Air Pollution and Criminal Activity: Microgeographic Evidence from Chicago

This is the final version. Available from the American Economic Association via the DOI in this recordA growing literature documents that air pollution adversely impacts health, productivity, and cognition. This paper provides the first evidence of a causal link between air pollution and aggressive behavior, as documented by violent crime. Using the geolocation of crimes in Chicago from 2001-2012, we compare crime upwind and downwind of major highways on days when wind blows orthogonally to the road. Consistent with research linking pollution to aggression, we find air pollution increases violent crime on the downwind sides of interstates. Our results suggest that pollution may reduce welfare and affect behavior through a wider set of channels than previously considered

Multi-view Face Detection Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

In this paper we consider the problem of multi-view face detection. While there has been significant research on this problem, current state-of-the-art approaches for this task require annotation of facial landmarks, e.g. TSM [25], or annotation of face poses [28, 22]. They also require training dozens of models to fully capture faces in all orientations, e.g. 22 models in HeadHunter method [22]. In this paper we propose Deep Dense Face Detector (DDFD), a method that does not require pose/landmark annotation and is able to detect faces in a wide range of orientations using a single model based on deep convolutional neural networks. The proposed method has minimal complexity; unlike other recent deep learning object detection methods [9], it does not require additional components such as segmentation, bounding-box regression, or SVM classifiers. Furthermore, we analyzed scores of the proposed face detector for faces in different orientations and found that 1) the proposed method is able to detect faces from different angles and can handle occlusion to some extent, 2) there seems to be a correlation between dis- tribution of positive examples in the training set and scores of the proposed face detector. The latter suggests that the proposed methods performance can be further improved by using better sampling strategies and more sophisticated data augmentation techniques. Evaluations on popular face detection benchmark datasets show that our single-model face detector algorithm has similar or better performance compared to the previous methods, which are more complex and require annotations of either different poses or facial landmarks.Comment: in International Conference on Multimedia Retrieval 2015 (ICMR

A randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating quality of life when using a simple acupressure protocol in women with primary dysmenorrhea

Objective: To evaluate a simple acupressure protocol in LIV3 and LI4 acupoints in women with primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: This paper reports a randomized, single blinded clinical trial. 90 young women with dysmenorrhea were recruited to three groups to receive 20 minutes acupressure every day in either LIV3 or LI4, or placebo points. Acupressure was timed five days before menstruation for three successive menstrual cycles. On menstruation, each participant completed the Wong Baker faces pain scale, and the quality of life short form -12 (QOL SF-12). Results: Intensity and duration of pain between the three groups in the second and third cycles during the intervention (p<0.05) differed significantly. Significant differences were seen in all domains of QOL except for mental health (p=0.4), general health (p=0.7) and mental subscale component (p=0.12) in the second cycle, and mental health (p=0.9), and mental subscale component (p=0.14) in the third cycle. Conclusion: Performing the simple acupressure protocol is an effective method to decrease the intensity and duration of dysmenorrhea, and improve the QOL. Key words: Dysmenorrhea, acupressure, quality of life Registration ID in IRCT: IRCT2016052428038N

Changes in Outcomes and Factors Associated With Survival in Melanoma Patients With Brain Metastases

BACKGROUND: Treatment options for patients with melanoma brain metastasis (MBM) have changed significantly in the last decade. Few studies have evaluated changes in outcomes and factors associated with survival in MBM patients over time. The aim of this study is to evaluate changes in clinical features and overall survival (OS) for MBM patients. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with MBMs from 1/1/2009 to 12/31/2013 (Prior Era; PE) and 1/1/2014 to 12/31/2018 (Current Era; CE) at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center were included in this retrospective analysis. The primary outcome measure was OS. Log-rank test assessed differences between groups; multivariable analyses were performed with Cox proportional hazards models and recursive partitioning analysis (RPA). RESULTS: A total of 791 MBM patients (PE, n = 332; CE, n = 459) were included in analysis. Median OS from MBM diagnosis was 10.3 months (95% CI, 8.9-12.4) and improved in the CE vs PE (14.4 vs 10.3 months, P \u3c .001). Elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was the only factor associated with worse OS in both PE and CE patients. Factors associated with survival in CE MBM patients included patient age, primary tumor Breslow thickness, prior immunotherapy, leptomeningeal disease, symptomatic MBMs, and whole brain radiation therapy. Several factors associated with OS in the PE were not significant in the CE. RPA demonstrated that elevated serum LDH and prior immunotherapy treatment are the most important determinants of survival in CE MBM patients. CONCLUSIONS: OS and factors associated with OS have changed for MBM patients. This information can inform contemporary patient management and clinical investigations

Hot Days, the Ability to Work and Climate Resilience: Evidence from a Representative Sample of 42,152 Indian Households

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe ability of people to work underpins most economic outcomes. Using data from the nationally representative India Human Development Survey (IHDS-II), with pre-scheduling of interview locations ensuring plausibly random assignment of temperature treatment to respondent, we evidence the impact of short-term (within-month) high temperatures on self-evaluated ability to work, and how that impact depends on individual living conditions. Other things equal a hot day (one in which maximum daytime temperature exceeds 37.7◦C (100◦F)) increases inability to work across the month by about 7%, or 1/20th of a day. Electricity to the home and cooler ownership have important but partial protective effects, we find no such evidence for piped water supply.CRCSSHR

The Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms in High School Students in Abadan City in 2016

Background and Purpose: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional bowel disorder that is thought to be due to a disorder of brain-gut function and a chronic and debilitating functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects 9-23 of the population across the world. This problem (IBS) is the second cause of absenteeism from the work and school, too. There is classification system for IBS (Rome IV classification system). Method: The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional study was determination Prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms in High School female Students in Abadan City in 2016. In this study, using a two-part questionnaire designed by the researcher, one part of which was demographic information, and the second part was IBS symptoms, 1044 girls were classified using random sampling method. After collecting data, data were analyzed by SPSS software version 19 and descriptive statistics tests. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Findings: The age range of participants was between the ages of 14 and 18 and their mean age was 16 +/- 2. The findings of this study showed that the most common symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain (66.4), diarrhea (46.7), constipation (42.5). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it can be said that the symptoms of IBS are high among high school female students, thus clarifying the need for more attention to this issue

Iterative Decoding and Estimation for Digital Audio Watermarking

In this paper, a novel blind audio watermarking method is investigated. In this approach, the watermarking message is embedded into the low frequency components of the host signal in a novel transformation named Point to Point Graph (PPG). This watermarking scheme does not make significant high frequency components, and leads to a suitable blind dewatermarking procedure based on nonuniform sampling and iterative reconstruction. The convergence of the iterative method and the distortion caused by this watermarking approach are investigated analytically. Finally, the robustness of the method is examined against different common attacks such as AWGN, echo, low pass, MP3, etc using STIMARK software

Evaluation of permanent deformation of a new pavement base and subbase containing unbound granular materials, crumb rubber and crushed glass

To avoid premature failures in pavement layers, strong aggregates must be selected for pavement constructions that can bear the accumulation of permanent deformations. Otherwise, rutting happens in the pavement layers due to the accumulation of permanent deformations. On the other hand, due to the extensive generation of construction and demolition (C&amp;D) materials around the world, the application of waste materials in civil engineering projects would be considered as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution. Although many studies have been performed to examine the performance of the crushed recycle pavement materials, the literature review shows that few studies have been conducted to examine the permanent deformation characteristic of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and crushed rock (CR) containing both crumb rubber (R) and crushed glass (CG). In this study, a series of repeated load triaxial (RLT) tests were carried out to evaluate the permanent deformation (i.e. 100000 loading cycles) of RCA and CR incorporating R and CG. The shakedown theory was used to characterize the permanent deformation behaviour of the samples. Also, Werkmeister&#039;s criteria were applied to define the shakedown ranges of the samples. The results show that the RCA, RCA +1% R + 5% CG, CR + 1% R + 3% CG and CR + 1% R + 5% CG can be used as base and sub-base material in pavement

Experimental study of the effects of geogrids on elasticity modulus, brittleness, strength, and stress-strain behavior of lime stabilized kaolinitic clay

Lime stabilization has been widely used in civil engineering to improve soils properties. A major shortcoming of lime is that it increases the soil brittleness. Thus, the aim of this research is to study the effect of lime along with geogrids on unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and modulus of elasticity (Es) of the stabilized soil. Atterberg limits, XRF, and pH tests were performed to determine the optimal percentage of lime. Then, different percentages of lime were added to the soil to study strength, stress, and strain of specimens using UCS tests. Also, the effect of inclusion of geogrid on the lime stabilized soil was studied by adding four layers of geogrid in the soil at constant intervals. By increasing the percentages of lime, brittleness index, UCS, and Es increased and deformability index decreased. Moreover, applying geogrids led to increasing deformability and failure strain. Based on SEM tests, an addition of lime caused fewer voids led to increasing UCS and Es. A phenomenological model was used to develop equations for predicting UCS, Es, brittleness, and deformability indexes for the stabilized soil. The results showed that there was a good correlation between the measured values and the estimated values given by the predicted equations

Effect of curing, capillary action, and groundwater level increment on geotechnical properties of lime concrete: Experimental and prediction studies

Lime concrete and lime treatment are two attractive techniques for geotechnical engineers. However, researches have rarely been carried out to study the effects of moisture and capillary action due to increasing groundwater level on geotechnical properties of lime concrete. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of curing time and degree of saturation on some of geotechnical properties of lime concrete such as unconfined compressive strength (UCS), secant modulus (Es), failure strain, brittleness index (IB), and deformability index (ID) using unconfined compression tests. First of all, geotechnical and chemical properties of used materials were determined. After curing times of 14 d, 28 d, 45 d, and 60 d in laboratory condition, the specimens were exposed to saturation levels ranging from 0 to 100%. The results showed that the moisture and curing time have significant effects on the properties of lime concrete. Based on the results of scanning electron micrograph (SEM) test, it was observed that the specimen was characterized by a rather well-structured matrix since both the filling of a large proportion of the coarse-grained soil voids by clay and the pozzolanic activity of lime led to retaining less pore water in the specimen, increasing the UCS and Es, and consequently resisting against swelling and shrinkage of the clay soil. Moreover, due to the pozzolanic reactions and reduction of water, by increasing the curing time and decreasing the degrees of saturation, UCS, Es, and IB increased, and ID decreased. Based on the experimental results, a phenomenological model was used to develop equations for predicting the properties in relation to the ratio of degree of saturation/curing time. The results showed that there was a good correlation (almost R2 &gt; 90%) between the measured parameters and the estimated ones given by the predicted equations