Mycorrhizae, a mutual partnership between certain soil fungi and fine root tips, contribute to tree growth and vigor by increasing both water and nutrient uptake, especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). The fungal hyphae increase root surface contact with the soil, while the fungi are supplied with a reliable source of carbon (Allen 1991, George and Marschner 1995). Two types of mycorrhizae are found on most trees-ectomycorrhizae (EM) and endomycorrhizae-also called vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM). The EM fungi are mainly mushroom-forming basidi~m~cetes, while the VAM fungi are Zygomycetes, most of which form microscopic underground spores. The majority of plants, including many trees, are colonized by VAM fungi, while EM are almost exclusively limited to woody species (Allen 1991, Mosse and others 198 1). Some plants can have both VAM and EM fungi (Safir 1987.).


The main task of the ventilation system in a building is to maintain the air quality and (together with the heating or cooling system) the thermal climate at an acceptable level within the building. This means that a sufficient amount of ventilation air at the appropriate temperature and quality must be supplied to satisfy thermal comfort and air quality demands and that this air is distributed to the parts of the building where people reside. Air movements caused by buoyancy forces can determine the distribution of ventilation air within buildings. The purpose of this thesis is to advance the state of knowledge of buoyancy-driven air movements within buildings and to determine their importance both for ventilation air distribution and the maintenance of thermal comfort and air quality in buildings. The work is focused on studying thermally-driven air movements through large openings, both horizontal and vertical (i.e. doorways). The properties of a special type of thermally-driven currents, so called gravity currents, have also been explored. Large vertical openings like doorways are important for air exchange between rooms within a building. Air movements through doorways separating rooms with different air temperatures are often bidirectional and the buoyancy-driven flow rates are often greater than those caused by the mechanical ventilation system alone. Bidirectional flows through doorways can effectively spread contaminants, for example, from a kitchen or a hospital rooms, yet the results of this study indicate that the conversion of a thermally-driven bidirectional flow to a unidirectional flow via an increase of the mechanically forced flow rate requires forced flows that are more than three times greater than the thermally-driven flows. Experiments conducted in this project indicate that the resistance to buoyancy-driven flows in horizontal openings is significantly greater than that in vertical openings. Model tests have shown, however, that this problem may be mitigated if a simple model of a staircase located in the centre of the room (being ventilated) is linked to the horizontal ventilation opening. Gravity currents in rooms occur in connection with so called displacement ventilation as cool gravity currents propagate along the floor that are driven by the density difference of the ventilation air and the ambient, warmer air within the room. As these gravity currents easily pass obstacles and to a certain extent are self-controlling, they can effectively distribute the cool air within rooms in a building. Likewise, warm gravity currents occur when warmer air introduced in a room rises and spreads along the ceiling plane. One application where warm gravity currents may be used to advantage is when converting buildings from electric heating to district hot water heating thus, avoiding the introduction of an expensive hydronic heating system. This report includes a full-scale laboratory study of the basic properties of thermally-driven warm air gravity currents in a residential building and examines the possibilities of using the resulting air movements for the distribution of ventilation air as well as heat. Results from laboratory tests show that this conversion method may prove effective if certain conditions on the layout of the building are fulfilled.


The aim of this paper is to better define the geodynamic significance of the tectonic line, (Fammera-Campodivivo fault), located in the Aurunci Mts. (Southern Latium). We have collected about 300 mesostructural data along and nearby the line, then examined with tensor analysis in order to determine the axes of the principal stresses. Work was completed by geological mapping of some key areas along the tectonic line. Meso-Cenozoic thick shallow water carbonates, belonging to the widely known "Latium-Abruzzi carbonate platform", crop out in the examined area, together with Upper-Miocene siliciclastic formations. Sicilide units lay, in tectonic contact on top of both carbonates and siliciclastics formations or, as a subsequent deformative event, are overridden by them. In detail, the structural evolution of the Aurunci Mts., in which the Fammera-Campodivivo fault is arranged, is characterized by two different orientations of the principal maximum stress about E-W and N30 degrees trending connected to the thrusting of the belt. The Fammera-Campodivivo line is interpreted as lateral ramp of the main thrust front, during the lower Messinian. Afterwards an extensional tectonics, late Messinian-lower Pliocene, closes the structural evolution of the Aurunci area. Probably, in this moment, the reactivation of faults trending NW-SE, N-S and E-W, and formation of new planes ENE-WSW trending occurs. Oblique fault on continental breccias NW-SE trending has been observed in post-Pliocene age.


Background: Deficits in cognitive function have been demonstrated among workers chronically exposed to solvents, but the neural basis for these deficits has not been shown. Objectives: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare pathophysiological changes in brain function between solvent-exposed and control workers. Methods: Painters, drywall tapers, and carpenters were recruited from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 9 in New York City and District Council 21 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and from the Carpenters Union in New Jersey. Twenty-seven solvent-exposed and 27 control subjects of similar age, education, and occupational status completed the N-Back working memory test during fMRI. After controlling for confounders (age; lifetime marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol use; blood lead; symptoms of depression; verbal intelligence), voxelwise group analysis and regional activation levels were compared and then correlated with an index of lifetime solvent exposure. Results: Solvent-exposed workers' performance on the N-Back was significantly worse than that of controls. Activation of the anterior cingulate, prefrontal, and parietal cortices—areas serving working memory function and attention—was also significantly lower for solvent-exposed workers relative to controls. After controlling for confounders, we observed a negative correlation between lifetime solvent exposure and activation in these same regions among the solvent-exposed workers. Conclusions: This study is one of the few to document neural structures affected by exposure to solvents. Our findings provide a biological mechanism for the neurobehavioral deficits in working memory and attention that have previously been reported by other groups studying the effects of chronic exposure to solvents. These imaging markers, which are consistent with the neurobehavioral measures in our subject population, are consistent with altered brain pathology caused by prolonged exposure to solvent mixtures during construction work.


The recently invented technique for treatment of biological materials with gaseous plasma treated medium has a great potential in future applications in agriculture and medicine. Plasma creates a variety of reactive species in liquid media that interact with organic materials. The interactions lead to destruction of organic molecules in the media, disinfection or even sterilization of materials as well as apoptosis or even necrosis of the biological cells. The application is foreseen for ecologically benign treatment of fruit and vegetables prior to packaging, plants and seeds for faster growing and germination as well as curing cancer diseases, especially gastroenterological and skin cancers. Many groups worldwide have shown beneficial results;however,there are also reports on marginal improvements or even noxious or otherwise harmful results. A key open issue is selectivity of interaction between plasma treated medium and biological materials. Decontamination or disinfection will be useful only if the treatment of biological materials with plasma-treated medium is harmless to the biological cells. Cancer curing will be applicable only if normal cells are unaffected by the treatment. Mild treatment even facilitates multiplication of cells and thus growing of tumors. The goal of the workshop was therefore a discussion about the critical parameters that allow for beneficial results but prevent unwanted effects. A frank estimation on applicability of such treatments was a key result of the workshop. Distinguished scientists from world leading groups in this multidisciplinary field were invited to attend the workshop.


Recruitment of innate immune effector cells into sites of infection is a critical component of resistance to pathogen infection. Using a model of intradermal footpad injection of Candida albicans, we observed that inflammation as measured by footpad thickness and neutrophil recruitment occurred independent of adoptive immunity but was significantly reduced in MyD88−/− and IL-6−/− mice. Unexpectedly, huLangerin-DTA mice (ΔLC) that lack Langerhans cells (LC) developed increased skin inflammation and expressed higher amounts of IL-6, suggesting a suppressive role for LC. Increased inflammation also occurred in Rag1−/− ΔLC mice but was reversed by Ab-mediated ablation of NK cells. CXCR6+CD49a+ NK cells are a liver-resident subset that can mediate inflammatory skin responses. We found that exaggerated skin inflammation was absent in ΔLC × CXCR6−/− mice. Moreover, the exaggerated response in ΔLC mice could be adoptively transferred with liver CD49a+ NK cells. Finally, CD49a+ NK cells in ΔLC but not control mice were recruited to the skin, and inhibition of their recruitment prevented the exaggerated response. Thus, in the absence of LC, CD49a+ liver NK cells display an inappropriately proinflammatory phenotype that results in increased local skin inflammation. These data reveal a novel function for LC in the regulation of this recently described subset of skin tropic NK cells.


The newly synthesized 3-(phenyl(phenylthio)methyl)-1H-indole ligand demonstrates chemosensor activity towards environmental and clinically important metal ions viz. Hg2+ and Cu2+, via fluorescence intensity enhancement. The rigid complex ceases non-radiative channels with respect to the free ligand. Incorporation of water and significant fluorescence enhancement in presence of interfering metal ions make the method superior over others and detect trace amount of metal ions into the aqueous based medium. Also, the detection of Hg2+ and Cu2+ ions are considered as subjects of an increasing societal demand as well as responsible for neurodegenerative disorders.


The perinatal mental health screening program was developed because up to 1 in 5 women feel depressed or anxious when pregnant or after having a baby. Women of refugee background may be more likely to be at risk of depression and anxiety in pregnancy.
274 women from refugee and non-refugee backgrounds were recruited to the study. We found 34% had both depression and anxiety symptoms in early pregnancy. Women and maternity care providers agreed the program helped to improve conversations about mental health. This screening program provides evidence for how to scale-up the program to the broader maternity service.


This briefing note examines the relationship between fossil-fuel subsidies and Indonesia's broader policy interventions to promote social welfare. Traditionally, Indonesia has used fossil-fuel subsidies to help alleviate poverty and to control inflation. However, over time, this policy has grown increasingly expensive. It has also been criticized for being inefficient and regressive, given that the rich enjoy a greater proportion of the benefits than the poor. This paper reviews the evidence to explore two contrary beliefs: on the one hand, that fossil-fuel subsidies cannot be reduced because this would harm the poor; and, on the other hand, that reforming fuel subsidies is in fact fundamental to the improvement of social welfare policy in Indonesia. Who is right? What are Indonesia's ambitions to improve social welfare and how do fossil-fuel subsidies fit in?


This study examines the linkages and factors influencing relationships between universities and companies in Thailand's automotive cluster and seeks applicable models and ways to improve the linkages among government, universities, national research institutions and firms in order to enhance innovation and competitiveness in the industry. Based on the ideas of the knowledge economy and a "triple helix model" of relationships among government-industry-university, this study uses multiple data collection methods, including questionnaires and in-depth interviews, with descriptive analysis to investigate the relationship among government, university and industry in Thailand's automotive cluster in Samutprakarn province which emerged in 1990s to become a leading industrial sector of the country that the government has emphasized on. Findings from this research show universities, as important players in the knowledgebased cluster, have three major schemes to serve the cluster, in collaboration with government, organization/institute and industry. Those are 1) to produce graduates highly relevant to the need of related sectors and 2) to conduct basic and applied research, and 3) to collaborate with organization/institute and industry to create new technology/innovations. However, there are challenges for any university to substantially support the cluster. These challenges are 1) universities do not produce highly qualified and industrially relevant graduates, 2) universities do not understand and accommodate the nature of industry, 3) universities do not have sufficient resources, 4) universities are not recognized as a critical player in economy, and 5) universities do not seriously cooperate among themselves and with other related sectors. To deal with the challenges above and to enhance universities' competitiveness/ relevance in the automotive industry, my study recommends that universities could be improved by establishing a track record, culture and strategic plan to enhance trust and mutual recognition from the Thai automotive cluster. It is this trust and recognition that could lead to collaboration and eventually transform the automotive cluster into a knowledge-based and competitive cluster. In the longer-term, universities that adopt a mission to serve industry should be developed to become an effective component of the 'triple helix' or an entrepreneurial university by 1) committing themselves towards collaboration with industry and other players for mutual benefit and industrial growth, 2) understanding the demands and culture of industry, 3) developing niche technology and translating this into patents/licensing, 4) providing consultancy and collaborating with industry and government through an entrepreneurial spirit, 5) supporting business incubation services and spin-offs, 6) enhancing continuity of cooperative and entrepreneurship education, 7) recruiting and developing industrially-experienced and research-active staff, and 8) accommodating competitive facilities for R&D. In addition, a governmental intermediate organization (such as Thailand Automotive Institute) should be identified as the central organization in improving competitiveness of the cluster that should be given greater autonomy and flexibility to support the coopetition of different players with greater efficiency and effectiveness.


Countries, companies, and universities are increasingly competing over top-tier artificial intelligence (AI) researchers. Where are these researchers likely to immigrate and what affects their immigration decisions? We conducted a survey (n = 524) of the immigration preferences and motivations of researchers that had papers accepted at one of two prestigious AI conferences: the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) and the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML). We find that the U.S. is the most popular destination for AI researchers, followed by the U.K., Canada, Switzerland, and France. A country's professional opportunities stood out as the most common factor that influences immigration decisions of AI researchers, followed by lifestyle and culture, the political climate, and personal relations. The destination country's immigration policies were important to just under half of the researchers surveyed, while around a quarter noted current immigration difficulties to be a deciding factor. Visa and immigration difficulties were perceived to be a particular impediment to conducting AI research in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. Implications of the findings for the future of AI talent policies and governance are discussed.


Abstract

In Thailand, s. 231 Criminal Procedure Code provides the court the broad discretion to direct the physician to disclose medical confidentiality in judicial proceedings. No criteria or guidelines have been formulated by the law to limit the judge's discretion. This can lead to a problem in the standardisation of judgements, as different judges hold different views concerning the protection of medical confidentiality. Therefore, this thesis argues that some criteria should be set up to support the judge in exercising the discretion about the disclosure of medical confidentiality in judicial proceedings. The argument has been supported by the results of empirical study which aims to explore the stakeholders' about the mentioned issue. The thesis findings are; (1) more education about the law concerning medical confidentiality should be provided to the public, (2) the court should interpret the law to give effect the Constitutional right to privacy, (3) S.231 Criminal Code should be revised to include the clause: "The court should direct the person to disclose confidential information only in the circumstance that the information is relevant and material to the case, and also balance the interest between maintaining confidentiality and the interest of justice". More relevant factors lie in English laws such as necessity, proportionate and safeguards against abuse should also be considered. (4) more study is needed about the possibility of appointing an expert to a panel of judges.


At least four horizons of enhanced anoxia (anoxic horizons; AHs) are recognized in the uppermost Eifelian–Middle Frasnian mudrock-dominated strata of the Mackenzie Valley and Peel area of NW Canada. Aluminium-normalized Mo and U logs in two cored sections reveal AH-I at the Eifelian–Givetian boundary, AH-II in basal Frasnian, and AH-III and AH-IV bundled in the Middle Frasnian interval. These four horizons are characterized by attenuated siliciclastic components. Spectral gamma-ray K + Th and U are the best tools to trace these horizons in wells and outcrops. AHs are biostratigraphically correlated with 'black-shale events' in several basins of the world. Depositional environment is depicted as a stratified basin where the water-column chemocline defined co-sedimentation of anoxic mudrocks in topographic lows and oxic grey shales and carbonate banks on seafloor elevations. Based on inductively coupled plasma elemental data from 1687 samples, siliciclastic-lean basinal mudrock units that host AHs are strongly enriched in Mo (median EFMo ∼ 97–172 EFMo/EFU ≈ (3–3.5) × SW, where EFMo and EFU are respectively Al-normalized Mo and U in enrichment factor notation and SW is average present-day seawater value) compared with siliciclastic-rich units (median EFMo ∼ 17–37) and show strong EFU/EFMo covariation (r ≈ 0.8 in Canol Formation and Bluefish Member). Supported by a lack of geological evidence for an oceanographic barrier, this enrichment indicates unrestricted water exchange with Panthalassa. At the same time, development of oligotrophy is indicated by a lack of P enrichment and weak to non-existent enrichment in Zn and Cu. These features are reconciled through a model by earlier workers that involves a global shift to a warm greenhouse mode with slowed oceanic convection, expanded oxygen minimum zones and a failure of nutrient resupply from the upwelling. The onset of mass degassing in continental large igneous provinces represents a potential trigger for this mid-Devonian shift. Devonian black-shale events in this scenario represent genuine oceanic anoxic events marking hothouse episodes in their nascent form. Supplementary material: Details of methods, analytical protocols and data scatterplots, stratigraphic cross-sections showing traceability of anoxic horizons, and inductively coupled plasma elemental and Rock-Eval 6 data used in this study are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4212428


Decision and optimization problems involving graphs arise in many areas of artificial intelligence, including probabilistic networks, robot navigation, and network design. Many such problems are NP-complete; this has necessitated the development of approximation methods, most of which are very complex and highly problemspecific. We propose a straightforward, practical approach to algorithm design based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), a statistical simulation scheme for efficiently sampling from a large (possibly exponential) set, such as the set of feasible solutions to a combinatorial task. This facilitates the development of simple, efficient, and general solutions to whole classes of decision problems. We provide detailed examples showing how this approach can be used for spanning tree problems such as Degree-Constrained Spanning Tree, Maximum Leaf Spanning Tree, and Kth Best Spanning Tree.


Molecular optimization aims to discover novel molecules with desirable properties. Two fundamental challenges are: (i) it is not trivial to generate valid molecules in a controllable way due to hard chemical constraints such as the valency conditions, and (ii) it is often costly to evaluate a property of a novel molecule, and therefore, the number of property evaluations is limited. These challenges are to some extent alleviated by a combination of a variational autoencoder (VAE) and Bayesian optimization (BO). VAE converts a molecule into/from its latent continuous vector, and BO optimizes a latent continuous vector (and its corresponding molecule) within a limited number of property evaluations. While the most recent work, for the first time, achieved 100% validity, its architecture is rather complex due to auxiliary neural networks other than VAE, making it difficult to train. This paper presents a molecular hypergraph grammar variational autoencoder (MHG-VAE), which uses a single VAE to achieve 100% validity. Our idea is to develop a graph grammar encoding the hard chemical constraints, called molecular hypergraph grammar (MHG), which guides VAE to always generate valid molecules. We also present an algorithm to construct MHG from a set of molecules.


Current models for Cu–Fe–As (Devonian), Pb–Zn (Carboniferous) and barite (Upper Carhoniferous/Permian) vein mineralization in the Lake District invoke a variety of sources for fluids and metals including the Skiddaw Group sediments, the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, the Lake District batholith, meteoric water and Carboniferous seawater. This study isotopically characterizes the sulphur reservoirs within the Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary and igneous sequences and Late Caledonian intrusives, and assesses their importance as sources of sulphur for the vein mineralization. The Ordovician Skiddaw Group is a reservoir of isotopically heavy sulphur with a range of δ34S from +11‰ to +29‰ [& x~ (1σ) = 18.53 ±6.7‰ (n = 10)]. Four analyses of Borrowdale Volcanic Group rocks yielded values of +1‰ to +15‰. Such positive values are thought to be the result of closed system bacteriogenic reduction of Ordovician seawater sulphate in the case of the Skiddaw Group, and mixing of mantle-derived magmatic sulphur with Ordovician seawater sulphate for the Borrowdale Volcanic rocks. The sulphides in the vein systems hosted by the Skiddaw Group in the Vale of Newlands formed from fluids with δ34SH2S signatures ranging from +16.7‰, to +22.5‰: partially homogenized Skiddaw Group sulphur is considered to be the source. Mineralization at Coniston, hosted by the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, shows similar sulphur isotopic characteristics, and Skiddaw Group at depth is considered to be the predominant source of sulphur with a possible minor input from the wallrock volcanic rocks at the site of deposition. Although the Lake District batholith provided a heat source for the Cu–Fe–As vein mineralization, the granite did not supply any sulphur to those systems. However, magmatic sulphur was an important constituent in mineralization associated with the Shap and Skiddaw granites. The δ34S values for barite mineralization at Force Crag, Greenside, Skiddaw and Shap ranges from +13‰ to +18‰, and Carboniferous seawater provides the most reasonable source for sulphate.


A series of {4-(4-(6-substituted-benzothiazol-2-yl-amino)-3-carboxy-benzyl)-2-carboxy- phenyl}-6-substituted-benzothiazol-2-yl-amines have been synthesized by oxidative cyclization of 1-{4-(4-(3-aryl thiocarbamido)-3-carboxy-benzyl)-2-carboxy-phenyl}-3-aryl thiocarbamides using the solution of bromine in chloroform followed by the basification with dilute ammonium hydroxide solution. Initially 1-{4-(4-(3-aryl thiocarbamido)-3-carboxy-benzyl)-2-carboxy-phenyl}-3-aryl thio- carbamides were prepared by the interaction of different aryl isothiocyanates with 4,4'-methylene- bis-(anthranilic acid). The latter was obtained by treating the mixture of anthranilic acid and concentrated hydrochloric acid with 3% aqueous formaldehyde followed by neutralization with sodium hydroxide. The acetylation of bis-benzothiazoles afforded di-acetyl derivatives. The structures of synthesized compounds have been established on the basis of chemical transformation, elemental analysis, equivalent weight determination and IR, 1 H NMR spectral studies. The title compounds have been assayed for their biological activity against gram-positive as well as gram- negative microorganisms.


Background Germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene, BAP1, a deubiquitylase that regulates key cellular pathways, are associated with a recently-described tumor predisposition syndrome characterized by early onset benign melanocytic skin tumors, and a significant risk of cancers that include mesothelioma, cutaneous and uveal melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and cholangiocarcinoma. Somatic or germline BAP1 mutations have been associated with an aggressive course and a poor prognosis in RCC and cholangiocarcinoma and may render the cancer cells more sensitive to HDAC inhibitors or Parp inhibitors. We investigated types and frequencies of BAP1 mutations in a large cohort of diverse malignancies and their associations with other molecular/genomic characteristics. Methods: A total of 9782 tumor samples from over 40 cancer types were molecularly profiled at Caris Life Sciences by next generation sequencing (Illumina NextSeq platform and Agilent SureSelect XT panel, 592 genes). Microsatellite instability (MSI) was tested by PCR and fragment analysis (Promega MSI Analysis System). Results: A pathogenic somatic or germline BAP1 mutation was identified in 20 cancer types, with a total of 129 tumors with mutations found (1.3% prevalence). As expected, BAP1 mutations were frequently seen in uveal melanoma (50% or 24 in 48), malignant pleural mesothelioma (29% or 6 in 21), RCC (8% or 12 in 150), cholangiocarcinoma (6.6% or 13 in 196), and cutaneous melanoma (2.2% or 7 in 319). In addition, pathogenic BAP1 mutations were detected in carcinomas arising in parotid gland (10.3% or 3 in 29), anus (8.3% or 3 in 36), cervix (3.4% or 4 in 117), stomach (3.3%, or 6 in 180), head and neck (1 in 97 or 1%), lung (14 in 1590 or 0.9%), and breast (0.8% or 7 in 887). A mutation was also noted in a meningioma (1 in 43) and a uterine sarcoma (1 in 96). Variants of BAP1 (pathogenic, presumed pathogenic, and variants of unknown significance) were more often seen in MSI-high tumors (compared to MSS) in both colorectal (12/61 vs. 18/1003) and endometrial carcinomas (5 of 69 vs. 5 of 321; both p<0.01). It was not determined whether the BAP1 mutations were somatic or germline in origin. Conclusions: The study confirmed the presence of pathogenic BAP1 mutations in carcinomas commonly associated with BAP1 germline and somatic mutations. It also identified BAP1 mutations in additional cancer types (parotid gland, anal and cervical carcinomas), as well as its association with MSI-H cancers (colon and endometrium). Evaluation of mutations in non-cancerous tissues is underway to determine if these novel cancer associations are related to germline predisposition.


We present direct upper limits on gravitational wave emission from the Crab pulsar using data from the first nine months of the fifth science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). These limits are based on two searches. In the first we assume that the gravitational wave emission follows the observed radio timing, giving an upper limit on gravitational wave emission that beats indirect limits inferred from the spin-down and braking index of the pulsar and the energetics of the nebula. In the second we allow for a small mismatch between the gravitational and radio signal frequencies and interpret our results in the context of two possible gravitational wave emission mechanisms.


Purpose

The purpose of this research is to identify motivators (i.e. self-efficacy, perceived behavioural control and perceived benefits) and inhibitors (i.e. perceived cost and anxiety) that affect behavioural intentions to book hotel rooms using smartphones.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilising survey data collected from online consumers who have booked hotels in London, two stages of structural equation modelling were applied to estimate the proposed model.

Findings

The results of this research indicate that perceived behavioural control appears to be the core motivator for the use of smartphones to book a hotel with perceived benefits, whereas anxiety plays a negative role in leading to mobile booking behaviours. It is also identified that self-efficacy indirectly influences intentions to reserve hotel accommodation.

Practical implications

This study suggests that hospitality marketers should simplify the mobile purchasing process to enhance self-confidence in controlling the system during transactions, educate current and potential online consumers to become aware of the competitive benefits of using smartphones and create alliances with credit card companies to relieve anxiety when users are asked to provide personal or banking information.

Originality/value

In light of the substantial literature regarding the adoption of technology in terms of user experience (i.e. TAM), this study integrates two theoretical foundations of understanding consumer behaviours (i.e. a concept of consumer values and theory of planned behaviour) to assess motivators and inhibitors in behaviours related to booking hotel accommodation via smartphones.


Recently, several robotic/intelligent wheelchairs that have autonomous functions to get to some goals or user-friendly interfaces, have been proposed. Although it is desirable for wheelchair users to go out alone, caregivers often accompany them. Therefore it is important to consider reducing caregivers' load and support their activities. Hence, we have proposed a robotic wheelchair that can move with a caregiver side by side by observing his/her behaviors such as body position and orientation. This way of motion enables easy communication between the wheelchair user and the caregiver. However, caregivers cannot always move with the wheelchair side by side. For instance, they may step forward of the wheelchair to open a door, and they may step aside when pedestrians are approaching in narrow corridors. To cope with these situations we propose a new robotic wheelchair that can move with a caregiver collaboratively depending on the situation. A laser range sensor is used for observing the environment around the wheelchair. When any obstacles are found in its travelling direction, the wheelchair gives up moving with the caregiver side by side and follows him/her behind. When the caregiver stops at a door, the wheelchair waits for him/her to open the door and follows him/her while avoiding obstacles. The wheelchair returns to move side by side with the caregiver when it enters wide space. We propose a motion control method based on the potential field method, which enables the wheelchair to take an appropriate position with respect to the caregiver depending on the situation.


Abstract The ability to regulate stress is a critical developmental milestone of early childhood that involves a set of interconnected behavioral and physiological processes and is influenced by genetic and environmental stimuli. Prenatal exposure to traumatic stress and trauma, including intimate partner violence (IPV), increases risk for offspring biobehavioral regulation problems during childhood and adolescence. Although individual differences in susceptibility to prenatal stress have been largely unexplored, a handful of studies suggest children with specific genetic characteristics are most vulnerable to prenatal stress. We evaluated the brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met gene (BDNF) as a moderator of the effect of prenatal IPV exposure on infant temperamental and cortisol regulation in response to a psychosocial challenge. Ninety-nine mother–infant dyads recruited from the community were assessed when infants (51% female) were 11 to 14 months. Maternal reports of IPV during pregnancy and infant temperament were obtained, and infant saliva was collected for genotyping and to assess cortisol reactivity (before and after the Strange Situation Task). Significant genetic moderation effects were found. Among infants with the BDNF Met allele, prenatal IPV predicted worse temperamental regulation and mobilization of the cortisol response, while controlling for infant postnatal exposure to IPV, other maternal traumatic experiences, and infant sex. However, prenatal IPV exposure was not associated with temperamental or cortisol outcomes among infant carriers of the Val/Val genotype. Findings are discussed in relation to prenatal programming and biological susceptibility to stress.


This study reports the results of an attempt to validate a young adult's use of facilitated communication. The individual, Philip, had made allegations of sexual abuse against his father. These allegations were conveyed to two facilitators, one a special education teacher and the other an instructional aide. A comprehensive battery of procedures was developed and then administered to examine the likelihood that Philip could have authored the allegations. Results of the assessment failed to support Philip's possessing the necessary communication skills to have authored the allegations. Charges against his father were subsequently dismissed. While findings of this investigation cannot be generalized beyond Philip, the procedures and accompanying rationale may be useful to other examiners who are engaged in validation activities with facilitated communicators. Implications and proposed guidelines for testing the validation of this method of communication are presented.


This dissertation is about the role of visual context information in communication. All accounts of language processing and communication agree that visual context is beneficial for understanding. Despite this, it is not clear through which mechanisms visual context works and whether these mechanisms also work in communication outside the lab setting. This dissertation aims to provide answers to these concerns and this is achieved through three different paths:

1. Testing known mechanisms under more realistic conditions.
2. Exploring new mechanisms for how visual context may inform communication
3. Resolve methodological issues that prevents experiments from being carried out under more realistic conditions.

This dissertation reports the work of five different papers. Paper I provided concise answers to the problem of temporal imprecision in eye-trackers with low sampling frequencies. Paper II investigated the habit of looking at visual referents as they are mentioned and found that this habit works even in very demanding situations with complex speech and complex scenes. Paper III suggested a new measure for evaluating communicative success in unrestricted conversations. This paper also found that visual context information allow speakers to understand each other better. Paper IV found that visual context information, which use is often made mandatory in language experiments, is used even if it is completely optional to the communication task. Paper V found that images of high emotional content is perceived as more helpful in a communicative task. This paper also found that participants do not gravitate toward a similar use of emotional language, which is predicted by a current theory.


This paper examines the effects of work-related perks, such as corporate jets and limousines, nice offices, secretarial staff, etc., on the optimal incentive contract. In a linear contracting framework, perks characterized by complementarities between production and consumption improve the trade-off between incentives and insurance that determines the optimal contract for a risk-averse agent. We show that (i) the perk may be offered even if its direct consumption and productivity benefits are offset by its cost; (ii) the perk will be offered for free; (iii) agents in more uncertain production environments will receive more perks; (iv) senior executives should receive both more perks and stronger explicit incentives; and (v) better corporate governance can lead firms to award their CEOs more perks. Our analysis also offers insights into the firms'decisions about how much autonomy they should grant to their employees and about optimal perk provision when managers and workers are organized in teams.


A spate of recent decisions has emphasised the chasm between the legal philosophies adopted by practitioners and the Competition Commission. The Commission views law as a tool for the achievement of investigative ends while, for legal practitioners, the rule of law directs the manner in which investigative ends are to be achieved. Recent jurisprudence has favoured legal formalism, emphasising the necessity for the Commission to follow due process, as any significant procedural irregularity or deviation from the prescribed rules is unlikely to be countenanced, despite the Commission's contention that "There must...be a limit to which meritless technical points can be relied upon."


Dynamics and direct CP violation in three-body charmless decays of charged B mesons to a proton, an antiproton and a light meson (pion or kaon) are studied using data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1:0 fb(-1), llected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. Production spectra are determined as a function of Dalitz-plot and helicity variables. The forwardbackward asymmetry of the light meson in the p (p) over bar rest frame is measured. No significant CP asymmetry in B+ -> p (p) over barK(+) decay is found in any region of the Dalitz plane. We present the first observation of the decay B+ -> (Lambda) over bar (1520)(-> K+(p) over bar )p near the K+(p) over bar threshold and measure B(B+ -> (Lambda) over bar (1520)p) = (3.9(-0.9)(+1.0)(stat) +/- 0.1 (syst) +/- 0.3 (BF)) x 10(-7), where BF denotes the uncertainty on secondary branching fractions.


The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of curcumin oral supplementation (50 and 100 mg/Kg/day, for 30 days) in circumventing menopause-associated oxidative stress and lipid profile dysfunctions in a rat ovariectomy (OVX) model. Female Wistar rats were operated and randomly divided into either sham-operated or OVX groups. Sham-operated group (n = 8) and one OVX group (n = 11) were treated with vehicle (refined olive oil), and the other two OVX groups received curcumin at 50 or 100 mg/Kg/day doses (n = 8/group). OVX vehicle-treated animals presented a higher deposition of intestinal adipose tissue as well as increased serum levels of IL-6, LDL, and total cholesterol when compared to sham-operated rats. In addition, several oxidative stress markers in serum, blood, and liver (such as TBARS, carbonyl, reduced-sulphydryl, and nonenzymatic antioxidant defenses) were altered toward a prooxidant status by OVX. Interestingly, curcumin supplementation attenuated most of these parameters to sham comparable values. Thus, the herein presented results show that curcumin may be useful to ameliorate lipid metabolism alterations and oxidative damage associated with hormone deprivation in menopause.


Interpretation of 3D seismic data from the central North Sea yields evidence of a pre-MIS (Marine Isotope Stage) 12 grounded glaciation. The glaciotectonic complex shows buried push moraines resulting from the thrusting of multiple ice advance phases with horizontal shortening of 35 – 50%. The earliest feature observed within the complex, a hill–hole pair, represents the initial glaciation of the area. This is overlain and deformed by multiple thrust units with numerous inferred ice-flow directions. The thrust deformation observed shares characteristics with kinematic processes, push moraines and static gravity processes, seen as gravity spreading and contraction. The glaciotectonic complex in its entirety is interpreted to correlate to a pre-Elsterian glaciation, becaue of its stratigraphic position below central North Sea tunnel valleys, estimated to be Elsterian in age (MIS 12; 450 ka). The study proposes that the thrust complex correlates to the Donian glaciation in Russia (MIS 16; 600 ka) with ice sourced from Norway. The complex therefore represents a glaciation where a significant area of the central North Sea was covered by an ice sheet, 200 kyr prior to the Elsterian. This study highlights the fragmentary record of pre-Elsterian glaciations and the importance of incorporating offshore sedimentary archives and regional frameworks when reconstructing Pleistocene climate change.


Background The whale shark conservation programme along the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) region, of Andhra Pradesh, east-coast of India, was started in June 2012 under the direction of the Government of India, the United Nations Development Programme, the Global Environment Facility and the Government of Andhra Pradesh Godavari Project. It was started for the conservation and management of globally threatened species protected under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, and employing cross sectoral mechanisms among various stakeholders, namely enforcement departments (state and central governments), production sectors (industries), fishermen and the public. Approach Questionnaire surveys are conducted to learn the present status of whale sharks along the Andhra Pradesh Coast, and literature surveys are done to understand the past and present whale shark distribution along the east coast of India. Major fish landing centres are monitored to record whale sharks landings, including seasonality, size and sex ratio. Massive awareness programmes and campaigns are conducted to improve the knowledge levels of various stakeholders. A whale shark conservation action plan is being prepared for the Andhra Pradesh coast by cross sectoral mechanisms. Results Fishery experts, researchers and local fishermen opined that until late 2007, the whale shark was a rare visitor to the EGREE region, but the number of sharks has increased in recent years. According to fishermen, whale sharks are seen at a depth of 20–40 m and sometimes come close to shore where they become entangled in shore seine nets. The fishermen revealed that whale sharks are seen mostly solitary or in small groups of 3 to 5 individuals, but sometimes over 200–300 individuals will aggregate in the open sea near the EGREE Region. As per the available literature, the total number of whale sharks killed as bycatch was 20 along the Andhra Pradesh coast between 1889 and 1998 (110 years). But surveys by the EGREE Foundation that between June 2013 and January 2016, 79 individual whale sharks were killed. The whale shark landings happened in all months except during the fishing ban from 16th April to 15th June. In September of 2014, 22 whale sharks were brought to the landing center. Of these 22 sharks, four were alive after being caught in a shore-seine fishing net. Both questionnaire and field surveys revealed that coastal and marine areas of the EGREE region have become a hot spot for whale sharks in recent years. The size of the whale sharks brought to the landing centers ranged between 2.1–6.68 m (mean 3.71±SD 1.04, n=44), and males (58%) outnumbered females. Based on the study, conservation and management measures are being taken by the EGREE Foundation through 1) massive awareness programmes to sensitize the fishermen and local public, 2) education and awareness applied to students and elected representatives of state and central governments, and 3) training of enforcement staff such as the Indian Coast Guard, Marine Police, Fisheries, Forest and Customs and Central Excise. A whale shark conservation action plan is being prepared for the Andhra Pradesh Coast by involving various state and central government departments, production sectors like oil & gas operators, and private port operators, local fishermen and policy makers. Conclusions This study indicated that whale shark numbers have increased and a globally significant aggregation of whale sharks is happening in the coastal and marine areas of EGREE region. Long-term research and monitoring is needed in this region.


A novel method has been designed to estimate blood glucose variations noninvasively. The concept of this method is based on the glucose metabolic process in the human body. The data acquisition phase was implemented by measuring metabolic parameters including heat dissipation by conduction at the fingertip, percentage oxygen content of expired air and minute volume of expired air. A data analysis phase was performed to convert the measured parameters to variations of features, which would become input of the calibrated classification model for estimation of blood glucose variations. The classification model can be a 2-class to 5-class system showing different resolutions for the extents of blood glucose variations. In the experimental trial, a total of 190 data points were obtained from 31 normal and 159 type 2 diabetic subjects. The classification accuracy for a 3-class system was 84.26% using a linear discriminant classifier. Multiple regression analysis was also performed to compare the noninvasive method with variations of glucometer readings. The correlation coefficient was 0.88. Preliminary results show that this method has the potential to be used as blood glucose variation monitors and lifestyle educating devices for normal, pre-diabetic and type 2 diabetic persons.


This study investigated the preparedness of technikon trained library science diplomates for the work situation. The views of both diplomates and their employers were sought in order to determine the preparedness of the former for the work situation. Both the diplomates and employers were requested to rate the various tasks for which diplomates were trained according to the degree of preparedness of diplomates. Respondents were also asked to identify weaknesses and strengths of the diploma. Results indicated that generally diplomates were employed as library assistants and were therefore not performing tasks for which they were trained. However, those diplomates who were performing tasks for which they were trained , were prepared in terms of their skills although certain problem areas were identified. There was no consensus on what could be identified as weaknesses of the diploma. Areas that should have been developed according to diplomates included communication skills, computer literacy and practical work. Employers identified areas that were peculiar to their kinds of libraries as areas that should have been developed but were not, for example, story telling, community information services, on-line searching, and others. Cooperative training, exposure to technology and the practical nature of the programme were identified as strengths of the diploma. What also emerged was that diplomates were underutilised as half of those who responded were performing at library assistant level in their work places. This indicated the reluctance of employers to afford diplomates the opportunity of undertaking para-professional tasks. Recommendations were made to conduct a survey of all employers in order to establish which employers have positions for para-professionals. This would indicate what job opportunities exist for diplomates. Another recommendation was that this study needs to be duplicated by other technikons in order to establish the preparedness of diplomates.


Natural phototrophic biofilms are influenced by a broad array of abiotic and biotic factors and vary over temporal and spatial scales. Different developmental stages can be distinguished and growth rates will vary due to the thickening of the biofilm, which is expected to lead to a limitation of light or mass transport. This study shows that variation in CO2(aq) availability leads to a fractionation shift and thereby affects ?13C signatures during biofilm development. For phototrophic freshwater biofilms it was found that the ?13C value became less negative with the thickening of the biofilm, while the opposite trend was found in marine biofilms. Modeling and pH profiling indicated that the trend in the freshwater system was caused by an increase in CO2(aq) limitation resulting in an increase of HCO3? as C-source. The opposite trend in the marine system could be explained by a higher heterotrophic biomass and activity causing a higher carbon recycling and thereby lower ?13C values. We conclude that ?13C was more related to the net areal photosynthesis rate and carbon recycling, rather than to the growth rate of the biofilms.


When a foster care youth has been arrested, several child-serving agencies are required to communicate effectively to ensure that a responsible guardian is present to take custody. Exploratory research suggests that, in some cases, judges detain children unnecessarily because their guardians fail to appear. This article presents the results of an evaluation of Project Confirm, a program designed to reduce the unnecessary detention of foster care youth. The evaluation reveals a disparity in pre-adjudication detention rates between foster and nonfoster juveniles with similar characteristics both before and after the introduction of the program. The lack of an average program effect on this disparity is explained by the fact that the disparity decreased for juveniles with less serious records but increased for those with more serious records. Finally, both the disparity in detention prior to the program and the program effect differed according to juveniles' gender, race, and court county.


The need for a reliable prediction of client's cash flow cannot be overemphasized. Undoubtedly, a prior knowledge of project cash flow requirements helps the client to anticipate his likely future financial commitments and to pro-actively plan for them as well. Different researchers have made efforts to provide simpler and quicker techniques to assist both the client and contractors in forecasting their cash flow. However, risk in construction has been identified as one of the inhibiting factors in achieving the desired level of accuracy of contractor's and client's cash flow forecast. This paper presents part of an on-going research aimed at assessing the impacts of risk on construction clients' cash flow forecast. Based on a review of risk and cash flow management theoretical concepts as well as empirical evidences from previous studies, this paper attempts to develop a conceptual framework for assessing the impacts of risk on construction clients' cash flow forecast. It is the intention that the conceptual framework will assist in developing a model which considers risk factors in forecasting clients' cash flow. It is expected that the outcome of the research will provide a more reliable prediction of client's cash flow as likely changes to client's cash flow pattern due to risk occurrence are expected to be evident from the eventual model envisaged in the research.


In 2016, we described that missense variants in parts of exons 30 and 31 of CREBBP can cause a phenotype that differs from Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome (RSTS). Here we report on another 11 patients with variants in this region of CREBBP (between bp 5,128 and 5,614) and two with variants in the homologous region of EP300. None of the patients show characteristics typical for RSTS. The variants were detected by exome sequencing using a panel for intellectual disability in all but one individual, in whom Sanger sequencing was performed upon clinical recognition of the entity. The main characteristics of the patients are developmental delay (90%), autistic behavior (65%), short stature (42%), and microcephaly (43%). Medical problems include feeding problems (75%), vision (50%), and hearing (54%) impairments, recurrent upper airway infections (42%), and epilepsy (21%). Major malformations are less common except for cryptorchidism (46% of males), and cerebral anomalies (70%). Individuals with variants between bp 5,595 and 5,614 of CREBBP show a specific phenotype (ptosis, telecanthi, short and upslanted palpebral fissures, depressed nasal ridge, short nose, anteverted nares, short columella, and long philtrum). 3D face shape demonstrated resemblance to individuals with a duplication of 16p13.3 (the region that includes CREBBP), possibly indicating a gain of function. The other affected individuals show a less specific phenotype. We conclude that there is now more firm evidence that variants in these specific regions of CREBBP and EP300 result in a phenotype that differs from RSTS, and that this phenotype may be heterogeneous.


Formation of the Ni4Ti3 precipitate has a strong effect on the shape memory properties of NiTi alloys. In this work, growth of this precipitate is studied using phase-field modelling and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Using first-principles calculations, the composition-dependent stability and elastic properties of the B2 phase are obtained. Composition-dependent elastic constants are incorporated into our phase-field model to investigate the interplay between stress and concentration fields around the precipitate. The model introduces a source of diffusion due to mechanical relaxation which is accompanied by local softening/hardening of the B2 phase. The results are discussed in light of previous experimental and simulation studies.


Strong bonds form stronger materials. For this reason, the investigation on thermal degradation of materials is a significantly important area in research and development activities. The analysis of thermal stability can be used to assess the behavior of materials in the aggressive environmental conditions, which in turn provides valuable information about the service life span of the materiel.

Unlike other books published so far that have focused on either the fundamentals of thermal analysis or the degradation pattern of the materials, this book is specifically on the mechanism of degradation of materials.

The mechanism of rapturing of chemical bonds as a result of exposure to high-temperature environment is difficult to study and resulting mechanistic pathway hard to establish. Limited information is available on this subject in the published literatures and difficult to excavate.

Chapters in this book are contributed by the experts working on thermal degradation and analysis of the wide variety of advanced and traditional materials. Each chapter discusses the material, its possible application, behavior of chemical entities when exposed to high-temperature environment and mode and the mechanistic route of its decomposition. Such information is crucial while selecting the chemical ingredients during the synthesis or development of new materials technology.


This study aimed to investigate the incidence of unusual formation of the median nerve in Thai cadavers. Two hundred and ninety-two upper limbs were dissected and observed. The results showed that 5 out of 292 (1.71 %) arms had unusual splitting of median nerve that supplied the flexor arm muscles. Concomitantly, the musculocutaneous nerve was absent. In 4 out of 5 variant arms (80 % or 1.37 % of total upper limbs), each median nerve was unusually formed by 3 roots; the first and second roo t were from lateral cord and the third one from medial cord. The union of the second lateral and medial roots to become a median nerve distantly extended in the arm. The second lateral roots gave off small muscular branches to the upper part of flexor arm muscles. Knowled ge of such anatomical variations is helpful for surgeons in performing of brachial plexus surgery.


The Characteristics of single and two- phase flow from a circular turbulent free jet from a nozzle of 10 mm diameter were investigated experimentally and numerically. The measurements were conducted for ReJ = 10007 - 31561. The velocity was measured at location from the nozzle y/D (0-8) in axial and radial directions. The two phase measurement were done by using natural construction sand as a solid phase of sizes (220,350,550) µm and loading ratios (mass flow ratio of sand to mass flow rate of air) in the range (0.18-1.38). Two phase air velocity of jet showed that the introducing of natural sand particles gives lower jet velocity attributed to momentum transfer to particles. The smaller particle size leads to lower values of velocity. The velocity found to be decreased with loading ratio increase. The numerical simulation was performed for single and two phase jet flow. RNG K-ε turbulence model was used to simulate the flow of fluid and the discrete phase model to simulate the particles flow. The results form numerical simulation showed a good agreement with experimental results.


With the increasing trends in trade of goods and services as well as the expansion of road infrastructure and networks, commercial road transport has dominated a significant share of inland and urban logistics in the world and particularly in Europe. This includes not only the basic supply of citizens' needs through long-haul traffic and short-distance city trucks but also by providing urban services such as courier delivery, household waste pickup and refuse collection as well as passengers movements by public bus transport and inter-city coach transit.Meanwhile, concerns over air quality problems and environmental sustainability of road transportation have soared up as more and more vehicles travelled on fossil fuels resulting in more pollution, particularly in dense urban areas. The problem is not only limited to the air pollution and adverse health effects caused by exhaust gas emissions, but also dependency on fossil fuels as non-renewable sources of energy and as a major contributor to global warming and climate change over the long time.Having said that, the purpose of this thesis is to provide an understanding that could be helpful in envisioning sustainability transitions in an established industry setting which is dominated by a very few number of incumbent firms who retain majority of the market share as well as current technological paradigm which mainly determines the choice of technological solutions in this field.Study results suggest that sustainability transitions can be envisaged through evolutionary processes that include both technological and institutional change at the same time. Regarding technological change, the role of incumbent firms must be considered as important sources of knowledge, skills, experience as well as R&D investment capital and the pool of critical human expertise that would otherwise remain unexploited if their competences were not effectively absorbed in synergies for sustainability transitions. This is termed as regime-driven transformation in this study.Meanwhile, continuous landscape pressure have to be maintained through effective regulatory frameworks that govern further reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions and to engage incumbents in a collectively shared envisioning of sustainability transitions. This can be enabled by bringing back the role of institutions as an alternative (complementary) entry point to the existing literature on sociotechnical transitions. In doing so, the predominant notion of institutions as the rigid and static structures that constrain innovation is questioned. Instead, it is suggested that institutions can provide resources and structures for actors to engage and for technologies to advance and thus to facilitate long-term sustainability transitions.


Introduction When increasing cadence, there is increasing knee joint contribution and decreasing hip contribution to external power [1, 2]. Increasing power output leads to a decrease in knee contribution and an increase in hip contribution [2, 3]. Low cadence (<60 rpm) interval training is a widely used training method, but previous studies have primarily focused on cadences ranging from 60 to 180 rpm, without examining the effect of low cadence on joint contribution. The present study investigates joint-specific power production in recreational and elite cyclists during cycling at a range of different cadences.   Methods Ten recreational cyclists and nine elite cyclists (Continental and ProTour-level) performed cycling bouts at seven different pedaling rates (40 to 100 and freely chosen) and four intensities. Intensities were set at 55 (Int55), 85 (Int85) and 100 % (IntLT) of predetermined lactate threshold (LT) in addition to average 20 min all out power (Int20min). All tests were performed on an indoor cycle trainer with the participants' private road bike. Joint specific power was calculated from kinematic measurements and pedal forces using inverse dynamics   Results Mean work rate at the four different intensities were 154 W (Int55), 240 W (Int85), 282 W (IntLT) and 322 W (Int20min). The elite group had an average of 32.6 % higher LT and 38.4 % higher 20 min all out power than the recreational group. The knee joint was the major power producer at all cadences, with the exception of low cadence (<60 rpm) where the hip joint were the major power producer (fig. 1.). There was a significant main effect of cadence and intensity on the relative contribution of the hip, knee and ankle joints. At cadences above 60 rpm, increasing cadence led to a significant decrease in relative hip joint power and an increase in relative knee joint power. However, there was no effect of cadence on the relative joint contribution at cadences below 60 rpm. Relative knee joint power increased with increasing intensity, however the relative hip joint power only increased from low to moderate intensity. The elite group had significantly higher relative hip joint power and lower relative knee joint power compared to the recreational group.   Discussion and Conclusions The present study demonstrates that increasing cadence leads to a decrease in relative hip joint power and an increase in relative knee joint power, however, the effect of cadence only occurred above 60 rpm. Elite cyclists have higher relative hip joint contribution, and lower relative knee joint contribution at all cadences and intensities compared to recreational cyclists. This is to the author's knowledge the first study to report an effect of athlete level on relative joint specific power in cycling. The findings related to the effect of cadence on joint specific power complies with earlier research [1, 2] with the exception of the effect at low cadence (<60 rpm). The lack of an effect of reducing cadence below 60 rpm may have implications for how low cadence training is carried out.


Choline metabolism is important for very low‐density lipoprotein secretion, making this nutritional pathway an important contributor to hepatic lipid balance. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the cumulative effects of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across genes of choline/1‐carbon metabolism and functionally related pathways increase susceptibility to developing hepatic steatosis. In biopsy‐characterized cases of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and controls, we assessed 260 SNPs across 21 genes in choline/1‐carbon metabolism. When SNPs were examined individually, using logistic regression, we only identified a single SNP (PNPLA3 rs738409) that was significantly associated with severity of hepatic steatosis after adjusting for confounders and multiple comparisons (P=0.02). However, when groupings of SNPs in similar metabolic pathways were defined using unsupervised hierarchical clustering, we identified groups of subjects with shared SNP signatures that were significantly correlated with steatosis burden (P=0.0002). The lowest and highest steatosis clusters could also be differentiated by ethnicity. However, unique SNP patterns defined steatosis burden irrespective of ethnicity. Our results suggest that analysis of SNP patterns in genes of choline/1‐carbon metabolism may be useful for prediction of severity of steatosis in specific subsets of people, and the metabolic inefficiencies caused by these SNPs should be examined further.—Corbin, K. D., Abdelmalek, M. F., Spencer, M. D., da Costa, K.‐A., Galanko, J. A., Sha, W., Suzuki, A., Guy, C. D., Cardona, D. M., Torquati, A., Diehl, A. M., Zeisel, S. H. Genetic signatures in choline and 1‐carbon metabolism are associated with the severity of hepatic steatosis. FASEB J. 27, 1674–1689 (2013). www.fasebj.org


Abstract : The conference could only scratch the surface regarding the strategic implications of several important emerging technologies, namely, biogenetics, biometrics, nanotechnologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, alternative energies, and electromagnetic weaponry. More research is needed in the form additional conferences, individual studies, and war games, comparing the development of these potentially game-changing technologies globally. While technical expertise appears plentiful within the U.S. Department of Defense and America's private sector, both would benefit from the addition of more "strategists" capable of assessing, without prejudice, how individual technologies, or combinations of them, might shift the strategic balance power, and over what timeframe. The IT revolution is far from over, but it is no longer necessarily the most important one affecting national security; the defense community needs a means for providing greater awareness of technological advances, and on an ongoing basis. Ethical and legal guidelines must keep pace with, or even anticipate, technological innovations, particularly those that can change the way we think about armed conflict, combatants and noncombatants. The field of robotics, for instance, is already challenging traditional notions of what it means to be a combatant. Without policy changes and an increase in funding, the exploration of alternative fuels will not yield results capable of supplementing fossil fuels in any significant way over the next 2 decades.


Leptospirosis has been widely reported in insular environments worldwide, characterizing a major public health threat. Although low genetic biodiversity is expected in these regions, the introduction of domestic and synanthropic mammals may contribute to the wider diversity leptospiral strains in insular settings. This study proposes a large-scale investigation of Leptospira infection in animals from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil. A total of 1,265 blood samples from domestic (n=682), synanthropic (n=133) and wild (n=450) animals were collected between 2007 and 2014, totaling 12 species. The presence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies was investigated by the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) and kidney samples from synanthropic rodents were collected for the isolation of Leptospira spp. The leptospires recovered were further characterized by MAT with polyclonal antibodies, whole genome sequencing and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST). The MAT results revealed the presence of agglutinins in 90 samples (7.1%), and the most frequently found serogroup was Icterohaemorrhagiae (n=57) in practically all species included. Viable leptospires were recovered from one brown rat, and characterization revealed that the isolate belongs to L. interrogans serogroup Pyrogenes. This study stands as the most comprehensive investigation of Leptospira spp. infection in Fernando de Noronha archipelago, also providing the characterization of the first leptospiral strain ever isolated from an insular setting in Brazil. The results suggest that synanthropic rodents play a major role in the transmission of leptospirosis among wildlife and domestic species in the archipelago.


A cluster is a collection of data objects that are similar to one another. A cluster of data objects can be treated collectively as one group and so it may be considered as form of data compression. Clustering is also called as data segmentation in some applications because clustering partitions large data sets into groups according to their similarity. Indexing of documents is based on the related or semantically related keywords. Topic based weighting scheme is proposed to index the text. It involves with identifying topic candidates, determine their importance, and detect similar and synonymous topics. The indexing algorithm uses topic frequency to determine their importance and existence of the topics. Concept based weighting scheme is used to index the document, it identifies topic candidates, determine their importance, detect the similar and synonymous topics. In this system the numbers of medical documents are collected, and then the documents are taken for document preprocessing which includes tokenization and stop word removal. Finally compare the topic based weighting scheme with other indexing schemes and prove that topic based indexing reduces the dimensionality of the data which is efficient even for very large databases and provides an understandable description of the discovered clusters by their frequent term sets. Keywords— Clustering algorithms, Indexing, Topic based weighting scheme, Concept based weighting scheme and MeSH ontology


This project was undertaken jointly with fellow trainee Niamh Shanahan. It focuses on the field of dementia care research and consists of three parts. Firstly, the literature review aimed to evaluate measures assessing subjective psychological factors in dementia care staff. A systematic search identified 28 dementia care staff measures fulfilling a set of inclusion criteria. The measures covered seven domains: Attitudes, Coping, Job-satisfaction, Job Strain, Perception of Care Recipient's Behaviour and Needs, Sense of Competence, and Views about Falling. Using a methodical evaluation framework the review highlighted measures with the best research potential in each domain. Finally, new challenges and opportunities for future research in the field of staff factors in dementia care were discussed.
Secondly, the empirical paper, based on the conclusions of the literature review, developed a new measure to assess the sense of competence in dementia care staff. Development of the measure was guided by a framework derived from a review and critique of existing measures. The construct of sense of competence was defined and a questionnaire developed with the help of care staff and experts. A pilot study and a large-scale reliability and validity study were undertaken to refine the instrument and evaluate psychometric properties. The final measure, the Sense of Competence in Dementia Care Questionnaire for Staff (SOCID-S), is a 17-item instrument with promising quality characteristics. Opportunities for future research, improvement and application of the measure were explored.
Finally, a critical appraisal was used as to reflect on the challenges of developing a new measure and to explore alternatives to the decisions taken to overcome those difficulties.


The earth's population is growing steadily, currently accounting for about 7.3 billion people. Population growth causes food demand to rise, approximately 36 million people die each year due to starvation or related diseases. One solution to this problem is the continuous examination and development of the agricultural economy. In this study, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI -TOF MS) were used to analyse of sunflower, soybean and hemp. In order to analyse the protein of maize, this method has already been applied. However, for sunflower, soy and hemp, it is necessary to develop a sample preparation method. Choosing the optimal matrix solution for ionization the traget molecule is an essential part of developing the method. Our aim is to compare two different matrix solutions (α-HCCA, SA matrix), based on the properties (intensity, noise ratio, value of spectra) of the spectra.


Background: Cigarettes, food, water, and air pollution can contain toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). A cigarette contains approximately 1-2 ug of Cd, 40-120 ng of As, 2.95-10.2 ng of Hg, and 1-2 mg/kg of Pb because the tobacco plant concentrates metals from soil and water. The accumulation of toxic heavy metals inhaled from smoking may be associated with lung cancer. We surveyed tissue from current/former smokers with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for heavy metal content. Methods: Tissue collected from treatment-naive stage I and II NSCLC patient samples that underwent surgical resection was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) for concentration of Cd, As, Hg, and Pb. 16 cases were matched for stage, histology, gender, age, and race. Concentrations were measured from two 20 micron thick slides each from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues: primary lung cancer, benign adjacent lung, and where applicable to malignant lymph node, benign adjacent lymph node, benign lymph node, and distant non-malignant lung tissue. Negative controls were paraffin without tissue from FFPE blocks. Paired samples t-tests were used to make intra-case comparisons. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to examine inter-case differences. Results: The median patient age was 64.7 (range 36.4-75.4). There were 15 primary lung cancer cases with sufficient tissue for analysis: 8 were men, 7 were stage I, 7 had adenocarcinoma, 8 had squamous cell carcinoma, 8 were former smokers, 7 were current smokers, 9 were Caucasian, and 6 were African-American. A total of 75 tissue samples were analyzed with an average sample weight of 2.9 mg. With the lower limit of detection at 0.001 ug/g, the median concentrations in ug/g for Cd, As, Hg, and Pb in primary lung tumor were 0.058 (range undetectable [Not]-0.316), 0.019 (range Not-0.078), 0 (range Not-0.015), and 0 (range Not-0.026); respectively. In distant non-malignant lung samples, the median concentrations in ug/g for Cd, As, Hg, and Pb were 0.204 (range Not-2.500), 0.025 (range Not-0.070), 0 (range Not-0.012), and Not; respectively. There were no significant inter-case differences for the heavy metal concentrations in primary lung tumor and stage, histology, gender, and race. However, distant non-malignant lung samples had significantly higher Cd levels compared to primary lung tumor (p=0.013). Conclusion: Using ICP-MS, concentrations of Cd, As, Hg, and Pb could be measured in low quantities of FFPE tissue. Significantly higher Cd content was observed in distant non-malignant lung tissue compared to primary lung tumor. There appears to be higher levels of Cd and As than Hg and Pb in the lung tissues of current/former smokers with NSCLC. Analysis of lung tissues from clinically-matched non-cancer patients is warranted. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5455. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5455


Remember Arsenal's last-gasp winner to take the title at Anfield in '89? Ronnie Radford's wonder strike to sink Newcastle in the FA Cup? Or, best of all, Geoff Hurst's hat-trick wining the World Cup for England in 1966? Over half a century, Match of the Day has witnessed some of the greatest moments in football history, week in, week out. From the big shorts and brown leather balls of the Stanley Matthews era, through the classic tussles of the old First Division, right up to the glamour of the globe-spanning game that we know today, football has undergone an incredible journey - and now, in this milestone 50th year, Match of the Day celebrates the very best of the drama and the heartache. With evocative memorabilia and photography throughout, relive the story of the beautiful game, season-by-season. Featuring favourite Match of the Day memories from top players and long-standing members of the MOTD team, this is the ultimate collection of football memories for any fan.


Racial discrimination in the sharing economy is a topic drawing increasing attention. The short-term rental company Airbnb implemented several initiatives aiming to limit discrimination on its platform. Yet, it did not solve the issue and the users' social responsibility involved in the peer-to-peer service adds complexity to the case. Recent studies assessed racial discrimination in the sharing economy, and more particularly on Airbnb. This thesis analyses discrimination based on host's ethnicity in Airbnb's services with data from 2 online experiments in the aim to understand who discriminates, why do people discriminate and what service triggers discriminatory outcomes. Data analysis provided cross-cultural insights between Norway and Belgium. Right-wingers and individuals with a high level of perceived outgroup threat appeared to discriminate against the outgroup host. Oppositely, left-wingers and individuals with a low level of perceived outgroup threat appeared to discriminate in favor the outgroup host. Results showed that people discriminate based on their self-connection with the apartment. In the home swap service context, the self-other overlap was also a basis for discrimination. Finally, three nudges to tackle racial discrimination on Airbnb are suggested: encouraging mutual reviews, rating the accuracy of accommodation's pictures, and increasing information about the host. Further research is needed to assess their power in reducing implicit bias in the decision process.


PURPOSE
We reported encouraging early results of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) after nonmyeloablative conditioning in 64 patients who had advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Here, we have extended the follow-up to a median of 5 years and have included data on an additional 18 patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Eighty-two patients, age 42 to 72 years, who had fludarabine-refractory CLL were conditioned with 2 Gy total-body irradiation alone or combined with fludarabine followed by HCT from related (n = 52) or unrelated (n = 30) donors.

RESULTS
Complete remission (CR) and partial remission were achieved in 55% and 15% of patients, respectively. Higher CR rates were noted after unrelated HCT (67% v 48%). The 5-year incidences of nonrelapse mortality (NRM), progression/relapse, overall survival, and progression-free survival were 23%, 38%, 50%, and 39%, respectively. Among 25 patients initially reported in CR, 8% relapsed and 8% died as a result of NRM, whereas 84% have remained alive and in CR. Among 14 responding patients who were tested and who had molecular eradication of their disease, two died as a result of NRM, two relapsed, and 10 have remained negative. At 5 years, 76% of living patients were entirely well, whereas 24% continued to receive immunosuppression for chronic graft-versus-host disease; the median performance status in each group was 100% and 90%, respectively. Lymphadenopathy > or = 5 cm, but not cytogenetic abnormalities at HCT, predicted relapse. In a risk-stratification model, patients who had lymphadenopathy less than 5 cm and no comorbidities had a 5-year OS of 71%.

CONCLUSION
Nonmyeloablative HCT resulted in a median survival of 5 years for patients who had fludarabine-refractory CLL with sustained remissions and in the continued resolution of chronic graft-versus-host disease in surviving patients.


Background. Association football, otherwise known as soccer, is the most popular sport in the world. The increase in the popularity of the game and the expectations from players make injury risk in football high. Objective. To describe the types, severity, prevalence and mechanism of injuries among professional footballers in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL). Methods. The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) Injury Study Questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of 240 footballers from 11 clubs, who participated in the 2011/2012 NPL premiership season, was selected through proportionate stratified random sampling technique, and the participants were studied using a prospective cohort study design for 6 months. Descriptive statistics of means, percentages and frequency distributions were used to answer the research questions. Results. The mean (standard deviation) age, height and weight of the injured footballers was 22.9 (3.4) years, 1.69 (0.05) m and 71.3 (3.9) kg, respectively. There was a high injury prevalence (78%) associated with actual league games, whereas the incidence rate per 1 000-hour exposure was 300.2 exposure-hours from 19 games within 6 months. Sprain (32%) was the predominant type of injury recorded. The tackle event (34%) was the predominant mechanism of injury recorded, and 63% of the injuries led to 1 - 3 days of player absence from football activities. Most of the injuries were recurrent injuries (63%). Conclusion. This study showed a high occurrence of injuries in the NPL, in particular associated with league (competitive) games. The findings of this study will serve to guide the development and implementation of injury prevention strategies in the NPL.


Multibody systems in planar motion are modelled as two or more rigid components that are connected and can move relative to each other. The dynamics of such multibody systems in planar motion in a central gravitational force field is analysed. The equations of motion of the system include the equations for the orbital motion of the bodies, the orientation (attitude) of the assembly, and the relative orientation (shape) of the bodies with respect to each other. Dynamic coupling between these degrees of freedom gives rise to complex dynamical systems that are usually not integrable. Relative equilibria, corresponding to circular orbits of the multibody system, are obtained. The free dynamics has a symmetry due to a cyclic coordinate. Routh reduction is carried out to eliminate this coordinate and obtain the reduced dynamics. The stability of the relative equilibria is analysed using the Routh stability criterion when it is applicable; an expansion of the Hamiltonian in normal form is used otherwise. We apply the general results to a multibody system consisting of two hinged planar bodies, each modelled as a rigid massless link with a point mass at one end with their other ends connected by a hinge joint. We obtain the relative equilibria of this model, and carry out a stability analysis for the relative equilibria. Numerical simulations using a symplectic integrator are carried out for perturbations to these relative equilibria, to confirm their stability properties.


In 1765, the actor Konrad Ernst Ackermann opened a newly constructed theater in Hamburg. In 1766, Johann Friedrich Lowen took over the directorship of the theater that was subsequently named the Hamburg Nationaltheater. In 1766, the literary critic and playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) was invited to join the Hamburg Nationaltheater as "official theatre poet." From 1767 to 1769, Lessing wrote essays for the Hamburgische Dramaturgie, his new literary journal attached to the Hamburg Nationaltheater. In 1769, the Hamburg Nationaltheater closed. In order to construct a historical narrative for the Hamburg Nationaltheater and Lessing's Hamburg Dramaturgy, one must address the five statements listed above. Given that these events were recorded as having occurred in a particular time and a particular place, one could accord them the status of historical fact and insert them accordingly into the narrative under construction. To do so, however, requires one to address the spaces between the statements. Without contextualization or further elucidation, these statements remain disconnected, disassociated, mysterious; or, in other words, to render these events intelligible within a traditional historical narrative, one must indicate how the statements are related. I would contend, however, that such an operation fails to confer transparency to these events. As experimental enterprises, both the theater and Lessing's journal were in dialogue with a multiplicity of discourses that simultaneously enabled these experiments, interrogated them, and provided them with their contemporary intelligibility. Any present elucidation of these experiments, the material circumstances surrounding their occurrence, and the discourses with which they intersected accords them an intelligibility that can never completely align with that of their time. Ultimately, in any attempt to "make the past speak," something will, in effect, get lost in translation. Traditionally, the Hamburg Nationaltheater and the Hamburg Dramaturgy have been interpreted by historians who have wished to place these labors within a teleological narrative that explains their existence and function in terms that postdate them. These theatrical endeavors are assigned their identity according to what the historian requires their function to be, according to whichever linear history of progress and development is being written. Thus the theater and its accompanying journal are interpreted as being a move towards a "truly" national theater or a more realistic theatrical style (in those accounts concerned with tracing a development of theater from its origins to its current conditions), a struggle for national identity (by those who see the history of Europe within a narrative of an evolutionary nationalism), or as evidence of the pervasiveness of Enlightenment philosophy (by those invested in illustrating a clear development in Western metaphysics). The Hamburg Nationaltheater and the Hamburg Dramaturgy are therefore classified according to what Michel de Certeau refers to in The Writing of History as historical unities and organizing principles--predetermined temporal, sociopolitical, or cultural units of measurement (the eighteenth century, the Age of Enlightenment, the rise of bourgeois realism). (1) These organizing principles require a mediation by the historian between the theatrical event or document, and its transformation into historical "fact" that can be placed into a particular narrative. Once this transition has occurred, the function of the event or document becomes to lend authenticity to whichever narrative a historian is constructing. The analysis of the event has been determined by the interpretive operation that defined it. In a traditional writing of history, historical facts are what one needs them to be. The Hamburg Nationaltheater, to take one example, can be defined as an accepted historical fact within the organizing principle of an evolutionary national identity, an epistemological construct that is often used to define both the theater and Lessing's journal. …


Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are in need of technology innovators who are equipped to leverage technologies in locally relevant domains such as health, government and education. To create skilled graduates who can build and shape locally relevant technologies, higher education institutes in Africa must have Computer Science (CS) education programs that meet local needs, for example, to satisfy the demand for entrepreneurs to build industry and strengthen an economy. This paper characterizes the current state of CS education in SSA in order to identify opportunities for addressing education challenges and to make suggestions that may improve the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in this region. We present the results of a survey of CS educators in SSA institutions of higher education, which was aimed at exploring the issues they face. In addition to the continued chronic under-funding of SSA education, we found that universities in SSA have smaller departments, less focus on Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and offer a variety of courses aside from undergraduate Bachelors degrees. We discuss directions to improve CS curricula through investing in locally tailored courses and changing perceptions of the value of SSA CS higher education programs, standards and educators. Further, we reflect on the challenges of conducting research on SSA. We conclude that further research in this area is needed to build on the ideas we offer here to continue to strengthen CS higher education in SSA.


The majority of brain tumors arising in children are low-grade gliomas. Although historically categorized together as pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs), there is significant histologic and genetic diversity within this group. In general, prognosis for PLGGs is excellent, and limitation of sequelae from tumor and treatment is paramount. Advances in high-throughput genetic sequencing and gene expression profiling are fundamentally changing the way PLGGs are classified and managed. Here, we review the histologic subtypes and highlight how recent advances in elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of these tumors have refined diagnosis and prognostication. Additionally, we discuss how characterizing specific genetic alterations has paved the way for the rational use of targeted therapies that are currently in various phase clinical trials.


The impact of digital technology on the musical economy has been profound. From its production, reproduction, distribution, and consumption, the advent of MP3 and the use of the Internet as a medium of distribution has brought about a significant transformation in the way that music is made, how it is purchased and listened to, and, significantly, how the musical economy itself is able to reproduce itself. In the late 1990s the obscure practice of 'ripping' tracks from CDs through the use of compression programmes was transformed from the illegal hobby of a few thousand computer specialists to a practice available to millions of people worldwide through the development of peer-to-peer computer networks. This continues to have important implications for the viability of the musical economy. At the same time, the production of music has become more accessible and the role of key gatekeepers in the industry--such as record companies and recording studios-- has been undermined, whilst the increased accessibility of music at reduced cost via the Internet has revalorised live performance, and now generates revenues higher than recorded music. The early 21st century has provided an extraordinary case study of an industry in flux, and one that throws light on the relationship between culture and economy, between passion and calculation. This book provides a theoretically grounded account of the implications of digital technology on the musical economy, and develops the concept of the musical network to understand the transformation of this economy over space and through time.


The generic name Dactuliochaeta is established to accommodate Pyrenochaeta glycines, the causal agent of red leaf blotch of soybeans and its synanamorph Dactuliophora glycines. The fungus is redescribed and illustrated from isolates originating from sclerotia on Neonotonia wightii or soybean (Glycine max) leaves or that were sieved from soil in Zambia, Africa. The genus is characterized by setose sclerotia which germinate to form mycelium and then setose pycnidia and/or pycnidia and sclerotia on their surfaces. The inner pycnidial walls are lined with ampulliform to lageniform, phialidic conidiogenous cells that often are periclinally thickened at the conidiogenous locus and bear uninucleate, hyaline conidia.


The spatially generalized Jones matrix formalism is applied to ring lasers with several propagation axes. Local spatial separation is theoretically and experimentally shown to be a convenient means for controlling the coupling, frequencies, and oscillation regime of the eigenstates of a ring laser. It is applied successively to four locally circularly polarized eigenstates, four linearly polarized eigenstates, and a combination of two traveling-wave and one standing-wave linearly polarized eigenstates. In all cases, novel types of optical diodes based on either the Zeeman or the Faraday effect permit the selection of the desired eigenstates. In particular, three kinds of ring laser gyroscope designs that incorporate these optical diodes are shown to circumvent the problem of frequency locking. The first two sustain two counterpropagating frequency-biased traveling waves with orthogonal polarizations. The third one exhibits the Sagnac effect on a single traveling wave, the standing-wave eigenstate being used as a local oscillator. In all cases, fluctuations in the bias can be eliminated, and good agreement is observed between experiments and the predictions obtained from a spatially generalized Jones matrix formalism.


We propose a novel model for a nonlinear optical lumped amplifier. We consider the optimization problem for reshaping of a picosecond soliton by this amplifier. Fixing a value of the gain provided by the amplifier, we demonstrate that there is a set of values of the model's parameters at which the fraction of dispersive waves (continuous radiation) in the output energy has a well-pronounced minimum. Next we consider a long lossy fiber with periodically installed amplifiers, for which the total amount of dispersive wave generated by all the amplifiers is also demonstrated to have a minimum. The minimum value of the fraction of the radiation energy gradually increases with increasing gain.


A Mobile IP multicast prototype that integrates a label-switching wireless asynchronous transfer mode, the mobile core-based multicast architecture, and an Internet multicast infrastructure is presented. MCOM creates multiple core-based layer 2 multicast trees that are independently established in member networks. They are interconnected via the Internet using layer 3 multicast routing. Gateways on the border of the Internet and wireless ATM networks convert ATM multicast traffic to suitable IP packets as well as converting from IP packets to ATM cells for MCOM. To solve the cell interleaving problem that results, ATM block transfer/immediate transmission capability is reasonably modified. Additionally, class-based block buffer management for ATM multicast connections is built into wireless ATM switches for soft quality of service control. Dynamic group management, multicast channel rerouting, and reliable multicasting are also studied in relation to existing Internet protocols like Mobile IP, Internet group management protocols, and multicast routing protocols.


There is ever increasing commercial and regulatory pressure to minimise the cost of water distribution networks even as the demand for them keeps on growing. But cost minimizing is only one of the demands placed on network design. Satisfactory networks are required to operate above a minimum level even if they experience failure of components. Reliable hydraulic performance can be achieved if sufficient redundancy is built in the network. This has given rise to various water distribution system optimization methods including genetic algorithms and other evolutionary computing methods. Evolutionary computing approaches frequently assess the suitability of enormous numbers of potential solutions for which the calculation of accurate reliability measures could be computationally prohibitive. Therefore, surrogate reliability measures are frequently used to ease the computational burden. The aim of this paper is to assess the correlation of surrogate reliability measures in relation to more accurate measures. The surrogate measures studied are statistical entropy, network resilience, resilience index and modified resilience index. The networks were simulated with the prototype software PRAAWDS that produces more realistic results for pressure-deficient water distribution systems. Statistical entropy outperformed resilience index in this study. The results also demonstrate there is a strong correlation between entropy and failure tolerance.


This article attempts to piece together the available data on Sino-Vietnamese trade of northern Vietnam in the early nineteenth century with a focus on its upland region. This essay shares the views expressed in the works by Oscar Salemink, Philip Talor, Sarah Turner and other scholars on northern uplands, and in particular their rejection of the "urban-rural," "advanced-backward," "civilized-barbarian," lowland-highland dichotomies. But building upon these works, this essay also tries to determine what proportion of overland and maritime trade made up the Nguyễn revenue, and to understand the interactions among various peoples living between the mountains and the sea. The data seems to suggest that, contrary to the view that this upland region was remote and consequently isolated, the upland region (outer provinces) near the Sino-Vietnamese border represented an important and even crucial portion of the overall revenue of Nguyễn Vietnam in the early nineteenth century.