Background: Access to healthy foods is often limited in low-income communities and prevents the adoption of a healthy diet needed to meet national dietary recommendations, reduce chronic disease, and prevent obesity. Purpose: The Healthy Harvest Community Gardening Partnership is a community-based participatory research program between faith-based organizations, academic institutions, local philanthropy, and other non-profit institutions, created in 2009 for improving access to healthy foods and quality of life through a community garden network. Methods: Healthy Harvest uses a social ecological framework combining individual, interpersonal, and community level influences into a single program, and employs a train-the-trainer approach for providing expertise in gardening and community-capacity building to low-income, predominately African American communities. Results: To date, garden sites have been constructed at 4 churches (average church size N=353, 98% African American) and one school (287 students, 98% African American) in an inner city, lowincome community. Liaisons from each garden site have attended six monthly trainings on gardening and community-capacity building. Monthly evaluations of gardening activity indicate that a total of 139 individual garden plots have been constructed of which 101 show signs of use, 79 have visible plants, 31 have visible produce of which approximately 300 lbs have been donated to local food pantries. A total of 53 community garden volunteer workdays have been conducted with over 90 volunteers participating in garden maintenance and community outreach. Initial data demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for increasing access to fruits and vegetables in low-income communities. Qualitative data is being collected to evaluate the effect of Healthy Harvest on lifestyle (physical activity and diet) and social (perceptions of neighborhood, feelings of connectedness) variables. Furthermore, Healthy Harvest plans to develop a system for distributing produce, therefore providing access to healthy foods on a broader scale. Conclusions: Overall, this novel community-academic partnership has demonstrated initial feasibility to improve access to healthy


Background Ribavirin (RBV) is an essential component of most current hepatitis C (HCV) treatment regimens and still standard of care in the combination with pegylated interferon (pegIFN) to treat chronic HCV in resource limited settings. Study results in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients are contradicting as to whether RBV concentration correlates with sustained virological response (SVR). Methods We included 262 HCV treatment naïve HIV/HCV-coinfected Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) participants treated with RBV and pegIFN between 01.01.2001-01.01.2010, 134 with HCV genotype (GT) 1/4, and 128 with GT 2/3 infections. RBV levels were measured retrospectively in stored plasma samples obtained between HCV treatment week 4 and end of therapy. Uni- and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between RBV concentration and SVR in GT 1/4 and GT 2/3 infections. The analyses were repeated stratified by treatment phase (week 4-12, 13-24, >24) and IL28B genotype (CC versus CT/TT). Results SVR rates were 35.1% in GT 1/4 and 70.3% in GT 2/3 infections. Overall, median RBV concentration was 2.0 mg/L in GT 1/4, and 1.9 mg/L in GT 2/3, and did not change significantly across treatment phases. Patients with SVR had similar RBV concentrations compared to patients without SVR in both HCV genotype groups. SVR was not associated with RBV levels ≥2.0 mg/L (GT 1/4, OR 1.19 [0.5-2.86]; GT 2/3, 1.94 [0.78-4.80]) and ≥2.5 mg/L (GT 1/4, 1.56 [0.64-3.84]; GT 2/3 2.72 [0.85-8.73]), regardless of treatment phase, and IL28B genotype. Conclusion In HIV/HCV-coinfected patients treated with pegIFN/RBV, therapeutic drug monitoring of RBV concentrations does not enhance the chance of HCV cure, regardless of HCV genotype, treatment phase and IL28B genotype.


In this paper, we study how to utilize forecasts to design online electrical vehicle (EV) charging algorithms that can attain strong performance guarantees. We consider the scenario of an aggregator serving a large number of EVs together with its background load, using both its own renewable energy (for free) and the energy procured from the external grid. The goal of the aggregator is to minimize its peak procurement from the grid, subject to the constraint that each EV has to be fully charged before its deadline. Further, the aggregator can predict the future demand and the renewable energy supply with some levels of uncertainty. We show that such prediction can be very effective in reducing the competitive ratios of online control algorithms, and even allow online algorithms to achieve close-to-offline-optimal peak. Specifically, we first propose a 2-level increasing precision model (2-IPM), to model forecasts with different levels of accuracy. We then develop a powerful computational approach that can compute the optimal competitive ratio under 2-IPM over any online algorithm, and also online algorithms that can achieve the optimal competitive ratio. Simulation results show that, even with up to 20% day-ahead prediction errors, our online algorithms still achieve competitive ratios fairly close to 1, which are much better than the classic results in the literature with a competitive ratio of $e$ . The second contribution of this paper is that we solve a dilemma for online algorithm design, e.g., an online algorithm with good competitive ratio may exhibit poor average-case performance. We propose a new  Algorithm-Robustification procedure that can convert an online algorithm with good average-case performance to one with both the optimal competitive ratio and good average-case performance. We demonstrate via trace-based simulations the superior performance of the robustified version of a well-known heuristic algorithm based on model predictive control.


Despite Porfirio Diaz's authoritarian rule (1877-1911) and the fifteen years of violent conflict typifying much of Mexican politics after 1917, law and judicial decision-making were important for the country's political and economic organization. Influenced by French theories of jurisprudence in addition to domestic events, progressive Mexican legal thinkers concluded that the liberal view of law-as existing primarily to guarantee the rights of individuals and of private property-was inadequate for solving the "social question"; the aim of the legal regime should instead be one of harmoniously regulating relations between interdependent groups of social actors. This book argues that the federal judiciary's adjudication of labor disputes and its elaboration of new legal principles played a significant part in the evolution of Mexican labor law and the nation's political and social compact. Indeed, this conclusion might seem paradoxical in a country with a civil law tradition, weak judiciary, authoritarian government, and endemic corruption. Suarez-Potts shows how and why judge-made law mattered, and why contemporaries paid close attention to the rulings of Supreme Court justices in labor cases as the nation's system of industrial relations was established.


Experimental studies have observed synaptic potentiation when a presynaptic neuron fires shortly before a postsynaptic neuron and synaptic depression when the presynaptic neuron fires shortly after. The dependence of synaptic modulation on the precise timing of the two action potentials is known as spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP). We derive STDP from a simple computational principle: synapses adapt so as to minimize the postsynaptic neuron's response variability to a given presynaptic input, causing the neuron's output to become more reliable in the face of noise. Using an objective function that minimizes response variability and the biophysically realistic spike-response model of Gerstner (2001), we simulate neurophysiological experiments and obtain the characteristic STDP curve along with other phenomena, including the reduction in synaptic plasticity as synaptic efficacy increases. We compare our account to other efforts to derive STDP from computational principles and argue that our account provides the most comprehensive coverage of the phenomena. Thus, reliability of neural response in the face of noise may be a key goal of unsupervised cortical adaptation.


Anatomically modern humans first arose in Africa. They rapidly spread out across the world with their earliest dispersers reaching as far as Australasia 40 000–60 000 years before present (ybp). Migration routes have been traced pretty thoroughly by molecular methods, but many controversies still remain. Recently debate has been focused on the relative importance of competing alternate pathways and the extent of interaction with other ancient peoples: Neanderthals and Denisovans. The origin of the Polynesian people who settled in Remote Oceania is a particularly long-standing mystery. Surveys of genetic variation in these populations have helped to distinguish between competing theories arising from anthropology and linguistics. The genetic data show how maternal and paternal lineages combined approximately 3000 ybp giving rise to a new people who spoke Austronesian languages and developed a sophisticated technology for oceanic voyaging.

Key Concepts:

Anatomically modern humans came from Africa and dispersed widely in a relatively short time.

Dispersal patterns plus the timing and extent of gene flow from ancient people have all become controversial topics in recent years.

Pacific Island populations must be described in terms of culture and ancestry as well as their geographic location.

Genetic surveys are powerful tools for testing hypotheses about the migration histories of human populations.

Molecular markers can inform both pattern (origins and pathways) and process (hybridisation, gene flow, founder effects, etc.) in human evolution.

Maternal and paternal markers reveal different ancestors for Pacific people: Austronesian and Papuan, respectively.

Almost all preceding 'Fast Train' and 'Slow Boat' type models are captured as elements of an extended 'Synthetic Total Evidence Model'.

Genetic studies of Pacific plants and animals support the emergent view from human genes, language and culture.

In any and all causal explanations of human history, known process elements must fully account for observed patterns.

Keywords:

polynesians;
remote oceania;
mitochondrial DNA;
Y-chromosome;
genetic bottleneck


During five austral summers, from 1994/95 until 1998/99, the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) carried out a large airborne radio echo sounding (RES) survey in Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica. These ice thickness measurements are part of the AWI contribution to the pre-site survey for a deep ice core drill site in DML within the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). The survey encompasses more than 90000 km RES profiles over DML and the adjacent coastal area, covering more than 1 million km2. The lower boundary of the ice sheet could be determined area-wide. Internal horizons occurring in the upper two thirds of the ice column can also be traced for several hundred kilometers. This work presents the latest maps of the subglacial topography of the investigated area as well as of an internal horizon.


Over the last decade, US serial television productions have garnered critical acclaim and academic attention for their complex and innovative narrative structure. Labeled Quality Television and "not TV" (promo slogan of the pay-TV channel HBO) to signal their cultural value over the presumably lowbrow standard television fare, they have preferably been compared to more reputable narrative forms, such as the novel. This paper picks up on Mittell's suggestion to read The Wire , one of contemporary television's arguably most complex productions, as a procedural instead. This genre of television is characterized by a highly formulaic structure, resolving a profession-specific problem within each episode. The Wire 's episodes are neither formulaic nor self-contained. This paper compares The Wire to House , a typical, formulaic, contemporary procedural. It explores to what degree The Wire is, nevertheless, structured by comparable principles and how narrative theory can contribute to the analysis of serial plotting.


The Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) has been officially adopted as the next Large-class mission by the European Space Agency, with a launch date of 2022. The science payload includes an optical camera, JANUS, which will perform imaging and mapping observations of Jupiter, its moons and icy rings. A 13 slot filter wheel will be used to provide spectral information in order for the JANUS experiment to study the geology and physical properties of Ganymede, Europa and Io, and to investigate processes and structures in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The sensor selected for JANUS is the back-thinned CIS115, a 3 MPixel CMOS Image Sensor from e2v technologies. The CIS115 has a 4-Transistor pixel design with a pinned photodiode to improve signal to noise performance by reducing dark current and allowing for reset level subtraction. The JUICE mission will consist of an 8 year cruise phase followed by a 3 year science phase in the Jovian system. Models of the radiation environment throughout the JUICE mission predict that the End of Life (EOL) non-ionising damage will be equivalent to 10 protons cm (10 MeV) and the EOL ionising dose will be 100 krad(Si), once the shielding from the spacecraft and instrument design is taken into account. An extensive radiation campaign is therefore being carried out to qualify and characterise the CIS115 for JANUS, as well as other space and terrestrial applications. Radiation testing to take the CIS115 to twice the ionising dose and displacement damage levels was completed in 2015 and the change in sensor performance has been characterised. Good sensor performance has been observed following irradiation and a summary of the key results from the campaign using gamma irradiation (ionising dose) will be presented here, including its soft X-ray detection capabilities, flat-band voltage shift and readout noise. In 2016, further radiation campaigns on flight-representative CIS115s will be undertaken and their results will be disseminated in future publications.


National and state data indicate that the majority of schools continue to struggle in reaching the goal of 100% academic proficiency for all students (Campbell, Hombo, & Mazzeo, 2000; Information Works!, 2005, 2006). Experts in the area of meeting the needs of diverse learners have offered opinions about how teacher belief systems influence curricular, instructional, and assessment practices. Teacher practices significantly impact student performance providing evidence that it is the failure to effectively differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners, preventing schools from meeting accountability targets (Marzano, 2003; Tomlinson, 2005; Tomlinson & Allan, 2002). The purpose of this research study was to identify the degree to which the literature base and Rhode Island regulations have influenced the belief structures of middle level educators and how those belief systems drive the instructional practices of teachers in Rhode Island middle schools. The study was guided by three research questions, including: (a) What do middle school practitioners in RI believe about the nature and needs of middle school learners, and what do those beliefs foreshadow for academically diverse students? (b) To what degree do middle school educators appear to understand, plan for, and engage students in developmentally appropriate practices likely to address the wide range of academic readiness, interests, and learning profiles inevitable in middle level populations? (c) Are there differences between teachers' beliefs and instructional practices with respect to teacher certification type? The mixed methods design consisted of a survey containing closed questions and one focus group discussion. The research was conducted using purposeful, stratified sampling procedures, to elicit responses from (N=107) teachers in (N=5) middle schools. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to determine the ways in which the current best practices for meeting the needs of diverse learners are reflected in the beliefs and instructional practices of middle level educators across Rhode Island. The results of the study suggest that teachers in Rhode Island middle schools continue to hold old school beliefs about the nature and needs of adolescent learners. While teachers are aware of academic diversity in the classroom, teacher belief systems are more responsive to student academic diversity than actual classroom practice. Teachers have relatively the same expectations for all students with regard to the type of work students are required to do. A narrow range of instructional strategies are used to support academically diverse students by modifying rather than macro-differentiating learning opportunities based on student need. Lastly, this study found that there are no significant differences between teachers' beliefs and instructional practices with respect to teacher certification type. The results of the study may be relevant to school, district, and state level leaders making curricular, instructional, and professional development decisions related to middle level education.


. This paper estimates the economic losses in Indonesia's tourism sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic using an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Model (SARIMA). Additionally, an autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) is employed to estimate the demand for tourism in Indonesia from the six largest inbound tourist countries, from 1989 to 2019. The results predict a decrease of nearly 16.65 million tourists and a potential loss of US$19.07 billion from January 2020-March 2021. Income per capita, relative prices, and substitution prices significantly impact the demand from overseas travelers for tourism opportunities in Indonesia. Tourism in Indonesia is considered as a luxury with a competitive price. The country could capitalize on the high willingness to pay of foreign tourists, strong income elasticity, and a positive perception of Chinese tourists. Complementary promotion policies from neighboring countries could help to attract more Chinese visitors. Inbound tourism from India may experience the largest negative impact from COVID-19 due to the large income elasticity, negative price elasticity, and a possible substitution in destinations amid changes in prices. Tourists from Singapore and Australia may soon revisit as they see Indonesia as an inexpensive destination. Japan may revisit depending on whether tourism prices in Indonesia remain competitive or not. Policy makers may investigate non-price policies as price-oriented ones will not be very effective.


Crohn disease is a complex, long-lasting (chronic) disorder that primarily affects the digestive system. This condition involves an abnormal immune response that causes excess inflammation. It most often affects the intestinal walls, particularly in the lower part of the small intestine (the ileum) and portions of the large intestine (the colon). However, inflammation can occur in any part of the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus. The inflamed tissues become thick and swollen, and the inner surfaces of the digestive system may develop open sores (ulcers).


Recent studies [1]-[4] have shown that a variation of helicopter main rotor speed allows a significant reduction of the required power. Therefore an appropriate drive train technology is necessary to enable variable rotor speed. However, such a technology entails drawbacks such as increased weight and reduced efficiency [5]. This study provides arguments and results to enable a decision process towards a promising helicopter configuration incorporating a variable rotor speed and related applications. These are mainly obtained from mission performance calculations and additional transmission weight investigations. Benchmark missions are derived and presented while two promising drive train concepts are introduced. A continuously variable gearbox stage is shown to be especially useful for utility helicopter applications while a dual-speed, clutched stage gearbox is particularly suitable for tilt-rotor concepts. The capability to vary the main rotor speed extends the flight envelope and reduces fuel consumption. This study shows that the portfolio of missions that can be carried out efficiently and the efficiency itself is enhanced by this technology.


A kinase with a role in the detection of RNA-based viruses also responds to metabolic stress. Inflammation and cellular stress responses occur in metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Nakamura et al. looked for molecules involved in pathogen sensing that also regulated metabolism. They found that the double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) was activated in mice by metabolic stress, whether it was caused by genetically induced obesity or a high-fat diet. Treatment with palmitic acid (a free fatty acid that can trigger insulin resistance in vivo) activated PKR in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). PKR can activate c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), which in turn phosphorylates insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) at Ser307, a phosphorylation event that inhibits insulin signaling. In wild-type MEFs exposed to palmitic acid or thapsigargin [an agent that causes endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress], JNK activity and phosphorylation of Ser307 in IRS1 were higher than in MEFs deficient in PKR kinase activity (Pkr–/–), and activation of PKR by palmitic acid or thapsigargin required its ability to bind to RNA. Pkr–/– mice gained less weight on a high-fat diet than did wild-type mice; furthermore, serum leptin and blood glucose concentrations, liver triglyceride content, and mRNA abundance in white adipose tissue for various inflammatory cytokines were lower in Pkr–/– mice compared with wild-type mice. Pkr–/– mice also showed greater insulin sensitivity and higher glucose disposal rates in response to lipid infusion than wild-type mice. Thus, PKR integrates responses to pathogens, nutrients, and ER stress, and manipulation of its activity in vivo may represent a possible therapeutic approach to treating metabolic diseases. T. Nakamura, M. Furuhashi, P. Li, H. Cao, G. Tuncman, N. Sonenberg, C. Z. Gorgun, G. S. Hotamisligil, Double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase links pathogen sensing with stress and metabolic homeostasis. Cell 140, 338–348 (2010). [Online Journal]


The Federal Trade Commission's pending antitrust case against Intel challenges a number of Intel's discounting and rebating practices. The Commission appears poised to apply a cost-price test to the challenged practices, but proposes to include "fixed sunk costs" in the appropriate measure of cost. This paper explains the importance of using cost-price screens to assess unilaterally imposed prices and analyzes the futility of including sunk costs in the relevant cost measure.


We analyze the performance of quantized min-sum decoding of low-density parity-check codes under unreliable message storage. To this end, we introduce a simple bit-level error model and show that decoder symmetry is preserved under this model. Subsequently, we formulate the corresponding density evolution equations to predict the average bit error probability in the limit of infinite block length. We present numerical threshold results and we show that using more quantization bits is not always beneficial in the context of faulty decoders.


In a recent paper [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9, 203 (1992)] the benefits of pupil apodization were examined for the near-infrared imaging of bright sources. In the current paper we extend these considerations to optical speckle imaging, in which photon noise rather than detector readout noise is important. We demonstrate that a one-dimensional pupil geometry (i.e., a thin slit) has several advantages over an unapodized aperture when faint sources are being observed through atmospheric turbulence. The use of a slit aperture does not decrease the signal-to-noise ratios of the power-spectrum and bispectrum measurements, and in many cases it increases them, despite the large reduction in signal level. The disadvantage of this apodization is a reduction in Fourier-plane coverage, which must be compensated for by observations with the slit aligned at several position angles. The performance of many of the current generation of photon-counting imaging detectors deteriorates at the high counting rates that can be experienced even when one is observing sources that are approaching the limiting magnitude of the speckle imaging technique. Under such conditions, we recommend the use of an apodized pupil, in contrast to the current preference for employing a neutral-density filter to reduce the detector count rate.


technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree: 1. to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment; 2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist; 3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data; 4. to reject bribery in all its forms; 5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences; 6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations; 7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others; 8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin; 9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action; 10. to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.


Microcystins (MCs) are cyclic heptapeptides, which are the most abundant toxins produced by cyanobacteria in freshwater. The phytoplankton of many freshwater lakes in Eastern Africa is dominated by cyanobacteria. Less is known, however, on the occurrence of MC producers and the production of MCs. Twelve Ugandan freshwater habitats ranging from mesotrophic to hypertrophic conditions were sampled in May and June of 2004 and April of 2008 and were analyzed for their physicochemical parameters, phytoplankton composition, and MC concentrations. Among the group of the potential MC‐producing cyanobacteria, Anabaena (0–107 cells ml−1) and Microcystis (103–107 cells ml−1) occurred most frequently and dominated in eutrophic systems. A significant linear relationship (n = 31, r2 = 0.38, P < 0.001) between the Microcystis cell numbers and MC concentration (1.3–93 fg of MC cell−1) was observed. Besides [MeAsp3, Mdha7]‐MC‐RR, two new MCs, [Asp3]‐MC‐RY and [MeAsp3]‐MC‐RY, were isolated and their constitution was assigned by LC‐MS2. To identify the MC‐producing organism in the water samples, (i) the conserved aminotransferase domain part of the mcyE gene that is indicative of MC production was amplified by general primers and cloned and sequenced, and (ii) genus‐specific primers were used to amplify the mcyE gene of the genera Microcystis, Anabaena, and Planktothrix. Only mcyE genotypes that are indicative of Microcystis sp. were obtained via the environmental cloning approach (337 bp, 96.1–96.7% similarity to the Microcystis aeruginosa strain PCC7806). Accordingly, only the mcyE primers, which are specific for Microcystis, revealed PCR products. We concluded that Microcystis is the major MC‐producer in Ugandan freshwater. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 25: 367–380, 2010.


Background: Femoral nerve block (FNB) is a commonly performed technique that has been proven to provide effective regional analgesia after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The adductor canal block (ACB) uses a similar sensory block around the knee while avoiding motor blockade of the quadriceps muscles. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of our study was to compare the efficacy of FNB versus ACB for pain control after ACL reconstruction. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference in pain levels or opioid requirements between the 2 groups. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: We performed a prospective, double-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Sixty patients undergoing primary ACL reconstruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft were randomized to receive either an ACB or an FNB preoperatively. The primary outcomes assessed were pain levels (visual analog scale) and narcotic requirements for 4 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included ability to perform a straight leg raise in the recovery room and difference in thigh circumference between the operative and nonoperative leg measured at 7 days postoperatively. Results: Morphine requirements were less in the ACB group in the first 4 hours postoperatively (P = .02). Aside from this time interval, no differences were found between the 2 groups with regard to opioid requirements and pain scores at any other time. Similarly, no differences were noted in patients' ability to perform a straight leg raise in the recovery room (P = .13) or in thigh circumference at the first postoperative visit (P = .09). Conclusion: The results of our study suggest similar efficacy in perioperative pain control with the use of an ACB for ACL reconstruction when compared with FNB. The potential long-term benefit of quadriceps preservation with the ACB is worthy of future study. Registration: NCT03033589 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier).


We address efficient planning of maintenance activities in infrastructural networks, inspired by the real-world problem of servicing a highway network. A road authority is responsible for the quality, throughput and maintenance costs of the network, while the actual maintenance is performed by autonomous, third-party contractors. From a (multi-agent) planning and scheduling perspective, many interesting challenges can be identified. First, planned maintenance activities might have an uncertain duration due to unexpected delays. Second, since maintenance activities influence the traffic flow in the network, careful coordination of the planned activities is required in order to minimise their impact on the network throughput. Third, as we are dealing with selfish agents in a private-values setting, the road authority faces an incentive-design problem to truthfully elicit agent costs, complicated by the fact that it needs to balance multiple objectives. The main contributions of this work are: 1) multi-agent coordination on a network level through a novel combination of planning under uncertainty and dynamic mechanism design, applied to real-world problems, 2) accurate modelling and solving of maintenance-planning problems and 3) empirical exploration of the complexities that arise in these problems. We introduce a formal model of the problem domain, present experimental insights and identify open challenges for both the planning and scheduling as well as the mechanism design communities.


A novel graphical approach for probing multicomponent collective ejection processes is described. Image labeling provides a visual means for identifying ejection partners and their relative momenta, isolating specific decay channels for detailed study and determining initial electronic and/or molecular geometries prior to ejection. The power of the technique is demonstrated by looking at strong-field multiphoton-induce 3-atom Coulomb explosion spectra.


The paper explores the quantity and quality of communication produced by teachers in Internet courses of academic English, particularly during the initial stages of course activity. The courses are entirely conducted in virtual learning environments without physical meetings, and are part of the Bachelor programme (A–C level) of English at Mid Sweden University. The pedagogic design of the courses is based on collaborative learning, which presupposes a communicative environment with positive interdependence and interaction, where knowledge is shared by students questioning and challenging each other. Consequently, the teacher's role in setting communicative norms which encourage an environment of high acceptance, where students feel that they can express their opinions freely, is of utmost importance. The results suggest that there are two important factors that affect student activity in the initial stages of an online course: how much the teacher commu


As the field of family business has grown immensely over the last couple of decades, a multitude of theories from different fields has been introduced. However, there are surprisingly few attempts to provide an overview of theories that may be of particular interest for the family business scholar. Thus, this introduction chapter gives a critical overview of theoretical perspectives, before taking a closer look at the use of theories in family business studies. Regarding the current state of the family business field, the authors argue for putting more effort in building theory from family business research as well as a stronger emphasis on 'giving back' to theories borrowed from other fields. Lastly, the chapter describes the development of the book and introduces the 13 chapters and their contributions.


There is epidemiological, animal and in vitro evidence that estrogen receptor β (ERβ) can mediate protective effects against colon cancer, but the mechanism is not completely understood. Previous research has indicated critical pathways whereby ERβ acts in an antitumorigenic fashion. In this study, we investigate ERβ's impact on the microRNA (miRNA) pool in colon cancer cells using large-scale genomic approaches, bioinformatics and focused functional studies. We detect and confirm 27 miRNAs to be significantly changed following ERβ expression in SW480 colon cancer cells. Among these, the oncogenic miR-17-92 cluster and miR-200a/b are strongly downregulated. Using target prediction and anticorrelation to gene expression data followed by focused mechanistic studies, we demonstrate that repression of miR-17 is a secondary event following ERβ's downregulatory effect on MYC. We show that re-introduction of miR-17 can reverse the antiproliferative effects of ERβ. The repression of miR-17 also influences cell death upon DNA damage and mediates regulation of NCOA3 (SRC-3) and CLU in colon cancer cells. We further determine that the downregulation of miR-200a/b mediates increased ZEB1 while decreasing E-cadherin levels in ERβ-expressing colon cancer cells. Changes in these genes correspond to significant alterations in morphology and migration. Our work contributes novel data of ERβ and miRNA in the colon. Elucidating the mechanism of ERβ and biomarkers of its activity has significant potential to impact colon cancer prevention and treatment.


We consider the testing problem in a general functional analysis of variance model. We test the null hypotheses that the main effects and/or the interactions are zeros against the composite nonparametric alternative hypotheses that they are separated away from zero in L2-norm and also posses some smoothness properties. We adapt the minimax functional hypothesis testing procedures for testing a zero signal in a Gaussian "signal plus noise" model to derive asymptotically (as the noise level goes to zero) minimax nonadaptive and adaptive functional hypothesis testing procedures for the main effects and/or the interactions based on the empirical wavelet coefficients of the data. Wavelet decompositions allow one to characterise different types of smoothness conditions assumed on the response function by means of its wavelet coefficients for a wide range of various function classes. In order to shade some light on the theoretical results obtained, we carried out a small simulation study to examine the finite sample performance of the proposed functional hypothesis testing procedures. We also apply these tests to two real-life data examples arising from endocrinology and from neuropsychology. Concluding remarks and hints for possible extensions of the proposed methodology are also given.


The breakpoints of the recurrent t(11;22)(q23;q11) have recently been cloned. We identified palindromic AT-rich repeats (PATRRs) on 11q23 and 22q11 as the mechanism responsible for the rearrangement. Contradictory to our results, A.S. Hill et al. (Hum. Mol. Genet., 9, 1525-1532) suggested that Alu-mediated recombination is responsible. To clarify this discrepancy, the cloned 4.5 kb der(11) junction fragment has been completely sequenced. This sequence has been compared with that of an inverse PCR-generated der(11) junction fragment obtained by Hill et al. This reveals that the inverse PCR product has sustained a deletion between two Alu elements, such that the true breakpoint region is deleted from the PCR product. Utilizing PCR primers designed by Hill et al. to amplify across the der(11) breakpoint, we obtained a deleted PCR product even when our cloned der(11) junction fragment was used as template. Further, we find that the PCR primers that they utilized for amplification of the der(22) junction fragment are not located on the der(22). They are oriented in opposite directions within the region deleted from the der(11) PCR product, generating an artifact derived from the der(11) chromosome. Analysis of the truncated PCR products indicates a mixture of sequences from two distinct Alu elements, suggesting that the putative junction fragment described by Hill et al. is an Alu-mediated PCR artifact. These data suggest that caution should be exercised when analyzing PCR-based data, particularly when amplification is carried out in a region containing repeat structures with specific, difficult-to-amplify sequences.


Parr-smolt transformation (PST) in coho salmon is associated with a plasma thyroid hormone (PT4) surge and a critical period of neural development that includes axonal sprouting, neurogenesis, and surges of select neurotransmitters. Here we provide a description of the selectivity, distribution, and the changes in the density of mu- and kappa-opiate receptors during PST, as revealed by quantitative in vitro autoradiography of [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-NMe-Phe-Gly-ol ([3H]DAMGO) and [3H]ethylketocyclazocine ([3H]EKC), respectively. The concentration of mu-receptors increased significantly in select cell groups in the early stages of parr-smolt transformation, until a peak was reached at the time coinciding with the peak of the PT4 surge. In other cell groups, the peaks occurred 1 or 2 weeks later. With one exception, this increase was followed by a decrease in concentration. The brain areas showing the highest concentrations are the dorsal nucleus of the ventral telencephalic area, the glomerular region, the granular layer of the valvula cerebelli, the nucleus diffuses of the inferior lobe, and the nucleus diffuses of the torus lateralis. Other regions with distinctly elevated mu-receptor concentrations are the stratum griseum centrale of the optic tectum and the preoptic area. The distribution of kappa-receptors is more diffuse, and the densities are considerably lower. The overlap in distribution of mu- and kappa-receptors is considerable, but significant exceptions are noted. For example, the dorsomedial nucleus of the dorsal telencephalic area, the habenular nucleus, and the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus exhibit a surge in density of kappa-receptors at the time of the PT4 surge, while the density of mu-receptors in these nuclei remain very low throughout parr-smolt transformation. The kappa-receptor containing cell groups are not identifiable until 3 weeks before the PT4 surge because of low densities. The most prominently labeled kappa-receptor regions are the ventral and dorsal nuclei of the ventral telencephalic area, the medial and dorsal zones of the dorsal telencephalic area, the optic tectum (all layers), the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, the torus lateralis of the ventral hypothalamus, and the preoptic area. An increase of mu- and kappa-opiate receptor densities in specific brain regions may reflect roles in the alteration of brain organization, olfactory imprinting, neuroendocrine activity or other physiological activities. The overall distribution of these receptors are relatively more extensive in salmon than in other vertebrates so far studied.


Machareus is yearly visited by many tourists and its exploitation and conservation has been taking place in the last twenty years by the Firenze University researchers in cooperation with the Studiorum Biblicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem. The geology of the Machaerus area is referable to carbonate deposits of a shelf sedimentary environment cyclically subject to emergence, and lateritisation and reworking during marine ingressions. Early silicification occurred due to loess from the siliceous basement exposed to the Arabian desert. This cyclic deposition led to alternating beds of calcareous breccias, reddish calcarenites and siliceous limestones. These alternating strata constitute the Siliceous Limestones of Machaerus, which overlie the marls of a ramp environment. Late Cretaceous-Early Miocene compressive tectonics related to the first northwest-ward movements of Arabia led to a disharmonic folding in the competent Siliceous Limestones of Machaerus and to pressure solution bands in the Marls. In order to ensure safe tourism of the site, stability analysis of slopes and of the large cisterns present in the site was developed on the basis of a detailed geomechanical survey. The use of the natural local stone resources was analysed in detail in order to have a cultural knowledge of this topic and to contribute in developing a right conservation policy.


For more than 30 years, guanidinoacetic acid (GAA), together with other guanidino compounds, has been proposed as an important marker for renal failure, in kidney transplantation, and for renal metabolism, especially for the metabolic activity of the renal proximal tubules. Since the discovery of the first patient with guanidinoacetic acid methyltransferase deficiency in 1994 by Stöckler et al. (Pediatr. Res. 1994; 36: 409), GAA has become of great interest for all laboratories involved in the diagnosis of metabolic diseases. In the literature there are several methods described for the determination of GAA, ranging from ion-exchange chromatography with post-column derivatisation, enzymatic methods, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), to liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS). Here a stable isotope dilution method for quantitative and accurate determination of GAA in urine, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid is described. GAA is converted to the bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrimidine di(tert-butyldimethylsilyl) derivative by stepwise derivatisation with hexafluoroacetylacetone and N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA). Analysis can be performed using a standard benchtop GC/MS system. For quantitative GAA determination with 1,2-(13)C-GAA as internal standard, selected ion monitoring is performed using m/z 460/462, with m/z 432/433 and 375/376 as qualifiers.


There is considerable interest in using shelled microbubbles as a transportation mechanism for localised drug delivery, specifically in the treatment of various cancers. In this paper a theoretical model is proposed which predicts the dynamics of an oscillating shelled microbubble. A neo-Hookean, compressible strain energy density function is used to model the potential energy per unit volume of the shell. The shell is stressed by applying a series of small radially directed stress steps to the inner surface of the shell whilst the outer surface is traction free. Once a certain radial deformation is reached, the stress load at the inner radius is switched off causing the shell to collapse and oscillate about its equilibrium (stress free) position. The inflated shell configuration is used as an initial condition to model the time evolving collapse phase of the shell. The collapse phase is modelled by applying the momentum balance law and mass conservation. The dynamical model which results is then used to predict the collapse time of the shelled microbubble as it oscillates about its equilibrium position. A linear approximation is used in order to gain analytical insight into both the quasistatic inflationary and the oscillating phases of the shelled microbubble. Results from the linearised model are then analysed which show the influence of the shell's thickness, Poisson ratio and shear modulus on the rate of oscillation of the shelled microbubble. The nonlinear model for the quasistatic state is solved numerically and compared to the linearised quasistatic solution. At present, there is no solution to the nonlinear collapsed state. This is a future area of research for the current authors.


The development of an enterpising culture is a primary objective of progressive nations and organizations. While entrepreneurship may occur as a natural result of personal drive, it occurs most often, most robustly, and is most sustainable in environments designed to encourage it. This book showcases emerging research, theory, and practice in the management of creativity, invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Featuring cases and examples from around the world and from a diverse array of industries, the authors explore such issues as organizational design, knowledge management, and technology transfer, providing valuable insights for researchers, educators, students, technology professionals, business executives, scientists, and policymakers concerned with promoting entrepreneurship and its impact on organizational and economic growth.


This paper outlines a cross-validation of the Cultural Orientations Framework assessment questionnaire (COF, Rosinski, 2007; a new tool designed for cross-cultural coaching) with the Saville Consulting Wave Focus Styles questionnaire (Saville Consulting, 2006; an existing validated measure of occupational personality), using data from UK and German participants (N = 222). The convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire was adequate. Contrary to previous findings which used different measures (Ronen & Shenkar, 1985; Schwartz, 1999; House et al., 2004; Bartram et al., 2006), the results from this particular study indicated few national differences between UK and Germany, however differences by gender were observed. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the development and use of the COF in practice. This may allow for a more finely grained understanding of culture than previous models such as Hofstede's cultural values framework (1980; 2001), if further evidence for its validity is obtained and published.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To develop an instrument to assess the specific symptoms of chemotherapy-induced taste alterations.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.

SETTING
Two outpatient chemotherapy centers in Kanto, Japan.

SAMPLE
Convenience sample of 214 adult patients with chemotherapy-induced taste alterations.

METHODS
Items on the chemotherapy-induced taste alteration scale (CiTAS) were developed by a qualitative study of patients with taste alterations, and the content validity of each item was assessed by a panel of specialized oncology nurses. Data were analyzed for item consistency using Cronbach alpha and construct validity using factor analysis.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Taste alterations, symptoms of discomfort, and impact of taste alterations on daily life.

FINDINGS
An 18-item scale was developed with four dimensions identified through factor analysis: decline in basic taste, discomfort, phantogeusia and parageusia, and general taste alterations. The scale demonstrated excellent reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.9) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.94, p < 0.001, n = 28), as well as good validity, which was indicated by its strong correlation with a visual analog scale of the impact of taste alterations on daily life (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) and by negative correlations with Short Form-8 quality-of-life measures (physical component summary, r = -0.33; mental component summary, r = -0.47).

CONCLUSIONS
The CiTAS enabled valid, reliable measurement of specific symptoms of chemotherapy-induced taste alterations. The CiTAS has potential as a clinical tool and also could be used as a measure of chemotherapy-induced taste alterations in future studies.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION
The CiTAS may help evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the symptoms of taste alterations, such as administering zinc and self-care strategies.


The effects of organic fertilization (cow and chicken manure) and pesticide application on the yield of rice (cultivar Nipponbare) were examined for ten years from 1990 to 1999 in the paddy field of Okayama University. On average, the yield on organic fertilized and pesticide-free plot (only barnyard grasses were eradicated .by hand) was 10% lower than that of chemical fertilized and pesticide applied plot because of the decease in the number of panicles. This reduction might be due to the competition with weeds especially monochoria for nutrients. Although infection of sheath blight was observed, this disease did not cause a serious damage to the rice yield. In late Sept. in 1990, 1991 and 1997 the hopper burn by the brown planthopper occurred in the pesticide-free plot. However, it brought no reduction in yield because hopper burn occurred just before the harvesting. Yield-reduction may be diminished by using the early-maturing cultivar. Close correlation was observed between population densities of leafhoppers and spiders, the major predators, and it was considered that the increase in the density of spiders did not affect the survival rates of leafhoppers. Yearly fertilization of manure increased the total carbon and nitrogen concentration of the soil, i.e., soil fertility. In this experiment, rice was grown by pesticide-free organic cultivation with only about 10% yield-reduction. A possibility of cultural and biological control of weeds and insects was discussed.


"Sustainable Tourism: Business Development, Operations, and Management "lays out a road map to launching and building a business in one of today's most exciting industries. It simplifies the process and outlines real-life requirements while clearing the path to new business success in the cultural, heritage, nature, and adventure fields. Written by an eco-development pioneer, the book offers guidance on developing and implementing a comprehensive sustainable-business plan. From analyzing the market all the way through hiring and training the right people, the text focuses on the principles of both tourism and business. It prepares those embarking on new careers to tackle the complexity of sustainability issues by thinking like entrepreneurs and acting like business owners. Students and professionals can rely on this text as both a start-up and ongoing implementation reference that will stack the odds of success in their favor. "Sustainable Tourism "provides an overview of exciting developments in the sustainable-tourism industry. It helps new entrepreneurs assess the viability of ideas and products against sustainable criteria. Through sequential chapters, it delivers step-by-step instructions for minimizing environmental impact, establishing sustainability practices, obtaining financing, and marketing to and reaching customers. The standards-based text also examines how the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Sustainability Guidelines shape sustainable tourism, providing a global framework from which to build the skills needed for success. Key features include the following: - 13 online video case studies of sustainable tourism destinations from around the world give students a global text from which to build their own businesses and provide a model for how sustainable tourism works. - An online workbook guides learners through the completion of a business plan by the end of the term. - An online image bank presents photos, figures, and tables from the book that may be downloaded for use in presentations. - Forms and worksheets from the book are available for download. - A professional development workbook, "Creating a Tourism Career from Scratch" (appendix B), is a reference for entrepreneurs starting or advancing in their careers. Loaded with case studies, the book illustrates what works and what doesn't when starting a sustainable tourism business. It describes how to integrate sustainability practices into daily operations, maximize the use of the web and social media in marketing, and overcome challenges in sustainable tourism. The text covers every important topic in a business start-up, including financial forecasting and analysis, customer service systems, hiring, training, and managing turnover. "Sustainable Tourism: Business Development, Operations and Management "is the starting point for all who want to develop an eco-friendly product, integrate sustainability principles into their businesses, and turn their dreams into a business reality.


We present wafer-scale micro-transfer printing of III-V devices on an advanced silicon photonics platform. Following this process flow, a GaAs QD-on-Si DFB laser is demonstrated. The resulting device exhibits single mode operation at 1300 nm with about 0.7 mW single-side waveguide-coupled output power and a side-mode-suppression-ratio of 44 dB at 40 °C.


Contemporary Western war-fighting is animated by the fictitious imagination of a war free from antagonism. In this logic, winning wars is about winning the 'hearts and minds' of local populations, about persuasion rather than confrontation. In recent years, the concept of 'strategic communication' (SC) has been elevated to the top echelons of strategic thinking in United States military circles, focusing attention on how to communicate 'effectively' with local populations. Via an analysis of the concept of SC, this article examines the ethico-political dimensions of contemporary Western-led 'population-centric' war. Through a reading inspired by Judith Butler's recent work in Precarious life (London: Verso 2006) and Frames of war (London: Verso 2009), and an analysis that turns on the link between ethics and ontology, I reflect on the significance of the 'communications turn' in warfare for our study of war in ontological terms.


Abstract Objective: To assess the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) policy implementation among healthcare workers working at the Nelson Mandela Bay District (NMBD) public healthcare facilities. Design: Descriptive survey using quantitative closed structured questionnaires. Setting: Nursing professionals (n = 32) rendering maternal and child health services in 19 permanent NMBD clinics were included in a convenience sample in October 2011. Method: The closed, structured questionnaire was developed based on statements contained within the 2007 IYCF policy and administered by one interviewer. Ethics approval was obtained and respondents had to provide informed written consent. Data were analysed by means of descriptive and differential statistics. Results: Sixty-three per cent of nursing professionals were older than 40 years of age and more than half had already completed the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) and 20-hour IYCF training course. Respondents achieved a high mean score of 8.07 on knowledge of infant feeding in the context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, no association could be demonstrated between knowledge scores and previous training. Despite high scores on perceptions of the importance of IYCF counselling, 56% of the participants reported that they had never seen the IYCF policy before. Conclusion: Relevant training in IYCF in the context of HIV, the availability of IYCF policy guidelines and monitoring of counselling and training of health professionals and volunteers, are some of the challenges that need to be addressed to improve implementation of IYCF policy in the NMBD district.


The field of consumer Internet of Things (IoT) has exploded as business and researchers have sought to not only develop Internet-connected products but also define the common structure in which IoT devices will operate, including technological standards and responsive architectures. Yet, consumer IoT continues to present a host of potential risks to consumers, cascading from the multidimensional nature of IoT devices: IoT combines well-known consumer products with cutting-edge infrastructures including big data solutions, distributed data storage or "cloud," and artificial intelligence (AI) utilities. The consumer device is no longer only the product, it is the product, the data, the algorithms, and the infrastructure. Consumer products have shifted from analog to connected technologies, introducing new risks for consumers related to personal privacy, safety issues, and potential for discriminatory data. Broad, ubiquitous data collection, internet connectivity, predictive algorithms, and overall device functionality opacity threaten to undermine IoT market benefits by causing potential consumer injury: broad unfairness and disparate impact, data breaches, physical safety issues, and property damage. Existing regulatory regimes have not anticipated these damages to effectively avoid injury, and it is yet unknown how existing products liability, common law civil recovery under contracts or torts schemes, and due process procedures will apply to these products and the data they process. This Article explores the technology and market of IoT, potential consumer impacts resulting from a lack of consistent and complete legal framework, whether IoT regulation is appropriate, and how the United States can balance market needs for innovation with consistent oversight for IoT manufacturers and distributors.


This timely two-volume collection successfully combines economically-oriented legal scholarship on insurance with policy-relevant economics scholarship on insurance. Professor Schwarcz has selected seminal contributions from the past twenty years to explore some of the central questions involving the role of the state in insurance markets. These include rules governing the interpretation and enforceability of insurance contracts, the regulation of insurers and insurance markets, and the role of public programs in supporting private insurance markets. This essential collection will be of immense value and interest to students and academics interested in the diverse field of the law and economics of insurance.


Excel 2016 PIVOT TABLE DATA CRUNCHING CRUNCH DATA FROM ANY SOURCE, QUICKLY AND EASILY, WITH EXCEL 2016 PIVOT TABLES! Use Excel 2016 pivot tables and pivot charts to produce powerful, dynamic reports in minutes instead of hours understand exactly whats going on in your business take control, and stay in control! Even if youve never created a pivot table before, this book will help you leverage all their amazing flexibility and analytical power. Drawing on more than 40 combined years of Excel experience, Bill Jelen and Michael Alexander offer practical recipes for solving real business problems, help you avoid common mistakes, and present tips and tricks youll find nowhere else! Create, customize, and change pivot tables Transform huge data sets into clear summary reports Analyze data faster with Excel 2016s new recommended pivot tables Instantly highlight your most profitable customers, products, or regions Quickly import, clean, and shape data with Power Query vBuild geographical pivot tables with Power Map Use Power View dynamic dashboards to see where your business stands Revamp analyses on the fly by dragging and dropping fields Build dynamic self-service reporting systems Combine multiple data sources into one pivot table Use Auto grouping to build date/time-based pivot tables faster vCreate data mashups with Power Pivot Automate pivot tables with macros and VBA About MrExcel Library Every book in the MrExcel Library pinpoints a specific set of crucial Excel tasks and presents focused skills and examples for performing them rapidly and effectively. Selected by Bill Jelen, Microsoft Excel MVP and mastermind behind the leading Excel solutions website MrExcel.com, these books will Dramatically increase your productivitysaving you 50 hours a year or more Present proven, creative strategies for solving real-world problems Show you how to get great results, no matter how much data you have Help you avoid critical mistakes that even experienced users make Bill Jelen is MrExcel, the worlds #1 spreadsheet wizard. Jelen hosts MrExcel.com, the premier Excel solutions site, with more than 20 million page views annually. A Microsoft MVP for Excel, his best-sellers include Excel 2016 In Depth. Michael Alexander, Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) and Microsoft MVP, is author of several books on advanced business analysis with Excel and Access. He has more than 15 years of experience developing Office solutions. CATEGORY: Spreadsheets COVERS: Microsoft Excel 2016


Aim: To evaluate the administration of prophylactic antibiotics on the incidence of postoperative pain, infection, and swelling following endodontic microsurgery.

Methodology: This study included 13 patients undergoing endodontic surgery in a prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing oral administration of amoxicillin versus placebo. Patients were 18 years or older, healthy, and treated in the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Dentistry Postgraduate Endodontics Clinic from March 1, 2017, to June 16, 2017 . Patients were randomly given either 500 mg amoxicillin or placebo 1 hour prior to treatment followed by a 5-day course consisting of amoxicillin 500 mg or placebo. Postoperative instructions and a visual analogue scale for pain were given to the patient. Pain was recorded preoperatively and postoperatively at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours, and on the day of suture removal. Patients also recorded the use of analgesics, including frequency, type, and dosage. Infection was evaluated as either present or absent; the presence of infection was marked by positive purulent drainage from the incision. Swelling was categorized: no inflammation, intraoral swelling confined to the surgical field being mild inflammation, and moderate inflammation involving extraoral swelling in the region of treatment.

Results: The average day until suture removal was 5.9 days. The average number of days patients used NSAIDs for pain relief was 2.8 days. The total number of NSAIDs taken in the placebo group was 44 tablets and 23 tablets for the experimental group. Peak intensity of pain for all patients occurred at 24 hours. When comparing VAS scores for the placebo and amoxicillin groups, there was no significant difference in pain relief (p= 0.109, p>0.05). There was a difference (p=0.010, p 0.05).

Conclusions: There is no significant difference in postoperative, swelling, and infection when given prophylactic amoxicillin compared to a placebo.


Neocheilostomes possessing ovicells for larval brooding originated in the late Albian and radiated explosively in the Late Cretaceous. Our understanding of this radiation is hampered by poor knowledge of the taxonomy of the earliest neocheilostomes. Here we describe a new neocheilostome genus, Ehrhardina, from shallow‐water sediments in the early Cenomanian of Western Europe. Two species (Ehrhardina voigti sp. nov. and E. pikeae sp. nov.) are referred to the new genus. Ehrhardina gen. nov. is an onychocellid characterized by large opesiae with proximolateral, symmetrical opesiular constrictions and proximolateral, long opesiular indentations, bilaterally symmetrical interzooidal avicularia and lacking spine bases, but with hyperstomial ovicells that have ectooecia formed of exterior wall calcification. Colonies are unusually large for encrusting onychocellids and multilaminar; ovicells are primitive in showing a median suture in the ectooecium. Similarities between Ehrhardina gen. nov. and Aechmella, Floridina, Floridinella, and Onychocella are discussed, and a key for the discrimination of these genera is provided. Ehrhardina gen. nov. is the oldest neocheilostome known to construct large, multilaminar colonies.


Interpreting culture as symbols, stories, rituals and values, the thesis explores the culture of a Jewish and a Catholic secondary school in a dialogical way. The survey of the literature in Chapter 1 identifies relevant school-based research and locates the chosen case-study schools within the context of the British 'dual system'. Chapter 2 draws on the theoretical and methodological literatures of inter-faith dialogue and ethnography to develop and defend a paradigm for the research defined as open-inclusivist and constructivist.
 The main body of the thesis (Chapters 3-5), based on field-work undertaken in 1996 and 1997, presents the two schools in parallel with each other. Chapter 3 describes the details of the case studies at 'St. Margaret's' and 'Mount Sinai' and my developing research relationship with each school. In Chapter 4 many different voices from each school are woven into two 'tales' about the schools' cultures. This central chapter has a deliberately narrative style. Chapter 5 amplifies the cultural tales through the analysis of broadly quantitative data gained from an extensive questionnaire administered to a sample of senior students in each school. It is the only place in the thesis where views and values from the two schools are directly compared.
 The final two chapters widen the horizon of the study. Chapter 6 presents voices which were not part of the original case studies but which relate, in different ways, to the culture of the two schools. Chapter 7, with theoretical ideas about Jewish schools and education, and Catholic schools and education, provides resources for further dialogue about culture within Judaism and Catholicism and for Jewish-Christian dialogue. The thesis ends with some reflections on possible implications of the two cultures for discussions about the common good in education.


Lexical databases are invaluable sources of knowledge about words and their meanings, with numerous applications in areas like NLP, IR, and AI. We propose a methodology for the automatic construction of a large-scale multilingual lexical database where words of many languages are hierarchically organized in terms of their meanings and their semantic relations to other words. This resource is bootstrapped from WordNet, a well-known English-language resource. Our approach extends WordNet with around 1.5 million meaning links for 800,000 words in over 200 languages, drawing on evidence extracted from a variety of resources including existing (monolingual) wordnets, (mostly bilingual) translation dictionaries, and parallel corpora. Graph-based scoring functions and statistical learning techniques are used to iteratively integrate this information and build an output graph. Experiments show that this wordnet has a high level of precision and coverage, and that it can be useful in applied tasks such as cross-lingual text classification.


In this paper, we describe and evaluate a Web service discovery framework using OWL-S advertisements, combined with the distinction between service and Web service of the WSMO discovery framework. More specifically, we follow the Web service discovery model, which is based on abstract and lightweight semantic Web service descriptions, using the service profile ontology of OWL-S. Our goal is to determine fast an initial set of candidate Web services for a specific request. This set can then be used in more fine-grained discovery approaches, based on richer Web service descriptions. Our Web service matchmaking algorithm extends object-based matching techniques used in structural case-based reasoning, allowing 1) the retrieval of Web services not only based on subsumption relationships, but exploiting also the structural information of OWL ontologies and 2) the exploitation of Web services classification in profile taxonomies, performing domain-dependent discovery. Furthermore, we describe how the typical paradigm of profile input/output annotation with ontology concepts can be extended, allowing ontology roles to be considered as well. We have implemented our framework in the OWLS-SLR system, which we extensively evaluate and compare to the OWLS-MX matchmaker.


The focus of the thesis is a comparative history of two neighbouring ethnic groups in Songea District and their agroecological environments: the Ngoni, a branch of the tllfecane migrations from South Africa which dominated southern Tanzania in the late nineteenth century; and the Ndendeuli, one of numerous indigenous groups that were created by partial incorporation into the expanding Ngoni State. Under British Indirect Rule, the egalitarian. stateless Ndendeuli were ruled by authoritarian Ngoni Native Authorities, and the character of the two ethnic groups diverged, with the Ndendeuli enthusiastically adopting tobacco production, and Islam, while rejecting the European Christianity that had taken hold among the Ngoni. As the colonial economy developed, Europeans characterised the Ngoni as conservative and indolent -a `deteriorating tribe' while the Ndendeuli were increasingly recognised as industrious and progressive. These representations informed divergent patterns of intervention including coercive agricultural programmes for the Ngoni and forced resettlement of the Ndendeuli. In the early 1950s, a successful campaign for Ndendeuli self rule emerged, which quickly transformed into mass support for TANU while their Ngoni counterparts allied with European interests. Despite forty years of nationalism, ethnic tensions between the Ngoni and Ndendeuli were sustained by a District Council and Cooperative Union which straddled the two regions, until July 2002 when Songea District was divided into two along a `fault -line' that can be traced back to pre -colonial social and spatial organisation. The starting point for analysis is the insight that Undendeuli is the frontier of Ungoni, with a rapidly increasing population and unstable pattern of settlement and land use that developed in a region of indeterminate political and moral authority. The thesis examines how the people who became known as Ndendeuli created their society and culture out of the materials of a shared frontier experience, under economic, ecological and sociological conditions common to innumerable internal frontiers throughout Sub -Saharan Africa. in doing so, the thesis adapts Kopytoffs model of ethnogenesis and social change given in The African Frontier. The discussion explores the extent to which Ndendeuli history can be seen as an endogenous movement to build a new society in opposition to that found at the Ngoni centres of power. An interdisciplinary methodology was employed including sequenced historical mapping of settlement patterns, political organisation and land use; archival research, oral histories and interviews; participatory appraisal techniques and participant observation. The thesis is structured both thematically and chronologically, exploring in turn: precolonial settlement, political control and ethnic identity; colonial administration and the politics of representation; colonial religious identities and educational opportunities; the cultural economy of cash crop production; settlement and resettlement; and post -War political reform and resistance. The conclusions show how long -term settlement dynamics can offer new ways to frame and understand rural development trajectories and ethnic identities in other African districts.


Updated and thoroughly revised, this foundational resource surveys all major topics related to the U.S. public health system, including organization on local and national levels, financing, workforce, goals, initiatives, accountability, and metrics. The text is unique in combining the perspectives of both academicians and public health officials, and examines new job opportunities and the growing interest in the public health field.


A large proportion of the global soil carbon pool is stored in soils of high-latitude ecosystems in which microbial processes and production of greenhouse gases proceed during the winter months. It has been suggested that microorganisms have limited ability to sequester substrates at temperatures around and below 0 °C and that a metabolic shift to dominance of catabolic processes occurs around these temperatures. However, there are contrary indications that anabolic processes can proceed, because microbial growth has been observed at far lower temperatures. Therefore, we investigated the utilization of the microbial substrate under unfrozen and frozen conditions in a boreal forest soil across a temperature range from −9 °C to +9 °C, by using gas chromatography-isotopic ratio mass spectrometry and 13C magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy to determine microbial turnover and incorporation of 13C-labeled glucose. Our results conclusively demonstrate that the soil microorganisms maintain both catabolic (CO2 production) and anabolic (biomass synthesis) processes under frozen conditions and that no significant differences in carbon allocation from [13C]glucose into [13C]CO2 and cell organic 13C-compounds occurred between +9 °C and −4 °C. The only significant metabolic changes detected were increased fluidity of the cell membranes synthesized at frozen conditions and increased production of glycerol in the frozen samples. The finding that the processes in frozen soil are similar to those in unfrozen soil has important implications for our general understanding and conceptualization of soil carbon dynamics in high-latitude ecosystems.


Abstract. An aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) was deployed at a semi-rural site in southern Ontario to characterize the size and chemical composition of individual particles. Particle-type-based receptor modelling of these data was used to investigate the determinants of aerosol chemical composition in this region. Individual particles were classified into particle-types and positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to their temporal trends to separate and cross-apportion particle-types to factors. The extent of chemical processing for each factor was assessed by evaluating the internal and external mixing state of the characteristic particle-types. The nine factors identified helped to elucidate the coupled interactions of these determinants. Nitrate-laden dust was found to be the dominant type of locally emitted particles measured by ATOFMS. Several factors associated with aerosol transported to the site from intermediate local-to-regional distances were identified: the Organic factor was associated with a combustion source to the north-west; the ECOC Day factor was characterized by nearby local-to-regional carbonaceous emissions transported from the south-west during the daytime; and the Fireworks factor consisted of pyrotechnic particles from the Detroit region following holiday fireworks displays. Regional aerosol from farther emissions sources was reflected through three factors: two Biomass Burning factors and a highly chemically processed Long Range Transport factor. The Biomass Burning factors were separated by PMF due to differences in chemical processing which were in part elucidated by the passage of two thunderstorm gust fronts with different air mass histories. The remaining two factors, ECOC Night and Nitrate Background, represented the night-time partitioning of nitrate to pre-existing particles of different origins. The distinct meteorological conditions observed during this month-long study in the summer of 2007 provided a unique range of temporal variability, enabling the elucidation of the determinants of aerosol chemical composition, including source emissions, chemical processing, and transport, at the Canada-US border. This paper presents the first study to elucidate the coupled influences of these determinants on temporal variability in aerosol chemical composition using single particle-type-based receptor modelling.


THE CLASSIS. IN SERVICE OF MUTUAL CONCERN Congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa are facing  various challenges which they cannot meet on their own. The classis or presbytery was born in the sixteenth century when reformed congregations also went through very difficult times. Its aim was to help congregations fulfil their needs. Neighbouring congregations that are close enough to understand each other's needs and able to meet as often as needed, constitute this governing body. It has its roots in the sense of unity and concern that existed between the congregations of the first century. Throughout the history of the classis in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, this same sense of unity and concern about the welfare of the congregations constituted the presbytery. Today it is still an integral part of the church's organization and can help congregations to fulfil their God-given calling in their own context. Article text in Afrikaans


This paper identifies a useful technology tool that aids in the teaching of pricing strategies and allows students to experience the interactive effects of decisions involving pricing, production levels, and promotional spend. This innovative technology tool can be easily implemented either online or in the classroom. Concepts related to pricing strategy do not typically evoke enthusiasm from students, and in many cases, both students and professors would welcome an engaging, innovative way to teach the key concepts of pricing strategy. In the past, attempts to convey pricing concepts through experiential learning have involved large-scale simulations that extend throughout the length of a course. However, many professors are beginning to question the pedagogical merits of these large-scale simulations and are finding that with the semester-long simulations, lessons related to specific areas of marketing, such as pricing, are often lost in the face of what students perceive as more glamorous decisions. Microsimulations are short, computer-based, dynamic games that can be played in one or two class sessions. The authors discuss the use of a specific pricing microsimulation that engages students in learning, improves student satisfaction with learning, develops greater understanding of content, and fosters retention of lessons learned.


It's Back! New chapters, examples, and insights; all infused with the timeless concepts and theories that have helped RF engineers for the past 25 years!RF circuit design is now more important than ever as we find ourselves in an increasingly wireless world. Radio is the backbone of today's wireless industry with protocols such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, and ZigBee. Most, if not all, mobile devices have an RF component and this book tells the reader how to design and integrate that component in a very practical fashion. This book has been updated to include today's integrated circuit (IC) and system-level design issues as well as keeping its classic "wire lead" material. Design Concepts and Tools Include.The Basics: Wires, Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors.Resonant Circuits: Resonance, Insertion Loss .Filter Design: High-pass, Bandpass, Band-rejection.Impedance Matching: The L Network, Smith Charts, Software Design Tools.Transistors: Materials, Y Parameters, S Parameters.Small Signal RF Amplifier: Transistor Biasing, Y Parameters, S Parameters.RF Power Amplifiers: Automatic Shutdown Circuitry , Broadband Transformers, Practical Winding Hints.RF Front-End: Architectures, Software-Defined Radios, ADC's Effects.RF Design Tools: Languages, Flow, ModelingCheck out this book's companion Web site at: http://books.elsevier.com/9780750685184 for full-color Smith Charts and extra content! *Completely updated but still contains its classic timeless information*Two NEW chapters on RF Front-End Design and RF Design Tools*Not overly math intensive, perfect for the working RF and digital professional that need to build analog-RF-Wireless circuits


Protein signaling is the key method by which cells recognize a stimulus from their environment and convert it into a response. Signaling occurs in many forms: hormones, growth factors, and even proteins may act as signals from the environment. The response to their detection must be carried from the cell surface, where the signal is detected, to the nucleus, where the cell alters its DNA expression. This study analyzes one component in the signaling pathway of Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk). The Syk protein receives a signal from B-cell receptors and amplifies it, resulting in an adaptive immune response and the production of antibodies for targeting foreign molecules. Strikingly, constant amplification of the Syk signal can transform B-cells into a cancerous phenotype and has been associated with cancers of the lymphatic system. Syk has also been implicated in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. This study uses nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the structure of a segment from the Syk protein bound to Vav1, a downstream signaling protein that has been implicated in various cancers. The preliminary result will be refined using a molecular dynamics simulation to obtain the most energetically stable conformation of the protein-ligand interaction. The terminal results of this experiment will reveal the structural details of the Syk-Vav1 interaction, which may describe a possible therapeutic target in the treatment of proliferative B-cell disorders, as well as some types of cancer. Using this information, one or more drugs may be synthesized to block the interaction in cancerous cells, providing a therapeutic avenue to treat the disease.


EU policies call for the strengthening of Europe's innovative capacity and the development of a creative and knowledge-intensive economy and society through reinforcing the role of education and training in the knowledge triangle and focusing school curricula on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. This report brings evidence to the debate on the status, barriers and enablers for creativity and innovation in compulsory schooling in Europe. It is the final report of the project: 'Creativity and Innovation in Education and Training in the EU27 (ICEAC)' carried out by IPTS in collaboration with DG Education and Culture, highlighting the main messages gathered from each phase of the study: a literature review, a survey with teachers, an analysis of curricula and of good practices, stakeholder and expert interviews, and experts workshops. Based on this empirical material, five major areas for improvement are proposed to enable more creative learning and innovative teaching in Europe: curricula, pedagogies and assessment, teacher training, ICT and digital media, and educational culture and leadership. The study highlights the need for action at both national and European level to bring about the changes required for an open and innovative European educational culture based on the creative and innovative potential of its future generation.


This study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of melatonin against in vitro hemolysis induced by fluoride (F) in human red blood cells. Venous blood samples from twenty healthy, well-nourished male donors, age 20–25, residing in a nonfluorotic area of Ahmedabad, India, were collected for the preparation of red blood cell (RBC) suspensions in normal saline. When 2.0 mL of the RBC suspensions were treated for 4 hr at 37oC with 0.05–0.5 mL of 4 mg NaF/mL in normal saline (50– 500 μg NaF/mL in a final normal saline volume of 4.0 mL), they exhibited a significant dose-dependent increase in hemolysis. Addition of melatonin (5 μg/mL and 10 μg/ mL) to the final volume caused a significant reduction in F-induced hemolysis with maximum amelioration occurring at 10 μg/mL. Melatonin therefore can exert a significant protective action against F-induced hemolysis in vitro.


Left censoring is generally a rare type of censoring in time-to-event data, however there are some fields such as HIV related studies where it commonly occurs. Currently, there is no clear recommendation in the literature on the optimal model and distribution to analyze left-censored data. Recommendations can help researchers apply more accurate models for this type of censoring. This study derives the Parametric Reversed Hazards (PRH) Model for a variety of distributions which may be appropriate for left censored data. The performance of these derived PRH models to analyze HIV viral load data are compared using extensive simulations and a guideline is established for which distribution/s are most appropriate. Each simulation setup is varied by sample size and proportion of censoring to find a consistently high performance distribution. The best distribution is determined using the information criteria: AIC, AICC, HQIC, and CAIC. The South Carolina Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting Surveillance System (SC eHARS) data were utilized and a bootstrap study provided further insights towards appropriateness of the distributions in analyzing HIV viral load data. Results from simulation studies point to the Generalized Inverse Weibull distribution to outperform all others across censoring rates and sample sizes. The bootstrap study, however, contradicts this and suggests the Marshal-Olkin distribution to be the superior performer. This disagreement may have resulted from the special heavy tail nature of viral load data that demands further attention. Application of the best performing models on the SC eHARS database revealed important effects explaining trends of viral load over time.


An array of monopole antennas over a ground plane that radiates a directive lobe in the end-fire direction are described in this paper. The design uses the rigorous method described by Drouet et al. 2008 in order to synthesize the radiation through the strong cumulative coupling between the monopoles. A gain higher than 20 dB was achieved in the end-fire direction over a 4.5% bandwidth. However, the antenna has been tilted in order to compensate the beam deviation caused by the edge diffraction. A prototype with 12 elements has been manufactured in order to validate the antenna principle and the whole antenna is successfully measured. The prototype was studied with the software CST-Microwave Studio and the feed network has been designed with Agilent ADS.


Background/Aims: Inpatient initiation of chronic hemodialysis is considered undesirable because of cost and possible harms of hospitalization. We examined the patient characteristics and outcomes associated with inpatient initiation. Methods: In a prospective cohort study of incident dialysis patients, the independent association of inpatient hemodialysis initiation with patient outcomes was assessed in multivariable analyses with adjustment for patient characteristics and propensity for inpatient initiation. Results: A total of 410 of 652 (63%) hemodialysis patients began as inpatients; uremia and volume overload were the most commonly documented reasons. Compared to outpatients, inpatients were more likely to be unmarried, report less social support, have multiple comorbidities and be referred to a nephrologist 4 months or less prior to initiation. Inpatient initiation was protective for subsequent all-cause hospitalization (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.92, confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.94); this was most pronounced among those who had the highest propensity for inpatient initiation (IRR = 0.66, CI 0.56–0.78), including those referred late to nephrology. Similar results were found for infectious hospitalization. Mortality [hazard ratio = 1.03, CI 0.82–1.30] and cardiovascular events were not significantly different for inpatients versus outpatients. Conclusion: Inpatient hemodialysis initiation has a protective association with hospitalization among those patients referred late to nephrology, with multiple comorbidities and/or little social support.


This study proposed a methodology to evaluate the potential of midinfrared (MIR) spectroscopy as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for in situ (in-line) monitoring of cell culture media constituents, paving the way for on-line bioprocess monitoring and control of mammalian cell cultures. The methodology included a limit of detection (LOD) analysis and external influence investigation in addition to the calibration model development. The LOD analysis in the initial step provided a detailed procedure by which to evaluate the monitoring potential of the instrument of choice, for the application in question. The external influence study highlighted the potential difficulties when applying this technique to a typical mammalian cell culture. A comparative investigation between a fixed conduit immersion probe and flexible fiber-optic immersion probe was also carried out. Limitations associated with the use of MIR spectroscopy in the cell culture environment were also examined. A preliminary investigation, on components typically found in mammalian cell cultures, involving spectral characterization and limit of detection analysis was completed. It was evident at this initial stage that glutamine, could not be accurately detected at levels typically found in a mammalian cell culture medium. Results for glucose and ammonia, however, proved promising. A seven-concentration-level experimental design was used, and partial least squares regression employed, to develop calibration models. Optimized model results echoed the results of the preliminary analysis with the percentage error of prediction for glucose as low as 6.03% with the fixed conduit probe and glutamine having a higher error of 63.06% for the same probe. Comparison of the model results obtained from both probes supported the fixed conduit as the more accurate of the two probes for this experimental setup. The effect of external influences on the MIR spectra and hence the concentrations predicted by the model were also examined. These were subjected to statistical analysis to determine the significance of the effect. This study demonstrates that MIR spectroscopy as a PAT tool has limited potential for mammalian cell culture monitoring due to low concentrations of analytes present and outlines a method to allow the system to be evaluated.


I. INTRODUCTION It took eleven judges of a circuit court sitting at one time, but when the Ninth Circuit issued its en banc opinion in Association of MexicanAmerican Educators v. California,1 it marked the first time that a United States Court of Appeals held that Title VII's antidiscrimination provisions2 apply to a state that requires teachers to pass a certification examination in order to teach in public schools. Though the Association of Mexican-- American Educators (AMAE) court also held that California's Basic Education Skills Test ("CBEST") was a properly administered examination, thereby denying relief to the plaintiffs--a class of minority educators who had sued California because minorities have disproportionately failed the exam since 1983, when California began conditioning teacher certification upon passing the CBEST3--the decision by the court to require California to defend its examination represented a major victory toward providing Title VII with the reach Congress intended it to have. In doing so, however, the Ninth Circuit "created a circuit split on a national issue of great importance."4 While Judge Kleinfeld, who concurred in part and dissented in part from the majority's opinion, argued that the Ninth Circuit should not have created "cert bait"5 where it could have avoided the issue this Comment applauds the AMAE court for taking the first step toward giving victims of discrimination the protection Congress intended when it enacted Title VII. While other circuits have expressed sympathy for plaintiffs unable to identify a party to sue when state licensing procedures dictated that a local school district not employ individuals who failed to pass the state-imposed exam,7 the Ninth Circuit correctly perceived that Congress intended the party creating discrimination to be held accountable unless they provide an acceptable justification. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed to prohibit discrimination in the workplace. In 1972, Congress subjected state and local governments, and their agencies and subdivisions, to the same liability as any other employer,9 and the Supreme Court subsequently upheld this abrogation as valid under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment.10 At a time when the United States finds itself debating how it wants to structure our educational systems and what it will demand from the teachers in those systems, many are calling for greater use of teacher certification examinations.11 Thus, it is only a matter of time before the Supreme Court will be called upon to resolve the circuit split concerning the applicability of Title VII's antidiscrimination provisions to a state administering a teacher certification exam. When that day comes, one hopes the Court will have learned a lesson from its experience in the late 1980s, when it sought to narrow the application of Title VII and was unequivocally rebuffed by Congress.12 This Comment contends there should be a strong presumption that a state is an employer of public school teachers for purposes of Title VII and that the state should be held liable if it fails to hire or fires or discriminatorily interferes with an individual's employment opportunities because of the person's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It supplements the argument made by the Ninth Circuit in AMAE by providing a more extensive analysis of the text of Title VII and its legislative history and case history. When a state requires public school teachers to pass proficiency exams, either to be eligible initially for employment or as a means of maintaining their eligible employment status, and when plaintiffs demonstrate that the exam has a disparate impact,13 the state should be required to prove that there is a genuine business necessity for the exam and that the exam has been properly validated. 14 Part II of this Comment explores the legislative history of Title VII and the development of disparate impact theory in Griggs v. …


We formulate the problem of defogging as state estimation and future state prediction from previous, partial observations in the context of real-time strategy games. We propose to employ encoder-decoder neural networks for this task, and introduce proxy tasks and baselines for evaluation to assess their ability of capturing basic game rules and high-level dynamics. By combining convolutional neural networks and recurrent networks, we exploit spatial and sequential correlations and train well-performing models on a large dataset of human games of StarCraft: Brood War. Finally, we demonstrate the relevance of our models to downstream tasks by applying them for enemy unit prediction in a state-of-the-art, rule-based StarCraft bot. We observe improvements in win rates against several strong community bots.


Numerous studies have shown that population bottlenecks result in loss of genetic diversity and as a consequence of this, it is commonly inferred that there is a loss of evolutionary potential. It is rare that circumstances are such that there should be well documented details of the founder event, such as the size and date of the bottleneck, that there should be access to subsequent demographic information and to suitable samples from both the post-bottleneck and the source populations. It is even less common for this information to be available for two separate bottlenecks that occurred in parallel in a largely unmanaged population of large mammals. The importation by whalers of two separate groups of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) onto the island of South Georgia in the early part of the twentieth century provided precisely those circumstances. There are accurate historical records of each founder events with details of dates and numbers of reindeer. The inaccessibility and geography of the island ensures that the South Georgia reindeer herds have been isolated from immigrants and separated from each other. The aim of this study was to test hypotheses about the impact of population bottlenecks on phenotype and genetic diversity and this was achieved by making genetic and morphometric comparisons of both post- bottleneck populations with the source population in Norway. Genetic diversity was primarily measured by allele numbers and heterozygosity based on data from thirteen microsatellite loci. Morphometric comparisons included measures of developmental stability, notably fluctuating asymmetry (FA), as well as phenotypic variation and body size. Each of the post-bottleneck populations showed significant genetic differentiation from the pre-bottleneck population and showed decreased levels of heterozygosity and allelic diversity. The data was used to validate commonly used 'bottleneck signatures' and considerable variability was found in the accurate detection of the known bottlenecks by the different detection methods. Both the post-bottleneck populations showed increased FA and morphometric variation compared to the pre-bottleneck population in some of the measured traits. Both post-bottleneck populations had smaller overall skull size than the pre-bottleneck population though it is discussed that this may be due as much to a plastic environmental response as to a consequence of the genetic bottleneck. Within each population the relationship between measures of genomic diversity and indirect measures of fitness were investigated on an individual basis. Although the results were of low significance, weak associations were found to support the hypotheses that developmental stability is correlated with measures of genomic diversity even at the level of the individual.