Two regionally significant microbial‐foraminiferal episodes (∼150 kyr each) occur within the Early Aptian shallow marine platform in Oman and throughout eastern Arabia. The stratigraphically lower of these two intervals is characterized by isolated or coalescent domes that share similarities with modern, open‐marine stromatolites from the Exuma Cays, Bahamas. The upper interval is predominantly built by a problematic Lithocodium/Bacinella consortium in buildup and massive boundstone facies. Based on high‐resolution chemostratigraphy, these shoalwater intervals are coeval with oceanic anoxic event 1a (OAE1a; Livello Selli). Field evidence demonstrates that the buildup episodes alternate with stratigraphic intervals dominated by rudist bivalves. This biotic pattern is also recognized in other coeval Tethyan sections and is perhaps a characteristic shoalwater expression of the OAE1a. The short‐lived regional expansions of this microbial‐foraminiferal out‐of‐balance facies cannot be explained by local environmental factors (salinity and oxygen level) alone and the buildup consortia do not occupy stressed refugia in the absence of grazing metazoans. Judging from recent analogues, the main fossil groups, i.e. microbial assemblages, macroalgae, larger sessile foraminifera, and rudist bivalves, all favoured elevated trophic levels but with different tolerance limits. The implication of this is that the influence of palaeofertility events, possibly related to OAE1a, on carbonate platform community structures must be investigated. The observations made in these coastal sections are a significant first step for the improved understanding of the Early Aptian period of biotic, oceanic and climatic change.


In this paper, we present a new method and its preliminary results in the context of pattern analysis and recognition. Based on the curve analysis, it deals with the contour of planar objects like the CSS (Curvature Scale Space) method. This latter method uses the 2nd order derivative of a contour to determine its zero-crossing points to characterise the pattern. Like the CSS method, our method uses a Gaussian kernel to progressively smooth the curve relatively to the varying bandwidth. Instead of characterising the curve with its curvature involving 2nd order derivatives, this new method uses the intersection points between the smoothed curve and the original. As the standard deviation s of the Gaussian kernel increases, the number of the intersection points decreases. By analysing these remaining points one can define features for pattern characterisation. Since this method deals only with curve smoothing, it needs only the convolution operation in the smoothing process. This way, one can reasonably believe that this method is faster than the CSS one with equivalent performances.


In May 1989, the American Medical Association sponsored The First International Congress on Peer Review in Biomedical Publication. This issue ofJAMAis dedicated to papers first presented at that congress, themselves greatly modified by editorial peer review. We atJAMA, considering that publication lies at the heart of the scientific process and that at the heart of publication lies peer review,1were impressed by the evident lack of research2into a process that occupies our energies daily and on which we, as editors, are disposed to rely heavily. We recognized that the vast majority of papers written about editorial peer review had been composed in the absence of any data and were editorial effusions that expressed individual biases. Scientific investigations in this field were woefully lacking, and we set out to change this state of affairs.3 Our objectives in holding the congress were simple: to stimulate


The issue of tax-motivated income shifting within multinational firms has attracted increasing global attention in recent years. It is of central importance to many current policy debates, including those related to recent initiatives by the OECD on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and to proposals for US tax reform in a territorial direction. This paper provides a survey of the empirical literature on tax-motivated income-shifting within multinational firms. Its emphasis is on clarifying what is known about the magnitude of BEPS. It begins by outlining a simple conceptual framework that helps to clarify aspects of governments' responses to the BEPS phenomenon and the potential role of the OECD initiative. The paper then discusses different empirical approaches to identifying income-shifting, describes existing data sources, and summarizes the findings of the empirical literature. A major theme that emerges from this survey is that in the more recent empirical literature, which uses new and richer sources of data, the estimated magnitude of BEPS is typically much smaller than that found in earlier studies. The paper seeks to provide a framework within which to conceptualize this magnitude and its implications for policy. It concludes by highlighting the importance of existing legal and economic frictions as constraints on BEPS, and discussing possible ways in which future research might model these frictions more precisely.


Streptothricin-F (STT-F), one of the early-discovered antibiotics, consists of three components, a β-lysine homopolymer, an aminosugar D-gulosamine, and an unusual bicyclic streptolidine. The biosynthesis of streptolidine is a long-lasting but unresolved puzzle. Herein, a combination of genetic/biochemical/structural approaches was used to unravel this problem. The STT gene cluster was first sequenced from a Streptomyces variant BCRC 12163, wherein two gene products OrfP and OrfR were characterized in vitro to be a dihydroxylase and a cyclase, respectively. Thirteen high-resolution crystal structures for both enzymes in different reaction intermediate states were snapshotted to help elucidate their catalytic mechanisms. OrfP catalyzes an Fe(II) -dependent double hydroxylation reaction converting L-Arg into (3R,4R)-(OH)2 -L-Arg via (3S)-OH-L-Arg, while OrfR catalyzes an unusual PLP-dependent elimination/addition reaction cyclizing (3R,4R)-(OH)2 -L-Arg to the six-membered (4R)-OH-capreomycidine. The biosynthetic mystery finally comes to light as the latter product was incorporation into STT-F by a feeding experiment.


Gurney, S.D. & Hayward, S. 2015. Earth hummocks in north-east Okstindan, northern Norway: Morphology, distribution and environmental constraints. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography. ISSN 0029-1951. Earth hummocks (also termed pounus or thúfur) are a common form of periglacial non-sorted patterned ground. The study objectives were to determine the morphology, distribution and development on slopes of earth hummocks in north-east Okstindan, Norway, an area with many hummocks but few documented accounts. The methodology involved detailed geomorphological mapping and precise measurement with a profileometer. The internal structure of the hummocks was investigated through excavations and sediment sample analyses. Fourteen sites with well-developed earth hummocks (accounting for over 650 individual hummock forms) were investigated. The sites have an average altitude of 750 m and occur on slopes with an average gradient of 7°. The hummock heights are in the range 0.11–0.52 m and their diameters 0.7–1.5 m, although coalescent forms are up to 5 m in length. The hummock morphology is characterised by a variable plan form, asymmetry with respect to upslope and downslope forms, downslope elongation, coalescence, and superimposed microtopography. The hummocks' distribution appeared to have been controlled by the existence of a frost-susceptible 'host' sediment, but moisture availability and topographic position played a role. The authors conclude that differential frost heave and vegetation cover stability are critical for the hummocks' longevity in the studied landscape.


The current study used multi-wave data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine the existence of typologies of readiness for sexual intercourse and contraception among a nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 15-18. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the current study used latent profile analyses to establish five profiles of sexual readiness based on adolescents' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control for sexual intercourse and contraception. Analyses were conducted cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and five classes were confirmed at each of two waves. The current study established and characterized four profiles of readiness for sexual behavior at both waves: "impulsive adolescents," "precarious adolescents," "well-controlled adolescents," and "conservatively-reared adolescents." Two separate fifth profiles also emerged: "hasty adolescents" at wave 1, and "unrestrained adolescents" at wave 2. Logistic regression of longitudinal data indicated that compared to "impulsive adolescents" at wave 1, "precarious" and "conservatively-reared" adolescents were significantly less likely to engage in sexual intercourse at wave 2, and "well-controlled" adolescents were significantly less likely to engage in casual sex. Wave 1 cross-sectional data indicated that "precarious" adolescents were less likely to have used contraception either at their first time or most recent time of sex, and all other profiles were more likely to have employed contraception than "impulsive" adolescents. Wave 2 cross-sectional analyses indicated that two profiles ("precarious" and "conservatively-reared") were less likely to engage in sexual intercourse, and two profiles ("well-controlled" and "unrestrained") were more likely to engage in sexual intercourse than "impulsive" adolescents.


A 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) clone library from permanently cold marine sediments was established. Screening 353 clones by dot blot hybridization with group-specific oligonucleotide probes suggested a predominance of sequences related to bacteria of the sulfur cycle (43.4% potential sulfate reducers). Within this fraction, the major cluster (19.0%) was affiliated with Desulfotalea sp. and other closely related psychrophilic sulfate reducers isolated from the same habitat. The cloned sequences showed between 93 and 100% similarity to these bacteria. Two additional groups were frequently encountered: 13% of the clones were related to Desulfuromonas palmitatis, and a second group was affiliated with Myxobacteria spp. and Bdellovibrio spp. Many clones (18.1%) belonged to the g subclass of the class Proteobacteria and were closest to symbiotic or free-living sulfur oxidizers. Probe target groups were further characterized by amplified rDNA restriction analysis to determine diversity within the groups and within the clone library. Rarefaction analysis suggested that the total diversity assessed by 16S rDNA analysis was very high in these permanently cold sediments and was only partially revealed by screening of 353 clones.


Nigeria will still make effective use of capital punishment in the 21st century, at least to satisfy the principle of double effect. Better capital punishment than the violence of capital crime. More than the better of two evils, this paper argued that the death penalty is crucial for those facing trails for capital crimes in Nigeria achieving authenticity in Soren Kierkegaard's view. Such criminals are among the 'defenseless selves', those whose individuality has been lost due to external influences. The institution of capital punishment by a criminal justice system that does not jeopardize the ingredients of justice, especially, proper apprehension suspected criminals, competent representation of the prosecuted, prompt prosecution and execution, of those found guilty, could rescue condemned criminals and enable them become 'individuals' or achieve authenticity. Moreover, it will reduce the spate of capital crime in the county, as well as economic loss due to amnesty bargains between governments and suspected criminals or due to ransom being paid kidnappers.Thus, even as speculations on abolition of capital punishment continues, the Nigerian legal profession should encourage competent and adequate representation of criminals facing the death sentence for the country to realize more through capital punishment. Keywords: 'Defenseless Selves', Criminal Justice System, Capital Crime, Capital Punishment


The population of the Nordic countries will have increased by almost 10 % in 2030 as compared to that of today. Moreover, further concentration of the population to the urban and metropolitan areas will continue to influence population development. The family will play a more important role, with higher fertility and nuptality rates. Obesity and increased socio-economic polarisation will however lower life-expectancy. The Nordic countries will also have to face up to the emigration of persons with an immigrant background as a consequence of failed integration policies. Problems with labour shortage will persist due to imperfections in the workings of the labour market.


The development objective of the Temane Regional Electricity Project for Africa is to enhance transmission capacity for domestic and regional markets and increase electricity generation capacity through private sector participation. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) dust caused by construction activities shall be controlled to ensure no detrimental effect on landowners, occupants, employees, or the public; (2) the construction contractor shall ensure that sufficient watering capacity is available on site to dampen dust at all work areas and along access roads used by construction traffic, particularly in areas where there are nearby communities; (3) all vehicles and equipment shall be fitted with noise suppression, as appropriate, and operated and maintained at all times in conformity with the manufacturer's specifications, instructions, and manuals; (4) access to the construction site must be controlled to prevent sex workers from entering the construction camp; (5) evaluate opportunities for health systems strengthening (HSS) with government and key partners for improved case detection and treatment of tuberculosis (TB); (6) safe travelling speeds for each section of the route along the right of way shall be determined and enforced; (7) promote the development of a disciplined policing forum for the area, in collaboration with appropriate civil society organizations as well as the police department; and (8) promote awareness amongst members of the settlements about potential fire hazards and mechanisms for promoting household safety from fires.


In birds, individuals with a higher mass at fledging have a higher probability of recruiting into the breeding population. This can be because mass is an indicator of general condition and thereby of the ability to survive adverse circumstances and/or because fledging mass is positively related to competitive strength in interactions with other fledglings. This latter explanation leads to two testable predictions: (i) there is stronger selection for fledging mass when there is more severe competition (i.e. at higher densities); and (ii) that besides absolute fledging mass, relative mass of fledglings within a cohort is important. We test these two predictions in two great tit (Parus major) populations. The first prediction was met for one of the populations, showing that competition affects the importance of mass–dependent recruitment. The second prediction, that fledglings recruit relatively well if they are heavy compared to the other fledglings, is met for both populations. The consequence of the importance of relative rather than absolute fledging mass is that the fitness consequences of reproductive decisions affecting fledging mass, such as clutch size, depend on the decisions of the other individuals in the population.


The NP-problem is solved by showing that the clique problem has no polynomial time algorithm in the worst case. For this the General Non Poly-nomiality Theorem and First and Second Fixed Type Theorems are proved. These theorems are used to prove that the clique problem has no polynomial time algorithm in the worst case.


Research aim was to test the tolerance of a range of maize hybrids to infectious pressure of the pathogen Ustilago maydis in climatic conditions from Timisoara Didactic Research Station. Stage of research is being characteristic for partial interpretation of experimental data after the first experimental year, in preparation the doctoral thesis. Experimental field was located in climatic conditions of Timisoara Didactic Research Station. Technology was the standard applied to this area. The experience was bifactorial. First factor was the hybrid grown with six graduations, provenance hybrids was Monsanto with different vegetation periods, (DKC 3511, DKC 4626, DKC 4964, DKC 4983, DKC 5783 and DKC 5170). Factor B was the amount of nitrogen applied to three graduations (N 0, N 100 and N 200) all three doses were applied on a constant background elements of P 80 K 80. The novelty is relatively high, work providing important data for agricultural practice from hybrids point of view for the experimental area. Achievements stage in this field. In this work were carried out research including one of authors, known as the reference and possible reactions of the pathogen depending on local biocoenosis factors. Limits of the research are that data from the fungus Ustilago maydis are just after two years of pathogen bonitation. Practical implications of the research consisted of playing a part of a complex study of strategy in the protection of maize reference experience. The originality of the work comes from the fact that data are relevant in view of uniformity of hybrid origin, these data are only part of the data submitted for interpretation in the preparation of the PhD thesis of the main author. Importance of the paper became from bringing in front of the specialists of one of the topics in the experiences of the author's doctoral preparing, to evaluate the accuracy of techniques addressed. The relevance of data, experimental results give an overview of pathogen behavior in relation to hybrids experienced by groups of precocity.


An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) requires a precise navigational system for localization, positioning, path tracking, guidance and control. The main navigational device for an AUV is an inertial navigation system (INS) because high-precision navigational devices such as the Global Positioning System have a limited usage in the underwater environment. In this study, based on the dynamic mathematical model of AUV, we develop two types of low-cost integrated navigational system for AUVs based on error models of INS and its aiding devices such as Doppler velocity logs, compasses and pressure depth sensors. Nine- and 15-state INS error models and corresponding measurement models of aiding devices are derived for the Kalman filter (KF). We compare the performance of those two integrated navigation systems. The simulation results confirm that low-cost inertial measurement unit sensors produce a notable amount of noisy measurements, but KF-based integrated navigation system models for AUV can effectively mitigate those drawbacks.


The case focuses on the proposed development of the Parma Agrifood Research Management Knowledge Network (PARMa KN). The PARMa KN is intended to be a global network of leading professionals drawn from academia, industry, and the public sector. The proposal is for the group to be funded by the City of Parma and corporate, foundation, and individual donors. Its main objective would be to build value for society through the development of cutting-edge research, educational programs, and service activities for firms in the food and agribusiness sector. It is hoped that the new foundation will bring international expertise to food and agribusiness firms in Parma to help them to expand and remain globally competitive.


Aggregation of Fc « RI on mast cells activates signaling pathways, resulting in degranulation and cytokine release. Release of mast cell-derived inflammatory mediators is tightly regulated by the interplay of positive and negative signals largely orchestrated by adapter proteins. Among these, the Shc family adapter p52Shc, which couples immunoreceptors to Ras activation, positively regulates Fc « RI-dependent signaling. Conversely, p66Shc was shown to uncouple the TCR for the Ras–MAPK pathway and prime T cells to undergo apoptotic death. Loss of p66Shc in mice results in breaking of immunologic tolerance and development of lupus-like autoimmune disease, which includes alopecia among its pathological manifestations. The presence of numerous activated mast cells in alopecic skin areas suggests a role for this adapter in mast cells. In this study, we addressed the involvement of p66Shc in Fc « RI-dependent mast cell activation. We showed that p66Shc is expressed in mast cells and that mast cells from p66Shc 2 / 2 mice exhibit enhanced responses following Ag stimulation of Fc « RI. Furthermore, using RBL-2H3 cell transfectants, we showed that aggregation of Fc « RI resulted in the recruitment of a p66Shc–SHIP1 complex to linker for activation of T cells. Collectively, our data identified p66Shc as a negative regulator of mast cell activation. The Journal of Immunology , 2011, 186: 5095–5106.


The spread of infectious diseases is rampant. The emergence of new infections, the irrational use of antibiotics in medicine and their widespread use in agriculture contribute to the emergence of microorganisms that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs. By 2050, mortality from antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria is projected to increase up to 10 million people per year, which will exceed mortality from cancer. Mutations in bacteria and viruses are occurring faster than new drugs and vaccines are being introduced to the market. In search of effective protection against infections, new strategies and approaches are being developed, one of which is the use of innate immunity activators in combination with etiotropic chemotherapy drugs. Muramyl peptides, which are part of peptidoglycan of cell walls of all known bacteria, regularly formed in the body during the breakdown of microflora and considered to be natural regulators of immunity. Their interaction with intracellular receptors launches a sequence of processes that ultimately leads to the increased expression of genes of MHC molecules, pro-inflammatory mediators, cytokines and their soluble and membrane-associated receptors. As a result, all subpopulations of immunocompetent cells are activated: macrophages and dendritic cells, neutrophils, T-, B- lymphocytes and natural killer cells for an adequate response to foreign or transformed antigens, manifested both in the regulation of the inflammatory response and in providing immunological tolerance. Muramyl peptides take part in the process of hematopoiesis, stimulating production of colony-stimulating factors, which is the basis for their use in the treatment of oncological diseases. In this review we highlight clinical trials of drugs based on muramyl peptides, as well as clinical efficacy of drugs mifamurtide, lycopid, liasten and polimuramil. Such a multifactorial effect of muramyl peptides and a well-known mechanism of activity make them promising drugs in the treatment and preventing of infectious, allergic and oncological diseases, and in the composition of vaccines.


Abdominal ultrasonic screening of patients clinically asymptomatic of abdominal disease was performed in 5 720 subjects. In these asymptomatic persons pathological ultrasonic findings were reported in 47.1% of all cases, but these were mostly without clinical relevance. This is especially true for diffuse liver disease (30.9%), asymptomatic gallstones (6.1%), and typical renal cysts (5.7%). Asymptomatic malignant abdominal tumours (0.2% or 13 cases) were detected very rarely, and were found to be mostly renal carcinomas.


Startups are becoming part of the development of policies by the European Commission and corporate strategies. The business press widely covers startups, as does the other media. Local governments in Europe are also developing financial and administrative programs to support startups. Most industries now use social media, and in particular Twitter, to reach their customers. Twitter provides startups the opportunity to reach a global audience at a relatively low cost and still support both promotion and branding. However, there's a lack of evidence-based research, which examines the Twitter usage among startups within the European Union (EU). This paper outlines preliminary findings about Twitter usage among EU startup founders and contributes to an ongoing study that seeks to define the concept of a startup. Exploring Twitter usage among European startup founders could provide insight into their behavior and expand overall knowledge of how to best define the concept of a startup. The authors retrieved data used in the analysis from one of the most extensive EU databases, F6S.com. The authors collected the Twitter data user handles of EU startups in June and August 2015 and manually verified each Twitter account, which allowed the retrieval of data. The authors then entered the verified data (i.e., verified Twitter accounts) into the Twitter Archiving Google Sheets (TAGS) system that collected data for the purpose this longitudinal study. The results of this research provide insight into temporal dynamics of Twitter usage, including Twitter account creation, followers, and tweets. There are statistically significant correlations between the Twitter activity of EU startups and the invested amount in that country overall and per capita. This paper offers a methodological contribution in regard to the social media data retrieval techniques, which can provide an insight into Twitter usage among EU startups founders.


The Euclidean Distance Transform (EDT) is a basic operation in computer vision, pattern recognition, and robotics. Fast computation of the EDT is needed since most of the applications using the EDT requires real-time computation. The authors propose a new and fast parallel algorithms for computing the EDT problem on the reconfigurable VLSI mesh model. It is shown that the VLSI complexity of the algorithm described is the same as those of other sequential algorithms and the mesh algorithm, while it uses much less time. To authors' best knowledge, this is the first constant-time EDT algorithm on any parallel computational model.


Basal cell carcinoma is the most frequent skin cancer, generally located in hair-bearing, sunlight-exposed areas. Basal cell carcinoma usually occurs on the head and neck, but very rarely on extra-facial locations. We report a case of a 65-year-old woman presenting with a solitary non-healing ulcer on the sole of the right foot for two years. Histopathological examination showed a typical nodular basal cell carcinoma, confirmed by positivity to Ber-EP4 on immunohistochemistry. There was no history of trauma, exposure to noxious agents, basal cell nevus syndrome, or xeroderma pigmentosum.


Basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors of the achaete-scute family are instrumental in Drosophila neurosensory development and are candidate regulators of development in the mammalian central nervous system and neural crest. We report the isolation and initial characterization of a human achaete-scute homolog that is highly expressed in two neuroendocrine cancers, medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The human gene, which we have termed human achaete-scute homology 1 (hASH1), was cloned from a human MTC cDNA library. It encodes a predicted protein of 238 aa that is 95% homologous to mammalian achaete-scute homolog (MASH) 1, a rodent basic helix-loop-helix factor. The 57-residue basic helix-loop-helix domain is identical to that in the rodent gene, and the basic and helical regions, excluding the loop, are 72-80% identical to Drosophila achaete-scute family members. The proximal coding region of the hASH1 cDNA contains a striking 14-copy repeat of the triplet CAG that exhibits polymorphism in human genomic DNA. Thus, hASH1 is a candidate locus for disease-causing mutations via triplet repeat amplification. Analysis of rodent-human somatic cell hybrids permitted assignment of hASH1 to human chromosome 12. Northern blots revealed hASH1 transcripts in RNA from a human MTC cell line, two fresh MTC tumors, fetal brain, and three lines of human SCLC. In contrast, cultured lines of non-SCLC lung cancers and a panel of normal adult human tissues showed no detectable hASH1 transcripts. Expression of hASH1 may provide a useful marker for cancers with neuroendocrine features and may contribute to the differentiation and growth regulation of these cells.


Runtime frequency and voltage adaptation has become very attractive for current and next generation embedded multicore platforms because it allows handling the workload variabilities arising in complex and dynamic utilization scenarios. The main challenge of dynamic frequency adaptation is to adjust the processing speed of each element to match the quality-of-service requirements in the presence of workload variations. In this paper, we present a control theoretic approach to dynamic voltage/frequency scaling for data-flow models of computations mapped to multiprocessor systems-on-chip architectures. We discuss, in particular, nonlinear control approaches to deal with general streaming applications containing both pipeline and parallel stages. Theoretical analysis and experiments, carried out by means of a cycle-accurate energy-aware multiprocessor simulation platform, are provided. We have applied the proposed control approach to realistic streaming applications such as Data Encryption Standard and software-based FM radio.


ABSTRACT #BlackLivesMatter, a social-media-fueled social movement for racial justice in the United States, rose to international prominence between 2014 and 2016. Described by one of its co-creators as a call to collective action in the struggle against racial inequity, the movement's hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) was second to only #Ferguson among the most frequently used racial justice hashtags in the first 10 years of Twitter's existence. This critical case study analyzes the reflective narratives of 14 self-identified White social media users – part of a larger, interracial group of self-identified online social actors – who used the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag as part of their online activism repertoire during the height of the movement. Grounded by the application of Helms' White Racial Consciousness Development Scale, this research presents a descriptive account of the ways antiracist labor – colloquially described as 'White folks' work' – can be performed via social media. Using an a priori definition of allyship as the processes of affirming and taking informed action on behalf of the subjugated group, this research illustrates that strategic information seeking and sharing on Twitter – particularly the amplification of marginalized voices – were key components in the development of digital allyship praxis within this social-media-fueled movement for racial justice.


The 2008 global financial crisis represented a pivotal moment that separated prior phases of the development of financial technology (FinTech) and regulatory technology (RegTech) from the current paradigm. Today, FinTech has entered a phase of rapid development marked by the proliferation of startups and other new entrants, such as IT and ecommerce firms that have fragmented the financial services market. This new era presents fresh challenges for regulators and highlights why the evolution of FinTech necessitates a parallel development of RegTech. In particular, regulators must develop a robust new framework that promotes innovation and market confidence, aided by the use of regulatory "sandboxes." Certain RegTech developments today are highlighting the path toward another paradigm shift, which will be marked by a reconceptualization of the nature of financial regulation.

This paper is included in "CFA Institute Research Foundation Review 2017" https://ssrn.com/abstract=3483784.


Myocardosis: Pathogenesis, Clinical Aspects and Therapy with Recent Investigations Concerning the Principles of Metabolic Electrocardiography. By Ferdinand Wuhrmann, M.D., with the collaboration of Serge Niggli, M.D., and translated by Harvey Adelson, M.D.; 1960. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications. Ltd. 9t" x 6~", pp. 232 with illustrations. Price: 84s. (English).


The protective effects of methionine against hyperthermia‐induced damage in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC) were studied. We have investigated the effects of methionine on proliferation, antioxidant activity, and apoptosis of the mammary epithelial cells of dairy cow after heat treatment. The structure of BMEC membrane was damaged by hyperthermia. Methionine (30 and 60 mg/L) efficiently increased cell viability and attenuated morphological damages in hyperthermia‐treated BMEC. It significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase leakage and malondialdehyde formation, whereas superoxide dismutase activity increased significantly. It also increased cell survival and decreased early apoptosis. Methionine therefore is cytoprotective on hyperthermia‐induced damage in BMEC by increasing intracellular antioxidant levels and decreasing lipid peroxidation.


Background/Objective: The purpose of our study was to provide evidence on the treatment choices, reasons, and results of switching between biologic agents in treating patients with psoriasis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective database search of six tertiary referral centers for psoriasis patients between January 2007 and May 2019. We analyzed patient and treatment characteristics of all patients in the registry. Results: We enrolled 427 psoriatic patients treated with biologics, and 145 (34%) required a switch to another biologic. The reasons for discontinuing the first biologic agent were inefficacy (n = 106, 62.4%), adverse events (n = 28, 16.5%), and others (n = 36, 21.2%). At week 12, there was a 67.7% reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score of patients treated with their first biologic, and 51.4% reduction for the second. A drug survival analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the drug survival of first-line biologic agents, but ustekinumab had the highest survival rate among second-line biologics (log-rank p = 0.010). Multivariate analyses for overall drug discontinuation showed that the occurrence of psoriatic arthritis (OR: 1.883, 95% CI: 1.274–2.782, p = 0.001), nail involvement (OR: 2.334, 95% CI: 1.534–3.552, p < 0.001), and use of concomitant treatment (OR: 2.303, 95% CI: 1.403 –3.780, p = 0.001) are predictors for discontinuation. Conclusion: Discontinuation of treatment was most commonly due to inefficacy. Patients who switched to a different biologic agent showed a similar improvement in PASI scores compared to biologic-naive patients. Switching to a second biologic therapy due to inefficacy or adverse events caused by the first one may improve psoriasis.


Abstract The n-alkanes in plant cuticular wax have been used as markers for estimating the species composition of herbivore diets, but the long-chain fatty alcohols (LCOH) of plant wax may also be useful. The objective of this research was to assess if LCOH contributed extra information to differentiate plant species, compared with n-alkanes only. We used 3 data sets consisting of n-alkane and LCOH concentrations of plant species occurring in pastures of New South Wales, Australia. We used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to summarise the data for n-alkane and LCOH concentrations obtained for the species in these data sets. The first 3 principal components explained 86 to 93% and 75 to 99% of the variance in n-alkane and LCOH concentrations, respectively. Orthogonal Procrustes Rotation (OPR) was then used to compare the results of PCA conducted with n-alkane and LCOH data, with a view to establishing whether LCOH provided discriminatory information in addition to that provided by the n-alkanes. Results of OPR indicated that this was so for all 3 data sets, and suggested that the LCOH would be useful additional markers for discriminating between plant species. We tested this by using Discriminant Analysis and cross-validation procedures in 2 data sets to distinguish between defined species groups of C3 grasses, C4 grasses, clovers and Lotus spp. The discrimination between these categories and the proportion of plant species correctly classified into the defined categories was better when using n-alkanes and LCOH together, compared with alkanes alone. Our results indicate that LCOH provided additional information that could be used for distinguishing plant species as part of estimating the species composition of herbivore diets.


Background: Surprisingly little is known about the burden of oral mucositis (OM). We provide a systematic review of studies on the burden of OM (incidence, economic impact, health-related quality of life (HRQoL)). Methods: Systematic literature searches were made in BIOSIS, EMBASE, and MEDLINE. Inclusion criteria were studies on OM in hematology/oncology patients of ≥ 18 years, journal articles, English language, and published between 2000 and 2016; OM treatment studies were excluded. Quality assessment was performed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: We screened 4,996 hits, and identified 68 studies of which 13 were without transparency on OM grading. The evidence level of 65 studies was rated 'low' or 'very low' in 58.5%, 'moderate' in 20% and 'high' in 21.5%. Mean value of incidence (7 studies) was 83.5% for all grades of OM with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. OM incidence for all grades in head and neck cancer patients was 59.4-100%. Considering the economic impact, 16 studies showed highly variable numbers. HRQoL was measured in 16 studies using 13 different instruments. Statistically significant changes in HRQoL scores were demonstrated. Conclusion: OM is common, burdensome, costly and imposes major reductions in HRQoL. However, from a quality standpoint, the level of current evidence in OM is disappointing. The field needs continued attention to address methodological challenges.


There have not been as many studies of vascular responsiveness to the platelet activat ing factor (PAF) as one might expect. The mechanism of PAF's action on blood vessel contractility has not yet been elucidated. In this study, using the isolated perfused arterial segment of the central artery of a rabbit ear and autologous platelets, we examined the effects of PAF on the vasocontractile response to noradrenaline (NA-R). We obtained the following results: (1) In the absence of platelets, i.e., under the conditions of perfusion with modified normal Krebs' solution alone, PAF (0.036 to 33ng/ml) had no significant influence on NA-R and basal perfusion pressure (BPP); (2) during infusion of platelet rich plasma (PRP) with PAF, NA-R was significantly more augmented, as compared with that during infusion of PRP without PAF; (3) there was no significant difference between BPP during infusion of PRP alone and that during infusion of PRP with PAF; and (4) during infusion of PRP with PAF, NA-R was alleviated by the application of ketanserin, a selective 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, while this response was little influenced by indomethacin, a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor. On the basis of these results, it is possible to conclude that PAF acts on blood vessel contractility through platelets, and that 5-HT may, at least in part, participate in augment ing NA-R by PRP with PAF rather than prostanoids.


We use a translog cost function to model production in the Irish manufacturing sector over the period from 1991 to 2009. We estimate both own- and cross-price elasticities and Morishima elasticities of substitution between capital, labour, materials and energy. We find that capital and energy are substitutes in the production process. Across all firms we find that a 1% rise in the price of energy is associated with an increase of 0.1% in the demand for capital. The Morishima elasticities, which reflect the technological substitution potential, indicate that a 1% increase in the price of energy causes the capital/energy input ratio to increase by 1.58%. The demand for capital in larger, more energy-intensive, foreign-owned and export-oriented firms is less responsive to increases in energy prices. We also observe a sharp decline in firms' responsiveness between the first half of the sample period (the 1990s) and second half (the 2000s).


The article discusses the phenomenon of political success of the dutch extreme right party – «Party of Freedom» Author makes an analysis of the political activity of the party leader – Gert Wilders. Discusses the role of the «Party of Freedom» in the political system of Netherlands.


Abstract. Our objectives were to identify factors related to temporal variation of soil CO2 efflux in a boreal pine forest and to evaluate simple predictive models of temporal variation of soil CO2 efflux. Soil CO2 efflux was measured with a portable chamber in a Finnish Scots pine forest for three years, with a fourth year for model evaluation. Plot averages for soil CO2 efflux ranged from 0.04 to 0.90 g CO2 m−2 h−1 during the snow-free period, i.e. May–October, and from 0.04 to 0.13 g CO2 m−2 h−1 in winter. Soil temperature was a good predictor of soil CO2 efflux. A quadratic model of ln-transformed efflux explained 76–82 % of the variation over the snow-free period. The results revealed an effect of season: at a given temperature of the organic layer, soil CO2 efflux was higher later in the snow-free period (in August and September) than in spring and early summer (in May and June). Regression coefficients for temperature (approximations of a Q10 value) of month-specific models decreased with increasing average soil temperatures. Efflux in July, the month of peak photosynthesis, showed no clear response to temperature or moisture. Inclusion of a seasonality index, degree days, improved the accuracy of temperature response models to predict efflux for the fourth year of measurements, which was not used in building of regression models. During peak efflux from mid-July to late-August, efflux was underestimated with the models that included degree days as well as with the models that did not. The strong influence of the flux of photosynthates belowground and the importance of root respiration could explain the relative temperature insensitivity observed in July and together with seasonality of growth of root and root-associated mycorrhizal fungi could explain partial failure of models to predict magnitude of efflux in the peak season from mid-July to August. The effect of moisture early in the season was confounded by simultaneous advancement of the growing season and increase in temperature. In a dry year, however, the effect of drought was evident as soil CO2 efflux was some 30 % smaller in September than in the previous wet year. Soil temperature was a good overall predictor of soil CO2 efflux, possibly partly because its apparent effect was strengthened by many environmental factors and ecosystem processes that varied in concert with its variation. However, the consistent underestimation by the predictive models for the peak season corroborates recent findings concerning the importance of seasonal changes in carbon inputs to processes producing CO2 in soil.


Over the past twenty five years, central bank communications have undergone a major revolution. Central banks that previously shrouded themselves in mystery now embrace social media to get their message out to the widest audience. The Federal Reserve System has not always been at the forefront of these changes, but the volume of information about monetary policy that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) now releases dwarfs what it was releasing a quarter century ago. In this paper we focus on just one channel of FOMC communications, the post-meeting statement. We document how it has evolved over time, and in particular the extent to which it has become more detailed, but also more difficult to understand. We then use a VAR with daily financial market data to estimate a daily time series of U.S. monetary policy shocks. We show how these shocks on Fed statement release days have gotten larger as the statement has gotten longer and more detailed, and we show that the length and complexity of the statement has a direct effect on the size of the monetary policy shock following a Fed decision.


The relationship between mismanagement of information and its adverse effect on plant
safety in the process industry is now widely recognised. Ignorance of essential facts and
messages will lead inexorably to a catastrophic outcome. This process has been called
an 'information disaster'. Many incidents provide lessons on improving Safety
Information Management (SIM). Evaluating SIM performance can provide
interventions to prevent disasters and improve plant safety.
In order to improve SIM performance for the process industry, this research adopted the
Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept to design a performance measurement framework.
The framework includes four 'perspectives' and twenty-eight 'indicators' with their own measures.
The framework has been developed from an extensive literature review, a plant
investigation and two incremental surveys, one of professional opinion in the process
industry in Taiwan and the second a broader verification from experts. [Continues.]


We show that there are no new consistent cosmological perfect fluid solutions when in an open neighbourhood 𝒰 of an event the fluid kinematical variables and the electric and magnetic Weyl curvature are all assumed to be rotationally symmetric about a common spatial axis, specializing the Weyl curvature tensor to algebraic Petrov type D. The consistent solutions of this kind are either locally rotationally symmetric, or are subcases of the Szekeres dust models. Parts of our results require the assumption of a barotropic equation of state. Additionally we demonstrate that local rotational symmetry of perfect fluid cosmologies follows from rotational symmetry of the Riemann curvature tensor and of its covariant derivatives only up to second order, thus strengthening a previous result.


Many benthic batoids utilize their pectoral fins for both undulatory locomotion and feeding. Certain derived, pelagic species of batoids possess cephalic lobes, which evolved from the anterior pectoral fins. These species utilize the pectoral fins for oscillatory locomotion while the cephalic lobes are used for feeding. The goal of this article was to compare the morphology of the cephalic lobes and anterior pectoral fins in species that possess and lack cephalic lobes. The skeletal elements (radials) of the cephalic lobes more closely resembled the radials in the pectoral fin of undulatory species. Second moment of area (I), calculated from cephalic lobe radial cross sections, and the number of joints revealed greater flexibility and resistance to bending in multiple directions as compared to pectoral fin radials of oscillatory species. The cephalic lobe musculature was more complex than the anterior pectoral fin musculature, with an additional muscle on the dorsal side, with fiber angles running obliquely to the radials. In Rhinoptera bonasus, a muscle presumably used to help elevate the cephalic lobes is described. Electrosensory pores were found on the cephalic lobes (except Mobula japonica) and anterior pectoral fins of undulatory swimmers, but absent from the anterior pectoral fins of oscillatory swimmers. Pore distributions were fairly uniform except in R. bonasus, which had higher pore numbers at the edges of the cephalic lobes. Overall, the cephalic lobes are unique in their anatomy but are more similar to the anterior pectoral fins of undulatory swimmers, having more flexibility and maneuverability compared to pectoral fins of oscillatory swimmers. The maneuverable cephalic lobes taking on the role of feeding may have allowed the switch to oscillatory locomotion and hence, a more pelagic lifestyle. J. Morphol. 274:1070–1083, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Abstract The Brazilian Early Childhood Friendly Municipal Index (IMAPI) is a population‐based approach to monitor the nurturing care environment for early childhood development (ECD) using routine information system data. It is unknown whether IMAPI can be applied to document metropolitan urban territorial differences in nurturing care environments. We used Brasilia, Brazil's capital with a large metropolitan population of 2,881,854 inhabitants divided into 31 districts, as a case study to examine whether disaggregation of nurturing care data can inform a more equitable prioritization for ECD in metropolitan areas. IMAPI scores were estimated at the municipal level (IMAPI‐M, 31 indicators) and at the district level (IMAPI‐D, 29 indicators). We developed a quantitative prioritization process for indicators in each IMAPI analysis, and those selected were jointly mapped in the socioecological model for the role of indicators in relation to the enabling environment for nurturing care. Out of 28 common nurturing care indicators across IMAPI analysis, only four were prioritized in both analyses: one from the Adequate nutrition, two from the Opportunities for early learning, and one from the Responsive caregiving domains. These four indicators were mapped as enabling policies, supportive services, and caregivers' capabilities (socioecological model) and Effort, Coverage, and Quality (indicator's role). In conclusion, the different levels of nurturing care data disaggregation in the IMAPI can better inform decision‐making than each one individually, especially in metropolitan areas where municipalities and districts within metropolitan areas have relative decision‐making autonomy.


Atrioventricular nodal catheter ablation has proved an effective option in patients with drug-refractory, uncontrolled, supraventricular tachyarrhythmias; however, many complications in the immediate post ablative period relate to direct myocardial damage due to the electrical current generated by the catheter. The authors used two-dimensional echocardiography in a 57-year-old female patient with recurrent uncontrolled rapid ventricular rates despite multiple antiarrhythmic medications, in an attempt to identify the sequence of events responsible for complications of the ablation procedure. The echocardiographic images showed evidence of an explosion: microbubbles outlining an expanding force were seen which, if contained in a confined space such as the coronary sinus, might explain previously observed mechanical damage. Two-dimensional echocardiography may be useful for continual monitoring of catheter position during ablation.


Objectives Ovarian neoplasm composed of germ cells and elements of the sexual cords, in genetically and phenotypically normal women without the morphology of gonadoblastoma. In 1972, Talerman introduced the term for these neoplasms. Methods A 14-year-old patient with a history of abdominal pain. Ultrasound evidence of solid abdominopelvic mass with areas of cystic degeneration, diameters 22 x 13 x 10 cm. Antecedent of precocious puberty, menarca at 8 years. Phenotypically without alterations. She was taken to surgery, evidence of right ovarian tumor, predominantly solid, smooth surface, multilobed. Weight 2460 grams, size 24 x 18 x 11 cm. No pelvic or para-aortic adenomegalies. Pelvic cavity without metastatic involvement. The histological report shows mixed tumor of ovary with malignant germinal component and stromal-unclassified sexual cords: endodermal sinus tumor and dysgerminoma (70%) and sexual cord tumor with annular tubules (30%). Stage IA is classified. Receives adjuvant chemotherapy with Bleomycin-Etoposide-Cisplatin scheme for 3 cycles. One year after surgical resection in disease-free period. Results This is an infrequent neoplasm reported in the literature. Approximately 10% of these tumors have malignant germ cell components compared to 60% of gonadoblastomas. It differs from gonadoblastoma in its macroscopic appearance, histological pattern, absence of regressive changes and occurrence in normal gonads of phenotypic and genetically normal women. Conclusions This is a very rare neoplasm, the pillar of management being the resection of the gonad that contains the tumor and the conservation of the gonad against the lateral that is normal.


Abstract. Aluminosilicates and quartz constitute the majority of airborne mineral dust.
Despite similarities in structures and surfaces they differ greatly in terms
of their ice nucleation (IN) efficiency. Here, we show that determining
factors for their IN activity include surface ion exchange, NH3 or
NH4+ adsorption, and surface degradation due to the slow dissolution
of the minerals. We performed immersion freezing experiments with the
(Na-Ca)-feldspar andesine, the K-feldspar sanidine, the clay mineral
kaolinite, the micas muscovite and biotite, and gibbsite and compare their IN
efficiencies with those of the previously characterized K-feldspar microcline
and quartz. Samples were suspended in pure water as well as in aqueous
solutions of NH3, (NH4)2SO4, NH4Cl and
Na2SO4, with solute concentrations corresponding to water activities
aw equal to 0.88–1.0. Using differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC) on emulsified micron-sized droplets, we derived onset temperatures of
heterogeneous (Thet) and homogeneous (Thom) freezing as
well as heterogeneously frozen water volume fractions (Fhet).
Suspensions in pure water of andesine, sanidine and kaolinite yield
Thet equal to 242.8, 241.2 and 240.3 K, respectively, while no
discernable heterogeneous freezing signal is present in the case of the micas
or gibbsite (i.e., Thet≈Thom≈237.0 K). The
presence of NH3 and/or NH4+ salts as solutes has distinct
effects on the IN efficiency of most of the investigated minerals. When
feldspars and kaolinite are suspended in very dilute solutions of NH3
or NH4+ salts, Thet shifts to higher temperatures (by
2.6–7.0 K compared to the pure water suspension). Even micas and gibbsite
develop weak heterogeneous freezing activities in ammonia solutions.
Conversely, suspensions containing Na2SO4 cause the Thet
of feldspars to clearly fall below the water-activity-based immersion
freezing description (Δaw= const.) even in very dilute
Na2SO4 solutions, while Thet of kaolinite follows the
Δaw= constant curve. The water activity determines how the
freezing temperature is affected by solute concentration alone, i.e., if the
surface properties of the ice nucleating particles are not affected by the
solute. Therefore, the complex behavior of the IN activities can only be
explained in terms of solute-surface-specific processes. We suggest that the
immediate exchange of the native cations (K+, Na+,
Ca2+) with protons, when feldspars are immersed in water, is a
prerequisite for their high IN efficiency. On the other hand, excess cations
from dissolved alkali salts prevent surface protonation, thus explaining the
decreased IN activity in such solutions. In kaolinite, the lack of
exchangeable cations in the crystal lattice explains why the IN activity is
insensitive to the presence of alkali salts (Δaw= const.).
We hypothesize that adsorption of NH3 and NH4+ on the
feldspar surface rather than ion exchange is the main reason for the
anomalous increased Thet in dilute solutions of NH3 or
NH4+ salts. This is supported by the response of kaolinite to
NH3 or NH4+, despite lacking exchangeable ions. Finally, the
dissolution of feldspars in water or solutions leads to depletion of Al and
formation of an amorphous layer enriched in Si. This hampers the IN activity
of andesine the most, followed by sanidine, then eventually microcline, the
least soluble feldspar.


With the increasing popularity of opinion-rich resources, opinion mining and
sentiment analysis has received increasing attention. Sentiment analysis is one of
the most effective ways to find the opinion of authors. By mining what people think,
sentiment analysis can provide the basis for decision making. Most of the objects of
analysis are text data, such as Facebook status and movie reviews. Despite many
sentiment classification models having good performance on English corpora, they
are not good at Chinese or other languages. Traditional sentiment approaches
impose many restrictions on the raw data, and they don't have enough capacity to
deal with long-distance sequential dependencies.
So, we propose a model based on recurrent neural network model using a
context vector space model. Chinese information entropy is typically higher than
English, we therefore hypothesise that context vector space model can be used to
improve the accuracy of sentiment analysis. Our algorithm represents each complex
input by a dense vector trained to translate sequence data to another sequence, like
the translation of English and French. Then we build a recurrent neural network with
the Long-Short-Term Memory model to deal the long-distance dependencies in input
data, such as movie review. The results show that our approach has promise but still
has a lot of room for improvement.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the effect of hypoxia on the chemosensitivity of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) cells to Vincristine (VCR) and the mechanisms.

METHODS
B-ALL cells SUP-B15, Nalm-6 and RS4;11 were selected as the research objects. The cells were divided into the control group and the hypoxia mimic group (CoCl2 pretreatment). The two groups were treated with VCR at different concentrations for 24 hours, CCK-8 was used to detect cell viability, flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis, and Western bolt method was used to detect hypoxia inducible factor (HIF-1α), BAX, Bcl-2 and β-actin protein expression. Quantitative real-time fluorescent PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect BAX and β-actin mRNA levels.

RESULTS
CoCl2 could simulate hypoxic environment to induce the expression of HIF-1α. The cells SUP-B15 and RS4;11 of the hypoxia mimic group were lower sensitivity to VCR as compared with the control group; the apoptosis rate of the hypoxia mimic group was lower than that of the control group after 80 nmol/L VCR treatment. The expression levels of BAX protein and mRNA in the hypoxia mimic group were lower than those of the control group, and there was no significant difference in the expression levels of Bcl-2 protein between two groups.

CONCLUSION
Under hypoxic conditions, HIF-1α may mediate VCR resistance in B-ALL cells by downregulating the pro-apoptotic protein BAX.


In cartilage, chondrocytes are embedded within an abundant extracellular matrix (ECM). A typical chondron consists of a chondrocyte and the immediate surrounding pericellular matrix (PCM). The PCM has a patent structure, defined molecular composition, and unique physical properties that support the chondrocyte. Given this spatial position, the PCM is pivotal in mediating communication between chondrocytes and the ECM and, thus, plays a critical role in cartilage homeostasis. The biological function and mechanical properties of the PCM have been extensively studied, mostly in the form of chondrons. This review intends to summarize recent progress in chondron and chondrocyte PCM research, with emphasis on the re-establishment of the PCM by isolated chondrocytes or mesenchymal stem cells during chondrogenic differentiation, and the effects of the PCM on cartilage tissue formation.


Traditional urban water systems based on centralised only water supply are facing challenges to
meet the increasing water demand due to increasing population in urban centres. These systems are also
vulnerable to periodic drought and flooding due to climate change. For this reason, urban water managers
around the world have been supporting the adoption of decentralised water supply options such as
wastewater reuse, greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting and stormwater harvesting in combination with
centralised system to aid with meeting water demand as well as flood mitigation and stream health
restoration. In this paper, the combination of centralised water supply system (WSS) with the decentralised
system is termed as hybrid water systems. These systems are relatively new and need to be evaluated using a
comprehensive framework that can account for multiple aspects of hybrid water supply systems including
interaction between centralised and decentralised system.
Integration of multiple objectives (such as supplying fit for purpose water, supply reliability of fit for purpose
water, wastewater and stormwater discharge and contaminant loads in wastewater and stormwater) to
evaluate the hybrid water supply systems can be effectively accomplished by multi-criteria decision aid
techniques. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) requires users to assign the weights to considered
criteria to reflect their relative importance. This paper describes weight elicitations in evaluating the various
combinations of decentralised and centralised water supply systems.
Six performance measures (PMs) were identified in consultation with Victorian water utilities to evaluate the
system performance. The identified PMs are: i) Reduction in potable water demand from centralised water
supply system, ii) Reduction in wastewater discharges both flow rate and volume, iii) Reduction in
contaminant concentration of wastewater flow, iv) Reduction in stormwater flows both intensity and volume,
v) Reduction in contaminant loads from stormwater and vi) Improvement of supply reliability of fit for
purpose water. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted among three major stakeholder groups namely,
water resource managers, water professionals, and consultants to derive the weights of the selected
performance measures.
A simple usual preference function was deemed most suitable by the surveyors in order to assess various
aspects of hybrid water supply scenarios. Also, it was found that preference measures became more
complicated requiring knowledge from diverse disciplines. To overcome this challenge, the use of simple
usual preference function was most suitable. Further, the survey results provided almost similar weights to
each criterion, varying between 0.15 and 0.18. This indicates the similar importance of all criteria. Also, none
of the criteria was deemed as unimportant demonstrating the robustness of all the selected criteria. The
elicited weights and preference function of the performance measures in this paper, provide necessary data
required to model and evaluate the interactions between hybrid water supply systems.


The essay proposes a reading of Johann Gottlieb Fichte's 1794 lectures on the role of the scholar delivered at the university in Jena and Jacob Taubes' 1970s texts dedicated to the university and its positioning vis-a-vis other institutions of modern society. We are trying to argue that the university has to constantly redefine modes of its functioning in the market-driven reality with its growing pressure on the demands of narrowly understood labour market and bureaucratic efficiency of management. Thus, one of the obligations of the university is to critically assess the demands of the politico-techno-bureaucratic machinery in order not to plainly reject them but to be able to modify and change them to the degree to which they could accommodate the principal obligation of the university, which is – good and wise teaching. Hence, we need to remind politicians that the fundamental task of the university has always been (as the example of Pierre Abelard, also discussed in the essay, demonstrates) humanist culture in and upon which future professional excellence of the student and then graduate is grounded.


Millisecond magnetars are often invoked as the central engine of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), specifically the ones showing a plateau phase. We argue that an apparent plateau phase may not be realized if the magnetic field of the nascent magnetar is in a transient rapid decay stage. Some GRBs that lack a clear plateau phase may also be hosting millisecond magnetars. We present an approximate analytical solution of the coupled set of equations describing the evolution of the angular velocity and the inclination angle between rotation and magnetic axis of a neutron star in the presence of a co-rotating plasma. We also show how the solution can be generalized to the case of evolving magnetic fields. We determine the evolution of the spin period, inclination angle, magnetic dipole moment and braking index of six putative magnetars associated with GRB 091018, GRB 070318, GRB 080430, GRB 090618, GRB 110715A, GRB 140206A through fitting, via Bayesian analysis, the X-ray afterglow light curves by using our recent model [\c{S}a\c{s}maz Mu\c{s} et al. 2019]. We find that within the first day following the formation of the millisecond magnetar, the inclination angle aligns rapidly, the magnetic dipole field may decay by a few times and the braking index varies by an order of magnitude.


The uterus plays a pivotal role in many aspects of human reproduction. The cervix and its secretion are actively involved in sperm transport. Postcoital tests and other in-vitro and in-vivo tests evaluate sperm-cervical mucus interaction and should be an integral part of infertility investigation. Various diagnostic tests should help clinicians evaluate developmental and organic disorders of the uterine body. Adequate management of cervical and uterine factors in infertility is commonly rewarded by restoration of fertility in a high proportion of cases, when impairment of fertility is due to these conditions.


This article looks at a hitherto unnoticed series of parallels between Middle English (ME) and Medieval Spanish (MS). In the first place, while both appear to have been essentially VO languages, they allow identical classes of object to move leftward over the verb. In ME, movement is normally to a position between the auxiliary and the main verb, whereas in MS the movement is normally to the left of the auxiliary, if one is present. Second, both languages allowed the fronting of nonfinite verb forms. We argue that the parallels in question are the result of analogous processes of reanalysis operating in the two languages at earlier periods in their history. Both MS and ME descend from languages that tended toward O-V(-Aux) order. According to our analysis, when the structural mechanism giving rise to the latter order was lost, certain instances of OV ordering were nevertheless able to survive in reanalyzed form. The 'low' pattern of reanalysis in ME versus the 'high' pattern observable in MS can then be attributed to the blocking effect of the subject in Spec-TP in English and its absence in the Spanish case (where the subject is either null or not in spec-TP). As regards nonfinite fronting, this too can be regarded as a relic of the older word order. For MS we posit an analogous reanalysis to that observed for relic OV ordering, whereas for ME the evidence points toward an undisturbed continuation of the earlier V-Aux pattern. This difference between MS and ME can again be attributed to the absence versus presence of a spec-TP subject.


Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is best-known as a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in many cardiovascular diseases. During vascular calcification, TNF-α has been reported topromote osteogenic differentiation of human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In contrast, there is alack of data reporting the osteoinductive effect of TNF-α in endothelial cell. In this study, experiments were performed to investigate and determine theoptimum dose of TNF-α that induces expression of the osteoinductive factor bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2) in endothelial cells. Human vein endothelial cells were treated with TNF-α at doses of 0, 2, 5, 10, or 20 ng/mL for2, 8, or 24 h time intervals. BMP-2 cell expression was evaluated using immunocytochemistry staining by calculating the percentage of BMP-2 positive cells. Apoptosiswas determined by counting the number ofpyknoticcells. In this study, we found that the optimum dose of TNF-α thatinduces BMP-2 expression in endothelial cells was 5 ng/mL at the 8 h time interval. Lower (2 ng/mL) orhigher (10 and 20 ng/mL) concentrations of TNF-α had minimal effects on BMP-2 expression. Moreover, higher concentrations of TNF-α treatment (10 and 20 ng/ml) at8 h and 24 h increased the presence of pyknotic endothelial cells, which representthefinal stage of apoptosis.


The theory that electoral college is more stable than direct popular vote is applied in face recognition. By simply adopting most traditional PCA approach, the experiments in this paper show a remarkably higher recognition rate than any known algorithm is reached with electoral college strategy on known FERET datasets. It indicates that a significant breakthrough can be expected by embedding electoral college with more effective face recognition algorithms.


Fracture data from five series of four point bend tests of beam and spin tests of flat annular disks were reanalyzed. Silicon nitride and graphite were the test materials. The experimental fracture strengths of the disks were compared with the predicted strengths based on both volume flaw and surface flaw analyses of four point bend data. Volume flaw analysis resulted in a better correlation between disks and beams in three of the five test series than did surface flaw analysis. The Weibull (moduli) and characteristic gage strengths for the disks and beams were also compared. Differences in the experimental Weibull slopes were not statistically significant. It was shown that results from the beam tests can predict the fracture strength of rotating disks.


We propose a notion of affordance that takes into account physical quantities generated when the human body interacts with real-world objects, and introduce a learning framework that incorporates the concept of human utilities, which in our opinion provides a deeper and finer-grained account not only of object affordance but also of people's interaction with objects. Rather than defining affordance in terms of the geometric compatibility between body poses and 3D objects, we devise algorithms that employ physicsbased simulation to infer the relevant forces/pressures acting on body parts. By observing the choices people make in videos (particularly in selecting a chair in which to sit) our system learns the comfort intervals of the forces exerted on body parts (while sitting). We account for people's preferences in terms of human utilities, which transcend comfort intervals to account also for meaningful tasks within scenes and spatiotemporal constraints in motion planning, such as for the purposes of robot task planning.


The goal of a review article is to present the current state of knowledge in a research area. Two important initial steps in writing a review article are boundary identification (identifying a body of potentially relevant past research) and corpus construction (selecting research manuscripts to include in the review). We present a theory-as-discourse approach, which (1) creates a theory ecosystem of potentially relevant prior research using a citation-network approach to boundary identification; and (2) identifies manuscripts for consideration using machine learning or random selection. We demonstrate an instantiation of the theory as discourse approach through a proof-of-concept, which we call the automated detection of implicit theory (ADIT) technique. ADIT improves performance over the conventional approach as practiced in past technology acceptance model reviews (i.e., keyword search, sometimes manual citation chaining); it identifies a set of research manuscripts that is more comprehensive and at least as precise. Our analysis shows that the conventional approach failed to identify a majority of past research. Like the three blind men examining the elephant, the conventional approach distorts the totality of the phenomenon. ADIT also enables researchers to statistically estimate the number of relevant manuscripts that were excluded from the resulting review article, thus enabling an assessment of the review article's representativeness.


Background: Activated, autologous dendritic cells (aaDC) can be used to induce anti-tumor immune responses. A unique method of applying aaDC is through intratumoral injection, where the tumor cells serve as the source of antigen required for an adaptive anti-tumor response. A local effect may also occur as a result of cytokine production by the injected DC which makes the tumor more susceptible to a pre-existing or an induced immune attack. Methods: Forty patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tissue cancers were treated in a dose escalation trial in which aaDC were injected percutaneously under image guidance into a single tumor. Subjects had a median of 3 tumors (range 1 - 5) and had received an average of 3.1 prior treatments. To generate the aaDC, autologous monocytes were converted ex vivo into DC which were then activated. All batches of DC were released based on pre-specified criteria which included immunophenotyping and a T cell-stimulation assay, as well as sterility and endotoxin levels. Cytokine levels produced by the activated DC during manufacturing were measured and patient outcomes were correlated to these expression levels. Results: All three doses levels were well tolerated. The main adverse events related to treatment were grade 1 and 2 fevers. Twenty-one patients achieved stable disease (SD) 8 weeks after initiating treatment, and this was found to correlate with survival (p = 0.01). Levels of certain cytokines, such as such IL-8 and IL-12 p40, and TNFα were substantially elevated in vitro and IL-8 and IL-12 p40 production were predictive of survival (p = 0.001 and p = 0.008 resp.). TNFα levels also correlated with SD at week 8 (p = 0.01). More than 70% of patients tested were found to have significant T cell responses, and/or de novo or significantly enhanced PD-L1 expression in the tumor post treatment, with a trend towards improved survival (p = 0.1). Conclusions: Study outcomes such as stabilization of disease and survival correlated with high DC cytokine levels, in the absence of meaningful toxicity. The DCVax treatment may be mediated through direct cytotoxic effects, as well as modulation of the tumor microenvironment to increase tumor infiltration by T cells, and attraction of inflammatory cells to the tumor. The development of PD-L1 expression likely reflects an induced immune response. Citation Format: Vivek Subbiah, Ravi Murthi, Robert Prins, Kyle Hendricks, Chitra Hosing, Lori Noffsinger, Mary McGuire, Robert Brown, Aung Naing, David Hong, Siqing Fu, Anthony Conley, Indreshpal Kaur, Sarah Campion, Marnix Bosch. Cytokine production by intratumorally administered activated dendritic cells correlates with survival in a Phase I clinical trial in diverse cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; 2016 Sept 25-28; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B005.


Many of us have sketched (by hand or on the computer) depictions of macroautophagy; however, how often have we considered which elements in the drawing are key to illustrating the process? These types of illustrations are easily modified and/or discarded. On the other hand, if you plan to depict the process of macroautophagy in a more permanent medium you need to be more thoughtful about the composition. What items must be included? How should they be situated? What should be the size of each component? Here, we consider one example of an artist's approach to depicting macroautophagy in a mixed-medium sculpture.


How does "self-governance" happen in Wikipedia? Through in-depth interviews with 20 individuals who have held a variety of responsibilities in the English-language Wikipedia, we obtained rich descriptions of how various forces produce and regulate social structures on the site. Although Wikipedia is sometimes portrayed as lacking oversight, our analysis describes Wikipedia as an organization with highly refined policies, norms, and a technological architecture that supports organizational ideals of consensus building and discussion. We describe how governance on the site is becoming increasingly decentralized as the community grows and how this is predicted by theories of commons-based governance developed in offline contexts. We also briefly examine local governance structures called WikiProjects through the example of WikiProject Military History, one of the oldest and most prolific projects on the site.


Over 50 recipes and scenarios to hack, defend, and secure your Oracle Database Learn to protect your sensitive data by using industry certified techniques Implement and use ultimate techniques in Oracle Security and new security features introduced in Oracle 11g R2 Implement strong network communication security using different encryption solutions provided by Oracle Advanced Security In Detail For almost all organizations, data security is a matter of prestige and credibility. The Oracle Database is one of the most rich in features and probably the most used Database in a variety of industries where security is essential. To ensure security of data both in transit and on the disk, Oracle has implemented the security technologies to achieve a reliable and solid system. In Oracle 11g Anti-Hacker's Cookbook, you will learn about the most important solutions that can be used for better database security "Oracle 11g Anti-hacker's Cookbook" covers all the important security measures and includes various tips and tricks to protect your Oracle Database. "Oracle 11g Anti-hacker's Cookbook" uses real-world scenarios to show you how to secure the Oracle Database server from different perspectives and against different attack scenarios. Almost every chapter has a possible threads section, which describes the major dangers that can be confronted. The initial chapters cover how to defend the operating system, the network, the data and the users. The defense scenarios are linked and designed to prevent these attacks. The later chapters cover Oracle Vault, Oracle VPD, Oracle Labels, and Oracle Audit. Finally, in the Appendices, the book demonstrates how to perform a security assessment against the operating system and the database, and how to use a DAM tool for monitoring. What you will learn from this book Get to grips with configuring a secure server at operating system level for Oracle Database Master how to secure data by using Oracle Cryptographic API and Transparent Data Encryption Get step-by-step instructions to implement a solid audit strategy by using the built in solutions and fine grained auditing Understand how to segregate and protect data access by using Oracle Vault Learn about different types of attacks and how to implement a solid defence against them Empathize the attacks and interceptions by using different techniques and tools such as sniffing, man-in-the-middle, brute force and password crackers. Approach This cookbook has recipes written in simple, easy to understand format with lots of screenshots and insightful tips and hints. Who this book is written for If you are an Oracle Database Administrator, Security Manager or Security Auditor looking to secure the Oracle Database or prevent it from being hacked, then this book is for you This book assumes you have a basic understanding of security concepts.


In this paper, we argue for a novel three dimensionalist (3D'ist) solution to the problem of persistence, i.e., cross-temporal identity. We restrict the discussion of persistence to simple substances, which do not have other substances as their parts. The account of simple substances employed in the paper is a trope-nominalist Strong Nuclear Theory (SNT), which develops Peter Simons' trope nominalism. Regarding the distinction between three dimensionalism (3D) and four dimensionalism (4D), we follow Michael Della Rocca's formulation, in which 3D explains persistence in virtue of same entities and 4D in virtue of distinct entities (temporal parts). SNT is a 3D'ist position because it accounts for the persistence of simple substances in virtue of diachronically identical 'nuclear' tropes. The nuclear tropes of a simple substance are necessary for it and mutually rigidly dependent but distinct. SNT explains qualitative change by tropes that are contingent to a simple substance. We show that it avoids the standard problems of 3D: temporal relativization of ontic predication, Bradley's regress, and coincidence, fission and fusion cases. The temporal relativization is avoided because of the analysis of temporary parts that SNT gives in terms of temporal sub-location, which is atemporal part-whole relation.


In response to demands by Pension Funds in the UK and Europe, best practice standards have been adopted for Transition Managers through the T-Charter initiative since 2007. Throughout the Transition Management industry, regardless of their business model of investment bank/broker, custodian, investment manager or consultant, all Transition Managers now work under a common code of operation and reporting. This cooperation was achieved after more than two years of discussion among the participant providers (numbering 17). In 2008, the National Association of Pension Funds (UK) recommended the full adoption of T-Charter Standards to all Pension Funds when mandating Transition Managers. Also in 2008, the T-Charter received further recognition in North America when the publication "Operations Management" gave the Best Teamwork 2008 Award to the T-Charter signatories. In the United States, despite the protection and guidance afforded by ERISA and its call to adherence of standards of Fiduciary protection, Pension Funds are often left wondering if they have received best practice results largely due to the lack of transparency and standardization of both process and reporting. The T-Charter history recalled in this article illustrates that standardized codes of practice and reporting can be achieved by a diverse community of providers to the mutual benefit of the Transition Managers and their Pension Fund clients.


We pursue an inverse approach to utility theory and associated consumption and investment problems. Instead of specifying a utility function and deriving the actions of an agent, we assume that we observe the actions of the agent (i.e. consumption and investment strategies) and ask if it is possible to derive a utility function for which the observed behavior is optimal. We work in continuous time both in a deterministic and stochastic setting. In the deterministic setup, we find that there are infinitely many utility functions generating a given consumption pattern. In the stochastic setting of a geometric Brownian motion market it turns out that the consumption and investment strategies have to satisfy a consistency condition (PDE) if they are to come from a classical utility maximization problem. We show further that important characteristics of the agent such as risk attitudes (e.g., DARA) can be deduced directly from the agent's consumption and investment choices.


AIM
This paper is a report of a grounded theory study of how nurses deal with an allegation of unprofessional conduct.

BACKGROUND
Limited research has been conducted into the experiences of nurses reported to a nurse regulatory authority for an allegation of unprofessional conduct. Previous research reveals that having an allegation of unprofessional conduct made against a nurse and being reported for it can have devastating and prolonged psychosocial and professional consequences. This lack of previous research was the impetus for this study.

METHOD
Grounded theory methods including the constant comparative method were used to analyse data from in-depth interviews with 21 Australian Registered Nurses who were reported to a nurse regulatory authority for an allegation of unprofessional conduct. Data were collected between March 2004 and September 2005.

FINDINGS
A substantive theory, the phoenix process, was generated. This describes a transformation of the personal and professional self which the nurse both 'engages in' and 'goes through'. This transformation is formed through complex deconstructive and reconstructive processes of the personal and professional self. This transformation of the individual is influenced by the degree of deconstruction initially experienced and the interplay with the influencing factors of vulnerability, resilience and support.

CONCLUSION
A new understanding of unprofessional conduct is needed, together with continued support of a systems approach to error management and support for nurses who err rather than punishing them.


We report on the synthesis, electrochemical, photophysical, and photovoltaic properties of a series of three organic dyads comprising a perylene monoimide (PMI) dye connected to a naphthalene diimide (NDI) or a fullerene (C60) for application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with nanocrystalline NiO electrodes. It was found that the secondary electron acceptor (NDI or C60) in all the three dyads extends the charge separated state lifetime by about five orders of magnitude compared to the respective parent PMI dye. Nanosecond pump–probe experiments of the NiO/dyads in the presence of the electrolyte show that the reduction of triiodide by the secondary electron acceptor is slow in all the dyads, which we ascribe to a weak driving force for this reaction. This reaction is significantly faster with the cobalt electrolyte (tris(4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine)cobalt(II/III)), whose driving force is larger; however, its reaction with the reduced dyads is still rather slow. We demonstrate that the larger photovoltage observed with the cobalt electrolyte (VOC = 285 mV) relative to the iodide electrolyte (VOC = 120 mV) is due to a decrease in the dark current for the former owing to slower interfacial electron transfer of the reduced mediator with the injected holes into the NiO electrode. In terms of photovoltaic performances, the most efficient dyad is the system in which the NDI is directly connected to the PMI (η = 0.14% under AM 1.5 with the cobalt electrolyte), but the dyad containing the fullerene acceptor exhibits the highest IPCE and the highest short circuit current density (IPCE = 57%, JSC = 1.88 mA cm−2) with the iodide electrolyte. The latter performances are attributed to the slightly stronger reducing power of C60 relative to NDI, which favours the reduction of the mediator in the electrolyte.


In today's turbulent marketplace with unprecedented portfolio turnover, transition activity and drawdowns, portfolio managers must identify and eliminate all sources of Sharpe ratio erosion. In this environment, trading costs and risks are significant contributors to this performance drag and avoiding them is the subject of this article. We observe and explain how common trading methods tend to increase costs and risks, and bridge the gap between portfolio management and the trade by introducing portfolio considerations in trading. Our techniques seek best execution from a portfolio perspective in accordance with Article 2 of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act [1].


Mechanical sensitivity of a bossed and clamped layered isotropic circular plate with pretension in large deflection is evaluated. The approach extends Von-Karman's plate theory for large deflection to a symmetrically layered plate with a center boss. The derived nonlinear governing equations are solved using a finite difference method incorporating a numerical iteration scheme in finding the lateral slope and radial force resultant. The obtained geometrical responses are further manipulated to calculate the associated mechanical sensitivity. For a 3-layered plate with nearly the same layer moduli, the results correlate well with those following available formulation for a single-layer isotropic plate. The developed approach is then implemented for various initial tensions, lateral pressures as well as different boss sizes and ratios between the layer moduli. The obtained numerical results show that, initial tension appears to have the strongest influence upon the radial variation of mechanical sensitivity over the top surface of the bossed layered plate. While both the size of center boss and magnitude of lateral pressure can still have a significant effect, the mechanical sensitivity seems to be insensitive to the change of the ratio between layer moduli for a bossed and symmetrically layered plate.


Background: It is assumed within the accumulated literature that children born of pregnant opioid dependent mothers have impaired neurobehavioral function as a consequence of chronic intrauterine opioid use. Methods: Quantitative and systematic review of the literature on the consequences of chronic maternal opioid use during pregnancy on neurobehavioral function of children was conducted using the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched Cinahl, EMBASE, PsychINFO and MEDLINE between the periods of January 1995 to January 2012. Results: There were only 5 studies out of the 200 identified that quantitatively reported on neurobehavioral function of children after maternal opioid use during pregnancy. All 5 were case control studies with the number of exposed subjects within the studies ranging from 33–143 and 45–85 for the controls. This meta-analysis showed no significant impairments, at a non-conservative significance level of p < 0.05, for cognitive, psychomotor or observed behavioural outcomes for chronic intra-uterine exposed infants and pre-school children compared to non-exposed infants and children. However, all domains suggested a trend to poor outcomes in infants/children of opioid using mothers. The magnitude of all possible effects was small according to Cohen's benchmark criteria. Conclusions: Chronic intra-uterine opioid exposed infants and pre-school children experienced no significant impairment in neurobehavioral outcomes when compared to non-exposed peers, although in all domains there was a trend to poorer outcomes. The findings of this review are limited by the small number of studies analysed, the heterogenous populations and small numbers within the individual studies. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if any neuropsychological impairments appear after the age of 5 years and to help investigate further the role of environmental risk factors on the effect of 'core' phenotypes.


Concern about the fate of waste products produced by a wide range of industrial processes has led to the realization that they may have potential uses and, therefore, value. In an effort to develop more sustainable processes and reduce waste storage, the use of waste as a resource has been gaining attention worldwide. Consequently, there have been a large number of studies aimed at utilizing such wastes. Conversion of Large Scale Wastes into Value-added Products discusses various selected classes of large-scale waste and their current applications and potential future applications.

This book provides a snapshot of a continually evolving field, which includes both well-established processes and a drive toward developing strategies for new applications of wastes. The first chapter provides a general introduction to the area of large-scale waste utilization, including drivers for waste recovery, and secondary processes and products for waste reuse. Subsequent chapters discuss applications and potential applications in specific classes of large-scale waste:
• Various types of waste generated from different metal processing operations
• Waste generated by coal combustion, a major source of power generation that produces enormous quantities of waste
• Waste electrical and electronic equipment, important for recycling finite resources and reducing health and environmental risks
• Food waste, a significant and diverse waste stream with economic and environmental impacts
The final chapter presents a general conclusion to the broad subject of waste utilization, summarizing the topics and addressing future trends in waste research.


The high-technology (high-tech) industry is a dynamic environment defined by both frequent changes in composition and a concentration of market power through consolidation. Operating as a new or small venture within this environment poses many complex challenges, especially when considering the financial resources needed to be successful. In their efforts to obtain financial resources, entrepreneurs often overlook how the choice and pattern of investment funding to maintain a growth path can later affect a successful entrepreneurial exit. Exit via acquisition for small- to medium-sized technology enterprises (SMTEs) is a strong area of interest given firms in the U.S. high-tech industry experience the fastest growth rates and have been the target of over $400 billion in deal volume and 20% of all merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the last twenty years. Much of this M&A activity is conducted by five prominent firms, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, commonly referred to as the Fearsome Five or the "FANGS". However, as there has been only limited research examining this unique M&A context, in this study we explore the investment funding factors influencing exit via acquisition by the Fearsome Five. We highlight questions and potential concerns for SMTEs given the trends in financial investments and increasing market power.


The purpose of this study is to research the life and work of Costa Rican composer Benjamin Gutierrez (b.1937), with particular emphasis on his solo piano works. Although comprised of a small number of pieces, his piano output is an excellent representation of his musical style. Gutierrez is regarded as one of Costa Rica's most prominent composers, and has been the recipient of countless awards and distinctions. His works are known beyond Costa Rican borders only to a limited extent; thus one of the goals of this investigation is to make his music more readily known and accessible for those interested in studying it further. The specific works studied in this project are his Toccata y Fuga, his lengthiest work for the piano, written in 1959; then five shorter pieces written between 1981 and 1992, namely Ronda Enarmonica, Invencion, Anoranza, Preludio para la Danza de la Pena Negra and Danza de la Pena Negra. The study examines Gutierrez's musical style in the piano works and explores several relevant issues, such as his relationship to nationalistic or indigenous sources, his individual use of musical borrowing, and his stance toward tonality/atonality. He emerges as a composer whose aesthetic roots are firmly planted in Europe, with strong influence from nineteenth-century Romantics such as Chopin and Tchaikovsky, but also the "modernists" Bartok, Prokofiev, Milhaud, and Ginastera, the last two of whom were Gutierrez's teachers. The research is divided into six chapters, comprising an introduction, an overview of the development of art music in Costa Rica, a biography of Gutierrez, a brief account of piano music in the country before Gutierrez and up to the present day, a detailed study of his solo piano compositions, and conclusions. Since this music is not readily available outside Costa Rica, this paper includes an appendix with all of Gutierrez's solo piano pieces, including the author's editorial suggestions.


This paper presents a learning activity around the Wikipedia, a free online
encyclopaedia written by its
users. Students are asked to write and review entries related to the course topics following a collaborative
environment provided by the wiki tools. This paper proposes a seventeensteps
methodology for this task in
the framework of an academic course organized by topics. The activity has been successfully introduced in a
two different schools of the Technical University of Catalonia. In its first edition, 81 new articles were added
by 64 students from the EUETIT, in the second experience 60 articles were created and 14 reviewed by 43
students from the ETSETB.


Experimental and theoretical Stark broadening studies of the Paschen beta line of hydrogen (lambda=1.28 microm) are reported. Line shape measurements were performed at electron densities of the plasma between 3.5 x 10(15) cm(-3) and 7.5 x 10(15) cm(-3), applying as the light source a wall-stabilized arc operated at atmospheric pressure in a helium-hydrogen gas mixture. The radiation of the plasma, emitted from nearly homogeneous plasma layers in the end-on direction, was registered with the use of a grating spectrometer equipped with a charge coupled device detector. The measured light outputs were calibrated against signals obtained from a tungsten strip radiation standard. The experimentally determined line profiles are compared with results of new Stark broadening calculations based on simulation techniques. The measured broadening, shift, and asymmetry parameters are also compared with results of previous Stark broadening calculations and other experimental data obtained at electron densities higher as well as lower than ours.


Kloosterman sums are exponential sums on finite fields that have important applications in cryptography and coding theory. We use Stickelberger's theorem and the Gross-Koblitz formula to determine the value of the binary Kloosterman sum at a modulo 64, modulo 128, and modulo 256 in terms of coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of a.


A method is proposed to recover stratospheric ozone and aerosol concentration profiles from satellite-borne polarimeter measurements of the ultraviolet light reflected from the earth's atmosphere. A mathematical inversion is performed on simulated spectral polarization measurements demonstrating the recovery of ozone mixing ratio and aerosol scattering ratio profiles when large aerosol concentrations are present in the stratosphere.