In this paper we present a hybrid approach for the measurement of the complex dielectric permittivities of arbitrarily shaped homogeneous dielectric scatterers by using microwaves. The proposed method is organized in two stages: in the first one, the supports of the scatterers are retrieved by means of a new formulation of the linear sampling method, which is based on the no sampling approach; in the second one, the complex permittivities of the targets are estimated by means of a quantitative method, which searches the solution within the constraints provided by the previous step. In such a way, the efficiency of the new version of the linear sampling method is combined with the accuracy of quantitative procedures. The proposed methodology is assessed against noisy synthetic data, by using the ant colony optimization algorithm as a tool to estimate the dielectric parameters of the inspected targets.


English is a widely spoken language today. It has often been referred to as 'global language', the lingua franca of the modern era and currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world. English in India is used not only for communicating with the outside world, but also for inter-state and intrastate communication. Because of the great ethnic and linguistic diversity found within our nation, English acts as an indispensable 'link' language. With the Information Technology revolution and most software and operating systems being developed in the English language, a new utility for written and oral communication in the English language has emerged. English is said to be the world's most important language having communicative and educative value. English is used all over the world not out of any imposition but because of the realization that it has certain advantages.


In the last years, two main ICT enablers have been massively explored to enforce vehicular safety: GNSS-based positioning and wireless communications. In fact, by exchanging information on their respective positions, vehicles are expected to be timely aware of the hazards around them and, consequently, to be able to promptly react, hopefully decreasing the rate of accidents. Both wireless communications and positioning are unfortunately far from being ideal, especially on board: however, as recently proposed, they may both significantly benefit from the integration of the emerging Light-Fidelity (Li-Fi) technology. The paper discusses the Li-Fi perspective, shedding light on its potential benefits and issues, also with practical consideration.


In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), efficient message dissemination is critical to road safety and traffic efficiency. Since many VANET-based schemes suffer from high transmission delay and data redundancy, the integrated VANET–cellular heterogeneous network has been proposed recently and attracted significant attention. However, most existing studies focus on selecting suitable gateways to deliver safety message from the source vehicle to a remote server, whereas rapid safety message dissemination from the remote server to a targeted area has not been well studied. In this paper, we propose a framework for rapid message dissemination that combines the advantages of diverse communication and cloud computing technologies. Specifically, we propose a novel Cloud-assisted Message Downlink dissemination Scheme (CMDS), with which the safety messages in the cloud server are first delivered to the suitable mobile gateways on relevant roads with the help of cloud computing (where gateways are buses with both cellular and VANET interfaces), and then being disseminated among neighboring vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. To evaluate the proposed scheme, we mathematically analyze its performance and conduct extensive simulation experiments. Numerical results confirm the efficiency of CMDS in various urban scenarios.


The scanning speed of focal visual attention was measured directly by flashing a sequence of two, three, or four numerals one by one at random retinal positions and at a distance from each other to avoid interference between the numerals. Each numeral was followed by a mask pattern so the observers had to move their focal attention in the visual field in synchrony and at the same speed as the presentation rate of the numerals in order to recognize every numeral in the stimulus sequence. Observers could recognize the numerals orders of magnitude above the theoretical chance level of performance even when the presentation rate was as fast as 33 ms per numeral. However, the temporal order of the numerals was perceived rather poorly at the fast presentation rates and for the sequences of four numerals.


Human EEG biofeedback (neurofeedback) started in the 1940s [1] using 1 EEG recording channel, then to 4 channels in the 1990s. New advancements in electrical Neuroimaging expanded EEG biofeedback to 19 channels using Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) three-dimensional current sources of the EEG [2]. In 2004-2006 the concept of a "real-time" comparison of the EEG to a healthy reference database was developed and tested using surface EEG z-score neurofeedback based on a statistical bell curve called "real-time" z-scores. The "real-time" or "live" normative reference database comparison was developed to help reduce the uncertainty of what threshold to select to activate a feedback signal and to unify all EEG measures to a single value, i.e., the distance from the mean of an age matched reference sample. In 2009 LORETA z-score neurofeedback further increased the specificity by targeting brain network hubs referred to as Brodmann areas. A symptom check list program to help link symptoms to dysregulation of brain networks based on fMRI and PET and neurology was created in 2009. The symptom checklist and NIH based networks linking symptoms to brain networks grew out of the human brain mapping program starting in 1990 which is continuing today. A goal is to increase specificity of EEG biofeedback by targeting brain network hubs and connections between hubs likely linked to the patient's symptoms. New advancements in electrical neuroimaging introduced in 2017 provide increased resolution of three-dimensional source localization with 12,700 voxels using swLORETA with the capacity to conduct cerebellar neurofeedback and neurofeedback of subcortical brain hubs such as the thalamus, amygdala and habenula. Future applications of swLORETA z-score neurofeedback represents another example of the transfer of knowledge gained by the human brain mapping initiatives to further aid in helping people with cognition problems as well as balance problems and parkinsonism. A brief review of the past, present and future predictions of z-score neurofeedback are discussed with special emphasis on new developments that point toward a bright and enlightened future in the field of EEG biofeedback.


The changes in properties of oil and gas phases are described for petroleum reservoir fluids found at increasing depths. With increasing pressure, more natural gas dissolves in the oil phase and more normally liquid hydrocarbons dissolve in the gas phase. The properties of these fluids at high pressure and the changes which accompany pressure reduction are described with reference to their significance in oil and gas production. The phase relations are explored for recovering crude oil from high-pressure gas-drive fields by converting the oil to a single phase miscible with natural gas, followed by cycling.


Biofuels are one of the largest sources of renewable and sustainable energy, which are made from organic matter or wastes. One of the main biofuels type are the biofuels that is derived from vegetable oils. Nowadays, biofuels are drawing more attention to global scientists because of the scarcity of mineral oil supplies. The primary objective of this analysis is to explore the influence of variability in ambient temperature on the ignition delay period and emission. The type of biodiesel fuel used is the Jatropha Biodiesel with three different blending ratio, which are J40, J30 and J40. The ambient temperature of constant volume chamber (CVC) Ti,cvc and  combustion chamber (CC), Ti,cc, was varied from 750 K, 850 K, 950 K and 1100 K. In the form of the hydrocarbon (HC) pollution criterion, nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon oxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2), the emission was studied. While the ignition delay was also studied with biodiesel blending ratio variation. The blending ratio of the biodiesel used were from 20% until 40%. The biodiesel used were algae, Jatropha and waste cooking oil. The finding reveals that the higher value of the ambient temperature mixture induces shorter ignition delay when the CVC and CC are coupled at different ambient temperatures. The emissions data obtained shows that the CO and HC component is lowered while the ambient temperature is higher but the volume of NOx rises. In the future, biofuels can be inferred as excellent fuel alternatives to replace diesel.


The neglect of administrative issues is a serious limitation of optimal tax theory, with implications for its practical applicability. Under uncertainty, the problems for optimal tax theory are compounded when the full set of tax instruments is neglected. These twin issues are addressed in this paper, by focussing on a fundamental implication of administrative problems, namely, that the tax bases are measured with some error. Consumption taxes can perform the 'social insurance role of taxation'; a role previously ascribed only to income taxes. A combination of income and consumption taxes can hedge income and measurement-error risks better, relative to the imposition of these taxes alone. The optimal taxes are decreasing in the imprecision with which the corresponding tax base is measured. The taxpayer engages in precautionary savings, in response to uncertainty arising on account of income and measurement problems. Differential commodity taxes, tailored to the measurability characteristics of the different tax bases, dominate uniform commodity taxes. Furthermore, the paper provides a simple, tractable framework for optimal tax theorists interested in diverse kinds of uncertain situations.


The main purpose is to characterise continuous maps that are $n$-branched coverings in terms of induced maps on the rings of functions. The special properties of Frobenius $n$-homomorphisms between two function spaces that correspond to $n$-branched coverings are determined completely. Several equivalent definitions of a Frobenius $n$-homomorphism are compared and some of their properties are proved. An axiomatic treatment of $n$-transfers is given in general and properties of $n$-branched coverings are studied and compared with those of regular coverings.


The DeltaQ test has been developed in order to provide better estimates of forced air system air leakage for use in energy efficiency calculations and for compliance testing of duct systems. The DeltaQ test combines a model of the house and duct system with the results of house pressurization tests with the air handler on and off to determine the duct leakage air flows to outside conditioned space at operating conditions. The key advantage of the DeltaQ test over other methods is that it determines the air leakage flows directly, rather than requiring interpretation of indirect measurements. The results from over 200 field and laboratory tests are presented. The laboratory tests have shown that the DeltaQ repeatability uncertainties are typically 1% or less of system fan flow and that the accuracy of the test is between 1.3% and 2.5% of fan flow (or 13 cfm to 25 cfm (6 to 12 l/s) for this system).


The purpose of this study was to explore the effects and possibilities of earthenware and stoneware when formed by the pinch or thrown methods. After some experimentation with the two methods it was decided to continue to form various shapes and sizes by the wheel method and discover suitable ornamentation and glazes for each. Rounded forms created by the wheel method seemed to be the most satisfactory. Some of these forms were made in two or three pieces on the wheel and joined by slip and cross hatching after the forms were firm enough to support the upper section. In some of the clay bodies a colorant or speckling agent, such as milled or granular ilmenite, iron oxide, chromium oxide or manganese oxide was used for various effects when used with certain glazes or in a reduction fire. Incised, agraffito, or brushed effects were used to relieve the plainness of some forms. Most of the glazes for both earthenware and stoneware were matt except where a transparent or rutile effect was desired to enable a design to show through or to mingle colors. The band built sculpture, \In the Beginning of Time,\ was stained end waxed requiring no glaze. Experimentation with the various methods, clay bodies, color ants, glazes, sizes, and shapes, has brought the writer to the conclusion that rounded forms have been the most satisfactory and pleasing, and that the possibilities in this method for further creative expression are unlimited.


The substitution of rare-earth ions into insulating host crystals introduces lattice strains and, for non-trivalent sites, a need for charge compensation. Such effects alter the site symmetry and this is reflected in properties such as the wavelength, linewidth, lifetime and relative intensity of the rare-earth transitions. Equally clear, but less well documented, is the influence on second-harmonic generation (even from cubic crystal lattices). For example, in bismuth germanate, second-harmonic generation efficiency varies by factors of more than 100 as a result of different rare-earth dopant ions. The ions are variously incorporated as substitutional ions, pairs, clusters, or even as precipitates of new phases, but the detailed modelling is often speculative. This article summarizes some recent studies which explore the role of rare-earth ions in thermoluminescence and second-harmonic generation. There are numerous differences in glow peak temperature, for nominally the same defect sites, which are thought to indicate charge trapping and recombination within coupled defect sites, or within a large complex. Size and cluster effects can be modified by heat treatments. This review considers the similarity and trends seen between numerous host lattices which are doped with rare-earth ions. For thermoluminescence there are trends in the variation in glow peak temperature with ion size, with movements of 20 to 50 K. Examples are seen in many hosts with extreme effects being suggested for zircon, with peak shifts of 200 K (probably from precipitate phases).


Binge drinking, defined in this study as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion, was responsible for 43,731 (54.9%) of the estimated 79,646 alcohol-attributable deaths each year in the United States during 2001--2005. Healthy People 2010 calls for reducing the prevalence of binge drinking among adults from the 16.6% baseline in 1998 to 6.0%. An overarching goal of Healthy People is to eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population. To assess binge drinking by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, education level, and income level, CDC analyzed data from an optional module of the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, the most recent data available on binge drinking prevalence, frequency, and intensity (i.e., the number of drinks consumed per binge episode). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that the prevalence of binge drinking was more common among men (24.3%), persons aged 18--24 years (27.4%) and 2534 years (24.4%), whites (17.5%), and persons with household incomes >/=$50,000 (17.4%). However, after adjusting for sex and age, the highest average number of binge drinking episodes during the preceding 30 days was reported by binge drinkers whose household income was <$25,000. (4.9), and the highest average number of drinks per binge episode was reported by non-Hispanic blacks (8.4) and Hispanics (8.1). These findings underscore the need to implement effective population-based prevention strategies (e.g., increasing alcohol excise taxes) and develop effective interventions targeted at groups at higher risk.


The development of dendritic architecture with well-defined size, shape and controlled exterior functionality holds promise in pharmaceutical applications such as drug delivery, solubilization, DNA transfection and diagnosis. Highly branched, monodisperse, stable molecular level and low polydispersity with micelle-like behavior possessing nano-scale container property distinguish these structures as inimitable and optimum carrier for those applications. However reticuloendothelial system (RES) uptake, drug leakage, immunogenicity, hemolytic toxicity, cytotoxicity, hydrophobicity restrict the use of these nanostructures. PEGylation of dendrimers can generally overcome these shortcomings. Hemolytic and different cell line studies have shown reduced toxicity of PEGylated dendrimers than cationic dendrimers. PEGylation causes increased solubilization of hydrophobic drugs in dendritic framework as well as in PEG layers. PEGylated dendrimers have proved capable of forming stable complex with plasmid DNA and achieved improved gene transfection as compared to non-PEGylated dendrimers. Attachments of targeting moiety on the surface of partially PEGylated dendrimer created much interest as a delivery system for crossing of biological barriers and deliver the bioactive agent near the vicinity of target site. Recent successes also demonstrate potential of PEGylated dendrimers as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent and in carbonyl metallo immunoassay. This review focuses on the current state of the art in the field and focuses on the potential of PEGylated dendrimers in pharmaceutical and biomedical area.


Thermal effects are the most dominant source for displacements in machine tools and thus work-piece inaccuracies during the manufacturing process. A promising strategy to meet the ever-increasing accuracy requirements is the use of predictive models for, e.g., parameter and design op-timizations or online correction of the thermally induced error at the tool center point (TCP) in the pro-duction process. However, these techniques require fast but precise simulations. The need for high model accuracy is in direct contrast to the desired real-time capabilities. Model order reduction (MOR) is an attractive tool to overcome this problem. A modeling toolchain, which is tailored for the effective construction of fast and accurate models is proposed and demonstrated, emphasizing the involved MOR step.


The need to enhance food security while reducing poverty along with the growing threat imposed by climate change clearly reveal that it is imperative to accelerate agricultural productivity growth. This paper estimates micro-level production models to identify the major factors that have contributed to productivity growth in El Salvador, including irrigation, purchased inputs, mechanization, technical assistance, and farm size, among others. The econometric framework adopted in this investigation is grounded on recent panel data stochastic production frontier methodologies. The results obtained from the estimation of these models are used to calculate Total Factor Productivity (TFP) change and to decompose such change into different factors, including technological progress, technical efficiency (TE), and economies of scale. The findings imply that efforts are needed to improve productivity in both technological progress and technical efficiency where the latter is a measurement of managerial performance. This in turn indicates that resources should be devoted to promoting the adoption and diffusion of improved technologies while enhancing managerial capabilities through agricultural extension.


The first essay "Informational Asymmetries in Laboratory Asset Markets with State-Dependent Fundamentals" investigates the formation of market prices in a new experimental setting involving multi-period call-auction asset markets. In this paper, we are particularly interested in two informational aspects: (1) the role of traders who are informed about the true state and/or (2) the impact of the provision of Bayesian updates of the assets' state-dependent fundamental values (BFVs) to all traders. We find that markets with asymmetrically informed traders exhibit smaller price deviations from fundamentals than markets without informed traders. The provision of BFVs has little to no effect. Behavior of informed and uninformed traders differs in early periods but converges over time. On average, uninformed traders offer lower (higher) limit prices and hold less (more) assets than informed traders in "good"-state ("bad"-state) markets. Informed traders earn superior profits.
The second essay "Social Costs of Inequality – Heterogeneous Endowments in Public-Good Experiments" compares voluntary contributions to the financing of a public good in a symmetric setting to those in asymmetric settings, in which four players have different, randomly allocated endowments. In this paper, we observe that a weak asymmetry in the endowment distribution leads to the same contribution level as symmetry; players tend to contribute the same proportion of their respective endowment. In a strongly asymmetric setting, where one player has an endowment higher than the endowments of the other players taken together, we, however, observe significantly lower group contributions than in the other settings. The super-rich player does not contribute significantly more than the others on average and thus a much lower proportion of the endowment.
The third essay "Mandatory Minimum Contributions, Heterogeneous Endowments, and Voluntary Public-Good Provision" investigates, by using the weakly asymmetric endowment distribution of the second essay, if the contribution level as well as the afore observed "fair-share" rule of equal contributions relative to one's endowment may be influenced by minimum-contribution requirements. We consider three different schedules: FixMin, requiring the same absolute contributions, RelMin, requiring the same relative contributions, and ProgMin, requiring minimum contributions that progressively increase with the endowment. We find that minimum contributions exert norm-giving character and lead to an increase in average group contributions. This is especially true for the progressive schedule. On the individual level, this schedule leads to higher relative contributions by the wealthier players and thus violates the "fair-share" norm. On the group level, it leads to the highest contribution level and the lowest inequality in total profits as measured by the Gini index.
Lastly, the fourth essay "Recommended Minimum Contributions in a Public-Good Game with Heterogeneous Endowments" investigates, in the same setting as before, whether the transformation of progressive mandatory minimum contributions into recommendations for minimum contributions of the same size impacts the behavior of the differently endowed subjects in the same way as the mandatory minimum contributions. Contrary to the previous paper, we observe no increase in group contributions in comparison to the baseline treatment without minimum contributions; also the "fair-share" norm of equal relative contributions is not modified. Thus, progressive minimum contributions presented as recommendations do not show the same effect as similar mandatory minimum contributions in our experiment.


Street Art, Public City: Law, Crime and the Urban Imagination by Alison Young opens the floor to debates on the current state of street art. The history of graffiti and street art can be traced back to 1950, however its artistic value, its role in creating a city image, and its legal status are still in question. In her book Young suggests changing the angle of discussion, putting it this way: "To think about the street artwork in public space is obvious; to raise questions about whether street artworks can help create a public city is rather less so." Therefore she chooses to focus on how street art becomes a part of our daily experience of a city and how it might be beneficial for cities. She also introduces what seems to be the fruitful concept of the "public city," which includes street art as a legal part of its everyday-ness.


Gastric ulcer is an excavation of mucosa and extending to submucosal layers due to increased gastric secretion, generation of free radicals and imbalance between protective factors and aggravating factors. The present study aimed to screen yttrium and copper oxide nanoparticles for antiulcerogenic activity. Metal oxide nanoparticles were evaluated for various biological activities considering their high surface area to volume ratio, different oxidative states, cell permeability etc. Various studies have proved metal oxide nanoparticles to be beneficial in various ailments due to their antioxidant, antibacterial, and other pharmacological activities. Nanoparticles prepared using biogenic methods were relatively more biocompatible and less toxic compared to conventional methods of synthesis. In the present study, green synthesized yttrium and copper oxide nanoparticles were evaluated for acute toxicity, antioxidant, proton pump inhibition and antiulcerogenic activity. In vitro antioxidant activity by DPPH, nitric oxide scavenging methods and H+K+ATPase assay was performed to evaluate the mechanism of action. Synthesized nanoparticles have shown no signs of acute toxicity as per OECD 423. Pyloric ligation method was performed to evaluate gastric volume, pH and ulcer severity. The present study revealed the dose-dependent antiulcer potential of yttrium oxide nanoparticles at doses of 2mg/kg and 20mg/kg. Antisecretory action of yttrium and copper oxides were evident from in vitro H+K+ATPase activity and inhibition of gastric volume. Antioxidant activities of yttrium oxide nanoparticles indicate gastric mucosal protection by free radical scavenging action. Copper oxide nanoparticles produced antisecretory activity but produced mucosal damage and hemorrhage at a dose of 20mg/kg.


Presently, the movement of care for hereditary angioedema (HAE) is out of the clinic, emergency department, and hospitals and into the home. Much of the transition relies on specialized nurses who teach patients self-administration skills. Our goal was to assess nurses to uncover barriers that they have encountered in an effort to improve self-therapy education and patient care. A survey of 21 questions was sent to 38 HAE home care nurses throughout the United States. Results were collected anonymously and data were analyzed. Nurses feel that there is an increased need for teaching patients self-therapy skills. The majority are very comfortable teaching self-administration and troubleshooting-associated problems. Perceived difficulties in providing adequate teaching include distance to patient's home and logistics of coordinating, scheduling, and obtaining supplies. Teaching is preferred when done at home by a visiting nurse with a care partner available and multiple training sessions are needed. Very few patients refused self-administration after initially being taught; reasons cited for refusal include fear of injection or infection, lack of skills, interference of daily activities, and financial restraints. As for nurses, they were most worried about safety, lack of skill retention, and inappropriate use of the drug. Self- administration of HAE treatment is increasingly more accessible and should be offered to patients as a safe and practical option. The barriers to self-administration revealed in this study include distance to the patient's home, coordinating care, obtaining medications/equipment, and scheduling training sessions. Moving to self- or home treatment through nursing instruction will improve patient's independence and quality of life, lead to earlier therapy, and reduce costs associated with care.


In this paper, we propose an improved TOA model in the indoor three-dimensional positioning of wireless communication base station. By adding an error correction function to the existing TOA location model, the search domain of solutions is narrowed down. In addition, we design an adaptive genetic algorithm to solve the objective function. The simulation results further demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can not only improve the positioning accuracy compared with the existing DTOA, but also has the characteristics of fast convergence speed and strong robustness. The average localization error of the model is only 1.4041m.


Only a small portion of all the projects that are funded with public grants reaches the market, due to a gap known as "Death Valley" between the public and private source of resources. Know Hub Chile (KH) is a non-profit organization founded to transform scientific research results into goods and services available to the market and for the benefit of society. When the Covid-19 emergency reached Chile, the organization launched the "KH Bridge" a program of proof-of-concept and selected three technologies able to support hospitals in solving their needs. The first one was a smart shift planning platform of medical staff for reducing the virus spreading probability; the second solution aimed to assess the use of masks, and counting capacity and physical distance of patients by using video camera analytic technology in real-time; and the third project selected was an innovative design of personal protection equipment made with copper nanoparticles. All these solutions were piloted and validated into public hospitals for three months with a USD 25.000 budget. The KH Bridge experience has shown that the pandemic scenario has been an opportunity to validate university technologies in real environments and in shorter time frames, contributing to public health operations.


Halophilic bacteria with potential for the recovery of salinated soils in Sachica-Boyaca, Colombia. It is possible to use halophilic bacteria isolated from saline environments as a possible alternative for the rehabilitation ofsalinated soils for agricultural and agricultural production. Six halophilic bacteria were evaluated to determine their potential in the reduction of the electrical conductivity (Ce) of moderately saline soil in the municipality of Sachica-Boyaca (Colombia). The bacteria were isolated on nutritive agar with different concentrations of NaCl, then inoculated in the soil (3 kg placed in pots) to perform a bioassay in the greenhouse for 2 months. Two phases were carried out, the first until obtaining a value of 2 ds/m (Ce) in order to plant tomato plants in the second phase. Weekly measurements of the (Ce) were made throughout the bioassay and only in phase 2 were determined weekly qualitative variables of tomato growth (height, number of leaves, foliar area, wilting and chlorosis). The results showed a direct effect of the halophilic bacteria in the decrease of the (Ce) of the soil, going from 5.2 to 0.8 ds/m (T1), 0.7 ds/m (T2), 0.8 ds/m (T3), 0.6 ds/m (T4), 0.7 ds/m (T5), 0.7 ds/m (T6), 3.0 ds/m (Control), values that correspond to very light salinity (< 2 ds/m). Regarding the agronomic variables, improvements were observed in the characteristics evaluated in comparison with the absolute control, especially in height and number of leaves of the plants. For the absolute control 80 % of the experimental units were lost, while in the soil with the different treatments only in some cases 20 % was lost. Accordingly, it is evident that the halophilic bacteria used in this research have potential for the rehabilitation of salinated soils.


In the last few years, the health-care services have registered worldwide an increased number of patients suffering from chronic wounds and ulcers, which are mainly associated with diabetes, obesity and cancer. The need for regenerating rapidly and effectively the injured skin has stimulated the research of advanced therapies for wound care. This review will discuss how biomimetic architectures produced by electrospinning natural biopolymers fulfil most of the requirements of ideal wound dressings. It will also examine the recent progress in the area of portable electrospinning systems and of multiscale instructive materials that integrate stimuli responsive and sensing elements.


Films of spider locomotion taken at about 270 frames per second (f.p.s.) were reanalysed to give effective filming speeds of 100, 50 and 25 f.p.s. Reanalysis of the data shows that mean values and variance for phase lag, period, stepping frequency and protraction/retraction ratios depart from the control values (270 f.p.s.) at slower sampling rates. Guidelines are presented for filming arthropod locomotion with high stepping frequencies and high or low p/r ratios. Most film analysis of arthropod locomotion has had insufficient time resolution to examine resolution-sensitive parameters such as the p/r ratio. Filming speeds giving sampling rates greater than 40 frames per step do not increase accuracy.


Despite more than two decades of intense research, learning from imbalanced data still remains as one of the major difficulties posed for computational intelligence systems. Among plethora of techniques dedicated to alleviating this problem, preprocessing algorithms are considered among the most efficient ones. They aim at re-balancing the training set by either undersampling of the majority class, or oversampling of the minority one. Here, Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique, commonly known as SMOTE, stands as the most popular solution that introduces artificial instances on the basis of minority class neighborhood distribution. However, many recent works point out to the fact that the imbalanced ratio itself is not the sole source of learning difficulties in such scenarios. One should take a deeper look into the minority class structure in order to identify which instances influence the performance of classifiers in most significant manner. In this paper, we propose to investigate the role of minority class instance types on the performance of SMOTE. To achieve this, instead of oversampling uniformly the minority class, we preprocess only selected subsets of instances, based on their individual difficulties. Experimental study proves that such a selective oversampling leads to improved classification performance.


This research focuses on the application of joint time-frequency (TF) analysis for watermarking and classifying different audio signals. Time frequency analysis which originated in the 1930s has often been used to model the non-stationary behaviour of speech and audio signals. By taking into consideration the human auditory system which has many non-linear effects and its masking properties, we can extract efficient features from the TF domain to watermark or classify signals. This novel audio watermarking scheme is based on spread spectrum techniques and uses content-based analysis to detect the instananeous mean frequency (IMF) of the input signal. The watermark is embedded in this perceptually significant region such that it will resist attacks. Audio watermarking offers a solution to data privacy and helps to protect the rights of the artists and copyright holders. Using the IMF, we aim to keep the watermark imperceptible while maximizing its robustness. In this case, 25 bits are embedded and recovered witin a 5 s sample of an audio signal. This scheme has shown to be robust against various signal processing attacks including filtering, MP3 compression, additive moise and resampling with a bit error rate in the range of 0-13%. In addition content-based classification is performed using TF analysis to classify sounds into 6 music groups consisting of rock, classical, folk, jazz and pop. The features that are extracted include entropy, centroid, centroid ratio, bandwidth, silence ratio, energy ratio, frequency location of minimum and maximum energy. Using a database of 143 signals, a set of 10 time-frequncy features are extracted and an accuracy of classification of around 93.0% using regular linear discriminant analysis or 92.3% using leave one out method is achieved.


As an important exploratory analysis, curves of similar shape are often classified into groups, which we call clustering of functional data. Phase variations or time distortions are often encountered in the biological processes, such as growth patterns or gene profiles. As a result of time distortion, curves of similar shape may not be aligned. Regular clustering methods for functional data usually ignore the presence of phase variations, which may result in low clustering accuracy. However, it is difficult to account for phase variation without knowing the cluster structure. In this dissertation, we first propose a Bayesian method that simultaneously clusters and registers functional data. We model a warping function with a discrete approximation generated from the family of Dirichlet distributions, which allows great flexibility and computational simplicity. Then, we modify our Bayesian algorithm to obtain a fast registration method, which does not require any template curve. We propose a distance-based clustering method that uses a "derivative sign" to measure the dissimilarity between two curves after potential phase variations are removed. Finally, we derive a modified variational approximation for our Bayesian method for simultaneous registration and clustering, which produces a faster alternative for the full Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. We demonstrate our proposed methods on simulated data as well as the famous Berkeley growth data, a set of yeast gene profile data, and a set of response of human fibroblasts to serum data.


More than two decades after the Cold War ended elsewhere, it continues undiminished on the Korean Peninsula. The division of the Korean nation into competing North and South Korean states and the destructive war that followed constitute one of the great, and still unresolved, tragedies of the 20th century. Peacemaker is the memoir of Lim Dong-won, former South Korean unification minister and architect of Nobel Peace Prize winner Kim Dae-Jung's sunshine policy toward North Korea.


Abstract Although physicians rely on clinical trial data to guide cancer treatment decisions, patient characteristics and outcomes often differ between real-world and clinical trial populations. We analyzed retrospective clinical data collected from a prior authorization (PA) tool linked with payer claims data to describe outcomes of first-line treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer among 2,108 patients. Duration of therapy was shorter than observed in clinical trials. Healthcare costs and hospitalizations varied substantially by regimen. PA clinical data linked with administrative claims enable head-to-head comparisons of contemporary cancer treatments used in routine clinical practice, which are not available from clinical trials.


A commitment to physical activity is necessary for personal health, and is a primary goal of physical activity practitioners. Effective practitioners rely on theory and research as a guide to best practices. Thus, sound theory, which is both practical and parsimonious, is a key to effective practice. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature in search of such a theory - one that applies to and explains commitment to physical activity in the form of sport and exercise for youths and adults. The Sport Commitment Model has been commonly used to study commitment to sport and has more recently been applied to the exercise context. In this paper, research using the Sport Commitment Model is reviewed relative to its utility in both the sport and exercise contexts. Through this process, the relevance of the Investment Model for study of physical activity commitment emerged, and a more parsimonious framework for studying of commitment to physical activity is suggested. Lastly, links between the models of commitment and individuals' participation motives in physical activity are suggested and practical implications forwarded.


We applied picosecond four-wave mixing technique to investigate carrier diffusion and recombination in n-type 4H-SiC epilayers. The dependence of bipolar diffusion coefficient D on photocarrier density was measured in range from ~ 1017 to ~ 1020 cm-3. We determined a decrease of D value from 3.4 to 2.2 cm2/s with increase of the photoexcitation level in range from ~ 1017 to ~ 1019 cm-3, and found its increase up to 3.8 cm2/s at carrier density above 1020 cm-3. Auger recombination governed decrease of carrier lifetime from 11 ns at ~ 1017 cm-3 to 1.8 ns at ~ 1020 cm- 3 has also been observed.


Abstract Ceftriaxone resistance in the Enterobacterales is typically the result of production of ESBLs or AmpC β-lactamases. The genes encoding these enzymes are often co-located with other antibiotic resistance genes leading to resistance to aminoglycosides, quinolones and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Carbapenems are stable to ESBLs and AmpC giving them reliable in vitro activity against producers of these β-lactamases. In contrast, piperacillin/tazobactam and amoxicillin/clavulanate are compromised by co-production of OXA-1, which is not inhibited by tazobactam or clavulanate. These in vitro findings provide an explanation for the MERINO trial outcomes, where 3.7% (7/191) randomized to meropenem died compared with 12.3% (23/187) randomized to piperacillin/tazobactam as definitive treatment of bloodstream infection due to ceftriaxone-resistant organisms. No randomized trials have yet put cefepime and carbapenems head to head, but some observational studies have shown worse outcomes with cefepime. We argue that carbapenems are the antibiotics of choice for ceftriaxone-resistant Enterobacterales.


With the use of first hand field survey data from 193 yak grazing households combined with remote sensing Net Primary Productivity data on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a directional output-orientation distance function is developed with four inputs, grassland area, labor, capital and initial livestock stocking, and two outputs, good output of livestock grazing revenue and undesirable output of grazing pressure. The average technical efficiency is estimated to be 0.82, and shadow price of grazing pressure to livestock revenue is estimated to be -1.8. According to Morishima elasticity of substitution between inputs, there is significant complementary relationship between grassland area, labor and capital. Elasticity of substitution between grassland and initial livestock stocking is estimated to be 0.50. Treating grazing pressure as an undesirable output of livestock grazing in the directional distance function is a new step in the general direction of better accounting for natural resource depletion in efficiency and production analysis.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the insecticidal effects of a hexane fraction and polygodial compound obtained from Drimys brasiliensis roots on the mortality of adults and nymphs of Toxoptera citricida (black citrus aphid). For the hexane fraction, solutions of 0.12, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, and 2.0 mg mL-1 were prepared, and for the compound, solutions of 62.5, 125, 250, and 500 µg mL-1 were prepared. A control with water and dimethylsulfoxide (5 µg mL-1) was also included. Two hexane-fraction-solution application methods were evaluated: spraying directly onto the insect, and submerging a young Citrus limonia shoots in the solution, which served as a refuge for the aphids. Nymph and adult mortality were assessed at 24 and 48 h after solution application. The hexane fraction caused high mortality amongst the T. citricida nymphs and adults. The lowest LC50 value (0.301 mg mL) was recorded in the nymphs when the solutions were applied directly onto the insects. The polygodial compound that was isolated from the hexane fraction significantly increased the mortality of adults and nymphs, with LC50 values of 293.8 and 176.77 µg mL-1, respectively. The insecticidal activity observed may have been caused by this compound.


In recent trends, the image transmission over wireless communication system in 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) grow into a challenging task. OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) plays a key role in data transmission (text, image and video) over wireless systems. In OFDMA several transformation techniques have been used for the transmission of images. But they have some drawbacks such as increased number of carriers, increased delay estimation, high ISI and ICI. Hence, to overcome these drawbacks, an image transmission over wireless communication is proposed using DWT technique. OFDMA has several benefits like less complexity, high flexibility and high spectral efficiency. However, still, it lacks in noise reduction and increased error rates. To avoid these issues, SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) techniques is introduced in this work for the image transmission over wireless communication systems. In this proposed work, a DWT based SC-FDMA system is implemented to reduce the noise and interference using wavelet transform analysis. The performance measure of SNR, PSNR, BER and MSE for the proposed DWT based SC-FDMA system is evaluated using MATLAB. The results indicate that the proposed technique affords superior performance with a reduced BER.


In order to analyze the effect of entry strip thickness, entry strip crown and intermediate roll shifting on strip profile and rolling force distribution, a three dimension finite element model of rolls-strip in UCM mill was established and employed. The results showed that the increases of entry strip thickness and entry strip crown would lead to the increase of exit strip crown and edge drop under the same total rolling force; the strip crown and edge drop would be decreased if the intermediate roll shifting δi was decreased. Moreover, the rolling force distribution also was analyzed in details by changing the entry strip thickness, the entry strip crown and the intermediate roll shifting.


K and colleagues 1 reported that increases in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homovanillic acid (HVA) to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) ratio (HVA/HIAA ratio) are correlated with antipsychotic response to haloperidol treatment in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. In their study, haloperidol treatment was associated with significant increases in both CSF HVA concentrations and the CSF HVA/5-HIAA ratio, while CSF 5-HIAA concentrations were unchanged. Of interest, only the increase in the CSF HVA/ 5-HIAA ratio was correlated with antipsychotic response. We have been studying the relationship of CSF HVA and 5-HIAA concentrations to antipsychotic response with the "atypical" neuroleptic clozapine. We 2 and Szymanski et al 3 previously have reported the replication of the original findings of Pickar et al 4 that showed a low pretreatment CSF HVA/5-HIAA ratio is more likely to be associated with clinical response to clozapine in patients unresponsive to "typical" neuroleptics. We now report preliminary


The purpose of this paper has been to analyse how increased market uncertainties affects the timing and technological choice of investment projects in the power sector with focus on the Swedish situation using two different investment behavioural assumptions. The investment model assumes stochastic input prices (fuel prices), output price (electricity) and emission permit price. In addition, the green certificate scheme presently used in Sweden is deterministically incorporated in the model. The technology choices included are offshore wind power, gas-fired power and biomass power. The results suggests that biopower is the most likely technology choice under both investment behavioural assumptions and regardless if investment timing, driven by the policies. The likelihood of choosing gas power increases over time and likelihood of choosing wind power decreases over time, driven by the relative capital requirements per unit of output for the two technologies. Wind power would benefit is a lower discount rate is used.


Gender mainstreaming is a phenomenon that entails integrating gender issues, concerns and needs into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes, projects and activities at all levels. The aim is to achieve gender parity and equitability. This study was conducted in Rongai District, Kenya. The study objective was to establish the extent of gender mainstreaming in disaster recovery for internally displaced persons in Rongai district. The study used descriptive study design .Sampling was purposeful and it targeted women, men, boys and girls who were internally displaced as a result of 2007 post -election violence in Kenya. They were selected from Minto and Giwa resettlements. The study used focus group discussions consisting of women, men, boys and girls, Key informant interviews and Observation as research instruments. Data was collected using a discussion guide, tape recorded or notes hand written and analyzed using content analysis. The study found out that gender issues were not systematically identifies and appropriately applied to internally displaced persons in the Relief camps and in the resettlement process. Personal items such as undergarments, enough and appropriate clothes for adults and children, sanitary towels, shaving machines, condoms, and special diet for children, pregnant and lactating mothers were not provided by relief agencies. Relief shelters in form of tents were inadequate and inappropriate for parents and children. Sanitary facilities were few, congested and communal, far from the shelters and had no lights leading to children contracting diseases, sexual harassment of women and girls by fellow male IDPs and security personnel. Respondents cited gender discrimination and inequality in form of rape, sex for favours, favoritism of some IDPs by Relief Aid officials during distribution of food and nonfood items. Names of some genuine cases were missing from the list in land allocation for resettlement. There was low participation of women,boys and girls in leadership and decision making in the reliet camps and the resettlement process. Male dominance was cited in membership of the camp committees. Roles of women and girls were cited as domestic chores, caring for sick members and a negligible number was involved in distribution of relief items. Women were assigned the v role o f household heads by relief agencies. Men did partially domestic chores such as cooking and serving IDPs in relief camps, split firewood, offloaded and ferried relief items to satellite stores and provided security at night. Boys assisted in fetching water, splitting firewood and serving meals. There was a shift in gender roles. The study recommended a need for the government to make a gender responsive national biidget for financing victims of internal displacements.Socio-cultural dimension should be taken to consideration by relief aid agencies and the government in assigning gender roles to disaster victims. Recovery programmes should be designed by policy makers to include community capacity building and sensitization.IDPs should be involved and participate in decision making on matters that affect their welfare in relief shelters and in resettlements. Infrastructure such as police post,schools ,health centres, community hall, an information centre, setting up of counseling and debriefing centres in various parts of the country were recommended as an approach which will strengthen social networks and psycho-social support on the road to recovery. The study concluded that there was no gender mainstreaming for internally displaced persons in Rongai district.


Experiment has shown that the mechanical movement of one flint grinding against another under pressure will produce edge-chipping similar in every respect to that which is seen upon the Eoliths. Direct evidences that such processes have actually been in operation in Nature have been brought forward by M. I'Abbé H. Breuil1 and Mr. F. N. Haward,2 as also by the present writer3; but more comprehensive knowledge of the work of Nature is urgently needed. One must never forget that static energy in equilibrium is ineffective: there must be some disturbance of equilibrium for any chipping force to be set in action. That is to say, there must be at least vibration, but the greater the differential movements, and as a consequence the more the stones grind over each other, the more favourable the conditions become for the production of edge-chipping. Certain types of superficial drift fulfil these conditions, through the, prolonged operations of soil-creep, better than they can be fulfilled in more deeply seated situations. But the Eoliths that are found in them, which some investigators believe to be results of these mechanical movements, can always be claimed by others as human implements. The conditions at the base of the Tertiary System do not always fulfil what is needed. The section at Harefield can be taken as a good illustration: here is evidence of immense pressure, without any appreciable amount of differential movement. In consequence we find that the fractures are promiscuous, and strike through the heart of


Feminist and trans theory challenges "the" binary sex/gender system, but can create a new binary opposition of subversive transgender versus conservative transsexual. This paper aims to shift debate concerning bodies as authentic/real versus constructed/mutable, arguing that such debate establishes a false dichotomy that may be overcome by reappraising scientific understandings of sex/gender. Much recent biology and neurology stresses nonlinearity, contingency, self-organization, and open-endedness. Engaging with this research offers ways around apparently interminable theoretical impasses.


In the global market many smartphones vendors struggle to reach more customers. The competition leads to vendors developing technologies that are platform dependent, to keep their customers. This means that customers cannot take advantage of their skills in the integration of other operating systems, which makes them locked-in with their current supplier. Therefore we want to examine the concept of skill transferability and see how knowledge can be transferred to another operating system. To examine this we conducted a test where Android users had to perform tasks on iOS and Windows Phone. These tests were observed to examine whether the knowledge required to perform the task where transferable from Android or not. The results showed that when an operating system is similar to Android it provides more opportunity for the users to use their previous knowledge about their operating system and the technology play a major role in the differences between various ages.


Objective: To evaluate the preoperative condition and the surgical procedure of surgical patients in a general intensive care unit of a university hospital, relating them to morbidity and mortality. Methods: We studied the medical records of patients undergoing medium and large surgical procedures, admitted to the general intensive care unit. We analyzed: demographic data, clinical records personal history and laboratory tests, both preoperatively and on admission to the intensive care unit, imaging, operative reports, anesthetic reports and antibiotic prophylaxis. After admission, the variables studied were: length of stay, type of nutritional support, use of thromboprophylaxis, mechanical ventilation, description of complications and mortality. Results: We analyzed 130 medical records. Mortality was 23.8% (31 patients), Apache II greater than 40 was observed in 57 patients undergoing major surgery (64%), ASA classification e" II was observed in 16 patients who died (51.6 %), the length of stay in the intensive care unit ranged from one to nine days and was observed in 70 patients undergoing major surgery (78.5%), the use of mechanical ventilation for up to five days was observed in 36 patients (27.7%), hypertension was observed in 47 patients (47.4%), the most frequent complication was sepsis. Conclusion: The correct stratification of surgical patient determines their early discharge and reduced exposure to random risk.


In most developed countries, the insurance sector accounts for around eight percent of the GDP. In Europe alone the insurers liabilities are estimated at around e900 billion. Every insurance company regularly estimates its liabilities and reports them, in conjunction with statements about capital and assets, to the regulators. The liabilities determine the insurers solvency and also its pricing and investment strategy. The new EU directive, Solvency II, which came into effect in the beginning of 2016, states that those liabilities should be estimated with 'realistic assumption' using 'relevant actuarial and statistical methods'. However, modern statistics has not found its way in the reserving departments of today's insurance companies. This thesis attempts to contribute to the connection between the world of mathematical statistics and the reserving practice in general insurance. As part of this thesis, it is in particular shown that today's reserving practice can be understood as a non-parametric estimation approach in a structured model setting. The forecast of future claims is done without the use of exposure information, i.e., without knowledge about the number of underwritten policies. New statistical estimation techniques and properties are derived which are build from this motivating application.


Covid-19 is raging a devastating trail with the highest mortality-to-infected ratio ever for a pandemic. Lack of vaccine and therapeutic has rendered social exclusion through lockdown as the singular mode of containment. Harnessing the predictive powers of Machine Learning within a 6 dimensional infection kinetic model, depicting interactive evolution of 6 infection stages - healthy susceptible ($H$), predisposed comorbid susceptible ($P$), infected ($I$), recovered ($R$), herd immunized ($V$) and mortality ($D$) - the model, PHIRVD, provides the first accurate mortality prediction of 18 countries at varying stages of strategic lockdown, up to 30 days beyond last data training. PHIRVD establishes mortality-to-infection ratio as the correct pandemic descriptor, substituting reproduction number, and highlights the importance of early and prolonged but strategic lockdown to contain secondary relapse.
Significance Statement:
1. Accurate prediction of the day-by-day mortality profiles of 18 countries, 30 days beyond the last data of data training.
2. Precise quantification of the impact of early-vs-later lockdown impositions.
3. Accurate prediction of secondary relapse timelines/
4. Establishment of mortality-to-infected ratio as the correct pandemic descriptor substituting the popular choice of reproduction number, a proven failure in predicting future infection kinetics and secondary surge.
The outcomes have potential to redefine healthy policy landscape, particularly in light of secondary relapse and possible future SARS-COV/Ebola group incursion.


In this paper, a multiscale constitutive framework for one-dimensional blood flow modeling is presented and discussed. By analyzing the asymptotic limits of the proposed model, it is shown that different types of blood propagation phenomena in arteries and veins can be described through an appropriate choice of scaling parameters, which are related to distinct characterizations of the fluid-structure interaction mechanism (whether elastic or viscoelastic) that exist between vessel walls and blood flow. In these asymptotic limits, well-known blood flow models from the literature are recovered. Additionally, by analyzing the perturbation of the local elastic equilibrium of the system, a new viscoelastic blood flow model is derived. The proposed approach is highly flexible and suitable for studying the human cardiovascular system, which is composed of vessels with high morphological and mechanical variability. The resulting multiscale hyperbolic model of blood flow is solved using an asymptotic-preserving Implicit-Explicit Runge-Kutta Finite Volume method, which ensures the consistency of the numerical scheme with the different asymptotic limits of the mathematical model without affecting the choice of the time step by restrictions related to the smallness of the scaling parameters. Several numerical tests confirm the validity of the proposed methodology, including a case study investigating the hemodynamics of a thoracic aorta in the presence of a stent.


In this paper we introduce the constellation alphabets suitable for bidirectional relaying in parametric wireless channels. Based on the analysis of hierarchical minimum distance, we present a simple design algorithm for the non-uniform 2-slot constellation alphabets. These novel constellation alphabets outperform traditional linear modulation schemes in Hierarchical-Decode-and-Forward and Denoise-and-Forward relaying strategies in fading channels without sacrificing the overall system throughput.


This article analyses how the European Union's response to the euro-crisis has altered the constitutional balance upon which its stability is based. It argues that the stability and legitimacy of any political system requires the structural incorporation of individual and political self-determination. In the context of the EU, this requirement is met through the idea of constitutional balance, with 'substantive', 'institutional' and 'spatial' dimensions. Analysing reforms to EU law and institutional structure in the wake of the crisis – such as the establishment of the ESM, the growing influence of the European Council and the creation of a stand-alone Fiscal Compact – it is argued that recent reforms are likely to have a lasting impact on the ability of the EU to mediate conflicting interests in all three areas. By undermining its constitutional balance, the response to the crisis is likely to dampen the long-term stability and legitimacy of the EU project.


A shock model is developed that leads to an analytical expression
for the Hugoniot of condensed media. In the analysis the final
state is selected to coincide with the end of the shock transition so
that the total energy change across the shock front is evaluated from
changes in configurational energy only using an n-6 pair potential
(shown to be valid for all n > 0) and a given lattice structure.
Thermal energy changes are ignored because the dwell time of the molecules
in the shock transition region is less than the thermal relaxation
time. The total energy change is equated to the Hugoniot energy
change in the Rankine-Hugoniot conservation relations. This together
with the assumption of linear compression across the shock transition
gives the desired expression for the Hugoniot. In the "weak form" (WF) solution the Hugoniot depends on molecular
(atomic) weight M and initial density ρ o as well as the
collision diameter σ, depth of the potential well e and repulsive
exponent n of the pair potential. Extrapolation of this solution,
under certain conditions, yields an expression for the sound velocity
U o dependent on M, e and n. In the "strong form" (SF) solution
the Hugoniot depends only on U o and n. The shock data for 13 liquids and 23 metals are compiled and a
selection process used to eliminate poor data and data affected by
phase transitions. Using σ from the literature and e from a melting
point correlation, the WF solution Hugoniot is applied to the
liquids and the "best" values of n determined using numerical fitting
techniques. Excellent fits are obtained with values of n from
6.2 to 11.7. A common value of 9.2 is found to fit the shock data for
argon at four different initial states. Failure of the theory is
noted only for (di-)ethyl ether and water. The results are generally
concluded to support the validity of the shock model. Values of n
for argon, mercury and nitrogen compare favorably with values reported
in the literature. The WF solution does not yield accurate values of
U o . The SF solution is expanded in Taylor series to eliminate
singularities and applied to the shock data for 10 fcc and 13 bcc
metals and the "best" values of n determined. For the fcc metals
excellent fits are found for values of n from 4.0 to 6.3. Based on
the "pseudo-atom" concept, it is concluded that metals have "softer"
potentials than liquids. The results for the fcc metals are concluded
to generally support the validity of the shock model. For the bcc
metals excellent fits are found for n = 0.1 to 4.6 and it is concluded
that bcc metals are "softer" than fcc metals. Since σ is "not
defined" for all n < 3 it is speculated that the Hugoniot might not
be "well defined" in these cases. The theory is found to be not
applicable to Cs and Ba. The values of n found for Cu, Al and Pb
agree well with values in the literature. The n for metals are found
to roughly correlate with the Gruneisen coefficient γ. The major assumption of the theory, that the transition region
is "sufficiently thin," is analyzed and found to be reasonable. The
mean number of molecular layers in the transition region is ~ 7 and
the mean residence time ~ 2 x 10 -12 sec. In addition the n-6 potential
is judged to be adequate for the present study. The SF solution Hugoniot is shown to be compatible with the
classical linear U-µ relation (U = A + Bu) when x-1 « 1. Values of
the slope B from experimental data are found to agree closely with
the derived relation B ≃ (n + 5)/6 for the corresponding metals.
Recommendations for further studies with liquids, fcc and bcc metals
are made, including an evaluation of an explicit expression generally relating
the pair potential to the shock data. In several subsidiary studies a new method of computing
temperatures along the Hugoniot is found, two statistical approaches to
the definition of "nearest neighbor distance" and its use as a measure
of liquid structure are developed and the effect of phase transitions
on the shock model is determined.


In this manuscript, I demonstrate that, with the extension of the right to marry to same-sex couples in Iowa, the District of Columbia, and New Hampshire (all states that recognize common law marriage), there now exists the possibility that – for the first time in the United States – a same-sex couple may enter into a legally recognized common law marriage.In the manuscript, I first show, as a doctrinal matter, that same-sex couples have the right to enter into common law marriages in each of these jurisdictions, and I explain and compare the criteria for entering into common law marriages in each of them. I then address the question whether it makes sense, as a policy matter, to expand the concept of common law marriage to include same-sex couples, including an analysis of whether being a closeted same-sex couple is consistent with being in a common law marriage. I conclude that the lack of consistent access to religious and public officials willing to perform same-sex marriages coupled with the libertarian spirit underlying both same-sex marriage and common law marriage militate in favor of recognizing common law same-sex marriages. I also demonstrate the advantages that common law marriage – with its lack of a paper trail – provides to same-sex couples who need to keep their relationships closeted, such as those in the military or foreign nationals with temporary visas.


Introduction Significant progress of ART in HIV infection has led to a remarkable decline in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. However, the use of complex regimens can cause side effects to women and exposed children.The objective of this study was to evaluate side effects in pregnant women and their neonates exposed to ART at an universitary hospital in Brazil between 2000 and 2016. Methods Cohort study of 793 pregnant women and 787 newborns selected from clinical records and epidemiologic surveillance system. Analysis was performed through proportions and medians. The specific effect of different ART regimens was analysed through risk ratios (RR), qui-square test, Fisher's exact test, student t test, Mann-Whitney test, 95% confidence interval and level of significance of 0.05. Results MTCT rate was 2.3%. Mean age was 28 years, more than 60% were White and diagnosed before pregnancy. HAART use: 17.4% with nevirapine (NVP), 16.9% with nelfinavir (NFV), 53.2% with lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/R), 4.3% with other PI (26 with atazanavir/ritonavir). Only 1.9% women did not use ART by late diagnosis. There were: 56% cases of maternal anaemia,14.1% of thrombocytopenia, 54.5% of hepatic abnormalities, 2.7% of allergic reactions, 82% of dyslipidemia, 6.2% of diabetes. NVP use was associated to hepatotoxicity, allergic reactions and anaemia. NFV was associated to hepatic impairment and allergic reaction, ATV/R use was associated to bilirrubin increase, and LPV/R to dyslipidemia.Prematurity rate was 21.7% and low birth weight rate 22.5%. In the newborns: 25.7% of anaemia, 3.6% of thrombocytopenia, 36% of hepatic impairment. Congenital anomalies were presented in 10%. NVP use associated to anaemia and hepatic impairment. NFV was associated to hepatic abnormalities. ATV/R was associated to thrombocytopenia. Conclusion Although growing evidence indicates that antiretroviral treatment in pregnancy has overall a very favourable risk-benefit profile, it is important to maintain monitoring of the safety and efficacy of drug classes in order to optimise treatment recommendations.


Abstract : Simulation-based Aviation Training Exercises are critical for preparing U.S. Army Combat Aviation Brigades for deployment. However, while offering the opportunity to practice mission segments at the unit level, the effectiveness of this training remains unclear due to a need for objective assessments focused on observable team behavior. Unit Commanders and trainers need tools for measuring collective task performance in order to understand performance gains, facilitate feedback, and guide the learning of aviation tactical teams. To address this challenge, a set of aviation team performance measures were developed, data were collected to validate these measures, and strategies were created to facilitate application of the measures to collective training events. The measures used behaviorally-based observations to assess performance of aviation tactical teams. The measures were evaluated at multiple training events to assess overall utility. Data were collected on inter-rater reliability and on agreement between the measures and overall mission performance. Results provided evidence of both acceptable reliability and validity for the measures. Moreover, requirements were developed for electronic data collection tools that can be used by unit Commanders and trainers to assess team performance at collective training exercises.


Climate records stored in sea-floor sediments and glacial ice show that Earth's climate oscillates from warmer to cooler and back every 2000 years or so. Researchers had detected this oscillation during the last ice age but suspected it might somehow be driven by the great ice sheets. Now they have learned that the cycle has continued since the ice age, up to the present day, implying that something else drives it—perhaps a slow variation of the sun.


In this paper, a model of the wind turbine (WT) with direct-drive permanent magnet generator (DDPMG) and its associated controllers is presented, based on which a small signal model is derived. The small signal stability analysis shows that the WT with DDPMG with the proposed controller is stable. To evaluate the control capability of the proposed controller, simulations are performed on a single machine infinite bus system and a four-machine system. The impacts of the WT with DDPMG on the stability of the power system are also studied in term of critical clear time (CCT). The transient stability margin of the system is improved with the integrating of the WT with DDPMG.


An apparatus has been built that can measure the acoustical impedance (Z) of a variety of acoustical objects including membranes, plates, and porous materials. It is also possible to use the technique to measure the complex bulk modulus (B) of air within a porous material. When B is combined with Z, a complete linear description of the bulk properties of porous material is obtained. The apparatus is very simple, consisting of two volumes, one of which is driven by a loud speaker at frequencies low enough so that the two volumes can be accurately modeled as lumped elements. It is shown that Z and B primarily depend upon on the pressure transfer function between the two volumes, which can be measured very quickly and accurately with modern analyzers. Due to the simplicity of the apparatus, it is felt that this technique is superior to methods previously used [J. D. McIntosh et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 88, 1929–1938 (1990)], however it is limited to lower frequencies (<500 Hz with the current apparatus). Mea...


Throughout the United States, students with disabilities (SWD) are entering higher education in greater numbers than in the past; they also encounter barriers that negatively impact their college experience. This qualitative study explores the challenges of SWD at a public comprehensive college in the northeastern United States. Our research questions include the following: What are the internal and external challenges of college SWD in professional preparation programs? What might this mean for practice in higher education? In total, 541 participants completed an open-ended survey. Of this group, 45 participants disclosed having a disability, and 12 participated in follow-up interviews. Primary themes that emerged from this study include under- developed self-determination skills, lack of understanding (by SWD and faculty), the stigma associated with disabilities, and ineffective accommodations and support services. What follows is a review of relevant literature, discussion of findings, and presentation of implications for college SWD and professionals in higher education.


The structural properties of sodium manganates and iron substituted sodium manganates with compositions Na2/3Mn1-xFexO2 (x=0, 1/3 and 2/3) were studied by Raman spectroscopy. The Raman spectroscopy allows distinguishing between layered phases with orthorhombic (Cmcm space group) and hexagonal (P63/mmc space group) distortion. It has been found that the crystal structure and the composition of Na2/3MnO2 display a strong dependence on the history of the thermal treatment. The orthorhombic distorted modification is stabilized at high temperatures (1000 oC). At lower quenching temperature, there is a phase separation into an orthorhombic and a hexagonal modification, concomitant with an increase in the oxidation state of Mn. When Fe substitutes for Mn, the hexagonal modification is stabilized. In order to understand the origin of the Raman spectra of Na2/3Mn1-xFexO2, we have used Na2/3Co2/3Mn1/3O2 as a standard for hexagonal structure, where Co3+ and Mn4+ are statistically distributed in the transition metal layers.


Equatorial electrojet (EEJ) data, which are considered as a proxy index of equatorial electric field, are analyzed in conjunction with equatorial ionosonde, total electron content (TEC) and scintillation data near the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest for the equinoctial months of high solar activity years (2011–2012) to identify any precursor index of postsunset evolution of equatorial electron density irregularities and subsequent occurrence of scintillation near the northern EIA crest. Only geomagnetically quiet and normal electrojet days are considered. The diurnal profiles of EEJ on the scintillation days exhibit a secondary enhancement in the afternoon to presunset hours following diurnal peaks. A series of electrodynamical processes conducive for generation of irregularities emerge following secondary enhancement of EEJ. Latitudinal profile of TEC exhibits resurgence in EIA structure around the postsunset period. Diurnal TEC profile near the EIA crest resembles postsunset secondary enhancement on the days with afternoon enhancement in EEJ. Occurrence of equatorial spread F and postsunset scintillation near the EIA crest seems to follow the secondary enhancement events in EEJ. Both the magnitude and duration of enhanced EEJ are found to be important for postsunset intensification of EIA structure and subsequent occurrence of equatorial irregularities. A critical value combining the two may be considered an important precursor for postsunset occurrence of scintillation near the EIA crest. The results are validated using archived data for the years 1989–1990 and explained in terms of modulation effects of enhanced equatorial fountain.


This study aimed to analyze the findings of motor and fine of an 8 years old holder of Williams Syndrome. Data were collected biological child and mother during pregnancy and history of pre, peri and postnatal child and their clinical conditions. The development and fine motor function was assessed by Portage Guide. The results showed that children showed greater difficulty with fine motor skills in relation to gross skills, having difficulty in writing, to manipulate objects that need to make movement of pronation and supination and difficulty in of the pincer movement.


most prevalent (97 per cent), followed by subtype A1 (1.2 per cent), mosaic recombinant forms (1.2 per cent), subtype G (0.5 per cent), and subtype D (0.2 per cent). Over 60 per cent of the children had at least one mutation associated to drug resistance to NRTI/NNRTI. As expected a high frequency of mutations to NNRT (52.9 per cent) in comparison to NRTIs (11.4 per cent) due to the low genetic barrier of this class of drugs was observed. For NNRTI, K103N, Y181C, E138A, and G190A were most common whereas for the NRTI, M184V was the most common. Maternal prophylaxis with HAART was significantly (P< 0.05, OR 2.41) associated with the emergence of drug resistance mutation to NRTI in HIV infected children. In conclusion, the high level of transmitted-resistant viruses observed in this study suggests that political strategies to enhance the level of adherence in maternal HAART should be taken into account. This is an important consideration due to the fact that Mozambique recently implemented the integrated PMTCT option Bþapproach. Low adherence in such a treatment context may undermine de efficacy of first-line option in the country. Continuing surveillance studies among HIV infected children remains critical to monitor the impact of PMTCT strategies. Furthermore, current results highlight the need to reinforce adherence counseling with appropriate follow up.


Previous studies in experimental animals and patients have suggested a circadian variation in host toxicity following administration of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd) although the biochemical mechanisms are not fully understood. Thymidine kinase (TK; EC 220.127.116.11), the initial enzyme in the thymidine-phosphorylation pathway, is the first enzyme in the anabolism of FdUrd. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD; EC 18.104.22.168), is the rate-limiting enzyme in the pyrimidine catabolic pathway and has been shown to be the key enzyme in FdUrd catabolism. The present study examined the relationship between the suggested circadian variation in FdUrd toxicity and potential circadian variations in the activity of these enzymes. Initial studies in Sprague-Dawley rats confirmed that the time of FdUrd administration affected death rate and other drug-related toxicities including loss of body weight, diarrhea, and bone marrow suppression, with the least toxicity and highest survival rate being observed in rats receiving FdUrd at 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. and the greatest toxicity and lowest survival rate at 12:00 midnight and 4:00 a.m. Statistical analysis revealed a circadian pattern in FdUrd toxicity (Cosinor analysis, P < 0.001). In subsequent studies with the same species, we simultaneously measured TK and DPD activities in several tissues at various times over 24 h. Under standardized light conditions (lights on, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; lights off, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), with sampling at 4-h intervals (4:00 and 8:00 a.m.; 12:00 noon; 4:00 and 8:00 p.m., and 12:00 midnight), a circadian variation in TK activity was observed (P < 0.0001, Cosinor analysis) in bone marrow, intestinal mucosa, liver, and spleen. In the same group of animals, a circadian pattern of DPD activity in liver and bone marrow was also observed (Cosinor analysis, P < 0.0001) that was inverse compared to the circadian variation in TK activity (Pearson correlation analysis, P < 0.05). Further statistical analysis indicated that the observed circadian variation in FdUrd toxicity was correlated with the circadian variation of TK activity and inversely correlated with DPD activity (Pearson correlation analysis, P < 0.05). Based on the above data, we conclude that the circadian pattern of TK and DPD activity may explain the observed circadian variation in toxicity as the time of FdUrd administration is varied. These results may be useful in the design of improved chemotherapeutic regimens using time-modified administration of FdUrd.


This introduction to Richard of St. Victor's pneumathology seeks to deepen our understanding of the Trinitarian theology found in his De Trinitate - with particular attention to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity: His procession from the Father and Son and His physiognomy within the Trinitarian Mystery. Attention is given to Richard's argumentum amoris and notion of condilectio and an understanding of the Holy Spirit as Amor debitus and Donum. The author's conclusion serves as an excellent springboard for further theological research and reflection.


The Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) radiometer is practical in monitoring snow conditions for its sensitive response to the changes in snow properties. A single-hidden-layer artificial neural network (ANN) was employed to accomplish this remote sensing task, with radiometric observations of brightness temperatures (Tbs) as input data, to derive information about snow. Error backpropagation learning was applied to train the ANN. After learning the mapping of SSM/I Tbs to snow classes, the ANN approach showed a significant promise for identifying mountainous snow conditions. Error rates were 3% for snow-free, 5% for dry snow, 9% for wet snow, and 0% for refrozen snow, respectively. This study indicates the potential of ANN supervised learning for the inference of snow conditions from SSM/I observations. Further improvement on the application of ANN for large-scale snow monitoring can be expected by using more training data derived from both plains and mountain regions.


Background: Care costs rise towards the end of life. International comparison of service use, costs and care experiences can inform quality and improve access. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare health and social care costs, quality and their drivers in the last 3 months of life for older adults across countries. Null hypothesis: no difference between countries. Design: Mortality follow-back survey. Costs were calculated from carers' reported service use and unit costs. Setting: Palliative care services in England (London), Ireland (Dublin) and the United States (New York, San Francisco). Participants: Informal carers of decedents who had received palliative care participated in the study. Results: A total of 767 questionnaires were returned: 245 in England, 282 in Ireland and 240 in the United States. Mean care costs per person with cancer/non-cancer were US$37,250/US$37,376 (the United States), US$29,065/US$29,411 (Ireland), US$15,347/ US$16,631 (England) and differed significantly ( F = 25.79/14.27, p < 0.000). Cost distributions differed and were most homogeneous in England. In all countries, hospital care accounted for > 80% of total care costs; community care 6%–16%, palliative care 1%–15%; 10% of decedents used ~30% of total care costs. Being a high-cost user was associated with older age ( > 80 years), facing financial difficulties and poor experiences of home care, but not with having cancer or multimorbidity. Palliative care services consistently had the highest satisfaction. Conclusion: Poverty and poor home care drove high costs, suggesting that improving community palliative care may improve care value, especially as palliative care expenditure was low. Major diagnostic variables were not cost drivers. Care costs in the United States were high and highly variable, suggesting that high-cost low-value care may be prevalent.


Immobilization of oligonucleotide-functionalized magnetic nanobeads by hybridization in DNA-coils formed by rolling circle amplification has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The TEM results supported earlier made observations that small beads with low oligonucleotide surface coverage preferably immobilize in the interior of the DNA-coils and do not tend to link several DNA-coils together whereas large beads with high surface coverage to a larger extent connect several DNA-coils together to clusters of several DNA-coils with beads. AFM provided direct visualization of the DNA-coils as thread-like objects. DNA-coils with immobilized beads appeared as a collection of beads with thread-like features in their near vicinity.


The service performance of suppliers is key concerns for the enterprises in recent years, and there are lots of methods to evaluate the performance of suppliers, especially for the automotive company. This paper preliminary analyzed the literatures of the suppliers' evaluation, and summarized the main contents and methods used to evaluate the suppliers of automobile enterprise which are being focused on by many scholars. And then, the actual case is applied , a automobile enterprise has built 22 indexes to evaluate the performance of its parts suppliers in China, by use of SPSS, the results of parts suppliers evaluation were analyzed. The overall supply capacity remained stable, to some extent, declined partly, the joint venture company (in China) got the lowest mean, which have the remarkably difference from the private company and the joint venture company (out of China). So it is crucial to take the further measures to improve the service and product quality of these two parts suppliers.


The paper describes a 2 pJ/bit transmitter with 1.5 Gbps data rate with Pulsed Injected Local Oscillator (p-ILO) and 0 dBm peak output power that 0.16 mm2 active area in 65-nm CMOS-SOI. Input digital pulses modulate the oscillator at 60 GHz from On to Off state. The occupation bandwidth is 7 GHz for a 300 ps modulating pulses. This millimeter wave output frequency oscillation is locked to one of the numerous harmonic components of the pulse generator synthesized around 60 GHz, which permits to obtain a stable pulse to pulse phase condition. Thanks to this very non linear injection using pulses switching, a super high order N harmonic injection is obtained. With a 500 MHz input pulse data rate (N = 60 GHz=500 MHz = 120) the phase noise is −92 dBc/Hz at 100 KHz which is very close to the theorical 20log(N) dB increasing phase noise. The peak conversion efficiency is more than 18 % and the maximum peak output power is 7 dBm. Output pulse waveform and phases are coherent with input modulated pulses, which make this transmitter suitable for Automotive Radar, Giga bit WLAN, Wireless Sensor Networks and localization.


The two surviving inventories of the library of the Fitzgerald Earls of Kildare bear witness to a particularly large and diverse collection of books in the Earls' castle at Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Between them, the lists record well over one hundred separate items in four languages: Latin, French, English and Irish. This paper traces the history of the library and analyses the Fitzgeralds' particular interests as book collectors and as readers. It provides the first full published set of suggested identifications and bibliographical details for the books at Maynooth. It also includes a fresh transcription of the library lists and a discussion of the manuscript context in which they are preserved. Sources like the Kildare library lists provide valuable evidence for the potential circulation of a wide range of non-native manuscripts and prints in late-medieval Ireland.


A challenge for grammatical theories and models of language processing alike is to explain conflicting online and offline judgments about the acceptability of sentences. A prominent example of the online/offline mismatch involves "agreement attraction" in sentences like *The key to the cabinets were rusty, which are often erroneously treated as acceptable in time-restricted "online" measures, but judged as less acceptable in untimed "offline" tasks. The prevailing assumption is that online/offline mismatches are the product of two linguistic analyzers: one analyzer for rapid communication (the "parser") and another, slower analyzer that classifies grammaticality (the "grammar"). A competing hypothesis states that online/offline mismatches reflect a single linguistic analyzer implemented in a noisy memory architecture that creates the opportunity for errors and conflicting judgments at different points in time. A challenge for the singleanalyzer account is to explain why online and offline tasks sometimes yield conflicting responses if they are mediated by the same analyzer. The current study addresses this challenge by showing how agreement attraction effects might come and go over time in a single-analyzer architecture. Experiments 1 and 2 use an agreement attraction paradigm to directly compare online and offline judgments, and confirm that the online/offline contrast reflects the time restriction in online tasks. Experiment 3 then uses computational modeling to capture the mapping from online to offline responses as a process of sequential memory sampling in a single-analyzer framework. This demonstration provides some proof-of-concept for the single-analyzer account and offers an explicit process model for the mapping between online and offline responses.


Abstract Considerable investments have been made in Europe and worldwide for developing research data infrastructures. Instead of a general lack of data about data, it has become apparent that a pivotal factor that drastically constrains data use is the absence of contextual knowledge about how data was created and how it has been curated and used. This applies especially to many branches of social science and humanities research, where data is highly heterogeneous, both by its kind (e.g. being qualitative, quantitative, naturalistic, purposefully created) and origins (e.g. being historical/contemporary, from different contexts and geographical places). The problem is that there may be enough metadata (data about data) but there is too little paradata (data on the processes of its creation, curation and use). The aim of this position paper is to draw attention 1) to the need for a better and more systematic understanding and documentation of the contexts of creation, curation and use of research data to make it useful and usable for researchers and other potential users in the future, and 2) to specific obstacles that make the capturing of this particular type of metadata, known as paradata, especially difficult. Failing to understand what information about the creation, curation and use of research data is needed and how to capture enough of that information risks that the currently collected vast amounts of research data become useless in the future.


This review summarizes the essential characteristics of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) timeof-flight mass spectrometry (TOF MS), especially as they relate to its applications in quantitative analysis. Approaches to quantification by MALDI-TOF MS are presented and published applications are critically reviewed.


Heterorotaxanes, one class of topological organic structures, have attracted increasing interesting during the past two decades. In general, two types of heterorotaxane structures exist, one in which two or more different macrocycles are threaded onto one dumbbell-shaped molecule and the other where one macrocycle is threaded onto two or more different dumbbell-shaped molecules. In comparison to these traditional types, another family of topologically interesting heterorotaxanes can be envisaged as arising from polyfunctional molecules that possess both host (crown ether) and guest (ammonium templates). In the present investigation, we have explored the construction of selected members of this new heterorotaxane family, which possess crown ether moieties that are wrapped around a dumbbell-shaped molecule. These structures are prepared by routes in which "stitching" processes, involving template-directed clipping reaction or olefin metathesis reactions, are used to install crown ether ring systems encircling ammonium cation centers. This is then followed by implementation of a threading-followed-by-stoppering sequence to install a second encircling crown ether ring. The results show that the polyfunctional building blocks assemble with high efficiencies. Finally, this investigation provides a foundation for future studies aimed at constructing more complicated heterorotaxane architectures, such as switchable systems, self-assembling polymers, and functional molecular machines.


The incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is rapidly increasing across the world. DM has been known as one of the risk factors for tuberculosis (TB). DM was seen to have a negative effect on the outcome of TB treatment. This paper is a literature review based on articles about DM and TB taken from PubMed, Google, and Mendeley published ten years behind. Screening for DM in persons with TB demonstrated that DM prevalence in TB population is high. DM prevalence in TB was about 5,4 % – 44,0 %. Diabetes mellitus is a risk factor to develop active tuberculosis (OR: 1,5 – 8,9). DM impairs the immunity of the patients and therefore DM is an independent risk factor for infections such as TB. Lack control of diabetes predisposes the patient to tuberculosis. People with diabetes are more likely to fail TB treatment compared to those without diabetes. Effective management of both diseases require the same elements including early detection, providing guided standard treatment, and proper drug intake


Abstract We present detailed information on the breeding biology of a migratory population of the Tawny-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila hypoxantha), a typical member of the "capuchinos" group. Data were collected for 69 nests from 2007–2010 in areas of hilly dry grasslands in southern Brazil. Breeding begins in early November, a week after the seedeaters arrive, peaks in late November, and lasts until late February, when individuals migrate north. Females build small open-cup nests in small shrubs (mainly Vernonia chamaedrys and Eupatorium polystachyum), 41.9 ± 0.8 cm (range 27–60 cm, n  =  38) above the ground. Clutch size is two (91%) or three eggs (n  =  43), which measure 16.22 ± 0.51 mm by 11.93 ± 0.28 mm (n  =  10), and incubation, which is performed by the female, lasts 12 days. Average nest attentiveness during incubation was 60 ± 5% (n  =  5) with 20–31 min on-bouts. Males help feed the nestlings beginning on the fifth day after hatching. Provisioning visits/hr averaged 4.6 ± 0.7 (n  =  6) and females brooded after feeding the young in 48% of the visits when nestlings were 1–4 days old. When nestlings were 6–9 days old, the average visits/hr increased (8.95 ± 1.8, n  =  11; z  =  −2.5, P  =  0.012), with brooding after feeding in 14% of the visits. Nestlings fledged after 9–10 days. The basic reproductive characteristics of the migratory population are very similar to those found in the resident population in the Formosa region, Argentina, but the breeding season, time spent building the nest, and length of visits to the nest during the nestling stage were shorter.


Important doctrines in diverse areas of law employ structured decision procedures requiring, in rough terms, that the plaintiff first make some demonstration of harm; if but only if that is done, the defendant must make some showing of benefit; and if but only if that occurs, balancing is performed. In-depth analysis of such protocols reveals them to be inferior to unconstrained balancing with respect to the quality of final decisions and the guidance they provide for the collection of information and, accordingly, the conduct of adjudication. This article applies this analysis to the rule of reason and merger regulation under antitrust law, Title VII disparate impact law, and the practices of strict scrutiny and proportionality analysis in constitutional law. Longstanding controversies are addressed and unappreciated deficiencies are discovered. In all three domains, existing law is cast in a substantially different light, both descriptively and normatively.


We consider a generic online allocation problem that generalizes the classical online set cover framework by considering requests comprising a set of elements rather than a single element. This problem has multiple applications in cloud computing, crowd sourcing, facility planning, etc. Formally, it is an online covering problem where each online step comprises an offline covering problem. In addition, the covering sets are capacitated, leading to packing constraints. We give a randomized algorithm for this problem that has a nearly tight competitive ratio in both objectives: overall cost and maximum capacity violation. Our main technical tool is an online algorithm for packing/covering LPs with nested constraints, which may be of interest in other applications as well.