The total fatty acid composition of nine species of caprellidean amphipods collected from the Strait of Gibraltar was investigated. All caprellids were characterised by high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5(n-3), and docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6(n-3); other major fatty acids were the saturate palmitic acid, 16:0, and the monounsaturate oleic acid, 18:1(n-9). In spite of this general uniformity, univariate and multivariate analysis showed that Caprella acanthifera and C. grandimana differed from the remaining species ( C. danilevskii, C. equilibra, C. liparotensis, C. penantis, C. santosrosai, Phtisica marina and Pseudoprotella phasma ). These two species ( C. acanthifera and C. grandimana ) showed higher concentrations of 18:1(n-7) and 20:4(n-6) and lower percentages of 22:6(n-3). These results, together with higher values of the biomarker ratio 20:5(n-3)/22:6(n-3) and a lower ratio 18:1(n-9)/18:1(n-7), suggested a greater contribution of diatoms and macroalgae in the diet of C. acanthifera and C. grandimana and a lesser contribution of flagellates than in the remaining species. The cluster classification of the caprellid specimens from the Strait of Gibraltar based on the fatty acid composition was in agreement with the Cluster output from data of feeding behaviour. Sex-related changes in the fatty acid composition were also explored in C. acanthifera, C. danilevskii and C. penantis ; the percentage of 18:0, 20:4(n-6), and 20:5(n-3) was significantly higher in males, whereas 16:1(n-7) was higher in females. The intraspecific differences of fatty acids in different environmental conditions seem to indicate that the consumption of diatoms in contrast to flagellates increases with the degree of eutrophication.


Online bipartite matching is one of the most fundamental problems in the online algorithms literature. Karp, Vazirani, and Vazirani (STOC 1990) introduced an elegant algorithm for the unweighted bipartite matching that achieves an optimal competitive ratio of $1-{{}^{1}}/_{e}$. Aggarwal et al. (SODA 2011) later generalized their algorithm and analysis to the vertex-weighted case. Little is known, however, about the most general edge-weighted problem aside from the trivial 1/2-competitive greedy algorithm. In this paper, we present the first online algorithm that breaks the long-standing 1/2 barrier and achieves a competitive ratio of at least 0.5086. In light of the hardness result of Kapralov, Post, and Vondrák (SODA 2013) that restricts beating a 1/2 competitive ratio for the more general problem of monotone submodular welfare maximization, our result can be seen as strong evidence that edge-weighted bipartite matching is strictly easier than submodular welfare maximization in the online setting. The main ingredient in our online matching algorithm is a novel subroutine called online correlated selection (OCS), which takes a sequence of pairs of vertices as input and selects one vertex from each pair. Instead of using a fresh random bit to choose a vertex from each pair, the OCS negatively correlates decisions across different pairs and provides a quantitative measure on the level of correlation. We believe our OCS technique is of independent interest and will find further applications in other online optimization problems.


Stated preference (SP) surveys have been conducted to value non-timber benefits (NTBs) from forests in Norway, Sweden and Finland for about 20 years. The paper first reviews the literature and summarises methodological traditions in SP research in the three countries. Second, a meta-regression analysis is conducted explaining systematic variation in Willingness-to-Pay (WTP). Two important conclusions emerge, with relevance for future research: (1) WTP is found to be insensitive to the size of the forest, casting doubt on the use of simplified WTP/area measures for complex environmental goods; and (2) WTP tends to be higher if people are asked as individuals rather than on behalf of their household. r 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. JEL classification: Q23; Q26; Q51; H41


Behavioral Systems rely on valid measurement systems to manage processes and feedback and to deliver contingencies. An examination of measurement system components designed to track customer service quality of furniture delivery drivers revealed the measurement system failed to capture information it was designed to measure. A reason for this failure was an inadequate design, which resulted in sabotage of the measurement system by agents in the organization. The failure of this measurement system led to the ineffective operation of business processes and related systems. For example, a bonus pay system and a disincentive system were disabled due to the faulty measurement system. Suggestions for the development of a valid measurement system are offered.


Key Chiral Auxiliary Applications, Second Edition is a detailed compilation of chiral auxiliary applications organized by type of transformation. Continuing from the most important and relevant auxiliaries described in its predecessor, the three-volume set Compendium of Chiral Auxiliary Applications (2001), as well as advances in the field, the book provides a vital and timely resource for chemists in the field. Each reaction class includes a series of tables and graphical abstracts of real reactions from the literature and patents to enable easy review and comparison of results. This anticipated edition is based on a screening of nearly 40,000 auxiliary reaction applications, with details supplied for the more than 13,000 selected representative entries: synthetic route, reagents, yields, diastereomeric/enantiomeric excesses, and characterization data. Updated and streamlined with more than 60% new material, Key Chiral Auxiliary Applications provides valuable guidance and reliable content for selecting the best auxiliary for a specific asymmetric synthetic transformation.


Based on a data set of 72 semi-structured interviews, undertaken with 12 British Chinese families, this PhD sets out to explore the nature of the childhood experience
within contemporary British Chinese households. By speaking to parents and children of each family using repeat interviews over a nine-month period, accounts of family
life and their relationships with one another can be revealed from both generational perspectives.

From this research, there appears to be a similarity between the practices of past and contemporary British Chinese households, which also coincides with accounts from
pre-existing academic literature. Research findings suggest that Chinese parents (regardless of backgrounds and length of UK residency), not only identify themselves as being Chinese, but also hold strong attachments to 'traditional' Chinese values and norms. For some British Chinese families this causes domestic issues and problems between parents and their more Westernised offspring.

However in comparison to the past, some parents alter and modify their Chinese cultural beliefs which then affect their child-rearing methods, intimacy levels and
opportunities for the child's agency. Reasons for this include the parent's own childhood experience, parent's exposure and acceptance of Western practices, as well
as empathy for their child's experience of being a British Chinese citizen. External circumstances such as the social setting and surroundings, the actions of the child as
well as the parent-child relationship itself also influence household relations and operations.

As such, cultural factors alone are not sufficient in explaining and investigating British Chinese families. Instead contemporary British Chinese parenting approaches,
parent-child intimacy levels and children's agency should be seen as an interactive and reciprocal process, that are created by and contingent upon practices within and
outside of the home. By highlighting the many levels to which British Chinese families play out their lives and how members make sense of their relationships and behaviours, this study expands on the current literature that portrays cultural norms as the main explanatory factor for British Chinese household functioning.


This thesis presents a technique to locate the ground state of impurity ions relative to the host conduction band, using thermoluminescence. The technique makes use of the concept that thermoluminescence probes the occupation of electron traps, and the fact that these traps are filled via promotion of impurity electrons into the conduction band. Using tunable radiation we determine the threshold for trap filling, which is given by the ionization threshold of the impurity. This technique is a form of excitation spectroscopy, sensitive to electron (or hole) transport processes in solids. Advantages of thermoluminescence excitation spectroscopy over complementary techniques, such as photoconductivity, include impurity specific signals, applicability to both bulk and power samples, and high sensitivity.


Magnetic proteolytic composites attract great scientific attention as a potential controllable catalytic system for medical applications. The use in medical practice opens new horizons for targeted tissue lysis, while providing prospects for minimally invasive surgery and treatment of pathologies, such as adhesive disease. This article reports the first production of a fully biocompatible magnetically targeted composite based on the collagenase G enzyme entrapped within a sol–gel magnetite matrix. The composite material consists entirely of components approved by the FDA for parenteral administration. The entrapped enzyme demonstrates outstanding thermal stability: the denaturation temperature is higher by 18 °C and the activity is retained even at a temperature of 65 °C. The enzymatic activity of the composites is studied in details on different biosubstrates, such as collagen, gelatin, and collagen tissue samples of animal origin during in vitro tests. Also, the possibility of magnetic targeting is shown. The nanocomposite behaves itself as an effective proteolytic system with prolonged action and could be magnetically separated and reused without activity loss at least 4 times. Due to magnetic targeting, the efficiency of proteolysis could be enhanced up to 20 times.


Modern finance is increasingly dominated by derivatives and similar contracts that create contingent debts, which become payable only upon the occurrence of an uncertain future event. This Article identifies a pervasive opportunism hazard created by contingent debt that lawmakers and scholars have overlooked. If liability on a firm's contingent debt is especially likely to be triggered when the firm is insolvent, the contract that creates the debt transfers wealth from the firm's creditors to its shareholders. A firm therefore has incentive to engage in correlation-seeking — that is, to incur contingent debts that correlate, or that through asset purchases can be made to correlate, with the firm's insolvency risk. The consequence is an overuse of contingent debt that destroys social wealth through overinvestment, higher borrowing costs, financial distress, and potential systemic risk. Correlation-seeking is especially pernicious because, unlike other forms of shareholder opportunism such as asset substitution, it can reduce risk to shareholders even as it increases shareholder returns. Conduct that is consistent with correlation-seeking played a central role in the 2008 financial crisis, causing the deep losses suffered by the three firms to receive the biggest bailouts: AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. Yet current and proposed legal rules for derivatives and other contingent debt contracts ignore matters of correlation, increasing the risk of another financial crash in the future.


Dentine hypersensitivity is sensation felt when the nerves inside the dentin of the teeth are exposed to the environment. The sensation can range from irritation all the way to intense, shooting pain. This sensitivity can be caused by several factors, including wear, decaying teeth or exposed tooth roots. Changes in the flow of the plasma-like biological fluid present in the dentinal tubules can trigger mechanoreceptors present on nerves located at the pulpal aspect thereby eliciting a pain response. Years ago, we were saying, "Potassium nitrate this and flouride that." It was the only way we knew to prevent root sensitivity. We told our patients they had to use the toothpaste for at least three weeks before they would feel relief from root sensitivity. The next generations of agents to provide root sensitivity relief were flouride varnishes, the products known as Duraphat, Super Seal, Gluma, etc. With the advent of laser technology and its growing utilization in dentistry, an additional therapeutic option is available for the treatment of dentinal pain. The laser, by interacting with the tissue, causes different tissue reactions, according to its active medium, wavelength and power density and to the optical properties of the target tissue This article discusses the effect of various lasers on dentin hypersensitivity and its effect on the pulp and management and prognosis.


Decision making lies at the heart of our personal and professional lives. Yet the daunting reality is that enormously important decisions made by intelligent, responsible people with the best information and intentions are nevertheless hopelessly flawed at times. In part, that's due to the way our brains work. Modern neuroscience teaches us that two hard-wired processes in the brain--pattern recognition and emotional tagging--are critical to decision making. Both are normally reliable; indeed, they provide us with an evolutionary advantage. But in certain circumstances, either one can trip us up and skew our judgment. In this article, Campbell and Whitehead, directors at the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre, together with Finkelstein, of Dartmouth's Tuck School, describe the conditions that promote errors of judgment and explore how organizations can build safeguards against them into the decision-making process. In their analysis, the authors delineate three "red-flag conditions" that are responsible either for distorting emotional tagging or for encouraging people to see false patterns: conflicts of interest; attachments to people, places, or things; and the presence of misleading memories, which seem, but really are not, relevant and comparable to the current situation. Using a global chemical company as an example, the authors describe the steps leaders can take to counteract those biases: inject fresh experience or analysis, introduce further debate and more challenges to their thinking, and impose stronger governance. Rather than rely on the wisdom of experienced chairmen, the humility of CEOs, or the standard organizational checks and balances, the authors urge, everyone involved in important decisions should explicitly consider whether red flags exist and, if they do, lobby for appropriate safeguards.


OF DISSERTATION MIXED SURFACTANT SYSTEMS: THERMODYNAMICS AND APPLICATIONS IN METAL OXIDE IMPRINTING In this work we study mixtures of cationic surfactant (CTAB) and sugar based surfactant(s) (octyl beta-D-glucopyranoside (C8G1), dodecyl maltoside (C12G2) and octyl beta-D-xylopyranoside (C8X1)) to understand the non-ideal thermodynamic behavior of the mixtures of cationic and non-ionic surfactants in water and synthesis of imprinted materials. The thermodynamics of micellization, mixing and dilution of these systems are studied using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) and the experimental data obtained are modeled with a pseudo-phase separation model with non-ideal mixing described by regular solution theory. It is shown that a model accounting for enthalpy of demicellization and enthalpy of dilution based on McMillan-Mayer model is able to fit ITC data set for CTAB-C8G1 system with varying mole fractions. In addition to measuring non-ideal mixing behavior, mixtures of cationic and saccharide-based surfactants are of interest for the molecular imprinting of oxide materials. Mixtures of CTAB and either C8G1 or C8X1 are utilized to prepare nonporous adsorbent materials which act as selective adsorbents towards the headgroup of the saccharide surfactant. The approach is based on the Stöber silica particle synthesis process in which surfactants are added to soft particles present at the onset of turbidity to imprint their surface. This approach is shown to yield particles displaying selective adsorption for sugars with different number of carbons, but also provide enantioselective adsorption of targeted saccharides. Enantioselectivity of D-glucose, D-xylose and Dmaltose is demonstrated by imprinting with C8G1, C8X1 and C12G2, respectively. The imprinting technique provides the first example of selective adsorption based on noncovalent imprinting of silica for sugars. The mixed surfactant are also used to synthesize templated porous materials incorporating titanium which are used for epoxidation catalysis. The porous materials obtained have high surface area, uniform pore sizes in the mesopore range, and provided high selectivity and activity towards epoxidation of styrene. Titanosilicate thin films are also synthesized using cationic and saccharide surfactant mixtures to understand the incorporation of the titanium into the porous material. It is demonstrated that large amounts of isolated, tetracoordinated titanium sites can be incorporated into mesoporous silica-based materials via the complexation of the titanium precursor with a saccharidebased surfactant.


Background: Protein-protein interactions play a major role in Cancer Control and their detailed understanding by Label-Free Nanotechnology is essential especially within the framework of a personalized medicine-based approach. Materials and Methods: We implemented an array of label-free nanobiotechnologies, including the Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation factor monitoring (QCM_D). We used it for the conductometric monitoring of an antiblastic (temozolomide) interacting with genes and proteins, such as MLH1, that represents a biomarker of the rate survival of patients suffering from brain tumors, outcome of chemotherapy and resistance to drug itself. We coupled the Nucleic Acid Programmable Protein Arrays (NAPPA) and the cell-free protein array with the quartz crystal microbalance technology. In another proof of principle, we coupled the NAPPA with the SNAP tag E. coli cell-free expression system. The goal is to analyze the protein-protein interaction using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) Bruker Ultraflex and "Protein synthesis Using Recombinant Elements" (PURE) system, thus avoiding the "black box" nature of the cell extract. The E. coli in vitro transcription/translation system (IVTT) in respect to the reticulocyte lysate (RRL) or human lysate (HL) is totally characterized and represents an advantage for the subsequent mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. An R Script for Mass Spectrometry Data Preprocessing before Data Mining (SpADS) provides the user with peak recognition and amplitude independent subtraction functions. The MS samples are obtained from SNAPNAPPA spots and printed on gold coated glass slides in higher density, in order to obtain an amount of protein appropriate for MS analysis. Conclusion: We developed a coherent approach that overcome the drawbacks and pitfalls of the traditional laborious and time-consuming labeled and fluorescencebased experimental procedures. This, taken together with the unique properties of proteins obtained with Langmuir-Blodgett (LB)-based crystallography that can enable new strategies for drug design separately reported, defines our approach to cancer control.


A method is presented to calculate UV irradiances on inclined surfaces that additionally takes into account the influence of sky obstructions caused by obstacles such as mountains, houses, trees, or umbrellas. With this method it is thus possible to calculate the impact of UV radiation on biological systems, such as, for instance, the human skin or eye, in any natural or artificial environment. The method, which consists of a combination of radiation models, is explained here and the accuracy of its results is demonstrated. The effect of a natural skyline is shown for an Alpine ski area, where the UV irradiance even on a horizontal surface may increase due to reflection from snow by more than 10 percent. In contrast, in a street canyon the irradiance on a horizontal surface is reduced to 30% in shadow and to about 75% for a position in the sun.


In this study, an attempt was made to enhance the degradation resistance of magnesium alloys for potential biodegradable implant applications through surface treatment. AZ91 magnesium alloy was taken as the test sample and was alkali-treated for two different periods of time and then the in vitro degradation behaviour of the alloy was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization techniques in simulated body fluid. The study suggests that alkali-treatment reduces the degradation rate in AZ91 magnesium alloy.


The N-benzyl- and N-alkyl-substituted 1,2-thiazetidin-3-one 1,1-dioxides 1b - d reacted readily with NH3 and primary amines via ring opening. The reaction with NH3 proceeded at -78° to room temperature yielding ring-opened adducts via nucleophilic attack of NH3 at the sulfonyl group, whereas the reactions with amines at room temperature yielded products via attack at the carbonyl group. The N-unsubstituted analogue 1a, when reacted with benzylamine in refluxing EtOH, also gave a product of ring opening via nucleophilic attack at the carbonyl group of 1a. The transamidation-like reactions of the 2-(aminoalkyl)-1,2-thiazetidin-3-one 1,1-dioxides 19a - d proceeded via six-, seven-, and eight-membered intermediates, giving the ring-enlarged eight-, nine-, and ten-membered products 21 - 24 (Schemes 8 and 9), respectively, in 42 - 87% yields. The products resulted from the nucleophilic attack of the amino group of the side chain at the carbonyl C-atom. The structure of the eight-membered product 24 with an asymmetrically situated methyl substituent was established by X-ray crystallography.


In Malaysia, traditional teaching is still a common approach among many lecturers. There have been many
studies reported its limitations and many lecturers have started to adopt more learner-centred teaching approach to
promote better learner understanding and learner motivation. Throughout this effort, it is noticed there are lecturers who
could not be assured and felt uncertain about this transition because they went through traditional teaching environment
during their studies. Due to this, the effort in shifting from traditional teaching to a more learner-centred teaching has
been challenging and hard-hitting. Nevertheless, educational and multimedia technology has played an important role in
creating a more interesting and engaging learning environments for our digital natives in this 21st century. In this research,
a framework is to be proposed based on Weimer's Learner-Centred Teaching model and through the incorporation of
educational technology and multimedia technology in the learning environments. This proposed framework describes how
this learner-centred teaching environment could promote better learner experiences by increasing retention rate and
improving learner motivation. This proposed framework is recommended through the triangulation results from pre-test/
post-test, learning environments surveys and students' written comments, which in turn serves as a guideline for lecturers
to identify how they could progressively shift to learner-centred teaching environment.


Abstract. We present here the first application of a lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system designed to measure turbulent properties and vertical latent heat fluxes (λE). Such measurements are crucial to improve our understanding of linkages between surface moisture supply and boundary layer clouds and phenomena such as atmospheric rivers. The application of UAVs allows for measurements on spatial scales complimentary to satellite, aircraft, and tower derived fluxes. Key system components are: a turbulent gust probe; a fast response water vapor sensor; an inertial navigation system (INS) coupled to global positioning system (GPS); and a 100 Hz data logging system. We present measurements made in the continental boundary layer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Research Flight Facility located in the Mojave Desert. Two flights consisting of several horizontal straight flux run legs up to ten kilometers in length and between 330 and 930 m above ground level (m a.g.l.) are compared to measurement from a surface tower. Surface measured λE ranged from −53 W m−2 to 41 W m−2, and the application of a Butterworth High Pass Filter (HPF) to the datasets improved agreement to within +/−12 W m−2 for 86% of flux runs, by removing improperly sampled low frequency flux contributions. This result, along with power and co-spectral comparisons and consideration of the differing spatial scales indicates the system is able to resolve vertical fluxes for the measurement conditions encountered. Challenges remain, and the outcome of these measurements will be used to inform future sampling strategies and further system development.


Foreign aid for agrarian reform funding—for example, Canadian aid—has claimed to address rural poverty, agricultural stagnation, and food security. This paper examines agrarian-related overseas development assistance (ODA) to the Philippines to reveal that such aid has had its ebb and flow—one that follows the internal policies and priorities of development agencies, and the development policies, strategies, and sociopolitical and economic context of its borrowing member countries. Such type of ODA is also contingent on other factors such as global socioeconomic and political environment; global trends in development financing; and pressures from powerful countries, domestic elites, social movements and civil society, or specific political conjuncture. As a result, short-time considerations override a long-term approach that would address rural poverty and land inequality.


Every year, tens of thousands of tons of cosmic dust accumulate at the Earth9s surface, representing a continuation of the accretion process that started 4.57 billion years ago. The unique geochemical properties of these materials, compared to the Earth9s surface, render them excellent tracers of Solar System, atmospheric, oceanographic, and geologic processes. These processes can be recovered from the records preserved in marine and terrestrial sediments, including snow and ice. We review evidence from these natural archives to illuminate temporal and spatial variations in the flux and composition of extraterrestrial material to Earth, as well as the terrestrial processes that affect the distribution of extraterrestrial tracers in sediments.


Title of thesis: GENOME ASSEMBLY TECHNIQUES Guillaume Marçais, Doctor of Philosophy, 2011 Thesis directed by: James Yorke and Carl Kingsford Since the publication of the human genome in 2001, the price and the time of DNA sequencing have dropped dramatically. The genome of many more species have since been sequenced, and genome sequencing is an ever more important tool for biologists. This trend will likely revolutionize biology and medicine in the near future where the genome sequence of each individual person, instead of a model genome for the human, becomes readily accessible. Nevertheless, genome assembly remains a challenging computational problem, even more so with second generation sequencing technologies which generate a greater amount of data and make the assembly process more complex. Research to quickly, cheaply and accurately assemble the increasing amount of DNA sequenced is of great practical importance. In the first part of this thesis, we present two software developed to improve genome assemblies. First, Jellyfish is a fast k-mer counter, capable of handling large data sets. k-mer frequencies are central to many tasks in genome assembly (e.g. for error correction, finding read overlaps) and other study of the genome (e.g. finding highly repeated sequences such as transposons). Second, Chromosome Builder is a scaffolder and contig placement software. It aims at improving the accuracy of genome assembly. In the second part of this thesis we explore several problems dealing with graphs. The theory of graphs can be used to solve many computational problems. For example, the genome assembly problem can be represented as finding an Eulerian path in a de Bruijn graph. The physical interactions between proteins (PPI network), or between transcription factors and genes (regulatory networks), are naturally expressed as graphs. First, we introduce the concept of "exactly 3-edge-connected" graphs. These graphs have only a remote biological motivation but are interesting in their own right. Second, we study the reconstruction of ancestral network which aims at inferring the state of ancestral species' biological networks based on the networks of current species. GENOME ASSEMBLY TECHNIQUES


Millennial variability is a robust feature of many paleoclimate records, at least throughout the last several glacial cycles. Here we use the mean signal from Antarctic climate events 1 to 4 to probe the EPICA Dome C temperature proxy reconstruction through the last 500 ka for similar millennial-scale events. We find that clusters of millennial events occurred in a regular fashion over half of the time during this with a mean recurrence interval of 21 kyr. We find that there is no consistent link between ice-rafted debris deposition and millennial variability. Instead we speculate that changes in the zonality of atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic form a viable alternative to freshwater release from icebergs as a trigger for millennial variability. We suggest that millennial changes in the zonality of atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic are linked to precession via sea-ice feedbacks and that this relationship is modified by the presence of the large, Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during glacial periods.


Michael Howe joined Cultural Geometries in 2015:  Project Leaders for marble pavilion exhibition: C. Godiksen, M. Brown & M. Howe  Team: M. Brown, C. Godiksen, J. Hagos, M. Howe, D. kay, T.Yudin & J.Revel
(Project Team: see film credits & www.cg-architecture.com/research)
Film: T. Jones, M. Brown & C.Godiksen
 Exhibition of work undertaken by Cultural Geometries in collaboration with: Etma, Solubema, FreeHaus, CG Architecture, Academics, students & graduates from Oxford Brookes University and Brighton University and local community input.
Exhibition subject:  In the town of Vila Vicosa, Portugal, where everything from castles to kerbstones are made out of marble, our pavilion is the first non-reinforced marble structure for over a century, and the first to be exclusively built from marble waste and with this type of structural system. The design research has from the beginning been integrated into undergraduate teaching. Students have lead particular lines of enquiries and collectively worked directly with the Quarries, Marble factory, Geologists and the community. We are inherently motivated by culture. Methodical knowledge exchange year on year, critical reflection, debate and further experimentation are the core components to the research lead teaching and praxis. (Patti Lather1986 Research as Praxis) (Venturi & Scott Brown, Yale, 1969). Leading to the design and construction of our first architectural scale experiment. The pavilion is fabricated and installed in Etma a Portuguese marble factory with Marble from Solubema. The pavilion's intended use post construction is as an educational tool for employees, local students, international architects, engineers, clients and not least for our on going research. The structure, at only 2-3cm thick and comprising of just two layers of laminated marble, springs from one curved wall before forming two sweeping catenary vaults. The spatial experience, with views framing distant waste marble mounds is formed with an attitude to scale and sequence, curated around the simple movement from one vault to another. The snake-skin effect on the surface showcases the full breath of the material, making the solid structure seem lighter and accentuate its appearance of being 'paper thin'.


We present a conceptual architecture for a Group Support System (GSS) to facilitate Multi-Organisational Collaborative Groups (MOCGs) initiated by local government and including external organisations of various types. Multi-Organisational Collaborative Groups (MOCGs) consist of individuals from several organisations which have agreed to work together to solve a problem. The expectation is that more can be achieved working in harmony than separately. Work is done interdependently, rather than independently in diverse directions. Local government, faced with solving complex social problems, deploy MOCGs to enable solutions across organisational, functional, professional and juridical boundaries, by involving statutory, voluntary, community, not-for-profit and private organisations. This is not a silver bullet as it introduces new pressures. Each member organisation has its own goals, operating context and particular approaches, which can be expressed as their norms and business processes. Organisations working together must find ways of eliminating differences or mitigating their impact in order to reduce the risks of collaborative inertia and conflict. A GSS is an electronic collaboration system that facilitates group working and can offer assistance to MOCGs. Since many existing GSSs have been primarily developed for single organisation collaborative groups, even though there are some common issues, there are some difficulties peculiar to MOCGs, and others that they experience to a greater extent: a diversity of primary organisational goals among members; different funding models and other pressures; more significant differences in other information systems both technologically and in their use than single organisations; greater variation in acceptable approaches to solve problems. In this paper, we analyse the requirements of MOCGs led by local government agencies, leading to a conceptual architecture for an e-government GSS that captures the relationships between 'goal', 'context', 'norm', and 'business process'. Our models capture the dynamics of the circumstances surrounding each individual representing an organisation in a MOCG along with the dynamics of the MOCG itself as a separate community.


Explorations of the artist in the biopic genre are often formulaic in approach. The biographical narrative, modelled on the literary monograph, celebrates a public figure who overcomes challenges to rise to the top of their field. These films traditionally present the artist's life and work as intrinsically involved with each other so that the artwork can only be explained through contextualising biographical knowledge. Derek Jarman's Caravaggio (1986), in the vein of his highly personal, experimental filmmaking, is not a biopic in this traditional sense. Taking advantage of what little is known about Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the Italian painter widely recognised as the first great artist of the Baroque period and a master of chiaroscuro, Jarman constructs a heavily fictional 'biographical' narrative. This narrative is built upon historical speculation, personal identification, and most significantly, his subjective interpretation and visualisation of the paintings themselves. A series of tableaux vivants, delicately postured, almost still, recreations of the paintings, provide the narrative impetus in Caravaggio. Many of these are situated as poses in preparation for Caravaggio's painting. These recreations are removed from their historical context, disregarding the artworks' chronology and misplacing characters and events to construct a part-Jarman/part-Caravaggio profile – fictionalising both art and biography. This paper explores Jarman's intricate appropriation of the art and biography of the artist in Caravaggio, and how this is implemented, and complicated, to serve his own narrative agenda. Developing Andre Bazin's discussion about the adoption of one medium into another in 'Painting and Cinema,' I analyse the tableaux representing The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599-1600), The Entombment of Christ (1602-03), and Death of the Virgin (1606). This analysis takes place on three levels: firstly, art-history 'fidelity;' secondly, the perversion of the self-portrait; and finally, with direct reference to Bazin's essay, the editing of the art-image.


Described as a "for-profit with a nonprofit soul," the low-profit limited liability company ("L3C") is a relatively recent hybrid business entity form, designed to occupy the space between for-profit and nonprofit companies. The L3C is designed to prioritize charitable, educational and certain social purposes like a nonprofit while allowing investors to share in the company's income and equity like a for-profit entity. L3Cs burst onto the corporate law scene in 2008 when Vermont legislators amended state LLC statutes, authorizing the formation of L3Cs, as a type of LLC, in that state. As of August 29, 2011, eight additional states and the federal jurisdictions of The Crow Indian Nation of Montana and The Oglala Sioux Tribe have passed similar L3C statutes. By the end of August 2011, 440 L3Cs were registered. L3Cs have proved polarizing. Supporters of L3Cs tout the form as a solution for social entrepreneurs to pursue an overtly social mission and to access capital more easily from both nonprofit and for-profit sources. On the other hand, a number of vocal critics contend that other available legal forms make the L3C redundant and that the L3C is susceptible to abuse. In this article, we take a middle ground approach. We recognize the lack of clarity or flaws in the limited law surrounding L3Cs but believe the issues remediable. After detailing the history of L3Cs and the debates surrounding the form, we identify four main problem areas: (1) governance; (2) enforcement; (3) capital-raising; and (4) what we call "capital-locking." In response to these four main problem areas, we offer suggestions to make the L3C more workable for its socially-conscious managers, investors, and the public. First, we recognize that L3C managers are bound by social purpose primacy, but argue they should be given latitude vis-a-vis the business judgment rule to pursue profit-making that may ultimately serve the L3C's social purpose. Second, from an enforcement perspective, we observe that social investors should have standing to sue to enforce adherence to the entity's social purpose. Third, in addressing the capital-raising issues surrounding L3Cs, we reject the capital tranching model which suggests that traditional investors will able to obtain market-rate returns on the backs of social investors who may be asked to receive little or no returns. We consider such practices at odds with the social purpose primacy of L3Cs and may provoke a response by the Internal Revenue Service. To fill the gap in the capital structure left by the proposed absence of traditional investors we suggest that L3Cs make use of crowd-funding capital, in addition to funding from foundations, nonprofits, and other socially-conscious investors. Finally, we argue that capital committed by social investors to L3Cs, and profit stemming from that capital, should be locked into the "social stream."


Gas giants orbiting their host star within the ice line are thought to have migrated to their current locations from farther out. Here we consider the origin and dynamical evolution of observed Jupiters, focusing on hot and warm Jupiters with outer friends. We show that the majority of the observed Jupiter pairs (20 out of 24) are dynamically unstable if the inner planet is placed at ≳1 au distance from the stellar host. This finding is at odds with formation theories that invoke the migration of such planets from semimajor axes ≳1 au due to secular dynamical processes (e.g., secular chaos, Lidov–Kozai [LK] oscillations) coupled with tidal dissipation. In fact, the results of N-body integrations show that the evolution of dynamically unstable systems does not lead to tidal migration but rather to planet ejections and collisions with the host star. This and other arguments lead us to suggest that most of the observed planets with a companion could not have been transported from farther out through secular migration processes. More generally, by using a combination of numerical and analytic techniques, we show that the high-e LK migration scenario can only account for less than 10% of all gas giants observed between 0.1 and 1 au. Simulations of multiplanet systems support this result. Our study indicates that rather than starting on highly eccentric orbits with orbital periods above 1 yr, these "warm" Jupiters are more likely to have reached the region where they are observed today without having experienced significant tidal dissipation.


Dimensionality reduction is an essential step in high-dimensional data analysis. Many dimensionality reduction algorithms have been applied successfully to multi-class and multi-label problems. They are commonly applied as a separate data preprocessing step before classification algorithms. In this paper, we study a joint learning framework in which we perform dimensionality reduction and multi-label classification simultaneously. We show that when the least squares loss is used in classification, this joint learning decouples into two separate components, i.e., dimensionality reduction followed by multi-label classification. This analysis partially justifies the current practice of a separate application of dimensionality reduction for classification problems. We extend our analysis using other loss functions, including the hinge loss and the squared hinge loss. We further extend the formulation to the more general case where the input data for different class labels may differ, overcoming the limitation of traditional dimensionality reduction algorithms. Experiments on benchmark data sets have been conducted to evaluate the proposed joint formulations.


At convergent margins, the distribution of fluids released from the downgoing slab modulates the state of stress and seismic coupling at the megathrust plate interface. However, existing geophysical data are unable to quantify the porosity along this interface. Here we use controlled‐source electromagnetic data collected across the Middle America Trench offshore Nicaragua to image the electrical conductivity structure of the outer fore arc. Our results detect a highly conductive channel, inferred to be the region around the décollement, showing the entire section of water‐rich seafloor sediments underthrust with the subducting lithosphere. We use an empirical model of the electrical conductivity of porous media to quantify the channel porosity. Our estimates are consistent with sediment compaction studies, showing a rapid decay of 65%–10% porosity from the trench to 25 km landward. We constrain the channel thickness and use the porosity estimates to determine the water budget, which represents the fraction taken up by fluid. The porosity and water budget estimates show significant lateral variations that we attribute to changes in subducted sediment thickness caused by outer rise bending faults. Between 18 and 23 km from the trench, the conductive channel broadens greatly to 1.5–2 km thick, possibly due to concentrated blind faults or sediment underplating, which suggests a sudden change in hydrogeologic structure at the plate interface. The impact of the anomalous conductor on the seismic coupling and mechanical properties of the megathrust is potentially related to the discrepancy in estimated fault slip between seismic and tsunami source inversions for the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami earthquake.


The intimate association between mathematics and music can be traced to the Greek culture. It is well-represented in the prevailing Western musical culture of the 18th and 19th centuries, where the traditional cycle of fifths provides a mathematical model for classical harmony that originated with the well-tempered, and later the equal-tempered, keyboard. Equal-temperament gives equivalent status to all twelve tonal centres in the chromatic scale, leading to a high degree of symmetry and an underlying group structure. This connection seems to endorse the Pythagorean concept of music as exemplifying an ideal mathematical harmony. This paper examines the relationship between abstract mathematics and music more critically, challenging the idealized view of music as rooted in pure mathematical relations and instead highlighting the significance of music as an association between form and meaning that is negotiated and pragmatic in nature. In passing, it illustrates how the complex and subtle relationship between mathematics and music can be investigated effectively using principles and techniques for interactive computer-based modelling that in themselves may be seen as relating mathematics to the art of computing - a theme that is developed in a companion paper (viz. paper #082 in this directory).


Internal instability occurs when the finer fraction of a filter escapes with the infiltrates, causing permanent changes to its particle size distribution and rendering it ineffective. Thus far, numerous criteria based on particle and constriction size distributions have been proposed to assess the potential of internal instability. This paper reports the results of pressure gradient controlled hydraulic tests performed on granular soils including silt-sand-gravel, sand, and sand-gravel mixtures with their uniformity coefficients ranging from 1 to 304 and compacted at varying relative densities between 0 and 100 %. Select dense samples were then subjected to a series of hydraulic tests under static loading up to 100 kPa and cyclic loading up to 30 Hz, simulating subballast filtration under heavy-haul freight trains with speeds as high as 210 km/h. The analysis revealed that the agitation and pore pressure development under cyclic loading promotes premature suffusion, thereby making it the worst case of filtration. An objective evaluation of some of the existing criteria led to a more realistic interpretation of experimental results based on a modified technique that accurately assessed the internal stability of soils under cyclic loading. Results of internal stability assessments from existing geometrical criteria were then compared with those from the proposed technique, which showed enhanced success, thereby contributing to increased confidence in the practical design of granular filters under cyclic conditions.


Background: Among patients who are discharged from the Emergency Department (ED), about 3% return within 30 days. Revisits can be related to the nature of the disease, medical errors, and/or inadequate diagnoses and treatment during their initial ED visit. Identification of high-risk patient population can help device new strategies for improved ED care with reduced ED utilization.


This dataset contains cross-sectional data collected on child development outcomes, child characteristics, and parental and home characteristics for a sample of 1,311 children ages 6-42 months of age living in a representative sample of low- and low-middle-income households in Bogota, Colombia. This is the sample used for the analysis in the paper "Concurrent Validity and
Feasibility of Short Tests Currently Used to Measure Early Childhood Development in Large Scale Studies" by Marta Rubio-Codina, M Caridad Araujo, Orazio Attanasio, Pablo Munoz and Sally Grantam-McGregor, forthcoming at PLOS ONE. The dataset and do files shared allow replication of the results in the paper. Please note that these data can only be used for non-commercial research purposes given the IDB data sharing standards and in order to comply with the commitment acquired by the researchers with study participants by means of the informed consent.


Transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) and TGF-β–related proteins, such as the bone morphogenetic proteins, have emerged as key regulators of stem cell renewal and differentiation. These proteins have disparate roles in regulating the biology of embryonic stem cells and tumor suppression, and they help define the selection of cell fate and the progression of differentiation along a lineage. Here we illustrate their roles in embryonic stem cells and in the differentiation of neural, hematopoietic, mesenchymal, and gastrointestinal epithelial stem cells.


Population assessment is a primary component of ungulate management, but managers are continuously under pressure to reduce survey cost. Another concern in aerial surveys is accounting for undetected animals (i.e., visibility bias). Currently, a stratified random block-survey design (hereafter, block-surveys) is used to develop moose (Alces alces) population estimates in several regions of North America. In this case study, we evaluated the application of distance sampling as an alternative to block-surveys in Alberta, Canada. We conducted distance-sampling surveys in 2010 and 2012 and compared density estimates, precision (coeff. of variation) and flight effort (hr/100 km2 of survey area) to block-surveys flown in 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2012. To assess sightability bias and subsequently correct for moose missed on the transect line, we developed a predictive sightability model using 41 sightability trials with 21 radiocollared moose in 2009 and 2010. Without correcting for visibility bias on the transect line, distance sampling was more efficient in terms of flight-hours than block-surveys, while providing population estimates with similar or higher precision. Estimated sightability on the transect line was 67% in 2010 and 46% in 2012, which was used to re-scale the detection functions. Considering that population estimates from block-surveys as applied in Alberta are based on observable moose, distance sampling with a sightability correction likely provided more accurate estimates. Our results support the application of distance sampling as an alternative to block-surveys, but we suggest further investigation of methods for correcting visibility bias on the transect line. © 2014 The Wildlife Society.


BACKGROUND: Children in child care are frequently unnecessarily excluded for illness. We investigated parental use of urgent medical evaluation for sick children unable to attend child care. METHODS: In May 2012, authors conducted a nationally representative survey of parents, who completed online questions regarding child illness causing absence from child care and their medical care-seeking behavior. Main outcome was parents' use of emergency department or urgent care (ED/UC). RESULTS: Overall survey participation rate was 62%. Of participating parent cohort with children 0 to 5 years old, 57% (n = 357) required child care, of which 84% (n = 303) required out-of-home child care. Over 88% of parents sought acute medical care for their sick children unable to attend child care. Approximately one-third of parents needed a doctor's note for employers and/or child care. Parents sought medical evaluation (>1 option possible) from primary care (81%), UC (26%), or ED (25%). ED/UC use was most common for rash (21%) and fever (15%). Logistic regression indicated ED/UC use was significantly higher among single/divorced parents (odds ratio [OR] = 4.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5–13.5); African American parents (OR = 4.2; 95% CI: 1.2–14.6); parents needing a doctor's note (OR = 4.2; 95% CI: 1.5–11.7); and those with job concerns (OR = 3.4; 95% CI: 1.2–9.7). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of parents whose sick children cannot attend child care seek care in ED/UC. Training child care professionals regarding appropriate illness exclusions may decrease ED/UC visits by lowering child care exclusions.


This paper investigates the stability and large-displacement post-buckling behaviour of liquid-lined elastic rings. The fluid flow and the wall deformation are described by the free-surface Navier–Stokes equations and by geometrically nonlinear shell theory, respectively. The fluid–structure interaction problem is solved numerically by a finite element method. The compressive load on the ring is a combination of the external pressure and the effect of surface tension. Once this combined load exceeds a critical value, the subsequent non-axisymmetric collapse of the ring is controlled by the dynamics of the surface-tension-driven redistribution of fluid in the liquid lining. It is shown that, for sufficiently large surface tension, the ring can undergo a catastrophic collapse which leads to a complete occlusion of its lumen. A novel lubrication theory model, which ensures exact volume conservation for flows on strongly curved substrates, is developed and found to be capable of accurately describing the motion of the air–liquid interface and the fluid–structure interaction in the large-displacement regime, even in cases where the film thickness is large. The findings have important implications for the occurrence of airway closure in lung diseases (such as oedema) which cause an increase in the thickness of the airways' liquid lining. It is shown that under such conditions, airways can become occluded even if the volume of fluid in their liquid lining is much smaller than that required to occlude them in their axisymmetric state.


There are over one thousand settlements in Northern Ceylon ranging in size from less than ten to over one hundred thousand people. Though most of them are rural, they have developed in a variety of ways and been affected by both economic and physical conditions. The functional character of these settlements varies greatly; 446 are without any recognized central functions and the number of functions range from one to one hundred and eight. The study is primarily concerned with the central place system and the related phenomena of central place theory. The role of commercial and service organizations and markets and fairs in the distributive system of goods is analysed. The population and functional relations of settlements and threshold entry for different functions are determined. One hundred and twelve functions were recorded to) assess the functional level of settlements. The concepts of aggregate and relative importance (nodality and centrality) were explored and techniques to measure these criteria were developed. Seven grades of central places were identified based on hierarchical principles and these are city, major town, town, township, large village, village and hamlet. Functional characteristics of the central place system are analysed on a regional and intra-urban basis. Service areas of functions and places were determined from the public transport pattern and other related data. Finally, an analysis was made of the future regional economic and settlement pattern and the application of central place theory in the creation of new settlements and to improve urban/rural relations.


We propose a new nonlinear factorization model for graphs that are with topological structures, and optionally, node attributes. This model is based on a pseudometric called Gromov-Wasserstein (GW) discrepancy, which compares graphs in a relational way. It estimates observed graphs as GW barycenters constructed by a set of atoms with different weights. By minimizing the GW discrepancy between each observed graph and its GW barycenter-based estimation, we learn the atoms and their weights associated with the observed graphs. The model achieves a novel and flexible factorization mechanism under GW discrepancy, in which both the observed graphs and the learnable atoms can be unaligned and with different sizes. We design an effective approximate algorithm for learning this Gromov-Wasserstein factorization (GWF) model, unrolling loopy computations as stacked modules and computing gradients with backpropagation. The stacked modules can be with two different architectures, which correspond to the proximal point algorithm (PPA) and Bregman alternating direction method of multipliers (BADMM), respectively. Experiments show that our model obtains encouraging results on clustering graphs.


Assessing how great a threat President Trump poses to American democracy is a thorny task. Here my analysis on this question will be through a comparative-historical lens: namely, by comparing the election of 2016 to the election of Lincoln in 1860. The reference to the 1860 election for this inquiry is obvious enough: the victory by Lincoln did ultimately spark a fundamental challenge to the stability of American democracy in the form of Southern secession and the Civil War. The basic aspiration of this comparative approach then is to investigate whether some facets of the 1860 election may or may not find ready analogues in the present context, and to accordingly draw implications from this comparison.
Below, I proceed by briefly discussing the contemplated policy shifts in both electoral contests. I then discuss how the 2016 election may be seen to encompass the lesser threat to democratic stability when we focus on demographics and the possibility of policy reversals. However, I then note in the following section how there may be some tentative convergence between the 1860 and 2016 elections on a different dimension: the weakening or disappearance of structures of commonality in American society in both contexts. Finally, again prompted by the comparison with the 1860 election, I conclude by discussing how threats to American democracy might be minimized in the present-time by a redrawing or reshuffling of the major fault lines of societal difference.


Title: VENTURE CAPITAL-BACKED INVESTMENT: IMPACT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN SWEDEN Author: John Gartchie Gatsi Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Master's Thesis in Business Administration, 10 Credits Background and problem discussion: Sweden is one of the small open economies with flourishing venture capital investments. Much research has not been conducted into corporate governance in Sweden when venture capital is involved. I therefore studied how venture capital investments affect corporate governance and performance in Sweden. The research question focuses on board chairperson's separation from the CEO, independent audit and compensation committees and other board members. Purpose: The study was conducted to understand how corporate governance has developed into the management of Venture Capital backed investments in Sweden since, Sweden ranked third to Venture Capital investment destination currently. The result will add to the limited existing literature on the subject in Sweden with venture capital as the focus. Theory: The study was conducted using both complementarities framework and governed corporation principle in which venture capital firms and their portfolio firms in Sweden benefit from each other. Analysis: Data for the thesis was collected from selected Venture Capitalists who are members of the Swedish Venture Capital Association through simple Open and closed ended self administered questionnaire. Conclusion: Venture capitalists ensure active participation in the portfolio firms through board representation but do not consider appointment of board chair as a means to enhance corporate governance. Separation of the board chair from the CEO of a portfolio firm is a clear characteristic of corporate governance in venture capital backed investments in Sweden. More importance is placed on collective decision making than Audit and Compensation Committees.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There are few data on the rate and characterization of medication-related visits (MRVs) to the emergency department (ED) in pediatric patients. We sought to evaluate the frequency, severity, preventability, and classification of MRVs to the ED in pediatric patients. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational study of pediatric patients presenting to the ED over a 12-month period. A medication-related ED visit was identified by using pharmacist assessment, emergency physician assessment, and an independent adjudication committee. RESULTS: In this study, 2028 patients were enrolled (mean age, 6.1 ± 5.0 years; girls, 47.4%). An MRV was found in 163 patients (8.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.0%–9.3%) of which 106 (65.0%; 95% CI: 57.2%–72.3%) were deemed preventable. Severity was classified as mild in 14 cases (8.6%; 95% CI: 4.8%–14.0%), moderate in 140 cases (85.9%; 95% CI: 79.6%–90.8%), and severe in 9 cases (5.5%; 95% CI: 2.6%–10.2%). The most common events were related to adverse drug reactions 26.4% (95% CI: 19.8%–33.8%), subtherapeutic dosage 19.0% (95% CI: 13.3%–25.9%), and nonadherence 17.2% (95% CI: 11.7%–23.9%). The probability of hospital admission was significantly higher among patients with an MRV compared with those without an MRV (odds ratio, 6.5; 95% CI: 4.3–9.6) and, if admitted, the median (interquartile range) length of stay was longer (3.0 [5.0] days vs 1.5 [2.5] days, P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: A medication-related cause was found in ∼1 of every 12 ED visits by pediatric patients, of which two-thirds were deemed preventable. Pediatric patients who present to the ED with an MRV are more likely to be admitted to hospital and when admitted have a longer length of stay.


Objective. There are few data from before the antiretroviral therapy (ART) era for cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMV-R) from settings where cost limits use of systemic treatment. This study examines CMV-R treatment and survival outcomes in a public hospital ophthalmology service in Ga-Rankuwa, South Africa.

Methods. From October 2009 to October 2010, voluntarily consenting participants over the age of 15 years with incident clinically diagnosed CMV-R seen at the Dr George Mukhari Hospital ophthalmology clinic were prospectively enrolled in an observational study. Treatment was per clinic protocols and patients were followed up with structured data collection for up to 6 months.

Results. Eight individuals, all HIV infected and 50% female, were identified and enrolled. At enrolment, median age was 38 years (interquartile range (IQR) 32 - 39 years), median CD4 count 20 cells/μl (IQR 13 - 46.5 cells/μl), and 50% were currently receiving ART (mean duration of ART use 18 days, standard deviation (SD) 2.99 days). No participant received systemic ganciclovir, but 6 reported symptom combinations suggesting systemic CMV: shortness of breath (n=3), diarrhoea (n=3) and/or central nervous system complaints (n=3). Ten eyes had visual impairment less than counting fingers at enrolment. Treatment combinations were: ART plus intravitreal ganciclovir (n=5), intravitreal ganciclovir alone (n=2), and ART alone (n=1). Six-month outcomes were: death (n=1), survival (n=6), loss to follow-up (n=3), untraceable (n=1), systemic symptom resolution (4/4), visual acuity deterioration (0/5), and persisting uveitis (2/3).

Conclusion. In the ART era, incident CMV-R appears to be uncommon in this setting. CMV-R may occur within the first 3 weeks after ART initiation. Even in CMV-R patients with suggestive systemic symptoms, 6-month survival is good despite no systemic CMV therapy.

S Afr J HIV Med 2012;13(2):68-71.


John Stuart Blackie was one of the most impressive and influential figures of nineteenth-century Scotland, as well as one of the most striking and flamboyant. As an intellectual he translated Goethe's Faust and brought first-hand knowledge of German philosophy to Scotland as a means of keeping the Enlightenment tradition alive. As first Professor of Humanity at Aberdeen from 1839 to 1852 and then as Professor of Greek at Edinburgh until 1882, he played a, perhaps the, central role in modernising the Scottish university curriculum, removing the dead hand of theological orthodoxy, raising standards (and the entry age), introducing tutorial teaching and establishing new chairs (including the Edinburgh chair of Celtic). His role in the reform of secondary school teaching was equally central. But Blackie was also a great 'public man', corresponding with great and famous throughout Great Britain and Europe, from Goethe and Carlyle to Ruskin and Gladstone, and filling the pages of newspapers and journals with writings on the major issues of the day. For the last thirty years of his life he became closely involved in issues of Scottish nationalism and home rule, and as champion of the crofters is largely responsible for their contemporary survival and unique status. Despite the existence of a rich archive of his papers and letters, there has been only one book devoted to his life: The Life of Professor John Stuart Blackie, the most distinguished Scotsman of the day, edited by J. G. Duncan and published in 1895.


The steady decline of grassland bird populations has been attributed to agricultural intensification. The establishment of native prairie vegetation for biomass fuel has potential to reverse this decline. The Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa is investigating the potential of perennial native vegetation as a biofuel feedstock. In the spring of 2009, research plots located in seven previously row cropped fields in Black Hawk County, Iowa, were seeded with one of four treatments of native vegetation: 1) switchgrass monoculture, 2) five native warm-season grasses, 3) 16 native species, and 4) 32 native species. Treatments were replicated four times across three soil types in 48 research plots. To assess avian colonization of the site, I conducted visual strip transect surveys of birds using the research plots. Beginning at the time of seeding during the 2009 breeding season, I sampled in four periods; breeding season, fall migration, winter, and spring migration, concluding after the 2010 breeding season. To provide a comparison with the surrounding landscape, I sampled plots in adjacent row crop fields during the 2009 fall migration and 2010 breeding season. I did not detect differences in avian abundance, species richness, or diversity between the biomass production plots until the second growing season. During the 2010 breeding season, the combination of treatments and soil types provided a mosaic of habitat types that together supported greater species richness and diversity than any of the habitat types alone. In general, differences were detected between two treatment groups, Grasses (treatments 1 and 2) and Forbs + Graminoids (treatments 3 and 4) and two soil type groups (dry and mesic to wet). Avian abundance, species richness, and diversity were significantly greater in Forbs + Graminoids than Grasses and, in turn greater in Grasses than row crops. Generally, avian community composition on all but the driest soil type varied significantly between Grasses and Forbs + Graminoids. Regional avian species richness and diversity would be maximized by planting a variety of native biofuel feedstock mixes on a variety of soil types. Further research on a broader scale is required to verify this assessment. EARLY AVIAN COLONIZATION IN A PRAIRIE BIOFUEL PROJECT A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science


Detecting manipulated images has become a significant emerging challenge. The advent of image sharing platforms and the easy availability of advanced photo editing software have resulted in a large quantities of manipulated images being shared on the internet. While the intent behind such manipulations varies widely, concerns on the spread of false news and misinformation is growing. Current state of the art methods for detecting these manipulated images suffers from the lack of training data due to the laborious labeling process. We address this problem in this paper, for which we introduce a manipulated image generation process that creates true positives using currently available datasets. Drawing from traditional work on image blending, we propose a novel generator for creating such examples. In addition, we also propose to further create examples that force the algorithm to focus on boundary artifacts during training. Strong experimental results validate our proposal.


Fast Focus is an occasional, electronic-only supplement to Focus on recent poverty research. Katherine Magnuson's research focuses on the well-being and development of economically disadvantaged children and their families. In the first half of this brief Magnuson pulls together scholarship on the effects of poverty and inequality on children, especially from infancy to age five. Her scope goes beyond the social sciences to include new findings from neuroscience and developmental psychology that provide a new window into the mechanisms by which disadvantage may have lasting effects on children's cognition, behavior, and life chances. The second half of the brief looks at what evaluation research suggests as to what works to lessen poverty's negative influence on children. Magnuson examines two approaches, income support programs and early childhood interventions. Findings suggest that programs that "make work pay" by supplementing the income of low-wage parents of preschool-age children boost student achievement when they enter school. She suggests that the Child Tax Credit and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are two other income support programs that could reasonably be considered to have similarly positive effects on children because they too augment families' economic resources. Several early childhood interventions have also been shown to produce short-term and long-term benefits. Magnuson notes that the evidence supporting the effectiveness of high-quality, center-based early childhood education is strong, concluding that, in times of tight budgets when difficult funding decisions must be made, the research findings summarized in this brief imply that investing in policies and programs aimed at families with young children is a good use of restricted resources.


Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a dual role in winemaking as they are the main effectors of malolactic fermentation, but some members can also cause wine spoilage. PCR-DGGE has proved to be a quick tool to study the LAB community and their fluctuation in wine. For detecting wine-associated LAB by PCR-DGGE, the primer sets WLAB1/WLAB2GC, WBAC1/WBAC2GC, Lac1/Lac1o/Lac2GC, 341fGC/518r and rpoB1/rpoB1o/rpoB2GC were tested and evaluated in this study. The primer systems were assessed by the separation of LAB reference strains on DGGE gels and by attributing the resulting amplicons to defined species. Subsequently, the detection of LAB in wine samples and enrichments thereof was compared. While the primer systems WBAC1/WBAC2GC and 341fGC/518r were not appropriate, the Lac1/Lac1o/Lac2GC primer set performed well. However, multiple bands complicated the evaluation. The rpoB1/rpoB1o/rpoB2GC set seemed to be promising for the detection of LAB in wine, although further improvements in terms of the detection limit need to be done. Due to the pronounced sensitivity and the sufficient discrimination of LAB at species level, the WLAB1/WLAB2GC primer system was found to be most suitable for studying the occurrence of LAB in wine.


An artificial neural network (ANN), usually called neural network (NN) consists of mathematical model or computational model that is inspired by the structure and/or functional aspects of biological neural networks. Modern neural networks are non linear statistical modeling tools. They are usually used to model complex relationships between inputs and outputs or to find patterns in data. The bend of channel varies according to its radius, degree of angle at its curvature and depth at different sections of channel due to which the velocity of the flow of water at the bend of channel vary at different sections. Hence it is necessary to study and predict the velocity for planning and management of water resources. In this regard, prediction of velocity at a bend of channel was studied using experimental setup of flume and thus various experiments were conducted, The observations were recorded and data regarding varied radius, depth ,theta were collected and from this velocity was measured. In this regard prediction of velocity was done using artificial neural network with components in channel bend i.e. angel of bend, radius of bend, flow depth and Karmans constant as input data except Karmans constant, while the velocity as a target output, The total no. of samples recorded are 315. It was observed that different methods were used such as MLP, recurrent networks etc for prediction of parameters of hydrology but the method of Fuzzy Logic was never applied while using ANN. Hence depending on the data representation and the application the model Fuzzy logic is used to train and learn the data sets. Hence after training for number of runs, learning and testing the results obtained were satisfactory. Supervised neural networks that use an MSE cost function can use formal statistical methods to determine the confidence of the trained model. The MSE on a validation set can be used as an estimate for variance. This value can then be used to calculate the confidence interval of the output of the network, assuming a normal distribution. The results of the study showed that predictions of velocity using artificial neural network are reasonable, suitable and of acceptable accuracy. Hence prediction of velocity at the curvature of channel by ANN may be useful for water quality planning and management.


A technique is described for combining several wavelength backscatter measurements to yield profiles of molecular density and temperature plus aerosol and cloud backscatter with associated error-bar profiles. Error sources include signal, transmission, calibration, conventional density, lidar density normalization, temperature or pressure estimation at a reference height, and backscatter wavelength-dependence estimation. Strong particulate contamination limits the technique to the cloud-free upper troposphere and above. Error bars automatically returned as part of the measurement show when such contamination occurs. Relative density (temperature) profiles have rms errors of 0.5-2% (1.2-2.5 K) in the nonvolcanic stratosphere and upper troposphere. The density profiles significantly improve aerosol retrievals. The fine vertical resolution of the temperature profiles would permit defining the tropopause to approximately 0.5 km and higher wave structures to 1 or 2 km.


While the financing of many existing welfare programs have been 'sticky' and resistant to change, through the 1980s reformers have radically altered the ways services are produced and administered. Much of the literature on institutional change has focused on either articulating the sources of continuity or the modes of change, rather than specifying why some parts of institutions are more open to change than others. This paper looks to address these questions. To do so, it first pulls apart the different costs of change, distinguishing among economic, political and sociological costs. It then turns to examining three modes of partial change that occur across varying cost structures: 'back-end' change where economic costs fall while other costs remain high, 'front-end' change where political costs fall while others remain high, and 'informal' change where sociological costs fall while others remain high. It examines this variation through the cases of health and welfare reform in the United States and the United Kingdom, showing that different cost-configurations led to different types of change and empowered different actors to engage in change.


We exploit the high χ nonlinearity present in hydrogenated amorphous silicon nanophotonic waveguides to demonstrate frequency conversion at telecommunication wavelengths using pump and signal that are both continuous-wave. We reach a frequency conversion efficiency close to -34dB having a on-chip 13mW pump power in a low-loss 1cm long silicon photonic wire. Thanks to the ultra-low pump power and optimised hydrogen concentration during fabrication, optical degradation during illumination was reduced. The nonlinear refractive index is estimated for a set of hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguides with different hydrogen concentrations by the four-wave mixing process, yielding a maximum value of n2=5.76×10 m⁄W.


Savannas are highly significant global ecosystems that consist of a mix of trees and grasses and that are highly spatially varied in their physical structure, species composition, and physiological function (i.e., leaf area and function, stem density, albedo, and roughness). Variability in ecosystem characteristics alters biophysical and biogeochemical processes that can affect regional to global circulation patterns, which are not well characterized by land surface models. We initiated a multidisciplinary field campaign called Savanna Patterns of Energy and Carbon Integrated across the Landscape (SPECIAL) during the dry season in Australian savannas to understand the spatial patterns and processes of land surface–atmosphere exchanges (radiation, heat, moisture, CO2, and other trace gasses). We utilized a combination of multiscale measurements including fixed flux towers, aircraft-based flux transects, aircraft boundary layer budgets, and satellite remote sensing to quantify the spatial variability across a continental-scale rainfall gradient (transect). We found that the structure of vegetation changed along the transect in response to declining average rainfall. Tree basal area decreased from 9.6 m2 ha−1 in the coastal woodland savanna (annual rainfall 1,714 mm yr−1) to 0 m2 ha−1 at the grassland site (annual rainfall 535 mm yr−1), with dry-season green leaf area index (LAI) ranging from 1.04 to 0, respectively. Leaf-level measurements showed that photosynthetic properties were similar along the transect. Flux tower measurements showed that latent heat fluxes (LEs) decreased from north to south with resultant changes in the Bowen ratios (H/LE) from a minimum of 1.7 to a maximum of 15.8, respectively. Gross primary productivity, net carbon dioxide exchange, and LE showed similar declines along the transect and were well correlated with canopy LAI, and fluxes were more closely coupled to structure than floristic change.


This thesis discusses how the modern city can be understood as an experiential environment of
critical subjective practice. Fictive textual representations of subjective spatial cultures and
practices within the modern Athenian public realm are examined in reference to Walter
Benjamin's critical theory and aesthetics.
Benjamin, inspired largely by early German Romantic art criticism that was based
upon ideas about the self-reflective and self-transformative experience of form, developed a
concept of 'experience': as critical process and practice. Exploring the relationship between
modern urban experience and critical subjectivity, this thesis examines Benjamin's concept of
experience through his diverse writings on art, architecture and urbanism; the main references
being drawn upon: the theses The Origin of German Tragic Drama (1928) and The Concept of
Criticism in German Romanticism (1920); the essays, 'The Storyteller' (1936), 'Theses on the
Philosophy of History' (1940), 'Little History of Photography' (1931) and 'The Work of Art in
the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' (1935); as well as the urban writings Benjamin produced
between the late 1920s and early 1930s, such as One-Way Street (1928).
Benjamin's philosophy of experience is subsequently employed to develop an
epistemological and methodological framework for the interpretation of the selected fictive
narratives. The short stories 'In Pieces' (Kommatakia) (1979), and 'An avenue that is like me'
(Nomizo pos he leoforos Syngrou mou moiazei) (1999), written by the Greek authors Vangelis
Raptopoulos and Manos Kontoleon respectively, describe Athenian spatial practices and
cultures, as experienced, from the critical viewpoint of the experiencing subject/author.
Although modern Athens was initially developed and planned under Western European
influences, diversionary spatial and cultural practices characterised by improvisation and
subjective appropriation have emerged. Informed by Benjamin's 'literary montage', a method
of textual juxtaposition; and to a lesser degree, by his idea of the 'thought-image', offering a
particular approach to 'city portraiture'; the thesis adopts an experimental structure in order to
provide a platform for open-ended, critical interpretation of the fictive texts.
6
This thesis aims to offer original contributions to key discourses in contemporary arts
and design theory on spatial practices and representation, as well as to the broader scholarship
in arts and design criticism and historiography. For this purpose, a discussion on modern urban
aesthetics is constructed, articulating the idea that urban experience can inform critical spatial
practice. Furthermore, the thesis proposes a specific interdisciplinary approach to textual
representation and interpretation that fosters critical practice; thus, further demonstrating that
contemporary critical writing within the arts and design disciplines can oscillate between
different discourses and methods of writing (namely fictive narration, historiography and
critical theory).


Abstract In their work McCulloch and Pitts describe an idea of representing all of nervous activity in terms of propositional logic. This idea was quickly challenged. One of reasons for this challenge was rising believe that logic is unable to describe most of human cognitive processes. In this paper we will analyse premises of original McCulloch and Pitts proposition. Following that, we will ask about ability of symbolic (logical) systems to represent human cognition. We will finish by analysing relation between symbolic and subsymbolic computing, in hope of bridging the gap between the two.


A set of generalized Dirac functions (Δ functions) is introduced which resemble the Dirac function (δ function) in that their masses equal unity. Different members out of this set are determined by different values of a certain parameter. The sampling theorem—which tells us that a band-limited function can be synthesized by a proper low-pass filtering of a sequence of equidistant δ functions having variable masses, these masses being equal to the corresponding sample values of the band-limited function—no longer holds, if the practically unrealizable δ functions are replaced by realized Δ functions. It must be replaced by a generalized sampling theorem, which tells us what relationship exists between the parameters of the Δ functions and the sample values of the function to be generated at the ouput of the low-pass filter. Once a set of Δ functions has been chosen, this relationship can be determined explicitly. An application to the synthesis of coherent optical fields by means of computer-generated transparencies is given.


We study the equilibrium level of staking in a Proof-of-Stake blockchain when investors have different trading horizons. We find that, contrary to conventional wisdom, staking levels do not always increase in block rewards. Rather, block rewards serve as an inflationary transfer from short-horizon cryptocurrency investors to long-horizon cryptocurrency investors. Thus, increasing block rewards reduces short-horizon cryptocurrency investment which, under certain conditions, reduces the overall transfer to long-horizon cryptocurrency investors and therefore reduces long-horizon investment as well. When this is the case, increasing block rewards decreases total cryptocurrency investment which leads to a reduction in the equilibrium value of staked cryptocurrency.


A new method for estimation of electrical parameters in Induction Machines (IM) is presented. Evaluation of the parameters is performed by considering the envelope of the stator currents under motor start-up, thus avoiding the high sampling rates necessary for logging the actual currents. The use of start-up data makes the method attractive in the IM control and monitoring applications where the parameter estimates can be used for adjusting the control law or evaluating the motor condition. It is also demonstrated that the use of a simplified decoupled dynamic model of the IM in the estimation algorithm does not significantly worsen the quality of the obtained parameter estimates. Both simulations and experiments show fast convergence of the suggested algorithm.


Travel is one of the most popular items people tend to be comfortable with purchasing over the Internet. Hypertext is a form of electronic text composed of blocks of words (or images) linked electronically by multiple paths, chains, or trails. This study explores the importance of hypertext in the travel destination choice from websites. Results show that hypertext links containing images of destinations, informative texts, and search tools are the three most important features utilized by tourist website browsers. This study aims to offer insights into new areas for further research on tourism websites design, application and evaluation.


The Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology provides well-woman care for women of all ages and complete care for pregnancy and birth. We also evaluate and treat gynecologic disorders. We perform office, outpatient and inpatient gynecologic surgery. We offer minimally invasive hysterectomy including total laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Our division is comprised of fourteen obstetrician-gynecologists, five certified nurse midwives, and four advanced nurse practitioners. We are all dedicated to outstanding clinical practice and teaching.


This paper examines whether the subjective well-being of migrants is responsive to fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions in their country of origin. Using the German SocioEconomic Panel for the years 1984 to 2009 and macroeconomic variables for 24 countries of origin, we exploit country-year variation for identification of the effect and panel data to control for migrants' observed and unobserved characteristics. We find strong (mild) evidence that migrants' well-being responds negatively (positively) to an increase in the GDP (unemployment rate) of their home country. That is, we originally demonstrate that migrants regard home countries as natural comparators and, thereby, suggest an original assessment of the migration's relative deprivation motive. We also show that migrants are positively affected by the performances of the German regions in which they live (a 'signal effect'). We demonstrate that both effects decline with years-since-migration and with the degree of assimilation in Germany, which is consistent with a switch of migrants' reference point from home countries to migration destinations. Results are robust to the inclusion of country-time trends, to control for remittances sent to relatives in home countries and to a correction for selection into return migration. We derive important implications for labor market and migration policies.


Abstract After it was proposed that life on Earth might descend from seeding by an earlier extraterrestrial civilization motivated to secure and spread life, some authors noted that this alternative offers a testable implication: microbial seeds could be intentionally supplied with a durable signature that might be found in extant organisms. In particular, it was suggested that the optimal location for such an artefact is the genetic code, as the least evolving part of cells. However, as the mainstream view goes, this scenario is too speculative and cannot be meaningfully tested because encoding/decoding a signature within the genetic code is something ill-defined, so any retrieval attempt is doomed to guesswork. Here we refresh the seeded-Earth hypothesis in light of recent observations, and discuss the motivation for inserting a signature. We then show that 'biological SETI' involves even weaker assumptions than traditional SETI and admits a well-defined methodological framework. After assessing the possibility in terms of molecular and evolutionary biology, we formalize the approach and, adopting the standard guideline of SETI that encoding/decoding should follow from first principles and be convention-free, develop a universal retrieval strategy. Applied to the canonical genetic code, it reveals a non-trivial precision structure of interlocked logical and numerical attributes of systematic character (previously we found these heuristically). To assess this result in view of the initial assumption, we perform statistical, comparison, interdependence and semiotic analyses. Statistical analysis reveals no causal connection of the result to evolutionary models of the genetic code, interdependence analysis precludes overinterpretation, and comparison analysis shows that known variations of the code lack any precision-logic structures, in agreement with these variations being post-LUCA (i.e. post-seeding) evolutionary deviations from the canonical code. Finally, semiotic analysis shows that not only the found attributes are consistent with the initial assumption, but that they make perfect sense from SETI perspective, as they ultimately maintain some of the most universal codes of culture.


[1] The salient features of the daytime cloud radiative effect (CRE, also known as cloud radiative forcing) corresponding to various cloud regimes or weather states are examined. The analysis is based on a 24 year long data set from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) for three distinct geographical zones covering most of the Earth's surface area. Conditional sampling and averaging of the ISCCP cloud fraction and CRE in 2.5° grid cells is performed for each weather state, and the state's radiative importance expressed as the relative contribution to the total CRE of its geographical zone is explained in terms of dominant cloud type, cloud fraction, and frequency of occurrence. Similarities and differences within and between geographical zones in the cloud fraction and CRE characteristics of the various weather states are identified and highlighted. By providing an exposition of the radiative energy characteristics of different cloud type mixtures, we facilitate the meteorological situation-dependent evaluation of radiation budget effects due to clouds in climate models.


Goal theory perspectives on motivation are at the forefront of research regarding adolescents' motivation in learning contexts, focusing on the purposes (both academic and social) individuals perceive for engaging in achievement related behaviour. Much research however, has focused on early adolescence, meaning there is limited research regarding late adolescence or the relevance of particular goals as students mature. This study examines the achievement and social goals of secondary school students at early and late adolescence, using quantitative and qualitative data to explore differences in goals and goal relationships at each age level. Participants were 128 junior (ages 12-13) and 67 senior (ages 15-17) students from two metropolitan secondary schools in Western Australia. Results showed that junior students scored higher than senior students on all achievement goals and relationship goals, yet there were no significant differences between the groups for status and responsibility goals. In addition, mastery, relationship and responsibility goals were related for junior, but not for senior students. Implications for future research are discussed.


Honey is often adulterated because of its high economic value and increasing consumption. Among the most common adulterants, brown rice syrup (B.R.S.) is relatively difficult to detect. We present here a simple and fast quantitative 1H-NMR method to identify adulteration of honey by brown rice syrup using the concentration conversion factor. The principal component analysis of the 1H-NMR spectra of honey and B.R.S. showed a characteristic pattern at δH 5.39 for B.R.S. identification. Good linearity (r2 = 0.9713) was obtained between the % B.R.S. in honey and the integrated area of the peak at δH 5.39. With the newly developed method, we successfully quantified B.R.S. in two commercial honey samples at 22.3% and 37.3% with a precision of 0.1–1%. As a result, a simple, efficient and precise 1H-NMR method was developed to quantitatively identify the presence of B.R.S. in honey without any complicated sample preparation.


The aim of this thesis was to investigate why some referrals to outpatient clinics made by General Practitioners lead to continuing hospital attendance. A cohort of 392 patients referred to six outpatient clinics by General Practitioners during 1987 were studied from the time of their first attendance until visits ceased up to two years later. Six consultant clinics were studied in three specialties: rheumatology, vascular surgery and dermatology. For each specialty a clinic in both a teaching hospital and a district were included. The cohort members were similar to that found in most adult outpatient clinics: predominantly middle-aged or elderly with a greater proportion of women. A wide distribution of disease severity scores was observed in each clinic. The patients had to wait up to 35 weeks from the date of referral until seen for the first visit. A `continuing attender' was defined as someone in the highest quintile of visits made. Patients who were referred for therapy were more likely to continue attending. The principal reason for `continuing attendance' as perceived by patients, General Practitioners and hospital doctors was the necessity for consultant supervision. In addition, analysis of observable clinical and non-clinical data was performed. This showed that diagnosis, disease severity and the grade of doctor seeing the patient in the clinic influenced the numbers of visits made and the numbers of weeks of attendance. Different diagnoses had different predictive values: rheumatoid arthritis and peripheral vascular disease patients were most likely to return for four or more visits. Increasing disease severity scores made discharge progressively less likely and seeing a consultant made discharge four times more likely at the first visit and nine times at the second visit. Taken together these three variables could predict up to 80% of discharge decisions in this cohort of patients. (Sensitivity 81%, specificity 75%.) The disease severity scales we employed failed to detect major changes in this variable for the cohort as a whole or within individual specialties. Patients however considered their visit had produced improvement in their condition in 46% of cases. 62% expressed satisfaction with their visits to the clinic. In so far as the idea of consultant review of all cases at every visit cannot be met, it might still be possible for consultants to effectively manage the resources within their own clinic setting. Casenote review with junior staff at the end of a clinic could usefully be performed on patients making a third or subsequent visit. This would be especially valuable where the diagnosis and a measure of disease severity suggest that the patient should be discharged. The results conclude that such an educational activity, combined with formal guidelines to junior staff on the `Clinic Discharge Policy' are worthy of further study as potential means of reducing unnecessary attendances. This work has shown that it is possible to make useful observations on data such as age and diagnosis which are routinely gathered in the outpatient clinic. It is also suggested that it might prove useful to record prospectively other data such as patient satisfaction, the proportion of patients seen by different grades of doctors and disease severity. The use of such readily collected data would be of value not only to the clinicians engaged in the work of the clinics, but also to the General Practitioners who make referrals to them and to those who plan the services.


An increasing number of devastating natural disasters have occurred during recent years. Climate change is set to worsen their incidence and impacts even further making the risk of disasters a global concern. The increased extent and intensity of disasters has resulted in higher numbers of mortalities, social problems and economic losses. The growing complexity of disasters in terms of their diversity, magnitude, frequency and uncertainty, requires that even countries previously considered not being at high risk from disasters, have had to re-evaluate and strengthen their risk reduction strategies and capacities. Disaster risk reduction strategies aim to avoid (as in prevention) or limit (as in mitigation and preparedness) the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad context of sustainable development (UNISDR, 2004).
Disaster risk reduction strategies can be hazard-specific, sector-specific or commonly applicable across different types of disasters and involve multi-sectorial disciplines regardless of their nature and scale. Amongst them, capacity building has been widely accepted as a disaster risk reduction strategy that builds the resilience of targeted groups for better prevention through developing the preparedness and response strategies against disasters, which can be focused at institutional, community and individual levels. Capacity building for disaster risk reduction sits at the interface of policymaking, engineering and scientific research, due to the interdependencies and cascading impacts of disasters, and calls for a close and continuous exchange within these disciplines in order to provide effective and long-term solutions (UNISDR, 2013).
This special issue was initiated as part of the CARE-RISK workshop (Capacity Building to Reduce Disaster Risk in the UK and Malaysia) funded by the British Council Researcher Links programme. As disaster mitigation and management has been identified as one of the targeted areas of the Built Environment Project and Asset Management Journal (BEPAM) the guest editors are pleased to publish this special issue that focuses on capacity building for disaster risk reduction.