This paper presents rent models for retail, office and industrial property in the U.K. Panel data are used covering 11 regions for 29 years, enabling us to overcome the limitations of a relatively short time series. We use an Error Correction Model (ECM) framework to estimate long run equilibrium relationships and short term dynamic corrections. The combination of panel data and an ECM is an innovative approach that is still being developed in econometrics. We construct new supply series that combine infrequent stock data with more frequent construction data. For each property type, separate regional models are estimated. The regions are then combined into a number of panels on the basis of the income and price elasticities in the long run and short run models. Unlike previous studies, we find no evidence of a broad north-south divide between low growth and high growth regions. Like these studies we do find a London effect: demand elasticities in London with respect to both price and supply are much lower in magnitude. We conclude that, while the economic drivers may vary, there is no evidence of differences in the operation of the regional property markets outside London. Our final models are parsimonious with single measures of economic activity and of supply and always support the use of an ECM.


The impacts of climate change on the seasonality of low flows were analysed for 134 sub-catchments cover- ing the River Rhine basin upstream of the Dutch-German border. Three seasonality indices for low flows were esti- mated, namely the seasonality ratio (SR), weighted mean occurrence day (WMOD) and weighted persistence (WP). These indices are related to the discharge regime, timing and variability in timing of low flow events respectively. The three indices were estimated from: (1) observed low flows; (2) simulated low flows by the semi-distributed HBV model using observed climate as input; (3) simulated low flows us- ing simulated inputs from seven combinations of General Circulation Models (GCMs) and Regional Climate Models (RCMs) for the current climate (1964-2007); (4) simulated low flows using simulated inputs from seven combinations of GCMs and RCMs for the future climate (2063-2098) in- cluding three different greenhouse gas emission scenarios. These four cases were compared to assess the effects of the hydrological model, forcing by different climate models and different emission scenarios on the three indices. Significant differences were found between cases 1 and 2. For instance, the HBV model is prone to overestimate SR and to underestimate WP and simulates very late WMODs com- pared to the estimated WMODs using observed discharges. Comparing the results of cases 2 and 3, the smallest differ- ence was found for the SR index, whereas large differences were found for the WMOD and WP indices for the current climate. Finally, comparing the results of cases 3 and 4, we found that SR decreases substantially by 2063-2098 in all seven sub-basins of the River Rhine. The lower values of SR for the future climate indicate a shift from winter low flows (SR> 1) to summer low flows (SR < 1) in the two Alpine sub-basins. The WMODs of low flows tend to be earlier than for the current climate in all sub-basins except for the Mid- dle Rhine and Lower Rhine sub-basins. The WP values are slightly larger, showing that the predictability of low flow events increases as the variability in timing decreases for the future climate. From comparison of the error sources evalu- ated in this study, it is obvious that different RCMs/GCMs have a larger influence on the timing of low flows than dif- ferent emission scenarios. Finally, this study complements recent analyses of an international project (Rhineblick) by analysing the seasonality aspects of low flows and extends the scope further to understand the effects of hydrological model errors and climate change on three important low flow seasonality properties: regime, timing and persistence.


Currently, researchers designing and implementing large-scale overlay services employ disparate techniques at each stage in the production cycle: design, implementation, experimentation, and evaluation. As a result, complex and tedious tasks are often duplicated leading to ineffective resource use and difficulty in fairly comparing competing algorithms. In this paper, we present MACEDON, an infrastructure that provides facilities to: i) specify distributed algorithms in a concise domain-specific language; ii) generate code that executes in popular evaluation infrastructures and in live networks; iii) leverage an overlay-generic API to simplify the interoperability of algorithm implementations and applications; and iv) enable consistent experimental evaluation. We have used MACEDON to implement and evaluate a number of algorithms, including AMMO, Bullet, Chord, NICE, Overcast, Pastry, Scribe, and SplitStream, typically with only a few hundred lines of MACEDON code. Using our infrastructure, we are able to accurately reproduce or exceed published results and behavior demonstrated by current publicly available implementations.


The aim of this article is to discuss how pedagogical practices, methods and materials produce processes and assemblages that regulate the positions and kinds of meaning that are allowed to emerge in the classroom. The empirical material used in this article consists of ethnographic field-study observations and interviews at a Swedish primary school. An episode in a maths lesson is described and analysed using concepts and metaphors developed by Deleuze and Guattari. The observations show how the students at one point during the lesson turn from counting and repeating the factual number of cats in a picture to discussing the existence of potential cats. Two pedagogical trajectories are identified and analysed. One relates to the task of determining and conceptualising predefined numbers, and the other consists of flows and forces that explore, embody and unfold ways of relating to numbers that challenge the dominance of cognitive rationality and linear processes of school mathematics. The article ends with a discussion of pedagogy for the primary school that combines the real and the immanent. This approach opens for a mutual articulation of what is and what can be, but also for students' influence on educational practice.


One of the main goals of the COMPASS experiment at CERN is the measurement of the gluon contribution DeltaG to the nucleon spin. A longitudinal polarised muon beam with 160 GeV energy is used. A 6LiD target can be polarised parallel and antiparallel with respect to the muon spin. In the photon gluon fusion (pgf) a virtual photon emitted from the muon interacts with a gluon from a target nucleon via the creation of a quark-antiquark pair. A pgf event can be identified through the detection of the creation of heavy quarks, e.g. through the reconstruction of charmed D mesons. The cross section of the pgf with the creation of D mesons depends on the polarisation of the photon and the gluon. DeltaG/G can be extracted from the counting rate asymmetry of the D mesons created with the different polarisations of the target.

In this work D mesons were reconstructed in different decay channels. The number of reconstructed D mesons and the signal to background ratio in the signal region were used to estimate the statistical error of DeltaG/G. Different kinematic cuts which suppress the background were optimized with respect to the error of DeltaG/G. The main contribution to the measurement of DeltaG/G comes from the golden D* channel (D*+ -> D0 pi+ -> (K- pi+)pi+ and respectively D*- ->D0bar pi- -> (K+ pi-)pi-). The golden D0 channel (D0 -> K- pi+ and respectively D0bar -> K+ pi-) has a high background with contributions of some very broad K* resonances. It is difficult to determine the strengths of these resonances in the Kpi mass spectrum. The resulting systematic error still has to be investigated. In total the statistical error of DeltaG/G amounts to 1.45 (using 2002 and 2003 data).

The reconstruction probability of charged tracks as a function of momentum and transverse momentum as well as the reconstruction efficiency of K0s mesons and the identification efficiency of charged kaons was determined with Monte-Carlo simulations. These efficiencies were checked in the data comparing 2 decay channels of the charged D* resonance and reconstructing pairs of D mesons. Using these efficiencies the contribution of other decay channels to the DeltaG/G measurement could be estimated. Three channels are proposed. Their contribution corresponds each to 7 - 28 % more data in the golden D* channel.


RoboHealth is a project that is focused on giving assistance to medical staff in order to improve the quality of treatment provided to patients in rehabilitation processes. The project covers two aspects during the rehabilitation process: assessment and therapy itself. In previous work [1], an automatic assessment system was presented for the evaluation of patient progress and effectiveness of the therapy, that is based on the Box and Blocks Test (BBT) of manual dexterity. In this article, an extension of the first trials including more participants is presented. This further advocates the use of automated methods in physical rehabilitation assessment.


In conventional causal discovery, structural equation models (SEM) are directly applied to the observed variables, meaning that the causal effect can be represented as a function of the direct causes themselves. However, in many real world problems, there are significant dependencies in the variances or energies, which indicates that causality may possibly take place at the level of variances or energies. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic causal scale-mixture model with spatiotemporal variance dependencies to represent a specific type of generating mechanism of the observations. In particular, the causal mechanism including contemporaneous and temporal causal relations in variances or energies is represented by a Structural Vector AutoRegressive model (SVAR). We prove the identifiability of this model under the non-Gaussian assumption on the innovation processes. We also propose algorithms to estimate the involved parameters and discover the contemporaneous causal structure. Experiments on synthetic and real world data are conducted to show the applicability of the proposed model and algorithms.


Background : in 2009 a novel infective agent, a(H1n1), was recognized by the World Health organization (WHo) as a pandemic virus. Like most European countries, Italy experienced a single pandemic wave during fall-winter 2009. The objective of our study was to evaluate the news reports and the representation of the a(H1n1) pandemic in the Italian newspapers both quantitatively and qualitatively. Methods : from april 24th, 2009 to February 28th, 2010, seven national newspapers were monitored for the quantitative reporting of a(H1n1). In a three month sample period, reports were evaluated quali- tatively by considering their front page presence, tones used for headlines, and images and figures dedicated to the topic. Results : in a ten month window, a total of 1220 articles were published. The reporting period showed four peaks and one hollow, with a similar pattern for all the newspapers. during the three-month sample period, we found a total of 382 articles, 98.4% of which appeared on front pages, 33.8% of which contained headlines using alarming tones, and 47.8% which contained info-graphic elements. Conclusions : the a(H1n1) 2009 pandemic in Italy was mild; nonetheless, newspapers devoted great attention to the new influenza and used alarmist tones. In similar situations, there are several areas where scientists should play a greater role. scientists should support journalists in understanding scientific issues and help them translate scientific information into news items. scientists should also help to contain the anxiety aroused in lay people by a pandemic, and support vaccination efforts dedicated to it....


Federal courts are currently split, even within particular districts, on the basic question of what a plaintiff must show to establish that a defendant's conduct constitutes trademark dilution by blurring. Federal trademark law defines "dilution by blurring" as "association arising from the similarity between a mark or trade name and a famous mark that impairs the distinctiveness of the famous mark." In construing this statutory language, a majority of courts have held that to establish blurring, a plaintiff need only show that consumers associate the defendant's mark with the plaintiff's famous mark. These courts appear to assume that to the extent that there is consumer association, this association alone will "impair the distinctiveness" of the famous mark. A minority of courts have held that the plaintiff must show both consumer association and that this consumer association "impairs the distinctiveness" of the famous mark. In this article, we make two contributions to the current debate over what must be shown to establish dilution by blurring. First, we report the results of a set of experiments that reveal that the majority approach is fundamentally deficient. These experiments demonstrate that even when consumers associate a junior mark with a famous senior mark, this association does not necessarily result in any impairment of the ability of the senior mark to identify its source and associations. Second, we evaluate the current state of the art in trademark dilution survey methodology: response time surveys. These surveys purportedly show both consumer association and impairment. Through a set of experiments, we demonstrate that these surveys currently use the wrong control and are invalid. In light of our findings, we reflect more generally on the question of whether dilution by blurring ever occurs and on how the blurring cause of action may be reconfigured better to comport with courts' intuitions about the true nature of the harm that the cause of action


The first infant formula was developed by Henri Nestle in 1860 in response to the high mortality rate among infants born to working-class women in Switzerland who had no time to nurse. Regarding the minimization of bacterial contamination, the suggestions on powdered infant formula (PIF) products in developing countries such as Indonesia are adequate. The majority of women resort to traditional foods to supplement or replace breast milk. Not all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive mothers infect their babies, but vertical transmission is far more likely than sexual transmission or intravenous transmission of HIV. The solutions being used in Thailand to deter the transmission of HIV from mother to infant have not been implemented in Zambia, one of several African countries where HIV infects up to 25% of the population. In sub- Saharan Africa, extreme poverty, inadequate caring practices for children, low levels of education, and poor access to health services are among the major factors causing malnutrition. Biological evidence shows that the health benefits of breast-feeding for infants are far greater than the benefits of formula feeding. In many developing countries, the proportion of special subpopulations consisting of low-birth-weight infants and infants of HIV-infected mothers is higher than it is in developed countries. Human milk fortifiers are required to compensate for the nutritional needs of very-low-birth-weight infants. In circumstances where the mother cannot breast-feed or chooses not to breast-feed for any reason, special PIF may be required for the feeding of low-birth-weight infants.


This paper implements and compares between the key concepts to enable wind power short-term frequency support from electrical and mechanical loads perspectives. Pitch de-loading, kinetic energy extraction, and wind turbine (WTG) over-speeding are investigated, where each concept is integrated as a supplementary controller to the conventional controls of WTG. Different patterns of wind speed are examined, step-change and real intermittent of high resolution. The examined aggregated synchronous area has a relatively high wind penetration with frequency support. The overall dynamic inertia of the system is assessed to analyze the impact of the integrated support methods and their key parameters. The coordination between synchronous areas and wind farms, which are interconnected through a multiterminal high-voltage direct-current network (MT-HVDC) is examined. A novel definition of the virtual inertia of MT-HVDC grid is proposed. Results show that pitch de-loading secures support reserve most of the time, and kinetic energy extraction provides sustainable support for a short interval, while accelerative de-loading could reach a compromise. The three methods are adaptable with the MT-HVDC holistic frequency support controller, with a slight advantage of kinetic energy extraction over the virtual inertia of the MT-HVDC. MATLAB/Simulink is the simulation environment.


Root and foliar applications of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL), an immobile phyto-hormone with antistress activity, were evaluated for their effects on reducing fusarium wilt and their influence on antioxidant and phenolic metabolism in roots of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Jinyan No. 4). EBL pretreatment significantly reduced disease severity together with improved plant growth and reduced losses in biomass regardless of application methods. EBL treatments significantly reduced pathogen-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), flavonoids, and phenolic compounds, activities of defense-related and ROS-scavenging enzymes. The enzymes included superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacol peroxidase, catalase as well as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and polyphenoloxidase. There was no apparent difference between two application methods used. EBL applications triggered a slight increase in H 2 O 2 concentration followed by increases in the transcript levels of WRKY transcription factor and defense-related genes. This study demonstrated that EBL enhanced resistance to fusarium wilt by a novel mechanism that was not related to its active transport or increase in antioxidant system.


Africa's dismal economic performance is directly attributable to its weakness in the production and use of modern technology. Even Nigeria, a country with immense human and material resources, coupled with significant scientific infrastructure, has not yet been able to manage the all-important technological leap forward. The situation was different in Biafra (1967–70), when indigenous scientists and engineers performed socially relevant science without the preconditions conventionally perceived as necessary for technological development. Anchored in structuration theory, this article explores the sociology of scientific and technological practice in Biafra, outlines the achievements of Biafran scientists and engineers, and offers explanations of why the Biafran technological success has not been replicable in post-civil war Nigeria. Discussion concludes with a suggestion for development-driven geopolitical restructuring.


Controlled colloid bonding using DNA Colloidal particles can act as analogs of atoms for studying crystallization and packing behavior, but they don't naturally bond together the way atoms do. Short strands of DNA are one versatile way to link together colloidal particles (see the Perspective by Tao). Kim et al. designed a series of gold colloids with DNA ligands that reversibly bound to or released neighboring particles via DNA strands that opened or closed hairpin loops. Liu et al. devised a set of DNA strands that pack into origami structures. Inside each structure were strands that cage a gold nanoparticle. These were further linked to other uncaged nanoparticles to assemble a diamond-like structure. Changing the strand design yielded a wide range of sparsely packed colloidal crystals. Science, this issue p. 561, p. 579; see also p. 582 DNA-coated gold nanoparticles can be controllably and tunably bonded or released from neighboring particles. [Also see Perspective by Tao] Unlike conventional inorganic materials, biological systems are exquisitely adapted to respond to their surroundings. Proteins and other biological molecules can process a complex set of chemical binding events as informational inputs and respond accordingly via a change in structure and function. We applied this principle to the design and synthesis of inorganic materials by preparing nanoparticles with reconfigurable surface ligands, where interparticle bonding can be programmed in response to specific chemical cues in a dynamic manner. As a result, a nascent set of "transmutable nanoparticles" can be driven to crystallize along multiple thermodynamic trajectories, resulting in rational control over the phase and time evolution of nanoparticle-based matter.


We present a data analysis procedure that provides the solution to a long-standing issue in microrheology studies, i.e. the evaluation of the fluids' linear viscoelastic properties from the analysis of a finite set of experimental data, describing (for instance) the time-dependent mean-square displacement of suspended probe particles experiencing Brownian fluctuations. We report, for the first time in the literature, the linear viscoelastic response of an optically trapped bead suspended in a Newtonian fluid, over the entire range of experimentally accessible frequencies. The general validity of the proposed method makes it transferable to the majority of microrheology and rheology techniques.


Many different "and"- and "or"-operations have been proposed for use in fuzzy logic. It is therefore important to select, for each particular application, the operations which are the best for this particular application. Several papers discuss the optimal choice of "and"- and "or"-operations for fuzzy control, when the main criterion is to get the stablest control (or the smoothest or the most robust or the fastest-to-compute). In reasoning applications, however, it is more appropriate to select operations which are the best in reflecting human reasoning, i.e., operations which are "the most logical". In this paper, we explain how we can use logic motivations to select fuzzy logic operations, and show the consequences of this choice. As one of the unexpected consequences, we get a surprising relation with the entropy techniques, well known in probabilistic approach to uncertainty.


Despite being one of the most prolific spenders on active labour market policies, and investing heavily in civic integration programmes, family policies and career and diversity plans, the native-migrant employment gap in Belgium is still one of the largest among EU and OECD countries. Past research has shown that even after controlling for human capital and other socio-demographic factors a large unexplained gap (often called ethnic gap or penalty) remains. This paper investigates how the motive for migrating to Belgium contributes to the native-migrant employment gap. Based on data from the 2014 Belgian LFS Ad Hoc Module on the labour market situation of migrants and their immediate descendants, we compare the employment outcomes of labour migrants (with and without a job prior to migration), family reunion migrants, student migrants and refugees with those of the native-born. In line with previous studies, we establish that refugees and family reunion migrants' employment likelihood is lower when compared to labour migrants and natives. Refugees who do work tend to do so in temporary jobs and in jobs that are below their skill levels. However, temporary employment is also prevalent among labour migrants without a job prior to migration and over qualification is a specific challenge for male student migrants.


Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz Family Euphorbiaceae) is an important tropical food crop. However, harvested cassava roots have a shelf-life of only days due to post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD). Within 1-3 days of harvesting, the roots show blue-black vascular streaking and are unpalatable. PPD includes altered gene expression and the accumulation of hydroxycoumarin secondary metabolites, e.g. scopoletin and esculetin, and their respective glucosides scopolin and esculin. In this research several important aspects of the biosynthesis of these phytochemically important hydroxycoumarins were resolved. Stable isotopically labelled intermediates on the postulated biosynthetic pathways of scopoletin were fed to cassava cubes and PPD was allowed to occur. Ethanolic extracts of these deteriorated roots were separated (HPLC) and analysed (HRESI-MS). Incorporation (in both scopoletin and scopolin) of only 3 deuterons from E-cinnamic-2,3,2',3',4',5',6'-d7 and E-cinnamic-3,2',3',4',5',6'-d6 is strong support that the E-Zisomerisation step is enzymatic and not photochemical. There are three hypothetical pathways for the biosynthesis of scopoletin via: 2',4'-dihydroxycinnamate, caffeate, or ferulate. High incorporation of label from p-coumaric-2-13C, caffeic-2-13C and ferulic-2-13C acids was observed into labelled scopoletin and scopolin while there was only a small incorporation from 18O-umbelliferone and 18O-esculetin. We conclude that the major biosynthetic pathway to scopoletin and scopolin is via ferulic acid. C18O2-enrichment of E-cinnamic and ferulic acids and feeding gave scopoletin containing only one 18O-labelled oxygen atom. Therefore the lactonisation step is through o-hydroxylation and not via a postulated spirolactone-dienone intermediate. These results were confirmed by feeding experiments in an atmosphere of 18O2-air which showed that the major isotopic peak was 18O3-enriched scopoletin. Three glucosyltransferases were isolated and identified from a cassava PPDrelated cDNA library. These genes are expressed in the cassava storage root during PPD and they are also expressed in the fresh root. While one of these glucosyltransferases was novel, two had previously been isolated from cassava cotyledons.


Extremely low gestational age neonates (ELGANs) are probably the most vulnerable of all patient groups. Caring for these infants requires specialised services with a good infrastructure, dedication of the entire team and experience. Numerous studies have shown that perinatal outcomes are better in large centres providing the highest level of care compared to smaller ones or those working in a less experienced or lower level setting.1 Nonetheless, drawing practical conclusions from these data, namely to rigorously centralise perinatal care, meets resistance, in the UK and abroad. Or how else can the recent findings by Marlow et al , reported in this issue, be explained? They found that only 56% of ELGANs were born in hospitals providing the highest level of perinatal care.2 This low rate cannot be due to biology or distance: in Finland, for example, a country with an area 1.5 times that of the UK, provision of the highest level neonatal care is concentrated to only 5 centres, with many patients having long distances to …


QUESTION
How do vertically transmitted parasites persist?

ORGANISMS
Drosophila melanogaster (host) and sigma virus (parasite).

FIELD SITE
Peach stands in northern Georgia, USA, on a transect between Macon and Athens.

EMPIRICAL METHODS
We estimated prevalence in the field. We also estimated male and female transmission in the laboratory, using field-collected animals as parents. We further quantified patrilineal (father to son) transmission in the laboratory, and estimated cost of infection (virulence) by quantifying decreased egg production of infected flies.

MATHEMATICAL METHODS
Discrete-time, deterministic models for prevalence; analysis of stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria; numerical computation of equilibria based on empirical estimates.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS
Random mating, discrete generations, cost of infection to females only.

PREDICTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
The model allows persistence under parameter estimates obtained for this population. Uncertainty in parameters leads to wide confidence intervals on the predicted prevalence, which may be systematically underestimated due to Jensen's inequality. Male transmission is required for persistence, and multiple generations of strictly patrilineal transmission are possible in the laboratory, albeit with decreasing transmission efficiency.


This dissertation investigates the design of large online courses from the pedagogical perspective of knowledge communities. Much of the learning sciences literature has concerned itself with groups of up to 20-30 students, but in universities, courses of several hundred to more than a thousand students are common. At the same time, new models for life-long and informal learning, such as Massive Open Online Courses, are emerging. Amidst this growing enthusiasm for innovation around technology and design in teaching, there is a need for theoretically grounded innovations and rigorous research around practical models that support new approaches to learning. One recent model, known as Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI), engages students in the co-construction of a community knowledge base, with a commonly held understanding of the collective nature of their learning, and then provides a sequence of scaffolded inquiry activities where students make use of the knowledge base as a resource. Inspired by this approach to designing courses, the research began with a redesign of an in-service teacher education course, which increased in size from 25 to 75 students. This redesign was carefully analyzed, and design principles extracted. The second step was the design of a Massive Open Online Course for several thousand in-service teachers on technology and inquiry, in collaboration with an affiliated secondary school. A number of innovative design ideas were necessary to accommodate the large number of users, the much larger diversity in terms of background, interest, and engagement among MOOC learners, and the opportunities provided by the platform. The resulting design encompasses a 6- week long curriculum script, and a number of overlapping micro-scripts supported by a custom- written platform that integrated with the EdX platform in a seamless manner. This thesis presents the course structure, including connection to disciplinary principles, its affordances for community and collaboration and its support of individual differentiated learning and collective epistemology. It offers design principles for scripting and orchestrating collective inquiry designs for MOOCS and higher education courses.


We report on the incorporation of e‐book readers into the delivery of two distance‐taught master's programmes in Occupational Psychology (OP) and one in Education at the University of Leicester, UK. The programmes attract work‐based practitioners in OP and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, respectively. Challenges in curriculum delivery included the need for more flexibility in the curricula, better access to essential readings and maximising the benefit of learners' limited study time. As part of a suite of pilot changes to curriculum design and delivery, 28 Sony PRS‐505™ e‐book readers were pre‐loaded with course materials and sent out to students. The evidence suggests that the students' learning experiences improved as a result of four key benefits afforded by the e‐book readers: enhanced flexibility in curriculum delivery to accommodate the mobile lifestyle of our learners, improved efficiency in the use of study time, especially short breaks during the working day, new strategies for reading course materials and cost. We discuss the opportunities and limitations associated with the e‐book readers used and the challenges encountered in the study. 10.1080/09687769.2010.548506


We present a high-spectral-resolution and experimentally simple version of spectral interferometry using optical fibers and crossed beams, which we call SEA TADPOLE. Rather than using collinear unknown and reference pulses separated in time to yield spectral fringes-and reduced spectral resolution-as in current versions, we use time-coincident pulses crossed at a small angle to generate spatial fringes. This allows the extraction of the spectral phase with the full spectrometer resolution, which allows the measurement of much longer and more complex pulses. In fact, SEA TADPOLE achieves spectral super-resolution, yielding the pulse spectrum with even better resolution. Avoiding collinear beams and using fiber coupling also vastly simplify alignment. We demonstrate SEA TADPOLE by measuring a chirped pulse, a double pulse separated by 14 ps, and a complex pulse comprising two trains of pulses with a time-bandwidth product of ~400.


Jane Barrow, CEO of Caprica Energy, must recommend to the board which of three potential "unconventional " natural-gas development sites in different parts of the United States the company should pursue. The case takes place in January 2011, when the "low-hanging fruit " of natural-gas production in the United States had essentially been picked. All three of the potential sites (shale, coalbed methane, and tight sands) would require hydraulic fracturing, a process of removing gas that was formerly considered inaccessible by injecting water and chemicals into the ground. Because of emerging concerns about the potential harm "fracking " can do to drinking water, Barrow must not only analyze which site might be most profitable but also what the potential risks to the environment and area residents might be.


Introduction: The elderly age has its own special needs and difficulties. The present study aimed to determine health status and health needs of the elderly in Ilam Province. Methods: Through this descriptive analytical cross sectional study, 1012 elderly residents in eight cities of Ilam province were selected based on an appropriate proportion and hen were interviewed face to face completing a valid and reliable questionnaire. Analyzing the study data was performed by ANOVA test applying SPSS software and p-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Result: Out of 1012 participants, 60.5% were males and 39.5% were females. Mean age was 71.1±8.02 year, and the most age group was 65-69. Overall, 38/6% were covered by health insurance organizations. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of participants were 13.38 and 11.76 respectively. The mean BMI of the study population was 25.72, 36.1% were reported to have heart disease history, 15% had diabetes, 22.5% had respiratory problems and 16.3% were addicted to cigarettes. Moreover, 45.3% had history of surgery, 72.8% experienced joint pain, 64.6% reported skeletal pain and 12.6% had history of stroke. Falling from height (18%) was demonstrated the highest rate of accidents for the elderly. Conclusions: The prevalent health problems of old people in Ilam mainly referrs to non-communicable disorders specifically cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Health promoting interventions seem to be necessitated for the elderly in order to have a healthy elderly life.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been going through a veritable global 'vulnerability experience', ultimately revealing the interconnectedness of both global and local challenges such as health, pollution and climate change, biodiversity, and food and energy supply. The pandemic has prompted us to rethink the way our cities are designed in order to promote future-proof models that are in harmony with the local conditions and our planet's boundaries. Any visionary role model of a city, however, is only as successful as it suggests clear transition pathways. This paper intends to show that the concept of a 'regenerative city' is such a model. Furthermore, it seeks to encourage to look at transitional trajectories ahead, be it in the food, energy, transport or health sector, from the implementational level of a city government. The regenerative city not only preserves the capacities and capabilities of ecosystems, but actively restores them by establishing closed, efficient and consistent material cycles between the city and the surrounding area. At the same time, the regenerative city is not only aimed at the regeneration of resources and the efficiency of ecosystems, it also has to regenerate its public spaces and built environments in a human-centred fashion, rather than centred on individual car use. One of the determining factors of a regenerative city aiming for greater resilience will be whether or not it is able to establish a restorative relationship with its environment, its hinterlands, and build a circular metabolism of goods. © Henry Stewart Publications 1752-9638 IP: 125.17(2021).


A distributed virtual environment (DVE) is a software system that allows users in a network to interact with each other by sharing a common view of their states. As users are geographically distributed over large networks like the internet and the number of users increases, scalability is a key aspect to consider for real-time interaction. Various solutions have been proposed to improve the scalability in DVE systems but they are either focused on only specific aspects or customized to a target application. In this paper, we classify the approaches for improving scalability of DVE into five categories: communication architecture, interest management, concurrency control, data replication, and load distribution. We then propose a scalable network framework for DVEs, ATLAS. Incorporated with our various scalable schemes, ATLAS meets the scalability of a system as a whole. The integration experiences of ATLAS with several virtual reality systems ensure the versatility of the proposed solution.


Climate change will have a profound impact on human and natural systems, and will also impede economic growth and sustainable development. In this book, leading experts from around the world discuss the challenges and opportunities in building a climate resilient economy and society. The chapters are organised in three sections. The first part explores vulnerability, adaptation and resilience, whilst Part II examines climate resilience-sectoral perspectives covering different sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, marine ecosystems, cities and urban infrastructure, drought prone areas, and renewable energy. In the final part, the authors look at Incentives, institutions and policy, including topics such as carbon pricing, REDD plus, climate finance, the role of institutions and communities, and climate policies. Combining a global focus with detailed case studies of a cross section of regions, countries and sectors, this book will prove to be an invaluable resource.


Background and objective: Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease and a leading cause of disability. Increased circulating levels of C-reactive protein have been associated with prevalent knee osteoarthritis. This study aimed to assess the association between C- reactive protein positivity in patients with knee osteoarthritis in Erbil
Methods: Data from100 participants in this case-control study were enrolled from May 1st to December 1st, 2015 in Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil city. Data were divided into two groups. The cases included 50 patients (17 male and 33 female) with a mean age of 58.9 ±3.8 years and diagnosed with primary knee osteoarthritis of one or both knee joints. Controls included 50 persons (17 male and 33 female) with a mean age of 58.1 ±3.9 years without knee osteoarthritis and matched for age, sex, and body mass index. C-reactive protein qualitatively measured. Patients were radiologically assessed by Kellgren and Lawrence grading scale (grade 0-4).
Results: C-reactive protein was positive in 41 out of 50 (82%) of knee osteoarthritis patients compared to 3 out of 50 (6%) of healthy controls (P = 0.001). C- reactive protein positivity among knee osteoarthritis patients were significantly associated with body mass index, positive family history of knee osteoarthritis, duration of diseases, and Kellgren and Lawrence grade (P 0.05).
Conclusion: C-reactive protein positivity was significantly associated with knee osteoarthritis compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, body mass index, positive family history of knee osteoarthritis, early osteoarthritis, and Kellgren and Lawrence grade II, were significantly associated with positive C-reactive protein in knee osteoarthritis.


Logistics is perceived to be important for Namibia's growth and development, but this may be a matter of conjecture as there is a dearth of documented information about the industry in Namibia. Furthermore, it is uncertain what the understanding of logistics is for key stakeholders in the country. This article reports on a project; the objectives were to address some of these issues and to lay the foundation for a more thorough investigation in the future. The findings of the initial project were disseminated in 2012 by: a conference paper showing the challenges and opportunities facing logistics in Namibia in 2012; a report; and through a Logistics and Transport Workshop held in Walvis Bay, Namibia in September 2012. These reports, additional interviews and subsequent discussions highlighted some potential opportunities and problems. This article summarises the project to date, showing the methodology and findings as updated by subsequent feedback and further interviews. The findings from key stakeholders of the logistics industry in Namibia include: universal agreement on the importance of logistics to Namibia; the variety in the understanding of the term logistics; the strength of the continuing influence of South Africa as the dominant economic power in southern Africa; and contrasting views on the main factors limiting logistics development, including infrastructure, attitude, government, customs, training, railways, corruption and driver shortage.


Power-awareness in carriers' networks has become a major concern in the past few years due to the increasing power consumption required by high speed electronics. Today, the scalability of the Internet is not only limited by communication technology but also by operational expenditure induced by electrical power needed to feed and cool switching/routing and transmission equipment. Designing low power network equipment is certainly the most effective solution to reduce unnecessary power dissipation due to the Joule effect. In the short-term, alternative solutions targeting the existing infrastructures must be provided until the emergence of green-networking technologies. Recently, innovative approaches based on traffic rerouting and grooming have been proposed in the literature for core WDM networks. Transceivers used at the optical switching nodes for add-drop and grooming purposes are the key elements conditioning power consumption. In current networks, transceivers are powered-on permanently, whatever the activity of the data sources at the electrical layer. In this paper, we aim to minimize network's power consumption assuming transceivers with fixed data rates. In this context, we propose an optimal mapping of a set of scheduled traffic demands at the electrical layer onto the optical network. The number of optical channels per optical fiber being upper-bounded, this mapping also minimizes connections' rejection. This optimization problem is formulated as an Integer Linear Program.


Purpose: Sorafenib is a standard first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The phase III SHARP trial showed a median time-to-progression (mTTP) of 5.5 months, overall response rate (ORR) of 2%, and median overall survival (mOS) of 10.7 months with sorafenib. FOLFOX4 has shown modest activity in advanced HCC. We evaluated the combination of sorafenib and modified (m)FOLFOX in a single-arm, multicenter phase II study. Patients and Methods: The study included Child–Pugh A patients with advanced HCC and no prior systemic therapies. Patients received sorafenib 400 mg twice a day for 2 weeks, followed by concurrent mFOLFOX [5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 1,200 mg/m2/day for 46 hours, leucovorin 200 mg/m2, and oxaliplatin 85 mg/m2 biweekly]. The primary endpoint was mTTP with an alternative hypothesis of 7 months, and secondary endpoints included ORR, mOS, and circulating biomarkers. Results: The study enrolled 40 patients: HCV/EtOH/HBV, 43%/28%/13%; Child–Pugh A5, 70%. Notable grade 3/4 adverse events (AE) included AST/ALT elevation (28%/15%), diarrhea (13%), hyperbilirubinemia (10%), hand–foot syndrome (8%), and bleeding (8%). mTTP was 7.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.4–8.9], ORR 18%, and mOS 15.1 months (7.9–16.9). Sorafenib + mFOLFOX increased plasma PlGF, VEGF-D, sVEGFR1, IL12p70, and CAIX and CD4+ and CD8+ effector T lymphocytes and decreased plasma sVEGFR2 and s-c-KIT and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Shorter TTP was associated with high baseline sVEGFR1. Shorter TTP and OS were associated with increases in Tregs and CD56Dim natural killer (NK) cells after sorafenib alone and plasma sMET after combination treatment (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: Sorafenib + mFOLFOX met the prespecified endpoint with encouraging efficacy but moderate hepatotoxicity. Thus, this regimen may be effective in select patients with adequate liver reserve. Biomarker evaluations suggested a correlation between time-to-progression (TTP) and angiogenic biomarkers and circulating Tregs.


Higher cognitive function depends on accurate detection and processing of subtle features of sensory stimuli. Such precise computations require neural circuits to be modulated over rapid timescales, yet this modulation is poorly understood. Brain-derived steroids (neurosteroids) can act as fast signaling molecules in the vertebrate central nervous system and could therefore modulate sensory processing and guide behavior, but there is no empirical evidence for this possibility. Here we report that acute inhibition of estrogen production within a cortical-like region involved in complex auditory processing disrupts a songbird's ability to behaviorally respond to song stimuli. Identical manipulation of local estrogen levels rapidly changes burst firing of single auditory neurons. This acute estrogen-mediated modulation targets song and not other auditory stimuli, possibly enabling discrimination among species-specific signals. Our results demonstrate a crucial role for neuroestrogen synthesis among vertebrates for enhanced sensory encoding. Cognitive impairments associated with estrogen depletion, including verbal memory loss in humans, may therefore stem from compromised moment-by-moment estrogen actions in higher-order cortical circuits.


How to Stage a Military Coup-Ken Connor 2017-10-24 Fed up with taxes? Angered and disappointed by corrupt leaders? How to Stage a Military Coup lays down practical strategies that have proven themselves around the globe. David Hebditch and Ken Connor examine, with a critical eye, successful as well as failed coup attempts throughout the twentieth century with the aim of showing their readers just what it takes to swiftly and soundly overthrow a government. Exploring coups from Nigeria, to Cuba, to Iraq, and with true stories of SAS combat written by Ken Connor, the book gives an insightful glimpse into this violent and rarely-seen world of shifting power. How to Stage a Military Coup is a unique textbook for the armchair revolutionary, as well as a practical guide for the idealist with a soft spot for the sound of artillery fire. From evaluation of the political climate and investigation of potential allies, to recruiting and training personnel, to strategies for ensuring timely transfer of power, the book leaves no aspect of the coup unexamined. This new edition features a new introduction from the authors and a new foreword from an expert in the field, and also includes appendixes, notes, and a world map of coups.


In order to allow for efficient control of environmental pollution, especially in cities with a large amount of vehicular traffic, capillary outdoor air quality monitoring is of paramount importance. Nowadays, most of the instrumentation used in air quality monitoring stations for benzene detection is derived from laboratory equipment, and is therefore expensive, bulky and operatively complex for in-field installation. To allow for capillary distribution over the monitored area, air quality monitoring tools should be able to perform real-time and precise measurements, but also be cheap, easy to install and require little maintenance. In this work, a solid-state metal oxide semiconductor gas sensor was used in a simplified gas-chromatographic (GC) architecture. The main improvements were the overall simplicity of the pneumatic circuit, the use of an inexpensive packed separation column, the implementation of auto-calibration and, most of all, the use of a MOX gas sensor fabricated directly on a silicon microhotplate as a detector, allowing the use of filtered outdoor air as a carrier gas. The results of field tests of the prototype are presented, during its use in a monitoring station in Bologna equipped with a standard GC instrument for the outdoor detection of benzene. Comparative measurements collected by both devices over several months of continuous operation showed a very good agreement between the measured benzene concentrations.


Patrisia Gonzales addresses "Red Medicine" as a system of healing that includes birthing practices, dreaming, and purification rites to re-establish personal and social equilibrium. The book explores Indigenous medicine across North America, with a special emphasis on how Indigenous knowledge has endured and persisted among peoples with a legacy to Mexico. Gonzales combines her lived experience in "Red Medicine" as an herbalist and traditional birth attendant ith in-depth research into oral traditions, storytelling, and the meanings of symbols to uncover how Indigenous knowledge endures over time. And she shows how this knowledge is now being reclaimed by Chicanos, Mexican Americans and Mexican Indigenous peoples. For Gonzales, a central guiding force in Red Medicine is the principal of regeneration as it is manifested in Spiderwoman. Dating to Pre-Columbian times, the Mesoamerican Weaver/Spiderwoman--the guardian of birth, medicine, and purification rites such as the Nahua sweat bath--exemplifies the interconnected process of rebalancing that transpires throughout life in mental, spiritual and physical manifestations. Gonzales also explains how dreaming is a form of diagnosing in traditional Indigenous medicine and how Indigenous concepts of the body provide insight into healing various kinds of trauma. Gonzales links pre-Columbian thought to contemporary healing practices by examining ancient symbols and their relation to current curative knowledges among Indigenous peoples. "Red Medicine" suggests that Indigenous healing systems can usefully point contemporary people back to ancestral teachings and help them reconnect to the dynamics of the natural world. "


Understanding science requires appreciating the values it presupposes and its social context. Both the values that scientists hold and their social context can affect scientific communication. Philosophers of science have recently begun studying scientific communication, especially as it relates to public policy. Some have proposed "guiding principles for communicating scientific findings" to promote trust and objectivity. This paper contributes to this line of research in a novel way using behavioural experimentation. We report results from three experiments testing judgments about the trustworthiness, competence and objectivity of scientists. More specifically, we tested whether such judgments are affected by three factors: consulting or not consulting nonscientists, conducting research under a restrictive or non-restrictive governmental communication policy, and the source of a lab's funding. We found that each of these factors affects ordinary judgments of trustworthiness, competence and objectivity. These findings support several recommendations that could help improve scientific communication and communication policies.


Introduction . Specialised subject gateways have become an essential tool for locating and accessing digital information resources, with the added value of organisation and previous evaluation catering for the needs of the varying communities using these. Within the framework of a research project on the subject, a software tool has been developed that enables subject gateways to be developed and managed. Method . General guidelines for the work were established which set out the main principles for the technical aspects of the application, on one hand, and on aspects of the treatment and management of information, on the other. All this has been integrated into a prototype model for developing software tools. Analysis. The needs analysis established the conditions to be fulfilled by the application. A detailed study of the available options for the treatment of information on metadata proved that the best option was to use the Dublin Core, and that the metadata set should be included, in turn, in RDF tags, or in tags based on XML. Results. The project has resulted in the development of two versions of an application called Potnia (versions 1 and 2), which fulfil the requirements set out in the main principles, and which have been tested by users in real application environments. Conclusion. The tagging layout found to be the best, and the one used by the writers, is based on integrating the Dublin Core metadata set within the Topic Maps paradigm, formatted in XTM.


There is a large push to utilize evidence-based practices in medical education. At the same time, credentialing bodies are evaluating the use of simulation technologies to assess the competency and safety of its practitioners. At the 2008 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference on "The Science of Simulation in Healthcare," our breakout session critically evaluated several issues important to the use of simulation in emergency physician (EP) assessment. In this article, we discuss five topics felt to be most critical to simulation-based assessment (SBA). We then offer more specific research questions that would help to define and implement a SBA program in emergency medicine (EM).


Relative prices are nonstationary and standard root-T inference is invalid for demand systems. But demand systems are nonlinear functions of relative prices, and standard methods for dealing with nonstationarity in linear models cannot be used. Demand system residuals are also frequently found to be highly persistent, further complicating estimation and inference. We propose a variant of the translog demand system, the NTLOG, and an associated estimator that can be applied in the presence of nonstationary prices with possibly nonstationary errors. The errors in the NTLOG can be interpreted as random utility parameters. The estimates have classical root-T limiting distributions. We also propose an explanation for the observed nonstationarity of aggregate demand errors, based on aggregation of consumers with heterogeneous preferences in a slowly changing population. Estimates using U.S. data are provided.


Characterization of popular Web pages is essential to study issues such as proxy cache performance and inspection of effective resource management algorithms in Web. In this paper we used Web objects for such a characterization. A Web object is a Web page and a collection of files corresponding to the embedded objects which must be transferred to display the Web page. We collected data on the size and number of embedded objects to propose models for web objects. Due to the increase of the number of Web pages consisting of multimedia embedded objects in recent years, finding a suitable model for the Web objects including multimedia files has become an important issue. Characterization of multimedia files embedded in the Web objects is also valuable in improving their related Web page download time.

In this paper, we present a characterization of top 500 popular Web sites that fall into three different data sets: February 2006, February 2005, and February 2004. We have considered the popular Web pages for this study because they are more likely to be efficiently designed, and they have significant impact on network traffic.

This characterization shows the impacts of embedding multimedia files in the distribution models that we suggest for popular Web pages. This result can be used for development of workload generators that exhibit the properties of Web objects such as number of embedded objects and their sizes.


Background Emollients are a mainstay of treatment in atopic dermatitis (AD), a disease distinguished by skin bacterial dysbiosis. However, changes in skin microbiota when emollients are used as a potential AD preventative measure in infants remain incompletely characterized. Results We compared skin barrier parameters, AD development, and bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences of cheek, dorsal and volar forearm samples from 6-month-old infants with a family history of atopy randomized to receive emollients (n = 11) or no emollients (controls, n = 12). The emollient group had a lower skin pH than the control group. The number of bacterial taxa in the emollient group was higher than in the control group at all sites. The Streptococcus salivarius proportion was higher in the emollient versus control groups at all sites. S. salivarius proportion appeared higher in infants without AD compared to infants with AD. A decrease in S. salivarius abundance was further identified in a separate larger population of older children demonstrating an inverse correlation between AD severity at sampling sites and S. salivarius proportions. Conclusions The decreased skin pH and the increased proportion of S. salivarius after long-term emollient use in infants at risk for developing AD may contribute to the preventative effects of emollients in high-risk infants.


• The fun and easy way to get up and running quickly with Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, the new operating system version specially outfitted for TV, DVD, video, music, and digital photo applications • Media Center PCs are the first PCs to feature an easy-to-use interface and all preconfigured hardware and preloaded software needed to create a complete integrated home entertainment system • Explains how to integrate a home computer network with a home theater system, control connected TVs with the Remote Control Interface, record TV programs using a TiVo-like recorder, acquire and play back music files, organize digital videos and photos, play DVD movies, and much more • Written by the authors of Home Theater For Dummies (0-7645-1801-1)and Wireless Home Networking For Dummies (0-7645-3910-8), who worked closely with Media Center Edition product management at Microsoft to complete the book.


We present the optical spectroscopic follow-up of 31 z = 0.3 Lyα emitters, previously identified by Deharveng et al. We find that 17% of the Lyα emitters have line ratios that require the hard ionizing continuum produced by an active galactic nucleus. The uniform dust screen geometry traditionally used in studies similar to ours is not able to simultaneously reproduce the observed high Lyα/Hα and Hα/Hβ line ratios. We consider different possibilities for the geometry of the dust around the emitting sources. We find that also a uniform mixture of sources and dust does not reproduce the observed line ratios. Instead, these are well reproduced by a clumpy dust screen. This more realistic treatment of the geometry results in extinction corrected (Lyα/Hα)C values consistent with case B recombination theory, whereas a uniform dust screen model would imply values (Lyα/Hα)C higher than 8.7. Our analysis shows that there is no need to invoke ad hoc multiphase media in which the Lyα photons only scatter between the dusty clouds and eventually escape.


Although there have long been black lawyers in South Africa, during apartheid only a handful joined the ranks of the country's large commercial firms. Now, in the post-apartheid period, these firms are keenly aware of a range of economic and political incentives to hire black attorneys, and most are doing so at a record pace. Very few black attorneys, however, are enduring the path to partnership in these firms. Based on more than seventy-five interviews conducted in South Africa in 1999 and 2000, this Article both documents and critically examines the reasons for black attrition. While firms' incentives to integrate include commercial ones associated with clients' newfound attention to the racial diversity of their vendors, such incentives apparently have not yet outweighed the forces impeding integration - some of those forces being incidental to the country's history and politics, some attributable to the institutional characteristics of law firms, and others to the acts of individuals within those institutions. Although the under-representation of blacks in these firms is frequently attributed to blacks' own failings or choices, Professor Pruitt argues that the lack of integration is also the result of discriminatory actions of white individuals and the institutions they run. Building on the descriptive platform she has laid, Professor Pruitt goes on to construct a model of efficient discrimination with respect to South Africa's elite legal sector, arguing that firms are able to survive in the new marketplace, even absent retention of black attorneys, because the actual power of the incentives to integrate does not match the rhetoric around it. In addition, because no firm is achieving integration and thereby taking advantage of existing incentives, the integration quotient is not being raised, leaving firms effectively unchallenged by the market to retain and promote black lawyers.


The chalet of today is a far cry from the original herds - mans hut. Its triumphant ascent to elegant mountain mansion, frequently used as a holiday getaway by the societal elite, began in the 19th century. Its allure today is unbroken. As a place of relaxation and retreat from the day-to-day, chalets are being built in mountainous regions around the world. The chalet derives its charm from the combination of the architectural and the surrounding nature. Instead of simply fitting into the landscape by necessity, the dwellings draw it in. In this way a unique formal language emerges. This volume displays the charm of nature, while winning over the viewer with contemporary designs, which range from the classical wooden house with flat gabled roof, to the high-tech mountain hut.


The purpose of this paper is to describe an enhanced approach to Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC). The new approach enables end-devices to act as cloud server nodes enabled by mimik hybrid edge cloud platform in close collaboration with MEC. We first review the client/server software architecture and its evolution to microservice architecture. We will then illustrate the benefits of the new approach where all connected nodes on the network can act as cloud servers. This new approach keeps the separation between network, service, and application layers while providing each layer with contextual awareness of other layers for efficiency and optimization. For the purpose of this document, we refer to the existing ETSI's MEC and 3GPP's SA6 architecture [4][5][6][10] as "network-MEC". We also introduce the concept of "hybrid-MEC" where end-devices are included as server nodes as an integral part of MEC. We will show that hybrid-MEC makes MEC more scalable, efficient, and financially feasible. We will also show that it can help improve data privacy and user experience when building cloud-native applications.


Introduction: Karnataka state has a total of 176 blood banks, with a total collection of around 650,000 units annually. From January 2014, all units under the Department of Health and Family Welfare services are tested at NAT Lab established at the Central facility and from September 2014, standalone Regional Blood Transfusion Centre was included in the State Government project. Aim and Objective: The aim of the study is to analyze the nucleic acid testing (NAT) for our donor population and demonstrate consolidation of blood transfusion service through a centralized testing center for NAT and also to assess safety benefits of implementing individual donor NAT (IDNAT). Materials and Methods: We collect nearly 40,000 units annually from voluntary donors with 30% repeat donations. The donors undergo strict predonation counseling, donor questionnaire, and medical examination. The units collected are tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) by ECI using VItros 3600. All the units are tested by NAT at Central NAT Lab, screened by Procleix® Panther System by Grifols. Results: From September 2014 to March 2016, total 50,903 samples tested for NAT. Of 50,903 samples, 588 samples (1.15%) were reactive by Chemiluminescence including 265 for HBV, 188 for HCV, and 135 for HIV. Total NAT reactive samples were 254, out of this 11 reactive for HIV-1 (0.02%), 2 reactive for HCV (0.003%), 235 (0.46%) reactive for HBV. There was one HIV and 10 HBV infection cases that were not detected by serology but reactive by NAT. The yield detected is 0.021% or one in 5000. Conclusion: The IDNAT project has helped in preventing window period infections thus reducing the treatment cost and burden on healthcare. It has added benefits in blood safety and should be considered along with the basic quality assured blood transfusion system such as volunteer base for blood donation, provision of donor self-deferral, donor notification, and quality assured sensitive serological methods.


There are several trust building models in consumer-supply environments, but e-government being a recent innovation has no such well defined model at this point in time. Such trust building model for e-government is needed to demystify the e-government concept and help effective adoption and use of e-government services by citizens and other stakeholders. This paper is situated in developing countries' context with evolving democracies and a history of bad governance characterised by authoritarian rule, lack of accountability and rule of law, limited transparency and little respect for human rights. The objectives of the paper are four-fold: first to demystify e-government concept; secondly to review trust building models from a cross disciplinary perspective; thirdly, to assess attempts being made by some jurisdictions to build citizens trust in e-government and shortcomings of such attempts; and finally, to propose an integrated model for building trust of citizens in e-government.
E-government is a complex field which, for the most part, remains unexplored. Besides, e-government, presents a new approach to improving service delivery to citizens with minimal contact with the service provider, except through technology. E-government is composed of various kinds of interactions, such as Business to Business (B2B), Citizens to Government (C2G), Government to Government (G2G), and Business to Government (B2G), which raise a number of ethical issues such as, system acceptability; usability of a system; system's security; interactivity; interoperability; data protection; intellectual property rights; freedom of information; universal access; privacy; confidentiality; accountability; transparency; respect for human rights, multilingualism; user satisfaction; quality of the service; system availability; transversality of processes and data to mention a few. These issues have implications for citizens' trust in e-government. Models are important tools for understanding or studying a complex problem or phenomena such as e-government. We propose an integrated model for building citizens' trust in e-government. Our proposed model is considered to be a work in progress and we invite further research to test it. It is hoped that this model would help to develop e-government environments that are trustworthy and useable by citizens. It is not meant to be one-size-fits all, but generic model that would be tailor-made for each type of e-government interaction.


Perhaps one of the most remarkable retail developments of the nineteenth century was the emergence of the department store. This type of store not only helped in establishing a solid middle-class based consumer culture but also in shaping the modern world with all that technology and art had to offer. For millions of people department stores represented the best of what progress symbolised, introducing consumers to the latest in design, art, taste and styles. Some stores were so successful that they became economic giants achieving public company status on the same level as heavy industry, transportation and finance. The department store developed into a worldwide phenomenon with spectacular examples appearing first in Paris, London, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York, all industrial cities with their large populations, urbanization, mass transport and large-scale production. Although traditionally department stores are thought of in terms of clothing and fashion, and most of them in Britain started out as draperies, for the period 1890 to 1914 I will be referring particularly to the type of department store that turned their furniture and furnishings departments into their most prominent ones. Departments in this category would include furniture, wallpaper, curtains, carpets, upholstery, lamps and fireplaces among many other articles. In London such stores included Maple, Heal, Shoolbred, Waring & Gillow, John Barker, Hampton & Son, Oetzmann and Whiteley. Their growth and success reflected the dissemination of modern business methods such as applying economies of scale, which allowed them to bring costs down and also gave them increased control over production supplied by cabinet makers and manufacturers. The expansion of this industry was also based on the relentless growth of the urban middle-class, developing with it an inter-dependent relationship that strengthened a culture of consumption targeting the home, and helped in turn shape and define middle-class status. This paper will focus on one type of display architecture that proved very popular and was crucial to the success of the department store at the time; that is, the model interior, or 'specimen room' as it was labeled in trade catalogues. It will show that there was a strong link between the growth and expansion of department stores and the refining of modes of display, including model interiors.


This paper considers the input-erasure Gaussian channel. In contrast to the output-erasure channel where erasures are applied to the output of a linear time-invariant (LTI) system, here erasures, known to the receiver, are applied to the inputs of the LTI system. Focusing on the case where the input symbols are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d)., it is shown that the two channels (input- and output-erasure) are equivalent. Furthermore, assuming that the LTI system consists of a two-tap finite impulse response (FIR) filter, and using simple properties of tri-diagonal matrices, an achievable rate expression is presented in the form of an infinite sum. The results are then used to study the benefits of joint multicell processing (MCP) over single-cell processing (SCP) in a simple linear cellular uplink, where each mobile terminal is received by only the two nearby base-stations (BSs). Specifically, the analysis accounts for ergodic shadowing that simultaneously blocks the mobile terminal (MT) signal from being received by the two BS. It is shown that the resulting ergodic per-cell capacity with optimal MCP is equivalent to that of the two-tap input-erasure channel. Finally, the same cellular uplink is addressed by accounting for dynamic user activity, which is modelled by assuming that each MT is randomly selected to be active or to remain silent throughout the whole transmission block. For this alternative model, a similar equivalence results to the input-erasure channel are reported.


Summary The tail of dogs and allies (Canidae) is important for intraspecific communication. We used a life-sized dog model and varied the tail length and motion as an experimental method of examining effects of tail-docking on intraspecific signaling in domestic dogs, Canis familiaris. We videotaped interactions of 492 off-leash dogs and quantified size and behaviour of approaching dogs to the model's four tail conditions (short/still, short/wagging, long/still, long/wagging). Larger dogs were less cautious and more likely to approach a long/wagging tail rather than a long/still tail, but did not differ in their approach to a short/still and a short/wagging tail. Using discriminant analyses of behavioural variables, dogs responded with an elevated head and tail to a long/wagging tail model relative to the long/still tail model, but did not show any differences in response to tail motion when the model's tail was short. Our study provides evidence that a longer tail is more effective at conveying different intraspecific cues, such as those provided by tail motion, than a shorter tail and demonstrates the usefulness of robotic models when investigating complex behavioural interactions.


A PROJECT BY Kate Briggs and Lucrezia Russo
PUBLISHED BY
information as material
WITH WORK BY
Graham Allen, James Arnett, Abraham Asfaw, Anne Attali, Katarzyna Bazarnik, Derek Beaulieu, Paul Becker, Christian Bok, Shanna Bosley, Stephen Bury, Chloe Briggs, Kate Briggs, Maurice Carlin, Jennifer Carr, Guillaume Constantin, Jamie Crewe, Veronique Devoldere, Lucia della Paolera, Craig Dworkin, Zenon Fajfer, Helen Frank, Celine Guyot, John Hamilton, Sharon Kivland, Gianni Lavacchini, Anna-Louise Milne, Forbes Morlock, Simon Morris, Amy Pettifer, Lucrezia Russo, Olivia Sautreuil, Nick Thurston, Jane Topping, Madeleine Walton, Patrick Wildgust, Robert Williams and Jack Aylward-Williams, Sarah Wood, Gillian Wylde
The Nabokov Paper is an experiment in novel-reading. The project takes as its starting point a now famous class taught during the 1950s by Vladimir Nabokov at Cornell University, New York State, entitled Literature 311-312: Masters of European Fiction. Nabokov's approach to teaching literary reading was notoriously idiosyncratic. Convinced that one must teach the books themselves, not ideas or generalities, Nabokov would make diagrams of the floor plans of fictional buildings, map the routes taken by characters through the spaces of the novel, and draw items of clothing or furniture; he would also propose to track the course of a single letter, offer a visual representation of a stylistic device, and uncover what he called the mysteries of literary structures. His methods are striking for the range of gestures they call for in the name of good reading. The published Lectures on Literature (New York: Harcourt, 1980) concludes with an appendix of sample exam questions. Responding to those questions some sixty years after the fact offers a means to explore what Nabokov's take on how to read might have to teach us today: about the novel, about how reading works across practices and disciplines, and about the past, present and future forms of literary criticism.

In April 2012, ten artists, eight writers, six university professors, three translators, two architects, a librarian, a curator, a graphic designer, an illustrator and a computer engineer each selected a question on one of seven course texts: Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Charles Dickens's Bleak House, Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", Marcel Proust's Swann's Way, and James Joyce's Ulysses. The responses they turned in take the form of writing, drawing, painting, film, graphs, indexes, lists, maps, newly designed editions, objects, scale-models, a lecture and a reading game. This work, together with an introduction to the aims of the project, is presented in The Nabokov Paper – a publication that acts both as a record of the experiment and an invitation to undertake it again.


Abstract. Several cases of aerosol plumes resulting from trans-Pacific transport were observed between 2 km and 5.3 km at Whistler, BC from 22 April 2006 to 15 May 2006. The fine particle ( 1 μm) were enhanced in all sulphate plumes. Fine particle organic mass concentrations were relatively low in most plumes and were nominally anti-correlated with the increases in the number concentrations of coarse particles. The ion chemistry of coarse particles sampled at Whistler Peak was dominated by calcium, sodium, nitrate, sulphate and formate. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy of coarse particles sampled from the NCAR C-130 aircraft relatively close to Whistler indicated carbonate, potassium and organic functional groups, in particular the carboxyl group. Asian plumes reaching Whistler, BC during the INTEX-B study were not only significantly reduced of fine particle organic material, but organic compounds were attached to coarse particles in significant quantities. Suspension of dust with deposited organic material and scavenging of organic materials by dust near anthropogenic sources are suggested, and if any secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was formed during transport from Asian source regions across the Pacific it was principally associated with the coarse particles. An average of profiles indicates that trans-Pacific transport between 2 and 5 km during this period increased ozone by about 10 ppbv and fine particle sulphate by 0.2–0.5 μg m−3. The mean sizes of the fine particles in the sulphate plumes were larger when dust particles were present and smaller when the fine particle organic mass concentration was larger and dust was absent. The coarse particles of dust act to accumulate sulphate, nitrate and organic material in larger particles, diminishing the role of these compounds in indirect radiative forcing, but potentially enhancing their roles in direct radiative forcing.


Effective 1 November 2003, the Bank of Canada abandoned its practice of backdating the results of settlement of payments through the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS). It has adopted instead a system of "next-day" settlement under which the results of the settlement process will appear on the central bank's books on the day the items actually settle in the ACSS. Since July 1986, settlement of these items had occurred at noon the day after items were presented for clearing, but the results were recognized on the Bank's books the previous day, through backdating, or "retroactive" settlement. The new system should simplify the payment process and improve the reporting of settlement risk, as well as promote cost-effectiveness within the payment systems. ACSS participants have agreed among themselves to implement an interest-compensation mechanism in order to avoid imposing a float charge on their customer base.


A theoretical analysis of asymmetrical diffraction in Raman-Nath, intermediate and Bragg diffraction regimes is presented. The asymmetry is achieved by combining matched periodic modulations of the phase and of the loss/gain of the material, which enables the breakdown of optical symmetry and redirects all resulting optical energy in only positive or only negative diffraction orders, depending on the quarter period shift directions between the phase and the loss/gain modulations. Analytic expressions for the amplitudes of the diffraction orders are derived based on rigorous multimode coupled mode equations in slowly varying amplitude approximation.


The British 'New Wave' of dramatists, actors and directors in the late 1950s and 1960s created a defining moment in post-war theatre. British Realist Theatre is an accessible introduction to the New Wave, providing the historical and cultural background which is essential for a true understanding of this influential and dynamic era. Drawing upon contemporary sources as well as the plays themselves, Stephen Lacey considers the plays' influences, their impact and their critical receptions. The playwrights discussed include: * Edward Bond * John Osborne * Shelagh Delaney * Harold Pinter


PURPOSE
To evaluate the potential use of a C-arm mounted X-ray image intensifier (XRII) system to generate three-dimensional computed rotational angiograms during interventional neuroradiologic procedures.

METHODS
A clinical angiographic system was modified to allow collection of sufficient views during selective intraarterial contrast injections for CT reconstruction of a 15 x 15 x 15-cm3 volume. Image intensifier distortion and C-arm instabilities were corrected by using image-based techniques. The impact of the pulsatile nature of the vessels during image data acquisition and of the presence of bone on the 3-D reconstructions was investigated by generating 3-D reconstructions of an anesthetized 20-kg pig and of a human skull phantom.

RESULTS
A sequence of images sufficient for 3-D reconstruction was acquired in less than 5 seconds. Image intensifier distortion and C-arm instabilities were corrected to subpixel accuracy (0.035 mm and 0.07 mm, respectively). Both the intracranial vessels of the pig and the small, high-contrast structures in the skull were reconstructed with negligible artifacts.

CONCLUSIONS
Using a C-arm mounted XRII system, computed rotational angiography can provide true 3-D images of diagnostic quality.


The International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA; one of the eight Associations of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, IUGG) is concerned with the understanding and knowledge that result from studies of the magnetic and electrical properties of the Earth's core, mantle and crust, of the middle and upper atmosphere, of the ionosphere and the magnetosphere, of the Sun, the solar wind, the planets and interplanetary bodies and their possible interconnections. Research activities in these fields are developed in Italy at several universities and major national research organizations, such as Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR); these activities are usually conducted in the frame of international projects and collaborations. The IAGA Italian Committee (U. Villante, National Delegate, University of L'Aquila; L. Vigliotti, Vice-Delegate, CNR/ISMAR, Bologna; F. Berrilli, University of Tor Vergata; R. Bruno, INAF-IAPS; L. Cafarella, INGV; G. Consolini, INAF-IAPS; A. De Santis, INGV; M. Pezzopane, INGV; A. Siniscalchi, University of Bari), in cooperation with INGV, CNR and Area di Ricerca in Astrogeofisica, organized the National Conference "From the Sun to the Earth's Interior" (21-22 February, 2018) with the specific intent to stimulate the participation of young researchers, their mutual knowledge, the possibility to meet and discuss with more experienced researchers. To this end, the Committee has also provided a prize for the best scientific contributions presented by young researchers. The Conference was attended by about eighty researchers who discussed themes and presented results in the sectors in which IAGA operates, with both oral and poster contributions. Some of the papers presented during the Conference are collected in this special issue. They deal with a variety of subjects. Some studies have analysed magnetic field measurements with different time resolutions, from milliseconds to hours, to locate the position of polar cusp (Marzocchetti et al., 2019), to reconstruct the plasmaspheric cold plasma density distribution (Del Corpo et al., 2019), to analyze the effects on the ground generated by the geomagnetically induced currents during the occurrence of geomagnetic storms (Tozzi et al., 2019), to study the scaling properties of the geomagnetic field's spatial fluctuations at both high latitudes (in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere) and low and mid latitudes (De Michelis et al., 2019), but also to investigate, along with electric field measurements, the anomalous electromagnetic signals generated in response to the propagation of a mechanical perturbation within the subsoil (Balasco et al., 2019). Magnetic measurements are also used by Ghezzi et al. (2019) to perform an analysis of the errors that affect magnetic anomaly data as regards the archaeological geophysics. Other studies are instead based on ionospheric measurements to investigate how the F2-layer critical frequency varied over Rome during the last three solar minima (Ippolito, 2019), to study both the dynamical properties of the electron density and the scaling properties of the electron density fluctuations at high latitudes in response to changes in the geomagnetic activity (Giannattasio et al., 2019), and to carry out an interhemispheric comparison between high-latitude ionospheric observations in response to peculiar solar wind conditions (D'Angelo et al., 2019). Floating potential time series measured by the DEMETER satellite are instead used by Materassi et al. (2019) to characterise plasma irregularities in the equatorward boundary of the auroral oval, relying on the recently proposed ALIF method. Last but not least, a statistical approach for the computation of kinematic propagation of interplanetary coronal mass ejections has been developed and presented in order to forecast in real-time their propagation and arrival at Earth (Del Moro et al., 2019). The hospitality of the INGV, the support of the Area di Ricerca in Astrogeofisica, and the endorsement of the CNR are gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also due to the Editorial board of Annals of Geophysics for the publication of this volume dedicated to the Conference. The Editors G. Consolini, INAF-IAPS, Roma, Italy P. De Michelis, INGV, Roma, Italy M. Pezzopane, INGV, Roma, Italy U. Villante, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy


Unlike the previous speaker transmitting audio content in one-way, the speaker in ubiquitous era is expected to offer useful and interesting information to media consumer and take a role as a new media nowadays. This research suggests Ubiquitous Sound service business model that can realize 'Seamlessness' between an individual user and a speaker in the Ubiquitous computing environment. Unlike the previous speaker appealing to the human's auditory sense, U-Speaker enables the seamless information transmission between speaker and users by providing the personal device users with the content link as well as the content from the speaker. This paper suggests four kinds of U-Speaker scenarios that can be realized in ubiquitous computing environment through various technical alternatives and analyze the participants and their roles of the business model.


School-aged children are the age group least protected by malaria interventions such as bed nets, despite being the age group most likely to be infected with malaria parasites. Effective targeting of malaria interventions among this age group is hampered by the lack of detailed data on the epidemiology of malaria. This thesis aims to describe the epidemiology of malaria among school children in Kenya and explores the usefulness of school-based approaches in malaria surveillance and control. A nationwide school malaria survey was carried across the different malaria ecologies in Kenya. These data allowed analysis in different settings of risk factors for Plasmodium infection and anaemia and the evaluation of alternate malaria diagnostic methods. A cluster randomised trial was conducted in coastal Kenya to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based distribution of mosquito nets. Finally, the congruence between reports of net use from school and household surveys was evaluated. Prevalence of Plasmodium infection was low overall, but varied markedly across the country. Risk factors for Plasmodium infection and anaemia varied by malaria transmission zone, with net use associated with reduced odds of infection in only coastal and western highland epidemic zones. The school-based distribution of mosquito nets was associated with an increase in reported net use but had no impact on Plasmodium infection or anaemia. In terms of identifying infection among individuals and populations, malaria rapid diagnostic tests represent a cheap diagnostic approach, especially in low and high prevalence settings. School surveys can also provide a reliable estimate of net use among both school children and households. Collectively, these results highlight the burden of malaria among Kenyan school children but show how this burden varies by transmission setting, emphasizing the need for a geographically targeted approach to tackling malaria. The results also demonstrate the role that schools can play in the surveillance and control of malaria.


: In today's globalised world, many issues have become controversial. These controversial issues affect society and the individuals who form them. It is inevitable that these topics are brought into social studies classrooms, because this learning area is profoundly related to society. Social studies teachers' behaviours, attitudes, and professional knowledge are crucial in teaching controversial issues. The goal of this study was to investigate social studies teachers' opinions and practices regarding teaching controversial issues in Turkey. The study utilised a mixed method in which both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The quantitative data for this study were collected from 646 social studies teachers in different cities in Turkey. The qualitative data were collected through observation of eight social studies teachers who were working in schools situated in areas at four different socioeconomic levels in the Kirsehir province. The content analysis method was used to analyse the qualitative data. The results indicated that there are differences between the teachers' opinions and their practices in teaching controversial issues. The study also found that teachers are faced with academic, professional, and emotional challenges in teaching controversial issues.


In two recent Australian and New Zealand novels, Christos Tsiolkas' Dead Europe (2005) and Elizabeth Knox's The Vintner's Luck (1999) respectively, Europe is cast as hell according to the matter of abjection and the temporality of the sublime. As Kristeva theorises this relationship, "the abject is edged with the sublime. It is not the same moment on the journey, but the same subject and speech bring them into being." (1982:11) This essay investigates these two moments arguing that the irruption of the abject or shock of the sublime also enacts a temporal disturbance. In Dead Europe and The Vintner's Luck, the immanence of the abject and sublime is figured according to an insistence on embodiment, propelled by homoerotic and perverse desires and haunted by an irreducible otherness. This essay takes up the theme of ASAL 2007 "the colonial present" in its consideration of temporality and substance – the present, and presence – in these two novels that flesh out queer spaces within individual and national identity.
These two texts, individually, but perhaps more potently in their conversation, figure queerness as the becoming and undoing of the subject, the locus of a necessary impossibility and a queer opposition to the logic of opposition.
This essay analyses The Vintner's Luck, and Dead Europe in order to show, via the rhetorical operations of queerness, how the dark matter of literature, by seeping into impossible spaces, opens up new possibilities.


Field experience has shown that subsynchronous oscillation and harmonic resonance can occur between wind farms (WFs) and high voltage dc (HVdc) systems. The oscillations can appear in the presence of background harmonics due to the interaction between the wind energy conversion system's (WECS's) converter controller, HVdc converter controller, and the impact of the interconnection system impedance. However, the root causes of these oscillations observed in the field are not entirely understood and they can be attributed to various sources within the components and controllers of the interconnected system. This paper explores the possible causes of these oscillations by investigating the impact of controllers and components in the WF and in the voltage-source converter (VSC)-based HVdc transmission system. In order to understand this phenomenon, the impedance of both the WF and the HVdc from the offshore ac collection point is analytically derived to identify potential resonance points. The impedance frequency responses of the WF and the HVdc converter indicate the potential resonance at low frequency. The origin of these oscillations can be attributed to the propagation of the WECS resonance through the WECS full converter dc link and the interaction between the WECS and the HVdc system. Once the source and the load impedance are identified, an impedance-based stability method is adopted in order to determine the stability. In an attempt to improve the oscillatory phenomena, an active damping scheme is implemented on the offshore HVdc rectifier. An analysis and time-domain simulation results with its respective harmonic spectra show that the implemented active damping is very effective in eliminating the oscillations observed in the interconnected system. Moreover, this paper presents the role of the ratio between the bandwidths of the interconnected areas, as having an essential role in the root cause of the instability. The general rule is observed that when the bandwidth of the HVdc rectifier (which is the source) is faster than the bandwidth of the load (WFs inverter); the system operates stably.


This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of higher education in diverse democracies. A penetrating exploration of affirmative action's continued place in 21st-century higher education, "The Next Twenty-five Years" assembles the viewpoints of some of the most influential scholars, educators, university leaders, and public officials. Its comparative essays range the political spectrum and debates in two nations to survey the legal, political, social, economic, and moral dimensions of affirmative action and its role in helping higher education contribute to a just, equitable, and vital society.


Non-empty space reading of Maxwell equations as local energy identities explains why a Coulomb field is carried rigidly by electrons in experiments. The analytical solution of the Poisson equation defines the sharp radial shape of charged elementary densities which are proportional to continuous densities of electric self-energy. Inward and outward longitudinal waves within the continuous electron reshape its radial energy structure in external fields. Both Coulomb field and radial charge densities are free from energy divergences. Non-empty space of electrically charged mass-energy can be described by complex analytical densities resulting in real values for volume mass integrals and in imaginary values for volume charge integrals. Imaginary electric charges in the Newton gravitational law comply with real Coulomb forces. Unification of forces through complex charges rids them of radiation self-acceleration.


In this paper, the authors review some of the recent advances in the theory of photonic crystals, drawing examples from their own work in magnetooptical and dynamic photonic crystals. The combination of theory and simulations shows that these crystal structures exhibit rich optical physics effects and can provide new ways to accomplish sophisticated optical information-processing tasks


Membrane Distillation may be applied over several different configurations to carry out seawater desalination. Using a microporous non-selective hydrophobic membrane, a finite air gap, and a cool surface in a particular arrangement, heat transfer may be employed to drive the transport of only water vapour across the membrane. Several limitations in conventional Membrane Distillation platforms dramatically reduce the viability of this water purification technology, namely low transmembrane fluxes, high thermal energy requirements, and low freshwater recovery rates. Keppel Seghers, through the logical application of system integration expertise, has succeeded in systematically removing these limitations during the development of Memstill technology. Memstill technology is a proprietary application of Membrane Distillation in an ideal counter-current flow configuration which allows for highly efficient recovery of heat within the desalination process. The recovery of heat within the Memstill process allows desalination to be driven with a minimal heat input. As such, Memstill desalination may be conducted using waste heat sources that would otherwise be rejected to the atmosphere. In addition, the efficient recovery of heat from the outlet stream of Memstill implies that it may be discharged at significantly lower temperatures than conventional thermal Membrane Distillation platforms. Keppel Seghers has conducted three previous pilot trials of Memstill technology, and is prepared to design, build, own and operate a Memstill demonstration plant with a freshwater production capacity of about 100 m 3 /day on a petroleum refinery in Singapore. This work will be carried out with the support of PUB.


Growth in Neurospora proceeds by the highly polarised extension of hyphal tips and the formation of new tips (branches). While much attention has been devoted to tip growth, the mechanisms responsible for the decision to form a branch are unknown. One important issue is the degree to which the decision to branch is made independently by each tip, or is under the control of proximal regions of the colony. We address this question by comparing the lengths of branch intervals growing from one branch point. We find significant correlations between such intervals under nearly all circumstances tested. In contrast, we find no significant correlation between branch intervals adjacent in series. The strength of the correlation depends on the qualitative nature of the branches surveyed. Dichotomous/apical branching shows a high degree of correlation while lateral branching shows a weaker but still statistically significant correlation (this difference cannot be explained either by differences between the growth rates or distributions of lengths of branch intervals). We interpret the observed correlations to mean that the decision to form a branch is not independently controlled by the tip where the branch forms. Instead it is determined, at least in part, by factors at or close to the previous branch.