This book is for SharePoint developers working with Publishing sitessites that leverage MOSS 2007 WCM capabilities. It does not cover administrative topics in any great detail, only where absolutely necessary. For the most part, no two chapters are dependent upon each other, so each chapter can be used as a reference independently of the others. Readers need not have any development experience with SharePoint, but they should have some experience with and a working knowledge of ASP.NET 2.0 development practices and topics. Of course, it is beneficial if the reader does have at least a working knowledge of what SharePoint is all about. This book covers MOSS 2007 WCM Publishing sites. You will find some chapters that seem to cover general WSS 3.0 topics, but everything is treated in the context of a Publishing site. While the chapters are arranged in a logical order, it is not necessary to read the book from cover to cover in a linear fashion. The following is a brief description of each chapter: Chapter 1, Embarking on Web Content Management ProjectsThis chapter explains what this book is all about, who the target audience is, and who will benefit most from the book. It also details what the reader needs in terms of a local development environment in order to implement the solutions. In addition, each of the subsequent chapters is explained very briefly to provide an overview and clarify how each chapter fits in. Chapter 2, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Development PrimerThis chapter covers the fundamentals of WSS, including definitions of terms such as farm, Web application, site collection, site, list, and document library, and the general architecture of WSS. Some basic object model techniques are demonstrated in this chapter. Chapter 3, Overview of Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Web Content ManagementThis chapter briefly explains each of the various components that make up MOSS. In addition ,while the book is development-focused, the ABCs of content-centric Internet sites is covered. Chapter 4, SharePoint Features and the Solution FrameworkBoth new to WSS 3.0, the SharePoint Feature and solution frameworks are covered in great detail in this chapter, as well as a process for automatically creating WSS solution packages on every project build. Chapter 5, Minimal Publishing Site DefinitionMany users create new WCM sites by using the Publishing Portal template. Unfortunately, this adds quite a bit of unnecessary content to the site. This chapter picks apart the Publishing Portal template and Publishing Features and demonstrates how to create a minimal Publishing Portal template. Chapter 6, Site Columns, Content Types, and ListsThree core components to every WSS 3.0 sitesite columns, content types, and listsare covered in this chapter. Chapter 7, Master Pages and Page LayoutsThis chapter covers everything you need to know about creating, editing, and leveraging master pages and page layouts within Publishing sites. Chapter 8, NavigationWhile WSS 3.0s navigation is founded on the ASP.NET 2.0 navigation provider framework, there are a few SharePoint-specific topics, which are covered in this chapter. Chapter 9, AccessibilityIf its not already, accessibility is becoming an increasingly important topic with regard to Web sites. This chapter explains the different levels of accessibility and discusses some techniques and tools developers can leverage to create sites for users with disabilities. Chapter 10, Field Types and Field ControlsAlthough its a WSS 3.0 concept, field types and field controls are covered in this chapter in the context of a Publishing site. This includes creating custom field types with custom values types and controls, as well as custom field controls that leverage existing field types. Chapter 11, Web PartsThis chapter covers creating custom Web Parts and some advanced topics related to custom Web Part development, such as Editor Parts, customizing the Verbs menu, and leveraging asynchronous programming techniques. This chapter also covers the three Publishing-specific Web Parts and some advanced customization and styling options of the Content Query Web Part. Chapter 12, Leveraging WorkflowThe Windows Workflow Foundation, part of the .NET Framework 3.0, is fully leveraged by WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007. This chapter explains how to create custom workflows using Visual Studio and leveraging InfoPath Web-rendered forms. Chapter 13, SearchEvery content-centric site needs a robust search offering. This chapter explains the different components of MOSS search, as well as many customization opportunities such as modifying the search results. Chapter 14, Authoring Experience ExtensibilityWhile the authoring experience in Publishing sites is quite robust, at times developers need to extend this offering for specific content owner requirements. This chapter covers this, including customizing the Page Editing Toolbar and the Rich Text Editor HTML field control. Chapter 15, Authentication and AuthorizationThis chapter covers everything you need to know about the ASP.NET 2.0 authentication provider model SharePoint fully leverages. Chapter 16, Implementing Sites with Multiple Languages and DevicesThis chapter covers the topic of maintaining sites that need to offer their content in multiple languages, as well as developing custom Web Parts that are multilingual aware. Chapter 17, Content DeploymentA common request for larger content-centric Web sites is to have an internal authoring environment for content and then push the changed content out to a destination site, either in an organizations DMZ or at a co-location facility. This chapter describes the content deployment capability in MOSS designed to handle such business requirements. Chapter 18, Offline Authoring with Document ConvertersWhile MOSS 2007 Publishing sites offer a very robust Web-based content authoring experience, SharePoint provides a way to author content offline using tools such as Microsoft Word or InfoPath. This chapter explains what you need to know about configuring the document converter infrastructure and creating custom document converters. Chapter 19, Performance Tips, Tricks, and TrapsInternet-facing content-centric sites built on the SharePoint platform need to be designed and developed with performance in mind. This chapter provides numerous guidelines and tips that developers can leverage to create the most performant sites. Chapter 20, Incorporating ASP.NET 2.0 ApplicationsSharePoint (both WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007) is not an end-to-end solution but an application platform. While it provides a significant amount of functionality out of the box, developers can leverage this platform in building custom applications. This chapter discusses some techniques that can be used for such tasks. One approach book takes is not to dwell on the more common minutia of creating projects in Visual Studio, or the huge topics of core Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) 3.0 development or SharePoint administration. These topics warrant their own books, and throughout this book you will find recommended resources for these topics. This book does cover some subjects that have their roots in WSS, but they are presented within the context of a Publishing site. Finally, this book approaches every topic of implementation from the perspective of SharePoint customization and SharePoint development. While one implementation may seem to be better than the other, it takes no position on either, as the goal is to simply educate readers about the advantages and disadvantages of each. These concepts are defined in Chapter 2, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Development Primer.


Two experiments were conducted to determine the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids in a high-lysine sorghum cultivar, followed by a growth trial to determine the effect of this sorghum on pig performance using increasing additions of feed-grade amino acids at the expense of soybean meal. In Exp. 1, ten growing barrows (initially 57.1 lb; Line 359 × 1050; PIC, Hendersonville, TN) were surgically fitted with a T-cannula at the terminal ileum and randomly assigned to 1 of 5 test diets in a 5-period, cross-over design. Experimental diets consisted of a corn-based diet, a diet containing high-lysine sorghum, or two diets with either white or red sorghum cultivars. The grain sources were the only protein sources included in these experimental diets. The fifth experimental diet was N-free for determining basal endogenous amino acid loss. All diets contained 0.40% chromic oxide as an indigestible marker. Standardized ileal digestible crude protein, lysine, methionine, threonine, and valine were greater (P < 0.020) in corn than in the sorghum-based diets with no evidence for differences among the three sorghum cultivars. In Exp. 2, a total of 293 pigs (initially 21.3 lb; Line 241 × 600; DNA, Columbus, NE) were used in a 20-d growth trial. On d 20 after weaning, considered d 0 in the trial, pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 dietary treatments with 10 replications per treatment. Treatments consisted of a corn-based diet, a diet based on conventional sorghum (a mixture of red and white sorghum), and 4 diets with high-lysine sorghum. The corn-based, conventional sorghum, and the first high-lysine sorghum diets each contained the same amount of soybean meal with varying amounts of feed-grade amino acids. The 3 remaining high-lysine sorghum diets included incrementally increasing amounts of feed-grade amino acids, replacing soybean meal. Overall, there was no evidence for differences in average daily gain (ADG) or average daily feed intake (ADFI) among dietary treatments. However, pigs fed the high-lysine sorghum with the greatest amount of added feed-grade amino acids had the poorest feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) (P = 0.05) compared with those fed other experimental diets. In summary, SID amino acid values for the high-lysine sorghum used in this study were not different from either red or white sorghum cultivars; however, these values were all lower when compared with corn. When swine diets for nursery pigs were formulated on an SID amino acid basis, there were no differences in ADG among pigs fed any of the various diets. High-lysine sorghum is a viable alternative grain source in swine diets and can be used with feed-grade amino acids to reduce the amount of soybean meal in the diet, potentially lowering feed cost. Research is needed to determine the maximum inclusion of feedgrade amino acids in nursery pig diets without negatively impacting F/G.


The cross-disciplinary nature of energy-efficient building design has created many challenges for architecture, engineering and construction instructors. One of the technical challenges in teaching sustainable building design is enabling students to quantitatively understand how different building designs affect a building's energy performance. Concept based instructional methods fall short in evaluating the impact of different design choices on a buildings' energy consumption. Building Information Modeling (BIM) with energy performance software provides a feasible tool to evaluate building design parameters. One notable advantage of this tool is its ability to couple 3D visualization of the structure with energy performance analysis without requiring detailed mathematical and thermodynamic calculations. Project-based Learning (PBL) utilizing BIM tools coupled with energy analysis software was incorporated into a senior level undergraduate class. Student perceptions and feedback were analyzed to gauge the effectiveness of these techniques as instructional tools. The findings indicated that BIM-PBL can be used to effectively teach energy-efficient building design and construction.


Temporality is an integral part of law. But legal commentary offers no analytical model to probe the fusion of law and temporality. This study proposes such a model and presents the four general principles of law's temporality. First, the principle of temporal correlation yields legally significant inferences. Although temporality per se is not the agent of change, events that occur within a short duration of time are presumed to be causally related. Second, the principle of temporal inertia carries the dynamics of normative change and stability. It illustrates the doctrine of precedent and prohibitive injunctions as manifestations of temporal inertia. Third, the principle of temporal triggers elucidates how law uses the point in time (t) and duration (delta-t) to both allocate and terminate powers, rights, and obligations. These time triggers, though arbitrary, contribute convenience and efficiency to the management of legal affairs. Finally, the principle of temporal cooperation delineates that time-sharing enhances productivity and utilization of assets. The workplace fortified with sovereign spatiotemporal borders may increase employee coordination and output, but cooperative flextime enmeshes work with socially gratifying lives. The framework of four principles invites lawyers, scholars, and judges to further explore the union between law and temporality.


The objective of this work is to show possibilities and limitations of different turbulence models from RANS to DNS and LES. Firstly, standard approaches based on time averaging the governing equations (the so called Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations or RANS models) are presented. Attention is focused on explicit algebraic and eddy-viscosity linear and non-linear two-equation models. Aspects related to forced and natural convection, low-Reynolds number approaches, numerical issues, etc. are shown.
A different simulation level is then presented: the Direct Numerical Simulation or DNS approach. This kind of analysis describes the whole range of the turbulent motion scales, from the largest ones (similar to the domain size) to the smallest ones (also called dissipative or Kolmogorov scales), where the fluctuations are damped and turbulent energy is irreversibly converted into internal energy. Aspects related to the discretization of the governing equations and the necessity of preserving some properties of the Navier-Stokes equations are pointed out. Examples are shown with emphasis on the possibilities and limitations of this important approach where no empirical inputs are needed at all.
The paper ends with promising turbulence models based on the full simulation of the largest scales of the turbulent flow, while the smaller ones are modelled. This is called Large Eddy Simulation or LES approach. Discussion starts with classical techniques based on modelling the non-linear interactions of the convective operator as a diffusion term. Afterwards, the use of regularization techniques as a large eddy simulation model is discussed. The formulation is based on symmetry-preserving discretization methodology on non-structured and collocated meshes. In this approach, the length of the filter is the only empirical parameter used by the model. Examples of both natural and forced convection in well-known benchmark cases, and also in industrial applications, are presented.


The years since 9/11 have been characterised by the increasing threat of terrorist action in the  Middle East and South Asia. Yet Sub-Saharan Africa was has also become a region of concern. In 1998, it had been the scene of two Al-Qaeda attacks against US embassies; besides Africa is home to large Muslim populations. Since 9/11 African violent non-state groups unrelated to Al- Qaeda or to the wider Islamist movement have been recast as terrorist organisations. These groups primarily operate in conflict zones, an area of research that traditionally has not been the main focus of Terrorism Studies. Protagonists have at various times been called freedom fighters, rebels, warlords, insurgents or simply violent gangs. This article looks at the most notorious of African groups – the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA. It argues that some groups like the LRA have been recast as terrorist organisations not because of a change in their activities but due to a change in the geo-strategic environment they found themselves in the post-9/11 period. The LRA's ideology and tactics will be judged against a broad definition of terrorism in order to test whether the group can, in an objective way, be called a terrorist organisation. It is concluded that the LRA is too ambiguous an organisation to be simply labelled in such a way. It is also suggested that the terrorism label has in fact been an obstacle to attempts to end successfully a confrontation that is now going into its 24 th year.


ABSTRACT Biting midges (Culicoides spp.) are an important environmental health issue in Hervey Bay, an area of rapid population growth in Australia. It is also the gateway to a World Heritage area (Great Sandy Strait) and a destination for tourists. The spread of housing developments into suburbs close to midge breeding habitats has led to a problem for the local government responsible for managing biting insects in its area. Suburbs with a severe biting midge problem were found to have significantly lower residential property values than less affected suburbs. The gross reduction in value in due to the midge problem was estimated to range from more than AUS$25 million, based on actual sale price, to more than AUS$55 million, based on the perceptions of the most severely affected residents.


The main aim of this paper is examine social and economic factors that are responsible for the poverty in rural Sindh. Data were collected from 2500 households from four districts i.e. Shikarpur, Larkana, Sukkur, and Jacobabad of upper Sindh by using the simple random technique; a structural questionnaire was design as an instrument tool for measuring the poverty. It was revealed that the poverty position in Jacobabad and Shikarpur is worsening compare with Larkana and Sukkur. There are other factors like tribal disputes among various tribes and law and order situation most of the businesses people shift their business from Jacobabad and Shikarpur. Access to health and education facilities all districts have slight variation except Jacobabad where the literacy ratio is pretty low. It was further revealed that the lack of this makes this vulnerable to natural disasters and uncertainties thereby reduction the earning potential of poor families. This truly depicts the perception of the poor people they were not knowing the poverty in real sense. The vulnerability of the poor household becomes evident from a very significant percentage of households without any legal right in all surveyed districts. The main findings of this research seems to suggest that on average of the household income generated from the agriculture and most of the farmers are facing lot of problems regarding availability of water and inputs. By the criterion of derived demand the households from two districts Sukkur and Larkana engaged in productive activities to earn more compare with the Shikarpur and Jacobabad


Background: There is very little information about Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) an arboviral infection transmitted to man by bite of infective hard ticks. It is a public health problem unique for its existence in Karnataka State of south western India. Objectives: To know the prevalence of KFD in Karnataka state (from 2004 to 2012), to find out case fatality associated with it and to know its time trends. Materials and Methods: A retrospective record based study of KFD seropositive cases from the entire state (2004 to 2012). The data was accessed from the office of Joint Director, Communicable diseases, Government of Karnataka. The data was analyzed using SPSS Software Version 21.0. Prevalence (total, annual and period) was calculated for entire state and for each of the districts of the state. Chi-square test was used to know if the observed difference was statistically significant. Results: KFD cases are confined to only four districts of Karnataka state. The total period prevalence in the entire state was 1.054 per lakh population. Out of 556 cases, there were 16 deaths with an overall case fatality rate of 2.87%.Time trend shows a cyclical outbreak every 3 years. Majority (51.9%) of the cases were observed in the middle aged (20 – 49 years) males. Conclusion: KFD is limited to few places (villages) in four districts of Karnataka state with low overall prevalence & case fatality rate. Cyclical time trend indicates the potential of outbreak in near future. Key words: Kyasanur Forest Disease, Fatality, Prevalence, Time trends, India.


This paper is a contribution to the methodological and technical discussion of social research infrastructure. The main question is how to store and manage data in a way that meets the increasing demand for secondary data analysis in both quantitative and qualitative social science research. The first two sections focus mainly on aspects of data documentation, in particular on the unification of various documentation requirements that have arisen across ongoing projects of the SFB 882. While the aim of documenting quantitative research processes is to ensure replicability, the aim of documenting qualitative projects is to maintain the understandability and informative value of research data.
In the third section a virtual research environment (VRE) is presented that provides both a generic work platform and a project-specific research platform. The work platform bundles IT resources by bringing together various tools for administration, project management, and time- and location-independent collaboration in a single environment adapted to researchers' specific work processes. The research component combines data management with further developments in social science methodologies. It provides services for the archiving and reuse of data and enables the infrastructural and methodological coordination of data documentation. We also introduce a documentation scheme for qualitative and quantitative social research within the SFB 882. This scheme considers the specific requirements of research projects within the SFB, such as different methods (e.g. panel analysis, experimental approaches, ethnography, and interview research), project work, and requirements of long-term research.


In spite of the significance of social shopping in the context of fashion consumption, its definitions, boundaries, and explanations have not yet been systematically established in literature. The purpose of Study 1 was to develop a reliable and valid scale of social shopping for fashion. With the scale, Study 2 aimed to develop and test a structural model of social shopping process. In Study 1, a three-step procedure for scale development was followed: item generation, scale purification, and scale validation. As a result, a five-dimensional scale, along with sixteen behavioral items, was developed representing distinctive dimension of social shopping for fashion. The result suggests that social shopping for fashion involves dynamic and complex direct/indirect interpersonal exchanges and activities. Study 1 adds significant value to the literature in three ways. First, the scale is the first attempt to synthesize dispersed concepts of social shopping. Second, by providing a reliable and valid measure of social shopping for fashion, the results advance the area of research. Third, the scale is useful for a wide range of marketing and retailing applications. In Study 2, an online survey was conducted with a random sample consisting of a total of 5,280 undergraduates aged 18 to 29 years old enrolled at a large southeastern university. A total of 858 responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling. A structural model including motivational forces and consequences of social shopping behavior was developed and tested. The results indicated that social comparison orientations were generally found to be motivators of social shopping for fashion, and social shopping contributed to shopping satisfaction. The results, however, suggest that each dimension is driven by different dimensions of social comparison orientation and generates different types of satisfaction. This study increases the understanding of social shopping by simultaneously examining a causal model depicting comprehensive motivational forces and consequences of


Background Policy and evidence based guidelines have aided in identifying a greater need for advanced palliative care services. However, there is still evidence of individuals dying undignified deaths with little pain control, therefore inflicting unnecessary suffering. In West Northumberland use of new commissioning powers have enabled an innovative Integrated Care Pathway (IPC) to be created in order to improve arrangements for individuals with life limiting illnesses who require palliative care. The ICP itself is novel as it aims to begin palliative care in the last 6 months of life, therefore intervening early to ensure a good death. What is not known is if this ICP works, how it works and who it works for. Design A realistic evaluation will identify context, mechanism and outcome (CMO) configurations within the ICP and facilitate exploration of how the ICP works and who it works for. Mixed methods and small sample sizes will be used in each section of research to capture the breadth of the ICP. Phase 1 will identify if the ICP works through analysis of NHS MIQUEST data, the Death Audit and the Quality of Death and Dying Questionnaire. Phase 2 employs soft systems methodology with data from focus groups with health professionals to identify how the ICP works. Phase 3 involves use of the Miller Behavioural Style Scale for analysis on communication in palliative care, and interviews with palliative care patients and bereaved relatives. Discussion This study will benefit West Northumberland by providing objective data on the palliative care ICP which will aid in developing and improving the ICP via feedback as the research occurs. The research will benefit any national implementation as it will highlight the contexts crucial for successful implementation, the mechanisms that facilitate implementation and the outcomes that can potentially be achieved by this novel approach.


Circa 1528: The Marquis de Fonda of the Republic of Genoa, attempts to overthrow the aristocratic government in order to enable ordinary citizens to elect the doge and the senate, he failed, he was branded a traitor and fled Italy. Eventually the Fonda's settled in New York.

In 1957, at 19, Jane Fonda moved to Paris to become a painter, inspired by the dream of the radical avant-garde. She met Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot (then married) as she commenced a relationship with the culture and politics of the left bank. She left Paris 3 months later, following a minor scandal after posing nude for a photographer.

Jane Fonda then followed her father into Hollywood, a studio contract and the gender degradation of the star system. For my fist movie, Jack Warner wanted to dye my hair, put me in a corset, add falsies, break and reset my jaw so it would have a softer line, and I don't know what else. Every studio wanted its own version of Marilyn Monroe.

Fonda regularly returned to Europe, by 1965 she was engaged to Vadim and in '68 she was radicalised during the Paris events of 1968. She bank-rolled the Black Panthers and worked with the Viet Cong to encourage mutiny amongst American servicemen in Vietnam. My only regret is I did not fuck Che Guvera

2018 will mark the 50th anniversary since the events of 1968.
2028 will be the 500th anniversary since the events of 1528.

This work is structured around the American actress Jane Fonda. Fonda's character and emblematic life story is used as a vehicle for introducing a series of themes related to current politics, drawing a close parallel between events in 1968 in Europe and those taking place across the continent today – from the rise of populism to the ongoing debate over security in western society.


Ever since his creation, Sherlock Holmes has enthralled readers. Our perception of him and his faithful companion, Dr Watson, has been shaped by a long line of film, TV and theatre adaptations. This richly illustrated book, compiled by Alex Werner, Head of History Collections at the Museum of London, is an essential guide to the great fictional detective and his world. Using the museum's unrivalled collections of photographs, paintings and original artefacts, it illuminates the capital city that inspired the Sherlock Holmes stories, in particular its fogs, Hansom cabs, criminal underworld, famous landmarks and streets. Accompanying the landmark exhibition at the Museum of London, the first since 1951, this book explores how Arthur Conan Doyle's creation of Sherlock Holmes has transcended literature and continues to attract audiences to this day. Authoritatively written by leading experts, headed by Sir David Cannadine, this thought-provoking companion sheds new light on the famous sleuth and reveals the truth behind the fiction, over 125 years after the first Sherlock Holmes story was written.


The oscillating droplet technique is an experimental technique that is used to measure the surface tension and viscous damping coefficients of a liquid droplet. This technique has been the subject of much analysis; theoretical, numerical, and experimental with a number of different external forces used to confine the droplet. These external forces are found to modify the oscillation frequency and damping rates, which need to be quantified in order for the measurement technique to be used. The dynamics of the droplet are three-dimensional but previous numerical work has largely focused on axisymmetric cases. This work uses numerical techniques to extend the previous analysis to include the full three-dimensional effects.

In this work a three-dimensional numerical model is designed, developed and applied to study the dynamics of a liquid droplet both in free space and with a high DC magnetic field used to balance gravitational forces. The numerical model is a grid point formulation of the pseudo-spectral collocation method discretised in a spherical coordinate system with the implicit Euler method used to advance the solution in time. A coordinate transformation method is used to ensure the direct surface tracking required for modelling the surface shape oscillations.

The study covers the laminar fluid flow regime within a droplet exhibiting translational and surface shape oscillations providing a greater understanding of the physical behaviour of the droplet along with a qualitative and quantitative comparison with theoretical results. Initially a droplet oscillating in free space is considered, with a range of surface oscillation modes used to demonstrate the three-dimensional dynamics. Then the influence of electromagnetic forces on a diamagnetic droplet is studied, this includes the field from a solenoid magnet used to levitate a diamagnetic droplet. Finally the dynamics of an electrically conducting droplet in an external static magnetic field are modelled. In each case a number of methods are used to analyse the surface displacement in order to determine the surface tension and viscous damping coefficients.

The numerical study of a freely oscillating droplet shows good agreement with the low order theoretical results for droplets in the limit of low viscosity. The high accuracy of the surface tracking method allows the non-linear effects of mode coupling and frequency shift with amplitude to be observed. There is good agreement with the theoretical values available for inviscid axisymmetric oscillations and the numerical study provides the opportunity to determine these effects for three-dimensional viscous oscillations.

The magnetic field from a solenoid is used to study the levitation of a diamagnetic droplet and the oscillation frequencies of the droplet are compared with a theoretical model. The magnetic field is analysed and the accuracy of the field calculation used when determining the modification to the oscillation frequencies is considered with the use of a theoretical model. Analysis is made into the splitting of the frequency spectrum due to the magnetic field.

The theoretical model that is available for an electrically conducting droplet in a static magnetic field predicts different fluid flow within the droplet and oscillation frequency and damping rate changes. These changes are compared qualitatively and quantitatively with the numerical model results with good agreement.


This study examines the barriers that have traditionally hindered private sector development in Suriname and presents a set of proposals to promote the role of the private sector as a driving force of Suriname's economic growth. The paper provides a description of the key characteristics of the Surinamese economy, an examination of the private sector structure, its weaknesses and capabilities, and an analysis of the main obstacles and issues to improve the enabling environment for private sector development, the challenges and opportunities faced by a small and isolated country that had a poor economic record because it encouraged the private sector to enter into rent seeking activities instead of focusing on productivity gains. Finally, there is a set of recommendations on areas of focus to support private sector development in Suriname.


We introduce Thurstonian Boltzmann Machines (TBM), a unified architecture that can naturally incorporate a wide range of data inputs at the same time. Our motivation rests in the Thurstonian view that many discrete data types can be considered as being generated from a subset of underlying latent continuous variables, and in the observation that each realisation of a discrete type imposes certain inequalities on those variables. Thus learning and inference in TBM reduce to making sense of a set of inequalities. Our proposed TBM naturally supports the following types: Gaussian, intervals, censored, binary, categorical, muticategorical, ordinal, (in)-complete rank with and without ties. We demonstrate the versatility and capacity of the proposed model on three applications of very different natures; namely handwritten digit recognition, collaborative filtering and complex social survey analysis.


Current security systems often rely on the adversary's computational limitations. Wireless networks offer the opportunity for a different, complementary kind of security, which relies on the adversary's limited network presence (i.e., that the adversary cannot be located at many different points in the network at the same time). We present a system that leverages this opportunity to enable n wireless nodes to create a shared secret S, in a way that an eavesdropper, Eve, obtains very little information on S. Our system consists of two steps: (1) The nodes transmit packets following a special pattern, such that Eve learns very little about a given fraction of the transmitted packets. This is achieved through a combination of beam forming (from many different sources) and wiretap codes. (2) The nodes participate in a protocol that reshuffles the information known to each node, such that the nodes end up sharing a secret that Eve knows very little about. Our protocol is easily implementable in existing wireless devices and scales well with the number of nodes; these properties are achieved through a combination of public feedback, broadcasting, and network coding. We evaluate our system through a 5-node testbed. We demonstrate that a group of wireless nodes can generate thousands of new shared secret bits per second, with their secrecy being independent of the adversary's computational capabilities.


Background: Dermatoglyphics is the branch of science that deals with the study of ridge patterns on finger tips, palm, sole and toes and when once formed, they remain unchanged throughout the except after severe injuries. These patterns can serve as a non-invasive, cost-effective tool which can be used for the prediction of cancer. This can also serve as a baseline guide to identify women with breast cancer. Objective: To study the digital dermatoglyphic patterns among women with breast cancer in comparison with normal individuals. Materials and methods: 50 female patients with breast cancer of age group between 30-70 years were compared with 50 control group of individuals with no history of cancer. The breast cancer patients and the control group were of the same age and sex. Digital dermatoglyphic patterns were taken among these individuals with the aid of a dermatoglyphic kit. Procedure involved was modified purvis smith method. Results: digital dermatoglyphic patterns were analyzed between the patients and control group of individuals which showed statistical difference. Conclusion: we conclude that there is a genetic influence on the dermatoglyphic patterns. With the aid of this, the occurrence of breast cancer can be predicted and this dermatoglyphics can serve as a non-invasive, anatomical marker and a predictor tool to determine the individuals with breast cancer.


Alternating current power distribution using analogue control and safety devices has been the dominant process of power distribution within our buildings since the electricity industry began in the late 19th century. However, with advances in digital technology, the seeds of change have been growing over the last decade. Now, with the simultaneous dramatic fall in power requirements of digital devices and corresponding rise in capability of Power over Ethernet, an entire desktop environment can be powered by a single direct current (dc) Ethernet cable. Going beyond this, it will soon be possible to power entire office buildings using dc networks. This means the logic of "one-size fits all" from the existing ac system is no longer relevant and instead there is an opportunity to redesign the power topology to be appropriate for different applications, devices and end-users throughout the building. This paper proposes a 3-tier classification system for the topology of direct current microgrids in commercial buildings – called a Digital Energy Network or DEN. The first tier is power distribution at a full building level (otherwise known as the microgrid); the second tier is power distribution at a room level (the nanogrid); and the third tier is power distribution at a desktop or appliance level (the picogrid). An important aspect of this classification system is how the design focus changes for each grid. For example; a key driver of the picogrid is the usability of the network – high data rates, and low power requirements; however, in the microgrid, the main driver is high power and efficiency at low cost.


This paper explores the ways in which assessment can be developed, in the frame of higher education and work-related learning, and provides a model for context-based assessment. Empirical explorations draw on interview data (n=16) obtained from two higher educational contexts. The aim was to explore 1) the meaning of student assessment through the lens of context-based assessment, and 2) the acts of the different parties (students, teachers, and practice educators) within the work-placement assessment process. The data were analysed based on phenomenological and hermeneutical methodology. In the data, the teachers and the practice educators had a clear focus on supporting student learning, but limited resources were experienced as a hindrance. The importance of continuous process assessment was generally acknowledged by all parties, and new assessment tools were implemented. However, a question was also raised, whether students were given too much responsibility in the assessment process. Some of the educators felt that they lacked fundamental information for the assessment of student learning. Although the different elements needed for assessment and improvement were generally recognized, the focus of assessment was still largely on the products rather than the process of learning. Our claim is that development of work-related learning and pedagogy implies that the assessment practices need to be examined and developed; this again requires interaction between the different stakeholders in higher education and work-life.


Evolutionary game theory (EGT) was born from economic game theory through a series of analogies. Given this heuristic genealogy, a number of central objects of the theory (like strategies, players, and games) have not been carefully defined or interpreted. A specific interpretation of these terms becomes important as EGT sees more applications to understanding experiments in microscopic systems typical of oncology and microbiology. In this essay, I provide two interpretations of the central objects of games theory: one that leads to reductive games and the other to effective games. These interpretation are based on the difference between views of fitness as a property of individuals versus fitness as a summary statistic of (sub)populations. Reductive games are typical of theoretical work like agent-based models. But effective games usually correspond more closely to experimental work. However, confusing reductive games for effective games or vice-versa can lead to divergent results, especially in spatially structured populations. As such, I propose that we treat this distinction carefully in future work at the interface of EGT and experiment.


A recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) plysS (pGEX / T1S) strain harbouring
thermostable lipase (E.C.188.8.131.52) gene from Geobacillus sp. was used through out this
study. Lipase production was investigated using 2 L fermenter with 1.5 L working
volume. Initial fermenter operation resulted in 11.07 U/mL activity with 24 h inoculum,
temperature of 30°C, 250 rpm impeller speed and without pH and dissolve oxygen
tension (DOT) control strategy.
Optimisation of fermentation operation conditions such as inoculum age, temperature,
impeller speed, airflow rate, pH and dissolve oxygen tension (DOT) control strategy
throughout the fermentation were carried out and compared. A substantial high activity
of lipase was detected during fermentation with 10 h inoculum. Lipase production was
41.18 U/mL activity which was comparable to previous optimised shake bottle and was 3.7 times higher than with 24 h inoculum. Increasing the cultivation temperature to
37°C, resulted in an increased of lipase production to 89.82 U/mL activity with highest
cell mass attained of 6.63 g/L. However, no significant difference (41.18 and 46.71
U/mL activity) in lipase production was observed at temperature 30°C and 40°C,
respectively. Lipase production increased with an increasing airflow rate, with highest
production of 89.82 U/mL activity observed at 1.5 L/min (1 vvm). In contrast, lipase
production decreased to 47.30 U/mL activity with higher airflow rate, which was 2 times
lower than those obtained at low airflow rates.
Further experiment on impeller speed showed only slight increased in lipase production.
When impeller speed increased from 250 to 350 rpm, only slight increase of lipase
production observed, from 89.82 U/mL to 93.03 U/mL activity. Higher and lower
impeller speed showed no improvement in lipase production. Production time was
reduced from 8 h to 5 h. Maximum cell mass decreased with increasing controlled pH
and no improvement in overall productivity observed. At all dissolve oxygen control
(DOT) strategy studied, no improvement in lipase production was observed. Highest
production was observed in fermentation when DOT was controlled at 80% saturation
which gave productivity of 4.85 U/mL.h.


Whether listening to broadcast radio or testing developed wireless devices, for civilian or military applications, based on terrestrial or spatial links, a radio frequency (RF) receiver with good measurement capabilities that preserves the received signal information is required. Today's RF measurement receivers with wideband capabilities are split into two groups based on the measurement strategy they adopt. Both groups produce a time domain waveform with both amplitude and phase information that is constructed either from a transformation of its frequency contents or directly from its time-domain samples.


We propose optimized pipelined implementations for Goldschmidt's division algorithm with IEEE rounding based on Booth radix-8 multiplication. Compared to other FP-division algorithms, our implementations require fewer clock cycles and admit shorter clock periods. The considered optimizations for the quotient approximation are based on a careful general analysis of tight error bounds for the implementation and are accompanied by the utilization of redundant representations, partial compressions, injection-based rounding, and rectangular multipliers for the internal computations. To efficiently achieve IEEE compliant rounding, we introduce the concept of dew-point rounding that allows efficient implementation and reduced requirements for the quotient approximation. On this basis, we propose the implementation of different versions of Goldschmidt's division algorithm with different pipeline depths. None of these implementations requires a full-sized multiplier at any stage of the computations. In this way we reduce latency, cost, and enable increased throughput at a reasonable cost. We suggest a full range of pipelining depths: On one extreme is a 3-stage pipeline with a restart time that simply equals the latency minus the number of pipeline stages. On the other extreme is a fully pipelined design.


Summary Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system. An impaired hypothalamo-pituitary axis (HPA) and stress reactivity have extensively been discussed without convincing expertimental evidence. We choose a standardized acute psychological stressor to determine whether MS patients show altered endocrine and immune responses to stress. In the preliminary analysis we included 14 relapsing-remitting MS patients and 5 healthy controls. During exposure to the stress we saw a reduced ACTH response in MS patients. IL-6, IL-6 receptor did not differ between stressed and non-stressed MS patients. TNF-alpha after whole blood stimulation revealed a reduced capacity in 5 stressed versus 7 control MS patients. From these data we postulate an altered neural-- immune signaling in relapsing-remitting MS patients during acute experimental stress with an HP A hyporeactivity and a TNF hyporesponsiveness. But results have to be confirmed in a larger patient sample. Key words: stress, multiple sclerosis, immune response, endocrine response. Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most frequent disabling disease of young adults. In the beginning stages of the disease it is very difficult to predict whether the course will be rapidly progressive or relapsing-remitting. The target of the pathophysiological process is the myelin layer of nerve axons in the central nervous system (CNS). Pathomorphologically, MS is characterized by multiple demyelinating plaques with a differing extent of inflammatory cells. An autoimmune process is the generally accepted underlying etiology. Genetical, immunological and environmental factors are involved in the manifestation of the disease. Furthermore, neuroendocrinological factors are discussed, but the scientific evidence is inconsistent. As in many other chronic diseases, psychological factors are regarded important in the course of the disease, especially concerning manifestation and relapses. The evidence for a stress-mediated activation of autoimmunity nevertheless is weak. Immunology of MS MS is regarded a predominantly T-cell-mediated, demyelinating process in the CNS. An unknown environmental antigen is thought to elicit the inflammatory cascade (Hartung and Giovannoni, 1996). Via molecular mimicry, physiological autoaggressive T-cells might be activated through this environmental antigen, leading to the cascade of inflammatory reaction. Different authors have shown some association of MS to human leucocyte antigens (HLA) and T-cell receptor repertoires (Ransohoff et al., 1995). Sibling studies have shown an increased risk for MS when family members are already affected. Thus there is evidence for a genetic component in the disease. A quite specific humoral immune response can be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which suggests B-cell activation as a further pathogenetic factor (Tourtellotte, 1985). During the last 3 years, elevated levels of different cell adhesion molecules (E-selectine, intracellular-adhesion-molecules I and 3, vascular-cell adhesion-molecule 1) and cytokines (tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha and its soluble receptor, interferon-gamma, transforming growth factor beta, interleukins 2, 4, 10, 12) could be detected in tissue, CSF and serum of MS patients (Arnason et al., 1995; Hartung and Giovannoni ,1996; Rieckmann et al., 1994; Sharief et al., 1993; Trotter et al., 1991). For many years, any attempt to establish CSF or serum activity factors for MS failed. Today there is first evidence of an association between cytokines and adhesion molecules and the disease activity (Rieckmann et al., 1994 and 1997; Sahrief et al., 1993). Perhaps these parameters have a prognostic relevance. The first approved MS therapy is itself a cytokine, interferon-Beta (The Interferon-Beta Multiple Sclerosis Study Group, 1995). A major mechanism of interferon-Beta-activity might be the modulation of interferon-gamma and tumornecrosis-factor-alpha mitigated immune alterations. …


Data wrangling tasks for data integration and cleaning arise in virtually every data-driven application scenario nowadays. Recent research indicated the astounding potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) for such tasks. However, the automation of data wrangling with LLMs poses additional challenges, as hand-tuning task- and data-specific prompts for LLMs requires high expertise and manual effort. On the other hand, finetuning a whole LLM is more amenable to automation, but incurs high storage costs, as a copy of the LLM has to be maintained. In this work, we explore the potential of a lightweight alternative to finetuning an LLM, which automatically learns a continuous prompt. This approach called prefix-tuning does not require updating the original LLM parameters, and can therefore re-use a single LLM instance across tasks. At the same time, it is amenable to automation, as continuous prompts can be automatically learned with standard techniques. We evaluate prefix-tuning on common data wrangling tasks for tabular data such as entity matching, error detection, and data imputation, with promising results. We find that in five out of ten cases, prefix-tuning is within 2.3% of the performance of finetuning, even though it leverages only 0.39% of the parameter updates required for finetuning the full model. These results highlight the potential of prefix-tuning as a parameter-efficient alternative to finetuning for data integration and data cleaning with LLMs.


Acoustic-Wave Hearing Model, The Initial Stage-C: Hydroacoustics of the Inner Ear (Sound Field Formation in the Cochlea)
The auditory effect (hearing) is determined by the information coming into the brain from the peripheral part of the auditory analyzer. The signals (nerve impulses) are triggered by the receptors of Corti organ-hair cells .Being secondary structures the receptors themselves create the generator potential due to their interaction with the tectorial membrane and being distant they take sound energy in the cochlea experiencing multiple conversions. The article analyzes theformation ofthe sound fieldon the initial stage(in perilymphaticand the middlescaleof cochlea.


This thesis is the first academic text to apply the notion of the 'Post-Internet' to music, uniquely deploying the concept to stress the role that authenticity has played in contemporary online musical milieux. Using digital aesthetics and themes, Post-Internet art considers a symbiotic relationship between post-millennial youths and their technological devices that has ramifications for contemporary identity and communication. This thesis argues that Post-Internet musical cultures also exhibit these motifs. Much academic analysis of post-millennial musical milieux is narrowly focused on changes to the music industry that occurred at the turn of the millennium, or maintains that the mass archives of the Internet promote retromanic musical production. This thesis contrastingly analyses contemporary musicians that evince Post-Internet themes in their music and self-representation. One of the thesis' original claims is that these musicians have developed an authentic representation of Post-Internet existence due to their sensitive examination of post-millennial cultural and personal experiences.
Post-Internet themes and academic debates about authenticity are presented as a key context for the textual analyses of these undertheorised Post-Internet musicians. The thesis' multi-disciplinary focus draws on posthumanism, queer theory, notions of information overload, social media theory and representation politics. Academic works by theorists such as Simon Frith, Simon Reynolds, Nathan Jurgenson, Mark Fisher, Sarah Thornton, Richard Middleton, Adam Harper and Steve Jones are analysed. The texts explored in this thesis include albums, YouTube videos, social media, live performances, games and digital mixes. References to influential blogs and magazines such as Pitchfork and The Fader illustrate online reaction to these musicians and emphasise the authentic reputation that they have attained. I conducted fifteen interviews with the key musicians, exploring the perspectives of these practitioners as a means to illuminate their oeuvres.
The research spotlights, for the first time, music that self-consciously expresses Post-Internet themes to explore digital technology's impact on identity, culture and society. One of the key original arguments offered is that these artists develop authentic representations of Post-Internet cultural and personal experience through their output and public personas. The conclusion notes that the aesthetic trend outlined here has also informed mainstream musicians, with many commercially successful artists appropriating from, and collaborating with, Post-Internet musicians in order to develop a comparably authentic representation of Post-Internet culture and identity.


We take an unorthodox view of voting by expanding the design space to include both the elicitation rule, whereby voters map their (cardinal) preferences to votes, and the aggregation rule, which transforms the reported votes into collective decisions. Intuitively, there is a tradeoff between the communication requirements of the elicitation rule (i.e., the number of bits of information that voters need to provide about their preferences) and the efficiency of the outcome of the aggregation rule, which we measure through distortion (i.e., how well the utilitarian social welfare of the outcome approximates the maximum social welfare in the worst case). Our results chart the Pareto frontier of the communication-distortion tradeoff.


Healthcare Disparities at the Crossroads with Healthcare Reform. Richard Allen Williams (ed.). New York, N.Y.: Springer Publishing Co. 2011. 445 pp. $79.95. The need and drive to eliminate health disparities continue to be major priorities in public health and health care. Despite being a goal of Healthy People 2010 for the 10 years leading up to 2010, disparities in health outcomes remain a major concern for public health professionals. The book, Healthcare Disparities at the Crossroads with Healthcare Reform, takes a closer look at the issues causing disparities within the health care system. The book presents an in-depth history of the disparities and treatment of underrepresented minorities, offers compelling data on health disparities, and provides examples of ways to eliminate health disparities in the U.S. health care system. In "Part I: Underlying Causes of Healthcare Disparities," chapter authors give an overview of the epidemiological data and demographics of race and ethnic health disparities in the United States. Issues covered include life expectancy disparities, leading causes of death, and historical perspectives on race and racism dating back to the time of slavery in the United States. Throughout these chapters there are references to the Institute of Medicine's Report on Health Disparities and Healthy People 2010. Overall, these chapters present a review of data and situations described in a myriad of other places. The chapter authors investigate the underlying causes of health disparities in "Part II: Current Problems." Issues addressed and described include patient-provider communications, differences in medical management, patients' perceptions of discrimination by health care workers, the disparity of underrepresented minorities in the health care workforce, and the near absence of minorities in clinical trial research. These last two issues, the authors point out, have a direct impact on racial and ethnic health disparities because without full representation in the workforce or in clinical trials, minority patients are not comfortable seeking care nor are treatments designed specifically for them. The final section, "Part III: Approaches to Correcting the Problem," includes the most number of chapters and the book's most current and interesting information. The authors of these chapters attempt to address all of the challenges described earlier by elucidating the problem of health care disparities. This section presents novel ideas to eliminate disparities. Chapter 10, written by the book's editor, Richard Allen Williams, discusses the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in one of the most complete ways yet in the literature. The chapter outlines specific ACA provisions that relate to opportunities to increase health equity, such as increasing health literacy, provisions for American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and a greater focus on minority health. …


OBJECTIVE
To investigate serum cortisol level and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with severe alopecia areata and liver-kidney deficiency syndrome and their involvement in the pathogenesis of severe alopecia areata.

METHODS
In 32 patients with severe alopecia areata, serum cortisol levels were measured by chemiluminescence assay and GR mRNA expression in the PBMCs was detected using reverse transcription real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR before and after treatment, with 20 normal subjects serving as the controls.

RESULTS
Serum cortisol level showed no significant difference between the cases and the normal controls (P>0.05). The expression of GR mRNA in the PBMCs was significantly lower in the patients than in the normal controls (P<0.05). The expression of GR mRNA was even lower after treatments in patients with alopecia areata (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
GC-GR disorder exists in severe alopecia areata. A decreased GR mRNA expression in the PBMCs can be involved in the pathogenesis of severe alopecia areata, and such pathological changes at the receptor and genetic levels might also serve as the microscopic basis of liver-kidbey deficiency syndrome in severe alopecia areata.


The paper motivates a new, musical, view on rhythmic variation that focuses on accent and pause distributions on the intonational phrase level and views accenthood broadly as an interplay between relative duration, relative intensity and pitch accentuation. The musical approach to rhythmic variation integrates the study of rhythm into the study of the rest of the prosodic landscape and aims to emphasize the importance of syntagmatic rhythmic variables: rhythmic patterns. The musical approach highlights dramatic contrasts in the use of rhythmic and prosodic resources on the part of Melody, a jock, and Judy, a burnout (Eckert 1989, 2000), two stylistic opposites and the stars of our investigation. Melody's IPs are characterized by a single accented syllable which often corresponds to the focal accent, while Judy's IPs contain multiple accented syllables and IP-internal pauses which together comprise a rhythmic pattern. In addition, 'disfluencies' in Judy's speech perform a rhythmic function. Judy's use of rhythmic patterns and the diversity in the phonetic realization of her accents suggest that she is more expressive in her use of prosodic resources, while Melody's rhythmic strategies reflect information structure. This working paper is available in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/


This research guide will help you to do research in sociology, for classroom assignments, research papers, or to explore a career in sociology.


We have developed the facile solvothermal decomposition route to fabricate a single phase zinc bismuthate (ZnBi38O60) binary composite nanostructure. Interestingly, the proposed technique provides a new pathway to synthesize similar multi compound oxide materials. The prepared ZnBi38O60 was characterized by different analytical techniques. Typical crystalline phase and chemical composition were confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectra. Unique nanobundle morphology of the ZnBi38O60 was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). A glassy carbon electrode modified using ZnBi38O60 nanobundles as the electrocatalyst was used to qualitatively and quantitatively determine 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The modified electrode exhibits better sensitivity (1.024 μA μM−1 cm−2) and limit of detection (LOD) 35 × 10−9 M. Thereby it can be concluded that ZnBi38O60 nanobundles could be another choice of electrocatalyst for 4-NP determination and can be extended to various nitro containing analytes.


Using the case of groundwater pollution in Nigeria's Niger Delta, this paper examines the shifting contours of primitive accumulation in the region. Based on two years of ethnographic research, the paper unravels the losses experienced by individuals and their dependents whose privately owned sources of water were polluted. It argues that the groundwater pollution is a deadly but less discussed form of primitive accumulation that has strong implications for peace and development in the affected communities. The paper concludes that accumulation by dispossession driven by oil exploration in the Niger Delta operates in complex ways and generates multifaceted crises; as such, the prospects for resolving the conflicts lie in addressing various strands of the dispossession, including groundwater pollution in the region.


Since 1998, the government of Uganda has formulated traffic rules for road drivers, set penalties for violation of these rules and deployed traffic personnel to enforce compliance. However, there is continued non-compliance with these rules, particularly among drivers of personal vehicles on Kampala roads. It is likely that the actions of these drivers are influenced by individual or social perceptions and pressures (social norms). These social norms include injunctive norms (influences from people that drivers respect), descriptive norms (influences from other drivers' behaviour) and perceived behaviour control (drivers exploiting available opportunities). The study explores the existence of these norms among drivers of personal vehicles and analyses the way the norms affect compliance with road traffic rules when moderated by road obstructions and control systems in Kampala, Uganda.


Welcome to inaugural issue of international journal of therapies and rehabilitation
research (IJTRR). IJTRR is an international peer reviewed multidisciplinary online journal.
IJTRR aim to promote advancement in the field of physiotherapy, occupational therapy,
prosthetics and orthotics, rehabilitation medicine, special education, yoga therapy, speech
and language therapy, rehabilitation nursing, psychology, medico-social work, vocational
rehabilitation, and alternative medicine related to disability.
IJTRR online issue break the brick wall and allows easy, timely and free access to
the articles. IJTRR aims to support novel researchers to gain scientific knowledge through
free access and promote further researches in the field of rehabilitation medicine.


There are many lessons to be learned from the Vietnam War, foremost among them being that war as an instrument of peace is not viable. Solheim provides a full picture of the war era at home and in Southeast Asia by combining historical narrative with biographical profiles and personal reflections. He allows the story to unfold in multiple layers, as seen through the eyes of those who were involved on all sides of the conflict: the North Vietnamese, the South Vietnamese, the American generals and politicians, and the American war correspondents and antiwar protestors. With this book, Solheim explores, and hopes to answer, vital questions about the American war in Vietnam. What is the meaning and significance of the Vietnam War for Americans today? What lessons have Americans learned from our defeat and how should we apply that knowledge in implementing current foreign policy? Who or what is to be blamed for the loss in Vietnam? How can we heal our nation from the Vietnam War syndrome? How do we fit the Vietnam War era into our greater historical narrative?


The Witzand Formation forms the youngest subdivision of the Cenozoic Sandveld Group and was named after the Witzand homestead about 40 km north of Cape Town, where the formation is well developed. The formation essentially comprises whitish, unconsolidated, coastal calcareous dunes of Holocene age. The combination of a summer- dry Mediterranean climate and the powerful regional, obliquely onshore southerly winds (driven by the South Atlantic Anticyclone) have resulted in the evolution dune plumes that extend up to 15 km inland. The plumes are sporadically distributed along the southern west coast from False Bay to Elands Bay and are best developed updrift (north) of river mouths.


The contribution of atypical protein kinase C (PKC)-zeta to ANG II-accelerated restenosis after endoluminal vascular injury was investigated by using the rat carotid balloon injury model. Exposure of injured arteries to ANG II resulted in an extensive neointimal thickening (1.9 times) compared with vehicle at day 14. Treatment with PKC-zeta antisense, but not scrambled, oligonucleotides reduced neointimal formation observed in the presence or absence of ANG II. Examination of early events (2 days) after injury showed an increase in cellularity in the perivascular area of the artery wall that was transferred to the adventitia and media after exposure to ANG II, events blocked by PKC-zeta antisense, but not scrambled, oligonucleotides. A positive correlation between medial cellularity at day 2 and extent of neointimal growth at day 14 was established. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that upregulation of inflammatory markers after injury, as well as infiltration of ED1(+) monocytes/macrophages from the perivascular area to the adventitia, was accelerated by ANG II. However, ANG II-stimulated medial increase in cellularity was proliferation independent, and these cells were monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(+)/vimentin(+) but ED1(-)/VCAM(-). PKC-zeta is degraded after injury, and inhibition of its neosynthesis in medial vascular smooth muscle cells or in infiltrating cells with PKC-zeta antisense attenuated medial cellularity and expression of inflammation mediators without reversing smooth muscle cell dedifferentiation. Together, these data indicate that PKC-zeta plays a critical role in normal and ANG II-accelerated neointimal growth through a mechanism involving upregulation of inflammatory mediators, leading to cell infiltration in the media of the vascular wall.


Jungian psychologist Liliane Frey-Rohn describes the psychological factors that brought Nietzsche into the depths of his own nature through a process in which sacrifice, loss and intense loneliness alternated with hero worship and "audacious self-glorification". In this book, a number of human problems are explored and discussed in relation to the brilliant but haunted biography of the 19th century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. The problem of good and evil, the search for personal truth, the questions of nihilism and lifes meaning, and the dangers of self-inflation in the wake of religious experience are each considered in this in-depth psychological analysis. The author sheds new light on Nietzsches extraordinary life and work, illuminating many aspects of his personal spiritual struggle, while providing insights into some of the most basic and problematic questions that confront us all.


We present demonstrations of the GEO label Web services and their integration into a prototype extension of the GEOSS portal (http://scgeoviqua.sapienzaconsulting.com/web/guest/geo_home), the GMU portal (http://gis.csiss.gmu.edu/GADMFS/) and a GeoNetwork catalog application (http://uncertdata.aston.ac.uk:8080/geonetwork/srv/eng/main.home). The GEO label is designed to communicate, and facilitate interrogation of, geospatial quality information with a view to supporting efficient and effective dataset selection on the basis of quality, trustworthiness and fitness for use. The GEO label which we propose was developed and evaluated according to a user-centred design (UCD) approach in order to maximise the likelihood of user acceptance once deployed. The resulting label is dynamically generated from producer metadata in ISO or FDGC format, and incorporates user feedback on dataset usage, ratings and discovered issues, in order to supply a highly informative summary of metadata completeness and quality. The label was easily incorporated into a community portal as part of the GEO Architecture Implementation Programme (AIP-6) and has been successfully integrated into a prototype extension of the GEOSS portal, as well as the popular metadata catalog and editor, GeoNetwork. The design of the GEO label was based on 4 user studies conducted to: (1) elicit initial user requirements; (2) investigate initial user views on the concept of a GEO label and its potential role; (3) evaluate prototype label visualizations; and (4) evaluate and validate physical GEO label prototypes. The results of these studies indicated that users and producers support the concept of a label with drill-down interrogation facility, combining eight geospatial data informational aspects, namely: producer profile, producer comments, lineage information, standards compliance, quality information, user feedback, expert reviews, and citations information. These are delivered as eight facets of a wheel-like label, which are coloured according to metadata availability and are clickable to allow a user to engage with the original metadata and explore specific aspects in more detail. To support this graphical representation and allow for wider deployment architectures we have implemented two Web services, a PHP and a Java implementation, that generate GEO label representations by combining producer metadata (from standard catalogues or other published locations) with structured user feedback. Both services accept encoded URLs of publicly available metadata documents or metadata XML files as HTTP POST and GET requests and apply XPath and XSLT mappings to transform producer and feedback XML documents into clickable SVG GEO label representations. The label and services are underpinned by two XML-based quality models. The first is a producer model that extends ISO 19115 and 19157 to allow fuller citation of reference data, presentation of pixel- and dataset- level statistical quality information, and encoding of 'traceability' information on the lineage of an actual quality assessment. The second is a user quality model (realised as a feedback server and client) which allows reporting and query of ratings, usage reports, citations, comments and other domain knowledge. Both services are Open Source and are available on GitHub at https://github.com/lushv/geolabel-service and https://github.com/52North/GEO-label-java. The functionality of these services can be tested using our GEO label generation demos, available online at http://www.geolabel.net/demo.html and http://geoviqua.dev.52north.org/glbservice/index.jsf.


HUMAN MAST CELL TRYPTASE ISOZYMES: SEPARATION AND EXAMINATION OF STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCES fay Susan S. Little Tryptases are trypsin-like enzymes found in mast cell granules. Although in vivo substrates have not been positively identified, tryptases cleave a limited number of potential physiological substrates in vitro, including high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Purified human lung mast cell tryptase (HLT) apparently exists as a tetramer with an M, of 135-144 kDa by gel filtration, whereas SDS-PAGE yielded two bands of M, 29 Kda and 33 Kda. Tryptases are resistant to inhibition by most natural trypsin inhibitors and display some affinity for heparin. The existence of tryptase isozymes has been implied from the cloning of two tryptase cDNAs from human lung tissue, but distinct isozymes have not been isolated and characterized. This knowledge gap has been filled by isolating and characterizing two electrophoretically different forms of human lung mast cell tryptase, designated high-HLT (high molecular weight HLT) and low-HLT (low molecular weight HLT). These two forms of HLT have been separated by chromatography on a cellulose phosphate column, with the high M, form eluting with 10 yM heparin and the low M, form subsequently eluting with 1 M NaCl. Using HMWK and VIP as substrates, these two forms of HLT were found to differ with regard to specificity and rate of cleavage. High-HLT initially cleaved HMWK at a single Arg residue, whereas lowHLT cleaved HMWK simultaneously at multiple sites. Both isozymes cleaved VIP at multiple sites, but differed with regard to the preferential site of cleavage. Low-HLT was, on an active site basis, 25 and 2 times more active than high-HLT on HMWK and VIP, respectively. In addition, gel filtration of the isozymes yielded M,s of 125 Kda for highHLT and 28 kDa for low-HLT, indicating tetrameric and monomeric quaternary structures, respectively. Both isozymes were inhibited by human secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor (SLPI), but not by other trypsin inhibitors tested. This work provides the first evidence for the existence of distinct tryptase isozymes, with supposedly different in vivo functions, and identification of an inhibitor that may control tryptase activity in vivo.


ABSTRACT Leguminous crops, particularly winter annuals, have been utilized in conservation systems to partially meet nitrogen (N) requirements of succeeding summer cash crops. Previous research also highlights the benefits of utilizing summer annual legumes in rotation with non-leguminous crops. This study assessed the N contribution of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) residues to a subsequent cotton (Gossypium hirsitum L.) crop in a conservation system on a Dothan sandy loam (fine-loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults) at Headland, AL during the 2003–2005 growing seasons. Treatments were arranged in a split plot design, with main plots of peanut residue retained or removed from the soil surface, and subplots as N application rates (0, 34, 67, and 101 kg ha− 1) applied in fall and spring. Peanut residue did not influence seed cotton yields, leaf N concentrations, or plant N uptake for either growth stage or year of the experiment. There was a trend for peanut residue to increase whole plant biomass measured at the first square in two of three years. Seed cotton yields and plant parameters measured at the first square and mid-bloom responded favorably to spring N applications, but the recommended 101 kg N ha− 1 did not maximize yields. The results from this study indicate that peanut residue does not contribute significant amounts of N to a succeeding cotton crop, however, retaining residue on the soil surface provides other benefits to soils in the southeastern U.S.


Area-based management is an important tool to improve integrated conservation of high seas biodiversity. While States clearly support the need to protect high seas biodiversity, some States remain reluctant to adopt internationally binding measures that may have an impact on high seas freedoms. Since there is limited experience to date with the application of area-based management tools on the high seas, this article examines the practical implications of establishing such measures through an analysis of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) particularly sensitive sea area concept. After providing an overview of the legal complexities associated with the designation of high seas marine protected areas, this article introduces the PSSA concept and identifies the unique features that make it appropriate as a measure for protecting high seas biodiversity. The core of the analysis is an examination of State practice within the IMO in the context of the potential designation of a PSSA in the Southern Ocean.


The employment of green chemistry technique is significantly reducing chemical waste and reaction time has been proven in several organic synthesis and chemical transformation. Synthesis of pharmaceutically important intermediates via knoevenagel and aldol type condensation of substituted aromatic aldehyde with active methylene compounds has been achieved by using aqueous extract of Acacia concinna pods as a green surfactant type catalyst. The low cost, easy availability of the catalyst and simple reaction conditions suggest the possible use of present method for large scale preparations. Moreover, fruits are inexpensive and easily available in the market, and its juice can be extracted easily which can be used as catalyst in the organic transformations. Structures of the compounds were confirmed satisfactorily by spectral analyses such as FTIR, 1H, 13C-NMR, and Mass.


For the past few decades, northwestern North America has been affected by climate warming, leading to perma- frost degradation and instability of the ground. This is problematic for all infrastructure built on permafrost, especially roads and runways. Thaw settlement and soil consolidation promote embankment subsidence and the development of cracks, pot- holes, and depressions in road pavement. In this study, we investigate highway stability in permafrost terrain at an experi- mentally built road embankment near Beaver Creek, Yukon. A network of 25 groundwater monitoring wells was installed along the sides of the road to estimate groundwater flow and its thermal impact on the permafrost beneath the road. Data on topography, water-table elevation, ground temperature, and stratigraphy of the soil were collected at the site. The geo- technical properties of each soil layer were determined by laboratory analysis and used to calibrate a two-dimensional groundwater flow model. Field observations showed that water was progressively losing heat as it flowed under the road embankment. Our results suggest that advective heat transfer related to groundwater flow accelerated permafrost degradation under the road embankment.


The physical properties of grain, such as temperature and moisture content are two key factors in grain storage. Temperature and relative humidity are two crucial factors for stored grain. In this study, three different storage conditions (room temperature at , 25°C; cooling at , 4 °C; and freezing at , -20°C) were investigated. Yellow dent corn (Zea mays L.) maize(variety Blue River 571136) from Iowa, harvested in 2011 was used. Maize grain was stored in two hermetical sealed binsarrels (50-cm diameter x 76-cm height). Five logger sensors were installed inside the cylindrical bin to measure temperature and relative humidity of the maize graingrain. The sensors were located at the top, center, bottom, left and right at about 12 cm part. After placing each barrel into storage condition, temperature and relative humidity values were measured every minute for 9 days throughout the duration of the experiment. Model validation was carried out by comparing predicted with measured maize grain temperature data data in three differences points of plastic cylindrically bin the radial and vertical directions. arrel.The temperature in the hermetically sealed cylindrical bins varied, mostly in the radial direction and very little in the axial vertical directions. No noticeable change in temperature was observed in room condition. Moreover, the temperature in the grain changed more rapidly in the freezing conditions than in the room and cooling conditions. Furthermore, the lag time between the center temperature and the side (right, left, top, and bottom) was greater in the radial direction as compared to vertical temperature. Model validation was carried out by comparing predicted with measured maize temperature data in three differences points of plastic cylindrically barrel. Predicted data were closely followed measured data. The model can be used to predict the grain temperature changes in room, cooling and freezing under hermetic conditions.The maximum difference between predicted and measured temperature was ±1.5°C. The predicted and measured values of maize grain temperature at radial and vertical directions were found to be in good agreement. The model shows a good potential application to predict the temperature of maize grain stored at room, cooling and freezing conditions under hermetic storage.

 Key words: Maize; mathematical model, heat transfer; ggrain temperature, grain storage, hhermetic storage, modeling.


Investigating the crust of northern Baffin Bay provides valuable indications for the still debated evolution of this area. The crust of the southern Melville Bay is examined based on wide‐angle seismic and gravity data. The resulting P wave velocity, density, and geological models give insights into the crustal structure. A stretched and rifted continental crust underneath southern Melville Bay is up to 30 km thick, with crustal velocities ranging between 5.5 and 6.9 km/s. The deep Melville Bay Graben contains a 9 km thick infill with velocities of 4 to 5.2 km/s in its lowermost part. West of the Melville Bay Ridge, a ~80 km wide and partly only 5 km thick Continent‐Ocean Transition (COT) is present. West of the COT, up to 5 km thick sedimentary layers cover a 4.3 to 7 km thick, two‐layered oceanic crust. The upper oceanic layer 2 has velocities of 5.2 to 6.0 km/s; the oceanic layer 3 has been modeled with rather low velocities of 6.3 to 6.9 km/s. Low velocities of 7.8 km/s characterize the probably serpentinized upper mantle underneath the thin crust. The serpentinized upper mantle and low thickness of the oceanic crust are another indication for slow or ultraslow spreading during the formation of the oceanic part of the Baffin Bay. By comparing our results on the crustal structure with other wide‐angle seismic profiles recently published, differences in the geometry and structure of the crust and the overlying sedimentary cover are revealed. Moreover, the type of margin and the extent of crustal types in the Melville Bay area are discussed.


The paper provides a generalization of our previous algorithm for the parallel multiplication of a vector by a Kronecker product of matrices. For any p , a factor of the problem size, our algorithm runs on p processors with a minimum number of communication steps and memory space. Specifically, on p processors with global communication, we show that the multiplication requires at least Θ ( log (p)) communication steps, assuming that there is no computation redundancy. This complexity is revised according to the underlying topology, and some performance results on the CRAY T3E are given.


Learning to represent videos is a very challenging task both algorithmically and computationally. Standard video CNN architectures have been designed by directly extending architectures devised for image understanding to include the time dimension, using modules such as 3D convolutions, or by using two-stream design to capture both appearance and motion in videos. We interpret a video CNN as a collection of multi-stream convolutional blocks connected to each other, and propose the approach of automatically finding neural architectures with better connectivity and spatio-temporal interactions for video understanding. This is done by evolving a population of overly-connected architectures guided by connection weight learning. Architectures combining representations that abstract different input types (i.e., RGB and optical flow) at multiple temporal resolutions are searched for, allowing different types or sources of information to interact with each other. Our method, referred to as AssembleNet, outperforms prior approaches on public video datasets, in some cases by a great margin. We obtain 58.6% mAP on Charades and 34.27% accuracy on Moments-in-Time.


The higher-order interference noise that is caused by multireflection at the fiber sensor's end surface in low-coherence fiber sensor array is proposed. The generation of the higher-order interference noise and its quantity and amplitude are theoretically analyzed. The second-order interference noises are experimentally demonstrated. The results show that the second-order noises arise in any sensor array composed of more than two sensors and the number of the second-order peaks is proportional to the third power of the sensor's number. The ratio of the amplitude of the second-order noise to that of the signal peak is proportional to the reflectivity of the sensor's end surface. In a sensor array, when the reflectivity is more than 10(-5), the amplitude of the second-order noise is higher than other noises and it becomes a main factor that determines the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensor arrays. Therefore, reducing the higher-order interference noise can improve the multiplexing capacity of the sensor array.


Abstract Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) was first detected in north Florida in 1993 feeding on crape myrtle aphids, Sarucallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy) on crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica L. This lady beetle spread rapidly and was instrumental in reducing populations of the yellow pecan aphid complex, Monellia caryella (Fitch) and Monelliopsis pecanis Bissell, in pecan as well as crapemyrtle aphids. Prior to the arrival of H. axyridis to north Florida, the population dynamics of the yellow pecan aphid complex were compared to those of the crapemyrtle aphid and their common arthropod predators. The current study, conducted 8 and 9 years after the arrival of H. axyridis, sampled the same locations and some of the same trees reported previously. This research compares the current aphid and arthropod predator populations with the earlier results to determine the impact of H. axyridis. Prior to the addition of H. axyridis, aphid populations achieved high numbers and the lady beetles, Hippodamia convergens (Guerin-Meneville), Olla v-nigrum (Mulsant), Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer), Cycloneda sanguinea L. and C. munda (Say) were the most frequently observed predators. In 1984-1985, other common predators included the green lacewing, Chrysoperla rufilabris (Burmeister), the brown lacewings, Micromus posticus (Walker), and Hemerobius stigma (Stephens), the mirid, Deraeocorus nebulosus (Uhler), the reduviids, Zelus exsanguis (Stahl) and Sinea spinipes (Herrich-Schaeffer), the hover flies, Allograpta obliqua (Say) and Mesograpta sp., the anthocorid, Orius insidious (Say), and spiders. A parasitoid of pecan aphids, Aphelinus perpallidus Gahan, was also common. Recent sampling showed H. axyridis to be the dominant predator of aphid populations. Populations of the aphids and the native predator and parasitoid species are dramatically reduced. Only spiders and the reduviids, species potentially involved in intraguild predation with H. axyridis, were detected.


A lively portrait of modern dance training that gives today's dancers and students the tools to compare the great classical techniques in the studio. This comparative approach will enable the student to try each technique AZ with sample lessons AZ and to contrast the different philosophies. The author pairs Martha Graham with Doris Humphrey, Katherine Dunham with Lester Horton Jose Limon with Erick Hawkins, Alwin Nikolais/Murray Louis with Merce Cunningham. Paul Taylor has his own chapter, leading to the book's conclusion on how modern dance training is currently approached. Each unit contains core ideas, a series of journaling and discussion topics, improvisation experiments, biographical sketches of the choreographers, and a presentation of class material. At the end of each chapter, questions and experiments offer basic ideas that you can use to further your understanding of the choreography presented. The techniques are placed within historical and cultural contexts, so that we see the interconnectedness of each choreography with history.


Wavelength-modulation spectroscopy with a standard commercial 1.55-microm distributed-feedback diode laser was applied to in situ quantitative measurements of OH radical concentration in combustion environments. The second-harmonic (2f) signal was generated from absorption by the P11.5 (nu', nu") = (2, 0) overtone vibrational transition of OH at 6421.354 cm(-1). The absorption occurred in the postflame region of a two-dimensional laminar counterflow burner (Tsuji burner) with a 60-mm line-of-sight path length. The postflame region lies between propane-air premixed twin flames stabilized in the Tsuji burner at various equivalence ratios (phi = 0.65-1.0). The OH concentrations were determined by least-squares fitting of theoretical f line shapes to the experimental counterparts. The measured OH concentrations were in general agreement with adiabatic chemical equilibrium predictions. The lower limit of OH detectivity by multiline deconvolution was limited by ubiquitous unidentified high-temperature H(2)O transitions.


Integrated aquaculture systems (IAS) are a type of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) where the wastewater is treated and returned to the fish tanks. The important difference between the two is that in an IAS, wastes from the aquaculture component are recovered as fertilizer to produce an agricultural product whereas in an RAS, waste organics, nutrients and solids are treated and discharged. A pilot marine IAS at Mote Aquaculture Research Park in Sarasota, FL was studied for this project. Water quality monitoring, measurements of fish health and growth rates of fish and plants were performed over a two-year period to determine the effectiveness of the system in producing fish and plant products and removing pollutants. The goal of this portion of the project was to develop, calibrate and evaluate a model of the system, to understand the nitrogen transformations within the Mote IAS and to investigate other potential configurations of the Mote IAS.
The model was divided into the various compartments to simulate each stage of the system, which included fish tanks, a drum filter for solids removal, and moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) for nitrification and disinfection. A solids tank after the drum filter was used to store the drum filter effluent slurry, which was then divided between three treatment processes: a geotube, a sand filter followed by a plant bed, and a plant bed alone. Nitrogen species modeled were particulate organic nitrogen (PON), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), ammonium and nitrate. Of the physical components of the IAS, models of the MBBR and the two plant raceways included physical, chemical and biological nitrogen transformation processes. The sand filter, solids tank and geotube models were simple mass balances, incorporating factional removals of each species based on the observed data. Other variables modeled included temperature, dissolved oxygen, volatile suspended solids and chemical oxygen demand concentrations. The model was built in a computer program, STELLATM, to simulate the Mote IAS.
The model calibration involved experimental, literature and calibrated parameters. Parameters were adjusted until the model's output was a best fit to the observed data by minimizing the sum of the squared residuals. During the sensitivity analysis, two model parameters caused large variations in the model output. The denitrifier constant caused the most variation to the model's output followed by the denitrifier fraction of volatile suspended solids.
Of the removal processes, denitrification was the largest nitrogen removal mechanism from the model, accounting for 59% and 55% of the nitrogen removed from the south and north plant raceways respectively. Plant and soil uptake represented only 0.2% of the overall nitrogen removal processes followed by 0.1% by sedimentation.
Finally, the model was used to investigate other treatment designs if the Mote IAS was redesigned. The first option involved a geotube and one plant raceway in series to treat the solid waste while the second option did…


Title of Dissertation: ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATORY PLANNED CONSERVATION POLICIES IN THE NEGRIL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA, WESTERN JAMAICA Lovette Miller Anderson, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Dissertation directed by: Professor Ruth Defries Department of Geography This dissertation research sought to determine the ways in which the participatoryplanned conservation policies influence changes in local populations' natural resource use. The research took place in the Negril Environmental Protection Area, western Jamaica and covered the period 1990 to 2005. The two major questions asked were 1) In what ways do participatory-planned conservation policies influence changes in the protected area's natural resource use? 2) How does group membership and demography influence the perception of the conservation policies and of changes in natural resource use? The research employed trend analyses, content analyses, a population survey, discriminant analyses and semi-structured interviews to answer the research questions. In general, the research finds that national socioeconomic development interests were given priority over the participatory-planned conservation policies. The changes in local populations' natural resource use were primarily due to the national socioeconomic policies that were in place prior to the protected area designation as well as those that were implemented during the study period. Second, the research finds that, in general, groups that have shared histories were homogeneous in their views of conservation and/or development. In contrast, newer entrants to the protected area were generally heterogeneous in their views of conservation and/or development. Further, the research finds that changes in the demographic characteristics of local populations significantly influence the perception of conservation and development. For example, respondents who were relatively new to the protected area generally had a positive perception of conservation and of the decline in fishing jobs. In contrast, respondents who have lived there relatively longer had a negative perception of conservation and of the decline in fishing jobs. By examining the complexity of implementing the participatory-planned conservation policies in Negril's postcolonial and non-colonial socioeconomic and political landscape, this research extends the discourse on protected areas from large, relatively low populated areas to the complex geographic landscapes that currently describe some newer protected areas. ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATORY-PLANNDED CONSERVATION POLICIES IN THE NEGRIL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA, WESTERN, JAMAICA


Abstract I propose in this paper to look at a new area of concern which appears in Walcott's poetry since he left Trinidad to reside in the United States.' The two volumes appearing since then, The Fortunate Traveller (19^2) and Midsummer (1984), are interesting for what they document of his responses to this change of scene. Most outstanding in this respect is the heightened awareness, on Walcott's part, of the contemporary reality of an international milieu, turning as it does on the axis of relations between the super powers and the Third World, between the metropolitan North and the underdeveloped South. I will focus on Midsummer to examine Walcott's engagement with this particular concern.


Many life-critical systems are required to operate without a system failure for a given period of time. Examples are nuclear, aerospace, spacecraft and other such systems. Many of these applications are either storage intensive or real time intensive, hence it is crucial to look at the reliability improvements of computer systems, mainly storage and real time systems. With respect to storage system reliability, in the business arena, data preservation and data mining has proven to be a boon in shaping business strategy. For individuals, storage is being called upon to preserve sentimental and historical artifacts such as photos, movies and personal documents. In both these areas, storage must keep pace with a growing need for efficient, reliable, long term storage. When it comes to real time systems, performance is their most important characteristic - right up until the point where it stops working. Then, suddenly, you don't care how fast it is - or rather, was. You just want it to start working again. The importance of reliability in both storage and real time systems is made clear by the above statements. Reliability of these two computer systems can be affected by a wide range of novel technologies, including energy conservation techniques and security mechanisms. In what follows, we describe two challenging issues of improving reliability in storage systems and real-time systems. The first issue is improving reliability and energy efficiency of storage systems, the second challenge is the improvement of reliability and security in real time systems.
Modern day storage systems offer high levels of performance and disk capacity at low costs. In this dissertation, we propose methods for building energy-efficient and reliable large scale storage systems. The primary focus of our research is to achieve the twin goals of maximizing reliability and minimizing energy consumption by incorporating these energy-efficient and reliable techniques to large scale storage systems. The experimental results using both synthetic and real world applications (traces) have shown that the energy consumption could be significantly reduced while guaranteeing maximum reliability for storage disks with a marginal degradation of performance.
Reliability of real time systems, second challenging issue, is studied in the later part of the dissertation. For real-time embedded systems we proposed techniques to integrate fault recovery and security services in real time embedded systems. Simulation results show that our techniques can significantly improve security over the conventional approaches, while achieving an efficient means of fault recovery.