This paper is based on the premise that the design ideas and methods that cut across most fields of engineering, herein called integrated design, have grown rapidly in the last two or three decades and that integrated design now has the status of cumulative knowledge. This is old news for many, but a rather limited approach to teaching design knowledge is still common in the United States and perhaps elsewhere. In many engineering departments in the United States, students are only required to have a motivational and experiential introductory design course that is followed several years later by an experiential and discipline-specific capstone course [1]. Some limitations of the capstone approach, such as too little and too late, have been noted [2]. In some departments, and for some students, another experiential design course may be taken as an elective. A few non-design courses have an experiential design project added following a design across the curriculum approach. However, design education may often be only 5-10% of the required engineering undergraduate curriculum. We identify several issues. First, experience alone is not enough, and we suggest the need for re-organizing the design curriculum to include more design knowledge. Second, 5-10% of the curriculum may not be enough time devoted to what 30% of the students will be doing upon graduation or adequate to cover what now constitutes design knowledge [unpublished alumni data from Penn State University and the University of Michigan]. Third, design research and design education are not well connected, although some new subjects appear to run counter this pattern. 2 Designing Engineering Education Working from a modified version of the categorization of design research by Finger and Dixon [3, 4], we attempt to sketch the universe of engineering design scholarship. We then discuss the content of about 15 leading design texts that we have examined as an indication of what design educators may be teaching. Further, we quantitatively review some disparate models of design education in Europe and the United States to help reveal the scope of what is possible. The authors are members of a new international consortium, Prestige, which is designed to prepare students to work in the global economy by developing learning opportunities in global product design such as web resources; virtual, cross-national, design teams; and global internship experiences in projects and industries (http://cede.psu.edu/Prestige/). Activities such as creating web resources in design make the present paper a useful endeavor, as do the new design programs that are emerging at two partner institutions. (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/product-design/, http://cede.psu.edu/ed/)


Oil producing companies utilize water injection as a common oil recovery method for decades, especially for offshore fields, where seawater is typically used as inject water. Due to the size and complexity of the injection system and the high salinity of the water (∼55,000 mg/L); several challenges are faced during this process including microbial growth, fouling and corrosion in the pipeline. Biofilms accelerate corrosion in a biologically conditioned metal–solution interface. Oil producing companies including those in Qatar use biocides to disinfect the water and inhibit biofilm formation caused mainly by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). However, traditional biocides may induce bacterial resistance and/or be detrimental to environment. In this study we synthesized chitosan/ZnO nanocomposite (CZNCs) and evaluated its antimicrobial activity against SRB biofilm in inject seawater. CZNCs showed stable behavior when exposed to higher salt concentrations of inject water. The inhibition of SRB activity was concentration-dependent and more than 73% and 43% inhibition of sulfate reduction and TOC removal, respectively, was observed at 250 μg/mL CZNCs at 10% initial ZnO loading. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay indicated obvious damages to the cellular membrane which resulted in release of cytoplasmic materials from the bacterial cells. Significant decrease in concentration of EPS extracts was obtained. This work has demonstrated that the exposure of synthesized CZNCs could cause significant SRB anti-biofouling properties. This is the first ever study of antimicrobial potential of chitosan based biocides for SRB inhibition. We are confident that this work will make the scientific as well as the industrial communities to appreciate the application of nanomaterials based biocides. This is the first ever study of antimicrobial potential of any ENM generally, and chitosan based biocides, particularly, for SRB enriched biofilm inhibition. Taking into account tremendous interest to nanomaterials as antimicrobial agents, we anticipate a major impact from a much better material reported in his paper.


In this paper, we study the problem of learning from weakly labeled data, where labels of the training examples are incomplete. This includes, for example, (i) semi-supervised learning where labels are partially known; (ii) multi-instance learning where labels are implicitly known; and (iii) clustering where labels are completely unknown. Unlike supervised learning, learning with weak labels involves a difficult Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) problem. Therefore, it can suffer from poor scalability and may also get stuck in local minimum. In this paper, we focus on SVMs and propose the WELLSVM via a novel label generation strategy. This leads to a convex relaxation of the original MIP, which is at least as tight as existing convex Semi-Definite Programming (SDP) relaxations. Moreover, the WELLSVM can be solved via a sequence of SVM subproblems that are much more scalable than previous convex SDP relaxations. Experiments on three weakly labeled learning tasks, namely, (i) semi-supervised learning; (ii) multi-instance learning for locating regions of interest in content-based information retrieval; and (iii) clustering, clearly demonstrate improved performance, and WELLSVM is also readily applicable on large data sets.


Quantum error correction is the backbone of fault-tolerant quantum computation, a necessary requirement for any large scale quantum computer. The fault-tolerance threshold theorem has long been a target for experimental precision, allowing for the possibility of reducing logical error rates to arbitrarily low levels without excessive overhead. While there are many promising fault-tolerant architectures, the path towards the most practical fault-tolerant scheme is far from decided and may vary for differing physical models. This thesis proposes new schemes for universal fault-tolerant quantum computation in both the concatenated and topological code settings. Through the concatenation of two different error correcting codes, a set of universal fault-tolerant gates can be obtained without requiring the need for magic state distillation. A lower bound of 1.28× 10−3 for the fault-tolerance threshold under circuit level depolarizing noise is obtained. Additionally, stacked codes are proposed as a means to simulate the action of a 3D topological code in 2D, allowing for the application of a universal set of transversal operations. While fault-tolerant, unfortunately the scheme does not exhibit a threshold due to the decreasing pseudo-threshold with growing code distance, yet points to potential interesting avenues for fault-tolerant computation in 2D without distillation. One of the primary avenues to constructing fault-tolerant logical operations is through transversal operations. In this thesis, the set of single qubit logical gates that can be implemented transversally are characterized and determined to all belong to the Clifford hierarchy. Moreover, any diagonal two-qubit operation that can be applied transversally must belong to the same level of the Clifford hierarchy as the set of gates that can be implemented in the single-qubit case. The opposite to quantum error correction is privacy, where the output of a channel is disguised from its input. The two are fundamentally related through the complementary channel construction. This thesis presents a new class of private quantum channels, expanding the existing class beyond a seemingly fundamental restriction. This yields interesting insights into the structure of quantum information and the leaking of information to external environments. Additionally, the duality is only recovered when extending the complementary channel to sufficiently high environmental dimension. Finally, the error properties of bucket brigade quantum Random Access Memory (qRAM) are assessed. It is determined that using the bucket brigade qRAM architecture for the running of Grover's algorithm necessitates reducing the error rate of the individual components to exponentially small levels for an exponential sized memory. As such, fault-tolerant architectures will likely play an essential role in the construction of such computing primitives.


This paper develops a single stage theoretical model that examines the impact of citizen ethnicity on evacuation warning compliance. Three ethnic groups are examined: blacks, whites, and Mexican-Americans. Other independent variables in the model include risk perception, possession of an adaptive plan, warning content, warning confirmation, income, and warning source credibility. The model is tested on data from a flood and a hazardous materials incident. In both events, it was found that respondent ethnicity and income had small and statistically nonsignificant effects upon warning compliance. Perceived risk was the best predictor of compliance in each data set. Ethnic group differences were detected in terms of the specific sources identified as most credible and in terms of the first source contacted for warning confirmation.


The lateral control of a projectile for targeting and impacting a nonstationary target is of interest in many applications. Through the use of internal moving parts, gyroscopic forces can be generated, thus changing the flight trajectory of the projectile. In this study, three small internal swing masses are introduced to the projectile and their motions are controlled. The masses are attached to the end of massless rods that are located on points of an equilateral triangle centered about the major axis of the projectile. A mathematical model for the internal gyroscopic rotating disks of this multibody mechanism and its trajectory path is presented. For this mechanism, the dynamics equations of motion are developed and solved numerically to simulate the trajectory of the projectile. The concept projectile model is shown to move cyclically about the axis of rotation and to deviate from its axis in a relatively even slope. A parametric study is then focused on actuating each mass in sequence or changing the weight of the masses and their initial positions to examine and evaluate the flight trajectory of the projectile. The results from this study show that the lateral deviation of a projectile can be controlled by altering the initial configuration of the rotating mass mechanism. This application may hold merit for controlling the re-entry flight trajectory of air vehicles.


Micropumps can play a significant role in thermal management applications, as a component of microfluidic cooling systems. For next-generation high density optical communication systems, in particular, heat flux levels are sufficiently high to require a microfluidic circuit for cooling. Valveless piezoelectrically-actuated micropumps are a particularly promising technology to be deployed for this application. These pumps exploit the asymmetric flow behaviour of microdiffusers to achieve net flow. They feature no rotating or contacting parts, which make them intrinsically reliable in comparison to micropumps with active valves. In this paper, two novel microdiffuser elements are reported and characterized. The micropumps were fabricated using a 3D Printer. Each single diffuser had a length of 1800 pm and a depth of 400 pm. An experimental characterization was conducted in which the flow rate and differential pressure were measured as a function of operating frequency. In comparison with standard diffuser, both elements showed an increase in differential pressure in the range of 40 – 280 %, but only one of the elements exhibited an improved flow rate, of about 85 %.


Mitochondrial dysfunction has been proved to contribute to ischemia‐induced brain damage. In this study, which used a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model, the protective effects of huperzine A (HupA) against mitochondrial dysfunction and brain damage were investigated. MCAO for 45 min followed by 4 hr of reperfusion significantly impaired the activities of mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes (complex I, complex II–III, and complex IV) and α‐ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and induced mitochondrial swelling. Pretreatment of HupA at 0.1 mg/kg significantly preserved respiratory chain enzyme activities, decreased ROS production, and attenuated mitochondrial swelling. It could also significantly attenuate the neurological deficits (after 4 or 24 hr reperfusion) and reduce infarct volumes (after 24 hr reperfusion). Moreover, HupA protected isolated nonsynaptosomal mitochondria from calcium‐induced damage in vitro by preserving mitochondrial membrane potential and decreasing ROS production. Overall, the present study indicates that HupA can ameliorate MCAO‐induced mitochondrial dysfunction, and this might partially contribute to its protective effect on brain damage after 24 hr of reperfusion. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Abstract. Native species in lakes commonly are affected by cultural eutrophication and introductions of nonnative species. The effects of these disturbances on benthic communities in large lakes have been understudied, despite the integral role that benthos play in maintaining habitat complexity and ecosystem processes. Lake Tahoe has experienced progressive eutrophication and introductions of nonnative species over the past several decades, but how its unique benthic communities have been affected is unclear. The density of Lake Tahoe's benthic fauna was compared between 1960s surveys and our recent (2008–2009) survey, and the association of zoobenthos with macrophytes was examined for contemporary and historical samples. The density of benthic invertebrates and the occurrence of macrophytes in benthic samples have declined dramatically since collections made in the 1960s. Lakewide densities of benthic invertebrate taxa endemic to Lake Tahoe have declined by 80 to 100%, and the community structure of benthic invertebrate assemblages has changed considerably. Several native benthic invertebrate taxa were closely associated with deepwater macrophytes in the 1960s, but contemporary invertebrate association with macrophytes could not be evaluated reliably because of the scarcity of macrophytes in contemporary samples. Declines in native benthic invertebrate density could be related to the loss of habitat and food resources previously provided by abundant deepwater macrophyte assemblages. In addition, establishment and increases in density of nonnative species that occurred after the benthic surveys of the 1960s probably have affected native benthic invertebrate communities. The observed declines in Lake Tahoe's native benthic invertebrate and macrophyte communities suggest that they are severely threatened.


We apply the STEM (Stress Trajectories Element Method) to investigate changes in the stress states as a result of a great earthquake. Two regions are considered: 1) the region affected by the great Sumatran earthquake (26 of December 2004, 9.1M), taking into account data collected before and after the event separately; 2) the region where the recent Japanese earthquake (11 of March 2011, 9.0M) occurred. The latter is analysed taking into account data collected before the event only while the former case allows one to consider the changes in data due to the significant increase of measurements since the 2004 event. The analysis is based on the stress orientation data from the World Stress Map (WSM) database and the geometrical model of tectonic plate boundaries. The method has proved to be able to recover the stress fields from this type of data with satisfactory accuracy. The modelling utilizes the Trefftz type approach for the complex potentials in plane elastic problems and assumes continuity of the stress vector across the tectonic plate boundaries. As a result of the modelling we obtain stress trajectories, maximum shear stress and mean stress, and the plate driving forces expressed in terms of normal and tangential stresses. The results for the two time subsets revealed changes in the stress patterns induced by the 26/12/2004 event and moreover the stress pattern before the great Sumatran Earthquake was very similar to the one near Japan.


Human Flesh Search((HFS) is a search phenomenon emerging on the Internetin recent years, which integrates machine search and manual search, and is usually used to find or identify immoral events or characters. But problematically in the process of HFS, the personal information of search objects is posted on the Internet, which seriously violates the privacy protection of the search objects and affectes the real lives of others. In this paper, we apply the neutralization technology theory and deterrence theory, both prominent in criminology, with the construction of privacy awareness, to study the behavior of participants of the HFS. Using smartPLS2.0 software to analyze 574 questionnaires, we got our research conclusion. We find that the technologies of denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, appeal to higher loyalties, avoidance of greater harm and privacy awareness significantly influence the intention to participate in the HFS, but the metaphor of the ledger technology, the certainty of sanction and the severity of the sanction have no significant effect on HFS participation intention. Based on the results of this study, we conduct a detailed analysis and give some appropriate instructions. At last, the research conclusion may have some potentially fruitful reference for related legislation and be helpful to guide the Internet behavior of netizens.


Within the raft of new international accounting standards, there is at least one, namely AASB138 (IAS38) 'Intangible Assets', which not only changes the way that Australian companies account for and report their intangible assets, but advocates a treatment that is conceptually flawed and which fails to provide relevant information to the users of financial statements. Despite resistance to the new standard by Australian constituents, it became effective from 1 st January, 2005, and will have a significant impact on the financial statements of Australian reporting entities. These assertions are supported by reference to submissions offered to the AASB and IASB, as well as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) disclosures made by selected Australian media companies in their 2004 annual reports. At this early stage of adoption, many of the arguments are based on suppositions and the actual effects of AASB 138 will not be known until the release of 2005 and 2006 financial statements. Although to date the IASB has been unwavering in its denial of alternative treatments for intangible assets, the AASB continues to pursue its case with the IASB, devoting resources to an intangible assets research project. The AASB mission will need to be more than convincing to change the views espoused by the IASB, given that the treatment advocated in AASB138 is consistent with that of US and UK, the IASB heavyweights. Success by the AASB would strengthen its influence at the international level of standard setting and would also allow Australian reporting entities to recognise the fair value of their underlying assets, thus strengthening the conceptual consistency and relevance of financial reporting.


An update summary should provide a fluent summarization of new information on a time-evolving topic, assuming that the reader has already reviewed older documents or summaries. In 2007 and 2008, an annual summarization evaluation included an update summarization task. Several participating systems produced update summaries indistinguishable from human-generated summaries when measured using ROUGE. However, no machine system performed near human-level performance in manual evaluations such as pyramid and overall responsiveness scoring. We present a metric called Nouveau-ROUGE that improves correlation with manual evaluation metrics and can be used to predict both the pyramid score and overall responsiveness for update summaries. Nouveau-ROUGE can serve as a less expensive surrogate for manual evaluations when comparing existing systems and when developing new ones.


Formalized description of heterometric and homometric regulation was obtained while modeling of circulation on the basis of several principles; the leading one is defined as follows: concept of circulation presumes that the part of pressure which ventricle produces for propelling of blood must be left, as guaranteed part, for producing of deformation of the next ventricular filling. The relationship between the force of contraction, F, and linear deformation, L, was deduces as function F = f(L2) which does not deny approximation to direct proportionality at the operating region of Frank-Starling law (ascending limb cut out from parabola). Another function determines the force of contraction when the sizes of deformation drop below the domain of Frank-Starling function: F = f(1/tsyst), where tsyst is the duration of systole. Bowditch staircase is explained as repeated (cyclic) transitions from one function to another because "a resting muscle" (condition of Bowditch experiment) can be equalized with too small deformations (below the limit of domain of Frank-Starling function).


The subject of beach characteristics is a complex one which is obviously worthy of book-length treatment. The object of this paper is to describe briefly the shapes which groups of beach-forming particles take and the mechanisms by which the forces of nature have so arranged them. Using these reactions as criteria, the coastal engineer who is confronted with the problem of replenishing beach materials or of altering some existing sand flow with a shoreline structure will be able to understand (and predict) the rapid readjustment of the particles to their new environment. There are, of course, no unnatural beaches; the implication is that artificially created or nourished beaches and otherwise altered shorelines will respond in the same manner as those untouched beaches which were studied to assemble the information presented here.


The analysis of the existing social researches in the field of conjugal couple shows that the contemporary social mentality still values solidarity as being an important value for the conjugal functionality. However, the increasingly frequent social tendencies show that solidarity alters more and more into becoming a type of solidarity "of the other towards myself". It gets consistency up to the extent in which it is attributed to the other, not to one's self. Therefore, from an individualist perspective, solidarity appears ement understood as being the other's moral responsibility. This new orientation tends to reconceptualize solidarity which is being pertained the very fusional aspects in favour of those related to the personal ideal. The reason to stay together no longer involves solidarity of purposes or mutual ideals, the partner becomes means of resource for fulfilling the personal ideals and the coherence of the new solidary orientations derives from the extent to which the other also fulfills his individual ideals through his partner. Thus, solidarity is no longer substantiated by commonly developed and fulfilled values, but it emerges as a consequence of individual fulfillment through the other. This article aims to present a possible theoretical explanation of social mentalities that could explain functionality through a structural reconfiguration of solidarity.


In this paper, firstly we briefly outline the historical legacies of inner-city housing that are the focus for redevelopment today, and then summarise the legacy of mass housing built by the work-unit or danwei in the Maoist era. The bulk of the paper, however, is then concerned with the switch to privatisation (via 'market socialism with Chinese characteristics') in the Reform Period under Deng Xiaoping and his successors, and the role of land policy that forms an important constraint on housing provision. Demand for low-income housing is in part due to the continuation of the Maoist hukou registration system which acts as a major barrier to full participation in the housing market and consequently China's cities now have a huge migrant non-hukou 'floating population' (liudong renkou) that must be housed via alternative means, preferably as cheaply and effectively as possible. There is also the situation of the 'ant tribe' of young low-paid college graduates to consider. For people like these renting in overcrowded conditions is one option, but because of China's unique development trajectory, (driven by the Chinese Communist Party since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, self-help housing is not a major form of housing provision, therefore there are few examples to consider. Hence, we discuss several examples of China's low income urban housing.


We develop a matching model of foreign direct investment to study how multinational firms choose between greenfield investment, acquisitions, and joint ventures. For all entry modes, firms must invest in a continuum of tasks to bring a product to market. Each firm possesses a core competency in the task space, though firms are otherwise identical. For acquisitions and joint ventures, a multinational enterprise (MNE) must match with a local partner, where the local partner may provide complementary expertise within the task space. However, for joint ventures, investment in tasks is shared by multiple owners, and hence is subject to a holdup problem. In equilibrium, ex-ante identical multinational enter the local matching market, and ex post, three different types of ownership within a heterogeneous group of firms arise. Specifically, the worst matches dissolve and the MNEs invest greenfield, the middle matches form joint ventures, and the best matches integrate via mergers and acquisitions. We also show that joint ventures are more common when the host country produces products that are inferior to those produced in the source country, which explains why MNEs use joint ventures more frequently in less-developed countries. Finally, we extend the model to a simple two-period context to provide a rationale for one of the more salient features of joint ventures, namely, their instability.


An evaluation of E-FIT, PROfit, Sketch, Photofit and EvoFIT composite construction techniques was carried out in a "forensically friendly format": composites of unfamiliar targets were constructed from memory following a 3–4-hour delay using a Cognitive Interview and experienced operators. The main dependent variable was spontaneous naming and overall performance was low (10% average naming rate). E-FITs were named better than all techniques except PROfit, though E-FIT was superior to PROfit when the target was more distinctive. E-FIT, PROfit and Sketch were similar overall in a composite sorting task, but Sketch emerged best for more average-looking targets. Photofit performed poorly, as did EvoFIT, an experimental system. Overall, facial distinctiveness was found to be an important factor for composite naming.


Membranes of the visceral and parietal yolk sacs and their adjacent placental surfaces were examined at 13, 18 and 21 days of gestation in the mouse by scanning electron microscopy. The exterior or endodermal surface of the visceral yolk sac was characterized by a villous area attached to the placental disc, a central transition zone, and a smooth distal area. At all days, the abundant microvilli of the villous region were either elongated or bleb-shaped. At 13 days microvilli of cells in the transitional zone and smooth area were uniformly rod-shaped in contrast to the longer microvilli seen at 18 and 21 days; moreover, denuded cells were frequently seen at 21 days. Large squamous endodermal cells on the surface of the placental disc outside the visceral yolk sac were separated by wide intercellular spaces bridged by cytoplasmic processes at all days. Microvilli of these cells were sparse at day 13 but became abundant at day 18 then decreased by day 21. Endodermal cells of the adjacent parietal yolk sac changed from a rounded to a flattened shape from 18 to 21 days, with microvilli being more abundant at 18 days. In contrast to the outer endodermal surface of the visceral yolk sac, the inner mesothelial surface was devoid of villi. At 13 days contiguous edges of cells interdigitated giving the lateral cell borders a microvillous-like appearance. The surface of these cells had a sparse covering of microvilli which became more abundant as the surface was drawn into folds at 18 and 21 days. The adjacent fetal placental surface was covered by flattened cells with few surface specializations. Our observations support an absorptive role for the endodermal surfaces of the visceral and parietal yolk sacs and the associated surfaces of the mouse placenta.


Epistasis, commonly defined as the interaction between multiple genes, is an important genetic component underlying phenotypic variation. Many statistical methods have been developed to model and identify epistatic interactions between genetic variants. However, because of the large combinatorial search space of interactions, most epistasis mapping methods face enormous computational challenges and often suffer from low statistical power. Here, we present a novel, alternative strategy for mapping epistasis: instead of directly identifying individual pairwise or higher-order interactions, we focus on mapping variants that have non-zero marginal epistatic effects — the combined pairwise interaction effects between the given variant and all other variants. By testing marginal epistatic effects, we can identify candidate variants that are involved in epistasis without the need to identify the exact partners with which the variants interact, thus potentially alleviating much of the statistical and computational burden associated with standard epistatic mapping procedures. Our method is based on the variance component model, and relies on a recently developed variance component estimation method for efficient parameter inference and p-value computation. We refer to our method as the "Marginal EPIstasis Test", or MEPIT. With simulations, we show how MEPIT can be used to robustly estimate marginal epistatic effects, produce calibrated test statistics under the null, and facilitate the detection of pairwise epistatic interactions. We further illustrate the benefits of MEPIT on several real datasets, including seven common diseases from the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, as well as body composition traits from a swine genome-wide association study.


ABSTRACT Background Goals of treating childhood severe acute malnutrition (SAM), in addition to anthropometric recovery and preventing short-term mortality, include reducing the risks of subsequent serious infections. How quickly and how much the risk of serious illness changes during rehabilitation are unknown but could inform improving the design and scope of interventions. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the risk of life-threatening events (LTEs) in relation to anthropometric recovery from SAM. Design This was a secondary analysis of a clinical trial including 1778 HIV-uninfected Kenyan children aged 2–59 mo with complicated SAM, enrolled after the inpatient stabilization phase of treatment, and followed for 12 mo. The main outcome was LTEs, defined as infections requiring rehospitalization or causing death. We examined anthropometric variables measured at months 1, 3, and 6 after enrollment in relation to LTEs occurring during the 6 mo after each of these time points. Results Over 12 mo, there were 823 LTEs (257 fatal), predominantly severe pneumonia and diarrhea. At months 1, 3, and 6, 557 (34%), 764 (49%), and 842 (56%) children had a weight-for-height or -length z score (WHZ) ≥−2, respectively, which, compared with a WHZ <−3, was associated with lower risks of subsequent LTEs [adjusted HRs (95% CIs): 0.50 (0.40, 0.64), 0.30 (0.23, 0.39), and 0.23 (0.16, 0.32), respectively]. However, children with a WHZ ≥−2 at 1, 3, and 6 mo still had 39 (95% CI: 32, 47), 26 (95% CI: 22, 32), and 15 (95% CI: 12, 20) LTEs/100 child-years of observation during the following 6 mo. WHZ at study enrollment predicted subsequent WHZ but not the risk of LTEs. Changes in height-for-age z score did not predict LTEs. Conclusions Anthropometric response was associated with a rapid and substantial reduction in risk of LTEs. However, reduction in susceptibility lagged behind anthropometric improvement. Disease events, together with anthropometric assessment, may provide a clearer picture of the effectiveness of interventions. Robust protocols for detecting and treating poor anthropometric recovery and addressing broader vulnerabilities that complicated SAM indicates may save lives. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00934492.


The turbulence in tidal flows affects the design and operation of tidal plants, e.g., through control system and dynamical loads. Present work is focused on a specific site west of Holy Island along the north west cost of Wales and a specific tidal power plant, Deep Green. Although, specific and applied, the work is generally applicable regarding findings and modelling techniques for other sites and designs. Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are used to study first the undisturbed tidal flow and then the flow with a power plant in operation. The undisturbed tidal flow simulations show that the turbulence characteristics differ between the acceleration and deceleration phase of the tidal cycle. The turbulence statistics are also used to estimate dynamical loads on the tidal plant with respect to, e.g., fatigue. Secondly, a novel Actuator Line Method (ALM) tidal power plant model, that e.g., takes the arbitrary trajectories of the power plant wing into account, is used. It's used to study how the power plants affect the environment, available power downstream, and turbulence characteristics affecting other power plants in possible power plant arrays. It is shown that the width of the trajectory can be used as a measure to estimate the wake extent. Keywords— Tidal energy, Turbulence, Large Eddy Simulation (LES), Actuator Line Method (ALM).


The pure tone hearing threshold is usually estimated from responses to stimuli at a set of standard frequencies. This paper describes a probabilistic approach to the estimation problem in which the hearing threshold is modelled as a smooth continuous function of frequency using a Gaussian process. This allows sampling at any frequency and reduces the number of required measurements. The Gaussian process is combined with a probabilistic response model to account for uncertainty in the responses. The resulting full model can be interpreted as a two-dimensional binary classifier for stimuli, and provides uncertainty bands on the estimated threshold curve. The optimal next stimulus is determined based on an information theoretic criterion. This leads to a robust adaptive estimation method that can be applied to fully automate the hearing threshold estimation process.


Inuit societies in Canada's arctic are known for their adaptability and resiliency. However, the Inuit experience of colonization and non-indigenous contact has contributed to a profound disruption of culture, language, and living, with catastrophic consequences for mental health and well-being. This thesis reflects on how architecture/design can respond to the complex issues of mental health currently affecting Inuit societies in Canada, using the flux of ever-changing terrains and landscapes as both context and intervention. In doing this, a series of proposed outposts mark the line of an annual suicide prevention walk, hosted by Qikiqtarjuaq in an attempt to bring recognition and attention to the purpose of the walk and to provide shelter and services to travelers who partake. Working together, the outposts speak to the importance of experience, culture, process, and healing within a landscape of utmost significance.


Transactional memory (TM) promises to simplify concurrent programming while providing scalability competitive to fine-grained locking. Language-based constructs allow programmers to denote atomic regions declaratively and to rely on the underlying system to provide transactional guarantees along with concurrency. In contrast with fine-grained locking, TM allows programmers to write simpler programs that are composable and deadlock-free. TM implementations operate by tracking loads and stores to memory and by detecting concurrent conflicting accesses by different transactions. By automating this process, they greatly reduce the programmer's burden, but they also are forced to be conservative. Incertain cases, conflicting memory accesses may not actually violate the higher-level semantics of a program, and a programmer may wish to allow seemingly conflicting transactions to execute concurrently. Open nested transactions enable expert programmers to differentiate between physical conflicts, at the level of memory, and logical conflicts that actually violate application semantics. A TMsystem with open nesting can permit physical conflicts that are not logical conflicts, and thus increase concurrency among application threads. Here we present an implementation of open nested transactions in a Java-based software transactional memory (STM)system. We describe new language constructs to support open nesting in Java, and we discuss new abstract locking mechanisms that a programmer can use to prevent logical conflicts. We demonstrate how these constructs can be mapped efficiently to existing STM data structures. Finally, we evaluate our system on a set of Java applications and data structures, demonstrating how open nesting can enhance application scalability.


It is not uncommon for sportspeople to change names. Those with burdensome ones – such as the Indian batsman Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman, known to one and all as VVS – will act to ensure such irksome difficulties do not hinder their careers. Boxers, like actors, have long devised more billboard-friendly handles – Kid Gavilan, Fighting Harada, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard – but that was not why Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali of the Nation of Islam, making himself many enemies in the process.

Mohammad Yousuf has also attracted some enmity by making the same religious switch as Ali, but has won many more friends in his own country. Until recently the only Christian in the Pakistan XI, and just the fourth since Partition, he announced his conversion to Islam last month, reinventing himself as Mohammad Yousuf.

It was a move that appeared to risk nothing but excessive adulation from most Pakistanis. This, after all, is a land where Christians are confined to small, largely impoverished ghettos. When Yousuf made his Test debut, his parents did not possess a television set. Persecution of Christians by the state is regularly condemned by human rights groups.


Although piezoelectric actuators have been widely used in active control, the hysteresis nonlinearity and the non-minimum phase characteristic could potentially deteriorate the system performance, especially in high precision control applications under disturbance. In this study, a resistance/inductance circuit is connected to the piezoelectric actuator to form an actuator network. With the actuator dynamics, the system model can be directly cast into the state-space whereas the system nonlinearity appears as explicit functions of the state variables. We then develop an integral continuous sliding mode control scheme to tackle the hysteresis nonlinearity and the disturbance issues. Instead of inverse hysteresis cancellation which might not be reliable due to the measurement noise, a direct piezoelectric hysteresis compensation can be achieved using this control strategy. The newly developed control scheme combines the advantages of both integral control and continuous sliding mode control with cubic state feedback. Not only can the control action react efficiently and effectively for the non-minimum phase response, but also, a zero steady state tracking error is guaranteed. Detailed analysis and case studies demonstrate that this new methodology can lead to improved tracking control precision, enhanced control robustness, and smoother control action.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


This study aimed at examining factors associated with sense of efficacy among first
year beginning teachers in Sarawak, Malaysia. Beginning teachers are newly and
hlly qualified teachers in their first three years of teaching assignment. The aim of
this study was pursued by: (a) examining the correlation between two contextual
variables (support system and school climate) and first year teachers' sense of
efficacy; (b) investigating the differences in sense of efficacy in relation to selected
demographic variables; and (c) identifying the predictors of first year teachers' sense
of efficacy from the independent variables.
This study employed a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Quantitative method was set to examine the associating factors while as qualitative
method was utilised to support and triangulate the association. The quantitative data
were gathered by survey method using three instruments: Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001), Support System Survey (a selfdesigned
instrument) and School Climate Index (Tschannen-Moran & Parish, 2003).
Semi-structured interviews were employed to gather qualitative data.
The questionnaires were administered to a sample of 328 first year teachers from 45
secondary schools in Sarawak. The subjects of the study were selected by using
stratified random sampling according to eight Educational Administrative Divisions
in Sarawak and locality of the schools (urban and rural). The interviews were
conducted with two Principals, two Administrative Senior Assistants and six first
year teachers from three secondary schools. Two schools with the highest efficacy
mean score and one school with the lowest mean score were selected from research
sample to be the sites to conduct the interviews.
The quantitative findings indicated that first year teachers demonstrated a moderate
level of teachers' sense of efficacy (M = 6.57, SD = 30; score range from 1 to 9),
perceived they were provided with a moderate level of support system (M = 3.32, SD
= .57; score range from 1 to 5) and perceived their schools have a moderate positive
school climate (M = 3.66, SD = .49; score range from 1 to 5). The correlation was
significant and moderately positive between support system and first year teachers'
sense of efficacy (r = .40, p < .01) and between school climate and first year
teachers' sense of efficacy (r = .3 1, p < .01). Qualitative analyses provided related
evidence to support and triangulate the correlation between the variables. There were significant differences in first year teachers' sense of efficacy in relation to types of
teacher education (t = -2.35, p < .05), oral English proficiency (F [2, 3251 = 4.30, p
< .05) and ethnicity (F [3, 3241 = 3.88, p < .05). There was no significant difference
in first year teachers7 sense of efficacy in relation to gender (t = 1.42, p > .05),
schools location (t = -.08, p > .05), having teaching experience (t = -1.28, p > .05),
age groups (F [3,324] = 35, p > .05), and teaching subject option (F [2,325] = 2.52,
p > .05). Two factors from the variable support system (instructional support and
institutional support) and one factor from the variable school climate (academic press)
were identified as the predictors of teachers7 sense of efficacy (R* = .205, F [3, 3241
= 27.766, p < .001). The implication of the stpdy on the theory and practice of
teachers' sense of efficacy was discussed. Suggestions were offered as
considerations to enhance and foster senses' of efficacy among the first year teachers.


The large cable programmers, who provide most of the popular cable (and broadcast) television programming, respond that a single large expanded basic service tier represents the most efficient way to offer programming and that allowing customers to obtain networks on an a la carte basis or in small tiers would raise costs – and hence prices to consumers – and also reduce the diversity of programs offered, so that consumer welfare would suffer in the long run. In this report, the pros and cons of offering subscribers only a single large expanded basic service tier and also of the various proposals to provide consumers more options are presented.


The Roman emperor Commodus wanted to kill a rhinoceros with a bow and arrow, and he wanted to do it in the Colosseum. Commodus' passion for hunting animals was so fervent that he dreamt of shooting a tiger, an elephant, and a hippopotamus; his prowess was such that people claimed he never missed when hurling his javelin or firing arrows from his bow. For fourteen days near the end of AD 192, the emperor mounted one of the most lavish and spectacular gladiatorial games Rome had ever seen. Commodus himself was the star attraction, and people rushed from all over Italy to witness the spectacle. But this slaughter was simply the warm-up act to the main event: the emperor was also planning to fight as a gladiator. Why did Roman rulers spend vast resources on such over-the-top displays - and why did some emperors appear in them as combatants? Why did the Roman rabble enjoy watching the slaughter of animals and the sight of men fighting to the death? And how best can we in the modern world understand what was truly at stake in the circus and the arena? In The Day Commodus Killed a Rhino, Jerry Toner set out to answer these questions by vividly describing what it would have been like to attend Commodus' fantastic shows and watch one of his many appearances as both hunter and fighter. Highlighting the massive logistical effort needed to supply the games with animals, performers, and criminals for execution, the book reveals how blood and gore were actually incidental to what really mattered. Gladiatorial games played a key role in establishing a forum for political debate between the rulers and the ruled. Roman crowds were not passive: they were made up of sophisticated consumers with their own political aims, which they used the games to secure. In addition, the games also served as a pure expression of what it meant to be a true Roman. Drawing on notions of personal honor, manly vigor, and sophisticated craftsmanship, the games were a story that the Romans loved to tell themselves about themselves.


This paper discusses the figures of merit associated with the synchronous luminescence (SL) technique in multicomponent analysis of complex samples. Spectral interferences and experimental factors that influence the choice of experimental conditions are investigated. The efficacy of SL is demonstrated in the direct determination of anthracene and 2-methylanthracene in a raw coal liquid. The application of the second-derivative technique to the SL measurement of organic samples is shown. Special emphasis is directed toward the applicability of the SL technique as a practical and cost-effective screening procedure in the routine analysis of complex organic samples.


Contact between people with mental illness (PMI) and police is on the rise. The current study analyzed a six-month period of official police data (N = 400 occurrences) to provide a description of the PMI that came into contact with police and the typical characteristics and outcomes of these encounters. Results indicated that these interactions were initiated by family members and are taking place at home. Police are most commonly resolving the situations formally with apprehensions under the Mental health Act (55%), however only half of the time these apprehensions result in the PMI being admitted into hospital care, indicating discrepancy between police apprehension and hospital admission criteria. The presence of substances and violence were significant predictors of MHA apprehensions, whereas the PMI initiating the call was protective of this outcome. When police opted to resolve the situation informally, mental health services were engaged less than half of the time. Implications are that PMI are not being connected with mental health services. POLICE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS III


The Andean forearc of northern Chile comprises four morphotectonic units, which include from east to west: 1) The Cordillera de la Costa: composed of Jurassic granites and andesites, thought to represent a volcanic arc, the Mejillones terrane, an accreted allochthonous terrane, and the Lower Cretaceous Coloso basin, which formed through forearc extension along the suture between the Mejillones terrane and the Jurassic arc. Palaeomagnetic studies of the above units have identified approximately 29+/-11 degrees of clockwise rotation. Rotation is due to extension (caused by subduction roll back and slab pull), at an angle to the direction of absolute motion of the South American Plate. 2) The Central Depression: a large arid basin containing isolated fault-bounded blocks of pre-Mesozoic metamorphosed igneous rocks, Triassic sediments and volcanics, and Jurassic carbonates, deposited in a. back-arc basin setting. The isolated blocks formed through extension along previous thrust faults, these originated through compression of the back-arc basin due to accretion of the Jurassic volcanic arc. 3) The Precordillera.: composed of Permian-Triassic rift-related sediments and volcanics, Jurassic continental sediments synchronous with back-arc basin sedimentation, and Cretaceous and Oligo-Miocene continental sediments deposited in foreland basins. Palaeomagnetism has identified clockwise rotation in rocks ranging in age from Jurassic-Miocene. Rotation in the Precordillera. affected larger structural blocks than in the Cordillera de la Costa. 4) The Salar Depression: a. series of arid continental basins developed on continental crust. These basins nay have originated in the Triassic, when rifting of the South American craton is thought to have taken place. In conclusion, palaeomagnetic and geological evidence is consistent with the view that the north Chilean forearc was largely under an extensional stress regime. However, the presence of extensive compressional structures in Palaeocene and older rocks in the forearc together with the currently active foreland thrust belt of Argentina. indicate that throughout the evolution of the Andean Orogen, a delicate balance between compressional and extensional tectonic regimes has existed.


The discovery of new antibiotics with novel modes of action to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is of vital importance. The natural product simocyclinone D8 (SD8) is a potent inhibitor of DNA gyrase. Its bi-functional structure and novel mode of action serve as an inspiring lead for antibiotic development. Herein we describe a proof of principle fragment-based approach towards the development of a new class of coumarin-quinolone hybrids. We demonstrate that the coumarin moiety is required for the observed inhibitory activity (IC50 ∼ 3 μM) of the hybrid compound, which is in part mediated through stabilisation of a cleaved-DNA intermediate.


Quantum key distribution (QKD) networks are promising to progress towards widespread practical deployment over existing fiber infrastructures in the near future. Given the high cost and difficulty of deploying QKD networks, multi-tenancy becomes promising to improve cost efficiency for future QKD networks. In a multi-tenant QKD network, multiple QKD tenants can share the same QKD network infrastructure to obtain secret keys for securing their data transfer. Since the secret-key resources are finite and precious in QKD networks, how to achieve efficient multi-tenant secret-key assignment (MTKA) to satisfy the secret-key demands of multiple QKD tenants over QKD networks becomes a significant problem. In this regard, this study addresses the MTKA problem over QKD networks. A new multi-tenant QKD network architecture is proposed based on software defined networking (SDN) and quantum key pool (QKP) techniques. A secret-key rate sharing scheme is presented and a heuristic algorithm is designed to implement efficient MTKA over QKD networks. A new performance metric, namely matching degree (MD) that reflects the balance between QKD network secret-key resources and QKD tenant requests, is defined and evaluated. Simulation studies indicate that high QKD tenant requests accommodation and efficient secret-key resource usage can be achieved via maximizing the value of MD.


Many worry about the health of the archival profession and its mission, a topic explored in this book by one of the profession's respected leaders. The initial part of the book consists of three essays exploring the notion of archival calling, including a lesson about a lost opportunity for advocating the critical importance of the archival mission and a very personal reflection on the author's own calling into the archival field. The second part of the book concerns one of the pre-eminent challenges of our time, government secrecy, and how, if left unchallenged, it can undermine the societal role of the archival profession. The third part of the book considers one of the most important issues facing archivists, indeed, all information professionals, the possession of a practical ethical perspective. The fourth and final part of the book concerns the matter of teaching the next generation of archivists in the midst of all the change, debates, and controversies about archives and archivists. In a brief concluding reflection, the author offers some final advice to the archival community in charting its future. A substantial portion of the archival profession is anxious about a variety of issues. The challenges archivists face are the result of a growing recognition of the importance of records in our society and its organizations, although these challenges are pushing archivists to think well beyond the cultural mission so many archivists have chosen to emphasize. The days of archivists sitting quietly in their stacks and waiting for the occasional researcher to appear are long gone (if they ever really existed). Archival anxiety may be the result of this community being shaken out of its complacency.


Augmented reality (AR) technologies are becoming state-of-the-art in the mobile technology domain. However, developing successful end user services around AR is still in its infancy, which is partially resulting from the lack of user research regarding potential users' expectations and user acceptance in the particular area. In order to identify the most potential use cases and contexts, in which mobile AR could be utilized, it is important to evaluate already the early service concepts with potential end users. This paper reports an online survey for evaluating the user acceptance of five different mobile AR scenarios, as well as for understanding the potential and risks or mobile AR in general. The results show ambivalent attitudes towards mobile AR services but also imply that the scenarios demonstrating pragmatic relevance were valued over pleasure oriented ones. AR was seen to make contextually relevant information easily available and allow novel interaction possibilities with the physical world. Distrust arose with fears of information flood, users' loss of autonomy, and virtual replacing the real. The respondents' level of technological orientation was found to highly affect the overall acceptance of the scenarios. The results help in considering key acceptance issues and potential users' expectations in the development of future mobile AR services.


Background: Prevalence of laryngeal tuberculosis is rising due to the increase in risk factors like HIV/AIDS. Any part of the larynx can be affected. Diagnosis depends on high index of suspicion.
Objectives: To evaluate the clinical manifestations due to localized laryngeal tuberculosis and their association with pulmonary TB.
Patients and Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in ENT Hospital- Khartoum, Sudan from September 2004 to November 2006. All tuberculous patients with laryngeal symptoms and those diagnosed histologically to have laryngeal tuberculosis were included.
Results: Eight patients were studied; they were five males and three females, with age range between 12-70 years (mean 41years). Strider, dysphonia and dysphagia were the main complaints. Ulcers and nodules were the main findings in all parts of the larynx.
Conclusion: Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis is not mandatory for the diagnosis of laryngeal tuberculosis. Cases are picked up in routine direct laryngoscopy and biopsy for prolonged dysphonia and / or those with known pulmonary tuberculosis who developed laryngeal symptoms
 Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 2 (4) 2007: pp. 275-276


This study analyzes the responses of performances of BankMandiri, Bank Danamon, and Bank Permata to merger strategy.This paper harnesses the quantitative approach with structuralbreak analysis method and impulse response function. Theplausible findings indicate that the merger of Bank Permataproduces a better performance response in comparison to theconsolidation of Bank Mandiri and the merger of Bank Danamon.The merger of Bank Permata does not result in performanceshocks, and the structural break does not prevail either. On theother hand, the consolidation of Bank Mandiri and the mergerof Bank Danamon result in structural breaks, particularly in thespread performance. In order to return to the stable position, themergers of Bank Mandiri and Bank Danamon require a longertime than does the merger of Bank Permata. This researchindicates that for large banks, the mergers and acquisitions(retaining one existing bank) will deliver a better performanceresponse than will the consolidations (no existing bank). Keywords: impulse response function; merger; structural break


AB Provision of irrigation has been thought to be crucial in improving the livelihoods of millions of tribals in Central belt of India, who are locked in perpetual poverty. Green Revolution Technology, which has been at the heart of Indiaٳ agricultural development, has more or less bypassed the tribal population. For one, irrigation infrastructure is inadequate in the tribal regions and again when irrigation infrastructure is made available, the tribals do not seem to make adequate use of them. Creating demand for irrigation among the tribal farmers seems to be most important challenge. It is in this backdrop that we undertook our case study in a tribal dominated block of Gujarat. Unlike the other tribal dominated areas Jharkhand and Chattisgarh), the tribals in our study area were third generation farmers and therefore they faced no cognitive barriers in adopting irrigated agriculture. They are also as skilled a farmer as any other, which is reflected by the fact that there are no discernable yield differences between a tribal and a non-tribal farmer. We studied four canal irrigation schemes, which have been all turned over to the farmers at the behest of AKRSP (I)ٳ intervention. All these four schemes are tribal dominated, some of them are completely so, others have a handful of non-tribal population. The schemes we studied were Pingot RBMC, Baldeva LBMC, Pingot LBMC and Issar Minor Irrigation scheme. Our results confirm that irrigated agriculture has brought about tremendous benefits to a tribal farmer in the form of yield increases, higher cropping intensity, lower out migration and higher wage rates within the village. The trajectory of change for a typical tribal farming has been from cultivating local paddy in Kharif and migrating in Rabi and summer to cultivating hybrid paddy in kharif and irrigated groundnut or moong in summer. Irrigated agriculture has become central to their livelihoods and this in part explains why Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) has been more or less successful here. However, the non-tribal farmers have benefited more from PIM than tribal farmers, because they shifted to very lucrative sugarcane farming. The non-tribals (Patels) have also played a significant role in these irrigation co-operatives in that they have provided the much needed ܤemonstration effectݠof profitability of irrigated agriculture. AKRSP (I)ٳ role as facilitator of PIM in Pingot RBMC and Baldeva LBMC has been acclaimed nationally. But we propose that the success of these two schemes lies in the creation of Pingot LBMC society, where tribal farmers came forward on their own and formed irrigation society to take over management of the canal system. The very fact that an all-tribal farmer group could successfully replicate PIM experiment in Gujarat that was started with Pingot RBMC and Baldeva LBMC is a proof enough for the success of PIM as a whole. We also propose that in the long term, the sustainability of PIM will depend on the overall profitability of irrigated agriculture and therefore efforts should be made to make farming a more profitable venture for the tribal farmers. Encouraging them to shift to highly lucrative crops such as sugarcane and orchard crops could perhaps make irrigated agriculture more profitable in future.


We examined the response of diatoms to naturally experienced temperatures and tested these hypotheses: (1) diatoms follow the rule that organism size decreases with increasing temperature; (2) diatom growth rate follows a Q10‐like response; (3) diatom carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content per unit volume (V) decrease with increasing size, and changes in temperature affect this relationship; and (4) diatom C:V is the same as that of other phytoplankton. We also present, as predictive equations, relationships between (1) growth rate, temperature, and size; (2) C content and V; and (3) N content and V. Eight diatoms and two flagellates were acclimated for approximately five generations and grown for approximately five more generations at five temperatures (9–25°deg;C) on a 14 : 10 light : dark cycle at ~50 µmol photons m−2 s−1. Growth rate, cell V, and C and N content per cell were measured; relationships between these parameters and temperature were determined. For five diatoms and both flagellates, cell V decreased with increasing temperature; cells decrease by ~4% of their mean V per °C. Growth rate appeared to increase linearly with temperature in all cases. The literature suggests that a linear response is the rule, not the exception. Temperature did not significantly affect C or N per V of diatom species. When all diatoms were considered, both C and N per V decreased with increasing cell size; our data support the argument that diatoms differ from other protists in this respect, but the difference is less pronounced than stated in previous reports.


This work has investigated the possibility of classifying Java source code into cases for a case-based reasoning system. A Case-Based Reasoning system is a problem solving method in Artificial Intelligence that uses knowledge of previously solved problems to solve new problems. A case in case-based reasoning consists of two parts: the problem part and solution part. The problem part describes a problem that needs to be solved and the solution part describes how this problem was solved. In this work, the problem is described as a Java source file using words that describes the content in the source file and the solution is a classification of the source file along with the source code. To classify Java source code, a classification system was developed. It consists of four analyzers: type filter, documentation analyzer, syntactic analyzer and semantic analyzer. The type filter determines if a Java source file contains a class or interface. The documentation analyzer determines the level of documentation in a source file to see the usefulness of a file. The syntactic analyzer extracts statistics from the source code to be used for similarity, and the semantic analyzer extracts semantics from the source code. The finished classification system is formed as a kd-tree, where the leaf nodes contains the classified source files i.e. the cases. Furthermore, a vocabulary was developed to contain the domain knowledge about the Java language. The resulting kd-tree was found to be imbalanced when tested, as the majority of source files analyzed were placed in the left-most leaf nodes. The conclusion from this was that using documentation as a part of the classification made the tree imbalanced and thus another way has to be found. This is due to the fact that source code is not documented to such an extent that it would be useful for this purpose.


There is now a huge amount of interest in consciousness among scientists as well as philosophers, yet there is so much confusion and ambiguity in the claims and counter-claims that it is hard to tell whether any progress is being made. This ``position paper'' suggests that we can make progress by temporarily putting to one side questions about what consciousness is or which animals or machines have it or how it evolved. Instead we should focus on questions about the sorts of architectures that are possible for behaving systems and ask what sorts of capabilities, states and processes, might be supported by different sorts of architectures. We can then ask which organisms and machines have which sorts of architectures. This combines the standpoint of philosopher, biologist and engineer. If we can find a general theory of the variety of possible architectures (a characterisation of ``design space'') and the variety of environments, tasks and roles to which such architectures are well suited (a characterisation of ``niche space'') we may be able to use such a theory as a basis for formulating new more precisely defined concepts with which to articulate less ambiguous questions about the space of possible minds. For instance our initially ill-defined concept (``consciousness'') might split into a collection of more precisely defined concepts which can be used to ask unambiguous questions with definite answers. As a first step this paper explores a collection of conjectures regarding architectures and their evolution. In particular we explore architectures involving a combination of coexisting architectural levels including: (a) reactive mechanisms which evolved very early, (b) deliberative mechanisms which evolved later in response to pressures on information processing resources and (c) meta-management mechanisms that can explicitly inspect evaluate and modify some of the contents of various internal information structures. It is conjectured that in response to the needs of these layers, perceptual and action subsystems also developed layers, and also that an ``alarm'' system which initially existed only within the reactive layer may have become increasingly sophisticated and extensive as its inputs and outputs were linked to the newer layers. Processes involving the meta-management layer in the architecture could explain the origin of the notion of ``qualia''. Processes involving the ``alarm'' mechanism and mechanisms concerned with resource limits in the second and third layers gives us an explanation of three main forms of emotion, helping to account for some of the ambiguities which have bedevilled the study of emotion. Further theoretical and practical benefits may come from further work based on this design-based approach to consciousness. A deeper longer term implication is the possibility of a new science investigating laws governing possible trajectories in design space and niche space, as these form parts of high order feedback loops in the biosphere.


ZrO2 decorated nanocrystalline ZSM-5 nanocomposites with different weight ratios were prepared by the calcination of a physical mixture of nanocrystalline ZrO2 and Nano-ZSM-5. The material was characterized by the complementary combination of X-ray diffraction, N2-adsorption, and transmission/scanning electron microscopic techniques. An electrochemical sensor based on the ZrO2 supported nanocrystalline zeolite was developed for the nanomolar detection of organic water pollutants metol and bisphenol A with high electrocatalytic activity, stability, sensitivity, and selectivity. Under the optimum conditions, a wide linear range was obtained from 4 nM to 800 μM and 6 nM to 600 μM with a limit of detection of 1 nM and 3 nM for metol and bisphenol A, respectively. The analytical performance of the developed sensor was demonstrated for the determination of metol and bisphenol A in different real samples such as river water, metol in photographic solution, and bisphenol A in baby bottles with satisfactory results.


Big data open up unprecedented opportunities for investigating complex systems, including society. In particular, communication data serve as major sources for computational social sciences, but they have to be cleaned and filtered as they may contain spurious information due to recording errors as well as interactions, like commercial and marketing activities, not directly related to the social network. The network constructed from communication data can only be considered as a proxy for the network of social relationships. Here we apply a systematic method, based on multiple-hypothesis testing, to statistically validate the links and then construct the corresponding Bonferroni network, generalized to the directed case. We study two large datasets of mobile phone records, one from Europe and the other from China. For both datasets we compare the raw data networks with the corresponding Bonferroni networks and point out significant differences in the structures and in the basic network measures. We show evidence that the Bonferroni network provides a better proxy for the network of social interactions than the original one. Using the filtered networks, we investigated the statistics and temporal evolution of small directed 3-motifs and concluded that closed communication triads have a formation time scale, which is quite fast and typically intraday. We also find that open communication triads preferentially evolve into other open triads with a higher fraction of reciprocated calls. These stylized facts were observed for both datasets.


This study examines the depiction of central female characters (CFCs) in promotional film posters and trailers from top-grossing Hollywood and Bollywood films from 2004 to 2013, focusing on gender stereotypes, sexualization, and aggression. Whereas Bollywood characters tended to be more sexualized, more fit, and less prominent, Hollywood characters appeared more frequently but were increasingly unrealistic. Typically occupying the role of attractive love interests, CFCs tended to display more aggressive behavior over time. Attractive, aggressive CFCs may reinforce and challenge gender role expectations, promoting the "superwoman" ideal. Findings are discussed in terms of objectification, globalization, cultivation, and social cognitive theory.


When future historians look back upon the current political climate in the U.S., it is likely that they will view the severe state of political polarization between liberals and conservatives as being one of its defining characteristics. While some have suggested that a difference in general levels of empathy among liberals and conservatives could be playing a role in shaping their differing political attitudes, psychologist Paul Bloom has forcefully argued against any such difference in his book "Against Empathy". In this commentary I set out to counter Bloom's claim that there is no significant relationship between the capacity to experience empathy and political ideology. To this end, I discuss how a growing collection of empirical research indicates that an individual's propensity to experience empathy correlates with one's general political attitudes (including party affiliation) as well as with which specific policy positions one takes. More specifically, this research suggests that a strong connection exists between empathy and liberal political views. In light of this research, I suggest that empathy can help account for the differences in political attitudes among liberals and conservatives in the U.S. and may even help explain why such attitudes have become increasingly polarized. The analysis provided in this essay aims to further our understanding of how personality traits can be used to predict voter attitudes in the U.S. and beyond.


This short essay was solicited for the 20th Anniversary Critical Race Theory Workshop in 2009. It celebrates Angela Harris's trail blazing essay, Race and Essentialism in Feminist Legal Theory. Harris argues against essentialism, which is the idea that we can identify characteristics of identity groups that describe their fundamental experiences and interests. This essay analyzes an important moment in the 2008 Presidential campaign. Just before the New Hampshire Democratic primary, which was predicted to effectively knock Senator Hillary Clinton out of the field, famous feminist Gloria Steinem published an editorial entitled Women Are Never Frontrunners. The editorial contends that a woman could never succeed on front-running Senator Barack Obama's credentials and that Clinton was being harmed by sexism. This essay argues that Steinem's editorial exhibits essentialism. Applying masculinities studies theory to the campaign shows that masculinity played a more complicated role for Obama than simply being an advantaging factor. Rather, because of his particular masculine identities, Obama had to simultaneously avoid the stereotype of the angry black man and face criticism for being too feminine.


This paper investigated the concentrations of eight types of indoor VOCs - benzene, toluene, xylenes, butyl acetate, styrene, isopropylbenzene, undecane and formaldehyde. The tests were carried out in 50 dwellings in the main urban areas of Chongqing, China. According to the detected concentration, toluene was the most predominant among all the targeted compounds. Benzene and formaldehyde concentrations were lower than the reference levels regulated by the Chinese National Standard (GB/T 50325). Based on the activity patterns and exposure factors of adults in urban Chongqing, we used concentration data to estimate adults' inhalation exposures as well as health risks using Monte-Carlo simulations. The results indicated that the exposure doses of benzene and formaldehyde exceeded the benchmark. The highest hazard quotient (HQ) values were found in the case of formaldehyde (median = 0.293 for females and 0.292 for males) and the hazard index (HI) values were 0.326 and 0.325 for females and males, respectively. The highest lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values were found in formaldehyde (median = 7.16 × 10-5 for females; 6.56 × 10-5 for males). Formaldehyde was found to be the most important pollutant with relatively high toxic and carcinogenic risk levels, based on the exposure and health assessment. This was followed by benzene, toluene, xylenes and butyl acetate. This study can help us better understand the concentration levels of VOC contaminants in residential buildings, and help select appropriate decoration materials for buildings.


Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of attempts to reconstruct Marxian theory in forms that can be assessed by reference to currently received standards in various disciplines (economics and "analytic" philosophy, for example). The work has even been said to establish a new paradigm: "analytical Marxism." One doesn't have to endorse this claim to recognize a good deal of merit in the work. Through creative application of state-of-the-art methods to traditional Marxian issues, researchers have promoted productive cross-fertilization with non-Marxian programs and have revealed many problems that must be resolved for fruitful development of Marxian theory. Marx's work can be relevant to today's problems only if it is examined from vantage points provided by subsequent scientific and philosophical achievements. Moreover, critical engagement with the best science of the day has been an essential part of the Marxian theoretical project from the beginning.


The EC Regulation No. 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health claims made on foods has generated considerable debate and concern among scientists and industry. At the time of writing, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has not approved any probiotic claims despite numerous human trials and meta-analyses showing evidence of beneficial effects. On 29th and 30th September 2010, ten independent, academic scientists with a documented record in probiotic research, met to discuss designs for future probiotic studies to demonstrate health benefits for gut and immune function. The expert panel recommended the following: (i) always formulate a precise and concrete hypothesis, and appropriate goals and parameters before starting a trial; (ii) ensure trials have sufficient sample size, such that they are adequately powered to reach statistically significant conclusions, either supporting or rejecting the a priori hypothesis, taking into account adjustment for multiple testing (this might necessitate more than one recruitment site); (iii) ensure trials are of appropriate duration; (iv) focus on a single, primary objective and only evaluate multiple parameters when they are hypothesis-driven. The panel agreed that there was an urgent need to better define which biomarkers are considered valuable for substantiation of a health claim. As a first step, the panel welcomed the publication on the day of the meeting of EFSA's draft guidance document on immune and gut health, although it came too late for study designs and dossiers to be adjusted accordingly. New validated biomarkers need to be identified in order to properly determine the range of physiological functions influenced by probiotics. In addition, validated biomarkers reflecting risk factors for disease, are required for article 14 claims (EC Regulation No. 1924/2006). Finally, the panel concluded that consensus among scientists is needed to decide appropriate clinical endpoints for trials.


The objective of this thesis is to avoid misspecifications and to seek efficiency improvements in cross sectional and time series econometric applications using semiparametric methods. We restrict our attention to single equation models and the use of conditional moment restrictions as well as maximum likelihood methods. The first part of the thesis deals with cross sectional studies on the United Kingdom car market and the second part deals with time series studies of the United States consumption function. There are five main contributions of the thesis. First of all, we have suggested minor extensions of existing semiparametric models; secondly, we have suggested the use of a dimensional reduction method prior to nonparametric estimation; thirdly, we have investigated the use of various rules of subjective and automatic bandwidth selection methods using real and simulated data; fourthly, we have suggested a new approach to overcome problems in the hedonic approach for cross sectional studies,; and finally, we have established a relationship between expected real interest rate and consumption using US time series data.


Growing evidence suggests that human microbiota likely influence diverse processes including hematopoiesis, chemotherapy metabolism, and efficacy, as well as overall survival in patients with hematologic malignancies and other cancers. Both host genetic susceptibility and host-microbiota interactions may impact cancer risk and response to treatment; however, microbiota have the potential to be uniquely modifiable and accessible targets for treatment. Here, we focus on strategies to modify microbiota composition and function in patients with cancer. First, we evaluate the use of fecal microbiota transplant to restore microbial equilibrium following perturbation by antibiotics and chemotherapy, and as a treatment of complications of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), such as graft-versus-host disease and colonization with multidrug-resistant organisms. We then address the potential use of both probiotics and dietary prebiotic compounds in targeted modulation of the microbiota intended to improve outcomes in hematologic diseases. With each type of therapy, we highlight the role that abnormal, or dysbiotic, microbiota play in disease, treatment efficacy, and toxicity and evaluate their potential promise as emerging strategies for microbiota manipulation in patients with hematologic malignancies and in those undergoing HSCT.


In this paper, we study a set of new indices, which are based on the answers of citizens to certain batteries of items included in a CSES module 5 pilot study conducted in Greece after the parliamentary election of September 2015. The first index is used to capture attitudes of citizens towards the political elites and is related to the increasing number of recent publications focusing on the study of populist attitudes. Likewise, the second index is based on items related to a demand for more power to the poor people. Another index developed here is built to measure attitudes towards out-groups. The use of this index is motivated by the increasing power of radical right-wing anti-immigrant parties, especially in Europe and due, to a certain extent, to the recent immigrant crisis. In addition to the aforementioned indices, we also identify the characteristics respondents think to be the most important for someone to be considered as a "Real Greek", i.e. we present what are the most important lines that according to Greek citizens separate the in-group from the out-groups.


Adding sound output to interfaces is a very difficult task with today's toolkits, even though there are many situations in which it would be useful and effective. We have designed an architecture that makes it very easy to add sound output to an interface. Any interaction behavior, animation, or command can be augmented with sounds to occur at the beginning or end, or for the duration. Parameters of the sound, such as the speed or volume can be easily tied to properties of the data using constraints. Two different sound objects are currently supplied: one for playing recorded sounds, and the other for text-to-speech. The text-to-speech sound object can be used to quickly build various kinds of screen readers. Easy-to-use mechanisms give the programmer complete control over interrupting and pre-empting when multiple sounds are played at the same time. Because sound output can be added to an existing application with as little as a single extra line of code, we expect that this new mechanism will make it easy for researchers and developers to investigate the use of sound in a wide variety of applications.


Malignant glioma consists of a group of diseases where the localisation and the nature of the disease makes treatment an extreme challenge. Two important biological features of malignant glioma cells are their infiltrative growth and their ability to induce angiogenesis. Glioma cells migrate extensively behind the blood-brain barrier and infiltrate the surrounding brain making radical treatment with surgery and radiotherapy almost impossible. The aims of this thesis were to investigate factors of importance for glioma cell migration and angiogenesis and to evaluate if an anti-angiogenesis approach alone or in combination with current treatment modalities could inhibit glioma growth. For this purpose we used the BT4C orthotopic rat glioma model and investigated treatment effects of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor-2 and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD6474 alone or in combination with temozolomide or radiotherapy. Altered protein expression pattern after anti-angiogenesis treatment was measured using a mass-spectrometric proteomic method, followed by multivariate data-analysis. The tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and VEGF showed altered temporal and spatial mRNA expression during glioma progression. In early stages of tumour progression the expression was found throughout the tumour while in later stages, the expression was more predominant in the invasive tumour border. ZD6474 in monotherapy significantly inhibited tumour growth in the BT4C glioma model. The effect was further enhanced when combined with radiotherapy or temozolomide. Using mass-spectrometric methods an altered protein expression pattern after ZD6474 treatment was observed implicating the possibility to use proteomic methods for finding predictive biomarkers for anti-angiogenesis treatment. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates a co-expression of factors important for glioma growth and angiogenesis and that treatment with an angiogenesis inhibitor has additive effects on glioma growth when combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Finally, an altered protein expression pattern after anti-angiogenesis treatment is evident and detectable. Hopefully this work will contribute to and encourage further research to reach a better understanding of how to combine and evaluate different treatment approaches in malignant glioma.


This paper attempts to estimate a panel "frontier" whole economy aggregate energy demand function for 29 countries over the period 1978 to 2006 using parametric stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Consequently, unlike standard energy demand econometric estimation, the energy efficiency of each country is also modeled and it is argued that this represents a measure of the underlying efficiency for each country over time, as well as the relative efficiency across the 29 OECD countries. This shows that energy intensity is not necessarily a good indicator of energy efficiency, whereas by controlling for a range of economic and other factors, the measure of energy efficiency obtained via this approach is. This is, as far as is known, the first attempt to econometrically model OECD energy demand and efficiency in this way and it is arguably particularly relevant in a world dominated by environmental concerns with the subsequent need to conserve energy and/or use it as efficiently as possible. Moreover, the results show that although for a number of countries the change in energy intensity over time might give a reasonable indication of efficiency improvements; this is not always the case. Therefore, unless this analysis is undertaken, it is not possible to know whether the energy intensity of a country is a good proxy for energy efficiency or not. Hence, it is argued that this analysis should be undertaken to avoid potentially misleading advice to policy makers.


Long‐period (>100  s period) seismic data can often be dominated by instrumental noise as well as local site noise. When multiple collocated sensors are installed at a single site, it is possible to improve the overall station noise levels by applying stacking methods to their traces. We look at the noise reduction in long‐period seismic data by applying the time–frequency phase‐weighted stacking method of Schimmel and Gallart (2007) as well as the phase‐weighted stacking (PWS) method of Schimmel and Paulssen (1997) to four collocated broadband sensors installed in the quiet Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory underground vault. We show that such stacking methods can improve vertical noise levels by as much as 10 dB over the mean background noise levels at 400 s period, suggesting that greater improvements could be achieved with an array involving multiple sensors. We also apply this method to reduce local incoherent noise on horizontal seismic records of the 2 March 2016 M w 7.8 Sumatra earthquake, where the incoherent noise levels at very long periods are similar in amplitude to the earthquake signal. To maximize the coherency, we apply the PWS method to horizontal data where relative azimuths between collocated sensors are estimated and compared with a simpler linear stack with no azimuthal rotation. Such methods could help reduce noise levels at various seismic stations where multiple high‐quality sensors have been deployed. Such small arrays may also provide a solution to improving long‐period noise levels at Global Seismographic Network stations.


Experiments are conducted to study the planing and skipping of a rectangular paddle on the surface of a shallow stream. The paddle is allowed to move freely up and down by attaching it to a pivoted arm. A steady planing state, in which the lift force from the water balances the weight on the paddle, is found to be stable for small stream velocities but to become unstable above a certain threshold velocity which depends upon the weight and the angle of attack. Above this threshold, the paddle oscillates in the water and can take off into a continual bouncing, or skipping, motion, with a well-defined amplitude and frequency. The transition is sometimes bistable so that both a steady planing state and a regular skipping state are possible for the same experimental parameters. Shallow-water theory is used to construct simple models that explain the qualitative features of the planing and skipping states in the experiments. It is found that a simple parameterisation of the lift force on the paddle proportional to the depth of entry is not sufficient to explain the observations, and it is concluded that the rise of water ahead of the paddle, in particular the way this varies over time, is responsible for causing the planing state to become unstable and for enabling a continual skipping state.


Existing proposals for enhancing predictability in patent claim interpretation focus primarily on the process of adjudication and doctrinal issues, while rarely delving into the underlying psychological and environmental factors that might influence different readers to interpret the same claim very differently. Drawing on lessons from behavioral economics and cognitive psychology, this Article undertakes the first detailed exploration of the behavioral elements — such as cognitive biases, priors, and situational factors — that may affect how a given reader interprets a claim. To mitigate the influence of behavioral elements in claim construction, this Article proposes the extension of means-plus-function analysis to all claim terms. Means-plus-function analysis may be more resistant to behavioral influences than the current interpretive regime for non-means-plus-function claims, because it limits the realm of plausibility for answers molded through motivated reasoning, while also accommodating certain cognitive biases that may help yield a construction that the vast majority of the readers of a patent claim are likely to reach naturally as a "cognitive default."


Purpose

Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is a domain within programme management. The focus of benefits management is to deliver benefits of initiatives beyond the closure of a normal programme or project. This is not the case with projects within the information systems (IS) discipline, implying that IS programme and project managers are not adhering to standards. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the best practices associated with benefits management are applied to IS initiatives in order to maximise the benefits of these initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach

Senior and middle managers in South African organisations were interviewed to determine how benefits are managed within their various projects. The purpose of the interviews was to determine adherence to standards and especially benefits management and, second, to determine whether these organisations are achieving any benefits and ultimately value.

Findings

There is an overwhelming non-adherence to benefits management best practices within the IS discipline, and IS programme and project managers do not have the slightest idea how to perform benefits management. Irrespective of this, organisations do believe that they are receiving benefits and value from these IS projects.

Research limitations/implications

The research was only done in South Africa with the specific focus of IS. The results are thus very specific and opens the door for more comprehensive research that focusses on various industries, countries and standards.

Practical implications

The results have several implications ranging from how standards are written to the professionalism of IS programmes and project managers. Organisations are not achieving the optimal benefits from investments. The fact that organisations do realise benefits from a broken process, implies that more benefits can be realised when the entire benefits realisation process is followed. Governance controls should also be put in place to ensure that programme and project managers are adhering to standards.

Originality/value

Standards are dominating the project management discipline and there is a general assumption that programme and project managers are adhering these standards. This research queries the value of standards as the results indicate that there is limited adherence to standards and best practices.


Preventive Stress Management in Organizations, Second Edition offers a comprehensive framework for creating healthy workplaces. It begins by presenting the transactional relationship between individual and organisational stress. Each individual brings a peculiar pattern of responding to inevitable and necessary demands of work, and many experience psychological, behavioural, and medical forms of stress because of factors related to their work. Individuals and organisations can implement practices to reverse unhealthy stress (distress) and promote eustress, which stimulates growth and vitality. Chapters examine individual and organisational sources of stress and their consequences; methods and instruments for diagnosing organisational and individual stress; ways to redesign work and improve professional relationships; and methods for managing demands and stressors. New findings from positive psychology are woven in. Methods designed to proactively enhance health and performance at work while averting the costs and discomfort of distress are explored and illustrated by examples drawn from healthy organisations. Preventive stress management is a philosophy and set of principles grounded in public health, which organisational leaders and consultants can use to help their organisation operate to its fullest potential. The approaches outlined in this book may be implemented by leaders in any organisation.


Two carboline derivatives 5-(3′-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-yl)-5H-pyrido[3,2-b]indole (CzBPDCb) and 9-(3′-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-[1,1′-biphenyl]-3-yl)-9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole (CzBPCb) were employed as both a ligand and a host and co-deposited with CuI to form emissive Cu(I) complexes. Their structure–property relationships were studied to demonstrate the strategy of achieving highly efficient organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) characteristics. Co-deposited CzBPDCb:CuI films showed photoluminescence at 520 nm with TADF features of a delayed decay component (τ, 1.05 μs) and a prompt decay component (τ, 5.11 ns). Their OLEDs exhibited a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 17.5%, a current efficiency (CE) of 53.84 cd A−1, and a power efficiency (PE) of 48.31 lm W−1. The device also showed a low efficiency roll-off of 48.1 cd A−1 at 100 cd m−2, 41.8 cd A−1 at 1000 cd m−2, and 38.5 cd A−1 at 2000 cd m−2, respectively. While as a comparison, the CzBPCb:CuI-based OLED only showed a maximum EQE of 3.24%, a CE of 8.58 cd A−1, and a PE of 6.24 lm W−1. CzBPDCb has a δ-carboline unit with the benefit of the nitrogen atom locating outside of the molecule, which could efficiently coordinate with CuI resulting in higher efficiencies. This promising result gives us a unique strategy to develop a series of TADF emitters by co-depositing a normal organic ligand and a copper source, resulting in cost-effective OLED fabrication.


Design of continuum robots, i.e. robots with continuous backbones, has been an active area of research in robotics for minimally invasive surgery, search and rescue, object manipulation, etc. Along the same lines, NASA developed "Tendril", the first long and thin continuum robot of its kind, intended for in-space inspection applications. The thesis starts with describing and discussing the key disadvantages of the current state of the art mechanical design of "Tendril" producing undesirable effects during operation. It then includes the design specifics of a novel concept for construction of a next generation long and thin, space-cable, multi-section, continuum cable-like robot, with a modified mechanical design for better performance. The new design possesses key features including controllable bending along its entire length, local compression and a compact actuation package. This new design is detailed in two versions. The first is a planar variant (suited for a 2D workspace), explaining the principle which allows the cable robot to achieve the above mentioned features. It is followed by a refined spatial version (suited for 3D workspace), where the functional characteristics are achieved within the desired aspect ratio of thin (less than 1 cm diameter) and relatively longer length (more than 100 cm) of the robotic cable. A new forward kinematic model is then developed extending the established models for constant-curvature continuum robots, to account for the new design feature of controllable compression (in the hardware) and is validated by performing experiments with the robot in (2D) planar and (3D) spatial scenarios. This new model is found to be effective as a baseline to predict the performance of such a long and thin continuum "cable" robot.