Fifty coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) strains were investigated for adherence to both silicone rubber and polystyrene using a microtitre tray system. Culture in an atmosphere containing a physiological level of carbon dioxide (5% CO2) profoundly affected adherent growth to both surfaces. Most strains adhered less well in this atmosphere compared to in air alone, with mean reductions in adherence of 84% and 86% to silicone rubber and polystyrene respectively. Occasional strains adhered better in 5% CO2. The effects of antibiotic concentrations equivalent to 1/4 MIC of cefuroxime, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin and teicoplanin on the adherence of 10 CNS strains were also studied. Vancomycin and teicoplanin frequently increased adherence to silicone rubber and polystyrene compared to controls. The effects of antibiotics on adherence were not only strain dependent but also sometimes atmosphere or surface specific. Antibiotic-induced changes in adherence did not appear to correlate with changes in strain protein profiles or surface hydrophobicities.


In this paper, two vulnerabilities that allow an eavesdropper to extract data from an isolated user in a two-code-keying spectrally phase-coded optical-code-division-multiple-access (O-CDMA) system are experimentally demonstrated. One of these vulnerabilities stems from spectral dips that result from phase-to-amplitude conversion in the encoding process, which allows eavesdropping by using a narrowband tunable optical filter and a simple energy detector. A modified O-CDMA transmitter scheme that masks this vulnerability is demonstrated. A second, especially serious, vulnerability allows eavesdropping by using a differential-phase-shift-keying receiver. Both of these vulnerabilities arise from a structure in the coding and signaling schemes that allow an eavesdropper to recover data, with relatively simple hardware and without attempting to learn the codes


This thesis is a case study of the application of an energy audit to determine the energy use and potential energy efficiency measures in an office building in Uppsala (Sweden). The motivation of this analysis is the increasing concern about the environmental impact which stems from buildings energy consumption and the interest in an increased sustainability in this sector. Afterwards, in line with the interest in more sustainable buildings, the possibility of installing a grid connected photovoltaic system has been analyzed. The system feasibility has been researched through the creation of a model of the system and the simulation of different possible configurations.
The energy audit has involved many tasks. First of all, the plans of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems have been analyzed to understand their operation.
The data from bills have been also useful to identify tendencies in the electrical and heating energy consumption of the facility. This has allowed to estimate the heating and cooling loads in the building. Afterwards, the facility has been visited to conduct an energy survey. A thorough inspection of the energy systems in the building has been carried out to find possible energy efficiency measures. Besides, the electric power consumption of these systems has been recorded by loggers to analyze its evolution and look into their operation schedule. Measurements of the temperature, light and humidity in the office areas have been taken to assess the indoor comfort in the facility. An inventory of the fans and pumps for the different systems has also been carried out to check and validate the results from the loggers.
This process has allowed to allocate the energy use of the different systems and to prepare the energy balance in the building. The results match with the data from the bills and the inspection in the facility. Several energy efficiency measures have been found thanks to the audit, with a potential for energy savings of 126 MWh. The economical analysis of these measures has shown that most of them are profitable, and they can reduce the greenhouse gases emissions by between 5.87 and 59.4 tons of annual equivalent CO2 depending on the applied approach to estimate the effect of electricity production in greenhouse gases emissions.
On the other hand, the study of the photovoltaic system has been done through computer simulations with PVsyst. The use of PVsyst has been vital because there are several factors to take into account when designing a photovoltaic system. The meteorological data for Uppsala have been taken from different sources, but only the data from the database Meteonorm have been proved to be reliable for the simulations. The next step has been the creation of a 3D model of the building and the system to reflect the effect of shadings in the system. Then, several configurations with different tilt angles and pitches have been compared to find the one with the best performance.
The optimal configuration - tilt angle of 10 _ and pitch of 3 m - has led to the highest performance ratio and electricity production. This configuration has been used to perform a deeper comparison between modules and inverters from different manufacturers. The best combination regarding the electricity production and performance ratio is the use of a PV module from Renewable Energy Corporation and an inverter from AEG, with a performance ratio of 0.821 and a yearly electricity production of 30.1 MWh. However, this configuration does not produce any energy surplus that can be sold to a utility company.
An economical analysis using two sets of prices has shown that the total investment for the considered system would lie between 244000-1189000 SEK, with a payback period of 10 to 47 years, and therefore would not be economically feasible.


This paper presents an efficient framework to perform recognition and grasp detection of objects from RGB-D images of real scenes. The framework uses a novel architecture of hierarchical cascaded forests, in which object-class and grasp-pose probabilities are computed at different levels of an image hierarchy (e.g., patch and object levels) and fused to infer the class and the grasp of unseen objects. We introduce a novel training objective function that minimizes the uncertainties of the class labels and the grasp ground truths at the leaves of the forests, thereby enabling the framework to perform the recognition and grasp detection of objects. Our objective function is learned from features that are extracted from RGB-D point clouds of the objects. For that, we propose a novel method to encode an RGB-D point cloud into a representation that facilitates the use of large convolution neural networks to extract discriminative features from RGB-D images. We evaluate our framework on challenging object datasets, where we demonstrate that our framework outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of object-recognition and grasp-detection accuracies. We also show experiments by using live video streams from a Kinect mounted on our in-house robotic platform.


This article analyzes the demand for a simple rainfall-based weather insurance product among farmers in rural India. We explore the predictions of a standard expected utility theory framework on the nature of demand in terms of price, the basis of the hedge, and risk aversion using data from a randomized control trial. We find that demand behaves as predicted: it falls with price and basis risk and is hump-shaped in risk aversion, with price sensitivity decreasing at higher levels of basis risk. We estimate a negative price elasticity of 0.58 and find that doubling the distance to a reference weather station decreases demand by 18%. These results indicate that improving pricing and quality of insurance products can directly increase demand. In addition, we examine the impact of insurance training relative to other mechanisms designed to increase understanding. The evidence suggests that increased incentives to learn or learning by using are more effective at increasing both understanding and demand. Finally, we contribute to the scarce evidence on the demand for insurance over time. In terms of our main interventions, we find that the effect of premium subsidies persists over time, while the impact of investments in new weather stations diminishes and the effect of increased training in the first season seems to disappear during the second season. Importantly, while having previously purchased insurance does not encourage future uptake, receiving a payout does. This could reflect issues of trust in the product or the insurance company, and constitutes an important topic for future research.


In this paper, we re-examine the role of economic self-interest in shaping people's attitudes towards immigration, using data from the European Social Survey 2002/2003. Compared to the existing literature, there are two main contributions of the present paper. First, we develop a more powerful test of the hypothesis that a positive relationship between education and attitudes towards immigration reflects economic self-interest in the labour market. Second, we develop an alternative and more direct test of whether economic self-interest matters for people's attitudes towards immigration. We find that while the "original" relationship between education and attitudes found in the literature is unlikely to reflect economic self-interest, there is considerable evidence of economic self-interest when using the more direct test.


The catalogue to accompany the 'Superimposition' exhibition is in full colour and contains an introductory essay authored by Myself and Catherine Loewe. A Q&A with Myself and Catherine Loewe follows the essay and is chaired by Paul Carey-Kent. Full Cv's of all four artists are also included. The catalogue and the show was organised and curated by Myself and Catherine Loewe.

There are three aims of the text. The first is to present the work of four artists whose works operate at the interface of popular culture and aesthetics. The second aim is to present works that all utilise highly seductive visual materials of saturated visual excess. And thirdly, to demonstrate that the finite historical limits of painting are re-presented in the expanded field; painting as a reflection of the contemporary moment. The Q&A is an informal but more detailed expansion of the above three aims.

Aesthetic forms and idioms are sought from the cultural landscape of the early 21st century whilst simultaneously being underpinned by an awareness of, and affinity for, the rich repository of British art of the 20th century (eg. the Pop Art collages of Richard Hamilton in the 1950's/60's, assemblages by Kurt Schwitters in the 1940s, to the abstract paintings of Ben Nicholson).

Although framed by the histories of painting these artists aim to avoid descriptive or linear associations. The works examine quotidian contemporary life to provide a critical allegory of both art historical attitudes and the current cultural zeitgeist. They use graphics, representations from online visual information, ready-mades and populist motifs and mix them with pop art in tandem with formal abstract elements.

Pop and abstraction are often represented as historically distinct, a linear progress with Pop's 1950s/60s graphic utilitarianism being seen to out manouvre abstractions 1940s/50s gestural individualism. But what if the two genres were placed side-by-side? And what if they were combined? Richard Hamilton's 'Hers is a lush situation' (1958) demonstrates his desire in his early works to collide different painting styles with popular motifs and techniques. According to Hal Foster in 'The First Pop Age', Hamilton's early paintings appropriate consumerist design from popular culture. These abstracted fragments of images are employed as a critique of modernist painting and commercial advertising, they are made from 'a pastiche of different techniques, marks, and signs – painterly, photographic, collaged, abstract, figurative, modernist, commercial.'

In an expanded configuration of forebears such as Hamilton, Morrison, Reigate, Stubbs and Titchner aim to re-frame painting as possibilities of renewal. The digital screen is key. By layering or superimposing images or visual perspectives on top of, or side by side to each other, sometimes with different materials, the screen is mimicked (as with windows programmes). But, unlike the disembodied screen, the artists employ a process based intervention; one physical layered or mapped act follows the previous one to reveal their final compositions.

Artists: Barry Reigate, Paul Morrison, Michael Stubbs, Mark Titchner.


The status quo for co-located groupware is to assume that "social protocols" (standards of polite behavior) are sufficient to coordinate the actions of a group of users; however, prior studies of groupware use as well as our own observations of groups using a shared tabletop display suggest potential for improving groupware interfaces by incorporating coordination policies - direct manipulation mechanisms for avoiding and resolving conflicts. We discuss our observations of group tabletop usage and present our coordination framework. We conclude with example usage scenarios and discuss future research suggested by this framework.


When our cities are headed is a question being investigated globally by many stakeholders of our urban futures. This piece examines the possible, probable and plausible futures of the city, and what these may look like. The method used to extrapolate these futures is macrohistorical analysis. Positioning the current state of our globalised cities within different models of cultural/historical change gives us the grand patterns for the future of the city. The conclusion shows the ways in which the city is a tangible cultural product of civilization and how the city can be positively used as a catalyst towards the development a planetary human civilization.


Mesoscale eddies in the ocean strongly impact the distribution of planktonic particles, mediating carbon fluxes over ~1/3 of the world ocean. However, mechanisms controlling particle transport through eddies are complex and challenging to measure in situ. Here we show the subsurface distribution of eddy particles funneled into a wineglass shape down to 1000 m, leading to a sevenfold increase of vertical carbon flux in the eddy center versus the eddy flanks, the "wineglass effect". We show that the slope of the wineglass (R) is the ratio of particle sinking velocity to the radially inward velocity, such that R represents a tool to predict radial particle movement (here 0.05 m s−1). A simple model of eddy spindown predicts such an ageostrophic flow concentrating particles in the eddy center. We explore how size‐specific particle flux toward the eddy center impacts eddies' biogeochemistry and export fluxes.


Family is widely expected to be the main source of support for Senior Citizens and, like many religions and cultures, the Jewish tradition has expectations of filial obligations of care. South Africa and its Jewish community have experienced increased emigration over the last decade resulting in many Senior Citizens remaining in South Africa after all their children have emigrated. A phenomenological methodology was used in this study, with the aim of gaining more understanding, firstly about what is experienced by Senior Citizens as beneficial and not beneficial in regards to support in general and secondly about the challenges of later stages of life from Senior Citizens' perspective, especially without expected support of offspring. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight Jewish women, aged over 75, who find themselves in such a position. Their experiences are described in terms of social, practical, emotional and spiritual support as well as in terms of the contextual experiences that necessitate support. The overall experience was found to be one of managing aloneness and dealing with the loss of family and its accompanying sense of belonging. It includes constantly missing one's family, trying to keep in satisfyingly regular contact and trying to comprehend, justify and accept their emigration in terms of expected intergenerational roles. It demands adjusting to constant changes in supports and in one's independence and identity and finding the motivation to strive to remain alive and discover meaning in the painful situation. In the face of all this, there is also a discovery of previously unsuspected new strengths in being able to cope with these difficulties and an exciting new sense of liberation in catering only for oneself. A model of perceived Ideal Support was uncovered comprising a hierarchy of needs within such support, including; Consistency, Reliability, Role Fulfilment, Desire to Support, Respect, Dignity, Enabled Independence, Affection, Like-Mindedness and Belonging.


– In this work, starting by suitable superpositions of equal-frequency Bessel beams, we develop a theoretical and experimental methodology to obtain localized stationary wave fields, with high transverse localization, whose longitudinal intensity pattern can approximately assume any desired shape within a chosen interval 0 ≤ z ≤ L of the propagation axis z. Their intensity envelope remains static, i.e. with velocity v = 0; so that we have named " Frozen Waves " (FW) these new solutions to the wave equations (and, in particular, to the Maxwell equations). Inside the envelope of a FW only the carrier wave does propagate: And the longitudinal shape, within the interval 0 ≤ z ≤ L, can be chosen in such a way that no nonnegligible field exists outside the predetermined region (consisting, e.g., in one or more high intensity peaks). Our solutions are noticeable also for the different and interesting applications they can have, especially in electromag-netism and acoustics, such as optical tweezers, atom guides, optical or acoustic bistouries, 1 various important medical apparata, etc.


Mental well-being protects against the emergence of suicidal thoughts. However, it is not clear whether these findings extend to self-harm thoughts and behaviors irrespective of intent during adolescence—or why this relationship exists. The current study aimed to test predictions—informed by the integrated motivational–volitional (IMV) model of suicide—concerning the role of perceived defeat and entrapment within the link between mental well-being and self-harm risk. Young people (n = 573) from secondary schools across Scotland completed an anonymous self-report survey at two time points, six months apart, that assessed mental well-being, self-harm thoughts and behaviors, depressive symptomology and feelings of defeat and entrapment. Mental well-being was associated with reduced defeat and entrapment (internal and external) and a decrease in the likelihood that a young person would engage in self-harm thoughts and behaviors. The relationship between mental well-being and thoughts of self-harm was mediated by perceptions of defeat and entrapment (internal and external). Mental well-being was indirectly related to self-harm behaviors via decreased feelings of defeat and internal (but not external) entrapment. Taken together, these findings provide novel insights into the psychological processes linking mental well-being and self-harm risk and highlight the importance of incorporating the promotion of mental well-being within future prevention and early intervention efforts.


The two great streams of Zen Buddhism are the Soto sect, known as the School of Silent Illumination, and the Rinzai school of rigorous koan study. Dogen established Soto Zen in Japan, and his work is widely known in the West with many of his books translated into English. Hakuin is credited with the modern revival of the Rinzai sect and is its most important teacher. His life has been a great inspiration to the students and practitioners of Zen in the West, and his writings offer great authority and practical application. Norman Waddell has devoted a large part of his life to translating and publishing work by and about Hakuin. This collection of six diverse and independent works contains five pieces never before translated into English, some of which have been--until quite recently--unknown, even in Japan. A rich and various gathering, the offerings here will be important to seasoned practitioners as well as attractive to newcomers to Zen and spiritual seekers of all faiths.


Extracted from text ... 1 Hence the fashion to challenge this proposition. So A. Gaillou, ""The sixth century was not so much a period of profound change - as certain historians, misled by the amount of legislation left by Justinian, have believed - as it was a stage in the administrative reorganisation conceived by a power that was always sensitive to the concrete situation of the empire"" (in The Byzantines, ed. G. Cavallo (1992) 207); and the diverse views in The Sixth Century: End or Beginning? ed. P. Allen and E. Jeffreys (Brisbane 1996). 2 Discussions include P. Allen, ""The Justinianic plague"", 1979 ..


The purpose of this model is to explore the transmission dynamics of CDV in a two-host system, comprised of an abundant dog population and a relatively low density Indian fox population in central India. The model can also be used to compare and contrast potential management strategies to prevent spillover of CDV in wild carnivores.

The model landscape comprises of three types of habitats, fallow land-grassland complex, farmlands and human habitations. Foxes occur on the fallow land-grassland complex, while dogs are associated with villages and farmlands. Dogs are also characterized by their roaming tendencies- 'roamers' cover larger area during their daily excursions than 'non-roamers. CDV is endemic in the dog population, and foxes are susceptible to CDV. Dogs can recover from CDV infection, and become immune for life. Foxes do not recover from CDV, and none of the foxes have immunity against CDV. The movement of dogs and foxes, and therefore the contact pattern, as well as the transmissibility of CDV is represented by empirical rules and parameters. The patterns of CDV in dog and fox populations emerge from the model.


In democratic societies schools have an obligation to address complex societal issues such as ethnic/religious tensions and social conflicts. The article reports an exploratory study of how theatre plays were used in upper-secondary schools to generate pedagogically relevant platforms for addressing the current Middle East conflicts and their impact on European societies in the context of religious education and civics. The schools are situated in areas with substantive migrant populations of mixed backgrounds, and this has implications for how these issues are understood as a lived experience. In the same classrooms, there were students who had refugee backgrounds, who represented different interpretations of Islam, and religion more generally, and whose families were victims of terrorism. There were also students with strong nationalist views. The study is ethnographic documenting theatre visits and classroom activities in relation to two plays about the Middle East situation. The results show that plays may open up new opportunities for addressing these issues, but that they may also be perceived as normative and generate opposition. An interesting observation is that a play may generate space for students to tell their refugee story in class, which personalized the experience of what it means to be a refugee.


This project has explored the relationship between the moving image and temporal
experience. Acknowledging the constructed temporality of narrative cinema,
in conjunction with what Peter Osborne has described as distracted perception,
I have examined the potential for the moving image to direct attention to the hereand-
now. What began as an attempt to provide an antidote to the condition of
distraction through contemplative immersion evolved as a reflection on the
temporal dialectic of contemporary experience.
The project's concern with temporal experience is based on my response to
working with narrative forms of the moving image in a commercial context.
Drawing on anti-illusionist strategies of the film-artists of the 1960s as well
as representational aspects of commercial production has resulted in work
that embodies the inherent tension between these conditions of spectatorship,
simultaneously heightening and dissolving temporal perception.
The visual context for the project is defined by the work of contemporary artists
who also deal with the potential for the moving image to both absorb and distance
viewers. This has been explored through a selection of specific works by Andy
Warhol, David Hockney, Chantal Akerman, Christian Marclay, Douglas Gordon,
Tacita Dean, Daniel Crooks and David Claerbout. These works challenge viewing
habits and expectation through strategies of duration, re-contextualisation and
re-examining the configuration of normative cinema.
In developing a theoretical understanding of the relationship between temporal
experience and conditions of spectatorship, the project has been informed by
Walter Benjamin, Tom Gunning and Sean Cubitt, writing on the relationship
between narrative and non-narrative forms of cinema. These concepts have been
further developed through Michael Fried's theory of absorption and theatricality
and Peter Osborne's writing on attention and distraction. A philosophical
understanding of temporal experience has been explored through the existentialist
thought of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. The work developed as a combination of gallery-based and site-specific artworks
that include single channel projections, multichannel installation, panoramic
photography, live-feed cinema/installation and augmented reality. This broad,
experimental approach is the result of exploring the moving image beyond the
confines of linear cinematic structures. These diverse outcomes have been refined
in the context of the Plimsoll Gallery for the submission exhibition.
By developing strategies that examine the relationship between time and the
moving image the project has concluded that to offer a contemporary experience
of the here-and-now, the work must fluctuate between states of immersion and
awareness; between attention and distraction. Here, the inherent tension activated
by the intersection of these temporal states directs audience attention toward the
potential of a moment.


We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent-inhibition assay which makes use of a monoclonal antibody specific for keratan sulfate to quantify keratan sulfate present as single chains in adult human serum. In adults hospitalized with conditions not thought to affect the turnover of keratan sulfate-containing tissues, the serum levels varied from individual to individual (53-1,009 ng/ml) but did not show significant differences with respect to age, sex, or disease category. There were no significant differences between the serum levels of adult hospitalized patients and those of nonhospitalized normal adults. In contrast, the concentration of keratan sulfate in the sera of children aged 5-12 was significantly higher. No keratan sulfate was detected in the sera of 3 adult patients with macular corneal dystrophy, an inherited disorder of the cornea. This may indicate that individuals with macular corneal dystrophy have no keratan sulfate-containing proteoglycans in their cartilage. Adult patients with osteoarthritis have significantly higher concentrations of circulating keratan sulfate. This suggests that the assay could prove valuable in monitoring increased cartilage catabolism in joint diseases.


The Pd-catalyzed C–H arylation of heterocycles with aryl halides is a straightforward and more environmentally-friendly route to the synthesis of well-defined, pi-conjugated polymers for challenging applications in electronic devices. Although this type of transformation is more atom efficient than cross-couplings, it still poses environmental issues in the form of reaction media and the use of phosphine ligands. A procedure for the C–H arylation of thiophenes, with a substantially improved environmental impact, and a promising application of this protocol to the synthesis of regioregular polythiophenes are reported in this work. γ-Valerolactone (GVL), a non-toxic biomass-derived solvent, has been used in this phosphine-free microwave-assisted process and replaces commonly used dipolar aprotic media. Activated aryl bromides gave arylthiophenes in good yields, while iodides were used and pivalic acid was added when electron-withdrawing groups were present. The reaction was also extended to C–H (hetero)arylation polycondensation and a high molecular weight poly(3-hexyl)thiophene was obtained, using low Pd loading, in high yields and good regioregularity in short reaction times. Computational studies have shed light on GVL's role as a ligand in the catalytic system.


Given the current popularity of educational videos, and given the time, effort and expense academics and institutions are investing to provide educational videos to students, it was thought worthwhile to evaluate whether students at the University of Northampton (UoN) actually want and use these resources. Moreover if it was found they do use educational videos, investigation was required to determine if they are in a format that students want. The study was carried out in two distinct stages. The first stage was a questionnaire which was followed by a focus group. It was found that students at Northampton do overwhelmingly use educational videos. Furthermore, the research found that students prefer videos to any other resource and that videos can increase motivation. Additionally, high-risk production strategies such as seeing the presenter on screen, and the use of animation, humour and quizzes were identified, and it was found that the use of music in an educational video was considered a negative component of a video. The optimum length of the video is less clear; however it is recommended they are kept to less than 10 minutes (although this is dependent upon the level of study of the student). The key recommendation when producing videos is to ensure they have been designed taking cognitive research into account. The key strength of a well-designed educational video, it is concluded, is to give the students something additional they cannot find in another resource, in a way which encourages effective learning.


The global surface temperature change (ΔTs) mediated cloud cover response is directly related to cloud‐climate feedback. Using satellite remote sensing data to relate cloud and climate requires a well‐calibrated, stable, and consistent long‐term cloud data record. The Collection 5.1 (C5) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud observations have been widely used for this purpose. However, the MODIS data quality varies greatly with the surface type, spectral region, cloud type, and time periods of study, which calls for additional caution when applying such data to studies on cloud cover temporal trends and variability. Using 15 years of cloud observations made by Terra and Aqua MODIS, we analyze the ΔTs‐mediated cloud cover response for different cloud types by linearly regressing the monthly anomaly of cloud cover (ΔC) with the monthly anomaly of global Ts. The Collection 6 (C6) Aqua data exhibit a similar cloud response to the long‐term counterpart simulated by advanced climate models. A robust increase in altitude with increasing ΔTs is found for high clouds, while a robust decrease of ΔC is noticed for optically thick low clouds. The large differences between C5 and C6 results are from improvements in calibration and cloud retrieval algorithms. The large positive cloud cover responses with data after 2010 and the strong sensitivity to time period obtained from the Terra (C5 and C6) data are likely due to calibration drift that has not been corrected, suggesting that the previous estimate of the short‐term cloud cover response from the these data should be revisited.


The lower and middle atmosphere present long-term variations in temperature and other parameters linked to anthropogenic sources, such as the increase in greenhouse gases concentration since the start of the industrial era. Some examples are the well known temperature increase in the troposphere and stratosphere cooling. Upper atmosphere parameters also present long-term variations. While in the case of the middle and lower atmosphere it is debated whether the origin of the trends is primarily anthropogenic or solar, in the upper atmosphere other sources are also able to induce long-term changes, such as long-term variations in geomagnetic activity and secular variations of the Earth's magnetic field. In this paper, trends of the F2 layer critical frequency, foF2, measured at three Southern Hemisphere stations (Brisbane, Canberra and Christchurch) are analyzed to determine the importance of increasing greenhouse gases concentration effect. According to our results for the period covering solar cycles 18 to 21 (period 1944-1986), it is more important than natural forcings. Update estimates including solar cycle 23 are presented although the difficulty due to two of the three stations present big data gaps during cycle 22 and traditional ionospheric filtering is no longer entirely reliable for cycle 23. The aim of this study is to contribute both to an active area of aeronomy as is the study of trends in the upper atmosphere, and to the understanding of climate change.


Gaussian belief propagation (GaBP) is an iterative algorithm for computing the mean (and variances) of a multivariate Gaussian distribution, or equivalently, the minimum of a multivariate positive definite quadratic function. Sufficient conditions, such as walk-summability, that guarantee the convergence and correctness of GaBP are known, but GaBP may fail to converge to the correct solution given an arbitrary positive definite covariance matrix. As was observed by Malioutov et al. (2006), the GaBP algorithm fails to converge if the computation trees produced by the algorithm are not positive definite. In this work, we will show that the failure modes of the GaBP algorithm can be understood via graph covers, and we prove that a parameterized generalization of the min-sum algorithm can be used to ensure that the computation trees remain positive definite whenever the input matrix is positive definite. We demonstrate that the resulting algorithm is closely related to other iterative schemes for quadratic minimization such as the Gauss-Seidel and Jacobi algorithms. Finally, we observe, empirically, that there always exists a choice of parameters such that the above generalization of the GaBP algorithm converges.


Thanks, the terrorist attacks on the worldwide interest in the design of structures for fire greatly increased. One of the advantages of concrete over other building materials is its inherent fire-resistive properties. The concrete structural components still must be able to withstand dead and live loads without collapse even though the rise in temperature causes a decrease in the strength and modulus of elasticity for concrete and steel reinforcement. In addition, fully developed fires cause expansion of structural components and the resulting stresses and strains must be resisted. This paper reports the results of measurements by Impact-echo method and measurement by ultrasound. Both methods are based on the acoustic properties of the material which are dependent on its condition. These acoustic methods allow identifying defects and are thus suitable for monitoring the building structure condition. The results are obtained in the laboratory during the degradation of composite materials based on cement by high-temperature.


After a brief introduction to 21st century fundamental physics suitable for the layman with a reasonable level of mathematical competence, I introduce the concept of unnaturalness in Standard Model electroweak symmetry breaking and Supersymmetry (Susy) as a potential solution. The optimally natural situation in Susy in light of the 2012 discovery of a Higgs boson is derived, namely that of almost maximal mixing, with the scalar top partners almost as light as can be. The discovery is also interpreted numerically in terms of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, with greater emphasis placed on the visibility of the Higgs boson at the observed mass, i.e. on signal strengths. I introduce simple models of gauge-mediated Susy breaking (GMSB), and how their generalisation leads to a richer parameter space. I then investigate the role played by the mediation scale of GMSB: this is found to be as a control of the extent to which Yukawa couplings de-tune flavour-blind relations set by gauge couplings. Finally, issues relating to the discovery or exclusion of Susy at colliders are discussed. Bounds are derived for the masses of new particles from Large Hadron Collider searches for excesses of jets and missing energy without leptons, and compared to constraints arising from Higgs boson searches, for models of GMSB and the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. I present a novel search strategy for new physics signatures with two neutral, stable particles, when such particles are produced by boosted decays. (Susy examples include models with light gravitinos, pseudo-goldstinos, singlinos or new photinos.) The method is shown to produce sharp mass peaks that enhance the visibility of the signal.


The Distributed Control System is being widely used in Power, Steel manufacturing, Oil and Gas, and Petrochemicals for monitoring, advance process control, regulatory and sequential control and various other functions. DCS is operated either in single mode and or it is interfaced with other systems such as PLC, SCADA, and Etc for enhanced functionality. Developing Distributed Control System is a major industrial concern since those systems are more and more complex and involved in many safety critical application fields. Tank Gauging by DCS is much more than just automated inventory management, it's about having more control over your fuelling operation, collecting accurate information from your sites with less effort and allowing you to make better decisions about your assets. This paper focuses on an innovative and intelligent DCS based Tank Gauging Control system that has been designed, implemented and commissioned in large tank farm oil terminal after case study in international standards. The main scopes of DCS are described in this paper.


This study investigates the potential of the interactive board to affect the interaction in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Greece.
In Greece, the long term goals of the EFL classes are to prepare learners to cope with the demands of our times, that is, to use the target language appropriately to handle real world information in a wide range of interactional transactions. The Greek Ministry of Education, acknowledging these needs and the importance of interaction in EFL classes, proposes a syllabus that encourages communicative classrooms and activities that inspire interaction. Despite the innovations the curriculum suggests, there is research reporting that the teaching of English as a foreign language in Greece remains unchanged over the years.


We present a stylized real model of the Chinese economy with the objective of explaining two features: (1) domestic production is highly competitive in the sense that an accumulation of capital that raises the marginal product of labor elicits increases in employment and output rather than only in wages; and (2) even though the domestic saving rate is high, foreign direct investment is also substantial. We explain these features in terms of a conventional neoclassical growth model—with no monetary or nominal exchange rate policy—by including two aspects of the economy explicitly in the model: (1) low production wages are sustained by a large reserve army of rural labor which drives internal migration, and (2) domestic capital is distinct from importable capital and complementary with it in production. The results suggest that underlying real phenomena are important in explaining recent history; while nominal renmimbi appreciation may dampen price and wage increases, it would probably not change the real factors that have sustained rapid growth.


Abstract The concept of vulnerability is frequently used in public health policies to develop tailored interventions or dedicate proportionately more resources to certain sub-populations. However, once segments of the population are identified as vulnerable, they are rarely consulted regarding whether this label is acceptable before instituting interventions. Instead, it is implicitly assumed that the targeted individuals identify themselves as vulnerable and experience an unambiguous and consistent need for public health assistance. In this paper, using public health interventions during heat waves as a case study, we question such assumptions. A qualitative study was conducted in Montreal, Canada involving two focus groups among populations specifically targeted by the heat action plan as vulnerable: one composed of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, and one composed of individuals who have alcohol or drug addictions. Findings revealed significant heterogeneity in the definition and experience of vulnerability as it is used in the context of a heat action plan in Montreal. We found differences between the two focus groups in several areas including sources of information they had access to within the heat action plan measures and their perspectives regarding the appropriateness of specific measures in the heat action plan. We then observed differences within each of the focus groups in several areas including their social networks relationships. The concept of vulnerability is often used in public health policies. Yet, while this concept may be convenient for shaping policies to reduce inequalities in health, the heterogeneity of populations defined as vulnerable should not be underestimated.


The primary issue in this paper is to determine whether mobility restrictions or securing social interactions is most effective in countering an epidemic disease that spreads also via asymptomatic transmission. We develop an optimal control policy model wherein i) treatment capabilities are endogenous, ii) the social loss due to disease-related deaths is part of the tradeoff in terms of health and social welfare perspectives, iii) the policymaker's inability to counter the disease gives rise to growing popular discontent over time, and iv) non-therapeutic intervention policy engenders social fatigue over time. We also allow for partial immunity upon recovery. In many ways, our model applies to the recent pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this setup, we identify which non-therapeutic policy option between mobility restrictions or securing social interactions most effectively minimizes both the impact of policymaker's inability and the ensuing popular discontent and social fatigue.


Camera stabilization is an important task for video analysis. In this report, we describe a method for estimating and stabilizing camera motion between two images via 2D image registration. Our approach is based on a pair-wise registration of images parameterized by 2D affine or projective transformation. Pair-wise image registration estimates transformation parameters for each pair of consecutive frames, and the transformation between arbitrary frames is computed by the concatenation of the pair-wise transformations. Pair-wise registration is based on 1) hierarchical parameter estimation and refinement 2) feature-matching 3) FFT(Fast Fourier Transformation)-based global matching 4) RANSAC-based parameter estimation.


1. The relationship of lean body mass, plasma insulin concentration and leucocyte active sodium transport with basal metabolic rate was investigated in 24 adults with growth hormone deficiency before and after treatment with recombinant human growth hormone and in 10 patients with untreated acromegaly. 2. Based on total-body potassium determined by whole-body 40K counting, patients with acromegaly had increased lean body mass, whereas lack of growth hormone was associated with decreased lean body mass. 3. By indirect calorimetry, patients with acromegaly had increased basal metabolic rates and patients with growth hormone deficiency had decreased values when expressed as percentages of values predicted from the WHO/FAO/UNU equations. Basal metabolic rate expressed in terms of lean body mass was similar in acromegaly and growth hormone deficiency, but was higher than normal in both patient groups. 4. The leucocyte ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux rate constant was decreased in both patients with acromegaly and patients with growth hormone deficiency, and there was no correlation with basal energy expenditure, fasting plasma insulin level or serum growth hormone level. 5. There was no increase in the sodium efflux rate constant in patients with growth hormone deficiency after 1 month on treatment with recombinant human growth hormone. 6. Apparent differences in basal metabolic rate in growth hormone deficiency and acromegaly are due to changes in lean body mass. Both adults with growth hormone deficiency and patients with acromegaly have increased energy expenditure, probably owing to changes in fuel metabolism which are not reflected in the leucocyte sodium pump activity.


A channel transformation based on opponent-color theory of the color vision models is applied to optical pattern recognition so that the conventional red, green, and blue (RGB) channels are transformed into bright–dark, red–green, and yellow–blue (ATD) channels. Matched filtering and correlation are performed over the new components of the target and the scene in the ATD system. The proposed transformation allows us to reduce the number of channels commonly used in color pattern recognition, passing from the three RGB channels to the two red–green and yellow–blue opponent-color channels.


Competency models can be useful tools for identifying and grooming future leaders. Rather than base leadership assessment on personality traits or other unrelated characteristics, competency models specify the actions and behavior needed for successful leaders. While some hotel companies have begun to identify leadership competencies, the hotel industry does not have an overall competency model. Starting with competency models from other industries and the assessments from a pilot study, the authors compiled a list of 99 competencies or skills (grouped into eight overarching factors comprising 28 dimensions) that might contribute to leadership success in the hospitality industry. Those competencies were rated on a five-point scale, ranging from not at all important to extremely important, in a survey of 137 industry leaders. The competency labeled "self-management" was the top dimension (of the 28)—composed of ethics and integrity, time management, flexibility and adaptability, and self-development. Second in importance was competency in strategic positioning, comprising awareness of customer needs, commitment to quality, managing stakeholders, and concern for the community. (However, concern for the community was rated least important compared to the other three dimensions in that category). Industry knowledge, leadership, and interpersonal skill were factors that, while important, were ranked lower by the respondents.


Much of Asia, Africa, and Latin America suffers from overhunting. Lambir Hills National Park in western Borneo, one of the most diverse forests in the world, is a key case study in how the forest fares when it loses the herbivores that once thinned saplings and the fruit eaters that dispersed seeds. At Lambir, saplings became more crowded, raising the risk that the plants would get sick, and the number of species has fallen. Some officials and activists are trying to stop overhunting and illegal trade of wildlife. If hunting can be controlled in the parks, researchers hope, large animals may one day return.


Diasporas can have a positive and a negative impact on international politics. Groups of exiles, refugees, migrants, and other forms of diaspora populations play a part in the processes and outcomes of international politics in both their native and adopted countries. Diasporas can secure tangible and intangible resources to fuel armed conflicts, and they can provide opaque institutional and network structures that enable the transfer of arms and money to terrorist groups. More positively, diasporascan give humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict and they also support post-war reconstruction efforts. They have the potential to make powerful contributions to peace and reconciliation. This book investigates the diverse roles of diasporas in different phases of conflict, including preconflict and escalatory phases, hot conflict, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. The contributors identify patterns of diaspora intervention in conflicts and focus on leverage points for constructive interventions by global policymakers. The book brings together globally authoritative voices in the study of diasporas from the diverse disciplines of political science, sociology, cultural studies, literary theory, feminist theory, and anthropology.


People experiencing chronic mental health conditions (CMHC) often report feeling socially marginalised. There is emerging evidence that social and mental wellbeing can be enhanced through participation in arts-based programmes. In this paper, a social identity theoretical approach was applied to explore how participation in the arts may improve mental health in a longitudinal study. A one-year prospective study of 34 choir members and 25 creative writing group members (M= 46, 51% female) with CMHC, involved three assessments of participants' group identification and mental wellbeing, measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale. The programmes were community-based and facilitated by arts professionals. Multilevel modelling analyses demonstrated that participants' mental wellbeing significantly improved over time. Greater identification with their arts-based group (ABG) was significantly related to an increased rate of improvement in mental wellbeing. The trajectory of improvement in mental wellbeing did not differ between participants partaking in the choir or creative writing group. This study demonstrates that participation in ABGs can be effective in improving mental wellbeing in adults with chronic mental health problems, particularly for those who strongly identify with the group. This study supports ABG participation as an accessible component of mental health services.


Background Relict populations of Crocodylus niloticus persist in Chad, Egypt and Mauritania. Although crocodiles were widespread throughout the Sahara until the early 20th century, increased aridity combined with human persecution led to local extinction. Knowledge on distribution, occupied habitats, population size and prey availability is scarce in most populations. This study evaluates the status of Saharan crocodiles and provides new data for Mauritania to assist conservation planning. Methodology/Principal Findings A series of surveys in Mauritania detected crocodile presence in 78 localities dispersed across 10 river basins and most tended to be isolated within river basins. Permanent gueltas and seasonal tâmoûrts were the most common occupied habitats. Crocodile encounters ranged from one to more than 20 individuals, but in most localities less than five crocodiles were observed. Larger numbers were observed after the rainy season and during night sampling. Crocodiles were found dead in between water points along dry river-beds suggesting the occurrence of dispersal. Conclusion/Significance Research priorities in Chad and Egypt should focus on quantifying population size and pressures exerted on habitats. The present study increased in by 35% the number of known crocodile localities in Mauritania. Gueltas are crucial for the persistence of mountain populations. Oscillations in water availability throughout the year and the small dimensions of gueltas affect biological traits, including activity and body size. Studies are needed to understand adaptation traits of desert populations. Molecular analyses are needed to quantify genetic variability, population sub-structuring and effective population size, and detect the occurrence of gene flow. Monitoring is needed to detect demographical and genetical trends in completely isolated populations. Crocodiles are apparently vulnerable during dispersal events. Awareness campaigns focusing on the vulnerability and relict value of crocodiles should be implemented. Classification of Mauritanian mountains as protected areas should be prioritised.


The article represents a short overview of solutions available on the market, which allow for vibrations damping during the machining process. The description also provides information on the essence of chatter vibrations. The next part of the following paper includes the model of active machine tool based on piezoelectric actuator with work piece and the model of machining process. Next, the results of simulation research are presented for two control systems. All simulations were carried out in Matlab Simulink Software.


ABSTRACT Flippases are key regulators of membrane asymmetry and secretory mechanisms. Vesicular polysaccharide secretion is essential for the pathogenic mechanisms of Cryptococcus neoformans. On the basis of the observations that flippases are required for polysaccharide secretion in plants and the putative Apt1 flippase is required for cryptococcal virulence, we analyzed the role of this enzyme in polysaccharide release by C. neoformans, using a previously characterized apt1Δ mutant. Mutant and wild-type (WT) cells shared important phenotypic characteristics, including capsule morphology and dimensions, glucuronoxylomannan (GXM) composition, molecular size, and serological properties. The apt1Δ mutant, however, produced extracellular vesicles (EVs) with a lower GXM content and different size distribution in comparison with those of WT cells. Our data also suggested a defective intracellular GXM synthesis in mutant cells, in addition to changes in the architecture of the Golgi apparatus. These findings were correlated with diminished GXM production during in vitro growth, macrophage infection, and lung colonization. This phenotype was associated with decreased survival of the mutant in the lungs of infected mice, reduced induction of interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine levels, and inefficacy in colonization of the brain. Taken together, our results indicate that the lack of APT1 caused defects in both GXM synthesis and vesicular export to the extracellular milieu by C. neoformans via processes that are apparently related to the pathogenic mechanisms used by this fungus during animal infection.


Surface air temperature in arctic regions has increased since pre-industrial times, raising concerns that warmer and possibly drier conditions have increased soil de- composition rates, thereby stimulating the release to the atmosphere of the large stores of carbon (C) in arctic soils. We used a model (MBL-GEM, Marine Biological Laboratory General Ecosystem Model) of ecosystem C and nitrogen (N) dynamics to predict and analyze historical (1829-1990) changes in C storage in a N-limited, tussock-tundra ecosystem near Toolik Lake on the North Slope of Alaska. The model simulates stand-level photosynthesis and N uptake by plants, allocation of C and N to foliage, stems, and fine roots, respiration in these tissues, turnover of biomass through litterfall, and decomposition of litter and soil organic matter. We first calibrated the model by deriving a single parameter set that closely simulated the response of tussock tundra to decade-long experimental manipulations of nutrients, temperature, light, and atmospheric CO2. The calibrated model predicts that historical increases in temperature and atmospheric CO2 have increased total ecosystem C storage. Higher temperatures increased soil and plant respiration, but those losses of C were overcompensated by increased photosynthesis re- sulting from redistribution of N from soil to plants. This redistribution of N was due to increased net mineralization and uptake of N. Increases in atmospheric CO2 also increased photosynthesis, but consequent increases in C storage were constrained by limits on in- creases in the C:N ratio of vegetation. In contrast, hypothesized historical decreases in soil moisture substantially decreased simulated total ecosystem C storage as a result of large increases in soil respiration. With decreased soil moisture, increases in photosynthesis associated with redistribution of N from soil to plants only partially compensated for respiratory C losses, as plant uptake of N could not keep pace with increased N mineral- ization rates. Consequent losses of N from the ecosystem contributed to the declines in C storage under drier conditions. Based on the combined effects of reconstructed historical changes in atmospheric C02, mean growing-season temperature, and two alternative soil moisture scenarios, the model predicts a -5.4 to +2.3% change in ecosystem C from 1829 to 1990. These estimates are consistent with field evidence that historically recent changes in C storage of tussock tundra have been relatively small. However, the model also predicts that relatively large transient losses of ecosystem C (50-180 g.m-2.yr-4) may frequently have occurred since the late 1800s, with one of the largest simulated C losses of the 20th century occurring from 1988 to 1990 (3-yr average = 133 g C.m-2.yr-'). These simulated losses were similar to losses measured in tussock tundra at Toolik Lake from 1983 to 1990 (e.g., 1990 losses = 156 g C.m-2.yr-') but nonetheless suggest that these measured losses may be transitory in nature.


Introduction The theme of this paper was first considered somewhat fully by the present writer in a lecture, March 18, 1896, entitled "The Saint Croix river before, during, and after the Ice age." This lecture was given at Taylors Falls, Minnesota, as one in a series designed to direct public attention to the Interstate park, recently set apart by legislative enactments of Minnesota and Wisconsin, on each side of the Saint Croix river at its Upper Dalles, closely adjoining the towns of Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and Saint Croix Falls, Wisconsin. The series of lectures was published in 1896 by Honorable George H. Hazzard, the Interstate Park Commissioner of Minnesota; but my lecture was withheld from publication in geologic literature, excepting very brief notes,* on account of my hope for further opportunities of field observation and study of this subject. My chief conclusion, that in the Glacial period the Saint Croix . . .


In a placebo-controlled, randomized blinded study, we evaluated the efficacy of intravenous gammaglobulin (IV-IgG) in alloimmunized thrombocytopenic patients. IV-IgG was administered at a dose of 400 mg/kg for 5 days. An incompatible platelet transfusion from the same donor was used before and after treatment. Seven patients received IV-IgG and five patients received placebo. Although platelet recovery in 1 to 6 hours was satisfactory in five patients after IV-IgG treatment, 24-hour survival was not improved in most patients. None of the patients receiving the placebo achieved satisfactory 1-hour platelet-corrected count increments (CCIs). By t test, the posttreatment mean values 1 hour after transfusion CCIs in the IV-IgG group were significantly greater than in the control group (8,413 v 1,050, P less than .007). Using a regression model to adjust for any distributional assumptions of the study population, the parameter estimate for IV-IgG treatment was positive, indicating that IV-IgG treatment is associated with higher CCIs. Although IV-IgG may improve 1-hour platelet recovery, clinical benefit was not demonstrated since 24-hour survival was not improved. IV-IgG treatment before unmatched platelet transfusions should not be considered as a replacement for HLA-compatible platelets in alloimmunized patients.


With the signing of the peace treaty that ended Guatemala's civil war on December 29, 1996, Guatemala's Mayan majority hoped that its years of chronic poverty and political disenfranchisement were drawing to a close. Calling for reparations and an official statement of remorse from the government, the treaty promised to put the Mayan people--thousands of whom had died in the country's 36-year civil war--on an equal footing with the traditionally dominant, ethnically Spanish ladino minority. Five years later, however, most of the treaty's provisions remain unfulfilled. The civil war took an estimated 200,000 lives, most of them Mayan. The fighting left over a quarter million orphaned and widowed and displaced over one million people. Over 150,000 Mayans fled to Mexico. These numbers, out of a total population of only 11 million, led foreign observers to declare Guatemala's civil war to be Latin America's worst. The national army massacred thousands of Mayan peasants as part of its campaign against left-wing insurgent groups, the most prominent of which was the URNG (Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity). The URNG and other groups actively recruited in Mayan villages, where the largely impoverished residents made easy converts to radical leftist ideology. Investigations have confirmed that an apprehensive army deliberately targeted Mayans, killing them and destroying their villages. A report by the Catholic Archbishop's Office of Human Rights found that the government was responsible for over 80 percent of the killings. Widespread racism among the ladinos, who control the government, economy, and military, also explains the high death toll. Some hope for the Mayans lies in the fact that the plight of indigenous peoples, particularly in Guatemala, has gained international attention recently. Mayan activist Rigoberta Menchu publicized the violent repression in her 1983 autobiography, I, Rigoberta Menchu. In 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the New World, the Nobel committee made a strong political statement by awarding Menchu the Nobel Peace Prize. While some called the controversial selection a triumph of political correctness and others accused Menchu of having ties to guerrilla organizations, no one could deny that she had put the Mayan cause on the map. Despite the adoption of the 1996 treaty and the increased visibility of the Mayan cause, real advancement for the Mayan population of Guatemala has been nonexistent. One reason is that the government has not worked faithfully to implement the peace accords. The accords set up a Commission for Historical Clarification, which released a report in February 1999 offering 83 suggested reforms ranging from establishing a national holiday honoring war victims to compensating the families of the dead. However, virtually none of the suggestions have been adopted thus far by the government of Alvaro Arzu or by that of his successor, President Alfonso Portillo, who took over in January 2000. Financial troubles have been partly to blame. When the treaty was signed, the government knew that implementation would cost the equivalent of several billion US dollars. Even the US$2.6 million of assistance actually set aside to be distributed to families who lost relatives in the war has disappeared from government accounts. Although the United States and other countries provided over US$3 billion of aid to help the government foot the bill for peace, external funding has proven politically damaging to advocates of reform by creating the impression among Guatemalans that the accord is being imposed from abroad. The controversies surrounding Menchu have not helped either. …


Through painting, I investigate the experience of place in the landscape. I define place as a location made significant by human interaction and appreciation. Oil painting on site is the means to discovering the signifiers of place. I work from life in landscapes that, through specific qualities, communicate the essential characteristics of the region. In this body of work, I paint on vertical canvases tinted with a colored ground. Using mark and color to capture the scene, I explore the space between illusion and the surface of the painting. The resulting pieces are abstract, suggestive of the landscape but also engaged with formal issues and the history of painting. Additionally, they are in dialog with the literature of the South, which uses the specificity of place to communicate universal truths.


Citizenship literature has tended to portray children as 'citizens in the making' or as citizens invested with full agency. English law treats young people in an ambiguous fashion, sometimes as pre-citizens and consequently in need of protection and sometimes as full citizens, principally so in the context of the youth justice system. This article will examine how neither the view of a child as a 'citizen in waiting' or as a citizen with full agency adequately protects their status as a child citizen in the context of responding to their antisocial and offending behaviour. Seeing young people in conflict with the law through the lens of a 'different-centred' youth citizenship offers a potentially workable child-centred conception of children's citizenship which allows for children's antisocial and offending behaviour to be regulated in a way which acknowledges the child's particular socio-economic circumstances, evolving capacities and awareness but does not diminish their equality of status as citizens.


Australian universities and academics will soon see a major change in the way research is reported and funded. It is expected that by 2008, according to the most recent timetable (Bishop 2006), the Research Quality Framework (RQF) will be implemented. The result of the announcement has been an increased activity within universities focusing on the proposed criteria. The proposed RQF will seek to have research assessed according to quality and impact. Part of both quality and impact relates to where research is published. For academics it will be increasingly important to target high quality journals if the research is to be rated as high quality. The question this raises for Information Systems academics is where do we publish for maximum impact? The Information Systems (IS) field is diverse with researchers working in many areas and a publication outlet for one area may not be relevant for another. One area where many Australian IS researchers have focused their research interest is the field of electronic commerce (e-commerce). The research reported in this paper identified the publication outlets that would be regarded as amongst the highest quality for researchers wishing to publish e-commerce research. The authors analysed e-commerce research papers by Australian researchers published in the period 2000 to 2005. The results describe where Australian researchers are publishing in this field. The paper also provides guidance to those working in the e-commerce field on which journals and conferences to target to ensure their work rates highly in terms of the RQF.


To protect spillways against cavitation damage, adding a small air concentration to the flow close to the invert is efficient. Aerator performance on smooth chutes was therefore well studied in terms of air entrainment and downstream air concentration development. Since bottom aerators are built upstream of regions exposed to cavitation, no damages have been observed on spillways. The introduction of roller compacted concrete (RCC) dams in the 1980s promoted the use of stepped spillways rarely used until then. Compared to conventional smooth spillways, they have the advantage of a higher energy dissipation rate, and of a self-aeration point located higher upstream. However, the non-aerated flow upstream of the inception point is exposed to an increased cavitation risk due to flow separation on the steps. Until recently, the uncertainty about the conditions required for cavitation inception motivated conservative unit discharges. Today, the cavitation potential on stepped spillways is better known and is significant, so that techniques are necessary to safely use stepped spillways under increased unit discharges. This research includes a physical model investigation of a deflector aerator on a stepped spillway. The key parameters influencing aerator performance and stepped spillway flow are systematically varied. The air concentration downstream of the aerator is measured at regularly spaced profiles by means of a fiber optical probe. The flow field downstream of the stepped spillway aerator can be described in three main zones: (i) thejet zone where air is entrained on the lower and upper surfaces, (ii) the spray and reattachment zone where spray is produced by the jet impact and where there are rapid variations of the average and bottom air concentrations, and (iii) the far-field zone where the flow depth as well as the average and bottom air concentrations gradually tend towards quasi-uniform conditions. The lower and upper surfaces of the jet issued by the deflector were considered to derive the effective takeoff angles. With the takeoff velocity, it allows to describe the lower and upper jet surfaces with projectile motion trajectories. The maximum jet elevation, the jet length, and the jet impact angle on the pseudo-bottom can then be determined. Similarly to smooth spillways, the air entrainment coefficient of the aerator is described as a function of the relative jet length. Besides, a relation for the air entrainment coefficient in function of the Froude number and the deflector geometry is presented. The average and bottom air concentration developments show a minimum shortly after the jet impact, followed by a maximum in the spray zone. These extrema are quantified and are related to the relative jet length. In the far-field zone, unlike smooth chutes, no continuous detrainment is observed for the bottom air concentration. Both the average and the bottom air concentrations gradually converge to quasi-uniform flow values. Tests with an increased approach flow bottom roughness showed a large increase of air entrainment due to the higher flow turbulence, but only small average and bottom air concentration differences downstream of the jet impact result. A pre-aerated approach flow leads to slightly higher average and bottom air concentrations downstream of the aerator. The design of a stepped spillway aerator is presented in the end to summarize the results obtained and their practical application.


Amelie Nothomb, one of the most widely read French-speaking writers, is a good example of a cross-cultural writer. While stating repeatedly that being born in Japan means that Japan is like her own country, she at the same time considers herself primarily Belgian. This paradox is expressed very convincingly in her most widely read novel Fear and Trembling, which has sold in several million copies. In this novel, the narrator struggles with the many rigidities of a large Japanese company in which she tries to find her place. However, the reception of this autobiographical novel is more complex: it is governed simultaneously by its ethnographic value in its horizon of expectation, and by its humour, with the associated distancing that humour implies in its concretisations. Parallel to this, many assertions on Japan expressed by the author are so doubtful that they seem to strengthen prejudices against Japanese culture rather than make them disappear. The aim of this study is therefore initially to assess the validity of these claims and their role in the economy of the text and its reception. Beyond the truthfulness of this novel, it will be necessary to see how the ideas conveyed on the work culture of Japan, even if they are false, also help to forge a cross-cultural identity through a personal myth.


Aim:  To determine patient satisfaction with nutrition interventions in outpatients receiving chemotherapy identified as at nutritional risk.

Methods:  An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at an Australian public hospital in 61 oncology outpatients receiving chemotherapy. A simple malnutrition screening tool was used to identify nutritional risk. Patients identified as moderate risk were triaged to receive nutrition handouts on increasing energy and protein intake. Those at high risk received nutrition counselling and support by a dietitian. Patient satisfaction was assessed using a modification of a valid and reliable satisfaction with nutrition services questionnaire.

Results:  Sixty-one patients entered the study and one-third (20/61) were at nutritional risk. Seven patients were at high risk, and received dietetic review while 13 patients were at moderate risk and received nutrition handouts. Patients identified as at nutritional risk (n = 20) were approached to complete the satisfaction with nutrition services questionnaire. Eighteen patients completed the questionnaire (n = 7: dietetic review; and n = 11: nutrition handout). Nutrition information/advice was rated as helpful (n = 15), met patient expectations (n = 16) and overall patient satisfaction was rated highly. Patients who had received a dietitian review recorded a clinically but not statistically higher overall satisfaction with nutrition services than those patients receiving the nutrition handout.

Conclusion:  The high patient satisfaction helps support nutrition intervention at the chemotherapy unit. A prospective trial is required to determine the benefits of this triage and nutrition intervention on nutrition-related outcomes.


This second volume of the "biography" of America's largest privately held company picks up where Wayne Broehl's highly acclaimed Cargill: Trading the World's Grain left off. The year is 1960; Cargill has evolved from a pioneering grain trading firm to a giant whose enterprises include milling, seed production, livestock feeds, insurance, specialty steel products, metals trading, and even the construction of its own Mississippi River barges. At this crucial point in the company's life, the first non-family CEO and only the fourth in the firm's history, Erwin Kelm, is tapped for the company's top post. For the next seventeen years, the "Kelm era" is characterized by continued growth and diversification in the face of changing times and an unpredictable national and international scene. This is a story of the Kelm years, but it is also a narrative history of an American tradition - growth, adaptation, and success despite the stresses of internal, national, and world events.


The fore-arc basin of the Sunda Arc off Sumatra is a strongly subsiding trough contained between the rising subduction complex and the elevated continental core. Up to 4 km of Miocene–Recent strata on the eastern flank of the basin have transgressed over an unconformity cut across a Palaeogene continental margin that was uplifted and structurally disrupted during the late Oligocene. The large step-like offsets of the palaeo-shelf edge, and probably some of the structural disruption, can be attributed to right-lateral strike-slip faults that splay across the fore-arc basin from the Sumatra Fault Zone. Offsets range up to 100 km+, producing marginal re-entrants that became sites of turbidite-filled basins trapped behind the growing Neogene accretionary prism. The larger re-entrants may be floored with oceanic crust, but the proximity of exposed subduction complex to the palaeo-margin precludes the existence of a continuous band of oceanic crust beneath the fore-arc basin. The seaward flank of the fore-arc basin has migrated westwards during Neogene subduction, but not so much as the trench, and in a much more complicated fashion. During the early Miocene, the inner trench slope had a juvenile terrace-like morphology. By late mid-Miocene time, the trench slope break was near sea level and formed a shelf edge high. Thrusting and folding related to subduction probably decreased gradually upslope until late-Pliocene, when large flexures and E-directed reverse faults developed, marking an arcward shift in the rear or eastern boundary of the deformation associated with subduction. The episodic development of arcward-directed structures, involving previously stabilized fore-arc basin strata, suggests periods of increased stress levels along the base of the accretionary prism.


The aim of this article is to review the allergic reactions to infectious disease vaccines in children and offer guidance on how to practically approach the question of a possible allergic reaction to a vaccine. Allergies to vaccines occur at an estimated rate of 1-2 in 1,000,000 vaccine doses. For the most part concerns over possible allergies to vaccines are usually not supported by the appropriate scientific facts and are exaggerated by ignorance, fear and irrational beliefs. If an allergic reaction to a vaccine is believed to have occurred, the first step is to link the clinical symptoms to the vaccine administration. Urticaria, angioedema, wheezing and hypotension occuring within 30 minutes after vaccine administration point to a probable severe IgE-mediated reaction. Most vaccine constituents may cause the immediate type allergic reaction: stabilizers (gelatin, dextran), remnants of culture media (ovalbumin, yeast), latex from vial stoppers, antimicrobial agents added to maintain sterility, the least common being microbial antigens and preservatives. Prick and intradermal testing with whole vaccine and with specific constituents should be performed within 3-12 weeks following the reaction. In vitro tests (specific IgE) should be done if available. Positive in vivo or in vitro tests do not necesssarily preclude further vaccination, especially if it is considered vital or outweighing the potential risks. However, decision should be made on a case by case basis by a qualified allergist. Fractionated or graded dose protocols are available for implementation in day care or hospital settings. Conclusion – Systemic IgE mediated allergy to vaccines is rare in children. If it occurs a full list of vaccine constituents should be considered and appropriate allergological testing performed.


Sensation seeking is a known risk factor for unsafe and reckless behavior among college students, but its association with well-being is unknown. Given that exploration plays an important psychosocial role during the transition to adulthood, we examined the possibility that sensation seeking is also associated with psychological well-being. In a large multisite US college sample (N = 8,020), scores on the Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking were positively associated with risk behavior, psychological well-being, and eudaimonic well-being. When sensation seeking dimensions were examined separately, well-being was found to be associated with high novelty seeking but with low intensity seeking.


Trace based emulation is an approach that creates a synthetic network environment from observing network parameters. This approach is extensively useful for testing applications or protocols which are to be deployed in real networks. Repeatability and ease of debugging in a controlled environment are the important characteristics for successful testing, where applications/protocols are completely abstract to this synthetic network. Network emulation is an effective way to achieve it. KauNet is one such network emulator that makes use of pattern based shaping for deterministic emulations. Patterns are simple offline files that contain data sets in steps that indicate at which point the emulation should take place. Thus, patterns generated from mobile network traces are inserted in emulator to mimic the original network behavior. This work focused on reproducing original traffic traces using pattern based approach, thus imitating a target network. Also pattern sizes are simplified and its consequences are studied. In achieving it, results show that it is possible to effectively reproduce real network and simplification of patterns can be made at the expense of some accuracy.


Scalability and photonic integration of packet switched cross-connect nodes that utilize all-optical signal processing is a crucial issue that eventually determines the future role of photonic signal processing in optical networks. We present a 1times4 all-optical packet switch based on label swapping technique that utilizes a scalable and asynchronous label processor and label rewriter. By combining N in-band labels at different wavelengths (within the bandwidth of the payload), up to 2N possible addresses can be encoded. The proposed label processor requires only N active devices to process the 2N addresses that makes this label processing technique scalable with the number of addresses. Experimental results showed error-free packet switching operation at 160 Gb/s. The label erasing and new label insertion operation introduces only 0.5 dB of power penalty. These results indicate a potential utilization of the presented technique in a multi-hop packet switched network.


The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an analysis of intragenerational ethnic mobility of Aboriginal peoples using a data source that allows direct estimation of the phenomenon in Canada for the first time: a linkage between the 2001 and 2006 Censuses of Population. Intragenerational ethnic mobility, or change in the self-reporting of Aboriginal identity over the course of life, contributed significantly to population growth for the Métis and for North American Indians living off Indian reserves in recent decades. However, the estimations that have been published up to now are all based on an indirect measurement and thus provide only limited insight into the associated characteristics. The descriptive and multivariate analysis the authors propose in this paper shows that Aboriginal population gains due to ethnic mobility are actually the result of multidirectional flows related to certain key characteristics, such as mixed ethnicity. The paper also explores the effects of ethnic mobility on the sociodemographic composition of Aboriginal populations, with their geographic distribution for example being modified as a result of the changes in self reporting of identity from one census to the other.


The productivity of firms is, at least partly, determined by a firm's actions and decisions. One of these decisions involves the organization of production in terms of the number of layers of management the firm decides to employ. Using detailed employer-employee matched data and firm production quantity and input data for Portuguese firms, we study the endogenous response of revenue-based and quantity-based productivity to a change in layers: a firm reorganization. We show that as a result of an exogenous demand or productivity shock that makes the firm reorganize and add a management layer, quantity-based productivity increases by about 4%, while revenue-based productivity drops by more than 4%. Such a reorganization makes the firm more productive, but also increases the quantity produced to an extent that lowers the price charged by the firm and, as a result, its revenue-based productivity.


The late-Victorian discovery of the music hall by English intellectuals marks a crucial moment in the history of popular culture. Music Hall and Modernity demonstrates how such pioneering cultural critics as Arthur Symons and Elizabeth Robins Pennell used the music hall to secure and promote their professional identity as guardians of taste and national welfare. These social arbiters were, at the same time, devotees of the spontaneous culture of "the people." In examining fiction from Walter Besant, Hall Caine, and Henry Nevinson, performance criticism from William Archer and Max Beerbohm, and late-Victorian controversies over philanthropy and moral reform, scholar Barry Faulk argues that discourse on music-hall entertainment helped consolidate the identity and tastes of an emergent professional class. Critics and writers legitimized and cleaned up the music hall, at the same time allowing issues of class, respect, and empowerment to be negotiated. Music Hall and Modernity offers a complex view of the new middle-class, middle-brow, mass culture of late-Victorian London and contributes to a body of scholarship on nineteenth-century urbanism. The book will also interest scholars concerned with the emergence of a professional managerial class and the genealogy of cultural studies.


A 43-year-old patient has just left the office. Her primary care physician had dutifully evaluated her recent complaint of vague abdominal pain with an abdominal ultrasound. The multiple, small, punctate hyperechoic lesions in the kidney were deemed concerning for renal calculi and an abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan was ordered to better delineate these "renal stones". The CT report revealed " multiple bilateral punctate calcifications consistent with possible nephrolithiasis versus nephrocalcinosis ," and the patient was referred to urology clinic for further evaluation. In our clinic the patient was interviewed and examined and the scan was carefully reviewed. The patient denied symptoms of renal colic and physical examination demonstrated no costovertebral angle tenderness. No hydronephrosis or evidence of urinary obstruction could be seen on the scan, and we provided a diagnosis of Randall plaques and nephrocalcinosis. The patient was reassured that there were no stones to treat and there was no need for surgery. General lifestyle and dietary modification counseling for stone prevention were provided, and the patient was discharged from our clinic, happy with her benign diagnosis.


Solomon's prayer is one of the most important prose prayers in the Old Testament. We find this prayer in two different theological and literary traditions of the Bible: 1 Kings 8:22-53 and 2 Chronicles 6:12-42. In the light of these parallel versions one may pose the following questions: What are the similarities and differences between the Kings and Chronicles versions? Did the Chronicler intentionally delete or insert certain passages? Did this influence the portrayal of the most important theological themes in Solomon's prayer? The article discusses the main differences, especially in 2 Chronicles 6:13 and the last part of the prayer (1 Kings 8:50-51, 53; 2 Chronicles 6:41-42). The insertion of a quotation from Psalm 132 in 2 Chronicles 6:40-42 emphasises the important role that the Davidic covenant played in the theology of the Chronicler. Both versions proclaim the importance of prayer and forgiveness against the background of God's presence in the temple. Article text in Afrikaans


An estimated 1.06 million hectare of arable land in Bangladesh and 6.7 million hectares in India is affected by salinity (Rabbani 2013). Salinity intrusion adversely affects the livelihoods of farmers, especially rice cultivators and fisherfolks, vegetations, soil quality, and infrastructure in these areas (Habiba et al. 2014). The net cropped area in coastal Bangladesh has been decreasing over the last few years due to several factors and many studies have identified salinity as the chief cause for yield reduction in coastal agriculture (Baten 2015). Groundwater contamination due to saline water and similar adverse impacts on agriculture and livelihoods are also increasing in coastal India, especially in Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh (Naidu et al. 2013). The extent and intensity of salinity in the coming years are likely to increase due to climate change induced saltwater intrusion. The special report on the


For a single quantity, the set of all possible values is usually an interval. An interval is easy to represent in a computer: e.g., we can store its two endpoints. For several quantities, the set of possible values may have an arbitrary shape. An exact description of this shape requires infinitely many parameters, so in a computer, we have to use a finite-parametric approximation family of sets. One of the widely used methods for selecting such a family is to pick a symmetric convex set and to use its images under all linear transformations. If we pick a unit ball, we end up with ellipsoids; if we pick a unit cube, we end up with boxes and parallelepipeds; we can also pick a polyhedron. In this paper, we show that ellipsoids lead to better approximations of actual sets than generic polyhedra; we also show that, under a reasonable conjecture, ellipsoids are better approximators than boxes.


The increasing importance of donor countries operating outside of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) challenges the existing international aid architecture. In particular, non-DAC donors are suspected to provide aid solely based on self-interest without caring about recipients' need and merit. In this paper, we empirically investigate the aid allocation of one major non-DAC donor, Brazil. We find that Brazil's development cooperation is still predominantly shaped by historic and cultural ties to the Lusophone world and Latin America, while broader political and economic motives play a negligible role. To some extent, Brazil also takes recipients' need and governance into account. This broadly corroborates previous results for China and India, strengthening the conclusion that non-DAC donors are not as different from DAC donors regarding their aid motives as one might suspect.


The method of in-situ high-pressure neutron diffraction was used to measure the structural transformations that take place upon cold-compression of several network-forming amorphous materials. The chalcogenide glasses GeSe2, GeSe4, and As2Se3, and the silicate glass CaSiO3, were investigated using a Paris-Edinburgh press to provide compression. Where possible, the neutron diffraction results were compared to experimental results and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provided by other research groups. Amorphous GeSe2 was studied at pressures up to 16.1 GPa using a combination of neutron diffraction, neutron diffraction with isotope substitution (NDIS), and first-principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulations. It was found that the network transformations occurred in two stages. In the first stage up to ∼ 8 GPa, the structure re-arranged on an intermediate length scale by re-organising corner and edge-sharing GeSe4 tetrahedra. Above 8 GPa, both 5- and 6-fold coordinated Ge atoms began to form as the mean nearest-neighbour coordination number n and mean nearest-neighbour bond distance r both increased. A disagreement between the neutron diffraction and FPMD results above 8.5 GPa is attributed to the presence of an energy barrier. This barrier inhibits structural rearrangement in a cold-compression diffraction experiment, but allows them to occur via a high-temperature annealing stage in the simulations. Amorphous GeSe4 was studied at pressures up to 14.4 GPa using a combination of neutron diffraction and FPMD. The nearest-neighbour coordination environment was found to vary little across the measured pressure range, but structural transformations took place on an intermediate length scale as seen by the pressure-dependence of the second nearest-neighbour distance in the neutron diffraction results. The new experimental results are in accord with FPMD results and with those obtained from a study using x-ray diffraction (XRD). There are, however, major inconsistencies with the results obtained from a different study in which XRD was combined with empirical potential structure refinement (EPSR). It is hypothesised that this disagreement is due to the difficulty of modelling XRD results with EPSR for glasses in the Ge-Se system, where the x-ray atomic form factors of Ge and Se are similar. The reduced-density ρ/ρ0 dependence of the results was compared to that obtained for amorphous GeSe2, where ρ is the atomic number density at pressure and ρ0 is the atomic number density at ambient pressure. It was found that for both materials the local coordination environment does not change for ρ/ρ0 < 1.6. Amorphous As2Se3 was studied at pressures up to 14.4 GPa using a mixture of neutron diffraction, NDIS, and FPMD. At the total structure factor level, no change was observed to the nearest-neighbour coordination environment. The NDIS results do, however, suggest a change to the nearest-neighbour coordination environment beginning at 6 GPa. The results were compared to those found for two crystalline polymorphs of As2Se3, one prepared at ambient pressure and the other recovered to ambient conditions from high-pressure and -temperature. The differences between the coordination environments of these crystalline polymorphs pointed to some possible densification mechanisms in the glass. Ambient-pressure NDIS was also used to measure the full set of partial pair-distribution functions. Amorphous CaSiO3 was studied at pressures up to 17.5 GPa using neutron diffraction. The Si-O coordination number started to increase beyond a threshold pressure of 13 GPa, as compared to 15 GPa for amorphous SiO2. The results were used to test the validity of two sets of MD simulations that used different interatomic potentials and thermal processes for producing the glass. The results were found to agree with the MD simulations that used a cold-compression protocol.


Breastfeeding is considered to be the key variable for infant health. Consequently, UNICEF and the World Health Organization promote the beginning of breastfeeding within the first hour after birth and recommend to exclusively breastfeed the infant during the first six months. The origins of these modern breastfeeding campaigns can be traced back to the beginning of the twentieth century. Whereas high infant mortality rates traditionally were considered to be a matter of fate and the declining birth rates towards the end of the nineteenth century raised fears about the nation's future and led to the emergence of an increasing infant welfare movement in imperial Germany. As low breastfeeding rates were identified as a key factor behind the high infant mortality rates, the main objective of the infant care movement was to increase breastfeeding. The paper examines how the context of infant care and infant mortality was constructed and how breastfeeding campaigns in the context of infant mortality, breastfeeding rates and socio-political changes developed during the twentieth century. Thus the paper covers the period from the beginnings of social paediatrics at the beginning of the 20th century, the breastfeeding campaigns embedded into Nazi ideology during the Third Reich, until the declining breastfeeding ratios and the "feeding on demand"-movement in the 1970s as well as the ideological differences between West and East Germany during the Cold War.


For extending the concepts of $p$-frame, frame for Banach spaces and atomic decomposition, we will define the concept of $pg$-frame and $g$-frame for Banach spaces, by which each $f\in X$ ($X$ is a Banach space) can be represented by an unconditionally convergent series $f=\sum g_{i}\Lambda_{i},$ where $\{\Lambda_{i}\}_{i\in J}$ is a $pg$-frame, $\{g_{i}\}\in(\sum\oplus Y_{i}^{*})_{l_q}$ and $\frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{q}=1$. In fact, a $pg$-frame $\{\Lambda_{i}\}$ is a kind of an overcomplete basis for $X^{*}.$ We also show that every separable Banach space $X$ has a $g$-Banach frame with bounds equal to $1.$