Valued for their sensual and social intensity, Greek dance-events are often also problematical for participants, giving rise to struggles over position, prestige, and reputation. Here Jane Cowan explores how the politics of gender is articulated through the body at these culturally central, yet until now ethnographically neglected, celebrations in a class-divided northern Greek town. Portraying the dance-event as both a highly structured and dynamic social arena, she approaches the human body not only as a sign to be deciphered but as a site of experience and an agent of practice.In describing the multiple ideologies of person, gender, and community that townspeople embody and explore as they dance, Cowan presents three different settings: the traditional wedding procession, the "Europeanized" formal evening dance of local civic associations, and the private party. She examines the practices of eating, drinking, talking, gifting, and dancing, and the verbal discourse through which celebrants make sense of each other's actions. Paying particular attention to points of tension and moments of misunderstanding, she analyzes in what ways these social situations pose different problems for men and women.


The inclusion of skin-tone modifiers into the standard emoji set marked a shift from the default white racialization of emoji towards explicit attempts to expand racial representation in the human emoji characters. This study explores the racial logics of emoji as culturally-situated artifacts that rely on linked understandings of race and technology. We conduct an interface analysis of emoji skin-tone modifiers, coupled with user discourse analysis, to explore the design and user interpretations of skin-tone modifiers. Our findings suggest that though the skin-tone modifiers were introduced as an intervention into the lack of racial representation in emoji, they continue to technically center whiteness in the emoji set as an extension of American technoculture.


The National Park Service (NPS) strives to embody U.S. democratic ideals, conserving our collective stories and scenery for their intrinsic value and the enjoyment of current and future generations. However, although these places are conserved for all, they are not enjoyed by all. As with other conservation agencies, the NPS finds itself increasingly concerned with building relevance with diverse potential stewards. In cities, where 80% of the U.S. population and 40% of the NPS portfolio is based, there is a prime opportunity to build relevance with large, diverse, and proximate audiences. Recognizing this opportunity, the NPS initiated its Urban Agenda as a centerpiece of its 2016 centennial. The Urban Agenda seeks to connect people with proximate NPS parks and programs, primarily by using collaborations as pathways to relevance. In doing so, the agency may become a more resilient and value-added component of these larger landscapes. However, connections between relevance, resilience, and collaborations, especially at the organizational level, have rarely been addressed. This dissertation: 1) identifies perspectives on NPS relevance in the urban context; 2) examines the diversity of brokers and roles in facilitating relevance across collaborative networks; and 3) assesses areas of intra-NPS relationship-building for enhanced relevance. A multi-site, multi-methods evaluation was conducted. Detroit, Tucson, and Boston, all cities with Urban Agenda investment but representing different proximities to physical NPS parks, were selected as cases. Qualitative in-depth interviews with NPS staff and community partners were paired with quantitative social network analysis. The first phase of research identifies areas of commonality and difference among perceptions about relevance. Qualitative inquiry found that, across cities, NPS staff tended to conceptualize relevance in agency-focused ways while community partners conceptualized it on broader scales, both in audiences and goals. These differences in scale may be complementary, though, with the NPS further enhancing its relevance by recognizing the larger context and embedding its perspectives within this context. The second phase of research quantitatively examines collaborative network composition and potential, especially regarding network and broker diversity. Study results suggest that building the breadth and depth of a network, as well as targeting specific areas of desired growth, are ways to effectively build network resilience and further connections for relevance. The third phase of research examines relationships among parks, programs, and offices of the NPS. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, this inquiry found that relationships between parks are most numerous and supported by institutional structures. However, connections to and within programs are a desired area for further connection. All relationship-building structures and language must emphasize the utility of internal connections for external relevance. Balancing relationship types while being inclusive of non-park groups may be essential in promoting organizational resilience and relevance. This evaluation contributes to theoretical understanding about and indicators of relevance and resilience. Together, results from these three phases of study can help the NPS understand specific relevance considerations in urban areas, efficiently use their resources to enhance relevance, and continue to strive toward our democratic ideals.


In the present period few terms or ideas have been as slandered, distorted, diminished, or degraded as radical or radicalism. This is perhaps not too surprising given that this is a period of expanding struggles against state and capital, oppression and exploitation, in numerous global contexts. In such contexts, the issue of radicalism, of effective means to overcome power (or stifle resistance) become pressing. The stakes are high, possibilities for real alternatives being posed and opposed. In such contexts activists and academics must not only adequately understand radicalism, but defend (and advance) radical approaches to social change and social justice.


Generation, investigation, and manipulation of nanostructured materials are of fundamental and practical importance for several disciplines, including materials science and medicine. Recently, atmospheric new particle formation in the nanometer-size range has been found to be a global phenomenon. Still, its detailed mechanisms are mostly unknown, largely depending on the incapability to generate and measure nanoparticles in a controlled way. In our experiments, an organic vapor (n-propanol) condenses on molecular ions, as well as on charged and uncharged inorganic nanoparticles, via initial activation by heterogeneous nucleation. We found a smooth transition in activation behavior as a function of size and activation to occur well before the onset of homogeneous nucleation. Furthermore, nucleation enhancement for charged particles and a substantial negative sign preference were quantitatively detected.


Established as a distinct academic discipline at the end of the second world war, International Relations has above all been concerned with analysing relations between sovereign states - in the first instance, the causes of war between them and alternative forms of cooperation. Throughout its history, IR has been dominated by 'realism', an approach based on a juridical totalizing concept of the state. This denies the relevance of factors located within polities and societies and stresses the primacy of security issues in inter-state relations. More recent work in the field has sought to analyse the interaction of the domestic and the international and to explore the interaction of security with other, most evidently economic, factors. The relation of IR to political science is defined by the shared concern with the 'pertinence' of the international; that is, how far specific political and social systems are, and are not, affected and determined by factors beyond their frontiers and how these forms of international influence are changing in the contemporary world.


The reflected radiance in topographically complex areas is severely affected by variations in topography; thus, topographic correction is considered a necessary pre-processing step when retrieving biophysical variables from these images. We assessed the performance of five topographic corrections: (i) C correction (C), (ii) Minnaert, (iii) Sun Canopy Sensor (SCS), (iv) SCS + C and (v) the Processing Scheme for Standardised Surface Reflectance (PSSSR) on the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) reflectance in the context of prediction of Foliage Projective Cover (FPC) in hilly landscapes in north-eastern Australia. The performance of topographic corrections on the TM reflectance was assessed by (i) visual comparison and (ii) statistically comparing TM predicted FPC with ground measured FPC and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-derived FPC estimates. In the majority of cases, the PSSSR method performed best in terms of eliminating topographic effects, providing the best relationship and lowest residual error when comparing ground measured FPC and LiDAR FPC with TM predicted FPC. The Minnaert, C and SCS + C showed the poorest performance. Finally, the use of TM surface reflectance, which includes atmospheric correction and broad Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) effects, seemed to account for most topographic variation when predicting biophysical variables, such as FPC.


Background and Aims: Although 18.7 million adults ages 55 and older volunteer in their communities eachyear, it is unclear which factors motivate them to participate in community-based education programs, such asthe Partners in Care program. Partners in Care pairs medical, physical therapy, and nursing students togetherto conduct home care visits with older adults. This project seeks to understand how older adults define theirrole as educators and learn which factors motivate them to volunteer.Methods: This mixed-methods study employed a survey measuring attitudes about volunteering and an optionalfocus group. The research team developed the survey tool, which included 25 Likert scale items and twoopen-ended questions. The focus group consisted of 13 randomly selected program volunteers.Results: A total of 101 surveys were sent with a response rate of 62%. Respondents' ages ranged from 65to > 80. Alpha factor analysis of the survey and thematic analysis of focus group data revealed seven themesfor why older adults volunteer: altruism, personal development, feeling part of a community, education ofstudents, uniqueness of program, engagement with students, and sharing unique health experiences as olderadults. Feedback and suggestions were also collected.Conclusions: Partners in Care provides students with an opportunity to engage older adults, meet establishedgeriatric competencies, and gain insight into interprofessional teamwork. By understanding older adults' perspectiveson their role as educators, we hope to improve volunteer satisfaction, expand the program, andencourage further interactions between older adults and health professional students.


SkePU is a skeleton programming framework for multicore CPU and multi-GPU systems. StarPU is a runtime system that provides dynamic scheduling and memory management support for heterogeneous, accelerator-based systems. We have implemented support for StarPU as a possible backend for SkePU while keeping the generic SkePU interface intact. The mapping of a SkePU skeleton call to one or more StarPU tasks allows StarPU to exploit independence between different skeleton calls as well as within a single skeleton call. Support for different StarPU features, such as data partitioning and different scheduling policies (e.g. history based performance models) is implemented and discussed in this paper. The integration proved beneficial for both StarPU and SkePU. StarPU got a high level interface to run data-parallel computations on it while SkePU has achieved dynamic scheduling and hybrid parallelism support. Several benchmarks including ODE solver, separable Gaussian blur filter, Successive Over-Relaxation (SOR) and Coulombic potential are implemented. Initial experiments show that we can even achieve super-linear speedups for realistic applications and can observe clear improvements in performance with the simultaneous use of both CPUs and GPU (hybrid execution).


Seasonal dynamics of reserve nitrogen (N) over five years and nonstructural carbohydrates over three years were monitored at six vine phenological stages in one-, two-, or older than two-year-old wood fractions of minimally (MP) and severely pruned (VSP) Riesling (Vitis vinifera L.) under cool-climate conditions. Levels of reserve nitrogen were highest in all woody fractions and both pruning systems at leaf fall, dormancy, and budbreak and lowest at bloom, bunch closure, and veraison. In general, N-concentrations were lower in older wood fractions. The magnitude of N-mobilization between budbreak and bunch closure and N-replenishment after veraison was higher for MP vines than for VSP vines and correlated with leaf area formation and leaf area loss, respectively. During the observation period, MP attained higher concentrations of N at most sampling dates in all wood fractions as compared with the VSP system, with the greatest differences in 2002 and 2003. Over a five-year period, N-concentration at veraison declined in both systems, which may have been related to the long-term trend in seasonal plant water status. Changes in dry matter and total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) in different wood fractions followed a similar general pattern as changes in N, but mobilization and replenishment occurred at earlier phenological stages. Concentrations in glucose, fructose, and sucrose decreased to almost the lowest values during the season at budbreak and increased again before leaf fall, whereas starch degradation occurred after budbreak and its re-formation between bunch closure and veraison. Minimum TNC concentration, usually observed between full bloom and bunch closure, increased with age of the woody fraction but decreased over the three seasons for all fractions and both systems. With the exception of 2001, MP had slightly lower concentrations in TNC and its component sugars for most sampling dates.


People use a variety of strategies for evaluating causal claims, including mechanistic strategies (seeking a step-bystep explanation for how a cause would bring about its effect) and statistical strategies (examining patterns of cooccurrence). Two studies examine factors leading one or the other of these strategies to predominate. First, general causal claims (e.g., "Smoking causes cancer") are evaluated predominantly using statistical evidence, whereas statistics is less preferred for specific claims (e.g., "Smoking caused Jack's cancer"). Second, social and biological causal claims are evaluated primarily through statistical evidence, whereas statistical evidence is deemed less relevant for evaluating physical causal claims. We argue for a pluralistic view of causal learning on which a multiplicity of causal concepts lead to distinct strategies for learning about causation.


The adult mammalian kidney forms from the reciprocal interaction between two tissues; the ureteric bud which will form the collecting duct system and the metanephric mesenchyme which will form all the cells in the nephrons. This thesis used ex-vivo embryonic kidney culture to show that during mouse kidney development metanephric mesenchymal cells migrated towards the periphery of the kidney. When this migration is pharmacologically inhibited the Six2 expressing metanephric mesenchyme cells no longer expanded their population and kidney development ceases. LIM kinase, which had been shown to regulate cell migration, when inhibited not only prevented cell migration in both embryonic mouse kidneys and in HK2 cells but also prevented embryonic kidney cells from completing mitosis and caused them to undergo apoptosis. This thesis showed that inhibition of LIM kinase in HK2 cells resulted in the formation of multiple alpha-tubulin foci, multiple centrosomes, the premature dispersal of the cohesin complex protein SMC3 in the absence of a fully formed spindle, and cell death. Thus concluding that active LIM kinase is required for the generation of the mitotic spindle and the appropriate dispersal of SMC3. This thesis furthered the understanding of how the metanephric mesenchyme develops and showed that these cells migrated away from the ureteric bud and this migration is required for further growth of the kidney. This thesis also showed that active LIM kinase is required for the completion of mitosis in both embryonic kidneys and HK2 cells.


The price and output elasticities of energy demand continue to be of interest to academia and policy institutions, having been estimated in previous studies. However, the estimated results show some inconsistencies, especially at the sectoral level, across countries. Based on our conjecture that those inconsistencies are mainly due to the effect of contingent energy intensities and partially to different units of analysis, we narrowed the analysis to the industry level and classified 16 industries into energy-intensive and less energy-intensive groups. The effects of price and output on energy demand were then compared between these two groups using 274 industry panel data across 20 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from 1978 to 2013. The results showed that the price elasticity of energy demand was consistently lower in the energy-intensive group than in the less energy-intensive group, whereas the output elasticity of energy demand was higher in the energy-intensive group than in the less energy-intensive group. Using panel differences and system generalized method of moments estimations, the dynamic elasticities of energy demand were also estimated. Energy demand in reaction to both price and output changes appeared to be more elastic in the long term than in the short term for both energy-intensive and less energy-intensive groups. These findings could be a useful reference for policy makers to deploy separate energy policies for different industries aiming for different temporal effects.


The long-run neutrality (LRN) proposition suggests that a permanent change in the
money stock has no long-run consequences on the level of real output. Most of the
empirical studies of the neutrality of money are focused on industrialised countries. The
main objective of this study is to investigate the LRN of money on real output in thirteen
Asian developing economies using a reduced-form ARIMA model developed by Fisher
and Seater (1993).
This study makes use of annual data for money supply (Ml and M2) and real GDP,
which spans from 1950 to 1997. Consideration of two measures of money supply serves
as a sensitivity analysis for the potential effects of different measures of money on real
output. In this study, the sample countries include: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka,
Taiwan, and Thailand.This study uses cross-sectional data from the thirteen Asian countries to examine one of
the monetary propositions, that is, changes in the money supply are not associated with
the permanent changes in real output. Money (both Ml and M2) is said to have no
influence on the movements of real output in the long run.
For time series data, results of the unit root test suggest that LRN is testable in twelve of
the thirteen countries and money is found to be neutral in nine of the twelve countries.
This conclusion is robust whether Ml or M2 is used as the money measure. However, in
three countries (Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan), the LRN test outcomes are
sensitive to the measure of money used. Only in India, both Ml and M2 are not long run
neutral with respect to real output.
Based on these results, LRN can be said to describe a general feature of the Asian
developing economy. This indicates that money supply do not play an important role in
influencing the long run real output movement. Therefore, both monetary aggregates
probably are not useful policy instrument in the Asian countries. However, the narrow
money supply might be treated as a useful policy instrument in some of the countries
since it has the ability to influence the long-run movement of real output in these
countries.


We say that a graph $G$ has a perfect $H$-packing if there exists a set of vertex-disjoint copies of $H$ which cover all the vertices in $G$. We consider various problems concerning perfect $H$-packings: Given $n, r , D \in \mathbb N$, we characterise the edge density threshold that ensures a perfect $K_r$-packing in any graph $G$ on $n$ vertices and with minimum degree $\delta (G) \geq D$. We also give two conjectures concerning degree sequence conditions which force a graph to contain a perfect $H$-packing. Other related embedding problems are also considered. Indeed, we give a structural result concerning $K_r$-free graphs that satisfy a certain degree sequence condition.


Objective In this study, the prevalence of abnormalities in the cervical spine of asymptomatic professional rugby players using both static and dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in order to improve the detection of abnormalities and prevention of related injuries was investigated. Design Prospective observational study. Setting French professional rugby union clubs, between 2002 and 2006. Participants 206 elite male adult players. Intervention Static sagittal T2 and axial T2* fast spin echo (FSE), and dynamic sagittal single-shot FSE weighted MRI scans of the C2–C7 region were examined for the presence of abnormalities. Participants' spines were in supine neutral position for the static protocol but were allowed complete flexibility in a sagittal plane for the dynamic protocol. Main outcome measurements The medulla-to-canal ratio (MCR) was measured at every vertebral disc level for both MRI methods. When observed, anatomical abnormalities were categorised. Results Anatomical abnormalities mainly consisted of degenerative discopathy and were most frequently observed in players aged>21 years, as well as in players whose MCR was abnormally high based on medical expertise. Most MCRs that were initially assessed as intermediate with static MRI were subsequently assessed as abnormal with dynamic MRI assessment. Conclusions Since dynamic MRI is more accurate than static techniques in examining the cervical spine, it contributes substantially to identifying the risk of spinal injuries in professional rugby players, and when used in association with clinical assessment, it can assist in preventing spinal injury.


We investigate the problem of guaranteed estimation of values of linear continuous functionals defined on solutions to mixed variational equations generated by linear elliptic problems from indirect noisy observations of these solutions. We assume that right-hand sides of the equations, as well as the second moments of noises in observations are not known; the only available information is that they belong to given bounded sets in the appropriate functional spaces. We look for linear with respect to observations optimal estimates of solutions of aforementioned equations called minimax or guaranteed estimates. We develop constructive methods for finding these estimates and estimation errors which are expressed in terms of solutions to special mixed variational equations and prove that Galerkin approximations of the obtained variational equations converge to their exact solutions.
We study also the problem of guaranteed estimation of right-hand sides of mixed variational equations.


The taxonomy of the pulmonate superfamily Amphiboloidea is investigated with particular reference to Australasian taxa. Anatomical features of the alimentary, reproductive and central nervous systems differ substantially between taxa, and conchological, opercular and radular characters are also described. Four genera are recognised in Amphibolidae; Amphibola Schumacher, 1817, Salinator Hedley, 1900, Lactiforis gen. nov. and Naranjia gen. nov.. Two additional genera are assigned to new families; Phallomedusa gen. nov. (Phallomedusidae fam. nov.) and Maningrida gen. nov. (Maningrididae fam. nov.). Phallomedusidae fam. nov. is characterised by a paucispiral, keeled operculum and syntremous diaulic reproductive system with a complex, spiral penis. Maningrididae fam. nov. has an expanded operculum with a marginal nucleus and a syntremous diaulic reproductive system with two novel copulatory structures at the genital aperture. Taxonomic descriptions and a key are provided for eight Australian species; Salinator fragilis (Lamarck, 1822), Salinator tecta sp. nov., Salinator rhamphidia sp. nov., Salinator rosacea sp. nov., Lactiforis tropicalis sp. nov., Phallomedusa solida (Martens, 1878), Phallomedusa austrina sp. nov., and Maningrida arnhemensis sp. nov. and three non-Australian taxa; Amphibola crenata (Martyn, 1786), Lactiforis takii (Kuroda, 1928) and Naranjia cf. swatowensis (Yen, 1939).


In the present investigation, an ethanolic fraction (EF) of Lepechinia meyenii (salvia) was prepared and fractionated by gradient column chromatography, and the main secondary metabolites present in the EF were identified by HPLC-MS. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized and conjugated with the EF of Lepechinia meyenii (salvia). The AgNPs synthesis was optimized using Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodology (RSM), considering the following independent variables: stirring speed, synthesis pH, synthesis time, synthesis temperature and EF volume. The AgNPs synthesized under the optimized conditions were characterized by UV visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). The antibacterial activity of the AgNPs against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC® 25923) was evaluated. The following flavonoids were identified: rosmarinic acid, diosmin and hesperetin-7-O-rutinoside. The optimized conditions for the synthesis of nanoparticles were pH 9.45, temperature 49.8 °C, volume of ethanolic fraction 152.6 µL and a reaction time of 213.2 min. The obtained AgNPs exhibited an average size of 43.71 nm and a resonance plasmon of 410–420 nm. Using FT-IR spectroscopy, the disappearance of the peaks between 626.50 and 1379.54 cm−1 was evident with the AgNPs, which would indicate the participation of these functional groups in the synthesis and protection of the nanoparticles. A hydrodynamic size of 47.6 nm was obtained by DLS, while a size of 40–60 nm was determined by STEM. The synthesized AgNPs conjugated with the EF showed a higher antibacterial activity than the EF alone. These results demonstrate that the AgNPs synthesized under optimized conditions conjugated with the EF of the Lepechinia meyenii (salvia) presented an increased antibacterial activity.


Today, there is widespread use of mobile applications that take advantage of a user's location. Popular usages of location information include geotagging on social media websites, driver assistance and navigation, and querying nearby locations of interest. However, the average user may not realize the high energy costs of using location services (namely the GPS) or may not make smart decisions regarding when to enable or disable location services—for example, when indoors. As a result, a mechanism that can make these decisions on the user's behalf can significantly improve a smartphone's battery life. In this paper, we present an energy consumption analysis of the localization methods available on modern Android smartphones and propose the addition of an indoor localization mechanism that can be triggered depending on whether a user is detected to be indoors or outdoors. Based on our energy analysis and implementation of our proposed system, we provide experimental results—monitoring battery life over time—and show that an indoor localization method triggered by indoor or outdoor context can improve smartphone battery life and, potentially, location accuracy.


Competence is a concept widely recognized as a strategic asset for each organization, especially in areas characterized by intensive use of knowledge, such as scientific communities. Each scientific community aims to produce new knowledge in a particular domain, facilitating knowledge sharing between organizational members with recognized expertise. However, in such a context, scholars are often not aware of other researchers who are working on similar projects, and thus collaboration frequently occurs among a small number of people working in the same group. This work aims to overcome these limitations, proposing an approach oriented to the construction of a scientific community's competence map that can be used as a means of highlighting capabilities within the community and suggesting new collaborations between researchers. Traditional approaches in building competence maps are based on tools such as questionnaires or assessment sessions. In recent years, novel approaches based on document content analysis are taking place. However, they do not face up to the problem of defining research competencies within a scientific community and surveying them by analysing the scientific production of community members. In this paper we propose an original approach aimed to map scientific competencies, related to research approaches, scientific method phases and field of inquiring, onto scientific community members, by using a weighted multi-hypergraph model. Moreover, by assuming that competencies of a researcher can be detected through an analysis of his scientific research papers, we propose a methodological framework to build the map of a many-to-many relationship between researchers and research competencies by means of a collaborative semi-manual mapping process.


Title of Document: Spiritual Community Experiences of Families of Children with Disabilities Elizabeth Ellen O'Hanlon Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Directed By: Professor Paula Beckman Department of Special Education This mixed methods investigation examined experiences of families of children with disabilities in their spiritual communities. Using the Spiritual Community Experiences Inventory, fifty-eight parents rated importance of and satisfaction with clergy, various religious activities, and support received from clergy and spiritual community members. Families reported that participation in religious activities and support from clergy and members were important. Moreover, families were highly satisfied with these activities and support. As predicted, a significant relationship was found between frequency of attendance, amount of support, and satisfaction with activities and support. Only in the case of formal ceremonies was frequency/satisfaction relationship not significant. Parents described a variety of factors that influenced their level of satisfaction with spiritual community experiences. Families reported that participation was influenced by: (1) amount and quality of social interactions with other children and adults, (2) level of knowledge, training and understanding of staff and volunteers, (3) level and appropriateness of accommodations provided, and (4) degree to which their child's disability interfered with participation. Additionally, parents reported that their experiences were affected by availability of emotional and practical support targeted to their unique needs, existence of social support networks, level of acceptance and knowledge of community members and clergy about disability, and the value the religious community places on parental knowledge of disability. Parents did elaborate on negative experiences and lack of support, which led to their non-participation and in some instances to switching communities. Further testing and refining of the instrument is required to strengthen its reliability and validity, clarify ambiguities, and identify factors families believe are important to participation. Additionally, leaders of spiritual communities must identify needs of families of children with disabilities. By tapping families as "experts" and networking with other religious communities, disability groups, and agencies, they can better meet these families' needs. SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES OF FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES


Swimming suspensions of Chlamydomonas eugametos were pelleted and homogenized, and the metabolism of inositol polyphosphates by cellular homogenates or supernatants was investigated. Ins(1,4,5)P3 was dephosphorylated under physiological conditions to yield a single InsP2, Ins(1,4]2. In the presence of ATP it was phosphorylated to give Ins(1,3,4,5)P3 as the only InsP4. The Ins(1,4,5)P3 3-kinase activity was predominantly soluble, was not detectably affected by calmodulin or Ca2+, and had a Km for Ins(1,4,5)P3 of 50 microM (two orders of magnitude higher than its mammalian counterpart). Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was dephosphorylated by the cellular supernatants to Ins(1,3,4)P3 and Ins(1,4,5)P3, and could be phosphorylated to Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P4. No Ins(1,3,4)P3 6-kinase activity could be detected, and experiments with [3H]Ins(1,4,[32P]5)P3 revealed that Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 is formed from Ins(1,4,5)P3 with little loss of the 5-phosphate, i.e. the predominant route of synthesis is probably by a direct 6-phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. Similar experiments with an (NH4)2SO4 fraction of turkey erythrocyte cytosol gave essentially the same result, i.e. direct phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 in the 6 position is the predominant route of synthesis of InsP5 from that InsP4 in vitro. No InsP6 formation was detected in any of these experiments, but labelling of intact C. eugametos with [3H]inositol revealed that the cells do synthesize InsP6. The lipids of C. eugametos cells contain PtdIns, PtdIns(4)P and PtdIns(4,5)P2 [Irvine, Letcher, Lander, Drøbak, Dawson & Musgrave (1989) Plant Physiol. 64, 888-892]. Further examination of 32P-labelled lipids revealed that about 20% of the PtdInsP was the PtdIns(3)P isomer, and about 1% or less of the PtdInsP2 was the PtdIns(3,4)P2 isomer. The overall inositide metabolism of C. eugametos resembles that of a mammalian cell more closely than it does that of a plant cell or slime mould, and this suggests firstly that the known metabolism of inositol polyphosphates arose at an early time in eukaryotic evolution, and secondly that Chlamydomonas might prove a useful organism for genetic and comparative studies of inositide enzymology.


Cr2Ge2Te6 has been of interest for decades, as it is one of only a few naturally forming ferromagnetic semiconductors. Recently, this material has been revisited due to its potential as a two-dimensional semiconducting ferromagnet and a substrate to induce anomalous quantum Hall states in topological insulators. However, many relevant properties of Cr2Ge2Te6 still remain poorly understood, especially the spin-phonon coupling crucial to spintronic, multiferrioc, thermal conductivity, magnetic proximity and the establishment of long range order on the nanoscale. We explore the interplay between the lattice and magnetism through high resolution micro-Raman scattering measurements over the temperature range from 10 to 325 K. Strong spin-phonon coupling effects are confirmed from multiple aspects: two low energy modes splits in the ferromagnetic phase, magnetic quasielastic scattering in the paramagnetic phase, the phonon energies of three modes show clear upturn below TC, and the phonon linewidths change dramatically below TC as well. Our results provide the first demonstration of spin-phonon coupling in a potential two-dimensional atomic crystal.


In Japan, progress has been achieved in the development of embryo transfer (ET) technology in the last few years. Research on the other related technologies such as cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization, embryo manipulation and sexing are actively being carried out. However, its practical application is still limiteed. It is now being used for rapid proliferation of desirable dairy and beef cattle. About 100 organizations are involved in ET practice and research. The number of ET trained technicians has also increased. However, ET is still a relatively expensive technique which great effort and financial risk.


This thesis investigates the use of the acoustic emission (AE) monitoring technique for use in identifying the damage mechanisms present in paper associated with its production
process. The microscopic structure of paper consists of a random mesh of paper fibres connected by hydrogen bonds. This implies the existence of the two damage mechanisms
of interest, the failure of a fibre/fibre bond and the failure of a fibre.

The majority of this work focuses on the development of a novel hybrid mathematical model which couples the mechanics of the mass/spring model to the acoustic wave propagation model for use in generating the acoustic signal emitted by complex structures of paper fibres under strain. A discussion of the coupling method is presented and the model is then analysed using a simple plucked fibre as a test case with a comparison between the numerical and experimental results.

The hybrid mathematical model is then used to simulate small fibre networks aimed at providing information on the acoustic response of each damage mechanism. To do this the
mass/spring model must successfully simulate the response of the fibre structure when undergoing a fibre/fibre bond failure or a fibre failure. This can be achieved by dynamically manipulating the mass and spring elements of the fibre structure. The simulated AEs from the two damage mechanisms are then analysed using a Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to provide a two dimensional time/frequency representation of the signal. From the CWT certain features of the AEs can be attributed to each damage mechanism and as such a criteria for the time and frequency properties of each damage mechanism can be formulated. This criterion provides the basis for identifying the damage mechanisms present in the experimental data.

The final contribution of this thesis is the investigation of training an intelligent classifier which can dynamically identify the AEs from the two damage mechanisms. This is achieved by converting the time and frequency criteria for each damage mechanisms into a set of features for the training of a Self-Organising Map (SOM). The significant step in this analysis is the method for the extraction of the features from the CWT of the AE.

This work successfully combines four different scientific areas, paper physics, acoustic emission technology, data analysis and computational modelling to provide an insight into the micro-mechanics of paper. The most significant contribution of this work is the development of the hybrid model which has the ability to generate the acoustic response of a paper fibre structure undergoing two different damage processes. This alone has provided a significant insight into the micro-mechanics of paper to allow for the identification of the two damage mechanisms when the AEs are analysed with the CWT. Other contributions include the method used for the extraction of relevant features from the CWT to enable the training of a SOM for identifying the type of damage mechanism the AE originated from.


Inter-vehicle communication promises to prevent accidents by enabling applications such as cross-traffic assistance. This application requires information from vehicles in Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) areas due to building at intersection corners. The periodic Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM) are foreseen to be sent via 5.9 GHz IEEE 802.11p. While it is known that existing micro-cell models might not apply well, validated propagation models for vehicular 5.9 GHz NLOS conditions are still missing. In this paper, we develop a 5.9 GHz NLOS path-loss and fading model based on real-world measurements at a representative selection of intersections in the city of Munich. We show that a) the measurement data can very well be fitted to an analytical model, b) the model incorporates specific geometric aspects in closed-form as well as normally distributed fading in NLOS, and c) the model is of low complexity, thus, could be used in large-scale packet-level simulations. A comparison to existing micro-cell models shows that our model significantly differs.


The study set out to investigate the degree of implementation of a communicative learner-centred
curriculum and textbooks in the Greek secondaiy school English language classroom. The aims of the
research were: a) to investigate the Greek English language teachers' actual teaching practices and the
degree to which they are in accordance with the philosophy and principles of the curriculum, and b) to
examine the extent to which certain factors (i.e. teachers' understanding of, and attitudes towards, the
communicative learner centred approach, teachers' non- involvement in the innovation process, teachers'
opinions of the textbooks, lack of systematic teacher training) may be associated with the teachers'
classroom behaviour.
For the first part of the research, classroom observations of 14 Greek English language teachers,
working in schools within and around the Athens area, were carried out. An observation scheme was
developed focusing on the teachers' implementation of activities. The aim of the scheme is to describe the
roles the teachers adopt in the classroom. 'reacher roles were also investigated through an analysis of the
teachers' linguistic behaviour. Transcripts of the 14 observed lessons were analysed in terms of teachers'
error correcting practices (amount and types of learner errors corrected by teachers and the error
treatments used) and their questioning practices (amount and types of questions asked by the teachers). For
this latter focus a question typology derived from the data was developed.
Teachers' attitudes towards, and understanding of, the communicative learner-centred approach were
investigated via a Likert type attitude scale developed for the purposes of this study and a questionnaire.
The questionnaire consisted of 28 closed-type items eliciting teachers' opinions of the textbooks and the
teachers' guides, and reports of their teaching practices. The questionnaire and attitude scale was
completed by an additional 87 teachers working in public secondary schools within and around the Athens
area. Finally, as a means of achieving methodological triangulation, interviews with the observed teachers
were carried out. The interviews focused on the teachers' knowledge of, and attitudes towards, the
approach they have been asked to use.
The thesis is divided into 10 chapters. Chapter 1 sets the context of the study, its main objectives and
research questions. Chapters 2 and 3 contain reviews of the literature relevant to the communicative
approach and the implementation of curriculum innovations. The research questions, model of the study
and a detailed account of the development of the research instruments employed in the study are provided
in chapter 4. Chapters 5 to 9 deal with the implementation of the research instruments and the results of the
data analysis. More specifically, chapter 5 deals with the analysis and findings of the teachers' error
correcting practices, and chapter 6 with the findings of teachers' questioning practices . The results of the
observation scheme analysis are dealt with in chapter 7. Chapter 8 focuses on the results of the attitude
scale and questionnaire completed by the 14 teachers and chapter 9 on the results of the interviews. A
summary of the study's main results, a critique of the various research methods employed in the study, as
well as implications of the study's findings for practice are presented in chapter 10.
The findings of the classroom observations revealed a disparity between the principles of the
curnculum and textbooks and their implementation in the classroom. The teachers tended to front the
classroom and perform a restricted range of roles, overwhelmingly favouring the roles of transmitter,
controller of students' language and evaluator. The analysis of teachers' linguistic behaviour corroborated
these findings. The results of the attitude scale, questionnaire and interviews revealed that teachers, due to
their lack of training, had a very limited understanding of the main principles of the approach they had been
asked to implement. The teachers tended to translate innovatoiy concepts to conform to their existing
theories of language and language teaching/learning.
The study has aimed to contribute to two areas where language teaching research is largely lacking: a)
classroom implementation of a communicative approach in a foreign language teaching context and b) the
investigation of language teachers' attitudes and their importance in understanding language teachers'
classroom behaviour. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations for would-be curriculum
developers working in contexts similar to the Greek one are provided in the concluding chapter of the
thesis.


Contemporary science and environmental news coverage of global warming increasingly portrays scientific consensus. Political news coverage of global warming, however, typically portrays controversy. We hypothesize that attention to science and environmental news is associated with beliefs more consistent with the global warming science and higher risk perceptions, and that the opposite is true of attention to political news. Furthermore, we hypothesize that science-based beliefs and risk perceptions are positively associated with support for policies aiming at reducing global warming. These hypotheses were confirmed by survey data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 2,164). These findings support and extend the cognitive mediation model of news learning and have important practical ramifications.


Abstract:
Research has primarily focused on depression and mood disorders, but little research has been devoted to an examination of mental health services use amongst those with diagnosable anxiety disorder (Wittchen et al., 2002; Bergeron et al., 2005). This study examined the possible predicting factors for mental health services utilization amongst those with identifiable anxiety disorder in the Canadian population. The methods used for this study was the application of Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, where predisposing, need and enabling characteristics were regressed on the dependent variable of mental health services use. This study used the Canadian Community Health Survey (cycle 1.2: Mental Health and Well-Being) in a secondary data analysis. Several multiple logistics models predicted the likelihood to seek and use mental health services. Predisposing characteristics of gender and age, Enabling characteristics of education and geographical location, and those with co-occurring mood disorders were at the greatest increased likelihood to seek and use mental health services.


Hybridisation of district heating systems can contribute to more efficient heat generation through cogeneration power plants or through an increase in the share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption while reducing negative aspects of particular energy source utilisation. In this work, the performance of a hybrid district energy system for a small town in Croatia has been analysed. A mathematical model for process analysis and optimisation algorithm for optimal system configuration have been developed and described. The main goal of the system optimisation is to reduce heat production costs. Several energy sources for heat production have been considered in 8 different simulation cases. Simulation results show that the heat production costs could be reduced with introduction of different energy systems into an existing district heating system. Renewable energy based district heating systems could contribute to heat production costs decrease in district heating systems up to 30% in comparison with highly efficient heat production technologies based on conventional fuels.


Ionic liquids also known as "green solvents," are used in many fields. However, the dispersion of ionic liquids in soil systems is likely to cause damage to soil organisms. The objective of the present study was to investigate the toxicity of 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride ([C8mim]Cl) on earthworms (Eisenia fetida). For this purpose, earthworms were exposed to different concentrations of [C8mim]Cl (0 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, and 40 mg/kg artificial soil) and sampled at 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, and 28 d. The results indicated that [C8mim]Cl could cause an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in earthworms, even at the lowest concentration (5 mg/kg). Compared with the controls, during the [C8mim]Cl exposure period, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) decreased and then increased, whereas the activities of peroxidase (POD) and glutathione S‐transferase (GST) increased. These changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes and GST indicated that [C8mim]Cl could induce oxidative damage in earthworms. The malondialdehyde content was increased by high levels of [C8mim]Cl at 14 d and 28 d, indicating that [C8mim]Cl could lead to lipid peroxidation in earthworms. In addition, the degree of DNA damage significantly increased with increasing [C8mim]Cl concentrations and exposure time. The present study shows that [C8mim]Cl caused biochemical and genetic toxicity in earthworms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:411–418. © 2015 SETAC


Studies of interception have shown that participants expect free-falling targets to
descend vertically and accelerate at g (9.81 m/s2). Visuomotor delays render motor
commands obsolete in such rapidly changing situations, so predictive control is
necessary. Internal models have been proposed as a mechanism to predict the future
position of free-falling objects. Internal models are predictive systems that provide
input to the motor and sensory systems, and are acquired by the CNS from experience.
The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the existence of a possible
internal model of gravity and to explore its directional and acceleration amplitude
aspects. This thesis is the first study to investigate directional and amplitude aspects of
such a model by systematically varying stimulus target kinematics.
In the first two experiments, participants performed visually guided tracking of
realistic virtual stimuli. In experiment 1, stimuli accelerated at g but moved in different
straight-line directions. In experiment 2, stimuli always descended vertically but with
different accelerations (as percentages of g). Tracking was by finger pointing, laser
pointing, gaze tracking in isolation or gaze tracking with concomitant manual or laser
tracking. In the absence of on-screen feedback of indicated position (i.e. non-laser
trials), tracking was generally tuned for targets that a) descended vertically (or tended
increasingly to vertically downwards over time) and b) accelerated at g or slightly less
than g.
In the third experiment, participants judged whether a target accelerating at g
was moving vertically, or to the left or right of the vertical. The stimuli from
experiment 1 were used. I found that a) participants' reports were influenced by an
expectation that gravity would affect the trajectory even when there is visual
information to the contrary (i.e. an effect of gravity was expected on observed
trajectory); and b) physics expertise yielded no difference in performance suggesting
that performance, based on an internal model of gravity, is determined by experience of
seeing things fall in the real-world under gravity, rather than by intellectual
understanding of gravity. In the fourth experiment, participants judged whether a target
accelerated at less than g, at g, or greater than g. The stimuli from experiment 2 were
used. As with experiment 3, I found no effect of physics expertise and only weak
evidence in support of an internal model of gravity.
I conclude that the CNS is likely construct and maintain an internal model of
gravity that predicts the future position of free-falling targets to be in a 'real-world' manner – acceleration at 99% or 100% of g and vertically downwards or in a direction
tending increasingly to vertically downwards over time. I found no evidence for 'direct
perception' (observation yielding first-order time-to-contact information). In the final
conclusion I briefly discuss alternative possibilities for predictive motor control.


In this paper, we conduct an intriguing experimental study about the physical adversarial attack on object detectors in the wild. In particular, we learn a camouflage pattern to hide vehicles from being detected by state-of-the-art convolutional neural network based detectors. Our approach alternates between two threads. In the first, we train a neural approximation function to imitate how a simulator applies a camouflage to vehicles and how a vehicle detector performs given images of the camouflaged vehicles. In the second, we minimize the approximated detection score by searching for the optimal camouflage. Experiments show that the learned camouflage can not only hide a vehicle from the image-based detectors under many test cases but also generalizes to different environments, vehicles, and object detectors.


RFID technology is one of the technology solutions in supply chain management, retailing, medical, operation and services includes production industries. This study composes three (3) objectives which are to identify the relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with intention to use RFID, to identify which factors are giving more influence towards intention to use RFID and to differentiate the demographic profile (age, working
experience and etc.) employees in accepting the RFID. The basic Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used as a theoretical framework. The basic TAM is only perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are influencing the acceptance of a new technology. This study is used census technique and the model is tested using instrument which is questionnaires that respond by the whole population with 236 respondents at Pos Malaysia Berhad, Malaysia. First objective showed that, those two (2) independent variables (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) have significant relationship towards intention to use RFID. Second
objective exposed that perceived ease of use is the most important factor and followed by perceived usefulness. For the third objective, the result showed that there is no significant difference between age and working experience and there is significant difference between SPM and diploma towards intention to use RFID among postmen. Additionally, there is significant difference displayed in region towards intention to use RFID. The result of this study
also indicates that, the result for two (2) independent variables with 81.5% are able to explain the relationship of intention to use RFID and it have any other factors for this study instead of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Finally, from the result, Pos Malaysia Berhad has to generate some new ideas in order to increase the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. For example, by giving them good training, motivation and also user-friendly tools and equipment.


In the brain, complex information interactions among neurons span several spatial and temporal scales, making it extremely difficult to identify the principles governing neural information processing. In this study, we used computational models to investigate the impact of dendritic morphology and synaptic topology on patterns of neuronal firing. We first constructed Hodgkin-Huxley-type neuron models that possessed dendrites with different morphological features. We then simulated the responses of these neurons to a number of spatiotemporal input patterns. The similarity between neuronal responses to different patterned inputs was effectively evaluated by a novel combination of metric space analysis and multidimensional scaling analyses. The results showed that neurons with different morphological or anatomical features exhibit differences in stimulus-specific temporal encoding and firing reliability. These findings support the idea that in addition to biophysical membrane properties, the dendritic morphology and the synaptic topology of a neuron can play a significant role in neuronal information processing and may directly contribute to various brain functions.


Congenital disorders of glycosylation are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of >130 diseases caused by defects in various steps along glycan modification pathways. The vast majority of these monogenic diseases are autosomal recessive and have multi-systemic manifestations, mainly growth failure, developmental delay, facial dysmorphisms, and variable coagulation and endocrine abnormalities. Carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) and protein-linked glycan analysis with mass spectrometry can diagnose some subtypes of congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG), while many currently rely on massively parallel genomic sequencing for diagnosis. Early detection is important, as a few of these disorders are treatable. Molecular and biochemical techniques continue to further our understanding of this rapidly expanding group of clinically and genetically diverse disorders.


A brief description of Supramolecular Chemistry, followed by a literature review on the chemistry of calix[n]arene derivatives (n = 4-6) concerning the work carried out in this thesis are included in the Introduction Section. A fully detailed investigation on structural and thermodynamic aspects of calix[n]arene amide derivatives (n= 4-6) with metal cations (alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal cations) were carried out in different media at 298.15 K. The information were obtained using the appropriate techniques and The successful syntheses of 5,11,17,23-tetra-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-25,26,27,28-tetra-{N,N-diethylamide)-ethoxy-calix[4]arene (L1), 5,11,17,23,29 penta-tert-butyl 31,32,33,35-penta hydroxyl calix[5]arene (L2) and 5,11,17,23,29,35-p-tert-butyl-37,38,39,40,41,42- hexadiethylacetamide-calix[6]arene (L3) was confirmed by 1H NMR and elemental analysis. The solution thermodynamics for L1 and L3 were investigated and the degree of solvation of these macrocycles on different media relative to acetonitrile was derived from the ?tG°(s1-s2) from one solvent relative to acetonitrile 1H NMR studies for L1 in different media at 298 K gave valuable information on the conformation that this ligand adopts in these solvents. The interaction of L1 with metal cations in deuterated solvents was analysed by 1H NMR at 298 K. Information on the binding sites was also obtained from these experiments. Conductometric titrations in acetonitrile and methanol at 298.15 K were performed to establish the stoichiometry of complex formation for L1 and L3 with metal cations. This was followed by calorimetric and potentiometric titrations with metal cations at 298.15 K to determine the thermodynamic parameters of complexation. The medium effect on the complexation processes was assessed for L1 and monovalent metal cations in one solvent relative to another at 298.15 K. This was investigated taking into account the thermodynamic parameters of transfer of the reactants and the product from acetonitrile relative to methanol. A comparative study involving the three ligands was discussed on the basis of the experimental data obtained for each of these macrocycles in their complexation with metal cations. Conclusions and suggestions for further investigations are given.


The cycling regime of thermal power plants significantly increases in the presence of intermittent renewables, increasing fuel and operation and maintenance costs from startups. Some regional electricity market operators adopt complex bidding mechanisms to account for nonconvex cost components that are not reflected in the marginal cost of energy, while other markets rely solely on simple bids with revenue sufficiency conditions. This paper compares the impacts of different bidding rules on wholesale prices and on the remuneration of units in power systems with a significant share of renewable generation. We distinguish the effects of bidding rules from the effects of regulatory uncertainty that can unexpectedly increase renewable generation by considering two distinct situations: 1) an "adapted" capacity mix, which is optimized for any given amount of renewable penetration, and 2) a "nonadapted" capacity mix, which is optimized for zero renewable penetration, but operated with different nonzero levels of renewables. We show that, although in the transitory state the impact on remuneration of having a nonadapted system dominates over the effect of the startup remuneration mechanisms explored, in equilibrium, bidding rules play an important role in making power plants whole while impacting on the cost borne by consumers.


Typically, we have looked for our economic lessons in plants operating for long periods without major troubles or ownership changes. At Purdue, we de~ided to try a novel approach. We have studied our plants which have made ownership changes. Many of these plants have been in economic trouble and .we felt that their experiences could afford valuable economic lessons. Today we want to share that study with you.


The thesis analyses Britain's political involvement in Bulgaria during 1943 - 1949. It explores Britain's motives for seeking increased influence in the country and traces the most significant British attempts to shape Bulgarian politics. It examines British strategic decisions and diplomatic activities in Bulgaria against the background of the evolving domestic political situation and of Soviet objectives in the Balkans. Evidence from British archives is tested against recently released Bulgarian and Russian sources. The study clarifies problems central to the interpretation of post-war Bulgarian developments and addresses the question of British attitudes to the whole of Eastern Europe. Bulgaria's marginal place in British political and military thinking is found to be at odds with the country's recognised strategic importance. Towards the end of the Second World War, Bulgaria attracted the attention of the British Government occasionally, mostly in the context of broader regional issues such as that of the Balkan Federation. Although the realisation of limited capabilities to influence Bulgarian developments coloured Britain's wartime approach, never did British policy makers disavow interest in Bulgarian affairs. The research establishes that in the armistice period British policy towards Bulgaria was overwhelmingly governed by traditional geopolitical factors. These focused around Bulgaria's potential military threat of British imperial positions in the Eastern Mediterranean and overshadowed any proclaimed British commitment to democracy. Britain's priorities were complicated by the emerging Cold War as a Soviet-dominated Bulgaria was perceived as a springboard for Communist penetration of Europe. Ironically, British unwillingness to challenge Soviet influence in the northern Balkans exacerbated the very dangers Britain was striving to alleviate. Wavering British support for the Bulgarian anti-Communist Opposition only served to expose Britain's weaknesses and further antagonise the Soviet Union. This engendered continuous restraint and gradually led to the isolation of Britain from Bulgarian politics after British recognition of the Bulgarian Communist Government in 1947.


Gas make into active longwall panels is an important issue in ventilation and gas drainage design. A method of simulating the mining induced fracture network and associated increase in hydraulic conductivity is a necessity for improved mine design, hazard management planning and gas drainage efficiency. This paper identifies and illustrates the key components in determining the connectivity of lower gas sources to an active goaf. Computer modelling identifies the formation of cyclic fractures that form below the longwall face and extend down back below the goaf. These cyclic fractures form when the stress conditions are high enough and the strata properties allow for shear failure to extend down through the strata. The mining induced fracture formation and stress redistribution creates increased hydraulic conductivity of the floor strata below the active goaf. The stress redistribution and fracture volume also reduce the pore pressure below the goaf, allowing gas desorption to occur from lower seams. The combination of gas desorption and increased hydraulic conductivity allows gas connectivity from gas sources below the seam to the active goaf. A monitoring program at a NSW mine as part of ACARP Project C23009 allowed for preliminary validation of the concepts illustrated from the computer modelling. Preliminary field gas flow measurements are within the range of connectivity expectations based on rock failure modelling of longwall extraction. This report presents the first validation results for the modelling approach presented in this paper. Further results from ACARP Project C23009 on optimisation of gas drainage will follow in future publications.


Objective To inform the assessment of described mechanisms of bruising in children. Design Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting The emergency department, and children in the local community. Patients Children aged 0–13 years with bruises from unintentional injuries. Exclusions: bleeding disorder, medication affecting coagulation or child protection concerns. Interventions Injury incidents were categorised into one of eight causal mechanisms (fall from<1 m, 1–2 m, fall from standing height or less and hitting an object during fall, stairs or impact, crush, sports or motor vehicle collision). Main outcome measures Location, number and mechanism of bruising for each injury mechanism. Results 372 children had 559 injury incidents, resulting in 693 bruises; 85.2% of children were walking independently, with impact injuries and fall from standing height (including hitting an object) being the predominant mechanisms. A single bruise was observed in 81.7% of all incidents. Stair falls resulted in ≥3 bruises only with falls involving ≥10 steps (6/16). Bruising was rarely observed on the buttocks, upper arm, back of legs or feet. No bruises were seen in this dataset on ears, neck or genitalia. Petechial bruising was only noted in 1/293 unintentional incidents, involving a high-impact injury in a school-aged child. Conclusion These findings have the potential to aid an assessment of the plausibility of the explanation given for a child with bruising. Certain bruise distributions were rarely observed, namely multiple bruises from a single mechanism, petechiae and bruising to the ears, neck or genitalia.


In John Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn," the most enigmatic phrase is "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" (49). The equation of beauty and truth in this phrase has generated numerous interpretive responses to the nature of aesthetic experience represented in the poem, leading many critics to ponder the relationship between the sensory experience of beauty and the intellectual understanding of truth. Helen Vendler, for example, reads the ode as Keats's attempt to affirm two different responses to the urn as an aesthetic object: "sensory participation in the represented scene and intellectual awareness of the medium" (127). According to Vendler, both of these responses to the urn are authentic and aesthetic, but they cannot happen simultaneously and thus alternate, "one always canceling the other" (127-28). (1) Although he does not directly address the issue of sensory experience versus intellectual comprehension, Arnd Bohm posits a similar oppositional relationship between beauty and truth, arguing that, in the ode, Keats offers the beautiful as an alternative to the sublime, which cannot serve as an avenue of truth because it instigates intense feelings of pain and terror without any healing influence. Bohm maintains that beauty is made "into truth, truth into beauty, beauty into truth, and so on endlessly" without one being sacrificed for the other, and this dialectic interaction between beauty and truth creates the meaning of the urn, or, in Bohm's words, "the unlimited energy of cosmic flux" (21). This dualistic understanding of beauty and truth, however, seems to underestimate the seriousness of Keats's endeavor to illustrate through his poem how sensory experience can provide access to that which transcends sensory grasp. As shown in his contradictory remarks on sensations and thoughts in his letters, Keats intensely struggled between the poetry of sensation and the poetry of philosophy. On 22 November 1817, in his famous letter on the imagination he wrote to Benjamin Bailey, Keats declares, "O for a Life of Sensations rather than of Thoughts" (Letters 1: 185), intimating his predilection for aesthetic sensations rather than intellectual thoughts. In his letter to his publisher John Taylor dated 27 April 1818, however, Keats resolves to "turn all [his] soul to" the pursuit of philosophy and knowledge after admitting that he has "been hovering some time between an exquisite sense of the luxurious and a love for Philosophy" (Letters 1: 271). (2) Keats's conflict between the sensuous real and the metaphenomenal ideal is intricately connected to the problem that has long been a crux in the interpretation of "Ode on a Grecian Urn": the thematic opposition between transient yet immediate life and transcendent art. (3) In "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Keats seems to have found a way to resolve the conflict between the poetry of sensation and the poetry of philosophy. Immanuel Kant's aesthetics, particularly his concepts of the productive and reproductive imagination, can illuminate how Keats seeks to resolve this conflict by blending the sensory, empirical realm of life and the timeless, abstract, intellectual sphere of art in the ode. There have been attempts to confirm Keats's knowledge of philosophy, especially Platonic idealism. (4) There is little substantial evidence, however, to verify the exact contents of Keats's philosophical education, and there is no consensus regarding Keats's philosophical affiliation with Plato. (5) While Keats's "affiliation with Plato is too controversial" (White 13), it is equally controversial to establish the influence of any one philosopher on Keats, and it is beyond the scope of this argument to establish some influential relationship between Keats and Kant. As Rene Wellek observes in his seminal book Immanuel Kant in England, 1793-1838, except for Thomas Carlyle and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, British Romantic poets and thinkers only had indirect and superficial knowledge of Kant's philosophical doctrines, and even "thinkers who had found a positive relation to Kant somehow managed to put him back into the framework of English tradition and English orthodoxy. …


Abstract Objectives. The objectives of the study were firstly to determine the health risks associated with street food vending, secondly to determine the opinions of street food customers on street food vendors, and thirdly to determine how street food vending contributes to the livelihood of street food vendors. Design. Primary research was done among 200 street food vendors and 800 of their customers in South Africa, and 200 samples were taken of the food itself. Socio-economic profiles of the street food vendors were compiled and the hygiene practices followed by them in preparing and serving the food were investigated. Customers were interviewed and their reasons for buying street foods as well as their experiences in consuming street foods were noted. Street food samples were tested to assess the microbiological safety of these foods. Setting. The study was conducted in the metropolitan areas of Gauteng in South Africa. Results. The survey showed a high hygiene standard maintained by most vendors during preparation and serving of the foods, while the microbiological tests showed relatively low microbiological counts. The study indicated that the health risks of consuming street foods are minimal, that street food vendors depend on vending for their livelihood and that their customers appreciate their trade. Conclusion. It is essential that poor people in a developing country such as South Africa be allowed to earn their livelihood by means of an 'easy-to-enter' business such as street food vending when hygiene standards are acceptable.


Get to grips with key data visualization and predictive analytic skills using RAbout This BookAcquire predictive analytic skills using various tools of RMake predictions about future events by discovering valuable information from data using RComprehensible guidelines that focus on predictive model design with real-world dataWho This Book Is ForIf you are a statistician, chief information officer, data scientist, ML engineer, ML practitioner, quantitative analyst, and student of machine learning, this is the book for you. You should have basic knowledge of the use of R. Readers without previous experience of programming in R will also be able to use the tools in the book.What You Will LearnCustomize R by installing and loading new packagesExplore the structure of data using clustering algorithmsTurn unstructured text into ordered data, and acquire knowledge from the dataClassify your observations using Naive Bayes, k-NN, and decision treesReduce the dimensionality of your data using principal component analysisDiscover association rules using AprioriUnderstand how statistical distributions can help retrieve information from data using correlations, linear regression, and multilevel regressionUse PMML to deploy the models generated in RIn DetailR is statistical software that is used for data analysis. There are two main types of learning from data: unsupervised learning, where the structure of data is extracted automatically; and supervised learning, where a labeled part of the data is used to learn the relationship or scores in a target attribute. As important information is often hidden in a lot of data, R helps to extract that information with its many standard and cutting-edge statistical functions.This book is packed with easy-to-follow guidelines that explain the workings of the many key data mining tools of R, which are used to discover knowledge from your data.You will learn how to perform key predictive analytics tasks using R, such as train and test predictive models for classification and regression tasks, score new data sets and so on. All chapters will guide you in acquiring the skills in a practical way. Most chapters also include a theoretical introduction that will sharpen your understanding of the subject matter and invite you to go further.The book familiarizes you with the most common data mining tools of R, such as k-means, hierarchical regression, linear regression, association rules, principal component analysis, multilevel modeling, k-NN, Naive Bayes, decision trees, and text mining. It also provides a description of visualization techniques using the basic visualization tools of R as well as lattice for visualizing patterns in data organized in groups. This book is invaluable for anyone fascinated by the data mining opportunities offered by GNU R and its packages.Style and approachThis is a practical book, which analyzes compelling data about life, health, and death with the help of tutorials. It offers you a useful way of interpreting the data that's specific to this book, but that can also be applied to any other data.


Purpose: The purpose of this integrative
review is to investigate the degree of variability in the prescribing
approaches to acute pain management in the emergency department (ED) setting.
Variations in analgesic prescribing among ethnic and racial minorities as they
compare to non-minority patients with similar complaints of pain will be
examined. Data Sources: A comprehensive review of the literature was
conducted using MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL databases. Inclusion criteria of
the studies were: US studies; published between 2002 and 2012; English language;
with at least one aim or analysis comparing prescription of analgesia between a
racial or ethnic minority and non-minority group in the ED. Key words used to
obtain relevant articles included pain management; analgesia prescription;
minority; race; ethnicity; emergency department; disparities. Conclusion: A
research summary concluded that racial and ethnic disparities in pain
management continue to exist in the ED setting. When compared to Caucasian
patients, African American and non-white ethnicities were less likely to
receive analgesia. Language barriers, experience of providers, and trust were
among the contributors to pain management disparities. Implications for
Practice: The role of the nurse is to incorporate cultural competence in
assessing and achieving equitable pain management across all racial/ethnic
groups.


Abstract Some large metabasaltic pillows in the uppermost part of the Palaeoarchaean Hooggenoeg Complex in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa, exhibit flow-banded margins and homogeneous cores that have a different texture and compositional variation. The margins consist of millimetre to several centimetre thick alternating bands of pale green spherulitic and darker, conspicuously variolitic varieties of non-vesicular and aphyric metabasalt, previously inferred to be due to mingling of two different types of lava. The dark cores have sharp, aphanitic contacts with the flow-banded carapaces. They lack flow banding, have coarse-grained interiors and exhibit well-preserved primary textures with pseudomorphs after prismatic pyroxene set in a groundmass containing skeletal plagioclase. The compositional range of samples from these cores is unlike that of the flow-banded metabasalt but is similar to a 19 m thick lobate metabasalt flow ~150 m stratigraphically further up, at the local top of the Hooggenoeg volcanic sequence. The pillow cores are inferred to result from the later refilling of drained hollow pillows.


This work represents memories of childhood. A lollipop is one of the world's most be loved snacks. Although it is common to normal people, a lollipop is not an affordable snack to poor children. This work expresses an imaginary lollipop by a user's drawing. The candy drawing is printed on a paper having a message on its backside. The message represents memories of childhood. The printer uses fragrance inks to print out an origami with a lollipop shape. The audience carries on art works which have a fragrance and lollipop shape. This is a fake lollipop, however it may represent a hope for everyone.


Much recent work focuses on leveraging semantic lexicons like WordNet to enhance word representation learning (WRL) and achieves promising performance on many NLP tasks. However, most existing methods might have limitations because they require high-quality, manually created, semantic lexicons or linguistic structures. In this paper, we propose to leverage semantic knowledge automatically mined from web structured data to enhance WRL. We first construct a semantic similarity graph, which is referred as semantic knowledge, based on a large collection of semantic lists extracted from the web using several pre-defined HTML tag patterns. Then we introduce an efficient joint word representation learning model to capture semantics from both semantic knowledge and text corpora. Compared with recent work on improving WRL with semantic resources, our approach is more general, and can be easily scaled with no additional effort. Extensive experimental results show that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art methods on word similarity, word sense disambiguation, text classification and textual similarity tasks.


Human rights education, in North America, is still developing and perhaps only in its adolescence. This is, on the one hand, quite shocking, given the foundational role such rights (supposedly) play in the core societal structures of the United States and Canada. On the other hand, the human rights movement has exploded world-wide since 1945 – rendering it in many ways a new normative world – and it is hard to think of other countries obviously doing better. To enable readers to draw comparative and intrinsic lessons, this paper examines both the form and content of human rights education in North America. The form section focuses on the modalities and availabilities of such education. The content section, by contrast, focuses on some of the "hot topics" and prominent dilemmas in contemporary North American human rights education. Emphasis is there placed on taking a principled, consistent stand in light of these latest controversies and challenges. In other words, and owing to the author's nature as a philosopher, the content section will feature arguments highlighting the strength of a certain way of viewing and teaching human rights in the face of doubts about them and challenges to them.


Developing economy like Nigeria requires energy consumption by productive sector to drive her growing economy. Most ecological economists have argued that the increasing energy consumption leads to increase in CO2 emission and economic growth in Nigeria. However, few studies have been carried out to investigate the relationship between energy consumption, CO2 emission and economic growth in Nigeria. Most related studies lack appropriate theoretical framework, the inclusion of relevant variable and the adoption of relevant models; these may have affected the result of their studies. It is against this background that this study investigates the effect of energy consumption, CO2 emission on economic growth in Nigeria, for the period of 1981 to 2015. The paper relied on Zivot-Andrews unit root technique to examine the unit roots properties of the variables the variables have structural breaks ranging from 1995 to 2010. Also, the ARDL model was employed to examine the effect of energy consumption and CO2 emission on economic growth. In addition to the explanatory variable are capital and labour. The Granger causality test technique was employed to examine the relationship between energy consumption, CO2 emission and economic growth. The bounds testing results infer that long-run relationship run from economic growth (RGDP) to Capital, Labour, energy consumption and CO2 emission. The estimated result of the ARDL models revealed that energy consumption, capital and labour contribute positively to economic growth. While CO2 emission contribute negatively to economic growth in the short-run. This result was supported by the long-run estimated. Though in the long-run, capital and labour were not significant. The Granger causality test result revealed a uni-directional causality from capital to economic growth and labour to economic growth. But a bi-directional causality was expressed between energy consumption and economic growth and CO2 emission and economic growth. An important recommendation resulting from these results is that policy makers should begin to implement policies, especially the energy policy of 2003, toward encouraging the use of alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass.


The Machinery and Engine Technology (MET) Program of the National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) has established a program for the evaluation of sensors to measure gas turbine engine performance accurately. The precise measurement of fuel flow is an essential part of steady-state gas turbine performance assessment. Prompted by an international engine testing and information exchange program, and a mandate to improve all aspects of gas turbine performance evaluation, the MET Laboratory has critically examined two types of fuel flowmeters, Coriolis and turbine. The two flowmeter types are different in that the Coriolis flowmeter measures mass flow directly, while the turbine flowmeter measures volumetric flow, which must be converted to mass flow for conventional performance analysis. The direct measurement of mass flow, using a Coriolis flowmeter, has many advantages in field testing of gas turbines, because it reduces the risk of errors resulting from the conversion process. Turbine flowmeters, on the other hand, have been regarded as an industry standard because they are compact, rugged, reliable, and relatively inexpensive. This paper describes the project objectives, the experimental installation, and the results of the comparison of the Coriolis and turbine-type flowmeters in steady-state performance testing. Discussed are variations between the two types of flowmeters due to fuel characteristics, fuel handling equipment, acoustic and vibration interference, and installation effects. Also included in this paper are estimations of measurement uncertainties for both types of flowmeter. Results indicate that the agreement between Coriolis and turbine-type flowmeters is good over the entire steady-state operating range of a typical gas turbine engine. In some cases the repeatability of the Coriolis flowmeter is better than the manufacturer's specification. Even a significant variation in fuel density (10 percent), and viscosity (300 percent) did not appear to compromise the ability of the Coriolis flowmeter to match the performance of the turbine flowmeter


Uplift of the crust during rifting is a major problem that has been left unresolved by uniform stretching models. Various depth-dependent stretching models have been proposed to account for this, but these require decoupling of the crust and mantle and result in space problems within the mantle. A significant modification of these discontinuous nonuniform or depth-dependent stretching models is proposed here that accounts for synrift uplift and doming but does not result in these problems. The model involves continuous nonuniform stretching within a polygonal region bounded by symmetrical, outward-sloping boundaries within the mantle. This geometry results in thinning of the lithosphere below crustal regions that are less stretched or unstretched, crustal uplift resulting from asthenospheric upwelling below these regions. This in turn results in stretching factors for the mantle that are less than those for the crust, a relationship opposite to relationships derived by discontinuous nonuniform stretching models. Corollary predictions for mantle-derived heat flow within and outside regions of stretching of these two different depth-dependent models may allow them to be distinguished from each other and from regions where uniform stretching predominates.


Construction projects have become larger and more complex and yet still maintain a high drive for quality. As a result of this increase in size and complexity, the quantities of documentation and information required to control the overall project process have themselves become more complex. Underpinning the goal of construction quality is real time information flow to and from the construction site along with communications between all the parties involved. Project information integration and collaboration is the key to achievement of coherent quality management and this can be attained through electronically sharing of information during the construction process. The residential sector of the construction industry continually experiences significant numbers of "snags". Many site issues including snagging need to be resolved quickly and efficiently to avoid dispute and more importantly cost overrun. However, the distinct professions and artisans within the industry rarely acknowledge the needs of others. Indeed the snagging information they produce is often so incompatible that the next stage in many processes is to reconstruct the information into a workable format. Analysis of a range of organisations' approaches to snagging shows that they have their own distinct snagging process. What is required is a coherent approach to the use and implementation of an IT based, industry wide, snagging format which would revolutionise and streamline the recording and approval process of construction snagging.


The proposed paper deals with the development process and initial measurement results of an opposed-piston combustion engine for application in a Free-Piston Linear Generator (FPLG). The FPLG, which is being developed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), is an innovative internal combustion engine for a fuel based electrical power supply. With its arrangement, the pistons freely oscillate between the compression chamber of the combustion unit and a gas spring with no mechanical coupling like a crank shaft. Linear alternators convert the kinetic energy of the moving piston into electric energy. The virtual development of the novel combustion system is divided into two stages: On the one hand, the combustion system including e.g. a cylinder liner, pistons, cooling and lubrication concepts has to be developed. On the other hand, 3D-CFD-simulations are used in the early stage within the virtual development process toward the optimization of the geometry of the scavenging ports and ducts, the gas exchange, injection and ignition. With the high variability of the free piston concept, a strategy for a dual combustion mode operation with spark ignition and HCCI is developed. The new engine is constructed on and implemented at the hydraulic free-piston test bench at DLR and was successfully taken into operation. First measurement results show the engine behavior with dual spark ignition and two opposed injectors.


The type and distribution of indoleamine-accumulating neurons were studied in the cat retina. The neurons were characterized by their capacity to take up an exogenous indoleamine, 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine, which could then be visualized using formaldehyde-induced fluorescence. Under direct microscopic control, intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow into the labeled cells revealed that the indoleamine- accumulating neurons comprise 2 distinct morphological types of amacrine cell and 1 class of ganglion cell. The dendritic morphology and retinal distribution of these cells were studied in detail. The proportion of retinal cells that accumulate 5-HT was measured using 5- HT (5-hydroxytryptamine) preloading in vitro and immunocytochemistry with an anti-5-HT antibody. Only 1 type of amacrine cell showed uptake of 5-HT at a concentration of 10(-7) M. Cells containing endogenous 5- HT were not detected by immunocytochemistry.


Seven teleseismic long period P-wave records from World-Wide Standard Seismograph Network (WWSSN) are used to infer the source rupture process of the July 23, 1978 Lanhsu, eastern Taiwan earthquake through the body-wave iterative deconvolution method (Kikuchi and Kanamori, 1982; 1986). Results show that the rupture sequence consists of one main event and one largest subevent near the hypocenter determined by Pezzopane and Wesnousky (1989) and numerous smaller ones at a distance from the hypocenter. Comparison of the spatial distribution of mainshock rupture sequence with aftershocks shows that aftershocks are located in the area which did not break before the occurrence of the above-mentioned events. The total seismic moment of the three largest events is 8.76×10^26 dyne-cm.


The author starts with the relationship between volatility and valuations. In particular, he first addresses the adequacy of the equity market capitalization to GDP ratio, a measure which has recently been used by many observers to suggest that stocks were substantially overvalued. He discusses the relationship between valuation levels and two broad variables: inflation and tax rates, and suggests that valuation levels should therefore fluctuate because the two underlying variables fluctuate as well. Digging into the topic further, the author seeks an alternative metric and suggests that GDP growth seems to be a good long-run approximation for sustainable earnings, though there will be predictable shorter-term divergences, particularly at inflection points or times when policy changes. Further, looking at earnings growth during the last several quarters, he argues that one can begin to understand why the equity market rose faster than earnings, resulting in an expansion of valuation ratios, be they price to earnings or market-capitalization to GDP. Bringing this to a model, he suggests that fluctuations in the rate of economic growth and the change in bond yields do a fairly nice job of explaining and potentially predicting valuation changes.


LUX* was a successful hospitality group operating in the Indian Ocean as well as other locations. In its previous incarnation, the company suffered from poor financial performance, poor service quality and a weak brand. A change in the leadership of the company led the group through a transformation, which showed positive results within 12 months. This case study describes a service revolution that lead to rapid improvements in service culture and guest experience, which in turn lead to sustained financial improvements on a quarter-onquarter basis.


Screening experiments for low levels of tritiated water (HTO) remediation based upon selective adsorption/desorption mechanisms utilizing equilibrium isotope effects have been carried out. Several organic and inorganic high surface area materials were investigated to assess their ability to selectively adsorb low concentrations of HTO. Ion-exchange resins with cation functionalities, chitosan, sodium alginate, and several inorganic media modified with metal cations exhibited promising results. Biomaterials, for example, chitosan and modified alginate, demonstrated positive results. Based on the literature and our preliminary testing, we postulate four possible mechanisms for selected tritium adsorption: hydrogen ion exchange, HTO coordination with surface cation sites, hydrogen bonding to surface basic sites, and secondary hydrogen bonding (structural water) in fine pores.


A recent study in Solanum bulbocastanum (a wild relative of the cultivated potato) aiming to identify potential genes involved in aphid and pathogen resistance mechanisms found that a homolog of the Arabidopsis thaliana cysteine protease gene RD19a is upregulated during aphid infestation. RD19a is upregulated in response to abiotic stresses such as drought and high salinity, and rd19a mutants show increased susceptibility to bacterial infection. In this study, Arabidopsis rd19a mutants and wildtype plants were subjected to aphid feeding to observe and compare the molecular, physiological and phenotypic responses. The aim was to further establish the proof of concept regarding the direct role of this gene in resistance mechanisms. Gene expression analysis was conducted to determine if RD19a is inducible by insect herbivory. Mutants showed an increased susceptibility to aphids, demonstrated by earlier appearance of tissue necrosis, higher percentages of electrolyte leakage and greater levels of aphid reproduction on these plants. Gene expression analysis showed that RD19a is aphidinducible, implicating it in biotic as well as abiotic stress resistance. Furthermore, mutation of RD19a appeared to compromise specific herbivory response mechanisms as demonstrated by an impaired induction of chitinase, a known insect defense-related gene, in rd19a mutants. This study confirmed that RD19a is an important component of the basal defense against aphid herbivory in Arabidopsis; perhaps its role is more important in plant species exhibiting greater resistance to aphids than Arabidopsis (e.g. S. bulbocastanum). RD19a appears to be highly conserved in plants and animals, although the biological functions may have diverged.


Two key determinants of biological diversity that have been examined in aboveground and aquatic systems are productivity, or resource supply, and physical disturbance. In this study, we examined how these factors interact under field conditions to determine belowground diversity using microarthropods (mites and Collembola) as our test community. To do this, we established a field manipulation experiment consisting of crossed, continuous gradients of nitrogenous (N) fertilizer addition (up to 240 kgNha ) and disturbance (imitated trampling by cattle) to produce a gradient of soil nutrient availability and disturbance. Due to the relatively shortterm nature of our study (i.e. 2 years), we only detected minimal changes in plant diversity due to the experimental manipulations; in the longer term we would expect to detect changes in plant diversity that could potentially impact on soil fauna. However, disturbance reduced, and additions of N increased, aboveground biomass, reflecting the potential effects of these manipulations on resource availability for soil fauna. We found that disturbance strongly reduced the abundance, diversity, and species richness of oribatid mites and Collembola, but had little effect on predatory mites (Mesostigmata). In contrast, N addition, and therefore resource availability, had little effect on microarthropod community structure, but did increase mesostigmatan mite richness and collembolan abundance at high levels of disturbance. Oribatid community structure was mostly influenced by disturbance, whereas collembolan and mesostigmatan diversity were responsive to N addition, suggesting bottom-up control. That maximal species richness of microarthropod groups overall occurred in undisturbed plots, suggests that the microarthropod community was negatively affected by disturbance. We found no change in microarthropod species richness with high N additions, where plant productivity was greatest, indicating that soil biotic communities are unlikely to be strongly regulated by competition. We conclude that the diversity of soil animals is best explained as a combination of their many varied life history tactics, phenology and the heterogeneity of soils that enable so many species to co-exist. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.