IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) future projections are based on a set of emission scenarios, IS92a to f, which are used to calculate future atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. These, in turn, are used to calculate projections of radiative forcing, and then projections of future temperature and sea level change to the year 2100, using computer climate models. The assumptions of these 6 IPCC emission scenarios for the years 1995 and 2000 are compared with currently available information on greenhouse gas emissions, world population trends, and trends in world coal production. All of the scenarios exaggerate one or more of these quantities. Calculations of confidence limits on the net human-induced contribution of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere show a very high level of inaccuracy. When added to the even greater uncertainties connected with assumptions on the main greenhouse gas, water vapour, and also on clouds, plus the uncertainties of the computer models themselves, the current IPCC future projections of global temperature and sea level must be regarded as extremely unreliable. Fossil fuel emissions assumed by the IPCC scenarios for the year 2000 are plausible for scenarios IS92a, b, c and d, but not for e and f. The calculated rate of increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration since 1990 assumed by the IPCC is exaggerated by 13% for all scenarios. The calculated rates of increase in atmospheric methane from 1990 to 2000 are exaggerated by 3 to 7 times, world population increases by up to 5.5%, and world coal production increases by 60 to 510%. The rate of increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been almost constant, at 0.4% a year, between 1971 and 1996, despite a 54% increase in emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels over that period. Currently suggested reductions from present emission levels are therefore unlikely to influence carbon dioxide concentrations, or global temperatures. Since all of the IS92 scenarios exaggerate one or more current climate and economic trends, the calculated future projections of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are thus correspondingly exaggerated. A more realistic set of scenarios, which would include a mechanism for continuous updating, needs to be developed, thus scaling down the current values. Even if this is done, however, the accumulated inaccuracies inherent in the final calculations of climatic effects are so great as to render them unreliable as a guide to public policy.


A methodology to solve a transportation network design problem (TCNDP) with two classes of users (passenger cars and trucks) is developed: Given an existing highway system, with a capital investment budget constraint, the methodology selects the best links to be expanded by an extra lane by considering one of three types of traffic operations: exclusive for passenger cars, exclusive for trucks, and for both passenger cars and trucks such that the network total user equilibrium (UE) travel time is minimized.
The problem is formulated as an NP-hard combinatorial nonlinear integer programming problem. The classical branch and bound methodology for the integer programming problem is very inefficient in solving this computationally hard problem. A combined simulated annealing and tabu search strategy (SA-TABU), was developed which is shown to perform in a robust and efficient manner in solving five networks ranging from 36 to 332 links. A comprehensive heuristic evaluation function (HEF), a core for the heuristic search strategy, was developed which can be adjusted to the characteristics of the problem and the search strategy used. It is composed of three elements: the link volume to capacity ratio, the historical contribution of the link to the objective function, and a random variable which resembles the error term of the HEF.
The principal characteristics of the SA-TABU are the following: HEF, Markov chain length, "temperature" dropping rate and the tabu list length. Sensitivity analysis was conducted in identifying the best parameter values of the main components of the SA-TABU. Sufficiently "good" solutions were found in all the problems within a rather short computational time. The solution results suggest that in most of the scenarios, the shared lane option, passenger cars and trucks, was found to be the most favored selection. Expanding approximately 10% of the links, results in a very high percentage improvement ranging from 73% to 97% for the five test networks.


Today, the structural behaviour of wind turbines can be simulated using modern multi-body simulation codes such as SIMPACK. For aerodynamic simulations, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods have been developed. This project contributes to the development of the next generation of design tools based on a coupling of those advanced codes and aims to improve the quality of numerical simulations of the fluid-structure interaction process, which leads to a better understanding of the underlying physics.


Drawing on data from a recent national and follow-up study exploring attitudes towards binding pre-nuptial agreements at a time when the Law Commission was considering law reform, this article considers what might be gained and lost in family law terms by their introduction. Looking at the tensions between providing autonomy to agree arrangements at the outset of a marriage and achieving fairness between the parties at the point of divorce, questions were framed in the study to consider views on the socio-legal and psychological issues surrounding a move towards making pre-nuptial agreements binding. In particular, it explored whether we are ready culturally to use pre-nuptial agreements and any perceived limit to their acceptability. In addition, were there situations where pre-nuptial agreements were considered more or less appropriate for those entering marriage? How might they affect the commitment involved in marriage? More generally, in the light of the study's findings, the article examines the implications of a legal and moral shift away from a paternalistic court redistribution of assets at the point of divorce towards an approach based on enforcement of a pre-maritally determined private contract, and concludes by considering what sort of a bargain it would be acceptable for modern marriage to become.


Background— A 2-day forum was convened to (1) discuss ways to translate the 2009 American Heart Association added sugars recommendations into actions in areas such as regulation, food labeling, nutrient content claims, and practical application in the American diet; (2) review surveillance methodology and metrics for tracking and understanding the impact of reducing added sugars in the diet; and (3) initiate the development of a framework for future collaboration to help Americans implement science-based guidance relative to added sugars. Methods and Results— More than 100 multinational participants representing scientists from academia and government and stakeholders engaged in food production, development, and processing, food manufacturing and servicing, food and nutrition policy, and nutrition recommendations for the public attended the conference. Presentations included definitions and examples of added sugars, current US and international added sugars perspectives, added sugars in diets of individuals and in the food supply, food technology behind added sugars, added sugars and health, food manufacturer perspectives, added sugars food-labeling considerations, and examples of positive approaches to improve eating behaviors and the food environment. Facilitated breakout sessions were conducted after the plenary sessions to allow participants to contribute their expertise and thoughts. Conclusion— The American Heart Association Added Sugars Conference is the first step in an important process that facilitates collaboration across science, public health, and industry to foster innovation, partnerships, policy, and implementation of new products and services for the benefit of the health and well-being of the American public. Science has advanced in the area of added sugars and health, creating mounting pressure to use better methods for translation and dissemination of the science for consumer education and for food companies to respond by producing foods and beverages with fewer added sugars. The new science also reinforces the importance of preventing, rather than simply treating diseases, especially overweight and obesity, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Reducing added sugars consumption is a good target for addressing obesity, along with other sources of excess calories. However, the potential unintended consequences of substituting added sugars with ingredients that may not reduce calories and of increasing other macronutrients or food groups that may not result in a net health gain must be considered. Although there are many challenges to incorporating added sugars to the food label as was discussed during the conference, disclosure of added sugars content on food and beverage labels is an essential element in consumer education and can provide the information and motivation for making healthier food choices. This conference demonstrated the value of interactive dialogue among multiple sectors and disciplines. More disciplines should be at the table to bring expertise to discuss cross-cutting issues related to public policies and offer diverse insights to finding a solution.


Recently some studies demonstrate that adult neuronal genome is a genetic mosaic but the role of this mosaicism and how is generated are not well known. The two main mechanisms that could result in the neuronal mosaic genome are somatic recombination and the LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposition. Some evidences, alterations in central nervous system development found in knock-out (KO) mice for proteins related with DNA repair processes and L1 activation in neuronal precursors, suggest that neuronal genome mosaicism may be related with the generation of neuronal diversity during central nervous system development. However, if genome reorganization processes happen in the adult nervous system during neuronal plasticity events are not established. Recently, it has been reported that neuronal activity transiently provokes increase of neuronal DNA breaks in cerebral areas where long-term neuronal plasticity events takes place, in some case related with cognition. DNA breaks have been related with the initial steps of gene expression activation, but also can be compatible with genomic reorganization.
 The main objective of this PhD project was determinate the potential role of processes that may result in genomic reorganization during neuronal activation. Firstly, we studied the importance of adult L1 retrotransposition in neuronal activation processes. Our results showed an activity-dependent increase in genome de novo L1 insertions in the hippocampus. Also using systemic pharmacologic and intrahippocampal genetic approaches, we demonstrate that L1 activation in the adult hippocampus is required for long-term memory formation. Secondly, we looked for evidences of potential genome reorganization events induced by exploration of an enriched environment, a protocol that provokes neuronal activity-dependent events. Exploratory session provoked an increase in the number of neurons containing DNA breaks, measured as the number of cells with 53BP1 foci, and in gene expression of genes related with DNA metabolism and DNA breaks. Both events happen in a sequential temporal-dependent manner in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Thirdly, to clear up the possible physiological role of DNA metabolism proteins in cognition, we made transient knock down of tyrosil-DNA phosphodiesterases 1 and 2, and h2ax, by intrahippocampal administration with specific antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), and passive avoidance, an hippocampal-dependent cognition test. Hippocampal knock down of these three proteins provoked impairment in long-term memory formation in passive avoidance test. Finally, using the H2AX-/- mice we studied the role of H2AX in central nervous system function. H2AX-/- mice showed morphological alterations in the amygdala and hippocampus compared with the wt mice. Also, at behavioral level H2AX-/- mice presented deficits in depressive, cognition and social behaviors.
 In conclusion, all these data together suggest activity-dependent neural DNA reorganizations in the adult hippocampus. In addition, genetic and pharmacological manipulations of DNA reorganizations events in adult brain seem to affect cognition processes such as memory formation. Finally, depletion of H2AX in the germinal line provokes alteration in central nervous system function.


This paper studies the existing scenario of urban housing and examines the challenges in housing the urban poor in India. It includes a review of housing policies that exist today and learning from interactions with different stakeholders involved in the sector on their roles and the issues they face. In addition, five case studies are conducted in Kochi, Kerala, to understand the demands and views of the urban poor on housing and associated services. The fundamental reasons for the challenges are examined and narrowed down to three major factors. The study concludes with suggestive solutions to improve accessibility to housing for the urban poor in India.


Machine learning (ML) models can underperform on certain population groups due to choices made during model development and bias inherent in the data. We categorize sources of discrimination in the ML pipeline into two classes: aleatoric discrimination , which is inherent in the data distribution, and epistemic discrimination , which is due to decisions during model development. We quantify aleatoric discrimination by determining the performance limits of a model under fairness constraints, assuming perfect knowledge of the data distribution. We demonstrate how to characterize aleatoric discrimination by applying Blackwell's results on comparing statistical experiments. We then quantify epistemic discrimination as the gap between a model's accuracy given fairness constraints and the limit posed by aleatoric discrimination. We apply this approach to benchmark existing interventions and investigate fairness risks in data with missing values. Our results indicate that state-of-the-art fairness interventions are effective at removing epistemic discrimination. However, when data has missing values, there is still significant room for improvement in handling aleatoric discrimination.


Bronchiolitis, a typically self-limiting illness causes significant morbidity and remains a leading cause of hospitalisation among infants globally. In some populations such as Northern Territory Indigenous infants, bronchiolitis is more severe and the incidence is higher. Despite being the most common acute lower respiratory infection worldwide, the current mainstay of treatment for hospitalised bronchiolitis is supportive. This thesis presents findings of studies undertaken to improve the management of hospitalised bronchiolitis, with a particular focus on Indigenous children. The major hypothesis of my thesis was that azithromycin improves short and long term clinical outcomes of children hospitalised with bronchiolitis. Gaps in knowledge were addressed and the principal findings were: 1. Severity scoring systems are easy to use, reliable and repeatable and can be used with health staff of varying levels of experience. 2. Different doses of azithromycin (single or 3-weekly doses) did not improve short or long term clinical outcomes and should not be routinely used to treat children hospitalised with bronchiolitis. 3. Azithromycin reduced the proportion of bacterial carriage, but had no impact on viruses or atypical bacteria. 4. Non-traditional risk factors prolonged hospitalisation. Presence of persistent symptoms 3-weeks beyond hospitalisation increased the risk for ongoing morbidity, respiratory readmissions and developing bronchiectasis. 5. Mobile phones in conjunction with a culturally sensitive framework were an effective strategy to improve adherence and retention of participants in the largest randomised controlled trial. 6. Improved clinical care for chronic cough post-bronchiolitis is needed for Indigenous children, in view of the high rates of persistent symptoms and poorer long-term respiratory outcomes. The long term consequence of respiratory disease among Indigenous children is an important public health issue. Identifying target points that can lead to optomising clinical care and better lung health and prevention of subsequent bronchiectasis among Indigenous children are needed.


The Chinese study of medieval philosophy has undergone an extraordinary historical process, and it has made great advances in the last 40 years. This paper provides a retrospective analysis of the pioneering Chinese scholars, both traditional and modern, who have played significant roles in the establishment and development of this historical field of inquiry. It pays particular attention to the important scholars, their works, methodologies, and findings over the course of the last forty years, and it also looks to the challenges currently facing this area of study and addresses the current state of the field and its future prospects. Although Chinese scholarship on medieval philosophy has already achieved great accomplishments, compared with the level of international research in the field abroad, there is still a huge gap to be remedied and therefore, we must recognize that there are great opportunities for Chinese scholars who will undertake the study of medieval philosophy with all due seriousness.


Wanting to improve execution speed and reduce code size of SICStus Prolog programs, we embarked on a project whose aim was to systematically investigate combination and specialization of WAM instructions. Various variants of the SICStus Prolog virtual machine instruction set were designed, implemented, and their performance was evaluated against standard benchmarks and on big Prolog programs. In this paper, we describe our methodology in finding appropriate candicates for instruction merging and specialization, discuss related trade-offs, present detailed statistics and performance measurements that we gathered, and report on our experiences from our involvement in this feat. In short, our experience is positiv e: the speedup of performing instruction merging and specialization in the context of the SICStus emulator is approximately 10%, while the bytecode size reduction is about 15%.


Background Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is the only systemic treatment indicated for advanced HCC and was included in our Hospital´s formulary in 2007. Purpose To assess the characteristics of the patients receiving sorafenib for the treatment of HCC in our hospital and to describe the treatment effectiveness in real-life conditions. Material and methods Retrospective observational study. We included all patients who had started treatment with sorafenib for HCC in our hospital between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2013. Demographic and clinical variables (tumour stage according to BCLC, ECOG PS, Child Pugh, presence of macroscopic vascular invasion and/or extrahepatic spread) were recorded. The main outcomes were time to progression and overall survival, assessed by Kaplan-Meier plots. Results were also analysed with the log-rank test stratified by BCLC stage. Results 72 patients were included. They had predominantly BCLC stage C HCC (77.8%), PS between 0–1 (88.9%) and compensated cirrhosis. At the end of the study, 53 patients had discontinued the treatment. The most common reasons for treatment discontinuation were clinical worsening (35.1%) and occurrence of uncontrollable adverse events (24.6%). The median time to progression was 4.8 months (95% CI 3.8, 5.9). The median time to progression was 3.1 months (95% CI 2.5, 3.7) in the BCLC B group, as compared with 5.3 months in the BCLC C group (95% CI 4.4, 6.1), p = 0.024. At the end of the study, 44 deaths had occurred. Median overall survival (OS) was 15.2 months (95% CI 11.2, 19.3). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the median OS:19.5 months (95% CI 9.6, 29.4) in the BCLC B group vs. 14.2 months (95% CI 8.9, 19.5) in the BCLC C group, p = 0.75. Conclusion The effectiveness of sorafenib in the treatment of advanced HCC under real-life conditions is consistent with the data from the clinical trials. Our results seem to indicate that in patients with BCLC stage C, sorafenib is more likely to delay disease progression. Nevertheless, overall survival was longer in the patients with BCLC stage B carcinoma. References and/or acknowledgements No conflict of interest.


Whether T cell tolerance represents direct inactivation of antigen- specific T cells via recognition of antigen plus major histocompatibility complex, or via T suppressor (Ts) cells, or a combination of these mechanisms, remains to be clarified. This problem was investigated using a novel approach based on the finding in several systems that T helper/proliferative (Th/Tp) cell-inducing antigenic determinants are dissociable from Ts cell-inducing determinants. Thus, peptide probes containing known sites that stimulate T proliferative activity, as well as peptides from distinct sites assumed to bear Ts- inducing determinants, were used in studying hen (chicken) eggwhite lysozyme (HEL)-tolerant mice. The clear prediction from clonal deletion model is that Th/Tp response potential to short peptides in the tolerant mouse would not exist, while regulatory suppression models predict the coexistence of antigen-reactive cells and antigen-specific regulatory cells that prevent their expression. Adult mice, treated with 2 mg HEL in saline, were tolerant to HEL in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Latent T cell proliferative responses could be revealed to determinants within two HEL peptide probes, which lacked the amino- terminal region of the molecule. This responsiveness suggested two conclusions: first, Ts cells directed against the amino terminus of lysozyme exist in the tolerant genetic responder B10.A; second, these Ts regulate the activity of functional antigen-reactive T cells directed against epitopes elsewhere on the molecule, but only in the presence of the complete molecule, HEL. Examination of neonatally induced tolerance did not reveal any latent responsiveness, supporting the hypothesis that clonal deletion or anergy is the relevant mechanism in this situation. Possible reservations in these explanations of the two tolerant states, plus analysis of the more complex "split tolerance" resulting from 20 mg HEL in saline treatment in adults, are discussed. The approach of dissociation of proliferation-inducing determinants from suppression-inducing determinants clarifies our understanding of the tolerant state and holds promise for more definitive exploration of mechanisms of T cell tolerance.


After the earthquake in the region of Marmara, already existing housing shortage rapidly increased. Permanent residential projects were formed to meet the housing needs; priority was given to those who lost their homes during the earthquake. In addition to permanent residential projects, communal residential projects drew attention as well. As a result of the mentioned housing shortage, various unions and institutions undertook the project of establishing numerous new residential areas. In this study we aimed to observe and to work on classification criteria concerning new residential areas, hence we tried to classify these new establishments according to the criteria we have made. In cities such as Kocaeli, Yalova and Sakarya, which were directly struck by the earthquake, similarities as well as differences were observed and they determined the selection on new residential areas. It is to be noticed that the changes, especially in Istanbul and in other cities in eastern Marmara, were not realised as a consequence of the earthquake, but in expectation of a major one and coincided with the tertiary era cities. Accordingly, new residential areas that were established after the earthquake were closely examined and after the processes concerning the settlements, they were put forward. The new formations were compared with the tertiary era cities. The differences and the similarities were studied.


Pyroclastic flows entering the sea may cause tsunamis at coastal volcanoes worldwide, but geophysically monitored field occurrences are rare. We document the process of tsunami generation during a prolonged gigantic collapse of the Soufriere Hills volcano lava dome on Montserrat on 12–13 July 2003. Tsunamis were initiated by large-volume pyroclastic flows entering the ocean. We reconstruct the collapse from seismic records and report unique and remarkable borehole dilatometer observations, which recorded clearly the passage of wave packets at periods of 250–500 s over several hours. Strain signals are consistent in period and amplitude with water loading from passing tsunamis; each wave packet can be correlated with individual pyroclastic flow packages recorded by seismic data, proving that multiple tsunamis were initiated by pyroclastic flows. Any volcano within a few kilometers of water and capable of generating hot pyroclastic flows or cold debris flows with volumes greater than 5 × 10 6 m 3 may generate significant and possibly damaging tsunamis during future eruptions.


By this time, most of you have heard or read about the joint initiative between the American Board of Family Medicine and the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors called "Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice" or the P4 Initiative. As stated in the recent Call for Proposals,1 "The purpose of P4 is to learn how to improve the graduate medical education of family physicians such that they are prepared to be outstanding personal physicians, working in new models of practice. The innovations tested by P4 residencies are expected to inspire substantial changes in the content, structure and location of training family physicians and guide future revisions in accreditation and certification requirements."

From the beginning, it was felt that the P4 Initiative would succeed or fail based on the creativity and tenacity of the folks in the trenches, ie, the residency program directors and their faculty. Therefore, prior to this year's Program Director Workshop (PDW), input was solicited from directors on the current status of residency education. The magnitude of the response (over 200 directors offered input) and the thoughtfulness of the comments demonstrated to me a significant interest in this project and a readiness for change in our graduate medical education system. Following is a synopsis of the responses received from the directors, combined with opinions expressed during the discussion forum, which was held at the 2006 PDW. These comments capture the full range of ideas expressed by the directors and though not meant to be a formal analysis of the responses, I think the comments do offer insight into our directors' thoughts and desires for the future.

In response to what important aspects of residency education need to change in the future, we received comments around the themes of decreased regulation, more curricular flexibility, more practical learning in "real-world" settings, guidance on how to adopt new technology, help in identifying new funding sources, help in developing a viable financial model for practices, and better ways to assess and assure the competency of our graduates.

In response to what important aspects of residency education need to be preserved, we received comments relating to continuity of care, breadth of training, intellectual curiosity, the personal, continuous doctor-patient relationship and the core, universal training that all residents receive, so there's consistency across the spectrum of what all family physicians can do; ie, "training can't become totally variable."

When asked to fast forward 5 years, after the residency experiments are completed, what must we know that we currently don't, we received comments relating to how we could use more technology to improve quality and outcomes, what teaching methods are actually effective, what educational outcome measures are meaningful, how to better assess and assure competency and that the New Model of Practice is financially viable and relevant. It was clear from the comments that we need to better understand what experiences during residency are most effective in training knowledgeable and skilled family physicians.

The comments regarding barriers to change were somewhat predictable. Directors saw the major impediments to change revolved around inadequate funding, lack of access to technology and an EHR, lack of faculty time and support, overregulation by our accrediting bodies such that it is "creativity stifling," and increased service requirements by the sponsoring institution making educational innovation difficult. There was also the feeling that many programs have difficulty embracing the concept of change.

Lastly, we wanted the directors to portray what their ideal graduate would be in 2015. The responses hinged around the graduate's ability to use technology and systems to provide comprehensive, high-quality, evidence-based care to people of all backgrounds, to be an excellent communicator, and to be a competent, caring, and compassionate physician who provides personalized care to patients. I thought one response worth quoting (probably from a director who recently underwent a RRC site visit) was that the ideal graduate in 2015 will be "a walking testimonial to the ACGME's 6 competencies."

Regardless of what we learn at the end of this 5-year experiment, in many ways, I believe the P4 Initiative has already been a success. As seen in the above comments, there appears to be significant enthusiasm for change. The next few years offer an incredible opportunity to embrace change and look at all the possibilities afforded us through both TransforMED's National Demonstration Project and the P4 Initiative. These are indeed exciting times and I look forward to seeing the outcomes of these experimental initiatives.


ABSTRACT This study reports the total and bioaccessible concentrations of heavy metals (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in the seaweed Caulerpa racemosa var. corynephora collected from local markets along the Andaman coast of Krabi Province, Thailand. Microwave-assisted acid digestion (EPA Method 3052) was used for sample preparation prior to total metal analysis. The in vitro Unified Bioaccessibility Method (UBM) was applied to assess the bioaccessibility of the metals in the seaweed samples. The total, gastric phase, and residual fraction concentration were determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The total amounts found in the seaweed samples, in ascending order were Cd < Pb < Cu < Zn < Mn < Fe with the mean concentrations of 0.89, 0.97, 17.4, 59.0, 63.4, and 450 mg/kg dry weight, respectively. High bioaccessibility percentages for Mn (71.8–85.3%) were observed alongside moderate bioaccessibility percentages for Cu (44.3–56.3%), Zn (37.7–47.4%), and Cd (41.8–46.7%), a low bioaccessibility percentage for Pb (22.3–32.0%), and a very low bioaccessibility percentage for Fe (11.5–16.5%). A quality control procedure was implemented which involved the analysis of a certified reference material (Seaweed NMIJ CRM 7405-a) for total metals and a mass-balance approach for the assessment of the in vitro bioaccessibility method.


Financial constraints are a striking difficulty of entrepreneurial ventures in the early stages of their development. Recently, emerging crowdinvesting platforms try to fill this finance gap by involving an anonymous crowd into the funding process. Due to high information asymmetries, platform providers and start-ups alike try their best to reduce the risk for investors. We therefore examine existing and thinkable mechanisms of option-based risk reduction in crowdinvesting. We use a 2x3x3 mixed subject design to manipulate the availability and characteristics of risk-reducing options and the project attractiveness. With 210 participants, we are able to show that the introduction of different risk-reducing options in crowdinvesting solely favors high quality projects and increases capital concentration in a market that was originally built to make start-up funding available to a broader range of capital seekers. We also suggest reasonable prices for options and prove them to be accurate relatively to each other. Further implications for theory and practice are discussed.


The cycle in output and hours worked is not symmetric: it behaves differently around recessions than in expansions. Similarly, the trend in multifactor productivity (MFP) seems to pass through different regimes; there was an extended period of slow MFP growth from about 1973 through 1995, and faster growth thereafter. Typical linear models and linear filters such as the Kalman filter deal poorly with asymmetry and regime changes. This paper attempts to determine more accurately and quickly any shifts in trend MFP growth, using a nonlinear Kalman/Markov filter with a model of the unobserved components of output and hours. This hybrid model incorporates regime-switching in the business cycle and in the trend growth of MFP. Estimation results are promising. The hybrid model and associated filter appear to be faster than the basic Kalman filter in detecting turning points in the smoothed conditional mean estimate of trend MFP growth; in addition, the hybrid model avoids some of the Kalman filter's biases in reconstructing historical business cycles and the MFP trend.


In this paper proposed variant of simulated annealing algorithm (SA) for solving Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). The main difference between our approach and the classical SA is that, our approach dynamically changes the temperature during the search process. The adaptive temperature control is used that changes temperature based on the number of consecutive improving moves. The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) is a well known problem and it has been one of the most studied combinatorial optimization problems during the last decades. Simulation results are reported on twenty large-scale benchmark instances. Results show that the proposed approach to be very competitive with the best-known methods.


Conventional topographic databases, obtained by capture on aerial or spatial images provide a simplified 3D modeling of our urban environment, answering the needs of numerous applications (development, risk prevention, mobility management, etc.). However, when we have to represent and analyze more complex sites (monuments, civil engineering works, archeological sites, etc.), these models no longer suffice and other acquisition and processing means have to be implemented. This book focuses on the study of adapted lifting means for notable buildings. The methods tackled in this book cover lasergrammetry and the current techniques of dense correlation based on images using conventional photogrammetry.


The form of graffiti writing on trains and walls is not accidental. Nor is its absence on cars and houses. Employing a particular style of letters, choosing which walls and trains to write on, copying another writer, altering or destroying another writer's work: these acts are regulated within the graffiti subculture. Copyright Beyond Law presents findings from empirical research undertaken into the graffiti subculture to show that graffiti writers informally regulate their creativity through a system of norms that are remarkably similar to copyright. The 'graffiti rules' and their copyright law parallels include: the requirement of writing letters (subject matter) and appropriate placement (public policy and morality exceptions for copyright subsistence and the enforcement of copyright), originality and the prohibition of copying (originality and infringement by reproduction), and the prohibition of damage to another writer's works (the moral right of integrity). The intersection between the 'graffiti rules' and copyright law sheds light on the creation of subculture-specific commons and the limits of copyright law in incentivising and regulating the production and location of creativity.


This contribution investigates whether working time accounts are beneficial for the performance of German establishments. Based on the representative German Establishment Panel of the Institute for Employment Research during the period 2008-2013, effects on productivity, wages, sales, firm size, investments, further training, labor mobility, working hours, operating surplus and profits as performance indicators are estimated. Heterogeneity and robustness are investigated by a subgroup analysis where we distinguished between establishments with a high and a low share of qualified workers, between firms with strong and weak sales fluctuations. Additionally, different lengths of the agreed compensation period and reasons for longer time out periods of the employees are considered. Unobserved firm effects as well as interdependencies between important performance indicators and working time accounts are analyzed. OLS estimates, Lewbel's instrumental estimator and IV panel approaches are applied. As major results we find that productivity and investments are positively correlated with working time accounts. No significant effects of working time accounts can be detected on wages, the number of employees and operating surplus of IV panel estimates. However, on average, we find a tendency towards negative effects on profits. This result is less likely in establishments with a high share of skilled workers. Under strong sales fluctuations we find positively significant on the operating surplus. These mixed results hint to a conflict between the employers and employees interests concerning working time accounts that result in compromise solutions.


Abstract. The geotherm in subduction zones is thought to vary as a function of the subduction rate and the age of the subducting lithosphere. Along a single subduction zone the rate of subduction may strongly vary due to changes in the angle between the trench and the plate convergence vector, i.e., the subduction obliquity, due to trench curvature. We currently observe such curvature in, e.g., the Marianas, Chile and Aleutian trenches. Recently, strong along-strike variations in subduction obliquity were proposed to have caused a major temperature contrast between Cretaceous geological records of western and central Turkey. We test here whether first-order temperature variation in a subduction zone may be caused by variation in the trench geometry using simple thermo-kinematic finite-element 3-D numerical models. We prescribe the trench geometry by means of a simple mathematical function and compute the mantle flow in the mantle wedge by solving the equation of mass and momentum conservation. We then solve the energy conservation equation until steady state is reached. We analyze the results (i) in terms of mantle wedge flow with emphasis on the trench-parallel component and (ii) in terms of temperature along the plate interface by means of maps and the depth–temperature path at the interface. In our experiments, the effect of the trench curvature on the geotherm is substantial. A small obliquity yields a small but not negligible trench-parallel mantle flow, leading to differences of 30 °C along-strike of the model. Advected heat causes such temperature variations (linked to the magnitude of the trench-parallel component of velocity). With increasing obliquity, the trench-parallel component of the velocity consequently increases and the temperature variation reaches 200 °C along-strike. Finally, we discuss the implication of our simulations for the ubiquitous oblique systems that are observed on Earth and the limitations of our modeling approach. Lateral variations in plate sinking rate associated with curvature will further enhance this temperature contrast. We conclude that the synchronous metamorphic temperature contrast between central and western Turkey may well have resulted from reconstructed major variations in subduction obliquity.


Sparse Component Analysis is a relatively young technique that relies upon a representation of signal occupying only a small part of a larger space. Mixtures of sparse components are disjoint in that space. As a particular application of sparsity of speech signals, we investigate the DUET blind source separation algorithm in the context of speech recognition for multi-party recordings. We show how DUET can be tuned to the particular case of speech recognition with interfering sources, and evaluate the limits of performance as the number of sources increases. We show that the separated speech fits a common metric for sparsity, and conclude that sparsity assumptions lead to good performance in speech separation and hence ought to benefit other aspects of the speech recognition chain.


The Road Aware Drivers Program is the principal pre-driver education initiative for 15 to 20 year olds in WA. It was established to: 1. develop, implement and evaluate a school based pre-driver program (Keys for Life) and a related parent session (Keys for Life parent workshop) to encourage parental involvement in driving practice; 2. work with agencies involved in school road safety and pre-driver education to ensure messages are coordinated and shared; and to 3. provide support for road safety education in rural and remote areas. This paper presents some of the results of the evaluation of the Keys for Life program. It concluded that the program has been effective in delivering road safety education in the school context and developing positive road-user attitudes and behaviours amongst students. It has also contributed to establishing a cohort of teachers with knowledge and skills in road safety education. Five challenges for the program into the future were identified: 1. streamlining planning and implementation at the school level; 2. enhancing the involvement of agencies/organisations; 3. improving program management data; 4. updating teacher resources; and 5. increasing the uptake of parent workshops.


The perovskite class encompasses a multiplicity of oxide materials with widely divergent properties and many potential applications. The similar unit cell dimensions and common oxygen octahedral backbone of the different perovskites allow stacking their building blocks on top of each other in a structurally ordered fashion. In the form of such heteroepitaxial thin films, properties can be fully exploited and manipulated under the act of strain or interfacial engineering. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is exceedingly suitable for growing artificial films of perovskite-type oxides, where single crystalline substrates with matching lattice parameters are required to completely dictate the crystal orientation. The technique allows manipulating material at a unit cell level in the direction of film growth, but lacks standardized approaches to control the deposition in other directions. Such lateral control is indispensable for future device integration, but particularly complicated by the elevated substrate temperatures that are required for the adatoms to reorganize into an energetically favorable configuration.

The intention of the thesis is to contribute to the ambitious objective to hold on to the unprecedented control of film growth that PLD offers, while at the same time reach for similar control in directions normal to that of growth. State-of-the-art lithographic techniques like those used for manufacturing logic or memory chips are incompatible with PLD, because they make use of organic polymers that degrade at elevated temperatures. Parallel patterning of epitaxial perovskite materials in arbitrary shapes is therefore still challenging even on micrometer length scales, illustrating the tremendous gap to reach atomic scale precision. No methods to achieve atomic accuracy are described in the thesis as well, but different routes are discussed to pattern epitaxial heterostructures on micrometer length scales and below. The structures and their properties are treated with a special emphasis on anisotropy, which may originate either from the shapes of the patterns, or the crystallographic order resulting from heteroepitaxy.


South Africa, as an upper middle-income, resource-intensive developing country with an open economy, has to find innovative ways to combat poverty, promote economic growth and reduce the intensity of resource use, simultaneously. One option is to explore the plausibility of achieving a double dividend by levying a tax on water and energy and recycling the revenue back to the economy by allowing for a reduction in other forms of taxation. According to the double dividend theory it is possible, under some conditions, to achieve both environmental and economic objectives. We investigated such a possibility in the South African economy using an integrated economy/environment CGE model and found that it is indeed possible to achieve such double dividend benefits. Given the prevailing economic and environmental contexts, government should actively search for ways to achieve such dividends.


This study examined the policy letters and verbal testimony transcripts submitted by interest groups to the United States Department of Education (USDE) in response to the proposed regulations pertaining to the implementation of the 1997 reauthorization of P. L. 105-17, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Specifically, this study analyzed the emerging themes in the area of discipline. Responses were received from the following interest groups: (a) school administrators, (b) parents, (c) teachers, (d) state educational agencies (SEAs), (e) national educational organizations, and (f) members of the United States Congress. In addition to analyzing the emerging themes, the study compared these themes to ones found in the current literature and court cases.


This article describes the peculiarity and marketing strategy development for the quick growth of Chinese companies working in the Medical Devices field in the international market. This strategy is analyzed through the perspective of Chinese traditional values, particularly based on the work of Sun Tzu, The Art of War, where the main strategy principles mentioned are moral virtue, foreknowledge, dispositions, adaptability, and strategic advantage. The researchers use interviews with top and middle level managers of several companies and their own experiences to describe the policy of marketing activities undertaken by these Chinese companies in recent years.


Firms buy, sell, and glean from innovation. In other words, firms variously engage in commercialization of intangible innovation. Intangible innovations are primarily protected by intellectual property rights. Firms may only be able to leverage their intellectual assets solely through these protections. Intellectual property rights and law not only provide incentives for innovation, and protect them as property, but also coordinate the modalities of their exchanges. However, this is not the only form of intangible innovations that can be commercially explored. Even when there is no intellectual property for all aspects of innovation, firms innovate, commercialize and trade the outcome utilizing organizational processes and routines - capabilities of a firm. At a most obvious level, innovation can be embodied in the tangible products and services that the firms offer. A more intangible aspect of innovation is the processes and routines of a firm. Whether they are called intellectual capital, organizational learning, organizational routines, or simply human capital composed of proficient employees, they are part of the intangible innovation or a firm. In particular, firms utilize their capabilities in the internal or external exchanges of intangibles. They may also utilize the knowledge they have generated for the internal efficiency of organization and improve the general organizational capabilities. On the other hand, if there are demands from the market/customer, industry structure, and technological features, and if the regulatory contexts and the general capabilities of the firm can support it, firms may choose to extract values by commercialize them.In this context, this paper argues that an insight gained from strategic management and organizational research helps to bridge a gap in the research on contracts and intellectual property rights. In particular, a capabilities perspective that highlights the significance of the process and routines in the orgranisation is advocated. Additionally, some components for contracting capabilities in the transaction of innovation are identified to operationalize the contract capability perspective in the exchange of intangible innovation.


Parent engagement with their children plays an important role in children's eventual economic success and numerous studies have documented large gaps in parent engagement between low- and higher-income families. While we know remarkably little about what motivates parents to engage in their children's development, recent research suggests that ignoring or discounting the future may inhibit parental investment, while certain behavioral tools may help offset this tendency. This paper reports results from a randomized field experiment designed to increase the time that parents of children in subsidized preschool programs spend reading to their children using an electronic reading application that audio and video records parents as they read. The treatment included three behavioral tools (text reminders, goal-setting, and social rewards) as well as information about the importance of reading to children. The treatment increased usage of the reading application by one standard deviation after the six-week intervention. Our evidence suggests that the large effect size is not accounted for by the information component of the intervention and that the treatment impact was much greater for parents who are more present-oriented than for parents who are less present-oriented.


Melanocortins are known to be involved in the regulation of feeding behavior. These hormones mediate their effects through G-protein-coupled receptors by stimulating adenylate cyclase. In this study we describe the functional response of melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) and melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R) in HEK 293T cells, by using a luciferase reporter gene under the transcriptional control of a cAMP-responsive element (CRE) as a monitor of intracellular cAMP levels and cAMP-regulated gene expression. We were able to show that MC4R and MC3R expressed in the human cell line HEK 293T stimulate transcription induced by stimulation with different analogs of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) at different levels. In our assay of CRE-mediated gene transcription activity, alpha-MSH-ND was the most efficient alpha-MSH analog for MC4R whereas NDP-MSH was the most efficient for MC3R. Changing the His6 residue of alpha-MSH-ND to Gln or Lys markedly decreased CRE-mediated luciferase activity for MC3R compared with MC4R. On analysis by modeling the receptor-ligand complex by NMR, [Gln6]alpha-MSH-ND and [Lys6]alpha-MSH-ND showed different conformational interactions between MC3R and MC4R. Furthermore, the maximum coupling efficiency of MC4R and MC3R to G proteins was different; MC4R showed only 30-50% of the maximum activity induced by MC3R. In total, our results suggest that a differential receptor-ligand interaction is involved and that the relative interactions of MC3R and MC4R with G protein are possibly quantitatively and qualitatively different.


This paper seeks to re-position academic practitioners as educators rather than service providers, and in doing so also re-position students as learners, rather than customers. In making this conceptual shift the authors are exploring an aspect of personal ethics in relation to academic practice – something which is often neglected in the literature.

In recent years, narratives on UK Higher Education (HE) have been much focused on the marketisation of Higher Education (HE) and the shift towards viewing students as consumers or customers (Molesworth and Scullian 2010; Brown and Carasso 2013). Viewing students as customers has great implications for academic identity and practice. In this scenario, lecturers are no longer predominately educators. Instead, they represent a service industry where customer satisfaction overrides learning. Williams (2003) argues that one result of the marketisation of Higher Education is that as universities compete to recruit students, they seek to promote products (courses) that are marketable, and that includes a focus on customer care. Universities promise that students will be cared for and well looked after, and this, needless to say, appeals to parents who are often the ones paying tuition fees. However, when Williams (2003) interviewed students about their identity as consumers, she found that far from all students approved of that label. In fact, she indicates that the student population seems to have a more sophisticated response to the marketisation discourse than is usually reported in the literature.

Noddings (2003) describes education as a process where the learner and teacher enter into a unique relationship with the purpose of promoting the well-being of the learner. She argues that teaching is not only about professional but also personal responsibilities, and lists three key elements of caring education: engrossment, commitment and a motivational shift from self (as a teacher) to the student. Engrossment is when a teacher fully accepts the student and understands and respects feelings and experiences that s/he brings to the learning. Commitment is the teacher's single minded goal to support the student in performing to the best of their abilities. Finally, the motivational shift is when a teacher is able to see the world from the students' point of view. The authors explore the extent to which we as academic practitioners are enabled by our HE institutions to provide caring education in the form that Noddings suggest.

This paper applies Noddings' concept of care in education to an HE context and explores the extent to which a group of early career academics negotiate concepts of care – customer care and care for the learner – in their academic practice.

The study is based on in-depth interviews of 10 early career academics who recently completed their Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice at a post-92 university in London. The interviews are focused on the three key aspects mentioned above that constitute cared for education, and the paper will discuss the early career academics' perceptions of caring for students and the extent to which they are supported by their institution in providing appropriate care for their learners.


Philippa Strum, our foremost authority on Louis Brandeis, gathers together for the first time a sterling selection from his most provocative and profound writings. A kind of "Portable Brandeis," this book provides a concise and readable guide to the thought of a truly great American. Brandeis, the Ralph Nader of the early twentieth century, was known as the "People's Attorney" for his continuous crusades on behalf of the public. He spoke before citizens' groups and legislative bodies, wrote articles for popular magazines, put his ideas about industrial democracy in the briefs he submitted as a lawyer and later in the opinions he wrote as a Supreme Court justice (1916-1938), and advised presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt. The problems Brandeis faced and the answers he fashioned could have leaped from today's newspapers: corruption in government, conflicts between majority rule and minority rights, movements to limit free speech and the right to privacy, gender equality, the importance of education, the causes of and possible solutions for poverty, the social costs of excessive political or corporate power, the uneasy relationship between lawyers and the public, efficiency and justice in the workplace, the tension between Federal power and states' autonomy, and the responsibility of citizens to their community. In all his endeavors, Brandeis emphasized both political and economic democracy, citizen participation, and a balance between rights and responsibilities. As leader of the American Zionist movement from 1914 through the 1930s, he dreamed of a democratic Jewish homeland in Palestine founded on Jeffersonian principles. And there were similar echoes of the Founding Fathers in his campaign against the corporate trusts in the United States. These selections from Brandeis's speeches, letters to family and colleagues, newspaper interviews, articles, and judicial opinions offer us the essence of Brandeis's genius and allow us to appreciate the range and relevance of his ideas for America today.


One of the mysteries of education reform is how leaders and educators can successfully instantiate, sustain, and spread studentcentered pedagogical practices from a few schools to many others. Advocates for deeper learning grapple with this mystery as they seek to transform teaching and learning to prepare students to meet the demands of the 21st century and to close the opportunity gap between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. While research suggests that deeper learning strategies that support critical thinking and problem-solving can yield improved student outcomes, implementing these strategies is not easy, as they require reimagining school environments and changing traditional approaches to teaching. This brief highlights how three networks of schools engaged in deeper learning have managed this feat. It describes the systems and structures the networks have used to instantiate their equitable deeper learning models in diverse public school settings to serve students in more personalized and productive ways.


Introduction Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is found within the first five most common tumors worldwide. Sorafenib is an approved agent in HCC treatment. Sertraline is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The aim of the study is to investigate the combination of sertraline and sorafenib at hepatocellular cancer cell proliferation and death. Methods HepG2 cells were treated with drugs and viability test XTT was performed. Cells were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histological examination or with anti-Bcl-2 antibody and Hoechst 33258 for immunofluorescence. Results Viability results supported dose-dependent antiproliferative effect for both sertraline and sorafenib. Microscopic evaluation of stained cells exerts morphological changes. Discussion This is the first study to show that sorafenib and sertraline have synergistic effect in hepatocellular cancer.


Authorship attribution studies have traditionally been based on a wide reading knowledge of a text in its historical and generic contexts. With the advent of computers, it became possible to process large quantities of data quickly. However, the first computer-driven attribution methods could only deal with individual words, ignoring grammar, syntax, and all the individualizing features of authorial language. By counting word frequencies and subjecting the word-count information to statistical analysis, it was hoped that authorship problems could be solved. Time has shown that the most this method can achieve is a measure of likeness, not identity. Second-generation research in authorship attribution has opened up a new path, drawing on recent advances in linguistics. Neurolinguists have shown that human utterances often take the form of "chunks" or ready-made groups of words. In parallel, linguists studying large corpora of actual language use have found that certain word groups tend to recur in close proximity. These collocations are partly phrases or idioms in general circulation, partly idiosyncratic formations which an individual speaker or writer uses regularly. By using modern plagiarism software we can establish the distinctive "phraseognomy" of one or more authors within a restricted database, organized by genre and date. Collocation matching, an automated and replicable process, can provide a reliable authorship indicator when dealing with anonymous or coauthored texts. On the evidence given here, it seems certain that the Additions to the 1602 text of Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy were written by Shakespeare.


Background

Today's modern, industrialized society is based on globalization, specialization and mass-production. It is a society dependent upon highly integrated, continuously ongoing supply chain flows. Disruptions in those flows may cause devastating negative consequences, both for the individual company, for the supply chain, and for the society at large.

Purpose and objectives

The purpose of the thesis is to contribute to the knowledge on how to manage disruption risks in the supply chain. There are two objectives. The first is to ?to identify, structure and summarize the state of the art on supply chain disruption risks?. The second is ?to develop and test a generic, aggregate model for managing disruption risks in the supply chain?.

Method

The first objective is fulfilled with the help of a general search in literature within the areas of risk, risk management, supply chain management, and supply chain risk. The results from the literature review are then complemented with empirical material, and the existing knowledge within each area is summed up and analysed. Finally conclusions are drawn and suggestions for new research are presented.

The identified research need is used as starting point for the fulfilment of objective two. A model, called the DRISC model (Disruption Risks In Supply Chains), dealing with the risks of disruptions in the product flow in the supply chain from raw material to end market, is developed. The usability of the complete DRISC model is tested through application on a real case and through a survey among risk managers.

Results

The state of the art review revealed that supply chain risk management can be described as a new area under rapid development with several interesting ?islands of theories? but yet without any common, solid foundation of basic concepts and generic models.

The DRISC model covers, as seen from the angle of an individual company in the supply chain, all potential product flow-related disruption risks in the total supply chain. These risks are classified into 15 different classes that are assessed and summarized into a total expected consequence value. The model further assists in finding new and better ways to handle those risks.

The test of the DRISC model on a real case, Bramhults, showed that the model was of value for identifying, structuring and estimating the supply chain risks and for giving an overall picture of the risk exposure situation. The survey of risk managers confirmed that.


Quasi-wavelets (QWs) are eddy-like entities similar to customary wavelets in the sense that they are based on translations and dilations of a spatially localized parent function. The positions and orientations are, however, normally taken to be random. Random fields such as turbulence may be represented as ensembles of QWs with appropriately selected size distributions, number densities, and amplitudes. This paper overviews previous results concerning QWs and provides a new, QW-based model of anisotropic turbulence in a shear-dominated surface layer. The following points are emphasized. (1) Many types of QWs and couplings, suitable for various applicatons, can be constructed through differentiation of spherically symmetric parent functions. For velocity fluctuations, QWs with toroidal and poloidal circulations can be derived. (2) Self-similar ensembles of QWs with rotation rates scaling according to Kolmogorov's hypotheses naturally produce classical inertial-subrange spectra. (3) Momentum and heat fluxes in surface-layer turbulence can be described by introducing preferred orientations and correlations among QWs representing temperature and velocity perturbations. (4) In contrast to Fourier modes, QWs can be naturally arranged in a spatially intermittent manner. Models for both local (intrinsic) and global intermittency are discussed. (5) The spatially localized nature of QWs can be advantageous in wave-scattering calculations and other applications.


Surface Response to Excitation Method (SuRE) is an active structural health monitoring (SHM) method. SuRE method was implemented by exciting the surface of a plate with a piezoelectric element. The propagation of the created surface waves were monitored with one or more sensors. These sensors could be piezoelectric elements or noncontact sensors such as laser scanning vibrometer. During the experiments, one of the piezoelectric elements excited the block at the 20-400 KHz range while the signals of other piezoelectric elements were recorded and their spectrums were calculated. The reference spectrums of sensors were obtained when the block had no defect. However, in the presence of defect the spectrum deviates from reference response. SuRE method quantifies these changes by calculating sum of square of differences (SSD). It is shown that SuRE method is able to effectively detect the defects. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/233


How are photographs understood as narratives? In this book twenty-two original critical essays tackle this overarching question in a series of case studies moving chronologically across the history of photography from the 1840s to the twenty-first century. The contributors explore the intersections of photography with history, memory, autobiography, time, death, mapping, the discourse of Orientalism, digital technology, and representations of race and gender. The essays range in focus from the role of photographic images in the memorialisation of the Holocaust, the Argentine "Dirty War", and Japanese American internment camps through Man Ray's classic image "Noire et blanche" and Nan Goldin's "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency" to the function of family albums in nineteenth-century England and America.


Introduction. During the autumn of 1893 the writer spent five weeks in field work on the Auriferous slates of the Sierra Nevada, chiefly in Plumas, Butte and Calaveras counties, California, in the effort to find some definite horizons that might be identified by fossils. In this he was greatly aided by Mr James E. Mills, under whose guidance he visited many of the localities mentioned in this paper. To Mr Mills is due in great measure whatever success was achieved by the investigations. The Auriferous slates have long been a puzzle to California geologists, and, on account of the scientific as well as economic interest attached to them, much has been written—hardly any two writers agreeing—about their age. This paper is intended to present the facts known at the present time. Opinions of previous Writers. 1858. The first geologist to write about the age of the Auriferous slates . . .


Title of dissertation: OPTIMIZATION OF CONTEMPORARY TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS: GENERALIZED SPANNING TREES AND WDM OPTICAL NETWORKS Daliborka Stanojević, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Associate Professor Subramanian Raghavan Department of Decision and Information Technologies We present a study of two NP-hard telecommunications network design problems the prize-collecting generalized minimum spanning tree problem (PCGMST) and the design of optical networks with wavelength division multiplexing. The first problem, the PCGMST problem, involves the design of regional backbone networks, where a set of local area networks (LANs) need to be connected by a minimum cost tree network using exactly one gateway site from each LAN. We present several polynomial time heuristics for the PCGMST problem and show that these algorithms, at best, provide only modest quality solutions. We also present two metaheuristics a local search procedure and a genetic algorithm, and show that these procedures provide compelling high-quality results on a large set of test problems. Our study of the PCGMST problem is concluded by a presentation of two exact solution procedures that can be used to find optimal solutions in networks of moderate size. The second problem studied in this dissertation is a more complex network design problem that involves optical networks with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). These networks provide an abundance of transmission bandwidth, but require the use of expensive equipment, which, in turn, mandates careful use of the resources available for their design. The novel aspect of WDM optical networks is that they require simultaneous design of two network layers. The first layer is the virtual topology that requires routing of logical paths over the physical layer of optical fibers. The second layer involves routing and grooming of traffic requests over the logical paths established in the virtual topology. This problem has been extensively studied in the last 10 years, but due to its notoriously hard nature, only few exact solution procedures for relaxed versions of this problem were developed so far. We propose one exact and two approximate branch-and-price algorithms for two versions of the WDM optical network design problem and present results of the computational study involving two different design objectives. Finally, we propose two classes of valid inequalities for our branch-and-price algorithms, and discuss applicability of our algorithms to different versions of the WDM optical network design problem. OPTIMIZATION OF CONTEMPORARY TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS: GENERALIZED SPANNING TREES AND WDM OPTICAL NETWORKS


In 1671, Dutch diplomat and scientist Nicolaes Witsen published a book that served, among other things, as an encyclopedia for the "shell-first" method of ship construction. In the centuries since, Witsen's rather convoluted text has also become a valuable source for insights into historical shipbuilding methods and philosophies during the "Golden Age" of Dutch maritime trade. However, as Andre Wegener Sleeswyk's foreword notes, Witsen's work is difficult to access not only for its seventeenth-century Dutch language but also for the vagaries of its author's presentation. Fortunately for scholars and students of nautical archaeology and shipbuilding, this important but chaotic work has now been reorganized and elucidated by A. J. Hoving and translated into English by Alan Lemmers. In "Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age," Hoving, master model builder for the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, sorts out the steps in Witsen's method for building a seventeenth-century "pinas "by following them and building a model of the vessel. Experimenting with techniques and materials, conducting research in other publications of the time, and rewriting as needed to clarify and correct some vital omissions in the sequence, Hoving makes Witsen's work easier to use and understand. "Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age "is an indispensable guide to Witsen's work and the world of his topic: the almost forgotten basics of a craftsmanship that has been credited with the flourishing of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. To view a sample of Ab Hoving's ship model drawings, please visit: http: //nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/AbHoving.htm


Application of the name Eucalyptus obtusiflora DC. (Myrtaceae). Telopea #: #–# (2019). The name E. obtusiflora has been applied to both an eastern Australian species and to a distantly-related species from Western Australia. We have re-examined the literature and type material of E. obtusiflora and conclude that the holotype was most likely collected on the west coast of Western Australia, possibly as part of the Baudin Expedition, and was certainly not collected by Sieber, with whom the type specimen has previously been associated.


We present a case series describing a modified technique of combining medical Pleuroscopy (MP) and indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) placement for obtaining pleural biopsies and managing recurrent pleural effusions. The unique feature of this technique is the introduction of a thin bronchoscope through the peel-away introducer of IPC to obtain pleural biopsies thus avoiding a bigger incision followed by placement of IPC. This procedure was performed on nine patients in an outpatient setting. A regular flexible bronchoscopy forceps was used to obtain pleural biopsies in eight out of nine patients and only one patient could not tolerate the procedure due to marginal respiratory status. A diagnosis of malignancy was successfully obtained in six patients, one patient had biopsy findings of chronic inflammation and one patient had necrotic debris and rare atypical cells despite having visible pleural lesions. No procedure related patient complications were noted.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report presents findings and lessons on salinity management technology and research that shows promise in Australia and Pakistan.

The aim of the project was to evaluate the economic viability of salinity management at selected sites in Australia and Pakistan, using Serial Biological Concentration (SBC) of salts. The specific objectives were:
• To critically evaluate existing salinity management options in Australia and Pakistan.
• To determine the technical and economic viability of SBC in Australia and Pakistan, later amended to irrigating from shallow skimming wells in Pakistan, to reclaim abandoned land.
• To link the economic analysis with the polluter pays principle, by demonstrating salt management options for public-private investment policy.

The analysis focused on Box Creek (Murray Irrigation Area) in the southern Murray Darling Basin of Australia and Nabishah Bala in Chaj Doab (the area between the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers) which is an intensively developed and significantly productive irrigated area of the Indus Basin of Pakistan. SBC in this report has been considered as a saline water management tool for implementation either at the level of individual farms or at a community level within an irrigation area. The results show that SBC offers potential for salinity management in both countries. Its wide adoption requires further analysis on its economic viability on-farm, across a range of biophysical and economic conditions. SBC can be economically viable but the pay back period may be up to 20 years. Salinity credits may reduce the pay back period to below 12 years. Thus, agro-economic management of drainage may become a viable option, given appropriate policy support for productive use of drainage water in saline environments.

The polluter pays principle in terms of 'salinity credits' has been used in this economic study to tackle the water salinity issue. In terms of salinity management, it is the amount of money the polluter is willing to pay for treating salt to minimise third party impacts or the acceptable return for treating salt. The application of a polluter pays principle, in terms of a salinity credit for treating a tonne of salt, may encourage public-private investment in salinity management.
The study recommends:
• Further research is needed to establish the economic and financial viability of SBC on a commercial basis. The concepts and lessons learned, however, are applicable to the management of salinity issues in arid and semi-arid regions.
• Market based instruments which can encourage the sharing of salinity management responsibilities among farmers and regulation bodies need to be researched and converted into institutional mechanisms to foster public-private investments in salinity management.


In this study, a numerical analysis of turbulent flow heat and mass transfer in the cross-flow transport membrane condenser (TMC) based heat exchange was carried out. The heat exchanger under investigation was designed to recover both sensible and latent heat due to transport of heat and mass through a nanoporous ceramic membrane in the bundle of tubes of the heat exchanger. The shear stress transport SST k-ω turbulence model was used to model the turbulent flow of the flue gas mixture. The condensation rate of the water vapor from the flue gas were calculated using a mixed condensation model. The mixed model was based on the capillary condensation and wall condensation in the membrane tube. The numerical study was focused on the investigation of the impact of the turbulence intensity of the flue gas at various inlet conditions, such as Reynolds numbers and temperatures, on the heat and mass transfer and pressure drop characteristics. The numerical results were validated against the experimental results reported in the literature. Different tube diameters were used in the simulation, with the Reynolds number varied from 3000 to 10000. The results showed that an increase in turbulence intensity led to a significant increase in the turbulent kinetic energy, condensation rate, average convective Nusselt number and change on the pressure drop in the heat exchanger. The effects of inlet flow Reynolds number and tube diameter on the heat and mass transfer were also presented and discussed.


We aim to investigate how statistical tools can help detect potential data fabrication in the social- and medical sciences. In this proposal we outline three projects to assess the value of such statistical tools to detect potential data fabrication and make the first steps in order to apply them automatically to detect data anomalies, potentially due to data fabrication. In Project 1, we examine the performance of statistical methods to detect data fabrication in a mixture of genuine and fabricated data sets, where the fabricated data sets are generated by actual researchers who participate in our study. We also interview these researchers in order to investigate, in Project 2, different data fabrication characteristics and whether data generated with certain characteristics are better detected with current statistical tools than others. In Project 3 we use software to semi-automatically screen research articles to detect data anomalies that are potentially due to fabrication, and develop and test new software forming the basis for automated screening of research articles for data anomalies, potentially due to data fabrication, in the future.


How to succeed at work and life--in an increasingly unpredictable world In a world where you can no longer plan or predict your way to success, how can you achieve your most important goals? It's a daunting question. But in today's environment, where change is the only constant, it's a question everyone must answer. This is true whether you are an innovator or an entrepreneur, a manager or a newly minted graduate. The first step, say the authors of this book, is this: "Just start." In other words, take action now and learn as you go. Written by a trio of seasoned business leaders, Just Start combines fascinating research with proven practices to deliver a reliable method for helping you advance toward your goals--despite the uncertainty that is all too common today. Babson College President Leonard Schlesinger, organizational learning expert Charles Kiefer, and veteran journalist Paul B. Brown share their own deep and varied experiences and draw from a source where striving amid constant uncertainty actually works: the world of serial entrepreneurship. In this world, people don't just think differently--they act differently, as well. Using this novel approach, Just Start will help you: * Determine the best strategy and tactics when the future is uncertain * Minimize financial risk in every decision you make * Attract like-minded people to what you want to do (and learn why this is important) * Understand why "Act. Learn. Build (so you can) Act again" is the best course of action when facing the unknown So throw out your forecasting tools and shrug off that nagging frustration that comes with constant uncertainty. Just Start distills for you the very essence of what makes people successful in today's volatile environment. This book is your guide to achieving your goals--whether your project is professional or personal, or somewhere in between.


Abstract What determines whether or not firms lobby on the same policy issues? Scholars offer two broad answers to this question. Firms that are (1) similar or (2) connected through interorganizational ties target the same policy issues. In this article, I argue that the co-occurrence of these two conditions produces the opposite outcome, namely a tendency to lobby on different issues. This expectation draws on ideas from collective action theory and the literature on issue niches. From these, I derive the following assumptions: similar firms share political objectives and they should, when possible, act collectively by jointly delegating their lobbying activities. The reason for doing this is that it allows them to focus on their issue niches. However, the ability to delegate hinges on coordination and monitoring, which is facilitated by interorganizational relations. To test this proposition, I study the largest American corporations. The dependent variable is activity overlap, a measure of the extent to which firms lobby on the same issues. According to expectations, activity overlap is reduced when firms operate in the same industry and, simultaneously, enjoy favorable conditions for social interactions, such as a concentrated market structure. These results lend support to collective action theory.


Tregs have been implicated in control of homeostasis in the immune system and beyond. These cells restrain inflammatory responses to self antigens, commensal microorganisms, allergens, and pathogens and adapt their homeostatic and functional capabilities to a particular environment. In this review, we discuss a general model of integration of environmental cues by Tregs in which specialized Treg homeostatic, migratory, and suppression programs are established in dynamically changing inflammatory environments by maintaining an optimal threshold of activation of transcription factors involved in regulation of the corresponding type of effector immune responses.


Prior literature tells us VCs are responsible for ousting founders from their leadership positions and replacing them with professional management around IPO time. This argument assumes all founders are equally incapable of running a company beyond the initial startup phase. We question that assumption and propose that the relationship between VC involvement and founder-CEO turnover around IPO time is moderated by other variables such as the pre-IPO performance of the firm, the nature of the involvement of the VCs, and the prior experience of the founder-CEOs. Our hypotheses are tested on 108 founder-CEOs of IPO firms and supported to a large extent. Implications are discussed.


BACKGROUND Identifying factors conferring responses to therapy in cancer is critical to select the best treatment for patients. For immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) therapy, mounting evidence suggests that the gut microbiome can determine patient treatment outcomes. However, the extent to which gut microbial features are applicable across different patient cohorts has not been extensively explored. METHODS We performed a meta-analysis of 4 published shotgun metagenomic studies (Ntot = 130 patients) investigating differential microbiome composition and imputed metabolic function between responders and nonresponders to ICI. RESULTS Our analysis identified both known microbial features enriched in responders, such as Faecalibacterium as the prevailing taxa, as well as additional features, including overrepresentation of Barnesiella intestinihominis and the components of vitamin B metabolism. A classifier designed to predict responders based on these features identified responders in an independent cohort of 27 patients with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.625 (95% CI: 0.348–0.899) and was predictive of prognosis (HR = 0.35, P = 0.081). CONCLUSION These results suggest the existence of a fecal microbiome signature inherent across responders that may be exploited for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. FUNDING This work was funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, BioGaia AB, and Cancerfonden.


After the completion of high school the major task among the students is to choose their career and education for future (Noeth, Engen, &Noeth, 1984). Researchers presumed that it is very easy task for the gifted students to decide their career but it does not link with their talent and intelligence they also suffer from the problem of choosing their career. The high expectations of the gifted students make it difficult for them to choose their future education. Thus, it is viewed that the parents of the gifted students helps them to choose their future career and education. Majority of the gifted students choose the career to fulfill their parent's dream, these students want to make their parents proud and happy so they choose their career as per the choice of their parents (Raji and Devi, 2018). Keeping this in view current study will investigate the parental support as predictor of career decision making among gifted students. The study included 103 meritorious school students (42 boys and 61 girls). Career decision making was measured by using Career Decision Making Inventory by Singh (1999) and for measuring parental support Career-Related Parental Support Scale by Alphonse (2016) was employed. Results revealed that career decision making of gifted students and parental support are positively related with each other. Parental support individually contributes towards predicting career decision making of gifted students.


Refugees and asylum seekers are only a small proportion of the 60 million forcibly displaced persons. But those seeking asylum in the developed world have received much of the attention as western governments have struggled to develop a policy response. An analysis of asylum applications by origin and destination indicates that these flows are largely driven by political terror and human rights abuses. Poor economic conditions in origin countries and tough asylum policies in destination countries matter too. In the light of the findings I suggest that greater coordination among OECD countries could improve the lot of those fleeing from persecution but even this would make only modest inroads into the sum of human misery that displaced people exemplify.


Following the Assembly Elections in May 2007 Wales moved into a new area in its devolutionary settlement with a change of government and new legislation - the Government of Wales Act 2006. The Act is designed to revise fundamentally the Government of Wales Act 1998. Critics at the time predicted that executive devolution would be unlikely to be stable and would lead to "catch up" devolution with more privileged nations such as Scotland. Hence the second phase of Welsh devolution in which a Westminster model of Government is introduced as well as enhanced legislative powers for the National Assembly for Wales, including powers for the Assembly to be given legislative competence by Order in Council to make law in certain of the devolved fields, as an interim stage towards achieving full legislative devolution following a referendum. This paper argues that the Government of Wales Act 2006 has not conclusively settled the constitutional issues of asymmetrical devolution, such as the distribution of power between London and Cardiff; the role of the Secretary of State; the clarity and transparency of Welsh governance; and the question of how long these interim arrangements will last before Wales gains legislative devolution.


This thesis, under the program called MEMPHIS (Merging Electronics and Micro & Nano Photonics in Integrated Systems - http://www.smartmix-memphis.nl/), focuses on the selection and optimization of materials and low temperature processes to realize waveguides and photodetectors on top of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS). Germanium-silicon (GeSi) was chosen as the material for photodetectors. Thin amorphous GeSi films were crystallized using a pulsed green laser. Preformed lines were employed during the crystallization process to steer the formation of large grains within specified boundaries. This originates from the notion that photodetectors fabricated on films with controlled location and density of grain-boundaries can have fewer recombination centers as well as less device-to-device variability. Further the electrical activation of ion-implanted p- and n-type dopants in as-deposited polycrystalline GeSi films was studied using three different activation methods: furnace, rapid thermal and laser annealing. For reference the crystallization of ion-implanted amorphous GeSi films was also explored. The samples were physically and electrically characterized to assess their applicability in above-CMOS process technologies. On this end silicon oxynitride (SiON) was chosen as the material for waveguides. A detailed analysis of the deposition (at a low fabrication temperature of 150 °C) and properties of SiON films was performed. This was aimed towards realizing films with low optical losses in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range. The influence of the deposition parameters such as SiH4 fraction, deposition pressure and Ar/N2 ratio on the film properties was experimentally investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These findings were consistent with the chemical modeling of gas-phase composition of the plasma thereby leading to better understanding of the deposition process. The propagation losses were determined using the prism coupling technique for various IR wavelengths ranging between 1300 nm and 1600 nm. Propagation losses as low as 0.5 ± 0.05 dB/cm at 1300 nm wavelength were measured, a very significant outcome for a low temperature deposited waveguide material.


Abstract The biology of lipoproteins and lipoprotein particles as mediators of atherosclerosis has been documented extensively. Numerous prospective epidemiological studies have shown a robust relationship between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or particles bearing apolipoprotein B, and increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD); and between high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol or particles bearing apolipoprotein A1, and decreased risk. These relationships are present across the age spectrum and in both sexes. The causality of LDL cholesterol for CHD has been established by the clinical trials on cholesterol lowering and the Mendelian randomisation studies. However, clinical trials that focus on raising HDL cholesterol, or lowering triglycerides, have yielded mixed results, and the Mendelian randomisation studies have generally not supported causality. Research on the effects of diet on serum cholesterol led to public health guidelines, whose implementation within the last five decades was accompanied by lower population cholesterol levels and CHD burden in all of the countries studied. Over the last three decades, the favourable trends in cholesterol levels and CHD have been supported by the increasing use of statin drugs and improved treatments for myocardial infarction.


It seems many men continue to be obsessed with their penis and especially its size and look. Two thirds of men in a recent UK study (Veale et al., 2013) reported some dissatisfaction with their genitals. Arguably much of this anxiety is perpetuated by the media and marketers, but may also follow more general trends in male body image consciousness (Grogan, 2007; 2010; Flowers et al., 2013). Marketers have been quick to offer both surgical and non-surgical remedies to help change the size, shape and image of the penis, especially online. Stepping aside from more traditional scholarly foci on culture (Lehman, 2006), media (Lehman, 2007), social (Davison, 200) and personal relationship issues (Lever et al., 2006), I focus instead on how men account for pubic hair shaving to enhance image. I use discourse analysis to examine online electronic dialogue in response to an advert promoting male groin grooming showing the complex ways in which men discursively negotiate their interest in this non-typical gender practice. The analysis shows charges of vanity are swept under the carpet in favour of heterosexual pleasure, cleanliness, self-respect and individuality. The implications for understanding traditional and contemporary masculinities are also discussed.


Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Grand Canyon National Park is your passport to all the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see, what to skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Watch the changing light of sunset over the South Rim, go rafting along the Colorado River's twists and turns, or take a mule ride down to the canyon floor; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Grand Canyon National Park and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Grand Canyon National Park Travel Guide: *Full-color maps and images throughout *Highlights and itineraries show you the simplest way to tailor your trip to your own personal needs and interests *Insider tips save you time and money and help you get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots and being safe and responsible *Essential info at your fingertips - including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, prices, transit tips, emergency information, park seasonality, and hiking trail junctions, viewpoints, landscapes, elevations, distances, difficulty levels, and durations *Honest reviews for all budgets - including eating, sleeping, camping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, summer and winter activities, and hidden gems that most guidebooks miss *Contextual insights give you a richer and more rewarding travel experience - including history, geology, wildlife, and conservation *Over 36 trail and park maps *Useful features - including Driving Tours, Travel with Children, and Day and Overnight Hikes *Coverage of North Rim, South Rim, Colorado River, Havasu Canyon, Cape Royal Point, Little Colorado River, and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Grand Canyon National Park, our most comprehensive guide to the Grand Canyon, is perfect for those planning to both explore the top sights and take the road less traveled. * Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Southwest USA Travel Guide for a comprehensive look at all the region has to offer. * Looking to visit more than one national park in the USA? Check out Lonely Planet's Discover USA's Best National Parks, a photo-rich guide to the country's 27 most popular natural attractions. Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, Wendy Yanagihara, and Jennifer Denniston. About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveler community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travelers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in. TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)


E-Commerce website is the new marketing and sales method to reach new customers. By overcoming the geographical constraint, e-commerce website allows users to perform purchasing activities without being physically present. Though many e-commerce websites have achieved great success, many have also failed. Their failures are mainly due to the absence of quality. This study presents a prototype software tool that could assist in assessing the functional quality of ecommerce websites in an automatic manner. Unlike the currently available methods of evaluation, this tool does not necessitate the assessment of e-commerce websites by a human expert. On the other hand, the tool performs a scanning activity to allocate the existence of e-commerce characteristics. Adopting the quality model by Stefani and Xenos (2001), six different e-commerce characteristics were selected from the functional factor of the model. Three other factors identified by the model are usability, reliability and efficiency, which are not within the scope of this project. Three major script languages have been sited to be regularly used in e-commerce website development. They are JavaServer Pages (JSP) from Sun Microsystems, ASP from Microsoft and PHP an open source language. Though they share the same functionalities, they differ considerably in syntax. Therefore, this project has focused on evaluating e-commerce websites, which were built using JavaServer Pages (JSP). The objective of this paper is to develop a prototype tool capable of evaluating JSP-based e-commerce website based on the characteristics chosen. The tool is competent to perform the data collection through fully automatic means and finally generates result of evaluation into XML format.