The complex dimensions of many issues faced by engineers require that they understand social and humanistic matters along with the technical, and communicate effectively and synergistically with persons having all sorts of backgrounds. This is especially true for matters of sustainability and energy supply. Engineering should therefore be built upon the foundation of a broad and liberal undergraduate education, with the professional degree being moved to the graduate level, as is the case for the other major professions. Another benefit of moving the degree level can be to delay the point of commitment to an engineering major from before college to the latter part of the undergraduate program, a move which can bring in new enrollees and increase diversity. The move of the professional engineering degree to the graduate level has already happened for a number of European countries as an outgrowth of the Bologna Process. There are incremental changes that can be made so that this transition can be undertaken by evolution as opposed to revolution.


This report describes a program for improving students' attitudes toward reading. The targeted population consisted of second and third grade students in a growing middle class community. The problem of the lack of interest in reading and the poor quality of classroom work were evident in parent and student surveys, and teacher observations. Analysis of probable cause literature revealed that low self esteem and lack of confidence inhibit children's ability to enjoy reading. Children who did not engage in reading as a free time activity lost reading competence. These concerns were confirmed at the research site through baseline data. A review of solution strategies suggested by knowledgeable others, combined with an analysis of the problem setting, resulted in selection of five major categories of intervention: guided reading, teacher read alouds, buddy reading, independent reading of self-selected materials, and working with words. Post intervention data indicated an improvement in student attitudes toward reading. Students showed an increased interest and excitement toward reading of all reading materials. Matching students with appropriate high interest materials proved to be motivating to the students. Appendixes contain survey instruments and a sample Reading Buddies lesson plan. (Contains 43 references and 14 tables of data.) (Author/RS)


This thesis is a critical empirical study, using a range of benchmark datasets, on the performance of some modern machine learning systems and possible enhancements to them. When new algorithms and their performance are reported in the machine learning literature, most authors pay little attention to reporting the statistical significances in performance dififerences. We take Gaussian process classifiers as an example, which shows disappointing number of performance evaluations in the literature. What is particularly ignored is any use of the uncertainties in the performance measures when making comparisons. This thesis makes a novel contribution by developing a methodology for formal comparisons that also include performance uncertainties. Using support vector machine (SVM) as classification architectures, the thesis explores two potential enhancements to complexity reduction: (a) subset selection on the training data by some pre-processing approaches, and (b) organising the classes of a multi-class problem in a tree structure for fast classification. The former is crucial, as dataset sizes are known to have increased rapidly, and the straightforward training using quadratic programming over all of the given data is prohibitively expensive. While some researchers focus on training algorithms that operate in a stochastic manner, we explore data reduction by cluster analysis. Multi-class problems in which the number of classes is very large are of increasing interest. Our contribution is to speed up the training by removing as many irrelevant data as possible and preserving the potential data that are believed to be support vectors. The results show that too high a data reduction rate can degrade performance. However, on a subset of problems, the proposed methods have produced comparable results to the full SVM despite the high reduction rate. The new learning tree structure can then be combined with the data selection methods to obtain a further increase in speed. Finally, we also critically review SVM classification problems in which the input data is binary. In the chemoinformatics and bioinformatics literature, the Tanimoto kernel has been empirically shown to have good performance. The work we present, using carefully set up synthetic data of varying dimensions and dataset sizes, casts doubt on such claims. Improvements are noticeable, but not to the extent claimed in previous studies.


Summary 1. Characterizing and mitigating the disease risks associated with wildlife use of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) can reduce the spread of micro-organisms throughout the environment while increasing agricultural productivity. To better understand the disease risks associated with bird use of CAFOs, we assessed the capacity of European starlings Sturnus vulgaris to spread Salmonella enterica to cattle, their feed and water. 2. We sampled starlings, cattle feed, cattle water and cattle faeces from 10 CAFOs in Texas, USA. Samples were screened for Salmonella enterica to investigate: (i) the prevalence of S. enterica in starlings using CAFOs, (ii) whether there was a relationship between cattle infections and starling numbers, and (iii) if S. enterica contamination of cattle feed and water was related to numbers of starlings observed on CAFOs. 3. We used generalized linear mixed logistic regression models to assess the importance of starlings, cattle stocking, facility management and environmental variables in the transmission of S. enterica to cattle, feed troughs and water troughs in CAFOs. 4. Starling gastrointestinal tract samples tested positive for S. enterica (2AE5% prevalence; 95% CI = 0AE3%, 8AE6%) and starlings were retained as model covariates in the best supported logistic regression models for S. enterica contamination within cattle feed, water and faeces. 5. Salmonella enterica contamination of both cattle feed troughs and water troughs is significantly related to numbers of starlings. Contamination in cattle feed increased as more starlings entered feed troughs. Contamination in water troughs increased asymptotically as numbers of starlings on CAFOs increased. Starling variables in the cattle faecal shedding model were not significant. 6. Synthesis and applications. The numbers of European starlings better explained S. enterica contamination of cattle feed and water than other variables including cattle stocking, facility management and environmental variables. This suggests that starlings are a source of S. enterica contamination in CAFOs. Thus, starling management tools such as population control, habitat management, exclusionary devises and bird repellents may be used to reduce the amplification and spread of disease within livestock production systems.


When designing a new legged robot it is important to think about what the robot
has to do. It is not the same a non-stop walking robot than a legged robot which
has to be at the same position much longer than moving.
For the second kind of robot, it could be a great improvement to add a break
in each actuated joint, so it is not necesary to wasted energy during the stoped
time. And not only that, thanks to the brake, it is possible to achive heavier loads
using a speci c walking pattern in which you always place the center of mass on
the three legs that are not moving in that moment (with the brake activated),
while make the next step with the fourth leg.
The most common braking systems are mechanic, whether using an electro-
magnetic brake or some other kind of friction-based brake in addition to any
sort of actuator, e.g., hidraulic, electric, . . . Even though they have been deeply
studied, there are some disadvantage by using mechanic braking systems, i.e., the
high prices and the bad holding torque/weight relation, important aspect for a
legged robot.
This thesis presents a conceptual idea for a braking system based on the
thermodinamic control of Hot Melt Adhesive (HMA), as well as the basic char-
acteristics of this material and a long leg prototype which shows the feasibility
of this concept.


In this work, a solution strategy based on the use of Padé approximants is investigated for efficient solution of parametric finite element problems such as, for example, frequency sweep analyses. An improvement to the Padé-based expansion of the solution vector components is proposed, suggesting the advantageous a priori estimate of the poles of the solution. This allows for the intervals of approximation to be chosen a priori in connection with the Padé approximants to be used. The choice of these approximants is supported by the Montessus de Ballore theorem, proving the convergence of a series of approximants with fixed denominator degrees. An acoustic case study is presented in order to illustrate the potential of the approach proposed by the authors. Mots clefs : Approximants de Padé; modèles réduits; balayage en fréquence; éléments finis. 22ème Congrès Français de Mécanique Lyon, 24 au 28 Août 2015


A comprehensive survey of industrial sites and heat recovery products revealed gaps between equipment that was required and that which was available. Two heat recovery products were developed to fill those gaps: a gas-to-gas modular heat recovery unit; a gas-to-liquid exhaust gas heat exchanger. The former provided an entire heat recovery system in one unit. It was specifically designed to overcome the problems associated with existing component system of large design commitment, extensive installation and incompatibility between parts. The unit was intended to recover heat from multiple waste gas sources and, in particular, from baking ovens. A survey of the baking industry defined typical waste gas temperatures and flow rates, around which the unit was designed. The second unit was designed to recover heat from the exhaust gases of small diesel engines. The developed unit differed from existing designs by having a negligible effect on engine performance. In marketing terms these products are conceptual opposites. The first, a 'product-push' product generated from site and product surveys, required marketing following design. The second, a 'market-pull' product, resulted from a specific user need; this had a captive market and did not require marketing. Here marketing was replaced by commercial aspects including the protection of ideas, contracting, tendering and insurance requirements. These two product development routes are compared and contrasted. As a general conclusion this work suggests that it can be beneficial for small companies (as was the sponsor of this project) to undertake projects of the market-pull type. Generally they have a higher probability of success and are less capital intensive than their product-push counterparts. Development revealed shortcomings in three other fields: British Standards governing heat exchangers; financial assessment of energy saving schemes; degree day procedure of calculating energy savings. Methods are proposed to overcome these shortcomings.


A mass mortality event of captive Hong Kong warty newts Paramesotriton hongkongensis with non-granulomatous necrotic lesions occurred in Taipei Zoo, Taiwan, in 2014. Clinically, the sick newts were lethargic and often covered with water mold Saprolegnia sp. on the skin of the body trunk or extremities. Predominant pathological findings were multifocal non-granulomatous necrotic lesions in the liver, spleen, and kidneys and severe skin infection with Saprolegnia sp., with deep invasion and involvement of underlying muscles. The possibility of ranavirus infection was ruled out by negative PCR results. Unexpectedly, abundant intralesional acid-fast positive bacilli were found in the necrotic lesions of the liver, spleen, and kidney in all 14 sick newts. PCR targeting the hsp65, ITS region, and partial 16S rRNA genes was performed, and the sequence identity from amplified amplicons of hsp65 and partial 16S rRNA genes was 100% identical to that of the corresponding gene fragment of Mycobacterium marinum. Further molecular investigations demonstrated that the current M. marinum was a mycolactone-producing mycobacterium with the presence of esxA/esxB genes. Mycolactone is a plasmid-encoded, immunosuppressive, and cytotoxic toxin. The possible immunosuppression phenomenon characterized by systemic non-granulomatous necrotic lesions caused by M. marinum and the unusual deep invasive infection caused by water mold might be associated with the immunosuppressive effect of mycolactone. Therefore, it should be noted that non-granulomatous necrotic lesions in amphibians can be caused not only by ranavirus infection but also by mycobacteriosis.


South Africa's RDP housing programme has delivered ownership of a house and serviced land to millions of first time home-owners since 1994. Intended to both provide shelter and address poverty, the housing programme is typical of improvement initiatives of the modern state aimed at advancing the physical, economic or social situation of a target population. Yet little is known about the results of the South African housing programme for recipient households, except that some beneficiaries attract state censure for interacting with their houses in unexpected and unwelcome ways. Despite the lack of clarity on its effects, the large-scale costly housing programme continues to be implemented.
This study investigates the programme's outcomes in Johannesburg through the perspectives of both RDP beneficiaries and state housing practitioners. Findings transcend the denigration of RDP housing as 'poorly located', revealing people's complex interactions with their housing which show its flaws and limitations but also their attachment to it. To minimise the shortcomings of the housing benefit RDP settlements are appropriated, adapted and transformed, households composition may be re-configured and alternative accommodation off-site brought into play. In general the state has limited insight into this intricacy, little institutional appetite to explore it and holds contradictory positions on the outcomes of the programme. Despite the evident resources and power of the state, it is confounded by the complexity of people's practices.
More broadly, the study contributes to housing and planning literature through its focus on the interface between state and beneficiary practices. Peoples' responses to RDP housing emphasise both the state's limited capacity in addressing the housing need, but also the catalytic value and potential its intervention triggers. Rather than portraying the state and the subaltern as clashing over conflicting rationalities, it illuminates their overlapping aspirations and mutual shaping of space.


Mumbai and Stockholm are worlds apart in terms of public services, infrastructures and standard of living. However, both cities have known common problems of social exclusion and marginalisation related to neo-liberal globalisation. Social workers are facing similar challenges regarding collective empowerment as a strategy for community work. This comparative study explored how collective empowerment is undertaken by community workers. The research participants were 13 informants from community-work organisations in the two settings. Semi-structured interviews were used and were analysed with the help of Atlas-ti 6.2 (ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH D-10623 Berlin Germany). Social work in Mumbai is in a context of extreme poverty and mainly within the informal sector, whereas in Stockholm most social work is done in relation to a public welfare model. In Stockholm, interventions are aimed towards strengthening social networks, without direct aim at social change. In Mumbai, community workers organise people for collective empowerment to strengthen marginalised groups and achieve social change.


The development of the megaspore wall in Ginkgo biloba has been traced from its inception to its completion. The foundation for the wall is constructed on the free surface of the coenocytic megaspore and consists of a fibrillar matrix forming a system of radially-aligned, hexagonal chambers. A finely granular material begins to accumulate in the chambers, appearing first in the proximal region and then extending radially to form a series of interconnecting columns. Concurrent with the development of the columns a continuous granular basement is deposited against or just within the undersurface of the fibrillar matrix. As development proceeds, the character of the columns and basement layer changes; they become electron-opaque and amorphous. The fact that at this stage they also become resistant to acetolysis is taken as evidence for the changes in appearance being visible consequences of the introduction of the polymer sporopollenin into the wall. Three substrata are then formed beneath the patterned layer. The first is polysaccharide-rich and the material for its construction possibly originates in the dictyosomes of the megaspore cytoplasm. The second substratum is acetolysis-proof and is formed when electron-opaque globules are extruded across the plasma membrane from large, membrane-bound vesicles of unknown origin. The third substratum, like the first, contains polysaccharides which arrive in vesicles, again, possibly of dictyosomal origin. The third substratum develops in contiguity with the walls which partition the megaspore cytoplasm. The structure of the megaspore wall in several cycad genera has also been examined. Although these differ among themselves and from Ginkgo in a number of structural details, the principal features of construction are very much the same. The enhancement in electron contrast exhibited by the fibrillar matrix in all the genera after fixation in glutaraldehyde solutions containing cationic stains and tannic acid suggests that it is an acid polysaccharide-protein complex or glycoprotein. With these fixation procedures, membrane-like lamellae, discernible only in the sporopollenin component of the patterned layer after conventional techniques, can be detected in the matrix material. On this evidence it seems likely that the lamellae are primary structures involved in the formation of the sculptural elements. In the ovules of both the cycads and Ginkgo the nucellus tissue degenerates progressively as the megaspore and its wall develop so that a thick covering of cellular detritus accumulates against the surface of the megagametophyte. This detritus contains sporopollenin and lipids. The characteristics of development and structure of the megaspore wall in zooidogamous gymnosperms are compared with the now well-documented features of the pollen grain wall. The similarities are far more marked than the distinctions; indeed, the resemblances are such that it is possible to adopt pollen wall terminology to define the various constituent parts of the megaspore wall. In an attempt to explain the presence of such an elaborate wall in a situation where its utility is not immediately apparent, a conjecture is advanced which, leaning heavily on the evidence from recent work on the function of the pollen wall in flowering plants, predicts a rôle in the control of breeding behaviour.


The criminal law maxim "ignorance of the law is no excuse" represents a broad doctrine of strict liability in an area of law that usually insists on a culpable state of mind as a prerequisite for liability. For that reason, many scholars have attacked the harsh mistake-of-law rules as incompatible with basic principles of culpability. Other scholars have come to the defense of the maxim, and courts have adhered to it quite strongly even as the list of exceptions to the maxim has slowly grown. Oddly enough, however, this debate has proceeded without a definition of mistake of law. Distinguishing mistake of law, which generally does not excuse, from mistake of fact, which generally does, has proven difficult for scholars and judges alike, with the result that no serious effort to provide a definition of that distinction has yet been made. This article tries to fill that gap. It first defines the distinction by emphasizing law's status as a special system of linguistic meaning within the larger world of fact. It then uses that definition to argue that some orthodox categories of criminal law, particularly "mistake of non-criminal law" and "unreasonable mistake of fact," are empty concepts that serve only to obfuscate the line between mistake of law and mistake of fact, obscure the conflicts between at least two competing traditions of criminal intent, and thus impede a principled approach to the problem of whether and when ignorance of the law should excuse.


Objectives: Azithromycin has poor aqueous solubility and its dissolution is the rate-limiting step. Therefore the objective of this work to increase the solubility and dissolution of azithromycin. Hence aim of the study was to develop, characterize and evaluate dissolution properties of inclusion complexes of Azithromycin with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). Methods: Phase solubility was performed by Higuchi and Connors's method for determination of stoichiometry of AZM/ β-CD and AZM/ HP-β-CD inclusion complex. It again confirmed by Jobs plot. Inclusion complex of Azithromycin with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was prepared by kneading method and solvent evaporation method in molar ratio of 1:1. The inclusion complex in solid state was characterized by FT-IR, DSC, HNMR, SEM. Results: AL type was found in the phase solubility diagram which indicated the development of the inclusion complex in 1:1 stoichiometry with HP-β-CD. The stability constant decrease with increasing temperature. All thermodynamic parameters for the inclusion complex were calculated from Van't Hoff plots. The highest enhancement in dissolution and solubility were observed in the inclusion complex developed with HPβ-CD using the kneading method. FT-IR spectra exhibited that the hydroxyl group of azithromycin was participate in inclusion process. DSC study supportedamorphization of drug molecule and entrapment of drug in the HP-β-CD cavity. It further confirmed with nuclear magnetic resonance and scanning electron microscopy studies. Conclusion: The solubility was significantly improved by the inclusion complex with HP-β-CD (9 fold). The dissolution of azithromycin was improved with inclusion phenomena using kneading method. The result of studies showed the inclusion of Azithromycin molecule inside HP-β-CD cavities.


- Offers not just authoritative, accessible information but advice on every step of the whistleblowing process
 - Copublished with the Government Accountability Project, which has been aiding and protecting whistleblowers since 1977
 - Illustrated with vivid examples drawn from GAP's thirty-year history

 Corporate whistleblowers save lives, prevent fraud, and preserve the environment. Some even become famous. But what the general public sees is the end result of a long, difficult, draining, and often frightening process. Whistleblowers rarely have any idea what they're in for and, daunted by the ferocity of the resistance and their feelings of isolation and helplessness, some give up, and others are broken financially and emotionally.

 Blowing the whistle will always require courage and perseverance, but it no longer has to be done alone. The Corporate Whistleblower's Survival Guide will serve as an expert advisor for anyone contemplating bringing corporate wrongdoers to justice. Tom Devine and Tarek F. Maassarani draw on the accumulated experience of the Government Accountability Project, which since 1977 has helped over 5,000 people take on organizations like AIG, the World Bank, Procter & Gamble, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals--and win.

 Devine and Maassarani detail every consideration potential whistleblowers should weigh and paint a vivid picture of the tactics corporations use to attack whistleblowers and cover up or deny damaging revelations. If you are considering blowing the whistle, this book offers hands-on, practical advice on every aspect of the process--finding information to support your claims, determining who to blow the whistle to, enlisting allies, and taking advantage of what legal options exist. The Corporate Whistleblower's Survival Guide will enable readers to bring vital information to light while keeping their sanity, relationships, and careers intact.


Regulation of the transcription factor NF-κB is central to the activation of T cells in the immune system. Activation of the T cell receptor leads to accumulation of a group of signaling proteins within lipid rafts in the plasma membrane. Somehow this process results in activation of the IKK (IκB kinase) complex, which leads to activation of NF-κB. Lee et al. (see the Perspective by van Oers and Chen) provide a mechanism that helps link these processes. The 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK-1) interacts with and activates another protein kinase, PKCθ, which in turn interacts with components of the IKK complex and is required for their recruitment to the lipid rafts. PDK1 also interacts with the scaffold protein CARD11, which in turn recruits the Bcl10 and MALT1 proteins. The latter proteins mediate ubiquitination of a component of the IKK complex, the signal that eventually activates NF-κB. K.-Y. Lee, F. D'Acquisto, M. S. Hayden, J.-H. Shim, S. Ghosh, PDK1 nucleates T cell receptor-induced signaling complex for NF-κB activation. Science 308, 114-118 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text] N. S. C. van Oers, Z. J. Chen, Kinasing and clipping down the NF-κB trail. Science 308, 65-66 (2005). [Summary] [Full Text]


A critical problem in daily decision making is how to choose actions now in order to bring about rewards later. Indeed, many of our actions have long-term consequences, and it is important to not be myopic in balancing the pros and cons of different options, but rather to take into account both immediate and delayed consequences of actions. Failures to do so may be manifest as persistent, maladaptive decision-making, one example of which is addiction where behavior seems to be driven by the immediate positive experiences with drugs, despite the delayed adverse consequences. A recent study by Takahashi et al. (2007) investigated the effects of cocaine sensitization on decision making in rats and showed that drug use resulted in altered representations in the ventral striatum and the dorsolateral striatum, areas that have been implicated in the neural instantiation of a computational solution to optimal long-term actions selection called the Actor/Critic framework. In this Focus article we discuss their results and offer a computational interpretation in terms of drug-induced impairments in the Critic. We first survey the different lines of evidence linking the subparts of the striatum to the Actor/Critic framework, and then suggest two possible scenarios of breakdown that are suggested by Takahashi et al.'s (2007) data. As both are compatible with the current data, we discuss their different predictions and how these could be empirically tested in order to further elucidate (and hopefully inch towards curing) the neural basis of drug addiction.


The effects of atmospheric turbulence on the degree of polarization (DOP) of a partially coherent electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model beam are discussed. The analysis is based on unified theory of coherence and polarization and on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle. Intermediate and far-zone behavior of the DOP are discussed.


For decades, the OECD constituted an economic and political "club" of Western countries focused around the transatlantic axis. Today, it faces unprecedented challenges as the world economy shifts to the East and the South. In response, the OECD is undergoing meaningful reform: it is becoming more inclusive by broadening out membership, whilst taking a more open-minded approach to policy, recognising there are more ways to economic growth than the "OECD way". The OECD needs to engage the new economic players, but do they really need the OECD? Using primary data, official documents, semi-structured interviews with high officials and secondary sources, this paper evaluates the prospective roles the organization could play in international economic governance at the beginning of the twenty-first century.


The sol gel route allows powder-less processing of glasses and ceramics. Sol gel chemistry provides mild conditions so that organic species can be mixed with the inorganic precursors, leading to the formation of hybrid organic-inorganic systems. In the present work silica glasses were prepared by sol gel technique. The structural properties of silica glasses has been investigated with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), since Infrared spectroscopy may probe the nature of the bond between the metal cation and its surrounding oxygens and can distinguish the bonding between metal cations with oxygen.


CD Market Response to the Citicorp Loan-Loss Reserve Decision and the International Debt Crisis of 1987(*) On May 19, 1987, Citicorp announced that it would augment its loan-loss reserve by $3 billion to cover potential losses on loans to less-developed countries (LDCs). This event was perceived as a reaction to Brazil's announcement on February 20, 1987, to suspend interest payments on debt held by foreign banks and was a major policy shift in Citicorp's treatment of the LDC debt problem. Within a month, most of the large money-center banks followed Citicorp's decision. The events surrounding these announcements are given in the Appendix to this paper. The Brazil announcement and Citicorp decision was not the first crisis of its kind. In August 1982, Mexico announced a moratorium on its foreign debt payments that heightened public concern over bank LDC debt exposure. Subsequently, numerous studies analyzed risk-adjusted stock market returns around the date of the Mexican announcement. Schoder and Vankudre [16], Cornell and Shapiro [5], and Smirlock and Kaufold [17] found mixed or insignificant effects. However, Bruner and Simms [4], who examined forty-eight of the nation's largest banks, found significant negative risk-adjusted equity returns following the announcement data. Recently, the impact of the Citicorp decision has received increased attention in the research literature. Grammatikos and Saunders [8] found positive abnormal returns accrued to shareholders of the largest banks following the Citicorp decision. This conclusion was confirmed by Musumeci and Sinkey [12], who examined the equity returns of the twenty-five largest U.S. banks. This paper further explores the impact of the Citicorp decision by examining the effect in the large negotiable Certificate of Deposit (CD) market. Examination of this market should be of interest for at least two reasons. First, the equity market studies focus on profitability and the combined effects on both the asset and liability sides of the bank balance sheet, whereas analysis of the CD market focuses specifically on the liability or funding side of the bank. Second, the examination of this market addresses the issue of market discipline. That is, any effects realized in the CD market would indicate the market's ability to reward or penalize banks for unnecessary risk exposure and management of the LDC debt problem. This is a problem that will probably not go away for quite some time. Indeed, only recently (see The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 1989)Chase Manhattan and Manufacturers Hanover increased their loan-loss reserves to over forty-five percent of their LDC exposure. This is well above the 30 percent mark achieved by Citicorp in 1987. The Citicorp decision to increase loan-loss reserves (LLR) and the money-center and large regional banks that subsequently followed represented a major shift in policy toward the treatment of their LDC debt exposure. A predictable reaction in the financial markets to these decisions is not obvious. Risk premiums in the CD markets could increase if the markets perceived the decision as a signal of increasing loan defaults, which would further strain the financial condition of these banks. On the other hand, CD premia could decline due to a positive market perception of the decision. In this case, the market may perceive the banks to be in a better bargaining position that could lead to more favorable settlement terms in the event that a final resolution is obtained. A positive reaction could also be due to the fact that banks are "facing up" to the LDC debt problem and may consequently reduce some of the uncertainty with respect to the crisis. In a sense, this contrasts with Continental Illinois' reaction to the loan defaults that resulted from its dealings with Penn Square Bank in Oklahoma City in the early 1980s. Uncertainly in the financial condition of Continental grew until May 1984, when a huge deposit run on the bank led to a major liquidity crisis at the bank and a subsequent federal bailout. …


This paper describes a qualitative study that was conducted within the care home setting o determine the pain experiences of residents, their preferred strategies and the staff attitudes and understanding about pain. An exploratory cross sectional study within six care homes within one district was conducted using several methods of data collection. The residents and staff were interviewed and a questionnaire given to a random sample of staff. Several key themes were identified by residents including a reluctance to report pain, acceptance that pain wass normal and low expectations of help from medical interventions, fear of chemical or pharmacological interventions, age related rerceptions of pain and lack of awareness of potential pain relieving strategies. Staff interviews highlighted that they wanted to know if the residents were in pain, wanting to do more and an interest in using complementary therapies. Recommendations are made for further research in this area.


Background: Turbinaria conoides is one of abundant brown macroalgae in Indonesian oceans contains phenolic derivatives. Phloroglucinol is a multifunctional phenolic derivative in brown algae. Phloroglucinol has been known to have activity inhibitor tyrosinase, because phloroglucinol is copper chelating agent. The antioxidant and the tyrosinase inhibitor activities are parameters of the skin lightening active ingredient. The mechanism of tyrosinase inhibitors is to decrease skin pigmentation by inhibit the catalytic steps of the enzyme to the pigmentation associated with melanin production in the pathway of melanogenesis. Antioxidant activity protects skin against oxidative stress mediated by UVR. Numerous report have determine phenolic compound of T. conoides as antioxidant but none is reported as tyrosinase inhibitor. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the activities of T. conoides as antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitor. Methods: Turbinaria conoides were extracted with ethanol with different concentration (30%, 50% and 70%) by maceration method. Crude ethanolic extracts of T. conoides were Determined its total phenolic content, antioxidant activity (DPPH) and tyrosinase inhibitor. Results: E50 showed the highest total phenolic content (27.63±1.05 mg PGE/g extract). Antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitor activities of E50 showed IC50 value of 215.96 μg/mL and 188.85 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: Ethanol extract of Turbinaria conoides is potential as antioxidant agent and tyrosinase inhibitor.


Shortage of raw materials needed to manufacture components for silicon-based digital memory storage has led to a search for alternatives, including systems for storing texts, images, movies and other forms of information in DNA. Use of DNA as a medium for storage of 3-D information has also been investigated. However, two problems have yet to be addressed: first, storage of 3-D information in DNA has used objects and coding schemes which require large volumes of data; second, the medium used for DNA information-keeping has been inconsistent with qualities needed for long-term data storage. Here, we address these problems. First, we created in vivo DNA-encoded digital archives holding precise specifications for 3- and 4-dimensional figures with unprecedented efficiency. Second, we have demonstrated more robust and longer-lasting information-carriers than earlier repositories for DNA-based data archives by inserting digital information into the halophile, Halobacterium salinarum , an extremophilic archaeon. We then embedded Information-keeping halophiles into crystalline mineral salts in which similar organisms have been shown to persist in stasis for hundreds of millions of years. We propose that digital information archives composed in 3 or more dimensions may be inserted into halophilic organisms and preserved intact for indefinite periods of time.


Abstract:The formation of Bangladesh in 1971 coincided with the death of three million people and rape of two hundred thousand women (according to official and contested figures) by the West Pakistani army and local East Pakistani collaborators. Yet 1971 rarely exists in any public form in Pakistan and there is no "will to architecture" in relation to it. This essay explores the phenomenon of "apparent amnesia" of the past that is 1971 in Pakistan. What implications does consigning 1971 to oblivion have for Pakistan's history? This essay seeks to examine the politics of knowing what not to narrate in relation to the disavowed pasts of 1971 in Pakistan. It draws on long-term ethnographic research on the public memories and nationalist narratives of sexual violence during the Bangladesh war of 1971, along with discussions with various Pakistani scholars and students and engagement with historical sources, government documents, textbooks, blog posts, press articles, and other secondary materials. This gives us an insight into what implications 1971 has for the understandings of apology and forgiveness in relation to the shadowy pasts of Pakistan.


Self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticles has been studied extensively for particles having different sizes and compositions. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to how the shape and surface chemistry of magnetic nanoparticles affects their self-assembly properties. Here, we undertook a combined experiment-theory study aimed at better understanding of the self-assembly of cubic magnetite (Fe3O4) particles. We demonstrated that, depending on the experimental parameters, such as the direction of the magnetic field and nanoparticle density, a variety of superstructures can be obtained, including one-dimensional filaments and helices, as well as C-shaped assemblies described here for the first time. Furthermore, we functionalized the surfaces of the magnetic nanocubes with light-sensitive ligands. Using these modified nanoparticles, we were able to achieve orthogonal control of self-assembly using a magnetic field and light.


"I walked out of my first Ph.D. project!" I exclaimed. I was just a few months into a new job as manager of a graduate school, sitting in my first doctoral student recruitment board meeting. The faculty members and I were discussing the candidates we had interviewed. One hadn't hidden the fact that she wished to leave her current Ph.D. position to join our program, and some of the faculty members worried this might be a bad sign, indicating a lack of commitment. I argued that such a decision is not taken lightly and, depending on the circumstances, can indicate strength of character rather than failure. I hadn't planned to bring up my personal experience, but it felt like the right time.

![Figure][1]

ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER

> "Who would ever take me on as a doctoral student after I had walked out like that?"

Twenty years earlier, I had enthusiastically embarked on my own Ph.D. journey in the lab of a well-known professor. But the lab culture was bad from the start. The default mode seemed to be blaming the new guy for whatever went wrong. I was shouted at for breaking a piece of equipment I had never used—and several other times for no valid reason. I tried to focus on my work. For 3 months, every morning I built myself up with all the motivation I could muster, only to return home each night deflated and drained.

I wondered whether I just needed to toughen up. Working at the leading edge of science was sure to be demanding, after all. Friends and family members in whom I confided suggested, all with good intentions, that the challenges I was experiencing might be part of a normal transition from the relatively structured life of an undergraduate student toward academic independence. It was hard to recognize what now appears obvious: The conditions in the lab were unacceptable.

One evening, on the way home after another shouting incident, what I thought was an itch on my cheek turned out to be tears streaming down my face. I knew then that enough was enough. After a sleepless night and against the "better" judgment of others, I announced my immediate departure. As I left, I thanked a colleague for his support. "That is brave," he said. A few months later, I learned he too had resigned. I also discovered that my predecessor as a Ph.D. student in the lab had left after 1 year due to burnout.

I worked menial jobs to make ends meet, not sure of the way forward. I was still interested in pursuing research, but my enthusiasm had taken a major hit and I felt like damaged goods. Who would ever take me on as a doctoral student after I had walked out like that? An application to work in another lab proved unsuccessful, though I can't say whether this was because of my tarnished record or because my heart was not quite in it anymore.

I was lucky. My former master's degree supervisor came to my aid and arranged a short stint for me to work as a research assistant in a collaborator's lab. I embraced the opportunity to discover a new country and found a team of jovial colleagues with an enthusiastic group leader who helped me regain my passion for research. In the meantime, my master's supervisor was granted funding for a Ph.D. student and offered me the position. I had been given a second chance. I went on to obtain my Ph.D., complete a postdoc, work as a lecturer, and run my own lab before moving to my current position.

At the recruitment meeting, someone mentioned that a former principal investigator from our candidate's current department had recently taken a position at a nearby research institute. By coincidence, I had met him just a few days earlier. The board agreed that I should get in touch with him to ask whether a student might have a legitimate reason to leave that department. His answer: "I consider that very likely."

Walking out of my first Ph.D. project was the most difficult and most important decision of my professional life. Young academics making such a tough call ought to be recognized for their resolve more often than I fear they are. I am glad that our recruitment board did.

 [1]: pending:yes


In Part I, the theory of the normal modes of the Earth is investigated and used to build synthetic seismograms in order to solve source and structural problems. After a study of the physical properties of spheroidal modes leading to a rational classification, two specific
problems are addressed: the observability of deep isotropic seismic sources and the investigation of the physical properties of the Earth in the neighborhood of the Core-Mantle boundary, using SH waves diffracted at the core's surface.

In Chapter 1, it is shown that five different families of spheroidal modes can be isolated on the basis of their physical properties, including group velocities, attenuation and excitation functions. Except for a few hybrid modes, these families are arranged in "pseudoovertone" branches, along which physical properties vary smoothly. The simplified model of a spherical, non-gravitating Earth is used to give a theoretical description of the properties of modes with low angular orders. Their group velocity is shown to be consistent with the physical concept of dispersion along a pseudo-overt one branch, thereby justifying the use of asymptotic expansions along them in generating synthetic seismograms. An interpretation of the existence of the various families in terms of an increase in modecoupling
with angular order is presented. A formal classification of
the spheroidal modes into the five families is made, and a new nomenclature reflecting the physical properties of the modes is proposed.

In Chapter 2, the relative excitation of body and surface waves by isotropic and deviatoric sources is studied as a function of depth and frequency. Since the fundamental Rayleigh wave excitation dies off faster as a function of frequency and depth for isotropic than for deviatoric sources, an ultra-long period record at Pasadena of
the Colombian deep shock of 1970 (for which a compressional precursor was proposed), is studied and compared to synthetic seismograms calculated for several source models. The best agreement is obtained for a pure double-couple source. Linear combinations of synthetics for deviatoric and isotropic sources are tested for a wide range of
relative amplitudes, showing the data to be little sensitive to the presence of a reasonably large isotropic component.

In Chapter 3, profiles of seismic shear waves diffracted around the core (Sd) for three deep events recorded at stations across North America and the Atlantic Ocean are used to determine the properties of the lower mantle in the vicinity of the core-mantle boundary. The S wave velocity above the surface of the core is found to be 7.22 ±
0.1 km/s, in agreement with gross Earth models, but higher than previously reported values from direct measurements of Sd. No evidence for a low- velocity zone in the lower mantle is found. Synthetic seismograms for Sd are easily generated through normal mode summation. A comparison of the present data with a synthetic profile for Earth model 1066A gives excellent agreement at periods greater
than 45 seconds. Synthetics for other models confirm the absence of a strong low-velocity zone at the base of the mantle, and are used to strongly constrain any possible rigidity of the uppermost layers of the core.

In Part II, data sets of seismic body and surface waves are used in a search for possible deep lateral heterogeneities in the mantle. In both cases, it is found that seismic data do not require structural differences between oceans and continents to extend deeper than 250 km. In general, differences between oceans and continents are found
to be on the same order of magnitude as the intrinsic lateral heterogeneity in the oceanic plate brought about by the aging of the oceanic lithosphere. A consistent similarity is inferred between stable shields and the oldest parts of the oceans.

In Chapter I, an analysis of records of multiply reflected ScS phases from ten deep focus earthquakes yields near-vertical one-way travel-time residuals ranging from -3.5 to +5.0 seconds. Continental and oceanic residuals overlap, and both indicate large lateral variations. Similar values are found for the older oceanic basins (Western Pacific, Brazil Basin) and continental shields. Most, if not all, of the variations can be attributed to differences in the
lithosphere and asthenosphere, down to a depth of 200 km, and the present results are in good agreement with local models derived by independent means. Oceanic islands are found to be anomalous with respect to the neighboring ocean floor, the mantle beneath Hawaii, Iceland and Trindade (South Atlantic) being exceptionally slow.

In Chapter 2, Rayleigh wave phase velocities at very long
periods (185 to 290 seconds) are investigated and regionalized, taking into account the lateral heterogeneities in the oceanic plates revealed by earlier studies at shorter periods. The two-station method is applied to a few 'pure-age' oceanic paths, and is shown to
be compatible with an average gross Earth model below depths of 180 km. Under this assumed oceanic model, regionalized for age above 180 km, continental velocities are derived from a set of experimental great-circle values, both new or taken from previously published studies. The results basically agree with the earlier studies by
Kanamori or Dziewonski, and it is suggested that the assumption of a uniform oceanic model may have been responsible for some scatter in Kanamori's solution. The results of the present inversion are successfully checked against a set of values derived by the two-station
method from a pure continental, tectonic, path. A recent event in Indonesia is then used as a further independent check, in what is believed to be the first experimental determination of Rayleigh wave phase velocities over a pure shield path at very long periods. The shield velocities fall within the range of variation of their oceanic
counterparts with the age of the plate, in agreement with the results of Chapter 1. This makes velocities derived theoretically from models involving deep continent vs. ocean lateral heterogeneities inconsistent with the present set of experimental data. Finally, it is shown that
Dziewonski's model S2 reconciles all experimental seismic data relative to shields without being significantly different from oceanic models below 240 km.


Understanding the effects of novel cancer drugs on the tumor microenvironment will be crucial for their successful use in patients. In this issue of Cancer Research, Ghosh and colleagues discuss the effect of two promising heme-targeting agents on the vascular network in mouse models of lung cancer, utilizing emerging optoacoustic imaging approaches. The findings demonstrating significant, dynamic modulation of tumor hypoxia with the heme-targeting drug treatments create important opportunities for image-guided combination therapy. See related article by Ghosh et al., p. 3542


The tug of relative sea level (RSL), set by climate and tectonics, is widely viewed as the most important boundary condition for the evolution of deltas. However, the range of amplitudes and periodicities of RSL cycles stored in deltaic stratigraphy remains unknown. Experimental results presented here suggest that extraction of RSL cycles from the physical stratigraphic record requires their magnitudes and periodicities to be greater than the spatial and temporal scales of the internal (autogenic) dynamics of deltas. These results predict stratigraphic storage of information pertaining to RSL cycles during icehouse Earth conditions. However, these thresholds commonly overlap with the magnitudes and periodicities of RSL cycles for major river deltas during greenhouse Earth conditions, suggesting stratigraphic signal shredding. This theory suggests quantitative limits on the range of paleo-RSL information that can be extracted from stratigraphy, which could aid the prediction of deltaic response to climate change.


ABSTRACT The increase in stock option compensation has become controversial as disclosures emerge that executives have abused stock option compensation. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 gives stock options preferential tax treatment, allowing options to not be subject to the cap on corporate tax deductions for salaries exceeding $1 million. To examine whether this increases CEO stock option compensation, we use SP strongest effects are at the bottom of the distribution. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.) INTRODUCTION The increase in stock option grants during the 1990s is becoming increasingly controversial as disclosures emerge that senior executives of companies such as Enron Corp. and Global Crossing reaped millions of dollars in profit by exercising their stock options as the public held onto stock that became worthless. For example, Global Crossing reported a negative net income of $10,500,000, while they still issued the CEO, Mr. Annunziata, $182,000,000 worth of stock options. In addressing the corporate scandals, Senator Carl Levin recently suggested that stock option pay encourages firms and executives to push tax law to the limit. Our current tax code gives stock options preferential tax treatment. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (1RS par. 9001B, sec. 1.162) increases the incentive of firms to pay executives in the form of stock options. Specifically, Section 162(m) allows "performance-based pay," such as stock options, to not be subject to the limits or the cap on corporate income tax deductions for salaries exceeding $1 million. To ensure the full tax deductibility of top executives' pay, companies may shift any amount in excess of $1 million to "performance based pay," such as stock options. In this paper, we use annual data from Standard & Poor's ExecuComp on the CEO of 2,412 firms from 1992 to 2000 to examine if the 1993 SEC Section 162(m) cap on salary compensation reform has altered the mix of compensation that firms pay executives. In our analysis, we control for the changes in the stock market, firm size, firm performance and financial structure. Results will help determine to what extent the 1993 salary cap encourages firms to pay executives in stock options to obtain a tax advantage. Since companies may behave differently dependent on their position in the distribution, we then use a quantile regression technique. STOCK OPTIONS TAX TREATMENT Currently, a nonqualified stock option is taxed under Code Section 83, stating that an employer is allowed to deduct the full value of the employee's income from the exercise and sale of stock options. While companies can deduct stock options from their corporate taxes, salary is limited on the amount that it can be deducted from taxes. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA 1993), Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (1RS par. 900 IB, sec. 1.162), eliminated the deductibility of executive salary compensation in excess of $1 million. This regulation limits the corporate tax deduction for compensation paid to the top five highest-paid executive officers to a 1$ million cap each. However, "qualified performance based pay" was exempt by (1RS par. 9001B, sec. 1.162-7[C][I]).1 While this supposedly constrains executive compensation, it may have just altered the mix of compensation towards "performance based pay." For stock options to qualify for an exemption from this limit, the total number of options and the limit of their reward must be approved by the outside directors. The exemption requirements are much stricter for bonus and long-term incentive plans. As opposed to salary and bonuses, stock options are generally not subject to the limits of Section 162(m). …


Modern food systems are characterized by a high energy intensity as well as by the production of large amounts of waste, residuals and food losses. This inefficiency presents major consequences, in terms of GHG emissions, waste disposal, and natural resource depletion.
The research hypothesis is that residual biomass material could contribute to the energetic needs of food systems, if recovered as an integrated renewable energy source (RES), leading to a sensitive reduction of the impacts of food systems, primarily in terms of fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions.
In order to assess these effects, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted to compare two different food systems: a fossil fuel-based system and an integrated system with the use of residual as RES for self-consumption. The food product under analysis has been the peach nectar, from cultivation to end-of-life. The aim of this LCA is twofold. On one hand, it allows an evaluation of the energy inefficiencies related to agro-food waste. On the other hand, it illustrates how the integration of bioenergy into food systems could effectively contribute to reduce this inefficiency.
Data about inputs and waste generated has been collected mainly through literature review and databases. Energy balance, GHG emissions (Global Warming Potential) and waste generation have been analyzed in order to identify the relative requirements and contribution of the different segments. An evaluation of the energy "loss" through the different categories of waste allowed to provide details about the consequences associated with its management and/or disposal.
Results should provide an insight of the impacts associated with inefficiencies within food systems. The comparison provides a measure of the potential reuse of wasted biomass and the amount of energy recoverable, that could represent a first step for the formulation of specific policies on the integration of bioenergies for self-consumption.


This article concentrates on production and consumption, particularly of food and textiles, and the contribution of such processes and bodily action to feeling at home, for the highly heterogeneous population of Karenni refugees from Burma living in camps on the Thai border. Looking at eating, weaving and wearing, I examine the implications and associations of the production and consumption processes and their similarities and differences with pre-exile life. I argue that an investigation into sensory aspects of such issues can illuminate how it feels to be a refugee, in a physical sense: to be out of one's familiar place and ecology, seeking actively to bring about a sense of being 'at home' in the exiled context of a border camp. Being displaced inevitably alters forced migrants' connections with the physical world of places, objects and other people of which they are a part. To focus on this aspect of forced migration, rather than following the more usual emphases on causes, protection and assistance, or psychosocial impacts, facilitates exploration of the fundamentally cultural processes through which refugees make meaning out of the rupture they have experienced. It is an approach that demonstrates local agency and makes it clear that refugees are not passive victims, but active agents working hard to make the best of their circumstances. For the Karenni as for other displaced and non-displaced peoples alike, an important part of feeling 'at home' is the cultivation of a sense of spatiotemporal continuity of place and of emplacement. Yet real, physical continuity of place is impossible for refugees: the camp is not and never will be the place whence they have come. I demonstrate that refugees make considerable efforts to create a sense of purpose and home in displacement, and that embodied knowledge and the opportunity for its repeated enactment, and especially, sensory experience, are central components in this. While the camp is in some ways perpetually becoming more like home, it will never quite be it. Nonetheless, repeated and active engagement in the present with the objects and actions of the past, are in a refugee setting particularly powerful and dynamic in forming and re-forming connections with the pre-exile past. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


On-Road Intelligent Vehicles: Motion Planning for Intelligent Transportation Systems deals with the technology of autonomous vehicles, with a special focus on the navigation and planning aspects, presenting the information in three parts. Part One deals with the use of different sensors to perceive the environment, thereafter mapping the multi-domain senses to make a map of the operational scenario, including topics such as proximity sensors which give distances to obstacles, vision cameras, and computer vision techniques that may be used to pre-process the image, extract relevant features, and use classification techniques like neural networks and support vector machines for the identification of roads, lanes, vehicles, obstacles, traffic lights, signs, and pedestrians. With a detailed insight into the technology behind the vehicle, Part Two of the book focuses on the problem of motion planning. Numerous planning techniques are discussed and adapted to work for multi-vehicle traffic scenarios, including the use of sampling based approaches comprised of Genetic Algorithm and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees and Graph search based approaches, including a hierarchical decomposition of the algorithm and heuristic selection of nodes for limited exploration, Reactive Planning based approaches, including Fuzzy based planning, Potential Field based planning, and Elastic Strip and logic based planning. Part Three of the book covers the macroscopic concepts related to Intelligent Transportation Systems with a discussion of various topics and concepts related to transportation systems, including a description of traffic flow, the basic theory behind transportation systems, and generation of shock waves. Provides an overall coverage of autonomous vehicles and Intelligent Transportation SystemsPresents a detailed overview, followed by the challenging problems of navigation and planningTeaches how to compare, contrast, and differentiate navigation algorithms


DeepRacer is a platform for end-to-end experimentation with RL and can be used to systematically investigate the key challenges in developing intelligent control systems. Using the platform, we demonstrate how a 1/18th scale car can learn to drive autonomously using RL with a monocular camera. It is trained in simulation with no additional tuning in physical world and demonstrates: 1) formulation and solution of a robust reinforcement learning algorithm, 2) narrowing the reality gap through joint perception and dynamics, 3) distributed on-demand compute architecture for training optimal policies, and 4) a robust evaluation method to identify when to stop training. It is the first successful large-scale deployment of deep reinforcement learning on a robotic control agent that uses only raw camera images as observations and a model-free learning method to perform robust path planning. We open source our code and video demo on GitHub: this https URL.


ALMOST TWENTY YEARS AGO I was about to leave Rome where I had been working in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in order to take up an assignment as bishop of a diocese in New Zealand. An Anglican cleric, a longtime acquaintance, who was then secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches, had called at our office. He asked what episcopal motto I had chosen. In fact I had decided on the motto of Cardinal Bea, first president of the Pontifical Council--speaking the truth in love. My Anglican friend's reaction was immediately negative, even angry. He saw "truth" as canceling "love." For him truth was harsh and demanding, love accepting and compassionate. By this account, it would be impossible to speak of truth and love together. Fortunately the Holy Father himself has come to the rescue. In the General Audience held on April 5, 2006, he said: "The Church of love is also the Church of truth." (1) It is a theme the Holy Father has developed over the years, and in what follows I draw on some of his writings. For instance in his book Truth and Tolerance he says, "Truth and love are identical." He explains that what is true and what is good cannot be separated from one another. It is only by knowing the truth about God that the truth about what is good, the truth about love, becomes accessible. The only weapon truth has is itself and the love which it begets. The truth of God does not divide; rather it binds together. It is the force that makes universal peace and communication possible. (2) A Carmelite writer has spoken of "being released by truth for love." (3) It was important, and probably courageous, that Pope Benedict should write an encyclical on love. Within the Church herself the word "love" has been much abused. In the years after the Second Vatican Council many homilies were little more than a repetition of the Beatles' song "All You Need is Love." At almost every Mass we had to sing "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love"; serious Catholics just wanted to give up on any mention of love--which was not a good thing. Love is misunderstood and prostituted in today's world, yet love is at the heart of the message of the Gospel. In an address to the Pontifical Council "Cor Llnum" about the time the encyclical Deus Caritas Est was published, Pope Benedict, making reference to Dante's Divine Comedy, spoke of love as "the primordial creative power that moves the universe." (4) Far from being a vapid sentiment, the love he is describing is, he says, "an expression of the primordial reality." (5) He explains this later in the encyclical: "The Logos, primal reason, is at the same time a love with all the passion of true love." (6) It is not as if it were somehow the antithesis of truth; love has its ground in the primordial reality that is truth. But it is truth that has to issue in love that he can call "the primordial cosmic power." (7) The Pope is "speaking about an order of truth and love where the former is joined to the latter and yet comes before it." (8) The Italian monk Divo Barsotti interpreting the thought of the philosopher Romano Amerigo opines that "it is a mental disorder that places 'caritas' before 'veritas,' a disorder that turns upside down the proper understanding we should have of the Most Holy Trinity; it was from the divine mouth of Christ that the breath of the Holy Spirit came, not the other way around; love proceeds from the Word." (9) One begins with the supernatural truth that Christ alone teaches in order to receive from him the gift of the Holy Spirit through whom he gives us the capstone of "caritas." Often the confusion comes from what people think truth is. The Orthodox philosopher David Bentley Hart says, "Today one finds that what is called truth is usually a consensus wrested from diversity amid a war of persuasions." (10) Such contemporary truths are "the fruit of the rhetoric of power, truths that profess to subsist upon 'disinterested' dialectic alone, that advance their claims over others with aims and instruments of judicial terror. …


In this article we use three years (2001, 2002, and 2004) of Cluster plasma sheet data to investigate what happens to localized energy conversion regions (ECRs) in the plasma sheet during times of high magnetospheric ac- tivity. By examining variations in the power density, E·J , where E is the electric field and J is the current density obtained by Cluster, we have studied the influence on Con- centrated Load Regions (CLRs) and Concentrated Generator Regions (CGRs) from variations in the geomagnetic distur- bance level as expressed by the Kp, the AE, and the Dst in- dices. We find that the ECR occurrence frequency increases during higher magnetospheric activities, and that the ECRs become stronger. This is true both for CLRs and for CGRs, and the localized energy conversion therefore concerns en- ergy conversion in both directions between the particles and the fields in the plasma sheet. A higher geomagnetic activ- ity hence increases the general level of energy conversion in the plasma sheet. Moreover, we have shown that CLRs live longer during magnetically disturbed times, hence convert- ing more electromagnetic energy. The CGR lifetime, on the other hand, seems to be unaffected by the geomagnetic ac- tivity level. The evidence for increased energy conversion during geomagnetically disturbed times is most clear for Kp and for AE, but there are also some indications that energy conversion increases during large negative Dst. This is con- sistent with the plasma sheet magnetically mapping to the auroral zone, and therefore being more tightly coupled to au- roral activities and variations in the AE and Kp indices, than to variations in the ring current region as described by the Dst index.


Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are substances that influence the endocrine system in living organisms. They include natural hormones, medicinal drugs, chemical compounds in industry, and pesticides in agriculture. The substances may be present in water and wastewater, soil and sediments, or airborne. Our research is focused on the estrogenic EDCs, i.e. substances which mimic the natural hormone estrogen produced by the body, and their occurrence and fate in the context of wastewater management. The primary contributors to estrogenic activity wastewater are 17�-estradiol, estrone, and 17�-ethinylestradiol. We are interested in readily detecting and quantifying this estrogenic activity as a first step in the daily management and reduction of estrogenic EDCs in wastewater before discharge into the environment with effluent and biosolids. We report progress on a fluorescence assay for the presence of estrogenic activity in water samples using a living estrogen-sensitive yeast cell strain, and on a study of responses of living yeast cells to estrogen and alkylphenol exposure using synchrotron radiation-based Fourier Transform infrared spectromicroscopy (SRFTIR). The fluorescent response of the yeast allows for rapid sample screening, and the SR-FTIR infrared spectrum is a measure of the overall in vivo yeast biochemical response to the sample.


This paper describes how various technologies were introduced into foundation; science modules both to enhance student engagement and feedback, and also to cope; with increased teaching workload. It mostly deals with freely available software or; tools available through a VLP (virtual learning platform, e.g. Blackboard or Moodle),; but also includes audience response 'Clickers' which were purchased. The; technologies discussed are user-friendly and do not require advanced IT skills. The; paper includes successes, but also includes some less successful attempts to integrate; technology and explores the possible reasons.; As third level funding is reduced, many academics are coming under increased; pressure to deal with larger and more diverse classes. In addition, our 'digital native'; students have increasingly higher expectations regarding the type of learning; resources, activities, and communication tools we utilise. Furthermore with; information at their fingertips, education is expanding from delivery of content, to; focussing even more on developing critical thinking and employability skills. This all; provides a challenge for academics to deliver a high quality service.; Here, we discuss technologies which were used to overcome some of the challenges; facing us as educators, making our teaching more productive and efficient, and less; tedious. We describe the substitution of a formal written exam to assess basic first; year knowledge, to an automated online self-correcting MCQ (multiple choice; question) assessment, with built in summative feedback. We also discuss the use of; audience response 'Clickers' MCQ in-class quizzes as aligned learning and revisionactivities, which are engaging, and also provide formative feedback.; In addition, we describe the integration of 'CATME Team Builder' software to; organise group work and automatically process anonymous peer marking. This; replaced the traditional anonymous paper based peer marking forms, removing the; tedious and time-consuming data extraction task, and allowing a far more; comprehensive and rigorous peer assessment.; Finally, other technologies used to greater or lesser success including Twitter,; Peerwise and Wallwisher are briefly discussed.


A novel synthetic methodology for star shaped gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles is reported. The coating is performed in two steps: formation of gold nuclei at the surface of magnetite nanoparticles followed by growth of the gold nuclei into a complete star shaped shell. The star-shaped gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles thus obtained preserve the magnetic properties of the precursor magnetite nanoparticles, e.g. they can be easily separated with a magnet. In addition, the gold coating provides interesting optical properties while simultaneously allowing for biofunctionalization that may be advantageous for biological applications, such as (bio)detection via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). As a proof-of-concept, a capping agent terminated with a nickel(II)-nitrilotriacetate group showing high affinity for histidine was used to modify the surface of the nanoparticles. The resulting star-shaped nanoparticles were used to selectively capture histidine-tagged maltose-binding protein from a crude cell extract. Finally, the performance of star shaped gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles as SERS platforms was demonstrated through the detection of Raman active dye (Astra Blue).


The precision of interferometry is directly linked to the fringe spacing of the recorded interferogram. Whereas all interferometric devices show a fringe spacing equal to a wavelength of the laser light we present a novel scheme of a two-beam interferometer exhibiting a fringe spacing reduced by a factor of 2; the direct detection of the beat signal is replaced with the monitoring of the fluorescence of a twofold degenerate atomic system resonant with the laser. The lambda/2 fringe spacing in the fluorescence signal is demonstrated with a hot sodium vapor excited by a broadband laser tuned to the D1 line. In the saturation regime, the dark fringes are expected to be extremely narrow, leading to the possibility of nanoscale displacement measurements or atom localization.


Recently several researchers have investigated techniques for using data to learn Bayesian networks containing compact representations for the conditional probability distributions (CPDs) stored at each node. The majority of this work has concentrated on using decision-tree representations for the CPDs. In addition, researchers typically apply non-Bayesian (or asymptotically Bayesian) scoring functions such as MDL to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of networks to the data.

In this paper we investigate a Bayesian approach to learning Bayesian networks that contain the more general decision-graph representations of the CPDs. First, we describe how to evaluate the posterior probability-- that is, the Bayesian score--of such a network, given a database of observed cases. Second, we describe various search spaces that can be used, in conjunction with a scoring function and a search procedure, to identify one or more high-scoring networks. Finally, we present an experimentd evaluation of the search spaces, using a greedy algorithm and a Bayesian scoring function.


One of the most important market imperfections in modern capitalism and surprisingly one of the most under-regulated is oligopoly pricing (conscious parallelism). Only few suggestions have been made over the years to regulate oligopoly pricing. All suggestions pose serious obstacles to their efficient application. Accordingly, oligopoly pricing is not regulated. It is left to the workings of the market (or pure luck), while acknowledging the marketis limited regulatory force. This article proposes a novel method for regulating oligopoly pricing by way of introducing a government-supported maverick into an oligopolistic industry for a limited time. The maverick will price its products at competitive or near-competitive levels, based on considerations of consumer or total welfare. His rivals will follow his pricing strategy, or incur significant losses and possibly exit the market. As will be shown, the proposal may significantly reduce allocative inefficiency by reducing the welfare losses from supra-competitive pricing. The threat of intervention might be sufficient, in itself, to reduce the problem of oligopoly pricing. It may also reduce productive inefficiency by combating the problem of inefficient plant and firm sizes. This article analyzes the market conditions that must exist for this proposal to be operational and points to its benefits as well as its costs and limitations.


PURPOSE
HIV-infected individuals with cancer have worse survival rates compared with their HIV-uninfected counterparts. One explanation may be differing cancer treatment; however, few studies have examined this.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We used HIV and cancer registry data from Connecticut, Michigan, and Texas to study adults diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, or cervical, lung, anal, prostate, colorectal, or breast cancers from 1996 to 2010. We used logistic regression to examine associations between HIV status and cancer treatment, adjusted for cancer stage and demographic covariates. For a subset of local-stage cancers, we used logistic regression to assess the relationship between HIV status and standard treatment modality. We identified predictors of cancer treatment among individuals with both HIV and cancer.

RESULTS
We evaluated 3,045 HIV-infected patients with cancer and 1,087,648 patients with cancer without HIV infection. A significantly higher proportion of HIV-infected individuals did not receive cancer treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.67; 95% CI, 1.41 to 1.99), lung cancer (aOR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.80 to 2.64), Hodgkin's lymphoma (aOR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.33 to 2.37), prostate cancer (aOR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.31 to 2.46), and colorectal cancer (aOR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.38 to 3.72). HIV infection was associated with a lack of standard treatment modality for local-stage DLBCL (aOR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.50 to 2.72), non-small-cell lung cancer (aOR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.46 to 4.03), and colon cancer (aOR, 4.77; 95% CI, 1.76 to 12.96). Among HIV-infected individuals, factors independently associated with lack of cancer treatment included low CD4 count, male sex with injection drug use as mode of HIV exposure, age 45 to 64 years, black race, and distant or unknown cancer stage.

CONCLUSION
HIV-infected individuals are less likely to receive treatment for some cancers than uninfected people, which may affect survival rates.


This study was performed to prove if the high resolution satellite imagery of IKONOS is suitable for preparing digital vegetation map which is becoming increasingly important in ecological science. Seven classes for forest area and five classes for non-forest area were taken for classification. Three methods, such as the pixel based classification, the segment based classification with majority principle, and the segment based classification with maximum likelihood, were applied to classify IKONOS imagery taken in April 2000. As a whole, the segment based classification shows better performance in classifying the high resolution satellite imagery of IKONOS. Through the comparison of accuracies and kappa values of the above 3 classification methods, the segment based classification with maximum likelihood was proved to be the best suitable for preparing the vegetation map with the help of IKONOS imagery. This is true not only from the viewpoint of accuracy, but also for the purpose of preparing a polygon based vegetation map. On the basis of the segment based classification with the maximum likelihood, a digital vegetation map in which each vegetation class is delimitated in the form of a polygon could be prepared.


1. An Introduction to the Design of Experiments 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Use of Designed Experiments in Process Studies 1.3 Fundamental Aspects of Designed Experiments 1.4 Documentation Form for a Designed Experiment 1.5 Summary References Exercises 2. Investigating a Single Factor: Completely Randomized Experiments 2.1 Introduction and Graphical Analysis of Sample Data 2.2 The Analysis of Variance Approach: Partitioning the Total Variation in the Data 2.2.1 Analysis of Variance for a Fixed Effects Model 2.2.2 Analysis of Variance for a Random Effects Model 2.3 Methods for Multiple Comparisons 2.3.1 Tukey's Method for Multiple Comparisons 2.3.2 Scheffe's Method for Multiple Comparisons 2.4 Potential Consequences of Violating Analysis of Variance Assumptions 2.5 The Use of P-values in Testing Statistical Hypotheses 2.6 Summary References Exercises Appendix 2: Introduction to and Computer Instructions for Using Minitab, Release 15 3. Investigating a Single Factor: Randomized Complete and Incomplete Block and Latin Square Designs 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Analysis of Variance for Blocked Data: Partitioning the Total Variation in the Data 3.3 Assumptions and Validity of Analysis of Variance for Randomized Complete Block Designs 3.4 Tukey and Scheffe's Procedures for a Randomized Complete Block Design 3.5 Balanced Incomplete Block Designs 3.6 Latin Square Designs 3.6.1 Analysis of Variance for Latin Square Designs: Partitioning the Total Variation in the Data 3.6.2 Assumptions and Validity of the Analysis of Variance for Latin Square Designs 3.7 Summary References Exercises Appendix 3: Minitab Instructions 4. Factorial Experiments: Completely Randomized Designs 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Inference Objectives in Factorial Experiments: Main Effects and Interaction Effects 4.2.1 Complete Randomization in Factorial Experiments 4.2.2 Graphical Analysis 4.2.3 Analysis of Variance Procedure: Partitioning the Total Sum of Squares 4.3 No Replication in Factorial Experiments 4.4 Fixed, Random, and Mixed Models: Expected Mean Squares 4.5 Summary References Exercises Appendix 4: Minitab Instructions 5. Factorial Experiments: Randomized Block and Latin Square Designs 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Factorial Experiments in Randomized Complete Blocks 5.3 Factorial Experiments in Latin Square Designs 5.4 Summary References Exercises Appendix 5: Minitab Instructions 6. Nested Factorial Experiments and Repeated Measures Designs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Nested Factorial Experiments 6.3 Repeated Measures Designs 6.4 Summary References Exercises Appendix 6: Minitab Instructions 7. 2f and 3f Factorial Experiments 7.1 Introduction 7.2 2f Factorial Experiments 7.3 3f Factorial Experiments 7.4 Summary References Exercises Appendix 7: Minitab Instructions 8. Confounding in 2f and 3f Factorial Experiments 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The Concept of Confounding 8.3 Choosing Effects to Confound in 2f Factorial Experiments: Defining Contrasts 8.4 2f Factorial Experiments in Four Blocks 8.5 Confounding in 3f Factorial Experiments 8.6 Summary References Exercises Appendix 8: Minitab Instructions 9. Fractional Factorial Experiments 9.1 Introduction 9.2 One-Half Fractions of 2f Factorial Experiments 9.3 One-Fourth Fractions of 2f Factorial Experiments 9.4 Fractions of 3f Factorial Experiments 9.5 A Comparison of Fractions of 2f Experiments with Fractions of 3f Experiments 9.6 Summary References Exercises Appendix 9: Minitab Instructions 10. Regression Analysis: The General Linear Model 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Uses of Regression Equations 10.3 Estimating the Parameters of the General Linear Regression Model 10.3.1 The General Linear Regression Model 10.3.2 The Method of Least Squares 10.3.3 Estimating the Error Variance s2e 10.3.4 The Coefficient of Determination: Partitioning the Total Variation 10.4 How Good Is the Model? Statistical Inference for the General Linear Regression Model 10.4.1 Statistical Inferences on the Overall Model: An Analysis of Variance Approach 10.4.2 Evaluating the Contribution of an Individual Predictor Variable 10.4.3 Using the Least Squares Equation for Estimation and Prediction 10.5 Incorporating Qualitative Predictor Variables in the General Linear Model 10.6 Curvilinear Regression Models 10.7 Analysis of Residuals and the Problem of Collinearity 10.7.1 The Analysis of Residuals 10.7.2 The Problem of Collinearity 10.8 Criteria for Selecting the Best Set of Predictor Variables 10.8.1 Variable Selection Techniques 10.9 Summary References Exercises Appendix 10A: Minitab Instructions Appendix 10B: A Brief Review of Matrix Algebra 11. Response Surface Designs for First- and Second-Order Models 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Response Surface Designs for Fitting First-Order Models 11.3 Response Surface Designs for Fitting Second-Order Models 11.4 Summary References Exercises Appendix 11: Minitab Instructions Answers to Selected Odd-Numbered Exercises Index


GIRLS IN "TROUBLE": A HISTORY OF FEMALE ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY IN THE MIDWEST, 1946-1964 Charissa M. Keup Marquette University, 2012 This dissertation attempts to show how Americans reacted to adolescent female sexuality, looking specifically at unwed school-age pregnancy in the post-World War Two decades. It documents the origins of the transition of the conversation about unwed teens from caring for them in maternity homes and boarding houses to discussing their problems on television shows and in popular magazines. Teenage sexual delinquency and pregnancy have always raised innumerable questions about American culture and values. Because they challenged the traditional concept of motherhood, they offer a lens through which to study American sexuality and reveal that an alternate 1950s existed beyond the traditional stereotypes. Not all girls tacitly accepted the future set out for them. Teenagers actively made decisions regarding their bodies and sexuality. How girls behaved in response to the expectations placed upon them and how the public responded to female adolescents in the past reveals much about American youth, families, and society in general. Despite the fact that historians have devoted significant attention to this time period, few works focus solely on teenagers. The sexuality of female teenagers is often overlooked or combined with studies of women or college co-eds. This dissertation attempts to fill a gap in that literature and prove that the 1950s were indeed a crucial time for adolescents and sex in the United States. "Girls 'in Trouble': A History of Female Adolescent Sexuality in the Midwest, 1946-1964" provides a complex picture of teenage sexuality and pregnancy in the postwar decades. It uses magazines and newspapers, specifically advice columns, to gain insight into public opinion of unwed mothers and teenage females. Letters from girls who wrote to these magazines and newspapers asking for guidance provide a glimpse into their thoughts and fears. Studies conducted by national and local agencies reveal how society addressed the growing problem of unwed pregnancy. Records from maternity homes in Chicago and Milwaukee provide information on the daily experiences of pregnant teens.


Most of the commercial instruments presently available to determine the moisture content (MC) of peanuts need shelling and cleaning of the peanut samples, and in some cases some sort of sample preparation such as grinding. This is cumbersome, time consuming and destructive. It would be useful if the MC of the peanuts could be measured on the in-shell peanuts itself rapidly and nondestructively, particularly at the peanut buying points, where MC of the peanuts is an important factor in fixing the sale price. An NIR reflectance method is presented here by which the average MC of about 100 g of in-shell peanuts could be determined rapidly and nondestructively. The MC range of the peanut kernels tested was between 8% and 26%. NIR reflectance measurements were made at 1 nm intervals in the wavelength range of 1000 nm to 1800 nm and the spectral data was modeled using partial least squares regression (PLSR). Eight different models were developed by utilizing different data preprocessing methods such as Norris-Gap first derivative with a gap size of 3, peak normalization with 1680 nm (which is the no absorbance wavelength for water), and absorbance transformation. From these, a suitable model was selected based on model fitness measures. Predicted values of the samples tested in the above range were compared with the values determined by the standard air-oven method. The predicted values agreed well with the air-oven values with an R2 value of 0.91 and a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 1.37 for averaged spectra and an R2 value of 0.87 and SEP value of 1.61 for individual spectra. Both methods of analysis performed satisfactorily and being rapid, nondestructive and non-contact, may also be suitable for continuous monitoring of MC of in-shell peanuts as they move on conveyor belts during their processing.


This paper discusses research activities that investigated the risk associated with USB devices. The research focused on identifying, characterizing and modelling unintended USB channels in contemporary computer systems. Such unintended channels can be used by a USB Hardware Trojan Horse device to create two way communications with a targeted network endpoint, thus violating the integrity and confidentiality of the data residing on the endpoint. The work was validated through the design and implementation of a proof of concept Hardware Trojan Horse device that uses two such unintended USB channels to successfully interact with a target network endpoint to compromise and exfiltrate data from it.


All the published records of Polychaeta, Archiannelia and Myzostomida from the seas around Australia and New Zealand have been extracted from over 200 publications. The currently accepted specific names are listed alphabetically family by family and each is followed by the synonyms that have been used in the publications dealing with the region. All locality records are given as degress of latitude and longitude with a symbol to indicate the depth range. A map marked with two degree latitude/longitude squares is given for ease of reference. The repositories of the collections and of the types of species first described from Australia and New Zealand are shown.


Abstract. Water found one of the important physical environments of human and has a direct behavior on the health and hygiene of mankind. There is no denying the fact that the contamination of water leads to numerous health hazards. The facility of safe and adequate drinking water to the growing urban population continues to be one of the major challenging tasks for any state. In India, according to the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD); continuous potable water supply to every households are directly related with the Service Level Benchmark (SLB) of the city. This study is applied research and it designs and builds a detail project report for 24x7 water supply system at Sabarmati and old Wadaj ward of Ahmedabad city. It includes feasibility study; software based hydraulic design, operation and maintenance strategy and economic feasibility for the project by studies of research paper, case study, census data, need and demand of the future. The present water supply practice is non-confirming to designed hydraulic parameters, and also the system is severely affected insufficient hydraulics, leading to many of the current critical issues which keep the Local Authorities in an evitable brutal circle. Using data from the local government body, the papers presents the condition of intermittent water supply network and compare it with continuous water supply system of selected District Metering Area (DMA) of Ahmedabad in Gujarat (India).


The atomistic mechanisms of deformation in multicomponent random alloys are challenging to model because of their extensive structural and compositional disorder. For embedded-atom-method interatomic potentials, a formal averaging procedure can generate an average-atom EAM potential and this average-atom potential has recently been shown to accurately predict many zero-temperature properties of the true random alloy. Here, the finite-temperature thermodynamic properties of the average-atom potential are investigated to determine if the average-atom potential can represent the true random alloy Helmholtz free energy as well as important finite-temperature properties. Using a thermodynamic integration approach, the average-atom system is found to have an entropy difference of at most 0.05 kB/atom relative to the true random alloy over a wide temperature range, as demonstrated on FeNiCr and Ni85Al15 model alloys. Lattice constants, and thus thermal expansion, and elastic constants are also well-predicted (within a few percent) by the average-atom potential over a wide temperature range. The largest differences between the average atom and true random alloy are found in the zero temperature properties, which reflect the role of local structural disorder in the true random alloy. Thus, the average-atom potential is a valuable strategy for modeling alloys at finite temperatures.


The electric resistivity of some soils was investigated from room temperature to ∼700 K. The studied soils represent Assiut valley desert soils (S 1 ) and farmland of Assiut University soils (S 2 ). The temperature dependence of the electric resistivity is discussed; it was found to decrease with increasing temperature. The results indicate that the electric resistivity depends on ions and only to a small extent on electrons. Also, the electric resistivity values lie in the range of insulating materials. The results are supported by scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis and a mechanical analysis.


Cultural Tourism is a problem-specific area of the tourism domain therefore being the subject of enquiries from prospective tourists. Keyword searching is usually a challenge to tourists, not well versed in structuring queries, and due to the ambiguity inherent in Internet searches, and the unique characteristics of tourism assets which vary, often significantly, from area to area. A semantic search is a key aspect of any information management solution for the unsophisticated end user. The concept of ontology comes into consideration because of its strength in resolving the unanbiguity of user's search.This research introduces a cultural tourism ontology that enables users to search semantically to satisfy their particular interests. The evaluatin of the performance of the ontology in term of the correctness and of the data retrieval is measured by traditonal methods F-measure, precision and reall. The quality and effectiveness of the designed ontology was evaluated using OntoQA.


A previous study demonstrated that paper sludges with high ash contents can be converted to ethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) or simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF). High ash content in the sludge, however, limited solid loading in the bioreactor, causing low product concentration. To overcome this problem, sludges were de-ashed before SSF and SSCF. Low ash content in sludges also increased the ethanol yield to the extent that the enzyme dosage required to achieve 70% yield in the fermentation process was reduced by 30%. High solid loading in SSF and SSCF decreased the ethanol yield. High agitation and de-ashing of the sludges were able to restore part of the yield loss caused by high solid loading. Substitution of the laboratory fermentation medium (peptone and yeast extract) with corn steep liquor did not bring about any adverse effects in the fermentation. Fed-batch operation of the SSCF and SSF using low-ash content sludges was effective in raising the ethanol concentration, achieving 47.8 g/L and 60.0 g/L, respectively.


Over-indebtedness of borrowers is a burning issue threatening the social mission of microfinance as a means for financial inclusion of the 'unbanked' poor. Action-oriented research is called for owing to rapid changes in the global financial industry. Longitudinal panel studies to track multiple borrowing that often leads to over-indebtedness take time and are costly. This paper presents results from a single household survey that tracked the loan history of the four most recent loans of each household for 1,433 women borrowers across 13 states in India. The analysis shows significant differences by region and age. We suggest that microfinance institutions should not use a one-size-fits-all model for designing products, including setting of interest rates, and that this can contribute to improved financial management and reduced over-indebtedness.


Precise knowledge of a robots's ego-motion is a crucial requirement for higher level tasks like autonomous navigation. Bundle adjustment based monocular visual odometry has proven to successfully estimate the motion of a robot for short sequences, but it suffers from an ambiguity in scale. Hence, approaches that only optimize locally are prone to drift in scale for sequences that span hundreds of frames. In this paper we present an approach to monocular visual odometry that compensates for drift in scale by applying constraints imposed by the known camera mounting and assumptions about the environment. To this end, we employ a continuously updated point cloud to estimate the camera poses based on 2d-3dcorrespondences. Within this set of camera poses, we identify keyframes which are combined into a sliding window and refined by bundle adjustment. Subsequently, we update the scale based on robustly tracked features on the road surface. Results on real datasets demonstrate a significant increase in accuracy compared to the non-scaled scheme.


A detailed electrophysiological study has been made of the extensor digitorum brevis muscle and its motor innervation in 11 patients with limb-girdle or facioscapulohumeral dystrophy. In nine patients there were reductions in the populations of motor units and many surviving units appeared to be abnormally large. Most of the investigated muscles had slowed isometric twitches and decremental evoked potentials after repetitive nerve stimulation. The experimental observations have been interpreted in terms of a neuropathic process.


ABSTRACT The Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has a long history of supporting distance education through state-of-the-art, remote access services. Harsh climate conditions (heavy snowfall and icing, high winds, and extreme temperatures), rugged terrain, limited road and telephone systems, and permafrost that prevents the installation of communications networks, all contribute to the challenge of delivering distance education. This article describes and explains the library's services while discussing the challenges of providing information access to a diverse student population living in an area covering over 500,000 square miles.