Cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) circulating in body fluids hold promises as bioactive therapeutic agents and as biomarkers to diagnose a wide range of diseases. However nano-imaging methods are needed to characterize these complex and heterogeneous soft materials in their native wet environment. Herein, we exploit liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) to characterize the morphology and dynamic behavior of EVs in physiological media with nanometer resolution. The beam-induced controlled growth of Au nanoparticles on bilayer membranes is used as an original in situ staining method to improve the contrast of EVs and artificial liposomes. LCTEM provides information about the size distribution and concentration of EVs that are consistent with Cryo-TEM and nanoparticle tracking analysis measurements. Moreover, LCTEM gives a unique insight into the dynamics of EVs depending on their liquid environment. The size-dependent morphology of EVs is sensitive to osmotic stress which tends to transform their spherical shape to ellipsoidal, stomatocyte or discocyte morphologies. In the liquid-cell, EVs exhibit a sub-diffusive motion due to strong interactions between the Au nanoparticles and the liquid-cell windows. Finally, the high-resolution monitoring of EV aggregation and fusion illustrate that LCTEM opens up a new way to study cell-membrane dynamics.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


We hope that you enjoy Hispania's brand new look! When you open the cover, you will notice several other changes. For almost one hundred years, Hispania has enjoyed a long history of publishing scholarship on literary criticism, linguistics, and pedagogy. Over the last several decades, linguistics, applied linguistics, language science, and pedagogy articles have gained an ever-growing presence in the journal. As the fields of language and literature evolve, so will Hispania. Beginning in 2014, Hispania's content appears in a slightly different order. In the March and September issues, the section on Linguistics, Language Science, and Pedagogy will appear first, and the June and December issues of Hispania will begin with articles devoted to the study of Literature, Film, and Culture. We have revamped the order to reflect the interests of our many and diverse constituents and to call attention to our varied scope. From the Editor's vantage point, I feel it is important to note that we publish many more articles in literary studies because this subcategory leads other areas in the number of submissions that we receive. In this current issue, the lead article features Pete Swanson's research on the National Spanish Examinations (NSE), student performance, and Spanish teacher efficacy, for which he collaborated with Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, Director of the NSE. Swanson's study has implications for teacher preparation and development. Cessna-Buscemi reports that close to 158,000 students took one of the National Spanish Examinations in 2013. Beyond the diagnostic benefits of these exams, the NSE also offers teachers and students access to scholarships and awards. Additional information about the NSE may be found at www.nationalspanishexam.org. I remind our readers that the AATSP also hosts the National Portuguese Examinations (NPE) (see www.aatsp.org for more information). The second featured article in this issue highlights the hybrid revolution in Spanish-language learning that is taking place in introductory Spanish courses in colleges and universities throughout the United States. Concepción B. Godev's article takes a unique look at the role of instructors in hybrid education. To introduce this article and further inform about the role of hybrid education in Spanish classes, I invited Luis Hermosilla (see bio below) of Kent State University to pen a guest column about hybrid courses. In his column, he offers an overview of hybrid education, discusses benefits and challenges, and includes references to key publications on the hybrid movement. I encourage you to read about the evolution of delivery formats for beginning Spanish that has occurred in many colleges and universities. I also invite you to enjoy the other articles and reviews in this issue, and I hope that you are pleased with the fresh look of the journal.


Actin filaments (F-actin) that locate just beneath the cell plasma membrane could be crosslinked into
a thin film network by actin binding proteins (ABPs). Among these different actin binding proteins,
filamins prefer to crosslink actin filaments into a complex orthogonal network structure. As a crucial
substructure of cell cytoskeleton, the crosslinked actin filament network (CAFN) plays a major role in
different cell functions, such as cell migration, cell division and signal transduction. In physiological
conditions, the extra cellular matrix (ECM), cells and cytoskeleton could deform largely in response to
external force [1] or internal contraction, and thus show obvious viscoelastic properties [2-6]. However,
the viscoelastic bahaviour of crosslinked actin filament network is not well understood because of the
extreme complexity of its structure. In order to study the viscoelastic properties of crosslinked actin
filament networks, a three dimensional representative volume element (RVE) model is developed by
finite element method (FEM) according to the physiological conditions. Periodic boundary conditions
and free boundary conditions are adopted in this model. The creep and relaxation behaviour of
crosslinked actin filament network are studied by conducting numerical simulations and results show
good agreement with experimental measurements [7]. Moreover, the influences of load frequency and
amplitude on the dynamic shear modulus of crosslinked actin filament network are also obtained and
compared with results reported in literature [6, 7].


Background This study aimed to compare glide path preparation of different pathfinding systems and their effects on the apical transportation of ProTaper Next (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) in mesial root canals of extracted human mandibular molars, using digital subtraction radiography. Material and Methods The mesial canals of 40 mandibular first molars (with curvature angles between 25° and 35°) were selected for this study. The specimens were divided randomly into 4 groups with 10 canals each. Glide paths were created in group 1 with #10, #15 and #20 K-type (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) stainless steel manual files; in group 2 with Path-File (Dentsply Maillefer) #1, #2, and #3 and in group 3 with #16 ProGlider (Dentsply Maillefer) rotary instruments; in group 4 no glide paths were created. All canals were instrumented up to ProTaper Next X2 to the working length. A double digital radiograph technique was used, pre and post-instrumentation, to assess whether apical transportation and/or aberration in root canal morphology occurred. Instrument failures were also recorded. The data were analyzed statistically using ANOVA and Tukey tests (p<0.05). Results No significant differences were found among groups regarding apical transportation (p>0.05). Two ProTaper Next instruments failed in-group 4. Conclusions Within the parameters of this study, there was no difference between the performance of path-finding files and ProTaper Next system maintained root canal curvature well and was safe to use either with path-finding files or alone. Key words:Glide path, PathFile, ProGlider, ProTaper Next, transportation.


Grain boundaries (GBs) and heterophase interfaces significantly affect the mechanical properties of polycrystalline materials. The ductility and fracture toughness of materials are limited by GB decohesion, which can be manipulated by solute segregation. For example, in Mo-based materials, which are potential candidate materials for hightemperature structural applications, silicon crucially reduces the room-temperature (RT) ductility and fracture toughness [1]. However, addition of silicon is essential for improving the oxidation resistance of these materials. In contrast to silicon, addition of zirconium is an efficient way to increase the room-temperature fracture toughness, strength and ductility of Mo and Mo-based materials [2–4]. In this thesis, we address the physical origin of this experimentally observed behaviour, which remains a matter of debate and speculations. For this investigation, electronic-structure calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) are carried out. In order to determine whether the experimentally observed improvements are attributed to grain boundary or bulk effects, the solid solubility of zirconium and silicon in molybdenum is evaluated using a supercell approach. Finite-size effects are corrected by extrapolation to the dilute limit. The results reveal that the solubility of zirconium in molybdenum at elevated temperature is quite high, whereas the solubility of silicon in molybdenum is rather small. Different solubility limits of zirconium and silicon are explained based on an analysis of lattice distortion and strength of chemical bonds of solutes.

For better understanding the influence of solutes (Zr, Si) and of oxygen on the cohesive strength of grain boundaries in molybdenum, twist ∑5[001] and tilt ∑5(310)[001] GBs in bicrystal geometry are chosen as structural models. These GBs have a well-defined periodic atomic structure suitable for atomistic modelling. DFT calculations allow to investigate in detail all changes in the atomic and electronic structure of GBs induced by solutes. First, the site preferences for zirconium and silicon solutes at GBs are determined. Although in the dilute limit the low-energy segregation sites at the GB are different for zirconium and silicon, a site competition between solutes might occur upon increasing silicon concentration. Second, the tendency of solutes to segregate from the bulk to GBs is evaluated. The results reveal that zirconium segregated at the GB decreases the thermodynamic barrier for silicon segregation to the GB when silicon is located close to the GB and vice versa. Afterwards, the effect of solutes on the stability of the GBs against brittle fracture is quantified by means of energy-based (work of separation) and stress-based (theoretical strength) criteria. The results reveal that zirconium and silicon act as weak embrittlers of molybdenum GBs. Oxygen embrittles molybdenum GBs considerably stronger. As before, contributions of strain and chemical energy are analysed in order to explain our findings.

After showing, that the experimentally observed improvement of fracture toughness and ductility in molybdenum cannot be simply explained by grain boundary strengthening due to solute segregation, the role of ZrO_2 (zirconia) on the cohesive strength of GBs in molybdenum is investigated. It is energetically preferable for
zirconium to capture oxygen and form ZrO_2 at the GB. The influence of the interface to ZrO_2 precipitates and also ultrathin ZrO_2 films embedded between molybdenum grains is investigated in the last part of this thesis. Based on a minimal mismatch between lattice parameters of molybdenum and tetragonal zirconia and on a maximum planar atomic density at the interface, a Mo(001)/t-ZrO_2(001) system is chosen as a
structural model. The thermodynamic stability and the mechanical properties of the zirconia/molybdenum interfaces are analysed. The results show that the stability of the interface against brittle fracture strongly depends on a cleavage plane and therefore different cuts have to be carefully investigated. The strength of zirconia/molybdenum interfaces is discussed and compared to those for pure and solute containing twist ∑5[001] GBs in molybdenum.

In summary, our work shows that the experimentally observed strengthening of molybdenum upon addition of zirconia cannot be explained by a direct solute effect leading to an increase of the cohesive strength of molybdenum grain boundaries. Furthermore, our results reveal that addition of zirconium to Mo-based alloys can
strengthen the molybdenum grain boundaries that contain oxygen by forming an ultrathin zirconia film between molybdenum grains. Choosing oxidised molybdenum GB systems as references (molybdenum with segregated oxygen), a pronounced increase of the theoretical strength can be inferred upon the formation of ultrathin t-ZrO_2 film between molybdenum grains. The stress required to cleave the ultrathin
zirconia film is equal to that for the pure molybdenum grain boundary.


Gasification of biomass for electricity power generation has been a proven technology in a number of countries in the world. MSW consists of biomass, glass, plastics, metallic scrap and street debris. Biomass constitutes the highest proportion of MSW and being an energy resource, implies that it can contribute tremendously to the energy needs of any country since every country is endowed with this resource which is generated in enormous tonnes per day. The challenge would then be the choice of the technology to harness this abundant energy resource subject to financial and environmental constraints. In Uganda, MSW gasification for power generation has never been implemented in spite of the 500-600 tonnes of MSW collected per day, the biomass component of the MSW comprising 88%. MSW is instead collected in skips, transported by trucks to a landfill were it is deposited and left to decompose releasing methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) gases which are highly potent greenhouse gases. In this regard, the many tonnes per day of MSW collected in Kampala city (area of the study) portray significant potential of generating producer gas using the technology of gasification to run engines for power generation and this study evaluated possible gasifier-engine system applications for power generation. Experiments were carried out at the Faculty of Technology, Makerere University to determine biomass characteristics (e.g. moisture content, ash content) and gasification parameters(e.g. lower heating value) of MSW required for gasifier-engine applications. After establishing the lower heating value of the producer gas from MSW, a theoretical design of a gasifier-engine system was investigated for possible applications with the biomass component of MSW and an economic analysis was done to assess the feasibility of the project.


Parkinson's disease (PD) does not only affect PD patients themselves but also affects their caregivers. PD caregivers perform a range of tasks and can spend many hours a day caring. Caregiver outcomes are assessed predominantly in terms of quality of life (QoL) and burden. The QoL of caregivers is generally lower than that of the general population. A number of caregiver or patient variables have been found to be significantly related to caregiver QoL and burden. Due to the burden of caregiving and its impact on QoL, it is important to assess caregiver outcomes and to support and educate caregivers to maintain QoL and reduce the burden. Various instruments have been used to assess PD caregiver QoL and burden. Of particular interest are two recently developed measures of PD caregiver outcomes: the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire - Carer, a QoL measure for PD caregivers, and the Parkinson's Disease Caregiver Burden questionnaire. To date, a few well-designed interventions have been conducted to help alleviate caregiver burden.


The 2008 to 2009 outbreak of chikungunya was considered as the huge and worst outbreak of CHIKV (Chikungunya virus) infections in history of the country affecting all states in both Peninsular and East Malaysia. This was unlike the first outbreak in late 1998, which was only restricted to Klang district in Selangor and six years later the second outbreak which only involved the state of Perak. The objective of the study was to detect the presence of chikungunya antibody and antigen by immunofluorescence technique and RT-PCR from the sera samples. A total of 2,692 sera samples were received in 2008, in which 19.2% were positive by antibody detection and 42.6% were positive by RT-PCR. The following year in 2009, the samples size increased to 3,592, only 16.3% sample were positive by antibody detection and 31.7% were positive by RT-PCR. Majority of the hospitalized cases were adults between 30 to 60 years of age and the highest incidence rate was amongst patients' age between 40 to 49 year old. In 2008, most of the confirmed CHIKV infection cases were female but the opposite was seen in 2009, where more male cases were reported. In this outbreak, the prominent ethnic group affected was the Malays. CHIKV involved in the 2008 to 2009 outbreaks was the new Central/East African genotype which was found to be similar with strains causing the outbreaks in the India Ocean and main CHIKV genotype circulating in the European countries from 2006 to 2009. Key words:


This paper reports on a pilot study of the integration between the Systemic Enterprise Architecture Method (SEAM) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in a requirements engineering project. The objective of the project, conducted in one of the major banks in Switzerland, was to select a common SOA tool that could satisfy the needs of two of the bank's main business units, investment and private banking. SEAM provided help in identifying stakeholders, eliciting their requirements, and analyzing these requirements. The resulting requirements were then grouped and translated into selection criteria for the alternative SOA tools. Based on these criteria, the stakeholders chose the tool to be purchased using AHP. We describe the project, the challenges we faced and the lessons learned. These relate to the nature and traceability of requirements, to the requirements elicitation process and to the relations between the bank's business units.


In this book Alison Stone develops a feminist approach to maternal subjectivity. Stone argues that in the West the self has often been understood in opposition to the maternal body, so that one must separate oneself from the mother and maternal care-givers on whom one depended in childhood to become a self or, in modernity, an autonomous subject. These assumptions make it difficult to be a mother and a subject, an autonomous creator of meaning. Insofar as mothers nonetheless strive to regain their subjectivity when their motherhood seems to have compromised it, theirs cannot be the usual kind of subjectivity premised on separation from the maternal body. Mothers are subjects of a new kind, who generate meanings and acquire agency from their position of re-immersion in the realm of maternal body relations, of bodily intimacy and dependency. Thus Stone interprets maternal subjectivity as a specific form of subjectivity that is continuous with the maternal body. Stone analyzes this form of subjectivity in terms of how the mother typically reproduces with her child her history of bodily relations with her own mother, leading to a distinctive maternal and cyclical form of lived time.


Purpose: To explore a static intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) technique of a more homogeneous isodose distribution to an irregular-shaped tumour of the ethmoid sinus, with concomitantly sparing the adjacent critical normal organs including the orbit. Methods and Materials: We conducted a static IMRT technique adding 2 or smaller complementary boost-fields to the underdosed volume in the PTV, which resulted from complete blocking of the orbits in all coplanar or non-coplanar main ports of the standard 3-D CRT. The standard 3-D CRT plans (Plan A) and IMRT plans adding complementary boost fields (Plan B) were established for 10 patients with ethmoid sinus cancer. Two sets of different plans for each patient were compared using isodose distribution, dose statistics, and dose volume histogram (DVH) of the planning target volume (PTV) and also using dose statistics and DVH of the adjacent critical structures. Results: The IMRT plans adding 2 or more complementary boost-fields (Plan B) for each patient demonstrated better coverage and improved dose homogeneity of the PTV compared to the standard 3-D CRT plan (Plan A). Moreover, the radiation doses to adjacent normal tissue organs, such as the orbits, optic nerves, brain stem and optic chiasm were similarly spared in both plans. Conclusion: With concomitantly sparing the surrounding visual pathway structures, our IMRT technique using the complementary boost-fields was quantitatively better than current standard 3-D CRT technique with respect to the dose homogeneity within the PTV. Therefore, we believe that our technique, though still not ideal, is thorough enough to be used routinely in treatment of ethmoid sinus


It is well established that the cratonic subcontinental lithospheric mantle (C-SCLM) represents a residue of extensively melted peridotite. The widespread occurrence of garnet in C-SCLM remains a paradox because experiments show that it should be exhausted beyond similar to 20% melting. It has been suggested that garnet may have formed by exsolution from Al-rich orthopyroxene; however, the few documented examples of garnet exsolution in cratonic samples are exotic and do not afford a direct link to garnet in granular harzburgite. We report crystallographic, petrographic, and chemical data for an exceptionally well preserved orthopyroxene megacryst containing garnet lamellae, juxtaposed against granular harzburgite. Garnet lamellae are homogeneously distributed within the host orthopyroxene and occur at an orientation that is unrelated to orthopyroxene cleavage, strongly indicating that they formed by exsolution. Garnet lamellae are subcalcic Cr-pyrope, and the orthopyroxene host is high-Mg enstatite; these phases equilibrated at 4.4 GPa and 975 degrees C. The reconstructed precursor is a high-Al enstatite that formed at higher pressure and temperature conditions of similar to 6 GPa and 1750 degrees C. The megacryst shows evidence for disintegrating into granular peridotite, and garnet and orthopyroxene within the granular peridotite are texturally and chemically identical to equivalent phases in the megacryst. Collectively, this evidence supports a common origin for the granular and exsolved portions of the sample. We hypothesize that high-Al enstatite was a common phase in the C-SCLM and that exsolution during cooling and stabilization of the C-SCLM could be the origin of most subcalcic garnets in depleted peridotites.


Translation has a seemingly natural relation to migration in the sense that it transports words, ideas, and the expressions of life in an immediate awareness of other language, cultures, and societies. In the Caribbean Sea lie Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, three little islands bathed in the tropical sun, filled with the sounds and smells whispering of long lost ties to other continents. In this milieu a Creole language, Papiamentu, was born to become the mother tongue of those who called the islands home. To the world outside these islands, Creoles are deemed conservative systems of communication used by minuscule populations; however, through the senses and expressions, and especially the writings of Antillean authors, one quickly learns that Papiamentu and its literature has virtually the same features that are found in other languages and literatures. These authors live Papiamentu as their natural and legitimate form of expression wherein to make present the distinctive Afro-Caribbean timbre and rhythm of their language. They celebrate their language in their artistic and literary creations and in doing so aspire to secure a place for it in their culture, society, and history. The Curacaoan perhaps best recognized for his cultural sensitivities and commitments is Elis Juliana. His advanced age has not prevented him from doing what has fascinated him since his youth: documenting, compiling, collecting, and enacting the culture of his native Curacao. Not only has he opened a political and educational space for his beloved Papiamentu, but he has also foregrounded its cultural heritage, oral traditions, slavery, and its songs that mark those times long past. Elis Juliana was born August 8, 1927, in Willemstad, Curacao, one of the islands of the Netherlands Antilles. The poverty of his youth, as he recalls, was also the energy that ignited his mental and intellectual growth. Nor has the sense of wonder that characterized Elis as a boy abated in advanced age. As a boy he would look for hours at busy anthills imagining himself inside the tunnels working alongside the worker ants. Later, he spent many expeditionary hours capturing the tiniest details as he traveled from inside his own kura [yard] to out of the city and into the kunuku [countryside]. Already then Juliana's understanding exemplified a capacity for responsibility wherein the metric of life finds roots in the visceral sensibility of his body, so evident later in his arts. Juliana was still a youth when the Shell Petroleum Company attracted many newcomers to Curacao from the neighboring islands as well as from other continents. It was also the time of radio, and Cuban music could be heard everywhere. Theater and other cultural venues had their beginnings and enjoyed a wide following. Amid these cultural and technological changes, the young Juliana found his niche and began to develop a sense of identity. He worked at various jobs, including mechanic and bank teller. He also tried his hand at writing, often reciting his poetry and stories on the radio. While still in his teens, he worked as a comic and joined the Jolly Fellows Society, an organization of young men that was founded in 1946 with the aim to provide a forum for resistance of the Roman Catholic clergy, the official Dutch, as well as the Spanish language, which was much in vogue at the time. The meetings of the Society became an opportunity for reciting their writings in Papiamentu, for re-enacting their traditional tambu [Antillean drum] and seu [harvest] dances, and for reliving their annual carnival celebrations--all in service of giving voice to Papiamentu and its traditions in poetry, song, and dance (Rutgers 273-4). Flor di Datu [Cactus Flower], one of Juliana's early collections of poetry, endeavored to instill in his fellow Antilleans his sense of identity with Papiamentu, of course, but also with a social-political sense of their homeland. Juliana also extended his reach as an artist at this time and, with passion and patience, studied the history and culture of his native land and developed as a poet, storyteller, painter, and sculptor. …


OBJECT
The treatment of hydrocephalus requires insight into the intracranial dynamics in the patient. Resistance to CSF outflow (R0) is a clinically obtainable parameter of intracranial fluid dynamics that quantifies the apparent resistance to CSF absorption. It is used as a criterion for the selection of shunt candidates and serves as an indicator of shunt performance. The R0 is obtained clinically by performing 1 of 3 infusion tests: constant flow, constant pressure, or bolus infusion. Among these, the bolus infusion method has the shortest examination times and provides the shortest time of exposure of patients to artificially increased intracranial pressure (ICP) levels. However, for unknown reasons, the bolus infusion method systematically underestimates the R0. Here, the authors have tested and verified the hypothesis that this underestimation is due to lack of accounting for viscoelasticity of the craniospinal space in the calculation of the R0.

METHODS
The authors developed a phantom model of the human craniospinal space in order to reproduce in vivo pressure-volume (PV) relationships during infusion testing. The phantom model followed the Marmarou exponential PV equation and also included a viscoelastic response to volume changes. Parameters of intracranial fluid dynamics, such as the R0, could be controlled and set independently. In addition to the phantom model, the authors designed a computational framework for virtual infusion testing in which viscoelasticity can be turned on or off in a controlled manner. Constant flow, constant pressure, and bolus infusion tests were performed on the phantom model, as well as on the virtual computational platform, using standard clinical protocols. Values for the R0 were derived from each infusion test by using both a standard method based on the Marmarou PV equation and a novel method based on a system identification approach that takes into account viscoelastic behavior.

RESULTS
Experiments with the phantom model confirmed clinical observations that both the constant flow and constant pressure infusion tests, but not the bolus infusion test, yield correct R0 values when they are determined with the standard method according to Marmarou. Equivalent results were obtained using the computational framework. When the novel system identification approach was used to determine the R0, all of the 3 infusion tests yielded correct values for the R0. CONCLUSIONS" The authors' investigations demonstrate that intracranial dynamics have a substantial viscoelastic component. When this viscoelastic component is taken into account in calculations, the R0, is no longer underestimated in the bolus infusion test.


The Great Arab Revolt of 2011 has moved swiftly from the peaceful overthrow of autocrats in the nation-states of Tunisia and Egypt to brutal repression in the tribal societies of Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen.

Meanwhile, the wired youth bulge of the Middle East that brought change is dissipating into an impotent diaspora while the organized interests of the old regimes and the once-suppressed Islamists charge ahead to power. This section examines the revolt, the reaction and the power struggles in its aftermath.


Temporal difference and evolutionary methods are two of the most common approaches to solving reinforcement learning problems. However, there is little consensus on their relative merits and there have been few empirical studies that directly compare their performance. This article aims to address this shortcoming by presenting results of empirical comparisons between Sarsa and NEAT, two representative methods, in mountain car and keepaway, two benchmark reinforcement learning tasks. In each task, the methods are evaluated in combination with both linear and nonlinear representations to determine their best configurations. In addition, this article tests two specific hypotheses about the critical factors contributing to these methods' relative performance: 1) that sensor noise reduces the final performance of Sarsa more than that of NEAT, because Sarsa's learning updates are not reliable in the absence of the Markov property and 2) that stochasticity, by introducing noise in fitness estimates, reduces the learning speed of NEAT more than that of Sarsa. Experiments in variations of mountain car and keepaway designed to isolate these factors confirm both these hypotheses.


Abstract The Pindos Ophiolite rocks include variably serpentinized peridotites derived from a harzburgitic and subordinately dunitic mantle. In the serpentinized matrix of these rocks pseudomorphic (mesh, bastite) and non-pseudomorphic (interpenetrating, type-2 hourglass) textures were recognized. Chromian spinel (Cr-spinel) is anhedral to subhedral and often replaced by a porous opaque phase. Chemistry data show that Cr-spinel cores retain their original composition, having Cr#[Cr/(Cr + Al)] that ranges between 0.45 and 0.73, and Mg#[Mg/(Mg + Fe2+)] that varies between 0.52 and 0.65, accompanied by low content in TiO2 ( < 0.11wt. %). The relatively wide variation of their Cr# values reflects that the studied peridotites were produced by variable degrees of melting. It is likely that the Pindos peridotites represent mantle residues originally formed in a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) environment, which were subsequently entrapped as part of a mantle wedge above a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) regime. Cr-spinel adjacent to clinochlore systematically displays limited compositional and textural zoning along grain boundaries and fractures. However, the degree of peridotite serpentinization does not correlate with the abundance of zoning effects in accessory Cr-spinel. Thus, Cr-spinel zoning is thought to represent a secondary feature obtained during the metamorphic evolution of the host peridotites. Core to rim compositional trends are expressed by MgO and Al2O3 impoverishment, mainly compensated by Cr2O3 and FeO increases. Such chemical trends are produced as a result of Cr-spinel re-equilibration with the surrounding serpentine, and their subsequent replacement by ferrian (Fe3+-rich) chromite and clinochlore, respectively, during a brief, fluid assisted, greenschist facies metamorphism episode (T > 300 °C). The limited occurrence of ferrian chromite with high Fe3+# values suggests that elevated oxidizing conditions were prevalent only on a local scale during Cr-spinel alteration


The population of giant Canada geese (Branta canadensis maxima) breeding in eastern South Dakota has increased dramatically since reintroduction efforts began in the 1960s. May breeding population levels of giant Canada geese exceeded population management goals set by the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) by the mid-1990s, and the population has continued to increase into the 2000s. This population increase was accompanied by an increase in goose-related conflicts such as crop depredation. In 1996, a September hunting season was implemented in select counties in eastern South Dakota in an effort to reduce the giant Canada goose population. After its implementation, some hunters and biologists were concerned that the early September season was causing Canada geese to disperse from areas open to hunting due to hunting pressure. Herein, we describe post-molt movements by geese, particularly in relation to the September hunting season. We caught Canada geese in 7 counties in eastern South Dakota during the summer molting period, 2000 to 2003. We attached VHF (n = 153) and satellite transmitters (n = 43) on adult female geese with broods. We monitored movements of marked geese weekly from July through the fall freezing period. For this study, we considered major movements any post- molt movement ≥40 km from the wetland in which the goose was banded prior to October 15. Forty-six percent of marked geese made major movements from July to September, and 43% moved during the first week of the September season, indicating that the season may have triggered their post-molt movement. Major movements were primarily in a northerly direction, and the longest documented post-molt movement was 474 km north. It appears that the onset of the September hunting season may have caused geese to move immediately before or during the first 10 days of the season. Post-molt movements prior to the September hunting season may simply have been a function of established, learned traditions, but the punctuated movement of geese during the opening weekend of the hunting season may have resulted from geese responding to the hunting season itself.


Direct time-domain measurement of tunable optical delay in a silicon resonating structure is presented. The structure is composed by a double-ring resonator, whose spectrum has a narrow transparency peak with low group velocity analogous to that in electromagnetically induced transparency. Effective group indices from 90 to 290 are obtained by tuning the resonator thermally. The measurements agree well with the theoretical analysis.


"The Periplus Maris Erythraei," "Circumnavigation of the Red Sea," is the single most important source of information for ancient Rome's maritime trade in these waters (i.e., the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and western Indian Ocean). Written in the first century A.D. by a Greek merchant or skipper, it is a short manual for the traders who sailed from the Red Sea ports of Roman Egypt to buy and sell in the various ports along the coast of eastern Africa, southern Arabia, and western India. This edition, in many ways the culmination of a lifetime of study devoted to Rome's merchant marine and her trade with the east, provides an improved text of the Periplus, along with a lucid and reliable translation, a comprehensive general commentary that treats in particular the numerous obscure place-names and technical terms that occur, and a technical commentary that deals with grammatical, lexicographical, and textual matters for readers competent in Greek. An extensive introduction places the Periplus in its historical context.


The microwave humidity sounders Special Sensor Microwave Water Vapor Profiler (SSMT-2), Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-B (AMSU-B) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) to date have been providing data records for 25 years. So far, the data records lack uncertainty information essential for constructing consistent long time data series. In this study, we assess the quality of the recorded data with respect to the uncertainty caused by noise. We calculate the noise on the raw calibration counts from the deep space views (DSVs) of the instrument and the noise equivalent differential temperature (NEΔT) as a measure for the radiometer sensitivity. For this purpose, we use the Allan deviation that is not biased from an underlying varying mean of the data and that has been suggested only recently for application in atmospheric remote sensing. Moreover, we use the bias function related to the Allan deviation to infer the underlying spectrum of the noise. As examples, we investigate the noise spectrum in flight for some instruments. For the assessment of the noise evolution in time, we provide a descriptive and graphical overview of the calculated NEΔT over the life span of each instrument and channel. This overview can serve as an easily accessible information for users interested in the noise performance of a specific instrument, channel and time. Within the time evolution of the noise, we identify periods of instrumental degradation, which manifest themselves in an increasing NEΔT, and periods of erratic behaviour, which show sudden increases of NEΔT interrupting the overall smooth evolution of the noise. From this assessment and subsequent exclusion of the aforementioned periods, we present a chart showing available data records with NEΔT  <  1 K. Due to overlapping life spans of the instruments, these reduced data records still cover without gaps the time since 1994 and may therefore serve as a first step for constructing long time series. Our method for count noise estimation, that has been used in this study, will be used in the data processing to provide input values for the uncertainty propagation in the generation of a new set of Fundamental Climate Data Records (FCDRs) that are currently produced in the project Fidelity and Uncertainty in Climate data records from Earth Observation (FIDUCEO).


Considering the characteristics and particularities of services such as inseparability, perishability and variability, which make them ephemeral and little tangible, non-storable, and non-patentable, we can have a clear idea of the complexity that exists in planning, operating and solving problems in service companies. This situation demands the use of a different vision to analyze and study these companies and their problems. Therefore, the systems approach is presented and used for the construction of a conceptual model, as a support framework to situate and organize our perceptions, fix the structure of the problem, delimit the area of interest and define the relevant and non-relevant aspects. With the systems vision, we have been able to use the three basic forms of planning for decision making (strategic, tactical and operative) in the construction of a conceptual model. The methodology used that integrates these three basic forms of planning is presented in a logical-formal guide for the construction of the conceptual model of the service company. This representation identifies the basic elements of a business model such as customers, value proposition, infrastructure and information for decision making, as well as their interactions. The model obtained is simple, relevant, and easy to understand and at the same time does not oversimplify the complex operation of a service company.


Learning rates for least-squares regression are typically expressed in terms of $L_2$-norms. In this paper we extend these rates to norms stronger than the $L_2$-norm without requiring the regression function to be contained in the hypothesis space. In the special case of Sobolev reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces used as hypotheses spaces, these stronger norms coincide with fractional Sobolev norms between the used Sobolev space and $L_2$. As a consequence, not only the target function but also some of its derivatives can be estimated without changing the algorithm. From a technical point of view, we combine the well-known integral operator techniques with an embedding property, which so far has only been used in combination with empirical process arguments. This combination results in new finite sample bounds with respect to the stronger norms. From these finite sample bounds our rates easily follow. Finally, we prove the asymptotic optimality of our results in many cases.


We report on the frequency and stress dependence of the direct piezoelectric d33 coefficient in BiFeO3 ceramics. The measurements reveal considerable piezoelectric nonlinearity, i.e., dependence of d33 on the amplitude of the dynamic stress. The nonlinear response suggests a large irreversible contribution of non-180 domain walls to the piezoelectric response of the ferrite, which, at present measurement conditions, reached a maximum of 38% of the total measured d33. In agreement with this interpretation, both types of non-180 domain walls, characteristic for the rhombohedral BiFeO3, i.e., 71 and 109, were identified in the poled ceramics using transmission electron microscopy. In support to the link between nonlinearity and non-180 domain-wall contribution, we found a correlation between nonlinearity and processes leading to depinning of domain walls from defects, such as quenching from above the Curie temperature and high-temperature sintering. In addition, the nonlinear piezoelectric response of BiFeO3 showed a frequency dependence that is qualitatively different from that measured in other nonlinear ferroelectric ceramics, such as "soft" (donor-doped) Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT), i.e., in the case of the BiFeO3 large nonlinearities were observed only at low field frequencies (<0.1Hz); possible origins of this dispersion are discussed. Finally, we show that, once released from pinning centers, the domain walls can contribute extensively to the electromechanical response of BiFeO3; in fact, the extrinsic domain-wall contribution is relatively as large as in Pb-based ferroelectric ceramics with morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) composition, such as PZT. This finding might be important in the search of new lead-free MPB compositions based on BiFeO3 as it suggests that such compositions might also exhibit large extrinsic domain-wall contribution to the piezoelectric response.


Education is a fundamental right of all children, including those with special educational needs. Efforts to achieve education for all has resulted in the focused attention of governments around the world, thereby improving the quality of education in schools and leading to dignified social status for students previously marginalized and/or denied admission to schools.
 This worldwide movement following various international conventions and mandates has resulted in local efforts to reach rural remote areas, with education provided by the government in most countries. Though there has been significant progress in reaching children, it has not been uniform. There are still many barriers for children in rural and tribal areas or in remote parts of the country that prevent them from receiving equitable education. The essence of inclusive education is to build the capacity to reach out to all children, thereby promoting equity. In the 1990s, special needs education was a focus, and integrating it into the overall educational system led to reforms in mainstream schools which resulted in inclusive education that addressed the diverse learning needs of children. How successful have we been in these efforts particularly in the remote and rural areas?
 There are various models and practices for special and inclusive education in rural and remote areas, but reaching children with special educational needs in such areas is still a challenge. Though there are schools in these areas, not all are sufficiently equipped to address the education of children with special needs. Furthermore, teachers working in rural areas in many countries are not adequately trained to teach those with special needs, nor are there the technological support systems that we find available in urban areas. Yet, interestingly, in some rural/tribal communities, the teachers are naturally at ease with children with diverse needs. The schools in such areas tend to have heterogeneous classes with one teacher providing instruction to combined groups at different grade levels. Evidence shows that rural teachers are less resistant to including children with special needs compared to urban teachers. Because of their homogeneous lifestyle, community supports in rural areas offer another supportive factor toward smooth inclusion. Though primary education is ensured in most rural and remote areas, children have to travel long distances to semi-urban/urban areas for secondary and higher education; such travel is further complicated when the child has a disability.
 In many rural areas, children with special needs tend to learn the traditional job skills naturally associated with that area, though such skills are not always blended into the school curriculum. Preparing teachers to provide education in rural areas with the latest technological developments and a focus on vocation is bound to make that education more meaningful and naturally inclusive.


A new multiscale coupling method is proposed for elliptic problems with highly oscillatory coefficients with a continuum of scales in a subset of the computational domain and scale separation in complementary regions of the computational domain. A discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element heterogeneous multiscale method (FE-HMM) is used in the region with scale separation, while a continuous standard finite element method is used in the region without scale separation. The use of a DG-FE-HMM method allows for a flexible meshing of the different models in the overlapping region. The unknown boundary conditions at the interfaces are obtained by minimizing the error of the two models in the overlapping region. We prove the well-posedness of both the continuous and discrete coupling problems and establish convergence of the multiscale method towards the fine scale solution. Since in the region with scale separation we obtain an approximation at a cost independent of the smallest scale in the problem, the computational cost of the multiscale method is significantly smaller than a fine scale solver over the whole computational domain, while the algorithm allows us to treat situations for which standard numerical homogenization methods do not apply.


In the current study I explore the relationship between epistemology andmethodology through a reanalysis of production data on grammatical gender in additionallanguage Spanish that were analysed in Gudmestad et al. (2019). This reanalysis consists of a shift in the epistemology from the one adopted by Gudmestad et al., where gender marking, which occurs between nouns and both determiners and adjectives, is a unified linguistic phenomenon. In contrast, the assumption in the present investigation is that the acquisition of gender marking entails learning gender assignment and gender agreement, two different learning processes that are observable in language behaviour with determiners and adjectives, respectively. In order to reflect critically on the relationship between epistemology and methodology and specifically on its influence on the interpretation of learner data, I conduct a multi-step analysis that is guided by the differentiation between gender assignment, which can be observed on determiners, and gender agreement, which can be observed on adjectives. I also discuss how the interpretation of the findings can be impacted by the epistemology that guides the current study.


Easy reuse and integration of declaratively described information in a distributed setting is one of the main motivations for building the Semantic Web. Despite of this claim, reuse and recombination of RDF data today is mostly done using data replication and procedural code. A simple declarative mechanism for reusing and combining RDF data would help users to generate content for the semantic web. Having such a mechanism, the Semantic Web could better benefit from user generated content, as it is broadly present in the so called Web 2.0, but also from better linkage of existing content.
 We propose Networked Graphs, which allow users to define RDF graphs both, by extensionally listing content, but also by using views on other graphs. These views can be used to include parts of other graphs, to transform data before including it and to denote rules. The relationships between graphs are described declaratively using SPARQL queries and an extension of the SPARQL semantics. Networked Graphs are easily exchangeable between and interpretable on different computers. Using existing protocols, Networked Graphss can be evaluated in a distributed setting.


This research presents an exploratory study among touch-based and touchless interfaces selected to teleoperate a highly dexterous surgical robot. The possibility of incorporating touchless interfaces into the surgical arena may provide surgeons with the ability to engage in telerobotic surgery similarly as if they were operating with their bare hands. On the other hand, precision and sensibility may be lost. To explore the advantages and drawbacks of these modalities, five interfaces were selected to send navigational commands to the Taurus robot in the system: Omega, Hydra, and a keyboard. The first represented touch-based, while Leap Motion and Kinect were selected as touchless interfaces. Three experimental designs were selected to test the system, based on standardized surgically related tasks and clinically relevant performance metrics measured to evaluate the user's performance, learning rates, control stability, and interaction naturalness. The current work provides a benchmark and validation framework for the comparison of these two groups of interfaces and discusses their potential for current and future adoption in the surgical setting.


The past decade has been an exciting period for foot and mouth disease (FMD) control and elimination efforts. The progressive control pathway for FMD (PCP-FMD) was developed to provide a novel stepwise methodology for a risk management and cost effective approach to FMD control. These guidelines are designed to guide and assess national or sub-national vaccination programmes at various stages of PCP-FMD; and can be equally helpful for regaining FMD free status following the incursion of FMD virus in previously free countries or those where vaccination is to be discontinued.


There are distinct differences between terrorism and crime risk. Despite heightened levels of fear, acts of terrorism are extremely rare, especially, when compared with high volume crime (e.g. burglary, auto theft, criminal damage) and even crimes against the person such as violence and assault. There are clear differences between criminal offenders and terrorists in motivation, ultimate goals and target selection. For example, economic gain and personal gratification underpin most criminal offending, whereas, terrorists are driven by ideology and seek advance a political, ideological or religious cause. For offenders, suitable targets include property, cash, vulnerable people, but for terrorists, may be iconic buildings, establishment figures and religious gatherings.

However, when it comes to capable guardianship against terrorism and crime there appears to be less of a difference with much of this being provided through the vigilance of residents, visitors, employees, law enforcement agencies and surveillance systems.

This Paper looks at the nature and role of guardianship in blocking off opportunities for terrorism and how far this differs from its use as a means of protection against crime. Factors that constitute 'guardianship' in the context of terrorism are explored (e.g. vigilance against 'radicalisation'); those with the capacity to guard against terrorism are identified and the challenges of providing effective guardianship against terrorism are discussed.

Particular attention is paid to how far the mechanisms embedded in the notion of 'broken windows' as a trigger for crime, also apply to terrorism. The focus here is on whether or not equivalent factors to indifference to anti social behaviour and vandalism, that signal to offenders that they have the 'green light' to offend unchallenged, exist as precursors to terrorism. Possible candidates include desensitisation to and acceptance of hate speech and incitement leading to the justification of and ultimately perpetration for terrorist acts.


This study investigated the prevalence of problem solving and design approaches in the teaching of Woodwork at Secondary School level.
A case study of one secondary school was conducted in 1988, involving over 200 pupils in Forms one and three, and five teachers in the Woodwork department.
Questionnaires were the main means of collecting data. Informal methods, which included: interviews, document analysis and observations were also used.
It was found that pupils had limited autonomy in practical work. For instance, teachers played the major role in deciding the articles made. Also, pupils could not proceed to a new stage without consulting their teachers. Generally, pupils felt, they were not encouraged to come up with their own ideas although the teachers did not agree to this.
The results indicated that teaching was still mainly based on craft approaches. Some characteristics of problem solving and design were also identified in the teaching but they were minimal.


Nowadays, when the fast-paced world is presented almost everyone's life, the role of the rest and the recreation is gettting more emphasized. It becomes more important to the people where, with whom and in what kind of circumstances they are willing to spend their free time, and how much money they are willing to pay for it. They can find recreation in countless type of tourism, depending on they wish to spend their rest actively or passively. The growing demand of tourism infers the growing supply of tourism and diversity too. Parallel to this the needs of the people who want to relax increase. In case of a tourist destination it is more and more determinative how they can offer various types and quality of services for their guests how they can cooperate in the region in the area or in the same settlement with other service-units, who can even be their competitors. Morahalom in Hungary is a good example for that where the cooperation between the several service-units is exemplary. That is why I choose my research's topic: analyzing the Thermal Panzio in Morahalom. The accommodation service is an area where services are used by all age-group regardless of age and gender. Thus, the target group could include almost everybody. The purpose of my work is to examine the importance of the Thermal Panzio, on the other hand, to do the interrelation and relationship testing among the guests of the pension. The latter is done after the results of my quantitative research among the guests in the pension in 2013. My research focuses on three aims A1: To examine the coverage -, the requisition of the offered services-, the price-value ratio of the rooms-, and the family-friendly nature of the Thermal Panzio among the guests. A2: To map the relationship of the pension's guests and Morahalom (visiting of the city, knowledge of attractions). A3: Examination of the guests of the Thermal Panzio (with whom, with what, and when they arrived).


Abstract : Over the past 15 years, the United States has been involved in seven major post-conflict reconstruction and stabilization operations. The ad hoc responses that characterized U.S. stabilization efforts in these missions have often proven inadequate. On each mission, our government has struggled to provide a responsive and enduring solution. The consequences have been the unnecessary loss of life, damage to infrastructure, and higher eventual costs for reconstruction and stabilization. Our unpreparedness to response to the instability in post-war Iraq has met with sharp criticism. In response to these failings, the Bush administration established the U.S. Department of State (DOS) Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS). This paper will analyze the function of S/CRS, examine the organization's relationship with the military, and offer Department of Defense (DOD) policy recommendations to improve interagency cooperation with this new organization.


Logan Melder WAIT TIME IN THE CLASSROOM 2009/10 Valarie Lee, Ed.D. Master of Science in Teaching Degree The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing wait time, the time interval after a teacher poses a verbal question to students and when a teacher calls on a student, as it affects the amount of class participation. There were two phases of the study: phase one was teaching using unmodified wait time for five days, and phase two was modified wait time, extending it to a minimum of three second for an additional five day period. In this study I played both roles of teacher and researcher. The teaching sessions were observed and recorded during the daily twenty minute language arts lesson. Wait time was modified with the help of a large timer placed in the rear of the classroom to insure that the three second time period was provided. The study found that the average amount of wait time given during the first phase was only 1.376 seconds and the class responded averaging 2.452 hands raised. With the implementation of a three second wait time after each question, the amount of class participation increased dramatically with an increase of over 300% in the amount of students responding to questioned by raising their hands. After completing this study, I feel that implementing increased wait time into the everyday practice of the classroom will increase the amount of classroom participation, as it did in my classroom.


Millions of researchers all around the world have profiles on academic social network sites, such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, or Mendeley. Still these channels are hardly used for impact assessment. While scientific impact has traditionally been measured with bibliometrics, social media provide new avenues for influence measurement (Altmetrics). We focus on one specific type of social media, namely academic social network sites. How can such platforms provide insights into scientific impact and add to Altmetrics? To answer this question, we rely on a social network analysis of a research community on ResarchGate. The underlying data was provided by the platform provider. It contains detailed interaction and publication information of 55 faculty members of a Swiss public university. We apply a structural perspective and use centrality measures as core indicators of influence within the network.
Our analysis proceeds in three steps: First, we describe the network structure in terms of classical SNA metrics. Second, we analyze whether researchers' network centrality is associated with other metrics of influence, namely: (a) activity on the platform (b) traditional metrics of scholarly influence (i.e. mainly bibliographic criteria), and (c) academic position. Third, we compare the network structure with that of participants' co-authorship pattern.
Our findings show that activity on the platform is the best predictor of impact within the network, while publication success and academic play less of a role. Implications for research and practice are provided.


The paper deals with the characterization of a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) used in electric traction applications. First of all, the main data (the output power and desired speed) of the electric traction application are defined. Starting from these elements, the PMSM is characterized by means of analytical, numerical and test obtained results. Thus, several design elements are stated in order to characterize globally the studied PMSM. Next, the control for such a motor is employed by means of numerical computation (by using the finite element method and the field oriented control technique). Finally, the PMSM for electric traction application is tested on bench, the obtained results being satisfactory.


A power law relationship is established between wavelength usage and algebraic connectivity of backbone wavelength division multiplexing networks. From this observation, a concise prediction formula linking wavelength consumption to network topologies is derived and evaluated for real-world wide area networks. It is shown that the algebraic-connectivity-based wavelength usage estimation is more precise than evaluations relying on node degree variance, number of spanning trees, and average internodal distance.


Single-nephron proximal tubule pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) can exhibit highly irregular oscillations similar to deterministic chaos. We used a mathematical model of tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) to investigate potential sources of the irregular oscillations and the corresponding complex power spectra in SHR. A bifurcation analysis of the TGF model equations, for nonzero thick ascending limb (TAL) NaCl permeability, was performed by finding roots of the characteristic equation, and numerical simulations of model solutions were conducted to assist in the interpretation of the analysis. These techniques revealed four parameter regions, consistent with TGF gain and delays in SHR, where multiple stable model solutions are possible: 1) a region having one stable, time-independent steady-state solution; 2) a region having one stable oscillatory solution only, of frequency f1; 3) a region having one stable oscillatory solution only, of frequency f2, which is approximately equal to 2f1; and 4) a region having two possible stable oscillatory solutions, of frequencies f1 and f2. In addition, we conducted simulations in which TAL volume was assumed to vary as a function of time and simulations in which two or three nephrons were assumed to have coupled TGF systems. Four potential sources of spectral complexity in SHR were identified: 1) bifurcations that permit switching between different stable oscillatory modes, leading to multiple spectral peaks and their respective harmonic peaks; 2) sustained lability in delay parameters, leading to broadening of peaks and of their harmonics; 3) episodic, but abrupt, lability in delay parameters, leading to multiple peaks and their harmonics; and 4) coupling of small numbers of nephrons, leading to multiple peaks and their harmonics. We conclude that the TGF system in SHR may exhibit multistability and that the complex power spectra of the irregular TGF fluctuations in this strain may be explained by switching between multiple dynamic modes, temporal variation in TGF parameters, and nephron coupling.


Addressing environmentally safe management of waste is becoming increasingly a challenging task. The predicament of the rate at which waste is generated due to increasing populations is also contributing to this challenge. One possible approach for effectively handling waste can be achieved by source reduction and recycling. The problem, however, improving the collection of waste can be costly particularly during the source separation process after waste is collected. It would be desirable if there exists a mechanism that can help municipalities, local governments or waste management companies to monitor in real-time sources of violations prior to the waste collection process. In this paper, we introduce recycle.io, an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled waste management system that is based on a serverless architecture that can identify these sources of violations. Using recycle.io, it is then possible to track the violations geographically which can help local governments, for example, to improve or enforce tighter regulations for waste disposal. Our recycle.io system uses Microsoft Azure IoT Hub for device management. Throughout the paper, we demonstrate usefulness of using our approach for urban waste management in smart cities.


This paper presents a summary of the history, process of the development, and design of the Houston-Galveston Navigation Channels widening and deepening project. The Houston-Galveston Navigation Channels Project will widen and deepen the Houston Ship Channel from 40 feet x 400 feet to 45 feet x 530 feet over a 53.5 mile distance from the Gulf of Mexico to the confluence of Buffalo and Boggy Bayous. Over the 50-year project life of initial construction and maintenance of the channel, some 3,889 acres of marsh, upland, and colonial water bird habitat will be created under the Beneficial Uses Plan. The Beneficial Uses Plan will have a net positive environmental benefit on the Galveston Bay eco-system and is not a mitigation plan, but recognizes and treats dredged material as a resource. The project demonstrates that improvements to commerce and navigation are compatible with the need for environmental restoration. The process for the development of the Beneficial Uses Plan is unique in that a partnership of resource agencies along with the federal and local sponsors defined the final plan. The process has proved to be very successful and can be adapted to other navigation projects.


Physiological properties of central nervous system neurons infected with a pseudorabies virus were examined in vitro by using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. A strain of pseudorabies virus (PRV 152) isogenic with the Bartha strain of PRV was constructed to express an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) from the human cytomegalovirus immediate early promoter. Unilateral PRV 152 injections into the vitreous body of the hamster eye transsynaptically infected a restricted set of retinorecipient neurons including neurons in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) of the thalamus. Retinorecipient SCN neurons were identified in tissue slices prepared for in vitro electrophysiological analysis by their expression of EGFP. At longer postinjection times, retinal ganglion cells in the contralateral eye also expressed EGFP, becoming infected after transsynaptic uptake and retrograde transport from infected retinorecipient neurons. Retinal ganglion cells that expressed EGFP were easily identified in retinal whole mounts viewed under epifluorescence. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings revealed that the physiological properties of PRV 152-infected SCN neurons were within the range of properties observed in noninfected SCN neurons. Physiological properties of retinal ganglion cells also appeared normal. The results suggest that PRV 152 is a powerful tool for the transsynaptic labeling of neurons in defined central nervous system circuits that allows neurons to be identified in vitro by their expression of EGFP, analyzed electrophysiologically, and described in morphological detail.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the plausibility of radiation as a cause of the statistically unusual event of two cardiologists in Toronto, Ontario who were diagnosed with brain tumours in 1997.

DESIGN
Computation of the expected occurrence of brain cancer in Ontario cardiologists and review of the epidemiological literature pertaining to radiation and brain cancer.

DATA SYNTHESIS
The occurrence of these two cases is a statistically unusual event--a 'cluster'. There are several plausible explanations for this cluster. First, this may be a chance occurrence, and the tumours may have no causative factors in common. Second, the cause may be radiation exposure. A connection to occupational radiation exposure is biologically plausible, but risk assessment suggests that it is unlikely that this effect would have been observable in the small population of Ontario cardiologists.

CONCLUSIONS
Initiation of brain tumours during cardiac fluoroscopic procedures is plausible. Physicians are reminded to practise radiation safety methods during fluoroscopic procedures. The diagnosis of two additional brain tumours in Canadian interventional cardiologists during the past 10 years would confirm the occupational causation theory. The author invites physicians to report knowledge of the diagnosis of brain tumours in Canadian cardiologists to the author or to the editors.


In this paper, we introduce Recipe1M, a new large-scale, structured corpus of over 1m cooking recipes and 800k food images. As the largest publicly available collection of recipe data, Recipe1M affords the ability to train high-capacity models on aligned, multi-modal data. Using these data, we train a neural network to find a joint embedding of recipes and images that yields impressive results on an image-recipe retrieval task. Additionally, we demonstrate that regularization via the addition of a high-level classification objective both improves retrieval performance to rival that of humans and enables semantic vector arithmetic. We postulate that these embeddings will provide a basis for further exploration of the Recipe1M dataset and food and cooking in general. Code, data and models are publicly available


A series of crosslinked ionomer networks of varying poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate crosslinker chain length, ionic co-monomer chemistry, and co-monomer ratio have been studied for their use as polysulfide shuttle inhibiting separators in magnesium-sulfur (Mg-S) batteries. Through the use of X-ray scattering, polysulfide diffusion experiments, conductivity measurements, and Mg-S cell cycling, it was determined that inclusion of tethered anions in polymer networks mitigates the polysulfide shuttle effect. Polysulfide crossover through networks into a bulk electrolyte can be reduced by absorption into the polymer gel, steric rejection, and electrostatic rejection, with the predominance of these mechanisms dictated by polymer composition and structure. The best network composition allowed an initial Mg-S cell discharge capacity of 522 mAh/g compared to a discharge capacity of 365 mAh/g using a literature standard glass fiber separator. The ionomer cell saw 67% capacity retention after three cycles, whereas the glass fiber separator could not complete the first charging cycle due to polysulfide shuttle.


Exciton polaritons in semiconductor microcavities exhibit many fundamental physical effects, with some of them amenable to being controlled by external fields. The polariton transport is affected by the polaritonic spin–orbit interaction, which is caused by the splitting of transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic modes. This is the basis for a polaritonic Hall effect, called the optical spin Hall effect (OSHE), which is related to the formation of spin/polarization textures in momentum space, determining anisotropic ballistic transport, as well as related textures in real space. Owing to Coulombic interactions between the excitonic components of the polaritons, optical excitation of polaritons can affect the OSHE. We present a theoretical analysis of the OSHE and its optical control in semiconductor double microcavities, i.e., two optically coupled cavities, which are particularly well suited for the creation of polaritonic reservoirs that affect the spin-texture-forming polaritons. The theory is formulated in terms of a set of double-cavity spinor-polariton Gross–Pitaevskii equations. Numerical solutions feature, among other things, a controlled rotation of the spin texture in momentum space. The theory also allows for an identification of the effective magnetic field component that determines the optical control in phenomenological pseudo-spin models in terms of exciton interactions and the polariton density in the second lower polariton branch.


We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients to evaluate the effect of cisapride on gastric emptying using an acetaminophen absorption model. We enrolled 72 patients expected to remain in the ICU for more than 48 h; 39% were female; the average age was 54.0 +/- 19.1 yr; 47% were postoperative, 83% were receiving narcotics, and the mean simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) was 9.5 +/- 3.0. Within 72 h of admission to ICU, 1.6 g of acetaminophen suspension was administered via a nasogastric tube into the stomach (Day 1). Blood samples were drawn at baseline, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 min for measurement of plasma acetaminophen levels. The following morning (Day 2), patients were randomized to receive 20 mg of cisapride or placebo and gastric emptying was again assessed. The difference (Day 2-Day 1) in the maximal plasma concentration was 49.1 mumol/L in the cisapride groups compared with 12.3 mumol/L in the placebo group (p = 0.005) and the time to reach maximal concentration was significantly shorter in the cisapride group (-40.8 min versus -4.2 min, p = 0.02). The difference in area under the time-acetaminophen concentration curve was also greater in the patients receiving cisapride (5,534 versus 2,832, p = 0.09). We conclude that cisapride enhances gastric emptying in critically ill patients. Studies to examine the effect of cisapride on tolerance to enteral nutrition, infectious morbidity, and other clinically important outcomes are warranted.


This thesis studied the effect of (i) the number of grating components and (ii) parameter randomisation on root-mean-square (r.m.s.) contrast sensitivity and spatial integration. The effectiveness of spatial integration without external spatial noise depended on the number of equally spaced orientation components in the sum of gratings. The critical area marking the saturation of spatial integration was found to decrease when the number of components increased from 1 to 5-6 but increased again at 8-16 components. The critical area behaved similarly as a function of the number of grating components when stimuli consisted of 3, 6 or 16 components with different orientations and/or phases embedded in spatial noise. Spatial integration seemed to depend on the global Fourier structure of the stimulus. Spatial integration was similar for sums of two vertical cosine or sine gratings with various Michelson contrasts in noise. The critical area for a grating sum was found to be a sum of logarithmic critical areas for the component gratings weighted by their relative Michelson contrasts. The human visual system was modelled as a simple image processor where the visual stimuli is first low-pass filtered by the optical modulation transfer function of the human eye and secondly high-pass filtered, up to the spatial cut-off frequency determined by the lowest neural sampling density, by the neural modulation transfer function of the visual pathways. The internal noise is then added before signal interpretation occurs in the brain. The detection is mediated by a local spatially windowed matched filter. The model was extended to include complex stimuli and its applicability to the data was found to be successful. The shape of spatial integration function was similar for non-randomised and randomised simple and complex gratings. However, orientation and/or phase randomised reduced r.m.s contrast sensitivity by a factor of 2. The effect of parameter randomisation on spatial integration was modelled under the assumption that human observers change the observer strategy from cross-correlation (i.e., a matched filter) to auto-correlation detection when uncertainty is introduced to the task. The model described the data accurately.


Traditional systems performance engineering makes do with vendor-supplied metrics, often involving interpretation and inference, and with numerous blind spots. Much in the field of systems performance is still living in the past: documentation, procedures, and analysis GUIs built upon the same old metrics. For modern systems, we can choose the metrics, and can choose ones we need to support new holistic performance analysis methodologies. These methodologies provide faster, more accurate, and more complete analysis, and can provide a starting point for unfamiliar systems. Methodologies are especially helpful for modern applications and their workloads, which can pose extremely complex problems with no obvious starting point. There are also continuous deployment environments such as the Netflix cloud, where these problems must be solved in shorter time frames. Fortunately, with advances in system observability and tracers, we have virtually endless custom metrics to aid performance analysis. The problem becomes which metrics to use, and how to navigate them quickly to locate the root cause of problems. System methodologies provide a starting point for analysis, as well as guidance for quickly moving through the metrics to root cause. They also pose questions that the existing metrics may not yet answer, which may be critical in solving the toughest problems. System methodologies include the USE method, workload characterization, drill-down analysis, off-CPU analysis, and more. This talk will discuss various system performance issues, and the methodologies, tools, and processes used to solve them. The focus is on single systems (any operating system), including single cloud instances, and quickly locating performance issues or exonerating the system. Many methodologies will be discussed, along with recommendations for their implementation, which may be as documented checklists of tools, or custom dashboards of supporting metrics. In general, you will learn to think differently about your systems, and how to ask better questions.


Using a mixed-method approach, with TV diaries, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, this study of the audience reception of cross- and transmedia extensions to TV drama finds that most people consume only marketing-driven cross-media extensions and are not looking for a strong engagement with a fictional storyworld through transmedia extensions. The lack of enthusiasm for cross- and transmedia extensions might be explained by the mismatch between the expected viewing motivations of the producers of TV drama and the viewing motivations of the people watching. The TV producers seek an audience looking for immersion in a multiplatform narrative story, but the audience is mainly interested in being entertained by TV episodes.


This study introduces the application of a hyperbolic browser for (1) classroom pedagogy and (2) curriculum administration of university accounting programs. A key pedagogy benefit for students is a tool which provides information visualization of accounting processes and facilitates the development of information acquisition skills. This approach gives faculty organizational coursework knowledge management control. The hyperbolic browser can also be adapted to knowledge management of academic accounting department curriculum.


A total of 320 nursery pigs (DNA; 241 × 600; initially 22.9 lb BW) were used in a 21-d growth trial to determine the available P (aP) release curve for Smizyme TS G5 2,500 (Origination, Inc., Saint Paul, MN). Pigs were weaned at approximately 21 d of age, randomly allotted to pens based on initial body weight (BW), and fed common starter diets. On d 21 post-weaning, considered d 0 of the study, pens were blocked by BW and randomly allotted to 1 of 8 dietary treatments with 5 pigs per pen and 8 pens per treatment. Eight 1-ton batches of basal diet were manufactured and subsequently divided to be the major portion of experimental diets. Dietary treatments were formulated to include increasing aP derived from either an inorganic P source (0.12%, 0.18%, or 0.24% from monocalcium P) or increasing phytase (150, 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 FTU/kg). Diets were corn-soybean meal-based and contained 1.24% standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine with other amino acids set to meet or exceed NRC requirement estimates. Prior to beginning the 21-d study, all pigs were fed the negative control diet containing 0.12% aP for a 3-d period (d 18 to 21 post-weaning). Diets containing phytase were submitted for complete phytase analysis (Eurofins Scientific Inc., Des Moines, IA) using the AOAC official method 2000.12 and analyzed concentrations were 190, 310, 500, 790, or 850 FTU/kg. On d 21 of the experiment, the pig closest to the mean BW in each pen was euthanized and the right and left fibula were collected to determine bone ash. One fibula from each animal was processed with defatting, and the other fibula was processed without defatting. Overall (d 0 to 21), pigs fed increasing aP from inorganic P or phytase had improved (linear, P < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency (F/G), and final BW. Additionally, pigs fed increasing aP from phytase had increased (linear, P < 0.01) average daily feed intake (ADFI). For the defatted bones, pigs fed increasing aP from inorganic P had increased (linear, P < 0.01) bone ash weights, resulting in increased (quadratic, P < 0.01) percentage bone ash, while those fed increasing levels of phytase had increased (linear, P < 0.01) bone ash weights and percentage bone ash. Similarly, using the non-defatted analytical method, pigs fed increasing aP from either inorganic P or phytase had increased (linear, P < 0.01) bone ash weights and percentage bone ash. The aP release increased (linear, P < 0.01) for all criteria up to the highest phytase dose when using ADG, F/G, or bone ash weight as the indicator of release, in contrast to using percentage bone ash of defatted bones which increased in a quadratic fashion (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the magnitude of aP release at different FTU inclusion rates depends on the response criteria, but Smizyme TS G5 2,500 appears to have a similar aP release to other commercially available phytase sources.


One of the controversial debates among traders and investment IT professionals today revolves around the concept of OEMS: whether to use a single integrated Order and Execution Management System vs. a separate Order Management System (OMS) and Execution Management System (EMS).Are they best left separate or can a unified system optimize results for buy-side firms requiring typical OMS and EMS functionality? Can this approach really help firms respond to pressures caused by changes in market structure, increased regulation, and evolving automated trading strategies? Are concerns surrounding speed, cost, data, and access to trading destinations valid? This article reviews the pros and cons and debunks the three most often cited areas of debate for having separate systems:1) you can't accomplish OMS and EMS functionality in one platform, 2) an OEMS is not scalable enough or real-time market data enabled, and 3) there are no substantial trading issues with keeping an OMS and EMS separate.


OBJECTIVE A survey of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) in the Pacific island population of Western Samoa in 1978 (n = 1,206) documented a relatively high prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and obesity. A follow- up survey was performed in 1991 (n = 1,776) to assess changes in NCD prevalence and risk factor distribution over 13 years. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In both surveys, the same representative villages from one urban and two rural areas were studied, and the survey procedure included an oral glucose tolerance test, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and physical activity assessment (1991 only). RESULTS The age-standardized prevalence of NIDDM in 1991 was 9.5 and 13.4% in Apia (urban) for men and women, respectively. In Poutasi (rural), 5.3% of men and 5.6% of women had NIDDM, and in Tuasivi (rural) the prevalence was 7.0 and 7.5% for men and women, respectively. Age, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip circumference ratio, physical inactivity, and family history of diabetes all showed independent association with NIDDM and impaired glucose tolerance. Living in Apia (compared with Poutasi) was also associated with NIDDM. Between 1978 and 1991, the age-standardized prevalence of NIDDM in Apia increased from 8.1 to 9.5% in men and 8.2 to 13.4% in women. In Poutasi, a dramatic increase occurred in prevalence from 0.1 to 5.3% in men, but little change in women was noted (5.4 to 5.6%). In Tuasivi, the increases were 2.3 to 7.0% in men and 4.4 to 7.5% in women. In combined survey areas, increases were observed in the agestandardized prevalence of obesity and mean levels of total cholesterol, fasting triglycerides, and uric acid between surveys as well as a reduction in the prevalence of smoking. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study using standardized methods to show a dramatic increase in the prevalence of NIDDM in a developing Pacific island population, and it indicates the importance of maintaining and expanding preventive programs for NIDDM and related lifestyle diseases in these populations.


Lithuania has been progressing rapidly in the privatization of agriculture and the development of market economy mechanisms. An important component of the transition reforms has been the deregulation of input, farm, and consumer prices. The context, processes, and results of the price policies are examined for the major food and agricultural products. As of November 1992, real input prices and consumer prices have increased, while real farm prices and real wages have declined compared with prereform levels in 1990. The large gap that previously existed between retail prices in state stores and private market levels food and agricultural product prices are still well below border prices. How these will evolve in the longer term depends on the domestic market and foreign trade policy regime that has yet to be adopted by the government.


This article discusses several limiting factors that affect queer reproduction desires and practices in present-day Hungary, including distorting media representations, legislative frameworks, and social inequalities. It draws on relevant legal developments and results from previous research studies. The article focuses on how Hungarian LGBTQI people can resist the social norms and policies of heteronormatively prescribed childlessness resulting from normative expectations that non-heteronormative reproduction must be limited as much as possible, and highlights that better-off couples and individuals have more chance to realize their fertility plans through adoption, surrogacy or accessing ART than those in a more disadvantageous situation. In this context queer reproduction can also be seen as potentially contributing to the re-stabilization of reproduction as a feature of privilege.


Purpose – The purpose of this research is to evaluate Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) in the context of improving the performance of a printing ink manufacturing company. The main issues the company is facing include poor due-date performance, stock levels not corresponding to the actual market needs and overall system instability leading to inefficiencies. The research evaluates the assumption underpinning Material Requirements Planning (MRP) and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) before considering their integration to meet the requirements of this company, with particular reference to a recent development entitled DDMRP. Design/methodology/approach – Case research was used to establish the underlying issues through semi-structured interviews, observation, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) data and questionnaires. This analysis was then compared with the assumption underpinning generic TOC solutions before conducting a simulated evaluation to compare past ERP decision making with DDMRP. Findings – DDMRP is shown to embody the concepts of buffer aggregation and buffer management within the context of dependent demand planning, effectively integrating MRP and TOC. The underlying production planning and control issues of the company were found to be consistent with the literature associated with the limitations of MRP and a good fit for the core issues traditionally addressed through TOC applications such as Drum Buffer Rope (DBR). The integration of this aggregated buffer management approach with MRP dependent demand within DDMRP provided further enhancements applicable to the company. This evaluation involved simulation, which shows the merits of DDMRP in the area of standardization of production-relevant decision-making and stock adjustment towards improving availability shown by roughly 45% reduction of high and low inventory alerts and a 95% reduction of stock outs over the period in focus. However, it is acknowledged that the improved simulated performance was not fully attributable to the adoption of DDMRP concepts. Research limitations/implications – The document uses a selection of relevant pieces of the literature from the areas of MRP/ERP, continuous improvement and DDMRP that have the potential to be supportive for assessing DDMRP as a performance improving methodology. However, since the amount of literature available on DDMRP is very limited, a comparison of the results with others' findings is not possible. Furthermore, the primary data used originates from one specific company only. The resulting case study approach is therefore limited to a single case, which might limit the generalizability of the findings to an extent. However, since many companies are suffering from MRP shortcomings and TOC ideas like buffer management or dynamic buffers have been proven to deliver promising results in many applications, at least an assumption of a certain degree of generalizability could be justified. Further research needs to verify if the findings are replicable in comparable scenarios. Originality/value – DDMRP is a new commercial development that has not previously been the subject of a research study. The value of this research is in evaluating the key features of this planning and control system using real company data. By doing this, it is one of the first published projects in this area.


We have developed an open software platform called Neurokernel for collaborative development of comprehensive models of the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and their execution and testing on multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Neurokernel provides a programming model that capitalizes upon the structural organization of the fly brain into a fixed number of functional modules to distinguish between these modules' local information processing capabilities and the connectivity patterns that link them. By defining mandatory communication interfaces that specify how data is transmitted between models of each of these modules regardless of their internal design, Neurokernel explicitly enables multiple researchers to collaboratively model the fruit fly's entire brain by integration of their independently developed models of its constituent processing units. We demonstrate the power of Neurokernel's model integration by combining independently developed models of the retina and lamina neuropils in the fly's visual system and by demonstrating their neuroinformation processing capability. We also illustrate Neurokernel's ability to take advantage of direct GPU-to-GPU data transfers with benchmarks that demonstrate scaling of Neurokernel's communication performance both over the number of interface ports exposed by an emulation's constituent modules and the total number of modules comprised by an emulation.


Bangladesh like other developing countries of the world has been striving to eradicate poverty after getting independence in 1971 and the country was considered as one of the poorest with about 70 percent poverty and only $200 per capita income in 1973-74. The present study analyses various data on poverty from the period 1971 to 2019 and finds that the country has reduced its poverty significantly to 10.5 percent in 2019 with more than $1909 per capita income. The poverty headcount ratio has decreased by more than 50% in the last 49 years. This study using National Households Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data of various years and also using other international organizations' poverty-related data tries to explore the poverty scenario of Bangladesh from 1974 to 2019 and to examine some new aspects of regional poverty in Bangladesh. The country has a great achievement in the absolute poverty reduction during these periods, but these poverty reduction trends are somewhat relatively lower than some neighboring countries (e.g India, Nepal, Bhutan). In addition, though the absolute poverty rate has been reduced at the national level (10.5% in 2019), the present study finds a huge disparity in poverty reduction at the regional level in Bangladesh. Poverty rates are still more than double as compared to the state poverty rate in some districts of Bangladesh. This paper shows that the regional inequalities, income inequalities, old aged people, widows, uneducated and unskilled labor, various tribal groups, and various forms of poverty throughout the life cycle are revealing disparity of poverty in the rural area of Bangladesh.


The transfer of electronic charge across the interface of two van der Waals crystals can underpin the operation of a new class of functional devices. Among van der Waals semiconductors, an exciting and rapidly growing development involves the "post‐transition" metal chalcogenide InSe. Here, field effect phototransistors are reported where single layer graphene is capped with n‐type InSe. These device structures combine the photosensitivity of InSe with the unique electrical properties of graphene. It is shown that the light‐induced transfer of charge between InSe and graphene offers an effective method to increase or decrease the carrier density in graphene, causing a change in its resistance that is gate‐controllable and only weakly dependent on temperature. The charge transfer at the InSe/graphene interface is probed by Hall effect and photoconductivity measurmentes and it is demonstrated that light can induce a sign reversal of the quantum Hall voltage and photovoltaic effects in the graphene layer. These findings demonstrate the potential of light‐induced charge transfer in gate‐tunable InSe/graphene phototransistors for optoelectronics and quantum metrology.


ABSTRACT Preservice early childhood educators begin postsecondary programs with established beliefs about children, children's learning, and their roles as future educators. The present study examined 26 first-year students' beliefs about children, classroom practice, and guiding children's behavior. Participants completed the Teacher Beliefs Q-Sort (Rimm-Kaufman, Storm, Sawyer, Pianta, & La Paro, 2006) at three time points over the course of their first year of studies. We compared responses across the three time points to explore whether the students' beliefs changed over time. Findings are presented under three main themes: 1) beliefs about children; 2) beliefs about classroom practice; and 3) beliefs about behavior management. Overall, findings reveal that for all three themes, at each time point, practices that are most characteristic of the participants' beliefs are child-centered, whereas beliefs that are least characteristic of their beliefs are teacher-directed. To support students' application of theory to practice, they should be given opportunities during their studies to voice, explore, and critically examine their beliefs in relation to philosophies and teaching approaches.