The peatlands of eastern Newfoundland have been classified into six morphological types. The separation of types is based on peat depth, botanical constituents and degree of humification of the different peat strata, surface vegetation, and surface contours relative to the surrounding topography. -- The following peatland types are described: -- 1. Raised Bog -- 2. Blanket Bog -- 3. Slope Bog -- 4. Basin Bog -- 5. Patterned Fen -- 6. Flat Fen -- The vegetation of these morphological peatland types has been classified into seven plant associations and four communities using the methods of the Zurich-Montpellier School of Phytosociology. These floristic units are listed below in their approximate order of minerotrophy: -- 1. Cladonio-Vaccinietum vitis-idaea - characteristic of dry health-like conditions on raised, blanket, slope and basin bog. -- 2. Kalmio-Sphagnetum fusci - characteristic of drier areas of raised, blanket, basin and slope bogs. -- 3. Calamagrostio-Sphagnetum fusci - represents the Sphagnum fuscum hummocks of fens. -- 4. Scirpo-Sphagnetum tenelli - represents the wet flats and hollows of raised, blanket, slope and basin bogs. -- 5. Scirpo-Sphagnetum subniti - this is the dominant vegetation type of slope bogs and occurs only on that morphological peatland type. -- 6. Betulo-Sphagnetum stricti - the dominant vegetation type of patterned fens and occurs only on that morphological peatland type. -- 7. Betulo-Thalictretum polygoni - represents the minerotrophic flat fens. -- 8. Nuphar variegatum Community - represents the deep, open pools of raised, blanket and basin bogs. -- 9. Sphagnum torreyanum Community - represents the shallow pools of raised, blanket and basin bogs. -- 10. Utricularia cornuta Community - represents the shallow mudflats of raised, blanket and basin bogs. -- 11. Drosera intermedia Community - represents the more nutrient-enriched pools of patterned and flat fens. -- Water samples from a bog pool, characterized by the Nuphar variegatum community, and from a fen pool within a Drosera intermedia community site, were analysed for comparative assessment of algal species composition. The fen pool algal populations included 41 species, the bog pool had 22 species. This result is indicative of differences in nutritive conditions between bog and fen habitats. -- The morphological and phytosociological classifications presented were prepared on basis of independent sets of criteria. Nevertheless, it was found that the two systems were complementary and that particular phytosociological units were characteristic of particular morphological peatland types as listed above. To further test the validity of the proposed phytosociological classification a series of nutrient analysis, soil thaw rates and soil pH determinations were obtained for selected peat soils underlying the major floristic units. Results of these analyses strengthened the validity of the classification.


Further to genetic changes, epigenetic changes also play a major role in causing epilepsy and they are of great importance. Generally, many genomic positions associated with this disease, genetic products and cell routs that contribute to it are affected by epigenetic mechanisms that demonstrate the major and influential role of epigenetic mechanisms in causing epilepsy. It seems like many epigenetic properties have not been discovered yet. Thus, various studies are required to discover other epigenetic mechanisms, the relationship between these mechanisms and their role in causing various diseases such as epilepsy. In this research, various papers on the important and inhibitory mechanisms of epigenetic and the cases involved in pathogenicity of mechanism of various epileptic syndromes over the period of 2002 to 2016 were extracted from different resources such as PubMed and Science Direct using keywords such as epilepsy and histone. As the current therapeutic medicines are not satisfactory and we need new therapeutic methods and care for patients, thus the present research was conducted in order to discover epigenetic mechanisms with the goal of achieving new and effective medicines. Further study reveals the role of DNA methylation and other epigenetic mechanisms involved in causing epilepsy. Furthermore, epigenetic changes such as the changes following translation of histones' tails and DNA methylation are appropriate goals for new treatments as they are capable of changing compared to genetic factors like mutation. The challenges in this field have resulted in vast researches being conducted on epigenome similar to other engaged mechanisms associated with epigenetics. Epigenetic mechanisms play a major role in the development and growth of the brain. The goal in the future will be to achieve at an epigenetic and general treatment for nervous disorders such as epilepsy. Thus, manipulating epigenetic mechanisms may be the next goal of epilepsy treatment. The side effects of treatment with systematic epigenetic medicines also need to be predicted. Question about how enzymology specifically diagnoses the damaged areas in the brain and targets the selected genes associated with epilepsy is a necessary step to be taken that must be addressed in the future.


Automotive idle speed control (ISC) is one of the most challenging aspects in engine control fields. Essentially it is a highly nonlinear, time-varying, complicated, and uncertain dynamic control problem. As the typical automotive transient operation, the quality of the ISC has a significant impact on fuel economy, emission levels (HC, CO, and NOx), combustion stability, transient response, and noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics. This paper presents a thorough review of various dynamic control technologies which have been successfully applied to ISC systems. In particular, practical implementations on a variety of different engine types are provided, which cover broad areas of control, including classical control, modern control, and intelligent control. Over 90 selected papers published during the last two decades are reviewed and then summarized from a control point of view. These control approaches can be generalized to the control of other automotive, electrical, mechanical, and aeronautical systems.


After a short presentation of EU and Italian antitrust legislation, this paper examines two recent cases of intervention by the Italian Antitrust Authority (IAA) in the agricultural sector, both dealing with high quality food products requiring a long aging process: two similar kinds of cheese in the first case, 'Parmigiano-Reggiano' and 'Grana Padano', and two hams in the second one, 'Prosciutto di Parma' and 'Prosciutto di S. Daniele'. Recently, all these products have obtained the 'Protected Designation of Origin' according to EU Regulation n. 2081/1992. In both cases, the IAA argued that the existing agreements aimed at programming total supply for each product by means of quotas applied to each individual producer were illegal as well as other collusive behaviors such as price fixing for buying price of fresh meat. The paper also analyzes the key characteristics of these very specific food chains in order to better understand these markets and to discuss both decisions. It is argued that the IAA has taken its decisions more on a 'per se' approach, which in these cases seems to be inappropriate. A more detailed economic analysis, together with the adoption of a 'rule of reason' approach would have suggested different and to some extent opposite decisions. Moreover, the analysis shows that the actual functioning of these markets is not able to stimulate economic agents of these food chains to properly coordinate their production activities in order to reduce or eliminate the cyclical trends of quantity and wholesale prices, which have negative effects both on agricultural and industrial producers and on consumers.


Multimedia data require specialized management techniques because the representations of color, time, semantic concepts, and other underlying information can be drastically different from one another. The user's subjective judgment can also have significant impact on what data or features are relevant in a given context. These factors affect both the performance of the retrieval algorithms and their effectiveness. This textbook on multimedia data management techniques offers a unified perspective on retrieval efficiency and effectiveness. It provides a comprehensive treatment, from basic to advanced concepts, that will be useful to readers of different levels, from advanced undergraduate and graduate students to researchers and to professionals. After introducing models for multimedia data (images, video, audio, text, and web) and for their features, such as color, texture, shape, and time, the book presents data structures and algorithms that help store, index, cluster, classify, and access common data representations. The authors also introduce techniques, such as relevance feedback and collaborative filtering, for bridging the "semantic gap" and present the applications of these to emerging topics, including web and social networking.


This document presents a framework for supporting authorized,
emergency-related communication within the context of IP telephony. We
present a series of objectives that reflect a general view of how
authorized emergency service, in line with the Emergency
Telecommunications Service (ETS), should be realized within today's
IP architecture and service models. From these objectives, we present
a corresponding set of protocols and capabilities, which provide a
more specific set of recommendations regarding existing IETF
protocols. Finally, we present two scenarios that act as guiding
models for the objectives and functions listed in this document. These
models, coupled with an example of an existing service in the Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), contribute to a constrained
solution space. This memo provides information for the Internet
community.


Recently nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a key signalling molecule in plants. Here we review the potential sources of endogenous NO, outline the biological processes likely to be mediated by NO, and discuss the downstream signalling processes by which NO exerts its cellular effects. It will be important to develop methods to quantify intracellular NO synthesis and release. Clasification of the biosynthetic origins of NO is also required. NO can be synthesised from nitrite via nitrate reductase (NR) and although biochemical and immunological data indicate the presence of enzyme(s) similar to mammalian nitric oxide synthase (NOS), no NOS genes have been identified. NO can induce various processes in plants, including the expression of defence-related genes and programmed cell death (PCD), stomatal closure, seed germination and root development. Intracellular signalling responses to NO involve generation of cGMP, cADPR and elevation of cytosolic calcium, but in many cases, the precise biochemical and cellular nature of these responses has not been detailed. Research priorities here must be the reliable quantification of downstream signalling molecules in NO-responsive cells, and cloning and manipulation of the enzymes responsible for synthesis and degradation of these molecules. Contents Summary 11 1 Introduction 12 2 Why does NO make a good signal? 12 3 NO biosynthesis 13 4 NO biology 17 5 NO signal transduction 23 6 Conclusion 30 Acknowledgements 31 References 31.


The effects of low intensity pulsed ultrasound to tenocytes and osteocytes are well understood and applied clinically. However, its effects on cultured Schwann cells are still not well elucidated. This study was designed to elucidate the effects of low intensity pulsed ultrasound on cultured Schwann cells and their possible molecular mechanism. Schwann cells were harvested from sciatic nerves of 3-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Low intensity pulsed ultrasound stimulator (frequency: 1 MHz, duration: 2 min, duty cycle: 20%, total treatment time: 3 min) was applied to three different culture conditions: regular culture medium containing 0, 5, or 10% fetal bovine serum. The viability, damage, and differentiation of Schwann cells were examined; gene expression was also analyzed. In the presence of 0.3 W/cm(2) pulsed ultrasound stimulation, increases in cell viability and decreases in cell apoptosis were observed in the serum deprivation group; in this culture condition, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and protein zero genes expression were downregulated and Desert Hedgehog transcripts gene expression was upregulated. We concluded that intervention with low intensity pulsed ultrasound could promote Schwann cell proliferation, prevent cell death, and keep adequate phenotype presentation for peripheral nerve recovery. The low intensity pulsed ultrasound stimulation to an injured nerve site could be applied as early as possible especially when the microenvironment is almost serum-free to obtain the most benefit.


Abstract The present study focuses on developing a database to investigate the effects of 90-deg vertical elbows on the transport and distribution of local two-phase flow parameters in air-water bubbly flows. The experimental facility consists of both vertical and horizontal sections made out of 50.8-mm inner diameter pipes and interconnected via 90-deg glass elbows. Six different flow conditions within or near the bubbly flow regime at the inlet are investigated in the current study. A multisensor conductivity probe is employed to measure detailed local two-phase flow parameters at ten axial locations along the test section, within which 90-deg elbows are installed at L/D = 63 and 244.7 from the inlet. The data show that the elbow makes a significant impact on the two-phase pressure drop, bubble distribution, and bubble velocity. The bubbles moving across the vertical-upward elbow are entrained along the secondary flow streamlines leading to a bimodal distribution. For the test conditions investigated in the present study, this bimodal distribution is independent of the bubble distribution upstream of the vertical-upward elbow. In the case of the vertical-downward elbow, on the other hand, the large inertia of the axial liquid flow results in the bubbles migrating toward the inside of the elbow curvature.


The radiative forcing of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) has been estimated over two urban environments in Northern India (Jabalpur [JBL] and Udaipur [UDPR]) from November 2011 till November 2012 (till September 2012 over Jabalpur). The elemental carbon concentrations reached 7.36 ± 1.99 µg m–3 over JBL and were as high as 10.78 ± 4.85 µg m–3 over UDPR, whereas the corresponding OC concentrations were much higher in different months (as high as 19.37 ± 12.6 µg m–3 over JBL and 39.71 ± 13.05 µg m–3 over UDPR). The radiative forcing for OC and EC has been estimated using an optical model along with a radiative transfer model. The surface OC radiative forcing was found to range from –2.19 ± 1.93 W m–2 to –3.083 ± 2.29 W m–2 over JBL and –1.97 ± 1.37 to –5.89 ± 2.17 W m–2 over UDPR, whereas the estimated top of the atmosphere (TOA) forcing ranged from –0.87 ± 0.49 to –1.87 ± 0.90 W m–2 over JBL and from –1.23 ± 0.31 to –3.44 ± 1.51 W m–2 over UDPR. However, the effect of EC forcing (as high as –21.75 W m–2 at the surface of and +6.3 W m–2 at TOA over JBL and –38.21 W m–2 at the surface of and +5.05 W m–2 at TOA over UDPR) was found to be more than tenfold higher than OC forcing due to its strong atmospheric absorption, in spite of much lower concentrations compared to OC.


I develop various frameworks for the separation of loss given default and default intensity present in securities with credit risk. They include spot and forward credit default swaps, digital default swaps and bonds. Cross-sectional no-arbitrage restriction between different securities extracts the pure measure of default intensity and loss given default not contaminated by the other. Using spot and forward CDS premium data of 10 emerging market sovereigns, I find that 75% level of loss given default prevails in the sovereign CDS markets across countries over time. Positive correlation between loss given default and default intensity is only found in Brazil and Venezuela during the period of political turmoil in each country. This result is puzzling considering diverse fundamentals across countries and time variation of the marginal rate of substitution. Loss given default below (above) the 75% generates negative (positive) pricing errors in forward CDS and the magnitude of them is economically significant. This persistent negative (positive) pricing errors with mis-specified loss given default higher (lower) than the true one are consistent with the model developed. ∗The author would like to thank Joyce Chang, Global Head of Emerging Markets Research, Foreign Exchange, and Commodities at J.P. Morgan Securities, for affording him access to the JPMorgan Database.


Many towns and cities in developing countries are experiencing acute traffic congestion problems brought about chiefly by the growth in the number of motor cars. One method of easing the problem, which has been used in Bangkok for a number of years, is to ban the movements of lorries in the urban area during peak periods. For 6-wheel lorries, the ban lasts for four hours per day and for 10-wheel lorries, lasts for ten hours. This report describes a study of the effects of the bans. By dividing the urban network into different regions, considering different periods of the day separately, and applying empirical speed flow relationships, estimates are made of the effects of the bans on travel times and costs of other road users. It is concluded that each ban reduces the travel costs to other road users by close to one per cent (L3m-L4m per annum at 1980 prices, excluding tax); that for the ban on 6-wheel lorries, reductions in congestion costs probably exceed increases in costs to goods vehicle operators; but that for the ban on 10-wheel lorries, costs and benefits are more evenly balanced. Reducing the duration of the ban on 10-wheel lorries would increase its cost-effectiveness. (A) (TRRL)


The ice flow at the margins of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is moderated by large ice shelves. Their buttressing effect substantially controls the mass balance of the WAIS and thus its contribution to sea level rise. The stability of these ice shelves results from the balance of mass gain by accumulation and ice flow from the adjacent ice sheet and from mass loss by calving and basal melting due to the ocean heat flux. Recent results of ocean circulation models indicate that warm circumpolar water of the Southern Ocean may override the submarine slope front of the Antarctic Continent and boost basal ice shelf melting. In particular, ocean simulations for several of the IPCC's future climate scenarios demonstrate the redirection of a warm coastal current into the Filchner Trough and underneath the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf (FRIS) within the next decades.

In this study, we couple the finite elements ocean circulation model FESOM and the three-dimensional thermomechanical ice flow model RIMBAY to investigate the sensitivity of the ice dynamics within the entire FRIS catchment to simulated future basal shelf melt rates. Our simulations indicate a high sensitivity of the ice dynamics for the Moller and the Institute Ice Stream but only very little response of other ice streams like Rutford, Foundation and Recovery Ice Stream to enhanced basal shelf melting. The grounding line between the Moller and Institute Ice Streams is located on a submarine ridge in front of a deep trough further inland. In this area, basal shelf melting causes a local thinning of the FRIS. The consequent initial retreat of the grounding line continues once it reaches the adjacent reverse-sloped bedrock. We state, that a possible 'point of no return' for a vast grounding line retreat along this steep reverse bedrock slope might have been crossed already even for simulated present-day melt rates, indicating that the WAIS is currently not in equilibrium. Furthermore, our simulations show an accelerated grounding line retreat in this sector of the FRIS as an answer to modeled future cavity warming scenarios leading to an additional mass loss of the WAIS.


Specific absorbed fraction (SAF) is an important factor in self-dosimetry for internal organs. Differences between Filipino and Caucasian statistics may cause inaccurate dose estimation in internal dosimetry for Filipinos. In this study, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) adult phantom is rescaled using the height and weight of a Filipino reference man to become a model for Filipino males and females. Monte Carlo simulation using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code version 6.2 (MCNP6.2) is done to determine self-SAF values of the thyroid organ in each phantom. It was determined that the differences between the thyroid self-SAFs of a Filipino Male was higher than that of the ORNL adult phantom by 19.55% on average and that of the Filipino female was higher than that of the ORNL adult phantom by 21.61% on average. The scaling down of the thyroid phantom geometry resulted to an increase in self-SAF. The results show that the self-SAF computation using ORNL adult phantom is inaccurate for Filipinos and that rescaling the ORNL phantom or the use of a model suited for Filipino statistics is important before it can be used for accurate internal dosimetry.


We experimentally demonstrate a fast random bit generator (RBG) based on bandwidth-enhanced chaotic laser from an optical feedback laser diode with optical injection. The bandwidth-enhanced chaotic signal is sampled and converted to a binary sequence in real time without the need of programming for off-line processing. Multi-rate bit sequences, with the fastest rate of up to 2.87 Gb/s, are obtained with verified randomness.


Although many counselors consider themselves to be culturally aware, research has shown that deliberately and respectfully addressing race, culture, and ethnicity—particularly with clients of color—does not occur as consistently as it should, despite empirical evidence which documents that discussions about how racial and cultural factors shape the client's presenting problem contribute to favorable counseling outcomes. This exploratory study used a qualitative method to examine professional African American counselors' experiences of discussing racial, ethnic, and cultural issues with their culturally diverse clients. Critical race theory functioned as the research paradigm that guided this study. As a result, this study produced seven categories and four subcategories that explored the influences, thoughts, and understandings that came to bear on their efforts to discuss race, ethnicity, and culture with clients of color. Participants found that candid discussions about racial and cultural matters, in combination with a willingness to explore counselor-client differences, greatly enhanced the therapeutic rapport with clients. Furthermore, participants provided suggestions for graduate counseling programs to improve their multicultural curriculum, and they discussed the importance of counselors exercising multicultural competency both within and outside of clinical sessions. Essentially, this study examined the strategies that African American counselors use to explore cultural dynamics with clients of color. Implications for the counseling field are also recommended based on the findings.


THERE SHOULD BE no illusions about the sort of Arab landscape that America is destined to find if, or when, it embarks on a war against the Iraqi regime. There would be no "hearts and minds" to be won in the Arab world, no public diplomacy that would convince the over whelming majority of Arabs that this war would be a just war. An American expedition in the wake of thwarted UN inspections would be seen by the vast majority of Arabs as an imperial reach into their world, a favor to Israel, or a way for the United States to secure control over Iraq's oil. No hearing would be given to the great foreign power. America ought to be able to live with this distrust and discount a good deal of this anti-Americanism as the "road rage" of a thwarted Arab world-the congenital condition of a culture yet to take full responsibility for its self-inflicted wounds. There is no need to pay excessive deference to the political pieties and givens of the region. Indeed, this is one of those settings where a reforming foreign power's simpler guidelines offer a better way than the region's age-old prohibitions and defects. Above and beyond toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein and dismantling its deadly weapons, the driving motivation of a new American endeavor in Iraq and in neighboring Arab lands should be modernizing the Arab world. The great indulgence granted to the ways and phobias of Arabs has reaped a terrible harvest-for the Arabs themselves, and for an America implicated in their affairs. It is cruel


Intramembrane proteolysis enhances signaling by interleukin-1 receptor type 1. Presenilin (PS1) is a component of the γ-secretase complex that mediates regulated intramembrane proteolysis. Such proteolyis of receptors in the cell membrane can have multiple effects on receptor function by releasing biologically active intracellular and extracellular domains. Such events can influence cytokine binding outside the cell or carry signals into the cell and into the nucleus. Elzinga et al. report a role for γ-secretase–dependent regulation of the interleukin-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1R1). IL-1R1 signals through association with a large complex of proteins that includes the ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 (tumor necrosis factor receptor–associated factor-6) and the protein pseudokinase IRAK 2 (interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 2). Elzinga et al. noted that PS1 has a consensus binding site for interaction with TRAF6 and showed by coimmunoprecipitation that endogenous PS1 and TRAF6 interacted in human embryonic kidney 293T cells. Furthermore, the interaction was enhanced when cells were treated with IL-1β. In transfected cells, PS1 also interacted with IRAK2. IL-1R1 was cleaved into a C-terminal fragment and an intracellular domain in a manner dependent on metalloprotease and γ-secretase activities. Ligand binding to IL-1R1 enhanced generation of the intracellular domain, and pharmacological inhibition of γ-secretase inhibited such cleavage and also inhibited biological responses to IL-1β. Thus, intramembrane proteolysis appears to be important for signaling through IL-1R1 (as it also appears to be for IL-1R2 and tumor necrosis factor–α). The authors note that such proteolysis could release the ectodomain of the receptor to compete for IL-1 binding. Cleavage could disrupt further signaling, but on the other hand, generation of the soluble intracellular domain could also allow movement of the ICD—which contains nuclear localization signals—to the nucleus to influence gene expression. The precise role of interactions between PS1 and TRAF6 and IRAK2 remains to be explained. B. M. Elzinga, C. Twomey, J. C. Powell, F. Harte, J. V. McCarthy, Interleukin-1 receptor type 1 is a substrate for γ-secretase–dependent regulated intramembrane proteolysis. J. Biol. Chem. 284, 1394–1409 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


A `dress-up contest' is a competition for the best public image, and fiscal decentralisation can lead to such contests between local governments. In this paper we model the dress-up contest and investigate how it a effects social welfare. We show that yardstick competition (due to fiscal decentralisation) forces local governments to allocate more resources to more visible public goods (such as cash assistance) than less visible goods (such as vendor payments) and thus starts dress-up contests. The resulting distortion of resource allocation causes a structural bias in public expenditure and further hurts social welfare. To empirically verify our theoretical model, we employ U.S. state-level data from 1992 to 2008, and we estimate the panel data model using various econometric approaches. The empirical results provide strong evidence that fiscal decentralisation can lead to distortion in public expenditure arising from dress-up contests. We also find that this distortion increases the regional poverty rate.


We present experimental verification of pulse shaping in elastic metamaterials together with a procedure to design, fabricate, and verify metamaterial pulse shapers under impact excitation. The Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) test, a fundamental dynamic test introduced more than 70 years ago, often incorporates pulse shaping as a means to alter a stress wave, providing the primary motivation for the presented study. Elastic metamaterials hold promise for enhancing conventional pulse shaping abilities and improving capabilities of the SHPB test. We first design the pulse shaper by numerically optimizing its response using finite element analysis. The pulse shaper consists of repeated unit cells based on a combination of a phononic crystal and a local resonator. We then fabricate and test pulse shaper candidates to validate the procedural efficacy. An iterative element corrects inaccuracies in input force and material properties and allows convergence on an appropriate pulse shaper. We carry-out this procedure by designing pulse shapers fabricated from 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) to achieve an extended dwell acceleration pulse shape. In experimental impact tests, the procedure results in rise, dwell, and fall behaviors comparable to that predicted, effectively confirming the efficacy of the presented procedure and verifying the performance of metamaterial-based pulse shapers.


'Then she began to run, and she ran over the sharp stones and through the thorns, and the wild animals bounded past her...' Four weird, dark and enchanting fairy-tales from the Brothers Grimm. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Jacob Ludwig Karl (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Karl (1786-1859) are the Brothers Grimm. Their Selected Tales are also available in Penguin Classics.


With an increasing need for homeland security, and breakthrough advancements in sensing applications, the demand for highly sensitive, compact, biological and chemical sensing devices is evident. Macroporous silicon (MPS) is an ideal material for meeting these demands because it exhibits a large degree of internal surface area and is fully compatible with silicon technologies. Since the surface is sensitive to charged molecules, localized field effects from analytes interfaced with MPS will cause modulation of a space charge region in the semiconductor. In this work, a porous silicon based sensing system is designed, fabricated, and characterized. The unique properties of porous silicon and its promising qualities which facilitate the means for interfacing fluidic and electrical systems are investigated. A flow-though structure is used to deliver analytes to a MPS sensing membrane region and integrated electrodes contacting the MPS can be used to take electrical measurements. Fabricated sensors are enhanced by packaging them in a fluidic system which enables the future possibility of arrayed sensing platforms. To date this sensing system has successfully performed many sensing tasks applicable to the fields of science and technology. Unique measured capacitive responses of sensor to liquid phase acetone, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, methanol, and toluene demonstrate detection and discrimination capabilities. The sensor has proven to be useful in monitoring the quality of air by detecting solvent vapor phase concentrations of < 1 ppm. Packaged devices were used to monitor the quality of a water supply and were able to detect the presence of contaminants such as isopropyl alcohol. Application to the field of biology was demonstrated by observing a repeatable trend in measured capacitance during binding events between biotin and streptavidin proteins located in the MPS sensing membrane. The work presented herein shows that this sensing platform has a high degree of potential for repeatable and day-to-day reproducible detection in the areas of chemical and biological sensing.


Research into parents' experiences of becoming parents is widespread. However research regarding therapy for parents, and how that may impact on the meanings parents give to parenthood is rare. In response to this lack of knowledge, this study explores parents' experiences of counselling at SureStart children's centres and how that experience affects their perceptions of themselves as parents, and their on-going experience of parenthood. The study was conducted using phenomenological methodology. Data was collected via four semi-structured interviews. Participants were parents who had received counselling at a local children's centre. They had between two and four children each, aged between eight months and four years. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes are evidenced – i. Who am I?, ii. Feeling out of Control and iii. Parenthood and Counselling. Parents' sense of a parental identity and sense of agency changed when they became parents and over time, and therapy was used to explore these differences in experience. Despite accessing therapy, participants did not identify with people whom they thought of as needing mental health services. It is suggested that children's centre counselling services could become a "gateway" to other parenting support as the parent learns to experience a therapeutic relationship, gains a better sense of agency, and trusts that the professionals are not judging them. The findings are examined in the light of the extant literature which suggests, for example, that parents may experience dissonance between their concept of "parent" and their concept of "client." They may also find parenthood harder if their thinking is not "principle led". The research findings indicate that there is still much to learn about this participant group, and suggestions are made for further research in this area.


Accounting has no meaning without standards due to professionalism. The use and application of standards in accounting gets so importance that it will not go wrong if it is termed as a legal discipline. By the time, the world has given accounting the certification of international discipline. So, it is apt to say that as an international discipline, accounting should have a single set of standards for all for harmonizing the practice in a global scenario. But the reality is that we still have various streams of accounting standards like US GAAP, UK GAAP, IAS, and so on. These different streams are the threat for accounting against its harmonization of practices. Though the world has witnessed a lot of initiatives taken to reduce the streams into one in recent years, still we cannot ensure the final sophistication in this regard. The paper focuses on the convergence issue, its current status, challenges with special reference to Indian perspective.


Within science, citation counts are widely used to estimate research impact but publication delays mean that they are not useful for recent research. This gap can be filled by Mendeley reader counts, which are valuable early impact indicators for academic articles because they appear before citations and correlate strongly with them. Nevertheless, it is not known how Mendeley readership counts accumulate within the year of publication, and so it is unclear how soon they can be used. In response, this paper reports a longitudinal weekly study of the Mendeley readers of articles in 6 library and information science journals from 2016. The results suggest that Mendeley readers accrue from when articles are first available online and continue to steadily build. For journals with large publication delays, articles can already have substantial numbers of readers by their publication date. Thus, Mendeley reader counts may even be useful as early impact indicators for articles before they have been officially published in a journal issue. If field normalized indicators are needed, then these can be generated when journal issues are published using the online first date.


One of the outstanding problems of the biologist, whether he be beginning student or specialists, is that of understanding technical terms. The best way to understand and remember technical terms is to understand first their component parts, or roots. This dictionary has been designed primarily to meet the needs of the beginning student, the medical student, and the taxonomist, but it should be of value to all biologists.


Causality, Regression, Discriminant Analysis, and Research on Failure(*) It is natural that lenders, investors, and regulators would like to have some empirical insight into the default risk of the firms and financial institutions with which they are involved. This interest has led to substantial empirical research on the failure of such firms and institutions.(1) While other variables have been employed in this research, the most widely-used variable set has been the financial ratios of failed and nonfailed firms and institutions.(2) Statistical methodologies used to relate these ratios to failure have included various types of regression and maximum-likelihood estimation, but by far the most common analysis technique has been discriminant analysis.(3) This has led to a series of papers citing serious methodological, empirical, and interpretational problems in published failure studies where discriminant analysis was used[4, 13, 20, 21]. Among the problems cited are misinterpretation of the classification outputs, violation of the statistical assumptions underlying the discriminant model, misinterpretation of the implications of discriminant statistics regarding the importance of individual variables, unnecessary reduction in dimensionality and variable elimination, and problems in application over time. In investigating the association between ratio and other measures and failure, the researcher must choose an analysis methodology: regression (or another related maximum-likelihood method), discriminant analysis, or another technique. Several considerations are relevant to this choice of methodology. One consideration is the different statistical requirements of discriminant analysis and regression[10, 23, 26]. However, these different analysis techniques also reflect different assumptions regarding the underlying causal structures. Thus, causality should also be a consideration in the choice and application of analysis methods. Few default studies have explicitly considered the causal issue. This article discusses causality relative to the empirical investigation of failure and the choice of analysis technique. In the next section of this paper, the implied causality in regression and in discriminant analysis is discussed. Potential assumptions regarding causality in the failure process are then reviewed, with particular reference to financial ratios and their relation to failure. These assumptions are related to the implied causality in regression and in discriminant analysis and thus to methodology choice. The problems of interpretation of individual variables and of dimensionality reduction in discriminant analysis are discussed relative to these assumptions about failure. Examples of prior research are presented where the causality implied in the researchers' hypotheses was not matched to the statistical techniques used and where some of these problems consequently occurred. Two example analyses are performed on a small data set to illustrate the proper use of the two methodologies in failure research. The final section presents conclusions and implications for future research on failure. CAUSALITY IN REGRESSION AND IN DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS In the regression model, the implied causality runs from the independent variables (the Xs), which are exogenously determined, to the dependent variable (Y), which is hypothesized to be determined by the independent variables plus a random disturbance term[27]. In such a model, it is appropriate to form hypotheses regarding the signs and magnitudes of the estimated coefficients of the independent variables, since the postulated causal situation leads to expectations regarding these signs and magnitudes that the model is (in part) testing. The postulated causal situation will also suggest a limited set of potential independent variables, and it is appropriate in the regression model to include only those variables that the researcher believes determine the dependent variable; extraneous variables increase estimation time requirements. …


Future of Utilities - Utilities of the Future: How technological innovations in distributed generation will reshape the electric power sector relates the latest information on the electric power sector its rapid transformation, particularly on the distribution network and customer side. Trends like the rapid rise of self-generation and distributed generation, microgrids, demand response, the dissemination of electric vehicles and zero-net energy buildings that promise to turn many consumers into prosumers are discussed. The book brings together authors from industry and academic backgrounds to present their original, cutting-edge and thought-provoking ideas on the challenges currently faced by electric utilities around the globe, the opportunities they present, and what the future might hold for both traditional players and new entrants to the sector. The book's first part lays out the present scenario, with concepts such as an integrated grid, microgrids, self-generation, customer-centric service, and pricing, while the second part focuses on how innovation, policy, regulation, and pricing models may come together to form a new electrical sector, exploring the reconfiguring of the current institutions, new rates design in light of changes to retail electricity markets and energy efficiency, and the cost and benefits of integration of distributed or intermittent generation, including coupling local renewable energy generation with electric vehicle fleets. The final section projects the future function and role of existing electrical utilities and newcomers to this sector, looking at new pathways for business and pricing models, consumer relations, technology, and innovation.Contains discussions that help readers understand the underlying causes and drivers of change in the electrical sector, and what these changes mean in financial, operational, and regulatory termsProvides thought-provoking ideas on the challenges currently faced by electric utilities around the globe, the opportunities they present, and what the future might hold for both traditional players and new entrants to the sectorHelps readers anticipate what developments are likely to define the function and role of the utility of the future


Mining is a dust prone occupation and almost every major process in mining contributes to the atmospheric load of suspended particulate matter. Prolonged exposure of this dust is known to cause various respiratory diseases including deadly pneumoconiosis among the miners. The Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad has contributed significantly in the area of dust assessment and control. It has developed a few simple yet effective techniques for controlling dust in drilling, crusher houses, transfer points, and haul roads. These techniques of dust control are gaining industry interest in recent years mainly for two reasons: (a) dust generation has increased significantly due to higher mechanisation and the introduction of mass production technologies to meet our growing production needs making application of dust control mechanism inevitable, (b) growing consciousness of environment and stricter environmental compliance mechanisms has put constant pressure on the mining industry for regular use of dust control practices. The present paper briefly describes the techniques/methodologies for controlling dust during different drilling practices and at crusher house and conveyor transfer points and haul roads in the mining industry.


We report the differential charged jet cross section and jet fragmentation distributions measured with the ALICE detector in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy ffiffi s p 1⁄4 7 TeV. Jets with pseudorapidity jηj < 0.5 are reconstructed from charged particles using the anti-kT jet-finding algorithm with a resolution parameter R 1⁄4 0.4. The jet cross section is measured in the transverse momentum interval 5 ≤ p jet T < 100 GeV=c. Jet fragmentation is studied measuring the scaled transverse momentum spectra of the charged constituents of jets in four intervals of jet transverse momentum between 5 and 30 GeV=c. The measurements are compared to calculations from the PYTHIA model as well as next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations with POWHEG+PYTHIA8. The charged jet cross section is well described by POWHEG for the entire measured range of p jet T . For p ch jet T > 40 GeV=c, the PYTHIA calculations also agree with the measured charged jet cross section. PYTHIA6 simulations describe the fragmentation distributions to 15%. Larger discrepancies are observed for PYTHIA8.


Objective To determine the perinatal outcome of labouring mothers with meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) compared with clear amniotic fluid at teaching referral hospital in urban Ethiopia. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted among labouring mothers with meconium-stained amniotic fluid from July 1 to December 30, 2019. Data was collected with pretested structured questionnaires. A Chi-square test used to check statistical associations between variables. Those variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were selected for cross-tabulation and binary logistic regression. P-value set at 0.05, and 95% CI was used to determine the significance of the association. Relative risk was used to determine the strength and direction of the association. Result Among 438 participants, there where 75(52.1%) primigravida in a stained fluid group compared to112 (38.5%) of the non-stained fluid group. Labour was induced in 25 (17.4%) of the stained fluid group compared to 25(8.6%) of a non-stained fluid group and has a statistically significant association with meconium staining. The stained fluid group was twice more likely to undergo operative delivery compared with a non-stained fluid group. There were more low Apgar scores at birth (36.8% versus 13.2%), birth asphyxias (9% versus 2.4%), neonatal sepsis (1% versus 5.6%), neonatal death (1% versus 9%), and increased admissions to neonatal intensive care unit (6.2% versus 21.5%) among the meconium-stained group as compared to the non-stained group. Meconium aspiration syndrome was seen in 9(6.3%) of the stained fluid group. Conclusion Meconium-stained amniotic fluid is associated with increased frequency of operative delivery, birth asphyxia, neonatal sepsis, and neonatal intensive care unit admissions compared to clear amniotic fluid.


This thesis studies wave energy converters developed at Uppsala University. The wave energy converters are of point absorbing type with direct driven linear generators. The aim has been to study generator design with closed stator slots as well as offshore experimental studies.By closing the stator slots, the harmonic content in the magnetic flux density is reduced and as a result the cogging forces in the generator are reduced as well. By reducing these forces, the noise and vibrations from the generator can be lowered. The studies have shown a significant reduction in the cogging forces in the generator. Moreover, by closing the slots, the magnetic flux finds a short-cut through the closed slots and will lower the magnetic flux linking the windings.The experimental studies have focused on the motion of the translator. The weight of the translator has a significant impact on the power absorption, especially in the downward motion. Two different experiments have been studied with two different translator weights. The results show that with a higher translator weight the power absorption is more evenly produced between the upward and downward motion as was expected from the simulation models. Furthermore, studies on the influence of the changing active area have been conducted which show some benefits with a changing active area during the downward motion. The experimental results also indicate snatch-loads for the wave energy converter with a lower translator weight.Within this thesis results from a comparative study between two WECs with almost identical properties have been presented. The generators electrical properties and the buoy volumes are the same, but with different buoy heights and diameters. Moreover, experimental studies including the conversion from AC to DC have been achieved.The work in this thesis is part of a larger wave power project at Uppsala University. The project studies the whole process from the energy absorption from the waves to the connection to the electrical grid. The project has a test-site at the west coast of Sweden near the town of Lysekil, where wave energy systems have been studied since 2004.


This paper investigates the potential for developing countries to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions without slowing their expected economic growth. A theoretical frame- work is developed that unifies bottom-up marginal abatement cost curves and partial equilibrium techno-economic simulation modeling with computational general equilibrium (CGE) modeling. The framework is then applied to engineering assessments of energy efficiency technology deployments in Armenia and Georgia. The results facilitate incorporation of bottom-up technology detail on energy-efficiency improvements into a CGE simulation of the economy-wide economic costs and mitigation benefits of technology deployment policies. Low-carbon growth trajectories are feasible in both countries, enabling reductions of up to 4 percent of baseline emissions while generating slight increases in GDP (1 percent in Armenia and 0.2 percent in Georgia). The results demonstrate how MAC curves can paint a misleading picture of the true potential for both abatement and economic growth when technological improvements operate within a system of general equilibrium interactions, but also highlight how using their underlying data to identify technology options with high opportunity cost elasticities of productivity improvement can lead to more accurate assessments of the macroeconomic consequences of technology strategies for low-carbon growth.


The acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is a digitally accessible, compact, solid-state spectrometer that is well suited to high-frequency optical switching and wavelength selection. With injection of a combination of radio-frequency signals into its transducer, the AOTF acts as an electronically controllable, multiplexing spectrometer. The multiplexing AOTF in this study is employed in two distinct fashions. The first of these utilizes the multiplexing AOTF as a matched filter whose intended spectral profile (i.e., bandpass and band symmetry) is controlled almost at will, providing unprecedented flexibility and high throughput. Second, the multiplexing AOTF is employed for the first time as a Hadamard transform spectrometer. In operation, the integrated intensity on the detector measures combinations of the diffracted wavelengths. The light encodement is performed without the use of physical masks and is governed by HT mathematics, which allow efficient recovery of the optical spectrum. Appreciable signal-to-noise enhancement is demonstrated with the HT AOTF spectrometer.


This paper provides evidence about the relationship between innovation and employment in Argentina. In particular, it quantifies the impact of different types of innovations (process or product innovations) on employment growth and skill composition (skilled-unskilled labor) and the impact of different innovation strategies (buy or make) on employment growth, and analyzes whether these impacts depend on firm size or technology intensity. To answer these questions a model proposed in Harrison, Jaumandreu, Mairesse, and Peters (2008) was estimated using an IV approach with data from the Innovation Surveys for Argentina for the period 1998-2001. The results suggest that product innovations have a positive impact on employment growth while process innovations have no significant impact on employment growth. In addition, there is some evidence that product innovations are skill-biased, and that a mixed innovative strategy of make and buy has a larger impact on employment growth than a buy-only strategy. Finally, similar impacts for small firms but differential impacts for low-tech and high-tech sectors were found.


This study presents a seven-step approach to identify and support local climate change (CC) responses in agriculture. The following seven steps comprise this approach: 1. Analyse past trends on the climatic factors and model the future trends. 2. Simulate the possible impacts of CC on the selected system(s) or product(s). 3. Present and discuss the predicted impacts with the local stakeholders. 4. Identify and rank CC responses together with the local stakeholders. 5. Elaborate plans to develop and test the highest ranked response(s). 6. Evaluate the results of the tests and recommend implementation or changes. 7. Report the results to the involved authorities and suggest ways to implement the responses and/or advise new tests if the first ones were not able to sufficiently deal with the impacts. Six pilot studies in Vietnam were funded through two projects led by Wageningen University & Research. The first addressed several production systems in one southern province, and the second in three more northern districts, each with different problems. This paper reflects and communicates the seven-step approach in order to make local CC responses accessible to the larger rural development communities. Most of the identified solutions can spread autonomously, while others will require specific planned interventions.This study presents a seven-step approach to identify and support local climate change (CC) responses in agriculture. The following seven steps comprise this approach: 1. Analyse past trends on the climatic factors and model the future trends. 2. Simulate the possible impacts of CC on the selected system(s) or product(s). 3. Present and discuss the predicted impacts with the local stakeholders. 4. Identify and rank CC responses together with the local stakeholders. 5. Elaborate plans to develop and test the highest ranked response(s). 6. Evaluate the results of the tests and recommend implementation or changes. 7. Report the results to the involved authorities and suggest ways to implement the responses and/or advise new tests if the first ones were not able to sufficiently deal with the impacts. Six pilot studies in Vietnam were funded through two projects led by Wageningen University & Research. The first addressed several production systems in one southern province, and the second in three more northern districts, each with different problems. This paper reflects and communicates the seven-step approach in order to make local CC responses accessible to the larger rural development communities. Most of the identified solutions can spread autonomously, while others will require specific planned interventions.


Recent government pronouncements in the UK and above all the recent Conservative Party (2008) policy document on welfare reform suggest that US welfare reform is increasingly being taken as a model for the UK. What lessons should the UK draw from US experience? The long established means tested programme for needy families known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was replaced in 1996 with a welfare to work programme known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The historical background and features of the new program are elaborated and the way it has been implemented in varied ways in different states is documented. The findings of a number of outcome studies assessing the programme's impact and effectiveness are reviewed. Three commentaries on the paper consider how far American experience should be a guide to welfare policy in Britain. With commentaries by Kitty Stewart, David Piachaud and Howard Glennerster


One area of research currently garnering significant attention is the in-depth study of cancer cell metabolism. The purpose of this research is not exclusively to discover new anticancer therapies, but rather to improve the quality of life of the patient. Many cancer patients suffer from a muscle wasting syndrome called cachexia. Cancer related cachexia impairs quality of life and response to therapy, which increases morbidity and mortality among cancer patients. The data presented in this report were collected to address disorders caused by therapies aimed at reducing tumor growth. Carbohydrate metabolism is the major pathway in the cell providing energy and building blocks for macromolecule biosynthesis. Glucose metabolism in cancerous cells is remarkably different from that in their normal counterparts. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects on energy metabolism in normal and neoplastic cells of the various components of the dietary supplement Texidrofolico (TXF), which act on their cellular enzymatic complexes. Treatment of HepG2 tumor cells with TXF reduces glucose consumption, and slows reduction of pyruvate to lactate, following indirect inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) by blocking regeneration of NAD+ from NADH. These activities inhibit glycolysis, with consequent reduction in energy yield, evidenced by an increased ADP/ATP ratio. By contrast, in normal MEF cells treated with TXF, the ADP/ATP ratio was observed to be lower than in untreated control cells, showing increased energy relative to untreated normal cells. The observed effects seem to be due to the presence of two active components in TXF: folic acid, and pyruvate. Calciferol, which exerts less influence on glucose consumption, instead shows some inhibition of LDH reductase activity.


Survey-based evidence gathered over the past several decades suggests that substantial minorities of the Canadian public associate immigrants with crime and crime with immigrants. In this note, we ask whether the myth of immigrant criminality imputed to the public is not itself a myth. We question whether the connection is a salient and enduring part of the public's mindset or whether it is largely an artifact of the closed-ended items employed to explore the topic. We argue that responses to closed-ended questions on this topic are affected by a "halo effect" response bias – a tendency to associated positive attributes with positively evaluated targets and negative attributes to negatively evaluated targets. In support, we show (1) that responses to open-ended questions tell a very different story, (2) that attitudes toward immigrants strongly predict the likelihood of making the immigrant-crime connection when closed-ended items are used, and (3) that priming a possible immigrant-criminal linkage in a survey enhances this likelihood for subsequent items.


Bayesian networks have become one of the major models used for statistical inference. We study the question whether the decisions computed by a Bayesian network can be represented within a low-dimensional inner product space. We focus on two-label classification tasks over the Boolean domain. As main results we establish upper and lower bounds on the dimension of the inner product space for Bayesian networks with an explicitly given (full or reduced) parameter collection. In particular, these bounds are tight up to a factor of 2. For some nontrivial cases of Bayesian networks we even determine the exact values of this dimension. We further consider logistic autoregressive Bayesian networks and show that every sufficiently expressive inner product space must have dimension at least Ω(n2), where n is the number of network nodes. We also derive the bound 2Ω(n) for an artificial variant of this network, thereby demonstrating the limits of our approach and raising an interesting open question. As a major technical contribution, this work reveals combinatorial and algebraic structures within Bayesian networks such that known methods for the derivation of lower bounds on the dimension of inner product spaces can be brought into play.


This paper examines 12 economic simulation models that estimate the impact of Brexit. We provide their range of results and explain their associated assumptions and methodologies (macroeconometric models, computable general equilibrium [CGE] models, or mixed approaches). CGE models simulate the operation of market economies, solving for changes in equilibrium prices and quantities (production, employment, demand, and international trade) for all sectors in the economy. Macroeconometric models focus on economic aggregates and macro shocks, such as interest rates, the exchange rate, inflation, risk, uncertainty, and government expenditure/revenue. Most of the studies find adverse effects for the UK and the EU-27. The UK's GDP losses from a hard Brexit (reversion to World Trade Organization rules due to a lack of UK-EU agreement) range from –1.2 to –4.5 percent in most of the models analyzed. A soft Brexit (e.g., Norway arrangement, which seems in line with the nonbinding text of the political declaration of November 14, 2018 on the future EU-UK relationship) has about half the negative impact of a hard Brexit. Only two of the models derive gains for the UK after Brexit because they are based on unrealistic assumptions. We analyze more deeply a CGE model that includes productivity and firms' selection effects within manufacturing sectors a la Melitz (2003) and the operations of foreign multinationals in services. Based on this latest model, we provide a complete overview and explanation of the likely economic impact of Brexit on a wide range of macroeconomic variables, namely GDP, wages, private consumption, capital remuneration, aggregate exports, aggregate imports, and the consumer price index. The data underlying this analysis are available at https://piie.com/system/files/documents/wp19-5.zip.


We have observed significant progress in visual navigation for embodied agents. A common assumption in studying visual navigation is that the environments are static; this is a limiting assumption. Intelligent navigation may involve interacting with the environment beyond just moving forward/backward and turning left/right. Sometimes, the best way to navigate is to push something out of the way. In this paper, we study the problem of interactive navigation where agents learn to change the environment to navigate more efficiently to their goals. To this end, we introduce the Neural Interaction Engine (NIE) to explicitly predict the change in the environment caused by the agent's actions. By modeling the changes while planning, we find that agents exhibit significant improvements in their navigational capabilities. More specifically, we consider two downstream tasks in the physics-enabled, visually rich, AI2-THOR environment: (1) reaching a target while the path to the target is blocked (2) moving an object to a target location by pushing it. For both tasks, agents equipped with an NIE significantly outperform agents without the understanding of the effect of the actions indicating the benefits of our approach. The code and dataset are available at github.com/KuoHaoZeng/Interactive_Visual_Navigation.


Digitalisation is changing both our personal and our professional lives. This change is continuous and fast-paced. Construction management professionals are required to work smart, using various smart digital technologies during a construction project and to deliver a smart building at the end of the project. To cope with this change from the traditional technologies to digital technologies, continuous competence development is needed and it can be argued that the current mechanisms for this are inadequate to respond to the magnitude and pace of the change. This paper presents part of a larger research project, which has the aim of identifying what digital technology competences a construction management professional requires, and how continuous professional learning can be used to support the professionals in developing these competences. The research as a whole is multi-method qualitative research relying on the constructivist paradigm. A conceptual design framework to support the development of the required competences will be developed and tested. Research methods used will be a combination of literature reviews, document analyses, interviews and focus groups to inform the different stages of the framework development. The research methods used for the current part of the research are systematic literature reviews and document analysis supported by literature reviews. The key terms of 'digital technology', 'construction management' and 'competence' have been defined. A framework consisting of construction management and digital technology functions has been developed to accommodate the construction management-specific digital technologies. The investigation into competences has revealed that basic word processing and spreadsheet skills are the most commonly required digital technology competences and construction management-specific or advanced digital technology competences are very rarely seen as important when employing new staff. The next stage of the research will include further investigation on the competence requirements and on continuous learning methods to address the competence development.


In this paper, we numerically demonstrate efficient spectral compression (SPC) of wavelength-shifting soliton in a chalcogenide strip waveguide. It is found that the profiles of group-velocity dispersion (GVD) and Kerr nonlinearity play key roles in determining SPC. After calculating the dispersion of Kerr nonlinearity and Raman spectrum for three kinds of chalcogenide materials, Ge11.5As24Se64.5 is chosen as the material for designing the chalcogenide strip waveguide (CSW). The geometric parameters of CSW are optimized to obtain the desired GVD and Kerr nonlinearity. Simulation results show that in the designed CSW, an input spectrum width of 52.04 nm can be compressed to 7.23 nm along with wavelength shift of 17 nm when the input peak power is 25 W. With the input peak power increasing to 75 W, the SPC is slightly weakened, but wavelength shift can be up to 190 nm. The proposed CSW is applied to integrated all-optical quantization and an effective quantization number of 3.66-bit is achieved. It is expected that our research results can find important applications in on-chip integrated spectroscopy, all-optical signal processing, etc.


Africa is home to more than the Cradle of Humankind. It was the core of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea, and comprises some of the oldest and most extraordinary geology on planet Earth. This detailed and colourful book features 44 of the continent's most spectacular and interesting 'geosites', from Table Mountain in the south to the eroded necks and plugs of the Hoggar region in Algeria; and from the volcanic islands of the Atlantic Ocean to the continental fragments off the African east coast. Each site is authored by a geologist (or specialist in a related field) with in-depth knowledge about the particular feature or landform: how it formed and developed, its current geological status, ecological impact, and its archaeological and cultural interest. Supported with many photographs, maps, satellite images and explanatory illustrations, the text is accessible to geologists and lay enthusiasts alike, unpacking the hows and whys of Africa's most intriguing landforms, sites and geological features.


Amylin (islet amyloid polypeptide) is the chief component of the islet amyloid found in type 2 diabetes, and amylin fibril precursors may be cytotoxic to pancreatic beta-cells. Little is known about the prevention of amylin aggregation. We investigated the role of insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) in amylin degradation, amyloid deposition, and cytotoxicity in RIN-m5F insulinoma cells. Human (125)I-labeled amylin degradation was inhibited by 46 and 65% with the addition of 100 nmol/l human amylin or insulin, respectively. (125)I-labeled insulin degradation was inhibited with 100 nmol/l human amylin, rat amylin, and insulin (by 50, 50, and 73%, respectively). The IDE inhibitor bacitracin inhibited amylin degradation by 78% and insulin degradation by 100%. Amyloid staining by Congo red fluorescence was detectable at 100 nmol/l amylin and was pronounced at 1,000 nmol/l amylin treatment for 48 h. Bacitracin treatment markedly increased staining at all amylin concentrations. Bacitracin with amylin caused a dramatic decrease in cell viability compared with amylin alone (68 and 25%, respectively, at 10 nmol/l amylin). In summary, RIN-m5F cells degraded both amylin and insulin through a common proteolytic pathway. IDE inhibition by bacitracin impaired amylin degradation, increased amyloid formation, and increased amylin-induced cytotoxicity, suggesting a role for IDE in amylin clearance and the prevention of amylin aggregation.


In the development of disciplines addressing dynamics, a major role was played by the assumption that processes can be modelled by introducing state properties, called potentialities, anticipating in which respect a next state will be different. A second assumption often made is that these state properties can be related to other state properties, called reducers. The current paper proposes a philosophical framework in terms of potentialities and their reducers to obtain a common philosophical foundation for methods in AI and Cognitive Science to model dynamics. This framework provides a unified philosophical foundation for numerical, symbolic, and hybrid approaches.


A woman in her late 40s with no medical history presented as comatose (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, 8) after a suicide attempt, where she inhaled the fumes of burning charcoal for approximately 4 h. On admission, her blood pressure was 108/70 mm Hg, and her heart rate was 118 bpm. Her carbon monoxide (CO)–haemoglobin concentration was 34%. Blood examinations did not show any evidence of drug overdose. Supportive mechanical ventilation was employed, and she became alert after 48 h. A physical examination revealed no abnormal findings except for left leg weakness, and a neurological examination demonstrated hyperactive left knee tendon and Achilles tendon reflexes. The plantar reflex was easily elicited on the left side. She could not move her left knee or ankle joints (manual …


Discover the power of the graphic approach this case takes to present material on managing conflict in an organization. This version of the print case Alvarez [OB-00660, OB-0661, OB-0662] offers images to convey problems at an international company. Canalven was a Venezuelan aluminum manufacturing company embarking on growth through new products and new processes needed to manufacture them. To help with the growth, local management brought in foreign engineers who experienced real difficulty with a long-term, relatively uneducated Canalven employee named Alvarez. Alvarez, generally seen as a grumbler, viewed himself as the on-site machine magician. He had the habit of painting his name on equipment he built. Recently, he had taken to contradicting managements approaches. At the end of the case, Pinto, the assistant plant manager, is faced with managing the conflict between the engineer and Alvarez. The case is relatively short, yet develops rich discussions around topics of personal motivation and behavior, international management, managing relationships and difficult colleagues, and managing conflict. The B case describes what the assistant manager did--basically to pay high severance pay and fire Alvarez. The C case epilogue reveals a stunning twist.


Habitat alteration can affect pollinating-insect community structure, decreasing the efficiency of pollinators on which many agricultural and natural ecosystems rely. Within the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF), located in the Little Belt Mountains of Central Montana, two different types of silvicultural techniques, even and group shelterwood, were applied to alter the natural habitats within the lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests. Following logging, surveys of the flower-visiting insects and their floral resources were conducted within four treatments, even and group shelterwood, unlogged and meadow. In addition, individual insects were collected and the pollen removed from their bodies was counted and identified. The density of floral resources and the abundance of flower-visiting insects, as well as several diversity measures of both, were calculated, to examine the response of insects and plants to logging. Spearman rank correlations were used to examine changes over the sample years. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMS) was used to create ordinations of the treatments while multiple response permutation procedure (MRPP) tested the hypothesis of no difference between treatments with respect to either floral resources or flowervisiting insects. Correlations between the abundances of floral resources and flowervisiting insect taxa were also conducted using Mantel tests. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test the hypothesis of no difference between insect taxa with respect to pollen quantity and richness. NMS was used to create ordinations of species within families with respect to types of pollen and quantity carried. Changes in density, abundance, and diversity between years were detected as were differences among treatments. Associations between floral resources and flower-visiting insects were detected. Differences among insect species with respect to pollen type and quantity were detected. Overall, the alteration of the original forest habitats changed the community structure of not only the flower-visiting insects but also their floral resources in the two shelterwood treatments.


Runoff estimation is one of the main challenges encountered in water and watershed management. Spatial and temporal changes of factors which influence runoff due to heterogeneity of the basins explain the complicacy of relations. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is one of the intelligence techniques which is flexible and doesn't call for any much physically complex processes. These networks can recognize the relation between input and output. In this study ANN model was employed for runoff estimation in Plaszjan River basin in the central part of Iran. The models used are Multiple Perceptron (MLP) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). Inputs include data obtained from 5 rain gauges as well as from 2 temperature recording gauges, the output of the model being the monthly flow in Eskandari Hydrometric Station. Preprocessing of the data as well as the sensitivity analysis of the model were carried out. Different topologies of Neural Networks were created with change in input layers, nodes as well as in the hidden layer. The best architecture was found as 7.4.1. Recurrent Neural Network led to better results than Multilayer Perceptron Network. Also results indicated that ANN is an appropriate technique for monthly runoff estimation in the selected basin with these networks being also of the capability to show basin response to rainfall events.


The measurement of fluid flows is encountered in most engineering applications, such as oil and gas, power etc. Lack of efficient and straightforward methods of flow measurement cause inaccuracies in process control. One of the instruments that are widely used for measurements is the five-hole pressure probe because of its effectiveness in measuring flow parameters such as the velocity of the flow stream, static and stagnation pressures.

The present study describes the design, manufacture and Computation fluid dynamics (CFD) based novel methods of calibration of conical and hemispherical five-hole pressure probes appropriate for three-dimensional flow field measurements, capable of improving calibration and flow measurement accuracies. The conical and hemispherical five-hole pressure probes have been designed and tested in a wind tunnel and hydraulic pipeline flows respectively. The correlation between each geometrical shape of the probes and their yaw and pitch angles flow interference have been investigated. More specifically, the effect of each probe shape on the calibration of the process in the wind tunnel have been investigated. Furthermore, the effect of the hydraulic pipeline flow regime and fluid properties on the calibration process has been investigated, and comparisons have been made for results obtained in air and water flows.

The novel method of calibration is based on the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques to develop calibration methods for five-hole probes and incorporating these calibration methods into fluid flow measurements. Even though the concept of using CFD to analyse the flow around a five-hole probe numerically has been in practice for more than a decade now, there are severe limitations to it. These limitations range from the accuracy of the numerical and experimental data. In the present study, these two factors have been thoroughly investigated, leading to the accurate integration of numerical datasets into the conventional experimental calibration datasets for both wind tunnel and in hydraulic pipeline flows to cover a wide range of applications.

The first aspect of this study has been to carry out the calibration of a five-hole pressure probe using standard experimental methods, in a wind tunnel and hydraulic pipeline flows respectively. A pressure normalisation and data analysis technique introduced by Paul Akshoy coupled with sixth order regression method have been used for calibrations dataset analysis to improve the accuracy of calibration. The calibration maps, calibration coefficients and coefficients of determination have been calculated using sectoring scheme. However, due to several sources of error in several calibration procedures, the calibration coefficients of determination are not usually up to the expected accuracy level needed for accurate flow measurements. Therefore, by first carrying out the conventional calibration of the five-hole pressure probe using sectoring scheme, the coefficients of determination, also known as calibration constants (a0 to a27) are calculated. The calibration determinants, which performed less than 90%, are assumed inaccurate and are marked for improvements.

The second method of calibration developed in this study (CFD based numerical calibration method) has been to repeat the calibration of the five-hole probe using numerical datasets generated through the use of CFD simulations under the same flow and system conditions. The numerical calibration coefficients, calibration maps and coefficients of determination are calculated and tabulated. The third aspect of this study is to identify the sector of the experimental calibrations that has its coefficients of determination less than 90% assumed to be contributing a factor of measurements inaccuracies, this coefficient of calibration is replaced by the highly accurate CFD based numerical coefficients of calibration with above 90% accuracy. Hence integrating the two methodologies to develop a novel calibration method.

The process of integrating CFD based numerical datasets into experimental datasets is the second novel method of calibrations developed in this study, known as CFD based integration calibration. The same calibration technique used for the previous two methods is applied to the CFD based integrated datasets to generate calibration coefficients, calibration maps and calibration coefficients of determination and tabulated. The performances of the calibration method are tested by comparing their results for accuracy. For each wind tunnel and hydraulic pipeline flow respectively, and for the conical and hemispherical five-hole probe, the calibration procedures for all the novel based CFD calibration methods are the same.

The fourth and last aspect of the of this study has been to extend the calibration angles (pitch and yaw) of the CFD based integrated calibration method of the probes, through the use of CFD based numerical simulation. It involves using the CFD technique to simulate each probe for ±35⁰ to ± 45⁰ under their respective flow conditions, acquire the pressure datasets, and reapply the calibration formula, pressure normalisation, and data reduction technique to obtain calibration data that can be used in systems with larger flow angles to cover a wide range of space for measurements.


The concern for products that meet the requirements of sustainability is a key factor that drives consumers and can be the engine of a successful economy in the food businesses. In the specific case of the fresh fruit and vegetables, more than ever, sustainability understood as a greater focus on the social and environmental performance of the product and of its supply chain, can be considered as a tool to counter the consumer's disaffec‐ tion. The communication of the product's sustainability can indeed represent a tool to bring out the fruit and vegetable products from the anonymity, a strategy to will make it 'remember', relying not only on the traditional values recognized to the segment, but also on a set of the supply chain attributes that can differentiate it. However, how to get effectively to the consumer by using a multidimensional and complex concept as the product's sustainability of the product, how to make the sustainability attribute a factor to be considered in the final purchasing choices, how to involve the different stakehold‐ ers in the building of a sustainable supply chain (regardless of its length) are still open discussion topics. After presenting the main sustainability certification and communica‐ tion tools adopted till nowadays for the fresh fruit and vegetables supply chain, the chapter investigates the relative potentialities and criticisms in order to turn them into a real competitiveness' asset.


The scale and horror of recent terror attacks and the panic which ensued throughout the world has forced policy-makers and international lawyers to re-examine international legal tools available to enforce norms against terrorism. The magnitude of the attacks, the modalities of the operations, the profiles of the terrorists and the transnational structure of some terrorist organisations all cast doubt on the adequacy of the existing political and legal framework to fight terrorism. Due to this perception, governments have increased the intensity of measures to combat terrorist activities such as using military force against States sponsoring terrorism, freezing assets of terrorist organizations, and promulgating national security measures designed to protect the State against would be terrorists. This book comprehensively analyses the suitability of existing international legal tools to enforce rules prohibiting terrorism. Contributions from leading experts in international law examine, among others, questions relating to the proper role of international law in combating terrorism, the legality of covert operations against terrorism, whether the law of armed conflict can be applied to the war against terror, domestic anti-terror laws and their compatibility with human rights standards, and how to regulate the internet to prevent terrorist usage. In addition, the ways in which States can co-operate together to more effectively investigate terrorist infrastructures and apprehend suspects is focused upon. The interplay between different layers of legal authority at international, regional and domestic levels is also subject to review. This thorough examination of the array of legal means at the international communitys disposal to enforce norms against terrorism will allow readers to appreciate the real challenges that terrorism and the responses to it pose to the international legal system.


REVIEW QUESTION/OBJECTIVE
The objective of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of aggressive treatment of oligometastatic breast cancer (OMBC) on survival outcomes by conducting a meta-analysis of current available evidence.More specifically, the objectives are to identify the effectiveness of intensified multidisciplinary treatment with aggressive locoregional therapies on survival time, five-year survival rates and disease free survival. The population is adult women (18 years and over) with OMBC defined as single or few (five or less) metastases limited to a single organ and the comparative group is conventional palliative treatment aimed at disease control. Secondary objectives to be assessed will be adverse outcomes associated with intensified treatment regimes.


This study examines 6 yr of cloud properties observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the NASA Terra satellite in five prominent marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud regions (California, Peru, Canary, Angola, and Australia) and investigates their relationships with nearsurface meteorological parameters obtained from NCEP reanalyses. About 62 000 independent scenes are used to examine the instantaneous relationships between cloud properties and meteorological parameters that may be used for global climate model (GCM) diagnostics and parameterization. Cloud liquid water path (LWP) generally increases with lower-tropospheric stability (LTS) and lifting condensation level (LCL), whereas cloud drizzle frequency is favored by weak LTS and negligible cold air advection. Cloud fraction (CF) depends strongly on variations in LTS, and to a lesser extent on surface air temperature advection and LCL, although the relationships vary from region to region. The authors propose capturing the effects of these three parameters on CF via their linear combination in terms of a single parameter, the effective lowertropospheric stability (eLTS). Results indicate that eLTS offers a marked improvement over LTS alone in explaining the median CF variations within the different study regions. A parameterization of CF in terms of eLTS is provided, which produces results that are improved over those of Klein and Hartmann's LTS-only parameterization. However, the new parameterization may not predict the observed variability correctly, and the authors propose a method that might address this shortcoming via a statistical approach.


RNA localization is a key mechanism for targeting proteins to particular subcellular domains. Sequences necessary and sufficient for localization have been identified, but little is known about factors that affect its kinetics. Transcripts of gurken and the I factor, a non-LTR retrotransposon, colocalize at the nucleus in the dorso-antero corner of the Drosophila oocyte directed by localization signals, the GLS and ILS. I factor RNA localizes faster than gurken after injection into oocytes, due to a difference in the intrinsic localization ability of the GLS and ILS. The kinetics of localization of RNA containing the ILS are enhanced by the presence of a stem-loop, the A loop. This acts as an RNA:RNA interaction element in vivo and in vitro, and stimulates localization of RNA containing other localization signals. RNA:RNA interaction may be a general mechanism for modulating RNA localization and could allow an mRNA that lacks a localization signal to hitchhike on another RNA that has one.


As part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), Congress repealed the TEFRA audit rules and the audit rules for electing large partnerships and replaced them with a new audit regime (the BBA audit rules). The BBA audit rules generally are effective for audits of partnership returns for tax years beginning after 2017. Although the TEFRA audit rules were enacted in 1982 to address issues with partnership audits, particularly tax shelters, they proved difficult to implement. In a 1990 report to Congress, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury concluded that large partnership audits were an inefficient and time-intensive use of limited resources. The BBA audit rules address the deficiencies of the TEFRA audit rules through a centralized audit system that requires partnership adjustments to be determined at the partnership level and any tax attributable to the adjustments to be assessed and collected at the partnership level. The rules allow for a small-partnership opt-out and an elective alternative to "push out" the audit adjustments made and tax paid to the partners. The audit process is streamlined by limiting the right to notices and participation in the audit to one "partnership representative" who has the "sole authority" to act for the partnership in an audit.

Regulations finalizing most aspects of the BBA audit rules were published in February 2019. Two prior Treasury Decisions adopted particular aspects of the rules — the opt-out election, and the opt-in election and the partnership representative. Proposed regulations regarding international aspects of the rules and tax attributes have not been finalized. This article sets out the BBA audit rules as reflected in the statutes and the final regulations issued to date. With the issuance of these regulations, partnerships have a detailed set of instructions to follow to comply with the rules and prepare for an audit. Going forward, the Treasury has left sufficient flexibility in the regulations to develop and adapt procedures as the IRS and partnerships "gain more experience" with the rules. Finalizing proposed regulations on international aspects and tax attributes will close remaining gaps. The BBA audit rules are extremely complex, but they should enable partnership audits to proceed more smoothly and efficiently than under the TEFRA audit rules.


Sensorimotor synchronization (SMS) is especially apparent—and therefore readily studied—in musical settings, as most people are naturally able to perceive a musical beat and synchronize to it (e.g. by tapping a finger). SMS processes have been tested extensively using pseudo-musical pacing signals, so we chose to extend this by using naturalistic, expressively timed piano music, characterized by slight tempo fluctuations for artistic interpretation. Previous research has also shown that people vary greatly in their SMS abilities. Given the dynamic nature and variability of SMS, we hypothesized that individual differences in working memory and auditory imagery—both fluid, cognitive processes—would predict SMS at two levels: 1) asynchrony (a measure of synchronization error), and 2) anticipatory timing (i.e. predicting, rather than reacting to beat onsets). In Experiment 1a, participants (N = 36) completed two working memory tests, a tempo imagery test, a pitch imagery test, and a self-report test of auditory imagery with separate subscales for vividness (clarity of an image) and control (ability to alter an image). They were then tested in a SMS-tapping task. In Experiment 1b, the same set of tasks was given to highly trained musicians. In Experiment 2, participants were given an expressive timing perception test to see the extent to which the cognitive variables related to perception without action. Hierarchical regression models were used to assess the contribution of the cognitive variables to SMS. Results showed dissociations among imagery types as they relate to asynchrony, perception, and suggest a role for working memory in anticipatory timing. Musicians performed better on the SMS task, but showed fewer correlations between the cognitive variables and SMS. These results suggest that in


Ionization and fragmentation of uracil molecules (C4H4N2O2, m = 112 amu) in collisions with fast highly charged C, O and F ions have been investigated using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The measurement of total ionization cross sections (TCS) is reported for different charge states (q), such as Fq + with q = 5–8; Oq + with q = 5,7; Cq + with q = 5 and 6. These studies reveal a (q/v)∼1.5 dependence of TCS, in contrast, to the well-known q2-dependence in ion–atom collisions. Scaling properties of the TCS with projectile energy and charge states are obtained. The experimental results for TCS measurements are compared with the theoretical calculations performed within classical and quantum mechanical frameworks. The trends in energy dependence of the TCSs is qualitatively well reproduced by the different models and more specifically by the classical description, which provides the best agreement with measurements.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the growth pattern of kidney cyst number and cyst volume in association with kidney size, demographics, and genotypes in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
Kidney cyst number and cyst volume were measured from serial magnetic resonance images, giving a maximum follow-up of 14.23 years, from 241 patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (15-46 years old at baseline). The growth pattern was analyzed, in association with sex, age, height-adjusted total kidney volume, and genotype, using linear mixed models of repeated measurements and tests of interactions with age (as a time-dependent covariate) to assess rates of change over time. Models were also fit using Irazabal class. Genotypic groups were characterized as either (1) PKD1 truncating, PKD1 nontruncating, and PKD2 plus patients with no mutation detected; or (2) in combination with PKD1 mutation strength groups.

RESULTS
Imaging and genetic data were collected (at least one visit) for 236 participants. The mean height-adjusted total cyst number increased exponentially over time from a baseline value of 762 to 1715 at the last clinic visit, while the mean height-adjusted total cyst volume increased exponentially from 305 to 770 ml. Height-adjusted total kidney volume, height-adjusted total cyst number, and height-adjusted total cyst volume were all highly correlated over time. Female participants and participants with larger height-adjusted total kidney volume at baseline showed smaller rates of change in the log of height-adjusted total cyst number and cyst volume. PKD1 was associated with significant increases in both cyst number and volume at a given age, but genotype did not significantly affect the rate of growth.

CONCLUSIONS
Both height-adjusted total cyst number and height-adjusted total cyst volume increased exponentially and more than doubled over 14.23 years of follow-up. Compared with PKD2 plus no mutation detected, PKD1 was associated with a greater cyst number and volume at a given age, but no significant difference in the rate of growth.


Observing that trustees must navigate their endowment and trust portfolios through the narrow channel that lies between spending too little or too much, the author explains the need for spending rules. He defines them as primitive tools that point the way through this uncharted terrain, given the uncertainty associated with future returns from stocks and bonds and the inflation and taxes that made erode these returns. He shows that the challenge faced by trustees as the balancing of current and future spending needs, a task which is not only an investment problem, but also a political and psychological issue as well. After having described current spending rules, he revisits an alternative he introduced in the late 1980s, a spending rule based upon dividends rather than market values, as the former have been far more stable than the latter. This article answers the criticism levied at the previous paper written in 1989. Certain readers, then, were skeptical of a rule that worked well in a back-test, but that didn't have any real-time experience under its belt. This article is meant to set such skepticism to rest, presenting twelve years of out-of-sample data covering the years 1987 through 1998.


Modern control approaches are either designated as complex or tackle complex systems. The concept of Evolv-able Production System (EPS) entails an iterative system design/control loop that supports system Adaptation and Evolution. Both concepts are borrowed from natural systems and, if properly instantiated and explored for the sake of production systems, may come to include a set of self-organizing and emergent process. One of the main challenges in EPS research is to frame these developing natural concepts and set them in a Mechatronic Agent-based framework. Such an approach also brings into the equation the possibility to handle and, potentially, exploit emergent behaviour. Inevitably, the coping of dynamically evolving setups with unforecasted behaviours raises the complexity issue quite substantially, hence the need to begin to analyse the EPS systems as Complex Systems. This paper provides an introduction to the context of Complex Systems, in particular about the self-organization and emergence components, and, from this integration, details how the bridging of the technological and functional challenges is being adopted within EPS. The work is based on assembly systems built within the framework of several European projects, including EUPASS, IPROMS and IDEAS. Finally, the article will provide with an initial evaluation and critical review of the complexity approach.


We propose a novel class of Bayesian nonparametric models for sequential data called fragmentation-coagulation processes (FCPs). FCPs model a set of sequences using a partition-valued Markov process which evolves by splitting and merging clusters. An FCP is exchangeable, projective, stationary and reversible, and its equilibrium distributions are given by the Chinese restaurant process. As opposed to hidden Markov models, FCPs allow for flexible modelling of the number of clusters, and they avoid label switching non-identifiability problems. We develop an efficient Gibbs sampler for FCPs which uses uniformization and the forward-backward algorithm. Our development of FCPs is motivated by applications in population genetics, and we demonstrate the utility of FCPs on problems of genotype imputation with phased and unphased SNP data.