Coastal fisheries and fishing resources of Bozcaada (Aegean Sea) This study reports fishing activities and fishing resources of coastal fisheries in Bozcaada Island. The technical characteristics of set net, handline and longlines in the island were also exposed. A total of 7 various types set nets of which four trammel nets and the others gill nets and 2 type longlines were determined from coastal fisheries in the area. Technical characteristics of these gears were identified according to the FAO catalogue. The fish and invertebrate species caught from coastal fishery were typical of those that inhabit coastal embayments in the Aegean. Bluefish, hake, red mullet, gilthead seabream, bogue, grouper, bonito, mackerel, octopus, squid and lobster species dominated in the commercial catch. A to- tal of 13 finfish, 3 invertebrate species were identifled from commercial catches in coastal fisheries of Bozcaada.


We investigated the utility of examining biological markers to predict chemoresponse and survival. The subjects consisted of 39 unresectable gastric cancer patients treated with a combination of 5-fluorouracil and cis-platinum. The expression of p53, bcl-2, thymidylate synthase (TS), glutathione S-transferase pi (GST-pi), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the formalin-fixed biopsy samples of primary tumors before chemotherapy was examined immunohistochemically. The positive rate for VEGF, bcl-2, TS, p53, and GST-pi was 51, 10, 46, 38, and 69%, respectively. VEGF-positive cases showed a higher response rate than did negative cases (11 of 20 versus 2 of 19 cases; P = 0.0057). The cases that were negative for p53, TS, bcl-2, and GST-pi were more likely to respond to chemotherapy than the cases that were positive for these markers. The 10 cases having 4 or 5 favorable phenotypes (VEGF positive, p53 negative, bcl-2 negative, TS negative, and GST-pi negative) survived longer than the remaining 29 cases (P = 0.0069). Multivariate analysis revealed that the number of favorable phenotypes (> or = 4 versus < or = 3) had a greater impact on survival than performance status (0 versus 1 or 2), age (> 60 years versus < or = 60 years), macroscopic type (scirrhous versus nonscirrhous), histological type (intestinal versus diffuse), or tumor extent (locally advanced versus metastatic). Immunohistochemical examination of biological markers in biopsy samples may be useful in predicting the clinical outcome of unresectable gastric cancer patients treated with 5-fluorouracil and cis-platinum.


Brain Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) are commonly used for tumor diagnosis. Machine learning for brain tumor characterization often uses MRIs from many modalities (e.g., T1-MRI, Enhanced-T1-MRI, T2-MRI and FLAIR). This paper tackles two issues that may impact brain tumor characterization performance from deep learning: insufficiently large training dataset, and incomplete collection of MRIs from different modalities. We propose a novel pairwise generative adversarial network (GAN) architecture for generating synthetic brain MRIs in missing modalities by using existing MRIs in other modalities. By improving the training dataset, we aim to mitigate the overfitting and improve the deep learning performance. Main contributions of the paper include: (a) propose a pairwise generative adversarial network (GAN) for brain image augmentation via cross-modality image generation; (b) propose a training strategy to enhance the glioma classification performance, where GAN-augmented images are used for pre-training, followed by refined-training using real brain MRIs; (c) demonstrate the proposed method through tests and comparisons of glioma classifiers that are trained from mixing real and GAN synthetic data, as well as from real data only. Experiments were conducted on an open TCGA dataset, containing 167 subjects for classifying IDH genotypes (mutation or wild-type). Test results from two experimental settings have both provided supports to the proposed method, where glioma classification performance has consistently improved by using mixed real and augmented data (test accuracy 81.03%, with 2.57% improvement).


In this paper, we propose a novel self-supervised representation learning by taking advantage of a neighborhood-relational encoding (NRE) among the training data. Conventional unsupervised learning methods only focused on training deep networks to understand the primitive characteristics of the visual data, mainly to be able to reconstruct the data from a latent space. They often neglected the relation among the samples, which can serve as an important metric for self-supervision. Different from the previous work, NRE aims at preserving the local neighborhood structure on the data manifold. Therefore, it is less sensitive to outliers. We integrate our NRE component with an encoder-decoder structure for learning to represent samples considering their local neighborhood information. Such discriminative and unsupervised representation learning scheme is adaptable to different computer vision tasks due to its independence from intense annotation requirements. We evaluate our proposed method for different tasks, including classification, detection, and segmentation based on the learned latent representations. In addition, we adopt the auto-encoding capability of our proposed method for applications like defense against adversarial example attacks and video anomaly detection. Results confirm the performance of our method is better or at least comparable with the state-of-the-art for each specific application, but with a generic and self-supervised approach.


Various fracture tests employing chevron-notched flexure specimens require accurate measurement of the specimen loading-point compliance at least through the achievement of the maximum load. Conventionally this compliance is determined by monitoring the center-point deflection on the specimen and then correcting the measured displacements for the compliance of the test setup, determined through separate calibration tests. A simple and accurate indirect determination of the compliance under flexure load condition, which is not affected by the compliance of the test setup used for fracture testing, was introduced previously. This method has been verified for flexure specimens containing through-thickness cracks. The present work deals with the application of the indirect compliance measurement method to chevron-notched flexure specimens. The original governing relation, previously verified for a specimen with a through-thickness crack, is modified based on finite element analysis results so as to be applicable to the chevron-notched specimens. After modification, this method is shown to lead also to accurate determination of the loading-point compliance in tests involving chevron-notched specimens.


A population simulation model was constructed for the McKinlay River population of the freshwater crocodile Crocodylus johnstoni. C, johnstoni are long-lived reptiles (50 y +) which take 9-16 years to reach maturity. As a consequence, the effects of legal hunting before 1963 are still reflected in an unstable population age structure. No quantitative data on the original population densities exist, nor are there data on the densities at which equilibrium can be expected in the future. The model examines the dynamics of a population which is still expanding and does not take into account density-dependent factors which may ultimately limit the population. If the population was undisturbed for 10 years, the model predicted the mean natural rate of population increase would be 1 .5% per annum. However, the population has been disturbed during research activities, and when these disturbances and manipulations were simulated the model predicted a 4% decrease in the population between 1979 and 1983. Independent surveys in both 1979 and 1983 indicated a 5% decrease in the population. This consistency has been interpreted as indicating that the model's predictions are not grossly erroneous. Sensitivity tests were carried out in which most parameters in the model were independently varied by plus or minus their estimated error, while other parameters were held constant. The resultant changes in the estimated population size after 10 years indicated the model was most sensitive to the age-specific mortality estimates. C. johnstoni management has the conservation requirement of maintaining or even enhancing the density of wild populations. Sustained-yield harvesting can theoretically be achieved without compromising this requirement by harvesting eggs and/or hatchlings, and later returning a proportion of the harvest to the population when they are larger and have a greater probability of surviving. When released into the wild, captive-raised C. johnstoni survive as well as wild ones of equivalent sizes. The model was used to simulate egg and hatchling harvests with different collection and return rates, and different ages of returned animals. It was also used to simulate harvests of post-hatchling crocodiles, without a return of captiveraised animals.


Negotiating boundaries: from state of affairs to matter of transit. The research deals with the everyday management of spatial uncertainty, starting with the wider historical question of terrains vagues (a French term for wastelands, dismantled areas and peripheral city voids, or interstitial spaces) and focusing later on a particular case study. The choice intended to privilege a small place (a mouth of a lagoon which crosses a beach), with ordinary features, instead of the esthetical "vague terrains", often witnessed through artistic media or architectural reflections. This place offered the chance to explore a particular dimension of indeterminacy, mostly related with a certain kind of phenomenal instability of its limits, the hybrid character of its cultural status (neither natural, nor artificial) and its crossover position as a transitional space, between different tendencies and activities. The first theoretical part of the research develops a semiotic of vagueness, by taking under exam the structuralist idea of relation, in order to approach an interpretive notion of continuity and indeterminacy. This exploration highlights the key feature of actantial network distribution, which provides a bridge with the second methodological parts, dedicated to a "tuning" of the tools for the analysis. This section establishes a dialogue with current social sciences (like Actor-Network Theory, Situated action and Distributed Cognition), in order to define some observational methods for the documentation of social practices, which could be comprised in a semiotic ethnography framework. The last part, finally, focuses on the mediation and negotiation by which human actors are interacting with the varying conditions of the chosen environment, looking at people's movements through space, their embodied dealings with the boundaries and the use of spatial artefacts as framing infrastructure of the site.


Endophytes are a unique
group of microorganisms that spend at least part of their life cycle within
plant tissues. These microbes are increasingly being recognized for their
potential to improve the health and productivity of their host plants. Recent
studies indicate that endophytes could also influence human health by altering
the composition of chemical compounds within plants, thereby affecting their
nutritional quality and flavor. In addition, the presence of endophytes in
edible plant tissues could directly affect human health by introducing microbes
that can stimulate the immune system or act as opportunistic pathogens in
people with compromised immune systems. However, despite their potential
importance for plant and human health, these plant-associated microbes have
been understudied due to a lack of visible symptoms associated with their
presence and difficulty in isolating them from plant tissues. In the present
studies, we hypothesized that endophytes play an important role in carrot, one
of the most important vegetable crops in the world.

 Carrot is well known as an important source of
vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients in the human diet, and carrot
taproots are often consumed raw. Carrot crops are slow to establish and are subject
to assault by a wide range of pests that negatively affect the health and
productivity of this crop, as well as the storage potential of its taproots.
Consequently, the aim of these studies was to examine endophyte dynamics in
carrot. Studies were carried out in field, greenhouse and laboratory trials
using a diverse set of carrot genotypes with broad genetic backgrounds and
physiological characteristics. Endophyte communities were studied using
traditional culture-based techniques, along with low and high throughput
sequencing technologies.

Results of these studies
demonstrate that carrot seeds and taproots are colonized by an abundant and
diverse set of endophytic microbial taxa. Many of these endophytes could
solubilize phosphorous, fix atmospheric nitrogen, produce siderophores and
auxin and suppress infection by a key carrot pathogen, Alternaria dauci, demonstrating their potential importance for
maintaining carrot health and productivity. Some of the endophytes identified
in these trials were vertically transmitted to progeny inside carrot seeds,
indicating that they could be part of a core microbiome that evolved alongside
carrot plants, and are likely to be critical in early seedling establishment.
We also determined that carrot endophytes could be acquired via horizontal
transmission from soil with greater soil health in an organic relative to a
conventionally managed system resulting in greater populations of endophytes
with antagonistic activity against A.
dauci. Finally, endophyte communities varied among the genotypes evaluated
in this study, with some being more responsive to the presence of greater
populations of beneficial endophytes in their environments. This indicates that
it could someday be possible to begin selecting for these beneficial plant
microbial relationships in breeding programs.

 Based on the results of these studies, we
conclude that endophytes do indeed play an important role in carrot. Additional
research aimed at determining how these microbes functionally interact with
carrot plants and identifying practical approaches to manipulate these
communities to enhance the productivity and quality of carrot taproots, are
recommended. A new isolation technique identified in these trials will aid in
these efforts.


It is unclear how dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviors co-occur in school-aged children. We investigated the clustering of energy balance-related behaviors and whether the identified clusters were associated with weight status. Participants were 6- to 9-year-old children (n = 63,215, 49.9% girls) from 19 countries participating in the fourth round (2015/2017) of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative. Energy balance-related behaviors were parentally reported. Weight and height were objectively measured. We performed cluster analysis separately per group of countries (North Europe, East Europe, South Europe/Mediterranean countries and West-Central Asia). Seven clusters were identified in each group. Healthier clusters were common across groups. The pattern of distribution of healthy and unhealthy behaviors within each cluster was group specific. Associations between the clustering of energy balance-related behaviors and weight status varied per group. In South Europe/Mediterranean countries and East Europe, all or most of the cluster solutions were associated with higher risk of overweight/obesity when compared with the cluster 'Physically active and healthy diet'. Few or no associations were observed in North Europe and West-Central Asia, respectively. These findings support the hypothesis that unfavorable weight status is associated with a particular combination of energy balance-related behavior patterns, but only in some groups of countries.


One challenge in modern medicine is to control epilepsies that do not respond to currently available medications. Since seizures consist of coordinated and high-frequency neural activity, our goal was to disrupt neurotransmission with a synaptic transmission mutant and evaluate its ability to suppress seizures. We found that the mutant shibire, encoding dynamin, suppresses seizure-like activity in multiple seizure–sensitive Drosophila genotypes, one of which resembles human intractable epilepsy in several aspects. Because of the requirement of dynamin in endocytosis, increased temperature in the shits1 mutant causes impairment of synaptic vesicle recycling and is associated with suppression of the seizure-like activity. Additionally, we identified the giant fiber neuron as critical in the seizure circuit and sufficient to suppress seizures. Overall, our results implicate mutant dynamin as an effective seizure suppressor, suggesting that targeting or limiting the availability of synaptic vesicles could be an effective and general method of controlling epilepsy disorders.


In recent years cores have captured the imagination of designers who understand the potential of using these cells like integrated circuits on a PC board in building on-chip systems. With a rich cell library of predesigned, preverified circuit blocks, cores provide an attractive means to import technology to a system integrator and differentiate products by leveraging intellectual property advantages. Most importantly, core use shortens the time to market for new system designs through design reuse. Practical implementation of this design scenario, however, is fraught with unresolved issues: design methods for building single-chip systems, challenges in test and sign-off for these systems, and intellectual property licensing, protection, and liability. Here, we examine the evolving design flow for microelectronic systems, the market for core cells, and the challenges in using core cells for design, integration, assembly, and test of onchip systems.


The impact of cross sectional aggregation over individual retail stores on the estimation and testing of vertical price transmission between the wholesale and retail levels is investigated using a unique data set of individual retail prices in Germany. Systematic differences between the results of estimations using aggregated data on the one hand, and disaggregated data on the other, are discussed theoretically and confirmed empirically. The results suggest that estimation with aggregated data generates misleading conclusions about price transmission behavior at the level of the individual units (i.e. retail stores) that underlie these aggregates.


Active search is a learning paradigm where we seek to identify as many members of a rare, valuable class as possible given a labeling budget. Previous work on active search has assumed access to a faithful (and expensive) oracle reporting experimental results. However, some settings offer access to cheaper surrogates such as computational simulation that may aid in the search. We propose a model of multifidelity active search, as well as a novel, computationally efficient policy for this setting that is motivated by state-of-the-art classical policies. Our policy is nonmyopic and budget aware, allowing for a dynamic tradeoff between exploration and exploitation. We evaluate the performance of our solution on real-world datasets and demonstrate significantly better performance than natural benchmarks.


Myosin 2 is the molecular motor in muscle. It binds actin and executes a power stroke by rotating its lever arm through an angle of approximately 70 degrees to translate actin against resistive force. Myosin 2 has evolved to function optimally under crowded conditions where rates and equilibria of macromolecular reactions undergo major shifts relative to those measured in dilute solution. Hence, an important research objective is to detect in situ the lever arm orientation. Single-molecule measurements are preferred because they clarify ambiguities that are unavoidable with ensemble measurements; however, detecting single molecules in the condensed tissue medium where the myosin concentration exceeds 100 muM is challenging. A myosin light chain (MLC) tagged with photoactivatable green fluorescent protein (PAGFP) was constructed. The recombinant MLC physically and functionally replaced native MLC on the myosin lever arm in a permeabilized skeletal muscle fiber. Probe illumination volume was minimized using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, and PAGFP was sparsely photoactivated such that polarized fluorescence identified a single probe orientation. Several physiological states of the muscle fiber were characterized, revealing two distinct orientation populations in all states called straight and bent conformations. Conformation occupancy probability varies among fiber states with rigor and isometric contraction at extremes where straight and bent conformations predominate, respectively. Comparison to previous work on single rigor cross-bridges at the A-band periphery where the myosin concentration is low suggests molecular crowding in the A-band promotes occupancy of the straight myosin conformation [Burghardt, T. P., et al. (2007) Biophys. J. 93, 2226]. The latter may have a role in contraction because it provides additional free energy favoring completion of the cross-bridge power stroke.


The Qualitative Simulation Graph Methodology (QSGM) is well suited to address the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) scheduling-with-resources problem. In QSGM, all possible scenarios are characterized in the problem. This is called the coverage property. The coverage property of QSGM has two important implications for the PERT scheduling problem. First, it means that all possible schedules are represented. Second, it means that the model can characterize all possible outcomes of a decision that needs to be made in the schedule. This gives rise to the possibility of robust scheduling decisions without the need to rerun the schedule because actual activity durations differ from estimated activity durations.


Muntjak (Muntiacus muntjak muntjak) belongs to Cervidae family which distributed in Java Island and Southern part of Sumatera. This cervid has been protected by Indonesian Government since 1999. In order to support breeding program of the species and to avoid them from extinction, its reproductive biology such as spermatogenesis and the correlation to semen quality is important to be investigated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine spermatogenesis and semen quality of two adult male muntjaks during antler growth periods that consist of hard antler (H), casting (C), and velvet antler (V). Testicular tissues and semen (ejaculates) were obtained by core needle biopsy and electroejaculation methods respectively. Testicular tissues were processed histologically and stained with periodic acid Schiff (PAS) to observe spermatogenesis whereas semen was evaluated to obtaine its quality. The results showed that spermatogenic activities were detected in all antler periods which marked by PAS positive staining (magenta colour) of round and elongated spermatid acrosomes. In H period, spermatogenic activity was higher than those C and V periods. According to semen evaluation, motile spermatozoa were found with different concentration in all antler periods. The highest sperm concentration (x 10 6 spermatozoa/ml) in both of muntjaks was found in H period (506.25 ± 61.87), and slightly decreased in C (288.75 ± 37.12), and V periods (362.60 ± 17.68). These finding showed that spermatogenesis to produce spermatozoa is taken place while muntjaks are in C and V periods with differ activities that provable with the existence of motile spermatozoa from ejaculates in both of male muntjaks. Therefore, muntjaks could provide reproductive function throughout the year of reproductive aseasonality which is similar to the reeves and formosan muntjaks.


This paper investigates the secrecy outage performance of transmit antenna selection (TAS)/maximal ratio combining (MRC) in multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) cognitive radio networks (CRNs) over Rayleigh fading channels. In the considered system, a secondary user (SU-TX) equipped with NA (NA ≥ 1) antennas uses TAS to transmit confidential messages to another secondary user (SU-RX), which is equipped with NB (NB ≥ 1) antennas and adopts the MRC scheme to process multiple received signals. Meanwhile, an eavesdropper equipped with NE (NE ≥ 1) antennas also adopts the MRC scheme to overhear the transmitted information between SU-TX and SU-RX. SU-TX adopts the underlay strategy to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of the primary user (PU) without spectrum sensing. In this paper, we derive the exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions for the secrecy outage probability (SOP). Simulations are conducted to validate the accuracy of the analysis.


The authors examine the impact of fund size on investment performance. Ultimately every investment strategy will become self–defeating when too much money chases the same opportunity. It has therefore become common practice among successful fund managers to close funds to new money. It is mostly a mystery as to where and how this line gets drawn, especially since these restrictions are almost invariably lifted (with the pressure of increased client demand). Every asset management strategy has a natural limit beyond which growing a fund will significantly retard performance. The authors use real–life simulations to document how soon a performance drag sets in and how significant it is. They thus provide a framework to establish maximum fund size.


Earlier studies on Small Business Internet Commerce (SBIC) indicate that small businesses are using the Internet for various business activities. However, few so far have been focused on the use of multimedia tools to support context-rich, highly interactive business activities (eg., online product inspection and negotiation). This paper reports the findings of a preliminary study relevant to the usability of multimedia tools in a small business context. Several criteria have been identified that may have major effect on the suitability of different multimedia tools as facilitators of SBIC. These include, ease of use, platform independence, ready availability and the ability to maintain person-to-person interactivity. However, these criteria could be affected by the communication infrastructure quality (e.g., line reliability) and suitability to the business applications. We propose that further study needs to be carried out to provide a generic evaluation framework for such tools.


Abstract Background: For many years, shivering after anaesthesia has been recognised, and is one consequence of perioperative hypothermia. Shivering affects a number of physiological parameters. The aim of the study was to evaluate the severity of hypothermia after open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and to determine the efficacy of injection tramadol hydrochloride (HCl) in preventing postanaesthetic shivering. Method: Eighty American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Grade I and II patients scheduled to undergo either laparoscopic cholecystectomy, (Group A, n = 40) or open cholecystectomy (Group B, n = 40), were included in this randomised prospective study. Patients were further allocated randomly to two groups, to receive either tramadol 1 mg/kg (treatment group, Group A1 and B1, n = 40, 20 patients in each group), or the equivalent volume of normal saline (control group, Group A2 and B2, n = 40, 20 patients in each group), at the time of wound closure. Results: Fall in temperature was significantly more in the laparoscopic cholecystectomy group (0.70°C and 0.81°C), than in the open cholecystectomy group (0.32°C and 0.275°C). The incidence of postanaesthetic shivering was comparable in the treatment groups (A1 and B1), but was significantly higher in the control groups (A2 and B2). Incidence of sedation was not significantly different between treatment and control groups. Conclusion: Tramadol significantly reduced the incidence and severity of shivering, following open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy operations.


Zeynep Yurekli Architecture and Hagiography in the Ottoman Empire: The Politics of Bektashi Shrines in the Classical Age Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies series, Farnham, England: Ashgate, 2012, 222 pp., 57 b/w illus. £70, ISBN 9781409411062

By examining the patronage and remodeling of two Anatolian shrine complexes, Zeynep Yurekli addresses the historical, religious, and ideological complexities that shaped the political and spiritual geography of the Ottoman Empire during the sixteenth century. A specific form of architectural patronage at the shrines, which were built to venerate medieval religious figure Haci Bektas Veli and eighth-century warrior saint Seyyid Battal Gazi, shaped the architecture at the important Anatolian centers that housed the saints' tombs and attendant communities of dervishes. These were places of pilgrimage visitation, known in Turkish as ziyaretler . The sites sat on the borders of regional principalities, or beylikler , that were formed following the Mongol conquest of Anatolia in 1243 and were eventually brought into the Ottoman Empire. Yurekli posits that the shrines subsequently became key sites in a "Bektashi network" that grew between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries to include more than 150 such sites, all under the centralized governance of the leaders of the Haci Bektas Veli shrine in central Anatolia.

Such shrines, dedicated to saints venerated by Anatolian Muslims, dotted the Ottoman landscape. In many cases, the tombs of these exemplary figures became parts of large complexes that included facilities for dervishes in Sufi orders; kitchens and bakeries for supplying food to initiates, pilgrims, festival attendees, travelers, and the poor; systems of running water piped to pools and fountains as well as to residential and educational buildings; and ceremonial spaces. The architecture of the Turco-Mongol tradition of saint veneration was multifunctional and often cumulative, as structures were added, remodeled, and reoriented over time, sometimes over several centuries. This …


Tilapia, a teleost fish species with large anatomically discrete islet organs (Brockmann bodies; BBs) that can be easily harvested without expensive and fickle islet isolation procedures, make an excellent donor species for experimental islet xenotransplantation research. When transplanted into streptozotocin-diabetic nude or severe combined immunodeficient mice, BBs provide long-term normoglycemia and mammalian-like glucose tolerance profiles. However, when transplanted into euthymic recipients, the mechanism of islet xenograft rejection appears very similar to that of islets from "large animal" donor species such as the very popular fetal/neonatal porcine islet cell clusters (ICCs). Tilapia islets are more versatile than ICCs and can be transplanted (1) into the renal subcapsular space, the cryptorchid or noncryptorchid testis, or intraportally as neovascularized cell transplants; (2) as directly vascularized organ transplants; or (3) intraperitoneally after microencapsulation. Unlike the popular porcine ICCs, BBs function immediately after transplantation; thus, their rejection can be assessed on the basis of loss of function as well as other parameters. We have also shown that transplantation of tilapia BBs into nude mice can be used to study the possible implications of cross-species physiological incompatibilities in xenotransplantation. Unfortunately, tilapia BBs might be unsuitable for clinical islet xenotransplantation because tilapia insulin differs from human insulin by 17 amino acids and, thus, would be immunogenic and less biologically active in humans. Therefore, we have produced transgenic tilapia that express a "humanized" tilapia insulin gene. Future improvements on these transgenic fish may allow tilapia to play an important role in clinical islet xenotransplantation.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the direction of associations between perceived leadership styles of an immediate leader and state anxiety among subordinates using time-lagged data from a large and heterogeneous probability sample of Norwegian employees. It was hypothesised that high levels of transformational leadership would be associated with a decrease, whereas high levels of laissez-faire leadership would be associated with an increase, in subsequent levels of anxiety. Reciprocal associations were also expected in that higher levels of anxiety were hypothesised to be related to subsequent increase in reports of laissez-faire, and decrease in reported exposure to transformational leadership. The sample comprised 1149 Norwegian employees. The design was a two-wave full panel study with a six-month time interval between the baseline and follow-up assessments. Contrary to hypotheses, neither transformational nor laissez-faire leadership were significantly related to subsequent levels of state anxiety. In support of hypotheses, baseline low levels of state anxiety were associated with reporting the immediate leader as less transformational and more laissez-faire six months later. In conclusion, the findings challenge theoretical models that explain leadership as a one-way superior–subordinate influence process.


We demonstrate quantitative phase delay measurements with a spiral phase contrast microscope working in confocal mode. Such a confocal configuration is sensitive to weak phase objects due to background rejection but does not give direct access to the phase delay introduced by the sample. We develop a theory showing that shifting the illumination spot relative to the detector gives access to the local phase gradient in the first-order approximation. Subsequently, we present an iterative integration algorithm for phase delay measurements. This approach is validated on simulated and calibrated experimental images. Finally, the algorithm is applied to measure the phase profile of a cell, in which phase delays of 10 mrad are observed.


Practitioners prune neural networks for efficiency gains and generalization improvements, but few scrutinize the factors determining the prunability of a neural network the maximum fraction of weights that pruning can remove without compromising the model's test accuracy. In this work, we study the properties of input data that may contribute to the prunability of a neural network. For high dimensional input data such as images, text, and audio, the manifold hypothesis suggests that these high dimensional inputs approximately lie on or near a significantly lower dimensional manifold. Prior work demonstrates that the underlying low dimensional structure of the input data may affect the sample efficiency of learning. In this paper, we investigate whether the low dimensional structure of the input data affects the prunability of a neural network.


The information technology industry emerged with distinctive differences compared to other industries due its wide application on day-to-day business processes. Today, it is important for businesses to identify the information technologies that are going to have an effect on them, and respond suitably with IT-based solutions to remain competitive. These traits trickle down to the identical fundamental activities of software development, where having maximum flexibility to accurately and quickly comply with the client's demands had become a must-have in every cutting edge development company. In this context, software development companies have shifted their development from conventional methodologies like waterfall methodology towards agile software development. Amongst, agile software development methodologies, "scrum" has become more popular amongst IT firms due to several advantages inherent in it especially from the customer's perspective. The main aim of this study was to identify the key success factors that affect the scrum software development project success. According to the literature, a preliminary list of potential key success factors of agile project success was identified by the authors in [1] and their model was primarily considered in this study due to its wide application in agile software development arena. Data from 241 IT professionals were collected through an online questionnaire, and based on the results, the hypotheses were tested in order to identify the effect of each key success factor on the scrum software development project success.It was found that the management commitment, organizational environment, team capability, customer involvement, customer satisfaction, practice of agile software techniques, project management process, project nature, project type, project acceptability, and intension to use were having significant and positive effect on scrum software development project success.


The aggregation of individual judgments over interrelated propositions is a newly arising …eld of social choice theory. I introduce several independence conditions on judgment ag-gregation rules, each of which protects against a speci…c type of manipulation by agenda setters or voters. I derive impossibility theorems whereby these independence conditions are incompatible with certain minimal requirements. Unlike earlier impossibility results, the main result here holds for any (non-trivial) agenda. However, independence conditions arguably undermine the logical structure of judgment aggregation. I therefore suggest restricting independence to "premises", which leads to a generalised premise-based procedure. This procedure is proven to be possible if the premises are logically independent. JEL Classi…cation Numbers: D70, D71, D79.


Soil organic matter (SOM) is recognized as an important factor for sustainable land use. Several analyzing techniques were focused on fractionation of soil organic carbon (SOC), on carbon sequestration, soil functions, or other approaches. We combined SOC fractionation with studies on carbon sequestration. Thermogravimetry (TG, recording of mass losses during heating up of soil samples) was selected as a supplemental method to standard analyzing techniques for soils. TG provides recording of thermal mass losses in dependency on temperature what facilitate fractionation together with SOM content determination via mass losses on ignition (MLI). Autocorrelation analyses of TG data enable to assess the carbon sequestration processes. After a gentle sample preparation, more than 370 soil samples in eight sample sets were analyzed from different types of soils and regions of origin. The results extend literature data by revealing quantifiable interrelations between content of SOM, SOC and clay with a coefficient of determination around 0.98. Deviations from the relationship become lower during incubation experiments, with increasing sampling depth, and with decreasing organic fertilization in plots of long term agriculture field experiments etc. We explained these results with changing quantities of extraneous (mostly fresh) organic residues not affected by soil carbon content regulation. These organic residues seems to be quantifiable via difference between measured MLI and the MLI calculated from content of SOC and clay both determined by standard methods. The practical use of found interrelation implies an acceptance of traditional definition of soil and SOM as products of long term ecosystem succession with content regulation as a unifying over regions soil feature. In contrast, the more common and simplified understanding of soil as carbon containing mineral substrates supports public recognition of soils. However, it does not facilitate the comparison of results from different regions and studies about soils. We conclude from these considerations about obligatory distinction between following types of organic carbon as an essential precondition for assessment of SOM supply: 1. SOC (or humus) as a product of long term carbon regulation processes, 2. fresh organic residues, and carbon of 3. geologic (turf, coal, graphite, diamond, ...) or 4. anthropogenic origin (black carbon in ashes, cinder, soot, asphalt). Deutsche Bondekundliche Gesellschaft 2017


Large amount of In-rich fibers are found on combinatorial deposited In-Y thin film. Sizes, morphologies, and distributions of fibers are most likely dependent on the film composition. Oxidation of the film seems to play an important role for the spontaneous formation of fibers. Demonstrate a potential application of combinatorial method to study fibers. Open a possibility for novel synthesis technique of one dimensional nanostructured materials. The results presented could be utilized as a new synthesis technique for one-dimensional nanostructured materials. The SEM results improve the direct and spontaneous formation of In micro-and nano-fibers.


Abstract This paper presents an efficient video coding algorithm: Three-dimensional embedded subband coding with optimized truncation (3-D ESCOT), in which coefficients in different subbands are independently coded using fractional bit-plane coding and candidate truncation points are formed at the end of each fractional bit-plane. A rate-distortion optimized truncation scheme is used to multiplex all subband bitstreams together into a layered one. A novel motion threading technique is proposed to form threads along the motion trajectories in a scene. For efficient coding of motion threads, memory-constrained temporal wavelet transforms are applied along entire motion threads. Block-based motion threading is implemented in conjunction with 3-D ESCOT in a real video coder. Extension of 3-D ESCOT to object-based coding is also addressed. Experiments demonstrate that 3-D ESCOT outperforms MPEG-4 for most test sequences at the same bit rate.


Fish dietary studies are crucial for enhancing understanding of the food web dynamics and trophic structure of ecosystems which is integral for conservation purposes. The overarching aim of this study was to assess the extent and nature of any trophic resource partitioning among three co-familial (Sparidae) fishery species (Black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri, Tarwhine Rhabdosargus sarba and Pink snapper Chrysophrys auratus) within an area and time of year in which they all co-occur in the Walpole-Nornalup Estuary, south-western Australia. A total of 227 fish gut samples, 186 of which contained food, were collected across three different size classes (small, 0-150 mm; medium, 150-250 mm; large, >250 mm total length) of the above species and examined for gut content composition. Muscle samples from a subset of those fish were also analysed for their stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) composition to understand their primary energy sources and relative trophic feeding levels. Overall, dietary composition differences were small to moderate. The largest species differences occurred between the omnivorous and estuarine A. butcheri and the carnivorous and marine C. auratus, and significant ontogenetic shifts were identified only for R. sarba and to a lesser extent A. butcheri, with both species consuming more plant material with increasing size. As expected, the primary energy sources of A. butcheri were more freshwater/terrestrially-derived, while those of C. auratus had the greatest marine influences, but unexpectedly, small-medium A. butcheri had a notably higher trophic level than any other species or size class. The stable isotope results suggested a considerable amount of trophic overlap between A. butcheri and R. sarba. With ongoing climate change effects in south-western Australia, including further salinisation of estuaries and increased abundance of marine species, trophic competition pressures (particularly between A. butcheri and R. sarba) are expected to increase in the Walpole-Nornalup Estuary. Given the subsequent potential impacts on the productivity of these key fishery species, it is suggested that the diets, as well as the abundance and growth of these Sparidae populations, are monitored to help ensure a sustainable recreational fishing experience in the Walpole-Nornalup into the future.


Geographic routing is of interest for sensor networks because a point-to-point primitive is an important building block for data-centric applications. Improved Greedy Distributed Spanning Tree Routing (IGDSTR), is a new geographic routing algorithm that finds shorter routes and generates and less maintenance traffic than Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR) algorithms. Greedy forwarding faces the problem at local dead ends where geographic routing potentially scales well. GPSR handles dead ends by planarizing the node connectivity graph and then using the righthand rule to route around the resulting faces. The proposed system introduces a new kind of spanning tree, called hull tree. Hull trees provide a way of aggregating location information built by convex hull to the spanning tree. Convex hull is used in routing to avoid paths that will not be productive, so it is able to traverse a significantly reduced sub tree, consisting of only the nodes with convex hulls that contain the destination point.


Photodynamic therapy was tested for its therapeutic efficacy in eradicating rabbit papilloma warts. The wild-type viral warts suspension was used to induce treatable papilloma warts in the cutaneous tissue of Dutch Belted rabbits. The photosensitizing agents used intravenously were Photofrin II at 10 mg/kg of body weight and Chlorin e6 monoethylene diamine monohydrochloric acid (Chlorin e6 med HCl) at 1 mg/kg of body weight. The lasers used were an argon-dye laser at 628 and 655 nm and a gold vapor laser at 628 nm. The irradiances of 25 to 180 mW/cm2 were applied topically with an end-on lens optical fiber with total radiant doses of 7.5 to 54 J/cm2. Photofrin II and the argon-dye laser at the highest light dosage (54 J/cm2) and Chlorin e6 monoethylene diamine monohydrochloride administered 2 hours before argon-dye laser irradiation at 655 nm at the highest light dosage (54 J/cm2) produced wart regression. Total wart regression without recurrence was achieved with Photofrin II and the gold vapor laser at all light dosages. The difference observed between the argon-dye laser and the gold vapor laser might be explained by the pulsed nature of the gold vapor laser, with its high-peak powers, some 5000 x the average measured light dose. In this model, the smaller, less cornified lesions were more effectively treated with photodynamic therapy.


The cyberspace has revolutionised payment systems across the globe. The retail sector has also embraced cyberspace enhanced payment systems as an alternative or compliment to the conventional cash based payment systems. Whilst the cyberspace has brought positive results to the business environment, new criminal threats have also evolved. This study sought to explore the nature of cyberspace enhanced payment systems for the retail sector in Zimbabwe, as well as to document the nature of cyber threats to this sector. It was found out that use of debit cards, mobile money transfers and real time gross (RTGS) transactions top the list of cyberspace enhanced payment systems in the Zimbabwean retail sector. Dominant cyber threats to the retail sector include infection of computers with viruses and unauthorised access, whilst debit card fraud and fraudulent RTGS transactions infrequently occur in the Zimbabwean retail sector.


This is a book on the "dark side" of information technology, as it describes how the vulnerabilities of systems and networks can be exploited to gain unauthorized access. It is important that students and practitioners understand how advanced the state of the art in exploiting vulnerabilities is, since only a deep understanding of the problem will lead to good solutions.

Engebretson presents an overview of the tools a penetration tester might use to test the vulnerability of a system or network. The tools are described in some detail, mainly focusing on the syntax of commands. The interpretation of the results is described only superficially. The reader is left wondering what exactly is going on and why. Let me give a few examples to illustrate this point.

In several places, the book warns the penetration tester that stealth is important. However, there is no information on how stealthy the various tools are, nor is there a discussion on how to use the tools in the stealthiest manner.

The book often suggests that the reader should learn about a particular topic--for example, Internet protocols (p. 53): "To truly master port scanning you will need to have a solid understanding of these protocols." Another example is the discussion (p. 79) of the differences between bind and reverse payloads. The book provides some of the facts, but it does not explain the relevance or the underlying principles. There are no pointers to further studies, references, or even Web pages. What exactly do we have to learn? Why? Where can we find the relevant material?

I have read books similar to this one, but on topics that are far from my area of expertise (for example, Nanotechnology for dummies [1]), which I found more readable because the relevance of the topic was clear, and links to further information were provided. In summary: if the reader knows little about networking and is looking for a book that will get him started on penetration testing, then this book may be useful. But it won't get the reader anywhere near successful penetration tests, because a much better understanding of networking than the book provides will be needed. Unfortunately, the book does not even try to point readers in the right direction to becoming proficient penetration testers.

1) E. Boysen, Nanotechnology for dummiesDummies Series: Dummies Series. Wiley, Indianapolis, IN, 2011.


Game compositions prioritise rules and processes over material and content. They operate on the participants, facilitating inter-personal exchange in dynamic ways. Such pieces question the role of composers, recasting them as facilitators who open up spaces for interaction, or as referees who mediate performances. The paper examines key game pieces, including John Zorn's Cobra (1984), Christian Wolff's Burdocks (1971), alongside my current composition project things to do (2012).


One well established feature of tax law is that, oftentimes, substance prevails over form. In other words, the substance of a transaction will determine the transaction's tax consequences. For instance, tax consequences will not depend solely on the label that a taxpayer assigns to a given transaction. Instead, the IRS can examine the transaction's economic features to more accurately characterize it for tax purposes. Also deeply entrenched in tax law is the notion that, frequently, the IRS experiences more success than taxpayers when invoking the notion that substance prevails over form. In other words, when substance matters, the IRS can freely assert that a transaction should be taxed based on its true substance rather than the form selected by the taxpayer. A taxpayer, by contrast, is less likely to succeed when making the same assertion. The resistance to taxpayers' attempts to invoke the substance-over-form doctrine is known as the "Non-Disavowal Doctrine."Although the Non-Disavowal Doctrine's existence is widely acknowledged, the purposes of the doctrine have not been adequately theorized. This is perhaps not surprising given that court decisions invoking the Non-Disavowal Doctrine have been described as muddled and inconsistent. Courts and existing literature have offered various explanations for the doctrine, but the explanations that have been offered are not fully developed. This Article will examine potential rationales in detail. Providing a detailed analysis of the theory underlying the Non-Disavowal Doctrine serves two useful purposes. First, it helps to explain some of the factors upon which courts rely that might otherwise seem irrelevant. Second, it provides guidance for how and when courts should apply the doctrine to better serve its goals.


Healthcare disparities exist between those in more or less affluent communities. This is particularly true for diabetes devices, where intensive training and follow-up is needed. Materials are generally written at an 11th grade reading level. Further, illustrations generally show low ethnic diversity. To reduce this educational gap, we created lower literacy, English and Spanish, multicultural guides for insulin pen and pump use. Focus groups provided input, nonbranded illustrations were created, and the text was edited by the "Clear Language Group." Methods: The guides were implemented in our clinic for underserved, largely Hispanic, individuals in East Los Angeles. 47 adults with T1D were included. Subjects were given the low literacy guides and participated in guide driven individual and group education. Measures administered at baseline and 12 months were assessed for normality and independent sample t-tests. A 2-sided alpha of 0.05 was used. Results: Initial A1C was 9.2 +/- 1.97 (SD) with no change over the study course (12-month A1C = 9.3 +/- 1.92). However, patients showed an improved overall self-report of health (p = 0.012), improvement in diabetes knowledge (Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test, p=.004), a reduction in symptoms of depression (PHQ8, p=.042), and diabetes distress (Diabetes Distress Scale, T1D Redeem, p = 0.0123). Though no change in rates of hypoglycemia, a reduction in fear of hypoglycemia (Hypoglycemia Fear Scale, Fear sub-scale, P=0.025) was significant. Additionally, there was a reduction in rates of DKA (0.0108). Time in range was minimal, based on blinded CGM, at baseline (22.4%) and did not change at 12 months (24.0%). CGM data was only available on 25 patients due to patient reluctance to wear the device. Conclusions: Appropriately targeted teaching guides can be used to improve a variety of outcomes in people with T1D, including rates of DKA. However, more work is needed to make a significant impact on glycemic control. Disclosure A.L. Peters: Advisory Panel; Self; Abbott, Bigfoot Biomedical, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, MannKind Corporation, Medscape, Novo Nordisk Inc., Sanofi US. Consultant; Self; Livongo Health. Research Support; Self; Dexcom, Inc., vTv Therapeutics. Other Relationship; Self; Livongo Health, Mellitus Health, Omada Health, Stability Healthcare, Whole Biome Inc. M.A. Walker: None. V.F. Ruelas: None. Funding The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust


The OSIRIS‐REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft sampled asteroid (101955) Bennu on 20 October 2020 and will return the collected regolith to Earth in 2023. Before sample collection, spectral observations of four regions of interest on Bennu's surface were acquired at high spatial resolution (2–9 m per spectrometer spot) to identify the most suitable site for sampling and provide contextual information for the returned sample. In this study, we investigate thermal‐infrared (6–50 μm) observations of these four regions, including the site that OSIRIS‐REx ultimately sampled, using the Advanced Thermophysical Model with input digital terrain models derived from laser altimetry. From model‐to‐measurement comparisons, we find that the observed brightness temperatures depend strongly on small‐scale topography, local variations in thermal inertia, and the observation phase angle. Thermal inertia mapping reveals spatial variations that distinguish the different boulder types found on Bennu. A boulder bearing carbonate veins has higher thermal inertia than average, suggesting that cementation processes reduced its porosity. The thermal inertia of the site sampled is 190 ± 30 J m−2 K−1 s−1/2, which is consistent with observations of a fine‐grained regolith mixed with porous rocks. Thermophysical modeling of the site sampled predicts that the maximum temperatures experienced by the collected sample while on Bennu were 357 ± 3 and 261 ± 3 K for the surface and 50 cm depth, respectively. We predict that OSIRIS‐REx will return a sample with thermophysical properties unique from those of meteorites.


The imbalance between oxidant molecules and antioxidant agents is characterized as oxidative stress (OS) and may lead to severe damage to the organism. In contrast, the physical training of aerobic and resistive character promotes increases of the antioxidant response, resulting in a balance and/or minimizing damage. Therefore, the objective of the study is to verify the effect of aerobic training, resistive training and concurrent training on oxidative stress of Wistar rats. Methods: To perform the experiment, 40 Wistar rats were subjected to eight weeks of training. The animals were distributed into 4 different groups: control, aerobic, resistive and concurrent (combination of aerobic and resistive protocols in the same section) an h/day, five days/week, for eight weeks. At the end of the experimental period: the antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase), biomarkers of oxidative stress (TBARs and H2O2) as well as the activity of reduced and oxidized glutathione were analyzed. Results: Regarding the markers, TBARs and H2O2 trainings were not effective in promoting significant reduction. In contrast, the three training protocols caused an increase in SOD and GSH-GPx enzymes. Conclusion: Therefore, we concluded that both training protocols promoted benefit to the organism, because they caused the increase of antioxidant enzymes without disturbance in the pro-oxidant markers.


Introduction: Endobronchial Ultrasound Guided Trans bronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive diagnostic modality for evaluating intra thoracic lymph nodes, becoming one of the important tool in the armamentarium of pulmonologists. The size of the fiberscope and sharing of the airway with the bronchoscopist poses unique challenges to the anesthesiologist. In light of these developments it is important to develop an office based anesthesia technique for this relatively new procedure. Hence we did this descriptive cohort study. Aim: To describe the accuracy and anaesthetic management of EBUS-TBNA as a day care procedure, done with general anesthesia (GA). Materials and Methods: Data was collected from January 2017 to December 2017 at our institute from patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA under GA using second generation laryngeal mask airway (LMA). Specifically, hemodynamic status, Oxygen saturation, duration of the procedure, diagnostic yield and complications of the procedure were recorded. Results: 23 patients underwent EBUS-TBNA under GA. All patients were found to be hemodynamically stable with fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate being less than 20% from the baseline with no episodes of desaturation .The average number of biopsies taken is 3.3, with average duration of the procedure being 67.0±17.6 (mean±SD) minutes. The incidence of post procedural complications like cough and sore throat were minimal. Successful diagnostic yield was found in all cases with no incidence of recall of the procedure. Conclusion: The performance of EBUS-TBNA under general anesthesia with LMA provides great hemodynamic stability and adequate ventilation in a shared airway. It demonstrates excellent diagnostic accuracy. It provides comfort to the patient and the good examination conditions to the bronchoscopist. Clinical Significance: Use of P-LMA solves the dilemma of managing ventilation during EBUS TBNA without affecting the diagnostic yield of the procedure.


: To assess the relation between old age and mortality and morbidity in associated diseases, 789 patients older than 65 years who underwent operations for biliary lithiasis are presented in this study. It has been shown that, although mortality and morbidity are related to the age of the patient and to the presence of associated diseases, it is also affected by operative findings, such as dilation of the common bile duct, the incidence of bile infection, pathologic changes in the biliary tree and the type of supplementary procedure in instances of choledochotomy. It was possible to demonstrate that, irrespective of the clinical presentation, infected bile is associated with a higher mortality and morbidity than is sterile bile. Moreover, mortality and morbidity were higher after cholecystostomy-choledochotomy than after cholecystectomy only; it has been shown that there was a higher mortality and morbidity after t-tube drainage than after choledochoduodenostomy in patients who, after choledochotomy, underwent the foregoing supplementary procedures. The aforementioned features demonstrate that, in the presence of infected bile, associated with dilation of the common bile duct, due to advanced pathologic changes in the histology of the biliary tree, t-tube drainage has to be avoided. Indeed, in this series of patients, t-tube drainage failed to achieve adequate decompression of the biliary tree and initiated exogenous acquisition with environmental microorganisms which are associated with an increase in the mortality and morbidity.


Pathogenic microbial biofilms that readily form on implantable medical devices or human tissues have posed a great threat to worldwide healthcare. Hopes are focused on preventive strategies towards biofilms, leaving a thought-provoking question: how to tackle the problem of established biofilms? In this review, we briefly summarize the functionalized biomaterials to combat biofilms and highlight current approaches to eradicate pre-existing biofilms. We believe that all of these strategies, alone or in combination, could represent a blueprint for fighting biofilm-associated infections in the postantibiotic era.


Jojoba oil and its derivatives have potential for uses in diverse products as cosmetics, pharmaceutical preparations, foam control agents, paint industry, candle industry and as food products. It is a source of long chain alcohols and acids with double bonds in slightly different positions from those in other natural fatty acids. Due to high flash and fire points, Jojoba oil can be used in the manufacture of high-pressure lubricant, which is required worldwide. Jojoba oil maintains its viscosity at high temperature. It has also higher thermal stability due to high flash and fire points, lower pour point and maintenance of viscosity at high temperatures. These properties can also enhance its worth as a potential component of lubricant if added in small quantity. Because of its pleasant feel on skin and its stability towards rancidity, it could become a standard oil-phase base for the cosmetic industry as well as useful for food product industry. Jojoba oil is relatively shelf-stable when compared with other vegetable oils, so it is used to make ointments, antifoams for industrial uses. It is a source of mono-unsaturated alcohols and acids with chain lengths of 22 and 24 carbons. Due to the alcohols present in it, Jojoba oil is used in the automobile industry as an antifreeze agent. It is oil producing industrial crop, potentially valuable for production of value added products.


We investigate heat transfer in supercritical steam flowing in a spiral tube by conducting threedimensional numerical simulations. The current numerical solver has been validated with the existing experimental results, and simulations are performed by varying different geometric parameters of a spiral tube. The flow dynamics and heat transfer in a spiral tube are compared against those in a straight tube. For the parameters range considered in the present study, it is found that the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) in the spiral tube is 29% higher than that in the case of a straight tube for the same flow and thermal conditions. Our results indicate that the tangential velocity component resulting due to the spiralling effect of the steam is the primary reason for the enhancement of the HTC value. It is observed that while the HTC in a spiral tube is inversely related to the spiral diameter, it does not exhibit a strong relationship with the spiral pitch. Moreover, three existing heat transfer correlations are evaluated under the spiral flow condition and it is observed that none of them can calculate the HTC value accurately in spiral tubes. Using the Buckingham π-theorem, three modified correlations are proposed for the low, moderate and high heat flux regimes, which accurately predict the wall temperature and HTC of supercritical steam in spiral tubes in all the heat flux regimes. The correlations have an error band of less than +/-20%.


In a heterogeneous wireless medium, base stations (BSs) with overlapped coverage can cooperate for power saving through efficient radio resource allocation to mobile terminals (MTs) with multihoming capabilities. Specifically, an MT can aggregate the offered radio resources from different BSs to satisfy its required service quality at reduced BS power consumption. Unlike the existing works, we investigate green communications in a multioperator system where BSs are operated by different service providers. In such a scenario, cooperation among different networks is favored only if it results in a win-win situation among the service providers. Toward this end, we propose a decentralized downlink radio resource allocation strategy that guarantees mutual benefit (power saving) among different service providers. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy offers incentives to different service providers to cooperate for power saving, as opposed to the existing mechanisms that assume the networks are willing to cooperate unconditionally and saves more power, as compared with the noncooperative mechanisms.


Over the last few years, the progressive scarcity of land for greenfield projects in ports and the enormous financial resources required to realize new terminal facilities have induced international terminal operators (ITOs) to enter in various types of agreements. In particular, ITOs have growingly resorted to equity joint-ventures (EJVs) to develop new infrastructures and share project risks. This manuscript introduces a multi-layer conceptual framework and investigates the extent of EJVs through a network analysis of inter-firm communities across various nations. The study has been performed on a data set that includes all port facilities operated in 2010 by ITOs. Indeed, 427 terminal facilities and 250 container port operators, that is 40 ITOs and 210 local firms, have been examined. Results show the different co-operative attitudes of ITOs and demonstrate that firms co-operate in a selective way, disclosing emerging patterns and hidden networks of relationships.


Benzimidazoles, such as omeprazole (OM) or lansoprazole (LAN), are widely used as proton-pump inhibitors to control stomach hyperacidity and have been found also to have antimicrobial actions against Helicobacter pylori and oral streptococci. Our study indicated that OM and LAN affected the glycolysis of oral bacteria by inhibiting the activity of some glycolytic  enzymes of Streptococcus mutans UA159 including aldolase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase. Remaining activity of these enzymes after had been treated with the agents were ca. 30%, 50% and 60%, respectively. However, pyruvate kinase was not inhibited by OM and LAN. Benzimidazoles are effective in the protonated form at acid pH values and cause inhibition of enzymes associated with the formation of drug-target disulphide bonds. We found that reducing agents including b-mercaptoethanol and glutathione reversed the inhibition of glycolytic enzyme activities by benzimidazoles. The reason for that possibly is the reducing agents neutralized benzimidazoles, avoiding the formation of S-S bonds between the protonated forms of drugs and target enzymes. Thus, glycolytic pathway is a potential target for the use of benzimidazoles against oral streptococci and their antimicrobial activity could be eliminated by the reducing agents.


Objective: To analyze the available scientific evidence about the skills of nursing professionals regarding the protocols of care in Basic Life Support.
Method: An integrative review performed in the databases LILACS, PUBMED, COCHRANE LIBRARY and other sources of literature, in March and April 2016, using the controlled descriptors "Emergency Nursing", "Knowledge", "Cardiac Arrest", "Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation". There were selected 27 articles based on the inclusion criteria.
Results: The main researches identified about the main challenges and knowledge experienced by nursing in the urgency and the emergency services facing cardiorespiratory arrest. It was noticed that the years 2010, 2012 and 2013 corresponded to the period with the greatest number of scientific articles published about the subject researched, being 2012 as the major year in publications.
Conclusion: Nursing qualification programs for care are a way to approach their practical reality, standardizing care.


Crop-raiding by wild animals is increasingly known to cause conflict between these animals and humans; subsequent losses incurred by farmers may make communities antagonistic and intolerant towards wildlife protection. There is an increasing need to understand interspecific and geographic differences in patterns of crop-raiding. Here, focussing on macaques, a group of primates that feature high on the list of crop-raiders throughout Asia, we calculate incidence rates (IRs; the proportion of farms where a particular crop is raided by macaques in relation to the total number of farms where this crop is grown and available to macaques) for different crops and relate this to physical and temporal features. Based on interview data from 120 farmers in 3 Vil- lage Development Committees in Lantang National Park in Nepal, IRs were highest for potato (0.783) and maize (0.697) and lower for cereals (0.353 and 0.357 for buckwheat and millet, respec- tively), and IRs of 4 crops were negatively related to the distance to the forest edge. IRs for potato and maize were close to 1 near the forest edge but dropped significantly when the distance between the forest edge and fields exceeded 150 and 400 m, respectively. Farmers mostly employed benign crop-deterrent tactics, but macaques disproportionally raided farms in the early hours of the day, presumably to avoid conflict with farmers. Comparisons with IRs from other macaque species from Sri Lanka and Indonesia show that IRs are not related to caloric or nutri- tional content of crops or to the quantities in which crops are grown. With respect to the manage- ment of macaques and mitigating conflict due to crop-raiding, we advocate an integrative approach taking into account both the IRs and the interactions among macaques, crops and farmers but also the relations among the farmers themselves and the local authorities.


Purpose: Most causes of childhood visual impairment are either treatable or preventable. Eye health education plays an important role in reducing avoidable causes of visual impairment as well as to help ensure a healthy and educated community. The main objective of this study was to assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the students and their parents on childhood eye services and barriers for accessing child eye care. Methods: The study was conducted in South Darfur State of Sudan between January and February 2015. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data from eight secondary schools. Four schools for boys and four schools for girls were randomly selected from a list of 21 districts of South Darfur State and the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices surveys were conducted with the students to collect quantitative data. In addition, seven focus group discussions were conducted with the children's parents to collect qualitative data. Results: The majority (57.5%) of the students reported that they knew about refractive error; however, 33.07% reported never hearing about refractive error. About 70.3% of the respondents believed that uncorrected refractive error leads to visual impairment, 21% believed refractive error did not cause visual impairment and 30.5% reported that wearing spectacles was not effective in the treatment of refractive error. With regard to the information about eye healthcare, 88.1% of the participants reported they did not have enough information about eye care. The reported need for more information about prevention, treatment and symptoms was 34.0%, 31.4% and 17.5%, respectively. With regard to barriers, 80.6% of the students reported never having had their eyes tested. The most cited barriers were cost, fear of wearing spectacles and fear of an eye examination. In addition, 72.6% of students reported that their health insurance did not cover eye care services. Most (53.6%) of the parents believed that the cause of refractive error in children was poor nutrition. Common themes arising from the focus group discussions included parents reporting that they looked for traditional treatment for their children and preferring to receive child eye information from an eye specialist and through the television and radio. The most frequently cited barriers by the parents were high cost of the treatment, lack of eye care specialists, lack of awareness about child eye diseases and mistrust in eye care providers. Conclusion: The level of knowledge and practices about eye care and refractive error is low and perceptions about spectacles as a method for treatment for refractive error were fraught with misconceptions amongst students. There is a need for structured educational programmes to raise awareness regarding the effect and treatment modalities for childhood eye disease and visual impairment in order to address the barriers for accessing childhood eye care. Keywords: Children; school; eye care; spectacles; refractive error; knowledge;barriers; optometrist


Migration and remittances are always going side by side. This is because; most of the migrants are aimed to cross the border of their country by need of better life for themselves and their family, especially in non-developed countries. This study was therefore, aimed to investigate the impact of international migrants' remittances on socio-economic development at Hossana town. The study was administered by using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis. Qualitative method was employed with 35 discussants by using purposive sampling technique and quantitative approach employed with 75 informants by using purposive sampling technique. Throughout this study the researchers was used both primary and secondary sources of data through survey, FGDs, in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and non-participant observation. The major findings indicated that international migrants' remittances have a positive impact for the socio-economic development in the study area unless some limitations. With regards to social base; because of the people indigenous social relationship was less occurred and instead formal ruled based relationship has been dominantly seen. More importantly it has a very clear positive impact on Hossana's town economic development, but it should need some corrective actions that have to be taken from the concerned individuals. Therefore, the study recommended that governmental bodies and concerned individuals have to: provide awareness creating trainings for local leaders to keep their indigenous social capital, incorporate indigenous culture and cultural values in education curriculum, anticipate remittances senders rate and prepare plan accordingly, providing investment land for returned and remitted groups according to their capital credibility, providing trainings on basic business making principles and entrepreneurship and negotiate with remittance senders seat countries to have legal money transaction channels. And discuss with the remitted and returned migrants to: establish and invest on value added activities, have a confidence to investing on complex business


Objectives: Interleukin 4 plays a critical role in T helper 2 responses to HPV infection and angiogenesis. The present study aim to study the association between the IL4 promoter polymorphism - 590 C>T, respectively VNTR intron 2 polymorphism and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Material and method: We have realized a prospective case controls study that included 128 cases of intraepithelial neoplasia positive for HPV HR testing and 111 controls negative for intraepithelial lesion and also negative for HPV HR. Clinical examination was performed on each patient; blood and cervical sample were obtained. Cervical probes were analyzed regarding cytology and HPV HR testing. From peripheral blood DNA sample was obtain followed by genotype analysis for IL4 -590 C>T using PCR RFLP, respectively IL4 70 bp VNTR determined by PCR. Results: The absolute frequency of genotypes for IL4 -590 C>T was T/T-5, C/T-42, C/C-81 in the cases group respectively T/T-2, C/T-32, C/C-77 in the control group. The chi-square test had a value of 0.983 (p=0.321) while considering the presence of a minimum one single variant allele as a risk factor for cervical cancer, respectively 0.926 (p=0.336) for homozygous variant genotype. Odds ratio was 0.761 (95%CI (0.443-1.306)) while considering C/T+T/T respectively 2R/3R, 2R/2R as a risk factor, and 0.451 (95%CI 95% (0.086-2.374)) - TT respectively 2R/2R as a risk factor. Conclusion: No linear statistical significant association has been found between IL4 polymorphism and cervical neoplasia (p = 0.322).


The performance of activated carbon water filters, with respect to the breakthrough of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and dangerous trihalomethanes (THMs) from supplied water, has been analysed by fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence spectroscopy has been demonstrated as a viable technique to monitor carbon filter performance, using the fluorescently active DOM species as an indicator. Due to the relationship between DOM and THMs, where DOM is the precursor for THM formation during the chlorine treatment of water, fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to predict the breakthrough of both species from activated carbon filters. In order to establish a versatile measurement technique, the most appropriate fluorescence excitation and emission wavelengths for detecting the DOM in water were firstly determined. These fluorescence measurement parameters were then applied to effluent water samples from carbon filters, over a total filtrate volume of 4,200 L. The total THM concentration in filtered water samples was determined by headspace gas chromatography (HSGC), with the fluorescence and HSGC results showing a high degree of correlation for the amount of DOM and THM respectively. Importantly, this correlation is observed for both of the determined fluorescence measurement parameters, highlighting the validity and versatility of this technique.


Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals have been used as building blocks for electronic and optoelectronic devices ranging from field-effect transistors to solar cells. Properties of the nanocrystal films depend sensitively on the choice of capping ligand to replace the insulating synthesis ligands. Thus far, ligands leading to the best performance in transistors result in poor solar cell performance, and vice versa. To gain insight into the nature of this dichotomy, we used time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy measurements to study the mobility and lifetime of PbSe nanocrystal films prepared with five common ligand-exchange reagents. Noncontact terahertz spectroscopy measurements of conductivity were corroborated by contacted van der Pauw measurements of the same samples. The films treated with different displacing ligands show more than an order of magnitude difference in the peak conductivities and a bifurcation of time dynamics. Inorganic chalcogenide ligand exchanges with sodium sulfide (Na2S) or ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN) show high mobilities but nearly complete decay of transient photocurrent in 1.4 ns. In contrast, ligand exchanges with 1,2-ethylenediamine (EDA), 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT), and tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI) show lower mobilities but longer carrier lifetimes, resulting in longer diffusion lengths. This bifurcated behavior may explain the divergent performance of field-effect transistors and photovoltaics constructed from nanocrystal building blocks with different ligand exchanges.


Abstract. Space is often described as a dynamic entity in human geographic theory, one that resists being pinned down to static representations. Co-produced in and through relations between various things and phenomena, space in these accounts is variously described as being contingent, processual, plastic, relational, situated, topological, and uneven. In contrast, most cartographic methods and tools are based on static, Euclidean understandings of space that can be reduced to a simple, mathematical description. In this work, I explore how cartography can deal with space as a dynamic and fluid concept that is entangled with the phenomena and objects being mapped. To those ends, I describe a method for creating animated maps based on relational understandings of space that are always in flux.This work builds on research in collaboration with Luke Bergmann, where we suggest a move from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as we commonly know them to the broader realm of geographical imagination systems (gis) that are informed by spatial theory in human geography. The animated maps here are produced using our prototype gis software Enfolding, which use multidimensional scaling (MDS) to visualize relational spaces, in combination with Blender, an open-source 3D rendering program. Written in JavaScript and available as open source software, Enfolding is our first attempt to make gis an accessible set of tools that expand the possibilities for mapping by providing new grammars for creative cartographic practices.In the cartographic workflow presented here, I use Enfolding to produce manifolds from a set of points and user-defined distances between points. Changing those measures of distance – which might represent travel times, affective connections, communicative links, or any other relationship as defined by a user – produces shifting manifolds. Using the .obj export option in Enfolding, I then import the manifolds into Blender, using them as animation keyframes. In Figure 1, I have added a digital elevation model (DEM) to the 3D figure, producing an animated visualization of a dynamic and relational space that includes a hillshade.This workflow represents only one of many creative possibilities for innovative cartographic practices that engage with space as a matter of concern. With growing interest in 3D cartographic methods comes expanded possibilities for visualizing dynamic and relational spaces. Combining conceptual antecedents in both human and quantitative geography with current cartographic methods allows for new approaches to both mapping and space. The workflow and tools that have emerged from this research are presented here with the hope of spurring creative and exploratory cartographic work that draws from but also contributes to vibrant discussions in spatial theory and creative cartography.


Research directed at an understanding of medical expertise is about 30 years old, and many developments in this literature parallel progress in cognitive psychology. Over the past 15 years or so, this research became much more closely identified with particular psychological theories. Initial forays into medicine were essentially direct applications of methods developed in the psychology lab to the more natural domain of medicine, with varying degrees of success. These attempts were followed by a second wave that took the psychological theories themselves more seriously in a more thoughtful application of psychological methods to the medical domain. I will argue in the present paper that the methods and theories used in the study of medical expertise have advanced to the point that there is some reverse flow and they are providing a unique and valuable perspective on the nature of thinking.


Background: Birth preparedness and complication readiness plan is a major strategic tool designed to reduce maternal deaths. Despite its importance on maternal mortality reduction, its practice is less studied in Ethiopia. Hence, this study assessed birth preparedness and complication readiness practices and associated factors among antenatal care attendees in Kofale district, south east Ethiopia. Method: Cross-sectional study was conducted among 555 antenatal care clients. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select respondents. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Results: In this study, 41.3% of the women were wellprepared for birth and its complications. Over two third (69.0%) women identified place of delivery ahead of their current pregnancy and while 20.5% of them identified skilled birth attendants. Maternal education (2.02 (95% CI: 1.33- 3.06)), age group from 21-25 (2.68 (95% CI: 1.23-5.85)) and being aware of danger signs (2.01 (95% CI: 1.40-2.88)) were independent predictors of birth preparedness and complication readiness practices. Conclusion: Less than half of the interviewed mothers were prepared for birth and related complications. Maternal education, age and awareness of danger signs were among the major predictors identified to have impact on birth preparedness and complication readiness. Further studies on why women prepared less, especially to address whether the gaps are from health care providers, women or any other factors is required


BACKGROUND
The upcoming reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act focuses on improving the review process for new drug applications at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

METHODS
Using publicly available information from the FDA, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and Health Canada, we compared the time for completion of the first review and the total review time for all applications involving novel therapeutic agents approved by the three regulatory agencies from 2001 through 2010 and determined the geographic area in which each novel therapeutic agent was first approved for use.

RESULTS
There were 510 applications for novel therapeutic agents approved from 2001 through 2010--225 by the FDA, 186 by the EMA, and 99 by Health Canada; among the applications, there were 289 unique agents. The median length of time for completion of the first review was 303 days (interquartile range, 185 to 372) for applications approved by the FDA, 366 days (interquartile range, 310 to 445) for those approved by the EMA, and 352 days (interquartile range, 255 to 420) for those approved by Health Canada (P<0.001 for the comparison across the three agencies). The median total review time was also shorter at the FDA than at the EMA or Health Canada (P=0.002). Among the 289 unique novel therapeutic agents, 190 were approved in both the United States and Europe (either by the EMA or through the mutual recognition process), of which 121 (63.7%) were first approved in the United States; similarly, 154 were approved in both the United States and Canada, of which 132 (85.7%) were first approved in the United States.

CONCLUSIONS
For novel therapeutic agents approved between 2001 and 2010, the FDA reviewed applications involving novel therapeutics more quickly, on average, than did the EMA or Health Canada, and the vast majority of these new therapeutic agents were first approved for use in the United States. (Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.).


Operating at the boundaries of philosophy of mind, cognitive science, politics and social
theory, this thesis aims to develop an interdisciplinary model of the relationship between
agency and structure. This thesis explores the question of why the agency/structure
argument in the social sciences has not yet been resolved and argues for an interdisciplinary
model of agency to be utilised by social theory. In the wake of poststructuralism there has
been a gravitation back towards characterising the terms of this debate in more strongly
dichotomous terms, arguing for the autonomy of agency in particular as a natural kind. This
trend can be seen most clearly in Archer's analytical dualism within the morphogenetic
theory of social elaboration, where the desire for the clarity of dualist terms has become
tangled with claims to ontology. I suggest that this tendency is not limited to social theory,
but is characteristic of the neoliberal political environment from which such theory is being
produced, understood and utilised.
Understanding the way in which our political and social context influences the ways in which
we may understand or conceptualise a problem such as this, establishing the logical intuition
and methods which we use to do this kind of deductive reasoning, is key for both performing
the philosophical task of engaging in the agency-structure debate, but is thoroughly
interrelated with how we need to conceptualise that relationship itself. It is both the method
and the content, the 'how' and the 'what', of investigating the relationship between external
social structures and the feeling of autonomous authorship and choice.
I argue that the political value system inherent to neoliberal and economic logics, which
prioritise and naturalise individuality and autonomous, internal agentic capacity, works to
make the experience of agency appear inevitable and universal. This thesis engages with
the assumptions that underpin this illusion, looking to philosophy of mind in order to etch out
a framework for understanding agency. This framework has two necessary components.
Firstly, that it acknowledges the experience of agency as real, and that as a way-of-being-in-the-
world it is necessary to continue to explore how individuals experience agency in their
environments. Secondly, and most importantly, that this 'realism' about agency, does not
inevitably indicate that agency has an ontological and epistemological reality that transcends
the particular social and political contexts in which it makes sense. The thesis explores how
the fundamental components of agency, intelligence and cognition are produced in the
interrelationships between a subject and their physical, social and political environment. The
argument presented is that deliberative consciousness and self-awareness emerge as a
response to, and as an effect of, complex social interaction.
In contrast to Archer's conception of the sui generis, causal efficacy of reflexive agency, this
thesis argues that smooth, embodied, coping with the environment is the preferred mode of
interacting with the world. By critically engaging with the idea that those studying social
dynamics should conceptualize agency as internal and inherent the thesis explores and
critiques the prevalent use of the term 'agency' within social theory, arguing that an explicit
engagement with what agency is is an understudied but fundamental and necessary
philosophical task within sociology. A strong position is proposed that social institutions not
only precede the self-aware, experience of choice and autonomy, but actively produce it.
This proposition stands in opposition to dualistic notions of agency and structure as they are
conceived by critical realism. This has widespread political implications in a field that often
assumes agency to be an intrinsic part of human nature that stands outside of socialisation.
This goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that in order to understand the experience of
agency within our particular contexts and how it manifests as a force for social change,
social theory must engage critically with philosophy of consciousness.


This book represents a complete, up to date discussion of calcium metabolism and its relation to the skeleton in health and disease. The subject matter is carefully organized, well documented by an extensive bibliography, and has a sufficiently complete index to make points of interest readily accessible to the reader. This book, as the author states in the introduction, is primarily intended for the clinician or specialist who is interested in the diagnosis and management of disorders involving calcium metabolism. However, the clinical findings presented are related to a background of old and recent research, so that the reader whose interests are primarily academic may still encounter many points of interest concerning calcium metabolism. This book is divided into 3 sections. The first provides a physiological and biochemical basis for the current concepts of calcium metabolism in relation to bone. The second section is concerned with diseases that alter the


DBNs (Dynamic Bayesian Networks) [1] are powerful tool in modeling time-series data, and have been used in speech recognition recently [2,3,4]. The "decoding" task in speech recognition means to find the viterbi path [5](in graphical model community, "viterbi path" has the same meaning as MPE "Most Probable Explanation") for a given acoustic observations. In this paper we describe a new algorithm utilizes a new data structure "backpointer", which is produced in the "marginalization" procedure in probability inference. With these backpointers, the viterbi path can be found in a simple backtracking. We first introduce the concept of backpointer and backtracking; then give the algorithm to compute the viterbi path for DBNs based on backpointer and backtracking. We prove that the new algorithm is correct, faster and more memory saving comparison with old algorithm. Several experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm on several well known DBNs. We also test the algorithm on a real world DBN model that can recognize continuous digit numbers.


OBJECTIVE Sacroiliitis is a hallmark of the spondyloarthropathies (SpA). The degree of inflammation can be quantified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of this study was to further elucidate the pathogenesis of SpA by quantitative cellular analysis of immunostained sacroiliac biopsy specimens and to compare these findings with the degree of enhancement in the sacroiliac joints (SJ) as detected by dynamic MRI. METHODS The degree of acute sacroiliitis detected by MRI after intravenous administration of gadolinium-DTPA was quantitatively assessed by calculating the enhancement observed in the SJ and chronic changes were graded as described in 32 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (n=18), undifferentiated SpA (n=12) and psoriatic arthritis (n=2). Back pain was graded on a visual analogue scale (VAS, 0–10) and disease duration (DD) was assessed. Shortly after MRI, SJ of patients with VAS > 5 were biopsied guided by computed tomography. Immunohistological examination was performed using the APAAP technique; only whole sections > 3 mm were counted. RESULTS By MRI, chronic changes ⩽ grade II were detected in nine patients (group I, DD 2.5 (SD 2.9) years) and > II in 13 patients (group II, DD 7.3 (SD 4.8) years), while enhancement < 70% was found in eight (group A, DD 5.6 (SD 3.3) years) and > 70% in 12 patients (group B, DD 4.7 (SD 5.8) years). The relative percentage of cartilage (78–93%), bone (7–18%) and proliferating connective tissue (1–4%) was comparable between the groups (range). There were more inflammatory cells in group I compared with group II (mean (SD) 26.7(20.1) versus 5.3 (5.2), p=0.04) and group A compared with B (21.8 (17.3) versus 6.0 (5.6), p=0.05) cells/10 mm2), T cells (10.9 (8.5)) being slightly more frequent than macrophages (9.6 (16.8/10 mm2)). Clusters of proliferating fibroblasts were seen in three and new vessel formation in seven cases. CONCLUSION This study shows that T cells and macrophages are the most frequent cells in early and active sacroiliitis in SpA. The correlation of cellularity and MRI enhancement provides further evidence for the role of dynamic MRI to detect early sacroiliitis.


Gender-Class Equality in Political Economies offers an in-depth analysis of gender-class equality across six countries to reveal why gender-class equality in paid and unpaid work remains elusive, and what more policy might do to achieve better social and economic outcomes. This book is the first to meld cross-time with cross-country comparisons, link macro structures to micro behavior, and connect class with gender dynamics to yield fresh insights into where we are on the road to gender equality, why it varies across industrialized countries, and the barriers to further progress.


This paper examines controversies over responses to hybrid warfare ranging from defensive societal and institutional resilience to  more aggressive measures, and considers some of the strengths and limits of classic deterrence theory. How Canada and NATO interpret major transformations, and the language of 'hybrid war' that they adopt, matter because they influence responses. Reflecting NATO's rhetoric and policies, Canada has become more internally focused, adopting a 'whole of government' and increasingly 'whole of society' approach, while at the same time taking more offensive actions and developing new partnerships and capabilities. Canada and NATO are taking significant steps towards 'comprehensive deterrence', yet more clarity is needed in how responses are combined to avoid the dangers of hybrid wars with no end.


An adaptive neural network methodology is developed for air-to-fuel (A/F) ratio control of automotive fuel-injection systems. The dynamics of internal combustion engines and fuel-injection systems are extremely nonlinear, impeding methodical application of control theories. Thus, the design of standard production controllers relies heavily upon calibration and look-up tables. A neural network-type controller is developed for its function approximation abilities and its learning and adaptive capabilities. A cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) neural network is implemented in a research automobile to demonstrate the feasibility of this control architecture.<<ETX>>