The majority of studies on identity in the discipline of International Relations have analysed identities from an analytical perspective of distance; they elide the fact that identities are situated productions which unfold in specific contexts and through different forms of signification. In this article, I seek to work towards greater attentiveness to the situatedness of identities. I propose a reconsideration of the concept of discourse for situating identities and argue that ethnography can be a useful methodology for analysing the discursive construction of identities in micro-settings. This conceptual argument is illustrated by drawing on data from ethnographic research within Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), a Russian elite university. I analyse how identification with Europe shifts across multiple contexts as it is enacted in everyday life and represented in the multiple processes of studying international relations at this educational institution. Foregrounding the situatedness of identities in this way brings their ambiguities and instabilities into view, while cautioning against an all-too-easy universalization in identity research.


Using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), Candida albicans can be subdivided into 18 different clades. Farnesol, a quorum-sensing molecule secreted by C. albicans, is thought to play an important role in the development of C. albicans biofilms and is also a virulence factor. This study evaluated whether C. albicans bloodstream infection (BSI) strains belonging to different MLST clades secrete different levels of E,E-farnesol (FOH) and whether they have different clinical characteristics. In total, 149 C. albicans BSI isolates from ten Korean hospitals belonging to clades 18 (n = 28), 4 (n = 23), 1 (n = 22), 12 (n = 17), and other clades (n = 59) were assessed. For each isolate, the FOH level in 24-hour biofilms was determined in filtered (0.45 μm) culture supernatant using high-performance liquid chromatography. Marked differences in FOH secretion from biofilms (0.10–6.99 μM) were observed among the 149 BSI isolates. Clade 18 isolates secreted significantly more FOH than did non-clade 18 isolates (mean ± SEM; 2.66 ± 0.22 vs. 1.69 ± 0.10 μM; P < 0.001). Patients with isolates belonging to clade 18 had a lower mean severity of illness than other patients, as measured using the "acute physiology and chronic health evaluation" (APACHE) III score (14.4 ± 1.1 vs. 18.0 ± 0.7; P < 0.05). This study provides evidence that C. albicans BSI isolates belonging to the most prevalent MLST clade (clade 18) in Korea are characterized by increased levels of FOH secretion and less severe illness.


Textual analysis places great emphasis on determining the development and direction of authorial intention to illuminate a text's layers of meaning. How, though, is one to determine the development of authorial intention in a text that appears to remove the traditional human author? This paper explores issues of authorship presented to genetic criticism (critique génétique) by algorithmically-produced texts – that is, texts produced through programmed logic in a computer rather than through direct human agency – such as those of the Twitter bot Pentametron (twitter.com/pentametron). This paper considers the perceived importance of authorship and human agency in the creation of a text. Algorithmic texts challenge contemporary notions of textual creation and development, in turn posing challenges to genetic criticism that are similar to those posed by cut-up texts in other media. This paper argues that Pentametron's rather nonsensical algorithmic output stresses the reader's responsibility for meaning-making, and suggests that such algorithmic texts are not so much final texts to be subjected to genetic critique themselves, but are more aptly considered to be forms of avant-texte. These avant-textes serve as inspiration for human-computer symbioses, for re-creations wherein readers make sense out of the seemingly senseless.


Evaluation of: Koreth J, Pidala J, Perez WS et al. Role of reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in older patients with de novo myelodysplastic syndromes: an international collaborative decision analysis. J. Clin. Oncol. 31(21), 2662–2670 (2013). Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) include a group of hematopoietic malignancies characterized by dysplastic changes, ineffective hematopoiesis and variable risk of leukemic progression. At diagnosis, 86% of MDS patients are ≥60 years. Azacitidine, the only drug that prolongs life in high-risk (HR)-MDS patients, adds a median of only 9.5 months to life. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) remains the only potentially curative approach. Despite recent improvements including use of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) that decrease transplant-related mortality, alloSCT continues to be used rarely in elderly MDS. There is paucity of data regarding outcomes of RIC alloSCT in elderly MDS patients, especially in direct comparison with azanucleosides. In this paper, the authors discuss the recent Markov decision analysis by Koreth et al. in which investigators demonstrated superior survival of patients with HR-MDS aged 60–70 years who underwent RIC alloSCT in comparison with those who were treated with azanucleosides.


Abstract: Understanding how species assemblages are structured in relation to environmental variation is a central issue in community ecology. However, factors that create regional variation in relative species abundances have been little studied due to the rarity of large-scale datasets. Here, we investigated a large dataset (30 180 0.5-ha plots spread over 1 600 000 ha) gathered from forest planning inventories in the semi-deciduous forest of the south western Central African Republic. We used Correspondence Analysis and Non-Symmetric Correspondence Analysis on Instrumental Variables to analyse variation in the abundance of 73 common tree species in relation to soil type, rainfall and proximity to villages. Together, environmental variables explained 10.3% of multi-species floristic variation among plots, and the regional spatial structure almost disappeared when the effects of these variables were removed. A Trend Surface Analysis using a third order polynomial function of the geographical coordinates of the plots explained 14.5% of the floristic variation and more than 75% of this variation was explained by environmental variables. Sandy soil was the most influential factor affecting floristic composition. Residual spatial variation not explained by the environmental variables probably reflects the natural and anthropogenic history of the vegetation.


The surge of the power conversion efficiency of metal halide lead perovskite solar cells comes with concerns, such as the long‐term ecotoxicity of lead compounds, their sensitivity toward moisture and oxygen, or the scarcity of some of their components. Most perovskite solar cells still suffer from serious stability problems when measured under real working conditions (maximum power point tracking at 60°C). In the long run, stability will certainly decide on the fate of CH3NH3PbI3 and related lead perovskites for their use in photovoltaic modules. Herein, we show an effective and inexpensive strategy to perform ageing of perovskite solar cells under maximum power point tracking. For the first time, we analyze the issue of power extraction from solar cells exhibiting hysteresis. We show that a standard tracking algorithm such as perturb and observe fails to converge to the maximum power point of the solar cell if it exhibits j(V) hysteresis, and we present an effective strategy to stabilize the algorithm. We show that enforcing oscillations in forward bias can boost the mean power output of some perovskite solar cells by more than 10%, in contrast to a reference crystalline silicon solar cell. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Within the Proterozoic rocks of the Rocky Cape
Geanticline in north-west Tasmania, three contrasting
sedimentary assemblages are recognised.
The Rocky Cape Group, which has been previously
used very broadly, is redefined to include only one
of these assemblages. The revised definition
includes the orthoquartzite, siltstone and shale
which form a continuous sequence in the Rocky
Cape area. Some new formations are defined.
The Smithton Dolomite, and related rocks, unconformably
overlie the Rocky Cape Group to the west
at Black River. The Burnie Formation is a thick
sequence flanking the Rocky Cape Group to the
east. The Rocky Cape Group and the Burnie
Formation are separated by the Keith Metamorphics,
which is a belt of low grade regional metamorphic
greenschist, amphibolite and pelitic schist.


The selection of formwork systems in high-rise buildings is often governed by their competence in optimizing concrete activities in an isolated manner, without relating this choice to the entire construction workflow. Known research efforts do not address this important aspect in analyzing high-rise formwork technologies, and formwork selection is usually left to constructors' experience, and corresponding organizational knowledge. In this context, this paper studies the role of formwork systems in high-rise construction from a lean perspective and analyzes this role in shaping not only the progress of concrete activities, but the entire construction sequence. Employing lean concepts, the paper investigates advanced high-rise formwork systems versus traditional ones to better advise scholars and practitioners. Results highlight the importance of advanced high-rise formwork systems in streamlining the workflow of concrete and other downstream activities, allowing for more waste reduction, smaller work batches, less inventory, and safer working environment. This study is a conceptual framework for future related works involving case studies and field investigations, and may be further developed to target more aspects of high-rise construction.


Earthquake ruptures comprise spatially varying slip on the fault surface, where slip represents the displacement discontinuity between the two sides of the rupture plane. In this study, we analyze the probability distribution of coseismic slip, which provides important information to better understand earthquake source physics. Although the probability distribution of slip is crucial for generating realistic rupture scenarios for simulation‐based seismic and tsunami‐hazard analysis, the statistical properties of earthquake slip have received limited attention so far. Here, we use the online database of earthquake source models (SRCMOD) to show that the probability distribution of slip follows the truncated exponential law. This law agrees with rupture‐specific physical constraints limiting the maximum possible slip on the fault, similar to physical constraints on maximum earthquake magnitudes. We show the parameters of the best‐fitting truncated exponential distribution scale with average coseismic slip. This scaling property reflects the control of the underlying stress distribution and fault strength on the rupture dimensions, which determines the average slip. Thus, the scale‐dependent behavior of slip heterogeneity is captured by the probability distribution of slip. We conclude that the truncated exponential law accurately quantifies coseismic slip distribution and therefore allows for more realistic modeling of rupture scenarios.

Online Material: Figures showing scaling of slip area with seismic moment and Q – Q plots and tables listing earthquakes, rupture models, and fits of various distributions to the empirical probability distribution.


In this study we explore and analyse a virtual network-centred incubator model called the Water Innovation Accelerator (WIN). The incubator model has been designed and implemented in Sweden to enable and orchestrate water-related innovative solutions by connecting different players via organized networks. Framed by theory and research on open innovation, incubation models, and entrepreneurial networks we provide an overview of the overall design, management and organization of WIN. We also analyse and assess the working and performance of WIN with respect to its purpose to aid the development and market uptake of water related innovative solutions via its entrepreneurial network. Our findings offer theoretical and empirical insights to researchers, policy makers and incubation managers that may aid current and future efforts to accelerate water innovation. (Less)


Reflective teaching has become a dominant paradigm in second language teacher education in recent years. This paper reviews the conceptions and practice of reflective teaching in second language teacher education. The first part of the paper identifies five orientations to reflective teaching in the training and development of second language teachers: reflective teaching as thoughtful practice, as a model of teacher preparation, as organized pro fessional development, as classroom inquiry, and as a means to social justice. The second part of the paper outlines the methods and strategies that have been proposed for implementing reflective teaching in preservice teacher education programmes and in professional development activities for serv ing language teachers. The paper finishes with a critique of reflective teach ing as it is conceived and practised in second language teacher education. This review will show that in the field of second language teacher education, more effort is needed in defining reflective teaching and reflection, and in researching the process of language teachers' reflection and its effect on classroom teaching.


As pharmacists, we project ourselves as realistic people with scientific training. We base our assumptions on empirical evidence and are supposed to be rational in our outlook on life. On a much broader and more subjective level, private experiences, curiosity, inquiry, and the selectivity involved in personal interpretation of events shape an individual's reality. This is called phenomenological reality. The word phenomenology is derived from the Greek phainomenon, meaning "that which appears", and logos, meaning "study". In other words, the reality in which we live relates to what appears to happen, rather than to what is actually happening.


In many industries today, the speed and costs with which new products are delivered to customers provide the basis for competitive advantage. Electronic business (e-business) is a concept that shortens the "time to market" and enables transacting at lower costs. Currently, one of the main limitations in the exploitation of e-business is the lack of efficient Information System (IS) integration, both in intra- and cross-enterprise environments. Intra-enterprise integration is complex, as the business needs and the underlying information systems do not evolve in accordance. In the cross-enterprise context, transparent system integration is hardly achievable due to the incompatibility of the services of the involved partners. This means that the future success of the integration depends heavily on the possibilities offered in terms of interoperability among the involved enterprises. The Business Process Management (BPM) discipline addresses this challenge, as processes have been recognized as key mechanisms through which most intra- and cross-enterprise interactions take place. The development of methods for successful integration of process models is one of the essential issues for the use of the BPM approach in the application and evolution of e-business. In this thesis, we address two topics in the area of business process management: 1) intra-enterprise process integration which concerns alignment between the internal business processes and information systems enclosed in the form of software services and 2) cross-enterprise integration which concerns coordination of the internal business processes of an enterprise with the processes of its suppliers, intermediaries, or customers. The goal of the thesis is to add theoretical and applicable knowledge to the field of business process management by using the proposed approaches for improvement of process integration in intra- and cross-enterprise contexts.


Building performance simulation (BPS) is the basis for informed decision-making of Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) design. This paper aims to investigate the use of building performance simulation tools as a method of informing the design decision of NZEBs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a simulationbased decision aid, ZEBO, on informed decision-making using sensitivity analysis. The objective is to assess the effect of ZEBO and other building performance simulation (BPS) tools on three specific outcomes: (i) knowledge and satisfaction when using simulation for NZEB design; (ii) users' decision-making attitudes and patterns, and (iii) performance robustness based on an energy analysis. The paper utilizes three design case studies comprising a framework to test the use of BPS tools. The paper provides results that shed light on the effectiveness of sensitivity analysis as an approach for informing the design decisions of NZEBs.


We present a study that identifies student behavior during a college-level, project oriented, and online, compilers course. Assessment of behavior characterized as skills and knowledge under these circumstances is hard to achieve, but useful for effective coaching. Such capacities are commonly induced using tools derived from behavioral and cognitive sciences: psychology, linguistics and cognitive sciences (PLICS). Qualitative and quantitative evidence can be interpreted during coaching to detect flaws during learning: teamwork conflicts, absence of knowledge acquisition, or sheer lack of interest. We contribute by demonstrating Internet-assisted coaching methods for motivating students to learn cooperatively while acquiring key capacities and managing social conflicts such as competition and individualism. We show how the instructor crafts negotiations and performs key actions for helping learners complete an IT consulting project with clear goals, restrictions, and deliverables. These serve as relevant guidelines for project oriented learning (POL) and help assess PLICS usage on e-learning courseware.


PURPOSE
To establish a rabbit dry eye model with topical medication of the ocular preparation preservative benzalkonium chloride (BAC).

METHODS
Sixteen white rabbits were used. One eye of each rabbit was chosen randomly for topical administration of 0.1% BAC twice daily for 14 days. The other untreated eyes served as controls. Schirmer test, fluorescein, and rose bengal staining were performed before and after BAC treatment on days 3, 5, 7, and 14. Conjunctiva impression cytology specimens were collected on days 0, 7, and 14. The rabbits were killed after day 14. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to detect mucin-5 subtype AC (MUC5AC) on conjunctival cryosections. Cornea and conjunctiva structures were evaluated by light and electron microscopy.

RESULTS
Compared with untreated controls, BAC-treated eyes showed significant decreases in Schirmer scores (P = 0.01) and increases in fluorescein scores (P < 0.001) on days 5, 7, and 14. A significant increase in rose bengal scores was noticed as early as day 3 (P = 0.001). Decreases in goblet cell density occurred on days 7 and 14 (P = 0.001). Decreased MUC5AC and histopathologic and ultrastructural disorders of the cornea and conjunctiva were also observed in the BAC group.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrated that an ophthalmic preservative, benzalkonium chloride, induced a dry eye syndrome in rabbits with damage to the cornea and conjunctiva, decreased aqueous tear basal secretion, goblet cell loss, and MUC5AC deficiency. This rabbit model was consistent with human dry eye syndrome in both aqueous tear and mucin deficiency and may be appropriate for studying dry eye syndrome.


Occupational therapists have used many media and methods over the years to achieve the therapeutic potential of occupational therapy. Yet the reasons for selecting a specific medium or method frequently have been lost or changed without consideration of the result to the therapeutic situation. When neither therapist nor patient understands fully the rationale for a medium or method, the therapeutic potential of that medium or method may be compromised. The author suggests there are eight factors that influence the selection and discarding of media and methods in the practice of occupational therapy. The effects of the eight factors can be summarized in 14 assumptions. Three examples--arts and crafts, sanding blocks, and work-related programs--are used to illustrate the factors and assumptions. It is suggested that improved analysis of occupations based on values and interests could reduce the separation of meaning and purpose in the selection and discarding of media and methods used in occupational therapy practice.


"A riveting portrait of the new Russia." (Tina Brown). "Pomerantsev is one of the most brilliant observers of Putin's Russia...an electrifying, terrifying book." (Anne Applebaum). "Unflinching, tragic and profound." (AD Miller, author of SNOWDROPS). A journey into the glittering, surreal heart of 21st century Russia: into the lives of Hells Angels convinced they are messiahs, professional killers with the souls of artists, bohemian theatre directors turned Kremlin puppet-masters, supermodel sects, post-modern dictators and oligarch revolutionaries. This is a world erupting with new money and new power, changing so fast it breaks all sense of reality, where life is seen as a whirling, glamorous masquerade where identities can be switched and all values are changeable. It is home to a new form of authoritarianism, far subtler than 20th century strains, and which is rapidly expanding to challenge the global order. An extraordinary book - one which is as powerful and entertaining as it is troubling - Nothing is True and Everything is Possible offers a wild ride into this political and ethical vacuum.


Dams affect rivers and other freshwater ecosystems around the world. The structural performance and service delivery of many dams has seldom been assessed; many are unsafe and no longer deliver designed benefits. Changes in hydrology from climate change will require assessment of safety and operations of infrastructure. This creates an opportunity during relicensing for modification or removal of dams to render them safe, maximise their services and minimise social and environmental impacts. We examined case studies of reassessment of dams from Australia (New South Wales), China, France and the United States that illustrated the following: the management challenge of aging and unsafe dams; unrealised opportunities to improve environmental, social and economic benefits; and the benefits of inventory and relicensing systems. Key elements of an ideal regulatory system to optimise water infrastructure performance are identified, comprising periodic (time-limited) relicensing of all infrastructure overseen by an independent regulatory agency that would take decisions in the public interest through a transparent process, involving public participation. Each dam would have an identified owner who must apply best-available technologies to maximise safety, socioeconomic and environmental performance. Dam renovation could minimise current non-climate impacts, improve migration of aquatic wildlife and even attenuate some climate impacts on freshwater biota.


This article examines the historical relation between oil price movements and both public and private equity investments in the energy sector. By utilizing two proprietary private equity databases (one at the fund level and the other at the company level), the authors are able to show that investments in energy-focused private equity offer diversification benefits relative to similarly focused public equity and direct energy commodity investments. They find that public equity investments perform better than direct investments in energy commodities. Energy-focused private equity outperforms energy-focused public equity. A nonlinear relationship between the returns on energy-focused equity investments (both public and private) and energy prices over multiyear investment periods suggests that equity investments may capture more upside exposure to energy prices over sufficiently long holding periods. This effect, which may be related to the real and financial options embedded in equities, appears stronger for private equity. The authors conclude that investors with a liquidity preference would have favored energy-focused public equities to direct energy commodity investments. Investors willing to tolerate lower liquidity and preferring greater diversification would have benefited from allocating disproportionately to energy-focused private equity.


Central to debate about the age, origin, and evolution of Grand Canyon (southwestern United States) is the history of the Colorado River and its precursors. Reversal of dextral slip along the San Andreas fault system since the early Pliocene restores southern California to the downstream end of the Colorado River. If the Colorado River flowed to the Pacific Ocean prior to 6 Ma, then its sand would have the distinctive detrital-zircon age distributions of upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata of the Colorado Plateau, which contain 30%–46% 300–1100 Ma zircon originally transported from orogenic belts of southeastern Laurentia. In contrast, age distributions of 6662 detrital zircons from 167 Upper Cretaceous–Pliocene sandstone samples from southern California average 44%–88% Cretaceous, with only 0.4%–1.3% 300–1100 Ma grains, most of which can be attributed to local recycling from older deposits. No individual Upper Cretaceous to Pliocene sandstone sample from southern California contains >3% 300–1100 Ma zircon. Although Paleogene headwaters of southern California rivers extended into the eastern Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Mogollon Highlands, our results indicate that these headwaters did not extend as far as the Colorado Plateau. This conclusion conflicts with the hypothesis of a Paleogene southwest-flowing Arizona River, but supports late Miocene–Pliocene drainage reorganization and integration of the Colorado River coincident with development of the Salton Trough and Gulf of California.


Computational neuroscience attempts to build models of the brain that break cognition into basic elements. Here we study time perception in artificial brains, evolved over thousands of generations to judge the duration of tones, and compare the evolved brains' behavioral characteristics to human subjects performing the same task. We observe substantial similari-ties in psychometric properties in human subjects and digital brains with very similar perception artifacts, but also see differences due to different selective pressures during training or evolution. Our findings suggests that digital experimentation using brains evolved within a computer can advance compu- tational cognitive neuroscience by discovering new cognitive mechanisms and heuristics.


Operating small industrial equipment such as measuring instruments, sensors or weather stations, at remote locations requires reliable off-grid power supplies. The most common solution are large batteries, even though there are some inconveniences for the operator. Especially in northern regions, batteries can freeze during winter and suffer non-reparable damage. The exchange is strenuous at remote locations, due to the large weight and size of lead batteries. A more favourable and economic solution would be a fuel cell system, equipped for winter conditions, to supply the electrical energy. Another energy source that is often used, but not ideal, are photovoltaic modules (PV-modules). A common problem is that the PV-modules cannot cover the energy demand of the equipment during winter because the irradiation is very low. These facts suggest the development of a combination of PV-modules with fuel cells to get a more efficient, hybrid, energy supply. Existing energy supplies using PV-modules can be stocked up with a fuel cell easily, while new systems can be developed and laid out as hybrid systems. The object of this project is to develop a hybrid system consisting of a SFC A50 fuel cell and a PV-module. This hybrid system is meant to provide off-grid electrical equipment with a nominal power between 1 W and 20 W with energy. Numerous calculations were done using an idealized model, to optimise the system components for one specific application. The results have been verified in preliminary experiments. A demonstrator system consisting of a SFC A50, an Evergreen EC 110 PV-Module, a lead-acid battery and a charge regulator was built based on the optimisation. The components were assembled in a weather-proof cabinet. To improve the winter suitability of the SFC A50 system, a special insulation and a heat sink were added. The demonstrator was tested successfully over a time period of eight weeks, at temperatures between -35degC and 30degC. During this time, it was possible to improve the demonstrator's reliability so far that the construction of further test systems was planned. Currently (winter 2004/05), SFC has five systems running at different locations (e.g. Norway, Bavaria, Alps) afield


At a superficial glance, Internal Revenue Code Section 892 appears to favor sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) over foreign private investors by exempting the former from tax on a significant range of US investments. This has recently led to calls for its abolition. Several authors, however, have challenged this view by pointing out that the impact of US tax on the relative competitiveness of SWFs and private investors should be analyzed in terms of the investors' comparative, not absolute, advantage. And such analysis hinges on whether foreign private investors are taxed by their home countries on a worldwide basis, as well as on how SWFs are taxed in other countries where they invest. In support of these challenges, I discuss two hitherto under-noticed facts: the prevalence of the practice of worldwide taxation among countries generating the most investments into the US, and the fact that SWFs themselves may be taxed at home. Both buttress the conclusion that current US tax law is unlikely to have disadvantaged private investors. Moreover, the institutional characteristics SWFs imply that they lie in between foreign government pension funds and commercial state-owned enterprises. Changing current US tax law would unjustifiably hurt the former group of foreign investors, while having no policy effect on the latter, more controversial group of investors.


With every replication, mammalian genomes accumulate point mutations in patterns that reflect the local chemical activity of intrinsic and extrinsic mutagenic processes. Over generations of cell replications, these patterns become a historical record of the identity and duration of past and ongoing chemical and biochemical perturbations capable of leaving mutational scars, such as environmental agent exposure, pathogen infection, inflammation or metabolic stress. Decoding these mutational records can provide insight into the causes and mechanisms of genetic diseases. Moreover, this record can provide clinically relevant information such as biomarkers of exposure, of disease progression, and of response to therapy. Furthermore, the records can also help to identify novel, actionable targets for intervention. Mechanistically, point mutations accumulate in sequence context-dependent patterns known as mutational spectra that reflect: 1) patterns of DNA damage formation; 2) activity of DNA repair; and 3) the aftermath of replication across DNA damage. Most individual forms of DNA damage lead to characteristic mutational spectra. This Chapter provides a summary of the mutational signatures extracted from large scale sequencing efforts in human cancer, and a closer look at the mutational patterns induced by several environmental carcinogens, highlighting the mechanistic steps that contribute to the observed mutational distributions.


Star formation in galaxies is observed to be associated with gamma-ray emission, presumably from non-thermal processes connected to the acceleration of cosmic-ray nuclei and electrons. The detection of gamma rays from starburst galaxies by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has allowed the determination of a functional relationship between star formation rate and gamma-ray luminosity. Since star formation is known to scale with total infrared (8–1000 μm) and radio (1.4 GHz) luminosity, the observed infrared and radio emission from a star-forming galaxy can be used to quantitatively infer the galaxy's gamma-ray luminosity. Similarly, star-forming galaxies within galaxy clusters allow us to derive lower limits on the gamma-ray emission from clusters, which have not yet been conclusively detected in gamma rays. In this study, we apply the functional relationships between gamma-ray luminosity and radio and IR luminosities of galaxies derived by the Fermi Collaboration to a sample of the best candidate galaxy clusters for detection in gamma rays in order to place lower limits on the gamma-ray emission associated with star formation in galaxy clusters. We find that several clusters have predicted gamma-ray emission from star formation that are within an order of magnitude of the upper limits derived in Ackermann et al. based on non-detection by Fermi-LAT. Given the current gamma-ray limits, star formation likely plays a significant role in the gamma-ray emission in some clusters, especially those with cool cores. We predict that both Fermi-LAT over the course of its lifetime and the future Cerenkov Telescope Array will be able to detect gamma-ray emission from star-forming galaxies in clusters.


OsCCC1 functions as a K+, Na+, and Cl− cotransporter in rice to maintain osmotic potential for cell elongation through increasing internal solute concentrations. Rice (Oryza sativa) is characterized by having fibrous root systems; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the root development are not fully understood. Here, we isolated a rice mutant with short roots and found that the mutant had a decreased cell size of the roots and shoots compared with wild-type rice. Map-based cloning combined with whole-genome sequencing revealed that a single nucleotide mutation occurred in a gene, which encodes a putative cation-chloride cotransporter (OsCCC1). Introduction of OsCCC1 cDNA into the mutant rescued the mutant growth, indicating that growth defects of both the roots and shoots are caused by loss of function of OsCCC1. Physiological analysis showed that the mutant had a lower concentration of Cl− and K+ and lower osmolality in the root cell sap than the wild type at all KCl supply conditions tested; however, the mutant only showed a lower Na+ concentration at high external Na+. Expression of OsCCC1 in yeast increased accumulation of K+, Na+, and Cl−. The expression of OsCCC1 was found in both the roots and shoots, although higher expression was found in the root tips. Furthermore, the expression in the roots did not respond to different Na+, K+, and Cl− supply. OsCCC1 was expressed in all cells of the roots, leaf, and basal node. Immunoblot analysis revealed that OsCCC1 was mainly localized to the plasma membrane. These results suggest that OsCCC1 is involved in the cell elongation by regulating ion (Cl−, K+, and Na+) homeostasis to maintain cellular osmotic potential.


We demonstrate an Yb:YAG single-crystal fiber laser with 251 W output power in continuous-wave and an optical efficiency of 44%. This performance can be explained by the high overlap between pump and signal beams brought by the pump guiding and by the good thermal management provided by the single-crystal fiber geometry. The oscillator performance with a reflectivity of the output coupler as low as 20% also shows high potential for power amplification.


Flower color polymorphisms are widely used as model traits from genetics to ecology, yet determining the biochemical and molecular basis can be challenging. Anthocyanin-based flower color variations can be caused by at least 12 structural and three regulatory genes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (ABP). We use mRNA-Seq to simultaneously sequence and estimate expression of these candidate genes in nine samples of Silene littorea representing three color morphs (dark pink, light pink and white) across three developmental stages in hopes of identifying the cause of flower color variation. We identified 29 putative paralogs for the 15 candidate genes in the ABP. We assembled complete coding sequences for 16 structural loci and nine of ten regulatory loci. Among these 29 putative paralogs, we identified 622 SNPs, yet only nine synonymous SNPs in Ans had allele frequencies that differentiated pigmented petals (dark pink and light pink) from white petals. These Ans allele frequency differences were further investigated with an expanded sequencing survey of 38 individuals, yet no SNPs consistently differentiated the color morphs. We also found one locus, F3h1, with strong differential expression between pigmented and white samples (>42x). This may be caused by decreased expression of Myb1a in white petal buds. Myb1a in S. littorea is a regulatory locus closely related to Subgroup 7 Mybs known to regulate F3h and other loci in the first half of the ABP in model species. We then compare the mRNA-Seq results with petal biochemistry which revealed cyanidin as the primary anthocyanin and five flavonoid intermediates. Concentrations of three of the flavonoid intermediates were significantly lower in white petals than in pigmented petals (rutin, quercetin and isovitexin). The biochemistry results for rutin, quercetin, luteolin and apigenin are consistent with the transcriptome results suggesting a blockage at F3h, possibly caused by downregulation of Myb1a.


Conventional methods for monitoring lung function usually require complex gas analysers and the co-operation of the patient. Therefore, they are not compatible with the crowded environment of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or operating theatre, where the patient co-operation is usually impossible. However, it is precisely these patients that would benefit the most from accurate monitoring of lung function. This paper develops a compact and non-invasive system for the measurement and monitoring of lung function in a clinical setting, such as lung volume, airway dead space volume, and pulmonary blood flow. In contrast with conventional methods, the compact apparatus and non-invasive nature of the proposed method allow it to be used in the ICU, as well as in general clinical settings. The system implements a breath-by-breath computer ventilation model using a non-invasive technique, in which a tracer gas is injected into the patient's inspired breath. Experimental results are shown for both an artificial lung and a healthy volunteer. Our findings show that the proposed technique has several advantages over the conventional method for the estimation of lung function.


Desert varnish, a widespread black manganese-rich rock coating, contains labile organic compounds, but a mechanism for its formation and for their preservation remains unproven. Using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning transmission electron microscopy, we analyzed varnish and found amorphous hydrated silica (opal) and the silica mineral moganite, similar to findings we have reported from siliceous hot-spring deposits. We suggest that the slow dissolution of silica from anhydrous and hydrous minerals, and its subsequent gelling, condensation, and hardening, provides a simple explanation of a formation mechanism for desert varnish and silica glazes and the incorporation of organic material from local environments. These chemical signatures, sequestered in silica, provide valuable information about terrestrial and extraterrestrial paleoenvironments.


Liszi's work creates visual signs derived from spherical forms of sacred geometry on photograms. Her camera-less images focus on Oneness – universe and us, based on the Light of the Soul. She works with her voice that creates ripples in water. Her experiments began with exploring the Bija mantras Aum, RaMaDaSa, and lastly SaTaNaMa that describes the eternal circle of life: birth, life, death, rebirth. Her experimentation led from mantra vibration in still water (life symbol) to light vibration (life symbol) as information carrier. The fundamental connection between water waves and light waves inspired extra stimulus in her experimental work. Quantity of water, shapes of bowls, colours of light, angles of light – are all various avenues of exploration. The sacred geometric angles and the variety of the wavelengths of electromagnetic vibrations created intimate, meditative space that gives birth to these unique photograms. Her initial experiments were with B&W positive papers then 5 × 4″ and 10 × 8″ B&W negative films. The orthochromatic negatives allowed her to work in safelight, which led to the creation of enlarged images mixed with other wavelengths. Thus, monochrome was reborn through colour.


Time-to-event data is used in this thesis to analyze private cars' longevity in Sweden. Thedataset is provided by Trafikanalys and contains all registered, deregistered or temporary deregisteredcars in Sweden during the time period 2000 - 2012.A Cox proportional hazards model is fitted, including variables such as car manufacturer andcar body. The results show that directly imported cars have a much shorter median survivalcompared to non-imported cars. The convertible cars have the longest median survival amongthe five different car bodies. Sedan and station wagon body types have the shortest mediansurvival. Volvo and Mercedes have the longest survival while Renault, Ford and Opel have theshortest survival. The model fits the data reasonably well, and the assumption of proportionalhazards holds for most of the variables.


Kulkarni and Kiyavash recently introduced a new method to establish upper bounds on the size of deletion-correcting codes. This method is based upon tools from hypergraph theory. The deletion channel is represented by a hypergraph whose edges are the deletion balls (or spheres), so that a deletion-correcting code becomes a matching in this hypergraph. Consequently, a bound on the size of such a code can be obtained from bounds on the matching number of a hypergraph. Classical results in hypergraph theory are then invoked to compute an upper bound on the matching number as a solution to a linear-programming problem: the problem of finding fractional transversal. The method by Kulkarni and Kiyavash can be applied not only for the deletion channel but also for other error channels. This paper studies this method in its most general setup. First, it is shown that if the error channel is regular and symmetric then the upper bound by this method coincides with the well-known sphere packing bound and thus is called here the generalized sphere packing bound. Even though this bound is explicitly given by a linear programming problem, finding its exact value may still be a challenging task. The art of finding the exact upper bound (or slightly weaker ones) is the assignment of weights to the hypergraph's vertices in a way that they satisfy the constraints in the linear programming problem. In order to simplify the complexity of the linear programming, we present a technique based upon graph automorphisms that in many cases significantly reduces the number of variables and constraints in the problem. We then apply this method on specific examples of error channels. We start with the Z channel and show how to exactly find the generalized sphere packing bound for this setup. Next studied is the nonbinary limited magnitude channel both for symmetric and asymmetric errors, where we focus on the single-error case. We follow up on the deletion channel, which was the original motivation of the work by Kulkarni and Kiyavash, and show how to improve upon their upper bounds for single-deletion-correcting codes. Since the deletion and grain-error channels have a similar structure for a single error, we also improve upon the existing upper bounds on single-grain error-correcting codes. Finally, we apply this method for projective spaces and find its generalized sphere packing bound for the single-error case.


With the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) collective bargaining agreements set to expire within the next two years, many experts are already predicting what changes may be made to both leagues' governing labor documents. One likely point of contention between the owners and the players' unions — though rarely discussed in the experts' predictive discourse — is the power of the respective league commissioners to punish or discipline wayward players for misbehavior committed off of the court or field. This article will analyze this area of sports law by exploring this power of each league's sports commissioner, as well as its place and significance in collective bargaining. This article will begin in Part II by giving a brief overview of the rise in commissioner discipline for players' misbehavior committed off of the court or field and why commissioners punish in this manner. Parts II and III will track and situate the source of the commissioners' power to discipline for such reasons — namely, in the leagues' respective collective bargaining agreements. Part IV will describe how courts and arbitrators have treated commissioners' decisions to punish players for their actions off of the court or field, and posit why such treatment is a concern for the labor unions representing professional athletes in these two leagues. Part IV will then give an overview of the collective bargaining process and the effect it has on this power of each league commissioner. Part IV will also explore why the players' unions will likely make this power of the league commissioner a provision of the collective bargaining agreement that will be negotiated over, unlike in years past. Finally, Part V will provide some concluding insights.


The dynamics of the expanding plasma produced by excimer laser ablation of different materials such as silicon, silicon carbide, graphite and tin powder were studied by means of time integrated, spatially resolved emission spectroscopy and fast photography imaging of the expanding plasma. Experiments were performed both in vacuum and in different pure background atmosphere (i.e. oxygen or nitrogen) and, finally, in gaseous mixtures (i.e. in O2/Ar and N2/Ar mixtures). These investigations were performed to gather information on the nature of the chemical species present in the plasma and on the occurrence of chemical reactions during the interaction between the plasma and the background gas. Then, we tried to correlate the plasma expansion dynamics to the structural and physical properties of the deposited materials. Experimental results clearly indicate that there is a strong correlation between the plasma expansion dynamics and the structural properties of the deposited thin films. In this respect, the investigations performed by means of fast photography and of optical emission spectroscopy revealed themselves as powerful tools for an efficient control of the deposition process itself.


The article analyses how different methods of recruiting Internet users for online surveys affect survey results in terms of marginal distributions and associations between variables. The general hypothesis is that self-selection processes in some kinds of online surveys, especially in open online surveys bias marginal distributions: those more interested and involved in the topic (in our case: politics) are expected to be over-represented. This bias furthermore causes (political) attitudes to be much more structured among participants of (open) online surveys. The hypothesis is tested using data from face-to-face interviews of Internet users, an access panel of online users and an open online poll, all collected in the context of the 2002 German federal election. Empirical analyses show that both marginal distributions and relationships of variables stemming from the open online survey differ clearly from findings based on the other surveys. Additionally, the analysis reveals that standard weighting procedures do not reduce these biases substantially.


Imaging systems consisting of a camera looking at multiple spherical mirrors (reflection) or multiple refractive spheres (refraction) have been used for wide-angle imaging applications. We describe such setups as multi-axial imaging systems, since a single sphere results in an axial system. Assuming an internally calibrated camera, calibration of such multi-axial systems involves estimating the sphere radii and locations in the camera coordinate system. However, previous calibration approaches require manual intervention or constrained setups. We present a fully automatic approach using a single photo of a 2D calibration grid. The pose of the calibration grid is assumed to be unknown and is also recovered. Our approach can handle unconstrained setups, where the mirrors/refractive balls can be arranged in any fashion, not necessarily on a grid. The axial nature of rays allows us to compute the axis of each sphere separately. We then show that by choosing rays from two or more spheres, the unknown pose of the calibration grid can be obtained linearly and independently of sphere radii and locations. Knowing the pose, we derive analytical solutions for obtaining the sphere radius and location. This leads to an interesting result that 6-DOF pose estimation of a multi-axial camera can be done without the knowledge of full calibration. Simulations and real experiments demonstrate the applicability of our algorithm.


If the purpose is to create one of the best books on requirements yet written, the authors have succeeded. Capers Jones Software can solve almost any problem. The trick is knowing what the problem is. With about half of all software errors originating in the requirements activity, it is clear that a better understanding of the problem is needed. Getting the requirements right is crucial if we are to build systems that best meet our needs. We know, beyond doubt, that the right requirements produce an end result that is as innovative and beneficial as it can be, and that system development is both effective and efficient. Mastering the Requirements Process: Getting Requirements Right, Third Edition, sets out an industry-proven process for gathering and verifying requirements, regardless of whether you work in a traditional or agile development environment. In this sweeping update of the bestselling guide, the authors show how to discover precisely what the customer wants and needs, in the most efficient manner possible. Features include The Volere requirements process for discovering requirements, for use with both traditional and iterative environments A specification template that can be used as the basis for your own requirements specifications Formality guides that help you funnel your efforts into only the requirements work needed for your particular development environment and project How to make requirements testable using fit criteria Checklists to help identify stakeholders, users, non-functional requirements, and more Methods for reusing requirements and requirements patterns New features include Strategy guides for different environments, including outsourcing Strategies for gathering and implementing requirements for iterative releases Thinking above the line to find the real problem How to move from requirements to finding the right solution The Brown Cow model for clearer viewpoints of the system Using story cards as requirements Using the Volere Knowledge Model to help record and communicate requirements Fundamental truths about requirements and system development


Terrorist and extremist movements have long exploited mass communications technology in pursuit of their political ends. The advent of the internet offers new opportunities. In response, state counter-measures seek to stem the impact of extreme ideologies by a number of tactics. "Positive" measures refer to those online initiatives that seek to make an impact through digital engagement and education and the provision of counter-narratives. "Negative" measures describe those approaches that advocate for, or result in, the deletion or restriction of violent extremist online content and/or the legal sanctioning of its online purveyors or users. More sanctions-based outcomes arise through discretionary state activity such as warnings and counselling of vulnerable individuals, or through disruptive counter-measures such as bans on the giving of lectures or prohibitions on the entry into the country of speakers or the taking down of extremist internet sites. Other measures step over into criminal justice, as when individuals are prosecuted for collecting materials or information (including typically information downloaded from the internet) or for issuing messages which can be construed as direct or indirect incitements to terrorism. This paper will analyse the responses to extremist uses of the internet, with an emphasis upon legal responses – "online laws".


In efficiency wage models firms set employment so that the value of the marginal revenue product of labor (VMRPL) equals the wage. If the payment of efficiency wages results in inter-industry wage differences for comparable workers there exist welfare enhancing industrial and trade policies which shift employment from low to high wage industries. Previous attempts to measure the potential impact of such policies have assumed that wages equal the VMRPL, but not all explanations for inter-industry wage differences have that property. This paper argues, from the evidence on inter-industry wage differences that rent-sharing/extraction models should be preferred to other explanations. However, such models do not all have the property that wages equal the VMRPL. In the model presented VNRPL is set equal to the opportunity cost of labor so policies to shift employment to high wage industries would be of no value. Further, the empirical work that has been done to assess the importance of labor market distortions for trade and industrial policy is inapplicable if such models are the correct explanation for inter-industry wage differences. A rent-extraction model that takes into account workers' limited information about the profitability of the company they work for is developed. In that model high wage industries have high VPL so policies to shift employment to high wage industries are appropriate and past empirical studies of the effects of trade and industrial policy are approximately correct.


Z-number is a concept that has been receiving more attention in recent years. The increment of Z-number usage in decision making problem recently, has given huge impact in the research world especially under fuzzy environment. In order to measure for the uncertainty, the reliability factors are considered in the information evaluation. A Z-number is an ordered pair of fuzzy numbers, Z= (A, R) which consist of restriction, A and reliability, R. In Z-number, the reliability can be described as the concept of confidence level, sureness or the probability that consists a value between zero and one. Unlike fuzzy number, Z-number has more ability to explain the uncertain information and measure the reliability of the information more accurately. However, the calculation of the reliability in Z-number is still not consistent. The existing method introduce by the researcher, may not portray the reliability's value specifically, where it leads to loss of information through the calculation process. Thus, a new proposed method is introduced to cater this problem. The aims of this study are to develop an arithmetic operation, which involves with addition and multiplication operation based on the t-operator that are able to solve for the reliability in Z-number. These operations are suitable to be used due to the t-operator has the same behaviour with the probability concept where it used the value between zero and one. In this dissertation, there are three proposed arithmetic operations based on Tofan (2013) that use different types of t-operator, which are Einstein and Hamacher and combination of both. The proving of the proposed arithmetic operations are shown to prove that these operations are valid to be used. Then, the concept of Z-number is implemented in one of the Multi Criteria Decision Making methods (MCDM), which is a Weighted Sum Model (WSM) which later known as Z-WSM. The proposed arithmetic operations are used to aggregate the weighted of criteria and the rating of alternatives in the calculation of reliability in ZWSM. Later, a comparative analysis is conducted to compare for the value of relative closeness and their ranking between the proposed methods and Tofan based on numerical example from paper Chen (2000). An analysis of each proposed arithmetic operation of Z-WSM methods has been presented. The results show that each of the methods share the same ranking value where candidates 2, E₂ was chosen as the best candidates. Finally, the Z-WSM is applied in the case study of store location selection and the result shows that among the four different locations, Kota Damansara is chosen as the preferred location for opening new stores. These proposed arithmetic operations can be used as an alternative way in solving Z-number where the reliability information can be preserved and the value of probability in the reliability can be presented through the calculation process.


This report consists of two volumes: Volume I, Pavement Design and Construction Considerations; and Volume II, Mixture Design Considerations. These two volumes represent the revisions to the original manuals prepared in 1979 by Terrel, Epps, Barenberg, Mitchell, and Thompson. These manuals include new information and procedures incorporated into the pavement field since that time. A significant portion of the information prepared for the original manuals has been retained. The primary purpose of these manuals is to provide background information for those engineers responsible for using soil stabilization as an integral part of a pavement structure. Information is included to assist the engineer in evaluating the drainage problems of a pavement. Sufficient information is included to allow the pavement design engineer to determine layer thicknesses of stabilized layers for a pavement using the 1989 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials guide procedures. Material properties are presented with the use of this design procedure, which the materials engineer will find useful in selecting the type and amount of a stabilizer to use with specific soil types. Construction details are presented with elements of quality control and specifications. The manuals are presented to allow an engineer to recommend where, when, and how soil stabilization should be used, and to assist the engineer in evaluating problems which may occur on current stabilization projects. This volume, Volume I, presents the specific details of drainage considerations and the use of open graded permeable bases, construction consideration for each stabilizer type, and pavement design considerations. These chapters will provide the engineer with the necessary information to evaluate the pavement for drainage, and thickness adequacy, and to evaluate the construction process. Volume II presents the mixture design and laboratory testing procedures.


Graphitic wires embedded beneath the surface of single crystal diamond are demonstrated. Through a combination of ultrashort (femtosecond) pulsed fabrication, high numerical aperture focusing and adaptive optics, wires are created with sub micrometre dimensions that can follow any three dimensional path within the diamond. The increased level of focal control available through the use of adaptive optics appears particularly important in the generation of high quality wires, with measured conductivities over an order of magnitude greater than previous laser-induced graphitic wires in diamond. Applications for the embedded wires are discussed.


The ever-growing demand for higher rates and better quality of service in cellular systems has attracted many researchers to study techniques to boost the capacity and improve the performance of cellular systems. The main candidates to increase the capacity are to use multiple antennas or to increase the bandwidth. This thesis attempts to solve a few challenges regarding scheduling schemes in the downlink of cellular networks, and the implementation of modulation schemes suited for wideband channels.

Downlink scheduling in cellular systems is known to be a bottleneck for future broadband wireless communications. Information theoretic results on broadcast channels provide the limits for the maximum achievable rates for each receiver and transmission schemes to achieve them. It turns out that the sum-rate capacity (sum-rate (or throughput) refers to the sum of the transmission rates to all users) of a multi-antenna broadcast channel heavily depends on the availability of channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter. Unfortunately, the dirty paper coding (DPC) scheme which achieves the capacity region is extremely computationally intensive especially in multiuser context. Furthermore, relying on the assumption that full CSI is available from all the n users may not be feasible in practice.

In the first part of the thesis, we obtain the scaling law of the sum-rate capacity for large n and for a homogeneous fading MIMO (multiple input multiple output) broadcast channel, and then propose a simple scheme that only requires little (partial) CSI and yet achieves the same scaling law. Another important issue in downlink scheduling is to maintain fairness among users with different distances to the transmitter. Interestingly, we prove that our scheduling scheme becomes fair provided that the number of transmit antennas is large enough. We further analyze the impact of using a throughput optimal scheduling on the delay in sending information to the users. Finally, we look into the problem of differentiated rate scheduling in which different users demand for different sets of rates. We obtain explicit scheduling schemes to achieve the rate constraints.

In the second part of the thesis, we focus on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which is the most promising technique for broadband wireless channels (mainly due to its simplicity of channel equalization even in a severe multipath fading environment). The main disadvantage of this modulation, however, is its high peak to mean envelope power ratio (PMEPR). This is due to the fact that the OFDM signal consists of many (say n) harmonically related subcarriers which may, in the worst-case, add up constructively and lead to large peaks (of order n) in the signal.

Despite this worst-case performance, we show that when each subcarrier is chosen from some given constellation, the PMEPR behaves like log{n} almost surely, for large n. This implies that there exist almost full-rate codes with a PMEPR of log{n} for large n. We further prove that there exist codes with rate not vanishing to zero such that the PMEPR is less than a constant (independent of n). We also construct high rate codes with a guaranteed PMEPR of log{n}. Simulation results show that in a system with 128 subcarriers and using 16QAM, the PMEPR of a multicarrier signal can be reduced from 13.5 to 3.4 which is within 1.6dB of the PMEPR of a single carrier system.


This paper deals with the Thai government's policy on refugees with a special focus on refugees from Myanmar. It is designed to give suggestions to international human rights NGOs working in the Thai-Myanmar border areas for the protection of the human rights of Myanmarese refugees. Most international human rights NGOs in this region are lobbying for the Thai government to ratify the Refugee Convention or at the very least, take active steps towards the protection of refugees under customary international law. This paper is, however, concerned by these NGOs' reliance on the ratification of the Convention as a solution to all the problems associated with refugee protection in the region. It is understandable that establishing a structured legal regime (positive law) is crucial. But, we are also in favor of the adoption of simultaneous measures, which, if successful, in the long-run will create an environment that is conducive to a law that is respected and effectively implemented. This paper concludes that irrespective of when the law on refugee protection is brought into force in Thailand, the recommended non-legal measures will go a long way in setting the stage for the law to be implemented efficiently at some point in the future.


In vivo, cells encounter different physical and chemical signals in the extracellular matrix (ECM) which regulate their behavior. Examples of these signals are microand nanometer-sized features, the rigidity, and the chemical composition of the ECM. The study of cell responses to such cues is important to understand complex cell functions, some diseases, and is basis for the development of new biomaterials for applications in medical implants or regenerative medicine. Therefore, the development of new methods for surface modifications with controlled physical and chemical features is crucial. In this work, we report a new combination of micelle nanolithography (BCML) and soft micro-lithography, for the production of polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogels, with a micro-grooved surface and decoration with hexagonally precisely arranged gold nanoparticles (AU-NPs). The Au-NPs are used for binding adhesive ligands in a well-defined density. First tests were performed by culturing human fibroblasts on the gels. Adhesion and alignment of the cells along the parallel grooves of the surface were investigated. The substrates could provide a new platform for studying cell contact guidance by micro-structures, and may enable a more precise control of cell behavior by nanometrically controlled surface functionalization.


Whilst there has been considerable research that has documented the barriers facing women (Cassimjee, 2003; Holland, 2001; Lyness & Thompson, 2000; De La Rey, 1999;Wood, 1993), little is known about the opportunities facing women, particularly Black women academics/managers, within tertiary institutions. In an attempt to facilitate such insight, the central aim of the study explores the subjective experiences of women academics/managers in terms of their academic development and career trajectory. This qualitative study was conducted within a particular campus within a merging South African university. Using convenience sampling, three women academics (two participants of African descent, one participant of Indian descent) and two managers (one participant of African descent and one of Indian descent) were selected. All interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interviews followed by interpretation of the data, which was informed by the theoretical underpinnings of the study, rooted within the ambit of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). The analysis of the subjective experiences of women in this study revealed salient factors relating to the patriarchal nature of the institution of study, the legacy of apartheid and the issue of racism. The lack of overall institutional support and the absence of mentorship programmes were also prevalent. In addition, there emerged a shared ideology that 'academic life was a battle' to be fought. The acquisition of knowledge, constant empowerment and goal orientated behaviour with discipline; boundaries and strategies remained an overall theme to manage hierarchical career growth and development. Balancing work, academic and management roles together with the competing needs around family also posed a challenge. In sum, the implication of the study highlights the need to cultivate a non-racist, gender neutral and logistically supportive environment.


NASA's second rover named "Opportunity" produced dramatic evidence that long ago, at least one area of Mars stayed wet for an extended period, suggesting that conditions could have been suitable for sustaining microbial life. NASA's third Mars rover "Curiosity" is an extraordinary machine that carries the biggest, most advanced suite of instruments for scientific studies ever sent to the Martian surface. Dr. John Grotzinger is the lead scientist for Curiosity's mission to explore Mars' past climate and geology. He will describe what the rover has discovered since landing on the Red Planet, and how the Mars Science Laboratory onboard Curiosity will continue our search for signs of extraterrestrial life there.


The aim of this PhD project was to develop a method for implicit structural inversion of geophysical data, using a gridded model. With the term {\em structural inversion} we mean an inversion to obtain an image of the (gridded) sub-surface, which can directly be interpreted in terms of sharp boundaries between different lithologies. {\em Implicit} indicates that we neither assume a fixed number of anomalies, nor enforce a fixed structure explicitly. We model the sub-surface with a grid of homogeneous, rectangular prisms. The values of the physical property of these cells are the parameters inverted for. The structures in the model should be apparent from large contrasts in parameter values between neighboring cells. We developed a method for such an implicit structural inversion, using Linear Programming (LP). All the models investigated comprised of two lithologies, with one or more homogeneous anomalous regions embedded within a homogeneous background. The contrast between rock properties is used a constraint on the parameters. Ideally each cell will ultimately be identifiable as belonging to one of the lithologies. This LP-based method (using the L1-norm data misfit) was tested on synthetic gravity data and was able to reconstruct important features of the test models. The results compared favorably with a traditional inversion using Truncated Singular Values. This method does have the limitation that the minimum depth to the top needs to be known a priori. This method was then extended to simultaneously invert for both a linear trend in the data and for the density contrasts of the cells. The method was used to invert a field gravity data set. The results are in agreement with the ones obtained by the industry using detailed forward modeling. The same LP-based method was applied to invert synthetic seismic cross-well first arrival travel-times for the absolute inter-well slowness distribution. This is a non-linear problem due to ray-bending in a heterogeneous medium. For a simple sub-surface model, the implicit structural inversion using the true rays, or using the iterative scheme, both produced very good models of the sub-surface. However, a regularisation parameter needs to be chosen properly. A more complicated model with poor ray-coverage, was difficult to retrieve using only seismic data, however, a joint inversion of seismic data (using the true rays) together with gravity data gave encouraging results. Another method, this time using the L2-norm of the data misfit, was developed in parallel. In an iterative scheme, a reference model was constructed, using information regarding the density contrasts, which the inversion result should resemble. The method needs 5 tuning constants; when proper (wide) ranges are supplied, a parameter search for the constants, yields their optimal values to be used for the inversion. This search can be steered using the resulting data misfits. One of the tuning parameter is dynamically increased during the iterations to ensure a result with clear structure. Experiments on synthetic gravity data gave good inversion results, even when the top of the anomaly was unknown.


Using a technique based on Mie theory, we calculate the scattering intensity of light from particles of arbitrary size that differ slightly from spherical shape. The boundary conditions are approximated linearly in the deviations r from a spherical shape, which are expanded in spherical harmonics. The validity of the approach is restricted to r ≪ Ro and r ≪ λ/2π, Ro and λ being the radius of the sphere and the wavelength of the light in the outer medium, respectively. The scattering cross section is calculated for a liquid drop fluctuating around the spherical equilibrium shape and for rigid nonspherical homogeneous bodies with specific and random orientation with respect to the scattering geometry. We find that only moments of the deviations in the range 2 ≤ l ≤ 4πRo/λ contribute to the scattering. Only those moments with azimuthal symmetry with respect to the ingoing wave vector contribute to the scattering. For small spheres, the depolarization ratio is significantly influenced by ellipsoidal deviations.


Monocytes and macrophages are an important reservoir of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and may represent the largest reservoir of this virus in tissues. Differentiation of monocytes into macrophages leads to cell attachment and susceptibility to infection and replication of HIV. Among other cell-surface molecules, integrins are overexpressed during monocyte-macrophage differentiation and may play a role in the replication cycle of envelope viruses including HIV. Here, we show that inhibition of alphaV integrin in monocyte-derived macrophages, by RNA interference or their inhibition by a selective small heterocyclic RGD-mimetic nonpeptide compound, inhibited the replication of HIV in the absence of cytotoxicity. Interference or inhibition of alphaV integrins triggered a signal transduction pathway, leading to down-regulation of nuclear factor-kappaB-dependent HIV-1 transcription. Such inhibition was mediated by a MAP-kinase signaling cascade, probably involving ERK1/2, p38-mitogen-activated protein kinases, and HSP27. In conclusion, our results reveal a significant role of integrin alphaV-mediated adhesion in HIV-1 infection of macrophages.


The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the main federal
program concerning the education of children with disabilities. It authorizes state and
local aid for special education and related services for children with disabilities and
contains detailed due process protections for children with disabilities and their parents.
On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed "the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act Improvement Act" (P.L. 108-446), a major reauthorization and revision
of IDEA. The new law preserves the basic structure and civil rights guarantees of IDEA
but also makes significant changes in the law. Most provisions of P.L. 108-446 go into
effect on July 1, 2005. This report will briefly discuss several of the major changes
made by the reauthorization.


Introduction: Research has found that HIV-related stigma has numerous negative impacts on the lives of people living with HIV (PLWH). Although there are more resources than ever dedicated to HIV/AIDS efforts, stigma continues to be a major factor challenging the prevention and treatment of HIV today. Understanding the impacts of stigma on health outcomes and quality of life in PLWH is essential to address the global HIV epidemic and reduce health disparities. Search Strategy: We conducted a secondary meta-analysis of existing research that discussed and evaluated the impacts of HIV-related stigma and discrimination on PLWH. We searched the following databases for peerreviewed articles: EBSCO Host, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PubMed. We also obtained reports from Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), World Health Organization (WHO), and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Results: Our review of the literature revealed that HIV-related stigma is a socially constructed global phenomenon that reflects social and cultural tradition. Most current stigma-reduction interventions are designed to address individual-level stigma (symbolic stigma). While this has contributed to improvements in individual attitudes towards PLWH, interventions at the individual level alone do not address the macro-level attitudes and societal norms that influence individual ideals and behaviors. Conclusion: Findings in the literature review suggest that because of the pervasiveness of HIV-related stigma globally, addressing stigma is imperative to the HIV response. It also suggests that interventions that 2 McNair Research Journal SJSU, Vol. 13 [2017], Art. 7 http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/mcnair/vol13/iss1/7 44 address stigma at the structural level and target multiple domains might have a more profound impact on HIV-related health outcomes.


An understanding of the interaction between ice sheet dynamics and forcing mechanisms, such as oceanic and atmospheric circulation, is important because of the potential contribution of these processes to constraining models that seek to predict future rates of sea-level change. Here we report new benthic foraminiferal data from Disko Bugt, West Greenland, showing a close correlation between subsurface ocean temperature changes and the ice margin position of the glacier Jakobshavn Isbrae over the past 100 yr. In particular, our faunal data show that warm ocean currents entered a bay, Disko Bugt, during the retreat phases of Jakobshavn Isbrae from A.D. 1920 to 1950 and since 1998. We also show a link between West Greenland ocean temperature and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, a key climate indicator in the North Atlantic Ocean. The close coupling between the oceans and the cryosphere identified here should be assessed in future projections of sea-level change.


The Land Reform Program is a priority program in South Africa to redress the matter of land ownership. However the number of failures of projects implemented is alarmingly high and the majority of projects are not sustainable. Some popular articles and reports however indicated successes and the positive role that the mentor has fulfilled in the success of the project. This has led to the research study to determine why it seems as if a mentorship program is a key factor in sustainable land reform. Fifteen mentors and 20 protege's (new farmers) were personally visited and interviewed. The findings show that there are essential qualities and characteristics that a mentor and Protege should satisfy to ensure a successful mentorship program. The qualities and characteristics linked to a mentor are: a knowledgeable, respectful and trustworthy person, while those of the protege are: a committed, respectful and hard working person. The establishment of a mentorship relationship is essential for success. Obstacles that could hinder the program are a lack of willingness, no commitment and a negative attitude, while the availability of a viable and sustainable business plan for the farm is non-negotiable. Key words: Mentorship; personal characteristics; land reform; agriculture; business plan; sustainability.


This qualitative study explores the biopsychosocial factors that influence first-generation Latino students in their decision to attend college, including individuals' demographic characteristics, and how first generation Latino college students cope with changes in their environment when away from home. The fact that only one in ten Latino adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a college degree (Brindis, Driscoll, Biggs, & Valderrama, 2002) is a staggering number that highlights part of the need for this study. Twelve first generation Latino College students residing in California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New York participated in this research study. They answered open-ended interview questions focusing on the following topics: 1) Biopsychosocial factors influencing first generation Latino students to attend college; 2) Challenges that first-generation Latino students encounter; 3) What helps students to cope more effectively during their first year of college enrollment; and 4) what helps Latino first-generation students to succeed in college. The findings showed that the greatest challenges in being a first generation college student were lack of support from immediate family; lack of information about college; and being of low socioeconomic status. All participants in this study described success as achieving their educational goals in life; helping future first generation college bound students; and being able to maintain financial stability for their own families. The findings also showed that many participants found their transition to the college environment difficult in terms of their individual autonomy and identity as a first generation Latino college student. Many affirmed the importance of having role models and mentors in their communities during their early years in high school to help them visualize college as a real option after attaining a high school diploma. These findings suggest the importance of cultural awareness and the need for improved and accessible resources in communities where Latinos reside. Findings also suggest the need for social workers, educators, and other service providers to become knowledgeable of the strengths and challenge that first generation Latino College students may face in the process of attending college for the first time. Participants also identified resources that are necessary for higher education to implement in order to help first generation Latino students succeed in college. COLLEGE BOUND: FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT PROCESS A project based upon an independent investigation, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work. Claudia Y. Hernandez Smith College School for Social Work Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 2014


Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research is an excellent resource for students and researchers in the areas of organization studies, management research and organizational psychology, bringing together in one volume the range of methods available for undertaking qualitative data collection and analysis.

The volume includes 30 chapters, each focusing on a specific technique. The chapters cover traditional research methods, analysis techniques, and interventions as well as the latest developments in the field. Each chapter reviews how the method has been used in organizational research, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using the method, and presents a case study example of the method in use. A list of further reading is supplied for those requiring additional information about a given method.

The comprehensive and accessible nature of this collection will make it an essential and lasting handbook for researchers and students studying organizations.


This paper describes the opportunities and costs associated with the development of monitoring approaches for national climate change public finance. It describes a leading example of climate change budget tracking, summarises five tools that can support climate change financial monitoring, and identifies key enabling conditions for its effective application. The opportunity to apply these tools in non-Annex I countries is briefly described, along with a closer look at Costa Rica as a country with strong potential for effective tracking. The paper concludes by emphasising that the prioritisation, sequencing and frequency of monitoring efforts will influence the overall effectiveness of monitoring climate change public finance.


Plant-pollinator networks have shown to be highly dynamic systems as species and interactions change in time and space. Few studies have incorporated several habitats in their network. In this work I investigate interacting plant and pollinator communities of three adjacent habitats at Gotska Sandon, an island in the Baltic Sea. The networks varied in size between the habitats, and the larger networks of the dune and meadow displayed both nested and modular structure while the smaller forest network was more randomly organised. We found species present in more than one habitat that connected the networks by forming inter-habitat modules of tightly linked species. Species took on different topological roles in the networks depending on how many links they formed and where these attached. The habitat generalists were important to overall network structure as role correlated with habitat generalisation level.


Simulation is the process of executing a model that describes a system with enough detail; this model has its entities, an internal state, some input and output variables and a list of processes bound to these variables. Teaching a simulation language such as general purpose simulation system (GPSS) is always a challenge, because of the way it executes the models and the abstraction level it can achieve, very different compared with most well-known programming languages. This article presents an open source simulation framework that implements a subset of entities of GPSS, which could help students to improve the understanding of this language. This tool also stores all entities of simulations in every single simulation time, which is very useful for debugging simulations, but also for getting a detailed history of all entities in the simulations, knowing exactly how they have behaved in every simulation time.


Local, state and federal policies that jointly promote the generation of electricity from renewable technologies and the pursuit of energy efficiency are expected to help mitigate the detrimental effects of global climate change and foster energy independence. We examine the financial impacts on various stakeholders from alternative compliance strategies with a Combined Efficiency and Renewable Electricity Standard (CERES) using a case study approach for utilities in Kansas. If only supply-side options are considered, our analysis suggests that a Kansas super-utility would prefer to build its own renewable energy resources, while ratepayers would favor a procurement strategy that relies on long-term renewable power purchase agreements. Introducing energy efficiency under varying levels as a CERES resource will, under our analysis, reduce ratepayer bills by ~;;$400M to ~;;$1.0B between 2009 and 2028, but commensurately erode shareholder returns by ~;;10 to ~;;100 basis points. If a business model for energy efficiency inclusive of both a lost fixed cost recovery mechanism and a shareholder incentive mechanism is implemented, our results illustrate how shareholder returns can be improved through the pursuit of energy efficiency, by at most ~;;20 basis points if certain conditions apply, while ratepayers continue to save between $10M and ~;;$840M over 20 years.


A significant increase in cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) gene expression has been shown to promote cylcooxygenase-dependent colon cancer development. Controversy associated with the role of COX2 inhibitors indicates that additional work is needed to elucidate the effects of arachidonic acid (AA)-derived (cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase) eicosanoids in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. We have recently developed a novel Fads1 knockout mouse model that allows for the investigation of AA-dependent eicosanoid deficiency without the complication of essential fatty acid deficiency. Interestingly, the survival rate of Fads1-null mice is severely compromised after 2 months on a semi-purified AA-free diet, which precludes long-term chemoprevention studies. Therefore, in this study, dietary AA levels were titrated to determine the minimal level required for survival, while maintaining a distinct AA-deficient phenotype. Null mice supplemented with AA (0.1%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 2.0%, w/w) in the diet exhibited a dose-dependent increase (P < 0.05) in AA, PGE2, 6-keto PGF1α, TXB2, and EdU-positive proliferative cells in the colon. In subsequent experiments, null mice supplemented with 0.6% AA diet were injected with a colon-specific carcinogen (azoxymethane) in order to assess cancer susceptibility. Null mice exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) reduced levels/multiplicity of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) as compared with wild-type sibling littermate control mice. These data indicate that (i) basal/minimal dietary AA supplementation (0.6%) expands the utility of the Fads1-null mouse model for long-term cancer prevention studies and (ii) that AA content in the colonic epithelium modulates colon cancer risk. Cancer Prev Res; 9(9); 750–7. ©2016 AACR.


Extreme events (i.e. terrorist attacks, vehicle impacts, explosions, etc.) often cause local damage to building structures and pose a serious threat when one or more vertical load-bearing components fail, leading to the progressive collapse of the entire structure or a large part of it. Since the beginning of the 21st century there has been growing interest in the risks associated with extreme events, especially after the attacks on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1995 and on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. The accent is now on achieving resilient buildings that can remain operational after such an event, especially when they form part of critical infrastructures, are occupied by a large number of people, or are open to the public. This paper presents an ambitious review that describes all the main advances that have taken place since the beginning of the 21st century in the field of progressive collapse and robustness of buildings. Widely diverse aspects are dealt with, including: (1) a collection of conceptual definitions, (2) bibliometric details, (3) the present situation and evolution of codes and design recommendations, (4) quantification of robustness, (5) assessing the risk of progressive collapse, (6) experimental tests, (7) numerical modelling, and (8) research needs. Considering the comprehensive range of these aspects, this paper could be of great use to professionals and researchers who intend to enter the field of the progressive collapse of building structures and also to other experts who require an extensive and up-to-date view of this topic.


Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by cutaneous neurofibromas infiltrated with large numbers of mast cells, melanocyte hyperplasia, and a predisposition to develop malignant neoplasms. NF1 encodes a GTPase activating protein (GAP) for Ras. Consistent with Knudson's "two hit" model of tumor suppressor genes, leukemias and malignant solid tumors in NF1 patients frequently demonstrate somatic loss of the normal NF1 allele. However, the phenotypic and biochemical consequences of heterozygous inactivation of Nf1 are largely unknown. Recently neurofibromin, the protein encoded by NF1, was shown to negatively regulate Ras activity in Nf1−/− murine myeloid hematopoietic cells in vitro through the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase (dominant white spotting, W). Since the W and Nf1 locus appear to function along a common developmental pathway, we generated mice with mutations at both loci to examine potential interactions in vivo. Here, we show that haploinsufficiency at Nf1 perturbs cell fates in mast cells in vivo, and partially rescues coat color and mast cell defects in W41 mice. Haploinsufficiency at Nf1 also increased mast cell proliferation, survival, and colony formation in response to Steel factor, the ligand for c-kit. Furthermore, haploinsufficiency was associated with enhanced Ras–mitogen-activated protein kinase activity, a major downstream effector of Ras, via wild-type and mutant (W41) c-kit receptors. These observations identify a novel interaction between c-kit and neurofibromin in vivo, and offer experimental evidence that haploinsufficiency of Nf1 alters both cellular and biochemical phenotypes in two cell lineages that are affected in individuals with NF1. Collectively, these data support the emerging concept that heterozygous inactivation of tumor suppressor genes may have profound biological effects in multiple cell types.


Bacteria are almost always found in ecological niches as matrix-encased, surface-associated, multi-species communities known as biofilms. It is well established that soluble chemical signals produced by the bacteria influence the organization and structure of the biofilm; therefore, there is significant interest in understanding how different chemical signals are coordinately utilized for community development. Conventional methods for investigating biofilm formation such as macro-scale flow cells are low-throughput, require large volumes, and do not allow spatial and temporal control of biofilm community formation. Here, we describe the development of a PDMS-based two-layer microfluidic flow cell (μFC) device for investigating bacterial biofilm formation and organization in response to different concentrations of soluble signals. The μFC device contains eight separate microchambers for cultivating biofilms exposed to eight different concentrations of signals through a single diffusive mixing-based concentration gradient generator. The presence of pneumatic valves and a separate cell seeding port that is independent from gradient-mixing channels offers complete isolation of the biofilm microchamber from the gradient mixer, and also performs well under continuous, batch or semi-batch conditions. We demonstrate the utility of the μFC by studying the effect of different concentrations of indole-like biofilm signals (7-hydroxyindole and isatin), either individually or in combination, on biofilm development of pathogenic E. coli. This model can be used for developing a fundamental understanding of events leading to bacterial attachment to surfaces that are important in infections and chemicals that influence the biofilm formation or inhibition.


Through photographs we preserve the past, and looking for the past is the very job of the archaeologist. But what are we looking at in an archaeological photograph? Archaeological photography is often largely deserted, to be scanned with a forensic gaze, towards finding evidence of what once took place. At the same time, photographs of excavated sites and artefacts have revealed stunning ancient works, shot as works of art. In Photography and Archaeology, Frederick Bohrer examines some of history's most famous archaeological excavations, as well as lesser-known and previously unpublished finds, from the Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and the ways these sites have been represented in photographs. Bohrer shows how the development of photography in the nineteenth century made archaeology available to a much wider audience, and he discusses how these images revealed the material traces of the past, as well as their meaning and use today. Spanning the dual histories of both photography and archaeology, the book makes evident how what we know of the archaeological past has always been related to how it has been photographically represented and circulated: in scholarly papers, popular accounts, scientific archives, museum catalogues and numerous other formats. Bohrer concludes that such images possess contending, if not mutually exclusive, properties. While photography seems to guarantee documentary objectivity, at the same time it also fundamentally alters the archaeological object, transforming it into a work of art. Along the way, he discusses archaeological examples and images by photographers including Maxime du Camp, Francis Frith, John Beazley Greene, Ernst Herzfeld and others, to more contemporary photographers such as Aaron Levin, Roger Wood and Marilyn Bridges. Beautifully illustrated with fine archaeological images, many published here for the first time, Photography and Archaeology will be of interest to archaeologists, art historians and photographers, as well as anyone concerned with, or captivated by, archaeology's ongoing engagement with the past.


Rich stories of learning journeys that arose from a Life History Research Project resulted in the development of a growing awareness on the part of the author in the role that freedom can productively play within the primary school classroom. The stories that adults told of their most memorable learning experiences almost exclusively occurred outside of the classroom within play and social situations where they were free to engage in a meaningful and personalised learning experience. Learning stories involving risk and even danger, conflict and resolution, freedom from supervision and responsibility as a self-regulated mantle of growing maturity were common themes within the stories. The learning, when scrutinised, revealed deep learning within the domains of problem solving, inventiveness, innovation, creativity, coping skills, processing skills, emotional intelligence, personal happiness, belonging, identity, confidence, political ideology, ethical formation, interpersonal communication and many others. These domains are highly valued within the adult population. However, social change within modern childhood has resulted in many societies espousing social norms that result in children growing up within highly controlled environments with high levels of adult input, supervision, watchfulness, involvement and interference. The level of time spent indoors as opposed to outdoors has also increased dramatically between the last two generations (O'Connor, McCormack, Angus & MacLaughlin 2012). The consequences of this social change are largely unknown as of yet, however, it is surmissable that the impact on the development of skills that require freedom within childhood to flourish is at least a strong possibility. What will this mean for future generations? Who will lead? Who will innovate? Who will be happy? The role of primary school is more than the development of academic skills such as numeracy and literacy; it is also preparation for life. The broader skillset that can be developed within child led activities has a role within the primary classroom. Educators who embrace a pedagogy of freedom will be well rewarded in many ways. They will enjoy rich integrated teaching experiences and will also experience the joy of seeing children reach their true potential in a supportive learning environment which the children and their teacher have created together within a partnership approach to childhood education that is based on mutual respect for the innate wisdom of all learners.