FINDING HOMEPLACE: EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK WOMEN IN THE CITY OF RICHMOND By Mariah Williams, B.A Sociology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban and Regional Planning at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018 Major Director: Elsie Harper-Anderson, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning The planning efforts of African-Americans in the United States remained largely hidden throughout much of early planning history. Although African-Americans engaged in unique planning practices of their own, ones that significantly shaped the social and economic fabric within their communities, planning literature has tended to problematize them within the urban environment instead of celebrating their unique differences and experiences. Black women, despite their significant contributions to the urban fabric of numerous American cities, remain even more silenced throughout the planning profession. The unique ways they experience the urban environment, what they value in the built environment and how they speak about their experiences in urban spaces have been unexplored by planning researchers. Using Richmond, Virginia as a case study, a city where black women comprise almost a third of the total population and that struggles to reconcile with its past and find new meaning in many of its spaces, this study will explore how black women experience the built environment and examine what they value and where they feel a sense of safety, belonging and inclusiveness in a city where race and planning have long been contentious.


Successful web-based learning depends on several key factors. These include the quality of the learning tools, the motivation of users, and the credibility of the learning materials as well as their significance in the eyes of users. It is possible to find numerous examples of web-based lifelong learning approaches that can be viewed on social networks and discussion forums. The research for this study included designing several blog-based discussion forums where user activities were logged and the results were compared to usercompleted questionnaires for similar activities. Several user behaviour identification models were designed based on algorithmically computed tallies of user behaviours. These models are currently being applied for further study to measure user behaviours in virtual learning environments.


The transient motion in angles of attack and sideslip during a constant rolling maneuver has been analyzed. Simplified expressions are presented for the determination of the pertinent modes of motion as well as the modal coefficient corresponding to each mode. Calculations made with and without the derivatives for side force due to sideslip and lift-curve slope indicate that although these derivatives increase the total damping of the system they do not markedly affect the transient motion.


Many challenging image processing tasks can be described by an ill-posed linear inverse problem: deblurring, deconvolution, inpainting, compressed sensing, and superresolution all lie in this framework. Traditional inverse problem solvers minimize a cost function consisting of a data-fit term, which measures how well an image matches the observations, and a regularizer, which reflects prior knowledge and promotes images with desirable properties like smoothness. Recent advances in machine learning and image processing have illustrated that it is often possible to learn a regularizer from training data that can outperform more traditional regularizers. We present an end-to-end, data-driven method of solving inverse problems inspired by the Neumann series, which we call a Neumann network. Rather than unroll an iterative optimization algorithm, we truncate a Neumann series which directly solves the linear inverse problem with a data-driven nonlinear regularizer. The Neumann network architecture outperforms traditional inverse problem solution methods, model-free deep learning approaches, and state-of-the-art unrolled iterative methods on standard datasets. Finally, when the images belong to a union of subspaces and under appropriate assumptions on the forward model, we prove there exists a Neumann network configuration that well-approximates the optimal oracle estimator for the inverse problem and demonstrate empirically that the trained Neumann network has the form predicted by theory.


In this paper we address the problem of dimensioning infrastructure, comprising both network and server resources, for large-scale decentralized distributed systems such as grids or clouds. We will provide an overview of our work in this area, and in particular focus on how to design the resulting grid/cloud to be resilient against network link and/or server site failures. To this end, we will exploit relocation: under failure conditions, a request may be sent to an alternate destination than the one under failure-free conditions. We will provide a comprehensive overview of related work in this area, and focus in some detail on our own most recent work. The latter comprises a case study where traffic has a known origin, but we assume a degree of freedom as to where its end up being processed, which is typically the case for e.g., grid applications of the bag-of-tasks (BoT) type or for providing cloud services. In particular, we will provide in this paper a new integer linear programming (ILP) formulation to solve the resilient grid/cloud dimensioning problem using failure-dependent backup routes. Our algorithm will simultaneously decide on server and network capacity. We find that in the anycast routing problem we address, the benefit of using failure-dependent (FD) rerouting is limited compared to failure-independent (FID) backup routing. We confirm our earlier findings in terms of network capacity savings achieved by relocation compared to not exploiting relocation (order of 6-10% in the current case studies).


E-Leaming or Electronic Learning is the use of computers as a learning resources or
media (Hooper, 1975) in varying methods such as online delivery of information,
communication and education training. The most familiar example is the computer being
used to present frames of information and questions, as with CAI (Computer Aided
Instruction) (Hooper, 1975). E-Learning provides a new set of tools that can add value to
all the traditional learning modes, classroom experiences and textbook study in form of
CD-Rom, traditional computer based training or even online E-learning. This project
called "Developing of an E-Learning Module of Science Subject For Form Two
Students" is a computer-based application which is operated by CD-Rom that can be
installed in a computer system or run from the CD itself which acts as a system that
enables the secondary students, namely the form two students to learn Science
individually at any time, any pace and also at anywhere with the use of computer. It can
be an alternative way or an additional method for the students to leam the subject. The
language medium used is English language as it suits with the latest specification of the
KBSM (Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah) which just begun in the beginning
year of 2004. The development of this project is formulated in accordance to the Sekolah
Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah with some help from the
Science teacher in data collection on what is needed to produce this system. Hopefully
the prototype of this system will satisfy the user, which is the students and the teachers.


To monitor the genetic variability of L.vannamei shrimp-specie as founder stock and their correspondent first generation (F1), four microsatellite DNA loci species-specific for these animals were used. Data from allelic diversity (size, number and frequency of alleles) and levels of hetrozygozity were obtained as measures of genetic diversity. The protocol used is belonging to the lab, from the Norwegian College of Fishery science (NFH) of the University of Tromso (Uito). The results indicated a decrease in some of measures for genetic diversity. The number of allele (Na) ranged from 1-9 and their effectives number of alleles (ne) from 1.1 to 6.72. The mean value observed heterozygosity (Ho) by populations range from 0.29 to 0.63, which were lower than the expected one. Loss of genetic diversity may have originated from the selection of better performing individuals for a number of traits of interest. There is gap concerning to pedigree information from these animals, due to their origin place (USA). Artificial breeding practices may result in a decrease of genetic variability in terms of allelic diversity but which is not necessarily detectable from the levels of heterozygosity. Thus, should be taking into account at moment to start a genetic breeding program with the animals tested. This study highlights the importance of constantly assessing the genetic variability in the cultured shrimp populations in Cuba. Considering the low variability observed, it is suggested that the development of a sustainable selective breeding program in Cuba should be conducted only after application of measures aimed at enhancing the genetic variation (through exchange of broodstocks with others producers or sampling of wild specimens) and that the genetic information be constantly used to reduce the risks of further inbreeding.


Femtosecond laser irradiation applied to Fused Silica (the amorphous form of SiO2) defines a novel technology platform for highly integrated all-optical microsystems and beyond. In contrast with common approaches that rely on combining materials to achieve particular functions, femtosecond-laser fabricated microsystems rely on single material monolith, whose properties are locally and in the three-dimension functionalized by selective exposure. The combination of laserfunctionalized zones with different physical properties allows us to direct-write integrated systems without the need for further assembly of packaging steps or without the need for multiple processing steps, like for instance sequences of layers deposition, exposure and etching steps.


A semiconductor wafer undergoes a wide range of processes before it is transformed from a bare silicon wafer to one populated with millions of transistor circuits. Such processes include physical or chemical vapor deposition, (PVD, CVD), chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), plasma etch, rapid thermal processing (RTP), and photolithography. As feature sizes keep shrinking, process control plays an increasingly important role in each of these processes. We have found the model-based approach to be an effective means of designing commercial controllers for both semiconductor and advanced materials processing. It is our experience that the best models for control design borrow heavily from the physics of the process. The manner in which these models are used for a specific control application depends on the performance goals. In some cases (e.g., RTP), the closed-loop control depends entirely on having very good physical models of the system. For other processes, physical models have to be combined with empirical models or are entirely empirical. The resulting controller may be in-situ feedforward-feedback or run-to-run controller, or a combination thereof. The three case studies that are presented in this tutorial session (RTP, CMP, and PVD) are representative of the applications in this industry. Highlights of the session include physical modeling, model reduction and sensor selection, and feedback and run-to-run controller design.


We use administrative payroll data to examine how firms adjust employment in response to aggregate shocks. We use the COVID-19 pandemic as a laboratory. Exploiting within firm-state variation, we find that firms are more likely to lay off low-income and high-tenure employees before other classes of workers. This pattern disappears a few weeks into the pandemic, after which layoffs are more uniformly distributed. This pecking order of layoffs is most pronounced in low-skilled industries (e.g., retail trade) and in firms with high turnover costs. Firms are also more likely to rehire high-tenure employees that were laid off first. These results are consistent with theories which document that search frictions play an important role in determining firms' responses to aggregate shocks. To further evaluate the importance of search frictions in our setting, we examine whether expansion of unemployment benefits under the CARES Act increased the likelihood of layoffs. Consistent with search frictions, we find that even within the same income bucket, firms are more likely to lay off employees in states with more generous benefits.


Three computational linguistic methods are presented to discriminate literary from non-literary texts. In the first study, a hierarchical clustering technique of results obtained from Latent Semantic Analysis showed a clustering of literary versus non-literary texts. The second study used the frequencies of shared bigrams across the text, resulting in a 100% correct classification of literary versus non-literary texts. The third study used unigrams yielding a 94% correct classification into literary versus non-literary texts. The final two studies using a larger sample of texts showed that the high classification performance cannot be attributed to specific texts. These findings provide evidence that distinguishing literature from non-literature can be done with high accuracy and with relatively simple computational linguistic techniques.


Users often wish to communicate anonymously on the Internet, for example, in group discussion or instant messaging forums. Existing solutions are vulnerable to misbehaving users, however, who may abuse their anonymity to disrupt communication. Dining Cryptographers Networks (DC-nets) leave groups vulnerable to denial-of-service and Sybil attacks; mix networks are difficult to protect against traffic analysis; and accountable voting schemes are unsuited to general anonymous messaging.
 dissent is the first general protocol offering provable anonymity and accountability for moderate-size groups, while efficiently handling unbalanced communication demands among users. We present an improved and hardened dissent protocol, define its precise security properties, and offer rigorous proofs of these properties. The improved protocol systematically addresses the delicate balance between provably hiding the identities of well-behaved users, while provably revealing the identities of disruptive users, a challenging task because many forms of misbehavior are inherently undetectable. The new protocol also addresses several nontrivial attacks on the original dissent protocol stemming from subtle design flaws.


Efficient use of slurry manure nutrients for feeding forage crops on dairy farms is important. The main objective of this study was to compare the response of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) to N in dairy (Bos taurus) slurry manure applied with a splash plate (broadcasting) or a drag-shoe (surface banding) applicator, and broadcast mineral fertilizer, in spring, summer, and autumn. The effects of delayed application and band spacing were also examined. The study was conducted from 1994 to 1996 in southwestern British Columbia on a Monroe series soil described as a Eutrochrept (eluviated eutric Brunisol) of moderate to good drainage. Dairy slurry was applied at two rates (50 and 100 kg ha -1 of NH 3 -N) with splash plate or drag-shoe applicators at the beginning of growth (early) or 7 to 10 d later (late). Ammonium nitrate fertilizer was broadcast at 0 to 125 kg N ha -1 in 25-kg increments (only 50 and 100 kg ha -1 rates on the late date). Yield response to manure banded with the drag-shoe applicator was similar to fertilizer applied at equivalent rates of mineral N. Yield response to splash-plate-applied manure was generally 0.5 to 1.0 Mg ha -1 lower than to fertilizer in summer and spring, but similar in autumn. Total N uptake was 15 to 20 kg ha -1 greater from drag-shoe than from splash-plate applied manure at high N application rate in spring and summer; differences in autumn were smaller. Treatment differences in total N concentration were small (at equivalent rates of applied mineral N). Apparent recovery of mineral N from manure was 20 to 30% greater with drag-shoe than with splash plate application in summer and 18% greater for the early application in spring. Delaying manure application had little effect on yield, but increased tissue N concentrations in some treatments in summer and autumn. Nitrate concentrations were always similar or lower for manure than for fertilizer treatments. This study showed that manure applied with the drag-shoe applicator produced consistent crop response similar to N fertilizer at equivalent rates of mineral N.


The predators of hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) in the marine and riverine ecosystems of Bangladesh were identified. Data on the availability of hilsa shad in the stomach contents of top carnivore fishes were collected from 324 individuals with diversified occupations and hilsa-dominated geographical locations. Data analysis revealed that 15 predatory fishes preyed on hilsa, of which tuna, mackerel, shark, Indian threadfin, red snapper and fourfinger threadfin are dominant predators of adult hilsa in the Bay of Bengal, while freshwater shark, giant catfish, river catfish, humped featherback, stripped snakehead and giant snakehead are the main predators of juvenile hilsa in the Padma-Meghna river systems of Bangladesh. Further research leading to predation observations in controlled experiments can provide novel and robust information on predator-prey interactions in the context of ecosystem-based fisheries management and conservation initiatives.


Abstract.Resistance of Aedesaegypti mosquito to pyrehtoid compounds have been a common problem in controlling this disease among the tropical countries, including Indonesia. Knockdown resistance alleles of voltage-gated sodium channel gene have been proposed as an effective marker for early detection of this problem. This study aimed to understand the pyrethroid resistance status of Aedesaegypti population among Dengue endemic areas in Central Java Province. The house hold larval surveys were conducted in Temanggung, Kendal and Jepara districts and Semarang municipal based on the Dengue cases. Mosquito larvae were reared to be 3-5 days old imago stage in entomologic laboratory, and then subjected to molecular experiment for detection of kdr alleles of domain II VGSC gene. This study found two single nucleotide polymorphisms, namely S989P and V1016G. These SNPs indicated that Aedesaegypti population has developed resistant to pyrethroid compounds. Generally, we found the high percentage of those SNPs, namely 26 and 93 percents. It is an important data input for public health officer in planning of Dengue prevention.


Although Siberia was inhabited by modern humans at an early stage, there is still debate over whether this area remained habitable during the extremely cold period of the Last Glacial Maximum or whether it was subsequently repopulated by peoples with a recent shared ancestry. Previous studies of the genetic history of Siberian populations were hampered by the extensive admixture that appears to have taken place among these populations, since commonly used methods assume a tree-like population history and at most single admixture events. We therefore developed a new method based on the covariance of ancestry components, which we validated with simulated data, in order to investigate this potentially complex admixture history and to distinguish the effects of shared ancestry from prehistoric migrations and contact. We furthermore adapted a previously devised method of admixture dating for use with multiple events of gene flow, and applied these methods to whole-genome genotype data from over 500 individuals belonging to 20 different Siberian ethnolinguistic groups. The results of these analyses indicate that there have indeed been multiple layers of admixture detectable in most of the Siberian populations, with considerable differences in the admixture histories of individual populations, and with the earliest events dated to not more than 4500 years ago. Furthermore, most of the populations of Siberia included here, even those settled far to the north, can be shown to have a southern origin. These results provide support for a recent population replacement in this region, with the northward expansions of different populations possibly being driven partly by the advent of pastoralism, especially reindeer domestication. These newly developed methods to analyse multiple admixture events should aid in the investigation of similarly complex population histories elsewhere. Author Summary We developed a new method that lets us disentangle complex admixture events and date the individual episodes of gene flow. We applied this method to a large dataset of genome-wide SNP genotypes from a linguistically diverse sample of populations covering the extent of Siberia. Our results demonstrate that these populations have been in intense contact with each other, with most of them carrying more than two, and up to six different ancestries. Nevertheless, as shown by the dates we estimate, these various admixture events have taken place over a relatively short time, with the oldest dating to not more than 4500 years ago. Our results emphasize the enormous impact that contact has had on the genetic history of these Siberian populations, and the methods developed here will be of use in the investigation of admixture events in populations around the world.


Bodies in Code explores how our bodies experience and adapt to digital environments. Cyberculture theorists have tended to overlook biological reality when talking about virtual reality, and Mark B. N. Hansen's book shows what they've been missing. Cyberspace is anchored in the body, he argues, and it's the body--not high-tech computer graphics--that allows a person to feel like they are really "moving" through virtual reality. Of course these virtual experiences are also profoundly affecting our very understanding of what it means to live as embodied beings. Hansen draws upon recent work in visual culture, cognitive science, and new media studies, as well as examples of computer graphics, websites, and new media art, to show how our bodies are in some ways already becoming virtual.


From the Publisher:
Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Word 2000 in 10 Minutes is the book to help users get more productivity from Microsoft Word focusing on the 25% of Word features users use 95% of the time. For users that need to write reports or memos, letters or resumes, this book gets them up and running quickly. It gives them idea of what the application can do, and what features might be different from the last version. To accomplish this, the book presents the most fundamental Word tasks such as entering text, saving and loading documents, basic formatting, printer, etc. in a manner that be quickly absorbed and used. Improvements to this edition will also include adding and ensuring all examples use real-world material the reader can relate to and better using figures and notes to make the book as informative as possible.


I. INTRODUCTION In the United States, an individual who meets the qualifications is able to get student loans from the federal government to help them finance their higher education. There is a federal law in place that is designed to deter individuals from abusing and misusing this system. In Chapter 11 of the United States Code §523(a)(8), an individual who has received these educational loans is barred from having them discharged under bankruptcy law, unless one exemption requirement is meet. The loan may be discharged if repaying it will impose an "undue hardship" on the debtor or the debtor's dependents.1 While this rule seems somewhat self-explanatory, there has been great debate over the undue hardship requirement. One of the reasons for this is that some courts are allowing partial discharge of the loan debt when they find undue hardship, and other courts are allowing complete discharge of the loan debt when they find undue hardship. Because this disparity in application of the law can have grossly different outcomes for similarly situated debtors, there needs to be standardized rule that is followed in all courts.2 II. HISTORY OF STUDENT LOANS IN BANKRUPTCY In 1976 the United States Congress codified the first bill that made, as a general rule, student loans nondischargeable.3 This law came about as a result of the concern for the potential abuse of a loophole in the government's student loan program.4 This potentially abused loophole, which was abused more in theory than in fact, allowed students to completely discharge their guaranteed loans under the old Bankruptcy Act.5 In 1973, this concern was brought to the attention of the Congressional Committee on Bankruptcy. The Commission found that this problem was not a serious threat, but they concluded that it had the potential to be one.6 This finding, along with the public's perception that this was a real problem, eventually prompted Congress to pass the Education Act of 1976.7 Eventually, this law was reformed somewhat and came into being as the original version of §523(a)(8).8 That law allowed student loans to be discharged if the individual had petitioned for the discharge five years after they began repayment of the loan, or there was found to be undue hardship on the debtor as a result of the loan repayment. In 1998, § 523(a)(8) was reformed to only allow discharge of student loans if undue hardship was found. section 523 no longer had the time stipulation requirement.9 III. UNDUE HARDSHIP Determining what constitutes an undue hardship and what does not is not a finite science. There are four main tests that courts use to determine whether undue hardship exists. While they may all vary from one another in focus and application, they all require the debtor to demonstrate extenuating circumstances and a certainty of hopelessness to qualify as undue hardship.10 A definition of undue hardship that is commonly accepted and followed "require[s] a three-part showing: (1) that the debtor cannot maintain, based on current income and expenses, a 'minimal' standard of living for herself and her dependents if forced to repay the loans; (2) that additional circumstances exist indicating that this state of affairs is likely to persist for a significant portion of the repayment period of the student loans; and (3) that the debtor has made good faith efforts to repay the loans."11 A. Unfairness of the "Strict Approach" If undue hardship has been found in the past, most courts have allowed a complete discharge of the student loan, no matter how great or how small the debt may be.12 This is known as the "strict approach," due to the fact that the court is reading §523(a)(8) very strictly and coming to the conclusion that if undue hardship is found than the law says that the debtor is completely discharged from the debt. Those who follow this interpretation feel that the language is unambiguous and cannot mean anything else. …


The primary motivation for retirement savings policy is the view that many of us, if left to our own devices, will not save enough for retirement. Special tax subsidies for employer-sponsored retirement plans — a principal component of the federal policy scheme — have made such plans the predominant vehicle for private savings for retirement. A growing body of evidence shows that the details of plan design can have large effects on savings outcomes. The design of the "choice architecture" of these plans, however, is delegated to employers. We analyze the incentives for employer plan design produced by the labor market. Employers offer retirement plans to attract workers. If those workers make systematic mistakes in their retirement savings decisions, then the labor market will produce incentives for plan designs that generally fail to effectively address the problems. Indeed, the presence of workers who undersave due to myopia results in equilibrium employer plan designs that exploit the myopic by lowering their total compensation. Our analytic framework provides novel explanations for a range of features of plan design, including the high prevalence of matching contributions, the use of low default contribution rates in automatic enrollment plans, the shift away from annuities toward lump sum distributions, and the offering of investment options with excessive fees. The regulation of these plans should be reformed to address the problems with employer incentives that we identify. More fundamentally, our analysis calls for a rethinking of the current scheme's special subsidies for employer-sponsored plans.


In spite of the fact that about thirty years of military rule impacted negatively on various spheres of Nigerian life, this essay argues that it also served as a catalyst for the growth of Nigerian poetry. It contests the critical standpoint that exclusively identifies socially sensitive poetry in Nigeria in the closing decades of the twentieth century with a particular 'generation' of poets and situates the phenomenal growth of Nigerian poetry within this period – which also coincides with the military era – within the flowering of a vibrant civil society and activist writing. It maintains that more poets and tendencies than have been associated with the experience contributed to its making and suggests that this tradition constitutes a major component of the corpus of Nigerian poetry of English expression. In reappraising the growth of Nigerian poetry in the last three decades of the twentieth century, this paper argues that writing against dictatorship – the defining character of this tradition – has enriched Nigerian poetry in more ways than critics have suggested. It correlates developments within the political sphere with corresponding responses in the Nigerian poetic imagination to define the unique character of this major phase in the development of Nigerian poetry. Key words: Nigerian poetic imagination; post-civil war Nigeria; pro-democracy agitation; resistance poetry.


Interbasin transfers of water have become an increasingly popular water management tool—especially among the western states—to address vulnerability to water shortages in those regions susceptible to widely fluctuating drought conditions and population growth. Such transfers offer a practical resolution to the geographic limitations and disparate distribution of water availability. The regulatory frameworks for interbasin transfers adopted across western states, however, vary rather drastically in balancing the practicality of interbasin transfers with equity to the basin of origin. Like its counterparts, Texas has adopted an interbasin transfer statute—Texas Water Code § 11.085—that includes common elements of interbasin transfer regulations aimed at maintaining this balance, including protecting the basin of origin, requiring a distinct demonstration of purpose and need, maintaining existing water rights, and promoting the public interest. However, in comparison to other western states, Texas has a relatively strict framework for interbasin transfers that does not always facilitate the use of such transfers when it is otherwise pragmatic to do so. Policymakers and stakeholders in Texas should thus consider whether and to what extent the balance struck by interbasin transfer laws of other western states is appropriate for Texas and more conducive to using interbasin transfers as a water management strategy across the state.
Citation: Castleberry B, Acevedo A. 2017. Water barons for the water barren? A survey of interbasin water transfer laws in western states. Texas Water Journal. 8(1):29-41. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v8i1.7060.


Abstract. Methyl iodide (CH3I), bromoform (CHBr3) and dibromomethane (CH2Br2), which are produced naturally in the oceans, take part in ozone chemistry both in the troposphere and the stratosphere. The significance of oceanic upwelling regions for emissions of these trace gases in the global context is still uncertain although they have been identified as important source regions. To better quantify the role of upwelling areas in current and future climate, this paper analyzes major factors that influenced halocarbon emissions from the tropical North East Atlantic including the Mauritanian upwelling during the DRIVE expedition. Diel and regional variability of oceanic and atmospheric CH3I, CHBr3 and CH2Br2 was determined along with biological and physical parameters at six 24 h-stations. Low oceanic concentrations of CH3I from 0.1–5.4 pmol L−1 were equally distributed throughout the investigation area. CHBr3 and CH2Br2 from 1.0 to 42.4 pmol L−1 and to 9.4 pmol L−1, respectively were measured with maximum concentrations close to the Mauritanian coast. Atmospheric CH3I, CHBr3, and CH2Br2 of up to 3.3, 8.9, and 3.1 ppt, respectively were detected above the upwelling, as well as up to 1.8, 12.8, and 2.2 ppt at the Cape Verdean coast. While diel variability in CH3I emissions could be mainly ascribed to oceanic non-biological production, no main driver was identified for its emissions over the entire study region. In contrast, biological parameters showed the greatest influence on the regional distribution of sea-to-air fluxes of bromocarbons. The diel impact of wind speed on bromocarbon emissions increased with decreasing distance to the coast. The height of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) influenced halocarbon emissions via its influence on atmospheric mixing ratios. Oceanic and atmospheric halocarbons correlated well in the study region, and in combination with high oceanic CH3I, CHBr3 and CH2Br2 concentrations, local hot spots of atmospheric halocarbons could solely be explained by marine sources. This conclusion is in contrast to previous studies that hypothesized elevated atmospheric halocarbons above the eastern tropical Atlantic to be mainly originated from the West-African continent.


This paper by Patrick Heather assesses the development of the European Continental Gas Trading Hubs. It is a natural successor to his 2010 paper 'The Evolution and Functioning of the Traded Gas Market in Britain'. Although the drivers and challenges for gas trading on the European Continent have been different from those of Britain, the desire for change at an EU policy level, the catalyst of the economic recession and the sea-change in the acceptance of trading have all contributed to an astonishing development in European gas hubs over the past few years. Based on extensive research and discussion with the key actors intimately involved, the paper provides deep insights into the characteristics of the individual hubs, the reasons behind their particular evolutionary path and their characterisation as 'Trading Hubs' (NBP and TTF), 'Transit Hubs (ZEE and CEGH) and 'Transition Hubs' (GPL, NCG, PEGs and PSV); a framework which assists the reader in better understanding the current and future role of each.


BACKGROUND Cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) is devastating. Respiratory failure, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), sepsis, and death frequently occur. Case reports of diaphragm pacing system (DPS) have suggested earlier liberation from mechanical ventilation in acute CSCI patients. We hypothesized DPS implantation would decrease VAP and facilitate liberation from ventilation. METHODS We performed a retrospective review of patients with acute CSCI managed at a single Level 1 trauma center between January 2005 and May 2017. Routine demographics were collected. Patients underwent propensity matching based on age, injury severity score, ventilator days, hospital length of stay, and need for tracheostomy. Outcome measures included hospital length of stay, intensive care unit length of stay, ventilator days (vent days), incidence of VAP, and mortality. Bivariate and multivariate logistic and linear regression statistics were performed using STATA Version 10. RESULTS Between July 2011 and May 2017, all patients with acute CSCI were evaluated for DPS implantation. Forty patients who had laparoscopic DPS implantation (DPS) were matched to 61 who did not (NO DPS). Median time to liberation after DPS implantation was 7 days. Hospital length of stay and mortality were significantly lower on bivariate analysis in DPS patients. Diaphragm pacing system placement was not found to be associated with statistically significant differences in these outcomes on risk-adjusted multivariate models that included admission year. CONCLUSIONS Diaphragm pacing system implantation in patients with acute CSCI can be one part of a comprehensive critical care program to improve outcomes. However, the association of DPS with the marked improved mortality seen on bivariate analysis may be due solely to improvements in critical care throughout the study period. Further studies to define the benefits of DPS implantation are needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, level IV.


A novel routing protocol for wireless mobile ad hoc networks, named virtual distance vector (VDV), is presented. This protocol augments AODV with a virtual overlay, unrelated to the actual network topology, which accounts for routes kept proactively by mobile nodes acting as scouts toward the nodes in the respective subsets of peers. This provides routes from any source to any destination node, along which data packets can be routed without the need of preliminary route discovery. The intended goal of VDV was to reduce the average end-to-end delivery time of data packets. VDV has been evaluated against AODV by running extensive simulation under OPNET Modeler. Simulation confirmed the expected advantage of VDV, which increases with increasing node mobility and average route length. The confidence intervals of reported data showed that VDV fits better the dynamic nature of the network.


The cryptocurrency market is amongst the fastest-growing of all the financial markets in the world. Unlike traditional markets, such as equities, foreign exchange and commodities, cryptocurrency market is considered to have larger volatility and illiquidity. This paper is inspired by the recent success of using deep learning for stock market prediction. In this work, we analyze and present the characteristics of the cryptocurrency market in a high-frequency setting. In particular, we applied a deep learning approach to predict the direction of the mid-price changes on the upcoming tick. We monitored live tick-level data from $8$ cryptocurrency pairs and applied both statistical and machine learning techniques to provide a live prediction. We reveal that promising results are possible for cryptocurrencies, and in particular, we achieve a consistent $78\%$ accuracy on the prediction of the mid-price movement on live exchange rate of Bitcoins vs US dollars.


OBJECTIVE To determine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of midazolam following IV and IM administration in sheep. ANIMALS 8 healthy adult rams. PROCEDURES Sheep were administered midazolam (0.5 mg/kg) by the IV route and then by the IM route 7 days later in a crossover study. Physiologic and behavioral variables were assessed and blood samples collected for determination of plasma midazolam and 1-hydroxymidazolam (primary midazolam metabolite) concentrations immediately before (baseline) and at predetermined times for 1,440 minutes after midazolam administration. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by compartmental and noncompartmental methods. RESULTS Following IV administration, midazolam was rapidly and extensively distributed and rapidly eliminated; mean ± SD apparent volume of distribution, elimination half-life, clearance, and area under the concentration-time curve were 838 ± 330 mL/kg, 0.79 ± 0.44 hours, 1,272 ± 310 mL/h/kg, and 423 ± 143 h·ng/mL, respectively. Following IM administration, midazolam was rapidly absorbed and bioavailability was high; mean ± SD maximum plasma concentration, time to maximum plasma concentration, area under the concentration-time curve, and bioavailability were 820 ± 268 ng/mL, 0.46 ± 0.26 hours, 1,396 ± 463 h·ng/mL, and 352 ± 148%, respectively. Respiratory rate was transiently decreased from baseline for 15 minutes after IV administration. Times to peak sedation and ataxia after IV administration were less than those after IM administration. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated midazolam was a suitable short-duration sedative for sheep, and IM administration may be a viable alternative when IV administration is not possible.


The advent of homogeneous many-core processors has been widely noticed as a major shift in the architecture of commodity computer systems. It has influenced the design of operating systems and programming models and give s a boost to high-level parallelization libraries. Future commodity systems will combine homogeneous many-core processors with graphical processing units and other special purpose accelerators to a new class of architecture called hybrid system. These systems provide improved hardware support for specialized computational tasks of different applications. In contrast to the programming for homogeneous architectures with existing tools, programming for such hybrid architectures is still in its infancy. Today, the software development for such systems explicitly has to address vendor-specific and version-specific characteristics of the particular devices. Due to this, refactoring of existing code becomes a tedious and error-prone task. We present our approach for automatically transforming high-level parallel code written in .NET to parallel code suitable for direct execution on hybrid systems. Our approach relies on the transformation of .NET byte code to an accelerator-aware version, which makes the concept applicable to all .NET-supported programming languages. Hybrid system hardware is targeted by the generation of accelerator-neutral intermediate code, which makes our approach applicable for a wider class of accelerator types. We show the feasibility of our solution with a workload that consists of well-known and widely accepted compute-intense algorithmic problems.


The use of Sb as surfactant allows to grow continuous and smooth Ge films free of defects and of arbitrary thickness on Si(111)-substrates. The lattice mismatch of 4.2% is adjusted by a periodic network of dislocations in the interface plane. The strain fields of the dislocations give rise to an elastic deformation of the surface of less than 0.1 nm, which results in a spot splitting in low energy electron diffraction. The exact shape of the deformation and thus the arrangement of the dislocations at the interface are deduced from the intensity variation of the satellite spots with electron energy. The dislocations do not intersect in one point but form an extended node with a size of 1.8 nm. From the shape of the satellite spot profiles the distance variations of the dislocation network are derived. Therefore the lateral lattice constant fluctuates about ±1%, although the Ge film shows on average the Ge bulk lattice constant. With increasing film thickness the strain fields of the dislocations interact more and more resulting in a higher regularity of the dislocation spacings. The lattice constant of the Ge film is well defined only for thicknesses exceeding about 10 nm.


This article overviews the results from a test of a model of homeless populations throughout the 3,141 counties of the United States. The data were extracted from the 1990 Census, a Census Bureau survey of its enumerators at completion of the census, and other governmental sources. The model was tested using the generally weighted least squares algorithm, as implemented under the Extended LISREL model. It was found that urbanization, servicetization, McKinney funding, and systematic error arising out of more vigilant enumeration efforts in urban areas, collectively explained 80% of the variation in rates of homelessness. The model was then used to correct for enumeration error and to estimate the actual levels of homelessness in both 1990 and 1995. The 1990 estimates were compared with the results of independent estimates for selected localities. After the adjustment for uneven enumeration efforts, the model suggests that a population of 479 thousand homeless persons in 1990, had declined to 383 thousand by 1995


The use of spatial high-order statistics has been previously proposed as an alternative to introduce richer information about complex spatial patterns in the simulation of continuous attributes. These statistics are normally inferred from exhaustive quasi -support training images. Spatial high-order statistics values are combined within series of orthogonal polynomials to approximate local conditional distributions that can be used for the drawing of simulated point-support values. This paper extends this formalism to direct blocksupport simulation. This is achieved by inferring block-point high-order statistics from up-scaled training images and incorporating these statistics in the orthogonal polynomials approximation of the conditional distributions. This methodology is computationally expensive, so a reasonable option is to approximate all the required local conditional distributions only once. These can be subsequently sampled by different fields of correlated probabilities to produce multiple realizations of the attribute. The resulting simulated maps reproduce the high-order statistics of the up-scaled training image and they also match the up-scaled global distribution of the attribute.


Abstract.
 We identified 40 genera and 83 species of scleractinian corals from middle Pleistocene reef limestones on Irabu-jima, located in the South Ryukyu Islands (South Ryukyus); these data were then combined with previously published data sets on Pleistocene coral assemblages on Okinawa-jima (southern Central Ryukyus), and Kikai-jima (northern Central Ryukyus) to perform statistical analyses, including cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) ordination of Bray—Curtis (BC) similarity coefficients applied to coral taxa (R-type analysis) and coral assemblages (Q-type analysis). Results of the analyses, combined with field descriptions of the coral assemblages, allowed interpretations of reef paleoenvironments. Outcrops of Quaternary reef deposits in the Ryukyus comprise both shallow- and deep-water coral assemblages. Generally, coral diversity increases southward along the island chain. The statistical analyses highlight differences in the taxonomic compositions of fossil coral assemblages in different geographic areas and in distinct reef environments. We report on the differences among assemblages on Irabu-jima, Okinawa-jima, and Kikai-jima. Upper reef slope coral assemblages on Irabu-jima, which are similar to those on Okinawa-jima, are dominated by acroporid corals, mainly Isopora palifera and branching Acropora spp., encrusting to platy Porites spp., and branching Pocilloporidae. Porites spp. and faviids, such as Cyphastrea spp. and Favia pallida gr., are more typical of the upper reef slope on Kikai-jima. Lower reef slope assemblages on Irabu-jima are dominated by thin laminar colonies of Porites and/or Montipora species. Associated coral taxa are Stylocoeniella sp., Leptoseris spp., small fungiid corals, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, and Montastrea valenciennesi. Data from two large outcrops on Irabu-jima highlight the relatively large spatial homogeneity of community structures in lower reef slope coral assemblages as compared with their upper reef slope counterparts.


Abstract It is well known that control of the intricate surface topography details of the ablator capsule over a wide range of modes is critical for inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Whereas considerable effort has been expended on making the ablator capsule rounder and smoother during its fabrication, it is only more recently that attention has been drawn to particulate contamination on the surface of the capsule that can also contribute to undesirable Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. In this paper, we explore new methods for cleaning the soft polymeric capsule in the presence of the attached filltube just before its assembly into the final target. These constraints, in conjunction with the extremely demanding specification for the size and the number of particles allowed per specification, present unique challenges and require the implementation of specialized cleaning techniques. Here, we describe the strengths and limitations of these methods and lay out the platform for implementing these into production on the National Ignition Facility (NIF).


Abstract In Lake Zone, Tanzania, farmers were trained to multiply and distribute quality sweetpotato planting material. The objectives of this study were to assess changes in skills and practices among the trained farmers as vine multiplication became a specialized task. Nine months after the project ended, all 88 decentralized vine multipliers (DVMs) operating as groups (72%) or individuals (28%) were visited and qualitative data on their current multiplication practices collected through a questionnaire, checklists and observations. Results showed that 69% of DVMs were still multiplying vines, but less than half were using the seed production technologies promoted by the project. 34% used rapid multiplication beds; 61% used conventional plant spacing on ridges for roots and vines and 5% used both. As the vine multiplication cycle became a specialised activity, the multiplication and root production cycles were separated. Vines were treated differently in terms of site selection, length of cutting and spacing, depending on whether the objective of their use was for high root or high vine production. Capacity building of specialised vine multipliers and scaling-up seed interventions should consider the implications of skilling and task segregation in a broader context based on society's choice of technologies and agrarian change.


Immune system dysfunction is paramount in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and fatality rate. Mucosal-Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T cells involved in mucosal immunity and protection against viral infections. Here, we studied the immune cell landscape, with emphasis on MAIT cells, in a cohort of 182 patients including patients at various stages of disease activity. A profound decrease of MAIT cell counts in blood of critically ill patients was observed. These cells showed a strongly activated and cytotoxic phenotype that positively correlated with circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines, notably IL-18. MAIT cell alterations markedly correlated with disease severity and patient mortality. SARS-CoV-2-infected macrophages activated MAIT cells in a cytokine-dependent manner involving an IFN-dependent early phase and an IL-18-induced later phase. Therefore, altered MAIT cell phenotypes represent valuable biomarkers of disease severity and their therapeutic manipulation might prevent the inflammatory phase involved in COVID-19 aggravation.


Like-charged solid interfaces repel and separate from one another as much as possible. Charged interfaces composed of self-assembled charged-molecules such as lipids or proteins are ubiquitous. The present study shows that although charged lipid-membranes are sufficiently rigid, in order to swell as much as possible, they deviate markedly from the behavior of typical like-charged solids when diluted below a critical concentration (ca. 15 wt %). Unexpectedly, they swell into lamellar structures with spacing that is up to four times shorter than the layers should assume (if filling the entire available space). This process is reversible with respect to changing the lipid concentration. Additionally, the research shows that, although the repulsion between charged interfaces increases with temperature, like-charged membranes, remarkably, condense with increasing temperature. This effect is also shown to be reversible. Our findings hold for a wide range of conditions including varying membrane charge density, bending rigidity, salt concentration, and conditions of typical living systems. We attribute the limited swelling and condensation of the net repulsive interfaces to their self-assembled character. Unlike solids, membranes can rearrange to gain an effective entropic attraction, which increases with temperature and compensates for the work required for condensing the bilayers. Our findings provide new insight into the thermodynamics and self-organization of like-charged interfaces composed of self-assembled molecules such as charged biomaterials and supramolecular assemblies that are widely found in synthetic and natural constructs.


This work investigates data compression algorithms for applications in non-volatile flash memories. The main goal of the data compression is to minimize the amount of user data such that the redundancy of the error correction coding can be increased and the reliability of the error correction can be improved. A compression algorithm is proposed that combines a modified move-to-front algorithm with Huffman coding. The proposed data compression algorithm has low complexity, but provides a compression gain comparable to the Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithm.


Abstract Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory conditions affecting young children. It is estimated that asthma affects 20% of schoolchildren in South Africa. The school setting represents "home" for most children, and teachers are recognised as in loco parentis. Therefore, it is imperative that primary school teachers have sufficient knowledge of asthma and its management, in order to be able to make rational and safe decisions about the children in their care. This study was undertaken to assess the levels of asthma knowledge and its management among primary school teachers. Method: Data were collected from 226 consenting schoolteachers in 19 randomly selected primary schools in the Umdoni sub-district of KwaZulu-Natal, using a cellular telephone Mobile Researcher® application. A total of 55 questions relating to knowledge of asthma were posed, together with questions about motivation for, and confidence in managing, an asthma emergency. Results: Overall, 38.5% of teachers were able to answer < 50% of the knowledge questions correctly. Teachers' level of asthma knowledge was not significantly associated with age, gender, years of teaching experience, educational qualification, or contact with an asthmatic individual (p-value = 0.153, p-value = 0.870, p-value = 0.070, p-value = 0.082 and p-value = 0.176, respectively). Areas of particular concern included knowledge regarding the signs and symptoms of a severe acute asthma attack, asthma medication and management, and asthma and sports. Conclusion: This study demonstrates deficiencies in teachers' knowledge of asthma, which will need to be addressed if they are to safely discharge their duty of care. Teachers are supportive of in-service training in asthma management.


Remotely-sensed night-time lights (NTL) reveal the occurrence of human development while excessive light emissions cause ecological impacts and may create human health hazards. The aim of this research is to find out the factors affecting the quantity of remotely-sensed NTLs in Finland at 2015. We also aim to unveil how much NTLs have changed in Finland from 1993 to 2012 and what is the share of NTLs for different land use types in Finland in 2015. Answers to these questions are achieved with satellite radiance data and data on spatial structure, multiple linear regression (MLR), and change-detection methods. National and regional MLR models were produced to explain NTL and to compare the suitability of this modelling approach in different regions. Radiance is explained by population density, industrial building density, and lit roads density. Surprisingly, the brightest areas in Finland seem to be in Narpio, a rural area with low population density but where greenhouse farming is common. Based on change-detection, new light sources have emerged because of the expansion of mining and tourism industries.


In today's world, mobile phone penetration has reached a saturation point. As a result, subscriber churn has become an important issue for mobile operators as subscribers switch operators for a variety of reasons. Mobile operators typically employ churn prediction algorithms based on service usage metrics, network performance indicators, and traditional demographic information. A newly emerging technique is the use of social network analysis (SNA) to identify potential churners. Intuitively, a subscriber who is churning will have an impact on the churn propensity of his social circle. Call detail records are useful to understand the social connectivity of subscribers through call graphs but do not directly provide the strength of their relationship or have enough information to determine the diffusion of churn influence. In this paper, we present a way to address these challenges by developing a new churn prediction algorithm based on a social network analysis of the call graph. We provide a formulation that quantifies the strength of social ties between users based on multiple attributes and then apply an influence diffusion model over the call graph to determine the net accumulated influence from churners. We combine this influence and other social factors with more traditional metrics and apply machine-learning methods to compute the propensity to churn for individual users. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm over a real data set and quantify the benefit of using SNA in churn prediction.


ABSTRACT Inadvertent hypothermia, which is defined as temperature below 36°C, is common in the perioperative setting. Patients un-der general or regional anaesthesia have impaired temperature regulation/homeo-stasis. Temperature monitoring should be an established standard for all procedures that last more than 30 minutes. Unfortu-nately, study shows that it is not a common practice in European hospitals. Passive and active patient warming should be used to prevent and treat hypothermia. Warming should start in the preoperative period and last throughout all perioperative phases. In that way, well-known complication of hy-pothermia should be prevented. Cardiac event, coagulopathy and wound infection are the leading causes of delayed discharge and more adverse outcomes related to hy-pothermia. It is especially important to un -dertake all necessary intervention proce-dures to prevent hypothermia in a group of patients with known high number of risk factors for hypothermia. Ambient tem-perature, an important risk factor, should be monitored and maintained at about 21°C. According to reviewed evidence, the protocol to prevent, monitor and treat hy-pothermia should be established. Further studies about the implementation of tem-perature monitoring and regulation are needed in order to raise awareness about this issue.


Cluster structure in (multicollinear) data can be utilized by pattern recognition methods in order to find adequate subspaces for nonlinear regression. When regressing a particular severely nonlinear function, it is demonstrated that this approach is superior to polynomial PLS. It is also demonstrated that for nonlinear functions, the choice of regression explained variables onto the explaining variables, or vice-versa, is not arbitrary. Numerical experiments indicate that the classical statistical model is more powerful than the inverse regression approach.


Dear Editor A 40-year-old man was visited at our clinic with a history of pruritic cutaneous papules in a zosteriform pattern from 3 months ago. The skin lesions were located unilaterally on the right side of his thorax. On examination, there were multiple shiny, erythematous, violaceous and slightly scaly papules limited to right T7 dermatome (Figure.1). General physical examination was unremarkable and mucous membranes were intact. A biopsy was taken and the specimen exhibited hyperkeratosis, focal increases in the granular cell layer, and irregular acanthosis with a saw tooth appearance, liquefactive degeneration of the basal cell layer and a band-like lymphocytic infiltrate at the dermo-epidermal junction and a number of Civatte bodies. He was treated with potent topical steroids. After 2 months, he came back with generalized lesions and typical mucosal lesions. This time, he was treated with systemic steroids. After 2 months, pruritus subsided and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation was formed, but mucosal lesions persisted. Lichen planus (LP) is an idiopathic inflammatory disease of the skin and mucous membrane. It is characterized by pruritic violaceous papules that favor the extremities1. Linear LP refers to LP with a unilateral linear distribution. This variant may present as an example of the Wolf's isotopic response on the site of healed zoster2. In very rare instances, linear LP presents in a segmental fashion corresponding to one dermatome and is termed zosteriform LP. In extremely rare cases, zosteriform or linear distributions appear de novo on previously normal, non-traumatized skin, as in our patient. Although case reports of de novo dermatomal LP have been reported3, this entity is controversial. Happle argued that the term zosteriform lichen planus has been applied inappropriately in cases who have developed lesions de novo in the lines of Blaschko, rather than in true dermatomes4. Some authors believe that true zosteriform LP only exists in cases who have developed lesions on the sites of healed herpes zoster5. In our patient, the distribution of lesions was limited to T7 dermatome. The patient denied prior history of herpes zoster. The linear eruption seemed to follow a true dermatome rather than in the Sshape pattern of the lines of Blaschko on the trunk. Although it is difficult to differentiate the two, these atypical distribution patterns may provide clues to the pathogenesis of a condition with a currently unknown etiology. (Iran J Dermatol 2009;12: 35-36)


A happy face advantage has consistently been shown in emotion categorization tasks; happy faces are categorized as happy faster than angry faces as angry. Furthermore, social category cues, such as facial sex and race, moderate the happy face advantage in evaluatively congruent ways with a larger happy face advantage for more positively evaluated faces. We investigated whether attractiveness, a facial attribute unrelated to more defined social categories, would moderate the happy face advantage consistent with the evaluative congruence account. A larger happy face advantage for the more positively evaluated attractive faces than for unattractive faces was predicted. Across 4 experiments participants categorized attractive and unattractive faces as happy or angry as quickly and accurately as possible. As predicted, when female faces were categorized separately, a happy face advantage emerged for the attractive females but not for the unattractive females. Corresponding results were only found in the error rates for male faces. This pattern was confirmed when female and male faces were categorized together, indicating that attractiveness may have a stronger influence on emotion perception for female faces. Attractiveness is shown to moderate emotion perception in line with the evaluative congruence account and is suggested to have a stronger influence on emotion perception than facial sex cues in contexts where attractiveness is a salient evaluative dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record


"Gustav Mahler and Alma Maria Schindler were married in... 1902. The bride was twenty-one and a half years old, her groom a few months short of forty-two. Apart from their substantial age difference, it seems to have been the very disparity of their intellectual and social backgrounds that drew them together. Mahler was attracted to Alma by her beauty, her alert mind and emotional intensity. Though aware that he possessed by far the broader outlook, he trusted in Alma's ability and willingness to learn from him."-from the Introduction"Once the stiffness of unfamiliarity has been softened by a few months of marriage, Mahler's style of correspondence with Alma is generally simple, direct, and astonishingly down-to-earth. In a manner akin to that of his musical style, he spikes his language with witticisms and double-entendres, colloquialisms and quotations from librettos and classical works of literature."-from the PrefaceThis profusely illustrated collection of Gustav Mahler's letters to his wife Alma is more comprehensive than any previous edition; it contains 350 letters, 188 of them until now unpublished. Since 1995, when the German edition of this book was first published, two events have served to expand its horizons: the publication in 1997 of the complete text of Alma's early diaries, dating from January 1898 to March 1902, and the publication in 2003 of a catalogue of all Mahler letters acquired from the Moldenhauer Archives. With the aid of this new material, the editors were also able to revise the dates assigned to many of the letters. Commentaries and annotations throughout the book have been corrected and expanded annotations included. The editors' introduction provides a biographical context for the correspondence that follows.


Background: Workers who work in hot environments may be at risk for heat stress. Exposure to heat can result in occupational illnesses, including heat stroke, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion. The risk of exposure to heat depends on individual, environmental, and occupational risk factors. Individual risk factors may decrease the individual's tolerance to heat stress. Sensitivity as an intrinsic factor may predispose a person to heat stress. Aim: This study was aimed to determine the criteria for sensitivity parameter, specify their weights using the fuzzy Delphi-analytical hierarchy, and finally providing a model to estimate sensitivity. The significant of the study is presenting a model to estimate the sensitivity to heat stress. Materials and Methods: The expert's opinions were used to extract the criteria in Delphi method. After determining the weight of each criterion, Fuzzy analytic hierarchy Process (FAHP), by mathematical principles matrix and triangular fuzzy numbers, was applied for the prioritization of criteria. Results: According to experts' viewpoints and considering some exclusion, 10 of 36 criteria were selected. Among 10 selected criteria, age had the highest percentage of responses (90% (27/30)) and its relative weight was 0.063. After age, the highest percentages of response were assigned to the factors of preexisting disease (66.6% (20/30)), body mass index (56.6% (17/30)), work experience (53.3% (16/30)), and clothing (40% (16/30)), respectively. Other effective criteria on sensitivity were metabolic rate, daily water consumption, smoking habits, drugs that interfere with the thermoregulatory processes, and exposure to other harmful agents. Conclusions: Eventually, based on the criteria, a model for estimation of the workers' sensitivity to heat stress was presented for the first time, by which the sensitivity is estimated in percent.


NIJJ AB, a new established company, started its work with a patented idea for snow removal from the roof. This project developed the idea to a virtual prototype and presented the process of product development in a real case scenario. A combination of methods was implemented in this project to develop the concept in a structured way. The work started with planning for the project and gathering information about the customer needs, competitive products and related technologies. House of Quality was built to define product target specifications and obtain a working plan for the rest of project. Due to the complexity of the product, it was divided to simpler sub-functions and based on the collected information new concepts were generated for each sub-problem. After evaluating the combined concepts, most promising ones were chosen to be compared in Pugh matrix. The winning concept was selected for further development and more detail design. The designed components and assembly were tested with FEM tools and required refinements were applied to the design. A virtual prototype of the product was achieved at the end of the project.


Emerging real-world graph problems include: detecting and preventing disease in human populations; revealing community structure in large social networks; and improving the resilience of the electric power grid. Unlike traditional applications in computational science and engineering, solving these social problems at scale often raises new challenges because of the sparsity and lack of locality in the data, the need for research on scalable algorithms and development of frameworks for solving these real-world problems on high performance computers, and for improved models that capture the noise and bias inherent in the torrential data streams. Highlighting this keynote talk, Bader will discuss the opportunities and challenges in massive data-intensive computing for applications in social sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. Focusing on parallel algorithm design and implementation, Bader formalizes a practical model for graph analysis on streaming data. In this model, a massive graph undergoes changes from an input stream of edge insertions and removals. The model supports concurrent updating of the graph while algorithms execute concurrently on the dynamic data structure. The talk introduces a concept of validity: an algorithm is valid if the output is correct for a graph consisting of the initial graph with some subset of concurrent changes. Practical examples of this model are given for valid implementations of breadth first search, connected components, PageRank, and triangle counting, all useful graph kernels in real-world applications. This is joint work with E. Jason Riedy and Chunxing Yin.


Edge extraction has attracted a lot of attention in computer vision. The accuracy of extracting edges in point clouds can be a significant asset for a variety of engineering scenarios. To address these issues, we propose a segmentation-based multi-scale edge extraction technique. In this approach, different regions of a point cloud are segmented by a global analysis according to the geodesic distance. Afterwards, a multi-scale operator is defined according to local neighborhoods. Thereupon, by applying this operator at multiple scales of the point
cloud, the persistence of features is determined. We illustrate the proposed method by computing a feature weight that measures the likelihood of a point to be an edge, then detects the edge points based on that value at both global and local scales. Moreover, we evaluate quantitatively and qualitatively our method. Experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves a superior accuracy. Furthermore, we demonstrate the robustness of our approach in noisier real-world datasets.


Many studies have shown the role of agriculture in the selection and spread of resistance of Anopheles gambiae s.l. to insecticides. However, no study has directly demonstrated the presence of insecticides in breeding sources as a source of selection for this resistance. It is in this context that we investigated the presence of pesticide residues in breeding habitats and their formal involvement in vector resistance to insecticides in areas of West Africa with intensive farming. This study was carried out from June to November 2013 in Dano, southwest Burkina Faso in areas of conventional (CC) and biological cotton (BC) growing. Water and sediment samples collected from breeding sites located near BC and CC fields were submitted for chromatographic analysis to research and titrate the residual insecticide content found there. Larvae were also collected in these breeding sites and used in toxicity tests to compare their mortality to those of the susceptible strain, Anopheles gambiae Kisumu. All tested mosquitoes (living and dead) were analyzed by PCR for species identification and characterization of resistance genes. The toxicity analysis of water from breeding sites showed significantly lower mortality rates in breeding site water from biological cotton (WBC) growing sites compared to that from conventional cotton (WCC) sites respective to both An. gambiae Kisumu (WBC: 80.75% vs WCC: 92.75%) and a wild-type strain (49.75% vs 66.5%). The allele frequencies L1014F, L1014S kdr, and G116S ace -1R mutations conferring resistance, respectively, to pyrethroids and carbamates / organophosphates were 0.95, 0.4 and 0.12. Deltamethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin were identified in the water samples taken in October/November from mosquitoes breeding in the CC growing area. The concentrations obtained were respectively 0.0147ug/L and 1.49 ug/L to deltamethrin and lambdacyhalothrin. Our results provided evidence by direct analysis (biological and chromatographic tests) of the role of agriculture as a source of selection pressure on vectors to insecticides used in growing areas.


Featuring the original illustrations by Golden Age illustrator John Tenniel, this edition is perfect for any bookshelf, whether you're a voracious reader of fantasy, an avid Alice fan, or a collector of illustrations and stories. Tumble down the proverbial rabbit hole in this time-honored classic by Lewis Carroll. Follow Alice, one of literature's most popular female figures, as she encounters a colorful cast of immortal characters such as the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, and more! This edition also contains the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where the heroine again enters wonderland by climbing through a mirror. Once again, she is confronted with a slew of friends and foes and a series of trials and tribulations.


Often practical performance of analytical redundancy for fault detection and diagnosis is decreased by uncertainties prevailing not only in the system model, but also in the measurements. In this paper, the problem of fault detection is stated as a constraint satisfaction problem over continuous domains with a big number of variables and constraints. This problem can be solved using modal interval analysis and consistency techniques. Consistency techniques are then shown to be particularly efficient to check the consistency of the analytical redundancy relations (ARRs), dealing with uncertain measurements and parameters. Through the work presented in this paper, it can be observed that consistency techniques can be used to increase the performance of a robust fault detection tool, which is based on interval arithmetic. The proposed method is illustrated using a nonlinear dynamic model of a hydraulic system.


In this paper, compressive sampling (CS) based energy detectors are developed for sparse communication signals, namely, pulse-position modulation (PPM) and frequency shift-keying (FSK) signals so as to reduce the complexity and sampling rate at the receiver. We focus on noncoherent detection, thereby avoiding the channel estimation step. Exact bit error probability (BEP) expressions for receivers sampling at the Nyquist rate are derived to ascertain the performance of CS-based energy detectors. Simulation results provide insight into the choice of measurement matrices for a practical implementation of CS.


Collaborations among businesses can be described from different viewpoints. Two of these viewpoints are the value viewpoint, representing estimated values exchanged in a collaboration, and the coordination viewpoint, representing messages exchanged between the actors to coordinate the execution of a collaboration. To observe and maintain the value viewpoint during the complete life cycle, the estimated values have to be validated during the execution of the collaboration. However, since the value model is not implemented, the necessary information for monitoring the value viewpoint needs to be derived from the coordination viewpoint. Relating coordination and value viewpoint is a difficult process because the coordination viewpoint lacks information present in the value viewpoint. In this paper we define the relation between both viewpoints for the complete collaboration life cycle. Furthermore, we provide a mechanism to monitor the collaboration from a value viewpoint.


Four large companies dominate almost 70 per cent of the German electricity market – RWE, EnBW, E.On and Vattenfall. Their historical advancement was triggered by technical development in the electricity sector towards larger, centralized power plants and connected grids, all requiring high investments. The other 30 per cent of the market are in the hand of more than 1,000 regional energy companies. Moreover, again history repeats: The German energy transition, or 'Energiewende,' again requires massive investments. The only difference is that this time, the trend goes towards renewable, more de-centralized energy power production like wind, photovoltaic or biomass that requires smart grid infrastructure and innovative technologies for energy storage. This Data Envelopment Analysis analyzes the efficiency of eight German regional energy suppliers in relation to labor and capital allocation over the time span of 2005 – 2014. The aim is to identify best-practice examples of regional energy suppliers that successfully manage their resource allocation and adapt their business models to the requirements of the energy transition. The efficiency scores reveal that smaller companies can successfully participate in the energy transition, even though their financial power is limited. They need to work closely together with strategic partners in capital-intensive areas, like e.g. wind park investments or smart grid expansion and maintenance. Derived from the insights of this thesis, there are smaller regional energy companies that are following a clear path leading to efficiency improvement, but also a stable base of businesses that could improve their efficiency scores. Another important aspect of this thesis is to show the practicability of DEA for companies who are willing to benchmark themselves with others, analyze weak points in their business model and identify strategies to counteract those weak points. The willingness of the municipal energy companies to join this research was rather limited and hopefully improves with the results.


Since inception, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) has planned to implement a facility-wide functional safety system to protect personnel from harm and prevent damage to the facility or environment. The ATST will deploy an integrated safety-related control system (SRCS) to achieve functional safety throughout the facility rather than relying on individual facility subsystems to provide safety functions on an ad hoc basis. The Global Interlock System (GIS) is an independent, distributed, facility-wide, safety-related control system, comprised of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) programmable controllers that monitor, evaluate, and control hazardous energy and conditions throughout the facility that arise during operation and maintenance. The GIS has been designed to utilize recent advances in technology for functional safety plus revised national and international standards that allow for a distributed architecture using programmable controllers over a local area network instead of traditional hard-wired safety functions, while providing an equivalent or even greater level of safety. Programmable controllers provide an ideal platform for controlling the often complex interrelationships between subsystems in a modern astronomical facility, such as the ATST. A large, complex hard-wired relay control system is no longer needed. This type of system also offers greater flexibility during development and integration in addition to providing for expanded capability into the future. The GIS features fault detection, self-diagnostics, and redundant communications that will lead to decreased maintenance time and increased availability of the facility.


A literature review is conducted of geospatial technologies in community-based research on ice and mobility among Indigenous people of the circumpolar north. Numerous studies explore the use of traditional knowledge in the Arctic on sea ice, but limited evidence of community-based research in sub-Arctic communities and in freshwater ice systems is found. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing tools have been applied in a variety of ways in support of community adaptations. These include the production of living memory maps, ice classification systems, and geodatabases that reflect the relationship-building nature of collabora‐ tions between Indigenous traditional knowledge holders and scientists. Satellite imagery—particularly synthetic aperture radar (SAR)—is widely used to characterize traditional understandings of ice to help tailor geospatial tools, climate research, and early warning systems, so that they may be used more effectively to address commun‐ ity interests and needs. As numerous mapping platforms have been developed in the circumpolar north, there are important considerations with respect to data manage‐ ment, Indigenous rights, and data sharing. We see opportunities for further research in lake and river ice, and in further developing early warning systems to address the growing problem of unpredictable ice regimes in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.


Providing Quality of Service (QoS) for real time applications in mobile Ad hoc networks is a challenging task, due to the characteristics of the wireless links and networks. These Characteristics include: dynamic nature, infrastructure less architecture, and time varying unstable links and topology. Features as: low cost, ease of deployment, increased coverage, and enhanced capacity make IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF) more popular in wireless applications. However, DCF is unsuitable for real time applications which have strict demands on QoS. IEEE 802.11e Medium Access Control (MAC) was   introduced to support QoS in Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Many researches have been proposed to enhance IEEE 802.11e such as Gentle Decrease, and SCW. In this paper, we propose a new approach called "Dynamic Adaptive Approach for enhancement of EDCA" (DAA_EDCA). The proposed approach was inspired from the Gentle Decrease Scheme.


Adversarial training is the standard to train models robust against adversarial examples. However, especially for complex datasets, adversarial training incurs a significant loss in accuracy and is known to generalize poorly to stronger attacks, e.g., larger perturbations or other threat models. In this paper, we introduce confidence-calibrated adversarial training (CCAT) where the key idea is to enforce that the confidence on adversarial examples decays with their distance to the attacked examples. We show that CCAT preserves better the accuracy of normal training while robustness against adversarial examples is achieved via confidence thresholding. Most importantly, in strong contrast to adversarial training, the robustness of CCAT generalizes to larger perturbations and other threat models, not encountered during training. We also discuss our extensive work to design strong adaptive attacks against CCAT and standard adversarial training which is of independent interest. We present experimental results on MNIST, SVHN and Cifar10.


Abstract The Yogic literatures are replete with examples of several unique mystical experiences in deeper states of meditation. These experiences have nevertheless remained largely untouched by the scientific community, possibly because of the extreme inexplicability of such states and the lack of sophistication in evaluating them. More amenable to scientific research, however, would seem to be the simpler states of awareness in meditation such as that of inner light perception. While a few studies have attempted to explore this state by objective means, the subjective experience of this state remains largely unexplored. The present study originates from an interesting sub-theme identified in an earlier study focused on interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of the experience of inner light perception among Vihangam Yogis. The original study found that the Yogis were very confident in differentiating their experience of inner light perception from other similar experiences. It was thus decided to use IPA to explore the clarity of the differences perceived by the Vihangam Yogis between these experiences. The present study reveals that the meditators could clearly differentiate the state colloquially termed "inner light perception" from (a) external light perception, (b) imagination and (c) dreams. The meditators gave detailed descriptions of their perception of the differences between these experiences, which suggests that the subjective state of inner light perception could be quite different from that of those experiences which the authors have termed differentials of inner light perception. The conclusion reached is that, in addition to further empirical study by means of the traditional modalities and measures, vigorous qualitative study of the subjective dimensions of the state of inner light perception is warranted, with this study indicating that IPA is especially effective in the latter regard.


The Book of Indian Butterflies describes 734 species of butterflies that commonly occur in the Indian subcontinent. Most descriptions are illustrated with colour images of specimens from the Bombay Natural History Society's collection as well as with colour photographs of butterflies from across the country in their natural habitats. The book also includes colour photographs showing the life history of different butterfly groups and their adaptation techniques. Besides highlighting the rich biodiversity of India's butterfly fauna, this book is a highly enjoyable guide for nature lovers. Isaac Kehimkar discusses the biology and identification of butterflies, as well as butterfly watching, photography, and rearing. Written by an expert in the field, The Book of Indian Butterflies is a comprehensive and updated guide to India's butterflies.


Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has been studied as a low friction surface coating since its discovery. The high wear-rate of PTFE reduces the usefulness of the polymer for mechanical purposes; however, combining PTFE with polydopamine (PDA) has been shown to greatly reduce the film wear-rate. During rubbing tests involving PDA/PTFE thin films, a tenacious layer of PTFE remains intact after substantial testing even though pure PTFE film layers are destroyed quickly. Understanding the interface mechanics that allow PTFE and PDA to adhere so well during experimental rubbing tests is necessary to improve the wear-rate of PDA/PTFE thin films. In this study, we use density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the adhesive properties and interface deformation mechanisms between PDA and PTFE molecules. Steered molecular dynamics (SMD) is then performed on isolated pairs of PDA and PTFE molecules to investigate different modes of deformation from equilibrium. PDA trimer oligomers were identified as the most adhesive to PTFE and selected to use in a PDA/PTFE thin film, where nano-indentation and scratch tests are performed. Our results indicate that a combination of the unique deformation mechanisms of PDA molecules and the penetration of PTFE molecules into the PDA substrate provide the PTFE/PDA interface with its wear resistance.


If a mother is stressed or anxious while pregnant her child is more likely to show a range of symptoms such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, aggression or anxiety. While there remains some debate about what proportion of these effects are due to the prenatal or the postnatal environment, and the role of genetics, there is good evidence that prenatal stress exposure can increase the risk for later psychopathology. Why should this be? In our evolutionary history it is possible that some increase in these characteristics in some individuals was adaptive in a stressful environment, and that this type of fetal programming prepared the child or group for the environment in which they were going to find themselves. Anxiety may have been associated with increased vigilance, distractible attention with more perception of danger, impulsivity with more exploration, conduct disorder with a willingness to break rules, and aggression with the ability to fight intruders or predators. This adaptation for a future dangerous environment may explain why stress and anxiety, rather than depression, seem to have these programming effects; why there is a dose-response relationship with prenatal stress from moderate to severe and it is not only toxic stress that has consequences; why not all children are affected and why individual children are affected in different ways; and why the outcomes affected can depend on the sex of the offspring. An evolutionary perspective may give a different understanding of children in our society with these symptoms, and suggest new directions for research. For example, there is some evidence that the type of cognitive deficits observed after prenatal stress have specific characteristics; these may be those which were adaptive in a past environment.


In our research, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of games-based learning within a computer aided design and manufacture undergraduate module. Although widely used in a selection of subject areas, there appears to be limited application of games-based learning in engineering and technology. Its effectiveness as a learning or training tool, especially in Mechanical Engineering subject area, has been unclear. This research follows on from previously presented research in novel approaches in delivery of engineering education. Games-based learning has a potential to enhance student experience and learning process. In order to evaluate the outcomes of games-based learning approach and observe its effect on students' performance, a simple in-class game on assembly topics was designed and implemented as part of a laboratory exercise. There were two groups of students considered in this case study: the student group 'playing' an assembly game (experimental group) and the group which did not experience games-based learning (control group). The results of the assessment element in the experimental group were compared to the control group. Our work evaluates both the qualitative and quantitative data established from computer aided design assembly delivery using the game, and delivery using conventional method. In addition, the comparisons were made between the entry level in to Higher Education in terms of tariff points level (academic score) of participants and educational background. It thus concludes on the effectiveness of the games-based learning process in Mechanical Engineering Education.


Arts and Culture is one of the new learning areas in the grade 8 and 9 school curriculum. To understand and then express themselves in a correct and confident manner, learners need the correct terminology for Arts and Culture. The learners need more than the day to day terminology in order to participate in conversations focussing on specialised subjects such as music, dance, drama and visual arts. It is important to note that the idea is not to develop expert academics but it is an attempt to enrich children for life and give them more self confidence. The aim of this computer project is to provide an information website to assist the grade 9 learners in the Arts and Culture domain to develop the appropriate language needed in the learning area.


We propose a new network-growing method to accelerate learning and to extract explicit features in complex input patterns. We have so far proposed a new type of network-growing algorithm called greedy network growing algorithm (Kamimura, R, et al., 2002), (Kamimura, R, 2003). By this algorithm, a network can grow gradually by maximizing information on input patterns. In the algorithm, the inverse of the square of the ordinary Euclidean distance between input patterns and connection weights is used to produce competitive unit outputs. When applied to some problems, the method has shown slow learning, and sometimes the method cannot produce a state where information is large enough to produce explicit internal representations. To remedy this shortcoming, we introduce here Minkowski distance between input patterns and connection weights used to produce competitive unit outputs. When the parameter for Minkowski distance is larger, some detailed parts in input patterns can be eliminated, which enables networks to converge faster and to extract main parts of input patterns. We applied our new method to the analysis of some economic data. In the experiment, results confirm that a new method with Minkowski distance can significantly accelerate learning, and clearer features can be extracted.


Title of Thesis: OPTIMAL PROPULSION SYSTEM DESIGN FOR A MICRO QUAD ROTOR Aaron M. Harrington, Masters of Science 2011 Thesis directed by: Professor Inderjit Chopra Department of Aerospace Engineering Currently a 50 gram micro quad rotor vehicle is being developed in collaboration with Daedalus Flight Systems. Optimization of the design at this scale requires a systematic study to be carried out to investigate the factors that affect the vehicles performance. Endurance of hovering vehicles at this scale is severely limited by the low efficiencies of their propulsion systems and rotor design and optimization has been performed in the past in an attempt to increase endurance, but proper coupling of the rotor with the motor has been lacking. The current study chose to investigate the factors that had the greatest effect on the vehicle's endurance through analysis of the propulsion system. Therefore, a coupled aerodynamic and structural analysis was carried out that incorporated low Reynolds number airfoil table lookup in order to predict micro rotor performance. A parametric study on rotor design was performed further determine the effect of different rotor designs on hover performance. The experiments performed showed that airfoil camber had the biggest impact on rotor efficiency and other factors such as leading edge shape, number of blades, max camber location, and blade planform taper only had negligible influence on performance. Systematic studies of the interactions between micro rotor blades operating in close proximity to each other were performed in order to determine the changes in rotor efficiency that might occur in a compact quad rotor design. Tests done on the effect of rotor separation demonstrated that there is a negligible interaction between rotors operating near each other. Brushless motors were also tested systematically and characterized by their torque, rpm, and efficiency. It was found that the maximum efficiency of the motors tested was only 60%, which has significant effects on the efficiency of the coupled system. A method for rotor and motor coupling was also established that utilized the motor efficiency curves and the known torque and rotational speed of the rotors at their operating thrust. Through this, it was found that propulsion system efficiency could be increased by 10% by simply using the proper motor and rotor combination. Further, coupled design would have additional benefits and could increase vehicle efficiency further. OPTIMAL PROPULSION SYSTEM DESIGN FOR A MICRO QUAD ROTOR


IBM's Best-Selling Guide to XPages Development Now Updated and Expanded for Lotus Notes/Domino 9.0.1 XPages instantly revolutionized Notes/Domino application development, and the newest versions deliver unprecedented performance and flexibility. Now, the popular insider's guide to XPages development has been updated and expanded to reflect all these improvements, through IBM Notes/Domino 9.0.1 and beyond. Three key members of the IBM XPages team have brought together comprehensive knowledge for delivering outstanding solutions. They have added several hundred pages of new content, including four new chapters. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience, they present new tips, samples, and best practices reflecting the platform's growing maturity. Writing for both XPages newcomers and experts, they cover the entire project lifecycle, including problem debugging, performance optimization, and application scalability. This second edition of Mastering XPages fully addresses enhancements to the XPages data sources for Domino views and documents; the latest XPages mobile library; the new Domino Designer Server-Side JavaScript debugger; and improvements to integrated technologies such as Dojo and CKEditor. Nearly every chapter contains at least one downloadable sample application, offering extensive hands-on practice. This guide concludes with complete references to XSP tags, relevant Java/JavaScript classes, and XSP style classes. Coverage includes * Understanding XPages' development paradigm, tooling, runtime framework, and application architecture* Configuring Domino Designer and integrating XPages Extension Library* Constructing application logic and using data binding controls* Reading/writing Notes documents: from use cases to design properties* Using Views, including examples of accessing calendars via REST* Making the most of Notes/Domino 9.0's new DataView control* Coding: from the basics to fully customized behavior* Advanced scripting: AJAX, Dojo, @Functions, managed beans, and more* Extending the Rich Text Editor's functionality* Building and consuming new controls with Extensibility APIs* Taking web applications offline in the Notes client* Building mobile apps: controls, design patterns, and best practices* Debugging Server-Side JavaScript with Domino Designer 9.0* Creating apps that look and work greatfor local and global audiences* Systematically optimizing performance and scalability* Protecting data and users: leveraging Domino and Notes security models


The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of R&D cooperation on cartel formation in the product market. The R&D investments that precede the production process are aimed at the reduction of the unit manufacturing costs, and could create positive externalities for the potential competitors. In contrast to the preceding literature, we assume that the competition between firms on the product market takes place according to the Stackelberg leadership model. For simplicity we focus on the case of duopoly. Numerical analysis shows that a closer cooperation at the R&D stage may strengthen the incentives to create a cartel in the product market.