The last explosive change in art education came nearly a century ago, when the German Bauhaus was formed. Today, dramatic changes in the art world -- its increasing professionalization, the pervasive power of the art market, and fundamental shifts in art-making itself in our post-Duchampian era -- combined with a revolution in information technology, raise fundamental questions about the education of today's artists. Art School (Propositions for the 21st Century) brings together more than thirty leading international artists and art educators to reconsider the practices of art education in academic, practical, ethical, and philosophical terms. The essays in the book range over continents, histories, traditions, experiments, and fantasies of education. Accompanying the essays are conversations with such prominent artist/educators as John Baldessari, Michael Craig-Martin, Hans Haacke, and Marina Abramovic, as well as questionnaire responses from a dozen important artists -- among them Mike Kelley, Ann Hamilton, Guillermo Kuitca, and Shirin Neshat -- about their own experiences as students. A fascinating analysis of the architecture of major historical art schools throughout the world looks at the relationship of the principles of their designs to the principles of the pedagogy practiced within their halls. And throughout the volume, attention is paid to new initiatives and proposals about what an art school can and should be in the twenty-first century -- and what it shouldn't be. No other book on the subject covers more of the questions concerning art education today or offers more insight into the pressures, challenges, risks, and opportunities for artists and art educators in the years ahead. ContributorsMarina Abramovic, Dennis Adams, John Baldessari, Ute Meta Bauer, Daniel Birnbaum, Saskia Bos, Tania Bruguera, Luis Camnitzer, Michael Craig-Martin, Thierry de Duve, Clementine Deliss, Charles Esche, Liam Gillick, Boris Groys, Hans Haacke, Ann Lauterbach, Ken Lum, Steven Henry Madoff, Brendan D. Moran, Ernesto Pujol, Raqs Media Collective, Charles Renfro, Jeffrey T. Schnapp, Michael Shanks, Robert Storr, Anton Vidokle


Abstract Celadonite and glauconite samples heated at different temperatures were studied by X-ray and electron diffraction. For dioctahedral micas the in-plane component of the translation between layers (ccosβ/a), which is strongly dependent on the position of the vacant octahedral site, significantly decreases at temperatures greater than the temperature of maximum dehydroxylation. The simulation of XRD patterns from different structural models reveals the actual crystal structure of dehydroxylated samples as well as the dynamics of the structural transformations. In the nonheated state the samples consist of tv (trans-vacant) 2:1 layers. During dehydroxylation, cations migrate from cis- into trans-octahedra and have 5-fold coordination. In the averaged unit-cell the 'residual' anions formed after the dehydroxylation reaction occupy the former OH sites with probability equal to 0.5. The migration of octahedral cations is accompanied by the transformation of the C-centred layer unit-cells into primitive ones. In contrast to Fe, Al and Mg cations have a greater ability to migrate.


While the academic study of counterterrorism has gained momentum in recent years, it still suffers from major theoretical weaknesses. One of the most prominent shortcomings is an absence of theories that can effectively explain the factors that shape the counterterrorism policies of democratic regimes. The present study attempts to fill this theoretical void in two ways. First, it proposes an analytical framework for a classification of counterterrorism policies. Second, it presents a theoretical framework that strives to uncover the factors that have influenced the struggle against domestic terrorism in democratic regimes. The analyses, which have used a unique and comprehensive dataset that documents counterterrorism policies in eighty-three democracies, show that the robustness of the regime's democratic foundations as well as the symbolic effect of terrorism are major forces in shaping the democratic response to it, while the direct impact of terrorism is less influential than assumed in the literature.


This article examines developments at public-service and state-administered media organizations based on a global sample of country case studies and selected secondary data. Most public-service and state media organizations have experienced a decline in revenue and audience and a tendency to weaken the program remit, but the overall direction of change is not one of uniform, marked, or irreversible decline. Although successful models of public service for the digital age have emerged, recent evidence suggests that neither the weakening of state broadcasters nor their reform into independent public-service media are inevitable results of digitization.


Background The incidence of hamstring injuries (HSI) in professional rugby union is high. Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) has been utilised within HSI prevention programmes. To date, little is known about the effect of NHE on HSI in professional rugby. Objective To examine the effect of a HSI prevention programme on Nordic eccentric strength (NES), injury incidence and severity in professional rugby union. Design Prospective time series design that involved measures of NES obtained throughout the 2015–2016 rugby season whist undertaking a hamstring strengthening intervention. Setting Professional rugby union. Patients (or Participants) 50 professional male rugby union players. Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) One session of 3 sets 3–6reps NHE in addition to normal posterior chain strengthening exercises weekly. Main Outcome Measurements NES was measured at 3 monthly intervals through the season using a commercial device. HSI incidence and severity (days lost) were compared between two seasons. Results From June 2015 to June 2016 NES remained stable (n=31; 5N; 95%CI=−52 to 42N; P=0.821; ES=0.06). Imbalance, however, reduced by 9% (95% CI=3 to 15% (n=31; P=0.005; ES=0.72). For season 2014–2015, number of HSI were 5.2/ 1000 match hours and 0.25/1000 training hours (total of 0.67/1000 hours). During the intervention season, HSI incidence was halved during match play (2.63/1000 match hours) yet, training HSI were 0.37/1000 hours giving a total incidence of 0.56/1000 hours. HSI severity reduced from 124 d in the 2014–2015 season to 99 d in the 2015–2016 season. Conclusions One weekly NHE session successfully reduced match incidence, overall incidence and severity of HSI in professional rugby union. NES remained stable through the intervention and imbalance demonstrated significant reductions. Retention testing at the end of the 4 week off-season period revealed NES had returned to baseline, however imbalance remained significantly reduced.


Daylight is limited in time and space. In situations where daylight is insufficiently available, virtual natural lighting solutions (VNLS), which are systems that artificially provide lighting and view comparable to those of real windows and skylights, can be promising. VNLS can turn currently unused floor space into space with daylight qualities. The space-gaining potential of VNLS in buildings can be predicted using computational building performance simulation. This paper describes the approach of modelling VNLS with a simplified view, using the Radiance tool to evaluate the lighting performance in a reference office. The VNLS are modelled as arrays of small light sources resembling the sky, the horizon and the ground. The simulation results show that VNLS with wide beam angles generally offer a better uniformity and a larger percentage of sufficiently lit workplane area compared to those obtained with real windows under overcast sky conditions, while the discomfort glare remains comparable to that received from real windows.


American journalists in the 1990s confronted disturbing trends-an erosion of trust in the news media, weakening demand for serious news, flagging interest in politics and civic affairs, and a discouraging public climate that seemed to be getting worse. In response, some news professionals sought to breach the growing gap between press and public with an experimental approach-public journalism. This book is an account of the movement for public journalism, or civic journalism, told by Jay Rosen, one of its leading developers and defenders. Rosen recalls the events that led to the movement's founding and gives a range of examples of how public journalism is practiced in American newsrooms. He traces the intellectual roots of the movement and shows how journalism can be made vital again by rethinking exactly what journalists are for. Those who have supported the cause of public journalism have focused on first principles: democracy as something we do, citizens as the ones who do it, politics as public problem-solving, and deliberation as a means to that end. Rosen tells what happened as the movement gained momentum in newsrooms around the country and in the professional culture of the press. He reviews the flood of criticism and commentary aimed at public journalism and responds to those who express alarm at the experiment. Examining the mark that the movement has made on the field, Rosen upholds public journalism not only as a way for journalists to find a renewed sense of civic purpose for their craft, but also as a way to improve civic life and strengthen democracy.


Many studies of exonerations find that erroneous eyewitness identifications play a part in over 75% of all wrongful convictions. These studies have led to numerous proposals for reform of police procedures, yet we see surprisingly little progress toward minimizing eyewitness-identification error, a major cause of failure in the criminal justice systems of this country.This Article presents the findings of an empirical study of recent case law in which defendants challenge the legality of the eyewitness identification procedures. The study involved a review of all cases within the calendar year ending in April 8, 2009 in which state appellate courts issued opinions and in which the suggestiveness of eyewitness identification procedures were challenged. In the cases surveyed, only a small percentage of the police investigations followed any of the recommended procedures and usually not the most critical procedures. The overwhelming majority of departments in the cases surveyed followed the same suggestive procedures that have contributed to misidentifications and wrongful convictions in the past.This survey does not tell us much about the universe of cases in which eyewitness identification plays a role. It tells us nothing, for example, about the procedures actually followed in departments throughout the country. Thus, we cannot draw any sweeping conclusions about overall police practices from what effectively is just a small sample. To obtain such information, one would have to conduct a massive survey of the tens of thousands of independent police agencies throughout the country. What this survey does provide, however, is a glimpse at a relatively small number of cases in which defense lawyers have asserted mistaken eyewitness identification both at trial and on appeal. Even this limited view is not encouraging. As this Article will demonstrate, many of the same problems and practices that have contributed to erroneous identifications in the past continue to present themselves in cases decided within the past year. How did the appellate courts respond to the challenges to the eyewitness identification evidence in these cases? In this study, none of the courts invoked state constitutional law or evidentiary rules to reject the suggestive practices decried by reformers. The courts do not exclude eyewitness identification testimony, even when it is obtained under circumstances that have been shown scientifically to be prone to error, nor do they find such testimony insufficient to support a verdict without additional corroborating evidence. Indeed, many of the appellate opinions continue to view the eyewitness's degree of certainty as an indicator of reliability, despite the fact that social science research proves otherwise. Meanwhile, the courts often overlook other indicia of unreliability. Just as in the days before the reform was proposed, the study shows that dubious eyewitness identification evidence continues to be admitted, and appellate courts continue to turn a blind eye to defense challenges based on suggestiveness and unreliability of such evidence. If one read only the recent case law challenging suggestive identification procedures, one might get the impression that the innocence reform movement – and the exoneration of hundreds of innocent persons – never happened.


Signalling pathways that regulate neural progenitor proliferation and neuronal differentiation have been identified. However, we know much less about how transduction of such signals is regulated within neuroepithelial cells to direct cell fate choice during mitosis and subsequent neuronal differentiation. Here we review recent advances in the experimentally amenable chick embryo, which reveal that this involves association of signalling pathway components with cell biological entities, including mitotic centrosomes and ciliary structures. This includes changing centrosomal localization of protein kinase A, which regulates Sonic hedgehog signalling and so neural progenitor status, and Mindbomb1, a mediator of Notch ligand activation, which promotes Notch signalling in neighbouring cells, and so is active in presumptive neurons. We further review cell biological events that underlie the later step of neuronal delamination, during which a newborn neuron detaches from its neighbouring cells and undergoes a process known as apical abscission. This involves inter-dependent actin and microtubule dynamics and includes dissociation of the centrosome from the ciliary membrane, which potentially alters the signalling repertoire of this now post-mitotic cell. Open questions and future directions are discussed along with technological advances which improve accuracy of gene manipulation, monitoring of protein dynamics and quantification of cell biological processes in living tissues.


textabstractThe first chapter of this status report gives an overview of technological developments that influence the processes to provide online access to historical footage as well as publish and reuse audiovisual content by the creative industries. Amongst others:
- Online video platforms are gradually moving towards the language, production modes and front‐ends of classic television.
- More openness is supported by the further development and implementation of HTML5 technology.
- Several initiatives by moving image archives in cooperative European platforms to bring their content online without foregoing the uniqueness of their materials, and to strengthen the reach of their collections.
The second chapter explores several aspects of the (sustainable) reuse of AV-content as a cultural and explorative practice leading towards more open and participatory archives. Obviously open innovation becomes key to galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMS). Open cultural resources can refer to open (meta)data and/or open content.
Finally, the third chapter discusses European research topics that are currently ongoing in areas connected to audiovisual heritage.


Patients in hospitals, particularly in critical care, are susceptible to many complications affecting morbidity and mortality. Digitized clinical data in electronic medical records can be effectively used to develop machine learning models to identify patients at risk of complications early and provide prioritized care to prevent complications. However, clinical data from heterogeneous sources within hospitals pose significant modeling challenges. In particular, unstructured clinical notes are a valuable source of information containing regular assessments of the patient's condition but contain inconsistent abbreviations and lack the structure of formal documents. Our contributions in this paper are twofold. First, we present a new preprocessing technique for extracting features from informal clinical notes that can be used in a classification model to identify patients at risk of developing complications. Second, we explore the use of collective matrix factorization, a multi-view learning technique, to model heterogeneous clinical data-text-based features in combination with other measurements, such as clinical investigations, comorbidites, and demographic data. We present a detailed case study on postoperative respiratory failure using more than 700 patient records from the MIMIC II database. Our experiments demonstrate the efficacy of our preprocessing technique in extracting discriminatory features from clinical notes as well as the benefits of multi-view learning to combine clinical measurements with text data for predicting complications.


For decades, American legal scholars have debated over the implications of allowing corporations to choose in which state they will incorporate, irrespective of where they do business. Until recently the debate has centered almost exclusively on whether the managers who choose where to incorporate have incentive to choose a state whose laws favor managers to the disadvantage of shareholders (the "race to the bottom" thesis) or whether their incentives are to choose states whose laws treat shareholders properly (the "race to the top" thesis). Recently, some scholars have questioned whether the state charter competition process will necessarily lead to an optimal choice from the point of view of corporate decisionmakers, whatever the incentives of those decisionmakers might be. The presence of a variety of network effects may cause corporations to incorporate in a state which already has taken the lead in the charter race, even if some other states might offer better substantive law. For instance, corporations may prefer a state which has a well-developed, and hence more predictable, body of corporate law, or they may prefer to appear before judges who from much experience are familiar with corporate law matters. These effects may cause the whole system to get stuck with sub-optimal laws dominating. This paper takes the presence of significant network effects in corporate charter competition as a given. It then asks whether allowing competition between states is an attractive option, and how much competition is best. Even if network effects create the possibility of getting stuck with a sub-optimal dominant state, allowing competition may improve the odds of reaching a good corporate legal system. The paper presents a very simple model of charter competition as a way to start thinking about the issues involved. Within that model, some competition tends to lead to better results than no competition at all. However, more competition is not necessarily better than less, and a very large amount of competition may be as bad as no competition at all. The paper considers many questions that remain quite open in this area. It concludes by posing the question of how to make empirical recommendations where theory and empirical evidence suggest no clear answers. It suggests that little change from the present structure is likely, and that critics have yet to make a persuasive case for such change.


This paper evaluates the performance of various linear ozone photochemistry parametrizations using the stratosphere-troposphere data assimilation system of the Met Office. A set of experiments were run for the period 23 September 2003 to 5 November 2003 using the Cariolle (v1.0 and v2.1), LINOZ and Chem2D-OPP (v0.1 and v2.1) parametrizations. All operational meteorological observations were assimilated, together with ozone retrievals from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). Experiments were validated against independent data from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and ozonesondes. Additionally, a simple offline method for comparing the parametrizations is introduced. It is shown that in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere, outside the polar night, ozone analyses are controlled by the photochemistry parametrizations and not by the assimilated observations. The most important factor in getting good results at these levels is to pay attention to the ozone and temperature climatologies in the parametrizations. There should be no discrepancies between the climatologies and the assimilated observations or the model, but there is also a competing demand that the climatologies be objectively accurate in themselves. Conversely, in the lower stratosphere outside regions of heterogeneous ozone depletion, the ozone analyses are dominated by observational increments and the photochemistry parametrizations have little influence. We investigate a number of known problems in LINOZ and Cariolle v1.0 in more detail than previously, and we find discrepancies in Cariolle v2.1 and Chem2D-OPP v2.1, which are demonstrated to have been removed in the latest available versions (v2.8 and v2.6 respectively). In general, however, all the parametrizations work well through much of the stratosphere, helped by the presence of good quality assimilated MIPAS observations.


Previous work has shown that genetic exchange occurs in the macrocyst of Polysphondylium pallidum, as in species of Dictyostelium. These studies are extended here. Mutants resistant to six different poisons have been isolated for use as genetic markers. A replica-plating technique has been engineered whereby 14 progeny clones growing on a master plate may be simultaneously transferred to test plates containing individual poisons. Germination percent of macrocysts has been greatly increased by the presence of a growing fungus during the resting stage. These means have been used to analyze crosses showing that: (1) Vegetative amebae are haploid, at least at the three marker loci tested. (2) Amebae emerging from a single macrocyst are identical about 90% of the time. (3) Any single combination of parental markers may emerge from a given macrocyst, and all combinations appear in approximately equal frequencies. These findings suggest that normally one of four nuclei produced by meiosis survives in every macrocyst and that all markers examined are unlinked. (4) About 10% of the macrocysts germinate to give two or more classes of progeny. These may result from the presence of a second zygote in the macrocyst or from the survival of two nuclei after meiosis. (5) If genetic exchange occurs during spore formation or microcyst formation, its frequency is low (<0.01%).


Town of Temate represent island town with growth of society activity alongside coastal area. As one of the island town, development mission is make town of Temate as coastal town which have ecological and geologis balance, become a beautiful coastal area, neat and clean. Development of town of Temate aimed at effort to improve and develop town into a regional archipelago system by providing and increasing infrastucture to give special characteristic as coastal town.
Research was done at settlement above sea which located in sub-district of Makassar, east town of Temate. The research location reside in central of the town and including Part of Town I Region ( BWK I) destined for activity with high intensity, like commerce, with colars, settlement, terminal, and port. Instruction in RDTRK of Temate town year 2001 — 2005 not yet peculiarly determine the usage of coastal area. That matter is of course not suit according with urban development mission of Ternate so that cause the uncontrolling exploitation and causing negative impact.
Growth of settlement alongside coastal area of Temate town represent phenomenon influenced by problems of dynamics growth of coastal town, the growth of population and social economic condition but in the other hand cause decreasing of coastal area quality. The condition with unavailable of settlement infrastucture especially garbage management facility and management of life behaviour throwing garbage directly into sea cause coastal area quality.
This research is instructed to look for approach solution to garbage impact in coastal area enviroment because the existence of settlement as one of the form exploiting of coastal area. Qualitatif research method used to describe primary data from given questioner and observation, and selcunder data obtained of literature study and relevan institution. Sample take by using Purposive Sampling Method at resident who live in land and who live in settlement of sea, also by interview to elite figure and formal figure of related institution and sub-district.
Result of this research is model settlement of settlement area of helththier sea and have esthetics with especial attention of instruction usage of coastal area in town planology document. The available of infrastructure factor of settlement capable to support freshment settlement of resident above the sea related to available garbage management facility and enough way of acces. The other important matter is society participation of passing taking part in directly realized in self supporting program to take care of the quality of coastal area enviroment.
Key Word : Coastal area, Settlement above sea, Behavioural of society, Quality of enviroment, Infrastructure of settlement, Society participation.


The sandwich estimator, often known as the robust covariance matrix estimator or the empirical covariance matrix estimator, has achieved increasing use with the growing popularity of generalized estimating equations. Its virtue is that it provides consistent estimates of the covariance matrix for parameter estimates even when the fitted parametric model fails to hold, or is not even specified. Surprisingly though, there has been little discussion of the properties of the sandwich method other than consistency. We investigate the sandwich estimator in quasilikelihood models asymptotically, and in the linear case analytically. Under certain circumstances we show that when the quasilikelihood model is correct, the sandwich estimate is often far more variable than the usual parametric variance estimate. The increased variance is a fixed feature of the method, and the price one pays to obtain consistency even when the parametric model fails. We show that the additional variability directly affects the coverage probability of confidence intervals constructed from sandwich variance estimates. In fact the use of sandwich estimates combined with t-distribution quantiles gives confidence intervals with coverage probability falling below the nominal value. We propose a simple adjustment to compensate this defect, where the adjustment explicitly considers the variance of the sandwich estimate.


In the attentional blink, a target event (T1) strongly interferes with perception of a second target (T2) presented within a few hundred milliseconds. Concurrently, the brain's electromagnetic response to the second target is suppressed, especially a late negative-positive EEG complex including the traditional P3 wave. An influential theory proposes that conscious perception requires access to a distributed, frontoparietal global workspace, explaining the attentional blink by strong mutual inhibition between concurrent workspace representations. Often, however, the attentional blink is reduced or eliminated for targets in different sensory modalities, suggesting a limit to such global inhibition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we confirm that visual and auditory targets produce similar, distributed patterns of frontoparietal activity. In an attentional blink EEG/MEG design, however, an auditory T1 and visual T2 are identified without mutual interference, with largely preserved electromagnetic responses to T2. The results suggest parallel brain responses to target events in different sensory modalities.


The aim was to investigate behavioral reactions and event-related potential (ERP) responses in healthy participants under conditions of personalized attribution of emotional appraisal vocabulary to one-self or to other people. One hundred and fifty emotionally neutral, positive and negative words describing people's traits were used. Subjects were asked to attribute each word to four types of people: one-self, loved, unpleasant and neutral person. The reaction time during adjectives attribution to one-self and a loved person was shorter than during adjectives attribution to neutral and unpleasant people. Self-related adjectives induced higher amplitudes of the N400 ERP peak in the medial cortical areas in comparison with adjectives related to other people. The amplitude of P300 and P600 depended on the emotional valence of assessments, but not on the personalized attribution. The interaction between the attribution effect and the effect of emotional valence of assessments was observed for the N400 peak in the left temporal area. The maximal amplitude of N400 was revealed under self-attributing of emotionally positive adjectives. Our results supported the hypothesis that the emotional valence of assessments and the processing of information about one-self or others were related to the brain processes that differ from each other in a cortical localization or time dynamics.


What is the raison d'être of the European Union? Does it still make sense to ask this question today, at a time of social and economic crisis in Europe? Launched in 1952 as a kind of pilot project of limited economic integration with a view to securing greater peace and prosperity for its Member States, the EU has evolved into something much larger, more complex and more ambitious. This chapter argues, contrary to the recent suggestion of an influential commentator that the EU needs to abandon its 'messianic' origins and turn to ordinary process democracy, that the EU's mission or raison d'être still matters to its legitimacy today. I argue that while the European Union at its origin was primarily inwardly focused on repairing and strengthening a damaged continent so as to deliver internal peace and prosperity, it has over the past decade become equally concerned with its external dimension. The importance of having a relatively unified European economic and political system to counterbalance the influence of existing and rising powers has become a significant part of the EU's raison d'être today.


Anthropogenic forest fragmentation increases the amount of edge habitat. Although edges are harsh environments for many native species, ratsnakes often prefer this habitat. We examined thermoregulatory effectiveness of Central Ratsnakes (Elaphe spiloides) using forest edges preferentially to determine if edge preference is driven by increased thermoregulatory efficiencies. Six male subjects were located every 1-2 days using radio-telemetry and temperature sensitive transmitters. Subjects did not thermoregulate more efficiently in edges than in forest. Snakes were thermoconformers in both habitat types suggesting edge preference might be driven by other factors.


In an article for a symposium issue of the Cincinnati Law Review on the thirtieth anniversary of the Tarasoff decision, finding therapists potentially liable in tort for the violent acts of their patients, I address two types of change that have occurred in the past three decades: change in the science of violence risk assessment, and change in American mental health policy. In Part I, I analyze the growing body of empirical research supporting the proposition that in order to maximize validity, violence risk assessments must be either partially or completely structured. In Part II, I consider current developments in American mental health policy on outpatient commitment and its implications for violence prevention and for vicarious liability.


This case study documents the replication of the model for the Umzi Wethu Training Academy for Vulnerable Youth from its roots in Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, to three venues in the Eastern and Western Cape. Umzi Wethu means 'our home' in Xhosa. Umzi Wethu offers a 'hand up' rather than a 'handout'. The year-long programme provides comprehensive skills training and guaranteed job placement; at the same time it incorporates health and wellness training, counselling, and wilderness excursions, all within a residential environment. In the words of its founder, 'Umzi Wethu is able to transform vulnerable youth into confident, self-assured individuals working within the formal eco-tourism and hospitality sector.' The document describes the replication of the model through the words of the author and of the founder, of the team at the Academies in Stellenbosch and Somerset East, of students, of graduates and of employees. There are sections on expanding Umzi Wethu's reach, its implementation through its four core pillars and two case stidies outlining the replication. This document is one of a number of publications highlighting NGO good practice and innovations from partner organizations supported by Oxfam in South Africa.


This article proposes a way of looking at ownership in which the central conceptual feature is the agreement that brings ownership into existence. On this understanding, ownership is a social fact, and as such derives its legitimacy from the extent to which people living under it give it their uncoerced consent. While any particular system's substantive features can certainly be judged according to independent moral considerations, these considerations would necessarily be secondary to the facts surrounding the agreement. In rooting legitimacy to consent, the argument runs parallel to both contractualist moral philosophy and 'externalist' rights claims, but, as is demonstrated in this article, differs from both in its emphasis on the conceptual centrality of agreement. The latter half of the article explores how this understanding of ownership shifts the grounds for what counts as a legitimate right of property, and then offers a few substantive conclusions regarding particular property rights and the nature of the moral obligations that systems of ownership (so conceived) both create and nullify.


During the past few decades, tourism has emerged as one of the world's major industries, exceeding the importance of many manufacturing and other service industries, particularly in Kenya. As a result, tourism planning and development has become a central policy matter in Kenya. Although tourism in the world is predominantly domestic, the same may not be true for Kenya. Though Kenya boasts of numerous world-class tourist attractions spread throughout the country with diverse natural resources, cultural resources and historical heritage, the full potential of the different tourist regions has not been developed. Further, there is a clear disparity in the growth and preference of the country's tourist regions. As such, the overall objective of this study was to assess the status of Kenya's tourist destinations and the factors that determine their choices among the residents of Nairobi. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design that covered 1.18 respondents randomly selected from adult patrons at the Sarit Centre, an up-market shopping mall in Nairobi. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Data were then cleaned, coded, entered into SPSS spreadsheets for analysis. The Hypotheses were tested using chi-squares and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation at 95% confidence level. The results indicated that tourism in Kenya is almost exclusively centered on the south coast beaches and a handful of game reserves or national parks. The Kenya's domestic tourist market considered individual trait factors as being more significant in determining the choice of a holiday destination than the environmental factors. The findings further indicated that the factors that motivated the Nairobi residents in the choice of a local destination ranked as (l) Knowledge and Adventure; (2) Economic concerns; (3) Personal safety, (4) Destination Information, (5) Travel Arrangement (6) Destination Features; (7) Family and friends; (8) Leisure and Relaxation; (9) Religious and cultural considerations and (10) Travel Bragging. Statistical tests failed to reject the Hypothesis that majority of Kenya's domestic tourist attraction areas do not fall within the evoked set of the destination choice sets. (x2-Calculated) of 5.02 against a X2 distribution of 9.49 at 5% significance was obtained). The tests also failed to accept the Hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the influence of individual trait factors and environmental factors on the choice of a holiday destination among the Kenya's domestic market (X calculated of 14.98 and 10.39 for the individual trait factors and environmental factors respectively were obtained against a X2 distribution of 9.49 was obtained). Moreover, the tests also failed to accept the Hypothesis that the determinants of domestic destination choices are not significantly different among Nairobi residents. A X2of 95.2 against a distribution Chi-square of 82.7 at 5% significance level was obtained. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife adopt a Regional Tourism Development Strategy in the development of Kenya's tourism industry. More so, tourism marketers should develop clearly defined segments of the domestic tourist market to facilitate targeting the market with the right offers. There is also need for tourism marketers to playa more aggressive role in providing travel information and formulating holiday packages for the domestic market. This will act as an enticement to the domestic tourist market and also help to open up less popular destinations as these will be packaged together with the relatively more popular ones. Opening up of much ofthe country to domestic tourism will ultimately attract international tourism to such destinations, thus extending the multiplier effect oftourism on national development.


Boundary extraction is an important procedure associated with recognition and interpretation tasks in digital image processing and computer vision. Most of the segmentation techniques are based on the detection of the local gradient, and then their application in noisy images is unstable and unreliable. Therefore global mechanisms are required, so that they can avoid falling into spurious solutions due to the noise. In this paper we present a gradient-based evolutionary algorithm as a heuristic mechanism to achieve boundary extraction in noisy digital images. Evolutionary algorithms explore the combinatory space of possible solutions by means of a process of selection of the best solutions (generated by mutation and crossover), followed by the evaluation of the new solutions (fitness) and the selection of a new set of solutions. Each possible solution is in our case a contour, whose fitness measures the variation of intensity accumulated along it. This process is repeated from a first approximation of the solution (the initial population) either a certain number of generations or until some appropriate halting criterion is reached. The uniform exploration of the space of solutions and the local minima avoidance induce to form better solutions through the gradual evolution of the populations.


Is administrative law unlawful? This is a central question in contemporary law and politics, and it has become all the more important with the expansion of the modern administrative state. While the federal government traditionally could constrain liberty only through acts of Congress and the courts, the executive branch has increasingly come to control Americans through its own administrative rules and adjudication, thus raising disturbing questions about the effect of this sort of state power on American government and society. With Is Administrative Law Unlawful?, Philip Hamburger answers this question in the affirmative, offering a revisionist account of administrative law. Rather than accepting it as a novel power necessitated by modern society, he locates its origins in the medieval and early modern English tradition of royal prerogative. Then he traces resistance to administrative law from the Middle Ages to the present. Medieval parliaments periodically tried to confine the Crown to governing through regular law, but the most effective response was the seventeenth-century development of English constitutional law, which concluded that the government could rule only through the law of the land and the courts, not through administrative edicts. Although the US Constitution pursued this conclusion even more vigorously, administrative power reemerged in the Progressive and New Deal Eras. Since then, Hamburger argues, administrative law has returned American government and society to precisely the sort of consolidated or absolute power that the US Constitution-and constitutions in general-were designed to prevent. With a clear yet many-layered argument that draws on history, law, and legal thought, Is Administrative Law Unlawful? reveals administrative law to be not a benign, natural outgrowth of contemporary government but a pernicious - and profoundly unlawful - return to dangerous preconstitutional absolutism.


In this thesis I trace the modern political history of Korea as experienced by the Korean people in the twentieth century. By focusing largely on my family's own experience, I trace the master narrative of Korea's modern political identity, and analyze how the political forces and changes of the past century have impacted the Korean people and shaped their identity, from Japanese annexation to division after World War II, through the Korean War and until the present. By also analyzing the uniquely Korean national collective identity, I also analyze how this political identity and collective suffering will in turn impact prospects for Korean reunification. Though policy analysis and the character of modern Korean politics are essential to understanding these prospects, I ultimately conclude that the desires of the Korean people as one nation for national reunification is a force too unique and strong to ignore.


In this chapter I offer a preliminary assessment of a quickly moving target - legal reform and its impact on rights in Japan. Although a broad consensus has emerged among interested parties that at least some degree of reform is desirable, there is significant disagreement about the goals of reform, and also about the likelihood that it will achieve certain objectives. Some commentators believe that the Japanese legal system is on the cusp of a "revolution" that will shore up long-neglected rights and create new entitlements. Others predict that the consequences of reform will be modest; and they despair that aggrieved individuals will remain unable to obtain legal representation, while Japanese companies will be at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. This essay charts a middle course. It notes that the source of many of Japan's new legal institutions is the United States and Europe, but demurs from the view that the world's legal systems are converging. Change is afoot in Japan, it argues, but its consequences are likely to be more muted, and have a different complexion, than many have suggested. Rather than producing a revolution in the law, current reforms will lead to an incremental shift, with the Japanese legal system remaining a distinctive blend of indigenous process and practices influenced by Western doctrines and dispositions.


Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) can improve refractory angina but does not consistently demonstrate an effect on myocardial function. Recent studies suggest a synergistic effect between TMR and exogenously supplied growth factors. We evaluated the clinical role of intramyocardial injection of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in conjunction with TMR. Twenty-five nonrevascularizable patients with class III/IV angina underwent minimally invasive sole therapy TMR during a 5-year period at a single institution. Group 1 (14 patients) underwent TMR alone while group 2 (11 patients) underwent TMR plus injection of PRP (Magellan plasma separator) between TMR channels. Blinded angina assessment and ejection fraction (EF) were measured preoperatively and at 6 months postoperatively. Baseline EF (57 ± 10% vs. 50 ± 7%), angina class (3.7 ± 0.5 vs. 3.7 ± 0.5), and the number of channels (48 ± 5 vs. 48 ± 4) were statistically similar in both groups. At 6 months, two class angina relief was similar in both groups (92% vs. 100%, p = 0.4); however, the TMR + PRP group had a lower average angina score (1.3 vs. 0.4, p = 0.07) and more were angina free (23% vs. 78%, p = 0.04) than the TMR-alone group. EF improved in the TMR + PRP group (–2.0% vs. +9.0%, p = 0.07) compared to the TMR-alone group. Two 30-day morbidities occurred in the TMR-alone group (atrial fibrillation and left pleural effusion) and one mortality occurred in the TMR + PRP group. Intramyocardial injection of autologous PRP combined with TMR may be more efficacious at relieving angina and improving myocardial function than TMR alone.


Abstract.
 The Meade Basin, SW Kansas, yields a rich vertebrate fossil record from the late Cenozoic. Here, we review fossil ground squirrels (Sciuridae) from the region as a contribution to the broader Meade Basin Rodent Project. We recognize 14 species in seven genera: two species of giant ground squirrels (Paenemarmota Hibbard and Schultz, 1948) from the early Pliocene, and at least 12 species in six extant genera (Ammospermophilus Merriam, 1892; Otospermophilus Brandt, 1844; Ictidomys Allen, 1877; Poliocitellus Howell, 1938; Urocitellus Obolenskij, 1927; Cynomys Rafinesque, 1817) from the Pliocene—Pleistocene sequence, including the first regional records of Ammospermophilus. Based on dental morphology and the ecology of modern congeners, we interpret faunal change through the sequence as primarily reflecting a shift from a Pliocene assemblage of "southwestern" taxa with granivorous/omnivorous diets (relatively low-crowned, transversely narrow cheek teeth) in warm and at least occasionally dry shrub or shrub-steppe habitats (Ammospermophilus, Otospermophilus, Ictidomys meadensis [Hibbard, 1941a]), to a Pleistocene temperate assemblage of grazing taxa that either exhibited relatively high-crowned, transversely wider cheek teeth (Urocitellus, Cynomys, Ictidomys tridecemlineatus [Mitchill, 1821]) or were otherwise dependent on grassland habitats (Poliocitellus). The early Pleistocene Borchers assemblage was transitional in this regard, heralding a "revolution" observed as well with other clades in the Meade Basin rodent community. This interpretation is broadly congruent with evidence of Pliocene climatic change and the staged development of regional grasslands, with the modern proportion of C3/C4 plants established in the Meade Basin during the early Pleistocene.


Abstract. Including the impacts of climate change in decision making and planning processes is a challenge facing many regional governments including the New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) governments in Australia. NARCliM (NSW/ACT Regional Climate Modelling project) is a regional climate modelling project that aims to provide a comprehensive and consistent set of climate projections that can be used by all relevant government departments when considering climate change. To maximise end user engagement and ensure outputs are relevant to the planning process, a series of stakeholder workshops were run to define key aspects of the model experiment including spatial resolution, time slices, and output variables. As with all such experiments, practical considerations limit the number of ensemble members that can be simulated such that choices must be made concerning which global climate models (GCMs) to downscale from, and which regional climate models (RCMs) to downscale with. Here a methodology for making these choices is proposed that aims to sample the uncertainty in both GCM and RCM ensembles, as well as spanning the range of future climate projections present in the GCM ensemble. The RCM selection process uses performance evaluation metrics to eliminate poor performing models from consideration, followed by explicit consideration of model independence in order to retain as much information as possible in a small model subset. In addition to these two steps the GCM selection process also considers the future change in temperature and precipitation projected by each GCM. The final GCM selection is based on a subjective consideration of the GCM independence and future change. The created ensemble provides a more robust view of future regional climate changes. Future research is required to determine objective criteria that could replace the subjective aspects of the selection process.


Introduction: The in situ immune response in skin biopsies from patients affected by autoimmune skin blistering diseases (ABD) is not well characterized. Aim: Our investigation attempts to immunophenotype cells in lesional skin in several ABD, utilizing immunohistochemistry (ICH). Methods: We tested by IHC for CD4, CD8, CD19, CD20, CD45, CD56/NCAM, PAX-5, granzyme B, myeloperoxidase, neutrophil elastase, LAT and ZAP-70 in patients affected by ABD. We tested 30 patients with endemic pemphigus foliaceus (EPF), 15 controls from the EPF endemic area, and 15 biopsies from healthy controls from the USA. We also tested archival biopsies from patients with selected ABD, including 30 patients with bullous pemphigoid, 20 with pemphigus vulgaris, 8 with pemphigus foliaceus and 14 with dermatitis herpetiformis. Results: We found a predominantly CD8 positive/CD45 positive T cell infiltrate in all ABD. Our skin biopsies demonstrated consistently positive staining for myeloperoxidase, but negative staining for neutrophil elastase. Most ABD biopsies displayed negative staining for CD4 and B cell markers; natural killer cell markers were also rarely seen. ZAP-70 and LAT were frequently detected. In El Bagre-EPF, a significant fragmentation of T cells in lesional skin was noted, as well as autoreactivity to lymph nodes. Conclusions: The documented T cell and myeloperoxidase staining are indicative of the role of T lymphocytes and neutrophils in lesional biopsies in patients with ABD, in addition to previously documented deposition of B cells, immunoglobulins and complement in situ. In El Bagre-EPF, T cells could also target lymph nodes; however, further studies are needed to confirm this possibility.


South Africa is suffering an electricity crisis. Blackouts have been widespread and the impact disastrous. Electricity supply is predicted to constrain growth for at least the next five years. How could this have occurred when until recently South Africa had a surplus of cheap electricity? This One Pager explores the causes. (...)


Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs who interact with veterans; (2) screening of veterans who receive medical care at a Department facility for suicide risk factors; (3) referral of at-risk veterans for counseling and treatment; (4) a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (5) research for suicide prevention and for mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (7) a toll-free hotline. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary should take in the special needs of PTSD-afflicted veterans in developing and implementing the program.


Ruskin's writings were widely available in a range of European languages by the early years of the Twentieth century. We focus here on the Czech lands (mainly Bohemia), Hungary and Poland, with some comparative references to Russia. In these nations, Ruskin was found in partial and complete translations of individual works, anthologies of selected passages, critical studies, journal articles and in the debates these publications helped to stimulate. Ruskin was also read both in the original English, and widely in French translation. But it was not until Ruskin's ideas began to circulate in these countries' native languages that Ruskin's literary merit and philosophical insights could be seriously engaged with.


Ideally, thrombophilia testing should be tailored to the type of thrombotic event without the influence of anticoagulation therapy or acute phase effects which can give false positive results that may result in long term anticoagulation. However, thrombophilia testing is often performed routinely in unselected patients. We analyzed all consecutive thrombophilia testing orders during the months of October and November 2009 at an academic teaching institution. Information was extracted from electronic medical records for the following: indication, timing, comprehensiveness of tests, anticoagulation therapy at the time of testing, and confirmatory repeat testing, if any. Based on the findings of this analysis, we established local guidelines in May 2013 for appropriate thrombophilia testing, primarily to prevent testing during the acute thrombotic event or while the patient is on anticoagulation. We then evaluated ordering practices 22 months after guideline implementation. One hundred seventy-three patients were included in the study. Only 34% (58/173) had appropriate indications (unprovoked venous or arterial thrombosis or pregnancy losses). 51% (61/119) with an index clinical event were tested within one week of the event. Although 46% (79/173) were found to have abnormal results, only 46% of these had the abnormal tests repeated for confirmation with 54% potentially carrying a wrong diagnosis with long term anticoagulation. Twenty-two months after guideline implementation, there was an 84% reduction in ordered tests. Thus, this study revealed that a significant proportion of thrombophilia testing was inappropriately performed. We implemented local guidelines for thrombophilia testing for clinicians, resulting in a reduction in healthcare costs and improved patient care.


The autoantigen of endomysial antibodies in coeliac disease has been found to be an enzyme, tissue transglutaminase. Zinc inhibits the calcium-dependent activation of this thiol enzyme and also decreases the affinity between transglutaminase and the antibodies. Physiologically, transglutaminases catalyse the formation of bridges between lysine- and glutamine-containing peptides. Theoretically, if accidentally activated, for example due to a stress-induced low concentration of intestinal zinc, tissue transglutaminase will sequentially deamidate specific glutamine residues in gliadins. During this process, an abnormally long-lived thioester intermediate between the active site cysteine of the enzyme and a previously, partly deamidated gliadine may trigger the T-cells in persons with HLA DQ2/DQ8, generating antibodies against both transglutaminase and gliadin. Furthermore, the resulting villous atrophy decreases the absorption of zinc, thus causing a vicious circle. In rheumatoid arthritis a similar pattern is observed with the formation of antibodies against citrulline as well as against the calcium-dependent citrullinating thiol-enzyme, peptidylargininedeiminase, which also is inhibited by zinc. (Less)


The Orange-bellied Parrot is one of only two obligate migratory parrots in the world.
The species is listed nationally as endangered and has been the subject of intensive
study and conservation activities over the past 25 years. Reproductive and
demographic data collected over this period from the wild population form the basis
of this thesis.
Remote breeding sites in southwestern Tasmania at Melaleuca and Birchs Inlet were
used to study this species in the wild. Through deployment of up to 52 artificial nest
boxes and observations of natural nests at Melaleuca it was possible to collect
information on a range of reproductive success parameters over a long period,
including 12 consecutive breeding seasons. In addition, the provision of up to 33 nest
boxes over seven consecutive years at Birchs Inlet provided a comparison with the
use of nest boxes by several competitors at Melaleuca. The use of colour-bands to
identify 760 individuals from 16 different cohorts provided the means to assess a
range of behavioural and demographic parameters of the species.
This study confirmed the Orange-bellied Parrot has a regular migratory pattern with
birds beginning to return to the breeding area on the 2nd October (plus or minus 5.1 days s.d) in
each year. The first birds to return are those in their second year of life or older, while
first-year adult birds begin to arrive 13 days later. The median arrival date for birds in
their second year or older was the 23rd October compared with 9th November for firstyear
adult birds. There was no difference between the sexes in arrival date. The mean
date of last departure from Melaleuca was 5th April (plus or minus 11.1 days s.d).
A total of 190 nests with known contents were studied in the wild and, of these 185
nests contained eggs and five nests contained no eggs. This study found the earliest
laying date was on the 29th November and the latest was the 19th January with eggs
(95%) laid during December (n = 101 eggs). Clutch size ranged from 2-6 eggs with over half of the clutches having 5 eggs and 95.3% of all clutches 4-6 eggs in size. The
mean clutch size was 4.7 eggs per active nest across all years and there was no
evidence the species can produce second clutches in the wild. The mean incubation
period for Orange-bellied Parrot eggs was 21.4 plus or minus 0.8 days (n = 49 observed
incubations). The mean dimensions of unhatched eggs was 22.9 plus or minus 0.98 mm by 18.5 plus or minus 0.67 mm (n = 99 eggs).
The 185 nests with eggs studied by this work contained a total of 874 eggs. Of these
695 eggs hatched and 179 eggs failed to hatch. Of the 179 failures, 107 eggs (69.7%)
were infertile, 48 eggs (26.8%) were fertile and 24 eggs (13.4%) were of unknown
fertility. Of the 48 unhatched fertile eggs, 23 eggs (47.9%) were early-term failures, 15
eggs (31.2%) were mid-term failures and 10 eggs (20.8%) were late-term failures. The
mean egg fertility rate for the species was calculated to be 85.6% (plus or minus 2.91 s.e).
Hatching success from all eggs laid was 79.5% (i.e. 695 nestlings hatched from 874
eggs laid) with the mean hatching success across all years being 80.2%. A total of 89
nestlings died prior to fledging. Early stage deaths represented 44.9% (n = 40) of all
mortalities and late stage deaths 55.1% (n = 49). The annual egg failure and nestling
mortality varied across years. Of a total of 268 egg and nestling failures across all
years, 66.8% (n = 179 eggs) were attributable to hatch failure and 33.2% (n = 89
nestlings) to mortality. Unhatched infertile eggs represented most (39.9%, n = 107) of
all failures. Of the 190 nesting attempts, only 27 failed to produce any young. The
most common cause of total nest failure was attributed to failure to hatch (44.4%, n =
12) followed by nestling deaths (37%, n = 10) and no eggs laid (18.5%, n = 5).
Average brood size was 4.0 nestlings plus or minus 0.09 s.e (range = 1-6) from 173 nests with
65.9% of nests producing four (33.5%) or five (32.4%) nestlings. The majority of nests
produced four fledglings with a mean fledgling brood size of 3.7 plus or minus 0.09 s.e (range = 1-6) from the 163 successful nests. Only 4.3% of successful nests produced the
maximum of six fledglings.
Of the 190 Orange-bellied Parrot nests studied, 85.8% (n = 163) produced fledglings.
The distribution of nest productivity is presented and discussed in detail. The number
of fledglings produced per breeding attempt varied between zero and six. A total of
69% of all nests produced 3-5 fledglings whereas 33% of all nests produced four
fledglings. The fledging success for 12 consecutive breeding seasons was 87.2% (606
fledglings from 695 nestlings) and the mean fledging success across all years was
86.9% (plus or minus 2.47 s.e). The overall breeding success for the Orange-bellied Parrot was
69.3% (606 fledglings from 874 eggs laid). The overall reproductive output of the
species was 3.3 fledglings per nest (606 fledglings from 185 nests) from an investment
of 4.7 eggs laid.
Egg fertility, nestling survival and fledgling survival of Orange-bellied Parrots in the
wild is noticeably higher than for the captive population, and is equal to or exceeds
many other Psittacidae. The reproductive success results reported here are
comparable with the more common Turquoise Parrot Neophema pulchella of mainland
Australia. Although the Orange-bellied Parrot has a healthy mean fecundity rate of
1.62 females/egg laying female, there was some variability between years, with a low
of 0.87 females/egg laying female in 1998/99.
The mean lifespan of the Orange-bellied Parrot was calculated to be 2.22 years (plus or minus 0.074 s.e, range = 0.37-11.70, N = 693) with no significant difference between male and
females. Males lived on average for 2.75 years (plus or minus 0.127 s.e, range = 0.43-11.70, n = 240)
and females lived on average for 2.67 years (plus or minus 0.141 s.e, range = 0.18-10.41, n = 189).
The oldest male recorded was 11.70 years of age and the oldest female recorded was
10.41 years of age. This study was not able to compare the reproductive lifespan of
wild Orange-bellied Parrots with captive-bred birds due to database problems or with other Psittacidae due to lack of comparable studies. The capacity to compare the wild
population with captive-bred birds and other Psittacidae will greatly enhance our
knowledge of the species.
This work suggests the Orange-bellied Parrot does not have a strong fidelity to mates,
nest site or nesting zone. This finding is contrary to previous assumptions made about
the species. This study did not measure hollow availability; however, a comparison of
the use of nest boxes between Birchs Inlet and Melaleuca indicates competition from
introduced species may be limiting the breeding range and reproductive success.
Survivorship rates of juveniles to first breeding (c. one year old), adults and both
sexes were determined. Mean survivorship of juveniles over the study was 55% (plus or minus 3.2
s.e) and is within expected limits when compared to other Psittacidae. Mean
survivorship of adults was 63.6% (plus or minus 2.0 s.e). There was a decreasing trend in survival
rates across all cohorts from 1999 onward with average annual survival declining
markedly thereafter. The reason for this decline is unclear. There was no difference in
survival rate of each sex over the study.
This study has significantly increased our understanding of the reproductive success
and demography of the Orange-bellied Parrot. This information will reduce the level
of uncertainty in the Population Viability Analysis model for the species and, in turn,
increase the power of such models to assess the species status and test the
effectiveness of conservation measures. Some of the results of this study have
important implications for future research and conservation of the species. These are
discussed, and include management of nest boxes, refinement of mark-recapture
studies, population viability analysis and influence of introduced nest competitors.


We analyze the modulational instability (MI) of light waves in glass fibers with a local saturable nonlinear refractive index. We identify and discuss the salient features of the effect of the fourth order of the fiber dispersion, in the MI spectra. Particularly, we find that in fibers with negative sign of the second-order dispersion and positive sign of the fourth-order dispersion (FOD), the two existing types of MI processes, called processes of type I, which generate a single pair of sidebands, and processes of type II, which lead to two pairs of sidebands, become highly sensitive to the magnitude of the FOD, both quantitatively and qualitatively. We demonstrate the existence of a critical FOD and two branches of critical pump powers, from which we construct the global map of the MI behaviors in the system, including clear delimitations of the respective domains of the existence of MI processes of types I and II.


In this paper a smooth starter, based on a dc/dc Buck power converter, for the angular velocity trajectory tracking task of a dc permanent magnet motor is presented. To this end, a hierarchical controller is designed, which is integrated by a control associated with the dc motor based on differential flatness at the high level, and a control related with the dc/dc Buck converter based on a cascade control scheme at the low level. The control at the high level allows the dc motor angular velocity to track a desired trajectory and also provides the desired voltage profile that must be tracked by the output voltage of the dc/dc Buck power converter. In order to assure the latter, a cascade control at the low level is designed, considering a sliding mode control for the inner current loop and a proportional-integral control for the outer voltage loop. The hierarchical controller is tested through experiments using MATLAB-Simulink and the DS1104 board from dSPACE. The obtained results show that the desired angular velocity trajectory is well tracked under abrupt variations in the system parameters and that the controller is robust in such operation conditions, confirming the validity of the proposed controller.


The use of the chassis dynamometer test cells has been an integral part of the vehicle development and validation process for several decades, focusing on the delivery of clean, efficient vehicles globally. This type of testing involves specialists from different fields such as mechanics, ventilation and refrigeration, among others. Not all of them necessarily experts in automotive engineering. As the demands on chassis dynamometer testing become more exacting and more diverse, the challenge of delivering effective installations and operating procedures becomes ever greater. CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER TESTING sets out to gather knowledge from multiple groups of specialists to better understand the testing challenges associated with the vehicle chassis dynamometer test cells, and enable informed design and use of these facilities. CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER TESTING analyses the main factors affecting a vehicle in order to closely reproduce them in a testing facility. It provides complete guidance on how these tests should be performed, including the requirements affecting the test cells themselves so that they can be fully optimized.


As a prominent form of media, advertising offers a distinctive opportunity to examine how values and beauty types are constructed to portray certain beauty ideals. For this thesis, advertising values and beauty types were analysed to examine whether combined, they conveyed specific beauty ideals. The advertisements were analysed using a content analysis. This thesis uses the value framework by Pollay (1983) and the Beauty Match Up Hypothesis by Solomon, Ashmore and Congo (1992) to determine the relationship. Values form the heart of advertisements given their ability to influence consumer behaviour and beliefs. By investigating this relationship the motivations of advertisers in terms of whether they attempt to capture attainable ideals of beauty, or standardised ideals that women feel pressurised to conform to can be better understood. Findings across the longitudinal timeframe suggest that advertisers for Boots No.7 have depicted beauty ideals both realistically and unrealistically. This thesis suggests that when advertisements use ideals that pertain to values such as modernity or distinctiveness when paired with beauty types such as 'Trendy', the notion that women must conform to stay on trend is reinforced. In doing so, advertisers support unattainable ideals of beauty. These findings are interpreted as a possible repercussion of changes to the social construct in the latter half of the 1980s, whereby make-up was used to help women look good for themselves not for the opposite sex. In addressing the relationships between beauty types and advertising values, there is a need to consider the conceptions of the target audience as opposed to the cultural gatekeepers of the fashion and beauty industry.


Lisa Blackman Psychiatric culture provides an important site for humanities scholars interested in the relationships between body, culture and identity. The problem raised in this article is how to 'think' the body as discursive, material and embodied without reinstating the notion that the discursive and material are two separate, preexisting entities that somehow 'interact'. The focus of this article will be on the complex relational dynamics that exist between science and culture in the production of psychopathology. The discussion will centre on the practices of a psychiatric user-movement, the Hearing Voices Network, that provide a radical challenge to the alignment of body, culture and identity in the production and understanding of psychopathology, and specifically the phenomenon of voice-hearing. The article will consider the importance of affectivity, relationality and embodiment in understanding the relationship between the performative injunctions of psychiatry, the transformative practices of the HVN and the production of subjectivity.


A. M. Roberts, J. D. Price & M. E. Badley write: We have recently completed a structurally-based evaluation of the Inner Moray Firth basin, shortly to be submitted for publication, and read with interest the account of Frostick et al. (1988) describing its Triassic history. While we have no grounds on which to question their detailed sedimentological interpretation, we would challenge the way they have used sedimentological, seismic and other data to conclude that, during the Triassic, the entire Inner Moray Firth basin was a single 'simple half-graben', bounded to the NW by the 'dip-slip' Great Glen Fault. Of the points which could be raised in discussion we believe the following are the most pertinent. (1) Much of their half-graben interpretation is summarized in fig. 2, which shows successive restoration to a late Triassic configuration. Disregarding the interpreted 'detachment' seen on their present-day section, which is not shown on the other sections, we would question two aspects of their interpretation. (a) The Great Glen Fault is illustrated as an east-dipping, listric fault. This contradicts the evidence of all seismic data across this structure (cf. McQuillin et al. 1982, fig. 4) which show it to comprise two near-vertical fault strands. It is the very nature of this vertical, strike-slip boundary which distinguishes the western margin of the Inner Moray Firth basin from the western margin of the Viking and Central Graben. (b) Frostick et al.'s end-Triassic reconstruction shows the 'top-Trias marker' defining a roll-over into the Great Glen Fault. As they


An experimental study was conducted to investigate the surface characteristics of an oil sand fracture. The oil sand fracture was induced in core samples along the axis of the sample using the Brazilian tension test. A computer-assisted tomography scanning analysis was performed to determine the fracture geometry. The fracture was shown to be a variable aperture system that would have significant effects of the permeability of the fracture. The aperture distributions of the fractures were found to follow a log-normal distribution, similar to that of previously studied rock fractures.


This thesis assesses the economic, social and political consequences of the transportation of convicts to Western Australia from 1850 onward. The work examines firstly the initial trouble-free 'bedding in' process during the first five years. Matters then changed with the passing of the 'Penal Servitude Act' at Westminster in 1853. From mid 1854 onward a more serious criminal 'type' was loaded aboard the transports to Western Australia.

With the potential for social disaster, and to tighten the fiscal management of the colony, the authoritarian Dr John Hampton was appointed Governor in 1862. Despite popular perceptions, Hampton proved to be a capable administrator. Although he was blamed for many of the perceived ills of the convict system he transformed the fortunes of the colony, economically and politically.

While much has been handed down about the severity and iniquities of the convict system, much has been falsely mythologized. The Western Australian period of convict transportation from Great Britain was the end phase in a penal methodology that had started with the first transportation act in 1597. It metamorphosed from one of extreme cruelty in its earliest phases in the 17th century to one with rehabilitation rather than retribution as its central tenet during its Western Australian phase.

This thesis argues that the new environment played a considerable role in modification of attitudes and behaviour among the convicts, even among the formerly most intransigent. Though a penal colony, Western Australia remained, overall, a law-abiding society during the period. The relatively small free population against the relatively large residue of former convicts, however, was perceived as a limiting imbalance by conservative, 'responsible' citizenry and served to delay the granting of self-governing status until 1889. Yet overall the convict experience in Western Australia proved to be, economically and socially, a positive and progressive phase for both the free and bond elements within that struggling embryo society.


This article presents a proposal of methodology of evaluation of performance for the project of creation of Data Warehouse (DW) of Sebrae MG. A DW is a great corporative data base fed by information systems does business, many distinct times in formats and architectures, very increasing in the time, integrated and guided to the business whose function and to support the managemental decisions (IMMON, 1996). The evaluation methodology proposal is bases on three elements - people, process and techniques (RUBIO and BIRTH, 2005) - and uses the conceptualization of performance of projects of Shenhar (2001). Destarte, the judgment on the degree the success (or failure) of a project of Data Warehouse (DW) will depend on the perception of the involved ones (stake holders) and of the different moments where the evaluation (re) is made. The evaluation of performance of DW projects if initiates during the development of the project and if it extends after until its conclusion. In the phases you initiate, is looked to identify necessities of correction of route to also guarantee the benefits of short term and, by means of estimates of future impacts, of medium and long run.


The epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus in Zambia has led to a dramatic rise in the incidence of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-associated Kaposi's sarcoma in both adults and children. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about the routes of HHV-8 transmission to young children. The Zambia Children's KS-HHV8 Study, a large, prospective cohort study in Lusaka, Zambia, was launched in 2004 to investigate the role of household members as a source of HHV-8 infection in young children and social behaviors that may modify the risk of HHV-8 acquisition. This cohort is distinct from other epidemiologic studies designed to investigate HHV-8 incidence and transmission because it recruited and followed complete households in the urban central African context. Between July 2004 and March 2007, 1,600 households were screened; 368 households comprising 464 children and 1,335 caregivers and household members were enrolled. Follow-up of this population continued for 48 months postrecruitment, affording a unique opportunity to study horizontal transmission of HHV-8 and understand the routes and sources of transmission to young children in Zambia. The authors describe the study rationale, design, execution, and characteristics of this cohort, which provides critical data on the epidemiology and transmission of HHV-8 to young children in Zambia.


The opioid growth factor (OGF) – opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) axis is a biological pathway that is present in human ovarian cancer cells and tissues. OGF, chemically termed [Met5]-enkephalin, is an endogenous opioid peptide that interfaces with OGFr to delay cells moving through the cell cycle by upregulation of cyclin-dependent inhibitory kinase pathways. OGF inhibitory activity is dose dependent, receptor mediated, reversible, protein and RNA dependent, but not related to apoptosis or necrosis. The OGF-OGFr axis can be targeted for treatment of human ovarian cancer by (i) administration of exogenous OGF, (ii) genetic manipulation to over-express OGFr and (iii) use of low dosages of naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, which stimulates production of OGF and OGFr for subsequent interaction following blockade of the receptor. The OGF-OGFr axis may be a feasible target for treatment of cancer of the ovary (i) in a prophylactic fashion, (ii) following cytoreduction or (iii) in conjunction with standard chemotherapy for additive effectiveness. In summary, preclinical data support the transition of these novel therapies for treatment of human ovarian cancer from the bench to bedside to provide additional targets for treatment of this devastating disease.


Background and purpose: Healthy sexual function is a necessary component for creating a happy and successful life. Many therapeutic interventions are conducted in order to improve women's sexual function and treatment of sexual dysfunctions. This study aimed to determine the therapeutic interventions conducted in Iranian women of reproductive age. Materials and methods: In this systematic review, IranMedex, Magiran, IranDoc, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched up to February 2016. All clinical trials and interventions conducted for improving women's sexual satisfaction and function in Iran were entered into the study. Finally, 12 articles which met the inclusion criteria were selected. Data from the studies was extracted to data sheets and qualitative analysis was conducted. Results: In 12 clinical trials 868 women in reproductive age were participated and most of the interventions were non-pharmacological and psychological treatments, often done through cognitive behavioral approach (41.6%). Other methods included PLISSIT model, sexual training, herbal medicines, and pelvic floor exercises. Conclusion: There are few studies on improving women's sexual satisfaction and function. Also, the diversity of interventions in Iran is more limited than that of other studies throughout the world. According to the importance and prevalence of sexual dysfunctions among Iranian women, and heterogeneity of information on this subject in previous studies, more appropriate clinical trials are required using standard tools and more culturally appropriate interventions.


A phenomenological study explored occupational therapy students' experiences in psychiatric fieldwork. Of particular interest was students' understanding of professional behavior toward persons who use mental health services. Data were gathered from 16 informants via in-depth interviews and participant observation on multiple occasions during fieldwork affiliations. Emerging from informants' views of professional behavior were difficulties in their reconciling conflicting expectations with regard to emotional and social distance from persons who use mental health services. Additionally, the informants experienced a need to assume authority and maintain control in their dealings with service users. Students' encounters with such issues during fieldwork are indicative of challenges they may face as health professionals in a changing climate of mental health services. These data are stimuli for reflection on features of professional relationships with service users, particularly in response to expectations of persons with disabilities regarding control over their lives.


Today, managing, storing and analyzing data continuously in order to gain additional insight is becoming commonplace. Data analytics engines have been traditionally optimized for read-only queries assuming that the main data reside on mechanical disks. The need for 24x7 operations in global markets and the rise of online and other quickly-reacting businesses make data freshness an additional design goal. Moreover, the increased requirements in information quality make semantic databases a key (often represented as graphs using the RDF data representation model). Last but not least, the performance requirements combined with the increasing amount of stored and managed data call for high-performance yet space-efficient access methods in order to support the desired concurrency and throughput. Innovative data management algorithms and careful use of the underlying hardware platform help us to address the aforementioned requirements. The volume of generated, stored and queried data is increasing exponentially, and new workloads often are comprised of time-generated data. At the same time the hardware is evolving with dramatic changes both in processing units and storage devices, where solid-state storage is becoming ubiquitous. In this thesis, we build workload-aware data access methods for data analytics - tailored for emerging time-generated workloads - which use solid-state storage, either (i) as an additional level in the memory hierarchy to enable real-time updates in a data analytics, or (ii) as standalone storage for applications involving support for knowledge-based data, and support for efficiently indexing archival and time-generated data. Building workload-aware and hardware-aware data management systems allows to increase their performance and to augment their functionality. The advancements in storage have led to a variety of storage devices with different characteristics (e.g., monetary cost, access times, durability, endurance, read performance vs. write performance), and the suitability of a method to an application depends on how it balances the different characteristics of the storage medium it uses. The data access methods proposed in this thesis - MaSM and BF-Tree - balance the benefits of solid-state storage and of traditional hard disks, and are suitable for time-generated data or datasets with similar organization, which include social, monitoring and archival applications. The study of work sharing in the context of data analytics paves the way to integrating shared database operators starting from shared scans to several data analytics engines, and the workload-aware physical data organization proposed for knowledge-based datasets - RDF-tuple - enables integration of diverse data sources into the same systems.


In this study, characterisation of the physical and compositional parameters of berries located in different positions on the rachis of Shiraz/R99 bunches was done. Berries were divided according to position on the rachis (apical, median and basal) and berry weight, resulting in four berry weight classes, averaging 0.86 g, 1.29 g, 1.74 g and 2.26 g and 0.74, 1.18, 1.59 and 2.09 cm3, respectively. The berries were analysed individually. The fresh weight of the berries comprised approximately 4% seeds, 20% skin and 76% flesh. Different percentage distributions were found for each class of berry weight and according to position on the rachis. From the top to the bottom rachis position, an increase in skin proportion value and a decrease in flesh and seed proportion value occurred. Skins decreased and flesh increased in proportion from the smallest to the largest berry size. The seed maintained a relatively stable proportion, irrespective of berry size. Larger berries had more flesh compared to skin than smaller berries. A higher level of soluble solids occurred in the shoulder to middle bunch area (28.7 °B and 28.6 °B, respectively) than in the bottom area (27.6 °B). It is extremely difficult to obtain uniform berry size and composition under field conditions. Continuous efforts are required to reduce variation and the potential negative impact on wine quality and consistency of wine style.


The radiogenic argon and helium contents of three basalts erupted into the deep ocean from an active volcano (Kilauea) have been measured. Ages calculated from these measurements increase with sample depth up to 22 million years for lavas deduced to be recent. Caution is urged in applying dates from deep-ocean basalts in studies on ocean-floor spreading.


This study analyzes how medical educational programs are evolving to address the digital transformation in healthcare. Surveys, curriculum analysis, and faculty interviews were utilized to examine technology integration. Findings indicate electronic medical records are considered the most significant digital achievement, though only 4% of beginner faculty emphasized telemedicine. Curriculum analysis revealed increasing modifications related to technology, informatics, and data analytics, especially in certain specialties like biochemistry and biophysics. Interviews provided insights into digital integration opportunities and challenges. A key theme was re-evaluating pedagogical strategies as students rely more on technology. Interviewees also envisioned emerging innovations enabling personalized, immersive learning, but cautioned against over-dependence on technology impeding development of clinical skills and humanism. Overall, while core medical fundamentals remain unchanged, curriculum content is adapting to incorporate new competencies like digital literacy. However, strategic integration remains crucial to balance technology's benefits and drawbacks. Challenges like technical difficulties, costs, and over-reliance must be addressed. The outlook is increased technology utilization, with solutions like AI-enabled adaptive learning on the horizon. However, investing in infrastructure and faculty development will be vital. Medical schools must leverage technology to elevate learning while retaining humanistic values. This study provides timely insights into medical education's digital transformation, laying groundwork for further research on optimizing technology integration while upholding the human core of medicine.


Sensor nodes distributed over a large area can be used to collect environmental information such as chemical pollution. The sensed information can be communicated to a central location, without significant power consumption by the sensor nodes, by utilizing backscatter modulation. In this approach, a central source such as a radar illuminates the sensor nodes by microwave radiation. The reradiation from each sensor can be modulated by switching a load on the sensor antenna. This permits design of low-power sensors having a long battery life. To avoid interference at the radar from unwanted objects, harmonic reradiation can be used on the sensor nodes and the reradiated harmonic can be processed. A passive harmonic reradiator is designed to reradiate an incident 10 GHz electromagnetic wave at 20 GHz. The design is for low incident power density. The design comprises of receiving and transmitting integrated patch antennas, a low-barrier Schottky diode and double stub impedance matching. Measurement of the reradiated power, with a representatively input low power density, showed promising characteristics for the use of harmonic reradiator as described above.


In analog filter design, component values are selected due to manufactured constant values where performing an exhaustive search on all possible combinations of preferred values for obtaining an optimized design is not feasible. The application of evolutionary algorithms (EA) in analog active filter circuit design and optimization is a promising area which is based on concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest. In this paper, the performances of genetic algorithm, artificial bee colony optimization, and particle swarm optimization, which are nature-inspired EA techniques, are evaluated for active filter design. Each algorithm is applied to two different filter structures and performances of them are also evaluated when filter design is realized with components selected from different manufactured series.


I was commissioned to research, design and realize a new design and costumes for a new production of Strauss's opera. This production was for the first season of the newly re-built Fenice in Venice. I worked in very close collaboration with the director and lighting designer to create a visually simple scenographic approach that would resolve the complex staging problems of this difficult work. The design problem was resolved using circular motifs that could be mounted on a revolve and could be adjusted mechanically and in synchronization with the music during the performance.

La Fenice is one of Italy's foremost opera houses its very geography, sited in the middle of Venice, poses many challenges and stimulating opportunities. Developing a theatrical language that could embrace this mythological tale of gods and transformation was the focus of much of the general concept of the production and the design.

Working as an integrated team this project marked a significant development in the evolution of a shared language between the creative partners. We worked on creating physicality with the performers, which included some with a dance background. Working with the director I developed design and movement arrangements that could be realised on the steep inclination and rotating environment finally built for the stage.

The work was reviewed internationally and nationally in the press. It was covered by editorial in all the major classical music and opera publications. A compact disc recording was made at a live performance and is now available at leading classical music stores. A DVD recording of the production was released for sale in October 2006.


Pyrethroid resistance in malaria vector, An. funestus is increasingly reported across Africa, threatening the sustainability of pyrethroid-based control interventions, including long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). Managing this problem requires understanding of the molecular basis of the resistance from different regions of the continent, to establish whether it is being driven by a single or independent selective events. Here, using a genome-wide transcription profiling of pyrethroid resistant populations from southern (Malawi), East (Uganda), and West Africa (Benin), we investigated the molecular basis of resistance, revealing strong differences between the different African regions. The duplicated cytochrome P450 genes (CYP6P9a and CYP6P9b) which were highly overexpressed in southern Africa are not the most upregulated in other regions, where other genes are more overexpressed, including GSTe2 in West (Benin) and CYP9K1 in East (Uganda). The lack of directional selection on both CYP6P9a and CYP6P9b in Uganda in contrast to southern Africa further supports the limited role of these genes outside southern Africa. However, other genes such as the P450 CYP9J11 are commonly overexpressed in all countries across Africa. Here, CYP9J11 is functionally characterized and shown to confer resistance to pyrethroids and moderate cross-resistance to carbamates (bendiocarb). The consistent overexpression of GSTe2 in Benin is coupled with a role of allelic variation at this gene as GAL4-UAS transgenic expression in Drosophila flies showed that the resistant 119F allele is highly efficient in conferring both DDT and permethrin resistance than the L119. The heterogeneity in the molecular basis of resistance and cross-resistance to insecticides in An. funestus populations throughout sub-Saharan African should be taken into account in designing resistance management strategies.


We prove well-posedness results for the initial value problem of the periodic Kdv equation as well as Kam type results in classes of high regularity solutions. More precisely, we consider the problem in weighted Sobolev spaces, which comprise classical Sobolev spaces, Gevrey spaces, and analytic spaces. We show that the initial value problem is well posed in all spaces with subex- ponential decay of Fourier coefficients, and 'almost well posed' in spaces with exponential decay of Fourier coefficients.


Perhaps the most important feature of neutrophils is their ability to rapidly change shape. In the bloodstream, the neutrophils circulate as almost spherical cells, with the ability to deform in order to pass along narrower capillaries. Upon receiving the signal to extravasate, they are able to transform their morphology and flatten onto the endothelium surface. This transition, from a spherical to a flattened morphology, is the first key step which neutrophils undergo before moving out of the blood and into the extravascular tissue space. Once they have migrated through tissues towards sites of infection, neutrophils carry out their primary role—killing infecting microbes by performing phagocytosis and producing toxic reactive oxygen species within the microbe-containing phagosome. Phagocytosis involves the second key morphology change that neutrophils undergo, with the formation of pseudopodia which capture the microbe within an internal vesicle. Both the spherical to flattened stage and the phagocytic capture stage are rapid, each being completed within 100 s. Knowing how these rapid cell shape changes occur in neutrophils is thus fundamental to understanding neutrophil behaviour. This article will discuss advances in our current knowledge of this process, and also identify an important regulated molecular event which may represent an important target for anti-inflammatory therapy.


In this paper we argue that for nominalizations the distinction between process nouns, i.e. complex event nominals, and result/object nouns made by, among others, Grimshaw (1990) and Alexiadou (2001), is too strict. We propose instead a dichotomy that is based on agentivity. We claim that both process nouns and result nouns have a +agentive and a –agentive value, associated with a difference in argument structure. We argue that in the two values both types of nouns are eventive and that the difference between process and result nouns is simply an aspectual difference. Besides the two eventive types, with a difference in argument structure, we distinguish a non-eventive type, object nouns, without argument structure.


The present study adopted a mixed-methods research design and explored the role of a set of cognitive (i.e., aptitude and working memory) and motivational (i.e., self-regulatory capacity and self-efficacy beliefs) individual difference variables in the writing quality and composing behavior of 78 Iranian undergraduate EFL learners. The necessary data were collected through a series of instruments and both quantitative (e.g., multiple regression and t-tests) and qualitative (e.g., narrative construction and qualitative comparative analysis) techniques were used to analyze the data. The results of these analyses indicated that the construct of foreign language aptitude had the highest level of correlation and contributory potential to account for the writing competence of the learners. The composing process of learners with different individual characteristics was also compared and it was found that learners with high self-regulation capacity orchestrated and managed their composing behavior in more effective ways compared to their less self-regulated counterparts. Moreover, the narratives and qualitative comparative analysis provided some insights about how various individual characteristics might affect the composing behavior of the individual learners. Finally, it was suggested that consideration of individual differences in writing can reveal more subtle information about the causes of strengths and weaknesses of different learners and may enable the teachers to design and implement more effective instructions targeting their learners" individual needs.


The performance of a newly developed pilot scale continuous enzymatic deinking system has been evaluated using a mixture of cellulase and xylanase enzymes in the deinking of mixed office wastepaper (MOW) and old newspaper (ONP). Optimizations of the enzymatic deinking processes were carried out, and the optimum conditions obtained for MOW and ONP were different. The highest brightness obtained from enzymatic deinking of MOW and ONP under their respective optimum conditions were about 83.6% and 41.9%, respectively. The deinking efficiency of 6.0% and 6.3% were obtained by enzymatic deinking process using MOW and ONP, respectively. On the other hand, the deinking efficiency of 2.9% and 3.5% were obtained by a chemical deinking process using MOW and ONP, respectively. The findings obtained from present work indicated that enzymes have potential to be used in deinking of MOW, which is difficult to deink by conventional chemical deinking methods.


Software testing entails a number of processes that are focused on finding faults within a stipulated time. In this paper, different techniques have been discussed for finding the software faults prediction before the testing process. Numbers of researchers have been worked upon object oriented metrics and mostly concentrating on software fault prediction, very few has been published for bad smells. Bad code smells are used to identify complex classes in object-oriented software systems. Detection of bad code smell helps in refactoring. This review paper contributes to all code smell prediction techniques designed by researchers. The fault prediction model grants assistance during the software development.


This paper presents the results of high-fidelity, 3-D simulations of coupled flow, heat-transfer and structural mechanics simulations of microchannels, micropumps, microvalves, and time-accurate simulations of a microoscillator. In each of these cases, the simulated results were compared with experimental and/or other published data, with excellent agreement. These results demonstrate the capabilities, accuracy and speed of the simulation tools for predictions of coupled, complex multi-physics processes in MEMS devices and their utility during the design phases of these devices for optimization and performance prediction.