Damage to Drosophila melanogaster imaginal discs activates a regeneration checkpoint that 1) extends larval development and 2) coordinates the regeneration of the damaged disc with the growth of undamaged discs. These two systemic responses to damage are both mediated by Dilp8, a member of the insulin/IGF/relaxin family of peptide hormones, which is released by regenerating imaginal discs. Growth coordination between regenerating and undamaged imaginal discs is dependent on Dilp8 activation of NOS in the prothoracic gland (PG), which slows the growth of undamaged discs by limiting ecdysone synthesis. Here we demonstrate that the Drosophila relaxin receptor homologue Lgr3, a leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor, is required for Dilp8-dependent growth coordination and developmental delay during the regeneration checkpoint. Lgr3 regulates these responses to damage via distinct mechanisms in different tissues. Using tissue-specific RNAi disruption of Lgr3 expression, we show that Lgr3 functions in the PG upstream of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and is necessary for NOS activation and growth coordination during the regeneration checkpoint. When Lgr3 is depleted from neurons, imaginal disc damage no longer produces either developmental delay or growth inhibition. To reconcile these discrete tissue requirements for Lgr3 during regenerative growth coordination, we demonstrate that Lgr3 activity in the both the CNS and PG is necessary for NOS activation in the PG following damage. Together, these results identify new roles for a relaxin receptor in mediating damage signaling to regulate growth and developmental timing.


Community discovery in complex networks is the task of organizing a network's structure by grouping together nodes related to each other. Traditional approaches are based on the assumption that there is a global-level organization in the network. However, in many scenarios, each node is the bearer of complex information and cannot be classified in disjoint clusters. The top-down global view of the partition approach is not designed for this. Here, we represent this complex information as multiple latent labels, and we postulate that edges in the networks are created among nodes carrying similar labels. The latent labels are the communities a node belongs to and we discover them with a simple local-first approach to community discovery. This is achieved by democratically letting each node vote for the communities it sees surrounding it in its limited view of the global system, its ego neighborhood, using a label propagation algorithm, assuming that each node is aware of the label it shares with each of its connections. The local communities are merged hierarchically, unveiling the modular organization of the network at the global level and identifying overlapping groups and groups of groups. We tested this intuition against the state-of-the-art overlapping community discovery and found that our new method advances in the chosen scenarios in the quality of the obtained communities. We perform a test on benchmark and on real-world networks, evaluating the quality of the community coverage by using the extracted communities to predict the metadata attached to the nodes, which we consider external information about the latent labels. We also provide an explanation about why real-world networks contain overlapping communities and how our logic is able to capture them. Finally, we show how our method is deterministic, is incremental, and has a limited time complexity, so that it can be used on real-world scale networks.


A review and update of the existing knowledge on the coralligenous assemblages of Liguria (NW Italy) was conducted as an essential step towards management measures for their conservation according to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. By combining a literature review, acoustic mapping and in situ observations on a geographic information systems platform, we were able to assess the distribution and heterogeneity of coralligenous assemblages and the main pressures affecting them. The reliability of the literature was previously estimated using a dependability index. The coralligenous assemblages cover an area of 130.9 ha and range from 10 to 113 m depth. Twelve different biological facies (five of them not included in the EUNIS list) were identified and four main geomorphotypes (plungingcliffs, paleocliffs, rockfalls and shoals) were recognized. Incident light values influenced the distribution of four facies in Portofino promontory. Pressures were found on 33% of the coralligenous assemblages investigated, mainly due to fishing activities, mass mortality events, invasive species and occasional mucilaginous events. Our results showed a high spatial, geomorphological and biological heterogeneity of coralligenous assemblages in Liguria.


We present the synthesis and characterization of the first non-classical Cl(i) polyinterhalide [NMe4][F(ClF)3] as well as the homologous polychloride [NPr3Me][Cl7]. Both salts were obtained from the reaction of the corresponding ammonium chlorides with ClF or Cl2, respectively. Quantum-chemical investigations predict an unexpected planar structure for the [F(ClF)3]− anion.


This field has shown tremendous growth in recent years, primarily due to the recognition that drug-induced liver disease is the most common cause of liver failure and one of the major contributors to the withdrawal of drugs developed by the pharmaceutical industry. Drug-Induced Liver Disease, 3rd edition is a comprehensive reference that covers mechanisms of injury, diagnosis and management, major hepatotoxins, regulatory perspectives and much more. Written by highly respected authorities, this new edition is an updated and definitive reference for clinicians and scientists in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and government settings. This book contains 4 new chapters on key topics in the area and provides a current and extensive review of the latest developments concerning the toxicology, pharmacology, genetics and immunology of drug-induced liver disease.

 A multi-authored reference work written by leading clinical, academic and industry experts in drug-induced liver disease.

 Contains four new chapters on key areas in the field, including one on worldwide drug-induced liver injury networks.

 Each chapter has been updated to address the latest research and findings in the field and 16 new chapter authors have been added to this new edition.

 Includes coverage of the basic, clinical and practical aspects of drug-induced liver disease to provide the single most comprehensive reference on the subject.


Purpose: This paper introduces a safe, effective and convenient method of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) drainage. A very soft, elastic, small lumbar cisterna drainage tube is used, which is conveniently placed into the basilar cisterna (carotid cisterna, etc.) during craniotomy. Drainage of CSF from the basal cistern is of great significance in craniotomy, it plays a positive role in controlling intracranial pressure, excluding bloody cerebrospinal fluid, reducing the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and alleviating headache and other symptoms of patients. Because the tip of the drainage tube is round and blunt, the diameter will not exceed 1.5 mm and the surface is smooth, it will not damage the peripheral blood vessels and nerves when placed into the basal cistern of the brain, so it is very safe. Methods: After intracranial surgery, such as aneurysm clipping, traumatic or spontaneous hematoma removal and intracranial tumor resection, the basal cistern (carotid cistern, suprasellar cistern, endplate cistern, cerebellopontine angle cistern, etc.) was opened near the operation area after intracranial surgery, and a drainage tube was placed to continuously drain cerebrospinal fluid through skin tunnel for 2-5 days to control postoperative intracranial hypertension and reduce postoperative complications. Results: 36 cases of intracranial surgery were treated with basal cistern cerebrospinal fluid drainage, including 12 cases of intracranial aneurysm clipping, 14 cases of intracranial hematoma clearance, and 10 cases of intracranial tumor resection. During the operation, the basilar cistern was exposed under the microscope, the arachnoid membrane was opened and the drainage tube was placed smoothly. The postoperative drainage of CSF was smooth, and the intracranial pressure control effect was satisfactory. The headache symptoms of the patients were mild and the recovery was fast. Conclusion: This paper introduced 36 clinical cases, including clipping of intracranial aneurysm, resection of skull base tumor, and removal of traumatic or spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage, this method has achieved satisfactory results. Continuous drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from carotid cistern plays a positive role in controlling intracranial hypertension, improving symptoms and prognosis after cranio cerebral surgery. Through four typical cases, described in detail the way of drainage tube placement and matters needing attention, and discussed with reference to the literature.


Recent studies have indicated that innate immune signalling molecules are involved in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) risk. Amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulates in AD brain, and has been proposed to act as a trigger of innate immune responses. Caspase-4 is an important part of the innate immune response. We recently characterized transgenic mice carrying human CASP4, and observed that the mice manifested profound innate immune responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Since these inflammatory processes are important in the aetiology of AD, we have now analysed the correlation of expression of caspase-4 in human brain with AD risk genes, and studied caspase-4 effects on AD-related phenotypes in APPswe/PS1deltaE9 (APP/PS1) mice. We observed that the expression of caspase-4 was strongly correlated with AD risk genes including TYROBP, TREM2, CR1, PSEN1, MS4A4A and MS4A6A in LOAD brains. Caspase-4 expression was upregulated in CASP4/APP/PS1 mice in a region-specific manner, including hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In APP/PS1 mice, caspase-4 expression led to impairments in the reversal phase of a Barnes maze task and in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, without affecting soluble or aggregated Aβ levels. Caspase-4 was expressed predominantly in microglial cells, and in the presence of CASP4, more microglia were clustered around amyloid plaques. Furthermore, our data indicated that caspase-4 modulates microglial cells in a manner that increases proinflammatory processes. We propose that microglial caspase-4 expression contributes to the cognitive impairments in AD, and that further study of caspase-4 will enhance our understanding of AD pathogenesis and may lead to novel therapeutic targets in AD.


Article 370 of the Indian constitution gives the northern province of Jammu and Kashmir special status within the union. Today that provision forms a nucleus of fierce political contention between secularists and religious nationalists in India, despite the manifest whittling down of the article's most significant aspects. This development is counterintuitive: the original intent of the article's introduction had no relation to questions of religion. This essay attempts to understand this unanticipated role, as a marker of the state's secularity or lack thereof, the article has come to play in Indian politics. It contends that the seeds were sown even at the time of shaping the Indian constitution of a perspective that viewed the people of Jammu and Kashmir according to their religious affiliations.


Groupe E a promoter of district heating networks was confronted with the possibility of building a network of this nature in the municipality of La Tour-de-Peilz. The munici- pality imposed a situation where the lake water should be used for heat pumping. By mapping the heat demand with the help of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools and a database manager it was possible to simulate the thermal behavior of the build- ings within the bounds of the municipality. To carry on an analysis on the performance of several heat supply scenarios, industrial process integration techniques were used to verify the performance of different technologies in the basis of environomic indicators. The base case in the municipality being a traditional boiler, was then compared on the basis of these indicators. It was found that for the buildings existing in the municipality, the best choice is to install high temperature heat pumps that do not perform as well in terms of exergy efficiency as low temperature heat pumps but they can create the bridge between the goal of the promoter and the pollution mitigation. With this solution, re- ductions of 98& in C O2 equivalent green house gases is achieved and an increase of 64% in the exergy efficiency of the chain of enerdy conversion.


ABSTRACT Glacier surface mass-balance measurements on Greenland started more than a century ago, but no compilation exists of the observations from the ablation area of the ice sheet and local glaciers. Such data could be used in the evaluation of modelled surface mass balance, or to document changes in glacier melt independently from model output. Here, we present a comprehensive database of Greenland glacier surface mass-balance observations from the ablation area of the ice sheet and local glaciers. The database spans the 123 a from 1892 to 2015, contains a total of ~3000 measurements from 46 sites, and is openly accessible through the PROMICE web portal (http://www.promice.dk). For each measurement we provide X, Y and Z coordinates, starting and ending dates as well as quality flags. We give sources for each entry and for all metadata. Two thirds of the data were collected from grey literature and unpublished archive documents. Roughly 60% of the measurements were performed by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS, previously GGU). The data cover all regions of Greenland except for the southernmost part of the east coast, but also emphasize the importance of long-term time series of which there are only two exceeding 20 a. We use the data to analyse uncertainties in point measurements of surface mass balance, as well as to estimate surface mass-balance profiles for most regions of Greenland.


Microsoft InfoPath 2003 Kick Start builds upon the reader's knowledge of the Microsoft Office system to enable them to get right to work making productive use of InfoPath. It is targeted specifically at the early adopters - developers who will use their knowledge of XML and Web development to build sophisticated applications with InfoPath front ends. However it is also, carefully structured to enable "front line" InfoPath users to quickly glean the information they need to be productive when developing their own InfoPath forms - and when working with developers to create more involved InfoPath applications.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Sound contingency plans can prevent or minimize damage in a crisis. Although natural disasters are the most obvious and dramatic, firms also should be prepared to resume business after a fire or theft, or the loss of a key firm member. * Business continuation insurance can pay for time lost from client work to manage the disaster response. * In succession planning, consider the possibility of the sudden death of a partner or other key firm member. At such a time, smaller firms can benefit from having built cooperative networks with other professionals. * Don't put off crisis management and recovery planning just because it seems daunting. List possible crises to start your firm thinking about how you would carry on. Assign staff to a crisis management team and commit a plan to writing. Then file the plan off site where it can be easily retrieved should the worst come to pass. You're open for business and dressed for success. You've planned your CPA firm's operations with budgets, flowcharts and contact lists. But are you really prepared? What if something sweep away documents, your equipment or, God forbid, key personnel? Fortunately, there's little under the sun or storm clouds that can't be foreseen--and the best possible time to think through how to handle a cataclysmic event is before it strikes. This article's crisis case studies offer valuable information about how to keep operating when really big setbacks happen. Pat Evans, CPA, was one of 11 people working late on March 28, 2000, when a tornado tore through downtown Fort Worth, Texas, wreaking havoc on the 35-story building that housed Sproles Woodard LLC, the firm at which he was managing partner. "We hid under the library conference room table. When it quieted, we came out--to the biggest mess," he says. He stepped into the hallway to find rain and wind raging through broken windows and much of the furniture in the newly remodeled office in pieces or simply gone. Miraculously, the computer server was still running. AFTER THE STORM, BRAINSTORM No one was injured, and there was another lucky twist: The firm had just moved back into its 7,000-square-foot offices, so many still-packed boxes of documents were intact. But on the long walk down 23 floors to the street, Evans and other firm members could see the building had sustained extensive damage. The partners called a staff meeting the following day to brainstorm about regrouping and to reassure everyone about the firm's future. In its strategic planning, the firm assumed the IRS would not give it deferrals on the filing requirements for April 15, so it had to act quickly Another key concern was whether the landlord of the structurally sound but temporarily uninhabitable office building would release the firm from its lease--or whether the firm would end up paying rent on two locations at once. The firm created a temporary staging area in a nearby church. Because of safety restrictions, only seven people were allowed into the office building to retrieve business materials, and only for one hour. So they devised a plan to carry out as much key equipment and data as possible, taking dollies and boxes with them. A year earlier the firm had reviewed its insurance and improved its coverage to include the cost of a document recovery company, which located client records in the debris and restored them. Evans credits the firm's business continuation insurance with saving a great deal of expense. Among other things, it paid for the time lost from client work to manage the disaster response. "Trying to get us positioned again absorbed my life for the better part of a year," he says. The firm added work it did on the recovery to its time and billing codes to keep a record for the insurance company "Ask your agent what he or she recommends having insured in the event of a calamity," Evans suggests. …


This paper presents the work done thus far towards designing a sustainable business model for rural telephony in the community of Mankosi, located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The pillars of the model are sustainability and community ownership to design both the wireless mesh network providing the telephony service and its business model. Given the airtime consumption pattern in the community, the model is based only on the provision of calls inside the community and for using solar power to charge mobile phones. Some scenarios with different usage of the telephony services and different pricing rates are explored in order to find the break even point of the network, or in case the CAPEX was provided externally, to calculate the revenues expected. These revenues could be used for projects that benefit the community at large. Although the project is in its initial phase and the community has some particularities that make it unique, the sustainable business model presented here is intended to showcase innovative ideas that could serve similar projects in other parts of the world.


In November 2001, as the world still reeled from the attack on the Twin Towers, German historian Sonke Neitzel discovered an extraordinary cache of documents from the Second World War. The documents were the transcripts of German prisoners of war talking among themselves in prisoner of war camps, and secretly recorded by the allies. In these apparently private conversations the soldiers talked freely and openly about their hopes and fears, their concerns and their day-to-day lives. With a banality and ease which to the modern reader can appear shocking, they also talked about the horrors of war -- about rape, death and killing. Sonke Neitzel shared the material with renowned and bestselling psychologist Harald Wezler and they set about trying to make sense of the vast piles of documents, the hours of transcripts. The result is SOLDATEN, a landmark book which will change the way we look at soldiers and war, and is as relevant to our modern conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was to the soldiers of the German Army in 1945. Published to huge acclaim and controversy in Germany it was a number one bestseller there and reignited the debate about the banality of evil under the Nazi regime.


This dissertation examines domestic culture as a project of nation building in a divided Germany between 1949 and 1989. Soviet and American backing during escalating Cold War tensions pulled East and West Germans in opposing ideological directions, which they initially expressed in diverging aesthetics. Historiography on German material culture traditionally concentrates on the East-West competition during the first two decades of the Cold War. By extending the narrative into the 1970s and 1980s, Germany's Cold War on Display: The Political Aesthetics of German-German Relations, 1949-1989 argues instead that internal economic and political collaboration between the two German states created an alternative to Americanization and Sovietization – a third way that allowed for German cultural rapprochement within the context of European integration. To display changes in political culture and trace their effect on the GermanGerman relationship, this study analyses archival documents alongside objects of domestic culture. This approach includes a discussion of five interior design dimensions: the institutionalization process, the design discourse, production and consumption processes, furniture trade, and diplomatic utilization of design. Postwar reconstruction presented the "two countries in one German nation" with both opportunities and challenges in redefining their nationhood, global position, and cultural reputation. After initial delineation, East and West Germany's aesthetic convergence began in the mid-1960s with domestic critiques of their respective political systems. Cultural and economic cooperation following the 1972 Basic Treaty on Germany's status quo enabled both states to detach their handling of the German Question from superpower policies. One major impulse sought to salvage ties by increasing trade, resulting in a similar interior design aesthetic that facilitated exports. Other endeavors focused on normalizing German relations through cultural encounters and political treaties, reconnecting populations on both sides of the border. Concentrating on similarities and collaboration, this study refocuses Germany's Cold War that is, the special relationship between the two German states and offers a new context in which to understand the relative stability during four decades of division and considerably smooth transition to unification in 1990. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History First Advisor Thomas Childers


Gene copy number analysis for some of the important molecules in lung tumorogenesis, such as MET, hepatocyte growth factor [(HGF), ligand for MET), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and paxillin (PXN), is likely to determine both the type of treatment and prognosis. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) archival tumor tissue samples are an excellent source for determining key molecular changes in the OncoGenome; however, existing extraction procedures yield relatively poor quality genomic DNA fragments. Although FISH is the method of choice for determining amplification of a gene, a more rapid quantitative poly-merase chain reaction (qPCR) technique to determine gene copy number can be used when reasonably good quality genomic DNA is available. We report here a relatively rapid method based on microwave/chelex-100 treatment that gives rise to genomic DNA fragments ranging from 1 to 12 Kb and beyond, thereby attesting to its superior quality. Genomic PCR for beta-globin gene gave reliable and reproducible results. The number of steps for extracting the DNA was kept to a minimum, and instead of precipitating the DNA, we preserved the genomic DNA extracts so as to prevent a loss in DNA yield. We found the extracts to be stable and amenable to qPCR and mutational analysis. Using lung adenocarcinoma FFPE samples and cell lines derived from lung adenocarcinomas, we demonstrated that the gene copy number for MET in lung adenocarcinoma tissue samples was preferentially increased over EGFR, HGF, and PXN and that it positively correlated with a better prognosis. In contrast, the genomic DNA extracted from 25 NSCLC cell lines gave a relatively higher gene copy number for all four genes evaluated. Our results indicate that the microwave/chelex-100-based method yields good-quality genomic DNA extracts that can be used for complex DNA analysis, such as determination of gene copy number. In addition, our data demonstrated that the adenocarcinoma cell lines potentially evolved under ex vivo conditions, and therefore, in genetic studies it is imperative to use primary tumors for generalized conclusions about lung tumors.


Abstract The literature on global trends in recreational fishing, the determinants of participation in recreational fishing, and the social embedding of recreational fishing in the public eye are reviewed across the world. Data support a conceptual life-cycle model of fisheries according to which interest in recreational fishing rises rapidly with economic development before leveling off and eventually declining. Participation in recreational angling across the globe varies substantially and is directly related to societal-level developments affecting resources, time, and socialization into fishing. Moreover, culture and the way that fish are historically situated within society appears to affect interest in fishing and the public perception of certain fishing practices. Across the more developed western countries, a sustained shift in public values from anthropocentric to more biocentric viewpoints is documented. This shift puts traditional fisheries management that manages ecosystems for optimal fishing experiences under increasing scrutiny and elevates biodiversity conservation toward a key goal of contemporary fisheries management in many countries. However, while a pro fish welfare discourse can be traced to almost all developed countries covered in this review, this does not mean the recreational activity is threatened or welfare-oriented regulations are widely implemented, with a few exceptions in selected countries. Public surveys conducted in mainly developed countries around the world instead reveal that people generally view recreational fisheries as an acceptable pastime. Major structural changes are occurring in many societies related to immigration, increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of populations, and social value change. Yet, little is known how these changes might affect recreational fishing participation and behavior, and the view of the general public toward fishing in the future. Panel research designs that repeatedly survey the public, and recreational fishers, will be needed to track value and participation changes over time, but such designs are rarely implemented in most countries that were reviewed in this work. Data gaps are particularly strong for Africa and large parts of Central and South America as well as Russia and Asia.


Military regimes throughout Latin America used a variety of tactics to instill terror in the population. In the case of Chile, the military dictatorship used torture, assassination, disappearance, exile and relegacion, or internal exile, in its quest to weaken social movements and control social and economic processes. This article will discuss the effects of relegacion on the families and communities that the relegados left behind, drawing on human rights literature and interviews of persons in the Santiago shantytown of La Pincoya.


Objectives Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) is important in mobilising neutrophils from the bone marrow but also has a range of proinflammatory effects. We therefore decided to investigate the role of GCSF in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis. Methods We measured GCSF levels in the serum of 38 patients with active ANCA vasculitis compared with 31 age-matched controls, and assessed the effect of GCSF priming on the response of human neutrophils to ANCA. We also examined the effect of exogenous GCSF administration in a murine model of antimyeloperoxidase (anti-MPO) vasculitis, and the effect of GCSF on murine neutrophil activation. Results The serum levels of GCSF in patients with active ANCA vasculitis were significantly higher than those of age matched healthy controls (mean 38.04 vs 18.35 pg/ml, p<0.001). Furthermore, we demonstrated that GCSF primed human neutrophils in vitro for a respiratory burst in response to anti-MPO ANCA. In an anti-MPO antibody transfer model, mice given GCSF had more crescents (mean 29.1% vs 5.8% per glomerular cross section, p<0.05), more macrophages (mean 3.2 vs 1.2 per glomerular cross-section, p<0.01), higher serum creatines (mean 13.6 vs 8.3 μmol/l, p<0.05) and more haematuria (p<0.05) compared with controls. In vivo administration of GCSF with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), but not LPS alone, led to upregulation of CD11c on murine neutrophils. Conclusions These data suggest that GCSF, which is raised in patient serum, may play an important role in exacerbating disease in ANCA vasculitis. In addition, GCSF therapy for neutropenia should be used with caution in these patients.


Latin American migration to Chile has increased exponentially over the past 20 years. As migrants settle in Santiago, they face numerous articulations of bureaucracy—at entry, in visa processing, in labor regulations, and in housing law. This article charts a central paradox of migrant experiences with two discordant bureaucratic entities in Chile. Migrants are frequently able to acquire residency documents, yet they are often unable to enter into formal rental agreements or easily access adequate housing. Drawing on data collected during 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Santiago, Chile, I explore migrants' lived experience of bureaucracy. As migrants navigate the processes involved in attaining visas and in securing housing, their experiences expose the interstices of bureaucracy, sites of disjuncture between contrasting bureaucratic entities and realms. These bureaucratic interstices are critical sites where structural violence is fostered, normalized, and made invisible.


Many tuffs contain crystal, glass, and rock fragments that are supported by calcite cement, and some of these have recently been classified as carbonatites, i.e., igneous rocks dominated by magmatic carbonate minerals. In samples studied here, the cementing calcite has lower Sr and higher Mg concentrations, and higher 18O/16O but lower 13C/12C, than magmatic calcite. These chemical data, together with textural evidence, indicate that the cementing calcite in these tuffs was precipitated as coatings on the pyroclastic fragments by meteoric water. A single thin section of a calcite-cemented tuff (whether it holds carbonatite or silicate lapilli) can contain as many as five texturally and chemically distinct kinds of carbonate, precipitated sequentially, and never in equilibrium with each other. The secondary calcite in some occurrences may have formed by reaction of lime calcined by hot silicate magma from limestone wall rocks. Pyroclastic deposits that contain calcite only in pore-filling cement or replacing silicates should not be called carbonatites.


ABSTRACT The incidence of nosocomial infection caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria is increasing worldwide. Infections caused by ESBL producers have been associated with severe adverse clinical outcomes that have led to increased mortality, prolonged hospitalization, and rising medical costs. To avoid such adverse events and ineffective treatment, an appropriate use of drugs for infectious diseases is needed. To suppress the emergence and spread of drug-resistant bacteria in hospitals, it is important to be vigilant about ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli). In this study, we examined and compared seven items in a blood test between patients with ESBL-producing E. coli and non-ESBL-producing E. coli among febrile patients. We examined the levels of serum albumin, hemoglobin, and C-reactive protein (CRP), and the numbers of leucocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets in blood on the day of admission, the screening day during hospitalization, and the day immediately before discharge from the hospital. There were no significant differences in clinical background characteristics between the two groups of patients. In patients with invasive infections caused by ESBL-producing E. coli, serum albumin levels and the number of lymphocytes were significantly lower than those in patients not infected with ESBL producers. These values recovered to their baseline levels on the day of hospital discharge. This retrospective study suggests that serum albumin levels and the number of lymphocytes may serve as risk factors for infection by ESBL-producing E. coli, thereby supporting the appropriate use of antimicrobials in hospitals.


This article examines the debates about the Andalusian 'bandoleros' (bandits) in the context of early tourism as a state-guided policy in Spain. As we argue, the development of tourism made Spanish intellectuals reconsider the real armed activity in Andalucía as part of Spanish national heritage and a tourist attraction. Consistent with the stereotypical image of Spain coined by the Romantic travelers, such an early heritagization of brigandry reveals the role of the élites in recasting exotic imagery into modern tourism-shaped identities: in the hands of early century writers, bandits were reshaped as part of the 'modern picturesque'. Furthermore, the role given to brigands in early cinema allows one to see how the early heritage discourse bridged transnational and centralist interests at the expense of the regional ones, thus foreshadowing the debates about hegemony in present-day heritage studies.


Abstract. N2 fixation fuels  ∼  50 % of new primary production in the oligotrophic South Pacific Ocean. The VAHINE experiment has been designed to track the fate of diazotroph-derived nitrogen (DDN) and carbon within a coastal lagoon ecosystem in a comprehensive way. For this, large-volume ( ∼  50 m3) mesocosms were deployed in the New Caledonian lagoon and were intentionally fertilized with dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) to stimulate N2 fixation. This study examined the temporal dynamics of the prokaryotic community together with the evolution of biogeochemical parameters for 23 consecutive days in one of these mesocosms (M1) and in the Noumea lagoon using MiSeq 16S rRNA gene sequencing and flow cytometry. Combining these methods allowed for inference of absolute cell numbers from 16S data. We observed clear successions within M1, some of which were not mirrored in the lagoon. The dominating classes in M1 were Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, eukaryotic microalgae, Marine Group II Euryarchaeota, Flavobacteriia, and Acidimicrobia. Enclosure led to significant changes in the M1 microbial community, probably initiated by the early decay of Synechococcus and diatoms. However, we did not detect a pronounced bottle effect with a copiotroph-dominated community. The fertilization with  ∼  0.8 µM DIP on day 4 did not have directly observable effects on the overall community within M1, as the data samples obtained from before and 4 days after fertilization clustered together, but likely influenced the development of individual populations later on, like Defluviicoccus-related bacteria and UCYN-C-type diazotrophic cyanobacteria (Cyanothece). Growth of UCYN-C led to among the highest N2-fixation rates ever measured in this region and enhanced growth of nearly all abundant heterotrophic groups in M1. We further show that different Rhodobacteraceae were the most efficient heterotrophs in the investigated system and we observed niche partitioning within the SAR86 clade. Whereas the location in- or outside the mesocosm had a significant effect on community composition, the temporal effect was significantly stronger and similar in both locations, suggesting that overarching abiotic factors were more influential than the enclosure. While temporal community changes were evident, prokaryotic diversity (Shannon index) only declined slightly from  ∼  6.5 to 5.7 or 6.05 in the lagoon and M1, respectively, throughout the experiment, highlighting the importance of multiple and varying sources of organic matter maintaining competition.


Abstract Background: Healthcare workers at primary healthcare (PHC) clinics are frustrated by the fact that they do not receive replies to their referral letters to doctors. Referral letters act as permission slips to allow patients easy access to treatment by specialists at secondary and tertiary service levels and communicate reasons for referral. Reply to the referral letter is vital for continuity of care to be maintained and to enable comprehensive recording at PHC level. It has been found that poor feedback leads to poor follow-up care in the PHC setting. Previous research has investigated the influence of the method of communication, either by use of pro forma letters or by electronic feedback on answers. The study on which this article is based endeavoured to understand the receiving doctors' reasons for not replying to referral letters and the context contributing to this problem. If this matter could be resolved it would relieve frustration at PHC level and improve healthcare services in future. Methods: A qualitative study method was used, as the purpose of this study was to understand and explore in depth doctors' context, perceptions and motivation for not answering referral letters. In-depth interviews were conducted with six purposefully selected doctors who all had more than one year's experience in their different departments. The exploratory question posed was: "What factors are contributing to not replying to referrals from primary healthcare clinics?" Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Themes were identified using the Tesch method. Analysis was done independently by two coders, who afterwards reached consensus on identified themes. After analysis of each interview, reliability was further ensured by going back to the participants to verify that the interpretation represents an accurate description of the participant's view. Results: The participants included one consultant and five registrars with between 18 months and 8 years' experience in their departments. According to participants, many reasons contributed to their not writing answers to referrals. The reasons for not replying to referral letters pertained to the working situation at the referral hospital and factors regarding the referrals themselves on the one hand and the hospital doctor's perceptions as to his/her role in the healthcare system and his/her perception that it is futile to answer referrals on the other. Conclusions: There were multiple reasons for doctors not replying to referral letters. The referring personnel can address some of these reasons by ensuring accurate referrals on appropriate days, considering style preferences of the hospital doctors and by the use of pro forma letters. Hospital consultants can address other factors by giving attention to the socialisation of their juniors and by adjusting the referral system so that it does not rely on patients to courier letters. Further research needs to be undertaken in South Africa to assess the influence of various methods of communication in the referral system as regards the quality of communication between different levels of care.


Two recent trends are affecting the design of medium-scale shared-memory multi-processors. The first is the use of nodes which themselves consist of clusters of processors. Clusters, already available as commodity parts, not only make powerful nodes, they also let the system scale up gracefully. The second trend is the use of programmable protocol processors and software for maintaining cache coherence to shorten the hardware design cycle and to provide flexibility and extensibility.
One problem arising from software cache coherence is that remote memory accesses suffer a longer latency than with a pure hardware scheme. Another issue raised by software schemes in cluster environments is that of contention on the protocol processor due to the high service demand for this device.
Our solution to the first problem offers users or compiler writers a set of explicit communication primitives to provide hints for moving data properly and promptly. The communication primitives, running on protocol processors, introduce a flavor of message-passing and permit protocol optimization. To the second issue, we investigate three architectural choices that strive to achieve resource balance: (1) selecting an appropriate cluster size to control resource sharing, (2) adding a remote cache (per node) to keep remote data in clusters, and (3) adding a forwarding logic to reduce the load on the protocol processor and to speed up the processing of simple messages.
This dissertation studies how the overhead of a software scheme and its contention on the protocol processor can be reduced by various combinations of the design options and how the software overhead can be further hidden by the communication primitives. In the absence of communication primitives, we employ an MVA-based analytical model to estimate the protocol processor's contention and overall performance for a fast turn-round. When communication primitives are present, we employ simulation method. We find that the software implementation supplemented with remote cache and forwarding logic can deliver a performance competitive with the rigid and pure hardware scheme. With the judicious use of communication primitives, the enhanced software scheme can improve performance beyond the limit of the hardware implementation. In addition, the software cache coherence is more flexible, scalable and easier to optimize.


A long history of research in philosophy, psychology and neuroscience has explored moral utilitarian research questions, decision mechanisms and behaviour.
For example, in the question 'Is it appropriate for you to sacrifice one workman in order to save five workmen?' moral utilitarian theorists (consequentialism) would
answer with 'Yes', as utility maximisation and moral justification is achieved by the consequence of this moral decision ('saving the greatest number'). Accordingly,psychologists have explored the psychological validity and range of behavioural violations of this utilitarian normative prediction. For example, theorists haveproposed a dual-process moral utility theory (e.g., Bartels, 2008; Cushman et al.,2006; Greene, 2007; Greene, et al., 2001; Haidt, 2001; Pizarro & Bloom, 2003;Young & Koenigs, 2007; Evans & Stanovich, 2013), and argued that this moral utilitarian model predicts rational and irrational behaviour for morally sensitive decision alternatives.

The dual-process moral utility theory assumes that two psychological systems are involved in moral decision-making: (i) deliberative and effortful (cognitive processing) and (ii) automatic and effortless (emotional activations). Moreover, the theory predicts 'emotional interference' for moral scenarios with personal involvement (to push a stranger on to the track in order to save the five strangers) inducing (i) irrational behaviour and (ii) decision delay (longer response time), even when participants make a rational choice in dilemmas with personal involvement. These predictions were empirically confirmed (e.g., Greene et al., 2001) - respondents judged moral dilemmas with personal involvement ('to push' in footbridge dilemma)
as less appropriate, than equivalent moral dilemmas with impersonal involvement ('to hit a switch' in the trolley dilemma). Greene and colleagues concluded that moral
14 dilemmas with personal involvement were more emotionally salient and cognitively demanding, as respondents took significantly more time deciding about moral dilemmas with personal involvement.

 In nine experiments, I have developed further the empirical moral utilitarian method, and empirically explored and identified a generic utilitarian cognitive factor – 'uncertainty' (caused by partial and insufficient descriptions of utilitarian information) – that predicts rationality and irrationality in moral decision-making. As the experimental results confirmed, this factor had an independent influence (beyond the type of dilemma and involvement – previously confounded in experimental research) on moral utilitarian behaviour. An increased accessibility to utilitarian information decreased psychological uncertainty, inducing rational moral utilitarian behaviour across the experiments. Moreover, in contrast to the dual-process utilitarian
theory, when making a rational choice respondents took less time with scenarios offering full utilitarian accessibility (full text description of the scenarios and moral choice questions and supported by visualisation of decision consequences), than with scenarios offering partial textual descriptions of moral utilitarian information (as with all moral experimental studies published since Thomson, 1985). This finding is
important, as it offers methodological improvements to the study of moral decisionmaking and reveals issues with the dual-process moral utilitarian theory predictions
and assumed psychological mechanisms. Neuroscience research should build upon the methodological improvements and empirical evidence provided in this
dissertation, and explore further the plausibility that the emotional activations predicted by the dual-process moral utility theory are, in fact, degree of uncertainty
(experiments 1 to 9) caused by limited accessibility to utilitarian information.

Furthermore, the results form experiments 4 and 5 revealed no difference (as 15 predicted by previous research, e.g., Tassy et al., 2013) in the behavioural utilitarian patterns between moral choice and moral judgements. I found that uncertainty significantly predicted both moral choice and moral judgements – additional evidence of the generalisability of uncertainty as a major factor that should be taken into account by moral utilitarian researchers. Moreover, in experiments 6, 7, 8 and 9 I discovered additional and not previously considered psychological factors influencing moral utilitarian behaviour. In experiments 6 and 7 the respondents, in their effort to maximise utility, were influenced by the utility ratio of the moral trade-offs. For example, and in addition to the eliminated uncertainty (caused by insufficient utilitarian information), the increased number of victims induced respondents' moral rational behaviour. This result can be attributed to enhanced reward activations for utilitarian moral dilemmas, offering 'saving of more victims'. In experiments 8 and 9 I also found that content of utility is a psychological factor predicting moral utilitarian behaviour. Processing moral utilitarian contents, which consist of things we can own or previously have owned (e.g., experience with utilitarian trade-offs) – nonhuman and inanimate stimuli – induced respondents' utilitarian choice rationality.

The results from nine experiments are novel and have the potential to contribute to the theoretical development of both normative and psychological moral decisionmaking.
The research findings will inform theories of judgement, decision-making, moral reasoning, experimental philosophy and neuroscience about the psychological
factors (not previously explored) underlying moral decision-making, and their influence on utilitarian rationality. Moreover, it is envisaged that the research findings and knowledge from this dissertation have practical applications. For example, in the development of training interventions (for special security units and law enforcements agencies), the relevant authorities should take into account the influence of decision
16 uncertainty, content of utility (decision training paradigms), and utility ratios involved in moral trade-offs.


We describe what is to our knowledge the first use of fiber Bragg gratings written into three separate cores of a multicore fiber for two-axis curvature measurement. The gratings act as independent, but isothermal, fiber strain gauges for which local curvature determines the difference in strain between cores, permitting temperature-independent bend measurement.


Existing work on privacy-preserving machine learning with Secure Multiparty Computation (MPC) is almost exclusively focused on model training and on inference with trained models, thereby overlooking the important data pre-processing stage. In this work, we propose the first MPC based protocol for private feature selection based on the filter method, which is independent of model training, and can be used in combination with any MPC protocol to rank features. We propose an efficient feature scoring protocol based on Gini impurity to this end. To demonstrate the feasibility of our approach for practical data science, we perform experiments with the proposed MPC protocols for feature selection in a commonly used machine-learning-as-a-service configuration where computations are outsourced to multiple servers, with semi-honest and with malicious adversaries. Regarding effectiveness, we show that secure feature selection with the proposed protocols improves the accuracy of classifiers on a variety of real-world data sets, without leaking information about the feature values or even which features were selected. Regarding efficiency, we document runtimes ranging from several seconds to an hour for our protocols to finish, depending on the size of the data set and the security settings.


Choledochal cysts are rare benign growths that can develop into cancerous lesions if left untreated. The cysts are commonly discovered incidentally during imaging procedures for other reasons. Surgical resection is recommended to avoid risk of cancer or metastatic disease. A rare case of a non-metastatic cholangiocarcinoma in a longstanding choledochal cyst is presented in this case report.


BACKGROUND
Depression is a major public health problem by itself and for its comorbid conditions. We aimed to determine gender differences in the prevalence of depression and how depression is related to comorbid conditions and metabolic biomarkers.

METHODS
This study included men (n=986) and women (n=1,280) aged 20-79 years who were included in the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Depression was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The associations between depression (PHQ-9 score ≥10), self-reported comorbid conditions, and metabolic biomarkers of comorbid conditions were determined by multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for potential confounders.

RESULTS
The prevalence of depression in men and women were 7.9% and 12.1%, respectively (p<0.01). The odds ratios (OR) of various comorbid conditions (asthma, arthritis, gout, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes mellitus, thyroid problem, and metabolic syndrome) by the status of depression were significantly higher in women. High C-reactive protein (CRP) was a significant predictor of depression in men (OR 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-3.67) in unadjusted model. In women, high fasting blood glucose, high glycohemoglobin, and high CRP were significant predictors of depression (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.28-3.01; OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.21-4.92; OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.01-2.06; OR 1.79, 95% CI 0.19-2.67, respectively) after controlling for age, education, race/ethnicity, marital status, ratio of family income to poverty, and physical activity.

CONCLUSIONS
Women had higher prevalence of depression and higher number of significant associations between socioeconomic status, comorbid conditions, and metabolic risk factors by the status of depression than men. Public health attentions are needed to improve women's mental health.


OF DISSERTATION INFANTS' PERCEPTION OF EMOTION FROM DYNAMIC BODY MOVEMENTS In humans, the capacity to extract meaning from another person's behavior is fundamental to social competency. Adults recognize emotions conveyed by body movements with comparable accuracy to when they are portrayed in facial expressions. While infancy research has examined the development of facial and vocal emotion processing extensively, no prior study has explored infants' perception of emotion from body movements. The current studies examined the development of emotion processing from body gestures. In Experiment 1, I asked whether 6.5-month-olds infants would prefer to view emotional versus neutral body movements. The results indicate that infants prefer to view a happy versus a neutral body action when the videos are presented upright, but fail to exhibit a preference when the videos are inverted. This suggests that the preference for the emotional body movement was not driven by low-level features (such as the amount or size of the movement displayed), but rather by the affective content displayed. Experiments 2A and 2B sought to extend the findings of Experiment 1 by asking whether infants are able to match affective body expressions to their corresponding vocal emotional expressions. In both experiments, infants were tested using an intermodal preference technique: Infants were exposed to a happy and an angry body expression presented side by side while hearing either a happy or angry vocalization. An inverted condition was included to investigate whether matching was based solely upon some feature redundantly specified across modalities (e.g., tempo). In Experiment 2A, 6.5-month-old infants looked longer at the emotionally congruent videos when they were presented upright, but did not display a preference when the same videos were inverted. In Experiment 2B, 3.5month-olds tested in the same manner exhibited a preference for the incongruent video in the upright condition, but did not show a preference when the stimuli were inverted. These results demonstrate that even young infants are sensitive to emotions conveyed by bodies, indicating that sophisticated emotion processing capabilities are present early in life.


"Newsweek'"s Jerusalem bureau chief Joshua Hammer arrived in the West Bank in October 2000 -- just after Ariel Sharon made his inflammatory visit to the Haram al-Sharif, otherwise known as the Temple Mount. Sharon's trip ignited the worst violence the Middle East had seen in decades. Overnight, the peace process gave way to an ever-worsening cycle of attack, revenge, and retaliation, destabilizing the entire region, killing thousands, and culminating in Israel's reoccupation of Palestinian towns in 2002. "A Season in Bethlehem" is the story of one West Bank town's two-year disintegration, as witnessed by a reporter who was there from the beginning. Woven together from Hammer's own firsthand reportage plus hundreds of interviews, it follows a dozen characters whose lives collided on the streets of this biblical city. They include a Bedouin tribesman who rose to become the commander of Bethlehem's most feared and brutal gang of gunmen; the beleaguered governor, an opponent of the al-Aqsa intifada, who believed he had a mandate to stop the violence, only to discover that Yasser Arafat was undermining him; a Christian businesman who watched helplessly as his community was squeezed between Muslim militants and the Israeli army; an eighteen-year-old female honors student turned suicide bomber; and an Israeli reservist, son of a leader of the Peace Now movement, who wrestled with his left-wing convictions as he rode to battle through the predawn streets. The narrative reaches a climax with a moment-by-moment recreation of the epochal drama that drew many of these characters together: the thirty-nine-day siege of the Church of the Nativity. A clear-eyed chronicle of deepening chaos and violence, in which Hammer lets the opposing sides speak for themselves, "A Season in Bethlehem" is both a timely and timeless look at how longstanding religious and political tensions finally boiled over in a place of profound resonance: the birthplace of Jesus.


A new paediatric postgraduate curriculum was introduced in the UK in 2007.1 The training programme is based on three levels of training, and at each stage, progress is assessed by a range of different assessment tools. The assessment strategy2 outlines those assessments expected. These meet the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board's principles for assessment3 and use the utility model,4 which takes into account five variables: reliability, validity, educational impact, acceptability and cost. These variables are weighted dependant on the context and the purpose of the assessment. In line with good practice in assessment,5 the evidence from the workplace and the examinations are triangulated to make an overall judgement about a trainee's fitness to practice, and this information is submitted to the Annual Review of Competency Panel who, following the guidance,6 may approve the progress of the trainee. The ability of the available assessment tools to assess the trainee across the framework of competences was examined. This revealed that there was a relative lack of available tools to assess those competences to be acquired at the later stages of training.

In the final stages of training, assessment relies entirely upon workplace assessments, predominately multi-source feedback and case-based discussion (CBD). Multisource feedback in paediatrics collects structured feedback from a range of healthcare professionals who work with the trainee and are able to give informed judgements about the trainees' performance. The rating tool consists of 24 questions across all domains of good medical practice rated on a six-point scale from very poor to very good. There is, in addition, the opportunity for free text comments. There is increasing evidence that this type of feedback from colleagues and patients is reliable,7,–,9 and that has the ability to be able to discriminate between …


South Green is a bioinformatics platform applied to the genomic resource analysis of southern and Mediterranean plants. The South Green web portal (http://www.southgreen.fr/) provides access to a large panel of bioinformatics resources including its own Galaxy instance which supports a large community of users in Montpellier, France and beyond. This talk discusses our experience deploying, customizing, and maintaining a Galaxy server within South Green. In addition to the generic tools provided with the standard installation of Galaxy, the South Green Galaxy instance (http://galaxy.southgreen.fr/galaxy/) contains a large collection of exclusive tools, Galaxy wrappers and workflows designed for analyses applied to plant genomes. It actually comprises more than 100 Galaxy wrappers, 9 pre-configured workflows designed for recurrent analyses such as NGS mapping/cleaning, RNAseq, SNP calling and filtering, Genome-Wide Association Studies, basic population genetics, structural variations, metagenomics and phylogenetics. We also developed innovative solution to graphically display outputs of each workflows. Home-made Galaxy wrappers have been deposited in our local/central toolshed (http://galaxy.southgreen.fr/toolshed/) or in github ( https://github.com/SouthGreenPlatform/galaxy-wrappers). Galaxy is extensively used to conduct capacity building activities. It is currently connected to HPC but we are also initiating use of Docker to disseminate some workflows in the IFB (Institut Francais de Bioinformatique) cloud, thus facilitating training activities worldwide. (Resume d'auteur)


Creative metaphors play, in many respects, an important role in political discourse; however, there is still a lack of categories to identify and analyse creative metaphors on a textual level. One precondition for analysing creativity in a non-literary discourse such as politics is to understand that creativity exists rather along clines and, therefore, needs to be redefined according to its context. As a consequence, this study understands creative metaphors as expressions which draw the attention to their metaphoricity by deviating from conventional ways of expressing things within a particular discourse or genre (e.g. political speeches). In addition, an analysis of the metaphor "centre of gravity" in a speech of the German foreign minister Joschka Fischer will illustrate how corpora can help us to evaluate metaphorical expressions within this framework.


We comment on Larner's (2006) recent description of the seventeenth-century case of a blind man who could differentiate the color of objects by touch. This ability is generally known as "dermo-optical perception" and is due to the cutaneous temperature sense rather than to synesthetic processing. Although devoid of references to the phenomenon of dermo-optical perception, Larner's communication is highly valuable because it raises several issues relevant to present-day neurosciences. These comprise functional reorganization after sensory loss, handedness effects, and differences between single fingers in the sensitivity to thermal changes.


Region-of-interest (ROI) determination is very important for video processing and it is desirable to find a simple method to identify the ROI. Along this direction, this paper investigates a user attention model based on visual rhythm analysis for automatic determination of ROI in a video. The visual rhythm, which is an abstraction of a video, is a thumbnail version of a video by a 2-D image that captures the temporal information of a video sequence. Four sampling lines, including diagonal, anti-diagonal, vertical, and horizontal lines, are employed to obtain four visual rhythm maps in order to analyze the location of the ROI from video data. Via the variation on visual rhythms, object and camera motions can be efficiently distinguished. As for hardware design consideration, the proposed scheme can accurately extract ROI with very low computational complexity for real-time applications. The promising results from the experiments demonstrate that the moving object is effectively and efficiently extracted. Finally, we present a way to use flexible macroblock ordering in combination with ROI determination as a preprocessing step for H.264/AVC video coding, and experimental results show the quality of ROI regions is significantly enhanced.


A vital aspect of any professional education is the opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical experiences. In pre-service teacher education in Australia, this vital teaching practice component has undergone challenges in recent years due to increasing student numbers (linked to the increasing demand for new teachers) and limited resources in university and school sectors. As such, initiatives to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper details the methodology and outcomes associated with a pilot project that utilized asynchronous Web-based communication tools to facilitate mentoring and peer support through the teaching practice experience. Analysis of the online discussions and interviews with participants provides an indication of the nature of the interactions and the perceived value of the intervention, and informs the potential for larger-scale implementation. DOI:10.1080/0968776020100105


Increasingly, collaborators are separated geographically and are also faced with large quantities of information that can complicate collaboration. Visualizing information can help collaborators sort through large quantities of data, but visualizations help only when they promote effective problem-solving behaviors such as division of labor and open communication. This dissertation explores the impact of network visualizations on collaborative problem solving by examining three laboratory studies.
Using the "detective mystery" as an experimental paradigm, remote collaborators worked synchronously via instant messenger to identify a serial killer who was hidden within multiple crime reports. In the first study, the evidence was divided between the pair of collaborators. When collaborators were given a network visualization tool that showed them how the evidence was linked, they performed better than those without a visualization. The visualization also fostered discussion between partners.
The second study looked at whether the visualization would help collaborators if they already had full access to all the evidence. Whereas the visualization tool improved performance for collaborators with half the evidence, the same visualization tool did not improve performance when each collaborator had access to all the evidence. Collaborators seemed to be overwhelmed and did not approach the task systematically. Unlike their counterparts, who each had half the evidence, collaborators with all the evidence talked less, discussed fewer hypotheses, and did not divide the labor.
The final study asked whether interpersonal and task-oriented discussion-prompt interventions encourage collaborators to adopt problem-solving strategies necessary for success. Discussion-prompt interventions helped pairs improve their search and analysis process.
This dissertation suggests that visualization tools may prompt collaborations to be more systematic, but this depends on collaborators effectively using the visualization, finding relevant patterns within the visualization, and ultimately using these findings to direct their analysis.


The objective of this study was to determine if perceptible sensory differences existed between biodynamically and organically grown Merlot wines. Wine grapes were raised biodynamically or organically on a commercial vineyard with wines produced from 2001 to 2004. Sensory difference testing was performed to evaluate possible differences between the two wines within each vintage. Results of the triangle tests only showed a notable difference (p < 0.1) between the 2004 biodynamically and organically grown wines. Results of the directional paired difference test showed that the 2003 biodynamically grown wine was higher in musty/earthy aroma (p < 0.05) and bitterness (p < 0.1). However, the 2003 organically grown wine was preferred (p < 0.1). The 2004 organically grown wine was higher in musty/earthy aroma and flavor (p < 0.05), astringency and bitterness (p < 0.1), and had a longer finish (p < 0.05) compared to the same vintage biodynamically grown wine. Results indicate perceptible sensory differences between the 2003 and 2004 biodynamically and organically grown wines.


The possibility that workers could be adversely affected by environmental policies imposed on heavily regulated industries has led to claims of a "jobs versus the environment" trade-off by both business and labor leaders. The present research examines this claim at the industry level for four heavily polluting industries: pulp and paper mills, plastic manufacturers, petroleum refiners, and iron and steel mills. By focusing on labor effects across an entire industry, we construct a measure relevant to the concerns of key stakeholders, such as labor unions and trade groups. We decompose the link between environmental regulation and employment into three distinct components: factor shifts to more or less labor intensity, changes in total expenditures, and changes in the quantity of output demanded. We use detailed plant-level data to estimate the key parameters describing factor shifts and changes in total expenditures. We then use aggregate time-series data on industry supply shocks and output responses to estimate the demand effect. We find that increased environmental spending generally does not cause a significant change in industry-level employment. Our average across all four industries is a net gain of 1.5 jobs per $1 million in additional environmental spending, with a standard error of 2.2 jobs—an insignificant effect. In the plastics and petroleum sectors, however, there are small but significantly positive effects: 6.9 and 2.2 jobs, respectively, per $1 million in additional expenditures. These effects can be linked to favorable factor shifts—environmental spending is more labor intensive than ordinary production—and relatively inelastic estimated demand.


Deeper financial integration is expected to enable low-saving countries to increase domestic investment but also to increase crisis risks by facilitating the accumulation of risky foreign liabilities. This paper explores the connections between financial integration, investment and crisis risk to assess this tradeoff. It confirms expectations but also finds that the accumulation of safe foreign assets that financial integration brings is an important risk offset that in many cases even eliminates the risk factor from the tradeoff altogether. Furthermore, it shows that the risk features of assets and liabilities depend on their type. Ultimately, whether international financial integration is in fact a reliable remedy for individual countries critically depends on the portfolio composition of their foreign assets and liabilities.


Background and Aim: Occupational stress is a major problem in industrial societies. Its relationship with various diseases is increasing, but it probably has vast socio-economic consequences manifested in the form of absenteeism, labour turnover, loss of productivity and disability pension costs. The present study aimed at determining stress in the staff of a tyre factory. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was done on 196 members of staff from various sections of a tire factory in 2008 through proportional classification and randomized sampling .Data was collected by means of Coudron two questionnaires "demographic" and "standardized job stress" . The obtained data was analyzed by using SPSS software (v: 11.5), chi-square test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient P ≤ 0.05. Results: It was found that 49.5% of the staff had severe job stress. .Severe job stress was 55.8% in the production unit (No. =53), 50% in the administrative unit (No. =16) and 40.6% the backing unit (No=28). There was a significant relationship between variables income and adequate sleep on one hand and level of job stress on the other (P < 0.001).However, no significant relationship was observed between job stress and age, marital status, education, working record, and exercise. Conclusion: Based on the results of the current study, more than half of the employees suffered from job stress. Compared with employees in other industrialized countries, Iranian employees appeared to have much higher prevalence of stress. Therefore, more studies are required to reduce the amount of stress and its consequences.


We develop a novel approach for estimating spatially dispersed community-level participation in mass protest. This methodology is used to investigate factors associated with participation in the 'March to Save America' event in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. This study combines granular location data from more than 40 million mobile devices with novel measures of community-level voting patterns, the location of organized hate groups, and the entire georeferenced digital archive of the social media platform Parler. We find evidence that partisanship, socio-political isolation, proximity to chapters of the Proud Boys organization, and the local activity on Parler are robustly associated with protest participation. Our research fills a prominent gap in the study of collective action: identifying and studying communities involved in mass-scale events that escalate into violent insurrection.


The capacity of yeast cell walls to bind volatile compounds was investigated in a model hydroalcoholic system. The interactions between five aroma substances and yeast walls in a model wine were shown using the head space technique and the equilibrium dialysis method. The effect of cell walls on the volatility of aroma depended on the physico-chemical nature of volatile compounds. Yeast walls led to a decrease in vapor phase concentration of all aroma substances. A greater degree of binding was noted for the more hydrophobic volatile compounds: ethyl octanoate and β-ionone. Binding capacity of yeast cell walls was partly explained by lipid matter and the insolubility of walls in model wine.


Male involvement in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) is known to improve maternal and child health outcomes. However, there is sub-optimal adoption of male involvement strategies in several low- and middle-income countries such as Kenya. Aga Khan University implemented Access to Quality of Care through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems (AQCESS), a project funded by the Government of Canada and Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), between 2016 and 2020 in rural Kisii and Kilifi counties, Kenya. A central element in the interventions was increasing male engagement in RMNCH. Between January and March 2020, we conducted an endline qualitative study to examine the perspectives of different community stakeholders, who were aware of the AQCESS project, on the facilitators and barriers to male involvement in RMNCH. We found that targeted information sessions for men on RMNCH are a major facilitator to effective male engagement, particularly when delivered by male authority figures such as church leaders, male champions and teachers. Sub-optimal male engagement arises from tensions men face in directly contributing to the household economy and participating in RMNCH activities. Social-cultural factors such as the feminization of RMNCH and the associated stigma that non-conforming men experience also discourage male engagement.


This work discusses status of
the geologic and economic potentials of minerals and industrial rocks in
Jordan. The major mineral resources are presented in details and the paper is
designed to cover the lack of published data in this field. Geologically, the
structural framework of Jordan is controlled largely by Arabian Nubian Shield
in the south, block—faulted areas in the east, upwarping in north and east, and
Wadi Araba-Dead Sea Transform Fault in the western part. The geologic
environments include Precambrian crystalline
basement (Late Proterozoic) of Arabian Nubian Shield (ANS) that is
composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks at south-western part. Paleozoic
rocks at southern and southeastern part consist of clastic minerals which are dominated by sandstone, whereas Mesozoic sedimentary rocks are widespread throughout
southwestern, northern to southeastern parts of the country. They mainly
consist of major industrial rocks and minerals such as phosphate, oil
shale, limestone, dolomite, chalk, marble, gypsum, diatomite and tripoli.
Cenozoic Era is composed of sedimentary and
volcanic rocks in different parts of Jordan. There are more than twenty
nonmetallic minerals and four main metallic deposits within the various
geologic environments. This paper summarizes their distribution, chemical
and mineralogical characteristics, in addition to
their production statistics.


University students studying in a language other than their first face significant barriers that can detrimentally impact their wellbeing and academic performance. The relationship between language, confidence and performance has been examined in a wide range of national and cultural
 contexts. However, little research has focused on the experience of Welsh- medium educated students studying in English at the university level. The goal of our study was to compare how Welsh students who completed their primary and secondary education in Welsh perceived their undergraduate
 university experience to those who completed their formative schooling in English. Using online and in-person questionnaires, we surveyed 125 Welsh undergraduate students studying at a Welsh university on their academic background, and three core areas of their university experience: attendance,
 contribution and satisfaction. Results indicate that course attendance and grade satisfaction are not statistically significantly associated with language. However, there was a statistically significant relationship between language of secondary education and student's contribution to lectures
 and seminars. Students educated primarily in Welsh were less likely to contribute to discussions than their first language English counterparts – a common outcome of foreign language anxiety. Although this lack of comfort and confidence did not appear to impact grade satisfaction, it
 may be related to, and lead to, further barriers and challenges regarding mental health, academic performance, and post-graduation


Some crop managers are concerned that repeated use of dolomite lime, which contains 10 to 15% Mg, will produce excessively high soil Mg +2 levels relative to Ca +2 and reduce cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) K + uptake and yields. Two cotton field experiments were conducted on well-drained soils to determine the short- and long-term effects of lime applications containing Mg. The first test compared the short-term effects of lime with low and high Mg content on soil characteristics and cotton lint yield. This experiment was conducted at Portageville, MO, in 2000 to 2002 on a field with pH salt 4.7 to compare the effectiveness of calcite (calcium carbonate) and dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) lime at recommended rates for increasing cotton yields on acid soils. Averaged across 3 years, both lime sources significantly increased cotton yields by 94 to 112 kg ha -1 of lint compared with the untreated check. There were no significant differences between calcite and dolomite lime. A second experiment was conducted from 1999 to 2001 to determine whether long-term use of dolomite lime, which reduces exchangeable soil Ca:Mg ratios, would decrease plant K + uptake and cotton yield. To produce a range of Ca:Mg ratios in a soil with near neutral pHsalt (6.2), selected rates of gypsum (CaSO4) and Epsom salt (MgSO4) were applied and incorporated in plots. Soil Ca:Mg ratios ranged from 2.5:1 to 7.6:1 (% base saturation). Whole plant tissue K, fiber quality, and lint yield were not significantly affected by exchange able Ca:Mg ratios. This study showed that cotton farmers with well-drained Delta soils should not be concerned about potential negative effects of Mg in dolomite lime material.


The paper presents the benefits of applying data mining (DM) techniques in customer relationship management (CRM) of the financial sectors like banking, forecasting stock market, currency exchange rate and bank bankruptcies. The competition in the financial sector of the business is growing and the firms find it very difficult to sustain the ever-changing behaviour of the customer. To sustain in the competitive world, firms are taking the advantage of the CRM, the new emerging concept in the business world. DM is helping the firms to achieve profitable and efficient CRM by providing them with advance techniques to analyse the already existing data in the databases of the firms using the complex modelling algorithms The paper demonstrates the ability of the data mining to automate the process of searching the mountain of customer's related data to find patterns that are good predictors of the behaviours of the customer which help achieve successful CRM. The paper gives an idea of how data mining capabilities can provide the increased customer retention and minimises the risk involved in the financial sectors to achieve competitive advantage and concludes by providing the limitations and opportunities in this field.


Individuals inherit not just genes from the parents but also an epigenetic pattern, an ecological (social, biological, and physical) niche, and perceptual and behavioral biases (e.g., culture), all of which can provide experiences necessary for the formation of nascent systems upon which subsequent learning and development depend. Some models of development are evaluated and the developmental psychobiology model is presented as the best way of elucidating how certain early experiences can shape nascent systems that will contribute to the development of a wide range of social, emotional, and cognitive abilities in humans. An example from handedness development is used to illustrate the model.


CONTEXT
Academic medical centers are under enormous pressure to improve quality and cut costs while preserving education.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether a reorganized academic medical service, led by faculty members who attended more often and became involved earlier and more intensively in care, would lower costs without compromising quality and education.

DESIGN
Alternate-day controlled trial.

SETTING
Inpatient academic general medical service.

PATIENTS
The 1623 patients discharged from the Moffitt-Long medical service between July 1, 1995, and June 30, 1996.

INTERVENTIONS
We divided our 4-team inpatient general medical service into 2 managed care service (MCS) teams and 2 traditional service (TS) teams. The MCS faculty served as attending physicians more often and were required to provide early input into clinical decisions. Patients were assigned to teams based on alternate days of admission.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Outcome measures included resource use and outcomes for MCS vs TS patients, and for MCS patients vs patients seen the previous year, adjusted for demographic characteristics and case mix. Satisfaction of patients, house staff, and faculty was also assessed, as was educational emphasis.

RESULTS
A total of 806 patients were admitted to the MCS and 817 to the TS. Demographic characteristics and case mix were similar. Clinical outcomes, including mortality and readmission rates, were also similar, as was patient satisfaction. Resident and faculty satisfaction were high on both services. The average adjusted length of stay of patients on the MCS was 4.3 days vs 4.9 days on the TS and 5 days in 1994-1995 (adjusted P=.01 for MCS vs TS; MCS vs 1994-1995, P<.001). Average adjusted hospital costs were $7007 on the MCS vs $7777 on the TS and $8078 in 1994-1995 (adjusted P=.05 for MCS vs TS; MCS vs 1994-1995, P=.002).

CONCLUSIONS
A reorganized academic medical service, led by faculty members who attended more often and became involved earlier and more intensively, resulted in significant resource savings with no changes in clinical outcomes or patient, faculty, and house staff satisfaction.


Neuroinflammatory disorders (including human immunodeficiency virus-1 encephalitis, HIVE) are associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory brain injury, and excessive alcohol use can exacerbate tissue damage. Using a murine model of HIVE, we investigated the effects of alcohol abuse on the clearance of virus-infected macrophages and neuroinflammation. Severe combined immunodeficient mice were reconstituted with human lymphocytes, and encephalitis was induced by intracranial injection of HIV-1-infected monocyte-derived macrophages (HIV-1(+) MDM). Animals were fed an ethanol-containing diet beginning 2 weeks before lymphocyte engraftment and for the entire duration of the experiment. Lymphocyte engraftment was not altered by ethanol exposure. Alcohol-mediated immunosuppression in ethanol-fed mice was manifested by a significant decrease in CD8(+)/interferon-gamma(+) T lymphocytes, a fivefold increase in viremia, and diminished expression of immunoproteasomes in the spleen. Although both groups showed similar amounts of CD8(+) T-lymphocyte infiltration in brain areas containing HIV-1(+) MDMs, ethanol-fed mice featured double the amounts of HIV-1(+) MDMs in the brain compared to controls. Ethanol-exposed mice demonstrated higher microglial reaction and enhanced oxidative stress. Alcohol exposure impaired immune responses (increased viremia, decreased immunoproteasome levels, and prevented efficient elimination of HIV-1(+) MDMs) and enhanced neuroinflammation in HIVE mice. Thus, alcohol abuse could be a co-factor in progression of HIV-1 infection of the brain.


The loading of Ge-doped SiO2 with hydrogen at nearly room temperature and high pressure (200-700 bars) has been shown to increase by several orders the rate and the magnitude of the UV-induced refractive index change and its value. This pre-treatment is now widely used in industry for the purpose of Bragg grating-based components in telecommunication optical fibers. Its development is also currently in progress for integrated optics. Yet, in this case, the implementation of the technique proves to be more difficult due to rapid out-diffusion of the gas from a thin layer. Many groups have carried out experiments to understand the mechanisms of the enhancement in photosensitivity. In the course of this research, a photosensitization process has been discovered allowing a lock-in of photosensitivity. This points out a catalytic role of a hydrogen containing species. We have analyzed the results of various measurements (such as EPR, UV spectroscopy, and refractive index change) for suggesting a kinetics scheme.


A modular, recurrent connectionist network architecture which learns to robustly perform incremental parsing of complex sentences is presented. From sequential input, one word at a time, the networks learn to do semantic role assignment, noun phrase attachment, and clause structure recognition for sentences with passive constructions and center embedded clauses. The networks make syntactic and semantic predictions at every point in time, and previous predictions are revised as expectations are affirmed or violated with the arrival of new information. The networks induce their own grammar rules for dynamically transforming an input sequence of words into a syntactic/semantic interpretation. These networks generalize and display tolerance to input which has been corrupted in ways common in spoken language.<<ETX>>


The future of books and libraries is put into question by the increasing popularity of e-books and the use of computers as text platforms. In an effort to anticipate which reading platform—print, e-readers, or computers displays—will dominate in the coming years, recent research and experimental data on the suitability of each reading platform for reading comprehension will be considered, from the perspectives of optical issues, cognition, and metacognition. It will be shown that, while printed books are most conducive to learning from longer, more difficult texts, e-readers and computer displays offer convenience and some distinct advantages to readers in particular situations. This synthesis of current research will be helpful to librarians working in digital and print book purchasing and collection development, as well as those making long-range planning decisions.


This thesis reports an investigation of tie-line bias load-frequency control. This type of control is currently used on many electric energy supply systems, but has recently been the subject of much controversy in the literature. Claims have been made that typical industry values of the load-frequency controller parameters result in smaller "stability margins" than other gains which minimize integral quadratic performance indices which weight only tie-line power and frequency deviations. Through analog simulation studies of the dynamic model of two inter¬ connected steam-electric areas, it was found in this research that the "optimum" LFC gains resulted in rates of change of generated power which were beyond the capabilities of typical industry generating units. A digital-computer parameter optimization routine was written which demonstrated that typical industry LFC gains also satisfy an integralquadratic performance index—one which weights speed-changer rate more heavily than frequency or tie-line power. A case is then made against the use of parameter optimization as a tool for designing control systems. The eigenvalues of the Two-Area Model were studied and it was found that the LFC gains have little effect on any interconnection poles other than those which are characteristic of the motion of the speedchanger. In particular, the synchronizing oscillations become less damped as the LFC integrator gain increases from zero. When the two areas of the Model were identical and a decentralized control strategy was implemented, it was found that half the poles of the interconnection were fixed as the interconnection coefficient increased from zero. These fixed-pole modes were not observable in the transfer function between an area's load change and its angle deviation. Classical root-locus techniques were used to study the observable inodes. It was found that as the interconnection coefficient went to infinity, the synchronizing oscillation poles approached a vertical asymptote whose position depends only on the inertia and damping of each area, not on any feedback of an area's state variables to its governor input. It is indicated that further improvement in interconnection response may be difficult to achieve via a decentralized control strategy which acts through the governor.


We analyze how a contest organizer chooses the winner when the contestants.efforts are already exerted and commitment to the use of a given contest success function is not possible. We define the notion of rationalizability in mixed-strategies to capture such a situation. Our approach allows to derive different contest success functions depending on the aims and attitudes of the decider. We derive contest success functions which are closely related to commonly used functions providing new support for them. By taking into account social welfare considerations our approach bridges the contest literature and the recent literature on political economy.


Abstract. In search of transnational scholarship and languages within human geography, the so-called ''Quantitative Revolution'' of the 1960s arguably holds considerable pride of place. More than previous innovations within geography, which were largely bounded within (and by) national intellectual traditions, the innovate practices associated with the 1960s arguably hold a key to understanding how intellectual traditions become shared traditions and as such enrich both national and international research practices. The present paper uses insights gleaned from the 1960s in the context of a geography still oscillating between ''structural-'' and ''event-driven'' forms of explanation in an attempt better to understand pronounced (if historically uneven) interweavings of national traditions that shape discourses and practices in human geography across the globe. Part of this analysis will focus on the importance of structures and careers in the making of such traditions, thereby contextualising the widely shared notion of an ''Anglo-Saxon hegemony'' currently prevailing in human geographical theoretically informed practices. Throughout, the paper focuses on the task of editing a journal like Geographica Helvetica as a transnational journal interested in bridging traditions formed by particular languages across Europe and beyond.


Phase-encoded optical sampling allows radio-frequency and microwave signals to be directly down-converted and digitized with high linearity and greater than 60-dB (10-effective-bit) signal-to-noise ratio. Wide-band electrical signals can be processed using relatively low optical sampling rates provided that the instantaneous signal bandwidth is less than the Nyquist sampling bandwidth. We demonstrate the capabilities of this technique by using a 60-MS/s system to down-sample two different FM chirp signals: 1) a baseband (0-250 MHz) linear-chirp waveform and 2) a nonlinear-chirp waveform having a 10-GHz center frequency and a frequency excursion of 1 GHz. We characterize the frequency response of the technique and quantify the analog bandwidth limitation due to the optical pulse width. The 3-dB bandwidth imposed by a 30-ps sampling pulse is shown to be 10.4 GHz. We also investigate the impact of the pulse width on the linearity of the phase-encoded optical sampling technique when it is used to sample high-frequency signals.


Adjusting nucleation conditions, an effective shape and size control in the preparation of single-crystal lithium niobate nanoparticles by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition method was demonstrated. The effect of the most relevant parameters leading to nanocrystals taking a specific shape or size once they are synthesized was analyzed. This has allowed us to demonstrate that it is possible to control the size and morphology of particles prepared adjusting the nucleation conditions. The synthesized nanocrystals showed different morphologies including quasi-cubic, tetrahedral, polyhedral, and hexagonal shapes, with characteristic sizes ranging from a few tens to a few hundred nanometers. However, rod-like structures with characteristic lengths ranging from 3 to 5 μ m were also obtained. The structural and morphological characterization by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy techniques revealed the single-crystal nature of the synthesized particles.


ODP Leg 125 recovered peridotites from Conical Seamount in the Mariana forearc and Torishima Forearc Seamount in the Izu-Bonin forearc. The peridotites recovered comprise about 95% harzburgites and about 5% dunites, which are variably serpentinised (mostly 60-100%). The Leg 125 peridotites represent some of the first extant peridotites recovered from a forearc selling. A detailed petrographic, mineral and bulk-rock chemical study of the peridotites has been undertaken in order to elucidate information about melting and fluid processes in the forearc mantle wedge. The harzburgites are highly refractory in terms of their mineralogy and geochemistry. They have low modal clinopyroxene, highly magnesian olivine (Mg# = 91.1-93.6) and orthopyroxene (Mg# = 91.6-93.2) and chrome-rich spinels (Cr# = 60-80) and very low incompatible element contents (Ti 20%). The Ti concentrations in the clinopyroxene indicate that the harzburgites are residues to -25% fractional melting. However, petrographic and other geochemical information show that the Leg 125 harzburgites have had a complicated melting and enrichment history. Many samples have olivine fabrics which are interpreted as having formed beneath a spreading ridge. Orthopyroxenes have lobate grain boundaries often associated with fresh olivine neoblasts. This texture is interpreted as showing the incongruent melting of orthopyroxene, a process which happens at low pressures (-3 kb) and high water pressures. These two types of textures indicate that the peridotites have had a two stage melting history. Moreover, the V concentrations in the clinopyroxenes can be explained by -15% partial melting at low oxygen fugacities (FMQ-1), followed by 5- 10% melting at high oxygen fugacities (FMQ+1). Oxygen thermobarometry calculations are in accordance with the peridotites last equilibrating under oxygen fugacities of greater than FMQ+1.The bulk-rocks have chondrite-normalised REE patterns showing extreme U-shapes with [La/Sm](_N) ratios in the range 5.03-250.0 and [Sm/Yb](_N) ratios in the range 0.05 to 0.25; several samples have possible small positive Eu anomalies. On extended chondrite-normalised plots the bulk-rocks also show enrichments in Sr and Zr relative to their neighbouring REEs and are enriched in LREE, Rb, Cs, Ba, Sm, and Eu relative to abyssal peridotites. Covariation diagrams based on clinopyroxene data show that Sr, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu and Zr are enriched in the clinopyroxenes and that the enrichment took place during or after melting. The enrichment component is most likely a melt derived from the underlying subduction zone. A multistage melting and enrichment model is proposed for the peridotites where they first melt 10-15% beneath a spreading ridge. The resulting depleted spinel Iherzolite is enriched and then melted again 10- 15% above the subduction zone to produce the spatially associated boninites. A final enrichment event takes place during and after this melting event to produce the characteristic trace element enrichments in the Leg 125 peridotites.


This manuscript based thesis examines and advances methods for constraining sources of atmospheric trace constituents with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model. The method of Bayesian inversion is demonstrated, and a new method is introduced to a class of similar problems where established methods are not applicable. First, A new regression based methodology was developed and applied to observations of atmospheric methanesulfonic acid mass concentrations at Alert, Nunavut. The methodology was used to compare the importance of phytoplankton blooms vs. the ice-free ocean as sources of the dimethylsulfide precursor, and to compare the importance of bromine monoxide vs. hydroxyl as agents oxidizing dimethylsulfide to methanesulfonic acid. These issues are relevant to the application of methanesulfonic acid concentrations in ice cores to determine historic sea ice properties. The analysis indicated that source regions to Alert during the spring are primarily ice-free ocean with a significant contribution from ice edge blooms, and during the summer to be dominated by the ice-free ocean. The model also indicated that oxidation of DMS by BrO was the dominant source of MSA in the spring, while DMS oxidation by OH was the dominant source in the summer. Secondly, Bayesian inversion was applied to observations of atmospheric elemental carbon mass concentrations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The analysis provided evidence that current bottom-up elemental carbon emissions estimates in northern China are likely underpredicted. Global chemical transport models show ubiquitous underestimates of the atmospheric burden of elemental carbon, especially near large sources of emissions. Northern China is among the regions with the most intensive elemental carbon emissions in the world, and an underestimate of emissions in this region may be partially responsible for the global chemical transport model underestimates.