Background
Adiposity depots may differentially affect cognition. African Americans (AA) have higher rates of obesity and dementia but lower visceral adipose tissue (VAT) than whites, yet are underrepresented in studies of adiposity and cognition. Our study compared relations of cognitive function to clinical adiposity measures and computed tomography (CT)-imaged abdominal adiposity in AA.

Methods
CT-imaged subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and VAT measurements were obtained in the AA cohort of the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy Study (N = 652, mean age 68 ± 8.4 years, 74% females, 59% obese, 82% hypertensive). Clinical adiposity measures included waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). Global cognition was operationalized as a global cognitive z-score generated from the average of four cognitive domain z-scores. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine cross-sectional associations between individual standardized adiposity measures and cognition, accounting for age, sex, education, smoking status, and familial clustering. A collective model was constructed including multiple supported adiposity measures and age-by-adiposity interactions.

Results
In the collective model, higher WC was associated with worse global cognition, β = -0.12 (95%CI: -0.21, -0.03); higher SAT was associated with better cognition, β = 0.09 (0.01, 0.18); higher BMI was associated with worse cognition at younger ages with attenuation at older ages (BMI-by-age-interaction p = .004). VAT was not significantly associated with global cognition, β = -0.03 (-0.07, 0.02).

Conclusions
WC may be the simplest and most efficient measure of adiposity to assess with respect to cognition in clinical settings, although studies to determine mechanistic effects of subcutaneous and other adiposity depots on cognition are warranted.


There is significant evidence of a strong correlation between the quality of life and accessibility to high quality, public parks (Ward-Thompson, 2002; Wood et al. 2007). However, recent government restrictions on public spending have meant that some urban public parks are facing a serious decline in investment and in some cases disappearing altogether (Layton-Jones and Lee, 2008). Given that shaping policy around the needs and wants of a community provides a powerful means to transform individual wellbeing and social welfare (Dolan et al., 2010), it is imperative that city councils possess a detailed understanding of how park facilities are utilised and to what extent by their communities. Calls for research to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the nature and structure of consumption-related practices associated with urban park users have recently been made (Lee et al., 2009). Consequently, this paper responds to those appeals and offers theoretical advancement concerning the consumption-related practices of users of urban public parks. In so doing, the paper focuses on the Greater Manchester area and aims to target parks from both disadvantaged and affluent areas. To help capture the diversity of activities and the complexity of interactions in this socio-cultural context, this study adopts a complementary range of data gathering methods such as visual ethnography and walking interviews. Concerning our visual and textual analysis, we aim to employ a reflexive approach, recognizing "both the constructedness of social science categories and the politics of researchers' personal and academic agendas" (Pink, 2007, p.117). Our preliminary findings indicate that the urban public park caters for a diverse range of individuals and groups with distinctly different health goals (e.g. walkers, runners, cyclists, dog walkers, families, military fitness groups etc). Despite their varied motivations for using the park facilities, these different user groups appear to manage their interactions with each other amicably. However, tensions were evident at times and certain users would indicate their annoyance at the intrusions and lack of respect for their space (e.g. off-leash dogs getting in the way of runners). Nonetheless, it is clear that all users are instrumental in co-creating the overall consumption experience of the urban public park. Therefore, if policymakers are committed to transforming the health and well-being of consumers, they must plan and manage the urban park appropriately to provide an accessible, multi-functional, public space suitable for all. The paper concludes with policy implications and recommended avenues for future research.


The aim of this paper is to propose a new approach interweaving preference elicitation and search to solve multiobjective optimization problems. We present an interactive search procedure directed by an aggregation function, possibly non-linear (e.g. an additive disutility function, a Choquet integral), defining the overall cost of solutions. This function is parameterized by weights that are initially unknown. Hence, we insert comparison queries in the search process to obtain useful preference information that will progressively reduce the uncertainty attached to weights. The process terminates by recommending a near-optimal solution ensuring that the gap to optimality is below the desired threshold. Our approach is tested on multiobjective state space search problems and appears to be quite efficient both in terms of number of queries and solution times.


Promoting sexual well-being in professional practice. This presentation explores insights from doctoral research investigating sexual well-being. The project gained ethical approval from Dorset County Council and Bournemouth University. Sexual well-being is one of the most significant aspects in life (Taylor, 2011), profoundly connected to human well-being where pleasure, person to person connection and communication enhances self-worth and confidence (Myers and Milner, 2007; Dunk, 2007; Owens, 2015). Marginalised groups, including disabled and older people, are subject to sexual disenfranchisement, with narratives of asexuality leading to exclusion from opportunities for sexual expression. This has a profound impact on mental and physical well-being. The Care Act, 2014 in England, underpinned by the well-being principle, requires practitioners to be prepared and able, to support people in identifying what impacts on their own well-being, including sexual well-being. This exploratory, collaborative, approach to well-being has the potential to uncover sensitive issues which present practitioners with opportunities to directly apply their interpersonal skills. Sexual well-being is a sensitive topic, but social care practitioners' preparedness to discuss difficult and sensitive subjects is a professional strength (Bywaters and Ungar, 2010). Engagement with sexual well-being is an aspect of practice which faces multi-layered barriers, ranging from social taboos around sex and disability, to personal values, culture and experience. Fear of risk, uncertainty about the law, and lack of policy or guidance create an environment where enabling people's sexual expression is problematic, yet the Human Rights Act, 1998, makes explicit that agencies must not inhibit citizens' rights to a private life and relationships of their choice (Article 8) – risk averse practice may seek to protect, yet break human rights law. The presentation will explore findings from the research which suggests meaningful ways to promote sexual well-being and enable practitioners to overcome barriers to their engagement with the topic. Session aimed at Practitioners and students.


Abstract : Availability is one of the most frequently specified quality attributes for computerized systems and the computation of availability requires knowledge about the reliability of the system. Although much research has been devoted to software system reliability, much work remains to be done in identifying ways to predict reliability of assemblies of components. We are designing an experiment for use as a foundation for creating a reliability prediction-enabled component technology (PECT), which is to be used to produce systems that are predictably reliable by construction; in the course of that work we have recognized the need to evolve combinatorial reliability models for use in computing reliability of assemblies based on the reliabilities of constituent components. In this paper, we describe and discuss aspects of current models that need to be adapted and how they affect the design of our experiment.


Programmed cell death (PCD) is a widely spread phenomenon among multi-cellular organisms. Without the deletion of cells no longer needed, the organism will not be able to develop in a predicted way. It is now belived that all cells have the capacity to self-destruct and that the survival of the cells is depending on the repression of this suicidal programme. PCD has turned out to show similarities in many different species and there are strong indications that the mechanisms running the programme might, at least in some parts, be evolutionarily conserced. PCD is a generic term for different programmes of cell destruction, such as apoptosis and autophagic PCD. An important tool to determine if a cell is undergoing PCD is the transmitting electron microscope. The aims of my study were to find out if, and in what way, the suspensor and endosperm in Vicia faba (Broad bean), which are short-lived structures, undergoes PCD. The endosperm degradation preceed the suspensor cell death and they differ to some extent ultrastructurally. The cell death occurs in both tissues about 13-14 days after pollination when the embryo proper is mature enough to support itself. It was found that both tissues are committed to autophagic PCD, a cell death characteristic of conspicuous formations of autophagic vacuoles. It was shown by histochemical staining that acid phosphatases are accumulated in these vacuoles but are also present in the cytoplasm. These vacuoles are similar to autophagic vacuoles formed in rat liver cells, indicating that autophagy is a widely spread phenomenon. DNA fragmentation is the first visible sign of PCD in both tissues and it is demonstrated by a labelling technique (TUNEL). In the endosperm nuclei the heterochromatin subsequently appears in the form of a network, while in the suspensor it is more conspicuous, with heterochromatin that forms large electron dense aggregates located close to the nuclear envelope. In the suspensor, the plastids develop into chromoplasts with lycopene crystals at the same time or shortly after DNA fragmentation. This is probably due to the fact that the suspensor plastids function as hormone producing organelles and support the embryo proper with indispensable growth factors. Later the embryo will be able to produce its own growth factors and the synthesis of these, in particular gibberelines, might be suppressed in the suspensor. The precursors can then be used for synthesis of lycopene instead. Both the suspensor and endosperm are going through autophagic PCD, but the process differs in some respects. This is probably due the the different function of the two tissues, and that the signals that trigger the process presumably are different. The embryo proper is probably the source of the death signal affecting the suspensor. The endosperm, which has a different origin and function, might be controlling the death signal within its own cell. The death might in this case be related to the age of the cell.


In the wild, few mice ever have to deal with cancer before they die of other causes. However, in the laboratory, mice live 2-3 times longer than in the wild and 80% of mice in the laboratory die of cancers. In contrast, only 25% of human deaths are caused by cancer. Are we just lucky because we never have cancer cells form in our body or are we somehow naturally protected against cancers that form frequently? When laboratory mice are challenged with lethal transplantable cancer cells, such as S180 or EL4, they uniformly die within a few weeks. However, a single mouse that unexpectedly survived many challenges of lethal cancer cells in 1999 at Wake Forest University may have demonstrated for the first time the existence of such a natural protection at a meaningful level in a mammal. Seven years and 15 generations later, the descendents (SR/CR mice) of this remarkable mouse continue to fascinate investigators with their powerful resistance against cancers, and continue to thrive at Wake Forest University and a rapidly growing number of other places around the world as subjects of collaborative investigations. This powerful resistance is determined by inheritance, is mediated entirely by the leukocytes of innate immunity and is transferable to other mice for prevention and treatment of cancers. The challenges to us now are how we can best take advantage of the information generated from studying these mice. I will update the audience with the latest information about these mice: 1. How many other lethal transplantable cancers can SR/CR mice resist? 2. Can adoptive transfer of leukocytes from SR/CR mice cure endogenous cancers in other non-cancer-resistant mice? 3. What immune components are important for this cancerkilling ability? 4. Why leukocytes of SR/CR mice are able to find cancer cells at distant site? From these studies, it is tantalizing to ask the question where humans stand in comparison to the mouse. Are we similar to ordinary mice or SR/CR mice? Hopefully, the future can bring us a definitive answer to this question.


For the description of the temperature-pressure relationship of coal oils, a model is required that requires as input only data from analytical chemical techniques. Coal oils are obtained during liquefaction and differ in properties from crude oils in their contents of aromatic hydrocarbons. As aromatic hydrocarbons have stronger interactions, the modelling of fluids with high contents of aromatic hydrocarbons is more difficult than that of aliphatic fluids. The thermodynamic characterisation and modelling of these liquids plays an important role in reactor design. Before a chemical reactor for upgrading and/or cracking of these fluids can be constructed, the energy required by these separation and conversion processes should be estimated. The technology of coal liquefaction, that is the production of coal oils from coal, is not limited to coal: other solid feedstocks, such as municipal waste and biomass may serve as a feedstock as well. The basis for the modelling was Van Laar's equation of state. This equation of state was developed in 1924 as one of the first modifications of the Van der Waals equation of state. The use of an equation of state as a tool for the modelling of the temperature-pressure relationship of organic fluids has been reported earlier in literature. Equations of state are usually used for calculations at high temperatures and/or pressures, where little or no experimental data are available. The thermodynamic modelling work requires a stepwise process. At various levels, data are required to ~upport the model development. Firstly, the data commonly available for these liquids should be obtained. These data may characterise the fluid in terms of major and minor components, elemental composition, molecular weight distribution, or relative concentrations of functional groups. For the trade in these fluids, these data are required anyway. A second source of data is the literature, where from many pure substances experimental thermodynamic data are available. As for substituted naphthalenes data were lacking, vapour pressure measurements 0 several substituted naphthalenes have been carried out. After verification of the capabilities of the equation of state with pure substances, binary mixture data were used in order to investigate the influence of empirical corrections on the performance of the equation of state. Furthermore, experimental work on binary systems provides useful information on the dependency of the vapour pressure on the composition of the mixture. The final stage of the model development is the regression of the coefficients of the equation of state to parameters that can be obtained for coal oils as well. This regression is carried out on a database of pure substance data, and then the regression formulae can be tested with experimental data on coal oils. In this work, an oil of the Point of Ayr facility and 7 of its fractions, each with a boiling range of about 30 K, have been used for this purpose.


Abstract Purpose: To investigate and to determine evidence of prognostic factors for return to work (RTW) after acquired brain injury (ABI). Method: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed (2008–2014), applying terms for ABI and RTW. In addition, studies published after 2003 of a previous review on the same topic were added. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed and evidence was classified. Results: Twenty-seven studies were included. There is strong evidence that a high education level is positively associated with RTW after traumatic ABI; a low education level, unemployment and length of stay in rehabilitation are negatively associated, and a clear tendency has been deduced from the studies that conscious state in the Emergency Department is not associated with RTW. After non-traumatic ABI, there is strong evidence that independence in activities of daily living is positively associated with RTW and aetiology of stroke is not. Conclusions: This study confirms earlier findings that after both traumatic and non-traumatic ABI injury related factors in the Emergency Department are not associated with RTW. In addition, it provides further evidence that personal factors after traumatic ABI and activity-related factors after non-traumatic ABI are strongly associated with RTW. Implications for Rehabilitation We found strong evidence for a significant association between RTW and personal factors (education level, unemployment) after traumatic ABI, and activities of daily living (ADL) after non-traumatic ABI. We advise to focus on work-related activities during the RTW process besides ADL-training and pay attention to and support patients at risk for not returning to work.


We propose a constraint-based causal feature selection method for identifying causes of a given target variable, selecting from a set of candidate variables, while there can also be hidden variables acting as common causes with the target. We prove that if we observe a cause for each candidate cause, then a single conditional independence test with one conditioning variable is sufficient to decide whether a candidate associated with the target is indeed causing it. We thus improve upon existing methods by significantly simplifying statistical testing and requiring a weaker version of causal faithfulness. Our main assumption is inspired by neuroscience paradigms where the activity of a single neuron is considered to be also caused by its own previous state. We demonstrate successful application of our method to simulated, as well as encephalographic data of twenty-one participants, recorded in Max Planck Institute for intelligent Systems. The detected causes of motor performance are in accordance with the latest consensus about the neurophysiological pathways, and can provide new insights into personalised brain stimulation.


: Protein present in phytoplankton represents a large fraction of the organic nitrogen and carbon transported from its synthesis in surface waters to marine sediments. Yet relatively little is known about the longevity of identifiable protein in situ , or the potential modifications to proteins that occur during bloom termination, protein recycling and degradation. To address this knowledge gap, diatom-dominated phytoplankton was collected during the Bering Sea spring blooms of 2009 and 2010, and incubated under darkness in separate shipboard degradation ex periments spanning 11 and 53 d, respectively. In each experiment, the protein distribution was monited over time using shotgun proteomics, along with total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAAs), total protein, particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PN), and bacterial cell abundance. Identifiable proteins, total protein and THAAs were rapidly lost during the first 5 d of enclosure in darkness in both incubations. Thereafter the loss rate was slower, and it declined further after 22 d. The initial loss of identifiable biosynthetic, glycolysis, metabolism and translation proteins after 12 h may represent shutdown of cellular activity among algal cells. Additional peptides with glycan modifications were identified in early incubation time points, suggesting that such protein modifications could be used as a marker for internal recycling processes and possibly cell death. Protein recycling was not uniform, with a subset of algal proteins including fucoxanthin chlorophyll binding proteins and Ru-BisCO identified after 53 d of degradation. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to compare the incubations with previous environmental results. The results confirmed recent observations that some fraction of algal proteins can survive water column recycling and undergo transport to marine sediments, thus contributing organic nitrogen to the benthos.


We present two novel tests of Wegner's (1994) theory of ironic processes of mental control using a hockey penalty-shooting task (Study 1) and a dart throwing task (Study 2). In Study 1 we aimed to address a significant limitation of ironic effects research in a performance setting by differentiating nonironic performance error from specifically ironic performance error. When instructed not to miss in a specific direction, anxious performers did so a significantly greater number of times; importantly, there was no difference in nonironic error, which provides the first specific support for Wegner's theory in a performance setting. In Study 2, we present the first examination of the precision of ironic errors. When anxious, participants performed not only more ironically but also performed more precisely in the to-be-avoided zone than when they were not anxious. We discuss the results in the context of the importance of specific instructions in coaching environments.


ABSTRACT This paper applies an intersectional lens to health in informal urban settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone. We explored how intersecting social characteristics including gender, age, wealth, occupation, and tenant status influence health and well-being outcomes. We found that hazardous environmental conditions, poor waste disposal, and waste burning contribute to health problems at a neighbourhood level. Health-care access was also generally poor in informal settlements. However, beyond this, there were differences in people's experiences of coping with health burdens and accessing care. Against a backdrop of limited state support, coping and access strategies were found to be heavily mediated by people's social positions and status, especially their ability to draw on support from social networks. There are particular challenges around the management of prolonged health problems. For population groups such as the old and the chronically ill, this creates further vulnerabilities including social isolation, stigma, and cycles of poverty. Although intersecting power dynamics apply to men too, women are particularly disadvantaged by coalescing social inequalities: they are both expected to perform caring roles but are less likely to be cared for. Young and old women were especially vulnerable and reliant on external support or self-sacrifice. This paper contributes to knowledge gaps in intersectional dynamics in urban settings and provides evidence that suggests policy shifts are needed to address the multiple social and health inequalities faced by women in informal settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone.


We consider a tic-tac-toe game played on the $d$-dimensional integer lattice. The game that we investigate is a Maker–Breaker version of tic-tac-toe. In a Maker–Breaker game, the first player, Maker, only tries to occupy a winning line and the second player, Breaker, only tries to stop Maker from occupying a winning line. We consider the bounded number of directions game, in which we designate a finite set of direction-vectors ${\cal S} \subset{\Bbb Z}^d$ which determine the set of winning lines. We show by a simple pairing strategy that Breaker can win this game if the length of each winning line is at least $3|{\cal S}|.$ It should be noted that Breaker's winning strategy can be used as a drawing strategy for Player 2 in the strong version of this game.


Background: The importance of physical activity for health is well documented in the literature: Reduced overall mortality, reduced risks of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and type 2 diabetes are just a few of the known positive effects. However, in Switzerland only 41.1% of adults adhere to the health-enhancing physical activity recommendations. Therefore, effective interventions are needed to increase physical activity levels. Two national interventions in Switzerland targeting adults are Allez Hop, a more traditional approach offering local physical activity courses once a week during a three-month period, and Active-online (www.active-online.ch), a Web-based individually tailored programme. Evaluation should play an important role in the development and implementation of health promotion programmes, however, there is no great tradition of evaluating physical activity interventions in Switzerland. Moreover, not much is known about the effectiveness of computer-tailored interventions when they are delivered in a real-life setting over the Internet. The overall goal of this PhD thesis was to evaluate Active-online in a formative and summative way, and to contrast these scientifically thorough approaches with more pragmatic evaluation approaches used to evaluate Allez Hop. Methods: A review of the literature was carried out regarding the effectiveness of computer-tailored interventions. For the summative evaluation, a randomised controlled trial (RCT) with 1531 volunteers was conducted over the Internet to assess the effectiveness of Active-online compared to a nontailored information website in a real-life setting. Information on physical activity levels was collected at baseline, and 6 weeks, 6 months and 13 months after baseline by self-report (using an online questionnaire) and objectively (using accelerometers in a subsample, N=133). In terms of formative evaluation, data on user characteristics and patterns of intervention use (adherence, attrition, and predictors of repeated intervention use) were analysed from 2003 to 2009 and compared between open access users and RCT participants. The different evaluation approaches used to evaluate Allez Hop during its implementation period (1997 to 2008) were summarised. The most recent step was the introduction of routine Allez Hop course evaluations using a semiautomated Web-based approach, providing a feedback report to course instructors. The feasibility of the Web-based tool was first tested in a pilot study and then in an open setting. The question of a population impact of Allez Hop was approached analysing data from a one sample pretest posttest evaluation survey carried out in course participants in 2005 and data from repeated cross-sectional representative population-based surveys. Results: The literature regarding the effectiveness of Web-based tailored physical activity interventions was scarce. The few existing studies were mostly carried out in a controlled setting. Evidence on the efficacy in these controlled studies was equivocal. According to our RCT, Active-online was not more effective in increasing self-reported physical activity levels compared to the nontailored website, and the self-reported increases observed in all groups were not supported by accelerometer data. Analysis of user data revealed that the individual use of Active-online was low in RCT participants but also in open access users. Regarding Allez Hop, several evaluations were conducted on different levels (course participants, instructors, partners, stakeholders, population) between 1997 and 2008. More than 18 000 courses were realised attracting around 200 000 participants over a decade. Around 90% of course participants were women with a mean age of just under 50 years. The programme has succeeded in reaching a high proportion of insufficiently active individuals (around 70% in 2005) and has reached a high degree of acceptance and appreciation both in participants and in the general population. The Web-based routine course evaluation tool proved to be feasible. Evidence on the effectiveness of Allez Hop based on repeated data assessments in course participants in 2005 was limited due to methodological problems. However, changes in physical activity at the population level between 1997 and 2007, especially in the main user group of Allez Hop (middle-aged women), and large increases in the proportion of individuals regularly walking (one of the main course disciplines), indicated a potential "Allez Hop effect". Conclusions: Active-online and Allez Hop are among the best-evaluated national physical activity promotion programmes in Switzerland. Even though the programmes and the evaluation approaches differ, both evaluations have contributed valuable information for the development and optimisation of the programmes. Our RCT was one of the first studies which assessed the effectiveness of an intervention like Active-online in a real-life setting using a minimal contact strategy, open access online delivery of the intervention, and online assessment of baseline and follow-up data. The findings from these evaluation studies highlight the potential and the limitations of Web-based physical activity interventions. Approaches used in the evaluation of Allez Hop, which started as an implementation and not as a research project, may be described as pragmatic. The evaluation of population-based public health programmes is associated with specific methodological challenges, and thorough designs like RCTs are mostly not feasible. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to use other approaches for the evaluation of such programmes, and it is recommended that evaluation should be an integral part of future physical activity promotion projects in Switzerland both during development and implementation.


A Randomized Controlled Trial to Study the Effects of Breakfast on Energy Intake, Physical Activity, and Body Fat in Women Gabrielle Marie LeCheminant Department of Exercise Sciences, BYU Master of Science PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of eating breakfast on energy intake, physical activity, body weight, and body fat in women who were nonhabitual breakfast eaters over a one-month period. METHODS: We tested 49 premenopausal, nonhabitual breakfast-eating women to compare the effects of eating breakfast versus not eating breakfast. Each participant was randomized to one of two conditions: breakfast or no breakfast. Breakfast eaters were required to eat within an hour and a half of awakening and had to be finished eating their breakfast meal by 8:30 A.M. Non-breakfast eaters were defined as not consuming a snack or meal (with the exception of water) until after 11:30 A.M. Participants assigned to the breakfast condition consumed at least 15% of their daily energy requirement for breakfast. Weight and body fat were assessed at the baseline and after one month of intervention. Body fat was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Participants completed seven 24hour recalls to assess dietary intake during the intervention. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry for 32 consecutive days. RESULTS: On average, the participants randomized to eat breakfast consumed 266 ± 496 (F = 12.81; P = 0.0043) more calories per day over the course of the study and weighed 0.6 ± 0.81 kg (F = 7.81; p = 0.0076) more at the end of the intervention. There was no observed caloric compensation at subsequent meals and no change in self-reported hunger or satiety. There was also no physical activity compensation with the addition of breakfast. CONCLUSION: The findings of our study showed that requiring nonbreakfast eaters to eat breakfast resulted in higher caloric intake and weight gain. Future research should evaluate this relationship for a longer period of time to see if adding breakfast to the diet of women who generally do not eat breakfast results in adaptive behavior change over time.


How do countries hold their financial wealth? We construct a new database of countries' claims on capital located at home and abroad, and international borrowing and lending, covering 68 countries from 1966 to 1997. We find that a small amount of capital flows from rich countries to poor countries. Countries' foreign asset positions are remarkably persistent, and mostly take the form of foreign loans rather than foreign equity. To interpret these facts, we build a simple model of international capital flows that highlights the interplay between diminishing returns, production risk and sovereign risk. We show that in the presence of reasonable diminishing returns and production risk, the probability that international crises occur twice a century is enough to generate a set of country portfolios that are roughly consistent with the data.


The performance of methylammonium
lead triiodide (CH3NH3PbI3) based solar cells
depends on its crystallization and controlled microstructure. In spite of its
high performance, long-term stability is a paramount factor towards its large
area fabrication and potential industrialization. Herein, we have employed poly(vinylidene
fluoride−trifluoro ethylene) P(VDF-TrFE)
as an additive into a low concentration based perovskite precursor solutions to
control the crystallinity and microstructure. Perovskite layers of lower
thickness can be derived from low precursor concentration, however it often
suffers from severe voids and roughness. Introducing judicious quantities of
P(VDF-TrFE) can improve the surface coverage, smoothness as well as reduces the
grain boundaries in the perovskite. An array of characterization techniques
were utilized to probe the structural, microstructural and spectroscopic
properties. Impedance spectra suggests, the P(VDF-TrFE) can improve the carrier
lifetimes and reduce the charge transfer resistance, which in turn allows to improve
photovoltaic performance. For an optimized concentration of P(VDF-TrFE), the
fabricated semi-transparent solar cells yielded power conversion efficiency in
excess of 10%, which supersede pristine devices along with improved stability.
The device architect and the fabrication technique provide an effective route to
fabricate cost effective and visible-light-semi-transparent perovskite solar
cells.


This book is a collection of research and concept papers developed as a result of the Games and Innovation (GaIn) and Games Industry Innovation Processes (GIIP) research projects. The GaIn research project (January 2009-March 2011) was designed to study game industry design, innovation practices, and playful innovation. Understanding creativity as a domain-specific phenomenon, the objective for GaIn was to map the domain of game design as an organic practice with specific formal restrictions in order to create methodologies and tools for generating, refining, evaluating, and managing game ideas in a systematic manner. The GIIP project (March 2010-March 2011) studied the innovation processes of Finnish game companies and supplemented the research goals of GaIn. These two projects have provided answers to many of our initial research questions, as well as initiated several new directions for future research.The project was divided into several different mini-studies, where rich data was gathered by combining traditional and experimental research methodologies. We conducted several interview studies and surveys, utilized drawing exercises and protocol study approaches, wrote literature reviews, organized game design workshops and events such as game jams, and engaged in our own design processes. The results presented here are a valuable contribution to game design theory, and provide our commentary on the topics of idea generation, innovation, design, and management within the game industry. An especially important part of the project has been to provide concepts and prototypes of tools, which contribute to the present design practices. TRIM Research Notes No. 4


From 1990-2010, project sponsors from the Republic of Korea implemented nineteen infrastructure projects in low and middle income countries with investment commitments totaling US$4.9 billion. Investment during all periods except 2001-2005 was dominated by the energy sector (US$4 billion), followed by the telecom sector (US$0.9 billion). Korean investment was spread across five regions; it was heavily concentrated in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) region with 78 percent or total investment. This investment lacked a single country focus.


A major new report 'Future Proofing Cities' has been published by Atkins in a unique partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID) and University College London (UCL). This report assesses the risks to cities from climate hazards, resource scarcities, and damage to ecosystems and how they can act now to future proof themselves. Covering 129 cities totalling 350 million people in 20 countries, this report identifies practical measures that cities can take to now manage these future risks. Around 75% of the world's population will live in cities within 40 years. Almost all of this population growth will happen in the developing world, with 4.6 billion people projected to live in already rapidly growing cities. How will these cities in the developing world cope socially, environmentally and economically with such accelerated urbanisation? Future Proofing Cities assesses the risks from mega cities like Bangkok to smaller cities such as Zaria in Africa. It looks at their risk profile from climate hazards, resource scarcities, and damage to ecosystems and urges action now to future proof against these risks. This report provides a fresh approach to the urgent issues arising from rapid urbanisation. It assesses the environmental risks facing cities in an integrated way and identifies more than 100 practical policy options that are most relevant and will be of most benefit to people living in different types of cities. The report is set against a growing awareness of the need for increased funding for infrastructure development in developing countries at the city level.


AIM
This paper is a report of a study of nurses' perception towards the role of pharmacist in Pakistan healthcare setup.

BACKGROUND
Collaborative care by the healthcare professionals has the potential to improve patient care, enhance patient safety and to reduce workload issues that cause burn out among healthcare professionals.

DESIGN
A quantitative (cross-sectional) study design was adopted.

METHOD
A sample of 458 nurses was selected from government hospitals of three cities of Punjab, Pakistan. The study took place from 10 January 2009 to 15 March 2009.

RESULTS
Two hundred and sixty-six questionnaires were returned, giving the response rate of (58·07%). Three-fifths of the nurses reported that they had once a day interaction with the pharmacist. Seven-tenths of the nurses expected the pharmacist to take personal responsibility for resolving any drug-related problems. Moreover they appear to have high expectations of the pharmacist, almost nine-tenths regarded pharmacists as knowledgeable drug therapy experts, and almost two-thirds of the nurses emphasized on counselling of patient by the pharmacist.

CONCLUSION
Nurses in Pakistan showed negative perception towards the role of pharmacist in healthcare setting. Although nurses considered pharmacist as a drug information expert but their expectation did not match their experience. A possible factor for this behaviour could be due to nurses' belief that incorporating the role of pharmacist in patient care, may decrease their worth and can result in intrusion into their duties.


Nitrogenase is the only enzyme known to catalyze the reduction of N2 to 2NH3. In vivo, the MoFe protein component of nitrogenase is exclusively reduced by the ATP-hydrolyzing Fe protein in a series of transient association/dissociation steps that are linked to the hydrolysis of two ATP for each electron transferred. We report MoFe protein immobilized at an electrode surface, where cobaltocene (as an electron mediator that can be observed in real time at a carbon electrode) is used to reduce the MoFe protein (independent of the Fe protein and of ATP hydrolysis) and support the bioelectrocatalytic reduction of protons to dihydrogen, azide to ammonia, and nitrite to ammonia. Bulk bioelectrosynthetic N3− or NO2− reduction (50 mM) for 30 minutes yielded 70 ± 9 nmol NH3 and 234 ± 62 nmol NH3, with NO2− reduction operating at high faradaic efficiency.


Artificial Intelligence (AI) has received tremendous attention from academia, industry, and the general public in recent years. The integration of geography and AI, or GeoAI, provides novel approaches for addressing a variety of problems in the natural environment and our human society. This entry briefly reviews the recent development of AI with a focus on machine learning and deep learning approaches. We discuss the integration of AI with geography and particularly geographic information science, and present a number of GeoAI applications and possible future directions.


The aim of this study is to investigate how the blood pressure (BP) circadian rhythm (CR) is influenced by life style. Two groups of subjects were recruited from Nepal and Japan because of the extremely different occupational routines of these countries. The Nepalese represent a rural culture, while the Japanese reflect an industrialized civilization. Both the ethnic groups have in common a high dietary sodium intake. The BP monitoring was estimated according to chronobiological methods. Results provide evidence for a phase difference in BP CR which is coherent with the life style in the two groups. Furthermore, the estimates demonstrate that the Japanese show a higher level in daily BP which is related to the greater number of hours in which they are active. These findings may be taken into account for better deciphering of what is the role of life style on BP physiology in human beings.


With the death of Arthur Kornberg on 26 October 2007, one of the giants of twentieth-century biochemistry was lost. Arthur Kornberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 3 March 1918. The son of Joseph and Lena Kornberg, both Eastern European immigrants, he grew up in Brooklyn and attended the City College of New York (CCNY), which was then—and still is—tuition free, and can count several Nobel laureates among its graduates.


Today there are numerous tools for decision analysis that run on ordinary PCs, designed primarily for use by human decision-makers. However, not only humans make decisions. Intelligent agents are also faced with decision problems. In this paper we investigate if any of the computerized tools for decision analysis are useful for artificial decision-makers. Special attention is given to real-time domains, which require high performance tools.


This paper discusses the dispute between consensus-oriented communicative planning theorists and dissensus-oriented agonist planning theorists. The paper starts from the observation that a number of advocates of agonism have followed the so-called "aesthetic turn" in political thought. They have emphasised, in particular, the politically progressive potential of the mode of reason that Kant introduced in his aesthetics, a mode that deviates from the Kantian theoretical and practical modes of reason, and one that has generally been marginalised in modern societies. While the proponents of agonism wish to make use of this mode of reason when attempting to challenge hegemonic projects and give voice to marginalised groups in society, Habermas has been generally taken to be one of those philosophers who marginalize the aesthetic mode of reason. Yet, also Habermas has found inspiration from Kant's aesthetics, including the notions of consensus and sensus communis. Hence, the paper revisits Kantian aesthetics to search for a common ground between Habermasian and agonist views of politics and planning. It ends up arguing that the notions of consensus and dissensus do not stand for mutually exclusive orientations in planning, but both of these orientations have their places in planning systems and practices. The paper takes a look at some recent case studies that have charted potential places for productive agonist confrontations in the British development control based planning system. Having done so, the paper ends with some suggestions as to where would be the appropriate places for respective approaches in the context of Finnish planning.


BACKGROUND
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recognized as the prevailing standard of care for patients with chronic respiratory conditions. National surveys of PR programs provide important information regarding the structure, content and organization of these programs.

OBJECTIVE
To conduct a national survey to characterize adult PR across Canada, in terms of program distribution, utilization, content and outcome measures.

METHODS
A cross-sectional descriptive study in which questionnaires were mailed to PR programs connected with hospitals or identified through the Canadian Lung Association was performed.

RESULTS
Of the 98 PR programs identified, over 90% of patients in the programs had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 57% of the programs were outpatient. Inpatient programs accounted for only 10% of the total. The main program components included supervised lower extremity strength (77%), cycle (72%) and treadmill (70%) training, education (75%) and breathing retraining (68%). Over 80% of patients completed their programs and 90% of patients were enrolled in a follow-up component. Physical therapists, dieticians, respiratory therapists and respirologists were the most commonly identified health care providers. The most commonly used outcome measures were the 6 min walk test and disease-specific quality of life questionnaires.

CONCLUSION
There were similarities in program format, content, staffing, follow-up and funding among Canadian PR programs. The marked shortfall between the national PR capacity and the prevalence of COPD meant that only 1.2% of the COPD population had access to PR.


Abstract. First- and higher order-generation products formed from the oxidation of isoprene and methacrolein with OH radicals in the presence of NOx have been studied in a simulation chamber. Significant oxidation rates have been maintained for up to 7 h, allowing the study of highly oxidized products. Gas-phase product distribution and yields were obtained, and show good agreement with previous studies. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation has also been investigated. SOA mass yields from previous studies show large discrepancies. The mass yields obtained here were consistent with the lowest values found in the literature, and more specifically in agreement with studies carried out with natural light or artificial lamps with emission similar to the solar spectrum. Differences in light source are therefore proposed to explain partially the discrepancies observed between different studies in the literature for both isoprene- and methacrolein-SOA mass yields. There is a high degree of similarity between the SOA mass spectra from isoprene and methacrolein photooxidation, thus strengthening the importance of the role of methacrolein in SOA formation from isoprene photooxidation under our experimental conditions (i.e., presence of NOx and long term oxidation). According to our results, SOA mass yields from both isoprene and methacrolein in the atmosphere could be lower than suggested by most of the current chamber studies.


Progressive discordances in the pre-Neogene deposits of Famatina (Del Crestón Formation) of La Rioja, Argentina, and their implication for the evolution of the Andean foreland. A set of progressive unconformities in the synorogenic deposits of the Del Crestón Formation that underlie the Angulos Group (Neogene), Central Famatina (La Rioja), are described and analysed. More than 1000 m of relatively proximal alluvial fan strata are strongly fanned forming rotational intraformational unconformities. The strata fan more than 80o, between an overturned domain dipping 60° W and a normal domain dipping 45° E. Six dip domains were determined separated by angular unconformities. The progressive unconformities are developed between the El Crestón Syncline and the Los Colorados anticline for over 15 km. The plane 102o/80o SW that contains all the poles to bedding of rotated strata allows inference of a 13o/10o rotation axis, which approximately parallels the Los Colorados anticline axis, suggesting that its formation was coeval with the development of the anticline. The general pattern of the progressive unconformities is comparable to rotational offlap, providing evidence of formation under accelerated uplifting. Both facies associations and progressive unconformities indicate their position in the proximal foredeep depozone, adjacent to the front of the thrust belt. This is the first documentation of these kinds of stratigraphical relationships in the Famatina Range and allows us to infer an Andean-related deformation previous to 6.9 Ma.


. Lipase is one of the most important hydrolytic enzymes widely used in various commercial activities such as food, dairy, pharmaceutical and detergent inducteries. In this experiment, Taguchi method was attempted as a powerful method to optimize the factors affecting enzyme production and to investigate the interactions among these factors and their optimum combination in Salinivibrio sp. SA2. The optimum conditions for pH, temperature, shaker's rpm, olive oil concentration and salt type turned out to be 8, 35 °C, 100 rpm, 2% and sodium chloride 1 M, respectively. Significant factors influencing on the lipase production proved to be pH, agitation and Salt type. The maximum lipase activity in optimum condition and at the 5% significance level ( p < 0.05) was 120.4 U/mg.


The shift of much of political life on to the Internet and Web has implications for 'what we know' about political behaviour, requiring a re-evaluation of some of the micro-foundations of political science. Web-based experiments are an under-explored methodology to identify and investigate these Internet effects. This paper reports on one such experiment, which was used to explore how one particular characteristic of the Internet – the ability to feed real-time information about the preferences and behaviour of others back to an individual user – can affect people's incentives to act collectively and to organise around public goods. Collective action has been a key puzzle of political science since the 1960s. In The Logic of Collective Action, Mancur Olson (1965) put forward a thesis of when individuals can be incentivized to act collectively. He argued that, when organising around collective goods, 'small groups are more efficient and viable than large ones' and that if they are not, they need to be able to coerce their members or provide selective incentives to contributors. Generations of social scientists have worried over the implications of Olson's argument, which skews the influence of interest groups, limiting the ability of large groups to represent their interests. More recently, studies have suggested that larger groups may actually find it easier to form, as their size makes it more likely they will be able to attain a 'critical mass' of activists who organise around public goods (Marwell and Oliver, Critical Mass in Collective Action 1993), and that the costs of collective action around many public goods vary little with group size, due to 'jointness of supply'. In these cases free-riding is unlikely to be problematic, larger groups are just as likely to exhibit collective action as smaller ones, and indeed under some conditions more likely, as they are more likely to be able to assemble a 'critical mass' of activists. This paper reports a large-scale quasi-field experiment to test empirically how certain aspects of internet-based communication affect collective action decisions. Specifically, it examines the effect of providing internet users with real-time information about other people's participatory actions and preferences. Our hypothesis is that information about how many other people have undertaken a participatory activity (such as donating money to a cause or signing a petition) will affect people's decisions about whether to incur costs themselves in the pursuit of collective action. We also hypothesise that information about different levels of other signatories will have differential effects, building on the work of both Olson and Marwell and Oliver. That is, where very low numbers of people have signed a petition, the information could have a negative impact on one individual's propensity to sign, as they will consider it a hopeless cause – or it could have a positive effect, as any one individual will feel that their action will make a significant difference. Where very high numbers of people have signed, the information could have a positive impact, generating excitement, social pressure and a feeling that they can be part of change – or it could act negatively, making people feel that so many other people are acting that their contribution would be insignificant. An initial pilot experiment conducted at OxLab, the University of Oxford's experimental facility, identified one issue (out of six) where subjects were more likely to sign a petition or donate money to a cause if they received information that many other people had signed than if they received no information, providing some evidence that 'critical mass' where the information makes a difference is 1 million. Across the six petitions there was a positive correlation with the number of other people signing (when numbers were high) and the likelihood of an individual signing. But subject numbers were too small to come to firm conclusions about the distribution of effects on people's likelihood to participate. In this larger study, we test more fully the hypotheses, using a larger subject pool of 700 participants who participated remotely. They were presented with a screen which asked them to examine a number of issues and then asked to (a) express their willingness to sign a petition supporting the issue and (b) donate a small amount of their participation fee to supporting the issue. They were divided into four groups which, for each petition, differed according to the information they received: a control group, who received no information about other people signing; a group who were told that very large numbers of people (> 1 million) had signed the petitions; a group who were told that medium numbers of people (>100, < 1 million) had signed; and a group who were told that very low numbers of people (< 100) had signed. Initial analysis of the data suggests that large numbers have statistically significant effects. The findings of this experiment provide a methodological pointer for future studies in Web Science. While Internet research abounds with claims that the Internet enhances political participation, empirical evidence is scarce. Experiments of this kind could be a fruitful way to establish specific Internet effects in political science, as they have in public policy to show how the changed information environment provided by the internet affects citizen-government interactions (see Escher and Margetts, 2007; Dunleavy et al, 2007). The WWW itself provides fertile ground for natural versions of these experiments (see Salganik and Dodds, 2006, for an experimental analysis of cultural markets) to further examine the phenomena discussed here, as well as other aspects of political behaviour on-line. References Dunleavy, P. Margetts, H. Bastow, S. Pearce, O. and Tinkler, J. (2007) Government on the internet: progress in delivering information and services online, Value for Money Study by the UK National Audit Office (London: The Stationary Office) HC 529 13 July. Escher, T. And Margetts, H. (2007), 'Understanding Governments and Citizens On-Line: Learning from E-Commerce', Paper presented to the Annual Conference of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, 31st August 2007 Marwell, G. and Oliver, P. (1993), The Critical Mass in Collective Action Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Olson, M. (1965), The Logic of Collective Action Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Salganik, M. J., P. S. Dodds, et al. (2006). "Experimental Study of Inequality and Unpredictability in an Artificial Cultural Market." Science 311(5762): 854-856.


The commercial property sector has a big impact on economic, social, and sustainable aspects of European market. The factors, eg. globalisation of businesses, general economic performance including financial stability, investment environment, banks' lending conditions, supply and demand, influence property market, especially comercial property, fluctations. According to the European Systematic Risk Board's report on commercial property and financial stability, commercial property markets tend to be significantly more cyclical than residential property markets" (ESRB, 2015). Some EU countries control the property market fluctuations less or more through various policies only applicable at national level. However, there is a need to recognise these policies and apply best practices across all European countries in order to avoid financial loses and provide sustainable investment environment for businesses.The research aims were to analyse the fluctuations of commercial property markets in the selected European countries, eg. the UK, Germany, France and Sweden and to discuss the factors, which impact on commercial property market booms and busts. The research aims have been achieved through a critical analysis of literature and a support of statistical analysis.The reviewed literature and analyses of the property investment environment in the Europe shows that some countries have a good practise to manage the property market fluctuations. The study concludes that the built environment life depends on rationality of the fluctuation. This life can have a lot of alternative ways. These ways of the built environment life are enabling to find an optimal combination of variants for the sustainable built environment. Property market performance is the important element of any national economy and many important regulatory points depends on countries governments.


Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia anyone can edit, is a live social experiment: millions of individuals volunteer their knowledge and time to collective create it. It is hence interesting trying to understand how they do it. While most of the scholar attention focused on article pages, a less investigated share of activities happen on user talk pages, Wikipedia pages where a message can be left for the specific user. This public conversations can be studied from a Social Network Analysis perspective in order to highlight the structure of the "talk" network. In this paper we focus on this preliminary extraction step by proposing different algorithms. We then empirically validate the differences in the networks they generate on the Venetian Wikipedia with the real network of conversations extracted manually by coding every message left on all user talk pages. The comparisons show that both the algorithms and the manual process contain inaccuracies that are intrinsic in the freedom and unpredictability of Wikipedia syntax and practices. Nevertheless, a precise description of the involved issues allows to make informed decisions and to base empirical findings on reproducible evidence. Our goal is to lay the foundation for a solid computational sociology of wikis. For this reason we release the scripts encoding our algorithms as open source and also some datasets extracted out of Wikipedia conversations, in order to let other researchers replicate and improve our initial effort.


Wind tunnel models do not have complete similarity to the full scale airplane. Part of the dissimilarity is due to the difference between the stationary model in the artificial wind stream of the tunnel and the moving airplane in still air. There are a number of other reasons for departing from exact geometrical similitude. For reasons of accuracy and economy, all minor parts of the full scale airplane, such as struts, wires, fittings, control horns and other parts whose scale corrections are large are removed from wind tunnel models. By omitting the minor parts of the airplane in the wind tunnel model and adding to the forces and moments of the model those omitted parts measured full scale and properly reduced, the scale effects of such parts disappear from the model data. Scale effects due to major parts of the airplane, particularly the fuselage and wings, can be corrected by omitting the propeller and making the surface of the model as smooth as possible, two further departures from geometrical similitude between model and full scale that add considerably to the accuracy and economy of model tests.


Although globalization as a phenomenon is perceived in everyday life as an economic process, it is strongly connected with culture, knowledge, communication and mediated information, forcing today's societies to face novel communicative challenges while trying to maintain stability. For post-crisis societies, these challenges represent a new level of complexity to overcome. Many regions in the world still face conflicts and crises and will eventually face similar situations regarding their communication, media and culture. This paper uses data from two empiric studies made in post-crisis societies (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo; studies in Santos 2010 and Shahini-Hoxhaj 2014) and analyses them through the perspective of cultural science, social systems theory, and systems thinking to answer the question: What kind of system dynamics can be helpful to generate knowledge, assuming the interactive use of media and global connection, and how can media education be an active support for the self-organization of a community in a transitional process? The societies in question are not only moving away from dictatorship, but they are also moving towards democracy, and the media as means of communication are contributing to this process. From the point of view of cultural science, the media are no longer just the producer of content for recipients. Media is the venue, the place where information, values and structures can be exchanged and discussed. Recipients and producers of information are now one and the same.


The aim of this current research is to investigate teachers' perceptions of the purpose and impact of chemistry/science outreach work. Considering views of educators, both in training and practice, is an important area to explore as teachers are the gatekeepers to these experiences and consciously or subconsciously have their own views about the value of these programmes. In addition, the teacher can influence a child's view of their scientific ability which can potentially inform an individual's decisions and perceptions regarding science as a career. It is necessary for a teacher to be aware of their pivotal role within the classroom and how their own 'habitus' may have an impact on those whom they teach. This pilot study was an illustrative exercise to analyse a small sample of data and provide a focus for a subsequent main data collection where the level of response will be much higher. The study sought to answer the following question; what do teachers in the North-West of England think about chemistry based outreach programmes, especially in the context of children's social demography? However, no 'conclusions' or generalisations are derived from this small sample itself, only emerging themes are discussed. These themes highlight how teachers may perceive chemistry/science outreach to be of greater importance the higher the educational level and how these programmes may provide experiences and opportunities for students from a lower socio-economic background.


The elemental composition of solids can be determined rapidly and simply with the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). This method, described in detail elsewhere, uses powerful laser pulses to form a microplasma or spark on a sample. A small amount of material is vaporized, and emitting species in the plasma are identified by spectrally and temporally resolving the spark light. Although LIBS measurements can be performed remotely on solids at distances up to 24 m from the laser and detection system with a long-focal-length lens, this method has some disadvantages including safety (the possibility of ocular damage by the high-energy laser pulses), need for a clear line of sight to the analysis area, scattering of incident pulse energy by dusts or fogs, and problems associated with precise focusing of laser beams at long distances. In particular, the plasma will preferentially form on dust particles in front of the sample because of the long Rayleigh length of the focused beam.


Objective. To determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the Micral-Test in determination of microalbuminuria (MA). Methods. Eighty children aged 5 - 15 years with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) (HbSS) in a steady state attending the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital were recruited. The subjects were age-, sex- and social-class-matched with controls of genotype AA (HbAA). This prospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study lasted for 3 months, between October and December 2009. Morning random spot urine was used to assess the Micral-Test and the albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR). The performance of the Micral-Test was determined using the ACR as the gold standard. Result. The sensitivity and specificity of the Micral-Test were 84.6% and 81.0%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 86.6%, respectively, in children 10 years old. The positive predictive value was 28.2% and the negative predictive value was 98% among the study subjects. Conclusion. The sensitivity and specificity of the Micral-Test make it a good screening tool to detect MA in children with SCA. The Micral- Test is cheaper than quantitative measurement of ACR. Patients with a single positive Micral-Test should be followed up with two more Micral-Tests over a 3-month period to confirm persistent MA.


Search-based placement methods have long been used for placing integrated circuits targeting the field programmable gate array (FPGA) and standard cell design styles. Such methods offer the potential for high-quality solutions but often come at the cost of long run-times compared to alternative methods. This dissertation examines strategies for enhancing local search heuristics—and in particular, simulated annealing—through the application of directed moves. These moves help to guide a search-based optimizer by focusing efforts on states which are most likely to yield productive improvement, effectively pruning the size of the search space. The engineering theory and implementation details of directed moves are discussed in the context of both field programmable gate array and standard cell designs. This work explores the ways in which such moves can be used to improve the quality of FPGA placements, improve the robustness of floorplan repair and legalization methods for mixed-size standard cell designs, and enhance the quality of detailed placement for standard cell circuits. The analysis presented herein confirms the validity and efficacy of directed moves, and supports the use of such heuristics within various optimization frameworks.


BJC HealthCare is one of the largest nonprofit health-care organizations in the United States, delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and midMissouri regions. With net revenue of $2.6 billion, BJC HealthCare serves urban, suburban and rural communities and includes fourteen (14) hospitals and multiple community health locations. Services include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice.


A detailed nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman study of GexSe1−x glasses indicate that the glass structure is composed of intertwined microdomains of GeSe2 and Sen. Static nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of glasses ranging from 0≤x≤1/3 reveal the absence of Ge-Se-Se fragments in the structure. High temperature nuclear magnetic resonance showing considerable line narrowing confirms this observation. More importantly, the fraction of Se-Se-Se obtained by integration of nuclear magnetic resonance lines matches closely the percentage predicted for a bimodal phase model and is not consistent with the existence of Ge-Se-Se fragments. Raman spectra collected on the same glass also confirm the existence of GeSe2 domains up to high selenium concentrations. The mobility of the Sen phase observed at high temperature while the GeSe2 phase remains rigid is consistent with their respective underconstrained and overconstrained structural nature. The proposed bimodal phase percolation model is consistent with the original Phillips and Thorpe theory however it is clearly at odds with the intermediate phase model which predicts large amounts of Ge-Se-Se fragments in the structure. A calorimetric study performed over a wide range of cooling/heating rates shows a narrow composition dependence centered at ⟨r⟩=2.4 in contrast with the wide reversibility window observed by Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry. This suggests that the observation of the reversibility window associated with the intermediate phase in Ge-Se glasses could be an experimental artifact resulting from the use of a single modulation frequency.


Future Tense, one of the revolving features on this page, presents stories and essays from the intersection of computational science and technological speculation, their boundaries limited only by our ability to imagine what will and could be. Or how to lose a billion in your spare time…


Purpose
One of the key drivers behind the recent growth in the global solar energy market is the decline in solar module prices. Many empirical analyses have been carried out to identify the mechanism behind this price reduction. However, studies on the price reduction mechanism of solar modules over the years have focused purely on the technological aspect of manufacturing. The purpose of this study is to consider the influence of economic and monetary factors such as the interest rate and exchange rate on solar module pricing in addition to other factors that considered in earlier studies including technology, wage rate and other energy prices.

Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, an oligopolistic model and econometric method are used to determine the economic factors that have an influence on solar module prices. The paper constructs a solar module pricing model and conducts a fully modified ordinary least squares analysis to estimate the influence of each factor. Analysis is conducted for the top five solar module producing countries in the world from 1997 to 2015. The five countries are the People's Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the USA.

Findings
Empirical analysis provides several findings concerning the solar module pricing mechanism. These vary for each country. However, generally the interest rate has a positive correlation with solar module prices, while the exchange rate, knowledge stock and oil price have a negative correlation with solar module prices.

Practical implications
First, the government must expand channels for renewable energy funding. As renewable industries are high-tech, the influence that capital cost has on technology price is significant. Government efforts to provide industries with low-interest finance will accelerate renewable business. There have been many attempts to lower interest rates for renewable energy technology to accelerate growth in the green technology market. Second, the government must expand research and development (R&D) expenditures focused on renewable energy technology. The technological advancements acquired through R&D enhance module performance efficiency, thereby reducing costs. Therefore, government policies aimed at increasing targeted R&D expenditure will be an effective means of expanding the installation of renewable energies.

Originality/value
Studies on the price reduction mechanism of solar modules over the years have focused purely on the technological aspect of the manufacturing. This is the first research to bring economic, monetary and technological factors of solar module pricing together.


Despite the rapid commercialization of III-nitride semiconductor devices for applications in visible and ultra- violet optoelectronics and in high-power and high-frequency electronics, their full potential is limited by two primary obstacles: i) a high defect density and biaxial strain due to the heteroepitaxial growth on foreign substrates, which result in lower performance and shortened device lifetime, and ii) a strong built-in electric field due to spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization in the wurtzite structures along the well-established (0001) growth direction for nitrides. Recent advances in the research, development, and commercial production of native GaN substrates with low defect density and high structural and optical quality have opened opportu- nities to overcome both of these obstacles and have led to significant progress in the development of several opto- electronic and high-power devices. In this paper, the recent achievements in bulk GaN growth development using different approaches are reviewed; comparison of the bulk materials grown in different directions is made; and the current achievements in device performance utilizing native GaN sub- strate material are summarized.


This paper suggests an approach to conceptualize problems of unsustainability situations by embedding the Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) scheme within a system of jurisdictional levels represented by Torsten Hagerstrand's system of nested domains. Taken together these frameworks offer one way to decipher complex situations at different levels by identifying specific problem areas, their associated driving forces, actors, discover where problem-solving attempts are occurring, and where applicable, spot where contradictions and/or disconnects may lie (e.g. conflicting policy goals, policy gaps, technological deficiencies). To illustrate the scheme the case of the multiple problems associated with the sugar production system in Sweden is used. The result is a representation of the important driving forces at a number of levels and better insights as to where contradictions, scalar disconnects within the system lie. (Less)


Recent studies have shown limited utility of routine surveillance imaging for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients achieving remission. Detection of molecular disease by immunoglobulin high-throughput sequencing (Ig-HTS) from peripheral blood provides an alternate strategy for surveillance. We prospectively evaluated the utility of Ig-HTS within 311 blood and 105 tumor samples from 75 patients with DLBCL, comparing Ig-HTS from the cellular (circulating leukocytes) and acellular (plasma cell-free DNA) compartments of peripheral blood to clinical outcomes and (18)fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (PET/CT; n = 173). Clonotypic immunoglobulin rearrangements were detected in 83% of patients with adequate tumor samples to enable subsequent monitoring in peripheral blood. Molecular disease measured from plasma, compared with circulating leukocytes, was more abundant and better correlated with radiographic disease burden. Before treatment, molecular disease was detected in the plasma of 82% of patients compared with 71% in circulating cells (P = .68). However, molecular disease was detected significantly more frequently in the plasma at time of relapse (100% vs 30%; P = .001). Detection of molecular disease in the plasma often preceded PET/CT detection of relapse in patients initially achieving remission. During surveillance time points before relapse, plasma Ig-HTS demonstrated improved specificity (100% vs 56%, P < .0001) and similar sensitivity (31% vs 55%, P = .4) compared with PET/CT. Given its high specificity, Ig-HTS from plasma has potential clinical utility for surveillance after complete remission.


A novel method was used to investigate the population structure and dispersal patterns
of Octopus maorum, an octopus species with a planktonic larval stage, which forms a distinct and
large aggregation in southeast Tasmania. Single and multi-elemental signatures within the 'early life
history' region of the stylet (an internal 'shell') were used to determine levels of connectivity and the
common origins of individuals collected from 5 locations across Tasmania, South Australia and New
Zealand. Using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA ICPMS) the stylets
were analysed for 12 elements, 8 of which were found to be excellent spatial discriminators. There
was evidence of population structuring within the O. maorum population, with a distinct separation
of the aggregation site in southeast Tasmania from other groups. Octopuses from the aggregation
shared a common origin and appeared to be coming from a local neighbouring source. The 2 northern
sample locations shared a similar elemental signature, which could be due to either similar water
chemistries or long-distance dispersal. This study presents the first insights into the population structure
of O. maorum, and provides vital information for the sustainable management of this species.
Furthermore, this technique will have direct application to other more heavily fished octopus species
around the world.


The morphology of two new bivalved arthropods, Loricicaris spinocaudatus gen. et sp. nov. and Nereocaris briggsi sp. nov. from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Burgess Shale Formation (Collins Quarry locality on Mount Stephen, Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada), is described. The material was originally assigned to the genus Branchiocaris, but exhibits distinctive character combinations meriting its assignment to other taxa. Loricicaris spinocaudatus possesses an elongate and spinose abdomen comparable to the contemporaneous Perspicaris and Canadaspis, as well as chelate second head appendages and subtriangular exopods, comparable to Branchiocaris. Nereocaris briggsi possesses a laterally compressed carapace, elongate and delicate appendages and a medial eye located between a pair of lateral eyes on a rhomboidal eye stalk. Although undoubtedly congeneric with Nereocaris exilis from a slightly younger horizon of the Burgess Shale Formation, N. briggsi differs in overall proportions and segment number, warranting assignment to a new species. The newly described taxa were coded into an extensive cladistic analysis of 755 characters, and 312 extinct and extant panarthropods, including a variety of Cambrian bivalved arthropods from both the Burgess Shale and the Chengjiang Lagerstätten. Cambrian bivalved arthropods consistently resolved as a paraphyletic assemblage at the base of Arthropoda. Important innovations in arthropod history such as the specialization of the deutocerebral head appendages and a shift from a nekton‐benthic deposit feeding habit to a benthic scavenging/predatory habit, the symplesiomorphic feeding condition of Euarthropoda (crown‐group arthropods), were found to have occurred among basal bivalved arthropods.


Should transit operators focus scarce funding on maintaining current systems in a state of good repair (SGR), or on expanding transit systems? Prior to this analysis, user impacts of transit SGR had not been systematically calculated. This study develops a new methodology for assessing the impacts of SGR on ridership, vehicle miles traveled, travel times and costs, and public health and safety. This is done for the 25 major transit systems in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Moreover, the study uses a methodology parallel to that used to assess transit system expansion in the Bay Area and, therefore, is able to compare the benefit/cost ratios of transit expansion vs. transit SGR on an even footing. Results indicate regional benefit/cost ratios of close to 3 for transit SGR, with diminishing returns at higher funding levels. This is similar to the benefit/cost ratio of the average transit expansion project.


Volatility in commodity prices has been accompanied by perpetual renegotiation of contracts between private investors in natural resource production and the governments of states with mineral and energy wealth. When prices skyrocket, governments want a larger share of revenues, sometimes to the point of nationalization or expropriation; when prices fall, larger state participation becomes a burden and the private sector is called back in. Recent and newsworthy changes in the price of oil (which fell from an all-time high of $147 in mid-2008 to $40 by year's end) are notable for their speed and the steepness of their rise and fall, but the up-and-down pattern itself is not unusual. If the unpredictability of commodity prices is so predictable, why do contracts not allow for this with mechanisms that would provide a more stable commercial framework? In The Natural Resources Trap, top scholars address this question in terms of both theory and practice. Theoretical contributions range across a number of fields, from contract theory to public finance, and treat topics that include taxation, royalties, and expropriation cycles. Case studies examine experiences in the U.K., Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, and other parts of the world. Contributors: Philippe Aghion, George-Marios Angeletos, Fernando Candia Castillo, Rafael Di Tella, Juan Dubra, Eduardo Engel, Ramon Espinasa, Ronald Fischer, Jeffrey Frankel, Nicolas Gadano, Dieter Helm, William Hogan, Robert MacCulloch, Osmel Manzano, Francisco Monaldi, Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, Erich Muehlegger, Fernando H. Navajas, Robert Pindyck, Lucia Quesada, Roberto Rigobon, Eduardo S. Schwartz, Federico Sturzenegger, Lawrence Summers, Laurence Tai, Michael Tomz, Anders B. Trolle, Louis Wells, Nils Wernerfelt, Mark L. J. Wright, Richard Zeckhauser, Jeromin Zettelmeyer


The fact that often happens is a conflict in the respective civilizations, both Western and Islamic seen from the Western media. However, the fact is the internal conflict of civilizations is not considered that the conflict is cultural destiny. Because this assumption is identical to what existed in the last century, when the race war through information technology is believed to be a worldwide phenomenon in the future. Information technology has a major role in shaping public opinion globally. The development of information technology makes the process easy to implement International communication. The communication process involves not only individuals, but also of mass communication with the wider community. Use of globalized mass media has an impact on community identity. This paper tries to see the image presented by the Western media related image of Islam. This analysis was carried out to examine the role that can be carried by the mass media in the process of improving and shaping the image of Islam.


The supply situation for Welsh organic arable production
Organic production in Wales has been developing steadily in the last five years, with particular emphasis on organic cattle and sheep production. This was despite over-supply conditions in some sectors, notably dairy, following the very rapid growth in 1999/2000. The area of organic arable production has tracked this increase albeit at a lower level. It is also a more complex situation than might be thought because of the different ways in which a cereal crop or mixture might be harvested. This sector is one of the least surveyed in the UK with the exception of the annual Scottish Organic Market Link Producer Survey carried out by SAC with SEERAD funding.
Between the end of 2002 and end of 2005, the number of holdings increased by 12% to 688, and the certified land area increased by 29% to 71 thousand hectares, of which more than 90% is grassland. Growth in Wales has exceeded other parts of the UK, reaching 5% of agricultural land by end 2005. More rapid growth is projected for 2006 and possibly 2007. The arable area reported to Defra shows an increase over the period 2003 to 2005 (reported as end of January 2004 to end of January 2006) from 1958 ha to 2358 ha. This represents a 20% increase over the period at a time when organic grassland of all types increased by 34%.
The UK position for the supply and demand of organic cereals is giving considerable cause for concern at the present particularly in the area of organic livestock feed. This has been brought about by marked increases in organic milk, pork, egg and poultry sales along with continuing expansion of the red meat sectors. This has led to a considerable imbalance that is likely to get worse over the coming years, something that will be amplified by changes in the standards with respect to non organic feed allowances. It is estimated that the UK is around 60% self sufficient in home produced feed grain – the shortfall is made up of imports from around the world and a number of factors are threatening the security of supply from many of the exporting countries. The calculations involved are subject to a number of crude assumptions and there is universal agreement that there is an urgent need for information and regularly updated statistics.
Actual output of Welsh arable producers is extremely difficult to quantify precisely because it is not monitored with the regularity and at the level of detail of other sectors. Two sets of figures are available but they are difficult to compare because one relates to areas planted while the other is concerned with outputs.
A producer survey was undertaken using a detailed telephone questionnaire. This was not a simple exercise as it proved difficult to obtain information from certification bodies. This meant that it was difficult to identify advance those producers that were growing arable crops. 209 producers out of a total of 502 livestock producers were contacted, responses received from 102 (a response rate of just under 50%) and 40 of these were arable producers. This cohort represented 913 ha of arable production or 29.5% of the total organic arable area in Wales.
39% of the arable crops grown by respondents were planted as mixtures (usually a cereal/protein mix), a notable difference from earlier surveys. Of the pure stands wheat comprised the largest area followed by barley, oats, triticale and beans in descending order. 50% of the crops surveyed were harvested as whole crop and 47% as grain with a total yield of 1,458 tonnes. In the year under survey the highest proportion of a single crop harvested as whole crop was wheat while oats constituted the largest harvested grain crop, results that were somewhat at odds with other work but are almost certainly a result of what was a hot, dry season with low silage yields.
Only 455t of grain was actually marketed with barley accounting for the highest proportion and wheat the lowest.
Yields as reported by the farmers contacted tended to be on the low side with respect to standard figures in the Organic Farm Management Handbook although oats were slightly better. Triticale was particularly poor at around 50% of standard yields. The same cohort of respondents reported reduced areas for the 2007 season, an overall reduction of 21% on 2006 figures, and an anticipated reduction in grain to be
marketed (16%). Producers reported that poor producer prices are a disincentive to growing grain for the market, a somewhat surprising conclusion given the recent strong movements in organic cereal prices. Transport costs are a significant factor as the crop has to be moved out of Wales to grain merchants and/or feed mills.
Extrapolation of the above figures is recognised as a risky and imperfect process but it does raise a number of questions of concern not least the existence of a decline when overall conversion and livestock numbers are increasing
This was followed by a trade survey that contacted both the grain trade and compound feed producers. The responses were not all encompassing but covered 75% of the active traders in numerical terms. The responses indicated that very small quantities of grain are supplied into Wales for processing – most grain traded moved to other producers within Wales. The vast majority of feed is imported in the form of compound feed and on the basis of the responses received totalled some 13,600 tonnes for the 2006 season. Allowing for non responses it is estimated that the actual figure was around 16,000 tonnes – 11,000 t for ruminants and 5,000 t as poultry rations. Feed compounders are working on the basis of demand increasing by around 20% year on year, partly as a result of changes to the standards.
It is estimated that the demand for poultry feed will increase to 9,000 t in 2009 while ruminant feed is predicted to increase to 19,000 t in 2009, a total of 28,000t. It is suggested that the cereal and protein crop requirements will be in the order of 50% of the total i.e. 14,000 t each. There is a very low level of protein production in Wales and this demand will almost certainly be fulfilled through the use of imported sources of soya.
A SWOT analysis was undertaken that concluded that there are more weaknesses than strengths but that there are a number of opportunities for increases arable production not least the strengthening of prices across the board. The area of most concern and seen as a serious threat is the reported 21% decrease in plantings for the current season.
Recommendations
Despite the generally positive outlook from a demand perspective, there is a need to address some of the factors that might discourage producers from converting, including disruption to the Organic Farming Scheme, price levels that do not always reflect the costs of production, access to markets and a distinct lack of support for the sector.
To address this, there is a need for:
• better statistical data on current and future production levels and market shares and a wider appreciation of the need for improved levels of self sufficiency;
• greater publicity should be given to events and trends in the wider organic cereal market to ensure that Welsh organic livestock producers have all the facts when planning for the future;
• a series of events, articles and other media coverage and special attention should be given to these issues in the Organic Market Wales e-bulletin;
• enhanced payments through the OFS through a mechanism that replaces the previous AAPS rate;
• the new Farming Connect service to focus on the potential for home grown feed when working with organic livestock producers;
• an increasing focus on education in order to signpost opportunities for young people;
• an evaluation of the potential for the establishment of an organic feed compounding operation in Wales – this could reduce costs and also provide market opportunities for arable producers;
• improved production systems, supported by effective research and development and knowledge transfer;
• parallel improvements in variety and mixture choices – this may involve new introductions, a re-evaluation of varieties deemed to have been out-classed and the development of landraces;
• a clear identification of suitable areas for organic arable production along with guidance on what crops to grow in the particular soil types and prevailing climate
• improved integration of effort between organic sector businesses and the agencies that support the development of the Welsh horticultural and organic sectors;
• improved linkages with the dairy, arable and red meat sectors to benefit from complementarity relationships between the sectors at production, market development and promotional levels.


Arctic sea ice extent and thickness have undergone dramatic changes in the past decades: Summer sea ice extent has declined at an annual rate of approximately 12.7 % per decade over the satellite record (1978 – present, [5]) and its mean thickness has decreased by 0.58 m +/- 0.07 m per decade over the period 2000 - 2012 [3]. The thinning of sea ice is accompanied by an increase of ice drift velocity [8], deformation [7] and a decrease of net ice growth rates. Climate model simulations indicate that ice extent and thickness will further decline through the 21st century in response to atmospheric greenhouse gas increases. However, the mass balance of Arctic sea ice is not only determined by changes in the energy balance of the coupled ice-ocean-atmosphere system but also by the increasing influence of dynamic effects.
One aspect of the mass balance of Arctic sea ice are changes of ice volume export rates through Fram Strait and the decline of thick and old multi-year ice North of Ellesmere Island. Thickness surveys carried out north of Greenland and Fram Strait give insight into composition and properties of Arctic sea ice in general and how it changes over time. An extensive data set of ground-based and airborne electromagnetic ice thickness measurements were collected between 2001 and 2017 during several aircraft (PAMARCMIP, TIFAX) and Polarstern campaigns. The first aim of the IceBird 2018 summer campaign is to complement earlier measurements made north of Svalbard, Greenland and in Fram Strait. Sea ice thickness information will be used to examine the connection between thickness variability, ice age and source area. Together with satellite based information on sea ice motion, data will be used to quantify sea ice outflow through Fram Strait in summer. These estimates shall improve the understanding of interannual variability in summer sea ice outflow and complement existing winter volume flux calculations. A second objective is to extent sea ice thickness measurements to the Lincoln Sea where we will study thinning of sea ice due to reduction of old multi-year ice in this area. Like the measurements planned over the Fram Strait area, the surveys are a continuation of earlier aircraft campaigns made north of Alert and shall improve understanding of ice mass balance changes in the Arctic.


Summary: Economic growth and development is highly dependent on the ability of SMEs to develop and realize their potential for growth. At the same time, the ability of SMEs to grow is highly dependent on managerial knowledge and skills of people who are at the helm of the enterprise. In Serbia, SMEs are generally managed by owners which do not have adequate managerial skills. Existing methods of management training and passive learning do not provide the level of knowledge and skills required in present competitive environment. Because of that, there is very strong need for external professional support and adequate training, both through formal and informal education system, and in the immediate practice. This paper looks at the management consulting as a service and a process, especially as one of the sources for acquiring practical management knowledge and skills. More specifically it presents and analyzes the specifics of management consulting services to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as services that are specific to businesses of this size. It also shows the importance of ethical aspects of management consulting in the SME sector, and the importance of trust and mutual relations between consultants and clients. The empirical part of the research includes analysis of small and medium-sized enterprises of different sizes and ages, especially in terms of actual or potential need for specific management consulting services. We used a survey method, to determine the attitudes of entrepreneurs and SME owners toward management consulting, its usefulness, the needs of the entrepreneurs and the owners to use consulting services, as well as the reasons for (non) use of consulting services. In particular, analyzing the needs of the growing SMEs, depending on the size of the enterprises, wе verified the hypothesis that smaller company has less possibility to use the specific consulting services, but greater need for informal, general business consulting and interdisciplinary education. We analyzed the differences between institutional and private providers of consulting services to SMEs. By comparing the availability and use of consulting services of institutional and private consultants, and quality of these services, there are some interesting information and conclusions about the need for a meaningful institutional consulting agency to focus on universal approach, and private on provision of specific consulting services. A survey has undoubtedly proved that consulting support to the SME sector in Serbia is still at an early stage, without serious regulatory mechanisms. Government has a key role in the development of institutions and programs to support the SME sector, as well as facilitating the development of the market of professional organizations to support SMEs. The results of this study can serve as a basis for redefining the mission and work programs of the institutions for non-financial support to the SME sector in Serbia, to create more meaningful local and regional strategies for development of the SME sector, as well as the improving of legislation in the field of business and management consulting.