This paper presents a case study that describes and discusses the problems encountered during the design and implementation of a blended learning course, largely taught online through a web-based learning environment. Based on Moore's theory of transactional distance, the course was explicitly designed to have dialogue at its heart. However, the reality of systemic behaviours caused by delivering such a course within a group of conventional further and higher educational institutions has led to an entirely unanticipated reversion to structure, with unpleasant consequences for both quality and quantity of dialogue. The paper looks at some of the reasons for this drift, and suggests that some of the disappointing results (in particular in terms of the quality of the students' experience and associated poor retention) can be attributed to the lack of dialogue, and consequent increase in transactional distance. It concludes with a description and evaluation of steps currently being taken to correct this behaviour. DOI: 10.1080/0968776042000216219


Whole exome sequencing (WES) is increasingly utilized in both clinical and non-clinical settings, but little is known about the utility of WES in healthy individuals. In order to determine the frequency of both medically actionable and non-actionable but medically relevant exome findings in the general population we assessed the exomes of 70 participants who have been extensively characterized over the past several years as part of a longitudinal integrated multi-omics profiling study at Stanford University. We assessed exomes for rare likely pathogenic and pathogenic variants in genes associated with Mendelian disease in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. We used American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) guidelines were used for the classification of rare sequence variants, and additionally we assessed pharmacogenetic variants. Twelve out of 70 (17%) participants had medically actionable findings in Mendelian disease genes, including 6 (9%) with mutations in genes not currently included in the ACMG's list of 59 actionable genes. This number is higher than that reported in previous studies and suggests added benefit from utilizing expanded gene lists and manual curation to assess actionable findings. A total of 60 participants (89%) had non-actionable findings identified including 57 who were found to be mutation carriers for recessive diseases and 21 who have increased Alzheimer's disease risk due to heterozyg ous or homozygous APOE e4 alleles (18 participants had both). These results suggest that exome sequencing may have considerably more utility for health management in the general population than previously thought.


Alveolar macrophages (AMs) avidly bind and ingest inhaled environmental particles and bacteria. To identify the particle binding receptor(s) on human AMs, we used functional screening of anti-human AM hybridomas and isolated a mAb, PLK-1, which inhibits AM binding of unopsonized particles (e.g., TiO2, latex beads; 63 ± 5 and 67 ± 4% inhibition, respectively, measured by flow cytometry; n = 11) and unopsonized bacteria (∼84 and 41% inhibition of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus binding by mAb PLK-1, respectively). The PLK-1 Ag was identified as the human class A scavenger receptor (SR) MARCO (macrophage receptor with collagenous structure) by observing specific immunolabeling of COS cells transfected with human MARCO (but not SR-AI/II) cDNA and by immunoprecipitation by PLK-1 of a protein of appropriate molecular mass (∼70 kDa) from both normal human bronchoalveolar lavage cells (>90% AMs) and human MARCO-transfected COS cells. PLK-1 also specifically inhibited particle binding by COS cells, only after transfection with human MARCO cDNA. Immunostaining showed specific labeling of AMs within human lung tissue, bronchoalveolar lavage samples, as well as macrophages in other sites (e.g., lymph node and liver). Using COS transfectants with different truncated forms of MARCO, allowed epitope mapping for the PLK-1 Ab to MARCO domain V between amino acid residues 420 and 431. A panel of Abs to various SRs identified expression on AMs, but failed to inhibit TiO2 or S. aureus binding. The data support a dominant role for MARCO in the human AM defense against inhaled particles and pathogens.


The Internet is a complex network, comprised of thousands of interconnected Autonomous Systems. Considerable research is done in order to infer the undisclosed commercial relationships between ASes. These relationships, which have been commonly classified to four distinct Type of Relationships (ToRs), dictate the routing policies between ASes. These policies are a crucial part in understanding the Internet's traffic and behavior patterns. This work leverages Internet Point of Presence (PoP) level maps to improve AS ToR inference. We propose a method which uses PoP level maps to find complex AS relationships and detect anomalies on the AS relationship level. We present experimental results of using the method on ToR reported by CAIDA and report several types of anomalies and errors. The results demonstrate the benefits of using PoP level maps for ToR inference, requiring considerable less resources than other methods theoretically capable of detecting similar phenomena.


Aimed at the traditional surface treatment technology failing to conduct the electrochemical protection for the magnesium alloy, the paper proposed a novel method of the surface protection for the magnesium alloy based on using the organic coatings and electroless plating. In this method, firstly the organic coating is coated on the surface of magnesium alloy, secondly then chemical copper plating for the magnesium alloy was carried out. Therefore, during the chemical plating, copper will be deposited on the organic coating surface. The organic coating enable the substrate can not directly contact copper coating so as to avoid the occurrence of galvanic corrosion. The metallized filmsray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analysis were used to research the morphology of the interlayer and plating film. The research results showed that the films have a rather perfect compact structure. The potentiodynamic polarization curves for corrosion study of the coated magnesium alloys were also performed in a corrosive environment of NaCl solution. Polarization curve test results verified that comparing with the substrate, the corrosion resistance of coated magnesium alloys increases greatly. In addition, the environmental pollution can be avoided because of using the sodium hypophosphite instead of formaldehyde as the reducing agent.


Juxtaposing the insights of feminism with those of marxism, psychoanalysis, and deconstruction, this unique collection creates new common ground for women's studies and Renaissance studies. An outstanding array of scholars literary critics, art critics, and historians reexamines the role of women and their relations with men during the Renaissance. In the process, the contributors enrich the emerging languages of and about women, gender, and sexual difference. Throughout, the essays focus on the structures of Renaissance patriarchy that organized power relations both in the state and in the family. They explore the major conequences of patriarchy for women their marginalization and lack of identity and power and the ways in which individual women or groups of women broke, or in some cases deliberately circumvented, the rules that defined them as a secondary sex. Topics covered include representations of women in literature and art, the actual work done by women both inside and outside of the home, and the writings of women themselves. In analyzing the rhetorical strategies that "marginalized" historical and fictional women, these essays counter scholarly and critical traditions that continue to exhibit patriarchal biases."


The
advent of implicit measures opened the access to processes of which people
might not be completely aware but that can still influence their attitudes,
preferences, and behaviors towards different objects. Among the existing
implicit measures, the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, &
Schwartz, 1998) is one of the most studied and used. The descriptive literature
review presented in this work was aimed at providing an overview of how the IAT
has been used from the year of its first introduction until current days.
Specifically, the main fields of application of the IAT, the specific topics
for which it has been used, and its concurrent use with other implicit measures
have been highlighted and described. When possible, information on the samples
on which the studies were carried out are reported. Results indicate an
on-going growth of the IAT in a constantly wider range of topics. The ability
of the IAT to overcome self-presentation biases and to access the implicit
aspects of attitudes have been particularly exploited for investigating biases
towards different out-groups, especially in sensitive contexts.


Neoadjuvant trials for early breast cancer have accelerated the identification of novel active agents, enabling streamlined conduct of registration trials with fewer subjects. Measurement of neoadjuvant drug effects has also enabled the identification of patients with high risk of distant recurrence and has justified development of additional adjuvant approaches to improve outcomes. Neoadjuvant evaluation of new drugs was significantly improved by the introduction of pathologic complete response (pCR) rate as a quantitative surrogate endpoint for distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and event free survival (EFS). The neoadjuvant phase 2 platform trial I-SPY 2 simultaneously tests multiple drugs across multiple breast cancer subtypes using Bayesian methods of adaptive randomization for assessment of drug efficacy. In addition to the pCR endpoint, the I-SPY 2 trial has demonstrated that the residual cancer burden (RCB) score measures gradations of tumor response that correlate with DDFS and EFS across treatments and subtypes. For HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancers that have failed to attain pCR with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), effective modifications of adjuvant treatment have improved outcomes and changed the standard of care for these subtypes. Neoadjuvant therapy is therefore preferred for stage II and III, as well as some stage I, HER2-positive and triple-negative tumors. Neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET) strategies have also emerged from innovative trials for stage II and III estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative tumors, as in the ALTERNATE trial. From neoadjuvant trials, opportunities have emerged to de-escalate therapy on the basis of metrics of response to chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy for early breast cancer is therefore emerging as a promising approach to accelerate new drug development, optimize treatment strategies, and (where appropriate) de-escalate neoadjuvant therapy.


PURPOSE
The effects of upper-limb (arm cranking) and lower-limb (leg cranking) exercise training on walking distances in patients with intermittent claudication was assessed.

METHODS
Sixty-seven patients (33 to 82 years old) with moderate to severe intermittent claudication were recruited, and the maximum power generated during incremental upper- and lower-limb ergometry tests was determined, as were pain-free and maximum walking distances (by using a shuttle walk test). Patients were randomly assigned to an upper-limb training group (n = 26) or a lower-limb training group (n = 26). An additional untrained group (n = 15) was recruited on an ad hoc basis in parallel with the main trial by using identical inclusion criteria. This group was subsequently shown to possess a similar demographic distribution to the two exercise groups. Supervised training sessions were held twice weekly for 6 weeks.

RESULTS
Both training programs significantly improved the maximum power generated during the incremental upper- and lower-limb ergometry tests (P <. 001), which may reflect an increase in central cardiovascular function that was independent of the training mode. More importantly, pain-free and maximum walking distances also improved in both training groups (P <.001). The improvements in the training groups were similar; there were no changes in the untrained control group. These findings suggest that the symptomatic improvement after upper-limb exercise training may result, in part, from systemic cardiovascular effects rather than localized metabolic or hemodynamic changes.

CONCLUSION
Carefully prescribed upper-limb exercise training can evoke a rapid symptomatic improvement in patients with claudication, while avoiding the physical discomfort experienced when performing lower-limb weight-bearing exercise.


Background: During the process of conducting investigations, users structure information externally to help them make sense of what they know, and what they need to know. Software-based visual representations may be a natural place for doing this, but there are a number of types of information structuring that might be supported and hence designed for. Further, there might be important differences in how well different representational conventions support sensemaking. There are questions about what type of representational support might allow these users to be more effective when interacting with information. Aim: To explore the impact that different types of external representational structuring have on performance and user experience during intelligence type investigations. Intelligence analysis represents a difficult example domain were sensemaking is needed. We have a particular interest in the role that timeline representations might play given evidence that people are naturally predisposed to make sense of complex social scenarios by constructing narratives. From this we attempt to quantify possible benefits of timeline representation during investigatory sensemaking, compared with argumentation representation. Method: Participants performed a small investigation using the IEEE 2011 VAST challenge dataset in which they structured information either as a timeline, an argumentation or as they wished (freeform). 30 participants took part in the study. The study used three levels of a between participants independent variable of representation type. The dependent variables were performance (in terms of recall, precision efficiency and understanding) and user experience (in terms of cognitive load, engagement and confidence in understanding). Result: The result shows that the freeform condition experienced a lower cognitive load than the other two: timeline and argument respectively. A post hoc exploratory analysis was conducted to better understand the information behaviour and structuring activities across conditions and to better understand the types of structuring that participants perform in the freeform condition. The analysis resulted in an Embedded Representational Structuring Theory (ERST) that helps to characterise and describe representations primarily in terms of their elements and their relations. Conclusion: The results suggest that: (a) people experienced lower cognitive load when they are free to structure information as they wish, (b) during their investigations, they create complex heterogeneous representations consisting of various entities and multiple relation types and (c) their structuring activities can be described by a finite set of structuring conventions.


Many types of regularization schemes have been employed in statistical learning, each motivated by some assumption about the problem domain. In this paper, we present a unified asymptotic analysis of smooth regularizers, which allows us to see how the validity of these assumptions impacts the success of a particular regularizer. In addition, our analysis motivates an algorithm for optimizing regularization parameters, which in turn can be analyzed within our framework. We apply our analysis to several examples, including hybrid generative-discriminative learning and multi-task learning.


In the present we investigate the advantages of the phase lag analysis for the derivation of phase-fitted techniques on several numerical schemes. Relying on the main characteristics of the phase lag we evaluate the parameters needed firstly for Runge-Kutta methods and secondly for high order variational integration methods, so that the phase lag and its derivatives are zero. The proposed methods are tested for the solution of initial value problems on ordinary differential equations of second order, like the Henon-Heiles model.


This thesis investigated the combined effects of Trade and Financial market liberalisation on the development and survival of manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. This came after the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986. The SAP was prompted by the economic downturn experienced in the early 1980s and formed the basis for the liberalisation of trade and financial markets. The ensuing liberalised trade necessitated the removal of import and export restrictions in order to encourage competition, improve efficiency and exports of locally manufactured goods. The liberalisation of the financial markets on the other hand, prompted the deregulation of interest rates, exchange rates and the licensing of new banks to stimulate competition for the supply of investible funds for easy access for SMEs.

The study applied quantitative and qualitative methods to gather primary data from 500 SMEs operating in Lagos state of Nigeria. The data were combined with panel data from the Central Bank of Nigeria to explore the impact of the policies on SMEs.

The result of the analysis using SPSS 16.0 and the application of return on investment (ROI) model on the survey and semi-structured interview data respectively reveals that although financial market liberalisation improved the availability of funds in Nigeria, it did not reduce the cost of accessing finance nor did it solve the problems of access to funds for SMEs. This study also found that the trade liberalisation did not improve SMEs? efficiency to compete favourably with firms based abroad or export their products due to the absence of necessary infrastructure needed for efficient production process.

The government needs to regulate the financial market to protect it from speculative interests that have made interest rates very high in Nigeria. In addition, the necessary infrastructure needed for efficient production has to be in place before SMEs can compete effectively.


The emerging trend toward utilizing chip multicore processors (CMPs) that support dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) is driven by user requirements for high performance and low power. To overcome limitations of the conventional chip-wide DVFS and achieve the maximum possible energy saving, per-core DVFS is being enabled in the recent CMP offerings. While power consumed by the CMP is reduced by per-core DVFS, power dissipated by the set of voltage regulators (VRs) that are required to support per-core DVFS becomes critical. This paper focuses on the dynamic control of the VRs in a CMP platform. Starting with a proposed platform with a reconfigurable VR-to-core power distribution network (PDN), two optimization methods are presented to maximize the system-wide energy savings: 1) reactive VR consolidation (VRCon) to reconfigure the network for maximizing the power conversion efficiency of the VRs, which is performed under the predetermined DVFS levels for the cores and 2) proactive VRCon to determine new DVFS levels for maximizing the total energy savings without any performance degradation. Along with the optimization methods for the PDN composed of homogeneous VRs, we also discuss the PDN with heterogeneous VRs, which is proposed to increase the benefits of the VRCon by incorporating VRs with a larger driving capability of load current. Results from detailed simulations based on realistic experimental setups demonstrate up to 36% VR energy loss reduction and 9% total energy saving.


As software complexity increases, well defined managerial methods of organising software production become increasingly crucial to the success of software projects. As the investigation into the field of software process methodology continues, two approaches to process modelling have emerged as tools with which to model such processes. Graphical notations provide a clear, intuitive method of describing processes, whilst process modelling languages offer the ability to execute those processes. However, many existing process modelling languages are derived from programming languages, and, as such, inherit the low-level, syntactically complex attributes of these languages. The main goal of this thesis is to provide a process modelling language based on a well-known and practised graphical approach to modelling processes, the Role Activity Diagram (RAD). To ensure a high level of applicability, we emphasise the importance of ensuring that the language is readily accessible to those without a technical background. To this end, as well as being a linguistic approach with origins firmly in the process modelling field, models defined in this language are intended to exhibit a high level of abstraction and intuitiveness. This thesis proposes the Romula process modelling language as a complementary approach to Role Activity Diagrams, and describes a tool developed for animating processes modelled in this language. A discussion is presented which highlights the problems of animating Romula models derived from RADs which had to be overcome when developing Romula. Evaluation of the Romula language was achieved by validation and specification. For validation, the Romula approach was used to represent and execute two complex example process models. The first of these, named ProcMod, is a process model of a hypothetical software development process, itself validated by enacting it on a simple software development scenario. The second example process model is an implementation in Romula of a requirements-oriented process framework, presented as a method for representing the organisation of large software projects across multiple contributing entities. Examples of how this framework can be utilised are implemented in Romula. A method of translating Romula models into the formal specification notation CSP is also provided, demonstrated by example translations. This method enables Romula-derived CSP models to be checked for formal properties such as deadlock, livelock, and reachability, as well as providing a formal specification of the core semantics of the language.


Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) provides support for multiple
authentication methods. This document defines the EAP-NOOB
authentication method for nimble out-of-band (OOB) authentication and
key derivation. This EAP method is intended for bootstrapping all
kinds of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that have a minimal user
interface and no pre-configured authentication credentials. The method
makes use of a user-assisted one-directional OOB channel between the
peer device and authentication server.


The Data Encryption Standard (DES) was approved as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) by the Secretary of Commerce on November 23, 1976. This Standard was developed as a part of the Computer Security Program within the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). This paper places this standard in perspective with other computer security measures that can and should be applied to Federal computer systems either before or coincident to using the Data Encryption Standard. In 1972, NBS initiated the standards development effort leading to adoption of the DES. During this period, NBS solicited for algorithms and information upon which a standard could be based, published for comment the algorithm which best satisfied the requirements of an encryption standard, and coordinated the effort with both the potential using communities and supplying communities. This paper outlines the environment surrounding and the history of the Data Encryption Standard and discusses the objectives of additional standards to be developed within the computer security program.


Local income data is an important economic indicator, widely used in a broad range of studies related to regional convergence, urban economics, fiscal federalism, housing and spatial analysis. Despite its importance, there is a lack of official data on local incomes and, most importantly, on local income distributions. In this paper we use official data on personal income tax returns and a reweighting procedure to derive a representative income sample at the local level. Unlike previous attempts in the literature to acquire local income estimates, the results obtained allow us to derive not only an average value for income but also its local distribution, a valuable and informative tool for analysing distributional and income inequality. We apply this methodology to Spanish Personal Income Tax micro-data and illustrate its potential use in analysing income inequality by means of computed Gini, Atkinson indexes and top 0.01%, 0.5% and 0.01% income share measures for the most populated Spanish municipalities (those with over 160,000 inhabitants).


Aims: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), an important regulator of protein translation and cell proliferation, is activated in various malignancies. In a randomised controlled trial of advanced renal cell carcinoma patients, targeted therapy to mTOR by means of rapamycin analogues has been shown to significantly improve survival. An in vitro study has revealed that mTOR is activated in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines and that mTOR expression is inhibited by rapamycin. The objectives of this histological study were to determine the proportion of OSCC tissues with activated mTOR (p-mTOR) expression, thereby assessing the percentage of patients with OSCC that would possibly benefit from neoadjuvant rapamycin therapy, and to identify the clinicopathological features of these potentially rapamycin-sensitive tumours. Methods: The expression of p-mTOR (Ser2448) was immunohistochemically assessed in a validated tissue microarray comprising triplicate tissue biopsy cores of 108 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded OSCCs. Staining results were correlated with clinicopathological data. Results: Normal oesophageal epithelium was negative for p-mTOR. Activated mTOR expression was located in the cytoplasm of oesophageal tumour cells. 26 (25%) of 105 assessable OSCCs showed tumour cells with positive staining for activated mTOR. Activated mTOR expression was associated with a lesser degree of differentiation only (p = 0.024). No correlation was detected between p-mTOR and the proliferation marker Ki-67. Conclusions: Activated mTOR can be detected in one-quarter of OSCCs. Since this subset of patients may potentially benefit from mTOR inhibiting therapy, a phase II clinical trial of neoadjuvant mTOR-inhibiting therapy in patients with OSCC may be considered.


In Finland the increasing use of biofuel in transport presupposes a search for new raw material sources for biorefining. The aim of this study was, at the regional level, to compare the procurement costs of logging residues, stumps, delimbed stems and cereal straw for biorefining. The accumulation and procurement costs of forest chips and cereal straw were estimated within a 100-kilometre transporting distance via existing road network from an end-use-facility located in Kouvola in South-East Finland. The analyses were performed as simulated treatments in thinnings of young stands, cereal fields and regeneration fellings using existing productivity and cost functions and yield calculations based on crop statistics, the forest industry stand data and the sample plots data of the National Forest Inventory of Finland. Accumulation of raw material assortments and costs of production stages were defined per dry tonnes. Subsidies and raw material prices were excluded from consideration in the study. The results indicate that recovering logging residues requires lower costs than utilization of stumps, delimbed stems or cereal straw. Cereal straw represents an important source of biomass in Kouvola but the cost competiveness is poor compared the procurement costs of forest chips. When the annual procurement volume of biomass was 50 000 dry tonnes the cost at the plant was 49 € dry tonne –1 and biomass was comprised totally of logging residues. Procurement cost grew to 59 € dry tonne –1 when the annual procurement volume of biomass was doubled to 100 000 dry tonnes. Of that amount, the proportion of logging residues was 58.4%, stumps 24.3% and delimbed stems 17.3%. First cereal straw dry tonnes were delivered to end-use-facility, when procurement cost grew to 60 € dry tonne –1 and annual procurement volume of biomass was 110 000 dry tonnes.


Non-synchronous rotation of Europa was predicted on theoretical grounds, by considering the orbitally averaged torque exerted by Jupiter on the satellite's tidal bulges. If Europa's orbit were circular, or the satellite were comprised of a frictionless fluid without tidal dissipation, this torque would average to zero. However, Europa has a small forced eccentricity e approximately 0.01 , generated by its dynamical interaction with Io and Ganymede, which should cause the equilibrium spin rate of the satellite to be slightly faster than synchronous. Recent gravity data suggest that there may be a permanent asymmetry in Europa's interior mass distribution which is large enough to offset the tidal torque; hence, if non-synchronous rotation is observed, the surface is probably decoupled from the interior by a subsurface layer of liquid or ductile ice. Non-synchronous rotation was invoked to explain Europa's global system of lineaments and an equatorial region of rifting seen in Voyager images. Here we report an analysis of the orientation and distribution of these surface features, based on initial observations made by the Galileo spacecraft. We find evidence that Europa spins faster than the synchronous rate (or did so in the past), consistent with the possibility of a global subsurface ocean.


Iran is located in an arid and semi-arid region of the world with average annual precipitation of about 250 mm. Due to lack of suitable water resources, many farmers are using saline river or groundwater for irrigation which causes gradual accumulation of salts in the soil. Salinity of soil and water resources is one of the major environmental factors limiting the productivity of agricultural lands and reduces land area under cultivation. For sustainable agricultural productions, appropriate irrigation management practices should be applied if the saline irrigation water is to be used for irrigation. The SWAP (soil-water-atmosphereplant) model is a physical-based model that can be used to simulate crop yield and soil salinity, among others. To collect field data to apply to this model as input and calibrate it, a field experiment planted with wheat was conducted on a silty clay loam soil, in the central part of Iran (the Rudasht region near Isfahan with an annual average precipitation of about 80 mm), with three irrigation water salinity levels of 2, 8 and 12 dS/m with/without leaching levels of 4, 19 and 32 percent with two different irrigation water managements, using factorial design with four replications. The results showed that the model is applicable in this arid region and has low sensitivity to input data of root distribution depth and irrigation water salinity and medium sensitivity to climate data, soil surface layer hydraulic characteristics, leaf area index and amount of irrigation. The model simulated wheat yield and the calibration coefficients were obtained. The results showed that the model could be used as an effective tool for sustainable agricultural production.


Due to the high costs and strategic importance of expatriate assignments, expatriate performance management (EPM) plays an increasingly important role for multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, research on EPM is still in its infancy. Drawing from the convergence/divergence debate in international human resource management, this study investigates and compares EPM strategies and practices across MNEs from three different country clusters to better understand whether EPM practices tend to converge, diverge, or crossverge (i.e., show aspects of both). Results from surveying 132 Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Japanese MNEs reveal prominent differences (divergence) at the EPM strategic level such that Japanese MNEs tend to pursue more ethnocentric staffing strategies and design EPM systems specifically tailored to expatriates. On the practice level, we found both commonalities and differences between Japanese and Anglo-Saxon and Germanic MNEs, pointing toward crossvergence. Theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed.


The development of a thermal model for quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) is presented. The model is used in conjunction with a self-consistent scattering rate calculation of the electron dynamics of an InGaAs-AlAsSb QCL to calculate the temperature distribution throughout the device which can be a limiting factor for high temperature operation. The model is used to investigate the effects of various driving conditions and device geometries, such as epilayer down bonding and buried heterostructures, on the active region temperature. It is found that buried heterostructures have a factor of eight decrease in thermal time constants compared to standard ridge waveguide structures in pulsed mode and allow a ~78% increase in heat sink temperature compared to epilayer down mounted devices in continuous-wave mode. The model presented provides a valuable tool for understanding the thermal dynamics inside a quantum cascade laser and will help to improve their operating temperatures


Abstract. The New Zealand subantarctic islands of Auckland and Campbell,
situated between the subtropical front and the Antarctic Convergence in the
Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, provide valuable terrestrial records
from a globally important climatic region. Whilst the islands show clear
evidence of past glaciation, the timing and mechanisms behind Pleistocene
environmental and climate changes remain uncertain. Here we present a
multidisciplinary study of the islands – including marine and terrestrial
geomorphological surveys, extensive analyses of sedimentary sequences, a
comprehensive dating programme, and glacier flow line modelling – to
investigate multiple phases of glaciation across the islands. We find
evidence that the Auckland Islands hosted a small ice cap
384 000 ± 26 000 years ago (384±26 ka), most likely during
Marine Isotope Stage 10, a period when the subtropical front was reportedly
north of its present-day latitude by several degrees, and consistent with
hemispheric-wide glacial expansion. Flow line modelling constrained by field
evidence suggests a more restricted glacial period prior to the LGM that
formed substantial valley glaciers on the Campbell and Auckland Islands around
72–62 ka. Despite previous interpretations that suggest the maximum glacial
extent occurred in the form of valley glaciation at the Last Glacial Maximum
(LGM; ∼21 ka), our combined approach suggests minimal LGM
glaciation across the New Zealand subantarctic islands and that no glaciers
were present during the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR; ∼15–13 ka).
Instead, modelling implies that despite a regional mean annual air
temperature depression of ∼5 ∘C during the LGM, a combination
of high seasonality and low precipitation left the islands incapable of
sustaining significant glaciation. We suggest that northwards expansion of
winter sea ice during the LGM and subsequent ACR led to precipitation
starvation across the middle to high latitudes of the Southern Ocean, resulting
in restricted glaciation of the subantarctic islands.


Tethered mobile robots are useful for exploration in steep, rugged, and dangerous terrain. A tether can provide a robot with robust communications, power, and mechanical support, but also constrains motion. In cluttered environments, the tether will wrap around a number of intermediate 'anchor points', complicating navigation. We show that by measuring the length of tether deployed and the bearing to the most recent anchor point, we can formulate a tethered simultaneous localization and mapping (TSLAM) problem that allows us to estimate the pose of the robot and the positions of the anchor points, using only low-cost, nonvisual sensors. This information is used by the robot to safely return along an outgoing trajectory while avoiding tether entanglement. We are motivated by TSLAM as a building block to aid conventional, camera, and laser-based approaches to simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), which tend to fail in dark and or dusty environments. Unlike conventional range-bearing SLAM, the TSLAM problem must account for the fact that the tether-length measurements are a function of the robot's pose and all the intermediate anchor-point positions. While this fact has implications on the sparsity that can be exploited in our method, we show that a solution to the TSLAM problem can still be found and formulate two approaches: (i) an online particle filter based on FastSLAM and (ii) an efficient, offline batch solution. We demonstrate that either method outperforms odometry alone, both in simulation and in experiments using our TReX (Tethered Robotic eXplorer) mobile robot operating in flat-indoor and steep-outdoor environments. For the indoor experiment, we compare each method using the same dataset with ground truth, showing that batch TSLAM outperforms particle-filter TSLAM in localization and mapping accuracy, owing to superior anchor-point detection, data association, and outlier rejection.


Signal processing methods for the automatic transcription of music are developed in this thesis. Music transcription is here understood as the process of analyzing a music signal so as to write down the parameters of the sounds that occur in it. The applied notation can be the traditional musical notation or any symbolic representation which gives sufficient information for performing the piece using the available musical instruments. Recovering the musical notation automatically for a given acoustic signal allows musicians to reproduce and modify the original performance. Another principal application is structured audio coding: a MIDI-like representation is extremely compact yet retains the identifiability and characteristics of a piece of music to an important degree. The scope of this thesis is in the automatic transcription of the harmonic and melodic parts of real-world music signals. Detecting or labeling the sounds of percussive instruments (drums) is not attempted, although the presence of these is allowed in the target signals. Algorithms are proposed that address two distinct subproblems of music transcription. The main part of the thesis is dedicated to multiple fundamental frequency (F0) estimation, that is, estimation of the F0s of several concurrent musical sounds. The other subproblem addressed is musical meter estimation. This has to do with rhythmic aspects of music and refers to the estimation of the regular pattern of strong and weak beats in a piece of music. For multiple-F0 estimation, two different algorithms are proposed. Both methods are based on an iterative approach, where the F0 of the most prominent sound is estimated, the sound is cancelled from the mixture, and the process is repeated for the residual. The first method is derived in a pragmatic manner and is based on the acoustic properties of musical sound mixtures. For the estimation stage, an algorithm is proposed which utilizes the frequency relationships of simultaneous spectral components, without assuming ideal harmonicity. For the cancelling stage, a new processing principle, spectral smoothness, is proposed as an efficient new mechanism for separating the detected sounds from the mixture signal. The other method is derived from known properties of the human auditory system. More specifically, it is assumed that the peripheral parts of hearing can be modelled by a bank of bandpass filters, followed by half-wave rectification and compression of the subband signals. It is shown that this basic structure allows the combined use of time-domain periodicity and frequency-domain periodicity for F0 extraction. In the derived algorithm, the higher-order (unresolved) harmonic partials of a sound are processed collectively, without the need to detect or estimate individual partials. This has the consequence that the method works reasonably accurately for short analysis frames. Computational efficiency of the method is based on calculating a frequency-domain approximation of the summary autocorrelation function, a physiologically-motivated representation of sound. Both of the proposed multiple-F0 estimation methods operate within a single time frame and arrive at approximately the same error rates. However, the auditorily-motivated method is superior in short analysis frames. On the other hand, the pragmatically-oriented method is "complete" in the sense that it includes mechanisms for suppressing additive noise (drums) and for estimating the number of concurrent sounds in the analyzed signal. In musical interval and chord identification tasks, both algorithms outperformed the average of ten trained musicians.


Although Kenya is often considered an African success story, its political climate became increasingly repressive under its second president, Daniel arap Moi. Widner charts the transformation of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) from a weak, loosely organized political party under Jomo Kenyatta into an arm of the president's office, with "watchdog" youth wings and strong surveillance and control functions, under Moi. She suggests that single-party systems have an inherent tendency to become "party-states," or single-party regimes in which the head of state uses the party as a means of control. The speed and extent of these changes depend on the countervailing power of independent interest groups, such as business associations, farmers, or professionals. Widner's study offers important insights into the dynamics of party systems in Africa.


In the present paper, a computational model for cell contraction of an elastic substrate is proposed. Axisymmetry is assumed and the cell is represented by its contractile apparatus, which is taken to consist of radially oriented stress fibres. The constitutive behaviour of the contractile apparatus is modelled by use of a strain energy function, and contraction of stress fibres is modelled by giving them a different natural configuration compared with the underlying elastic substrate. The model was compared with experiments, in which fibroblasts were put on an elastic substrate. The contracted cell radius depends on the stiffness of the elastic substrate, and model predictions were compared with the experimental results for different values of the stiffness of the elastic substrate. The model also predicts that the contraction of the cell tends to cause a small crater below the cell, which is qualitatively in agreement with experimental observations.


A prudent approach to understanding the function of the cerebral cortex begins with understanding the repertoire of its dynamics. In this thesis, I study how interactions between single neuron properties, synaptic coupling, and connectivity produce the microstate stability and macrostate activity exhibited by models of cortical circuits. One aim was to tie these micro and macro levels of description together in the pursuit of understanding the collective behaviour. Another aim was to determine to what degree the collective behavior persists upon making the single neuron model less idealized and exhibit a more rich class of dynamics. I focused on purely inhibitory, random, balanced networks of spiking neurons, the most simple in silico network model of spiking neurons with which one can obtain the kind of asynchronous
and irregular activity thought to act as a base state in many cortical areas.
In the biologically relevant limit of fast action potential onset and fast synapses, the collective state of this dynamics exhibits stable chaos, where temporally irregular dynamics and stability to small perturbations coexist. Previous work had demonstrated the existence of an exotic phase space structure of flux tubes in such systems. Many answers regarding the mechanisms underlying the emergence of this structure, as well as its full geometry were however lacking. Also lacking was the analytical apparatus to exactly treat both the microstate stability and macrostate activity for neuron models with additional somatic or synaptic currents. For networks of Leaky Integrate-and-Fire (LIF) neurons, I present the empirical geometry of
a flux tube whose time-varying boundary is characterized by exponential decay to and irregular jumps away from the stable trajectory contained within it. A detailed analysis of the spiking microstate reveals the finite-size instability underlying the separation of flux tubes: perturbation-induced crossings of pre and postsynaptic spikes, which almost always decorrelate the microstate. Building on this analysis, I derive a host of analytical results explaining previous numerical observations: the near inevitability of a cascade of spike sequence changes following a single spike failure; the pseudo-Lyapunov exponent characterizing the divergence after such a perturbation; and the average cross section of the attractor basin making up the
phase space volume of a flux tube. I introduce and calculate the perturbation recall time, defined as the characteristic delay between the time of a perturbation and when its effects appear in the subsequent activity. Taken together, these results form the basis for a theory of stable chaos in spiking networks and for a theory of the balanced state that keeps track of each and every spike.
The means to extend such a theory were limited by the absence of methods to compute the microstate stability of networks of neurons with more than one dynamical degree of freedom. I present a semi-analytical framework based on machine-precise, event-driven simulations with which I realize methods to compute the full Lyapunov spectrum of a general 2D linear neuron model. Two notable limits of this model are the correlated LIF(cLIF) neuron, which exhibits a filtering synaptic current, and the Generalized Integrate-and-Fire(GIF) neuron, which introduces resonating subthreshold dynamics. Previous work showed that balanced cLIF networks can be chaotic for some finite value of the synaptic filtering timescale. With the presented methods, I characterize the Lyapunov spectrum of cLIF networks as a function of this timescale across the transition to, and deep into the chaotic regime. The critical value of the synaptic time constant is found to scale with the rate of spikes into a neuron. Applications of the ideas developed for the stable chaos theory in LIF networks are used to analytically estimated this scaling. The size of flux tubes are found to vanish characteristically approaching the critical value, reminiscent of a second-order phase
transition. A potential source of the instability responsible for the transition is found in the increasingly strong transient amplification exhibited by the single neuron dynamics. Many cortical circuits have inhibitory interneurons that exhibit resonance properties and qualitatively affect the dynamics of the population. Yet, this resonance is often not incorporated in models of cortical circuits and no expression for the response function of a resonating neuron valid across all values of the timescale of the intrinsic currents was known. To fill the gap, and motivated to understand the mutual dependencies between intrinsic frequency, voltage resonance, and population spiking resonance, I employ the Gaussian neuron approach for the calculation and analysis of the linear response function of the population firing rate for an
ensemble of GIF neurons. I find six distinct response types and use them to fully characterize the routes to resonance across all values of the relevant timescales. I find that resonance arises primarily due to slow adaptation with an intrinsic frequency acting to sharpen and adjust the location of the resonant peak. I determine the parameter regions for the existence of an intrinsic frequency and for subthreshold and spiking resonance, finding all possible intersections of the three. The expressions and analysis presented can facilitate the construction of an exact theory of correlations and stability of population activity in networks containing populations of resonator neurons.
Taken together, the results in this thesis provide both a theoretical foundation for the stable chaos observed in models of cortical circuits and for understanding how cellular properties, such as synaptic and intrinsic currents, contribute to the micro- and macroscopic activity and response properties of these balanced state models.


Author's Email: email@example.com Having a constructive and systematic policy on tourism is important in promoting and sustaining tourism. Countries with successful and prominent tourism industries show a consistent message and one that leads to success. In Asia, countries such Thailand and Malaysia have a successful and consistent message while in Africa; countries such as Kenya utilize a message that resonates with potential tourists. On the other hand, Korea, which has a plethora of wonderful historical and cultural interests that could entertain and attract tourists, has failed to succeed in becoming seen as a global tourist destination. The potential for growth in the tourist market in Korea is immense and while tourism has not necessarily stagnated, it has yet to be fully developed or promoted properly. An issue that has limited the success is that the Government organizations do not have a clear or consistent message when marketing Korea overseas. The message is fragmented, underdeveloped, and misplaced to many potential global tourists. It is important for tourist organizations within Korea to re-examine their strategies and to ask difficult questions such as are we overemphasizing nationalism in its marketing? Are we targeting the correct people or are trying to tell people what to visit rather than telling them why to visit? I believe that the main organizations involved with Korean tourism are misdirecting both the message and the target market and this is hindering Koreas growth as a destination. Therefore, this paper attempted to show the problems within the Korean tourism market and deliver a critical analysis of marketing policies that could help Korea develop a more consistent and uniformed marketing strategy.


W T Zempsky

Dr W T Zempsky, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA; firstname.lastname@example.com

Does a needle-free powder lignocaine (lidocaine) delivery system reduce the pain of venipuncture in children?

### Design:

randomised, placebo controlled trial.

### Allocation:

unclear allocation concealment.

### Blinding:

blinded (patients, parents, clinicians, and outcome assessors).

### Follow-up period:

4 days.

### Setting:

children's hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

### Patients:

306 children 3–18 years of age who were having venipuncture at the back of the hand and had sufficient cognitive function to complete pain assessments. Patients were stratified by age group: 3–7 years (n = 102, 56% boys), 8–12 years (n = 103, 54% boys), and 13–18 years (n = 101, 53% boys). Exclusion criteria included known allergy to local anaesthetics or skin injury on the back of the hand.

### Intervention:

needle-free powder lignocaine delivery system (the device was pressed firmly against the back …


Europe's new eastern borders stretch from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea 1,600 heavily guarded kilometers between former "fraternal countries." The photographers Yann Mingard and Alban Kakulya spent one and a half months on the road; one of them traveled down from the North and the other up from the South in an effort to document the places and landscapes that mark the end of the Western world. On their journey, they photographed the landscape as well as the border posts with their soldiers and their refugees seized at the frontier, and documented a reality defined in far-away Strasbourg, Brussels, and elsewhere. Explanatory maps and satellite images are juxtaposed with the striking photographs. Articles by political scientists, security experts, sociologists, human rights specialists, and philosophers, as well as literary texts round out this photographic survey of the EU s Eastern European external borders.


The purpose of this paper is the evaluation of various profit drivers such as price changes, productivity changes and quality levels on the financial performance of the Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) over time in the case when the number of observations is limited. We thereby follow Maziotis, Saal and Thanassoulis (2012) approach and extend it by measuring the impact of exogenous factors such as drinking water and sewerage treatment quality on profitability, productivity and price performance measures. The results suggest that while quality improvements have significantly contributed to the productivity performance of the WaSCs, they have also contributed negatively to their price performance. Overall, after 2000 steady reductions in average price performance, gains in productivity and stable economic profitability were apparent. This trend indicates Ofwat's policy on passing productivity benefits to consumers, and sustaining stable profitability than it was in earlier regulatory periods. This technique is of great interest for both regulators and regulated companies to better identify the sources of profit variation and aid them in evaluating both the effectiveness of a regulatory price cap scheme and the performance of the regulated companies, when the sample size is extremely limited.


This article provides an overview of some selected aspects of social psychological theory and research on justice in the allocation of social resources. We start with a brief outline of the origins of systematic inquiries of justice in social psychology. Six central issues in social justice theory and research are discerned and discussed (the definition, dimensionality, and criteria of justice, the salience of the justice motive, the importance of justice, the formation of justice judgments, the cognitive and behavioral reactions to injustice, and the cross-cultural generality of justice considerations). A selective overview of recent applications, developments, and areas of interest are also presented, and some avenues for future research are suggested.


ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the effect of various innovation strategies (ISs) of firms on their future performance, captured by labor productivity. Using five waves of the Community Innovation Survey in Sweden, we have traced the innovative behavior of firms over a decade, that is, from 2002 to 2012. We defined ISs to be either simple or complex (in various degrees). We call an IS a simple IS when firms engage in only one of the four types of Schumpeterian innovations, that is, product, process, marketing, or organizational, while a complex IS is when firms simultaneously engage in more than one type. The main findings indicate that those firms that choose and afford to have complex ISs are better off in terms of their future productivity in comparison with those firms that choose not to innovative (base group) and also in comparison with those firms that choose simple ISs. The results are mostly robust for those complex innovators that have a higher degree of complexity and also keep the balance between technological (product and process) and non-technological (organizational and marketing) innovations.


Beginning with the development of pattern books and their popularization in the 19th century, architects have struggled to determine their role in the homebuilding industry and contributing to a tension between architects, homebuilders and consumers. During the rise of pattern books, architects originally marketed themselves as 'tastemakers', but through the provision of patterns they became further circumscribed from the mass-produced housing market. Taste was no longer something that could be exclusively bought from an architect and in the last decade of the 20th century, mass-produced suburbs transitioned to being designed via online design tools offered by large homebuilder companies. Hacking Suburbia purports that if, as architects, we want to take the question of homebuilding and mass-produced houses seriously, we must critically engage the contemporary design tools provided by the homebuilding industry and intervene in them through ironic critique. The current online home design tools consider historic styles and elements to be arbitrary and instead sell essences of 'hominess' and the American Dream. Given this, how can architects 'glitch' existing online design tools and exacerbate these existing logics and essences. This is a meditation on the history of mass-produced and mass-consumed domesticity and the system through which it is currently produced – the result being 4 houses which exemplify the ways in which this 'hacking' can play out.


This report presents basic background information on the collapse of the Enron Corporation, identifying public policy issues in financial market oversight. This report briefly summarizes some federal laws carrying criminal penalties which may be implicated in the events surrounding the collapse of the Enron Corp. This report compares the auditing and accounting reform measures passed by the House (H.R. 3763) and reported by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. This report compares the major provisions of three auditor and accounting reform proposals: H.R. 3763, S. 2673, and a rule proposed on June 20, 2002, by the SEC that would create a new auditor oversight board by using the SEC's existing authority to regulate corporate accounting. The report focuses on Section 404(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the federal statute that regulates employer-sponsored pension plans. Section 404(a) is considered the "touchstone for understanding the scope and object of an ERISA fiduciary's duties."


Recent progress on the nature of short duration Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) has shown that a fraction of them originate in the local universe. These systems may well be the result of giant flares from Soft Gamma Repeaters (SGRs) believed to be magnetars (neutron stars with extremely large magnetic fields ≥1014G). If these magnetars are formed via the core collapse of massive stars, then it would be expected that the bursts should originate from predominantly young stellar populations. However, correlating the positions of BATSE short bursts with structure in the local universe reveals a correlation with all galaxy types, including those with little or no ongoing star formation. This is a natural outcome if, in addition to magnetars forming via the core collapse of massive stars, they also form via accretion induced collapse following the merger of two white dwarfs (WDs), one of which is magnetic. We investigate this possibility and find that the rate of magnetar production via WD--WD mergers in the Milky Way is comparable to the rate of production via core collapse. However, while the rate of magnetar production by core collapse is proportional to the star formation rate, the rate of production via WD--WD mergers (which have long lifetimes) is proportional to the stellar mass density, which is concentrated in early-type systems. Therefore magnetars produced via WD--WD mergers may produce SGR giant flares which can be identified with early-type galaxies. We also comment on the possibility that this mechanism could produce a fraction of the observed short duration GRB population at low redshift. (Less)


Use of composite materials is wide reaching in numerous industries. Recent efforts in predicting composite fatigue life have shifted focus to utilizing physic-based methodologies. The developments in this field have reached as far as commercial implementation as a design tool. These efforts have been focused on fatigue within lamina and have not included the failure mode between the plies, known as delamination. In this paper, present the preliminary efforts in combining a proven delamination model with a prominent physics-based fatigue methodology. The framework for this approach is to use the bilinear traction-separation cohesive zone model and apply the kinetic theory of fracture (KTF) to predict fatigue life of the matrix layer separating composite plies. The present work is limited to mode-I delamination which is modeled with the double cantilever beam (DCB) experiment.


Periods of globally distributed extreme oxygen depletion, so-called oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), have been recognized in the Mesozoic geological record and appear to be characteristic of episodes of extreme warmth. Here we explore the application of iodine/calcium ratios (I/Ca) in marine carbonate as a new geochemical proxy to constrain seawater redox change, and provide additional insights into the response of ocean chemistry to ancient climatic warming. Iodine has long been known as a redox-sensitive and biophilic element, mainly present as iodate and iodide in seawater, iodate converting to iodide under anoxic conditions. Laboratory experiments growing calcite crystals from solutions spiked with iodate show that this is the ionic species incorporated into the carbonate structure, likely substituting for the CO 3 2− ion. A fall in the I/Ca ratio measured in carbonates formed in shallow water by marine calcifiers during the early Toarcian and Cenomanian-Turonian OAEs is interpreted both as a response to a decrease in the iodate/iodide ratio in ocean waters and the drawdown of the global iodine inventory under conditions of accelerated organic-matter burial. The results suggest that I/Ca ratios in carbonates may be used to monitor seawater oxidation levels throughout Earth history.


Blocking facies information to a constant length prior to three-dimensional (3D) modelling is necessary with current 3D geostatistical modelling techniques. The high-resolution information from core and well logging must be upscaled to unify the scale to a target scale considered in building the 3D numerical models. A downside is the inevitable loss of information when the majority facies is assigned to each upscaled interval. The loss of such information could become problematic when dealing with small shale barriers in the middle of the reservoir or at the boundary of the facies transitions. This paper addresses the information loss by retaining as much information as possible in the upscaling process and proposes a metric to account for small-scale information that is mixed during the process: such a metric is referred to as facies mixing measure (FMM). Retaining more information in the upscaling process and utilizing that information to better model petrophysical properties is an important contribution. FMM is calculated during the upscaling step and is treated as a secondary property during petrophysical property modelling. Cross-validation with two different datasets demonstrates improvements in porosity estimation.


Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, claiming the lives of nearly 8 million people in 2008 alone. To effectively treat cancer, we need a holistic understanding of how aberrations in key cellular pathways can drive tumor formation. Current research, however, remains predominantly focused on molecular data, despite the fact that clinical diagnosis and prognostication rely primarily on the morphologic analysis of histologic data. In this thesis, we develop 1) an image processing pipeline capable of extracting clinically-relevant morphological features from whole-slide tissue samples, and 2) a system of multi-task regressions to robustly and efficiently associate gene expression levels with transformations in specific morphological traits. These allow us to distill massive amounts of histological and molecular data into a set of unbiased and testable hypotheses regarding the effect of specific genes on particular clinically-relevant aspects of tumor morphology. We demonstrate our system on matching histological and molecular data from a total of 574 breast cancer patients from two independent cohorts: 248 from the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and 326 from the Cancer Genome Atlas. Our results corroborate many associations between known oncoand tumor-suppressorgenes and tumor morphology, including the recently discovered role of CDC6 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We also identify several putative and previously unknown key genes in breast carcinoma, together with their purported role in tumor morphology, e.g., the role of VIPR2 in promotion of the stromal environment. These promising results pave the way for future investigative work into these genes, and show the viability of our integrative analysis of morphological and molecular data.


In some circumstances, immersion in virtual environments with the aid of virtual reality (VR) equipment can create feelings of anxiety in users and be experienced as something "frightening", "oppressive", "alienating", "dehumanizing", or "dystopian". Sometimes (e.g., in exposure therapy or VR gaming), a virtual environment is intended to have such psychological impacts on users; however, such effects can also arise unintentionally due to the environment's poor architectural design. Designers of virtual environments may employ user-centered design (UCD) to incrementally improve a design and generate a user experience more closely resembling the type desired; however, UCD can yield suboptimal results if an initial design relied on an inappropriate architectural approach. This study developed a framework that can facilitate the purposeful selection of the most appropriate architectural approach by drawing on Norberg-Schulz's established phenomenological account of real-world architectural modes. By considering the unique possibilities for structuring and experiencing space within virtual environments and reinterpreting Norberg-Schulz's schemas in the context of virtual environment design, a novel framework was formulated that explicates six fundamental "architectural paradigms" available to designers of virtual environments. It was shown that the application of this framework could easily be incorporated as an additional step within the UCD process.


Surgical Management of the Non-functional Larynx after Organ Preservation Therapy
Objective: Removal of the larynx for laryngeal malignancy is a curative procedure in the setting of resectable cancer. In the era of organ preservation, the use of radiation to treat head and neck cancer is often the first line of treatment. However, late complications are frequently seen, including laryngeal dysfunction, aspiration, and chondroradionecrosis. The goal of our study was to review our surgical experience with laryngectomy for patients with nonfunctional larynges.
Data sources: Twenty-four disease-free head and neck cancer survivors who underwent total laryngectomy (TL) for laryngopharyngeal dysfunction from 1/2003 to 12/2008 at a tertiary referral center.


Athletes and exercisers have utilised high-protein diets for centuries. The objective of this review is to examine the evidence for the efficacy and potential dangers of high-protein diets. One important factor to consider is the definition of a 'high-protein diet'. There are several ways to consider protein content of a diet. The composition of the diet can be determined as the absolute amount of the protein (or other nutrient of interest), the % of total energy (calories) as protein and the amount of protein ingested per kg of body weight. Many athletes consume very high amounts of protein. High-protein diets most often are associated with muscle hypertrophy and strength, but now also are advocated for weight loss and recovery from intense exercise or injuries. Prolonged intake of a large amount of protein has been associated with potential dangers, such as bone mineral loss and kidney damage. In otherwise healthy individuals, there is little evidence that high protein intake is dangerous. However, kidney damage may be an issue for individuals with already existing kidney dysfunction. Increased protein intake necessarily means that overall energy intake must increase or consumption of either carbohydrate or fat must decrease. In conclusion, high protein intake may be appropriate for some athletes, but there are potential negative consequences that must be carefully considered before adopting such a diet. In particular, care must be taken to ensure that there is sufficient intake of other nutrients to support the training load. Very-high-protein diets: Efficacy: Potential dangers: Athletes and exercisers


Food industry is the production sector with the highest energy consumption. In Europe, the energy used to produce food accounts for 26% of total energy consumption. Over 28% is used in industrial processes. Recently, European food companies have increased their efforts to make their production processes more sustainable, also by giving preference to the use of renewable energy sources. In Italy, the total energy consumption in agriculture and food sectors decreased between 2013 and 2014, passing from 16.79 to 13.3 Mtep. Since energy consumption in food industry is nearly twice the one in agriculture (8.57 and 4.73 Mtep, respectively), it is very important to improve energy efficiency and use green technologies in all the phases of food processing and conservation. In Italy, a recent law (Legislative Decree 102, 04/07/2014) has made energy-use diagnosis compulsory for all industrial concerns, particularly for those showing high consumption levels. In the case of food industry buildings, energy is mainly used for indoor microclimate control, which is needed to ensure workers' wellbeing and the most favourable conditions for food processing and conservation. To this end, it is important to have tools and methods allowing for easy, rapid and precise energy performance assessment of agri-food buildings. The accuracy of the results obtainable from the currently available computational models depends on the grade of detail and information used in constructional and geometric modelling. Moreover, this phase is probably the most critical and time-consuming in the energy diagnosis. In this context, fine surveying and advanced 3D geometric modelling procedures can facilitate building modelling and allow technicians and professionals in the agri-food sector to use highly efficient and accurate energy analysis and evaluation models. This paper proposes a dedicated model for energy performance assessment in agri-food buildings. It also shows that by using advanced surveying techniques, such as a terrestrial laser scanner and an infrared camera, it is possible to create a three-dimensional parametric model, while, thanks to the heat flow meter measurement method, it is also possible to obtain a thermophysical model. This model allows assessing the energy performance of agri-food buildings in order to improve the indoor microclimate control and the conditions of food processing and conservation.


ABSTRACT Sinorhizobium fredii USDA257 forms nitrogen-fixing nodules on soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) in a cultivar-specific manner. This strain forms nodules on primitive soybean cultivars but fails to nodulate agronomically improved North American cultivars. Soybean cultivar specificity is regulated by the nolXWBTUV locus, which encodes part of a type III secretion system (TTSS). NolX, a soybean cultivar specificity protein, is secreted by TTSS and shows homology to HrpF of the plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. It is not known whether NolX functions at the bacterium-plant interface or acts inside the host cell. Antibodies raised against S. fredii USDA257 NolX were used in immunocytochemical studies to investigate the subcellular localization of this protein. Immunostaining of paraffin-embedded sections of developing soybean and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp) nodules revealed localization of NolX in the infection threads. Protein A-gold immunocytochemical localization studies utilizing affinity-purified NolX antibodies revealed specific deposition of gold particles in the fibrillar material inside infection threads. Similar immunogold localization studies failed to detect NolX in thin sections of mature soybean and cowpea nodules. The results from this study indicate that NolX is expressed in planta only during the early stages of nodule development.


Even though the technologyofneuralnetshas been successfully appliedto image analysis,signalprocessing,and patternrecognition, most realworld problems are too complex to be solvedpurelyby neuralnetworks. Two important issues regardingthe applicationof neuralnetworks to complex problems are (1) the integrationof neuralcomputing and symbolic reasoning,and (2) the monitoring and controlof neuralnetworks. Most hybrid models attempt to integrateneuralnet and symbolic processingtechnologiesat the levelof basicdata representationand data manipulation mechanisms. However, intrinsic differences in the low-level data processing of the two technologies limit the effectiveness of that approach. This paper discusses the role of fuzzy logic in a hybrid architecture that combines the two technologies at a higher, functional level. Fuzzy inference rules are used to make plausible inference by combining symbolic information with soft data generated by neural nets. Neural networks are viewed as modules that perform flexible classification from low-level sensor data. The symbolic system provides a global shared knowledge base for communications and a set of control tasks for objectoriented interface between neural network modules and the symbolic system. Fuzzy action rules are used to detect situations under which certain control tasks need to be invoked for neural network modules. The hybrid architecture, which supports communication and control across multiple cooperative neural nets through the use of fuzzy rules, enables the construction of modular, flexible, and extensible intelligent systems, reduces the effort for developing and maintaining such systems, and facilitates their application to complex real world problems that need to perform low-level data classification as well as high-level problem solving in the presence of uncertainty and incomplete information. 217 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910012475 2020-02-05T08:12:45+00:00Z


This work was carried out to access the mitigating potential of Leea guineensis aqueous seed extract against dichlorovos (DDVP)-induced toxicity in Wistar rats for ten days. Twenty Wistar albino rats (weighing 90 to 106 g) were divided into four groups (Normal, DDVP-induced untreated, DDVP-induced treated with 200 mg/kg of L. guineensis seed and DDVP-induced treated with 400 mg/kg L. guineensis seed by oral gavage). DDVP was induced in the rats as a source of the main drinking water (5% v/v). The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), total protein, albumin, bilirubin and the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were determined. The results revealed that exposure of rats to the pesticide water (DDVP) resulted in significant increase (p<0.05) in the levels of MDA and bilirubin with significant decrease (p<0.05) in the levels of total protein, albumin and the activities of GPx, CAT, SOD, ALT and AST, while administration with L. guineensis seed showed ameliorative effects in all biochemical parameters evaluated. This showed that treatment with aqueous seed extract of L. guineensis (200 and 400 mg/kg), most especially 400 mg/kg could ameliorate the biochemical indices related to liver toxicity in the animals.

 Key words: Leea guineensis, dichlorovos, pesticide, antioxidant enzymes, oxidative stress.


In the wake of marriage equality, LGBT claims to employment rights have taken center stage in the struggle for LGBT equality. Raising claims under federal sex discrimination law, advocates have argued that anti-LGBT discrimination is, necessarily, also sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"). Such claims have seen increasing success in the federal courts as biases against the LGBT community have receded, allowing courts to recognize the textual and doctrinal logic of such sex discrimination claims. As victories in the lower courts have accumulated, the LGBT employment discrimination issue has increasingly seemed poised to be the next major LGBT equality issue to reach the Supreme Court.

But a new argument has also arisen to dispute LGBT Title VII claims, sounding in "statutory originalism." Arguing that the meaning of Title VII ought to be judged by reference to its "original public meaning"—and that the original public in 1964 would not have thought that anti LGBT discrimination was proscribed—opponents of LGBT inclusion have contended that such sex discrimination claims cannot be allowed. In making these arguments, opponents have endeavored to sidestep well-established textualist case law that rejects virtually identical arguments when made under the rubric of Congressional expectations or intent.

This Article contends that the "original public meaning" approach raised by opponents of LGBT inclusion is neither so distinctive, nor so uncontroversial, as its proponents have suggested. "Original public meaning" itself is a modality of statutory interpretation that has almost no pedigree in the federal statutory interpretation case law. And yet the arguments of its proponents do bear a striking resemblance to another well-established, but now discredited approach: looking to the expectations or intent of Congress to limit broad and unambiguous statutory text. Moreover, the specific approach to "original public meaning" taken by opponents of LGBT inclusion—looking to "original expected applications"—is one that should concern both civil rights advocates and originalists alike. Thus, courts ought to reject the novel "original public meaning" arguments that have been raised in opposing LGBT employment equality claims.


Empathy and theory of mind (ToM) are distinctive psychological constructs in predicting children's social functioning. This study provided evidence of the independent nature of these constructs and developed a parent questionnaire for measuring individual differences in children's empathy and ToM. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis based on responses of 116 parents of Hong Kong children established a three-factor structure of the Empathy and Theory of Mind Scale (EToMS), that is, Empathy, Nice ToM, and Nasty ToM. An additional 189 parents of Study 2 confirmed this three-factor model. A subsample of 93 children ( , SD = .84, 47 boys) from Study 2 took part in child measures of helping and lying behaviors as well as false belief understanding. The results supported the reliability and validity of the EToMS, making it a useful assessment of children's social predispositions.


Cot deaths occur in all countries and among all socio-economic groups. A careful autopsy will fail to demonstrate an adequate cause of death in the majority of infants. Cot deaths are most frequent between the ages of two and four months. Smoking and substance abuse during pregnancy increase the risk. Preventative measures include supine sleeping, avoidance of overheating and a smoke-free environment, and these have reduced the incidence to approximately one case in 2 000 births. The cause of cot deaths is still unknown.


[1] In recent years, particular efforts have been made to derive wind fields over the oceans from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. In contrast with the scatterometer, the SAR has a higher spatial resolution and therefore has the potential to provide higher resolution wind information. Since there are at least two geophysical parameters (wind speed and wind direction) modulating the single SAR backscatter measurements, the inversion of wind fields from SAR observations has an inherent problem of underdetermination. Moreover, this modulation is highly nonlinear, further complicating the inversion. Lorenc [1986] presented a general statistical approach to solve inversion problems (including underdetermined problems) in meteorological analysis. We propose a SAR wind retrieval method based on this general approach. This simplified method combines the SAR information with some background information coming from high-resolution limited area model to retrieve the most probable wind vector, assuming that all sources of information contain errors and that these are well characterized. We then evaluate two different SAR wind retrieval methods. The first one is commonly used by the SAR community and is based on a combination of a wind streak detection algorithm (wind direction retrieval) and a C band model inversion (wind speed retrieval). The second one is the new method we propose, based on the general statistical approach. We show the potential problems and limitations of using any of these methods and show how the second method can potentially contribute to a significant improvement in SAR wind retrieval. The new method prepares the ground for the assimilation of SAR data in high-resolution numerical weather prediction models.


We propose a single-photon-assisted entanglement concentration protocol (ECP) for nonlocal N-photon systems in a partially entangled pure W-class state with linear optical elements. Only one of the N parties in quantum communication prepares an ancillary photon and operates the entanglement concentration process for picking up the standard N-photon W state from each partially entangled pure W-class state by choosing the two-mode instances from a polarization beam splitter. Compared with other ECPs for W-class states, our protocol has some advantages. First, it requires only linear optical elements. Second, it requires an N-photon system and an ancillary photon for each round of concentration, not two systems. Third, only one party asks other parties to retain or discard their photons. All these advantages make our ECP more feasible and more convenient than others.


One of the most important funerary monuments in Europe is the tomb of Napoleon, built in the Church of the Invalides in Paris between 1840 and 1861. As Befits a Legend is the first comprehensive examination of its construction process, historical context, and political and social meanings. It is also the only work published in English about this unique structure. Michael Paul Driskel's study, based on extensive archival research in France, documents the problems inherent in building the appropriate monument for such a controversial figure and the public debate it generated. Following a detailed and illuminating account of the range of proposals put forward, Driskel concludes that the form of the structure represents a symbolic mediation of conflicting demands. Louis-Tullis Visconti, a major Parisian architect who was officially commissioned for the project, is the subject of intensive scrutiny to determine the nature of his personal contribution to the design, as well as his relationship with the many sculptors involved in the collective construction process. Here Driskel offers a significant contribution to the sociology of architecture and to the question of what "authorship" means in an undertaking of this kind. As Befits a Legend bridges the disciplines of history and art history and will appeal to historians of architecture, sculpture, society, and culture, as well as those readers fascinated with the history and legend of Napoleon. Nearly 100 photographs of 19th-century statuary, drawings, and lithographs complement the text.


Normal fault systems bounding extensional basins are typically adjoined by a series of subbasins separated by intrabasin highs. The strata within these basins form syndepositional anticlines and synclines whose axes are transverse to the strike of the main bounding fault. One possible explanation for these intrabasin highs is that they result from persistent along-strike deficits in fault displacement. Such deficits are incompatible with scaling relationships observed between fault displacement and length based on large populations of faults. We present data from active normal faults within the Basin and Range province and from inactive normal faults of the Newark basin of eastern North America demonstrating a clear correlation between the along-strike position of overlapping splay faults and the location of intrabasin highs as well as syndepositional transverse folds. Summed displacements for all faults within an intrabasin high are comparable to the displacements on faults bounding flanking subbasins. Older synextensional deposits exhibit localized tilt maxima within subbasins flanking an intrabasin high whereas younger units exhibit uniform tilt patterns across the entire region. Footwall elevation profiles, used as a proxy for fault displacement, define uniform arcuate patterns independent of along-strike position of intrabasin highs. These characteristics of hanging walls and footwalls suggest that intrabasin highs do not represent locations of long-term fault-displacement deficits, but rather are the location of anastomosing fault segments, which upon linking together, rapidly compensate for initial displacement deficits by increased displacement distributed over several splay faults.


Given the importance of globalization as well as the need to train skilled and knowledgeable employees for the 21st century workforce, higher education needs to take a more critical look at the educational practices and instructional methods which lead to improvements in students' essential skills such as self-directed learning. This study sought to examine the effects of project-based learning (PoBL) strategy on students' self-directed learning skills in a system-based education course offered in the educational technology department of Arak University in Iran. In order to achieve this end, a sample of 78 students in the field of educational technology who enrolled in the system-based education course was selected. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: the experimental group (PoBL strategy) and control group (conventional teaching strategy). The self-directed learning readiness scale (SDLRS) was administrated three times (i.e. pretest, post-test one, and post-test two). The experimental group received the PoBL strategy and the control group was exposed to conventional teaching (CT) methods. The results of two-way repeated measure ANOVA tests revealed that students who were taught using PoBL strategy performed significantly better in terms of self-directed learning skills than did students who were taught using CT strategy.


Myra Strober became a feminist on the Bay Bridge, heading toward San Francisco. It is 1970. She has just been told by the chairman of Berkeley's economics department that she can never get tenure. Driving home afterward, wondering if she got something out of the freezer for her family's dinner, she realizes the truth: she is being denied a regular faculty position because she is a mother. Flooded with anger, she also finds her life's work: to study and fight sexism, in the workplace, in academia, and at home. Strober's generous memoir captures the spirit of a revolution lived fully, from her Brooklyn childhood (and her shock at age twelve when she's banished to the women's balcony at shul) to her groundbreaking Stanford seminar on women and work. Strober's interest in women and work began when she saw her mother's frustration at the limitations of her position as a secretary. Her consciousness of the unfairness of the usual distribution of household chores came when she unsuccessfully asked her husband for help with housework. Later, when a group of conservative white male professors sputtered at the idea of government-subsidized child care, Strober made the case for its economic benefits. In the 1970s, the term "sexual harassment" had not yet been coined. Occupational segregation, quantifying the value of work in the home, and the cost of discrimination were new ideas. Strober was a pioneer, helping to create a new academic field and founding institutions to establish it. But she wasn't alone: she benefited from the women's movement, institutional change, and new federal regulations that banned sex discrimination. She continues the work today and invites us to join her.


Abstract In the neutral beam injection (NBI) system, an extension of the pulse duration up to 30 sec has been intended to study quasi-steady state plasma on JT-60U. The four positive-ion based (P-NBI) units, which tangentially inject neutral beam to plasma, were mainly modified on the electric power supplies and the beam limiters to extend the pulse duration up to 30 sec with 2 MW at 80 keV per each. The seven P-NBI units, each of which perpendicularly injects for 10 sec, were conducted to operate in series for the total pulse duration of 30 sec. The ion source of the negative-ion based (N-NBI) unit, whose target beam energy is 500 keV for 10 sec, was also modified to reduce the heat load of the grid for long pulse operation. The reduction of the re-ionization of the neutral beam in the beam drift duct was a key to achieve a long pulse injection. It was found that the pressure rise in the beam drift duct, which gives the re-ionization rate, depended on the temperature of the re-ionization plates during NBI injection. Up to now, it was attained successfully that the pulse duration of the tangential P-NBI unit was extended up to 30 sec. 310 MJ of the total integrated injection energy into JT-60U plasma was achieved, including the negative-ion based NBI operation for 17 sec at 366 keV.


The antiviral activity of Type 1 Interferon (IFN) has been extensively studied and recognized, especially in regards to Hepatitis and HIV; however the IFN antiviral activity has not been specifically analyzed in reoviral infection. In this study, a mouse model of reoviral encephalitis was used to determine the role of Type 1 Interferon (IFN) in host antiviral activity. Six mice deficient in IFN-α/β receptor (IFNAR) function were inoculated with Type 3 Dearing (T3D) mammalian orthoreovirus intracranially at 15 days of age and showed signs of clinical illness, lethargy, hunched posture, and dull hair coat at day 7 post infection. Mice were humanely euthanized and tissues were harvested for histologic evaluation on days 8 and 9 post infection. Pathologic lesions including meningoencephalitis, hydrocephalus, rhinitis, hepatitis, interstitial pneumonia and marked lymphoid depletion were identified on routine histologic exam. Further investigation utilizing immunohistochemistry (IHC) for Reovirus, CD3 cells, B220 cells, and F4/80 was performed on the affected tissues. Reovirus was detected in the brain, liver and lung. In the brain there was a robust T-cell (CD3) and macrophage (F4/80) response. In the spleen Caspase-3 immunohistochemistry confirmed marked apoptosis in the lymphoid tissue. Pathologic lesions were not present in the gastrointestinal tract, heart, or kidneys. This study shows that IFNAR deficient mice are susceptible to reovirus infection at post natal day 15 with morbidity and mortality due to reovirus induced meningoencephalitis, hepatitis, and interstitial pneumonia.


In March 2002, The Nature Conservancy purchased a 9,000-acre tract of land on and near Warm Springs Mountain in Bath County, Virginia. The purpose of this paper is to examine community-based conservation strategies utilized by The Nature Conservancy in two well-established Virginia reserves to determine the effectiveness of those strategies in the protection of Warm Springs Mountain. The Conservancy's previous work on Virginia's Eastern Shore and in the Clinch Valley of southwest Virginia reveals the organization's transition from a strategy of mere land acquisition to the use of community-based conservation in an effort to involve local citizens and promote a proper balance between economics and the environment. The community-based conservation model developed by TNC on the Eastern Shore and utilized further in the Clinch Valley works well for ecoregions that fit a particular typology. The paper discusses the differences between that typology and the factors affecting the protection of Warm Springs Mountain. In addition, the paper outlines the lessons TNC learned from both positive and negative experiences in the two earlier preserves and proposes how these lessons can be applied to the Warm Springs Mountain Preserve.


Genetic linkage maps of molecular markers have been developed for barley (Hordeum vulgate L.) to aid development of improved barley cultivars. However, crosses between genetically diverse parents used to maximize polymorphism in map construction are not appropriate for use in breeding programs for cultivar development. The objective of this study was to determine whether the amount of genetic variation detected at RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) marker loci among 28 North American spring barley cultivars was sufficient to permit molecular marker-assisted selection in North American barley breeding programs. DNA extracted from these cultivars was restriction digested with BamHI and hybridized to 100 clone sequences mapped by the North American Barley Genome Mapping Project. A diversity index (DI) was calculated for each clone sequence based on the number and frequency of RFLP patterns detected. Fifty-seven of the clones detected RFLPs among these cultivars. Twenty-nine of these were highly informative (DI>0.500) in detecting differences among the 28 cultivars. Clone sequences were identified that separated the 28 cultivars by geographic origin (Western vs. Midwestern) and by spike morphology (two-rowed vs. six-rowed). While 47% of the clone sequences detected RFLPS among the 15 Midwestern six-rowed cultivars, only 17% detected RFLPs among the currently grown cultivars Robust, Excel, Foster, and Stander. The RFLP loci that differ between these cultivars appear to be associated with quantitative trait loci (QTL) for agronomic and malt quality traits. Molecular marker-assisted selection in malting barley breeding programs can be used to select the optimal alleles at these QTL and to incorporate qualitative traits such as disease resistance from less adapted germplasm.


Intermediality has become an umbrella term for a heterogeneous group of concepts as diverse as the creation of an entirely new medium and the mere quotation of a work from one medium in another. Intermedial analyses of specific film texts have appeared sporadically but have shed remarkable light on the influence of other media on film narrative, structure and visual style. This PhD takes intermediality to be, as Irina Rajewsky describes it, instances in which film 'thematises, evokes or imitates elements or structures of another, conventionally distinct medium through the use of its own media-specific means.'

Using this definition as a starting point, this project applies the concept of intermediality to films that deal specifically with arts and media within their narratives, or that are adaptations from another medium, across the American independent cinema landscape since 1990. In this way, a typology of media interaction and intermediality within film texts is developed in relation to their relative position in the American 'indie' tradition.

Although the thesis uses a primarily industrial definition of 'independence', this work also applies a number of criteria constituting a particular 'indie' aesthetic to these films, as outlined by experts in the field like Geoff King and Michael Z Newman. This enables additional links to be identified in regard to whether intermediality is utilised differently in particularly 'alternative' or more 'mainstream' film content.

This methodology has demonstrated that intermediality plays a significant role in many American 'indie' films strategies of differentiation from the mainstream. Additionally, correlations have been discovered such as particular distributors' preference for contacting specific types of media, as well their willingness (or otherwise) to engage in such potentially alienating and experimental content as intermediality and metareference.


We need to understand how to utilize Geospatial Research in order to help us solve problems in environmental, life science, and defense industries, as well as intelligence, natural resources, medical and public safety industries.Emerging Methods and Multidisciplinary Applications in Geospatial Research exemplifies the usage of geographic information science and technology (GIS&T) to explore and resolve geographical issues from various application domains within the social and/or physical sciences. It specializes in studies from applied geography that interfaces with geographic information science and technology. This publication is designed to provide planners and policy analysts, practitioners, academicians, and others using GIS&T useful studies that might support decision-making activities.