevant to the design of a high-power CO2 laser, taking into account the practical needs of a flying-optics type of laser cutting machine. The novelty of the approach taken is that the resonator and the beam delivery optics are treated simultaneously, which allows for greater flexibility in design. To begin with, the often-used optical configuration of a stable resonator combined with a beam expander for collimation is modeled and optimized. The remaining focal shift over the cutting table, mainly due to the fact that the part of the beam close to the resonator still has appreciable wavefront curvature variation, is calculated. The resulting function is programmed into the machine CNC, which continuously adjusts the lens position depending on the actual beam length, to compensate for this effect. Next, attention is paid to the well-known problem of changing beam parameters with thermal load of the output coupler. It is found necessary...


ABSTRACT Ultraviolet (UV) light inherent to welding processes generates ozone (O3) with subsequent formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through photochemical reactions when UV light is present with O3. This study aimed to determine the performance of filters used as respiratory protective devices by welding personnel to simultaneously mitigate particulate and gaseous inhalation hazards. Four respiratory protective devices were selected for this study, including a surgical facemask, a cotton-fabric facemask, an activated-carbon facemask, and an N95 respirator. The removal efficiencies for the particulates in welding fumes were all above 98%. For particulate-phase ROS, the removal efficiencies of the different respiratory protective devices ranged from 83.5% to 94.1%; however, the removal efficiencies for gaseous ROS were only 1.3% (active carbon facemask) to 21.1% (N95 respirator). The data indicated that the respiratory protective devices commercially available cannot block the passage of the gas-phase ROS found in welding fumes.


In this thesis we bring together several techniques in the theory of non-self-adjoint operator algebras and operator systems. We begin with classification of non-self-adjoint and self-adjoint operator algebras constructed from C*-correspondence and more specifically, from certain generalized Markov chains. We then transitions to the study of noncommutative boundaries in the sense of Arveson, and their use in the construction of dilations for families of operators arising from directed graphs. Finally, we discuss connections between operator systems and matrix convex sets and use dilation theory to obtain scaled inclusion results for matrix convex sets. We begin with classification of non-self-adjoint operator algebras. In Chapter 3 we solve isomorphism problems for tensor algebras arising from weighted partial dynamical systems. We show that the isometric isomorphism and algebraic / bounded isomorphism problems are two distinct problems, that require separate criteria to be solved. Our methods yield an alternative solution to Arveson's conjugacy problem, first solved by Davidson and Katsoulis. A natural bridge between operator algebras / systems and C*-algebras is the C*envelope, which is a non-commutative generalization of the notion of Shilov boundary from the theory of function algebras. In Chapter 4 we investigate C*-envelopes arising from the operator algebras of stochastic matrices via subproduct systems. We identify and classify these non-commutative boundaries in terms of the matrices, and exhibit new examples of C*-envelopes of non-self-adjoint operator algebras arising from a subproduct system construction. In Chapter 5 we apply Arveson's non-commutative boundary theory to dilate every Toeplitz-Cuntz-Krieger family of a directed graph G to a full Cuntz-Krieger family for G. We also obtain a generalization of our dilation result to the context of colored directed graphs, which relies on the complete injectivity of amalgamated free products of operator algebras. The last part of this thesis is devoted to the interplay between matrix convex sets and operator systems, inspired by the work of Helton, Klep and McCullough. In Chapter 6 we establish a functorial duality between finite dimensional operator systems and matrix convex sets that recovers many interpolation results of completely positive maps in the literature. We proceed to investigate dual, minimal and maximal matrix convex sets, and relate them to dilation theory, scaled inclusion results and operator systems. By using dilation theory, we provide rank-independent optimal scaled inclusion results for matrix convex sets satisfying a certain symmetry condition, and prove the existence of an essentially unique self-dual matrix convex set.


Background: In order to help reduce rear-end collisions, a forward vehicle collision warning system has been developed and deployed. The effectiveness of the system largely depends on how early the warning can be given. However, there is also a need to consider that too early warning may cause a nuisance because the driver may not feel any avoidance maneuver is necessary at the timing. If the system can alert the driver by detecting the absence of braking at the normal timing based on his/her longitudinal risk estimate, the warning can be acceptable without nuisance. In order to achieve the goal, the authors aimed to develop an index of the driver's perceptual estimate of longitudinal risk. Method: First, the authors hypothesized that a driver judges when to brake based on two kinds of perception: kinematic perception to approach a lead vehicle and dynamic perception when the lead vehicle decelerates. Each perception was derived from previous studies of human perception. Then, an index of the longitudinal risk estimate reflecting these kinds of perception was proposed. The index is formulated as "perceptual relative velocity" divided by "perceptual distance." Both elements are corrected from their physical value so as to reflect their perceptual magnitude. The perceptual distance is the exponent of the distance between the subject vehicle and the lead vehicle. The perceptual relative velocity is the velocity difference of these two vehicles that is corrected by the subject vehicle's velocity and their relative acceleration. The hypothesis was tested on test track using two actual vehicles with the combination of various relative velocities and accelerations. Result: It was found that drivers' brake timings were well matched to the hypothesis; they braked when the proposed index reached a certain threshold. Thus, the index was confirmed to be able to measure driver's longitudinal risk estimate. The authors call the index Perceptual Risk Estimate (PRE). Since PRE can describe perceptual longitudinal risk, it is natural to consider that it also can predict the timing when a driver starts steering avoidance maneuver. The timing, i.e., the parameters of PRE, may be different from that of braking, though. The authors again tested with actual vehicles and found that PRE also matches to steering avoidance timing, and as they expected, the parameters were different from the ones for brakes. Finally, PRE was compared with other indices (TTC, THW, Risk Perception (RP), and KdB_c) and it was shown that the PRE is a comprehensive and enhanced model of those indices.


Distant metastases from head and neck carcinoma are becoming more common, with lung, bone and liver being the most frequent sites. We present an unusual case of a metastasis from a tongue primary presenting with severe abdominal pain and pseudo large bowel obstruction.


Eruptions beneath ice sheets and glaciers can generate hazardous ash plumes and powerful meltwater floods, as demonstrated by the recent Icelandic eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 and at Grímsvötn in 2011. A key scientific objective for volcanologists is to better understand the factors controlling subglacial eruptions, but the eruptions are mostly hidden beneath ice that is often hundreds of metres thick, thereby preventing direct observation. New approaches are therefore needed to reconstruct the factors driving explosive activity and the response of the overlying ice. The dissolved volatile content, preserved in glassy volcanic rock, offers a useful means of reconstructing palaeo‐ice thicknesses. However, for subglacial rhyolite at least, there seems to be little or no correlation between loading pressure and eruptive style. Instead, there is a strong correlation between the pre‐eruptive volatile content, degassing path and eruptive behaviour. It seems that the style of many subglacial eruptions is controlled by the same mechanisms as subaerial eruptions, with explosivity strongly influenced by degassing and magmatic fragmentation.


Erosion corrosion of plumbing materials in domestic water systems is a complex phenomenon driven by water quality, hydrodynamic and electrochemical factors. Erosion corrosion accounts for over a third of copper hot water system failures in the U.S., hundreds of millions in damage, and may be expected to increase with newer Legionella control strategies including increased use of water recirculation and high temperatures. Additionally, some nonleaded alloys introduced after the passage of a new federal law restricting lead content in plumbing, have been anecdotally implicated as failing prematurely from erosion corrosion compared to traditional alloys. This dissertation includes 1) a critical review of the literature, 2) investigation of a recent rapid erosion corrosion failure in a large building plumbing system, 3) replication of this phenomena in copper and nonleaded brass in laboratory studies, and 4) evaluation of 12 nonleaded alloys against conventional leaded brass. Current plumbing codes and guidelines to prevent erosion corrosion were found to be widely inconsistent and lacking scientific evidence. Large-scale recirculating hot water pipe-loop experiments demonstrated that an aggressive hard water with entrained aragonite (CaCO3) particles could cause fully penetrative failures (i.e., leaks) in brand new copper pipe and nonleaded brass fittings in just 3-49 days. This represents the first time rapid erosion corrosion failures have ever been replicated in the laboratory under conditions similar to those encountered in practice. The entrained particulates dramatically accelerated attack on metals, especially at pipe bends. In general, lowering pH, increasing flow velocity, increasing temperatures, entrainment of particles (of bigger sizes), and addition of chlorine disinfectant increased erosion corrosion rates. These results scientifically proved that hard waters are not inherently less aggressive than soft water, and in fact if CaCO3 solids form they can be much more aggressive. Finally, cavitation and erosion corrosion resistance of 12 nonleaded alloys was evaluated against leaded brass; stainless steels demonstrated superior performance, silicon brass had the greatest susceptibility and remaining alloys were in the middle. This performance data can aid decision making regarding choice of alloys for various water applications. Our work over the years, including involvement in the Flint Water Crisis, demonstrated that practicing trustworthy science as a public good requires commitment to scientific rigor, truth-seeking, managing conflicts of interest, and comprehensible evidence-based science communication. Critical problems in 21 century public science were highlighted including perverse incentives, misconduct, postmodernist "science anarchist" thought, and ineffectiveness of U.S. water utilities in communicating tap water safety to the American public. INTERPLAY OF WATER CHEMISTRY AND ENTRAINED PARTICULATES IN EROSION CORROSION OF COPPER AND NONLEADED ALLOYS IN POTABLE WATER SYTEMS


Aim/Purpose: The study set out to understand the challenges doctoral students experience at different systemic levels of doctoral education through the perspective of ethical principles.

Background: Doctoral students experience various challenges on their journey to the degree, and as high dropout rates indicate, these challenges become critical for many students. Several individual and structural level aspects, such as student characteristics, supervisory relationship, the academic community as well national policies and international trends, influence doctoral studies, and students' experiences have been researched quite extensively. Although some of the challenges doctoral students experience may be ethical in nature, few studies have investigated these challenges specifically from an ethics perspective.

Methodology: The study drew on qualitative descriptions of significant negative incidents from 90 doctoral students from an online survey. The data were first analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis, and then the themes were located within different systemic levels of doctoral studies: individual (e.g., doctoral student, the individual relationship with supervisor) and structural (e.g., the institution, faculty, academic community). Finally, the ethical principles at stake were identified, applying the framework of five common ethical principles: respect for autonomy, benefiting others (beneficence), doing no harm (non-maleficence), being just (justice), and being faithful (fidelity).

Contribution: Understanding doctoral students' experiences from an ethical perspective and locating these among the systemic levels of doctoral studies contributes to a better understanding of the doctoral experience's complexities. Ethical considerations should be integrated when creating and implementing procedures, rules, and policies for doctoral education. Making the ethical aspects visible will also allow universities to develop supervisor and faculty training by concretely targeting doctoral studies aspects highlighted as ethically challenging.

Findings: In doctoral students' experiences, structural level ethical challenges out-weighed breaches of common ethical principles at the individual level of doctoral studies. In the critical experiences, the principle of beneficence was at risk in the form of a lack of support by the academic community, a lack of financial support, and bureaucracy. Here, the system and the community were unsuccessful in contributing positively to doctoral students' welfare and fostering their growth. At the individual level, supervision abandonment experiences, inadequate supervision, and students' struggle to keep study-related commitments breached fidelity, which was another frequently compromised principle. Although located at the individual level of studies, these themes are rooted in the structural level. Additionally, the progress review reporting and assessment process was a recurrent topic in experiences in which the principles of non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice were at stake.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Going beyond the dyadic student-supervisor relationship and applying the ethics of responsibility, where university, faculty, supervisors, and students share a mutual responsibility, could alleviate ethically problematic experiences.

Recommendation for Researchers: We recommend that further research focus on experiences around the ethics in the progress reporting and assessment process through in-depth interviews with doctoral students and assessment committee members.

Impact on Society: Dropout rates are high and time to degree completion is long. An ethical perspective may shed light on why doctoral studies fail in efficiency. Ethical aspects should be considered when defining the quality of doctoral education.

Future Research: A follow-up study with supervisors and members of the academic community could contribute to developing a conceptual framework combining systemic levels and ethics in doctoral education.


This paper describes the design and simulation of low power variable gain amplifier used for biomedical application like hearing aid, Electronic Cardiograph and neural recording system. The MOS transistor is designed to operate in subthreshold region for low power application. The gain of amplifier is changed by selecting different values of input capacitor in the frequency range of 20 Hz–20 KHz. The simulated total power dissipation is 3µW. The gain variation is from 10–30 dB with supply voltage of 1.8V in TSMC 0.18 µm process using mentor graphics. Keywords : Weak inversion, strong inversion, miller compensated opamp, hearing aid, variable gain amplifier


Abstract The treatment of grade IIIB and grade IIIC open tibia fractures remains a challenge to the orthopedic surgeon. This article explores the history of clinical management, current methods of stabilization, and decision-making algorithms, special attention is given to the debate regarding limb salvage versus amputation.


Personalized time-to-event or survival prediction with right-censored outcomes is a pervasive challenge in healthcare research. Although various supervised machine learning methods, such as random survival forests or neural networks, have been adapted to handle such outcomes effectively, they do not provide explanations for their predictions, lacking interpretability. In this paper, an alternative method for survival prediction by weighted nearest neighbors is proposed. Fitting this model to data entails optimizing the weights by learning a metric. An individual prediction of this method can be explained by providing the user with the most influential data points for this prediction, i.e., the closest data points and their weights. The strengths and weaknesses in terms of predictive performance are highlighted on simulated data and an application of the method on two different real-world datasets of breast cancer patients shows its competitiveness with established methods.


To enhance their conservation value, several hundred islands worldwide have been cleared of invasive alien rats, Rattus spp. One of the largest projects yet undertaken was on 43 km2 Henderson Island in the Pitcairn group, South Pacific, in August 2011. Following massive immediate mortality, a single R. exulans was observed in March 2012 and, subsequently, rat numbers have recovered. The survivors show no sign of resistance to the toxicant used, brodifacoum. Using pre- and post-operation rat tissue samples from Henderson, plus samples from around the Pacific, we exclude re-introduction as the source of continued rat presence. Microsatellite analysis of 18 loci enabled comparison of genetic diversity of Henderson rats before and after the bait drop. The fall in diversity measured by allele frequency change indicated that the bottleneck (Ne) through which the breeding population passed was probably around 50 individuals, representing a census population of about 60–80 animals. This is the first failed project that has estimated how close it was to success.


Objective: To find out the frequency of adenoid hypertrophy among adult patients with nasal obstruction. Methodology: The study was carried out in CMH Bahawalpur and CMH Okara, from June 2015 to June 2017. Adult cases with nasal obstruction who reported in the ear, nose and throat (ENT) department in the above mentioned period were included in the study. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20. Frequency and percentage were calculated for qualitative variables while mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for quantitative variable. Results: There were 3454 adult cases of nasal obstruction consented for research. The major cause of nasal obstruction was deviated nasal septum (DNS) in 1211 (35.06%) of individuals followed by inferior turbinate hypertrophy. Frequency of adenoid hypertrophy was 149 (4.31%). Among them, 21 (0.61%) had adenoid hypertrophy alone, 52 (1.51%) had associated nasal polyps, 39 cases (1.12%) had adenoid along with deviated nasal septum and 37 (1.07%) had adenoid hypertrophy along with inferior turbinate hypertrophy. Among the adults with adenoid hypertrophy, 95 (63.76%) were males. Age range was from 16 to 52 years. Conclusion: Adenoid hypertrophy is prevalent in adults and is an important cause of nasal obstruction.


In this paper we use a case study approach to examine how airport operators are addressing bicycle access to their properties and the motivations and obstacles they face, in light of new policies to integrate bicycles, along with transit and walking, into transportation planning, design and construction, and to increase bicycles' role in the transportation system. Eight influential elements emerged from our review of policy documents and research literature. We used them to guide interviews with key informants. The eight elements are: governance structure, location, access roads, self-perceived environmental stewardship, spending restrictions on non-aviation transportation improvements, proximity to transit, policies and mandates to reduce environmental impacts and land use constraints. We report on seven cases, selected on the basis of inclusion in studies on key aspects of airport ground access and, for one, identification as exemplary. They are: Oakland International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and Portland, an exemplar recommended by several key informants. We limit our discussion to employee bicycle access because that has been the focus of airport operators that have made these investments and programs to reduce single-occupancy vehicle travel at airports. In aggregating the interviews, we identified replicable approaches to improving bicycle access. We also identified examples of innovative funding for multi-modal access using revenues generated by airport Passenger Facilities Charges. Finally, we identified areas for additional research: airport employee commute needs, ground access mode choice and operator costs and benefits of bicycle access investments.


BACKGROUND: Predictors of hospital survival after emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) are well established, but little is known of long‐term outcomes after hospital survival. Our primary study objective was to analyze the long‐term social, cognitive, functional, and psychological outcomes in EDT survivors. METHODS: Review of our Level I trauma center registry (2000–2010) revealed that 37 of 448 patients survived hospitalization after EDT. Demographics and clinical characteristics were analyzed. After attempts to contact survivors, 21 patients or caretakers were invited to an outpatient study evaluation; 16 were unreachable (none of whom were present in the Social Security Death Index). Study evaluation included demographic and social data and an outpatient multidisciplinary assessment with validated scoring instruments (Mini‐Mental Status Exam, Glasgow Outcome Scores, Timed Get‐Up and Go Test, Functional Independence Measure Scoring, SF‐36 Health Survey, and civilian posttraumatic stress disorder checklist). RESULTS: After extended hospitalization (43 ± 41 days), disposition varied (home, 62%; rehabilitation, 32%; skilled nursing facility, 6%), but readmission was common (33%) in the 37 EDT hospital survivors. Of the 21 contacted, 16 completed the study evaluation, 2 had died, 1 remained in a comatose state, and 2 were available by telephone only. While unemployment (75%), daily alcohol (50%), and drug use (38%) were common, of the 16 patients who underwent the comprehensive, multidisciplinary outpatient assessment after a median of 59 months following EDT, 75% had normal cognition and returned to normal activities, 81% were freely mobile and functional, and 75% had no evidence of posttraumatic stress disorder upon outpatient screening. CONCLUSION: Despite the common belief that EDT survivors often live with severe neurologic or functional impairment, we have found that most of our sampled EDT survivors had no evidence of long‐term impairment. It is our hope that these results are considered by physicians making life or death decisions regarding the "futility" of EDT in our most severely injured patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic and epidemiologic study, level III.


In this paper the authors' attention is on the specification of a middleware functionality for dynamic QoS control in multimedia cellular environments, such as UMTS. The functionality implements a soft QoS paradigm, at the same time optimising the perceptual QoS provided to the end user according to his/her needs. It will be shown that by exploiting suitable performance indexes and resource redistribution algorithms both an acceptable grade of service and a good degree of user satisfaction can be achieved, without an excessive increase in the network-signalling load.


Sex-determination mechanisms and sex chromosomes are known to vary among reptile species and, in a few celebrated examples, within populations of the same species. The oriental garden lizard, Calotes versicolor, is one of the most intriguing species in this regard, exhibiting evidence of multiple sex-determination modes within a single species. One possible explanation for this unusual distribution is that in C. versicolor, different modes of sex determination are confined to a particular population or a species within a cryptic species complex. Here, we report on a population genetic analysis using SNP data from a methylation-sensitive DArT sequencing analysis and mitochondrial DNA data obtained from samples collected from six locations: three from Bangladesh and three from Thailand. Our aim was to determine whether C. versicolor is best described as a single species with multiple lineages or as multiple species, as well as if its sex-determination mechanisms vary within or between species. We present evidence that the latter possibility is the case and that C. versicolor comprises a complex of cryptic species. We also identify sex-linked markers within these species and use them to identify modes of sex determination. Overall, our results suggest that different sex-determination modes have evolved among closely related species and within populations of Agamid lizards.


Arteria is an automation system aimed at sequencing core facilities. It is built on existing open source technologies, with a modular design allowing for a community-driven effort to create plug-and-play micro-services. Herein we describe the Arteria system and elaborate on the underlying conceptual framework. The Arteria system breaks down into three conceptual levels; orchestration, process and execution. At the orchestration level it utilizes an event-based model of automation. It models processes, e.g. the steps involved in processing sequencing data, as workflows and executes these in a micro-service based environment. This creates a system which is both flexible and scalable. The Arteria Project code is available as open source software at http://www.github.com/arteria-project.


IT exist and are needed in larger organisations today, this creates possibilities for new applications. It has become more frequent with IT within HRM which has developed new concepts like e-HRM and HRIS which links IT and HRM together. We have through qualitative content analysis of interviews investigated how IT-tools affect HR-workmanship. The purpose is to create a basis for describing how employees experience their work with HR within a PA-system. The basis of the PA-system will then answer if it contributes or limits the employees and their activities. The result of the study is that IT contributes to HR-workmanship. However the lack of competence and functions within the PA-system among with limits in the interface is having an inhibitory effect on HR-workmanship.


Throughout their life, bacteria need to sense and respond to environmental stress. Thus, such stress responses can require dramatic cellular reprogramming, both at the transcriptional as well as the translational level. This review focuses on the protein factors that interact with the bacterial translational apparatus to respond to and cope with different types of environmental stress. For example, the stringent factor RelA interacts with the ribosome to generate ppGpp under nutrient deprivation, whereas a variety of factors have been identified that bind to the ribosome under unfavorable growth conditions to shut-down (RelE, pY, RMF, HPF and EttA) or re-program (MazF, EF4 and BipA) translation. Additional factors have been identified that rescue ribosomes stalled due to stress-induced mRNA truncation (tmRNA, ArfA, ArfB), translation of unfavorable protein sequences (EF-P), heat shock-induced subunit dissociation (Hsp15), or antibiotic inhibition (TetM, FusB). Understanding the mechanism of how the bacterial cell responds to stress will not only provide fundamental insight into translation regulation, but will also be an important step to identifying new targets for the development of novel antimicrobial agents.


Five commonly consumed marine fish from Straits of Malacca were studied for their level of dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs). The fish fillets were found to contain low to moderate level of fats. Among the moderate fat content species, Plotosus spp. (Sembilang) was found to contain the highest level of total PCDDs/Fs (1.23 + 0.48 pg/g of wet weight) due to the high fat content of the species. Other species however, contain low level of PCDDs/Fs that range between 0.10-0.18 pg/g of wet weight. Generally the levels of total PCDDs/Fs in fish species determined in this preliminary study were well below the European limits and are therefore safe for human consumption.


OBJECTIVE
To detect gene mutations on beta-myosin heavy chain gene MYH7 in 3 Chinese families with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and to analyze the correlation between genotype and phenotype.

METHODS
A denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and sequencing mutation screening of the exons (exon3-23) coding for MYH7 gene were performed in 3 Chinese families with HCM.

RESULTS
In this study, we identified several mutations in MYH7. A mutation of Thr441Met previously reported in a patient with Laing distal myopathy was first identified in one Chinese pedigree.

CONCLUSION
This study illustrated the high frequency of mutation in MYH7 gene in Chinese HCM families. Different mutations and carriers of the MYH7 gene present phenotypic heterogeneity. Mutation screening and analysis in HCM family could therefore facilitate the early HCM diagnosis and would be helpful for the prediction, prevention and early treatment of HCM linked with MYH7 gene mutation.


This paper investigates how Enterprise Architecture (EA) evolves due to emerging trends. It specifically explores how EA integrates the Service-oriented Architecture (SOA). Archer's Morphogenetic theory is used as an analytical approach to distinguish the architectural conditions under which SOA is introduced, to study the relationships between these conditions and SOA introduction, and to reflect on EA evolution (elaborations) that then take place. The paper focuses on reasons for why EA evolution could take place, or not and what architectural changes could happen due to SOA integration. The research builds on sound theoretical foundations to discuss EA evolution in a field that often lacks a solid theoretical groundwork. Specifically, it proposes that critical realism, using the morphogenetic theory, can provide a useful theoretical foundation to study enterprise architecture (EA) evolution. The initial results of a literature review (a-priori model) were extended using explorative interviews. The findings of this study are threefold. First, there are five different levels of EA-SOA integration outcomes. Second, a mature EA, flexible and well-defined EA framework and comprehensive objectives of EA improve the integration outcomes. Third, the analytical separation using Archer's theory is helpful in order to understand how these different integration outcomes are generated.


Autonomous robotic platforms can be effectively used to perform automatic fruits yield estimation. To this aim, robots need data-driven models that process image streams and count, even approximately, the number of fruits in an orchard. However, training such models following a supervised paradigm is expensive and unpractical. Extending pre-trained models to perform yield estimation for a completely new type of fruit is even more challenging, but interesting since this situation is typical in practice. In this work, we combine a State-of-the-Art weakly-supervised fruit counting model with an unsupervised style transfer method for addressing the task above. In this sense, our proposed approach is quasi-unsupervised. In particular, we use a Cycle-Generative Adversarial Network (C-GAN) to perform unsupervised domain adaptation and train it alongside with a Presence-Absence Classifier (PAC) that discriminates images containing fruits or not. The PAC produces the weak-supervision signal for the counting network, that can then be used on the target orchard directly. Experiments on datasets collected in four different orchards show that the proposed approach is more accurate than the supervised baseline methods.


A sparse classifier is guaranteed to generalize better than a denser one, given they perform identical on the training set. However, methods like Support Vector Machine, even if they produce relatively sparse models, are known to scale linearly as the number of training examples increases. A recent proposed method, the Kernel Matching Pursuit, presents a number of advantages over the


Polymers containing small chemical groups (haptens) covalently attached at random along the chain are commonly used to initiate an immune response. Properties of the polymer such as its length, the spacing of the haptens, and the total number of haptens along the chain, correlate with its immune reactivity. Here we model the ability of many finite-sized cell surface receptors to bind simultaneously the haptens conjugated to a polymer chain. The binding sites on two different receptors or on separate parts of a multivalent receptor cannot be arbitrarily close to one another; so, in general, not all haptens along a polymer chain can be simultaneously bound by receptors. We develop an analogy between the steric hindrance among receptors detecting randomly placed haptens and the temporary locking of a Geiger counter that has detected a radioactive decay. Using renewal theory, we compute the probability distribution, and its moments, for the maximum number of haptens that can be simultaneously bound by monovalent receptors. We also model flexible bivalent receptors and obtain the mean and variance of the maximum number of receptors bound to randomly haptenated polymers, and the mean and variance of the maximum number of haptens bound. We demonstrate the importance of our results by applying them to immunological data and showing that, for polymers used in immunology, the effective valence of a polymer may be as much as 50% smaller than its nominal valence.


Magnetic fields in the early solar system may have driven the inward accretion of the protoplanetary disk (PPD) and generated instabilities that led to the formation of planets and ring and gap structures. The Allende carbonaceous chondrite meteorite records a strong early solar system magnetic field that has been interpreted to have a PPD, dynamo, or impact‐generated origin. Using high‐resolution magnetic field imaging to isolate the magnetization of individual grain assemblages, we find that only Fe‐sulfides carry a coherent magnetization. Combined with rock magnetic analyses, we conclude that Allende carries a magnetization acquired during parent body chemical alteration at ~3.0–4.2 My after calcium aluminum‐rich inclusions in an >40 µT magnetic field. This early age strongly favors a magnetic field of nebular origin instead of dynamo or solar wind alternatives. When compared to other paleomagnetic data from meteorites, this strong intensity supports a central role for magnetic instabilities in disk accretion and the presence of temporal variations or spatial heterogeneities in the disk, such as ring and gap structures.


Silica-sol and activated carbon were used to prepare SiC whiskers by microwave heating. The effect of packing density of raw material powders on the morphologies of SiC whiskers has been investigated. It was argued that by decreasing the packing density of raw material powders, the growing space of the SiC whiskers increases and the morphologies of the whiskers changes from flexural to straight along with the increase in length. When the packing density was lower than 0.26 g/cm3, straight and dispersal SiC whiskers with high slenderness ratio could be obtained.


Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are highly prevalent in Huntington's disease (HD). However, little is known of the prevalence and course of obsessive-compulsive behaviors (OCBs) and perseverative behaviors (PBs) during the progression of the disease. Objective: This review provides a summary of the literature on OCBs and PBs in HD gene expansion carriers (HDGECs). Methods: Pubmed database was searched for articles on OCBs and PBs in HD up to 2017. We used search terms, all synonyms for HD, and various terms for OCBs and PBs. Results: We found 5 case series and 11 original articles that describe a prevalence range of 5 to 52% for OCBs and up to 75% for PBs depending on disease stage and measurement scale used. Premanifest HDGECs report more OCBs compared to controls, and manifest HDGECs report a higher rate of OCBs compared to premanifest HDGECs. OCBs and PBs are associated with a longer disease duration and disease severity in manifest HDGECs, but decrease in the most advanced stages. When HDGECs come closer to estimated motor onset, the companion ratings on OCBs appear to be higher than the self-ratings of HDGECs. Conclusions: Both OCBs and PBs are characteristic neuropsychiatric features of HD. Perseveration is probably best distinguished from OCBs as it occurs without the individual's full awareness or insight into their presence (and the behavior may not be distressing). Although these behaviors are seldom distinguished, we conclude that differentiating OCBs from PBs in HD is beneficial for the management and treatment of these symptoms in HDGECs.


Homosexuality has become a divisive issue in many religious communities. Partly because of that, individuals growing up in such a community and experiencing same sex attractions need to negotiate the messages about homosexuality with their own experiences. This paper explores the identity strategies of religious communities as the background of individual identity struggles. Following a discussion of Bauman's grammars of identity/alterity, it describes four different discourses employed in conservative protestant and evangelical circles: holiness, subjectivity, obedience, and responsibility and four modes of negotiation: Christian lifestyle, gay lifestyle, commuting (compartmentalisation), and integration. By combining an analysis of discourses on the community level with individual strategies, this narrative research helps to better understand the interactions of (group) culture and individual coping.


Jan van Noordt (c.1623/4-1676) created some of the most flamboyant and expressive paintings of the Dutch Golden Age, such as "Susanna and the Elders" and "Portrait of a Boy with a Falcon". Yet little was known about his life and the many misattributions of his works have hidden his significance. David de Witt untangles fact from fiction in the first comprehensive study of the life and work of Jan van Noordt. De Witt offers a detailed biography based on a thorough review of the documentary evidence. He traces Van Noordt's origins back to a prominent musical family, details his artistic development under the guidance of prominent Amsterdam painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer, and reveals his synthesis of the styles of the two dominant Netherlandish artists, Rubens and Rembrandt. Using a systematic analysis of technique, manner, and approach to form, de Witt proves that over half the paintings and drawings presently attributed to Van Noordt are not his work - virtually recasting the accomplishments of an artist whose vibrant, often daring works challenge our concept of seventeenth-century Dutch art.


This article explores the tensions between cosmopolitanism and sovereignty as a means to conceptualize the ethics of European foreign policy. It starts by discussing the claim that, in order for the EU to play a meaningful role as an international actor, a definition of the common ethical values orienting its political conduct is required. The question of a European federation of states and its ethical conceptualization emerges clearly in some of the philosophical writings of the 17th and 18th centuries. I seek to provide an outline of the main arguments presented by authors such as Saint Pierre, Rousseau and Kant regarding the implications of the emerging difference between cosmopolitanism and the law of nations in the ethics of international relations. The article focuses on the normative significance of the concept of sovereignty as it emerges in modern political philosophy and highlights its tensions with the ideas of moral and political cosmopolitanism. This exploration serves a double function: theoretical and practical. From the theoretical perspective it leads to a better understanding of the tensions involved in conceptualizing a common ethical orientation for the states of Europe. From the practical standpoint it sheds light on some persistent difficulties the European Union faces in trying to move beyond an intergovernmental political arrangement in the field of foreign policy.


In this paper, we discuss the use of natural language processing and artificial intelligence to analyze nutritional and sustainability aspects of recipes and food. We present the state-of-the-art and some use cases, followed by a discussion of challenges. Our perspective on addressing these is that while they typically have a technical nature, they nevertheless require an interdisciplinary approach combining natural language processing and artificial intelligence with expert domain knowledge to create practical tools and comprehensive analysis for the food domain.


A field trial was carried out to study the effect of seed dressing chemicals and Rhizobium inoculation on the yield of soybean. The results indicated that the seed treatment with Rhizobium japonicum gave significant increase in grain yield (2845.99 kg/ha) followed by the seed treatment with TMTD (0.25%)+ Rhizobium (2756.32 kg/ha) and Phorate 10 G soil application + Rhizobium seed treatment (2714.41 kg/hal. All the treatments have recorded significantly higher grain yield over control.


eSports services are situated between cooperation distinctive for many hedonic activities and competition relevant to the creation of hedonic behavior. This raises the challenge for eSports providers to offer services that fulfill consumers' needs. Against this background, we apply Uses and Gratifications theory (Rayburn and Palmgreen, 1984) and investigate which competitive and hedonic need gratifications drive continuous use of eSports. We conduct ten in-depth expert interviews and a multiple regression analysis based on survey data collected from 360 eSports players. With competition, challenge, and escapism both competitive and hedonic need gratifications drive continuous eSports use.


Due to the increasing importance of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites, a large number of papers published about fabrication of these materials, but yet the secondary manufacturing performance knowledge of such materials is rather limited. Understanding cutting performance of a novel natural fiber (cotton) reinforced polymer composite is the primary interest of this work. In the first part of the study, suitable cutting tool geometry was designated through milling tests and the results of cutting force, burr formation, and chip morphology. One flute left helix WC (Tungsten Carbide) tool was the most suitable tool geometry for cotton-fiber reinforced polymer milling. The optimum cutting parameters were selected with the designed quantitative scoring procedure for combined evaluation of cutting force and burr formation results. According to the evaluation system, the optimum cutting parameters were found as 25 m/min cutting speed and 200 mm/min feed rate. Three form of burr which are roll-over, poisson and entrance burr, and short ribbon shape chips with linty look were observed due to the embedded cotton fibers in LDPE matrix. At the end of the study, the benchmarking cutting force tests were conducted with pure low density polyethylene material and results compared with the cotton-fiber reinforced polymer.


Abstract. Identifying correlates of extinction risk is important for understanding the underlying mechanisms driving differential rates of extinction and variability in the temporal durations of taxa. Increasingly, it is recognized that the effects of multiple, potentially interacting variables and phylogenetic relationships should be incorporated when studying extinction selectivity to account for covariation of traits and shared evolutionary history. Here, I explore a variety of biological and ecological controls on genus longevity in the global fossil record of diplobathrid crinoids by analyzing the combined effects of species richness, habitat preference, body size, filtration fan density, and food size selectivity. I employ a suite of taxic and phylogenetic approaches to (1) quantitatively compare and rank the relative effects of multiple factors on taxonomic longevity and (2) determine how phylogenetic comparative approaches alter interpretations of extinction selectivity. I find controls on diplobathrid genus duration are hierarchically structured, where species richness is the primary predictor of duration, habitat is the secondary predictor, and combinations of ecological and biological traits are tertiary controls. Ecology plays an important but complex role in the generation of crinoid macroevolutionary patterns. Notably, tolerance of environmental heterogeneity promotes increased genus duration across diplobathrid crinoids, and the effects of traits related to feeding ecology vary depending on habitat lithology. Finally, I find accounting for phylogeny does not consistently decrease the significance of correlations between traits and genus duration, as is commonly expected. Instead, the strength of relationships between traits and duration may increase, decrease, or remain statistically similar, and both the magnitude and direction of these shifts are generally unpredictable. However, traits with strong correlations and/or moderately large effect sizes (Cohen's f2 > 0.15) under taxic approaches tend to remain qualitatively unchanged under phylogenetic approaches.


We present Dithen, a novel computation-as-a-service (CaaS) cloud platform specifically tailored to the parallel execution of large-scale multimedia tasks. Dithen handles the upload/download of both multimedia data and executable items, the assignment of compute units to multimedia workloads, and the reactive control of the available compute units to minimize the cloud infrastructure cost under deadline-abiding execution. Dithen combines three key properties: (i) the reactive assignment of individual multimedia tasks to available computing units according to availability and predetermined time-to-completion constraints; (ii) optimal resource estimation based on Kalman-filter estimates; (iii) the use of additive increase multiplicative decrease (AIMD) algorithms (famous for being the resource management in the transport control protocol) for the control of the number of units servicing workloads. The deployment of Dithen over Amazon EC2 spot instances is shown to be capable of processing more than 80,000 video transcoding, face detection and image processing tasks (equivalent to the processing of more than 116 GB of compressed data) for less than $1 in billing cost from EC2. Moreover, the proposed AIMD-based control mechanism, in conjunction with the Kalman estimates, is shown to provide for more than 27 percent reduction in EC2 spot instance cost against methods based on reactive resource estimation. Finally, Dithen is shown to offer a 38 to 500 percent reduction of the billing cost against the current state-of-the-art in CaaS platforms on Amazon EC2 (Amazon Lambda and Amazon Autoscale). A baseline version of Dithen is currently available at dithen.com under the "AutoScale" option.