Biologists' pragmatic need to use model organisms means that they often have to treat the tree of life as the proverbial blind men treated the elephant. The blind men struggled to reconcile their seemingly irreconcilable descriptions of tusks, tail, trunk, and leg, but biologists frequently study a phenomenon in organisms from distant branches of the tree (for example, humans, mice, flies, and worms) and then confidently infer its universality. The parsimony with which evolution operates means that most of the time they'll be correct; sometimes, however, it may be beneficial for them not to simply compare notes and then jump to conclusions but rather to gradually feel their way along the tree branches and see whether they ever encounter each other.

This synopsis recounts a cautionary and intriguing tale of just how deceptive long-distance similarities between such disparate animal models can be. It involves the constant firefight that living things wage against the relentless assault on their genomes by transposons. These "selfish genes," akin to computer viruses, lurk in our cellular software until their copy/paste instructions are activated by transcription into RNA, resulting in potentially damaging insertions into other parts of the genome. This is clearly undesirable, and—unsurprisingly—organisms have evolved ingenious ways to suppress transposon activity, especially in the reproductive cells, in which a transposition event would affect not only the organism in question but also subsequent generations.

A key way of policing the activity of transposons involves a protein called Piwi, which belongs to a large tribe of RNA-binding proteins called the Argonaute family. The Argonaute proteins have a slot that accommodates a small RNA molecule (20–30 nucleotides long) with its sequence of bases sticking outwards so that they can recognize longer complementary RNA molecules by base pairing. This pairing targets the Argonaute proteins to the complementary RNAs, allowing the Argonautes to cleave or sequester the RNAs or to silence their genes. Different Argonautes bind subtly different small RNAs; those favored by Piwi are called Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), and they direct Piwi to silence transposons.

The Piwi-piRNA system is seen in humans, mice, flies, and worms, and (see above!) is therefore inferred to be near universal among animals. There are some differences in the way that they are made and in the exact downstream consequences of their activity, but essentially the piRNAs are always made from snippets of transposon complementary RNAs, they bind Piwi, and they ultimately silence the transposon from which they were derived. They even share details like a uracil base at the front end and a methyl group at the back end.

But what if the biologist who examines the worm (or, more specifically, the worm, Caenorhabditis elegans), instead of conferring with the biologist who studies the fly, tries to gradually feel his way along the tree of life towards her? This is essentially what Peter Sarkies, Eric Miska, and colleagues have done in a new study just published in PLOS Biology. They start from the well-known situation in C. elegans and then do a broad study of small RNAs—and the proteins that make and then use them—across the entire nematode phylum. This survey of the workhorse worm's phylogenetic neighborhood reveals an unsuspected degree of evolutionary dynamism, not only in the Piwi-piRNA system, but also in other small RNA pathways and other transposon management schemes.

The nematodes are considered to fall into five groups, or clades, named Clades I to V (C. elegans itself is in Clade V), so the authors took 11 species of nematode that cover these clades representatively and sequenced their repertoire of small RNAs. They also used already-available data on two further species. As expected, they found numerous piRNAs, or "21U-RNAs" (so named because they're 21 nucleotides long and start with a uracil), in C. elegans and in its fellow Clade V members. However, worms from the other clades had neither 21U-RNAs nor the slightly longer piRNAs found in some non-nematode animals.

Gratifyingly, the worm version of the Piwi protein (PRG-1) was also missing outside Clade V, as was HENN-1, the enzyme that sticks the characteristic methyl group onto piRNAs. Thus, this pathway—the piRNAs themselves, an enzyme that helps make them, and the protein that uses them to silence transposons—is present in non-nematode animals, including fellow ecdysozoans like insects and tardigrades, but is only found in one specific group of nematodes. The rather unparsimonious explanation for this pattern—and one for which the authors provide compelling evidence—is that the Piwi/piRNA pathway must have been present in the great-granddaddy of all nematodes but independently lost in multiple nematode lineages during evolution.

Does this mean that the genomes of worms from Clades I, II, III, and IV are riddled with rampant transposons, unconstrained by piRNAs? Apparently not. It was already known that piRNAs in C. elegans silence transposons indirectly via another family of small RNAs called "22G-RNAs" (yes, they're 22 nucleotides long and start with a guanine). The authors checked to see whether 22G-RNAs were also present in the non-Clade V worms, exploiting the fact that these molecules, unlike most other small RNAs, have triphosphate groups at the front end.

Yes, Clade III and Clade IV worms, like the Clade V lab workhorse C. elegans, have 22G-RNAs. This seems to suggest that while the silencing of transposons by 22G-RNAs in Clade V worms needs some upstream help from piRNAs, the Clade III and IV 22G-RNAs can get by on their own (this group of animals is represented by the Clade III nematode Brugia malayi in Fig. 1). Indeed, the 22G-RNAs in these piRNA-less worms do seem to consist of transposon-derived sequences and so are likely to be performing a similar function.

Fig 1

Dynamic evolution of transposon-silencing pathways.

But the 22G-RNA system is missing from Clades I and II, implying that it arose anew in a common ancestor of Clades III–V. The authors duly show that that the three RNA-directed RNA polymerases (RdRPs) needed to make 22G-RNAs from transposon RNA are also only present in these three clades—these enzymes seem to have a specially inserted sequence that the authors speculate may adapt them to the manufacture of 22G-RNAs by liberating them from the need for a primer.

This still leaves Clades I and II (represented in Fig. 1 by the Clade I nematode Trichinella spiralis) without an obvious transposon-silencing mechanism. The authors find that although there are no obvious 21U-RNAs (piRNAs) or 22G-RNAs, these worms contain a host of transposon-derived small RNAs that have properties distinct from either of those categories. Instead, these are 23–25 nucleotides in length, are unmethylated, and appear to have originated as sense-antisense pairs with staggered ends—a characteristic of small RNAs that have been snipped out of a longer double-stranded RNA by an enzyme known as Dicer (maker of the most famous class of small RNAs—the microRNAs).

The authors in fact build an intriguing circumstantial case that in Clade I and II nematodes, RdRPs copy the single-stranded transposon RNA into double-stranded RNA; this is then snipped into small RNAs by Dicer and goes on to direct RNA-directed methylation of the original transposon DNA—a form of epigenetic silencing. Although unproven, this is tantalizing, because similar systems are found in plants and fungi (compare T. spiralis with the plant Arabidopsis thaliana in Fig. 1), suggesting that this may be the ancestral mechanism of transposon silencing in animals.

At the end of this journey, the blind men's elephant—in this instance—is revealed as a sham; the piRNAs in the model nematode C. elegans have been shown to be faux amis, concealing a dynamic evolutionary history whereby this broadly conserved transposon-silencing system has been lost on several occasions, in each case being supplanted by a different family of small RNAs, resourcefully produced by unrelated enzymatic mechanisms. This extraordinary recurrent wholesale turnover of an essential defensive mechanism is surprising and somewhat reminiscent of the dynamism inherent in immune systems, which fight a parallel war against selfish intruders.


I. introduction On the tenth anniversary of the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability,1 it is fitting to observe from whence the law of products liability has come and to look a bit at where it presently resides. Truly modern products liability law in the United States2 is fairly viewed as being about half a century old, beginning with the rise of strict liability for manufacturers of defective products in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In fact, however, much of the story of products liability law begins much longer ago than that. Important aspects of the modern law of products liability rest on principles of strict seller liability for defective goods rooted in custom and law as far back as the eye can see, at least to Roman law, which imposed an implied warranty of quality against defects on sellers of certain goods,3 a rule that may be traced to ancient Babylon, one or two thousand years before.4 More recently, elemental foundations of modern products liability law lie in the early law of England and America, and it suffices here to begin our evolutionary inquiry with a consideration of those vital tap roots of our modern law. Modern products liability policy and doctrine, originating in warranty and tort, draws from a deep reservoir of recent academic thought.5 As important as this foundational scholarship may be, the flowering of modern law in this field evolved essentially from the intertwining of two conceptual roots: the ancient idea that sellers should be strictly responsible for defects in goods they sell together with the largely modern idea that a person injured by a defective product may hold the manufacturer accountable although no contract of sale existed between the two. It was the union of these two important legal concepts-strict liability (drawn from the contract of sale) and the irrelevance of privity of contract (drawn from the law of tort)-that spawned the brightest blossom of modern products liability doctrine, strict manufacturer liability in tort. Yet, while the explosive rise of the doctrine of strict liability for manufacturers of defective products during the 1960s and 1970s is the most striking development in modern products liability law, the law did not settle there, at least not in how most product liability cases are evaluated in the United States. While European and, more slowly, other nations are just beginning to work through the meaning of "strict" manufacturer liability in various contexts,6 a heavy preponderance of American jurisdictions, as reflected and guided by the Third Restatement, have returned the bulk of modern manufacturer liability law to its more natural home in fault. And, despite some protests here and there, this is where the modern law of products liability presently, and comfortably, resides. II. EARLY ENGLISH LAW In early medieval English law, the law governing a seller's responsibility for defects in its products was crude at best.7 Indeed, private law, under which an aggrieved buyer might sue the seller for damages caused by defective goods, was largely unknown in early England.8 In time, guilds of the various crafts developed an elaborate system of localized criminal regulation of product quality by statutes that often developed into ordinances of the town. But such local statutes were designed to protect the public more from being cheated than from being injured. The late Roman law's insistence on the fair quality of goods sold was largely absent from the rustic local law of medieval England, but certain aspects of Justinian's Digest from late Roman law wended their way to a limited extent into early English law through the dominant role in society of the church, the scholars of which were trained in the civil law.9 In the thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274 A.D.) in his Summa Theologica10 outlined the basic mercantile obligations consistent with those expressed by Justinian in his Digest.11 Thus, the seller was bound to disclose secret flaws: it was sin and fraud to sell a product containing a latent defect known to the seller and not the buyer, and the sale was void. …


We study how various types of machines, namely, information and communication technologies, software and especially industrial robots, affect the demand for workers of different education, age and gender. We do so by exploiting differences in the composition of workers across countries, industries and time. Our data set comprises 10 high-income countries and 30 industries, which span roughly their entire economies, with annual observations over the period 1982–2005. The results suggest that software and robots reduced the demand for low- and medium-skill workers, the young and women – especially in manufacturing industries; but raised the demand for high-skill workers, older workers and men – especially in service industries. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that automation technologies, contrary to other types of capital, replace humans performing routine tasks. We also find evidence for some types of workers, especially women, having shifted away from such tasks.


"The whole chaotic constellation of the social revolves around that spongy reference, that opaque but equally translucent reality, that nothingness: the masses. A statistical crystal ball, the masses are 'swirling with currents and flows, ' in the image of matter and the natural elements. So, at least, they are represented to us."Written in 1978 and first published in English in 1983, "In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities" was the first postmodern response to the delusional strategies of terrorism. At a time when European terrorists were taking politics into their own hands, Baudrillard was the first to announce that the "critical mass" had stopped being critical of anything. Rather, the "masses" had become a place of absorption and implosion; hence the ending of the possibility of politics as will and representation.The book marked the end of an era when silent majorities still factored into the democratic political process and were expected to respond positively to revolutionary messages. With the masses no longer "alienated" as Marx had described, but rather indifferent, this phenomenon made revolutionary explosion impossible, says Baudrillard."The mass absorbs all the social energy, but no longer refracts it. It absorbs every sign and every meaning, but no longer reflects them... it never participates. It is a good conductor of information, but of any information. It is without truth and without reason. It is without conscience and without unconscious. Everybody questions it, but never as silence, always to make it speak. This silence is unbearable. It is the simulation chamber of the social."As a mere shadow cast by power, the silent majority and its hyper-real conformity have no meaning and nothing to say to us. To that, terrorism responds by an equally hyper-real act equally caught up from the onset in concentric waves of media and of fascination."It aims at the mass silence, the masses in their silence. It aims at the white magic of simulation, deterrence, of anonymous and random control, and by the black magic of a still greater, more anonymous, arbitrary and more hazardous abstraction; that of the terrorist act."Remarkably prescient, Baudrillard's meditation on terrorism throws light on post-September 11th delusional fears and political simulations.


Abstract. The gas-phase nitrate radical (NO3⚫) initiated oxidation of limonene can produce organic nitrate species with varying physical properties. Low-volatility products can contribute to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and organic nitrates may serve as a NOx reservoir, which could be especially important in regions with high biogenic emissions. This work presents the measurement results from flow reactor studies on the reaction of NO3⚫ with limonene using a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-CIMS) combined with a Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols (FIGAERO). Major condensed-phase species were compared to those in the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) limonene mechanism, and many non-listed species were identified. The volatility properties of the most prevalent organic nitrates in the produced SOA were determined. Analysis of multiple experiments resulted in the identification of several dominant species (including C10H15NO6, C10H17NO6, C8H11NO6, C10H17NO7, and C9H13NO7) that occurred in the SOA under all conditions considered. Additionally, the formation of dimers was consistently observed and these species resided almost completely in the particle phase. The identities of these species are discussed, and formation mechanisms are proposed. Cluster analysis of the desorption temperatures corresponding to the analyzed particle-phase species yielded at least five distinct groupings based on a combination of molecular weight and desorption profile. Overall, the results indicate that the oxidation of limonene by NO3⚫ produces a complex mixture of highly oxygenated monomer and dimer products that contribute to SOA formation.


Faults have been increasingly integrated into seismic‐hazard assessments. We have developed a package of MATLAB ( , last accessed January 2016) tools (called FiSH ), designed to help seismic‐hazard modelers analyze fault data. These tools enable the derivation of expected earthquake rates, given common fault data, and allow researchers to test the consistency between the magnitude–frequency distributions (MFDs) assigned to a fault and some available observations. The basic assumption of FiSH is that the geometric and kinematic features of a fault are the expression of its seismogenic potential. Three tools have been designed to integrate the variable levels of information available: (1) the first tool allows users to convert fault geometry and slip rates into a global budget of the seismic moment released in a given time frame, taking uncertainties into account; (2) the second tool computes the recurrence parameters and associated uncertainties from historical and/or paleoseismological data; and (3) the third tool outputs time‐independent or time‐dependent earthquake rates for different MFD models. We present a test case to illustrate the capabilities of FiSH , on the Paganica normal fault in central Italy that ruptured during the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake sequence (mainshock M w 6.3). The source codes are open, and we encourage users to handle the scripts, communicate with us regarding bugs, and/or suggest further improvements. Our intent is to distribute these tools in order to help researchers to pinpoint potential inconsistencies and obtain reliable fault‐based seismic‐hazard evaluations.


Lois Wille s illustrated account provides behind-the-scenes insight into how a small number of Chicago business leaders transformed the dangerous and seedy South Loop into an integrated and thriving community in the heart of the central city.The obstacles to the evolution of Dearborn Park were quite formidable, including a succession of six mayors, huge economic impediments, policy disputes engendered among people used to making their own corporate decisions, the wretched reputation of the South Loop, problems with the Chicago public school system, and public mistrust of a project supported by the wealthy, no matter how altruistic the goal. It took twenty years and millions of dollars, but it will pay off and in fact is paying off right now. With Dearborn Park, Chicago left a formula that other cities can use to turn fallow land into vibrant neighborhoodswithout big government subsidies. As Wille explains, the realization of this vision requires shared investment and shared risk on the part of local businesses, financial institutions, and government. It links private and public influence and capital. Wille explains how these elements worked together to build a neighborhood in a blighted tract of Chicago s Loop. She also describes how key decisions affecting the public interest were made during a time of profound change in the city s political life: Dearborn Park was conceived during the final years of the most powerful political machine in America and had to adapt as that machine crumbled and city government was reshaped "


Preconditioned Iterative Methods for Inhomogeneous Acoustic Scattering Applications by Josef Sifuentes This thesis develops and analyzes efficient iterative methods for solving discretizations of the Lippmann–Schwinger integral equation for inhomogeneous acoustic scattering. Analysis and numerical illustrations of the spectral properties of the scattering problem demonstrate that a significant portion of the spectrum is approximated well on coarse grids. To exploit this, I develop a novel restarted GMRES method with adaptive deflation preconditioning based on spectral approximations on multiple grids. Much of the literature in this field is based on exact deflation, which is not feasible for most practical computations. This thesis provides an analytical framework for general approximate deflation methods and suggests a way to rigorously study a host of inexactly-applied preconditioners. Approximate deflation algorithms are implemented for scattering through thin inhomogeneities in photonic band gap problems. I also develop a short term recurrence for solving the one dimensional version of the problem that exploits the observation that the integral operator is a low rank perturbation of a self-adjoint operator. This method is based on strategies for solving Schur complement problems, and provides an alternative to a recent short term recurrence algorithm for matrices with such structure that we show to be numerically unstable for this application. The restarted GMRES method with adaptive deflation preconditioning over multiple grids, as well as the short term recurrence method for operators with low rank skew-adjoint parts, are very effective for reducing both the computational time and computer memory required to solve acoustic scattering problems. Furthermore, the methods are sufficiently general to be applicable to a wide class of problems.


Joshua Watson (1771–1855) was a wealthy merchant who used his business acumen and administrative skills to become a key player in numerous Anglican societies that had missionary concerns, working alongside high-ranking clergy in various capacities. One aspect of Watson's achievements was his impact on the emerging colonial church structures in Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand. He was heavily involved in the reform and administration of the two main High Church mission societies: the SPCK and the SPG. Watson was a figure of immense significance to the development of early nineteenth-century colonial Anglicanism. His example illustrates the importance of lay figures both to the High Church tradition and to the broader history of Anglicanism.


Evidence from one practice and from the literature suggest that approximately half of most common chronic disorders are undetected, that half of those detected are not treated, and that half of those treated are not controlled: the 'rule of halves'. Workload in primary care would increase by at least 12% if all common and important chronic disorders were fully diagnosed, treated and followed up; the accompanying effects on prescribing costs would be complex, but not necessarily inflationary. The relationship between these data and the new general practitioner contract is discussed.


The aims of this study are the investigation of the Earth's structure and dynamics at the continental margin between the mid-Atlantic-ridge system (Mohns and Knipovich Ridges) and the Bear Island (Bjornoya) region from its top sedimentary cover to its imprint in the upper mantle. In this region the margin includes an extremely thick sedimentary wedge and steep slopes, with at least one major paleo-fracture zone cutting through the wedge. Recent studies in this area indicate very low seismic velocities in the lithosphere and the stress field undergoes an extensional-compressional transition. It is therefore of particular interest to understand the structural architecture, the stress and the dynamics of the whole region because of its natural hazard exposure and the processes involved in the formation of the margin and the opening of the North Atlantic.To obtain such information, detailed monitoring and analysis of the seismicity between the margin and the mid-Atlantic ridges are necessary. To achieve this, deep seismic sounding data, as well as records from temporary broadband installations, supplementary to data from existing seismic stations in the region were collected. In autumn 2007, we began withseismological field experiments along the continental margin of the Barents Sea near Bear Island (Bjornoya) and the Mohns and Knipovich Ridges. The field experiments comprise the installation and parallel operation of several seismic instruments during 2007-2008 such as 12 broadband Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBSs), two new broadband seismometers, a small temporary seismic array with 13 sensors and active seismicrefraction/reflection experiments along two profiles crossing the region and recorded with additional short period OBSs and land stations.First results of the joint data analysis with respect to seismicity and crustal structure in the region of interest will be presented.


This study determined the driving characteristics of wheelchair users during power wheelchair soccer games. Data for this study were collected at the 28th and 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Nineteen veterans who were 18 years or older and power wheelchair soccer players completed a brief demographic survey and provided information about their power wheelchairs. A customized data-logging device was placed on each participant's wheelchair before power soccer game participation. The data logger was removed at the end of the final game for each participant. The average distance traveled during the games was 899.5 +/- 592.5 m, and the average maximum continuous distance traveled was 256.0 +/- 209.4 m. The average wheelchair speed was 0.8 +/- 0.2 m/s, and the average duration of driving time was 17.6 +/- 8.3 min. Average proportion of time spent at a speed >1 m/s was 30.7% +/- 33.8%, between 0.5 and 1 m/s was 16.2% +/- 34.4%, and <0.5 m/s was 21.4% +/- 24.3%. The information from this descriptive study provides insight for future research in the field of adapted sports for people with high levels of impairments who use power wheelchairs for their mobility.


Device fabricated on selective buried oxide (SEL-BOX) substrates have the potential for high performance while overcoming the drawbacks of floating body effects that afflict silicon on insulator (SOI) devices. Thus SEL-BOX technology is ideally suited for System-on-Chip applications. This paper reports simulation studies of MOSFETs fabricated on SEL-BOX substrates and compares the device and circuit characteristics with those of devices on SOI and bulk-silicon substrates. The ability to control device parameters, especially the device threshold voltage, by varying the spacing in the buried oxide and the scalability of devices makes SEL-BOX a promising technology.


mirEX is a comprehensive platform for comparative analysis of primary microRNA expression data. RT–qPCR-based gene expression profiles are stored in a universal and expandable database scheme and wrapped by an intuitive user-friendly interface. A new way of accessing gene expression data in mirEX includes a simple mouse operated querying system and dynamic graphs for data mining analyses. In contrast to other publicly available databases, the mirEX interface allows a simultaneous comparison of expression levels between various microRNA genes in diverse organs and developmental stages. Currently, mirEX integrates information about the expression profile of 190 Arabidopsis thaliana pri-miRNAs in seven different developmental stages: seeds, seedlings and various organs of mature plants. Additionally, by providing RNA structural models, publicly available deep sequencing results, experimental procedure details and careful selection of auxiliary data in the form of web links, mirEX can function as a one-stop solution for Arabidopsis microRNA information. A web-based mirEX interface can be accessed at http://bioinfo.amu.edu.pl/mirex.


The intraday continuous electricity market (ICM) is a potential target market for the Dispatchable Hybrid Renewable solar–wind–battery energy storage system (BESS) power plant (DHRB). However, the uncertainty of the electricity price jeopardizes economic justification of BESS operation, an essential component of DHRB. Using the duality theory, this paper proposes a unilevel mixed-integer linear programming rolling-approach-based robust optimal scheduling tool for DHRB that keeps BESS operation optimal should the worst price scenario occur. It reflects BESS's degradation as penalty factors and also integrates a BESS degradation model in the scheduling tool for better assessment of the available resources through the BESS's lifetime. This tool aids the DHRB operator to decide the power offer to the ICM in such a way that the BESS's operation remains optimal. A case study is carried out to demonstrate the application of the proposed tool. Both the long-term and short-term losses/benefits of utilizing this tool for scheduling DHRB in the ICM are investigated at various uncertainty levels. It is shown that there will be a risk of loss of income for the DHRB in the short-term due to increased nondispatchable energy. However, by limiting the use of BESS to only those settlement periods that are either certainly profitable or unavoidable, the lifetime of BESS can potentially be extended. Hence, this can result in more income by the DHRB power plant in the long-term.


Analysis of collected data from 2011, in structure of used agricultural land in Serbia shows that dominated plough land and gardens and meadows and pastures, until in smaller percentage are orchards and vineyards. Almost the same relation is noticed in other republics of former Yugoslavia (meadow and pastures are the most prevalent view of using the agricultural land in Slovenia, Macedonia, B&H and Montenegro). Share of area under wheat notice smaller oscillation in all republics in the period 2008-2010, until yield per hectare is equalized for the same observed period. Share of area under corn in correlation with sown areas, for the period 2008-2012 is almost equalized for all republics. The average yield of corn per hectare records declining trend from 2008-2012, and it shows that by production Serbia is behind Slovenia and Croatia. Also, it was stated that world production of cereals grow in 2012 and in 2013, contributed by corn and wheat production in China, North America, European countries and former Soviet Union. Analysis of used land capacities is emphasized importance of land as a limited factor in production and base on that has given recommendation for alleviating problems in agriculture and food production. Conclusions are given based on calculation of percentages and their mutual comparisons for every country included in the research.


This thesis began with research into a current crisis condition manifested in the growing number of illegal border crossings into Canada from the United States. Bordertopia evolved beyond the practicality and the legality of the issue, developing into a hypothetical condition that speculates a future for the international boundary. In the summer of 2017, the influx of people crossing the border illegally has surged to a record high. Affecting the political regime and the human condition, this thesis questions the status of the nomadic individuals who have situated themselves within the Canadian border. Bordertopia explores the framework of present space and time, using an architectural strategy that envisions border topologies of a near future. Using a network of informal crossings as a mobile port of entry, the destination for the refugees is a self-determining community that continues to move and transform, while maintaining an aesthetics of incompleteness and temporariness.


Learning unbiased models on imbalanced datasets is a significant challenge. Rare classes tend to get a concentrated representation in the classification space which hampers the generalization of learned boundaries to new test examples. In this paper, we demonstrate that the Bayesian uncertainty estimates directly correlate with the rarity of classes and the difficulty level of individual samples. Subsequently, we present a novel framework for uncertainty based class imbalance learning that follows two key insights: First, classification boundaries should be extended further away from a more uncertain (rare) class to avoid over-fitting and enhance its generalization. Second, each sample should be modeled as a multi-variate Gaussian distribution with a mean vector and a covariance matrix defined by the sample's uncertainty. The learned boundaries should respect not only the individual samples but also their distribution in the feature space. Our proposed approach efficiently utilizes sample and class uncertainty information to learn robust features and more generalizable classifiers. We systematically study the class imbalance problem and derive a novel loss formulation for max-margin learning based on Bayesian uncertainty measure. The proposed method shows significant performance improvements on six benchmark datasets for face verification, attribute prediction, digit/object classification and skin lesion detection.


Immunomodulatory drugs lenalidomide (LENA) and pomalidomide (POMA) are synthetic compounds derived by modifying the chemical structure of thalidomide to improve its potency and reduce its side effects. LENA is used as a treatment for myeloma and blood disorders called myelodysplastic syndromes. The maximum clinical dose of LENA for some haematological cancers is generally ≤ 25 mg. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is important for the individualization of drug dosage. A highly sensitive and high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) assay was developed and validated for the quantification of LENA in human plasma. LENA was extracted from human plasma by liquid-liquid extraction by ethyl acetate and analysed using a reversed phase isocratic elution on a Poroshell 120 EC-C18, (4.6 - 50 mm, 2.7µm) column. 0.1% formic acid: methanol (10:90% v/v), was used as mobile phase and detection was performed by triple quadrupole mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS using jet stream electrospray ionization in negative mode. POMA was used as the internal standard (IS). Analyte and IS were detected by tandem mass spectrometry using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) of precursor–product ion transitions with 0.100 s dwell time, at m/z 258.0 > 213.0 for LENA and m/z 272.0 > 161.0 for POMA. The calibration curves were consistently accurate and precise over the concentration range of 20 ng/mL to 1000 ng/mL in plasma for LENA. This novel LC–MS/MS method competes with all the regulatory requirements and shows satisfactory accuracy and precision. It is sufficiently sensitive for the performance of pharmacokinetic, bioequivalence and TDM studies in humans.


In response to a need for rational, quantified, and repeatable assessment of building materials subject to heating during fire, a novel fire testing methodology, named the Heat-Transfer Rate Inducing System (H-TRIS), has been developed using an innovative thermal loading technique. H-TRIS is based on the use of a mobile array of propane-fired high performance radiant heating elements, along with a computer-controlled mechanical linear motion system. The thermal loading is actively controlled by incident heat flux measurements at the test element's exposed surface using a high precision loop feedback system. This paper presents the motivation behind the development of this unique testing methodology, the theoretical and practical procedures behind its conception and operation, and the potential value that H-TRIS may bring to the fire engineering design, research and certification communities.


Indoor exposure to particles of outdoor origin constitutes an important exposure pathway. We conducted an intensive set of indoor particle measurements in an unoccupied house under differing operating conditions. Real-time measurements were conducted both indoors and outdoors, including PM2.5 nitrate, sulfate, and carbon. Because the time-scale of the fluctuations in outdoor particle concentrations and meteorological conditions are often similar to the time constant for building air exchange, a steady state concentration may never be reached. The time-series experimental data were used to determine the effect of changes in air exchange rate and indoor/outdoor temperature and relative humidity differences on indoor particle concentrations. A multivariate regression was performed to investigate the difference between measured indoor concentrations and results from a simple time-dependent physical model. Environmental conditions had a significant effect on indoor concentrations of all three PM2.5 species, but did not explain all of the model variation.


Today we live in a world of global digital connections. In a simple and inexpensive way, with help of
modern digital technologies, we can make an ordinary conversation or multimillion monetary transactions with
people who are on the other side of the world. The way we spend our leisure time and the way we conduct
business relations is changed by the easy access to the computer systems and the internet as well as from the up
growing market of new communication devices.
In parallel with these global transformations, the way criminals commit their criminal acts have changed
too. The universal digital access opens new opportunities for the modern, computer savvy delinquents, who can
use this technology and knowledge to cause harm not only to business users but to ordinary users, as well. More
worse is the fact that, the computers and networks may be even used for coordination and completion of
terroristic attacks, which endanger us all. Unfortunately, in many cases, security services lag behind all those
delinquents in terms of technical- technological sense, as well as in the personnel training for suppression of this
new and up growing threat called computer or cybercrime.
Thus, for the Republic of Macedonia and the rest of the countries as an imperative comes the need to
make a legal base for sanctioning the computer crimes and then to facilitate adequate capacities that will
effectuate the strategy for suppression of this type of crimes. Macedonian experiences in manner of creating and
constantly innovating the legal framework, as well as in practical dealings with this type of crimes, may be used
as a positive example for successful suppression of cybercrimes.
Key words: computer, cybercrimes, reforms, suppression, Republic of Macedonia


This paper explores the dimensions of change experienced by a specialist primary science teacher in Australia as she attempted to embed an interactive whiteboard into her practice as a tool to enhance interactive teaching and learning. This paper uses the theoretical frameworks of activity theory and the stages of concern to understand the behavioural and affective dimensions of change related to the use of interactive whiteboards in primary science. It is argued that the identification and resolution of tensions and concerns in teachers' practice is crucial to maximise the potential of interactive whiteboards to enhance learning interactions in a shared dialogic space.


Fast prototyping tools for power electronics and control systems are becoming handful players on effortlessly translating computer simulated results into real experimental validations, not abdicating reliability. Among many alternatives, PSIM distinguishes itself from other platforms by providing fixed-step time simulations and quick access to DSP programming. This work aims at showing a starting point for the interaction with the PSIM SimCoder module, and how to take advantage of its features to specifically develop codes employed on power converter applications and for educational purposes. The off-the-shelf TMS320F28335 Experimenter Kit is commonly chosen as target. Example cases accompanied by experimental results are provided for the implementation of an IIR filter, a PLL algorithm, and the generation of three-level PWM signal for single-phase converters. Yet, some discussions regarding the constraints of such tool are pointed out.


Hoping to spur dramatic school turnaround, the federal government channeled resources to the country's lowest-performing schools through School Improvement Grants (SIG). However, prior research on SIG effectiveness is limited and focuses primarily on student achievement. This study uses a difference-in-differences strategy to estimate program impacts on multiple dimensions across the 3-year duration of the SIG award in one urban school district. Following 2 years of modest improvement, we find pronounced, positive effects of SIG interventions on student achievement in Year 3, consistent with prior literature indicating that improvements from comprehensive school turnarounds emerge gradually. We also identify improvements indicating the process through which change occurred, including reduced unexcused absences, increased family preference for SIG schools, improved retention of effective teachers, and greater development of teacher professional capacity.


Extracted from text ... L
A world-class CEO:
what is the competence profile?
6 Management Today June 2006
"In order to utilise all talent and potential
effectively, leaders have to
South Africanise through building an
organisational culture of inclusivity
where all people feel they are heard,
seen and respected and where all
perceive similar levels of opportunities
to grow."
Leadership at the highest level and more specially CEOs, represents
one of the critical factors for the successful strategic positioning
and management of organisations. The concept, strong
leadership, is, however, a relative term and is interpreted differently
by various executives.
Although consensus could be ..


Designed specifically for the non-math major who will be using calculus in business, economics, or life and social science courses, Calculus: An Applied Approach, 7/e, addresses students weak math skills through added structure and guidance on how to study math. Special studentsuccess-oriented sections include chapter-opening Strategies for Success; What You Should Learn--and Why You Should Learn It; Section Objectives; Chapter Summaries and Study Strategies; Try Its; Study Tips; and Warm-Up exercises. In addition the text presents Algebra Tips at point of use and Algebra Review at the end of each chapter. A strong support package includes the CL MATHSpace CD-ROM--which further emphasizes algebra review--and Instructional DVDs that allow students to review material outside of class.


The concurrency era has exploded on us. Multicore systems are now everywhere in our laptops, desktops, graphic cards, video game consoles. Symmetric multi-processors and clusters dominate the server and high performance computing market and are the foundation for cloud computing.
 There is an urgent need to ensure that newly trained Computer Science graduates are well versed in the principles and practice of concurrent and parallel programming. Hence there is a growing groundswell of interest in revisiting undergraduate and graduate curricular design issues around concurrency (e.g. a session at the Microsoft/UW Concurrency Summit in August 08, an invited talk at PPoPP in February 08, a workshop of invited speakers at ASPLOS in March 09).
 This workshop aims to bring together practitioners and thinkers to address this topic. It will be organized around the presentation of position papers selected by the PC, and a panel discussion. The results of the workshop will be made available online.


"English composer Francis John Roy Grier (b. 1955) has a large and mostly unexplored opus. He has composed sixty-three works including thirty-nine for chorus, nine for organ, six for voice, three for violoncello, an opera, a string quartet, and one each for trumpet, viola, piano, clarinet and speaker, and vocal duet. His compositions synthesize modern British compositional practices with those of other Western composers while paying homage to the various characteristics of the music of the East. Grier's music is unique, most notably, because of his combination of English cathedral music, French impressionism, and Indian musical elements. This document includes a brief sketch of the life and a detailed examination of the choral works of Francis Grier. In addition to this author's analysis, the primary sources for this document are interviews with Francis Grier and the commissioners of his works. Chapter I of this study includes a brief biography of Francis Grier's life. This includes details of his formal education, past and current musical positions, and discussion of his mid-life career change to becoming a psychoanalyst. Chapter II provides a detailed description of Grier's a cappella works organized alphabetically; each work is discussed individually. Chapter III presents a similar analysis of the remainder of Grier's small-scale, accompanied choral works. Chapter IV presents a summary of Grier's compositional style and conclusion. Four appendices complete this study: Appendix A lists Grier's choral works by title; Appendix B, by composition date; and Appendix C, by performing forces. Appendix D lists Grier's complete opus by title."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


We present a novel approach for the amplification of high peak power femtosecond laser pulses at a high repetition rate. This approach is based on an all-diode pumped burst mode laser scheme. In this scheme, pulse bursts with a total duration between 1 and 2 ms are be generated and amplified. They contain 50 to 2000 individual pulses equally spaced in time. The individual pulses have an initial duration of 350 fs and are stretched to 50 ps prior to amplification. The amplifier stage is based on Yb3+:CaF2 cooled to 100 K. In this amplifier, a total output energy in excess of 600 mJ per burst at a repetition rate of 10 Hz is demonstrated. For lower repetition rates the total output energy per burst can be scaled up to 915 mJ using a longer pump duration. This corresponds to an efficiency as high as 25% of extracted energy from absorbed pump energy. This is the highest efficiency, which has so far been demonstrated for a pulsed Yb3+:CaF2 amplifier.


Almost hidden by the noise over BBC Charter renewal, Channel 4's whole future is up for debate, with privatisation back on the agenda. The government says privatisation would secure the Channel's future: Channel 4 thinks it would destroy its unique role in British broadcasting. Who's right - and who's going to win the argument?


: The development of biped machines, inspired by human locomotion, is an interesting subject in engineering science. In order to understand the principles involved in biped locomotion,researchers have proposed several mathematicalframeworks. All these models have provided technical knowledge of biped locomotion that has been applied in the development of many energy efficient biped machines. However, the construction of biped machines capable of exploiting passive dynamics in different gaits remains an unsolved engineering challenge. In this study we propose a controller of the angle of attack that exploits the passive dynamics of a compliant leg to develop stable patterns of locomotion and gait transitions in a defined range of energy. We adopt the spring loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model to represent running and walking. The controller naturally emerges from the identification of stable regions of locomotion as well as unstable regions.


Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) plays a pivotal role in increasing airway smooth muscle mass in severe asthma by inducing proliferation and hypertrophy of human airway smooth muscle. The mechanism(s) for these effects of TGF-beta1 have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that TGF-beta1 is a potent inducer of expression of the nonphagocyte NAD(P)H oxidase catalytic homolog Nox4, diphenylene iodonium-inhibitable reactive oxygen species production, proliferation, and hypertrophy in cultured human airway smooth muscle cells. By confocal microscopy, TGF-beta1-induced Nox4 was localized with the endoplasmic reticulum and the nucleus, implying a role for Nox4 in regulation of both the cell cycle and protein synthesis. Consistent with this hypothesis, TGF-beta1 increased retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation at both Ser807/811 and Ser780. Silencing Nox4 prevented TGF-beta1-mediated retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation, proliferation, and cell hypertrophy. TGF-beta1 also increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein-1 at Thr37/46, and this was likewise blocked by silencing Nox4. This is the first report to suggest a functional role for Nox4 in cell cycle transition and to demonstrate that Nox4 influences the pathobiochemistry of asthma by generating reactive oxygen species that promote TGF-beta1-induced proliferation and hypertrophy of human airway smooth muscle.


The reactions of hypophosphorous acid ( H3P02 ) and phosphorous acid ( H3P03 ) with disuiphide compounds, particularly those of the cystine residues in wool, are investigated. The observed differences between the reactions of both acids are highlighted. Some of the products of the reaction of H3P02 and wool cystine are identified. These include the gases hydrogen suiphide H2S ) and sulphur dioxide ( S02 ) and the reduced form of cystine, the thiol cysteine. Quantification of the amounts of these products formed under given reaction conditions, is achieved by use of H2S and 502 sensitive meters, and a colorimetric reaction of 2- vinylpyridine with cysteine. The dyeing properties of wool pretreated with both phosphorus acids alone and a mixture of formaldehyde and both acids are investigated. The H3P02/formaldehyde mixture displays different dyeing properties to the other pretreatments. A series of novel aromatic and aliphatic aminoanthryl phosphonous acids are synthesised and their use as fluorescent whitening agents determined. The solution photolysis of some of the compounds of the series is also studied. Different compounds, namely two commercially available polysuiphides, acetic anhydride, diethylpyrocarbonate, isocyanates and their water soluble bisuiphite adducts, acid and acid/formaldehyde solutions are applied to the surface of wool. The effects of these compounds on therate and extent of photoyellowing of wool and on the fluorescence emission and excitation spectra of wool are noted. Acetic anhydride has the most profound effect on both properties. The possible identity of the compound(s) that contribute to the fluorescence emission spectrum of wool at 450 nm are investigated. A series of alLiphatic and aromatic pyruvamides are synthesised and their solution fluorescence emission maxima compared to that of wool. Finally, the reaction between cysteine and o-phthalaldehyde in the presence of excess primary amine is investigated. An unstable highly fluorescent species may be produced, which though unidentified is most probably an isoindole. Highly coloured products of side reactions also result. The production of the fluorescent species on the surface of wool is undertaken using tributyiphosphine and H3P02 reduced wool as the thiol function in the reaction.


Lower urinary tract (LUT) symptoms are not uncommon in postmenopausal Myanmar women. The aim of the study was to study the urodynamic assessment in postmenopausal women. A cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted to eligible 114 postmenopausal women (81 symptomatic women and 33 asymptomatic women) attending at Gynaecological Out-patient Department of Central Women's Hospital (Yangon) from October 2012 to June 2014. Examination included body mass index (BMI), vaginal examination, cough test, and 1 hour pad test. Urine RE was done to all patients to exclude urinary tract infection. Urodynamic investigation was done in those patients who had no urinary tract infection and it was carried out at Urosurgical Ward of No. 2 Military Hospital, Yangon. The most frequent symptom among the study population was urinary incontinence (50%) followed by urgency (45.6%), night time frequency (38.6%). Symptom-based clinical diagnosis of study population were: stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in 9.6%, urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) in 4.9%, mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) in 25.4%, overactive bladder (OAB) in 16.7%, and voiding problem in 28.9% of study population . Regarding the urodynamic diagnosis, 47 patients had normal urodynamic findings and 20 patients were found to have urodynamic stress incontinence (USI). Five patients had urodynamic evidence of detrusor overactivity (DO). Mixed type of USI and DO was found in 10 patients. Forty patients had objective evidence of voiding dysfunction. There is no statistically significant association between duration of menopause and urodynamic parameters of postmenopausal women except strong desire to void. (p=0.044). Urodynamic investigations help postmenopausal women with LUTS in getting correct diagnosis and formulating a treatment plan especially surgical treatment is considered.


Silica sol, i.e., colloidal SiO2, may be used as a low-pH injection grout for very fine fractures in the construction of deep geological repositories for radioactive waste in Sweden and in Finland. If the bentonite barrier encounters SiO2-colloid particles under conditions favorable for aggregation, there is concern that it will modify the bentonite barrier at the bentonite/bedrock interface. In this study qualitative experiments were performed with mixed dispersions of SiO2-colloids and bentonite or homo-ionic Na/Ca-montmorillonite. Samples were prepared at different colloid concentrations and treated under various conditions such as low and high ionic strength (0.3 M NaCl), as well as dehydration and redispersing. Free swelling and settling experiments were performed in order to qualitatively compare the conditions in which SiO2-colloids affect the bulk/macro properties of bentonite. In order to study specific SiO2-colloid/montmorillonite interactions and preferred type of initial aggregation, dilute dispersions of homo-ionic montmorillonite dispersions mixed with varying concentrations of SiO2-colloids were prepared and selected samples were characterized by PCS, SEM/EDS, AFM and PXRD. The results from this study show that bentonite and montmorillonite particles can be modified by SiO2-colloids when mixed in comparable amounts, due to dehydration or high ionic strength. Some indications for increased colloidal stability for the SiO2-colloid modified clay particles were also found. From the AFM investigation it was found that initial attachment of the SiO2-colloids in Na+ dominated samples seemed to occur on the edges of the montmorillonite layers. In Ca2+ dominated samples not subjected to excess NaCl, SiO2-colloid sorption onto the faces of the montmorillonite layers was also found. In all, contact between the bentonite barrier and ungelled Silica sol should preferably be avoided.


THIS IS ISSUE NO. 250, and the twenty-fifth consecutive year, of Australian Book Review. Issue No. 1 appeared in 1978, edited by John McLaren and published by the National Book Council. Since then the journal has survived and thrived, through changes of editor (though not very often) and of editorial policy (though not very much); through changes of appearance, ownership, sponsorship and affiliation. However, that '250' effaces a whole earlier chapter in the history of ABR. When Issue No. 1 appeared in June 1978, the magazine was not being started: it was being revived. The original incarnation was published out of Adelaide for twelve years, edited in the first instance by Max Harris, Geoffrey Dutton and Rosemary Wighton. Dutton dropped out along the way, but Harris and Wighton continued to edit the journal until its final issue at the end of 1973. The first issue of the original Australian Book Review — Vol. 1, No. 1 — was published in November 1961.


In this study, the atmospheric PM2.5, increases/decreases of the PM2.5, the PM2.5/PM10 ratio, total PCDD/Fs-TEQ concentrations, PM2.5-bound total PCDD/Fs-TEQ content, and PCDD/F gas-particle partition in Taiwan were investigated for the period 2013 to 2017. In Taiwan, the annual average PM2.5 concentrations were found to be 28.9, 24.1, 21.4, 20.2, and 19.9 µg m–3 in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively, which indicated that the annual variations in PM2.5 levels were decreasing during the study period. The average increases (+)/decreases (–) of PM2.5 concentrations were –16.7%, –11.1%, –5.75%, and –1.73% from 2013 to 2014, from 2014 to 2015, from 2015 to 2016, and from 2016 to 2017, respectively. Based to the relationship between PM10 values and total PCDD/F concentrations obtained from previous studies, we estimated that in 2017, the annual average total PCDD/Fs-TEQ concentrations ranged between 0.0148 (Lienchiang County) and 0.0573 pg WHO2005-TEQ m–3 (Keelung City), and averaged 0.0296 pg WHO2005-TEQ m–3, while the PM2.5-bound total PCDD/Fs-TEQ content ranged from 0.302 (Kaohsiung City) to 0.911 ng WHO2005-TEQ g–1 (Keelung City), at an average of 0.572 ng WHO2005-TEQ g–1. These values are suggested to be validated in the future study because the sources and formations of PM10 and PM2.5 in different areas were diverse, and may be not closely related to combustion sources. The seasonal variations in the gas fraction of total PCDD/Fs-WHO2005-TEQ concentrations were 68.6%, 86.6%, 82.3%, and 52.3% in the spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. Due to the fact that Taiwan is located mostly in the sub-tropical zone, which had annual average temperatures between 23.0 and 24.4°C, averaging 23.8°C during the study period, the majority of PCDD/Fs-TEQ were dominant in the gas phase.


This thesis is a contribution to the field of cellular communication in arteries during vasomotion, i.e. rhythmic and spontaneous diameter oscillations of arteries. Investigating how individual smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) calcium variations interact to induce an arterial response is a key to understanding the physical mechanisms leading to contraction and vasomotion. This study is composed of two main experimental parts using rat mesenteric arteries: a study on recruitment and synchronization of SMCs and an analysis on SMCs-ECs communication in arterial strips. The introduction is an overview of the mechanism leading to arterial vasomotion. We focused on the calcium signaling between SMCs, between ECs and between SMCs and ECs. In the chapter "Material and methods", we present the different experimental techniques we developed or improved in order to study calcium signaling in SMCs and/or ECs. For this purpose, we used arterial strips or cannulated arteries using a confocal microscope or a conventional microscope. Calcium concentration were measured using fluorescent dyes. These methods allow the correlation of calcium oscillations of individual SMCs, of individual ECs or both, together with mean calcium variations and arterial contraction. In chapter 3, we investigated the behavior of individual SMCs in order to determine if all cells presented the same variations of calcium concentration as the mean calcium variations or if vasomotion results of an unequal contribution of each SMC. Arterial strips were stimulated by increasing concentration of vasoconstrictors phenylephrine (PE) or potassium chloride (KCl). We revealed that the number of SMCs presenting calcium variations and their synchronization depend on vasoconstrictor concentration. At low vasoconstrictor concentration, few cells present asynchronous calcium variations and no local contraction is detected. Recruitment of cells is complete and synchronous at medium concentration, leading to strip contraction after KCl stimulation and to vasomotion after PE stimulation. High concentration of PE leads to synchronous oscillations and a fully contracted arterial strip, whereas high concentration of KCl leads to a sustained non-oscillating increase of calcium and to fully contracted vessels. We conclude that the number of simultaneously recruited cells is an important factor in controlling artery contraction and vasomotion. In chapter 4, we investigated the three main possible ways to synchronize the recruitment of SMCs when stimulating with PE and KCl. We tested the importance of calcium voltage-gated channels (VOCs) and thus the electrical communication, by using different inhibitors of the VOCs. We also tested the importance of stretch-activated channels (SACs) by inhibiting contraction of individual SMCs. Finally, we verified the importance of gap junctions and thus of chemical and/or electrical coupling. We applied a gap junction inhibitor and we also performed microinjection of fluorescent dyes in single SMCs. Our results provide evidence that under PE the synchronization of the SMCs recruitment occurred electrically through gap junctions. Under KCl, every SMC was simultaneously depolarized and calcium entered the cell simultaneously through VOCs. This leads to a global [Ca2+]i increase. When we studied the recruitment and synchronization of the SMCs under PE, we sometimes observed intercellular calcium waves propagating between SMCs in a direction corresponding to the arterial axis. In chapter 5, we used a tracking process to quantify these intercellular waves. We found that intercellular calcium waves propagating along the strip were linked to the local contraction variations. The velocity of both waves are similar ( 60 µm/s). This method of tracking is particularly powerful for the study of cellular communication in arteries. It has the advantage of allowing the correlation of calcium with contraction dynamics. The role of the endothelium for vasomotion is matter of debate. SMCs and ECs are electrically and chemically coupled allowing exchange of intercellular signaling. In chapter 6, we investigated heterocellular communication at the cellular level in order to understand how SMCs can influence ECs calcium dynamics. SMCs of the arterial strip were stimulated by KCl and by PE. We verified that PE and KCl did not directly act on the calcium concentration of ECs. Depending on vasoconstrictor concentration, calcium concentration increased in some ECs 5 to 11 s after that a calcium concentration increase was observed in SMCs. The existence of this time interval suggests a chemical coupling between SMCs and ECs through gap junctions. Most probable chemical mediators are either calcium or inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3). To discriminate between calcium and IP3 diffusion, first a phospholipase C inhibitor was applied to prevent IP3 production in response to the calcium concentration increase in SMCs. Under this inhibitor and KCl, all SMCs presented a global and synchronous calcium concentration increase, but no calcium concentration variations in ECs were detected. Secondly, 2-Aminoethoxydiphenylborate, an inhibitor of IP3-induced calcium release, reduced the number of flashing ECs by 75±3 %. The number of flashing ECs was also significantly reduced when palmitoleic acid, a gap junction uncoupler was added. Our results were compatible with a heterocellular communication based on IP3 diffusion through gap junctions from SMCs to ECs. The last chapter summarizes our findings and provides our conclusions with some perspectives.


Background/Aim: Physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores are associated with hospitalization and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease. Most studies in these patients are cross-sectional in nature. This study aimed to assess the dynamics of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over time, as well as determinants of changes in HRQOL. Also, the relation between changes in HRQOL with respect to both hospitalization and mortality was assessed. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed in 77,848 hemodialysis (HD) patients whereas changes in HRQOL were assessed in 8,339 patients over a 1-year time period. HRQOL measurements were assessed with Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 questionnaires. Also, relevant biomarkers (albumin, creatinine, hemoglobin, sodium) and equilibrated normalized protein catabolic rate (enPCR) were measured. Results: HRQOL were found to be decreased in HD patients. Nutritional indices like creatinine (r = 0.23; p < 0.0001) and serum albumin (r = 0.21; p < 0.0001) positively correlated with PCS scores. An increase in levels of albumin, creatinine, hemoglobin, enPCR and serum sodium over time are significantly (p < 0.0001) associated with positive changes in PCS scores. Changes in PCS scores were found to be predictive for hospitalization and mortality. The correlates of predictors for MCS scores were less strong compared to that of PCS scores. The strongest positive predictors of MCS scores were age (r = 0.08; p < 0.0001), albumin (r = 0.05; p < 0.0001) and sodium (r = 0.05; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Nutritional factors are strongly associated with changes in HRQOL, especially with regard to PCS scores (change over time in HRQOL was an independent predictor of hospitalization and mortality). Increased scores of HRQOL over time are positively associated with survival.


Media, Market, and Democracy in China: Between the Party Line and the Bottom Line. Yuezhi Zhao. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1998. 255 pp. $44.95 hbk. $19.95 pbk. Since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union around the early 1990s and amid its continuing reform and openness even after the heavy-handed crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square prodemocracy movement, both the academic and journalistic communities have been searching for new concepts and ways of making sense of the structure and processes of mass media in China, the last stronghold of communist ideology and the world's fast emerging economic power. By all measures and through various accounts, China's changing media landscape within the larger socio-political context continues to defy conventional wisdom and contemporary conceptual fixation. With a variety of approaches, numerous articles and books have attempted to determine, either quantitatively or qualitatively, how the Chinese media system strives to strike an uneasy balance between the unyielding political control dictated by the necessity of state domination in an authoritarian system on the one hand and the unrelenting momentum unleashed by the market forces on the other hand. This book by Yuezhi Zhao, a native of China and an assistant professor of communication at the University of California at San Diego, represents an insightful and challenging addition to a significant body of literature on China research in social sciences in general and in mass communication/ journalism in particular. It presents a skillful synergy of what is and what should be in the Chinese media system in both the political and economic sense. For anyone who follows the spirit and practices of Chinese journalism, the book makes a fascinating, and to some extent provocative, reading of the tension, negotiation, and accommodation of the willing bedfellows between the highly politicized Communist Party and the increasingly commercialized mass media in China. Its approach is a combination of historical description and critical analysis of the form and content of the Chinese media system over time and across space. Relying heavily on such publications as books, academic journals, and trade magazines, however, the author provides little original or systematic data. The book is nevertheless full of useful anecdotes and circumstantial evidence culled from Chinese sources not readily available to mass communication researchers outside China. They are helpful in story telling, but are insufficient in theory building, especially when the book argues for a new mass communication model in China. …


It has been known for centuries that fasting can suppress seizure activity in patients with epilepsy.1 In 1921, it was suggested that a ketogenic diet, designed to induce and sustain the metabolic effects of fasting, might have the same beneficial effects.2 This diet, high in fat and low in carbohydrates and proteins, was popular until the introduction of anticonvulsants such as phenytoin.3 In the 1990s, interest in the diet was renewed, following its successful use to treat a child with drug-resistant epilepsy, and the establishment of an awareness raising support group by the father of the child.3

This article provides a brief overview of ketogenic diets and then focuses on the issues relating to the use of medicines in patients on these diets.

Approximately 25% of children with epilepsy have an inadequate response to antiepileptic drugs.4 Consideration of ketogenic diet use has been recommended under the following circumstances:

1. In children who have failed 2–3 anticonvulsant therapies, regardless of age and gender, and particularly in those with symptomatic generalised epilepsies (International Ketogenic Diet Study Group (IKDSG), 2008).5

2. In children and young people with epilepsy whose seizures have not responded to appropriate antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and who have been referred to a tertiary paediatric epilepsy specialist (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, 2012).6

Contraindications to the ketogenic diet include pyruvate carboxylase deficiency, β-oxidation defects, primary carnitine deficiency and porphyria.3

Currently, four types of ketogenic therapy are in use: the classical ketogenic diet, the medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) diet, the modified Atkins diet (MAD) and the low glycaemic index (LGI) treatment. For the classical ketogenic diet, the ratio of fat to carbohydrate and protein ranges from 2:1 to 4:1 and it is predominantly long-chain fat sources that are used. As the name suggests, the …


As the world's most populous country, with more than 16 million births every year, China has emerged as a large importer of baby formula. China's relaxation of the one-child policy, which was announced in 2015, is expected to increase the number of births significantly and therefore increase the demand for Chinese and imported baby formula. While information on parent preferences for baby formula is very important for understanding and predicting China's import demand for baby formula and other products used to produce baby formula, like milk powder, there are very limited empirical studies on Chinese parent preferences for baby formula in the literature due to data limitation and other reasons. This research collects primary data from China through a parent survey, uses the data to analyze parent preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for selected baby formula attributes, and derives implications for U.S. dairy product exports. Specifically, with detailed data from a total of 433 respondents, this study first examines parent purchase behavior of baby formula through descriptive analysis, then assesses parent preferences and WTP for selected baby formula attributes through the estimation of a random utility model, and finally derives implications for U.S. exports of milk powder, whey, and other dairy products. The descriptive analysis suggests that education level and income play an important role in parent purchase behavior of baby formula. The estimation results of the random utility model differed according to whether the survey was administered online or as a hardcopy. The results from the online survey indicate that imported, organic, and more reputable brands of baby formula are more attractive to respondents than domestic, non-organic, and less reputable brands. While respondents who completed the hardcopy survey also indicated a preference for organic baby formula from a reputable brand, they preferred domestic baby formula to imported formula. Further analysis of the WTP from the online survey for baby formula showed that parents have a strong preference and are willing to pay significantly more for baby formulas produced in Australia and the U.S. as compared to that produced in China. They are willing to pay more for organic baby formula and baby formula with an excellent reputation. The WTP results from the hardcopy survey indicate that parents are willing to pay more for domestic baby formula. They are also willing to pay more for organic baby formula and baby formula with an excellent reputation. China's emerging demand for imported baby formula, milk powder, and whey may bring more opportunities for the U.S. dairy industry, but U.S. dairy products are also facing increasing competition from similar products from other nations in the Chinese market. More studies are needed to identify the comparative advantages of U.S. baby formula and other dairy products in the Chinese market and to develop effective trade policies for enhancing U.S. exports to China.


The wide deployment of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) we are witnessing today increases connectivity opportunities for mobile terminal devices, such as smartphones. However, continuous scanning for WLAN points of attachment can be a power exhausting mechanism for such battery-powered devices. These mobile devices, besides being equipped with different wireless access interfaces, are also coupled with sensors such as accelerometer, GPS, luminance and magnetic compass. In fact, sensors are increasingly being coupled into different devices and environments and are able to convey sensing information through networks into decision entities able to optimize different processes. In this paper we propose a framework where media independent sensing information is used to enhance wireless link management towards energy-efficiency. This framework enables the dissemination of sensing information towards local and remote decision entities, enhancing other processes (e.g. mobility) with sensing information in order to provide true Ambient Intelligence scenarios. We introduce this framework into a wireless management scenario able to provide energy-efficient optimal network connectivity.


Drainage and sewer network runs mostly under free surface flow condition. Among the characteristics which are important for practitioners are the flow velocity and water surface angle. The computation of these parameters in partially full pipes using Manning equation is implicit and requires iterative and laborious calculation methods. The goal of this paper is to provide a new method, where the exact computation of the flow velocity and water surface angle in partially filled pipe becomes easy, direct and simple using a reference pipe with known characteristics.


This book offers advice to doctoral researchers and graduate and advanced undergraduate students on how to embark on their research. Based on a decade of teaching early-stage researchers in the social sciences at the LSE and other universities, and written with the central problems of beginning researchers in mind, Bob Hancke guides them through the process of thinking about the links between theory, cases and data, and to do so in a way that helps to turn their initial plausible ideas into convincing arguments. This lively book, deliberately jargon-free and with a hands-on, pragmatic approach to research design, addresses the problems that research students face - or ignore, often at their peril - in the course of their first few years. Its central message is that research is a complex and iterative process in which researchers construct every relevant part of their project with one goal in mind: make a persuasive point. They define the question they ask and the debate they engage, construct their cases and data to answer that question, and write it up as an argument that brings out the strengths of their research design. It addresses such key issues as statistical versus configurational approaches, time in social science research, different types of case studies and comparative research, and a critical approach to data. The Appendix gives tips on presenting and discussing papers, and on crafting research proposals


The Early Silurian "hot" shales and Late Devonian black shales are major regional oil and gas source rocks in North Africa. Their deposition probably played a major role in global carbon cycling in general because of the large areas of the ocean affected. Comparing the Libyan δ13C record with records from other areas enables unraveling local effects from larger scale processes during these intervals. Silurian and Devonian formations in the western part of Libya are generally poorly studied and their basin-scale facies distribution is largely unknown. The main goal is to reconstruct the depositional environment on the North Africa margin during the deposition of the Silurian and Devonian black shales in the western part of Libya and to assess their maturity. The Tanezzuft and Awaynat Wanin formations were investigated using a combined palynological, carbon isotopic and organic geochemical approach. The Silurian carbon isotopic signal (δ13CTOC) from the west of Libya shows several events correlating with events observed earlier in isotopic curves from other areas. Positive 13CTOC excursions occur close to important bioevents and three of these events are correlated to the global carbon isotopic curve. During the Devonian Frasnian organic-rich shales were deposited across much of the North African margin, forming a potential secondary hydrocarbon source rock in the western part of Libya. The abundant and high diversity of prasinophytes, high TOC content and well preserved amorphous organic matter deposited during the Early Frasnian strongly supports enhanced sea surface productivity and oxygen depleted bottom water conditions. The high abundance of the flash pyrolysis products 1,2,3,4- and 1,2,3,5-tetramethylbenzenes together with appreciable amounts of 1-ethyl-3,4,5-trimethylbenzene and 1-ethyl-2,3,6-trimethylbenzene argue for the presence of macromolecularly-bound diaromatic carotenoids derived fromphototrophic anaerobes. Continued photic zone euxinia into the lean shale suggests that other factors than enhanced preservation controlled TOC contents in this shale, such as changes in admixing of lithogenic material. The maturity evaluations, based on equivalent vitrinite reflectance and Rock Eval pyrolysis, indicates that the Silurian source rock in Murzuq Basin is thermally more mature than that in the Ghadamis Basin. Significant differences in alkylbenzene distribution patterns were observed between Ghadamis and Murzuq Basins kerogen pyrolysates Two-dimensional gas chromatography, coupled to time of flight mass spectrometry was applied to identify diamondoids in source rock extracts and crude oils from the western part of Libya. This approach revealed different levels of thermal maturity within the basin. Also significant differences were noted between source rock extracts and the crude oils. Whereas the source rock extracts contain both adamantanes and diamantanes, the latter group is absent from the crude oils. The lack of diamantanes in the crude oils probably indicates that crude oils were expelled before diamantanes formed in the source rock.


The presented in the paper investigations were aimed at the determination of the reclaimed material (obtained in the dry mechanical reclamation process) addition influence on properties of moulding sands with hydrated sodium silicate modified by colloidal suspension of zinc oxide nanoparticles in propanol. Nanoparticles originated from the thermal decomposition of alkaline zinc carbonate, were used. The results of the reclamation of the spent moulding sand with hydrated sodium silicate performed in the AT-2 testing reclaimer are presented in the paper. Both, spent sands from the Floster S technology and from the technology with the modified water-glass were subjected to the reclamation processes. The following determinations of the reclaimed material were performed: pH reaction, acid demand, ignition loss and Na2O content. The obtained reclaim was used as a matrix component of moulding sands with water-glass in the Floster S technology, in which it constituted 60% and 50% of the sand matrix. The strength properties of the prepared moulding sands were determined (bending strength Rg, tensile strength Rm) after samples storing times: 1h, 2h, 4h and 24 hours.


Sediment populations were tested for metal resistance by the spread plate method on Trypticase Soy Agar (TSA) amended with 50 ug/ml of Hg, Cd, Pb, Sn, or Zn. Those metals that were found in high concentration in Pawtuxet River sediment (i.e., Pb, Sn, and Zn) were less inhibitory to the sediment population than either Hg or Cd, present only in low amounts. Metal content of the Pawtuxet River sediment was determined by atomic absorbtion spectrophotometry. Several sediment isolates were selected and resistance patterns to the five metals were determined by the replicate method. A wide range of resistance was found to exist amoung the isolates. Resistance levels of these isolates were approximated by a gradient plate study, the metal concentration ranging from 0-200 ug/g. These tolerance levels were further pinpointed using metal amended Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB) to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The isolates were more resistant to those metals (i.e., Pb, Sn, Zn) that were present in the sediment from which the organisms were isolated. Unpolluted sediment was subjected to pollution level amounts of a metal mixture containing Hg, Cd, Pb, Sn, and Zn, and Pb alone to determine the response of the microbial flora to the metals. Population levels in the test reactors initially decreased as compared to the nonpolluted control, but recovered later to levels equivalent to or greater than ii the control, and resulted in the selection of metal resistant predominant colony types. A cross tolerance study of predominant colony types demonstrated that Pb alone was not inhibitory, but that the metal mixture was toxic. Colony types selected by the metal mixture or Pb were generally homogeneous. Plasmid screening of selected sediment isolates Flavobacterium PWX2 and Aeromonas PWX7 was accomplished via agarose gel electrophoresis to determine the relationship of plasmids to metal and/or multiple metal resistance. Flayobacterium PWX2, resistant to each metal (Hg, Cd, Pb, Sn, Zn) contained at least five plasmids; the plasmid pattern did not vary when the isolate was grown in each metal. Aeromonas PWX7 contained two or more plasmids, but yielded two distinct plasmid profiles: two plasmids were present when grown in Hg, while only one (the larger of the two found with Hg) was present when the isolate was grown in the presence of Pb or Sn.


Degeneration of Y chromosomes is a common evolutionary path of XY sex chromosome systems. Recent genomic studies in flies and plants have revealed that even young neo-sex chromosomes with the age of a few million years show signs of Y degeneration, such as the accumulation of nonsense and frameshift mutations. However, it remains unclear whether neo-Y chromosomes also show rapid degeneration in fishes, which often have homomorphic sex chromosomes. Here, we investigated whether a neo-Y chromosome of Japan Sea stickleback (Gasterosteus nipponicus), which was formed by a Y-autosome fusion within the last 2 million years, accumulates deleterious mutations. Our previous genomic analyses did not detect excess nonsense and frameshift mutations on the Japan Sea stickleback neo-Y. In the present study, we found that the nonrecombining region of the neo-Y near the fusion end has accumulated nonsynonymous mutations altering amino acids of evolutionarily highly conserved residues. Enrichment of gene ontology terms related to protein phosphorylation and cellular protein modification process was found in the genes with potentially deleterious mutations on the neo-Y. These results suggest that the neo-Y of the Japan Sea stickleback has already accumulated mutations that may impair protein functions.


To form low-resistance Ohmic contact to p-type GaN, InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diode wafers are treated with boiled aqua regia prior to Ni/Au (5 nm/5 nm) film deposition. The surface morphology of wafers and the current–voltage characteristics of fabricated light emitting diode devices are investigated. It is shown that surface treatment with boiled aqua regia could effectively remove oxide from the surface of the p-GaN layer, and reveal defect-pits whose density is almost the same as the screw dislocation density estimated by x-ray rocking curve measurement. It suggests that the metal atoms of the Ni/Au transparent electrode of light emitting diode devices may diffuse into the p-GaN layer along threading dislocation lines and form additional leakage current channels. Therefore, the surface treatment time with boiled aqua regia should not be too long so as to avoid the increase of threading dislocation-induced leakage current and the degradation of electrical properties of light emitting diodes.


As Alice wanders through Wonderland in an unreal space in real time-a dream-learning backward truths from illogical creatures who speak in paradoxes, so Joseph figuratively wanders through lawyerland in an unreal time, but in a very real space-Manhattan-conversing with his thinly fictionalized friends, all of whom happen to be lawyers, about their lives and practices in law. As Joseph's lawyers talk with him about the law they practice, they uncover, through White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat-like illogical precision, a chaotic, unkempt, unconscionably reckless, often cruel, and sometimes pathological legal wilderness. The legal terrain these lawyers occupy is not an inviting one: Lawyerland, according to Joseph and his friends, is an inhumane place. Even more striking, though, than the cruelty of their world, is what Joseph's lawyers in Lawyer-land tell Joseph about the nature of lawyers' knowledge. What lawyers know of law, and of people, Joseph's lawyers tell him, and he tells us, are the limits of our knowledge, both ours and theirs, regarding both law and the human condition. In this regard, Joseph's lawyers are virtually ironic templates (or as one of his conversationalists would put it, ironic "phenotypes"): Like all ironists, what Joseph's lawyers know, they know from and of experience; and what they know, is that lawyers know the boundaries of what we know. They know, for example, that nonlawyers don't know the nature of the legal beast; they know that lawyers keep secrets; they know lawyers "secrete"; and they know that lawyers defraud others. They know that lawyers lie, even if only by necessity and if only by virtue of knowing too much; they know that lawyers "invented spin," and, when they have to, "change the story"; they know that lawyers use knowledge to game the system; and they know that there is much that lawyers don't know precisely because lawyers don't want to know it.


Sources of information and reference material on pipeline design are listed. The bibliography is compiled for engineers with limited experience in the pipeline field, and the references were selected to provide an introduction to the field and to lead to further research. The bibliography is divided into two parts. The first part lists libraries, industry associations, government agencies and professional and technical organizations where pipeline design information may be obtained. The second lists articles and books alphabetically author, with a number or numbers following the citation. These numbers link each publication with its area of concern: general design, hydraulics, pipe coatings and linings, pipe materials, structural design, miscellaneous design topics (acoustics, thermal), and fluids transported (gas, petroleum, water). Citations include author, title, pubisher, date and page. This publication is the report of the task committee on pipeline design bibliography of the Committee on pipeline planning of the ASCE Pipeline Division.


The new media environment raises two questions: Will campaign deceptions have traveled around the web before journalism has the fact-checking in place to ensnare them? And if diligent checking of claims does exist, will it fall on an audience too enmeshed in its own biases to see past them? This essay draws on evidence from the Annenberg Public Policy Center's 2012 Institutions of Democracy Political Knowledge Survey to argue that long-form political fact-checking can increase the accuracy of voters' perceptions of both candidate stands on issues and the background facts of the presidential race.


The M 7.3 June 28, 1992 Landers and M 7.1 October 16, 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes, California, both right lateral strike-slip events on NNW-trending subvertical faults, occurred in close proximity in space and time in a region where recurrence times for surface-rupturing earthquakes are thousands of years. This sug- gests a causal role for the Landers earthquake in triggering the Hector Mine earth- quake. Previous modeling of the static stress change associated with the Landers earthquake shows that the area of peak Hector Mine slip lies where the Coulomb failure stress promoting right-lateral strike-slip failure was high, but the nucleation point of the Hector Mine rupture was neutrally to weakly promoted, depending on the assumed coefficient of friction. Possible explanations that could account for the 7-year delay between the two ruptures include background tectonic stressing, dissi- pation of fluid pressure gradients, rate- and state-dependent friction effects, and post- Landers viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and upper mantle. By employing a viscoelastic model calibrated by geodetic data collected during the time period between the Landers and Hector Mine events, we calculate that postseismic relaxa- tion produced a transient increase in Coulomb failure stress of about 0.7 bars on the impending Hector Mine rupture surface. The increase is greatest over the broad surface that includes the 1999 nucleation point and the site of peak slip further north. Since stress changes of magnitude greater than or equal to 0.1 bar are associated with documented causal fault interactions elsewhere, viscoelastic relaxation likely con- tributed to the triggering of the Hector Mine earthquake. This interpretation relies on the assumption that the faults occupying the central Mojave Desert (i.e., both the Landers and Hector Mine rupturing faults) were critically stressed just prior to the Landers earthquake.


When people interact with communication robots in daily life, their attitudes and emotions toward the robots affect their behavior. From the perspective of robotics design, we need to investigate the influences of these attitudes and emotions on human-robot interaction. This paper reports our empirical study on the relationships between people's attitudes and emotions, and their behavior toward a robot. In particular, we focused on negative attitudes, anxiety, and communication avoidance behavior, which have important implications for robotics design. For this purpose, we used two psychological scales that we had developed: negative attitudes toward robots scale (NARS) and robot anxiety scale (RAS). In the experiment, subjects and a humanoid robot are engaged in simple interactions including scenes of meeting, greeting, self-disclosure, and physical contact. Experimental results indicated that there is a relationship between negative attitudes and emotions, and communication avoidance behavior. A gender effect was also suggested.


The primary research objectives were to ascertain and evaluate management
performance practices and generate recommendations that might help in improving
overall performance in Kuwaiti commercial banks. A theoretical framework for the
financial and management performance of Kuwaiti banks was, therefore, developed
and the research objectives and hypotheses were translated into relevant policy issues.
These issues were identified by conducting field research in Kuwait. Kuwait was
chosen because it is the country of the author and also constitutes an important
developing country within the gulf. Six Kuwaiti commercial banks were surveyed to
ascertain management opinion on management performance practices. These banks
were: National Bank of Kuwait, Gulf Bank of Kuwait, Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait,
Burgan Bank, Commercial Bank of Kuwait, and The Bank of Kuwait and The Middle
East.
The methodology used to test the hypotheses and achieve the research objectives
incorporated a mail questionnaire which was distributed to 108 branch managers
through the main offices of each bank. This part of the field survey was conducted
simultaneously with 12 face-to-face interviews with senior executives i. e. two
interview per study bank. When the field survey was completed the results were
analysed and conclusions were drawn regarding the hypotheses and policy issues.
In summary, the main findings of the study were that: management performance is
dependent on: management training, management resource planning, performance
related pay; and external environmental factors (local economy, bank internal
regulations, customer satisfaction, inadequate information technology resources, bank
size, bank location, and cultural considerations). However, rather interestingly, one of
the external factors, social and personal ties (wastah) had no affect on management
performance. Personal and job-related considerations such as educational qualifications, manager's
age, manager's monthly salary, etc., had an affect on individual management
performance but other factors such as the manager's nationality, and gender, had no
affect.
The findings of this research, as well as the evidence from previous studies, showed
that management performance in Kuwait is frustrated by interrelated and
interdependent contextual elements. Management performance as a multidimensional
and multipurpose-activity has yet to be fully comprehended in Kuwait. Social and
cultural considerations, such as intimate social tics and social status, are important and
complicated issues which undoubtedly affect management performance.
Consequently, there is a national misconception about the significance of management
performance and the effect cultural consideration and personal ties (wastah), have on a
scientific approach to the management performance process in Kuwaiti banks.


Node failures in Wireless Sensor Networks composed by static sensor nodes are common due to the nature of the sensor devices and the usually harsh environments in which they are deployed. Node failures can diminish the performance of the network as a whole, thus affecting its functionality in delivering the desired services. For instance, significant regions can become uncovered due to failure of several nearby nodes. This paper reports a study about the use of mobile sensor nodes acting in cooperation with static ones in order to fill gaps created by faulty static nodes. The proposed fault handling mechanism presents alternative policies with pros and cons, depending on the user priorities imposed to the system and the occurrence of failures. A discussion about this topic is presented based on results obtained by simulation of the proposed mechanisms.


Small populations are at increased risk of extinction due to their vulnerability to stochastic events. The population of fisher (Pekania pennanti, formerly Martes pennanti) in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California is small and completely genetically isolated. My dissertation research investigates the timing and cause of this population's isolation, the degree of genetic subdivision within the population, the landscape features shaping gene flow, and the detection of population declines. I detected a 90% decline in effective population size and dated the time of decline to over a thousand years ago. Analyzing historical and contemporary genetic samples, I also found a recent bottleneck signal in the northern portion of the southern Sierra Nevada, indicating the southernmost tip of these mountains may have acted as a refugium for fisher in the late 19th century. I conclude that this population became isolated pre-European settlement, and that portions of the southern Sierra Nevada subsequently experienced another more recent bottleneck post-European settlement. I found that the southern Sierra Nevada fisher population is not highly genetically subdivided as previously thought. This population follows a pattern of isolation by distance with additional structuring that corresponds to geographic features and management boundaries. It can be characterized as having areas that are resistant to gene flow but without major barriers. I show that both sex-biased dispersal and spatial landscape heterogeneity can affect the determination of what landscape features structure gene flow, and that the landscape features influencing gene flow are different for each sex and within different geographic regions. Using a spatially-based simulation approach, I investigated the power of the Sierra Nevada fisher monitoring program to detect population trend, and illustrate the relationship between occupancy and abundance in this population. I show that a simulated 43% decline in abundance over an 8-year period only resulted in a 23% decline in occupancy. I also found that increasing the effective sampling area, implementing biennial instead of annual sampling, and increasing the type I error rate all increase statistical power to detect trend. Overall this research provides a better understanding of the historical and contemporary connectivity of this population and our ability to monitor population trends over time that will contribute to the conservation of fisher populations in the future.