ABSTRACT This study examines discursive articulations in mainstream news media in Turkey, through which the Islamist/secularist divide is imagined. Building upon discourse-theoretical analysis and affect theory, the study states that news media become the ultimate domain in which polarization is fuelled by affective forces. To illustrate this point, I draw upon the representations of Istanbul's conquest by Ottoman forces, as a privileged signifier in articulations of Turkishness. I examine the opinion articles published in mainstream news media, following the framework of 'reading for affect'. Accordingly, I identify two contrasting moods attributing affective value to Istanbul's conquest. Hyperbolic narratives are central to Islamist imaginaries, as they attach utmost significance to Istanbul's conquest. Conversely, secularist imaginaries are mostly built upon satire of disdain especially in relation to the celebrations of the conquest. Rhetorical works play a pivotal role in the signification of the city's conquest. Rather than plainly constructing networks of meanings, they are the affective elements putting Istanbul's conquest on the stage. From that vantage point, the study argues that affect and signification are not autonomous layers of discourse. Affective intensities are indeed articulated in chains of signifiers that conclude in the sedimentation and fixation of meanings.


Deep X-ray surveys by Chandra and XMM-Newton have resolved about 80% of the 2-10 keV cosmic extragalactic X-ray background (CXRB) into point sources, the majority of which are obscured AGNs. The obscuration might be connected to processes within the host galaxy, possibly the star formation rate. Here we use the results of CXRB synthesis calculations as input to detailed CLOUDY simulations in order to predict the evolution of AGN properties at several mid-IR wavelengths. Computations were performed for three different evolutions of the AGN type 2/type 1 ratio between z = 0 and 1, where the ratio increased as (1 + z)0.9, as (1 + z)0.3, and with one model having no redshift evolution. Models were calculated with the inner radius of the absorbing gas and dust at 1 or at 10 pc. Comparing the results of the calculations to combined X-ray and Spitzer data of AGNs show that the predicted spectral energy distributions are a good description of average AGNs found in the deep surveys. The existing data indicate that the mid-IR emission from an average AGN is best described by models in which the attenuating material is ~10 pc from the central engine. We present the expected Spitzer cumulative number count distributions and the evolution of the total AGN (type 1+type 2) luminosity function (LF) between z = 0 and 1 at rest frame 8 and 30 μm for the three evolutionary scenarios. The mid-IR AGN LF will be an excellent tool to measure the evolution of the covering factor of the gas and dust from z ~ 0 to 1.


This research aims to develop a new type of electrolyte for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) which can be produced in cost-effective and large scale. DSCs using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) mixed with ethanol (50% w/w DES content), as an electrolyte medium, was studied herein for the first time. Ten types of DESs were synthesized and three among them were potential candidates for DSC electrolytes. Compared to toxic and volatile organic solvents, this mixed solvent is more eco-friendly and inexpensive. According to J-V curve measurements, DSCs that used DES-ethanol medium showed promising photovoltaic performance.


We report the synthesis of a novel amphiphilic pH-responsive diblock copolymer labeled with two different fluorophores. This copolymer comprises a water-soluble poly(glycerol monomethacrylate) [PGMA] block and a pH-responsive poly(2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate) [PDPA] block. Pyrene methacrylate [PyMA] is statistically copolymerized with glycerol monomethacrylate (GMA) to introduce a suitable fluorescent label. The chain-ends of the PDPA block are labelled using cresyl violet perchlorate [CV] by exploiting the spin trap properties of this dye molecule. Below pH 6, fluorescence from both dye labels can be detected, but deprotonation of the PDPA block between pH 6 and 7 leads to strong attenuation of the CV fluorescence owing to formation of a charge transfer complex with the tertiary amine units in the PDPA block. Therefore, changes in the Cresyl Violet fluorescence intensity can be correlated to changes in PDPA protonation. Diblock copolymer self-assembly to form PDPA-core aggregates occurs under these conditions, leading to pyrene fluorescence at an excitation wavelength of 405 nm. This allows direct measurement of chain aggregation, whereas using pH-responsive dyes is simply a measure of the degree of protonation. Here we focus on the synthesis and characterisation of dual-labeled copolymers and their spectroscopic properties in different environments. Finally, we show that using CV as a spin trap provides a convenient and versatile route to fluorescently-labeled copolymers prepared by either RAFT or ATRP. Moreover, this cost-effective dye fluoresces in the red part of the visible spectrum at both neutral and acidic pH.


We evaluate the out-of-sample performance of a long-term investor who follows an optimized dynamic trading strategy. Although the dynamic strategy is able to benefit from predictability out-of-sample, a short-term investor using a single-period market timing strategy would have realized an almost identical performance. The value of intertemporal hedge demands in strategic asset allocation appears negligible. The result is caused by the estimation error in predicting the predictors. A myopic investor only needs to predict one-period-ahead expected returns, but hedge demands also require accurate predictions of the predictor variables. To reduce the problem of errors in optimized portfolio weights, we consider Bayesian procedures. Myopic and dynamic portfolios are similarly affected by such modifications, and differences in performance become even smaller.

Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1924 .

This paper was accepted by Brad Barber, finance.


Choice modelling has been one of the most active fields in economics over recent years. This valuable new book contains leading contributions from academics and practitioners from across the different areas of study where choice modelling is a key analytical technique, drawn from a recent international conference.


Proteins and peptides fold into dynamic structures that access a broad functional landscape; however, designing artificial polypeptide systems is still a great challenge. Conversely, DNA engineering is now routinely used to build a wide variety of 2D and 3D nanostructures from hybridization based rules, and their functional diversity can be significantly expanded through site specific incorporation of the appropriate guest molecules. Here we demonstrate a new approach to rationally design 3D nucleic acid-amino acid complexes using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) to assemble peptides inside a 3D DNA nanocage. The PNA-peptides were found to bind to the preassembled DNA nanocage in 5-10 min at room temperature, and assembly could be performed in a stepwise fashion. Biophysical characterization of the DNA-PNA-peptide complex was performed using gel electrophoresis as well as steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Based on these results we have developed a model for the arrangement of the PNA-peptides inside the DNA nanocage. This work demonstrates a flexible new approach to leverage rationally designed nucleic acid (DNA-PNA) nanoscaffolds to guide polypeptide engineering.


Traditionally, it has often been hypothesized that cyanobacteria are superior competitors at low CO2 and high pH in comparison with eukaryotic algae, owing to their effective CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM). However, recent work indicates that green algae can also have a sophisticated CCM tuned to low CO2 levels. Conversely, cyanobacteria with the high-flux bicarbonate uptake system BicA appear well adapted to high inorganic carbon concentrations. To investigate these ideas we studied competition between three species of green algae and a bicA strain of the harmful cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa at low (100 ppm) and high (2000 ppm) CO2. Two of the green algae were competitively superior to the cyanobacterium at low CO2, whereas the cyanobacterium increased its competitive ability with respect to the green algae at high CO2. The experiments were supported by a resource competition model linking the population dynamics of the phytoplankton species with dynamic changes in carbon speciation, pH and light. Our results show (i) that competition between phytoplankton species at different CO2 levels can be predicted from species traits in monoculture, (ii) that green algae can be strong competitors under CO2-depleted conditions, and (iii) that bloom-forming cyanobacteria with high-flux bicarbonate uptake systems will benefit from elevated CO2 concentrations.


During this period of rapid and significant change in journalistic practices, journalism educators are re-examining their own profession and contributing to the invention of new models and practices. This edited volume of studies by respected international scholars describes the diverse issues journalism educators are grappling with and the changes they are making in purpose and practice. The book is organized into three sections -- education, training and employment – that explore common themes:
How the assumptions embedded in journalism education are being examined and revised in the light of transformative changes in communication;

How the definitions of journalism and journalists are broadening in scope and what this means for educators;

How newsrooms and training programs around the world are being re-examined and made more effective.

An introductory essay and section summaries provide context for the thirteen chapters that constitute the collection. The section on journalism education explores fundamental ways educators are seeking to make their institutions and practices stronger and more responsive. The section on training includes case studies of journalism training programs in sub-Saharan Africa, Turkey, Sweden and the U.S. The final section examines the job prospects and employment market for journalism students with data from the U.S., U.K, Australia, and Sweden.

The scope of issues considered in the book makes it a valuable resource for journalism scholars from around the world, as well as doctoral students, journalism and communication administrators in universities, organizations that fund journalism training programs, and practitioners interested in understanding employment and education trends.


Using insights from social choice theory, particularly Black's concept of single-peaked preferences and Downs's median-voter model, the authors previously investigated the theoretical impact of the alternative vote system (AV) on the success of moderate parties in an ethnically bipolar society. Focusing on the simplest case, that with one moderate and one extremist ethnic party associated with each of the two ethnic groups, they found that for AV to necessarily yield outcomes that favor moderate parties there must be majority support for moderation and voter preferences that are single peaked with respect to the ethnic-conflict-defined dimension. Here, the authors test these assumptions with data from the 1999 and 2001 elections in Fiji, an ethnically bipolar society. They show that Fiji's objective of ameliorating ethnic divisions by the adoption of AV was not successful. In elections in 1999 and 2001, moderate parties would have fared better under a proportional representation system.


This paper studies the design of health insurance with ex post moral hazard, when there is imperfect competition in the market for the medical product. Various scenarios, such as monopoly pricing, price negotiation or horizontal differentiation are considered. The insurance contract specifies two types of copayments: an ad valorem coinsurance rate and a specific (per unit) copayment. By combining both copayment rates in an adequate way the insurer can effectively control the producer price, which is then set so that the producer's revenue just covers fixed costs. Consequently, a suitable regulation of the copayment instruments leads to the same reimbursement rule of individual expenditures as under perfect competition for medical products. Additional rationing of coverage because of imperfect competition as advocated by Feldstein (1973) is thus not necessary. Interestingly the optimal policy closely resembles a reference price mechanism in which copayment rates are low (possibly negative) and coinsurance rates are high.


Dear Editor, In a previous letter to your Journal, we (OG) have already discussed the issue of the "ghost concepts of cognitive science" but now we would like to particularize it on a specific case, which was recently published in an influential journal. Thus, recently, Gray, Gray, & Wegner (2007) have published an interesting paper in "Science" (315) related to the "dimensions of mind perception". Basically, their aim was to study the "...structure of mind perception..." (p. 619). Their findings are interpreted to reveal two components of mind perception, namely "agency" and "experience". The study was correctly conducted, involving a very clever design. Such a study is useful if we resist the temptation of reification (i.e., transforming a mental model into a psychological reality) of its constructs (e.g., "mind perception", "mind agency"). However, the authors seem to not resist the temptation of reification, talking about "mind structure", "mind agency" rather than seeing these like pure psychological constructs etc. Indeed, in a psychological/cognitive system, a set of inputs is associated with a set of outputs by several psychological models/constructs (some of them even described mathematically). These psychological constructs have several functions: (1) explain why a certain input is associated with a certain output; (2) predict the output given a certain input; (3) describe the input-output relations; and (4) organize and summarize various inputoutput relations. But are they any more "real" than a mathematical model [i.e., F(x)=2x], such as other scientific constructs like "gene" or "mass" are? Is it correct to understand these constructs as psychological realities (i.e., "mind perception"). For example, nobody would argue that F(x)=2x is a fundamental component of physical reality simply because it connects some mathematically quantified physical inputs and outputs. Why then shall we argue that a psychological construct is a part of a psychological reality simply because it connects some psychological inputs and outputs? We must be aware that some psychological constructs are just functional models with no reality to them; they are similar to F(x)=2x. However, other psychological constructs might be not only functional models but also part of reality. Having said that, what is the difference - the boundary - between these two types of constructs? The main distinction is that for a psychological construct to be a part of reality, we need a clear-cut definition of the construct and a qualitative description of the psychological phenomenon, which should be fully grasped by the human brain (i.e., have an identified biological/brain counterpart; a description at the implementational level); thus, not only does it model various reality based input-output relations, but it also has a clear biological counterpart. The understanding of this distinction is fundamental for psychology and its relation with neurosciences; for example, a difficulty lies in separating the biological counterpart of an input and output from that of the psychological construct connecting/modeling them. Confusing models/constructs of reality with reality is a serious error in science. Does this make the construct (e.g., "mind agency") not described at the implementational level (i.e., brain level) less important for psychology than those with a clear biological counterpart (e.g., "cognitive inhibition" based on the prefrontal lobe)? …


Rocks of the McMurdo Volcanic Group occur as stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, scoria cones, plugs, flows and volcanic piles up to 4000 m high along the Ross Sea margin of the Transantarctic Mountains and make up the Balleny Islands 300 km north of the Antarctic continental margin. The rocks are predominantly undersaturated and range from alkali basalt and basanite to trachyte and phonolite. Four volcanic provinces are recognised; Balleny, Hallett, Melbourne and Erebus. The Balleny volcanic province is situated along a transform fault in the South Pacific Ocean. The rocks are predominantly basanite. Hallett volcanic province occurs along the coast of northern Victoria Land as four elongate piles formed extensive of hyaloclastites, tuffs, breccias and capped by subaerial eruptive products. The lavas are a basanite/alkali basalt-trachyte-quartz trachyte association, and were extruded over the last 7 m.y. Melbourne volcanic province stretches across the Transantarctic Mountains in northern Victoria Land and ranges in age from 0 to 7 m.y. A Central Suite of intermediate and trachytic lavas form stratovolcanoes, cones and plugs, while many small basanite outcrops constitute a Local Suite. Three lava lineages, resulting from differentiation, are recognised. 1) Lavas at The Pleiades and Mt Overlord consist of a mildly potassic trachyandesite-tristanite-K-trachyte-peralkaline K-trachyte lineage. Major, trace and rare earth element (REE) data suggest evolution by fractional crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene, magnetite, apatite and feldspar. 2) A basanite-nepheline hawaiite-nepheline mugearite-nepheline benmoreite lineage, found at The Pleiades is believed to result from fractional crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene, kaersutite, magnetite, apatite and feldspar. 3) An oversaturated (Q = 0 to 18%) strongly potassic quartz trachyandesite-quartz tristanite-quartz trachyte lineage occurs at only Mt Melbourne. The Erebus volcanic province covers all McMurdo Volcanic Group rocks in south Victoria Land. Mt Erebus itself is still active, but the province includes rocks as old as 15 m.y. Two lava lineages very similar chemically are recognised: 1) The Erebus lineage consists of strongly porphyritic nepheline hawaiite-nepheline benmoreite-anorthoclase phonolite. Phenocrysts of feldspar, clinopyroxene, olivine, magnetite and apatite are characteristic. The chemistry of the lineage is compatible with fractional crystallization of the phenocryst phases. 2) A kaersutite lineage consists of basanite-nepheline hawaiite-nepheline mugearite-nepheline benmoreite-kaersutite phonolite-pyroxene phonolite. Clinopyroxene (Wo44-48 En40-48 Fs7-14) is ubiquitous, kaersutite is common in all intermediate lavas and primary olivine (Fa12 to Fa26) is confined to the basanites. Major element mass balance models for lavas from Hut Point Peninsula suggest formation by fractional crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene, spinel (includes magnetite and ilmenite), kaersutite, feldspar and apatite. Middle REE show a marked depletion consistent with kaersutite fractionation. REE abundances were evaluated using the mass balance models and published partition coefficients. Calculated REE abundances show excellent agreement with the measured values. Abundances of "incompatible" elements Pb, Rb, Cs, Th and U are not consistent with the models and "volatile enrichment" processes are invoked to explain their abundances. Intermediate lavas of the kaersutite lineage are rare in the Erebus volcanic province, occurring only at Hut Point Peninsula and Brown Peninsula. At other areas basanite and phonolite lavas predominate. However these are considered to form by fractional crystallization processes similar to Hut Point Peninsula lavas. Erebus lineage lavas differentiated at higher temperatures and, lower PH2O than those of the kaersutite lineage, which characterize the periphery of Ross Island. REE abundances and comparison with experimental melting studies indicate DVDP basanite originated by a low degree of partial melting (1-5%) of a hydrous garnet peridotite mantle at pressures of 25-30 kbars. These data suggest that Ross Island is the site of a mantle plume with a diameter of, about 100 km and centred on Mt Erebus.


ABSTRACT Aim: We previously reported results from AGO-OVAR16 (NCT00866697), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial that evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of pazopanib maintenance therapy in patients without disease progression after first-line chemotherapy for AEOC (du Bois et al, ASCO 2013; abstract LBA5503). Patients in the pazopanib arm had longer progression-free survival (PFS) versus those in the placebo arm (HR = 0.766; 95% CI: 0.643, 0.911; P = .0021; medians 17.9 vs 12.3 months, respectively). The first interim analysis for overall survival (OS) after 190 deaths (20% of the study population) revealed no difference between arms (HR = 0.994; 95% CI: 0.747, 1.321). In this report we present updated results from the planned second interim OS analysis after 335 events (36% of the study population; 61% of events required for the final OS analysis, which will be performed after 551 events). Methods: Eligible patients had histologically confirmed AEOC, FIGO stage II-IV, and no evidence of disease progression after surgery and ≥ 5 cycles of platinum-taxane chemotherapy. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive pazopanib 800 mg once daily or placebo for up to 24 months. The primary endpoint was PFS by RECIST. Secondary endpoints included OS, safety, and quality of life. Results: A total of 940 patients were randomized. At this second interim analysis of OS, 172 patients (36%) in the pazopanib arm and 163 patients (35%) in the placebo arm had died (HR = 1.076; 95% CI: 0.868, 1.333; P = .4985). The majority of deaths in each arm were attributed to the cancer under study. Additional subgroup analyses are ongoing and will be presented. Conclusions: Results from this updated OS analysis are consistent with the first interim analysis. Although maintenance therapy with pazopanib in AEOC significantly prolonged PFS in the overall study population, no difference in OS was observed in the planned second interim OS analysis. Disclosure: J.A. Arranz Arija: I have received honorarium for participating in advisory boards organized by GSK. I have received honorarium for participating as speaker in meetings organized by GSK. I do not have other economic relationships nor interest with GSK; N. Colombo: I have to declare participation in advisory boards; B.J. Monk: I have received honoraria for Advisory Boards. GSK supports research done at my institution and the payments do not go to me; T. Herzog: Consultant via advisory boards: Az, Roche, merk, morphotek No other as no speaker bureaus stock etc; C. Barrett and M. Jobanputra: I am employed by GlaxoSmithKline and hold GSK stock; Q. Wang: I'm a GSK employee and own GSK stocks. I do not have anything else to disclose; A. Du Bois: Consultant/advisor for Roche, Pharmamar, Amgen, and MSD Honoraria received from Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Pharmamar and MSD. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


Introduction: EET87720 is a polymict ureilite breccia
showing a cataclastic aggregate dominated by rounded clasts of
large olivine, up to 3mm in diameter, plagioclase and minor
amounts of low-Ca pyroxene with traces of Ni-rich iron, troilite,
suessite and graphite set in a clast-supported matrix of finer mineral
clasts. Here we report the first occurrence of a granitic clast
in an interior chip of EET87720.
Results: The granitic clast is approximately 550 x 850 μm
in size (0.5 mm2
) consisting of quartz, albite (Ab89-93) and oligoclase.
The oligoclase occurs as a large (150 x 225 μm) euhedral
strongly zoned phenocryst (core = Ab73; rim = Ab91). Quartz and
albite occur as a granophyre-like intergrowth (150-200μm) mantling
the oligoclase phenocryst. In the intergrowth, quartz occurs
as thin elongated vermicular blebs, with an average diameter of
5-10 μm and up to 100-120 μm in length within larger albite
crystals. Outside the intergrowth quartz and albite occur as anhedal
crystals up to 150μm in diameter. The quartz is slightly
impure containing up to 1.3 wt.% Al2O3 and 0.2 wt.% Na2O. Although
the normal granophyre mineralogy of K-feldspar and
quartz does not occur within this granitic clast, the texture is very
similar to that of terrestrial granophyres. The granophyre-like
intergrowth and the oligoclase phenocryst share a common margin,
suggesting the granitic clast was part of a larger fragment.
An estimate of bulk composition reveals that the clast is an alkali
granite.
Origin of the granitic clast: Although granite is abundant
in the Earth's crust, it is thought to be rare on other planets. It is
also extremely rare as lithic clasts in brecciated meteorites, being
only reported in a few meteorites (e.g. four granite clasts in the
LL3-6 chondritic breccia Adzhi-Bogdo [1]) and as small inclusions
in returned Apollo samples [2,3]. The formation of granitic
magma on Earth can occur in several ways. Firstly, anatexis of
pre-existing silica-rich feldspar-bearing material, such as terrigenous
sediments, schists and felsic gneisses, can produce a
eutectic partial melt with a granitic composition. This case is
unlikely to be responsible for the origin of the granite clast described
here, since it requires a sedimentary cycle that probably
involves water. Alternatively, granites can be produced by extensive
fractionation of a basaltic magma, or partial melting of igneous
rocks. Since EET87720 is from the Antarctic, it is highly
unlikely that the granite clast could have been derived by contamination
from the terrestrial environment. Its presence in the
regolith of an achondrite asteroid indicates that granitic material
was present on bodies that were involved in collisions early in
solar system history.


This article gives an overview of the application of nanomaterials in environmental remediation. In the area of environmental remediation, nanomaterials offer the potential for the efficient removal of pollutants and biological contaminants. Nanomaterials in various shapes/morphologies, such as nanoparticles, tubes, wires, fibres etc., function as adsorbents and catalysts and their composites with polymers are used for the detection and removal of gases (SO2, CO, NOx, etc.), contaminated chemicals (arsenic, iron, manganese, nitrate, heavy metals, etc.), organic pollutants (aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons) and biological substances, such as viruses, bacteria, parasites and antibiotics. Nanomaterials show a better performance in environmental remediation than other conventional techniques because of their high surface area (surface-to-volume ratio) and their associated high reactivity. Recent advances in the fabrication of novel nanoscale materials and processes for the treatment of drinking water and industrial waste water contaminated by toxic metal ions, radionuclides, organic and inorganic solutes, bacteria and viruses and the treatment of air are highlighted. In addition, recent advances in the application of polymer nanocomposite materials for the treatment of contaminants and the monitoring of pollutants are also discussed. Furthermore, the research trends and future prospects are briefly discussed.


The flow-induced vibrations of an elastically mounted circular cylinder, free to oscillate in the direction parallel to the current and subjected to a forced rotation about its axis, are investigated by means of two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations, at a Reynolds number equal to 100 based on the cylinder diameter and inflow velocity. The cylinder is found to oscillate up to a rotation rate (ratio between the cylinder surface and inflow velocities) close to 2 (first vibration region), then the body and the flow are steady until a rotation rate close to 2.7 where a second vibration region begins. Each vibration region is characterized by a specific regime of response. In the first region, the vibration amplitude follows a bell-shaped evolution as a function of the reduced velocity (inverse of the oscillator natural frequency). The maximum vibration amplitudes, even though considerably augmented by the rotation relative to the non-rotating body case, remain lower than 0.1 cylinder diameters. Due to their trends as functions of the reduced velocity and to the fact that they develop under a condition of wake-body synchronization or lock-in, the responses of the rotating cylinder in this region are comparable to the vortex-induced vibrations previously described in the absence of rotation. The symmetry breaking due to the rotation is shown to directly impact the structure displacement and fluid force frequency contents. In the second region, the vibration amplitude tends to increase unboundedly with the reduced velocity. It may become very large, higher than 2.5 diameters in the parameter space under study. Such structural oscillations resemble the galloping responses reported for non-axisymmetric bodies. They are accompanied by a dramatic amplification of the fluid forces compared to the non-vibrating cylinder case. It is shown that body oscillation and flow unsteadiness remain synchronized and that a variety of wake topologies may be encountered in this vibration region. The low-frequency, large-amplitude responses are associated with novel asymmetric multi-vortex patterns, combining a pair and a triplet or a quartet of vortices per cycle. The flow is found to undergo three-dimensional transition in the second vibration region, with a limited influence on the system behaviour. It appears that the transition occurs for a substantially lower rotation rate than for a rigidly mounted cylinder.


As manifold and multicolored we encounter tattoos nowadays is the diversity of possible side effects accompanying this kind of body modification. They span a range starting from infections, allergies, photosensitivities and granulomas up to the long-term exposure against potentially toxic compounds. The contribution of tattoos towards the generation of cancer is highly debated among experts and object of current research. Since 2009, safety regulations concerning tattoo ingredients have been implemented in Germany. However, the lack of data according to crucial toxicity endpoints is mirrored by an as yet unsatisfying regulation. Tattoos therefore still entail a permanent risk despite their increasing popularity.


Abstract In seventeenth-century Europe, followers of John Calvin debated with followers of Jacob Arminius about five main doctrinal points: the total depravity of man, God's unconditional election of certain people, the limited nature of the Atonement, the irresistibility of God's grace, and the perseverance of the Saints. This article gives a brief account of that controversy and then compares the teachings of Joseph Smith and Mormonism on these same five points of doctrine. Recommended Citation Millet, Robert L. (2011) "Joseph Smith Encounters Calvinism," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 50 : Iss. 4 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol50/iss4/2  Download


Kainan Maru Seamount lies off the northern end of the Gunnerus Ridgealong the margin of East Antarctica. The seamount is separated from theGunnerus Ridge by only about 15 km. Detailed Hydrosweep multibeamsurveys of the seamount have shown that the seamount rises over3,500 m above the surrounding seafloor, has an oval shape about 60 kmwide and 120 km long, and has a gently sloping summit. The northernand eastern sides of the seamount are steeper than the southern andwestern sides. Many erosional channels cut the northern and easternflanks of the seamount, whereas the western side shows evidence oflarge sediment slides and is more gently sloping. The morphology of theseamount, as observed in the bathymetry and satellite gravity data,suggests that Kainan Maru Seamount may be a detached piece of theGunnerus Ridge that rotated clockwise away from the ridge during therifting of Gondwana in this area.


ABSTRACT
 We tested a bioenergetics model integrated within a mortality model that estimates numbers of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) poisoned with the avicide, Compound DRC-1339 Concentrate. The bioenergetics model predicted daily metabolic rate. Accuracy and reliability of this variable is critical because other algorithms (e.g., toxicity regressions, feeding behavior) in the mortality model depend on metabolic rate to calculate the amount of DRC-1339 ingested per bird. We tested the bioenergetics model by comparing its estimates of metabolic rate with those generated from measuring feeding rates of caged starlings during a feeding trial conducted outdoors during January 2008. Over the 12-day feeding trial, daily feeding rates of caged starlings indicated that metabolic rates ranged from 157 kJ/bird per day to 305 kJ/bird per day. The bioenergetics model predicted metabolic rates ranging from 208 kJ/bird per day to 274 kJ/bird per day. There was no difference between these 2 independently derived estimates of daily metabolic rate (paired t-test: t (11) = 1.4, P = 0.18). Using 95% confidence intervals calculated from variation of feeding rates among cages (n = 4, 6 birds/cage), the bioenergetics model's estimates were within 95% confidence intervals on 9 of 12 days and greater than the upper 95% confidence interval on 3 days. Daily estimates of metabolic rate were directly correlated between the bioenergetics model and the feeding-rate model (r 12 = 0.57, P = 0.05). A broad range of temperatures (-17°C to 14°C), wind speeds (0–40 km/hr), and percent cloud cover (0–100%) were encountered during the feeding trial. The bioenergetics model's predictions appeared robust to varying meteorological conditions typical of winters in middle latitudes of the interior United States. Compound DRC-1339 Concentrate is used by USDA Wildlife Services to manage chronic infestations of starlings at livestock facilities, which occur mainly during fall and winter. Compared to other methods used for estimating DRC-1339 mortality (e.g., counting birds pre- and posttreatment), bioenergetics modeling should improve the mortality model's overall accuracy and precision.


Abstract A new generation of hydropower technologies, the kinetic hydro and wave energy conversion devices, offers the possibility of generating electricity from the movements of water, without the need for dams and diversions. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 encouraged the development of these sources of renewable energy in the United States, and there is growing interest in deploying them globally. The technologies that would extract electricity from free-flowing streams, estuaries, and oceans have not been widely tested. Consequently, the U.S. Department of Energy convened a workshop to (1) identify the varieties of hydrokinetic energy and wave energy conversion devices and their stages of development, (2) identify where these technologies can best operate, (3) identify the potential environmental issues associated with these technologies and possible mitigation measures, and (4) develop a list of research needs and/or practical solutions to address unresolved environmental issues. We review the results ...


Recent evidence on functional income distribution suggests that the shares of capital and labour in national income vary considerably both over time and across countries. Specifically, there seems to be a general reduction in the labour share around the world, in particular from the mid-1980s onwards. Using fixed effects regression methods on a panel dataset covering 89 countries – both developing and developed – over the period 1970-2009, this study examines the mechanisms underlying the variability in the labour share. In particular, it focuses on the relationships between the labour share and measures of international trade and technological change. The results are robust across different specifications, for yearly data as well as 3- and 5-year averages, and after performing instrumental variable estimation. They suggest that trade openness and technological innovation have a positive and significant effect on the labour share. However, Foreign Direct Investments inflows and mechanisation seem to be negative drivers. Moreover, other factors, such as the level of economic development, education, and the strength of the regulations in the labour market, seem to also significantly influence functional distribution of income.


The EUROPANGE project, involving both medievalists and computer scientists, aims to study the emergence of a corps of administrators in the Angevin controlled territories in the XIII–XV centuries. Our project attempts to analyze the officers' careers, shared relation networks and strategies based on the study of individual biographies. In this paper, we describe methods and tools designed to analyze these prosopographical data. These include OLAP analyzes and network analyzes associated with cartographic and chronological visualization tools.


Networks become increasingly important as external sources of innovation for firms. Through networks firms get in contact with different actors with whom they can exchange information and collaborate. A firm's ability to be a successful network actor depends on its network competence. This term can be defined as having the necessary knowledge, skills and qualifications for networking as well as using them effectively. In this paper we investigate the link between a firm's network competence and the benefits resulting from it in a two‐way direction. First, the network competence of the firm facilitates the adoption of information from other network actors which may lead to innovation success. Second the perceived network benefits shall in their turn influence the network competence of the firm. Consequently, firms will adapt their network strategy corresponding their experiences. The objective of this paper is to investigate the dynamics of networking and its influence on the firm's network competence. For this exploratory research 3 Belgian networks are examined. In‐depth interviews are used in combination with semi‐ structured interview guides to conduct the research. Our results indicate that some firms perceive benefits from their network efforts, for others it is more a burden. Furthermore, in some of our cases we found that positive experiences with clear benefits motivate the firm to enhance its network competence. This is illustrated by the fact that collaborations are more frequently initiated, trust is more easily build, firms are more open to communicate information and the confidentiality threshold is overcome.


Objectives: The ability to measure temporal trends in disease incidence is important, but valid methods are needed. This study investigates UK trends during 1996–2005 in work-related skin and respiratory diseases including non-malignant pleural disease, asthma, mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis and the potential for bias when using surveillance systems for this purpose. Methods: The volunteer reporters in three surveillance schemes were specialist physicians for skin diseases, specialist physicians for respiratory diseases and occupational physicians, respectively, who provided monthly reports of new cases of disease which they considered work related. Poisson regression models were used to investigate variation by calendar year (trend), season and reporter characteristics. Separately, temporal patterns in the probabilities of non-response and zero reports were investigated. Annual changes in disease incidences were compared between reporter groups. Results: There was little evidence of change in incidences of non-malignant pleural disease, mesothelioma, skin neoplasia and urticaria, but falls were seen for contact dermatitis and pneumoconiosis. Although the directions of change were similar across reporter groups, the magnitude of annual change in incidence was often inconsistent: for occupational asthma, it was −1.9% (95% CI −5.2 to 1.4) and −12.1% (95% CI−19.5 to −4.1) using respiratory and occupational physician reports, respectively. Response rates were high (∼85%), but non-response increased slightly with membership time, as did the probability of a zero return in some groups. Adjustment of results for presumed reporting fatigue led to an upward correction in some calendar trends. Conclusions: As some estimated changes in incidence based on volunteer reporting may be biased by reporting fatigue, apparent downward trends need to be interpreted cautiously. Differences in the population bases of the surveillance schemes and UK health service capacity constraints may also explain the differences in trends found here.


For over thirty years, Colin Drury has been at the forefront of helping students learn the key concepts and processes in management and cost accounting through his textbooks. Now in its tenth edition, Management and Cost Accounting has been the leading textbook in the field for three decades, and continues to blend theory and practice in language that is clear and accessible. As well as covering everything students need to know for management accounting and cost accounting modules on undergraduate courses, or postgraduate students studying these topics for the first time, this book will also help prepare those taking the professional accounting bodies' management and cost accounting examinations. The new edition has been completely updated to reflect recent developments in the field, and now includes additional emphasis on value creation, and links strategic performance management more closely to divisional financial performance measurement. An entirely new chapter has also been added looking at the challenges management accountants will face in the future.


This document reports the results of the OSPFv2 Prefix/Link Attributes
implementation survey. The survey has seven questions related to the
implementer's support of OSPFv2 Prefix/Link Attributes. After a
brief summary of the results, each response is listed. This document
contains responses from six implementers who completed the survey. No
external means were used to verify the accuracy of the information
submitted by the respondents. The respondents are considered experts
on the products they reported on. Additionally, responses were omitted
from implementers who indicated that they have not implemented the
function yet.


This paper describes experiments in detecting and annotating code-switching in a large multilingual diachronic corpus of Swiss Alpine texts. The texts are in English, French, German, Italian, Romansh and Swiss German. Because of the multilingual authors (mountaineers, scientists) and the assumed multilingual readers, the texts contain numerous code-switching elements. When building and annotating the corpus, we faced issues of language identification on the sentence and sub-sentential level. We present our strategy for language identification and for the annotation of foreign language fragments within sentences. We report 78% precision on detecting a subset of code-switches with correct language labels and 92% unlabeled precision.


INTRODUCTION: Swedish firefighters are a part of the emergency medical services. Therefore, they perform prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a regular basis. Training becomes crucial for maintaining the CPR skills and increasing the patients' chances of survival. Training with visual feedback is for Swedish firefighters a new way of training CPR. The aim of this study was to evaluate firefighters' perception of a CPR manikin with visual feedback. METHOD: This study had a qualitative approach. Data were collected by interviews with 16 firefighters after performing CPR on a manikin with visual feedback. The data were analyzed with a manifest content analysis. RESULTS: Visual feedback makes it easy to identify and maintain correct compression rate. There is a need for identifying too deep compressions. Uncertainty regarding the closeness to the stomach arises when using the whole hand during compressions instead of just the wrist. To accomplish an open airway requires a bit of adjustment of the manikins' head. DISCUSSION: To train and learn CPR is feasible with visual feedback. The firefighters can maintaing a correct compression rate and correct compression depth during the sessions. Ventilating a patient with bag-valvemask or pocket mask may require training with visual feedback to guarantee the firefighters being able to secure an open airway of the patient. All these skills are essential and improve the chance of survival for the patients.


We experimentally investigate the influence of polarization switching on the intensity noise of transverse single-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. We show that a polarization switch always leads to strong noise in the two individual orthogonal polarization modes over a large range of pump current in the vicinity of the switch, whereas the effect on the total emission noise strongly depends on the strength of the coupling between total intensity noise and polarization fluctuations, which is mainly determined by the amount of birefringence. Thus our results demonstrate that the occurrence of a polarization switch can have a strong deteriorating effect on the noise behavior, not only if polarization selection is present, but also on the total emission noise, and therefore has to be considered in future investigations and low-noise applications.


Abstract. Hazardous impact of air pollutant emissions from megacities on atmospheric composition on regional and global scales is currently an important issue in atmospheric research. However, the quantification of emissions and related effects is frequently a difficult task, especially in the case of developing countries, due to the lack of reliable data and information. This study examines possibilities to retrieve multi-annual NOx emissions changes in megacity regions from satellite measurements of nitrogen dioxide and to quantify them in terms of linear and nonlinear trends. By combining the retrievals of the GOME and SCIAMACHY satellite instrument data with simulations performed by the CHIMERE chemistry transport model, we obtain the time series of NOx emission estimates for the 12 largest urban agglomerations in Europe and the Middle East in the period from 1996 to 2008. We employ then a novel method allowing estimation of a nonlinear trend in a noisy time series of an observed variable. The method is based on the probabilistic approach and the use of artificial neural networks; it does not involve any quantitative a priori assumptions. As a result, statistically significant nonlinearities in the estimated NOx emission trends are detected in 5 megacities (Bagdad, Madrid, Milan, Moscow and Paris). Statistically significant upward linear trends are detected in Istanbul and Tehran, while downward linear trends are revealed in Berlin, London and the Ruhr agglomeration. The presence of nonlinearities in NOx emission changes in Milan, Paris and Madrid is confirmed by comparison of simulated NOx concentrations with independent air quality monitoring data. A good quantitative agreement between the linear trends in the simulated and measured near surface NOx concentrations is found in London.


This thesis analyses key documents from the United Nations Security Council (the Council) meetings during the period of 1999 to 2001. This thesis maps out the shift in the discourses that occurred within the Council, when adopting United Nations Security Council's resolution (UNSCR) 1325. Moreover, this thesis argues that the nodal point 'Civilians' has become gendered by being replaced by the concept of 'Women'. This thesis argues that UNSC is misrepresenting female agency within the discourses, which has contributed to a gendering of the concept of civilians. Sexual violence, defined as a wartime weapon, has also been part of the construction of stereotypical gender binaries, which has constituted a representation of women as either victims or saviors within the discourses. It becomes evident that the notion of female agency as for example independent, empowered or strong has been neglected.The discourse theory provided by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe is applied in order to map out the existing discourses within the Security Council meetings. The aim of this study is to acknowledge the importance of that women have been and still are being excluded from the ontology of war. Furthermore, when the role of women in war is described, it is in relation to constructed stereotypical gender binaries.


We evaluated the prevalence of peripheral neuropathy by clinical and electrophysiological criteria and the prevalence of autonomic parasympathetic nerve dysfunction by heart-rate variation during deep breathing (expiration-to-inspiration ratio [E:I]) in 132 newly diagnosed non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDDM) subjects aged 45–64 yr and 142 randomly selected nondiabetic control subjects. The relationship of nerve dysfunction to the degree of hyperglycemia and insulin-secretion capacity were also investigated. Single and scattered symptoms and signs of peripheral neuropathy were found in both diabetic and control subjects. Symptomatic polyneuropathy was found in 1.5% of diabetic subjects but none of the control subjects. Polyneuropathy defined by clinical signs was found in 2.3% of the diabetic subjects and 1.4% of the control subjects. No subjects with both symptoms and signs were seen. Nerve conduction velocities (NCVs) were significantly slower in diabetic than control subjects. Polyneuropathy according to electrophysiological criteria was found in 15.2% of diabetic subjects but was not found in any control subjects. Electromyographic abnormalities were more common in diabetic than control women, but no significant differences were found in men. The resting heart rate was higher in diabetic than control women, but no significant difference was found in men. The mean E:I was significantly lower in diabetic men and women than control men and women. An abnormally low E: I was found in 9.2% of the diabetic men, 3.3% of the control men, 3.3% of the diabetic women, and none of the control women. NCV parameters, but not E:I, were inversely correlated with fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels. A positive correlation between NCV and fasting and postglucose serum insulin levels was found in both groups. These results show that clinical diabetic neuropathy is not common at diagnosis of NIDDM, but disturbances in peripheral and autonomic nerve function, detected by electrophysiological and cardiovascular reflex methods, are often present at that stage of the disease. The prevalence of neuropathy is also highly dependent on the criteria used. The degree of peripheral nerve dysfunction was associated with the degree of hyperglycemia, but an association between glycemic control and autonomic dysfunction could not be demonstrated.


This paper presents a more realistic flexible job shop scheduling problem, the flexible job shop scheduling problem with regular machine halt time (RMHT-FJSP). Different from machine breakdowns and maintenances, the regular machine halt time is deterministic, regular and frequent. The objective is to minimize the number of tardiness jobs (JTN), total tardiness time (TTT) and average machine idle time (AMIT). The objective of minimizing AMIT is to ensure operations on a machine close to each other, and it is only used as a non-important selection criterion in this paper. To enhance the optimization ability of genetic algorithm, serval kinds of crossover operators and mutation operators are adopted simultaneously, and the buffer population to integrate old population and new individuals generated by these operators during evolution process is proposed, we called this algorithm as parallel search genetic algorithm (PSGA). Further, a fitness function designed by pre-experiment is studied. A computational experiment is made. Comparisons between FJSP and RMHT-FJSP are also represented.


The amount of vibrational energy scattering by a rib in a cylindrical shell will depend on the shape of the rib. This redistribution of energy will affect the coupling between the shell vibration and acoustic radiation. Most models treat the rib attachment to the shell as a line attachment. Here, a rib with different widths and shapes is considered. Equations for the structural intensity in an infinite cylindrical shell without and with fluid loading are derived. The rib is treated as a change in the shell thickness specified by a rib function with parameters to control height, width and shape. The effects of the rib on the structural intensity in the in‐vacuo shell in the farfield of the rib are modeled as a function of frequency and circumferential mode number.


ABSTRACTTrace metals in aerosols were observed at an urban site (Kumamoto, Kyushu, Japan) and a rural site (Cape Hedo, Okinawa, Japan) to investigate the relative contributions of transboundary air pollutants from mainland Asia and local air pollutants in western Japan. We used a cascade impactor to collect aerosols in five size classes. We apportioned the sources of the air masses on the basis of elemental components. Transboundary and local air pollutants were distinguished by use of the Pb/Cu and V/As ratios in selected size fractions of aerosols. The contribution of Pb (primarily from coal combustion in China) to total anthropogenic elements was greatest in spring, autumn, and winter in the 0.5–1 µm size fraction at both collection sites. The atmospheric environment at both sites was affected by this transboundary air pollutant. The contribution of Cu (primarily from local vehicle traffic) to total anthropogenic elements was greatest in all seasons in the 2.5–10 µm fraction at Kumamoto. Local air pollutants such as road dust, automobile brake abrasion, and waste incineration affected ambient air quality in Kumamoto. Because these pollutants resided mainly in the coarse aerosol fraction (> 2.5 µm), most of them were not transported to Cape Hedo in air bodies that we were able to trace to Kumamoto by backward projection. Based on our data the ambient air quality at Cape Hedo was little affected by local air pollutants emitted in the Kumamoto area.


The Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC) represents an important and widely utilized constituent of hierarchically structured automated manufacturing systems. The control of FMCs is therefore of great importance in automated manufacturing. However, there are few tools and methodologies available for specifying and developing the control logic. The few tools that do exist have proven to be impractical due to their requirements for compatibility by the constituent equipment. Therefore, this research focuses on the development of a solution to the control of FMCs through the development of a programming language that provides a methodology and capabilities for developing the supervisory control applications. Accordingly, a programming language was developed in which the control logic is specified in modules, each of which control an equipment or resource in the cell. These modules interact with each other according to well defined models of interaction to achieve the control. The language provides features to enable this modularity and the interaction between the modules. The process plan of the parts that are produced in the cell drive the control logic and are also the means of communication between the modules. Additionally, several features required for control such as the detection of deadlocks, part information and so on are also developed. In the proposed language, the communication problem is separated from the logic specification. Guidelines and requirements are developed for a language implementation system that will enable the communication with the cell devices and that works with the language structure.


Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is central to the immune response. It forms a complex with three cell surface receptors, IL-2Rα, IL-2Rβ, and IL-2Rγ, to form a complex that signals through activation of downstream tyrosine kinases, JAK3 and STAT. Rickert et al. have determined a 2.8 angstrom crystal structure of a complex between IL-2 and IL-2Rα. The IL-2Rα structure lacks a classical cytokine receptor fold, and the docking mode with IL-2 is distinct from known cytokine recognition modes. The structure provides a framework for the engineering of improved IL-2 therapeutics. M. Rickert, X. Wang, M. J. Boulanger, N. Goriatcheva, K. C. Garcia, The structure of interleukin-2 complexed with its alpha receptor. Science 308, 1477-1480 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Introduction: Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common communicable diseases worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Worldwide, about 3.5 billion people are affected, and 450 million are ill as a result of these infections, among whom, the majority are children. The objective of this study was to assess prevalence of intestinal parasites infection and associated risk factors among school children in Dagi primary school, ANRS, Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted by involving 399 school children from 24 September to 19 October, 2012. Structured questionnaires were used to identify environmental, socio-demographic and behavioral factors and stool specimens were collected and examined for parasites using direct smear and formal-ether concentration technique. Data analysis was done by using SPSS version 15 statistical soft ware. Results: Eight species of intestinal parasites were identified with an overall prevalence of 77.9%. Students were infected with one or more intestinal parasites and the predominant parasite was hook worm, 94 (23.6%) followed by G. lamblia 91 (22.8%), E. histoltica 86 (21.6%) and Strongyloides 6 (1.5%). The presence of mixed parasitic infection was 106 (34.1%), double and triple infections were 97 (91.5%) and 9 (8.5%) respectively. Intestinal parasitic infection was higher in children whose fathers' occupational status were farmers, who had unclean finger nails and who did not have the habit of wearing shoes (p parasites infection was an important public health problem among Dagi primary school children. Therefore, the local health office and other governmental and non-governmental organizations need to give attention to this serious problem of intestinal parasitic infection of school children.


The relationships between haematozoan parasites, cell-mediated immune response, territory features and colour morph were investigated in tawny owls Strix aluco, in the Park of Monza in Milan, northern Italy. Rufous and grey birds were found to differ significantly in their blood parasite loads, particularly during the breeding season, when rufous birds hosted more parasites than grey birds. The increase in parasitaemia of rufous owl was not, however, owing to the breeding status of sampled individuals. Although body condition was similar between the two colour morphs, immune response was higher in grey than in rufous owls for the same level of parasites. Moreover, parasites seemed to influence breeding of rufous birds negatively, because only individuals with no or few parasites reproduced. Both these results suggested a higher susceptibility to parasites of rufous owls. Nevertheless, a habitat effect existed because parasite loads increased significantly with woodland extent and tree-density within owl territories, and rufous birds defended more wooded territories than grey ones. Thus, the differential parasitaemia between colour morphs in tawny owls may be the result of both a differential exposure to flying vectors depending on habitat selection and a differential colour-based susceptibility of individuals.


1. In warm arid and semiarid environments, the accumulation of clay minerals produces increasingly well developed soil horizons with the passage of time. Differences in the strength of development of two prominent soil horizons, silt- and clay-rich surface vesicular (Av), and clay-enriched subsurface argillic (Bt), may strongly influence the amount and seasonal continuity of plant-available water and the physiological activity of long-lived desert shrubs. Three sites were selected on an alluvial piedmont (bajada) in the Mojave Desert that varied in surface and subsurface horizon development. The first site, a deep deposit of stabilized dune sand, entirely lacked soil horizon development. The second site had a well developed surface stone pavement and underlying Av horizon, but lacked an argillic horizon in the sandy subsoil. The third had a well developed surface pavement and Av horizon, and a deeper, well developed clay-rich argillic horizon. Seasonal water potential and gas-exchange responses of the evergreen desert shrub Larrea tridentata[DC.] Cov., and volumetric soil water content (θ), were measured monthly in 1996 on these three soils in order to test the hypothesis that desert pavements, Av and subsurface Bt horizons differentially affect the effectiveness and utilization of seasonal precipitation.

2. Predawn and midday water potentials (ψpd and ψmid), net photosynthetic rates (Anet), and stomatal conductances (gs) in L. tridentata were highest in the deep, sandy dune soils lacking horizons that could restrict surface and subsurface infiltration. Plants growing in these soils also showed no physiological response to summer precipitation events. Following a single large precipitation event during the growing season (3·8 cm), the water potentials, Anet and gs in L. tridentata were similar in the first (sand dune) and second (pavement and Av horizon) sites. However, plant performance on these soil surfaces showed marked seasonal declines, and did not respond to a small pulse of summer rainfall. Plants growing at the third site (older soils with strongly developed pavement, Av and Bt horizons) had very low gas-exchange rates and water potentials. However, following convectional summer thunderstorms L. tridentata showed improved water relations and gas exchange in these soils.

3. Midday water potentials were frequently anomalously higher than predawn water potentials, up to +6 MPa late in the growing season, especially on soil surfaces with well developed soil horizons. This anomaly was due to seasonal decreases in ψpd accompanied by invariant midday ψ. In general, ψpd was correlated with θ across the depths measured.

4. Correlations between ψmid with θ at 35 cm increased dramatically with increasing Bt horizon development, suggesting that seasonal ψmid may have been due to the vertical translocation of water ('hydraulic lift').

5. Our results show that subsurface and surficial soil horizon development differentially affects the seasonal availability of water for desert plants. During wetter parts of the season, subsurface horizons limit the degree of water availability, while surface soil characteristics have the greatest influence on the effectiveness of summer precipitation. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of climatic precipitation and attendant plant utilization of water resources in warm desert systems may depend on the physical soil condition.


The motor vehicle industry has undergone important changes in recent years, including a shift in production from autos to light trucks and growth of vehicle leasing. This paper uses household-level data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances to document changes in households' acquisitions and financing of motor vehicles from 1989 to 2001. We examine what types of vehicles households had, what financing arrangements were used to acquire them, and how vehicle holdings vary with such household characteristics as income, age, wealth, and creditworthiness. The data provide useful insights into the determinants of replacement demand and the use of alternative financing arrangements like leasing.


ABSTRACT Green manure crops are an important nitrogen source in organic production of vegetables. In field trials near Uppsala, Sweden, the release of nitrogen to the soil and crop from red clover mulch (Trifolium pratense L., cv. Vivi), and losses of ammonia to the atmosphere were investigated in a study with white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. capitata L. var. alba DC.). The effect of time of post-harvest incorporation of white cabbage crop residues on the uptake of nitrogen in ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum var. westerwoldicum cv. Barspectra) was investigated in the following year Nitrogen release during the growing season from red clover mulching corresponded to 26% of the nitrogen applied (243 kg ha−1). Nitrogen utilization efficiency was between 25 and 28% based on total uptake in the above ground parts of the white cabbage plants. The combined N losses via ammonia emissions during the sampling periods were 6–14 kg ha−1, which corresponded to an average loss of 1.4–2.8 kg ha−1 day−1 or 2.7–5.6% of the total amount of nitrogen supplied by red clover mulching. Due to uncertainty as regards the general process of ammonia emissions from green manure mulches, estimation of emissions in the periods before, between and after the sampling periods was not attempted. Uptake of nitrogen in ryegrass was higher after autumn incorporation of crop residues than after spring incorporation, with an apparent nitrogen recovery of 27% for the former and 11% for the latter. The results of this study indicate that a cropping systems with surface mulching is no less nitrogen-efficient than most other system based on organic ferillizers.


Natural Computing in Computational Finance is a innovative volume containing fifteen chapters which illustrate cutting-edge applications of natural computing or agent-based modeling in modern computational finance. Following an introductory chapter the book is organized into three sections. The first section deals with optimization applications of natural computing demonstrating the application of a broad range of algorithms including, genetic algorithms, differential evolution, evolution strategies, quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithms and bacterial foraging algorithms to multiple financial applications including portfolio optimization, fund allocation and asset pricing. The second section explores the use of natural computing methodologies such as genetic programming, neural network hybrids and fuzzy-evolutionary hybrids for model induction in order to construct market trading, credit scoring and market prediction systems. The final section illustrates a range of agent-based applications includin g the modeling of payment card and financial markets. Each chapter provides an introduction to the relevant natural computing methodology as well as providing a clear description of the financial application addressed. The book was written to be accessible to a wide audience and should be of interest to practitioners, academics and students, in the fields of both natural computing and finance.


Abstract The transformation of schwertmannite to goethite was studied by ageing one synthetic and five natural schwertmannites in water at room temperature. Additionally, one synthetic and two natural schwertmannites were kept at variable pH (2, 4, 6 and 8). After one year, only the synthetic sample and one natural schwertmannite had transformed to goethite. However, the oxalate solubility of Fe and trace elements in all the samples decreased, whereas the total Fe/S ratios and specific surface areas of all samples increased. Arsenic and organic matter appeared to suppress the schwertmannite-to-goethite phase transformation. At pH 2, synthetic schwertmannite fullytransformed to goethite, but at pH 4-6 only minor transformation occurred. Depending on pH, many trace elements were released into solution during ageing of the natural schwertmannites. In general, Co, Mn, Zn and Si were released to solution, whereas As was enriched in the remaining iron oxide fraction. Al was dissolved at pH <4.


The effects of the recent warming trend in many northern temperate lakes on the species composition of spring phytoplankton remain poorly understood, especially because a recent change in nutrients has complicated efforts, and previous studies have defined spring according to the calendar. We analysed data from 1979 to 2004 from Lake Müggelsee (Berlin, Germany), using physical and biological parameters to define the spring period. We show that a change in timing of spring plankton events in warm years led to the paradox of lower mean water temperatures during the growth period, favouring cold‐adapted diatoms over cyanobacteria, and within the diatoms, some cold‐adapted centric forms over pennate forms. Under high P : Si ratios, the increased time between phytoplankton and cladoceran peaks opened a loophole for filamentous cyanobacteria (Oscillatoriales) in warm years to establish dominance after the diatoms, which are silicate limited. Therefore, the warming trend promotes filamentous cyanobacteria, a well‐known nuisance in eutrophic lakes, and surprisingly, cold‐adapted diatoms.


About the Editors. Contributing Authors. Foreword. PART ONE: Instruments, Asset Allocation, Portfolio Selection, and Asset Pricing. CHAPTER 1: Overview of Investment Management (Frank J. Fabozzi and Harry M. Markowitz). Setting Investment Objectives. Establishing an Investment Policy. Selecting a Portfolio Strategy. Constructing the Portfolio. Measuring and Evaluating Performance. Key Points. CHAPTER 2: Asset Classes, Alternative Investments, Investment Companies, and Exchange-Traded Funds (Mark J. P. Anson, Frank J. Fabozzi, and Frank J. Jones). Asset Classes. Overview of Alternative Asset Products. Investment Companies. Exchange-Traded Funds. Mutual Funds vs. ETFs: Relative Advantages. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 3: Portfolio Selection (Frank J. Fabozzi, Harry M. Markowitz, Petter N. Kolm, and Francis Gupta). Some Basic Concepts. Measuring a Portfolio's Expected Return. Measuring Portfolio Risk. Portfolio Diversification. Choosing a Portfolio of Risky Assets. Issues in Portfolio Selection. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 4: Capital Asset Pricing Models (Frank J. Fabozzi and Harry M. Markowitz). Sharpe-Lintner CAPM. Roy CAPM. Confusions Regarding the CAPM. Two Meanings of Market Efficiency. CAPM Investors Do Not Get Paid for Bearing Risk. The "Two Beta" Trap. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 5: Factor Models (Guofu Zhou and Frank J. Fabozzi). Arbitrage Pricing Theory. Types of Factor Models. Factor Model Estimation. Keypoints. Appendix: Principal Component Analysis in Finance. Questions. CHAPTER 6: Modeling Asset Price Dynamics (Dessislava A. Pachamanova and Frank J. Fabozzi). Financial Time Series. Binomial Trees. Arithmetic Random Walks. Geometric Random Walks. Mean Reversion. Advanced Random Walk Models. Stochastic Processes. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 7: Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction (Noel Amenc, Felix Goltz, Lionel Martellini, and Vincent Milhau). Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction Decisions in the Optimal Design of the Performance-Seeking Portfolio. Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction Decisions in the Optimal Design of the Liability-Hedging Portfolio. Dynamic Allocation Decisions to the Performance-Seeking and Liability-Hedging Portfolios. Key Points. Appendix. Questions. PART TWO: Equity Analysis and Portfolio Management. CHAPTER 8: Fundamentals of Common Stock (Frank J. Fabozzi, Frank J. Jones, Robert R. Johnson, and Pamela P. Drake). Earnings. Dividends. The U.S. Equity Markets. Trading Mechanics. Trading Costs. Stock Market Indicators. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 9: Common Stock Portfolio Management Strategies (Frank J. Fabozzi, James L. Grant, and Raman Vardharaj). Integrating the Equity Portfolio Management Process. Capital Market Price Efficiency. Tracking Error and Related Measures. Active vs. Passive Portfolio Management. Equity Style Management. Passive Strategies. Active Investing. Performance Evaluation. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 10: Approaches to Common Stock Valuation (Pamela P. Drake, Frank J. Fabozzi, and Glen A. Larsen Jr.). Discounted Cash Flow Models. Relative Valuation Methods. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 11: Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management (Andrew Alford, Robert Jones, and Terence Lim). Traditional and Quantitative Approaches to Equity Portfolio Management. Forecasting Stock Returns, Risks, and Transaction Costs. Constructing Portfolios. Trading. Evaluating Results and Updating the Process. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 12: Long-Short Equity Portfolios (Bruce I. Jacobs and Kenneth N. Levy). Constructing a Market-Neutral Portfolio. The Importance of Integrated Optimization. Adding Back a Market Return. Some Concerns Addressed. Evaluating Long-Short. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 13: Multifactor Equity Risk Models (Frank J. Fabozzi, Raman Vardharaj, and Frank J. Jones). Model Description and Estimation. Risk Decomposition. Applications in Portfolio Construction and Risk Control. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 14: Fundamentals of Equity Derivatives (Bruce M. Collins and Frank J. Fabozzi). The Role of Derivatives. Listed Equity Options. Futures Contracts. Pricing Stock Index Futures. OTC Equity Derivatives. Structured Products. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 15: Using Equity Derivatives in Portfolio Management (Bruce M. Collins and Frank J. Fabozzi). Equity Investment Management. Portfolio Applications of Listed Options. Portfolio Applications of Stock Index Futures. Applications of OTC Equity Derivatives. Risk and Expected Return of Option Strategies. Key Points. Questions. PART THREE: Bond Analysis and Portfolio Management. CHAPTER 16: Bonds, Asset-Backed Securities, and Mortgage-Backed Securities (Frank J. Fabozzi). General Features of Bonds. U.S. Treasury Securities. Federal Agency Securities. Corporate Bonds. Municipal Securities. Asset-Backed Securities. Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities. Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 17: Bond Analytics (Frank J. Fabozzi). Basic Valuation of Option-Free Bonds. Conventional Yield Measures. Total Return. Measuring Interest Rate Risk. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 18: Bond Analytics (Frank J. Fabozzi and Steven V. Mann). Arbitrage-Free Bond Valuation. Yield Spread Measures. Forward Rates. Overview of the Valuation of Bonds with Embedded Options. Lattice Model. Valuation of MBS and ABS. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 19: Bond Portfolio Strategies for Outperforming a Benchmark (Bulent Baygun and Robert Tzucker). Selecting the Benchmark Index. Creating a Custom Index. Beating the Benchmark Index. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 20: The Art of Fixed Income Portfolio Investing (Chris P. Dialynas and Ellen J. Rachlin). The Global Fixed Income Portfolio Manager. The Global Challenge. Portfolio Parameters. Regulatory Changes, Demographic Trends, and Institutional Bias. Information in the Markets. Duration and Yield Curve. Volatility. International Corporate Bonds. International Investing and Political Externalities. Foreign Investment Selection. Currency Selection. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 21: Multifactor Fixed Income Risk Models and Their Applications (Anthony Lazanas, Antonio Baldaque da Silva, Radu Gabudean, and Arne D. Staal). Approaches Used to Analyze Risk. Applications of Risk Modeling. Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 22: Interest Rate Derivatives and Risk Control (Frank J. Fabozzi). Interest Rate Futures and Forward Contracts. Interest Rate Swaps. Interest Rate Options. Interest Rate Agreements (Caps and Floors). Key Points. Questions. CHAPTER 23: Credit Default Swaps and the Indexes (Stephen J. Antczak, Douglas J. Lucas, and Frank J. Fabozzi). What Are Credit Default Swaps? Credit Default Swaps Indexes. Key Points. Questions. About the Web Site. Index.


Herbal medicinal products have been documented as a significant source for discovering new pharmaceutical molecules that have been used to treat serious diseases. Many plant species have been reported to have pharmacological activities attributable to their phytoconstituents such are glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, alkaloids, terpenes, etc. Syzygium aromaticum (clove) is a traditional spice that has been used for food preservation and possesses various pharmacological activities. S. aromaticum is rich in many phytochemicals as follows: sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, hydrocarbon, and phenolic compounds. Eugenyl acetate, eugenol, and β-caryophyllene are the most significant phytochemicals in clove oil. Pharmacologically, S. aromaticum has been examined toward various pathogenic parasites and microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria, Plasmodium, Babesia, Theileria parasites, Herpes simplex, and hepatitis C viruses. Several reports documented the analgesic, antioxidant, anticancer, antiseptic, anti-depressant, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial activity of eugenol against several pathogenic bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis and S. aureus. Moreover, eugenol was found to protect against CCl4−induced hepatotoxicity and showed a potential lethal efficacy against the multiplication of various parasites including Giardia lamblia, Fasciola gigantica, Haemonchus contortus, and Schistosoma mansoni. This review examines the phytochemical composition and biological activities of clove extracts along with clove essential oil and the main active compound, eugenol, and implicates new findings from gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis.


This paper investigates the role of self-productivity and home resources in capability formation from infancy to adolescence. In addition, we study the complementarities between basic cognitive, motor and noncognitive abilities and social as well as academic achievement. Our data are taken from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk (MARS), an epidemiological cohort study following the long-term outcome of early risk factors. Results indicate that initial risk conditions cumulate and that differences in basic abilities increase during development. Self-productivity rises in the developmental process and complementarities are evident. Noncognitive abilities promote cognitive abilities and social achievement. There is remarkable stability in the distribution of the economic and socio-emotional home resources during the early life cycle. This is presumably a major reason for the evolution of inequality in human development.


Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disease of stem cell origin. It is characterised by the Philadelphia chromosome and Bcr-Abl oncoprotein which is a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase that is causative in CML. Treatment of CML was revolutionized by tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the last decade. TKIs target Bcr-Abl and block its tyrosine kinase activity. Despite the success of TKI in eliminating differentiated CML cells, primitive quiescent CML stem cells still resist or persist with TKI treatment. In this study, several strategies have been investigated towards elimination of TKI-insensitive primitive CML stem cells.

At first, the effect of nuclear entrapment of Bcr-Abl protein in CML cells was studied. Although Bcr-Abl protein is located in the cytoplasm of CML cells, TKIs, such as imatinib mesylate (IM), can induce the nuclear translocation of Bcr-Abl. Nuclear Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase is capable of inducing apoptosis after drug washout, and leptomycin B (LMB) can trap translocated Bcr-Abl in the nucleus. Primary CML CD34+ cells were treated with IM and LMB either continuously or sequentially. It was found that neither regimen significantly increased the anti-proliferative effect of IM in primary CML CD34+ cells. It was also observed that the majority of Bcr-Abl was still retained in the cytoplasm of CML cells treated with IM and LMB, suggesting other mechanisms apart from its tyrosine kinase activity retained Bcr-Abl protein in the cytoplasm of CML cells. Next the subcellular distribution of Bcr-Abl was investigated in TKI-insensitive CML progenitors which survived 12-Day treatment of a potent TKI dasatinib (150nM). It was demonstrated that about 50% of Bcr-Abl was still retained in the cytoplasm of TKI-insensitive primary CML progenitors, although there was a significant increase in nuclear Bcr-Abl level in these survived cells compared to the no drug control (NDC). It was hypothesised that the cytoplasmic retention of Bcr-Abl was caused by its cytoplasmic binding partners, and it was found that a proportion of Bcr-Abl protein was associated with 14-3-3 proteins in the surviving cells, indicating the cytoplasmic retention of Bcr-Abl might be due to its binding with 14-3-3 proteins.

In addition, due to the rapid nature of kinase inhibition and nuclear transportation, studies are required to measure the earliest time-point of inhibition of Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase by IM. The common method to do this is to employ p-CrkL which has been widely used as a surrogate marker of Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase activity, but the accuracy of p-CrkL as an indicator of Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase status at early time-points during in vitro TKI treatment has not been examined. It was demonstrated that p-CrkL was not a reliable indicator of Bcr-Abl kinase activity within 24 hours of IM treatment in vitro and indicated that the early responses to IM and dasatinib were different. It was also observed that there was a rapid and active dephosphorylation of Bcr-Abl within 1 hour of TKI treatment, driven at least in part by protein tyrosine phosphatase activity.

Furthermore, a farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI) BMS-214662 preferentially induces apoptosis in CML stem and progenitor cells compared to their normal counterparts, but another similar FTI BMS-225975 does not. However, the mechanism of action of BMS-214662 in inducing apoptosis of CML cells is not clear. When BMS-214662 was used as a negative control in the p-CrkL study, it was unexpectedly observed that the drug accumulated Bcr-Abl protein in CML cells. Thus, it was hypothesised that BMS-214662 may function as a proteasome inhibitor, which could result in accumulation of Bcr-Abl protein and further elevation of intracellular ROS level, leading to apoptosis of CML cells. Although BMS-214662 treatment induced accumulation of total ubiquitinated proteins and specifically Bcr-Abl protein in K562 cells, BMS-225975 had very similar effects, and this might result from the common mechanism of BMS-214662 and BMS-225975, which is their FTI activity. On the other hand, BMS-214662 induced significantly higher levels of intracellular ROS in both proliferating and non-proliferating K562 cells with respect to BMS-225975, indicating the production of ROS may be involved in the non-FTI mechanism of action of BMS-214662. However it was concluded that BMS-214662 was not a proteasome inhibitor like bortezomib.

Finally, the use of synthetic low density lipoprotein (sLDL) as a vehicle for drug delivery to overcome the insufficient intracellular drug concentration in CML stem cells was investigated. Uptake and internalization of unloaded sLDL particles by CML cell line K562 and for the first time by CML stem cells was observed, demonstrating the targeting potential of sLDL particles in CML when they are loaded with drugs.

Overall, this study provides further understanding of CML treatment and identifies some alternative strategies to target CML stem cells that may be used in combination with TKI to enhance the eradication of this stem cell-driven disease.


With the support of major search platforms such as Google and Bing, fact-checking articles, which can be identified by their adoption of the schema.org ClaimReview structured markup, have gained widespread recognition for their role in the fight against digital misinformation. A claim-relevant document is an online document that addresses, and potentially expresses a stance towards, some claim. The claim-relevance discovery problem, then, is to find claim-relevant documents. Depending on the verdict from the fact check, claim-relevance discovery can help identify online misinformation. In this paper, we provide an initial approach to the claim-relevance discovery problem by leveraging various information retrieval and machine learning techniques. The system consists of three phases. First, we retrieve candidate documents based on various features in the fact-checking article. Second, we apply a relevance classifier to filter away documents that do not address the claim. Third, we apply a language feature based classifier to distinguish documents with different stances towards the claim. We experimentally demonstrate that our solution achieves solid results on a large-scale dataset and beats state-of-the-art baselines. Finally, we highlight a rich set of case studies to demonstrate the myriad of remaining challenges and that this problem is far from being solved.


Purpose: Migration of the Turkish new middle-class – high-skilled, well-educated, young professionals – has been growing in recent years. This paper explores their migration experience and discusses the role of physical and virtual bubbles in the formation of transnational communities and processes of adjustment to a new place. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a qualitative inquiry collecting data via semi-structured interviews with 18 London-based Turkish migrants and a digital ethnographic study of three Facebook groups that bring together the Turkish migrant community in Richmond, London. Findings: Findings indicate that the migration of the new middle class differs conceptually from existing typologies. The paper proposes the concept of 'dissonant harmony-seekers' and elaborates on their interactions to demonstrate that, in the Internet age, the traditional image of migrants living in isolated localised bubbles is no longer accurate. Findings also indicate a pragmatic and functional engagement with the bubbles, with migrants sporadically interacting with the bubbles to meet their individual needs in information, education and employment. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature with the concept of dissonant harmony-seekers, which we argue will be more visible in a world where the trend of democratic decline and rising authoritarianism will motivate a migratory move for people who confront a moral dissociation from the civil order in their homeland. The engagement of dissonant harmony-seekers with migrant communities challenges the conventional thinking that social identity is central to creating and maintaining bubbles. The other contribution of the paper to the literature is the metaphor of 'foam' to capture the ephemeral and fugacious nature of the dynamics of migrant communities and practices.


A systematic and rigorous method for the analysis and optimization of Cr4+-doped solid-state lasers subject to lifetime thermal loading is described. First, a figure of merit is derived to identify the important parameters that influence the strength of this effect. Next, a theoretical model based on rate-equation analysis is presented for threshold and efficiency calculations. The method is then applied to the analysis of Cr4+:forsterite and Cr4+:YAG lasers. Experimental pump absorption, laser threshold, and laser efficiency data are evaluated to determine the best-fit values of the absorption, emission, and excited-state absorption cross sections for the two laser media. Best-fit cross section values are then used to determine the optimum crystal length, crystal absorption, and resonator reflectivity that maximize the laser output power. Finally, the optimization algorithm is applied to the study of a hypothetical solid-state gain medium to investigate how the optimum crystal and resonator parameters vary as a function of absorption and emission cross sections.


BACKGROUND
Shoulder pain, known as swimmer's shoulder, is the most common injury for swimmers. Studies that have analyzed muscle activity have focused on the shoulder joint. However, the whole-body muscle coordination of swimmers with swimmer's shoulder is not clear, although swimming requires movements of the upper limbs, trunk, and lower limbs to obtain propulsive force. This study investigated differences in muscle coordination between swimmers with and without swimmer's shoulder during the front crawl and backstroke using muscle synergy analysis.

HYPOTHESIS
Swimmers with swimmer's shoulder have muscle synergies differing from those without it.

STUDY DESIGN
Case-control study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level 4.

METHODS
A total of 20 elite swimmers who regularly swam front crawl and backstroke were included (swimmer's shoulder, n = 8; control, n = 12). Muscle synergy data were analyzed using the nonnegative matrix factorization method and compared between groups.

RESULTS
For both front crawl and backstroke, there were 2 synergies in the control group and 3 synergies in the swimmer's shoulder group. During recovery, the control group showed coordinated triceps brachii, serratus anterior, upper trapezius, lower trapezius, internal oblique, and external oblique muscles activities; however, in the swimmer's shoulder group, the contribution of the upper limbs decreased and only that of the trunk muscles increased.

CONCLUSION
A comparison of muscle coordination during the front crawl and backstroke performed by swimmers with and without swimmer's shoulder revealed that coordination differed during the recovery phase. During both front crawl and backstroke, the swimmer's shoulder group could not maintain coordination with the upper limb when the trunk rolled, and split synergy was formed between the upper limbs and trunk.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Because coordination of the upper limbs and trunk is important during the recovery phase of front crawl and backstroke, swimmer's shoulder rehabilitation should introduce exercises to improve their coordination between the upper limbs and the trunk.


Existing Rademacher complexity bounds for neural networks rely only on norm control of the weight matrices and depend exponentially on depth via a product of the matrix norms. Lower bounds show that this exponential dependence on depth is unavoidable when no additional properties of the training data are considered. We suspect that this conundrum comes from the fact that these bounds depend on the training data only through the margin. In practice, many data-dependent techniques such as Batchnorm improve the generalization performance. For feedforward neural nets as well as RNNs, we obtain tighter Rademacher complexity bounds by considering additional data-dependent properties of the network: the norms of the hidden layers of the network, and the norms of the Jacobians of each layer with respect to all previous layers. Our bounds scale polynomially in depth when these empirical quantities are small, as is usually the case in practice. To obtain these bounds, we develop general tools for augmenting a sequence of functions to make their composition Lipschitz and then covering the augmented functions. Inspired by our theory, we directly regularize the network's Jacobians during training and empirically demonstrate that this improves test performance.


Abstract : This report is another in a series of Software Engineering Institute (SEI(SM)) case studies of organizations that have adopted the software product line approach for developing systems. It details the story of Salion, Inc., an enterprise software company providing Revenue Acquisition Management solutions tailored to the unique needs of automotive suppliers. Salion's solutions enable suppliers to organize and manage their disparate customer-interfacing activities as one coordinated business process, resulting in higher revenues, profit margins, and customer satisfaction. This case study is unique in that Salion did not have substantial experience in its application area, although its key designers and strategists were knowledgeable about related domains. Salion pursued a reactive approach to its product line that let it respond flexibly to spontaneous business opportunities and that significantly lowered the cost of adopting the product line paradigm to its software system development. This case study describes relevant dimensions of Salion's context, how it approached several product line practice areas that were key to its strategy, the benefits gained through its product line, lessons learned, and the major thematic aspects of the Salion story.


This study investigates an old question that has re-emerged in social policymaking and in analyses of global social development: to what extent does targeting and size of social transfers matter for poverty? Using multilevel logistic regression and Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg (LIS) income data for 40 middle- and high-income countries, we show that the size of transfer income has greater explanatory value for cross-country differences in poverty than the degree of targeting of transfer income. The results are remarkably robust in terms of estimated individual-level and country-level compositional and confounding factors.


Myelofibrosis (MF) patients can present with a wide spectrum of disease characteristics. We analysed the consistency of ruxolitinib efficacy across patient subgroups in the COntrolled MyeloFibrosis Study With ORal JAK Inhibitor Treatment (COMFORT‐I,) a double‐blind trial, where patients with intermediate‐2 or high‐risk MF were randomized to twice‐daily oral ruxolitinib (n = 155) or placebo (n = 154). Subgroups analysed included MF subtype (primary, post‐polycythaemia vera, post‐essential thrombocythaemia), age (≤65, > 65 years), International Prognostic Scoring System risk group, baseline Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (0, 1, ≥2), JAK2 V617F mutation (positive, negative), baseline haemoglobin level (≥100, <100 g/l), baseline platelet count (100–200 × 109/l, >200 × 109/l), baseline palpable spleen size (≤10, >10 cm), and baseline quartile of spleen volume and Total Symptom Score (TSS; Q1 = lowest, Q4 = highest). Mean percentage change from baseline to week 24 in spleen volume and TSS were calculated for ruxolitinib and placebo in each subgroup. Overall survival was estimated by Kaplan–Meier method according to original randomization group. In ruxolitinib‐treated patients, reductions in spleen volume and TSS and evidence of improved survival relative to placebo across subgroups were consistent with those seen in the COMFORT‐I population, confirming that ruxolitinib is an effective therapy for the spectrum of MF patients studied in COMFORT‐I.


Information about current land cover type is essential at a certain level to ensure the optimum use of the land resources. Several approaches can be used to estimate land cover area, where remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) is among the method. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate how reliable these technologies in preparing information about land cover in Carey Island, Selangor of Peninsular Malaysia. Erdas Imagine 9.1 was used in digital image processing. A primary data of Landsat TM, with spatial resolution of 30 m was acquired from scene 127/58 on July 2007. Area estimate was calculated using direct expansion method from samples proportion of each segments of land cover type (1 km by 1 km sample size). In this study, four classes of land cover type have been identified and the areas were oil palm, mangrove, water bodies and urban/bare land area. The area estimate for all classes are 11039.28 ha (oil palm), 5242.86 ha (mangrove), 4894.92 ha (water bodies), and 4751.96 ha (urban/bare land), respectively. The overall classification accuracy obtained for this study is 96%.  The results showed that the use of direct expansion method for estimating land cover type area is practical to be used with remote sensing approaches.


The notion of resilience amongst first year students in higher education is of increasing interest as the number of at-risk students is growing and educators are seeking ways of strengthening the whole teaching and learning package. This study investigated a group of 51 first year Public Relations and Communication students at the University of Johannesburg who were identified by the faculty as at-risk students and who had been given provisional passes into the second semester of study. The study was conducted through the use of a questionnaire which related to several internal risk factors but more specifically to the students' use of the support services offered by the university. These support services are considered by the university to be strategic interventions which, if utilised by the students, may assist in realising their academic success. The study concluded that it is the responsibility of those who structure the learning environment to nurture students specifically through ensuring that the services offered by the university are well utilised by them and thus promote the vision of the university to widen access and improve retention and throughput.


At birth, a male child presented a 6 cm tumour in the right leg. The tumour was partially removed after just 12 days. Histology showed a congenital fibrosarcoma associated with reactive lymphadenitis. A first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy did not prevent the rapid progression of the disease. Subsequent evaluation for surgical removal raised serious concerns due to the need for a major operation involving total amputation of the right leg and hemipelvectomy. Since surgery could not exclude the possibility of disease recurrence and since the traditional cycles of chemotherapy did not offer any possibility of a cure, the parents opted for the Di Bella Method. The combined use of Somatostatin, Melatonin, Retinoids solubilized in Vit. E, Vit. C, Vit. D3, Calcium, and Chondroitin sulfate associated with low doses of Cyclophosphamide resulted in a complete objective response, still present 14 years later, with no toxicity and without the need for hospitalization, allowing a normal quality of life and perfectly normal adolescent psychophysical development.