Energy is a vital input to many Small Scale Industry (SSI) units and it acquires special significance when these units exist in clusters. Energy efficiency improvement is crucial for the survival and growth of such clusters - not only to improve their competitiveness through cost reduction but also to minimize the adverse environmental implications. But, it is easier said than done due to a variety of barners faced by tlie SSIs. This paper identifies the various dimensions of relevant barriers for energy efficiency in SSI clusters. Further, the perceptions and experiences of entrepreneurs, the main stakeholders of SSI, are considered in ranking these barners using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The analysis is based on the pnmary data pertaining to three energy intensive SSI clusters in South India, viz., Foundry, Textile dyeing and, Brick and Tile. The results ascertain that in all the three clusters, Financial and Economic Barrier (FEB) and Behavior and Personal Barrier (BPB) are the top two obstacles for energy efficiency improvements. INTRODUCTION While energy is an indispensable input in every sector of an economy, it is crucial for the industrial sector, which accounts for almost half of the total energy used around the globe (Ross, 1997). This is true even in the case of Indian industrial sector (Reddy and Balachandra, 2003), which has a large number of Small Scale Industry (SSI) units apart from medium-and large-scale industries. As per the prevailing definition in India, Small Scale Industry is an industrial unit with original investment in plant and machinery up to Rs. 10 mn. SSI, with a lion's share in total industrial establishments, is of strategic importance in Indian economy due to its contribution to GDP, employment generation, exports and production. In 2002-03, the SSI sector comprised 3.57 million units, generated Rs. 7420.21 bn worth of production and employed nearly 20 million people. The exports by this sector stood at Rs. 697.97 bn in 2000-01 (MoF and CA, 2003). The SSI sector has a diversified and prominent presence in Indian economy by producing over 7500 products and accounts for about 40% of industrial production and close to 7% of GDP (DCSSI, 2003). A significant feature of SSIs in India is that they have clustered naturally and spontaneously in different regions of the country (Expert Committee, 1997). In fact over 400 small industry clusters and about 2000 artisan clusters exist in India (UNIDO, 2001). Many of these small industry clusters are energy intensive as well. Though individual SSI units may not consume large amounts of energy and cause severe pollution, collectively, their energy needs and associated environmental pollution in such clusters cannot be ignored. Improving energy efficiency is necessary for the survival and growth of these clusters because higher energy efficiency not only improves their competitiveness through cost reduction but also minimizes the adverse environmental consequences. However, many of the energy efficiency and environmental improvement initiatives in SSI sector are not successful in India (Dasgupta, 1999). This can be mainly attributed to the presence of various obstacles existing in this sector related to: Lack of awareness and information, financial and economic aspects, structural and institutional aspects, policy and regulatory features, behavioral and personal attitudes, etc. Before initiating any steps to eliminate/reduce these barriers to improve energy efficiency, it is necessary to analyze and prioritize them keeping in mind the socioeconomic circumstances of the Indian SSIs. The perceptions and experiences of entrepreneurs are to be duly incorporated in the prioritization scheme, as they are the main stakeholders of any efficiency improvements. In addition, such prioritization process must also adopt multiple criteria such as existing level of barrier intensity, effort level required for barrier removal and the positive impact expected due to barrier removal, etc. …


In this paper we construct a new measure of U.S. prices relative to those of its trading partners and use it to reexamine the behavior of U.S. net exports. Our measure differs from existing measures of the dollar's real effective exchange rate (REER) in that it explicitly incorporates both the difference in price levels between the United States and developing economies and the growing importance of these developing economies in world trade. Unlike existing REERs, our measure shows that relative U.S. prices have increased significantly over the past 15 years. In terms of simple correlations, the relationship between our measure of relative prices and U.S. net exports is much more coherent than that between existing REERs and net exports. To explore this relationship further, we use our measure to construct an index of foreign prices relevant for U.S. export volumes and reexamine several export equations. We find that export equations with the new index dominate those with previous measures in terms of in-sample fit, out-of-sample fit, and parameter constancy. In addition, we find that with the new index of foreign prices the estimated elasticity of U.S. exports with respect to foreign income is a good bit higher than the unitary elasticity found in previous studies using other price measures. This has implications for U.S. current account adjustment.


This syllabus contains practical information necessary to plan a barrier-free environment. The first chapter provides an account of what has happened in the past generation to make buildings and spaces accessible to handicapped persons and reviews the most recent laws, codes, and standards that prescribe the accessibility of buildings. The second chapter describes the basic physical and procedural barrier conditions that the handicapped face. The third chapter contains solutions to the removal of barriers, including drawings illustrating some of the most common conditions. It also contains techniques for organizing community barrier-free action groups and methods for evaluating compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The fourth and final chapter offers supplementary sources of information: annotated published sources, a sample questionnaire for use, in evaluating accessibility of buildings, and a listing of public and voluntary agencies whose staffs can help in more detail with guidance in particular areas.


[1] Satellite-derived land cover land use (LCLU), snow and albedo data, and incoming surface solar radiation reanalysis data were used to study the impact of LCLU change from 1973 to 2000 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 58 ecoregions covering 69% of the conterminous United States. A net positive surface radiative forcing (i.e., warming) of 0.029 Wm−2 due to LCLU albedo change from 1973 to 2000 was estimated. The forcings for individual ecoregions were similar in magnitude to current global forcing estimates, with the most negative forcing (as low as −0.367 Wm−2) due to the transition to forest and the most positive forcing (up to 0.337 Wm−2) due to the conversion to grass/shrub. Snow exacerbated both negative and positive forcing for LCLU transitions between snow-hiding and snow-revealing LCLU classes. The surface radiative forcing estimates were highly sensitive to snow-free interannual albedo variability that had a percent average monthly variation from 1.6% to 4.3% across the ecoregions. The results described in this paper enhance our understanding of contemporary LCLU change on surface radiative forcing and suggest that future forcing estimates should model snow and interannual albedo variation.


We present a multi-agent actor-critic method that aims to implicitly address the credit assignment problem under fully cooperative settings. Our key motivation is that credit assignment among agents may not require an explicit formulation as long as (1) the policy gradients derived from a centralized critic carry sufficient information for the decentralized agents to maximize their joint action value through optimal cooperation and (2) a sustained level of exploration is enforced throughout training. Under the centralized training with decentralized execution (CTDE) paradigm, we achieve the former by formulating the centralized critic as a hypernetwork such that a latent state representation is integrated into the policy gradients through its multiplicative association with the stochastic policies; to achieve the latter, we derive a simple technique called adaptive entropy regularization where magnitudes of the entropy gradients are dynamically rescaled based on the current policy stochasticity to encourage consistent levels of exploration. Our algorithm, referred to as LICA, is evaluated on several benchmarks including the multi-agent particle environments and a set of challenging StarCraft II micromanagement tasks, and we show that LICA significantly outperforms previous methods.


In this paper we study dollarization as a commitment device that the Central Bank could use to avoid getting involved in an undesirable banking-sector bailout. We show how a political process could induce an equilibrium outcome that differs from the one that a benevolent Central Bank would want to implement. Dollarization then could be used to restore the economy to the benevolent outcome. In so doing though, political support for dollarization becomes essential. For our benchmark case, dollarization does not have enough support to be actually implemented. But when we study the interaction among dollarization, the introduction of international banks, and the political process, we find that bank internationalization may help to attain the necessary political support that can make dollarization a viable policy.


IVANOVA, P., V. CHALOVA, L. KOLEVA, I. PISHTIYSKI and M. PERIFANOVA – NEMSKA, 2012. Optimization of protein extraction from sunflower meal produced in Bulgaria. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 18: 153-160 Sunflower meal obtained after defatting of sunflower seeds is a by-product, which has the potential to serve as an attractive source for the preparation of protein isolates for food purposes. Protein extraction depends on many factors. Sunflower proteins are commonly extracted under alkaline conditions due to their low solubility in mildacidic and neutral conditions. However, the alkaline medium favors phenol-protein interactions leading to formation of dark-colored products, which are inappropriate for human consumption. The aim of this research was to identify the optimal conditions for protein extraction from sunflower meal produced in Bulgarian oil factory by investigating the effect of NaCland sunflower meal concentrations, pH, temperature, and extraction time on protein yield. It was established that increases of pH in the range from 2 to 10 constantly enhanced protein extractability. At pH 5-7, the protein extraction was dependent on NaCl concentrations. Extracting proteins with 7.5% -12.5% NaCl solutions and temperature 40oC obtained greatest protein yields at pH6. The utilization of 2.5% sunflower meal appeared to be the most appropriate for the achievement of maximum protein extraction. The incremental increases of the sunflower meal from 5% to 15% did not substantially modulate the protein yields. The most efficient extraction occurred during the first 15 min but maximum protein yields were obtained after 60-75 min of extraction. Our study demonstrated that by extracting 10% sunflower meal with 10% NaCl, at pH6 and 40оС for the period of 60-75 min, a protein yield greater than 50% at diminished protein-phenol interaction could be achieved.


Abstract It is hypothesised that the fjords with restricted water circulation may partially isolate fish populations living there. The pelagic life history stages of the mesopelagic lanternfish may potentially subject to dispersal over vast areas, preventing population subdivision. In the present paper, we test the hypothesis of no geographic population genetic structure of B. glaciale in Norwegian waters. Fish samples from six different locations, including five western fjords were analysed using allozyme electrophoresis. Among the 17 loci analysed, nine loci were polymorphic by 0.99 criterion. Deviation from the global (pooled sample) HW equilibrium was detected at two loci, AAT-2 * and PGM *, in terms of heterozygote deficiency, indicating a possible population subdivision in the area studied. Supporting such postulate, the allele frequencies at several loci were found significantly different, consequently rejecting the null hypothesis. The individual fjord samples were different from the offshore sample, and some between-fjord heterogeneity in allele frequencies was also found. However, Wright's F ST value was apparently low, but significantly ditTerent from zero, indicating a low level of population differentiation in the area studied. Partial isolation of fjord units of B. glaciale as a possible mechanism for genetic differentiation is discussed.


Abstract Not Available – First paragraph follows:
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 prohibits the employment of persons not legally entitled to work in the United States. It imposes on all employers new hiring and record-keeping obligations, with stiff fines for noncompliance. It creates a means of obtaining legal resident status, particularly for "special agricultural workers" (SAWS) employed during 1985-86 in fruits, vegetables, and other perishable commodities specified by the Secretary of Agriculture.


The present research was conducted to evaluate the compost effectiveness on Zea mays and Hibiscus sabdarriffa under Fusarium wilt disease. Compost physical, chemical and biological characters were monitored weekly during the ripening process. Both coliform and nematode were tested. Finally, the effect of compost on pathogenicFusarium was examined within Z. mays and H. sabdarriffa in soil amended with 10% compost. Biochemical tests and antioxidant enzyme activities were determined for all the treated plants. The values of organic carbon recorded a percentage of 3.8%, while nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) values recorded 1.7, 4.6 and 5.6% higher than the commercial compost. The concentrations of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in compost were below the threshold standard values. The compost is free of nematodes and coliform bacteria at maturity stage. Microbial population densities were usually high for Bacillus sp.compared to other microorganisms. In infected Z mays with compost, shoot height, fresh and dry weight increased significantly (62, 248 and 130%) and H. sabdarriffa also recorded increase in the same plant criteria. In infected Z. mays, a significant increase in catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities was recorded (162 and 150%). For H. sabdarriffa there was a significant decrease in APX activity (35%) with compost, while no significant differences in peroxidases (PODs) activity for both plants. In case of infection, a significant decrease was observed for both Z. mays and H.sabdarriffa compared to infected plants without compost. The observed disease suppression in compost-amended soil was associated with the reduction in soil pathogen population and increase in microbial activity of composts. Moreover, diversification of different organic materials in compost enhanced the activation of the microbial population in soil that eventually increases disease suppressiveness and effectively controlling Fusarium wilt.

 Key words: Antioxidant enzymes, compost, Hibiscus sabdarriffa, Zea mays.


We present a new 3‐dimensional 1° × 1° gridded data set for the annual mean seawater oxygen isotope ratio (δ18O) to use in oceanographic and paleoceanographic applications. It is constructed from a large set of observations made over the last 50 years combined with estimates from regional δ18O to salinity relationships in areas of sparse data. We use ocean fronts and water mass tracer concentrations to help define distinct water masses over which consistent local relationships are valid. The resulting data set compares well to the GEOSECS data (where available); however, in certain regions, particularly where sea ice is present, significant seasonality may bias the results. As an example application of this data set, we use the resulting surface δ18O as a boundary condition for isotope‐enabled GISS ModelE to yield a more realistic comparison to the isotopic composition of precipitation data, thus quantifying the 'source effect' of δ18O on the isotopic composition of precipitation.


ABSTRACT A human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection cure requires an understanding of the cellular and anatomical sites harboring virus that contribute to viral rebound upon treatment interruption. Despite antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are reported in HIV-infected individuals on ART. Biomarkers for macrophage activation and neuronal damage in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of HIV-infected individuals demonstrate continued effects of HIV in brain and suggest that the central nervous system (CNS) may serve as a viral reservoir. Using a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/macaque model for HIV encephalitis and AIDS, we evaluated whether infected cells persist in brain despite ART. Eight SIV-infected pig-tailed macaques were virally suppressed with ART, and plasma and CSF viremia levels were analyzed longitudinally. To assess whether virus persisted in brain macrophages (BrMΦ) in these macaques, we used a macrophage quantitative viral outgrowth assay (MΦ-QVOA), PCR, and in situ hybridization (ISH) to measure the frequency of infected cells and the levels of viral RNA and DNA in brain. Viral RNA in brain tissue of suppressed macaques was undetectable, although viral DNA was detected in all animals. The MΦ-QVOA demonstrated that the majority of suppressed animals contained latently infected BrMΦ. We also showed that virus produced in the MΦ-QVOAs was replication competent, suggesting that latently infected BrMΦ are capable of reestablishing productive infection upon treatment interruption. This report provides the first confirmation of the presence of replication-competent SIV in BrMΦ of ART-suppressed macaques and suggests that the highly debated issue of viral latency in macrophages, at least in brain, has been addressed in SIV-infected macaques treated with ART. IMPORTANCE Resting CD4+ T cells are currently the only cells that fit the definition of a latent reservoir. However, recent evidence suggests that HIV/SIV-infected macrophages persist despite ART. Markers of macrophage activation and neuronal damage are observed in the CSF of HIV-infected individuals and of SIV-infected macaques on suppressive ART regimens, suggesting that the CNS has continued virus infection and latent infection. A controversy exists as to whether brain macrophages represent a latent source of replication-competent virus capable of reestablishing infection upon treatment interruption. In this study, we demonstrated the presence of the latent macrophage reservoir in brains of SIV-infected ART-treated macaques and analyzed the reservoir using our established outgrowth assay to quantitate macrophages harboring replication-competent SIV genomes. Our results support the idea of the existence of other latent reservoirs in addition to resting CD4+ T cells and underscore the importance of macrophages in developing strategies to eradicate HIV. IMPORTANCE Resting CD4+ T cells are currently the only cells that fit the definition of a latent reservoir. However, recent evidence suggests that HIV/SIV-infected macrophages persist despite ART. Markers of macrophage activation and neuronal damage are observed in the CSF of HIV-infected individuals and of SIV-infected macaques on suppressive ART regimens, suggesting that the CNS has continued virus infection and latent infection. A controversy exists as to whether brain macrophages represent a latent source of replication-competent virus capable of reestablishing infection upon treatment interruption. In this study, we demonstrated the presence of the latent macrophage reservoir in brains of SIV-infected ART-treated macaques and analyzed the reservoir using our established outgrowth assay to quantitate macrophages harboring replication-competent SIV genomes. Our results support the idea of the existence of other latent reservoirs in addition to resting CD4+ T cells and underscore the importance of macrophages in developing strategies to eradicate HIV.


Report presents the results of a survey of problems encountered in applying general test data to the design of flying-boat hulls. It is shown how basic design features may be readily determined from special plots of test data. A study of the effect of the size of a flying boat on the probable limits to be covered by the general test data is included and recommendations for special tests and new methods of presenting test data for direct use in design are given.


Parallel manipulators offer much higher rigidity and smaller mobile mass than their serial counterparts, thus allowing much faster and more precise manipulations. The main disadvantage of parallel robots is their small workspace in comparison to serial arms of similar size. Furthermore, the manipulability of parallel robots is often poor in some regions of the (already small) workspace. Another problematic issue is effective modeling of parallel robot dynamics, often needed for control algorithms. Dynamic algorithms developed for serial robots or general closed-loop mechanisms cannot be easily applied to parallel robots when the objective is real-time, dynamicmodelbased control. Therefore, in this work we investigate how to design parallel manipulators so that their workspace size and manipulability are maximized, and how to model parallel robot dynamics effectively. We develop a new performance index that combines measures of manipulability and workspace size, and a kinematic optimization process yielding a design that delivers the best compromise between manipulability and space utilization. Two examples are considered: the New University of Western Australia Robot (NUWAR) and the Linear Delta robot. Our experience in optimal design studies shows that the exhaustive search minimization algorithm is effective for as many as four independent design variables and presents a viable alternative to advanced non-linear programming methods. We develop a method based on Hamilton's canonical equations to solve both the inverse and direct problems of dynamics for parallel robots. The method uses carefully chosen dependent coordinates, called here the coordinates of the extended space. The approach is shown to be computationally more efficient than the more common acceleration-based methods.


hyperbilirubinaemia The study by Keren and colleagues is a retrospective study, using infants in whom preand post-discharge TSB has been carried out, hence causing an inherent bias towards the same group. The data for clinical risk have been collected from documents such as admission, intrapartum, and discharge forms. This retrospective collection can result in missing or ambiguous data, as has been accepted by the authors. Ideally, a study should be prospective using both methods on all neonates in a study group, and then the sensitivity and specificity (that is, false positives and false negatives) should be compared using actual data on follow up. The clinical risk factor score includes factors that are interrelated such as vacuum and cephalhematoma. In cases where the cephalhematoma is caused by the use of vacuum the neonate gets a double rating. Obviously, authors have not found clinical risk factors more specific than pre-discharge TSB. Contrary to this study, the AAP guidelines promote and support breast feeding and state that effective breast feeding can reduce substantially the risk for hyperbilirubinaemia. It is known that inadequate feeds increase the level of neonatal jaundice; hence the emphasis on ''effective'' breast feeds. The study subjects date from 1993–97 and the feeding habits (that is, breast/bottle/combination feeds) have been given a considerable amount of significance, which contradicts the AAP guidelines by the subcommittee on hyperbilirubinaemia. Newman et al state that, compared to early TSB levels (,48 hours of life), clinical risk factors combined with TSB significantly improve prediction of subsequent hyperbilirubinaemia. Suresh et al have studied the cost effectiveness of strategies to prevent kernicterus, and concluded that to prevent one case of kernicterus, the cost was $10 321 463 for universal follow up of early newborn discharge, $5 743 905 for routine predischarge TSB, and $9 191 352 routine predischarge transcutaneous bilirubin with selective follow up. They concluded that widespread implementation of these strategies would result in significantly increased healthcare costs with uncertain benefits. The AAP guidelines also focus on the rarity of kernicterus and aim to reduce the incidence of kernicterus, while minimising the risks of unintended harm such as maternal anxiety, decreased breast feeding, and unnecessary costs or treatments. They recommend a systematic clinical assessment before discharge and an early and focused follow up based on the risk assessment. Finally we must remember that we are all clinicians and we should use the lab report as an adjunct to our clinical knowledge.


This document defines application service tags that allow service
location without relying on rigid domain naming conventions, and DNS
procedures for discovering servers which provide Mobility Services.
Mobility Services are used to assist an MN in handover preparation
(network discovery) and handover decision (network selection). The
services addressed by this document are the Media Independent Handover
Services defined in [1]. Conventions used in this document Locating
Mobility Services Servers August 2008


The development of low-cost, highly efficient, and stable electrocatalysts toward overall water splitting (both the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)) is essential for future energy supply. In this report, 3D ternary nickel iron sulfide microflowers with a hierarchically porous structure directly grown on Ni foam via a convenient two-step method have been fabricated, and further used as an efficient electrocatalyst for both the HER and the OER. Thanks to the unique 3D morphology and strong electron interactions between Fe, Ni and S, the as-synthesized Ni0.7Fe0.3S2 delivers an overpotential of 198 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 toward the OER in alkaline media, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the best among the reported non-noble metal based electrocatalysts. Furthermore, when used as both the anode and cathode, a low cell voltage of 1.625 V is needed to obtain 10 mA cm−2 for the overall water splitting.


Takeda et al. discovered that leptin inhibits bone formation through an unexpected pathway entirely distinct from its regulation of body weight. The specter of falling and breaking a hip, an injury associated with significant morbidity and mortality, haunts many elderly individuals whose bones have become fragile because of osteoporosis, the most common degenerative disease in developed countries. The observation that gonadal failure increases the risk for osteoporosis, whereas obesity decreases the risk, led to the discovery that leptin, a hormone involved in regulating body weight and gonadal function, also inhibits bone formation. Takeda et al. used selective lesioning of hypothalamic regions, together with intraventricular infusion of leptin, in wild-type and various mutant mice to demonstrate that different neuronal pathways mediate leptin's regulation of body weight and bone mass. Cross-circulation experiments in leptin-deficient mice, as well as targeted expression of leptin in transgenic mice, indicated that, unlike its effects on appetite, leptin's effects on bone mass are not mediated humorally by circulating substances. Rather, they depend on adrenergic inhibition of osteoblast proliferation and function mediated through the sympathetic nervous system. Treatment with a β-adrenergic receptor antagonist increased bone mass in wild-type and ovariectomized mice, leading to the intriguing possibility that β-blockers could provide a new means of treating osteoporosis. S. Takeda, F. Elefteriou, R. Levasseur, X. Liu, L. Zhao, K. L. Parker, D. Armstrong, P. Ducy, G. Karsenty, Leptin regulates bone formation via the sympathetic nervous system. Cell 111, 305-317 (2002). [Online Journal]


The spring semester of the student teaching internship has come to a close and we welcome a new class of professionals into the folds of teaching agriculture. As I reflect on the lessons I have observed over the past years from student teaching interns, and even experienced teachers, I have come to the conclusion that variability in instruction continues to be an area of needed improvement in agricultural education. According to Rosenshine & Furst (1971), Clarity, Organization, Enthusiasm, Task-oriented behavior, Provision of opportunities for students to learn criterion material, and Variability were the most promising teacher behaviors associated with student learning. As a teacher educator, I try to emphasize the importance of these characteristics to my agricultural education students. And to their credit, they do a very good job of recognizing opportunities to incorporate the first five characteristics into the learning process, but continue to struggle with variability. Most often I see the use of technology, exciting games, or group activities as a way to vary instruction. However, it has become predictable and sometime repetitive to see such instructional strategies used. Unfortunately, as these effective practices become standard, we lose variability. Why Variability? Why is variability so important in instruction? Well according to the Principles of Learning and Teaching (Newcomb, McCracken, Warmbrod, & Wittington, 2004), students must be motivated to learn. Instructors must take into account their students' interests, desires, abilities, and learning styles. Just as our students vary, so should the instruction used to teach them. Variability does not mean a departure from lecture, but the use of various strategies and resources to disseminate information. One such strategy that has had critical acclaim in other disciplines, such as medicine, but has yet to gain popularity and widespread use in agricultural education is problembased learning (PBL). I believe that PBL is a very effective instructional strategy and would provide variability if added to a teacher's repertoire. To this end, this article will discuss a case study on the learning outcomes of PBL in an agriculture class. The Case A group of 110 freshmen from the Chicago High School for Ag Sciences was selected to participate in a case study to determine the learning outcomes of PBL. The group was selected because they possessed two unique characteristics that were desirable for this study. First, the students are selected from all over the city from various social, ethnic and educational backgrounds. Second, Sheila Fowler, the instructor who would teach the students, had past experience with facilitating PBL. Therefore, the group gave us an opportunity to study a large group of diverse students being instructed by one instructor in their natural learning environment. The group was randomly assigned to one of four sections of a course on agricultural leadership. Each group was assigned an instructional strategy of either PBL or teacherguided learning (TGL) for five instructional units on leadership theory. Leadership development content was chosen as the unit of instruction because it is intercurricular, socially relevant, and would not be a departure from the course curriculum. The TGL group, which totaled 56 students, was taught by the teacher using computer generated presentations and application activities. The remaining 54 students who made up the PBL group were given a case study, reference materials and questions to guide their individual research. Each member of the group was given one of the five topics to research and teach to the rest of their group. Finally after all topics were taught, they were asked as a group to provide a recommendation for a solution to the problem presented in the case study using the concepts they had learned. At the conclusion of the 10-days of instruction, students in the PBL group were asked to reflect on their learning experience. …


I. INTRODUCTION Over the past three years there has been increasing discussion of the role imported liquefied natural gas (LNG)1 may play in the supply of natural gas for the U.S. market. This is a result of the projections of domestic production and importation of natural gas from Canada (compared with projections of the growing demand for natural gas), as well as the significantly higher prices in the domestic spot markets. Forecasts of LNG consumption by 2015 range from 4% to 10% of domestic natural gas consumption, with more aggressive projections reaching the 10% level by 2010. During 2002, LNG constituted approximately 1% of domestic natural gas consumption.2 LNG projects are large endeavors requiring investments in the hundreds of millions of dollars for a single LNG terminal. A full supply chain project can require investment in excess of $2.5 billion.3 The structure of future LNG projects and the regulatory environment must be capable of encouraging and facilitating the necessary investments. The recent focus on the need to construct the infrastructure to facilitate a sharp increase in the supply of LNG has resulted in significant policy changes by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission). LNG was viewed as a high-cost source of natural gas in the early years of its importation into the U.S. This view changed during the periods of natural gas supply curtailment, when LNG was seen as necessary to augment an inadequate supply of domestic natural gas. Additionally, LNG was viewed as a largely seasonal source of natural gas to be utilized at times when users were willing to accommodate the higher prices. Recently, LNG has come to be viewed as more than just a peaking supply of natural gas. Proponents of new LNG projects assert that in the future LNG can be a competitively priced source of natural gas available to fill an increasing portion of the growing demand for natural gas in the U.S. Whether the U.S. will have adequate supplies of natural gas to meet the expected growth in demand, at prices that will allow economic growth, has become a dominant energy issue, as well as a significant economic and political issue.4 The supply and price of natural gas, as well as the growing importance of LNG as a component of the U.S. natural gas supply has gained the attention of both the FERC Chairman and the Federal Reserve Board Chairman.5 This article examines the growing importance of LNG in the U.S. natural gas supply. Recent legislation and changes in regulatory policies are intended to remove perceived impediments to the development of the infrastructure. This infrastructure is necessary to facilitate the importation of significantly increased quantities of LNG. The article is in the context of the growing global trade in LNG, in the light of its mixed history in the domestic natural gas market. II. LNG IN THE WORLD NATURAL GAS SUPPLY The global consumption of natural gas has increased dramatically during the past thirty years and is projected to continue to grow at a high rate over the next twenty-five years. Natural gas is forecasted to be the fastest growing component of global energy consumption, with projected average annual increases of 2.8% between 2001 and 2025.6 As shown in Figure 1, worldwide natural gas consumption is projected to increase from 90 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2001 to 176 Tcf in 2025. LNG will play a significant role in satisfying the growing demand for natural gas. The global demand for LNG has been consistently growing at a rate of 6% to 7% annually since 1970. In some countries, LNG has been a major component of the natural gas supply for several years, often serving as a primary source of natural gas for regions lacking natural gas supplies that can be delivered by pipeline. Historically, LNG has played a minor role in the U.S., providing only about 1% of the natural gas supply during 2002, while providing about 97% of the supply in Asia. …


A qualitative and quantitative analysis of changes in the outdoor temperature in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) for the period from 1743 to 2018 was performed (276 years old). Used data from open sources. It is shown how the annual average outdoor temperature in St. Petersburg, the average monthly air temperatures, as well as the air temperature during the warm and cold periods of the year, changed. Climate change is divided into stages lasting 50, 25, 10 and 5 years. The main sources of thermal pollution of the urban environment, including manmade. A quantitative assessment of the contribution of anthropogenic sources to the thermal pollution of the urban environment, which amounted to about 586 PJ per year. The main contribution to thermal pollution is provided by consumers of thermal energy (220 PJ per year), transport (220 PJ per year), consumers of electric energy (120 PJ per year), population (26 PJ per year).


Purpose To investigate four-dimensional (4D) flow CT for the assessment of intracardiac blood flow patterns as compared with 4D flow MRI. Materials and Methods This prospective study acquired coronary CT angiography and 4D flow MRI data between February and December 2016 in a cohort of 12 participants (age range, 36-74 years; mean age, 57 years; seven men [age range, 36-74 years; mean age, 57 years] and five women [age range, 52-73 years; mean age, 64 years]). Flow simulations based solely on CT-derived cardiac anatomy were assessed together with 4D flow MRI measurements. Flow patterns, flow rates, stroke volume, kinetic energy, and flow components were quantified for both techniques and were compared by using linear regression. Results Cardiac flow patterns obtained by using 4D flow CT were qualitatively similar to 4D flow MRI measurements, as graded by three independent observers. The Cohen κ score was used to assess intraobserver variability (0.83, 0.79, and 0.70) and a paired Wilcoxon rank-sum test showed no significant change (P > .05) between gradings. Peak flow rate and stroke volumes between 4D flow MRI measurements and 4D flow CT measurements had high correlation (r = 0.98 and r = 0.81, respectively; P < .05 for both). Integrated kinetic energy quantified at peak systole correlated well (r = 0.95, P < .05), while kinetic energy levels at early and late filling showed no correlation. Flow component analysis showed high correlation for the direct and residual components, respectively (r = 0.93, P < .05 and r = 0.87, P < .05), while the retained and delayed components showed no correlation. Conclusion Four-dimensional flow CT produced qualitatively and quantitatively similar intracardiac blood flow patterns compared with the current reference standard, four-dimensional flow MRI. © RSNA, 2018 Online supplemental material is available for this article.


Esophageal perforation with subsequent development of a mediastinal abscess is a well-known clinical entity. Etiologies including idiopathic and iatrogenic with invasive procedures have been reported in medical literatures. This condition is seriously associated with high co-morbidity and in some cases especially if intervention has not been applied associated with high mortality. For long time, open surgical intervention was the only available treatment modality for esophageal perforation with subsequent development of a mediastinal abscess. However, recently there are some other less invasive modalities that have been used with comparable if not preferable success including; self-expandable metallic or plastic stents and imaging guided percutaneous drainage of the mediastinal abscess combined with stenting. We report a patient who presented with esophageal perforation complicated with a mediastinal abscess that was treated successfully with an imaging guided percutaneous drainage of the mediastinal abscess. This case is to emphasize on the fact that endoscopic stent placement is safe and effective for esophageal perforations. Percutaneous CT-guided drainage of associated mediastinal abscesses is an uncommon procedure, but the results suggest that it is associated with high technical and clinical success rates. There should be increased involvement of interventional radiology in the management of those cases.


General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the US market fell from 62.6 to 19.8 percent, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt. In this paper we argue that the conventional explanation for this decline - namely high legacy labor and health care costs - is seriously incomplete, and that GM's share collapsed for many of the same reasons that many of the other highly successful American firms of the 50s, 60s and 70s were forced from the market, including a failure to understand the nature of the competition they faced and an inability to respond effectively once they did. We focus particularly on the problems GM encountered in developing the relational contracts essential to modern design and manufacturing. We discuss a number of possible causes for these difficulties: including GM's historical practice of treating both its suppliers and its blue collar workforce as homogeneous, interchangeable entities, and its view that expertise could be partitioned so that there was minimal overlap of knowledge amongst functions or levels in the organizational hierarchy and decisions could be made using well-defined financial criteria. We suggest that this dynamic may have important implications for our understanding of the role of management in the modern, knowledge based firm, and for the potential revival of manufacturing in the United States.


What is the impact of buyers on the performance of innovation procurement? In which phase of the procurement process are buyers most crucial and why? We address these questions by exploiting a novel dataset that links U.S. federal R&D contracts to their follow-on patents, citations and claims. Using the deaths of managers in the offices close to where contracts are performed as shocks to the functioning of these offices, we measure a positive and sizable effect of public buyers on all three outcome measures. The buyer's role is stronger in the pre-award, tender-design phase, where cooperation between different specialists is essential, than in the following contract-management phase typically performed by individual officers. Consistently, bureaus where employees perceive high level of cooperation within the office are associated with better R&D outcomes.


IMPORTANCE
Recently, a rare variant in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) was described in a population from Iceland. This variant, in which alanine is replaced by threonine at position 673 (A673T), appears to protect against late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD). We evaluated the frequency of this variant in AD cases and cognitively normal controls to determine whether this variant will significantly contribute to risk assessment in individuals in the United States.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of the APP A673T variant in a large group of elderly cognitively normal controls and AD cases from the United States and in 2 case-control cohorts from Sweden.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Case-control association analysis of variant APP A673T in US and Swedish white individuals comparing AD cases with cognitively intact elderly controls. Participants were ascertained at multiple university-associated medical centers and clinics across the United States and Sweden by study-specific sampling methods. They were from case-control studies, community-based prospective cohort studies, and studies that ascertained multiplex families from multiple sources.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Genotypes for the APP A673T variant were determined using the Infinium HumanExome V1 Beadchip (Illumina, Inc) and by TaqMan genotyping (Life Technologies).

RESULTS
The A673T variant genotypes were evaluated in 8943 US AD cases, 10 480 US cognitively normal controls, 862 Swedish AD cases, and 707 Swedish cognitively normal controls. We identified 3 US individuals heterozygous for A673T, including 1 AD case (age at onset, 89 years) and 2 controls (age at last examination, 82 and 77 years). The remaining US samples were homozygous for the alanine (A673) allele. In the Swedish samples, 3 controls were heterozygous for A673T and all AD cases were homozygous for the A673 allele. We also genotyped a US family previously reported to harbor the A673T variant and found a mother-daughter pair, both cognitively normal at ages 72 and 84 years, respectively, who were both heterozygous for A673T; however, all individuals with AD in the family were homozygous for A673.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The A673T variant is extremely rare in US cohorts and does not play a substantial role in risk for AD in this population. This variant may be primarily restricted to Icelandic and Scandinavian populations.


We investigate the self-assembly of a cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) block copolymer (BCP) mixed with trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) capped cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs). The QDs were found to be enthalpically compatible with the P4VP chains via ligand displacement of TOPO from the QD surface. However, the QDs were found to localize preferentially at the PS/P4VP interphase plausibly to gain translational entropy in order to further lower the energetics of the self-assembled structure. Interestingly, the morphological transformation observed with increasing weight fraction of the QDs in the BCP/QD composite was driven by the migration of the displaced TOPO from the QD surface to the PS phase, effectively increasing its total volume fraction. Hence, the PS-b-P4VP BCP with PS as the minority block displayed lamellar morphology in its composite with QDs. Furthermore, the preferred localization of the QDs at the PS/P4VP interface led to the formation of a trilayer lamellar morphology which was deduced from the suppression of the primary scattering peak, relative to higher order peaks in the SAXS data. The morphological transformation was accompanied by a significant increase in the domain spacing due to excessive stretching of the longer P4VP chains of the asymmetric block copolymer. However, in the PS-b-P4VP/CdSe composites with P4VP as the minority block, cylindrical morphology was retained and the domain spacing decreased due to dominance of the co-surfactant effect as well as interfacial localization of CdSe QDs. We also demonstrate that these PS-b-P4VP/CdSe self-assembled hybrid materials could further be used to obtain isolated core-shell nanoobjects, such as nanofibers and nanosheets, containing CdSe QDs. The nanoobjects so obtained exhibited photoluminescence properties typical of CdSe quantum dots. These photoluminescent polymer nanoobjects could have potential applications in biological targeting and fluorescence labeling.


Fifteen new ethyl 6-methyl-2-methoxy-3-(substituted 1-phenylethanone)-4-(Substituted phenyl)- 1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylates (6.a-o) have been synthesized in a two step reaction. In first step ethyl acetoacetate, s-methylisourea and appropriate benzaldehydes reacted in a single step reaction to obtain ethyl 6-methyl-2-methoxy-4-(substituted phenyl) -1, 4- dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylates (4.a-e). Second step involves synthesis of reaction between substituted phenacyl bromides and 1-4 dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylates (6.a-o). Their structures are confirmed by IR, 1H- NMR, Mass and elemental analysis. Out of the total screened compounds, 6 compounds have shown antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv in concentration range of 1-2 μg/mL. Eight compounds have shown good activity against gram positive (S. aureus and B. subtilis) and gram negative organisms (E. coli and S. typhi), ranging in the concentration from 1-25 μg/mL.


We design photonic quasi-crystal fibers (PQFs) of six-, eight-, ten-, and twelve-folds for determining the optimized efficiency as well as the bandwidth of second harmonic generation (SHG). We report a maximum SHG relative efficiency of 941.36% W⁻¹ cm⁻² for a twelve-fold PQF of 2 μm pitch. The detailed numerical results reveal that, while the relative efficiency increases appreciably, the phase-matching bandwidth increases marginally, as and when the number of folds increases. As the primary interest of this work is to enhance the relative efficiency, we focus our analysis with a twelve-fold PQF for which the efficiency turns a maximum. In line with the practical feasibility of poling, we keep the pitch at 7 μm and report an optimized relative efficiency and phase-matching bandwidth as 95.28% W⁻¹ cm⁻² and 50.51 nm.cm, respectively.


Many hours and dollars have been spent developing new resources to improve learning outcomes in engineering mechanics courses. While many of these have been developed into packaged learning systems, available for purchase by other universities, a large proportion are available free of charge for students looking to expand their study options. Over the past eighteen months, a group of engineering academics, through Australian Learning and Teaching Council funding, has been working to develop a way of guiding students towards these online engineering mechanics learning resources. One of the outcomes of this work is an online, database-driven directory of existing online learning resources which are free for students to use in independent study. The database guides students towards resources through a range of search criteria that resources have each been evaluated on, including: Depth of topic coverage; suitable study patterns; appropriate learner level; learning styles, etc. This paper details the development, features, and intended uses of the database. It presents a plan for researching the effect that guided access to additional online learning resources has on perceptions of learning in first year engineering mechanics courses. The authors also extend an invitation to other educators to contribute to the system and promote its use to students in their classes.


Antifungal potential of water, acetone and methanol extracts of leaves and pits of Phoenix dactylifera L. var. Barhee and Rothana were evaluated against seven pathogenic fungi. For assessing the antifungal activity, agar well diffusion and agar dilution methods were employed. Barring the water extracts, acetone and methanol extracts showed varying degree of growth inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium sp., Fusarium solani, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata, Alternaria sp. and Trichoderma sp. Methanol pits extract was highly effective against most of the tested fungi followed by methanol leaves extract, acetone pits and acetone leaves extract. The most sensitive fungus was A. alternata, its growth inhibition was maximum (51.6%) by methanol pits extract of var. Barhee. 50% inhibitory effect (IC50) of methanol pits extract of var. Barhee against F. oxysporum, F. solani, Fusarium sp., A. alternata and Alternaria sp. was found to be 6.7, 4.9, 3.4, 2.8 and 3.7 mg/ml, respectively.

 Key words: Antifungal potential, crude extracts, date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, pathogenic fungi.


Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) and sonic velocity correlations are used widely in the Australian coal mining industry to predict in situ rock strength. These models are cheap, fast and easy to produce, as well as easy to understand and have a number of practical applications in mine planning and design. The major downfall of these models is that there is a large variation in UCS values at high sonic velocities limiting their predictive ability. The aim of this research project is to improve the reliability of UCS/Sonic velocity correlations by reducing the variability in the underlying data. This is performed by identifying and eliminating sources of error affecting the data and looking at the impact of certain factors on the quality of the correlations. Results show that improved models can be obtained by filtering the datasets to remove samples with high length-to-height ratios, conglomerate or pebbly lithologies, and large sonic velocity ranges.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are vulnerable to jamming attacks where an adversary injects strong noises to interfere with the normal transmission. It is crucial to detect such jamming attacks as fast as possible. Existing studies have shown that an effective indicator of jamming is the packet delivery ratio (PDR). However, current PDR-based schemes use the end-to-end packet delivery ratio, which requires one to observe communication for a long time before a good decision is made. In this paper, we propose collaborative detection, which evaluates the packet delivery ratio in an given area instead of a pair of nodes. The intuition is that the attacker often jams an area of his interest, not just two specific nodes. The benefit is that we can detect jamming attacks in a much faster way. We have evaluated the performance of our idea on TelosB motes. The results show that we can effectively and quickly detect jamming attacks.


Program Number: 1377 Presentation Time: 8:30 AM–8:45 AM Crystalline lens wobbling reveals similar accommodative ciliary muscle function in young and presbyopic subjects Juan Tabernero, Maelle Le Gal, Emmanuel Chirre, Pedro Prieto, Pablo Artal. Laboratorio de Optica, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Purpose: To investigate the activity of the ciliary muscle during accommodation as a function of age by quantification of the crystalline lens wobbling in two groups of young and presbyopic subjects. Methods: An instrument was developed combining a high speed video recording of Purkinje images at 376 fps with a binocular openview Hartmann-Shack sensor. Measurements of lens wobbling after forced saccadic movements were performed by analysing Purkinje images from the cornea and the lens. Accommodation dynamics was measured in a subsequent experiment by a 90 degree rotation of a hot mirror in the combined instrument, using exactly the same stimulus (two Maltese crosses subtending 1 degree), placed at infinity and at 4 D distance from the eye. Both measurements were taken under binocular unrestricted conditions. Ten young subjects (mean age 18 years old; SD 3 years) and 17 presbyopic subjects (mean age 49 years old; SD 6 years) participated in the study. Results: The contraction of the ciliary muscle when accommodation was induced generated higher oscillations of the crystalline lens (wobbling) after forced saccades (9 degree amplitude). The increase in the amplitude of wobbling from far to near viewing conditions was found to be very similar in both young and presbyopic groups (78 ± 45 mm and 77 ± 83 mm respectively). On the other hand, the amplitude of accommodation decreased with age as expected (from 2.6 ± 0.4 D in the younger group to 1.0 ± 1.0 D for presbyopic subjects). There was individual variability, being larger in the older group. Both magnitudes, the change in the amplitude of wobbling with accommodation and the accommodative amplitude were uncorrelated. This suggests that the ability of the muscle to contract was not affected by age. Conclusions: Crystalline lens wobbling with accommodation was similar for young and presbyopic subjects. These results support a purely lenticular-based theory of presbyopia and it might stimulate the search for new solutions to presbyopia by making use of a remaining contraction force still presented in the aging eye. Commercial Relationships: Juan Tabernero, None; Maelle Le Gal, None; Emmanuel Chirre, None; Pedro Prieto, None; Pablo Artal, None Support: European Research Council Advanced Grant ERC-2013AdG-339228 (SEECAT) & SEIDI, Spain (grant FIS2013-41237-R).


PURPOSE
To compare the effects of a low-carbohydrate diet and a conventional (fat- and calorie-restricted) diet on lipoprotein subfractions and inflammation in severely obese subjects.

METHODS
We compared changes in lipoprotein subfractions and C-reactive protein levels in 78 severely obese subjects, including 86% with either diabetes or metabolic syndrome, who were randomly assigned to either a low-carbohydrate or conventional diet for 6 months.

RESULTS
Subjects on a low-carbohydrate diet experienced a greater decrease in large very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels (difference =-0.26 mg/dL, p = .03) but more frequently developed detectable chylomicrons (44% vs 22%, p = .04). Both diet groups experienced similar decreases in the number of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles (difference = -30 nmol/L, p = .74) and increases in large high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations (difference = 0.70 mg/dL, p = .63). Overall, C-reactive protein levels decreased modestly in both diet groups. However, patients with a high-risk baseline level (>3 mg/dL, n = 48) experienced a greater decrease in C-reactive protein levels on a low-carbohydrate diet (adjusted difference = -2 mg/dL, p = .005), independent of weight loss.

CONCLUSIONS
In this 6-month study involving severely obese subjects, we found an overall favorable effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on lipoprotein subfractions and on inflammation in high-risk subjects. Both diets had similar effects on LDL and HDL subfractions. ( Am J Med. 2004;117:398-405.).


The recent wave of revolutions across the Arab world has brought to the surface the contradictions in popular understandings of the Middle East and North Africa. The place of the region in the global history of modernity has been unsettled yet again. It is possible to identify several major trends in responses to the momentous events, coinciding with various stages in the unfolding of the revolutions. Firstly, many commentators embraced the early stages of the uprisings, precisely because they were seen to fulfil a long-overdue historical destiny of democratic flourishing - the expression of a modern teleology for some, or a postmodern emancipation for others.


Multiple studies have reported positive relationships between cognitive ability and preferences for freedom, both at the personal level (e.g. drug use) and the economic (e.g. smaller government). To add to this, we investigated the relationships between cognitive ability and multi-dimensional political preferences in a Danish general population sample (n = 333, n = 259 after quality control). Respondents answered 10 questions pertaining to specific social issues, 10 questions pertaining to specific economic issues, as well as taking 4 cognitive items. They had previously taken a 5-item cognitive test (ICAR5), and been asked to rate themselves on social liberalism and economic liberalism. We documented a general factor of social liberalism across the questions on social issues, and a general factor of economic liberalism across the questions on economic issues. Self-assessed social liberalism had a small positive correlation with measured social liberalism (r = .13), while self-assessed economic liberalism had a moderate positive correlation with measured economic liberalism (r = .49). These findings were in line with our predictions. Contrary to our predictions, however, social liberalism and economic liberalism had a weak positive correlation (r = .07; 95% CI = [–.06, .19]) and cognitive ability was only weakly related to both social liberalism (r = .14; 95% CI = .02, .26]) and economic liberalism (r = .07; 95% CI = [–.05, .19]). Corrected for measurement error, the correlations were .23 and .10, respectively.

The study was preregistered.


The research aims to investigate the interactivity of four Saudi Online Journals. Two of these online journals were the Riyadh and Okaz Online Journals, which are also found in the printed versions. However, the other two journals used in this research paper are the Alweeam and Sabq Journals, which do not have print versions, and are only published online. The data were collected based on an analysis of the existing content and research on the interactivity in the Online Journalism in Saudi Arabia. The study uses a questionnaire, in order to investigate the content of journals and the responses of the readers. The findings of the study demonstrated varying levels of interactivity among study journals. The study also revealed that the online-only journals stimulated more interactivity than online journals with a print version. Two predictors for interactivity were identified with respect to the Riyadh and Okaz Journals: the source of information and the type of journal content (news or commentary). The study revealed a great interactivity for the journals that are online-only. However, the printed journals, which can also be viewed online showed a comparatively lesser interactivity. During the study, the researcher observed two predictors for interactivity in both types of journals. These predictors were the source of information and the type of journal content.

 Key words: Interactivity, Saudi Online Journals, Okaz Journal, Riyadh Journal, Alweeam Online Journal, Sabq Online Journal.


Streptomycete bacteria are a rich source of antibacterial natural products. Increasing antibiotic resistance is a global concern and novel classes of potent antibiotics are rare. Here we report the identification and genetic manipulation of the gene cluster for the cyclic antimicrobial peptide bottromycin in Streptomyces scabies. Bottromycin is active towards multi-drug resistant bacteria, such as MRSA and VRE, and contains a biologically unique macrocyclic amidine. The btm biosynthetic gene cluster was identified by genome mining and confirmed by genetic experiments. The metabolites of mutant strains were identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS), to characterise two radical SAM methyltransferases that are responsible for the β-methylation of three amino acids in bottromycin. A number of genes were also identified that are essential for bottromycin biosynthesis. A biosynthetic pathway has been proposed based on the results of these experiments coupled with bioinformatic analysis of the enzymes encoded in the btm cluster.


A new translation of Georges Simenon's novel set in a tranquil town on the dutch coast, book seven in the new Penguin Maigret series. 'Just take a look,' Duclos said in an undertone, pointing to the scene all round them, the picture-book town, with everything in its place, like ornaments on the mantlepiece of a careful housewife...'Everyone here earns his living. Everyone's more or less content. And above all, everyone keeps his instincts under control, because that's the rule here, and a necessity if people want to live in society.' When a French professor visiting the quiet, Dutch coastal town of Delfzjil is accused of murder, Maigret is sent to investigate. The community seem happy to blame an unknown outsider, but there are people much closer to home who seem to know much more than they're letting on: Beetje, the dissatisfied daughter of a local farmer, Any van Elst, sister-in-law of the deceased and a notorious local crook. Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels in new translations. This novel has been published in a previous translation as Maigret in Holland. "Compelling, remorseless, brilliant." (John Gray). "One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century...Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." (Guardian). "A supreme writer...unforgettable vividness." (Independent).


Article History: Purpose: This study aims to compare the performances of Item Response Theory (IRT) equating and kernel equating (KE) methods based on equating errors (RMSD) and standard error of equating (SEE) using the anchor item nonequivalent groups design. Method: Within this scope, a set of conditions, including ability distribution, type of anchor items (internalexternal), the ratio of anchor items, and spread of anchor item difficulty, were observed in 24 different simulation conditions. Findings: The results showed that ability distribution, type of anchor items, the ratio of anchor items, and spread of anchor item difficulty affected the performance of the equating methods. It was also observed that kernel chained equating methods (KE CE) were less affected by the difference in group mean ability. Moreover, in the case of increased average differences in ability between groups, a high range of score scale yielded higher standard errors in KE methods, while a medium-high range of scale scores exhibited higher standard errors in IRT equating. Using external anchor items led to lower SEE and RMSD than using internal anchor items, and both errors decreased as the ratio of anchor items increased. When internal anchor items were used with similar average group ability distribution, mini and midi anchor tests gave similar results. On the other hand, a midi anchor test performed better with increased average differences in group ability distribution for external anchor items. At the end of the scale scores, the IRT equating method had a lower rate of errors. Implications for Research and Practice: KE methods can be used while IRT assumptions are not met. Received: 20. Jan.2020 Received in revised form: 28. Aug.2020 Accepted: 16.Dec.2020 DOI: 10.14689/ejer.2021.93.9


Abstract. TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) near-ultraviolet (near-UV) radiances are used as input to an inversion
algorithm that simultaneously retrieves aerosol optical depth (AOD),
single-scattering albedo (SSA), and the qualitative UV aerosol index
(UVAI). We first present the TROPOMI aerosol algorithm (TropOMAER), an
adaptation of the currently operational OMI near-UV (OMAERUV and OMACA)
inversion schemes that takes advantage of TROPOMI's unprecedented fine
spatial resolution at UV wavelengths and the availability of ancillary
aerosol-related information to derive aerosol loading in cloud-free and
above-cloud aerosols scenes. TROPOMI-retrieved AOD and SSA products are
evaluated by direct comparison to sun-photometer measurements. A parallel
evaluation analysis of OMAERUV and TropOMAER aerosol products is carried out
to separately identify the effect of improved instrument capabilities and
algorithm upgrades. Results show TropOMAER improved levels of agreement with
respect to those obtained with the heritage coarser-resolution sensor. OMI
and TROPOMI aerosol products are also intercompared at regional daily and
monthly temporal scales, as well as globally at monthly and seasonal scales.
We then use TropOMAER aerosol retrieval results to discuss the US Northwest
and British Columbia 2018 wildfire season, the 2019 biomass burning season
in the Amazon Basin, and the unprecedented January 2020 fire season in
Australia that injected huge amounts of carbonaceous aerosols in the
stratosphere.


Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of adding sources of saturated fat to diets with sorghum-based dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). For Exp. 1, 112 barrows (initially 140 lb) were used in a 69-d growth assay with 7 pigs per pen and 4 pens per treatment. Treatments were a cornsoybean meal-based control and diets having 40% sorghum-based DDGS (U.S. En-ergy Partners, Russell, KS) without and with 5% added tallow or palm oil. Feed and water were consumed on an ad libitum basis until pigs were slaughtered (average BW 283 lb) to allow collection of carcass data and jowl samples. Fatty acid composition of jowl samples was used to calculate iodine value (IV) as an indicator of carcass fat firmness. Overall (d 0 to 69), the corn-soybean control supported greater ADG and ADFI (P < 0.001) with no difference in F/G (P > 0.9) compared with the DDGS treatments. Adding 5% beef tallow and palm oil to diets with DDGS improved overall F/G (P < 0.02). Pigs fed the control diet had greater (P < 0.04) HCW and dressing percentage than pigs fed the DDGS treatments. Adding fat to DDGS diets tended to improve dressing percentage (P < 0.07), but there were no effects of fat source on carcass measurements (P > 0.14). Changes in IV indicated softer fat in pigs fed DDGS (P < 0.001) than in pigs fed the control diet even when sources of saturated fatty acids were added to the diets. For Exp. 2, 112 barrows (initially 150 lb) were used in a 67-d growth assay with 7 pigs per pen and 4 pens per treatment. Treatments were the same as in Exp. 1, but fat sources were stearic acid and coconut oil. At slaughter (av-erage BW 270 lb), in addition to collection of carcass data and jowl samples, belly firmness was determined by using a subjective scoring system and by measuring the distance from tip to tip of the belly after it was drooped over a 1-in.2 bar for 5 min. The corn-soybean control tended to support greater overall ADG (P < 0.09) with no difference in ADFI and F/G (P > 0.14) compared with DDGS treatments. Adding fat sources to diets with DDGS tended to improve (P < 0.06) overall F/G, and coconut oil improved F/G compared with stearic acid (P < 0.001). Pigs fed the control diet had greater (P < 0.05) HCW than pigs fed the DDGS treatments. Pigs fed the control diet had lower IV and greater firmness score than pigs fed diets with added DDGS (P < 0.02). Adding fat sources to diets with DDGS improved these estimates of carcass firmness and tip to tip distance for suspended bellies (P < 0.001); coconut oil had a much greater effect than stearic acid (P < 0.001). In conclusion, adding beef tallow, palm oil, and coconut oil to diets with 40% DDGS improved efficiency of gain in finishing pigs. However, only coconut oil restored carcass firmness to levels at or above a corn-soybean diet without DDGS.; Swine Day, 2008, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2008


This paper envisions ways in which deep sustainability can be incorporated into architectural pedagogy. It bases its argument on the belief that architectural education can open new avenues toward the achievement of real sustainable development. The paper introduces concepts, meaning, definitions, and characteristics of deep sustainability. By conducting a content analysis procedure it investigates the status of architectural courses in a number of schools in the developing world. MIU program, an example from Egypt, is presented as an endeavor to reconfigure the educational process in a manner that is based on deep sustainability. The paper ends of outlineing a set of recommodations that aim at incorporating the principles and practices of deep sustainability into architectural pedagogy.


The Norwegian Government has identified electronic collaboration as an important tool to support an upcoming reform in Norwegian Health Care– the Coordination Reform. The goal of the reform is to prevent citizens from becoming patients and reduce the need for specialized care. The patients are also supposed to become more active in taking responsibility for their own health. The paper sums up the findings from a study that was done in order to get an overview of the status of electronic collaboration in the Norwegian health care sector today, and the challenges due to lack of such collaboration that can be seen in light of the coming reform. The work is based on the input from a reference group, meetings with potential users and national strategy documents. A situation analysis of eight trajectories that span primary and secondary care was performed. The main results from the work are summarized in a collaboration map. The map shows areas that need more focus in future development of collaborative ICT systems. The work shows that ICT-solutions supporting shared care and empowering the patient to a large extent are lacking. This is contradictory to the Coordination reform's intention of empowering the patient. The situation analysis reflects the status as of April 2010.


Athletes who use caffeine before exercising or competition may be upgrading themselves more than they realize. Caffeine is classified as a stimulant and is the most commonly used drug in the world. Caffeine has the same affects that amphetamines and cocaine have, just to a lesser degree. Caffeine crosses the membranes of all the body's tissues. It can exert effects on the central nervous system and the peripheral tissues that result in physiological effects. Studies have shown that caffeine improves performance in a variety of different activities. This stimulant has been shown to be a powerful ergogenic aid that is beneficial in athletic training and performance. Caffeine has been found to increase speed and power, improve the length of training, and assist the athlete in resisting fatigue. Caffeine has been found to stimulate the brain, which contributes to clearer thinking and ability to concentrate more intensely on the task at hand. Studies have shown that up to 25% of athlete's ages 11-18 years old have used caffeine in an effort to increase their athletic performances. Because of caffeine's effect on the body and its ability to increase an athlete's performance, Olympic Committees have debated on whether caffeine should be tested before the Olympic Games.


'Operations Management: policy, practices, performance improvement' is the latest state-of-the-art approach to operations management. It provides new cutting edge input into operations management theory and practice that cannot be found in any other text. Discussing both strategic and tactical inputs it combines and balances service and manufacturing operations. * Cutting edge techniques accompanied by brand new case studies * Challenges standard approaches * Comprehensive coverage of strategic supply management * Critical sample questions to aid discussion * Reading lists and articles to support learning * Additional lecturer support material This outstanding author team is from the Operations Management Group at the University of Bath. Their expertise and knowledge is apparent in the text, and they bring to it their original research and experience in the field of operations management.


Clinical decision support (CDS) embedded within the electronic health record (EHR) is a potential antibiotic stewardship strategy for hospitalized patients. Reduction in urine testing and treating asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is an important strategy to promote antibiotic stewardship. We created an intervention focused on reducing urine testing for asymptomatic patients at a large tertiary care center. The objective of this study was to design an intervention to reduce unnecessary urinalysis and urine culture (UC) orders as well as the treatment of ASB. We performed a quasiexperimental study among adult inpatients at a single academic institution. We implemented a bundled intervention, including information broadcast in newsletters, hospital-wide screensavers, and passive CDS messages in the EHR. We investigated the impact of this strategy on urinalysis, UC orders, and on the treatment of ASB by using an interrupted time series analysis. Our intervention led to reduced UC order as well as reduced antibiotic orders in response to urinalysis orders and UC results. This easily implementable bundle may play an important role as an antibiotic stewardship strategy.


City Bus Systems (CBS) have traditionally been managed and operated by various State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in Indian cities. However, other than a few exceptions, the experience suggests that STUs have always treated City Bus Operations as a liability as compared to rural and inter-state services. Thus, managerial problems and accruing financial losses to the STUs on account of CBS has resulted in neglect of the latter and the image of bus based urban public transport has severely suffered over the past decades. On the other hand, growing interest from the private sector in urban bus services over the last five years has resulted in the evolution of various Public Private Partnership (PPP) models for city bus operations. As a result, more than twenty cities in the country have started city bus operations on PPP mode in the last five years. After a successful inception year, however, most of the systems have not been able to sustain themselves on a long-term basis and have either been terminated or are merely surviving. Over the past two years, city bus operations on the PPP mode has gained further weight after the launch of "Funding for purchase of buses for urban transport systems under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission" scheme by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India that encourages operation of buses on a PPP basis. This paper documents the experience of various Indian cities that have adopted various PPP models for financing, operating and managing their city bus operations and attempts to suggest a more sustainable framework for operating city bus services. Two basic models of PPP have been adopted over the years by cities for urban bus operations: Gross Cost Model and Net Cost Model. Under the Gross Cost Model, the operator is paid a specified amount to provide the specified service for a specified period whereas the entire revenue accruing out of fare, advertisement rights, etc. is collected by the city authority. Under this model, the financial risk lies with the city authority contracting the services. Under the Net Cost Model, the operator provides a specified service for a specified period and retains all the revenue. The operator pays the authority a royalty per bus per month in lieu of this. Under a net-cost contract the operator has to forecast his cost, revenue and risk over the entire concession period. The study has picked up case studies from cities like Indore, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur, Jalandhar, Surat (Net-cost) and Ahmedabad, Delhi (Gross-cost) that have adopted these two models for managing CBS on PPP basis. For each case study, the contracting models used are studied and evaluated under various indicators, such as sharing of risks and responsibilities between the operators and authority, fleet expansion after inception, coverage (equitable/inequitable), existence of fare revision mechanism, institutional framework & capacity building at the level of authority, etc. Further, for each case study, the problems faced by the authority and the private operator since the inception of services and the resulting impacts of the overall quality of the city bus service are documented and possible relationships established between the contracting framework and the problems faced. The study further documents some of the best practices in STU running CBS in India and examines them against the same aspects as for the PPP models. The study aims to conclude by answering the following questions: (i) Whether cities really need to adopt PPP models for CBS and under what conditions is it advisable to go for it? (ii) What should be the considerations while choosing a gross-cost or net-cost model and how each can be improved? (iii) How can the risks be minimised while structuring CBS on PPP mode? Overall, the paper seeks to establish a framework to make the PPP model of city bus operations more sustainable.


Abstract Purpose: The three goals of the article are: first, to show some arguments surrounding the notion of capitalism in theoretical perspective, and also somewhat bashful connotations since it was introduced in Poland after the fall of communism; second, to present some historical facts about the rise of capitalism in Poland in comparative perspective, mostly European; third, to look for cultural categories necessary for analysing the peculiarities of Polish socio-economic development as the part of so-called "the second Europe". Methodology: I go back to the history of European patterns of capitalist formation: Anglo-Saxon, French, German, Russian in order to show the Polish trajectory as strikingly different. Before entering the Polish case, I present Mary Douglas and Aaron Widavsky's proposal – how to analyze four cultures: individualist, egalitarian, hierarchical and fatalistic (authoritarian). Implications: The main finding is that economic interests are always socio-cultural constructions, hence all definitions of the real life decisions (on public vs private, risk, externalities etc.) that the people make, must frame them within working life of given culture as the combination of universalism and particularism (of above-mentioned four cultures).


Life coaching is a professional practice which aims to help people flourish in life, by living according to their strengths, striving to reach goals, and achieve well-being in all areas of life. At colleges and universities in the United States, free counselling resources are sometimes provided for students, but coaching services are less commonplace. The current mixed methods study explores some of the advantages and outcomes of providing life coaching to undergraduates, including important increases for students in the following areas: self-confidence, satisfaction with choice of major, awareness of values and alignment with decision making, connection to life purpose, and individual goal setting and attainment.


"Brazil has always been known as a country marked by inequality. Whether of opportunities, income or property, this inequality is manifest in all stages of wealth accumulation. Within this dire landscape, the country has always stood alongside much poorer nations, while countries with similar income and development profiles have presented substantially better indicators. Many scholars and academics have addressed this disturbing national quirk, analysing its origins and the main variables that have determined its persistent dynamics within Brazilian society. One element that has garnered relatively less attention in the analysis of the determinants of inequality is how the organisation of the tax system can impact the distribution of income. Therefore, in light of our investigation, one of the issues that has been identified as reinforcing the social injustices in Brazil is its national tax structure". (...)


A hot filtration unit downstream of a 1kg/h fluidised bed fast pyrolysis reactor was designed and built. The filter unit operates at 450oC and consists of 1 exchangeable filter candle with reverse pulse cleaning system. Hot filtration experiments up to 7 hours were performed with beech wood as feedstock. It was possible to produce fast pyrolysis oils with a solid content below 0.01 wt%. The additional residence time of the pyrolysis vapours and secondary vapour cracking on the filter cake caused an increase of non-condensable gases at the expense of organic liquid yield. The oils produced with hot filtration showed superior quality properties regarding viscosity than standard pyrolysis oils. The oils were analysed by rotational viscosimetry and gel permeation chromatography before and after accelerated aging. During filtration the separated particulates accumulate on the candle surface and build up the filter cake. The filter cake leads to an increase in pressure drop between the raw gas and the clean gas side of the filter candle. At a certain pressure drop the filter cake has to be removed by reverse pulse cleaning to regenerate the pressure drop. The experiments showed that successful pressure drop recovery was possible during the initial filtration cycles, thereafter further cycles showed minor pressure drop recovery and therefore a steady increase in differential pressure. Filtration with pre-coating the candle to form an additional layer between the filter candle and cake resulted in total removal of the dust cake.


The federal forum non conveniens regime has many flaws; its most serious, however, is its lack of constitutional support. Founded upon the inherent authority of Article III, the forum non conveniens doctrine is an outlier, residing in the area over which Congress retains plenary control. The Court has long treated the forum non conveniens dismissal power as the norm against which Congress legislates. This Article argues that the time has come to reconsider this interpretive approach. In the case of peripheral inherent power rules like forum non conveniens, the prevailing presumption should be reversed. The Court, rather than Congress, should bear the burden of ensuring that judicially-crafted doctrines are consistent with legislative policy goals. Applying this more deferential analysis exposes significant friction between congressional regulatory decisions and the Court's forum non conveniens regime. First, the comprehensive congressional venue scheme already provides for the run-of-the-mill transnational case to which the forum non conveniens doctrine is routinely applied. Second, countless federal statutes regulate extraterritorial conduct; when a federal court declines on forum non conveniens grounds to adjudicate a federal question case, it rides roughshod over the congressional decision that the conduct at issue deserves federal attention. Third, the doctrine is at odds with the Rules Enabling Act on two fronts. By eschewing the rulemaking process set forth in the Act, the Court evades the congressional oversight envisioned by the legislation. Similarly, the Court has failed to respect the division of law making authority envisioned in Section 2072(b) of the Act. The substance/procedure line provides a good proxy for congressional permission to regulate. The forum non conveniens regime steps over that line. Lastly, proper application of the Rules of Decision Act suggests that the federal courts are mistaken in failing to apply some subset of state forum non conveniens rules in federal diversity actions. But that conclusion brings us full circle. Once we recognize the inherent authority does not support the forum non conveniens dismissal, the Rules of Decision Act problem evaporates. The congressional court access regime occupies the field rendering conflicting state rules irrelevant.


A critical part of developing a reliable software system is testing its recovery code. This code is traditionally difficult to test in the lab, and, in the field, it rarely gets to run; yet, when it does run, it must execute flawlessly in order to recover the system from failure. In this article, we present a library-level fault injection engine that enables the productive use of fault injection for software testing. We describe automated techniques for reliably identifying errors that applications may encounter when interacting with their environment, for automatically identifying high-value injection targets in program binaries, and for producing efficient injection test scenarios. We present a framework for writing precise triggers that inject desired faults, in the form of error return codes and corresponding side effects, at the boundary between applications and libraries. These techniques are embodied in LFI, a new fault injection engine we are distributing http://lfi.epfl.ch. This article includes a report of our initial experience using LFI. Most notably, LFI found 12 serious, previously unreported bugs in the MySQL database server, Git version control system, BIND name server, Pidgin IM client, and PBFT replication system with no developer assistance and no access to source code. LFI also increased recovery-code coverage from virtually zero up to 60% entirely automatically without requiring new tests or human involvement.


This work focuses on translated political speeches made by Canadas prime minister during times of national crises. Delivered orally in both English and French, this translation-based political discourse is examined in a tripartite manner, offering the reader contextualisation of the corpus researched; description of the translation shifts encountered; and interpretation of the discourse varies greatly depending on the era observed. Since the latter half of the 20th century, for instance, different text types have been assigned to different categories of translators. As for translative shifts revealed in the corpus, they have been categorised as either paratextual or textual divergences. Paratextual differences indicate that the Canadian prime ministers national statements in English and French do not necessarily seek to portray symmetry between what is presented in each language. Each version of a national speech thus retains a relative degree of visual autonomy. In sum, accumulated instances of paratextual divergence suggest an identifiable paratextual strategy, whereby translation contributes to the illusion that there is only one federal language: the readers. The deployment of this paratextual strategy obscures the fact that such federal expression occurs in two official languages. The illusion of monolingualism generates two different world views one for each linguistic community. Similarly, another strategy is discerned in the analysis of translative textual shifts a textual strategy useful in highlighting some of the power struggles inherent in translated federal expression. Textual interpretation of data identifies four federal translation tendencies: legitimisation and characterisation of linguistic communities; dislocation of the speech-event; neutralisation of (linguistic) territory; and valorisation of federalism.


Organizational incentives are an important part of applied economics. Do even organizations like religious orders make the same trade-offs and substitutions as predicted by economics for firms? It is argued here that religious orders face the problem of controlling the actions of their branch offices to assure the continued value and uniqueness of their trademark. We use the distinction between specific and general knowledge to analyze the optimal colocation of decision rights within the specific knowledge framework of a religious order. Assuming that knowledge is valuable in decision making, then the colocation of the decision authority with the particular knowledge that is beneficial to those decisions is preferable. With a sample of 114 local communities of 20 religious orders of the Roman Catholic Church, we empirically test whether the ratio of search/experience goods, of credence goods and the monitoring costs of the headquarter can explain the colocation of decision rights and authority within an order. Our findings give support for the hypothesis that religious orders at present make the same trade-offs and substitutions as predicted by economics. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Shapes different from the traditional ones have been proposed for face worm gears and for conical and cylindrical worms that mesh with them. The proposed shapes are based on the concept of generating a face worm gear surface by use of a tilted head cutter instead of by the traditional use of a hob. (As used here, "head cutter" is also meant to signify, alternatively, a head grinding tool.) The gear-surface-generation equipment would be similar to that used for generation of spiral bevel and hypoid gears. In comparison with the corresponding traditional hob, a tilted head cutter according to the proposal would be larger, could be fabricated with greater precision, and would enable the generation of gear surfaces with greater precision and greater productivity. A face worm gear would be generated (see figure) by use of a tilted head cutter, the blades or grinding surfaces of which would have straight-line profiles. The tilt of the head cutter would prevent interference with teeth adjacent to the groove being cut or ground. A worm to mesh with the face worm gear would be generated by use of a tilted head cutter mounted on the cradle of a generating machine. The blades or grinding surfaces of the head cutter would have a parabolic profile and would deviate from the straight-line profiles of the head cutter for the face worm gear. The shortest distance between the worm and the cradle would follow a parabolic function during the cycle of meshing in the generating process to provide a parabolic function of transmission errors to the gear drive. The small mismatch between the profiles of the face-worm-gear and worm head cutters would make it possible to localize the bearing contact in the worm gear drive. The parabolic function of transmission errors could absorb discontinuous linear functions of transmission errors caused by errors of alignment; this could afford a significant benefit, in that such errors are main sources of noise and vibration in gear drives. The main advantage of using tilted head cutters is that cutting speeds are independent of the shape-generation processes, making it possible to choose cutting speeds that are optimum with respect to requirements to minimize temperatures and deformations during fabrication and improve the quality of finished parts. The profile of the cutting or grinding surface and the machine-tool settings for the position and orientation of a head cutter would be derived from the theoretical shape generated by a hob. The derivation would be effected by use of an algorithm that takes account of the tilted-head-cutter geometry and enforces Cradle Worm


The present study was aimed at Standardization of the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana bertoni & itÂ's herbal formulation (Bio-sweet tablet). For standardization, physicochemical parametersweremeasured for the plant& formulation. The phytomarker-Stevioside have been isolated by developed isolationmethod fromthe leaves of Stevia rebaudiana & identified by spectral data. Also estimation of stevioside in plant & formulation was carried out using HPTLC.


by David J. Schmidt Catalytic oxidation is of practical importance in many chemical processes. Model single crystal surfaces are often used to study catalytic oxidations; however, even single crystal surfaces do not behave as quintessential homogeneous models. Instead single crystal surfaces exhibit heterogenous catalytic behavior. One example of heterogenous catalytic behavior on a single crystal surface is the oxidation of NO to NO2 on the Pt (111) surface. NO + 1 2 O2 Pt (111) −−−−−→ NO2 (1) Prior experiments and theory show that, at reaction conditions, the Pt (111) surface is covered in atomic oxygen, the coverage of atomic oxygen is set by the pressure ratio of NO to NO2, dissociative oxygen adsorption (O2+2∗ → 2O∗) is the rate determining step for NO oxidation, and atomic oxygen preferentially sits in fcc hollow sites at coverage up to half a monolayer. In this work we employ planewave, supercell DFT calculations, the cluster expansion model Hamiltonian, and Monte Carlo simulations, as well as micro-kinetic modeling to study dissociative oxygen adsorption and NO oxidation on transition metal (111) surfaces, including the Pt (111) surface. David J. Schmidt On the Pt (111) surface, we find that electronic effects create strong first nearest neighbor repulsions between atomic oxygen adsorbates and that adsorbate induced surface strain reduces these first nearest neighbor repulsions but increase long-ranged repulsions and many-bodied interactions. Our micro-kinetic analysis, in contrast to prior theoretical papers, predicts rate orders and apparent activation energies consistent with experiment. We apply our models to eight transition metal (111) surfaces, counting Pt (111), to gain a better understanding of catalytic phenomena. The effects of adsorbate induced surface strain are similar for all metals. Additionally, these metal (111) surfaces fall into two categories: catalytically active surfaces and catalytically inactive surfaces. The kinetic properties are insensitive to the choice of catalytically active transition metal. Oxygen on the catalytically active surfaces are disordered while oxygen on the catalytically inactive surfaces are ordered. This suggests that disrupting adsorbate ordering may activate catalysts at lower temperatures. This dissertation is dedicated to all my family, friends, teachers, and mentors who kindle my desire to create and provide the tools through which creation is possible. And my dog for keeping me sane and taking me on walks every day.


In this paper, we present a theoretical effort to connect the theory of program size to psychology by implementing a concrete language of thought with Turing-computable Kolmogorov complexity (LT^2C^2) satisfying the following requirements: 1) to be simple enough so that the complexity of any given finite binary sequence can be computed, 2) to be based on tangible operations of human reasoning (printing, repeating,...), 3) to be sufficiently powerful to generate all possible sequences but not too powerful as to identify regularities which would be invisible to humans. We first formalize LT^2C^2, giving its syntax and semantics and defining an adequate notion of program size. Our setting leads to a Kolmogorov complexity function relative to LT^2C^2 which is computable in polynomial time, and it also induces a prediction algorithm in the spirit of Solomonoff's inductive inference theory. We then prove the efficacy of this language by investigating regularities in strings produced by participants attempting to generate random strings. Participants had a profound understanding of randomness and hence avoided typical misconceptions such as exaggerating the number of alternations. We reasoned that remaining regularities would express the algorithmic nature of human thoughts, revealed in the form of specific patterns. Kolmogorov complexity relative to LT^2C^2 passed three expected tests examined here: 1) human sequences were less complex than control PRNG sequences, 2) human sequences were not stationary, showing decreasing values of complexity resulting from fatigue, 3) each individual showed traces of algorithmic stability since fitting of partial sequences was more effective to predict subsequent sequences than average fits. This work extends on previous efforts to combine notions of Kolmogorov complexity theory and algorithmic information theory to psychology, by explicitly ...


Since the global success of the Made in Italy brand in the 1980s, Japan has witnessed an Italian boom which has turned Italy in the last decade into the most loved foreign country in Japan, especially among women and youth. This popularity is unparalleled in intensity and duration, but had seen little academic investigation. This essay explores how the transnational space of Italianness takes form through cumulative encounters between emotional geographies of 'the West' articulated in Japan (Occidentalism), as well as of 'the East' in Italy (Orientalism). There is a focus on the fluid intersections with the lived experience and projections of both Japanese and Italians in contemporary Japan to issues of nation, race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality.