Cybersecurity games are an attractive and popular method of active learning. However, the majority of current games are created for advanced players, which often leads to frustration in less experienced learners. Therefore, we decided to focus on a diagnostic assessment of participants entering the games. We assume that information about the players' knowledge, skills, and experience enables tutors or learning environments to suitably assist participants with game challenges and maximize learning in their virtual adventure. In this paper, we present a pioneering experiment examining the predictive value of a short quiz and self-assessment for identifying learners' readiness before playing a cybersecurity game. We hypothesized that these predictors would model players' performance. A linear regression analysis showed that the game performance can be accurately predicted by well-designed prerequisite testing, but not by self-assessment. At the same time, we identified major challenges related to the design of pretests for cybersecurity games: calibrating test questions with respect to the skills relevant for the game, minimizing the quiz's length while maximizing its informative value, and embedding the pretest in the game. Our results are relevant for educational researchers and cybersecurity instructors of students at all learning levels.


Objective: There are only few studies that focused on the personality risk factors for bipolar II disorder. The aim of this study was to find personality risk factors with reference to family history, social circumstances and comorbid symptoms for bipolar II disorder. Method: The most important methodological limitation of studies that investigate risk factors for mood disorders is their limited longitudinal design. In order to address this issue, the data of the Zurich study was used. The Zurich cohort study - a longitudinal study - is composed of a cohort of 4,547 subjects (m=2201; f=2346) representative of the canton Zurich in Switzerland. Results: Frequent ups and downs of mood and family history of neutrasthenia und mania are the most important predictors for experiencing a bipolar II disorder. Conclusion: The probability of developing a bipolar II disorder can be estimated by genetic and personality variable or early prodromal symptoms. There is some evidence suggesting that there are unspecific genetic factors that contribute to the risk for a bipolar II disorder.


This paper analyses trends in sectoral specialisation in the EU and concludes the following: 1) The European production structure appears more homogenous than that of the US. 2) While sectoral specialisation has shown a slight increase in some smaller euro area countries towards the end-1990s, it is too early to detect any potential impact of EMU. 3) Despite some changes in sectoral composition, the business cycles of euro area countries became more synchronised over the 1990s, which may be seen as reassuring from the point of view of the single monetary policy. 4) Sectoral re-allocation accounts for as much as 50% of the increase in labour productivity growth in business sector services in the euro area. 5) The slowdown of European labour productivity growth relative to the US since the mid-1990s is explained by a stronger performance in the US wholesale and retail trade, financial intermediation and high-tech manufacturing sectors.


Recent external studies find that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), based on employers' OSHA logs, substantially underestimates the US total number of workplace injuries and illnesses. This paper describes four dimensions of the undercount allegations and summarizes the recent studies, which have largely compared aggregate or case-level data from various sources, augmented in the case-level studies with capture-recapture analysis. The paper provides an overview of on-going research conducted and funded by BLS to better understand the nature of the undercount findings. These studies include counting work-related amputations and carpal tunnel syndrome cases with multiple data sources; matching SOII to workers' compensation records; and, interviewing employers about reporting practices on OSHA logs and to workers' compensation.


Introduction: Benefits of aerobic exercise are apparent; the rising awareness has caused an increase in running participation and, an undeniable trend toward injury. The inherit injury risk associated with running calls for an alternate way to simultaneously achieve the benefits of aerobic exercise, while minimizing stress imparted on the body. Skipping presents an alternative movement pattern unique in its initiation and composition. Skipping is a voluntary decision, as opposed to a scaling progressing seen in the transition from walking to running and incorporates a double support, flight, and single limb support phase. We propose skipping to be an advantageous form of aerobic exercise, allowing a person to achieve increased training benefits with diminished risk of injury and subsequent reduction in training. Objective: This study has three related purposes aimed at describing, for the first time, how one skips. The first purpose compared basic gait characteristics; lower extremity kinematics and kinetics including ground reaction forces, joint torques, and powers in skipping and running. The second purpose investigated knee loads in skipping by comparing tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joint forces in skipping and running. The final purpose compared the metabolic cost of skipping to that of running. Methods: Twenty recreation active individuals mean age 21.5 ([plus-or-minus]2) were recruited to complete a three day training program intended to familiarize participants with the skipping movement and testing environment. Training program consisted of cumulative 3 miles of skipping on three separate, not necessarily consecutive, days. Data collection employed a metabolic cart and treadmill to capture oxygen consumption in skipping and running. This was followed by randomized overground motion capture of the three conditions: skipping first leg (skip1) second leg (skip2) and running step (run). Speed was consistent 2.68 m/s across metabolic and biomechanical collections. Variables of interests were averaged across trials for each participant and mass normalized when applicable. One way ANOVA with repeated measures analyzed the biomechanical scores per variable per condition. Metabolic cost was compared with a dependent t- test between skipping and running. Scheffe post hoc test determined significant, alpha set to 0.05. Results: Not only are skipping and running significantly different from one another in kinetics, kinematics, and metabolic parameters, the two steps of skipping differed significantly. Running displayed greater vertical ground reaction force peaks, larger maximal knee extensor torque values, higher peak negative power and work and greater peak maximal positive power at the knee, with average increase of 23% in knee compressive force as compared to skipping. Conversely, skipping had greater cadence, peak horizontal ground reaction force, maximum hip and ankle extensor torque, peak negative power and work, positive power at the ankle, a 27% greater metabolic cost and 36% greater caloric consumption. Between the two skipping steps skip2 had the highest cadence, peak horizontal ground reaction force, maximum ankle extensor torque, peak negative power, work, and positive power. Each of the two skip steps have a separate function; skip1 had predominately eccentric muscle functioned and acted to slow the body down, while skip2 has a concentric bias in muscle activity and propelled the body forward into the next step. Evidence of this segregation can be seen in the distribution of the braking and propelling impulses. Conclusions: Skipping and running present as significantly different movement methods. The decreased stride length associated with the skipping stride was correlated with the smaller knee compressive forces. The increased oxygen consumption needed to skip was in part explained by the nearly double vertical displacement of the center of mass. Further, the two alternating skipping steps that complete a stride made it unique from the one cyclical running step repeated in constant successive intervals. Skipping was temporally and spatially asymmetrical with successive foot falls partitioned into dominant functions, either braking or propelling the body. Thus, the energy saving methods proposed to be employed by tendons as they stretch and recoil may not be employed, creating a diminished energy return.


ABSTRACT The current study investigated the impact of victimization on substance use treatment motivation and the potential role of adult attachment and peer support, with a sample of 149 justice-involved individuals participating in a jail-based substance treatment program. Results of mediation analyses indicated that attachment anxiety mediated the relationship between victimization and problem recognition and desire for help; more victimization was associated with higher levels of attachment anxiety, which in turn predicted greater problem recognition and desire for help. Attachment avoidance mediated the association between victimization and desire for help, wherein more victimization was associated with more attachment avoidance, which in turn predicted a greater desire for help. Moderation analyses indicated that peer support moderated the relationship of attachment anxiety with desire for help, but not with problem recognition. For those perceiving high peer support, individuals with high attachment anxiety tended to report a greater desire for help; for those with low peer support, attachment anxiety did not predict desire for help. Clinicians might consider the role of attachment in treatment planning, particularly for those with a history of victimization. Treatment programs might benefit from cultivating an atmosphere of peer support while enabling and subsequently increasing the willingness for treatment.


Trash in the oceans and on California's beaches are killing marine wildlife and fouling our beaches. To address this problem in California, the Center for Marine Conservation convened a statewide Marine Debris Steering Committee, in August 1989, comprised of representatives of federal, state, and local government, industry, science, education and conservation organizations. The Steering Committee evaluated the marine debris problem in California and developed 22 recommendations to reduce debris in the marine environment. The results were published in a report, the California Marine Debris Action Plan. During the 1989 California Coastal Cleanup, volunteers recorded the types and amounts of trash they collected from the beach. The information was analyzed by the Center for Marine Conservation and indicated that 54.75 percent of the debris collected was plastic with the biggest threat to California's marine environment from land-based sources. California also had the most entangled and dead wildlife of any Cleanup state in the nation. The cost to maintain clean beach areas are great. The cities of Santa Monica and Long Beach each spent more than $1 million in 1988-9 to clean their beaches and costs continue to rise. In recommendations put forth in the Action Plan, the Steering Committee identified the need to education the public about the harm of marine debris, proper disposal, and existing litter and dumping laws as a priority to effectively address the problem. Education must be conducted in conjunction with proper enforcement of the laws, continued research, and progressive waste management legislation.


Continuous monitoring with unobtrusive wearable social sensors is becoming a popular method to assess individual affect states and team effectiveness in human research. A large number of applications have demonstrated the effectiveness of applying wearable sensing in corporate settings; for example, in short periodic social events or in a university campus. However, little is known of how we can automatically detect individual affect and group cohesion for long duration missions. Predicting negative affect states and low cohesiveness is vital for team missions. Knowing team members' negative states allows timely interventions to enhance their effectiveness. This work investigates whether sensing social interactions and individual behaviors with wearable sensors can provide insights into assessing individual affect states and group cohesion. We analyzed wearable sensor data from a team of six crew members who were deployed on a four-month simulation of a space exploration mission at a remote location. Our work proposes to recognize team members' affect states and group cohesion as a binary classification problem using novel behavior features that represent dyadic interaction and individual activities. Our method aggregates features from individual members into group levels to predict team cohesion. Our results show that the behavior features extracted from the wearable social sensors provide useful information in assessing personal affect and team cohesion. Group task cohesion can be predicted with a high performance of over 0.8 AUC. Our work demonstrates that we can extract social interactions from sensor data to predict group cohesion in longitudinal missions. We found that quantifying behavior patterns including dyadic interactions and face-to-face communications are important in assessing team process.


Climate change adaptation is an increasingly important field and will involve a range of actors from national governments to private companies, communities and households. There is a growing policy discourse supporting the involvement of the private sector in adaptation, however there is little empirical examination to show how the sector might be involved and how adaptation might be governed. This paper uses evidence from the field of risk governance and insurance and analytical frameworks from the wider governance literature to draw important findings for the governance of adaptation. We use the recently published Compendium of Disaster Risk Initiatives in the Developing World and a case study of agricultural insurance in India to argue that the role of the private sector is increasing but so far within a particular model of engagement. In the context of climate change, how the public-private relationships are constructed is key to how adaptation can be leveraged from such an arrangement. The evidence in this paper suggests that due to commercial viability and other concerns there will continue to be a role for the public sector alongside the private sector to ensure adaptation measures address vulnerability. In conclusion we argue that the type of relationship between the public and the private actors has a significant influence on the adaptation outcomes. The question is not purely about involving the private sector which is how this is currently framed within policy and academic work on adaptation, but how the private actors are engaged. . Governments seeking to engage private actors need to build those relationships with the desired adaptation outcomes in mind.


The topic of this thesis is the Domestic Architecture of the Natal Architect, William Street-Wilson (1856-1928) and spans the period from 1889 to 1913. It is based on the original drawing collection which can be found in the Barrie Bierman Architectural Library, University of Natal. Street-Wilson carried out his architectural training in England, and the study sets out to identify the stylistic changes which took place within the Arts and Crafts Movement in England, to establish any English precedent in Street-Wilson domestic architecture in Natal. In order to contexturalise Street-Wilson's domestic architecture in Natal, an overview of the political, social, economic and architectural background is given prior to, and during the year of Street-Wilson's arrival in 1887. The drawing collection is set chronologically during the period of 1889-1913, against the political, social and economic background, in order to study the effect of such influences on the Street-Wilson's houses. The study defines and identifies the different components which compose the plan and then carries out an analysis of the plan, form and style of the different categories of house types, namely the typical single storey, villa/double storey and semi-detached house, to highlight the evolution of the house type from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Since the verandah is the common thread throughout the drawing collection, a special study explores its possible origin and application in a colonial context. Examples of detail drawings have been extracted from the drawing collection to illustrate construction techniques and typical detailing employed by Street-Wilson and his partners, accompanied by a brief history of building materials to contexturalise materials within the studied period. The evolution of services, pertaining to comfort and sanitation, have been examined and applied to the houses designed by Street-Wilson.


Mutant human hepatoblastoma cell lines resistant to copper toxicity were isolated from mutagenized HuH7. Two copper resistant cell lines (CuR), CuR 23 and CuR 27, had reduced basal expression of metallothionein (MT) messenger RNA (mRNA) and exhibited minimal or no increase in resistance to cadmium or zinc toxicity. Copper uptake, efflux of newly transported copper, glutathione content, and efflux rate were comparable with HuH7, whereas holoceruloplasmin synthesis and secretion were slightly decreased. Subcellular distribution of copper at steady‐state showed an increase in organelle and membrane fractions with a reduction in cytosol. Expression of ATP7B mRNA was fivefold increased, and ATP7B protein approximately threefold increased in both CuR 23 and 27. Another cell line, CuR 41, showed increased basal expression of MT and ATP7B mRNA but not ATP7B protein, and resistance to cadmium and zinc toxicity. Copper uptake in CuR 41 was comparable with HuH7, but initial rates of efflux of copper and glutathione were reduced. The synthesis of holoceruloplasmin but not ceruloplasmin peptide was markedly diminished in CuR 41. Subcellular distribution of copper showed an increase in cytosolic and decreased organelle and membrane‐associated copper. These data suggest that cellular resistance to copper toxicity was achieved in two independent cell lines without MT induction and that the induction of ATP7B may lead to the enhanced intracellular sequestration of copper by organelles.


The recent spread of everyday-carried Wi-Fi-enabled devices (smartphones, tablets and wearable devices) comes with a privacy threat to their owner, and to society as a whole. These devices continuously emit signals which can be captured by a passive attacker using cheap hardware and basic knowledge. These signals contain a unique identifier, called the MAC address. To mitigate the threat, device vendors are currently deploying a countermeasure on new devices: MAC address randomization. Unfortunately, we show that this mitigation, in its current state, is insufficient to prevent tracking.

To do so, we introduce several attacks, based on the content and the timing of emitted signals. In complement, we study implementations of MAC address randomization in some recent devices, and find a number of shortcomings limiting the efficiency of these implementations at preventing device tracking.

At the same time, we perform two real-world studies. The first one considers the development of actors exploiting this issue to install Wi-Fi tracking systems. We list some real-world installations and discuss their various aspects, including regulation, privacy implications, consent and public acceptance. The second one deals with the spread of MAC address randomization in the devices population.

Finally, we present two tools: an experimental Wi-Fi tracking system for testing and public awareness raising purpose, and a tool estimating the uniqueness of a device based on the content of its emitted signals even if the identifier is randomized.


Block copolymers synthesised in supercritical CO2 dispersion undergo in situ self-assembly which can result in a range of nanostructured microparticles. However, our previous study revealed that copolymers with different block combinations possessed different microphase separated morphologies at identical block volume fractions. In this paper, we follow up those initial observations. By examining the phase behaviour of a selection of structurally diverse block copolymers, we explore the structural factors which influence the conflicting self-assembly behaviours. The composition dependence of the morphology is found to be strongly related to the CO2-philicity of the second block relative to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Whilst PMMA-b-poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PBzMA) and PMMA-b-poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate) (PDMAEMA) phase behaviour follows traditional diblock copolymer phase diagrams, PMMA-b-poly(styrene) (PS) and PMMA-b-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP), which comprise blocks with the greatest contrast in CO2-philicity, self-assemble into unexpected morphologies at several different block volume fractions. The morphology of these copolymers in the microparticulate form was found to revert to the predicted equilibrium morphology when the microparticles were re-cast as films and thermally annealed. These findings provide strong evidence that CO2 acts as a block-selective solvent during synthesis. The CO2-selectivity was exploited to fabricate various kinetically trapped non-lamellar morphologies in symmetrical PMMA-b-PS copolymers by tuning the ratio of polymer:CO2. Our data demonstrate that CO2 can be exploited as a facile process modification to control the self-assembly of block copolymers within particles.


Although there has been substantial progress in understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms of stereopsis, how neurons interact in a network during stereo computation remains unclear. Computational models on stereopsis suggest local competition and long-range cooperation are important for resolving ambiguity during stereo matching. To test these predictions, we simultaneously recorded from multiple neurons in V1 of awake, behaving macaques while presenting surfaces of different depths rendered in dynamic random dot stereograms. We found that the interaction between pairs of neurons was a function of similarity in receptive fields, as well as of the input stimulus. Neurons coding the same depth experienced common inhibition early in their responses for stimuli presented at their nonpreferred disparities. They experienced mutual facilitation later in their responses for stimulation at their preferred disparity. These findings are consistent with a local competition mechanism that first removes gross mismatches, and a global cooperative mechanism that further refines depth estimates.


The combination of sequence stratigraphy and multiproxy chronostratigraphic data, including δ 18 O records, unravels the record of Milankovitch cyclicity through the past ~400 ka on the Adriatic margin. Chronostratigraphic data and stable isotope records from planktic and benthic foraminifera are derived from borehole PRAD1-2, a 71 m continuous core drilled on the Western Adriatic slope. The cored interval encompasses the distal parts of stacked progradational wedges that are the main building blocks of 100 ka depositional sequences. These sequences and their internal progradational units reflect a cyclic interplay between sea level and oceanographic circulation, with relevant feedbacks on sediment supply fluctuations and regional long-shore sediment dispersal. Calibration of slope units with isotope stratigraphy and direct slope-shelf correlation indicates that two types of progradational clinoforms alternate in phase with the pattern of composite climate and sea-level changes figured by δ 18 O records. Changes in clinoform geometry of the kind observed in the Adriatic are consistent with a mechanism of switching supply from dominant advection on a flooded shelf, during highstands, to overall sediment starvation on a narrowed shelf, during lowstands. Seismic and core data document that this mechanism is related to ~100 and 20 ka cyclicity reflecting rearrangement of the oceanographic setting and sediment pathways during the last four glacial-interglacial cycles.


Industrial slurries transported in pressurized pipelines often consist of particles of broad size distribution. The broad particle size distribution affects slurry flow behavior in a pipe. A four-component model (4CM) predicts the frictional pressure drop in pipe flow of broadly graded slurry. The model considers Newtonian carrying liquid and splits the broadly graded solids into fractions (components) each of which contributes to the pressure drop through its own dominating friction mechanism expressed by a particular sub-model in the 4CM. The sorting of the solids into the components (carrier, pseudo-homogeneous, heterogeneous, fully-stratified) must be based on appropriate criteria. For the sake of simplicity, the 4CM currently uses threshold sizes of particles to split the solids into 4 components.
 The goal of the present work is to analyze the existing criteria for the threshold between the pseudo-homogeneous component and heterogeneous component and for the threshold between the heterogeneous component and fully-stratified component. The analysis is based on a description of mechanisms governing particle support (suspension, deposition) of each particular solids component in slurry flow. It shows that the existing grain-size thresholds actually express certain proportions among threshold velocities of flow delimiting different slurry flow regimes. Such threshold velocities are the deposition-limit velocity, the initial-suspension velocity, and the full-suspension velocity. We discuss the proportions and demonstrate how properties (of liquid, solids, flow) and associated parameters additional to the grain size may influence the thresholds.
 The analytical results are supported by experimental results for flow of individual components in a laboratory loop.


The presence of aerosol has resulted in serious limitations in the data coverage and large uncertainties in retrieving carbon dioxide (CO2) amounts from satellite measurements. For this reason, an aerosol retrieval algorithm was developed for the Thermal and Near-infrared Sensor for carbon Observation-Cloud and Aerosol Imager (TANSO-CAI) launched in January 2009 on board the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). The algorithm retrieves aerosol optical depth (AOD), aerosol size information, and aerosol type in 0.1° grid resolution by look-up tables constructed using inversion products from Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) sun-photometer observation over Northeast Asia as a priori information. To improve the accuracy of the TANSO-CAI aerosol algorithm, we consider both seasonal and annual estimated radiometric degradation factors of TANSO-CAI in this study. Surface reflectance is determined by the same 23-path composite method of Rayleigh and gas corrected reflectance to avoid the stripes of each band. To distinguish aerosol absorptivity, reflectance difference test between ultraviolet (band 1) and visible (band 2) wavelengths depending on AODs was used. To remove clouds in aerosol retrieval, the normalized difference vegetation index and ratio of reflectance between band 2 (0.674 μm) and band 3 (0.870 μm) threshold tests have been applied. To mask turbid water over ocean, a threshold test for the estimated surface reflectance at band 2 was also introduced. The TANSO-CAI aerosol algorithm provides aerosol properties such as AOD, size information and aerosol types from June 2009 to December 2013 in this study. Here, we focused on the algorithm improvement for AOD retrievals and their validation in this study. The retrieved AODs were compared with those from AERONET and the Aqua/MODerate resolution Imaging Sensor (MODIS) Collection 6 Level 2 dataset over land and ocean. Comparisons of AODs between AERONET and TANSO-CAI over Northeast Asia showed good agreement with correlation coefficient (R) 0.739 ± 0.046, root mean square error (RMSE) 0.232 ± 0.047, and linear regression line slope 0.960 ± 0.083 for the entire period. Over ocean, the comparisons between Aqua/MODIS and TANSO-CAI for the same period over Northeast Asia showed improved consistency, with correlation coefficient 0.830 ± 0.047, RMSE 0.140 ± 0.019, and linear regression line slope 1.226 ± 0.063 for the entire period. Over land, however, the comparisons between Aqua/MODIS and TANSO-CAI show relatively lower correlation (approximate R = 0.67, RMSE = 0.40, slope = 0.77) than those over ocean. In order to improve accuracy in retrieving CO2 amounts, the retrieved aerosol properties in this study have been provided as input for CO2 retrieval with GOSAT TANSO-Fourier Transform Spectrometer measurements.


Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) is a water soluble vitamin which is an antioxidant and has a wide variety of biological functions for growth and development of the human body. It is very es-sential for immune enhancement in human beings. Vitamin C-deficiency and falciparum malaria are two major public health problems in developing countries. Falciparum malaria is associated with significant destruction of erythrocytes and leading to severe anaemia. The present study was delineated to estimate the serum ascorbic acid concentration in 150 acute falciparum-malaria patients (aged two to ten years). Serum ascorbate level concentrations of 20 healthy volunteers (aged two to ten years) were included as controls. The mean serum ascorbic acid concentration of healthy controls was 1.163 ± 0.059 mg/dL and that of diseased cohort was 0.685±0.0145 mg/dL. The mean parasitemia was 1239.2±33.609 per μL. The dis-eased cohort demonstrated significant reduction in concentrations of ascorbic acid in com-parison to healthy controls (p<0.001) and there was inverse relationship (coefficient of cor-relation r = -0.98) between parasitemia and serum ascorbic acid concentration.


Passive solutions are the most used harmonic mitigation methods in wind power plants, but the use of active filters is also a suitable and attractive approach. However, the best location for the connection of these active filters needs to be studied and evaluated. In this paper, a study of the use of active harmonic filters placed at different locations inside a wind power plant is performed. The results for current and voltage harmonic distortion are compared and discussed to determine the most suitable location for placing active harmonic filters within a wind power plant.


SUMMARY This article provides information on a chemical information literacy program designed primarily for new graduate students. The full implementation of this program is discussed, including defining its purpose, topics covered, content presented, methods of marketing, and evaluation. The result is a series of voluntary seminars given biweekly throughout the academic year. Seminars are based either around a particular resource or database or are centered on a topical problem that may be addressed using multiple resources. Evaluations show that graduate students are pleased with the seminars, including content covered and the format. Areas for future development and experimentation are also suggested.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of how Sino-Japanese joint ventures implemented the three Japanese improvement methods, i.e. Kaizen, Kaikaku and Kaizen Blitz. The specific objectives of this study are to identify the key enablers for the three improvement methods; and to identify the most selected improvement method.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to pairwise-compare the three improvement methods. Data are collected from 28 industry experts from Sino-Japanese joint ventures. The study then adopts extent analysis approach for pairwise comparisons and extent analysis to obtain synthetic extent values for priority weights.

Findings

The results of the study indicate that personnel (humanware) factor enablers are the most important factor for Kaizen, whilst software factor enablers (essential rules, policies and institutional arrangements) weight second and hardware factor enablers (physical, measurable hard facts or resources) weight last. The study also reviews that Kaizen is the most selected improvement method among the three.

Research limitations/implications

The sample of this study is limited to Sino-Japanese ventures in Guangzhou, China. This study only identifies the key improvement enablers based on interviews with shop floor managers and improvement experts.

Practical implications

Practical implications are threefold: the improvement implementations should be based on factors such as regular training, incentives for motivations and shop floor management; improvement methods are transferable and standard operations may only have small effects on collecting improvement ideas; and Kaizen is the appropriate method to support long-term and process-oriented improvements.

Originality/value

This study is the first to specifically pairwise-compare the three Japanese improvement methods and to identify priorities of their key enablers in Sino-Japanese joint ventures.


Rugby sevens (7s) is an anaerobic contact sport consisting of seven players per team, with two 7-minute halves per match played in tournament style with several matches over up to a three-day event. However, due to the nature of the collegiate game, less funding, and their academic schedule, the tournaments are commonly consolidated into one day (minimum 3, as many as 6 matches). While there are six positions in 7s, this study divided them into three groups: Forwards (FW), Backs (BK), and Scrum halves (SH). PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to identify the physiological and physical demands between positions of Indiana University 7s club players. METHODS: Data was retrospectively analyzed from male (n = 15) collegiate rugby 7s players. Data was collected at Indiana University using GameTraka (Sports Performance Tracking, Victoria, Australia) and data represented here are from one tournament consisting of 5 matches on the same day. Participants wore Global Positioning System (GPS) units from which information on distances run per minute by each position group (FW, BK, and SH) was measured within six different speed zones. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine between group differences by each half of play with Tukey post-hoc analyses to reveal differences between positions. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine if differences existed across matches by player position. A p-value of <0.05 was set to determine the level of statistical significance. RESULTS: During the first half no significant differences were seen. In the second half of match #1, significant differences were found in Zone 1 running (p = 0.004) indicating that BK ran more than both FW (p = 0.003) and SH (p = 0.05). No significant differences were found in the second half of matches 2-4. Match #5 second half results indicated significant difference in distance per minute (p = 0.022) with both FW (p = 0.036) and SH (p = 0.041) covering more distance than BK. A main effect for zone 1 (p = 0.015) and zone 4 (p = 0.003) were observed with both FW (p = 0.029) and SH (p = 0.003) higher than BK. No significant differences were found across the five matches between position groups. GPS data indicate that the primary differences between position groups are observed in the second halves of rugby 7s matches. Data suggests that FW and SH have a higher distance covered per minute and spend more time in the different running zones as the number of matches increases. This could be a byproduct of a change in the quality of play as peripheral fatigue sets in as the match progresses. CONCLUSION: Data presented here can affect the training approaches for the various position groups as the data suggests a greater amount of physiological exertion is present in the later matches of tournament play. Data also may be useful to coaches in the strategic utilization of substituting players as substitutions per match are capped in rugby 7s.


For more than three decades, China has managed to combine rapid economic growth with a heavily regulated financial sector. The discrepancy between economic and financial development has raised the question of whether China might be an exception to the so-called finance-growth nexus. This study examines the relationship between finance and growth at the provincial level in China using a new set of measures of capital freedom and financial development. The results indicate that capital freedom and financial development are associated with both higher income and growth rates. In particular, we find that the marketization of financial institutions and strengthening of legal and government institutions have a particularly strong impact on income and growth in low-income provinces.


The Brazilian urban reform movement expanded citizen participation in decision-making processes through a policy environment motivated by a right to the city (RTC), a collective development strategy for political transformation. Yet recent events evidence that social exclusion and spatial segregation remain dominant features of the Brazilian city. These contradictions have led planning scholars and practitioners to grapple with misalignment between the reform movement's paradigmatic goals and its paradoxical failures. We build upon this genre of thinking to assess critical areas of paradigm and paradox in Brazilian planning – insurgent urbanism, informality and knowledge – each of which is rooted in the lesser-understood concept of autogestão for improving the equity of land division through urban planning.1 Although not all inclusive of the issues faced by Brazilian cities, these three categories were selected for best representing how Brazil's participatory turn established a range of paradigmatic and paradoxical conditions that can help us to understand cities in Brazil and beyond and might better leverage autogestão in the future.


The productivity of bee families depends to a large extent on the influence of exogenous factors. The most important ones include: the presence of a honey-bearing base, climatic conditions, temperature of the environment, etc. It significantly affects the growth of families and the stability of the microclimate in the nest. The welcome temperature range in the postembryonic period fluctuates within 30–38 °С. Therefore, the purpose of the work was to find out the physiological and biochemical peculiarities of the adaptation of the body of honeybee bees under the influence of the lowered temperature in the nest. For research, two groups of honeybees were selected that differed in terms of maintenance. The control group was constantly in the nest of the bee family, and the experimental at the stage of the prepupa was placed in a thermostat where the temperature was maintained at 32 °С. Materials for researches were tissues of prepupa and pupa. The method of thin-layer chromatography identifies the classes of lipids, phospholipids and cholesterol. Based on the performed researches, it was found that the violation of the optimal parameters of the microclimate in the post-embryonal period affects the increase in the weight of the prepupa of the body by 19.4% (P < 0 . 001) and the decrease in the intensity of the processes of dehydration in tissues by 63 . 8% (P < 0 . 05), which is associated with the accumulation of bound water in cells. It is proved that the decrease of the optimum temperature of the incubation of the breeding breed at 2 °С leads to prolongation of the post-embryonic development period by 35–42 hours. Under such conditions, throughout the period of incubation in bees, high levels of total lipids are observed. At the stage of prepupa, the number of triacylglycerols in the lipids increases by 49 . 0% (P < 0 . 001). In ontogenesis in pupa tissues, a gradual decrease in the content of triacylglycerols, including the imaging stage, is evidently due to the effect of the stress factor. It was found that lowering the temperature on the second day of incubation of the breeding plant reduces the content of phospholipids in the lipid tissues by 11 . 9% (P ˂ 0 . 05). At the same time, the decrease in the content of lysophosphatidylcholine was detected by 6 . 6% (P < 0 . 001). The violation of the optimum temperature during the development of bees leads to a steady increase in the content of esterified cholesterol by an average of 47 . 9% (P < 0 . 01). In the process of pupa formation, the ratio of classes of esterified cholesterol is changing. The conducted studies allow to correct the metabolic processes in the body of honey bees in order to adapt them to the lowered temperatures.


We propose a tractable model of an informationally inefficient market. We show the equivalence between our model and a substantially simpler model whereby investors face distortive investment taxes depending both on their identity and the asset class. We use this equivalence to assess existing approaches to inferring whether individual investors have informational advantages. We also develop a methodology of inferring the magnitude of the frictions (implicit taxes) that impede financial trade. We illustrate the methodology by using data on cross-country portfolio holdings and returns to quantify these frictions, and locate the directions in which financial trade seems to be especially impeded. We argue that our measure of frictions contains useful information for the sources of failure of frictionless models, and it helps in studying whether certain factors (such as the size of the financial sector) are associated with lower financial frictions.


Previous research has shown that information that is repeated is more likely to be rated as true than information that has not been heard before.  The current experiment examines whether familiarity with false news stories would increase rates of truthfulness and plausibility for these events.  Further, the experiment tested whether false stories that were familiar would result in the creation of a false memory of having heard the story outside of the experiment.  Participants were exposed to false new stories, each portrayed by the investigator as true news stories.  After a five week delay, participants who had read the false experimental stories rated them as more truthful and more plausible than participants who had not been exposed to the stories.  In addition, there was evidence of the creation of false memories for the source of the news story.  Participants who had previously read about the stories were more likely to believe that they had heard the false stories from a source outside the experiment.  These results suggest that repeating false claims will not only increase their believability but may also result in source monitoring errors.


From the Publisher:
This book is about delivering professional Enterprise systems in Visual Basic 6. This book begins where Professional VB5/6 Business Objects left off. It offers a sophisticated response to the Business Objects book, and takes the dialog further. It also offers an aware response to the techno-political situation at the Enterprise level for Visual Basic. By definition, the task of delivering an enterprise is a huge undertaking. Microsoft's enterprise offerings have evolved to the point where they pose a serious threat to existing enterprise level platforms. Microsoft's promised lower total cost of ownership is driving many companies to replace at least a portion of their enterprise systems with Windows NT Enterprise Server and Back Office suite of servers. While there are many books that consider some portion or another of the enterprise, there few if any that address the enterprise as a whole while still providing the technical details developers and integration teams require for real-world execution and delivery. The information required to stitch together the components essential for an enterprise system can only be found scattered across several tens of manuals that span many disciplines. Managers and developers alike need a clear vision of what constitutes an enterprise system. This book is designed to consider the problem of delivering an enterprise as a whole. It covers hardware from a developer's perspective. It provides step-by-step installation and configuration instructions for Windows NT Cluster server and the Back Office suite of servers. Then it expands upon and improves the Professional Visual Basic 5.0 Object methodology.


Basin subsidence analysis, employing the backstripping method, indicates that fundamentally different basin-generating mechanisms controlled Silurian basin development in northern England and in Wales. Accelerating subsidence with time suggests that the dominant control on basin formation in northern England was flexure of the Eastern Avalonian lithosphere. Mid-Wales, however, displays dominantly decelerating subsidence, suggesting an extensional control. The errors involved with the backstripping method, particularly concerning Lower Palaeozoic application, have been addressed. In conjunction with sedimentological and tectonic data, the subsidence patterns for the Windermere Supergroup indicate deposition in a flexurally-loaded foreland basin which migrated southwards with time. Similar data for the Powys Supergroup of Mid-Wales imply an extensional control on Silurian deposition, possibly in a strike-slip setting. However, later Pøídolí and early Devonian Welsh sedimentation may represent the onset of foreland basin deposition. The new data are consistent with a diachronous closure of the Iapetus ocean, related to rotational collision of Eastern Avalonia with Laurentia during the early Silurian. Early Silurian oblique collision produced transtension in Wales. Subsequent rotation of Eastern Avalonia produced more orthogonal collision. Thus, continental flexure was felt initially in northern England in late Wenlock times, followed by migration of the resultant foreland basin to the southeast into Wales in early Devonian times. The versatility of the backstripping method is shown by this application to Lower Palaeozoic sequences.


ABSTRACT Over the past five years, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been criticized by liberal public opinion in Serbia for maintaining organizational and ideological links with Christian right-wing groups whose political discourse includes antisemitic themes. Byford looks at two specific responses to this public criticism, one from the Serbian Orthodox Church and the other from the Christian right, and examines the rhetoric employed to counter the allegations of antisemitism. The dominant discourse in these responses is denial, stating that there is, and never has been, any antisemitism in Serbia or within Orthodox Christianity. In examining various aspects of this denial, Byford demonstrates that generalized statements about Serbian and Orthodox tolerance manage the moral accountability of those who find themselves under criticism by turning public attention away from the ongoing controversy and by confining the problem to a small number of individual extremists on the far right. He also argues that, by helping to generate a consensus about Serbian tolerance, the denial implicitly perpetuates the very same xenophobic and antisemitic elements of Serbian nationalist discourse that it is meant to negate and refute.


Barycentric spanners have been used as an efficient exploration basis in online linear optimization problems in a bandit framework. We characterise the barycentric spanner for decision problems in which the cost (or reward) is a polynomial in a single decision variable. Our characterisation of the barycentric spanner is two-fold: we show that the barycentric spanner under a polynomial cost function is the unique solution to a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, as well as the solution to a convex optimization problem. We provide numerical results to show that our method computes the barycentric spanner for the polynomial case significantly faster than the only other known algorithm for the purpose. As an application, we consider a dynamic pricing problem in which the revenue is an unknown polynomial function of the price. We then empirically show that the use of a barycentric spanner to initialise the prior distribution in a Thompson sampling setting leads to lower cumulative regret as compared to standard initialisations. We also illustrate the importance of barycentric spanners in adversarial settings by showing, both theoretically and empirically, that a barycentric spanner achieves the minimax value in a static adversarial linear regression problem where the learner selects the training points while an adversary selects the testing points and controls the variance of the noise corrupting the training samples


Updated and extended, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the 3,619 most important sites for bird conservation in 51 European countries, equivalent to seven percent of the continent's land area. Each country's entry is the work of one to three local experts. Key species, habitats and conservation issues are discussed for every site, with thumbnail location maps. Hundreds of graphics, maps and data tables show key information at national and regional levels. An essential guide for policy-makers and developers, conservationists and environmental consultants, and a call for action to national governments, who have left 40 percent of these sites with no legal protection."A tremendous source of valuable data" - Ibis. "Of the highest value for conservation in general" - "British Birds". "Raises the bar very high for the rest of us" - "The Condor". "A working document, to be used by conservationists on a local, national and international level to save these special places from destruction" - "BBC Wildlife".


Background New York City (NYC) has borne the greatest burden of COVID-19 in the United States, but information about characteristics and outcomes of racially/ethnically diverse individuals tested and hospitalized for COVID-19 remains limited. In this case series, we describe characteristics and outcomes of patients tested for and hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York City's public hospital system. Methods We reviewed the electronic health records of all patients who received a SARS-CoV-2 test between March 5 and April 9, 2020, with follow up through April 16, 2020. The primary outcomes were a positive test, hospitalization, and death. Demographics and comorbidities were also assessed. Results 22254 patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2. 13442 (61%) were positive; among those, the median age was 52.7 years (interquartile range [IQR] 39.5-64.5), 7481 (56%) were male, 3518 (26%) were Black, and 4593 (34%) were Hispanic. Nearly half (4669, 46%) had at least one chronic disease (27% diabetes, 30% hypertension, and 21% cardiovascular disease). Of those testing positive, 6248 (46%) were hospitalized. The median age was 61.6 years (IQR 49.7-72.9); 3851 (62%) were male, 1950 (31%) were Black, and 2102 (34%) were Hispanic. More than half (3269, 53%) had at least one chronic disease (33% diabetes, 37% hypertension, 24% cardiovascular disease, 11% chronic kidney disease). 1724 (28%) hospitalized patients died. The median age was 71.0 years (IQR 60.0, 80.9); 1087 (63%) were male, 506 (29%) were Black, and 528 (31%) were Hispanic. Chronic diseases were common (35% diabetes, 37% hypertension, 28% cardiovascular disease, 15% chronic kidney disease). Male sex, older age, diabetes, cardiac history, and chronic kidney disease were significantly associated with testing positive, hospitalization, and death. Racial/ethnic disparities were observed across all outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance This is the largest and most racially/ethnically diverse case series of patients tested and hospitalized for COVID-19 in the United States to date. Our findings highlight disparities in outcomes that can inform prevention and testing recommendations.


The study explores the way further and higher education lecturers, who identify as Cornish, view their cultural knowledge and identity and how this informs their pedagogic practice. The study took place in the context of the newly established Combined Universities in Cornwall, following the allocation of European Union funding.

Bernstein's sociology of pedagogy (1990, 2000), specifically the pedagogic device and pedagogic identity provided an analytical framework to explore knowledge production, recontextualisation and reproduction and the extent to which lecturers contributed to the production of a localised pedagogic identity. Holland and Lave's (2001) concept of "history-in-person" enabled further consideration of individuals' relationships to Cornish culture and identity.

Three research questions were identified: how do historical and contemporaneous contexts impact on lecturers' practice? In which educational contexts does identity become salient? And, what role do lecturers play in the creation of a localised pedagogic identity? In-depth semi-structured interviews, with 14 lecturers based in 1 HEI and 2 FEIs, were undertaken during 2010 and 2011. The subsequent thematic analysis helped identify key aspects of Cornish identity, such as the importance of relationship to geographical place, and a range of values including that of hard work. Key practice issues identified included a desire to create and transmit localised identities.

The findings established that lecturers consider their Cornish culture to be distinct, yet marginalised by non-Cornish peers, institutions and wider society. Opportunities for lecturers to relay Cornish culture to the next generation were shown to be context dependent on the type of employing institutions, position in the institutional hierarchy and the types of programme taught. However, where lecturers were able to implement their ambitions localised pedagogic identities became available to students.

This study furthers understanding of how minority lecturers' discursively- informed pedagogic practices co-exist with - and seek to challenge - hegemonic discourses.


We prove that if a homogeneous, continuously differentiable vector field is asymptotically stable, then it admits a Lyapunov function, which is the ratio of two polynomials (i.e., a rational function). We further show that when the vector field is polynomial, the Lyapunov inequalities on both the rational function and its derivative have sum of squares certificates and, hence, such a Lyapunov function can always be found by semidefinite programming. This generalizes the classical fact that an asymptotically stable linear system admits a quadratic Lyapunov function, which satisfies a certain linear matrix inequality. In addition to homogeneous vector fields, the result can be useful for showing local asymptotic stability of nonhomogeneous systems by proving asymptotic stability of their lowest order homogeneous component. This paper also includes some negative results: We show that in absence of homogeneity, globally asymptotically stable polynomial vector fields may fail to admit a global rational Lyapunov function, and in presence of homogeneity, the degree of the numerator of a rational Lyapunov function may need to be arbitrarily high (even for vector fields of fixed degree and dimension). On the other hand, we also give a family of homogeneous polynomial vector fields that admit a low-degree rational Lyapunov function but necessitate polynomial Lyapunov functions of arbitrarily high degree. This shows the potential benefits of working with rational Lyapunov functions, particularly as the ones whose existence we guarantee have structured denominators and are not more expensive to search for than polynomial ones.


Background
 Diabetes is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. In 2015, 415 million people worldwide were living with diabetes. In addition, one-quarter of the world's adult population have the metabolic syndrome (MetS) which directly increases the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. Diabetes and the MetS are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide and both are thought to be associated with an increased incidence and mortality from many cancers. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in economically developed countries and the third leading cause of death in developing countries. Together, these are common diseases with a considerable impact on public health. Therefore, improving our understanding of risk factors and consequences of these diseases is of increasing importance to improve screening programs, identify preventive strategies and develop novel therapies.
 The aim of this thesis is to contribute to current knowledge gaps in the association of diabetes and the MetS with cancer. Specifically, the three broad aims of this thesis are:
 i. To examine secular trends in excess all-cause and cause-specifi c mortality in type 1 and type 2 diabetes compared with the general population, overall and by age-group;
 ii. To quantify associations of type 1 and type 2 diabetes with cancer; and
 iii. To quantify associations of the MetS and individual components of the MetS with cancer.
 Further, this thesis aims to address methodological concerns not addressed in previous research of metabolic disease and cancer.
 Methods
 To adequately address these questions prospective, population-based studies with high quality databases and long follow-up time are needed. Publications included in this thesis pertain to results derived from analyses conducted using four national data sources: the National Diabetes Service Scheme (NDSS); the Australian and New Zealand Diabetes and Cancer Collaboration (ANZDCC); the National Death Index (NDI); and the Australian Cancer Database (ACD). The NDSS is a large-scale administrative database of Australians with diagnosed diabetes and the ANZDCC is a large pooled cohort comprised of 18 population-based cohort studies within Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Both the NDSS and ANZDCC cohorts were linked to the ACD and the NDI to obtain incident cancer and mortality outcomes, respectively.
 Key Findings
 Several key findings have arisen from this work:
 1. Age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) for all-cause, CVD and diabetes mortality have decreased in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the last decade, while cancer ASMRs remain unchanged.
 2. Improvements in mortality are seen among older age groups (40–60 and 60–80). However this is not seen across the entire age spectrum with younger ages (0–40) not experiencing the same declines in mortality and even more concerning, for type 2 diabetes, increases in all-cause and cancer mortality were noted in this age group.
 3. Cancer is a leading cause of death in people with diabetes and the proportion of deaths due to cancer is increasing over time.
 4. Using underlying cause of death to quantify the mortality burden among people with diabetes will underestimate by >50% of deaths attributed to CVD.
 5. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for a number of site-specifi c cancers and risk estimates are similar between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
 6. Detection bias and reverse causation explain some, but not all, of the associations between diabetes and cancer.
 7. The MetS is associated with an increased risk for overall and colorectal cancers and these associations are driven largely by obesity and hypertension. However, the MetS is not a useful tool for deciding who is and who is not likely to get cancer.
 8. Measures of central and general obesity are similarly predictive of cancer risk, though stronger associations with central obesity suggest a key role in the pathogenesis of cancer.
 9. Hypertension, both treated and untreated, is associated with a modest increased risk for cancer incidence and mortality. Similar risks in treated and untreated suggest the increased cancer risk is not due to anti-hypertensive treatment.
 Conclusion
 This thesis has added to the current evidence-base on the association between metabolic disease and cancer. This work has wide-ranging clinical and public health implications. These include insights into the potential mechanisms of cancer; assessment of the burden and consequences of metabolic disease; recommendations to clinicians to be vigilant in ensuring diabetes patients are up to date with cancer screening according to screening guidelines for the general population; aggressive management of risk factors among young-onset type 2 diabetes to prevent premature mortality; the need to adapt our health care systems to meet the changing needs of diabetes patients in the future and the need for lifestyle modification programs to prevent both type 2
 diabetes and cancer. Considering the high prevalence of diabetes and the MetS, even a small increase in cancer risk could have severe consequences at the population level. Therefore, it is imperative that we use this and similar data to inform policies that will improve the health and care of people living with metabolic disease.


I present a modular network architecture and a learning algorithm based on incremental dynamic programming that allows a single learning agent to learn to solve multiple Markovian decision tasks (MDTs) with significant transfer of learning across the tasks. I consider a class of MDTs, called composite tasks, formed by temporally concatenating a number of simpler, elemental MDTs. The architecture is trained on a set of composite and elemental MDTs. The temporal structure of a composite task is assumed to be unknown and the architecture learns to produce a temporal decomposition. It is shown that under certain conditions the solution of a composite MDT can be constructed by computationally inexpensive modifications of the solutions of its constituent elemental MDTs.


Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia and uses Ethiopic script for writing. In this paper, we present writer-independent HMM-based Amharic word recognition for offline handwritten text. The underlying units of the recognition system are a set of primitive strokes whose combinations form handwritten Ethiopic characters. For each character, possibly occurring sequences of primitive strokes and their spatial relationships, collectively termed as primitive structural features, are stored as feature list. Hidden Markov models for Amharic words are trained with such sequences of structural features of characters constituting words. The recognition phase does not require segmentation of characters but only requires text line detection and extraction of structural features in each text line. Text lines and primitive structural features are extracted by making use of direction field tensor. The performance of the recognition system is tested by a database of unconstrained handwritten documents collected from various sources.


Zero in on the most important cardiothoracic imaging knowledge with Chest Radiology: The Essentials! Ideal as a quick refresher for experienced radiologists as well as an efficient learning tool for residents, this best-selling radiology reference puts indispensible information at your fingertips in a compact and practical, high-yield format. Key Features Master nuances of imaging interpretation through a pattern-recognition approach that features extensive chest radiograph/CT correlations. Get up to date on the most current lung cancer staging classification, evidence-based guidelines for evaluating suspected pulmonary embolism (including those for pregnant patients), recently adopted lung cancer screening recommendations with low-dose CT of the chest, Fleischner Society guidelines for the follow-up of subsolid nodules, and new management guidelines for peri-fissural nodules. Successfully absorb key concepts through behaviorally based learning objectives that follow the most current curriculum from the Society of Thoracic Radiology's Education Committee - as well as abundant mnemonics and superb imaging examples. Test your knowledge and prepare for exams with image-rich, case-based multiple-choice questions at the end of each chapter, a self-assessment examination at the end of the text, and additional self-assessment material online. Now with the print edition, enjoy the bundled interactive eBook edition, offering tablet, smartphone, or online access to: complete content with enhanced navigation; a powerful search that pulls results from content in the book, your notes, and even the web; highlighting tool for easier reference of key content throughout the text; ability to take and share notes with friends and colleagues; tabbing tool to flag important content for future reference; and additional self-assessment questions and answers to facilitate exam preparation.


To manage a cable network effectively it is desirable to rate cable assets precisely. To investigate the conservatism of cable ratings provided by accepted modelling approaches several models have been employed to provide comparative continuous ratings for a directly buried cable group arrangement. Operational ratings are performed using expedient cable rating calculations, typically employing analytical or one dimensional (1D) finite difference (FD) methods. The case for a directly buried cable group is considered; ratings are obtained using three methods including the international standard analytical approach (IEC 60287), 1D FD and a 2D finite element analysis (FEA) approach. A continuous equation for resultant heat-flux has been derived to more precisely model the dielectric loss in 2D and 3D FEA models. Comparing results shows that all the models have good agreement when modelling an isothermal ground surface condition and validate the 2D FEA model against established approaches. The FEA model developed has been used to investigate more realistic ground surface boundary conditions. Results for different cable burial depths and ground surface boundary conditions show that using the established methods can lead to overestimation of cable ratings in the case of shallow buried cables.


The main aim of the research presented in this thesis is to inform the design of interactive
computer systems for supporting creative knowledge work. Research into creativity and
knowledge work has been explored and used to develop a criteria modelling approach. The
particular contribution of the author's work is the drawing together of that research and
applying the findings to interaction design. The publications were selected on the basis of
how well they represent the main outcomes of the work. The journey from prescribing
system requirements and design goals to framing the system design process in terms of
evaluation criteria may be traced through the papers presented.
Interest in creativity and the role of computer technology in creative tasks has recently
increased. A number of national initiatives have been set in motion in the LJK, beginning in
December 1996 with the Initiative for National Action on Creative Technologies, the
Creative Media Initiative: Technology Foresight, Department of Trade and Industry,
National Endowment for Science and Technology in the Arts (NESTA) and the People and
Computers Programme, of the Engineering & Physical Science Research Council
(EPSRC). Thus, the author's involvement in creativity research and computer support is
proving to be timely. Amongst her recent initiatives is Creativity and Cognition, an
international symposium which brings together creative people in the arts with
technologists and scientists.
The thesis is divided into three parts : themes and outcomes, methodology and case
studies. A criteria-based modelling approach is presented which has evolved from earlier
models that represent key elements of creativity and knowledge work. A model of creative
knowledge work is proposed and categories of criteria identified. Underpinning the main
outcomes are the case studies which were carried out in industry/academic collaborative
projects. The findings were considered in relation to other studies. The thesis presents an
approach to computer systems design and development that directly links the requirements
definition to the application of evaluation criteria. These criteria are based upon the
characteristics of the cognitive style and working practices of creative knowledge workers.


Histiocytoses are rare and heterogeneous group of disorders in childhood. The clinical presentation of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is highly variable, from asymptomatic to clinically significant symptoms and consequences. As it can involve nearly every organ of the body, the clinical manifestations depend on the site of the lesions, on the organs and systems involved and whether their function is affected. The most common sites of involvement in LCH are bone, skin, lymph nodes, lung, bone marrow and hypothalamic-pituitary region. The classical presentation of LCH is a unifocal bone disease, previously known as eosinophilic granuloma. LCH can be divided according to disease extent: single- or multi-system disease. There is very high chance of spontaneous resolution and favourable outcome for single-system disease involving the skin or bone. In many cases, no therapy or only local therapy is enough. For patients with multi-system disease currently systemic therapy is the treatment of choice. The goal of treatment is to relieve clinical symptoms, to increase survival and prevent complications. Currently cooperative international trials of the Histiocyte Society are used for treatment of LCH based on a€Eœrisk group stratification' with therapeutic agents have generally paralleled those used for the treatment of malignancies. There is no standardized therapy for chronic relapsing, acute refractory and progressive disease, some alternative approaches have been tested. Childhood LCH is a well treatable disease and the survival rate is high. This article summarizes the classification, pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria, different clinical manifestations, treatment possibilities, prognosis and long-term sequelaes of LCH in children.


Purpose To summarise all the up-to-date evidence related to knee osteoarthritis (OA) after revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and to determine the overall average postoperative OA, its progression and its prevalence in each knee compartment after a minimum 4 years, independent from patients' characteristics and surgical techniques. Methods A systematic review was performed in PubMed and EMBASE. All the studies that reported knee OA at preoperative status, at final follow-up or both were considered for the meta-analysis. A random-effect meta-analysis was used to obtain the incidence and CIs of postoperative OA, OA progression from preoperative status to final follow-up, and OA prevalence in each compartment. Cut-off values for all OA-grading scales were used to dichotomise the outcomes in a normal knee or knee with OA signs. Results Overall, 19 studies reported the radiographic outcomes after revision ACL in 776 patients, at a mean pooled follow-up of 5.8 years. Age at surgery was 30.2 years. The overall postoperative OA incidence was 61% (CI 50% to 70%). Progression from a normal knee to OA was reported in 20% (CI 10% to 32%) of the participants. Considering single compartments, OA incidence was 46% (CI 41% to 52%) in the medial compartment, 23% (CI 13% to 36%) in the lateral compartment and 27% (CI 18% to 38%) in the patellofemoral compartment. Conclusions Knee OA was present in almost 60% of the patients at a mean of 6.2 years follow-up after ACL revision, with an almost double-fold incidence in the medial compartment compared to both lateral compartment and patellofemoral compartment. Progression from normal status to OA status was reported in about 20% of cases. These findings highlight the OA as a concrete problem after revision ACL surgery, which could affect clinical results, sport participation and daily life activities.


Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains a therapeutic challenge. As a result of advances in genomic sequencing technology, "next-generation sequencing" (NGS) is increasingly incorporated into clinical trials and routine oncology clinical practice. Molecular profiling of mCRPC can be a valuable way of defining molecular alterations that might contribute to optimal treatments while reduce risk of adverse effects. To effectively apply cutting edge research to daily patient care, oncologists must grasp the fundamentals of genomic oncology, molecular testing and interpretation. There is an urgent need for health professional education to allow implementation of these novel precision medicine tools.


The validation of complex nonlinear numerical models such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research thermospheric general circulation model (NCAR TGCM) requires a detailed comparison of model predictions with data. The Equinox Transition Study (ETS) of September 17–24, 1984, provided a unique opportunity to address the verification of the NCAR TGCM, since unusually large quantities of high-quality thermospheric and ionospheric data were obtained during an intensive observation interval. In a companion paper (paper 1) by Crowley et al. (this issue) a simulation of the September 18–19 ETS interval was described. Using a novel approach to modeling, the TGCM inputs were tuned where possible with guidance from data describing the appropriate input fields, and the arbitrary adjustment of input variables in order to obtain thermospheric predictions which match measurements was avoided. In the present paper the winds, temperatures, and densities predicted by the TGCM are compared with measurements from the ETS interval. In many respects, agreement between the predictions and observations is good. The quiet day observations contain a strong semidiurnal wind variation which is mainly due to upward propagating tides. The storm day wind behavior is significantly different and includes a surge of equatorward winds due to a global propagating disturbance associated with the storm onset. The density data confirm the existence of the newly discovered four-cell high-latitude density anomaly described in paper 1. A quantitative statistical comparison of the predicted and measured winds indicates that the equatorward winds in the model are weaker than the observed winds, particularly during storm times. This is consistent with predicted latitudinal temperature gradients and storm time density increases which are much smaller than the observed values. Soft particle precipitation or high-altitude plasma heating is invoked as a possible source of the additional high-latitude heating required by the model. A quiet day phase anomaly in the measured F region winds which is not reproduced by the model suggests the occurrence of an important unmodeled interaction between upward propagating semidiurnal tides and high-latitude effects. Wind data from altitudes below 100 km indicate shortcomings in the generic equinox solar minimum tidal specification used in the TGCM. The lack of appropriate data to specify input fields seriously impairs our ability to generate realistic global thermospheric simulations. The problem is particularly acute in the southern hemisphere. Furthermore, disturbances generated in the southern hemisphere simulation propagate northward and degrade the northern hemisphere predictions. Thus, if the thermosphere in the northern hemisphere is ever to be fully understood, the southern hemisphere needs to be observed and simulated more accurately. Several improvements are suggested for future realistic time-dependent simulations of specific intervals.


This paper, commissioned by Coast to Capital outlines the need for a top-down strategy review to complement the bottom-up analysis and consultation approach being taken to develop a Strategic Economic Plan for the Local Enterprise Partnership. This top down approach has focused on the establishment of Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) underpinned by two core components Smart Specialisation and the creation of innovation friendly business environments for SMEs. It is based on a wider view of innovation that is not just technology based but recognises creativity in general and the value of open innovation systems, centred on collaborative networks and communities. The strategy attempts to provide answers to three broad questions:

1. What is the Coast to Capital area to be known for?
2. How will it need to respond to developments in technology and other forms of innovation?
3. Where is it genuinely at the leading edge of innovation – what are its research and innovation strengths and where do they lead?
A range of potential sector specific initiatives have been proposed each revolving around establishing a network of innovation. The Coast to Capital LEP role would be to act as catalyst or convener for the innovation networks, to provide leadership where necessary, to draw in the required partners for each chosen network, and to support the network to self-sufficiency.


In the present paper, a multi-item inventory problem with the capacity to replenish carriers is considered. In the present study, we propose a model that considers truck capacity, truck cost, and receiving inspection cost with inventories and shortages in inventory management simultaneously. A number of studies have examined the minimum total cost while considering the ordering cost as fixed and not considering the carrier capacity or receiving inspection cost. However, we consider the stepwise ordering cost, which changes in a stepwise manner according to the ordered quantity and the capacity of the carrier. In addition, we consider a receiving inspection cost that is defined not only by ordered quantity but also by ordered item variety. The problem considered herein was formulated as a mathematical programming problem in a finite planning period, and valid inequalities were considered. We could consider individual objective functions for ordering, holding, lost sales, and receiving inspection cost together. We can observe that the receiving inspection cost could be reduced by aggregating the order quantity.


This paper presents evaluation results for a high security disaster recovery system using distribution and rake technology. In an experimental evaluation, the encryption and spatial scrambling performance and the average response time have been estimated in terms of the data file size. Discussion is also provided on an effective shuffling algorithm to determine the dispersed location sites. Finally, this paper describes a prototype system configuration for several practical network applications, including the hybrid utilization of cloud computing facilities and environments which are already commercialized.


Get "hooked" into the quirky world of Amigurumi! Crochet these irresistibly cute creatures--today's coolest craze in crochet.Over 20 projects are super hip and super quick to make-- you need only basic crochet skills and small amounts of yarnFunky designs include mommy and baby owls, hedgehogs, and penguins, plus silly crocheted treats like cupcakes and ice-cream conesFind complete instructions for crocheting designs and adding facial features and other embellishments


Refugees are people who were forced to flee from their country of origin due to potential or imminent threats to their physical safety, security, liberty, or dignity. These displaced people seek international protection and are rendered refugee status to stay in exile because they are unable or unwilling to return to their home country due to such threats. Their refugee status, however, is not permanently granted. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, when the circumstances under which they were recognized as refugees no longer exist, the "cessation clause" of the refugee status is invoked by the international refugee regime. For example, the cessation clause has been invoked for refugees from Angola, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda in recent years. Nevertheless, little is known about what actually happens to refugees and how they respond when their refugee status comes to an end.


Intensively managed pine ( Pinus spp.) forests encompass over 15.8 million hectares in the southeastern United States and provide an important source of wood products and an economic return to landowners. Given the extent of this landscape and the diversity of management goals and stakeholders, understanding how these forests can also be managed for biological diversity is important. Swainson's warbler ( Limnothlypis swainsonii; SWWA), a species of high conservation priority, has been documented occupying young, unthinned pine plantations (a novel habitat type), but demographic assessment is lacking. We compared breeding phenology and repro‐ ductive success of SWWA in commercial loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda ) stands versus bottomland hardwood forest (the historical habitat type). Timing of nesting, clutch size, and hatching rates were not significantly different with 59% (n = 32) of eggs hatching in pine versus 69% in bottomland hardwood (n = 52). Mayfield estimates of nesting success were similar in pine (27%) versus hardwoods (32%) within and across years. These results indicate that closed-canopy, short-rotation pine stands can provide suitable breeding habitat for SWWA. We also review the value of intensively managed pine landscapes for avian conservation in general.


A Biomedical Engineering Approach to Investigating Flow and Wall Shear Stress in Contracting Lymphatics. (May 2006) James Brandon Dixon, B.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Gerard L. Coté Collecting microlymphatics play a vital role in promoting lymph flow from the initial lymphatics in the interstitial spaces to the large transport lymph ducts. In most tissues, the primary mechanism for producing this flow is the spontaneous contractions of the lymphatic wall. Individual units, known as lymphangion, are separated by valves that help prevent backflow when the vessel contracts, thus promoting flow through the lymphatic network. Lymphatic contractile activity is inhibited by flow in isolated lymphatics, however there are virtually no in situ measurements of lymph flow in these vessels. Initially, a high speed imaging system was set up to image in situ preparations at 500 fps. These images were then manually processed to extract information regarding lymphocyte velocity (-4 to 10 mm/sec), vessel diameter (25 to 165 um), and particle location. Fluid modeling was performed to obtain reasonable estimates of wall shear stress (-8 to 17 dynes/cm). One of the difficulties encountered was the time consuming methods of manual particle tracking. Using previously captured images, an image correlation method was developed to automate lymphatic flow measurements and to track wall movements as the vessel contracts. Using this method the standard error of prediction for velocity measurements was 0.4 mm/sec and for diameter measurements it


Vegetation dynamics in complex landscapes depend on interactions among environmental heterogeneity, disturbance, habitat fragmentation, and seed dispersal processes. We explore how these features combine to affect the regional abundances and distributions of three Quercus (oak) species in central Spain: Q. faginea (deciduous tree), Q. ilex (evergreen tree), and Q. coccifera (evergreen shrub). We develop and parameterize a stochastic patch occupancy model (SPOM) that, unlike previous SPOMs, includes environmentally driven variation in disturbance and establishment. Dispersal in the model is directed toward local (nearby) suitable habitat patches, following the observed seed-caching behavior of the European Jay. Model parameters were estimated using Bayesian methods and survey data from 12 047 plots. Model simulations were conducted to explore the importance of different dispersal modes (local directed, global directed, local random, global random). The SPOM with local directed dispersal gave a much better fit to the data and reproduced observed regional abundance, abundance-environment correlations, and spatial autocorrelation in abundance for all three species. Model simulations suggest that jay-mediated directed dispersal increases regional abundance and alters species-environment correlations. Local dispersal is estimated to reduce regional abundances, amplify species-environment correlations, and amplify spatial autocorrelation. Parameter estimates and model simulations reveal important species-specific differences in sensitivity to environmental perturbations and dispersal mode. The dominant species Q. ilex is estimated to be highly fecund, but on the edge of its climatic tolerance. Therefore Q. ilex gains little from directed dispersal, suffers little from local dispersal, and is relatively insensitive to changes in habitat cover or disturbance rate; but Q. ilex is highly sensitive to altered drought length. In contrast, the rarest species, Q. coccifera, is well adapted to the climate and soils but has low fecundity; thus, it is highly sensitive to changes in dispersal, habitat cover, and disturbance but insensitive to altered drought length. Finally, Q. faginea is estimated to be both at the edge of its climatic tolerance and to have low fecundity, making it sensitive to all perturbations. Apparently, co-occurring species can exhibit very different interactions among dispersal, environmental characteristics, and physiological tolerances, calling for increased attention to species-specific dynamics in determining regional vegetation responses to anthropogenic perturbations.


When a young naturalist opened his new wildlife park at Wyoming on the NSW Central Coast in the late 1950s, he gave it his own name: Eric Worrell's Australian Reptile Park. Through the park, Worrell made a significant contribution to environmental education, the development of knowledge of captive animal care and display and the provision of antivenoms for the bites of a range of dangerous creatures. More than this, it was the geographic and emotional centre of Worrell's world: the fulfilment of a childhood dream, a home for his family and a site for forming new personal and professional relationships. In preparation for the jubilee of the park, its history is being written by two academics from the University of Newcastle. An attractive means of creating the necessary narrative structure and human interest to ensure the wide appeal of this history is to follow Worrell's lead and place his life at the centre of this institutional history. This is the direction suggested by the written sources on the park and it is accentuated by many of our oral informants who organise their memories of the park around Worrell. To what extent can an institutional history be a biography of the person at the heart of that institution? Is it possible to disentangle the life from the institution? This article offers some preliminary answers to these questions through a case study of the writing of a history of Eric Worrell's Australian Reptile Park.


Unwarranted accumulation of halogenated compounds in the rivers and streams has in recent years emerged due to the widespread use agricultural pesticides. The presence of these halogenated compounds in the water does not only suppress the immune system of fish but adversely induce serious morbidity and mortality among cultured stocks. Importantly, gradual accumulation of these compounds in the system of cultured and wild freshwater fish species cultured in ponds and floating net-cages in dams and rivers, respectively, poses some risks to humans, the end users. In this study, we attempted to isolate bacteria from the gut of pond-reared rohu (Labeo rohita) in Myanmar, screened the isolated bacteria for dehalogenase gene using molecular technique and tested the ability of these bacteria to degrade halogenated compounds in vitro. The eight bacterial strains studied were identified as Enterobacter mori strain MK- 121001, Enterobacter cloacae strains MK121003, MK-121004, MK121010, Ralstonia solanacearum strain 121002, Acinetobacter baumannii strain MK121007, Chromobacterium violaceum strain MK121009 and Pantoea vagans strain 121011. Only three bacterial strains (MK121002, MK121007 and MK121009) were capable of degrading 2,2-dichloropropionic acid (2,2-DCP) as the sole carbon source up to a final substrate concentration of 20 mM. Their mean growth doubling time ranging from 6-23 hours with the maximum of chloride ion released of 85%. PCR amplifica- tion with oligonucleotide primers designed from group I dehalogenase revealed the presence of deha- logenase genes in all isolates suggesting dehalogenase gene in strains 121001, 121003, 121004, 121010 and 121011 were silenced. In contrast, group II dehalogenase primers did not show any PCR amplification. These results suggest that MK121002, MK121007 and MK121009 only encode a group I dehalogenase and its non-stereoselectivity is in agreement with previoulsly described group I haloacid dehalogenase. The partial gene sequences were blasted but no significant sequence identity was observed. Therefore, it suggest the 2-haloacid dehalogenase of MK121002, MK12-1007 and MK121009 might be a novel group I 2-haloacid dehalogenase. The results indicated a broad distribution of dehalogenation genes in many micro- bial genomes that harbor dehalogenase(s) due to the exposure of the microorganisms to the naturally occurring or man-made halogenated compounds in the environmental systems. So far, microorganisms capable of producing dehalogenases were mainly isolated from soil and scarcely from aquatic animals and their environments. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation of dehalogenase-producing bacteria from the gut of pond-reared freshwater fish, Labeo rohita, in Myanmar.


Purpose: Older carers play an important role in falls prevention through their influence over their dependent's actions and by their own behaviour. This study aimed to determine the perceptions of falls and fall-related risk factors by older carers in an Australian metropolitan community to inform the development of effective falls prevention strategies in this population. Method: A questionnaire was mailed to all members of a carers group in January 2003 and responses from carers aged 60 years or above were included in the study (n=121). Results: The majority of older carers (85%) understood that falls are a problem for their age group and that falls can be prevented (74%). Poor pavement maintenance and balance problems were rated as the most important risk factors for falls. The importance of unsafe behaviour as a falls risk was undervalued. The majority of respondents (74%) indicated they would talk to their doctor if they were concerned about falling. Conclusions and Recommendations: The results of this study indicate that older carers in a metropolitan community acknowledge falls are both important and preventable. The awareness of unsafe behaviour as a falls risk factor needs to be raised. Health professionals are trusted by older carers and should discuss falls prevention strategies with both the older patient and their carer. The next stage is to explore if older carers understand how they can reduce the risk of falling for themselves and their dependents, and how to effectively engage and enable older carers to do this successfully.


Flame tomography of chemiluminescence is a necessary combustion diagnostic technique that provides instantaneous 3D information on flame structure and excited species concentrations. During combustion diagnostics, imaging overexposure always causes missing information, which obviously decreases the accuracy in further reconstructions. In order to compensate imaging overexposure, a hybrid algorithm combining weight correction and Tikhonov's regularization is proposed in this paper. The intensity of the overexposure region can be estimated via the accumulation of weight coefficients. Meanwhile, Tikhonov's regularization is utilized to ameliorate the quality of reconstruction. The numerical simulation quantitatively evaluates the performance of the hybrid algorithm. Additionally, an experiment system consisting of 12 cameras was established to reconstruct the 3D combustion structure of axisymmetric flame with different exposure time settings. This work further investigates dynamic nonaxisymmetric propane diffusion flame. The obtained results show that the hybrid algorithm can effectively reveal the flame structure less influenced by imaging overexposure and achieve better results.


Abstract Assessment of gas generation and transport is inevitable for evaluation of the safety of nuclear waste disposal in deep geological formations. The long-term safety of the geological disposal facility is guaranteed by several engineered and natural barriers. The reference disposal concept in Belgium consists of a concrete-based repository situated in Boom Clay, which is a low-permeability plastic clay. Hence, the mobility of gas and liquid within these barriers is very small and may lead, in combination with increased temperatures due to decay heat of the waste, to pressure buildup and the potential structural failure of barriers. The focus of this study is on coupling two-phase water and gas flow with a heat source, originating from the heat dissipating waste. The main gas production mechanism within the considered geological repository system is (anaerobic) corrosion of metal barriers, generating H2 gas. The corrosion process itself and therefore the intensity of the gas source is temperature dependent. Furthermore, the heat source is time dependent due to the decaying nature of the radioactive material. This property, in turn, makes the gas generation rate time dependent as well. The cases presented in this work couple variable gas generation with a time-variable heat source and are modeled with TOUGH2. Because of large uncertainties associated with the yet-uncharacterized engineered materials (e.g., concrete), two bounding material permeabilities with a span of two orders of magnitude are chosen for comparison. Results demonstrate that the peak pressures for the isothermal and nonisothermal cases do not differ considerably in the case of high-permeability buffer material. On the contrary, the peak pressures differ considerably for low-permeability material, which hinders the flow of water induced by thermal expansion of water with temperature increase. This peak pressure is not related to the gas-generation process and occurs a little earlier than the gas pressure peak, which is in this case comparable to the high-permeability case. Overall, this near-field analysis showed that the effect of pressure increase remains relatively localized and should not affect the structural integrity of the host formation. The behavior of the system is additionally refined by the implementation of temperature-dependent hydrogen solubility within the numerical code, which slightly modifies the transition to H2 gas phase.


The organic functional group composition of particles produced in laboratory "smog" chambers were characterized by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) with near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy and characteristic spectral signatures for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) were identified. The main objective of this study is to compare the single particle functional group composition of SOA formed from five precursors (glyoxal, α-pinene, isoprene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and d-limonene) to the composition of ambient particles from multiple field campaigns. This has implications for understanding the potential contributions of particles similar to those produced in SOA chambers to ambient compositions during those campaigns. Glyoxal uptake studies showed absorption from mainly alkyl, carbon-nitrogen (C-N), and carboxylic carbonyl groups. The SOA formed from the photooxidation of α-pinene (with and without isoprene) showed stronger absorptions for alkyl and carbonyl groups than the SOA formed from glyoxal. The mass ratio of carbonyl to acid group was larger in α-pinene-only experiments relative to the mixed α-pinene-isoprene experiments. Of 338 single-particle spectra available from aerosol sampling at six field campaigns, 114 particles had spectral features that were considered similar to the chamber-SOA particles: MILAGRO-2006 (9 particles), VOCALS-2008 (41 particles), Whistler-2008 (22 particles), Scripps Pier-2009 (8 particles), Bakersfield-2010 (24 particles), and Whistler-2010 (10 particles). These similarities with chamber-generated SOA provide spectroscopic evidence of chemically similar SOA products from these precursors in ambient particles. Copyright 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research


Abstract : We present an iterative algorithm for enforcing policies represented in a first-order logic, which can, in particular, express all transmission-related clauses in the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The logic has three features that raise challenges for enforcement -uninterpreted predicates (used to model subjective concepts in privacy policies), real-time temporal properties, and quantification over infinite domains (such as the set of messages containing personal information). The algorithm operates over audit logs that are inherently incomplete and evolve over time. In each iteration, the algorithm provably checks as much of the policy as possible over the current log and outputs a residual policy that can only be checked when the log is extended with additional information. We prove correctness and termination properties of the algorithm. While these results are developed in a general form, accounting for many different sources of incompleteness in audit logs, we also prove that for the special case of logs that maintain a complete record of all relevant actions, the algorithm effectively enforces all safety and co-safety properties. The algorithm can significantly help automate enforcement of policies derived from the HIPAA Privacy Rule.


Auctions are playing an increasingly prominent role in the planning and operation of energy markets. Comparing the New Electricity Trading Arrangements to the former electricity Pool in England and Wales requires some analysis of the relative merits of uniform versus discriminatory pricing rules, and use of the gas network in Britain and electricity interconnectors around Europe is allocated on the basis of auction results. In this paper we discuss the changes in the trading arrangements in the electricity industry in England and Wales as well as some of the results to date. We also look at the wider issue of using auctions to replace regulation by market solutions for managing the natural monopolies in energy markets.