—In an effort to improve knowledge of Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) life history and behavior, we conducted a capture-mark-recapture study in Tuskegee National Forest, Alabama over four years to examine the influence of body size on survival, recapture probabilities, and behavior; as well as monitor change in the population's body-size distribution over time. Our estimate of annual Cottonmouth survival (0.79) is among the highest reported for all snakes. Although we did not detect an effect of body size on survival, the probability of recapturing individuals increased with body size up to a snout-vent-length of 82 cm, after which it remained approximately constant. Relative to large snakes, small snakes were more likely to be found in a resting coil and less likely to move away from researchers, suggesting that our lower probability of recapturing small snakes was not due to behavioral avoidance of researchers but perhaps dispersal patterns or microhabitat use. Furthermore, the observed frequency of snakes ≤ 30 cm in length increased each year, indicative of an increase in recruitment over time. Our findings provide new information about Cottonmouth life history, and we suggest future paths of research that could further enhance knowledge of Cottonmouth demography and population dynamics.


Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy was combined with multivariate data analysis to investigate the chemical changes in wood during particle- and medium density fibreboard (MDF) production of grand fir (Abies grandis [Douglas ex D. Don] Lindl.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). The mechanical and technological properties of the novel particle- and fibreboards from beech or grand fir wood were similar to those of conventional panels from pine and spruce. This indicates that these timbers can be used as resources for wood-based panel production. Principal component analysis of FTIR spectra differentiated wood, fibres, particles, MDF, and particleboards of both species in the whole production process. Modifications in the spectra of fibres and particles suggested that cellulose properties of wood were changed during mechanical pulping. Different binders and hydrophobic additives were clearly traceable and discernable in wood composites. Samples from the same production step were clustered together, indicating high homogeneity of the raw materials, and intermediate and final products, respectively. This suggests that FTIR spectroscopy in combination with cluster analysis is a useful tool to assess product quality and can be further developed to control and optimize production processes for innovative wood-based panels.


INTRODUCTION McMurtry et al. (2004) described a thin (c. 20–50 cm) bioclastic, carbonate gravel from the NW coast of Hawaii, on the flanks of the extinct Kohala volcano (Fig. 1). This unit is found between modern altitudes of c. 1.5–61 m above sea-level. The deposit is sandwiched between a fossil soil below and a modern soil above in Keawe'ula Bay (Fig. 2). Dating of coral fragments from within the deposit indicate an age of 110±10 ka (McMurtry et al., 2004). Given rates of subsidence on Hawaii, this would place the deposit at an original palaeo-altitude up to 491 m. The deposit contains a range of bioclasts including bivalves, gastropods, corals, bryozoans and foraminifera, largely representing assemblages from a reef flat. The geological setting of the unit, coupled with the evidence from the contained marine fossils, indicate a megatsunami genesis, probably linked to the collapse of the submarine Alika Slide at about 120 ka and with a run-up in excess of 400 m and at least 6 km inland (McMurtry et al., 2004). FOSSILS PRESERVED IN THE TSUNAMI DEPOSIT Fossils of the tsunami, and adjacent deposits, have been collected at 14 sites (material is deposited in the collections of the British Geological Survey, registered as MPA51883–51891, 51893–51897). Further information is available in BGS archives (see report IR/02/197R, available through the BGS library at: http://www.bgs.ac.uk and http://geolib.bgs.ac.uk). The tsunami deposit on the flank of Kohala volcano contains a range of macrofossil debris and prolific microfauna (Fig. 3). The …


Objective. Previously published literature assessing the reporting of outcome measures used in joint replacement randomized controlled trials (RCT) has revealed disappointing results. It remains unknown whether international initiatives have led to any improvement in the quality of reporting and/or a reduction in the heterogeneity of outcome measures used. Our objective was to systematically assess and compare primary outcome measures and the risk of bias in joint replacement RCT published in 2008 and 2013. Methods. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL for RCT investigating adult patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. Two authors independently identified eligible trials, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane tool. Results. Seventy RCT (30 in 2008, 40 in 2013) met the eligibility criteria. There was no significant difference in the number of trials judged to be at low overall risk of bias (n = 6, 20%) in 2008 compared with 2013 [6 (15%); chi-square = 0.302, p = 0.75]. Significantly more trials published in 2008 did not specify a primary outcome measure (n = 25, 83%) compared with 18 trials (45%) in 2013 (chi-square = 10.6316, p = 0.001). When specified, there was significant heterogeneity in the measures used to assess primary outcomes. Conclusion. While less than a quarter of trials published in both 2008 and 2013 were judged to be at low overall risk of bias, significantly more trials published in 2013 specified a primary outcome. Although this might represent a temporal trend toward improvement, the overall frequency of primary outcome reporting and the wide heterogeneity in primary outcomes reported remain suboptimal.


Differences in species' abilities to capture resources can drive competitive hierarchies, successional dynamics, community diversity, and invasions. To investigate mechanisms of resource competition within a nitrogen (N) limited California grassland community, we established a manipulative experiment using an R* framework. R* theory holds that better competitors within a N limited community should better depress available N in monoculture plots and obtain higher abundance in mixture plots. We asked whether (1) plant uptake or (2) plant species influences on microbial dynamics were the primary drivers of available soil N levels in this system where N structures plant communities. To disentangle the relative roles of plant uptake and microbially-mediated processes in resource competition, we quantified soil N dynamics as well as N pools in plant and microbial biomass in monoculture plots of 11 native or exotic annual grassland plants over one growing season. We found a negative correlation between plant N content and soil dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, our measure of R*), suggesting that plant uptake drives R*. In contrast, we found no relationship between microbial biomass N or potential net N mineralization and DIN. We conclude that while plant-microbial interactions may have altered the overall quantity of N that plants take up, the relationship between species' abundance and available N in monoculture was largely driven by plant N uptake in this first year of growth.


The effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for major depression was examined in 38 women, randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Specific treatment involved acupuncture treatments for symptoms of depression; nonspecific treatment involved acupuncture for symptoms that were not clearly part of depression; a wait-list condition involved waiting without treatment for 8 weeks. The nonspecific and wait-list conditions were followed by specific treatment. Five women terminated treatment prematurely, 4 prior to the completion of the first 8 weeks. Following treatments specifically designed to address depression, 64% of the women (n = 33) experienced full remission. A comparison of the acute effect of the three 8-week treatment conditions (n = 34) showed that patients receiving specific acupuncture treatments improved significantly more than those receiving the placebo-like nonspecific acupuncture treatments, and marginally more than those in the wait-list condition. Results from this small sample suggest that acupuncture can provide significant symptom relief in depression, at rates comparable to those of psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Acupuncture may hold sufficient promise to warrant a larger scale clinical trial.


For income distributions, city-size distributions and wordfrequencies we observe skewed or long-tailed distributions of the PARETO-ZIPF type. In general for properties of units belonging to the same astrophysical, biological, ecological, urban, social, political, economic or mechanical machinery system we observe similar regularities referred to as Pareto law, Zipfs law or rank-size law. We give a short historical overview over the discovery of these empirical regularities. Then we review a variety of theoretical tentatives, none of which can "explain" that similar regularities are observed in such an incredible wide range of scientific research areas. Finally, departingfrom a very specific model describing tribo-vibro-acoustic processes in machines we propose a generalized theoretical framework in terms of energy transformation with limited internal energy dissipation capacity, which is applicable to allfields. The proposed model "unifies" a large variety of concepts and applies a coherent terminology to fields, which have atfirst sight nothing in common. For the observed life symptoms, theoretical predictions can be compared with past and future empirical observations . What is most important is the model's inference power: from the observations of a set of units at a given moment of life-time (a snapshot of the system), one can predict the average behaviour of a single unit over its entire life-time . KeywordsSelf-organization, evolution, energy transformation, energy dissipation, internal structure, information, autocatalysis, Pareto-Zipf or rank-size distributions, machine vibration diagnostics, birth and death processes, symptom-life curve, residual life-time . Address *Bordalier Institute, 41270 Boursay, France; *Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland.


Upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), the Aura High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), and the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment‐Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE‐FTS) are used to present the first global climatological comparison of extratropical, nonpolar trace gas distributions in double‐tropopause (DT) and single‐tropopause (ST) regions. Stratospheric tracers, O3, HNO3, and HCl, have lower mixing ratios ∼2–8 km above the primary (lowermost) tropopause in DT than in ST regions in all seasons, with maximum Northern Hemisphere (NH) differences near 50% in winter and 30% in summer. Southern Hemisphere winter differences are somewhat smaller, but summer differences are similar in the two hemispheres. H2O in DT regions of both hemispheres shows strong negative anomalies in November through February and positive anomalies in July through October, reflecting the strong seasonal cycle in H2O near the tropical tropopause. CO and other tropospheric tracers examined have higher DT than ST values 2–7 km above the primary tropopause, with the largest differences in winter. Large DT‐ST differences extend to high NH latitudes in fall and winter, with longitudinal maxima in regions associated with enhanced wave activity and subtropical jet variations. Results for O3 and HNO3 agree closely between MLS and HIRDLS, and differences from ACE‐FTS are consistent with its sparse and irregular midlatitude sampling. Consistent signatures in climatological trace gas fields provide strong evidence that transport from the tropical upper troposphere into the layer between double tropopauses is an important pathway for stratosphere‐troposphere exchange.


: Shock response analysis of the soil–structure systems induced by near–fault pulses is investigated. Vibration transmissibility of the soil–structure systems is evaluated by Shock Response Spectra (SRS). Medium–to–high rise buildings with different aspect ratios located on different soil types as well as different foundations with respect to vertical load bearing safety factors are studied. Two types of mathematical near–fault pulses, i.e. forward directivity and fling step, with different pulse periods as well as pulse amplitudes are selected as incident ground shock. Linear versus nonlinear Soil–Structure Interaction (SSI) condition are considered alternatively and the corresponding results are compared. The results show that nonlinear SSI is likely to amplify the acceleration responses when subjected to long–period incident pulses with normalized period exceeding a threshold. It is also shown that this threshold correlates with soil type, so that increased shear–wave velocity of the underlying soil makes the threshold period decrease.


Data from the Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) were used to evaluate Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations with foci on the performance of three six-class bulk microphysical parameterizations (BMPs). Before the comparison with data from TWP-ICE, a suite of WRF simulations were carried out under an idealized condition, in which the other physical parameterizations were turned off. The idealized simulations were intended to examine the interaction of BMP at a cloud-resolving scale (250 m) with the nonhydrostatic dynamic core of the WRF model. The other suite of nested WRF simulations was targeted on the objective analysis of TWP-ICE at a cloud-permitting scale (quasi-convective resolving, 4 km). Wide ranges of discrepancies exist among the three BMPs when compared with ground-based and satellite remote sensing retrievals for TWP-ICE. Although many processes and associated parameters may influence clouds, it is strongly believed that atmospheric processes fundamentally govern the cloud feedbacks through the interactions between the atmospheric circulations, cloudiness, and the radiative and latent heating of the atmosphere. Based on the idealized experiments, we suggest that the discrepancy is a result of the different treatment of ice-phase microphysical processes (e.g., cloud ice, snow, and graupel). Because of the turn-off of the radiation and other physical parameterizations, the cloud radiation feedback is not studied in idealized experiments. On the other hand, the cloud-permitting experiments engage all physical parameterizations in the WRF model so that the radiative heating processes are considered together with other physical processes. Common features between these two experiment suites indicate that the major discrepancies among the three BMPs are similar. This strongly suggests the importance of ice-phase microphysics. To isolate the influence of cloud radiation feedback, we further carried out an additional suite of simulations, which turns off the interactions between cloud and radiation schemes. It is found that the cloud radiation feedback plays a secondary, but nonnegligible role in contributing to the wide range of discrepancies among the three BMPs.


An application of silicon micromachining to the analysis of blood cell rheology is described. The system, based upon a micromachined flow cell, provides a specific measurement of each cell in a statistically significant population in terms of both flow velocity profile and an index of cell volume while the cells flow through an array of microchannels. The rationale, design, and fabrication of the silicon micromachined flow cell is discussed. Interrelated considerations determining the design of the associated fluidic, mechanical, imaging, and real-time image analysis subsystems are examined. Sample data comparing normal and iron deficiency anaemic blood are presented to illustrate the potential of this technique.<<ETX>>


This paper explores the motivations and enterprise-wide implications of the rapid emergence of CRM point solutions rather than enterprise-wide CRM solutions as the CRM implementation strategy of choice for many organisations. This paper identified four key motivations for CRM point solutions: 1, reduced business risk; 2, less costly in time and money; 3, benefits realized more quickly; and reduced technical risk. Based on five case studies of large organisations that have implemented CRM point solutions, we identified four types of enterprise-wide implications that may inhibit CRM point solutions: customer strategy, technology infrastructure and architecture, data infrastructure and architecture, and organisational change. Any one or combination of these implications were shown to inhibit extending a CRM point solution to other parts of the enterprise.


With the rising number of cores on a single chip the question on how to organize the communication among those cores becomes more and more relevant. A common solution is to use a network-on-chip (NoC) that provides communication bandwidth, routing, and arbitration among the cores. The use of NoCs in real-time systems is problematic, since the shared network and all cores connected to it have to be analyzed to derive time bounds of real-time tasks.
 We propose to use a statically scheduled, time-division-multiplexed NoC design that allows a decoupled analysis of individual real-time tasks. Our network provides virtual circuits between all cores. These virtual circuits are implemented by delivering messages periodically on a static, fixed routing schedule. Since the routing does not change, it can be pre-computed offline.
 This work focuses on the computation of routing schedules for symmetric NoC topologies, e.g., torus and hyper-cube. Due to the symmetry, the all-to-all communication can be modeled via simplified communication patterns that are concurrently processed by all routers. The scheduling problem is solved by a heuristic that tries to maximize the overlap of active patterns. Our experiments show that, for larger networks, our heuristic yields schedule lengths that are only 15% to 20% longer than theoretical lower bounds.


Anthracnose or Gloeosporium fruit rot is one of the most severe
diseases in the fruit production. The causal fungus,
Colletotricum species attacks fruits, flowers, stems and leaves
of crops such as Avocado, Mango, beans, banana, papaya and Guava.
In the pursuit of extending the shelf life of Malaysian fruits
for export purposes, biological control was tried using three
species of Trichoderma. In vitro studies in the laboratory show
that the antagonistic species has potential as biocontrol agents
as they reduce radial growth of cultures, spore germination of 6
species of Colletotricum. These fungi alfo reduced disease
symptoms of anthracnose in infected banana fruits. Antagonistic
action between the fungal hyphae are also observed by the use of
light microscopy.


It's time for a new kind of economy
We're overusing the earth's finite resources, and yet excessive consumption is failing to improve our lives. In Enough Is Enough, Rob Dietz and Dan O'Neill lay out a visionary but realistic alternative to the perpetual pursuit of economic growth—an economy where the goal is not more but enough.
They explore specific strategies to conserve natural resources, stabilize population, reduce inequality, fix the financial system, create jobs, and more—all with the aim of maximizing long-term well-being instead of short-term profits. Filled with fresh ideas and surprising optimism, Enough Is Enough is the primer for achieving genuine prosperity and a hopeful future for all.
"Humans seem to be intent on confirming the argument of biologist Ernst Mayr that higher intelligence may be a lethal mutation. But the grim prognosis is not inevitable. This lucid, informed, and highly constructive book shows that with the will to act, solutions can be found to build a steady-state economy geared to meeting human needs." —Noam Chomsky
"Rob Dietz and Dan O'Neill bring clarity and style to their impassioned and meticulous analysis, offering the way to a better quality of life and a sustainable future for all." —Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology, University of York; cofounder, The Equality Trust; and coauthor of The Spirit Level
"Dietz and O'Neill create a remarkable vision—a world with enough prosperity and happiness for everyone, not just for a few. This book will restore your hope in the future and give you specific things you can do to help!" —Thom Hartmann, internationally syndicated talk show host and author of twenty-four books


Powerful ideas that shape the world become taken-for-granted verities, in two senses of the term: as the only world that is known; and as the only world that can be imagined. When hegemony controls the imagination, fundamental criticism becomes difficult, and perhaps, impossible. Yet what if there were flaws in the original idea, from which new worlds were constructed, that have materialized in a political-economic geography beset with seemingly unsolvable problems? For example, what if there have always been fundamental flaws in the free trade, open market, competitive, global system that dominates both the world as we know it and the conventional political-economic-geographical thought we know it through? This article speculates that a psycho-discursive act of deconstruction might unravel the entire, subsequent discourse. It aims deconstruction at a founding statement in the free trade, global ideal, by looking critically at David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage. Ricardo's argument that specialization and free trade are universally beneficial, became a founding premise of conventional economic theory and a basic prescription of liberal and neoliberal development policy. The article looks critically: at the logical consistency and representational accuracy of Ricardo's theory, especially the claim that all participants benefit from participation in a free trading scheme, so that trade brings about a far better world. The article reaches two main, critical conclusions: free trade theory based in comparative advantage has, from the beginning, been an ideology for creating economic spaces open to domination by powerful, leading countries; economics and economic geography have, since their classical beginnings, been biased in that their founding statements reverse the reality they pretend accurately to represent.


Mastic, one of the best natural varnishes, is frequently used as protective and finishing layer or as component of oleo-resinous media in paintings, both in the past and currently. However, this resin is affected by complex deterioration processes which can change its characteristics and thus the visual aspect of works of art. The alteration processes caused by radiation have been widely studied, but there is a lack of information on the biodeterioration of this natural product. In this paper, fungi from collections as well as from oil paintings of the Fine Arts Museum of Granada (Spain) were inoculated onto slides covered with mastic. The samples, after an incubation period of 15 days, were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify the chemical changes undergone, and a visual monitoring of the samples was performed to determine the formation of mycelia onto solidified resins. Major changes were detected in Chrysonilia sitophila, Phoma herbarum, and P. chrysogenum, showing evidence of alteration processes caused or favoured by these microorgamisms.


George Walker Viola Sonata (1989): A History, Analysis and Practical Performance Guide of a Great American Work Amber Cristina Archibald Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Melia Watras, Professor of Viola School of Music George Walker is an important figure in American composition. Recently, I had the esteemed privilege of interviewing Dr. Walker as the capstone for the thesis. This dissertation is a background, analysis and performance guide on his 1989 Viola Sonata. This piece is his only contribution to the viola repertoire. Walker, an African American, has written over 90 works, and continues to write and perform around the United States. His Viola Sonata is still relatively unknown in the viola catalogue. The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate how his heritage, musical pedigree and taste for progressive 20th century compositional techniques create a unique style that is demonstrated in two short art songs and, finally, in the Viola Sonata. The Viola Sonata clearly shows a depth of understanding in writing in for the instrument. The analysis is presented in a way such that the performers can have a better of understanding of the material within the work, and as a result, be able to offer a performance that will highlight the appropriate characteristics. The dissertation is divided into three main sections. The first section gives a brief biographical sketch of Walker and what he amassed from each of his primary composition instructors. The second section provides a guide of Walker's composition style. The two shorter art songs Lament and A Red, Red Rose have similar compositional elements to the Viola Sonata. Because they compositely have similar constructs, the songs will help to clarify the analysis of the sonata. The final section is the analysis of the sonata in detail. The analysis will cover the melodic content, rhythms, counterpoint and form. After the analysis, a performance guide gives a firsthand account of Walker's desires for the performance of this wonderful work. The guide also includes details for the violist to consider, including fingerings, harmonics, articulations, bow strokes, and timbres.


Background Donor‐specific antibodies create an immunologic barrier to transplantation. Current therapies to modify donor‐specific antibodies are limited and ineffective in the most highly HLA‐sensitized patients. The IgG‐degrading enzyme derived from Streptococcus pyogenes (IdeS), an endopeptidase, cleaves human IgG into F(ab′)2 and Fc fragments inhibiting complement‐dependent cytotoxicity and antibody‐dependent cellular cytotoxicity, which suggests that IdeS might be useful for desensitization. We report on the combined experience of two independently performed open‐label, phase 1–2 trials (conducted in Sweden and the United States) that assessed the efficacy of IdeS with regard to desensitization and transplantation of a kidney from an HLA‐incompatible donor. Methods We administered IdeS to 25 highly HLA‐sensitized patients (11 patients in Uppsala or Stockholm, Sweden, and 14 in Los Angeles) before the transplantation of a kidney from an HLA‐incompatible donor. Frequent monitoring for adverse events, outcomes, donor‐specific antibodies, and renal function was performed, as were renal biopsies. Immunosuppression after transplantation consisted of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and glucocorticoids. Patients in the U.S. study also received intravenous immune globulin and rituximab after transplantation to prevent antibody rebound. Results Recipients in the U.S. study had a significantly longer cold ischemia time (the time elapsed between procurement of the organ and transplantation), a significantly higher rate of delayed graft function, and significantly higher levels of class I donor‐specific antibodies than those in the Swedish study. A total of 38 serious adverse events occurred in 15 patients (5 events were adjudicated as being possibly related to IdeS). At transplantation, total IgG and HLA antibodies were eliminated. A total of 24 of 25 patients had perfusion of allografts after transplantation. Antibody‐mediated rejection occurred in 10 patients (7 patients in the U.S. study and 3 in the Swedish study) at 2 weeks to 5 months after transplantation; all these patients had a response to treatment. One graft loss, mediated by non‐HLA IgM and IgA antibodies, occurred. Conclusions IdeS reduced or eliminated donor‐specific antibodies and permitted HLA‐ incompatible transplantation in 24 of 25 patients. (Funded by Hansa Medical; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT02224820, NCT02426684, and NCT02475551.)


The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is a descending pattern of winds in the stratosphere that vanishes near the top of the tropical tropopause layer, even though the vertically propagating waves that drive the QBO are thought to originate in the troposphere several kilometers below. The region where there is low QBO power despite sufficient vertically propagating wave activity to drive a QBO is known as the buffer zone. Classical one-dimensional models of the QBO are ill suited to represent buffer zone dynamics because they enforce the attenuation of the QBO via a zero-wind lower boundary condition. The formation of the buffer zone is investigated by analyzing momentum budgets in the reanalyses MERRA-2 and ERA-Interim. The buffer zone must be formed by weak wave-driven acceleration and/or cancellation of the wave-driven acceleration. This paper shows that in MERRA-2 weak wave-driven acceleration is insufficient to form the buffer zone, so cancellation of the wave-driven acceleration must play a role. The cancellation results from damping of angular momentum anomalies, primarily due to horizontal mean and horizontal eddy momentum flux divergence, with secondary contributions from the Coriolis torque and vertical mean momentum flux divergence. The importance of the damping terms highlights the role of the buffer zone as the mediator of angular momentum exchange between the QBO domain and the far field. Some far-field angular momentum anomalies reach the solid Earth, leading to the well-documented lagged correlation between the QBO and the length of day.


Recent developments in the solution of models of rough contact have demonstrated the advantages of fast matrix multiplication methods in increasing the size of problem that can usefully be solved. However, to date, no attempt has been made to compare these methods with existing approaches. In this paper a survey of solution methods reveals that three main classes of solution method have been developed: active set methods with direct matrix solution; active set methods with iterative matrix solvers; iterative methods based on fast matrix multiplications. The best features of each class are assembled from the literature and combined to formulate a best-possible algorithm in each class. These algorithms are implemented and compared, with emphasis on their solution speed, accuracy and memory requirements. For smaller problems with fewer than 2000 grid points in contact, the direct matrix solution method proves to be most efficient, and is always the most accurate. However, the method is limited by memory requirements as the contact region increases. For large problems with more than 2000 grid points in contact, the multilevel multisummation approach requires less memory, and performs faster, but gives errors in predicted pressure and contact region of approximately 0.5%. The active set method with iterative matrix solver requires less memory than direct matrix solution, is more accurate than the multilevel multisummation approach, but is always slower than one of the other methods.


Biohydrogen production technology is an emerging field for the advanced wastewa - ter treatment with cogeneration of energy. Besides, hydrogen is an excellent candidate with high energy value (122 kJ/g) than other known carbon‐based fuels with no adverse effects to the environment as it releases only water vapor as the by‐products during the combustion. Biohydrogen production technology can be assisted through two major pathways: (a) light‐dependent reaction (biophotolysis and photofermentation) and (b) light‐independent reaction (dark fermentation and microbial electrohydrogenesis cells). The light‐dependent reaction can be catalyzed by photosynthetic bacteria, whereas the dark fermentation catalyzed by the heterotrophic bacterial group of facultative and obli - gate anaerobes. The wastewaters are a rich source of organic nutrients which supports the growth of hydrogen producers along with the disposal of waste and energy recovery. In the present chapter, the recent advancements on biohydrogen production technology from wastewaters with respect to the (a) inoculum development, (b) process optimiza - tion, (c) scale‐up and (d) the challenges and perspectives toward the improvement of this emerging technology for the wastewater treatment.


Hyperglycemia rapidly induces an increase in intracellular advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in bovine endothelial cells, causing an alteration in bFGF activity (Giardino, I., D. Edelstein, and M. Brownlee. 1994. J. Clin. Invest. 94:110-117). Because sugar or sugar-adduct autoxidation is critical for AGE formation in vitro, we evaluated the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in intracellular AGE formation, using bovine aortic endothelial cells. 30 mM glucose increased intracellular ROS formation by 250% and lipid peroxidation by 330%, while not affecting ROS in the media. In cells depleted of glutathione, intracellular AGE accumulation increased linearly with ROS generation as measured by immunoblotting and the fluorescent probe DCFH (AGE 0.258-3.531 AU* mm/5x10(4) cells, DCF 57-149 mean AU, r = .998, P < .002). Deferoxamine, alpha-tocopherol, and dimethylsulfoxide each inhibited hyperglycemia-induced formation of both ROS and AGE. To differentiate an effect of ROS generation on AGE formation from an effect of more distal oxidative processes, GM7373 endothelial cell lines were generated that stably expressed the peroxidation-suppressing proto-oncogene bcl-2. bcl-2 had no effect on hyperglycemia-induced intracellular ROS formation. In contrast, bcl-2 expression decreased both lipid peroxidation (100% at 3 h and 29% at 168 h) and AGE formation (55% at 168 h). These data show that a ROS-dependent process plays a central role in the generation of intracellular AGEs, and that inhibition of oxidant pathways prevents intracellular AGE formation.


The carrot fly (Psila rosae F.) is an important pest of the cultivated carrot (Daucus carota) and other crop species in the family Apiaceae, since the larvae burrow into and feed on the developing roots. Current P. rosae control relies heavily upon the use of chemical insecticides, but these are inadequate. The aims of this study were to investigate the chemical ecology of P. rosae, particularly with regard to long range attractant and repellent semiochemicals suitable for incorporation into integrated pest management strategies; the incorporation of attractant host plant extracts, or semiochemical attractants, into the monitoring programme; and the development of an autodissemination trap for release of the pathogenic fungus Entomophthora schizophorae in the field for biological control. A number of techniques for the extraction of volatile semiochemicals from a wide range of host and non-host plant species, and P. rosae adults themselves, were employed and compared. Samples were analysed by gas chromatography (GC), and the biologically active components in these complex natural product extracts were located by coupled GC-electrophysiological techniques and identified by coupled GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Responses to the electrophysiologically active compounds were compared using electroantennographic (EAG) analysis: one unusually high EAG response was observed to a toxic component in hemlock (Conium maculatum) leaf extract (y-coniceine). Of the forty-two EAG active components identified from common crop species and C. maculatum, eight had not previously been reported. A range of bioassay techniques (including four-arm star olfactometers, V-tube olfactometers, and oviposition bioassays) were employed to determine behavioural activity of the samples and identified compounds, but only the oviposition bioassay showed significant behavioural discrimination to y-coniceine. Further studies of longer range behavioural responses to volatile semiochemicals were performed in the field. Significant responses were seen to a known field attractant (combined trans-asarone and hexanal) and, for the first time, to a microwave assisted solvent extract of celery (Apium graveolens) leaf. A prototype autodissemination trap for E. schizophorae was produced and evaluated.


The present study included the collection of 121 samples from MSU for investigating the presence of K.pneumoniae in UTIs, the samples have been collected from Al-Shaheed Mohammed Baqir AL-Hakeem hospital and private laboratories in Baghdad province. The study was carried out through March 2019 to the beginning of June 2019. The samples were identified based on the morphological and microscopically characteristics of the colonies when they were culturing on number of culture media as well as biochemical tests, molecular identification were also used as a final diagnostic test for isolates that were positive as they belong to K.pneumoniae bacteria during previous tests based on the blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M genes which has specific sequences for K.pneumoniae bacteria as a detection gene and also consider as virulence factor so it have a synonyms mechanism to antibiotic resistance. The results of the final diagnosis showed that 38 isolates belong to target bacteria, The examination of the sensitivity of all bacterial isolates was done for selected 38 isolation towards the 16 antibiotics by a Vitek2 compact ASTN system and the isolates were resistant for a number of antibiotics used such as; Amikacin (5.26%), Imepenem (5.26%), Ertapenem (7.89%), Meropenem (10.52%), Gentamicin (21.05%), Ciprofloxacin (26.32%), Cefoxitin (39.47%), Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (50%), Ceftriaxone (52.63%), Fosfomycin (55.26%), Piperacillin/Tazobactam (57.89%), Nitrofurantoin (57.89%), Ceftazidime (65.79%), Cefuroxime (71.05%), Cefixime (73.68%) and Ampicillin (100%). The presence of Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase genes in 38 K.pneumoniae isolates were 65.8 % of the ESBL genotypes expressed blaSHV genes followed by 52.6 % blaTEM and 42.1 % for blaCTX-M.


You can drink it, and you can cook with it. You can even make buildings, dresses and hats out of it. You can give it to somebody as a present, or you can buy it for yourself. And of course you can eat it. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolates with gold on the outside - everybody loves chocolate. Follow its story, from the forests of Central America hundreds of years ago, through Africa, Europe, and the United States, to the growing markets of India and China. Perhaps you need a little something to eat while you read . . . (Word count 6,591)


The rising cost of energy, particularly in the form of electrical power is a concern for business and households predominately in rural regions of Western Australia. The higher ongoing costs due to aging assets and infrastructure make it a genuine expense that almost always has the customer looking for cheaper options. Two particular businesses commissioned a project for developing a renewable approach to help satisfy their demands which due to the size and nature of the operation required a medium scale system that was both economical and environmentally sustainable.

The project purpose was to research and build the first stage or the "source" of a small prototype to address these concerns in the form of a Fully Sustainable Energy Module (FSEM). The objective is to compete or better the average cost per kilowatt hour of the Western Australian electricity suppliers, Horizon Power (HP) and those making up the South West Interconnected System (SWIS). While assessing the design options of the FSEM, various types of software were used extensively to assist in clarifying the optimum designs throughout the project for an initial theoretical approach. Designs such as a custom Parabolic/hyperbolic reflector and Fresnel lens directed to a Concentrator Solar Cell Receiver Assembly (CSCRA), coolant pumping for junction temperature control and simulation of multiple system configurations for electrical power requirements were assessed to maximise energy output per square metre of solar output.

Building a prototype requires a sound knowledge base to ensure that it gives the output expected. Data that can assist inform decisions made to further enhance its operation giving the best possible design for final production. Developing an understanding of a feasibility study on the proof of concept for prototype building is further enhanced by researching the importance and structure of project plans and business expectations. It highlights that the strengths and weakness that need considering and help to show a route to a successful finished product.

Prevalent was the design issue for the parabolic/hyperbolic reflector and the intricacies that exposed the difficulty in getting the system to work efficiently due to very small tolerances in construction. When finally settling with a Fresnel lens type the "source" of the FSEM prototype at the time of publication showed practical results of DC output of cell capacity and consistent hot water set at various temperatures showing solar energy transferred.


Empirical studies have rarely investigated the association between improvements on dynamic risk and protective factors for violence during forensic psychiatric treatment and reduced recidivism after discharge. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of treatment progress in risk and protective factors on violent recidivism. For a sample of 108 discharged forensic psychiatric patients pre- and posttreatment assessments of risk (HCR-20) and protective factors (SAPROF) were compared. Changes were related to violent recidivism at different follow-up times after discharge. Improvements on risk and protective factors during treatment showed good predictive validity for abstention from violence for short- (1 year) as well as long-term (11 years) follow-up. This study demonstrates the sensitivity of the HCR-20 and the SAPROF to change and shows improvements on dynamic risk and protective factors are associated with lower violent recidivism long after treatment.


Background: The aesthetic and natural appearance of the transposed umbilicus after abdominoplasty is a key factor to the overall result and satisfaction of patient and surgeon alike. In this article, the authors present a technique in umbilical transposition that creates a natural-appearing umbilicus. Methods: The skin in the neoumbilical position is deepithelialized and incised in the midline, thus creating two dermal flaps that are sutured down to the abdominal fascia, thereby creating a natural periumbilical concavity, inconspicuous scars, and a tension-free closure, resulting in a decreased chance for cicatricial umbilical scarring. Twenty patients underwent umbilical transposition during abdominoplasty with this technique between 2003 and 2005. Results: Both patient and surgeon satisfaction were very high, with three senior surgeons changing their surgical technique after being introduced to that described in this article. One complication culminated in partial skin dehiscence early in our experience when deep dermal sutures were not used for skin closure. Conclusion: The technique described is simple, safe, and easily learned, and results in a very satisfying aesthetic and natural-appearing umbilicus in patients after abdominoplasty.


Several options for solar grade silicon feedstock have been investigated over the years to bring down the costs of silicon wafers. Generally the resulting silicon contains higher levels of impurities, the level depending on the refining processes. In this work wafers from a p-type mc-Si ingot made with feedstock contaminated with 120 ppma of carbon have been processed firstly into solar cells and secondly into 60-cell solar modules. The focus here is to study the module reliability. It was demonstrated that a hot spot endurance test could be passed without any problems.


This paper focuses on marker based watershed segmentation algorithms. As marker based watershed segmentation algorithm causes over segmentation and cause noise in the image produced. So to reduce these problem different researchers has proposed different solutions, but the best solution is to use bilateral filter. The main objective of this paper is to find the gaps in existing literature. The different segmentation techniques are reviewed and found that marker based is best in most of cases because it marks the regions then segment them. But optimizing the marking regions is still an area of research.


BACKGROUND
The high prevalence and incidence of obesity and eating disorders in US adolescent girls are serious health problems. Because of the shared risk factors for obesity and eating disorders, a targeted prevention of both conditions is a priority.

OBJECTIVE
We determined whether an adapted interpersonal psychotherapy prevention program is more efficacious for reducing excess weight gain and worsening disordered eating than health education in adolescent girls at high risk of obesity and eating disorders.

DESIGN
A parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted between September 2008 and January 2013 in a university-based laboratory and a federal research hospital. The study included 113 adolescent (12-17-y-old) girls deemed at high risk of adult obesity and eating disorders because of a body mass index (BMI) between the 75th and 97th percentiles and reports of episodes of a loss of control over their eating. Girls were randomly assigned to participate in an adapted interpersonal psychotherapy or a health-education group program for 12 weekly 90-min group sessions. Follow-up assessments occurred immediately after group programs and at 6 and 12 mo.

RESULTS
Participation in both conditions was associated with decreases in expected BMI gain, age-adjusted BMI metrics, the percentage of fat by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and the frequency of loss-of-control eating over 12 mo of follow-up (Ps < 0.001) with no group difference. In follow-up analyses, interpersonal psychotherapy was more efficacious than health education at reducing objective binge eating at the 12-mo follow-up (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The intervention with adolescent girls with loss-of-control eating is associated with lower age-adjusted BMI and percentage of adiposity as well as improved mood symptoms over 1 y. Interpersonal psychotherapy further reduced objective binge eating. Additional research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which physical and psychological improvements were observed. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00680979.


Phenotypic patterns of twenty-five isolates of P. multocida strains isolated from northern provinces of Iran were determined by using different carbohydrates from hexoses, pentoses, disaccharides and polyhydric alcohols. The strains showed a high homogeneity. All strains were able to ferment sorbitol, mannitol, galactose, dextrose, fructose, glucose, mannose and sucrose. However none of them could produce acid from dulcitol, inositol, arabinose, salicine, raffinose and inoline. According to this pattern all of isolates belonged to subspecies multocida. The in-vitro sensitivity of isolates against 13 chemotherapeutic agents was determined by the paper disc method. Among the antibiotics tested, chloramphenicol, combination of sulfamethoxazine and trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin were found to be the most effective (100%) followed by tetracycline (96%), penicillin (88%), and gentamicin (76%). Strains showed 100% resistance to lincomycin and bacitracin followed by 84% and 68% resistance to furazolidone and colistin respectively. All P. multocida isolates identified as to capsular type A.


Two methods are commonly used to estimate the critical shear stress of individual fractions in mixed-size sediment, one using the largest grain displaced, the other using the shear stress that produces a small value of transport rate for each fraction. The initial-motion results produced by the two methods are typically different: largest-grain critical shear stresses vary with roughly the square root of grain size, and reference transport critical shear stresses show little variation with grain size. Comparison of the two methods is seldom possible because both methods can rarely be applied to the same data. The one case known for which both methods can be used suggests that the typical differences in initial-motion results reflect more methodological influence than real differences in the initial motion of different sediments. Although the two classes of methods may not be directly compared, a general definition of initial-motion in mixed-size sediment is presented that allows the characteristic differences between the results to be explained in terms of sampling and scaling considerations inherent in the mixed-size initial-motion problem. The initial-motion criterion defined also provides a rational basis for collecting comparable and reproducible data using the two classes of method.


Abstract Objectives Previous reports, involving hypercholesterolaemic hypertensive subjects, that statins reduce muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) did not investigate potential neural sites of such sympathoinhibition or determine its consequences for endothelial function or insulin resistance. This study of hypertensive subjects with lower plasma cholesterol tested the hypotheses that lipophilic simvastatin would attenuate resting sympathoexcitation and augment baroreflex modulation of MSNA and heart rate (HR), flow-mediated vasodilation and insulin sensitivity. Design Prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Setting Academic hospital-based study. Patients Fourteen non-hyperlipidaemic primary hypertensive subjects (10 men; overall mean±SD age 58±12 years). Interventions Four weeks of simvastatin (80 mg/day) or placebo. Main outcome measures Resting blood pressure (BP), HR, MSNA, spontaneous arterial baroreflex MSNA and HR modulation, endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilation, and the homoeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Results Simvastatin lowered MSNA burst frequency (from 32±12 to 25±9 bursts/min) and MSNA burst incidence (from 55±23% to 43±17%; all p<0.01) without affecting BP, HR, baroreflex modulation of either MSNA or HR, or HR variability (all p>0.05). Plasma glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR and endothelium-dependent vasodilation (all p>0.05) were unchanged, whereas endothelium-independent vasodilation increased (7.1±3.8% to 9.7±3.9%, n=13; p<0.01). The fall in MSNA was unrelated to the decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=0.41, p=0.14). Conclusions These findings are consistent with the concept that, in non-hyperlipidaemic subjects with primary hypertension, simvastatin causes a cholesterol-independent reduction in an elevated central set-point for MSNA, without affecting arterial baroreflex modulation of either MSNA or HR. There may be less neurogenic constraint on endothelium-independent vasodilation as a consequence.


In this study, the authors focus on utilising receiver-based MAC protocol (RB-MAC) and adaptive RB-MAC in routing protocol for low power and lossy wireless sensor networks routing protocol in low-power and lossy wireless channel. This results in a cross-layer approach in which routing decisions can be made based on MAC-layer functionalities. The authors study the effects of multiple receiver nodes, size of preamble and variable duty-cycle in number of retransmissions. Retransmissions increase energy consumptions and delay. Analytical and numerical results confirm that the RB-MAC and adaptive RB-MAC outperform the existing state-of-the art sender-based MAC protocols in terms of end-to-end energy-efficiency, reliability and delay. Simulation result demonstrates that using receiver-based MAC protocols in RPL-based lossy channel imply less retransmissions than sender-based MAC.


The M&A world has learned the importance of conducting in-depth legal and financial due diligence, yet many acquisitions still fail to live up to expectations. The most common reasons actually relate to flaws in the business strategy of the acquired company rather than tangible shortcomings that the accountants and lawyers can identify. Broadening the scope of due diligence has turned out to be the answer for many private equity investors. A structured process of evaluating the business strategy of the target company improves the chances of any acquisition's success. Outsourcing is often required to diligently analyze the positioning of the target company relative to market dynamics, competitors' strategies, management capabilities, customer needs, and brand perceptions.


The availability of increased resolution, dispersion, and luminosity from plane gratings at high angles of incidence and diffraction is discussed from the standpoints of theory and practice. Reduction in the resolution given by actual gratings at angles above a certain maximum for a given wavelength usually arises from close-lying line-satellites originating from ruling defects. Variation of satellite displacements and intensities with wavelength gives rise to such undesirable effects as error of coincidence. The bright 10-in. gratings now produced by the M.I.T. interferometrically controlled engine can be used effectively at very high angles (12th-order green from 7500 grooves per inch), but as in all gratings the angle above which resolution fails to increase further diminishes with decreasing wavelength. The pattern dimensions and intensities of satellites are here discussed qualitatively as they affect resolution in various spectral regions, and are quantitatively discussed by one of us elsewhere.The use of gratings and echelles in series for increasing spectroscopic efficiency is discussed, and spectrograms made with two echelles thus used are shown. Two gratings used in series transmit only a narrow wavelength range at one setting because of the wide angular spread of the beam from the first disperser. An echelle beam, on the other hand, spreads but little, and can be caught on a second echelle to give broad spectral coverage. Two echelles used in series give high speed and resolution without the careful relative adjustment required to produce a satisfactory grating mosaic.


Introduction Targets for stroke thrombolysis coupled with the EWTD impose challenges in maintaining an on call rota, with some trainees moving to a full shift system. Knowledge of acute stroke is recognised in the 2010 neurology curriculum but no specific guidance on total time given to acute stroke training has been made. We sought to identify the current involvement in thrombolysis among UK neurology trainees and its perceived impact on training. Methods A survey of 10 questions was emailed to all trainee members of the ABN. Results 30 trainees responded representing 16 regions in the UK. Total time training varied from 4 months on a stroke unit to 5 years on a thrombolysis on call rota. In one region trainees had no exposure to thrombolysis. 56% of regions participated in a non resident on call. 86% of respondents felt thrombolysis was an important part of general neurology training, commenting that time spent on a rota should be limited so general neurology training is not effected. The intensity of antisocial hours strongly correlated with perception of the effect of thrombolysis on training and of stroke as a specialty. Discussion Involvement in acute stroke care by neurology trainees shows marked variability. We feel thrombolysis is an important part of neurology training; a minimum time for acute stroke care should be stipulated. However rotas must be carefully designed in collaboration with trainees to minimise the impact on general neurology training.


OBJECTIVE To assess parent anxiety in response to genetic and islet autoantibody (IA) testing in children at increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes followed from birth in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Parent anxiety about TEDDY children's risk was assessed with the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). Parents completed the SAI when the child was 3, 6, and 15 months old and annually thereafter. Children were tested for IA every 3 months for 4 years and every 6 months thereafter. Parent SAI scores of 6,799 children followed with IA testing for at least 1 and up to 6 years were examined. RESULTS At study inception, parents showed high levels of anxiety in response to their child's increased genetic type 1 diabetes risk; mothers were more anxious than fathers, and parents with diabetes in the family were more anxious than parents with no family history. In response to repeated IA-negative (IA−) test results, parent anxiety declined to normal levels. Anxiety increased in parents faced with an IA-positive (IA+) test result. Parents faced with two or more types of IA+ test results showed particularly high levels of anxiety (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Infant genetic screening for type 1 diabetes raises parent anxiety when the child is at increased risk, but anxiety dissipates over time in cases of repeated IA− results. IA+ results heighten parent anxiety, and parents faced with two or more types of IA+ results may experience considerable anxiety for longer periods.


Abstract. The treatment of input data uncertainty in hydrologic models is of crucial importance in the analysis, diagnosis and detection of model structural errors. Data reduction techniques decrease the dimensionality of input data, thus allowing modern parameter estimation algorithms to more efficiently estimate errors associated with input uncertainty and model structure. The discrete cosine transform (DCT) and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) are used to reduce the dimensionality of observed rainfall time series for the 438 catchments in the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) data set. The rainfall time signals are then reconstructed and compared to the observed hyetographs using standard simulation performance summary metrics and descriptive statistics. The results convincingly demonstrate that the DWT is superior to the DCT in preserving and characterizing the observed rainfall data records. It is recommended that the DWT be used for model input data reduction in hydrology in preference over the DCT.


During the period 1920-1930, British Protestant missionaries engaged in many cultural activities in China. This study is designed to analyze their special role in China's national development and modernization. The opening chapter mainly introduces the significance of the missionary social gospel and describes its theological tenets. It also examines the origins of the movement for cooperation among the Protestant missions and the features of the main British missions. The thesis then turns to the areas in which the missions displayed their leading social concerns, deriving from their policies. Chapters 2 & 3 describe the major contributions of the missionary medical services, analysing both primary medical work (direct medical care) and secondary medical work (education, research, translations and publications, public health). During the 1920s the Protestant missions were the most important force in medicine in China. Chapter 4 assesses the educational activities of British missionaries and their importance in the circumstances of China in the 1920s in triggering and moulding social change. Above all, the missionaries helped China to perfect her modem educational system and to understand Western learning and culture to much higher standards than previously. The following two chapters analyse the missionaries' role as social welfare workers and social reformers. Their work in this field included popular education, moral welfare, industrial welfare, famine relief, and rural reform, and constituted one of the most outstanding episodes in mission cultural activities. Chapter 7 discusses the British missionaries' influence in the movement of Chinese women's emancipation. In the 1920s many ordinary Chinese women, who had been untouched by the Revolution of 1911, were mobilized by missionary women's work. In contradiction to many traditional accounts, especially those of Chinese scholars, the final chapter assesses the positive cultural achievements of the Protestant missionaries and their unique role in promoting China's progress and modernization.


Continuous cultures of T cells reactive to the hapten 4-ethoxymethylene- 2-phenyloxazolone were tested for interferon production after antigenic stimulation in vitro. Induction of interferon was antigen-specific and also restricted by the I region of the major histocompatibility complex. Kinetics of antigen induced interferon production were different from those reported for mitogen induced synthesis.


The Dalradian block, a part of the Precambrian metamorphic basement of Scotland, is thought to be exotic to Laurentia, having a provenance in Gondwana. In contrast to the rest of the Laurentian margin, which from ca. 700 to 530 Ma was undergoing extension, the Dalradian block was undergoing severe compression ca. 590 Ma. At the time of splitting of the Late Proterozoic supercontinent, both Gondwana and Laurentia shared a common history of extension; however, at ca. 670 Ma Gondwana converted to a destructive margin and underwent compression, whereas Laurentia remained in extension and passive to 500-510 Ma. The Dalradian block had two major phases of metamorphism and deformation, one in Gondwana, and the other in Laurentia. The second phase of classical Barrovian metamorphism may have been produced by thickening due to emplacement of ophiolitic and other nappes, rather than the earlier internal nappe structures. Late-stage ductile folding in the Moine basement to the north may be related to the final emplacement of the Dalradian block onto Laurentia.


Research on women's work has attempted to analyse how the interplay of market and patriarchy leads women and men to perform different economic roles in society. This segregation on the basis of gender or the sex-typing of work plays an important role both from the demand and supply sides in determining the work profiles of women and girl children. The present study attempts to see how a particular labour market, i.e. domestic service, a traditionally male domain, became segregated both by gender and age in post partition West Bengal (WB) and mainly in its capital city Calcutta. We have argued that the downward trend in industrial job opportunities in post independence WB accompanied by large scale immigration of women, men and children from the bordering East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, led to an unprecedented increase in labour force under conditions of stagnant investment. This in turn led to a decline in the wage rate. In such a situation poor refugee women in their frantic search for means of survival gradually drove out the males of the host population engaged in domestic service in urban WB by offering to work in return for a very low and often for no wage at all. Again, poor males from the neighboring states of Bihar, Orissa and UP constituted historically a substantial section of the Calcutta labour market and many of them were employed as domestics in a state known for its prevalence of domestic service in colonial India. The replacement of male domestics by females was further facilitated by the gradual decline in inter-state migration due to lack of employment opportunities in independent WB. The second stage in the changing profile of domestic service in urban WB was arguably set by the migrating girl children from the rural areas of the state to Calcutta city in search for employment between 1971 and 1981.


This study investigates whether deception in online dating profiles is detectable through a linguistic approach, which assumes that liars nonconsciously produce different word patterns than truth-tellers. We objectively measure deception in online dating profiles and analyze the linguistic composition of the open-ended component of the profile (i.e., "about me" section) using computerized text analysis. Results show that profile deceptions correlate with fewer self-references, increased negations, fewer negative emotion words and fewer overall words used in the textual self-description. Results are discussed in terms of (1) practical implications for detecting deception in online profiles; and (2) theoretical implications regarding the impact of media affordances (i.e., asynchronicity and editability) on the occurrence of linguistic cues to deception.


Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels form the basis for the initiation of the action potential in excitable cells by allowing sodium ions to pass through the cell membrane. The Nav channel α subunit is known to function both with and without associated β subunits. There is increasing evidence that these β subunits have multiple roles that include not only influencing the voltage-dependent gating but also the ability to alter the spatial distribution of the pore-forming α subunit. Recent structural data has shown possible ways in which β1 subunits may interact with the α subunit. However, the position of the β1 subunit would not be compatible with a previous trimer structure of the β3 subunit. Furthermore, little is currently known about the dynamic behavior of the β subunits both as individual monomers and as higher order oligomers. Here, we use multiscale molecular dynamics simulations to assess the dynamics of the β3, and the closely related, β1 subunit. These findings reveal the spatio-temporal dynamics of β subunits and should provide a useful framework for interpreting future low-resolution experiments such as atomic force microscopy.


The liquidity of an asset in modern financial markets is a key and, yet, elusive concept. A market is often said to be liquid when the prevailing structure of transactions provides a prompt and secure link between the demand and supply of assets, thus delivering low costs of transaction. Providing a rigorous and empirically relevant definition of market liquidity has, however, provided to be a difficult task. This paper provides a critical review of the frameworks currently available for modelling and estimating the market liquidity of stocks. We discuss definitions of market liquidity that stress the role of the bid-ask spread and the estimation of its components arising from alternative sources of market friction. In this case, measures of liquidity based on intra-daily data are relevant for capturing the core features of a market, and for their ability to account for the arrival of new information.


Abstract. This study evaluates the all-sky GPM/GMI radiances towards assimilation in regional mesoscale model at 183 ± 7 GHz. The radiative transfer model (RTM) namely RTTOV-SCATT is used for the simulation of three tropical cyclones (hudhud, vardah and kyant respectively). Within the RTM, the performance of non-spherical Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) shapes (sector snowflake, 6-bullet rosette, block-column and thinplate) are evaluated. The input data used in RTTOV-SCATT includes vertical hydrometeor profiles, humidity and surface fluxes. In addition, the first guess simulations from Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model were executed at 15 km resolution using ERA-Interim reanalysis datasets. Results indicate that observed minus first guess (FG departures) are symmetric with DDA shapes. The normalized probability density function of FG departures shows large number of spatially correlated samples between clear-sky and poorly forecasted region. Quality control (QC) method was performed to eliminate large FG departures due to instrumental anomalies or poor forecast of clouds and precipitation. The goodness of fit test, h-statistics and skewness of observed and simulated distribution show optimum results for thinplate shape in all the convective events. We also tested the high resolution ERA-5 reanalysis datasets for the simulation of all-sky radiances using thinplate shape. Results illustrate a potential to integrate the GMI sensor data within a WRF data assimilation system.


In this paper, we define and empirically evaluate new heuristics for solving the job shop scheduling problem with non-relaxable time windows. The hypothesis underlying our approach is that by approaching the problem as one of establishing sequencing constraints between pairs of operations requiring the same resource (as opposed to a problem of assigning start times to each operation) and by exploiting previously developed analysis techniques for limiting search through the space of possible sequencing decisions, simple, localized look-ahead techniques can yield problem solving performance comparable to currently dominating techniques that rely on more sophisticated analysis of resource contention. We define a series of attention focusing heuristics based on simple analysis of the temporal flexibility associated with different sequencing decisions, and a similarly motivated heuristic for determining how to sequence a given operation pair. Performance results are reported on a suite of benchmark problems previously investigated by two advanced approaches, and our simplified look-ahead analysis techniques are shown to provide comparable problem solving leverage at reduced computational cost.


Performing Pedagogy: Toward an Art of Politics Charles R. Garoian (1999). Albany, NY: SUNY Press. 248 pages. ISBN 0-7914-4324-8Reviewed by John Howell WhiteKutztown UniversityReaders who enjoy contemporary art, the relation of art to education, and the interweaving of theory and practice will find Charles Garoian's Performing Pedagogy: Toward an Art of Politics w be a revealing, rewarding, and seminal text. It provides insight into the aesthetic and ethical alignments of the performance art of both students and professionals, highlighting Robbie MacCauley, Goat Island, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Suzanne Lacy, and Garoians own performance work. It also provides a cohesive integration of theory and practice. Garoian has been engaged in art education for more than thirty years. His art education reputation rests primarily with those in the field involved in higher education. This insider/outsider position allows Garoian to bring to the field a world of ideas drawn from education, fine arts, linguistics, philosophy, cultural studies, and literature and a world of experience as an artist, high school teacher, and university professor. Although this is not a manual for constructing or teaching performance art, the reader is provided with some exercises that Garoian has developed for his university level performance art class. This text is useful in a general way to interrogate the influence art forms have on pedagogy, in methods classes to introduce ways to embody course content, and in performance art classes to structure the teaching of performance art.Central PremiseWhile Performing Pedagogy is not specifically a theoretical text, it does fit comfortably in the company of theory, and it utilizes theory liberally in the development of key points. The central thesis of the text is that "performance art enables students to learn the curriculum of academic culture from the perspective of their personal memories and cultural histories. In doing so, performance art represents the praxis of postmodern theories in art and education" (p. 1). Theory and praxis form a co-dependent engagement here, with performance art being an embodiment of orientations formulated alternatively as critical theory. It is with Postmodernism's transgressive criticality, as opposed to Modernism's creativity, that Garoian envisions the emergence of personal and collective agency through art.Garoian's claims are: first, that performance art is the most appropriate art form for our time; second, that performance art implies, influences, and requires changes in pedagogy, and third, that this pedagogy is applicable to art education in general, replacing prior models such as Beaux-Artes, vocational training, Arts and Crafts, Bauhaus, child-centered, and Discipline-Based Art Education. It is from a faith in flesh that Garoian constructs both his position and the structure of his text. For Garoian, our bodies are politicized, our skin forming the ramparts from out of which we must claim our educational culture. Our flesh, so fully inscribed by cultural conditions, requires deep critical work to reveal and assert the agency of the person, i.e. to be educated. Performance art, because it most fully utilizes embodiment, placing artists and viewers on the line corporeally, psychologically, and socially, provides the fullest range of resistance sites for education to take place.The staging of this resistance is realizable when people enter into a liminal experience, where personal and cultural habits are free to be reconfigured. One might think of performance art and performance art pedagogy as providing a clearing that allows for emergent connections to occur. Garoian infers that the evolution of performance art in the 20th century coincides most usefully with constructivist theories of teaching and learning.How the Author Supports the PremiseGaroian ambitiously works on several intertwining fronts to support his thesis. …


In a conventional single-exposure photograph, moving objects or moving cameras cause motion blur. The exposure time defines a temporal box filter that smears the moving object across the image by convolution. This box filter destroys important high-frequency spatial details so that deblurring via deconvolution becomes an ill-posed problem.Rather than leaving the shutter open for the entire exposure duration, we "flutter" the camera's shutter open and closed during the chosen exposure time with a binary pseudo-random sequence. The flutter changes the box filter to a broad-band filter that preserves high-frequency spatial details in the blurred image and the corresponding deconvolution becomes a well-posed problem. We demonstrate that manually-specified point spread functions are sufficient for several challenging cases of motion-blur removal including extremely large motions, textured backgrounds and partial occluders.


In its formative years, the discourse of "code switching" was largely linguistic in nature with a political bent toward debates regarding "proper" English and its alternatives and/or concerns over "linguistic difference" and issues of access and what has been dubbed for many years as closing the "achievement gap." It is within this linguistic context that the term was adopted as a proxy for "variety" and "difference" more generally. Attention and focus was directed towards dialects, registers, and styles of speech patterns often assumed to "depart" from the normative (or "proper") linguistic code or understanding within a normative context.
More recently "Code Switching" has become a popular scholarly and general public concept taken up by a wide variety of sectors, fields and areas of study often used to reference the actions of a particular person/group that is assumed to break from their own "natural" practices to perform codes "not their own" for the purposes of fitting in, acquiring social capital, and accessing spaces that often perceive the "native" practices of the switcher as illegitimate or illegible. Whether distinguished and notable for judicial victories or to prove the inherent "linguistic" or "cultural" biases of measures such as standardized tests – it's quite often the case that discourse on "code switching" is not only overly racialized but also assumes a learned ability for certain individuals and groups to shift/switch with a particular purpose in mind and the social actors doing the switching are almost always considered "marginal.
The papers in this volume argue against the usual interpretation, contending that such focus on the switches of the "marginal" often assumes that the very thing that marginal groups – or certain "strategic" actors are shifting towards (the dominant group) is itself uncoded – or untethered from ideology. Thus, such encounters unduly leave power unchallenged without acknowledging or recognizing that we're all shifting, switching – that variety is just prevalent in standard English as it is Ebonics – or "African American Language."

Furthermore, traditional approaches imply that shifting requires expertise, a claim that maintains and reproduces cleavages among the very marginal groups said to shift. Contributors to this volume challenge such interpretations by asking "When is a shift to an alternate mode of performance not a switch?" "How is it that some acquire the 'skill' to switch and others don't? "Whose switch counts as a switch?"


Spatial time-frequency distributions (STFDs) have been introduced as the natural means to deal with source signals that are localizable in the time-frequency domain. It has been shown that improved estimates of the signal and noise subspaces are achieved by constructing the subspaces from the time-frequency signatures of the signal arrivals rather than from the data covariance matrices, which are commonly used in conventional subspace estimation methods. This paper discusses the application of STFD to high-resolution direction finding. We focus on both the role and the effect of crossterms in angle estimation when multiple time-frequency points are incorporated. Simulation examples are presented to compare the performance of joint block-diagonalization and time-frequency averaging techniques for incorporating multiple autoterm and crossterm points in subspace estimation.


We show how Bayesian neural networks can be used for time-series analysis. We consider a block-based model building strategy to model linear and nonlinear features within the time series: a linear combination of a linear autoregression term and a feedforward neural network (FFNN) with an unknown number of hidden nodes. To allow for simpler models, we also consider these terms separately as competing models to select from. Model identifiability problems arise when FFNN sigmoidal activation functions exhibit almost linear behavior or when there are almost duplicate or irrelevant neural network nodes. New reversible-jump moves are proposed to facilitate model selection, mitigating model identifiability problems. We illustrate this methodology analyzing several time-series data examples.


Multiple-Doppler radar and rawinsonde data are used to examine misocyclone characteristics along gust fronts observed during the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification (CaPE) project in Florida. The objective of this study is to investigate the observational representativeness of previous numerical simulations of misocyclones by employing a consistent analysis strategy to 11 gust fronts observed in the same region. The investigation focuses on the intensity range of misocyclones and their organization along gust fronts; the relationship between misocyclone intensity and horizontal wind shear, vertical wind shear, and static stability; and the relationship between misocyclones and convection initiation. The intensity of misocyclones, as indicated by the maximum values of vertical vorticity, varied from 2.8 10 3 to 13.9 10 3 s 1 , although all but one case exhibited values less than 6.4 10 3 s 1 . Organized misocyclone patterns were only found along small segments of gust fronts. Within those segments misocyclones were spaced between 3 and 7 km. Results show that the intensity of misocyclones was most closely related to the strength of horizontal wind shear across the gust front. The relationship between misocyclone intensity and vertical wind shear and static stability was not as clear. Although convection was initiated along the gust front in 7 of the 11 cases, those regions were not collocated with or in close proximity to misocyclones.


The purpose of this study is to highlight the role of qualitative research in service research. This study discusses what qualitative research is, what role it has in service research and what interest, rigor, relevance and richness mean for qualitative service research.,This study examines the most common qualitative research methods and discusses interest, rigor, relevance and richness as key characteristics of qualitative research. The manuscripts in the special issue are introduced and categorized based on their contributions to service research.,The findings suggest that the amount of research using qualitative research methods has remained stable over the last 30 years. An increased focus on transparency and traceability is important for improving the perceived rigor of qualitative service research.,This special issue is the first issue that is explicitly devoted to the qualitative research methodology in service research. In particular, the issue seeks to contribute to a better use and application of qualitative research methodology.


We present a study of chemical abundances in the giant elliptical galaxy M 87 using high-resolution spectra obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometers during two deep XMM-Newton observations. While we confirm the two-temperature structure of the inter-stellar medium (ISM) in M 87, we also show that a continuous temperature distribution describes the data equally well. The high statistics allow us, for the first time, to also determine relatively accurate abundance values for carbon and nitrogen. The comparison of the abundance ratios of C, N, O, and Fe in the ISM of M 87 with those in the stellar population of our Galaxy shows that the relative contribution of core-collapse supernovae to the enrichment of the ISM in M 87 is significantly less than in the Milky Way and indicates that the enrichment of the ISM by iron through Type Ia supernovae and by carbon and nitrogen is occurring in parallel. This suggests that the main sources of carbon and nitrogen in M 87 are the low- and intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars. From the oxygen to iron abundance ratio in the hot gas, we estimate that the relative number of core collapse and type Ia supernovae contributing to the enrichment of the ISM in the core of M 87 is ~60% and ~40% respectively. The spatial distributions of iron and oxygen are different. Although the oxygen abundance distribution is flat, the iron abundance peaks in the core and has a gradient throughout the $4^{\prime}$ wide field of view of the instrument, suggesting early enrichment by core-collapse supernovae and a continuous contribution of type Ia supernovae.


This article attempts to show that in western societies of today, in the absence of absolute foundations and the lack of a frame of meaning that opens new horizons of expectations, a political self understanding of the present in terms of past, begins to emerge. This is possible because the major "catastrophes" of the 20th century have not established a rupture between past and present on the political plane. What I am trying to show here is that the kind of break between past and present made possible by events such as the French Revolution and the Fall of the Soviet Union, took place because these events provoked political ruptures. Because the catastrophes of the 20th century did not break the political order which gave them birth (the modern secular state), they have created an order of time which, without leaving the future aside, feeds itself from the past.


Objective: A novel equine type I collagen treatment consisting of an intradermal injection associated with the use of a topical mousse was developed with characteristics especially suited for global face rejuvenation.  A multicenter, investigator-initiated, open clinical trial, conducted by 6 italian centers, was carried out to evaluate the anti-age performance of this combined treatment. Methods: The study was conducted on 72 female healthy subjects, age range 40-65 years, asking for midface volume restoration and presenting cutaneous aging/photoaging signs. The 1st injection treatment with the injectable product was performed immediately after the basal evaluation (T0). Two touch-up treatments were performed after 2 (T1) and 4 weeks (T2). Collagen mousse was to be applied by the volunteers on the face (including the submental area) twice a day, with a mild massage. Subject returned 2 (T3), 3 (T4) and 6 months (T5) after the 1st injection treatment for the follow-up evaluation.  The aesthetics results were established through the use of clinical evaluations (Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS), Facial Volume Loss Scale (FVLS), and wrinkles grade of the area around the eyes (Glogau's reference photographic scale)) and instrumental assessments (profilometry on skin replicas) supported by photographic documentation and face volume image analysis. Secondary endpoints were tolerance evaluation, performance duration and subjects' efficacy judgement.  Results: The study treatment determined a very significant reduction of all clinical parameters considered (Crows' feet grade, FVLS and WSRS) at every study time. Profilometry on crows' feet skin replicas and face volume image analysis confirmed the clinical evaluation, showing a statistical/clinical significant reduction of all the profilometric parameters (anti-wrinkle efficacy) and a consistent improvement of cheek volume (bio-revolumetric effect). Conclusion: Obtained results confirm the anti-aging activity of the associated collagen treatment (injectable dermal filler and topical mousse). The aesthetic performance resulted persistent up to the final follow-up visit, sign of a long-lasting stimulating activity on cellular functionality of the associated treatment. The majority of volunteers underlined a very marked reshaping of face contour as well as an important improvement of skin smoothness, brightness and hydration. The study treatment was well tolerated, no unexpected adverse reaction related to the tested products/injection procedure occurred during the trial.


The Supreme Court's recent decisions in Lawrence v. Texas and Grutter v. Bollinger are the most significant cases decided under the Fourteenth Amendment in the last 30 years. Lawrence makes a number of fundamental changes to the doctrine of substantive due process, while Grutter works equally important changes in equal protection doctrine. This article identifies the changes wrought by Lawrence and Grutter, describes the relation among those changes, and summarizes the underlying jurisprudential revolution that these decisions represent. Justice Kennedy's opinion in the Lawrence case makes the following changes in the interpretation of the Due Process Clause: - The Right to Privacy is not defined by reference to specific American traditions, but rather by reference to society's "emerging awareness" of the effect of laws on people's private lives. - The Right to Privacy includes "certain intimate conduct" not because the sexual act itself usually occurs in private, but because of the central importance of sexual relationships in people's lives. - The Court will look to legal developments in other nations, in particular decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, in defining our fundamental rights. - Morality, standing alone, is not a sufficient basis for prohibitory legislation. Instead, the state must explain how behavior is harmful before it can make it unlawful. Justice O'Connor's opinion in the Grutter case, as well as her concurring opinion and Justice Kennedy's majority opinion in Lawrence, make or confirm the following changes in the interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause: - The level of scrutiny that the Court applies in evaluating the constitutionality of laws under the Equal Protection Clause varies with the context. Neither strict scrutiny not rational basis is applied the same way in all cases. - Laws that intentionally stigmatize groups are scrutinized more strictly than laws that do not. - Laws that inhibit people's personal relationships are scrutinized more strictly than laws that do not. - Moral disapproval of a group or its actions standing alone is not a sufficient reason for legislation that discriminates against the group. - Race-based affirmative action in university admissions is constitutional because it is necessary to train leaders from all segments of society. In both Lawrence and Grutter the Supreme Court focused on the effect that its decisions would have on society and on the lives of individuals. This represents a shift away from reliance on tradition and towards consequentialist analysis in the interpretation of the Constitution. In my opinion the doctrinal and jurisprudential changes in Lawrence and Grutter are a welcome development that will help unlock human potential.


To provide screens for laser projection that improve contrast, a spectrally selective reflecting filter was designed by using genetic algorithms to overcome the problem of unknown starting values. Colormetrics rather than fixed targets were used for evaluation. Various selective filters were deposited upon glass as well as upon solid and flexible plastic substrates by reactive mid-frequency magnetron sputtering. For process control, in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry was applied.


Are you aware of the first officially approved Marian apparition site in the United States, Our Lady of Good Help? Professor Karen E. Park (St. Norbert College), in our lead article, shares the story of Adele Brise and this event more than 150 years ago in rural Champion, Wisconsin, the 2010 approval of it by Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, and the narratives surrounding this apparition. Professor J. Brooks Flippen (Southeastern Oklahoma State University) in "Carter, Catholics, and the Politics of Family," examines how Catholicism reacted to the dynamism of the new family politics in ways that united many conservative Catholics and Protestants in a pivotal way during the years of the Carter presidency. Timothy Walch, director emeritus of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and a distinguished historian of American Catholic education, shares an excellent review of recent initiatives in this very volatile and important area of American Catholic life, finding both adversity and opportunity. "'We're Here for the Bodies': How the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception became part of Maria College" is our cover essay, contributed by Elizabeth R. Bouchard, Sister Rose Hobbs, RSM, and Mary Guadrón, all of Maria College. The reward for such a clever title is that I won't tell you more. Go read it and check out the pictures. Our periodic gathering of dissertation abstracts shares the ongoing vitality in emerging scholarship dealing with the American Catholic experience. American Catholic Studies is the happy recipient of eight awards in the 2012 Catholic Press Association competition, and we were pleased that three of the awards concerned our book reviews. Details of each award are found on the certificates reproduced on the following two pages. Congratulations to our award-winning authors and reviewers.


We are among the scientists who have documented the environmental and ecological changes to the Upper Gulf of California following the reduction in the Colorado River's flow. We object to any suggestion that our research supports Manjarrez-Bringas et al.'s conclusion that the decline in the Colorado River's flow is the reason for the decline in the population of the endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus). Manjarrez-Bringas et al.'s conclusions are incongruent with their own data, their logic is untenable, their analyses fail to consider current illegal fishing practices, and their recommendations are unjustified and misdirected. Vaquita face extinction because of bycatch, not because of the lack of river flow.


This study of mesoscopic to macroscopic cataclastic faults in the Loiano Sandstones of the Northern Apennines (Italy) was carried out to quantify the effect of porosity, grain size, grain sorting, clay content, and layering on the structural and morphologic characteristics of fault zones in unconsolidated sandstones. Our observations show that high clay content (>0.05) and/or a poor grain sorting promote a narrow fault zone whereas low clay content and/or a good grain sorting promote a wide fault zone. Slip planes in high porositv (0,12-0.2) and well sorted sandstones develop after an offset of 0.5-1 m has been accommodated by deformation bands; slip planes in sandstones with an high clay content (> 0.05), on the other hand, develop after an offset of only 0.1-0.15 m has been accommodated by the deformation bands. The trace of deformation bands in high porosity fine-grained sandstone is anastomosing and braided, different from the more linear traces observed in conglomerates and in clay rich poorly sorted sandstone.


The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) employs the novel method of gamma-ray tracking (GRT), where all locations of energy depositions within the Ge crystal detector volume are used by computer algorithms to reconstruct the various simultaneous interactions of the measured radiation. The interaction positions are determined by Pulse Shape Analysis (PSA) algorithms that compare the measured and digitized signals with the information of a signal database comprising position dependent calculated sets of detector signals. The result of a detailed comparison between measured and calculated signals yields the position of each interaction point. The GRT algorithms rely on this precise position of the deposited energy as an input to reconstruct the initial gamma-rays from the full sequence of the different interactions in the detector. Within this thesis a computer program library was developed, providing software routines to calculate the position dependent detector signals of the highly segmented HPGe detectors. The currently used signal databases of all AGATA detectors were generated by this software package and computer library. Part of the computing is based on individual detector properties which were deduced from detailed characterisation measurements. Details of the library, the used routines and the needed characteristics of the detector system are described, this includes a precise measurement of the crystal axis orientation of the AGATA HPGe crystals.

The second part of this thesis is dealing with the analysis of one of the first in-beam experiments performed with the AGATA demonstrator setup at the LNL in Italy. The experiment aimed for a spectroscopic investigation of neutron rich actinides from Thorium to Plutonium produced after multi-nucleon transfer reactions. For this purpose a 136Xe beam with an energy of 1GeV bombarded onto a 238U target. The fast beam like particles after the transfer reactions were identified by the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA. The gamma-rays were detected with the AGATA demonstrator consisting of five AGATA triple cluster detectors. An additional micro channel plate detector for particle detection was mounted inside the scattering chamber in order to request kinematic coincidences. The analysis procedures for the two complex sub-detectors AGATA and PRISMA were extended and adapted to the specific requirements of this new approach for actinide spectroscopy. First the complex analysis of the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA and solutions for unexpected detector behaviour like time drifts and aberration corrections are described. As a result the individual isotopes of elements from Barium to Tellurium were identified confirming the very high quality of the PRISMA spectrometer and its design parameters.

The analysis of the gamma-ray spectra comprised a detailed PSA and GRT analysis of the AGATA demonstrator. This analysis included also data analysis developments for the AGATA collaboration. The data of the AGATA demonstrator, the PRISMA spectrometer and the ancillary detectors were merged to obtain background free Doppler corrected spectra for the beam- and target-like reaction products. The simultaneous Doppler correction for beam and target-like ions included an elaborate optimization procedure for unobservable experimental parameters. The gamma-ray spectra for the individual isotopes is consistent with the isotope identification of the PRISMA analysis. For the beam like particles gamma-ray spectra of the isotopes 128-139Xe are presented and discussed. For the target like nuclei gamma-ray spectra of the isotopes 236-240U are deduced. By gating on the remaining excitation energy after the multi-nucleon transfer reaction the neutron evaporation and fission of the excited actinide nuclei were suppressed. Coincidences between AGATA and PRISMA were exploited for the first time together with the particle coincidence between beam- and target-like nuclei. These triple coincidences allowed further background reduction. The results for the individual Xenon and Uranium isotopes demonstrate the successful operation of the AGATA demonstrator coupled to the PRSIMA spectrometer. The quality of the gamma-ray spectra show clearly that the novel pulse shape analysis and gamma-ray tracking methods fulfil expectations also for demanding in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy experiments.


Third-party Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) have emerged as an increasingly popular strategy to guarantee sustainability in the coffee value chain. Yet, knowledge of the population characteristics of certified farmers, and of the influence of transnational and local supply chain actors on the uptake of VSS at the producer level, is still scarce. Using expert interviews, a comprehensive database of certificate holders and spatial mapping analyses, this paper adds to present knowledge concerning the effectiveness of VSS in the coffee sector in three ways. First, it showcases the structural, geographical and socio-economic tendencies toward VSS adoption in Guatemala, Colombia and Costa Rica, and allows first insights in the additionality and effectiveness of certification schemes derived from these indicators. Second, it contributes to an up-to-date understanding of the coffee supply chain, a sector of great economic importance both to producing and consuming countries that is in constant flux and reorganization, and it explains how current VSS interact with this type of global supply chain. Finally, through the construction of a comprehensive population of certified farmers, it enables better evaluation of existing case studies, generalizability, possible biases and provides valuable information for the preparation of future impact evaluation projects.


Journal description: This issue, guest edited by Carolyn Burdett, uses a very old form of punctuation – the forward slash - to separate its two relatively modern terms, psychology and aesthetics. The slash signals the intimate, diverse, mutually constitutive, and often contested nature of their relation in the nineteenth century. These essays explore that relation, in the writings of Coleridge and Pater; in the poetry of a psychical researcher and the theatre-going habits of a neurologist; and in museum spaces and gallery experiments.

Carolyn Burdett is the editor of this special issue.