In this study, the in-cylinder soot and NOx trade off was investigated in a compression engine by implementing premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) coupled with low temperature combustion (LTC) for selected regimes of 1–3 bars IMEP. In order to achieve that, an omnivorous (multifuel) single cylinder diesel engine was developed by injecting n-butanol in the intake port while being fueled with biodiesel by direct injection in the combustion chamber. By applying this methodology, the in-cylinder pressure decreased by 25% and peak pressure was delayed in the power stroke by about 8 CAD for the cycles in which the n-butanol was injected in the intake manifold at the engine speed of 800 rpm and low engine loads, corresponding to 1–3 bars IMEP. Compared with the baseline taken with ultra-low sulfur diesel no. 2 (USLD#2), the heat release presented a more complex shape. t 1–2 bars IMEP, the premixed charge stage of the combustion totally disappeared and a prolonged diffusion stage was found instead. At 3 bars IMEP, an early low temperature heat release was present that started 6 deg (1.25 ms) earlier than the diesel reference heat release with a peak at 350 CAD corresponding to 1200 K. Heat losses from radiation of burned gas in the combustion chamber decreased by 10–50% while the soot emissions showed a significant decrease of about 98%, concomitantly with a 98% NOx reduction at 1 IMEP, and 77% at 3 IMEP, by controlling the combustion phases. Gaseous emissions were measured using an AVL SESAM FTIR and showed that there were high increases in CO, HC and NMHC emissions as a result of PCCI/LTC strategy; nevertheless, the technology is still under development. The results of this work indicate that n-butanol an be a very promising fuel alternative including for LTC regimes.


Polyphase filters are an efficient solution for high image rejection and great accuracy quadrature generation in radio frequency (RF) receivers. Analytical modeling of passive polyphase filter suitable for RF front-end applications operating in 2.4 GHz frequency band is dealt with. This analytical analysis has been used to calibrate the optimal values of passive components in order to obtain the maximum image rejection ratio (IRR). Component sizing as well as judicious placement of the basic cell composing the filter has been taken into account during the layout process. Multi-stage RC network has been implemented in 0.13-μm CMOS technology.


Abstract This article considers the key data protection challenges facing humanitarian organizations providing assistance to refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants. These challenges are particularly significant for several reasons: because data protection has come relatively late to the humanitarian sector; because humanitarian organizations are under pressure to innovate rapidly; because the global communications architecture on which many of these innovations depend is inherently vulnerable to State surveillance; and because States are deploying increasingly sophisticated and coercive means to prevent irregular forms of migration and/or subjecting humanitarian organizations to surveillance and disruption. The first part of the article outlines the fundamental rights challenges presented by contemporary data-driven migration control paradigms. The second outlines concerns about "data-driven humanitarianism" and "mass surveillance" to show how humanitarian organizations risk inadvertently exacerbating these problems. The third assesses specific data protection challenges that humanitarian organizations face and the policies and practices they have developed in response. The article concludes with some brief observations on the technical and political dynamics shaping their efforts to comply with their legal and ethical obligations, and calls for the sector to work together to extend data protection norms and outlaw cyber-attacks by State actors.


This study reviews 10 years of Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education (RELEA), showing that the journal has become a valuable resource for publishing and highlights its pathway as scholarly journal. Furthermore, it is also a call to astronomy education specialists to consolidate their efforts considering similar journals worldwide. Publishing policies of the RELEA and their context are presented in relation to submission, refereeing and publication. The 75 articles published in 18 editions are analyzed and classified. The results showed an acceptance rate of 60.2%; an average of 7.5 articles per year/4.2 per issue. RELEA´s authors are mostly based in Brazil (81.3%); articles target chiefly a school level (university education: 28.0%, high school: 28.0%); their main study focus is learning and teaching (34.7%) and general astronomy content (33.3%). Our results show that compared to other Brazilian journals of education, RELEA had twice as much astronomy articles. In the international scene there has been about a half of astronomy education research, but twice of astronomy in science education research. The challenges related to improve the article submission are discussed: how to increase their number, the submission of Latin American countries, and how to bring in the issues and subjects not addressed until now. It is also encouraged graduate studies, new lines of research in astronomy education, and advertising the journal in universities and schools for professors and teachers. Finally, future possibilities are mentioned given the International Astronomical Union's development programs.


In butterflies, bees, flies and true bugs specific mouthparts are in close contact or even fused to enable piercing, sucking or sponging of particular food sources. The common phenomenon behind these mouthpart types is a complex composed of several consecutive mouthparts which structurally interact during food uptake. The single mouthparts are thus only functional in conjunction with other adjacent mouthparts, which is fundamentally different to biting–chewing. It is, however, unclear when structural mouthpart interaction (SMI) evolved since this principle obviously occurred multiple times independently in several extant and extinct winged insect groups. Here, we report a new type of SMI in two of the earliest wingless hexapod lineages—Diplura and Collembola. We found that the mandible and maxilla interact with each other via an articulatory stud at the dorsal side of the maxillary stipes, and they are furthermore supported by structures of the hypopharynx and head capsule. These interactions are crucial stabilizing elements during food uptake. The presence of SMI in these ancestrally wingless insects, and its absence in those crustacean groups probably ancestral to insects, indicates that SMI is a groundplan apomorphy of insects. Our results thus contradict the currently established view of insect mouthpart evolution that biting–chewing mouthparts without any form of SMI are the ancestral configuration. Furthermore, SMIs occur in the earliest insects in a high anatomical variety. SMIs in stemgroup representatives of insects may have triggered efficient exploitation and fast adaptation to new terrestrial food sources much earlier than previously supposed.


In 2015, the EPA (USA) announced its intention to strengthen farmworker protections against pesticide exposure to include information on the hazards of pesticide exposure during pregnancy and how to reduce take-home exposure. While the new Worker Protection Standard is a laudable and long-overdue effort to enhance farmworker safety, we argue that an informational approach is inadequate, particularly for the women farmworkers who are the focus of the expanded training content. It is particularly deficient given new epigenetic knowledge that suggests a greatly expanded temporal and spatial horizon between pesticide exposure and effect. At the same time it puts an additional moral burden on women farmworkers who are made responsible for protecting future populations. The article draws in part on 55 interviews we conducted with farmworkers as part of a larger project on fumigation use in California's strawberry industry. Analysis of these interviews sheds light on the practical fallacies of an information-oriented regulatory program when most farm workers feel that not working is the bigger risk. We found that farmworker men and women already recognized the potential dangers of pesticide exposure without additional notification, yet farmworker women felt even more limited in their ability to protect themselves from exposure at the workplace.  Farmworkers who worked during their pregnancies felt particularly at risk. Since these enhanced protections do not address the socio-cultural and eco-biological obstacles farmworker women face in protecting themselves and their future progeny from pesticide exposure, we suggest that they are primarily performative. Keywords: Pesticide exposure, pesticide regulation, political ecology of the body, epigenetics, gender, responsibilization


To realise highly efficient single-cell analysis of microbial cells by time-resolved inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we developed a modified high efficiency cell introduction system (HECIS), consisting of a large-bore high performance concentric nebulizer (LB-HPCN) with a centre capillary tube of 150 μm inner diameter and a custom-made small-volume (15 cm3) on-axis spray chamber that uses a sheath gas flow near the chamber exit to suppress cell deposition. We also assembled an external ion pulse counting unit to directly read the ion pulse current from the electron multiplier of the ICP-MS via a function generator with no dead time, in order to obtain data with sufficiently high time resolution (i.e., 0.05–1 ms). As compared to a conventional ICP-MS working at its minimum integration time (10 ms), this assembly led to more than ca. 13-fold higher signal-to-background ratios for 31P, and made higher throughput of cells to the plasma more feasible. By using the modified HECIS and the external ion pulse counting unit for determination of the cell introduction efficiencies of different-sized unicellular microbes, including yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), cyanobacterium (Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803), red algae (Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D and Galdieria sulphuraria), and green alga (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CC-125), it was revealed that their cell introduction efficiencies ranged from 86% (for C. reinhardtii CC-125 with a mean cell diameter of 6.4 μm) to ca. 100% (for other microbes with mean cell diameters of 2.0–3.0 μm), implying that by use of the ICP-MS system, the cell introduction efficiencies are able to reach approximately 100% and tend to decrease with increasing cell sizes (at least more than 3.1 μm in mean diameter). A wide range of biologically important elements, such as C, Mg, Al, P, S, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Zn, were tested for reasonable detection using the ICP-MS system. Results likely corresponding to separate cell events were obtained for some elements present in each microbe.


Much research has been carried out on modelling soil erosion rates under different climatic and land use conditions. Although some studies have addressed the issue of reduced crop productivity due to soil erosion, few have focused on the economic loss in terms of agricultural production and gross domestic product (GDP). In this study, soil erosion modellers and economists come together to carry out an economic evaluation of soil erosion in the European Union (EU). The study combines biophysical and macroeconomic models to estimate the cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion by water in the EU. The soil erosion rates, derived from the RUSLE2015 model, are used to estimate the loss in crop productivity (physical change in the production of plants) and to model their impact on the agricultural sector per country. A computable general equilibrium model is then used to estimate the impact of crop productivity change on agricultural production and GDP. The 12 million hectares of agricultural areas in the EU that suffer from severe erosion are estimated to lose around 0.43% of their crop productivity annually. The annual cost of this loss in agricultural productivity is estimated at around €1.25 billion. The computable general equilibrium model estimates the cost in the agricultural sector to be close to €300 million and the loss in GDP to be about €155 million. Italy emerges as the country that suffers the highest economic impact, whereas the agricultural sector in most Northern and Central European countries is only marginally affected by soil erosion losses.


The wealth gap has reached record highs. At the same time there has been substantial proliferation of 401(k) savings accounts as the dominant retirement savings vehicle, and these accounts make up an increasing proportion of overall wealth. In this paper we examine 401(k) saving behavior of continuously employed workers over an eight-year period at a single, geographically diverse employer. We demonstrate substantial difference in 401(k) savings behavior by employee ethnicity even within a single employer 401(k) plan architecture. We show both African American and Hispanic employees are less likely to participate in the 401(k) plans. Moreover, conditional on participation African Americans contribute a lower proportion of their income to their 401(k) plan on average. We also show that African Americans and Hispanics tend to draw down on their 401(k) balances more often. Finally, we document that both African Americans and Hispanics favor safer assets within their plan options. Together these differences substantially impact the level of 401(k) balances accumulated and therefore overall wealth accumulation.


A variety of field trials have been conducted at NJIT in the past few years to demonstrate the utility of a Delphi-like approach to promoting asynchronous class wide collaboration. These utilized the Social Decision Support System (SDSS) originally developed as a Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) system for large group decision support. This paper provides an overview of these studies and then focuses on a recent case study in the fall of 2003 that demonstrated the ability of a computer mediated asynchronous Delphi process as a tool to scaffold collaborative idea generation and evaluation in both face to face and distance courses.


The desorption of a carbon monoxide molecule from a Ru(0001) surface was studied by means of X-ray Absorption Spectra (XAS) computed with Transition Potential (TP-DFT) and Time Dependent (TD-DFT) DFT methods. By unraveling the evolution of the CO electronic structure upon desorption, we observed that at 2.3 Å from the surface, the CO molecule has already predominantly gas-phase character. While C 1s XAS is quite insensitive to changes in the C–O bond length, the O 1s excitation is very sensitive with the π* coming down in energy upon CO bond stretching, which competes with the increase in orbital energy due to the repulsive interaction with the metallic surface. We show in a systematic way that the TP-DFT method can describe the XAS rather well at the endpoints (chemisorbed and gas phase) but is affected by artificial charge transfer and/or incorrect spin treatment in the transition region in cases like CO, where there are low-lying π* orbitals and large exchange interactions between the core 1s and valence-acceptor π* orbitals. As an alternative, we demonstrate by comparing with experimental data that a linear response approach using TD-DFT employing common exchange-correlation functionals and finite-size clusters can yield a good description of the spectral evolution of the 1s → π* transition with correct spin and gas-to-chemisorbed chemical shifts in good agreement with experiment.


Environmental risk assessment is a step towards identification, analysis, and classification of risk factors and thus reduction of the possibility of adverse consequences. In this research, a novel approach for environmental risk assessment on groundwater pollution is applied. By combination of aquifer vulnerability DRASTIC map, pollution severity and prioritizing of the plain regions by the TOPSIS method, more sensitive regions of Qazvin aquifer in Iran are identified. In the first step, seven hydro-geological characteristics of the aquifer are overlaid to produce the potential vulnerability map. Nitrate is used as the pollution parameter and its value in monitoring wells is measured by sampling. Spatial distribution of nitrate concentration is investigated using the ordinary kriging method. The TOPSIS ranking method is also applied to estimate the probability of occurrence of pollution based on five affecting criteria defined and quantified in regions of the aquifer. By production of these three layers, the risk map of the aquifer is generated. Results indicate that 9% of the area of the aquifer is categorized in the high risk level which needs an emergency recovery action plan. Also, sensitivity analysis on the parameters of the aquifer vulnerability shows the effect of the soil media more than other parameters.


One US military leader has called Israel "the intelligence equivalent of five CIAs." An Israeli cabinet minister likens his country to "the equivalent of a dozen US aircraft carriers," while the Jerusalem Post defines Israel as the executive of a "superior Western military force that" protects "America's interests in the region." Arab leaders have called Israel "a club the United States uses against the Arabs," and "a poisoned dagger implanted in the heart of the Arab nation." Israel's first leaders proclaimed their new state in 1948 under a portrait of Theodore Herzl, who had defined the future Jewish state as "a settler colony for European Jews in the Middle East under the military umbrella of one of the Great Powers." The first Great Power to sponsor Herzl's dream was Great Britain in 1917 when foreign secretary Sir Arthur Balfour promised British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In 1967 Israel launched a successful war against the highly popular Arab nationalist movement of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, the most popular Arab leader since the Prophet Mohammed. Nasser rallied the world's oppressed to the project of throwing off the chains of colonialism and subordination to the West. He inspired leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and Muammar Gaddafi. Viewing Israel as a potentially valuable asset in suppressing liberation movements, Washington poured billions into Israel's economy and military. Since 1967, Israel has undertaken innumerable operations on Washington's behalf, against states that reject US supremacy and economic domination. The self-appointed Jewish state has become what Zionists from Herzl to an editor of Haaretz, the liberal Israeli newspaper, have defined as a watch-dog capable of sufficiently punishing neighboring countries discourteous towards the West. Stephen Gowans challenges the specious argument that Israel controls US foreign policy, tracing the development of the self-declared Jewish state, from its conception in the ideas of Theodore Herzl, to its birth as a European colony, through its efforts to suppress regional liberation movements, to its emergence as an extension of the Pentagon, integrated into the US empire as a pro-imperialist Sparta of the Middle East.


Iodine oxide is a highly reactive solid oxidizer and with its abundant generation of iodine gas during reaction, this oxidizer also shows great potential as a biocidal agent. A problem with using I2O5 in an energetic mixture is its highly variable reactive behavior. This study isolates the variable reactivity associated with I2O5 as a function of its chemical reaction in various environments. Specifically, aluminum fuel and iodine oxide powder are combined using a carrier fluid to aid intermixing. The carrier fluid is shown to significantly affect the oxidation state of iodine oxide, thereby affecting the reactivity of the mixture. Four carrier fluids were investigated ranging in polarity and water miscibility in increasing order from hexane < acetone < isopropanol < water as well as untreated, dry-mixed reactants. Oxidation state and reactivity were examined with experimental techniques including X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results are compared with thermal equilibrium simulations. Flame speeds increased with polarity of the fluid used to intermix the powder and ranged from 180 to 1202 m s(-1). The I2O5 processed in the polar fluids formed hydrated states of iodine oxide: HIO3 and HI3O8; and, the nonpolar and dry-mixed samples formed: I2O4 and I4O9. During combustion, the hydrated iodine oxides rapidly dehydrated from HIO3 to HI3O8 and from HI3O8 to I2O5. Both steps release 25% of their mass as vapor during combustion. Increased gas generation enhances convective energy transport and accounts for the increase in reactivity seen in the mixtures processed in polar fluids. These results explain the chemical mechanisms underlying the variable reactivity of I2O5 that are a function of the oxide's highly reactive nature with its surrounding environment. These results will significantly impact the selection of carrier fluid in the synthesis approach for iodine containing reactive mixtures.


The ability of a temporary turf cover and foliar-applied iron (Fe) to sustain or promote bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) x transvaalensis Burtt-Davy 'Tifway' growth beyond its normal growing periods in central Mississippi was evaluated during the fall, winter, and spring seasons of 1998-2001. The application of a polypropylene turf blanket when night temperatures were predicted to be <4 °C extended acceptable bermudagrass turf quality by 5 to 8 weeks in the fall and winter period as compared to the uncovered control plots. Also, complete green-up of the turf occurred 4 to 6 weeks earlier the following spring. There was no enhancement in bermudagrass quality by temporarily covering at predicted night temperatures of ≤15 or <9.5 °C. Foliar applied iron (Fe) further enhanced turf quality in the fall and winter months, but resulted in no visible turf response the following spring. Total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) concentrations in rhizomes that were sampled during November, January, and April 2000 and 2001 were generally increased by the cover application as compared to the uncovered control. Foliar Fe applications did not influence TNC levels.


There are more than 500 sedimentary basins in China, covering about 6.7 million km2 and containing an estimated 94 billion tons of oil and 38.14 trillion m3 of natural gas. The undiscovered volumes of inland oil and gas are about 49.42 billion tons and 27.74 trillion m3, respectively. These figures represent 68.02% and 77.99% of the total undiscovered oil and gas resources, respectively.


Concerns have been expressed recently about the inability of the South African economy to provide adequate employment for the increasing number of job seekers. This paper investigates how sectoral employment intensity of output growth in the eight non-agricultural sectors of the South African economy has evolved in the period from the first quarter of 2000 to the fourth quarter of 2012, with a view to identifying key growth sectors that are employment intensive. Empirical findings of the study suggest that total non-agricultural employment and GDP do not move together in the long run, implying that jobless growth occurred in South Africa during the period under review. This supports the view that South Africa has become less labour-intensive and more capital-intensive. Results of a sectoral composition confirm a long-run relationship between employment and growth in the finance and business services, manufacturing, transport and utilities sectors. In particular, the results suggest that sectors within the tertiary sector are the best performing sectors in terms of employment intensity of output growth, reflecting the changing structure of the economy and the nature of employment shifting away from primary towards the tertiary sector. Investment in the tertiary sector is necessary to foster new employment opportunities and can assist in improving overall employment intensity in South Africa.


Introduction: Reconstructive head and neck surgery is a challenge for the plastic surgeon and requires a large technical arsenal, in which microsurgery plays an essential role. The objective to retrospectively analyze microsurgical head and neck reconstruction performed at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas over a period of 2 years. Methods: The medical charts of patients who underwent microsurgical reconstruction after head and neck surgery between June 2014 and October 2016 were reviewed to determine which flap was used, the length of the vascular pedicle, recipient vessels, microvascular anastomoses, surgical time, length of hospital stay, complications, and success rate. Results: Thirty microsurgical reconstructions were performed using 3 types of flaps: anterolateral thigh (n = 15), antebrachial radial (n = 8), and fibula (n = 7). Recipient vessels: facial artery (70%) and facial vein (50%), as 92.4% of microvascular anastomoses were end-to-end. The average operative time was 10.1 hours. The average length of hospital stay was 10.7 days. Two flaps were lost due to arterial thrombosis, resulting in a success rate of 93.3%. Conclusions: The microsurgical reconstructions were effective for the repair of complex defects as well as to partially restore the shape and function of the affected tissues. Complications were observed in less than 50% of the cases, although these presented with significant morbidity. The success rate was similar to that reported by major centers of reconstructive microsurgery. The learning curve is long, although it tends to improve with staff training and the acquisition of experience over time. ■ ABSTRACT


In contrast to other international organizations, the World Trade Organization does not require its members to be states. This constitutional feature has allowed Taiwan to join the WTO alongside China. As a result, the WTO is now the only major international organization in which Taiwan can participate as a full member. This article explores some implications of this unique situation for Taiwan, for the WTO, and for international law. The article contends that Taiwan's membership in the WTO is not itself a bilateral treaty with China and does not itself change the legal relationship between Taiwan and China. What Taiwan's membership does do, however, is to establish some rule of law between Taiwan and China and to give Taiwan standing in an international tribunal should it wish to assert that China has violated WTO rules. The parallel memberships of Taiwan and China also provide a neutral international forum for those two governments to meet and negotiate if needed. The article also points out some dangers to the WTO that stem from Taiwan's exclusion from international standard-setting organizations. The article recommends that the WTO do more to assist Taiwan in carrying out its WTO obligations that involve the international community. In joining the WTO, Taiwan has enhanced its sovereignty in the modern sense of being able to participate in world governance. So far, Taiwan's membership in the WTO has not facilitated its quest for a capacity to participate in the World Health Organization.


The rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) and related technologies during the last few decades has made significant impact in transforming many aspects of library administration in general and librarian attitude in particular. Basically, the changes in ICT provide both opportunities and threats to librarians in university libraries. Hence Professional Librarians expected to embrace ICT have reacted in a variety of ways to the introduction of ICT which should, by this stage, be transforming librarian attitudes and library services in general. This survey study examined the attitude of professional librarians to the use of ICT in Delta State university library. It present and analyses survey data on competence levels in a range of ICT skills required, ICT facilities mostly used, choice of scholarly publication and level of anxiety and enthusiasm professional librarians had toward the use of ICT in their library.


Comprehensive experiments and computational analyses were conducted to understand boundary layer development on airfoil surfaces in multistage, axial-flow compressors and LP turbines. The tests were run over a broad range of Reynolds numbers and loading levels in large, low-speed research facilities which simulate the relevant aerodynamic features of modern engine components. Measurements of boundary layer characteristics were obtained by using arrays of densely packed, hot-film gauges mounted on airfoil surfaces and by making boundary layer surveys with hot wire probes. Computational predictions were made using both steady flow codes and an unsteady flow code. This is the first time that time-resolved boundary layer measurements and detailed comparisons of measured data with predictions of boundary layer codes have been reported for multistage compressor and turbine blading.Part 1 of this paper draws a composite picture of boundary layer development in turbomachinery based upon a synthesis of all of our experimental findings for the compressor and turbine. Parts 2 and 3 present the experimental results for the compressor and turbine, respectively. Part 4 presents computational analyses and discusses comparisons with experimental data.For both compressor and turbine blading, the experimental results show large extents of laminar and transitional flow on the suction surface of embedded stages, with the boundary layer generally developing along two distinct but coupled paths. One path lies approximately under the wake trajectory while the other lies between wakes. Along both paths the boundary layer clearly goes from laminar to transitional to turbulent. The wake path and the non-wake path are coupled by a calmed region which, being generated by turbulent spots produced in the wake path, is effective in suppressing flow separation and delaying transition in the non-wake path. The location and strength of the various regions within the paths, such as wake-induced transitional and turbulent strips, vary with Reynolds number, loading level and turbulence intensity. On the pressure surface, transition takes place near the leading edge for the blading tested. For both surfaces, bypass transition and separated-flow transition were observed. Classical Tollmien-Schlichting transition did not play a significant role. Comparisons of embedded and first-stage results were also made to assess the relevance of applying single-stage and cascade studies to the multistage environment.Although doing well under certain conditions, the codes in general could not adequately predict the onset and extent of transition in regions affected by calming. However, assessments are made to guide designers in using current predictive schemes to compute boundary layer features and obtain reasonable loss predictions.Copyright © 1995 by ASME


In an increasingly interconnected world, learning how to think anthropologically — learning how to think with difference — should be an essential part of the process of higher education. Yet many students may never take an anthropology course during their undergraduate career. In such a milieu, it is important for anthropologists to both teach and actively participate in the curriculum design of the first-year writing seminars that are part of the core curriculum of many universities and colleges globally. While first-year writing programs predominate in the United States and the United Kingdom, they are growing internationally as well, particularly in liberal arts institutions. In this article I argue that anthropologists should teach first-year writing seminars at their educational institutions for three reasons: first, anthropology as a discipline is ecumenical about evidence; thus it introduces students to a wide range of evidentiary practices early on. This broad-based understanding of evidence facilitates transfer across disciplines. Second, encountering anthropology in a writing seminar attracts students towards pursuing majors, minors and elective classes in the discipline. Finally, through the discipline's core methodology of participant observation, lived experience, rather than a synthesis of pre-existing texts, is the core source from which arguments and conclusions about the social world are derived. In an increasingly unequal world where representation in, and access to, written text is concomitantly unequal, it is important that students are introduced to multiple ways to understand and think about human experience. The methodology of participant observation destabilises slightly for undergraduate students the authority of written text as the main, and, often singular, source of knowledge.


Spank follows the journeys of two women as they reveal stories from private and public sources set apart by two centuries. It investigates notions of 'faction' and what is filtered out historically within a theme of female trauma and the body. [ABSTRACT BY THE AUTHOR]


The purpose of this work was to report our initial experience with lymphaticovenular anastomoses (LVA), a controversial technique for lymphedema treatment. Although LVA technique was described many years ago, the procedure is not as widespread as it was supposed to be, taking into account the high impact that lymphedema has in the quality of life of patients. Thus, 12 patients, 5 with lower limb and 7 with upper limb lymphedema, underwent LVA surgery under local anesthesia. Two patients were excluded from the study due to the lack of follow‐up. At 18 months, 8 out 10 patients showed a variable objective reduction of the perimeter of the limbs and 9 patients presented a subjective clinical improvement. These results joined to the outcomes of the most experienced surgeons in this field are encouraging, although there are still many issues that need to be addressed with research to optimize the efficacy of this technique. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery, 2012.


Social and behavioral research on terrorism has expanded dramatically. However, theoretical work that incorporates terrorism and collection of valid data on it has lagged behind theoretical work on other criminological subjects. Theorizing has been dominated by deterrence perspectives. Threats of severe consequence for terrorist acts in general show little promise, but there is evidence that increasing the certainty of consequences works in some situations. Research on terrorism will be improved if it moves beyond deterrence to include concepts drawn from legitimacy, strain, and situational perspectives. Limitations of traditional criminology data sources for studying terrorism have encouraged the development of open‐source‐event databases. The most comprehensive, created by combining the Global Terrorism Database with RAND‐MIPT data, documents more than 77,000 terrorist incidents from 1970 to 2006. Attacks peaked in the early 1990s and then declined substantially until 9/11. They have since substantially increased. The regional concentration of terrorism has moved from Western Europe in the 1970s, to Latin America in the 1980s, to the Middle East and Persian Gulf in the twenty‐first century. Despite the enormous resources devoted to countering terrorism, surprisingly little empirical information is available on which strategies are most effective.


The solar surface is covered by high-speed jets transporting mass and energy into the solar corona and feeding the solar wind. The most prominent of these jets have been known as spicules. However, the mechanism initiating these eruption events is still unknown. Using realistic numerical simulations we find that small-scale eruptions are produced by ubiquitous magnetized vortex tubes generated by the Sun's turbulent convection in subsurface layers. The swirling vortex tubes (resembling tornadoes) penetrate into the solar atmosphere, capture and stretch background magnetic field, and push the surrounding material up, generating shocks. Our simulations reveal complicated high-speed flow patterns and thermodynamic and magnetic structure in the erupting vortex tubes. The main new results are: (1) the eruptions are initiated in the subsurface layers and are driven by high-pressure gradients in the subphotosphere and photosphere and by the Lorentz force in the higher atmosphere layers; (2) the fluctuations in the vortex tubes penetrating into the chromosphere are quasi-periodic with a characteristic period of 2–5 minutes; and (3) the eruptions are highly non-uniform: the flows are predominantly downward in the vortex tube cores and upward in their surroundings; the plasma density and temperature vary significantly across the eruptions.


Sirs: Protease inhibitors (PI) are currently used to treat HIV infection. They inhibit HIV protease which is necessary for the processing of viral proteins in the last stage of the viral cycle, and can achieve an undetectable viral load when used in combination with nucleoside analogues in triple therapy. However, PI are not free of adverse effects (Flexner, 1998). Hyperlipidaemia and abnormal fat distribution were soon related to the use of these drugs (Massip et al., 1997). The latter occurred between two and 12 months after beginning treatment and was not preceded by weight loss (Viraben & Aquilina, 1998). The lipoatrophy was noted mainly in the legs, arms and face, sparing the central portion of the body (Carr et al., 1998a). Hyperglycaemia was also noted with the use of PI (FDA, 1997) and new onset diabetes mellitus, easily controlled with the use of hypoglycaemic agents or insulin (Eastone & Decker, 1997), or even severe diabetes (Visnegarwala et al., 1997) have been reported. However, treatment with PI could not to be discontinued in the majority of patients (Ault, 1997). In 1998, an association between the syndrome of lipodystrophy, hyperlipidaemia and insulin resistance, with the appearance of overt diabetes mellitus in less than 2% of the cases was demonstrated (Carret al., 1998a). A recent publication indicated a prevalence of 83% for lipodystrophy which can be severe in 11% of cases, and abnormalities in glucose homeostasis in 23% of patients, with less than 1% of cases with diabetes mellitus and less than 3% with glucose intolerance, after 21 months of treatment with PI (Carret al., 1999). There is no information on the long-term natural history or complications of the diabetes associated to the use of PI nor about its reversibility after cessation of therapy. We report a patient with complete resolution of PI induced diabetes mellitus. In all of these communications, nothing was said about the natural history of the diabetes associated to the use of protease inhibitors. Nevertheless, it was proposed that cessation of therapy might be considered for patients with difficult control of severe diabetes mellitus. A 47-year-old man presented with polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, blurred vision and weight loss of four kilograms for one month. He had HIV infection in A2 stage and had received treatment with indinavir and two nucleoside analogues (stavudine and lamivudine) for 10 months. He had no personal nor familial history of diabetes mellitus or hyperglycaemia. He had not suffered acute nor chronic pancreatitis and never received treatment with anabolic steroids, pentamidine or other hyperglycaemia associated drugs apart from protease inhibitors. Physical examination revealed fat wasting of face, legs and arms, sparing the abdomen and central part of the body. Height was 1·79 m, weight 79 kg and BMI 24·6. No acanthosis nigricans was noted. He had a CD4 level of 515 per mm and a viral load of less than 1·7 logs (less than 50 virions per mm), showing a good response to treatment. He presented with a fasting glucose level of 43·6 mmol/l, venous pH 7·37, ketonuria almost undetectable, triglycerides 6·54 mmol/l, cholesterol 7·68 mmol/l, HDL 0·80 mmol/l, LDL 5·22 mmol/l, HbA1c 12·9%. Levels of CH-50 and C3 were 0·89 mmol/l and 1·19 mmol/l, respectively. Islet cell autoantibody were absent. Treatment with the PI was stopped and insulin was started (Fig. 1). C-peptide rose after injection of glucagon was from 0·72 nmol/l (0) to 1·39 nmol/l (6) with glucose levels of 8·27 mmol/l and 9·27 mmol/l, respectively. Basal insulin was 153 pmol/l for a fasting glucose level of 8·27 mmol/l. Insulin resistance calculated by HOMA was 7·86. The patient was discharged with insulin therapy, lipid lowering treatment with atorvastatin and treatment for HIV infection with nevirapine (a non-nucleoside antiretroviral), lamivudine and stavudine (both nucleoside analogues). One month later, insulin was withdrawn, and basal and postprandial glucose levels were normal (Fig. 1). The patient was admitted into our Metabolic Unit in order to perform a glucagon test and basal measurements of insulin. C-peptide levels were of 1·25 nmol/l (0 ) to 2·44 nmol/l (6), and glucose levels of 4·7 mmol/l and 5·38 mmol/l, respectively. Basal insulin determination was of 406 pmol/l for a glucose level of 4·7 mmol/l. Insulin resistance was 11·83 determined by HOMA model. Triglycerides were 2·23 mmol/l and cholesterol 6·1 mmol/l on atorvastatin treatment, and lipodystrophy was still clinically evident. The present case shows that PI induced diabetes mellitus can be a rapidly reversible phenomenon after cessation of the drug. The inhibition of proteins involved in regulation of blood lipid levels and in adipocyte proliferation, has been proposed as a cause of lipodystrophy and insulin resistance (Carr et al., 1998b). However, decreased insulin secretion may also play a role in the pathogenesis of associated diabetes mellitus (Visnegarwala et al., 1997). In our patient, both insulin resistance and defective insulin secretion were shown. HOMA model is accurate for the estimation of the degree of insulin resistance (Matthews et al., 1985) and the response of C-peptide to glucagon was used as an estimation of b-cell function. Since insulin resistance was present even after the complete resolution of clinical and biochemical diabetes mellitus in our patient, and the response of C-peptide to a glucagon stimulus improved after resolution


We describe a genetic segmentation algorithm for video. This algorithm operates on segments of a string representation. It is similar to both classical genetic algorithms that operate on bits of a string and genetic grouping algorithms that operate on subsets of a set. For evaluating segmentations, we define similarity adjacency functions, which are extremely expensive to optimize with traditional methods. The evolutionary nature of genetic algorithms offers a further advantage by enabling incremental segmentation. Applications include video summarization and indexing for browsing, plus adapting to user access patterns.


FRANKFURT, Germany – HARMAN's JBL Professional has introduced a new simple and intuitive method for controlling its range of Intellivox Beam Shaping (DDS) loudspeaker arrays. The new software is called "Rapid DDS" and can be used with Intellivox DS and DSX ranges. Rapid DDS allows users to manipulate the DDS beam settings directly from WinControl for the first time. Rapid DDS can be used for rooms which have a flat floor or a simple incline in the audience area, such as a lecture theatre. Users can define where they want coverage to start, where they want coverage to end and what the audience height is. Rapid DDS will then suggest the optimum mounting height for the array and display a vertical cross-section of the beam. Uploading this setting is then as easy as pressing apply. The software is not just for commissioning engineers either. It can also be used in offline mode by consultants who wish to use the directivity data for a DS or DSX Intellivox unit in EASE, Catt Acoustic or ODEON. Once an Intellivox has been setup in the RAPID DDS software you are then able to download the directivity file of your choice. "Unlike Beam Steering, which is more like a simple point-and-shoot technology, Beam Shaping allows users to create a tailor made dispersion pattern that perfectly suits the shape of the audience plane while avoiding hard reflective surfaces," said Nick Screen, Intellivox Sales Director, JBL Professional. "Rapid DDS will allow commissioning engineers and consultants access to a faster, simpler and more intuitive software interface for Intellivox DS and DSX ranges. This will not only save them time but will also make the products accessible to a much wider audience." The new Rapid DDS software is part of the latest WinControl install set which can be downloaded from the JBL Pro website. HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets premier audio, visual, infotainment and enterprise automation solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson ® and Revel®, the Company is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 17,600 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $5.9 billion during the last 12 months ended December 31, 2014.


Potentiometric titrations of phenothiazines derivatives were performed in methanol-water, ethanol-water, acetonitrile-water and dioxane-water mixtures with varying contents of organic solvent. All titrations were performed in aqua-organic medium at constant ionic strength (0.15 mol.dm−3) and at different temperatures (25 to 45°C). The pKa were determined at different aqua-organic proportions. Effect of temperature and dielectric constant on dissociation constant has been compared. The pKa values were then obtained by Yasuda-Shedlovsky extrapolation.


Crop models are potential tools for designing water-efficient strategies and should be tested for accurate prediction of water deficit effects on production. The objective of this research was to test and improve the CERES-Maize model (CERES-4.0) for ability to predict accurately maize biomass and grain yield components under water-limiting conditions in an environment where the model had previously given good predictions under irrigated conditions. Under a water-limited environment in northwest Spain, CERES-4.0 failed to simulate sufficiently high growth and yield; thus we evaluated aspects of model believed responsible for the poor performance. The model was tested with two evapotranspiration options [Priestley-Taylor (PT) and Penman-Monteith reference method (PFA056, FAO no. 56 manual)] and with two values for the coefficient (KEP) that partitions evapotranspiration (ET) between crop transpiration and soil evaporation (default: KEP = 0.685; alternate: KEP = 0.500). The PT option with KEP = 0.685 underpredicted grain yield and biomass due to too early and too severe simulated water extraction. Predictions of biomass and grain yield with both PT and PFAO56 were improved when a KEP of 0.500 was used instead of the default 0.685. The PFAO56, the less water demanding of the tested crop reference (ETo) equations, gave the best predictions. In addition, a systematic underprediction of grain number and grain size with the default model in response to water deficit was observed, regardless of ET option or KEP value. Model predictions of the latter two variables was improved by replacing the default CERES-4.0 function that computes seed number per plant with the function of Edmeades and Daynard (1979).


In the wake of the administrative rule requiring employee health benefit plans to cover contraceptive services, many employers are pursuing religious liberty claims against the federal government. In claims under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a prima facie showing by a plaintiff that a federal law substantially burdens the exercise of religion shifts the burden to the government to justify the burden by showing that the law is the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling governmental interest. This article focuses on the compelling interest prong of the government's burden. The text of RFRA and judicial gloss make clear that the government's burden of proof is not insubstantial: the government must demonstrate, with probative and persuasive evidence, that applying the law to the person challenging it in fact furthers a compelling governmental interest. In the lawsuits, courts and litigants have tended to focus on the exemptions built into the coverage mandate, but, the more significant weakness in the government's case relates to the limited value of the evidence supposedly showing that the contraceptive mandate furthers the relevant compelling interest. The article demonstrates that the relevant compelling interest is narrower than the interests pointed to by the government in the litigation, and that evidence relied on by the government to show that the mandate furthers the compelling interest lacks probative and persuasive value. More specifically, the compelling interest is the interest in providing coverage for preventive services needed to protect women's health, and the evidence relied on by the government in the litigation and in the rulemaking process that purportedly shows that contraceptive services promote women's health suffers from a variety of shortcomings. Congress envisioned that reliance on expert advisors who conducted rigorous risk/benefit assessments would ensure that services would be included in the mandate only if they genuinely promote women's health and are not merely popular services. The agency confirmed the importance of a risk/benefit assessment as part of the rulemaking process, and delegated the task to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The government points to the resulting 2011 IOM recommendation as evidence justifying the mandate's burden on the challengers' exercise of religion. However, scrutiny of the methodology used by IOM in the recommendation process and its application to contraceptive services, and scrutiny of sources relied on by IOM in producing its recommendation, reveals obvious gaps, omissions, and logical shortcomings that seriously undermine the recommendation's evidentiary value. Family planning is important for women's health, but the evidence does not support the proposition that contraceptives are necessary for safe and effective family planning, and thus does not support the proposition that contraceptives are necessary for women's health. Scrutiny of the 2011 IOM recommendation and the sources relied on by IMO show that ideology was the driving force behind the contraceptive mandate and, under RFRA, promotion of ideology will not satisfy the government's burden.


In the follow-up to the A case (UVA-BC-0210), Karl Henderson has convened the first meeting of the virtual team at Metrionic Systems. Because of the time-zone differences, some members are meeting from home, while another member cannot attend at all. Henderson decided that since it was cumbersome to schedule a meeting where everyone was present, each member of the team should send status reports to him on Fridays, and he would then decide whether to set up a conference call. As time passed, Henderson found himself spread too thinly at work. He was spending too much time trying to understand what each team member had done and then putting the pieces together--in fact, he was putting more time into that effort than any other task at work. Henderson must consider various problems in dealing with a virtual team that he had never even considered before, including spec, time zone, integration, technology, and network issues.


Being an actor / becoming a trainer: the embodied logos of intersubjective experience in a somatic acting process
This practice-as-research thesis documents a sustained period of research grounded in my experience as an actress who has become an actor-trainer within UK-based actor-training institutions. It explores the development of an original somatic actor-training methodology within different theatre teaching and performing environments. This research concentrates on challenging dualistic binaries of mind-body, inner-outer, self-other and the universalizing of the individual actor's experience as problematic logocentrism in Stanislavski-inspired actor-training traditions. It is informed in practice by Linda Hartley's IBMT (Integrative Bodywork and Movement Therapy) somatic approach, which is based upon Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen's Body-Mind Centering® (BMC®) principles. I suggest the practical modification of Cohen's developmental process of embodiment in the actor-training context through the shaping of contingent, processual and intersubjective/intercorporeal explorations which I coin as fluid structures.
Rooted in the interconnection of theory and practice, or praxis, this thesis is based upon the original notion of each actor's embodied logos. This term is inspired by Merleau-Ponty's theoretical understanding of logos as flesh that allows the perception of logos as an embodied and intersubjective experience. An emergent new somatic actor-training pedagogy contributes to contemporary actor-training practices and languages revisiting the dialogue between the actor and the trainer through the innovative intersubjective role of the trainer-witness and the relationally aware actor-mover/actor-witness. Following this processual study I articulate and respond to thorny ethical issues in actor training regarding emergent dissonances between therapy and training, training and rehearsal/performance processes, the trainer and the director, the edges of actors' emotional expression and sense of freedom.


Let Addk,N denote the Boolean function which takes as input k strings of N bits each, representing k numbers a(1),…,a(k) in {0,1,…,2N-1}, and outputs 1 if and only if a(1) + … + a(k) ≥ 2N. Let MAJt,n denote a monotone unweighted threshold gate, i.e., the Boolean function which takes as input a single string x Ε {0,1}n and outputs 1 if and only if x1 + … + xn ≥ t. The function Addk,N may be viewed as a monotone function that performs addition, and MAJt,n may be viewed as a monotone gate that performs counting. We refer to circuits that are composed of MAJ gates as monotone majority circuits. The main result of this paper is an exponential lower bound on the size of bounded-depth monotone majority circuits that compute Addk,N. More precisely, we show that for any constant d ≥ 2, any depth-d monotone majority circuit that computes Addd,N must have size 2Ω(N1/d). As Addk,N can be computed by a single monotone weighted threshold gate (that uses exponentially large weights), our lower bound implies that constant-depth monotone majority circuits require exponential size to simulate monotone weighted threshold gates. This answers a question posed by Goldmann and Karpinski (STOC'93) and recently restated by Hastad (2010, 2014). We also show that our lower bound is essentially best possible, by constructing a depth-d, size 2O(N1/d) monotone majority circuit for Addd,N. As a corollary of our lower bound, we significantly strengthen a classical theorem in circuit complexity due to Ajtai and Gurevich (JACM'87). They exhibited a monotone function that is in AC0 but requires super-polynomial size for any constant-depth monotone circuit composed of unbounded fan-in AND and OR gates. We describe a monotone function that is in depth-3 AC0 but requires exponential size monotone circuits of any constant depth, even if the circuits are composed of MAJ gates.


A21 Women previously treated for breast cancer are at risk for post-treatment morbidity including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and sarcopenia or sarcopenic obesity. The encouragement of weight loss for the management of comorbidities and metabolic disturbance, without consideration of protein content or physical activity, may exacerbate sarcopenia, compromise functional status and lead to increasing risk of future fractures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between changes in body composition and metabolic status in the survivor population.
 >In an ongoing, randomized, weight loss intervention of low fat or low carbohydrate diets in breast cancer survivors (N=37; Age 55.4 ± 9.7 yrs; BMI >25 kg/m2) on adjuvant hormonal therapies, standard anthropometry (height, weight, waist, and hip circumferences) and total and region body fat, lean, and bone mass measures were performed (dual X-ray absorptiometry). Total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, and glucose were also measured by the clinical diagnostic laboratory.
 >At baseline, we found that 32% of participants had elevated (>3.5) TG/HDL values, a sensitive and specific surrogate measure for insulin resistant, dyslipidemic individuals. In intervention completers thus far (N=14), using the new ATP III criterion, cases of metabolic syndrome were cut by 56% following intervention (metabolic syndrome by ATP III 64% at baseline, 29% at 24weeks) in this survivor group.
 >At 24 weeks, completers also demonstrated significant improvements in weight and body fat, with suggested loss in lean mass. Although measures of glucose were not altered, fasting insulin and glycosylated hemoglobin were significantly reduced, consistent with improved insulin sensitivity.
 >Investigations of high protein diets in cancer survivors for the preservation of lean mass during weight loss are limited. This preliminary analysis indicates that markers of metabolic syndrome can be improved by diet in breast cancer survivors, but there is a trend toward loss of lean mass accompanying loss of fat.
 >Variable Change; p-value
 >Weight (kg) -8.46 ± 4.08; BMI (kg/m2) -3.05 ± 1.6; %Total Body Fat -4.8 ± 3.0; Trunk Fat (kg) -3.4 ± 1.8; Lean Mass (kg) -0.86 ± 1.6; 0.06
 >Fasting Plasma Glucose (mg/dl) -3.00 ± 8.99; 0.18
 >2hr-Post-Load Glucose (mg/dl) 8.70 ± 28.39; 0.36
 >Fasting Insulin (uU/ml) -3.56 ± 5.83; 0.02
 >Glycosylated Hemoglobin (%) -0.17 ± 0.34; 0.05
 >Total Cholesterol (mg/dl) -8.61 ± 29.95; 0.24
 >Triglycerides (mg/dl) 0.06 ± 77.26; 1.0
 >High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mg/dl) 1.56 ± 9.08; 0.48


Abstract Scepticism has been one of the standard problems of epistemology in modern times. It takes various forms – the most general one being the thesis that knowledge is impossible; but equally prominent are such versions as the notorious doubt about the existence of an external world, inaugurated by Descartes'Meditations, or doubts about the existence of objective values. Philosophers who undertake to refute scepticism – still a very popular exercise – try to show that knowledge is possible after all, or to prove the existence of an external world, and so on. Sceptics, generally speaking, are seen as radical doubters – philosophers who call into question assumptions that are usually taken for granted by ordinary people as well as by other philosophers. Those doubts have to be refuted by showing that they are in some way unjustified.


Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of molds that have adverse effects on humans, animals, and crops that result in illnesses and economic losses. A?atoxins are toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and immunosuppressive byproducts of Aspergillus spp. that contaminate a wide range of crops. Disease outbreaks due to the consumption of contaminated food and feedstuff are a recurring problem worldwide. Hence, creating awareness among consumers, scientific community, government ageneies and inactivation of aflatoxin production is of great importance for food safety. This review is focused on importance of botanicals and their products in management of aflatoxin production, the role of government ageneies, and scientists goal towards farmers in future are of interesting matters. This review is focusses not only to explore the availability of powerful botanicals and detection methods for aflatoxins but also problems of scientific community, transforming this technology to farmers' level to pave the way for future research. This review will also serve to fill the existing gaps in our knowledge with regard to mycotoxins and food safety.


It is contended that much of present-day applied linguistics for language teaching (ALLT) fails to mediate effectively, primarily because an ideological construction, emanating from a critical theory perspective, is too often imposed on everyday pedagogical practices. This has resulted in an exaggerated level of concern about the power imbalances that language teaching involves, leading to the promotion of approaches which attempt to subvert teaching and the teacher role, irrespective of the pedagogical consequences, while simultaneously proscribing others, which, from a practitioner perspective, are widely regarded as axiomatic. Such a stance has taken root, it is also argued, because of insufficient critical questioning of its moral and intellectual underpinnings. As a remedy, more should be done by ALLT to appreciate the rationale for and build on existing pedagogical traditions.


This paper traces the origins and development of coal mining education and training in Britain from 1900 to the 1970s, by which time the coal industry had substantially declined. It looks at the progress from working-class self-help to national policy in support of education and training. The research makes use of college prospectuses and principals' reports to identify the kind of courses offered at several former mining and technical colleges located on the Lancashire and Yorkshire coalfields. The research also identifies funding available to those who worked in the industry, from new employees to those aspiring to be colliery and area managers. The paper also briefly summarises what policy-makers can learn from studying the former mining industry's education and training framework.


Bibliometric analysis is an indispensable statistic tool to map the state of the art in a given area of scientific knowledge and identify essential information for various purposes, such as prospecting research opportunities and substantiating scientific researches. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to present a method of bibliometric analysis for mapping the state of the art and identifying gaps and trends of research. The method encompasses instruments to identify and analyze the scientific performance of articles, authors, institutions, countries, and journals based on the number of citations, to reveal the trends of the field studied through the analysis of keywords, and to identify and cluster scientific gaps from most recent publications. This method enables to expand in a scientific way the boundaries of science by investigating and identifying relevant and avant-garde research topics. It is an essential element that provides researchers means to identify and support paths towards the development of scientific projects.


The optical properties of the oxide compounds PbO and SnO2 have been investigated experimentally by transmission spectroscopy measurements and theoretically by a full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FPLAPW) method. The dielectric functions of the rutile TiO2 has also been calculated. The calculated band-gap energies as well as the optical absorption were found to be in a very good qualitatively agreement with the experimental results.


'Intimate Ephemera' is the first major study of autobiographical writing produced and consumed in a youth subculture. Investigating the uses of the zine form for life writing, it examines the recurrent themes in texts circulating in Australian zine culture, including depression, consumerism, popular culture and political identity. 'Intimate Ephemera' also examines zine culture as a unique community of life writing and reading, where handmade texts circulate in an economy of gifting and exchange utilising the postal system. The book analyses the material diversity of zines as handmade objects, examining the use of the photocopier and craft techniques in these limited edition publications, bringing a focus to the role of the text-object in communicating personal experience.


An open question in artificial intelligence is how to learn useful representations of the real world. One approach is to learn symbols, which represent the world and its contents, as well as models describing the effects on these symbols when interacting with the world. To date, however, research has investigated learning such representations for a single specific task. Our research focuses on approaches to learning these models in a domain-independent manner. We intend to use these symbolic models to build even higher levels of abstraction, creating a hierarchical representation which could be used to solve complex tasks. This would allow an agent to gather knowledge over the course of its lifetime, which could then be leveraged when faced with a new task, obviating the need to relearn a model every time a new unseen problem is encountered.


In the actual debate on refugees in Germany the media's role was heavily disputed. To understand this controversy, this study examines hostile media perceptions from the audience perspective. Building up on previous research on the hostile media phenomenon and considering literature on pro- and anti-immigrant attitudes, this study explores the effect of positive and negative attitudes towards refugees as well as of mainstream media, social media and interpersonal communication on hostile media perceptions. Using survey data (N=1005) and applying structural equation modelling, several hypotheses on the effects of attitudes and communication variables were tested. The results demonstrate that perceptions of media bias are strongly influenced by people's negative and positive attitudes towards refugees and the basic hostile media hypothesis was confirmed. Moreover, our findings reveal that the perceived intensity of media coverage on contested aspects of the refugee issue also has an effect on perceptions of hostility. However, the various communication variables did not prove to have direct effects, whereas mainstream media use, social media use, and interpersonal communication with refugees had indirect effects on the hostile media perception.


Here is a striking portrait of Akhenaten, monotheistic worshiper of the sun and best-known Egyptian king next to Tutankhamen. Various writers have depicted this strange ruler of the fourteenth century B.C. as a disguised woman or a eunuch, a mentor of Moses, or a forerunner of Christ. Drawing on a vast amount of new evidence from his own excavations, the Director of the Akhenaten Temple Project describes the kingly heretic against the background of imperial Egypt. Donald Redford's work, available for the first time in paperback, shows Akhenaten to be even more fascinating in this context than in earlier, less realistic interpretations.


We have previously shown that adenovirus recombinants expressing functional ICP0 reactivate latent herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in an in vitro latency system. This study demonstrated that ICP0, independent of other HSV gene products, is sufficient to reactivate latent HSV-2 in this in vitro system. To assess the effects of defined mutations in the sequence encoding ICP0 (IE-0) on reactivation, seven in-frame insertion and three in-frame deletion mutants were moved into an adenovirus expression vector. Each recombinant directed the synthesis of stable ICP0 of the correct size. The transactivation activity of the mutated sequences in these recombinants was similar to that when they were tested in plasmids. When these recombinants were examined for their ability to reactivate in the in vitro latency system, mutants with dramatic defects in transactivation (Ad-0/125, Ad-0/89, Ad-0/2/7, and Ad-0/88/93) were unable to reactivate latent HSV-2 independent of the multiplicity of infection. An exception to this correlation was the finding that Ad-0/89, which transactivated poorly, was able to reactivate latent virus after prolonged incubation whereas other transactivation-deficient mutants could not. Moreover, the presence of ICP4 did not compensate for the inability of any of the recombinants tested to reactivate HSV-2. These results show that (i) the transactivation domains of ICP0 are also used in reactivation, (ii) the presence of another essential HSV regulatory protein ICP4 does not alter the pattern of reactivation by ICP0, and (iii) mutations in some regions of IE-0 previously shown to affect viral growth and plaque formation did not alter its ability to reactivate in this in vitro system.


Creating a sense of place through a comfortable indoor condition is a goal of the architectural design process. Thermal comfort is an important component of this condition. To achieve thermally comfortable environments mechanical systems such as Radiant Cooling (RC) could be used. RC systems have potential benefit of lower energy consumption when compared to other common cooling, ventilating and air-conditioning systems. Decisions related to the use of mechanical systems such as these should be considered in the early stages of design to maximize the building performance through systems integration and minimize redesign as part of the design process. RC systems have several special demands and related variables. Architects, HVAC system engineers, and decision-makers have to understand these issues and variables and their impact on the other building performance mandates. Through this understanding, these professionals can better evaluate tradeoffs to reach the desired solution of the design problem. Unfortunately, in the United States few architects and engineers have experience with RC systems which in turn limits the application of these systems. Through systematic literature review, a series of case studies, and interviews with experienced professionals, this research captures and structures knowledge related to how decisions are made concerning RC systems. Through this knowledge capturing procedure, the relevant design performance mandates, barriers and constraints, and potential advantages and benefits of radiant cooling systems are determined and mapped to a decision-support framework. This framework is graphically presented which may later be translated to a decision-support software package which could then be developed as a radiant cooling system design assistance tool for architects and HVAC engineers.


A simple method to automatically measure the date of ice‐on, the date of ice‐off, and the duration of lake ice cover is described. The presence of ice cover is detected by recording water temperature just below the ice/water interface and just above the lake bottom using moored temperature sensors. The occurrence of ice‐on rapidly leads to detectible levels of inverse stratification, defined as existing when the upper sensor records a temperature at least 0.1°C below that of the bottom sensor, whereas the occurrence of ice‐off leads to the return of isothermal mixing. Based on data from 10 lakes over a total of 43 winter seasons, we found that the timing and duration of inverse stratification monitored by recording temperature sensors compares well with ice cover statistics based on human observation. The root mean square difference between the observer‐based and temperature‐based estimates was 7.1 d for ice‐on, 6.4 d for ice‐off, and 10.0 d for the duration of ice cover. The coefficient of determination between the two types of estimates was 0.93, 0.86, and 0.91, respectively. The availability of inexpensive self‐contained temperature loggers should allow expanded monitoring of ice cover in a large and diverse array of lakes. Such monitoring is needed to improve our ability to monitor the progression of global climate change, and to improve our understanding of the relationship between climate and ice cover over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales.


Since its independence in 1947, India has aimed its agricultural development policies at reducing hunger, food insecurity, and poverty. The new strategy of agricultural development launched in the mid-1960s was successful in improving macro (national) food security in a reasonably short period of around two decades. From a precarious situation of heavy dependence on imports of staple food in the mid-1960s, India not only had reduced its imports but also emerged as a net exporter of cereals since the early 1990s. However, while India became a star performer in terms of economic growth in the last decade, its agricultural sector has not performed as well. This happened mainly due to complacency in the matter of production and availability of cereals in the country. Hence, the situation has turned into a serious case of macro food insecurity and farmers' loss of faith in farming around the middle of the current decade. To address the current situation, the government launched special programs in the past three years and took several steps to bring on track the agricultural sector's performance.


In this innovative work, Robert Delorme comprehensively explores uncertainty (the irreducibility to numerically measurable probabilities) and ignorance in economics, management and the social sciences through an alternative, systematically built analytical framework. This unique book takes uncertainty and ignorance seriously and addresses them as instances of 'deep complexity' (problem situations so deeply ill-structured that they cannot be grasped with the concepts and tools of classical science). Building on the works of Herbert Simon, Heinz von Foerster and John von Neumann, the author develops an alternative framework that encompasses, rather than rejects, the classical framework. The outcome of this novel approach is 'effective deep complexity', comprising three aspects: an effective alternative framework, which brings an answer to a fundamental issue on the implications of uncertainty for scientific reasoning; a behavioural theory of deeply ill-structured problem-situations; and a decision-and-action support system.


This study analyses the roles, responsibilities and functions of parents in the education of
their children. Parents are found to be involved in classroom-based as well as non-classroom
based school activities. A sample of 5 headteachers, 35 teachers, 45 parents and 12 parent
governors was selected in exploring parental involvement in schools. Parental involvement
was also examined in four supplementary schools. The views expressed by parents, teachers,
headteachers, parent governors and the organisers of the supplementary schools were
analysed. Parental involvement was found to have been in practice for over two decades or
so, recent development such as the 1986 Education Act and the 1988 Education Reform Act
have brought in parents to be more responsible and more aware of their roles in the education
of their children than before.
Parental involvement has been examined as a model, having a set of four activities -
accountability, partnership, supportive and advisory. Having looked at these activities
closely, it is argued that accountability and partnership tend to play a more dominant role
than supportive and advisory activities. This is because accountability and partnership
permeate most activities of parental involvement. The views expressed by parents, teachers,
headteachers and parent governors as well as the organisers of the supplementary schools,
supported this view. A theory of conflict and integration was examined, which also showed
that if there is objective accountability and partnership, and both parents and teachers see
each other in this partnership with respect, then accountability will bring about mutual
relationship, hence, making conflict gives way to integration of ideas, experiences objectives
and methods. However, parental involvement practices have been found to be of benefit to
the child, parents, teachers and the community in immeasurable terms. A prominent area that
has shown such immeasurable benefit has been in reading which were done either in the
school or at home by parents, organised and supervised by teachers. In this particular area,
there has been much more research than in any other area of activity of parental involvement.
The aspect of governing bodies has recently tended to deflect the attention of professionals,
school administrators and educationists from other areas of parental involvement processes.
It is however, enlightening parents on their roles and responsibilities for their children's
education.


Inference using mathematical models of infectious disease dynamics is a powerful tool to analyse epidemiological data and elucidate pathogen life cycles. Key epidemiological parameters can be estimated from demographic time series by computing the likelihood of alternative models of pathogen transmission. Here we use this inference approach to analyze data from an evolution experiment in which we monitored both the epidemiology and the evolution of the temperate bacteriophage λ during an epidemic. We estimate parameter values for all the life-history traits of two distinct strains of the virus. In particular, we estimate the ability of the two virus strains to modulate plastically the rate of lysogenization with the multiplicity of infection. Our work illustrates how inference from experimental evolution data can feedback on the development of models aiming to predict the epidemiology and evolution of infectious diseases.


Since the 1992 Rio Convention, sustainable forest management has become a major issue in the Congo Basin. This is reflected in reforms of forest legislations in most of the countries in the sub-region, which give greater consideration to biodiversity. Animal species are particularly concerned since management plans for timber concessions must now include a component about wildlife. Forest certification, which is steadily gaining ground in the subregion, is another tool for promoting sustainability in forest management, including for wildlife. To achieve this, all the systems currently applied in forest certification processes require operators to meet specific wildlife management demands. However, knowledge of the status of animal populations is a prerequisite in drawing up fauna management rules. This is why the last few years have seen an increase in the number of surveys of large and mediumsized mammals in production forests subject to management plans. This article offers a critical review of the counting methods used up to now for forest management planning. It brings out the many disadvantages of current practices, and questions their relevance to the ultimate purpose of monitoring and managing potential wildlife resources in timber forests.


The accumulation rate is one important glaciological parameter influencing growth and movement of an ice sheet. It is also needed for the interpretation of physical and chemical properties measured at ice cores. Accumulation rates show a wide spatial and temporal variability. For Dronning Maud Land (DML) an attempt was made to collect the available accumulation data and compile a map of the distribution of accumulation rates. The data at 122 locations are based on snow pit studies (covering at least 5 years) and firn cores covering from decades up to 200 years of accumulation. The oldest data had been collected during the Norwegian-British-Swedish Expedition 1949-52. However, the major part of the data were collected during the EPICA pre-site survey in DML, carried out by Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany, British Antarctic Survey, the Norwegian Antarctic Research Expeditions and the Swedish Antarctic Research Programme in co-operation with Utrecht University. In addition, also the data of the US South Pole Queen Maud Land Traverse 1965-68 were included. To judge the temporal variability of the accumulation rates the data for various periods are compared with a 200-years time series of accumulation rates for the interior part of the ice sheet, calculated from 20 firn cores. For compiling the map the ArcGis 8.1 software was used. After testing several interpolation algorithms the inverse distance weighted method (IDW) was chosen. The data are interpolated with 5 km x 5 km resolution, using 20 neighbouring points. A very characteristic feature in DML are the mountain ranges from Maudheimvidda in the West to Wohlthat-Massiv in the East which separate the interior high part of the ice sheet and the lower parts, e.g. Ritscherflya, extending towards the ice shelves. To account for this barrier two domains were introduced, separated approximately by the 2000 m contour line. The plotted isolines have a distance of 50 kg m-2 a-1, the steps of 10 kg m-2 a-1 are indicated by a colour code. The map shows clearly the general trend of decreasing accumulation rates from the coastal area to the interior of the ice sheet. However, recognizable is a certain patchiness with high accumulation, e.g. on Jutulstraumen, and low accumulation areas, obviously due to wind erosion. For one selected profile line the map data and accumulation data from multi-year stake readings are compared.


Robert C. Camp's best-selling book, Benchmarking, served as the premier resource on measuring corporate performance. Now, his newest title, Business Process Benchmarking, provides the most up-to-date information to show readers how to conduct successful benchmarking projects. Readers will discover how to: use Camp's renowned 10-step benchmarking process to achieve peak performance; analyze the performance gap and ensure that every employee contributes toward enhanced corporate performance; train employees to use benchmarking tools to maximize the company's results.


Changes in forest diversity and the transforma- tion of coniferous plantations into more natural woodlands are of special interest in the Medi- terranean. The aim of this study was to investi- gate changes in land use patterns and vegeta- tion cover from 1956 to 1999 in Pinus halepensis Miller plantations in Montes de Malaga State Park in southern Spain. At the landscape level, a FRAGSTAT analysis was performed using aerial photographs. At the community level, a total of 47 sample plots were analyzed. Field measure- ments indicated the presence of a total of 70 species in the different vegetation types sam- pled. Shannon-Wiener (H), and Simpson's (D) diversity indices showed the greatest species richness in Aleppo pine plantations (H = 1.54 ± 0.2; D = 3.88 ± 0.6), while Holm oak stands in the forested areas (H = 1.37 ± 0.1; D = 3.35 ± 0.6) and agricultural land (H = 1.33 ± 0.01; D = 2.80 ± 0.03) had lower values. FRAGSTATS analyses at land- scape and community levels indicated increases in patch richness, patch number, and percent of landscape mainly for pine plantations, Holm oak forests and shrub habitats. Replacement of agri- culture by conifer plantations led to the homo- genization of landscape structure. This change has modified the landscape by facilitating the recovery of indigenous tree species including Holm oak, which will likely lead to the future establishment of native forests in this area. Our findings suggest that pine plantations could fa- vour woody species diversity by increasing abundance and species richness in contrast to the situation in non-forested agricultural land.


Mobile phone and Internet technologies have progressed along each other. The importance of both these technologies has resulted in the creation of a new technology for establishing wireless Internet connection through mobile phone, known as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). However, considering the importance of the issue of data security and especially establishing hidden communications, many methods have been presented. In the meanwhile, steganography is a relatively new method.In this paper, a method for hidden exchange of data has been presented by using steganography on WML pages (WML stands for Wireless Markup Language, which is a language for creating web pages for the WAP). The main idea in this method is hiding encoded data in the ID attribute of WML document tags. The coder program in this method has been implemented using the Java language. The decoder program to be implemented on the mobile phone has been written with a version of Java language specifically used for small devices, which is called J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition). It was tested on a Nokia series 60 mobile phone.


This report describes the basic elements and issues of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Program. It defines basic activities supported by the program, presents budget trends, discusses the management of program, and describes the infrastructure in which the program is implemented. This report is for staff new to the area of defense research and for senior staff interested in historical trends.


E-collaboration, while having its roots in electronic technology such as telephones and other rudimentary electronic devices, has expanded dramatically with todays plethora of computer-supported cooperation and computer-mediated communication. The Encyclopedia of E-Collaboration provides the most comprehensive compilation of information on the design and implementation of e-collaboration technologies, the behavioral impacts of e-collaboration technologies on individuals and groups, and theoretical considerations on links between the use of e-collaboration technology and behavioral patterns. This cutting-edge encyclopedia delivers indispensable content to libraries and researchers looking to develop programs of investigation into the use of electronic collaboration.


SUMMARY The problem of exposure of agricultural soils to different anthropogenic inputs of heavy metals has been investigated in soils from two wine-producing subregions in northwestern Croatia. The aim of this study was to explore: (i) the main soil properties and topsoil accumulation of heavy metals in vineyards under long-term cultivation, and (ii) the origin and the preferential feature of metal retention in vineyard topsoil using the multivariate statistical method. The investigated area was marked on regular square grid with 1-km spacing. Topsoil samples (0-10 cm) were collected from each sampling point and analyzed for soil chemical properties, particle size distribution and heavy metal concentrations after aqua regia digestion. All soil data were incorporate into the GIS base. Summary statistics of the data set were first calculated to evaluate the distributions, and afterward processed by means of R-mode factor analysis, applying the varimax-raw rotational technique. Anthropogenic input of metals in soils of the studied wine-growing regions mostly originates from agrochemicals, since the direct influence of the urban environment or industry is almost negligible. Accumulation of copper and zinc in topsoil, determined in this research, is the most common effect of continuing fertilization and protection against diseases and pests in vineyards.


Specific cutting force is a key parameter that is important for estimating cutting forces that occur during machining. This information is important for various applications. The most important application is estimation of the stability limit valid for the specific configuration of the machine tool, tool and workpiece. There are a number of procedures used to predict the specific cutting force through various preliminary tests. This paper focuses on an operational method during milling that allows estimation of the specific cutting force using direct information from the machine tool control system. The specific cutting force is calculated as the ratio between the material removal rate and the power measured on the spindle. The method enables easy in-process identification of the specific cutting force that is valid for the specific workpiece material and the specific cutting edge geometry. The method is demonstrated on practical examples.


The Companion to Raymond Aron seeks to provide an overview of the works and ideas of the French sociologist, political thinker and commentator Raymond Aron (1905–1983). The main aim of the book is to 'aid in the study of Aron's political, sociological and philosophical thought and writings' (p. 1). It is especially directed at an English-reading audience, where Aron's ideas remain less known and studied, often due to the lack of good English translations of his works. The volume is divided into three parts, representing the main themes of Aron's work: international relations, philosophy, and the history of ideas. The long list of contributors includes French and international scholars of Aron's thought, such as Serge Audier, Pierre Hessner, Perrine Simon-Nahum, Joel Mouric, Iain Stewart, Daniel J Mahoney and Giulio de Ligio. The essays seek to shed light on Aron's versatile and diverse intellectual production, ranging from historical analysis to political commentary and philosophical studies. Each part includes numerous essays on various aspects of Aron's thought, from totalitarianism to the Cold War, from the philosophy of history to the theory of democracy, from Machiavelli to Marx. Furthermore, the volume includes an essay by Aron's biographer, Nicolas Baverez, and a detailed bibliography of his works by Elisabeth Dutartre-Michaut. The volume provides valuable studies of Aron's thought. The essays succeed in contextualising Aron in the intellectual horizon of the twentieth century and in shedding light on the nuances of his thought. The essays share a commitment to depicting Aron as an original liberal thinker who made a lasting, if sometimes underappreciated, contribution to Western liberal thought. Thus, the volume presents a complex, intriguing portrait of an important liberal thinker that goes beyond his stereotypical reputation as a 'cold warrior' and anti-communist. One of the underlying aims of many of the essays is to emphasise Aron's relevance to contemporary thought and to highlight his importance as 'the greatest figure in French liberalism of the twentieth century' (p. 3). It is doubtless true that, as the contributors to this volume ceaselessly argue, Aron's impressive and original political analysis deserves greater attention than it has so far received. Yet sometimes the reader is left with a feeling that a more critical rather than celebratory attitude would have helped some of the essays to do his work justice. Nonetheless, the volume makes an important and welcome contribution to the Englishlanguage literature on Raymond Aron.


The hanging or burning of effigies as an expression of dissent is a well-established genre of playful political protest. It is enacted in a variety of ways, accessing the conventions of various traditional rituals and social practices, and can function either as a progressive force demanding change, or repressively in seeking to enforce the existing order. Building on a close reading of media images of effigy protests from over the world, I relate the employed strategies of reversal and debasement and the grotesque aesthetics of these dummies to Bakhtin's concept of the carnivalesque. I trace the different kinds of laughter that emerge during the effigy protests and explore the complicated relationship between laughter and violence inherent in these performed images of violent death.


Ruminococcus champanellensis is a keystone species in the human gut that produces an intricate cellulosome system of various architectures. A variety of cellulosomal enzymes have been identified, which exhibit a range of hydrolytic activities on lignocellulosic substrates. We describe herein a unique R. champanellensis scaffoldin, ScaK, which is expressed during growth on cellobiose and comprises a cohesin module and a family 25 glycoside hydrolase (GH25). The GH25 is non-autolytic and exhibits lysozyme-mediated lytic activity against several bacterial species. Despite the narrow acidic pH curve, the enzyme is active along a temperature range from 2 to 85°C and is stable at very high temperatures for extended incubation periods. The ScaK cohesin was shown to bind selectively to the dockerin of a monovalent scaffoldin (ScaG), thus enabling formation of a cell-free cellulosome, whereby ScaG interacts with a divalent scaffodin (ScaA) that bears the enzymes either directly or through additional monovalent scaffoldins (ScaC and ScaD). The ScaK cohesin also interacts with the dockerin of a protein comprising multiple Fn3 domains that can potentially promote adhesion to carbohydrates and the bacterial cell surface. A cell-free cellulosomal GH25 lysozyme may provide a bacterial strategy to both hydrolyze lignocellulose and repel eventual food competitors and/or cheaters.


Book synopsis: Has psychoanalysis become "postmodern"? How are the various schools of psychanalysis being altered by postmodernism? What role does psychoanalysis have to play in the cultural debate in postmodern times? This is an account of the complex and contradictory nature of psychoanalysis in the postmodern age. Anthony Elliott presents a history and critique of the concept of postmodernism throughout contemporary psychoanalytic thought, giving a critical survey of the complex relations between desire, selfhood and culture.


It has been proposed to place laser or radio transponders at suitably chosen locations on the Moon to increase the accuracy achievable using the Global Positioning System (GPS) or other satellite-based positioning system. The accuracy of GPS position measurements depends on the accuracy of determination of the ephemerides of the GPS satellites. These ephemerides are determined by means of ranging to and from Earth-based stations and consistency checks among the satellites. Unfortunately, ranging to and from Earth is subject to errors caused by atmospheric effects, notably including unpredictable variations in refraction. The proposal is based on exploitation of the fact that ranging between a GPS satellite and another object outside the atmosphere is not subject to error-inducing atmospheric effects. The Moon is such an object and is a convenient place for a ranging station. The ephemeris of the Moon is well known and, unlike a GPS satellite, the Moon is massive enough that its orbit is not measurably affected by the solar wind and solar radiation. According to the proposal, each GPS satellite would repeatedly send a short laser or radio pulse toward the Moon and the transponder(s) would respond by sending back a pulse and delay information. The GPS satellite could then compute its distance from the known position(s) of the transponder(s) on the Moon. Because the same hemisphere of the Moon faces the Earth continuously, any transponders placed there would remain continuously or nearly continuously accessible to GPS satellites, and so only a relatively small number of transponders would be needed to provide continuous coverage. Assuming that the transponders would depend on solar power, it would be desirable to use at least two transponders, placed at diametrically opposite points on the edges of the Moon disk as seen from Earth, so that all or most of the time, at least one of them would be in sunlight.


Building Information Modeling, or BIM, the emerging digital technology, is undergoing increasing application in developing countries including China. Both the governmental policy and industry motivation have indicated that BIM is becoming the mainstream innovation in China's construction industry. Nevertheless, one major concern lies in the uncertainty of BIM investment for AEC firms. Specifically, AEC firms should have the knowledge of what areas BIM investment could focus on (e.g., BIM software), what are the expected returns from BIM investment, how to enhance the returns from BIM usage, and what are the risks in implementing BIM. This study adopts a questionnaire survey-based approach to address these BIM application and risk related concerns in China. BIM practitioners from multiple AEC fields and different experience levels were recruited as the survey sample. It was found from the questionnaire survey that both internal and external collaboration should be the BIM investment priority, together with the interoperability among multiple BIM software tools. Improved multiparty communication and understanding was the highest recognized return from BIM investment. Survey participants had a high expectation of BIM application in green building projects. Subgroup analysis conveyed the information that gaining BIM practical experience would provide professionals with more confidence on returns from BIM adoption in enhancing communication and understanding. Compared to survey participants from other professions, architects tended to have more conservative views on BIM's impact on marketing their work, project planning, and recruiting/retaining employees. The findings from this empirical study provide an overview of BIM investment, return, and implementation-related risks for AEC professionals at different stages or levels of BIM practice, as well as suggestions for relevant public authorities when developing BIM guidelines (e.g., BIM applications in prefabrication construction). As an extension of existing BIM implementation related studies in developed countries, this study provides insights of BIM practical experience and associated risks in China adopting a holistic approach by summarizing the perceptions from AEC professionals across disciplines and experience levels. The knowledge gained from this study could be further applied in other developing countries where the application of information technology is gaining the growth in AEC projects.