Nominally doped and undoped nano- and microsized Silicon powders were characterized by determining in-situ the conductance, impedance, and the change of porosity while applying a uniaxial mechanical pressure ranging from 7.5 to 750 MPa. The conductance shows an exponential dependence on the applied pressure for nanosized particles and a power law for microsized particles. Simple scaling considerations with respect to the particle size cannot explain this fundamentally different behavior. A slow time dependent change in conductance together with a decrease in porosity was observed while applying a constant pressure, suggesting friction-limited compaction of the powder. For a constant external force, the comparison of samples with different particle size leads to a clear power law dependence between the conductance of pressed samples and their mean particle diameter. This size effect spans seven orders of magnitude in conductance while the particle size changes by only a factor of ten. The conductance clearly exceeds any influence of the doping concentration and the variation of the sample mass. In agreement with the observed compaction of the powder, impedance spectra show a strong increase of the sample capacitance and conductance as a function of the applied pressure.


The IR spectra of solutions of HF in methanol have been measured as the molar ratio of the components is varied from 1:12 to 7:1. The features of the absorption of HF-CH3OH binary mixtures of various concentrations are analyzed, and the spectral attributes of the molecular heterocomplexes present in them are explained. It is established by analyzing the concentration dependence of the optical density of the test solutions, normalized to the total number of moles per liter, that associates of molecules are formed in them with stoichiometric HF:CH3OH ratios equal to 2:1 and about 6:1. These results are compared with analogous data obtained from the concentration dependence of the excess density of solutions of HF in methanol.


Regular languages are one of the oldest, well-known topics in formal language theory. Indeed, it has been more than a half century since the introduction of regular languages. During this time period, many challenging and exciting problems have been solved. Because of recent applications in new areas such as XML and bioinformatics, many problems have arisen and some of them have created new areas to investigate with respect to regular languages.
First, we survey finite-state automaton constructions and state elimination, which we then use to prove the Kleene theorem. In particular, we study the structural properties of finite-state automata for computing shorter regular expressions using state elimination. We show that we should not eliminate certain states before others to obtain a shorter regular expression. Furthermore, we propose a divide-and-conquer heuristic for state elimination based on the structural properties of given finite-state automata.
Second, we look at a popular application of regular languages, the pattern matching problem. We notice that if a given pattern is prefix-free, then there are at most a linear number of matching substrings. Based on this observation, we establish an efficient algorithm for the prefix-free regular-expression matching problem. Furthermore, we vigorously examine subfamilies of regular languages and investigate the decision problems for these subfamilies. We discover that a finite-state automaton for each subfamily preserves certain structural properties. Based on these properties, we design efficient algorithms for decision problems. Moreover, we define a new subfamily of regular languages, simple-regular languages, and study the complexity of this family.
Lastly, we examine the prime decomposition of regular languages. We show that the prime infix-free decomposition is not unique whereas the prime outfix-free decomposition is unique. We also suggest algorithms for computing prime decompositions for each subfamily in polynomial time. Note that in general, the prime decomposition of regular languages is not unique and the primality test is conjectured to be NP-complete.
We expect that we can extend results in this thesis to more general families such as context-free languages. We aim to develop applications based on this new research.


Introduction: New Zealand's early response to Covid-19 ensured the successful elimination of the novel coronavirus, but came with an economic and social toll, particularly among Māori and Pacific communities. Within these communities, young people have experienced higher levels of distress and anxiety. This report gives a synopsis of the YWCA study on the experiences and impacts of COVID-19 as told by young Māori and Pacific women.
Methods: Based on collaborative and empowerment-based methods, the YWCA study followed a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology guided by both Kaupapa Māori practices and Pacific Research protocols. In doing so, participants were co-researchers and partners in the research process. The methods of data collection adopted for this study entailed wānanga (forum to deliberate and discuss) and talanoa (narrative style interview). 14 young Māori and Pacific women aged between 18 and 30 took part in a 2-day wānanga and shared stories and experiences living through the pandemic.
Results/Discussion: The YWCA study in partnership with the participants and co-researchers identified three key themes including response, recovery, and resilience. These key themes led to understandings and determinants of well-being for young Māori and Pacific women in New Zealand.
Conclusion: The YWCA study yields findings that relate to experiences of young Māori and Pacific women during the Covid-19 lockdowns of 2020. Determinants of well-being and strategies in supporting young Māori and Pacific women were identified during the research process. The study can be useful in applying a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach through the lens of Māori and Pacific worldviews.


We propose secure multi-party computation techniques for the distributed computation of the average using a privacy-preserving extension of gossip algorithms. While recently there has been mainly research on the side of gossip algorithms (GA) for data aggregation itself, to the best of our knowledge, the aforementioned research line does not take into consideration the privacy of the entities involved. More concretely, it is our objective to not reveal a node's private input value to any other node in the network, while still computing the average in a fully-decentralized fashion. Not revealing in our setting means that an attacker gains only minor advantage when guessing a node's private input value. We precisely quantify an attacker's advantage when guessing - as a mean for the level of data privacy leakage of a node's contribution. Our results show that by perturbing the input values of each participating node with pseudo-random noise with appropriate statistical properties (i) only a minor and configurable leakage of private information is revealed, by at the same time (ii) providing a good average approximation at each node. Our approach can be applied to a decentralized prosumer market, in which participants act as energy consumers or producers or both, referred to as prosumers.


Long-term (5-yr) measurements of Black Carbon (BC) and Organic Carbon (OC) in bulk aerosols are presented here for the first time in the Mediterranean Basin (Crete Island). A multi-analytical approach (including thermal, optical, and thermo-optical techniques) was applied for these BC and OC measurements. Light absorbing dust aerosols have shown to poorly contribute (+17% on a yearly average) to light absorption coefficient ( b abs ) measurements performed by an optical method (aethalometer). Long-range transport of agricultural waste burning from European countries surrounding the Black Sea was shown for each year during two periods (March–April and July–September). The contribution of biomass burning to the concentrations of BC and OC has shown to be rather small (20 and 14%, respectively, on a yearly basis), although this contribution could be much higher on a monthly basis and is expected a high intra and inter annual variability. By removing the biomass burning influence, our data revealed an important seasonal variation of OC, with an increase by almost a factor of two for the Spring months of May and June, whereas BC was found to be quite stable throughout the year. Preliminary measurements of Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) have shown that the monthly mean WSOC/OC ratio remains stable throughout the year (0.45±0.12), suggesting that the partitioning between water soluble and water insoluble organic matter is not significantly affected by biomass burning and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. A chemical mass closure performed in the fine mode (Aerodynamic Diameter, A.D.<1.5 µm) showed that the mass contribution of organic matter (POM) was found to be essentially invariable during the year (monthly average of 26±5%).


We describe here the application of a new parallel interval Newton/generalized bisection algorithm for solving the large, sparse, nonlinear algebraic equation systems arising in chemical process flowsheeting. The algorithm is based on the simultaneous application of root inclusion tests to multiple interval regions, and it is designed for implementation on MIMD computers with a combination of local and shared memory. The algorithm was tested successfully on several relatively small flowsheeting problems. The tests were performed using between 2 and 32 nodes of a BBN TC2000 parallel computer.


This paper examines the channels via which climate change and policies to mitigate it could affect a central bank's ability to meet its monetary and financial stability objectives. We argue that two types of risks are particularly relevant for central banks. First, a weather-related natural disaster could trigger financial and macroeconomic instability if it severely damages the balance sheets of households, corporates, banks, and insurers (physical risks). Second, a sudden, unexpected tightening of carbon emission policies could lead to a disorderly re-pricing of carbon-intensive assets and a negative supply shock (transition risks). Climate-related disclosure could facilitate an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy if it helps a wide range of investors better assess their financial risk exposures.


The Membrane Attack Complex - PerForin (MACPF) superfamily is known to have a diverse array of roles in immunity, embryonic development and neural function. BRINPs (Bone Morphogenetic Protein – Retinoic Acid Inducible Neural specific Proteins) are a family of three MACPF domain-containing proteins that are highly expressed during rodent neural development. Each contains a MACPF domain, but the remainder of the molecule has no significant sequence similarity to any other structurally or functionally characterised protein. BRINP orthologues are highly conserved across vertebrates, suggesting they perform essential functions. In rodents, all three Brinps are ubiquitously expressed in the brain at early embryonic stages, with Brinp1 most highly expressed. In postnatal to adult stages Brinp1 expression is restricted to the hippocampus, olfactory bulb, cerebellum and cerebral cortex. Only low expression of Brinp2 and Brinp3 is observed at these stages. In this study, the zebrafish animal model was used to study the function of brinps in the developing brain, and to determine the effect of disrupting their function. A bioinformatic approach was applied to explore the evolutionary relationships between BRINP family members. The locus arrangement of BRINP genes is conserved in mammals and teleosts. Full-length zebrafish orthologues were identified and cloned, and two additional brinp3 paralogues were discovered. Brinp gene expression in zebrafish was reminiscent of the expression in rodents. Expression was unrestricted in the brain at early stages (24 hpf) and localised to specific brain structures in older embryos (48-72 hpf). Expression was also observed in the primordial fin buds. In addition to the broad and overlapping expression pattern of all brinps, brinp1 was exclusively detected in the lateral line primordium. Through morpholino oligonucleotide gene silencing, loss of function of the brinp1 gene was examined and determined to result in pleiotropic defects in the developing embryo. At 48 hpf, embryos exhibited a curved body axis, aberrant neuromast formation and defects in axonal projections in the head and tail. Finally, this study has led to the identification of a pathway in which brinp1 may function. It was possible to reverse the effect of the curved tail and loss of neuromasts by 72 hpf using a Tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) receptor agonist, providing preliminary evidence that brinp1 functions in the BDNF/ TrkB receptor pathway.


Reinforcement learning algorithms are highly sensitive to the choice of hyperparameters, typically requiring significant manual effort to identify hyperparameters that perform well on a new domain. In this paper, we take a step towards addressing this issue by using metagradients to automatically adapt hyperparameters online by meta-gradient descent (Xu et al., 2018). We apply our algorithm, Self-Tuning Actor-Critic (STAC), to self-tune all the differentiable hyperparameters of an actor-critic loss function, to discover auxiliary tasks, and to improve off-policy learning using a novel leaky V-trace operator. STAC is simple to use, sample efficient and does not require a significant increase in compute. Ablative studies show that the overall performance of STAC improved as we adapt more hyperparameters. When applied to the Arcade Learning Environment (Bellemare et al. 2012), STAC improved the median human normalized score in $200$M steps from $243\%$ to $364\%$. When applied to the DM Control suite (Tassa et al., 2018), STAC improved the mean score in $30$M steps from $217$ to $389$ when learning with features, from $108$ to $202$ when learning from pixels, and from $195$ to $295$ in the Real-World Reinforcement Learning Challenge (Dulac-Arnold et al., 2020).


Aims. In this work we derive new precise and homogeneous parameters for 37 stars with planets. For this purpose, we analyze high resolution spectra obtained by the NARVAL spectrograph for a sample composed of bright planet host stars in the northern hemisphere. The new parameters are included in the SWEET-Cat online catalogue. Methods. To ensure that the catalogue is homogeneous, we use our standard spectroscopic analysis procedure, ARES+MOOG, to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities. These spectroscopic stellar parameters are then used as input to compute the stellar mass and radius, which are fundamental for the derivation of the planetary mass and radius. Results. We show that the spectroscopic parameters, masses, and radii are generally in good agreement with the values available in online databases of exoplanets. There are some exceptions, especially for the evolved stars. These are analyzed in detail focusing on the effect of the stellar mass on the derived planetary mass. Conclusions. We conclude that the stellar mass estimations for giant stars should be managed with extreme caution when using them to compute the planetary masses. We report examples within this sample where the differences in planetary mass can be as high as 100% in the most extreme cases.


The worldwide aging of the infrastructure and the development of new technologies in the construction industry provided a need for structural health monitoring (SHM). SHM provides a tool for owners and researchers to assess the condition of a structure and monitor its behavior under real life conditions. Road transport and the related infrastructures are clearly an integral part of the economic, political, and social development of the western world. As an example, highway bridges as a major part of infrastructures can be greatly damaged by excessively heavy vehicles or severe environmental conditions. It is therefore, important to assure that such facilities are well maintained and function properly in order to avoid major failures or the need for costly repairs. In current thesis, it is attempted to innovate techniques in order to measure the vehicles loads affecting the bridge elements as well as damage detection methods to monitor the defects along the in-service bridge structural components.
Bridge Weigh-in-Motion (BWIM) is using an existing bridge to weigh trucks while they are moving at full highway speeds. A new method of BWIM has been established in order to weigh the passing trucks relying on the shear strain measurements near the bridge abutments which differs from the flexural strain based traditional systems. The shear strain are measured using the rosettes sensors installed on the webs of bridge girders to directly measure the individual axle weights of trucks passing over the bridge abutments. Two concrete slab on steel girder bridges, and a box girder prestressed concrete with different structural types, span lengths, and different sizes were instrumented for the performance verification of the proposed BWIM system. A series of truck runs were implemented in the field to calibrate and evaluate the proposed BWIM system's efficiency.
In addition, current research formulated a reference-free distributed damage detection method in order to locate the defects that occur in structures under in-service operating conditions. The sensing method is developed on the basis of Brillouin scattering phenomena. It employs the dynamic distributed strain measurement data in order to sense the structural perturbations under in-service operations, i.e. bridges subjected to traffic loadings, or aircrafts during flights. The advantage of the method developed in this study is that it enables the structure to be monitored at any stage during its service life without the need for prior reference data. An experimental program was designed to investigate the feasibility of the proposed approach in detecting the locations of very small defects. Laboratory experiments were designed in order to simulate the effect of ambient conditions in bridges, especially in terms of realistic displacements, i.e. deflections occurring in highway bridges.
In a following effort, a theoretical model was also investigated to analysis the strain transfer mechanism from the structure surface to the distributed optical fiber components in the presence of local defects. The main objective pertained to the accurate quantification of local defects sizes based on distributed monitoring of strains in large structural systems. The theoretical formulation simulated the strain distribution within the components of an optical fiber crossing over a single crack opening. The proposed model was formulated in a manner to quantify defects in the presence of structural vibration. Both linear and nonlinear mechanical characteristics of optical fiber components were also assumed in the formulation. The spatial resolution effect was further numerically implemented within the formulation in order to simulate the measurement configurations. An experimental program was designed for calibration as well as the validation of theoretical formulation. The experiments involved dynamic tests of a 15 meter long steel I beam with two fabricated defects with small opening displacements ranging between 50 and 550 microns.


The beliefs of preservice teachers about Mathematics teaching and learning Preservice teachers have had a twelve year "apprenticeship of observation" in the practice of teaching and as a consequence have internalised a set ofbeliefs about Mathematics teaching and learning. These beliefs are usually implicit but nevertheless influence the teaching practice of the preservice teachers to the extent that they "teach as they were taught." A preservice Mathematics Education course, falling as it does between the prospective teachers' experiences as scholars, and their future teaching experience provides an ideal opportunity for preservice teachers to review their personal beliefs prior to carrying them over to teaching practice. In order to facilitate this review, a series of activities was designed as part of a Mathematics Education course for preservice secondary phase Mathematics teachers. These activities provided opportunities for student teachers to examine their beliefs, to discuss and write about these beliefs, to read about the beliefs of others, and finally to decide whether they wished to retain or modify their personal beliefs. Data on the personal theories of the preservice teachers was obtained from the written responses to various critical incidents, from metaphors for the teaching and learning of Mathematics drawn and described by the preservice teachers, and from interviews with selected participants. These theories were classified into qualitatively different categories. After completing several developmental activities and a five week period of classroom teaching, the preservice teachers were invited to reconsider their personal theories and amend their metaphors. This provided evidence of reflection and development in their thinking. It is contended that the personal theories of preservice teachers are not only reflected in their classroom practice but also function as barriers to impede acceptance of novel ideas and innovations. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of the thinking of preservice teachers and inform the development of a curriculum for the Mathematics Education component of a Professional Studies course.


Patients want and need to have confidence in their physicians. Yet confidence in physicians is waning. In part this reflects the more generalized public distrust of experts and authority figures that has become characteristic of our age. But the public is increasingly aware that the quality and oversight of medical care are uneven. They are aware of an unexpectedly high frequency of adverse events, of reports of hospital and professional mismanagment, such as the pediatric cardiac surgery deaths in Winnipeg, and of professional malfeasance, whose most spectacular modern example is the murder of 250 patients over a 27-year period by Dr. Howard Shipman, a British family physician. In Canada, responsibility for assuring the public that their physicians are competent lies with provincial licensing bodies. In the UK, that responsibility rests with the General Medical Council (GMC). The latter, following the outing of Dr. Shipman by the police (not the GMC), has come under intense scrutiny. It has been found not only wanting, but so mired in incompetence and professional self-interest that its continuing existence is in question. Dame Janet Smith, in her fifth report on the Shipman Inquiry to the UK Secretary of State for Health is convinced that, had the GMC done its job properly, Shipman's serial murders would have been discovered and stopped decades earlier. The GMC, she wrote, despite the motto "Protecting Patients — Guiding Doctors" emblazoned on its letterhead, focused "too much on the interests of the doctors and not sufficiently on the protection of patients." She makes 109 recommendations, most of which are applicable to other countries, Canada included. Dame Janet urges the broad adoption by all health care organizations from hospitals to solo practices of a management framework that focuses on continuous quality improvement, the safeguarding of high standards and the creation of an environment in which excellence can flourish. Such a clinical governance structure entails, among other things, continuing education, good management systems (for detecting errors), clinical audits, risk management and "an ethos of openness and accountability." But the main focus of the report is the ongoing evaluation of physicians. Dame Janet faults the GMC for not providing adequate assessments of physician "fitness to practise" and for its utter failure to establish an "ethos of openness and accountability" among physicians and health care establishments. As is the case with provincial bodies in Canada, the GMC has recognized only recently that ongoing evaluations of physicians' fitness to practise are necessary: a single entry exam and a few letters of reference are not enough. Yet Dame Janet found that the GMC's recently implemented (and partly voluntary) evaluations were inadequate, especially in their almost exclusive focus on knowledge: "If appraisal is to be used to any extent as a summative tool [not just a formative one] it must be capable of detecting that small group of doctors who have something to hide." Dame Janet also calls for the monitoring of physician prescription profiles and for similar monitoring of referrals, patient complaints and physician-specific mortality data, to name but a few items. Few physicians have not experienced what Shaw satirically described and Dame Janet grimly documented: questionable practice by colleagues that is witnessed but not reported. Of the many Shipman deaths reviewed by Dame Janet, that of Mrs. Renate Overton, a 46-year-old patient with asthma, became emblematic of the failure of physicians to identify colleagues who were unfit to practise. At a home visit for an acute asthma attack, Shipman gave Mrs. Overton 20 mg of morphine either IV or IM in a single injection. The resulting cardiopulmonary arrest from which she was resuscitated and admitted to ICU left her in an irreversible coma; she died a year later. That Shipman had administered a contraindicated drug in a lethal dose was known by the senior physicians in charge of the ICU; it was never reported, nor was Shipman questioned. Confidence in physicians is at the core of what we do. We need strong licensing and regulatory bodies, and we need to step up implementation of clinical governance structures whose mandate includes fostering a climate of openness and accountability. Otherwise someone will do it for us. — CMAJ


GPs want more time to treat their patients, a survey of the profession has found.

The survey of GPs' work, carried out by IMC Unlimited on behalf of the BMA, received 15 560 responses from GPs across the United Kingdom.1 The BMA has described it as one of the largest recent tests of the profession's opinion.

It found that less than a 10th of GPs (8%) thought that the standard 10 minute consultation in general practice was adequate. Around two thirds (68%) of respondents thought that it would be better to provide longer consultations of greater quality, even …


SummaryThis paper investigates the technical efficiency differences of a sample of regional employment offices (REOs) across Swiss cantons. Regular job-search assistance, registration and matching of unemployed workers with job vacancies performed by employment offices are all important active labour market policies (ALMPs) which are often ignored in the literature evaluating the impact of active measures. The analysis is carried out by means of a stochastic production frontier model estimated on a panel of employment offices observed over the period between November 2000 and December 2001. The results show that the specific exogenous conditions exercise influence over the technical efficiency of each employment office. Even though these conditions affect significantly the relative performance of regional employment offices, the managerial efficiency component does remain important. Finally, the job placement process is characterised by decreasing returns to scale.


As Australia attempts to improve its global economic standing, each industry,
and their respective enterprises, is necessarily undertaking considerable
transformation as they embrace the need to adapt. Industrialised technologies
and operating methods are changing more rapidly than at any other time since
the inception of mass production. The imperative for a more efficient approach
to manufacturing and the production of goods is paramount for organisations
to enable them to obtain and to sustain a competitive position within a rapidly
changing world economy.
The linkages between competitive manufacturing and vocational education are
widely recognised as important factors that contribute to sustainable business
practices. This research explores the educative processes that are being used to
bring new-start employees' skills and knowledge levels up to the required
standard for a globally competitive manufacturing company. It also looks at
vocational education, and examines the provision of service by the formal
providers who are now altering their relationship and service arrangements at
the enterprise level.
The research comprised an extensive literature review, the application of a
survey questionnaire (see Appendices A, B and C) and an analysis of the data
which collectively comprised the body of a comparative opinion based study
that was undertaken in a manufacturing environment. The research question
was designed to explore the issues relating to the imparting of knowledge and
skills to new start employees. An examination of the key providers' ability to
deliver training, the relevance and applicability of the study materials used are
also addressed. The study looks at the learning process in the context of the
new employee and how they acquire skills and competencies for their new job;
with a view to examining whether vocational education can be better structured
to facilitate the acquisition of essential job skills.


The enigmatic kabbalist Samuel Falk, known as the Ba'al Shem of London, has piqued the curiosity of scholars for generations. Eighteenth-century London was fascinated by Jews, and as a miracle-worker and adventurer, well connected and well read, Falk had much to offer. Interest in the man was further aroused by rumours of his dealings with European aristocrats and other famous characters, as well as with scholars, Freemasons, and Shabbateans, but evidence was scanty. This book now brings together all the known source material on the man, and detailed annotations of his diary and that of his assistant provide rich insights into his activities over several years. We learn of his meetings and his travels; his finances; his disputes, his dreams, and his remedies; and lists of his books. We see London's social life and commerce, its landed gentry and its prisons, and what people ate, wore, and possessed. The burgeoning Jewish community of London and its religious practices, as well as its communal divisiveness, is depicted especially colourfully. The scholarly introductions and the informative appendices help contextualize the diaries and offer an intriguing glimpse of Jewish involvement in little-known aspects of London life at the threshold of the modern era.


Abstract:This paper examines the nature of family literacy programs, with a particular focus on those that are based around the provision of free books to babies and young children, sometimes called "bookgifting" programs. First, the paper explores the rationale for family literacy programs in general and identifies some issues in their evaluation. It then focuses specifically on bookgifting programs. Using examples from several well-established programs, it reviews the research on which they are based, with particular reference to evaluation procedures. Next, the paper identifies some important issues that need to be addressed when planning and evaluating these programs, and notes some fundamental differences between particular programs that may have impacted on the results. It argues that this area of research needs stronger definition and a more inclusive approach to evaluation that includes both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. In order to illustrate the potential of a mixed-method approach, the paper examines the evaluation of the Better Beginnings bookgifting program for babies that has been initiated, developed, and extended by the State Library of Western Australia for over a decade. The paper concludes by suggesting that effective program evaluation is complex and multifaceted and must consider changes in behavior, confidence, and attitudes, as well as the ways in which such programs are experienced and integrated into family literacy practices. This approach provides insight into the contextual variables that determine the effectiveness of programs within and across families, and therefore inform further program development.


Females of the pseudophylline bushcricket species Onomarchus uninotatus respond to a conspecific acoustic call with bouts of tremulation, followed by phonotaxis in some cases. This tremulation sends out a vibratory signal that propagates along the branch of the jackfruit trees where these animals are almost always found, and the male is able to localise the signal and perform vibrotaxis towards the female. Males are unable to localise the signal if it emanates from a branch unconnected to their perch, and therefore, female tremulation might not be a productive response when the nearest male is on an adjacent, disconnected tree. We hypothesised that female behavioural response choice between tremulation and phonotaxis might vary with distance from the caller. A semi-naturalistic experiment indicates that if the male and female are 4 m apart on a connected perch, females tremulate and never perform phonotaxis while males perform vibrotaxis. However, at a distance of 9 m, 4 out of 10 females begin phonotaxis after a period of tremulation. We then hypothesized that features of the male call that indicate caller distance, such as call sound pressure level (SPL), might be responsible for this distance-dependent variation in the choice between phonotaxis and tremulation However we found that at all SPLs, the female tremulates in response to male calls before attempting phonotaxis and that the probability of phonotaxis and tremulation both increased with calling song SPL. We conclude that our first hypothesis is upheld and that females do behave differently with respect to distance from the male, but that the cue affecting the distance-dependent increase in the probability of initiation of phonotaxis in female response choice is not the SPL of the male's advertisement call.


Catalytic denitration of water with bimetallic systems has emerged as a viable solution for removal of nitrates from drinking water. Despite the progress in process development during the last two decades, only a few studies were performed to determine catalyst structure under working conditions. Herein, we determined the relative population of Cu oxidation states in Pt–Cu and Pd–Cu bimetallic catalysts by in situ high resolution X-ray absorption spectroscopy in combination with principal component analysis. The initial state of the catalyst was a Pt–Cu or Pd–Cu alloy. Segregation of the metal components occurred under reaction conditions especially for a Pt–Cu system. The active oxidation states of copper were metallic and alloy, and their concentration was highly dependent on the amount of hydrogen in the feed. Initial alloy phase of the catalysts ensures close proximity between Cu and the noble metals after segregation, essential to maintain catalysts activity.


Recently, law school graduates have faced the worst entry-level legal employment market in half a century. Many in this "Lost Generation" of law students may never enjoy the opportunity to practice law in a meaningful way, much less obtain any significant return on the time and (usually borrowed) money they invested in their legal education. Given the vast discrepancy between the employment prospects these students anticipated and the employment opportunities they actually enjoy, many feel that their law schools misled them about the economic value of the education those schools provide. Believing their alma maters have caused them legally cognizable injuries, alumni of at least fifteen law schools have even filed purported class-action lawsuits seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for those alleged injuries. Although the true significance of these lawsuits cannot be fully appreciated at this time, the lawsuits have already contributed to the goals of the law school transparency movement, and those with an interest in legal education will certainly follow the lawsuits with great interest. This Note will explore the impact of this new type of class-action litigation by focusing primarily on three lawsuits that were filed in 2011 — Alaburda v. Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Gomez-Jimenez v. New York Law School, and MacDonald v. Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Specifically, this Note argues that class-action lawsuits against individual law school might usefully supplement other potential methods for persuading law schools to heed the calls for increased transparency, and will continue to serve a purpose even if the legal education industry adopts — or is made to adopt — additional reform in that area.


The region south of South Africa is a key area in the global conveyor belt since here warm surface currents and cold deep water masses meet, and heat and energy are transferred to sustain the global thermo-haline circulation. Furthermore, this gateway is characterised by a number of tectonic structures the Agulhas Passage, the Aguhas Plateau and the Transkei Basin - , which restrict and channelise the paths of the oceanic currents. To understand the development of those tectonic structures is hence of major importance in order to learn about the evolution of the currents systems, which have shaped the global climate.The proposed SAFARI IODP drilling campaign targets this location for theretrieval of long multiple APC cores. They will enable to track thevariability of Southern Ocean deep water back through time acrosskey-periods of past climate changes and its possible role in mode shifts ofthe global THC at these times: the mid-Pliocene onset of northernhemisphere glaciation and the mid-Pleistocene transition from the 41-kyr tothe 100-kyr world.We further propose to drill two locations on the central and southern Agulhas Plateau to depict the origin of the plateau. The evolution and structure of the Agulhas Plateau is still under heavy debate. It has been decribed as a continental remnant from the Falkland Plateau, but the crustal structure and seismic velocities deduced from seismic reflection and refraction investigations put the Agulhas Plateau into the worldwide suite of Large Igneous Provinces. According to those data it was formed after the break-up of Gondwana under the influence of the Bouvet Hotspot. The proposed drill sites target lavaflows as a result of excessive volcanism and will lead to an understanding of the formation and the age of the plateau.The proposed site in the Transkei Basin offers the unique opportunity to study the influence of Antarctic Bottomwater and North Atlantic deep water, which here have shaped a major sediment drift the Agulhas Drift - at least since Pliocene times. We observe a migration of the drift from south to north as well as an older sediment drift with a different orientation below the Agulhas Drift. The proposed site will advance our knowledge on the evolution and the paths of the water masses in this part of this critical gateway.


OBJECTIVE--To investigate the incidence of fatal myocardial infarction in women in the two randomised arms of the Scottish adjuvant tamoxifen trial. DESIGN--Retrospective review of hospital notes to determine with the greatest possible certainty women who had died of an acute myocardial infarction. SETTING--Scottish Cancer Trials Office, the University of Edinburgh. PATIENTS--1070 postmenopausal women with operable breast cancer who were randomised to receive either adjuvant tamoxifen for five years or until relapse (539 patients) or tamoxifen for at least six weeks on the confirmation of first recurrence (531 patients). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Incidence of fatal myocardial infarction in women with no known or suspected systemic cancer. RESULTS--Of the 200 women who died in the adjuvant tamoxifen arm of the trial, 44 were free of cancer at death and 10 of these died of myocardial infarction. In the observation arm 251 women died, of whom 61 showed no evidence of systemic cancer and 25 had a fatal myocardial infarction. The incidence of fatal myocardial infarction in the two groups was significantly different (chi 2 = 6.88, p = 0.0087). CONCLUSION--Tamoxifen given for at least five years as adjuvant therapy for breast cancer seems to have a cardioprotective oestrogen-like effect in postmenopausal women.


This paper introduces a novel take on a well-known user interface that combines the advantages of a number of new technologies. In particular, it presents a new tangible interface with an interactive surrounding space. It demonstrates the technology in an exciting user case as a printed keyboard and hand-gesture based mouse that provides one with an easy-to-use text and virtual mouse input for situations where such a medium is difficult to use e.g. virtual keyboards for tablets and smartphones or non-existent e.g. gaming consoles such as the Microsoft Kinect. It also examines other applications and design questions that arise from such an interface.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To examine the prevalence and impact of hyperglycemia on health outcomes (number of neutropenic days, infection, and hospital length of stay) in patients hospitalized for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving initial induction therapy.
.

DESIGN
Retrospective, descriptive study.
.

SETTING
A large urban hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana.
.

SAMPLE
103 patients with AML and a subset of 41 patients aged 65 years or older.
.

METHODS
Demographics and medical information were extracted from electronic health records. Serum-fasting blood glucose was used to assess glycemic status. The association of hyperglycemia with the health outcomes was analyzed. A subset of patients aged 65 years or older was also analyzed.
.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Hyperglycemia, age, and health outcomes in patients with AML.
.

FINDINGS
Forty patients experienced hyperglycemia during initial induction for AML. In the larger sample, no associations were noted between hyperglycemia and health outcomes. A significant relationship (p = 0.022) was noted between hyperglycemia and infection in patients aged 65 years or older. Patients aged 65 years or older had 5.6 times the risk of developing infection as those aged younger than 65 years. Although not statistically significant, patients aged 65 years or older with hyperglycemia had 2.5 more days of neutropenia and 1.5 days longer hospital length of stay.
.

CONCLUSIONS
This study provides preliminary evidence that hyperglycemia is prevalent during initial induction for AML and may have harmful consequences, particularly for patients aged 65 years or older. More research is needed to determine clinically significant levels of hyperglycemia and their impact on health outcomes.
.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Oncology nurses can assess and proactively collaborate with members of the healthcare team to implement strategies to prevent or mitigate the harmful consequences of hyperglycemia.


This study proposes a grammar of creative workplaces which identifies and codifies those elements of the physical environment that are reported to actively stimulate and sustain creativity in the workplace. The grammar is explicit rather than metaphorical or taxonomic. It emerges from and is applied into workplaces, predominantly office environments. Three elements, meaning, lexis, and syntax, central to the structure of linguistic and non-linguistic grammars, are proposed as the grammar's method and as its content. Respondents in the research study identified the creative behaviours that stimulate and sustain their creativity, and the discrete physical elements that influence and support (and can hinder) those activities. It is suggested that those creative behaviours and the discrete elements of physical space are congruent with the three key grammatical elements.
The grammar addresses that gap in knowledge in the fields of architecture, design and psychology where the impact of the physical environment on people's creativity in the workplace is acknowledged, but is without mediating structures of theory or implementation.
The grammar is presented in two forms. Firstly as a detailed instrument for assessing a workplace's capacity to support user creativity, and secondly as the theoretical foundation of a generative grammar for the design of creativity-supporting workplaces. As an assessment instrument the grammar sets out in depth the places needed for users' creative behaviour, six meta-categories of workplace sensory properties reported to enhance user creativity, the affordances or materials and equipment needed to support creative behaviours, and the behaviours themselves that lead to creative outcomes.
In its generative form the grammar uses these identified elements of place, properties, affordances and behaviours in an IF→THEN configuration. Place, properties and affordances form the grammar's lexis, and behaviours is its syntax. This generative form creates the basis from which spaces with optimum creative potential can be designed.
The grammar in both its forms thus aims to inform and supplement existing good practice in which architects and designers use their experience or intuition to design for i
optimal user creativity. In its assessment form it aims to empower workplace users to audit their own workplaces and identify changes they might make to increase creative potential.
Configurations of visual language encompass both patterns and grammars and this thesis draws on work done by, among many others, Alexander, Chomsky, Stiny, and Halliday in this field. Patterns and grammars exist across many disciplines to build structures of communication and analysis: this thesis positions its argument within three-dimensional physical space. Derived from the data through constructivist grounded theory, the emergent grammar is validated through the analysis of two workplaces, demonstrating its robust nature and its rootedness in practice.
This study, therefore, proposes an explicit grammar of creative workplaces that can inform the design and the evaluation of physical workplaces. The study further proposes that in its generative form the grammar could provide a foundation for testing the influence of physical space on creativity, beyond the reported impact examined here.
This work aims to contribute to the fields of Architecture, Design and Creativity Research, and to inform and inspire those who create, and those who use, workplaces. ii


Electric vehicles with multiple motors permit continuous direct yaw moment control, also called torque-vectoring. This allows to significantly enhance the cornering response, e.g., by extending the linear region of the vehicle understeer characteristic, and by increasing the maximum achievable lateral acceleration. These benefits are well documented for human-driven cars, yet limited information is available for autonomous/driverless vehicles. In particular, over the last few years, steering controllers for automated driving at the cornering limit have considerably advanced, but it is unclear how these controllers should be integrated alongside a torque-vectoring system. This contribution discusses the integration of torque-vectoring control and automated driving, including the design and implementation of the torque-vectoring controller of an autonomous electric vehicle for a novel racing competition. The paper presents the main vehicle characteristics and control architecture. A quasi-static model is introduced to predict the understeer characteristics at different longitudinal accelerations. The model is coupled with an off-line optimization for the a-priori investigation of the potential benefits of torque-vectoring. The systematic computation of the achievable cornering limits is used to specify and design realistic maps of the reference yaw rate, and a non-linear feedforward yaw moment contribution providing the reference cornering response in quasi-static conditions. A gain scheduled proportional integral controller increases yaw damping, thus enhancing the transient response. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


In this invited paper, we propose HealthShare - a forward-looking approach for secure ehealth data sharing between multiple organizations that are hosting patients data in different clouds. The proposed protocol is based on a Revocable Key-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption scheme and allows users to share encrypted health records based on a policy that has been defined by the data owner (i.e. patient, a member of the hospital, etc). Furthermore, access to a malicious or compromised user/organization can be easily revoked without the need to generate fresh encryption keys.


Abstract. Identifying fast and robust numerical solvers is a critical issue that needs to be addressed in order to improve projections of polar ice sheets evolving in a changing climate. This work evaluates the impact of using advanced numerical solvers for transient ice-flow simulations conducted with the JPL–UCI Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM). We identify optimal numerical solvers by testing a broad suite of readily available solvers, ranging from direct sparse solvers to preconditioned iterative methods, on the commonly used Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for Higher-Order ice sheet Models benchmark tests. Three types of analyses are considered: mass transport, horizontal stress balance, and incompressibility. The results of the fastest solvers for each analysis type are ranked based on their scalability across mesh size and basal boundary conditions. We find that the fastest iterative solvers are  ∼ 1.5–100 times faster than the default direct solver used in ISSM, with speed-ups improving rapidly with increased mesh resolution. We provide a set of recommendations for users in search of efficient solvers to use for transient ice-flow simulations, enabling higher-resolution meshes and faster turnaround time. The end result will be improved transient simulations for short-term, highly resolved forward projections (10–100 year time scale) and also improved long-term paleo-reconstructions using higher-order representations of stresses in the ice. This analysis will also enable a new generation of comprehensive uncertainty quantification assessments of forward sea-level rise projections, which rely heavily on ensemble or sampling approaches that are inherently expensive.


Mrs Birkbeck's Album, collected between 1825 and 1847 by the wife of the founder of the College, contains poems, songs and other texts, as well as drawings and watercolours by famous women and men of her time. Like the collections that aristocratic women were able to spread over galleries and libraries, the album formed and displayed her taste, showcasing her husband's reputation and the cultural and political circles in which the couple moved. Several contributors to her album also worked for annuals, fashionable publications associated with a debased, commercialised feminine culture. Unlike these mechanically produced pages, Mrs Birkbeck's album, marked by individual hands rather than by printing presses, is the result of gift exchanges, removed from the world of commodified culture, even as it partakes of its glamour. Recent publications have explored the emergence of women's magazines, but little consideration has been given to album making. In this paper I explore the social meanings of Mrs Birkbeck's interest in albums. To facilitate a close reading of its individual pages, I am working towards digitising the album, in collaboration with Birkbeck Library and the Vasari Lab in the School of History of Art, Film and Visual Media.


Based on lengthy interviews with Ellington's bandmates, family, and friends, Duke Ellington and His World offers a fresh look at this legendary composer. The first biography of the composer written by a fellow musician and African-American, the book traces Ellington's life and career in terms of the social, cultural, political, and economic realities of his times. Beginning with his birth in Washington, DC, through his first bands and work at the legendary Cotton Club, to his final great extended compositions, this book gives a thorough introduction to Ellington's music and how it was made. It also illuminates his personal life because, for Ellington, music was his life and his life was a constant inspiration for music.


In the present article I will critically discuss various approaches to irony originating from different disciplines. Besides traditional definitions of ironic speech dating back to Roman times as well as present-day linguistic models, I will also deal with irony from a psychological perspective. As this inquiry will show, all the approaches under discussion are exclusively monologic and so do not provide a full account of the communicative functions of ironic expressions in language use. I will therefore suggest a dialogic perspective which highlights the communicative effects of ironic talk neglected by previous models. As a result, I will show that irony need not merely be used by a speaker to bypass direct criticism in order to avoid conflict or to compensate for psychological incongruities but as a skilful rhetorical device to motivate the interlocutor to act for the good of herself or of other people around.


Experimental discovery of the gravitomagnetic fields generated by translational and/or rotational currents of matter is one of primary goals of modern gravitational physics. The rotational (intrinsic) gravitomagnetic field of the Earth is currently measured by the Gravity Probe B. The present paper makes use of a parametrized post-Newtonian (PN) expansion of the Einstein equations to demonstrate how the extrinsic gravitomagnetic field generated by the translational current of matter can be measured by observing the relativistic time delay caused by a moving gravitational lens. We prove that measuring the extrinsic gravitomagnetic field is equivalent to testing the relativistic effect of the aberration of gravity caused by the Lorentz transformation of the gravitational field. We show that the recent Jovian deflection experiment is a null-type experiment testing the Lorentz invariance of the gravitational field (aberration of gravity), thus, confirming existence of the extrinsic gravitomagnetic field associated with the orbital motion of Jupiter with accuracy 20%. We comment on physically inadequate interpretations of the Jovian deflection experiment given by a number of researchers who are not experts in modern VLBI techniques and the subtleties of JPL ephemeris. We propose to measure the aberration of gravity effect more accurately by observing the gravitational deflection of light by the Sun and processing VLBI observations in the geocentric frame with respect to which the Sun is moving with velocity ~30 km/s.


Anonymizing networks such as Tor allow users to access internet services privately by using a series of routers to hide the client's IP address from the server. The success of such networks However has been limited by users employing this anonymity for abusive purposes such as defacing popular web sites. Web site administrators routinely rely on IP-address for blocking or disabling access to misbehaving users, but blocking IP addresses is not practical if the abuser routes through an anonymizing network. As a result, administrators block all known exit nodes of anonymizing networks, denying anonymous access misbehaving and behaving users alike. To address this problem, we present Nymble, a system in which servers can "blacklist" misbehaving users, thereby blocking users without compromising their anonymity. Our system is thus agnostic to different server definitions of misbehavior servers can blacklist users for whatever reason, and the privacy of blacklisted users is maintained.


The skin potential level (SPL) and the skin potential response (SPR) during normal sleep were recorded on 14 male students. In order to investigate the patterns of SPL and SPR before, during, and after para-sleep, the recordings were taken from 20min before the onset of para-sleep to 20min after the offset of para-sleep.The findings in the present study were as follows:1. The SPLs were found to shift sharply toward a negatively lower level about 8min before the onset of para-sleep. The SPL gradients just before para-sleep showed significant difference from those of all night which were found to decrease in negativity gradually with the course of sleep (Fig. 2, Table 1).2. The SPR rates were found to decrease rapidly prior to the onset of para-sleep and they were positively correlated with SPLs. This diminution of SPRs could be clearly observed by visual inspection (Figs. 2 & 3, Table 2).3. These distinctive phenomena of SPL and SPR that preceded the para-sleep will be a useful indicator to tell the para-sleep in advance.4. The bursts of large amplitude SPRs were observed during para-sleep on more than half of the subjects. Of those SPR-bursts, there were two types of response pattern recognized, one like a mountain-chain and the other like a stairway (Fig. 3).5. It has been emphasized that changes of skin potential activities are synchronous with changes of sleep stage. Our data suggest that the synchronous changes are lost in the period of pre and post para-sleep.Finally, inhibitory mechanisms of skin potential activities were discussed based on the data.


In spring 2020, during the cataclysmic first wave of COVID-19, academic conferences across the world were postponed or cancelled. A rare exception was in the field of periodical studies: an asynchronous online conference, Future States: Modernity and National Identity in Popular Magazines, 1890–1945, co-directed by Andrew Thacker (NTU) and Tim Satterthwaite, which opened on schedule and ran for three weeks (30 March–17 April 2020). A selection of five papers from the conference forms the body of this special issue of the Journal of European Periodical Studies, and these are introduced below. Given the spate of online academic events that have followed, this introduction first offers some general thoughts on the Future States conference model, in the hope that its pioneering approach may be of interest.


Background/Context New teachers face an array of challenges in today's schools. Even when teachers leave credential programs with useful preparation, early-career jobs and contexts shape and constrain teachers' goals and practice related to teaching diverse learners. Becoming change agents can be a tall order. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Considering this context, we sought to understand how graduates of one teacher credential program appear prepared to advocate for educational equity in their new jobs by asking three questions: (1) What challenges do new teachers identify in classes and schools that require advocacy for some youth? (2) In what ways do they respond to such challenges? and (3) What enables these acts of advocacy? Research Design A total of 38 graduates, all currently teaching, participated in five separate 3-hour focus groups of 5–10 teachers each. We used focus groups as a research tool to triangulate a range of other data, including artifacts and surveys. We sought teachers' deep reflections on practice, on their preparation for advocacy work, and on their professional needs. We transcribed focus group discussions then subjected these to a series of procedures, including analysis of content and themes of teachers' narratives. Findings/Results Teachers reported actions to address equity in a range of sites, with the classroom as the core site for teachers' advocacy work. In complex narratives, teachers reported trying to meet learning needs of diverse students. English language learners' needs especially prompted acts of advocacy in and beyond the classroom. These included instructional tailoring, out-of-class tutorials, hunts for better texts and tests, a library field trip, creation of a culture/computer club, heightened parent contacts, and launching of a bilingual parent group. Teachers' acts of advocacy shared four crosscutting themes: a goal of equitable access to resources and support, convictions about equity, interceding on behalf of students in need, and engaging coadvocates. Teachers reported that these themes have grounding in their teacher credential program, which featured advocating for equity in its mission, goals, and practices. Those with bilingual education credentials engaged in more acts of advocacy beyond the classroom, and analyses suggest that this may be due to credential program experiences, life experiences, and the larger sociopolitical context for teaching English language learners. Conclusions/Recommendations Results challenge conventional models of learning to teach, documenting how teachers, even in the throes of the induction period, can focus on student learning and on ways to advocate in and beyond the classroom for those in need of someone interceding on their behalf, particularly when well prepared to do so.


One of the main topics regarding the physics of AGN jets is the origin of the Gamma-ray emission. The favoured model explaining the production of high energy radiation in blazars is inverse Compton scattering. Though numerically and empirically successfully tested, two major questions remain topics of substantial discussion: First, where is the seed photon field coming from? Does it originate in the jet itself (synchrotron self-Compton (SSC)) or in the accretion disc, the dust torus or the broad line region (external Compton (EC))? And second, where in the jet does the inverse Compton scattering take place?

This thesis aims to locate the Gamma-ray emission site in the archetypical blazar 3C 279 based on the multi-frequency photometry data provided by the Quasar Movie Project. This data set includes 140 light curves at more than twenty bands, providing dense sampling in frequency and time domain over more than two years. These data allow us to analyse the variability of the light curves and to perform cross-correlation analysis over a large range of frequencies. We estimate the variability power spectra at 26 frequencies. We find similar indices of a power-law spectrum at sub-mm bands and X-rays on the one hand, and at ultraviolet and Gamma-rays on the other hand. Additionally, we find a strong correlation between X-rays and the 1 mm light curve at short variability time scales. We can infer that the X-ray emission site is located at the mm~VLBI core and that X-rays are produced either by synchrotron self-Compton scattering of mm-wavelength synchrotron photons or by external Compton scattering of photons originating from the cosmic microwave background. The correlation between X-rays, Gamma-rays, and optical bands exhibits complex behaviour. Time lags between the bands change over time, indicating probably different emission sites and different physical conditions. But we find some indication that the Gamma-ray emission site is located, at least occasionally, at the mm~VLBI core. Thus, it is located beyond the broad line region, where infrared photons either from the jet itself or from the dust torus may serve as seed photons for the inverse Compton scattering to GeV~energies.

Another major topic of ongoing discussion regards the structure of the magnetic field in the jets. The observed synchrotron radiation in the spectral regime from radio to X-rays and the polarization of the radiation are direct evidence for the existence of magnetic fields in the jets. Furthermore current jet models require magnetic fields to explain the launching and acceleration of jets. But the structure of the magnetic field is unknown. Long, smooth continuous variation of the electric vector position angle (EVPA) and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) rotation measure studies indicate helical magnetic field structures. Whereas erratic EVPA variation indicates a tangled magnetic field structure and shocks traversing a turbulent medium may temporarily order the tangled magnetic field to produce smooth EVPA changes.

The combined optical polarimetry data provided by the Quasar Movie Project yields an unprecedentedly well sampled polarization curve of 3C 279 which shows strong variability with rotations of the polarization angle in both directions with different rotation rates and amplitudes. We introduce various, new methods to analyse the polarization variability. We test different classes of stochastic models against the observed data and come to the conclusion that the polarization variability of 3C 279 is following two different processes. During a low brightness state the polarization is consistent with a stochastic process. During a flaring state the variability is dominated by a different process. The preferred model is that of an emission feature on a helical path in a helical magnetic field.


— This research paper gives an introduction to the new location based services platform for mobile communication as well as a comparative evaluation with regard to other mobile operating systems. The key topic of this research paper is the indoor positioning techniques. Therefore it first gives a historical introduction to new technologies related location based services. Then it describes the main features of TRILATERATION METHOD for a better understanding of this platform. In the following paper, the trilateration method will be compared to the fingerprinting method. Features and criteria defined in this part will be considered and included in the comparison of these systems. The practical part contains mathematical part of the Euclidean distance with RSSI based localization algorithm. Finally an outlook and a conclusion complete this elaboration.


Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are materials of low density and high intrinsic porosity. This is due to the use of rigid building blocks consisting only of lightweight elements. These materials are usually stable up to temperatures of 400 °C and are chemically inert, since the networks are highly crosslinked via strong covalent bonds, making them ideal candidates for demanding applications in hostile environments. However, the high stability and chemical inertness pose problems in the processing of the CMP materials and their integration in functional devices. Especially the application of these materials for membrane separation has been limited due to their insoluble nature when synthesized as bulk material. To make full use of the beneficial properties of CMPs for membrane applications, their synthesis and functionalization on surfaces become increasingly important. In this respect, we recently introduced the solid liquid interfacial layer-by-layer (LbL) synthesis of CMP-nanomembranes via Cu catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). However, this process featured very long reaction times and limited scalability. Herein we present the synthesis of surface grown CMP thin films and nanomembranes via light induced thiol–yne click reaction. Using this reaction, we could greatly enhance the CMP nanomembrane synthesis and further broaden the variability of the LbL approach.


There are few papers about the biomechanical characteristics of sit-to-walk motion, although many researchers have written about the biomechanical analyses of sit-to-stand motion or gait initiation. The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanics of sit-to-walk motion with sit-to-stand motion or gait initiation. The subjects were 9 healthy young men, who were instructed to perform sit-to-walk motion, sit-to-stand motion, and gait initiation. Kinematics and kinetics data were obtained using a 3D motion capture system and two force plates. The coordinates of reflective markers (RM)s, the coordinates and velocity of the center of gravity of the whole body (COG), the coordinates and velocity of the center of gravity of the head, arm and trunk (COG of HAT), each joint angle, and the ground reaction forces (GRFs) were calculated from the data. We found that the maximal horizontal velocity of HAT occurred later in a sit-to-walk motion than in sit-to-stand (p<0.05). On the other hand, there was no significant difference of timing between sit-to-walk motion and gait initiation. At the highest point of COG, it moved forward farther in sit-to-walk and moved upward higher in sit-to-stand. Maximal horizontal velocity of COG of HAT before seat-off was significantly higher in the sit-to-walk motion than in the sit-to-stand motion. The peak value of anterior-posterior GRF (Fy) at the heel strike was significantly greater in the sit-to-walk motion than in gait initiation (p<0.05). The COG moved forward over the base of support in the sit-to-walk motion, and then the COG moved forward with one-leg support. These results suggest that sit-to-walk motion is an unstable motion, and requires balance ability to perform. To create an impulsive force, it is important that horizontal velocity of COG of HAT is higher at seat-off in the sit-to-walk motion. Horizontal impulsive force created by HAT movement is suppressed at the first heel strike.


Through the courtesy of Mr. G. S. Hayward, of Edmonton, and Mr. Rudler, of the Geological-Survey Museum, I have had the opportunity of examining some fossils from the Tulbagh Division, Cape Colony, and wish now to point out the interest they have for South-African geologists. They were sent to England by Mr Thomas Hayward, of Witzenberg, and were found, some on the surface, and some in the shafts made in the search for coal and other minerals on the Witzenberg Flats, in the south-western part of the Tulbagh Division, on two farms belonging to Mr. Louw, who, I am informed, has gone to considerable expense in his endeavours to develope the resources of the Colony. The above-mentioned flats constitute a valley, sharply elliptical in outline, between the Witzenbergen on the west and the Schurftebergen on the east. It is about 6000 Cape roods long from north to south, and about 1500 broad across the middle. The shafts were made on the Flakte farm, at the foot of the Schurftebergen, at about 300 Cape roods from the Government boundary-line along these hills. In one shaft, at 35 feet depth, were found hard and soft, earthy, purplish strata, with clay bands, and a hard, mottly-grey schist, full of casts of Encrinital joints and stems. In the other shaft, at 50 feet, was soft dark-grey mudstone, with obscure casts of Orthis palmata and Trilobites; and at 50 to 67 feet similar rock, with casts of Phacops africanus*, Homalonotus Herschelii, and Spirifer antarcticus, also


In this paper, we study correlation clustering under fairness constraints. Fair variants of $k$-median and $k$-center clustering have been studied recently, and approximation algorithms using a notion called fairlet decomposition have been proposed. We obtain approximation algorithms for fair correlation clustering under several important types of fairness constraints.
Our results hinge on obtaining a fairlet decomposition for correlation clustering by introducing a novel combinatorial optimization problem. We define a fairlet decomposition with cost similar to the $k$-median cost and this allows us to obtain approximation algorithms for a wide range of fairness constraints.
We complement our theoretical results with an in-depth analysis of our algorithms on real graphs where we show that fair solutions to correlation clustering can be obtained with limited increase in cost compared to the state-of-the-art (unfair) algorithms.


Suhonen, Aku Solid state conformational behavior and interactions of a series of aromatic oligoamide foldamers Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2016, 68 p. (Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä Research Report ISSN 0357-346X) ISBN 978-951-39-6529-7 The topic of this thesis is aromatic oligoamide foldamers. The literary review of the thesis discusses the general features of foldamers and their design and then focuses on the specific examples of aromatic oligoamide foldamers. The experimental part of the thesis discusses the design and preparation of a family of aromatic oligoamide foldamers that can adopt a helical conformation. The folding is directed by intramolecular hydrogen bonding and stabilized by intramolecular aromatic interactions. The focus of the thesis is the analysis of the solid state conformations of ten foldamer analogues. The analysis is based on forty different crystal structures which are determined using single crystal X-ray diffraction. In selected cases the solution behavior of the compounds is analyzed using NMR spectroscopy, and the conformations are compared to DFT calculations. Three types of aromatic oligoamide foldamers were synthesized: a benzene foldamer and its sulfonamide analogue, where two of the amide bonds were replaced by a sulfonamide bond, and a series of pyridine foldamers. The benzene foldamer, while able to fold in a fairly open helical conformation, was found to have high flexibility that hinders the design of consistently folding molecules. DFT calculations showed that the sulfonamide foldamer could fold in a highly folded helical conformation, but the folding was not observed experimentally. Pyridine foldamers have a central 2,6-pyridine core unit that is planar and directs the adjacent amide N-H groups towards the inner face of the folded conformation. The first pyridine foldamer, the analogue of the benzene foldamer, showed improved folding predictability and solubility. The other pyridine foldamers are asymmetric analogues designed to study the effect of the different electron density donating properties, as well as, the presence, size and bulkiness of the substituent to the folding properties of the compounds.


The 1970s worries of the "population bomb" were replaced in the 1990s with concerns of population aging driven by falling birth rates. Across the developed world, the nearly universally-used fertility indicator, the period total fertility rate, fell well below two children per woman. However, declines in period fertility have largely been an artifact of later – but not necessarily less – childbearing. We produce new estimates of the actual number of children women have over their lifetimes – cohort fertility – for 37 developed countries. Our results suggest that family size has remained high in many "low fertility" countries. For example, cohort fertility averages 1.8 for the 1975 birth cohort in the 37 countries for which average period total fertility rate was only 1.5 in 2000. Moreover, we find that the long-term decline in cohort fertility has flattened or reversed in all world regions previously characterized by low fertility. These results are robust to statistical forecast uncertainty and the impact of the late 2000s recession. An application of the new forecasts analyzing the determinants of cohort fertility finds that the key dimensions of development that have been hypothesized to be important for fertility – general socioeconomic development, per capita income, and gender equality – are all positively correlated with fertility for the 1970s cohorts. Gender equality, however, emerges as the strongest determinant: where the gap in economic, political, and educational achievement between women and men is small, cohort fertility is high, whereas where the gap is large, fertility is low. Our new cohort fertility forecasts that document the flattening and even reversal of cohort fertility have large implications for the future of population aging and growth, particularly over the long term.


The structure and chemical composition of bacterial spores differ considerably from those of vegetative cells. These differences largely account for the unique resistance properties of the spore to environmental stresses, including disinfectants and sterilants, resulting in the emergence of spore‐forming bacteria such as Clostridium difficile as major hospital pathogens. Although there has been considerable work investigating the mechanisms of action of many sporicidal biocides against Bacillus subtilis spores, there is far less information available for other species and particularly for various Clostridia. This paucity of information represents a major gap in our knowledge given the importance of Clostridia as human pathogens. This review considers the main spore structures, highlighting their relevance to spore resistance properties and detailing their chemical composition, with a particular emphasis on the differences between various spore formers. Such information will be vital for the rational design and development of novel sporicidal chemistries with enhanced activity in the future.


Background Depression and anxiety are common in stroke survivors as well as their family caregivers. However, it is not known whether each person's emotional distress contributes to their partner's quality of life (QOL). Objective This study aimed to examine the effect of depression and anxiety on QOL in stroke survivor-caregiver dyads using dyadic analysis technique - the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Methods This was a cross-sectional pilot study with a total of 30 participating dyads (30 stroke survivors and 30 family caregivers) from Hospital Rehabilitasi Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This pilot study was conducted over a period of 3 months, between December 2014 and February 2015. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). QOL was assessed using the Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12). All analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS version 22. Dyadic data were analysed using multilevel modelling (MLM). Results Depression was uniquely associated with an individual's own QOL. Survivors and caregivers with higher depression had poorer physical component summary (PCS) scores and mental component summary (MCS) scores. Stroke survivor's depression exerted a significant actor effect on their PCS (b=−1.42, p=0.001) and MCS (b=−1.52, p<0.001). Caregiver's depression exerted a significant actor effect on their PCS (b=−2.53, p<0.001) and MCS (b=−1.51, p=0.004). Caregivers' anxiety negatively influenced their own MCS (b=−0.58, p=0.031). Furthermore, depression exerted a significant partner effect on PCS in stroke survivors (b=−1.19, p=0.003). Caregivers' depression was also related to their stroke survivors' poorer QOL, particularly PCS. Conclusion The findings suggest that depression affects the QOL of both stroke survivors and caregivers, not only emotionally but also physically. This dyadic study also has evidence pointing to depression in caregivers and its association with stroke survivors' physical QOL.


Although the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was a victory for anti-tobacco forces, it left Big Tobacco unvanquished, shifting the battleground to individual states like Connecticut. Since 1998, I have focused my efforts in Connecticut on the key goals of preventing youths from starting to smoke, protecting non-smokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke, and treating tobacco addiction. The obstacles to these goals are no less frustrating and dismaying than before the MSA, however, with progress impeded by the enormous political and economic power of Big Tobacco. A major frustration has been Connecticut's failure to use the $3.6 billion tobacco settlement-with $500 million already paid to the state-to fight tobacco. Our intent in suing Big Tobacco and creating the settlement was to use Big Tobacco's own money to fight tobacco through outreach and education that would stop children from beginning to smoke and through cessation programs and other treatment for people of all ages who are addicted to nicotine. Connecticut is virtually last among states in using settlement money to advance vital public health goals. Furthermore, the average age that people in Connecticut begin smoking is eleven, with sixty more children starting to smoke every day. Our fight against secondhand smoke dates back to at least 1993. In that year, the Connecticut legislature banned smoking in municipal and state-owned buildings, grocery stores, and hospitals.' In spite of the compelling evidence regarding the dangers of secondhand smoke, the legislature attached a major limitation at the tobacco lobby's behest. Specifically, the legislature prohibited municipalities from regulating smoking in other public places, such as restaurants and bars. This preemption of local laws has been an obstacle to further progress against tobacco for almost ten years. We now know that this preemption was a key element of Big Tobacco's strategy throughout the United States in the early to mid-1990s. 2 Big


Shahabuddin, Syed, Rong Ji, Ping Wang, Eugene Brailoiu, Na Dun, Yi Yang, Mark O. Aksoy, and Steven G. Kelsen. CXCR3 chemokine receptor-induced chemotaxis in human airway epithelial cells: role of p38 MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 291: C34–C39, 2006. First published February 8, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00441.2005.—Human airway epithelial cells (HAEC) constitutively express the CXC chemokine receptor CXCR3, which regulates epithelial cell movement. In diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, characterized by denudation of the epithelial lining, epithelial cell migration may contribute to airway repair and reconstitution. This study compared the potency and efficacy of three CXCR3 ligands, I-TAC/CXCL11, IP-10/CXCL10, and Mig/CXCL9, as inducers of chemotaxis in HAEC and examined the underlying signaling pathways involved. Studies were performed in cultured HAEC from normal subjects and the 16-HBE cell line. In normal HAEC, the efficacy of I-TAC-induced chemotaxis was 349 88% (mean SE) of the medium control and approximately one-half the response to epidermal growth factor, a highly potent chemoattractant. In normal HAEC, Mig, IP-10, and I-TAC induced chemotaxis with similar potency and a rank order of efficacy of I-TAC IP-10 Mig. Preincubation with pertussis toxin completely blocked CXCR3induced migration. Of interest, intracellular [Ca ] did not rise in response to I-TAC, IP-10, or Mig. I-TAC induced a rapid phosphorylation (5–10 min) of two of the three MAPKs, i.e., p38 and ERK1/2. Pretreatment of HAEC with the p38 inhibitor SB 20358 or the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin dose-dependently inhibited the chemotactic response to I-TAC. In contrast, the ERK1/2 inhibitor U0126 had no effect on chemotaxis. These data indicate that in HAEC, CXCR3mediated chemotaxis involves a G protein, which activates both the p38 MAPK and PI3K pathways in a calcium-independent fashion.


What is adoption? To answer this question is to jump directly into one of the key controversies of anthropology: anthropologists, associated for over a century with the close study of kinship relationships, are quite hesitant to privilege 'biological kinship' over 'social kinship', and the category 'adoption' may unwittingly do that. On the other hand, reviewing what anthropologists have learned about adoption, fostering, and child welfare reveals some important understandings of how people make families and become parents and children to one another. Those findings resonate with what the great social scientist Émile Durkheim contended more than a century ago: that kinship is social or it is nothing. Adoptions around the world demonstrate that the intentional claiming of a kinsperson or a kin group, and the everyday acts (both by 'adopter' and 'adoptee') that are associated with bringing that person more fully into that family, are not practices limited to adoption but are in fact the stuff of all kinship. Because examining 'adoption' reveals the processes of social kinship, it offers us a direct route into understanding the social practices that are part of how all families come to be. After examining these larger issues, the entry considers what adoptions around the world look like and what they accomplish. The word 'fostering' often describes the practices of raising, training, and caring for a child. By contrast, 'adoption' in its early formulations, such as in Roman law from which many contemporary Western adoption policies descend, emphasised the acquiring of a legal heir and the transfer of property via inheritance. The entry concludes with a discussion of recent critiques of international adoption, which have demonstrated that adoptions may also, among the many things they accomplish, reproduce local and global inequalities.


Crop and irrigation water use efficiencies may be improved by managing irrigation application timing and volumes using physical and agronomic principles. However, the crop water requirement may be spatially variable due to different soil properties and genetic variations in the crop across the field. Adaptive control strategies can be used to locally control water applications in response to in-field temporal and spatial variability with the aim of maximising both crop development and water use efficiency. A simulation framework 'VARIwise' has been created to aid the development, evaluation and management of spatially and temporally varied adaptive irrigation control strategies (McCarthy et al., 2010). VARIwise enables alternative control strategies to be simulated with different crop and environmental conditions and at a range of spatial resolutions.

An iterative learning controller and model predictive controller have been implemented in VARIwise to improve the irrigation of cotton. The iterative learning control strategy involves using the soil moisture response to the previous irrigation volume to adjust the applied irrigation volume applied at the next irrigation event. For field implementation this controller has low data requirements as only soil moisture data is required after each irrigation event. In contrast, a model predictive controller has high data requirements as measured soil and plant data are required at a high spatial resolution in a field implementation. Model predictive control involves using a calibrated model to determine the irrigation application and/or timing which results in the highest predicted yield or water use efficiency. The implementation of these strategies is described and a case study is presented to demonstrate the operation of the strategies with various levels of data availability. It is concluded that in situations of sparse data, the iterative learning controller performs significantly better than a model predictive controller.


We demonstrate longwave infrared (LWIR) generation with an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on quasi-phasematched orientation-patterned gallium arsenide (OPGaAs). The OPGaAs OPO was directly pumped with a Q-switched λ = 2.054 μm Tm,Ho:YLF laser. OPGaAs samples representing three different grating periods were used to explore the LWIR OPO performance yielding outputs ranging from λ = 2.5-2.7 μm (signal) and λ = 8.8-11.5 μm (idler). Slope efficiencies for the combined signal and idler outputs reach as high as 26% while slope efficiencies for only the idler reached 8%. Spectral measurements of OPO output confirm good agreement with theoretical calculations.


Genome-scale network reconstructions are organism-specific representations of metabolism and powerful tools for analyzing systemic metabolic properties. The use of reconstructions is limited by the lack of coverage of the metabolic reactome. We present an exhaustive and validated reconstruction of the biotechnologically relevant bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440, greatly expanding its computable metabolic states. The reconstruction, iJN1411, represents a significant expansion over other reconstructed bacterial metabolic networks. Computations based on the reconstruction exhibit high accuracy in predicting nutrient sources, growth rates, carbon flux distributions, and gene essentiality, thus providing a deep understanding of Pseudomonas metabolism. iJN1411 was used for: i) the assessment of the metabolic capabilities of P. putida as a species through multi-strain modeling, ii) deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic robustness, and iii) identification of metabolic "capacitors" based on ATP-fueled metabolic cycles. This study represents the most complete and comprehensive bacterial metabolic reconstruction built to date, while providing computational and experimental evidence about how bacteria increase metabolic robustness, paving the way for engineering more robust biocatalysts and searching for drug targets in robust pathogens.


Sleep deprivation secondary to socially imposed restricted sleep schedules is common in young adult sleepers. Grade point averages, overall health, mood and cognitive abilities of attention are a few empirically substantiated variables that are altered by poor sleep in young adults. Numerous studies have identified the problematic condition of poor performance in college coursework, performance on learning activities involving creativity and/or initiative and perceptions of the impact of sleepiness on behavior. Education informs opinion and beliefs about behaviors. The current study was designed to investigate the level of knowledge about sleep in young adults. Education informs opinion and beliefs about behaviors. Students were provided with a ten-item questionnaire about sleep concepts at the start and following six weeks of one hour per week classroom instruction on the basics of sleep science. A dichotomous agrees or disagree response for each question was requested. The course was organized around broader themes of sleep science and dreaming. The feedback about the change over time in terms of the general sleep concepts that the questionnaire measured was used to organize additional coverage of topics for enhanced learning. A summarization of the percentage of change from pre to post by item is reported. Implications of the findings of better learning in some sleep concept areas and not in others are presented. Implications of the translation of knowledge of sleep concept and to the practice of health sleep hygiene is discussed.


The Ultimate Reference & Learning Guide for Oracle JDE / EnterpriseOne Consultants, Administrators, and Developers Over 150 Certification Questions, Answers, and Explanations It's clear that Oracle/JDE EnterpriseOne is the future for cost effective information systems management. Appropriate for all levels of JDE EnterpriseOne proficiency, over 150 Questions, Answers, and Explanations guide you through your learning process. From helping you to assess your EnterpriseOne skills to evaluating candidates for a job, Oracle JDE/EnterpriseOne Interview Questions will help you understand what you really need to know. The book is organized around functional design, performance tuning, and audit and security. Each question includes everything you need to know to master the interview or properly evaluate a candidate. More than just a rehash of JDE EnterpriseOne documentation and sales presentations, each question is based on project knowledge and experience gained on successful high-profile implementations. Key certification and interview topics include: Oracle / JDE EnterpriseOne Integration, Major components and areas of functionality, Design, performance tuning, audit and security, Database monitoring, Security.


Increased expression of antioxidant enzymes and heat-shock proteins are key markers of oxidative stress. Such proteins are abnormally present within the neuropathological lesions of Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting that oxidative stress may play significant but yet undefined roles in this disorder. To gain further insight into the role of oxidative stress in AD, we studied the expression of CuZn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and hemoxygenase-1 (HO-1), two established markers of oxidative stress, in a transgenic mouse model of AD. Immunohistochemistry with anti-SOD and anti-HO-1 antibodies revealed a very pronounced increase of these proteins only in aged transgene-positive mice. Interestingly, the distribution of the oxidative burden was largely overlapping with dystrophic neuritic elements in the mice as highlighted with anti-ubiquitin antibodies. Because the most conspicuous alterations were identified around amyloid (Abeta) deposits, our results provide strong support for the hypothesis that Abeta is neurotoxic in vivo and that such toxicity is mediated by free radicals. To obtain additional experimental evidence for such an interpretation (ie, a cause-effect relationship between Abeta and oxidative neurotoxicity), PC12 cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of Abeta or to oxidative stress. In agreement with the in vivo findings, either treatment caused marked induction of SOD or HO-1 in a dose-dependent fashion. These results validate the transgenic approach for the study of oxidative stress in AD and for the evaluation of antioxidant therapies in vivo.


ABSTRACT Building on postcolonial feminist scholars and critical anthropological work, this paper analyses the frequent deployment of the notion of 'culture' by decision-makers, educators, international agency staff and young people in the design, delivery and uptake of sexuality and HIV prevention education in Mozambique. The paper presents qualitative data gathered in Maputo, Mozambique to highlight the essentialising nature of culturalist assumptions underpinning in-school sexuality education. I argue that conceptions of 'traditional' and 'modern' culture are deployed to explain the epidemic, both of which spectacularise and decontextualise phenomena and practices, and perpetuate the western trope of the Third World Woman. The paper concludes by arguing that a singular emphasis on 'culture' – in its various guises – diverts attention from structural causes of young Mozambican women and men's vulnerability to HIV and AIDS, and crucially, rather than problematise gender relationships, reifies and solidifies these. Thus, while sexuality and HIV prevention education cannot be understood or delivered independently of the cultural context in which it is situated, a more nuanced conception of culture is required – that is, one that is attentive to questions of power and specifically, who is in a position to make meanings 'stick'.


This article presents the project that is being carried out in the Climatology Department of the Servei Meteorolde Catalunya (Meteorological Service of Catalonia), which aims to create a climatic database for Catalonia that is as complete and of the highest quality possible. Due to historical events, this climatic information is still incomplete and widely scattered in many different sources. As a consequence, it has been necessary to make a previous identification and cataloguing of the sources containing climatic material. Later on, a methodology used to integrate such a volume of information in a database was created, taking two aspects into con- sideration: the recovery of the metadata and the generation of climatic series. METADEM was developed to preserve all the information related to the metadata of a meteorological observa- tory, while a methodology was also designed to create complete and high quality climatic series. This one includes three levels: digitalization, quality control and homogeneity analysis. As a result of this project, which is still in its initial phase, ca. two hundred series have had their temporary coverage improved, while ca. one hundred and fifty new series have been identified.


In many cases, developers of low head hydroelectric plants fail to use physical hydraulic modelling as a tool in the design process. Economic constraints are often cited as the primary justification for the design to proceed without the benefit of modelling; but two hydroelectric plants currently under construction on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania demonstrate how low head hydraulic modelling justifies its cost. The hydroelectric projects are located at Lock and Dam Number 5 and Lock and Dam Number 6 on the Allegheny River, about 50 miles (80 KM) north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hydraulic modelling was used in the early design phase of the sister projects. It provided a more accurate picture of the site conditions and their impact upon the proposed design. This level of accuracy would have been impossible to obtain based solely on the standard design calculations and experience with similar projects. This degree of rigorousness has allowed the owners to be more confident of hydropower production capabilities. It also led to design changes which satisfied requirements for flow distribution and eliminated major eddy formations, thereby reducing head loss.


Abstract From a few examples, the first part of this paper discusses the use of transmission electron microscopy in characterizing arrested silicate reaction mechanisms in coherent rocks, including nucleation, crystal growth, and resorption events. Some attention is given to the role of reaction sites and strain. The second part of the paper addresses the wealth of mutual arrangement of serpentine tubules (chrysotile sl) found recently in serpentinite cracks, the result of hydration reactions. It is suggested that their great flexibility of association as fascinating mesostructures may indicate how veins formed and how they were filled. Micro- to nano-cracks might potentially serve as markers of brittle deformation in the submicron range, and therefore might document nanostructural geology. When possible the topological and self-assembly features observed for chrysotile are compared with those reported for graphene nanotubes.


Gaussian assumptions for the irradiance probability density in a digital image are often employed but rarely justified. We provide a mathematical justification for these assumptions and indicate the limitations of their use. Beginning with the context-dependent image ensemble considerations introduced by Hunt Cannon [IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern.SMC-6, 876 (1976)], such an ensemble is found to be accurately modeled as a Gaussian random process with nonstationary mean and nonstationary variance. An ensemble transformation is deduced and confirmed empirically that yields a Gaussian, zero-mean, unit-variance, ergodic random process. This conclusion leads to an image model that predicts that the distribution of image irradiance values after local mean removal is determined only by the distribution of local standard deviation values in the image. An analytic expression is derived for the probability density function of these irradiance values and is validated experimentally. This expression indicates that the distribution of image irradiance values after local mean removal may be assumed to be Gaussian only when the local standard deviation in an image is a nearly stationary quantity.