In this study, we have investigated molecular fluctuations in a liquid crystalline polyrotaxane (CB5PR) consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and α-cyclodextrins (CDs) chemically modified with mesogenic cyanobiphenyl groups in solid state by dielectric spectroscopy. The results were compared with a hydroxypropylated polyrotaxane (HyPR) without mesogens. CB5PR showed a high-frequency relaxation mode, δ-relaxation due to the rotation of mesogenic groups at high temperature, whereas such a mode was not observed for HyPR. It was found that the activation energy of the rotational mode of mesogenic groups in CB5PR was considerably less than that in conventional side chain liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs). This indicated that the mesogenic groups around the polymer backbone in a solid-state PR rotated more easily than those in conventional LCPs, because mesogens bonded to cyclic CD in CB5PR can rotate independently of the rotational motion of the axis PEG. On the other hand, both CB5PR and HyPR exhibited broader relaxation processes at a much lower temperature around the glass transition of PEG, which was ascribable to the local molecular fluctuation of PEG. Our experimental results suggested that the local fluctuation of PEG in a PR was barely affected by the interaction between PEG and cyclic molecules, independently of the side chains around CD. This decoupling behavior is consistent with the low activation energy of the δ-relaxation in CB5PR.


The vibrational modes of the explosive related solids 2,4- and 2,6-DNT have been measured with waveguide THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) to unprecedented precision. Dramatic sharpening of spectral features upon cooling beyond 80 K to 12 K is observed, illustrating the high quality and alignment of the polycrystalline thin films. Many of the observed features have linewidths below 15 GHz. These linewidths are approximately 8 times narrower than for the corresponding measurements via conventional THz-TDS with cooled pellets. For the 2,4- DNT, the line narrowing resolved 19 absorption features compared to only 7 features with the corresponding pellet measurement.


In this paper we carried out an investigation about the possible causes for the enhancement of earthquakes in USA the last seven years. Our statistical and physical models indicated that the increased evolution of events in the country depends from the human actions. For further analysis we divided the country into three main seismological regions: western, central and, eastern. We roughly classified the areas by their thickness of Earth's crust in a variation 25-45-25 km. The thickest area is in the mid-continent and most of this region are part of the Great Plains. In our study we are going to investigate the reason for the Mississippi Lime in Oklahoma a very thick area, started an unusual earthquake activity since 2010, most at Oklahoma/Kansas border. In this region also there are many anthropogenic activities concerning with the waste water wells and more than 4000 of them are active in the state. Wastewater disposal wells typically operate for longer duration and inject much more fluid than hydraulic fracturing, making them more likely to induce earthquakes. Enhanced oil recovery injects fluid into rock layers where oil and gas have already been extracted, while wastewater injection often occurs in never-before-touched rocks. Therefore, wastewater injection can raise pressure levels more than enhanced oil recovery, and thus increases the likelihood of induced earthquakes. Most injection wells do not trigger felt earthquakes. A combination of many factors is necessary for injection to induce felt earthquakes. These include the injection rate and total volume injected; the presence of faults or unknown fractures that are large enough to produce felt earthquakes; stresses that are large enough to produce earthquakes; and the presence of pathways for the fluid pressure to travel from the injection point to faults. Finally other causes of human action triggering earthquakes fluid injection, hydraulic fracturing, enhanced oil recovery, mining, nuclear explosions, some of them will be mentioned and investigated in this paper. We also intend to explain why not all the waste wells are triggering earthquakes and how it would be strongly attached to the unevenness of the Earth's crust.


Disclaimer: This report is released to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau


INTRODUCTION In 1938, Howard M. Wight devoted 9 pages, which was an entire chapter in the first wildlife management techniques manual, to what he termed 'census' methods. As books and chapters such as this attest, the volume of literature on this subject has grown tremendously. Abundance estimation remains an active area of biometrical research, as reflected in the many differences between this chapter and the similar contribution in the previous manual. Our intent in this chapter is to present an overview of the basic and most widely used population estimation techniques and to provide an entree to the relevant literature. Several possible approaches could be taken in writing a chapter dealing with population estimation. For example, we could provide a detailed treatment focusing on statistical models and on derivation of estimators based on these models. Although a chapter using this approach might provide a valuable reference for quantitative biologists and biometricians, it would be of limited use to many field biologists and wildlife managers. Another approach would be to focus on details of actually applying different population estimation techniques. This approach would include both field application (e.g., how to set out a trapping grid or conduct an aerial survey) and detailed instructions on how to use the resulting data with appropriate estimation equations. We are reluctant to attempt such an approach, however, because of the tremendous diversity of real-world field situations defined by factors such as the animal being studied, habitat, available resources, and because of our resultant inability to provide detailed instructions for all possible cases. We believe it is more useful to provide the reader with the conceptual basis underlying estimation methods. Thus, we have tried to provide intuitive explanations for how basic methods work. In doing so, we present relevant estimation equations for many methods and provide citations of more detailed treatments covering both statistical considerations and field applications. We have chosen to present methods that are representative of classes of estimators, rather than address every available method. Our hope is that this chapter will provide the reader with enough background to make an informed decision about what general method(s) will likely perform well in any particular field situation. Readers with a more quantitative background may then be able to consult detailed references and tailor the selected method to suit their particular needs. Less quantitative readers should consult a biometrician, preferably one with experience in wildlife studies, for this 'tailoring,' with the hope they will be able to do so with a basic understanding of the general method, thereby permitting useful interaction and discussion with the biometrician. SUMMARY Estimating the abundance or density of animals in wild populations is not a trivial matter. Virtually all techniques involve the basic problem of estimating the probability of seeing, capturing, or otherwise detecting animals during some type of survey and, in many cases, sampling concerns as well. In the case of indices, the detection probability is assumed to be constant (but unknown). We caution against use of indices unless this assumption can be verified for the comparison(s) of interest. In the case of population estimation, many methods have been developed over the years to estimate the probability of detection associated with various kinds of count statistics. Techniques range from complete counts, where sampling concerns often dominate, to incomplete counts where detection probabilities are also important. Some examples of the latter are multiple observers, removal methods, and capture-recapture. Before embarking on a survey to estimate the size of a population, one must understand clearly what information is needed and for what purpose the information will be used. The key to derivin Additional publication details Publication type Book chapter Publication Subtype Book Chapter Here's how you know Estimating the numb r of animals in wildlife populations Title Estimating the number of animals in wildlife populations Year Published 2005 Language English Publisher Wildlife Society Publisher location Bethesda, Maryland Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Description xiv, 974 Larger Work Type Book Larger Work Subtype Other Government Series Larger Work Title Techniques for Wildlife Investigations and Management


This work considers coordination and bargaining between tw o selfish users over a Gaussian interference channel. The usual information theoretic approach assumes full cooperation among users for codebook and rate selection. In the scenario investigated h ere, each user is willing to coordinate its actions only when an incentive exists and benefits of coopera tion re fairly allocated. The users are first allowed to negotiate for the use of a simple Han-Kobayas hi type scheme with fixed power split. Conditions for which users have incentives to cooperate are identified. Then, two different approaches are used to solve the associated bargaining problem. First, the Nash Bargaining Solution (NBS) is used as a tool to get fair information rates and the operating point is obtained as a result of an optimization problem. Next, a dynamic alternating-offer b argaining game (AOBG) from bargaining theory is introduced to model the bargaining process and the rat s resulting from negotiation are characterized. The relationship between the NBS and the equ ilibrium outcome of the AOBG is studied and factors that may affect the bargaining outcome are discu ssed. Finally, under certain high signal-tonoise ratio regimes, the bargaining problem for the general iz d degrees of freedom is studied.


We introduce a detector that selectively probes the phononic excitations of a cold Bose gas. The detector is composed of a single impurity atom confined by a double-well potential, where the two lowest eigenstates of the impurity form an effective probe qubit that is coupled to the phonons via density-density interactions with the bosons. The system is analogous to a two-level atom coupled to photons of the radiation field. We demonstrate that tracking the evolution of the qubit populations allows probing both thermal and coherent excitations in targeted phonon modes. The targeted modes are selected in both energy and momentum by adjusting the impurity's potential. We show how to use the detector to observe coherent density waves and to measure temperatures of the Bose gas down to the nano-Kelvin regime. We analyze how our scheme could be realized experimentally, including the possibility of using an array of multiple impurities to achieve greater precision from a single experimental run.


We quantified effects of future climate warming on temperature and stability in a variably stratified, hypereutrophic reservoir with large fluctuations in water level by calibrating a 2-D model (CE-QUAL-W2, version 3.7.1, Portland State University, Portland, USA) of reservoir hydrodynamics using a time series (1992 to 2011) of inflow and air and water temperature. The model was then forced with increased air temperature projected by an ensemble of climate models that accounted for complex local topography and seasonality, with greater warming in summer. Warming increased annual evaporation rates by 2.6 to 7.9%. Water temperature increased by 0.44 (whole-reservoir; p < 0.05), 0.47 (epilimnion; p < 0.01), and 0.30 °C (hypolimnion; p < 0.05) per 1 °C increase in air temperature. Thickness of the epilimnion and hypolimnion diminished, with expansion of the metalimnion. Schmidt stability correlated with mean water depth over a wide range of depths (3.9 to 8.1 m; Adj. R2 = 0.91 to 0.93; p < 0.001). Increased air temperature increased mean annual stability by 6.1 to 23.6 J m−2 when depth was large and the reservoir stratified, but when depth was low (due to combined low inflow and, in preceding years, high withdrawals), inhibiting stratification, then water temperatures increased evenly (and more) throughout the vertical profile so change in mean annual stability was near zero (−0.1 to 1.1 J m−2). Combined effects of reservoir management (volume, timing, and elevation of water withdrawal) and climate warming (temperature of air and benthic sediment) can impact the hydrodynamic regime differently under variably stratified conditions with implications for release of phosphorus from sediment and vertical transport of phosphorus to the euphotic zone.


This paper deals with the issues of creating machine and tractor enterprises (MTE) using the logistics principles in the village councils of the Kyrgyz Republic. The main restraining factors for creation and construction of the MTE have been identified. The regional peculiarity of this problem is analyzed and solutions with detailed calculations and scientific research were proposed. On the basis of many years of scientific research the problem tree of absence and creation of MTE in the village councils of the Kyrgyz Republic was compiled. The results of the study, specific recommendations on creation of MTE with the application of logistics principles in the village councils of the Kyrgyz Republic are arranged and given in the design matrix of this project. The criteria for success in the successful implementation of this project have been determined.


The human cortical surface is a highly complex, folded structure. Sulci, the spaces between the folds, define location on the cortex and provide a parcellation into anatomically distinct areas. A topic that has recently received increased attention is the segmentation of these sulci from magnetic resonance images, with most work focusing on extracting either the sulcal spaces between the folds or curve representations of sulci. Unlike these methods, we propose a technique that extracts actual regions of the cortical surface that surround sulci, which we call "sulcal regions." The method is based on a watershed algorithm applied to a geodesic depth measure on the cortical surface. A well-known problem with the watershed algorithm is a tendency toward oversegmentation, meaning that a single region is segmented as several pieces. To address this problem, we propose a postprocessing algorithm that merges appropriate segments from the watershed algorithm. The sulcal regions are then manually labeled by simply selecting the appropriate regions with a mouse click and a preliminary study of sulcal depth is reported. Finally, a scheme is presented for computing a complete parcellation of the cortical surface.


The paper presents a methodology for assessing city areas on the basis of residents' opinions. In contrast to preceding approaches, this methodology combines the opinions on the various features of living in certain micro-districts as well as the way these districts are perceived. Therefore, this technique includes the rational and emotional assessments. Moreover, we assess both the district residents and the inhabitants living outside the area. Thus, the research combines the assessments from inside and outside. The evaluation is based on the representative survey of the residents of Ekaterinburg. The research hypothesis is that city districts will differ significantly in the attractiveness as well as in a set of determinants for the assessments given by residents. The authors' methodology for rating micro-districts includes three groups of indicators. First, there is the assessment of the residents' satisfaction level in various aspects of their lives. Second, we assess the residents' emotional appraisal of the areas, in which they live. Last, there is a choice of the city's best micro-district to live in. The empirical research found a high degree of differentiation in the obtained ratings and highlighted their socio-economic determinants such as the assessment of personal financial position, housing type, assessment of personal living conditions. The findings of this research provide insights for managerial decisionmaking in strategic regional planning. In particular, these results can be used to address the polarization of the development of urban areas revealed in this research. Further research can be conducted in three directions. Firstly, a deeper analysis of the availability and attractiveness of different types of infrastructure for residents (medical, educational, relaxation infrastructures, etc.) would be of interest. Secondly, micro-district could be ranked by different groups of population (retirees, persons with disabilities, etc.). Last, further research needs an assessment of the different micro-districts attractiveness for work and leisure activities.


Densities of submerged vegetation and those of associated animals tend to co-vary. This relationship is often attributed to the positive correlation between the density of vegetation and its protective value against predators. However, two counteracting basic elements underlying this paradigm limit its generality. That is, increasing vegetation density should result in decreased predator–prey encounters, whilst at the same time predator–prey encounters should increase as animal densities increase. These two mechanisms should thus counteract each other when the densities of vegetation and associated animals, including both prey and predators, co-vary. Experimental designs that expose fixed densities of prey and preda tors to varying densities of vegetation assess only the former mechanism and may thus not properly evaluate the protective value of vegetation in such conditions. By contrast, designs that mimic the naturally co-varying organism densities test both mechanisms and thus their counteractive impacts on predator–prey encounters. We compared the outcomes of the two alternative designs and carried out additional experiments to explain the putative discrepancy. Increasing vegetation density (mimics of Potamogeton pectinatus) enhanced prey (Daphnia magna) survival only when fixed densities of prey and predators (Perca fluviatilis or Rutilus rutilus) were used. When the animal densities were allowed to co-vary with vegetation density, vegetation had no impact on prey survival. Instead, prey survival was determined by the aggregate density of prey and predators, shaped by the species-specific traits of the latter. Thus, the impact of the increased animal densities overrode the impact of the increased vegetation density on predator–prey encounters. It may be insufficient to attribute the co-variation of vegetation, prey and predator densities simply to the association between vegetation density and its protective value. Increased food resources and reduced competition within vegetation may promote prey and thereby also predator abundance to a greater extent than previously thought.


It has recently been demonstrated that self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations of low-obliquity pulsar magnetospheres in flat spacetime show weak particle acceleration and no pair production near the poles. We investigate the validity of this conclusion in a more realistic spacetime geometry via general-relativistic particle-in-cell simulations of the aligned pulsar magnetosphere with pair formation. We find that the addition of the frame-dragging effect makes the local current density along the magnetic field larger than the Goldreich–Julian value, which leads to unscreened parallel electric fields and the ignition of a pair cascade. When pair production is active, we observe field oscillations in the open field bundle, which could be related to pulsar radio emission. We conclude that general-relativistic effects are essential for the existence of the pulsar mechanism in low-obliquity rotators.


With an increase in the popularity of wildlife ranching in southern Africa has come the introduction of non-native (extralimital) mammalian herbivores. Financial gain has arguably been at the forefront of these introductions, with little or no assessment of the ecological consequences. The diet of three populations of introduced giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis was assessed by direct observation in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa between January 2002 and October 2003, as the first step towards understanding the ecological role played by giraffe in the region. Similar to the diet of giraffe within their native range, a deciduous species from the genus Acacia (Acacia karroo) was the most important species in the diet. Giraffe in the Eastern Cape Province, however, consumed more evergreen species than those within their native range. The relative lack of deciduous species in the Eastern Cape Province provides a probable explanation for such a result. Seasonal variation in the consumption of the most important species in the diet was evident with members of the genus Rhus being more important in the winter months. This was attributed to the deciduous nature of A. karroo. The potential for giraffe to have a detrimental effect on the indigenous vegetation is discussed. We conclude that the study provides a much-needed list of plant species threatened by giraffe browsing in a region where the vegetation is thought to have evolved in the absence of such a browser.


Based on extensive research in French, British, and U.S. archives, the article focuses on Joseph Bunel, a diplomatic and commercial envoy for Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his wife Marie Bunel (Fanchette Estève), who spent her adult life as a merchant in Cap Français (Cap Haïtien) and Philadelphia. Joseph and Marie Bunel were a white Frenchman and a free black Creole, but their careers were shaped more by their social and monetary ambitions than by their racial background. After spending a few years in prerevolutionary Saint-Domingue (Haiti) as a merchant and a plantation manager, Joseph Bunel played an important administrative role in Louverture's regime after 1798, first as a diplomatic envoy charged with drafting treaties of commerce and non-aggression with the United States and England during the Quasi-War, then as Louverture's paymaster. Because of his closeness to the regime, he was deported to France during the Leclerc expedition. After moving to Philadelphia in 1803, he became a noted exporter of war contraband to Dessalines' Haiti and in 1807 settled permanently in this country as a merchant. Marie Bunel, a prosperous free-colored merchant from Cap Français before the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution, continued her mercantile activities throughout the revolutionary period. Though personally close to notable figures like Louverture and Henri Christophe, her political involvement in the revolutionary struggle was limited. Persecuted along with her husband during the Leclerc expedition, she moved to Philadelphia, where she lived as an independent merchant long after Haiti had declared its independence. It was not until 1810 that for personal reasons she moved back to Haiti, where little evidence is available to retrace the end of the Bunels' eventful lives.


Summary Lake Junín is famous for the abundance and diversity of breeding, staging and wintering waterbirds. The lake supports the entire world population of three species or subspecies: Junín Grebe Podiceps taczanowskii, Junín Rail Laterallus tuerosi and the endemic subspecies of the White-tufted Grebe Rollandia rolland morrisoni. Surveys undertaken in the 1930s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s confirmed the lake's importance in the Andes, however there has been no recent assessment of its waterbird community. We undertook waterbird counts between 6 and 20 February 2014 from the lakeshore and by boat. Despite using differing survey methods, we nevertheless conclude that the relative abundance of waterbird species has changed dramatically compared to earlier counts. Most notably, the Junín Grebe has experienced a major decline since the 1930s when the species was considered extremely abundant and another native fish-eating species the White-tufted Grebe also appears to have declined. In contrast the Northern Silvery Grebe Podiceps juninensis, classified as 'Near Threatened', has apparently become more abundant. Numbers of Puna Teal Spatula puna and Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata seem to have crashed, presumably reflecting the general loss of submerged vegetation. In spite of a major decline in waterbirds overall, the Junín area holds numbers of migratory shorebirds, perhaps as a consequence of local hunting restrictions and awareness campaigns. Lake Junín is a candidate for listing on the Montreux Record under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland showing serious change in ecological character. Management planning should proceed to balance conflicting interests at the lake. Actions to re-establish a clear water column by reducing eutrophication (from settlements in the catchment) as well as sedimentation and heavy metals (from upstream mining) will contribute to improving ecological functions and to secure waterbirds including the endemics.


The critique of the successful housing Chilean policy presented here, propose the urgency to revise, not only the evident achievements through the systems of financing and assignation that has made of it an model for other developing countries, but the problems being faced by its beneficiaries. Acknowledging that for the first time in Chilean history the housing deficit is being confronted and diminished, there is a serious concern about some themes that have to be faced to attain a real improvement of the less advantaged. Between them are the kind of urban environment that is being created for the poor, the low quality of the solutions, the impossibility of improvement, the disruption of the social networks due to the assignment system, the generalization of gangs, violence and unsafeness related with mental problems such as drogadiction and alcoholism in men and anguish and depression in women. Perhaps the main significance of this analysis is based that Chilean housing policy has applied successfully the strategies proposed by the multilateral agencies in the last decades and some adjustments are needed before its application in other countries to avoid future serious social costs.


Abstract Improving children's lives is high on the UK policy agenda. In this study for a recent birth cohort of UK children we examine how three aspects of parental resources – income, mother's mental well-being and family status – in early childhood enhance or compromise their children's cognitive and behavioural development. As well as examining how these three aspects of parental resources separately and jointly affect children's well-being, we also enquire whether persistent poverty or persistent maternal depression are more deleterious for children's current well-being than periodic episodes of poverty and depression. We find strong associations between poverty and young children's intellectual and behavioural development, and persistent poverty was found to be particularly important in relation to children's cognitive development. Maternal depression (net of other factors) was more weakly related to cognitive development but strongly related to whether children were exhibiting behaviour problems, and persistent depression amplified the situation. Family status, net of other factors (most noticeably poverty), was only weakly associated with children's development.


The United States currently provides Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more than 300,000 immigrants from selected countries. TPS is typically granted if dangerous conditions prevail in the home country due to armed conflict or a natural disaster. Individuals with TPS cannot be deported and are allowed to stay and work in the United States temporarily. Despite the increased use of TPS in recent years, little is known about how TPS affects labor market outcomes for beneficiaries, most of whom are unauthorized prior to receiving TPS. This study examines how migrants from El Salvador who are likely to have received TPS fare in the labor market compared with other migrants. The results suggest that TPS eligibility leads to higher employment rates among women and higher earnings among men. The results have implications for recent programs that allow some unauthorized immigrants to receive temporary permission to remain and work in the United States.


A new polychaete species of the family Ampharetidae, Amage imajimai sp. nov., is described from deep waters of Sagami Bay, Japan. It is characterized by the possession of four pairs of branchiae, twelve thoracic uncinigers, eleven abdominal uncinigers, and the lack of thoracic notopodial cirri. The new species is named in honor of the renowned Japanese polychaetologist Minoru Imajima. An identification key for all Amage species from Japanese waters is provided.


The AAPM has long advocated a consistent level of medical physics practice, and has published many recommendations and position statements toward that goal, such as Science Council Task Group reports related to calibration and quality assurance, Education Council and Professional Council Task Group reports related to education, training, and peer review, and Board-approved Position Statements related to the Scope of Practice, physicist qualifications, and other aspects of medical physics practice. Despite these concerted and enduring efforts, the profession does not have clear and concise statements of the acceptable practice guidelines for routine clinical medical physics. As accreditation of clinical practices becomes more common, Medical Physics Practice Guidelines (MPPGs) will be crucial to ensuring a consistent benchmark for accreditation programs. To this end, the AAPM has recently endorsed the development of MPPGs, which may be generated in collaboration with other professional societies. The MPPGs are intended to be freely available to the general public. Accrediting organizations, regulatory agencies and legislators will be encouraged to reference these MPPGs when defining their respective requirements. MPPGs are intended to provide the medical community with a clear description of the minimum level of medical physics support that the AAPM would consider to prudent in all clinical practice settings. Support includes but is not limited to staffing, equipment, machine access, and training. These MPPGs are not designed to replace extensive Task Group reports or review articles, but rather to describe the recommended minimum level of medical physics support for specific clinical services. This session will describe the purpose, scope, and procedure for development of MPPGs and introduce the first two recently published MPPGs: (1) IGRT Commissioning and QA, and (2) CT Protocol Management and Review.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the purpose and scope of MPPG from the AAPM 2. Understand the benefits and process of the development of MPPG by the AAPM 3. Introduce the first two AAPM MPPGs.


[From backcover]

Philosophy and Love introduces historical and contemporary philosophical reflections on love. It brings together philosophy with cultural analysis to provide an accessible and engaging account of conventional theories of love as well as the controversial reformulations evident in same-sex desire, cross-cultural love and internet romance.

Starting with Plato, but focusing especially on contemporary European philosophy, this book introduces figures such as Nietzsche, Beauvoir, Irigaray, Derrida and Fanon. Explaining these philosophical approaches in clear and accessible terms, Philosophy and Love also engages with cultural productions – ranging from Sappho to Frankenstein, and from Hiroshima Mon Amour to Desperate Housewives – enabling an exchange between philosophical and cultural theories.

Love stories are also central to this interdisciplinary book, revealing the ethical and the political as well as the personal implications of lovers' discourses. Embracing both the sentimental and the political, this deconstructive reading discloses the paradoxes, conflicts and intensities of the love relation.


We estimated trends in concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) and the related change in the probabilities of trophic conditions from 1975 to 1994 at 250 nationally representative riverine monitoring locations in the U.S. with drainage areas larger than about 1,000 km2. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) declines were detected in TP and TN concentrations at 44% and 37% of the monitoring sites, and significant increases were detected at 3% and 9% of the sites, respectively. We used a statistical model to assess changes in the probable trophic‐state classification of the sites after adjusting for climate‐related variability in nutrient concentrations. The probabilistic assessment accounts for current knowledge of the trophic response of streams to nutrient enrichment, based on a recently proposed definition of "eutrophic," "mesotrophic," and "oligotrophic" conditions in relation to total nutrient concentrations. Based on these trophic definitions, we found that the trophic state improved at 25% of the monitoring sites and worsened at fewer than 5% of the sites; about 70% of the sites were unchanged. Improvements in trophic‐state related to declines in TP were more common in predominantly forested and shrub—grassland watersheds, whereas the trophic state of predominantly agricultural sites was unchanged. Despite the declines in TP concentrations at many sites, about 50% of all monitoring sites, and more than 60% of the sites in predominantly agricultural and urban watersheds, were classified as eutrophic in 1994 based on TP concentrations. Contemporaneous reductions in major nutrient sources to streams, related to wastewater treatment upgrades, phosphate detergent bans, and declines in some agricultural sources, may have contributed to the declines in riverine nutrient concentrations and associated improvements in trophic conditions.


Japan is an important wintering area for many Asian diving duck and seaduck populations, although their status and trends in abundance are poorly known and previously undescribed. Trends in annual abundance therefore were analysed for nine common diving and seaduck species wintering in the country, using data from the national waterbird surveys undertaken annually by volunteers and coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment and local prefectures over the past 46 years. Annual indices and short-term (16 years: 2000–2015), medium-term (26 years: 1990–2015) and long-term (36 years and 46 years to 2015) trends in numbers were calculated for each species using TRIM software. The indices recorded for Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis, Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus, Black Scoter Melanitta americana and Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator all exhibited significant long-term declines; Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula and Common Pochard Aythya ferina showed moderate declines over the 26-year period; and Greater Scaup A. marila declined during 2000–2015. Numbers of Tufted Duck A. fuligula increased significantly over 36- and 26-year time-scales, but it was found to be "stable" over the most recent 16 years. Velvet Scoters Melanitta fusca have tended to decrease since their peak abundance in 1977, although TRIM's criteria indicated that the trend was "uncertain".


EQUPPIING PARENTS AT EUNHYE KOREAN PRESBYTERAN CHURCH, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, TO BE THE PRIMARY DISCIPLE MAKERS OF TEHIR CHILDREN Choonghyun Lee, D.Min. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015 Faculty Supervisor: Shane Parker This project deals with the issue of developing and implementing a Sunday School curriculum to equip the parents at Eunhye Korean Presbyterian Church (EKPC), Indianapolis, Indiana, to be the primary disciple makers of their children. Chapter 1 lays out the purpose, goals, ministry context, rationale, limitations and delimitations, and research methodology. Chapter 2 examines a biblical foundation for family discipleship. The chapter focuses on the exegesis and exposition of the related passages: Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Genesis 18:16-19, Psalm 78:1-8, Matthew 28:16-20, Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21, and 2 Timothy 1:3-10. All these passages addresses that God calls parents to be the primary disciple-makers of their children. Chapter 3 addresses a historical support for family discipleship and family ministry. Throughout Christian history, the parents' role as the primary disciplers of their children has been emphasized and implemented in the church and the home. This chapter addresses how historical theologians and pastors have embraced and implemented parents' spiritual role in their children's lives. Chapter 4 outlines the implementation of the project by describing the process from start to finish. The chapter includes the explanation of questionnaires, the focal group, and a week-by-week process. Chapter 5 is an evaluation of the project and a statement of theological and personal reflections.


Important recent work by penal scholars recognizes the need to study the interplay between federal and state initiatives and between state and local structures. But the sociology of punishment has been less cognizant of late of the importance of studying the relation between the divergent treatment of high-level and low-level offenses and offenders as a means of understanding those federal, state or local approaches to penalty. By one conventional view, the divergent policy trends for violent and nonviolent offenders are unrelated operations working at different ends of an ambivalent carceral spectrum; by another emergent perspective, the increasing decarceration of low-level offenders marks a general shift away from mass incarceration that has yet to extend to serious offenders and offenses. This paper suggests that, rather than a unidirectional force or mere ambivalent mix of old and new, contemporary sentencing policy is better understood as a bifurcation strategy — one that responds uniquely to the new dilemmas and new constraints presented by a moment we might call, with cautious optimism, late mass incarceration.


Abstract We studied the nesting behavior of the pig-nosed turtle, Carettochelys insculpta, in northern Australia. We used remote camera systems and focal observations to test the hypothesis that the nesting behavior in C. insculpta is similar to that of its closest relatives, the softshell turtles (Trionychidae). Carettochelys nested at night, in contrast to diurnal nesting in the majority of softshell turtles. Observations of groups of turtles in the water prior to nesting indicated gregarious or social behavior. On average, gravid turtles emerged around 6 times onto 1–2 beaches spanning 2 nights. Turtles nested at around 2100 ± 3 h, when sand temperatures at nest depth were near their maxima. Minimum air and water temperatures during nesting were 17.5°C and 24.6°C, respectively. Nesting turtles spent an average of 27 min on a beach, similar to softshell turtles but shorter than reported for most other turtle species. Relatively short nesting duration in these species may be caused by the ease in excavating a chamber in sand and the close proximity of nesting areas to water. Overall, the nesting sequence reflected the conservative nesting behavior in turtles, was similar to that of softshells, but differed in subtle ways. Empty nest chambers, commonly referred to in the literature as "test holes", were sometimes the result of abandonment resulting from incidental contact between turtles searching for a nest site.


The spectral interference of 87Rb on 87Sr for the measurement of 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios in solid samples by laser ablation multicollector (MC)-ICP-MS could be corrected by combining the transient signal of the sample with a Rb pulse from the nebulisation of a pure Rb standard. This dual sample introduction system, combined with a multiple linear regression data treatment procedure, allowed the interference free measurement of the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio in solid samples. Additionally, when the signals for Rb and Sr could be separated in time, even only partially, the application of the multiple linear regression procedure allowed us to compute also the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio free of spectral interference. The fact that Sr was concentrated in the seed coat of beans, whereas Rb was mainly present in the cotyledon, allowed us to develop a laser ablation multicollector ICP-MS procedure for the authentication of Asturian beans which are subject to fraud with the import of South American beans. By combining the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio with the 88Sr/85Rb elemental ratio we were able to distinguish between Asturian and South American beans in spite of the large 87Sr/86Sr isotopic variability of Asturian beans.


Eating behavior is influenced by various external stimuli, including food and ambient temperature (Ta). In dairy animals, high ambient temperature (HTa) decreases eating and subsequently reduces milk production. Eight crossbred non-lactating Saanen goats in late pregnancy fed under HTa condition were used to investigate the normal eating behavior by comparing the short-term eating pattern of control with 2% coconut oil supplemented formulations. The goats were fed ad libitum twice daily a total mix ration with free access to water. The experiment lasted 17 days, 9 days for adaptation and 8 days for data collection. Meal patterns were determined on the last day of experiment. The short-term 2% coconut oil supplementation (0.91±0.08 kg/day) did not affect daily dry matter intake (DMI) as compared with the control (0.83±0.05 kg/day). However, daytime DMI of the coconut oil supplemented group (0.82±0.05 kg) was higher than that of the control group (0.57±0.06 kg/day). This effect was derived primarily from the longer eating duration and meal duration during daytime and the bigger meal size during spontaneous meals. The present results suggested that, under HTa condition, the spontaneous meal, rather than the scheduled meal, was first deviated by the new diet. Another aspect of the normal eating pattern in crossbred dairy goats was the crepuscular eating pattern which could not be replaced by the scheduled afternoon feeding. This finding suggested that under HTa, the crepuscular eating is the norm, and modification in the afternoon feeding schedule should be considered to avoid the effect of HTa.


Over the last three decades, Chicano literature has experienced its own renaissance. Many of the voices in that literary renacimiento belong to women -- by the 1990s, nearly two-thirds of the contemporary literature was being written by women. Firmly committed to challenging and redefining the gender, race, culture, and class distinctions which have historically defined Chicanos/as in the United States, Chicana writers have become "conscious transmitters of literary expression ... excavators of our common culture, mining legends, folklore, and myths for our own metaphors" (Ana Castillo Massacre of the Dreamers). Writing can dream and invent new possibilities. It is the utopian space where the long-silenced Other begins to speak heretofore unheard things -- where authority is questioned, tradition subverted, privilege challenged. One of the most articulate, powerful voices in contemporary Chicana literature belongs to author Ana Castillo whose work has long questioned, subverted, and challenged the status quo. An internationally recognized poet, novelist, essayist, and editor, Castillo first published her poetry in the chapbooks, Otro Canto (1977) and The Invitation (1979). Frequently anthologized, her early poetry ensured her reputation as a social protest poet. Her first collection, Women Are Not Roses (1984), was followed by the critically acclaimed My Father Was a Toltec (1988). An expanded edition of that collection -- My Father Was a Toltec: New and Collected Poems was published in 1995. The recipient of numerous fellowships, grants, and awards, Castillo has published three novels -- the classic The Mixquiahuala Letters (1986, 1992), Sapogonia (1990, 1994) and the acclaimed So Far From God (1993). Her collection of critical essays, Massacres of the Dreamers: Essays on Xicanisma (1994), has been described as an unorthodox blend of cultural criticism, social sciences, and creative literature. In this collection, Castillo reissues her invitation to engage in a much needed dialogue on racism, sexism, and classicism, on sexuality and spirituality, on mothering and motherhood. In this extended excerpt from interviews and conversations between March 1993 and October 1994, Castillo focuses on her prose discussing her development as a writer, the background of her fictional works, and the development as a writer, the background of her fictional works, and the philosophical backdrop of her critical works. Interviewer: Ana, when did you decide to be a writer? Castillo: It was not something I ever intended to do. And it's very difficult for me even now to regard it as a profession or career. I started out very much wanting to be a visual artist in an environment in Chicago in which that would not have been considered a real profession for me. I was sent to business school--rather a secretarial girls high school--when I was a teenager. That was what I was supposed to be according to my family and my background--be a file clerk. I suppose I couldn't have been a secretary because I'm a lousy typist and I've always had this aversion to authority, so I knew that I wouldn't get far in that atmosphere. But I loved to draw--I always loved to draw and I always liked to write. I've written since I was very little. I wrote poetry and wrote stories and drew on whatever I could, painted on whatever I could--anything, any piece of paper that was around. So when I got to college age, I started to send myself to school: first to junior college, and then to a regular college. During the mid 70s, the extent of the racism and the sexism of the university in a city like Chicago discouraged me to such a degree that by the time I was finishing my B.A.--and it took a lot of work to get scholarships and grants to get through the university system--I was really convinced that I had no talent. I couldn't draw and I had no right to be painting. And, I couldn't draw anymore--I literally did not draw or paint anymore. …


Co(II) and Cu(II) complexes and metal-free t-butylphenyl peripherally substituted porphyrazine (Pz) have been screened for in vitro antifungal (Aspergillus niger) and antioxidant (free radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, and reducing power) activities. The results were compared with synthetic antioxidants, e.g., butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), trolox, or α-tocopherol. The free radical scavenging activity of H2Pz was higher than the CuPz complex. However, CuPz complex showed higher superoxide radical scavenging activity than BHA, BHT, and trolox while H2Pz and CoPz showed weaker activity than BHA, BHT, and trolox. The reducing power of all complexes was similar to that of BHT and α-tocopherol on a per molar basis. The ligand and complexes have antifungal activity against A. niger. The compounds have significant superoxide radical scavenging activity against various antioxidant systems in vitro.


This document introduces the Forwarding and Control Element Separation (ForCES) architecture and defines a set of associated terminology. This document also defines a set of architectural, modeling, and protocol requirements to logically separate the control and data forwarding planes of an IP (IPv4, IPv6, etc.) networking device.


This letter presents the design and fabrication of an optical mixer based on SU8 polymer for the demodulation of polarization division multiplexed-quadrature phase shift keying (PDM-QPSK) signals. The mixer consists of two novel polarization beam splitters (PBSs) and two 4 × 4 multimode interference (MMI) couplers. It is the first polymer-based optical mixer incorporated with PDM functionality. The experimental results show good performances of the mixer.


We consider an assemble-to-order system with a high volume of prospective customers arriving per unit time. Our objective is to maximize expected infinite horizon discounted profit by choosing product prices, component production capacities, and a dynamic policy for sequencing customer orders for assembly. We prove that a myopic discrete review sequencing policy, which allocates scarce components among orders for different products to minimize instantaneous physical and financial holding costs, is asymptotically optimal. Furthermore, we prove that optimal prices and production capacity nearly balance the supply and demand for components (i.e., it is economically optimal to operate the system in heavy traffic), so system performance is characterized by a diffusion approximation. The diffusion approximation exhibits state space collapse: its dimension equals the number of components (rather than the number of components plus the number of products). These results compliment the existing assemble-to-order literature, which focuses on managing component inventory and assumes FIFO sequencing of orders for assembly.


Thirteen banking web sites in Chile were analysed using an adaptation of the Hersey generic web site evaluation model. The model was modified to improve its applicability to the banking sector, and a total of 37 different aspects of Internet based services were analysed. The modified model was applied with uniform weighting for each element. The degree of fulfilment of these aspects ranged from 51% to 86% across the different bank sites. Chilean banking sites perform well in serving their clients, but still many business opportunities are available to them. The modified Hersey model is quite effective in evaluating banking web sites. Web site developers may use these results as a means to improve their sites.


In The Sequential Imperative William Edmondson describes the functional specification of the brain. This new approach to Cognitive Science depends on detailed understanding of speech, but the outcome is an understanding of the functionality of the brain in any species.


We characterize the frequency-dependent response of a photo detection system based on a Si-PIN photodiode and a laser with wavelength 1064 nm, a system commonly used with optical tweezers. We chopped the laser beam with chopper frequencies from 200 Hz to 14 kHz, and found an exponentially delayed response of the detection system with a characteristic delay time of ∼20 μs. The physical mechanism causing this time delay is silicon's transparency to 1064 nm light: Photons are absorbed and create charge carriers not only in the diode's depletion layer, where they are detected within nano-seconds, but predominantly in the n-layer, where they remain undetected till transported out by thermal diffusion. The diode's response is dominated by this delay which can be characterized as a first-order low-pass filter with a 3dB-frequency of 8–9 kHz, depending on laser intensity. Measurements exploiting frequencies near or above this 3dB-frequency must be corrected for this unintended filter effect. We describe how to do...


In the last decade a flexible system of documenting archaeological excavation has been developed in Slovenia thru practical employment in the field (even in remote or inaccessible areas) that allows for an accurate and fast gathering of archaeological field data with a bare minimum: a research team of at least two people, a total station, a digital photo camera and a laptop computer with CAD software and a module specifically designed for fast and automatized processing and managing of gathered data. The system of documentation is so well established and practically tested in the field that allows relatively easy workflow even for a team with almost no prior experience working with total station or CAD computer software. The system is electrically independent since all of the mentioned instruments operate on batteries. But to work comfortably, we need a color printer on site in order to provide the team with up to date information of the situation at the site usually by printing 2D plans of daily situations and of the photogrammetric photographs of details or sections of the site. The printouts are necessary since constantly checking the situation on the computer during excavation is not practical (the computer preferably being located in a location secure from the elements). The invention of the newest generation of tablets and smartphones has given the field archaeologists so much more than just rendering printers on site redundant. We had an opportunity to test a tablet computer on a site which is still being excavated. Using a tablet computer enabled us to view high resolution photographs or CAD drawings of plans and sections of the site which is excellent since the gadget works really fast and turns photographs with the help of a range of free applications for graphic design into very informative sketches which can be than easily sent via wi-fi to other members of the team or to the computer on site. Rather than buying the more expensive 3G tablet, we connected the device to a smart mobile phone which enables wireless internet access for sending gathered data for processing and storage as part of research documentation (even to a remote location such as an office 100 km away), receiving already processed data and an exchange of information between team members on different sites. For example: if someone on a remote site is having trouble operating a total station or processing data, we can send the team a sketch with instructions or even a short video to help them out in mere minutes. The use of a single tablet on the site enabled us to reduce the human resources and the amount of time needed for documenting the site by using digital form of the documentation forms which removed the process of inputting (some of) the paper documentation into the computer.


National Geographic's documentary In the Womb: Identical Twins focuses on the prenatal development of human identical twins. Director Lorne Townend uses three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound [4] imaging and microscopy [5] to depict twin development, genetic and epigenetic variations in the fetuses, and methods of fetal survival in the confines of the womb [6]. Artist renditions of scientific data fill in areas of development inaccessible to the imaging tools. The 50-minute film describes the lives twins live after birth and describes new research that identical twins might not be as identical as once thought. In the Womb: Identical Twins is a sequel to the 2005 National Geographic film In the Womb.


The problem of suffering has preoccupied mankind since the earliest
times. From the time of Homer to the present day humans have
constantly searched for a solution to their suffering and an understanding
of it. This study focuses on two expressions of this search through a
study of the Greek language of healing: the healing cult of Asklepios,
which flourished in the Mediterranean world from the fifth century BC
to the fourth century AD, and that of Jesus of Nazareth, whose healing
ministry began in the first century AD, supplanted that of Asklepios in
the fourth century AD, and is still in existence today. The investigation
does not consider whether physical healings actually occurred; rather it is
an exploration of the meaning of the general terms used to describe the
healings recorded.
The study is in two parts: Part One begins with the use of healing
language in the work of Homer, and traces the development of this
semantic field through a study of the language surrounding the cult of
Asklepios at Epidauros, Athens, Kos and Pergamon. These four centres
were chosen because they illustrate the differing nature of the cult over
the period of its existence. Epidauros was a major colonising sanctuary,
and remained a major centre of pilgrimage throughout its existence;
Athens became a state cult and so illustrates a parochial and familial
quality; Kos was the centre of a major medical school; and Pergamon
was both the cult focus of a major hellenistic monarchy, and the site
where the great Galen practised medicine. Thus a focus on these four
centres allows a study of a breadth of sources, from before the time of
Hippokrates until the time of Galen. Naturally the study of sources is
not exhaustive. A selection was made from as wide a field as possible to
illustrate the use of general healing terms in inscriptions and literature
over the longest possible timespan.
After a bridging survey of the Jewish use of this semantic field in the
Septuagint, together with complementary material from Philo of
Alexandria, and Josephus, Part Two focuses on the meaning of the same
semantic 'field in the New Testament. A linguistic survey of Hebrew and
Aramaic documents is excluded, as being outside the scope of the topic, in
terms of both space and relevance.
The study is in two volumes: Volume One contains the argument,
Volume Two the texts and translations (or analysis of texts) on which the
argument is based. Usually only the primary texts in which language has
been discussed are cited in the bibliography, otherwise reference to
primary sources is made by the usual method in footnotes.
Central to this study are the human concepts of health and wholeness,
and of the relationship of mind and body, spirit and soul, and the
language used to express these concepts and relationships.


This article details the congressional effort to recognize the important contributions of Filipino veterans in World War II that led to the enactment of a new title VIII of the Social Security Act, "Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans." It describes the evolution of a proposal to pay a reduced Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit to Filipino and other World War II veterans who want to return to their homeland or otherwise live outside the United States. The article highlights the different options considered and the early implementation of payments by the Social Security Administration under the new program. Title VIII is the first benefit program administered by the Social Security Administration since the enactment of the legislation that created the SSI program in 1972. Introduction On December 14, 1999, President Clinton signed the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, Public Law 106-169. That law established a new program of cash benefits for certain World War II veterans who live in the United States, are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and want to live outside the United States. The impetus for the bill came from members of Congress who wished to honor the World War II service of Filipinos who served in the armed forces of the United States but who are not eligible for full cash benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The new program makes it financially possible for SSI beneficiaries who are also World War II veterans to return to their homeland and have the opportunity to rejoin family members who did not immigrate to the United States.1 The new benefits, authorized under title VIII of the Social Security Act, are known as Special Veterans Benefits (SVB). General revenues are used to reimburse the Social Security trust funds for the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) cost of administering the SVB program. To be eligible for SVB, an individual must: * Be aged 65 or older on December 14,1999; * Be a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. military at some point from September 16, 1940, and through July 24, 1947, or who served in the organized military of the Philippines at some point from July 26, 1941, through December 30,1946; * File an application for SVB; * Be eligible for SSI for December 1999; * Be eligible for SSI for the month in which he or she applies for the special benefits; and * Have other benefit income that is less than 75 percent of the current SSI federal benefit rate.2 Unlike the SSI program, the SVB program does not take into account an individual's resources or living arrangements. Similar to the SSI program, benefits are not paid to dependents or survivors. The SVB program is the first new benefit program administered by the Social Security Administration since the enactment of the legislation that created the SSI program in 1972. Background and Legislative History The Philippine Islands became a United States possession in 1898 when they were ceded from Spain following the Spanish-American War. In 1934, the Congress enacted the Philippine Independence Act (Public Law 73-127), which provided a 10-year time frame for the independence of the Philippines and, in the interim, established a Commonwealth of the Philippines with certain powers over its internal affairs. Full independence from the United States was delayed for 2 years by Japan's occupation of the Philippines during 1942 to 1945. Between 1934 and final independence in 1946, the United States retained specific sovereign powers over the Philippines, including the right, upon order of the President of the United States, to call all military forces organized by the Commonwealth government into the service of the United States. During World War II, Filipinos served in a variety of units. Some of the units came under direct U.S. military control, others had no ties to the U. …


Background— Although guidelines in individuals not infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) consider diabetes mellitus (DM) to be a coronary heart disease (CHD) equivalent, there is little information on its association with CHD in those infected with HIV. We investigated the impact of DM and preexisting CHD on the development of a new CHD episode among 33 347 HIV-infected individuals in the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D Study). Methods and Results— Over 159 971 person-years, 698 CHD events occurred. After adjustment for gender, age, cohort, HIV transmission, ethnicity, family history of CHD, smoking, and calendar year, the rate of a CHD episode was 7.52 times higher (Poisson regression, 95% CI 6.02 to 9.39, P=0.0001) in those with preexisting CHD than in those without preexisting CHD, but it was only 2.41 times higher (95% CI 1.91 to 3.05, P=0.0001) in those with preexisting DM compared with those without DM. No statistical interactions were apparent between either diagnosis and sex; although older people with DM had an increased CHD rate compared with younger people, older people with preexisting CHD had a lower event rate. A statistically significant interaction between preexisting DM and CHD (P=0.003) suggested that the CHD rate in those with preexisting CHD and DM is lower than expected on the basis of the main effects alone. Conclusions— DM and preexisting CHD are both important risk factors for CHD events in HIV-infected individuals. There is a need for targeted interventions to reduce the risk of CHD in both high-risk groups of HIV-infected individuals.


Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) gene editing is an innovative and potentially game-changing biotechnology that can potentially reverse DNA mutations in a tissue-specific manner. In addition, CRISPR is being targeted for xenotransplantation, for increasing human longevity, in animal breeding, and in plant science. However, there are many ethical challenges that emerge from CRISPR technology. This article discusses several positions that relate to these ethical challenges from a Jewish legal perspective. In addition, we present several other applications of CRISPR technology that lack a defined Jewish legal precedent and require rabbinical scholars to address and resolve them in the future.


The price indexation of Social Security benefit payments has emerged in recent years as a flashpoint of debate in the United States. I characterize the direct effects that changes in that price index would have on retirees who differ in their initial wealth at retirement and in their mortality rates after retirement. I propose a simple but flexible theoretical framework that converts benefits reform first into changes to retirees' consumption paths and then into a net effect on social welfare. I calibrate that framework using recently produced data on Social Security beneficiaries by lifetime income decile and both existing and new survey evidence on the normative priorities Americans have regarding their Social Security benefits. The results suggest that the value retirees place on protection against longevity risk is an important caveat to the widespread enthusiasm for a switch to a slower-growing price index such as the chained CPI-U.


Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, made up of multiple distinct acoustic units. Apart from the well‐known example of birdsong, other animals such as insects, amphibians, and mammals (including bats, rodents, primates, and cetaceans) also generate complex acoustic sequences. Occasionally, such as with birdsong, the adaptive role of these sequences seems clear (e.g. mate attraction and territorial defence). More often however, researchers have only begun to characterise – let alone understand – the significance and meaning of acoustic sequences. Hypotheses abound, but there is little agreement as to how sequences should be defined and analysed. Our review aims to outline suitable methods for testing these hypotheses, and to describe the major limitations to our current and near‐future knowledge on questions of acoustic sequences. This review and prospectus is the result of a collaborative effort between 43 scientists from the fields of animal behaviour, ecology and evolution, signal processing, machine learning, quantitative linguistics, and information theory, who gathered for a 2013 workshop entitled, 'Analysing vocal sequences in animals'. Our goal is to present not just a review of the state of the art, but to propose a methodological framework that summarises what we suggest are the best practices for research in this field, across taxa and across disciplines. We also provide a tutorial‐style introduction to some of the most promising algorithmic approaches for analysing sequences. We divide our review into three sections: identifying the distinct units of an acoustic sequence, describing the different ways that information can be contained within a sequence, and analysing the structure of that sequence. Each of these sections is further subdivided to address the key questions and approaches in that area. We propose a uniform, systematic, and comprehensive approach to studying sequences, with the goal of clarifying research terms used in different fields, and facilitating collaboration and comparative studies. Allowing greater interdisciplinary collaboration will facilitate the investigation of many important questions in the evolution of communication and sociality.


The microprocessor discussed in this paper is a member of the G3 family of PowerPC processors, the third generation of PowerPC microprocessor products. It provides the performance levels required for high end desktop systems while offering the low typical power dissipation and small die size that make it very attractive for portable systems. It is an advanced superscalar design with six execution units, aggressive upstream branch processing, out-of-order instruction execution, and a tightly integrated "backside" L2 cache. Most notably it achieves workstation/server class performance while only dissipating 5 watts. A major portion of the design effort involved architectural performance modeling, making cost/power/performance trade-offs, and verifying performance of the implementation.


Utility Drives Adoption: Understanding Internet Accessibility in Rural China addresses the deep digital divide in China by exploring the reasons behind the lagging adoption of the internet in rural communities. With a four-year study and in-depth investigation into a number of rural communities across China, author Mingrui Ye unfolds a picture of internet use in rural villages and answers the questions why and in what scenario rural residents will or will not adopt internet-based digital devices like laptops or tablets.

 Additionally, this book contributes to diffusion theory with a newly established research model, by which new determinants responsible for internet adoption were discovered and mutual relations between influential factors at different levels revealed. A series of solutions to improve the adoption rate of the internet in rural China are suggested for implementation at multiple levels. Utility Drives Adoption not only provides a deeper understanding of internet adoption in rural communities but also revisits the theory of innovation diffusion with newly developed perspectives and research models. This book serves as a useful guide for researchers and students in relevant fields to further explore internet utility and adoption in rural China.


This text is designed to introduce you to the practical concepts and calculations involved in interpreting the chemistry of high-temperature fluids in geothermal systems and hydrothermal ore-forming environments. It is intended that the energetic reader will learn to understand chemical principles, handle routine calculations and follow specialized chemical studies involved in geothermal exploration and exploitation and in ore genesis.

Although the emphasis of the text is on the interpretation of the chemistry of active geothermal systems, the principles involved are equally relevant to the interpretation of fossil hydrothermal ore-forming environments. Many gold-silver ore deposits, for example, have been shown to have formed in the near-surface region of hydrothermal systems similar in fluid chemistry and setting to those active today (White, 1981; Henley and Ellis, 1983). Combination of a knowledge of the principle processes within the active geothermal systems, the thermodynamics of complex ion formation, mineral-fluid equilibria and stable isotope systematics provide a framework which may assist in reconstruction of the hydrological regime within a fossil hydrothermal system where ore deposition occurred. This in turn may become useful in ore search. A chapter dealing with the hydrothermal chemistry of magmatic systems is included later in order to encompass a wider range of ore depositing environments and perhaps the root zones of the active geothermal systems.

After a short introduction to the types of geothermal fluids and chemical calculations, successive chapters will address the interpretation of water and gas analyses from geothermal wells. When we understand the reservoir compositions of some geothermal fluids and their relations to rock chemistry and temperature, we will consider the chemical and isotopic changes that occur in the natural transport of this fluid to the surface, derive and use chemical geothermometers and mixing relations, and map the surface chemistry of a hot spring system. After these studies of natural fluids at depth and at the surface, we will study chemical changes that occur during the exploitation of geothermal fluids and how to anticipate and avoid some of the problems of scaling and corrosion.


An attempt was made to identify some of the proteins of the postsynaptic density (PSD) fraction isolated from dog cerebral cortex. The major protein has been tentatively labeled "neurofilament" protein, on the basis of its 51,000 mol wt correspondence to a protein found in neurofilament preparations. Other proteins are akin to some dog myofibrillar proteins, on the basis if immunological crossreaction and equal sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-gel electrophoretic mobilities. While a protein similar to dog muscle myosin is not present in the PSD fraction, a major protein present is actin, as evident from reactivity with antiactin serum, from SDS-gel mobility, and from amino acid composition. Only very little tubulin may be present in the PSD fraction, as determined by gel electrophoresis. Various treatments of the PSD fraction were attempted in order to extract some proteins, as revealed by gel electrophoresis, and to observe the structural changes of the PSD fraction residue after extraction of these proteins. The PSD is remarkably resistant to various extraction conditions, with only 4 M guanidine being found to extract most of the proteins, except the 51,000 mol wt protein. Disulfide reducing agents such as dithiothreitol (DTT), blocking agents such as p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB) (both in the presence of deoxycholate [DOC]), a Ca++ extractor, ethylene glycol-bis (beta- aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N'-tetraacetate (EGTA), and guanidine caused an opening up of the native dense PSD structure, revealing approximately 10-nm filaments, presumably consisting of "neurofilament" protein. Both DTT-DOC and PCMB-DOC removed chiefly actin but also some other proteins. EGTA, in greatly opening up the structure, as observed in the electron microscope, revealed both 10-nm and 3- to 5-nm filaments; the later could be composed of actin, since actin was still in the residue after the treatment. EGTA removed a major 18,000 mol wt component and two minor proteins of 68,000 and 73,000 mol wt. Based on the morphological and biochemical evidence, a picture is presented of the PSD as a structure partly made up of 10-nm and 3- to 5-nm filaments, held together through Ca++ interaction and by bonds amendable to breakage by sulfhydrylblocking and disulfide-reducing reagents; either removal of Ca++ and/or rupture of these disulfide bonds opens up the structure. On the basis of the existence of filamentous proteins and the appearance of the PSD after certain treatments as a closed or open structure, a theory is presented with envisages the PSD to function as a modulator in the conduction of the nerve impulse, by movements of its protein relative.


One of the key predictions of the nonlocal photopolymerization driven diffusion (NPDD) model is that a reduction in the extent of the nonlocal effects within a material will improve the high spatial frequency response. The NPDD model is generalized to more accurately model material absorbtivity. By eliminating the necessity for the steady-state approximation to describe the rate of change of monomer radical concentration, a more accurate physical representation of the initial transient behavior, at the start of grating growth, is achieved, which includes the effects of oxygen-based inhibition. The spatial frequency response of an acrylamide/polyvinylalcohol-based photopolymer is then improved through the addition of a chain transfer agent (CTA), sodium formate. Using the NPDD model demonstrates that the CTA has the effect of decreasing the average length of the polyacrylamide (PA) chains formed, thus reducing the nonlocal response parameter, σ. Further independent confirmation of the resulting reduction in the PA average molecular weight is provided using a diffusion-based holographic technique.


The nucleation and growth behavior of lithium on a CaO/Mo(001) thin film has been investigated by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The Li follows two different growth regimes on the surface. Whereas extended 2D islands develop on top of the defect-free CaO terraces, small 3D deposits decorate a network of domain boundaries that is present in the oxide film. The 2D islands have metallic character, as deduced from a standing wave pattern observed on their surface at low-bias. In contrast, a cationic nature is proposed for the defect-bound 30 species as a result of an electron-transfer from the Li 2s valence orbital into trap states localized in the CaO line defects. Tunneling spectroscopy reveals an unoccupied gap state below the CaO conduction band that originates from Li-O hybridization across the metal-oxide interface. With increasing diameter of the Li islands, this state shifts toward the Fermi level, reflecting the decreasing workfunction at higher Li coverage.


Sukanya Banerjee, "Writing Bureaucracy, Bureaucratic Writing: Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, and Mid-Victorian Liberalism" (pp. 133–158)
 In its famed representation of the Circumlocution Office, Charles Dickens's Little Dorrit (1857) is widely recognized as satirizing bureaucracy. Arguing instead that the novel proffers a more nuanced perspective on bureaucracy, this essay situates Dickens's depiction of the Circumlocution Office amid mid-Victorian debates on liberalism. More specifically, the essay makes note of the tension between ascendant ideals of representative government and the acknowledged importance of a nonelected but competent bureaucracy. Dickens's mediation of this tension, the essay argues, not only informs his representation of the Circumlocution Office but also accounts for the novel's subdued tone and characterization, which the essay reads as ambivalence. But in reading the novel's depiction of bureaucracy through the lens of ambivalence, the essay is also alert to Dickens's bureaucratic method of writing Little Dorrit itself. The bureaucratic writing of the novel, the essay suggests, opens up the possibility not only of rethinking the role and place of bureaucracy but also of the boundaries between bureaucratic and literary sensibilities as well.


BACKGROUND
Alcohol has a negative effect on antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence and HIV treatment outcomes.

METHOD
As part of formative work for a project to test the efficacy of an alcohol-focused intervention to reduce alcohol consumption and improve HIV treatment outcomes, we investigated the extent of problem drinking among patients at ART clinics in Tshwane, South Africa (SA), using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT).

RESULTS
The finding that a third of drinkers reported hazardous drinking, roughly 10% reported harmful drinking, and a further 10% were possibly alcohol dependent replicates the findings of similar research in the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces of SA. It also points to the need for more routine screening of ART patients for problematic alcohol use.

CONCLUSION
The 10-item AUDIT may be too time consuming for health workers in busy ART clinics to administer and score, necessitating even briefer screening instruments for assessing hazardous and harmful drinking.


Deep hashing has been widely used to approximate nearest-neighbor search for image retrieval tasks. Most of them are trained with image-label pairs without any inter-label relationship, which may not make full use of the real-world data. This paper presents deep hashing, named HA2SH, that leverages multiple types of labels with hierarchical structures that an ethnological museum assigns to their artifacts. We experimentally prove that HA2SH can learn to generate hashes that give a better retrieval performance. Our code is available at https://github.com/wbw520/minpaku.


The current constructivist interpretive narrative inquiry study considered the ways in which recently implemented enrichment programming on a system level was experienced by gifted secondary school learners and designated gifted teachers or contacts at the secondary schools. Through an in-depth exploration of stories of experiences that gifted students told about enrichment programming, this study offered significant insight into the unique learning needs and challenges of gifted adolescents in today's secondary classrooms. Methods included an initial demographic questionnaire followed by a maximal variation sample of 12 participants for the second phase of the study with follow-up focus groups. Focus group interview data were video recorded, transcribed, and returned to participants to be member-checked for accuracy, omissions, deletions, or enhancements, and were subsequently analysed for patterns in experiences that offered insight into students' and teachers' perceptions of enrichment programming needs. Results of the study showcased alternative non-credit enrichment programming to be both appreciated and designed well, but the needs of gifted learners in the regular classroom are still not being met, as the remedial needs of struggling learners continue to take precedent in the regular classroom.


"Pub Walks in Underhill Country" by Nat Segnit is a cunning, hilarious and heartbreaking novel that takes the form of a guide for walkers but is really a whole lot more...'Start by turning right out of the main entrance of Malvern Link railway station...' So begins Graham Underhill's guide to rambling in the West Midlands. But it is not many yards before Graham has gone completely off track, all but abandoning the route ahead to exult in his love for his beautiful if headstrong wife Sunita. Along the way Graham treats us to his intemperate views on mountain bikers, litter louts, landscape photographers, and the Highways Agency, who are intent on building a bypass through his home. At least he has Sunita. Or does he? With each walk it becomes clearer that the paths of Underhill Country lead into treacherous terrain. 'If Vladimir Nabokov had written episodes of "The Archers" (with a little script advice from W G Sebald), then he might just have struck a note that chimed with the peculiar music of this beguiling first novel". ("Independent"). "A metafictional escapade ...has both Nabokov and Alan Partridge as its forebears". ("Daily Telegraph"). "Has echoes of Mike Leigh's best films and Paul Torday's smash debut, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"". ("Daily Mail"). Nat Segnit lives in London. His journalism and stories have appeared in several national newspapers, and his play, "Dolphin Therapy", and two co-written comedy series, "Strangers on Trains" and "Beautiful Dreamers", were broadcast on Radio 4. "Pub Walks in Underhill Country" is his first novel.


The authors present an environment which involves a debugging tool to aid in the detection and removal at logic errors. The debugging tool is supported by a special architecture, named SPRING, which was originally developed for reliable execution of Ada or Pascal programs. Following an overview of the system backed up by SPRING, the details of SPRING architecture are described, and the implementation of high level debugging on the SPRING architecture is discussed. In conclusion, the trial could be seen as a step toward providing an advanced programming environment for the development of reliable software.


The photosensitivity of highly Er/Yb doped and undoped phosphate glass fibers is characterized under irradiation with intense pulsed 193 nm light from an ArF excimer laser through a phase mask. The ultraviolet photosensitivity of the active fibers is shown to be roughly half that of the passive fibers. We also demonstrate that the strong growth of the fiber Bragg grating reflectivity observed upon heating at temperatures between 100 – 250 °C is directly related to the UV irradiation time, but not to the size of the index modulation of the seed grating or even to the fiber type (Er/Yb doped or undoped). The conditions to reliably obtain final index modulations amplitudes between 5 and 10 × 10−5 are given.


We consider the family of transcendental entire maps given by $f_a(z)=a(z-(1-a))\exp(z+a)$ where $a$ is a complex parameter. Every map has a superattracting fixed point at $z=-a$ and an asymptotic value at $z=0$. For $a>1$ the Julia set of $f_a$ is known to be homeomorphic to the Sierpi\'nski universal curve, thus containing embedded copies of any one-dimensional plane continuum. In this paper we study subcontinua of the Julia set that can be defined in a combinatorial manner. In particular, we show the existence of non-landing hairs with prescribed combinatorics embedded in the Julia set for all parameters $a\geq 3$. We also study the relation between non-landing hairs and the immediate basin of attraction of $z=-a$. Even as each non-landing hair accumulates onto the boundary of the immediate basin at a single point, its closure, nonetheless, becomes an indecomposable subcontinuum of the Julia set.


Context. The ESO public survey VISTA variables in the V�a L�ctea (VVV) started in 2010. VVV targets 562 sq. deg in the Galactic bulge and an adjacent plane region and is expected to run for about five years. Aims: We describe the progress of the survey observations in the first observing season, the observing strategy, and quality of the data obtained. Methods: The observations are carried out on the 4-m VISTA telescope in the ZYJHK s filters. In addition to the multi-band imaging the variability monitoring campaign in the K s filter has started. Data reduction is carried out using the pipeline at the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. The photometric and astrometric calibration is performed via the numerous 2MASS sources observed in each pointing. Results: The first data release contains the aperture photometry and astrometric catalogues for 348 individual pointings in the ZYJHK s filters taken in the 2010 observing season. The typical image quality is 0.9 arcsec {-1.0 arcsec}. The stringent photometric and image quality requirements of the survey are satisfied in 100% of the JHK s images in the disk area and 90% of the JHK s images in the bulge area. The completeness in the Z and Y images is 84% in the disk, and 40% in the bulge. The first season catalogues contain 1.28 � 10 8 stellar sources in the bulge and 1.68 � 10 8 in the disk area detected in at least one of the photometric bands. The combined, multi-band catalogues contain more than 1.63 � 10 8 stellar sources. About 10% of these are double detections because of overlapping adjacent pointings. These overlapping multiple detections are used to characterise the quality of the data. The images in the JHK s bands extend typically 4 mag deeper than 2MASS. The magnitude limit and photometric quality depend strongly on crowding in the inner Galactic regions. The astrometry for K s = 15-18 mag has rms 35-175 mas. Conclusions: The VVV Survey data products offer a unique dataset to map the stellar populations in the Galactic bulge and the adjacent plane and provide an exciting new tool for the study of the structure, content, and star-formation history of our Galaxy, as well as for investigations of the newly discovered star clusters, star-forming regions in the disk, high proper motion stars, asteroids, planetary nebulae, and other interesting objects. Based on observations taken within the ESO VISTA Public Survey VVV, Programme ID 179.B-2002.


Gleason grade 1 prostatic adenocarcinoma is defined by its gland architecture, which resembles that of benign prostate more than any other grade. It is characterized by closely spaced glands and expansile tumor border. Cytoplasm is clear to pale, superficially identical to benign nodular hyperplasia (BPH). However, there is recent evidence that prostatic "clear-cell carcinoma," including grade 1, has cytoplasm whose composition is distinctively different from BPH, being filled with lipid rather than with the protein-rich granules that characterize benign secretory cells or the nongranular protein matrix of other prostate cancers. We reasoned that grade 1 cancer might also have additional distinctive cellular features; we tested this hypothesis by observations on 17 grade 1 carcinoma foci found as components of transition zone clear-cell cancers. Unlike BPH secretory cells, cells of grade 1 cancer were uniformly large with even, straight borders laterally and luminally. Nuclei appeared sometimes benign but were fixed in a basal row dissimilar to the uneven distribution in BPH. Nuclear pyknotic foci, blue-tinged cytoplasm, and abundant dense luminal secretion were distinctively common. Immunostain for glutathione-S transferase was negative in grade 1 cancer but lightly positive in BPH secretory cells. These cytologic findings were proposed to be useful as diagnostic clues, especially in small-needle biopsy samples, in which architecture may be difficult to interpret. HUM PATHOL 32:441-446.


The transition from student to working nurse has long been recognized as challenging. This paper presents the findings of research into the opportunities and limitations encountered by newly qualified nurses when taking on the nursing role. The study had an ethnographic design. Observation, interviews, and document analysis were used to gain insight into nurses' daily work from the perspective of recently graduated nurses. Thirteen nurses were monitored closely during their first year in a hospital setting in Norway. These new nurses generally entered the field with empathy for their patients, enthusiasm for the profession, and readiness to learn more about being a good nurse. However, their more experienced colleagues seemed to neither respect nor nurture this attitude. The new nurses experienced heavier responsibilities than expected, fragmentation of patient care, and stressful interactions with colleagues. The lack of a supportive work environment and role models increased the new nurses' experience of overwhelming responsibility in their daily work situations. The nurses learned to cope the hard way, despite the organizational culture, not because of it. Adjusting the profession's expectations of new nurses, and offering good role models and more comprehensive support programmes, would markedly ease the transition for new nurses.


Different Countries, Similar Nuclear Safety Culture: A Study on Comparison of Nuclear Safety Cultures in China and USA
Nuclear Safety Culture has always been the top priority of Nuclear Power Industry since its inception. However, there are many long-held perceptions in the industry that countries with nuclear power programs have different nuclear safety cultures and the opportunities for improvement varies a lot due to the influence of its specific national traditions and cultures, which led to difficulty in close cooperation in the area of enhancing nuclear safety culture on a broader basis.
The purpose of the study is to compare nuclear safety cultures and identify common opportunities for improvement for NPPs both in China and USA and promote a broader cooperation in the area of nuclear safety culture. A consistent approach of assessment developed by Utility Service Alliance was used to identify opportunities for improvement of nuclear safety culture in NPPs in both countries. The results of four nuclear safety culture assessments (two in USA and two in China) were reviewed and the common opportunities for improvement were identified together with the unique strength that the four nuclear industry share. It was generally concluded that nuclear safety culture of NPPs both in China and USA has much in common than its difference, there is no visible national boundary for the application of a strong nuclear safety culture.


DUAL PARAMETRIC SENSORS FOR HIGHLY SENSITIVE NUCLEIC ACID DETECTION by Manu Sebastian Mannoor The primary focus of this research work was on the design and development of a molecular scale (nano-scale) capacitive sensing mechanism for the highly sensitive and label-free detection of Nucleic Acid hybridization. These novel capacitive sensors with nano-scale electrode spacing offer solutions to many problems suffered by the conventional signal transduction mechanisms, thereby immensely improving the sensitivity of the biomolecular detection processes. Reducing the separation between the capacitive electrodes to the same scale as the Debye length of the sample solution, results in the overlapping of the electrical double layers of the two electrodes, thereby confining them to occupy a major fraction of the dielectric volume. This decreases the potential drop across the electrodes and thus dielectric measurements at low frequencies are made possible. The dielectric properties during hybridization reaction were measured using 10mer nucleotide sequences. A 30-40% change in relative permittivity (capacitance) was observed due to DNA hybridization at 10Hz, which is much more sensitive than the previously reposted detection measurements (2-8% signal change). In parallel to the above work, a second label-free sensing mechanism based on field effect capacitive sensors with Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) structure has been developed and its ability to provide real-time monitoring of oligonucleotide immobilization and hybridization events are studied. The immobilization of probe oligomers on the sensor surface and their hybridization with the target oligomers of complimentary sequences has produced significant shifts (140mV and 73mV respectively) in the Capacitance-Voltage characteristics measured across the device. In an attempt to utilize the individual merits of the nano-scale electrochemical capacitive sensor and the field effect MOS capacitive structure, a novel dual parametric sensing architecture comprising of both these transducing elements on a single sensor is designed. The detection scheme based on the combined analysis of the two parametersDielectric property and intrinsic molecular chargeof Nucleic acid molecules has found to reveal complimentary information of significance about the analyte-probe interactions. As a separate experiment the applications and promises of a novel technique of enhancing the speed and selectivity of the molecular detection processes by the application of an external electric field of precisely controlled intensity was studied. Experiments were conducted with 10-mer sequences and proved the feasibility of this technique in inducing in providing a faster and selective immobilization and hybridization reactions. The research work in this direction has been in collaboration with the Rational Affinity Devices, LLC, a New Jersey based corporation. The above mentioned biosensing mechanisms and detection techniques have the advantage of simplifying the readout and increasing the speed and ease of nucleic acid assays, which is especially desirable for characterizing infectious agents, scoring sequence polymorphism and genotypes, and measuring mRNA or miRNA levels during expression profiling. Once fully optimized and well assembled they have great potential to be developed in to a commercial full-scale biosensor capable of providing high-value diagnostic testing at the point of patient care places. DUAL PARAMETRIC SENSORS FOR HIGHLY SENSITIVE NUCLEIC ACID DETECTION by Manu Sebastian Mannoor A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering Department of Biomedical Engineering


The World Wide Web is a great source of products and services available to people. Scientists have made a huge effort to create effective strategies to personalize those products/services for anyone willing to use them. The personalization may be provided by Recommender Systems which are able to match people's preferences to specific products or services. Scientists from different research areas such as Psychology, Neurology and Affective Computing agree that human reasoning and decision-making are hardly ever affected by psychological aspects. Thus, to maintain the same level of personalized service provided by humans, computers should also ''reason", taking into account users' psychological aspects. Nevertheless, the psychological aspects have, unfortunately, not been highly applied in most models of User Profiles used in Recommender Systems. As a result, the existing Recommender Systems do not actually use psychological aspects such as Personality Traits during their decision-making process in order to generate their recommendations. In this thesis we propose the implementation of the Personality Traits in User Profiles so it is possible to obtain evidence that the use of Personality Traits in Recommender Systems might be coherent and effective for the improvement of the recommendations for users and, therefore, act proactively towards users' needs, offering more adaptable products and services according to their future needs.


A large variety of programming languages exists, and these languages differ
substantially with regard to the modularization and composition mechanisms they support. Such differences may have an impact on important software engineering characteristics, such as reusability, exibility, analyzability and stability. The design of software languages often entails making trade-offs between such characteristics. In this thesis, we study several state-of-the-art programming languages, in particular focusing on aspect-oriented languages. Aspects have been proposed as a means to improve software modularization in the presence of crosscutting concerns; the aim is that such improved modularization leads to better software maintainability. In this thesis, we strive to improve several engineering characteristics, in particular those that are influenced by the use of aspect-oriented languages. Specically, to improve the analyzability of programs written in aspect-oriented languages, we propose several analysis techniques. First, we introduce an algorithm that ensures the declarative application of introductions by aspects. However, the use of introductions can also cause new kinds of composition conflicts. We propose automated tools to detect such conflicts. In addition, we employ graph-based formalisms to detect several other categories of issues related to introductions by aspects. In addition, we attempt to improve changeability, both from the perspective of software engineers who write programs using aspects, as well as from the perspective of language engineers who prototype new (aspect) languages. To
this end, we define an aspect metamodel interpreter framework, which can be used to define many aspect-oriented languages, including domain-specific aspect languages, of which we give several examples. Using this framework, it is also possible to write programs that use aspects written in multiple aspect languages, expressed in terms of the interpreter framework. Finally, we present a powerful composition infrastructure that supports the definition of a range of composition mechanisms, such as different styles of inheritance, but also aspect-based or domain-specific composition mechanisms. The infrastructure is defined in terms of a language that defines no fixed composition semantics, but provides a generic mechanism for constructing composition mechanisms from primitives that are expressed as rst-class objects.