PURPOSE
The theory of reasoned action is a health behavioral theory that has been used to predict personal health behaviors and intentions as well as those of providers delivering health care. The purpose of this study was to determine interns' future practices regarding the use of health promotion using this model to develop survey questions and to determine attitudes and perceived influences on their prospective behaviors in general, toward the use of health promotion once in practice.

METHODS
Across the course of one year, all graduating interns at a chiropractic college were queried with a 20 question survey designed using the theory of reasoned action. Frequencies and inferential statistics were performed including prediction modeling using logistic regression.

RESULTS
A majority (>85%) of interns indicated they would use health promotion in practice. Differences were noted based on perceived skill levels, perception of educational emphasis, various normative beliefs, and gender.

CONCLUSION
Most interns will use some form of health promotion in practice. Normative influences including those seen as key influencers are as powerful a predictor as perceived education or skill levels on future practice of health promotion.


Objective Objective: This study was to investigate the body under high temperature (33 ℃) with different relative humidity (80%, 50%, 20%) combination of environment, respectively for 20 min 60% VO2max individual strength of quiet before and after the exposure of movement and under the same conditions, by measuring the participants within the body weight, serum sex hormone of blood, blood Na+、K+, Na+、K+ concentration in the urine of change, to explore in the sports stress and thermal stress of two kinds of stimulating the body water and salt metabolism characteristics, and to explore the effects of environmental humidity on the body's homeostasis.
Methods Methods: This study selected 12 students of sports training major from Beijing sports university as subjects, with themselves as the control. The experiment is divided into six categories, respectively: high temperature 33℃ and 20% RH exposure group, the high temperature 33℃ and 20% RH campaign group, high temperature 33℃and 50% RH exposure group, the high temperature 33℃ and 50% RH campaign group, high temperature 33℃ and 80% RH exposure group and high temperature 33℃ and 80% RH. In this study all the environmental temperature are set up to 33℃, exercise intensity level of 60% VO2max selection for individual participants. Before every experiment, all participants were asked to quiet sit for 20 min and then measure the subjects' body weight, charge the subjects' vein blood and urine, take the same operation immediately after the experiment. Blood samples were stored at room temperature for 1 h, and 3000r/min was centrifuged for 20min. Serums were gathered through centrifugation, The urine and Serums were partial shipments in tube to be indicators of measurement. Serum Renin、ANGII、ALD、ADH、ANP、Na+、K+ concentration of serum and urine were tested
Results Results:  (1)The subjects' weight loss percentage of exercise group was obviously higher than that of quiet exposure group, the difference is statistically significant (P < 0.01); In 80% RH environment weight loss percentage is significantly higher than that of 50% RH and 20% RH values (P < 0.01).There is no difference between 20%RH and 50%RH. (2) The exercise group of Renin, ANGII, ALD, ADH, concentration is significantly higher than the value of exposed group (P < 0.01), but the ANP concentrations were significantly lower than pure quiet exposure levels (P < 0.01).
Conclusions Conclusions: (1) The body sweat more after exercise than just quiet exposed in high temperature, weight loss phenomenon more obvious; And with the increase of relative humidity environment,  dehydration will more serious. (2) Exercise factors can significantly promote the release of blood Renin, ANGII, ALD, ADH and   inhibit the release of ANP in the blood. By the way of strengthening the absorption process of water and ions, it can maintain the body's balance of water and ions.


Algae have become an area of intensive research in many fields of study. Areas of application are becoming increasingly diverse with the advent of technologies particularly in the mass production of algae biomass. Algae contain complex bioactive compounds and these are gaining importance in emerging technologies with nutritional and environmental applications. In this study, a preliminary investigation evaluated 15 species of algae from the major categories of marine and fresh water algae for their potential as inclusions in ruminant diets for management of greenhouse gas emissions. It was hypothesized that algae would positively affect rumen fermentation and gas production while reducing methane production. The hypothesis was tested using an Ankom automated gas monitoring system and rumen fluid from Bos indicus steers fed tropical forage diets. The results were variable between algae species with some showing a significant reduction in total gas and methane production, with others increasing gas and fermentation. The red and brown algae stand out as having potential for greenhouse gas mitigation with the brown alga Cystoseira having the most prominent effect. The effects observed on fermentation may be manipulated through dosage management and beneficial effects could be potentially maximized by preparing combinations of algal supplements. It has been demonstrated in this study that algae have the potential to assist in rumen fermentation management for improved gas production, and greenhouse gas abatement.


OF DISSERTATION SYNTHESIS AND STABILITY STUDIES OF PRODRUGS AND CODRUGS OF NALTREXONE AND 6-β-NALTREXOL The present study was divided between two different drug delivery goals, each involving naltrexone (NTX) or its active metabolite, 6-β-naltrexol (NTXOL). First, amino acid esters of NTX and NTXOL were prepared in order to test their candidacy for microneedle-enhanced transdermal delivery. Second, a 3-O-(-)cytisine-naltrexone (CYT-NTX) codrug was prepared for screening as a potential oral delivery form of NTX and (-)-cytisine (CYT). The amino acid prodrugs were intended for the treatment of alcohol abuse, while the codrug was designed as a single agent for the treatment of alcoholism and tobacco-dependency comorbidities. One hypothesis of this work was that prodrugs of NTX or NTXOL can be designed that possess superior skin transport properties through microneedle-treated skin compared to parent NTX or NTXOL. Nine amino acid ester prodrugs were prepared, and only three 6-O amino acid ester prodrugs of NTXOL were stable enough at skin pH (pH 5.0) to move forward to studies in 50% human plasma. 6-O-β-Ala-NTXOL, the lead compound, exhibited the most rapid bioconversion to NTXOL in human plasma (t1/2 = 2.2 ± 0.1 h); however, this in vitro stability value indicates that the prodrug may require hepatic enzymemediated hydrolysis for sufficiently rapid bioconversion to NTXOL in vivo. A second hypothesis of this work was that a CYT-NTX codrug could be designed with appropriate stability characteristics for oral delivery. CYT-NTX was found to be stable over the time course of 24 h in buffer systems of pH 1.5, 5.0, 7.4 and 9.0, and in 80% rat plasma, 80% human plasma, simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid. Six (3 rats/group) Sprague-Dawley male rats were dosed i.v. with 1 mg/kg CYT-NTX codrug, or 10 mg/kg, p.o. Oral administration of a 10 mg/kg dose of CYT-NTX codrug resulted in rapid absorption and distribution (5 min) of CYT-NTX codrug, and NTX was released from codrug with a peak plasma concentration of 6.8 ± 0.9 nmol/L reached within 65 minutes. Plasma CYT was not detected; however, NTX delivery was achieved with a fraction absorbed value of 13%. Thus, CYT-NTX may hold promise as a potential oral codrug for further optimization and development.


Abstract:Submarine groundwater discharges are responsible for pockmark depressions on the bed ofEckernforde Bucht, Western Baltic. In these depressions there is an interface between almostfluid sediment and sea water that is typically about 1.5 2m below the surrounding seabed.Transects, made with a underwater digital video camera sled in October 1998 and September1999, showed that near the rims of the depressions the clay aquaclude was not covered byrecent methane generating organic sediment. Cracks could be seen in the clay indicating thatedges of the aquaclude layer are slowly collapsing into the steep sided depressions. Somesharply angular cobble sized clay clasts were seen just outside the pockmark rims suggestingthat blow-outs may occur. Acoustic turbidity is widespread in the sediments of the deeperparts of Eckernforde Bucht due to methane gas bubble formation within the sediment. Themethane seems to derive mainly from the decomposition of recent organic matter. Becausethe Bucht forms an cast facing funnel, near bed compensatory flows for the prevailingwesterly wind driven surface drift, seem to bring in phyto-detritus and faecal pellets whichdeposit and decay. Methane bubble release, gas escape holes with sediment and bacterial matswere widely observed through the Bucht in late summer and minor sediment disturbancecaused by, for example, crab tracks show that sulphidic sediment lies at best only a fewmillimetres below the surface in the deeper parts of the Bucht. Methane release wasparticularly prevalent towards the edge of the pockmarks and the release of free gas could beestimated from the density of recent bubble release holes.


The recent financial crisis has shown that national frameworks have been insufficient to stem the cross-border effects of the failure of a systemically important financial institution. This paper refers to the challenges for governments, in the aftermath of the financial crisis starting in 2007/2008, to provide stability in financial markets and the role of financial institutions for national economies and on a global scale. It discusses the need for coordinated action to resolve SIFIs by evaluating the regional approaches in Europe and the US, as well as considering the recommendations of four international bodies on the insolvency of large and complex financial institutions: the Financial Stability Board, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the International Monetary Fund and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The paper argues that key implications need to be recognized in order to make a global cross-border insolvency framework work effectively to coordinate around another Lehman-like event. It concludes that much has been discussed and initiated in the last six years, however, many issues are still unsolved. While single measures with a regional character are fit and comprehensible as a starting point, the pursued goal should be a mandatory and internationally consistent, homogenous cross-border insolvency framework since the interconnectedness of global financial institutions and their importance for financial stability will make it very difficult to prevent the next crisis and its disruptive impact.


OBJECTIVE: To assess the performance of manual and automated biopsy device (Bard Magnum) -assisted biopsy methods in terms of specimen adequacy, procedure time, number of passes and complications. METHODS: The study was conducted at the Sarwar Zuberi Liver Centre and the Department of Radiology of Civil Hospital and Dow university of Health Sciences, Karachi from September 2007 to September 2010. All adult patients undergoing liver biopsy under ultrasound guidance with standard technique were included. 18-G cutting edge needles were for both the manual biopsy as well as the automated biopsy device. Studied variables were sample adequacy, procedural time, number of passes per procedure, complications and need for post procedural analgesia. Chi square and t-test were used for comparing the proportions and mean values respectively between the two groups, with significance at p<0.05. RESULTS: A total of 405 biopsies were performed: 174 manually and 285 with automated device- assistance. Adequate sample was obtained in 98.2% by the former and 100% in the latter. Majority specimen was obtained in single pass by either method. Sample size was adequate in both but fragmentation was significantly more common with manual biopsy. Assisted device was complicated by hypotension in one case only. Two cases of hypotension and one case each of hematoma formation and vaso vagal syncope was observed in manual method. Procedure time was significantly shorter on using device (3.6 vs. 8.40 minutes, p<0.05). Need for post procedural analgesia was not markedly different. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference between the performances of the two techniques except for shorter time in automated device- assisted method and more fragmentation of sample by manual biopsy.


Spatial elements in acousmatic music are inherent to the art form, in composition and in the projection of the music to the listener. But is it possible for spatial elements to be as important carriers of musical structure as the other aspects of sound? For a parameter to serve the requirements of musical development, it is necessary for that parameter to cover a range of perceptually different states. For 'space' to be more than a setting within which the main active elements in the structure unfold, it needs to satisfy these requirements. This paper explains a number of important spatial composition strategies available to the acousmatic composer in light of current technology and sound reproduction situations. The analysis takes an aesthetical rather than a technical standpoint.


OBJECTIVES
Preschool children hearing impairment is a common otologic diseases worldwide. The burdens of this preventable condition can be reduced in developing country. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence, diagnosis and management of hearing impairment among children less than 5 years seen in our center.

METHOD
This was a prospective hospital based study of preschool children with complaints of hearing impairment in Ekiti state university teaching hospital, Nigeria. This study was conducted over a period of two years (February 2016 to January 2018). Data was obtained from consented patients by using pretested interviewers assisted questionnaire. Data obtained was collated and analyzed by using SPSS software version 18.0. D escriptive statistics was used to present and expressed the data as simple tables and charts.

RESULTS
The prevalence of hearing impairment in this study was 5.9% with peak value of 37.6% at preschool age 3 years. There were 42.6% males and 57.4% females. Majority (51.5%) of the patients were urban dwellers. The aetiologic factors of hearing impairment include; 15.8% neonatal jaundice, 13.9% febrile illness, 12.9% otitis media and 11.9% birth asphyxia. Prelingual presentation was commonest in 57.4%. Common clinical features includes yet to speak, restlessness/stubborn and not responding to command in 60.4%, 48.5% and 46.5% respectively. Commonest type of hearing impairment was sensorineural hearing loss is 61.4%. Type A tympanometry (normal) was the commonest findings in 82.2%.

CONCLUSION
Preschool children hearing impairment with late presentation is a common otologic diseases burden to parent and otorhinolaryngologist in our center. The common causes were preventable with resulting permanent auditory damage.


Patterns of site occupancy among boreal stream insects were studied in central Sweden with focus on sparsely distributed species and the role of dispersal and niche limitations.In the study of dispersal limitation, I found that effects of an extraordinarily harsh winter in small to medium-sized streams were strongest in sites located in small streams and far from lake outlets. Species richness and the total abundance of macroinvertebrates and trout returned to pre-disturbance levels after three years. However, some species showed slow recolonization and the proportion of holoaquatic taxa was still reduced after three years. In a second study, I found a positive correlation between site occupancy in stream caddisflies and morphological traits associated with fast and energy-efficient flight, whereas specialized spring caddisflies showed a negative correlation to these traits compared to stream species. This suggested that streams, but not springs, select for strong dispersal ability in caddisflies. In a survey of springs in central Sweden, hydrogeology was found to be a useful predictor of the occurrence of spring specialists. Two of these, Crunoecia irrorata Curtis and Parachiona picicornis (Pictet), were found exclusively in glaciofluvial springs, characterized by a stable discharge and temperature. Less specialized members of the spring fauna (i.e. species also occurring in streams, ponds or lakes) also occurred in moraine and limestone springs characterized by more unstable conditions. Niche limitations were studied by contrasting large-scale distributions of closely related rare and common stoneflies. Differences in temperature requirements in the juvenile stages and life cycles suggested that the rare species, Isogenus nubecula Newman, was restricted by a limited tolerance to low stream temperatures, whereas the two common species, Isoperla grammatica (Poda) and Diura nanseni (Kempny), appeared to have a broader tolerance to climatic conditions in the study area. In a second study of niche limitations, macroinvertebrate assemblages in 88 streams in Central Sweden showed a nested distribution pattern. Most species deviating from expected distributions occurred in small streams, indicating competitive exclusion from species-rich sites, predator avoidance, or specialization to unique habitat features of small streams. In the last paper, the longitudinal distribution of filter-feeding caddisflies in a lake-outlet stream demonstrated patterns concordant to feeding specialization.


Background: Diabetes self-management education (DSME) for patients with type 2 diabetes requires efficient teaching methods that make patients want to change lifestyle in terms of their diabetes. The study looks at what may be the active ingredient in this DSME. Objective: To explore how participants in DSME, with an interactive learning method, experienced changes in relation to diet and physical activity. Method: We studied possible changes in diet and physical activity by semi-structured individual interviews of 16 participants attending DSME. Results: Before the DSME, the participants felt insecure about what to eat, and they expressed little interest in changing their physical activity. Just after the DSME, they were more optimistic about diet because they had learned how to interpret food labels and compose their meals. Furthermore, they had experienced the benefit of physical activity in relation to their blood glucose levels. Behavior changes appeared to persist the following half year. We discuss the findings in light of the principles of interactive learning. The participants experienced an effect of their behavior changes, and blood glucose measurement was used as a tool to gain control and reach a state of well-being. Conclusion: From being insecure about what to eat, the patients acquired knowledge to handle their diet through the DSME. They learned how to compose their meals and use physical activity to regulate their blood glucose. We suggest that the interactive learning used in the DSME was an active ingredient that led to changes in behavior and should be considered as an educational method in DSME for patient with type 2 diabetes.


Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and algal pigments were measured monthly over 1 yr (May 1997 to June 1998) in intertidal sediments at 2 sampling sites along the Wester- and Oosterschelde (Netherlands). Temperature, salinity and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were measured in the pore water and qualitative microscopic observations were made on the microphytobenthos present in the sediment. Both DMSP and pigment content correlated positively with temperature and salinity. However, the chlorophyll a- or fucoxanthin-specific DMSP contents were not affected by temperature, salinity or DIN. Simultaneous peaks of DMSP and chlorophyll a and fucoxanthin were observed in spring and in summer, and at 1 station also in winter. These peaks coincided with increases in epipelic diatoms. The DMSP content correlated with chlorophyll a and fucoxanthin and this relationship improved by excluding samples with a low ratio of fucoxanthin to chlorophyll a (chl a) indicative of a low amount of diatoms relative to other microalgae. The sediment molar ratio of DMSP:chl a was 9.2 ± 5.6 and 5.1 ± 3.6 for the Wester- and Oosterschelde, respectively, values similar to the cellular ratio in cultured diatoms. These results suggest that diatoms were the most important source of DMSP in the sediment. In summer, cyanobacteria and green algae were also present. While cyanobacteria did not contribute to the DMSP content, the data suggest that the amount of DMSP produced by other algae (probably Euglenophytes) produced similar to that produced by diatoms. Hence, microphytobenthos biomass and community composition were the main factors determining the DMSP content in the intertidal sediments of the Schelde estuary. [KEYWORDS: Dimethylsulfoniopropionate ; DMSP ; Diatoms ; Microphytobenthos ; Intertidal sediments ; Pigments]


This paper examines the interaction between altruism towards offspring and precautionary savings. It investigates whether increased uncertainty in children labor income fosters savings of parents. We first construct a two-periods and two-generations model, to underline which are the mechanisms behind the intergenerational precautionary motive for savings. Second, we exploit two micro datasets to test the main theoretical implications. Parents' consumption turns out to respond to the offspring's income risk. This result is robust to the presence of family fixed effects and to many alternative empirical specifications.


In this publication, we draw some optimistic, socio-liberal conclusions about Islam in the world system. Countering some alarmist voices in the West, neither migration nor Muslim culture are to be blamed for the contemporary crisis, but the very nature of unequal capitalist accumulation and dependency that is at the core of the world capitalist system. For one, our analysis is based on current thinking on Kondratiev waves of world political development inherent in recent work by IIASA and the NATO Institute for Advanced Studies. We also present analyses in the framework of the debate on cross-national determinants of human well-being in the world system. While we are cautiously optimistic about a socio-liberal, non-interventionist policy alternative, we come to the conclusion that present patterns of global governance, modeled around the neo-liberal Washington Consensus and American hyperpower, are doomed to failure. We present a rigorous re-analysis of United States Department of State data on acts of global terrorism in the framework of Kondratiev cycle waves. We then proceed to an analysis of the determinants of economic growth and ecological and social development in 140 nations with complete data. The data presented show that before the present war in Iraq the global war on terrorism already showed very positive effects, and that the strong linear downward trend in global terrorism, to be observed during the last two decades, coincided with rising globalization in both the centers and the peripheries of the world system, and that the percentage of people with less than $2 a day even declined in the Middle East and North Africa. We also found no systematic interaction between the differentials of growth in the center and the periphery or inequality differentials in the center and the periphery and patterns of global terrorism, ie., a western socio-liberal, multi-lateral and non-interventionist policy could have won the fight against international terrorism. We then refute empirically the Huntington hypothesis about the incompatibility of Islam and successful socio-economic development. Our publication re-establishes the notion that capitalist development is of cyclical nature, with strong fluctuations every 50 years. For us 1756, 1832, 1885, 1932 and 1975 are the beginnings of new Kondratiev waves, while 1756, 1774, 1793, 1812, 1832, 1862, 1885, 1908, 1932, 1958, 1975, and 1992 are the turning points (troughs) of the Kuznets cycles. Vigorous upswings of the capitalist world economy need to be supported by a tightly organized new world political hegemonic order, while the strength of the downswings and the severity of the depressions always are a function of the waning world political order. We show the fatal interconnection between these world political and world economic tsunami waves in a more systematic fashion. In the most recent phase of capitalism, its Casino character becomes ever more apparent, with a sharp distinction between the winners and losers of the system.


This manuscript describes the first challenge on Federated Learning, namely the Federated Tumor Segmentation (FeTS) challenge 2021. International challenges have become the standard for validation of biomedical image analysis methods. However, the actual performance of participating (even the winning) algorithms on"real-world"clinical data often remains unclear, as the data included in challenges are usually acquired in very controlled settings at few institutions. The seemingly obvious solution of just collecting increasingly more data from more institutions in such challenges does not scale well due to privacy and ownership hurdles. Towards alleviating these concerns, we are proposing the FeTS challenge 2021 to cater towards both the development and the evaluation of models for the segmentation of intrinsically heterogeneous (in appearance, shape, and histology) brain tumors, namely gliomas. Specifically, the FeTS 2021 challenge uses clinically acquired, multi-institutional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the BraTS 2020 challenge, as well as from various remote independent institutions included in the collaborative network of a real-world federation (https://www.fets.ai/). The goals of the FeTS challenge are directly represented by the two included tasks: 1) the identification of the optimal weight aggregation approach towards the training of a consensus model that has gained knowledge via federated learning from multiple geographically distinct institutions, while their data are always retained within each institution, and 2) the federated evaluation of the generalizability of brain tumor segmentation models"in the wild", i.e. on data from institutional distributions that were not part of the training datasets.


Research on healthy ageing lacks an agreed conceptual framework and has not adequately taken into account the growing evidence that social and biological factors from early life onwards affect later health. We conceptualise healthy ageing within a life-course framework, separating healthy biological ageing (in terms of optimal physical and cognitive functioning, delaying the onset of chronic diseases, and extending length of life for as long as possible) from changes in psychological and social wellbeing. We summarise the findings of a review of healthy ageing indicators, focusing on objective measures of physical capability, such as tests of grip strength, walking speed, chair rises and standing balance, which aim to capture physical functioning at the individual level, assessing the capacity to undertake the physical tasks of daily living. There is robust evidence that higher scores on these measures are associated with lower rates of mortality, and more limited evidence of lower risk of morbidity, and of age-related patterns of change. Drawing on a research collaboration of UK cohort studies, we summarise what is known about the influences on physical capability in terms of lifetime socioeconomic position, body size and lifestyle, and underlying physiology and genetics; the evidence to date supports a broad set of factors already identified as risk factors for chronic diseases. We identify a need for larger longitudinal studies to investigate age-related change and ethnic diversity in these objective measures, the dynamic relationships between them, and how they relate to other component measures of healthy ageing. Robust evidence across cohort studies, using standardised measures within a clear conceptual framework, will benefit policy and practice to promote healthy ageing.


Entamoeba histolytica and Spironucleus barkhanus have genes that encode short iron-dependent hydrogenases (Fe-hydrogenases), even though these protists lack hydrogenosomes. To understand better the biochemistry of the protist Fe-hydrogenases, we prepared a recombinant E. histolytica short Fe-hydrogenase and measured its activity in vitro. A Giardia lamblia gene encoding a short Fe-hydrogenase was identified from shotgun genomic sequences, and RT-PCR showed that cultured entamoebas and giardias transcribe short Fe-hydrogenase mRNAs. A second E. histolytica gene, which encoded a long Fe-hydrogenase, was identified from shotgun genomic sequences. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that the short Fe-hydrogenase genes of entamoeba and diplomonads share a common ancestor, while the long Fe-hydrogenase gene of entamoeba appears to have been laterally transferred from a bacterium. These results are discussed in the context of competing ideas for the origins of genes encoding fermentation enzymes of these protists.


The notion of regular, full-time employment as one of the defining features of the U.S. economy has been called into question in recent years by the apparent growth of alternative or "nonstandard" work arrangements—part-time hours, temporary help, independent contracting, and other configurations. Identifying the extent of these arrangements, whether they are increasing and where they occur, is the first step to understanding their implications for the economy and the society. But such steps have been difficult to take because of the lack of appropriate data. Based on a national probability sample of U.S. establishments, the authors present estimates of the extent of these practices, evidence on changes in their use over time, and analyses that contribute to understanding why alternatives have come into play.


Assistive technologies are an evolving market due to the number of people worldwide who have conditions resulting in reduced physical ability (also known as disability). Various classification schemes exist to categorise disabilities, as well as government legislations to ensure equal opportunities within the community. However, there is a notable absence of a process to map physical conditions to technologies in order to improve Quality of Life for this user group. This research is characterised primarily under the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) domain, although aspects of Systems of Systems (SoS) and Assistive Technologies have been applied. The thesis focuses on examples of multimodal interactions leading to the development of a SmartAbility Framework that aims to assist people with reduced physical ability by utilising their abilities to suggest interaction mediums and technologies. The framework was developed through a predominantly Interpretivism methodology approach consisting of a variety of research methods including state- of-the-art literature reviews, requirements elicitation, feasibility trials and controlled usability evaluations to compare multimodal interactions. The developed framework was subsequently validated through the involvement of the intended user community and domain experts and supported by a concept demonstrator incorporating the SmartATRS case study. The aim and objectives of this research were achieved through the following key outputs and findings: - A comprehensive state-of-the-art literature review focussing on physical conditions and their classifications, HCI concepts relevant to multimodal interaction (Ergonomics of human-system interaction, Design For All and Universal Design), SoS definition and analysis techniques involving System of Interest (SoI), and currently-available products with potential uses as assistive technologies. - A two-phased requirements elicitation process applying surveys and semi-structured interviews to elicit the daily challenges for people with reduced physical ability, their interests in technology and the requirements for assistive technologies obtained through collaboration with a manufacturer. - Findings from feasibility trials involving monitoring brain activity using an electroencephalograph (EEG), tracking facial features through Tracking Learning Detection (TLD), applying iOS Switch Control to track head movements and investigating smartglasses. - Results of controlled usability evaluations comparing multimodal interactions with the technologies deemed to be feasible from the trials. The user community of people with reduced physical ability were involved during the process to maximise the usefulness of the data obtained. - An initial SmartDisability Framework developed from the results and observations ascertained through requirements elicitation, feasibility trials and controlled usability evaluations, which was validated through an approach of semi-structured interviews and a focus group. - An enhanced SmartAbility Framework to address the SmartDisability validation feedback by reducing the number of elements, using simplified and positive terminology and incorporating concepts from Quality Function Deployment (QFD). - A final consolidated version of the SmartAbility Framework that has been validated through semi-structured interviews with additional domain experts and addressed all key suggestions. The results demonstrated that it is possible to map technologies to people with physical conditions by considering the abilities that they can perform independently without external support and the exertion of significant physical effort. This led to a realisation that the term 'disability' has a negative connotation that can be avoided through the use of the phrase 'reduced physical ability'. It is important to promote this rationale to the wider community, through exploitation of the framework. This requires a SmartAbility smartphone application to be developed that allows users to input their abilities in order for recommendations of interaction mediums and technologies to be provided.


Malcolm Fraser, Liberal prime minister between 1975 and 1983, passed away on Friday morning at the age of 84 after a brief illness. In a statement, Prime Minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to Fraser's achievements in government, saying he: ... restored economically responsible government while recognising social change. The Fraser government came to office after the constitutional crisis of 1975 triggered by the sacking of the Whitlam Labor government. In his time in office, Fraser oversaw the acceptance of southeast Asian refugees and the emergence of a multicultural Australia, but environmental battles were a factor in his government's defeat in 1983. He also led economic and social welfare reforms. In his later years as an eminent public figure, Fraser grew distant from the Liberal Party, particularly over its asylum seeker policies. In 2010, he resigned his party membership, citing its shift to the right of politics. The Conversation spoke to a number of experts to get a sense of Fraser's achievements and legacies in key policy areas.


This thesis examines the enlistment and contribution of Tasmanian Aboriginal soldiers to the first Australian Imperial Force. It also considers how they were treated both in the front line, and on their return to Australia.
On 20 October 2014, Tasmanians will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the departure from Hobart of the troopships Geelong and Katuna. On board the Geelong as a young sergeant allotted to the 12th Battalion was Alfred Hearps, a nineteen year old clerk from Queenstown. Young 'Jack' (as he was known to his family) would be the first of 74 Tasmanian Aborigines to volunteer for service with the first Australian Imperial Force. Men came from all walks of life and from all over Tasmania to enlist when the recruiting offices opened in mid-August 1914. Over the four years that the war was prosecuted, 18 men from the small island community of Cape Barren Island would volunteer. Seventeen of these men were Straitsmen, the descendants of the sealers who settled on the Bass Strait islands with the Aboriginal women they took as 'wives' and with whom they raised children. A further thirteen Aboriginal men from nearby Flinders Island would also enlist along with eight grandchildren of Fanny Cochrane Smith. A total of 34 descendants of Dalrymple Briggs would also enlist – most, with the exception of three, coming from Aboriginal communities in the north and north-west of Tasmania. Four men from Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, were also included in this thesis, as they were the descendants of Betty Thomas, a Tasmanian woman who was probably taken there by sealers.
The number of Aborigines who managed to enlist is not great, perhaps 800 to 1,000 across Australia: nevertheless, they made a significant contribution to Australia's war effort. It is only in recent years that this contribution has been fully recognised, and that there has been a concerted effort to write them back into the Anzac legend. Dawes, Robson and White have all examined what drove men to enlist in the first Australian Imperial Force: but with very little evidence of any kind, it has been much harder for historians to suggest why Aborigines, who were essentially barred from enlisting (under Section 61 (h) of the Defence Act of 1903) would volunteer to fight for a country that had pushed them to the margins of society. While the founding fathers wanted a 'white army' for a White Australia following Federation, in actual fact the first Australian Imperial Force was ethnically diverse in its make-up.
Tasmanian Aborigines, in particular, are conspicuous by their very absence from the literature. Timothy Winegard was only able to add a now outdated figure at the last minute before his book on the contribution of Indigenous peoples from the British Dominions went to print in 2012. This thesis writes the contribution of Tasmania's Aboriginal soldiers back into the historical record to stand alongside the accounts emerging from other Australian states and territories.
It would appear that the Tasmanian Aboriginal men had little trouble in convincing the recruiting officers that if they were fit enough, they should be enlisted. This was not the experience of many Aboriginal men from mainland Australia, some of who were discharged soon after volunteering, with their records marked as being irregularly enlisted because they were not of 'substantial' European origin. However, once accepted, it would appear that the Australian Imperial Force was an 'equal opportunity employer' with all recruits given the same pay, clothing, equipment and rations based solely on rank. Yet while this was true of the early phase of their enlistment, statistical evidence would suggest that Aboriginal soldiers were not treated the same as settler Australian soldiers once in the front line. In order to examine this, four cohorts have been considered. The first comprises the 74 men from this study. Two further cohorts were derived from a one in five sample taken from the Letter B Database set up by Professor Kris Inwood of Guelph University, Canada – one of men born in Tasmania, the other of those born in mainland Australia. A fourth cohort is comprised of mainland Australian Aboriginal soldiers.
Rather than being 'over by Christmas' 1914, the war dragged on for four years, with the loss of over 63,000 Australian lives and a further 152,422 casualties. The Australian government was overwhelmed by the number of men and families requiring support upon their return to Australia. Given the fact that returned Aboriginal soldiers were once again marginalised when they returned home, many must have wondered whether the Repatriation system set up to take care of the needs of returning soldiers would treat them the same as settler Australian soldiers or whether they would suffer discrimination once more.


Bayesian approaches have become increasingly popular in causal inference problems due to their conceptual simplicity, excellent performance and in-built uncertainty quantification ('posterior credible sets'). We investigate Bayesian inference for average treatment effects from observational data, which is a challenging problem due to the missing counterfactuals and selection bias. Working in the standard potential outcomes framework, we propose a data-driven modification to an arbitrary (nonparametric) prior based on the propensity score that corrects for the first-order posterior bias, thereby improving performance. We illustrate our method for Gaussian process (GP) priors using (semi-)synthetic data. Our experiments demonstrate significant improvement in both estimation accuracy and uncertainty quantification compared to the unmodified GP, rendering our approach highly competitive with the state-of-the-art.


Conference paper. ASA14 Decennial: Anthropology and Enlightenment, University of Edinburgh.

An artist meets geneticists on a train and falls into conversations about non-coding genes, a kind of 'reserve collection' known as 'junk' DNA. Audio-visual recordings of their discussions are used to explore the importance of archival material held off-display in British anthropological museums.
The topic of this paper has its origins in the type of exhibition-making which resituates experimental art within collection-holding institutions such as the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. These activities juxtapose contemporary artworks and museum exhibits in order to rethink the construction of knowledge through the public display of objects. However, anthropology also generates knowledge through geographic dislocation and cultural difference. Thus the transient nature of travel, like an unexpected art encounter in a museum, repositions the durational understandings we gain through a lifetime of movement in and out of our museum environments. Paradoxically, the abiding 'thinglyness' of familiar anthropological collections may be best understood within the frame of mobility/body/technology relations, a field of research pioneered in science/technology studies (Latour, 2005), sociology (Urry, 2006), and human geography (Bissell, 2010). This proposition is explored by the author using audio-visual recordings made during train journeys with Volker Straub and David Elliott (Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle) as they commute to and from work. Across a moving carriage ideas are swapped about the presence of 'junk' in the human genome. It turns out that the relationship between active and inactive genes plays an important part in biological evolution. This paper compares the archival significance of DNA for scientists with the experimental value of ethnographic collections for artists, urging a reconsideration of the cultural value of storage, and proposing interdisciplinary approaches to 'enlightening museums' that use the capacity of travel to 'craft' new knowledge about the sedentary power of reserve collections (Watts, 2008).


the cultivation of tropical Asian rice, which may have originated 9,000 years ago, created an agricultural ecosystem of unrivalled ecological complexity. A complex arthropod communitiy is inhabiting in the rice ecosystem, including pest and beneficial species. Concerning beneficials, the spiders are among the very commonly encountered species. A study was conducted in the irrigated tropical rice fields of Leyte, Philippines on the abundance and their potential for natural biological control. the objective of this study was to record, identify and count individuals of selected web building spider species and evaluate the prey spectrum at different stages of rice growth. It was observed that abundance of spiders in the rice ecosystems occurred only starting at the tillering stage when the preferred host plant stage for the prey species was reached. the most dominant species of spiders encountered were Tetragnatha species. However, in the latest stage of rice development, Argiope species were the most dominant spiders. Prey species included mainly the pest species of the rice plants, such as the hoppers, rice bugs and other smaller insects and in addition the other predatory species such as the coccinellid beetles, dragonflies and parasitic hymenopterans were also observed. The web building spiders showed more activity in the late afternoon than in early morning.


Dual class stock (DCS) structures, and their implications for managerial accountability and corporate governance more broadly, have become prevalent concerns for corporate lawyers and policymakers. Recent academic and practitioner debates on DCS have tended to focus less on the general merits and drawbacks of DCS versus one share/one vote structures, and more on the specific common-ground concern as to whether and how such structures are subjected to contingent reversal or "sunset". This Article compares the relative advantages and disadvantages of time-, ownership- and transfer-centered models of DCS sunset provision. It argues in favor of the transfer-centered model on the grounds that: (a) its specific event-based trigger renders it less arbitrary in application than the time-centered model, and protects against the possibility of founders being prevented prematurely from realizing their long-term strategic vision (as is a risk with the time-centered sunset model); (b) it avoids the moral hazard and other perverse controller incentives that are prone to ensue from time-centered sunsets; and (c) unlike both the time- and ownership-centered models (which are motivated primarily by agency cost concerns), the transfer-centered model is sensitive to the powerful non-financial incentives that controllers typically have to safeguard and promote firm value, even where their corporate control rights significantly outweigh their corresponding cash flow rights. Accordingly, it suggests that the SEC and principal US exchanges should resist recent calls from influential investor-related bodies to mandate time-based sunsets. Instead, domestic policymakers should look overseas to Hong Kong and Singapore, whose respective listing authorities have recently introduced transfer-based sunset requirements for DCS issuers, in considering the most appropriate blueprint for any future regulatory initiatives in this regard.


More than 25 years after the discovery that the equilibrium point of a general equilibrium model is not necessarily either unique or stable, there is still a need for an intuitively comprehensible explanation of the reasons for this discovery. Recent accounts identify two causes of the finding of instability: the inherent difficulties of aggregation, and the individualistic model of consumer behaviour. The mathematical dead end reached by general equilibrium analysis is not due to obscure or esoteric aspects of the model, but rather arises from intentional design features, present in neoclassical theory since its beginnings. Modification of economic theory to overcome these underlying problems will require a new model of consumer choice, nonlinear analyses of social interactions, and recognition of the central role of institutional and social constraints.


Abstract The general allometric equations for the logarithmic helicospiral can fit many extraconical shapes, but the isometric conditions traditionally used limit study only to conical growth. We present evidence to show that in real gastropod shells, the logarithmic helicospiral equations fit the suture. Poor location of the coiling axis and/or an inappropriate pole for the logarithmic helicospiral has often led to the rejection of this model. The differences between the errors associated with measurement or previously available models are discussed. Two methods, based on suture trace measurements, are proposed to locate the coiling axis both in apical and lateral views. The first is a graphical method based on an elementary property of the logarithmic spiral. The second is a computational method based on iterative reprojections of the suture. It is shown that the protoconch and the teleoconch must be treated separately. The precision of the new methods (especially the computing method) enables deviations from logarithmic helicospiral trajectory to be identified and differentiated from irregularities of the shell and sequential growth phases. Application of these methods may be useful not only for other gastropod morphological features, but also for other taxa such as brachiopods and other mollusks.


A synthetic biomolecular circuit identifies abnormal cell states by the integration of multiple endogenous microRNA inputs. One goal of synthetic biology is to integrate a genetic circuit into mammalian cells that can detect a diseased state and trigger a therapeutic appropriate response. Xie et al. have engineered a regulatory circuit that specifically triggers apoptosis if it detects a microRNA profile characteristic of HeLa cancer cells. Programmed biological actuation, like this example, in response to complex intracellular conditions could be valuable in applications such as drug screening, although to realize its full therapeutic potential the technology will have to overcome major challenges, not least in vivo DNA delivery. Z. Xie, L. Wroblewska, L. Prochazka, R. Weiss, Y. Benenson, Multi-input RNAi-based logic circuit for identification of specific cancer cells. Science 333,1307–1311 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Based on the findings from AWWA surveys conducted in 1983 and 1985, it appears that the earlier conclusion that the needs of the nation's water systems can be met by the local water system is still valid. Only in the special cases where local conditions prevent communities from raising rates to pay for replacement due to high unemployment, population reductions, or deteriorating tax bases should there be the need for state or federal assistance. The maintenance of the infrastructure is an on-going process. Capital needs must be determined on a long term basis and implemented annually. A program of preventive maintenance, adequate capital replacement and improvement, and a reasonable rate structure that is sufficient to pay for the costs of the water systems will always be necessary. Among the efforts being made at East Bay Municipal Utilities District to achieve these goals are: the establishment of a Water Conservation and Development Fund to encourage user conservation and to provide for future water supply needs; an agressive preventive maintenance and replacement program funded through rates; and a computerized leak detection program that accomplishes a complete scanning of the distribution system within four years.


In this report, an experiment to assess the effect of equipping a length of motorway with 70 mph repeater signs upon vehicle speeds is described. The site chosen was a 20 mile section of the northbound carriageway of the M1 motorway terminating at junction 37 in Yorkshire. Standard design 70 mph signs, 900mm in diameter were installed at 1 mile intervals on both the nearside verge and in the central median starting 20 miles south of junction 37. Data were collected from automatic census equipment, which counted, classified and measured the speed of all vehicles every fourth day. Data from the northbound carriageway were compared with that from the unsigned southbound carriageway. Similarly data from the year before the signs were unveiled on 1 September 1988, was compared with data for the year after. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to determine those factors affecting traffic speeds. Data analysis revealed that there was no evidence that the signs had any significant effect on the speeds of cars, rigid heavy goods vehicles (HGV's), buses or coaches. For medium goods vehicles and articulated HGV's some speed reduction was noted, however this might be attributed to undiagnosed faults in the measuring equipment for four months of the study.


This chapter addresses the myth of decentralized governance of public blockchains, arguing that certain people who create, operate, or reshape them function much like fiduciaries of those who rely on these powerful data structures. Explicating the crucial functions that leading software developers perform, the chapter compares the role to Tamar Frankel's conception of a fiduciary, and finds much in common, as users of these technologies place extreme trust in the leading developers to be both competent and loyal (ie, to be free of conflicts of interest). The chapter then frames the cost-benefit analysis necessary to evaluate whether, on balance, it is a good idea to treat these parties as fiduciaries, and outlines key questions needed to flesh out the fiduciary categorization. For example, which software developers are influential enough to resemble fiduciaries? Are all users of a blockchain 'entrustors' of the fiduciaries who operate the blockchain, or only a subset of those who rely on the blockchain? Finally, the chapter concludes with reflections on the broader implications of treating software developers as fiduciaries, given the existing accountability paradigm that largely shields software developers from liability for the code they create.


The essential facilities doctrine is designed to oblige dominant undertakings to make available their important facilities, including intellectual property rights, for other undertakings. It requires a delicate balance of, on the one hand, protecting the exclusivity of ownership and on the other hand encouraging other undertakings' incentive to innovate. The balance that was nicely struck in the previous cases nevertheless was abandoned in the Microsoft judgment. In that case, the General Court made two mistakes: First, it wrongly defined the primary market as client PC operating systems that was in no accordance with the request of Sun, i. e. the interoperability information with Windows client PC operating system. This broader market definition made the General Court struggle in justifying the increasing market shares of Linux products through unnecessarily expanding the scope of ''eliminating all the competition'' from the requesting undertakings to ''eliminating all effective competition''. Secondly, the General Court improperly interpreted ''new products'' hindered by a refusal to grant a license as also including products with ''technical development''. This arbitrary extension encroaches upon the very substance of the system of intellectual property rights.


Intense heavy ion beams are an excellent tool to create large-volume samples of high energy density (HED) matter with fairly uniform physical conditions. Experimental study of matter under extreme conditions of density, temperature and pressure is of considerable interest to fundamental research in the fields of plasma physics, atomic physics, astrophysics, geophysics as well as for the inertial fusion research and its applications. Recently, a series of HED physics experiments with heavy ion beams have been carried out at the GSI-Darmstadt. In these experiments, metallic targets of macroscopic volumes were heated by intense heavy ion beams uniformly and quasi-isochorically, thereby generating high-density, high-entropy states. The heated target material was expanding isentropically, passing through many interesting physical states located in the region of boiling curve, two-phase liquid-gas and the critical point. Most of the heavy ion beam energy is deposited within 120 ns which gives a possibility of appearance of intermediate meta-stable superheated liquid states. The fundamental thermodynamical properties of the target were measured during the heating as well as the expansion phases. The main subject of this work is the dynamic temperature measurement of the target material in the HED physics experiments with intense heavy ion beams. In the course of this work a fast multi-channel radiation pyrometer has been developed and successfully employed in experimental campaigns. The pyrometer allows measurement of brightness temperatures at 12 wavelengths with a nanosecond temporal resolution and the micrometer spatial resolution. The brightness temperatures are obtained from analysis of the Planck radiation in visible and near-infrared spectral regions. The absolute radiation emission recorded by the pyrometer at different wavelengths allow also determination of the physical temperature using different models of spectral emissivity. In the performed HED physics experiments with heavy ion beams target temperatures varying from 1000 K to 12000 K were measured for the first time. Different materials showed different behavior of hydrodynamic expansion, clearly seen on the pyrometer records. In addition to temperature measurements, measurements of target expansion dynamics have been carried out using a backlighting/shadowgraphy system based on a streak camera. Expansion velocities up to 2600 m/s have been registered for lead and up to 1700 m/s for tungsten targets. This work presents the first experimental results on temperature measurement in HED physics experiments with intense heavy ion beams. The developed fast multichannel pyrometer is indispensable for the present and the future HED physics experiments at GSI. The new experimental data, developed diagnostics and experience obtained during the course of this work are also of a great importance for planning future HED physics experiments at FAIR.


siRNA Movement in Plant Tissues Long-distance movement of RNA interference (RNAi)–derived signals in plants plays an important role in development and in defense against viral attack. The nature of the signals that spread from cell to cell is not known, although evidence suggests that they are nucleic acids of some sort (see the Perspective by Martienssen). Molnar et al. (p. 872, published online 22 April) and Dunoyer et al. (p. 912, published online 22 April) now show that in Arabidopsis, both exogenous and endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), rather than their long double-stranded precursor RNAs, are the molecules that transfer information between plant cells. A viral protein that counters RNAi though sequestering siRNAs blocked spreading of a transgene RNAi silencing signal. Furthermore, siRNA-processing enzymes were required in the source, and not the recipient, cells for spreading, and bombardment of plants with double-stranded siRNAs directly showed siRNA spread between cells. Endogenous siRNAs also spread between tissues and were capable of directing DNA methylation of target sequences in distant tissues. Small double-stranded interfering RNAs move between cells and can direct DNA methylation. A silencing signal in plants with an RNA specificity determinant moves through plasmodesmata and the phloem. To identify the mobile RNA, we grafted Arabidopsis thaliana shoots to roots that would be a recipient for the silencing signal. Using mutants that block small RNA (sRNA) biogenesis in either source or recipient tissue, we found that transgene-derived sRNA as well as a substantial proportion of the endogenous sRNA had moved across the graft union, and we provide evidence that 24-nucleotide mobile sRNAs direct epigenetic modifications in the genome of the recipient cells. Mobile sRNA thus represents a mechanism for transmitting the specification of epigenetic modification and could affect genome defense and responses to external stimuli that have persistent effects in plants.


A genetic analysis of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) bycatch from the 2013 Bering Sea walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) trawl fishery was undertaken to determine the overall stock composition of the sample set. Samples were genotyped for 11 microsatellite markers and results were estimated using the current chum salmon microsatellite baseline. Since 2011, genetic samples from the chum salmon bycatch were collected systematically to reduce sample biases that may exist in collections from previous years. In 2013, one genetic sample was collected for every 30.3 chum salmon caught in the 99.8% of the midwater trawl fishery that was sampled. Evaluation of sampling based on time, location, and vessel indicated that the genetic samples were representative of the total bycatch. Based on the analysis of 3,880 chum salmon bycatch samples collected throughout the 2013 Bering Sea trawl fishery, the Northeast Asia stocks dominated the sample set (45%); moderate contributions came from Southeast Asia (15%), Eastern Gulf of Alaska (GOA)/Pacific Northwest (PNW) (15%), and Western Alaska (18%) stocks, and smaller contributions came from Upper/Middle Yukon River (6%) and Southwest Alaska (1%) stocks. The regional stock estimates for the 2013 chum salmon bycatch were similar to those for the 2012 bycatch, but differed significantly from estimates for other years, especially for the Asian and the Eastern GOA/PNW regions. There were significant spatial differences in stock distribution with the Southeast Asia contribution higher in the northwestern U.S. waters of the Bering Sea than in the southeastern Bering Sea, and the Eastern GOA/PNW contribution highest in the easternmost area sampled in the southeastern Bering Sea. Analysis of temporal strata revealed changes in stock composition during the course of the fall "B" season with increasing contribution of Northeast Asia stocks, decreasing contribution of Eastern GOA/PNW stocks, and variable contribution from Southeast Asia and Western Alaska.


Though understudied in research on language variation and change, the lexicon is a crucial domain for sociopolitical transformations of language. This paper presents a corpus-based sociolinguistic analysis of changes in terms for transgender, cisgender, and non-binary individuals in four online communities on the social media blogging site, LiveJournal.com – one for trans women, one for trans men, one for non-binary people, and another for transgender people in general – that were popular in the 2000s. Using innovative corpus methods that utilize general purpose cloud computing tools, we focus on changes in the popularity of labels for trans, cis, and non-binary people, the factors that impact the variable use of these terms, and what kinds of differences can be observed across the four LiveJournal communities of practice studied. It thereby contributes both to the study of language and identity in trans and queer communities and to the development of methods for studying large datasets of technologically-mediated communication.


The function of implanted pacemakers was assessed at a special pacemaker clinic at intervals of three to six months. Measurements of the basic discharge rate of the pacemaker were made and the waveform was recovered from skin electrodes and displayed on an oscilloscope screen. The impulse was photographed from the screen and subsequent waveform analysis was carried out. Reproducible results were obtained for measurements of peak amplitude and impulse duration provided unipolar electrodes were in use and the patients were studied in the same position. The range of variation of the measurements during the lifetime of different models of normally functioning pacemakers is given. Test measurements taken before failing pacemakers were removed have been correlated with the subsequently established cause of failure and the waveform analysis test has been shown to be clinically reliable. The value of the test depended largely upon the type of pacemaker but it correlated well with rate changes in pacemakers designed to slow as battery exhaustion developed. The clinical value of waveform analysis tests is in the diagnosis of exit block, electrode failure, and premature battery exhaustion and in determining the optimum time for pacemaker replacements. The indications for replacement of pacemakers at the National Heart Hospital are given. Initial experience with an automatic analyser with three types of pacemaker shows that rapid measurements of the waveform parameters can be achieved with accuracy.


Peroxisomes function in β-oxidation of very longand long-chain fatty acids, dicarboxylic fatty acids, bile acid intermediates, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, thromboxanes, pristanic acid and xenobiotic carboxylic acids. These lipids are mainly chain-shortened for excretion as the carboxylic acids or transported to mitochondria for further metabolism. Several of these carboxylic acids are slowly oxidized and may therefore sequester coenzyme A (CoASH). To prevent CoASH sequestration and to facilitate excretion of chain-shortened carboxylic acids, acyl-CoA thioesterases, which catalyze the hydrolysis of acyl-CoAs to the free acid and CoASH, may play important roles. We have here cloned and characterized a peroxisomal acyl-CoA thioesterase from mouse, named PTE-2, which was first isolated as a HIV-1 Nef binding protein in human (Liu et al. J. Biol. Chem. (1997) 272, 13779-13785, Watanabe et al. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. (1997) 238, 234-239). PTE-2 is ubiquitously expressed and induced at mRNA level by treatment with the peroxisome proliferator WY-14,643 and fasting. Induction seen by these treatments was dependent on the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). Recombinant PTE-2 showed a broad chain-length specificity with acyl-CoAs from shortand medium-, to long-chain acylCoAs, and other substrates including trihydroxycoprostanoyl-CoA, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA and branched chain acyl-CoAs, all of which are present in peroxisomes. Highest activities were found with the CoA esters of primary bile acids choloyl-CoA and chenodeoxycholoyl-CoA as substrates. PTE-2 activity is inhibited by free CoASH, suggesting that intraperoxisomal free CoASH levels regulate the activity of this enzyme. The acyl-CoA specificity of recombinant PTE-2 closely resembles that of purified mouse liver peroxisomes, suggesting that PTE-2 is the major acyl-CoA thioesterase in peroxisomes. Addition of recombinant PTE-2 to incubations containing isolated mouse liver peroxisomes strongly inhibited bile


Real-time three-dimensional ultrasound has been demonstrated as a viable tool for guiding surgical procedures. This visualization technique enables a range of new minimally invasive techniques in cardiac surgery. Ultrasound permits visualization through the opaque blood pool in the heart, and the advent of real-time 3DUS overcomes difficulties with 3D spatial perception in conventional 2D ultrasound. These procedures eliminate the need for a cardiopulminary bypass and its well documented adverse effects. However, challenges remain before clinical implementation of ultrasound-guided intracardiac surgery can be made practical. 3D ultrasound provides limited spatial perception due to distorted appearance of tissue and instruments. The low quality imaging when combined with the confined dynamic environment of a beating heart makes complex tasks difficult for surgeons to perform. These challenges are addressed by improving the display of 3D ultrasound with stereo displays, tracked surgical instruments, and introducing robotics for handling the dynamic cardiac tissue. A study is presented that demonstrates stereo displays improve surgical performance, reducing error rates by 50% and procedure times by 28%. The stereo display was found to help surgeons better interpret the low resolution ultrasound volumes. However, a large source of ultrasound distortion is imaging artifacts created by surgical instruments. A detection technique is presented that identifies the position of the instrument within the ultrasound volume. The algorithm uses a form of the generalized Radon transform and passive markers to identify the full position and orientation of the instrument. This detection technique is amenable to rapid execution on parallel computer architectures and as a result real-time instrument tracking was attained. With a tracked instrument location, it is now possible to develop enhanced surgical displays. Instrument tracking also enables robot guidance that is ideally suited to compensate for the highly dynamic environment of beating heart surgery. A system has been designed and tested that uses real-time instrument and target tracking for robot control.


Concentrations and fluxes of mercury (Hg) species in surface waters of forested watersheds are affected by hydrological events. The mechanisms of Hg transport during these events are poorly understood and yet may influence Hg bioavailability and exposure to aquatic biota. Three storm events with varying magnitude and intensity were investigated (June, September and November 2005) at a forested watershed in the Adirondack region of New York State, USA. Concentrations of Hg species increased during these events, both above and downstream of wetlands in the watershed. While Hg flux was higher from wetland drainage, the Hg flux from the upland site exhibited a greater relative increase to elevated runoff. Hg flux was controlled by discharge; however, Hg species concentrations were not well correlated with discharge, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), or total suspended solids (TSS) through the duration of events. A counter‐clockwise hysteresis response of DOC with increasing runoff contrasted with the clockwise response for total Hg, suggesting different contributions from source areas for these solutes. Correspondence with elevated total K and NO3− (α < 0·05) during the rising limb of the hydrograph suggests rapid delivery of throughfall Hg, potentially enhanced by hillslope hollows, to the stream channel. As the watershed saturated, stream Hg appears to be derived from the soil Hg pool. Results suggest that particulate Hg did not contribute substantially to total Hg flux during events (<25%). These results emphasize the role of watershed attributes and storm characteristics in Hg transport and bioavailability. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Pat's Petition was originally an e-petition submitted on the UK Government's website asking the Department for Work and Pensions to 'stop and review the changes to benefi ts and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families'. All e-petitions are submitted by an individual, in this case Pat Onions, and aim to reach 100,000 signatures for the possibility of debate in parliament. Pat's Petition was a small group formed of volunteers, all with fi rsthand experience of the issue as disabled people and/or carers, who had no previous experience as a group or in reaching out online to a wider community for petition signatures. The petition reached over 62,600 signatures and ended on November 1 2012. At the time, it was the 12 most successful petition out of the 10,294 closed petitions. While the group continues to press for change, it is helpful to refl ect on the learning of their fi rst year; specifi cally the development of the group and the use of e-petitions. This learning may be of use to other campaigners, to people thinking of online campaigning and also to those interested in online groups. This refl ective account draws on the experiences of the individuals concerned and the private resource of communications between the group. It looks back on their experience from October 2011 to November 2012 when the petition closed, and refl ects on the story of Pat's Petition.


This thesis is the result of a project aimed at the study of a crucial topic in finance: default risk, whose measurement and modelling have achieved increasing relevance in recent years. We investigate the main issues related to the default phenomenon, under both a methodological and empirical perspective. The topics of default predictability and correlation are treated with a constant attention to the modelling solutions and reviewing critically the literature. From the methodological point of view, our analysis results in the proposal of a new class of models, called Poisson
Autoregression with Exogenous Covariates (PARX). The PARX models, including both autoregressive end exogenous components, are able to capture the dynamics of default count time series, characterized by persistence of shocks and slowly decaying autocorrelation.
Application of different PARX models to the monthly default counts of US industrial firms in the period 1982-2011 allows an empirical insight of the defaults dynamics and supports the identification of the main default predictors at an aggregate level.


A logistic equation is the basis for a model that predicts the probability of obtaining regeneration at specified densities. The density of regeneration (trees/ha) for which an estimate of probability is desired can be specified by means of independent variables in the model. When estimating parameters, the dependent variable is set to 1 if the regeneration density (trees/ha) on the plot is greater than the specified density (trees/ha), otherwise 0. Since it is desired to estimate parameters for a range of probability densities, traditional estimation techniques for logistic models cannot be used. Multiple regeneration densities require a multinomial distribution, for which maximum likelihood estimates are obtained. Counts of shortleaf pine regeneration taken 9-10 years afterthinning on 182 plots established in naturally occurring shortleaf pine forests are used to estimate parameters. FOR. Sci. 49(4):577-584.


The performance of using Model Predictive Control (MPC) techniques is highly dependent
on a model that is able to accurately represent the dynamical system. The datadriven
modelling techniques are usually used as an alternative approach to obtain such
a model when first principle techniques are not applicable. However, it is not easy to
assess the quality of learnt models when using the traditional data-driven models, such
as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Fuzzy Model (FM). This issue is addressed in
this thesis by using probabilistic Gaussian Process (GP) models.
One key issue of using the GP models is accurately learning the hyperparameters.
The Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithms are conventionally used in the problem of
maximizing the Log-Likelihood (LL) function to obtain these hyperparameters. In this
thesis, we proposed a hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to cope with
the problem of learning hyperparameters. In addition, we also explored using the Mean
Squared Error (MSE) of outputs as the fitness function in the optimization problem.
This will provide us a quality indication of intermediate solutions.
The GP based MPC approaches for unknown systems have been studied in the past
decade. However, most of them are not generally formulated. In addition, the optimization
solutions in existing GP based MPC algorithms are not clearly given or are
computationally demanding. In this thesis, we first study the use of GP based MPC approaches
in the unconstrained problems. Compared to the existing works, the proposed
approach is generally formulated and the corresponding optimization problem is eff-
ciently solved by using the analytical gradients of GP models w.r.t. outputs and control
inputs. The GPMPC1 and GPMPC2 algorithms are subsequently proposed to handle
the general constrained problems. In addition, through using the proposed basic and
extended GP based local dynamical models, the constrained MPC problem is effectively
solved in the GPMPC1 and GPMPC2 algorithms. The proposed algorithms are verified
in the trajectory tracking problem of the quadrotor.
The issue of closed-loop stability in the proposed GPMPC algorithm is addressed
by means of the terminal cost and constraint technique in this thesis. The stability
guaranteed GPMPC algorithm is subsequently proposed for the constrained problem. By
using the extended GP based local dynamical model, the corresponding MPC problem
is effectively solved.


The image of the First World War soldier as a cowed victim, caught in the grip of a meaningless, industrialized war, is one that has become entrenched in the British popular imagination. It was not, however, the image that dominated public discussion of the soldier between 1914 and 1918. This article seeks to examine how the portrayal of the soldier changed during and after the First World War and proposes that the victimized soldier motif has been reinforced today by the coalescence of three trends. The first is the growth of the family history industry that encourages an individualized and empathetic approach to the First World War. The second trend is concerned with an increasing public interest in psychological reactions to war. Since the Vietnam War, there has been a growing expectation that soldiers will be psychologically damaged by wartime experience. This has influenced the public perception of the First World War soldier, affecting, in particular, the discussion surrounding those executed for military crimes during the conflict. Finally, the article argues that long-term changes in British attitudes to the use of force, coupled with the experience of recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, have also coloured the way in which the First World War is portrayed. A range of interest groups have cast the contemporary British soldier as a victim in recent years and the article argues that the explicit linking of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq with the First World War has reinforced this victim image for each conflict.


The America Invents Act (AIA) has significantly changed the way university technology transfer offices operate. On the plus side, the first-inventor-to-file rule has allowed for simpler invention disclosures, since disclosures no longer have value as conception records. The AIA has also provided more relaxed procedural rules, avoiding the mad dash to get inventor signatures, and allowing universities to file in their own name from the outset. On the negative side, technology transfer offices have to make filing decisions faster, as the first-inventor-to-file rule makes it risky to wait for more data; another inventor could get to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) first, and there is no longer a one-year grace period for prior art. The AIA also created quasi-judicial proceedings known as Post-Grant Review (PGR) and Inter-Partes Review (IPR), in which claims are interpreted more broadly, and can be invalidated with less proof than if those same claims were reviewed by a federal court. Based on the rate that IPR proceedings are invalidating patents and patent claims, the AIA may make it more challenging and expensive for universities and their licensees to defend those patents that are most likely to succeed in bringing new products and services to the public.


1.2 At least 13,000 people die from kidney (renal) disease in the UK each year, although this is an underestimation as many deaths of patients with renal failure are not recorded as such in mortality statistics. Kidney diseases can occur suddenly ('acute') or over months and years ('chronic'). Chronic kidney disease is relatively common, with the majority of patients being elderly and having mild impairment of their renal function.


The mathematical model of the stress-strain curve of the strand of glass fibers was proposed and applied on the experimental data obtained for E glass fibers. The model reflects the lognormal continuous distribution of the unstrained lengths of glass fibers and the Weibull distribution of the fibers strength. The regression treatment of experimental data provided the statistically robust estimates of the parameters of the lognormal length distribution, of the Young modulus, and of the parameters of the Weibull glass fibers strength distribution. It was shown that neglecting of the continuous unstrained length distribution leads to serious errors in estimates of the fiber strength distribution.


The PhD thesis deals with the optimization of the reaction calorimetry technique to monitor chemical reactions in supercritical fluids. The aim is to develop this thermal analysis technique to monitor the heat released by a chemical reaction in a high pressure reactor and consequently discuss upon the reaction evolution. The experimental equipment used was previously developed in the group of chemical and physical safety at the EPFL. Additionally, a mass flow meter was installed during this thesis to measure the quantity of supercritical fluid inserted in the reactor. Initially, the core of the technique, meaning the heat flow equation, was examined in a term-by-term analysis to adapt and optimize each term for supercritical reaction systems. For this analysis a model reaction was chosen, namely the free-radical dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate in supercritical carbon dioxide, and a set of conditions was set as a reference. The particularities linked to the supercritical nature of the solvent were taken into consideration and more precisely the fact that the solvent occupies the entire available reactor volume. As a result it was found that every reactor part has to be thermally controlled and that special caution has to be paid on the estimation of the overall heat transfer coefficient between the reaction mixture and the temperature regulating fluid running in the reactor jacket and on the estimation of the specific heat capacity of the reaction mixture. Furthermore, the injection phase of the additional reactants, according to the reaction protocol, was found to be subject to considerable calorimetric errors; therefore an optimized injection pattern was designed to minimize the undesired temperature oscillations during this phase. The second step of the thesis consists of the discussion on the reaction evolution based on the optimized results obtained. First a direct comparison is presented between the calorimetric results before and after the analysis to highlight the points were significant improvements were introduced, mainly in terms of accuracy and reproducibility of the results. Then the discussion focuses on the nucleation phase of the polymer particles, where the data show that the reaction takes place almost exclusively in the continuous phase. This conclusion is also found to be in very good agreement with the results of other experimental techniques. Further, the role of the pressure on the reaction evolution was examined through a series of experiments, based on a small reaction deceleration observed, and was found to have a drastic effect on the creation of stable dispersion conditions. A key parameter in this investigation was the partitioning of the solvent, the monomer and the produced polymer in the two reaction phases. The latter also helped in the formulation of an explanation for the measured pressure profiles. Finally, the reaction heat rate data of the previous tests were used to discuss some safety aspects of the reaction, primarily through a cooling system failure scenario. Once the results on the model reaction were sufficiently confident, different reaction systems were tested to demonstrate the robustness and to explore the limits of the equipment and of the technique. It is shown that the calorimeter succeeds in detecting very small amounts of heat; therefore can monitor much less exothermic reactions, like the dispersion polymerization of styrene in supercritical carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the applicability of the technique is limited for very exothermic chemical reactions, like the precipitation polymerization of acrylic acid in supercritical carbon dioxide. Additionally, non-polymerization reaction systems can also be monitored and this is demonstrated with the example of the esterification of acetic anhydride with methanol in supercritical carbon dioxide. Finally, some preliminary tests were carried out to investigate the possibility of working with the high pressure reactor in a continuous mode but the results show that the developed set-up is not suited for such an application. The last part of the thesis deals with the use of the reaction calorimeter to produce polymeric foams using supercritical carbon dioxide as the blowing agent. The capability to control the reactor temperature with high accuracy and measure precisely the temperature and the pressure were exploited in this case. The equipment was initially calibrated in terms of the depressurization profiles that can be achieved and consequently polymer foams were produced. The effects on the final foam morphology of the polymer type, the temperature, the pressure, the depressurization rate and of the calorimeter operation were studied and various trends were identified.


Four Gandhari Samyuktagama Sutras continues the study of Gandharan Buddhist texts and is the first investigation of a scroll from the Senior Collection of Kharosthi manuscripts. The Senior Collection, which is named after its owner, Robert Senior (Glastonbury, U.K.), consists of twenty-four birch bark scrolls or scroll fragments with at least forty-one Buddhist texts written in the Gandhari language and Kharosthi script. Senior scroll number 5, one of the best preserved of all Kharosthi manuscripts, contains four short sutras that give a first-hand account of meditation practice in Gandhara in the middle of the second century A.D. The first sutra, which has no direct parallel in other Buddhist literatures, presents a description of four visualization exercises, three of which are unique to the Gandharan tradition. The second sutra is a teaching of non-self, which is also found in Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan. The third and fourth sutras, also available in Pali and Chinese, emphasize the role of meditation in progressing toward enlightenment. This volume details the textual background of the Samyuktagama, a major collection of Buddhist scriptures arranged by topic, and places Gandhari Samyuktagama Sutras in this context. Andrew Glass compares the sutras with the parallel versions in Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan and presents a transcription and reconstruction of the text, together with an English translation. He also covers the paleography, orthography, phonology, and morphology of the text and offers a detailed analytic commentary on each sutra. Mark Allon discusses the significance of the Senior Collection to the ongoing textual studies. Appendices provide editions and translations of the parallel texts in Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan. There is also a complete word index to the Gandhari text, as well as Chinese-Gandhari and Tibetan-Gandhari indexes.


Volcanism is responsible for copious discharge of sulfur-bearing magmatic gases. A dominant sulfur-bearing species is SO 2 , yet sulfite (S 4+ ) minerals are rare in geological settings, testifying to the reactivity of SO 2 . Disproportionation of SO 2 to reduced (sulfide), neutral (elemental sulfur), and oxidized (sulfate) species is one expression of this reactivity. Previous studies of SO 2 disproportionation reactions have focused on low-pressure, low-temperature conditions involving SO 2 gas and liquid water, such as those close to volcanic vents or in water-free gas systems. However, release of magmatic volatiles in volcanic systems can occur at depth where hot magmatic gas meets crustal rocks ± pore fluids. We investigate the viability of such high-pressure reactions with experiments in which SO 2 gas is reacted with a mixture of calcite and a metal-bearing saline fluid at 1.0–1.5 kbar pressure and 400–800 °C. At all temperatures, the calcite-bearing experiments produced anhydrite and sulfide. In the experiment where calcite was replaced by quartz, no sulfide was produced, establishing that Ca is a crucial component of this reaction. We show that extensive production of anhydrite and sulfide through calcite-mediated SO 2 disproportionation takes place on time scales of just a few hours. This could occur where hot magmatic SO 2 gas encounters magmatic brines in igneous rocks, basinal brines within sedimentary rocks, or calcium-bearing saline groundwaters.


Decision-making capacity is an increasingly important medico-legal concept. The recent Mental Capacity Act employs a cognitive, process-based test of capacity, but in many psychiatric conditions pathological beliefs and values impair capacity even when the decision-making process is logically coherent. In such cases, capacity assessments implicitly rely on normative epistemic and evaluative standards. This raises a worry for the capacity test's reliability, objectivity and tolerance of differences in beliefs and values.

There is currently little conceptual research on capacity and the normative standards underpinning its assessment. This thesis makes an original contribution to research by employing a number of philosophical approaches to map out a conceptual terrain within which questions about the substantive standards of capacity assessment can be framed.

Focusing on the nature of epistemic standards and third-person judgements about decision-making, the thesis examines the normative constraints determining what counts as a recognisable reason for a decision. It employs the theoretical apparatus of Davidson's project of Radical Interpretation to explore the epistemology of interpretation, interrogating the conditions under which intentional attribution and the provision of reason explanations for behaviour are possible. It is contended that beliefs are intrinsically rational and intersubjective, and that judgements of irrationality are only possible against a background of shared belief between interpreter and observed agent. This view is defended against the objection that rationality is too stringent a constraint on belief.

A misconception giving rise to this objection is then diagnosed. Drawing an analogy with Wittgenstein's rule-following considerations, it is submitted that the constitutive normativity of belief need not be codified in order to exert a genuine constraint on intentional behaviour. Rather, the norms of belief ought to be construed as emerging from shared practice. This indicates that normative judgements are disciplined through expertise and experience, rather than adherence to abstract principles. Finally, the implications of these insights for conceptualising and assessing capacity are considered.


Mobile: +4673-701 2448 (1) Background: Adolescents spend a considerable amount of their time in the school environment. Most adolescents are also subjected to compulsory school attendance, implying that they have to deal with the environment on a daily basis. In that sense the school environment is inescapable. There are several different measures on student experiences of the school environment, but School Climate is one of the most prominent. However, there seems to be no agreement upon definition and operationalization of the School Climate concept. Also, it is uncommon to find descriptions of robust psychometric analyses of School Climate measures. (2) Aims: The purpose of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of a scale of Adolescent Perceptions of School Climate by means of the Rasch model for ordered response categories. (3) Sample: Using a paper-and-pencil based survey, the data was collected among 758 students enrolled (school year 3-7) in schools located in central Perth of Western Australia in 2013.(4) Methods: A scale consisting of seven polytomous items is analysed by means of the polytomous Rasch model. General fit statistics as well as their graphical representations (ICC) are used to evaluate if the data fit the Rasch model. A particular focus is also directed towards possible Differential Item Functioning (DIF) across sex and grade.(5) Results: At a general level of analysis the scale seems to fit the Rasch model fairly well, with good separation of the individuals. Some items showed reversed item thresholds, i.e. the response categories did not work properly and as expected. Also, at a finer level of analysis focusing on DIF, the scale works fairly well, but with exceptions important in order to understand differences between younger and older adolescents. (6) Conclusions: Although the scale fits the Rasch model fairly well, there is room for improvements. In particular the precision of measurement may be increased by improving the targeting through inclusion of additional items of appropriate severity. Future directionsAs there seems to be a lack of instruments useful for invariant measurement of School Climate across age groups and genders, efforts to develop instruments are required.


Semi-partitioned schedulers are -- in theory -- a particularly promising category of multiprocessor real-time scheduling algorithms. Unfortunately, issues pertaining to their implementation have not been investigated in detail, so their practical viability remains unclear. In this paper, the practical merit of three EDF-based semi-partitioned algorithms is assessed via an experimental comparison based on real-time schedulability under consideration of real, measured overheads. The presented results indicate that semi-partitioning is indeed a sound and practical idea. However, several problematic design choices are identified as well. These shortcomings and other implementation concerns are discussed in detail.


Convertible bonds are complex hybrid securities subject to multiple sources of risk. Many exhibit exotic path dependent features. Monte Carlo simulation methods are usually the favorite choice for solving high-dimensional problems and pricing path dependent securities. This paper breaks away from the tradition established in the literature of pricing convertible bonds with finite difference and lattice methods, and suggests a simulation methodology for convertible bond pricing. We introduce the dividend process for convertible bonds, and formulate the pricing problem according to the probabilistic martingale approach. The proposed methodology deals with callable and puttable convertible bonds. The early exercise rules are estimated by means of least squares regressions as in Longstaff and Schwartz (2001). The accuracy of the simulation algorithm is tested in the context of a two factor model. The algorithm performs fairly well, and shows potential for further extension to include many complexities inherent in convertible bonds, as well as additional risk factors.


Mucoadhesive polymeric (carbopol 934) suspension of ciprofloxacin was prepared by ultrasonication and optimized with the aim of developing an oral controlled release gastro-retentive dosage form. The qualitative analysis of the formulation was performed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. FTIR (400 cm-1 to 4000 cm-1 region) and Raman (140 to 2400 cm-1 region) Spectroscopic studies were carried out and the spectra were used for interpretation. XRD data of pure drug, polymer and the formulation were obtained using a powder diffractometer scanned from a Bragg's angle (2q) of 10° to 70°. The dispersion of the particle was observed using SEM techniques. The particle size distribution and aspect ratio of particles in the polymeric suspension were obtained from SEM image analysis. The results from FTIR and Raman spectroscopic analyses suggested that, in formulation, the carboxylic groups of ciprofloxacin and hydroxyl groups of C934 undergo a chemical interaction leading to esterification and hydrogen bonding. The XRD data suggested that the retention of crystalline nature of ciprofloxacin in the formulation would lead to increase in stability and drug loading; decrease in solubility; and delay in release of the drug from polymeric suspension with better bioavailability and penetration capacity. The SEM image analysis indicated that, in the formulation maximum particles were having aspect ratio from 2 to 4 and standard deviation was very less which provided supporting evidences for homogeneous, uniformly dispersed, stable controlled release ciprofloxacin suspension which would be pharmaceutically acceptable.


The concurrence of structurally complex petroleum-associated contaminants at relatively high concentrations, with diverse climatic conditions and textural soil characteristics, hinders conventional bioremediation processes. Recalcitrant compounds such as high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAHs) and heavy alkanes commonly remain after standard soil bioremediation at concentrations above regulatory limits. The present study assessed the potential of native fungal bioaugmentation as a strategy to promote the bioremediation of an aged industrially polluted soil enriched with heavy hydrocarbon fractions. Microcosms assays were performed by means of biostimulation and bioaugmentation, by inoculating a defined consortium of six potentially hydrocarbonoclastic fungi belonging to the genera Penicillium, Ulocladium, Aspergillus, and Fusarium, which were isolated previously from the polluted soil. The biodegradation performance of fungal bioaugmentation was compared with soil biostimulation (water and nutrient addition) and with untreated soil as a control. Fungal bioaugmentation resulted in a higher biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and of HMW-PAHs than with biostimulation. TPH (C14-C35) decreased by a 39.90 ± 1.99% in bioaugmented microcosms vs. a 24.17 ± 1.31% in biostimulated microcosms. As for the effect of fungal bioaugmentation on HMW-PAHs, the 5-ringed benzo(a)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene were reduced by a 36% and 46%, respectively, while the 6-ringed benzoperylene decreased by a 28%, after 120 days of treatment. Biostimulated microcosm exhibited a significantly lower reduction of 5- and 6-ringed PAHs (8% and 5% respectively). Higher TPH and HMW-PAHs biodegradation levels in bioaugmented microcosms were also associated to a significant decrease in acute ecotoxicity (EC50) by Vibrio fischeri bioluminiscence inhibition assays. Molecular profiling and counting of viable hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from soil microcosms revealed that fungal bioaugmentation promoted the growth of autochthonous active hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. The implementation of such an approach to enhance hydrocarbon biodegradation should be considered as a novel bioremediation strategy for the treatment of the most recalcitrant and highly genotoxic hydrocarbons in aged industrially polluted soils.