Within the geographic domain, an important class of problems relies on geometric abstractions in the form of lines where, for instance, transportation networks and trajectories of movements are typically perceived or modeled at such a generalized geometric level. To support querying and computational comparisons, oftentimes multi-resolution models are needed to guide users from coarser to finer details. Within such a setting topological properties are coarse spatial information, whereas metric refinements offer finer details. The 9-intersection distinguishes 33 topological relations between two lines. This paper develops a model that captures metric details for line-line relations through splitting ratios, which are normalized values of lengths and areas of intersections. These ratios apply to the 9-intersection's nonempty values, thereby providing refinements of topological properties. Three such splitting ratios comprehensively refine 30 of the 33 topological relations: one for the lengths of common paths, one for the partitioning of lines through intersections, and another one for the areas enclosed by two lines with two or more common components. For the remaining three relations—disjoint, meet, and equal—no further metric refinements based on common parts are possible. The splitting ratios are integrated into a compact representation of detailed topological relations, thereby addressing topological and metric properties of arbitrarily complex line-line relations.


We study certain quotients of generalized Artin groups which have a natural map onto D-type Artin groups, where the generalized Artin group $A(T)$ is defined by a signed graph $T$. Then we find a certain quotient $G(T)$ according to the graph $T$, which also have a natural map onto $A(D_n)$. We prove that $G(T)$ is isomorphic to a semidirect product of a group $K^{(m,n)}$, with the Artin group $A(D_n)$, where $K^{(m,n)}$ depends only on the number $m$ of cycles and on the number $n$ of vertices of the graph $T$.


The fast growth and development of wireless computer networks and multimedia applications means it is essential that these applications can be transmitted over the standard IEEE 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol with high Quality of Service (QoS). The lack of QoS in the standard IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) results in applications with considerably different QoS requirements receiving similar network services. This means, the performance of time-sensitive applications with stringent delay, jitter, and packet loss requirements will not be met. Even time-insensitive applications will be treated unfairly because access to the medium is on a random basis. Therefore, the main aims of this thesis are: (i) to investigate the limitations and performance of the IEEE 802.11 DCF, (ii) to develop a comprehensive solution that provides effective and efficient QoS provisioning in IEEE 802.11 DCF scheme in a fair, scalable, and robust manner. The latter is achieved by developing novel MAC mechanisms for providing QoS in the IEEE 802.11 DCF for multimedia transmission.The scarcity of channel capacity, unfairness and hidden terminal problems, multiple hops, and other conditions and parameters that affect QoS in a wireless network are issues which require in depth investigations and analysis. In this thesis, extensive investigations using the network simulator 2 (NS-2) package were carried out to examine the impact of these issues on the main QoS parameters (throughput, delay, jitter, packet loss and collision). The findings revealed that the IEEE 802.11 DCF protocol performed inadequately when transmitting various applications due to the limitations inherent in its operation. The performance of the IEEE 802.11 DCF protocol was also investigated by studying the impact of varying the values of minimum Contention Window (CW[min]) and the Distributed Inter Frame Space (DIFS). The study shows that inappropriate values of CW[min] and DIFS resulted in significant network performance degradations and demonstrated that it was important to select an appropriate set of MAC protocol transmission parameters in order to provide improved QoS.Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques using fuzzy logic and Genetic Algorithms (GAs) for assessing and optimising MAC protocol transmission parameters were developed and their effectiveness evaluated. The study confirmed that the application of AI techniques significantly improved the QoS for audio and video applications by more than 50% and fairly shared the channel access among the contending stations as compared to the standard IEEE 802.11 DCF scheme. Ratio based and Collision Rate Variation (CRV) schemes were developed to dynamically adjust the CW and DIFS values according to the current and past network conditions. Using these schemes significant improvements with service differentiation were achieved in an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS). A queue status monitoring technique was devised for the intermediate stations. This provided QoS differentiation at the MAC layer for multi-hop networks. Autoregressive (AR) models that accurately predicted the network parameters were also developed. These enabled the MAC protocol transmission parameters to be adjusted in an improved manner. Using these models, average QoS was improved by more than 60%; average delay, packet loss and collision were reduced by more than 50% compared to IEEE 802.11 DCF scheme.This led to the development of novel MAC mechanisms to provide QoS in IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol. The mechanisms support multiple QoS metrics and consider traffic history and predict future network conditions. The schemes also are characterised by the simplicity, robustness, and ease of implementation. The contribution of this thesis is the development of a comprehensive solution to provide effective and efficient QoS differentiation in IEEE 802.11 DCF scheme for multimedia transmission in a distributed, fair, scalable, and robust manner. Furthermore, through the use of these approaches, the findings of this study provide a framework that also contributes to the knowledge concerning the QoS over the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol.


The North Sea Basin contains an almost complete record of Cenozoic sedimentation, separated by clear regional unconformities. The changes in sediment characteristics, rate and source, and expression of the unconformities reflect the tectonic, eustatic and climatic changes that the North Sea and its margins have undergone. While the North Sea has been mapped locally, we present the first regional mapping of the Cenozoic sedimentary strata. Our study provides a new regional sub‐division of the main seismic units in the North Sea together with maps of depocentres, influx direction and source areas. Our study provides a regional synthesis of sedimentation based on a comprehensive interpretation of a regionally covering reflection seismic data set. We relate observations of sediment characteristics and unconformities to the geological evolution. The timing, regional expression and stratigraphic characteristics of many unconformities indicate that they were generated by eustatic sea‐level fall, often in conjunction with other processes. Early Cenozoic unconformities, however, relate to tectonism associated with the opening of the North Atlantic. From observation on a regional scale, we infer that the sediment influx into the North Sea during the Cenozoic is more complex than previously suggested clockwise rotation from early northwestern to late southern sources. The Shetland Platform supplied sediment continuously, although at varying rates, until the latest Cenozoic. Sedimentation around Norway changed from early Cenozoic influx from the southwestern margin, to almost exclusively from the southern margin in the Oligocene and from all of southern Norway in the latest Cenozoic. Thick Eocene deposits in the Central Graben are sourced mainly from a western and a likely southern source, indicating that prominent influx from the south did not only occur from the mid‐Miocene onwards. We infer a new age for the increased progradational sediment influx in the Pleistocene of 2.5 Ma, coeval with Fennoscandian glaciation.


The first stratigraphic borehole EBM-1 in the Muditoli block in the eastern part of the East Bokaro Coalfield, Damodar Basin, is worked out for its spore-pollen content. Gondwana sediments, approximately 1185.00 m thick, comprising green shales, carbonaceous shales, sandstones and coal seams have shown many levels of changing patterns in the spore-pollen groups in the Barren Measures and Barakar formations. Between 1198.30–1095.25 m the specimens are very dark brown and show a distorted exinal surface. The presence of radial monosaccate pollen taxa proves that this stratum is referable to the Talchir Formation, Early Permian. In the up-section, an abundance of Faunipollenites, Scheuringipollenites, Densipollenites and Striatopodocarpites is observed. The relative abundance of these taxa delimits varied levels in the palynosequence of the studied strata from 1086.95 to 13.00 m. Hence, it is inferred that these deposits contain representative palynoassemblages of Early to Late Permian age. The FAD's of Lundbladispora micro conata, Playfordiaspora cancellosa and Arcuatipollenites pellucidus observed at 13.00, 51.50, and 66.70 m depth enhance the end of the Permian level, as these elements are the key species to mark the transition from the Permian into the Lower Triassic. Non-productive strata at varied depths in this complete succession contain an abundance of woody shreds, vegetal matter, and less of palynomorphs, maybe due to the depositional set-up within the sediments during Permian time.


Whilst collecting along the banks of the Shawanoe, Hunyani and Ruwa Rivers in Southern Rhodesia, two new species of Sisyridae have been taken. All three rivers concerned form part of the Zambezi River system, and all flow throughout the year. These insects appear to be somewhat uncommon, and there are, apparently, no previous records of the family from the Federation; only one mention of their occurrence in Southern Africa has been traced (Kimmins, 1935.) The terminology used in this paper is mainly that used by Parfin and Gurney (1956).


We provide novel evidence on the effectiveness of mandated changes in Russian transparency and disclosure (henceforth T&D) rules in boosting shareholder welfare. We focus on the staggered implementation of these T&D reforms initiated in 2002 and implemented during 2003-07. Using difference in difference method, we find that the reforms improved earnings quality, which on average reduced the operating performance (i.e., EBIT/Assets) of treated domestically-listed (relative to our control group of cross-listed) Russian firms, but had no significant impact on their market valuation. We argue that low tax alignment, where financial statements are not used for tax purposes, made it possible for managers of domestically-listed firms to inflate pre-reforms earnings, which became difficult post-reforms, leading to a drop in operating earnings. Yet, firm values, on average, remained unchanged because the drop in earnings was roughly offset by a decrease in the required market return due to more reliable accounting information post reform. Also, T&D reforms had negligible effects on cross-listed firms that act as our control group. Further, for domestically listed firms without a domestic controlling shareholder, post-reform reported earnings did not drop, while firm value increased significantly. For the domestically listed firms with a controlling shareholder, just the opposite occurred. Thus, a key finding of our study is that a strong governance structure is a prerequisite for significant gains in shareholder wealth following improved reliability of firm accounting information.


The United States will confront a series of fundamental challenges through the middle of the twenty-first century. Using a theory of economic systems to gauge present and future global conflicts, Steven Rosefielde and D. Quinn Mills see the challenges as posed sequentially by terrorism, Russia, China, and the European Union. In the cases of terrorism, Russia, and China, Western leaders appreciate aspects of these perils, but they are crafting unduly soft policies to deal with the challenges. The authors believe that 'globalists' notwithstanding, such views are myopic in an era where nuclear proliferation has invalidated the concept of mutually assured destruction. What America requires is a new security concept that the authors call 'strategic independence' to enable keeping the peace in dangerous times and foster new generations of leaders capable of acting sanely despite a current public culture addicted to wishful thinking.


Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency, which is a major cause of death worldwide and the second highest cause of mortality in the United States. Researching the optimal control treatment or intervention strategy on the comprehensive sepsis system is key in reducing mortality. For this purpose, first, this paper improves a complex nonlinear sepsis model proposed in our previous work. Then, bifurcation analyses are conducted for each sepsis subsystem to study the model behaviors under some system parameters. The bifurcation analysis results also further indicate the necessity of control treatment and intervention therapy. If the sepsis system is without adding any control under some parameter and initial system value settings, the system will perform persistent inflammation outcomes as time goes by. Therefore, we develop our complex improved nonlinear sepsis model into a sepsis optimal control model, and then use some effective biomarkers recommended in existing clinic practices as optimization objective function to measure the development of sepsis. Besides that, a Bayesian optimization algorithm by combining Recurrent neural network (RNN-BO algorithm) is introduced to predict the optimal control strategy for the studied sepsis optimal control system. The difference between the RNN-BO algorithm from other optimization algorithms is that once given any new initial system value setting (initial value is associated with the initial conditions of patients), the RNN-BO algorithm is capable of quickly predicting a corresponding time-series optimal control based on the historical optimal control data for any new sepsis patient. To demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the RNN-BO algorithm on solving the optimal control solution on the complex nonlinear sepsis system, some numerical simulations are implemented by comparing with other optimization algorithms in this paper.


In this paper, we describe ZooKeeper, a service for coordinating processes of distributed applications. Since ZooKeeper is part of critical infrastructure, ZooKeeper aims to provide a simple and high performance kernel for building more complex coordination primitives at the client. It incorporates elements from group messaging, shared registers, and distributed lock services in a replicated, centralized service. The interface exposed by Zoo-Keeper has the wait-free aspects of shared registers with an event-driven mechanism similar to cache invalidations of distributed file systems to provide a simple, yet powerful coordination service.

The ZooKeeper interface enables a high-performance service implementation. In addition to the wait-free property, ZooKeeper provides a per client guarantee of FIFO execution of requests and linearizability for all requests that change the ZooKeeper state. These design decisions enable the implementation of a high performance processing pipeline with read requests being satisfied by local servers. We show for the target workloads, 2:1 to 100:1 read to write ratio, that ZooKeeper can handle tens to hundreds of thousands of transactions per second. This performance allows ZooKeeper to be used extensively by client applications.


Purpose of reviewSeveral gastrointestinal diseases including the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and malignancy are associated with elevated expression of indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase-1 (IDO1). IDO1 initiates tryptophan catabolism along a pathway that generates several bioactive kynurenine-based metabolites. Promotion of T-cell-mediated tolerance and antimicrobial effects are among the variety of functions attributed to IDO1 activity. Recent advances addressing the diverse implications of gut-associated IDO1 expression are herein reviewed. Recent findingsIn active IBD, IDO1 is highly expressed both in the cells of the lamina propria and epithelium. Experimental models demonstrate that IDO1 promotes gut immune homeostasis by limiting inflammatory responses and protecting the epithelium. In human colon cancer, high expression of IDO1 by the neoplastic epithelium correlates with poor prognosis. The serum kynurenine : tryptophan ratio is elevated in both active Crohn's disease and in colon cancer, suggesting this measurement may prove useful as a disease biomarker. IDO1 inhibitors have moved to clinical trials providing new hope as immunotherapy for advanced malignancy. SummaryIDO1 activity significantly shapes gastrointestinal disease pathophysiology and severity. Measures of IDO1 activity may be useful as a disease biomarker. Manipulation of IDO1 activity has great potential as a treatment for both inflammatory and malignancy associated gastrointestinal disease.


The natural regeneration in forest environments is dynamic, variable in space and time and it is in the development cycle of forests. In seasonal tropical forests, due to seasonal climatic changes, natural regeneration depends mainly on availability of soil moisture, which affects patterns of seed production and germination, survival and development of seedling as well. The objective of this study was to analyze the dynamics of natural regeneration in a seasonal semideciduous secondary forest in Pirenopolis, Goias, Brazil, by analyzing the changes in floristic composition of seedlings and small trees over time and relating them to environmental factors of plots in the study area by using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). The results indicated that seedlings were more dynamic than small trees mainly because of climate. This occurred because of the greater susceptibility of the seedling to soil water stress and the increase of solar radiation and temperature in the dry season. It was found a high floristic similarity (± 50%) among population of natural regeneration and the tree community, indicating an advanced stage of natural regeneration of the forest, with Diversity Index higher than 3.0 nats.indv-1. Canonical Correspondence Analysis grouped the species according to the environmental gradient of moisture and shade versus soil cover, placing near to each other, species of humid environments versus species of typical cerrado dry environments.


The extent to which means-tested transfers, social insurance, and tax credits fill the gap between a family's private resources and the poverty threshold is a periodic barometer of the social safety net. Using data on families from the Current Population Survey I examine how the level and composition of beforeand after-tax and after-transfer poverty gaps changed in response to changes in the policy and economic landscapes over the past two decades. The estimates presented here indicate not only dramatic changes in the level and sources of income maintenance programs filling the poverty gap, but also dramatic changes in which demographic groups successfully fill the gap. From the peak-to-peak business-cycle years of 1979 to 1999, the fraction of the gap left unfilled among non-elderly families in poverty has expanded by 25 percent, while the unfilled gap has increased by 50 percent among single female-headed families, families headed by non-whites, and families residing in the Northeast. In a given year the poor in the South fill considerably less of the poverty gap with cash welfare, but make up for much of the shortfall with higher payments of food stamps, SSI, and SSDI. Over time the poor in all regions of the country have substituted SSI, SSDI, and the EITC for cash welfare. Indeed, by 1999 the unfilled gap for families with related children present would be one-fifth larger without the EITC. With the exception of married-couple families, this apparent rate of replacement of disability payments and tax credits for cash welfare is less than one for one, leaving most poor families, especially non-white families and single female-headed families, financially more vulnerable today than in previous decades.


A curious connection exists between the theory of optimal stopping for independent random variables, and branching processes. In particular, for the branching process Zn with o spring distribution Y , there exists a random variable X such that the probability P (Zn = 0) of extinction of the nth generation in the branching process equals the value obtained by optimally stopping the sequence X1; : : : ; Xn, where these variables are i.i.d distributed as X. Generalizations to the inhomogeneous and in nite horizon cases are also considered. This correspondence furnishes a simple `stopping rule' method for computing various characteristics of branching processes, including rates of convergence of the n generation's extinction probability to the eventual extinction probability, for the supercritical, critical and subcritical Galton-Watson process. Examples, bounds, further generalizations and a connection to classical prophet inequalities are presented. Throughout, the aim is to show how this unexpected connection can be used to translate methods from one area of applied probability to another, rather than to provide the most general results. AMS 1991 subject classi cation: Primary: 60G40, 60J80.


At some point in the first half of the 19th century per capita GDP in the United Kingdom and the United States began to grow at something like one to two percent per year and have continued to do so up to the present. Now incomes in many economies routinely grow at 2 percent per year and some grow at much higher "catch-up" rates. These events surely represent a historical watershed, separating a traditional world in which incomes of ordinary working people remained low and fairly stable over the centuries from a modern world where incomes increase for every new generation. This paper uses Gary Becker's theory of a "quantity/quality trade-off," consistent both with Malthusian population dynamics (quantity) and with demographic transition (quality), to identify a limited set of forces that were central to this revolution.


The time taken in the cooling stage, of a typical injection moulding cycle, is a large factor in the productivity and efficiency of a plastic manufacturing process, and for this reason, must be minimised. In order to do this a cooling system is employed throughout the mould core.

This thesis describes the development and implementation of a PC based analysis system that can be used to optimise the size and position of injection mould cooling systems. The software is fully '32-Bit', operating on 'Windows' platforms, and uses graphical methods for input and output operations. The two-dimensional geometry of the mould is supplied using AutoCAD 14 and 'Active-X Automation'. The analysis programs were written using 'Fortran PowerStation' and the user interface using 'Visual Basic'.

To employ the optimisation process the 'Boundary Element Method' was used to predict the temperature profile throughout the mould. This method is compared to an analytical procedure and the "Finite Element Method", by analysing a simple benchmark problem. The results of the "Boundary Element Analysis" were extremely accurate and in close agreement with the analytical solutions.

This thesis presents the method by which the temperature profile, throughout an injection mould, can be predicted, and applies this method to a particular example. Also presented are the experimental results of a test mould that was manufactured to produce simple square plastic parts. The results of the numerical analysis agreed with experimental results to within 6%.


The basic intention of the article ist the attempt to design such didactic activities which would reinforce the effectivity of academic learning and teaching Old Polish literature. The author has made the assumption that a very important aspekt of innovatinal activites is to transorm or enricht the so far dominanting didactical strateg - the one based on the assumptions of the so-called meritorical model of education, limited to transmitting and exacting knowledge - with elements of the so-called praxeological strategy.


Ordered domains play a central role in determining the properties of organic semiconductors, and thereby the performance of their devices. The molecules in these ordered domains are often characterized by planar backbone conformations. We investigate the influence of backbone planarity on the propensity to form ordered structures using a pair of model oligomers with electron poor benzothiadiazole moieties and electron rich thiophene units. The two oligomers differ by their central unit, where a bithiophene unit either allows for flexible twists ("TT"), or where it is bridged as a cyclopentadithiophene to provide a rigid planar connection ("CT"). Temperature dependent absorption and luminescence spectroscopy in solution along with atomistic simulations show that the more flexible TT readily forms aggregates upon cooling, while CT instead first forms non-emissive excimers and only forms aggregates below 200 K. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that aggregation in TT can only be accounted for if TT takes on a planar conformation in the course of the aggregation process. The stronger intermolecular interaction in TT compared to the banana-shaped CT can then be related to the larger number of attractive intermolecular interactions between the various subunits. Thus, molecular flexibility is an important design parameter, as it determines the accessibility of ordered intermolecular structures and ultimately device performance.


This collection of readings provides a compelling exploration of what arguably remains the single most important problem in sociological theory: the problem of social order. Contending that the purpose of theory in the social sciences lies in its ability to explain real-world phenomena, Theories of Social Order departs from the standard theory reader by presenting classical texts alongside contemporary theoretical extensions and recent empirical applications to explore this substantive theme. Its unique approach-focusing on theories rather than theorists and on one overarching question rather than a disparate array of issues-encourages students to compare various factors and mechanisms, seek common analytical themes, and develop a deeper theoretical understanding of the problem of social order. Further, by pairing theory with empirical research, the volume helps students appreciate the relevance of theory to their own lives, to the research enterprise, and to the development of better social policies. Readings have been selected based on their relevance to classical theoretical issues and are all accessible to a non-technical audience. Editorial introductions to each section discuss the causal mechanisms in each theory and make explicit links between the classical and the modern texts.


History is best absorbed through the words of those who experienced it. This 2-volume set illuminates daily life in slave society in America from colonial times to the end of the Civil War. Approximately 240 articles, organized topically, provide in-depth reference and historical information on the business and regulation of slavery, the plantation way of life, work, family and community, culture and leisure, health and medicine, religion, resistance and rebellion, and slavery and freedom in the North. This Author contributed an Article entitled "Monetary Value of Slaves."


PURPOSE
We evaluated differences in aqueous humor dynamics (AHD) among several mouse strains within younger and older age groups.

METHODS
Albino (A/J, BALB/cJ) and pigmented (C3H/HeJ, C57-BL/6J) mice (young [2½-4½ months] and aged [10-12 months]) were studied. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured. In cannulated eyes, episcleral venous pressure (Pe) was assessed (blood reflux). Other AHD parameters (outflow facility [C], aqueous humor formation rate [Fin]) were assessed (constant flow infusion). Uveoscleral outflow rate (Fu) was obtained by calculation (Fu(calc)) using the modified Goldmann equation, and in additional eyes (for comparison), by FITC-dextran perfusion (Fu(FITC-dex)).

RESULTS
Intraocular pressure was higher in pigmented strains, but did not exhibit age-dependence, except in the C57-BL/6J strain. Fu(calc) decreased with age in BALB/cJ (↓83.3%), C3H/HeJ (↓78.0%), and C57-BL/6J (↓85.0%) strains. In the A/J strain, Fu(calc) decreased with age (↓70.0%), but not significantly. Fin decreased with age in the C3H/HeJ (↓53.6%) strain. In C57-BL/6J and A/J strains, Fin decreased with age, but not significantly. C in the BALB/cJ strain increased with age (↑62.5%). In C3H/HeJ and C57-BL/6J strains, C increased with age, but not significantly. Episcleral venous pressure ranged from 6.0 to 6.6 mm Hg (albino strains) to 8.5 to 8.9 mm Hg (pigmented strains). Pe was not age dependent, but was higher in pigmented animals.

CONCLUSIONS
In mouse, Fu and Fin diminish with age. C tends to increase as animals progress to middle life. There are strain differences in Fu, IOP, C, Fin, and Pe. The current findings provide an important foundation for comparisons among different strains in different study reports.


This study investigated the effect of exposure duration on the luminances required to reach absolute, detection, chromatic, and correct-hue thresholds. Dominant wavelengths 642, 584, 521, and 468 nm were investigated by the method of constant stimuli, with 64.5- and 2.5-min-diam stimulus sizes, for a series of nine exposure durations ranging from 5 to 1413 msec. The results show that, for the small stimulus at brief durations, the luminance–exposure-time relationship approaches Bloch's law for the absolute-, detection-, and chromatic-threshold functions. For the corresponding correct-hue function, and for all thresholds, brief durations, large stimulus, the slope of the function relating luminance to exposure duration is less than that predicted by Bloch's law. The slopes relating luminance to exposure duration for the long exposures are greater for the small than for the large stimuli. There is a tendency for the two longer wavelengths to be seen at lower luminances than the two shorter wavelengths, for all thresholds and exposures. The extent of the differences among wavelengths changes as a function of the kind of threshold; the greatest difference occurs for the correct-hue threshold. Photochromatic intervals α and β are smallest for the 642-nm stimulus, over the range of durations. At this wavelength, the four thresholds can be described by a single function relating luminance and exposure duration. The largest photochromatic intervals α and β are found for the 521-nm stimulus. The results are discussed in terms of the relative action time among hues and the threshold-tritanopia hypothesis.


Previously, we reported evidence suggesting that Saccharomyces cerevisiae MutLα, composed of Mlh1p and Pms1p, was a functional member of the gyrase b/Hsp90/MutL (GHL) dimeric ATPase superfamily characterized by highly conserved ATPase domains. Similar to other GHL ATPases, these putative ATPase domains of MutLα may be important for the recruitment and/or activation of downstream effectors. One downstream effector candidate is Exo1p, a 5′-3′ double stranded DNA exonuclease that has previously been implicated in DNA mismatch repair (MMR). Here we report yeast two-hybrid results suggesting that Exo1p can interact physically with MutLα through the Mlh1p subunit. We also report epistasis analysis involving MutLα ATPase mutations combined with exo1Δ. One interpretation of our genetic results is that MutLα ATPase domains function to direct Exo1p and other functionally redundant exonucleases during MMR. Finally, our results show that much of the increase in spontaneous mutation observed in an exo1Δ strain is REV3-dependent, in turn suggesting that Exo1p is also involved in one or more MMR-independent mutation avoidance pathways.


Generative adversarial networks (GANs) are a learning framework that rely on training a discriminator to estimate a measure of difference between a target and generated distributions. GANs, as normally formulated, rely on the generated samples being completely differentiable w.r.t. the generative parameters, and thus do not work for discrete data. We introduce a method for training GANs with discrete data that uses the estimated difference measure from the discriminator to compute importance weights for generated samples, thus providing a policy gradient for training the generator. The importance weights have a strong connection to the decision boundary of the discriminator, and we call our method boundary-seeking GANs (BGANs). We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm with discrete image and character-based natural language generation. In addition, the boundary-seeking objective extends to continuous data, which can be used to improve stability of training.


This Article examines the problematic application of summary judgment in federal courts through a study of gender cases. Identifying a new dimension of the interrelationship between procedure and gender, I examine the ways in which summary judgment impacts on cases involving gender and gender impacts on judicial decisionmaking on summary judgment, with emphasis on the intersection of Daubert and summary judgment. I analyze summary judgment in federal gender discrimination and tort cases involving women plaintiffs and argue that there is flawed judicial decisionmaking in these cases. I describe empirical data compiled for this Article on whether summary judgment is granted disproportionately against women plaintiffs in federal court. I discuss the special problems of judicial determination of these cases, issues of gender and judging and the need for more diverse decisionmaking, the need for these cases to be heard through live testimony in a public forum, and the way in which summary judgment practice reinforces the troubling "privatization" of federal civil litigation. I conclude that judicial decisionmaking in these cases illustrates the way in which current summary judgment practice permits subtle bias to go unchecked and reveals the dangers of summary judgment generally.


Since times immemorial people have been using herbs or herbal extracts in the form of medicine. One such medicinal plant being, Cyperus rotundus is a waste weed belonging to the family Cyperaceae, which is a native of Africa, Southern and Central Europe and Southern Asia. The plant has now been identified as possessing several pharmacologically active substances such as α-cyperone, β-selinene, cyperene, cyperotundone, patchoulenone, sugeonol, kobusone, and isokobusone. A thorough scientific study should explain the folk- and alternative medicinal uses and the present study is therefore aimed at the evaluation of antimicrobial & anti-inflammatory activity of Cyperus rotundus for tonsillitis. The ethyl alcohol extract of Cyperus rotundus was investigated for antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pyogenes responsible for throat infection. After an incubation of 48 hours, a prominent clear inhibition zone was observed in the plate containing Cyperus rotundus extract. The inhibition zone test was followed by biopsy studies in which 16 tonsillectomy samples were collected in order to study the different organisms responsible for tonsillitis. Zymography was used to check the levels of reduction in inflammation by analyzing the activity of MMP (Matrix Metalloprotease). The 16 samples subjected to this test revealed a difference in the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression. After treatment the reduction in the levels of MMP in all samples ranged from 20% to 90%. Therefore, from the tests it was clear that the extract used for tonsillitis has a broad range of antimicrobial action and that it is an effective drug for treating tonsillitis.


The continued scaling of MOSFETs to the deca-nanometre regime has reached the point where the transistor size is now comparable with the grain size in a polysilicon film (typically 100-200nm). The time is therefore right to research processing techniques that would allow a transistor to be fabricated inside a grain of polysilicon. Such transistors would be expected to have significantly better performance than thin film transistors (TFTs) because grain boundaries would be eliminated from the channel region. The transistor performance might also approach that achievable in single-crystal silicon if good control could be obtained over the quality of the silicon inside the polysilicon grain. The applications for transistor-in-a-grain technology would potentially be enormous, and would include high-performance large area electronics, displays and any technology where low temperature processing was required. In the longer term, this technology may also be attractive for post-scaling CMOS, since it would enable 3D CMOS technologies to be implemented. Layers of polycrystalline silicon self-assemble during growth and hence the positions of the grains and grain boundaries are random. The key issue in researching transistor-in-a-grain technology is therefore to devise processing techniques that allow the polysilicon grains to be precisely located with respect to the position of the transistor. This thesis investigates grain localization techniques and transistor architectures for transistor-in-grain technology. Two novel methods of low temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon are researched to increase the grain size and controlling the grain boundary locations. One method uses fluorine during metal induced lateral crystallization (MILC) of amorphous silicon. It is shown that fluorine implantation can be used to increase the lateral crystallization width during nickel-induced lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon at 500°C. The fluorine implant also gives an improved grain texture and a five times lower density of nickel-silicide precipitates in the laterally crystallized silicon. It is unambiguously shown that these effects are due to the suppression of random crystallization at the bottom interface by a chemical effect of fluorine. To devise a lateral crystallization technique that does not introduce metal contamination germanium induced lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon is also studied. A new ?-Si crystallization phenomenon is identified which originates from the perimeter of a germanium layer during a low temperature anneal, giving a uniform lateral crystallization at a significantly lower thermal budget. The effect of amorphous Si thickness and doping on the perimeter crystallization are investigated. The perimeter crystallization is only observed in amorphous silicon films with thicknesses ? 100 nm, and the crystallization width increases with decreasing film thickness and increasing doping level. It is shown that the perimeter crystallization is due to the formation of large grains as a result of an increased growth rate of pre-existing grains and this is attributed to the strain generated by the thermal expansion of the germanium layer during anneal. Fabrication of single grain transistors in vertical pillars is a promising approach as completely single crystal silicon pillars can be realized by metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon. Hence, we simulate the electrical characteristics of very thin pillar vertical MOSFETs at pillar widths compatible with complete pillar crystallization. Floating body effects in vertical MOSFETs due to body isolation by the drain depletion region at the bottom of the pillar are investigated for pillar thicknesses in the range 200-10 nm. The transition from partial to fully depleted behavior is simulated and the impact of the body contact during this transition is described. For pillar thickness > 120 nm depletion isolation does not occur and hence the body contact is found to be completely effective, whereas for pillar thicknesses < 60 nm depletion isolation occurs for all drain biases and hence the body contact is ineffective. For intermediate pillar thicknesses of 60-120 nm, floating body effects are observed in the output characteristics due to partial depletion isolation. The relative contributions to the drain current of depletion isolation and gate-gate charge coupling are quantified and it is found that depletion isolation has a significant effect on the drain current down to a pillar thickness of 40 nm.


Current work on coreference focuses primarily on entities, often leaving unanalysed the use of anaphors to corefer with antecedents such as events and textual segments. Moreover, the anaphoric forms that speakers use for entity and event coreference are not mutually exclusive. This ambiguity has been the subject of work in English, with evidence of a split between comprehenders' preferential interpretation of personal versus demonstrative pronouns. In addition, comprehenders are shown to be sensitive to antecedent complexity and aspectual status, two verb-driven cues that signal how an event is being portrayed. Here we extend this work via a comparison across five languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish). With a story-continuation experiment, we test how different referring expressions corefer with entity and event antecedents and whether verbal features such as argument structure and aspect influence this choice. Our results show widely consistent, not categorical biases across languages: entity coreference is favoured for personal pronouns and event coreference for demonstratives. Antecedent complexity increases the rate at which anaphors are taken to corefer with an event antecedent, as does portraying an event as completed though the latter does not reach significance. Lastly, we report a comparison of the same referring expressions to refer to entity and event antecedents in a trilingual parallel corpus annotated with coreference. Together, the results provide a first crosslingual picture of coreference preferences beyond the restricted entity-only patterns targeted by most existing work on coreference. The five languages are all shown to allow gradable use of pronouns for entity and event coreference, with biases that align with existing generalizations about the link between prominence and the use of reduced referring expressions. The studies also show the feasibility of manipulating targeted verbdriven cues across multiple languages to support crosslingual comparisons.


Abstract. As precursors to tropospheric ozone and nitrate, nitrogen oxide (NOx) in the present atmosphere and its transformation in response to emission and climate perturbations are studied by using the CAM-Chem model and air quality measurements from the National Emissions Inventory (NEI), Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET), and Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality System (EPA AQS). It is found that NOx transformations in present atmospheric conditions show different sensitivities over industrial and non-industrial regions. As a result, the surface ozone and nitrate formations can be divided into several regimes associated with the dominant emission types and relative levels of NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Ozone production in industrial regions (the main NOx emission source areas) increases in warmer conditions and slightly decreases following an increase in NOx emissions due to NOx titration, which is opposite to the response in non-industrial regions. The ozone decrease following a temperature increase in non-industrial regions indicates that ozone production in regions that lack NOx emission sources may be sensitive to NOx transformation in remote source regions. The increase in NO2 from NOx titration over industrial regions results in an increase rate of total nitrate that remains higher than the increase rate of NOx emissions. The presented findings indicate that a change in the ozone concentration is more directly affected by changes in climate and precursor emissions, while a change in the nitrate concentration is affected by local ozone production types and their seasonal transfer. The sensitivity to temperature perturbations shows that a warmer climate accelerates the decomposition of odd nitrogen (NOy) during the night. As a result, the transformation rate of NOx to nitrate decreases. Examinations of the historical emissions and air quality records of a typical NOx-limited area, such as Atlanta and a VOC-limited area, such as Los Angeles further confirm the conclusions drawn from the modeling experiments.


Francophone Literatures draws together extracts from novels written in French by writers from Francophone areas outside Europe. These areas include North Africa, Black Africa, the Caribbean and North America. The book includes the following features: * a general introduction, which outlines the rationale and purpose of the book * a literary and a linguistic commentary on each extract included * a separate bibliography accompanying each section * a glossary of linguistic terms. The above features enable students to contextualize the extracts, identify the key literary and linguistic features and political, social, and cultural themes, to embark on further study, and to achieve their own successful text analysis by means of the models provided. Unique in its analysis both of literary and linguistic techniques, Francophone Literatures is essential reading for students of Francophone studies.


Hexavalent chromium, which is a highly toxic and soluble form of the element chromium, is a common soil and groundwater contaminant found in many contaminated sites throughout the world and poses a serious risk to human health when released into environment. The objective of this study was to determine transport and retention behaviour of aqueous Cr(VI) species in a highly calcareous and alkaline top soil of a karst system that is vulnerable to contamination. Batch sorption studies and column experiments conducted at both saturated and unsaturated steady-state flow conditions were used to evaluate the sorption/desorption and the transport of Cr(VI) in the alkaline soil conditions. The results of batch experiments indicated that Cr(VI) sorption was linear up to 200 mg L -1 of Cr(VI) initial concentration. Kd values obtained from both batch and column studies showed that Cr(VI) sorption was relatively low. The average Kd value obtained from batch studies (0.53 L Kg -1 ) was about six times higher than the average Kd value (0.09 L Kg -1 ) obtained from column studies. The results of the column experiments showed that transport of Cr(VI) was slightly retarded compared to non-reactive tracer at both saturated and unsaturated flow conditions. Extraction studies conducted on the soil columns also revealed that Cr(VI) oxyanions (dominantly CrO4 -2 , HCrO4 - ) were only temporarily retained by adsorption to easily exchangeable sorption sites in the soil and the sorption was reversible. Low retardation factors and Kd values obtained from column experiments suggest that Cr(VI) species are very mobile and bioavailable in highly calcareous soil conditions. This increases the spreading of contamination in such contaminated systems with Cr(VI) and contamination risk of groundwater resources. However, if the bioavailability is a key factor for remediating Cr(VI) contaminated soil, as in phytoremediation, increased availability of Cr(VI) for plant uptake in calcareous soil will enhance its removal.


Road transport is an important sector, connecting time and space of production and consumption. Its market conditions has changed. The EU single market implementation has increased price pressure due to supply of low cost road freight transport from counties with lower cost structures. Changes in the market also encourage strategic development of some road hauliers into providers of unique services. Such road haulier strategic development contributes to efficiency and effectiveness in basically all business sectors of EU. Little research is available of such strategic and operational management. In this paper we will explore that knowledge gap and analyze what value proposition(s) and capabilities can transform potential cost disadvantages of acting in a market that includes both high- and low-cost-country actors? And in conceptual terminology, how are capabilities deployed and developed to construct a competitive value proposition? We will illustrate the strategy-as-practice with two projects, and discuss implications in terms of capabilities needed to create an effective value proposition and hence competitiveness. The theoretical contribution is in theorizing haulier strategic development in which we take into account logistics service supplier strategic management. We also contribute with better understanding of value creation in order to escape commoditization and differentiate services through relationships (customers and/or other hauliers). Practical implications concern hauliers' strategy creation and to some extent road transport buyers in terms of more informed market knowledge.


Flight behavior, activity, and seasonal variation in capture of Rhynchopho- rus cruentatus (F.) were investigated. Response of R. cruentatus to traps baited with palm tissue was assessed at four locations in Florida over a 12- to 18-mo period. Capture of weevils varied by location and through time. Average temperature, the difference between high and low temperature, and total rainfall during trapping periods were not correlated with seasonal trends, but capture peaked in the spring following rise in temperature. Preflight behaviors of R. cruentatus were consistent for all weevils tested. Weevils pre- paring for flight first wipe their rostrum with the prothoracic legs, pump their pygidium, lift their elytra, and extend their wings. Just before flight, weevils raise the mesothoracic legs above the pronotum. Weevils preparing for a subsequent flight frequently skip the first two preflight events. Studies of flight activity in the laboratory indicate that time of day and feeding status of weevils had no effect on flight. However, flight activity increased with temperature and reduced relative humidity.


There are many great ways to share Jesus and encourage the biblical Christian worldview in the classroom. These include three major teaching modalities: integrating biblical truths directly into the lecture as they relate to the course's subject, giving devotional talks at the beginning or ending of class, and demonstrating biblical concepts by example—inside the classroom and out. This paper looks specifically at the devotional lecture modality. Classroom devotionals are usually, at the basic level, lectures, and therefore suffer from many of the disadvantages of the lecture. But lectures also have advantages. Done well, the devotional lecture can quickly convey a large quantity of information and can directly address topics that are unrelated to the course content and/or are difficult to teach through example, alone. The goal of this paper is to look at techniques that we can use in the classroom devotional lecture to mitigate the weaknesses of the lecture approach, while enhancing its strengths.


Birth weight is one of the best indexes for determine mother's nutritional status and pregnancy care. The main aim of this study is determine the association between mother's BMI and birth weight based on age in rural areas in the north of Iran. This study was established on the 2459 under-five- children that were chosen from 20 villages. Birth weight and Birth height have been recorded by health file in primary health system and mothers BMI has been measured. SPSS 18.0 software was used for statistical data analysis. T-test and ANOVA were used for comparing quantities groups. P-value under 0.05 included significations. Totally, the mean ± standard deviation of birth weight and birth height was 3211.9±520 g and 49.7±2.75 cm, respectively. Statistical differences were significant in both of them among three age groups (P=0.001 for all).Post hoc test was significant between age groups (except between 25-34 years and > 35 years age mothers based on birth weight)(P 25 years mothers, the association between mother's BMI and birth weight was not steady, while it was increased with mother's BMI in 25-34 years (P=0.001) and in >35 years age groups(P=0.001). The mean of birth weight and birth height increased when mother's BMI increased except for birth weight in <25 years mothers. Dependence was found between mother's BMI and birth weight and birth height in older mothers while it was not established in younger of them. Needing food supplement in younger pregnant women should be considered in future.


The objective of this book chapter is to provide consolidated and updated scientific information about the medicinal plants of the Peruvian Amazon, which has a great richness of plants; many of these are used in folkloric medicine to treat several diseases. Recently, investigations have reported that these medicinal plants possess bioactive phytochemicals against several diseases such as diabetes, cancer, inflammation, infectious diseases, and several other health problems, thus corroborating some ethnopharmacological reports. The mechanism of action for selected bioactive phytochemicals was demonstrated at the molecular level as well as the metabolic pathways involved in their biosynthesis were described. Due to the large gap in scientific information revealed in this review, we formulated a series of strategies to close these scientific knowledge gaps and achieve a sustainable exploitation of medicinal plants in the Peruvian Amazon.


For wouldbe entrepreneurs, innovation managers or just anyone fascinated by the special chemistry and drive that created some of the best technology companies in the world, this book offers both wisdom and engaging insightsstraight from the source. Chris Anderson, editorinchief of Wired Magazine, and author of The Long TailAll the best things that I did at Apple came from (a) not having money and (b) not having done it before, ever. Steve Wozniak, Apple Now available in paperbackwith a new preface and interview with Jessica Livingston about Y Combinator! Founders at Work: Stories of Startups Early Days is a collection of interviews with founders of famous technology companies about what happened in the very earliest days. These people are celebrities now. What was it like when they were just a couple friends with an idea? Founders like Steve Wozniak (Apple), Caterina Fake (Flickr), Mitch Kapor (Lotus), Max Levchin (PayPal), and Sabeer Bhatia (Hotmail) tell you in their own words about their surprising and often very funny discoveries as they learned how to build a company. Where did they get the ideas that made them rich? How did they convince investors to back them? What went wrong, and how did they recover?Nearly all technical people have thought of one day starting or working for a startup. For them, this book is the closest you can come to being a fly on the wall at a successful startup, to learn how it's done.But ultimately these interviews are required reading for anyone who wants to understand business, because startups are business reduced to its essence. The reason their founders become rich is that startups do what businessesdocreate valuemore intensively than almost any other part of the economy. How? What are the secrets that make successful startups so insanely productive? Read this book, and let the founders themselves tell you.


The typical American family has undergone a dramatic transformation since the 1950s. Marriage and fertility have been delayed, while single-motherhood rates have increased. The link between these facts emanates from the greater delay in marriage than that in first births. As "the Gap'' between the age at first birth and the age at first marriage becomes negative for some women, out-of-wedlock first births increase. This paper focuses on the increase in income inequality and the decrease in income mobility — observed across two National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) cohorts of women — to account for the above facts using an equilibrium two-sided search framework where agents make marriage and fertility choices over the life-cycle. Marriage is a commitment device for consumption-sharing, providing spouses with partial insurance against idiosyncratic earnings risk. Agents derive utility from children, but children also involve a risky commitment to future monetary and time costs. According to my model, two observed trends in the income process produce these changes in the respective timings of marriage and fertility. First, the increase in income inequality produces incentives to delay marriage. Since single women tend to face higher income risk than do married women, all else being equal, a decline in marriages when young implies delayed births, which are perceived to be risky. Second, the decrease in income mobility also delays marriage as the insurance value of marriage decreases but accelerates fertility because it becomes less risky to have a child. The model qualitatively matches the observed changes in family formation and quantitatively accounts for a significant portion of the observed changes in marriage and fertility timing between the two NLSY cohorts.


The aim of this study was to investigated the effects of a different vegetal fiber diet on the daily gain and quality of rabbit carcass. Thus, four random groups of domestic rabbits aged 11 weeks were fed for 20 days with diets enriched in different percentages of vegetal fibers (wheat straw): 11% (control group) 14% (group A), 23% (group B) and, respectively, 33% (group C).. The average daily gain of the control group was 50.2 g /capita/day. The experimental groups showed a descending trend in the average of daily gain compared with control of 55.2 g (group A), 52.0 g (group B) and, respectively, 49.4 g/capita/day (group C), P=0.2877 . Gastrointestinal mass weight (calculated as percent from the living mass) was 22.2% in the control group, 21.4% in the group A,24.4% in the group B, respectively, 24.9% in the group C. With regard to dressing percentage, it was found that in the case of rabbit control group, dressing percentage amounted to a value of 58.9 ± 8.0%. In the experimental groups, the dressing percentage values were 59.50%, 56.5% and, respectively, 55.9% (P=0.0639). Total dissectible fat amounted to 2.03% of whole carcass in group A (P=0.0822), 1.77% in group B (P=0.0549) and 1.70 % in group C (P=0.0320), while in the control, this value amounted to 1.86%. Meat/bone ratio of the control group was 4.98. In the experimental groups the values of meat/bone ratio were 5.62 (P=0.0023), 4.87 and, respectively, 4.44, decreasing proportional with the increase in the fiber percentage of the diet. Moderate supplementation of the fiber percentage in the rabbit diets can increase the average daily gain and the percentage of dissectible fat and the meat / bone ratio, but fiber percentage of the diet (23% or over) is followed by lower average daily gain, decreased dressing percentage, decreased dissectible fat and meat / bone ratio.


Springer Proceedings in Complexity publishes proceedings from scholarly meetings on all topics relating to the interdisciplinary studies of complex systems science. Springer welcomes book ideas from authors. The series is indexed in Scopus.  Proposals must include the following: name, place and date of the scientific meeting a link to the committees (local organization, international advisors etc.) scientific description of the meeting list of invited/plenary speakers an estimate of the planned proceedings book parameters (number of pages/articles, requested number of bulk copies, submission deadline). submit your proposals to: firstname.lastname@example.com


There are a variety of metrics that are used to monitor drought conditions, including soil moisture and drought indices. This study examines the relationship between in situ soil moisture, NLDAS-2 soil moisture, and four drought indices: the standardized precipitation index, the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, the crop moisture index, and the Palmer Z index. We evaluate how well drought indices and the modeled soil moisture represent the intensity, variability, and persistence of the observed soil moisture in the southern Great Plains. We also apply the drought indices to evaluate land–atmosphere interactions and compare the results with soil moisture. The results show that the SPI, SPEI, and Z index have higher correlations with 0–10-cm soil moisture, while the CMI is more strongly correlated with 0–100-cm soil moisture. All the drought indices tend to overestimate the area affected by moderate to extreme drought conditions. Significant drying trends from 2003 to 2017 are evident in SPEI, Z index, and CMI, and they agree with those in the observed soil moisture. The CMI captures the intra- and interannual variability of 0–100-cm soil moisture better than the other drought indices. The persistence of CMI is longer than that of 0–10-cm soil moisture and shorter than that of 0–100-cm soil moisture. Model-derived soil moisture does not outperform the CMI in the 0–100-cm soil layer. The Z index and CMI are better drought indices to use as a proxy for soil moisture when examining land–atmosphere interactions while the SPI is not recommended. Soil type and climate affect the relationship between drought indices and observed soil moisture.


Volatile food prices are held to threaten food security worldwide, but controversy over how to distinguish between 'normal' and 'extreme' volatility compromises threat assessment and identification of countermeasures. Whether food-market dynamics normally stabilize or destabilize prices is the source of controversy. The conventional view is that market dynamics are inherently stable so that price volatility—arising from exogenous shocks—normally stabilizes due to forces of supply and demand. Extended food panics are improbable, reducing need for interventionist public policy. An emergent alternative view is that market dynamics are inherently unstable so that volatility persists endogenously. Interventionist public policy is needed to deal with chronic food panics.


RNA deep-sequencing (RNA-seq) has been revolutionizing transcriptome analyses. Despite the high-throughput nature of this technology, very often transcriptome features such as transcription start sites (TSS) are still manually annotated. The problem is compounded for comparative transcriptomics of several species. We developed the SuperGenome algorithm, a novel general approach to comparative and integrative analysis of RNA-seq data. The SuperGenome can be utilized for comparative analyses of gene expression data, promoter sequences or SNPs in several species. Furthermore, it can be used for the comparative detection of TSS, for which we developed an automated TSS prediction method for differential RNA-seq experiments.


Or Paradox Regained? The answer is Paradox Regained. New data confirm that for countries worldwide long-term trends in happiness and real GDP per capita are not significantly positively related. The principal reason that Paradox critics reach a different conclusion, aside from problems of data comparability, is that they do not focus on identifying long-term trends in happiness. For some countries their estimated growth rates of happiness and GDP are not trend rates, but those observed in cyclical expansion or contraction. Mixing these short-term with long-term growth rates shifts a happiness-GDP regression from a horizontal to positive slope.


The literature on drawing provides a justification for using drawing in the teaching of philosophy. The aim of the essay is to show how drawing as a pedagogy, though unusual in philosophy, fulfills high-quality teaching desiderata: make it personal, go beyond the text, allow students to show and explain their work, and unify the work of the course. I explain these four desiderata and how students complete drawing exercises to develop understanding, generate insights, and make philosophic discoveries. I begin by explaining and justifying the pedagogical desiderata. I discuss the literature on drawing-to-learn and concept mapping and apply its insights to teaching philosophy. Finally, I describe my exercises on color theory, two-point perspective exercises, my modifications to concept mapping, and the use of summative drawings.


With 1.4 billion people lacking electricity to light their homes and provide other basic services, or to conduct business, all of humanity (and particularly the poor) are in need of a decarbonized energy system that can close the energy access gap and protect the global climate system. With particular focus on addressing the energy needs of the underserved, we present an analytical framework informed by historical trends and contemporary technological, social, and institutional conditions that clarifies the heterogeneous continuum of centralized on-grid electricity, autonomous minior community grids, and distributed, individual energy services. We find that the current day is a unique moment of innovation in decentralized energy networks based on super-efficient end-use technology and low-cost photovoltaics, supported by rapidly spreading information technology, particularly mobile phones. Collectively these disruptive technology systems could rapidly increase energy access, contributing to meeting the Millennium Development Goals for quality of life, while simultaneously driving action towards low-carbon, Earth-sustaining, energy systems.


This study aimed to identify the occurrence, type and mechanisms of the traumatic injuries of the vulnerable road users in vehicle collisions, and to determine the effects of human, engineering, and environment factors on traffic accidents and injuries. The pedestrian accident cases were collected in the years 2000 to 2005 from Changsha Wujing hospital China and Accident Research Unit at Medical University Hannover in Germany. A statistic analysis was carried out using the collected accident data. The results from analysis of Changsha data were compared with results from analysis of GIDAS data Hannover. The injury severities were determined using AIS code and ISS values. The results were presented in terms of cause of injuries, injury distributions, injury patterns, injury severity. The factors influenced the injury outcomes were proposed and discussed for the vehicle transport environment and road users. The results were discussed with regard to accident data collection, accident sampling and injury distributions etc. In the urban area of Changsha, motorcycles and passenger cars are most frequently involved in vehicle pedestrian accidents. Head and lower extremities injuries are the predominant types of pedestrian injuries. The pedestrian accidents were identified as vital issue in urban traffic safety and therefore a high priority should be given to this road user group in research of safe urban transportation. In Hannover area, cars are most frequently involved in traffic accidents, injured pedestrians are involved in road traffic of Germany in 13% of all causalities only in 2005 and have nearly the same number as motorcyclists, but the half of bicyclists.


An incredible gulf separates theoretical models of synapses, often described solely by a single scalar value denoting the size of a postsynaptic potential, from the immense complexity of molecular signaling pathways underlying real synapses. To understand the functional contribution of such molecular complexity to learning and memory, it is essential to expand our theoretical conception of a synapse from a single scalar to an entire dynamical system with many internal molecular functional states. Moreover, theoretical considerations alone demand such an expansion; network models with scalar synapses assuming finite numbers of distinguishable synaptic strengths have strikingly limited memory capacity. This raises the fundamental question, how does synaptic complexity give rise to memory? To address this, we develop new mathematical theorems elucidating the relationship between the structural organization and memory properties of complex synapses that are themselves molecular networks. Moreover, in proving such theorems, we uncover a framework, based on first passage time theory, to impose an order on the internal states of complex synaptic models, thereby simplifying the relationship between synaptic structure and function.


Inlet sediment bypassing, through the previously recognized mechanisms of stable inlet processes and ebb-tidal delta breaching, has been documented at six mixed energy (tide-dominated) coasts around the world including the coasts of: central South Carolina, Virginia, southern New Jersey, New England, the East Friesian Islands, and the Copper River Delta in Alaska. Regardless of the mechanism, the end product of the bypassing process is the formation of a large bar complex that migrates onshore and attaches to the downdrift inlet shoreline. Thus sediment bypassing is a discontinuous process at mixed energy tidal inlets. The morphology of the bar complexes is highly variable with widths ranging from 40-300m and lengths from 300 to over 1500m. Generally, the size of the bar complexes increases as inlet size increases and as the rate of longshore sediment transport increases. The frequency of bar welding events at mixed energy inlets varies from 3-7 years. The location where the bars attach to the downdrift beach and length of shoreline that is affected by the bar welding process is dependent on inlet size, orientation of the main ebb channel and wave versus tide dominance of the shoreline.


Recent work on business strategy considers the evaluation of company performance using frontier methods (Devinney et al., forthcoming). The present paper builds on that work to examine the extent to which company performance in one period impacts on business practices and hence performance in subsequent periods. We investigate this using a panel of annual data on some 4280 firms over the period 1983-2003, drawn from the Osiris data set of Bureau van Dijk. A data envelopment analysis is conducted to evaluate the efficiency of firms in converting inputs - in the form of shareholders' funds, liabilities and costs - into sales. The efficiency scores are then modelled in a random parameter framework where one of the determinants of current period efficiency is the firm's own lagged efficiency. In a parsimonious model, we find that the extent to which lagged efficiency affects current efficiency varies considerably from firm to firm. Some firms maintain a relatively constant level of efficiency period after period, while the efficiency of other firms is much more variable over time. Companies with extreme values of the random parameter (either low or high) are less likely than others to have high efficiency scores. These results are used to inform a number of qualitiative case studies of companies. Our evidence suggests that firms for which the random parameter is high tend to be long established enterprises operating in narrowly and clearly defined markets, and enjoying sustained periods of market stability; firms for which the random parameter is low tend to have had a turbulent recent past involving either rapid growth (including merger activity) or decline. Meanwhile efficiency is determined in part by the industry and country with which a firm is associated, and also by the opportunities to exploit scale economies.


The concentrations of PM2.5 and trace elements with hourly resolution were measured during May 2014 in urban residential area of Wuhan, the biggest city in central China. During the period of measurement, the average temperature was approximate 25°C without domestic heating and cooling. The average concentration of PM2.5 was 95.53 μg m^(-3), which was higher than the limit of Ambient Air Quality Standard of China GB3095-2012 (75 μg m^(-3), Level 2). A sand storm original from Northwestern China was also recorded. Concentrations of major trace elements (K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Pd, Ag, Cd, Au, Hg, Pb, Co, Sn, Sb, Tl) were comparable to previous studies, except for Ba and Ca with more than doubled concentrations (103 ng m^(-3), 1,792.49 ng m^(-3)) due to the storm. Enrichment Factor (EF) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) were employed to characterize the emission sources. The computation of EF showed that Zincs was highly enriched. Four sources, biomass burning (63.2%) might mainly related to power plants using bio-waste burning and bio-related cooking activities, metallurgical and steel industries (14%), dust crustal (12.5%) and dust associated with vehicular traffic (10.4%), were identified in decreasing order of average percentage contribution to the PM2.5 mass with the aid of trace elements. The orientations of emission sources were also addressed.


An excessive and inappropriate handling of live fish is currently performed to obtain its size and weight. As an ameliorative attempt, a system named "IchthyoJHOL" was devised for the measurement of live specimens of fusiform fish species. The system holds the fish ventrally between supports and is mounted upon a scale. An image is captured on camera and processed with a digital measurement system. The system generates biometric data such as length, height, and weight. This methodology creates a two-stage biometric process, the first being the capture of the images and the second their digital analysis, allowing for each stage to be carried out at distinct times and places. With this methodology, a reliability of over 96.8% is achieved, similar to that produced by the traditional system, but with a significant reduction in handling time and stress induced on the fish, allowing for large-scale biometric analysis. In addition, the library of fish images can be shared for posterior evaluation, redescription studies or a more extensive morphometric analysis.


A major focus of recent research in spoken language understanding (SLU) has been on the end-to-end approach where a single model can predict intents directly from speech inputs without intermediate transcripts. However, this approach presents some challenges. First, since speech can be considered as personally identifiable information, in some cases only automatic speech recognition (ASR) transcripts are accessible. Second, intent-labeled speech data is scarce. To address the first challenge, we propose a novel system that can predict intents from flexible types of inputs: speech, ASR transcripts, or both. We demonstrate strong performance for either modality separately, and when both speech and ASR transcripts are available, through system combination, we achieve better results than using a single input modality. To address the second challenge, we leverage a semantically robust pre-trained BERT model and adopt a cross-modal system that co-trains text embeddings and acoustic embeddings in a shared latent space. We further enhance this system by utilizing an acoustic module pre-trained on LibriSpeech and domain-adapting the text module on our target datasets. Our experiments show significant advantages for these pre-training and fine-tuning strategies, resulting in a system that achieves competitive intent-classification performance on Snips SLU and Fluent Speech Commands datasets.


Meeting nutritional demand is of paramount significance in any stage of life to ensure positive health. Safeguarding maternal nutritional requirements during pregnancy deserves ancillary attention as the diet has an inarguable impact on the health of both the mother and the newborn baby. In a study that was carried out in India in seven states (Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Assam, Orissa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh) on 1 751 pregnant women, it was revealed that 84% of the study participants suffered from nutrition-related iron deficiency. Another multi-country study reported that the prevalence of anaemia in pregnant women was 63%, 68% and 74%, in Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, respectively. Multiple studies from different developing countries have also established nutritional imbalance in pregnancy in different settings.


After spending years advocating for human and civil rights in China, Ai Weiwei is now employing his artistic abilities and his sizeable social media presence to sensitise the West to the plight of the refugees who attempt to reach Europe from the Middle East and Africa. In doing so, he is putting European governments rather than the Chinese state 'on trial' while adding a 'transcultural' dimension to his work. Still, even his most recent endeavours stem from the same philosophy he has espoused throughout his career.


Critiquing student writing is an important responsibility of many law professors. While the focus of a teacher's critique should be on the substance of the feedback, teachers should also consider the form of the critique to ensure that they are providing the necessary guidance to students effectively and efficiently. When choosing the critique format, teachers have a variety of options, including several electronic techniques. Unfortunately, many teachers have not considered the use of technology to comment on student writing. However, advances in technology coupled with the technological savvy and comfort level of today's student, may eventually dictate that all law teachers use some kind of electronic feedback when commenting on their students' papers. This article is designed to encourage law professors to consider the use of technology to comment on student assignments by demonstrating that an electronic format could help many teachers be more proficient when critiquing their students' writing. To help teachers determine the best critique format for their classes, the article provides a comparison of the different commenting methods and explores the considerations teachers should use when choosing the form of feedback. The article closes with a step-by-step guide to the current technology for providing comments on student writing electronically.


In this paper, I argue that the uninflected complements of verbs of perception in Basque are aspectual phrases (AspPs), adapting a proposal by Felser (1998, 1999) to the specific properties of Basque perception complements. With that aim in mind, I will first describe the basic syntactic and semantic properties that non-inflected perception verb complements have in Basque. Then, I will critically review some of the previous proposals that have been entertained for the analysis of those contructions in that language. Finally, I will show that Felser's analysis, once some of the specific morphosyntactic properties of Basque are factored out, represents the best possible account of the structure of those complements.


This article examines a case study in which a music teacher experimented with the potential for fostering student participation and creative engagement through the use of tablets in a Finnish lower secondary school (grade 7, age 13). The project consisted of 15 weekly music lessons, and included music-andmovement (preparatory) exercises, improvisation and music composition, the recording of a video, and its subsequent editing to match the composed music. This paper examines the pedagogical principles and processes involved in this effort, as well as the teacher's pedagogical thinking. The data included classroom observations, field notes, and teacher and student interviews. The study focuses on the notion of teachers' pedagogical thinking, and on the paradigm of teaching as a reflective practice. The examined case offers one practical example of a teacher's effort to find new pedagogical solutions for applying technology in a music classroom. I have identified five pedagogical principles that guided the process: (1) Everyone is creative; (2) Gaining musical knowledge through embodied learning; (3) Enhancing social cohesion and inclusion through group music-and-movement activities; (4) Composing as a collaborative and self-regulated process; and (5) Empowering agency and ownership through making a (music video) product. The participating students enjoyed most a diverse range of (creative) activities and autonomous working in small groups. The study supports earlier findings that the use of technology in teaching motivates student participation (e.g., Salmela-Aro, 2015; Karsenti & Fievez, 2013; Ruippo & Salavuo, 2006), and that creative tasks can provide a clear focus for their use (Savage & Challis, 2002). Moreover, it argues that social aspects play an important role in learning, as positive learning experiences were strongly interconnected with social inclusion. By examining the pedagogical processes and reasoning behind the practice, the study contributes to the construction of the technological pedagogical and content knowledge (Bauer, 2014) in music teaching and learning.


The typical estimation of DSGE models requires data on a set of macroeconomic aggregates, such as output, consumption and investment, which are subject to data revisions. The conventional approach employs the time series that is currently available for these aggregates for estimation, implying that the last observations are still subject to many rounds of revisions. This paper proposes a release-based approach that uses revised data of all observations to estimate DSGE models, but the model is still helpful for real-time forecasting. This new approach accounts for data uncertainty when predicting future values of macroeconomic variables subject to revisions, thus providing policy-makers and professional forecasters with both backcasts and forecasts. Application of this new approach to a medium-sized DSGE model improves the accuracy of density forecasts, particularly the coverage of predictive intervals, of US real macro variables. The application also shows that the estimated relative importance of business cycle sources varies with data maturity.


Growth and development in plants is carefully regulated in response to both intrinsic and extrinsic signals, in part by the hormone gibberellic acid. Sasaki et al. (see the Perspective by Harberd) have now elucidated some of the forces that set up opposing positive and negative controls on gibberillin signaling. A newly identified protein from rice, GID2, functions as a positive regulator by pitching the opposing negative regulator, SLR1, into the hands of the proteosome, where it is promptly degraded. A. Sasaki, H. Itoh, K. Gomi, M. Ueguchi-Tanaka, K. Ishiyama, M. Kobayashi, D.-H. Jeong, G. An, H. Kitano, M. Ashikari, M. Matsuoka, Accumulation of phosphorylated repressor for gibberellin signaling in an f-box mutant. Science 299, 1896-1898 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text] N. P. Harberd, Relieving DELLA restraint. Science 299, 1853-1854 (2003). [Summary] [Full Text]


A 160-day-long preliminary laboratory scale MBR treatment study and the performance test of a new 480 m3/day capacity full scale plant for quality improvement of effluent from a bitumen plant off-gas scrubbing followed by dissolved air flotation were conducted. Two testing periods were distinguished during the laboratory study, specifically the first with 100 days SRT and the second with 50 days SRT. To evaluate the possibility of the organic matter removal enhancement at the end of each testing period powdered activated carbon (PAC) treatment was carried out.

The COD and oil & grease removal efficiency of the well acclimated MBR sludge was greater than 90% and 98%, respectively. The COD content of the treated wastewater during the full scale performance test period was reduced below 100 mg·L−1. To ensure an optimal treatment process, the organic loading rate should be kept in 1.5 – 3 kg COD m−3 d−1 range. and optimal biomass concentration of 10-15 g·L−1 should be ensured to reduce the cleaning frequency of the membrane ultrafilters. To avoid exceedance of compliance with respect to the discharge criteria, further treatment step(s) should be considered prior to any treated wastewater reuse.


Abstract The major geologic units of the Itremo region in central Madagascar include: (1) upper amphibolite to granulite facies (higher grade) Precambrian rocks, mainly para- and orthogneisses, and migmatites; (2) the newly defined Itremo Nappes, a fold-and-thrust belt containing the Proterozoic Itremo Group sediments, metamorphosed at greenschist to lower amphibolite facies (lower grade) conditions: (3) Middle Neoproterozoic and Late Neoproterozoic-Cambrian intrusives. The stratigraphic succession of the Itremo Group in the eastern part of the Itremo region is, from bottom to top: quartzites, metapelites, metacarbonates and metapelites overlain by metacarbonates. During D1 the Itremo Group sediments were detached from their continental substratum, deformed into a fold-and-thrust nappe (Itremo Nappes), and transported on top of higher grade rocks that are intruded by Middle Neoproterozoic (c. 797–780 Ma) granites and gabbros. A second phase of deformation shortening (D2) affected both the Itremo Sedimentary Nappes and structurally underlying higher-grade rocksunits, and formed large-scale N-S-trending F2 folds. S1 axial plane foliations in Itremo Group sediments are truncated by Late Neoproterozoic-Cambrian granites (c. 570–540 Ma). The age of the formation of the Itremo Nappes is not well constrained: they formed in Neoproterozoic times between 780 and 570 Ma.


The purpose of this thesis is to explore the significance and implications of texts
written from the points of view of companion animals. Companion animals, particularly
dogs, historically and currently play an important role in American culture. Studies in
sociology and behavioral psychology explain the symbiotic human-dog relationship and
its associated emotional ties. People commonly assign dogs human personalities and
values, assignations that are supported by science as well as our tendency to value the
cultural narrative of Man's Best Friend.
Voice, a tool central to rhetoric, is often attributed to these animals in various
texts. We see voice attributed to animals in children's literature, a foundation of literacy,
and animals that speak in the first person are also utilized to persuade readers to act in
both liberatory and consumer situations. Liberatory texts that use the personal pronoun
"I" include argumentative essays about animal rights, narratives in free publications that
encourage readers to adopt homeless animals, and letters asking for support of local
humane societies. Consumer texts in which animals are the speakers include
advertisements in various media as well as articles that are included in pet product
catalogues.
Rhetorical acts in which dogs and other companion animals are assigned voice are
significant in terms of critical literacy and economic citizenship. Critical consumers'
decisions and beliefs may be informed by rationality as well as narrative, and
conscientious economic citizens can employ critical reading strategies to counter
scotosis, "rationalized acts of selective blindness that occur by allowing certain
information to be discounted or unexamined" (Mathieu 112-113). Through critical literacy and conscientious economic citizenship, hegemony, including the domination of
the Man's Best Friend narrative to fulfill consumerist agendas, can be opposed. A critical
reader of the liberatory and consumer texts examined here must look at those texts from
multiple perspectives and question who the actual rhetor is, what that rhetor's agenda is,
why that rhetor is recycling the Man's Best Friend cultural narrative, and what value lies
in that narrative.


Language learning is multifaceted, and within Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, motivation is one of the most frequently studied aspects. The impetus of the current study is to further explore second language learning motivation as well as its impact on the language acquisition process within the context of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). This study uses Dornyei's (2009) framework of the L2 Motivational Self System from which the Motivational Factors Questionnaire (MFQ) has been created and validated by Ryan (2009). This study was conducted at the high school level in Sweden and includes students enrolled in CLIL programs (N = 109) and non-CLIL programs (N = 68) at three different schools. In this paper, the subcategories of the MFQ are analyzed using one-way ANOVAs with CLIL/non-CLIL, L1, and gender as the independent variables. The results indicate that there are differences in attitudes and motivation of CLIL vs. non-CLIL students.


Open data offers a new start for economic reform and productivity growth. Leveraging the new possibilities of the Internet to make better use of existing resources, it offers us a way of getting past the political economy of winners and losers. This report illustrates the potential economic value of reinvigorating the open data agenda in Australia and the G20. Our review of the literature, our modeling, and our case study scenarios show how an open data focus could promote the themes of the G20 agenda—trade, finance, fiscal and monetary policy, anti-corruption, employment, energy, and infrastruc - ture—and in so doing achieve more than half of the G20's 2% growth target. Scaling recent results of the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that implementation of open data policies including in areas corresponding to G20 agenda items could increase G20 output by around USD 13 trillion over the next five years. This would boost cumulative G20 GDP by around 1.1 percent - age points of the 2% growth target over five years. Similar scaling for Australia suggests that more vigorous open data policies could add around AUD 16 billion per annum to the Australian economy. The modeling and case studies in this report validate the magnitude of that figure and suggest that it may underestimate the potential value of open data. VALUE CREATION The more data is opened, the more it can be used, reused, repurposed and built on—in combination with other data—for everyone's benefit. As our econ - omy and society become more knowledge-based, data are core assets, creating value in their own right and driving social and economic innovation, growth and development. Opening data creates social and economic value in myriad ways by: • Reducing costs in the provision of existing services both by government and private sector (i.e. doing the same for less cost); • Enabling new services and improved quality of services; and • Indirectly contributing to improvements in governance and government services through improved accountability and citizen involvement, both of which engender greater trust in government. This report explicates these mechanisms.


Conventional wisdom holds that the pervasive uncertainty in copyright law is intolerable because it inhibits expression – those who would engage in lawful uses of copyrighted works abstain for fear of crushing liability. The conclusion is right but for the wrong reasons. It is based on the often-unstated assumption that users who face liability are risk-averse. But the leading account of decision-making under uncertainty suggests that those facing potential losses are risk-seeking, while those facing a potential gain are risk-averse. In light of this asymmetry in risk preferences, copyright's asymmetric distribution of uncertainty – salient issues for users are opaque while those for copyright holders are clear – promotes access while preserving copyright-holder incentives. Users discount the risks of boundary crossing because the doctrines of access make the boundaries unpredictable, and copyright holders overvalue their entitlements because they are reliable, protecting against the most-feared uses of their works with predictably potent remedies. In short, the system exploits asymmetric risk preferences through its asymmetric distribution of uncertainty. Good economics does not always make good law, however. The Rule-of-Law ideal also values clarity in an asymmetric way: the need for notice is at its zenith where the law imposes punishment and its nadir where the law confers benefits. Even if it is true that copyright's asymmetric uncertainty promotes maximal expression, forcing users to shoulder the burdens of uncertainty in the name of social welfare evinces a disrespect for user autonomy that is inconsistent with the Rule of Law.


COVID-19 has produced a transformation in society that has, in turn, influenced the field of education. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of COVID-19 on education using the Web of Science database. A methodology based on bibliometrics was used. Specifically, a scientific mapping of the literature was carried out, as well as a co-word analysis on the state of the question. The analysis included 940 publications. The results show that the institution with the highest volume of production in this field is the University of London. Among the journals, the Journal of Chemical Education stands out. Furthermore, in the analysis of the structural and thematic development of co-words, a high percentage of keyword matching was observed. In 2020, the motor themes were mental-health, organic-chemistry, general-public, first-year-undergraduate, and upper-division-undergraduate, while in 2021, they were autism-spectrum-disorder, adoption, internet, and intervention. It can be concluded that investigation into COVID-19 in the educational field is in its initial process. The research is currently mainly oriented to pedagogical methods, especially e-learning or collaborative learning, although they are not the only trends in this field. Research is also focusing on mental health, students with various disorders, and higher education. In the near future, research on COVID-19 in the field of education will probably be oriented to the application of effective pedagogical methods to train students at various educational stages.


In this paper, we study approximation algorithms for several NP-hard facility location problems. We prove that a simple local search heuristic yields polynomial-time constant-factor approximation bounds for the metric versions of the uncapacitated k-median problem and the uncapacitated facility location problem. (For the k-median problem, our algorithms require a constant-factor blowup in the parameter k.) This local search heuristic was first proposed several decades ago, and has been shown to exhibit good practical performance in empirical studies. We also extend the above results to obtain constant-factor approximation bounds for the metric versions of capacitated k-median and facility location problems.


Foreword Pehr Enckell Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Why restoration? Krystyna M. Urbanska, Nigel R. Webb and Peter J. Edwards 2. What do we mean by restoration? Anthony D. Bradshaw Part I. Ecological Basis of Restoration: 3. Restoration as an ecosystem process: implications of the modern ecological paradigm V. Thomas Parker and Steward T. A. Pickett 4. Importance of soil ecology in restoration science A. D. Bradshaw 5. Soil microorganisms, mycorrhiza and restoration ecology Kurt Haselwandter 6. Safe sites - interface of plant population ecology and restoration ecology Krystyna M. Urbanska 7. The role of plant-animal mutualism in the design and restoration of natural communities Steven N. Handel 8. The development of criteria for ecological restoration Nigel R. Webb Part II. The Implementation and Assessment of Restoration Schemes: 9. Restoring alpine ecosystems in the United States: environmental constraints, disturbance characteristics and restoration success Jeanne C. Chambers 10. Restoration of eroded areas in Iceland Sigurdur H. Marnusson 11. Invertebrates assist the restoration process: an Australian perspective Jonathan D. Majer 12. Terrestrial arthropods as ecological indicators of habitat restoration in southwestern North America K. S. Williams 13. Tidal wetland restoration and creation along the east coast of North America William A. Niering 14. Options for restoration and management of coastal salt marshes in Europe Jan P. Bakker, Peter Esselink, Rene van der Wal and Kees S. Dijkema Part III. Ecological Restoration, Economics and Sustainability: 15. Ecological engineering and sustainable development Peter J. Edwards, and Cyrus Abivardi 16. Ecological restoration - the magnitude of the challenge: an outsider's view Michael Clark Part IV. Conclusions: 17. Restoration ecology: science, technology and society Peter J. Edwards, Nigel R. Webb, Krystyna M. Urbanska and Reinhard Bornkamm Taxonomic index Subject index.


We demonstrate the performance of an efficient insertable pulse cleaning module (IPCM) that uses a saturable absorber (SA) pair with a compensating multi-pass amplifier. IPCM consists of a first SA, a grating compressor, a second SA, a stretcher and a compensating Ti:sapphire amplifier. It is implemented with a conventional chirped pulse amplification (CPA) Ti:sapphire laser system, resulting in a double CPA system architecture, and suppresses the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) level of the pulse pedestal by about three orders of magnitude while preserving the output pulse energy and repetition-rate of the overall laser system. The duration of recompressed cleaned pulses is comparable to that obtained without the cleaning module. The effectiveness of the cleaning module is confirmed in laser-driven proton acceleration experiments. At the 10(9) W/cm2 pedestal level, the surface structure and electrical resistivity of an insulator target (100 nm silicon nitride) are preserved prior to the arrival of the intense ultrashort pulse.