This paper examines the entrepreneurial inclinations of young people who achieved excellence in vocational occupations. We propose a three-capital approach to the study of entrepreneurship. Relying on the existing theories and original qualitative and quantitative data analyses, findings from interviews with 30 entrepreneurial and 10 non-entrepreneurial WorldSkills competitors show that psychological capital, social capital and human capital can be combined to explore how young people who excel in vocational occupations develop entrepreneurial mindsets. We show that training for and participation in the largest vocational skills event globally - WorldSkills competition - develops selected aspects of three capitals. However, we also discover that the entrepreneurial motivation precedes competitors' involvement with WorldSkills.


In conventional readings of Mark 9,1, the meaning of the "kingdom of God coming with power" determines the identity of the bystanders who will supposedly experience ("see") it. Since the prediction of the kingdom is usually regarded as a blessing, it is assumed that the bystanders are protagonists. In contrast to this conventional approach, the reading proposed in this essay begins with the group(s) which will experience ("see") "the kingdom of God coming with power", first in 9,1 and then in 13,26 and 14,62. When prior attention is given to these groups in the context of the narrative, Jesus' prediction in Mark 9,1 emerges not as a blessing promised to the protagonists, but as a threat of judgment aimed at antagonists.


We present a consistent interatomic force field for indium sesquioxide (In2O3) and tin dioxide (SnO2) that has been derived to reproduce lattice energies and, consequently, the oxygen vacancy formation energies in the respective binary compounds. The new model predicts the dominance of Frenkel-type disorder in SnO2 and In2O3, in good agreement with ab initio defect calculations. The model is extended to include free electron and hole polarons, which compete with charged point defects to maintain charge neutrality in a defective crystal. The stability of electrons and instability of holes with respect to point defect formation rationalises the efficacy of n-type doping in tin doped indium oxide (ITO), a widely employed transparent conducting oxide in optoelectronic applications. We investigate the clustering of Sn substitutional and oxygen interstitial sites in ITO, finding that the dopants substitute preferentially on the cation crystallographic d site in the bixbyite unit cell, in agreement with experiment. The force field described here provides a useful avenue for the investigation of the defect properties of extended transparent conducting oxide systems, including solid solutions.


Good retail design must attract and keep customers, support a brand or stores image, showcase the product, and work as a functional shopping environment. This book features 44 of the best recent examples of retail design from around the world, and examines the details within the larger decorative schemes. Most retail interiors have a comparatively short life, and economic realities influence choice of materials and methods of construction; while these will mainly be necessarily modest, style or a sense of luxury are effectively achieved by the creative consideration of detail. Projects range from specialist boutiques to branded high street chain stores, from fashion retailers to eateries, and include descriptive text, colour photographs, floor plans, sections and construction and decorative details. A bonus CD-ROM contains all the drawings as printed in the book, in both EPS and DWG (generic CAD) formats.


This contribution investigates the changes in the descriptions of gender stereotypes in Swiss schoolbooks over time. Based on a quantitative content analysis of 203 texts in three Swiss schoolbooks of three different time spans in the 20th century, one can observe that stereotype descriptions of gender roles are very frequent and that gender appropriate descriptions were very tentatively established over time. This can be shown (1) with respect to the smaller number of female heroines, (2) with respect to gender-stereotypical activities, as well as (3) with respect to ascribed traits of character and attitudes. In all three areas one can observe an obvious decline of the descriptions of gender stereotypes over time.
However, the schoolbook of 1990 is far from – or just as far as the schoolbooks of 1929 and 1970 – attaining the objective of an equal portrayal of men and women written in the newest educational guidelines.


The bulk physical properties of composite systems are difficult to predict – even when the properties of the constituent materials in the system are well known. We conducted a finite-element method simulation to examine the inclusion effect by substituting an inclusion phase (second phase) into a host phase (first phase). We have organized the simulation results as a function of the elasticity of host and inclusion phases. In this procedure, special attention was paid to the initial change of elastic constants as the inclusion volume ratio was varied. To accomplish this, we introduced a new parameter Dij defined as the derivatives of the normalized stiffness elastic constant over the inclusion volume ratio. We succeeded in obtaining useful systematic formulations for Dij. These formulations are expected to be applicable to the study of composite systems in many disciplines, such as geophysics, mechanics, material engineering, and biology. The present results provide much more effective constraints on the physical properties of composite systems, like rocks, than traditional methods, such as the Voigt-Reuss bounds.


A mix of secondary and primary research was conducted to examine the hypothesis that access to an at-house water supply will deliver significantly greater health, social and economic benefits than those derived from a shared public water supply. The research was carried out by a team from the University of Leeds, University of North Carolina, University of East Anglia, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London, and was based on a mix of literature review and field-base case studies. Fieldwork was carried out in three countries; Ghana, South Africa and Vietnam and used a mix of data collection methods, specifically a three-part household questionnaire, which included anthropometric measures and the measurement of water collection journeys, natural group discussions, and contextual checklists. The headline conclusion from the research is that at-home water supply has significant, measurable benefits when compared with shared water supply outside the home provided that the service provided is reliable enough to ensure access to adequate quantities of water when required. Reliable at-home water supply results in higher volumes of water consumed, greater practice of key hygiene behaviours, a reduction in musculo-skeletal impacts associated with carrying water from outside the home, and improved water quality. This suggests a logical policy shift towards the promotion of reliable household access as the international benchmark for water supply.


The accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids by algae Spirulina platensis and Chlorella minutissima was studied. Response of these organisms to the substituted pyridazinone, SAN 9785, an inhibitor of the long chain fatty acid desaturase, indicated that fatty acid synthesis and their desaturation were regulated differently in these organisms. While the pool of palmitic acid, the precursor for the unsaturated C 18 fatty acids, was stringently maintained in the green alga C. minutissima , in the cyanobacterium S. platensis the level of palmitic acid was liberally maintained in spite of the enhanced accumulation of unsaturated C 18 fatty acids.


Background The leading causes of high under-five mortality in Nigeria are infectious diseases which could be easily prevented and treated through health care services utilisation. There is poor utilisation of these services and most studies examining its determinants have focused on individual factors. The objective of this study is to examine the independent contribution of individual-, community- and state-level factors to health care service utilisation for children in Nigeria. Methods The study was based on secondary analyses of cross-sectional population-based data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. The survey used a three-stage cluster sampling technique. The first stage involved selecting 896 clusters with a probability proportional to the size; the size being the number of households in the cluster. The second stage involved the systematic sampling of households from the selected clusters. The third stage involved the distribution of the households in each state proportionately among its urban and rural areas. A total of 40,680 households were finally sampled with 16,740 and 23,940 from urban and rural areas respectively. Data were collected by visiting households and administering questionnaires. Multilevel logistic regression models were applied to the data on 31,482 under-five children who used or did not use health care service when they were sick (level 1), nested within 896 communities (level 2) from 37 districts (level 3). All multilevel modelling were performed using MLwiN calling Stata statistical software from windows version 14. Results About one-quarter of the mothers were between 15 and 24 years old and almost half of them did not have formal education (47%). Close to 67% of the children lived in the rural area. In the fully adjusted model, mothers with higher education attainment (OR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.37–1.95), from richer households (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.04–1.63), with access to media (radio, television or magazine), and living in ethnic diverse communities (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07) were significantly more likely to have used healthcare services for acute childhood illnesses. Conclusion Our study revealed that utilisation of healthcare service for acute childhood illnesses was influenced by not only maternal factors but also various community- and state-level factors, suggesting that public health strategies should recognise these complex web of individual composition and contextual composition factors to guide provision of healthcare services. The study was limited due to inability to measure the impact of residential changes over time. Further research should consider longitudinal study.


Objective – To compare librarian and LIS faculty open access (OA) self-archiving behavior.

Design – Logistical Regression Analysis.

Setting – Twenty top-ranked library and information science journals published in 2006.

Subjects – A total of 812 research articles in LIS journals.

Methods – For the purpose of data collection, the researchers first compiled a list of library and information science journals utilizing Journal Citation Reports (JCR) from 2006. Twenty journals were selected by considering impact factor and the list compiled was checked against Ulrich's Periodicals Directory following a similar methodology utilized in a 2007 article by Anita Coleman. The sample included was representative of both library and information science journals, and there were exclusions of 3 types of journals: free online journals where OA participation could not be measured; subscription based journals that do not supply free articles; and annual review journals. Here, OA participation or OA practice is considered to be author self-archiving of articles that are not freely available online. Research articles were included in the sample; however, editorials and book reviews were excluded. The researchers also collected information about the article itself, including the title, name of the journal and name of the author. Only first author's status as librarian or LIS faculty was considered in data collection. One difficulty in collecting data about the authors was that their professional status was not always clear. The researchers collected information on whether the author's status was librarian or faculty; when an author's status was unclear, researchers searched online to determine it. If the author's status still could not be determined via online searching, the authors chose to exclude those articles.

After the articles were collected, Google Scholar was searched in order to determine OA status. The articles that were deemed OA were opened and if the article was downloadable, it was included; otherwise, it was not included. Researchers also avoided linking to articles through their own library portal which would have allowed for access to articles through their own library's subscription. Other data was collected using Web of Science and included citation information; length of articles; and number of references, authors, and self-citations.

Analysis of data was performed utilizing logistic regression. The researchers selected the professional status (librarian or faculty) as the dependent variable, assigning 1 to librarian status and 0 to faculty status. The independent variables included the OA status of an article, citation count, self-citation counts, number of authors, length in pages, and number of references. Researchers also chose to normalize data by adding one citation to every article in the dataset because many did not receive citations. SPSS was utilized as the statistical analysis tool.

Main Results – Researchers were able to recognize a divide with regard to where librarians and librarian faculty publish. Librarians tend to avoid journals that focus on information science and publish more in journals related to the practice of librarianship.

After performing the logistic regression analysis, researchers also chose to look at the "dichotomous dependent variable" and the "dichotomous predictor variable." The dependent variable was article availability in OA and the predictor variable is professional status of the author. They ran a 2X2 contingency table and the p-value was below 0.05; therefore, there was a failure to reject the null hypotheses that there is no difference between librarian and faculty publication behaviors. An odds ratio was also calculated that reveals that librarians are only 1.029 times more likely to self-archive their articles than faculty.

Results from the logistic regression model analysis also included information that librarians and faculty have similar behavior with regard to self-archiving the OA version of their publication, and the researchers provide data in table format in order to depict the relationships between predictor variables and dependent variables. With regard to author status and citation counts, faculty have more citation numbers, self-citations are not related to author status, and faculty tend to self-cite more often. Librarians favor co-authorship more than faculty, and faculty articles tend to be lengthier and utilize more references.

Effectiveness of the logistic regression analysis was tested using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test for goodness of fit and showed that logistic regression analysis was the proper method for analyzing data collected with a 74.8 success rate.

According to the article, there is no difference between librarian and faculty with regard to self-archiving OA activity; faculty members receive more citations regardless of OA status; and there are differences between the two with regard to other variables of articles.

Conclusion – Because librarians and LIS faculty are considered to be advocates for self-archiving and are often involved with institutional repositories, it is surprising that they are not themselves participating more in self-archiving behaviors.


Conspiracy theories are woven into America's social and political fabric. While such beliefs help some individuals organize their political world, their popularity also raise concerns about the health of a democracy when those governed also suspect powerful forces work against their interests. The research here examines national survey data to demonstrate such beliefs have both partisan and individual difference explanations. Generic news media exposure offers little explanatory power, but exposure to Fox News programming predicts greater belief in theories critical of Democrats.


Introduction CNV is a vital pathogenic factor of congenital heart disease (CHD). However, few CNVs have been reported for total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC), which is a rare form of CHD. Using case-control study, we identified 15q11.2 deletion associated with TAPVC. We then used a TAPVC trio as model to reveal possible molecular basis of 15q11.2 microdeletion. Methods CNVplex and Chromosomal Microarray were used to identify and validate CNVs in samples from 231 TAPVC cases and 200 healthy controls from Shanghai Children's Medical Center. In vitro cardiomyocyte differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells for a TAPVC trio with paternal inherited 15q11.2 deletion was performed to characterise the effect of the deletion on cardiomyocyte differentiation and gene expression. Results The 15q11.2 microdeletion was significantly enriched in patients with TAPVC compared with healthy control (13/231 in patients vs 0/200 in controls, p=5.872×10−2, Bonferroni adjusted) using Fisher's exact test. Induced pluripotent stem cells from the proband could not differentiate into normal cardiomyocyte. Transcriptomic analysis identified a number of differentially expressed genes in the 15q11.2 deletion carriers of the family. TAPVC disease-causing genes such as PITX2, NKX2-5 and ANKRD1 showed significantly higher expression in the proband compared with her healthy mother. Knockdown of TUBGCP5 could lead to abnormal cardiomyocyte differentiation. Conclusion We discovered that the 15q11.2 deletion is significantly associated with TAPVC. Gene expression profile that might arise from 15q11.2 deletion for a TAPVC family was characterised using cell experiments.


In recent years, outsourcing has gained considerable management attention. However, the benefits of outsourcing are not without concessions. One major risk is losing the flexibility to change the extent, nature, or scope of the outsourced business services. Tan and Sia (2006) conceptualized outsourcing flexibility as robustness, modifiability, new capability, and ease of exit, and proposed a portfolio of pre-emptive, protective, exploitive, and corrective maneuvers to manage flexibility in outsourcing. In this paper, we seek to develop empirical insights on their proposed framework by operationalizing the conceptual constructs and carrying these propositions into empirical validation. A survey of 171 outsourcing projects in Singapore was conducted. The findings bear evidence of the importance of flexibility in outsourcing, given its strong association with outsourcing success. The results also suggest a need for organizations to be clear about their desired flexibility profiles as different flexibility maneuvers contribute differently to different dimensions of outsourcing flexibility. The findings also indicate the relative effectiveness between traditional contractual provision and the various flexibility maneuvers for robustness, modifiability, new capability, and ease of exit. We hope the deeper understanding will not only contribute to the effectiveness of outsourcing management but also spawn a new research agenda on outsourcing flexibility.


A new approach to the design of Q-switched solid-state lasers is proposed that offsets heating loads by anti-Stokes fluorescence. In this ideal system, the pump will cool the gain media when the Q switch is off and removes the thermal loads that are generated by the laser pulse when the Q switch is on. The algebraic equations and analytic expressions are derived from the set of coupled rate equations and the requirements for Q-switched radiation balance. Numerical simulation of Yb-doped potassium gadolinium tungstate is provided as an example. Very high average power lasers with ∼1 kHz repetition rate should be possible under ideal conditions.


This paper presents design issues and a theoretical model of electrostatically driven axial-gap polysilicon wobble motors. The motor design benefits from large axial rotor-to-stator overlap and large gear ratios, and motor designs with rotor radii of 50 and 100 /spl mu/m are capable of generating torques in the nanoNewtonmeter range at high electrostatic fields. Because of the large gear ratio, smaller angular steps and lower rotational speed are obtained, compared to radial-gap motor designs. Aspects like gear ratio, torque generation, excitation schemes and torque coverage, normal forces, friction, rotor kinetics, and dynamical behavior are addressed. The motor design is compliant to the integration of gear linkages with respect to mechanical power transmission.


In this paper Fibonacci photonic crystal biosensors with graphene Nano-layers under the Kretschmann configuration have been investigated. Band structure, surface modes and reflection spectrum have been calculated by wellknown transfer matrix method. Results show that the band structure and the dispersion of the surface modes are deeply affected by the geometry of the proposed structure. In addition, the spatial distribution of the dielectrics plays a basic role in the performance of sensors. The comparison between the maximum amount of phase sensitivity in proposed sensors show that structures with complex Fibonacci sequence are significantly able to detect small differences in the surface refractive index.


Linear conjugated polymers have potential as photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water but so far, most studies have involved non-scalable sacri fi cial reagents. Z-schemes comprising more than one semiconductor are a potential solution, but it is challenging to design these systems because multiple components must work together synergistically. Here, we show that a conjugated polymer photocatalyst for proton reduction can be coupled in a Z-scheme with an inorganic water oxidation photocatalyst to promote overall water splitting without any sacri fi cial reagents. First, a promising combination of an organic catalyst, an inorganic catalyst, and a redox mediator was identi fi ed by using high-throughput screening of a library of components. A Z-scheme system composed of P10 (homopolymer of dibenzo [ b , d ]thiophene sulfone) – Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ – BiVO 4 was then constructed for overall water splitting under visible light irradiation. Transient absorption spectroscopy was used to assign timescales to the various steps in the photocatalytic process. While the overall solar-to-hydrogen e ffi ciency of this fi rst example is low, it provides proof of concept for other hybrid organic – inorganic Z-scheme architectures in the future.


Characteristic features of seismicity with long recurrence intervals can be deduced from analysis of historical earthquake records that inherently suffer from uncertainty in the event locations and magnitudes. A novel method to determine the event epicenters and magnitudes jointly from seismic intensities is proposed. The probability for a set of event epicenter and magnitude is assessed by accounting the fitness between the observed and reference seismic intensities, spatial‐occurrence probability based on seismicity density distribution, and temporal‐occurrence probability from the Gutenberg–Richter magnitude–frequency relationship. A set of event epicenter and magnitude yielding the peak probability is chosen. The validity of the method is tested for both synthetic and instrumental seismic‐intensity data, confirming high accuracy. The method is applied effectively to historical events with written seismic damage records. It is found that the errors generally decrease with increasing number and azimuthal coverage of seismic‐intensity data, and increase with epicentral distances. The method appears to be promising for historical earthquakes of which source properties are poorly known. The method is applicable for assessment of the properties of long‐period seismicity, which is crucial for assessment of potential seismic hazards.


This paper reports how a teacher educator attempts to effect change in the practice of serving teachers through modelling process writing with a real class of ESL children aged at about ten. The process of teaching was observed by two in-service teachers. Three research questions were put forward: first, whether the teacher educator's espoused theory will be modified by the theory in action gained through practice; second, the impact of modelling on the observer teachers and whether their theory in action will be modified by the modelling. Third, what impact does process writing have on the learning of the students? To answer these questions, the teacher educator employed qualitative research tools. It is found that the educator's espoused theory on process writing is enhanced by the practice in a real class. The modelling process increases the observers' motivation to try out the new practice through the successful demonstration of strategies in the same classroom context, which has eased the teacher's concerns over student responses and constraints of classroom resources. Young learners have learnt metacognitive skills through process writing but they also exhibit some misunderstandings in the approach in their initial experience with this process.


The following discussion paper explores the heated debate around 'common goals and differential commitments' in international development cooperation. It tries to capture the views and positions of the so-called 'emerging economies' on their role and contribution to global development and the post-2015 agenda. It explains the divergence between North-South and South-South cooperation with regard to their historical narratives, conceptual paradigms, delivery approaches, functions and capacity. It highlights the importance of standard-setting, monitoring, accountability and peer-review but it also explains the technical challenges and political tensions in bringing the 'Southern providers' into the regimes and systems led by the OECD-DAC and the current post-Busan Global Partnership. The paper explains the challenges of categorising the new development partners, and defining and measuring the quantum, quality and effectiveness of their development cooperation activities. It stresses the importance of developing a framework for monitoring and evaluating South-South cooperation and the identification of appropriate institutional platforms for such discussions to take place. The paper is based on empirical research and engagement with numerous Southern stakeholders and offers concrete policy proposals for the different development partners involved in the debate.


Results of our studies on the primary aberrations of a thin lens that has different object and image space media are presented. It is shown that the usual formalism for treatment of the primary aberrations of a thin lens in air can be extended to this case of unequal object and image space media by suitable redefinition of the shape factor and the conjugate variable. The inequality in refractive indices and dispersion characteristics of the object and image space media gives rise to interesting properties of the primary aberrations. The latter may be utilized in the treatment of the analysis and synthesis of unconventional optical components.


Numerical algorithms for solving the continuous-time algebraic Riccati matrix equation on a distributed memory parallel computer are considered. In particular, it is shown that the Schur method, based on computing the stable invariant subspace of a Hamiltonian matrix, can be parallelized in an efficient and scalable way. Our implementation employs the state-of-the-art library ScaLAPACK as well as recently developed parallel methods for reordering the eigenvalues in a real Schur form. Some experimental results are presented, confirming the scalability of our implementation and comparing it with an existing implementation of the matrix sign iteration from the PLiCOC library.


Background: Formal assessment of clinical competencies is necessary to ensure that all residents are acquiring important skills and, in the United States, will soon become a requirement for residency programme accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The Eye Surgical Skills Assessment Test (ESSAT), a laboratory-based surgical skills obstacle course, was developed in response to the need for improved tools for the assessment of surgical skills during residency. The ESSAT has previously been shown to have face and content validity, and in this study we sought to determine its inter-rater reliability and, to some extent, its construct validity. Methods: Twenty-seven content experts (residency programme directors and faculty members involved with resident surgical training) watched videos of a junior resident and senior resident completing the three ESSAT stations (skin suturing, muscle recession, and phacoemulsification: wound construction & suturing technique) and completed assessment forms, both task-specific checklists and a global rating scale of performance. Results: The ESSAT showed strong inter-rater reliability for determining whether a resident "passed" a threshold of competency at each station for both the checklists and global rating scale. In addition, for each station, the senior resident was consistently rated above a "passing" threshold using either assessment form, whereas the junior resident was more often rated below (94% vs 30% passing on completed forms). Conclusion: These results, along with the findings of our face and content validity analysis, support the reliability and validity of the ESSAT, and indicate that it could be a useful tool for improving the assessment of surgical skill during residency. The ESSAT is a tool that all residency programmes could implement as a part of their ophthalmic surgical curriculum and competency assessment, and may be useful to set a threshold of competence that all residents would need to achieve prior to entering the operating room.


Abstract The paper proposes a conceptual design of hydrogen production system with unused biomass wastes and steam generated from high temperature nuclear power systems including fusion reactor. A reaction of interest is expressed as a formula, (C6H10O5)n + nH2O => 6nH2 + 6nCO, which is accompanied by a large quantity of endothermic reaction. Basic experiments have been made of thermal decomposition of cellulose, specimen as biomass resource, with the aid of high temperature steam of 1000 deg C heated by an infrared image furnace. The endothermic quantity was evaluated from a numerical model in which measured temperatures are employed. The numerical results for endothermic quantity agreed well with the theoretical value of 816 kJ/mol. To discuss the technical feasibility of the present process, the conceptual design of a hydrogen production reactor system of heat exchanger type was made with the numerical results and heat transfer correlations for helium and steam flow. The present biomass based process, producing both electricity and more hydrogen than other processes such as water or steam electrolysis using an equivalent quantity of heat source, is characterized as an efficient hydrogen production method using nuclear thermal energy, which simultaneously contributes to reduce biomass wastes.


This paper investigates the relative performance of enterprises backed by government-sponsored venture capitalists and private venture capitalists. While previous studies focus mainly on investor returns, this paper focuses on a broader set of public policy objectives, including value-creation, innovation, and competition. A number of novel data-collection methods, including web-crawlers, are used to assemble a near-comprehensive data set of Canadian venture-capital backed enterprises. The results indicate that enterprises financed by government-sponsored venture capitalists underperform on a variety of criteria, including value-creation, as measured by the likelihood and size of IPOs and M&As, and innovation, as measured by patents. It is important to understand whether such underperformance arises from a selection effect in which private venture capitalists have a higher quality threshold for investment than subsidized venture capitalists, or whether it arises from a treatment effect in which subsidized venture capitalists crowd out private investment and, in addition, provide less effective mentoring and other value-added skills. We find suggestive evidence that crowding out and less effective treatment are problems associated with government-backed venture capital. While the data does not allow for a definitive welfare analysis, the results cast some doubt on the desirability of certain government interventions in the venture capital market.


In this study, temporal variability of ice cover in the Great Lakes is investigated using historical satellite measurements undated from 1973 to 2015. With high ice cover in the last two winters (2013/14 and 2014/15), the trend was significantly reduced, compared to the period 1973-2013. The decadal variability in lake ice attributed to the decreased trend. It was found that 1) Great Lakes ice cover has a linear relationship with Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), similar to the relationship of lake ice cover with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and 2) a weak quadratic relation with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), similar to the relationship of lake ice cover with the Niño3.4. Based on these dynamic relationships, the original multiple variable regression models established using the indices of NAO and Niño3.4 is updated by adding both AMO and PDO, as well their competing mechanism. With the AMO and PDO added, the correlation between the model and observation increases to 0.68, compared to 0.44 using NAO and Niño3.4 only. The new model was used to project the annual maximum ice coverage using projected indices of Niño3.4, NAO, PDO, and AMO. On November 30, 2015, the AMIC of 2015/16 winter was projected to be 31%.


In range sensing with time-multiplexed structured light, there is a trade-off between accuracy, robustness and the acquisition period. In this paper a novel structured light method is described. Adaptation of the number and form of the projection patterns to the characteristics of the scene takes place as part of the acquisition process. Noise margins are matched to the actual noise level, thus reducing the number of projection patterns to the necessary minimum. Color is used for light plane labeling. The dimension of the pattern space are thus increased without raising the number of projection patterns. It is shown that the color of an impinging light plane can be identified from the image of the illuminated scene, even with colorful scenes. Identification is local and does not rely on spatial color sequences. The suggested approach has been implemented and the theoretical results are supported by experiments.


Book of Mormon Companion: Dictionary & More. Sandy, UT: Bright Impres.sions~ n.d. 189 pp. $5.95. Reviewed by Shirley S. Ricks This small volume features, in its largest section, a dictionary of over 1,000 terms with definitions and scriptural references (only one for each term) from the Book of Mormon. Claiming the book to be for adults and children alike, the authors (twelve are mentioned on the second page of the book) indicate it can serve as a learning or teaching tool. One of the most useful aspects of the dictionary, at least for older readers (who would be more likely to have a greater familiarity with simple nouns, verbs, and adjectives), includes the identification of proper nouns, both names and places. Place terms are identified by their distinguishing features such as cities, hills, valleys, and rivers. Names of individuals are clearly and accurately differentiated where more than one person bears the same name. Sprinkled throughout the dictionary are simple illustrations, which may appeal particularly to the younger reader. The reader is referred to the Pronouncing Guide in the scriptures for the suggested pronunciation of names. Additional features of the volume include an illustrated reading chart with a box to mark off each chapter as it is read (clearly designed with the younger reader in mind); a children's reading guide that shows where some of the main stories are located; a graphic depiction of the various parts and writings comprising the Book of Mormon (although the graphics may be misleading in that there is no attempt to match the proportion of the book taken up by each part-the introductory material appears to take up as much room as does the section representing the small plates of Nephi); maps of the land southward and land northward (which are only approximations and not to be compared to any modem areas)l meant to give a general sense of location; a chronological chart portraying the temporal relationships between the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites and Lamanites; and suggested projects and crafts to be completed at 1 The maps bear a general locational resemblance to figures found in Jo.ho Clark, ''A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies, Review of F. Richard Hauck, Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon," Review of B(>oks on the Book of Mormon 1 (1989): 20-70. Although "lands" are generally identified, some of the major cities bearing identical names as the lands do not appear on the maps. BOOK OF MORMON COMPANION (RICKS) 25 the end of each individual book (to entice the younger reader to continue reading) . . Despite. the Companion's claim of usefulness to readers of all ages, it appears to be designed more with younger readers in mind, although, given the general disinclination of that particular age group to actually use a dictionary, the role of the adult reader may be to guide the younger reader in using this book.


Nation Building in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Cooperation, Coordination and Collaboration Cross-sectoral interorganizational relationships in post-conflict situations occur regularly. Whether formal task forces, advisory groups or other ad hoc arrangements, these relations take place in chaotic and dangerous situations with urgent and turbulent political, economic and social environments. Furthermore, they typically involve a large number of players from many different nations, operating across sectors, and between multiple layers of bureaucracy and diplomacy. The organizational complexity staggers many participants and observers, as do the tasks they are charged with completing. Reform efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina starting in 1995 may serve as the archetype model of conflict, transition and development for the 21st century. It wins this honor due not to its particular programmatic successes and failures, rather to the interorganizational complexity of the International Community. From the massive response to the crisis, to the modern nation-building policies it spawned, and the development assistance practices and institutional arrangements it created, the Bosnian development experience has much to offer by way of lessons learned. This manuscript frames the unique Bosnian development situation, and provides lessons learned from the experience of nation building given local realities. Pettigrew (1992) called this "contextualizing." While network and/or organizational structure, strategy and process explain many interorganizational relationship issues, the development variables identified in this manuscript prove equally important, yet elusive and difficult to measure despite their very real and overt presence.


Five potential salt tolerant forage grasses (Aeluropus lagopoides, Cymbopogon jwarancusa, Ochthochloa compressa, Lasiurus scindicus and Sporobolus ioclados) were collected from the salt affected habitats of Cholistan desert to assess their adaptive components of salt tolerance to saline stress by determining various morpho-anatomical and physiological attributes.The degree of salt tolerance of the ecotypes of all five grasses from the differentially saline habitats was compared in a hydroponic system. In general, the ecotypes from the highly saline Ladam Sir (LS) habitat of all five grasses performed better under high salinities than their counterparts from the moderately saline Bailahwala Dahar (BD) and least saline Derawar Fort (DF). All these species showed specific adaptive modifications in their structure and physiology as well as definite mechanisms to deal with high salinity levels of external environment.The LS ecotypes of A. lagopoides and O. compressa generally tended to exclude toxic ions through leaves and this salt exclusion mechanism responsible for their successful survival under highest salinity levels.The LS ecotypes of S. ioclados and C.jwarancusa were tolerated moderate salinities and more relied on restricted uptake of toxic ions and succulence while L. scindicus was the sensitive to high salinities and relied more on the accumulation of free amino acids and proline.In conclusion, the present study on the salt tolerance of natural populations of five desert grass species confirms that natural selection had a considerable impact on the development of adaptive components of salt tolerance in these grasses which clearly depict that plant growing in prevailing saline environments must have specific genetic makeup developed as a result of natural selection over long period of time.


Cationic liposomes of dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA) incorporating the glycolipid trehalose 6,6-dibehenate (TDB) forms a promising liposomal vaccine adjuvant. To be exploited as effective subunit vaccine delivery systems, the physicochemical characteristics of liposomes were studied in detail and correlated with their effectiveness in vivo, in an attempt to elucidate key aspects controlling their efficacy. This research took the previously optimised DDA-TDB system as a foundation for a range of formulations incorporating additional lipids of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) or 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC), by incrementally replacing the cationic content within DDA-TDB or reducing the total DDA-TDB dose upon its substitution, to ascertain the role of DDA and the effect of DDA-TDB concentration in influencing the resultant immunological performance upon delivery of the novel subunit TB vaccine, Ag85B–ESAT-6-Rv2660c (H56 vaccine). With the aim of using the DPPC based systems for pulmonary vaccine delivery and the DSPC systems for application via the intramuscular route, initial work focused on physicochemical characterisation of the systems with incorporation of DPPC or DSPC displaying comparable physical stability, morphological structure and levels of antigen retention to that of DDA-TDB. Thermodynamic analysis was also conducted to detect main phase transition temperatures and subsequent in vitro cell culture studies demonstrated a favourable reduction in cytotoxicity, stimulation of phagocytic activity and macrophage activation in response to the proposed liposomal immunoadjuvants. Immunisation of mice with H56 vaccine via the proposed liposomal adjuvants showed that DDA was an important factor in mediating resultant immune responses, with partial replacement or substitution of DDA-TDB stimulating Th1 type cellular immunity characterised by elevated levels of IgG2b antibodies and IFN-? and IL-2 cytokines, essential for providing protective efficacy against TB. Upon increased DSPC content within the formulation, either by DDA replacement or reduction of DDA and TDB, responses were skewed towards Th2 type immunity with reduced IgG2b antibody levels and elevated IL-5 and IL-10 cytokine production, as resultant immunological responses were independent of liposomal zeta potential. The role of the cationic DDA lipid and the effect of DDA-TDB concentration were appreciated as the proposed liposomal formulations elicited antigen specific antibody and cellular immune responses, demonstrating the potential of cationic liposomes to be utilised as adjuvants for subunit vaccine delivery. Furthermore, the promising capability of the novel H56 vaccine candidate in eliciting protection against TB was apparent in a mouse model.


This article explores the motives of students from India who have enrolled in Australian universities as overseas students. It shows that their main objective is to obtain a permanent residence visa in Australia and that they tailor their choice of course and university with this end in mind. As a consequence most have chosen to study at the relatively low cost metropolitan campuses of Australia's regional universities. The article also explores the difficulties Indian students are encountering in obtaining a permanent residence visa.


The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and safe scale for determining the self-efficacy levels of science teachers in the teaching of astronomy subjects. The study used a survey approach, which is a qualitative research method. The study was conducted with a total of 106 science teachers working in the secondary schools of Ordu city centre and the surrounding towns during the academic year 2016-2017. While forming the item pool of the scale, scale development studies within the context of teacher self-efficacy and the special field competencies of science and technology teachers determined by MOE (2008) was used. In addition, the compositions written by eight science teachers outside the study group about the teaching of astronomy were also used for item pool. For the content validity of the scale, an expert opinion form was prepared to assess the content validity rate and kappa coefficient of agreement, and this was presented to six faculty members in the science teaching department. The construct validity of the scale was investigated via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of EFA showed that the scale construct included a total of three factors and 13 questions, and explained 70.60% of the total variance. CFA results showed that the chi-squared value and the degrees-of-freedom rates (c 2 /sd = 1.67) were perfect, and the other fit indices showed a good fit (GFI = 0.86, CFI = 0.94, NNFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.94, SRMR = 0.08 and RMSEA = 0.06). The results of the reliability analysis showed that the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was 0.84 for the whole scale, 0.90 for "student outcomes through astronomy teaching" factor, and 0.83 for both "astronomy teaching strategies" factor and "difficulty in astronomy teaching" factor. In conclusion, the results obtained showed that "Astronomy Teaching Self-Efficacy Belief Scale" can be used as a valid and reliable assessment instrument.


As a result of economies of size, food processors are generally large and few in number. These characteristics put processors at a bargaining advantage over independent farmers. Marketing cooperatives were established to counter the uneven bargaining position of individual farmers. This article investigates the relative bargaining strength of one milk marketing cooperative and several fluid milk processors. The Nash bargaining model can be used to analyze the negotiated price in the Florida fluid milk market which acts like a bilateral monopoly. The milk marketing cooperatives have bargained well with the milk marketing processors; The monthly bargaining strength of the Southeast Dairy Cooperative, Inc. (SDC), exceeds the monthly bargaining strength of the processors in all twelve months, ranging from a low of 0.6664 in January to a high of 0.7831 in September. The monthly average bargaining strength across all months for SDC is 0.7326.


There is an urgent need to develop and improve low cost technologies for wastewater treatment that are within the economic and technological capabilities of developing countries. Simultaneously treating wastewater and producing duckweed in a pond system is therefore an attractive option to contribute to both environmental protection and food production. Duckweed has excellent qualities, like high protein content, high growth rate and is easy to handle. The small plant turns nitrogen from wastewater into a
resource, therefore research is needed to manage the nitrogen conversions in duckweed ponds.
This thesis reports on the effect of different operational variables, like anaerobic pre-treatment, the combination of algae and duckweed ponds and pond depth. Anaerobic pre-treatment was found to
contribute to the reduction of area requirements for the duckweed ponds and enhanced biomass production. Denitrification was found to be the most important nitrogen removal mechanism in duckweed ponds, followed by biomass up-take. Improved nitrogen removal was obtained through the combination of duckweed ponds with algae ponds. Duckweed pond systems could be designed with shallow depth without affecting nitrogen removal efficiency.

This research was carried out with financial support of the Dutch government within the framework of the SAIL funded project, entitled "Education in the Field of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering" and is the result of the cooperative effort between the EIDENAR, Univalle, Cali, Colombia and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. A substantial part of the research was implemented in and with support from the Ginebra Wastewater Research Station of Acuavalle, Cali, Colombia.


We propose certified reduced basis methods for the efficient and reliable evaluation of a general output that is implicitly connected to a given parameterized input through the harmonic Maxwell's equations. The truth approximation and the development of the reduced basis through a greedy approach is based on a discontinuous Galerkin approximation of the linear partial differential equation. The formulation allows the use of different approximation spaces for solving the primal and the dual truth approximation problems to respect the characteristics of both problem types, leading to an overall reduction in the off-line computational effort. The main features of the method are the following: (i) rapid convergence on the entire representative set of parameters, (ii) rigorous a posteriori error estimators for the output, and (iii) a parameter independent off-line phase and a computationally very efficient on-line phase to enable the rapid solution of many-query problems arising in control, optimization, and design. The versatility and performance of this approach is shown through a numerical experiment, illustrating the modeling of material variations and problems with resonant behavior.


Multiple resonance transmission modes are generated in one-dimensional photonic heterostructure stacking with single-negative-permittivity and single-negative-permeability media layers. By varying the thickness ratio of the two kinds of stacking layers, the resonance modes are found to merge at the middle of the forbidden bandgap. Conditions for the merging of the resonance modes are obtained from the effective medium theory. The frequency, frequency interval, and number of the resonance modes can be tuned as desired by adjusting the period number or the layer thicknesses of the heterostructures. Furthermore, each resonance mode can be split into as many transmission peaks as required. Such resonance modes are insensitive to incident angle, which can be utilized to design omnidirectional and multichannel filters.


Abstract Volatile elements (e.g., H, C, N) have a strong influence on the physical and chemical evolution of planets and are essential for the development of habitable conditions. Measurement of the volatile and incompatible heavy halogens, Cl, Br, and I, can provide insight into volatile distribution and transport processes, due to their hydrophilic nature. However, information on the bulk halogen composition of martian meteorites is limited, particularly for Br and I, largely due to the difficulty in measuring ppb-level Br and I abundances in small samples. In this study, we address this challenge by using the neutron irradiation noble gas mass spectrometry (NI-NGMS) method to measure the heavy halogen composition of five olivine-phyric shergottite meteorites, including the enriched (Larkman Nunatak LAR 06319 and LAR 12011) and depleted (LAR 12095, LAR 12240, and Tissint) compositional end-members. Distinct differences in the absolute abundances and halogen ratios exist between enriched (74 to136 ppm Cl, 1303 to 3061 ppb Br, and 4 to 1423 ppb I) and depleted (10 to 26 ppm Cl, 46 to 136 ppb Br, and 3 to 329 ppb I) samples. All halogen measurements are within the ranges previously reported for martian shergottite, nakhlite, and chassignite (SNC) meteorites. Enriched shergottites show variable and generally high Br and I absolute abundances. Halogen ratios (Br/Cl and I/Cl) are in proportions that exceed those of both carbonaceous chondrites and the martian surface. This may be linked to a volatile-rich martian mantle source, be related to shock processes or could represent a small degree of heavy halogen contamination (a feature of some Antarctic meteorites, for example). The differences observed in halogen abundances and ratios between enriched and depleted compositions, however, are consistent with previous suggestions of a heterogeneous distribution of volatiles in the martian mantle. Depleted shergottites have lower halogen abundances and Br and Cl in similar proportions to bulk silicate Earth and carbonaceous chondrites. Tissint in particular, as an uncontaminated fall, allows an estimate of the depleted shergottite mantle source composition to be made: 1.2 ppm Cl, 7.0 ppb Br, and 0.2 ppb I. The resultant bulk silicate Mars (BSM) estimate (22 ppm Cl, 74 ppb Br, and 6 ppb I), including the martian crust and depleted shergottite mantle, is similar to estimates of the bulk silicate earth (BSE) halogen composition.


Purpose To describe the experience of parent mentors providing a social support intervention to parents of children < 13 years old newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods Qualitative descriptive interviews were conducted with 6 parent mentors (all mothers) who provided social support to 34 mothers and 19 fathers of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus over a 12-month period. The mentors were trained to provide informational, affirmational, and emotional social support through home visits, phone calls, and/or e-mail. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify themes guided by the Ireys social support framework. Findings The parent mentors described support activities that could be categorized into the 3 types of support defined in the Ireys framework. The parent mentors provided informational support, such as tips for travel, school, parties and family get-togethers, camp resources, and how to advocate for the child. Affirmational support was provided by sharing stories and validating parents' feelings and experiences. Emotional support was provided by "being there" for the parents. No instances were described where parent mentors were pushed to give advice on medical management issues but were more so used for advice on growth and development, sleep, and healthy eating suggestions. Parent mentors also reported being empowered by the role by helping others. Conclusion Careful selection of parent mentors is a strategy for providing social support to parents of children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus, especially in day-to-day management areas that the health care professionals have not experienced.


This paper investigates aspects of the syntactic behaviour of Experiencers in constructions with noun predicates, and traces a diachronic development from Latin to Italian. A peculiarity of the constructions under analysis is the coexistence of different patterns sharing the same verb form: thus, in combinations of the Latin verb capere 'take', the Experiencer may surface as Subject or as Object. In Italian (and other Romance languages), both possibilities survive, via the lexical replacement of capere with another verb for 'take' (in Italian, prendere ). Moreover, a new pattern emerges, in which the Experiencer surfaces as an Indirect Object. The morphosyntactic properties of the three Italian types (with the Experiencer, respectively, as Subject, as Direct Object and as Indirect Object) are investigated, and some salient peculiarities are accounted for as the result of the interaction between non-canonical arguments (such as Experiencers), and non-canonical predicates (namely, noun predicates).


Smart grid communication has recently received significant attentions to facilitate intelligent and distributed electric power transmission systems, but also introduces many security problems. In this paper the concept of dynamic secret is applied to design dynamic secret based authentication and encryption scheme for smart grid wireless communication.Between two parties of communication, the previous packets are coded as retransmission sequence, where retransmitted packet is marked as "1" and the other is marked as "0." During the communication, the retransmission sequence is generated at both sides to update the dynamic encryption key. Any missing or misjudging in retransmission sequence would prevent the adversary from achieving the keys. In addition with this we introduce a new protocol, Integrated Authentication and Confidentiality (IAC), to provide efficient secure AMI communications in smart grid. With the help of IAC, an AMI(Advanced Metering Infrastructure) system can provide trust services, data privacy, and integrity by mutual authentications whenever a new smart meter initiates and joins the smart grid AMI


This paper examines the extent to which Indigenous Australians have shared in the large expansion of the Australian workforce as revealed by a comparison of 2001 and 2006 census results and whether there have been any associated general patterns. As such, it provides the first comprehensive assessment of possible impacts of federal Indigenous employment policies introduced just prior to the 2001 Census and it contributes to the policy discourse on 'closing the gap' between Indigenous and other Australians. Conventional census measures of labour force status are established for each of 37 Indigenous Regions with a particular focus on changes in full-time private sector employment. In line with the policy focus on gap analysis an attempt is made to estimate future job requirements using a projection of the Indigenous working-age population to 2016. This reveals a need for more than 117,000 additional jobs to meet current government targets.


This article revisits the concepts of 'diversity' and 'visibility', from the perspective of age relations to consider how these key metrics in the assessment of social inclusion through media representation can be usefully applied to the analysis of digital public
 service interfaces. Against the backdrop of changes in the age composition of populations, and an expanding role of digital media in 'digital by default' public service provision age remains a neglected dimension of social inequality in media and communications research. This article
 investigates questions of diversity and social inclusion in old age drawing on a study of visual imagery in public sector websites in the United Kingdom. The analysis integrates insights from media, technology studies, communications policy and critical social gerontology. We identify three
 patterns in visual imagery: (1) stereotypical representations of group membership as homogenous in terms of age groups, sex, health status and ethnicity, with older adults typically represented as white, (un)healthy men or women; (2) new visibilities, of older adults as socially and culturally
 diverse groups; and (3) new approaches to inclusive digital service design where age becomes an invisible social demographic. We discuss implications for policy and research into diversity, digitalization and digital public service interfaces.


In order to improve the operational efficiency of restaurant and catering enterprises by using modern information technology, this paper develops an E-commerce on-line catering reserving and ordering system based on mobile intelligent terminal, which is based on Android platform. The system integrates with wireless communications, artificial intelligence, and database technologies and achieves many functions, such as reserving, ordering, evaluation, recommending, restaurants navigation, scheduling, information displaying, and ordering records management, etc. The system has realized customer-focused, personalized, and high quality catering reserving and ordering service and has been used in several restaurant in Beijing.


Low temperature district heating networks can provide a highly efficient low carbon heat supplier with great potential in improving heat distribution while minimizing exergy losses. However the interest in performing exergy analysis is hardly comprehensive for industry as it rarely gives explicit details on district heating systems design and operation. Moreover, most of exergy assessments are based on the assumption of neglecting pressure losses whereas low temperature district heating networks usually operate at low differential temperature corresponding to high flow rates and then significant pressure losses. Consequently, the latter are no longer negligible when compared to thermal losses. An exergy formulation as function of thermal and pressure losses is therefore essential to assess low temperature DH networks. This paper presents an exergy-based methodology to design low temperature networks for an optimal thermo-hydraulic flow distribution. It addresses an explicit analytic expression of exergy losses as a function of geometric and thermo-hydraulic parameters. A detailed exergy model is performed to identify influencing parameters and conclude on a simplified formulation of exergy losses. The method is tested on the conception of the evolving thermal network for the BlueFactory site in Fribourg (Switzerland) composed of 11 buildings with a total surface area of 74500 m2.


This paper discusses a speech-and-speaker (SAS) identification system based on spoken Arabic digit recognition. The speech signals of the Arabic digits from zero to ten are processed graphically (the signal is treated as an object image for further processing). The identifying and classifying methods are performed with Burg's estimation model and the algorithm of Toeplitz matrix minimal eigenvalues as the main tools for signal-image description and feature extraction. At the stage of classification, both conventional and neural-network-based methods are used. The success rate of the speaker-identifying system obtained in the presented experiments for individually uttered words is excellent and has reached about 98.8% in some cases. The miss rate of about 1.2% was almost only because of false acceptance (13 miss cases in 1100 tested voices). These results have promisingly led to the design of a security system for SAS identification. The average overall success rate was then 97.45% in recognizing one uttered word and identifying its speaker, and 92.5% in recognizing a three-digit password (three individual words), which is really a high success rate because, for compound cases, we should successfully test all the three uttered words consecutively in addition to and after identifying their speaker; hence, the probability of making an error is basically higher. The authors' major contribution to this task involves building a system to recognize both the uttered words and their speaker through an innovative graphical algorithm for feature extraction from the voice signal. This Toeplitz-based algorithm reduces the amount of computations from operations on an ntimesn matrix that contains n2 different elements to a matrix (of Toeplitz form) that contains only n elements that are different from each other


The paper examines the relationship between capital structure, credit risk management and financial performance of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Uganda based on agency theory. The study adopted a cross–sectional research design to examine 64 MFIs in Uganda. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. The results reveal that credit risk management significantly contributes to sound financial performance. Second, capital structure is not significantly related to financial performance. Therefore, credit risk appraisal, credit risk monitoring and credit risk mitigation are essential in achieving sound financial performance of MFIs. However, the structure of debt or equity does not necessarily affect financial performance. Hence, managers should endeavor to instill risk preventive and control mechanisms so as to mitigate credit risks and achieve positive financial performance of MFIs.

 Key words: Agency theory, capital structure, credit risk management, financial performance, microfinance institutions.


The chiral self-discrimination of twelve molecules showing axial chirality has been studied. They included peroxides, hydrazines, carboxylic acids, amides, and allenes. The homo and heterochiral dimers of the selected compounds, that present two hydrogen bonds, have been studied by means of density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31+G**) and ab initio (MP2/6-31+G** and MP2/6-311++G**) methods. The energetic differences found for the complexes of each compound have been rationalized based on their electron density maps and the natural bond orbital analysis. In some cases, intermolecular oxygen–oxygen interactions have been found and interpreted as additional stabilizing contacts.


Future Smart Grids have to meet high expectations from our societies on improved energy efficiency and sustainability. However, system uptake and acceptance will to a large extent depend on the perceived trust by different stakeholders. In the paper we address issues related to engineering of trustworthy systems. This type of Engineering will be grounded in reliable models of interoperability. A key issue is here interoperability of information exchange and sharing. Based on analysis of trust concerns, we propose a model of coordinating and monitoring by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between stakeholders to ensure trustworthiness of system performance and behavior. We illustrate our methods on case related to trustworthy inclusion of DERs in Smart Grids.


Despite evidence pointing to the associations of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (ERS) with psychopathology, little is known about their underlying mechanisms. Coherently with cognitive models, this study tested the hypothesis that specific beliefs about emotions may be associated with difficulties in emotion regulation and the use of different ERS (reappraisal, suppression, acceptance, rumination, avoidant coping, experiential avoidance). Consistently with the role of avoidance in the cognitive model of worry, we sought testing a mediation pattern where negative beliefs about emotions were connected to maladaptive ERS through experiential avoidance. 309 participants filled out an online questionnaire that measured beliefs about emotions, difficulties in emotion-regulation, and the tendency to adopt different ERS. Results showed that negative beliefs and high fear of emotions were associated with the use of specific ERS and avoidance coping. Fear of depressed mood and anxiety was associated with rumination and emotional avoidance, whereas emotion suppression was mainly associated with fear of anger and positive affect. Also, we found that experiential avoidance mediated the association between beliefs about emotion, rumination and emotional avoidance. Results provided evidence about the specific associations between beliefs about emotions and emotion-regulation processes, suggesting that beliefs about emotions may play a role in orienting specific ER styles.


Abstract. Polarization of light may be used to improve the remote colour sensing of sea water. This can be done in a number of ways, such as limiting of sun glints, obtaining information about atmospheric aerosol properties for atmospheric correction as well as improving the interpretation of the water-leaving signal results. However polarization signals at the top of atmosphere (ToA), that include the waterleaving signal, is strongly influenced by atmospheric molecular scattering and by direct sun and sky reflections from sea surface. For these reasons, it is necessary to better understand the factors that change the polarization of light in the atmosphere-ocean system. In this paper, the influence of seasonal variability of inherent optical properties (IOPs), wind speed and solar zenith angle (SZA) on the polarization of upwelling radiance over the sea surface is discussed. The presented results come from Monte Carlo simulations, which used averaged measurements of IOPs, collected for several years, as input data. The effects of simulations are presented in the form of polar plots of the upwelling radiance degree of polarization (DoP). The results indicate that regardless of the wavelength and type of water, the highest value of the above water DoP is strongly correlated with the absorptionto-attenuation ratio. The correlation is a power function and it depends on both the SZA and the wind speed. The correlation versatility for different wavelengths is very unusual in optics of the sea and is therefore worth emphasizing.


When corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a sensemaking process is assessed from a corporate governance perspective, this implies that stakeholders do not only influence companies by promoting and enforcing regulations and other corporate guidelines. They also influence companies by promoting regulation on influence pathways, by demanding that companies develop formal mechanisms that allow companies and stakeholders to discuss and in some cases agree on changes to principles and policies. This perspective suggests that regulation is an outcome of power relations and is, as such, a reflection of certain mental models. As such, mental models reveal the political bias in corporate governance perspectives. For this reason, CSR research needs to be clear about the underlying assumptions about corporate governance, and corporate governance research needs to disclose which mental models of CSR influence the outcomes. Taking a governance perspective on the development of mental models of CSR helps to understand the interaction between CSR and processes of sensemaking at the institutional, organizational and individual levels.


A new approach for the approximation of the channel log-likelihood ratio (LLR) for wireless channels based on Taylor series is proposed. The approximation is applied to the uncorrelated flat Rayleigh fading channel with unknown channel state information at the receiver. It is shown that the proposed approximation greatly simplifies the calculation of channel LLRs, and yet provides results almost identical to those based on the exact calculation of channel LLRs. The results are obtained in the context of bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) schemes with low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, and include threshold calculations and error rate performance of finite-length codes. Compared to the existing approximations, the proposed method is either significantly less complex, or considerably more accurate.


Given the paucity of research on differences between older adults representing the many Asian‐American subcategories, the present study explored physical and mental health status in five subcategories of Asian Americans aged 60 and older: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino. Data were drawn from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Background characteristics and physical and mental health conditions were compared, with results showing differences cross the five subcategories of older Asian Americans. Specific patterns were identified in chronic diseases, disease comorbidity, and disability rates. Vietnamese and Filipinos tended to have poorer physical health than Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. The poorest self‐rated health and the highest disability rate were found in the older Vietnamese. Filipinos also exhibited the greatest number of chronic diseases, including the highest rates of asthma, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Although Koreans had the fewest self‐reported chronic diseases and the least evidence of disease comorbidity, they also had the highest psychological distress. The lowest psychological distress was found in older Japanese. Findings suggest that generalizing findings from one particular Asian category or from an aggregate Asian category may be problematic and may not reflect an accurate picture of the burden of health in specific Asian categories. Being aware of these differences in background and health characteristics may help providers to better serve older Asian clients.


Cyber-warfare is often discussed, but rarely truly seen. When does an intrusion turn into an attack, and what does that entail? How do nations fold offensive cyber operations into their strategies? Operations against networks mostly occur to collect intelligence, in peacetime. Understanding the lifecycle and complexity of targeting adversary networks is key to doing so effectively in conflict. Rather than discussing the spectre of cyber war, Daniel Moore seeks to observe the spectrum of cyber operations. By piecing together operational case studies, military strategy and technical analysis, he shows that modern cyber operations are neither altogether unique, nor entirely novel. Offensive cyber operations are the latest incarnation of intangible warfare--conflict waged through non-physical means, such as the information space or the electromagnetic spectrum. Not all offensive operations are created equal. Some are slow-paced, clandestine infiltrations requiring discipline and patience for a big payoff; others are short-lived attacks meant to create temporary tactical disruptions. This book first seeks to understand the possibilities, before turning to look at some of the most prolific actors: the United States, Russia, China and Iran. Each has their own unique take, advantages and challenges when attacking networks for effect.


This study examined the impact of the 2009 federal tobacco excise tax increase on the use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products among youth using the Monitoring the Future survey, a nationally representative survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students. The results of this analysis showed that this tax increase had a substantial short-term impact. The percentage of students who reported smoking in the past 30 days dropped between 9.7% and 13.3% immediately following the tax increase, depending on model specifications, and the percentage of students who reported using smokeless tobacco products dropped between 16% and 24%. It is estimated that there would have been approximately 220,000 - 287,000 more current smokers and 135,000 - 203,000 more smokeless tobacco users among middle school and high school students (age 14 - 18) in the United States in May 2009 had the federal tax not increased in April 2009. The long-term projected number of youth prevented from smoking or using smokeless tobacco that resulted from the 2009 federal tax increase could be much larger given the resulting higher tobacco prices would deter more and more children from initiating smoking and smokeless tobacco use over time.


Noncontact tonometer (NCT) is one of the commonly used methods for Intra ocular pressure (IOP) measurement. Its potential advantage is that it uses an air puff to indent the cornea, reducing the risk of cross infection, and does not require corneal anesthesia. Measurement errors of this instrument may be due to intraobserver and interobserver variability. There are few studies of the reliability of the NCT and none for the reliability of the Nidek NT-3000. In this study, we assessed the reliability of IOP measurements obtained with the Nidek NT-3000 noncontact tonometer (NCT). IOP was measured by Nidek NT-3000 in both eyes of 207 subjects. Two sets of IOPs were recorded from each subject with a ten minute interval between each set. The measurements of the right eye were performed by a single nurse for 2 sets. The measurements of the left eye were performed by 2 nurses for each set. The mean of three consecutive pulse recordings in each set was used for data analysis. The results of the study showed that the average age of the patients was 56.46 ± 14.18 years . The IOP range under study varied from 5.5-28.5 mmHg. The mean ± SD IOP measurements in the right eyes were 13.65 ± 3.13 and 13.54 ± 2.98 mmHg for the first and the second sets, respectively and in the left eyes were 13.25 ± 3.10 and 13.22 ± 3.09 mmHg for the first and the second sets, respectively. The mean difference ± SD (95% limit of agreement) between the two measurements in the right eye was 0.11 ± 1.10 mmHg and in the left eye was 0.04 ± 0.91 mmHg, In addition, there was no correlation between the differences of the values from the two sets or the average IOP of the two sets in both eyes. This study suggests that Nidek NT-3000 is a reliable instrument for IOP


The use of day-to-day life artifacts is a key phase in the lifecycle of products. Indeed it has a great impact on our environment. User centered methods are not yet taken into account in eco-design approaches. These methods are being developed in two ways, by building new user models encompassing complex dimensions such as Kansei and experience, including values and moods, and by integrating the user himself in the design process. This paper deals with setting-up a new theoretical framework associating user-centered design advanced approaches such as experience design, Kansei studies, or participative design and eco-design methods. The final goal is to support product design by providing some guidelines according to environmental issues linked to the users and their abilities.


Subsurface wetlands are well suited for on-site applications because they provide odor and vector control and they mitigate public access issues (U.S. EPA, 1993). Artificial subsurface wetlands are typically designed with an inert rock medium, can be either planted or unplanted, and are designed so that the water flows below the surface of the wetlands through the porous medium. The medium provides a surface area for the growth of bacterial films but inhibits the carbon cycling from plant debris because the packing material prevents the plant debris from reaching the water. As a result, subsurface wetlands are only marginally successful at removing nitrogen from wastewater. The nitrogen removal that does occur is the result of plant assimilation and microbial denitrification that utilizes any remaining carbon source in the influent and from plant decay (Kadlec and Knight, 1996). To increase the denitrification performance, an alternative carbon source is required. Gersberg et al. (1983) demonstrated that the addition of carbon, in the form of methanol, stimulated bacterial denitrification and increased nitrate removal efficiencies to 95%.

Based on previous research, it has been found that a variety of organic solids can be used simultaneously as media and as a carbon source to support the denitrification process. These include plant biomass (Gersberg et al., 1983), cotton burr and mulch compost (Su and Puls, 2007), wheat straw (Aslan and Turkman, 2003), sawdust (Robertson and Cherry, 1995; Schipper et al., 1998), and woodchips (Healy et al., 2005; Robertson et al., 2009). Schipper et al. (1998) demonstrated that porous groundwater treatment walls amended with sawdust were successful in removing nitrate from contaminated groundwater. Robertson et al. (2005) demonstrated that the proprietary Nitrex filters, which utilize a nitrate reactive material, produced septic tank effluent nitrate removal rates of up to 96%, remaining effective for at least five years, but removal rates were diminished during the winter months. The temperature of the water in a wetland system can significantly affect the rate of denitrification (Kadlec and Knight, 1996). The use of a readily available organic medium in a constructed subsurface wetland as a method for denitrification of nitrified septic tank effluent has not been investigated.

This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series .

ISBN: 9781843395331 (eBook)


Background: Undernutrition is common in children with congenital heart disease (CHD), especially in developing countries including Indonesia. The objective of the study was to describe the nutritional status of children patients with Tetralogy of Fallot. Methods : This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using 41 medical records of children aged 0–14 years old with Tetralogy of Fallot that visited pediatric outpatient department of Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in period of January to December 2013. The variable was anthropometric measurement, namely weight-for-age, height-for-age, weight-for-height, and body mass index-for-age. These anthropometric data were analyzed using statistics software, WHO Anthro, and WHO AnthroPlus and were classified based on nutritional status according to WHO. The collected data were displayed in percentage. Results: There were more boys (60.98%) who had Tetralogy of Fallot compared to girls (39.02%). The percentage of undernutrition was 39.02% with 43.75% in 5–14 year old children. The percentage of stunting was 70.73% with 72% in 0–5 year old children. Meanwhile, the percentage of underweight was 52% in children aged 0–5 years old. Conclusions: The percentage of undernourished children with Tetralogy of Fallot is quiet high. Undernutrition occurs more often in 5–14 year old children, while stunting occurs more often in 0–5 year old children. [ AMJ .2016;3(2):298–303] DOI:  10.15850/amj.v3n2.784


Abstract. The injection of sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the stratosphere to form an artificial stratospheric aerosol layer is discussed as an option for solar radiation management. Sulfate aerosol scatters solar radiation and absorbs infrared radiation, which warms the stratospheric sulfur layer. Simulations with the general circulation model ECHAM5-HAM, including aerosol microphysics, show consequences of this warming, including changes of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the tropics. The QBO slows down after an injection of 4 Tg(S) yr−1 and completely shuts down after an injection of 8 Tg(S) yr−1. Transport of species in the tropics and sub-tropics depends on the phase of the QBO. Consequently, the heated aerosol layer not only impacts the oscillation of the QBO but also the meridional transport of the sulfate aerosols. The stronger the injection, the stronger the heating and the simulated impact on the QBO and equatorial wind systems. With increasing injection rate the velocity of the equatorial jet streams increases, and the less sulfate is transported out of the tropics. This reduces the global distribution of sulfate and decreases the radiative forcing efficiency of the aerosol layer by 10 to 14 % compared to simulations with low vertical resolution and without generated QBO. Increasing the height of the injection increases the radiative forcing only for injection rates below 10 Tg(S) yr−1 (8–18 %), a much smaller value than the 50 % calculated previously. Stronger injection rates at higher levels even result in smaller forcing than the injections at lower levels.


This paper summarizes a laboratory effort toward reducing nine-mode cycle composite emissions and fuel consumption in a heavy-duty gasoline engine, while retaining current durability performance. Evaluations involved standard carburetors, a Dresserator inductor, a Bendix electronic fuel injection system, exhaust manifold thermal reactors, and exhaust gas recirculation, along with other components and engine operating parameters. A system consisting of electronic fuel injection, thermal reactors with air injection and exhaust gas recirculation, was assembled which met specified project goals. An oxidation catalyst was included as an add-on during the service accumulation demonstration. In addition, the driveability of this engine configuration was demonstrated. /GMRL/


The southern termination of the Nordland Ridge, mid-Norway exhibits variations in extensional style which can be attributed to differing degrees of coupling between pre-salt 'basement' and post-salt 'cover' strata. South of the Nordland Ridge, Jurassic and Cretaceous extension is distributed relatively uniformly over the 80 km wide Halten Terrace. Further to the north the zone of extension narrows to less than 40 km and the majority of the extension is taken up on the Revfallet Fault, which separates the Donna Terrace from the Nordland Ridge. Displacement on the Revfallet Fault, at basement level, increases progressively from its zero displacement tip to a maximum of 7 km, 60 km to the north. At low displacements, extension in the cover is decoupled from the basement extension and vertical level changes are accommodated by monoclinal flexure. As displacement on the Revfallet Fault increases, the degree of basement-cover coupling increases and a much closer spatial link between deformation in the basement and in the cover is evident. This progressive increase in degree of coupling is characterized by increased footwall uplift and decreased extension in the cover away from the master fault. The degree of basement-cover coupling can also be shown to vary not only with displacement but also with time, in response to variable strain rates. Initial extension during the Jurassic was predominantly decoupled and occurred over 50 Ma period. After 40 50 Ma of relative quiescence, the major extensional episode occurred within a comparatively short 10 Ma period in the mid-Cretaceous. This later period of rapid extension requires strain rates at least an order of magnitude greater than those of the Jurassic. The results of this study have led to significant changes in the regional tectono-stratigraphic model.


This paper investigates the nonlinear characteristics of the mouthpiece-reed system of a clarinet using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) in a two dimensional domain. The mouthpiece has been investigated for cases of both a fixed reed and a moving reed, with the outlet of the mouthpiece being replaced by an absorbing boundary to thwart possible acoustic oscillations. The influence of the geometry of reed channel has been investigated. Numerical results are compared to the quasistationary model based on a simplified memoryless reed and the Bernoulli flow.


The present study aimed to assess the beneficial effect of acute carbohydrate (7% CHO) intake on muscular and cognitive performances. Seventeen high levels athletes in explosive sports (fencing and squash) participated in a randomized, double-blind study consisting in series of 6 sprints (5s) with a passive recovery (25s) followed by 15 min submaximal cycling after either maltodextrine and fructose (CHO) or placebo (Pl) intake. Cognitive performances were assessed before and after sprint exercise using a simple reaction time (SRT) task at rest, a visual scanning task (VS) and a Go/Nogo task (GNG) during a submaximal cycling exercise. Results showed a beneficial effect of exercise on VS task on both conditions (Pl: −283 ms; CHO: −423 ms) and on SRT only during CHO condition (−26 ms). In the CHO condition, SRT was faster after exercise whereas no effect of exercise was observed in the Pl condition. According to a qualitative statistical method, a most likely and likely positive effect of CHO was respectively observed on peak power (+4%) and tiredness (−23%) when compared to Pl. Furthermore, a very likely positive effect of CHO was observed on SRT (−8%) and a likely positive effect on visual scanning (−6%) and Go/Nogo tasks (−4%) without any change in accuracy. In conclusion acute ingestion of 250 mL of CHO, 60 min and 30 min before exercise, improve peak power output, decrease muscular tiredness and speed up information processing and visual detection without changing accuracy.


This scholarly project examines the reported incidence of medication errors in schools and the associated impact on students. Factors described in the literature that contribute to those medication errors include the use of unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) and minimal or no training of the UAP. Consideration of adult learning needs may lead to more effective learning and therefore behaviors by the UAP that would decrease medication errors in schools, resulting in increasing student safety and academic achievement. Recommendations are made to use evidence-based learning strategies for adult learning to result in effective psychomotor training and cognitive and affective domain education for the UAP who are delegated to perform medication administration in the schools.


A high-resolution chronology of the Mediterranean Messinian salinity crisis is proposed. Two types of evaporite deposition may be distinguished: those in marginal areas vs. those in basinal ones. Their diachroneity is deduced from the stratigraphic relationships linking these evaporites to a major Messinian erosional surface, A two-step model is proposed for the evolution of the salinity crisis through time. During the first phase (from 5.75 to 5.60 Ma), the deposition of marginal evaporites took place in response to a modest sea-level fall; in the second interval (from 5.60 to 5.32 Ma), the Mediterranean basin became isolated. During this later period, the deposition of basinal evaporites and the cutting of the Mediterranean canyons took place.


ABSTRACT The uplifted coral reefs of Barbados have served as an excellent natural laboratory for the study of porosity changes and diagenesis in Pleistocene and Holocene carbonate material. The mineralogy and petrography of a single coral species, Acropora palmata, was examined in detail. Post-depositional modifications of the coral skeleton included entrapment of lime sand and mud, precipitation of void-filling aragonite needles in the marine environment, solution of the coral, alteration from aragonite to calcite skeletal mineralogy and the precipitation of calcite cement. The precipitation of calcite cement is volumetrically the most important porosity alteration in the history of these corals. The source of this void filling cement is shown to be the excess material remaining after the volume solution of aragonite skeleton and reprecipitation of calcite when the coral skeleton equilibrates mineralogically to the subaerial environment. It has become apparent from this study that a varied suite of rocks may result from the differential effects of the few processes mentioned above.


Condensation problems in general use (i.e., non-humidified) buildings such as offices, schools, and condominiums typically manifest themselves as visible staining on window and door perimeters or minor dripping from overhead components. The relatively low interior moisture levels that are typical of these types of buildings are generally insufficient to cause severe water damage in the short term. At the other end of the spectrum, high-humidity buildings such as museums and natatoriums can suffer extreme damage due to condensation, sometimes within weeks, not years, of completion. High interior moisture levels and, in many cases, differential air pressures, contribute to condensation in both visible locations, such as windows and curtain walls, and concealed locations within walls and roofs. Signs of concealed condensation such as dripping water or rust stains may only become visible after moderate to heavy damage has already occurred within the enclosure. These problems are typically more severe in cold climates, but high-humidity buildings may experience condensation problems in mild climates, where such issues are often not considered by designers due to the lack of prolonged cold weather during the winter. This paper will review the severe and immediate condensation problems that are unique to high-humidity buildings, including surface condensation and concealed condensation due to air leakage through the enclosure. It discusses the theoretical mechanisms by which condensation forms in building enclosures, and illustrates these concepts through various case studies in both cold and mild climates. This paper will focus on design strategies for avoiding problems, but also discusses remedial work to existing buildings, drawing on the author's experience with the investigation and repair of high-humidity buildings.


A method is described for the in vitro culture of 17.5-day rat visceral yolk sac. Tissue survival was good as judged by light and electron microscopy. The rate of pinocytic uptake of 125I-labeled polyvinylpyrrolidone by the tissue was constant both within and between experiments. Within the concentration range 0.15-24 mug/ml, the 125I- labeled polyvinylpyrrolidone neither stimulated nor inhibited pinocytosis. The system offers many advantages in the quantitative study of the physical basis of pinocytosis.


A new prism arrangement of constant deviation type was devised, which is characterized by higher brightness, greater resolving power, and increased accuracy of wavelength as compared with types hitherto known. This arrangement consists of two equal half-prisms placed separately with their divided surfaces outward and a rotative plane mirror properly placed in some position between them. It is easily shown that the condition of minimum deviation is satisfied at every angular position of the mirror. When used as a monochromator, therefore, no errors occur in the wavelengths of emergent rays computed for the condition of minimum deviation, even when errors occur in the mounting of the prisms or the mirror. This was proven by tests on a quartz monochromator constructed on this principle. Further, the aperture of the instrument suffers no change by rotation of the mirror. Since the prisms are held fixed with their divided surfaces perpendicular to the axes of the collimator and the telescope, the aperture remains constant at its largest value available, quite independent of the wavelengths used. This results, naturally, in some gain of resolving power.


Rock coatings observed on the surface of Mars since the Viking landers of the mid-1970s continue to generate considerable interest in the field of astrobiology. Terrestrial rock coatings are associated with diverse microbial life, raising the question as to whether martian rock coatings might also be partly of biogenic origin. Rock coating formation can be mediated by microbes, which in turn are shielded from harmful radiation and can obtain nutrients from the coating. In addition, coatings may be indicative of life and can preserve its signatures. Pragmatically, rock coatings are surface environments accessible by Mars rovers. This article focuses on the habitability, preservation capability, and practicality of rock coatings as astrobiological targets on Mars.


A typical self-checking circuit has an unordered code encoded output. The optimal scheme needs [log(r+1)] check bits, where r is the number of unique weights in all output patterns. A hyper optimal scheme for self-checking output encoding is proposed in this paper where the number of check bits will be further reduced in some cases. Two algorithms are presented to search for the hidden m-out-of-n code words. The hidden m-out-of-n code words are found when all unique output patterns, specified by the circuit specification, in the n selected output bits have exactly m 1s. The output bits that belong to the hidden m-out-of-n code words are then excluded from further encoding. Typically, the number of added check bits of the proposed technique ranges from 0 to [log(p+1)], where p/spl les/r. When hidden m-out-of-n code words exist, applying the proposed scheme usually results in significant hardware cost and delay time reduction. In the five MCNC FSM benchmark circuits that have been identified with hidden m-out-of-n code words, 10% to 41% hardware reductions are exhibited compared to the theoretically optimal separable code encoding scheme. In addition, 7% to 45% reductions in checking delays are demonstrated for the same circuits compared to the separable code encoding scheme.


In this article, a condition monitoring system for the degradation assessment of power semiconductor modules under switching conditions is presented. The proposed monitoring system is based on the online measurement of two damage indicators: the on-state voltage of the semiconductor and the voltage drop in the bond wires. The on-state voltage of a semiconductor can be employed for temperature estimation, in order to anticipate failures in the solder joints that increase the thermal resistance of the cooling path. Moreover, by measuring the voltage drop in the bond wires, the degradation of the bond wires can be detected. The described monitoring system has been implemented in an inverter prototype, and tests have been performed in different scenarios to verify its capabilities in healthy and degraded states. Furthermore, a monitoring routine has been proposed in order to perform the required measurements in high switching frequency applications.


Many plate boundaries appear to be broad deformation zones, composed of several smaller microplates (e.g. California, Alaska, Mediterranean sea). To accurately address plate boundary deformation, as needed for seismic hazard assessment, it is important to study the motion of these microplates. Furthermore the dynamics of microplates, such as their driving forces and the implication of their motion on the surrounding plate boundary region are not well understood. Following suggestions from previous studies that Baja California is a microplate located within the North America – Pacific plate boundary region, a kinematic study using horizontal velocity data from Global Positioning System was performed. Building on the kinematic results and using numerical modelling techniques, a 2D mechanical model that simulates the transport of the Baja California microplate by lithospheric coupling with the Pacific plate was created. This model addresses the transport forces, and necessary preconditions in the North America – Pacific plate boundary region for rigid microplate transport. In addition, this model provides insights on the deformational response of western North America to Baja California motion, in particular the kinematic response of neighbouring microplates and the activation of passive fault systems. This latter was examined in more detail by separating the contribution of deformation from Baja California microplate motion and Sierra Nevada microplate motion to the formation of the Eastern California Shear Zone. Overall, it was found, that microplates play an important role for plate boundary kinematics and that their motion strongly influences the dynamics and fault evolution in plate boundary regions.