For cloud users and providers alike, security is an everyday concern, yetthere are very few books covering cloud security as a main subject. Thisbook will help address this information gap from an Information Technologysolution and usage-centric view of cloud infrastructure security. The bookhighlights the fundamental technology components necessary to buildand enable trusted clouds. Here also is an explanation of the security andcompliance challenges organizations face as they migrate mission-criticalapplications to the cloud, and how trusted clouds, that have their integrityrooted in hardware, can address these challenges. This book provides: Use cases and solution reference architectures to enable infrastructure integrity and the creation of trusted pools leveraging Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT). Trusted geo-location management in the cloud, enabling workload and data location compliance and boundary control usages in the cloud. Open Stack-based reference architecture of tenant-controlled virtual machine and workload protection in the cloud. A reference design to enable secure hybrid clouds for a cloud bursting use case, providing infrastructure visibility and control to organizations. A valuable guide to the next generation of cloud security and hardware based root of trust. More than an explanation of the what and how, is the explanation of why. And why you cant afford to ignore it! Vince Lubsey, Vice President, Product Development, Virtustream Inc." Raghu provides a valuable reference for the new 'inside out' approach, where trust in hardware, software, and privileged users is never assumedbut instead measured, attested, and limited according to least privilege principles." John Skinner, Vice President, HyTrust Inc."Traditional parameter based defenses are in sufficient in the cloud. Raghu's book addresses this problem head-on by highlighting unique usage models to enable trusted infrastructure in this open environment. A must read if you are exposed in cloud."Nikhil Sharma, Sr. Director of Cloud Solutions, Office of CTO, EMC Corporation What youll learn Usage models, hardware and software technology components to enable trusted clouds. Through solution architecture and descriptions, you willsee how to build and enable trusted cloud infrastructure. Who this book is for This book will influence Infrastructure, Application and solution architects along with CTOs and CIOs and make them aware of Cloud Security and how to approach it with real-world examples and case studies.


In this book, the author has tried bridge the gap between the common perception of the Yugoslav conflict as portrayed in the media and the actual grim reality with which he was dealing as an EU monitor on the ground. Drawing on original material from both UN and ECMM sources, he has identified the true origin of Former Yugoslavia's wars of dissolution, and critically examines the programme of violence which erupted in 1991 and eventually culminated in 1995 in the vicious dismemberment of a sovereign federal republic with seat at the United Nations. In doing so, he highlights the duplicitous behaviour of all parties to the conflict; the double standards employed throughout by the United States in its foreign policy; the lengths to which the Sarajevo government manipulated the international media to promote a 'victim' status; the contempt in which UN peace-keepers were ultimately held by all sides; and the manner in which Radovan Karadzic was sacrificed at the altar of political expediency, when the real culprits were Slobodan Milosevic and his acolyte, General Ratko Mladic. This book, the first by an EU Monitor with actual experience of the conflict, tells the real story of the modern Yugoslav conflict, 1991-1995.


This is a major pictorial work about the Romanov dynasty, the supreme rulers of Russia for over 300 years, with special emphasis on the life of Nicholas II, the last Tsar. Moreover, it is an unsurpassed photographic record of the lives of the last reigning members of the Russian Royal family. The great majority of the photographs used in this book have never been published before, and have rarely been seen even by researchers from the West, having remained hidden in archives for 70 years, since the Russian revolution.
The many contemporary photographs depict Russian royalty in ceremonial dress and at leisure in informal surroundings. There are also such unique items as a picture of Rasputin, the "mad monk" and confident of the Tsarina Alexandra, surrounded by female admirers.


Modern capitalism, sociologist Max Weber famously observed early in the twentieth century, is based on "the rational capitalistic organization of (formally) free labor." But the "rationality" of the system in this sphere, as Weber was to acknowledge elsewhere, was so restrictive as to be in reality "irrational." Despite its formal freedom, labor under capitalism was substantively unfree.… This was in accordance with the argument advanced in Karl Marx's Capital. Since the vast majority of individuals in the capitalist system are divorced from the means of production they have no other way to survive but to sell their labor power to those who own these means, that is, the capitalist class.… The result is a strong tendency to the polarization of income and wealth in society. The more the social productivity of labor grows the more it serves to promote the wealth and power of private capital, while at the same time increasing the relative poverty and economic dependency of the workers. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


This is a descriptive study of Chang Nam Fung's Chinese translation of Jonathan Lynn
and Antony Jay's Yes Prime Minister, a text characterized by British political humour.
Adopting a target-oriented approach, it aims primarily to uncover the regularities which
mark the relationships between function, process and product of the translated text, thus
adding to the limited inventory of case studies in the field.
Targeted mainly towards readers in mainland China, the translation was done at a
time (1987-1992) when the political scene in the People's Republic went through cycles
of repression and relaxation in the face of a democratic movement, while the translation
tradition remained one that upheld the primacy of the original -- a poetics that is
determined by the ideological concept of loyalty.
Working under the constraints of the ideological and poetological norms dominant in
China, the translator nevertheless wished to produce a text with artistic value and a
potential to function as a political satire in the Chinese context, posing a challenge to
those norms. This skopos has determined the use of manipulative strategies in the
translation process,
The translation product is thus found to have been overdetermined by the interplay of
a large number of factors besides the source text: socio-political conditions, literary and
translation traditions, and the translator's poetics and ideology.
Finally, the findings are brought to bear on a number of translation theories,
especially Polysystem theory and other cultural theories of translation in whose
frameworks the study has been carried out. An augmented version of the polysystem
hypothesis is proposed, the gist of which is that the political and the ideological
polysystems, each consisting of competing systems, normally assume central positions in
the macro-polysystem of culture, issuing norms that influence norms originating from
other polysystems, and that translation activities are governed by norms originating from
various polysystems. It is hoped that this tentative 'macro-polysystem hypothesis, after
refinement by theorists and test by researchers, can better accommodate investigations
into the role of the translator together with other socio-cultural factors involved in
translation, especially the power relations.


We extend research on charity donations by exploring an everyday tactic for increasing compliance: asking politely. We consider three possible effects of politeness on charity donations: a positive effect, a negative effect, and a wiggle room effect where the perception of the request is adjusted to decline donating without feeling selfish. Results from six experiments systematically supported the polite wiggle room effect. In hypothetical donations contexts, indirect requests were judged more polite. In real donation contexts, though, indirect requests were not judged as more polite and had no consistent effect on donation decision. Rather, the decision to donate predicted the perceived politeness of the request, independently of its phrasing. Experiment 4 provided causal evidence that participants justified their donation decisions by adjusting their perception of the request. The polite wiggle-room effect has important implications for organizations that seek to increase compliance while maintaining a positive image.


Online communities, like Wikipedia, produce valuable public information goods. Whereas some of these communities require would-be contributors to create accounts, many do not. Does this requirement catalyze cooperation or inhibit participation? Prior research provides divergent predictions but little causal evidence. We conduct an empirical test using longitudinal data from 136 natural experiments where would-be contributors to wikis were suddenly required to log in to contribute. Requiring accounts leads to a small increase in account creation, but reduces both high- and low-quality contributions from registered and unregistered participants. Although the change deters a large portion of low-quality participation, the vast majority of deterred contributions are of higher quality. We conclude that requiring accounts introduces an undertheorized tradeoff for public goods production in interactive communication systems.


Many of the naturally occurring radioactive elements are members of radioactive de- cay chains. These chains originate from parent nuclides with very long half-lives and end with a stable nuclide of lead. In any natural material containing uranium which was not disrupted, a state of secular equilibrium will occur between parent nuclide and its daughter products. However, when sedimentary deposits are formed, many geological processes can occur which may cause isotopic fractionation of the elements resulting in a state of disequilibrium between the parent nuclide and its daughters in the chain. This study is aimed at the determination of the activity concentrations of radionuclides from U-series decay and hence quantifying possible disequilibrium in 14 sediment samples selected from four different locations. Six samples were collected from Namibia in the South Africa, four samples were from the Cambridge Gulf in Western Australia and the four remaining samples were from Czech Republic and South Germany regions in Europe. This work was carried out with a novel Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detector inside a 50mm thick lead shield. The BEGe detector utilises a novel point like electrode structure which through extremely low capacitance (1pF) provides excellent an energy resolution at low energy. This performance is far superior to conventional germanium detectors, which en- ables a potential step change in the ability to resolve low energy peaks on a background. Gamma-ray energy resulting in excellent spectra. Gamma-ray transitions lines ranging from 46 keV up to 1.7 MeV associated with decay products of the 238U and 232Th decay chains have been analysed separately to obtain more statistically significant overall results. In the measurements of environmental samples using gamma-ray spectrometry, the main concern is a reliable efficiency calibration. This is crucial especially for the analysis of low-energy gamma emitters (<100 keV) such as 210Pb (46.5 keV) and 234Th (63.3 keV and 92.6 keV). Modelled efficiency calibrations using the LabSOCS (Laboratory Sourceless Object Calibration Software) were applied within this work. A series of validation tests was performed and evaluated for different sample types, densities and volumes. Using this method, an improvement can be obtained in the reliability of the derived activity concentrations. The sample preparation and the gamma-ray spectroscopic analysis technique are discussed in detail. The specific activities of radionuclides from the 238U decay chain ranged from 16.8 ± 2.3 to 80 ± 5 Bq/kg for 234Th, from 14 ± 3 to 98 ± 6 Bq/kg for 226Ra, from 16.8 ± 0.6 to 116 ± 3 Bq/kg for 214Pb, from 16.6 ± 0.7 to 112 ± 3 for 214Bi and from 15.9 ± 2.6 to 114 ± 8 Bq/kg for 210Pb. Six samples were found to be in disequilibrium as a result of an excess in 226Ra activity concentrations. The 226Ra/238U activity ratio in these samples ranged from 1.22 ± 0.13 to 1.77 ± 0.15. Notably, these samples were collected from an area in Namibia where leaching of radium has taken place. In the remaining samples the results showed secular equilibrium. The activity concentrations of 228Ac ranged from 20.6 ±1.0 to 60.6 ± 2.0 Bq/kg, of 212Pb from 20.0 ± 0.9 to 59.7 ± 2.5 Bq/kg and of 208Tl from 21.1 ± 1.0 to 58.6 ± 2.4 Bq/kg, from 232Th decay chain. All results show secular equilibrium for this decay chain. The results obtained for the uranium and thorium concentrations some of the investigated samples are consistent with mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and other gamma-ray spectrometry measurements.


Quantity and quality adjectives have a different distribution in comparative constructions that are headed by ma 'that' in Palestinian Arabic. The different distribution can be explained in configurational terms: The internal structure of the DP prohibits the movement of quality adjectives but not of quantity adjectives. Movement of the quality adjectives within the DP in order to check agreement features (Chomsky 1995; Fassi Fehri 1999) and from the DP to Spec,CP (Ross 1967; Bresnan 1973; Chomsky 1977, inter alia ) creates structures whose features do not correspond to lexical items in Palestinian, i.e. it incurs a PF violation. Deletion that removes the offending structure renders that comparative structure grammatical (Kennedy & Merchant 2000). In this study, we draw attention to the complexity of the configurational relations between the noun and adjective(s), thereby contributing to the study of the internal structure of the Arabic DP. In addition, our analysis lends support to the claim that some structural violations that have been considered purely syntactic (e.g. Left Branch Conditions) are in fact PF violations that can be remedied by deletion.


The properties of ZnSe epilayers fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy on lattice-matched InxGa1-xAs buffers grown on GaAs(001) substrates have been investigated by means of photoluminescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. For suitable values of x and ternary-layer thickness, the partial character of the strain relaxation within the III–V layer can be compensated for, minimizing the residual strain in the ZnSe overlayer. Large reductions in the dislocation density and Y-line emission as compared to conventional ZnSe/GaAs heterostructures can be reproducibly obtained.


ABSTRACT The infection of Arabidopsis thaliana roots with the obligate parasite Orobanche ramosa represents a useful model for a study of the molecular events involved in the host plant response to a parasitic plant attack. To avoid analysis problems due to the subterranean development of O. ramosa, we developed two in vitro co-culture systems: O. ramosa seedlings infesting Arabidopsis plantlet roots and callus tissues. We were then able to investigate the expression patterns of some host plant genes selected among genes known to be involved in metabolic pathways and resistance mechanisms activated during several plant-pathogen interactions including ethylene, isoprenoid, phenylpropanoid, and jasmonate biosynthesis pathways, oxidative stress responses, and pathogenesis-related proteins. Molecular analyses were carried out using polymerase chain reaction amplification methods allowing semiquantitative evaluation of transcript accumulation during early (first hours) and late (15 days) stages of infestation, in whole roots or parts close to the parasite attachment site. In A. thaliana, O. ramosa induced most of the general response signaling pathways in a transient manner even before its attachment to A. thaliana roots. However, no salicylic acid-dependent defense is observed because no activation of systemic acquired resistance markers is detectable, whereas genes, co-regulated by jasmonate and ethylene, do display enhanced expression.


Abstract. Orographic precipitation is a result of very complex processes and its study using numerical models is of utmost importance since it can open an important avenue to the improvement of precipitation forecasts, especially during the warm season. Mainland Portugal is characterised by a very variable terrain between the north and south regions, the latter being much smoother, with sparse mountains that barely reach 1000 m. Conversely, several mountain ranges are distributed over Spain with heights often exceeding 1500 m altitude. A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model (MesoNH) is used to study the orographic precipitation during a limited period in spring of 2002 over the Iberian Peninsula. In order to assess the effects of the mountains, case study simulations are done, with and without the orography. MesoNH is initialized and forced by the ECMWF analyses. The effects of orography on precipitation over neighbouring regions are also analyzed. Simulations show that orography is a key factor in determining the spatial distribution of precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula, with enhancements in the regions with mountain ranges and diminution or suppression over certain valleys. The simulated precipitation fields were visually compared with radar observations in central Portugal and quantitatively compared with rain gauge data all over Portugal in order to assess the model performance in the analyzed cases.


In financially constrained health systems across the world, increasing emphasis is being placed on the ability to demonstrate that health care interventions are not only effective, but also cost-effective. This book deals with decision modelling techniques that can be used to estimate the value for money of various interventions including medical devices, surgical procedures, diagnostic technologies, and pharmaceuticals. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of the appropriate representation of uncertainty in the evaluative process and the implication this uncertainty has for decision making and the need for future research. This highly practical guide takes the reader through the key principles and approaches of modelling techniques. It begins with the basics of constructing different forms of the model, the population of the model with input parameter estimates, analysis of the results, and progression to the holistic view of models as a valuable tool for informing future research exercises. Case studies and exercises are supported with online templates and solutions. This book will help analysts understand the contribution of decision-analytic modelling to the evaluation of health care programmes. ABOUT THE SERIES: Economic evaluation of health interventions is a growing specialist field, and this series of practical handbooks will tackle, in-depth, topics superficially addressed in more general health economics books. Each volume will include illustrative material, case histories and worked examples to encourage the reader to apply the methods discussed, with supporting material provided online. This series is aimed at health economists in academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the health sector, those on advanced health economics courses, and health researchers in associated fields.


This thesis is about the life and work of Charles Prosper Wolff Schoemaker. He was born on Java in 1882 and died on the same island in May 1949. For his secondary school education and study at the KMA (Royal Military Academy), Charles was sent to the Netherlands. In 1905 he returned to the Dutch East Indies, where, after a short career in the KNIL (Royal Dutch East Indies Army), he held positions as engineer with de Water Works Department of the Ministry of Civil Public Works, director of Public Works of the city of Batavia, independent architect and professor at the Colleges of Technology in Bandoeng en Delft during the period from 1920 until 1940. He played an important part in an almost forgotten chapter of the Dutch history of architecture: the architecture of Dutch architects in the former Dutch East Indies, the colonial version of Dutch East Indies architecture. Since 1918 Charles, together with his younger brother Richard, was running an architectural bureau: C.P. Schoenmaker en Associates in Bandoeng. The bureau designed many buildings, especially in Bandoeng. From the beginning both brothers were involved with the Technical College of Bandoeng. After Richard was appointed as a professor at Delft in 1924, Charles took over his position in Bandung. Charles would stay on as a professor until 1941. His best known student happened to be Soekarno, the first president of the Republic of Indonesia. Soekarno en Charles remained friends for the rest of their lives. The architecture in the Dutch East Indies went through a fast development during the first decades of the twentieth century. At first building took place in the neo classical style which had been brought along from the Netherlands. Adjustments of the way of building to the tropical environment were gradually incorporated. Until the middle of the twenties the architects were searching an authentic Indo-European building style. The discussion that followed was mainly held by those architects who committed themselves with body and soul against or in favour of this style. Maclaine Pont and Thomas choose a revolutionary point of view with a starting point aimed at employing the traditional local architecture. Wolff Schoemaker followed another course, maintaining the western constructive core of the architecture and incorporating various Indian and Indies influences through an evolutionary process. By the lack of a platform for exchanging thoughts, this discussion soon came to an end but still resulted in something. It had a liberated effect and made room for experimentations. Charles Prosper Wolff Schoemaker was a western architect with an Indies hart. For the benefit of a to the tropics adjusted architecture, described by him as "the tropic style", he looked for a synthesis between the western and eastern building styles. He found these in the stupas and temples of British India. Wolff Schoemaker studied this architecture in a Berlagian way. He dared to set renovating steps in that process and to let go of ancient shapes.


[1] Soil respiration (Rsoil) is a dominant, but variable, contributor to ecosystem CO2 efflux. Understanding how variations in major environmental drivers, like temperature and available moisture, might regulate Rsoil has become extremely relevant. Plant functional-type diversity makes such assessments difficult because of the confounding influence of varied plant phenology and influences on soil microhabitats. We used automated measurement systems to quantify Rsoil in the three microhabitats (under mesquites, under bunchgrasses, and in intercanopy soils) that result from mesquite encroachment into grasslands to inform our understanding of diel Rsoil patterns in response to changes in temperature, seasonal variations in Rsoil in response to varied soil moisture and plant phenology, and the contribution of each microhabitat to total ecosystem-scale Rsoil. We detected a counterclockwise hysteretic response of Rsoil to soil temperature, such that up to 100% greater fluxes were observed in the afternoon/evening than the morning for the same temperature. Phenological differences influenced ecosystem-scale Rsoil in that mesquites were physiologically active months before bunchgrasses and Rsoil rates under mesquites were greater and elevated longer in response to rains. Cumulative annual Rsoil was 412, 229, and 202 g C m−2 under mesquites, bunchgrasses, and intercanopy spaces, respectively. Extrapolating to the ecosystem-scale using cover estimates within the site's eddy covariance footprint illustrated that average mesquite Rsoil contributed 46% to overall ecosystem-scale Rsoil, though mesquite composed only about 35% of the site. As grasslands transition to shrub dominance, the contribution of Rsoil to net ecosystem flux will likely increase, potentially offsetting presumed greater CO2 uptake potential of woody plants.


Abstract Against all odds, Iran is pressing hard to prove its nuclear innocence and keeping its promises under the provisions of the Nuclear Non‐Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The US is refusing to go along with Iran's denials on violation of the NPT commitments. At the same time, the Bush Administration seems determined to stop the spread of nuclear weapons beyond Pakistan to other Muslim states. However, the facts emerging out of the probe into the A.Q. Khan episode and the international grey nuclear market indicate significant patterns of concealment and duplicity even by the NPT signatory states. This paper is an effort‐to analyse the implications of Pakistan's linkages with the Iranian nuclear programme.


Abstract Although a diverse range of aquatic vertebrates are documented from the Upper Cretaceous (mid-Campanian) marine strata of the Kristianstad Basin in southern Sweden, only chondrichthyans and marine amniotes have been described in detail to date. In contrast, coeval actinopterygians are virtually unreported, yet their remains are extremely abundant at most sampled localities. A comprehensive assessment of these fossils has identified the first Late Cretaceous actinopterygian fauna from the Fennoscandian Shield, incorporating indeterminate lepisosteids, the durophagous pycnodontid Anomoeodus subclavatus, the predatory pachycormid Protosphyraena sp., a large ichthyodectid, pachyrhizodontids resembling Pachyrhizodus, the enchodontid Enchodus cf. gladiolus and indeterminate small teleosts. These taxa are diagnosed mainly from isolated teeth and scales, implying substantial taphonomic loss prior to burial. Moreover, the prolific recovery of actinopterygian skeletal remnants in recent excavations suggests that historical collecting biases, rather than ecological paucity, have contributed to their under-representation in the Swedish Cretaceous record. Palaeobiogeographically, the Kristianstad Basin actinopterygians show compositional resemblance to assemblages from the Northern European Platform and the Western Interior Seaway of North America, advocating distributional communication across the Boreal proto-Atlantic Ocean.


Poster presented at the 2017 Defence and Security Doctoral Symposium.It has been interesting to see Russia goading other states on the cyber offensive front, acting through 'proxies', people recruited online to carry out illegal operations. To date no state has overtly condemned attacks that are undoubtedly rooted in the dark web, a space where criminals operate behind a veneer of anonymity and privacy. A mixture of technical and non-technical backgrounds, we are working to understand how to approach informed policy making in this area. Taking down an online anonymous marketplace (such as Alphabay, Hansa which was recently seized) does not seem to reduce illegal action, but disruption and the erosion of trust in the system might. By targeting prominent criminals and reducing demand, we hope to add weight to the recommendations we can make as researchers, and work with those in the defence industry to get things done.


Phase change materials (PCMs) have been used in various fields including the materials of buildings. In this research, mixed shape-stabilized PCMs (Mixed SSPCMs) were prepared by impregnating coconut oil and n-hexadecane into exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGnP) through a vacuum impregnate method. Coconut oil is fatty acid ester PCM which is relatively economical in comparison to other PCMs, and n-hexadecane is paraffin PCM that has high latent heat capacity. Drawbacks include leakage in a liquid state and low thermal conductivity resolved by xGnP. When preparing Mixed SSPCMs, coconut oil and n-hexadecane were impregnated at different proportions, namely 70:30, 50:50, 30:70 wt %. Mixed SSPCMs were analyzed through SEM, FT-IR, DSC, TGA and TCi. As a result, we confirmed the microstructure, chemical stability, thermal properties, thermal stability and thermal conductivity of Mixed SSPCMs. Latent heat capacity of Mixed SSPCMs were 89.06, 104.30 and 124.50 J/g while those of SSPCMs containing single PCM were 82.34 and 96.40 J/g. Thermal conductivity of Mixed SSPCMs was more than 284% higher than that of pure coconut oil and n-hexadecane. Finally, we confirmed that coconut oil and n-hexadecane were impregnated into xGnP, and the Mixed SSPCMs have high thermal durability.


Universal access to electricity should be achievable by 2030, the deadline proposed by the UN in its Access for all initiative. However, progress so far has been too slow. The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2030 still more than half billion people, mostly in SubSaharan Africa and South Asia, will lack electricity access. Technology and sufficient funding exist, yet other key components of the solution are clearly missing. This paper argues that an essential lacking component is a regulatory and associated business model package that is well adapted to the specific characteristics of electrification in the least developed countries, and that can be supported by sound quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits of every considered option.


There is a growing awareness of the aging of populations around the world and the implications for national retirement programs. In most cases, estimates of population aging are based on fixed assumptions about fertility, improvements in life expectancy, and immigration. In most countries, however, these factors have varied considerably in recent decades. In this analysis, the authors use population projections in the G-7 countries that capture historical patterns of fertility, longevity, and immigration and variability in those patterns over time. They find that many developed countries may be underestimating the extent of population aging they are facing and the policy changes necessary to deal with it.


Asset depreciation is an important issue in many economic decisions made either by private or public sector institutions in all times. For example, the methodology and measurement issues of asset depreciation are influencing capital budgeting decisions in corporate finance and also major capital expenditure decisions that concern public sector long-term investments.As the depreciable assets come in many forms, there is still large gaps in literature that need to be filled in order to develop comprehensive estimates of depreciation for tax and accounting purposes (Hulten 2008: 1). Also, as it is asserted by Diewert (2005), the accounting for the contribution of capital to production is more difficult than accounting for the contributions of labor or materials, because – when a reproducible capital input is purchased for use by a production unit at the beginning of an accounting period, it is not possible to simply charge the entire purchase cost to the period of purchase. Since the benefits of using the capital asset extend over more than one period, the initial purchase cost must be distributed somehow over the useful life of the asset. This is the fundamental problem of accounting (Diewert 2005: 480), which has been solved by the calculation of asset depreciation.The current literature about depreciation in general is very broad and well-researched and it may seem that everything in that field has been done already. Nevertheless, looking more thoroughly the overwhelming literature written about asset depreciation, the author of the current paper has found that there is a lack of systematic approach to the background of the topic with thorough theorization about the connections and links with other relevant problems, like capital expenditure, user cost of capital, asset price and asset rental price. Therefore, the aim of the current paper is to develop a systematic theoretical framework for a building asset depreciation concept that would integrally account all the mentioned co-factors, stemming from the fact that building asset does have some special features over other (durable) assets like vehicles and machinery. The paper also sets up a research question, whether at the long-run equilibrium level, the cost of capital used to discount the cash flows from the building asset, should equal at least the depreciation rate of the same asset?


The 3-volume handbook is dedicated to one of the most significant processes in the history of ancient Greece - colonisation. Greeks set up colonies and other settlements in new environments, establishing themselves in lands stretching from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to North Africa in the south and the Black Sea in the north-east. In this colonial world Greek and local societies met, influenced and enriched each other. The handbook brings together historians and archaeologists, all world experts, to present the latest ideas and evidence. The principal aim is to present and update the general picture of this phenomenon, showing its importance in the history of the whole ancient world, including the Near East. The work is dedicated to the late Prof. A.J. Graham. This second volume contains chapters on Central Greece on the eve of the colonisation movement, foundation stories, colonisation in the Classical period, the Adriatic, the northern Aegean, Libya and Cyprus.


The 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic dating technique is one of the most precise and versatile methods available for dating events in Earth's history, but the accuracy of this method is limited by the accuracy with which the ages of neutron-fluence monitors (dating standards) are known. Calibrating the ages of standards by conventional means has proved difficult and contentious. The emerging astronomically calibrated geomagnetic polarity time scale (APTS) offers a means to calibrate the ages of 40Ar/39Ar dating standards that is independent of absolute isotopic abundance measurements. Seven published 40Ar/39Ar dates for polarity transitions, nominally ranging from 0.78 to 3.40 Ma, are based on the Fish Canyon sanidine standard and can be compared with APTS predictions. Solving the 40Ar/39Ar age equation for the age of the Fish Canyon sanidine that produces coincidence with the APTS age for each of these seven reversals yields mutually indistinguishable estimates ranging from 27.78 to 28.09 Ma, with an inverse variance-weighted mean of 27.95 ± 0.18 Ma. Normalized residuals are minimized at an age of 27.92 Ma, indicating the robustness of the solution.


This volume describes the entrepreneurial process as practiced by women. A guide for anyone considering starting a business, this book profiles 100 of the top female entrepreneurs, including Donna Karan, Faith Popcorn and Anita Roddick. The book shows readers in how they can use non-traditional techniques to raise capital, and how to overcome the obstacles presented in all new business start-ups. The author explores a six-step process that centres on the goals of entrepreneurship: to create value by identifying a problem, creating an innovative solution, and setting-up both the right teach and system to deliver the solution. But the real story is that the women profiled have created companies whose average value is $250,000,000 - when their start-up capital was often less than $2000.00 - an inspiration to entrepreneurs of either sex.


Due to their scientific significance and practical applications, turbulent flows and flames have been under extensive and intensive research for a long time. Turbulent flows and flames of interests to practice inherently have threedimensional (3D) spatial structures, and therefore diagnostic techniques that can instantaneously resolve their 3D spatial features have long been desired and probably are needed to ultimately answer some of the open research questions. The goal of this dissertation thus is to investigate such diagnostics and demonstrate their capability and limitations in a range of turbulent flows/flames. To accomplish this goal, this dissertation developed and evaluated the following three diagnostic methods: tomographic chemiluminescence (TC), volumetric laser induced fluorescence (VLIF), and super-resolution planar laser induced fluorescence (SRPLIF). First, 3D flame topography of well-controlled laboratory flames was measured with TC method and validated by a simultaneous 2D Mie scattering measurement. The results showed that the flame topography obtained from TC and the Mie scattering agreed qualitatively, but quantitative difference on the order of millimeter was observed between these two methods. Such difference was caused by the limitations of the TC method. The first limitation involves TC's reliance on chemiluminescence of nascent radicals (mainly CH*) in reacting flows, causing ambiguity in the definition of flame front and limiting its applications to certain types of reactive flow only. The second limitation involves TC's inability to study an isolated region of interest because the chemiluminescence is emitted everywhere in the flame. Based on the above understanding of the TC technique, the second part of this dissertation studied a VLIF method to overcome the above limitations of the TC technique. Compared with the TC technique, the VLIF method can be used in either reacting or non-reacting flow and on any particular region of interest. In the VLIF technique, the fluorescence signal was generated by exciting a target species with a laser slab of certain thickness. The signal was recorded by cameras from different perspectives, and then a VLIF tomographic algorithm was applied to resolve the spatial distribution of the concentration of the target species. An innovative 3D VLIF algorithm was proposed and validated by well-designed experiment. This model enables analysis of VLIF performance in terms of signal level, size of the field of view in 3D, and accuracy. However, due to the limited number of views and the tomographic reconstruction itself, the spatial resolution of VLIF methods is limited. Hence, the third part of this dissertation investigated a SR-PLIF method to provide a strategy to improve the spatial resolution in two spatial directions, and also to extend the measurement range of scanning 3D imaging strategies. The SRPLIF method used planar images captured simultaneously from two (or more) orientations to reconstruct a final image with resolution enhanced or blurring removed. Both the development of SR algorithm, and the experimental demonstration of the SR-PLIF method were reported. Three Dimensional Laser Diagnostics for Turbulent Flows and Flames


Desertification was recognized in Iran several decades ago. This phenomenon has gradually affected half the provinces in the country, where droughts exacerbate problems in these drylands. In response, the government has been active in providing considerable funds and human resources to halt desertification through investing in national research and executive projects over the last fifty years.  Iran is an excellent case study at the global level for assessing anti-desertification and associated cost-benefit aspects as its climate, society and environment are very similar to the other 17 developing countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. In addition, the country has fifty years of experience in anti-desertification activities which have improved livelihoods through dry-farming, animal husbandry, fisheries, bee-keeping, and market gardening, leading to reverse migration from urban areas to stabilized rural areas. Based on several reliable national reports and case studies as well as two international datasets, an exploratory evaluation is provided for the monetary value of benefits from Iran's anti-desertification programs. The pivotal premise of the paper is based on the economic valuation of preserved infrastructure and ecosystem services as a result of implementation of anti-desertification plans. Although a cost/benefit analysis was not applied to human resources, this paper also considered other indirect benefits to anti-desertification plans including job creation, improved health conditions, and increased levels of agricultural and industrial activity. This cost/benefit evaluation of anti-desertification programs in Iran is estimated to provide a high and positive contribution equivalent to about 3.75% of the country's annual GDP.


We present Q fever as a credible hypothesis for Gulf War Veterans? Illnesses (GWVIs) and as a possible etiology for prevalent symptomologies affecting currently serving servicemembers. Q fever is caused by the bacteria Coxiella burnetii, which is endemic throughout the Middle East. Q fever may manifest in many forms of widely varying and often inconstant symptoms. Due to false-negative interpretations in current and past diagnostic testing, Q fever has not received appropriate consideration as a possible causative agent for medically unexplained veterans? illnesses. Review of current literature invites us to consider that a form of Q fever involving an incomplete immune response is a potential cause of these debilitating illnesses. We hypothesize C. burnetii infection coincidental to exposures suppressing antibody-specific immune response results in infection mediated by immunoglobulin D (IgD). Literature indicates that successful treatment for this form of Q fever requires the concurrent administration of doxycycline and hydroxychloroquine.


Accompanying a nationally touring exhibition, this critical history of American art of the 1920s provides a fresh perspective on the strikingly original modernist imagery of the Jazz Age. "Youth and Beauty" is the first wide-ranging look at American art during the period following the Great War and before the onset of the Great Depression. This richly illustrated volume captures a glimpse into American life during a decade when urbanization, industrialization, and mechanization were revolutionizing the United States. With more than 200 illustrations, the book brings together an array of artists and mediums, featuring iconic and surprising works by Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Aaron Douglas, Alfred Stieglitz, Isamu Noguchi, Charles Sheeler, Man Ray, Walker Evans, and others. The book is arranged by theme: figurative art, landscape, still life and poetry, regional artists, and photography. Teresa A. Carbone addresses figurative types, including portraits, heroic bodies, and erotic forms. Sarah M. Lowe explores photography of the period. Bonnie Costello considers still life in the context of the seminal lyric poetry of the 1920s, and Randall Griffey discusses the Stieglitz School and the Regionalists. Published in association with the Brooklyn Museum


A hydatid cyst is a zoonotic infection caused by the larval forms of mostly the Echinococcus granulosus. In humans, the most common site of cyst development is the liver (60%), followed by the lungs (20%), and much less commonly in other organs such as kidney, spleen, brain, and other soft tissues. The localization of cysts in muscles and subcutaneous is very rare. We report a case of 38-year-old female patient with a cystic shoulder mass turning out to be hydatid cyst on surgical exploration. However, especially in non-endemic regions, the most diagnostic tool for an unusual presentation is the awareness of the physician. Surgical excision is the main modality of treatment. Also, complementary investigation to rule out other organs' involvement is necessary. During surgical interventions, all precautions antiscolicidal solutions along with meticulous surgical techniques go a long way in the prevention of recurrence of this disease.


Minocycline, an antibiotic of the tetracycline family, has been shown to display neurorestoractive or neuroprotective properties in various models of neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, it has been shown to delay motor alterations, inflammation and apoptosis in models of Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Despite controversies about its efficacy, the relative safety and tolerability of minocycline have led to the launching of various clinical trials. Previously, we reported the antipsychotic effects of minocycline in patients with schizophrenia. In a pilot investigation, we administered minocycline as an open-label adjunct to antipsychotic medication to patients with schizophrenia. The results of this trial suggested that minocycline might be a safe and effective adjunct to antipsychotic medications, and that augmentation with minocycline may prove to be a viable strategy for "boosting" antipsychotic efficacy and for treating schizophrenia. Recently, in randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials, the addition of minocycline to treatment as usual early in the course of schizophrenia predominantly improves negative symptoms. The present review summarizes the available data supporting the clinical testing of minocycline for patients with schizophrenia. In addition, we extend our discussion to the potential applications of minocycline for combining this treatment with cellular and molecular therapy.


Using density-functional theory, we investigate the structural, vibrational, and dielectric properties of Hf and Zr oxides and silicates which have drawn considerable attention as alternative high-kappa materials. For the silicates, we consider hafnon HfSiO4 and zircon ZrSiO4; while for the oxides, we study the cubic and tetragonal phases of HfO2 and ZrO2. Special emphasis is put on the analysis of the differences and similarities between Hf and Zr in these materials. In particular, we discuss the Born effective charge tensors, the phonon frequencies at the Gamma point of the Brillouin zone, and the dielectric permittivity tensors. Our study reveals very similar properties of Hf and Zr compounds, which are essentially related to the chemical homology of Hf and Zr.


An experiment was conducted in order to examine the effect of different concentrations of Imazaquin applied as both pre and post emergence treatments on soybean plants. Soybean variety TGX 17402X was used in this experiment. Results obtained revealed that efficacy of Imazaquin varies according to concentration and time of application. Adequate weed control was achieved in all the concentrations of Imazaquin with the best in concentration 0.375 kg a i./ha applied as pre emergence and all the concentrations applied as post emergence at 4 WAP (Weeks after planting) ,0.250 and 0.375 kg a i./ha at 12 WAP. Stem height was best at higher concentration of 0.375 kg, a i./ha (45.00cm) at 8WAP while at 12 WAP, pre emergence concentration 0.250 kg. a i./ha and post emergence 0.375kg.ai./ha also produced best stem heights of 67.00 and 68.00cm respectively. Leaf number was highest in the control experiment with 50 leaves at 8 WAP followed by post emergence concentration of 0.375 and 0.250 kg.a i./ha with 46.00 and 45.00 which were not statistically significant. However, the control, pre emergence treatments of concentrations 0.125 and 0.375 kg. a i./ha, and the post emergence concentration of 0.375 kg. a i./ha were significantly higher than the rest at 9 WAP (61,60,58 and 57 respectively). At 12WAP, concentrations of 0.125 and 0.250kg. a i./ha at post and pre emergence application produced significantly higher number of leaves than the remaining treatments. Weed emergence was significantly higher in the control experiment at 4, 8, 9 and 12WAP.


Background: EGFR TKIs have shown first-line efficacy in EGFRm+ NSCLC but acquired resistance is inevitable; with afatinib, this is predominantly through the emergence of T790M. Therefore, a key consideration when assessing therapeutic choices is the availability of subsequent treatment options. The GioTag study (NCT03370770) is the first to assess outcomes of real-world patients (Pts) who received first-line afatinib followed by osimertinib; for pts with EGFRm+ NSCLC and acquired T790M this sequence resulted in a median time on treatment (ToT) of 27.6 months, which did not include chemotherapy. We present subgroup analyses of pts from the GioTag study who are under-represented in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and assess the impact of afatinib treatment on ECOG PS. Methods: The GioTag study is an observational, multicenter study. Data were collected retrospectively (Dec 2017–May 2018). Pts had EGFRm+ (Del19/L858R) advanced NSCLC and acquired T790M after first-line afatinib. Pts completed afatinib and started osimertinib treatment ≥10 months before data entry to avoid early censoring and ensure mature data collection. Patient subgroups were defined based on baseline characteristics (eg, ECOG PS, age, ethnicity). The primary outcome was ToT from afatinib initiation to osimertinib discontinuation. Results: A total of 204 pts were included in the GioTag study: 15.2% had ECOG PS ≥2; 7.4% were aged ≥75 years; 8.8% were African-American. Pts generally considered to have a poor prognosis derived clinical benefit from the afatinib–osimertinib sequence: median ToT for pts with ECOG PS ≥2 (n=31) was 22.2 months (90%CI 16.0–27.0; vs pts with ECOG PS 0/1 [n=153; 31.3 months; 27.6–44.5] P<.001); and for pts aged ≥75 years (n=15), ToT was 19.9 months (9.7–not evaluable [NE]; vs pts aged <75 years [n=189; 28.1 months; 26.6–31.3] P=.382). In African-American pts, median ToT was 27.6 months (90%CI 24.7–NE). Of 180 pts with available data, 75.0% had no change or an improvement in ECOG PS from the start of afatinib to the start of osimertinib treatment; 24.4% of pts had a deterioration in ECOG PS by 1 step and 0.6% of pts had a deterioration by 2 steps. Conclusions: First-line afatinib followed by osimertinib is a feasible therapeutic strategy in pts with EGFRm+ NSCLC and acquired T790M, including those who are often under-represented in RCTs. Clinical benefit (measured by ToT) was seen among pts with poor prognosis (ECOG PS ≥2), pts aged ≥75 years, and African-American pts.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the expression of inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in venous whole blood of dogs with impaired renal function attributable to various causes.

ANIMALS
46 dogs with acute kidney injury (AKI), 8 dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 10 healthy dogs.

PROCEDURES
Dogs with AKI and CKD were prospectively enrolled during 2010 if they met inclusion criteria. Demographic and laboratory characteristics were evaluated for each dog, and expression of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1α, IL-1β, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, IL-10, and transforming growth factor [TGF]-β) and enzymes (inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS] and 5-lipoxygenase [5-LO]) was measured in venous whole blood obtained at initial evaluation.

RESULTS
Dogs with impaired renal function had markedly higher expression of the cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, and TGF-β and the enzyme 5-LO, compared with expression in healthy dogs. Additionally, 17 of 46 AKI dogs (but none of the CKD dogs) had higher IL-8 mRNA expression and 3 of 8 CKD dogs (but only 2/46 AKI dogs) had higher TNF-α expression, compared with results for healthy dogs. No significant difference between renal disease groups was detected for inflammatory markers and laboratory variables, degree of azotemia, or cause of impaired renal function.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In this study, expression of the cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, and TGF-β and the enzyme 5-LO was clearly increased in dogs with renal disease, which suggested that these markers were part of an inflammatory response in animals with AKI or CKD.


The social and individual aspects of MOOCs are two sides of the same coin. However, while the majority of MOOC designs do not valorise the potential that a massive audience could bring in, several studies highlight the solomission mode of MOOC users' experience. Based on implementation intention, social presence, social influence and flow theory we conceptualise our gamification design of MOOCs that embraces their social and individual aspects. We present the gamification design process, our theoretical framework, the quantitative and qualitative results of our study to identify the most suitable game elements, their conceptual design, and our recommendations. Our findings enable designers of gamification and MOOCs as well, to see these two phenomena under a new light, by referring to new theories and new game elements that were not being considered before in the design of a gamified MOOC aiming at enhancing users' goal achievement and engagement.


Neuroimaging techniques such as MRI have been widely used to explore the associations between brain areas. Structural connectivity (SC) captures the anatomical pathways across the brain and functional connectivity (FC) measures the correlation between the activity of brain regions. These connectivity measures have been much studied using network theory in order to uncover the distributed organization of brain structures, in particular FC for task-specific brain communication. However, the application of network theory to study FC matrices is often "static" despite the dynamic nature of time series obtained from fMRI. The present study aims to overcome this limitation by introducing a network-oriented analysis applied to whole-brain effective connectivity (EC) useful to interpret the brain dynamics. Technically, we tune a multivariate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process to reproduce the statistics of the whole-brain resting-state fMRI signals, which provides estimates for EC as well as input properties (similar to local excitabilities). The network analysis is then based on the network response (or Green function) that describes the interactions between nodes across time for the estimated dynamics. This model-based approach provides time-dependent graphlike descriptors —communicability and flow— that characterize the roles that either nodes or connections play in the propagation of activity within the network. They can be used at both global and local levels, and also enables the comparison of estimates from real data with surrogates (e.g., random network or ring lattice). In contrast to classical graph approaches to study SC or FC, our framework stresses the importance of taking the temporal aspect of fMRI signals into account. Our results show a merging of functional communities over time (in which input properties play a role), moving from segregated to global integration of the network activity. Our formalism sets a solid ground for the analysis and interpretation of fMRI data, including task-evoked activity.


Abstract. With the rapid development of remote sensing technology, it is possible to obtain continuous video data from outer space successfully. It is of great significance in military and civilian fields to detect moving objects from the remote sensing image sequence and predict their movements. In recent years, this issue has attracted more and more attention. However, researches on moving object detection and movement prediction in high-resolution remote sensing videos are still in its infancy, which is worthy of further study. In this paper, we propose a ship detection and movement prediction method based on You-Only-Look-Once (YOLO) v3 and Simple Online and Realtime Tracking (SORT). Original YOLO v3 is improved by multi-frame training to fully utilize the information of continuous frames in a fusion way. The simple and practical multiple object tracking algorithm SORT is used to recognize multiple targets detected by multi-frame YOLO v3 model and obtain their coordinates. These coordinates are fitted by the least square method to get the trajectories of multiple targets. We take the derivative of each trajectory to obtain the real-time movement direction and velocity of the detected ships. Experiments are performed on multi-spectral remote sensing images selected on Google Earth, as well as real multi-spectral remote sensing videos captured by Jilin-1 satellite. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of our method for moving ship detection and movement prediction. It shows a feasible way for efficient interpretation and information extraction of new remote sensing video data.


This thesis is concerned with the application of system identification techniques to the analysis of complex physiological systems. The techniques are applied to neuronal spike-train data obtained from elements of the neuromuscular system. A brief description of the neuromuscular system is given in chapter 1, along with a more detailed discussion of the muscle spindle, which is the component of the neuromuscular system which this study deals with. In addition, some possibilities for system identification studies of the muscle spindle are discussed. The identification procedure is based on statistical methods for the treatment of point-process data. The point-process representation of a spike-train is introduced in chapter 2 with definitions of time and frequency domain point-process parameters. Estimates for these parameters are given, along with expressions for their asymptotic distributions. The linear point-process system identification model is introduced and estimates are described for the model parameters in terms of the previously defined point-process parameters. These point-process and linear parameter estimates are applied to muscle spindle spike-train data. In the analysis of a single spike-train certain important features only show up in the frequency domain, and for input and output spike-trains a linear transfer function type description is constructed in the frequency domain. The mathematical model of this transfer function is used as the basis for an analogue computer simulation of a subsystem of the muscle spindle. This consists of a linear first order filter followed by an encoder which generates output spikes. Data logged from the simulation is processed in the same manner as experimental data, and the effect of varying the simulation parameters on the linear model estimates is looked at. It is shown that in general the linear model description reflects the properties of the linear filter in the simulation, and varying the simulation parameters can be used to accurately match results from simulated data with those obtained from real data. Chapter 3 compares the point-process approach with a more conventional filtering and sampled data approach to estimate power spectra. The filtering of spike-trains with broad band spectra is investigated, and this shows up a pitfall in the choice of filter cut-off frequency. It is concluded that the point-process approach is preferable due to shorter computational times, and the well documented statistical propeties of the point-process estimates. The application of the point-process techniques described in chapter 2 to the analysis of more general spike-train data is considered in chapter 4. Three techniques for measuring the degree of coupling between two spike-trains are compared, and the point-process frequency domain measure is found to be the most sensitive. This measure is also applied to a data set containing a strong single periodicity, and the ability to detect coupling at a single harmonic is demonstrated. The analysis of coupling between spike-trains in the frequency domain is extended to deal with multiple spike-trains, and the ability to distinguish genuine coupling from the effect of a common input is shown to be a powerful tool which can be used to investigate communications pathways in neural systems. Finally, one special feature of the muscle spindle response to a spike-train input is analysed using the simulation. It is demonstrated that the point-process approach can produce results about a particular phenomenon from a single experiment much more rapidly than using a repetitive trial and error approach. Chapter 5 considers the extension of the linear point-process identification model introduced in chapter 2. Higher order time and frequency domain point-process parameters are defined and estimates given. In the time domain, a new technique for rapidly generating higher order time domain parameters is developed. The quadratic point-process model is introduced and solutions for its parameters given. These estimates are applied to muscle


The paper seeks to contribute to the management development debate by providing insight into the dynamics of organisational learning and human interaction in the SME firm. The paper sets out to consider how a practice based perspective of knowledge is useful in this regard. The paper is theoretical in its intent and adopts a social constructionist view of knowledge and learning. Using qualitative analysis the paper establishes a review of the current literature by highlighting the centrality of knowledge and learning. Literature has suggested that critical aspects of learning within the SME firm are based around contextualised and social interaction. A limited number of studies account for how practice is configured and influenced, in terms of value, uniqueness and scope of what is known, and how these influences can vary depending upon the contexts in which knowledge is being used, and potentially used. There is a strong recognition in many of the empirical studies of learning and its use in the SME firm, that knowledge is gained through practice as opposed to formal instruction. What current research does not reflect is the changing nature of knowledge research in the wider organisational community, which has focused its attention towards the situated nature of knowledgeable activity or knowing in practice. The paper argues that learning through practice, with its focus on real world issues and lived experiences, which are contextually embedded in the owner-manager's environment, may provide a better means of successfully developing practitioner focused owner/managers


T cell anergy is a state of unresponsiveness that is induced by suboptimal activation of T cells; namely, engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR) in the absence of a costimulating signal, such as stimulation of CD28. Anergic T cells do not proliferate in response to further stimulation, making the induction of anergy an effective method for inactivating self-reactive T cells. Stimulation of the TCR results in the Ca2+-dependent transcription of genes encoding proteins associated with anergy. The group of Puga et al. had previously shown that one of these proteins was the proapoptotic protein caspase-3. In the current study, the authors mixed mouse T cells expressing an ovalbumin-specific TCR with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing a complex of MHC class II and ovalbumin peptide (CHO-OVA) to induce T cell anergy. The abundances of Casp3 mRNA and active caspase-3 protein were increased in these T cells compared with those of T cells mixed with non-OVA CHO cells; however, the anergic T cells did not exhibit any of the characteristics of apoptotic cells. When T cells and CHO-OVA cells were incubated with a caspase inhibitor, proliferation assays showed that the T cells did not become anergic. Similarly, Casp3–/– T cells were less susceptible than cells from wild-type mice to becoming anergic after TCR stimulation in vitro. Western blotting assays showed that caspase-3 was recruited to the plasma membrane of anergic T cells, where it cleaved the adaptor protein GADS and the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav1, both of which are TCR signaling components. Together, these data suggest a nonapoptotic role for caspase-3 in maintaining the hyporesponsiveness of anergic T cells by inhibiting TCR signaling. I. Puga, A. Rao, F. Macian, Targeted cleavage of signaling proteins by caspase 3 inhibits T cell receptor signaling in anergic T cells. Immunity 29, 193-204 (2008). [PubMed]


Authorization protects application resources by allowing only authorized entities to access them. Existing authorization solutions are widely based on the request-response model, where a policy enforcement point intercepts application requests, obtains authorization decisions from a remote policy decision point, and enforces those decisions. This model enables sharing the decision point as an authorization service across multiple applications. But, with many requests and resources, using a remote shared decision point leads to increased latency and presents the risk of introducing a bottleneck and/or a single point of failure. This dissertation presents three approaches to addressing these problems. The first approach introduces and evaluates the mechanisms for authorization recycling in role-based access control systems. The algorithms that support these mechanisms allow a local secondary decision point to not only reuse previously-cached decisions but also infer new and correct decisions based on two simple rules, thereby masking possible failures of the central authorization service and reducing the network delays. Our evaluation results suggest that authorization recycling improves the availability and performance of distributed access control solutions. The second approach explores a cooperative authorization recycling system, where each secondary decision point shares its ability to make decisions with others through a discovery service. Our system does not require cooperating secondary decision points to trust each other. To maintain cache consistency at multiple secondary decision points, we propose alternative mechanisms for propagating update messages. Our evaluation results suggest that cooperation further improves the availability and performance of authorization infrastructures. The third approach examines the use of a publish-subscribe channel for delivering authorization requests and responses between policy decision points and enforcement points. By removing enforcement points' dependence on a particular decision point, this approach helps improve system availability, which is confirmed by our analytical analysis, and reduce system administration/development overhead. We also propose several subscription schemes for different deployment environments and study them using a prototype system. We finally show that combining these three approaches can further improve the authorization system availability and performance, for example, by achieving a unified cooperation framework and using speculative authorizations.


In this study, water quality parameters and zooplankton fauna were investigated from 14 different water wells in Yayladagi District of Hatay Province. The study was conducted seasonally between October 2015 and July 2016. A total of 51 species were identified, including 30 species of rotifers, 9 species of cladocerans, and 12 species of copepods. The most abundant species, Keratella cochlearis, Bosmina longirostris, and Tropocyclops prasinus, were found in 11, 13, and 12 wells, respectively. However, species such as Cephalodella catellina, Cephalodella ventripes, Filinia longiseta, Lecane lunaris, L. pumila, Lophocharis salpina, Mytilina unguipes, Platyias quadricornis, Trichocerca tigris, Ceriodaphnia pulchella, Diaphanosoma birgei, Alona guttata, Leydigia acanthocercoides, Simocephalus vetulus, Cyclops vicinus, Bryocamptus zschokkei, Diacyclops bicuspidatus, Canthocamptus microstaphylinus, and Nitocra hibernica were each observed in only one well. The highest abundance of species was found in Well 1 with 22 species, followed by Well 14 with 19 species and Well 4 with 18 species. Only 4 species were found in Well 10. At the end of this study, the most abundant species, Synchaeta stylata, Keratella quadrata, Bosmina longirostris, Tropocyclops prasinus, and Eudiaptomus drieschi, were observed in Wells 1-3, 1, 4, 3-10, and 1-4, respectively. The monogonont rotifer Lecane pumila, collected from Well 4 (Yayladagi, Hatay), was reported for the first time from Turkish inland waters.


This work focuses on the improvement of liver graft quality through the use of MP. It has been established that intracellular ATP is a significant measure of the cellular viability of an explanted organ. Chapter 1 examines the relationship between intracellular ATP and cellular viability at different time points of static cold storage. Both parameters were found to decline linearly as cold storage progresses. We went on to characterize the decline and recovery of ATP in a rat model of ex-vivo warm ischemia followed by subnormothermic machine perfusion and orthotopic liver transplantation (chapter 2). The use of MP at subnormothermic temperature (SNMP, 20oC) yielded improved graft survival, demonstrating feasibility of our rat model. Subsequently, a more clinically relevant porcine model was used (chapter 3), in which donation after cardiac death was followed by normothermic sanguineous machine perfusion, and reperfusion was simulated by NMP. Among other conclusions, this study confirms that ATP levels are a clinically relevant measure of viability. After demonstrating that our machine perfusion systems are capable of optimizing marginal organs, we wanted to examine whether machine perfusion could extend the duration of cold storage and whether MP is still effective after extended SCS. To this end, rat livers that had undergone various durations of cold storage were subjected to subnormothermic machine perfusion and then transplanted (chapter 4). Together, chapters 1, 2 and 4 establish a subnormothermic machine perfusion system tested under various clinically relevant circumstances, yielding several parameters that indicate graft viability during MP. We used this model as a tool to develop a novel strategy for liver preservation. In chapter 5, sub-zero non-freezing whole-organ preservation, or supercooling, was introduced, which can viably preserve rat livers at -6oC for extended periods of time. The previously established techniques of SNMP and liver transplantation enabled us to develop a rat model of supercooling preservation, which was verified with orthotopic transplantation yielding long-term survival. In chapter 6, we investigate the phenomenon of supercooling using molecular biological and cell culture techniques. Individual components of the protocol, as well as one of the agents used to facilitate supercooling were analyzed in an in vitro model of hepatocyte supercooling.

In summary, in this thesis a new model of SNMP and rat liver transplantation is developed and applied to produce a novel liver preservation modality using supercooling preservation, which can significantly extend the current storage time for a rat liver.


\(Background:\) Levels of PA commonly decline during adolescence. Some individuals do remain active through adolescence into young adulthood (16-25 years); however, the factors supporting their ongoing participation during this transitional life stage are poorly understood. A greater understanding of the factors that facilitate maintenance of PA levels during this life stage will make a valuable contribution to the fields of public health and PA studies and aid in the development of health promotion activities that promote regular participation in PA by young people.
\(Aims:\) This Australian study examines the role of PA in the lives of young people, particularly those who remain engaged in regular PA as they transitioned from adolescence to adulthood. It explores the influence of childhood factors as well as current life circumstances on participation levels.
\(Methods:\) This is a multiphase mixed methods study. Phase one used data from the Childhood Determinants of Adulthood Study (CDAH), an Australian population based prospective cohort, to examine the associations between sociodemographic, behavioural, sociocultural, psychological, emotional, cognitive and physical factors measured in childhood and adolescence with PA behavior during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Focus groups were conducted with fifty young people aged 16 - 26 years to explore how young people speak about PA and changes since leaving high school. In phase two, following analysis of CDAH and focus group data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 young people aged 16 - 25 years. Interviewees also completed the International PA Questionnaire and were asked to complete a weekly pedometer diary.
\(Results:\) The most common pattern of PA behaviour was one of fluctuating participation. Childhood factors such as sports competency and cardiorespiratory fitness as well as sociocultural factors predicted maintenance of PA for males and females. Two distinct subgroups of PA maintainers were identified, with one group characterised by above average childhood competency and diversity of childhood PA experiences. PA was central to members of this groups' sense of identity. The second group were characterised by supportive sociocultural factors and current life circumstances. Maintenance of PA for both groups was concomitant with valuing PA for a combination of extrinsic (relationships, health/fitness) and intrinsic (physical challenge, time out) factors. These values were consistent with this transitional life stage, but also fluid and dynamic, altering according to the type of activity undertaken and with changes to life circumstances.
Sex differences were found across all elements of the study, including childhood predictors of PA, perceptions of PA and type of PA undertaken, but no clear patterns were discernible for socioeconomic status or education. Geographic location impacted the type of activities undertaken as well as the frequency.
\(Conclusion:\) The value placed on participation appeared critical for maintenance of PA during this transitional life stage. Competency, social support from family, friends and other adults as well as opportunities provided by schools and colleges also contributed to maintenance of PA.


School reform politics in England and the United States over the last quarter century has revolved largely around the question of performance-based accountability. Accountability school reform in both countries has entailed standardization of curricula and assessment and the spread in the use of market mechanisms in school governance. To explain how these accountability reforms have retooled local governing institutions in ways that have reduced their autonomy and lessened their capacity to administer local school systems, this article applies the analytical framework of urban governing cycles to a comparative study of school reform politics in Bristol, England, and Boston, Massachusetts.


Within these pages we offer a theoretical argument for how aesthetic reflexivity and agency in management practice can be developed using dance exercises. We build our argument on Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge and on simulation theories from the area of embodied cognition. In short, we argue that engaging with dance exercises can give managers new bodily experiences they can use as means to develop more skilful knowing and doing in their managerial practice. We further argue that the consequences of employing new bodily experiences as means for achieving skilful knowing and doing cannot be adequately predicted, but must, at least in part, be discovered through use. Looking at implications for facilitators, using dance exercises in this way, we suggest that conversations during and after dance interventions can focus on identifying what sensory experiences the participating managers are attracted to using as new means for skilful knowing and doing. We also suggest that follow-up interviews could focus on discovering the consequences of using these new means. This way of using dance exercises in management education is rarely discussed in current literature. Current literature predominantly focuses on using dance exercises to unearthing personal habits, beliefs and exemplifying "good" leadership practice.


A key marker for examining the latest Pleistocene history of the New Jersey margin is the high-amplitude, long-recognized R-horizon reflector. This time-transgressive surface was formed 47-33 ka and represents the integrated topographic and bathymetric surface developed during the complicated sea-level oscillation associated with the regression that preceded the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). From landward to seaward across the outer shelf, the R reflector changes from subhorizontal, in most locations <9 m beneath the modern seafloor, to seaward dipping, forming the base of two offlapping sediment wedges: the previously described outer-shelf wedge and a deep-shelf wedge seaward of it. This transition occurs across two inflection zones, where the dip of the R reflector steepens seaward, that can be traced for tens of kilometers along strike and mark the landward limits of these wedges. These inflection zones are possibly former wave-dominated shorefaces; these represent the primary topographic elements present during the last regression. We speculate that these inflections dictated both the locations for deposition of the two prograding, offlapping wedges that developed during the complex sea-level fall prior to the LGM and their successive erosion before and after the LGM. We suggest that such inflection zones and their associated wedges are important markers of regression in clastic-dominated outer-shelf settings along passive margins.


Despite being currently one of the main internet application.P2Pfile sharing has been hampered by content pollution attack. To tackle this problem, we introduce a novel pollution control strategy that consisting in adjusting the rate in which content disseminated, according to content version reputation. The proposed strategy is modeled and evaluated using simplifying assumptions. Then inspired by classic distributed design, we propose a pollution control mechanism that implement such a strategy .The mechanism is evaluated in terms of the delay imposed on non polluted version dissemination when the version is polluted and the negative impact that collusion attack can impose on the reputation system upon which our mechanism is built.


Abstract. In order to assist the elaboration of proactive measures for the management of future volcanic eruptions in Iceland, we developed a new scenario-based approach to assess the hazard associated with tephra dispersal and sedimentation at various scales and for multiple sources. The target volcanoes are Hekla, Katla, Eyjafjallajokull and Askja, selected either for their high probabilities of eruption and/or their high potential impact. By coupling tephrostratigraphic studies, probabilistic techniques and modelling, we developed comprehensive eruption scenarios for both short- and long-lasting eruptions and compiled hazard maps for tephra ground deposition at a national scale and air concentration at a European scale using the TEPHRA2 and FALL3D models, respectively. New algorithms for the identification of realistic sets of eruptive source parameters are investigated, which assist the generation of probability density functions of eruption source parameters for the selected scenarios. Aggregation processes were accounted for using various empirical models. Outcomes, i.e. probabilities conditioned to the occurrence of an eruption, help the assessment and comparison of hazard levels at different scales. For example, at a national scale Askja has a 5–10% probability of blanketing the easternmost half of the country with a tephra accumulation of at least 1 kg m−2. At a continental scale, Katla has a 5–10% probability of producing ash clouds with concentrations of 2 mg m−3 over the UK, Scandinavia and northern Europe with a mean arrival time of 48–72 h and a mean persistence time of 6–18 h. In a companion paper, Scaini et al. (2014) present a vulnerability assessment for Iceland to ground deposition of tephra and for the European air traffic to airborne ash which, combined with the outcomes of the present paper, constitute one of the first comprehensive multi-scale risk assessment associated with tephra dispersal and sedimentation.


Synopsis-Two dynamic compressibility testers are described and the accuracy of one of them is examined by means of an energy balance and found to be within 5 per cent . The relationship of dynamic and static compressibility is discussed, the effects of moisture and temperature briefly examined and the results of testing a number of papers on the dynamic tester are presented . The changes in compressibility through the calender stack of two papers are given as examples and the dwell time/pressure relationship for caliper reduction is given for three different papers. Printability is examined as a function of compressibility and the relative compression of press packing and various papers is examined . A graphical method for determining the specific pressure distribution in a calender nip is given and the implications of the results are discussed. Two extreme cases of materials in a calender nip, one completely elastic, the other completely plastic are briefly discussed and a rheological model for the calender action is presented in an appendix .


The Scallop Theorem states that reciprocal methods of locomotion, such as jet propulsion or paddling, will not work in Stokes flow (Reynolds number = 0). In nature the effective limit of jet propulsion is still in the range where inertial forces are significant. It appears that almost all animals that use jet propulsion swim at Reynolds numbers (Re) of about 5 or more. Juvenile squid and octopods hatch from the egg already swimming in this inertial regime. The limitations of jet propulsion at intermediate Re is explored here using the immersed boundary method to solve the two-dimensional Navier Stokes equations coupled to the motion of a simplified jellyfish. The contraction and expansion kinematics are prescribed, but the forward and backward swimming motions of the idealized jellyfish are emergent properties determined by the resulting fluid dynamics. Simulations are performed for both an oblate bell shape using a paddling mode of swimming and a prolate bell shape using jet propulsion. Average forward velocities and work put into the system are calculated for Reynolds numbers between 1 and 320. The results show that forward velocities rapidly decay with decreasing Re for all bell shapes when Re<10. Similarly, the work required to generate the pulsing motion increases significantly for Re<10. When compared actual organisms, the swimming velocities and vortex separation patterns for the model prolate agree with those observed in Nemopsis bachei. The forward swimming velocities of the model oblate jellyfish after two pulse cycles are comparable to those reported for Aurelia aurita, but discrepancies are observed in the vortex dynamics between when the 2D model oblate jellyfish and the organism.


One of the underlying premises of the charter school movement is that quality drives consumer choice. As educational consumers, parents are viewed as rational actors who, if given the choice, will select better performing school. In examining the choice processes of charter school parents, however, this study calls into question the extent to which some parents can make optimal choices. Interviews with parents enrolled in two different charter schools indicate that charter parents do not necessarily choose higher performing charter schools; nor do they necessarily leave low performing charter schools. The study also provides evidence that parent "choice sets" (Bell, 2009) vary depending on networks and social capital. Thus, choice alone does not necessarily ensure


This non-traditional introduction to the mathematics of scientific computation describes the principles behind the major methods, from statistics, applied mathematics, scientific visualization, and elsewhere, in a way that is accessible to a large part of the scientific community. Introductory material includes computational basics, a review of coordinate systems, an introduction to facets (planes and triangle meshes) and an introduction to computer graphics. The scientific computing part of the book covers topics in numerical linear algebra (basics, solving linear system, eigen-problems, SVD, and PCA) and numerical calculus (basics, data fitting, dynamic processes, root finding, and multivariate functions). The visualization component of the book is separated into three parts: empirical data, scalar values over 2D data, and volumes.


The subjects of migration and aging have both attracted scholarly attention from various disciplines, using a wide range of approaches and strategies. The intricacies of the nexus between migration and aging, however, are only now starting to be explored. This paper seeks to contribute towards an exploration of the intersection of aging and migration in the lives of Filipinas using feminist psychology and Sikolohiyang Pilipino (indigenous Filipino psychology, or SP) as methodological frameworks. This paper argues that a poststructuralist approach may be used productively in SP to provide empirical critiques of existing power structures that produce the inequalities we wish to address. Using pakikipagkuwentuhan (an indigenous semi-structured interview method) together with a poststructuralist approach to language, the study examines New-Zealand-based Filipina migrants' meaning-making on beauty and aging. Focusing primarily on the perceived or felt pressure to be beautiful as migrants, and on some of the ways those pressures are resisted, this paper interrogates these perceptions and meanings in the context of a neoliberal subjectivity that emphasizes individual responsibility and choice, of a sexist and ageist social order that diminishes the value of older women, and of a consumerist ethic that regards the body as an object for displaying success as well as a tool for obtaining it. Beauty was found to be an important signifier of success in migration and its maintenance felt as a social obligation; however, counter-discourses of aging embedded in cultural notions of matanda (the elderly), as well as the construction of "choice" as being constrained by the body, allow women space to argue for nonconformity with society's dictates to maintain a particular ideal of beauty. Keywords: Migration, ageing, beauty, feminist psychology, Sikolohiyang Pilipino, embodiment


Abstract. A simple inverse model is proposed to deduce hemisphere-integrated COS flux based on published time series of total column COS. The global atmosphere is divided into two boxes representing the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and the total column COS data from several stations are used to calculate hemispheric COS loadings. The integrated flux within each hemisphere is calculated as a linear combination of a steady-state solution and time-varying perturbation. The nature of the time-varying perturbation is deduced using two different approaches: an analytic solution based on a cosine function that was fitted to the original total column COS measurement time series and a Simplex optimization with no underlying assumption about the functional form of the total column time series. The results suggest that there is a steady-state COS flux from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere. There is a seasonal variation superimposed on this flux that in the Southern Hemisphere has a maximum rate of COS input into the atmosphere around January and a maximum rate of COS removal from the atmosphere around August--September. In the Northern Hemisphere, the maximum rate of COS input into the atmosphere is around May--June, and the maximum rate of COS removal is either August or January, depending on which station in the Northern Hemisphere is considered. The results of the inverse model are compared with the outcome of a forward approach on the temporal and spatial variation of the dominant global sources and sinks published earlier. In general, the deduced hemisphere-integrated flux estimates showed good agreement with the database estimates, though it remains uncertain whether COS removal from the atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere is dominated by plant and soil uptake in the boreal summer or by oceanic uptake in boreal winter.


In this chapter, I will review recent research on visually situated language comprehension, and in doing so identify key characteristics of situated language comprehension. More specifically I will argue that both active visual context effects and the temporally coordinated interplay between visual attention and language comprehension are characteristic of situated comprehension, and are robust across a broad range of comprehension situations, spanning (a) different comprehension modalities (reading and spoken comprehension) and situations in which language is (versus isn't) in accord with visual context; (b) different kinds of visual contexts (clipart depictions, photographs, and real-world objects and events); (c) speaker-based information such as eye-gaze and gestures; and (d) both concrete and abstract language. Because of their broad coverage ((a)–(d)), situated language comprehension paradigms are, in principle, well suited for developing a relatively comprehensive theory of situated language comprehension. One challenge in further specifying model predictions is the development of more detailed linking hypotheses between comprehension processes and one of the key measures used to examine situated comprehension (visual attention to objects across time).


While the CAP Theorem is often interpreted to preclude the availability of transactions in a partition-prone environment, we show that highly available systems can provide useful transactional semantics, often matching those of today's ACID databases. We propose Highly Available Transactions (HATs) that are available in the presence of partitions. HATs support many desirable ACID guarantees for arbitrary transactional sequences of read and write operations and permit low-latency operation.


The challenge for any theory about the rule of law is threefold: to explain what the rule of law is, why is it good, and to what extent. This article proposes a comprehensive theory of the rule of law, articulating the conditions that the law has to meet in order to be able to fulfill its pivotal functions in guiding human conduct. The article advances two main theses about these conditions of the rule of law: first, that although the virtues of the rule of law are essentially functional, they are also moral political values, enhancing a range of goods that we value in addition to their functional merit. Secondly, the article comprises detailed arguments purporting to show how legalism can be excessive and that upholding the rule of law virtues is never costless, morally, politically, and otherwise. Within contemporary jurisprudence, this article takes an intermediary position between Lon Fuller's account of the rule of law as exhibiting the "inner morality of law," and Joseph Raz's functional account. The article concludes with an argument showing that the jurisprudential debates about the rule of law have no bearing on the debates between legal positivism and its critics.


The Impact of Traumatic Symptoms on Intimacy Among Sexually Abused Women, Mediated by Shame Stacy Hamilton Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, BYU Doctor of Philosophy Traumatic symptoms are common for survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and such symptoms are often compounded by the presence of shame. While much is known regarding the negative impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on CSA survivors, less is known regarding the relationship between PTSD and shame and little to no research has investigated the impact of PTSD on intimacy mediated by shame for CSA survivors. The current study sought to fill this gap in the literature by exploring this phenomenon. Data was randomly collected from households in the following cities: Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; and San Francisco, as well as the Utah State Penitentiary. Those who had completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist-33 (TSC-33), the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships scale (PAIR), and Internalized Shame Scale (ISS) were included in the dataset. Exclusionary criteria included females under 18, males, those who had not experienced sexual abuse, and those who had not completed the requisite scales. In all, 318 participants met criteria for the current study. The current study hypothesized that: (1) trauma symptoms would be negatively related to intimacy, (2) internalized shame will be negatively related to intimacy, and (3) internalized shame will significantly mediate the relationship between trauma symptoms and intimacy. The hypotheses were analyzed utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and the associated AMOS 19 and MPlus software. Results found that trauma symptoms negatively impact intimacy and that shame has a mediating impact on this phenomenon. Further, shame was found to be a full mediator. While results of the current study illustrate the mediating role of shame on trauma symptoms, this mediation is within a relational rather than an individual context. Consequently, the current study fills an important gap in the literature regarding the interplay between shame and trauma for CSA victims within a relational context. Results of the current study give direction regarding the treatment of trauma and point to the importance of addressing shame in survivors of sexual abuse.


This dissertation studies the science and policy-making of alternative energy using biofuels as a case study, primarily examining the instruments that can be used to alleviate the impacts of climate change and their relative efficacy. Three case studies of policy-making on biofuels in the European Union, United States of America and Brazil are presented and discussed. It is found that these policies have had large unintended negative consequences and that they relied on Lifecycle Analysis studies that had concluded that increased biofuels production can help meet economic, energy and environmental goals. A close examination of these Lifecycle Analysis studies reveals that their results are not conclusive. Instead of continuing to attempt to find answers from Lifecycle Analyses, this study suggests an alternative approach: formulating policy based on recognition of the ignorance of real fuel costs and pollution. Policies to combat climate change are classified into two distinct approaches: policies that place controls on the fuels responsible for emissions and policies that target the pollutants themselves. A mathematical model is constructed to compare these two approaches and address the central question of this study: In light of an ignorance of the cost and pollution impacts of different fuels, are policies targeting the pollutants themselves preferable to policies targeting the fuels? It is concluded that in situations where the cost and pollution functions of a fuel are unknown, subsidies, mandates and caps on the fuel might result in increased or decreased greenhouse gas emissions; on the other hand, a tax or cap on carbon dioxide results in the largest decrease possible of greenhouse gas emissions. Further, controls on greenhouse gases are shown to provide incentives for the development and advancement of cleaner alternative energy options, whereas controls on the fuels are shown to provide equal incentives to the development of cleaner and dirtier alternative fuels. This asymmetry in outcomes — regardless of actual cost functions — is the reason why controls on greenhouse gases are deemed favorable to direct fuel subsidies and mandates.


Abstract In the parameterization of land surface processes, attention must be devoted to surface evaporation, one of the main processes in the air-land energy exchange. One of the most used approaches is the resistance representation which requires the calculation of aerodynamic resistances. These resistances have been calculated using K theory for different morphologies of plant communities, then the performance of the evaporation schemes within the "α", "β", and their combination approaches that parameterize evaporation from bare and partly plant-covered soil surfaces are discussed. Additionally, a new "α" scheme is proposed based on an assumed power dependence α on volumetric soil moisture content and its saturated value. Finally, the performance of the considered and the proposed schemes is tasted based on time integrations using real data. The first set was for 4 June 1982, and the second for 3 June 1981 at the experimental site in Rimski Sansevi, Yugoslavia, on chernozem soil, as representative for ...


While high-throughput density functional theory (DFT) has become a prevalent tool for materials discovery, it is limited by the relatively large computational cost. In this paper, we explore using DFT data from high-throughput calculations to create faster, surrogate models with machine learning (ML) that can be used to guide new searches. Our method works by using decision tree models to map DFT-calculated formation enthalpies to a set of attributes consisting of two distinct types: (i) composition-dependent attributes of elemental properties (as have been used in previous ML models of DFT formation energies), combined with (ii) attributes derived from the Voronoi tessellation of the compound's crystal structure. The ML models created using this method have half the cross-validation error and similar training and evaluation speeds to models created with the Coulomb matrix and partial radial distribution function methods. For a dataset of 435 000 formation energies taken from the Open Quantum Materials Database (OQMD), our model achieves a mean absolute error of 80 meV/atom in cross validation, which is lower than the approximate error between DFT-computed and experimentally measured formation enthalpies and below 15% of the mean absolute deviation of the training set. We also demonstrate that our method can accurately estimate the formation energy of materials outside of the training set and be used to identify materials with especially large formation enthalpies. We propose that our models can be used to accelerate the discovery of new materials by identifying the most promising materials to study with DFT at little additional computational cost.


Beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in the English colonies, Eileen Southern weaves a fascinating narrative of intense musical activity. As singers, players, and composers, black American musicians are fully chronicled in this landmark book. Now in the third edition, the author has brought the entire text up to date and has added a wealth of new material covering the latest developments in gospel, blues, jazz, classical, crossover, Broadway, and rap as they relate to African American music.