In the world today, qualities of lives among humans are decreasing at a rapid stage. This is caused by our never-ending wants and needs. In order to satisfy our greed, our mother-earth are being destroyed at a rapid stage. More natural resources have to be harvested and of course more pollution are being created inevitably. With this rising concerns, organizations around the world are creating awareness of this phenomenon as part of their corporate social responsibilities.The real estate industry too, is on this trends. No doubt that this industry contributed most to the environmental impacts. They can cause both direct and indirect impacts on the environment. Even the first step in planning, developing to even managing the estates cause an environmental impacts. In recent years, both developers and consumers are being aware of these negative circumstances, in response to this, they are now more concerned when buying and/or developing the real estates.This study have emphasized on the relationships between purchasing attitudes and intentions to purchase green condominiums on Generation Y. Why Gen Y? Research conducted found that this generation of people are more aware of this environmental issues and willing to act accordingly. This research is conducted based on the quantitative method and the questionnaires used to reach the respondents will be online-administered. The target group will be between 18-35 years old and live in Bangkok. After filtering the questionnaire collected, 220 sets were used in analyzing. There are 2 steps in the process when analyzing the data. The descriptive statistic were used on the first step to obtain the demographic characteristics of the respondents. While on the second ,regressions were employed respectively. The results obtained from this study found that "Intentions to Purchase"green Condominium on generation Y has a positive relationship on "purchase attitude". While "environmental knowledge", "Perceived Benefits", "Environment Concern", "health conscious" and "subjective norms" also have a relationship on "purchase attitude" and indirect effect with "intention to purchase".After knowing all these relationships developers can apply this knowledge to their business in advertising and analyzing consumers' targets.


Railway companies need to achieve higher capacities on existing infrastructures such as high density suburban mainlines. Communication based train control (CBTC) systems have been widely deployed on dedicated subway lines. However, deployment on shared rail infrastructure, where CBTC and non-CBTC trains run, leads to a mixed positioning and controlling system with different precision levels and restrictions. New performance and complexity issues are to arise. In this paper, a method for rescheduling adapted to a CBTC system running in a mixed traffic, is introduced. The proposed method is based on a model predictive control (MPC) approach. In each step, a genetic algorithm with new mutation mechanisms solves the problem to optimize the cost function. It determines the dwell times and running times of CBTC trains, taking into account the non-CBTC trains planning and fixed-block localization. In addition, reordering can be allowed by modifying the problem constraints. The work is supported by a simulation tool developed by SNCF and adapted to mixed traffic study. The approach is illustrated with a case study based on a part of an East/West line in the Paris region network, proving the ability of the method to find good feasible solutions when delays occur in traffic.


Sanmashan side slope in the Three Gorges reservoir region is located in the center area of the Xincheng district, Fengjie county, China. Based on the analysis of hydrogeological structure of the studied area, one can conclude that a groundwater reservoir form near the side slope area after the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir, which induces large groundwater pressure on the side slope. In particular, large hydrodynamic pressure will occur in the landslide mass under the condition of the reservoir water level descending significantly, which has bad effects on slope stability. Numerical simulation results show that the seepage force on landslide is 43 times of that under normal situation, as the reservoir water level declining dramatically from 175m to 145m. Thus, the influence of hydrodynamic pressure should be considered in the stability calculation.


BACKGROUND
Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are circulating mononuclear cells that participate in angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the menstrual cycle on the number and function of EPCs, and to investigate their relationship with circulating concentrations of sex steroids and inflammatory mediators.

METHODS
Ten healthy nulliparous, premenopausal, non-smoking women with regular menses were studied over a single menstrual cycle. Venepuncture was performed in the menstrual, follicular, peri-ovulatory and luteal phases. EPCs were quantified by flow cytometry (CD133(+)CD34(+)KDR(+) phenotype) and the colony-forming unit (CFU-EPC) functional assay. Circulating concentrations of estradiol, progesterone and inflammatory mediators (TNF-alpha, IL-6, sICAM-1 and VEGF) were measured by immunoassays.

RESULTS
The numbers of CD133(+)CD34(+)KDR(+) cells were higher in the follicular phase (0.99 +/- 0.3 x 10(6) cells/l) compared with the peri-ovulatory phase (0.29 +/- 0.1 x 10(6) cells/l; P < 0.05). In contrast, the numbers of CFU-EPCs did not vary over the menstrual cycle. There were no correlations between EPCs and concentrations of either circulating sex steroids or inflammatory mediators.

CONCLUSIONS
CD133(+)CD34(+)KDR(+) cells but not CFU-EPCs vary during the menstrual cycle. Our findings suggest a potential role for circulating EPCs in the normal cycle of physiological angiogenesis and repair of the uterine endometrium that is independent of circulating sex steroids or inflammatory mediators.


The title of this study is "The Effect of Bank Century case reports on television (Metro TV and TV One) to the formation cognitive of public opinion in Manado City, North Sulawesi " . This study was conducted with a mass communication approach that used the television to shape public opinion. The purpose of this research is to know the influence of television is everywhere, the repetition of news, uniformity and conformity with the news public opinion on television (Metro TV and TV One) against the formation of knowledge, beliefs and perceptions case decisions results of Bank Century in the city of Manado in North Sulawesi Province. As for the theory used is Cognitive Psychology (Grand theory), Stimulus-Organism-Response (Mid Range Theory), The Spiral Of Silence (Application Theory). The research method uses explanatory survey, by distributing questionnaires that consist of 9 questions of respondent data and 45 statements of research data variables X and Y to 190 respondents. The sampling process uses Multy Stage Cluster Sampling, while the data process uses Path Analysis. The results indicated that the availability of television is everywhere,the repetition news, news uniformity and conformity of public opinion are very influential / significant to the formation of knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, feelings, judgments, willingness to accept, willingness to express, discussion, agreement, and behavior in Manado City North Sulawesi. Keywords: Bank Century case reports , television , cognitive of public opinion


What distinguishes one engaged approach to planning from another? In the bid to produce innovative planning scholarship which impacts theory and practice, there is growing interest in broadening the range of approaches to engaged planning research. This article looks specifically at action research – which moves away from more traditional research models and aims at generating collective learning processes through the relationship between researcher and community. Enriching the debate around the quality of action research writings, the paper discusses the theoretical foundations of action research, looks at the misconceptions surrounding it, compares its written outcomes to other planning publications and suggests criteria for the assessment of such publications.


The failing human heart develops metabolic derangements characterized by a shift from fatty acids to glucose use for ATP generation. These metabolic changes are accompanied by transcriptional changes typically seen during embryogenesis. The aim of our study was to investigate myocardial levels of toxic lipid intermediates in samples from patients with advanced heart failure compared with control subjects. Furthermore, we analyzed whether mechanical unloading of the failing myocardium corrects impaired cardiac metabolism. For this purpose, we analyzed myocardium and serum of patients with advanced heart failure obtained during left ventricular assist device implantation and at explantation and from control subjects. Systemic insulin resistance in heart failure was accompanied by decreased myocardial triglyceride and overall fatty acid content but increased toxic lipid intermediates, diacylglycerol, and ceramide. Several downstream signaling molecules known to regulate insulin signaling (Akt, Foxo, and protein kinase C) were also found to be dysregulated in the failing myocardium, favoring an insulin-resistant state compared with control subjects. Left ventricular assist device implantation improved insulin resistance and decreased myocardial levels of the toxic lipid intermediates diacylglycerol and ceramide, whereas triglyceride and free fatty acid content remained unchanged. Therefore, abnormal myocardial metabolism, insulin resistance, and lipotoxicity develop in human heart failure. Mechanical unloading through left ventricular assist device implantation corrects systemic and local metabolic derangements in advanced heart failure. This study characterizes metabolic changes in human heart failure with the development of cardiac lipotoxicity. Furthermore, these findings suggest potential therapeutic implications of mechanical unloading of the failing myocardium for the correction of metabolic derangements in advanced human heart failure.


It's a debate nearly as old as the sport itself. Sure, there have been plenty of great baseball teams--but which was the best ever? While it seems like an unwinnable argument, the authors of Baseball Dynasties have risen to the challenge. They took the top fifteen teams of the twentieth century, ran them through rigorous statistical analysis, and threw in some good old-fashioned opinion in their quest to determine, definitively, who was the greatest team in the history of baseball. Looking at continued brilliance over time (no one-season wonders allowed), Hall of Famers on the roster, offensive and defensive production, performance in the postseason, and numerous other tangibles and intangibles, Eddie Epstein and Rob Neyer put each team under the microscope--and picked a winner. Who will come out on top? Was it the 1927 Yankees, the legendary squad blessed with both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? Or how about Earl Weaver's 1970 Orioles, who over a three-year span dominated their opponents at a higher level than any other team this century? Full of anecdotes, intriguing facts, and scores of statistics, Baseball Dynasties is a fascinating look at baseball history certain to provoke, entertain, and edify baseball fans of all ages.


Background: Haemodynamic changes and post-operative analgesia is vital to maintain during general anaesthesia to conduct mild to moderate surgery. Objective: To evaluate the effect of oxycodone on physiologic changes following extubation and pain management after surgery. Methods: As the sole opioid administered to induce and maintain general anesthesia, intravenous oxycodone was the sole opioid used in this prospective, observational, descriptive study. As well as recording the number of extubation times and adverse events, we observed all of these patients to see if oxycodone alone was sufficient to provide adequate intraoperative and postoperative analgesia. Results: A total oxycodone dose of 0.35 ± 0.06 mg/kg was used for induction and 32.4 ± 3.21 mg/kg for maintenance of general anaesthesia. The dose was found to effectively maintain haemodynamic stability during surgery and good postoperative analgesia. A large number of patients took Oxycodone, resulting in deep sedation (five of the patients had sedation scores ≥4) and respiratory depression, as well as long recovery times in the post-anaesthetic care unit. The extubation time (18.5 ± 2.6 min) increased with increasing oxycodone doses. Conclusion: For minor/moderate surgeries, oxycodone may be the only opioid used. Due to its deep sedation effect, care should be taken.


Given a set of $n$ vectors in $\mathbb{R}^d$, the goal of the \emph{determinant maximization} problem is to pick $k$ vectors with the maximum volume. Determinant maximization is the MAP-inference task for determinantal point processes (DPP) and has recently received considerable attention for modeling diversity. As most applications for the problem use large amounts of data, this problem has been studied in the relevant \textit{composable coreset} setting. In particular, [Indyk-Mahabadi-OveisGharan-Rezaei--SODA'20, ICML'19] showed that one can get composable coresets with optimal approximation factor of $\tilde O(k)^k$ for the problem, and that a local search algorithm achieves an almost optimal approximation guarantee of $O(k)^{2k}$. In this work, we show that the widely-used Greedy algorithm also provides composable coresets with an almost optimal approximation factor of $O(k)^{3k}$, which improves over the previously known guarantee of $C^{k^2}$, and supports the prior experimental results showing the practicality of the greedy algorithm as a coreset. Our main result follows by showing a local optimality property for Greedy: swapping a single point from the greedy solution with a vector that was not picked by the greedy algorithm can increase the volume by a factor of at most $(1+\sqrt{k})$. This is tight up to the additive constant $1$. Finally, our experiments show that the local optimality of the greedy algorithm is even lower than the theoretical bound on real data sets.


Abstract This paper follows on from the previous article published in Physical Therapy in Sport (PtiS) on the analysis of repeated measurements (2). The aims are (i) to discuss more formal methods of making multiple comparisons amongst level means in a single factor and (ii) to describe the analysis of more complicated designs in physical therapy research, which may involve more than one factor of interest. Issues are discussed in parallel with the options for analysis that are available in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). First, it is outlined how the hypothesis of interest and nature of the factor of interest (ordinal or nominal) governs how many multiple comparisons are made and whether multiple comparisons are needed at all. Next, it is explained why the sphericity assumption is just as important for making accurate multiple comparisons amongst level means as it is for the accuracy of the omnibus hypothesis test on the factor of interest. Using the results of statistical simulations, the relative merits of the different methods that are available for making multiple comparisons are then discussed. Next, the general problem that is associated with most multiple comparison procedures; relatively low statistical power, is highlighted and new step-wise correction procedures that are designed to overcome this problem of low power are introduced. Finally, the analysis and presentation of results for multifactorial designs is covered, including an explanation of what is considered to be the most complicated aspect of such analyses; the interpretation of a significant 'interaction' between factors.


Summary A new and simple technique was developed to rear honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in vitro. One day old larvae were grafted into Petri dishes and fed a basic diet at six different time intervals. There were no differences in the larval weights, survival rates or ovariole numbers of the bees among the groups that were fed at different intervals, but they were heavier and had larger ovaries than hive reared bees. It was shown that honey bees can be reared in vitro without replenishing their food daily. This simple mass provisioning technique reduces the labour involved, and enables the researcher to raise large number of bees in vitro.


of 0-4% compares with a rate of 3% reported in a series treated by electroresection (A L Magos, third international symposium on gynaecological endoscopy, Oxford, 1990). Some of this resectoscope group required laparotomy for this complication, and this may reflect a real difference in the safety of the techniques. Four women developed an infection after endometrial laser ablation, of whom only one seemed to have an important pelvic infection. There were no cases of haemorrhage, no blood transfusions were required, no laparotomies were needed, and there were no cases of haematometra. Of the 517 women, 288 were followed up for more than six months, of whom 177 developed amenorrhoea and 80 reported acceptable reduction in still regular menstruation. Of the 26 patients who had no improvement, 16 responded to a second laser ablation, with the treatment failing completely in only 10 women, who required a hysterectomy. Overall, 267 had a satisfactory response to laser ablation. We agree with Dr Magos that laser ablation and electrodiathermy seem to give similar, satisfactory clinical results. There may, however, be a different incidence of major complications associated with the procedures, and these potentially important differences need to be investigated in prospective trials before either procedure is widely adopted. This large study would suggest, however, that Nd-YAG laser ablation may be a safe, effective, and popular alternative to hysterectomy in the treatment of menorrhagia.


Abstract Some diurnal raptors are frequently observed at prairie dog (Cynomys sp.) colonies. As a result, some military installations have conducted prairie dog control activities to reduce the bird–aircraft strike hazard (BASH) potential of low-flying aircraft. To evaluate the validity of this management strategy, we assessed raptor associations with prairie dog colonies at 2 short-grass prairie study areas: southern Lubbock County, Texas, USA, and Melrose Bombing and Gunnery Range in east-central New Mexico, USA. We quantified diurnal raptors (i.e., Falconiformes) at plots occupied (colony plots) and unoccupied (noncolony plots) by black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) at both sites throughout 2002. We compared the number of individual birds of a given species at colony and noncolony plots within each study area by season. Ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) and northern harriers (Circus cyaneus) were more abundant at colony plots, whereas Swainson's hawks (B. swainsoni) and American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were more abundant at noncolony plots. Red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis) abundance did not differ between the 2 plot types. Our results suggest prairie dog control as a method of reducing BASH potential may be effective at some sites but may be ineffective or even increase the BASH potential at others. Thus, bird-avoidance models assessing the BASH potential should be conducted on a site-specific basis using information on relative and seasonal abundances of individual raptor species and the relative strike risks they pose to aircraft.


In order to develop, test, and validate control software for managing automated systems, laboratories have traditionally constructed experimental test beds using actual physical equipment (small scale). These experimental systems typically occupy a large amount of lab space, cost thousands of dollars to construct, and require considerable human expertise to operate. Using dedicated micro-controllers (programmable logic controllers), we have proposed the use of a solid-state physical model of an automated system which faithfully replicates the operating characteristics of an ensemble of physical equipment that would typically comprise an automated system. The authors present the design of a solid-state physical model of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). Solid-state models have several unique advantages over the traditional models. First, they are inexpensive and can easily be replicated at other laboratories. Second, they can be easily reconfigured to consider alternative scenarios. Third, they can consider an emulated environment that is far more complex than those that are typically addressed by models using actual equipment. Finally, they are totally reliable and safe, and require minimal expertise to operate. The paper discusses the design and operational characteristics of the solid-state model, along with its anticipated uses and current limitations.


RECEPTION OF BENGKULU`S MUHAMMADIYAH COMMUNITY AGAINST POLITICAL PROPAGANDA OF MEDIA

(Study On Mars Perindo in MNC Group)

By
Misni Astuti
(BP1520862018)

Supervisor:

Dr. Asrinaldi, M.Si and Dr. Mulyanti syas, M.Si

ABSTRACT

This research was motivated by the development of homeland media today, where the media is no longer in line with the function ideally as stipulated in the Press Law No.40 of 1999. Media are ideally dedicated to the public interest, but today, the media are even more in favor of the interests of the elite media only.Mars Perindo massive impressions in MNC in turn reinforce the notion that democracy in Indonesia was increasingly unbalanced. This study entitled Reception Of Bengkulu`S Muhammadiyah Community Against Political Propaganda Of Media, Study On Mars Perindo in MNC Group. This study aimed to describe any form of political propaganda media are packed in commercials "Mars Perindo", MNC Group as well as to determine how reception of bengkulu`s muhammadiyah community against political propaganda of media. The method used is descriptive qualitative analysis. Informants in this study is a community group Muhammadiyah Bengkulu researchers selected by purposive sampling. This study focuses on decoding the audience with a qualitative approach. Data collection methods used were interviews and documentation. Data were analyzed using semiotic approach by Peirce and reseption theory by Hall. The results showed that Mars Perindo construct three major issues including, build personal branding Tanoesoedibjo, build political branding of Perindo as a party and construct meaning religious community in particular tolerance between Muslims and Christian community. Position purport to Mars Perindo in MNC interpreted uniformly by the informant elected, namely the negotiated position. The style or identity Muhammadiyah as a non-political social movement is suspected as the dominant factor affecting the informant of understanding of social reality.

Keywords: Mars Perindo, Media, receptions, Muhammadiyah, Negotiation.


Abstract In recent years, experimental methods have been both highly celebrated, and roundly criticized, as a means of addressing core questions in the social sciences. They have received particular attention in the analysis of development interventions. This paper focuses on two key questions: (1) what have been the main contributions of RCTs to the study of government performance? and (2) what could be the contributions, and relatedly the limits? It draws inter alia on a new systematic review of experimental and quasi-experimental studies on governance to consider both the contributions and limits of RCTs in the extant literature. A final section introduces the studies included in this symposium in light of this discussion. Collectively, the studies push beyond polarized debates over experimental methods towards a new middle ground, considering both how experimental work can better address identified weaknesses and how experimental and non-experimental techniques can be combined most fruitfully.


Abstract For n-th order linear differential equations with constant coefficients the problem of determining the general solution involves determining the general solution of the attached homogeneous equation and, on the other hand, determining a particular solution. This paper aims to analyze the conditions under which the general solution can be obtained for a n-th order linear differential equation with constant coefficients which have the free term in the following form P(x). ln x under the condition that the attached characteristic equation has real and distinct roots, meaning the order of multiplicity for each root is 1. For this we will use the method of variation of constants which leads us to a system whose solution we will gain by using the Upper incomplete Gamma function.


Thermogravimetric studies of 2-[(4-morpholin-4-yl-phenyl) imino methyl]phenol (2-MPIMP), oligo-2-[(4-morpholin-4-yl-phenyl) imino methyl] phenol (O-2-MPIMP) and its oligomer–metal complex compounds were investigated by thermal analysis. Four kinetic methods were used to investigate the thermal decomposition of these materials. These investigated methods are those of Coats and Redfern (CR), MacCallum and Tanner (MC), van Krevelen (vK) and Madhusudanan, Krishnan and Ninan (MKN). The values of the apparent activation energies of thermal decomposition E a, the reaction order n, pre-exponential factor A, the entropy change ΔS *, enthalpy change ΔH *, free energy change ΔG *, obtained by the above-mentioned methods were all in good in agreement with each other. It was found that the thermal stabilities of the complexes follow the order Cu(II) > Co(II) > Zn(II) > Zr(IV) > Pb(II) > Cd(II).


Employee wellness is said to be very expensive and may not have a significant impact on the performance of employees as well as of the organization. It has more potential of capturing wider influences related to a person's individual characteristics and behaviours, the social, physical and economic environment However, studies show a contrasting view on the benefits as outweighing the costs involved with substantive reduction of medicare costs, limited illness-related absenteeism, increased productivity and better quality of life. The programs range from smoking cessation activities, prevention and management of HIV/AIDS and related illness, provision of health improvement exercises and activities within the workplace to Employee Assistance programs. The intended benefits of improved employee performance resulting from good health, enhanced morale, reduced stress and burnout among employees as well as general increased productivity of the organization are realistic if such programs are fully operationalized in modern day workplaces.


We study distribution testing with communication and memory constraints in the following computational models: (1) The {\em one-pass streaming model} where the goal is to minimize the sample complexity of the protocol subject to a memory constraint, and (2) A {\em distributed model} where the data samples reside at multiple machines and the goal is to minimize the communication cost of the protocol. In both these models, we provide efficient algorithms for uniformity/identity testing (goodness of fit) and closeness testing (two sample testing). Moreover, we show nearly-tight lower bounds on (1) the sample complexity of any one-pass streaming tester for uniformity, subject to the memory constraint, and (2) the communication cost of any uniformity testing protocol, in a restricted `one-pass' model of communication.


Purpose: The aim of the article is to present the proprietary methodology for determining the area range of anthropopressure to areas of natural value located along tourist trails and to the entire area where those trails are located. Design/Methodology/Approach: A method of critical analysis of information obtained from various dispersed sources was used to determine the widths of the buffers of the impact of tourists using various types of tourist trails on the environment. Current geodetic and cartographic studies as well as geoportals and thematic websites available on the Internet were used to properly define the course of tourist routes. Spatial analyzes were performed using the ArcGIS software environment. Findings: The results of the research confirm that the proposed simple, cheap and effective methodology allows to take into account many elements of nature and to consider the range of pressure on valuable natural areas as a whole or only on their selected element. It also allows to choose the form of tourist activities in the analyzed area. Practical Implications: The proposed method can be helpful in the management of protected areas, including, for example, the assessment of the tourist capacity of the area and the development of opinions on the creation of new and updating or correction of the existing tourist trails. Originality/Value: Authors presented an algorithm of the most important activities and types of spatial analyzes necessary to identify the extent of the impact of people using various types of tourist trails on naturally valuable areas


OBJECTIVE
The tuberculosis recording and reporting information system (TB R&R), one of the five pillars of the DOTS strategy, has undergone a revision to comply with the new elements of the Stop TB Strategy and to ensure standardisation of essential TB information.

DESIGN
An expert group on TB R&R, including the main technical partners, held a series of consultations with the Stop TB Working Groups and countries. Draft revised forms were field tested by countries with the participation of technical partners. A survey was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 105 countries.

RESULT
The main changes in the TB R&R are the inclusion of TB-HIV activities (the leading reason for change at the country level), smear examinations and culture for settings performing this test routinely and the management of patient drug kits. The revised forms help monitor contributions from all care providers and community workers. The package of forms is presented in three sets: 1) essential data, 2) setting with routine culture and 3) additional data.

CONCLUSION
The revised R&R forms were endorsed by the WHO, the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2007. They are now available in English, French and Spanish, and are adopted in most countries.


This paper presents a mathematical and computational framework for initial value problems (IVP) in which the numerical approximations can be of higher order global differentiability in space and time and the resulting computational processes are unconditionally stable. This is accomplished using Hk, p scalar product spaces containing basis functions of degree p = (p1,p2), p1 and p2 being the degrees of local approximation in space and time and order k = (k1, k2), k1 and k2 being orders of the scalar product space in space and time and ensuring that the integral forms are space-time integral forms that are space-time variationally consistent (STVC). It is shown that order of the scalar product space k (in space and time) is an intrinsically important independent parameter in all finite element computations for IVP in addition to the discretization length h and the degree p of the local approximations, thus in all finite element computations all quantities are dependent on h, p and k. Hence, we have k-version of finite element method and associated k, hk, pk and hpk processes in addition to h, p and hp processes for IVP. Space-time meshes as well as space-time, time marching approaches are discussed and it is demonstrated that space-time, time marching processes are superior in all aspects compared to space-time meshes. Significant features of the proposed mathematical and computational framework are presented and discussed mathematically in context with Galerkin method, Petrov Galerkin method, Weighted Residual method, Galerkin method with weak form and Least Squares Processes.


The gene 2 protein of bacteriophage T7 is required for a late stage of T7 DNA replication because T7 gene 2 mutants fail to form normal concatemeric structures during the processing of newly synthesized T7 DNA. Extracts of gene 2 mutant phage-infected cells are unable to package T7 DNA into phage heads to form viable phage, as determined by an in vitro packaging assay for T7 DNA. Packaging activity can be stimulated greater than 100-fold in mutant extracts by the addition of extract prepared from cells infected with phage carrying a wild-type T7 gene 2, thus providing a complementation assay for the gene 2 protein. With this assay, the gene 2 protein has been purified to approximately 50% homogeneity. Purified preparations of the protein inhibit the activity of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase but have little effect on the activity of T7 RNA polymerase but have little effect on the activity of T7 RNA polymerase. The requirement for the gene 2 protein during T7 DNA replication may involve inactivation of E. coli RNA polymerase because the antibiotic rifampicin, a specific inhibitor of E. coli RNA polymerase, can substitute for the gene 2 protein in the in vitro packaging assay.


Empirical work has failed to keep pace with recent advances in transaction cost theory and the theory of contract. The first econometric analysis of its kind is reported by using a new data set of small subcontractors making specific inputs for customers in the engineering industry. The use of formal contracts is found to be strongly associated with specific investment and other variables measuring technological complexity and vulnerability to potential opportunism by customers. Furthermore, despite typically long-term relationships, over half of subcontractors avoid making efficient, specific investments. Overall, we find strong support for the transaction cost theory of contracts. Copyright 1994 by MIT Press.


Based on an information systems metaphor for virtual communities this paper discusses up-todateness as one crucial factor of travel information quality. Two empirical studies are presented which show that the up-to-dateness of information in travelbooks, wikis and in forum communities does not differ systematically. Based on this empirical evidence we focus on understanding the factors influencing the up-to-dateness of the three media. We propose a framework with three determining factors: 1) the initial up-to-dateness at the time the information is first available for the user 2) the information volatility in a certain domain and 3) the length of the revision cycles. From these factors we hypothesize a) that the initial up-to-dateness is best in travelbooks and worst in forums and b) that the revision cycle is shortest in forums and longest in travelbooks. Since wikis come close the initial up-to-dateness of travelbooks and its revision cycle is almost as short as in forums, we finally argue why we believe wikis to be the most up-to-date medium in the long run.


Abstract Not Available – First paragraph follows:
Uniform Nitrogen Content in the foliage is desirable for optimum growth of annual flowering plants (bedding plants). Two of many fertilization procedures suggested to maintain this uniform level, include the use of controlled release nitrogen fertilizers, and constant fertilization at each irrigation with a dilute fertilizer solution. Tests reported here, were to determine the ability of these procedures to maintain nitrogen uniformity during early growth under commercial conditions.


This work was partially supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Materiel Command, USAF, under Grant F49620-96-1-0039. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the author and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsemnets, either expressed or implied, of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research or the U.S. Government.


In recent years, infrared temperature-measuring attracted more and more attention from home and abroad. Infrared temperature-measuring is non-contact and does not destroy the temperature distribution of the measured target object. At present, infrared radiation thermometer (point thermometer) and thermal infrared imager are wildly used. They both have advantages and disadvantages. The array type infrared radiation thermometer discussed in this paper contains the advantages of IR thermometer and thermal infrared imager and could measure the multi-point of the target's surface simultaneously and accurately. Its basic principle is to obtain array processing to the infrared detector, simultaneously measure the multi-point temperature of the objects, take the measured object as a benchmark to calibrate infrared radiation thermometer so as to solve the problem of radiation rate fixed difficulties and improve accuracy of radiation temperature measurement.


ABSTRACT This article examines patterns of women's cabinet representation across all presidential democracies in East and Southeast Asia since democratization. It demonstrates how the choice of female ministers differs across career backgrounds in presidential systems and further examines why young presidential systems in Asia are conducive to women's access to ministerial power through professional career tracks. We argue that despite women's successful performance in national legislative elections, women have been restricted to access the power resources necessary to target other political goals, such as cabinet positions, whereas democratic transition has provided broader avenues for women to emerge as professionals outside party politics. By analyzing original data on female ministers in East and Southeast Asia, the study finds that the share of women among professional ministers has increased over time, but women's share among political ministers has not changed significantly. Additionally, the different qualifications of female politicians and professionals also make them eligible for appointment to different types of policy areas in terms of prestige and gender. Our analysis suggests that women's cabinet representation has improved overall since democratic transition in Asia, but this improvement disguises contrasting outcomes in women's cabinet status according to their career backgrounds.


Tooth size of two populations from Micronesia was measured and compared with other Pacific populations. Subjects were high school students of Kiribati and Palau, surveyed in 1995 and 1996. Mesiodistal diameters were generally larger in Palau than in Kiribati in both sexes, while buccolingual diameters of Kiribati were slightly larger than those of Palau. Mahalanobis' distances were computed on the basis of these parameters among 10 Pacific populations. Two dimensional expression of the distances in multi-dimensional scaling showed that Palau and Kiribati were plotted in the center of the first axis closely to Samoa, while Fiji and Negritos were plotted on both ends of the axis. The two Micronesians were separated on the second axis. The results of cluster analysis revealed that Kiribati was classified into Fiji group, while Palau was grouped with Samoa and modern Philippines.


Active networks is a promising technology that allows us to control the behavior of network nodes by programming them to perform advanced operations and computations. Active networks are changing considerably the scenery of computer networks and, consequently, affect the way network management is conducted. Current management techniques can be enhanced and their efficiency can be improved, while novel techniques can be deployed. This article discusses the impact of active networks on current network management practice by examining network management through the functional areas of fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security management. For each one of these functional areas, the limitations of the current applications and tools are presented, as well as how these limitations can be overcome by exploiting active networks. To illustrate the presented framework, several applications are examined. The contribution of this work is to analyze, classify, and assess the various models proposed in this area, and to outline new research directions.


Introduction Crops are affected by various abiotic stresses, among which heat (HT) and drought (DR) stresses are the most common in summer. Many studies have been conducted on HT and DR, but relatively little is known about how drought and heat combination (DH) affects plants at molecular level. Methods Here, we investigated the responses of sweetpotato to HT, DR, and DH stresses by RNA-seq and data-independent acquisition (DIA) technologies, using controlled experiments and the quantification of both gene and protein levels in paired samples. Results Twelve cDNA libraries were created under HT, DR, and DH conditions and controls. We identified 536, 389, and 907 DEGs in response to HT, DR, and DH stresses, respectively. Of these, 147 genes were common and 447 were specifically associated with DH stress. Proteomic analysis identified 1609, 1168, and 1535 DEPs under HT, DR, and DH treatments, respectively, compared with the control, of which 656 were common and 358 were exclusive to DH stress. Further analysis revealed the DEGs/DEPs were associated with heat shock proteins, carbon metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, starch and cellulose metabolism, and plant defense, amongst others. Correlation analysis identified 6465, 6607, and 6435 co-expressed genes and proteins under HT, DR, and DH stresses respectively. In addition, a combined analysis of the transcriptomic and proteomic data identified 59, 35, and 86 significantly co-expressed DEGs and DEPs under HT, DR, and DH stresses, respectively. Especially, top 5 up-regulated co-expressed DEGs and DEPs (At5g58770, C24B11.05, Os04g0679100, BACOVA_02659 and HSP70-5) and down-regulated co-expressed DEGs and DEPs (AN3, PMT2, TUBB5, FL and CYP98A3) were identified under DH stress. Discussion This is the first study of differential genes and proteins in sweetpotato under DH stress, and it is hoped that the findings will assist in clarifying the molecular mechanisms involved in sweetpotato resistance to heat and drought stress.


This is the final report of Defra project 0F0171. This text has been extracted from the Executive Summary at the start of the attached report.
In support of its policy to expand organic farming, MAFF sponsors a programme of research and extension (through Organic Conversion Information Service) to provide information to producers on organic systems of production. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive framework which sets out clearly the content and key results of current European research programmes.
The overall objective was to increase the body of knowledge and information available to UK producers and extension workers, and to help direct UK research effort. The priority was to examine northern and western European research programmes i.e. those likely to have the greatest relevance for the UK.
Key research institutions, major projects and individual researchers were identified. The data collected were compiled into two research directories. The first was a list of research organisations containing 137 entries. The second was a project list, containing information on 724 individual research projects, including 88 in the UK.
The results enabled an overview of the range, content and organisation of organic research programmes. Of the European projects listed (excluding the UK), 40% were related to crop production or soil fertility. A further 14% were on fruit or vegetable production, while 19% were related to livestock or grassland. Results from these studies will be relevant to UK researchers planning new work. Valuable insight was also provided into research methodologies and analytical tools used by European researchers, as well as approaches to dissemination and participatory research.
From priorities identified during the compilation of the research directories, three specific study tours were made, focusing on aspects of organic horticulture, arable, and fruit production:
- Weed Control in Organic Horticultural and Arable systems
- Sustainable Nutrient Management in Organic Field Vegetable Production
- Organic Fruit Production.
Two technical workshops were also attended and reported:
- Designing and Testing Crop Rotations for Organic Farming
- Alternatives to the Use of Copper-Based Fungicides in Organic Systems
Study tour reports provide detailed information on issues relevant to the UK, results and direction of each research programme. In addition, technical information was collected for technology transfer to UK producers.
The research directory and study tour reports are now widely accessible, including on the Web at http://www.adas.co.uk/organic. UK producers, processors, retailers, others in the supply chain, and ultimately the consumer will be the main beneficiaries. Key messages and findings have been provided, some for immediate incorporation into existing production systems. The results will be very valuable to MAFF, research institutes, scientists and research workers when considering current and future UK research needs. Contact with European programmes will help improve the efficiency of UK research programmes, avoid unnecessary duplication and refine research methodology. The work will facilitate further contact between European research workers, to formulate collaborative bids and develop additional sources of funding.
It is proposed that the research directories produced by this review are refined and formally updated, on an annual or biennial basis.


From the Middle Jurassic onwards persistent igneous activity in the southern Andes around 46 °S was controlled by easterly dipping subduction along the Pacific margin. Cogenetic plutonic rocks belonging to the Patagonian batholith, and calc-alkaline volcanics ranging from basaltic andesites to rhyolitic tuffs and ignimbrites are the principal products. Erosion of the primary volcanics has led at various times to the development of thick volcaniclastic sequences, for example in the Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary Divisadero formation. The Coyhaique region marks the northerly extension of a narrow back-arc basin in which the marine Neocomian successions accumulated. Volcaniclastics from the island arc, which presumably lay to the west, are intercalated with the sediments. Although the marine basin was short-lived a mildly extensional back-arc regime may have existed through much of Mesozoic-Recent times. Widespread basalt-rhyolite volcanism on the eastern side of the cordillera seems to have been associated with this tectonic environment. Remnants of the Patagonian basalt plateau at latitude 45-47 °S extend from the Argentine-Chile frontier to Lago Colhue Huapi. Four principal age and compositional groups have been distinguished in the lavas, (i) The oldest, which are about 80 Ma, occur in sections at Senguerr and Morro Negro. They are almost exclusively tholeiitic, but show some calc-alkaline affinities and resemble in other respects basalts from marginal basins, (ii) The second group (57-43 Ma) occur in the lower part of the Chile Chico section with a compositional spread from olivine tholeiites through alkali basalts to one occurrence of a basanite. (iii) The upper part of the main plateau sequence, where the flows are in the range 25-9 Ma, are dominantly of alkali basalt composition, (iv) Post-plateau flows from small cinder cones on the surface of the plateau range in age from ca. 4 Ma to 0.2 Ma or less. They are mostly highly undersaturated basanites, with occasional leucite basanites, enriched in incompatible elements. A few of the earlier tholeiites with calc-alkali traits may have been closely associated with subduction or marginal basin processes. The younger lavas are more alkalic intraplate types generated in the remote back-arc extensional zone.


This paper analyzes the institutionalized production of precarious migration status in Canada. Building on recent work on the legal production of illegality and non-dichotomous approaches to migratory status, we review Canadian immigration and refugee policy, and analyze pathways to loss of migratory status and the implications of less than full status for access to social services. In Canada, policies provide various avenues of authorized entry, but some entrants lose work and/or residence authorization and end up with variable forms of less-than-full immigration status. We argue that binary conceptions of migration status (legal/illegal) do not reflect this context, and advocate the use of 'precarious status' to capture variable forms of irregular status and illegality, including documented illegality. We find that elements of Canadian policy routinely generate pathways to multiple forms of precarious status, which is accompanied by precarious access to public services. Our analysis of the production of precarious status in Canada is consistent with approaches that frame citizenship and illegality as historically produced and changeable. Considering variable pathways to and forms of precarious status supports theorizing citizenship and illegality as having blurred rather than bright boundaries. Identifying differences between Canada and the US challenges binary and tripartite models of illegality, and supports conducting contextually specific and comparative work.


The effects of Tang Mai Kang Capsule (糖脉康胶囊) on blood sugar level, gangrene of the tail-tip, pain threshold and learning and memory abilities were investigated in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. The results showed that Tang Mai Kang Capsule could significantly decrease blood sugar level and incidence rate of gangrene of the tail-tip, increase pain threshold, and strengthen learning and memory abilities, suggesting that Tang Mai Kang Capsule functions to decrease blood sugar level and improve the complicated angioneurotic lesions of diabetes.


The neutrino burst detected during supernova SN 1987A is explained in a strangeon star model, in which it is proposed that a pulsar-like compact object is composed of strangeons (strangeon: an abbreviation for "strange nucleon"). A nascent strangeon star's initial internal energy is calculated, with the inclusion of pion excitation (energy around 1053 erg, comparable to the gravitational binding energy of a collapsed core). A liquid-solid phase transition at temperature ∼ 1−2 MeV may occur only a few tens of seconds after core collapse, and the thermal evolution of a strangeon star is then modeled. It is found that the neutrino burst observed from SN 1987A can be reproduced in such a cooling model.


Summary – SEM studies on a Meloidogyne baetica population provided additional details of the external morphology for female, male and second-stage juveniles. The labial disc in female and male specimens is fused with the medial lips forming a single structure. In second-stage juveniles the lateral lips are triangular with rounded margins. The amphidial opening for all life stages appears oval to rectangular in shape and is located between the labial disc and lateral lips. Lateral fields of male and second-stage juveniles have four incisures irregularly areolated along the entire body. The results of a host-range study for additional natural hosts of M. baetica conducted in wild olive communities growing at Vejer de la Frontera (Cadiz province) in southern Spain are also reported. Apart from the type host, M. baetica was found to infect two natural woody host plants, lentisc (Pistacia lentiscus )a ndAristolochia baetica .H ostparasite relationships in these new hosts confirmed the typical susceptible reaction observed in wild and cultivated olives. Similarly, the reproductive fitness, evaluated as the number of eggs per egg mass, was not significantly different in all plant hosts. No infections or galled roots were observed in herbaceous plant species studied and M. baetica must therefore be considered as a parasite of woody plants.


Cardiovascular diseases are the leading global cause of death. Cardiomyopathies are the most prevalent forms of heart failure diseases currently. They may have genetic or environmental etiology, and the development of an autoimmune process is essential for the progression of the disease. During an autoimmune response, there is the breakdown of self-tolerance and generation of a T-lymphocytes-mediated cellular autoimmune response and B-lymphocytes-mediated humoral autoimmune response. Lymphocytes perpetuate the autoimmune response throughout the release of cytokines, expansion of autoreactive clones, and attenuation of regulatory mechanisms. Increasing evidences indicate that interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-17 participate during autoimmune disorders development. The use of autoimmune cardiomyopathy models revealed antagonistic functions for both cytokines during the evolution of autoimmune cardiomyopathy: while enhanced IFN-γ levels are associated to a lower disease severity, the levels of IL-17 are inversely correlated to a favorable prognosis. More precisely, recent findings indicate that the IFN-γ/IL-17 ratio in combination with other cytokine levels dictates heart's autoimmunity development and dilatation. In this chapter, we discuss the role played by the autoimmune response in the development of cardiomyopathy. We also discuss some immune mechanisms focused on IFN-γ and IL-17's ability to induce and perpetuate cardiac autoimmunity.


If there's a market in used computer Output microfiche (COM) equipment, now is the time to jump in. Banks of all sizes are replacing yesterday's statement- and report-storage devices with faster and cheaper optical disk storage systems. There most certainly is a market in optical disk systems, as most major hardware vendors discovered a few years ago. Nolan, Norton & Co., an information technology consulting and research organization based in Lexington, Mass., predicts that by 1992 the global market for hardware that supports imaging applications will reach $4.5 billion per year. Banks alone account for 9% of that figure, estimates Thornton May, the finn's director of imaging research. Optical disk systems account for roughly 20% of the imaging market, says May, which he admits is conservative, but banks are an especially receptive target given the large number of customers they service and the amount of paper required to maintain an account. Proven technology. Bank managers tend to be wary of new technologies that seem to promise too much. But it's hard not to take a closer look at a technology that is clearly proving itself in terms of faster customer service, more efficient use of personnel, and dramatic operating expense reduction. In many cases, bank managers themselves are directing their operations staffs to investigate and implement optical disk-based systems, and the sooner the better. Optical storage technology is just part of a larger scenario, called imaging technology, but an important part to banks nonetheless. Imaging systems scan and store images of such documents as checks and bank statements, making check processing and other labor-intensive applications more efficient. Image-based data are recorded onto optical disks, which resemble large compact disks and are typically stored in so-called "jukeboxes," or hardware units that house and retrieve the disks for use. The first benefit of optical storage systems to banks investigating them is the cost of implementing one compared to maintaining existing microfiche systems. Aquidneck Systems International, N. Kingstown, R.I., is currently in discussions with a $32 billion-assets Massachusetts bank, which furnished the vendor with figures reflecting its annual microfiche expenses. Operating expenses. "That bank's 1991 projected supply cost is about $449,000 for fiche, master film, and duplicate film only," says George Steele, Aquidneck's director of marketing. The bank generates 20 million print pages on fiche, including 73,000 fiche masters per month and 334,000 fiche duplicates per month. "The bank also spends about $265,000 on printer paper per year, making the total $714,000 for 1991," notes Steele. "We probably could put a system on their floor for about $300,000, and that would take care of their needs for about four years, based on these numbers." Aquidneck is a value-added reseller of Kodak 6800 optical disk libraries and markets its own high-speed controller to Kodak and other system integrators as well as directly to end users. The controller, which manages the robotics of the jukebox, essentially is a computer in its own right, according to Steele. It retrieves data from the appropriate disk on command from the host computer, stores the data until needed by the mainframe, and replaces the disk in its correct slot. "We've recently introduced high-speed data compression to our controller," adds Steele, "and as a result, we can pack three times as much data on a jukebox and have increased the throughput by a factor of three. Suddenly we're about 50 times faster than a microfiche machine." Optical data storage. Not all optical disk-based storage systems store images of documents, as "imaging technology" implies. LaserAccess Corp., Bothell, Wash., for example, markets an optical data storage system, the LA 1500 Optical Data System, which stores numerical and textual information in the same way a floppy disk or magnetic tape does. …


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Abstract. This work is devoted to the analysis of an unusual and sudden thermal fluctuation that interested portions of Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) during the night of 27 July 1983. The whole 1983 summer was extremely warm in Europe and in particular on the Italian peninsula, from the Alps down to Sicily. Nevertheless, the day of 27 July 1983 in Friuli Venezia Giulia deserves special attention because the observed maximum temperatures did not occur during day-time but during night-time (from 23:00 up to 24:00 LT, 21:00–22:00 UTC). Peaks of 34.8°C and values of relative humidity of the order of 28% were registered by the official network of weather stations. This event interested mainly the central-eastern part of the plain of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a few kilometers far from the Slovenian border and relieves. The thermal anomalies lasted up to an hour, then temperatures decreased toward values more usual for the climate of the month. The study of this event is carried out with the aid of the AR-WRF numerical atmospheric model, initialized through the ECMWF analysis. The numerical simulations highlight the important role played by orography, jointly with the peculiar thermal structure of the atmosphere, for the enhancing of the internal wave pattern over that area. According to the sensitivity studies realized, the amplification of the internal wave pattern might represent a possible explanation for that meteorological enigma.


To narrow the inherent sensing gap in heterogeneous face recognition (HFR), recent methods have resorted to generative models and explored the ?recognition via generation? framework. Even though, it remains a very challenging task to synthesize photo-realistic visible faces (VIS) from near-infrared (NIR) images especially when paired training data are unavailable. We present an approach to avert the data misalignment problem and faithfully preserve pose, expression and identity information during cross-spectral face hallucination. At the pixel level, we introduce an unsupervised attention mechanism to warping that is jointly learned with the generator to derive pixel-wise correspondence from unaligned data. At the image level, an auxiliary generator is employed to facilitate the learning of mapping from NIR to VIS domain. At the domain level, we first apply the mutual information constraint to explicitly measure the correlation between domains and thus benefit synthesis. Extensive experiments on three heterogeneous face datasets demonstrate that our approach not only outperforms current state-of-the-art HFR methods but also produce visually appealing results at a high resolution.


We report trace element (Mg, Sr and Ba) records based on laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) from three coeval Holocene speleothems from Great Chamber in GB Cave, southwest England. The trace element records are placed on a common timescale on the basis of a suite of TIMS 230Th-234U ages. This permits assessment of the reproducibility of the trace element record in coeval speleothems. The trace element records are not coherent, raising dobuts over the reliability of individual trace element records as potential archives of palaeoenvironmental information. Mg/Sr in speleothem calcite has been proposed as a potential palaeothermometer as Mg partitioning into calcite from water is temperaturedependent, while Sr partitioning into calcite is temperature-independent. However, we present the results of calculations which demonstrate that the observed Mg/Sr values in the three stalagmites cannot have been produced by Holocene temperature changes alone and that other processes must play a dominant role. We present a model which suggests that the observed trace element variations in the three speleothems reflect hydrological mixing of waters in the epikarstic zone above the cave which have interacted with two geochemi cally distinct source rocks (calcite and dolomite).


This paper examines whether the sector bias of skill-biased technical change (sbtc) explains changing skill premia within countries in recent decades. First, using a two-factor, two-sector, two-country model we demonstrate that in many cases it is the sector bias of sbtc that determines sbtc's effect on relative factor prices, not its factor bias. Thus, rising (falling) skill premia are caused by more extensive sbtc in skill-intensive (unskill-intensive) sectors. Second, we test the sector-bias hypothesis using industry data for many countries in recent decades. An initial consistency check strongly supports the hypothesis. Among ten countries we find a strong correlation between changes in skill premia and the sector bias of sbtc during the 1970s and 1980s. The hypothesis is also strongly supported by more structural estimation on U.S. and U.K. data of the economy-wide wage changes mandated' to maintain zero profits in all sectors in response to the sector bias of sbtc. The suggestive mandated-wage estimates match the direction of actual wage changes in both countries during both the 1970s and the 1980s. Thus, the empirical evidence strongly suggests that the sector bias of sbtc can help explain changing skill premia.


This paper presents André Gorz's analysis of the significant shifts in working practices and of the possibilities opened by Post-Fordism which is characterised by the predominantly intellectual nature of work. The contribution to Gorz's thinking of the school of Italian and French radical Marxism known as 'operaismo' is underlined first. This school of thought sheds a positive light on the increasing subjective involvement, autonomy, shared skills and knowledge demanded by this new type of work, holding them as unquestioningly emancipatory. According to his own philosophical view of autonomy, Gorz is however drawn to qualify this optimism (particularly present in Toni Negri's writings). He condemns the full mobilisation of the worker's personal qualities and the instrumentalisation of her/his very capacity for autonomy. The autonomy exercised in the production process has, in his opinion, a paradoxical and conflictual status: social domination on one hand, and virtual emancipation on the other. From an existentialist perspective, the emancipatory potential of the existing difficulties and contradictions must be teased out: Whilst wagedwork is increasingly precarious and deprived of its statutory protections, it nonetheless continues to be held as the bedrock of social entitlements and self-esteem. Gorz therefore calls for a questioning of the central place attributed to waged-work. Granting a continuous guaranteed income against the background of increasing discontinuity represents a key strategy for this end. Gorz's plea rests on his conviction – which we evaluate – that the work ethic in steadily weakening in the general population.


This study investigates coastal erosion, revetment as a shoreline protection strategy, and human perceptions of revetments in the Lower Meghna estuary of the Bangladesh where new revetments were recently constructed. Questions addressed were: (1) How do rates of shoreline change vary over the period 2011–2019? (2) Did new revetments effectively halt erosion and what were the magnitudes of erosion change? (3) How have erosion rates changed for shorelines within 1 km of revetments, and (4) How do households perceive revetments? High-resolution Planet Lab imagery was used to quantify shoreline change rates. Analysis of household survey data assessed human perceptions of the revetment's desirability and efficacy. Results revealed high rates of erosion for 2011–2019 with declining erosion after 2013. New revetments effectively halted erosion for protected shorelines. Significant spatial trends for erosion rates existed for shorelines adjacent to revetments. Survey respondents overwhelmingly had positive attitudes about a desire for revetment protection; however, upstream respondents expressed a strong majority perception that revetment acts to make erosion worse. Highlights of the research include integration of remote sensing with social science methods, the timing of the social survey shortly after revetment construction, and results showing significant erosion change upstream and downstream of new revetments.


Process validation is a requirement in heavily regulated industries such as the automotive and aerospace industries. Both the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000/13485 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Quality System Regulations (QSR) 820 Part 21 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) "Quality Systems for Medical Devices," require process validation as a regulatory requirement. Design of experiment (DOE) statistical methods will allow these requirements to be met in the most resource-efficient manner possible, whilst providing a greater understanding of the process and highlighting opportunities for quality improvement.This paper provides an overview of the application of DOE techniques during key aspects of process validation and discusses two practical examples from medical device manufacturing. The attendant benefits of this type of procedural approach to the medical device sector are considered. From the results obtained, it is clear that meeting process validation requirements can be taken as an opportunity to better understand and improve manufacturing processes. As such, DOE techniques are pivotal in effectively achieving these aims in a manner that provides for regulatory compliance.


This qualitative study was performed at the adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a public hospital in Southern Brazil with the objective to evaluate the implemented welcoming strategies. Participants included 13 patients and 23 relatives. Data collection was performed from July to October 2008, utilizing semi-structured interviews. All interviews were recorded. Data analysis was performed using the Collective Subject Discourse. The collected information yielded two discourses: the family recognized the welcoming strategies and the patients found the ICU team to be considerate. By including the family as a client of nursing care, relatives felt safe and confident. Results show that by committing to the responsibility of making changes in heath care practices, nurses experience a novel outlook towards ICU care, focused on human beings and associating the welcoming to the health care model that promotes the objectivity of care.


Although alleles at both the W and A loci in the common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea, produce similar white‐flowered phenotypes, these alleles differ by over an order of magnitude in average frequency. In this initial attempt to determine the causes of this difference, we employed artificial arrays of plants to estimate mating system characteristics (total siring success, selfing rates and contribution to the outcross pollen pool) for the homozygous pigmented and white‐flowered genotypes at the A locus. This experiment demonstrates that: (1) at both low and high frequencies, white‐flowered plants were visited by pollinators at the same rate as plants with pigmented flowers; (2) at both frequencies, the a allele exhibited a greater total siring success (self and outcross pollen) than the A allele; (3) individuals of both genotypes contributed equally to the outcross pollen pool; and (4) aa plants may have a higher selfing rate than AA plants. Coupled with minimal inbreeding depression in I. purpurea, these observations indicate that the allele producing white flowers enjoys a transmission advantage that would tend to cause this allele to increase in frequency. This transmission advantage is very similar to that shown previously to be operating on the white‐flowered allele at the W locus, although the specific causes of the advantage appear to differ between loci. The frequency difference between the two alleles is thus not likely to be due to differences in the effect of flower‐colour variation on transmission. Rather, substantially greater deleterious pleiotropic effects associated with the white‐flower a allele is likely to be the primary cause of the frequency difference.


Abstract. Experimental homogenization of olivine-hosted melt inclusions
representative of near-primary basic and ultrabasic magmas is a powerful
approach to investigate the nature of their source regions and the melting
conditions in Earth's mantle. There is growing evidence that the total
CO2 contents of olivine-hosted melt inclusions may reach values of the
order of a single to several weight percent, especially in intraplate continental
basalts. To be able to homogenize melt inclusions with such high CO2
contents, we developed a technique allowing for heat treating of the melt
inclusions under hydrostatic pressures up to 3–4 GPa in a piston cylinder,
using thick-walled Au80–Pd20 containers and molten NaCl as
the surrounding medium for the inclusion-bearing olivines. We applied this
technique to olivine phenocrysts from Thueyts basanite, Bas-Vivarais
volcanic province, French Massif Central. Thueyts melt inclusions were
chosen because of their high CO2 contents, as indicated by up to
1.19 wt % dissolved CO2 in the glasses and by the presence of
shrinkage bubbles containing abundant carbonate microcrystals in addition to
a CO2 fluid phase. The homogenization experiments were conducted at
pressures of 1.5 to 2.5 GPa, temperatures of 1275 and 1300 ∘C,
and run durations of 30 min. In all the melt inclusions treated at 2.5 GPa–1300 ∘C and half of
those treated at 2 GPa–1300 ∘C, we were able to completely
homogenize the inclusions, as indicated by the disappearance of the starting
bubbles, and we obtained total CO2 contents ranging from 3.2 wt % to
4.3 wt % (3.7 wt % on average). In all the other melt inclusions
(equilibrated at 1.5 or 2 GPa and 1300 ∘C or at
2.5 GPa–1275 ∘C), we obtained lower and more variable total
CO2 contents (1.4 wt % to 2.9 wt %). In the inclusions with the highest
total CO2 contents, the size of the shrinkage bubble was in most cases
small (<5 vol %) to medium (<10 vol %): this is a
strong argument in favor of an origin of these melt inclusions by
homogeneous entrapment of very CO2-rich basanitic liquids
(∼ 4 wt %) at pressures of 2 to 2.5 GPa. The lower total
CO2 contents measured in some inclusions could reflect a natural
variability in the initial CO2 contents, due for instance to melt
entrapment at different pressures, or CO2 loss by decrepitation. An
alternative scenario is heterogeneous entrapment of basanitic liquid plus
dense CO2 fluid at lower pressures but still at least on the order of
1 GPa as indicated by dissolved CO2 contents up to 1.19 wt % in the
glasses of unheated melt inclusions. Whatever the scenario, the basanites
from the Bas-Vivarais volcanic province were generated in a mantle
environment extremely rich in carbon dioxide.


Luminosity functions and their integrated luminosity densities are presented for the 6dF Galaxy Survey (6dFGS). This ongoing survey ultimately aims to measure around 150000 redshifts and 15 000 peculiar velocities over almost the entire southern sky at |b| > 10◦. The main target samples are taken from the 2MASS Extended Source Catalog and the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey catalogue, and comprise 138 226 galaxies complete to (K,H,J ,rF,bJ) = (12.75, 13.00, 13.75, 15.60, 16.75). These samples are comparable in size to the optically-selected Sloan Digital Sky Survey and 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey samples, and improve on recent near-infrared-selected redshift surveys by more than an order of magnitude in both number and sky coverage. The partial samples used in this paper contain a little over half of the total sample in each band and are ∼90percent complete. Luminosity distributions are derived using the 1/Vmax, STY and SWML estimators, and probe 1 to 2 absolute magnitudes fainter in the near-infrared than previous surveys. The effects of magnitude errors, redshift incompleteness and peculiar velocities have been taken into account and corrected throughout. Generally, the 6dFGS luminosity functions are in excellent agreement with those of similarly-sized surveys. Our data are of sufficient quality to demonstrate that a Schechter function is not an ideal fit to the true luminosity distribution, due to its inability to simultaneously match the faint end slope and rapid bright end decline. Integrated luminosity densities from the 6dFGS are consistent with an old stellar population and moderately declining star formation rate.


ABSTRACT Jet ignition was recognized in the 1970s, and has since been applied to automobile engines such as the Honda CVCC. In the 1990s, jet ignition was observed in explosions and was seen as a problem that may relate to jet ignition. Our group presented jet ignition experimentally and numerically in 1999, and later using LIF measurements with the same experimental vessel as used in 1999. However, the detailed mechanism of jet ignition was not clarified at that time. The target of this study is to clarify how jet ignition happens and to understand the detailed mechanism of flame jet ignition.


A zonation is presented for the oceanic late Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic of the Atlantic Ocean. The oldest zone, the Stephenolithion bigotii Zone (subdivided into a Stephanolithion hexum Subzone and a Cyclagelosphaera margerelii Subzone), is middle Callovian to early Oxfordian. The Vagalapilla stradneri Zone is middle Oxfordian to Kimmer- idgian. The Conusphaera mexicana Zone, subdivided into a lower Hexapodorhabdus cuvillieri Subzone and a Polycostella beckmannii Subzone, is the latest Kimmeridgian to Tithonian. Direct correlation of this zonation with the boreal zonation established for Britain and northern France (Barnard and Hay, 1974; Medd, 1982; Hamilton, 1982) is difficult because of poor preservation resulting in low diversity for the cored section at Site 534 and a lack of Tithonian marker species in the boreal realm. Correlations based on dinoflagellates and on nannofossils with stratotype sections (or regions) give somewhat dif- ferent results. Dinoflagellates give generally younger ages, especially for the Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian part of the recovered section, than do nannofossils.


In 2002 the UK Home Office commissioned a review of research on community involvement in area-based initiatives. This found comparatively few studies that set out to measure the impact rather than the extent and nature of involvement and hence few answers to the question of what works. This article takes that finding as its starting point and sets out to develop a more robust framework for evaluating the impact of community involvement. It notes the difficulties inherent in using a classic experimental design to evaluate processes as complex as community involvement and proposes a theory-based approach. To this end, it critically reviews the underlying theoretical claims of both community involvement and of area-based initiatives. An evaluation framework is then developed in which the potential benefits of greater involvement are considered for each stage of the process of developing an area-based initiative and positive and negative contextual factors are identified.


This paper combines a model of open access fisheries exploitation with a distance-based approach to missing labor and product markets. The model generates predictions about the circumstances under which exploitation increases or decreases with distance. An econometric model is estimated with survey data from artisanal fishing households in Minahasa, Indonesia. The results can be used to assess the impacts of improved transportation infrastructure on fishery exploitation.


MEMBER for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead today announced work will commence next week to improve safety on the Pacific Highway at Cundletown and Rainbow Flat. Mr Bromhead said the NSW Government has allocated $500,000 for upgrades and road improvements at Cundletown and $200,000 for upgrades at Rainbow Flat to improve road user safety at these locations. "Roads and Maritime Services will carry out the work which involves installing safety barriers at both locations and road resurfacing at Cundletown," Mr Bromhead said. "Work at Rainbow Flat will be carried out on the northbound shoulder one kilometre south of Godfrey Hill Road. "Work at Cundletown will be carried out on the on-ramp and under the Princes Street Bridge. "Work will be staged along the two sections of the Pacific Highway to minimise disruptions to motorists." Mr Bromhead said work will be carried out on weekdays between 7am and 5pm and is expected to be completed in five weeks, weather permitting. There will also be three nights of night work at Cundletown. To ensure the safety of workers and motorists, lane closures and a temporary 60km/h speed limit will be in place during work hours with traffic control and signs helping direct motorists. Roads and Maritime thanks the community for its patience while work is carried out. For the latest traffic information, visit www.livetraffic.com, download Live Traffic App or call the Transport Management Centre on 132 701.


"Notes from the Ground" examines the cultural conditions that brought agriculture and science together in nineteenth-century America. Integrating the history of science, environmental history, and science studies, the book shows how and why agrarian Americans - yeoman farmers, gentleman planters, politicians, and policy makers alike - accepted, resisted, and shaped scientific ways of knowing the land. By detailing the changing perceptions of soil treatment, Benjamin Cohen shows that the credibility of new soil practices grew not from the arrival of professional chemists, but out of an existing ideology of work, knowledge, and citizenship.


Calcium-dependent phosphatase calcineurin (CN) regulates the activation and nuclear translocation of NFAT. We identify here a novel CN-binding motif in one member of the NFAT family, NFATx, and a peptide based on this motif, Pep3. Pep3 binds CN and competes with wild-type NFATx for CN interaction. Amino acid mutations within Pep3 show that multiple amino acid residues are required for the effective functions of Pep3. Ectopic expression of Pep3 in a Th clone via a retrovirus-mediated gene transfer could selectively block the nuclear translocation of endogenous NFATx, whereas it had little effect on the nuclear translocation of another member of the NFAT family, NFATp. Furthermore, in transfection experiments, Pep3 also blocked the nuclear translocation of transfected NFATx, but not NFATp, in the B cell line M12, demonstrating specific inhibition of Pep3 for NFATx. Importantly, several cytokines produced by the T cell clone were severely repressed by ectopic Pep3, and indeed, the production of these cytokines was enhanced by the expression of wild-type NFATx. Our results show selective inhibition of NFATx activation and cytokine expression by Pep3 and suggest a new approach for studying the biology of each NFAT family member. This approach may provide an opportunity for pharmacological targeting of Ca2+-dependent signaling events.


Our architecture program follows the common Bauhaus method in our first year to provide students with the fundamental principles of architectural design.  During the first semester, several design majors are combined together in the studios so projects are therefore kept generic and applicable to all.  In the second semester, they spend the first half on an in-depth analysis of a famous work of architecture and then spend the second half designing a companion building incorporating concepts of the original design.  Therefore, when the students start their second year they are getting their first architecture design studio with typical program/site driven projects. This where we "throw them into the deep end" with 3 increasingly complex design projects based on urban dwelling. The vast majority of our students come from suburban settings so have little experience with issues living in the city, much less the design process, so there is a steep learning curve to overcome.  To help bring them up to speed quickly, the first project in their design studio is geared to introduce multiple issues of residential design in the city within a short 3-week project.  While none of these topics is intended to be studied in depth, they acquaint the students with issues that will reappear many times in the semester and future years.


In this paper, we propose an adaptive scalable layer selection policy for video streaming over wireless networks by jointly considering the wireless channel conditions and scalable video coding. Our goal is to design a scheme which could provide both long-term smooth and high play-back quality for each user, while maintaining the fairness among multi-users. We first design an adaptive long-term layer selection scheme which determines the number of layers each user would receive in order to maximize the total video quality of all streams while avoiding high variation in the number of video layers. We then employ a scheduling algorithm for slot allocation considering both current channel capacity and deadline. We compare our proposed policies with some reference schemes and simulation results show the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.


Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a clinical diagnosis encompassing a heterogeneous group of disorders in movements and posture resulting from disturbance in the developing brain. The aetiology of CP is poorly understood in most cases despite numerous studies on the risk factors for CP. Labour induction has rarely been evaluated as an independent risk factor for CP and the combined effect of multiple risk factors, although likely to increase the risk, has rarely been estimated.The most prominent motor disorder in CP is spasticity which is the dominating clinical feature in 80% of all patients. Spasticity is the main cause of the musculoskeletal deformities in CP and thereby it worsens the child's motor disability. Moreover, spasticity together with mal-positioning leads to joint instability as in hip displacement. Hip displacement is usually painless but may gradually progress to painful hip dislocation in severe cases. Treatment with intramuscular botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections and intrathecal baclofen (ITB) has revolutionized spasticity management in the last two decades.Aims: The aims of this research were to investigate the association between labour induction and CP and to examine the effect of multiple risk factors on the risk of developing CP. Furthermore, we aimed to study the proportions and the clinical characteristics of children who received BoNT compared with those who did not receive such treatment. Finally, we wanted to study if a specifically designed follow-up programme was able to prevent hip dislocation among children with CP, or if a general improvement in regular care and treatment was equally effective.Methods: Antenatal and perinatal data were obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN) on 176 591 infants born 1996 – 1998 who survived the early neonatal period. Neurodevelopmental data were available in the CP Register in Norway (CPRN) on 241 children with CP born during that time period. The exposure measures were the different single or combined antenatal and perinatal risk factors. The main outcome measures were the total CP and spastic CP subtypes. The use of BoNT in 411 children with CP born 1999–2003 was recorded in the CP Register. Gross motor function was assessed using the Gross Motor Classification System (GMFCS). Data obtained from CPRN for seven Norwegian counties providing conventional "regular" care were compared with data in the CP Register in Southern Sweden for one Swedish healthcare region where a hip surveillance programme (CPUP) was introduced in 1994. In all, 119 Norwegian and 136 Swedish children were born 1996 – 2003 with moderate to severe CP (GMFCS levels III – V). In Norway, data on hip operations and radiographs of the hips were collected from medical records. The hip migration percentage (MP) was measured on the recent radiographs and hip dislocation was defined as MP of 100%.Results: Induction of labour was associated with a threefold excess risk of bilateral spastic CP. The risk of CP increased exponentially with increasing number of the combined pre- and perinatal risk factors. In one third of children born at term none of the studied risk factors were identified. Multiple risk factors were more common in premature infants where 70% had two or more additional risk factors. However, only few children were exposed to the same combination of factors.We found that two thirds of all children with CP in Norway had received BoNT. The proportion of children treated with BoNT was directly related to the level of motor impairment to the highest proportion at GMFCS IV. However, smaller proportion of children with the most severe physical and cognitive disabilities received BoNT. The hip surveillance resulted in significant reduction in prevalence of hip dislocation compared with areas providing conventional follow-up. Radiological screening led to early identification and surgical treatment of hips at risk without increasing the total number of hip operations.Interpretation: The potential risk of CP associated with induction of labour should be considered when induction is requested without clear medical indication. Multi-causal pathways were more common among children born preterm suggesting more alternatives for preventive strategies at various stages. In children born at term, alternatives for prevention may be more limited. Our results raise the question whether the need for BoNT-treatment in children with minor motor impairments might be overestimated, while children with severe CP forms might be undertreated. Our results support that an intensive follow-up (surveillance) programme prevents hip dislocation and reduces the need for salvage surgery.


Invoking Bruno Latour's notion of "compositionism," this essay proposes a "field theory" of poetry, exploring the use and abuse of plants as one crucial node for thinking about poiesis . Core cases include the traditionary ballads "The Three Ravens" and "Barbara Allen," with nods to romantic and contemporary lyrics. The essay also considers en route the pathetic fallacy in light of ongoing debates about anthropomorphism and personification, and concludes with a meditation on "nighing" as a mode of composition.


1. Competition, Cohesion and Governance: The Urban Triangle. 2. Spaces and People: Changing Geographies of the Region. 3. Complex Business: Growth and Volatility in London's Economies. 4. More Opportunity, More Inequality: Social Structure and Economic Change in London. 5. 'Education, Education, Education': The Role of Schooling in London. 6. Climbing Up, Bumping Down and Flitting Around: London's Dynamic Labour Market. 7. Down But Not Out in London: Marginality and Social Exclusion. 8. How Social is the Capital? Getting By and Getting on in London. 9. Things Endure, Things Change: London Neighbourhoods. 10. Steering, Rowing, Drowning or Waving? The Modernisation of London's Governance. 11. The Name of Action: Ideas, Commitment and the Agenda for Cities.


Many integrable hierarchies of differential equations allow a variational
description, called a Lagrangian multiform or a pluri-Lagrangian structure. The
fundamental object in this theory is not a Lagrange function but a differential
$d$-form that is integrated over arbitrary $d$-dimensional submanifolds. All
such action integrals must be stationary for a field to be a solution to the
pluri-Lagrangian problem. In this paper we present a procedure to obtain
Hamiltonian structures from the pluri-Lagrangian formulation of an integrable
hierarchy of PDEs. As a prelude, we review a similar procedure for integrable
ODEs. We show that exterior derivative of the Lagrangian $d$-form is closely
related to the Poisson brackets between the corresponding Hamilton functions.
In the ODE (Lagrangian 1-form) case we discuss as examples the Toda hierarchy
and the Kepler problem. As examples for the PDE (Lagrangian 2-form) case we
present the potential and Schwarzian Korteweg-de Vries hierarchies, as well as
the Boussinesq hierarchy.


Analysis of rock acoustic emission characteristics in complete stress-strain process under uniaxial compression shows that the evolution process of rock deformation and damage can be divided into five stages—compaction, linear elastic deformation, accelerate inelastic deformation, damage and development, plastic flow. Acoustic emission characteristics of rock can well reflect its compressive deformation and damage evolution process. Acoustic emission time series of typical plastic coal is comparatively dispersed and presents group shock type. The acoustic emission frequency events and their energy of coal are bigger around the damage point, but the maximum amplitude and the secondary maximum amplitude have not much difference. The acoustic emission events and their energy of very uniform and dense fragile limestone are mainly concentrated in a very short period of time before its damage and the acoustic emission time series manifests as isolated shock type. For sandstone whose homogeneous degree lies between typical plastic coal and very uniform and dense fragile limestone, its acoustic emission time series manifest as main shock type.


Currently, unknown unknowns in high dimensional big data environments can go unnoticed for a long period of time. The failure to detect anomalies in critical infrastructure data can result in extensive financial, operational, reputational and life threatening consequences. In this paper, we describe algorithms for an automatic and unsupervised anomaly detection that do not necessitate domain expertise, signatures, rules, patterns or semantics understanding of the features. We propose several new methodologies for anomaly detection to protect critical infrastructures, with emphasis on finance, spanning from theory to actionable technology. Although anomalies can originate from several sources, we also show that cyber threat, financial and operational malfunction are converging into a single detection paradigm. Performance comparison between different algorithms (ours and others) is presented as well as examples from real use cases.


Diasporic Muslim identity in the West is increasingly conceptualized as being "under siege", especially in a post 9/11 context. This paper examines some of the complexities of identity formation and belonging as experienced by Muslim youth in the current political climate in Canada. However intense and antagonizing this social and political climate may be, I argue that there is room for dissenting and subversive reconfigurations of a Muslim identity that resists the eviction of Muslims from full belonging and citizenship in Western society. This paper explores this possibility by focusing on Muslim youth identity formation in the context of Taqwarcore, a Muslim punk scene popular among some second-generation youth. Representing hybrid identities for Muslim youth, Taqwacore creates the space for creative self-expression and subversive challenges to impositions from both the Muslim community and the mainstream Western culture.


Background: Adequate pain control is of crucial importance to patient recovery and satisfaction following abdominal surgeries. The optimal analgesia regimen remains controversial in liver resections. Methods: Three groups of patients undergoing open hepatectomies were retrospectively analyzed, reviewing intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) versus IV-PCA in addition to bilateral rectus sheath and subcostal transversus abdominis plane nerve blocks (IV-PCA + NBs) versus patient-controlled thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA). Patient-reported pain scores and clinical data were extracted and correlated with the method of analgesia. Outcomes included total morphine consumption and numerical rating scale (NRS) at rest and on movement over the first three postoperative days, time to remove the nasogastric tube and urinary catheter, time to commence on fluid and soft diet, and length of hospital stay. Results: The TEA group required less morphine over the first three postoperative days than IV-PCA and IV-PCA + NBs groups (9.21 ± 4.91 mg, 83.53 ± 49.51 mg, and 64.17 ± 31.96 mg, respectively, p < 0.001). Even though no statistical difference was demonstrated in NRS scores on the first three postoperative days at rest and on movement, the IV-PCA group showed delayed removal of urinary catheter (removal on postoperative day 4.93 ± 5.08, 3.87 ± 1.31, and 3.70 ± 1.30, respectively) and prolonged length of hospital stay (discharged on postoperative day 12.71 ± 7.26, 11.79 ± 5.71, and 10.02 ± 4.52, respectively) as compared to IV-PCA + NBs and TEA groups. Conclusions: For postoperative pain management, it is expected that the TEA group required the least amount of opioid; however, IV-PCA + NBs and TEA demonstrated comparable postoperative outcomes, namely, the time to remove nasogastric tube/urinary catheter, to start the diet, and the length of hospital stay. IV-PCA with NBs could thus be a reliable analgesic modality for patients undergoing open liver resections.


Supercell thunderstorms simulated using the numerical model CM1 are used to analyze the effects of low-level vertical wind shear on near-ground rotation in the storm. In particular, the parameters being assessed are the orientation, magnitude, and depth of the low-level vertical wind shear. Particular emphasis is given to the effects of the shear in determining the position of the low-level outflow relative to the midlevel mesocyclone/updraft. The simulations are initialized using idealized soundings of quarter-circle, clockwise turning, with unidirectional westerly shear above 2 km hodographs. A control simulation is run without any low-level vertical wind shear to compare to the other runs. Experiments are then conducted in which the background sounding is modified by adding a low-level shear layer at one of three different orientation angles: 0° (easterly shear), 90 ° (southerly shear), or 180 ° (westerly shear). Comparing a set of simulations run for a shear layer depth of 500 meters with a shear magnitude of 7 m s−1, the most favorable orientation for intensifying nearground rotation based on positioning of the outflow relative to the midlevel mesocyclone was the 0° case. The 90° case became more favorable after being run for another hour, where as the control and 180° cases did not develop favorable conditions. Changing the shear layer depth to 250 meters gives similar results, but when the shear layer depth is changed to 1 kilometer the most favorable simulation became the control. Finally, when the magnitude of the shear was increased to 15 m s−1, ii none of the cases was found to be favorable, as the outflow was not found to be positioned in any of the simulations below the midlevel mesocyclone. Statistically, a significant negative correlation was found between the maximum near-ground vertical vorticity/circulation and the distance between the maximum near-ground rotation and the midlevel mesocyclone. When this distance decreased, the vertical vorticity/circulation increased, suggesting that the positioning of the outflow beneath the midlevel mesocyclone plays a key role in amplifying the surface rotation. For the particular sounding used in this study, a low-level shear orientation produces the most favorable positioning of the outflow beneath the mesocyclone, and thus lead to the strongest surface rotation among the cases considered.