Behavior of the antimicrobial triclosan (5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenol) was investigated under laboratory chlorination conditions and in a wastewater treatment plant discharging 380 million liters daily to the Delaware River, USA. Reactions of triclosan with chlorine were investigated using concentrations and exposure time typical of municipal wastewater treatment plants, i.e., 1 h contact time and average 1–2 mg/L residual chlorine. In reagent water, triclosan reacted quickly, transforming into mono- and dichlorinated species and further into dichlorophenol and trichlorophenol. However, triclosan remained stable for up to 2 h in wastewater samples chlorinated under these conditions. To confirm observed behavior under field conditions, a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry-based analytical method capable of monitoring triclosan and its transformation products in wastewater was developed. Qualitative and quantitative wastewater characterization before and after chlorination are presented. Triclosan was present at the same concentration ( P > 0.05) in pre-chlorination and post-chlorination aqueous wastewater samples (mean 368 ng/L). This finding is consistent with the non-detection of specific triclosan transformation products above sample reporting limits (30.0–100 ng/L), but contrasts markedly with detection of chlorination transformation products reported in reagent water. These data suggest the importance of influent matrix components in chlorination reactions of triclosan in contaminated wastewater under treatment plant conditions.


Essentially all models for the tectonic evolution of the high-grade Limpopo belt of southern Africa invoke a single orogenic event at 2.7 Ga involving the collision of the Zimbabwe and Kaapvaal cratons with a distinct central zone. By implication, rocks within the belt must have followed parallel pressure- temperature-time ( P - T - t ) paths. The main reasons for this situation are the belief that syn- to postdeformational granitic magmatism in the belt was coeval and the fact that P - T paths are similar. New geochronological data indicate, however, that this magmatism occurred at distinct times in different parts of the belt over a span of at least 70 m.y. In addition, the data indicate that high-grade metamorphism and associated tectonism in the central and southern marginal zones occurred at about 2.0 and 3.15 Ga, respectively. Therefore, P - T - t paths of these zones were independent until their juxtaposition more recently than 2.0 Ga.


In this paper we present a technique for computing translational gradients of indirect surface reflectance in scenes containing participating media and significant occlusions. These gradients describe how the incident radiance field changes with respect to translation on surfaces. Previous techniques for computing gradients ignore the effects of volume scattering and attenuation and assume that radiance is constant along rays connecting surfaces. We present a novel gradient formulation that correctly captures the influence of participating media. Our formulation accurately accounts for changes of occlusion, including the effect of surfaces occluding scattering media. We show how the proposed gradients can be used within an irradiance caching framework to more accurately handle scenes with participating media, providing significant improvements in interpolation quality.


Environmental change is accelerating in the 21st century, but how multiple drivers may interact to alter forest resilience remains uncertain. In forests affected by large high-severity disturbances, tree regeneration is a resilience linchpin that shapes successional trajectories for decades. We modeled stands of two widespread western U.S. conifers, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, USA) to ask (1) What combinations of distance to seed source, fire return interval, and warming-drying conditions cause postfire tree-regeneration failure? (2) If postfire tree regeneration was successful, how does early tree density differ under future climate relative to historical climate? We conducted a stand-level (1 ha) factorial simulation experiment using the individual-based forest process model iLand to identify combinations of fire return interval (11-100 yr), distance to seed source (50-1,000 m), and climate (historical, mid-21st century, late-21st century) where trees failed to regenerate by 30-yr postfire. If regeneration was successful, we compared stand densities between climate periods. Simulated postfire regeneration were surprisingly resilient to changing climate and fire drivers. Douglas-fir regeneration failed more frequently (55%) than lodgepole pine (28% and 16% for non-serotinous and serotinous stands, respectively). Distance to seed source was an important driver of regeneration failure for Douglas-fir and non-serotinous lodgepole pine; regeneration never failed when stands were 50 m from a seed source and nearly always failed when stands were 1 km away. Regeneration of serotinous lodgepole pine only failed when fire return intervals were ≤20 yr and stands were far (1 km) from a seed source. Warming climate increased regeneration success for Douglas-fir but did not affect lodgepole pine. If regeneration was successful, postfire density varied with climate. Douglas-fir and serotinous lodgepole pine regeneration density both increased under 21st-century climate but in response to different climate variables (growing season length vs. cold limitation). Results suggest that, given a warmer future with larger and more frequent fires, a greater number of stands that fail to regenerate after fires combined with increasing density in stands where regeneration is successful could produce a more coarse-grained forest landscape.


Title of Dissertation: WATERFRONTS FOR WORK AND PLAY: MYTHSCAPES OF HERITAGE AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY RHODE ISLAND Kristen A. Williams, Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Nancy L. Struna Department of American Studies My dissertation examines the relationship between heritage sites, urban culture, and civic life in present-day Rhode Island, evaluating how residents" identities and patterns of civic engagement are informed by site-specific tourist narratives of eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth-century labor histories. Considering the adaptive reuse of former places of maritime trade and industry as contemporary sites of leisure, I analyze the role that historic tourism plays in local and regional economic urban redevelopment. I argue that the mythscapes of exceptionalism mobilized at Rhode Island"s heritage sites create usable pasts in the present for current residents and visitors alike, alternatively foregrounding and obscuring intersectional categories of difference according to contemporaneous political climates at the local, national and transnational levels. This study is divided into two parts, organized chronologically and geographically. While Part I examines the dominant tourist narratives associated with Newport County, located in the southeast of the state and including Aquidneck Island (also known as Rhode Island), Part II takes the historic tourism associated with mainland Providence Plantations as its case study and focuses exclusively on Providence County, covering the middle and northern ends of the state. In each of these sections, I explore, challenge, and re-contextualize the politics of narratives which reference the earliest Anglophone settlers of Rhode Island as religious refugees and members of what scholar Robin Cohen refers to as a "victim diaspora" against the rich co-constitutive histories of im/migrant groups that, either by force or choice, relocated to Rhode Island for work and thus constitute a "labour diaspora." The existence of these two or more populations living in close proximity to each other in areas of Newport and Providence, I argue, produced what Denis Byrne calls a "nervous landscape" fraught with cultural, economic and political tensions which exists even as narratives of the pasts associated with each group are mobilized in the contemporary urban environs of each city and its tourist attractions. WATERFRONTS FOR WORK AND PLAY: MYTHSCAPES OF HERITAGE AND IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY RHODE ISLAND


Getting numbers is easy; getting numbers you can trust is hard. This practical guide by experimentation leaders at Google, LinkedIn, and Microsoft will teach you how to accelerate innovation using trustworthy online controlled experiments, or A/B tests. Based on practical experiences at companies that each run more than 20,000 controlled experiments a year, the authors share examples, pitfalls, and advice for students and industry professionals getting started with experiments, plus deeper dives into advanced topics for practitioners who want to improve the way they make data-driven decisions.Learn how toUse the scientific method to evaluate hypotheses using controlled experiments Define key metrics and ideally an Overall Evaluation CriterionTest for trustworthiness of the results and alert experimenters to violated assumptionsBuild a scalable platform that lowers the marginal cost of experiments close to zeroAvoid pitfalls like carryover effects and Twyman's lawUnderstand how statistical issues play out in practice.


This conceptual paper is concerned with the outcomes of the financialization of non-financial firms, and particularly with the role of institutions in shaping these outcomes. It centers on the question of whether the institutional setting of economies can be expected to moderate the effects of financialization on companies' employment practices, investment decisions, R&D activities, and value chain. To approach this question, I first sketch out the concept of financialization and its meaning when considering its firm-level implications. I then draw on the literature on comparative institutional theory to identify two opposite institutional settings, liberal market economies and coordinated market economies. In a third step I combine empirical findings from the literature with theoretical reasoning, to hypothesize about how the outcomes of financialization on the firm-level differ between liberal and coordinated economies, developing two different scenarios about the trajectory of firm-level financialization in coordinated market economies. Finally, I discuss the implications of these scenarios for our understanding of financialization and its connection to institutional environments. Overall, the paper argues that taking an institutionally comparative perspective on financialization alerts us to the possibility that financialization does not represent a uniform process causing the same outcomes to manifest in non-financial corporations around the globe. Instead, as the financialization of firms takes place in diverse institutional settings, associated practices will have to be adapted to local institutions enabling and constraining them.


ABSTRACT This paper compares the research on coaching supervision, carried out by Eve Turner and supported by Peter Hawkins in 2014, with the research done by Hawkins and Schwenk carried out in 2006. This research comparison shows that while there has been an enormous growth in the percentage of coaches having supervision, there is wide diversity across geographical areas and a great variety of arrangements in receiving supervision, its frequency and how much coaches pay for it. The paper concludes with recommendations for both the practice of coaching supervision and for further research in this field.


OBJECTIVES
To compare mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region of the gyrA gene and flanking sequences with the MICs of ofloxacin and moxifloxacin for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

METHODS
The presence of mutations in 177 drug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates was determined by DNA sequencing and the MICs quantified by MGIT 960.

RESULTS
Single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected at codons 94 (n = 30), 90 (n = 12), 91 (n = 3), 89 (n = 1), 88 (n = 1) and 80 (n = 1). Four isolates with double mutations D94G plus A90V (n = 2) and D94G plus D94N (n = 2) reflect mixed populations. Agreement between genotypic and phenotypic susceptibility was high (≥97%) for both drugs. Mutant isolates had an MIC(50) of 8.0 mg/L and an MIC(90) of >10 mg/L for ofloxacin compared with an MIC(50) and MIC(90) of 2.0 mg/L for moxifloxacin. Codons 94 and 88 were linked to higher levels of fluoroquinolone resistance compared with codons 90, 91 and 89. The MIC distributions for the wild-type isolates ranged from ≤0.5 to 2.0 mg/L for ofloxacin and from ≤0.125 to 0.25 mg/L for moxifloxacin. However, 96% of the isolates with genetic alterations had MICs ≤2.0 mg/L for moxifloxacin, which is within its achievable serum levels.

CONCLUSIONS
This study provides quantitative evidence that the addition of moxifloxacin to extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) regimens based on a clinical breakpoint of 2.0 mg/L has merit. The use of moxifloxacin in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis may prevent the acquisition of additional mutations and development of XDR-TB.


The convergence of crises that we face as a global society, with its grand challenge of how to achieve social progress for all without destroying the very basis of our existence, emphasises the importance of discussing the role of business and finance. We cannot achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability of our societies without the contribution of business and finance. A fundamental transition away from 'business as usual' and onto a sustainable path is necessary. The dominant business form is the company, and the role of shareholders, the investors in this business form, is therefore highly topical. Concentrating in this chapter on the influence of the shareholders through the general meeting of European listed companies, we see that while the focus of the mainstream corporate governance debate for a long time has been on strengthening shareholder rights, an emerging and important debate is that on whether shareholders also have duties. This chapter contributes to that debate with a discussion of the potential role of shareholders in achieving corporate sustainability, including whether shareholders have or should have any duties to contribute towards such a goal. Corporate sustainability is here defined as when businesses (or more broadly, economic actors) in aggregate create value in a manner that is (a) environmentally sustainable in the sense that it ensures the long-term stability and resilience of the ecosystems that support human life, (b) socially sustainable in the sense that it facilitates the respect and promotion of human rights, and (c) economically sustainable in the sense that it satisfies the economic needs necessary for stable and resilient societies. In the European Union (EU), we see a tentative recognition of the broader role of shareholders, especially as regards economic sustainability. We also see a rising recognition of the significance of shareholders' role in promoting environmental and social aspects of sustainability, in part inspired by the debate on 'stewardship' originating in Europe with the UK Stewardship Code. We see a reflection of this in the European Parliament's revisions to the Commission's proposal to changes in the Shareholders' Rights Directive, which suggest to broaden the scope to include societal issues. Similarly, the so-called non-financial reporting requirements introduced in 2014 aim to ensure that the largest listed companies disclose 'the impact of [their] activity, relating to, as a minimum, environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters', also with the view to facilitating responsible investment. These are examples that illustrate a growing EU interest in encouraging shareholders to contribute to long-term successful business, environmentally, socially and economically. After the introduction of the topic in section 1, this chapter outlines in section 2 the research findings that indicate a strong negative impact of shareholders, in aggregate, on corporate sustainability. Section 3 discusses the role of shareholders in the general meeting as a matter of law. After a short overview of the competence the controlling shareholder has in a general meeting, this focuses on the possibilities for and likelihood of shareholder influence in the general meeting being used to promote corporate sustainability. Section 3 concludes with a brief discussion of shareholder influence outside the general meeting. This is a trend that is encouraged by corporate governance codes and stewardship codes alike, without – as I will argue in this chapter – proper appreciation of the potential negative impacts of this approach. Section 4 discusses shareholders' emerging and potential duties towards corporate sustainability, including a brief discussion of the stewardship codes, while section 5 outlines tentative ideas on how to reform the role of shareholders in company law as an intrinsic part of a tentative reform proposal. Section 6 concludes.


Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a surgical intervention that is known to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of common movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, dystonia, or tremor. During the intervention the surgeon places electrodes inside of the patient's brain to stimulate specific regions. Since these regions span only a couple of millimeters, and electrode misplacement has severe consequences, reliable and accurate navigation is of great importance. Usually the surgeon relies on fused CT and MRI data sets, as well as direct feedback from the patient. More recently Microelectrode Recordings (MER), which support navigation by measuring the electric field of the patient's brain, are also used. We propose a visualization system that fuses the different modalities: imaging data, MER and patient checks, as well as the related uncertainties, in an intuitive way to present placement-related information in a consistent view with the goal of supporting the surgeon in the final placement of the stimulating electrode. We will describe the design considerations for our system, the technical realization, present the outcome of the proposed system, and provide an evaluation.


In a piece published by Foreign Affairs entitled "The Return of Geopolitics: the Revenge of the Revisionist Powers," Walter R. Mead (Mead, 2014) has articulated the view that, after a long interval following the end of the Cold War, the post-historical condition described by Francis Fukuyama in his famous book The End of History and the Last Man (Fukuyama, 1992) may be over for good. That post-historical condition entailed the dissolution of all major ideological conflicts, and consequently of major geopolitical struggles for the control of the planet, as mankind stepped firmly and irreversibly on the path of liberal representative democracy and free market capitalism. Professor Mead argues that both Russia and China, the two large illiberal powers, are now "pushing back against the political settlement of the Cold War." Consequently, a new confrontation between great powers is looming, in the pretty familiar fashion of conflict over land, sea lanes, the control of continental masses and possibly the oceans. Russia and China are depicted as revisionist powers, whose march towards the final stage of liberal democracy and capitalistic economy can be long and tortuous, while in the meantime "such figures as Putin still stride the world stage."


Background
While it is known that some UK Armed Forces (UK AF) personnel and veterans experience physical and mental health problems, the possible future healthcare needs of military veterans are unknown.

Aims
To estimate the number of military personnel who may experience physical and/or psychological health problems associated with their military service.

Methods
Data were obtained via Freedom of Information requests to several sources, including Defence Statistics. Raw data from research studies were also used where available. Data were analysed using meta-analytic methods to determine the rate of physical, mental or comorbid health problems in AF personnel.

Results
Musculoskeletal problems were the predominant reason for medical discharge from service. In terms of mental health, meta-analyses estimated that veteran reservists (part-time military members) previously deployed to operational areas had the highest proportion of general health problems (35%), previously deployed veteran regulars (those in full time military employment) and veteran reservists had the highest proportion of post-traumatic stress disorder (9%), and regular personnel with a deployment history had the highest proportion of alcohol problems (14%). Overall, our findings suggest that at least 67515 veterans are likely to suffer from mental and/or physical health problems at some point as a result of their service between 2001 and 2014.

Conclusions
The results of this study highlight that the difficulties personnel may face are largely musculoskeletal or mental health-related. These findings may help with planning the provision of future physical and mental health care and support for those who serve in the UK AF.


An efficient copper indium disulfide (CuInS2) photocathode was fabricated on conductive carbon microfiber felt (CMF), which comprises a three-dimensional (3D) network of carbon fibers (CFs), by the sequential deposition of metal precursors (Cu and In) and subsequent annealing under a stream of diluted H2S. Although the conventional electrochemical deposition method failed to deposit the metal precursors homogeneously on the CMF, the arc plasma deposition (APD) method did so successfully. The unique features of the APD method enabled superior homogeneity of the Cu/In ratio throughout the CMF, not only on the outer surface, but also inside the 3D network, under optimized conditions. Another unique feature of the APD method is its ability to deposit metal species on the back surface of the CFs, thus allowing an almost full-coverage coating of the 3D structure of the CMF substrate. The as-prepared CuInS2/CMF photocathode was further modified with a thin layer of CdS and Pt particles, and then used for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water reduction under visible light. The modified Pt–CdS/CuInS2/CMF photocathode exhibited relatively high incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) values (ca. 40% at 0 V vs. the RHE under 600 nm) and higher cathodic photocurrent density under continuous visible-light irradiation (λ > 400 nm) than a conventional Pt–CdS/CuInS2 cathode fabricated on a two-dimensional molybdenum substrate. PEC water reduction proceeded stably over the Pt–CdS/CuInS2/CMF photocathode under visible light with almost 100% faradaic efficiency, indicating that CMF is a promising photocathode substrate for PEC water splitting.


Continuous integration is an indispensable step of modern software engineering practices to systematically manage the life cycles of system development. Developing a machine learning model is no difference - it is an engineering process with a life cycle, including design, implementation, tuning, testing, and deployment. However, most, if not all, existing continuous integration engines do not support machine learning as first-class citizens.
In this paper, we present this http URL, to our best knowledge, the first continuous integration system for machine learning. The challenge of building this http URL is to provide rigorous guarantees, e.g., single accuracy point error tolerance with 0.999 reliability, with a practical amount of labeling effort, e.g., 2K labels per test. We design a domain specific language that allows users to specify integration conditions with reliability constraints, and develop simple novel optimizations that can lower the number of labels required by up to two orders of magnitude for test conditions popularly used in real production systems.


This paper is about measuring social well-being and evaluating policy. Part I is concerned with the links between the two, while Parts II and III, respectively, are devoted to the development of appropriate methods of measuring and evaluating. In Part II (Sections 4-7) I identify a minimal set of indices for spanning a general conception of social well-being. The analysis is motivated by the frequent need to make welfare comparisons across time and communities. A distinction is drawn between current well-being and sustainable well-being. Measuring current well-being is the subject of discussion in Sections 5-6. It is argued that a set of five indices, consisting of private consumption per head, life expectancy at birth, literacy, and indices of civil and political liberties, taken together, are a reasonable approximation for the purpose in hand. Indices of the quality of life currently in use, such as UNDP's Human Development Index, are cardinal measures. Since indices of civil and political liberties are only ordinal, aggregate measures of social well-being should be required to be ordinal. In this connection, the Borda index suggests itself. In Section 6 the Borda index is put to work on data on what were 46 of the poorest countries in the early 1980s. Interestingly, of the component indices, the ranking of countries in the sample in terms of life expectancy at birth is found to be the most highly correlated with the countries' Borda ranking. Even more interestingly, the ranking of countries in terms of gross national product (GNP) per head is almost as highly correlated. There can be little doubt that this finding is an empirical happenstance. But it may not be an uncommon happenstance. If this were so, GNP per head could reasonably continue to be used as a summary measure of social well-being, even though it has no theoretical claims to be one. It is widely thought that net national product (NNP) per head measures the economic component of sustainable wel


Functionalization of transition metal dichalcogenides has been studied with the aim of tuning their electrical and optical properties, but structural information during functionalization and its reversibility have not been elucidated. We report a simple and effective method for hydrogenation of monolayer MoSe2 using hydrogen plasma treatment. The covalent bonding of hydrogen to MoSe2 was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the degree of hydrogenation was modulated from 32% to 80% by increasing the plasma treatment time from 5 to 40 s. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed a 1.5% reduction in the lattice constant of hydrogenated MoSe2 without structural damages or defects; crystal structures of hydrogenated MoSe2 and as-prepared MoSe2 were identical. Photoluminescence (PL) investigation of hydrogenated MoSe2 showed charge transfer from hydrogen to MoSe2. Furthermore, reversible desorption of hydrogen from hydrogenated MoSe2 was achieved by heat treatment. The optical and electrical properties of as-prepared and hydrogenated MoSe2 samples were compared. The PL peak of hydrogenated MoSe2 returned to the as-prepared one after heat treatment at 500 °C. Furthermore, the electron mobility of MoSe2 decreased from 29 to 9 cm2 V−1 s−1 after hydrogenation and was restored to 27 cm2 V−1 s−1 upon heat treatment at 500 °C. This reversible hydrogen adsorption and desorption lends control over the optical and electrical properties of monolayer MoSe2 and contributes to the hydrogen functionalization of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides and other two-dimensional materials.


The operating characteristics of traveling wave direct energy converter, which is expected to be used in an advanced fusion, are discussed in the case of broad energy band flux based on the deceleration theory. Comparison of distributions in phase space between different relative phase differences shows a good agreement with the theory. The examination by narrow energy band flux roughly explained that the observed low energy component corresponded to the incident ions around the best matching energy of the decelerator.


The failure of quasi-brittle materials is still a topical issue today, as no comprehensive theory that is able to describe all the ways in which stress can occur without the introduction of special variables has yet been accepted. The numerical methods which are commonly used for the investigation of extensive problems that include fracture mechanics often need various extensions so that they are able to solve a given task successfully. The Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method was not used in connection with quasi-brittle material failure for a long time due to the fact that it was not conceptually designed for the investigation of structural mechanics issues, but rather for hydrodynamics. However, in cases of high-speed stress, it is advantageous to use the SPH method because materials with structural strength behave in a similar way to fluids in such situations. Unfortunately, even this method suffers from false numerical dependencies which can influence the results of simulations in a negative manner. It can be concluded from executed tests that the initial regularity of the distribution of SPH particles plays an important role regardless of the investigated task. The contribution describes a test from the area of the simulation of dynamically loaded concrete structures using the SPH method. The primary subject of discussion is the influence of the initial distribution of particles on the results of simulations, as well as a possible solution to problems which arise due to the poor regularity of particle distribution. The simulations in question are compared with the experiment and results obtained via the Finite Element Method. Key-Words: Smoothed particle hydrodynamics; support domain; nonlinear constitutive model; numerical fracture; concrete; dynamic loading.


PURPOSE
Previous studies have demonstrated the capacity of a designed proline-rich synthetic peptide to stimulate osteoblast differentiation and biomineralization in vitro. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the osseointegration capacity of titanium (Ti) implants coated with these peptides in a rabbit model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Four calibrated defects were prepared in the tibiae of three New Zealand rabbits, and the defects were randomized into a test group (peptide-modified machined Ti implant) and a control group (unmodified machined Ti implant). The performance in vivo was investigated after 4 weeks of implantation by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction of bone and inflammatory markers, microcomputed tomographic analysis of mineralized bone, and histologic examination.

RESULTS
The peptides adsorbed in agglomerates on Ti and underwent a change in secondary structure upon adsorption, which induced an increase in surface wettability. Gene expression markers indicated that peptide-coated Ti implants had significantly decreased mRNA levels of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. A trend toward increased osteocalcin in the peri-implant bone tissue was also seen. Bone morphometric and histologic parameters did not show significant differences, although the peptide group showed a higher percentage of new bone histologically.

CONCLUSIONS
Proline-rich peptides have potential as a biocompatible coating for promoting osseointegration of Ti implants by reducing bone resorption.


The growing prevalence of obesity and its related metabolic diseases, mainly Type 2 diabetes (T2D), has increased the interest in adipose tissue (AT) and its role as a principal metabolic orchestrator. Two decades of research have now shown that ATs act as an endocrine organ, secreting soluble factors termed adipocytokines or adipokines. These adipokines play crucial roles in whole-body metabolism with different mechanisms of action largely dependent on the tissue or cell type they are acting on. The pancreatic β cell, a key regulator of glucose metabolism due to its ability to produce and secrete insulin, has been identified as a target for several adipokines. This review will focus on how adipokines affect pancreatic β cell function and their impact on pancreatic β cell survival in disease contexts such as diabetes. Initially, the "classic" adipokines will be discussed, followed by novel secreted adipocyte-specific factors that show therapeutic promise in regulating the adipose-pancreatic β cell axis.


&NA; The aim of the study was to observe the effects of dietary available phosphorus (aP) and calcium (Ca), with regular or super doses of phytase, on phytate hydrolysis and subsequent influences on broiler growth performance and nutrient utilization. In a 2 × 3 factorial design, 384 Ross‐308 broilers were allocated to one of 6 dietary treatments with 8 replicates in a randomized complete block design for 21 days. Diets were nutritionally adequate (positive control, PC) or marginally deficient in aP and Ca (negative control, NC), with 0, 500 or 1,500 FTU/kg phytase. Bird and feed weights were recorded on d 0 and 21, excreta were collected on d 19 and 20, and gizzard and ileal contents were collected on d 21. Body weight gain (P < 0.01) increased linearly with phytase in the PC and quadratically in the NC. There was an interactive effect on ileal DM, N, and P utilization, increasing quadratically with phytase supplementation in the NC, but there was no phytase influence in the PC (P < 0.05). Phytase linearly increased copper (P < 0.001) and linearly decreased Ca (P < 0.05) utilization in the ileum. Phytase decreased ileal (IPx, inositol x‐phosphate) IP6 and IP5 and increased inositol (quadratic, P < 0.001) but had no effect on IP4 or IP3. The influence of the dietary aP was more apparent on the hydrolysis of phytate and phytate esters after the ileum, with increasing (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) IP4 and IP3 content in the excreta of birds fed the NC or PC when phytase was added. Phytate hydrolysis improves the growth potential of birds fed NC diets, allowing them to match the growth performance of birds fed PC diets and improve nutrient utilization. These results indicate that dietary Ca and aP concentrations can be reduced when phytase is supplemented. It also may be beneficial to apply the enzyme nutrient matrix to other nutrients in the diet to maintain an optimal balance of nutrients in the digesta.


The aim of this research thesis was to understand how the urban built environment interacts with utility cycling behaviours in space and time. Using mixed methods entrenched in the philosophy of pragmatism, the research contributed to an as yet under-developed research evidence-base within the British context by addressing the gap in knowledge relating to: the usability of spacetime
and action space theories within visual analytics context in facilitating the knowledge discovery process from spatio-temporal datasets; empirical evidence on perceived and actual movement behaviour of urban utility cyclists; methodological advancement in collecting, refining, analysing and visualising detailed utility cycling behaviours in a British urban environment.

Findings suggest that 57.4% of cyclists' bike trips were found on the cycle network and with 42.6% of cyclists still cycling outside the designated cycle network; it is therefore imperative that policy initiatives aimed towards strategic investment in cycling behavioural research and
infrastructure. The findings also showed a higher concentration of cycling uptake around the south-eastern part of Newcastle upon Tyne suggesting this area may need more investment than other areas in Tyne and Wear. Systematic comparison of GPS data and travel diary data suggest 8.4% under reporting of the former. The null hypothesis that urban transport network restrictions
do not have any significant influence on movement of commuter cyclists was rejected upon examination and it was found that observed routes tend to be significantly longer than their shortest path counterparts. Profiling activity spaces of utility cyclists utilising different geographies was found to be useful in the examination of cycling behaviours for the purpose of providing visual aid for planners and policy makers to identify areas for improvement and informed investment in support of sustainable transport. Several efforts were being made to
enhance data availability to inform policy strategies, and facilitation of feasible solutions for improving the urban cycling infrastructure and encouraging more people to cycle as part of their daily commute, for which this research aimed to contribute by providing evidence on the use of
the area's cycling infrastructure by utility cyclists and spatial variability of cycling in space and time.


Introduction The internet is now widely used as a communication channel. It is a twentieth century information resource leverage medium designed for everyone. Data on the internet are interchangeably called online information, web resources, e-resources and so forth. Many research groups have set up websites and gopher sites summarizing their areas of study. As a result, the internet has become one of the most important channels of communication of our time, a powerful tool in searching for, retrieving, disseminating and improved utilization of information (Unagha, 2008; Penny, 2006). Thanuskodi (2010) has observed that as sources of information available via the internet are increasing exponentially, internet use for education and for research is also on the increase. In the academic perspective, the internet host and allow access to subject gateways, databases and professional websites which contain various types of scholarly resources like electronic copies of journals, articles, books, datasets, short communications, formula, monographs, encyclopaedia, dictionaries, instructional notes, informative web-pages, with numerous links to search and research related websites. Hence, researchers all over the world are taking advantage of the internet (Bamigboye and Ojo, 2010; Agarwal and Dave, 2009; Mariyappagoudar and Jayashree (2000). The above notwithstanding, this study aims at investigating the claims of student some Nigerian students respondents in recent studies by Nigerian scholars that they use internet services more for research than for other reasons(Ilo and Ifijeh, 2010; Fasae and Aladenyi, 2012; Oyedun, 2007; Salaam and Adegbore, 2010; Ibegwam, 2004;). Since these studies that produced this claim were based mainly on the respondents perceptions, no one is sure if the students actually used the internet for research writings or not. This study therefore aims at establishing how the internet has influenced academic research at the graduate level. This done through, a citation analysis of the Theses and Dissertations (TDs), which are submitted annually by these students in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degrees. This study also seeks to find out if there is an actual relationship between Nigerian students' claim of internet use during research as reported in previous studies and the actual evidence in their final research project, using Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, post graduate students as a case-study. Brief Information on Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) is one of the academic institutions in the Eastern part of Nigeria that offer among other programmes post graduate courses in agricultural sciences and allied fields. The institution was established in 1994. It is located in Umudike, one of the neighbouring towns in the capital city of Abia State. The institution is one of the three federal universities in Nigeria mandated to focus on teaching, learning and research on agriculture. Presently inside the campus, internet connectivity is possible through the university's National Communication Commission (NCC) wireless fidelity (WIFI) satellite dish and also from a commercial service provider (AfriHub International) resident on campus and operating under agreement with the university. However, the internet speed is very slow and has been a source of complain by both students and staff within the university community. Yet, with patience and luck of not encountering too many users of the bandwidth at a go, meaningful searches and downloads are still made. So, with few months close to its twentieth year of existence, MOUAU has contributed to the quantum of academic research in Nigeria and across the globe with about eighty percent (80%) of her entire faculties running postgraduate programmes in some of their departments. (http://www.mouauregistry.com/progdeptlist. …


Purpose. Examine the effects of a comprehensive, school-wide social-emotional and character development program using a positive youth development perspective. Specifically, we examined a mediation mechanism whereby positive academic-related behaviors mediated the intervention effects on substance use, violence, and sexual activity. Design. Matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. Setting. Twenty (10 intervention and 10 control) racially/ethnically diverse schools in Hawaii. Subjects. Elementary-aged students (N= 1784) from grade 5. Intervention. The Positive Action program. Measures. Students self-reported their academic behaviors, together with their substance use, violence, and voluntary sexual activity; teachers rated students' academic behaviors, substance use, and violence. Analysis. Structural equation modeling. Results. Students attending intervention schools reported significantly better academic behavior (B = .273, SE = .039, p < .001) and significantly less substance use (B = –.970, SE = .292, p < .01, incidence-rate ratio [IRR] = .379), violence (B = −1.410, SE = .296, p < .001, IRR = .244), and sexual activity (B = −2.415, SE = .608, p < .001, odds ratio = .089); boys reported more negative behaviors than girls. Intervention effects on student-reported substance use, violence, and sexual activity were mediated by positive academic behavior. Teacher reports corroborated these results, with rated academic behavior partially mediating the effects of the intervention on rated negative behaviors. Conclusion. This study (1) provides evidence that adds insight into one mechanism through which a social-emotional and character development program affects negative outcomes and (2) supports social-emotional and character development and positive youth development perspectives that posit that focusing on youths' assets may reduce negative behaviors.


Data Analytics (DA) has been blamed for contributing to discriminatory managerial decisions in organizations. To date, most studies have focused on the technical antecedents of such discriminations. As a result, little is known about how to ameliorate the problem by focusing on the human aspects of decision making when using DA in organizational settings. This study represents an effort to address this gap. Drawing on the cognitive elaboration model of ethical decision-making, construal level theory, and the literature on moral intensity, this study investigates how the availability and the design of demographic transparency (a form of decisional guidance) can lower DA users' likelihood of agreement with discriminatory recommendations of DA tools. In addition, this study examines the role of user's mindfulness and organizational ethical culture on this process. This paper outlines an experimental methodology to empirically validate the proposed model and hypotheses and delineates potential contributions to theory and practice.


There is a growing concern about the rapid rise in resistance of Staphylococcus aureus to antimicrobial agents. Our objective was to determine the prevalence and pattern of antibiotic sensitivity among Methicillin-resistant and Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus in Surat, South Gujarat, India. Covering the period of three months from August-2004 to October 2004, we processed the samples of Pus, Urine, Blood, high vaginal swabs, Sputum, throat swabs, drains and ear swabs received from New Civil Hospital, Surat. Total 135 Staphylococci were isolated, out of which, 48 (35.55%) were coagulase positive. These coagulase positive Staphylococci isolates were screened for Methicillin-resistance by a slide latex agglutination kit for the rapid detection of PBP2' (Penicillin binding protein 2a). Sensitivity to amikacin, erythromycin, clindamycin and tetracycline were also carried out following Kirbey Bauer disc diffusion method. Methicillin resistance among the Staphylococcus aureus isolates was 39.5%. Resistance to all antibiotics tested among the Methicillin-resistance and Methicillin-sensitive, staphylococci was found to be 26.3% and 6.8% respectively, which is statistically significant. Methicillin-resistance is a useful marker in selecting appropriate antimicrobial agents for treatment of infections caused by S. aureus changing pattern of resistance of S. aureus makes its periodic surveillance mandatory.


Simon Wiesenthal has been fighting against the tyranny of Nazism for more than fifty years. Born in 1908 in the small town of Buczacz in Galicia, he was a successful architect before Hitler came to power. During the Nazi regime he survived thirteen concentration camps including Plaszow, the notorious Polish death camp depicted in Schindler's List. Liberated from Austria's Mauthausen camp in 1945, Wiesenthal vowed to avenge the horrors of the Holocaust by searching for Nazi perpetrators and bringing them to trial. Revered by some as a Jewish hero and condemned by others as an egomaniac and a liar, Wiesenthal has provoked admiration and sharp criticism. Hella Pick's compelling biography provides a comprehensive and objective portrait of this highly controversial and enigmatic public figure. In this well-researched volume she chronicles Wiesenthal's early life and vividly describes his survival in the camps. Pick's gripping accounts of his major hunts for Nazi criminals - including Adolf Eichmann, Franz Stangl, Franz Murer, Josef Mengele, and Hermine Braunsteiner-Ryan - illustrate the methods Wiesenthal uses in his searches and illuminate the difficulties he has encountered, not least from other Nazi hunters.


It is known that one can extract Craig interpolants from so-called local derivations. An interpolant extracted from such a derivation is a boolean combination of formulas occurring in the derivation. However, standard complete proof systems, such as superposition, for theories having the interpolation property are not necessarily complete for local proofs. In this paper we investigate interpolant extraction from non-local refutations (proofs of contradiction) in the superposition calculus and prove a number of general results about interpolant extraction and complexity of extracted interpolants. In particular, we prove that the number of quantifier alternations in first-order interpolants of formulas without quantifier alternations is unbounded. The proof of this result relies on a small number of assumptions about the theory and the proof system, so it also applies to many first-order theories beyond predicate logic. This result has far-reaching consequences for using local proofs as a foundation for interpolating proof systems any such proof system should deal with formulas of arbitrary quantifier complexity. To search for alternatives for interpolating proof systems, we consider several variations on interpolation and local proofs. Namely, we give an algorithm for building interpolants from resolution refutations in logic without equality and discuss additional constraints when this approach can be also used for logic with equality. We finally propose a new direction related to interpolation via local proofs in first-order theories.


Enrolments for the Postgraduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Plant Biosecurity are now open. This postgraduate study in plant biosecurity has been developed specifically for those working in the plant biosecurity sector or for people who wish to pursue a career in plant biosecurity. The individual units are delivered entirely online, so you can study in the comfort of your own home.

Feedback regarding the postgraduate study has been extremely positive with many students commenting that the course content and format is excellent and very relevant and useful to them. If you hold a relevant degree from a recognised university you will be eligible to enrol directly into the Diploma or Masters course. If you do not hold a degree but hold relevant professional experience you will be eligible to enrol in the Graduate Certificate. Individual units are also available for those interested in a specific topic. If you are currently enrolled in another postgraduate course you may be able to complete units from the plant biosecurity program and have them count towards your qualification.

Current students include staff from Commonwealth and state agencies, recent graduates, and internationals. This presentation will provide an overview of the courses, for both prospective students, as well as employers who may wish to provide formal qualifications for their staff.


Despite being a low temperature phenomenon till date, superconductivity has found numerous applications in diverse fields of medicine, science and engineering. The great scientific interest in the phenomenon as well as its practical utility has motivated extensive efforts to discover and understand new superconductors. We report the observation of superconductivity at ambient temperature and pressure conditions in films and pellets of a nanostructured material that is composed of silver particles embedded into a gold matrix. Specifically, we observe that upon cooling below 236 K at ambient pressures, the resistance of sample films drops below 10-4 Ohm, being limited by instrument sensitivity. Further, below the transition temperature, samples become strongly diamagnetic, with volume susceptibilities as low as -0.056. We further describe methods to tune the transition to temperatures higher than room temperature.


Insulin resistance and type II diabetes mellitus are major public health issues in the U.S.; more specifically insulin resistance is strongly correlated with obesity. Multiple factors influence insulin resistance such as hyperglycemic conditions and increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). As oxygen radicals accumulate in adipocytes from increased glucose oxidation, they interfere with insulin signaling and affect glucose uptake. To determine if insulin sensitivity can be prolonged with the aid of antioxidants, adipocytes were maintained in a high glucose medium supplemented with antioxidants ascorbic acid or &alpha-tocopherol and then tested for insulin sensitivity. Our studies reveal that ROS levels fluctuate in insulin resistant adipocytes (Day 11-21). We show for the first time that there is a decrease in ROS levels at Day 13, which then significantly increase at Day 15 and this trend continues every other day till Day 21. At Day 10 and 15 the ROS levels are high, but adipocytes have high GLUT4 expression at Day 10 and decreased expression on Day 15. By Day 15 there is increased phosphorylation of AKT but no change in IRS-1 phosphorylation. The levels of ROS were significantly decreased with the application of antioxidants. With decreased ROS levels there was overall increased phosphorylation of IRS-1 and AKT. The lipid content and distribution was not affected by ROS levels. In conclusion, the development of insulin resistance is effected by ROS, however the data indicates that there is a mechanism independent of AKT, or a target downstream of AKT that is affected and leading to the development of insulin resistance. ROS levels also regulate the expression of GLUT4 and thus GLUT4-mediated glucose uptake resulting in resistance to insulin signaling. Insulin resistance is affected by ROS levels differently if it is added exogenously, or if it is amassed endogenously. Identification of factors that interfere with insulin signaling and thus type II diabetes, like ROS levels, can lead to the development of possible therapeutic treatments.


We extend the Leon verification system for Scala with support for bit-vector reasoning, thus addressing one of its fundamental soundness limitation with respect to the treatment of integers primitives. We leverage significant progresses recently achieved in SMT solving by developing a solver-independent interface to easily configure the back-end of Leon. Our interface is based on the emerging SMT-LIB standard for SMT solvers, and we release a Scala library offering full support for the latest version of the standard. We use the standard BigInt Scala library to represent mathematical integers, whereas we correctly model Int as 32-bit integers. We ensure safety of arithmetic by checking for division by zero and correctly modeling division and modulo. We conclude with a performance comparison between the sound representation of Ints and the cleaner abstract representation using mathematical integers, and discuss the trade-off involved.


These nineteen essays introduce the rich and until now largely unexplored tradition of women's experimental fiction in the twentieth century. The writers discussed here range from Gertrude Stein to Christine Brooke-Rose and include, among others, Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Jane Bowles, Marguerite Young, Eva Figes, Joyce Carol Oates, and Marguerite Duras. "Friedman and Fuchs demonstrate the breadth of their research, first in their introduction to the volume, in which they outline the history of the reception of women's experimental fiction, and analyze and categorize the work not only of the writers to whom essays are devoted but of a number of others, too; and second in an extensive and wonderfully useful bibliography."--Emma Kafalenos, The International Fiction Review "After an introduction that is practically itself a monograph, eighteen essayists (too many of them distinguished to allow an equitable sampling) take up three generations of post-modernists."--American Literature "The editors see this volume as part of the continuing feminist project of the recovery and foregrounding of women writers.' Friedman and Fuchs's substantive introduction excellently synthesizes the issues presented in the rest of the volume."--Patrick D. Murphy, Studies in the HumanitiesOriginally published in 1989.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


The position of copyright in the arena of sports content rights and property rights of sporting organizations is a highly contested area of legal and commercial interest in the digital age. At its core is the issue of whether copyright can be incorporated into sports rights contracts as it has been for many years. This article identifies the ramifications of this debate for the existing business models for both rights holders (Football Association (FA) Premier League, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)) and broadcasters. Drawing on interviews with key stakeholders, this research analyses the strategic responses of pan-European broadcasters in the field, and key football content rights holders at both the national and European level. How will these developments affect both the pan-European and national markets for football rights? How does copyright law affect live and recorded games and what are the implications for the wider European audio-visual sector of changes in the rights regime for European cultural content?


Phyllanthus species, especially P. amarus is a medicinal plant with hepatoprotective activity, believed to occur in part by inhibiting hepatitis B virus function. The pathogenesis mechanism of viral hepatitis is closely related to hepatocyte necrosis apoptosis. The aim of our study was to investigate the in vitro effects of extracts from three Phyllanthus species, P. urinaria, P. amarus and P. debilis in regulating cell proliferation and gene expression activities of HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. All three Phyllanthus species significantly inhibited the proliferation of the HepG2 cells. In addition, the extracts induced apoptosis by inducing caspase-3. Further confirmation of extract-induced apoptosis was obtained by demonstrating that the Bcl-2/Bax ratio decreased in response to treatment with the extracts. We next determined the mechanism by which the Phyllanthus extracts induced apoptosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that TNF-α not only induces apoptotic signals but also causes antiapoptotic and regenerative responses in hepatocytes, the mechanism involving induction of IL-8. Real Time PCR analyses demonstrated that the extracts significantly inhibited cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) expression, while inducing the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α. Reporter assays using the luciferase constructs containing COX-2 promoter region demonstrated that the extracts inhibited transcription of the gene. Since the extracts inhibited IL-8 expression, while inducing TNF-α, the cells were treated with the extracts in the presence of exogenous TNF-α. While TNF-α only showed a modest effect by itself, it was synergistic with the extracts in inducing apoptosis of the cells. These findings demonstrate that Phyllanthus extracts induce TNF-α production from the hepatocellular carcinoma cells while inhibiting production of potent anti-apoptotic genes IL-8 and COX-2.


Fly ash-slag based Geopolymer cement (GPC) has demonstrated mechanical properties and environmental advantages that make it one of predominant sustainable alternatives to Portland cement (PC). Despite the fact that numerous environmental analyses about geopolymers are being published, their environmental impact after the end of service-life has barely been explored. Given that construction-waste management is a major sustainability issue, the present study is investigating the potential of recycling fly ash-slag GPC as a fine aggregate in mortar mixes. The major physical properties of the fine recycled aggregates (FRA) were tested and compared to those of PC FRA and natural sand of similar fineness. The effect of incorporating FRA in low (25%) and high (50%) percentage in PC or GPC matrix mortars was investigated. The 28day compressive and flexural strength of mortars were tested. Also the 28day water absorption and flow of mixes incorporating GPC FRA were recorded. GPC FRA exhibited properties similar to those of PC FRA and poorer than those of natural sand. The results of compressive and flexural strength proved that FRA addition had a negligible effect in all cases. The influence of the high water absorption of GPC FRA, relatively to that of natural sand, was prominent on the workability of fresh mixes and possibly affected the water absorption of mortar prisms. The effect of GPC FRA proved to be similar to that of PC FRA on compressive strength, while none of the tested mortar properties appeared to be jeopardised by the incorporation of the GPC FRA in the mix


Objective: Chamomile is one of the commercial medicinal plants produced in Ethiopia. Besides, it is priority crop in national aromatic and medicinal plants research project in the country. As chamomile production affected by production techniques this activity was conducted to identify the effect of seed storage duration and seedling raising methods on its seedling establishment. Methods: The experiment was conducted during 2015 at rain feed condition at wondogenet agricultural research center, south Ethiopia using randomized complete block design in three replications. Zero months, three month, six month, nine month and twelve month stored seeds were combined with direct sowing, seed bed raised and pot raised seedlings resulting in a total of fifteen treatments. Data on plant height, flower yield per plant, flower yield per hectare, number of flower per plant and average weight of ten flowers were collected and tested statistically. Results: Direct sowing and pot raised methods resulted in lowest and highest value in all parameters respectively. Least and largest values range from 35.37 to 60.08 for plant height, 43.88 to 51.77 for flower yield per plant, 4.87 to 5.74 for flower yield per hectare, 244.99 to 383.71 for number flower per plant and ranges from 1.51 to 1.57 for average 10 flower weight. One year old seedlings resulted in higher mean value for plant height, flower yield per plant, flower yield per hectare and average weight of 10 flowers. Zero month treatment resulted in the least values for flower yield per plant, flower yield per hectare and number of flower per plant parameters. However, even though seedling raising method resulted in very highly significant results in plant height and in number of flower per plant, in all seed storage durations treatments there was none significance results for all testing parameters. Besides, the interaction of seed storage duration and seedling raising method treatments were resulted in none significant result for all testing parameters.


The arginine binding protein from Thermatoga maritima (TmArgBP), a substrate binding protein (SBP) involved in the ABC system of solute transport, presents a number of remarkable properties. These include an extraordinary stability to temperature and chemical denaturants and the tendency to form multimeric structures, an uncommon feature among SBPs involved in solute transport. Here we report a biophysical and structural characterization of the TmArgBP dimer. Our data indicate that the dimer of the protein is endowed with a remarkable stability since its full dissociation requires high temperature as well as SDS and urea at high concentrations. In order to elucidate the atomic level structural properties of this intriguing protein, we determined the crystallographic structures of the apo and the arginine-bound forms of TmArgBP using MAD and SAD methods, respectively. The comparison of the liganded and unliganded models demonstrates that TmArgBP tertiary structure undergoes a very large structural re-organization upon arginine binding. This transition follows the Venus Fly-trap mechanism, although the entity of the re-organization observed in TmArgBP is larger than that observed in homologous proteins. Intriguingly, TmArgBP dimerizes through the swapping of the C-terminal helix. This dimer is stabilized exclusively by the interactions established by the swapping helix. Therefore, the TmArgBP dimer combines a high level of stability and conformational freedom. The structure of the TmArgBP dimer represents an uncommon example of large tertiary structure variations amplified at quaternary structure level by domain swapping. Although the biological relevance of the dimer needs further assessments, molecular modelling suggests that the two TmArgBP subunits may simultaneously interact with two distinct ABC transporters. Moreover, the present protein structures provide some clues about the determinants of the extraordinary stability of the biomolecule. The availability of an accurate 3D model represents a powerful tool for the design of new TmArgBP suited for biotechnological applications.


Posed as an open problem in 1984, but efficiently instantiated only in 2001, identity-based encryption hasn't left the forefront of cryptographic research since. Praised by fans as the economical alternative to public-key infrastructures, booed by critics for its inherent key escrow, identity-based cryptography is also the topic of numerous debates in the cryptographic community. Identity-Based Cryptography looks beyond the controversy and intends to give an overview of the current state-of-the-art in identity-based cryptography. Since research on the topic is still actively continuing, this is necessarily a snapshot of a field in motion, rather than the final word about it. Still, the authors felt the main concepts have by now sufficiently matured to collect them in a single dedicated volume.


The social media websites phenomenon started in 1997 with SixDegrees.com, which allowed users to create profiles, list their Friends and surf the Friends lists. Facebook launched in 2004 and became synonymous with the growth of this sector, exceeding 1.1 billion active users in 2013. Russia is, however, a major country with open-market access where Facebook has not been in a position to compete successfully with local service providers. This article examines the defining features of social networking sites and their growth potential worldwide, looks at the factors which influence their valuation and analyses unique features of the Russian market which have to date prevented Facebook's expansion.


In November 2014 Alexander Grothendieck passed away at the age of 86. There is no doubt that he was one of the greatest and most innovative mathematicians of the 20th century. After a bitter childhood, his meteoric ascent started in the Cartan Seminar in Paris, it led to a breakthrough while he worked in SPaulo, and to the Fields Medal. He introduced numerous new concepts and techniques, which were involved in the groundbreaking solutions to long-standing problems. However, dramatic changes were still ahead of him. In recent years hardly anybody knew where he was living, and even if he was still alive; he had withdrawn to a modest life in isolation. Also beyond his achievements in mathematics, Grothendieck was an extraordinary person. This is a tribute of his fascinating life.


The new version of Apple's Mac server platform offers many new services to support workgroups at home or the office. The new software is an evolutionary revision of Snow Leopard Server, but is priced for everyone at $50. "Using OS X Lion Server" helps non-sysadmins set up and maintain services for sharing files, mail and calendars on their desktops, tablets, or mobile devices. The book covers new web, wiki, chat and podcasting server management tool, as well as tools for managing configurations of multiple OS installations across a network. The book concludes with advice for setting up a home media server. Apple has released 6 versions of their Mac server platform. The original Lion announcement said that the server components would be bundled with the OS and not marketed as a separate project. This changed in the Spring of 2011 and Apple announced the server package would be available separately for $50. Major features include: File sharing between Mac, Windows, Linux and over the Internet iCal Server Wiki Server iChat Server Address Book Server SMTP, POP/IMAP, mailing lists, webmail server Server-side spam filtering and virus detection Podcasting tools and services Web server Directory services and authentication Profile manager for supporting multiple OS installations Networking and VPN services Distributed computing with Xgrid Automated backups and RAID Xsan


Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) machines typically consist of 3 linear and 3 rotary axes of motion in order to manufacture complex shapes. These axes are generally orthogonal and semi-coupled. In these designs, a linear axis move will not affect the rotary axes orientation whereas a rotary axis move will affect the Tool Center Point (TCP) location with respect to the linear axes position. The wide range of motion required to maintain the compaction-axis normality needed for carbon fiber layup tends to prevent all of the rotational axes from passing through the TCP. The location and arrangement of these rotational axes has a great effect on the AFP machine performance and controllability during high speed layup. This paper presents a unique kinematic AFP axes design consisting of replacing the 3 orthogonal rotary axes with 3 tool-center-point-intersecting coupled-axes which decouple the linear axes from the rotary axes. CITATION: Faubion, G. and Rudberg, T., "Unique Non-Orthogonal TCP Intersecting AFP Axes Design," SAE Int. J. Aerosp. 5(1):2012, doi:10.4271/2012-01-1862. ____________________________________


The aim of this master thesis was to investigate Braess' Paradox in traffic flow and to look at the effect of selfish routing in optimization of flow distribution on traffic networks. Braess' Paradox is a well known phenomenon in traffic flow. It occurs when extention of a road network by one road leads to increased travel times for all travelers due to a redistribution of the traffic. Selfish routing is about how travelers choose their travel route selfishly. Compared to flow distribution at system optimal flow, selfish routing may result in increased travltime for some or all travelers. The optimal flow distribution was found by a non-linear program, and Nash equilibrium and system optimal flow are achieved with different objective functions. The non-linear program is solved as quadratic programming, since the travel time functions are linear. The method to solve the program was an interior-point method based on a predictor-corrector method. The results of occurences of Braess' paradox are compared to the results from a mathematical characterization of the paradox from the litterature. Four different traffic networks was investigated. The first network was the network model originally used by Braess with one origin and one destination. Furthermore, a network of one origin and two destinations was used, which contributed to two different networks when the direction of two roads were changed. Another network is of two origins and one destination, which also contributed to two networks. Lastly, a three times symmetric network was used, with three origin-destination pairs. Each of the networks were nvestigated to find occurences of Braess' paradox, and to investigate the effect of selfish routing. In the analyses the values of function parameters and demand between origin and destination was changed. In the work it was showed that Braess' paradox occures at some limited intervals of demand, which is dependent on the parameters in the travel time functions. It seems to exist an upper limit for the increase in travel time caused by the added road. The paradox occures when the path with the additional road is utilized together with and at the same time as one or several other paths. Selfish routing affects the travel time when demand is within a limited interval. The travel times at system optimal flow distribution is in some intervals most unfavorable for some of the travelers, compared to the travel time at user optimal flow.


Language is a communication tool. In using language, there needed a good and correct diction in order to make the message receiver or listener able to catch the communication meaning which would be sent. Diction is a word choosing to express idea, help in grouping correct words or using exact terms in certain situation, grouped diction into three group, they were: (a) general and special diction, (b) connotation and denotation diction, (c) sense diction, (d) scientific and popular diction, (e) concrete and abstract diction. Diction means: "correct word choosing and harmony (in using) to express idea so that there found certain effect (as expected)". From the statement, there showed that word mastery would influence his/her language activity, including speech. The research was descriptive research about using diction in teacher's speech at Indonesia Language lesson grade VII at SMP Muhammadiyah 1 Junior High School of Malang. Problems statement were: how diction usage in teacher's speech at Indonesia language learning of grade VII SMP Muhammadiyah 1 Junior High of Malang? In general, the research aimed to describe diction usage by teacher in teaching and learning process. Theory used was diction. Diction theory was theory learned about word choosing. In this research, the writer used qualitative descriptive method as procedure sequence used in revealing problems investigated by explaining or describing means contained in word choosing expressed by teacher in communication. Data in this research was teacher's speech in teaching and learning process. Research result was description of general and specific diction usage, denotation and connotation diction usage, concrete and abstract diction, popular and scientific diction usage and also sense description diction usage. The research was done to find out diction usage in learning process. In learning process, there found so many denotative diction used by teacher.


Diabetes mellitus is becoming pandemic, particularly affecting Sub-Saharan Africa, and the prevalence of complications is increasing. Diabetic foot disorders are a major source of morbidity and disability. Delay in the health care process due to patients' beliefs may have deleterious consequences for limb and life in persons with diabetic foot ulcers. No previous studies of beliefs about health and illness in persons with diabetic foot ulcers living in Africa have been found. The aim of the study was to explore beliefs about health and illness among Ugandans with diabetic foot ulcers that might affect self-care and care seeking behaviour. In an explorative study with consecutive sample semi-structured interviews were held with 14 Ugandan men and women, aged 40-79, with diabetic foot ulcer. Knowledge was limited about causes, management and prevention of diabetic foot ulcers. Foot ulcers were often detected as painful sores, perceived to heal or improve, and led to stress and social isolation due to smell and reduced mobility. Most lacked awareness of the importance of complete daily foot care and seldom practised self-care. Health was described as absence of disease and pain. Many feared future health and related it to contact with nurses in the professional sector from whom they sought information, blood tests and wound dressings and desired better organised diabetes clinics offering health education and more opening hours. Many have an underutilised potential for self-care and need education urgently, delivered in well-organised diabetes clinics working to raise awareness of the threat and prevent foot ulcers.


Background and Hypothesis
Bacterial vaginosis, which is the imbalance of normal vaginal microbiota, contributes to preterm delivery, vaginitis, and decreased drug efficacy. Despite metronidazole efficacy in reducing BV contributing organisms, BV continues to recur in 50% of patients. Previous studies showing imidazole propionate's role in the pathogenesis of type II diabetes suggest that similar metabolite-regulated pathways in vaginal microbiomes may be the key in pathogenesis of uterine diseases such as BV. Thus, the purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between vaginal metabolites, host or microbiome-derived, and transcriptomic responses in vaginal epithelial tissues stratified by vaginal microbiome composition ("microbiome group"). The hypothesis was that differences in vaginal microbiome composition result in differential regulation of metabolite-host pathway functional relationships.
Project Methods
Transcript levels and metabolite concentrations precollected from 23 East African women were processed and analyzed via R. Transcriptomic data were converted into KEGG pathway enrichment scores via ssGSEA2.0, a package within R. Enrichment scores were correlated (Spearman) with metabolite levels by microbiome group and lactobacillus dominant phenotypes, and relationships were visualized via Heatmap3 and Cytoscape.
Results:
The results showed varying strengths in correlation among metabolites and KEGG pathway enrichment scores after filtering for strong correlations (R > |0.5|) and significance (p< 0.05). Nonlactobacillus dominant microbiomes showed fewer strongly associated metabolite-KEGG pathway relationships compared to the lactobacillus dominant microbiome group, specifically the imidazole-related networks.
Conclusion:
In this study, variations in significant correlations among metabolites and KEGG pathways suggests that microbiome diversity may contribute to how metabolites regulate host pathways in vaginal epithelial cells. The reduced pathway interactions observed in imidazole compounds suggests that dysregulation may contribute to recurrence of bacterial vaginosis. This method of modelling could be used to characterize the regulation of critical pathways associated with the pathogenesis of bacterial vaginosis.


Aeroassist guidance is concerned with providing steering commands to a vehicle flying through a planetary atmosphere in the form of an aerodynamic roll angle, or bank angle, which results in appropriate direction of the aerodynamic lift force so that the vehicle will safely and accurately reach its designated final condition. Aerocapture guidance is a particular subcategory of aeroassist guidance that involves atmospheric entry from an interplanetary transfer orbit, a guided flight through the atmosphere, and a final condition consisting of a post-atmospheric exit target orbit around the planet. Using aerocapture guidance to establish this target orbit can provide significant propellant mass savings when compared to traditional propulsive maneuvers. No current aerocapture guidance algorithms can ensure truly optimal performance in minimizing post-exit orbit insertion ΔV requirements. This thesis investigates the development of a two-phase optimal aerocapture guidance algorithm. This closed-loop guidance algorithm uses a mathematically optimal bang-bang bank angle profile structure, in which a vehicle first flies with the lift vector pointed straight up, and then flies full lift-down until atmospheric exit. The optimal trajectory is found by determining the switching time between full liftup and full lift-down flight. Results from testing the algorithm in a high-fidelity NASA simulation environment are presented and compared with results from existing state-ofthe-art aerocapture guidance algorithms. These results show that the developed algorithm provides the robustness and adaptability of a numerical predictor-corrector guidance algorithm while demonstrating a significant reduction in ΔV requirements compared to other existing algorithms.


The design of the earth‐abundant, nonprecious, efficient, and stable electrocatalysts for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media is a hot research topic in the field of renewable energies. A heterostructured system composed of MoSx deposited on NiO nanostructures (MoSx@NiO) as a robust catalyst for water splitting is proposed here. NiO nanosponges are applied as cocatalyst for MoS2 in alkaline media. Both NiO and MoS2@NiO composites are prepared by a hydrothermal method. The NiO nanostructures exhibit sponge‐like morphology and are completely covered by the sheet‐like MoS2. The NiO and MoS2 exhibit cubic and hexagonal phases, respectively. In the MoSx@NiO composite, the HER experiment in 1 m KOH electrolyte results in a low overpotential (406 mV) to produce 10 mA cm−2 current density. The Tafel slope for that case is 43 mV per decade, which is the lowest ever achieved for MoS2‐based electrocatalyst in alkaline media. The catalyst is highly stable for at least 13 h, with no decrease in the current density. This simple, cost‐effective, and environmentally friendly methodology can pave the way for exploitation of MoSx@NiO composite catalysts not only for water splitting, but also for other applications such as lithium ion batteries, and fuel cells.


On-line fault-detection in uncertain measurement and estimation systems is of particular interest in many applications. In certain systems based on the Kalman filter, this test can be performed by checking whether hyperellipsoids overlap. This test can be applied to detecting failure in the system itself or in the sensors used to determine the system state. To facilitate the practical application of such tests, we describe a simple condition for overlap of two ellipsoids and propose an efficient algorithmic implementation for testing this condition. There are applications in many other areas, such as collision avoidance or computer graphics. Our proposal makes use of Leverriere's algorithm and Sturm's theorem, a result of algebraic geometry. Thus, no approximative methods, such as root finding or minimization are needed. Furthermore, the complexity of the algorithm is fixed for a fixed problem dimension.


This paper uses data from the 2007 National Employment Survey to analyse the public-private sector wage gap in Ireland. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the issues around attempting to establish a definitive measurement of the public-private sector wage differential. A number of different approaches are used to estimate the public-private wage gap, and the limitations of these various methods are highlighted. A range of plausible estimates of this wage gap are presented for 2007. In particular, this report investigates the effect of weighting on the estimates as well as exploring the impact that the inclusion of size of enterprise has on the results. These results show that, in general, there is a premium associated with working in the public sector when average estimates are calculated. When quantile regression is used to consider how the premium varies across the distribution of earnings, it was found that the premium was highest at the lower end of the earnings distribution and lowest at the top end. However, in most instances modelled, the public-private wage gap became a discount at the higher end of the earnings distribution. Generally, the exclusion of size of enterprise from the model increased the public-private wage gap by approximately 5 percentage points. Conducting the analysis on weighted data rather than unweighted data tended to increase the size of the wage gap, and this was particularly true for male employees. In this paper, we also analyse a sample that excluded personal and protective services employees. The exclusion of this particular sub-sample had the effect of considerably reducing the public-private wage gap, most noticeably for males. This impact was evident in both the weighted and unweighted analyses. In light of the difficulties highlighted in this report in comparing public and private sector wages, it should be noted that any type of regression or related analysis that attempts to directly compare earnings across the public and private sector is prone to oversimplification.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To describe adolescents' experiences of living with mothers with breast cancer.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Qualitative.

SETTING
Northeastern United States.

PARTICIPANTS
11 adolescents aged 13-19 years whose mothers were diagnosed with breast cancer within a year prior to the study.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH
With Van Manen's phenomenologic interpretive paradigm, multiple levels of analysis of transcribed semistructured interviews yielded common themes and a unique account and understanding of adolescents' lives when their mothers have breast cancer.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Adolescent coping and maternal breast cancer.

FINDINGS
Five distinct themes were identified: life changed, turning to self, learning to be with my mother, needing to normalize, and speaking openly--the importance of communication. Study findings uncovered the powerful role mothers held in the adolescents' lives.

CONCLUSIONS
The depth of the feelings and conflicts expressed by the adolescent participants, who appeared to be coping with their mothers' breast cancer, emphasizes the need to explore coping responses used in adolescent adjustment to maternal breast cancer. Given that all the adolescents reported some level of anxiety and conflict in their lives, further research should address factors that underlie their coping mechanisms.

INTERPRETATION
Study findings and insights underscore the significance of the maternal-adolescent relationship. Healthcare professionals need to ask more directed questions and develop interviewing and counseling skills to support mothers through this difficult illness. Adolescent children require support and guidance in coping with their mothers' breast cancer journey.


We present an exquisite 30 minute cadence Kepler (K2) light curve of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2018oh (ASASSN-18bt), starting weeks before explosion, covering the moment of explosion and the subsequent rise, and continuing past peak brightness. These data are supplemented by multi-color Panoramic Survey Telescope (Pan-STARRS1) and Rapid Response System 1 and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 4 m Dark Energy Camera (CTIO 4-m DECam) observations obtained within hours of explosion. The K2 light curve has an unusual two-component shape, where the flux rises with a steep linear gradient for the first few days, followed by a quadratic rise as seen for typical supernovae (SNe) Ia. This "flux excess" relative to canonical SN Ia behavior is confirmed in our i-band light curve, and furthermore, SN 2018oh is especially blue during the early epochs. The flux excess peaks 2.14 ± 0.04 days after explosion, has a FWHM of 3.12 ± 0.04 days, a blackbody temperature of K, a peak luminosity of , and a total integrated energy of . We compare SN 2018oh to several models that may provide additional heating at early times, including collision with a companion and a shallow concentration of radioactive nickel. While all of these models generally reproduce the early K2 light curve shape, we slightly favor a companion interaction, at a distance of ∼ based on our early color measurements, although the exact distance depends on the uncertain viewing angle. Additional confirmation of a companion interaction in future modeling and observations of SN 2018oh would provide strong support for a single-degenerate progenitor system.


New innovations that can transform societies and improve life for people are increasingly being asked for. Unfortunately, some avenues of research indicate that users of these new innovations may be inaccurate when they predict or remember the value of such new offerings. For example, the rapid development of new ICT services in areas such as health care may imply opportunities for better life conditions and well-being, but may also involve complicated predictions for users about the value they will create. New innovations may face adoption difficulties if users make inaccurate predictions or remember falsely the value that such innovations might have. In this study, 48 nurses predicted, experienced, and remembered the value of a new ICT service they used to diagnose an external skin lesion on a patient. Results showed significant differences between predicted and experienced value as well as between a service with high technical quality and the same service with lower technical quality; the value was underestimated at the time of prediction, as compared to actual experience, and the value of a high-quality ICT service was substantially more underestimated than the value of a low-quality ICT service. The results provide a novel and comprehensive understanding of how employees predict and experience the value of ICT service innovations.


Based on the observation that a shallow water breaking wave propagating over a region of uniform depth will reform and stabilize after some distance, an intuitive expression for the rate of energy dissipation is developed. Using linear wave theory and the energy balance equation, analytical solutions for monochromatic waves breaking on a flat shelf, plane slope, and "equilibrium" beach profile are presented and compared to laboratory data from Horikawa and Kuo (1966) with favorable results. Set-down/up in the mean water level, bottom friction losses, and bottom profiles of arbitrary shape are then introduced and the equations solved numerically. The model is calibrated and verified to laboratory data with very good results for wave decay for a wide range of beach slopes and incident conditions, but not so favorable for set-up. A test run on a prototype scale profile containing two bar and trough systems demonstrates the model's ability to describe the shoaling, breaking, and wave reformation process commonly observed in nature. Bottom friction is found to play a negligible role in wave decay in the surf zone when compared to shoaling and breaking.


Stainless and other high quality steels are used extensively in the topside
construction of oil rigs. Steel is heavy, expensive and even the special grades
are prone to corrosion in the aggressive marine environment. New materials
are needed which are lighter, more cost effective and free from corrosion
related problems. Glass fibre reinforced plastics (GRP) have the required
properties but their performance in fire conditions is not known.
Fire is a very real and possibly catastrophic threat. Before specifying the use
of GRP components it is essential to quantify their reaction to fire. Panels and
pipes to be used in fire risk areas were the components of interest, and the
objectives of the research, based on experimental testing, were as follows:
1) To evaluate GRP laminates for use as structural panel skins, noting their
structural and fire performance.
2)To develop incombustible, low cost cores for sandwich panels.
3) To produce sandwich panel design proposals which satisfy specified fire
exposure requirements.
4)To assess the fire performance of empty and dry, stagnant water filled
and flowing water filled polymer composite pipes with or without fire
protection.
5) To use finite difference modelling as part of the design process for fire
exposed pipes and panels. Factors of water content for hygroscopic
cores and the ablation mechanism of fire exposed GRP were taken
account of.
6) To assess the validity of the standard furnace fire resistance test with
respect to combustible materials, and with respect to the reproducibility
of results between different furnace arrangements.


OBJECTIVES
To examine how sources of sexual information are associated with adolescents' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about having sexual intercourse using the integrative model of behavior change.

METHODS
Survey data from a quota sample of 459 youth.

RESULTS
The most frequently reported sources were friends, teachers, mothers, and media. Regression analyses indicated that learning about sex from parents, grandparents, and religious leaders was associated with beliefs likely to delay sex; friends, cousins, and media were associated with beliefs that increase the likelihood of having sexual intercourse.

CONCLUSIONS
Different sexual information sources were associated with different underlying beliefs.


This paper seeks to expand our focus to understand how communities can assemble and manage knowledge to support more rational decisions regarding government services and actions in the community environment. We focus on the knowledge transfer interface between communities and urban councils, with a view to extending theoretical understanding of such transfers, and the socio-technical knowledge support systems interfacing between action groups and councils. Utilizing theory from several previous domains we discuss how science does not exist in a vacuum. It is surrounded by philosophy, theology (although not always popular to recognize today) and art as a beginning. These diverse areas have undergone parallel developments and as they do so the tools and techniques to investigate and explore these areas have also progressed in parallel. Following the movement of the modern western world this paper utilizes a broad comparison using science, branches of mathematics, philosophy and art, with additional comparisons with theology. Knowledge management - an often abused expression - is more than just data collection, information presentation, or simple pathways beyond this. Rather it involves the efficient juxtaposition of background information and the value adding of presentation to enhance explicit understanding in a dynamic manner. This paper goes one step further than normally considered, by investigating approaches to cognition in the data management areas and human cognition requirements and advantages. As society evolves, the requirements for successful presentation of data evolve, and yet the raw data amounts can also be effectively presented in new and more compressed manners. So the total information presented can actually increase exponentially and may become easier to understand. Finally explicit modern examples are utilized to demonstrate the effect of the altered approaches through the distinct time periods and a simple juxtaposition of the technological tools available in each period are utilized to enhance the data presentations. The end results are considered and the effect that the technology may have made to the recording and use of the data and it's transmission as data, information or knowledge evaluated, and a suggested model for overall efficiency of knowledge management presented in conclusion.


An increase in awareness on dental hygiene among people through the years, consequently provoked a significant decrease in the occurrence of dental caries, and thus, a decrease in the number of dental restorations. This improvement of oral health affected the comparative dental analysis using dental treatments for human identification; hence, existing dental features or anomalies could act as unique identifying features. This study evaluated the awareness of dentists on charting dental anomalies by a dental charting task and addressed the importance of maintaining dental records for forensic and medico-legal purposes. An online survey-based study was conducted on 101 dentists practicing in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu through Google Forms (© 2019 Google Inc., v 0.8). Results showed that clearly visible anomalies such as midline diastema, crowding, and transposition were mentioned by only 11.8 %, 22.7 % and 5.9 % of the respondents respectively. 17.8 % misnamed the accessory cusp on a premolar as a Talon's cusp. The awareness of Forensic odontology among dentists was exceptional but the dental charting needs improvement. A "Scale of Forensic Significance of Dental Features" was created to interpret the accuracy in recording anomalies which comprised of three parameters namely: Incorrect answer (0 %), Partially Correct answer (50%) and Accurate answer (100%). They classify different levels of forensic significance of dental findings in human identification Only a few respondents submitted an Accurate or a Partially Correct answer and, as a result, an Atlas of Dental Anomalies was created to rectify this poor pattern of dental charting. A R T I C L E I N F O


A large literature documents the electoral benefits of clientelistic and programmatic policies in low-income states. We extend this literature by showing the cyclical electoral responses to a large programmatic intervention to expand access to secondary education in Tanzania over multiple electoral periods. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we find that the incumbent party's vote share increased by 2 percentage points in the election following the policy's announcement as a campaign promise (2005), but decreased by -1.4 percentage points in the election following implementation (2010). We find no discernible electoral impact of the policy in 2015, two electoral cycles later. We attribute the electoral penalty in 2010 to how the secondary school expansion policy was implemented. Our findings shed light on the temporally-contingent electoral impacts of programmatic policies, and highlight the need for more research on how policy implementation structures public opinion and vote choice in low-income states.


Electrochemical processes like water electrolysis will become increasingly important in the future in light of climate change and the resultant need for an energy and raw materials transition. The Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM is collaborating with hte GmbH to develop modular electrochemical cells. These flow cells are used in screening tasks, thereby helping optimize electrochemical production processes, such as water electrolysis.


While public discussion of HR 2454 (the "Waxman Markey" bill) has focused on the cap-andtrade program that would be established for carbon emissions, the bill also includes provisions that would tighten energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances. Supporters argue that appliance standards help address a number of market failures. In particular, many studies have pointed out that landlords may buy cheap inefficient appliances when their tenants pay the utility bill. Although this landlord-tenant problem has been widely discussed in the literature, there is little empirical evidence on the magnitude of the distortion. This paper compares appliance ownership patterns between homeowners and renters using household-level data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey. The results show that, controlling for household income and other household characteristics, renters are significantly less likely to have energy efficient refrigerators, clothes washers and dishwashers.


Wilson's disease (WD) is an inherited disorder of copper metabolism characterized by liver disease and/or neurologic and psychiatric pathology. The disease is a result of mutation in ATP7B, which encodes the ATP7B copper transporting ATPase. Loss of copper transport function by ATP7B results in copper accumulation primarily in the liver, but also in other organs including the brain. Studies in the Atp7b(-/-) mouse model of WD revealed specific transcript and metabolic changes that precede development of liver pathology, most notably downregulation of transcripts in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway. In order to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms of transcriptomic and metabolic changes, we used a systems approach analysing the pre-symptomatic hepatic nuclear proteome and liver metabolites. We found that ligand-activated nuclear receptors FXR/NR1H4 and GR/NR3C1 and nuclear receptor interacting partners are less abundant in Atp7b(-/-) hepatocyte nuclei, while DNA repair machinery and the nucleus-localized glutathione peroxidase, SelH, are more abundant. Analysis of metabolites revealed an increase in polyol sugar alcohols, indicating a change in osmotic potential that precedes hepatocyte swelling observed later in disease. This work is the first application of quantitative Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MuDPIT) to a model of WD to investigate protein-level mechanisms of WD pathology. The systems approach using "shotgun" proteomics and metabolomics in the context of previous transcriptomic data reveals molecular-level mechanisms of WD development and facilitates targeted analysis of hepatocellular copper toxicity.