Abstract We use the fractional aerosol optical depth (AOD) values derived from Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) aerosol component measurements, along with aerosol transport model constraints, to estimate ground-level concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass and its major constituents in the continental United States. Regression models using fractional AODs predict PM2.5 mass and sulfate (SO4) concentrations in both the eastern and western United States, and nitrate (NO3) concentrations in the western United States reasonably well, compared with the available ground-level U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) measurements. These models show substantially improved predictive power when compared with similar models using total-column AOD as a single predictor, especially in the western United States. The relative contributions of the MISR aerosol components in these regression models are used to estimate size distributions of EPA PM2.5 species. This method captures the overall shapes of the size distributions of PM2.5 mass and SO4 particles in the east and west, and NO3 particles in the west. However, the estimated PM2.5 and SO4 mode diameters are smaller than those previously reported by monitoring studies conducted at ground level. This is likely due to the satellite sampling bias caused by the inability to retrieve aerosols through cloud cover, and the impact of particle hygroscopicity on measured particle size distributions at ground level.


In Maxwell Bay, King George Island, 100 m thick Holocene sediments have been deposited. These allow high-resolution environmental studies in the South Shetland Island area covering the recent warm climate period. Using sediment cores taken during Polarstern cruise ANT-XXIII/4 (2006), we were able to detect the impact of climate phases like the Little Ice Age on local sedimentation processes.In sediment core PS69/335-2 a cyclic pattern was found in the magnetic susceptibility (MS) parameter. High magnetic susceptibility correlates to low content in total organic carbon (TOC) and total sulfur (TS). This pattern was found in the other sediment cores as well and we suppose that lower values in MS can be related to higher biogenic productivity (TOC and TS values) or less input of terrigenous sediment. Partly destruction of the magnetic susceptibility signal by a reduction of ferric to ferrous iron is another alternative that has to be account for. The negative correlation between MS and TS possibly indicates this early diagenetic alteration. But the good correlation between XRF Fe counts and the MS does not support a destruction of high MS Fe-minerals. MS correlates to the dry bulk density (DBD) of the sediment and negatively to the biogenic opal as well as to the water content, all of this indicates a dilution of the MS signal by higher organic input.Spectral analyses of some sediment parameters of core PS69/335-2 resulted in cyclic frequencies of approximately 200 years. Similar frequencies were found in sediments from Collins Harbor and Bransfield Basin, which have been discussed as indicators for changing sea ice coverage. We are investigating additional parameters in our cores to detect comparable environmental changes.


Digital watermarking is the art of embedding data, called a watermark, into a multimedia object such that the watermark can be detected or extracted later without impairing the object. Concealment of secret messages inside a natural language, known as steganography, has been in existence as early as the 16th century. However, the increase in electronic/digital information transmission and distribution has resulted in the spread of watermarking from ordinary text to multimedia transmission. In this paper, we review various approaches and methods that have been used to conceal and preserve messages. Examples of real-world applications are also discussed.


To date, research into disordered eating in sport has focused on the prevalence and the identification of putative risk factors. Findings suggest that elite female athletes participating in sports with a focus on leanness or aesthetics are at greatest risk. A paucity of research remains as to the period after onset and how existing sufferers manage their illness over time. In line with the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study 'gives voice' to four athletes who have experienced disordered eating, documenting their personal accounts and interpreting these accounts from a psychological perspective. In‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were conducted and verbatim transcripts were analysed according to the procedures of IPA. Three superordinate themes emerged from the data: the struggle to disclose, social support needs and identity challenges. Athletes' stories provided rich descriptions of their subjective disordered eating experiences. Their accounts give critical insight into the impact of eating disturbance on the lives of athletes. Future research should continue to identify athletes with existing eating problems in order to improve understanding as to how such individuals can best be helped.


The Walt Disney Company made national headlines in 2015 when its former information-technology employees went public with the news that they had been fired and asked to train their replacements: foreign workers holding H-1B visas. Disney's move was spotlighted during the 2016 presidential campaign as then-candidate Donald Trump railed against Disney's use of H-1B visas to employ people, "imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay."
What few appreciate is that Disney is not new to working the immigration laws to its advantage. Just at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, the company has employed student workers on J visas, vocational students on M visas, intra-company transferees from other parks around the world on L visas, Walt Disney World alumni on short-term H-2B visas, trainees on H-3 visas, and treaty investors on E-2 visas. Disney even led a lobbying effort to create a new visa category uniquely applicable to overseas workers staffing its Epcot theme park's World Showcase attractions – the Q visa.
This Article takes a particular look at two Disney visa stories. Part I examines the company's successful below-the-radar creation of the Q visa. Part II considers the public-relations fiasco that followed the firing of Disney IT workers and their replacement with H-1B visa-holders. Thinking about these two stories side-by-side pushes us to confront at least two questions: first, how do we feel about corporate users of the immigration system tailoring that system to fit their own needs? And second, how do we feel about corporate users of the immigration system making use of that system to replace U.S. workers with noncitizen labor?


We analyze the use of the digital content of non-profit libraries, such as, national and academic, worldwide, as expressed through the restrictions of intellectual property and the knowledge management policies. We classify the policies according to factors, such as, the content creation type, its acquisition method and intellectual property, analyze their relationship and extract quantitative remarks. We propose a policy model of access, reproduction and use for the digital content of national and academic libraries. The model contains not only library implemented practices, but also, new, and not implemented so far, policies, which can offer solutions to management of digital information and knowledge; in addition, rules on policies supplemented by their exceptions. Two separate policy models, for the digitized and the born-digital, arise and presented respectively, and relevant conclusions that valid on each case are extracted. Finally, findings on policies, common, for national and academic libraries, and unique, are presented.


"Ranger" is a robotic box designed to motivate young children to tidy up the toys in their rom. It explores the idea of integrating robotics into daily life objects, such as a wooden box. The box shows light and sound when toys are put inside or removed. We carried out a series of field experiments (Wizard-of-Oz) with 14 families to evaluate the first prototype of Ranger. The robot was operated showing two different behaviors: an active or a passive one. We found that the robot's behavior had an impact on how children interacted with it. The poster also describes children's and parent's evaluation of the robot and how the design of Ranger could be improved.


The recent establishment of recombination‐based cloning systems has greatly facilitated the analysis of gene function by allowing rapid and high‐efficiency generation of plasmid constructs. However, the use of such an approach in zebrafish requires the availability of recombination‐compatible plasmids that are appropriate for functional studies in zebrafish embryos. In this work, we describe the construction and validation of Gateway compatible vectors based on commonly used zebrafish plasmids. We have generated pCS‐based plasmids that allow rapid generation of both N‐terminal and C‐terminal fusion proteins, and we demonstrate that mRNA synthesized from these plasmids encodes functional native or fusion proteins in injected zebrafish embryos. In parallel, we have established similar Gateway plasmids containing Tol2 cis elements that promote efficient integration into the zebrafish genome and allow expression of native or fusion proteins in a tissue‐specific manner in the zebrafish embryo. Finally, we demonstrate the use of this system to rapidly identify tissue‐specific cis elements to aid the establishment of blood vessel‐specific transgenic constructs. Taken together, this work provides an important platform for the rapid functional analyses of open reading frames in zebrafish embryos. Developmental Dynamics 236:3077–3087, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background/Context Several studies have argued that the academic struggles of Latino/a students are connected, at least in part, to the dearth of Latino/a teachers and other school personnel who may be better equipped to meet the needs of this group. Others have suggested that there are significant academic benefits to having a more diverse teaching force. Despite significant population growth among Latinos/as in the United States, the teaching force remains overwhelmingly White, as Latino/a students continue to be underrepresented in institutions of higher education and, more specifically, within teacher education programs. Purpose/Objective/Focus of the Study Given the failure of teacher preparation programs to attract and retain more Latino/a students, and the implications that the shortage of qualified teachers has on Latino/a and other K–12 students, it is vital to learn from the challenges and successes of Latino/a preservice teachers to improve the ways in which teachers of diverse backgrounds are attracted into the field and prepared for this work. This article reports the findings of an ethnographic study in which a cohort of Latino/a preservice teachers was followed from the teachers' recruitment into college, through their undergraduate years and, for most, their eventual transition into the teaching profession. Setting All the participants were undergraduate students enrolled in the teacher education program at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) of higher education in the northeastern United States. Participants A cohort of 5 Latino/a preservice teachers recruited to the institution as part of a minority teacher recruitment program participated in the study. Research Design This article draws from data collected ethnographically, using phenome-nological interviews, observations, field notes, and student work products to document barriers that students encountered while navigating their preservice teacher education program. The author critically examines how this cohort of Latino/a undergraduates experienced systematic silencing, the result of the acts of individual agents and institutional practices and policies that manifested in overt and subtle forms of subordination. Findings The study reveals how subordination serves to marginalize students of color by hindering their full, active participation in teacher preparation programs through the silencing of their voices. Using critical race theory (CRT) and Latino/a critical race theory (LatCrit) as analytic lenses, the author describes multiple sites within the institution of higher education where students experienced silencing. Conclusions/Recommendations The article concludes with a discussion of implications, framed around the central tenets of CRT and LatCrit, for improving the recruitment and retention of Latino/a college students in teacher education, particularly as an important means for enhancing the educational experiences and outcomes for Latinos/as in K–12 schools.


The transition from war to peace is fraught with tension and the risk of a return to bloodshed. With so much at stake, it is crucial that the international community and local stakeholders make sense of the complex mosaic of challenges, to support a lasting, inclusive and prosperous peace. Recent missions, such as in Afghanistan, Somalia, or Sudan, have highlighted the fact that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to steering countries away from violence and towards stability. This Adelphi offers a series of economic perspectives on conflict resolution, to show how the challenges of peacebuilding can be more effectively tackled. From the need to marry diplomatic peacemaking with development efforts, and activate the private sector in the service of peacebuilding aims, to the use of taxes and natural resource revenues as a financial base for sustainable peace, this book considers how economic factors can positively shape and drive peace processes. It takes an unflinching look at the complex ways in which power and order may be manifested in conflict zones, where unpalatable compromises with local warlords can often be the first step towards a more lasting settlement. A difficult balance must be struck by peacemakers and peacebuilders in assisting countries and communities in their transitions out of war, for the consequences of failure for countries and the wider world are too grave. In distilling expertise from a range of disciplines, this Adelphi seeks to inform a more economically integrated and responsive approach to helping countries leave behind their troubled pasts and take a fuller role in constructing their futures.


The unclamped linear electro-optic coefficients r13 and r33 for lithium tantalate are known at only one wavelength, 632.8 nm, whereas the clamped coefficients are also known at 3.39 μm. In the unclamped mode the effects of mechanical changes caused by piezoelectric and elasto-optic effects are accounted for in the electro-optic coefficient. We demonstrate a novel technique that uses a ferroelectric domain micropatterned electro-optic deflector to measure the unclamped linear electro-optic coefficients r13 and r33 at any wavelength. Using this method, we have determined these values for lithium tantalate at 980, 1330, and 1558 nm.


Researchers have documented that economic fundamentals provide poor predictions of future exchange rates. The authors ask instead how well basic models of foreign exchange determination predict the direction of future exchange rate changes. The forward rate is consistently a poor predictor of the direction of the future spot exchange rate across different currencies, time periods, and term lengths. The authors also find, however, that after 1984, a purchasing power parity equilibrium exchange rate predicts the future direction of the spot rate quite well. This is especially the case when the equilibrium exchange rate implied by purchasing power parity diverges strongly from the spot rate. These results indicate that investors should pay attention to purchasing power parity exchange rates as indicative of future directional changes in exchange rates.


Various events have led to the development of highly complex cooperative operations and to concepts for understanding operations. However. development of membership structures and concepts for understanding these structures has lagged. This paper imports organizational design and contingency theory into the member control literature. Membership structure is understood as organization-like, producing a service (Le., member control). Member control structure is understood as having three aspects (representation, policy making, and oversight) and two environments (the members themselves, and management and operations). Building from cooperative principles and following the development of cooperatives from simple to complex organizations, this paper develops a series of axiomatic propositions for understanding and designing membership structure. Only some of the propositions are testable, and still others are meant only to give continuity and relevance to the propositions as a group (as a theory). Such work should help develop a language for understanding and furthering discussion and research of membership structure and member control in agricultural cooperatives.


From distinct research traditions rumination and overgeneral autobiographical memory retrieval (OGM) have emerged as two vulnerability markers for depression and depressive relapse (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2004; Williams, 2004). Recent research further suggests a causal relation between rumination and OGM (e.g., Watkins & Teasdale, 2001). The present study investigated the inverse relationship, that is, OGM causally influencing ruminative thinking. A scrambled sentences procedure was used to assess the extent to which 112 student participants were engaged in a mental mode consistent with ruminative thinking following either a specific or overgeneral memory retrieval style manipulation. Trait rumination was also assessed prior to the experimental retrieval manipulation, using a self-report scale. It was found that high ruminators, following an overgeneral (as compared to a specific) retrieval style, unscrambled sentences relatively more into sentences with a ruminative meaning. In non or low ruminators this retrieval style manipulation had no such effect. Alongside the findings of Watkins and colleagues (e.g., Watkins & Teasdale, 2001), the present results are consistent with the view of rumination and OGM as two mutually reinforcing vulnerability factors for depression (Williams, 1996, 2004).


Abstract. The future rates of ice sheet melt in Greenland and Antarctica are an important factor when making estimates of the likely rate of sea level rise. Global climate models that took part in the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) have generally been unable to replicate observed rates of ice sheet melt. With the advent of the sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), with a general increase in the equilibrium climate sensitivity, we here compare two versions of the global climate model EC-Earth using the regional climate model HIRHAM5 downscaling EC-Earth for Greenland and Antarctica. One version (v2) of EC-Earth is taken from CMIP5 for the high-emissions Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP8.5) scenario and the other (v3) from CMIP6 for the comparable high-emissions Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP5-8.5) scenario). For Greenland, we downscale the two versions of EC-Earth for the historical period 1991–2010 and for the scenario period 2081–2100. For Antarctica, the periods are 1971–2000 and 2071–2100, respectively. For the Greenland Ice Sheet, we find that the mean change in temperature is 5.9 °C when downscaling EC-Earth v2 and 6.8 °C when downscaling EC-Earth v3. Corresponding values for Antarctica are 4.1 °C for v2 and 4.8 °C for v3. The mean change in surface mass balance at the end of the century under these high emissions scenarios is found to be −210 Gt yr−1 (v2) and −1150 Gt yr−1 (v3) for Greenland and 420 Gt yr−1 (v2) and 80 Gt yr−1 (v3) for Antarctica. These distinct differences in temperature change and particularly surface mass balance change are a result of the higher equilibrium climate sensitivity in EC-Earth v3 (4.3 K) compared with 3.3 K in EC-Earth v2 and the differences in greenhouse gas concentrations between the RCP8.5 and the SSP5-8.5 scenarios.


This paper applies a new quality measurement methodology to measure the quality of the postgraduate courses. The methodology we propose is the Academic Quality Measurement (AQM). The model is applied to several simulated data sets where we know the true value of the parameters of the model. A nonparametric model, based in Nearest Neighbours combined with Restricted Least Squared methods, is developed in which students evaluate the overall academic programme quality and a set of dimensions or attributes that determine this quality. The database comes from a Spanish Public University post graduate programme. Among the most important conclusion we say the methodology presented in this work has the following advantages: Knowledge of the attribute weights allow the ordering of the attributes according to their relative importance to the student, showing the key factors for improving quality. Student weights can be related to student characteristics to make market segmentation directly linked to quality objectives. The relative strengths and weaknesses of the service (high educations) can be determined by comparing the mean value of the attributes of the service to the values of other companies (Benchmark process or SWOT analysis).


The Corner Table (CT) represents a triangle mesh by storing 6 integer references per triangle (3 vertex references in the Vertex table and 3 references to opposite corners in the Opposite table, which accelerate access to adjacent triangles). The Compact Half Face (CHF) representation extends CT to tetrahedral meshes, storing 8 references per tetrahedron (4 in the Vertex table and 4 in the Opposite table). We use the term Vertex Opposite Table (VOT) to refer to both CT and CHF and propose a sorted variation, SVOT, which is inspired by tetrahedral mesh encoding techniques and which works for both triangle and tetrahedral meshes. The SVOT does not require additional storage and yet provides, for each vertex, a reference to an incident corner from which the star (incident cells) of the vertex may be traversed at a constant cost per visited element. We use the corner operators for querying and traversing the triangle meshes while for tetrahedral meshes, we propose a set of powerful wedge-based operators. Improving on the SVOT, we propose our Sorted Opposite Table (SOT) variation, which eliminates the Vertex table completely and hence reduces storage requirements by 50% to only 3 references per triangle for triangle meshes and 4 references and 9 bits per tetrahedron for tetrahedral meshes, while preserving the vertex-to-incidentcorner references and supporting the corner operators and our wedge operators with a constant average cost. The SVOT and SOT representation work on manifold meshes with boundaries.


If in the event of a critical incident, by eliminating a structural element, a comprehensive damage occurs, such a phenomenon is called progressive collapse. At the moment of explosion, redistribute the carried load by members of damaged structural element or the adjacent members may Lead to excessive tension or exceed the load capacity of the other members of that damage is the result of diffusion. To study the phenomenon of progressive collapse and structural robustness index under blast loading, four types of structures with RC moment frame with shear walls in four, seven, twelve, and fourteen story level, which all of them have the same plan, have been considered. In the above-mentioned buildings, Some structural elements have been removed and the impact of these scenarios on the dynamic behavior of structures during the explosion has been examined. In this study, the potential and capacity structures against the progressive collapse and the failure modes using local dynamic analysis of the explosion has been determined. Also, robustness structural Index has been evaluated. So the analysis to find the most likely failure mode for development improvement purposes, it is possible that could result in structures with higher reliability in a seismic zone.


The simulation and numerical study of large, strongly correlated quantum systems containing Fermions or using real-time evolution in finite dimensions is still an essentially unsolved problem, primarily due to the exponential growth of the Hilbert state space with system size and the occurrence of the so-called sign problem in Monte Carlo studies. In this area, the use of tensor-network methods, for one-dimensional systems chief among them the density matrix renormalisation group (DMRG) and matrix-product states (MPS), has grown in importance in recent years.

This thesis first recapitulates the use of non-abelian symmetries such as SU(2)-Spin in arbitrary tensor networks with an extensive review of the published literature including detailed algorithms and implementation hints. Implementing such symmetries can lead to a considerably more efficient representation of states in the tensor network. This part is intended to be suitable as an implementation-oriented introduction to tensor networks in general and the implementation of non-abelian symmetries in particular.

Second, it introduces a series of technical improvements for the MPS methods. These improvements include a faster convergence scheme for MPS-DMRG, a systematic approach to the construction of matrix-product operators and an improved Krylov time evolution method as well as the combination of several well-known techniques into a single tensor network toolkit, SYTEN. The effectiveness of these improvements is demonstrated in numerical examples.

Third, the toolkit is applied to the study of two models of current research interest: A one-dimensional spin chain in a staggered external magnetic field is studied and confinement of the elementary spinon excitations, as predicted by analytical arguments, found numerically using real-time evolution and evaluation of the dynamical structure factor. Additionally, the Hubbard model in two dimensions is studied extensively at various system sizes, geometries, interaction strengths U and filling factors n using up to 30'000 SU(2)-Spin-symmetric states equivalent to approx. 100'000 states in other MPS-DMRG implementations. Hints of a possible phase coexistence in the region 0.85 < n < 0.95 are found at intermediate interaction strengths U = 4 and U = 6 as well as a consistently striped ground state in the region n ≈ 0.875.


Large scale disasters cause severe social disorder and trigger mass evacuation activities. Managing the evacuation shelters efficiently is crucial for disaster management. Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, was hit by an enormous (Magnitude 7.3) earthquake on 16th of April, 2016. As a result, more than 10,000 buildings were severely damaged and over 100,000 people had to evacuate from their homes. After the earthquake, it took the decision makers several days to grasp the locations where people were evacuating, which delayed of distribution of supply and rescue. This situation was made even more complex since some people evacuated to places that were not designated as evacuation shelters. Conventional methods for grasping evacuation hotspots require on-foot field surveys that take time and are difficult to execute right after the hazard in the confusion. We propose a novel framework to efficiently estimate the evacuation hotspots after large disasters using location data collected from smartphones. To validate our framework and show the useful analysis using our output, we demonstrated the framework on the Kumamoto earthquake using GPS data of smartphones collected by Yahoo Japan. We verified that our estimation accuracy of evacuation hotspots were very high by checking the located facilities and also by comparing the population transition results with newspaper reports. Additionally, we demonstrated analysis using our framework outputs that would help decision makers, such as the population transition and function period of each hotspot. The efficiency of our framework is also validated by checking the processing time, showing that it could be utilized efficiently in disasters of any scale. Our framework provides useful output for decision makers that manage evacuation shelters after various kinds of large scale disasters.


Abstract. Mechanisms governing phosphorus (P) speciation in coastal sediments remain largely unknown due to the diversity of coastal environments and poor analytical specificity for P phases. We investigated P speciation across salinity gradients comprising diverse ecosystems in a P-enriched estuary. To determine P load effects on P speciation we compared the high P site with a low P site. Octacalcium phosphate (OCP), authigenic apatite (carbonate fluorapatite, CFAP) and detrital apatite (fluorapatite) were quantitated in addition to Al/Fe-bound P (Al/Fe-P) and Ca-bound P (Ca-P). Gradients in sediment pH strongly affected P fractions across ecosystems and independent of the site-specific total P status. We found a pronounced switch from adsorbed Al/Fe-P to mineral Ca-P with decreasing acidity from land to sea. This switch occurred at near-neutral sediment pH and has possibly been enhanced by redox-driven phosphate desorption from iron oxyhydroxides. The seaward decline in Al/Fe-P was counterbalanced by the precipitation of Ca-P. Correspondingly, two location-dependent accumulation mechanisms occurred at the high P site due to the switch, leading to elevated Al/Fe-P at pH 6.6 (seaward; precipitation). Enhanced Ca-P precipitation by increased P loads was also evident from disproportional accumulation of metastable Ca-P (Ca-Pmeta) at the high P site. Here, sediments contained on average 6-fold higher Ca-Pmeta levels compared with the low P site, although these sediments contained only 2-fold more total Ca-P than the low P sediments. Phosphorus species distributions indicated that these elevated Ca-Pmeta levels resulted from transformation of fertilizer-derived Al/Fe-P to OCP and CFAP in nearshore areas. Formation of CFAP as well as its precursor, OCP, results in P retention in coastal zones and can thus lead to substantial inorganic P accumulation in response to anthropogenic P input.


Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature death globally (WHO, 2010).For over 50 years saturated fatty acids (SFA) have been implicated as a main dietary risk factor for CVD. Therefore national guidelines recommend limiting SFA to <10% of total daily energy intake COMA, [1]. However, recent literature has begun to question this advice due to contra evidence showing SFA not to be a risk factor for CVD, Hoenselaar [2]. This study's aim was to investigate the relationship between SFA and CVD to assess whether or not recommendations should be made to review national guidelines. Method: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Electronic research databases were searched using variations of the keywords "saturated fatty acids" and "cardiovascular disease". Articles were only included if they had a randomised control trial (RCT) or prospective cohort (PC) study design. Additionally participants had to meet the following criteria: Caucasian, non-smokers, normal BMI, classed as healthy, no preexisting CVD related conditions, not taking cholesterol altering drugs and no inborn errors of lipid metabolism. Articles were also only included if they were conducted in western populations in an attempt to standardise environmental factors. In the PCs, only data which was adjusted for these factors was included. Articles were assessed for quality Conference Abstract European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety, 4(3): 250-251, 2014 251 using the Jadad et al. [3] scoring/CASP tool and for confounding variables, risk of bias and homogeneity. Results: A total of 411 articles were identified. Eight articles were included after exclusion for duplication, study design, not meeting full inclusion criteria, low quality, confounding variables, high risk of bias and heterogeneity. Of these, 4 were RCTs and 4 were PCs including 193,409 participants (192,686 female, 723 male). RCT and PC data were analysed separately. For the RCTs, LDL-cholesterol concentration post high/low SFA intervention was used as a functional biomarker for CVD risk. For the PCs the number of CVD related events in the low/high SFA diet groups was used as the marker for CVD risk. In the RCT meta-analysis there was a standard mean difference (95%CI) of -0.94 (-1.17, 0.71) (p<0.00001) favouring the low SFA diet to decrease the risk of CVD. In the PC metaanalysis a risk ratio (95%CI) of 1.00 (0.64, 1.58) (p=1.00) showed there to be no statistically significant relationship between SFA and CVD. Sensitivity analyses conducted predominantly showed no change in outcome. Discussion: RCT outcomes favoured a low SFA diet for lowering CVD risk whereas the PC outcome showed no relationship. Although these differed they indicate that SFA does not increase CVD risk in western Caucasian adults. However further research is needed before requesting recommendations for the review of national guidelines. These findings correlate with other systematic reviews/meta-analyses e.g. Skeaff and Miller, [4]. Conclusion: From the studies included SFA does not increase CVD risk in affluent Caucasian adults.


In this study, lectin histochemistry was performed on paraffin sections to compare carbohydrate expression of oviductal isthmus and uterine endometrium in rabbits during early embryo development. Rabbit embryos are surrounded not only by the zona pellucida but also by tubal secretion-derived mucinous coat material, the mucin coat. Twenty sexually mature females were euthanized at 0 (pre-ovulatory group) and 24, 72 and 96 h after insemination (pseudopregnancy group). The following lectin-binding agents were used: Arachis hypogaea, Peanut (PNA) to label galactosyl (β-1,3)N- acetyl-galactosamine, Dolichos biflorus Agglutinin (DBA) to label galactosyl (β-1,4)N- acetyl-galactosamine, Lens curinaris (LCA) to label α--mannose, α-d-glucose and Pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA) to label α-d-mannose, α-d-glucose. Blood was collected by cardiac puncture, and direct enzyme immunoassay technique was used to measure progesterone concentration. A significant increase in total plasma progesterone concentrations was detected at 96 h post-ovulation when compared with 0, 24 and 72 h post-ovulation (2.9 ± 0.5 vs 0.5 ± 0.15, 1.6 ± 0.5 and 1.5 ± 0.4 ng/ml, at 96 h vs 0, 24 and 72 h post-ovulation, respectively). No differences between pre-ovulatory and pseudopregnant females were observed for glycoprotein localization in isthmus. In contrast, in the endometrium, differences in the glycoprotein detection between pre-ovulatory and pseudopregnant stages were detected. PNA to label galactosyl (β-1,3)N- acetyl-galactosamine was not detected at the pre-ovulatory stage, but its presence was detected at 24 h after ovulation. Both PSA and LCA to label α-d-mannose, α-d-glucose were only detected at 72 h after ovulation. DBA detection was similar for all stages of the reproductive cycle. Therefore, N-acetyl-galactosamine secreted from isthmus could be involved in the formation of the embryonic mucin coat. d-galactose (PNA), d-glucose and d-mannose (PSA and LCA) might be crucial for the implantation period.


In the study of IT business value (ITBV), the notion of complementarities has been used to explain why firms with similar level of IT investments have received varying level of returns. Complementarities suggest that greater business value can be derived when IT investment is accompanied by other complementary organizational investments. This paper introduces a novel analytical approach called fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The method is based on principles of comparison used in the field of social and political science, and can be applied to explain the complex causality of IT business value. We have found that fsQCA was able to show that organizational factors in complex configurations may play different roles as core and periphery factors in affecting organizational performance. Such organizational practices have often been overlooked in many empirical studies but can play a non-trivial role in the organizational processes.


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The need for water in all phases of California's economic development has put strong emphasis on research toward maximum use of this resource. Wildland watersheds supply approximately 95 percent of the state's water. Consequently, an understanding of water-shed management is necessary to obtain the highest water yields.


Dimethylamine-borane, (CH(3))(2)NHBH(3), has been considered as one of the attractive materials for the efficient storage of hydrogen, which is still one of the key issues in the "Hydrogen Economy". In a recent communication we have reported the synthesis and characterization of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane stabilized ruthenium(0) nanoparticles with the preliminary results for their catalytic performance in the dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane at room temperature. Herein, we report a complete work including (i) effect of initial [APTS]/[Ru] molar ratio on both the size and the catalytic activity of ruthenium(0) nanoparticles, (ii) collection of extensive kinetic data under non-MTL conditions depending on the substrate and catalyst concentrations to define the rate law of Ru(0)/APTS-catalyzed dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane at room temperature, (iii) determination of activation parameters (E(a), ΔH(#) and ΔS(#)) for Ru(0)/APTS-catalyzed dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane; (iv) demonstration of the catalytic lifetime of Ru(0)/APTS nanoparticles in the dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane at room temperature, (v) testing the bottlability and reusability of Ru(0)/APTS nanocatalyst in the room-temperature dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane, (vi) quantitative carbon disulfide (CS(2)) poisoning experiments to find a corrected TTO and TOF values on a per-active-ruthenium-atom basis, (vii) a summary of extensive literature review for the catalysts tested in the catalytic dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane as part of the results and discussions.


The purpose of this study is to review the life and works of Carlos Sanchez, a Guatemalan born prolific painter and architect, whose masterpieces were exhibited at Dartmouth College's Hood Museum of Art in Hanover, New Hampshire. His paintings have left an immeasurable legacy to the world of art. Born in Guatemala in 1898, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1923, and then finished the Yale University School of Architecture in 1927, after having traveled extensively and enrolled in several universities in the US and abroad. After Yale, he worked as a junior draftsman for the well-known architectural firm, Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, in New York, that designed the Empire State Building. He then travelled to Mexico and worked with Diego Rivera. He subsequently, in 1931, became the first artist-in-residence and helped found the Studio Art Department at Dartmouth College. His artistic future seemed bright and promising but God had other plans for him. In his late 40's, he felt the call for priesthood and was ordained as a Catholic priest at the age of 52. Although he initiated a new chapter of his life, he never left his strong commitment for art and beauty, because he was a "seeker of beauty" in the full sense of the word.

 Key words: Carlos Sanchez, painting, beauty, abstract expressionist painting.


Abstract. To implement effective policies and strategies to control air pollution, it is crucial to obtain accurate air quality data. Stationary air monitoring stations (AMSs) help local authorities and environmental agencies in achieving these goals; however, these measurements have limitations. AMSs provide detailed temporal data on air quality, but only at discrete locations at relatively high cost. An alternative method, low-cost mobile air quality monitoring (LCMAQM) sensors, complement AMSs. LCMAQM sensors can cover larger areas and the cost of typical sensors for LCMAQM are $150–200 each. We have developed a wireless Mobile Autonomous Air Quality Sensor box (MAAQSbox) to measure air pollution. The MAAQSbox contains LCMAQM sensors (gas and particle) and a wireless broadcasting system, which enables autonomous field operation for varied mobile applications. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) gases are measured by B4 sensors. Particulate matter (PM2.5) is measured by OPC-N2. A field calibration has been performed by making side by side measurements with the MAAQSbox and Minnesota Pollution Agency AMS. The calibrations of LCMAQM sensors were determined by multivariate linear regressions (MLR). MLR results for all sensors were improved by including the temperature and relative humidity as independent variables. The R2 of CO, NO, NO2, and O3 gas sensors are 0.96, 0.97, 0.81, and 0.95 respectively, while the R2 of PM2.5 particle sensor is 0.6. B4 sensors are sensitive to ambient conditions such as temperature and relative humidity. The results with OPC-N2 differs from the AMS indicating further developments are needed to enable more accurate PM2.5 measurements.


Abstract. Using new in-situ field observations of the most abundant oxygenated VOCs (methanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, C3/C4 carbonyls, MVK+MAC and acetic acid) we were able to constrain emission and deposition patterns above and within a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation with a sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) understory. During the day canopy scale measurements showed significant emission of methanol and acetone, while methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein, acetaldehyde and acetic acid were mainly deposited during the day. All oxygenated compounds exhibited strong losses during the night that could not be explained by conventional dry deposition parameterizations. Accompanying leaf level measurements indicated substantial methanol and acetone emissions from loblolly pine. The exchange of acetaldehyde was more complex. Laboratory measurements made on loblolly pine needles indicated that acetaldehyde may be either emitted or taken up depending on ambient concentrations, with the compensation point increasing exponentially with temperature, and that mature needles tended to emit more acetaldehyde than younger needles. Canopy scale measurements suggested mostly deposition. Short-term (approx. 2 h) ozone fumigation in the laboratory had no detectable impact on post-exposure emissions of methanol and acetone, but decreased the exchange rates of acetaldehyde. The emission of a variety of oxygenated compounds (e.g. carbonyls and alcohols) was triggered or significantly enhanced during laboratory ozone fumigation experiments. These results suggest that higher ambient ozone levels in the future might enhance the biogenic contribution of some oxygenated compounds. Those with sufficiently low vapor pressures may potentially influence secondary organic aerosol growth. Compounds recently hypothesized to be primarily produced in the canopy atmosphere via ozone plus terpenoid-type reactions can also originate from the oxidation reaction of ozone with leaf surfaces and inside the leaf. This needs to be taken into account when scaling up very reactive biogenic compounds.


This book is the outcome of a project launched by ASSET, the School for Advanced Studies on Society, Economy and Theology based at the Studium Generale Marcianum in Venice. Entitled 'Beyond the Crisis: Political and Economic Reason in European Politics', this project analyses the complex links between rationality, politics and economics in Europe following the crisis of 2008-9. One of the key objectives is to explore how to develop and foster reasonable practices in Europe's economy and political system – with a special focus on debates and policy-making in the European Parliament.

Why reason? The current crisis is a crisis of 'economic reason'. There was too much reliance on supposedly 'rational expectations' or 'efficient markets' and too little consideration for the intrinsic value of reason as a whole – not just the sort of instrumental rationality that dominated politics and the economy for much of the twentieth century. That is why Cardinal Angelo Scola has rightly remarked that "[t]he 2008 global financial crisis came after a long period of "slumbering reason": agents, pressed by the aim of reaching extraordinary results in the short term, neglected to consider the proper dimensions of finance". Seen in this light, the aftermath of the crisis raises fundamental questions about what reason is and what can be said to be reasonable.

As Pope Benedict XVI – in the address he intended to give during a visit to La Sapienza University in Rome on 17 January 2008 – reminds us, reason is inextricably intertwined to the desire for knowledge and the search for truth: "Man desires to know – he wants truth". This statement has important implications for economic and political decisions, which should surely be taken in a reasonable manner. According to Benedict, such a "reasonable manner" in society involves a "process of argumentation sensitive to the truth". As such, the 'dictatorship of relativism' that the Pope has rightly condemned is in fact a denial of reasonableness. Reason in politics, the economy and society requires notions of truth.

Questions like "What is reasonable?" or "How is reason shown to be true?" are not matters for philosophical speculation alone but ultimately concern the entire citizenry. Now that all the ideologies of instrumental reason have so manifestly failed, politicians and economic agents can no longer evade other fundamental queries, including "what makes a policy reasonable?", "what is a proper understanding of political and economic reason?" or "when is a political action truly just?".

Such and similar questions concern politics and society at all levels – local, regional, national, European and global. Growing economic interdependence around the world has mostly disembedded states and markets from the social bonds and civic virtues of civil society, but it also offers new opportunities for reciprocity, mutuality and solidarity among communities and nations. Post-1945 European integration and enlargement are grounded in a sense that the intermediary institutions of civil society within and across countries are more primary than either national states or transnational markets.

However, the EU – in its current configuration – has abandoned this vision in favour of political elites, market cooperation and bureaucratic regulation. As such, it has contributed to the centralisation of power and the concentration of wealth that is undermining democracies and market economies across Europe. In this process, abstract economic values linked to instrumental reason and procedural fairness have supplanted civic virtues related to notions of reasonableness and substantive justice.

To promote an ethos of responsible and virtuous action, what is required is the full breadth of political and economic reason. Christian social teaching offers conceptual and practical resources that are indispensable to the search for broader notions of rationality. Among these resources are non-instrumental conceptions of justice and the common good in the social doctrine of the Catholic Church and cognate traditions in Anglicanism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Closely connected to this is the idea of 'civil economy'. As Pope Benedict XVI has suggested in his encyclical Caritas in veritate, 'civil economy' embeds state-guaranteed rights and market contracts in the social bonds and civic virtues that bind together the intermediary institutions of civil society. In this manner, it binds the 'logic of contract' to the 'logic of gratuitous gift exchange'. The logic of gift exchange translates into concrete practices of reciprocal trust and mutual assistance that underpin virtues such as solidarity and the pursuit of the public good in which all can share. As such, 'civil economy' reconnects activities that are primarily for state-administrative or economic-commercial purposes to practices that pursue social purposes.

So by which means can the EU possibly help broaden political and economic reason? This challenge is at the heart of ASSET's project on political and economic reason. As one of the key institutions of the EU, the European Parliament is uniquely positioned to shed light on the ways in which ideas translate into policy-making and how reasonable practices can be fostered.

Unlike other work on the crisis, this publication seeks to offer an overarching account of the nature of the ongoing economic turmoil, its political implications and concrete alternatives to hitherto dominant ideologies. Specifically, the various contributions explore in different ways how the idea of reasonable practices shape the debates and policy-making of the European Parliament.

The book has three particular angles. First of all, it draws on Christian social teaching to raise fundamental questions about the crisis – in particular the writings of Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Scola. For example, various contributors link the financial and economic causes that triggered the 'credit crunch' to the wider "anthropological and cultural origins" of the current crisis.

Second, the book focuses on broader forms of reason than the instrumental rationality that has been dominant in both politics and economics. Narrow notions of reason seem to be connected with to the short-term maximisation of private profit which, in turn, undermines long-term growth and sustained prosperity for society as a whole. The emphasis of this project is therefore on reasonable practices that blend individual interest with a clear commitment to the common good.

Third, the publication seeks to link high-level ideas and academic research to political debates and concrete policy alternatives. Interviews with Members of the European Parliament from different political groups eschew conventional questions in favour of reflections on alternative policies that are grounded in reasonable practices. These interviews provide fascinating insights into the discussions at the heart of the wider EU political system and they also offer ideas for future policy initiatives.


This paper discusses the National Policy of the Inclusive Education and the distribution of Laptops - PROUCA. Both operate under the logic of inclusion in the context of education, the first aiming at school inclusion and the other at digital inclusion. In order to observe how the inclusive process of people with disabilities mediated by laptops occurs, a qualitative descriptive research was performed, focusing on the TOTAL UCA reality in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais. The results of the research project showed that the distribution of laptops, labeling the offered tool under the concept of technological homogeneity and uniformity, imposes barriers to the care for diversity in a socio-digital inclusion scenario.


Dentists have difficulty diagnosing caries presence and activity. Modern caries management suggests that lesions in low risk patients should not be restored until the radiolucency extends into the outer third of interproximal dentin. Even stained fissures need not be restored in the absence of occlusal dentin radiolucency. If this standard were adopted, what affect would it have on the amount of operative treatment delivered? This report created a model to forecast the change in work volume caused by new caries management strategies. The model considered two identical groups of 1,000 adult teeth with a normal distribution of 1,000 radiographic lesions in each group. Group I would have all lesions restored at baseline, but Group II would have only lesions in the dentin restored. Each year for ten years the model forecasts the number of replacement restorations for both groups, plus initial restorations for Group II. A sensitivity analysis was conducted using slow progression rates (Group IIa) and fast progression rates (Group IIb). After ten years, Group IIa has 49% and Group IIb had 32% fewer restorations than Group I. It is concluded that the model is robust and modern caries management may significantly reduce operative workload.


A consensus regarding the impact of solar variability on cloud cover is far from being reached. Moreover, the impact of cloud cover on climate is among the least understood of all climate components. This motivated us to analyze the persistence of solar signals in cloud cover for the time interval 1984–2009, covering two full solar cycles. A spatial and temporal investigation of the response of low, middle and high cloud data to cosmic ray induced ionization (CRII) and UV irradiance (UVI) is performed in terms of coherence analysis of the two signals. For some key geographical regions the response of clouds to UVI and CRII is persistent over the entire time interval indicating a real link. In other regions, however, the relation is not consistent, being intermittent or out of phase, suggesting that some correlations are spurious. The constant in phase or anti-phase relationship between clouds and solar proxies over some regions, especially for low clouds with UVI and CRII, middle clouds with UVI and high clouds with CRII, definitely requires more study. Our results show that solar signatures in cloud cover persist in some key climate-defining regions for the entire time period and supports the idea that, if existing, solar effects are not visible at the global level and any analysis of solar effects on cloud cover (and, consequently, on climate) should be done at the regional level.


We can define a neural network that can learn to recognize objects in less than 100 lines of code. However, after training, it is characterized by millions of weights that contain the knowledge about many object types across visual scenes. Such networks are thus dramatically easier to understand in terms of the code that makes them than the resulting properties, such as tuning or connections. In analogy, we conjecture that rules for development and learning in brains may be far easier to understand than their resulting properties. The analogy suggests that neuroscience would benefit from a focus on learning and development.


Today, the world's surface is strongly influenced by human activities and thus the present-day geological era has been termed the Anthropocene. One of the strongest anthropogenic drivers is land use influencing habitats and species worldwide. Additionally, global climate is shaped by human activities, and since climatic conditions have strong effects on the distribution and fitness of organisms, this is the also one of the most important anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems. Hence, both factors affect diversity of species and habitats, but also ecosystem functioning and services.
Analysing species diversity is a well-established method to draw conclusions on ecosystem functioning, because the stability of ecosystems increases with species richness and abundance. It is also possible to measure species' responses in ecosystems, using functional diversity as a predictor. Species traits are features or measurable properties that may be related to the effect or response of a species in an ecosystem (e.g. nutrition specialisation or distribution) and play an important role to determine functional diversity. In this thesis, I analyse and combine the effects of land use and temperature on arthropods in general but also on moths as a case study, which is an unattended but diverse taxonomic group. I consider different levels as (1) Arthropod communities in general, (2) moths as a functional group, (3) morphological variability of single species, and (4) physiological variability of single individuals and show how specialists and generalists differ in their response and effect traits and how these differences have effects on the different levels.
Main parts of this thesis were performed in the Biodiversity-Exploratories, a research platform that focuses on effects of land-use intensity on biodiversity and ecological processes in forests and grasslands in three different regions in Germany
The first study focussed on beech herbivory affected by harvesting intensity and beech dominance. For this purpose, we determined leaf damage and collected Arthropod herbivores in three different regions distributed across Germany. The results suggest a general negative effect of intensive land-use on forest herbivores and the strongest negative effect appeared early in the growing season. For the second and third study, we collected more than 5000 moths from the same three regions, and focussed on grasslands. We determined 461 different species, assigned several interspecific life-history traits (describing specialisation on resources or reproductive strategies), and additionally measured morphological traits (body mass and wing area) of more than 2000 individuals. In the second study, we analysed the effect of land-use intensity (as grazing, mowing and fertilisation) on species diversity and trait composition in moth communities. With increasing land-use intensity, a general decrease of species diversity across all regions was apparent, but also a shift to generalised species, which leads to functional homogenisation in ecosystems. Mowing had the strongest negative effect. The third study focused on intraspecific effects based on morphological changes with increasing land-use intensity. We found several species that benefit from the application of fertilisers due to an increasing body mass, which enhances reproduction success of insects. Such species are mostly generalists, but were still not able to increase their abundance in stronger managed habitats in contrast to other species. In the fourth study, we analysed transpiration and metabolic rate from 557 different arthropod individuals of forest and grassland sites. For this I developed a simple and effective method to measure water loss of several samples within a short period, which we describe in detail in this chapter. Specimen from grassland sites, representing arid habitats in contrast to forests, show generally lower water loss rates. These species developed strategies decreasing cuticular transpiration, resulting in a higher effect of respiratory transpiration on total water loss. In the fifth study, we kept caterpillars of 30 species in different temperature treatments analysing the survival and growth rate in response to the surrounding temperature. Additionally we measured transpiration and metabolic rate. All species showed in general a lower survival rate and increasing growth, transpiration and metabolic rate with higher temperature and especially specialists face a higher risk from increasing temperature.
Hence, this thesis shows similar effects of land use and climate change, as both drivers lead to a general loss of diversity and a shift towards more generalistic communities. Communities of specialists are, however, important to decrease homogenisation and thus receive ecosystem functions. These results provide important information for national and international policies and to support the development of sustainable land-use methods and to reduce climate change.


The last decade has seen a surge of interest in the development of affective driver interfaces designed to enhance driver safety and convey useful information to the driver. These technological advances have brought about changes in the ambient driving environment and clearly have the potential to enhance the driving experience in the years to come. This review provides an overview of existing research approaches to the study of these innovations. Other possible psychophysiological approaches to affective driver interface design, such as via mood induction procedures, are also discussed. Finally, we highlight the likely impact of the latest findings on the topic of multisensory integration research for the future design of affective driver interfaces. In particular, we look at how multisensory driver interfaces may evolve in the future, and assess the likely impact of multisensory warning signals that have been designed specifically to trigger the brain's defensive circuits.


Many Organothallium Compounds have been used in medicine, industry and antibacterial activity. Optical properties are among the most fascinating and useful properties of many complexes and have been extensively studied using a variety of optical spectroscopic techniques. A basic understanding of the optical properties and related spectroscopic techniques is essential for characterization about semiconductors, insulators or metal. Optical properties are related to other properties and functionalities (e.g. electronic, magnetic, and thermal) that are of fundamental importance to many technological applications, such as energy conversion, chemical analysis, biomedicine, opto-electronics, communication, and radiation detection. The fundamental importance of Thallium is the ability to accept electrons due to empty d-orbitals and thus establish additional bonds (σ bond and π bond) in chemistry. The Thallium metal, which has outer electronic configuration 6 s2, 6 p1 shows oxidation states of Thallium (III) and Thallium (I). This research paper explains that Thallium (III) and Thallium (I) accepts lone pairs from various bi-dentate tetra-dentate Schiff base ligands due to p-orbital and vacant d-orbital. This research paper explains the Characterization, XPS and Toxicological Study of Or- ganothallium (III) Compounds with Schiff base ligands by physiochemical technique. X-Ray photoelectron spectrogra- phy (XPS) study of Thallium (III) complexes with Schiff Base ligands also reported in this paper. XPS study shows a single symmetrical peak without any splitting in photoelectron peak, which confirms diamagnetic nature of all prepared molecular adducts. All prepared complexes with Schiff base ligands show toxicological effect.


[1] Weekly measurements of surface height change were made at an accumulation forest of 100 stakes at Summit, Greenland, over a 2-year period (17 August 2000 to 8 August 2002). On average, the surface height relative to the stakes increased 64 (±4.8) cm in the first year and 65 (±5.3) cm in the second, identical to the average (65 ± 4.5 cm yr−1) previously reported for the period 1991–1995 in a similar forest 28 km to the southwest. The continuous 2-year data set indicates that the rate of surface rise was not constant, with the summers of 2001 and 2002 both showing markedly slower increases. On-site weather observations suggest that more new snow fell during the summer months than in any other season, consistent with results from previous snow pit and modeling studies yet apparently at odds with the slow rate of height increase. Density profiles from a series of 1-m-deep snow pits sampled monthly reveal that the thickness of the most recent year of accumulated snow (25 cm water equivalent) decreased rapidly between late May and early July, and the layers remained thin through early September. The thinning of the top year is clearly due to compaction in the snowpack. Combining the observed variations in annual layer thickness with a linear height increase based on assumed constant accumulation at 0.18 cm d−1 explains much of the variation in surface height found in the stake measurements. Estimated surface height changes can be forced to exactly match the stake measurements by combining changes in annual layer thickness with a variable accumulation rate over the intervals between pits. This exercise suggests that during the 2 years of this study a consistent seasonal pattern in accumulation was not apparent, rather the intervals indicated to have had enhanced accumulation in the first year (August–October and March–April) apparently had reduced accumulation in the second year.


Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) affects a variety of cell processes, including proliferation and differentiation. In most normal cell types, PMA enhances proliferation by a protein kinase C (PKC)- dependent mechanism, while the proliferation of cancer cell lines is inhibited by PMA. PMA has been shown to induce cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) production in many cell lines. We examined the effect of PMA on func- tions of induced COX-2 on proliferation of head-and-neck UMSCC-22B cancer cells. PMA was found to in- hibit head-and-neck cancer cell proliferation in a cell viability assay and to induce apoptosis. Abundance of p21 protein and p53 in these cells was increased by PMA treatment. The phorbol ester increased p21 expres- sion in 22B cells through the classical PKC pathway and independently of activation of p53. In addition, PMA increased expression of COX-2 in a time-dependent, PKC-requiring manner. COX-2 siRNA increased abundance of both p53 and p21 in 22B cells and importantly potentiated the anti-proliferative effect of PMA. Confocal microscopy revealed that PMA increased nuclear accumulation of COX-2, but not COX-1, and that COX-2 formed complexes with p53, p21 and the coactivator, p300. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that nuclear fraction COX-2 and p53 bound to the promoter region of p21. PMA did not significantly increase PGE 2 levels in cultured medium of 22B cells, but did increase by 13-fold the levels of PGE 2 in the medium of immortalized normal (293T) cells. In conclusion, our results show that PMA inhibits cell proliferation in head-and-neck cancer cells by a mechanism that is potentiated by COX-2 siRNA. The latter results in an inc- rease of p53 and p21 in PMA-treated cancer cells. In the absence of its siRNA, COX-2 is increased in PMA- exposed cancer cells and becomes a nucleoprotein, where it complexes with p53 and p21. Thus, the anti- proliferative activity of PMA in 22B cells is moderated by concurrent induction by PMA of COX-2 accumu- lation; this moderation may be due to reduction by COX-2 of availability of p21 and p53 in the nucleus.


Human sound localization results primarily from the processing of binaural differences in sound level and arrival time for locations in the horizontal plane (azimuth) and of spectral shape cues generated by the head and pinnae for positions in the vertical plane (elevation). The latter mechanism incorporates two processing stages: a spectral-to-spatial mapping stage and a binaural weighting stage that determines the contribution of each ear to perceived elevation as function of sound azimuth. We demonstrated recently that binaural pinna molds virtually abolish the ability to localize sound-source elevation, but, after several weeks, subjects regained normal localization performance. It is not clear which processing stage underlies this remarkable plasticity, because the auditory system could have learned the new spectral cues separately for each ear (spatial-mapping adaptation) or for one ear only, while extending its contribution into the contralateral hemifield (binaural-weighting adaptation). To dissociate these possibilities, we applied a long-term monaural spectral perturbation in 13 subjects. Our results show that, in eight experiments, listeners learned to localize accurately with new spectral cues that differed substantially from those provided by their own ears. Interestingly, five subjects, whose spectral cues were not sufficiently perturbed, never yielded stable localization performance. Our findings indicate that the analysis of spectral cues may involve a correlation process between the sensory input and a stored spectral representation of the subject's ears and that learning acts predominantly at a spectral-to-spatial mapping level rather than at the level of binaural weighting.


The Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting (TCSPC) technique has emerged as a candidate approach for Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and active depth imaging applications. The work of this Thesis concentrates on the development and investigation of functional TCSPC-based long-range scanning time-of-flight (TOF) depth imaging systems. Although these systems have several different configurations and functions, all can facilitate depth profiling of remote targets at low light levels and with good surface-to-surface depth resolution. Firstly, a Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detector (SNSPD) and an InGaAs/InP Single-Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) module were employed for developing kilometre-range TOF depth imaging systems at wavelengths of ~1550 nm. Secondly, a TOF depth imaging system at a wavelength of 817 nm that incorporated a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) 32×32 Si-SPAD detector array was developed. This system was used with structured illumination to examine the potential for covert, eye-safe and high-speed depth imaging. In order to improve the light coupling efficiency onto the detectors, the arrayed CMOS Si-SPAD detector chips were integrated with microlens arrays using flip-chip bonding technology. This approach led to the improvement in the fill factor by up to a factor of 15. Thirdly, a multispectral TCSPC-based full-waveform LiDAR system was developed using a tunable broadband pulsed supercontinuum laser source which can provide simultaneous multispectral illumination, at wavelengths of 531, 570, 670 and ~780 nm. The investigated multispectral reflectance data on a tree was used to provide the determination of physiological parameters as a function of the tree depth profile relating to biomass and foliage photosynthetic efficiency. Fourthly, depth images were estimated using spatial correlation techniques in order to reduce the aggregate number of photon required for depth reconstruction with low error. A depth imaging system was characterised and re-configured to reduce the effects of scintillation due to atmospheric turbulence. In addition, depth images were analysed in terms of spatial and depth resolution.


This paper investigates the extent to which people spend careers on minimum wage jobs. We find that a small but non-trivial number of NLSY respondents spend 25%, 50%, or even 75% of the first ten years of their career on minimum or near-minimum wage jobs. Workers with these minimum wage careers tend to be drawn from groups such as women, blacks, and the less-educated that are generally overrepresented in the low-wage population. The results indicate that lifetime incomes of some workers may be supported by a minimum wage. At the same time, these same groups would be disproportionately affected by any minimum wage-induced disemployment. The results suggest that minimum wage legislation has non-negligible effects on the lifetime opportunities of a significant minority of workers.


Cancer pain is among the most undesirable side effects and complications for cancer patients. Severe cancer pain acts as physical and psychological stress and makes it difficult for patients to perform daily activities. Uncontrolled cancer pain can be emotionally devastating to patients. However, cancer pain can be controlled with pharmacologic treatment. Traditionally, cancer pain was treated according to the WHO three-step analgesic ladder based on the severity of pain. Recently, it has become to administer weak opioids as well as non-opioid analgesics to patients with mild pain. For moderate pain, weak opioids or strong opioids can be used. Non-opioid analgesics and adjuvant analgesics can be used as an adjuvant to opioids for all severities of cancer pain. Effective cancer pain management depends on the proper selection of a drug, dose, and route and depends on treatment of common side effects associated with the medication. The usage of medication should be individualized to each patient. If necessary, we may use other modalities such as radiotherapy, nerve block, and non-pharmacologic interventions for cancer pain control. The goal of treatment of cancer pain is to obtain complete or partial pain relief with tolerable side effects of the medication, and ultimately, to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.


I want to promote what I shall call (unoriginally, and for the sake of its having a name ) 'the identity theory of truth'. I suggest that other accounts put forward as theories of truth are genuine rivals to it, but are unacceptable. A certain conception of thinkables belongs with the identity theory's conception of truth. I introduce these conceptions in Part I, by reference to John McDowell's Mind and World; and I show why they have a place in an identity theory, which I introduce by reference to Frege. In Part II, I elaborate on the conception of thinkables, with a view to demonstrating that the identity theory's conception of truth is defensible. Part III is concerned with the theory's relation to some recent work on the concept of truth: I hope to show that the identity theorist not only has a defensible conception of truth, but also, in the present state of play, has appropriate ambitions.Article


While mobile devices have become essential for social communication and have paved the way for work on the go, their interactive capabilities are still limited to simple touch input. A promising enhancement for touch interaction is knuckle input but recognizing knuckle gestures robustly and accurately remains challenging. We present a method to differentiate between 17 finger and knuckle gestures based on a long short-term memory (LSTM) machine learning model. Furthermore, we introduce an open source approach that is ready-to-deploy on commodity touch-based devices. The model was trained on a new dataset that we collected in a mobile interaction study with 18 participants. We show that our method can achieve an accuracy of 86.8% on recognizing one of the 17 gestures and an accuracy of 94.6% to differentiate between finger and knuckle. In our evaluation study, we validate our models and found that the LSTM gesture recognizing archived an accuracy of 88.6%. We show that KnuckleTouch can be used to improve the input expressiveness and to provide shortcuts to frequently used functions.


Normal trichromats have three types of cone photoreceptors: L, M, and S cones (most sensitive to long, medium, or short wavelengths, respectively). Therefore, standard colorimetry is based on three variables (X, Y, Z). Dichromats only have two types of functional cones due to genetic factors. The main consequences are that dichromats (1) confuse colors that can only be discriminated by the response of the type of cone they lack and (2) make errors when naming colors. Chromaticity diagrams can be used to specify dichromats' color confusions. Confusion points represent imaginary stimuli that only activate L, M, or S cones. Confusion lines radiate from confusion points and represent pseudoisochromatic stimuli (i.e., colors confused by the corresponding type of dichromat if presented at an appropriate intensity). Dichromat's color appearance models have been developed to simulate the colors supposedly seen by dichromats, and there exist color simulation tools that implement some of those models.


The field of transitional justice is increasingly characterized by the dominance of legalism to the detriment of both scholarship and practice. The first part of the paper examines what is meant by legalism and its consequences in the field through a number of overlapping themes: 'legalism as seduction', the 'triumph' of human rights, and the tendency towards 'seeing like a state'. The second part considers a number of correctives to such leanings which are analysed as encouraging legal humility, exploring the human rights as development axis, and finally developing a criminology of transitional justice. As law's place at the heart of transition from conflict is now secure, the time is right for a more honest appraisal of the limitations of legalism and a correspondingly greater willingness to countenance the role of other [non-legal] actors and forms of knowledge. 'Letting go of legalism' will both thicken the subject and deliver more effective change on the ground.


In this paper we consider two traditional metrics for evaluating the performance in automatic image annotation, the normalised score (NS) and the precision/recall (PR) statistics, particularly in connection with a de facto standard 5000 Corel image benchmark annotation task. We also motivate and describe a third performance measure, de-symmetrised termwise mutual information (DTMI), as a principled compromise between the two traditional extremes. In addition to discussing the measures theoretically, we correlate them experimentally for a family of annotation system configurations derived from the PicSOM image content analysis framework. Looking at the obtained performance figures, we notice that such kind of a system based on the fusion of numerous global image features clearly outperforms the considered methods in the literature.


In this investigation, video clips were coupled with academic conversations with the purpose of improving student engagement and achievement in an eighth grade science class. Students were shown video clips from popular media sources to encourage interest in basic chemistry, then academic conversations were conducted based on what was shown in the clips. Though performance on summative assessments did not show that students who participated in the study had greater basic chemistry content knowledge than the comparison group, students expressed positive attitudes toward learning when video clips were incorporated into science lessons.


Myoclonus Dystonia Syndrome is a childhood onset hyperkinetic movement disorder characterised by alcohol responsive upper body myoclonus and dystonia. A proportion of cases are due to mutations in the maternally imprinted SGCE gene, which encodes the transmembrane epsilon-sarcoglycan protein. Previous studies suggest an increased rate of psychiatric disorders in those with SGCE mutations. This study aimed to establish a cohort of myoclonus dystonia syndrome patients, identify the rate and type of SGCE mutations, determine differences in motor characteristics between mutation positive and negative cases and whether psychiatric disorders form part of the disease phenotype.

Eighty-nine probands with clinically suspected MDS were recruited. Information regarding onset and distribution of motor symptoms was collected via systematic questionnaires and video taped examination. SGCE was analysed using direct sequencing and for copy number variants. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed using systematic and standardised questionnaires and compared to a disability-matched, alcohol responsive tremor control group.

Nineteen (21%) probands had an SGCE mutation. All had evidence of upper body predominant myoclonus and dystonia during their disease course. Five had contiguous gene deletions ranging from 0.7 to 2.3Mb in size with distinctive clinical features. Recruitment of family members increased the affected SGCE mutation positive group to 27 of whom 21 (77%) had psychiatric symptoms. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder was eight times more likely (p<0.001) in mutation positive cases, compulsivity being the predominant feature (p<0.001). Generalized Anxiety Disorder (p=0.003) and alcohol dependence (p=0.02) were five times more likely in cases than tremor controls.

Overall, SGCE mutations are associated with a narrow clinical and specific psychiatric phenotype. The presence of myoclonus, dystonia, age at onset ≤10 years and a positive family history of the disorder are the strongest predictors of an SGCE mutation. SGCE mutations are likely to have a pleiotropic effect in causing both motor and specific psychiatric symptoms.


In April 1982 British Rail Engineering Limited announced they were closing their Wagon Works in Shi1don, County Durham. Prior to the closure Shi1don was very much a single occupational community. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of that closure, both as part of a specific instance, and as part of the general decline of primary industries in the north east of England. The main body of the study examines the immediate consequences of the closure and how it affected those responsible for administering the community of Shi1don. This was largely achieved through extensive interviewing of the people charged with that responsibility both in Shildon and in the surrounding Sedgefield District Council area. Subsequent to the closure Shildon Town Council, in conjunction with Sedgefield District Council, set up a Development Agency (SASDA- Sedgefield and Shildon Development Agency) to try and attract employment to the area. An account of the political processes thus involved is the central point of the study. In examining how day-to-day events affected policy, both at local and national level, an attempt is made to compare the public rhetoric of apparent firm resolve with the more private sense of confusion felt by all concerned. As the pressure to accept British Rail's compensatory package grew so those faced with the responsibility of trying to alleviate the consequences of the closure found themselves unwilling partners in an elaborate game of bluff and counter-bluff. How this happened, and the subsequent developments, are examined in detail. British Rail's decision to close the Works at Shildon was inevitably linked to wider issues: how British Rail operates is, for instance, largely dependent on the transport policy of successive governments; when a closure is announced the trade unions affected have to organise, often at short notice, an adequate response; and, finally, when a workforce is made redundant what can be done to retrain it for other work? It seemed appropriate therefore also to briefly assess how these considerations affected Shildon.


Background: The English Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) initiative aims to make evidence-based psychological therapies for depression and anxiety disorder more widely available in the National Health Service (NHS). 32 IAPT services based on a stepped care model were established in the first year of the programme. We report on the reliable recovery rates achieved by patients treated in the services and identify predictors of recovery at patient level, service level, and as a function of compliance with National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Treatment Guidelines. Method: Data from 19,395 patients who were clinical cases at intake, attended at least two sessions, had at least two outcomes scores and had completed their treatment during the period were analysed. Outcome was assessed with the patient health questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-9) and the anxiety scale (GAD-7). Results: Data completeness was high for a routine cohort study. Over 91% of treated patients had paired (pre-post) outcome scores. Overall, 40.3 % of patients were reliably recovered at post-treatment, 63.7% showed reliable improvement and 6.6% showed reliable deterioration. Most patients received treatments that were recommended by NICE. When a treatment not recommended by NICE was provided, recovery rates were reduced. Service characteristics that predicted higher reliable recovery rates were: high average number of therapy sessions; higher step-up rates among individuals who started with low intensity treatment; larger services; and a larger proportion of experienced staff. Conclusions: Compliance with the IAPT clinical model is associated with enhanced rates of reliable recovery.


We deduce cell population models describing the evolution of a tumor (possibly interacting with its
environment of healthy cells) with the aid of differential equations. Thereby, different subpopulations
of cancer cells allow accounting for the tumor heterogeneity. In our settings these include cancer
stem cells known to be less sensitive to treatment and differentiated cancer cells having a higher
sensitivity towards chemo- and radiotherapy. Our approach relies on stochastic differential equations
in order to account for randomness in the system, arising e.g., by the therapy-induced decreasing
number of clonogens, which renders a pure deterministic model arguable. The equations are deduced
relying on transition probabilities characterizing innovations of the two cancer cell subpopulations,
and similarly extended to also account for the evolution of normal tissue. Several therapy approaches
are introduced and compared by way of tumor control probability (TCP) and uncomplicated tumor
control probability (UTCP). A PDE approach allows to assess the evolution of tumor and normal
tissue with respect to time and to cell population densities which can vary continuously in a given set
of states. Analytical approximations of solutions to the obtained PDE system are provided as well.


ABSTRACT A unique aspect of the interaction of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans with macrophages is the phenomenon of nonlytic exocytosis, also referred to as "vomocytosis" or phagosome extrusion/expulsion, which involves the escape of fungal cells from the phagocyte with the survival of both cell types. This phenomenon has been observed only in vitro using subjective and time-consuming microscopic techniques. In spite of recent advances in our knowledge about its mechanisms, a major question still remaining is whether this phenomenon also occurs in vivo. In this study, we describe a novel flow cytometric method that resulted in a substantial gain in throughput for studying phagocytosis and nonlytic exocytosis in vitro and used it to explore the occurrence of this phenomenon in a mouse model of infection. Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that host cell phagosomal pH affected nonlytic exocytosis. The addition of the weak bases ammonium chloride and chloroquine resulted in a significant increase of nonlytic exocytosis events, whereas the vacuolar ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A1 had the opposite effect. Although all three agents are known to neutralize phagosomal acidity, their disparate effects suggest that phagosomal pH is an important and complex variable in this process. Our experiments established that nonlytic exocytosis occurred in vivo with a frequency that is possibly much higher than that observed in vitro. These results in turn suggest that nonlytic exocytosis has a potential role in the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis. IMPORTANCE Cryptococcus neoformans causes disease in people with immune deficiencies such as AIDS. Upon infection, C. neoformans cells are ingested by macrophage immune cells, which provide a niche for survival and replication. After ingestion, macrophages can expel the fungi without causing harm to either cell type, a process named nonlytic exocytosis. To dissect this phenomenon, we evaluated its dependence on the pH inside the macrophage and addressed its occurrence during infection of mice. We developed new techniques using flow cytometry to measure C. neoformans internalization by and nonlytic exocytosis from macrophages. Neutralizing the phagosome acidity changed the rate of nonlytic exocytosis: activity increased with the weak bases chloroquine and ammonium chloride, whereas the vacuolar ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A1 caused it to decrease. Experiments in mice suggested that nonlytic exocytosis occurred during infection with C. neoformans. These results shed new light on the interaction between C. neoformans and host macrophages. Cryptococcus neoformans causes disease in people with immune deficiencies such as AIDS. Upon infection, C. neoformans cells are ingested by macrophage immune cells, which provide a niche for survival and replication. After ingestion, macrophages can expel the fungi without causing harm to either cell type, a process named nonlytic exocytosis. To dissect this phenomenon, we evaluated its dependence on the pH inside the macrophage and addressed its occurrence during infection of mice. We developed new techniques using flow cytometry to measure C. neoformans internalization by and nonlytic exocytosis from macrophages. Neutralizing the phagosome acidity changed the rate of nonlytic exocytosis: activity increased with the weak bases chloroquine and ammonium chloride, whereas the vacuolar ATPase inhibitor bafilomycin A1 caused it to decrease. Experiments in mice suggested that nonlytic exocytosis occurred during infection with C. neoformans. These results shed new light on the interaction between C. neoformans and host macrophages.


This article surveys Australian citizenship: its distinctive characteristics in the first half of the twentieth century, and how these were changed by the experience of the two world wars. It argues that Australian citizenship, at the time of Federation, was racially exclusive, imperial, masculine and deeply anchored in the traditional view of the military obligation of the individual to the state. The world wars, especially the war of 1939-45, encouraged some adjustment to these ideas, particularly in terms of the imperial link, women's status and the social rights of Australians. However, these conflicts were fought within a context of imperial loyalty and the intensity of their demands reinforced military service in defence of the nation as the primary civic virtue. The centrality of Anzac to Australian nationalism also perpetuated a gendered dimension to Australian citizenship. The world wars therefore, for all their dramatic impact on the lives of Australian families and the national political culture, did not force a major reconceptualisation of Australian citizenship.


The creativity support community has a long history of providing valuable tools to artists and designers. Similarly, creative digital media practice has proven a valuable pedagogical strategy for teaching core computational ideas. Neither strain of research has focused on the domain of literary art however, instead targeting visual, and aural media almost exclusively.
To address this situation, this thesis presents a software toolkit created specifically to support creativity in computational literature. Two primary hypotheses direct the bulk of the research presented: first, that it is possible to implement effective creativity support tools for literary art given current resource constraints; and second, that such tools, in addition to facilitating new forms of literary creativity, provide unique opportunities for computer science education.
Designed both for practicing artists and for pedagogy, the research presented directly addresses impediments to participation in the field for a diverse range of users and provides an end-to-end solution for courses attempting to engage the creative faculties of computer science students, and to introduce a wider demographic—from writers, to digital artists, to media and literary theorists—to procedural literacy and computational thinking.
The tools and strategies presented have been implemented, deployed, and iteratively refined in real-world contexts over the past three years. In addition to their use in large-scale projects by contemporary artists, they have provided effective support for multiple iterations of 'Programming for Digital Art & Literature', a successful inter-disciplinary computer science course taught by the author.
Taken together, this thesis provides a novel set of tools for a new domain, and demonstrates their real-world efficacy in providing both creativity and pedagogical support for a diverse and emerging population of users.


Within the framework of a project consisting in developing a novel haptic computer keyboard, force and position control is required for each key. The previous project phase consisted in the design and optimization of a miniature actuator which is to be inserted under each key. This paper addresses the application of self-sensing principles to linear short stroke actuators in order to control their position. Due to the great number of keys, as well as the limited space available under each of them, self-sensing detection appears as a must. A passive method using the coil back emf to determine the key position is presented.


Is research on antisemitism even necessary in countries with a relatively small Jewish population? Absolutely, as this volume shows. Compared to other countries, research on antisemitism in the Nordic countries (Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) is marginalized at an institutional and staffing level, especially as far as antisemitism beyond German fascism, the Second World War, and the Holocaust is concerned. Furthermore, compared to scholarship on other prejudices and minority groups, issues concerning Jews and anti-Jewish stereotypes remain relatively underresearched in Scandinavia – even though antisemitic stereotypes have been present and flourishing in the North ever since the arrival of Christianity, and long before the arrival of the first Jewish communities.

This volume aims to help bring the study of antisemitism to the fore, from the medieval period to the present day. Contributors from all the Nordic countries describe the status of as well as the challenges and desiderata for the study of antisemitism in their respective countries.


OBJECTIVES
To study the relationship between serum albumin level and all-cause mortality in an elderly population and to evaluate the role of albumin level in combination with physical disability status in predicting mortality.

DESIGN
Cohort study with a mean follow-up of 3.7 years.

SETTING
Three communities: East Boston, Mass, New Haven, Conn, and Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa.

SUBJECTS
A total of 1486 men and 2630 women aged 71 years and older who consented to have blood drawn.

RESULTS
During follow-up, 447 men and 488 women died. In both sexes, there was a graded increase in mortality rate with decreasing albumin level. After adjusting for age, race, education, chronic conditions, and disability status, hypoalbuminemia (< 35 g/L) was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality in comparison with the reference group (ie, those with albumin levels greater than 43 g/L) (men: relative risk [RR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 3.1; women: RR, 3.7; 95% CI, 2.5 to 5.5). Among those with albumin levels in the range usually considered normal (35 g/L to 50 g/L), there was a graded increase in mortality risk from the highest normal to the lowest normal groups. For women, results were similar in separate analyses that considered deaths occurring during the first year and 1 year or more after baseline, while for men the relationship decreased after 1 year. Lower albumin level was associated with an elevated risk of mortality for all categories of causes of death. A 15-level measure that characterized participants according to albumin level and disability status demonstrated that mortality increased with decreasing albumin level and increasing disability level.

CONCLUSIONS
Serum albumin level is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in older persons. A combined measure of albumin and disability reveals a strong gradient in mortality risk and may serve as a simple but useful index of frailty that can identify a high-risk group of older men and women who could be targeted for preventive and treatment efforts.


The recent development of the high performance computer platforms shows a clear trend towards heterogeneity and hierarchy. In order to utilize the computational power, particular attention must be paid to finding new algorithms or adjust existing ones so that they better match the HPC computer architecture. In this work we consider an alternative to classical time-stepping methods based on use of time-harmonic properties and discuss solution approaches that allow efficient utilization of modern HPC resources. The method in focus is based on a truncated Fourier expansion of the solution of an evolutionary problem. The analysis is done for linear equations and it is remarked on the possibility to use two- or multilevel mesh methods for nonlinear problems, which can enable further, even higher degree of parallelization. The arising block matrix system to be solved admits a two-by-two block form with square blocks, for which a very efficient preconditioner exists. It leads to tight eigenvalue bounds for the preconditioned matrix and, hence, to a very fast convergence of a preconditioned Krylov subspace or iterative refinement method. The analytical background is shown as well as some illustrating numerical examples.


Many production activities generate undesirable byproducts in conjunction with the desirable outputs they produce. The present study uses an output distance function approach and its duality with the revenue function to estimate the marginal abatement cost of CO2 emissions from a sample of thermal plants in India. Two sets of exercises have been undertaken. The marginal abatement cost is first estimated without considering the distinction between the clean and the dirty plants (model-1) and then by differentiating between the two (model-2). The shadow prices of CO2 for the coal fired thermal plants in India for the period 1991-92 to 1999-2000 was found to be Rs. 3,380.59 per ton of CO2 as per model-1 and Rs. 2401.99 per ton of CO2 as per model-2. The wide variation noticed in the marginal abatement costs across plants is explained by the ratio of CO2 emissions to electricity generation, the different vintages of capital used by different plants in the generation of electricity and provisions for abatement of pollution. The relationship between firm specific shadow prices of CO2 and the index of efficiency (ratio of CO2 emission and electricity generation) points to the fact that the marginal cost of abating CO2 emissions increases with the efficiency of the thermal plant.


Pretrained contextualized language models such as BERT and T5 have established a new state-of-the-art for ad-hoc search. However, it is not yet well understood why these methods are so effective, what makes some variants more effective than others, and what pitfalls they may have. We present a new comprehensive framework for Analyzing the Behavior of Neural IR ModeLs (ABNIRML), which includes new types of diagnostic probes that allow us to test several characteristics—such as writing styles, factuality, sensitivity to paraphrasing and word order—that are not addressed by previous techniques. To demonstrate the value of the framework, we conduct an extensive empirical study that yields insights into the factors that contribute to the neural model's gains, and identify potential unintended biases the models exhibit. Some of our results confirm conventional wisdom, for example, that recent neural ranking models rely less on exact term overlap with the query, and instead leverage richer linguistic information, evidenced by their higher sensitivity to word and sentence order. Other results are more surprising, such as that some models (e.g., T5 and ColBERT) are biased towards factually correct (rather than simply relevant) texts. Further, some characteristics vary even for the same base language model, and other characteristics can appear due to random variations during model training.1