The binding of [125I]wheat germ agglutinin ([125I]WGA) of high specific activity to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has been examined over a millionfold range of WGA concentrations and correlated with the phenomena of agglutination and capping by WGA. Analysis of the binding data by the method of Scatchard gives a complex curve indicative of positive cooperativity amongst high-affinity binding sites. Binding assays performed under conditions which inhibit capping and/or agglutination, such as low temperature or glutaraldehyde fixation, give similarly complex binding curves. Thus, the gross mobility of WGA receptors in the membrane does not appear to be responsible for the cooperative binding of WGA to CHO cells.


Temporary intravascular shunts (TIVS) are synthetic intraluminal conduits that maintain arterial and/or venous blood flow. This technique can be used for: 1) replantation; 2) open extremity fractures with extensive soft tissue and arterial injuries; or 3) damage control (extremity/truncal). The literature defining TIVS is composed exclusively of small case series (primarily penetrating injuries). Our goal was to identify the injured population who actually undergoes TIVS using the National Trauma Data Bank (2001 to 2005). TIVS were placed in 395 patients (mean Injury Severity Score = 26; initial hemodynamic instability = 24%; mean based deficit = –7.2; mortality = 14%). Blunt mechanisms caused 64 per cent (251 of 395) of cases. Penetrating injuries were primarily gunshot wounds (97%). Concurrent severe extremity fractures and/or soft tissue defects were present in 185 (74%) blunt-injured patients. Only six of 111 centers performing TIVS used this technique five or more times. Only three centers used TIVS more than 10 times. The volume of TIVS use was similar across the study period (P > 0.05). TIVS is primarily used in blunt motor vehicle collision trauma with concurrent severe extremity fractures and soft tissue injuries. This provides distal perfusion while surgeons assess/fixate the limb. TIVS are placed relatively uncommonly by a large number of trauma centers with a few hospitals using them much more frequently for penetrating injuries.


In this paper, I explore the possibility accounting for constructions that appear to instantiate Long-Distance Agreement without appealing to a formal operation of agreement-at-a-distance . The viability of such an account is particularly important in light of recent theoretical developments that suggest a move away from Probe-Goal oriented approaches to movement, and towards viewing movement as a response to formal needs of the moving element itself. Broadly speaking, I consider two possible approaches: (i) agreement is established in a purely local con.guration, followed by the agreeing head (and whatever material ends up intervening between this head and the target nounphrase) moving away, giving the impression of Long-Distance Agreement; and (ii) apparent Long-Distance Agreement is actually an instance of syntactic movement in which the phonological component chooses to pronounce the moved element in its lower position. It is shown that the latter approach fares better with respect to the scopal properties of several constructions, including English expletiveassociate constructions, and so-called Long-Distance Agreement in Hindi-Urdu and in Basque.


What is the spirit that animates collective action? What is the ethos of democracy? Worldly Ethics offers a powerful and original response to these questions, arguing that associative democratic politics, in which citizens join together and struggle to shape shared conditions, requires a world-centered ethos. This distinctive ethos, Ella Myers shows, involves care for "worldly things," which are the common and contentious objects of concern around which democratic actors mobilize. In articulating the meaning of worldly ethics, she reveals the limits of previous modes of ethics, including Michel Foucault's therapeutic model, based on a "care of the self," and Emmanuel Levinas's charitable model, based on care for the Other. Myers contends that these approaches occlude the worldly character of political life and are therefore unlikely to inspire and support collective democratic activity. The alternative ethics she proposes is informed by Hannah Arendt's notion of amor mundi , or love of the world, and it focuses on the ways democratic actors align around issues, goals, or things in the world, practicing collaborative care for them. Myers sees worldly ethics as a resource that can inspire and motivate ordinary citizens to participate in democratic politics, and the book highlights civic organizations that already embody its principles.


In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, class action waivers have become seemingly invulnerable to attack. Class action attorneys have become dispirited that consumer rights seem impossible to enforce. While the Federal Arbitration Act has been written about at length, this Note adds to that scholarship by proposing several new solutions to the problems posed by class action waivers. In addition, this Note seeks to consolidate other proposals, respond to major objections to these proposals, and in its conclusion, compare the effectiveness of these various proposals to settle on one preferred solution. Ultimately, the solutions to the problem of class action waivers fall into three broad categories: (1) methods that would allow consumers to viably pursue their claims individually in arbitration, (2) methods that would allow consumers to escape from their arbitration agreements and pursue class litigation in court, and (3) methods that bypass the class action device entirely by instead relying on government enforcement of consumer protection laws. After proposing and evaluating several solutions in each category, this Note concludes that the latter category—improved government enforcement of consumer protection laws—is likely to be the most effective.


The rarity of scleroderma makes it a difficult disorder to study epidemiologically. Recent studies have highlighted some of the environmental exposures associated with the disease. Among occupational exposures silica remains the most important, whereas appetite suppressants might be an important drug cause. The disease also appears to cluster in space, with one report suggesting that proximity to airports might be important. There has been considerable recent attention given to a scleroderma-like syndrome developing after ingestion of L-tryptophan; the link seems definite and the latter's subsequent withdrawal indicates that this might become of historic interest only. The relevance for "sporadic" scleroderma is unclear. Interest has also focused on survival and its predictors. It is clear that scleroderma is associated with a substantially reduced survival and that the extent of skin involvement and the development of internal organ involvement, particularly renal and pulmonary, are the worst prognostic features.


ICT has been promoted as a way out of deprivation for rural residents who continue to suffer from a
limited access to social-economic developments. However, less is understood about how a
marginalized community can drive its own development. Simultaneously, the focus on ICT in
developing context has eclipsed the study of ICT for development in existing literature. These
observations underscore the need for this study that explores the use of ICT for grassroots
entrepreneurship through the phenomenal rise of China Taobao E-commerce Village. Through an indepth
case study, we propose the concept of digitally enabled grassroots entrepreneurship that (1)
contributes to the existing ICT4D literature by explicating the roles of ICT (e-commerce) in driving
the grassroots entrepreneurship through the emergence of an entrepreneurial ecosystem for a selfdriven
development, and (2) delineates the process of digitally enabled development beyond the
provision of the Internet and infrastructure by presenting the development stages of digitally enabled
grassroots entrepreneurship through the opportunity exploitation and opportunity exploration of
business, knowledge, and institutional entrepreneurship. The findings also provide a reference point
for practitioners to reconsider the external intervention-based development approach.


Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have increased dramatically over the last two decades. This paper analyses the role of trade costs in explaining the increase in the number of cross-border mergers and acquisitions. In particular, we distinguish horizontal and non-horizontal M&As and investigate whether trade costs affect these two types of mergers differently. We analyse this question using industry data for 23 OECD countries for the period 1990-2001. Our findings suggest that while in the aggregate trade costs affect cross-border merger activity negatively its impact differs importantly across horizontal and non-horizontal mergers. The impact of trade costs is less negative for horizontal mergers, which is consistent with the tariff-jumping argument.


Introduction : Mobile phone usage is widespread and concerns have been raised on the safety of its long-term usage. The electromagnetic fields emitted from mobile can penetrate skull and deposit energy 4-6 cm into the brain resulting in heating of the tissue. In this study, we explore a possible relationship between prolonged mobile phone usage and sensorineural deafness. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a medical college situated in rural India. A total of 100 persons between the age group of 20-45years using mobile phone for at least 5 years are selected and screened for sensorineural deafness. Use of cellular phones was assessed by a questionnaire. Mean number of daily calls and minutes were asked for to calculate the cumulative use in hours for all years. The most frequently used ear during cellular phone calls was noted, or whether both ears were used equally. Otoscopic examinations were performed by an otolaryngologist before testing in order to rule out any external or middle ear pathology that could affect audiometric measurements. The hearing levels of subjects were tested using pure tone audiometry. Results : One hundred subjects who are habitual mobile phone users were screened by pure tone audiometry. It is found that the prevalence of sensorineural deafness was 3% and there is a linear relationship between the duration of mobile phone use and the degree of the severity of deafness. Conclusion : The prevalence of sensorineural deafness in our study in habitual mobile users is 3%. It is not clearly known whether mobile phone use is the direct cause of deafness in these subjects but the absence of other causes might point towards its etiological role.


The objective of this work is study the carbonation of reinforced steel in different solutions include artificial seawater (3.5% NaCl), river water and domestic water by electrochemical method at room temperature. Corrosion parameters were measured to calculate corrosion rates from polarization curves. Cyclic polarization was tested to know the possibility of occurring for pitting corrosion. Both Tafel plot and cyclic polarization indicate that the corrosion of reinforced steel was the lowest in river water due to the impurities and clay in this water which can be inter to the pores in concrete and it does not allow to occur carbonation of reinforced steel in addition to forming calcium salts with anions in river water more than forming calcium carbonate which close the pores of concrete. The results were supplemented with optical microscopy. Keyword: Reinforced steel, Corrosion in concrete, Tafel plot, Cyclic polarization.


Nanoantennas are metal structures that provide strong optical coupling between a nanoscale volume and the far field. This coupling is mediated by surface plasmons, oscillations of the free electrons in the metal. Increasing the control over the resonant plasmonic field distribution opens up a wide range of applications of nanoantennas operating both in receiving and transmitting mode. This thesis presents how the dispersion and confinement of surface plasmons in nanoantennas are resolved and further engineered. Fabrication of nanostructures is done using focused ion beam milling (FIB) in metallic surfaces. We demonstrate that patterning in single-crystal substrates allows us to precisely control the geometry in which plasmons are confined. The nanoscale properties of the resonant plasmonic fields are resolved using a new technique developed in this thesis: angle- and polarization controlled cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging spectroscopy. The use of a tightly focused e lectron beam allows us to probe the optical antenna properties with deep subwavelength resolution. We show using this technique that nanoantennas consisting of 500-1200 nm long polycrystalline Au nanowires support standing plasmon waves. We directly observe the plasmon wavelengths which we use to derive the dispersion relation of guided nanowire plasmons. A 590-nm-long ridge-shaped nanoantenna was fabricated using FIB milling on a single-crystal Au substrate, demonstrating a level of control over the fabrication impossible with polycrystalline metals. CL experiments show that the ridge supports multiple-order resonances. The confinement of surface plasmons to the ridge is confirmed by boundary-element-method (BEM) calculations. The resonant modes in plasmonic whispering gallery cavities consisting of a FIB-fabricated circular groove are resolved. We find an excellent agreement between boundary element method calculations and the measured CL emission from the ring-shaped cavities. The c alculations show that the ring supports resonances with increasing azimuthal or radial order. The smallest cavity fits only one wavelength in its circumference. We theoretically show that in these cavities, spontaneous emission can be enhanced over a broad spectral band due to the small modal volume of the plasmon resonances. A Purcell factor >2000 was found. We further study the mode symmetries and coupling of the ring resonances using far-field excitation, fluorescence, angle-resolved cathodoluminescence and photoelectron emission microscopy. We demonstrate spectral reshaping of emitters, mode-specific angular emission patterns, and a mode-selective excitation by incoming light, and we directly resolve the modal fields at high resolution. In the next chapter, we present metal-insulator-metal plasmon waveguides in which we engineer the dispersion to reach a refractive index of zero. Using spatially- and angle-resolved CL we directly observe the spatial mode profiles and determine t he dispersion relation of plasmon modes. At the cutoff frequency, the emission pattern corresponds to that of a line dipole antenna demonstrating the entire waveguide is in phase (n=0). A strongly enhanced density of optical states is directly observed at cutoff from the enhanced CL intensity. Finally, we present 5 possible applications: a localized surface plasmon sensor, a plasmon ring laser, template stripping technique, an in-situ monitor of ionoluminescence and cathodoluminescence in a FIB system and a single-photon source


The polymn. of isoprene induced by alkyl lithium compds. in hydrocarbon solvents is known to proceed with a high stereoselectivity to (Z)-1,4-polyisoprene. We have studied the initiation step of this reaction with the help of ab initio mol. dynamics simulations based on d. functional theory. Specifically, we have investigated the reaction of isoprene with Et lithium and, by applying simulated annealing techniques, we have characterized the products of the initiation step and found a cis-isomer to be energetically most favorable. Several alternative reaction pathways have been characterized in detail in terms of their corresponding transition states and reaction products. For our model system, the cis-trans isomerization turns out to be rate detg. and, although the addn. reaction has a low barrier, it constitutes the stereoselective step. Our calcns. allow us to discriminate between different possible reaction mechanisms and give a rationalization for the high stereoselectivity. In this regard, lithium plays a crucial role by preferentially stabilizing specific structures through the formation of 'chelated' complexes and agnostic interactions. [on SciFinder (R)]


Data on perceived brightness and visual acuity were obtained under essentially identical conditions of steady and intermittent illumination, using long exposures (up to 45 sec) as well as brief ones (250 msec). Flicker frequencies down to 8 cps and light-time fraction to 0.083 were sampled. By taking into account the exact duration of the test exposures, a more general form of Talbot's law was derived, which fits all the brightness matches obtained. When this new equation is used as a yardstick, intermittent illumination turns out to be less efficient than steady illumination so far as visual acuity is concerned for brief exposures. For long exposures it is more efficient, as was previously reported by Senders.


Clarithromycin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles were prepared and evaluated for antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumonia. Infrared and differential scanning calorimetry studies ruled out any possibility of interaction between clarithromycin and excipients used. Formulations were prepared using ionic gelation method. From the results, it was found that percent entrapment efficiency of formulations ranged between 12.1±0.67 to 59.45±4.05 %, particle size between 155.31±23.36 to 360.05±26.06 nm with narrow size distributions except F1, F2, F3 and zeta potential between +11.96±0.5 to +26.83±0.4 mV. The in vitro drug release was found to be good with 75.1±1.01, 72.4±2.14, 68.1±1.96 and 65±1.52 % release for F4, F5, F6 and F7, respectively. From the results of kinetic studies, formulations were found to be more linear towards Higuchi model with R2 value ranging from 0.843 to 0.964 indicating that drug release mechanism by diffusion and n value of Korsemeyer-Peppas plot was found to be less 0.5 indicating Fickian diffusion. In vitro antibacterial activity was performed against Streptococcus pneumonia. Their minimum inhibition concentration values of F4 and F5 was 1/4th and 1/2th of minimum inhibition concentration of clarithromycin. Results of in vitro antibacterial studies showed that, the clarithromycin nanoparticles have more antibacterial property than intact drug.


Diabetes can damage both the peripheral sensory organs, causing retinopathy, as well as the central visual system, leading to contrast sensitivity and impaired color vision in patients without retinopathy. Orientation discrimination is important for shape recognition by the visual system. Our psychophysical findings in this study show diminished orientation discrimination in diabetic patients without retinopathy. To reveal the underlying mechanism, we established a diabetic mouse model and recorded in vivo electrophysiological data in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) and primary visual cortex (V1). Reduced orientation selectivity was observed in both individual and populations of neurons in V1 and dLGN, which increased in severity with disease duration. This diabetes-associated neuronal dysfunction appeared earlier in the V1 than dLGN. Additionally, neuronal activity and signal-to-noise ratio is reduced in V1 neurons of diabetic mice, leading to a decreased capacity for information processing by V1 neurons. Notably, the V1 in diabetic mice exhibits reduced excitatory neuronal activity and lower levels of phosphorylated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Our findings show that altered responses of both populations and single V1 neurons may impair fine vision, thus expanding our understanding of the underlying causes of diabetes-related impairment of the central nervous system.


BACKGROUND
Isocyanates are one of the most commonly reported causes of occupational asthma; however, the risks of developing isocyanate asthma in modern production facilities remain poorly defined. We evaluated TDI exposure and respiratory health among an inception cohort of workers during their first year of employment at a new polyurethane foam production factory.

METHODS
Forty-nine newly hired workers were evaluated pre-employment, 6-months, and 12-months post-employment through questionnaire, spirometry, and TDI-specific serology. Airborne TDI levels were monitored by fixed-point air sampling and limited personal sampling. Qualitative surface SWYPE™ tests were performed to evaluate potential sources of skin exposure.

RESULTS
Airborne TDI levels overall were low; over 90% of fixed-point air measurements were below the limit of detection (0.1 ppb). Over the first year of employment, 12 of the 49 original workers (24.5%) were lost to follow-up, no additional workers were enrolled, and seven of the 49 original workers (14.2%) developed either new asthma symptoms (N = 3), TDI-specific IgG (N = 1), new airflow obstruction (N = 1) and/or a decline in FEV1  ≥ 15% (N = 3), findings that could indicate TDI-related health effects. The prevalence of current asthma symptoms was significantly higher in the workers lost to follow-up compared to those who completed the 12-month follow-up (25% vs. 2.7%; P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest possible early TDI-related health effects in a modern polyurethane production plant. These findings also highlight the need for further longitudinal evaluation of these workers and the challenges of studying workers at risk for isocyanate asthma.


The paper presents the programmable multiphase clock generator for switched-capacitor finite impulse response (SC FIR) circular memory filters. The proposed programmable clock circuit enables easy division of such kind of filters into different orders smaller sections, which when connected in series, lead to increase in filter efficiency: reduction of chip area, power dissipation, and rising up of the speed. The proposed clock generator enables adjustment of the impulses width, that simplifies design process and leads to structure, which is more robust to process variation. The clock circuit realized in CMOS 0.35 μm technology, dissipates 22 μW from 2 V power supply


Candida ssp are of medical importance because they are the most common opportunistic mycosis worldwide, a common cause of nosocomial urinary tract infections (UTIs), oral candidiasis and genitourinary candidiasis.  The development of Candida spp infection depends on several factors such as age, sex, and immunity of the host-pathogen relationship. They are resistance to one or more antifungal. The purpose of these studies to isolation and identification of Candida spp from urine sample and investigation of susceptibility of these strains to Amphotericin B andFluconazole. There are 105 Urine sample of the renal failure were collected using a sterile urinary cap, different diagnostic techniques were used for characterization of Candida spp. Culture characteristic, gram stain, Germ tube, CHROM agar candida and scanning electronic microscopic. Results showed 40% urine sample positive also Different Candida spp isolated, C. albicans (20%), C. parapsilisos (20%), C. glabrata (32.72%) , and C. krusei (27.27%). The antibiotic susceptibility test of the isolates was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Candida spp sensitivity to 6µg/ml Amphotericin B but Fluconazole was ineffective against Candida spp. The most common pathogen in Urinary tract system is Candida spp both Albicans and non- Albicans are unusual causes of urinary tract infections in healthy individuals also Candida spp resistance to Fluconazole but sensitivity to low concentration Amphitericin B.


We develop an electrostatic theory for designing bulk composites with effective lossless negative permittivities. The theory and associated design procedure are validated by comparing their predictions with those of rigorous full-wave simulations. It is demonstrated that the excitation of the Fröhlich mode (the first-order surface mode) of the constitutive nanoparticles plays a key role in achieving negative permittivities with compensated losses.


Book synopsis: This book brings together a number of experts in the field of organizational interventions for stress and well-being, and discusses the importance of process and context issues to the success or failure of such interventions. The book explores how context and process can be incorporated into program evaluation, providing examples of how this can be done, and offers insights that aim to improve working life.

Although there is a substantial body of research supporting a causal relationship between working conditions and employee stress and well-being, information on how to develop effective strategies to reduce or eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace is much more scarce, ambiguous and inconclusive. Indeed, researchers in this field have so far attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions to improve workers' health and well-being, but little attention has been paid to the strategies and processes likely to enhance or undermine interventions. The focus of this volume will help to overcome this qualitative-quantitative divide.

This book discusses conceptual developments, practical applications, and methodological issues in the field. As such it is suitable for students, practitioners and researchers in the fields of organizational psychology and clinical psychology, as well as human resources management, health & safety, medicine, occupational health, risk management and public health.


The occurrence and distribution of trace elements in source rocks and crude oils is used to asses the process of geochemical exploration. Rock and crude oil samples representing the giant fields of the Gulf os Suez province were collected and analyzed for AI, Ba, Ca. Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Sr, Ti, V, Zn, and Zr. The analyzed data were treated statistically to find some factors and clusters concerning the interrelation between the source rock and crude oils. The application of both factor and cluster analysis in this study revealed four factors for both rock and crude oil samples. These factors can be classified into three groups namely; the factor of diagenesis, trace elements adsorption factor and the factor of source rock. In addition to the cluster analysis separated the Gulf of Suez oilfields into two major groups; the first includes the oilfields (Ras Bahar and Shoab Ali) which located in the extreme southern part while the second group includes the oilfields (Ras Matarma-Asi-Abu Rudies-October-Ras Budran Amer-Bakr-Belayim-Rahmi and July) these fields located in the northern and central parts of the Gulf of Suez. The two separated cluster groups may be related to multiple source rocks with different organic facies along the Gulf of Suez province.


We review the theoretical, computational, and empirical research on school vouchers, with a focus on the latter. In this substantial body of work, many studies find insignificant effects of vouchers on educational outcomes; however, multiple positive findings support continued exploration. Specifically, the empirical research on small scale programs does not suggest that awarding students a voucher is a systematically reliable way to improve educational outcomes. Nevertheless, in some settings, or for some subgroups or outcomes, vouchers can have a substantial positive effect on those who use them. Studies of large scale voucher programs find student sorting as a result of their implementation, although of varying magnitude. Evidence on both small scale and large scale programs suggests that competition induced by vouchers leads public schools to improve. Moreover, research is making progress on understanding how vouchers may be designed to limit adverse effects from sorting while preserving positive effects related to competition. Finally, our sense is that work originating in a single case (e.g., a given country) or in a single research approach (e.g., experimental designs) will not provide a full understanding of voucher effects; fairly wide ranging empirical and theoretical work will be necessary to make progress.


On 25 September 1911 the battleship Liberté exploded in
 Toulon harbour. This tragedy is just one of the many disasters that the French
 fleet suffered at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth
 centuries and also represents the peak of these calamities, since it is
 undoubtedly the most deadly suffered by a French Navy ship in peacetime. The aim
 of this article is to study how the navy managed this disaster and the resulting
 deaths of service personnel, which were all the more traumatic because the
 incident happened in France's main military port and in circumstances
 that do not match the traditional forms of death at sea.


Masterpiece Cakeshop LTD, et al v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission is about much more than a wedding cake. It is about the rightful place of LGBT people and their families in the commercial and public sphere. In fact, children are already bearing the brunt of exclusionary practices in the public marketplace because of their relationship to or association with their LGBT parents. In Michigan, a pediatrician refused to treat an infant based solely on the fact that the child had lesbian mothers. In Kentucky, a judge refused to hear adoption cases of children involving LGBT adoptive-parents-to-be. In Tennessee, a nondenominational private school rejected enrollment for a pre-kindergartener and his 8-month-old sister after discovering that the children had two dads. In this brief, we argue that an expressive or religious exemption to sexual orientation discrimination prohibitions will deny children of LGBT parents equal access to the public sphere, inflict upon them psychological harm, and interfere with the "integrity and closeness" of their families — contrary to the aims of public accommodation and anti-discrimination law, and LGBT equality principles advanced in United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges.


A minimal approach to the measurement problem and the quantum-to-classical transition assumes a universally valid quantum formalism, i.e. unitary time evolution governed by a Schrödinger-type equation. As had been pointed out long ago, in this view the measurement process can be described by decoherence which results in a "Many-Worlds" or "Many-Minds" scenario according to Everett and Zeh. A silent assumption for decoherence to proceed is however, that there exists incomplete information about the environment our object system gets entangled with in the measurement process. This paper addresses the question where this information is traced out and - by adopting recent approaches to model consciousness in neuroscience - argues that a rigorous interpretation results in a perspectival notion of the quantum-to-classical transition. The information that is or is not available in the consciousness of the observer is crucial for the definition of the environment (i.e. the unknown degrees of freedom in the remainder of the Universe). As such the Many-Worlds-Interpretation, while being difficult or impossible to probe in physics, may become testable in psychology.


High-growth, entrepreneurial businesses are essential to the UK's emergence from recession. But their success is dependent on several factors, one of which is the availability of appropriate finance. The availability of growth finance has declined drastically in the credit crunch, and too little has been done to revive it. It will be impossible to transform and rehabilitate the UK's economy without an equivalent change in our sources of capital.This shortage will not resolve itself. If left unchecked, it will undermine the innovative sectors on which the long-term growth of the UK's economy depends. Government has an
important role to play. Although there have been a large number of failed attempts by governments to stimulate the financing of high-growth businesses, there have also been notable success stories. By drawing out the principles of these examples, this paper sets out a proposal that offers a timely, efficient and smart way for the Government to support and stimulate investment in high-growth companies.


The human intestinal tract harbours a trillion on microbial cells, predominantly anaerobes. The activity and physiology of these anaerobes is strongly associated with health and disease. This association has been investigated for a long time.However, this has not been fully understood. One of the reasons is the limited availability  of  cultured representatives. It is estimated that there may be more than 3000 species colonised in the gut of healthy individuals, however, only a bit over 1000 species have been isolated and characterised. Among the intestinal microbes, butyrate-producing bacteria are of special interest as the butyrate produced,  is crucial to maintain a healthy gut. In addition, butyrate-producing bacteria have shown a reverse correlation with several intestinal diseases. In Chapter 2 we described a novel species Anaerostipes rhamnosivorans 1y2T isolated from an infant stool. This strain belonged to genus Anaerostipes within Clostridium cluster XIVa. A. rhamnosivorans had a capability of converting rhamnose into butyrate that is unique within intestinal butyrate-producing bacteria. The genomic analysis also revealed the entire rhamnose fermentation pathway as well as the acetyl-CoA pathway for butyrate production. This bacterium is able to produce butyrate from a wide range of sugars as well as lactate plus acetate. In Chapter 3 , we described the microbial interactions between A. rhamnosivorans and Bacteriodes thetaiotaomicron in dietary pectins; Blautia hydrogenotrophica in lactate and small amount of acetate; Methanobrevibacter smithii in glucose. We observed that A. rhamnosivorans was able to benefit from its partners in all cocultures for butyrate production. This is likely due to its high metabolic flexibility. While the interaction between A. rhamnosivorans and B. thetaiotaomicron appeared as syntrophy, the interaction between A. rhamnosivorans and hydrogenotrohic microbes were cross-feeding type where hydrogen was transferred between two species. The latter resulted in an increase in butyrate level. In Chapter 4 we described a novel species Intestinimonas butyriciproducens SRB521T representing a novel genus Intestinimonas from a mouse caecum within Clostridium cluster IV. This bacterium produced butyrate and acetate as end products from Wilkins-Chalgren-Anaerobe broth. Butyrate production is assumed to derive from carbohydrate employing acetyl-CoA pathway. No gut bacterium is known to convert proteins or amino acids to butyrate although butyrogenic pathways from amino acid degradation have been detected in the human gut using metagenomic approach. In Chapter 5 we discovered a novel butyrate synthesis pathway from the amino acid lysine and the Amadori product fructoselysine in  Intestinimonas butyriciproducens AF211 that was isolated from human stool. This strain appeared to grow much better in lysine as compared to sugars although lysine and acetyl-CoA pathways were both detected in its complete genome. Moreover, the strain AF211 was able to metabolise efficiently fructoselysine into butyrate, and acetate was found to affect the fructoselysine fermentation, representing the impact of the environmental conditions where acetate is abundant in the gut. While the lysine pathway was found in the gut of many individuals, the fructoselysine pathway was present in only half of those samples. The finding that strain I. butyriciproducens AF211 is capable of the butyrogenic conversion of amino acid lysine and fructoselysine, an Amadori product formed in heated foods via the Maillard reaction, indicated a missing link that coupling protein metabolism and butyrate formation. As this Amadori product has been implicated to play a role in aging process, the use of strain AF211 as fructoselysine clearance in the gut needs further investigation. In Chapter 6 we performed genomic and physiological comparison between the I. butyriciproducens strain AF211 (human isolate) and SRB521T (mouse isolate). I. butyriciproducens was the most abundant species within the Intestinimonas genus and highly prevalent in humans based on metadata analysis on 16S amplicons. We confirmed that the butyrogenesis from lysine was a shared characteristic between the two I. butyriciproducens strains. We also observed the host specific features including tolerance to bile, cellular fatty acid composition, more efficient capability of converting sugars into butyrate, especially galactose and arabinose, in the human strain AF211. In addition, genomic rearrangements as well as variations in bacteriophages differed among strains.


This research draws on the CrowdLaw concept and the affordances framework to inquire how Senador Virtual, a technological innovation in the Chilean Senate, could contribute to creating more democratic processes and outcomes, and consequently, whether the platform promoted or enabled more equality in decision-making processes and better citizen engagement. Based on a mixed-methods approach of statistical analysis, interviews, and a digital ethnography, we studied the 16-year-old web platform. Our research shows that the platform gave rise to five latent democratic affordances which are not always fully leveraged. Of these, three had already been discussed within the CrowdLaw literature: (1) capture a variety of viewpoints; (2) generate insights that illuminate the lawmaking process; and (3) serve as a device for communication between citizens and senators. Notwithstanding, we also found two additional affordances not normally attributed to CrowdLaw: (4) create a civilized public forum; and (5) foster civility among the users that engage with it. We suggest that in order for these affordances to be fully leveraged, the CrowdLaw process must be designed to complement traditional lawmaking processes, including a reliable methodology for processing citizen input. Only when the above is accomplished, will this technological facilitator produce actual democratic outcomes.


Diffusion processes are central to human interactions. Despite extensive studies that span multiple disciplines, our knowledge is limited to spreading processes in non-substitutive systems. Yet, a considerable number of ideas, products and behaviors spread by substitution-to adopt a new one, agents must give up an existing one. Here, we find that, ranging from mobile handsets to automobiles to smart phone apps, early growth patterns in substitutive systems follow a power law with non-integer exponents, in sharp contrast to the exponential growth customary in spreading phenomena. Tracing 3.6 million individuals substituting for mobile handsets for over a decade, we uncover three generic ingredients governing substitutive processes, allowing us to develop a minimal substitution model, which not only predict analytically the observed growth patterns, but also collapse growth trajectories of constituents from rather diverse systems into a single universal curve. These results demonstrate that the dynamics of complex substitutive systems are governed by robust self-organizing principles that go beyond the particulars of individual systems, which implies that these results could guide the understanding and prediction of all spreading phenomena driven by substitutions, from electric cars to scientific paradigms, from renewable energy to new healthy habits.


Formerly, Distro Industry was an industry which born in punk community. Distro Industry provided many kinds and types of clothing and accessories for punk's community, besides it provided many kind of cassettes and compact discs of punk's communities. In Indonesia, distro industry firstly developed from indie band community. Distro provided cassettes of indie major label and accessories of indie band, from clothing to the other accessories. At present, the development of distro industry is not only sells cassettes and the necessary of indie bands, but also it's product has been segmentated to the teenagers. Nowadays, many develop distros sell many kinds of clothing and clotihing's accessories fashioned to the teenagers. So that distro is not only for indie band community but also distro industry has been blossomed as the place for stylish desired teens. Nowadays, distro become a self-producing shop that produce clothing and accessories clothing and than market it on their shops. The product distros are segmentated to the teenagers. Consumptive attitude is a process of making decision and individual activity physically involved in evaluating, gaining, using or it can use goods and service. Action theory from Talcott Parsons declares that an individual or group decide many tools / ways to reach their purpose. Social exchange theory declares that an individual in interacting always creates an exchange considering to the reward and punishment. In researching distro industry and the result toward consumptive attitude in Malang's teens is done toward distro industry's does and consumen. The kind of this research is qualitative research with descriptive approach. The subject of this research are the director and employee of Bandung Sport Distro and Ultras Distro, teenagers who come to the Bandung Sport Distro and Ultras Distro, teenagers who use the product and service of Distro not only of they who are met on the Distro but also they who are met outside the Distro (e.g mall, campus, house and all place but distro). In interviewing teenagers who use the product of Distro is done with accidental sampling technique appropriated to the problem formulation that is wanted to be answered. The theory which done is action theory from Talcott Parsons and social exchange theory by George C. Homans. The manager of distro apply many kinds of strategy to keep the existentions of their manage distro. It so happens that the manager of distro in developing their distro industry as devided into two things, they are distro management strategy and income from that distro. The product of distro is also imclired to be used by teenager on their appearances like the clothing and clothing accessories. Consumptive attitude of teens who's using the product from distro related to the deciding process to buy the products of distro, stylish behavior and using the products of distro an any situations.


Increasing use of the private car, in part due to declining real costs, has led to a reduction in
the viability of rural public transport services over recent years. Combined with an
increasing recognition that transport can help tackle social exclusion and the advent of the
Rural and Urban Bus Challenges, this has led to the instigation of a number of publicly funded
Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes in England and Wales. However the
reported performance of these schemes has been variable and little is known about the
interplay between their design, operation and performance.
This thesis utilised the theory of Realistic Evaluation (Pawson and Tilley, 2007) to design
and undertake a survey, and a number of case studies of publicly-funded DRT schemes in
England and Wales, and analyse the resultant data. In particular this thesis focussed on
identifying the pertinent contexts, mechanisms and outcomes that impact upon the design,
operation and performance of DRT schemes in an attempt both to learn more about the
processes that operate within a DRT scheme, and develop a method by which others can learn
more in the future.
The conclusions of this thesis are therefore twofold. Firstly they relate to the design,
operation and performance of publicly-funded DRT schemes in England and Wales and
highlight the importance of careful planning and implementation, and the impact of external
contexts, such as geographical and human factors. Secondly they find that Realistic
Evaluation can provide a useful framework to evaluate DRT schemes, and one that allows for
the cumulation of evaluations in the future. However it is also noted that, in this instance, the
application of the theory does not provide results of the level of detail that was predicted at
the outset of the study.
As a result of this research a significant contribution to knowledge has been made through the
development of a baseline of data pertaining to publicly-funded DRT schemes in England
and Wales, and the production and trialling of a framework for the evaluation of DRT.


Aim/Purpose: Digital health is increasingly being utilized in clinical practice given its ease of accessibility, but it lacks emphasis from universities and accreditation bodies. This study attempted to better understand the digital capabilities of optometry students.

Background: With technological advancements transforming the Australian workforce and healthcare, there is a growing demand for digitally competent graduates. This study investigated digital perceptions and preferences of optometry students relating to their studies and readiness for work in healthcare.

Methodology: Current optometry students participated in an anonymous online survey. Questions were designed to evaluate their understanding and awareness of digital skills and competencies for learning whilst at university, and for use in the health sector workforce. Results were analyzed to underscore key trends and answers to open-ended questions underwent inductive thematic analysis to generate themes for discussion.

Contribution: Optometry educators can bridge the gap in digital practices between students and the workplace by obtaining a baseline of their capabilities and incorporating specific activities within the curriculum to increase student awareness and support their understanding and development in this aspect.

Findings: Most students were confident in using daily technologies for learning. Reference management software was perceived to be most important and useful skill to attain. While students were less confident in creating applications, they were keen to learn even though it seemed peripheral to their career and professional development. 70% of the students knew how to manage their online privacy and security. Of the students, 92% highlighted that attaining competency in digital skills would enhance their career and professional development, but only 54% believed they possessed the relevant skills for entering the workforce. Only 19% of the students reported having sufficient university support.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Digital capabilities of learners do need to be taught explicitly and should not be assumed. To improve student learning outcomes, digital skills and competencies need to be embedded throughout the curriculum and addressed through learning objectives.

Recommendation for Researchers: More work needs to be done in implementing digital training and services at a subject, course, and institutional level. Some international benchmarking of optometry curricula and optometry research would clarify the need for digital education, to educators and students alike.

Impact on Society: Currently, there is a lack of recognition of digital health by accrediting bodies, thus preventing digital competency from being a priority in the curriculum of schools. There is a further need to establish dialogue between universities, employers, and accrediting bodies to set consistent and realistic expectations of digital skills and competencies.

Future Research: Future studies should consider having larger sample sizes to observe similarities and differences in digital capabilities between year levels. Student focus groups and interviews can be performed to better understand the rationale behind the desire and interest to learn digital technologies that seemed irrelevant to optometry.


Scholars have long debated why certain common law breaches in American jurisprudence receive criminal punishment (imprisonment) while others only receive civil sanctions (monetary damages). Scholars like Richard Posner and Guido Calabresi have used economic-based models and the notion of efficiency to explain why torts only receive civil sanctions but crimes receive criminal punishment. Others like John Coffee and Paul Robinson have questioned the explanatory power of these models. Instead, they have focused on the moral difference between torts and crimes. Simply put, a crime's intentional nature makes it morally worse than the carelessness typified by tortious activity. Interestingly, scholars on both sides of the debate have largely neglected to include contract breaches - a significant part of common law - into their models. Like torts, these breaches also only receive civil sanctions. What explains the similar treatment? This Article makes an original contribution to the literature by systematically introducing contract breaches into the broader criminal/civil debate. It employs the aforementioned economic and moral-based models in an effort to understand the treatment of contract breaches. The economic model, and its focus on efficiency, predictably explains why these breaches only receive civil sanctions. The moral-based model stumbles here. Its focus on intent suggests that a contract breach - as intentional conduct - also deserves moral blame and thus criminal punishment. What is missing from this model is recognizing the unique nature of the underlying responsibility in a contract breach and specifically the difference between a "voluntary obligation" and a "non-voluntary obligation." This Article takes the innovative step of introducing this distinction into the larger criminal/civil debate and using it to conclude that the moral-based and economic approaches can be integrated into a unified model.


Levitation melting is a containerless technique requiring non-contact diagnostic tools. In order to properly perform such experiments, a precise knowledge of the heat balance between inductive heating of the sample and the heat losses due to radiation and heat conduction is a prerequisite. This paper provides the necessary theoretical background and defines the set of experiments needed for obtaining the key parameters of the thermal model. The method is applied to the electromagnetic levitation facility EML-ISS, which is a payload for the International Space Station ISS.


Many intimate associations between different species of ectomycorrhizal fungi are inferred on the basis of the consistent cooccurrence of their fruit bodies. Suillus bovinus and Gomphidius roseus, where the latter never occurs without the former, is one example. This association was examined with PCR identification and light microscopy. S. bovinus and G. roseus were unambiguously separated on the basis of RFLPs of the PCR-amplified ITS region of ribosomal DNA. Tuberculate mycorrhizas of Pinus sylvestris sampled under fruit bodies of G. roseus and S. bovinus were investigated and the majority were identified as mixed associations involving both G. roseus and S. bovinus. Tuberculate mycorrhizas, which macroscopically resemble the ones of Suillus species, contained typical chlamydospores of G. roseus and they had haustoria where G. roseus hyphae penetrated the cortical root cells. Pine seedlings collected near the fruit bodies of the two species were mainly colonised by S. bovinus. Mycelial rhizomorphs collected under the fruit bodies of G. roseus were identified as S. bovinus, while both fungal species were present at the base of G. roseus fruit bodies. The significance of these observations and the possibility that G. roseus acts as a parasite are discussed.


In this paper, we report on two studies carried out to further explore the level of listening and discriminatory abilities present in very young children through the development of an age appropriate methodology. Working with children aged between 3 and 4 years of age, our first study explored the level of performance achieved on a matching task using musical excerpts from the same piece of music within a number of commonly experienced musical styles. Our second study, further explored issues of stylistic discrimination and stylistic competence with similar age children but also explored associations between musical styles and types of people. Results of the study suggested that even three-year-old children were able to make accurate discriminations between musical styles through the use of a broad range of referential criteria and also, we observed that a number of 'person type' and gender associations already appeared to be present in the attitudes and experiences of participants. The two studies also raised some further questions about the interaction between the gender associations that young children appear to have not only with instruments but also with musical styles.


Aging and skeletal muscle ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury leads to decreased contractile force generation that increases severely with age. Our studies show that glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein expression is significantly decreased at 3 and 5 days reperfusion in the young mouse muscle and at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days in the aged muscle. Using PCR, we have shown that GAPDH mRNA levels in young and old muscle increase at 5 days reperfusion compared to control, suggesting that the protein deficit is not transcriptional. Furthermore, while total tyrosine nitration did not increase in the young muscle, GAPDH nitration increased significantly at 1 and 3 days reperfusion. In contrast, total tyrosine nitration in aged muscle increased significantly at 1, 3, and 5 days of reperfusion, with increases in GAPDH nitration at the same time points. We conclude that GAPDH protein levels decrease following I/R, that this is not transcriptionally mediated, that the aged muscle experiences greater oxidative stress, protein modification and GAPDH degradation, possibly contributing to decreased muscle function. We propose that tyrosine nitration enhances GAPDH degradation following I/R and that the persistent decrease of GAPDH in aged muscle is due to the prolonged increase in oxidative modification in this age group.


Objectives: The purpose of present research work was to develop mucoadhesive microparticles of Zaleplon for nasal delivery with the aim to avoid hepatic first-pass metabolism, improve therapeutic efficacy and enhance residence time in the treatment of insomnia. Materials and Methods: Chitosan-based microparticles were prepared by the coacervation method by varying the drug:polymer ratio. The microparticles were evaluated for particle size and shape and surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy, drug content, drug entrapment efficiency, swelling study, in vitro mucoadhesion, differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), in vitro drug release study, and ex vivo drug permeation. Results: Zaleplon microparticles showed irregular-shaped particles and particle size was found to be in the range of 4.97–10.6 μm, which is favorable for intranasal absorption. The prepared microparticles exhibited a good swelling index. The percentage drug content and entrapment efficiency was found to be in the range between 36.36% - 80% and 37.65% - 52.88%, respectively. In vitro mucoadhesion was performed by adhesion number using goat nasal mucosa and was observed in a range from 43.33 ± 4.409 to 75 ± 2.886%. It was observed that polymer concentration enhancement led to increased mucoadhesive strength. The results of DSC and XRD studies revealed the molecular amorphous dispersion of Zaleplon into the chitosan microparticles. IR spectra of Zaleplon along with excipient showed no interaction between Zaleplon and excipients. In vitro drug release from all the formulations was biphasic, being characterized by a slight "burst" followed by slow release. At the end of 12 h, F6 (1:6) showed drug release of 81.66 ± 1.545%, indicating sustained release. The permeation data of formulation from goat nasal mucosa was found near to that obtained with dialysis membrane in vitro. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, Zaleplon loaded chitosan microparticles prepared by coacervation method proved to be capable of sustained release and could be used through nasal route as an alternative to oral administration.


This study analyzed the effect of Early Childhood Education on Academic Achievement in Indonesia. This study used kindergarten education and National Test Score of Indonesian Language and Math as the main subject of research. This study obtained the sample from Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 2007. The econometric method, that this study used, was Ordinary Least Square (OLS). This study presented the estimation based on school level, primary and secondary. This study founded that kindergarten education (formal Early Childhood Education) affected National Test Score of Indonesian Language and Math significantly if other factors did not add in the regression. This finding caused the effect of kindergarten education to National Test Score became not valid or biased. The problems like high cost of early childhood education and lack of teacher could be the reason why the effect of early childhood education was not maximal. This problems can be the the next subject of research about early childhood education.


Piezoelectric motors are resonant vibromotors. They represent a new actuator generation in the field of servo-drives. In particular, the travelling wave ultrasonic motor presents a high torque at low speed, a zero speed torque without feeding, low sensitivity to electromagnetic disturbances as well as being a more compact solution if compared to conventional electromagnetic motors. Much researches has been performed by others to determine an analytical model based on the identification of an electromagnetic equivalent circuit or on exploitation of a theoretical model based on numerical approaches, which use finite elements methods. While leading to satisfactory analysis, these modeling methods can hardly be exploited in the design of control algorithms. Indeed, they require considerable processing resources to generate and visualize the results. For this reason, we introduce in this thesis, an analytical model that is easily adaptable to operational applications and control techniques. The proposed analytical model has been validated by comparing measured characteristics with those obtained in simulations, which was possible thanks to the realization of a modular test bench. The travelling wave ultrasonic motor is characterized by strong non-linearity. It also depends highly on the wear state of the materials, which is difficult to model, and on the contact surface between stator and rotor. In addition, the mechanical resonance frequency experiences drift due to the variations of temperature. These considerations of strong non-linearities and parameter sensitivities of the motor represent a challenge for the study and design of an efficient and robust control strategy. We introduce with this thesis a new control approach that guarantees a closed loop response which is independent of the motor operating point. Moreover, the proposed control method allows to avoid the discontinuities typically present with this type of actuator with a very reasonnable hardware requierments. Finally, an important extension in the product range of the piezoelectric actuators is proposed in the last part of this thesis. It acts to develop an fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) compatible haptic interface with one degree of freedom. The use of a robotic interface in conjunction with an fMRI environment would enable neuroscientists to investigate the brain mechanism used to perform tasks with arbitrary dynamics, and could become a critical tool in neuroscience and rehabilitaiton. There is, however, a major problem for robot working within an fMRI environment : conventional actuators and materials interfere with the strong permanent magnetic field and the fast switching magnetic field gradients. Consequently, non-ferromagnetic materials must be used to avoid forces on the device itself, that can compromise its performance and may result in hazardous conditions for the patient or the medical staff. In addition, the materials should be non-conducting to avoid the generation of eddy currents. The travelling wave ultrasonic motor was used because it provides benefits compared to the conventional electromagnetic actuators. Non-ferromagnetic piezoelectric ceramic material is used and as a result motor operation is not affected by the presence of the strong magnetic fields ecountered in the clinical scanners.


The sharing economy has emerged in recent years as a disruptive approach to traditional business models. Drawing on a multi-year research program and a design-based methodology, this article introduces a framework and generative tool called the Sharing Business Model Compass. As an actionable framework, the Compass helps elucidate the multiple, innovative forms sharing economy businesses are adopting. As a generative tool, it enables entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, and incumbents interested in entering the sharing economy to create, present, and evolve a compelling sharing business model as well as evaluate its extent of robustness.


One of the major challenges in second and foreign language education, is to create links between formal and informal learning environments. Mobile City and Language Guides present examples of theoretical and practical reflections on such links. This paper presents and discusses the first considerations of Mobile City and Language Guides in language centres, upper secondary schools and universities. The core concept of Mobile City and Language Guides is geotagging. Geographical locations can be geotagged either through GPS or by marking positions directly in, e.g., Google Earth or Google Maps. Students or teachers can add various kinds of information to geotags: Photos, audio, text, movies, links, vocabulary and various language tasks. This allows the student, in self-defined learning contexts, to downand upload location-based materials with his or her mobile phone, for immediate or later processing. More and more students are able to afford mobile phones with multimedia and broadband Internet. The potentials of user-generated mobileand web-based content are increasing. In these years, the internet is moving from the so-called Web 1.0 to the more user-centered Web 2.0, i.e. Weblogs, YouTube, Google Maps, MySpace, FlickR, etc. In an educational context, Web 2.0 represents an interesting development of the relatively monologue Web 1.0, where traditional homepages often only allow minimal interaction with the site content. This paper investigates the opportunities that Mobile City and Language Guides seem to give second and foreign language students to learn from informal, location-based, experiencebased and authentic materials; and discusses how language centres, upper secondary education and universities can involve informal learning contexts through student use of mobiles with broadband and Internet technology supporting second and foreign learning. Mobile City and Language Guides is only of several possible mobile and Internet-based language educational scenarios. The challenge for the future, therefore, is to develop and implement new, meaningful and exciting scenarios that strengthen the linkages between formal and informal learning environments.


The 9th c. B.C.E. Megaron 2 pebble mosaic from Gordion is the oldest known mosaic pavement to date. Discovered in 1956, it was subsequently cut into 33 individual panels, lifted, and stored outdoors for two decades before reinstallation under a sheltered, sub-grade, outdoor exhibit at the Gordion Museum. Recent research into its conservation history and current condition in preparation for re-interpretation and display has revealed the potential for further deterioration through alkali-silica reaction between the siliceous pebbles and the cementitious backing. Moreover, the enigmatic geometric designs are now difficult to read due to the loss of pebbles, misalignment of the panels, fragmentation by lacunae and gaps between the panels, rebar cracking, and cementitious over-grout. These conditions have created a critical situation that must be remedied to preserve this historically significant mosaic and make it more readily available for interpretation and exhibition. This paper assesses materials and techniques for re-backing the mosaic and investigates the potential for alkalisilica reaction. This includes empirical tests on replica mosaic panels for the removal of the reinforced concrete and cementitious over-grout, the evaluation of critical properties related to the facing and re-backing materials, and petrographic analysis for the detection of evidence of alkali-silica reaction. The analysis, testing, and proposed treatments for this significant archaeological pavement is presented in light of contemporary conservation approaches for ancient tessellated pavements and explores the limits to current knowledge and practice when applied to a natural pebble mosaics.


The highly percipient nature of human mind in avoiding sensory overload is a crucial factor which gives human vision an advantage over machine vision, the latter has otherwise powerful computational resources at its disposal given today's technology. This stresses the need to focus on methods which extract a concise representation of the environment inorder to approach a complex problem such as visual mapping. This article is an attempt of creating a mapping system, which proposes an architecture that combines task-specific and saliency driven approaches. The proposed method is implemented on a warehouse robot. The proposed solution provide a priority framework which enables an industrial robot to build a concise visual representation of the environment. The method is evaluated on data collected by a RGBD sensor mounted on a fork-lift robot and shows promise for addressing visual mapping problems in industrial environments.


Synthesizing studies of parental care in a wide variety of animals, this book is the first attempt to provide general answers to the following important questions: Why does the extent of parental care vary so widely between species? Why do only females care for eggs and young in some animals, only males in others, and both parents in a few? To what extent is parental care adjusted to variation in its benefits to offspring and its costs to parents? How do parents divide their resources between their sons and daughters? In this book separate chapters examine the evolution of variation in egg and neonate size, of viviparity and other forms of bearing, and of differences in the duration of incubation, gestation, and lactation. The book reviews theoretical and empirical predictions concerning the evolution of parental care and examines the extent to which these are supported by empirical evidence. The author examines the distribution of parental care among offspring, reviews the empirical evidence that parents invest to different extents in their sons and daughters, and discusses the degree to which parents manipulate the sex ratio of their progeny in relation to the availability of resources.


The Finite Element Method (FEM) has become the standard tool for the analysis of a wide range of solid mechanics problems. However, the underlying structure of a classical updated Lagrangian FEM is not well suited for the treatment of large deformation problems, since excessive mesh distortions can lead to numerical difficulties. The Material Point Method (MPM) represents an approach in which material points moving through a fixed finite element grid are used to simulate large deformations. As the method makes use of moving material points, it can also be classified as a point-based or meshless method. With no mesh distortions, it is an ideal tool for the analysis of large deformation problems. MPM has its origin in fluid mechanics and has only recently been applied to solid mechanics problems. It has been used successfully for impact analyses where bodies penetrate each other and for silo discharging problems. All existing MPM codes found in literature are dynamic codes with explicit time integration and only recently implicit time integration. In this study a quasi-static MPM formulation and implementation are presented. The paper starts with the description of the quasi-static governing equations and the numerical discretisation. Afterwards, the calculation process of the quasi-static MPM is explained, followed by the presentation of some geotechnical boundary value problems which have been solved with the newly developed quasi-static MPM code. The benchmark problems consist of an oedometer test and a slope. For validation, the results are compared with analytical solutions and FEM results, respectively.


We consider a dynamic game model of ride-sourcing, where a large number of private car owners provide rides to randomly appearing customers. Free drivers can travel around the city to improve their chance of being hired. They have access to the origin-destination statistics, to the current customer requests and to information about traffic congestion and the time-varying connectivity of the road network. We show how each driver can compute a best-response strategy to the anticipated behavior of the other drivers, which leads to an approximate Nash equilibrium in the limit of an infinite number of players. The outputs of our discrete-time model are the cars' individual paths and the distribution of the free and busy drivers at each period. Finally, a numerical example illustrates three scenarios where a road closure in a city makes the cars desert an area. It shows how a financial incentive, namely increasing the ride fare in the deserted area, helps reestablish the ride service in that region.


This article shows how a social movement organization focused on microcredit loans is able to mobilize a community against its own cultural practice of witch-hunts. Successful mobilization against witch-hunts are possible when two conditions are met: first, when activists are able to tap into microcredit groups' social capacity for collective mobilization (defined by ties of mutual dependence, reciprocity, and friendship); and second, when activists are able to use strategic framing to present a coherent argument about the congruence of microcredit and anti-witch-hunt goals. In this context a master frame (women's development) emerged that effectively forged the seemingly disparate goals of microcredit loans and anti-witch-hunt campaigns into one synthetic movement. In contrast, successful mobilization against witch-hunts was difficult in areas where the activists did not have access to the microcredit networks or were not able to strategically frame the campaign.


Introduction: Being bilingual from the beginning of life affects cognitive functions including working memory and inhibitory functions of the frontal lobe. purpose: Thus, the aim of this study is to compare verbal working memory and inhibitory function of frontal lobe in the young bilingual and monolingual. Methods: The method of research was causal-comparative. The Sample of this study included female college students who was bilingual(Azeri languagePersian language) and monolingual(Persian language) at Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University during 20142015. For this purpose, 30 female bilingual students and 30 female monolingual students from whom were selected by convenience sampling method. Computerized test was used for collecting data to measure in this study. To measure the inhibitory function of the frontal lobe we have used the Stroop task, and computer software was used to measure working memory task from laboratory cognitive psychology. The gathered data were analyzed by SPSS 22 software. Descriptive statistics and data were analyzed by using t student. Results: The results showed that verbal working memory performance in young bilinguals and monolinguals was not significantly different(p<0/05). And Inhibitory frontal lobe function in young bilinguals and monolinguals was significantly different(p<0/05). Conclusion: Based on these Results, we can conclude that Bilingualism does not increase verbal working memory performance. On the other hand, bilingualism enhances the performance of bilingual people in the inhibitory function of frontal lobe; in fact, bilinguals perform duties related to executive function inhibition better than monolinguals.


Virtual Reality (VR) has nowadays become a very useful tool for therapists in the treatment of phobias. Indeed, it allows the simulation of scenarios which are difficult to reproduce in real life. It also allows for a situation to be repeated as much as one wants. Moreover, it allows for a complete control over the situation. The simulation can be stopped if the patient cannot handle it. It can also be tweaked for gradual exposure. Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) has proven to be efficient in the context of phobias such as acrophobia or the fear of flying. Social phobia, however, are much harder to deal with. Indeed, as humans, we are experts in human representations and behaviors; it makes it much harder to obtain credible and immersive environments. In this thesis, we describe a set of tools and applications which we have developed to be used in VRET of social phobia and agoraphobia with crowds. We first describe how we create different scenarios for VRET of social phobia. We then expose the application we have developed which allows for elaborate interactions between a user and virtual characters. In particular, we have designed and implemented a software which allows for virtual characters to change behavior depending on the user's eye contact behavior. It allows them to seem interested when being looked at and distracted when not. We then describe the model we have implemented to simulate gaze attention behaviors for crowds of virtual characters. This consists of a method that automatically detects where and when each virtual character in a crowd should look. Secondly, it consists of a dedicated gaze Inverse Kinematics (IK) solver in order for the virtual characters to satisfy the constraints defined by the automatically detected points to be looked at. This allows for the characters to perform the looking motion in a natural and human like way. We then describe the architecture we have developed to combine the work we have done in the domain of social phobia and this model of attention behaviors for crowd characters. We thus use our model of looking behaviors to allow for crowd characters to look at each other. We also use eye-tracking and optical motion capture to determine where a user is looking in a CAVE environment. The virtual characters then respond by either looking at the user, looking at what the user is looking at, or looking at other characters in the crowd. We thus obtain an immersive and interactive environment for VRET in the domain of agoraphobia with crowds. The third part of this thesis describes various experiments we have conducted in order to validate our applications. Our first study consists of using VR in a head-mounted display (HMD) for the treatment of social phobia. In this study, we also use eye-tracking in order to analyze eye contact avoidance behaviors before and after therapy. We then discuss the use of eye-tracking as a tool to help assess and diagnose social phobia. Since eye contact avoidance behaviors are frequent in people suffering from such phobias, eye-tracking can certainly be a helpful tool. We describe an experiment in which we tested eye-tracking as a diagnosis and assessment tool on a phobic population and on a control group. We also describe an experiment to evaluate the potential of our proposed interaction loop in the context of social phobia. Finally, we describe the experiment we have conducted to evaluate our application in the context of agoraphobia with crowds.


New technologies such as 5G, IoT, blockchain and many others are implemented as ecosystems with many interoperable products and services designed to communicate seamlessly through a developing web of technical standards. Today's standards are far more software-driven than in the past. As a result, standards development organizations (SDOs) are increasing their use of open source software (OSS) to promote both the rapid development of new standards and the deployment of standards-conformant products and services in the marketplace.

Although SDOs have traditionally avoided requiring the use of any specific software code for conformance to its standards, SDOs have relied on OSS communities to develop tools, test suites, and independent implementations to assist implementers in developing products and services utilizing the standard. Today, however, there is a growing movement for SDOs to initiate their own OSS projects so that the standards and open source development efforts can be better integrated.

SDOs understandably seek to replicate the benefits of collaborative development associated with OSS projects. In doing so, SDOs are also selecting the most common OSS licenses for the software they develop through these projects, such as the BSD or Apache licenses. These common licenses are ones that have been certified by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as being compliant with its open source definition (OSD). While OSI does not hold a trademark on the term "open source" nor is it the arbiter of which software is considered OSS, OSI discourages others from referring to software as open source if the applicable software is licensed under a license that does not meet the requirements of the OSD.

As OSS has become more commercial, the OSS development community has increasingly formulated OSS licenses that are more tailored to their respective objectives even when those licenses do not satisfy the terms of the OSD. SDOs, however, have not for the most part considered using an OSS license tailored to the intended use of the software being developed nor to their unique goals. Rather, by default, SDOs most often select a common OSI-approved license for their OSS projects.

SDOs have long balanced the rights and interests of stakeholders through intellectual property (IP) policies that have permitted their contributors to commit to negotiate licenses for their essential patent claims on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions (RAND). While all open source licenses are royalty free, they do not require that the OSS be "patent-free" in the sense that no patent licenses would be required for use of the OSS. Nonetheless, OSI advocates that a RAND licensing commitment from a patent holder is incompatible with OSI's approved licenses.

Some innovators who have committed to license their essential patent claims on RAND terms have raised concerns about the use of OSI-approved licenses for SDO software projects. These innovators are discouraged from participating in such SDOs' OSS projects because these innovators' business models are not consistent with OSI's requirements for unrestricted royalty free licensing. If an SDO's OSS project becomes fundamental to the way standards are implemented in the marketplace, the lack of participation from these innovators may (i) deprive the community of valuable contributions, and (ii) skew the resulting SDO-approved OSS implementation in a way that is no longer vendor neutral.

OSI-approved open source licenses also authorize unrestricted modifications and distribution of the modified software which is antithetical to an SDO's goal of promoting conformant products and services. If the software can be modified without restriction, then it can be modified in ways that fail to conform to the standard, disrupting the market and thwarting widespread adoption of the standard. The vast majority of SDOs restrict recipients of their specifications, the documents which set forth the requirements of the standard, from making any modifications. Similarly, RAND commitments are made with respect to conforming products and services, not non-conforming ones. It is rather inexplicable then that SDOs are selecting OSI- approved open source licenses that are contrary to their goals of conformance, inconsistent with their existing balanced IP policies, and creating tension among stakeholders.

This paper, using real world examples, explores some of the business motivations that have led to the common use of OSI-approved licenses in SDO OSS projects and the challenges created by using those licenses. The paper concludes by offering sample licenses that SDOs may consider that will promote their goals, foster consistency across their standards and software development efforts, and reduce IP-related friction among different stakeholder groups.


Recent work on the problem of latent tree learning has made it possible to train neural networks that learn to both parse a sentence and use the resulting parse to interpret the sentence, all without exposure to ground-truth parse trees at training time. Surprisingly, these models often perform better at sentence understanding tasks than models that use parse trees from conventional parsers. This paper aims to investigate what these latent tree learning models learn. We replicate two such models in a shared codebase and find that (i) only one of these models outperforms conventional tree-structured models on sentence classification, (ii) its parsing strategies are not especially consistent across random restarts, (iii) the parses it produces tend to be shallower than standard Penn Treebank (PTB) parses, and (iv) they do not resemble those of PTB or any other semantic or syntactic formalism that the authors are aware of.


This paper analyses a process where a catching-up economy, Estonia, has been designing the governance of the science and innovation system in the context of the institutional restructuring of Eastern Europe since the 1990s, influenced by international policy convergence in Europe and the US towards an optimal governance system. This is based on a move from the "public good" to the "network" rationale and a policy emphasis on increasing the direct and short-term societal relevance of science and innovation systems. The paper analyses the levels of convergence vs. divergence of the Estonian governance system and argues that the over-emphasis on policy features in the international policy debates has brought about an under-emphasis on crucial structural features of the governance system. The paper concludes that there are different levels of convergence and divergence that matter, and the Estonian science and innovation system faces both policy and also even more important structural challenges in making the governance system more responsive to socio-economic needs.


Rapid expansion of e-commerce, along with rising domestic and cross-border payments, has fueled the demand among financial institutions for a cost-effective means to expedite clearing and settlement of low-value retail payments. These are called faster payments settlement systems. Traditionally, retail payments have made extensive use of interbank netting systems, in which payments are accumulated for end-of-day settlement. This approach, known as deferred net settlement (DNS), reduces the liquidity needs of the payment system, but bears inherent operational and financial risks for unsettled intraday payments. As large dollar volumes of retail payments accumulate, real-time gross settlement (RTGS) has been recognized as an attractive option, especially for high-value payments. It permits immediate settlement of transactions during the day, but it brings up other risks and incentives issues that require consideration. This research proposes a hybrid faster payments settlement system involving elements of both DNS and RTGS. We explore a mechanism that supports centralized queuing, permits payment prioritization, reduces payment delays, enhances liquidity, and optimizes the settlement process. We offer a modeling framework and experimental simulations to evaluate the proposed approach. Our evaluation is based on a set of system performance conjectures that support operational performance evaluation and mechanism design-related policy insights. Our results point out the qualities of a cost-effective and value-maximizing mechanism to quickly settle increasingly large volumes of retail payments, while ensuring that the incentives for payment system stakeholders are given careful consideration.


Indigenous peoples interact with the emergent network society in diverse ways that reflect the colonialism/self-determination dialectic. One area where this process unfolds is in the bridging of digital divides. I use the concept of the First Mile to show how First Nations and Inuit peoples in Canada's geographic periphery are asserting their self-determination in the sphere of digital ICTs. While most digital divide literature presumes that a connection to the network society is inherently beneficial, when framed in the context of historic and ongoing processes of colonialism, integration alone is not adequate. An example of a not-for-profit satellite network cooperative demonstrates how three Indigenous organizations shaped the problem of the digital divide into an opportunity to establish a platform for digital self-determination.


Automotive researchers attempts to simulate combustion of fuels in order to improve engine performance.[1] Conventional fuels are difficult to represent in these simulations due to their complex composition. Surrogates that meet American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards are a good alternative to conventional fuels. This study aims at design and analyzing surrogate mixtures for both gasoline and diesel. Surrogates were designed through a computer aided model developed at the Technical University of Denmark.[2] The model architecture has four structures viz., (i) problem definition (ii) property model identification (iii) mixture blend design and (iv) model-based verification. Surrogate diesel, comprised of five paraffinic compounds viz., n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, tetralin, cyclo-octaneand iso-cetane in different volumetric ratios. Surrogate gasoline comprised of six different chemicals viz. n-butane, n-heptane, iso-octane, 1-pentene, methyl cyclopentane and toluene in different volumetric ratios. Target physical properties of these fuel surrogates were measured using advanced analytical equipment and experimental techniques developed at Texas A&M University at Qatar.[3] Diesel surrogate was tested for the target properties employed in the model viz. density, viscosity, heat content, flash point, vapor pressure, pour point, cloud point and distillation curve. Butane present in the gasoline surrogate hampers handling and testing since it is extremely critical to prepare a homogeneous blend that comprises of both liquids and a permanent gas. Also, the conventional sampling technique was found to be ineffective to prevent loss of permanent gas in the surrogate. Therefore, a novel sampling methodology and advanced blending technique was developed to minimize loss of butane and volatile components such as 1-pentene. Detailed Hydrocarbon Analysis (DHA) for gasoline surrogate was carried out by Gas Chromatography (GC) according to ASTM D6730 to verify the efficacy of blending technique as well as sampling method. The composition analysis through DHA confirmed that the blending and sampling methodology was accurate with maximum relative standard deviation of approx. 5.82%. Subsequently gasoline surrogate was tested for density, viscosity, vapor pressure, heat content, distillation curve and compositional attributes. The surrogate mixtures prepared in this study complied well with their respective ASTM standards for the properties measured. The work would further be continued to investigate the engine performance and emission characteristics for diesel surrogate. Engine performance will be evaluated in terms of Power/Torque and Theoretical Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC). Emissions of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbon (HC) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) will be determined. Results of this study provide a basis to further improving the computer aided models used to design the surrogates and for design of future generations of efficient fuels of different composition obtained from both conventional sources (petroleum) and non-conventional sources (e.g. from natural gas via gas-to-liquid (GTL), coal via coal-to-liquid (CTL) or biofuels). Also, the outcome of this study will be used to optimizing the design of fuel blends obtained from the aforementioned sources. References [1] Pitz, W. J., & Mueller, C. J. (2011). Recent progress in the development of diesel surrogate fuels. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 37(3), 330–350. [2] Yunus, N. A., Gernaey, K. V., Woodley, J. M., & Gani, R. (2014). A systematic methodology for design of tailor-made blended products. Computer and Chemical Engineering, 66, 201–213. [3] Elmalik, E.E., Raza, B., Warrag, S., Ramadhan, H., Alborzi, E., Elbashir, N.O. (2014). Role of Hydrocarbon Building Blocks on Gas-to-Liquid Derived Synthetic Jet Fuel Characteristics. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 53, 1856–1865.


A cDNA clone for kappa-casein mRNA from the lactating mouse mammary gland was isolated and its nucleotide sequence determined. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence revealed a precursor protein with a 21-amino-acid signal sequence and a mature protein of 160 amino acids, the mature mouse protein being 3 amino acids longer than the rat kappa-casein. Northern blot analysis of the lactating rat and mouse mammary gland showed a specific mRNA for rat kappa-casein and two distinct mRNAs for mouse kappa-casein. This result is explained by the presence of two putative polyadenylation sites in mouse kappa-casein cDNA, whereas rat kappa-casein cDNA has only one polyadenylation site. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence and of the deduced amino acid sequence of kappa-casein from mouse with that of the rat showed 85% homology between the two sequences. However, when amino acid sequences of kappa-casein from rat and mouse were compared with ovine kappa-casein, only a 45% homology was observed. Amino acid sequences of kappa-casein from rat, mouse, and sheep were 36.53% homologous with rat and human gamma-fibrinogen. The extent of homology was similar (32%) when nucleotide sequences of corresponding cDNAs were compared. The stretches of homology existing at different regions between the two proteins were more confined toward the amino-terminal half of gamma-fibrinogen. However, when nucleotide sequences were compared, mouse kappa-casein cDNA showed homology only with the second half of the rat gamma-fibrinogen cDNA, i.e., between nucleotides 661-1135. The homology with the human gamma-fibrinogen cDNA spanned over two regions, one between nucleotides 1-328 and the second between nucleotides 591-726.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Using a linear cost minimization model with a 1h time resolution, we investigated the influence of geographic allocation of wind power on large-scale wind power investments, taking into account wind conditions, distance to load, and the nature of the power system in place (i.e. power generation and transmission capacities). We employed a hypothetical case in which a 20% wind power share of total electricity demand is applied to the NordicGerman power system. Free, i.e. geographically unrestricted, allocation of new wind power capacity is compared with a case in which national planning frameworks impose national limitations on wind power penetration levels. Given the cost assumptions made in the present work, the prospect of increasing the wind power capacity factor from 20 to 30% could motivate investments in transmission capacity from northern Scandinavia to continental Europe. The results obtained using the model show that the distribution of wind farms between regions with favorable wind conditions is dependent upon two factors: (i) the extent to which existing lines can be used to transmit the electricity that results from the new wind power and (ii) the correlation for wind power generation between the exporting region and the wind power generation already in place. In addition, the results indicate that there is little difference, i.e. just over 1%, in total yearly cost between the free allocation of new wind power and an allocation that complies with national planning frameworks. However, on a national level, there are significant differences with respect to investments in transmission and wind power capacities and the replacement of conventional power generation.


The main goal of this study is to provide estimations of mean mortality rate of vegetative shoots of the seagrass Zostera marina in a meadow near Ensenada Baja California, using a technique that minimizes destructive sampling. Using cohorts and Leslie matrices, three life tables were constructed, each representing a season within the period of monthly sampling (April 1999 to April 2000). Ages for the cohorts were established in terms of Plastochrone Interval (PI). The matrices were projected through time to estimate the mean total number of individuals at time t, n(t) as well as mortality. We found no statistical differences between observed and predicted mean values for these variables (t = -0.11, p = 0.92 for n(t) and t = 0.69, p = 0.5 for mean rate of mortality). We found high correlation coefficient values between observed and projected values for monthly number of individuals (r = 0.70, p = 0.007) and monthly mortality rates (r = 0.81, p = 0.001). If at a certain time t a sudden environmental change occurs, and as long as the perturbation does not provoke the killing of all the individuals of a given age i for 0 < or = i < or = x - 1, there will be a prevailing number of individuals of age or stage x at a time t+1. This nondestructive technique reduces the number of field visits and samples needed for the demographic analysis of Z. marina, and therefore decreases the disturbance caused by researches to the ecosystem.


How should we attempt to resolve concrete bioethical problems? How are we to understand the role of bioethics in the health care system, government, and academe? This collection of original essays raises these and other questions about the nature of bioethics as a discipline. The contributors to the volume discuss various approaches to bioethical thinking and the political and institutional contexts of bioethics, addressing underlying concerns about the purposes of its practice. Included are extended analyses of such important issues as the conduct of clinical trials, euthanasia, justice in health care, the care of children, cosmetic surgery, and reproductive technologies.


We model the dynamics of self-organized robot aggregation inspired by a study on aggregation of gregarious arthropods. In swarms of German cockroaches, aggregation into clusters emerges solely from local interactions between the individuals, whereas the probabilities to join or leave a cluster are a function of the cluster size. Rather than explicitly modeling the spatial distribution of robots in the environment, we propose a population dynamics model that keeps track of the number of robots in clusters of specific size. The model is able to quantitatively and qualitatively predict the dynamics observed in extensive realistic simulation. In particular, we show both by modeling and simulation that the emergence of a giant component requires a minimal communication distance between individuals, whereas the robots remain scattered in the environment otherwise.


There are growing indications that transjudicial dialogue among national courts has increased in recent years and that it has become more routinized. We argue below that this trend is at least partially motivated by the efforts of these courts to: (1) address a 'judicial deficit' that has resulted from the broad transfer of regulatory policy-making authority from the domestic to the international sphere; and (2) curb pro-executive interpretations of regulatory rules on the part of less politically insulated international tribunals. While recognizing the dangers of ' le gouvernement des juges ', we suggest that, at least in the short term, the expanded role of national courts can operate to enhance rather than pre-empt domestic political processes and promote accountability to diverse democratic concerns by providing opportunities for national legislatures and civil society to weigh in on matters subject to executive discretion or international regulation.


© 2018 SAE International. All Rights Reserved. This paper presents a method to achieve a low order system model of the urea-based SCR catalyst coated filter (SCR-in-DPF or SCRF or SDPF), while preserving a high degree of fidelity. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), also known as principal component analysis (PCA), or Karhunen-Loeve decomposition (KLD), is a statistical method which achieves model order reduction by extracting the dominant characteristic modes of the system and devises a low-dimensional approximation on that basis. The motivation for using the POD approach is that the low-order model directly derives from the high-fidelity model (or experimental data) thereby retains the physics of the system. POD, with Galerkin projection, is applied to the 1D + 1D SCR-in-DPF model using ammonia surface coverage and wall temperature as the dominant system states to achieve model order reduction. The performance of the low-order POD model (with only a few basis modes) shows good agreement with the high fidelity model in steady and transient states analyses. This shows the promise of the application of POD in exhaust after-treatment system (EATS) modelling to achieve high fidelity low order models. In addition system control design is easier for the reduced order model using a modern approach. We demonstrate the performance of a model-based controller applied to the low-order POD model to minimize ammonia slip for a transient test cycle.


This paper proposes Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based Voice Conversion (VC) using input-to-output highway networks. VC is a speech synthesis technique that converts input features into output speech parameters, and DNN-based acoustic models for VC are used to estimate the output speech parameters from the input speech parameters. Given that the input and output are often in the same domain (e.g., cepstrum) in VC, this paper proposes a VC using highway networks connected from the input to output. The acoustic models predict the weighted spectral differentials between the input and output spectral parameters. The architecture not only alleviates over-smoothing effects that degrade speech quality, but also effectively represents the characteristics of spectral parameters. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed architecture outperforms Feed-Forward neural networks in terms of the speech quality and speaker individuality of the converted speech. key words: statistical parametric speech synthesis, DNN-based voice conversion, highway networks, over-smoothing