The Roma Diaspora - traditionally known as Gypsies -remains amongst the least explored population migratory events in historical times. It involved the migration of Roma ancestors out-of-India through the plateaus of Western Asia ultimately reaching Europe. The demographic effects of the Diaspora - bottlenecks, endogamy, and gene flow - might have left marked molecular traces in the Roma genomes. Here, we analyze the whole genome sequence of 46 Roma individuals pertaining to four migrant groups in six European countries. Our analyses revealed a strong, early founder effect followed by a drastic reduction of ∼44% in effective population size. The Roma common ancestors split from the Punjabi population, from -Northwest India, some generations before the Diaspora started, less than 2,000 years ago. The initial bottleneck and subsequent endogamy are revealed by the occurrence of extensive Runs of Homozygosity and Identity By Descendent segments in all Roma populations. Furthermore, we provide evidence of gene flow from Armenian and Anatolian groups in present-day Roma, although the primary contribution to Roma gene pool comes from non-Roma Europeans, which accounts for more than 50% of their genomes. The linguistic and historical differentiation of Roma in migrant groups is confirmed by the differential proportion, but not a differential source, of European admixture in the Roma groups, which shows a westward cline. In the present study we found that despite the strong admixture Roma had in their diaspora, the signature of the initial bottleneck and the subsequent endogamy is still present in Roma genomes.


This paper focuses on a simulation concept to visualize and to analyze outfitting processes in building engineering. A constraint-based simulation model is used to specify dependencies between outfitting tasks, availability of resources and required work spaces. Further, the model is used to specify conditions of transport processes, delivery dates as well as time and cost restrictions. By using a constraint-based simulation model practicable schedules can be generated and visualized simultaneously. For example, execution conflicts such as restricted work spaces are highlighted. Afterwards, the simulated and visualized results can be evaluated in terms of work and material flow organization, utilization of space and worker's efficiency. This constraint-based simulation approach guarantees a high flexibility. Thus, if additions or new prerequisites, for example, during project meetings are suggested, they could be easily implemented by defining or removing certain constraints such as requirements or production strategies. In the same manner, the current project status could be entered. Adjustable simulation components for transport control, spatial management, material management and assembling control as well as for visualization and animation are developed.


The most popular fit for describing the volt–ampere characteristic of a superconducting material is a power law with exponent n. Usually for a Nb3Sn wire the n-index is parametrized as a function of the sole critical current (Ic). An experiment to determine whether the n-index also shows an explicit dependence on the strain (ε) has been performed for an ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) wire. From the same wire, three pairs of samples were prepared. The three pairs were mounted on two Ti-ITER barrels, on two 316L stainless steel barrels and on two INCONEL™ alloy C-276 barrels, and heat treated. The critical current was then measured in the field range of 9–15 T. From the Ic measurements it was possible to derive three n versus Ic curves. Each curve corresponds to a different applied strain, as the three barrel materials have different thermal contraction coefficients. By analysing the three curves, the explicit dependence of the n-index on the strain is evaluated. In the strain range covered by the measurements (up to ≈−0.65% intrinsic strain), the n-value scales with the sole critical current Ic.


This study was performed to investigate the aspects of interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in both the gingival tissue and the peripheral blood of patients with periodontal disease and of periodontally healthy subjects. In addition, IL-6 expression in human gingival tissues was studied by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis and by immunoperoxidase staining with anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody. The levels of IL-6 in the culture supernatants from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide and in serum were examined by bioassay. We detected IL-6 mRNA expression in all inflamed gingival tissues (17/17) examined and in 2/4 in healthy gingival tissues. IL-6 protein was detected mainly in endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages but not in the area containing T or B cells in the inflamed gingival tissues, and was not detected at all in healthy gingival tissues. There was no significant difference between the subjects with periodontal disease and those with healthy gingival tissues either in serum IL-6 levels or in the amount of IL-6 produced by PBMC. These results suggest that non-lymphoid cells in inflamed gingival tissue may contribute to the pathogenesis of periodontal disease via IL-6 production, and that the IL-6 produced in gingival tissue may not reflect the IL-6 levels in peripheral blood.


Objectives
Disc diffusion is a cost-efficient, low-complexity, reliable method for detection of blaZ -mediated benzylpenicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus if the zone edge is inspected. EUCAST breakpoints cannot fully separate β-lactamase-positive from β-lactamase-negative strains, and EUCAST recommends the zone edge test. Literature on nitrocefin-based testing and the zone edge test is scarce with wide variations in reported assay performance.

Methods
This study compared two different nitrocefin-based commercial and in-house tests and the EUCAST-based zone edge test for penicillinase detection in S. aureus applying a PCR-based gold standard.

Results
In total, 215 non-duplicate clinical S. aureus isolates were included in the study, of which 127 (59.1%) did not harbour a blaZ gene, whereas 88 (40.9%) were blaZ positive. This study showed that for blaZ detection the zone edge test is more sensitive (96.6%) than nitrocefin tests independent of using nitrocefin discs (87.5% sensitivity) or solution (89.8% sensitivity), and that the significant inter-person variations of the zone edge test are probably related to the training level of the individual investigators (individual sensitivity ranging from 68.2% to 96.6%, specificity ranging from 89.8% to 100%).

Conclusions
In addition to continued and strict training of investigators, we propose mandatory checking of benzylpenicillin zone edges, particularly in an investigation zone from 26 to 30 mm, which can result in improved specificity/positive predictive value of the zone edge test (from 98.4% to 100%) but retains the high sensitivity/negative predictive value of the method.


Most studies of diet and coronary heart disease (CHD) have focused on constituents rather than on whole foods. The present study examined the relationship of selected foods to nonfatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Japan, with special reference to vegetables, fruits, fish, and tofu. A total of 660 cases with their first episode of AMI aged 40-79 years living in Fukuoka City or adjacent areas and 1,277 controls matched for age, sex, and residence were surveyed on lifestyle, including dietary factors. Participation rates were 87% of cases and 52% of controls. Consumption frequencies of 19 food/beverages items and daily amounts of 4 items were ascertained by interview. The final analysis was done with 632 cases and 1,214 controls. Although consumption of vegetables showed no clear association with the risk of AMI, fruit consumption appeared to reduce the risk of AMI in both men and women. The results also suggested that fish consumption was related to a decreased risk of AMI in men, although the trend was not statistically significant. In women only, tofu consumption was inversely related to the risk of AMI; relative risks for eating tofu <2, 2-3, and 4+ times per week were 1.0, 0.8, and 0.5, respectively, after adjustment for non-dietary factors (p for trend = 0.01). Further adjustment for consumption of fruit, fish and tofu did not alter the findings generally. The findings suggest that, in women at least, tofu consumption may be protective against the risk of AMI. Further studies are needed to corroborate the relationship of consumption of fish and fruit to AMI risk in Japanese men and women.


Note: Permission of the Publisher has been given to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to post this article to its web site as allowed under the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) which governs "fair use" or the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research."


Enhancing speech intelligibility for hearing-impaired subjects in complex acoustic conditions is still a challenging topic of research. To mitigate the detrimental e ects of background noise and reverberation, current hearing instruments incorporate various hardware and software strategies, among which speech enhancement algorithms are of primary importance. In this paper, two algorithms based on the multichannel Wiener lter previously reported in the literature and one proprietary algorithm are experimentally assessed and compared. All of them make use of a remote microphone worn by the speaker of interest. The objective of these algorithms is to improve the speech contribution within the hearing aid microphone signals. The algorithms are assessed in terms of interference reduction performance, speech quality, spatial hearing preservation, and technical requirements. Using a recorded database of audio signals, the e ects of the signal-to-noise ratio and of the delay between the remote and hearing aid microphone signals are studied. The results show that the proprietary algorithm provides a good performance and yields the lowest distortion of the binaural localization cues, while being the most e cient in terms of computational cost and wireless usage. The main drawback is the degradation of the output sound quality that is observed when the remote and hearing aid microphone signals are not temporally aligned.


Parental emotional distress, particularly high maternal anxiety, is one of the most consistent predictors of child anxiety treatment outcome. In order to identify the cognitive, affective and behavioural parenting characteristics of mothers of children with anxiety disorders who themselves have an anxiety disorder, we assessed the expectations and appraisals of 88 mothers of anxious children (44 not anxious (NONANX) and 44 with a current anxiety disorder (ANX)) before and after interacting with their 7-12 year old children. There were no observed differences in anxiety and avoidance among children of ANX and NONANX mothers, but, compared to NONANX mothers, ANX mothers held more negative expectations and differed on observations of intrusiveness, expressed anxiety, warmth and the quality of the relationship. Associations were moderated by the degree to which children expressed anxiety during the tasks. Maternal reported negative emotions during the task significantly mediated the association between maternal anxiety status and the observed quality of the relationship. These findings suggest that maternal anxiety disorder is associated with reduced tolerance of children' s negative emotions. This may interfere with the maintenance of a positive, supportive mother-child interaction under conditions of stress, and as such impede optimum treatment outcomes. The findings identify potential cognitive, affective and behavioural targets to improve treatment outcomes for children with anxiety disorders in the context of a current maternal anxiety disorder.


The use of PbS quantum dots (QDs) acting as light absorbers in a range of nanostructured solar cell devices has been investigated. The impact of different QD deposition methods, of the nature and structure of different metal oxides serving as electrodes, as well as interface and surface effects on device performance has been explored. Chapter 3 describes the application of in situ grown PbS QDs as absorber layer for extremely thin absorber solar cells with the inorganic solid hole transporter CuSCN. A polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymer was employed as a structure-directing agent for the synthesis of mesoporous TiO2 metal oxide thin films with high surface area and ordered porous structure. Chapter 4 outlines further work in which water-solubilized ex situ grown QDs capped with L-glutathione ligands were employed in order to improve the loading of the PbS QDs onto the internal surface of the porous oxide. Successful sensitization was achieved by inducing opposite surface charges on the surfaces of the QDs and the oxide in order to attract and attach QDs onto the surface of the porous supporting oxide film. The sensitized TiO2 electrodes were used to make efficient liquid electrolyte quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). Chapter 5 describes the use of SnO2, which has a lower lying conduction band than TiO2, to fabricate scaffolding electrodes that were sensitized with water-solubilized PbS QDs. Passivation of the SnO2 electrodes with a thin layer of MgO, TiO2 and a combination of both was utilized to investigate the effect of surface treatments on the performance of solid-state QDSCs, using Spiro-OMeTAD as organic hole transporter. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with different approaches towards interface tuning in solid-state QDSCs. This part of the work involved the study of solar cell devices utilizing in situ grown PbS QDs with and without organic and inorganic surface passivation, and ex situ grown PbS QDs anchored on mesoporous TiO2 via organic linker molecules. The performance of the fabricated solar cells was evaluated with standard current-voltage and incident-photon-to-collected-electron efficiency measurements, and physical parameters of the devices were characterised with frequency- and time-resolved techniques such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, intensity-modulated photovoltage/photocurrent spectroscopy, and open circuit voltage decay measurements, respectively. Overall, the work highlights the importance of surface passivation of QDs, loading of the QDs onto porous semiconducting oxide electrodes, as well as the significance of interfacial effects between QDs, oxides and hole transporter to achieve high-efficiency devices.


In this paper, the author puts forward a variation of Feige's Hypothesis, which claims that it is hard on average refuting Unbalanced Max 3-XOR under biased assignments on a natural distribution. Under this hypothesis, the author strengthens the previous known hardness for approximating Minimum Unique Game, $5/4-\epsilon$, by proving that Min 2-Lin-2 is hard to within $3/2-\epsilon$ and strengthens the previous known hardness for approximating Small Set Expansion, $4/3-\epsilon$, by proving that Min Bisection is hard to approximate within $3-\epsilon$. In addition, the author discusses the limitation of this method to show that it can strengthen the hardness for approximating Minimum Unique Game to $2-\kappa$ where $\kappa$ is a small absolute positive, but is short of proving $\omega_k(1)$ hardness for Minimum Unique Game (or Small Set Expansion), by assuming a generalization of this hypothesis on Unbalanced Max k-CSP with Samorodnitsky-Trevisan hypergraph predicate.


This paper develops methodology for nonparametric estimation of a polarization measure due to Anderson (2004) and Anderson, Ge, and Leo (2006) based on kernel estimation techniques. We give the asymptotic distribution theory of our estimator, which in some cases is nonstandard due to a boundary value problem. We also propose a method for conducting inference based on estimation of unknown quantities in the limiting distribution and show that our method yields consistent inference in all cases we consider. We investigate the finite sample properties of our methods by simulation methods. We give an application to the study of polarization within China in recent years.


From the Publisher:
Another addition to the Wordware Game Developer's Library, Learn Computer Game Programming with DirectX 7.0 provides beginning programmers with the foundations of computer game programming using Microsoft's DirectX 7.0 software. Computer science professor Ian Parberry details the construction of a game demo in 14 easy stages using DirectDraw, DirectSound, the Windows API, and the Windows registry, including a detailed explanation of the program's C++ code.
With this book, learn how to:
Create a primary surface in DirectDraw and display a background image. Implement page flipping to produce smooth transitions between frames. Regulate animation speed using the timer class. Enhance your sprite animation using clipping and transparent butting. Simulate AI using timers and pseudorandom number generators. Wrap a game shell around your game engine. Set up DirectSound for playing and mixing sounds. Manage user input from the mouse, buttons, or joystick.


Various procedures were used for extraction of Al from Ohio soils representing a wide range in extractable Al. One normal NH₄OAc at pH 4.8 was selected as an extracting solution because of its superiority over Ba(OAc)₂ and BaCl₂. One normal NH₄OAc plus 0.2 N BaCl₂ was no better than NH₄OAc alone. At this pH it extracts enough Al from most soils for accurate measurement with little possibility of damage to the clay crystal. Eight Ohio soils were electrodialyzed and resaturated to various levels with K and/or Ca. Extractable Al was determined in these soils after equilibration. At the zero-base added level, the extracted Al ranged from 4.7 me. per 100 g. of soil in the Wooster to 19.8 in the Hoytville. Increased saturation with K and/or Ca decreased the amount of Al extracted. Somewhat more Al was obtained from K-soils than from Ca-soils even though the pH values of the former were higher. Comparable studies with illite, bentonite, kaolinite, Putnam subsoil clay, vermiculite, and chlorite were also made. The importance of Al at the magnitudes found in the field and laboratory soils is discussed. The general failure of existing soil tests for lime requirement to adequately account for the Al in acid soils was considered. The possibility of Al interfering in various chemical and biological studies is mentioned.


A major challenge in the development of peptide-based vaccines is finding the right immunogenic element, with efficient and long-lasting immunization effects, from large potential targets encoded by pathogen genomes. Computer models are convenient tools for scanning pathogen genomes to preselect candidate immunogenic peptides for experimental validation. Current methods predict many false positives resulting from a low prevalence of true positives. We develop a test reject method based on the prediction uncertainty estimates determined by Gaussian process regression. This method filters false positives among predicted epitopes from a pathogen genome. The performance of stand-alone Gaussian process regression is compared to other state-of-the-art methods using cross validation on 11 benchmark data sets. The results show that the Gaussian process method has the same accuracy as the top performing algorithms. The combination of Gaussian process regression with the proposed test reject method is used to detect true epitopes from the Vaccinia virus genome. The test rejection increases the prediction accuracy by reducing the number of false positives without sacrificing the method's sensitivity. We show that the Gaussian process in combination with test rejection is an effective method for prediction of T-cell epitopes in large and diverse pathogen genomes, where false positives are of concern.


Forest mapping, one of the main components of performing a forest inventory, is an important driving force in the development of laser scanning. Mobile laser scanning (MLS), in which laser scanners are installed on moving platforms, has been studied as a convenient measurement method for forest mapping in the past several years. Positioning and attitude accuracies are important for forest mapping using MLS systems. Inertial Navigation Systems (INSs) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) are typical and popular positioning and attitude sensors used in MLS systems. In forest environments, because of the loss of signal due to occlusion and severe multipath effects, the positioning accuracy of GNSS is severely degraded, and even that of GNSS/INS decreases considerably. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) can achieve higher positioning accuracy in environments containing many features and is commonly implemented in GNSS-denied indoor environments. Forests are different from an indoor environment in that the GNSS signal is available to some extent in a forest. Although the positioning accuracy of GNSS/INS is reduced, estimates of heading angle and velocity can maintain high accurate even with fewer satellites. GNSS/INS and the LiDAR-based SLAM technique can be effectively integrated to form a sustainable, highly accurate positioning and mapping solution for use in forests without additional hardware costs. In this study, information such as heading angles and velocities extracted from a GNSS/INS is utilized to improve the positioning accuracy of the SLAM solution, and two information-aided SLAM methods are proposed. First, a heading angle-aided SLAM (H-aided SLAM) method is proposed that supplies the heading angle from GNSS/INS to SLAM. Field test results show that the horizontal positioning accuracy of an entire trajectory of 800 m is 0.13 m and is significantly improved (by 70%) compared to that of a traditional GNSS/INS; second, a more complex information added SLAM solution that utilizes both heading angle and velocity information simultaneously (HV-aided SLAM) is investigated. Experimental results show that the horizontal positioning accuracy can reach a level of six centimetres with the HV-aided SLAM, which is a significant improvement (by 86%). Thus, a more accurate forest map is obtained by the proposed integrated method.


In this paper, the effect of lightning on a gas pipelines is investigated. The metallic pipelines were modelled as a short transmission line of PI-circuit model. A switch is represented as a pair of sphere-gaps and is used to model side-flash and insulation breakdown of air. The lightning strike leader is represented by a simple high current source generation with DC source and other elements. Results were then analysed to determine the minimum clearance required to install networks of pipelines with certain topology as to prevent flash-over of inter pipeline phenomena. Results showed that a distance of one hundred sixty seven centimetres between the pipes will prevent flashover at air breakdown of minimum 0.6 kilovolt per centimetre. Effectiveness of this model could be determined if experimental work is done and the results obtained are then compared with the simulation results as an alternative to identify the minimum distance.


The analysis of energy sectors of countries all over the world is vital in a context of globalization and economic, social and environmental crises, because represents a way of identifying the problems and finding solutions that were implemented and worked in other countries. Our paper aims to compare the energetic sector of 6 Eastern European countries by analyzing the trend of energy production, consumption, prices and the main indicators needed to assess the achievement of required targets of 2020 Europe Strategy in the energy sector. The results show that each country has strong points or weaknesses in a smaller or a greater extent, but is important that authorities learn from each one of them and, on their basis, to create a sustainable management in the energy sector in each country.


Rare-earth doped optical fibers have been shown to be very sensitive to radiations, limiting the integration of fiber-based systems in space missions. In this paper, we present the characterization of two amplifiers based on a set of prototype active Erbium/Ytterbium codoped double clad fibers developed by Ixfiber SAS. One of these fibers has been codoped with cerium inside its core to enhance its radiation tolerance whereas the other is a classical phosphosilicate Er/Yb fiber. The two amplifiers based on these fibers have been exposed to γ-rays at a low dose rate (0.3 rad/s) and to doses up to 90 krad. Previous studies indicated that Er/Yb amplifiers using this type of fiber suffered significant degradation for cumulated dose above 5-10 krad. We observed, on the contrary, that with our radiation hardened fiber, the degradation of the fiber amplifier's output power can be limited to less than 30% after an exposure dose of ~90 krad.


PURPOSE
To provide an automatic image analysis toolkit to process thoracic 4-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) and extract patient-specific motion information to facilitate investigational or clinical use of 4DCT.

METHODS
We developed an automatic toolkit in MATLAB to overcome the extra workload from the time dimension in 4DCT. This toolkit employs image/signal processing, computer vision, and machine learning methods to visualize, segment, register, and characterize lung 4DCT automatically or interactively. A fully-automated 3D lung segmentation algorithm was designed and 4D lung segmentation was achieved in batch mode. Voxel counting was used to calculate volume variations of the torso, lung and its air component, and local volume changes at the diaphragm and chest wall to characterize breathing pattern. Segmented lung volumes in 12 patients are compared with those from a treatment planning system (TPS). Voxel conversion was introduced from CT# to other physical parameters, such as gravity-induced pressure, to create a secondary 4D image. A demon algorithm was applied in deformable image registration and motion trajectories were extracted automatically. Calculated motion parameters were plotted with various templates. Machine learning algorithms, such as Naive Bayes and random forests, were implemented to study respiratory motion. This toolkit is complementary to and will be integrated with the Computational Environment for Radiotherapy Research (CERR).

RESULTS
The automatic 4D image/data processing toolkit provides a platform for analysis of 4D images and datasets. It processes 4D data automatically in batch mode and provides interactive visual verification for manual adjustments. The discrepancy in lung volume calculation between this and the TPS is <±2% and the time saving is by 1-2 orders of magnitude.

CONCLUSION
A framework of 4D toolkit has been developed to analyze thoracic 4DCT automatically or interactively, facilitating both investigational and clinical use. More software tools are under development for automatic analysis of other 4D imaging modalities. This research is in part supported by NIH (U54CA137788/132378) and City Seed FY13(Grant No. 93348-14 01). AY would like to thank MSKCC summer medical student research program supported by National Cancer Institute and hosted by Department of Medical Physics at MSKCC.


This study conducted on the area of squatter settlement in Jimma town is aimed to explore the socio-economic factors contributing to squatter settlement and its effect on social, economic and institutional conditions of settler and development of the town. The study was guided by qualitative approach and employed a cross-sectional and phenomenological design. The primary data required for the analysis was collected through key informant interview, focus group discussion, non-participant observation as well as secondary data from document and analyzed by thematic analysis. The finding of this study revealed that, the root cause identified for squatter settlement are shortage of residential house and its consequential high price of house rent, the need of holding large plot of land and inefficient land administration system. The other finding indicated that, squatter settlement has negative impact on both the government and the squatter. It created fear and lack of confidence on the land they hold illegally, poor infrastructure due to lack of government intervention and low social service delivery, social distress within the community. The study also found out that squatting displaces the host ex-farmers from their farmland and leads to consequent poverty and livelihood disasters. It is recommended that, political will in accessing residential land and financial commitment of the government is required. Active participation of the public and abiding legal procedures of getting residential land is vital.

 Key words: Informal, misery, squatter, settlement, slum.


The Great Recession taught us that loan modifications are often more advantageous to both investors and borrowers than foreclosures. However, government loan modifications are less effective than their conventional counterparts, as the toolkit is very limited. The first step in a government modification is to change the mortgage rate to the current market rate to allow for re-securitization, thus raising the borrower's rate in a rising rate environment. This offsets monthly payment reduction from the FHA's partial claim or the USDA's equivalent and results in a less sustainable modification. In this article, we propose prospectively changing Ginnie Mae pooling requirements to permit in-pool modification with a recast to retain the original note rate; the cost to investors would be very small. If, in addition, the Veteran's Administration (VA) could offer partial claim or forbearance, it would allow VA borrowers to be on a more equal footing with FHA or USDA borrowers. TOPICS: CLOs, CDOs, and other structured credit, statistical methods, options, credit risk management


Multivariate Hawkes processes are commonly used to model streaming networked event data in a wide variety of applications. However, it remains a challenge to extract reliable inference from complex datasets with uncertainty quantification. Aiming towards this, we develop a statistical inference framework to learn causal relationships between nodes from networked data, where the underlying directed graph implies Granger causality. We provide uncertainty quantification for the maximum likelihood estimate of the network multivariate Hawkes process by providing a non-asymptotic confidence set. The main technique is based on the concentration inequalities of continuous-time martingales. We compare our method to the previously-derived asymptotic Hawkes process confidence interval, and demonstrate the strengths of our method in an application to neuronal connectivity reconstruction.


The petrologic and oxygen isotopic characteristics of calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs) in CO chondrites were further constrained by studying CAIs from six primitive CO3.0‐3.1 chondrites, including two Antarctic meteorites (DOM 08006 and MIL 090010), three hot desert meteorites (NWA 10493, NWA 10498, and NWA 7892), and the Colony meteorite. The CAIs can be divided into hibonite‐bearing inclusions (spinel‐hibonite spherules, monomineralic grains, hibonite‐pyroxene microspherules, and irregular/nodular objects), grossite‐bearing inclusions (monomineralic grains, grossite‐melilite microspherules, and irregular/nodular objects), melilite‐rich inclusions (fluffy Type A, compact type A, monomineralic grains, and igneous fragments), spinel‐pyroxene inclusions (fluffy objects resembling fine‐grained spinel‐rich inclusions in CV chondrites and nodular/banded objects resembling those in CM chondrites), and pyroxene‐anorthite inclusions. They are typically small (98.4 ± 54.4 µm, 1SD) and comprise 1.54 ± 0.43 (1SD) area% of the host chondrites. Melilite in the hot desert and Colony meteorites was extensively replaced by a hydrated Ca‐Al‐silicate during terrestrial weathering and converted melilite‐rich inclusions into spinel‐pyroxene inclusions. The CAI populations of the weathered COs are very similar to those in CM chondrites, suggesting that complete replacement of melilite by terrestrial weathering, and possibly parent body aqueous alteration, would make the CO CAIs CM‐like, supporting the hypothesis that CO and CM chondrites derive from similar nebular materials. Within the CO3.0‐3.1 chondrites, asteroidal alteration significantly resets oxygen isotopic compositions of CAIs in CO3.1 chondrites (∆17O: −25 to −2‰) but left those in CO3.0‐3.05 chondrites mostly unchanged (∆17O: −25 to −20‰), further supporting the model whereby thermal metamorphism became evident in CO chondrites of petrologic type ≥3.1. The resistance of CAI minerals to oxygen isotope exchange during thermal metamorphism follows in the order: melilite + grossite < hibonite + anorthite < spinel + diopside + forsterite. Meanwhile, terrestrial weathering destroys melilite without changing the chemical and isotopic compositions of melilite and other CAI minerals.


Human activities such as trade and transport have increased considerably in the last decades, greatly facilitating the introduction and spread of non-native species at a global level. In the Iberian Peninsula, Fundulus heteroclitus, a small euryhaline coastal fish with short dispersal, was found for the first time in the mid-1970s. Since then, F. heteroclitus has undergone range expansions, colonizing the southern region of Portugal, southwestern coast of Spain and the Ebro Delta in the Mediterranean Sea. Cytochrome b sequences were used to elucidate the species invasion pathway in Iberia. Three Iberian locations (Faro, Cádiz and Ebro Delta) and 13 other locations along the native range of F. heteroclitus in North America were sampled. Results revealed a single haplotype, common to all invasive populations, which can be traced to the northern region of the species' native range. We posit that the origin of the founder individuals is between New York and Nova Scotia. Additionally, the lack of genetic structure within Iberia is consistent with a recent invasion scenario and a strong founder effect. We suggest the most probable introduction vector is associated with the aquarium trade. We further discuss the hypothesis of a second human-mediated introduction responsible for the establishment of individuals in the Ebro Delta supported by the absence of adequate muddy habitats linking Cádiz and the Ebro Delta. Although the species has a high tolerance to salinity and temperature, ecological niche modelling indicates that benthic habitat constraints prevent along-shore colonisation suggesting that such expansions would need to be aided by human release.


Novelty search and related diversity-driven algorithms provide a promising approach to overcoming deception in complex domains. The behavior characterization (BC) is a critical choice in the application of such algorithms. The BC maps each evaluated individual to a behavior, i.e., some vector representation of what the individual is or does during evaluation. Search is then driven towards diversity in a metric space of these behaviors. BCs are built from hand-designed features that are limited by human expertise, or upon generic descriptors that cannot exploit domain nuance. The main contribution of this paper is an approach that addresses these shortcomings. Generic behaviors are recorded from evolution on several training tasks, and a new BC is learned from them that funnels evolution towards successful behaviors on any further tasks drawn from the domain. This approach is tested in increasingly complex simulated maze-solving domains, where it outperforms both hand-coded and generic BCs, in addition to outperforming objective-based search. The conclusion is that adaptive BCs can improve search in many-task domains with little human expertise.


We examine the effect of parenthood on the research productivity of academic economists. Combining the survey responses of nearly 10,000 economists with their publication records as documented in their RePEc accounts, we do not find that motherhood is associated with low research productivity. Nor do we find a statistically significant unconditional effect of a first child on research productivity. Conditional difference-in-differences estimates, however, suggest that the effect of parenthood on research productivity is negative for unmarried women and positive for untenured men. Moreover, becoming a mother before 30 years of age appears to have a detrimental effect on research productivity.


Numerous plant-derived substances, and their derivatives, are effective antitumour and chemopreventive agents. Yet, there are also a plethora of tumour types that do not respond, or become resistant, to these natural substances. This requires the discovery of new active compounds. Betulin (BE) is a pentacyclic triterpene and secondary metabolite of plants abundantly found in the outer bark of the birch tree Betulaceae sp. BE displays a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological properties, among which the anticancer and chemopreventive activity attract most of the attention. In this vein, BE and its natural and synthetic derivatives act specifically on cancer cells with low cytotoxicity towards normal cells. Although the antineoplastic mechanism of action of BE is not well understood yet, several interesting aspects of BE's interactions are coming to light. This review will summarize the anticancer and chemopreventive potential of BE in vitro and in vivo by carefully dissecting and comparing the doses and tumour lines used in previous studies, as well as focusing on mechanisms underlying its activity at cellular and molecular level, and discuss future prospects.


'Desperate-minded villain!' Two of Dickens' hilarious early stories from Sketches by Boz: 'The Great Winglebury Duel' and 'Bloomsbury Christening.' Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Charles Dickens (1812-1870). All Dickens' novels and other major works are available in Penguin Classics.


An increasing number of companies want to improve product traceability for several reasons: to meet stricter government regulations about food and medical safety, to cope with ever-stronger consumer demands to know exactly what they are buying, and to improve and protect the company's brand value through more transparent business operations. Two aspects of traceability are technically important: (1) techniques for tracing the events associated with the goods a company handles at all necessary points of the business operation, possibly through the use of IC tags and tag readers: and (2) ways to store, manage, and use the collected logs of events either to cope with problems or to improve business processes. In this paper, we first review currently available traceability systems by considering examples from real-world situations. After that, we discuss the likely directions and possibilities of next-generation traceability systems.


Chinese firms are internationalizing at an unprecedented speed. One profound phenomenon linked to this active Chinese firms internationalization process is that the process tends to be confronted with negative media coverage of China and Chinese firms in Western countries. How to understand and cope with the negative image of China and Chinese firms, as they are often seen in the Western media, emerges as a relevant and timely research topic in the study of the internationalization of Chinese firms. The purpose of this article is to stimulate ideas for further research on the relations between the internationalization of Chinese firms and the media coverage. We use the case of Geely's acquisition of Volvo Cars, which was to a large extent negatively reported in the Swedish media during 2008–2013, as inspiration to identify the interesting research themes and questions. Given the increasing anti-globalization trend, we hypothesize that Chinese firms will have to face up to the reality of negative media coverage in many Western countries for the foreseeable future, at least in the firms' initial establishment phases. We end our paper with the managerial implications. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The study of cerebellum function has been traditionally limited to the motor domain. Recent research, however, has begun to characterize the cerebellum's role in cognition (see Schmahmann, 2010) and has demonstrated intrinsic functional connectivity between cerebral cortical networks and distinct cerebellar regions (Buckner et al., 2011). Here, in two separate fMRI experiments, we investigated whether cerebro-cerebellar connectivity of dorsal attention network (DAN) predicts cerebellar activation during visual attention and visual working memory (VWM) task performance. In experiment 1 (N=8), subjects performed a multiple-object tracking task. In experiment 2 (N=9), subjects performed a VWM change detection task using oriented bars. Memory load was varied across blocks (set size: SS0, SS1, or SS4). Both experiments employed resting-state functional connectivity analysis using cortical network seeds (Yeo et al., 2011) to parcellate cerebro-cerebellar networks in individual subjects. In experiment 1, a region-of-interest analysis revealed a robust attentional effect within cerebellar regions functionally connected to the cortical DAN (p< .01). Conversely, cerebellar regions functionally connected to the cortical default mode network (DMN) showed reliable deactivation (p< .001). In experiment 2, contrasting SS4 with SS0 and SS1 resulted in a similar pattern of competitive interaction between cerebellar nodes of the DAN and DMN. Load-dependent activation spatially corresponded with cerebellar DAN nodes (SS4-SS0: p< .005; SS4-SS1: p< .0001) and load-dependent deactivation was observed within cerebellar DMN nodes (SS4-SS0: p< .005; SS4-SS1: p< .0005). Across both experiments the strength of intrinsic functional connectivity, with either the cortical DAN or the cortical DMN, significantly predicted the response of individual cerebellar voxels (Experiment 1: rDAN =.67, rDMN =-.71; Experiment 2: rDAN =.60, rDMN =-.56). Our results indicate that cerebellar nodes of the DAN contribute to network function across a diverse range of attentive and working memory conditions. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


Background: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic has continued to be a major public health problem even after more than three and a half decade of existence. According to the World Health Organization estimates, 36.7 million people were living with HIV by 2015 end while chronic infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) occurs in 240 and 130–150 million people worldwide, respectively. Since the general modes of transmission are similar to HIV, coinfection of HIV with HBV/HCV is commonly found, being variable worldwide. Aims and Objectives: The aims and objectives of this study were (1) To investigate the seroprevalence of HBV/HCV in HIV-positive patients and (2) To analyze the demographic pattern and laboratory parameters. Settings and Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The serum samples from confirmed HIV-positive patients were screened and confirmed for HBV and HCV following standard operative procedures. The demographic pattern and laboratory parameters were also obtained. Statistical Analysis Used: SPSS software version 23.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results: The seroprevalence of HBV and HCV in HIV-positive patients was found to be 6.6% and 0.7%, respectively. Males (n = 7) were more commonly infected than females (n = 3) with the age group of 31–40 years being the most common and majority were married (n = 9). In HBV-HIV coinfection, the mean values of serum globulin, serum total bilirubin, conjugated bilirubin, aspartate amino-transferase, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase were increased, but in the only case of HCV-HIV coinfection, only hemoglobin and platelet count were decreased. A majority (n = 8) improved on discharge. Conclusions: The seroprevalence of HBV/HCV was high with laboratory test showing a significant correlation between HBV-HIV coinfection and serum globulin and ALT. Hence, creating awareness, understanding these diseases, and providing screening test in suspected individuals is the need of the hour which will improve the mortality rates related to them.


The fossil xenarthrans include giant forms, the ground sloths (Tardigrada), characteristic of the mammal
fauna of the Pleistocene of South America. Although most authors agree in considering them as herbivorous, these
forms have not been studied in terms of detailed morpho-functional analyses of their masticatory apparatuses. The
aim of this work is the study the masticatory apparatus of the large Pleistocene ground sloths Glossotherium robustum,
Lestodon armatus, Mylodon darwini and Scelidotherium leptocephalum (Mylodontidae) applying biomecanichal
and morphogeometrical methods, and to compare with the information obtained for Megatherium americanum
(Megatheriidae). The results are integrated with recent ecomorphological analyses that include three variables
(hypsodonty index, dental occlusal surface area and relative width and shape of the muzzle) providing useful information
for the inference of dietary habits and to propose a niche partitioning among these species. Glossotherium
robustum and Lestodon armatus, the wide-muzzled sloths, were mostly bulk-feeders (i.e. ingest great amounts of
food with each bite; probably grass and herbaceous plants). Mylodon darwini and Scelidotherium leptocephalum, the
narrow-muzzled sloths, were mixed or selective-feeders (i.e. select plants or plant parts; grass and/or tree and
shrubs foliage). The tooth design of mylodontids indicates that teeth were used mainly for crushing and grinding
turgid and fibrous items respectively. Megatherium americanum was probably the most selective feeder among these
sloths, and selectively fed on particular plants (shrubs) or plant parts (leaves, twigs, fruits). Its dentition was designed
mostly for cutting soft but tough items which might include flesh, leaving open the possibility of an omnivorous
diet.


Flood monitoring is one method currently being used by the pipeline industry to provide alerts when flooding is approaching, or has exceeded, levels that could create hydrotechnical conditions that threaten pipeline integrity. Flood monitoring does not provide protection from hydrotechnical hazards or reduce the probability of failure, but can lower risk by providing advanced warning, allowing operators to initiate actions that reduce the consequences of failure in the rare event that pipeline integrity is threatened by hydrotechnical forces. Pipeline pressure reduction, shut-in, purge, and spill response mobilization are all examples of actions commonly used to reduce failure consequence. However, these actions require time to execute, ranging from a number of hours to a number of days, depending on factors such as site location, valve spacing, and product type. The effectiveness of flood monitoring as a consequence reduction strategy is contingent on having sufficient time to implement the flood response action. In designing a flood monitoring program, it is necessary to ask: can flood monitoring provide sufficient advanced warning for an action plan to be fully executed before pipeline integrity is compromised?
 The present study evaluated 35 high priority pipeline watercourse crossings, to estimate the flood return periods at which actions could be taken that correspond to warning times of 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours before the critical flood (i.e., a conservative estimate of the flow at which fatigue failure is considered possible) and to evaluate the feasibility of flood monitoring as a short-term risk management strategy prior to mitigation. The 35 crossings are currently scheduled for mitigation and rely on flood monitoring as an interim risk management tool.
 The rate of increase in flood discharge during all previously recorded flood events at each real-time monitoring gauge was first obtained to estimate the rate of flow increase during the critical flood event. Of the 35 crossings, 33 had a maximum warning time of less than 48 hours. Using a 24-hour warning time, 10 of the 35 crossings have a warning flow of less than a 1 in 5-year flood. The results show that the 'action initiation flood level' for more than 90% of the most susceptible watercourse crossings may be too low to be practical; at crossings where more than 48 hours of response time is required, flood monitoring may not significantly reduce hazard consequence as the action response plan may not be fully executed prior to pipeline failure.
 Pipeline failures are rare, and flood monitoring provides a useful monitoring approach for short-term management in many watercourses. However, these results demonstrate the importance of evaluating the required action response time relative to the available warning time for each watercourse crossing to confirm that flood monitoring will achieve the risk reduction expected by the operator. If flood monitoring is determined to be impractical because the action initiation flood is too low, it may provide justification for initiating other management actions (e.g., flood forecasting, purging prior to the flood season, or elevating such sites on the priority list for physical repairs).


Tinted vehicle windows are commonly used for different applications, among which are providing privacy, reducing transmitted sunlight in hot climates, and sometimes just for aesthetics among other uses. The work reported here was geared towards retaining these traditional aspects of tinted vehicle windows while adding a new display aspect component for custom display applications. We applied a low cost dual purpose diffusely transmitting and diffusely reflective pattern onto a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic film. This custom-patterned film was then applied to both transparent and conventionally tinted vehicle window glass to observe the change in image quality projected onto them. For image projection we used a low cost VGA resolution, 45 lum liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) Pico projector. Images were observed and recorded under the same ambient light environment. The field results showed significantly improved perceptibility with 200:1 contrast ratio, on tinted vehicle windows augmented with our custom pattern printed film. Whereas images projected on surfaces without the custom patterned film were literally imperceptible.


The
aim of this research is to clarify whether the midline axis of the complete upper
denture (CUD) is the axis of its torsion during loading, apart from the known bending
deflection. Furthermore the present study is intended to estimate the influence
of the anterior notches on the torsional deformation of the CUD. Using commercial
edentulous molds and standardized procedures, six identical CUDs were fabricated
with an initial fraenal notch of 5 mm. Two additional notch conditions were produced
by deepening the notch to a total depth of 9 mm and by creating an incisal diastema
of 7 mm. Five biaxial (also known as "fish bone") strain gauges were cemented onto
the palatal section of the dentures so that their middle axis coincided with the
midline axis of the outer surface of the denture. For the denture specimen used
in this study, the specific point of torsion was detected 2 cm from the point of
contact of the two artificial central incisors. The presence of a deep fraenal
notch and the combination of the deep fraenal notch with the presence of an incisal
diastema increased the torsion of the CUD to a significant level (P = 0.006 and P = 0.05, respectively). It was shown that the midline can be the CUD's
axis of torsion. Biaxial strain gauges could be a reliable method of measuring the
torsional deformation of the CUD.


Business travel is an area that Government policy has left largely untouched, but in London with the percentage of business trips for an average weekday at 8% in 2007/08 (Transport for London, 2009, table 9.3, pp 137) and the average distance travelled accounting for 15% of all the distances travelled (Transport for London, 2009, table 9.7, pp 148), they account for an important proportion of daily journeys. However, this research has shown more notably, particularly for businesses that do a significant amount of business travel, there is an opportunity for TfL to engage with businesses in a new and effective way at a number of levels. These include:

• The strategic level, to outline TfLs strategy for the network and to gain feedback on these plans

• The detail level including journey planning information with carbon emissions and cost, and corporate ticketing opportunities.

• Managing the commute on a voluntary basis as part of wider Corporate Responsibility programmes.

What became clear in this research was that many businesses wanted to engage with TfL, but found it hard to find a point of contact. They also wanted to engage in different ways from the current engagement programme of workplace travel plans and the planning process.

The structure of the report is to review the existing literature covering both academic and practitioner work, but focussing on the London data where available. The paper will then go on to report the individual perspective from the findings of a survey of business travellers in London. This survey outlines the purpose of business journeys into London, the alternatives to a physical journey and their barriers to use. The final part of the report will explore the business perspective of business travel using data drawn from a series of face-to-face interviews with businesses and stakeholders. This section will look first at the support and engagement issues raised by the companies participating and then to go on to develop a picture of the business travel area within organisations. The report then covers the drivers and barriers to developing a sustainable business travel policy and the practices and methods of communication to support the policy, including the use of virtual meeting technologies. It then concludes by looking at how business travels links into the commute and the attitude of business to electric vehicles. Finally, the report draws together recommendations for TfL about alternative ways to engage with businesses.

Details of the methodology used to generate this report are given in the appendix. In brief, it involved:

• Completion of 150 on-line surveys by business travellers, identified through the National Business Travel Network (NBTN), TfLs clients, Open University staff across the regions and Open University students across a range of courses.

• Meetings with five stakeholder organisations to identify potential case studies, and

• Meetings with eight case study businesses, who were identified by stakeholders as being involved in managing business travel in a more sustainable way.


Chemical interactions between fluids and minerals play a central role in numerous geological processes. In a hydrothermal environment, such reactions are usually referred to as fluid-rock interaction or water-rock interaction and lead to alteration of rocks by changing the mineral assemblages and compositions. During fluid-rock interaction the fluid's chemical composition also changes, some components being depleted upon secondary mineral formation and others being enriched due to primary mineral dissolution. An example is the interaction between rocks at the seafloor and heated seawater during hydrothermal convection at mid-ocean ridges. There, the rocks are altered, extracting Mg and SO4 from the circulating seawater and releasing metals such as Cu into the fluid. The chemically modified seawater is released back into the ocean at black smoker sites and diffuse discharge sites. This process contributes to buffering the chemical composition of the oceans over geological time periods. In sedimentary systems, the evaporation of aqueous fluids in marine and intracontinental settings leads to the formation of evaporites from complex, multicomponent brines. The diagenesis of sedimentary rocks is closely related to mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions in the presence of pore fluids that often flow over long distances in aquifers. The majority of ore deposits have formed by the interaction of hot hydrothermal fluids with rocks, dissolving the ore constituents as trace elements from a large volume of source material, transporting and focusing them during hydrothermal fluid flow and eventually precipitating them in concentrated form in a smaller rock volume due to chemical precipitation. The precipitation may result from the chemical effects of the reactions between the fluid and the rock. For example, the pH may increase by neutralization of acid fluids, a process that is often key to Pb-Zn sulfide mineralization in limestone and marble. Changes in the physico-chemical conditions (e.g., a temperature decrease) …


I examined the relationship between a soccer coach using a paternalistic style of leadership and the cohesiveness of the team. I found that the biggest group of soccer players in higher education in Taiwan are male, approximately 19 years old, forward players, and interested in participating in Division 1 of the University Soccer League. These players trained with a coach for 2 to 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Team performance differed under a soccer coach according to whether the paternalistic leadership style was benevolent, virtuous, or authoritarian. There was a significant correlation between soccer coaches who had a paternalistic style of leadership and team cohesiveness.


SU-8 is a photoplastic polymer with a wide range of possible applications in microtech- nology. Cantilevers designed for atomic force microscopes were fabricated in SU-8. The mechanical properties of these cantilevers were investigated using two microscale testing techniques: contact surface profilometer beam deflection and static load deflection at a point on the beam using a specially designed test machine. The SU-8 Young's modulus value from the microscale test methods is approximately 2-3 GPa.


We propose a dynamic model of neighbourhood watch schemes. While the state chooses punishment levels, apprehension of criminals depends on the watchfulness of citizens. We show that, contrary to standard intuition, crime levels can increase in punishments. This is because neighbourhood watch schemes can fall victim to their own success if recruitment of new members is driven by fear of crime – a finding that is in line with the empirical literature. We discuss the policy implications of this result and show how it extends to the more general problem of norm enforcement among interacting citizens.


Habitats and the services they provide are part of our nation's portfolio of natural capital assets. As for many components of this portfolio, it is difficult to assess the value of their services, and this complicates regulators' investment decisions, especially when the alternative use is measurable. The principal objective of this report is to suggest possible strategies for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as it applies economic analyses and arguments in support of the agency's trustee responsibilities. Many approaches are possible, and as we discuss, the "right" strategy will depend on the questions asked, the resources available, and the agency's role in the consultation process. We discuss in detail bioeconomic modeling and ecosystem indicator approaches to habitat value assessment. Although the approaches are discussed independently, multiple tools could be used simultaneously across different regions or within the same region on different aspects of one consultation.


This audio recording was made from a presentation of the paper given by speaker Nina Kane at University of Paris-Sorbonne IV on Friday 27th June 2014. A written copy of the paper is also available to download from the repository. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/21136

The paper draws on dramaturgical enquiry into Sarah Kane's 1998 play Cleansed, carried out in a university studio space and a public gallery setting. The enquiry applied the philosophies of Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler, positing Cleansed as a theatrical meditation on gender - one that requires actors to develop an ethics for the performing of sex, desire and violence. The research found that Irigaray's and Butler's ideas can be usefully applied to explore and contest binary constructions of gender, and provide vital philosophical frameworks for staging sexuate difference and transgender becoming in Kane's text. Cleansed centres its trajectory on an investigation of clothing and bodies which implicates and indicates the gender binary as a site of contestation, violence, desire, making, unmaking, resistance and mucosity. It encodes significant lesbian aesthetics of butch-femme play and languour in its performance structure. Its focus on sexuate difference, 'one of the major philosophical issues, if not the issue of our age' (Irigaray), and its movement between genders is supported with dramatisations of touch and breath at key gestic moments. The paper discusses how actors chose to stage these moments, analysing the choices made with reference to The Forgetting of Air, Sexes and Genealogies, The Marine Lover of Friedrich Nietzsche, and This Sex Which Is Not One (Irigaray). It discusses the nature of speech and desire - particularly female and lesbian desire - and the denial or erasure of this, with reference to Antigone's Claim (Butler). It reflects on the aesthetics of female and queer authorship at the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, and the traces of this historical moment in Cleansed. Finally, it contextualises Kane's representations of gender violence with reference to Frames of War (Butler) and notes how philosophical discussions of time and irreducible difference can assist inter-generational dialogue in the rehearsal room.


Extracting the main melody from a polyphonic music recording seems natural even to untrained human listeners. To a certain extent it is related to the concept of source separation, with the human ability of focusing on a specific source in order to extract relevant information. In this paper, we propose a new approach for the estimation and extraction of the main melody (and in particular the leading vocal part) from polyphonic audio signals. To that aim, we propose a new signal model where the leading vocal part is explicitly represented by a specific source/filter model. The proposed representation is investigated in the framework of two statistical models: a Gaussian Scaled Mixture Model (GSMM) and an extended Instantaneous Mixture Model (IMM). For both models, the estimation of the different parameters is done within a maximum-likelihood framework adapted from single-channel source separation techniques. The desired sequence of fundamental frequencies is then inferred from the estimated parameters. The results obtained in a recent evaluation campaign (MIREX08) show that the proposed approaches are very promising and reach state-of-the-art performances on all test sets.


The purpose of this research study was to explore organisational innovation in education with reference to one particular type of organisation - the tertiary college. The research sought to examine the extent to which the intended objectives for new educational organisations are realised in practice, and how far the goals and ethos which organisational leaders seek to promote are shared by organisational members. The study focused on eleven tertiary colleges, comparing the 'official' view of the colleges, as put forward by senior managers, with the perspectives of staff and students.

Tertiary colleges are responsible for all or most full and part time non-advanced education for the post-16 age group in the areas which they serve (some also have some advanced work). The colleges thus combine all provision which elsewhere is separately administered in school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and further education colleges.

The literature review draws on concepts from organisation theory, and discusses various models for analysing organisations and their goals: rational system and formal models, and three alternative approaches - political, ambiguity and subjective models. Rational system and formal models are dominant in the organisational literature. They focus on the official aspects of organisations rather than the perspectives of members. The review then explores the role of structure and culture in the pursuit of organisational goals, the extent to which organisations have a shared culture or ethos, and the factors contributing to successful change in educational institutions.

The study examined four main issues :
(1) To what extent are the goals set out by institutional leaders shared by other members of the organisation?
(2) How far do new structures influence perspectives and attitudes?
(3) To what extent are new types of organisation able to develop a distinctive culture and ethos?
(4) Are there major differences between individual organisations of the same type?

Evidence to explore these issues was gathered by means of interviews with principals and vice-principals; analysis of college documents: and questionnaire surveys of staff and full and part-time students.

It was found that organisational members - staff and students - shared the official view of the colleges' goals and ethos to some extent. However, there were a number of mismatches and disparities between the official perspective and the views of members, and an 'implementation gap' (Becher, 1989), between goals as ideals and goals as enacted. There was also evidence of cultural differentiation, rather than the integrationist culture portrayed by the principals. There were considerable subgroup differences in members' perspectives and in the extent to which they shared the goals and ethos of their colleges. There were also wide inter-college disparities in staff and student views.

The study indicates that organisational goals impact differentially on various member subgroups, and that organisations sharing similar purposes may achieve these purposes to widely differing degrees. The analysis suggests that formal and rational system models of organisations are inadequate for understanding organisational change. It is necessary to draw on alternative perspectives to interpret the 'competing realities' (Greenfield, 1973) and 'less-than-rational' (Hoyle, 1986) aspects of organisational life.

The study focused on internal aspects of the tertiary colleges, but there was evidence that external factors may have influenced their goals and development. The conclusion therefore considers the broader policy context for the development of the tertiary colleges, as compared with other new types of organisation - City Technology Colleges and grant-maintained schools. It is suggested that 'new institutionalist' ideas, which portray the environment as having a central influence on organisational development, may provide a useful framework for reinterpreting the findings of the study. New institutionalist concepts provide an important corrective to the assumptions of rational system and formal models that organisations have a relatively high degree of autonomy in establishing and pursuing internally-generated goals


Mental health needs are more prevalent in people with learning disabilities than in the general population, with practically all categories of mental illness represented. The literature, however, indicates that the views of people with learning disabilities who have experienced concomitant mental health needs have received little exploration. The primary aim of this research project was to investigate the experience of mental health needs from the individual perspectives of adults with learning disabilities. A major focus of the study involved adapting the psycho-social conception of subjectivity and methodological framework, which has been developed by Hollway and Jefferson (2000), and employing this as a means of enabling the participation of people with learning disabilities in knowledge production relating to their care and support needs. Data production was based on case studies of seven service users who have presented mental health issues.

Methods for data production included 'free-association narrative interviews', an examination of relevant case records, as well as information provided by key care/support staff. Data analysis involved working with the whole of the material gained during fieldwork, and paying attention to links and inconsistencies within that whole. The participants' free associations were afforded precedence over narrative coherence. Interpretation was theoretically informed, and researcher reflexivity was interwoven throughout the process.

The main conclusions drawn from this research project are:- 1) The 'free association narrative interview' method provided an innovative and effective means of addressing the power asymmetry between the researcher and research participants; 2) Information elicited from the research participants reflected the various traumatic/life events in their individual biographies; as well as the growing recognition of the (previously unacknowledged) emotional needs of people with learning disabilities; 3) Experiential data elicited from the research participants have contributed to the (proposed) development of a theoretical model regarding psycho-social subjectivity within the field of Learning Disabilities; 4) Some findings from this project resonate with findings from previous studies; and have potential implications for policy makers, service providers and service users.


Talent management, an integrated system of recruitment, development and retention of the required human capital at all organisational levels, is at the forefront of business agendas. Given the skills shortage in South Africa, talent management is expected to remain a business imperative especially in the science, engineering and technology arena. The importance of talent management stems from its role in achieving competitive advantage in order to realise the strategy of the organisation. In this paper the perceptions of people responsible for talent management in their respective organisations are presented to determine the status of talent management in the South African consulting civil engineering industry in 2008. The survey found that most respondents (94%) thought talent management was a priority but only 57% of them had some talent management initiative in place. The primary concern (55% of respondents) was to create a deep reservoir of successors at all hierarchical levels of the organisation. Inability to do so threatens not only the continuity of the organisation per se, but also the wealth-creating capacity of the country as a whole, since civil engineers play a primary role in creating and maintaining infrastructure.


A large number of factors generate uncertainty on traffic demands and requirements. In order to deal with uncertainty optical nodes and networks are equipped with flexibility. In this context, we define several types of flexibility and propose a method, based on entropy maximization, to quantitatively evaluate the flexibility provided by optical node components, subsystems, and architectures. Using this method we demonstrate the equivalence, in terms of switching flexibility, of finer spectrum granularity, and faster reconfiguration rate. We also show that switching flexibility is closely related to bandwidth granularity. The proposed method is used to derive formulae for the switching flexibility of key optical node components and the switching and architectural flexibility of four elastic optical node configurations. The elastic optical nodes presented provide various degrees of flexibility and functionality that are discussed in the paper, from flexible spectrum switching to adaptive architectures that support elastic switching of frequency, time, and spatial resources plus on-demand spectrum defragmentation. We further complement this analysis by experimentally demonstrating flexible time, spectrum, and space switching plus dynamic architecture reconfiguration. The implemented architectures support continuous and subwavelength heterogeneous signals with bitrates ranging from 190 Mb/s, for a subwavelength channel, to 555 Gb/s for a multicarrier superchannel. Results show good performance and the feasibility of implementing the architecture-on-demand concept.


During the Youth Olympic Winter Games event in Lillehammer, Norway, a group of students with intellectual disabilities worked as volunteers. The teachers of the class functioned in a social entrepreneurial manner, using the event to create social value for this particular group. Qualitative interviews were conducted with the group of students (n=12), and observations were made during the event. The students' teachers (n=3) and the head of volunteers (n=1) from the organizing committee were also interviewed for triangulation, thus verifying the interpretation of the data. This study demonstrated that social value was created through the practical tasks the students with intellectual disabilities were given, especially in relation to the Olympic context of the event, and the job itself was more important than those for whom they were doing it or why. Other important sources of social value were for the students to be outside of the classroom and to be cooperating and learning from each other within the group. Last, the students had the opportunity to aid and assist, instead of being aided and assisted, and to give something back to the local community.


There has been increased interest in how researchers might collaborate with end users to increase the impact of their work. In Canada, efforts to extend research impact beyond academia are called knowledge mobilization (KMb). This study surveyed SSHRC- funded educational researchers to assess their KMb efforts in relation to three areas: stakeholder engagement (target audience and frequency of interaction), dissemination mechanisms (intermediaries, networks, media, online tools), and research impact (research-related, service/practice, policy, societal). Findings: 70% of researchers reported regularly interacting with target audiences. Types of interactions included getting to know target audiences (71%), discussing research results (65%), and dedicating resources for capacity building (45%). Researchers reported impacts in relation to research (76%), service/practice (67%), and policy (35%), and societal impacts (35%). Researchers felt very well prepared to create plain language summaries of their work (54%), and collaborate with stakeholders (45%), but much less prepared to deal with media (32%), work with intermediaries (22%), or use technology to disseminate their work (16%). Implications for engaged scholarship are articulated in five areas: prioritization and co-production; packaging and push; facilitating pull; exchange; and improving climate for research use by building demand.


Abstract This paper is a narration of gel generator technology development and adoption in Iran including production of 99Mo by neutron activation of molybdenum [98Mo(n,γ)99Mo] in the research reactor of Tehran. The indigenous design and development of units for the manufacturing of gel generators included the setting up of shielded plant facilities with pneumatic-driven as well as manual controls and special gadgets, process adaptation to automation in the shielded facility, regulatory clearances and commencement of operations for periodic production of gel generators, demonstration of clinical utility, and adaptation of the generator design. Molybdenum-99 is being converted to zirconium molybdate gel under controlled conditions, and the resulting gel is dried at three steps, which include 2 h at 100°C, 2 h at 90°C, and 5 h at 70°C in order to reduce the time period between the end of reactor irradiation and completion of the processing of gel generators. The produced sodium pertechnetate solution from these gel-type 99Mo/99mTc generators fulfills all requirements of U.S. pharmacopeia. All the generators provide high-yield and pure elutions as well as sterile and pyrogen-free pertechnetate solution. In addition, it shows favorable-quality features to prepare various 99mTc complexes.


There seems to be general agreement among specialists that corruption is particularly rampant in post-communist Russia. It is, therefore, not the intention of the author to add yet another accusation to the already voluminous existing literature on the alarming situation of Russian politico-economic life. Rather, the main purpose of this paper is to investigate the causes of the corruption in present-day Russia from the viewpoint of the ethical or moral consciousness of the Russians, and to trace back the historical path towards the sources of their social mentality. This paper is organized as follows. In Section 1, the current situation regarding corruption in Russia is briefly summarized, and the relationship between corruption, on the one hand, and Russian legal culture and its moral awareness, on the other, is examined. Section 2 describes so-called 'legal nihilism', one of the characteristics of Russian legal culture, and Section 3 deals with 'ethical dualism', another feature of Russian moral consciousness the author would like to emphasize. In the final section, general relations between corruption and economic development are considered, and their implications for the economic prospects of Russia are explored.


BACKGROUND
Septic arthritis is an acute infection of the joints characterised by erosive disruption of the articular space. It is the most common non-degenerative articular disease in developing countries. The most vulnerable population for septic arthritis includes infants and preschoolers, especially boys. Septic arthritis disproportionately affects populations of low socioeconomic status. Systemic corticosteroids and antibiotic therapy may be beneficial for treatment of septic arthritis. Even if the joint infection is eradicated by antibiotic treatment, the inflammatory process may produce residual joint damage and sequelae.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the benefits and harms of corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in children with a diagnosis of septic arthritis.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), in the Cochrane Library, Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), the World Health Organization (WHO) trials portal (www.who.int/ictrp/en/), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.ClinicalTrials.gov), and Google Scholar. We searched all databases from their inception to 17 April 2018, with no restrictions on language of publication.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with patients from two months to 18 years of age with a diagnosis of septic arthritis who were receiving corticosteroids in addition to antibiotic therapy or as an adjuvant to other therapies such as surgical drainage, intra-articular puncture, arthroscopic irrigation, or debridement.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed eligibility, data extraction, and evaluation of risk of bias. We considered as major outcomes the presence of pain, activities of daily living, normal physical joint function, days of antibiotic treatment, length of hospital stay, and numbers of total and serious adverse events. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. We assessed the evidence using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) and created a 'Summary of findings' table.

MAIN RESULTS
We included two RCTs involving a total of 149 children between three months and 18 years of age who were receiving antibiotics for septic arthritis. The most commonly affected joints were hips and knees. These studies were performed in Costa Rica and Israel. In both studies, dexamethasone administered intravenously (ranging from 0.15 to 0.2 mg/kg/dose every six to eight hours) during four days was the corticosteroid, and the comparator was placebo. Trials excluded patients with any degree of immunodeficiency or immunosuppression. The longest follow-up was one year. Trials did not report activities of daily living nor length of hospital stay. Both studies used adequate processes for randomisation, allocation concealment, and blinding, and review authors judged them to have low risk of selection and performance bias. Losses to follow-up were substantive in both studies, and we judged them to have high risk of attrition bias and of selective outcome reporting. We graded all outcomes as low quality due to concerns about study limitations and imprecision.The risk ratio (RR) for absence of pain at 12 months of follow-up was 1.33, favouring corticosteroids (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 to 1.72; P = 0.03; number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) = 13, 95% CI 6 to 139; absolute risk difference 24%, 95% CI 5% to 43%).The RR for normal function of the affected joint at 12 months of follow-up was 1.32, favouring corticosteroids (95% CI 1.12 to 1.57; P = 0.001; NNTB = 13, 95% CI 7 to 33; absolute risk difference 24%, 95% CI 11% to 37%).We found a reduction in the number of days of intravenous antibiotic treatment favouring corticosteroids (mean difference (MD) -2.77, 95% CI -4.16 to -1.39) based on two trials with 149 participants.Researchers did not report length of hospital stay. One trial (49 participants) reported that treatment with dexamethasone was associated with a shorter duration of IV antibiotic treatment, leading to a shorter hospital stay, and although duration of hospitalisation was a primary outcome of the study, study authors did not provide data on the duration of hospitalisation. We downgraded the quality by one level for concerns about study limitations (high risk of attrition bias and selective reporting), and by another level for imprecision.In one trial of 49 participants, researchers followed 29 children for 12 months, and parents reported that no children demonstrated adverse effects of the intervention.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Evidence for corticosteroids as adjunctive therapy in children with a diagnosis of septic arthritis is of low quality and is derived from the findings of two trials (N = 149). Corticosteroids may increase the proportion of patients without pain and the proportion of patients with normal function of the affected joint at 12 months, and may also reduce the number of days of antibiotic treatment. However, we cannot draw strong conclusions based upon these trial results. Additional randomised clinical trials in children with relevant outcomes are needed.


Mannose 6-phosphate (Man-6-P) is a carbohydrate modification that is generated on newly synthesized lysosomal proteins. This modification is specifically recognized by two Man-6-P receptors that direct the vesicular transport of the lysosomal enzymes from the Golgi to a prelysosomal compartment. The Man-6-P is rapidly removed in the lysosome of most cell types; however, in neurons the Man-6-P modification persists. In this study we have examined the spectrum of Man-6-P-containing glycoproteins in brain specimens from patients with different neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs), which are progressive neurodegenerative disorders with established links to defects in lysosomal catabolism. We find characteristic alterations in the Man-6-P glycoproteins in specimens from late-infantile (LINCL), juvenile (JNCL) and adult (ANCL) patients. Man-6-P glycoproteins in LINCL patients were similar to controls, with the exception that the band corresponding to CLN2, a recently identified lysosomal enzyme whose deficiency results in this disease, was absent. In an ANCL patient, two Man-6-P glycoproteins were elevated in comparison with normal controls, suggesting that this disease also results from a perturbation in lysosomal hydrolysis. In JNCL, total levels of Man-6-P glycoproteins were 7-fold those of controls. In general this was reflected by increased lysosomal enzyme activities in JNCL but three Man-6-P glycoproteins were elevated to an even greater degree. These are CLN2 and the unidentified proteins that are also highly elevated in the ANCL.


The Paris Agreement has achieved one of two key necessary conditions for ultimate success – a broad base of participation among the countries of the world. But another key necessary condition has yet to be achieved – adequate collective ambition of the individual nationally determined contributions. How can the climate negotiators provide a structure that will include incentives to increase ambition over time? An important part of the answer can be international linkage of regional, national, and subnational policies, that is, formal recognition of emission reductions undertaken in another jurisdiction for the purpose of meeting a Party's own mitigation objectives. A central challenge is how to facilitate such linkage in the context of the very great heterogeneity that characterizes climate policies along five dimensions – type of policy instrument; level of government jurisdiction; status of that jurisdiction under the Paris Agreement; nature of the policy instrument's target; and the nature along several dimensions of each Party's Nationally Determined Contribution. We consider such heterogeneity among policies, and identify which linkages of various combinations of characteristics are feasible; of these, which are most promising; and what accounting mechanisms would make the operation of respective linkages consistent with the Paris Agreement.


To coordinate a team of robots for exploration is a challenging problem, particularly in unstructured areas, as for example post-disaster scenarios where direct communication is severely constrained. Furthermore, conventional methods of SLAM, e.g. those performing data association based on visual features, are doomed to fail due to bad visibility caused by smoke and fire. We use indirect communication (based on RFIDs), to share knowledge and use a gradient-like local search to direct robots towards interesting areas. To share a common frame of reference among robots we use a feature based SLAM approach (where features are RFIDs). The approach has been evaluated on a 3D simulation based on USARSim.


Abstract Objectives: To investigate care needs, functional outcome, role participation and community integration approximately nine years following severe brain injury. To gain an understanding of the ongoing cost of care and support needs for this group. Participants: 13 individuals who had sustained an extremely severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), between 8 and 9 years previously participated in the study. These individuals were the remaining participants of a larger sample of consecutive admissions between 1996 and 1998 at Ivanhoe Manor Rehabilitation Hospital. Measures: Structured Interview, Functional Independence Measure, Community Integration Questionnaire, Care and Needs Scale and Role Checklist. Results: The majority of the participants were reported to have high support needs, with 6 participants (46%) requiring 24-hour support. Four participants were reported to able to be left alone for between a few hours per day to almost all week. Three participants reported that they were completely independent. The participant's characteristics are described in terms of functional independence, community integration and role participation. Overall care needs appear to have remained relatively stable between 2 and 9 years postinjury. However, there was a shift in the proportion of paid and gratuitous care over time, with a decrease in paid care and increased gratuitous care noted from the 2-year to long-term follow-up time points. Conclusions: Severe TBI has a long term influence on life roles, care needs and functional independence. The current study suggests that high care needs do not necessarily preclude participants from leading active lives and participating in valued life roles. The importance of social support in facilitating participation in activity and the potential issues for caregiver burden, given the increase in gratuitous care over time, should be acknowledged and further research in this area is recommended.


A novel method is presented for analyzing fMRI data, which relies on probabilistic estimates of microanatomically defined regions in individual fMRI volunteers. Postmortem structural and cytoarchitectonic information from the Julich/Dusseldorf group in Germany is aligned to the high-resolution structural MR images of functional MRI volunteers. This is achieved using nonlinear registration, which is applied only to the region of interest. The registered postmortem datasets are then combined into probability maps for microanatomically defined regions that are tailored to the anatomy of individual fMRI volunteers. These are then used as weighted spatial filters on functional MR data. In this thesis, three regions of the primary auditory cortex (located on Heschl's gyrus) have been targeted, and the analysis method is used to explore how these three areas respond to different kinds of sound. Regions Te1.0 and Te1.2 both demonstrate pitch sensitivity, consistent with published observations of the functional response of homologous regions in nonhuman primates. Area Te1.1 displayed sensitivity to both noise and pitch, consistent with the theory that it is homologous with the microanatomically similar area CM in nonhuman primates. Furthermore, the custom probability maps are much less diffuse and anatomically more precise than previous versions generated using the same postmortem data, and


Many secondary schools, both in Australia and internationally include community service initiatives as an integral component of students' school experience. This practise is widely based on the assumption that young people benefit from helping others outside of the economies of exchange. Service projects linked intentionally to the regular curriculum can provide opportunities and even demands for students to make learning connections between the abstract theories of the classroom and their everyday world outside. The Australian Tanzanian Young Ambassadors (ATYA) is one such program. The ethnographic study of this program by a participant researcher is described and explored in this paper. This research focussed on the opportunities and demands for students' development of scientific literacy and an understanding of sustainability as they participated in an international community service tour and Bilateral Youth Forum in Tanzania. Insights from the research experience lead to the development of a framework for linking community service projects to the science curriculum, which is intended to support community service coordinators and teachers working with youth.


In this paper, impacts of day-ahead market pricing on behavior of producers and consumers in option and day-ahead markets and on option pricing are studied. To this end, two comprehensive equilibrium models for joint put option and day-ahead markets under pay-as-bid and uniform pricing in day-ahead market are presented, respectively. Interaction between put option and day-ahead markets, uncertainty in fuel price, day-ahead market pricing, and elasticity of consumers to strike price, premium price, and day-ahead price are taken into account in these models. By applying the presented models to a test system impact of day-ahead market pricing on equilibrium of joint put option and day-ahead markets are studied.


The availability of C and N to the soil microbial biomass is an important determinant of the rates of soil N transformations. Here, we present evidence that changes in C and N availability affect the 15N natural abundance of the microbial biomass relative to other soil N pools. We analysed the 15N natural abundance signature of the chloroform‐labile, extractable, NO3–, NH4+ and soil total N pools across a cattle manure gradient associated with a water reservoir in semiarid, high‐desert grassland. High levels of C and N in soil total, extractable, NO3–, NH4+ and chloroform‐labile fractions were found close to the reservoir. The δ15N value of chloroform‐labile N was similar to that of extractable (organic + inorganic) N and NO3– at greater C availability close to the reservoir, but was 15N‐enriched relative to these N‐pools at lesser C availability farther away. Possible mechanisms for this variable 15N‐enrichment include isotope fractionation during N assimilation and dissimilation, and changes in substrate use from a less to a more 15N‐enriched substrate with decreasing C availability.


[extract] The perception that companies in financial difficulties need to be preserved on behalf of social welfare (jobs and stimulation to the economic activity), nearly generating a state obligation to guarantee their survival at any cost, has given rise to excesses.  The current legal device for judicial reorganization and bankruptcy (Law 11.101/2005) in force in Brazil enables maneuvers of companies which aim solely at having bankruptcy and execution claims against them suspended, taking advantage of the so-called stay period of 180 days. As an evidence of that, we cite the statistic of only 30% of concession of recoveries in view of the total of requests. That is, for every ten filings of judicial reorganizations, only three undergo the scrutiny of Article 58 of the Judicial Reorganization Law. The vast majority fails to present their reorganization plan or has the plan rejected by the creditors' meeting.  On the other hand, it is seen that the corporate reorganization mechanism often does not allow for an effective processing of the reorganization plan, failing to encourage a healthy relationship between those involved and leading viable enterprises to bankruptcy.  One cannot suppose that the creditors, just for being responsible for the plan approval, must necessarily do so consciously. Besides leaving little or no margin for the creditors to present alternative plans, bankruptcy is put as the immediate consequence of the non-approval at the meeting. In the first case, the creditors fail to suggest broad changes to the plan or lack the necessary information for an alternative. In the second situation, in turn, the creditor's options are greatly reduced. Either he votes for the approval of any plan - even perceiving its evident inconsistency - or he will face the certain loss for the debtor's bankruptcy (COELHO, 2018).


In this note, robust stability of state-space models with respect to real parametric uncertainty is considered. Specifically, a new class of parameter-dependent quadratic Lyapunov functions for establishing stability of a polytope of matrices is introduced, i.e., the homogeneous polynomially parameter-dependent quadratic Lyapunov functions (HPD-QLFs). The choice of this class, which contains parameter-dependent quadratic Lyapunov functions whose dependence on the uncertain parameters is expressed as a polynomial homogeneous form, is motivated by the property that a polytope of matrices is stable if and only there exists an HPD-QLF. The main result of the note is a sufficient condition for determining the sought HPD-QLF, which amounts to solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) derived via the complete square matricial representation (CSMR) of homogeneous matricial forms and the Lyapunov matrix equation. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Objective: Three Omega points on the human auricle were first described by Paul Nogier, MD, of France. Each Omega point theoretically represents a different embryologic tissue layer, with a correspondence to specific physical body attributes and certain emotional developments. Maurice Verdun, MD, and René J. Bourdiol, MD, developed the use of distinguishable anthropobiometric parameters and specific psychologic tests to classify a large clinical population into 4 categories that have both somatic and emotional features. The categories were: (1) normosome (normal); (2) leptosome (willowy); (3) pycnosome (rotund); and (4) athletosome (athletic). Dr. Bourdiol hypothesized that these biopsychomorphotypologic variations resulted from subtle overexpression of one of the three embryologic tissues during embryological development. Dr. Nogier and David Alimi, MD, both theorized that the three embryologic tissue layers are represented on the external ear by the 3 different Omega points: (1) Omega; (2) Omega 1; and (3) Omega 2. The expression of these points can be found by their electrodermal potentials. The aim of this survey was to find a unifying method to determine if all the clinical assessments observed from varied disciplines and different researchers could lead to a consistent theoretical perspective on the embryologic basis for auriculotherapy. Materials and Methods: The electrodermal potential of the 3 auricular Omega points were measured on 250 patients who requested auriculotherapy since the beginning of this survey, which began in February 2010. The patients were classified as normosome, pycnosome, leptosome, athletosome, athleto-leptosome, athleto-pycnosome, and dysmorphic. Electrodermal measurements of the Omega points on individual patients were compared to the phenotypical expression related to the theoretical expression of the embryologic tissues. Results: There was a prominent concordance between overexpression of an Omega point and the morphotype of an individual patient in 90% of the cases. In particular, there was a concordance between overexpression of an Omega point and the psychoemotional type in 92.4% of the cases. Conclusions: The clinical assessments of Drs. Verdun, Bourdiol, Nogier, and Alimi were supported by the electrophysiologic measurements of auricular reflex points. The original hypothesis of Dr. Bourdiol regarding anthropobiometric qualities was in concordance with the data obtained in this research. The Omega points have not only fundamental correspondences related to anatomical and physiologic embryogenesis but also are connected to a more-abstract significance related to a person's higher-order cognitive and emotional development.