Energy is an expensive and scare resource and the world faces an energy crisis given our dependence on the limited supply of fossil fuels. Similar to other countries, in Qatar, energy consumption and the subsequent production of greenhouse gas emissions are becoming a major challenge that the society is facing. Recent statistics in Qatar indicated that the per-capita use of electricity and production of CO2-emission has been rising continually since 1971. Population growth and industrial development are the main sources of these problems. In 2004, the electricity consumption per capita reached 17000 kWh which puts Qatar as one of the highest energy consumer per capita in the world as it surpasses the average per-capita electricity consumption of the developed countries. Due to the high contribution of buildings in overall energy consumption, building energy performance has become a key approach to reduce energy consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Since the building energy performance depends on the numerous variables related to the building characteristics, installed equipment, occupants' behavior, and environmental loadings, selecting the most efficient combination of variables is highly complicated. Considering other objectives such as reduction of financial costs and minimizing the life cycle emission will increase the complexity of the decision making process. To solve these problems, different numerical methods such as optimization algorithms are proposed and utilized. Multi-objective design optimization is a powerful tool to assist decision makers identify and implement the most efficient strategies. The multi objective optimization algorithms are capable of determining the proper variables to obtain the optimum design. Therefore, the objective of this work is to tackle the problem of determining the best design by implementing a harmony search (HS) based optimization algorithm to minimize the life cycle cost and life cycle CO2 equivalent emissions of a small office building. Parameters considered in the current investigation model are building materials and their associated thickness in different building components including wall, floor, roof, and ceiling. In addition, different HVAC systems are considered as design variables. HS algorithm was conceptualized using the musical process to identify the perfect state of harmony. HS was initially developed for the discrete variable optimization problems and then expanded to include continuous variable problems as well. Simplicity in implementation and flexibility of the algorithm has increased the utilization of this method in many research fields. In difference with other optimization methods which are usually based on the numerical linear and nonlinear programing methods that require gradient information to seek the solution, HS algorithm does not utilize gradient information. To achieve this objective, price data and emission data are collected and magnitudes of each one calculated according to the simulation results. The first objective is to minimize the life cycle cost of the design. To identify the life cycle cost of each model, the summation of present value of initial costs, operation and maintenance costs, and energy costs are calculated. The data for construction costs are taken from construction handbooks. In this study, the building life is assumed to be 40 years. For the life cycle assessment, all phases of pre-use (extraction, transfer, and processing of materials), use (service and maintenance), and end-of-life (demolishing and transfer of wastes) of the modeled building have been considered. The pre-use phase costs include the material prices, labor costs, replacement, and equipment. The use-phase includes the service energy costs (heating, cooling, water heating, lighting, equipment, etc.) which are determined by the energy simulation. The second objective of this study is to minimize the life cycle emission of the design. The life cycle emission of each design is determined based on the emission of global warming potential (GWP) data of different materials during pre-use, use, and end-of-life. The pre-use emission can be calculated by having the weight of each material used in construction of the building and multiplying with the emission amount per unit weight. The environmental emission data are collected through different LCA datasets such as DEAM and EcoPack. The use phase emission includes two types of emissions: energy related and service-maintenance. For the energy related emissions, the emission factor of electricity consumption is determined according to the location and source of energy generator systems. To calculate the maintenance emission during the use period, a list of materials and mass of each which should be replaced was prepared. The post-use phase energy consumption includes all the emissions related to demolition and disposal of wastes and the regarding data were gathered through life cycle analysis data bases. In order to optimize the process of designing of the small office building in this study, a C++ code which is capable of modifying model characteristics, perform energy simulation, evaluate the results, and identify the next simulation magnitudes was developed. The proposed HS optimization algorithm, first selects and assigns random magnitudes for the initial values of variables. This selection is a random selection through the defined ranges for variables. Then a simulation of the initial model is performed to attain the first sets of results (objective functions). HS algorithm evaluates the objectives and sets the new values for variables for next simulation. The results of next simulations will be compared with results of previous simulations. If the results in each simulation are better than worst solution, worst solution will be replaced by new results. The solution of the optimization problem improves by having multiple simulations gradually. To determine the energy consumption of the building in the use phase, EnergyPlus model of the building including building envelope system details, thermal zones temperature set points, occupants' activity type and schedule, types of HVAC system, equipment loadings, lighting system schedule, and design year weather data was prepared. EnergyPlus is a powerful energy simulation program for modeling building energy performance and capable of modeling multi-zone airflow, thermal comfort and natural ventilation systems, as well as determining the amount of energy was utilized to determine the total building energy consumption. The focus of this study is to determine the optimum building construction materials and their associated thickness as well as HVAC system of a small office building located in Doha, Qatar. Heat pump air to air ventilation system is assigned to this building and zones' temperature set points are fixed on 22 °C for heating and 26 °C for cooling. Running the simulation process parallel to the optimization algorithm evaluation resulted in identifying multiple optimum solutions of building construction materials and their associated thickness as well as HVAC system. In order to offer decision makers the chance to evaluate the tradeoff between cost and emissions, the Pareto front is plotted. In addition, comparing designs with different life cycle costs and emissions resulted in the following conclusions: By comparing the life cycle cost and carbon dioxide emission of different designs, it was concluded that assigning a small modification in life cycle cost can significantly change the CO2 equivalent emissions. Foundations, floors, and ceilings are emitting the highest amounts of carbon dioxide equivalent in building. Using of high emission materials with higher thickness comparing to other construction materials are the main reasons of this contribution. The outcomes of this research, assists designers in identifying the best combination of envelope materials to design energy efficient buildings. It remains for future to investigate the effects of working schedule, and control strategies in optimum design of buildings.


Abstract:From residential schools and sterilizations to assimilation-driven adoption and foster care abuses, settler colonialism targets Indigenous women in their roles as the reproducers of Indigenous cultures and nations, deeming them unfit and meeting them with violence. Such policies, both historical and contemporary, fuel and inform ongoing attacks on Indigenous motherhood. In this essay, I analyze the brutality leveled against famed Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq by settler environmentalists in 2014 after she posted online a photograph of her infant daughter next to a dead seal in solidarity with the pro–seal hunt Indigenous activist "Sealfie" campaign, as a primary example of this violence. I argue that the attacks on Tagaq in her positions as an Indigenous mother, activist, and celebrity showcase an unbroken onslaught of gendered violence coordinated by the settler states and its agents and serving assimilationist efforts through the current moment. I conclude with a discussion of how a focus on attacks on Indigenous motherhood, an understudied aspect of gendered violence against Indigenous women, can provide new insights into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women tragedy and Canadian state efforts to redress it.


Promoting tropical forest sustainability among corporate players is a major challenge. Many tools have been developed, but without much success. Southeast Asia has become a laboratory of globalization processes, where the development and success of agribusiness transnationals raises questions about their commitment to environmental concerns. An abundance of literature discusses what determines the behavior of Asian corporations, with a particular emphasis on cultural factors. Our hypothesis is that financial factors, such as ownership structure, may also have a fundamental role. We analyzed the audited accounts of four major Asian agribusiness transnationals. Using network analysis, we deciphered how the 931 companies relate to each other and determine the behavior of the transnationals to which they belong. We compared various metrics with the environmental commitment of these transnationals. We found that ownership structures reflect differences in flexibility, control and transaction costs, but not in ethnicities. Capital and its control, ownership structure, and flexibility explain 97% of the environmental behavior. It means that existing market-based tools to promote environmental sustainability do not engage transnationals at the scale where most of their behavior is determined. For the first time, the inner mechanisms of corporate governance are unraveled in agricultural and forest sustainability. New implications such as the convergence of environmental sustainability with family business sustainability emerged.


The understanding and practice of leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa, in all spheres, is at the heart beat of this work. Questions and concerns over the quality of leadership in most countries in this particular region are reasons which have led to revisit and investigate the formative training of the current cohort of African leadership with a special focus on the ethical aspect of leadership. It is an assumption, in this thesis, that the contemporary cohort of African leadership received their formative training especially in the 1960s and 1970s and that they were deeply influenced by the black consciousness movement and, in association with that, by the emergence of black theology. In this respect, this research project explores the notions of ethics and leadership with a view to determine ways in which an appropriate leadership ethos was portrayed and articulated in the writings of selected exponents of the black theology movement, namely ML King (Jr), Desmond Tutu and Allan Boesak. The purpose of this work is therefore mainly descriptive: to map discourse on a leadership ethos in the context especially of black theology.


Abstract The European Directive on the EU ETS allows governments to auction up to 10% of the allowances issued in phase II 2008–2012, without constraints being specified thereafter. This article reviews and extends the long-standing debate about auctioning, in which economists have generally supported and industries opposed a greater use of auctioning. The article clarifies the key issues by reviewing six 'traditional' considerations, examines several credible options for auction design, and then proposes some new issues relevant to auctioning. It is concluded that greater auctioning in aggregate need not increase adverse competitiveness impacts, and could in some respects alleviate them, particularly by supporting border-tax adjustments. Auctioning within the 10% limit might also be used to dampen price volatility during 2008–2012 and, in subsequent periods, it offers the prospect of supporting a long-term price signal to aid investor confidence. The former is only possible, however, if Member States are willing to coordinate their decision-making (though not revenue-raising) powers in defining and implementing the intended pricing mechanisms.


Background The glutamatergic system may be relevant to the pathophysiology of psychosis and to the effects of antipsychotic treatments. Objectives We investigated a set of 62 SNPs located in genes coding for subunits of glutamatergic receptors (GAD1, GRIA1, GRIA3, GRIA4, GRID2, GRIK1, GRIK2, GRIK3, GRIK4, GRIN2B, GRM1 and GRM4), and the transporter of glycine (SLC6A5), as modulators of the effects of haloperidol. Methods and results We studied a sample of 101 acutely ill psychotic patients. We then validated our result in two independent samples from Slovenia (n=71 and n=118) of schizophrenic patients treated with antipsychotics. We both investigated the antipsychotic effect (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) and motor side effect (Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale) at baseline and days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28. SLC6A5 variant (rs2298826) was found to be associated with a rapid rise of motor side effects at the beginning of the treatment (repeated measures of analysis of variance, P=0.0002), followed by a subsequent adaptation, probably dependent on haloperidol doses down titration. A specific effect was noted for dyskinetic symptoms. Haplotype analysis strengthened the relevance of SLC6A5: the C-A-C haplotype (rs1443548, rs883377, rs1945771) was found to be associated with higher Extrapyramidal symptom rating scale scores (overall P=0.01, haplotype P=0.000001). We successfully replicated this finding in the two independent samples from Slovenia. Conclusion This result further stresses the relevance of the glutamatergic system in modulating the effects of haloperidol treatment, especially with regards to motor side effects.


Tuberculosis (TB), an infection caused by human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, continues to kill millions each year and is as prevalent as it was in the pre-antimicrobial era. With the emergence of continuously-evolving multi-drug resistant strains (MDR) and the implications of the HIV epidemic, it is crucial that new drugs with better efficacy and affordable cost are developed to treat TB. With this in mind, the first part of this thesis discusses the synthesis of libraries of derivatives of pyridine carboxamidrazones, along with cyclised (1,2,4-triazole and 1,2,4-oxadiazole) and fluorinated analogues. Microbiological screening against M. tuberculosis was carried out at the TAACF, NIAID and IDRI (USA). This confirmed the earlier findings that 2-pyridyl-substituted carboxamidrazones were more active than the 4-pyridyl-substituted carboxamidrazones. Another important observation was that upon cyclisation of these carboxamidrazones, a small number of the triazoles retained their activity while in most of the remaining compounds the activity was diminished. This might be attributed to the significant increase in logP value caused by cyclisation of these linear carboxamidrazones, resulting in high lipophilicity and decreased permeability. Another reason might be that the rigidity conferred upon the compound due to cyclisation, results in failure of the compound to fit into the active site of the putative target enzyme. In order to investigate the potential change to the compounds' metabolism in the organism and/or host, the most active compounds were selected and a fluorine atom was introduced in the pyridine ring. The microbiological results shows a drastic improvement in the activity of the fluorinated carboxamidrazone amides as compared to their non fluorinated counterpart. This improvement in the activity could possibly be the result of the increased cell permeability caused by the fluorine. In a subsidiary strand, a selection of long-chain , -unsaturated carboxylic esters, -keto, -hydroxy carboxylic esters and -keto, -hydroxy carboxylic esters, structurally similar to mycolic acids, were synthesised. The microbiological data revealed that one of the open chain compound was active against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain and some resistant isolates. The possible compound activity could be its potential to disrupt mycobacterial cell wall synthesis by interfering with the FAS-II pathway.


Effective thermoregulation is of vital importance since body temperature affects virtually all physiological and biochemical processes. Yet, our current knowledge in reptilian thermoregulation is largely based on a few, well-studied taxonomic groups. This is especially true in Europe, where our insights derive primarily from studies on the numerous lacertids of the continent. Skinks on the other hand remain understudied despite being abundant around the Mediterranean. In this paper we examine the thermoregulation effectiveness of the Ocellated Skink, a common lizard whose thermal biology has been overlooked, focusing on a population from a typical Mediterranean habitat in mainland Greece. We recorded body temperatures in the field and the lab and assessed the thermal quality of the habitat through operative temperatures. Our findings suggest that Chalcides ocellatus is a poor thermoregulator that stands very close to thermoconformity. The high thermal quality of the habitat allows the Ocellated Skink to regulate its temperature with less effort and lower accuracy. This indicates that C. ocellatus may have adopted a distinct thermoregulation strategy, most probably due to the particular life style of skinks.


The study examined the nature of municipal responses to HIV and AIDS in uMgungundlovu District and its four local municipalities. The study assessed the responses through an investigation of HIV and AIDS interventions as perceived by people living with HIV and AIDS and leaders of Community Based Organisations. The study also examined how HIV and AIDS are taken into account in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process and to evaluate whether people living with HIV and AIDS and Community Based Organisations are invited to participate in the IDP process. The other objective was to assess the capacity and support municipalities had in order to respond to the epidemic. The study employed a qualitative method of enquiry. Primary and secondary sources were utilised and they included, in-depth interviews with municipal officials, focus group discussions with people living with HIV and AIDS and Community Based Organisation leaders. The study also included the analysis of the following documents: IDP's documents, HIV and AIDS Strategic Plans and Policies and projects reports of the five municipalities. The study found that the municipal response to HIV and AIDS varied across municipalities however all the five municipalities experienced similar challenges. The study also found that the municipal response is hampered by human and financial resource constraints and the limited political will from political leaders and senior managers. The study identified that municipalities have begun to understand that HIV and AIDS are issues that require a range of interventions from local government. This is evident because municipalities have developed and implemented HIV and AIDS Strategic Plans, Policies and HIV and AIDS workplace programmes. The study found that municipalities have initiated various interventions but they are almost health focused. These include HIV and AIDS awareness activities, VCT, home based care and condom distribution. This health focused response illustrates that most municipalities are struggling to respond developmentally. The study concludes with key findings leading to a range of recommendations. However there are good practices of HIV and AIDS mainstreaming in uMngeni and Msunduzi municipalities. It is important that municipalities mainstream HIV and AIDS into the core mandate of local government. They can do this by integrating HIV and AIDS into all the phases of the Integrated Development Plan and in all programmes, policies, and projects of the municipality. Political commitment from political leadership is a critical element of an effective response as they can play a critical role in driving the HIV and AIDS strategy and in mobilising local resources as well as impacting on behaviours. Given the range of non-medical drivers of the HIV epidemic, as well as impacts of infection, illness and death in households and communities, the fight against HIV and AIDS won't be successful outside multi-sectoral partnerships. It is important that for municipalities to develop solid, collaborative partnerships with stakeholders from all tiers of government, the private sector and with civil society groups. It is also critical for municipalities to engage civil society groups because they are the ones who work with people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. This will enable municipalities to understand the local situation of the epidemic and planning will be informed by local realities.


Solitary Fibrous Tumour of the Sinonasal Cavity – Case Report of Endoscopic Resection Using Coblation

Background: Solitary fibrous tumours (SFT) are extremely rare mesenchymal tumours. Surgery can be complicated by bleeding. This case describes the treatment by endoscopic approach, using novel operative strategies in a high-risk patient who was unable to have blood transfusion.
Case report: This 28 year old Caucasian female underwent trans-nasal surgery 8 years previously for a right sided sinonasal SFT. She re-presented on this occasion with recurrence of symptoms. Imaging revealed a part calcified mass at the base of anterior skull base with involvement of the right cribriform plate and with intra-cranial extension. Peri-operative embolization was found to be too hazardous.
Conclusions: To minimise surgical trauma, a trans-nasal endoscopic approach was undertaken, and macroscopic clearance was achieved primarily using coblation. This novel technique, which is as yet unreported in the literature for sinonasal SFT, was found to be a very effective means of ensuring haemostasis whilst maintaining an excellent field of view.


Context It has been argued that high schools with a majority of students of color and from low-income backgrounds must be purposeful in fostering a college-going culture in order to address the challenges and inequities historically underserved students face in preparing for and accessing a higher education. However, what this looks and sounds like in practice is not always clear, leaving schools seeking common ground on how to create a college-going environment. Purpose Through a symbolic and ecological model of college readiness framework, the messaging associated with the college-going culture at three racially and economically diverse Texas high schools that had consistently high college ready graduate rates was examined. The research questions that guided the study included: What types of college-going culture messages are conveyed at the schools, and how? How might such messaging impact students, school staff and leaders? Research Design This study drew on data from a three-year, multi-site descriptive case study of three public high schools in different regions of Texas that all served approximately 50% or more of students with financial need and 72% to 97% students of color, specifically Latina/o and Black students. Data Collection and Analysis Data was collected during week-long, yearly visits to the three schools and included: school and district documents; individual and group semi-structured interviews with 194 individuals including administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members; observations of common areas and classrooms; archival data; and researcher-derived documents including field notes, memos, and photographs of the school grounds and school activities. This paper primarily drew on the pictures taken of the schools (in hallways, classrooms, and shared spaces like cafeterias and libraries), field notes, memos, and interview data that specifically spoke to the visual and verbal messaging associated with the college-going culture. Analysis of data revealed six themes: college is a revered goal with many options; varying degrees of integration; support and resources are at your reach; think college and career; finding funding for college is vital; college is an individual and shared success. Conclusions This study's findings suggest the need to: reconsider what a strong college-going culture entails, re-envision college-going cultures as dynamic, multi-layered, and responsive, reframe postsecondary opportunities so they are more expansive and varied, and re-evaluate inequities in college-going messaging and academic rigor.


Droplet size distribution and rheological properties of egg yolk-stabilized emulsions were studied before and after storage (25 °C, 30 days). The dispersed phase (70%) of the emulsions was based on soybean oil (SBO) and 10–40% palm kernel olein (PKO) replacements of SBO. Replacement of PKO resulted in a significant increase in droplet mean diameters and a decrease in rheological properties of the emulsions. All emulsion exhibited a gel-like characteristic with storage modulus higher than loss modulus and tan δ greater than 0.3. Significant increase (p < 0.05) was found for droplet mean diameters and rheological properties of the emulsions after storage. Emulsion with fully SBO and the highest PKO replacement (40%) were found to be the most unstable, which was ascribed to a strong flocculation. With 10–30% PKO replacements, the emulsions displayed a better stability after storage, most probably promoted by significant content of short-medium chain fatty acids in PKO.


Multiresolution triangular mesh (MTM) models are widely used to improve the performance of large terrain visualization by replacing the original model with a simplified one. MTM models, which consist of both original and simplified data, are commonly stored in spatial database systems due to their size. The relatively slow access speed of disks makes data retrieval the bottleneck of such terrain visualization systems. Existing spatial access methods proposed to address this problem rely on main-memory MTM models, which leads to significant overhead during query processing. In this paper, we approach the problem from a new perspective and propose a novel MTM called direct mesh that is designed specifically for secondary storage. It supports available indexing methods natively and requires no modification to MTM structure. Experiment results, which are based on two real-world data sets, show an average performance improvement of 5-10 times over the existing methods


Revealing an endless array of user behaviors in an online environment is a very good indicator of the user's interests either in the process of browsing or in purchasing. One such behavior is the navigation behavior, so detected user navigation patterns are able to be used for practical purposes such as: improving user engagement, turning most browsers into buyers, personalize content or interface, etc. In this regard, our research represents a connection between navigation modelling and user engagement. A usage of the Generalized Stochastic Petri Nets concept for stochastic behavioral-based modelling of the navigation process is proposed for measuring user engagement components. Different types of users are automatically identified and clustered according to their navigation behaviors, thus the developed model gives great insight into the navigation process. As part of this study, Peterson's model for measuring the user engagement is explored and a direct calculation of its components is illustrated. At the same time, asssuming that several user sessions/visits are initialized in a certain time frame, following the Petri Nets dynamics is indicating that the proposed behavioral – based model could be used for user engagement metrics calculation, thus some basic ideas are discussed, and initial directions are given.


Beginning Mac Programming takes you through concrete, working examples, giving you the core concepts and principles of development in context so you will be ready to build the applications you've been imagining. It introduces you to Objective-C and the Cocoa framework in clear, easy-to-understand lessons, and demonstrates how you can use them together to write for the Mac, as well as the iPhone and iPod. You'll explore crucial developer tools like Xcode and Interface Builder, and learn the principles of object-oriented programming, and how memory, data, and storage work to help you build your software. If you've ever wanted to develop software for the Mac, this book is for you.


We study alternating least-squares (ALS) for canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Recent research shows that the alternating leastsquares solver for k-CCA can be directly accelerated with momentum and prominent performance gain has been observed in practice for the resulting simple algorithm. However, despite the simplicity, it is difficult for the accelerated rate to be analyzed in theory in order to explain and match the empirical performance gain. By looking into two neighboring iterations, in this work, we propose an even simpler variant of the faster alternating least-squares solver. Instead of applying momentum to each update for acceleration, the proposed variant only leverages momentum at every other iteration and can converge at a provably faster linear rate of nearly squareroot dependence on the singular value gap of the whitened cross-covariance matrix. In addition to the high consistency between theory and practice, experimental studies also show that our variant of the alternating leastsquares algorithm as a block CCA solver is even more pass efficient than other variants.


Abstract. Late Pleistocene sea level has been reconstructed from ocean sediment core data using a wide variety of proxies and models. However, the accuracy of individual reconstructions is limited by measurement error, local variations in salinity and temperature, and assumptions particular to each technique. Here we present a sea level stack (average) which increases the signal-to-noise ratio of individual reconstructions. Specifically, we perform principal component analysis (PCA) on seven records from 0 to 430 ka and five records from 0 to 798 ka. The first principal component, which we use as the stack, describes  ∼  80 % of the variance in the data and is similar using either five or seven records. After scaling the stack based on Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sea level estimates, the stack agrees to within 5 m with isostatically adjusted coral sea level estimates for Marine Isotope Stages 5e and 11 (125 and 400 ka, respectively). Bootstrapping and random sampling yield mean uncertainty estimates of 9–12 m (1σ) for the scaled stack. Sea level change accounts for about 45 % of the total orbital-band variance in benthic δ18O, compared to a 65 % contribution during the LGM-to-Holocene transition. Additionally, the second and third principal components of our analyses reflect differences between proxy records associated with spatial variations in the δ18O of seawater.


During the last decades, frame analysis has become a preferred concept in political communi-cation to understand underlying beliefs and motives in public conflicts. The study of conflicts on labor market reforms even longer is of pivotal concern for several other social science sub-disciplines, e.g., the research on the welfare state or neo-corporatist institutions. However, it is astonishing that there not more attempts to analyze the framing processes driving the poli-tics of employment relations. Starting from the assumptions that the study of framing can re-veal a lot about the dynamics of political struggles on employment relations, this paper ex-plores whether frame patterns follow distinct historic legacies of the single countries, or whether framing is a function of the core beliefs of the relevant actors in the debate on em-ployment relations (public authorities, interest associations, parties and business organiza-tions). The analysis relies on newspaper content analysis data collected from 2004 until 2006 in the U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria. A first finding is that the framing of employment relations varies across countries mainly as expected by the com-parative political economy literature. Furthermore, the results show that a simple bifurcation between left and right is not enough to explain framing differences among actors with regard to employment relations, but that the actors additionally have to be discerned between main-stream and challengers.


An extensive literature on competition between substitute technologies assumes that any buyer will only adopt a single technology. I propose that this assumption biases predicted outcomes, with implications for strategic decisions on technology trajectories, competition, the adoption and diffusion of new technologies, and long-term industry evolution. Buyers may choose the single option that best meets their range of needs but, given a range of needs, many will buy multiple technologies, to use each where most appropriate. You might predict that laptops will disrupt desktops, or that tablets will disrupt laptops. As partial substitutes, however, many buyers will adopt more than one of these technologies. In this paper I develop a formal model to better explore substitute competition, arguing that optimal technology trajectories in a "single purchase world" may be sub-optimal in a "multiple purchase world." I further develop the model to show how adoption history affects technology adoption and diffusion, which can create roadblocks or bridges not explained by existing models. Based on the model, I develop hypotheses arguing that the introduction of a new substitute not only directly affects existing competitors through substitutability, but also indirectly affects the relative opportunities between competitors through indirect complementarity, where the introduction of a technology may induce switching between related substitutes. I test my predictions in the digital camera industry, using a novel dataset that allows me to use metadata from photos uploaded to a popular photo sharing site to track individual adoption and use over time. In line with predictions, user adoption of smartphones is associated with changes in adoption behavior for interchangeable lens cameras, as more distant substitutes, and the co-use of multiple partial substitutes. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Management First Advisor Daniel Levinthal


The Ioffe–Pritchard trap is the workhorse of modern cold atom physics. Here, we present a novel Ioffe–Pritchard trap coil configuration based purely on circular coils. By eliminating the traditional Ioffe bars one can increase the gradient and thus the radial trapping frequency by almost a factor 2. We also present a method to achieve minimal coupling between the gradient, curvature and offset fields of the trap, thus facilitating the dynamic control of the trapping frequencies and aspect ratio.


This article describes the process of national curriculum standards reform and the progress of applying the integrated curriculum from theory and research to practice. The curriculum council of Japanese government received an inquiry from Monbusho in August 1996 about "reform of the national curriculum". The council comprehensively discussed how to help children's well balanced development and how to educate them to be sound members of the nation and the society living independently in the 21st century. In addition, the council agreed that it was necessary to constantly review the national curriculum standards for improvement focus on integrated curriculum. The purposes of national curriculum standards reform are as follows: 1- To help a child cultivate rich humanity, sociality, and identity as a Japanese living in the international community, 2- To help children develop ability to learn and think independently, 3- To help children acquire basic abilities and skills and grew their own individuality with plenty of scope for educational activities, 4- To encourage individual schools to show ingenuity in developing unique educational activities to make the school distinctive. The article shows that the new national curriculum standards emphasis on interdisciplinary and comprehensive learning clearly specified and more flexible.


The depletion in the sources of natural sand and the demand for reduction in cost of construction has led to an urgent need to identify a substitute for river sand. Quarry dust, which is a by-product from the granite crushing processes in quarrying activity, is available abundantly and economically. This paper presents the study of the effect of water cement ratio on the workability and strength of M15, M20 and M25 grade quarry dust concrete. The cement content used in M15, M20 and M25 grade concrete were fixed at 270kg/m3, 290kg/m3 and 300kg/m3 respectively. The water cement ratio used for each grade of concrete were 0.65, 0.6, 0.55 and 0.5. The compressive strength, Split tensile strength and the fresh properties of quarry dust concrete were studied and compared with control concrete containing river sand as fine aggregates. Also the variation in the workability, compressive strength, split tensile strength of quarry dust concrete was studied. It was seen that quarry dust concrete required more water to achieve adequate workability when compared to normal concrete. The compressive strength and split tensile strength of all grades of quarry dust concrete tends to reduce by a certain percentage when water cement ratio was increased from 0.5 to 0.65 in steps of 0.05.


This article presents the test and evaluation of energy saving potentials of complex building central chilling systems using genetic algorithm (GA). The evaluation was conducted based on a simulated virtual system representing the actual complex central chilling system in a super high-rise building in Hong Kong. GA was used as the optimisation tool to search for globally optimal control settings. The simulated virtual system was used as the test platform and acted as the performance predictor in estimating the overall system performance and responses to the changes of control settings. The test results show that about 4.54–5.06% daily energy in the system studied can be saved by using optimal control settings, as compared to that using the conventional control settings. The results also show that the evaluation process by using the simulated virtual system and the GA optimiser is time costly due to strong dynamic effects of the simulated virtual system and the optimisation principle of GA. Practical applications: This article presents an approach for evaluating energy saving potentials of complex central chilling systems using GA. This approach can be used to identify maximum energy saving potentials in air-conditioning systems by optimising the major control variables simultaneously. The results can be used to guide the development of advanced control and optimisation strategies suitable for practical applications.


Lignin is a major component of lignocellulosic biomass and could be an important renewable feedstock in industry for the production of (aromatic) bulk and fine chemicals. To this end, the development of new catalytic processes is required; both to depolymerise the biopolymer into small aromatic building blocks, as well as to further convert these to valuable products. A major challenge in lignin depolymerisation is the recondensation of reactive fragments back to larger, more recalcitrant, fragments. In this thesis, this was circumvented by employing a tandem catalytic depolymerisation procedure. One catalyst, a water-stable Lewis acid, such as scandium triflate, was shown to be responsible for cleaving ether bonds between the lignin monomers, while a second rhodium-based catalyst further converted the liberated small fragments to stable end-products. The rhodium catalyst was shown to have two possible modes of action and the interplay between both catalyst components was shown to be crucial for determining the ultimate product selectivity. Consequently the desired product streams could be chosen: when using a weak Lewis acid, the major products of depolymerisation were 4-(1-propenyl)phenols, whereas when using strong Lewis acids, the major products were 4-methylphenols. The selective oxidation of catechol was studied as a potential route for valorisation of small lignin-derived aromatics. Using an iron(III) complex with a tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine ligand as catalyst and molecular oxygen as the reagent, catechol could be readily and selectively converted to derivatives of cis,cis-muconic acid, under mild conditions (50 °C, atmospheric pressure of air). Further two-stage conversion by hydrogenation and transesterification, using commercially available supported catalysts, allowed the isolation of dimethyl adipate in 62% yield. A systematic investigation of the reaction conditions furthermore allowed the activity of the oxidation step to be increased 35-fold under optimal conditions (80 °C, 25 bar 5% O2 in N2, 0.1 mol% catalyst). The catalytic oxidative cleavage reaction was also demonstrated to work directly on catechols obtained from catalytic depolymerisation of candlenut lignin, although the yield of cleavage products found was lower in that case. In addition, the propyl substituent of the lignin-derived catechols drives isomerisation of the cis,cis-muconic acid, leading to significant formation of g-muconolactones instead. The mechanism of this unique and highly selective oxidative carbon-carbon cleavage reaction was investigated using a combined experimental and theoretical study. Based on the combined results, a mechanism is proposed where iron is able to act as a 'redox' buffer by taking on an intermediate spin state, enabling the spin-forbidden electron transfer from the catecholate moiety to oxygen. This leads to formation of a bridging peroxide intermediate, which undergoes facile homolytic splitting, leading to oxygen insertion into the aromatic catechol ring. The rate-determining step was found to be the formation of the bridging peroxide. Crucially, the experimentally observed effect of both substrate and ligand substitution was accurately reproduced by the computational study, lending credibility to the mechanism. Importantly, results on other ligand systems reported in literature can now also be understood using this mechanism.


Growing concern over traffic safety as well as rising congestion costs have been recently redirecting research effort from the traditional crash detection and clearance reactive traffic management towards online, proactive crash prevention solutions. In this project such a solution, specifically for high crash areas, is explored by identifying the most relevant real time traffic metrics and incorporating them in a crash likelihood estimation model. Unlike earlier attempts, this one is based on a unique detection and surveillance infrastructure deployed on the freeway section experiencing the highest crash rate in the state of Minnesota. This state-of-the-art infrastructure allowed video recording of 110 live crashes, crash related traffic events, as well as contributing factors while simultaneously measuring traffic variables such as individual vehicle speeds and headways over each lane in several places inside the study area. This crash rich database was combined with visual observations and analyzed extensively to identify the most relevant real-time traffic measurements for detecting crash prone conditions and develop an online crash prone conditions model. This model successfully established a relationship between fast evolving real time traffic conditions and the likelihood of a crash. Testing was performed in real time during 10 days not previously used in the model development, under varying weather and traffic conditions.


Ground-based lidar and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data sets gathered over four midlatitude sites, two U.S. and two French sites, are used to evaluate the consistency of cloud macrophysical and optical property climatologies that can be derived by such data sets. The consistency in average cloud height (both base and top height) between the CALIOP and ground data sets ranges from −0.4 km to +0.5 km. The cloud geometrical thickness distributions vary significantly between the different data sets, due in part to the original vertical resolutions of the lidar profiles. Average cloud geometrical thicknesses vary from 1.2 to 1.9 km, i.e., by more than 50%. Cloud optical thickness distributions in subvisible, semitransparent, and moderate intervals differ by more than 50% between ground- and space-based data sets. The cirrus clouds with optical thickness below 0.1 (not included in historical cloud climatologies) represent 30–50% of the nonopaque cirrus class. An important part of this work consists in quantifying the different possible causes of discrepancies between CALIOP and surface lidar. The differences in average cloud base altitude between ground and CALIOP data sets can be attributed to (1) irregular sampling of seasonal variations in the ground-based data, (2) day-night differences in detection capabilities by CALIOP, and (3) the restriction to situations without low-level clouds in ground-based data. Cloud geometrical thicknesses are not affected by irregular sampling of seasonal variations in the ground-based data but by the day-night differences in detection capabilities of CALIOP and by the restriction to situations without low-level clouds in ground-based data.


Garra rufa is one of the 73 Garra species of the family Cyprinidae. Scales are used more commonly than any other structure in population dynamic studies, because of their transparency, ease of sampling, and the minimal injuries caused to the fish during their removal. To discriminate fish from different rivers including Bashar, Behbahan, Gerdab, Kheirabad, Kooshk-e-Bahram, Mazoo, Palangan, Sendegan, Shoor-Abad, and Sirvan Rivers using geometric morphometric analyses of the scale shape, landmark based geometric morphometrics method was used. Seven landmark points were depicted on each scale using the software TpsDig2. After procrustes analyses, landmark data were exposed to principle component analysis (PCA), CVA, and cluster analyses using the past software. The results showed that there were significant scale shape differences among some populations, but most of the samples showed overlapping shape distribution and could not be separated robustly. Among the samples which were analyzed, only the Sendegan and Gerdab river samples did not show significant difference in scale shape compared to all other samples.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------ABSTRACT-----------------------------------------------------------------In the Multiple-Operability Mobile Systems, mobile users (MUs) will be able to move across various heterogeneous networks while using their mobile terminals (MTs) to communicate. It has been proven that this global roaming freedom signiÞcantly increases the network-signaling traffic. Several schemes have been recently proposed to reduce such a traffic. This paper presents an efficient approach which uses a special gateway called Wireless INterworking Gateway (WING) to facilitate interoperability between heterogeneous subsystems of the NG wireless systems. Results reveal that such an approach signiÞcantly improves the network performance, in terms of generated signaling traffic and response time during the global roaming process.


Introduction Libraries all over the world are facing diversified service challenges posed by a mix of traditional information seekers and Google generation's call of technology features. These multi-facet demands and kinds of users' community have increased the list of responsibilities and skills required by the librarians. Selection of right person for the right job is the greatest challenge for library administration. This includes two main elements; nature of job descriptions defined or advertised by the administration and the availability of required human resources in the market. Only the right mix of these two essentials can ensure the selection of appropriate personnel for the delivery of high quality services to the diversified user community (Kennan, Willard and Wilson, 2006). Over years our profession is highly changed with invent of technologies and in result transforming life styles. Starr (2004) said that from the perspective of human history, a twenty-year period is a brief moment but in the context of our rapid electronic age, however, twenty years are enough for three or four technological lifetimes. Mathews and Pardue (2009) said that clearly the acquisition of the skills required to access, store, manage, and disseminate media in libraries is yet another example from the long history of librarians adapting to and adopting new technologies. The advancement of computer technology and the changing role of the libraries are clear to everyone (Farajpahlou and Danesh, 2009). Technology altered or replaced almost everything about libraries; manual catalogues with bibliographic databases; paper with digital; ready reference books with Google; library newsletters with social media and so on. On the other hand some things remain the same and required traditional skills of librarianship along with advance works. The library automation and IT have initiated three major changes in cataloguing i.e. MARC, microcomputers and CD ROM databases and emerging technologies of internet during last four decades and collectively all these changes effect the cataloguers' job requirements and roles of librarians as many primary responsibilities have been shifted to paraprofessional staff due to overall change in library operations (Heinrichs and Lim, 2009; Khurshid, 2003; Hosoi, 2000). Gerolimos and Konsta (2008) said that the appearance of the internet and the World Wide Web, as a final stage of an evolution has created a new information and social environment. This change has been both in the work undertaken and in the conditions under which people are employed (Kennan, Willard and Wilson, 2006). Librarians have adapted to fit new and expanded roles in this environment. This increasing speed and breadth of technological change sometimes require new responsibilities replacing old, but often additional tasks are added while traditional jobs remain the same (Meier, 2010; Kennan, Cole, and et al, 2006). This change issue has led to a considerable research and discussion concerning the form, the role, the position and the functions of the social institutions known as "libraries" within this new context (Gerolimos and Konsta, 2008). Literature Review Many information databases such as Elsevier, Science Direct, Emerald, Doaj, search engines such as Google and indexing service LISTA were searched for the literature review. Review of the literature shows that the library analysis of job advertisement and changing nature of work have been an area of interest for researchers, practitioners, educators and students. It is important to learn assimilation and influence of IT into all aspects of librarianship and how the new technologies may be influencing change and job market (Lynch and Smith, 2001). Reeves and Hahn (2010) stated that job advertisement analyses have peppered the LIS research and professional literature since at least the 1980s. Alonso-Regalado & Ullen (2009) highlighted the importance of the job announcements analysis and considered it as essential information about the evolution of the positions over time, the nature of the job market, and predictions of employment trends. …


T

he purpose of this study was to determine the main barriers faced by faculty members from using Jusur LMS in Saudi universities. This study was quantitative in nature and employed a descriptive research design. The sample of this study included 454 faculty members from four public universities in Saudi Arabia who had experience using Jusur LMS for instructional purposes. Data were gathered through the use of a web-questionnaire. Findings indicated that barriers faced by faculty members from using Jusur LMS were considered at a moderate level. Further analysis also revealed that respondents identified numerous administrative and technological barriers such as lack of technical, administrative and financial supports. In the technological domain, they faced obstacles with availability of appropriate hardware, poor internet connectivity, the lack of internet access, unsuitable software and technological resources in the Arabic language. It is suggested that for an improved utilization of Jusur LMS at Saudi universities, barriers such as administrative and technological obstacles must be taken into due consideration.


Abstract Small Master of Public Administration (MPA) programs are commonly defined as having enrollments below 100 students. Given their size, these programs face unique administrative challenges, such as heavy faculty teaching loads, resource constraints, and marketing beyond their region. However, the graduates of small programs serve many of the nation's communities by building the capacity of local public administration. To explore the capacity and constraints facing small MPA programs, we administered a survey to the directors of these programs. We find that many small programs have faculty with manageable teaching loads and adequate funds for travel. However, small programs still face challenges. Directors of small MPA programs receive little formal training, work under recruitment pressures, and have difficulties maintaining active advisory boards. Directors also report needing more administrative support and budget autonomy to do their jobs effectively and maintain accreditation with the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration.


Public-private partnerships are a new way of carrying out research and development (R&D) in Latin America's agricultural sector. These partnerships spur innovation for agricultural development and have various advantages over other institutional arrangements fostering R&D. This report summarizes the experiences of a research project that analyzed 125 public-private research partnerships (PPPs) in 12 Latin American countries. The analysis indicates that several types of partnerships have emerged in response to the various needs of the different partners. Nevertheless, public-private partnerships are not always the most appropriate mechanism by which to carry out R&D and foster innovation in agriculture. Sometimes, it is more efficient to organize research via participatory projects or through research contracts.


We apply transaction cost economics to identify factors influencing companies' decision to internally generate or outsource risk management services. A unique sample is used which combines publicly available data with private information supplied by 281 Australian listed companies. We find that expenditure on research and development, greater technological uncertainty, more competitive environments, more overseas sales and transaction frequency are associated with less outsourcing of risk management services. Uncertainty due to environmental diversity is associated with more outsourcing of risk management services. Companies that outsource risk management services also have lower staff turnover and provide more specialised training and longer contracts for risk management suppliers.


In our talk we will present a piano music companion that is able to follow and understand (at least to some extent) a live piano performance. Within a few seconds the system is able to identify the piece that is being played, and the position within the piece. It then tracks the performance over time via a robust score following algorithm. Furthermore, the system continuously re-evaluates its current position hypotheses within a database of scores and is capable of detecting arbitrary 'jumps' by the performer. The system can be of use in multiple ways, e.g. for piano rehearsal, for live visualisation of music, and for automatic page turning. At the conference, we will demonstrate this system live on stage. If possible, we would also like to encourage (hobby-)pianists in the audience to try the companion themselves. Additionally, we will give an outlook on our efforts to extend this approach to classical music in general, including heavily polyphonic orchestral music.


The chapter offers a reading of Winterson's novels Sexing the Cherry and Art and Lies as political texts in terms of their use of time; interrogating how these texts formulate a resistance toward (hetero) normative chronopolitics.
The chapter shows how Winterson's texts, in their examination of how we think within the confines of time and space, reveal political aspects of the construction and organization of time.
This is illustrated in an analysis of Winterson's use of the fantastical mode combined with a strategy of defamiliarization that works by colliding different discourses of time, to make the reader aware of the strangeness of time as we know it.
The chapter further explores how temporal compressions and extensions in the fantastical mode enable dissident, or queer, bodies and subjectivities to be expressed and visualised through history. In reading Winterson's two novels as hybrid, queer fantastical texts the chapter demonstrates how a focus on temporal mechanisms, where pleasure is central, enables a reading of Winterson's writing as at once playful and political, linguistic and material. Throughout the discussion the chapter also seeks to assess the relationship of narrativity to temporality and the function of the 'story' as a convention to ascertain 'imaginative control over time', arguing that Winterson's self-reflexive engagement with the notion of what constitutes story, and the significance of stories to identity, must also be seen as an exploration of temporality in itself. By employing anti-homophobic theoretical perspectives the chapter argues that queer temporalities in Sexing the Cherry and Art and Lies mark a state of being at odds with normative temporalities.


Transglutaminases are a family of calcium- and thiol-dependent acyl transferases that catalyze the formation of an amide bond between the γ-carboxamide groups of peptide-bound glutamine residues and the primary amino groups in various compounds, including the ε-amino group of lysines in certain proteins. As a result, these enzymes effect posttranslational modification of proteins by amine incorporation, or stabilization of protein assemblies by their cross-linking; such actions profoundly influence critical biological processes such as blood clotting and protection from infection and dehydration by establishing the barrier function of skin. In addition, transglutaminases have other more diverse actions, including involvement in signaling by the superfamily of heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein (G protein)–coupled receptors (GPCRs) in one of three ways: (i) through actions as guanosine triphosphate–binding proteins that activate intracellular effectors, such as phospholipase C; (ii) by cross-linking GPCR monomers to enhance signaling as a result of covalent dimer formation; or (iii) by interacting with an apparent growth inhibitory orphan GPCR, GPR56, to limit metastatic spread of melanoma cells. The implications of these receptor-coupled actions of transglutaminases are discussed.


In 2012, a single module heavy medium cyclone plant (HMP) was installed at the Glencore Zinc's (then Xstrata Zinc) McArthur River lead zinc mine. The HMP formed the first part of the MRM Phase 3 Project to increase run of mine (ROM) capacity from 2.4 to 5.5 Mt/a. The purpose of the HMP is to remove liberated gangue from the crusher product at minimal loss of valuable mineral. The McArthur ores are very finely disseminated requiring a fine primary grind size prior to rougher flotation. Rejecting waste prior to grinding therefore offers significant power and grinding media savings. The plant was designed to treat only those ores with a reasonable upgrade ratio at the target zinc recovery across the HMP of 95%. On this basis, a 1.8 Mt/a single module plant was built based on 250 t/h feed rate and 82% availability. In contrast to existing base metal heavy medium plants in Australia, the MRM Flow sheet utilised the principles in modern coal heavy medium cyclone plant design. Since commissioning, the plant feed rate has been significantly increased and is now normally operated up to 540 t/h (dry basis). Although this throughput increase is partially due to debottlenecking work, it is also attributable to the conservative design parameters for base metal heavy medium cyclone circuits in comparison to those used in equivalent coal circuits. This paper discusses Flow sheet design and compares traditional base metal design parameters with those achieved at MRM and those of modern coal plants. It provides information on plant capital and operating costs and the net savings realised by its installation. In addition to power and grinding cost savings, the paper also highlights the savings in water through rejection of near dry waste and reduction of tailings pumped to the storage dam.


Population data suggest that there is a steady decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) as patients get older. However this takes little account of individual patient fluctuation; with many patients exceeding levels of change which should lead to referral to specialist care. In this study, we develop an algorithm to estimate the rate of change in renal function with age and eGFR as covariates. The produced chart enables clinicians to look up the probability that this change was within the normal range. To achieve this, we used a routine clinical database – the Quality Improvement in Chronic Kidney Disease (QICKD) trial database – in which 18,476 eligible patients have been identified. The key innovation here is the use of a regression model to smooth the underlying data, which enforces the dependency of the eGFR measurement on both the patient and time. A significant advantage of our approach is that daily fluctuation in the biological measurement is taken into account. This allows a clinician to reveal trends previously dismissed or ignored. As a possible application, we produced a plot of distribution of the rate of change in eGFR as a function of age and each level of eGFR. These data are also presented as a video online at: http://goo.gl/mtWfV. One the key findings is the presence of considerable variance of the rate of change in eGFR across patients at all ages and levels of renal function. Consequently, collating the data at the population level can adversely impact on the trend at the individual patient level. This points to the need for modeling the rate change at the patient level. Despite this, our timeand patient-enforced estimate is still sensitive enough to detect the minute change at the population level. This represents a significant improvement considering that the conventional approach that bins the patient by age group and eGFR value, as currently practiced, may not be able to detect such a minute change.


Composite materials are found in many engineering applications such as aircraft walls, pipes, nuclear reactors, cooling of electronic components and many others. The evaluation and detection of adhesion failures at the interface between the layers of these materials have great importance for these applications. This work deals with the quantitative detection of adhesion failures in a medium composed of two layers, by estimating the temperature difference at the interface between these layers. This temperature difference is obtained solving an inverse heat conduction problem with the reciprocity functional approach. Previous work of the authors provided detailed analysis using simulated temperature measurements. This paper applies these methodologies to a case where real measurements are used. The results show that it is possible to identify and quantify contact failures through the proposed methodology using real measurements.


Studies related to IT infrastructure emphasize its changing and differing roles, functions and forms. This study reviews the literature related to IT infrastructure and combines its different elements into one holistic model. The model is further elaborated by using the concepts of structure, properties and processes. The model will help academics to find essential information about IT infrastructure and help practitioners to understand its importance and the possibilities related to leveraging it. After detailed analysis of the model, the study suggests that though topical literature presents a widely held common understanding of the elements existing within IT infrastructure, more research is needed to develop and unify definitions of old and new concepts related to the properties and processes of IT


Despite Vitis vinifera L. is a drought-tolerant species—rainfed traditionally grown in a very diversity of climates—irrigation has more and more become a usual practice aimed to obtain regular yields along seasons and to control must composition. Results on vineyard irrigation are dependent on the timing, length and intensity of the water deficit. From budbreak to flowering, shoot growth is very sensitive to water stress, while reproductive growth is almost unaffected. Severe water deficit during fruit set can reduce yield by affecting ovary cell multiplication and expansion. During maturation water stress induces yield reduction by limiting berry growth; along this phase must composition is also affected. There is a positive, linear relationship between must sugar content and available water; however, no relationship has been found to either total acidity or pH. Biosynthesis of anthocyanins and fruity aromas is enhanced by water deficit. Usually, wines from moderate irrigation treatments scored the highest. There is a general agreement that severe, long water deficits diminish must quality, leaf area, fertility and yield, and it has a negative carryover effect on the next seasons by limiting wood reserves to be used the following seasons.


Abstract Using a panel data set for OECD countries we replicate the typical features of the New Keynesian Phillips curve models (NPCs) that have been estimated on country data. While this corroborates the NPC also on the macro panel data set, a different conclusion is reached when we test whether the NPC encompasses an existing model of inflation which is without feed-forward terms, but which allows for other adjustment factors than the NPC. We find that the NPC's expected rate of future inflation and real marginal costs are weak explanatory variables, and that their statistical significance in the typical NPC is due to correlation with the equilibrium correction terms that are implied by the existing inflation model. Our results are in line with the relatively few encompassing studies that exist on country and area data.


Currently, we witness a volatile, polarized and destabilizing international security environment that has exposed us to the grey zones of war and peace. Security challenges arising from both hybrid threats and hybrid warfare (both multiple and synchronized threats that aim to target states' vulnerabilities at different levels covering domains other than military) seem to have held front seat on the global security agenda thereby altering the relevance of nuclear deterrence. Deterrence is generally understood as an ability to dissuade a state from embarking upon a course of action prejudicial to one's vital security interests, based on demonstrative capability. The nuclear deterrence theory, as propounded by Brodie (Brodie 1946, p. 76), which is grounded in political realism, enriches our thought process to comprehend the potential character of nuclear weapons. The focus of nuclear deterrence was on averting wars through the psychological manipulation of an adversary's mind. Thus, it is argued that renewed warfare domains and non-military threats seems to have marginalized the relevance of deterrence theory. Therefore, new mechanisms are required to defend societies and build a correlation between deterrence and evolving wide-raging threats that are non-military in nature. It is further argued that a long-term holistic approach to deterrence as an instrument is needed that focuses on both current military and renewed nonmilitary threats which cover political, economic, social and digital landscape.


This title is shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2012. This acclaimed book by Steven Pinker, author of "The Language Instinct" and "The Blank Slate", argues that, contrary to popular belief, humankind has become progressively less violent, over millenia and decades. Can violence really have declined? The images of conflict we see daily on our screens from around the world suggest this is an almost obscene claim to be making. Extraordinarily, however, Steven Pinker shows violence within and between societies - both murder and warfare - really has declined from prehistory to today. We are much less likely to die at someone else's hands than ever before. Even the horrific carnage of the last century, when compared to the dangers of pre-state societies, is part of this trend. Debunking both the idea of the 'noble savage' and an over-simplistic Hobbesian notion of a 'nasty, brutish and short' life, Steven Pinker argues that modernity and its cultural institutions are actually making us better people. "One of the most important books I've read - not just this year, but ever...For me, what's most important about "The Better Angels of Our Nature" are its insights into how to help achieve positive outcomes. How can we encourage a less violent, more just society, particularly for the poor? Steven Pinker shows us ways we can make those positive trajectories a little more likely. That's a contribution, not just to historical scholarship, but to the world". (Bill Gates). "Brilliant, mind-altering...Everyone should read this astonishing book". (David Runciman, "Guardian"). "A supremely important book. To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is a masterly achievement. Pinker convincingly demonstrates that there has been a dramatic decline in violence, and he is persuasive about the causes of that decline". (Peter Singer, "New York Times"). "[A] sweeping new review of the history of human violence...[Pinker has] the kind of academic superbrain that can translate otherwise impenetrable statistics into a meaningful narrative of human behaviour ...impeccable scholarship". (Tony Allen-Mills, "Sunday Times"). "Written in Pinker's distinctively entertaining and clear personal style...a marvellous synthesis of science, history and storytelling". (Clive Cookson, "Financial Times"). "Pinker's scholarhsip is astounding ...flawless ...masterful". (Joanna Bourke, "The Times"). Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Until 2003, he taught in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. He conducts research on language and cognition, writes for publications such as "The New York Times", "Time" and "Slate", and is the author of six books, including "The Language Instinct", "How the Mind Works", "The Blank Slate" and "The Stuff of Thought".


ABSTRACT Omalizumab is a safe and effective treatment option for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Although cohort studies in patients with asthma show no increased risk of congenital abnormalities, very little data exist in the literature regarding the use of omalizumab for CSU during pregnancy. Herein, the safe and successful use of omalizumab updosing in a pregnant woman with CSU along with a review of the published literature is presented. Keywords: Chronic spontaneous urticaria, omalizumab, pregnancy, updosing


Extreme confinement in nanometer sized channels can alter fluid and ion transport in significant ways, leading to significant water flow enhancement and unusual ion correlation effects. These effects are especially pronounced in carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) that combine strong confinement in the inner lumen of carbon nanotubes with the high slip flow enhancement due to smooth hydrophobic pore walls. We have studied ion transport and ion selectivity in 1.5 nm diameter CNTPs embedded in lipid membranes using single nanopore measurement setup. Our data show that CNTPs are weakly cation-selective at pH 7.5 and become non-selective at pH 3.0. Ion conductance of CNTPs exhibits an unusual 2/3 power law scaling with the ion concentration at both neutral and acidic pH values. Coupled Navier-Stokes and Poisson-Nernst-Planck (NS-PNP) simulations and atomistic Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that this scaling originates from strong coupling between water and ion transport in these channels. These effects could result in development of a new generation of biomimetic membranes and carbon nanotube-based electroosmotic pumps.


Madagascar occupied an important place in the amalgamation of Gondwana and preserves a record of several Neoproterozoic events that are linked to orogenesis of the East African Orogen. In this study, we integrate remote sensing, field data and thermochronology to unravel complex deformation in the Ikalamavony and Itremo domains of central Madagascar. The deformation sequence comprises a gneissic foliation (S1), followed by south- to SW-directed, tight to isoclinal, recumbent folding (D2). These are overprinted by north-trending upright folds that formed during an approximately east–west shortening event (D3). Together these produced type 1 and type 2 fold interference patterns throughout the Itremo and Ikalamavony domains. We show that the Itremo and Ikalamavony domains were deformed together in the same orogenic system, which we interpret as the c. 630 Ma collision of Azania with Africa along the Vohibory Suture in southwestern Madagascar. In eastern Madagascar, deformation is syn- to post-550 Ma, and probably formed in response to final closure of the Mozambique Ocean along the Betsimisaraka Suture that amalgamated Madagascar with the Dharwar Craton of India. Apatite U–Pb and novel laser ablation triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-QQQ-ICP-MS) muscovite and biotite Rb–Sr thermochronology indicates that much of central Madagascar cooled through c. 500°C at c. 500 Ma. Supplementary material: A detailed geological map of central Madagascar (Supplementary A), detailed methods and geo- and thermochronology results (Supplementary B), isotopic data for geo- and thermochronology (Supplementary C) and Landsat images and structural interpretation examples (Supplementary D) are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4840575


Several recent studies in labour and population economics use retrospective surveys to substitute for the high cost and limited availability of longitudinal survey data. Although a single interview can obtain a lifetime history, inaccurate long-term recall could make such retrospective surveys a poor substitute for longitudinal surveys, especially if it induces non-classical error that makes conventional statistical corrections less effective. In this paper, we use the unique Panel Study of Income Dynamics Validation Study to assess the accuracy of long-term recall data. We find underreporting of transitory events. This recall error creates a non-classical measurement error problem. A limited cost-benefit analysis is also conducted, showing how savings from using a cheaper retrospective recall survey might be compared with the cost of applying the less accurate recall data to a specific policy objective such as designing transfers to reduce chronic poverty.


When a protein called Eyes Absent is missing, damaged cells program themselves for death When cells undergo potentially catastrophic damage, for example as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, they must make a decision: either to fix the damage or program themselves for death, a process called apoptosis. It's a stark decision that is as mysterious as it is remarkable, involving what might be described metaphorically as a network of internal alarms that detect damage to DNA packed tightly in the cell nucleus. In intricate ways, cells orchestrate a response to signals from such resident sensors when they are triggered by exposure to radiation or other toxic processes, which if unchecked can cause genes to mutate and cancerous tumors to begin forming. A team of biologists led by Professor Nicholas Tonks, Ph.D., F.R.S., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), this week revealed results of experiments suggesting at least one way in which cascades of intracellular signals are regulated at what they call a decision point, where cells decide whether to repair broken DNA strands or commit suicide following DNA damage. In a report published online ahead of print in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Tonks and colleagues identify a protein with the unlikely name Eyes Absent, or EYA, as performing a critical role in setting the damage-repair machinery in motion. Engaged within the larger context of a complex signaling cascade within the cell, EYA regulates the formation of specialized microenvironments on DNA, called gamma-H2A.X foci, which allow the cell to summon repair enzymes to the site of broken DNA strands. The team's experiments, conducted by Navasona Krishnan, Ph.D., of the Tonks lab, showed that when Eyes Absent was not present in damaged cells grown in culture, such foci were not formed and the cells went the route of apoptosis—they programmed themselves to die. 'A lovely moment' of discovery Tonks says the finding is "a powerful example of multiple lines of research and different kinds of expertise coming together" in what he describes as "a lovely moment" of synthesis and discovery. An important collaborator in the work, C. David Allis, Ph.D., of the Rockefeller University, had recently published a paper in Nature describing a critical component of the DNA damage-repair signaling cascade. The Tonks-Allis collaboration, along with contributions from Seung Jun Kim, Ph.D., a protein crystallographer from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, led to the assembly of a puzzle from pieces whose precise relation was not previously understood. The parts of the puzzle include a protein called H2A.X, one of a species of proteins called histones that form structures around which DNA is "spooled" for dense packing in the cell nucleus. "David Allis showed us that this particular histone, which is found at those critical decision points called gamma-H2A.X foci, has phosphate groups added to its structure at particular points at the end of the protein. David demonstrated that another kind of protein - a kinase called WSTF - attaches phosphate to a critical site, a tyrosine residue, at the extreme end of the protein," Tonks explains. "I was interested in the fact that when there is damage to double-stranded DNA – catastrophic damage, such as when the strand breaks in two – the phosphate molecule placed at the decision point by WSTF has to be removed in order for the cell to send out signals for DNA-repair enzymes to come to the scene." The removal of phosphate groups from proteins is accomplished by a family of enzymes called phosphatases – the focus of much research in Tonks' CSHL laboratory. Tonks is well known for having characterized the first of what has come to be understood as a large superfamily of protein tyrosine phosphatases, or PTPs – enzymes that specifically remove phosphate molecules from amino acid residues called tyrosines. This function is critical in regulating cellular signaling in normal and disease conditions. In effect, important kinds of cellular signals can't be sent without helper enzymes like PTPs that remove phosphate molecules from specific locations, and kinase enzymes that perform the reverse role – that of adding phosphates. Another vital piece of the puzzle in the current work involves Dr. Kim, who recently spent 15 months in the Tonks lab at CSHL, working on growing crystals of protein phosphatases to determine their structure, including that oddly named protein, Eyes Absent. Why that one? As Tonks explains, "EYA is known from work on the fruit fly, or Drosophila, to be a very unusual protein: it's the only one we know of that acts in the cell nucleus to regulate genes – what we call a transcription factor – while, in other contexts, is also known to act as a phosphatase – that is, it can remove phosphate groups from other proteins." The role of Eyes Absent in DNA damage repair EYA was shown to be a phosphatase by three separate groups in 2003. Although it was thought to be a PTP - i.e., it was thought to take phosphate groups off tyrosine residues in proteins - the identity of its target proteins in the cell was unknown. Kim's structure was important because it revealed a particular distribution of charged residues on the surface of the protein that suggested to Tonks the possibility that basic proteins, such as histone H2A.X, may be one such critical substrate. This led to the experiments in which Tonks' team showed that Eyes Absent was in fact the protein that removed the critical phosphate group from the end of histone H2A.X, thereby allowing the formation of the so-called gamma-H2A.X foci, which set DNA repair in motion when double strands were broken. When EYA was experimentally "knocked out" via a technique called RNA interference, or RNAi, damaged cells with double-stranded DNA breaks did not repair themselves; instead, they simply died -- underwent apoptosis. As is often the case in science, multiple labs are engaged on related subjects. Results similar to those reported by Tonks and colleagues recently have been obtained in Geoff Rosenfeld's lab at the University of California, San Diego. But there is more work to be done on the subject. It remains unclear if or how the role of Eyes Absent in the DNA repair machinery - in other words, its role as a tyrosine phosphatase, or remover of phosphate molecules - is related to its role, in other contexts, as a transcription factor (a regulator of gene expression). It is certainly a curiosity that a protein that can regulate genes in certain contexts can act in others as the fulcrum in a mechanism that repairs damaged genes. Tonks and colleagues expect to explore this in future work. "Dephosphorylation of the C-terminal tyrosyl residue of the DNA damage-related histone H2A.X is mediated by the protein phosphatase Eyes Absent (EYA)" appeared online ahead of print April 7 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.C900032200). The full citation is: Navasona Krishnan, Dae Gwin Jeong, Suk-kyeong Jung, Seong Eon Ryu, Andrew Xiao, C. David Allis, Seung Jun Kim, and Nicholas K. Tonks. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, not-for-profit research and education institution at the forefront of efforts in molecular biology and genetics to generate knowledge that will yield better diagnostics and treatments for cancer, neurological diseases and other major causes of human suffering.


Abstract Background There remains public misconception about antibiotic use and resistance. Preschool children are at particular risk of receiving unnecessary antibiotics because they commonly present in primary care and many childhood infections are self-limiting. Objectives The aim of our study was to explore parents' perceptions and understanding of antibiotic use and resistance in the context of their young child with an acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) and to explore strategies parents would find acceptable to minimize antibiotic resistance for their families. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 parents of preschool children who recently had an acute RTI across greater Oxfordshire, UK (2016–17 winter). We explored their beliefs about antibiotics, understanding of antibiotic resistance and views on current public antibiotic awareness campaigns at the time. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Parents had a sense of optimism and considered their families to be at low risk of antibiotic resistance because their families were 'low users' of antibiotics. Very few parents considered antibiotic resistance as a possible harm of antibiotics. Parents thought they were acting morally responsibly by following campaign messages. They wanted future campaigns to have a relevant, accessible message for families about the impact of antibiotic resistance. Conclusions Future communication about the potential impact of unnecessary antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance needs to focus on outcomes that parents of young children can relate to (e.g. infection recurrence) and in a format that parents will engage with (e.g. face-to-face dissemination at playgroups and parent/child community events) to make a more informed decision about the risks and benefits of antibiotics for their child.


This study proposes that heterogeneous household portfolio choices within a country and across countries offer an explanation for global imbalances. We construct a stochastic growth multicountry model in which heterogeneous agents face the following restrictions on asset trade. First, the degree of US equity market participation is higher than that of the rest of the world. Second, a fraction of households in each country maintains a fixed share of equity in its portfolios. In our calibrated model, which matches the US net foreign asset position and the equity premium, the average US household loads up more aggregate risk than the average foreign household by investing in risky assets abroad and issuing risk-free assets. As a result, the US is compensated by a high risk premium and runs trade deficits even as a debtor country. The long-run average trade deficit in our model accounts for 50% of the observed US trade deficit.


This study assesses the validity of Otto Rank's (1929, 1945) personality types and the conceptual systems of 0. J. Harvey (1966). Fifty subjects were selected by faculty members from the Art, Music, Dramatic Arts, and Dance Departments, and the Writers' Workshop, on the basis of personality descriptions from Otto Rank's and 0. J. Harvey's theorizing. Each subject responded to a version of the Prisoner's Dilemma Game against either a cooperative response sequence, a competitive response sequence, or a 50% cooperative/50% competitive response sequence. Subjects completed six measures of cognitive abilities, creativity, and anxiety including the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (Set I), Barron-Welsh Art Scale, Nelson-Denny Vocabulary Test, Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness Scale, Harvey's "This I Believe" Test, and an anagram task. Statistical analyses were based upon three different groupings of subjects: first, Rank's three personality types (the Artist, the Neurotic, and the Average Person); second, two of Harvey's Conceptual Systems; and third, four groups derived from the creativity ratings provided by the nominating faculty members. Analysis for Rank's personality types demonstrated a significant increase in competitiveness across trials for both the Neurotic and Average types in the Prisoner's Dilemma Game with Artists showing no change in competitiveness across trials. No differences were found among Rankian types on the cognitive and personality measures. However, the Artists were rated significantly higher on creativity level than either the Neurotic or Average types. Significant differences were found between Harvey's System 1 and System 4 subjects in the cooperative and 50/50 conditions of the Prisoner's Dilemma Game with System 1 subjects increasing significantly in competitiveness across trials and System 4 subjects showing no changes in competitiveness across trials. A significant difference was found between these two systems on the Raven Matrices with System 4 subjects performing better than System 1 subjects indicating greater complexity of psychological development among the System 4 subjects. System 4 subjects were also rated significantly higher in creativity than System 1 subj ects. No differences were found among the four groups based on creativity rating using the Prisoner's Dilemma Game. Significant differences were found among groups on the Nelson-Denny Vocabulary Test with the next to lowest group scoring significantly lower than the other groups. The group rated lowest in creativity used significantly more one-syllable words in their writing than the highest rated creativity group. The meaning of the results are discussed.


Objective We sought to use free text mining tools to improve emergency department (ED) chief complaint and discharge diagnosis data syndrome definition matching across facilities with differing robustness of data in the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE) application in Idaho's syndromic surveillance system. Introduction Standard syndrome definitions for ED visits in ESSENCE rely on chief complaints. Visits with more words in the chief complaint field are more likely to match syndrome definitions. While using ESSENCE, we observed geographic differences in chief complaint length, apparently related to differences in electronic health record (EHR) systems, which resulted in disparate syndrome matching across Idaho regions. We hypothesized that chief complaint and diagnosis code co-occurrence among ED visits to facilities with long chief complaints could help identify terms that would improve syndrome match among facilities with short chief complaints. Methods The ESSENCE-defined influenza-like illness (ILI) chief complaint syndrome was used as the base syndrome for this analysis. Syndrome-matched visits were defined as visits that match the syndrome definition. We assessed chief complaints and diagnosis code co-occurrence of syndrome-matched visits using the RCRAN TidyText package and developed a bigram network from normalized, concatenated chief complaint and diagnosis code (CCDD) fields and normalized diagnosis code (DD) fields per previously described methodologies. 1 Common connections were defined by a natural break in frequency of pair occurrence for CCDD pairs (30 occurrences) and DD pairs (5 occurrences). The ESSENCE syndrome was revised by adding relevant bigram network clusters and logic operators. We compared time series of the percent of ED visits matched to the ESSENCE syndrome with those matched to the revised syndrome. We stratified the time series by facilities grouped by short (average < 4 words, "Group A") and long (average ≥ 4 words, "Group B") chief complaint fields (Figure 1). Influenza season start was defined as two consecutive weeks above baseline, or the 95% upper confidence limit of percent syndrome-matched visits outside of the CDC ILI surveillance season. Season trends and influenza-related deaths in Idaho residents were compared. Results During August 1, 2016 through July 31, 2017, 1,587 (1.17%) of 135,789 ED visits matched the ESSENCE syndrome. Bigram networks of CCDD fields produced clusters already included by the ESSENCE syndrome. The bigram network of DD fields (Figure 2) produced six clusters. The revised syndrome definition included the ESSENCE syndrome, 3 single DD terms, and 3 two DD terms combined. The start of influenza season was identified as the same week for both ILI syndrome definitions (ESSENCE baseline 0.70%; revised baseline 2.21%). The ESSENCE syndrome indicated the season peaked during Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) week 2017-05 with the season ending MMWR week 2017-14. The revised syndrome indicated 2017-20 as the season end. Multiple peaks seen with the revised syndrome during MMWR weeks 2017-02, 2017-05, and 2017-10 mirrored peaks in influenza-related deaths during MMWR weeks 2017-03, 2017-06, and 2017-11. ILI season onset was five weeks earlier with the revised syndrome compared with the ESSENCE syndrome in Group A facilities, but remained the same in Group B. The annual percentage of ED visits related to ILI was more uniform between facility groups under the revised syndrome than the ESSENCE syndrome. Unlike the trend seen with the ESSENCE syndrome, the revised syndrome shows low-level ILI activity in both groups year-round. Conclusions In Idaho, dramatic differences in ED visit chief complaint word counts were seen between facilities; bigram networks were found to be an important tool to identify diagnosis codes and logical operators that built more inclusive syndrome definitions when added to an existing chief complaint syndrome. Bigram networks may aid understanding the relationship between chief complaints and diagnosis codes in syndrome-matched visits. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Public Health Service, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. References 1. Silge, J., Robinson, D. (2017). "Text Mining with R". O'Reilly.


Background : : : : rabies is a fatal zoonosis caused by a highly neurotropic RNA virus which causes neurological signs and that is distributed almost worldwide. Rabies affects domestic and wild animals and this is a disease transmitted by their bites, through which the virus present in the saliva is inoculated. In Brazil, Desmodus rotundus is the main hematophagous bat species that transmits rabies, especially to herbivores e equines. In equines, the clinical manifestation varies a lot, including both the paralytic and the furious form of the disease. The goal of this study is to describe a case of equine rabies in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Case : a six-year old male American Quarter Horse, which presented a clinical picture characterized by colic, depraved appetite and difficulty to move, was admitted to the Hospital de Clinicas Veterinarias of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (HCV-UFRGS). The horse did not respond to treatment, therefore, it was submitted to exploratory laparotomy, when the moderate intestinal constipation and low intestinal motility was observed. A large colon enterotomy was performed and the intestinal contents were partially emptied. During recovery from anesthesia, the animal remained in lateral decubitus, not making any attempt to stand up. The animal did not show a favorable clinical evolution a few hours later, displaying weakness particularly in the hind limbs. Consequently, the animal underwent euthanasia. Samples of body organs were collected and fixed in formol 10%, processed routinely for histological purposes and then stained by hematoxylin and eosin. The histopathological examination revealed nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis in the central nervous system, without the presence of Negri bodies. Due to the history of recent rabies cases in neighbor areas of the property from where the animal came, direct immunofluorescence (IFD) and immunohistochemical (IHQ) exams for rabies were requested. The result was negative in IFD and a positive immunolabeling was observed in IHQ, thus demonstrating a viral antigen labeling in neurons of the cervical spine, pons, mesencephalon and cerebellum. Discussion : intracytoplasmic inclusions, also known as Negri bodies, are important and pathognomonic findings that were not observed in this case. Its presence and concentration depend on the stage and course of the disease, and they are not present in up to 30% of rabies cases, because certain virus strains do not produce Negri bodies. In equines, the occurrence of Negri bodies is less frequent than in bovines. IFD is the most adequate rabies diagnosis method, which is a highly sensitive technique (80-100%). The result was negative for this case, being confirmed only by IHQ. The immunohistochemical test is an important laboratorial diagnosis tool of rabies, because it allows the solution of unspecific meningoencephalitis cases when Negri bodies are not present. The treatment of animals with rabies is not considered. Vaccination in endemic regions or in areas where a rabies case has occurred is necessary. Rabies cases near the property where the animal lived were reported, but a prophylactic vaccination was not carried out. Rio Grande do Sul had a peculiar epidemiological status regarding rabies, as urban rabies cases had not been reported for approximately 17 years. However, rabies transmitted by hematophagous bats is still endemic in rural areas. This case demonstrates the importance of maintaining a rabies vaccination schedule in equine properties.


This paper develops bidding strategy for operating multiunit pumped-storage power plant in a day-ahead electricity market. Based on forecasted hourly market clearing price, the objective is to self-schedule and maximize the expected profit of the pumped-storage plant, considering both spinning and nonspinning reserve bids and meeting the technical operating constraints. Evolutionary tristate particle swarm optimization (ETPSO) based approach is proposed to solve the problem, combining basic particle swarm optimization (PSO) with tristate coding technique and genetics-based mutation operation. The discrete characteristic of a pumped-storage plant is modeled using tristate coding technique and mutation operation is used for faster convergence. The proposed model is adaptive for nonlinear 3-D relationship between the power produced, the energy stored, and the head of the associated reservoir. The proposed approach is applied for a practical utility consisting of four units. Simulation results for different operating cycles of the storage plant indicate the attractive properties of ETPSO approach with highly optimal solution and robust convergence behavior.