As selective revealing is being recognized as a new means to find collaboration partners, little attention has been paid on how selectively revealed solutions are best formulated in order to be positively perceived. Prior research has highlighted that technological gatekeepers, i.e. individuals with who handle the R&D communication network and hence potential recipients of revealed knowledge, rely on cognitive and perceptual abilities during the recognition and evaluation of novel technologies. To enrich existing knowledge about opportunity recognition in selective revealing, this study took a cognitive perspective and intended to explore the effects of different formulated revealed solutions on the identification of collaborative opportunities. By priorly manipulating the superficial and structural commonalities of two revealed solutions conducted in collaboration with industry experts, I designed a 2*2 within-subject experiment to validate whether such an induction of analogies increases the percipience of a selectively revealed opportunity. The data, which was attained during an online-experiment with university students from different fields of studies also included individual factors such as prior knowledge about markets and technologies, creative ability (proxied by divergent thinking test and creative self-efficacy) and other demographic characteristics. The gathered data was analyzed through a linear-mixed effect model to capture the repeated design of the experiment. The computation illustrated that relational commonalities between a market and a revealed solution considerably improved the perception about a revealed solution and the willingness to engage a collaboration. In addition, the results demonstrated that superficial similarities facilitate the retrieval of analogies from structural commonalities. For the individual factors, the provided evidence could not support the initial hypotheses that individual creativity and prior knowledge positively moderate the effects of superficial and structural similarities. Contrarily, the results revealed negative moderating effects of creativity and the field of study. Despite further research is necessary, this study delivered implications for both ends of the information flow in selective revealing by conjointly examining the effects of selectively revealed opportunities and personal traits, and enriched this field of study through comprehending the drivers of early action in open innovation and strategic renewal. As selective revealing is being recognized as a new means to find collaboration partners, little attention has been paid on how selectively revealed solutions are best formulated in order to be positively perceived. Prior research has highlighted that technological gatekeepers, i.e. individuals with who handle the R&D communication network and hence potential recipients of revealed knowledge, rely on cognitive and perceptual abilities during the recognition and evaluation of novel technologies. To enrich existing knowledge about opportunity recognition in selective revealing, this study took a cognitive perspective and intended to explore the effects of different formulated revealed solutions on the identification of collaborative opportunities. By priorly manipulating the superficial and structural commonalities of two revealed solutions conducted in collaboration with industry experts, I designed a 2*2 within-subject experiment to validate whether such an induction of analogies increases the percipience of a selectively revealed opportunity. The data, which was attained during an online-experiment with university students from different fields of studies also included individual factors such as prior knowledge about markets and technologies, creative ability (proxied by divergent thinking test and creative self-efficacy) and other demographic characteristics. The gathered data was analyzed through a linear-mixed effect model to capture the repeated design of the experiment. The computation illustrated that relational commonalities between a market and a revealed solution considerably improved the perception about a revealed solution and the willingness to engage a collaboration. In addition, the results demonstrated that superficial similarities facilitate the retrieval of analogies from structural commonalities. For the individual factors, the provided evidence could not support the initial hypotheses that individual creativity and prior knowledge positively moderate the effects of superficial and structural similarities. Contrarily, the results revealed negative moderating effects of creativity and the field of study. Despite further research is necessary, this study delivered implications for both ends of the information flow in selective revealing by conjointly examining the effects of selectively revealed opportunities and personal traits, and enriched this field of study through comprehending the drivers of early action in open innovation and strategic renewal.
Keywords: Selective Revealing, Opportunity Recognition, Open Innovation, Analogical Reasoning, Gatekeepers


The current thesis is written as a collection of four experimental studies, which aimed to examine possible antecedents of athlete burnout, as well as potential performance consequences of the social environment (i.e. coach-athlete relationship) and athlete burnout. The thesis adopts the integrated model of athlete burnout (Gustafsson et al,. 2011) as a theoretical framework to explore the athlete burnout construct. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the thesis whilst Chapter 2 reviews specific research literature to establish the research area interest for the four experimental studies.

Chapter 3: Validating a Measurement of Perceived Teammate Burnout
The aim of the first experimental study was to validate a sport specific method of measuring perceptions of teammate burnout. The athlete burnout questionnaire (ABQ) was adapted to create the team burnout questionnaire (TBQ) with items relating to the three dimensions of burnout (i.e. exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, and sport devaluation) modified through referent-shift to represent the perceptions of teammates (i.e. team exhaustion, team reduced accomplishment, and team sport devaluation). A sample of 290 team sports athletes completed the athlete burnout questionnaire (ABQ) and the TBQ at a single time point. To validate the proposed TBQ as a measure of athletes' perceptions of teammates' burnout two statistical steps were carried out. In the first step, the ABQ and the TBQ were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The next step was to combine both models into one multi-trait/multi-method (MTMM) analysis to test for discriminant validity and convergent validity. Comparing the CFA and MTMM models identifies that the discriminate validity of the TBQ was statistically supported. The TBQ could be utilised by researchers to examine an athlete's perception of their social environment as previously the integrated model of athlete burnout (Gustafsson et al., 2011) indicated that stressful social relationship may be a possible antecedent of athlete burnout.

Chapter 4: Examining Perceptions of Teammates' Burnout and Training Hours in Athlete Burnout
Following on from the validation of the TBQ in Chapter 3, Chapter 4 aimed to explore whether athlete perceptions of their teammates burnout influence their experience of burnout symptoms. The second aim of the study was to investigate the influence of training hours on the development of athlete burnout. 140 team sport athletes on two occasions separated by 3 months completed a series of questionnaires including the ABQ, the TBQ, and a number of demographic questions (e.g., On average, how many hours do you train per week?). Global burnout scores (i.e. mean of the 15 items of the ABQ) for athlete burnout and actual team burnout level were used to carry out the statistical analysis for the main analysis. The actual team burnout level was calculated by taking the mean of athletes' burnout scores within each team. To assess whether athlete burnout and athletes' perceptions of team burnout changed across time points, paired samples t-tests were conducted. To determine whether training hours impact upon athlete burnout and athletes' perception of team burnout, hierarchical regressions and linear regressions were conducted. The dynamic nature of athlete burnout was highlighted following data collection as the athlete's score on global burnout significantly increased across the 3 month period. At the initial time point, the training hours were not significantly associated to athlete burnout or the perception of their teammate's burnout. However, the cumulative training demands over the course of the 3 months appeared to impact upon athlete burnout. The study also identified that an athlete's perception of their teammates burnout may be a possible athlete burnout antecedent as results indicated that athlete's perceptions of their social environment predicted athlete burnout.

Chapter 5: The Role of Coach-Athlete Relationship Quality in Team Sport Athletes' Psychophysiological Exhaustion: Implications for Physical and Cognitive Performance
Further to stressful social relationships, the integrated model of athlete burnout (Gustafsson et al., 2011) identified the coach-athlete relationship is related to the development of athlete burnout. Chapter 5 aimed to examine whether the quality of the coach-athlete relationship (i.e. closeness, commitment and complementarity) was related to the development of athlete exhaustion and the performance of athletes. Chapter 5 adopted a two phase design. Phase One, 82 athletes participants completed a quasi-experimental trial measuring physical performance during a 5-m multiple shuttle-run test, followed by a Stroop test to assess cognitive performance, provided three samples of saliva to measure cortisol, and a series of questionnaire (i.e., ABQ, coach-athlete relationship questionnaire (CART-Q), demographic and background questionnaire). Structural equation modelling revealed a positive relationship between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and Stroop performance. Negative relationships existed between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and cortisol responses to high-intensity exercise, cognitive testing, and exhaustion and athlete exhaustion. In Phase Two, twenty-five athletes completed the experimental procedure on a further two occasions each time separated by 3 months. Structural equation modelling analysis revealed that the coach-athlete relationship at the beginning of the season predicted athlete exhaustion in the middle of the season. The analysis also revealed that the coach-athlete relationship and athlete exhaustion were unrelated to the physical and cognitive performance of athletes at the end of the season. The results indicated that athletes who perceived their relationship with their coach as being close, committed and complementary were less likely to perceive themselves as exhausted. Additionally, indicating that low quality coach athlete relationship increase the likelihood of athletes experiencing symptoms of emotional and physical exhaustion.

Chapter 6: The Physical Implications of Athlete Exhaustion and the Quality of Coach-Athlete Relationship: A Case Study
Chapter 6 aimed to investigate whether athlete burnout and the quality of the coach-athlete relationship accounted for differences in sporting performance. Fourteen male footballers complete a series of questionnaires including the CART-Q and the ABQ on two occasions separated by 10 weeks. Across the 10 weeks the total distance athletes covered during games and training was monitored using global positioning systems (GPS) technology. Further to monitoring running performance athletes counter movement jump (CMJs) were recorded each week. A series of three mixed factor models were utilised to investigate the potential influence of athlete burnout and the quality of the coach-athlete relationship on the variability of athletic performance. Findings from the first mixed factor model indicated that both athlete exhaustion at Time One and coach-athlete relationship quality at Time Two predicted the running distance covered by athletes during training session. The second mixed factor model revealed that performance on CMJs was predicted by athlete exhaustion at Time One, coach-athlete relationship quality at Time One, and the interaction effect between athlete exhaustion at Time One and coach-athlete relationship quality at Time One. The final mixed factor model indicated athlete exhaustion and the quality of the coach-athlete relationship did not predict the running distance covered by athletes during games. The results revealed that athletes who feel they are experiencing symptoms of emotional and physical exhaustion were likely to run further in training but not jump as high on CMJs. Furthermore, it could be suggested that athletes who perceive a high quality coach athlete relationship in terms of being close, committed and complementary were likely to have a lower CMJ score. Finally, the results may suggest that the coach athlete relationship acts as a protective mechanism when exhaustion is high to maintain CMJs performance.

Chapter 7 discusses the general findings arising from the experimental Chapters, presents the central theoretical and applied implications, identifies the limitations of the research programme, and provides suggestions for future research.


Operations Managers of manufacturing systems, distribution systems, and supply chains address lot sizing and scheduling problems as part of their duties. These problems are concerned with decisions related to the size of orders and their schedule. In general, products share or compete for common resources and thus require coordination of their replenishment decisions whether replenishment involves manufacturing operations or not. This research is concerned with joint replenishment problems (JRPs) which are part of multi-item lot sizing and scheduling problems in manufacturing and distribution systems in single echelon/stage systems. The principal purpose of this research is to develop three new periodic review policies for stochastic joint replenishment problem. It also highlights the lack of research on joint replenishment problems with different demand classes (DSJRP). Therefore, periodic review policy is developed for this problem where the inventory system faces different demand classes that are deterministic demand and stochastic demand. Heuristic Algorithms have been developed to obtain (near) optimal parameters for the three policies as well as a heuristic algorithm has been developed for DSJRP. Numerical tests against literature benchmarks have been presented.


Policing in stable democratic societies is predominantly concerned with the implementation and practice of the globally accepted philosophy of community policing. However, the subtle complexities of Northern Ireland's transitional landscape present acute problems for the community policing concept, both as a vehicle for police reform and as a tool for increasing the co-production of security through improved community interaction with the police. This article will examine the current position of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and their Policing with the Community policy. Providing an overview of contextual and contemporary developments, it will assess the efficacy with which the PSNI have realised community policing, as espoused in Patten Recommendation 44. It concludes by determining the role and extent of community engagement with policing in Northern Ireland and the resistances and contestations to the implementation of the community policing in a post-conflict society.


In the face of increasing pressure to demonstrate the socio-economic impact of funded research, whether it is funded directly by research councils or indirectly by governmental research block grants, institutions have to tackle the complexity of understanding, tracking, collecting, and analysing the impact of all their research activities. This paper attempts to encapsulate the wider context of research impact by delineating a broad definition of what might be classified as impact. It also suggests a number of different dimensions that can help in the development of a systematic research impact assessment framework. The paper then proceeds to indicate how boundaries and criteria around the definition of impact and these dimensions can be used to refine the impact assessment framework in order to focus on the objectives of the assessor. A pilot project, run at Brunel University, was used to test the validity of the approach and possible consequences. A tool specifically developed for the pilot, the Brunel Research Impact Device for Evaluation (BRIDE), is used for the analysis of research impact collected during the pilot. The paper reports on the findings of the analysis produced by BRIDE and confirms how a number of areas might be greatly affected by the boundaries set on definition and dimensions of research impact. The pilot project shows that useful information on impacts can be generated and it also provides a way to identify areas of work from each unit of assessment for which it would be worth developing narrative case studies. The pilot project has illustrated that it is feasible to make progress in terms of assessing impact, but that there are many difficulties to be addressed before impact assessment can be incorporated into a system of assessing the impact from the university sector as a whole. The paper concludes with an institutional perspective of the value of the approach and highlights possible applications. It also confirms the intention to expand the pilot and introduce new lines of investigation.


Reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are produced as normal by-products of aerobic metabolism, have been implicated in aging and in the pathogenesis of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. However, antioxidants have not shown consistent benefits against cardiovascular disease, and evidence that ROS may also play a protective role has begun to emerge. Tang et al. found that, in various cultured cells, low to moderate concentrations of H2O2 inhibited the enzymatic activity of Src family tyrosine kinases (SFKs) as well as their phosphorylation on a conserved tyrosine residue that is phosphorylated in the activated form. The in vitro catalytic activity of two recombinant SFKs, however, was not sensitive to H2O2. Although the tyrosine phosphorylation of all SFK-bound substrates immunoprecipitated from cell lysates was inhibited after brief exposure to H2O2 (10 minutes), the phosphorylation of a subset of proteins recovered after longer exposures (60 minutes). Immunofluorescence analysis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) indicated that H2O2 inactivated SFKs at focal adhesions and the plasma membrane but that prolonged exposure led to the activation of cytoplasmic SFKs. Pretreatment of HUVECs with H2O2 inhibited the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) as well as thrombin- or tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-dependent expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Thus, the authors suggest that low concentrations of ROS may protect endothelial cells from inflammatory responses to cytokines and that this protective action is mediated through a rapid, but indirect, inactivation of SFKs. H. Tang, Q. Hao, S. A. Rutherford, B. Low, Z. J. Zhao, Inactivation of Src family tyrosine kinases by reactive oxygen species in vivo. J. Biol. Chem. 280, 23918-23925 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks pose unpredictable threats to the Internet infrastructure and Internet-based business. Therefore, many attack detection systems and anomaly detection methods were developed in the past. The development and implementation of such methods are challenging and time consuming. Furthermore, a realistic evaluation of these mechanisms and comparable results are impossible up to now. Therefore, we developed the Distack framework for attack detection which allows an easy integration of various detection methods as lightweight modules. These modules can be combined easily and arbitrarily, and therefore allow for high flexibility. Additionally, our framework can be applied in different runtime environments transparently. This enables an easy evaluation with meaningful and comparable results based on realistic large-scale scenarios, e. g. by using a network simulator. This talk gives an overview of the Distack framework and the simulation toolkit we developed for giving a base on the way towards a global understanding of DDoS attacks.


Magnetic fields are proposed to have played a critical role in some of the most enigmatic processes of planetary formation by mediating the rapid accretion of disk material onto the central star and the formation of the first solids. However, there have been no experimental constraints on the intensity of these fields. Here we show that dusty olivine-bearing chondrules from the Semarkona meteorite were magnetized in a nebular field of 54 ± 21 microteslas. This intensity supports chondrule formation by nebular shocks or planetesimal collisions rather than by electric currents, the x-wind, or other mechanisms near the Sun. This implies that background magnetic fields in the terrestrial planet-forming region were likely 5 to 54 microteslas, which is sufficient to account for measured rates of mass and angular momentum transport in protoplanetary disks. Magnetic field strength in the early solar system is recorded in chondrules within a meteorite born of the asteroid Vesta. Magnetic moments in planetary history To know the magnetic history of the solar nebula in the age of planet formation, researchers turn to the most primitive meteorites. Samples such as the Semarkona chondrite are composed partly of chondrules, which reflect the strength of the ambient magnetic field when this material was last molten. Fu et al. used a SQUID microscope to measure the remnant magnetization in a section of Semarkona. The findings reveal secrets about what goes on inside protoplanetary disks. Science, this issue p. 1089


Using a cantilever type nanoprobe having a 100㎚m aperture at the apex of the pyramidal tip of a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM), nanopatterning of polymer films are conducted. Two different types of polymer, namely a positive photoresist (DPR-i5500) and an azopolymer (Poly disperse orange-3), spincoated on a silicon wafer are used as the substrate. A He-Cd laser with a wavelength of 442㎚ is employed as the illumination source. The optical near-field produced at the tip of the nanoprobe induces a photochemical reaction on the irradiated region, leading to the fabrication of nanostructures below the diffraction limit of the laser light. By controlling the process parameters properly, nanopatterns as small as 100㎚ are produced on both the photoresist and azopolymer samples. The shape and size variations of the nanopatterns are examined with respect to the key process parameters such as laser beam power, irradiation time or scanning speed of the probe, operation modes of the NSOM (DC and AC modes), etc. The characteristic features during the fabrication of ordered structures such as dot or line arrays using NSOM lithography are investigated. Not only the direct writing of nano array structures on the polymer films but also the fabrication of NSOM-written patterns on the silicon substrate were investigated by introducing a passivation layer over the silicon surface. Possible application of thereby developed NSOM lithography technology to the fabrication of data storage is discussed.


Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is an autosomal dominant condition accounting for 3% to 5% of all colorectal cancer. HNPCC is caused by germline mutations in the mismatch repair system and is recognized by a characteristic clinical phenotype as well as a hallmark of the tumors termed "microsatellite instability." Microsatellite instability serves as a molecular fingerprint for defective mismatch repair and has proven to be useful in the molecular diagnostic workup for HNPCC. The crystal structure of the DNA mismatch repair protein MutS has been solved, providing insight into the molecular basis of defective mismatch repair. Genetic testing has become a key component of the treatment of patients and families with HNPCC, and enhanced surveillance for HNPCC has been shown to reduce the rate of colorectal cancer by more than half and improve 10-year survival from 68% to 93%.


A recently proposed formulation of the stochastic planning and control problem as one of parameter estimation for suitable artificial statistical models has led to the adoption of inference algorithms for this notoriously hard problem. At the algorithmic level, the focus has been on developing Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithms. In this paper, we begin by making the crucial observation that the stochastic control problem can be reinterpreted as one of trans-dimensional inference. With this new understanding, we are able to propose a novel reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm that is more efficient than its EM counterparts. Moreover, it enables us to carry out full Bayesian policy search, without the need for gradients and with one single Markov chain. The new approach involves sampling directly from a distribution that is proportional to the reward and, consequently, performs better than classic simulations methods in situations where the reward is a rare event.


From crocodiles and penguins to seals and whales, this comprehensive and authoritative synthesis explores the function and evolution of sensory systems in animals whose ancestors lived on land. Together, the contributors explore the dramatic transformation of smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, mechanoreception, magnetoreception, and electroreception that occurred as lineages of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals returned to aquatic environments. Each chapter integrates data from fields including sensory physiology, anatomy, paleontology, and neurobiology. A one-stop source for information on the sense organs of secondarily aquatic tetrapods, "Sensory Evolution on the Threshold" sheds new light on both the evolution of aquatic vertebrates and the sensory biology of their astonishing transition.


This paper describes a study conducted to develop a method to facilitate more reliable determination of the rehabilitation priority order for water pipes by taking into account the pipes' hydraulic importance. Existing methods use only the pipeline deterioration rate to determine the rehabilitation priority order. Accordingly, the deterioration rate under normal conditions and the hydraulic importance under abnormal conditions of water distribution pipelines were classified according to two different attributes. The deterioration rate of a water distribution pipeline was calculated in terms of the deterioration rate due to pipeline information factors and the deterioration rate resulting from the installation environment/external factors. The hydraulic importance of water distribution pipelines was calculated by considering the importance of a single pipe failure caused by water leakage or an accident and that of a multiple pipe failure caused by a disaster, such as an earthquake. These four attribute factors were employed in a multi-criteria decision-making process called a weighted utopian approach, developed in this study, that determines the final rehabilitation priority order for each pipeline. The study results indicate that the rehabilitation priority order can be determined more easily using this approach than with previously-developed methods and that the model developed is easier and more convenient to apply than existing rehabilitation priority order models that require a large amount of data, as well as complex failure probabilities and mathematical models.


Abstract Sediment-laden gravity-driven-flow deposits on the basin floor are typically considered to form either discrete lobes that stack compensationally, or packages of laterally extensive beds, commonly termed "sheets." These end-member stacking patterns are documented in several basinfills. However, whether they can coexist in a single basin, or there are intermediate or transitional stacking patterns, is poorly understood. An analysis of depositional architecture and stacking patterns along a 70 km dip-oriented transect in the Upper Broto Turbidite System (Jaca Basin, south-central Pyrenees, Spain), which displays disparate stacking patterns in contemporaneous strata, is presented. Proximal and medial deposits are characterized by discrete packages of clean sandstones with sharp bed tops which exhibit predictable lateral and longitudinal facies changes, and are interpreted as lobes. Distal deposits comprise both relatively clean sandstones and hybrid beds that do not stack to form lobes. Instead, localized relatively thick hybrid beds are inferred to have inhibited the development of lobes. Hybrid beds developed under flows which were deflected and entrained carbonate mud substrate off a carbonate slope that bounded the basin to the south; evidence for this interpretation includes: 1) divergent paleoflow indicators and hummock-like features in individual beds; 2) a decrease in hybrid-bed thickness and abundance away from the lateral confining slope; 3) a carbonate-rich upper division, not seen in more proximal turbidites. The study demonstrates the co-occurrence of different styles of basin-floor stacking patterns in the same stratigraphic interval, and suggests that characterization of deep-water systems as either lobes or sheets is a false dichotomy.


eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. Abstract: This paper develops a model of residential water demand under a nonlinear budget constraint. The theoretical model for an individual consumer is adapted to yield an aggregate model that preserves the structure of the individual demand function, and that can be used with aggregate (water district level) data. The model is used to study the influence of pricing and non-price conservation programs on consumption and conservation behavior in three water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, over a 10-year period that includes both drought and normal years. Empirical results show that pricing can be effective in reducing water consumption, particularly during the annual dry season, and during longer drought episodes. The effect is mitigated when non-price conservation programs are included in the analysis. Among these, use restrictions and landscaping audits appear to be particularly effective in inducing conservation. Abstract This paper develops a model of residential water demand under a nonlinear budget constraint. The theoretical model for an individual consumer is adapted to yield an aggregate model that preserves the structure of the individual demand function, and that can be used with aggregate (water district level) data. The model is used to study the influence of pricing and non-price conservation programs on consumption and conservation behavior in three water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, over a 10-year period that includes both drought and normal years. Empirical results show that pricing can be effective in reducing water consumption, particularly during the annual dry season, and during longer drought episodes. The effect is mitigated when non-price conservation programs are included in the analysis. Among these, use restrictions and landscaping audits appear to be particularly effective in inducing conservation.


Biological growth and maturation influence the selection of young athletes to teams as early developers (EDs) tend to be selected above average developers (ADs) and late developers (LDs), due to their size, speed and power advantage. The aim was to determine differences in the sport psychological skill levels of African junior soccer players of different maturation levels. Male football players (N = 149) with a mean age of 16.24 ± 1.10 years participated in this study. Based on a synthesis of previous research a biological maturation questionnaire was used to classify the participants as EDs (n = 27), ADs (n = 77), and LDs (n = 45). The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 was used to measure their sport psychological skills. The LDs had significantly higher coping with adversity (p = .032, d = 0.35), as well as goal setting and mental preparation (p = .014, d = 0.76) scores than the EDs. Psychological factors could potentially have counterbalanced some of the physical disadvantages of late maturation. Coaches, selectors and talent scouts should be careful not to exclude later maturing soccer players from talent development programmes.Keywords: Football; Growth; Sport Psychology; Talent development.


What you're going to find in the piece below for this week's Outside the Box, as well as in the book, is an author who is very concerned about our civilization's prospects – and unafraid to say so. I mean, the last time I looked, "saving the world" had gone distinctly out of fashion. And then, and then, we all grow up and get pretty focused and incremental about things: if we can just address the problem or three right in front of us, we're reasonably content.


In this research, total phenolic content, total flavonoids content and total antioxidant activity of defatted sunflower seeds were evaluated. The antioxidant activity was determined using scavenging capacity of diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. The results showed that the extraction of phenolic compounds, flavonoids and free radical-gathering capacity depends on the type of solvent, temperature, and time of extraction. So that, the content of the total phenol content and antioxidant activity (152.026 mg/g and 97.760 %) of the extract of the seeds were higher at the same conditions (80 , 2h) by methanol, and total flavonoid content (21.5 mg/g) was reported to be higher using acetone as the solvent. According to the obtained results, there was found a linear relationship between the percentage of phenolic compounds and radical scavenging activity and an inverse relationship was observed between the level of flavonoids compounds and total phenol content. The results showed that extraction by methanol at 80 and for 2 hours, resulted in higher amounts of phenolic compounds, therefore; the mentioned extract was applied as the natural antioxidants for comparison with synthetic antioxidants (BHA) in sunflower oil. The results revealed powerful effects of extracted sunflower extracts, in which the samples containing 0.1% of extract, acted similar to 0.01% BHA.


From the Publisher:
From the trivial (Who won the first World Series?) to the imponderable (Who invented time?), from nature's mysteries (Why don't spiders stick to their webs?) to society's fears (What studies have been done on corporate mind control?), Jeeves has the answer to just about any question. The Ask Jeeves Web site lets users put their queries in simple, standard language so that they get the fastest, most efficient facts available online. From the vast holds of this Internet think tank, veteran journalist Rich Seeley has chosen the most thoughtful, the most fascinating, and the most obscure questions anyone has ever asked Jeeves. The book highlights Ask Jeeves's unique mix of solid information with witty, tongue-in-cheek delivery. Like the site, the book is structured for easy use, divided into dozens of pithy chapters from "Mysterious Machinery" to "A Walk in the Zoo." Web sources and clever follow-up questions are included.


Proteins containing the basic-helix-loop-helix (B-HLH) domain have been shown to be important in regulating cellular differentiation. We have isolated a cDNA for a human B-HLH factor, denoted HEB, that shares nearly complete identity in the B-HLH domain with the immunoglobulin enhancer binding proteins encoded by the E2A and ITF2 genes (E proteins). Functional characterization of the protein expressed from this cDNA indicates that HEB is a third member of the E-protein class of B-HLH factors. HEB mRNA was found to be expressed in several tissues and cell types, including skeletal muscle, thymus, and a B-cell line. HEB, ITF2, and the E12 product of the E2A gene all bound to a similar spectrum of E-box sequences as homo-oligomers. All three factors also formed hetero-oligomers with myogenin, and the DNA-binding specificity and binding off-rates (dissociation rates) were modulated after hetero-oligomerization. Both homo- and hetero-oligomers of these proteins were able to distinguish between very closely related E-box sequences. In addition, HEB was shown to form hetero-oligomers with the E12 and ITF2 proteins. Finally, HEB was able to activate gene expression. These data demonstrate that HEB shares characteristics with other E proteins and show that HEB can interact with members of both the myogenic regulatory class and the E-protein class of B-HLH factors. HEB is therefore likely to play an important role in regulating lineage-specific gene expression.


The quantum capacity of a quantum channel captures its capability for noiseless quantum communication. It lies at the heart of quantum information theory. Unfortunately, our poor understanding of nonadditivity of coherent information makes it hard to understand the quantum capacity of all but very special channels. In this Letter, we consider the dephrasure channel, which is the concatenation of a dephasing channel and an erasure channel. This very simple channel displays remarkably rich and exotic properties: we find nonadditivity of coherent information at the two-letter level, a substantial gap between the threshold for zero quantum capacity and zero single-letter coherent information, a big gap between single-letter coherent and private information, and positive quantum capacity for all complementary channels. Its clean form simplifies the evaluation of coherent information substantially and, as such, we hope that the dephrasure channel will provide a much-needed laboratory for the testing of new ideas about nonadditivity.


This paper provides an overview of the area of automated dominance estimation in group meetings. We describe research in social psychology and use this to explain the motivations behind suggested automated systems. With the growth in availability of conversational data captured in meeting rooms, it is possible to investigate how multi-sensor data allows us to characterize non-verbal behaviors that contribute towards dominance. We use an overview of our own work to address the challenges and opportunities in this area of research.


We discuss the definitions of standard clocks in theories of gravitation. These definitions are motivated by the invariance of actions under different gauge symmetries. We contrast the definition of a standard Weyl clock with that of a clock in general relativity and argue that the historical criticisms of theories based on non-metric compatible connections by Einstein, Pauli and others must be considered in the context of Weyl's original gauge symmetry. We argue that standard Einsteinian clocks can be defined in non-Riemannian theories of gravitation by adopting the Weyl group as a local gauge symmetry that preserves the metric and discuss the hypothesis that atomic clocks may be adopted to measure proper time in the presence of non-Riemannian gravitational fields. These ideas are illustrated in terms of a recently developed model of gravitation based on a non-Riemannian spacetime geometry.


Oil price volatility has been highly criticized on many fronts, from the top-level official to the average consumer. Authorities for both producing and consuming nations have called for mechanisms to restore order to a chaotic market.The author traces the development of petroleum commodity markets, then examines the quest by producers and consumers for stability in world oil markets. He finds that modest producer and consumer gains can be realized through negotiations that achieve removal of barriers to trade, elimination of hurdles to foreign investment, and strengthening of financial institutions.Verleger reviews previous attempts to stabilize price fluctuations of other commodities and finds that these efforts have invariably failed. He argues that the very size of the oil market makes it unlikely that an effort to stabilize oil prices would succeed. Moreover, he shows that an oil price stabilization agreement would impose large costs on consumers.


The superficial sediments in Start Bay consist of three discrete lithological units, know as barrier, bay and bank deposits. Flint and quartz are the dominant constituents of the barrier deposits with small quantities of rhyolite, felsite and grantie. The bay deposits are mainly fine-grained sediments varying in thickness from about 1 m in the nearshore zone, as a result of winnowing by tidal currents and waves, to a maximum of 28 m in the middle of the Bay. The bank deposits consist of coarse shelly sand, are up to 18 m thick and are located within the general vicinity of the Skerries Bank. Sedimentological and foraminiferal studies, together with C–14 dates, show that barrier-estuarine-lagoonal environments existed seaward of the modern shoreline in the past and that barriers migrated landward in response to oscillations of sea level during the later stages of the Flandrian transgression. Available evidence indicates that Start Bay is a closed system under present-day conditions. The influence of the Skerries Bank on wave refraction and energy dissipation along the coast has been assessed. The Hallsands disaster can be attributed to the legacy of dredging shingle from the inter-tidal zone, combined with a critical combination of storm waves, gales and spring tides.


This study reviews the exploratory implementation of an 'internationalising the curriculum' policy in relation to a cultural studies unit within a Creative Industries Faculty at an Australian university. Charting certain pedagogical practices in the delivery of transnational film studies, this case study involves a critical, contextual examination of student feedback as well as current theories about transcultural curricula in general and film studies curricula in particular. The study shows that tertiary students can be provided with an extraordinarily rich range of differing, sometimes conflicting, but always engaging transcultural insights and understandings. It is further argued that transnational competencies may be developed and enabled through the innovative realisation of a type of 'border crossing' pedagogical model, largely by foregrounding transcultural 'affective' issues around social justice.


My dissertation examines how contemporary American writers have revived and revised literary sentimentalism to fashion their engagement with publicized scenes of suffering, to critique dominant narratives of national identity, and--in some cases--to offer alternate notions of publicness built on fellow-feeling. I propose that much American literature of the 1990s and early post-millennium--texts often characterized as postmodern--evince a profound, yet veiled investment in sentimentalism's characteristic mode of affective pedagogy. In the texts examined here (including works by Philip Roth, Anna Deavere Smith, John Edgar Wideman, Chang-Rae Lee, Jonathan Safron Foer, John Updike, and Don DeLillo), one encounters a recurrent mode of affective engagement: a suffering figure is spectacularly exposed, sometimes "directly" to the reader but much more often through an intermediary figure whose sympathetic, affective, and/or diagnostic reaction to the suffering pedagogically models ideal affective responses for the reader. One also encounters many of the tropes and topoi characteristic of sentimentalism in the 19th century: a metaphoric linking of domestic, familial spaces for the space of the nation, sustained grief for the lost child, and the possibility of a redemptive community established through fellow feeling. Popular American culture has never set aside its investments in the power of sympathy, the guile of sentiment, and the lure of the endearingly oppressed, but the intertextual recovery of sentimentalism's pedagogical modes, tropes, and topoi by writers renowned for their sophistication, experimentation, and reflexiveness would seem more remarkable. Indeed, this resurrection of an aesthetic mode built on feeling goes directly against the diagnosis of Fredric Jameson, who declared famously that postmodern culture is characterized by a "waning of affect" (10). On the contrary, because many "postmodern" writers in the post Cold War period have made use of the performative power of sympathetic witness and reengaged with the nineteenth-century sentimentalist tradition, I maintain that, if anything, the cultural power of affect has been magnified and inflamed. Thus, this dissertation studies the ways in which many contemporary American writers, writers customarily thought of as literary, academic, and postmodern, have borrowed much from a discourse generally considered popular and debased, have employed sentimentalism's tropes for their power, modified its affective pedagogy for their political purposes, and revised many of its assumptions about the power of sympathetic witnessing. I attempt to elucidate these literary reengagements and give shape to my broader inquiry by situating them in relation to scenes of urban crisis, ruin, and unrest--that is, by reading them in relation to the changes characterizing American cities during the post-Cold War period and in the years immediately preceding it. Following the implementation of neoliberal austerity in the late 1970s, a process of deindustrialization and social stratification that had began in the 1960s rapidly accelerated. During this period, urban life in America was marked by the increasing immiseration of the underclass, the massive influx of new immigrants from Asia and Central America, conflict over scant resources, and an escalation of tensions between the highest and lowest elements in society. Using urban conflict to contextualize these postmodern revisions of sentimentalism is not an arbitrary choice; I follow the lead of the texts themselves. In each chapter, I consider how these authors bring the power of sympathetic witness and the hope of a coherent social body built of fellow-feeling--bring, in short, the power of sentimentalism--to bear on scenes of urban tension, strife, and ruin. The net is cast wide enough to include the relative banality of anti-immigrant chauvinism alongside the spectacular explosion of the 1992 Los Angeles riots as well as the smoldering urban ruin left in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Though these events and circumstances differ in vast and important ways, each can be thought of as fiery evidence against narratives of America's pastoral unity, coherence, and placid omnipotence. The writers who responded to these sites of turmoil made use of sentimentalism's power and investment in sympathetic projection to engage candidly with the suffering of others, to pedagogically mold the affective responses of their readers, and to suggest the existence of a social body to which both sufferer, witness, and reader belong. However, these texts reveal a persistent ambivalence over sympathy: its nature, its power, and its political provenance. Furthermore, because many of these authors model emotional engagement and witness through the figure of the writer, their scrutiny of the politics of sympathy is inseparable from their performative duplication of it. Thus their ambivalence about the community of fellow feeling goes into the text's performance and reception. Reading these authors for their thematic treatment of America's politics of feeling necessarily leads to reading their modes of sentimental ambivalence performatively. The reading practice governing this study therefore reveals the ways in which these writers entangle the publics they address in powerful sympathetic bonds while nevertheless calling into question what power feeling really has.


Recognizing textual entailment is a key task for many semantic applications, such as Question Answering, Text Summarization, and Information Extraction, among others. Entailment scenarios can range from a simple syntactic variation to more complex semantic relationships between pieces of text, but most approaches try a one-size-fits-all solution that usually favors some scenario to the detriment of another. We propose a composite approach for recognizing text entailment which analyzes the entailment pair to decide whether it must be resolved syntactically or semantically. We also make the answer interpretable: whenever an entailment is solved semantically, we explore a knowledge base composed of structured lexical definitions to generate natural language humanlike justifications, explaining the semantic relationship holding between the pieces of text. Besides outperforming wellestablished entailment algorithms, our composite approach gives an important step towards Explainable AI, using world knowledge to make the semantic reasoning process explicit and understandable.