Informational assumptions are an important aspect of the study of auctions in economictheory. However, there has been limited research into how the assumptions made by theoristsimpact their results. I explore two different aspects of the information available to biddersin auctions. The information that is important to the theoretical study of auctions can bedivided into two types. First, there is information about the realized values of the bidders.I explore this through a model of an English auction with interdependent values wherebidders are able to acquire the private information that is realized by other bidders. Ifind that the ability to costlessly acquire additional information about competitors does notimpact the efficiency of the English auction. This is in line with other research into thistype of information acquisition. I also briefly explore the revenue implications of biddersbeing able to acquire this type of information. The second type of information is about theoverall structure from which the bidders values are drawn. In most theoretical treatmentsof auctions, it is assumed that bidders know this overall structure. I begin to relax thisassumption by adding a small amount of uncertainty about the structure of one of thebidders valuation functions in auctions with interdependent values. Here I find that boththe English auction and the second price auction are no longer efficient after the changein informational structure. I use data collected through economic experiments to test thetheoretical predictions of this model and find that the English auction is more efficient bothwith the standard informational assumptions and with the change made in the informationalstructure. Both of these results suggest that the open format of an English auction, whereinformation is revealed over the course of the auction, may mean that theoretical resultswith stronger assumptions about informational structures at the beginning of the auctionare somewhat robust to those assumptions.


Consumer electronics comprise a rapidly evolving market sector with shorter product cycles and faster changes in cost and energy consumption compared with those of traditional appliances such as white goods and lighting. This fast pace of product development, along with the associated changing costs over time and changes in duty cycle, necessitates a new and refined approach to policy development and program design for consumer electronics. In our paper, we describe a recent engineering analysis for consumer electronics. Engineering analyses provide information to researchers, efficiency program designers and policy makers about how current and emerging technologies are expected to affect costs, product cycles and energy efficiency. Using computer displays as a case study, we show how engineering analyses for consumer electronics differ from those for traditional appliances and how our updated reverse engineering studies yield information on costs and efficiency changes over time. New methods for analysis include developing detailed power budgets at the component level, linking these components to a cost forecast model and identifying innovative technologies and best practices. There are significant cost effective energy savings to be had in displays such as computer monitors—up to 50% on-mode power draw reductions for the market-representative models we evaluate. Our investigation shows there are ways to reduce energy use through more efficient backlighting, film stacks, LCD panels and power supplies, and by optimizing light output. Additionally, we examine promising emerging technologies that could save additional energy in the near future.


ABSTRACT Morphogens provide quantitative and robust signaling systems to achieve stereotypic patterning and morphogenesis. Heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (HSPGs) are key components of such regulatory feedback networks. In Drosophila, HSPGs serve as co-receptors for a number of morphogens, including Hedgehog (Hh), Wingless (Wg), Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Unpaired (Upd, or Upd1). Recently, Windpipe (Wdp), a chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycan (CSPG), was found to negatively regulate Upd and Hh signaling. However, the roles of Wdp, and CSPGs in general, in morphogen signaling networks are poorly understood. We found that Wdp is a major CSPG with 4-O-sulfated CS in Drosophila. Overexpression of wdp modulates Dpp and Wg signaling, showing that it is a general regulator of HS-dependent pathways. Although wdp mutant phenotypes are mild in the presence of morphogen signaling buffering systems, this mutant in the absence of Sulf1 or Dally, molecular hubs of the feedback networks, produces high levels of synthetic lethality and various severe morphological phenotypes. Our study indicates a close functional relationship between HS and CS, and identifies the CSPG Wdp as a novel component in morphogen feedback pathways.


. . . let us live in America, too thankful for our want of feudal institutions. Our houses and towns are like mosses and lichens, so slight and new; but youth is a fault of which we shall daily mend. This land, too, is as old as the Flood, and wants no ornament or privilege which nature could bestow. Here stars, here woods, here hills, here animals, here men abound, and the vast tendencies concur of a new order. If only men are employed in conspiring with the designs of the Spirit who led us hither, and is leading us still, we shall quickly enough advance out of all hearing of other's censures, out of all regrets of our own, into a new and more excellent social state than history has recorded. ralph waldo emerson, "The Young American"


In this paper we give a literature overview on three different aspects of pulp fiber-fiber bonding. First we are reviewing how the adhesion between the pulp fibers is created by the capillary pressure during drying of a sheet. Second we are discussing the individual mechanisms relevant for fiber-fiber bonding. They can be grouped in three different groups: (a) The area in molecular contact , which also includes interdiffusion. (b) the intermolecular bonding mechanisms hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces and Coulomb interaction. (c) the mechanical bonding mechanisms which are capillary bridges and mechanical interlocking. The third and last part of the review discusses the failure process of fiber-fiber bonds and related single fiber-fiber bond testing methods. The general emphasis of the paper is set on providing a general understanding of the processes responsible for how bonds between fibers are created, how they work and how they are failing.


Abstract We present a seabed profile estimation and following method for close proximity inspection of 3D underwater structures using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The presented method is used to determine a path allowing the AUV to pass its sensors over all points of the target structure, which is known as coverage path planning. Our profile following method goes beyond traditional seabed following at a safe altitude and exploits hovering capabilities of recent AUV developments. A range sonar is used to incrementally construct a local probabilistic map representation of the environment and estimates of the local profile are obtained via linear regression. Two behavior-based controllers use these estimates to perform horizontal and vertical profile following. We build upon these tools to address coverage path planning for 3D underwater structures using a (potentially inaccurate) prior map and following cross-section profiles of the target structure. The feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated using the GIRONA 500 AUV both in simulation using synthetic and real-world bathymetric data and in pool trials.


Renin is the initiator and rate-limiting factor of the renin-angiotensin system, a major mechanism of blood pressure regulation. The synthesis and secretion of this active circulatory enzyme is confined exclusively to the dense core granules of kidney juxtaglomerular (JG) cells where its precursor prorenin is packaged, cleaved to the active form and stored for release on a regulated pathway. Given its importance, surprisingly little is known about this process, in part due to the difficulty in culturing primary JG cells in vitro and the lack of reliable cell lines. The initial aim of the current work was to investigate renin-containing granule dynamics in live JG cells. To achieve this, I attempted to derive novel cell lines from triple transgenic mouse models comprising immortalised granulated or non-granulated JG cells. Due to the nature of JG cells in culture, the use of these cell lines to investigate granulation was not feasible; therefore the culture of primary JG cell culture was modified and enhanced to visualise granule dynamics in live, primary JG cells for the first time. By isolating cells using a Percoll gradient and plating them on fibronectincoated dishes, rapid and full adhesion of JG cells was achieved, as well as prolonged expression of renin from 3 days to up to 8 days post-isolation. Using this protocol to isolate JG cells from RenGFP renin reporter mice and identifying granules using the acidotropic fluorophore Lysotracker, granule dynamics were investigated in primary JG cells. High resolution, rapid image acquisition was performed using widefield and total internal reflection microscopy, showing that dense core granules respond dynamically to the β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol, a known renin secretory stimulus. Two different pools of granules of varying granule diameters and dynamic parameters were identified optically, suggesting that separate granule pools were being identified. Mice null for the Ren-1d gene lack renin storage granules in their JG cells, however granulation was restored in Ren1d-null mice carrying a transgene encompassing the human renin (hRen) locus. Therefore in order to investigate the relationship between renin expression and the amount of granulation in JG cells, mice expressing human renin were used. To dissect the granulation phenotype in detail, 2D electron micrographs were taken of JG cells, which were immunogold stained to confirm renin content, and reconstructed in 3D. Female hRen mice showed a significantly higher volume of granulation and an increased granule number compared to males, a finding consistent with the sexually dimorphic expression of the transgene, supporting the hypothesis that granulation in JG cells is dependent on the level of renin expression. The macula densa (MD) is a critical sensor of flow and salt content in the blood; through extensive tubulo-vascular crosstalk known as tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF), it releases key signalling factors stimulating and inhibiting renin synthesis and secretion from JG cells. Ren-1d−/− mice showed a hypercellular and columnar MD plaque, which was not restored by the introduction of the hRen transgene, indicating that TGF may be impaired in these mice. Using an isolated, perfused juxtaglomerular apparatus model it was shown that high saltand increased flow-induced TGF functioned effectively in Ren1d−/− and huRen+/−Ren1d−/− mice, although animals on a Ren1d−/− background showed decreased sensitivity of glomerular tuft contraction and abnormal calcium signalling within macula densa cells. In conclusion, an appropriate in vitro model was developed for investigating granule dynamics in JG cells, using which granule motion was visualised and quantified for the first time in these cells. Although JG cell granulation is required for normal MD morphology, it was shown to not affect JGA function.


In this article Daphna Ben-Shaul explores politically engaged Israeli and Palestinian site-specific re-enactments that pursue what she terms a 'performative return'. This includes performed aesthetic and political re-enactments of real-life events, which bring about a re-conceptualization of reality. Three contemporary cases of return are discussed with regard to the historical precedent of Evreinov's 1920 The Storming of the Winter Palace. The first is an activist, unauthorized return to the village of Iqrit in northern Israel by a group of young Palestinians, whose families were required to leave their homes temporarily in the 1948 war, and have since not been allowed to return. The second is Kibbutz, a project by the Empty House Group, which involved an unauthorized temporary settlement on an abandoned site in Jerusalem. The third is Civil Fast, a twenty-four-hour action by Public Movement, which was hosted mainly on a central public square in Jerusalem, integrated into the urban flow. The article draws attention to the fine line these actions straddle between political activism and aesthetic order, and explores their critical and performative effectiveness. Daphna Ben-Shaul is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts, Tel Aviv University. Her current research on site-specific performance in Israel is funded by a grant from the Israeli Science Foundation. She is the editor of a book on the Israeli art and performance group Zik (Keter, 2005), and has published articles in major journals.


This study assessed the 15-year minimum outcomes of the RingLoc cup (Zimmer Biomet, Warsaw, Indiana), a second-generation cementless porous plasma-coated acetabular component. The study identified 2438 patients (2905 hips) who underwent total hip arthroplasty using the RingLoc acetabular component between 1992 and 2000. Fifteen-year minimum follow-up data were available on 431 consented patients (511 hips). Clinical outcomes included the Harris hip score. Follow-up radiographs, complications, and revisions were reviewed. Mean follow-up was 18.2 years (range, 15-24.7). Harris hip scores improved from 46.9 preoperatively to 79.3 postoperatively (p < .001). Reoperation for any reason was performed in 141 hips (27.6%). Isolated liner exchange was performed in 96 hips (18.8%) and acetabular revisions were performed in 44 hips (8.6%). Acetabular survivorship at 15 years was 93.5% for all causes and 94.3% for aseptic revision. This study demonstrated excellent acetabular survivorship of the porous plasma-sprayed RingLoc cup at a minimum 15-year follow-up. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 28(1):31-34, 2019).


Life can change in an instant and great artists know that the best way to move forward is to adapt. The original direction for this project, Antrieb (German, translated as 'drive'), was a 12-member cast consisting of four sections: a large group, a solo, a vertical duet, and the entire cast. The original project looked at the teachings of Laban and his category of Effort. The accompanying music was created by Andrew Murphy, brother of the choreographer, addressing similar personal reflections after experiencing a life-threatening accident. The change in lifestyle and precautions due to COVID-19 meant that the project could not be presented as envisioned. In response, the project's title became Separately Together, reflecting our altered reality. Created as a dance film rather than a live performance. In the project's revised form 34 dancers from across the country created small phrases inspired by movement conceived for the original project. Groups of five to six dancers were connected through movement by duplicating dancer's phrases in a seamless transition from one dancer to the next. The revised project was then presented on The University of Wyoming Theatre and Dance Facebook page as a watch party with a following live stream discussion. This paper will include information collected during the preparation phase, explanation of the original project, the adaptation and logistics of the current project, and the marketing of the current project.


Development of the European single insurance market was analyzed for the purpose of extracting useful lessons for the Ukraine. Essentials of the single insurance market in EU were considered as basic principles for reforming Ukrainian insurance industry. Problems and prospects of development of the European single insurance market and its regulation were analyzed to identify possibilities of integration of the Ukrainian insurance market with the European one.


Guardian of the Gut The intestine is able to tolerate continual exposure to large amounts of commensal bacteria and foreign food antigens without triggering an inappropriate inflammatory immune response. In the large intestine, this immunological tolerance is thought to occur via a physical separation between environment and host imposed by a continuous mucous layer built up from the secreted mucin protein, MUC2. However, in the small intestine, this mucous layer is porous, necessitating an additional layer of immune control. Shan et al. (p. 447, published online 26 September; see the Perspective by Belkaid and Grainger) now report that in the small intestine, MUC2 plays an active role in immunological tolerance by activating a transcription factor in resident dendritic cells, thereby selectively blocking their ability to launch an inflammatory response. This work identifies MUC2 as a central mediator of immune tolerance to maintain homeostasis in the gut and possibly at other mucosal surfaces in the body. Mucus not only forms a physical barrier in the intestine but also promotes immunological tolerance of bacteria and foods. [Also see Perspective by Belkaid and Grainger] A dense mucus layer in the large intestine prevents inflammation by shielding the underlying epithelium from luminal bacteria and food antigens. This mucus barrier is organized around the hyperglycosylated mucin MUC2. Here we show that the small intestine has a porous mucus layer, which permitted the uptake of MUC2 by antigen-sampling dendritic cells (DCs). Glycans associated with MUC2 imprinted DCs with anti-inflammatory properties by assembling a galectin-3–Dectin-1–FcγRIIB receptor complex that activated β-catenin. This transcription factor interfered with DC expression of inflammatory but not tolerogenic cytokines by inhibiting gene transcription through nuclear factor κB. MUC2 induced additional conditioning signals in intestinal epithelial cells. Thus, mucus does not merely form a nonspecific physical barrier, but also constrains the immunogenicity of gut antigens by delivering tolerogenic signals.


From a theoretical perspective, judging the expressivity of planning formalisms helps to understand the relationship of different representations and to infer theoretical properties. From a practical point of view, it is important to be able to choose the best formalism for a problem at hand, or to ponder the consequences of introducing new representation features. Most work on the expressivity is based either on compilation approaches, or on the computational complexity of the plan existence problem. Recently, we introduced a new notion of expressivity. It is based on comparing the structural complexity of the set of solutions to a planning problem by interpreting the set as a formal language and classifying it with respect to the Chomsky hierarchy. This is a more direct measure than the plan existence problem and enables also the comparison of formalisms that can not be compiled into each other. While existing work on that last approach focused on different hierarchical problem classes, this paper investigates STRIPS with and without conditional effects; though we also tighten some existing results on hierarchical formalisms. Our second contribution is a discussion on the language-based expressivity measure with respect to the other approaches.


Background and Objectives: To evaluate the utility of the constructs functioning
and disability (F&D) and dependency for case-mix and subtyping of patients with schizophrenia
by psychosocial, clinical, use of services and attention received from informal carers.
Methods: A randomly selected total of 205 people with schizophrenia, and their careers
were evaluated through PANSS, DAS-sv, Objective and Subjective Burden Scale (ECFOSII)
and use of services.
Results: Two groups and Four profiles were identified according to levels of Dependency:
The non-dependent group was made of two profiles: independent (I), and persons with
disability in the community (DiC). The dependent group included persons with dependency
in the community (DeC) and persons with dependency in hospital care (DeH). There
are clinical and psychosocial differences between these profiles being the dependent the
most severe. Regarding use of services, DeC use the most resources, with the exception
DeH (more hospitalization resources). The DeC profile generate greater family burden in
the following areas; taking medication, being accompanied to appointments, and management
than the DiC, despite both groups showing a high need for support.
Conclusions: Dependency is a relevant construct for case-mix and subtyping in schizophrenia,
and it is related to severity both at the social and clinical level. DeC generate
more family burden than the other profiles, followed by DiC (patients with schizophrenia
with disability but non-dependent).


The significant upscaling of wind turbine size (nameplate capacity, rotor diameter, and tower height) has, to date, been driven primarily by a goal of minimizing the levelized cost of energy. But with wind's levelized cost of energy now comparable with that of other generating resources, other design considerations besides cost-minimization have grown in importance—particularly as wind's increasing market penetration begins to impose challenges on the electric grid. We find that taller towers and larger rotors (relative to nameplate capacity) can enhance the value of wind energy to the electricity system and provide other ''hidden'' benefits. Specifically, in regions where wind penetration has reached around 20%, we find a boost in wholesale market value of US$2–US$3/MWh. This is aug-mented by transmission, balancing, and financing benefits that sum to roughly US$2/MWh. The aggregate potential value enhancement of US$4–US$5/MWh is comparable with a 10%–15% reduction in levelized costs.


As a new promising crossover method, multiple crossovers per couple (MCPC) deserves special attention in evolutionary computing field. Allowing multiple crossovers per couple on a selected pair of parents provided an extra benefit in processing time and similar quality of solutions when contrasted against the conventional single crossover per couple approach (SCPC). These results, were confirmed when optimising classic testing functions and harder (non-linear, non-separable) functions. Despite these benefits, due to a reinforcement of selective pressure, MCPC showed in some cases an undesirable premature convergence effect. In order to face this problem, the present paper attempts to control the number of crossovers, and offspring, allowed to the mating pair in a self-adaptive manner. Self-adaptation of parameters is a central feature of evolutionary strategies, another class of algorithms, which simultaneously apply evolutionary principles on the search space of object variables and on strategy parameters. In other words, parameter values are also submitted to the evolutionary process. This approach can be also applied to genetic algorithms. In the case of MCPC, the number of crossovers allowed to a selected couple is a key parameter and consequently self-adaptation is achieved by adding to the chromosome structure -labels- describing the number of crossover allowed to each individual. Labels, which are bit strings, also undergo crossover and mutation and consequently evolve together with the individual. During the stages of the evolution process, it is expected that the algorithm will return the number of crossovers for which the current population exhibits a better behaviour.


This magisterial book offers comprehensive accounts of the professional itineraries of three women in the silent film in the Netherlands, France and North America. Annette Förster presents a careful assessment of the long career of Dutch stage and film actress Adriënne Solser; an exploration of the stage and screen careers of French actress and filmmaker Musidora and Canadian-born actress and filmmaker Nell Shipman; an analysis of the interaction between the popular stage and the silent cinema from the perspective of women at work in both realms; fresh insights into Dutch stage and screen comedy, the French revue and the American Northwest drama of the 1910s; and much more, all grounded in a wealth of archival research.


Fortran marches on, remaining one of the principal programming languages used in high-performance scientific, numerical, and engineering computing. A series of significant revisions to the standard versions of the language have progressively enhanced its capabilities, and the latest standard—Fortran 2018—includes many additions and improvements. This second edition of Modern Fortran Explained expands on the first. Given the release of updated versions of Fortran compilers, the separate descriptions of Fortran 2003 and Fortran 2008 have been incorporated into the main text, which thereby becomes a unified description of the full Fortran 2008 version of the language. This is much cleaner, many deficiencies and irregularities in the earlier language versions having been resolved. It includes object orientation and parallel processing with coarrays. Four completely new chapters describe the additional features of Fortran 2018, with its enhancements to coarrays for parallel programming, interoperability with C, IEEE arithmetic, and various other improvements. Written by leading experts in the field, two of whom have actively contributed to Fortran 2018, this is a complete and authoritative description of Fortran in its latest form. It is intended for new and existing users of the language, and for all those involved in scientific and numerical computing. It is suitable as a textbook for teaching and, with its index, as a handy reference for practitioners.


The voice of conservatism is not much heard in contemporary political philosophy. There is no shortage of conservatives, but there is a shortage of systematic, articulate, and reasonable attempts to defend conservatism. The aim of this paper is to provide the outlines of such a defence. It is not possible, in a paper, to provide more than an outline. The argument proceeds by identifying several features of what is taken to be thestrongest version of conservatism. These features jointly define it and distinguish it from other versions of conservatism, as well as from other political outlooks.


The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) causes an infectious disease that if left untreated can progress to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and be fatal. Finding a cure and more treatments for HIV has become a top priority in medical research, and due to the cost of synthetic HIV medication, finding a low-cost alternative is essential. Marine pharmacology has provided a possible solution to costly HIV medication through compounds derived from marine brown algae that inhibit the HIV-1 protease (PR). The objective of this study is to emphasize the necessity for further research in HIV-1 protease inhibition using marinewildlife-derived compounds. In order to better understand the process of protease inhibitors, I will investigate the process of producing and purifying HIV-1 PR, extracting and isolating brown algal compounds, and the assays used to test the inhibition effects of the brown alga compounds. This study demonstrates the potential of marine pharmacology as an inexpensive alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals for HIV-1 PR inhibition.


Darreh-Zerreshk and Ali-Abad are two relatively small porphyry copper-type deposits in Yazd Province in central Iran. They are located within the central Iranian volcano-plutonic belt, formed above the collisional convergent margin of the Iranian lithospheric plate from the late Eocene to the Miocene. This paper discusses the geochemical characteristics of the igneous rocks, and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology of plutons and alteration phases associated with the Darreh-Zerreshk and Ali-Abad deposits. The deposits are spatially associated with igneous complexes that consist of older and barren granites intruded by intermediate-composition granitoids, which are the carriers of Cu mineralization. The granites have relatively high content of Nb, Y, and K, a prominent negative Eu anomaly, and were probably derived from melting of, or contamination of mantle-derived magmas by, continental crust. Porphyritic diorites, quartz monzodiorites, and granodiorites show enrichment in light rare earth and large-ion lithophile elements, depletion in middle rare earth elements, and have no negative Eu anomaly. These intermediate-composition granitoids were derived from melting of the upper mantle or lower crust, and their differentiation was controlled partly by fractionation of hornblende. A pilot K/Ar whole-rock dating study suggests that the pre-ore granites were emplaced in the Oligocene. Dating by the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar method of nine samples of secondary biotite and sericitized rocks from drillcore within the mineralized and altered zones in both deposits yielded a well-defined age of ca. 16 Ma. This date is interpreted to be the time of hydrothermal alteration and of porphyry copper type mineralization in this part of Iran.


This essay addresses the need for a fuller, more integral and embodied understanding of salvation in Protestant, especially Reformed theology. Specifically, it makes a case for retrieving the early Eastern Christian notion of theosis/deification for contemporary Reformed theology. After reviewing classical formulations of theosis and other notions of salvation in the broader Christian tradition, it considers conventional Reformed objections to theosis. Then it explores new directions in Calvin research indicated by Carl Mosser, J. Todd Billings, and Julie Canlis, as well as the constructive theology of incarnation presented by Wendy Farley, with a view to determining their potential to assist in this retrieval. In the end, the author formulates some 'grammar rules' for articulating theosis in a Reformed-ecumenical, gender-sensitive discourse.


Data Science and Machine Learning are in high demand, as customers are increasingly looking for ways to glean insights from all their data. More customers now realize that Business Intelligence is not enough as the volume, speed and complexity of data now defy traditional analytics tools. While Business Intelligence addresses descriptive and diagnostic analysis, Data Science unlocks new opportunities through predictive and prescriptive analysis. The purpose of this book is to provide a gentle and instructionally organized introduction to the field of data science and machine learning, with a focus on building and deploying predictive models. The book also provides a thorough overview of the Microsoft Azure Machine Learning service using task oriented descriptions and concrete end-to-end examples, sufficient to ensure the reader can immediately begin using this important new service. It describes all aspects of the service from data ingress to applying machine learning and evaluating the resulting model, to deploying the resulting model as a machine learning web service. Finally, this book attempts to have minimal dependencies, so that you can fairly easily pick and choose chapters to read. When dependencies do exist, they are listed at the start and end of the chapter. The simplicity of this new service from Microsoft will help to take Data Science and Machine Learning to a much broader audience than existing products in this space. Learn how you can quickly build and deploy sophisticated predictive models as machine learning web services with the new Azure Machine Learning service from Microsoft. What youll learn A structured introduction to Data Science and its best practices An introduction to the new Microsoft Azure Machine Learning service, explaining how to effectively build and deploy predictive models as machine learning web services Practical skills such as how to solve typical predictive analytics problems like propensity modeling, churn analysis and product recommendation. An introduction to the following skills: basic Data Science, the Data Mining process, frameworks for solving practical business problems with Machine Learning, and visualization with Power BIWho this book is for Data Scientists, Business Analysts, BI Professionals and Developers who are interested in expanding their repertoire of skill applied to machine learning and predictive analytics, as well as anyone interested in an in-depth explanation of the Microsoft Azure Machine Learning service through practical tasks and concrete applications. The reader is assumed to have basic knowledge of statistics and data analysis, but not deep experience in data science or data mining. Advanced programming skills are not required, although some experience with R programming would prove very useful.


Which of the three legal doctrines of public use, just compensation, and due process is the most effective in constraining abuses of eminent domain power? This article addresses this question for the first time and presents the first-ever systematic investigation of the judicial review of eminent domain in China. Our empirical study reveals that Chinese courts focus on eminent domain procedures while rarely supporting claims based on public interest or just compensation. Procedural rules are determinate and therefore easier to enforce than substantial standards of public interest and just compensation. Chinese courts also choose to focus on eminent domain procedures to confine their own judicial review power for the purpose of self-preservation in an authoritarian state that empowers the courts to monitor and control local governments but does not want them to become too powerful. The study calls for a "due process revolution" in eminent domain law and introduces the "judicial politics of legal doctrine" approach to the study of Chinese law, an approach that takes both political institutions and legal doctrines seriously.


From the Publisher:
Written by a master teacher and author of the highly acclaimed The Art and Science of C, this new book helps students master the fundamentals of data structures while encouraging them to develop strong software engineering skills. By emphasizing modern programming concepts such as interfaces, abstraction, and encapsulation, the text provides an ideal foundation for further study of programming. With his clear explanations and engaging writing style, Professor Roberts leads students through the CS2 curriculum in a way that captures and holds their interest throughout.


Spin models of neural networks and genetic networks are considered elegant as they are accessible to statistical mechanics tools for spin glasses and magnetic systems. However, the conventional choice of variables in spin systems may cause problems in some models when parameter choices are unrealistic from a biological perspective. Obviously, this may limit the role of a model as a template model for biological systems. Perhaps less obviously, also ensembles of random networks are affected and may exhibit different critical properties. We consider here a prototypical network model that is biologically plausible in its local mechanisms. We study a discrete dynamical network with two characteristic properties: Nodes with binary states 0 and 1, and a modified threshold function with Θ(0)(0)=0. We explore the critical properties of random networks of such nodes and find a critical connectivity K(c)=2.0 with activity vanishing at the critical point. Finally, we observe that the present model allows a more natural implementation of recent models of budding yeast and fission yeast cell-cycle control networks.


We propose a first step in the development of an integrated theory of the emergence of distributed cognition/extended mind. Distributed cognition is seen as the confluence of collective intelligence and "situatedness", or the extension of cognitive processes into the physical environment. The framework is based on five fundamental assumptions: 1) groups of agents self-organize to form a differentiated, coordinated system, adapted to its environment, 2) the system co-opts external media for internal propagation of information, 3) the resulting distributed cognitive system can be modelled as a learning, connectionist network, 4) information in the network is transmitted selectively, 5) novel knowledge emerges through non-linear, recurrent interactions. The implication for collective intentionality is that such a self-organizing agent collective can develop "mental content" that is not reducible to individual


Palaeomagnetic research was carried out in the North Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Mountainous Mangyshlak and Central Kopetdag. The ten most complete marine sections of the Lower Cretaceous were selected. They provided opportunity to make reliable references of palaeomagnetic columns to the ammonite zones from the general stratigraphic scale. About 7500 oriented samples were selected from outcrops. The data on the Berriasian-lower Aptian deposits magnetism in the North Caucasus and the Western Central Asia combined with other authors data provide the material for revision of Neocomian palaeomagnetic structure.


The agricultural dynamics of soybean expansion have long been recognized as a major driver of excessive land cover change on the southwestern border of the Brazilian Amazon. The hypothesis that the soybean market exerts an influence on land use was investigated by the association between economic indicators and soybean crop dynamics in the state of Mato Grosso (western Brazil). We integrated a historical series of satellite data of soybean cropland expansion and the two main economic variables (selling prices and production costs) for soybean in Mato Grosso. We focused on the relation between profit (the difference between the average soybean price and production costs) and land-use transition to soybean from 2001 to 2013. The spatially explicit analysis showed that the overall accuracy between the resulting first-time use and the most recent soybean crop area in 2013 was 96.75%, with a Kappa index of 0.63. However, dissimilar values found between Omission and Commission indicators suggest that most of the expanded areas prior to 2013 (5.57 million ha) were under a high dynamical range of land uses. Although there is no direct relation between either the deforestation rate or expansion trends (first-time-use rate) and profit, the results strongly suggest (R 2 =0.81) that profit exerts a direct and non-negligible influence on the evolution of consolidated land use for soybean in Mato Grosso State


In silico drug target identification, which includes many distinct algorithms for finding disease genes and proteins, is the first step in the drug discovery pipeline. When the 3D structures of the targets are available, the problem of target identification is usually converted to finding the best interaction mode between the potential target candidates and small molecule probes. Pharmacophore, which is the spatial arrangement of features essential for a molecule to interact with a specific target receptor, is an alternative method for achieving this goal apart from molecular docking method. PharmMapper server is a freely accessed web server designed to identify potential target candidates for the given small molecules (drugs, natural products or other newly discovered compounds with unidentified binding targets) using pharmacophore mapping approach. PharmMapper hosts a large, in-house repertoire of pharmacophore database (namely PharmTargetDB) annotated from all the targets information in TargetBank, BindingDB, DrugBank and potential drug target database, including over 7000 receptor-based pharmacophore models (covering over 1500 drug targets information). PharmMapper automatically finds the best mapping poses of the query molecule against all the pharmacophore models in PharmTargetDB and lists the top N best-fitted hits with appropriate target annotations, as well as respective molecule's aligned poses are presented. Benefited from the highly efficient and robust triangle hashing mapping method, PharmMapper bears high throughput ability and only costs 1 h averagely to screen the whole PharmTargetDB. The protocol was successful in finding the proper targets among the top 300 pharmacophore candidates in the retrospective benchmarking test of tamoxifen. PharmMapper is available at http://184.108.40.206/pharmmapper.


One of the main characteristics of infinite-dimensional dissipative evolution equations, such as the Navier-Stokes equations and reaction-diffusion systems, is that their long-time dynamics is determined by finitely many parameters - finite number of determining modes, nodes, volume elements and other determining interpolants. In this talk I will show how to explore this finite-dimensional feature of the long-time behavior of infinite-dimensional dissipative systems to design finite-dimensional feedback control for stabilizing their solutions. Notably, it is observed that this very same approach can be implemented for designing data assimilation algorithms of weather prediction based on discrete measurements. In addition, I will also show that the long-time dynamics of the Navier-Stokes equations can be imbedded in an infinite-dimensional dynamical system that is induced by an ordinary differential equations, named determining form, which is governed by a globally Lipschitz vector field. Remarkably, as a result of this machinery I will eventually show that the global dynamics of the Navier-Stokes equations is being determining by only one parameter that is governed by an ODE. The Navier-Stokes equations are used as an illustrative example, and all the above mentioned results equally hold to other dissipative evolution PDEs, in particular to various dissipative reaction-diffusion systems and geophysical models.


As the Hawaiian political and cultural movement continues to grow, issues of re presentation, power, and control are being critiqued—now by Hawaiian minds. In this essay I look at the fundamentals of Hawaiian epistemology and begin to link them with the educational re f o rm now underway in Hawai'i. With the guidance of twenty mentors, I outline seven epistemological categories that begin to solidify a distinct way in which to view teaching, learning, intellect, and rigor. These categories, now struggling to be useful in the Hawaiian Charter School movement, will inevitably also serve as a way to critique the current colonial system in Hawaiian language immersion, spotlight the oppression embedded in well-meant content and performance standards, and highlight the hidden curriculum of assimilation and the acultural assumptions in pedagogy that exist in Hawai'i's colonial schools. This outline of a Hawaiian philosophy of knowledge expands, invigorates, and redefines ideas of empiricism, intellectual rigor, and knowledge priorities—all through Hawaiian ontological lenses. Like any definition of culture put forth by indigenous practitioners and scholars, it pushes the envelope of what it means to think, exist, and struggle as a nonmainstream "other," and as it details the liberation found in identity, it must also, inevitably, outline the systems that deter its full blossoming.


The capacity of each disconnected cerebral hemisphere to control a variety of facial postures was examined in three split-brain patients. The dynamics of facial posturing were analyzed in 30-msec optical disc frames that were generated off videotape recordings of each patient's response to lateralized stimuli. The results revealed that commands presented to the left hemisphere effecting postures of the lower facial muscles showed a marked asymmetry, with the right side of the face sometimes responding up to 180 msec before the left side of the face. Commands presented to the right hemisphere elicited a response only if the posture involved moving the upper facial muscles. Spontaneous postures filmed during free conversation were symmetrical. The results suggest that while either hemisphere can generate spontaneous facial expressions only the left hemisphere is efficient at generating voluntaly expressions. This contrasts sharply with the fact that both hemispheres can carry out a wide variety of other voluntary movements with the hand and foot.


Most of the computer vision algorithms operate pixel-wise and process image in a small neighborhood for feature extraction. Such a feature extraction strategy ignores the context of an object in the real world. Taking geometric context into account while classifying various regions in a scene, we can discriminate the similar features obtained from different regions with respect to their context. A geometric context based scene decomposition method is proposed and is applied in a context-aware Augmented Reality (AR) system. The proposed system segments a single image of a scene into a set of semantic classes representing dominant surfaces in the scene. The classification method is evaluated on an urban driving sequence with labeled ground truths and found to be robust in classifying the scene regions into a set of dominant applicable surfaces. The classified dominant surfaces are used to generate a 3D scene. The generated 3D scene provides an input to the AR system. The visual experience of 3D scene through the contextually aware AR system provides a solution for visual touring from single images as well as an experimental tool for improving the understanding of human visual perception.


The rapid consumption of non-renewable resources has resulted in an ever-increasing problem of CO2 emissions that has motivated people for investigating the harvesting of energy from renewable alternatives (e.g. solar and wind). Efficient electrochemical energy storage devices play a crucial role in storing harvested energies in our daily lives. For example, rechargeable batteries can store energy generated by solar cells during the daytime and release it during night-time. In particular, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have received considerable attention ever since their early commercialization in 1990s. However, with initiatives by several governments to build large-scale energy grids to store energy for cities, problems such as the high cost and limited availability of lithium starts to become major issues. Sodium, which also belongs to Group 1 of the periodic table, has comparable electrochemical properties to Lithium, and more importantly it is considerably more accessible than lithium. Nonetheless, research into sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) is currently still in its infancy compared to LIBs, although great leaps and bounds have been made recently in terms of research and development into this technology. Here in this review, we summarize the recent advancements made, also covering the prospective materials for both the battery cathode and anode. Additionally, opinions on possible solutions through correlating trends in recent papers will be suggested.


The spectroscopic properties of Ho3+-doped YVO4 were studied at cryogenic temperatures in the 2 µm spectral region to clarify recent observations of efficient dual-wavelength laser operation in this material. Energy levels of the 5I7 and 5I8 manifolds were determined from low-temperature absorption and fluorescence measurements. Polarized absorption cross sections were measured, and stimulated emission cross sections were determined using the reciprocity method coupled with Fuchtbauer-Ladenburg calculations. The observed laser emission wavelengths were at 2054.2 nm and 2068.5 nm. At 80 K, radiative lifetimes for the 5I7 manifold were calculated to be 3.6 ms, and fluorescence lifetimes were measured to be 2.9 ms, indicating a quantum efficiency of ~80%. Analysis of the gain cross section at 80 K and 100 K showed that the laser output wavelength is very susceptible to minor changes in temperature.


In this short communication, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), which is used as a common plant growth regulator, was tested for its effects on Drosophila, Daphnia and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both Drosophila and Daphnia are invertebrates, but importantly, Daphnia is aquatic. All three organisms used here are established model organisms. This plant hormone was clearly toxic for both types of invertebrate model organisms, and had growth inhibitory effect on yeast cells. In Drosophila, NAA not only caused reduction in number of larvae or pupae, but complete development was affected. Number of new Drosophila produced in next generation were very low compared to controls. Similarly, when Daphnia were cultured in presence of NAA, most of the Daphnia were dead within a week. The effects of NAA was recorded at different time points in all three organisms, and the effect was more severe at later time points, or at higher concentrations of NAA.


Theauthorsestimateclimatewarming‐relatedtwenty-first-centurychangesofmoisturetransportsfromthe descending into the ascending regions in the tropics. Unlike previous studies that employ time and space averaging, here homogeneous high horizontal and vertical resolution data from an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) climate model are used. This allows for estimating changes in much greater detail (e.g., the estimation of the distribution of ascending and descending regions, changes in the vertical profile, and separating changes of the inward and outward transports). Lowlevel inward and midlevel outward moisture transports of the convective regions in the tropics are found to increase in a simulated anthropogenically warmed climate as compared to a simulated twentieth-century atmosphere, indicating an intensification of the hydrological cycle. Since an increase of absolute inward transport exceeds the absolute increase of outward transport, the resulting budget is positive, meaning that more water is projected to converge in the moist tropics. The intensification is found mainly to be due to the higher amount of water in the atmosphere, while the contribution of weakening wind counteracts this response marginally. In addition the changing statistical properties of the vertical profile of the moisture transport are investigated and the importance of the substantial outflow of moisture from the moist tropics at midlevels is demonstrated.


Some argue that law is the discipline which has mixed most prominently with bioethics, and that bioethicists can be seduced by the law and by legal procedures. While there is a great consensus that law has influenced bioethics in significant and important ways, certainly much more than it influenced other "law and..." disciplines, scholars dispute as to the exact role which the law plays in bioethics, the goals it purports to achieve and the implications of its relationship with the discipline of bioethics. This Article aims to explore the relationship between law and bioethics and calls for a careful evaluation of the law's contributions to bioethics. Specifically, it will be argued that while the law contributed extensively to the development of bioethics it introduced a language and a way of thinking that are not necessarily appropriate to handle and resolve bioethical issues, and which, in significant portion of cases, was irrelevant and had little impact on decision-making and behavioral patterns of patients. Moreover, law's interference with and shape of bioethical issues resulted in serious threats to some of the major characteristic of such issues and brought about to other societal concerns which the law did not consider seriously. The article will conclude that it is now time to re-evaluate the direction in which bioethics should take in the next years, specifically whether it should continue to integrate with law or other disciplines, or alternatively become a more autonomous and independent discipline.


BACKGROUND
Randomized trials without reported adequate allocation concealment have been shown to overestimate the benefit of experimental interventions. We investigated the robustness of conclusions drawn from meta-analyses to exclusion of such trials.

MATERIAL
Random sample of 38 reviews from The Cochrane Library 2003, issue 2 and 32 other reviews from PubMed accessed in 2002. Eligible reviews presented a binary effect estimate from a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials as the first statistically significant result that supported a conclusion in favour of one of the interventions.

METHODS
We assessed the methods sections of the trials in each included meta-analysis for adequacy of allocation concealment. We replicated each meta-analysis using the authors' methods but included only trials that had adequate allocation concealment. Conclusions were defined as not supported if our result was not statistically significant.

RESULTS
Thirty-four of the 70 meta-analyses contained a mixture of trials with unclear or inadequate concealment as well as trials with adequate allocation concealment. Four meta-analyses only contained trials with adequate concealment, and 32, only trials with unclear or inadequate concealment. When only trials with adequate concealment were included, 48 of 70 conclusions (69%; 95% confidence interval: 56-79%) lost support. The loss of support mainly reflected loss of power (the total number of patients was reduced by 49%) but also a shift in the point estimate towards a less beneficial effect.

CONCLUSION
Two-thirds of conclusions in favour of one of the interventions were no longer supported if only trials with adequate allocation concealment were included.


Situating itself in the field of cultural memory studies, this article traces the slow emergence in German historical discourse of the narrative of an anonymous German woman who survived the Soviet occupation of Berlin in 1945. I will, firstly, conceptualize the historical condition of the Anonyma as a precarious liminal sphere of transition between competing sovereignties that dislodged her political status as citizen and reconstituted her as bare life in the sense of Agamben. Secondly, I direct focus to the relationship between the personal story of the Anonyma and a historical Master narrative pertaining to the period. The article argues for a close connection between the woman's form of resistance that aimed at replacing unchecked rape with a form of coerced prostitution to reassert limited control over the borders of her body, and the negative reception her diary received after a first publication in Germany in 1959. Her story implicitly challenges a hegemonic discourse of war that treats mass rape as mainly an assault on the nation's male defenders and that silences the victims' traumatic experiences with reference to collective guilt and individual shame or treason.


What is the shortest possible route for a traveling salesman seeking to visit each city on a list exactly once and return to his city of origin? It sounds simple enough, yet the traveling salesman problem is one of the most intensely studied puzzles in applied mathematics—and it has defied solution to this day. In this book, William Cook takes readers on a mathematical excursion, picking up the salesman's trail in the 1800s when Irish mathematician W. R. Hamilton first defined the problem, and venturing to the furthest limits of today's state-of-the-art attempts to solve it. He also explores its many important applications, from genome sequencing and designing computer processors to arranging music and hunting for planets. In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman travels to the very threshold of our understanding about the nature of complexity, and challenges you yourself to discover the solution to this captivating mathematical problem.


Abstract Background: Adults with mental illness may have difficulties with data collection methods such as questionnaires and accelerometry. Aims: To assess the utility of questionnaires and accelerometry for assessing physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) in non-institutionalised adults with mental illness. Methods: Participants were recruited from outpatient clinics and community organisations. Participants completed PA and SB questionnaires, wore accelerometers for 7 d, and rated the ease/difficulty of completing study components. Recruitment numbers, adherence, and ease/difficulty ratings were examined. Ease/difficulty ratings were compared between study components, and between participants by distress level. Results: One hundred forty-two participants completed the questionnaires; they found it easier to report PA than reclining time (p = 0.017), and reclining time than sitting time (p < 0.001). Participants with high distress found it more difficult to report sitting time and PA than participants with low distress (p < 0.017). Ninety-nine participants (70%) completed the accelerometry; the majority (88%) met the minimum wear-time criteria. They found it easier to wear the monitor during the day than while sleeping (p < 0.001), and easier to complete accelerometry than questionnaires (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Accelerometry was more feasible for assessing SB than questionnaires. Questionnaires were feasible for assessing PA, but less acceptable for people experiencing high distress.


Sparse Coding (SC), which models the data vectors as sparse linear combinations over basis vectors (i.e., dictionary), has been widely applied in machine learning, signal processing and neuroscience. Recently, one specific SC technique, Group Sparse Coding (GSC), has been proposed to learn a common dictionary over multiple different groups of data, where the data groups are assumed to be pre-defined. In practice, this may not always be the case. In this paper, we propose Automatic Group Sparse Coding (AutoGSC), which can (1) discover the hidden data groups; (2) learn a common dictionary over different data groups; and (3) learn an individual dictionary for each data group. Finally, we conduct experiments on both synthetic and real world data sets to demonstrate the effectiveness of AutoGSC, and compare it with traditional sparse coding and Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) methods.


This study was carried out to apply positive psychology-based group counseling activities, which were prepared to reduce the tendency of 7th grade students to lie and created considering Turkish-Islamic cultural values, and to test the effectiveness of the activities. In the quantitative part of the study in which the mixed method design was preferred, a quasi-experimental design consisting of experimental, control, and placebo groups was used. The quantitative phase of the study was carried out with 68 students, 22 of whom were in the experimental group, 24 in the control group, and 22 in the placebo group, studying in a secondary school in Gaziantep where permission for the study was obtained. The study group for the quantitative stage of the study was determined by the analogous cluster sampling method. The lying tendency scale and the assertiveness inventory were used as data collection tools for this stage. The study group at the qualitative stage, which was completed by performing a case study, was determined using the criterion sampling method and was carried out with the teachers and parents of the experimental group. In the qualitative part of the study, a structured interview form was used as a data collection tool. The study found a significant difference in the lying of the experimental group, no significant difference in the lying tendency of the control and placebo group, significant differences between the difference scores of the groups' lying tendencies, and a significant difference in the assertiveness scores of the placebo group.


With the growth in our reliance on information systems and computer science information modeling and knowledge bases have become a focus for academic attention and research. The amount and complexity of information, the number of levels of abstraction and the size of databases and knowledge bases all continue to increase, and new challenges and problems arise every day. This book is part of the series Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases, which concentrates on a variety of themes such as the design and specification of information systems, software engineering and knowledge and process management. Attention is also paid to theoretical disciplines including cognitive science, artificial intelligence, logic, linguistics and analytical philosophy. Selected papers cover many areas of information modeling and knowledge bases, namely theory of concepts, database semantics, knowledge representation, software engineering, WWW information management, context-based information retrieval, ontological technology, image databases, temporal and spatial databases, document data management, process management, cultural modeling, social networks, personalization, interfaces, data mining and many others. The book will be of interest to all those involved in research and application in these academic areas.IOS Press is an international science, technical and medical publisher of high-quality books for academics, scientists, and professionals in all fields. Some of the areas we publish in: -Biomedicine -Oncology -Artificial intelligence -Databases and information systems -Maritime engineering -Nanotechnology -Geoengineering -All aspects of physics -E-governance -E-commerce -The knowledge economy -Urban studies -Arms control -Understanding and responding to terrorism -Medical informatics -Computer Sciences


Abstract Drawing upon recent interdisciplinary research in the fields of literary geography and critical cartography, this article argues that a concept of processual intertextuality might be used to open up thinking about literary maps and mapping practices: a concept through which such maps are understood to be systems of cultural signification which are inextricably embedded within the material world and which are brought into being with each embodied reading or use. This theory is then applied to maps which are both reproduced within and generated by Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons (1930): an adventure novel for children which is predicated upon a conflation of actual and imagined geographies. The article goes on to propose that the critical understanding of the processual intertextuality of literary cartographies might be further enhanced by the use of a suite of geo-location technologies; and, ultimately, it suggests that the future of critical literary cartography might be founded, at least in part, upon in-the-field digital mapping practices.


The field of service design(SD)is fast growing. SD methodology focuses on ensuring positive user experiences across types of touch-points, types of mediums used (digital, paper, TV, radio etc.), devices (mobile, web), platforms (iOS, Android, MS, Linux), browsers, usage situations, weathers (rain, sunshine, cold weather) and so forth. However, universal design (UD) related to SD is under-researched. This paper aims to increase the knowledge of UD in SD. An exploratory approach is used to gather information, including a literature study and an interview study. Our findings show that UD awareness is lacking. Processes are highly qualitative –seeking to understand the user. However, marginalized users are not included. Based on the findings, we suggest six initiatives to promote a more inclusive SD methodology: 1) Define UD in relation to services, 2) Change the legislated focus from digital touchpoints to holistic costumer journeys, 3) Make service designers accountable for UD aspects, 4) Add UD aspects in early design-up-front, 5)Promote marginalized user focus during design and 6) Integrate UD aspects in higher education on SD. Further, we propose the following definition of UD in SD: "A service is universally designed when its customer journeys are usable to all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design apart from choosing preferred touchpoints".


Arithmetic Coding (AC) is widely used for the entropy coding of text and multimedia data. It involves recursive partitioning of the range [0,1) in accordance with the relative probabilities of occurrence of the input symbols. In this paper, we present a data (image or video) encryption scheme based on arithmetic coding, which we refer to as Chaotic Arithmetic Coding (CAC). In CAC, a large number of chaotic maps can be used to perform coding, each achieving Shannon optimal compression performance. The exact choice of map is governed by a key. CAC has the effect of scrambling the intervals without making any changes to the width of interval in which the codeword must lie, thereby allowing encryption without sacrificing any coding efficiency. We next describe Binary CAC (BCAC) with some simple Security Enhancement (SE) modes which can alleviate the security of scheme against known cryptanalysis against AC-based encryption techniques. These modes, namely Plaintext Modulation (PM), Pair-Wise Independent Keys (PWIK), and Key and cipher text Mixing (MIX) modes have insignificant computational overhead, while BCAC decoder has lower hardware requirements than BAC coder itself, making BCAC with SE as excellent choice for deployment in secure embedded multimedia systems. A bit sensitivity analysis for key and plaintext is presented along with experimental tests for compression performance.


To mitigate the increasing atmospheric CO 2 level and reduce the subsequent impacts, storage of CO2 is one option that might become necessary. Ocean storage and storage of CO 2 under the sea bottom with potential leakage into the ocean both require knowledge of the behaviour of CO2 drops in seawater. An analysis of the dissolution and velocity of a single CO 2 drop rising from 800 m depth is made. The drop is simulated by a numerical model and theory is compared to data from an ocean experiment performed in Monterey bay, California. Single CO 2 drops were there released at 800 m and imaged under hydrate forming conditions. The slip velocity of a hydrate-covered drop has been suggested to correspond to the drag of a spherical rigid particle. However, a clear discrepancy between this theory and the ocean observations is shown. Some possible explanations for this deviation are found. An existing parameterisation for slip velocity accounting for change of shape fits the observed drop velocity reasonably well. That deformation must be taken into account in the calculations of drop terminal velocities is confirmed by similar studies. Hydrate is expected to reduce the mass transfer. Common theory with a reduction factor of 2 matches the observed dissolution rate. This is compatible with laboratory results. A main reason for studying mass transfer and drop velocity is to get increased knowledge about the distribution of dissolved CO 2 in the water column. The effects of varying initial drop size, release depth and theories of dynamics and dissolution on the vertical distribution of dissolved CO2 are studied. When deformation is not included in the calculations of drop terminal velocities, an overestimation of the vertical spread of dissolved CO 2 might be made. Releasing CO2 near the critical depth leads to a narrower vertical range of dissolved CO 2, making release depth an important factor influencing the vertical spread in the ocean. To study statistical probability distributions of drops, a database with information about the mass loss of numerous drops having different initial drop sizes was generated. A simple Matlab program was then developed to extract data from the database and provide different probability distributions. Normal and lognormal distributions were studied with varying standard deviations. Comparing the two showed that the distributions of dissolved CO 2 in the water column were equal when a small standard deviation was used. With a larger standard deviation the vertical spread was greater with the lognormal distribution than with the normal probability distribution. The vertical spread is especially sensitive to the presence of large drops in the drop distribution.


In this paper, we examine the impact of the PSLRA and more particularly the impact the type of lead plaintiff on the size of settlements in securities fraud class actions. We thus provide insight into whether the type of plaintiff that heads the class action impacts the overall outcome of the case. Furthermore, we explore possible indicia that may explain why some suits settle for extremely small sums - small relative to the "provable losses" suffered by the class, small relative to the asset size of the defendant-company, and small relative to other settlements in our sample. This evidence bears heavily on the debate over "strike suits." Part I of this paper sets forth the contemporary debate surrounding the need for further reforms of securities class actions. In this section, we set forth the insights advanced in three prominent reports focused on the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets. In Part II we first provide descriptive statistics of our extensive data set, and then use multivariate regression analysis to explore the underlying relationships. In Part III, we closely examine small settlements for clues to whether they reflect evidence of strike suits. We conclude in Part IV with a set of policy recommendations based on our analysis of the data.


The seasonal variation and spatial distribution of atmospheric particles at three islands in the Taiwan Strait were investigated. Atmospheric particles (PM10) were collected at three offshore islands (i.e., Kinmen islands, Matsu islands, and Penghu Islands) and two coastal regions (i.e., Xiamen and Fuzhou) in the years of 2008–2012. Field sampling results indicated that the average PM10 concentrations at the Kinmen islands were generally higher than other sampling sites, suggesting that a superimposition phenomenon was regularly observed during the air pollution episodes at Kinmen Islands and Xiamen region. PM10 samples were analyzed for their chemical composition, including water-soluble ions, metallic elements, and carbonaceous content. The most abundant water-soluble ionic species of PM10 were recognized as SO42–, NO3–, and NH4+, indicating that PM10 was mainly composed of secondary inorganic aerosols. Although natural crustal elements dominated the metallic content of PM10, the most abundant anthropogenic metals of PM10 were Zn and Pb. Enrichment factor calculations showed that Ni, Cr, and Zn were the enriched elements emitted mainly from anthropogenic sources. Moreover, the OC concentration of PM10 was always higher than that of EC at all sampling sites. High OC/EC ratios of PM10 were commonly observed at the sampling sites on the Matsu Islands, the Fuzhou region, and the Penghu Islands. Source apportionment results indicated that vehicular exhausts were the main source of PM10, and followed by industrial boilers, secondary aerosols, soil dusts, biomass burning, petrochemical plants, steel plants, oceanic spray, and cement plants at the island and coastal sampling sites in the Taiwan Strait. Highlights ► Investigation of 2 years of TGM at a French coastal Mediterranean site. ► Daily variations of TGM are observed, due to local industrial or urban activities. ► Seasonal variations are due to the dispersion of pollutants in the troposphere. ► High TGM concentrations are due to air masses coming from local or regional sources.


'Political science' is a 'vanguard' field concerned with advancing generic knowledge of political processes, while a wider 'political scholarship' utilising eclectic approaches has more modest or varied ambitions. Political science nonetheless necessarily depends upon and is epistemologically comparable with political scholarship. I deploy Boyer's distinctions between discovery, integration, application and renewing the profession to show that these connections are close woven. Two sets of key challenges need to be tackled if contemporary political science is to develop positively. The first is to ditch the current unworkable and restrictive comparative politics approach, in favour of a genuinely global analysis framework. Instead of obsessively looking at data on nation states, we need to seek data completeness on the whole (multi-level) world we have. A second cluster of challenges involves looking far more deeply into political phenomena; reaping the benefits of 'digital-era' developments; moving from sample methods to online census methods in organisational analysis; analysing massive transactional databases and real-time political processes (again, instead of depending on surveys); and devising new forms of 'instrumentation', informed by post-rational choice theoretical perspectives.


Flooding is a phenomenon that sometimes has devastating effects on human livelihoods. Impact of floods is more pronounced in low-lying areas due to rapid growth in population, poor governance, decaying infrastructure and lack of proper environmental planning and management. Flooding is also exacerbated by climate change and inadequate preparedness. However, flooding in most Nigerian cities is a major environmental challenge that has continued to defy solution as more people are rendered vulnerable to hazards involved. The implications of recent flooding in Nigerian cities include among others; loss of life and properties, spread of diseases, deformed livelihoods, assets and infrastructure. This paper therefore provides an overview of how Nigerian cities have been affected by flood incidences. The paper contends that prevailing effects of climate change, particularly flooding affecting almost everything in cities demands urgent attention in form of environmental and infrastructure planning, effective policy, improved and effective management of ecological fund, enhanced environmental disaster insurance, effective professional practice, enhanced public enlightment programmes, integration of environmental planning and education to curriculum of schools at all levels, capacity building towards adaptation and mitigation of climate change impact. It also argued for the need to reinvent Nigerian cities through good governance towards creating sustainable cities in the country.


Prior studies of technology non-use demonstrate the need for approaches that go beyond a simple binary distinction between users and non-users. This paper proposes a set of two different methods by which researchers can identify types of non/use relevant to the particular sociotechnical settings they are studying. These methods are demonstrated by applying them to survey data about Facebook non/use. The results demonstrate that the different methods proposed here identify fairly comparable types of non/use. They also illustrate how the two methods make different trade offs between the granularity of the resulting typology and the total sample size. The paper also demonstrates how the different typologies resulting from these methods can be used in predictive modeling, allowing for the two methods to corroborate or disconfirm results from one another. The discussion considers implications and applications of these methods, both for research on technology non/use and for studying social computing more broadly.


This paper documents the presence of non-economic career motivations in the U.S. labor market, explores reasons why such motivations could arise, and provides an explanation for why they might have persisted across many generations. The analysis links ethnic (migrant) labor market networks in the American Midwest when it was first being settled, the local identity or attachment to place that emerged endogenously to maintain the integrity of these networks, and occupational choice today. While fractionalization may adversely affect the performance of secular institutions, ethnic competition in the labor market could at the same time have strengthened within-group loyalty and parochial institutions. These values and their complementary institutions, notably the church, could have mutually reinforced each other over many overlapping generations, long after the networks themselves had ceased to be salient. Counties with greater ethnic fractionalization in 1860 are indeed associated with steadily increasing participation in select religious denominations historically dominated by the migrants all the way through the twentieth century. Complementing this result, individuals born in high fractionalization counties are significantly less likely to select into geographically mobile professional occupations and, hence, to migrate out of their county of birth, despite the fact that these counties are indistinguishable from low fractionalization counties in terms of local public good provision and economic activity today.


This Essay was written for a symposium entitled "The Implications of King v. Burwell on Judicial Deference to IRS Interpretations." The Supreme Court's decision in King surprised many people, not because of its outcome but because, even as the Court ultimately agreed with the IRS's interpretation of the statute, the Court expressly denied the IRS Chevron deference. My assessment of King v. Burwell has three points. First, the Chevron discussion in King was not incidental, but the IRS and taxes were not foremost on the Court's mind. Rather, King reflects a careful effort by Chief Justice Roberts to accomplish, through alternative framing, a broader curtailment of Chevron's scope that he advocated unsuccessfully two terms earlier in City of Arlington v. FCC. Second, although King could be read as announcing a new, additional standard for whether and when a reviewing court should apply Chevron review in evaluating an agency's interpretation of a statute that it administers, given the Court's larger body of Chevron jurisprudence, it is unlikely that a majority of the Court agrees wholeheartedly with Chief Justice Roberts's preferred view of Chevron's scope. Rather, it seems more likely that most of the Justices did not view the opinion's rhetoric about Chevron as sufficiently impactful for future cases to warrant writing separately about the Chevron issue. With that understanding, one might expect lower courts to be circumspect in applying King's rhetoric in future tax cases. Nevertheless, and third, Supreme Court rhetoric sometimes leads to unintended consequences, and the King opinion has tremendous potential for such - particularly in the tax area, where Congress increasingly relies upon the IRS to administer a variety of spending and regulatory programs that serve legislative goals falling outside the IRS's traditional tax expertise.


In 2012, the oil and gas industry created more than 1.2 million jobs. The industry expects this number to increase to more than 2.3 million in 2035 and expects revenues to exceed $1.9 trillion from 2012 to 2035. The development of hydraulic fracturing technology, a process by which natural gas under shale formations can be extracted, has allowed the oil and gas industry to experience this exponential growth. The economic benefits of hydraulic fracturing comes at a cost. Residents of Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio, among other states, have begun to experience the environmental harms and effects of hydraulic fracturing. In the wake of this technological development, citizens affected by hydraulic fracturing have begun to remedy their situations through the common law. This Note argues that common law nuisance provides a flexible alternative to other common law causes of action and distinguishes successful nuisance claims from unsuccessful ones.


Revised to cover new advances in business intelligencebig data, cloud, mobile, and morethis fully updated bestseller reveals the latest techniques to exploit BI for the highest ROI. Cindi has created, with her typical attention to details that matter, a contemporary forward-looking guide that organizations could use to evaluate existing or create a foundation for evolving business intelligence / analytics programs. The book touches on strategy, value, people, process, and technology, all of which must be considered for program success. Among other topics, the data, data warehousing, and ROI comments were spot on. The technobabble chapter was brilliant! Bill Frank, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Program Manager, Johnson & Johnson If you want to be an analytical competitor, youve got to go well beyond business intelligence technology. Cindi Howson has wrapped up the needed advice on technology, organization, strategy, and even culture in a neat package. Its required reading for quantitatively oriented strategists and the technologists who support them. Thomas H. Davenport, Presidents Distinguished Professor, Babson College and co-author, Competing on Analytics Cindi has created an exceptional, authoritative description of the end-to-end business intelligence ecosystem. This is a great read for those who are just trying to better understand the business intelligence space, as well as for the seasoned BI practitioner. Sully McConnell, Vice President, Business Intelligence and Information Management, Time Warner Cable Cindis book succinctly yet completely lays out what it takes to deliver BI successfully. IT and business leaders will benefit from Cindis deep BI experience, which she shares through helpful, real-world definitions, frameworks, examples, and stories. This is a must-read for companies engaged in or considering BI. Barbara Wixom, PhD, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research Expanded to cover the latest advances in business intelligence such as big data, cloud, mobile, visual data discovery, and in-memory computing, this fully updated bestseller by BI guru Cindi Howson provides cutting-edge techniques to exploit BI for maximum value. Successful Business Intelligence: Unlock the Value of BI & Big Data, Second Edition describes best practices for an effective BI strategy. Find out how to: Garner executive support to foster an analytic culture Align the BI strategy with business goals Develop an analytic ecosystem to exploit data warehousing, analytic appliances, and Hadoop for the right BI workload Continuously improve the quality, breadth, and timeliness of data Find the relevance of BI for everyone in the company Use agile development processes to deliver BI capabilities and improvements at the pace of business change Select the right BI tools to meet user and business needs Measure success in multiple ways Embrace innovation, promote successes and applications, and invest in training Monitor your evolution and maturity across various factors for impact Exclusive industry survey data and real-world case studies from Medtronic, Macys, 1-800 CONTACTS, The Dow Chemical Company, Netflix, Constant Contact, and other companies show successful BI initiatives in action. From Moneyball to Nate Silver, BI and big data have permeated our cultural, political, and economic landscape. This timely, up-to-date guide reveals how to plan and deploy an agile, state-of-the-art BI solution that links insight to action and delivers a sustained competitive advantage.


This paper presents an undergraduate design studio as a site for research. In discussing the validity of design research, Groat and Wang point out that Ellison and Eatman (2008) define public scholarship as a form of socially engaged research (2013:51). This paper posits that design is often a form of exploratory research or hypothesis-seeking. Although this project is socially engaged, considering design research as exploratory opens the door to a broader group of projects. Business researcher Dudovskiy defines exploratory research as investigations that explore the nature of a question without requiring conclusive results. He points out that "the researcher ought to be willing to change his/her direction as a result of revelation of new data and new insights." (2018). Here we argue that when an architectural design studio involves research to analyze and develop evidence (including literature searches, site visits, input by experts and engagement of community members), as well as rigorous investigation of design hypotheses (evaluation of alternative designs, documentation of architectural characteristics, generation of evaluation criteria, and rigorous assessment of options), the design studio becomes a site of research scholarship that informs design. The design studio presented here originally focused on reconceiving youth rehabilitation, but was reframed as preventing youth incarceration. The diverse final project proposals explore the general hypothesis that providing appropriate youth and family services in the community may contribute to the prevention of juvenile incarceration.


Many automatic classifiers were introduced to aid inference of phenotypical effects of uncategorised nsSNVs (nonsynonymous Single Nucleotide Variations) in theoretical and medical applications. Lately, several meta-estimators have been proposed that combine different predictors, such as PolyPhen and SIFT, to integrate more information in a single score. Although many advances have been made in feature design and machine learning algorithms used, the shortage of high-quality reference data along with the bias towards intensively studied in vitro models call for improved generalisation ability in order to further increase classification accuracy and handle records with insufficient data. Since a meta-estimator basically combines different scoring systems with highly complicated nonlinear relationships, we investigated how deep learning (supervised and unsupervised), which is particularly efficient at discovering hierarchies of features, can improve classification performance. While it is believed that one should only use deep learning for high-dimensional input spaces and other models (logistic regression, support vector machines, Bayesian classifiers, etc) for simpler inputs, we still believe that the ability of neural networks to discover intricate structure in highly heterogenous datasets can aid a meta-estimator. We compare the performance with various popular predictors, many of which are recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), as well as available deep learning-based predictors. Thanks to hardware acceleration we were able to use a computationally expensive genetic algorithm to stochastically optimise hyper-parameters over many generations. Overfitting was hindered by noise injection and dropout, limiting coadaptation of hidden units. Although we stress that this work was not conceived as a tool comparison, but rather an exploration of the possibilities of deep learning application in ensemble scores, our results show that even relatively simple modern neural networks can significantly improve both prediction accuracy and coverage. We provide open-access to our finest model at http://score.generesearch.ru.


Teddi Overman found her life's passion in turning other people's castoffs into beautifully restored antiques. Leaving her hardscrabble Kentucky childhood behind, Teddi opens her own store in Charleston. She builds a life as unexpected and quirky as her many customers, but nothing alleviates the haunting uncertainty she's felt since her brother Josh mysteriously disappeared. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi returns to Kentucky, embarking on a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family --and find herself.


In this study, the accuracy of the stiffness estimate from portable deflectometers is investigated, based upon the example of a particular device, PRIMA 100. The Beam Verification Tester (BVT) apparatus was developed at the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Department of Transportation to: (i) verify the performance of the PRIMA device and (ii) to check the calibration factors of the sensors of the PRIMA device. The objective of such tests is to detect the potential occurrence of deterioration of the sensor's accuracy. Associated with the BVT apparatus, an enhanced setup for the portable device is examined. The inconsistency of the traditional data interpretation method using peak values of load and displacement time histories is pointed out by comparing the stiffness estimated from the PRIMA device against the known stiffness of the beam. An alternative method using Frequency Response Functions, spectral average, Single Degree of Freedom System analog, zero frequency estimates and curve fitting is proposed to extract the static stiffness from PRIMA measurements. Test results show good agreement between estimates based on the modified analysis and true beam stiffness. Implementation of both the alternative data interpretation method and the enhanced device setup to quality assurance field measurements are proposed.


Recent studies have shown performance advantages in visual tasks when task-relevant stimuli are presented in different visual hemifields as opposed to a single hemifield. One way to interpret these findings is to posit that each cortical hemisphere has independent attentional resources. In contrast to this view, we suggest that competition between representations in visual cortex might explain this hemifield independence. When stimuli fall into separate hemifields, they project to different cortical hemispheres, reducing the local competitive interactions that occur when stimuli are presented in adjacent areas of a single hemisphere. To test whether local competitive interactions underlie hemifield independence, we had subjects search displays in which the target was placed such that it either shared a hemifield with non-targets or was alone in the hemifield. Set size was constant across all conditions. Critically, we also varied the overall display density (distance between objects). The resource account predicts the task should be harder when the target shares a hemifield with non-targets but predicts no difference when density is manipulated. Alternatively, the competition account predicts that sharing a hemifield should only make the task harder if the objects are close enough to strongly compete with one another (suppressing each others' representations). We found that subjects were faster to find a target when the target was alone in the hemifield than when it shared the hemifield with non-targets, but only when overall display density was high (when the target was cortically near non-targets). These data suggest that hemifield independence might be caused by a lessening of local competitive interactions in visual cortex. When stimuli are cortically distant, either by being placed in separate hemifields or by being spread out, they are less likely to suppress each other's representations in visual cortex and are thus easier to detect. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


This study is in response to the lack of research that exists related to the role of motivation in the writing development and achievement of deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students. We investigated whether demographic and language variables were associated with writing motivation among 76 third through fifth grade d/hh elementary students, and whether motivation for personal narrative, information report and persuasive writing was related to writing performance in the same genres. Demographic variables such as gender, age, and hearing level, and the language variable of American Sign Language receptive skills, did not show an association with writing motivation measured by the Situated Writing Activity and Motivation Scale. Knowledge of English, however, showed a weak to moderate positive correlation with motivation. In a simple linear regression model, English was a statistically significant predictor of motivation across all genres. There was also a statistically significant relationship between motivation for writing personal narratives and one's performance in the genre, yet an association was not found between motivation for information report and persuasive writing and performance in the same genres.


This paper investigates a method for reducing the reality gap that occurs when applying simulated data in training for vision-based operations in a subsea environment. The distinction in knowledge in the simulated and real domains is denoted the reality gap. The objective of the presented work is to adapt and test a method for transferring knowledge obtained in a simulated environment into the real environment. The main method in focus is the machine learning framework CycleGAN, mapping desired features in order to recreate environments. The overall goal is to enable a framework trained in a simulated environment to recognize the desired features when applied in the real world. The performance of the learning transfer is measured by the ability to recreate the different environments from new test data. The obtained results demonstrates that the CycleGAN framework is able to map features characteristic for an underwater environment presented with the unlabeled datasets. Evaluation metrics, such as Average precision (AP) or FCN-score can be used to further evaluate the results. Moreover, this requires labeled data, which provides additional development of the current datasets.


In the Arabic-speaking mahjar (diaspora), the plight of the working poor was the focus of women's philanthropy. Scholarship on welfare relief in the interwar Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian diaspora currently situates it within a gendered politics of benevolence. This article reconsiders that frame and argues for a class-centered reassessment of "ladies aid" politics exploring the intersections of women's relief with proletarian mutual aid strategies. Founded in 1917, the Syrian Ladies Aid Society (SLAS) of Boston provided food, shelter, education, and employment to Syrian workers. SLAS volunteers understood their efforts as mitigating the precarities imposed on Syrian workers by the global capitalist labor system. Theirs was both a women's organization and a proletarian movement led by Syrian women. Drawing from SLAS records and the Syrian American press, the article centers Syrian American women within processes of working-class formation and concludes that labor history of the interwar mahjar requires focus on spaces of social reproduction beyond the factory floor.


The purpose of this thesis is to identify issues within both the United States and United Kingdom healthcare systems to learn from each other. The main issues identified within the United States healthcare system are the exponential increase in costs for the government, hospitals, and patients, the fragmentation of the players within the industry (including the government, hospitals, physicians, and insurance companies), and that initiatives set out by the government are not reaching expected outcomes. The issues within the United Kingdom healthcare system are the aging population, patient access, increased wait times, over-utilization by patients, and that the system is operating at a devastating financial deficit. The methods utilized are a literature review and personal interviews. The result of this thesis is the identification of the issues within each system and the reasons behind those issues. The secondary result is the potential ability to learn from some of the issues each country has had as our healthcare systems are becoming more similar.


The authors describe a scientific substantiation of the concept "social and communicative engineering", outline the object and the purpose of study of a new type of engineering, which is being actively formed and is objectively demanded in today's information society. Social and communicative engineering forms rules of the correct construction of social groups, of the setting of internal relations in them and regulations of the building of relationships with the outside world. The methods of social and communicative engineering are specific techniques used for the designing and the construction of social and communicative technologies and systems, and also scientific, where the leading one is the system analysis. Social and communicative engineering, in the authors' interpretation, is a set of methods, tools and means which, when is used systematically, allows to design and create the qualitative and effective social and communicative technologies and systems. In other words, social and communicative engineering is the science that investigates the processes of construction, projecting and creation of social and communicative technologies and systems. Social and communicative engineering, as the science that studies the processes of designing and creating of social and communicative systems, is in demand, particularly during the formation of the system of relations between members of different parties and political platforms, ideological beliefs of various communities through the establishing of communications, particularly with the engagement of possibilities of the information spreading through social networks.


The purpose of this study was to examine whether books in a traditional print format or an electronic format would have a greater impact on novel word learning in preschool children from low-SES households. A multiple subject design combining an alternating treatments design and multiple baseline design was chosen for comparing vocabulary gains among the preschool-age participants. The alternating treatments design was used to compare two book formats – traditional print storybook and electronic storybook. Rich vocabulary instruction was implemented during shared storybook reading to teach 14 words from 7 storybooks available in both formats. Seven words were chosen to determine the amount of incidental learning that took place. Vocabulary was measured on a weekly basis, using a decontextualized definition task. Two of the three children learned approximately half of the words taught through rich instruction. The third child did not demonstrate any gains in word knowledge. None of the children learned words through incidental learning. Engagement during book readings was rated to determine its impact on vocabulary gains, revealing that interest and participation during electronic books were slightly higher than for print books. Factors such as multiple exposures to novel words and rich instruction were the most influential in facilitating vocabulary acquisition. Implications for practitioners are discussed, including the benefits of rich vocabulary instruction and need for collaboration.