Nowadays, increasing demand on petroleum resources and depletion of easy accessible reservoirs result in exploration of challenging reservoirs. Drilling of deeper reservoirs is an important part of this challenge where increasing the well depth and harsh drilling circumstances arises torque and drag problems and "smart drilling fluids" are required to overcome such problems. These fluids can be obtained by using of some nano-materials to improve the tasks and features of drilling fluids. Use of the nanoparticles are promising and adding them into the drilling fluids can solve some problems during drilling such as lost circulation, pipe sticking, thermal instability, torque and drag and etc. In this work, improvement of lubrication behavior of drilling fluids are mainly investigated by adding nanoparticles into the oil-based mud (OBM). Tribological and rheological experiments were conducted to examine reduced friction and rheology of the mud by using titania and silica nanoparticles as an additive. Additionally, silica microparticles were also tested to compare with nanoparticles and to highlight the advantages of using drilling fluids with the nano-scale additive. Different particle concentrations were tested at the different temperatures to observe the effect of nanoparticle added fluids on rheological and tribological properties. The main purpose of this work is to determine right type of nanoparticles with optimum concentrations. In this thesis, rheological and tribological measurements were conducted on a modular compact rheometer (MCR). Afterwards, only tribological measurement was performed on standardized in-on-disk apparatus to validate the results acquired from MCR. The tribology experiments with the MCR and pin-on-disk (POD) apparatus were performed using rotational ball sliding on sample plates and disks, accordingly. While viscometer measurements with the MCR were done based on the function of the Fann viscometer. According to the experimental results, titania and silica added nanoparticles showed good reduced friction properties. Especially, silica nanoparticle added fluids with the concentration of 0.25 weight% reduced friction coefficient by 47% at the temperature of 50°C. It is also found that silica nanoparticles are more effective in reducing the friction coefficient when it is compared to silica micro-particles. Additionally, coupling effect theory between temperature and nanoparticles was prove with addition of nanoparticles (NPs) to the OBM. As further study, optical 3D confocal microscope was used and OBM was found better lubrication than water-based mud(WBM)as a drilling fluid.


Title: SERVICE QUALITY AND ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION IN THE REGULATION OF MONOPOLIES: THE CHILEAN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY Oscar A. Melo, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Directed by: Professor Richard E. Just Department of Agricultural Economics This study is an enquiry about the role that service quality, asymmetric information, scope of regulation and regulator's preferences play in the regulation of monopolies, with an application to the case of the Chilean electricity distribution industry. In Chapter 1, I present the problem of regulating a monopolist and introduce the special conditions that the electricity sector has. Later I discuss the main characteristics of the electricity system that operates in Chile. The literature on regulation is reviewed in Chapter 2. A special emphasis is given to the problems of quality and information, and the lack of its proper joint treatment. In Chapter 3, I develop four theoretical models of regulation that explicitly consider the regulation of price and quality versus price-only regulation, and a symmetric versus asymmetric information structure where only the regulator knows its true costs. In these models, I also consider the effect of a regulator that may have a preference between consumers and the regulated monopolistic firms. I conclude that with symmetric information and independent of the scope of regulation, having a regulator that prefers consumers or producers does not affect the efficiency of the outcome. I also show that the regulator's inability to set quality, thus regulating only price, leads to an inefficient outcome, away from the first best solution that can be achieved by regulating both price and quality, even with asymmetric information, as long as the regulator does not have a "biased" preference for consumers or the monopolistic producers. If the regulator has a "bias," then the equilibrium will be inefficient with asymmetric information. But the effect on equilibrium price and quality depends on the direction of the effect of quality on the marginal effect of price in demand. More importantly, no closed-form solution can be derived unless drastic simplifications are made. To further investigate the outcome of the models, I use numerical simulation in Chapter 4, assuming flexible functional forms and alternative sets of parameters that represent the scenarios of interest. The results show that when the regulator is biased toward consumers (producers), symmetric information models yield higher (lower) quality except for the most efficient firm. Chapter 5 uses data from the electricity sector in Chile and estimates the price and quality elasticity of demand and finds a positive effect of quality on the price elasticity of demand. SERVICE QUALITY AND ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION IN THE REGULATION OF MONOPOLIES: THE CHILEAN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY


Gem-quality (cabochon) ruby-bearing occurrences (here termed PAR-1 and PAR-5) located near Paranesti, north eastern Greece have been systematically studied for the first time in this paper. Tectonically, the occurrences are located within the Nestos Shear Zone (NSZ). The NSZ separates two distinct geological units. The Rhodope Terrane is a heterogeneous unit of gneisses, mafic, ultramafic, and meta-sedimentary rocks in the hanging wall. The footwall Pangaion-Pirin Complex consists of marbles and acid gneisses of a Mesozoic carbonate platform on pre-Mesozoic continental basement. In this paper, a range of petrographic and geochemical techniques were used to determine (1) any similarities and differences to other mafic-ultramafic hosted ruby deposits worldwide; (2) distinctive geochemical fingerprints for Paranesti; and (3) the likely P-T conditions of formation.

Detailed petrographic and whole-rock analyses utilizing ICP-MS, XRF, and XRD have found the Paranesti corundum to be of a mafic/ultramafic protolith with approximately 40 wt.% SiO2, 16 wt.% Mg, 11000 ppm Cr, and 440 ppm Ni. EMPA major element analysis determined the mineral inclusions within the corundum grains to be picotite and hercynite spinels. Pargasite is the dominant amphibole within the corundum-bearing amphibole schist host. The surrounding non-corundum bearing chlorite schist mainly comprises clinochlore. Petrographic examination of the mineral assemblages within the corundum-bearing schists revealed strong fracturing and alignment (parallel to the main regional foliation) of the corundum grains and margarite reaction rims around the corundum. The surrounding non-corundum amphibolites also contain anorthite, along with relict sillimanite, kyanite, and chlorite/muscovite/epidote overprinting. Detailed LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis of the color range of corundum from the two occurrences showed the corundum to be mainly of metamorphic origin, though pale rubies from PAR-5 suggest some metasomatic influence.

The corundum displays distinctive geochemical locality signatures, with a combination of high Cr (average 2300 ppm with 15% sample points on core positions >5000 ppm and maximum 8600 ppm); high Si (average 1400 ppm with 40% over 1500 ppm and maximum 2500 ppm), low Mg (average 30 ppm), and very low V, Ti, and Ga. Based on the literature for similar occurrences, and the mineral assemblages observed at Paranesti, the estimated P-T conditions of corundum formation are <7 kbar and <750 °C, similar to the mafic African amphibolite-hosted rubies. This study has found the Paranesti occurrences to be most similar to the Winza, Tanzania ruby deposit, whilst there are some similarities to other high-Cr ruby deposits, primarily the Fiskenaesset, Greenland and metamorphic amphibolitic schist hosted African deposits. The Paranesti corundum most likely formed during regional amphibolite facies metamorphism which created the Nestos Shear Zone, along with a lesser influence (primarily observed in the PAR-5 occurrence) of more localized metasomatism. Subsequent multiple greenschist facies retrogression of the occurrences resulted in the current-day host amphibole-chlorite schist assemblages.


Nanophotonics is a newly developing and exciting field, with two main areas of interest: imaging/computer vision and data transport. The technologies developed in the field of nanophotonics have far reaching implications with a wide range of potential applications from faster computing power to medical applications, and "smart" eyeglasses to national security. Integrated Nanophotonic Devices explores one of the key technologies emerging within nanophotonics: that of nano-integrated photonic modulation devices and sensors. The authors introduce the scientific principles of these devices and provide a practical, applications-based approach to recent developments in the design, fabrication and experimentation of integrated photonic modulation circuits. For this second edition, all chapters have been expanded and updated to reflect this rapidly advancing field, and an entirely new chapter has been added to cover liquid crystals integrated with nanostructures. * Unlocks the technologies that will turn the rapidly growing research area of nanophotonics into a major area of commercial development, with applications in telecommunications, computing, security, and sensing * Nano-integrated photonic modulation devices and sensors are the components that will see nanophotonics moving out of the lab into a new generation of products and services* By covering the scientific fundamentals alongside technological applications, the authors open up this important multidisciplinary subject to readers from a range of scientific backgrounds


The Evolution of Cooperation Robert Axelrod 2006-12-05 The Evolution of Cooperation provides valuable insights into the age-old question of whether unforced cooperation is ever possible. Widely praised and much-discussed, this classic book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking egoists-whether superpowers, businesses, or individuals-when there is no central authority to police their actions. The problem of cooperation is central to many different fields. Robert Axelrod recounts the famous computer tournaments in which the "cooperative" program Tit for Tat recorded its stunning victories, explains its application to a broad spectrum of subjects, and suggests how readers can both apply cooperative principles to their own lives and teach cooperative principles to others.


OF MUSICAL ARTS PROJECT DAVID MASLANKA'S SYMPHONY NO. 7: AN EXAMINATION OF ANALYTICAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS THROUGH A "MASLANKIAN" APPROACH With a composition career spanning from the early 1970s to the present, David Maslanka (b.1943) has earned wide recognition as an important and respected composer of music for nearly every setting. While he has contributed significantly to chamber music, solo literature, vocal settings, and works for symphony orchestra, his compositions for percussion and wind band have arguably provided his most universal acclaim. All six of Maslanka's band symphonies are considered noteworthy compositions. His distinctive musical voice emerges in each of these works as he explores the gamut of emotional impact from the darkest pain to the most euphoric joy. Such wide ranging scope is not limited solely to the musical moods Maslanka paints, but also includes the means he employs to paint them. Maslanka's compositional method is rather unique and quite spiritual in nature as each work is produced through a great deal of subconscious exploration and meditation. His meditations often result in dream images that he translates into musical material. These translations typically are not a moment-by-moment, image-by-image retelling of the meditation, but instead are musical impressions motivated by the impulses of energy Maslanka perceives. Maslanka takes great interest in connecting with the commissioning party and ensemble while composing, at times meditating over some personal effect such as a baton or hymnal. With such a deeply personal approach, Maslanka's music can touch the very essence of humanity and humanness. This research is focused on assisting others in preparing and presenting powerful and meaningful performances of Symphony No. 7. More specifically, the author wishes to establish a "Maslankian" approach to the music – a way of relating to the music that reflects the philosophical and spiritual nature of Maslanka and his compositional methodology. Those who wish to consider this "Maslankian" approach may apply it in combination with this document's formal musical analysis as a means to achieving more emotionally and spiritually connected results.


Bladder pain syndrome (BPS)/interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic pain disorder characterized by at least six weeks of lower urinary tract symptoms and unpleasant sensations (pain, pressure and discomfort) thought to be related to the urinary bladder and not meeting exclusion criteria. While the etiology is not known, BPS/IC may involve a "vicious circle" of uroepithelial dysfunction, inflammation and peripheral and central sensitization. We propose that the urinary bladder inflammatory insult partly mediates voiding dysfunction and visceral neurogenic pain characteristic of BPS/IC. Several studies from our laboratory have already demonstrated the role(s) of cytokines and their downstream targets in the functional alterations in micturition reflex pathways following chemically (cyclophosphamide, CYP)-induced cystitis. More recently, the pleiotropic protein, TGF-β, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of CYP-induced cystitis. TGF-β is activated locally at the initial site of injury by protease-dependent or protease-independent mechanisms to initiate a proinflammatory milieu. Depending on its contextual cues, TGF-β may then aid in resolving the primary immune response and support tissue repair. Though TGF-β is necessary to maintain normal immunological function, its aberrant expression and activation may have detrimental effects on responding tissues and cell types. A sustained increase in peripheral TGF-β reactivity, such as what may be observed in chronic inflammatory bladder conditions, may influence bladder afferent excitability to amplify nociceptive transmission and CNS input. The subsequent sensitization of peripheral afferent nociceptors at the level of the DRG or urothelium may promote spinal cord 'wind-up' and cascade into visceral hyperalgesia and allodynia. In the first aim of this dissertation we investigated the functional profile of TGF-β isoforms and receptor (TβR) variants in the normal and inflamed (CYP-induced cystitis) urinary bladder with qRT-PCR, ELISA, IHC and in vivo cystometry. Our studies determined (i) the involvement of TGF-β in lower urinary tract neuroplasticity following urinary bladder inflammation, (ii) a functional role for TGF-β signaling in the afferent limb of the micturition reflex and (iii) urinary bladder TβR-1 as a viable target to reduce voiding frequency with cystitis. In the second aim of this dissertation we investigated the sensory components of the urinary bladder that may underlie the pathophysiology of aberrant TGF-β activation with bladder-pelvic nerve electrophysiology and luciferinluciferase assays for ATP measurement. Our studies determined that TGF-β1 increased bladder afferent nerve excitability by stimulating ATP release from the urothelium via vesicular exocytosis mechanisms with minimal contribution from pannexin-1 channels. Furthermore, blocking aberrant TGF-β signaling in CYP-induced cystitis with TβR-1 inhibition decreased afferent nerve excitability with an equivalent decrease in ATP release. Taken together, these results establish a causal link between an inflammatory mediator, TGF-β, and intrinsic signaling mechanisms of the urothelium that may contribute to the altered sensory processing of bladder filling to facilitate increased voiding frequency. The distinct interactions of multiple mediators underscore the challenges for single target therapies and support the development of combinatory therapeutics for bladder dysfunction. Ultimately, these studies have increased our understanding of functional disorders and visceral pain and have the potential to improve the health of those suffering from inflammation-associated bladder syndromes.


This dissertation situates the life and work of the artist Toyen (Marie Cerminova, 1902-80), a founding member of the Prague surrealist group, within the larger discourses of modernism and feminism/gender studies. In particular, it explicates Toyen's construction of gender and eroticism within the contexts of early twentieth-century Czech feminism and sex reformism, the interwar Prague avant-garde, and Prague and Paris surrealism. Toyen's interest in sexuality and eroticism, while unusual in its extent and expression, is intimately related to her historical and geographic position as an urban Czech forming her artistic personality during first a period of economic boom, avant-garde optimism, increased opportunities for women, and sex reformism, and then a period of economic crisis, restriction of women's employment, social conservatism, and tension between the subconscious and the socialist realist. Toyen's ambiguously gendered self-presentation, while again unusual, needs to be considered in light of her enthusiastic reception within three predominantly male avant-garde groups (Devětsil, Prague surrealism, and Paris surrealism). I stress that the social and cultural environment of her childhood and youth created an atmosphere that enabled her to pursue lifelong personal interests and obsessions in a manner that was unusually public for a female artist of her generation.As a case study of one artist working within a specific avant-garde movement, this project contributes to critical re-evaluation of surrealism, the Central European contribution to modernism, and the role of female artists in the avant-garde. This intervention in the history of surrealism makes its intellectual contribution by changing our perception of the movement, giving vivid evidence of the Prague group's difference from and influence on the Paris group, and presenting a more complex and nuanced view of women's role in and treatment by surrealism.This dissertation employs a mixed methodology that combines investigation of historical context with aspects of feminist, psychoanalytic, iconographic, and semiotic approaches. No previous study of Toyen or the Czech interwar avant-garde has been done in this manner.


Growth hormone (GH), insulin, cortisol, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were determined in serum of fetal pigs at 90, 100, 110 and 114 days of gestation and of newborn pigs at 1 and 24 hours of age. Fetal GH, T3 and cortisol increased between 90 and 110 days. GH concentration decreased between 110 and 114 days, while T3 and cortisol were unchanged. T4 was variable in fetal pigs and no relationship with T3 levels was apparent. Fetal insulin was constant at approximately 10 muU/ml. In newborn pigs there was a 3-fold and 2-fold increase in T3 and T4, respectively, during the first 24 hours of life. Cortisol in serum more than doubled during the first hour. Between 1 and 24 hours, there was a simultaneous decrease in cortisol and a 6-fold increase in insulin. No significant change in GH was noted during this time. Intraperitoneal insulin injected one hour before sacrifice induced a hypoglycemic response in newborn pigs, but not in fetal pigs.


Background. The ability to understand idiomatic expressions begins to develop at an early age. However, such skill is not achieved within the same age and at the same pace in children speaking different languages. Objective. This study assesses comprehension of idiomatic expressions by Russian-speaking monolingual children aged 4 to 12 and monitoring the age dynamics of figurative language understanding. Design. 80 children were split in 4 age groups balanced for gender and level of formal education. The participants were asked to identify the correct non-literal meaning of 10 idioms. For each idiomatic expression, children heard three potential interpretations (one correct, and two incorrect ones of which one was literal while the other was overtly wrong). Results. Age-related differences were analysed by performing a series of univariate ANOVAs. These analyses showed that already at preschool age children begin to understand some kinds of idiomatic expressions and that such ability slowly develops throughout childhood. Interestingly, until the age of 6 children predominantly interpreted idioms literally. By the age of 7 their ability to correctly understand the non-literal meanings of idiomatic expressions enhanced significantly until it reached a plateau around the age of 12. Conclusion. The results of the study are in line with those found for children speaking other languages. The findings are interpreted in light of recent theories of language and cognitive development. Potential limitations of the study are also discussed.


Background: Alcohol misuse affects about five million people in France. Self-reported alcohol consumption, questionnaires, biological markers like gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) are usually used to detect alcohol abuse. As a biological marker of alcohol misuse, the specificity of the CDT is known to be superior to GGT and MCV as well. The elderly may suffer from this pathology, but its clinical and biological detection and management are often difficult, due to a frequent denial of the alcoholism and multiple chronic diseases. Methods/Design: A prospective, multicentre, non-randomized, open-label will be performed in the Geriatrics Department of the Hospital of Mulhouse, Alsace and in an Alsatian health care network. Inclusion criteria are: age ≥ 60 years, patients hospitalized for 1 day or 1 week in the Geriatrics department or new patients of the health care network, presence of a suitable relative or helper. A total of 200 enrolled patients are expected. Alcohol consumption will be detected by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test - Consumption questionnaire. This questionnaire will be submitted to the patient and to a relative. If one of the two scores ≥ 1, a CDT analysis may be performed. Primary outcome is the benefit of CDT in the detection of chronic alcohol abuse in the elderly as compared with usual clinical detection tools. Secondary outcomes are sensitivity and specificity of disturbance of GGT and MCV in case of alcohol consumption and identification of socio-economic characteristics of alcohol abusers (socio-professional category, education level, way of life and environment). Discussion: Findings of this trial will probably show low sensitivity and specificity of CDT to detect chronic alcohol misuse in the elderly. Those results suggest that biological markers are not more effective than questionnaires and medical interview to detect alcohol abuse, even if the consumption is initially denied. If confirmed, the results should improve medical screening, diagnosis and care in case of alcohol abuse in the elderly and reduce costs of biological analysis. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02822911, registered on 30 June 2016. Ethics: The Committee for the Protection of Persons located in Strasbourg, France, delivered a favourable opinion on the study project. Informed consent: The physician or the health network's care coordinator informs the patient about the study protocol and obtains the patient's assent. The investigator completes a non-opposition file and a copy is given to the patient and to his/her relative or helper.


One of key NASA goals is to develop and integrate noise reduction technology to enable unrestricted air transportation service to all communities. One of the technical priorities of this activity has been to account for and reduce noise via propulsion/airframe interactions, identifying advanced concepts to be integrated with the airframe to mitigate these noise-producing mechanisms. An adaptive geometry chevron using embedded smart structures technology offers the possibility of maximizing engine performance while retaining and possibly enhancing the favorable noise characteristics of current designs. New high-temperature shape memory alloy (HTSMA) materials technology enables the devices to operate in both low-temperature (fan) and high-temperature (core) exhaust flows. Chevron-equipped engines have demonstrated reduced noise in testing and operational use. It is desirable to have the noise benefits of chevrons in takeoff/landing conditions, but have them deployed into a minimum drag position for cruise flight. The central feature of the innovation was building on rapidly maturing HTSMA technology to implement a next-generation aircraft noise mitigation system centered on adaptive chevron flow control surfaces. In general, SMA-actuated devices have the potential to enhance the demonstrated noise reduction effectiveness of chevron systems while eliminating the associated performance penalty. The use of structurally integrated smart devices will minimize the mechanical and subsystem complexity of this implementation. The central innovations of the effort entail the modification of prior chevron designs to include a small cut that relaxes structural stiffness without compromising the desired flow characteristics over the surface; the reorientation of SMA actuation devices to apply forces to deflect the chevron tip, exploiting this relaxed stiffness; and the use of high-temperature SMA (HTSMA) materials to enable operation in the demanding core chevron environment. The overall conclusion of these design studies was that the cut chevron concept is a critical enabling step in bringing the variable geometry core chevron within reach. The presence of the cut may be aerodynamically undesirable in some respects, but it is present only when the chevron is not immersed in the core jet exhaust. When deployed, the gap closes as the chevron tip enters the high-speed, high-temperature core stream. Aeroacoustic testing and flow visualization support the contention that this cut is inconsequential to chevron performance.


Ocean acidification has the potential to adversely affect a number of valuable marine ecosystem services by making it more difficult, and eventually impossible, for many marine organisms to form shells and skeletons. Reef-forming corals, commercially valuable shellfish, and primary producers that form the base of the marine food web are among the affected organisms. Despite the range and magnitude of likely impacts, very few economic analyses of ocean acidification's consequences have been conducted. This paper adds to the emerging body of literature by taking a distance function approach to estimating the benefits of avoided ocean acidification in the U.S. mollusk market. A nonlinear inverse almost ideal demand system estimates the utility parameters needed to calculate the exact consumer welfare measures compensating and equivalent surplus for two hypothetical policies that would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions relative to a business-as-usual scenario.


This paper presents a particular aspect of 'being online': the embodied, lived experience of interacting with digital devices and computer screens, involving seeking and giving help to learn and teach skills and abilities that are often taken for granted in our "wired world".  The article includes analysis and reflection on a phenomenological study involving international students who arrived at their Canadian post-secondary institutions with limited or no background using computers and the Internet.    This exploration leads to an enriched perspective on technology support and training.   Meaningful, hands-on, task-oriented support is revealed as an ethical inter-subjective lived relation, experienced as reciprocity in an intercultural community of student life.


In recent years, there have been a number of pistemological developments in social work. Further, there have been a number of theoretical approaches that have attempted to ground the concept of 'power' to understand organizational practice such as Marxist thought. At the same time, the insights of French social theorist Michel Foucault have
been captivating to the disciplinary development of social work in illuminating power relations and subject positioning between helping professions and clients. To move
beyond this, and in order to theoretically interrogate the relationship between social theory and professional power, this article draws from the neo Foucauldian-Feminist
philosopher Judith Butler – especially regarding Butler's (1990, 1993 and 1998) powerful work on 'performativity'. This article attempts to generate new theoretical insights to understanding contemporary social work through the conceptual tools of Butler.


We measured gross primary productivity (GPP) and respiration (R) seasonally in benthic, water column, and epiphytic microhabitats of Lake Huron fringing wetlands. Spring areal GPP ranged from 33 to 103 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, spring R ranged from 16 to 110 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, and the water column was the most important microhabitat for both GPP and R on average. Summer GPP ranged from 40 to 131 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, R ranged from 25 to 155 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, and the water column and benthic microhabitats were equally important for GPP and R. Fall GPP ranged from < 1 to 19 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, and R ranged from < 1 to 47 mmol O2 m−2 d−1, with the benthic and water column microhabitats being equally important. Net metabolism (the difference between GPP and R) was close to zero at most wetlands, but when macrophyte productivity was accounted for, most wetlands appeared autotrophic. Both GPP and R were highest in deep wetlands protected from hydrologic energy and declined with increasing wave exposure. With increasing exposure, wetlands were restricted to shallower water and benthic GPP and R increased relative to water column GPP and R. This pattern persisted to intermediate levels of exposure, beyond which benthic GPP and R declined as a result of physical disturbance to the sediment. Coastal wetlands are hotspots of productivity in Lake Huron and hydrologic energy is an important driver of total metabolism rates, as well as the distribution of GPP and R among microhabitats.


Heterotopic bone formation (osseous metaplasia) is rarely seen in the gastrointestinal tract. It usually occurs in the colorectum in association with benign or malignant epithelial tumors, and most often with mucinous adenocarcinoma. The rectum is the most common location of ossification in the gastrointestinal tract. The pathogenesis of the heterotopic ossification is unknown, but it is probably the result of metaplasia of fibroblasts. We present a case of heterotopic bone formation in a primary rectal adenocarcinoma which was observed in a 73-year-old man.


We present a hierarchical approach to the "atomistic" simulation of aggressively scaled sub-0.1-/spl mu/m MOSFETs. These devices are so small that their characteristics depend on the precise location of dopant atoms within them, not just on their average density. A full-scale three-dimensional drift-diffusion atomistic simulation approach is first described and used to verify more economical, but restricted, options. To reduce processor time and memory requirements at high drain voltage, we have developed a self-consistent option based on a solution of the current continuity equation restricted to a thin slab of the channel. This is coupled to the solution of the Poisson equation in the whole simulation domain in the Gummel iteration cycles. The accuracy of this approach is investigated in comparison to the full self-consistent solution. At low drain voltage, a single solution of the nonlinear Poisson equation is sufficient to extract the current with satisfactory accuracy. In this case, the current is calculated by solving the current continuity equation in a drift approximation only, also in a thin slab containing the MOSFET channel. The regions of applicability for the different components of this hierarchical approach are illustrated in example simulations covering the random dopant-induced threshold voltage fluctuations, threshold voltage lowering, threshold voltage asymmetry, and drain current fluctuations.


We propose a new kind of probabilistic programming language for machine learning. We write programs simply by annotating existing relational schemas with probabilistic model expressions. We describe a detailed design of our language, Tabular, complete with formal semantics and type system. A rich series of examples illustrates the expressiveness of Tabular. We report an implementation, and show evidence of the succinctness of our notation relative to current best practice. Finally, we describe and verify a transformation of Tabular schemas so as to predict missing values in a concrete database. The ability to query for missing values provides a uniform interface to a wide variety of tasks, including classification, clustering, recommendation, and ranking.


This article presents the results of mapping a karst cave by the passive seismic standing waves method. Barsukovskaya cave is located about 100 km southeast of the city of Novosibirsk (Russia). The total length of the cave's passages and grottoes is estimated at about 200 m, the maximum depth from the earth's surface is about 19 m. The method for studying underground cavities used is based on the effect of the generation of standing waves by microtremor in the space between the earth's surface and the cave roof. The accumulation of amplitude spectra of a large number of microtremor records makes it possible to determine the frequencies of the first few modes of these waves. Areal passive seismic survey on the earth's surface above the cave made it possible to construct a map of the lowest mode frequency distribution over the cave roof. Since no standing waves were observed at other points, this map reflects the cave structure in plan, which confirms the comparison with the cave diagram drawn up earlier by one of the speleologists. A schematic map of the depth of the cave roof was constructed using the longitudinal wave velocity Vp = 3120 m/s determined by the rock samples selected near the entrance to the cave. This map at a qualitative level also agrees with the data of speleologists, which indicate that the cave, on average, gradually becomes deeper from the entrance to its dead‐end branches. The shallower depths in comparison with the data of speleologists are apparently explained by a very low estimate of the velocity determined from a rock sample taken near the entrance to the cave. The reliability of the obtained cave mapping results is confirmed by the numerical simulation results using the finite‐element method.


Shannon's entropy is a basic quantity in information theory, and a fundamental building block for the analysis of neural codes. Estimating the entropy of a discrete distribution from samples is an important and difficult problem that has received considerable attention in statistics and theoretical neuroscience. However, neural responses have characteristic statistical structure that generic entropy estimators fail to exploit. For example, existing Bayesian entropy estimators make the naive assumption that all spike words are equally likely a priori, which makes for an inefficient allocation of prior probability mass in cases where spikes are sparse. Here we develop Bayesian estimators for the entropy of binary spike trains using priors designed to flexibly exploit the statistical structure of simultaneously-recorded spike responses. We define two prior distributions over spike words using mixtures of Dirichlet distributions centered on simple parametric models. The parametric model captures high-level statistical features of the data, such as the average spike count in a spike word, which allows the posterior over entropy to concentrate more rapidly than with standard estimators (e.g., in cases where the probability of spiking differs strongly from 0.5). Conversely, the Dirichlet distributions assign prior mass to distributions far from the parametric model, ensuring consistent estimates for arbitrary distributions. We devise a compact representation of the data and prior that allow for computationally efficient implementations of Bayesian least squares and empirical Bayes entropy estimators with large numbers of neurons. We apply these estimators to simulated and real neural data and show that they substantially outperform traditional methods.


Reverse engineering of binary executables is a difficult task which gets more involved by the way compilers translate high-level concepts used in paradigms such as objectoriented programming into native code, as it is the case for C++. Such code is harder to grasp than, e. g., traditional procedural code, since it is generally more verbose and adds complexity through features such as polymorphism or inheritance. Hence, a deep understanding of interactions between instantiated objects, their corresponding classes, and the connection between classes would vastly reduce the time it takes an analyst to understand the application. The growth in complexity in contemporary C++ applications only amplifies the effect. In this paper, we introduce Marx, an analysis framework to reconstruct class hierarchies of C++ programs and resolve virtual callsites. We have evaluated the results on a diverse set of large, real-world applications. Our experimental results show that our approach achieves a high precision (93.2% of the hierarchies reconstructed accurately for Node.js, 88.4% for MySQL Server) while keeping analysis times practical. Furthermore, we show that, despite any imprecision in the analysis, the derived information can be reliably used in classic software security hardening applications without breaking programs. We showcase this property for two applications built on top of the output of our framework: vtable protection and type-safe object reuse. This demonstrates that, in addition to traditional reverse engineering applications, Marx can aid in implementing concrete, valuable tools e. g., in the domain of exploit mitigations.


Studies of the nonlinear absorption and refraction of a variety of heavy-metal oxide and sulfide glasses are reported. The third-order nonlinearities were measured with ~100-fs pulses at wavelengths between 600 nm and 1.25 μm, allowing for what we believe is the first systematic study of the dispersion of the third-order nonlinearities of these glasses. The results confirm that the nonlinearities of heavy-metal oxide glasses are determined by heavy-metal content, as reported previously. The measured nonlinear refractive indices are predicted reasonably well by the semiempirical Boling–Glass–Owyoung formula and include several results that are among the largest nonresonant nonlinearities reported. The measured dispersion of the nonlinearities is consistent with simple theoretical expectations. Finally, most of the glasses obey Kleinman's symmetry, from which we conclude that the origin of the femtosecond-time-scale nonlinearities is electronic.


Abstract Subglacially erupted Neogene basaltic hyaloclastites in lava-fed deltas in Antarctica were found to contain putative endolithic microborings preserved in fresh glass along hydrous alteration boundaries. The location and existence over the past 6 Ma of these lava deltas has exposed them to successive interglacials and subsequent percolation of the hyaloclastite with marine water. A statistical study of the hyaloclastites has found that endolithic microborings are distinctly more abundant within samples that show evidence for marine alteration, compared with those that have remained in a strictly freshwater (glacial) environment. Additionally, correlation between elevation and the abundance of microborings shows endolithic activity to be more prolific within lower elevation samples, where the hyaloclastites were influenced by marine fluids. Our study strongly suggests that endolithic microborings form more readily in marine-influenced, rather than freshwater environments. Indeed, marine fluids may be a necessary precondition for the microbial activity responsible. Thus, we suggest that the chemistry and origin of alteration fluids are controlling factors on the formation of endolithic microborings in basaltic glass. The study also contributes to the understanding of how endolithic microborings could be used as a biosignature on Mars, where basaltic lavas and aqueous alteration are known to have existed in the past.


We investigate the quality of the investment choices that sponsors of defined contribution plans offer to plan participants for their retirement portfolios. Using a unique database of over 30,000 plans, we calculate the performance of equity-oriented investment options that were included in plans compared to a sample of funds that were not. On average, plan options produce annualised risk-adjusted returns exceeding those of non-plan options by as much as 120 basis points, an outcome that is relatively insensitive to factor model specifications, time period, or investment style classification. This performance advantage is largely due to actively managed plan options; privately managed institutional funds do not appear to enjoy any incremental performance advantage relative to public mutual funds. We conclude that plan sponsors do appear to possess superior selection skills when designing the set of investment options offered to plan participants.


The plasma filamentation instability or beam-Weibel instability generates magnetic fields and accelerates particles in collisionless astrophysical plasma. This instability has been examined with multi-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, demonstrating the formation of current flux tubes. Such simulations could not model a statistically significant number of filaments. Here, we model with a PIC simulation the filamentation instability that is driven by nonrelativistic, cool electron beams in one spatial dimension at an unprecedented resolution. We show unambiguously that the gradient of the magnetic pressure which develops during the quasi-linear evolution of the filamentation instability, gives rise to an electrostatic field component. The interplay of the magnetic and electrostatic fields results in a wavenumber spectrum of the magnetic field that is a power-law, which has been reported previously for multi-dimensional PIC simulations. The magnetic field power spectrum decreases with the exponent −5.7 and that of the electrostatic field with −3.8, yielding a ratio of 3:2. The electromagnetic fields thermalize the electrons. The electrons develop a velocity distribution in the simulation direction that decreases exponentially at low speeds and faster at high speeds. The filamentation instability can thus not efficiently accelerate electrons to high energies. The filaments develop into a stationary final state. The probability distribution of the filament sizes is a Gumbel distribution. In astrophysical settings, this implies that the long exponential tail of this distribution may lead with a reasonable probability to large current filaments, if the filamentation instability develops in a large enough volume. The coherent magnetic fields of large filaments are required to explain the synchrotron emissions of gamma ray bursts.


Dilemmas from climate change to financial meltdowns make it clear that global interconnectedness is the norm in the twenty-first century. As a result, global governance organizations (GGOs) - from the World Trade Organization to the Forest Stewardship Council - have taken on prominent roles in the management of international affairs. These GGOs create and promulgate rules to address a host of pressing problems. But as World Rule reveals, they struggle to meet two challenges: building authority despite limited ability to impose sanctions and maintaining legitimacy while satisfying the demands of key constituencies whose support is essential to a global rulemaking regime. Through a novel empirical study of twenty-five GGOs, Jonathan GS Koppell provides a clearer picture of the compromises within and the competition among these influential institutions by focusing attention on their organizational design. Analyzing four aspects of GGO organization in depth - representation and administration, the rulemaking process, adherence and enforcement, and interest group participation - Koppell describes variation systemically, identifies patterns, and offers explanations that link GGO design to the fundamental challenge of accountability in global governance.


The purpose of this study is to conduct a scientometric analysis of the body of literature on robotic medicine covered by PubMed database for a period from 2000-2011 and identify the quantum of transient and continuant authors. A total of 9906 articles were downloaded from PubMed database using the search term robotics in mesh headings subjected to scientometric data analysis techniques. A number of research questions pertaining to publication frequency, country of publication, individual productivity of authors, continuant, and transient nature of authors were proposed and answered. Based on the findings, many implications emerged that improve one′s understanding of the identity of robotic medicine as a distinct biomedical field. The pool of articles is drawn from PubMed database only though there are other databases also.


The main requisite for fine-grained recognition task is to focus on subtle discriminative details that make the subordinate classes different from each other. We note that existing methods implicitly address this requirement and leave it to a data-driven pipeline to figure out what makes a subordinate class different from the others. This results in two major limitations: First, the network focuses on the most obvious distinctions between classes and overlooks more subtle inter-class variations. Second, the chance of misclassifying a given sample in any of the negative classes is considered equal, while in fact, confusions generally occur among only the most similar classes. Here, we propose to explicitly force the network to find the subtle differences among closely related classes. In this pursuit, we introduce two key novelties that can be easily plugged into existing end-to-end deep learning pipelines. On one hand, we introduce "diversification block" which masks the most salient features for an input to force the network to use more subtle cues for its correct classification. Concurrently, we introduce a "gradient-boosting" loss function that focuses only on the confusing classes for each sample and therefore moves swiftly along the direction on the loss surface that seeks to resolve these ambiguities. The synergy between these two blocks helps the network to learn more effective feature representations. Comprehensive experiments are performed on five challenging datasets. Our approach outperforms existing methods using similar experimental setting on all five datasets.


This era globalization now information technology happened remarkable change and existence of competition very tight result custumer and more choice so that difficult to be gratified. Role of media of vital importance so that difficult conceived by Nations-State without its his, during for
centuries media print to become tool a transfer appliance and spreading of information. Besider becoming especial appliance reach public, newspaper represent the source of media idea and information about problem of serius public. Statement that people read newspaper to get information its not true, but quite a few making newspaper as a means of social contact interaction and throw away saturation of everyday life. Newspaper represent cheap and interesting reading materials, where newspaper represent escapes appliance which socially can be accepted. In consumer Indonesia chosen newspaper communications media become choice which still enthused in the midlle of existence of electronics media which excellence showing and is immeasureable ofits type. From the mentioned, this research aim to know factors which background overshadow consumer in subcribing to newspaper. The research is conducted by consumer of newspaper residing in Malang on 28 Februari up to 08 March 2009 by using quantitative descriptive research method. The subjek in this research amount to 63 consumer of newspaper. As for date collecting tekhnik in this research use enquetle with method of kuesioner. Analysis tekhnik the used is descriptive statistical analysis by using percentage. The result of result show that the factor of background consumer are: (1)The Product aspect show 96,83% newspaper content as according to realita, 93,65% the completed of news, 77,78% existence of accurancy situating of newspaper cover. (2)The Price aspect show 84,13% its difference with personal payment system, 80,95% its easy payment, 76,19% is about using not about discount. (3)The Distribution aspect show 82,54% its easy to get the newspaper, 74,60% accurancy of the time. (4)The Promotion aspect show 80,95% no percent, 80,95% there isn't affect from the agent, 68,25% not about affect of advertising of televition. (5)The Culture aspect show 82,54% there is important value at newspaper, 74,60% not affect of family. (6)The Social aspect show 96,83% not affect friend, 93,65% not affect society, 88,89% not affect job friends. (7)The Person aspect show 93,65% adding knowledge, 88,71% not drop behind in associations, 49,20% axistance of self confidence. (8)The Psychology aspect show 93,65% existence of trust, 88,89% existence of desire, 85,71% existence of perceptions, 73,02% existence of attitude remain to chosen newspaper.


Future historical analyses of the process of industrialization in Monterrey, Mexico, will characterize the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s as a watershed. Mexico entered into the GATT in 1986, the Salinas government liberalized imports in 1988 and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. Together these actions have generated radical changes in the conditions under which the Monterrey industry has to produce and compete. All through the hundred years history of industrialization in Monterrey the North American market has been extremely important. For a long period Monterrey has operated there as foreign exporter. It has now joined that same market. This happened in an atmosphere of optimism. In June 1992 The Economist published an article entitled "It's happening in Monterrey" in which this optimistic view of future developments was supported. An image was presented of a modern industrial city, led by a group of dynamic entrepreneurs ready to meet the challenges of the new situation created by NAFTA. The Monterrey economy was presented as the trailblazer for Mexican interests in the North American market and as the center of a new transborder region that would expand into the Texas heartland. But what might this consist of? Are these appraisals of the future role of the Monterrey economy realistic? What inferences can be drawn from its performance during the initial years of trade liberalization leading up to NAFTA regarding its future performance?


Stock price prediction is a difficult type of time series predictive modeling problem. In time series forecasting, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average(ARIMA) is one of the famous linear models. However real-world time series like the stock is rarely pure linearity. The conventional ARIMA method cannot model the non-linear function very well. Since the stock price forecast depends on many factors, generating a good prediction model is a huge challenge for the researchers. In recent years, Recurrent Neural network (RNN) has yielded immense success on time-series prediction which can learn arbitrary linear and non-linear function from the dataset. Long Short-Term Memory network (LSTM) is one of RNN which is usually used for solving gradient vanishing problem. In this paper, we propose an LSTM approach to predict stock price. Moreover, for better improving the accuracy of our model, we consider multi-factor which are relevant to stock price. In the experiments, we firstly compare our model with the conventional ARIMA method. Besides, we also demonstrate the performance of single-factor with the multi-factor model and different time periods.


We consider a market for storable pollution permits in which a large agent and a fringe of small agents gradually consume a stock of permits until they reach a long-run emissions limit. The subgame-perfect equilibrium exhibits no market power unless the large agent's share of the initial stock of permits exceeds a critical level. We then apply our theoretical results to a global market for carbon dioxide emissions and the existing US market for sulfur dioxide emissions. We characterize competitive permit allocation profiles for the carbon market and find no evidence of market power in the sulfur market.


Learn a simple strategy guideline to optimize applications runtime. The strategy is based on four steps and illustrated on a two-dimensional Discontinuous Galerkin solver for computational fluid dynamics on structured meshes. Starting from a CPU sequential code, we guide the audience through the different steps that allowed us to increase performances on a GPU around 149 times the original runtime of the code (performances evaluated on a K20Xm). The same optimization strategy is applied to the CPU code and increases performances around 35 times the original run time (performances evaluated on a E5-1650v3 processor). Finally, different hardware architectures (Xeon CPUs, GPUs, KNL) are benchmarked with the native CUDA implementation and one based on OpenACC.


The total phenolic content of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds (samples 1 and 2) and leaves were determined and for the first time their antioxidant activity in a food system investigated. The anti-inflammatory activity and potency of samples in the inhibition of radical-induced DNA scission and human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol oxidation was also evaluated. The total soluble phenolic content of the date palm leaves was 106.96 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g sample and ranged from 68.73 to 82.62 mg GAE/g of date seeds. Extracts showed good radical scavenging activity in the different in vitro tests conducted in this work and were found to be effective in inhibiting the oxidation of cooked ground meat. Soluble phenolic extract from date seeds of sample 1 was most effective in inhibiting DNA strand scission by 74.15%, while soluble phenolics from palm leaves showed the highest inhibition of LDL cholesterol oxidation (87.82%). Both samples significantly inhibited mRNA level of COX-2 at concentrations as low as 5 μg/mL, with the most potent inhibitory effect being for date palm leaf extracts at 50 μg/mL. A number of phenolic compounds including proanthocyanidin dimers, catechin, epicatechin, 5-O-caffeoylshikimic acid isomers, ferulic acid, rutin and isorhamnetin hexoside, among others, were detected in date palm seeds and leaves.


BACKGROUND
Nighttime reflux has been shown to be associated with esophageal mucosal injury, complications, and extra-esophageal manifestations. However, few studies have assessed the impact of gastroesophageal reflux on reported quality of sleep and quality of sleep on gastroesophageal reflux.

AIMS
The aims of this study were (1) to determine the correlation between the severity of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and esophageal acid contact time and subjects' perceived quality of sleep; (2) to investigate the correlation between reported quality of sleep of the night prior and severity of GERD symptoms and esophageal acid contact time the following day; and (3) to define in a sleep laboratory the correlation between acid reflux events and sleep architecture.

METHODS
Subjects with typical GERD symptoms > or =3 times a week underwent upper endoscopy and pH monitoring. These subjects subsequently completed the GERD Symptom Assessment Score (GSAS), and the Sleep Heart Health Study Sleep Habits (SHHS) Questionnaire to assess baseline sleep symptoms and GERD symptoms, including an index of GERD symptom severity (GERD symptom index). Before and after the pH test, the patients completed a different instrument, the Sleep Quality Questionnaire, utilized specifically to assess the quality of each subject's sleep before and after pH testing. Fifteen randomly selected subjects also underwent a polysomnographic study during the pH test.

RESULTS
Forty-eight (33 males/15 females, mean age 48.8 +/- 17.1 y) subjects were prospectively recruited. Using data from the GSAS and SHHS questionnaires, disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep were found to be positively associated with greater severity of the GERD symptom index (r = 0.33, p <0.05). More frequent awakenings also correlated with a higher GERD symptom index (r = 0.4, p <0.01). Correlations between the Sleep Quality Questionnaire on the night before sleep testing and pH monitoring data showed that subjects with poorer sleep quality had longer acid reflux events (r=-0.34, p<0.05). More perceived awakenings also were correlated with the number of supine acid reflux events > 5 min (r=0.31, p<0.05) and the duration of the longest supine acid reflux event (r = 0.28, p = 0.05). Inverse correlations were observed between overall sleep quality on the pH testing night and a higher percentage of time spent with pH<4 supine (r=-0.432, p <0.002), and the duration of the longest acid reflux event during the entire night (r = -0.38, p <0.01) and supine (r=-0.37, p<0.02).

CONCLUSIONS
Persons with worse GERD symptoms report poorer subject sleep quality. Poor sleep quality on the night prior to pH testing was associated with more acid exposure the following day. Greater acid exposure at night was related to a worse perception of sleep quality the next day. These findings suggest important interactions between GERD and sleep quality.


Most of today's embedded systems are required to work in dynamic environments, where the characteristics of the computational load cannot always be predicted in advance. Furthermore, resource needs are usually data dependent and vary over time. Resource constrained devices may need to cooperate with neighbour nodes in order to fulfil those requirements and handle stringent non-functional constraints. This paper describes a framework that facilitates the distribution of resource intensive services across a community of nodes, forming temporary coalitions for a cooperative QoS-aware execution. The increasing need to tailor provided service to each application's specific needs determines the dynamic selection of peers to form such a coalition. The system is able to react to load variations, degrading its performance in a controlled fashion if needed. Isolation between different services is achieved by guaranteeing a minimal service quality to accepted services and by an efficient overload control that considers the challenges and opportunities of dynamic distributed embedded systems. Building Adaptable, QoS-aware Dependable Embedded Systems Luis Nogueira, Luis Miguel Pinho IPP Hurray Research Group Polythecnic Institute of Porto, Portugal {luis,firstname.lastname@example.com


As  software-intensive  systems  become  more  pervasive, more and more safety-critical systems are being developed and  deployed.   Yet when most  people  think  about  safety requirements,  they  think  of  safety-critical  functional requirements,  which  are  requirements  that  have  critical safety  ramifications  if  not  correctly  implemented. However,  there  are  actually  four major  classifications  of safety-related  requirements:  (1)  pure  safety  requirements, (2)  safety-significant  requirements,  (3)  safety  constraints, and  (4)  requirements  for  safety  systems.  This  paper describes  a  taxonomy  of  these  different  kinds  of  safetyrelated  requirements,  and  clearly  and  briefly  defines  and describes  each  of  the  above  categories  of  safety-related requirements.


Natural language search from a database makes it possible for non technical users to fetch information from database in natural language. In natural language parsing getting highly accurate syntactic analysis is highly important. Parsing of natural language means mapping natural language components to its syntactic representation. This system proposes a model to implement this natural language parsing using NLTK chunking with regular expression called \grammar" and named entity recognition to extract keywords and phrases from the parse tree. The extracted keywords are then mapped to different attributes and commands of a SQL query using an algorithm. The algorithm uses rules to map different commands and attributes of the database. When the algorithm finishes forming the SQL query it executes it into the database and fetches the result to display the information to the user.


Malaria kills millions of people each year and hundreds of millions more suffer chronic illness. Economic development is inhibited and poverty is perpetuated. Tren and Bate argue that action against malaria is over-centralised and narrowly focused, ignoring local conditions and concerns. Health agencies in developing countries and some companies are trying to stem a resurgent tide of malaria. Their work is, however, hampered by pressure from environmentalist groups and donor agencies which still crusade against the use of DDT and which have won a partial victory under the POPs (persistent organic pollutants) convention. A continuing anit-DDT campaign would have as its victims people in some of the world's poorest countries.


Soil dust particles emitted from agricultural areas contain considerable mass fractions of organic material. Also, soil dust particles may act as carriers for potentially ice‐active biological particles. In this work, we present ice nucleation experiments conducted in the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) cloud chamber. We investigated the ice nucleation efficiency of four types of soil dust from different regions of the world. The results are expressed as ice nucleation active surface site (INAS) densities and presented for the immersion freezing and the deposition nucleation mode. For immersion freezing occurring at 254 K, samples from Argentina, China, and Germany show ice nucleation efficiencies which are by a factor of 10 higher than desert dusts. On average, the difference in ice nucleation efficiencies between agricultural and desert dusts becomes significantly smaller at temperatures below 247 K. In the deposition mode the soil dusts showed higher ice nucleation activity than Arizona Test Dust over a temperature range between 232 and 248 K and humidities RHice up to 125%. INAS densities varied between 109 and 1011 m−2 for these thermodynamic conditions. For one soil dust sample (Argentinian Soil), the effect of treatments with heat was investigated. Heat treatments (383 K) did not affect the ice nucleation efficiency observed at 249 K. This finding presumably excludes proteinaceous ice‐nucleating entities as the only source of the increased ice nucleation efficiency.


Dissolved oxygen is a critical micro-environmental factor to determine the growth characteristics of bacteria, such as cell viability, migration, aggregation and metabolic processes. Here, we report a microfluidic long-term oxygenator which can support high-throughput parallel cell cultures under multiple defined oxygenation conditions (0–42 ppm). An array of oxygen–nitrogen gas micro-mixers is developed and fabricated in the device to generate stable oxygen concentrations for the oxygenation process. A water-jacket layer located between the gas layer and the cell culture chamber is applied to block evaporation and maintain the conditions of the culture media in the chamber. Furthermore, we perform simulations and experiments to investigate the functions of the gas mixers and the water jackets. We also conduct culture experiments to study the long-term growth (up to one week) and aggregation of three selected dental bacteria (Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces viscosus and Fusobacterium nucleatum) under ranges of oxygenation conditions. These particular results can provide important insights into their roles in dental biofilm formation. Overall, this work demonstrates that the long-term microfluidic oxygenation approach can effectively regulate defined dissolved-oxygen levels in cell microenvironments. Importantly, this oxygenation approach can be further applied to general long-term analyses of cells for their behavioral, metabolic and genetic responses, and their biofilm formation processes.


I Speaking Power, DoVeanna S. Fulton explores and analyzes the use of oral traditions in African American women's autobiographical and fictional narratives of slavery. African American women have consistently employed oral traditions not only to relate the pain and degradation of slavery, but also to celebrate the subversions, struggles, and triumphs of Black experience. Fulton examines orality as a rhetorical strategy, its role in passing on family and personal history, and its ability to empower, subvert oppression, assert agency, and create representations for the past. In addition to taking an insightful look at obscure or littlestudied slave narratives like Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon and the Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Fulton also brings a fresh perspective to more familiar works, such as Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Harriet Wilson's Our Nig, and highlights Black feminist orality in such works as Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Gayl Jones's Corregidora.


PINFET receivers have been considered for use in digital pulse position modulation (PPM) links, where they can give sensitivities far greater than that achievable with pulse code modulation (PCM). However, digital PPM suffers from a very large bandwidth expansion factor, resulting in line rates that can be prohibitively high. An alternative is dicode PPM and the paper is concerned with the use of a PINFET receiver and a noise-whitened matched filter in such a scheme. With this particular implementation, the line rate is four times that of the PCM, making it a viable alternative to digital PPM. The original analysis presented predicts that such a system can give a sensitivity of -59.51 dBm when operating with high fibre bandwidth and 155.52 Mbit/s PCM data. The impact of intersymbol interference is also studied and it is shown that the system can offer a sensitivity of -53.33 dBm at a bandwidth of 1.5 times the PCM bit-rate. These sensitivities should be compared with a predicted PCM sensitivity of -51.95 dBm when operating in a high-bandwidth link.


While the "Third Generation Strategy" aims to bring about alternative development programs and affect structural changes to benefit the poor and powerless, it is generally cast within the general framework of the new international political economy which requires more pluralistic social systems in the Third World. It hardly discusses the promotion of organic intellectuals and people's organizations. The strategy concentrates on the role of the NGOs, which is basically a middle class organization with its own internal weaknesses, and on such other issues that are technical and internal to the organization (e.g., strategic management). This may prove to be self-serving, and may lead to bureaucratization. The more important point, after all, is to empower the people's organization rather than the NGOs per se.


This contribution discusses the research questions and preliminary results of a PhD-project carried out at the Free University of Amsterdam. The aim of the project is to gain more insight into the ways in which Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands learn word-order rules of Dutch. The main differen-ce between the languages spoken by the two groups of learners is that Turkish, like Dutch, is an SOV-language, whereas the Moroccan languages (Berber and Moroccan Arabic) are VSO/SVO languages. The central question to be answered is whether all learners, regardless of their mother tongue, go through three acquisitional stages, in which certain word-order rules are acquired as part of a cluster. The idea is that learners build an interlanguage system on the basis of structures they can process; once certain rules are acquired, restructuring of the interlanguage system takes place. This, in turn, may lead to the acquisition of another cluster of rules.In order to be able to answer the research questions, we decided to analyse spontaneous speech samples and to elicite lacking information by means of four experiments. Once the second part will be completed, we hope to be able to decide whether rules are learned as a cluster, which would indicate that restructuring of the interlanguage system has taken place. The first part of the project is mainly aimed at individual language development; this part has not yet been completed. The analysis of spontaneous speech samples was made possible by the Max-Planck Institut fur Psycholinguistik in Nijmegen, which made available data of the European Science Foundation Second Language Databank; these data consisted of transcripts of speech samples of 4 Turks and 4 Moroccans, collected over a period of 30 months.The first part of the paper presents some of the theoretical notions employed in second language research, as well as the main rules of Dutch that have to be acquired. Also, the three languages involved in the project are compared. In the next sections the research questions, the design, the data analysis and some interim results are discussed. The main conclusion is that there are indications that certain rules are indeed clustered together, although the different stages are not strictly separated.


Variable individual growth rate is a phenomenon observed in fish cohorts that influences the aquaculture performance and fish cohort ecological viability. Our aim was to compare gene expression patterns of key growth genes in zebrafish larvae with different growth rate. The body length of sibling zebrafish larvae at 6 days post hatching (dph) was measured. The larvae were reared to 20 dph and measured again. Two bodylength groups were clearly observed: 4 mm (small larvae) and 5-6 mm (large larvae). Total RNA was isolated from both groups. Growth hormone ( gh ), growth hormone receptor ( ghr ), insulin-like growth factor 1 ( igf-1 ), insulin-like growth factor receptor ( igf-1r a/b), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 ( igfbp-1 ), thyroglobulin ( tg ), cholecystokinin ( cck ), and ghrelin were evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Glucokinase ( gck ) and igfbp-1 were included as a gene expression marker of larvae nutritional status. Two genes showed significant differences between the body length groups, igfbp-1 ( P = 0.01) and igf-1r ( P = 0.02). The igfbp-1 suggests than growth rate variability was associated with the larvae nutritional status and this condition affect the gene expression pattern of igf-1r . Therefore these genes are interesting genes markers for growth rate variabilities studies.


To clarify the effects of microwaves on pregnancy, uterine or uteroplacental blood flow and endocrine and biochemical mediators, including corticosterone, estradiol, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), and prostaglandin F(2)alpha (PGF(2)alpha), were measured in rats exposed to continuous-wave (CW) microwave at 2 mW/cm(2) incident power density at 2450 MHz for 90 min. Colonic temperature in virgin and pregnant rats was not significantly altered by microwave treatment. Microwaves decreased uteroplacental blood flow and increased progesterone and PGF(2)alpha in pregnant, but not in virgin rats. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of angiotensin II, a uteroplacental vasodilator, before microwave exposure prevented the reduction in uteroplacental blood flow and the increased progesterone and PGF(2)alpha in pregnant rats. Increased corticosterone and decreased estradiol during microwave exposure were observed independent of pregnancy and pretreatment with angiotensin II. These results suggest that microwaves (CW, 2 mW/cm(2), 2450 MHz) produce uteroplacental circulatory disturbances and ovarian and placental dysfunction during pregnancy, probably through nonthermal actions. The uteroplacental disturbances appear to be due to actions of PGF(2)alpha and may pose some risk for pregnancy.


In this contribution, we present some preliminary observational results from the completed ultra-deep survey of 21cm emission from neutral hydrogen at redshifts z=0.164-0.224 with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. In two separate fields, a total of 160 individual galaxies has been detected in neutral hydrogen, with HI masses varying from 1.1x10^9 to 4.0x10^10 Msun. The largest galaxies are spatially resolved by the synthesized beam of 23x37 arcsec^2 while the velocity resolution of 19 km/s allowed the HI emission lines to be well resolved. The large scale structure in the surveyed volume is traced well in HI, apart from the highest density regions like the cores of galaxy clusters. All significant HI detections have obvious or plausible optical counterparts which are usually blue late-type galaxies that are UV-bright. One of the observed fields contains a massive Butcher-Oemler cluster but none of the associated blue galaxies has been detected in HI. The data suggest that the lower-luminosity galaxies at z=0.2 are more gas-rich than galaxies of similar luminosities at z=0, pending a careful analysis of the completeness near the detection limit. Optical counterparts of the HI detected galaxies are mostly located in the 'blue cloud' of the galaxy population although several galaxies on the 'red sequence' are also detected in HI. These results hold great promise for future deep 21cm surveys of neutral hydrogen with MeerKAT, APERTIF, ASKAP, and ultimately the Square Kilometre Array.


Phosphogypsum (PG) is a by-product of phosphoric acid production and according to the Waste Management Strategy of the Republic of Croatia for 2007 – 2015 (Official Gazette 85/07, 126/10, 31/11, 46/15) it is classified under the waste code 06 09 01. Phosphogypsum has a significant impact on the environment by its effects, admixtures (impurities) and amount. One of its possible applications is in agriculture. Many positive effects on soil and plants were noted, but there is also a growing concern regarding the effect of residues of heavy metals and natural radioactivity of radionuclides. In order to obtain a better understanding of this subject, this study provides a general overview of the available literature regarding the application of phosphogypsum in agriculture.


In order to ensure that coupling works smoothly, securely and effectively in conditions of required misalignment, the gear geometry is designed carefully and the contact performances of the crowned gear coupling is improved. The clearances between teeth were calculated through the geometry method and the position of minimum clearance is recognized as the contacted point. The clearance result at a certain misalignment angle has been confirmed by Finite Element Analysis. It is clear that the position of contact point is influenced by the misalignment and the crowning radius of hub teeth. Taking the teeth bending deformation into account under load, the distribution law of teeth surface force can be worked out according to the clearance and the stiffness of each tooth can be estimated through a taper cantilever beam model. The result shows that the maximum of teeth load increases with the misalignment and the crowning radius. The study optimizes the parameters of three sections arc surface for the hub teeth according to the mechanical analysis of coupling, in order to reduce the contact stress on teeth and meet the requirements of the working misalignment. The radius of the flank curve should be shorter than that of the middle arc, so that the requirements of smooth contact were met in cases of a large misalignment angle and large contact curvature was avoided in normal conditions.


The alkylative semipinacol rearrangement of a variety of TMS protected α-styrenyl substituted cyclic alcohols with unactivated bromoalkanes that merge photoredox and Au(I)/Au(III) catalysis has been achieved. This redox neutral rearrangement is marked by a dimeric Au(I) photocatalyst that plays two roles; photoredox activation of bromoalkanes and Au(III)-mediated semipinacol rearrangement coupled with C(sp3)–C(sp3) reductive elimination; a reaction mode rarely accessed. This operationally simple methodology contains readily available starting materials that undergo reaction with [Au2(dppm)2]Cl2 upon irradiation with UVA LEDs, furnishing diversified ketone products. Primary, secondary, and tertiary bromoalkanes and a range of TMS protected α-styrenyl substituted alcohols were investigated in this transformation.


There is an apparent increase in frequency of prolonged droughts in regions with Mediterranean climates. This has rekindled interest in the summer dormancy trait for improving drought resistance of temperate perennial pasture grasses. In orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.], and phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.), identification of the three common drought resistance traits of vascular plants, dehydration avoidance (or delay), dehydration tolerance, and summer dormancy, is often confused. Summer dormancy, the least common of these traits, is found in cool-season grasses from semiarid and arid Mediterranean climates and provides an enhanced level of drought resistance. It is best measured in field-grown plants previously exposed to low winter temperatures and short photoperiods. Those perennial grasses not exhibiting summer dormancy survive drought by avoiding and/or tolerating dehydration and express this as a response to water deficit irrespective of the season. Here we review three summer water-supply environments, full irrigation, midsummer storm, and summer drought, for their precision and repeatability in measuring dormancy. Full irrigation and midsummer storm can be recommended, but measurement of dormancy under prolonged drought caused inconsistencies.


Modeling information that resides on vertices of large graphs is a key problem in several real-life applications, ranging from social networks to the Internet-of-things. Signal Processing on Graphs and, in particular, graph wavelets can exploit the intrinsic smoothness of these datasets in order to represent them in a compact and accurate manner. However, how to discover wavelet bases that capture the geometry of the data with respect to the signal as well as the graph structure remains an open problem. In this paper, we study the problem of computing graph wavelet bases via sparse cuts in order to produce low-dimensional encodings of data-driven bases. This problem is connected to known hard problems in graph theory (e.g. multiway cuts) and thus requires an efficient heuristic. We formulate the basis discovery task as a relaxation of a vector optimization problem, which leads to an elegant solution as a regularized eigenvalue computation. Moreover, we propose several strategies in order to scale our algorithm to large graphs. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively encode both the graph structure and signal, producing compressed and accurate representations for vertex values in a wide range of datasets (e.g. sensor and gene networks) and significantly outperforming the best baseline.


This research review reports on articles presenting empirical research in the area of how teacher-training institutions work on preparing future teachers for the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in their future classrooms. It was conducted mainly in English and French and covers research in 11 OECD-countries during the years 2002–2009.
The research is unanimous, even if it is not comprehensive, and it shows that ICT is not used regularly or systematically in the countries reviewed. There are good examples, carried out by enthusiastic teacher trainers, but only a minority of the student teachers benefit from this. Very few articles report innovative use of recent technology. Most of the research reports on the use of computers and traditional computer software.
Overall, student teachers do not integrate technology into their teaching. A number of reasons for this are identified. The overall picture is that implementation is necessary at all levels (macro, meso, micro) for a successful outcome, but research also gives examples of how problems can be overcome at a micro-level, which is the level of the actors' pedagogical practice. Enthusiasts do seem to have room for maneuver, but the lack of incentives makes it difficult to involve everyone.


The natural occurrence of asbestos (NOA) in rocks and soil has been known for many years in several areas of the world, differently from the natural presence of asbestiform minerals. In Italy, the mapping of NOA is mandatory according to the 2001 and 2003 regulations. An investigation, not yet concluded, has revealed that in Italy, NOA is represented by chrysotile and tremolite asbestos with minor amounts of actinolite asbestos and anthophyllite asbestos. A field survey conducted in the Italian Western Alps (IWA), dealing with the natural occurrence of asbestiform minerals non-asbestos classified and not regulated, started many years ago and is still ongoing. It revealed that the following kinds of asbestiform silicates are present (in decreasing order of frequency): asbestiform polygonal serpentine and asbestiform antigorite, asbestiform diopside, asbestiform carlosturanite, asbestiform forsterite, asbestiform sepiolite, asbestiform balangeroite, and asbestiform talc. The asbestiform non-silicates brugnatellite and brucite have been rarely detected. Outside the IWA, asbestiform zeolite (erionite and offretite), asbestiform sodium amphibole (fluoro-edenite), and a few other asbestiform silicates have been also detected. For some asbestiform minerals, the identification is problematic and needs the use of transmission electron microscopy combining imaging at high magnification and electron diffraction and chemical data. This investigation is particularly important to distinguish four kinds of asbestiform minerals (antigorite, polygonal serpentine, carlosturanite, and balangeroite) from chrysotile since only the last one is regulated. The issue is much more complicated by the intergrowth of different fibrous species on the submicrometer scale.


[1] Radiative transfer schemes in large-scale models tightly couple assumptions about cloud structure to methods for solving the radiative transfer equation, which makes these schemes inflexible, difficult to extend, and potentially susceptible to biases. A new technique, based on simultaneously sampling cloud state and spectral interval, provides radiative fluxes that are guaranteed to be unbiased with respect to the benchmark Independent Column Approximation and works equally well no matter how cloud structure is specified. Fluxes computed in this way are subject to random, uncorrelated errors that depend on the distribution of cloud optical properties. Seasonal forecasts, however, are not sensitive to this noise, making the method useful in weather and climate prediction models.


Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) predominantly affects older adults, and parathyroidectomy can achieve definitive cure in symptomatic PHPT and asymptomatic meeting surgical criteria. As the population continues to age, the treatment of PHPT in octogenarians and nonagenarians presents a clinical conundrum. This case series presents the management of eight patients 85 years of age and older diagnosed with PHPT. A retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism were identified in a single institution. Those patients 85 years of age and older who were followed up for over one year were included in this case series. The literature on treatment options for this age group was also reviewed. Eight cases of PHPT patients aged 88 ± 2.5 years old with a follow-up average of 5.6 ± 4.4 years were reported in our case series. Six PHPT patients were medically managed and two PHPT patients underwent parathyroid resection. Most of the medically managed PHPT patients except for one had long-term stability of disease for over five years. The treatment of PHPT diagnosed in patients over 85 years of age presents a clinical challenge for which there is no clear consensus guideline. Our case series supports that medical therapy is a feasible option for PHPT patients over 85 years old.


The beginning of the XXI century obviously demonstrated a new threat to human security – terrorism. This social phenomenon has been extending its scope and has been intensifying, and by its content is acquiring the form of alternative war. The situation presses for urgent measures of prevention, as a further development of the phenomenon may lead to catastrophic results. In order to work out preventive measures aimed at neutralization of terrorism, it is imperative to find out the reasons of the phenomenon, as the preventive measures must be firstly targeted at elimination of the reasons. In order to attain these goals, it is necessary to conduct historical analysis of development of terrorism. This article deals with the aforementioned analysis. Main focus is not on the review of terrorist organizations, nor on research of terrorist acts, but on the postulates of terrorist ideologies, which predetermine one or another kind of terrorism. The article deals with the left, the right, the nationalistic and the religious terrorism ideologies. The terrorism ideologies are analyzed by the review of the historical context of their establishment and development, by discussing their essence, motives, the reasons of appearance of such ideologies and spreading. With respect to relevance and complexity, main focus of the work is the religious terrorism; however, it is presented on the plane of all kinds of terrorism. The conducted research shows that terrorist ideologies may be established by the distortion of any system of belief: patriotism, religion, political views, etc. Terrorism ideologies are very different, but they all have an identical strategy: violence against innocent people is employed to terrify the community and thus to attain one or another goal matching a specific ideology. This strategy is universal and it is a generality of all terrorists. The article drives at the conclusion that, despite the absurdity and cruelty of the terrorism strategy, the values, for which terrorists fight, are perceptible by mind and can be logically explained with the help of historical method of cognition, by analysis of geopolitical situation, its change, cultural, religion, economic criteria, as well as by going into elementary human feelings. It can be stated, without justifying of terrorism, that its reasons are objective, existing in reality, therefore can be understood and identified. This leads to another conclusion – a real possibility to eliminate the reasons of terrorism, i.e. to conduct prevention of the phenomenon.


The function of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) related to chronic pain has been explored for its classical role in regulating the transcellular and paracellular transport, thus controlling the flow of drugs that act at the central nervous system, such as opioid analgesics (e.g., morphine) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nonetheless, recent studies have raised the possibility that changes in the BBB permeability might be associated with chronic pain. For instance, changes in the relative amounts of occludin isoforms, resulting in significant increases in the BBB permeability, have been demonstrated after inflammatory hyperalgesia. Furthermore, inflammatory pain produces structural changes in the P-glycoprotein, the major efflux transporter at the BBB. One possible explanation for these findings is the action of substances typically released at the site of peripheral injuries that could lead to changes in the brain endothelial permeability, including substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and interleukin-1 beta. Interestingly, inflammatory pain also results in microglial activation, which potentiates the BBB damage. In fact, astrocytes and microglia play a critical role in maintaining the BBB integrity and the activation of those cells is considered a key mechanism underlying chronic pain. Despite the recent advances in the understanding of BBB function in pain development as well as its interference in the efficacy of analgesic drugs, there remain unknowns regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in this process. In this review, we explore the connection between the BBB as well as the blood–spinal cord barrier and blood–nerve barrier, and pain, focusing on cellular and molecular mechanisms of BBB permeabilization induced by inflammatory or neuropathic pain and migraine.


Freshwater prawn Macrobrachium tenellum is noted for its ability to change color depending on different stimuli. In order to determine different light intensities on the chromatophore expression, growth and survival, juvenile shrimps (28.60-28.97 mm) were subjected to four treatments 30, 600, 1500 and 3500 lux for 45 days. At the end of the experiment the growth in size and weight, amount of food consumed, feed conversion and survival were determined. The expression analysis of chromatophores was performed by its count from photos of the third somite and the uropod exopodite. Growth in height and weight of prawns subject to the different light intensities showed no differences between treatments ( P > 0.05). The total consumption of food, feed conversion and survival showed no significant differences. In relation with the number of chromatophores, differences between treatments were evident; lower light intensities were different to higher ones. The higher light intensity increased the number of expressing chromatophores.


Focusing on Gregson v. Gilbert, the article considers colonialism as a historical chain of events with the Middle Passage as a major locus of association among humans, things, the sea, trade, transportation, maritime law, and finance speculation. Out of this assemblage emerged slavery as a racist socius through which the metaphor of the human‐thing circulated. In citing Gregson v. Gilbert, M.N. Philip's poem Zong! seeks to bear responsibility to the reified bodies of the murdered Africans by generating a poetics of relationality that disassembles and reassembles the legal words as sign‐objects on the page. Her gendered address to the law exposes the rape that Africa endured. Bearing witness to this trauma, her poem speaks to and with the dead, recognizing the singularity of the Africans' languages, of which as human‐things they were deprived. Gathering readers and listeners, the poem creates an event through which an ethics of justice might materialize.


We explore the linkages between government ideology in U.S. states and geographic variation in Medicaid program design and operations. Medicaid eligibility criteria tend to be more generous in liberal states. Simultaneously, fee-for-service reimbursement rates for physician services have been notably lower in liberal states. These two patterns lead to the following question: to what extent does the partisan composition of the government drive eligibility and reimbursement over time? If cost-saving measures accompany eligibility expansion, then what are their consequences for resource allocation? We explore long-run linkages among partisan composition of the government, eligibility, cost-saving measures, and expenditures for the Medicaid expansion from the mid-1990s to 2010. Our analysis consists of four steps. First, we analyze how much the partisan composition of the state government drives eligibility expansion. Second, we explore the tradeoff between breadth of eligibility and fee-for-service reimbursement rates. Third, we investigate driving forces behind the evolution of the delivery systems, i.e., Medicaid managed care diffusion. Fourth, we analyze the resulting patterns of per-enrollee spending. We find that the partisan composition of the state house played a critical role in the relatively later stage of eligibility expansion and the reduction of fee-for-service reimbursement rates over time. While the HMO penetration in the private insurance market drove the Medicaid managed care diffusion, the diffusion also tends to go hand in hand with the reduction of fee-for-service reimbursement rates. Finally, Medicaid per-enrollee spending increased substantially over time despite the adoption of cost-saving measures. This unintended consequence was due to the systematic changes in HMO practices that coincided with the eligibility expansion.


Context: In the last decades, large-scale agile development has received increasing attention, as also organizations with many stakeholders and large systems aim for higher development speed and focus on customer value. A recognized research challenge in large-scale agile development relates to inter-team coordination. To coordinate effectively, organizations need to identify what knowledge is required across team borders and how it can be managed over time. Knowledge is potentially manifested in boundary objects – artifacts that create a shared understanding between teams (e.g., requirements or architecture descriptions). Traceability between artifacts is a key necessity to manage change in agile contexts. Moreover, agile practitioners aim to reduce the documentation effort to absolutely crucial artifacts and trace links. Objective: This thesis aims to improve how practitioners can manage knowledge for inter-team coordination in large-scale agile development. We focus especially on how knowledge can be made explicit in artifacts and trace links that are evolved over time. Method: We empirically investigated problems and developed solutions using a research approach that was inspired by design science. Case studies, an in-depth design science study, a mixed methods study, and surveys were performed. Using this mix of research methods, we leveraged both qualitative and quantitative data. Results: We coined the concept of living boundary objects to manage knowledge for inter-team coordination. Living boundary objects are boundary objects that are traced to other artifacts, kept up to date, and serve for inter-team coordination. They should be established early in the lifecycle to create a common understanding of the product to be developed. We scrutinized architecture descriptions, interfaces, and requirements and traceability information models as examples of concrete boundary objects. We recommend establishing alignment using a common high-level structure, but also supporting diverse knowledge management practices to fulfill the individual needs of agile teams. Conclusions: Our contributions help to establish knowledge management practices that are considered beneficial by practitioners and focus on the crucial aspects to align agile teams on. We suggest concepts and requirements for knowledge management tools that take the distinct role of living boundary objects into consideration and can be adjusted as organizations' needs evolve.


Purpose – This paper examines supply chain risk management (SCRM) from a holistic systems thinking perspective by considering the different typologies that have evolved as a result of earlier research. The purpose of this paper is to identify important strategic changes in the field and to outline future requirements and research opportunities in SCRM. Design/methodology/approach – The systematic literature review (SLR) methodology employed by this research was used to evaluate and categorise a literature survey of quality articles published over a period of ten years (2000-2010). Additionally, the findings from the SLR have been strengthened through cross validation against results obtained from an associated text mining activity. Findings – The SLR methodology has provided a rich, unbiased and holistic picture of the advances in the field of SCRM. Consequently, important new research areas have been identified based on a multi-perspective descriptive and thematic data analysis. In addition, the analysis, based on evolved typologies, indicates a growth of SCRM from a nascent to a fairly established activity over the past decade. Practical implications – The systematic approach undertaken for the literature review will provide future researchers and managers with an insightful understanding of the scope of the SCRM field. Also, the literature review provides important clues on new research directions for SCRM through identification of gaps in current knowledge. Originality/value – The holistic approach to SCRM was found to be an important missing link in earlier literature surveys. The outcome of the SLR reported in this paper has provided critical insights into the present and future scope of the SCRM field. The identified research insights, gaps and future directions will encourage new research techniques, with a view to managing the risks in the globalized supply chain environment.


This paper provides an analysis of the organization of secondary schools in Latin America and the Caribbean. It deals with the confusing and controversial matters of providing schools for an increasingly heterogeneous clientele and the triple role of preparing students for higher education, forming solid citizens and offering training for those who will finish their schooling at this level. New models and options are presented for replacing existing organizational structures in secondary education. This paper is one of the reports prepared as background for the development of the Bank's strategy on primary and secondary education.