What are the impacts of a re-designed public transportation system in a city where social differences are heavily manifested in spatial separation, i.e. where exist certain inequalities concerning the access to daily activities and participation in urban life? Are the changes just of transport-related manner, resulting in changes in accessibility conditions? Or might there be further impacts on people's mobility behaviour, or even on economic and spatial structures within the city, affecting the manifestation or dissolution of social differences? What, moreover, happens, if the new system presents a set of functioning problems, and the systematic changes are very drastic, neglecting existent peoples' preferences and habits concerning the entire urban transport system, including private modes? What are the concrete reasons for people's lack of capability to cope with the new system? Finally, are there any measures to be implemented to support the societal acceptance of the new transportation system, in favour of a profitable exploitation, social interaction among users and thus, social cohesion? These are the main interests of the PhD-related research presented in this article, giving some insights into the theoretical framework, the methodological approach and first findings concerning the "role of public urban transport in the context of social inclusion and cohesion". The PhD has recently been started at the EPFL in Lausanne/Switzerland and is principally based on the case study area of Santiago de Chile. There the national government implemented in February 2007 the new Transantiago system, representing an ambitious approach to substitute the previous rather de-regulated low-quality service by a modern and efficient one. So a new trunk and feeder line network was re-designed from scratch, whose main skeleton is constituted by the existent public metro service and complemented by privately operated bus lines. Unfortunately, the first experiences with the Transantiago have been merely negative, due to a set of technical and institutional problems and further social and cultural obstacles. Even if the national authorities committed to implement all design modifications as soon as possible, some problems are expected to remain also in a long term. Today, the Transantiago presents a hot topic in political debates and everyone's daily life discussions. After the subsequent theoretical insights, the case study area of Santiago de Chile is presented, describing the urban development framework, the previous transportation service and the main problems related to the new Transantiago system. On this basis the research hypothesizes and objectives as well as the methodological approach are introduced. The final part offers some first findings for the Santiago case and bridges to the conference topic dealing with spatial inequalities due to public action.


Synaptic transmission in cortex depends on both the history of synaptic activity and the location of individual anatomical contacts within the dendritic tree. This thesis analyses key aspects of the roles of both these factors and, in particular, extends many of the results for deterministic synaptic transmission to a more naturalistic stochastic framework.

Firstly, I consider how correlations in neurotransmitter vesicle occupancy arising from synchronous activity in a presynaptic population interact with the number of independent release sites, a parameter recently shown to be modified during long-term plasticity. I study a model of multiple-release-site short-term plasticity and derive exact results for the postsynaptic voltage variance. Using approximate results for the postsynaptic firing rate in the limits of low and high correlations, I demonstrate that short-term depression leads to a maximum response for an intermediate number of presynaptic release sites, and that this in turn leads to a tuning-curve response peaked at an optimal presynaptic synchrony set by the number of neurotransmitter release sites per presynaptic neuron. As the nervous system operates under constraints of efficient metabolism it is likely that this phenomenon provides an activity-dependent constraint on network architecture.

Secondly, I consider how synapses exhibiting short-term plasticity transmit spike trains when spike times are autocorrelated. I derive exact results for vesicle occupancy and postsynaptic voltage variance in the case that spiking is a renewal process, with uncorrelated interspike intervals (ISIs). The vesicle occupancy predictions are tested experimentally and shown to be in good agreement with the theory. I demonstrate that neurotransmitter is released at a higher rate when the presynaptic spike train is more regular, but that positively autocorrelated spike trains are better drivers of the postsynaptic voltage when the vesicle release probability is low. I provide accurate approximations to the postsynaptic firing rate, allowing future studies of neuronal circuits and networks with dynamic synapses to incorporate physiologically relevant spiking statistics.

Thirdly, I develop a Bayesian inference method for synaptic parameters. This expands on recent Bayesian approaches in that the likelihood function is exact for both the quantal and dynamic synaptic parameters. This means that it can be used to directly estimate parameters for common synaptic models with few release sites. I apply the method to simulated and real data; demonstrating a substantial improvement over analysis techniques that are based around the mean and variance.

Finally, I consider a spatially extended neuron model where the dendrites taper away from the soma. I derive an accurate asymptotic solution for the voltage profile in a dendritic cable of arbitrary radius profile and use this to determine the profile that optimally transfers voltages to the soma. I find a precise quadratic form that matches results from non-parametric numerical optimisation. The equation predicts diameter profiles from reconstructed cells, suggesting that dendritic diameters optimise passive transfer of synaptic currents.


This ethnographic account of seafarers considers issues of transnationalism in the twenty-first century and discusses the detailed life experiences of migrant workers in this context. It argues for a consideration of the social space available to transnational migrant workers and suggests that the transnational experiences of migrants may be more likely to involve exclusion and alienation than an expansion of social space as a result of bi-location in more than one community.
Based upon original qualitative research in three different settings, the book draws upon voyages undertaken by the author on five different working cargo ships. It describes the situation of seafarers from Cape Verde and Ghana searching for work in northern Germany and considers the perspectives of women married to Indian seafarers resident in Goa and Mumbai.
This highly readable book will be of interest to readers from a variety of disciplines who are interested in ethnography, particularly in the fields of social sciences and humanities who are interested in issues of migration, transnationalism, work, the shipping industry and globalisation. It will also appeal to individuals with a connection to, or an interest in, the merchant navy.


Decision-making in the regional economy from the point of view of the cluster approach is gaining increasing popularity in Russia. Clustering contributes to the effectiveness of regional development, and, in turn, necessitates the development of a cluster policy that would increase the benefits of the region and the national economy. The paper presents the results of the study of regional clusters of the Far East of the Russian Federation. The aim of the paper is to develop a methodology that allows identifying clustering processes and its approbation (case study of the Far Eastern Federal District). The developed methodology makes it possible to determine the stage of the life cycle of an identified cluster, as well as to find the problem factors that impede its development. The study is based on the methodology of the European Cluster Observatory, supplemented by indicators of investment in fixed assets and the sectoral structure of gross value added, as well as a method for analyzing the structural shifts in the economy. The criteria for assessing the stage of the operation of clusters based on the introduced scale are proposed. Because of the calculations, it was revealed that most identified clusters are at the stage of cluster initiatives' formation, except for the fishery cluster of the Sakhalin Region, which is defined by the authors as formed. Other identified clusters belong to the following economic activities: "mining", "production and distribution of electricity, gas and water", "public administration and ensuring military security", "transportation and communications" and "health and social services". At the same time, there is practically no cluster development in processing types of economic activity and service sectors. The presented results testify to the high share of raw materials' production in the economy of the Far East, which reduces the likelihood of implementing the current state policy for the development of an innovative economy.


Researchers have alluded to the power of mentorship to connect the new administrator to the organization. Following the lead of business, the field of education is now recognizing mentoring as a critical component of effective leadership development. Daresh (2001) suggests there is a need for a more practical and effective approach to prepare the leaders of our schools. New administrators have little choice but to experience on-the-job training, without any formal support in place. Administrative mentoring programs are growing in attention due to the projected principal shortages, concerns about qualified candidates, and the changing role of the building level principal. This study sought to fill in a gap in the research by investigating the components of a mentoring relationship that impact new practicing principals' perceptions of the role that mentors played in their professional development and job satisfaction. The mentors' perspectives were examined to determine how they improved their own performance through the mentoring relationship. In addition, the study compared perceptions of first year principals with those of their mentors. Four main research questions framed this study: (a) what are the effects, if any, of the administrative mentoring program on the first-year principal; (b) do mentor/mentee relationships provide professional development; (c) are administrators who have had mentor/mentee relationships more confident in their position? and (d) what impact, if any, does a mentor/mentee relationship in formal mentoring programs have on a new administrator's sense of job satisfaction? A mixed methods approach was used in this research study. The researcher used quantitative survey research augmented by qualitative interviews. The researcher paralleled the information learned in the interviews to the data from the surveys through the narrative. This study shows an increased confidence level of the new administrator in one year. The study also found that the increased confidence level of the new administrator is directly tied to increased job satisfaction. We know people are more satisfied in their work when they feel confident about the work they are doing and see results. The increased job satisfaction could lead to administrators staying in their positions longer, which has a direct impact on school districts. Not only is there an increased likelihood that a new administrator will stay in his or her position longer, but there is an increased chance the individual will stay in the profession over time. In the day of administrator shortages, increased longevity of service has a positive impact on schools and the educational leadership profession. The Wallace Foundation (2007) describes benefits to the organization from a mentoring program as promoting positive organizational climate, clarifying roles and expectations, increasing satisfaction and retention rates, and mentoring suggests commitment to employees.


The propagation of a plasmon surface wave in deep metallic lamellar gratings is shown to be characterized by absorption losses smaller than on a flat metallic-dielectric interface. This feature is due to the formation of a resonance of the electric field inside the groove. Similar to the plasmon surface wave in shallow gratings, this kind of plasmon can lead to total absorption of incident light and to a significant enhancement of the local field density in the vicinity of the grating surface, contrary to the other type of grating anomaly linked with a cavity resonance.


Context: This study has been conducted in the area of train rescheduling. One of the most common types of disturbance scenarios are trains which have deviated from their originally planned arrival or departure times. This type of disturbance is of today handled manually by the train dispatcher, which in some cases can be cumbersome and overwhelmingly complex to solve. Therefore, there is an essential need for a train re-scheduling decision support system.Objectives: The aim of the study is to determine if parallel adaptations of simulated annealing(SA), and tabu search(TS) are able to find high quality solutions for the train re-scheduling problem. The study also aims to compare the two proposed meta-heuristics in order to determine the more adequate algorithm for the given problem.Methods: To answer the research question sequential and parallel versions of the algorithms were implemented. Further the research methodology of choice was experiment, were the meta-heuristics are evaluated based on 10 disturbance scenarios.Results: Parallel simulated annealing(PSA) is overall the better performing algorithm, as it is able to reduce the total delay by 585 seconds more than parallel tabu search(PTS) for the 10 disturbance scenarios. However, PTS is able to solve more conflicts per millisecond than PTS, when compared to their sequential versions.Conclusions: We conclude that both the parallel versions perform better than their sequential versions. Further, PSA is clearly able to outperform PTS in terms of minimizing the accumulated delay. One observation is that the parallel versions are not reaching their max efficiency per thread, this is assumed to be caused by the RAM. For future work we propose further investigation of why we are not reaching the max efficiency per thread, and further improvement of algorithm settings.


Deltamethrin is the most famous neurotoxic synthetic pyrethroid. The present work was mainly designed to evaluate the possible ameliorative role of melatonin against deltamethrin induced cerebellar neurotoxicity in pregnant rats and their offspring. In the present work, 24 pregnant Albino rats were divided into four groups (n=6). The control group received 1 ml/kg bw of ethanol (99%), the melatonin group received a daily oral dose of melatonin (10 mg/kg bw), deltamethrin treated group was received 12.5 mg/kg bw daily of deltamethrin and ameliorative group received deltamethrin simultaneously with melatonin. All groups were received their applicable dose from the 4th day of gestation till the end of weaning period (21th day). The result of the present work revealed that deltamethrin can induce severe histopathological changes in the cerebellar cortex of pregnant rats and their offspring. The immunohistochemical results elucidated strong positive expression for GFAP and weak to moderate immune reaction for synaptophysin in the cerebellar cortex of deltamethrin treated mother's rats and their offspring. Moreover, in deltamethrin treated rats, the serum levels of antioxidants enzymes (SOD, CAT and GSH) as well as serotonin and glutamate showed highly significant decrease if compared with control. Cerebellar tissue analysis revealed that deltamethrin is implicated in induction of apoptosis that confirmed by increased activity of Caspse-3 and decreased activity of bcl2. Post supplementation of melatonin to deltamethrin, successfully ameliorated the adverse histopathological, immmunohistochemical and biochemical changes in cerebellum of mother's rats and their offspring.


In recent years interest has grown in the use of composite components within the automotive industry. Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) components are of particular interest to the industry, since lower tooling costs and part consolidation can be utilised, whilst lighter, stiffer components can be produced. Several methods are available to produce FRP components at high volumes, including compression moulding (using dough and sheet moulding compounds), reinforced reaction injection moulding (RRIM) and liquid moulding processes (resin transfer moulding (RTM) and structural reaction injection moulding (SRIM)). RTM is a closed mould process, which is widely used to produce components economically in low volumes using matched moulds to produce two good surfaces. The absence of a high volume manufacturing technology, however, has impeded the acceptance and advance of RTM within the automotive industry.

A research programme was established at the University of Nottingham to address the problems associated with the use of RTM for high volume manufacture. This programme has considered the topics of process technology, processing characteristics of polyester resin systems and fibre preforms, fibre wet-out and interfacial bonding, mould design, microwave pre-heating of reactive resin systems and process modelling.

This thesis concerns the research which was undertaken to identify the causes of void formation during the impregnation and polymerisation stages of RTM, and methods of reducing the final void content within the component. The impregnation phase of the RTM process was identified as being the stage where the majority of voids were formed. A study of oil impregnation (having a similar viscosity to that of resin) into reinforcement was undertaken to determine the reasons for uneven flow and air entrapment. The dry reinforcements were studied to assess the microstructure of the preforms in order to determine reasons for obstruction of the resin flow. Fabric stitching, thermoplastic binder and size deposits were identified as potential causes of flow impediment. Fibre orientation and preform stacking were also assumed to assist in the development of uneven flow, leading to air entrapment. A major factor determining the formation of microvoids within fibre bundles was identified as the transverse impregnation of resin into high Tex fibre bundles.

The major moulding process variables of injection pressure, vent pressure, fibre volume fraction, mould temperature and resin pre-heating have been assessed, to determine their effect on the void content within unidirectional and CFRM reinforced polyester laminates. It was observed that vacuum assistance during impregnation reduced void formation, although higher exotherm pressures and the possibility of monomer boiling arise from its use.

A simple impregnation model was developed to assess the microscopic impregnation rates between fibre bundles, in the capillary between fibres and transversely into fibre bundles. The results from this model were compared with actual moulding histories. The findings of the overall work are discussed and suggestions proposed for the reduction of void content in RTM automotive components.


For some women writers and photographers during the two world wars - Edith Wharton, Mildred Aldrich, Martha Gellhorn, Lee Miller, H.D. and Gertrude Stein - the construction of the female subject as an observer of combat became a vital concern. Their explorations of vision took place against the backdrop of a larger shift in Western culture's understanding of what "seeing" meant in common practice and philosophical discourse alike. The role of visuality in their lives was transformed not only by the rigid gender roles of war but by the introduction of new combat practices and technologies such as aerial surveillance, trench warfare and civilian bombardment. In "The World Wars Through the Female Gaze", Jean Gallagher maps one portion of the historicized, gendered territory of what Nancy K. Miller calls the "gaze in representation". Expanding the notion of the gaze in critical discourse, Gallagher situates a number of visual acts within specific historic contexts to reconstruct the wartime female subject. She looks at both the female observer's physical act of seeing - and the refusal to see - for example, a battlefield, a wounded soldier, a torture victim, a national flag, a fashion model, a bombed city, or a wartime hallucination. The book begins with two instances of wartime propaganda written by American women in France in 1915. Both Edith Wharton's "Fighting France" and Mildred Aldrich's "A Hilltop on the Marne" offer a complex and often contradictory sense of a woman writer's struggles with authority, resistance and killing. In the process, Gallagher teases out the role of specular vision and the impossibility of "directly" seeing the war. Gallagher then turns to literary and visual texts produced by two female journalists between 1940 and 1945. Martha Gellhorn's 1940 novel "A Stricken Field" exhibits a range of gendered seeing positions within and in opposition to the visual ideologies of fascism during the Nazi occupation of Cezchoslovakia. Lee Miller's war correspondence and photography for "Vogue" show how Miller constructed herself and her predominantly female American audience as antifascist observers of war by working with and against some of the conventions of surrealist fashion photography. Gallagher concludes by focusing on the experimental autobiographical prose of H.D. and Gertrude Stein to explore the functions of vision on two World War II "homefronts" - London during the Blitz and Vichy France.


In fine grinding practice the efficiency of comminution depends largely on the behavior of freshly formed fine particles. In the case of a dry tower mill, fine particles are directly removed due to circulating air flow generated inside the mill, and immediately particles are classified in the classifying column. Especially in the Tower Mill KD - 3, in order to achieve a high classifying efficiency it is essential to reduce the air turbulence in the classifying column. Although it had been provided with the series of nets in the column of the KD - 3, the efficiency of nets was not clarified. In this study, by investigating the roles of nets, it was found that the air turbulence reduced and the classifying efficiency was improved by setting with the nets in the column. The results of these investigations using 4 type columns (CLA 0, CLA 1, CLA 2 and CLA 3) can be summarized as follows: (1) The weights of products in the cyclone increase using the no-nets classifying column (CLA 0), conversely the weights of products in the classifying column decrease. (2) The series of nets in the classifying column have no influence on the electric consumption of the blower motor and stirring motor. (3) The relationship between maximum and 50 % particle diameters was proportionally and by using the columns provided with nets (CLA 1, CLA 2 and CLA 3), the overflow products and underflow products were classified by the high classifying efficiency. (4) The maximum particle diameters of products were indicated by the corrected curve which is estimated by the assumption of Stoke's law. (5) The air flow rate of duct and the pressure drops of the column were approximately quadratic curve. And the maximum particle diameters of products in the cyclone were proportional to the pressure drops of the classifying column.


This paper presents the results of a study on notetaking in university courses and derives implications for the design of electronic notetaking and annotation systems in eLearning. The study focuses on differences between notetaking with a pen and paper or with a laptop and identifies the reasons for preferring the one or the other. Our findings show that notetaking systems should allow handwritten input, as notes on paper are preferred by the majority of students, mainly because they allow unconstrained free-form handwriting and sketches. Moreover, this paper examines context factors which influence notetaking. For this purpose, a context model for notetaking is presented, which distinguishes the four context types of learner, instructor, content and setting. We identified a significant influence of several specific context aspects and therefore conclude that notetaking systems must be adaptable in order to support notetaking in different contexts effectively.


As product designs have become more sophisticated, both the simulation models (e.g., finite element models) and the design optimization models have grown bigger. To keep pace with this increase in problem size, we present and implement an optimization strategy that can run on a computing cluster with demonstrable efficiency. First, parallelism is implemented in the context of gradient calculations using divided differences. Then, parallelism is achieved in the context of both direction-finding and line-search steps. Parallel direction finding improves the convergence rate as opposed to just cutting down the amount of arithmetic. A new algorithm based on method of feasible directions is discussed that obtains better optima and is also computationally faster. Implementation details regarding distribution of computing tasks to improve scalability and load balancing are presented. Numerical examples show the efficiency of the developed methodology on a relatively small computing cluster. Gains of about 7:1 have been obtainable using 16 processors on some test problems. Importantly, the framework presented can be developed by researchers using other gradient-based optimization codes on different computing platforms.


This work evaluates 3D printed E-Band waveguides by selective electron beam melting process with two different scanning pattern approaches. One is the contouring and the other the hatching pattern which are used to draw the waveguide cross section layer wise. The measured signal attenuation can be significantly reduced to only about $\alpha$ ≈ 11–17 dB/m in E-Band by applying the contour strategy despite the relatively large macroscopic RMS surface roughness of Rq ≳ 30 µm. Furthermore, a model based explanation for the measured results is proposed suggesting a distinct separation between microscopic structure geometry and surface roughness for E-Band frequencies and beyond.


Methods to accurately estimate the biophysical and biochemical properties of vegetation are a major research objective of remote sensing. We assess the capability of the MODIS satellite sensor to measure canopy water content and evaluate its relationship to ecosystem exchange (NEE) for an evergreen forest canopy. A time-series of three vegetation indexes were derived from MODIS data, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and the Normalized Difference Infrared Index (NDII), which were compared to physically based estimates of equivalent water thickness (EWT) from the airborne AVIRIS hyperspectral instrument over a temperate conifer forest in southwestern Washington. After cross-calibration of the imagery, water indexes derived from MODIS showed good agreement with AVIRIS EWT, while the NDVI was insensitive to water content variation. Three years of NEE data from eddy covariance measurements at the Wind River AmeriFlux tower were compared with the time series of MODIS indexes, which show seasonal water content has similar trajectory with NEE. In contrast, the MODIS NDVI time series did not yield a good relationship with NEE. This study demonstrates the potential to use MODIS water indexes for spatial and temporal NEE estimation at regional and global scales in appropriate ecosystems.


Imagine that on September 11, 2006, the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, terrorists successfully executed a nuclear terrorist attack in New York City. On a normal working day, more than 500,000 people crowd the area within a half-mile radius of Times Square. The explosion of a Hiroshima-sized nuclear device in midtown Manhattan would have killed all of them instantly. Hundreds of thousands of others would have died in the hours thereafter. The blast would have generated temperatures reaching 540,000 degrees Fahrenheit, instantly vaporizing the Theater District, the New York Times Building, and Grand Central Terminal. The ensuing firestorm would have stretched from Rockefeller Center to the Empire State Building, and buildings from the Metropolitan Museum near 80th street and the Flatiron Building near 20th street would have looked like the Murrah Federal Office Building following the Oklahoma City bombing. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With the recent North Korean nuclear test bringing nuclear danger into sharp relief, many citizens are now asking: how real is the threat of terrorists exploding a nuclear bomb and devastating a great metropolis? Former US Senator Sam Nunn believes the likelihood of a single nuclear bomb exploding in a single city is greater today than at the height of the Cold War. I believe the chances of a nuclear terrorist attack in the next decade are greater than 50 percent, given current trends. Former Secretary of Defense William Perry believes I underestimate the risk of an attack. Warren Buffet, the world's most successful investor, believes a nuclear terrorist attack "will happen. It's inevitable. I don't see any way that it won't happen." Companies that sell catastrophic terrorism insurance exclude nuclear attacks from their policies. Otherwise these insurance companies would be "vulnerable to extinction," in Buffett's words. In April, Bill Emmott stepped down from the helm of The Economist after 13 years as its leader. As is the tradition at The Economist, his final act was a substantial review of developments in the world during his tenure. In his essay, Emmott noted the unbelievable pace and extent of globalization that has occurred over the last 13 years. As he looked to the future, his forecast was faster and deeper globalization. But in conclusion, he asked: what could upset that forecast and even reverse the trend? His answer: a single nuclear bomb exploding in any capital in the world. Nuclear Dangers Today The face of nuclear danger today is a nuclear September 11. As Nobel Prize winner and head of the IAEA Mohamed ElBaradei has warned, "The threat of nuclear terrorism is real and current." UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted, "Nuclear terrorism is still often treated as science fiction. I wish it were. But unfortunately we live in a world of excess hazardous materials and abundant technological know-how, in which some terrorists clearly state their intention to inflict catastrophic casualties ... Were a nuclear terrorist attack to occur, it would cause not only widespread death and destruction, but would stagger the world economy and thrust tens of millions of people into dire poverty." To assess the threat of nuclear terrorism, it is necessary to answer five questions. One, who could be planning a nuclear terrorist attack? Two, what nuclear weapons could be used? Three, where could terrorists acquire a nuclear bomb? Four, could terrorists launch the first nuclear attack? Five, could terrorists deliver a nuclear weapon to its target? Who could be planning a nuclear terrorist attack? Al Qaeda remains a formidable enemy with clear nuclear ambitions. According to Michael Scheuer, the former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency's Bin Laden task force, Bin Laden acquired a fatwa from a Saudi cleric in May 2003 which provided religious justification for the use of nuclear weapons against the United States. …


The distance between perception and reality with respect to the social domains of life is often striking. Using survey data collected on Latin American countries, this paper provides an overview of the main empirical findings on the gaps between perception and reality in four social domains-health, employment, the perception of security, and social ranking. The overview emphasizes the psychological biases that may explain the gaps. Biases associated with cultural values are very relevant with respect to health and job satisfaction. Cultural differences across countries are pronounced in perceptions of health, while cultural differences across socioeconomic groups are more apparent with respect to job satisfaction. Affect and availability heuristics are the dominant sources of bias in the case of perceptions of security. The formation of subjective social rankings appears to be less culturally dependent but more dependent on the socioeconomic development in the country. The gaps between objective and subjective indicators in the social domains of life are a rich source of data to help understand how perceptions are formed, identify important aspects of people's lives that do not appear in official indicators, inform public debate on social policy, and shed light on public attitudes on key social issues.


The proliferation of mobile communication and computing devices, in particular smart mobile phones, is almost paralleled with the increasing number of mobile device forensics tools in the market. Each mobile forensics tool vendor, on one hand claims to have a tool that is best in terms of performance, while on the other hand each tool vendor seems to be using different standards for testing their tools and thereby defining what support means differently. To overcome this problem, a testing framework based on a series of tests ranging from basic forensics tasks such as file system reconstruction up to more complex ones countering antiforensic techniques is proposed. The framework, which is an extension of an existing effort done in 2010, prescribes a method to clearly circumscribe the term support into precise levels. It also gives an idea of the standard to be developed and accepted by the forensic community that will make it easier for forensics investigators to quickly select the most appropriate tool for a particular mobile device.


ABSTRACT Permafrost is ubiquitous at high latitudes, and its thickness is controlled by important local factors like geothermal flux, ground surface temperature and thermal properties of the subsurface. We use airborne transient electromagnetic resistivity measurements to determine permafrost thickness on the coast of Ross Island, Antarctica, which contains the active volcano Mt Erebus. Here, resistivity data clearly distinguish resistive permafrost from the electrically conductive fluid-saturated materials underlying it. For our study, we define permafrost as frozen material with a resistivity > 100 Ω·m; more conductive material contains a significant fraction of water or (more likely) brine. We observe that permafrost is very thin near the coast and thickens within several hundred metres inland to reach depths that are typically within the range of 300–400 m. We attribute the sharp near-shore increase in permafrost thickness to lateral heat conduction from the relatively warm ocean, possibly combined with seawater infiltration into the near-shore permafrost. We validate this result with a two-dimensional heat flow model and conclude that away from the thermal influence of the ocean, the local geothermal gradient and heat flux are about 45 ± 5 °C/km and 90 ± 13 mW/m2, respectively. These values are in line with published estimates in the vicinity of Mt Erebus and within the actively extending Terror Rift, but do not reflect a strong heat flow anomaly from volcanic activity of Mt Erebus. Measurements made previously in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, on the other side of McMurdo Sound, tend to be a few dozens of mW/m2 lower, likely reflecting its different tectonic setting on the uplifted rift shoulder of Transantarctic Mountains. Our study demonstrates a new approach towards constraining geothermal flux in polar regions using airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data that can be relatively efficiently collected on regional scales where ice coverage does not exceed the penetration limits of the AEM device, which for the device used is ∼ 500 m under the favourable conditions in the study area.


Increase of surface wettability on glass was observed after
atmospheric pressure plasma treatment using two different
plasma sources. First used plasma source was Diffuse coplanar
surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) and second was commercial
gliding arc. Standard microscopic cover glasses were used as a
substrate. Examined parameters were water contact angle, aging
effect of plasma treatment, and surface roughness. Different
exposure times (10 s, 20 s) of plasma treatment were examined.
The influence of plasma treatment on surface roughness was
investigated. Aging effect of plasma treatment was faster on
glass treated with gliding arc, than on glass treated with
DCSBD. Therefore DCSBD is a more suitable device for plasma
treatment of glass than gliding arc.


The Endoplasmic Reticulum is the cellular organelle primarily responsible for producing proteins on the secretory pathway, a pathway important in the production of biopharmaceuticals. One of the requirements for the successful production of a functional protein is correct folding of the polypeptide sequence. During conditions such as viral infection, mutant protein expression and cell differentiation the endoplasmic reticulum is placed under conditions of stress. IRE1 is a protein kinase and endoribonuclease, which along with PERK and ATF6, forms part of the Unfolded Protein Response, the system by which the cell deals with the stress caused by a high protein load. IRE1 is capable of increasing the protein folding capacity of the ER, by upregulating chaperone proteins and reducing the load by attenuating translation, (protective response). This action is mediated by splicing of the mRNA coding for the bZIP transcription factor XBP-1. IRE1 is also capable of causing apoptotic responses via TRAF2 (cell injuring response) resulting in the activation of JNK and NFκB. In this study, using site directed mutagenesis a panel of IRE1 mutants was produced and screened for alterations to the protective and cell injuring responses. Of these the D711A mutant was shown in mouse embryonic fibroblasts to retain endoribonuclease activity, and to display an attenuated cell injuring response. When this mutant was applied to an industrial CHO cell line it appeared to exhibit an increase in biopharmaceutical productivity over the wild type IRE1, indicating its potential for use in the biopharmaceutical cell lines.


Multivariate time series data are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in varies real-world applications such as smart city, power plant monitoring, wearable devices, etc. Given the current time series segment, how to retrieve similar segments within the historical data in an efficient and effective manner is becoming increasingly important. As it can facilitate underlying applications such as system status identification, anomaly detection, etc. Despite the fact that various binary coding techniques can be applied to this task, few of them are specially designed for multivariate time series data in an unsupervised setting. To this end, we present Deep Unsupervised Binary Coding Networks (DUBCNs) to perform multivariate time series retrieval. DUBCNs employ the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) encoder-decoder framework to capture the temporal dynamics within the input segment and consist of three key components, i.e., a temporal encoding mechanism to capture the temporal order of different segments within a mini-batch, a clustering loss on the hidden feature space to capture the hidden feature structure, and an adversarial loss based upon Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to enhance the generalization capability of the generated binary codes. Thoroughly empirical studies on three public datasets demonstrated that the proposed DUBCNs can outperform state-of-the-art unsupervised binary coding techniques.


The molecular mechanisms underlying developmental morphogenesis have long been suspected to also play important roles in cancer. Stem cells, being fundamental to both of these processes, can be the cells-of-origin in those cancers whose pathogeneses involve subversion of developmental signaling pathways. Therefore, cells and signaling pathways that regulate stem cells during development are likely to also play a role in carcinogenesis.

The prostate stroma is essential for normal androgenic development of the prostate gland, including epithelial growth and differentiation. Thus, it stands to reason that key aspects of stromal regulation of epithelial development are mediated through control of the epithelial stem cells, but this has yet to be proven. Given the compelling evidence that stem cells are preferential cells-of-origin in many cancers, it is essential that the regulatory mechanisms governing normal prostate stem cell homeostasis are elucidated so that this knowledge can be exploited towards development of novel treatments for prostate cancer growth regulation.

Recent evidence from our laboratory suggests that estrogens are key modulators of prostate epithelial stem and progenitor cells. Furthermore, it has been shown by our laboratory and others that estrogens can act as carcinogens in rodent and human models of prostate cancer. When these two facts are considered along with the well-documented role of estrogen receptor signaling in prostate stromal cells, an intriguing model emerges whereby aberrant stromal estrogenic control of epithelial stem cells may contribute to prostate carcinogenesis. To test the hypothesis that prostate stromal cells secrete paracrine factors that regulate epithelial stem and progenitor cells in both normal and cancer niches, and that 17β-estradiol modulates the secretion of these factors, the following specific aims were proposed for this thesis work:

1. Elucidate how stromal cells modulate prostate stem and progenitor cell homeostasis within the normal adult human stem cell niche.
2. Determine how estrogen signaling modulates the stromal-epithelial signaling axis within the normal adult human stem cell niche.
3. Delineate the role of stromal cells in the prostate cancer stem cell niche.

This work was performed using patient- and donor-derived primary cells in order to maximize the translational relevance of this work, while at the same time reducing artifacts often introduced by monoclonal, immortalized cell lines.


Guest houses offer an opportunity for entrepreneurs to offer accommodation services at more affordable rates. They have limited number of rooms and are therefore easier to operate and maintain. Additionally, Guest house operators are well positioned to experience guest complaints regarding the services that they provide. The purpose of this research was to assess the quality of services provided by guest houses in Mombasa Island as rated by guests and the supervisors and their management practices. The study had four objectives namely; To establish the dimensions of customers' satisfaction with services
offered in guest houses in Mombasa Island, to determine the extent to which the customers are satisfied with services provided in the guest houses, to investigate room attendants' assessment of management practices in the guest houses and to determine the accommodation supervisors rating of the quality of services provided by the guest houses. A descriptive survey design was adopted. This research focused on the registered and unregistered guest houses in Mombasa
Island. Out of the fifteen registered guest houses, three were used for pre-testing, of the remaining twelve, six were examined. The number of unregistered guest houses, was estimated to be thirty three; a third of the numbers were researched on. Simple random sampling was used to select the both registered and unregistered guest houses. Convenient sampling was used for the guests, while stratified method was used for service providers. Primary data were collected through observations, interviews and questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques used included means and factor analysis. The findings show that clean linen, guest supplies, well lit rooms, convenient location of the guest house, comfortable bed, and friendliness and courtesy of staff, convenient location, security and safety of room are the most significant factors for the guests who visit the registered and unregistered guest houses in Mombasa Island. The results of factor analysis showed that there are two main dimensions of service quality:the physical characteristics of the guest houses and the competence and courtesy of the staff. The study further showed
that the employees of the registered and unregistered guest houses in Mombasa Island are not satisfied with how the management of the guest houses handles their welfare particularly in relation to their pay, recognition of their contribution to the running of the guest houses and availing enough working materials; but feel that the guest houses are run efficiently and the staff are giving their best. Based on these findings, the study concluded that guests' expectations from the guest houses coincided with those of the guest house providers since the factors emphasized by the guests are the same accommodation supervisors rated as satisfying. However, there is need to expose staff to higher level training to improve on their professionalism and communication skills.


Paramolar tubercle (PT) is an additional cusp occuring on buccal surface of both upper and lower permanent molars. PT is also known as parastyle when tubercle is present in upper molars, as protostylid when tubercle is present in lowe r molars. The aim of this study was to evaluate prevalence of PTs in Turkish population with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Presen ce of PT in molar teeth were evaluated retrospectively using CBCT images of 210 patients (102 male, 108 female) between 18-77 year s old. A total of 909 teeth were analyzed. Because of various reasons some teeth were excluded and final analyze was done with 65 3 teeth. Prevalence of PT was found as 2.76 % (18 out of 653). Highest frequency of PT was detected 5 in #27, 4 in #17, 2 in #48 among all molar teeth respectively. In two cases; 2 PTs were on the same tooth, bilateral PT was found only in one case. PT was undet ected on upper first molars. Prevalence of PTs on permanent molars is a rare phenomenon in the studied population. Use of CBCT in such anatomic variations will provide valuable and detailed information during treatment modalities. Since this pilot study represen ts Tu kish subpopulation, comprehensive studies with increased number of cases should be undertaken to clarify the prevalence of paramolar s in Turkish population. Advanced imaging techniques like CBCT will be more helpful in understanding and detecting exact morphologic al and anatomical variations of PTs during treatment modalities.


The authors have developed a senior-level undergraduate system-on-chip (SoC) course at San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, that emphasizes SoC design methods and hardware-software codesign techniques. The course uses a "real world" design project as the teaching vehicle and implements an SoC platform to control a five-axis robotic arm using Altera's state-of-the-art Excalibur chip. The Excalibur chip contains both ARM Corporation's embedded processor and a programmable logic device (PLD) array. The course goes through a complete hardware-software codesign flow from implementing custom hardware devices on a PLD to developing an embedded algorithm in a state-of-the-art design environment for a complete SoC solution. Students learn the Quartus II design environment by examining the sample design files in Altera's EXPA1 development kit and following the step-by-step instructions toward creating a simple embedded application. After this familiarization process, students define the architectural specifications of a memory-mapped servo controller, implement it in the Excalibur's PLD array, and interface this device with the ARM processor's internal bus to control each robotic arm servo. Functional regression tests and post-synthesis timing verification steps are applied to the servo controller following the implementation phase. Subsequently, students integrate the servo controller with the rest of the system and perform board-level functional verification tests to observe whether the robotic arm can move an object from a source to a destination point accurately. Students also develop an embedded algorithm, which translates user inputs in Cartesian coordinates into robotic arm movements in spherical coordinates during laboratory sessions.


The Earth's magnetic field is generated by fluid motion of liquid iron in the outer core. Flows at the top of the outer core are believed to be responsible for the secular variation (SV) observed at the surface of the Earth. Modelling of this flow is open to considerable ambiguity, though methods adopting different physical assumptions do lead to similar flow velocity regimes. Some aspects of the ambiguities are investigated in this thesis. The last decade has seen a significant improvement in the capability to observe the global field at high spatial resolution. Several satellite missions have been launched, providing a rich new set of scalar and vector magnetic measurements from which to model the global field in detail. These data complement the existing record of groundbased observatories, which have continuous temporal coverage at a single point. I exploit these new data to model the secular variation (SV) globally and attempt to improve the core flow models that have been constructed to date. Using the approach developed by Mandea and Olsen (2006) I create a set of evenly distributed 'Virtual Observatories' (VO), at 400km above the Earth's surface, encompassing satellite measurements from the CHAMP satellite over seven years (2001-2007), inverting the SV calculated at each VO to infer flow along the core-mantle boundary. Direct comparison of the SV generated by the flow model to the SV at individual VO can be made. Thus, the residual differences can be investigated in detail. Comparisons of residuals from flow models generated from a number of VO datasets provide evidence that they are consistent with internal and external field effects in the satellite data. I also show that the binning and processing of the VO data can induce artefacts, including sectorial banding, into the residuals. By employing the core flows from the inversion of SV data it may be possible to forecast the change of the present magnetic field (as measured) forwards in time for a short time period (e.g. less than five years) within an acceptable error budget. Using simple advection of steady or non-steady flows to forecast magnetic field change gives reasonably good fit to field models such as GRIMM, POMME or xCHAOS (< 50nT root mean square difference after five years). The forecast of the magnetic field change can be improved by optimally assimilating measurements of the field into the forecast from flow models at discrete points in time (e.g. annually). To achieve this, an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) can be used to the capture non-linearity of the model and delineate the error bounds by means of a Monte Carlo representation of the field evolution over time. In the EnKF model, an ensemble of probable state vectors (Gauss coefficients) evolve over time, driven by SV derived from core flows. The SV is randomly perturbed at each step before addition to the state vectors. The mean of the ensemble is chosen as the most likely state (i.e. field model) and the error associated with the estimate can be gauged from the standard deviation from the mean. I show an implementation of the EnKF for steady and non-steady flows generated from 'Virtual Observatory' field models, compared to the field models GRIMM and xCHAOS over the period 2002–2008. Using the EnKF, the maximum difference never exceeds 25nT over the period. This promising approach allows measurements to be included into model predictions to improve the forecast.


This paper introduces SymPLFIED, a program-level framework that allows specification of arbitrary error detectors and the verification of their efficacy against hardware errors. SymPLFIED comprehensively enumerates all transient hardware errors in registers, memory, and computation (expressed symbolically as value errors) that potentially evade detection and cause program failure. The framework uses symbolic execution to abstract the state of erroneous values in the program and model checking to comprehensively find all errors that evade detection. We demonstrate the use of SymPLFIED on a widely deployed aircraft collision avoidance application, tcas. Our results show that the SymPLFIED framework can be used to uncover hard-to-detect catastrophic cases caused by transient errors in programs that may not be exposed by random fault injection-based validation. Further, the errors exposed by the framework help us formulate a set of error detectors for the application to avoid the catastrophic case and other incorrect outcomes.


This study defines the nature of worker displacement and develops a mechanism for inferring the amount of losses caused by displacement in away that is tied to economic theory. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are first used to identify the characteristics of displaced workers. After a demonstration that usual methods of evaluating workers' losses cannot provide correct measures of the cost to society, a game--theoretic model determining the amount of firm -- specific investment in workers is developed. As workers'and firms' horizons decrease, such investment will be reduced; this will be exhibited in a flattening of the wage-tenure profile as the date of displacement approaches. Examination of the profile thus provides a test whether firms and workers have good information about impending displacement. Using the PSID data for workers displaced between 1977 and 1981, the study shows there is no significant flattening of the wage-tenure profile in the entire sample. (However, some flattening does occur among unionized workers, and also among workers who are laid-off permanently from a plant that remains open.) This suggests that workers are surprised by displacement, for they continue investing in firm-specific human capital up to the time of displacement. The present value of the worker's share of the lost returns on this investment is around $7000 (1980 dollars) under intermediate assumptions about the real rate of discount, depreciation on such investment and the effect of tenure on the rate of voluntary separation.


What lies in potentia in the client is given the chance for expression through the arts therapies, tapping into a creative stream which is both personal and collective at the same time. The spontaneous creative moment is difficult to understand rationally and impossible to predict. Yet there are certain characteristics in these moments, which may help develop languages with which to reflect on psyche and the creation of meaning. In this chapter, I turn to Lorca's idea of duende as a way of reflecting on this spontaneous and creative force, when a fullness of being is experienced partly through the letting go of form, allowing for the presence of the unknown. I refer to Lorca's essay 'The Theory and Play of Duende' (Lorca, 1991) where he provokes thinking about duende not through the perpetuation of form, but from mining what he calls 'the marrow of forms' (46). The work of the artists Nick Cave, Jez Butterworth and Mark Rylance is then briefly discussed in relation to duende, drawing out further aspects of the nature of creativity, and ideas of loss and initiation. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the duende in relation to arts therapies training and practice.


Why are representative democracies extensively criticised, yet remain widely aspired to throughout the world? Many citizens believe that democratic politicians operate with privileged information that allows them autonomy from genuine democratic controls, a phenomenon reinforced by the opacity of internal party politics. In established democracies throughout the world there is a widespread perception that political parties compete for power, yet no significant differences exist between them. Moreover, economic inequalities are no longer redressed by national governments in a world where markets are dominant and relevant decisions have been taken out of domestic politics. Citizens vote, but their choice is hardly relevant. This has led to widespread demands for 'more' democracy. But what does that mean in practice? Can democracies introduce greater 'representation' of citizens' interests? Do politicians operate as an autonomous caste hardly challenged by voters? Has political competition become irrelevant for the welfare of people? Do citizens want more democracy in internal party politics? And turning beyond the nation-state, has the European Union changed the scope of policy alternatives and influenced the accountability of politicians? What have been the consequences of European integration for national democracies? In his major new book, Jose Maria Maravall examines these and many other questions fundamental to democratic politics in the 21st Century. In doing so he draws extensively on original empirical evidence from 21 OECD parliamentary democracies from 1945 to 2010, and 1,259 country/year observations focused on politics, representation, parties, inequality, economic policies, and the political and economic conditions of European integration.


We investigated how moral judgments were influenced by (a) the age and gender of the moral perpetrator and victim, (b) the moral judge's benevolent ageism and benevolent sexism, and (c) the moral judge's gender. By systematically manipulating the age and gender of the perpetrators and victims in moral scenarios, participants in two studies made judgments about the moral transgressions. We found that (a) people made more negative judgments when the victims were old or female rather than young or male, (b) benevolent ageism influenced people's judgments about young versus old perpetrators, and (c) people had differential moral expectations of perpetrators who belonged to their same-gender group versus opposite-gender group. The findings suggest that age and gender stereotypes are so salient to bias people's moral judgments even when the transgression is undoubtedly intentional and hostile.


Most countries of the world are reducing infant and child mortality too slowly to meet the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds reduction by 2015. Yet, some countries and regions have achieved impressive reductions, Kerala in India being one example. This paper examines the determinants of infant and child mortality in Andhra Pradesh, where the Young Lives project is taking place, and Kerala and the factors explaining their differential performance. The determinants of mortality are estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Infant mortality is found to depend on biological factors, including mother's age and birth order, and also factors related to health service provision such as tetanus injection and use of antenatal services. Economic well being is not significant once these other factors are taken into account. By contrast, economic well-being is a significant determinant of child mortality, but substantially outweighed in importance by other factors such as maternal education and knowledge of health practices (ORS) and access to safe water. The data also show gender discrimination in Andhra Pradesh, notably toward girls with only female siblings, which is absent from Kerala. We conclude that raising service levels across India toward the levels found in Kerala is a necessary step toward meeting the MDGs, and that the success of these efforts is reinforced by female empowerment.


This research, conducted in conjunction with EyeSpyFX.com, concerns the design and development of mobile solutions for VSaaS. The research merit of this works is first that it is the first VSaaS mobile app in the world, secondly that It is a collaboration with world leading company (Axis), and third that the app features a custom developed library capable of decoding and displaying RTSP/H264 video/audio streams on a mobile device. Video Surveillance as a Service (VSaaS) is an idea where a network camera sends images to a remote server in the cloud. To view the camera the viewer logs on to an account on the server and views the stream on the server. A cloud camera differs from a regular network camera where the viewer views the stream by connecting directly to the camera. A cloud cam self discovers the server. It makes an outbound connection from its LAN to the server. (There is a video which summarises this research work here http://tinyurl.com/6h94dj3) This architecture of VSaaS is important as it may contribute to the general architecture of the Internet of Things. I have been working on VSaaS Mobile solutions since 2005 in conjunction with EyeSpyFX and Axis Communications. Axis Communications (Sweden) are the world lead manufacturers of Network Cameras. The research has manifested itself in the design and development of a range of Apps called "VHS viewer for Axis" (iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry). The project has been jointly funded by Axis Communications and EyeSpyFX at a value of over £100,000. The app was publically launched at ASIS (American Security Industry Society) 2010 (Dallas, Texas) and exhibited at ASIS 2011 (Orlando, Florida). The app was adopted by Niscayah and ADT in Sept 2011 and will be deployed worldwide as their VSaaS solution.


Wildfires release large amounts of carbon, smoke and aerosols that strongly impact the global climatic system. Burn scar is an important parameter when modelling the impact of wildfires on the ecosystem and the climatic system. We have developed an automatic burn scar mapping method using daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, in which the Global Environment Monitoring Index (GEMI), a vegetation index VI3T and a new index, GEMI‐Burn scar (GEMI‐B), were used together to enhance the differences between burned and unburned pixels related to vegetation photosynthesis, surface temperature and vegetation water content, respectively, and an automatic region growing method based on Support Vector Machines (SVMs) was used to classify burn scars without any predefined threshold. A case study was carried out to validate the new method at the border area between Mongolia and China, where a wildfire took place in May 2003. The results show that the burn scar area extracted by the new method is consistent with that from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data with high accuracy. The sound performance of the new technique is due to the following reasons: (1) multiple features of burn scar spectra were combined and used, (2) a reasonable assumption was made stating that the neighbourhoods of active fires (hotspots) are most likely to be burn scars, (3) an SVM classifier was adopted that works well with a small number of training samples, and (4) an iterative classification procedure was developed that is capable of running continuous training for the SVM classifier to deal with the transitionary features of burn scar pixels. The results suggest that the new index GEMI‐B and automatic mapping method based on SVMs have the potential to be applied to near real‐time burn scar mapping in grassland areas.


In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, phospholipase D (PLD), encoded by the SPO14 gene, catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine, producing choline and phosphatidic acid. SPO14 is essential for cellular differentiation during meiosis and is required for Golgi function when the normal secretory apparatus is perturbed (Sec14-independent secretion). We isolated specific alleles of SPO14 that support Sec14-independent secretion but not sporulation. Identification of these separation-of-function alleles indicates that the role of PLD in these two physiological processes is distinct. Analyses of the mutants reveal that the corresponding proteins are stable, phosphorylated, catalytically active in vitro, and can localize properly within the cell during meiosis. Surprisingly, the separation-of-function mutations map to the conserved catalytic region of the PLD protein. Choline and phosphatidic acid molecular species profiles during Sec14-independent secretion and meiosis reveal that while strains harboring one of these alleles, spo14S-11, hydrolyze phosphatidylcholine in Sec14-independent secretion, they fail to do so during sporulation or normal vegetative growth. These results demonstrate that Spo14 PLD catalytic activity and cellular function can be differentially regulated at the level of phosphatidylcholine hydrolysis.


Smads 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 are transcription factors that transmit the signal generated by activation of members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor family. When activated, these receptor-regulated Smads form complexes with Smad4 and then translocate to the nucleus. Miura et al. investigated how the receptor-regulated Smads are anchored to the receptors. Their data suggest that two FYVE domain-containing proteins, Hgs and SARA, cooperate to recruit Smads to inactive receptors and that this interaction is essential for viability in mice. FYVE domains interact with phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and function in various signaling pathways (see Corvera). In a yeast two-hybrid screen, Hgs was identified as a binding partner for Smad 2. These results were confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation experiments in which Hgs interacted with Smads 1, 2, and 3 in the absence of ligand stimulation, but not with Smad 4 or 6. Cotransfection experiments with wild-type or mutated Hgs and Smad 2 or 3 showed that these interactions depended on the COOH-terminal domain of Hgs, but not the FYVE domain. Overexpression of Hgs increased recruitment of Smads to the activin receptor, increased phosphorylation of Smads, and was essential for activin-simulated signaling to reporter genes. The effect of Hgs was enhanced if a second FYVE-domain protein, SARA, was also cotransfected into the cells. Expression of a COOH-terminally truncated version of Hgs in "knockin" mice was lethal by embryonic day 10 (E10). Mutant cells isolated before E10 demonstrated a decreased responsiveness to TGF-β and activin A, which could be restored if SARA or Hgs or both proteins were overexpressed in the cells. Miura, S., Takeshita, T., Asao, H., Kimura, Y., Murata, K., Sasaki, Y., Hania, J.-I., Beppu, H., Tsukazaki, T., Wrana, J.L., Miyazono, K., and Sugamura, K. (2000) Hgs (Hrs), a FYVE domain protein, is involved in Smad signaling through cooperation with SARA. Mol. Cell. Biol. 20: 9346-9355. [Abstract] [Full Text] Corvera, S. (2000) Signal transduction: Stuck with FYVE domains.Science's STKE: http://www.stke.org/cgi/content/full/OC_sigtrans;2000/37/pe1. [Full Text]


In this paper we consider the transformation from (minimal) non-deterministic finite automata (NFAs) to deterministic finite cover automata (DFCAs). We want to compare the two equivalent accepting devices with respect to their number of states; this becomes in fact a comparison between the expression power of the nondeterministic device and the expression power of the deterministic with loops device. We prove a lower bound for the maximum state complexity of deterministic finite cover automata obtained from non-deterministic finite automata of a given state complexity n, considering the case of a binary alphabet. We show, for such binary alphabets, that the difference between maximum blow-up state complexity of DFA and DFCA can be as small as 27⌈n/2;⌉−2 compared to the number of states of the minimal DFA. Moreover, we show the structure of automata for worst case exponential blow-up complexity from NFA to DFCA. We conjecture that the lower bound given in the paper is also the upper bound. Several results clarifying some of the structure of the automata in the worst case are given (we strongly believe they will be pivotal in the upper bound proof).


In our introduction to the first of these two issues of Radical Teacher devoted to "Radical Teaching About Human Rights," we cautioned that all forms of Human Rights Education (HRE) are not radical.  The problem, we pointed out, with rights discourse is that it can mask the politics of how rights are defined, whose rights are recognized, and how they are enforced.  This problem becomes evident when HRE is bound up with a neoliberal, or worse than neoliberal, perspective that points fingers at others and rallies troops for supposedly humanitarian interventions while eliding the role of the United States as an imperializing settler colonial state.  Fortunately, we have once again received several essays that seem to us to be aware of this danger and provide admirable examples of radical teaching about human rights.


The ubiquity of 802.11 devices and networks enables anyone to track our every move with alarming ease. Each 802.11 device transmits a globally unique and persistent MAC address and thus is trivially identifiable. In response, recent research has proposed replacing such identifiers with pseudonyms (i.e., temporary, unlinkable names). In this paper, we demonstrate that pseudonyms are insufficient to prevent tracking of 802.11 devices because implicit identifiers, or identifying characteristics of 802.11 traffic, can identify many users with high accuracy. For example, even without unique names and addresses, we estimate that an adversary can identify 64% of users with 90% accuracy when they spend a day at a busy hot spot. We present an automated procedure based on four previously unrecognized implicit identifiers that can identify users in three real 802.11 traces even when pseudonyms and encryption are employed. We find that the majority of users can be identified using our techniques, but our ability to identify users is not uniform; some users are not easily identifiable. Nonetheless, we show that even a single implicit identifier is sufficient to distinguish many users. Therefore, we argue that design considerations beyond eliminating explicit identifiers (i.e., unique names and addresses), must be addressed in order to prevent user tracking in wireless networks.


We consider the problem of apprenticeship learning where the examples, demonstrated by an expert, cover only a small part of a large state space. Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) provides an efficient tool for generalizing the demonstration, based on the assumption that the expert is maximizing a utility function that is a linear combination of state-action features. Most IRL algorithms use a simple Monte Carlo estimation to approximate the expected feature counts under the expert's policy. In this paper, we show that the quality of the learned policies is highly sensitive to the error in estimating the feature counts. To reduce this error, we introduce a novel approach for bootstrapping the demonstration by assuming that: (i), the expert is (near-)optimal, and (ii), the dynamics of the system is known. Empirical results on gridworlds and car racing problems show that our approach is able to learn good policies from a small number of demonstrations.


MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF AGING IN THE PERIPHERAL NOCICEPTIVE SYSTEM Shuying Wang MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2006 Decreased pain sensitivity during aging is common in humans and animals and is largely due to changes in anatomical, functional and cellular properties of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). To understand the molecular mechanisms of aging in the PNS, a detailed comparative study was made of 6~8week-, 16month- and 2year-old Blk6 male mice obtained from the NIA mouse colony. Behavioral assays showed aged mice had decreased sensitivity to noxious heat and impaired inflammation-induced thermal hyperalgesia compared to young animals. To understand the basis for this change we examined expression of the growth factor artemin, its receptor GFRα3 and TRPV1, an ion channel expressed by 95~99% of GFRα3-positive sensory neurons. TRPV1 is of significance since it is required for transmission of thermal hyperalgesia following tissue inflammation. Assays showed a reduction in TRPV1 mRNA and protein in the PNS of aged mice that correlated with a decrease in expression of the artemin receptor GFRα3, CFA-induced inflammation also increased artemin expression in the skin but decreased expression of GFRα3 in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of both young and old mice. The decrease in GFRα3 was greater in aged mice, suggesting GFRα3 signaling following CFA is reduced in sensory ganglia of old mice and that the response properties of GFRα3-positive sensory neurons that express TRPV1 are diminished. Calcium imaging of isolated primary neurons grown with NGF was used to test the in vitro effects of artemin on TRPV1 expression and activation in young and old neurons. Artemin potentiated TRPV1 activation by capsaicin in both young and old neurons, but the amplitude of capsaicin responses in young neurons was decreased with long-term exposure to artemin. Microarray and RT-PCR studies revealed that inflammation-associated genes such as interleukin 6 (IL-6) were elevated in sensory ganglia of aged mice. This ongoing inflammatory state may increase the inflammatory tone of the system and thereby contribute to changes in response properties and sensitivity of sensory neurons in the aging PNS. Thus, the reduced sensitivity to inflammatory pain in aged animals likely reflects a combination of changes in anatomical, physiologic and immune response properties.


The onset of post-traumatic headache (PTC) occurs in the first seven days after trauma, according to the International Headache Society (IHS) classification. The objective of this study was to evaluate the several forms of headache that appear after mild head injury (HI) and time interval between the HI and the onset of pain. We evaluated 41 patients with diagnosis of mild HI following the IHS criteria. Migraine without aura and the chronic tension-type headache were the most prevalent groups, occurring in 16 (39%) and 14 (34.1%) patients respectively. The time interval between HI and the onset of headache was less than seven days in 20 patients (48.7%) and longer than 30 days in 10 (24.3%) patients. The results suggest that PTC may arise after a period longer than is accepted at the present by the IHS.


Written in honor of one of the foremost observers of nationalism and culture in Central and Eastern Europe, this volume brings together 35 eminent scholars from the United States, Canada, Ukraine, and Poland. Supplemented by a bibliography of the work of Roman Szporluk, these fresh, urgent essays mirror Szporluk's broad and comparativist approach. Topics range from the rise of Ukrainian national consciousness in Galicia, to nationalism in contemporary Serbia; from the rise of private property in the Russia of Catherine II, to contemporary Russian attitudes toward Ukrainian nation building. Other essays explore the impact of theories of nationalism on the discipline of history and critique Ernest Gellner's "constructivist" theory of the nation.


Scott Ambler, award-winning author of Building Object Applications that Work, Process Patterns, and More Process Patterns, has revised his acclaimed first book, The Object Primer. Long prized by both students and professionals as the best introduction to object-oriented technology, this book is now completely up-to-date, with all modeling notation rewritten in the just-released UML 2.0. All chapters have been revised to take advantage of Agile Modeling (AM), which is presented in the new chapter 2 along with other important new modeling techniques. Review questions at the end of each chapter allow readers to test their newly acquired knowledge. In addition, Ambler takes time to reflect on the lessons learned over the past few years by discussing the proven benefits and drawbacks of the technology. This is the perfect book for any software development professional or student seeking an introduction to the concepts and terminology of object technology. Previous Edition Pb (2001): 0-521-78519-7 Scott W. Ambler is a senior object consultant with Ronin International, Inc. and a popular speaker at conferences worldwide. He has worked with OO technology since 1990 as a business architect, system analyst, system designer, mentor, Smalltalk/C++/Java developer, and OO software process manager. He is a member of the IEEE Computer Society, the ACM, and Mensa.


Safety plays a crucial role in the modern society. Assuring safe operation is one of the vitally important tasks faced by system developers and experts. The concept of Safety Case has been evolving for over 20 years. World famous scientists such as Peter Bishop, Tim Kelly, J Gorski and others made a great impact on the concept and its implementation.The concept has evolved, grown and nowadays become a common and generally accepted practice. However, future research is still needed to develop the approach further on and make it even more useful, accurate, efficient, and of course, automated.

In this paper we introduce a concept of Safety Case Core, which can be considered one of the Safety Case methods. We also discuss an approach to assessing security characteristics of OTS components. In order to help security experts in software assessment, vulnerability tracking and management processes, a special Safety Case core for assessing OTS components was developed and implemented as a plug-in for ASCE software tool and as a web service for OTS components assessment.

The paper is structured in the following way: Section 1 provides a definition of safety case core, describes it structure, model and the main concept; Section 2 presents a core for assessing OTS components and gives some implementation details; Sections 3 and 4 describe the implementation of the core as an ASCE plug-in and as a web service for assessing OTS components and tracking vulnerabilities. The paper ends with concluding remarks, future directions and extensions to this work.


The objectives of this study are (i) To investigate the effect of using different types of carbon source and their concentration on the growth of B. subtilis, (ii) To optimize the pH condition for improvement of growth of B. subtilis through the different pH control strategies and (iii) To develop high cell density cultivation methods for B. subtilis based on exponential fed-batch fermentation. Preliminary, the effects of different carbon sources such as glucose, sucrose, starch hydrolysate and sago starch on growth performance of B. subtilis was investigated using batch fermentation technique. Subsequently, the effects of different initial glucose concentrations, which is the preferred carbon source for growth of this bacterium, was studied in batch fermentation. The experiment was designed to find the repression effect of glucose on growth of B. subtilis. The culture pH condition for growth of B. subtilis was also optimized using different pH control strategies. The exponential fed-batch fermentation aimed at production of high cell density of B. subtilis was developed using kinetic parameter values and information generated from the preliminary batch fermentation data. Fed-batch fermentations were carried out at different required specific growth rates and their effects on final cell concentration attained, yield and productivity were analyzed.
The performance of fed-batch fermentation with controlled glucose concentration at certain level in the culture for improvement of B. subtilis cultivation was also investigated.

Among the different carbon sources investigated, the highest growth was obtained when glucose was used as the carbon source. B. subtilis was also capable to grow in sucrose and sago starch, indicating that B. subtilis was able to secrete invertase and amylolytic enzymes. Final cell concentration obtained in cultivation using glucose, starch hydrolysate, sucrose and sago starch all at a concentration of 20 g/L was 15.66 g/L, 9.71 g/L, 9.16 g/L and 5.72 g/L, respectively. This gave the cell yield (Yx/s) of 1.08, 0.85, 0.50 and 0.32 g/g based on glucose, starch hydrolysate, sucrose and sago starch consumed, respectively.

Initial glucose concentration was found to have inhibitory effect on growth of B. subtilis. Growth increased with increasing initial glucose concentration from 15 to 20 g/L. A slight reduction in growth was observed at 35 g/L glucose and a drastic reduction on growth was observed at high glucose concentration (50 g/L). Growth of B. subtilis was also greatly influenced by the culture pH. The highest growth, in term of viable cell, was obtained in cultivation where the culture pH was controlled at 7 throughout the process. Reduction in growth was observed when the culture pH was controlled at lower and higher than pH 7.

In exponential fed-batch fermentation with controlled specific growth rate, higher final viable cell (1.93 x 1010 cfu/mL) was obtained in fermentation where was controlled at 0.30 h-1 as compared to cultivation when was controlled at 0.20 h-1, where final viable cell obtained was only 3.52 x 109 cfu/mL. Further improvement of the cultivation performance was obtained in fed-batch fermentation with controlled glucose level in the culture throughout the process. The highest final viable cell at 3.50 x 1010 cfu/mL was obtained when glucose in the culture was maintained at the very low level of 0.20 g/L. Reduction in growth was observed when glucose in the culture was maintained at high levels, above 1 g/L, suggesting that glucose has repression effect on growth of B. subtilis.

As a conclusion, among the techniques tested in this study, the best fermentation technique to achieve high cell density cultivation of B. subtilis was fed-batch fermentation where glucose in the culture was maintained at very low level (0.20 g/L), while the culture pH was maintained at 7 throughout the process. Using this cultivation technique, improvement in term of final viable cell was increased up to 324% compared to batch fermentation. This method of cultivation may be used for industrial application to produce large quantity of B. subtilis for subsequent use as a probiotic in the aquaculture industry, especially in controlling the water quality of the shrimp pond.


We describe the detection methods and the results of anomalous conditions in dikes (earthen dams/ levees) based on a simultaneous processing of several data streams originating from sensors installed in these dikes. Applied methods are especially valuable in cases where lack of information or computational resources prohibit computing the state of the dike with finite element and other mathematical models. The data-driven methods are part of the artificial intelligence (AI) component of the 'Urbanflood' early warning system. This AI component includes pre-processing (e.g., gap filling and measurements synchronization procedures) of data streams, feature extraction and anomaly detection by one-side (also known as one-class) classification methods. Our approach has been successfully validated during a non-destructive piping experiment at the Zeeland dike (The


[1] A global multisensor satellite examination of aerosol indirect effects on warm oceanic clouds is presented. The study centers on the water path response of cloud to aerosol burden. A unique element of the study is a rigorous rain screening methodology that is utilized to separate the responses of nonraining and raining clouds. It is demonstrated that high aerosol environments are associated with reduced liquid water path in nonprecipitating clouds and that the reduction in liquid water path reduces the albedo enhancement expected from decreasing effective radius. Furthermore the reduction in liquid water path is greater in thermodynamically unstable environments than in stable environments suggesting a greater sensitivity of cumulus cloud than stratiform cloud liquid water path to aerosol. In sharp contrast with nonprecipitating clouds, the cloud liquid water path of transitional and precipitating clouds increases dramatically with aerosol, which may be indicative of an inhibited coalescence process. The evidence further indicates that increasing aerosol requires greater amounts of cloud condensate before the onset of precipitation. Additional support for this hypothesis is found in a reduction in the probability of precipitation by as much as 10% depending on the thermodynamical state of the environment. Independent estimates of the broadband cloudy-sky albedo are used to confirm that the cloud albedo responds to the trends that are identified in the liquid water path. In particular, it is found that the water path effect dominates the cloud albedo response for precipitating and transitional clouds. Finally, regional analysis demonstrates that the magnitude of the relationship between aerosol and cloud albedo is greatest in the extratropics and subtropical stratus regions primarily in the winter hemisphere. These relationships are used to estimate the magnitude of the first indirect effect as −0.42 W/m2.


A study of freight traffic has been conducted in the town of Swindon and a computer model built to predict the changes in goods vehicle movements resulting from the imposition of various possible alternative controls. This report describes computer models which assess the consequential changes in environment and traffic congestion and which complete the Swindon freight model. Results of assessments made with these models will be reported later. Environmental measures considered include changes in goods vehicle travel along different types of street and changes in the exposure of pedestrians and households to (a) traffic noise and (b) traffic nuisance. The measure of noise used is the hourly l10 level in db(a). For traffic nuisance, a measure is developed based on the limited information available at present on the nuisance caused by goods vehicles of different sizes in different situations. Changes in congestion costs are calculated, for all road users in the town, using speed/flow relationships. The environmental and traffic congestion models are designed specifically for Swindon but could be adapted for other towns.(a) /TRRL/


Web 2.0 has arrived--find out how it can transform teaching and learning!What is Web 2.0? Once upon a time, Web sites were isolated information 'silos'--all content and no functionality. Today, the next generation of Web sites gives power to the end-user, providing visitors with a new level of customization, interaction, and participation. Many Web sites now allow users to upload, categorize, and share content easily. Weblogs and podcasts allow anyone to publish or broadcast on any topic. Wikis provide information that is constantly updated by the end-user. Open-source software is free and customizable. These new technologies are changing our relationship to the Internet.What can Web 2.0 tools offer educators? Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging Web 2.0 technologies and their use in the classroom and in professional development. Topics include blogging as a natural tool for writing instruction, wikis and their role in project collaboration, podcasting as a useful means of presenting information and ideas, and how to use Web 2.0 tools for professional development. Also included are a discussion of Web 2.0 safety and security issues and a look toward the future of the Web 2.0 movement. Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools is essential reading for teachers, administrators, technology coordinators, and teacher educators.Also available: Database Magic: Using Databases to Teach Curriculum in Grades 4-12 - ISBN 1564842452 What Works in K-12 Online Learning - ISBN 1564842363 Toys to Tools: Connecting Student Cell Phones to Education - ISBN 1564842479The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is the trusted source for professional development, knowledge generation, advocacy and leadership for innovation. ISTE is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home of the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET), and ISTE's annual conference (formerly known as the National Educational Computing Conference, or NECC), ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. We support our members with information, networking opportunities, and guidance as they face the challenge of transforming education. Some of the areas in which we publish are: -Web. 2.0 in the classroom-RSS, podcasts, and more -National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) -Professional development for educators and administrators -Integrating technology into the classroom and curriculum -Safe practices for the Internet and technology -Educational technology for parents


In this paper, we propose a colored multigraph model for the temporarily available wavelengths. Based on this colored multigraph model, a polynomial time algorithm with complexity O(N2) is also proposed to develop an integrated dynamic routing and wavelength assignment, where N is the number of nodes in a WDM network.


The requirement for transparency and accountability for public spending has seen a focus on quantitative cost–benefit analyses. In the context of traffic policing, the temptation is to emphasize the importance of automated systems of enforcement as these pose an arguably less expensive alternative to using uniformed police. In the context of speed enforcement, automated means of enforcement are a logical way to efficiently distribute resources. However, in other areas of traffic policing, like driver distraction, seatbelt use, random breath testing, the use of uniformed police is essential. Following an overview of empirical research examining traffic enforcement, this article explores theoretical explanations for compliance with the law, focusing on research that has examined the importance of procedural justice. It is suggested that an approach embracing both automated means of enforcement coupled with visible police presence is essential to encourage perceptions of procedural justice and police legitimacy. Further empirical research is needed to model the ideal allocation of funding across automated and non-automatic law enforcement in traffic to maximize public compliance with the law and ultimately reduce crashes.


When using (13)C or (14)C tracers to study substrate metabolism, an acetate correction factor should be applied to correct for loss of label in the exchange pathways of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. We have shown recently that the [(13)C]acetate recovery factor has a high inter-individual variability and should therefore be determined in every subject. In the present study we examined the factors that might explain some of the variability between subjects in acetate recovery factor. Data were pooled from four different studies with identical protocols, in which the acetate recovery factor was measured, prior to an intervention, to correct plasma fatty acid oxidation rates. Acetate recovery was measured after 2 h of [1, 2-(13)C]acetate infusion at rest followed by 1 h of cycling exercise at 40-50% of maximal oxygen uptake. Inter-individual variance in acetate recovery was 12.0% at rest and 16.1% during exercise. Stepwise regression revealed that, at rest, 37.1% of the acetate recovery could be accounted for by basal metabolic rate adjusted for fat-free mass, percentage body fat and respiratory quotient (RQ). During exercise, 69.1% of the variance in acetate recovery could be accounted for by energy expenditure adjusted for fat-free mass, % body fat and RQ. In conclusion, we show that the acetate recovery factor has a high inter-individual variability, both at rest and during exercise, which can partly be accounted for by metabolic rate, RQ and % body fat. These data indicate that the acetate recovery factor needs to be determined in every subject, under similar conditions as used for the tracer-derived determination of substrate oxidation. Failure to do this might result in large under- or over-estimation of plasma substrate oxidation, and hence to artificial differences between groups.


A set of 37,325 unique literature citations was identified from 120,078 literature-based annotations in the Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD). The citations, gene products, and related Gene Ontology (GO) annotations were
analyzed to quantify unique articles, journals, genes, and to rank by publication year, language, and GO term frequency. GO terms, MeSH indexing terms, MeSH Journal Descriptors, and SGD Literature Topics were quantified and analyzed to assess their potential utility for results set clustering. Results: Bradford's Law of Scattering was shown to hold for the citations, journals, gene products, and GO
annotations. Only the MeSH terms and article title/abstract pairs had significant numbers of term co-occurrence. Multiple term types may be useful for faceted searching and clustered results set browsing if the strengths of each are
leveraged.


Bioinformatics is a challenging area for computer science, since the underlying computational formalisms span database systems, numerical methods, geometric modeling and visualization, imaging and image analysis, combinatorial algorithms, data analysis and mining, statistical approaches, and reasoning under uncertainty.
This thesis describes the VALIS environment for rapid application prototyping in bioinformatics. The core components of the VALIS system are the underlying database structure and the algorithmic development platform.
This thesis presents a novel set of data structures that have marked advantages when dealing with unstructured and unbounded data that are common in scientific fields and bioinformatics.
Bioinformatics problems rarely have a one-language, one-platform solution. The VALIS environment allows seamless integration between scripts written in different programming languages and includes tools to rapidly prototype graphical user interfaces.
To date the speed of computation of most whole genome analysis tools have stood in the way of developing fast interactive programs that may be used as exploratory tools. This thesis presents the basic algorithms and widgets that permit rapid prototyping of whole genomic scale real-time applications within VALIS.


Abstract The article presents the Romanian norms for the Cognitive Style Questionnaire. The results are, in general consistent with those reported in earlier normative studies involving English-speaking samples. The sample of this study consisted of clinical and non-clinical subjects (N=736). The reliability of the new instrument is adequate, internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's Alpha) ranging from .68 to .84. Keywords: cognitive style, depression, Romanian norms, Cognitive Style Questionnaire Beck's theory of depression stems from the psychodynamic theory, but the author gradually became discontent with the psychoanalytical explanation of depression, which was understood not only as a form of repressing hostility, but also as a sum of negative thoughts in relation to the self, the world and the future. Studying George Kelly's theory of personal constructs, according to which people make sense of reality by elaborating, in the manner of scientists, hypotheses, which they put to test, and predictions, Beck was attracted by this point of view, using it in the elaboration of his own theory (Beck, 1985). Beck points out that depressive patients interpret reality in a distorted fashion, without relying on "testing hypotheses" or on "predictions" concerning reality (Beck, Steer, Beck, & Newman, 1993). Moreover, Beck advances the view that the depressive person's perception of his or her experience is influenced not only by the experienced reality, but also by emotions related to the experience (Beck, 1985). He suggests that depressives have a negative frame of the self, which causes automatic thoughts and the cognitive triad. He supports his ideas on the assumption of all cognitive models that cognitive processes mediate all behavioral or emotional responses, in other words, that "we feel what we think". Beck's cognitive theory of depression views it as "the absence of an understanding of life" rather than a biochemical imbalance or as a pathological state of mind, and "cognitive errors" are believed to result into negative attitudes and erroneous assumptions about the self, the future, and current experiences in the world (Beck, Kovacs, Weissman, 1975). In relation to depressive pathology, Beck indicates a disturbance in the content of a person's thinking, this aspect being reflected in automatic thoughts, disturbances in information processing or cognitive distortions, all resulting from the cognitive schemata or the "pattern" that gives meaning to the world. The following essential elements can be identified in Beck's theory: - automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions and depressive cognitive patterns; - the negative cognitive triad or the negative cognitive style. The disturbance in the content of a person's thinking is related to aversive events, childhood traumas or stress, which influence the formation of the person's beliefs and attitudes, and make him/her vulnerable to depressive problems. The rigid and absolutistic beliefs will mediate the onset of problems, these beliefs becoming means whereby that person perceives the world. They will also contribute to the development of certain concepts related to what goes on in the world, the principles that govern the world and how events are going to develop. An example of belief that can lead to depression is "I can be happy only if people that are important for me appreciate me". The cognitive triad is associated with certain patterns of thought, which makes the individual appreciate his or her situation, as well as his or her own personality, in negative terms. The negative cognitive triad or the negative cognitive style involves a negative perception on the self, a negative view of current events in the world and a negative perspective on the future. The negative perception of the self refers to the self-understanding of the depressive person in terms of incapacities, absence of any personal merits, moral or physical deficiencies. …