The evaluation of the farmers' communities' approach to the Slow Food vision, their perception of the Slow Food role in supporting their activity and their appreciation and expectations from participating in the event of Mother Earth were studied. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was adopted in an agro-food sector context. A survey was conducted, 120 questionnaires from farmers attending the Mother Earth in Turin in 2010 were collected. The descriptive statistical analysis showed that both Slow Food membership and participation to Mother Earth Meeting were much appreciated for the support provided to their business and the contribution to a more sustainable and fair development. A positive social, environmental and psychological impact on farmers also resulted. Results showed also an interesting perspective on the possible universality of the Slow Food and Mother Earth values. Farmers declared that Slow Food is supporting them by preserving the biodiversity and orienting them to the use of local resources and reducing the chemical inputs. Many farmers mentioned the language/culture and administration/bureaucratic issues as an obstacle to be a member in the movement and to participate to the event. Participation to Mother Earth gives an opportunity to exchange information with other farmers' communities and to participate to seminars and debates, helpful for their business development. The absolute majority of positive answers associated to the farmers' willingness to relate to Slow Food and participate to the next Mother Earth editions negatively influenced the UTAUT model results. A factor analysis showed that the variables associated to the UTAUT model constructs Performance Expectancy and Effort Expectancy were consistent, able to explain the construct variability, and their measurement reliable. Their inclusion in a simplest Technology Acceptance Model could be considered in future researches.


The purpose of the present chapter is to provide some hints to the history of the concept of 'corporation'. It aims to illustrate the meaning of corpus in Roman law and the characteristics of medieval guilds, to examine the semantic constants of the concept and its variants up to, and in part beyond, the First World War. The chapter will briefly discuss the ideas of Bentham and Saint-Simon, Mill's concept of 'economic democracy', the communitarian alternatives to late-nineteenth-century liberalism, and the early theories of management and the firm that developed partly in parallel with the rise of fascist policies in Europe and the Technocracy movement in America, which cannot be treated here.


Resse has for years been referring to reports on training programs used in European countries, which are the ideal methods for determining training intensity. Therefore, this study aimed to use the method (OBLA) when using the training program for advanced swimmers to see its effect on the anaerobic capacity of anaerobic and glycogenic and enzyme (LDH). (8) They also used several tools, methods and tests, the most important of which was the training program prepared for eight weeks and four training units per week at the time of each training unit (90 120) minutes in which the intensity according to the method (OBLA) was used to determine the training time for groups. For selected depending on the distance measured, and upon completion of this training program was conducted tribal posteriori tests and after obtaining the results were processed and about the researchers reached several conclusions was the most important: The OBLA raining method in the use of severity has a significant effect on the anaerobic capacity of lactic and glycogen and LDH value. As for the recommendations, the most important were: Focusing on the biological side when using the training intensity that accompanies the time of the training unit and the time of the capacity of the training program


Matching and merging overlapping point clouds is a common procedure in many applications, including mobile robotics, three‐dimensional mapping, and object visualization. However, fully automatic point‐cloud matching, without manual verification, is still not possible because no matching algorithms exist today that can provide any certain methods for detecting misaligned point clouds. In this article, we make a comparative evaluation of geometric consistency methods for classifying aligned and nonaligned point‐cloud pairs. We also propose a method that combines the results of the evaluated methods to further improve the classification of the point clouds. We compare a range of methods on two data sets from different environments related to mobile robotics and mapping. The results show that methods based on a Normal Distributions Transform representation of the point clouds perform best under the circumstances presented herein.


This thesis examined the incidence and factors affecting the rate of posterior capsular opacification (PCX)), the most common complication of cataract surgery, in diabetic and uvcitic patients and in patients with multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs). These patients arc particularly sensitive to PCO development because of the risks associated with Nd:YAG capsulotomy in the former two groups and the potential effect on visual function in the latter group. PCO rate was estimated both retrospectively, using Nd:YAG capsulotomy as a surrogate measure of clinically significant PCO, as well as prospectively using clinical and imaging methods. Diabetic patients were found to have a lower incidence and risk of Nd:YAG capsulotomy than non-diabetic patients within 4 years after surgery. Young age, postoperative inflammation, pars plana vitrectomy and, in comparison to 3-piece silicone lOL, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and plate-haptie silicone IOLs were associated with increased risk of Nd:YAG capsulotomy. In subgroup analysis, male gender was found to be a risk factor in the non-diabetic group and the duration and type of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy grade were not risk factors. In a prospective randomised trial, hydrophobic acrylic IOLs, while associated with a higher flare value within the early postoperative period, had a significantly lower rate of PCX) development than plate-haptic silicone IOLs after 6 months and 1 year in diabetic patients. Optical coherence tomography revealed the development of a characteristic mid-peripheral apposition between the optic and the posterior capsule with hydrophobic acrylic IOLs both early and late after surgery, and the lack thereof with plate-haptic silicone IOLs, which is consistent with and explains the difference in PCO rate between the two IOLs. In uveitic patients, the incidence of Nd:YAG capsulotomy was higher within the first two years after surgery than in non-uveitic patients, although the presence of uveitis was not an independent risk factor for an increased rate of NdrYAG capsulotomy. The use of preoperative systemic steroids reduced the risk of Nd.YAG capsulotomy and, in comparison to PMMA IOLs, silicone IOLs reduced the risk of Nd.YACi capsulotomy while hydrophilic acrylic IOLs and young age increased it. In patients with multifocal IOLs, within 4 years of follow-up the incidence of PCX) and Nd:YAG capsulotomy were similar to those reported with monofocal implants and young age was a risk factor for the development of PCO. Patients with multifocal IOLs present for Nd:YAG capsulotomy with earlier loss of high and low- contrast acuity, which could increase the rate of Nd:YAG capsulotomy in these patients.


A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high virtues of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means.


In 2012, public debate over the value of art and culture has reignited as conservative state governments in Victoria and Queensland cut arts funding from their budgets. Queensland Premier Campbell Newman's plan to scrap the Premier's Literary Awards in April this year was met with predictable outrage by the arts community. With the spectre of Joh Bjelke-Petersen stalking Queensland and that of John Howard taking possession of the leader of the opposition, are we then to expect a return to the culture wars we thought had been definitively dispelled by Kevin 07? A central dispute of these culture wars concerned the contemporary understanding of Australian history and the new kinds of Australian identities that might be emerging. But there was another aspect: this new Australian culture would also be a new economic resource in the form of what Paul Keating called the "cultural industries" and what subsequently became known as the creative industries (a steal from his own Creative Nation). Culture was no longer just about nation-building through heritage arts, but rather new forms of commercial and popular culture that articulated a modern multicultural Australia. As creative industries, they were to generate new jobs, animate urban economies and catalyse innovation in the new knowledge economy. Howard's conservatism was bad for contemporary culture and bad for the new creative economy that went with it. However, as with New Labour's "Cool Britannia" in 1997, a politically attractive combination of cultural and economic modernisation hid some deeper tensions. Though initially tied to a revitalisation of Australian culture, benefiting the Australian economy became the primary justification. Ironically, Howard's government was quite generous to the arts; but under pressure to justify their subsidies and to deal with the powerful appeal of the creative industries, the arts and cultural agencies sought to make their case based on economic and social impact. That this also happened in the UK under a Labour government, and has continued in the Rudd-Gillard years should come as no surprise. One difference between Tony Abbott and John Howard is that the latter's weakness for the arts, his residual respect for their traditional social standing, is unlikely to be replicated by Abbott, for whom the arts belong to metropolitan elites, not "battlers". As for the creative industries, Campbell Newman has shown the way in calling their bluff: where is the evidence of their transformative economic impact? Set next to mining this is insignificant. Does this mean draconian cuts for the arts? The example of Western Australia suggests not – in WA, the arts lend attractiveness and cultural legitimacy to the great urban showcases. This is something Campbell Newman will have to address; Brisbane's image will tarnish if he keeps on the way he has. Abbott too will have to bite his lip if he comes to power. But the deeper problem remains. Arts and culture have presented themselves as economically and socially useful, and any number of techniques have emerged with which to measure their impact. What is missing is a clear articulation of art's value on its own terms. This is not an argument for their "uselessness", as Peter Acton characterised the humanities' self-defeating plea, but that the value of the arts cannot be captured by economic impact or those quasi-economic models which "do-gooder" economists constantly foist on arts and culture in an attempt to get them to sharpen their act. What the scrapping of the Queensland Arts Awards suggests then is not only that the new old-right has called culture's economic bluff, but that the old new-left has no answer to this. Though they differ over what is economically important they are both concerned primarily with an economic imperative which no person who wants to be considered sane is allowed to question. But rather than retreating into the intrinsic value of the arts – pulling up the drawbridge and leaving commercial culture to its own devices – perhaps the time has come to try out some other options. Try saying that culture and economics may be increasingly intertwined, but that this has brought some highly toxic consequences for culture. It is not so much that this or that cultural activity has been put out of business or subjected to relentless commercialisation (though this is clearly the case), it is more that the very possibility of arts and culture to articulate values apart from the economic has been severely diminished. If you doubt this, try arguing for increased funding because of culture's contribution to a civilised society or art's ability to articulate uncomfortable truths that we nevertheless absolutely need. Try saying that this does not just apply to art galleries but that the creative industries should also be promoted for their contribution to our cultural life. And while the laughter dies down try remembering that this was generally accepted wisdom thirty years ago. We can't go back to those days, but nor can we stay in the current impasse. The GFC and climate change have done more to puncture the absolute claims of the economy than the cultural left. Cultural policy is dipping its toe in the waters of sustainability and finding dysfunctional urban infrastructures, the destruction of manufacturing, the discarding of craft skills along with the rampant gentrification of the urban core. The perceived win-win scenario of "what's good for culture is good for the economy" does nothing to address these. Culture's old oppositional stance needs to be revived, not to place art in a separate world apart from economics but to ask questions about what kind of economics we have. Rather than fall over itself to show how economically valuable it is, or drag its feet through yet another round of meaningless metrics, culture needs to take the fight to mainstream economics itself. What kind of life, what kinds of towns and cities is it creating around us? New culture wars lie ahead, but we can rest assured, these will not be anything like the last ones. Gretchen Coombs and Justin O'Connor, The Conversation, 'Game of funds: return of the culture wars?' 3 August 2012 Image: TruShu / flickr


Search‐based crash reproduction approaches assist developers during debugging by generating a test case, which reproduces a crash given its stack trace. One of the fundamental steps of this approach is creating objects needed to trigger the crash. One way to overcome this limitation is seeding: using information about the application during the search process. With seeding, the existing usages of classes can be used in the search process to produce realistic sequences of method calls, which create the required objects. In this study, we introduce behavioural model seeding: a new seeding method that learns class usages from both the system under test and existing test cases. Learned usages are then synthesized in a behavioural model (state machine). Then, this model serves to guide the evolutionary process. To assess behavioural model seeding, we evaluate it against test seeding (the state‐of‐the‐art technique for seeding realistic objects) and no seeding (without seeding any class usage). For this evaluation, we use a benchmark of 122 hard‐to‐reproduce crashes stemming from six open‐source projects. Our results indicate that behavioural model seeding outperforms both test seeding and no seeding by a minimum of 6% without any notable negative impact on efficiency.


Biosorption is the adhesion of molecules of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids to a surface. Adsorption is present in many natural physical, biological, and chemical systems and is widely used in industrial applications. Here we had been reported work on removal of dyes from waste water by using papaya peel as biosorbent and experimental data were obtained for removal of Methylene blue dye. The results of the present work indicate that the papaya peel can be used as adsorbent for the efficient removal of Methylene blue. Since the papaya peel is easily and cheaply available in almost every places, its application for colour removal could be expected to be a practical proposition. The dye removal performance was strongly affected by parameters such as agitation time, methylene blue concentration, biosorbent dosage, pH, and temperature. The effective time of contact for better dye removal performance was found to be 35 min and dye concentration of 1mg/100ml . Maximum removal of dye was achieved at the adsorbent dosage of 0.3g/100ml and at pH 8 and at temperature 350 C. The sorption of methylene blue on papaya peel was found to follow Langmiuer- Freundlich isotherm, suggesting the possibility of heterogeneous distribution of active sites on the surface of the sorbent and the second order kinetics was best fit.


This project explores the potential for 3D modelling and printing to create customised flutes that can play music in a variety of microtonal scales. One of the challenges in the field of microtonality is that conventional musical instruments are inadequate for realising the abundance of theoretical tunings that musicians wish to investigate. This paper focuses on the development of two types of flutes, the recorder and transverse flute, with interchangeable mouthpieces. These flutes are designed to play subharmonic microtonal scales. The discussion provides an overview of the design and implementation process, including calculation methods for acoustic modelling and 3D printing technologies, as well as an evaluation of some of the difficulties encountered. Results from our 3D printed flutes suggest that whilst further refinements are necessary in our designs, 3D modelling and printing techniques offer new and valuable methods for the design and production of customised musical instruments. The long term goal of this project is to create a system in which users can specify the tuning of their instrument to generate a 3D model and have it printed on demand.


This quantitative study investigates on how the attitudes amongst people in Tampa are towards the use of public transportation and also analyse which factors they consider vital for its development. The data is collected with the help of an online questionnaire and later compared with the current comprehensive plan and transportation plan in Tampa, after a qualitative literature review, in order to analyse and compare if there are any differences between the respondents and the planners. In other word's compare theory to what is happening in reality. The results show that both the planners and the respondents acknowledge the dominance and negative effects of car use and that an expansion of public transportation is necessary in order to enhance the overall quality of life but also sustainability. The biggest difference was the attitude toward and belief in Mobility Management and soft measures. As the plan documents do not put any emphasis on the importance of changing attitudes with the help of soft measures, the respondents showed that Mobility Management and services linked to it could be a vital factor to change overall attitude towards public transportation if it were implemented.


With contributors from a variety of disciplines this book presents a critical appraisal of current practice, emphasizing evidence-based procedures. By bringing together a diverse group of authors, the editors have ensured that the vast range of information on interventions for children with autism is thoroughly examined, and that no topic has gone untouched. The book is an essential framework for evaluating educational and treatment procedures, selecting those that are most effective, and their evaluating outcome.


Polymorph selectivity has been achieved during crystallization of anthranilic acid (AA) and 5-methyl-2-[(2-nitrophyenyl)amino]-3-thiophenecarbonitrile (ROY), both considered benchmarks of polymorphic behavior, within nanoporous glass beads and polymer monoliths. Whereas polymorph III of AA crystallizes from the melt on nonporous glass beads or within larger pores, the metastable polymorph II crystallizes in pores with diameters <23 nm, with the selectivity toward this form increasing with decreasing pore size. Of the six ROY polymorphs characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the yellow form (Y) crystallizes during evaporation of pyridine solutions imbibed by the 30-nm cylindrical pores of porous polycyclohexylethylene (p-PCHE) monoliths. Although both R and ON grow from the melt on the external surfaces of PCHE, only the red form (R) crystallizes in the pores. Amorphous ROY also forms in p-PCHE pores during evaporation from pyridine solutions, subsequently crystallizing to the R nanocrystals upon heating. Although heterogeneous nucleation on the pore walls may play a role, these observations suggest that nucleation and polymorph selectivity is governed by critical size constraints imposed by the ultrasmall pores. The ability to achieve polymorph selectivity in both glass and polymer matrices suggests wide-ranging compatibility with various organic crystalline solids, promising a new approach to controlling polymorphism and searching for unknown polymorphs.


In the spring of 1859 the Chicago Tribune announced people had cause for "pride - in our young city" striking down the thought that Chicago was "entirely devoid of all taste and culture in art."1 In The Daily Chicago Times the stir was well summarized: Taken in itself, and located in Paris, London or Vienna, our first art exhibition would attract only a limited attention; in New York, Boston or Philadelphia, it could not fail to excite the interest and curiosity of the citizens; but placed in a western city which, twenty-five years ago was only an Indian trading post in Chicago, it justly becomes an object of wonder and gratification.2 The event changing the cultural landscape was an exhibit that opened on 9 May 1859 at Burch's Building on the northeast corner of Wabash and Lake. It was the city's first fine art exhibition, a show of paintings, engravings, and sculpture borrowed from local art collections.3 It was a striking success in a town that only some twenty years earlier had incorporated and elected its first mayor. The collection of art brought over 12,000 people to Burch's in a city that had a population of a mere 110,000 who were generally naive about art.4 Most importantly the show helped to popularize the collecting of fine art in Chicago. The story of early art collecting in what was to become the country's second largest metropolis is largely untold. The benefit to our community from these early pioneer collectors is markedly evident in the legacy of our cultural institutions today. Prior to 1859 art was hardly present in Chicago. A few of the wealthy citizens had brought paintings home from European trips or hung works that had been in their families back east, but there was no art impetus; no schools, exhibition halls or regular dealers.5 However, the elite were a cultured group as critic James Spencer Dickerson recalled, "Among the earliest settlers of Chicago, even in the [1830s], were people of refinement. ..."6 When the English writer Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) visited Chicago in 1836 she found the town leaders educated and refined, while a generation later noted portrait artist George Peter Alexander Healy (1813-1894) found city leaders such as William B. Ogden "remarkably intelligent" and "well informed."7 A private collection of a dozen paintings spoke volumes about the owner's sense of taste, their stature, and achievement of culture. The city's first collectors reflected patterns established decades earlier in east coast cities. Chicago's early collectors were land speculators, merchants, bankers, businessmen, and lawyers and most of them are now remembered as the pioneer builders of the city. Like their eastern colleagues, they believed they should bring art to their new city and thereby encourage civilization in Chicago and the Northwest. This artistic nationalism, common in New York and Philadelphia, furnished the philosophical basis for acquiring art and gave comfort that America would evolve into a center of the arts to rival European cities. In addition, art served as a means of education as it was thought to aid in enlarging minds and fostering noble ideas.8 It was because of those intelligent and cultured men that the Burch's exhibition, properly known as the Chicago Exhibition of the Fine Arts, was made possible and was the culmination of early art interests in Chicago-and the singular event to propel the burgeoning city to a cultural heritage enjoyed by millions today. The organization of the Chicago Exhibition of the Fine Arts began with a meeting in March of 1859. Sculptor Leonard Wells Volk (18281895) wrote a letter to a small group of prominent men proposing the exhibition and that proceeds from the exhibition be used towards a public sculpture of George Washington. This letter was accepted in minutes of the meeting by four signors who later formed part of the executive committee.9 To organize a subsequent meeting on 22 March 1859, a printed invitation was sent to a group of influential men: You are respectfully invited by the undersigned, to meet a few gentlemen at the Rooms of the "Historical Society," in Newberry's Block, on Tuesday the 22nd instant, at 3 o'clock P. …


DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) is now entering widespread
deployment. However, domain signing tools and processes are not yet as
mature and reliable as those for non-DNSSEC-related domain
administration tools and processes. This document defines Negative
Trust Anchors (NTAs), which can be used to mitigate DNSSEC validation
failures by disabling DNSSEC validation at specified domains.


Structural properties of molecules are of primary concern in many fields. This report provides a comprehensive overview on techniques that have been developed in the fields of molecular graphics and visualization with a focus on applications in structural biology. The field heavily relies on computerized geometric and visual representations of three‐dimensional, complex, large and time‐varying molecular structures. The report presents a taxonomy that demonstrates which areas of molecular visualization have already been extensively investigated and where the field is currently heading. It discusses visualizations for molecular structures, strategies for efficient display regarding image quality and frame rate, covers different aspects of level of detail and reviews visualizations illustrating the dynamic aspects of molecular simulation data. The survey concludes with an outlook on promising and important research topics to foster further success in the development of tools that help to reveal molecular secrets.


The coefficient of determination is a function of residuals in the General Linear Models. The deviance, logit, standardized and the studentized residuals were examined in generalized linear models in order to determine the behaviour of residuals in this class of models and thereby design a new pseudo R-squared goodness-of-fit measure. The Newton-Raphson estimation procedure was adopted. It was observed that these residuals exhibit patterns that are unique to the subpopulations defined by levels of categorical predictors. Residuals block on the basis of signs, where positive signs indicate success responses and negative signs failure responses. It was also observed that the deviance is a close approximation of the studentized residual. The logit residual is two times the size of the standardized residuals. Borrowing from the Nagelkerke's improvement of Cox and Snell's goodness-of-fit measure in generalized linear models and the coefficient of determination counterpart of the general linear model, a new pseudo R squared goodness-of-fit test which uses predicted probabilities and a monotonic link function is here proposed to serve both the linear and Generalized Linear Models.


As six-year-old Emma anticipates the birth of her new baby brother or sister, she vividly imagines all of the things they can do together. Emma feels ready to be a big sister! Then when the baby is born, her dad tells her that it's a boy and he has something called Down syndrome. Finally she asks, "If Isaac has this Down thing, then what can't he do?". Her dad thinks about it, then tells her that as long as they are patient with him, and help him when he needs it, there probably isn't anything Isaac can't do. In this touching story, Emma helps her father as much as he helps her to realise that Isaac is the baby they dreamed of. The book concludes with a set of commonly asked questions about Down syndrome with answers for children and how it might affect their sibling and family. For ages 3-7.


Introduction to Adobe Flash Professional CS6 with ACA Certification, written by expert instructors, provides all the classroom tools needed to teach a complete certification program. Your students learn to design and maintain dynamic websites using Adobe Flash. This curriculum covers topics such as using layers to build animation sequences, creating interactive web components with ActionScript, project management and much more. Through the ACA coverage, students will also learn valuable insight into animation and web design job roles that use Flash.This single book provides students with a complete introduction to Flash along with a comprehensive exam preparation. This complete classroom course, created by a team of Adobe experts who have developed training programs for Adobe Systems, offers your students the opportunity to confidently prove their skills mastery and gain this job-focused certification to give them the needed edge on their career path. Adobe Certified Associate exam vouchers are available for bundling for an additional fee.


Abstract Twenty-four men and 24 women, all nonsmoking, and maintaining normal dietary habits were assigned to 3 groups of 16. Each group comprising 4 males with "low" cholesterol levels (<6 mmol/L) matched for age and build with 4 males with "high" cholesterol levels (>6 mmol/L) and 8 similarly matched females. A three-treatment, three-treatment period, cross-over design was adopted. The three treatments were placebo, 60 mg vitamin C/day (the recommended daily allowance) and 6 g vitamin C/day for 14 days with 6 weeks between treatments. Blood samples were taken at the end of each treatment period. Vitamin C supplementation significantly increased plasma vitamin C concentrations and total antioxidant capacity, but did not affect cholesterol status or plasma ras p21 protein levels. There was a nonsignificant dose-related decrease in plasma lipid peroxidation breakdown products. DNA damage, measured in lymphocytes by the Comet assay and chromosome aberration test, was not increased after vitamin C supplementation. Sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide (in the Comet assay) was also unaffected, but sensitivity to chromosome aberration induced by bleomycin was increased by supplementation. A significant gender difference was found in plasma vitamin C levels, antioxidant capacity, and number of chromosome aberrations. Results were independent of low and high cholesterol status.


This paper develops a discrete choice model of demand with optimal sequential consumer search. Consumers first choose a product to search; then, once they learn the utility they get from the searched product, they choose whether to buy it or to keep searching. We characterize the search problem as a standard discrete choice problem and propose a parametric search cost distribution that generates closed-form expressions for the probability of purchasing a product. We propose a method to estimate the model that supplements aggregate product data with individual-specific data which allows for the separate identification of search costs and preferences. We estimate the model using data from the automobile industry and find that search costs have non-trivial implications for elasticities and markups. We study the effects of exclusive dealing regulation and find that firms benefit at the expense of consumers, who face higher search costs and higher prices than would be the case if multi-brand dealerships were used.


Plasma spray coatings are vital to the capabilities of jet engines. They allow engines to operate at combustion temperatures that would otherwise melt the superalloy components. Coatings tighten clearance between rotating components, increasing engine compression. They prevent chemical attack and physical erosion. Plasma spray coatings are imperative to the durability and efficient operation of the modern jet engine. In this application coating material property variation has a significant cost. In addition to the variation inherent in the process, some of the biggest contributors to coating property variation have been traced to spray gun nozzle wear and powder feed variation[1, 2]. Presented here are multiple methods utilizing flow induced acoustic signals to quantify noise parameters, measure component wear, diagnose the plasma spray process and detect coating property deviation. Methods have been developed for offline and online analysis of components in addition to online process analysis. These include characterization of nozzle wear by throat roughness measurements and nozzle casting, offline detection of nozzle wear by attenuation of discrete tone generation and broadband signal variation, and offline measurement of powder port wear by jet screech frequency variation. Online methods include pre-ignition nozzle degree of wear measurement by discrete frequency changes; online parameter change detection, process deviation detection with potential source identification, as well as variation in coating property detection by broadband acoustic signal changes. Offline methods allow for 100% accurate new nozzle manufacturer identification. By the same test nozzle wear state can be predicted with over 95% accuracy with the potential for a degree of wear determination. Internal diameter changes of less than 10 microns can similarly be detected. Analysis of online plasma spray acoustic signals as described here can distinguish nozzle state and powder feed variation with over 90% accuracy. The capabilities developed here will aid in plasma spray process variation detection and contribute to identifying the source of this variation. This will improve coating quality and consistency, reduce failures, lower operational costs and ultimately make jet engines more economical, safer, and more fuel efficient with significant environmental and financial cost reduction.


Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are becoming a promising solution for delivering high- quality education on a large scale at low cost in recent years. Despite the great potential, today's MOOCs also suffer from challenges such as low student engagement, lack of personalization, and most importantly, lack of direct, immediate feedback channels from students to instructors. This dissertation explores the use of physiological signals implicitly collected via a "sensorless" approach as a rich feedback channel to understand, model, and improve learning in mobile MOOC contexts.

I first demonstrate AttentiveLearner, a mobile MOOC system which captures learners' physiological signals implicitly during learning on unmodified mobile phones. AttentiveLearner uses on-lens finger gestures for video control and monitors learners' photoplethysmography (PPG) signals based on the fingertip transparency change captured by the back camera. Through series of usability studies and follow-up analyses, I show that the tangible video control interface of AttentiveLearner is intuitive to use and easy to operate, and the PPG signals implicitly captured by AttentiveLearner can be used to infer both learners' cognitive states (boredom and confusion levels) and divided attention (multitasking and external auditory distractions).

Building on top of AttentiveLearner, I design, implement, and evaluate a novel intervention technology, Context and Cognitive State triggered Feed-Forward (C2F2), which infers and responds to learners' boredom and disengagement events in real time via a combination of PPG-based cognitive state inference and learning topic importance monitoring. C2F2 proactively reminds a student of important upcoming content (feed-forward interventions) when disengagement is detected. A 48-participant user study shows that C2F2 on average improves learning gains by 20.2% compared with a non-interactive baseline system and is especially effective for bottom performers (improving their learning gains by 41.6%).

Finally, to gain a holistic understanding of the dynamics of MOOC learning, I investigate the temporal dynamics of affective states of MOOC learners in a 22 participant study. Through both a quantitative analysis of the temporal transitions of affective states and a qualitative analysis of subjective feedback, I investigate differences between mobile MOOC learning and complex learning activities in terms of affect dynamics, and discuss pedagogical implications in detail.


Information Society (also known as Informatisation in China) offers a promising vision of a people-centered, inclusive and development-oriented society, in which everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life. The enabler of the vision is Information and Telecommunication Technologies (ICT), and the strategy to achieve this vision is a unique multiple stakeholder approach, i.e., participation, commitment and cooperation of all stakeholders around the world.The government of China has recognized the importance of information society for its national development strategy of an "all-round XiaoKang Society" and, in general, for the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It has formulated the "National Informatisation Development Strategy 2006-2020", and explicitly placed special emphasis on international cooperation in order to team up with stakeholders at national, regional and international levels towards the achievement of the common objectives.This report, commissioned by the EU-China Information Society project, is a joint effort by the EU and China to investigate the role, practice and significance of international cooperation in information society. It intends to provide a wider, deeper and panoramic view of the activities and commitments in worldwide international cooperation on information society, and in particular, in China. The ultimate purposes of the report are to learn from the best practices, to identify potential priorities for future international cooperation, and to provide inspirations, insights and guidelines for stakeholders in both China and EU to conduct international cooperation on information society.


This dissertation presents a comprehensive and coherent approach to modeling and querying multimodal urban transportation networks. The time-dependent graph model captures the spatio-temporal aspects of real world transportation systems needed in order to effectively plan trips through the network. The temporal aspects of the model (e.g., transit schedules, current speed of roads) are modeled probabilistically. From the graph model, a relational model is developed in order to facilitate the generation of a new query language—the TRANsportation QUerY Language (TRANQUYL). This language allows for succinct and intuitive expression of complex trip planning queries.
In order to facilitate use of TRANQUYL by lay-users, a natural language interface was developed to translate English language queries into TRANQUYL. The approach was shown to be robust with regards to grammatical and vocabulary variation, and capable of translating long, complex queries. The system incorporates self referential language, allowing the user to make references to previously known places of interest as well as generic resources. Much of this functionality is accomplished through the use of ontologies. The efficacy of the system was shown through an intrinsic study.


Within a multi-cultural and multi-religious society, exposed to the challenges of globalization, a traditional understanding of humanism offers insufficient frameworks for an adequate comprehension of human agency, its flourishing and search for meaning. The process of globalization continuously shakes the pedagogical assumptions and principles of education, acceptable for a mono-cultural or religious society. If education leads us to make the best of ourselves or our students, then we should first answer anew the question about what we mean by the best in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. This article offers some guidelines for further pedagogical and philosophical reflection on a humanism that is more suitable for our life in the process of globalization and modernity. The globalization process moves us toward a better and more complex comprehension of what "human" means within a universe of divergent cultures, religions, traditions, and races. I call this humanism universal humanism, based on the Greek word καθολου, comprising both universality and wholeness. Such humanism includes not only the main characteristics of humanism rooted in the Greek and Roman culture, in which our Western tradition is based; it integrates also the best about the human from non-Western traditions. As universal, this humanism helps us transcend singular cultures, nations, political systems, religions, and, by default, discover or explore anew the meaning of the human person on a global, i.e. universal level. The last part of this article suggests some pedagogical attitudes that will help us to embrace and remain in a dialogical relationship with all of humanity, in order to enrich our comprehension of the incomparable worth of the human person, this time from a universal perspective.


This article presents a novel kinematic model and controller design for a mobile robot with four Centered Orientable Conventional (COC) wheels. When compared to non-conventional wheels, COC wheels perform better over rough terrain, are not subject to vertical chatter and offer better braking capability. However, COC wheels are pseudo-omnidirectional and subject to nonholonomic constraints. Several established modeling and control techniques define and control the Instantaneous Center of Rotation (ICR); however, this method involves singular configurations that are not trivial to eliminate. The proposed method uses a novel ICR-based kinematic model to avoid these singularities, and an ICR-based nonlinear controller for one 'master' wheel. The other 'slave' wheels simply track the resulting kinematic relationships between the 'master' wheel and the ICR. Thus, the nonlinear control problem is reduced from 12th to 3rd-order, becoming much more tractable. Simulations with a feedback linearization controller verify the approach.


Circular RNAs (circRNAs) that are a new class of endogenously expressed non-coding RNAs produced from back splicing with a covalently closed loop structure have been emerging as an important gene regulator in the physiological and pathological development of cells. It remains unknown about roles of circRNAs in DCs. The objective of the study is to investigate the impact of circular RNA FSCN1 (circFSCN1) on dendritic cell immune function. Bone marrow derived dendritic cells were cultured in vitro and circRNA expression was detected by circRNA microarrays and qRT-PCR. The effect of circFSCN1 on DCs was studied. We found that the expression profiles of circRNAs were significantly different in mature immunogenic DCs v.s immature immunosuppressive DCs. circFSCN1 was the most significantly highly expressed in mature DCs compared with immature DCs. Treatment with immunosuppressive cytokines TGF β and GDF15 reduced circFSCN1 expression in DCs. Knockdown of circFSCN1 using siRNA reduced the phosphorylation of Rel Ap65, but increased phosphorylated Foxo3. Silencing of circFSCN1 impaired DCs to activate T cells, changed inflammatory cytokine production and enhanced Treg generation whereas circFSCN1 siRNA did not affect DC maturation. In conclusion, it is a first report to demonstrate that circFSCN1 is essential for DC immune response.


1. In order to study the relationship between sodium and glucose transport along the nephron, clearance and micropuncture experiments were performed in 16 dogs before and after administration of diuretics with different sites of action. 2. Administration of acetazolamide, 20 mg (90 μmol)/kg, in nine dogs significantly reduced proximal tubular reabsorption of sodium and glucose and slightly increased 'distal' delivery of glucose. Since no glycosuria developed despite significant natriuresis, the increased 'distal' load of glucose must have been reabsorbed. 3. The possible site of this 'distal' glucose reabsorption was further studied in seven dogs which had received extracellular volume expansion to 10% of body weight and acetazolamide, 10 mg (45 μmol)/kg, to suppress proximal tubule reabsorption. When frusemide, 10 mg (30 μmol)/kg, was added, fractional glucose excretion increased from 0·3 to 2% in the absence of additional proximal tubular effect. However, the frusemide effect on 'distal' glucose transport was far smaller than that on sodium since fractional sodium excretion reached 40%. 4. Our results indicate a good correlation between sodium and glucose transport in the proximal tubule since both are inhibited by acetazolamide. Administration of large doses of frusemide leads to a modest glycosuria, probably by inhibition of glucose reabsorption in the loop of Henle. However, frusemide effect on the proximal tubule of deep nephrons cannot be completely excluded. The large discrepancy in the magnitude of natriuresis and glycosuria suggests dissociation of 'distal' sodium and glucose transport. Alternative explanations for the frusemide-induced glycosuria are also discussed.


This study aims to 1) To analyze interpretively the impact of the implementation of tax amnesty on MSMEs in Sidoarjo district. 2) To analyze and follow up the monitoring and evaluation model of the Tax Amnesty against MSME Actors in Sidoarjo Regency. The research subjects were MSME actors who performed Amnesty Taxes. The technique of collecting data uses In Depth Interview, Literature Study, Documentation. The technique of analyzing data uses qualitative data which is demonstrated by Focus Group Discussion (FGD). From the results of the study there are (1) negative impacts obtained: (a) weakening tax administration and reducing state revenues, (b) increasingly widening the income distribution gap, (c) creating social and racial jealousy, (d) the perception that Indonesia is a failed country because unable to enforce the rule of law in his own country. Whereas Dapak is positively obtained (a) Increasing state income, (b) Giving birth to new tax objects, (c) Secrets of taxpayers participating in the tax amnesty guaranteed security, (d) Increasing the growth of the property industry in the country, (e) Tax elimination that should be owed (f) Improve taxpayer compliance. (2) there are still many MSME actors in Sidoarjo who do not carry out Tax Amnesy because the public is afraid that in relation to the reduced profits (3) there is a lack of socialization and simulation of tax amnesty carried out by the government.


A new laser has been developed which generates hundreds of milliWatts of cw UV power below 260 nm. The laser consists of a small-frame Ar+-ion laser which is intracavity doubled with the use of BBO nonlinear optical crystals. More than 300 mW are available at 244 and 257 nm, while 180, 100, and 30 mW are available at 248, 238, and 228.9 nm, respectively. This laser is an ideal source for UV Raman spectroscopy since it avoids the nonlinear and saturation problems common with the typical pulsed laser excitation sources. It also minimizes thermal sample degradation. We demonstrate the increased spectral signal-to-noise ratios possible due to the ability to focus the cw laser into a small-volume element that can be efficiently imaged into the spectrometer. We demonstrate the ability of this laser to excite Raman spectra of solid samples such as coal-liquid residuals, and point out the utility of the 228.9-nm line for studying aromatic amino acids in proteins. We also demonstrate the ability to selectively study pyrene intercalated into calf thymus DNA.


Most people think success comes from good luck or enormous talent, but many successful people achieve their accomplishments in a simpler way: through self-discipline. No Excuses! shows you how you can achieve success in all three major areas of your life, including your personal goals, business and money goals, and overall happiness. Each of the 21 chapters in this book shows you how to be more disciplined in one aspect of your life, with end-of-chapter exercises to help you apply the "no excuses" approach to your own life. With these guidelines, you can learn how to be more successful in everything you do--instead of wistfully envying others you think are just "luckier" than you. A little self-discipline goes a long way...so stop making excuses and read this book!


A winner of the John S. Knight Assignment Sequence Prize, this sequence originates from the Department of History, Hist 100, Envisioning American: Images of Revolutionary People, 1492-1865. The connected assignments lead to a final research paper based on a "fragment" of history. "Fragments," that is, copies of primary sources (texts and images), are provided to the class by the third week of the seminar. Writing assignments are grouped into three levels of difficulty: assignments 1-3 involve close analysis and careful description; assignments 5 and 6 require synthesis and historiographical analysis; and the final assignments (7 and 9) ask students to engage in an independent research project. This sequence features a "book editing" project in which students submit proposals for a book including a historian's preface and four primary sources. Sequence materials include the course syllabus. 22 page pdf


We address the problem of characterizing the power attributed to local near-field scattering for the case of a linear equi-spaced array of sensors. The proposed method uses what we have termed the quadratic sensor angle distribution (SAD), previously called the spatial Wigner distribution. This distribution is a characterization of the power at every angle for each sensor in the array. In this distribution near-field sources have different angle for each sensor. The SAD is a joint-variable distribution and a dual in sensor number and angle to Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions. We use a known test source to illuminate the local scatterer distribution we wish to characterize and modify the received array snapshots to remove, via orthogonal projection, the direct propagation path from the test source so as to reveal the less powerful local scatter. An example is provided to demonstrate our technique.


International experience shows that achieving universal coverage has been an important way to ensure equity of access to health care and to protect people from bankruptcy due to severe illness. One common approach to universal coverage has been to expand public health insurance to cover all people in a country. In Thailand, universal coverage of health care in Thailand was achieved by expanding public insurance to the uninsured. Before universal coverage, there were two main public insurance schemes, the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS) and the Social Security Scheme (SSS). Merging two other schemes targeted at lower income groups, (the low income card scheme and health card scheme), and adding the uninsured population, produced the Universal Coverage Scheme (UC), a third and much larger scheme. The three schemes differ in a number of ways including funding, payment of provider and benefit package. There has been considerable concern that these characteristics might affect the performance of the insurance schemes.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the three public health insurance schemes in terms of their performance in selected areas. The first objective was to assess and explain variation in performance in terms of utilization, length of stay (LOS), and early readmission. The second was to identify the quality of care provided in each Insurance scheme using Diabetes Mellitus (OM) as a tracer of performance and examining LOS, early readmission, and various other indicators of quality of care. To answer the first objective, the Health and Welfare Survey 2005 was used to analyse uti lization by scheme and national claims data were used to analyse LOS and early readmission of OM patients. To assess quality of care in detail, primary quantitative and qualitative data were collected on OM patients and providers in Samutsakhon province.
The study indicates that the type of insurance scheme influences performance. The utilization review found that SSS members had a higher probability of using ambulatory services but a lower probability of being hospitalized. CSMBS members had a higher probability of being hospitalized. Members of the VC scheme had shorter LOS than CSMBS members and a higher probability of readmission relative to both SSS and CSMBS members.
The empirical study found that CSMBS members were more likely to receive care consistent with standard guidelines. However, intermediate outcomes such as fasting plasma glucose, and Haemoglobin Ale level, were not as good as might be expected possibly due to the effects of other factors such as body mass index and patient behaviour. The qualitative study found that different patient groups had different expectations and perceptions of quality of service and that the insurance scheme and hospital policy influenced provider behaviour.
The study demonstrates that, despite universal coverage, patients covered by different insurance schemes experienced variation in quantity and quality of care. Countries moving toward universal coverage should pay particular attention to the features of the insurance scheme design, especially with respect to management, organization, provider payment and the benefit package, as these features influence the performance of the scheme and the ability to achieve health system goals.


The Great Recession has highlighted that long-term unemployment may become a trap with loss of human capital. This paper extends the life-cycle model allowing for a small risk of long-term unemployment with permanent effects on labour income. Such nonlinear income risk dampens both early consumption and early investment in risky assets, resulting in an optimal equity portfolio share relatively flat in age. The driver of such flattening in the life-cycle profile is the resolution of uncertainty, as the worker ages, concerning this personal disaster. Shifting to such flatter investment profile away from a simple "age rule" delivers mean welfare gains that are three times larger than in models with linear labour income shocks.


An action research program was started in two Dutch concrete construction factories to reduce absenteeism due to sickness. Representatives of workers and managers analyzed all possible causes of absenteeism. This process was guided by the action researchers, who also explained theoretical models. Smaller working parties were then formed to formulate proposals for action. The working parties consisted of workers and foremen. Top management set aside a budget for improving the work environment. The communication structure in the organization was improved, especially by encouraging two-way communication and by creating more opportunities for workers to have their say and to participate. Care was taken to ensure a good fit between the absenteeism program and a Quality Control Program. The program succeeded in drastically reducing sickness absenteeism. The change process is described, with special attention to theoretical models and to the characteristics of action research.


Idea generation (ideation) is critical to the design and marketing of new products, to marketing strategy, and to the creation of effective advertising copy. However, there has been relatively little formal research on the underlying incentives with which to encourage participants to focus their energies on relevant and novel ideas. Several problems have been identified with traditional ideation methods. For example, participants often free ride on other participants' efforts because rewards are typically based on the group-level output of ideation sessions.

This paper examines whether carefully tailored ideation incentives can improve creative output. I begin by studying the influence of incentives on idea generation using a formal model of the ideation process. This model illustrates the effect of rewarding participants for their impact on the group and identifies a parameter that mediates this effect. I then develop a practical, web-based asynchronous "ideation game," which allows the implementation and test of various incentive schemes. Using this system, I run two experiments that demonstrate that incentives do have the capability to improve idea generation, confirm the predictions from the theoretical analysis, and provide additional insight on the mechanisms of ideation.


Aspen (Populus tremuloides) on the Gardiner Ranger District, Gallatin National Forest, have declined over the last half-century. In an attempt to reverse this trend, beaver (Castor canadensis) were reintroduced in Eagle Creek in 1991. Beaver promote aspen suckering through their dam and lodge building activities. In 2005, I assessed the long-term effects of beaver on aspen stands and the associated riparian area in the Eagle Creek Drainage. Aerial photographs taken in 1990 and 2005 were used to compare changes in riparian area vegetation where beaver were reintroduced. Aspen canopy cover decreased (P<0.05) from 43% to 25% on Eagle Creek (29 ha) between 1990 and 2005. Willow (Salix spp.) cover increased (P<0.05) from 10% to 14% and alder (Alnus incana) cover and water surface area doubled during the same period. Aspen recovery was estimated by comparing vegetative changes among control sites with <10% beaver use (n = 5), active beaver sites (n = 6), sites abandoned for 1-3 years (n = 7), sites abandoned for 4-6 years (n = 4), and sites abandoned for 7-11 years (n = 5). Thirty, 1-m plots were used to determine aspen density and one 60-m belt transect was used to calculate size-class distributions at each site. Aspen stem densities in active sites and sites abandoned by beaver for 13 years were similar (2.6/m) and increased (P=0.01) compared to all other sites (1/m). In addition, sprout and sapling densities were greater (P=0.01) in these sampling areas. However, aspen suckers were not able to grow taller than 2m on sites absent of beaver for 4-11 years, which prevented aspen recovery. Ungulate herbivory on aspen was assessed by comparing differences in 14 fenced (3 x 3m) and unfenced (3 x 3m) areas over 2 growing seasons. Growth rate of aspen suckers was greater (P=0.001) in fenced areas (32cm/year) compared to unfenced areas (0.25cm/year) due to ungulate herbivory. Total ungulate density for Eagle Creek was equivalent to 17.6 elk/km in the winter of 2005-06. Beaver activity stimulated the growth of aspen sprouts and saplings, but ungulate herbivory prevented successful aspen recovery in Eagle Creek.


Seed size and germination requirements of eight (of nine) Sarracenia species, and 13 populations of S. purpurea were studied. All species except for S. purpurea are restricted to the southeastern United States, whereas S. purpurea ranges across Canada, southward along the eastern United States into Maryland and Virginia (S. purpurea ssp. purpurea), and from New Jersey southward into northern Florida and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (S. purpurea ssp. venosa). I tested the hypotheses that dormancy-breaking requirements vary predictably among species across a latitudinal gradient. I also sought to determine whether seed size and germination requirements were useful characters for resolving systematic and phylogenetic questions within this genus. Seed size varied significantly among species, but variability in seed size within S. purpurea exceeded the variability in seed size observed across all eight species studied. Seeds of all species are morphophysiologically dormant upon dispersal. Length of required cool, moist pretreatment varied among species, and germination in higher latitude populations is enhanced with longer pretreatment. In contrast, variability in germination requirements of subspecies, varieties, and populations of the geographically wide-ranging S. purpurea was not related clearly to geographic location (latitude or elevation). Germination requirements do not map onto a proposed phylogeny of Sarracenia, but observed differences in germination requirements of S. purpurea ssp. venosa var. burkii relative to other populations of S. purpurea support the recent proposal to elevate this variety to species status.


Ventral regions of the cerebellum in combat veterans and mice are vulnerable to long-term traumatic brain injury caused by repetitive blast exposure. The cerebellum is vulnerable to blast injury in mice and combat veterans Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often referred to as the "signature injury" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these TBIs are blast-related. Currently, there is limited understanding of how mild blast causes persistent brain injuries. There is also limited insight into how blast-induced brain injuries in animal models correspond to humans with mild TBI. Meabon et al. report that the cerebellum, a brain structure important for integrating sensory information and movement, is injured by blast exposure in mice in specific areas that correspond to abnormal brain imaging findings obtained in similar cerebellar regions in blast-exposed combat veterans. Blast exposure can cause mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice and other mammals. However, there are important gaps in our understanding of the neuropathology underlying repetitive blast exposure in animal models compared to the neuroimaging abnormalities observed in blast-exposed veterans. Moreover, how an increase in the number of blast exposures affects neuroimaging endpoints in blast-exposed humans is not well understood. We asked whether there is a dose-response relationship between the number of blast-related mild TBIs and uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a commonly used indicator of neuronal activity, in the brains of blast-exposed veterans with mild TBI. We found that the number of blast exposures correlated with FDG uptake in the cerebellum of veterans. In mice, blast exposure produced microlesions in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) predominantly in the ventral cerebellum. Purkinje cells associated with these BBB microlesions displayed plasma membrane disruptions and aberrant expression of phosphorylated tau protein. Purkinje cell loss was most pronounced in the ventral cerebellar lobules, suggesting that early-stage breakdown of BBB integrity may be an important factor driving long-term brain changes. Blast exposure caused reactive gliosis in mouse cerebellum, particularly in the deep cerebellar nuclei. Diffusion tensor imaging tractography of the cerebellum of blast-exposed veterans revealed that mean diffusivity correlated negatively with the number of blast-related mild TBIs. Together, these results argue that the cerebellum is vulnerable to repetitive mild TBI in both mice and humans.


Introduction: driving is such a complex cognitive task that requires a high level of vigilance and response to an emergency. Anything that leads to cognitive performance degradation in the driver's mental processing, increases crash risks. Traffic noise as one of the most destructive elements of cognitive function was examined in this study. Methods: In this study, the sample consisted of 80 patients (40 cases and 40 controls) who were students of Tehran University of medical sciences that were selected through systematic sampling and then the average sound pressure level recorded traffic noise was played for participants in the acoustics room. To Measure reaction time and error in time movement anticipation, the RT and ZBA softwares were used ,respectively. Results: The results revealed that reaction time increased significantly after exposure to traffic noise. The error time movement after exposure to traffic noise has not significant difference. Conlusions: According to the results it can be concluded that mental activities such as speed and power of information processing are affected by traffic noise and in a confrontation with traffic noise show


A method of phase retrieval from the experimental modulus |χ(3)| spectra of third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility is presented on the basis of the maximum-entropy model. This method enables one to derive the real and the imaginary parts of χ(3) without using the nonlinear Kramers–Kronig calculation, which is usually hazardous in nonlinear optical spectroscopy because of the limited range of measurements. Theoretical and experimental modulus spectra of polysilane are analyzed. The results from the experimental modulus are compared with the Kramers–Kronig calculations as well as with the measured phase values. It is also shown how the method can be optimized to reduce the distortions that result from noise in the calculated spectra.


Addition of purified GM1 gangliosides inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated proliferation of purified B cells by greater than 90%. Addition of gangliosides to B cells as late as 120 min after the addition of LPS still inhibited B-cell proliferation, suggesting that inhibition did not simply reflect direct binding of LPS to gangliosides. Gangliosides also inhibited proliferation of B cells stimulated by anti-Ig antibodies, albeit to a lesser degree than inhibition of the LPS-stimulated response. The finding that B-cell proliferation stimulated by the combination of PMA+ionomycin was also inhibited by gangliosides suggests that its inhibitory activity did not reflect interference with binding of the B-cell stimuli to membrane receptors. The inhibitory effect of gangliosides was not restricted to B cells, since LPS-induced TNF production by macrophages was also inhibited in vitro. The inhibitory activity of gangliosides was also seen in vivo, and mice injected with soluble gangliosides or implanted with slow-release pellets impregnated with gangliosides showed reduced TNF production in vivo in response to LPS. Mice that were implanted with these slow-release pellets were also protected from LPS-induced lethality. Thus, while only 10% of control mice survived injection with LPS+galactosamine, the experimental group showed a 64% survival. It is likely that this protective effect reflects the ability of gangliosides to suppress LPS-mediated TNF production. This model provides a basis for studying a regulatory role for gangliosides in B-cell activation in vitro and macrophage activation in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, it suggests new approaches to suppress the toxic effects induced by LPS in vivo.


25-fs pulses with energies of 4 nJ are generated from a self-mode-locked Cr:forsterite laser with optimized cavity dispersion. The duration of the shortest pulses is limited by the gain bandwidth of Cr:forsterite. Using a model based on a solitonlike pulse formation, we infer a value of 2 × 10−16 cm2/W for the nonlinear refractive index of forsterite at 1.3 μm.


The field of Jungian psychology has been growing steadily over the last twenty years and awareness is increasing of its relevance to the predicaments of modern life. Jung appeals not only to professionals who are looking for a more humane and creative way of working with their clients, but also to academics in an increasingly wide range of disciplines.

This Handbook is unique in presenting a clear, comprehensive and systematic exposition of the central tenets of Jung's work which has something to offer to both specialists and those seeking an introduction to the subject. Internationally recognised experts in Jungian Psychology cover the central themes in three sections: Theory, Psychotherapy & Applications. Each chapter begins with an introduction locating the topic in the context of Jung's work as a whole, before moving on to an investigation of contemporary developments and concluding by demonstrating how Jung's theories continue to evolve and develop through their practical therapeutic applications.


Software effort estimation is a key element of software project planning and management. Yet, in industrial practice, the important role of effort estimation is often underestimated and/or misunderstood. In this book, Adam Trendowicz presents the CoBRA method (an abbreviation for Cost Estimation, Benchmarking, and Risk Assessment) for estimating the effort required to successfully complete a software development project, which uniquely combines human judgment and measurement data in order to systematically create a custom-specific effort estimation model. CoBRA goes far beyond simply predicting the development effort; it supports project decision-makers in negotiating the project scope, managing project risks, benchmarking productivity, and directing improvement activities. To illustrate the methods practical use, the book reports several real-world cases where CoBRA was applied in various industrial contexts. These cases represent different estimation contexts in terms of software project environment, estimation objectives, and estimation constraints. This book is the result of a successful collaboration between the process management division of Fraunhofer IESE and many software companies in the field of software engineering technology transfer. It mainly addresses software practitioners who deal with planning and managing software development projects as part of their daily work, and is also of interest for students or courses specializing in software engineering or software project management.


Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that afflicts approximately 12 million people worldwide. There are several limitations to the approved drug therapies for leishmaniasis, including moderate to severe toxicity, growing drug resistance, and the need for extended dosing. Moreover, miltefosine is currently the only orally available drug therapy for this infection. We addressed the pressing need for new therapies by pursuing a two-step phenotypic screen to discover novel, potent, and orally bioavailable antileishmanials. First, we conducted a high-throughput screen (HTS) of roughly 600,000 small molecules for growth inhibition against the promastigote form of the parasite life cycle using the nucleic acid binding dye SYBR Green I. This screen identified approximately 2,700 compounds that inhibited growth by over 65% at a single point concentration of 10 μM. We next used this 2700 compound focused library to identify compounds that were highly potent against the disease-causing intra-macrophage amastigote form and exhibited limited toxicity toward the host macrophages. This two-step screening strategy uncovered nine unique chemical scaffolds within our collection, including two previously described antileishmanials. We further profiled two of the novel compounds for in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and in vivo pharmacokinetics. Both compounds proved orally bioavailable, affording plasma exposures above the half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) concentration for at least 12 hours. Both compounds were efficacious when administered orally in a murine model of cutaneous leishmaniasis. One of the two compounds exerted potent activity against trypanosomes, which are kinetoplastid parasites related to Leishmania species. Therefore, this compound could help control multiple parasitic diseases. The promising pharmacokinetic profile and significant in vivo efficacy observed from our HTS hits highlight the utility of our two-step phenotypic screening strategy and strongly suggest that medicinal chemistry optimization of these newly identified scaffolds will lead to promising candidates for an orally available anti-parasitic drug.


Organic anion transporters (OATs) play an essential role in the elimination of numerous endogenous and exogenous organic anions from the body. The renal OATs contribute to the excretion of many drugs and their metabolites that are important in clinical medicine. Several families of multispecific organic anion and cation transporters, including OAT family transporters, have recently been identified by molecular cloning. The OAT family consists of six isoforms (OAT1 - 4, URAT1, and rodent Oat5) and they are all expressed in the kidney, while some are also expressed in the liver, brain, and placenta. The OAT family represents mainly the renal secretory and reabsorptive pathway for organic anions and is also involved in the distribution of organic anions in the body, drug-drug interactions, and toxicity of anionic substances such as nephrotoxic drugs and uremic toxins. In this review, current knowledge of and recent progress in the understanding of several aspects of OAT family members are discussed.


During the past decade, Wade Guyton (b. 1972) has emerged as one of the most innovative and influential artists of his generation by using common technology to reinvent abstraction and question the ways in which images function and circulate. His works range from "drawings" made by printing letters and shapes on found book pages using word-processing software to "paintings" executed by running sheets of primed canvas through a large-format printer. The misuse of these machines results in accidents that create subtle painterly incident while gesturing to a world of technological failure and possibility. Guyton's works are often deployed in dramatic architectural installations; drawings fill dozens of vitrines and multi-panel paintings stretch fifty feet wide or more than twenty feet high. This book illuminates Guyton's unconventional working methods and the development of his techniques, showcasing the visual flair and conceptual provocation inherent in his art.


Background Lung transplantation has been established as the definitive treatment option for patients with advanced lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). However, the prognosis after registration and the circumstances of lung transplantation with sirolimus therapy have never been reported. Methods In this national survey, we analyzed data from 98 LAM patients registered for lung transplantation in the Japan Organ Transplantation Network. Results Transplantation was performed in 57 patients as of March 2014. Survival rate was 86.7% at 1 year, 82.5% at 3 years, 73.7% at 5 years, and 73.7% at 10 years. Of the 98 patients, 21 had an inactive status and received sirolimus more frequently than those with an active history (67% vs. 5%, p<0.001). Nine of twelve patients who remained inactive as of March 2014 initiated sirolimus before or while on a waiting list, and remained on sirolimus thereafter. Although the statistical analysis showed no statistically significant difference, the survival rate after registration tended to be better for lung transplant recipients than for those who awaited transplantation (p = 0.053). Conclusions Lung transplantation is a satisfactory therapeutic option for advanced LAM, but the circumstances for pre-transplantation LAM patients are likely to alter with the use of sirolimus.


The paramount objective of this article is to tease out the workings of participation-based humour in film discourse. The departure point is an extension of the dyadic model of communication in the context of fictional media discourse. Differentiation is thus made between hearer types at the inter-character level, which subscribes to a participation framework typical of everyday interactions. Secondly, the film viewer, the hearer at the second communicative level, is conceptualised as a distinct hearer type, namely the recipient. Most importantly, it is shown that sitcom humour, devised by the collective sender (the film crew) to be appreciated by the recipient, tends to be based on participation phenomena, which are frequently non-humorous from the perspective of (some or all) fictional participants. Therefore, a few humorous mechanisms specific to film discourse of sitcoms are elucidated. The paper is illustrated with examples from the famous TV comedy series entitled "Friends".


Abstract The transport and logistics sector is of vital importance for the stimulation of trade and hence the economic development of nations. However, over the last few years, this sector has taken central stage in the green agenda due to the negative environmental effects derived from its operations. Several disciplines including operations research and sub-areas of supply chain management such as green supply chains, green logistics and reverse logistics have tried to address this problem. However, despite the work undertaken through these disciplines, theoretical or empirical research into the sequential or simultaneous deployment of the lean and green paradigms, particularly, in the road transport and logistics sector is limited. This paper presents a case study where both paradigms have been combined to improve the transport operations of a world leader logistics organisation in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico. To do this, a systematic methodology and a novel tool called Sustainable Transportation Value Stream Map (STVSM) were proposed. The results obtained from the case study indicate that the concurrent deployment of the green and lean paradigms through such methodology and the STVSM tool is an effective approach to improve both operational efficiency and environmental performance of road transport operations. The paper can be used as a guiding reference for transport and logistics organisations to undertake improvement projects similar to the one presented in this paper. Additionally, this research also intends to stimulate scholarly research into the application of lean and green paradigms in the transport and logistics sector to expand the limited research pursued in this area.


PURPOSE
Keratocyte-to-myofibroblast differentiation is a key factor in corneal wound healing. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of environmental nanoscale topography on keratocyte, fibroblast, and myofibroblast cell behavior.

METHODS
Primary rabbit corneal keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts were seeded onto planar polyurethane surfaces with six patterned areas, composed of anisotropically ordered grooves and ridges with a 400-, 800-, 1200-, 1600-, 2000-, and 4000-nm pitch (pitch = groove + ridge width). After 24 hours cells were fixed, stained, imaged, and analyzed for cell shape and orientation. For migration studies, cells on each patterned surface were imaged every 10 minutes for 12 hours, and individual cell trajectories and migration rates were calculated.

RESULTS
Keratocytes, fibroblasts, and myofibroblasts aligned and elongated to pitch sizes larger than 1000 nm. A lower limit to the topographic feature sizes that the cells responded to was identified for all three phenotypes, with a transition zone around the 800- to 1200-nm pitch size. Fibroblasts and myofibroblasts migrated parallel to surface ridges larger than 1000 nm but lacked directional guidance on submicron and nanoscale topographic features and on planar surfaces. Keratocytes remained essentially immobile.

CONCLUSIONS
Corneal stromal cells elongated, aligned, and migrated, differentially guided by substratum topographic features. All cell types failed to respond to topographic features approximating the dimensions of individual stromal fibers. These findings contribute to our understanding of corneal stromal cell biology in health and disease and their interaction with biomaterials and their native extracellular matrix.


In this chapter you will learn to install the basic distribution of R, as well as add-on packages. The chapter also introduces the basics of R syntax and demonstrates how to perform simple operations with different R objects. Special attention is paid to importing and exporting your own data to and from R and saving your graphical output. You will also be able to interpret error messages and warnings that R may give you and search for additional information on R functions.


. Our goal is to show that the standard model-theoretic concept of types can be applied in the study of order-invariant properties, i.e., properties definable in a logic in the presence of an auxiliary order relation, but not actually dependent on that order relation. This is somewhat surprising since order-invariant properties are more of a combinatorial rather than a logical object. We provide two applications of this notion. One is a proof, from the basic principles, of a theorem by Courcelle stating that over trees, order-invariant MSO properties are expressible in MSO with counting quantifiers. The other is an analog of the Feferman-Vaught theorem for order-invariant properties.


Although written over four hundred years after Alexander's death, Arrian's account of the man and his achievements is the most reliable we have. Arrian's own experience as a military commander gave him unique insights into the life of the world's greatest conqueror. He tells of Alexander's violent suppression of the Theban rebellion, his defeat of Persia and campaigns through Egypt and Babylon - establishing new cities and destroying others in his path. While Alexander emerges as a charismatic leader, Arrian succeeds brilliantly in creating an objective portrait of a man of boundless ambition, who was exposed to the temptations of power.


The purpose of this article is to show how empirical research has revealed that effective policing often integrates and depends upon an amalgam of art, craft, and science. It focuses explicitly on the findings of the study of policing concerned with actions, practice, and the conduct of formal social control by both public and private actors. It provides a framework for understanding the reasons for policing being empirically studied. It represents the continuities and changes in the ideas that animate policing policy and practice and charts the key trajectories of development. This article proceeds further by establishing a broad framework for mapping the key orientations of research on the policing function. It also explores three key dimensions of policing: order management, crime management, and security management. Finally, it concludes by identifying some emerging trends in the organization and conduct of police work as policing organizations seek to reconfigure their capacities and capabilities to meet new challenges.


We demonstrated a 3D holoscopic video system for 3DTV application. We showed that using a field lens and a square aperture significantly reduces the vignetting problem associated with a relay system and achieves over 95 percent fill factor. The main problem for such a relay system is the nonlinear distortion during the 3D image capturing, which can seriously affect the reconstruction process for a 3D display. The nonlinear distortion mainly includes lens radial distortion (intrinsic) and microlens array perspective distortion (extrinsic). This is the task of future work. Our results also show that the SS coding approach performs better than the standard HEVC scheme. Furthermore, we show that search and retrieval performance relies on the depth map's quality and that the multimodal fusion boosts the retrieval performance.


Guided by the 3 x 4 matrix presented in Figure 5.1, we have selected from the literature 12 case studies of technological failure, one case study for each cell in the matrix, as is indicated in Figure 6.1. Each case study was carefully selected among many potential candidates as an exemplar that would illustrate the two underlying dimensions of the matrix: causes of failure and type of industrial revolution. We, of course, do not claim that these case studies are representative of all cases of technological failure; since, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no single source that provides an exhaustive compilation of technological failures. If space were not a substantial constraint, we would have preferred to select at least two case studies for each of the twelve cells in the matrix in order to assure readers that our classification of the cases is not idiosyncratic. Each case study is prefaced with a summary descriptive note.


The essays in More than One examine sequentiality and serialism in the practice of photography from the medium's earliest years to the present. Contributors explore nuances of syntax and sense raised by works like photographic albums, books, thematic portfolios, journalistic photo features, and documentations of performance art. Fully illustrated essays discuss, among other topics, the little-known volume Beyond This Point (1929), a collaborative experiment by American photographer Francis Bruguiere and London radio producer Lance Sieveking; the evolving relationship between public space and sexual self-definition in the early work of Minor White; and an important performance work by artist Ana Mendieta. The title essay surveys the social conditions and expressive motives that have given rise to serial and sequential forms throughout the history of photography.


What has become known as 'the systemic turn' in the recent literature on deliberative democracy looks like a promising development. However, while much theorizing has been devoted to the question of what a deliberative system may look like, very little has been offered in terms of criteria for what is required for a system to be deliberative democratic. This paper aims to contribute to the systemic approach by setting out a number of desiderata that a satisfactory account of deliberative systems should consider when developing such criteria. This is done by analyzing the main properties of a deliberative system in relation to three essential aspects of democracy: representation, equality, and inclusion. Among other things, it is argued that when theorizing criteria for what a deliberative system requires, a systemic account should carefully distinguish between political and epistemic representation, between political and epistemic equality, and between political and epistemic inclusion.


Objectives & Background The average age of patients occupying the ED in Beaumont ED is seen to be rising and this fact coupled with an aging population points to potential future demand pressures on ED departments. This research looks at the changing age profile of patients that attend the ED and the relationship between age and waiting time or Patient Experience Time (PET) in the ED. This research is part of a wider research project looking to simulate patient flows through the ED. Methods We analysed a 10 year dataset from the ED at Beaumont Hospital to study trends in average patient age and PETs. We then applied linear regression to the 2013 data, (60,000 patient visits to the ED), to examine the relationship between age and PET. Three separate models were developed with PET, time from admission to first medical and time from bed request to being admitted to hospital as the respective dependent variables. These models also controlled for triage type, patient admitted (Yes/No), number in ED and other factors. Results The average age of ED patients has risen from 43.8 years in 2005 to 48.2 years in 2014 (Figure 1). These older patients have a greater likelihood of admission and in addition experience longer waiting times in ED (See Figures 2 and 3). Using a regression analysis, age was seen to contribute an extra half an hour in PET per 10 year increase. Age had, in contrast, a negative effect on time to first medical with lower waiting times for older age groups. In the final model, predicting the patient time from bed request to being admitted to hospital, age emerged as the most significant factor, with older patients experiencing significantly longer waits. Figure 4 demonstrates these findings, in particular the significant proportion of PET for older patients due to bed requests. Conclusion Age has a significant effect on patient experience time in the ED. The time to first medical care is mainly driven by triage category, but even controlling for this, older people receive care faster. However, subsequently older patients spend longer in the ED and this is due to longer waits for older patients for a hospital bed. The result is an ED populated with elderly boarders. With an ageing national population in Ireland this research emphasises a need to plan for the future healthcare of elderly patients within and beyond acute hospitals. Figure 1 Average Age of Beaumont ED Attendees. Figure 2 Age profile of Beaumont ED Patients (Admitted and Discharged). Figure 3 Average Patient Experience Time per Age Band for Admitted and Discharged Patients. Figure 4 Waiting Times by Age Band (2014).


This article provides an overview of the problem of orphans in the ancient Mediterranean world and identifies ways in which various societies acknowledged orphans' plight and sought to address it. Part 1 gives the ancient definition of "orphan" as a "fatherless child" and statistical estimates for the percentage of children who had lost their father. Part 2 identifies five factors (inadequate public health care, low life expectancy, war deaths, death during childbirth, and differences in age at first marriage for men and women) that contributed to the high incidence of orphans in antiquity. Part 3 surveys the recognition of orphans' vulnerability in ancient Babylon, ancient Israel and early Judaism, ancient Greece, and imperial Rome. Part 4 discusses the treatment of orphans in early Christianity, focusing on the pre-Constantinian period. Part 5 offers a brief conclusion that notes both personal and institutional responses by Christians to the plight of orphans.


Williams expressed himself in the language of symbols. They were not ornaments to his work, but were to his mind the only satisfactory means of expressing himself as an artist, and predate almost every other consideration in the process of composition. Characterization, dialogue, plot and setting were all selected based on their potential to represent symbolically his identity and experience, and more specifically, the conflict between spirit and flesh which he felt had come to define him. However, before transforming his life into symbols, he attempted to abstract the world of his experience into something pure, something elemental and universal, as he insisted all artists should. The imagery of stasis is his primary symbol for spirituality and innocence, whereas the imagery of flux, particularly of rivers flowing into oceans, is his symbol for carnality. In The Glass Menagerie, Laura and her glass figures represent spirit, while her brother Tom, who abandons her and becomes a sailor, represents flesh. Laura also represents things Williams considered related to spirituality: the Old South, romantic idealists, and what he calls those "small and tender things that relieve the austere pattern of life and make it endurable to the sensitive," entities which time, industrialism, and the modern world ultimately destroy. Virtually every element of the play serves as a symbol which amplifies the struggle between Laura and all she signifies and the forces ranged in opposition to her. In his discussion, Barnard analyzes each character in turn, explicating those symbols which pertain to him or her; thereafter, he shows how these symbols interact as the play draws to a close.


In 2009, Kumam [7] introduced a new iterative scheme for finding the common element of the set of fixed points of a nonexpansive mapping, the set of solutions of an equilibrium problem and the set of solutions of the variational inequality for monotone, Lipschitz-continuous mappings and proved its strong convergence in a real Hilbert space. The aim of this paper is to prove a strong convergence result of this iterative scheme in the setting of Banach spaces involving an inverse strongly accretive operator under some conditions. As a special case, we shall prove that proposed iterative scheme converges strongly to minimum norm solution of some variational inequality problem.


Courts and commentators have forgotten that embedded in the duty of physicians to obtain a patient's informed consent is a prior obligation for physicians to get to know that patient. This is most clear in jurisdictions employing the reasonable person standard of disclosure. That standard requires physicians to disclose to a patient information that a reasonable person would want to know if that person were in the patient's position or, more precisely, if that person were "in what the physician should know to be the patient's position." Thus, a physician must learn some minimal information about each patient's "position." An examination of common law reveals that, with rare exception, courts interpret the patient's position to mean nothing more than the patient's medical condition. This article argues that such an understanding of each patient is insufficient for the purposes of achieving efficient use of clinical time, healthy outcomes, and patient autonomy. Instead, the law should require physicians to make a reasonable inquiry about each patient's treatment goals. Such an inquiry will dispel incorrect assumptions that can result from a mere medical assessment of each patient. Under a reasonable inquiry rule, patients would be less likely to receive unnecessary treatment, more likely to play a role in planning their own treatments, more likely to comply with treatment plans and more likely to perceive their physicians as caring professionals. The article concludes that the rule of reasonable inquiry about patients' treatment goals strikes an appropriate balance between the need for autonomy and the need for clinical efficiency.


This investigation centers on the effects of oscillating normal shocks in unsteady flow. Systematic measurements in a turbine model in an annular cascade preceded the detailed investigations. This setup was used to detect the phenomena which cause shock induced flutter. The phenomenon "oscillating shock" was then isolated and investigated in a 2-D nozzle. The objectives of the investigation were the Installation of a system for the excitation of periodic oscillations of a normal shock in a nozzle. Measurement of the behaviour of the normal shock and the unsteady pressures in the frequency range existing in turbomachines (0 to 200 Hz excitation frequency). Investigation of the effects of the boundary layer on the response of an unsteady pressure transducer under the influence of an oscillating shock. Creation of a computation program for nonlinearized unsteady flows in nozzles containing an oscillating normal shock; emphasis is put on sharp shock capturing. Introduction of viscosity models in the computational program for estimating the influence of the boundary layer on the behaviour of the shock and the unsteady pressures. For the measurement, different current methods were used. The determination of the unsteady shock position was made by both a laser-2-focus-velocimeter and a line scan camera. The unsteady pressures were measured with unsteady pressure transducers at several positions in the side wall of the nozzle. Close to the shock, laser holography was used to obtain information about the zone of interaction between the shock and the boundary layer. The computation method developed is based on the Euler equations in conservative form. For viscous computations, the viscosity terms are included as perturbing terms inside the system of equations. With the aid of the flux-vector-splitting-method, the domains of physical influence are correctly taken into account. Thus, the shock is sharply captured (within only two mesh points). The main results of this work are The boundary layer over an unsteady pressure transducer has a quasi-steady behaviour with respect to the phase lag, but not with respect to the pressure amplitude. This means that the pressure fluctuations are in phase with the shock movement. The pressure amplitude depends on the frequency and on the boundary layer thickness. The wall region influenced by the shock is increased due to the boundary layer. The pressure increase or decrease takes place in a larger region on the wall. Thus, the pressure transducer sees the arriving shock before it has actually reached the position of the pressure transducer. The computational program developed was successfully validated with other available computational methods for steady state flows. The computed unsteady phenomena match well the results of the measurements. The computational method is tested and can now be upgraded for the computation of unsteady flows through oscillating cascades.


When the public think about natural hazards, space weather is not the first thing to come to mind. Yet, though uncommon, extreme space weather events can have an economic impact similar to that of large floods or earthquakes. Although there have been efforts across various sectors of society to communicate this topic, many people are still quite confused about it, having only a limited understanding of the relevance of space weather in their daily lives. As such, it is crucial to prop erly communicate this topic to a variety of audiences. This article explores why we should communicate space weather research, how it can be framed for different audiences and how researchers, science communicators, policy makers and the public can raise awareness of the topic.


While much has been written about visual literacy and multimodal teaching, almost nothing has been published on preparing instructors and graduate teaching assistants to provide students with the mechanics of visual design, rhetoric, and cultural criticism to help them build complex, multimodal projects that go beyond visual inclusion and critique. This chapter focuses on a graduate course on visual literacy, rhetoric, and design that was taught by one of the authors and taken by the other four. Grounded in previous claims for visual literacy in the field, the authors open by introducing how and why students can be helped to develop visual arguments. It then introduces the graduate course, and 10 strategies for successful multimodal, project-based teaching, which are exemplified by graduate and undergraduate project examples. The chapter concludes with example assignments from two of the graduate authors and a call for a dedicated cross-disciplinary graduate course for multimodal pedagogy.