The absorption enhancement of photonic crystals composed of negative-index material and positive-index material is investigated in this article. It is found that whole absorption of an electromagnetic wave with weak dependence on the incident angle can be achieved in an asymmetric structure by adjusting materials and parameters. Furthermore, with the incident angle increasing to 80°, we demonstrate that the absorption for both polarizations remains over 80%. Finally, the influence of the damping factor of the Drude model is studied, and a conclusion is drawn that says the absorption is invariant with the damping factor when the ratio between the damping factor and the electronic or magnetic plasma frequency is smaller than 10−4.


Turfgrass irrigation strategies must be clearly defi ned in response to increasing concerns over quality water availability. Water conserva- tion may be achieved with technologies such as remote sensing. The objectives of this research were to (i) correlate refl ectance measurements from creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) under stress with volumetric water content and turf quality measurements, (ii) determine if remote sensing can detect plant stress before visual observation, and (iii) explore the infl uence of nitrogen fertility on water stress detection. Four experiments were conducted in the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons on 3-m 2 creep- ing bentgrass plots maintained under fairway conditions at the University of Minnesota agri- culture campus. Treatments were irrigation at 20, 40, 60, and 80% of predicted evapotrans- piration every 3 d on plots fertilized with 98 or 244 kg N ha -1 yr -1 . Refl ectance measurements from two remote sensors were more highly cor- related (r = 0.73-0.91) than refl ectance and turf quality (r = 0.42-0.71) or refl ectance and volu- metric water content (r = 0.28-0.64). Refl ectance measurements detected water stress 0 to 48 h before visual observation across all treatments and experiments. Nitrogen did not infl uence the ability to detect drought-stressed turfgrass. Use of remote sensors to monitor and detect drought stress has the potential to improve turfgrass irri- gation and ultimately conserve water.


The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily is a large and diverse group of ligands involved in various biological processes. All previously characterized members of this family adopted a trimeric active structure that interacted in a 3:3 ligand:receptor stoichiometry with the cognate receptor. Two groups (Chattopadhyay et al. and Zhou et al.) report that mouse glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor ligand (mGITRL) adopts a dimeric structure. Both groups crystallized the ectodomain of mGITRL (TNF ligands are synthesized as transmembrane proteins that either act on adjacent cells or are cleaved into soluble forms) and found that it formed a dimer with domain swap regions that formed intermolecular β sheets composed of the C terminus of one subunit and an inner β sheet of the other. Mutation and deletion analysis indicated that this C-terminal region was critical for formation of the dimer. The dimer was confirmed by sedimentation analysis. Exactly how this dimeric ligand interacts with the receptor GITR remains an open question. GITRL:GITR signaling is important in modulating immune responses, although mouse GITRL (dimeric) and human GITRL (trimeric) appear to play different roles and do not substitute for one another, suggesting species-specific evolution of structure and function. K. Chattopadhyay, U. A. Ramagopal, M. Brenowitz, S. G. Nathenson, S. C. Almo, Evolution of GITRL immune function: Murine GITRL exhibits unique structural and biochemical properties within the TNF superfamily. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 635-640 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text] Z. Zhou, Y. Tone, X. Song, K. Furuuchi, J. D. Lear, H. Waldmann, M . Tone, M. I. Greene, R. Murali, Structural basis for ligand-mediated mouse GITR activation. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 641-645 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Since research on soft-seabed macrozoobenthic community, including polychaetes, of Mediterranean and in particular Italian Saes still display a lack of data concerning taxonomic aspects and species distribution patterns, and the pre-existing information are frequently outdated, further studies and revisions of data are a primary necessity. These habitats are widely common in coastal areas all over the world and host most of sensitive and protected benthic habitats, species and typical biocoenoses as well as most of the human activities. At the same time, in a framework of an ecological sustainability of human activities, such as sand dredging extraction, upon the marine environment, it is important to understand the extent of their effects on marine ecosystem, to protect the environment itself and to develop management strategies. In Italy, the use of marine relict sands, to repair the effects of the increasing coastal erosion, has become more common in the last decades. The efficiency of biodiversity and environmental monitoring studies in marine environments is strongly influenced by the selection of the spatial and temporal scale. Investigations at regional as well as at adequate temporal scale allow to analyse the comprehensive variability of biological systems, strongly influenced by the interactions of numerous environmental factors (depth, geographic position and sediment types).
To display the variability of polychaetes diversity patterns in space and time, and to investigate how this variability is related to the habitat characteristics and human impacts, this research, is aimed to:1) identify diversity distribution patterns of polychaete assemblages and species at a regional (Latium Continental Shelf) related to depth, sediment grain size, latitude and longitude; 2) compare information, concerning the spatial distribution and ecology (related to sediment composition and depth range) of a number of selected soft-sediment polychaetes species, obtained at regional (Latium Continental Shelf) and national scale (Italian Continental Shelf); 3) assess the effects of human activities (sand dredging) on marine ecosystems at a local scale through the analysis of biological diversity variation over time.
The amount of pre-existing studies, carried out in Mediterranean and in particular along the Italian Seas, concerning macrozoobenthos species, polychaetes, and their spatial distribution as well as the role of macrozoobenthic community for the environmental assessment, contributes to be the background of this research focused on the assessment of ISPRA multidisciplinary data-set, from environmental monitoring programmes, as a source of valuable scientific data.
Results from PERMANOVA, CCA, BIOENV and Spearman rank correlation analyses, have pointed out that the three main categories explaining the drivers of biodiversity patterns in the Tyrrhenian continental shelf are: bathymetric gradients, geographical features, responsible for the north-south gradient in environmental conditions, and environmental heterogeneity (i.e. grain size distribution, habitat complexity). ISA analysis showed that some species distribution is significantly associated to definite sediment grain sizes and depth ranges confirming or updating the ecological characteristics of the investigated species as emerged from the comparison of results of this study with pre-existing knowledge. Moreover, the species distribution patterns as well as the assemblages composition observed along the Latium continental shelf (tested with PERMDISP analysis), confirm results obtained in previous studies carried out in neighbouring areas along Tyrrhenian Sea. A continuum of species distribution along Tyrrhenian continental shelf can be expected and represented by means species diversity maps (by Universal Kriging interpolator) able to represent comprehensive species diversity distribution patterns at the regional scale; despite polychaetes have been demonstrated to be able to respond quickly to changes in their environment as a consequence of dredging activities, the assessment of the effects of these activities upon benthic organisms is quite complex to define.


Adult proficiency in numeracy in the United States lags that of other developed nations, and the nonselective institutions that dominate the higher education sector struggle to address the learning needs of the sizeable proportion of students who enroll in their institutions and are deemed academically underprepared in mathematics. Research on curriculum and pedagogy in developmental (or remedial) mathematics indicates that typical teaching approaches emphasize memorization, often at the expense of the kinds of conceptual understanding that prepare students for college-level mathematics and the numeracy demands of the workforce. This paper examines CUNY Start, an innovative pre-matriculation developmental education program developed by The City University of New York (CUNY) that reimagines the design and implementation of remedial instruction to better serve students with weak academic preparation. Using data from interviews, classroom observations, an instructor survey, and curricular materials, this paper describes four key features of the CUNY Start mathematics instructional approach, paying particular attention to how these features differ from traditional developmental education. These features are: (1) the use of a highly detailed curricular document as a primary resource for instructors; (2) an emphasis on real-world contexts and number relationships, which serve as the instructional starting point (rather than rules and procedures); (3) a pedagogical approach that elicits student talk and discussion through questioning; and (4) explicit attention to students' organizational and study skills. This paper also elaborates on the processes, structures, and resources built into CUNY Start that support its implementation. This paper is part of an ongoing random assignment evaluation of CUNY Start undertaken with MDRC that so far finds that the program has significant positive effects on students achieving college readiness in mathematics (longer-term effects will also be estimated). This evidence strongly suggests that CUNY Start's structures, processes, and resources enable instructors to teach mathematics in a different way that may boost student achievement.


The business cycle theory of Friedrich A. Hayek offers an explanation for the onset of the Great Depression that is more complete than those of his contemporaries, including Gustav Cassel. Hayek sought to explain why the boom of the 1920s ended in the bust of 1929. In the 1930s, Hayek's theory indicated the Fed should act to prevent nominal income falling below its pre-boom level, but he hesitated (wisely or not) to recommend expansionary monetary policy in part due to his skepticism of the abilities of central bankers not to overdo it. Cassel, by contrast, feared that limited growth in the supply of monetary gold after the First World War would lead to worldwide deflation and depression. Cassel's predictions of contraction were repeatedly proven false throughout the 1920s. Cassel's policy prescription of monetary expansion in the 1930s appears wise in retrospect, but the mechanisms of Cassel's theory played only a small role in causing the deflation or the depression.


DDT is a system for testing closed-source binary device drivers against undesired behaviors, like race conditions, memory errors, resource leaks, etc. One can metaphorically think of it as a pesticide against device driver bugs. DDT combines virtualization with a specialized form of symbolic execution to thoroughly exercise tested drivers; a set of modular dynamic checkers identify bug conditions and produce detailed, executable traces for every path that leads to a failure. These traces can be used to easily reproduce and understand the bugs, thus both proving their existence and helping debug them. We applied DDT to several closed-source Microsoft-certified Windows device drivers and discovered 14 serious new bugs. DDT is easy to use, as it requires no access to source code and no assistance from users. We therefore envision DDT being useful not only to developers and testers, but also to consumers who want to avoid running buggy drivers in their OS kernels.


GRB 051103 is considered to be a candidate soft gamma repeater (SGR) extragalactic giant magnetar flare by virtue of its proximity on the sky to M81/M82, as well as its time history, localization and energy spectrum. We have derived a refined interplanetary network localization for this burst which reduces the size of the error box by over a factor of 2. We examine its time history for evidence of a periodic component, which would be one signature of an SGR giant flare, and conclude that this component is neither detected nor detectable under reasonable assumptions. We analyse the time-resolved energy spectra of this event with improved time and energy resolution, and conclude that although the spectrum is very hard its temporal evolution at late times cannot be determined, which further complicates the giant flare association. We also present new optical observations reaching limiting magnitudes of R > 24.5, about 4-mag deeper than previously reported. In tandem with serendipitous observations of M81 taken immediately before and 1 month after the burst, these place strong constraints on any rapidly variable sources in the region of the refined error ellipse proximate to M81. We do not find any convincing afterglow candidates from either background galaxies or sources in M81, although within the refined error region we do locate two UV bright star-forming regions which may host SGRs. A supernova remnant (SNR) within the error ellipse could provide further support for an SGR giant flare association, but we were unable to identify any SNR within the error ellipse. These data still do not allow strong constraints on the nature of the GRB 051103 progenitor, and suggest that candidate extragalactic SGR giant flares will be difficult, although not impossible, to confirm.


It is now widely accepted that hypertension and endothelial dysfunction are associated with an insulin-resistant state and thus with the development of T2DM (Type 2 diabetes mellitus). Insulin signalling is impaired in target cells and tissues, indicating that common molecular signals are involved. The free radical NO* regulates cell metabolism, insulin signalling and secretion, vascular tone, neurotransmission and immune system function. NO* synthesis is essential for vasodilation, the maintenance of blood pressure and glucose uptake and, thus, if levels of NO* are decreased, insulin resistance and hypertension will result. Decreased blood levels of insulin, increased AngII (angiotensin II), hyperhomocysteinaemia, increased ADMA (asymmetric omega-NG,NG-dimethylarginine) and low plasma L-arginine are all conditions likely to decrease NO* production and which are associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We suggest in the present article that the widely reported beneficial effects of exercise in the improvement of metabolic and cardiovascular health are mediated by enhancing the flux of muscle- and kidney-derived amino acids to pancreatic and vascular endothelial cells aiding the intracellular production of NO*, therefore resulting in normalization of insulin secretion, vascular tone and insulin sensitivity. Exercise may also have an impact on AngII and ADMA signalling and the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in muscle, so reducing the progression and development of vascular disease and diabetes. NO* synthesis will be increased during exercise in the vascular endothelial cells so promoting blood flow. We suggest that exercise may promote improvements in health due to positive metabolic and cytokine-mediated effects.


In the shadow of rising divorce and non-marital birth rates, nearly two-thirds of all American children today will live apart from at least one of their parents, usually the father. Clearly this astonishing proportion of non-resident fathers has serious implications for the economic, employment, and educational status of mothers and the development and wellbeing of children. But according to the authors of Fathers Under Fire, a more comprehensive perspective on non-resident fathers - understanding their capacities and circumstances, acknowledging their responses to policy changes, and recognising their needs -- is essential in order to derive value from the past twenty years of policy change, and to design more effective policies for the future. Fathers Under Fire is intended as a first step toward public policy that reflects the interests of children, families, and society as a whole - by including the diverse perspectives and potential of non-resident fathers. The book traces the recent evolution of child support policy which is shifting the burden of supporting children in single parent families from the public and mothers to non-resident fathers. Fathers Under Fire argues that, as yet, the shift has neither improved the standard of living for mothers and children, nor helped the fathers to be able to meet their obligations. The authors explore the various 'side effects' of rigorous enforcement, especially for low-income fathers, finding that 1) a 'proportional standard' of support determination would improve compliance without economically crippling those fathers who are already hovering in or near poverty; 2) child support enforcement does seem to reduce the likelihood of both remarriage and subsequent out-of-wedlock births for low-income non-resident fathers; 3) payment of support does tend to coincide (for better and worse) with seeing the children more often, and having more influence in child-rearing decisions.


The basic unit of testing in an object-oriented program is a class. Although there has been much recent research on testing of classes, most of this work has focused on black-box approaches. However, since black-box testing techniques may not provide sufficient code coverage, they should be augmented with code-based or white-box techniques. Dataflow testing is a code-based testing technique that uses the dataflow relations in a program to guide the selection of tests. Existing dataflow testing techniques can be applied both to individual methods in a class and to methods in a class that interact through messages, but these techniques do not consider the dataflow interactions that arise when users of a class invoke sequences of methods in an arbitrary order. We present a new approach to class testing that supports dataflow testing for dataflow interactions in a class. For individual methods in a class, and methods that send messages to other methods in a the class, our technique is similar to existing dataflow testing techniques. For methods that are accessible outside the class, and can be called in any order by users of the class, we compute dataflow information, and use it to test possible interactions between these methods. The main benefit of our approach is that it facilitates dataflow testing for an entire class. By supporting dataflow testing of classes, we provide opportunities to find errors in classes that may not be uncovered by black-box testing. Our technique is also useful for determining which sequences of methods should be executed to test a class, even in the absence of a specification. Finally, as with other code-based testing techniques, a large portion of our technique can be automated.


The objective of this paper is to model the energy consumed in generating cellulose microfibres, 1 μm in diameter, as reinforcing agents, by refining bleached softwood kraft pulp in a PFI mill. An average initial fibre diameter of 13 μm was assumed. 125,000 revolutions in a PFI mill was found to produce a high yield of fibres 1.3 μm in diameter, and the minimum refining energy needed to reduce the fibre diameter to 1.3 μm was estimated as 1875 kJ for each 24 g charge in the PFI mill. Since elastic deformation of the fibres was found to be negligible, the size reduction was assumed to follow Rittinger's Law. This gave a Rittinger's constant of 28 J.m/kg for the given system. Using this value of Rittinger's constant, the energy required to generate microfibres 1 μm in diameter was predicted as 2480 kJ for each 24 g charge in the PFI mill. It was deduced that microfibres generated in this way would cost a minimum of $2.37 per kilogram. Hence even this relatively inefficient method of grinding would not be prohibitively expensive, provided the resulting microfibres can be used as high quality reinforcements.


Clinical writing, a specialised type of medical writing, refers to the types of writing health professionals use on a daily basis such as medical charts and forms. It requires knowledge of both formal and informal medical language and culture. An appreciation of the intent of the writing and the target reader is essential for effective clinical writing. The intent of clinical writing is to provide safe patient care through accurate, concise, and factual documentation. This article explores key elements of clinical writing and how to learn and teach it.


Complex distributed Internet services form the basis not only of e-commerce but increasingly of mission-critical network-based applications. What is new is that the workload and internal architecture of three-tier enterprise applications presents the opportunity for a new approach to keeping them running in the face of many common recoverable failures. The core of the approach is anomaly detection and localization based on statistical machine learning techniques. Unlike previous approaches, we propose anomaly detection and pattern mining not only for operational statistics such as mean response time, but also for structural behaviors of the system---what parts of the system, in what combinations, are being exercised in response to different kinds of external stimuli. In addition, rather than building baseline models a priori, we extract them by observing the behavior of the system over a short period of time during normal operation. We explain the necessary underlying assumptions and why they can be realized by systems research, report on some early successes using the approach, describe benefits of the approach that make it competitive as a path toward self-managing systems, and outline some research challenges. Our hope is that this approach will enable "new science" in the design of self-managing systems by allowing the rapid and widespread application of statistical learning theory techniques (SLT) to problems of system dependability.


Located in north central Asia, Mongolia is on the verge of an economic boom as foreign investors extract and exploit its rich deposits of natural resources, among them copper, gold, and coal. But the onset of a mining boom in Mongolia has also generated widespread concerns about the potential damage to traditional agriculture and the environment, the lack of infrastructure and water resources, and the dangers of increased economic inequality, inflation, fiscal instability, corruption, and lack of transparency. The reelection of President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj on June 26, 2013, provides an opportunity to reassess how the country has fared in dealing with the mining boom and identify the best policy options to avoid the "resource curse."


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells with a strong potential in human regenerative medicine due to their ability to renew themselves and differentiate into various specialized cell types under certain physiological or experimental conditions. MSCs secrete a broad spectrum of autocrine and paracrine factors (MSCs' secretome) that could exert significant effects on cells in their vicinity. MSCs have been clinically tested and have displayed a great potential in the treatment of bone/cartilage fractures and disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and immune, neurodegener‐ ative and inflammatory diseases. The therapeutic efficacy of MSCs was initially attributed to their multipotent character and ability to engraft and differentiate at the site of injury. However, in recent years, it has been revealed that either undifferentiated or differentiated MSCs' secretome plays an important role in the therapeutic potential of MSCs. The deciphering of the composition of MSCs' secretome through proteomic and metabolic analyses and implementation of certain advanced analytical (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), chromatography, etc.) and immunological methods could contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of MSCs.


Objective. To characterize patient-reported outcomes, resource use, and social participation during the course of biologic therapy for indigenous and non-indigenous patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. Patients initiating biologic therapy (2004 to 2012) were characterized longitudinally for patient-reported outcomes including physical function measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire, EQ-5D, well-being [Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36)], and visual analog scales for pain, fatigue, sleep, stiffness, and patient's global assessment. Resource use, participation in activities of daily living, and effect of RA on work productivity were also evaluated for change during therapy. Results. Indigenous patients (n = 90) presented with significantly worse scores for global evaluation, pain, sleep, quality of life, well-being, and physical function compared to non-indigenous patients (n = 1400). All patient-reported outcomes improved significantly during treatment for patients in both groups, but pain, sleep, and SF-36 physical health score changes occurred at slower rates for indigenous patients [difference in slopes 0.09 (p = 0.029), 0.08 (p = 0.043), and −0.35 (p = 0.03), respectively]. Performance of daily activities was affected for 50% of indigenous compared to 37% of non-indigenous patients, with more use of community services and assistance from others. Employed indigenous patients reported twice the number of days being unable to work owing to RA compared to employed non-indigenous patients. Of the unemployed indigenous patients, 82% indicated they had stopped working because of arthritis, versus 48% of non-indigenous patients (p < 0.0001). Conclusions. Indigenous patients have greater consequences of RA regarding experienced symptoms, health-related quality of life, disruption of performance of activities of daily living, and reduced employment participation.


Social network and Cloud Computing environment have become popular as a medium for connecting like-minded people and disseminating information. The public accessibility of such environment with the ability to share opinions, thoughts, information, and experience offers great promise to enterprises and users. But the public of information also take the risk of your profile is Exposed to strangers. Data publishing has attracted much interest in research community due to the important concerns over the protection of individuals privacy. As a result several mechanisms with different notions of privacy have been proposed to measure, set and compare the level of privacy protection. In this paper, we propose a novel trust based framework for representing a formal model to evaluating privacy. we consider trust as the reason of privacy, user share their secret or information According to the level of trust, then we decide the privacy value from trust value,using the existing network's topology calculate trust value for the new contacts. We show that we can deterministic reduce the information leak and protect user's privacy.


A flow-through ultrasonic separator is a novel type of separation device concentrating and separating suspended micro-particles from within a liquid in a standing ultrasonic field. It can accomplish a fast, sharp, efficient and controllable separation of micro-particles in a liquid suspension. The thesis focuses on modelling the electro-acoustic characteristics of flow-through ultrasonic separators with a special emphasis on analysing and designing the MEMS micromachined ultrasonic filter in an EPSRC and DSTL funded project. Based on the model results, a micromachined ultrasonic filter is designed and built using micromachining processes. The verification of the model against the fabricated device is made. A comparison of the predicted impedance results and the experimental measured results indicates a good match. It shows that the model can give high confidence in predicting the electro-acoustic characteristics and the filtration performance. The thesis uses an equivalent-circuit transducer model, coupled with acoustic impedance transfer relationships to analyse the transducer and cavity resonance model, and to investigate such ultrasonic separators with regards to the electro-acoustic characteristics of the resonator under different conditions. In particular, the influence of matching layer thickness and reflector thickness on the stored energy-frequency product of the layered resonator are examined in the cases of cells with a variety of transducer and cell characteristics. The thesis infers the acoustic force transfer equations and the acoustic pressure and velocity equations in the multi-layered resonator both with a rigid reflector and with an arbitrary termination. The stored energy-frequency product and the acoustic pressure distribution in the fluid chamber of the ultrasonic filters are investigated in detail. The modelled results regarding the electro-acoustic characteristics and the filtration performance of the resonator system in the ultrasonic separators have been satisfactorily validated by experimental measurement results in different ultrasonic separators. Research results show that the model can be used to tune the performance of flow-through ultrasonic separators by optimising the design of such efficient transducer resonators. Therefore, it can be widely used to predict the resonant behaviour as a result of modifications to a variety of multi-layered resonators of the ultrasonic separators.


We introduce new techniques to extend superrigidity theory beyond the scope of Lie or algebraic groups. We construct a cohomological invariant which accounts for, and generalizes, all known superrigidity results for actions on negatively curved spaces. Together with a new vanishing result and the machinery of bounded cohomology, this enables us to prove a general superrigidity theorem for actions of irreducible lattices on spaces of negative curvature. We also prove a cocycle version a la Zimmer


In two conceptual replication studies participants sampled two ostensibly different products, representing either an "underdog" or "favorite" brands, while in reality sampling identical items. In Study 1, participants tasting chocolate preferred the "underdog" brand but gender effects were also observed. In Study 2, participants preferred an "underdog" paint only when they did not receive bogus feedback on their ability before making the choice. These findings illuminate the boundary conditions under which underdog brands are preferred and suggest a taxonomy of factors to consider in future research.


Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) solvers are a mature technology to solve hard combinatorial problems. The input to a SAT solver is the problem translated to propositional logic in conjunctive normal form (CNF). This thesis studies such translations and aims to make SAT solvers more accessible to non-encoding experts.


Introduction: Broad consent for future use is the reuse of data and/or samples collected by a study by researchers who may not be affiliated with the original study team for purposes that may differ from the objectives of the original study. Sharing participant-level data and samples collected from research participants facilitates reuse and transparency and can accelerate drug or vaccine development, research findings, and translation. Data reuse and synthesis help prevent unnecessary research, thereby respecting research participants time and efforts and building their trust in the research process. Despite these myriad benefits, data and sample sharing represent a significant investment of time for the team that collected the data or samples, and may present additional risks for research participants, including that of re-identifiability and incidental findings, or for the source community. This scoping review will summarize existing guidance on broad consent for future use and highlight evidence gaps related to the ethical, equitable implementation of broad consent for future use. Methods and analysis: We will apply the Arskey and O'Malley scoping review methodology and best practice as outlined in the Joanna Briggs scoping review guidelines. The research questions have been identified through a literature review and consultation with subject-matter experts. The systematic search will be conducted in three databases using a tailored search strategy. We will search the reference lists of included articles or related systematic reviews for additional citations. The title-abstract and full text screening and charting the data will be conducted independently by two reviewers. Discrepancies will be resolved by a third reviewer. Results will be summarized in narrative form. Ethics and dissemination: This scoping review summarizes findings from existing publications and grey literature rather than primary data and, as such, does not require ethics review. Findings will be disseminated through an open access publication and webinar.


The realization of walking machine covers various tasks like the mechanical construction, the software and hardware design as well as the development of suitable control strategies. In the available work this is accomplished including experimental testing for a four-legged walking machine.
The walking machine model consists of a central body and four identical, insect-like legs. To fulfill the requirement of the real time control, a rigid multibody system is selected for modelling. The appropriate motion equations are provided with the help of the method of the kinematic differentials. For the realization of the joint drives electrical direct current motor, incremental encoder and step-up gears are used. Accordingly the drive system is modelled in order to intend the demanded torque for the execution of the motion.
The description of the movement takes place via the trajectory of the center of gravity and of the swing leg. Statically stable running is guaranteed by the so-called coordination mechanisms between the center of gravity and the legs. This movement strategy represents however still open loop control, whereby the desired movement cannot be achieved at high speeds. Therefore the so-called kinematic position control is used, which considers only the kinematic of the controlled system. As consequence the requirements to the under-stored drive controllers are particularly high . This high requirement can be fulfilled by the use of the microcontroller LM629. In order to treat the reciprocal effect between the legs and the environment, the force control is used. This on simplified dynamics based force control can be used for the recognition of the leg collision.
For the implementation of the presented movement strategy and the position control as well as the force control a computer system with two PC/104 CPUs is used. On the two processors the operating system real-time Linux is used. The useability of the developed strategy is examined by experimental investigations. The co-ordination mechanisms are extended by the necessary stability reserve. By the overlay of the center of gravity movement with a sinusoidal oscillation the stability of the machine can be increased.


The present paper investigates the phonological representation of stressed clitics in Argentine Spanish, building on the proposal of Colantoni and Cuervo (2013) that stressed clitics may be either affixes or independent words. This hypothesis is tested by comparing the acoustic characteristics (duration, pitch, intensity) of verbs followed by stressed clitics to verbs followed by stressed words and stressed affixes. The results indicate that stressed clitics pattern more like stressed affixes, leading to the conclusion that clitics are becoming more word internal.


Neurological injury, such as from cerebral hypoxia, appears to cause complex changes in the shape of evoked potential (EP) signals. To characterize such changes we analyze EP signals with the aid of scaling functions called wavelets. In particular, we consider multiresolution wavelets that are a family of orthonormal functions. In the time domain, the multiresolution wavelets analyze EP signals at coarse or successively greater levels of temporal detail. In the frequency domain, the multiresolution wavelets resolve the EP signal into independent spectral bands. In an experimental demonstration of the method, somatosensory EP signals recorded during cerebral hypoxia in anesthetized cats are analyzed. Results obtained by multiresolution wavelet analysis are compared with conventional time-domain analysis and Fourier series expansions of the same signals. Multiresolution wavelet analysis appears to be a different, sensitive way to analyze EP signal features and to follow the EP signal trends in neurologic injury. Two characteristics appear to be of diagnostic value: the detail component of the MRW displays an early and a more rapid decline in response to hypoxic injury while the coarse component displays an earlier recovery upon reoxygenation.<<ETX>>


One obstacle that so far prevents the introduction of machine learning models primarily in critical areas is the lack of explainability. In this work, a practicable approach of gaining explainability of deep artificial neural networks (NN) using an interpretable surrogate model based on decision trees is presented. Simply fitting a decision tree to a trained NN usually leads to unsatisfactory results in terms of accuracy and fidelity. Using L1-orthogonal regularization during training, however, preserves the accuracy of the NN, while it can be closely approximated by small decision trees. Tests with different data sets confirm that L1-orthogonal regularization yields models of lower complexity and at the same time higher fidelity compared to other regularizers.


Evolution of Spiking Neural Networks for Temporal Pattern Recognition and Animat Control. I extended an artificial life platform called GReaNs (the name stands for Gene Regulatory evolving artificial Networks) to explore the evolutionary abilities of biologically inspired Spiking Neural Network (SNN) model. The encoding of SNNs in GReaNs was inspired by the encoding of gene regulatory networks. As proof-of-principle, I used GReaNs to evolve SNNs to obtain a network with an output neuron which generates a predefined spike train in response to a specific input. Temporal pattern recognition was one of the main tasks during my studies. It is widely believed that nervous systems of biological organisms use temporal patterns of inputs to encode information. The learning technique used for temporal pattern recognition is not clear yet. I studied the ability to evolve spiking networks with different numbers of interneurons in the absence and the presence of noise to recognize predefined temporal patterns of inputs. Results showed, that in the presence of noise, it was possible to evolve successful networks. However, the networks with only one interneuron were not robust to noise. The foraging behaviour of many small animals depends mainly on their olfactory system. I explored whether it was possible to evolve SNNs able to control an agent to find food particles on 2-dimensional maps. Using firing rate encoding to encode the sensory information in the olfactory input neurons, I managed to obtain SNNs able to control an agent that could detect the position of the food particles and move toward it. Furthermore, I did unsuccessful attempts to use GReaNs to evolve an SNN able to control an agent able to collect sound sources from one type out of several sound types. Each sound type is represented as a pattern of different frequencies. In order to use the computational power of neuromorphic hardware, I integrated GReaNs with the SpiNNaker hardware system. Only the simulation part was carried out using SpiNNaker, but the rest steps of the genetic algorithm were done with GReaNs.


Time Compression Technologies (TCT) are strongly widening their application fields, particularly in not traditional sectors, such as archaeology, jewellery, architecture and so on. The biomedical domain, especially orthodontics, is one of the most interesting. The design and positioning processes of corrective dental appliances consist of phases which can strongly benefit from Reverse Engineering (RE) and Rapid Prototyping (RP) techniques in terms of quality and time reduction. In these last years new systems have been developed to support the operator work but, unfortunately these technologies are still not largely used in orthodontic laboratories. In this context, the present paper, facing the problem of critical activities identification in corrective treatments orthodontic practice, proposes a low cost and easy to use technical solution in order to support orthodontists for a rapid and accurate positioning of vestibular and lingual brackets. In particular a new CAD (Computer Aided Design) software system to support the dental appliances design process has been implemented.


Introduction It is the authors contention that student evaluations of faculty should be strongly considered as mandatory for annual review of instructor's teaching performance. Additionally, student evaluations should be used as part of the promotion and termination of the professor. In this article, we want to establish that teaching can be measured in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Additionally, we present a descriptive survey of the strategies used by Iowa community colleges in using student evaluations for judgements in reference to faculty promotion and termination. Measuring Teaching Performance Since the early 30's, there have been numerous attempts to measure teaching performance. Consistently though the years, the qualities that appear paramount to students include the following: the teacher is prepared, organized and clear; the instructor has a great deal of general knowledge about the discipline; they have the ability to stimulate interest; the professor is approachable and friendly; grades and the presentation of the subject matter is balanced or fair. (1) After campus revolts of the 60's, quality teaching again became extremely important in terms of the performance and integrity of the professor. In the spirit of the times, Dr. Kenneth Eble, deemed an excellent teacher, was awarded a grant to watch college teachers in their classroom all over the country and at every type of college. His summary and analysis was that the characteristics utilized above were also qualities that he perceived as important. (2) Within a very short period after Eble's book, Miller operationalized these characteristics in terms of nominal questions that students may respond in reference to the capability and the ability of the teacher. (3) Snell et. al. through a series of articles, developed an index that could parsimoniously and efficiently cover the various roles of the professor in the classroom. Additionally, he used numerous purposive samples of various students, that differed by demographics at both the national level and the local level. His findings were that students want all the characteristics listed above, but made a special preference for "knowledgeable" and "interesting" teachers. (4) Additionally, he developed an evaluational tool that would measure faculty both quantitatively and qualitatively. (5) Further, the National Education Associations' THOUGHT AND ACTION, strongly support that the characteristics of college classroom teachers can be identified as indicated before and can be measured.(6) Iowa's Community College The arena of the community college should not be spared when it comes to measurement of the faculty. In this section, we discuss the present situation and in the next section illustrate the need for measurement of faculty. Although McGrath and Spear see difficulties in America's two year schools (7) other sources suggest that nearly 80% of future high school students will need post secondary training in the vocational-technical area, something best provided by community colleges (8). Thus, it appears that community colleges have a viable future both nationally and at the local level. Locally, over half of the new college freshman in Iowa attend one of the state's community colleges. (9) Although the state and it's community colleges have seen economic downturns (10) the two year schools appear to have grown and enhance the wider community. (11) It would appear to these authors that with the growth of the community colleges, as indicated previously, measurement of faculty performance become increasingly important as many new instructors will be teaching at the two year level. Survey of Student Evaluations Of the 15 schools contacted, we were able to receive a 2/3 reply. The consensus is that nearly all the institutions attempt to survey their instructors from the perspective of the student. …


Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology is developing and emerging rapidly since its introduction in 1987. In an OLED device, the light generated from the recombination process may internally reflect in the substrate and be waveguided either in the organic film or high refractive index oxide that serves as an anode. These optical phenomenona reduce the amount of the light exiting the device. One method to increase the efficiency is by embedding periodically nanostructured 1-D photonic crystal slabs into the OLED device. One-dimensional photonic crystal slabs (Bragg gratings) allow the extraction of waveguide modes in OLED devices. This dissertation employs ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) technology to fabricate 1-D photonic crystal slabs made from high refractive index hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist.
High refractive index hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist is a blend of pristine UV-NIL photoresist with TiO2 NP. As an alternative approach, dry etching technique is performed to transfer the UV-imprinted nanostructure to the Ta2O5 film.

Hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist is characterized by thickness, surface morphology, and optical characteristics. The thickness increased as a function of TiO2 NP results for identical spincoat parameters. Surface characterization shows the imprint ability still remains to the pristine photoresist for up to 30% NP content. Optical characterization results are fitted using the Swanepoel method. As a result, the refractive index of hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist containing 30% TiO2 is 1.869 at 552 nm wavelength.
One-dimensional photonic crystal slabs made from hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist 0%, 3%, and 30% are integrated with a rigid planar OLED device. The emission spectrum from the Bragg grating made from hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist 30% shows an additional extraction mode. This mode depends on the emission angle. For grating periodicity of 370 nm, the effective refractive index in the device is 1.59 at 591.8 nm wavelength.
The study also demonstrates the use of hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist 30% in flexible OLEDs. The results show that hybrid nanoparticles-photoresist is also successful in extracting the waveguide mode from the devices. Here, the emission characteristic is recorded while the device is under bending conditions. It suggests that geometrical changes in the films due to mechanical loads under bending conditions may alter the emission characteristics.


A regenerative Er-doped fiber amplifier system for a high-repetition-rate optical pulse train is investigated for the first time. A signal pulse train with a wavelength tuning range of 18 nm is produced by a passive mode-locked fiber laser based on a nonlinear polarization rotation technique. In order to realize the amplification, an optical delay-line is used to achieve time match between the pulses' interval and the period of pulse running through the regenerative amplifier. The 16 dB gain is obtained for an input pulse train with a launching power of -30.4 dBm, a center wavelength of 1563.4 nm and a repetition rate of 15.3 MHz. The output properties of signal pulses with different center wavelengths are also discussed. The pulse amplification is found to be different from the regenerative amplification system for CW signals.


Objective To determine what proportion of patients experience an exacerbation of their symptoms as a result of premature return to play (RTP) and return to learn (RTL) following a sport-related concussion (SRC). Design Retrospective longitudinal chart review. Setting A sport medicine physician's office in Ontario, Canada. Participants 266 cases related to 251 students with an SRC. Interventions A review of 266 electronic medical records (charts) of patients seen for SRC over a five-year period (2011–2016). Two blinded authors independently reviewed each chart and SCAT2 or SCAT3/Child SCAT3 symptom self report form. In situations where there was discrepancy between the two reviewers' results, a third author reviewed the charts. Outcome measures remature RTP and RTL were defined as chart records documenting the recurrence or worsening of symptoms that accompanied the patients' RTP or RTL. Main Results 403 cases were identified as concussion patients assessed. 266 were included as these cases were related to 251 students involved in a sport activity. Premature return to sport and to school were observed in 67 (25.19%) and 107 (40.23%) of the cases, respectively. Conclusions In our comparable study ending 5 years prior, premature return to sport and to school were observed in 43.5% and 44.7% of the cases, respectively. Despite changing our medical advice, based upon evolving expert recommendations on return to learn (RTL) after an SRC, premature RTL is still quite common. Efforts are needed to find the best method of implementing a coordinated plan for the post-concussion athlete who is returning to school. Competing interests None.


Cooling is an essential part of greenhouse climate control in warm climates. There are three types of cooling technique: natural ventilation, evaporative cooling and mechanical cooling. Natural ventilation can only be applied when the outside temperature does not exceed 35°C and the average daily temperature is not higher than 22°C. Above these temperatures, production will be negatively affected. Evaporative cooling can be applied when the dew-point temperature of the outside air is less than these limits. These methods of cooling work effectively in arid regions, though the water consumption is high. The third method of cooling demands a cold surface to remove the latent and sensible heat from the greenhouse. This method has been applied in the current research. This method allows optimal control of the greenhouse climate in terms of temperature and humidity, but also in terms of carbon dioxide concentration. The amount of cooling capacity required depends on the amount of solar radiation being absorbed in the greenhouse and the convective heat transfer from outside, provided the outside temperature is higher than the greenhouse air temperature. The experiment showed that roughly 50% of the solar radiation has to be cooled from the greenhouse in order to maintain its temperature. Sixty per cent of the heat being absorbed in the greenhouse is transformed into latent heat through the transpiration of the crop. The system was able to maintain the preset temperature and humidity for the greenhouse air.


Early prostate cancer usually does not cause pain, and most affected men exhibit no noticeable symptoms. Men are often diagnosed as the result of health screenings, such as a blood test for a substance called prostate specific antigen (PSA) or a medical procedure called a digital rectal exam. As the tumor grows larger, signs and symptoms can include difficulty starting or stopping the flow of urine, a feeling of not being able to empty the bladder completely, blood in the urine or semen, or pain with ejaculation. However, these changes can also occur with many other genitourinary conditions. Having one or more of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that a man has prostate cancer.


The Federal Communications Commission has spent $30 billion over the past decade on subsidies for phone service in high cost areas, but it has never developed outcome goals or measures to assess whether the subsidies have accomplished the intended results. Congress should require the FCC to measure the outcomes articulated in the Telecommunications Act: access in rural areas to services reasonably comparable to those in urban areas at reasonably comparable rates. Legislators should also require the FCC or independent analysts to:1. Analyze how much of a change in these two outcomes the high cost fund has caused, 2. Assess how this change in access and price has affected subscribership, and3. Estimate how this change in subscribership has affected the economic, social, and cultural opportunities available to rural households, or other broad social benefits the high cost fund is supposed to promote.This paper was originally submitted as written testimony to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet


The characterization of work functions and field emission stability for molybdenum and iridium oxide coatings was examined. Single emission tips and flat samples of molybdenum and iridium oxide were prepared for characterization. The flat samples were characterized using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to determine elemental composition, chemical shift, and crystal structure. Flat coatings of iridium oxide were also scanned by Atomic Force Microscopy to examine topography. Work functions were characterized by Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy from the flat samples and by Field Emission Electron Distributions from the field emission tips. Field emission characterization was conducted in a custom build analytical chamber capable of measuring Field Emission Electron Distribution and Fowler-Nordheim I-V plots simultaneously to independently evaluate geometric and work function changes. Scanning Electron Microscope pictures were taken of the emission tips before and after field emission characterization to confirm geometric changes. Measurement of emission stability and work functions were the emphasis of this research. In addition, use of iridium oxide coatings to enhance emission stability was evaluated.

Molybdenum and iridium oxide, IrO2, were characterized and found to have a work function of 4.6 eV and 4.2 eV by both characterization techniques, with the molybdenum value in agreement with previous research. The analytic chamber used in the field emission analysis demonstrated the ability to independently determine the value and changes in work function and emitter geometry by simultaneous measurement of the Field Emission Energy Distribution and Fowler-Nordheim I-V plots from single emitters.

Iridium oxide coating was found to enhance the stability of molybdenum emission tips with a relatively low work function of 4.2 eV and inhibited the formation of high work function molybdenum oxides. However, the method of deposition of iridium and annealing in oxygen to form iridium oxide on molybdenum emitters left rather severe cracking in the protective oxide coating exposing the molybdenum substrate.


Due to the "Internet+" environment represented by cloud computing, big data, mobile applications, the Internet of things, social media and other technologies, and the urgent need of improving the medical experience with new information technology by medical institutions, a large number of mobile medical applications emerge. However, these applications have serious homogeneity, confusing entry, failure to use medical core process and other problems. With poor experience, it is difficult to take advantage of the Internet in improving the medical service level. The hospital "Internet+" practice implementation method with the core of process is proposed. With the mobile Internet information technology, the hospital service flow is integrated, so as to realize efficient medical service. With the example of mobile Internet digital hospital of The Central Hospital of Wuhan, the value and effect of the seamless medical service with the core of the entire process in the hospital process optimization are summarized.


The effects of diel fluctuations in DO saturation were investigated for four species of
tropical freshwater fish at various life history stages. Fluctuating hypoxia was
achieved by gradually lowering DO saturation to a minimum level (minimum level
differed between treatments), then allowing DO to return to normoxia each day for the
duration of experiments. A range of oxygen regimes were tested on juvenile Lates
calcarifer, Melanotaenia splendida splendida and Hephaestus fuliginosus; adult
Melanotaenia utcheensis; and embryonic M. s. splendida, M. utcheensis and H.
fuliginosus. Immediate lethal limits after gradual oxygen reductions were recorded for
each species/life history stage where possible, as well as various effects on the
sublethal level, including effects on growth (for juveniles), ventilation (for juveniles),
reproduction (for adults) and viability (for embryos).
The four fish species tested were found to be surprisingly tolerant to the oxygen
regimes they were exposed to during the study. Species/life history stages that are
frequently exposed to hypoxia in natural situations were found to be the most tolerant
during experiments. The rank order of resistance of each species/life history stage
from highest to lowest was: eggs of M. s. splendida and M. utcheensis (no immediate
lethal level identified), juvenile L. calcarifer (immediate lethal level ~2% DO
saturation), juvenile M. s. splendida and adult M. utcheensis (immediate lethal level 6-
7%), and juvenile H. fuliginosus (immediate lethal level ~7%).
L. calcarifer, M. s. splendida and M. utcheensis were all capable of aquatic surface
respiration at the juvenile and adult stages tested. Juvenile H. fuliginosus did not
display this adaptive behaviour. Growth and feeding behaviour of juvenile L.
calcarifer were affected in treatments reaching 5% and 10% minimum DO saturation
daily; as was food consumption of some H. fuliginosus individuals in the treatment
reaching 10% DO saturation daily (5% treatment was lethal for the species).
Eggs of M. s. splendida and M. utcheensis were completely resistant to the oxygen
regimes tested, and more tolerant to hypoxia than juvenile and adult stages of the
same species. Reproduction of surviving adult M. utcheensis was largely unaffected
by exposure to diel fluctuations in DO saturation, although one of two broodgroups
treated with a minimum DO saturation of 10% daily ceased egg production after 18
days of oxygen cycling; and in the same aquarium one of the two female fish was
found to have a high percentage of atretic (degenerative) eggs in her ovary.
Although the results suggested that species of fish tested were remarkably tolerant to
the sublethal DO regimes imposed during the study, some effects on reproduction,
growth and feeding were apparent and may be much more detrimental in natural
situations where food must be caught, and mates located. Additionally, longer
durations of daily minimum DO saturation, or longer duration of the fluctuating
hypoxia regime may increase effects. The results have implications for water quality
guidelines for wetlands and waterways of tropical north Queensland, and provide a
broad baseline for more targeted research into the effects of hypoxia on fish from the
region.


Abstract. Lagrangian particle dispersion models (LPDMs) are powerful and popular tools used for the analysis of atmospheric trace gas measurements. However, it can be difficult to determine the transport pathway of emissions from their source to a receptor using the standard gridded model output, particularly during complex meteorological scenarios. In this paper we present a method to clearly and easily identify the pathway taken by only those emissions that arrive at a receptor at a particular time, by combining the standard gridded output from forward (e.g., concentration) and backward (e.g., residence time) LPDM simulations. By comparing the pathway determined from this method with particle trajectories from both the forward and backward models, we show that this method successfully restores much of the Lagrangian information that is lost when the data are gridded. A sample analysis is presented, demonstrating that the source-to-receptor pathway determined from this method is more accurate and easier to use than existing methods using standard LPDM products (gridded fields of, e.g., concentrations and residence time). As demonstrated in an evaluation and an example application, the method requires agreement between the transport described by the forward and backward simulations and thus provides a means to assess the quality and reversibility of the simulation. Finally, we discuss the potential for combining the backward LPDM simulation with gridded data from other sources (e.g., chemical transport models) to obtain a Lagrangian sampling of the air that will eventually arrive at a receptor. Based on the advantages presented here, this new method can complement or even replace many of the standard uses of backward LPDM simulations.


Surveys routinely offer incentives to motivate respondents and increase the likelihood of their participation, yet surprisingly little is known about the effectiveness of interviewer incentives. If interviewer incentives increase interviewers' success in gaining cooperation, they could help address declining survey response rates. In this article, we present the results of an experiment testing the effectiveness of interviewer incentives in the form of cash bonuses for each successfully completed field interview. We did not find evidence that higher payments to interviewers for each completion led to increased effort on the part of interviewers nor did they lead to higher levels of success in securing respondent cooperation. These findings suggest that per complete interviewer incentives may not be cost effective in reducing survey nonresponse.


Original research into the links between vocal and clarinet tone reveals how clarinettists act as expressive conduits of musical styles in diverse ensembles. This research is relevant to musicologists and anthropologists as well as clarinettists and composers, who wish to gain an understanding of the vocal links in clarinet playing, and how clarinettists function in socio-musical contexts. Research is mainly based on Musicology and Music Education (vocal-clarinet links), and also refers to sources in Anthropology (musical identity), and Ethnomusicology (music in ensembles) in order to find some insightful connections. Ethnographic fieldwork is based on four professional freelance clarinettists in four different ensembles in Wellington, New Zealand. Their function in western art and contemporary art music, jazz and klezmer music is explored, to discover how these clarinettists extend, mirror, partner, or replace the voice in these musical contexts. Additional work undertaken on bodymind integration is designed to complement the musical identity work in the thesis and to enhance the musicianship and physical wellbeing of clarinettists. The section on clarinet design illustrates how different combinations of instruments and mouthpieces can vary the tone quality of the clarinet and enhance individual playing styles. The research shows that due to the versatility and flexibility of the instrument, clarinettists are able to transcend gender, ethnic, and ensemble boundaries, to take on leadership roles and to act as expressive conduits of musical styles in and between diverse ensembles. The outcome of the research highlights the intersection between the physiological relationship between the voice and the clarinet and scholarship on musical identity.


CASE STUDIES IN BIOETHICS can enrich high school classes across the curriculum. A story like the one presented here about Baby K cannot help but fire the imaginations of students. Whose right is it to make decisions for a helpless infant? What does it mean to be born without a brain? Should medical considerations trump legal, religious, ethical, financial, and cultural ones in a situation like this? With the wisdom of hindsight, what ought to have been done for Baby K? This case is one of six in a curriculum unit called "Babies" that was developed for high schools at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. The full curriculum includes four units, each using a number of cases to illustrate a single bioethics theme. Unit 1 features cases about babies born at risk or injured early in life. Unit 2 addresses organ transplantation. Unit 3 focusses on research involving human subjects. Unit 4 is about eugenics. Each case is true; each raises tough questions; few, if any, have single "right" answers. Through analyzing the cases, identifying the ethical conundrums they present, and clarifying what aspects of each case are medical, legal, personal, and cultural, students can gain an appreciation for the complexity of the decision making involved in them. Bioethical dilemmas, once rare, are now commonplace, in part because new medical technologies have outpaced our ability to understand their implications. For example, American society has yet to develop policies and, where appropriate, laws to deal with the consequences of "halfway technologies"--those that keep people alive but not sentient. Every individual bumps up against bioethical dilemmas sooner or later. Our motivation for developing these units was to give students experience in thinking about complex questions and developing strategies for coping with them both intellectually and emotionally. In our experience, most students come to the discussions of these cases with pre-formed opinions about what ought to happen. In presenting these cases, teachers need to emphasize the importance of keeping discourse civil, listening respectfully to the opinions of others, weighing competing factors, and entertaining diverse and divergent perspectives. The story of Baby K, like the other stories in the three units, raises fascinating and troubling questions. Some teachers have found that the richest discussions arise when they teach collaboratively with colleagues from other departments. Such cross-disciplinary discussions show students that, although the school day may be compartmentalized, problems in life are not. While the questions raised in difference courses provide varying springboards for discussion, we find that students eventually get around to discussing the same wide-ranging issues. In economics classes, teachers have embarked on classroom discussions about Baby K by asking whether allocating half a million dollars on a futile medical treatment for one baby who was "born dying" is an appropriate use of the limited resources available for health care. What, for example, did this large expenditure of money do to the premiums of other members of Baby K's HMO and to the medical services that were available to them? Or, backing away from financial considerations, at what point is it even appropriate to make medical decisions on the basis of dollars? The case gives U.S. history students an excellent opportunity to examine the bearing of the First and Fourteenth Amendments on contemporary medical ethics. Did the courts fail to uphold the wall of separation between church and state when they agreed to support Baby K with federal money? Ethics teachers have triggered their discussions by considering whether Baby K's dignity was compromised by allowing her to be a "slave to technology." Students have considered the concept of "personhood" and what actually would have been the fairest treatment for the baby. …


Shaping China's Innovation Future employs a thorough analysis of a combination of factors including: the role of law and China's legal system; economic theory and the development of China's economy; China's educational, intellectual property, and financial systems; China's innovation capacity; and Chinese culture. Though the recommendations on how to improve China's technology commercialization system are unique to China, the scope of the research makes the conclusions found here applicable to other countries facing similar challenges.


Optical highlighters are photoactivatable fluorescent molecules that exhibit pronounced changes in their spectral properties in response to irradiation with light of a specific wavelength and intensity. Here, we present a novel design strategy for a new class of caged BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene) fluorophores, based on the use of photoremovable protecting groups (PRPGs) with high reduction potentials that serve as both a photosensitive unit and a fluorescence quencher via photoinduced electron transfer (PeT). 2,6-Dinitrobenzyl (DNB)-caged BODIPY was efficiently photoactivated, with activation ratios exceeding 600-fold in aqueous solutions. We then combined this photoactivatable fluorophore with a SNAP (mutant of O(6)-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase) ligand to obtain a small-molecule-based optical highlighter for visualization of protein dynamics, using the well-established SNAP tag technology. As proof of concept, we demonstrate spatiotemporal imaging of the fusion protein of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with SNAP tag in living cells. We also demonstrate highlighting of cells of interest in live zebrafish embryos, using the fusion protein of histone 2A with SNAP tag.


At present globalisation has engulfed the world in what has been described as a whirl wind effect, in that it has swirled around the globe and encapsulated it; almost to the extent that the effects of globalisation appear completely inescapable to most nations and citizens. One can assume thus that the influence of globalisation on education, and in particular teacher education, is inevitable. This study focuses on teachers' conceptions of globalisation and its relationship to teacher professional learning with an aim to understand how six teachers exposed to global discourses conceive globalisation and its effect on their professional learning. Given that an effect of globalisation is the merging of various ideas and the exertion of simultaneous influences on such ideas from a variety of sources, a single focus group discussion was used for the generation of data in this study to produce an environment very similar to the one achieved by globalisation (i.e. an environment in which various ideas are generated simultaneously and are subjected to influences from a variety of sources). From this, rich data emerged highlighting that the teachers in this study have very similar and in some cases very different conceptions of globalisation, teacher professional learning, and the relationship between the two. Interestingly, what stands out is that the teachers involved in this study conceive that context, plays an integral role in contemporary teacher learning. The analysis generated themes such as retrogression, inequity, contradictions as well as the experiences of these teachers in learning and not learning. In essence, globalisation and teacher professional learning are shown to be inseparable in this era in which teachers are currently forced to learn for specific contexts and in most cases have to relearn as their contexts change in accordance with the ever evolving nature of globalisation. Indeed teacher professional learning at present is placed under tremendous strain, and so an understanding of the links between globalisation and teacher professional learning is expressed in this study. In addition, what emerges as a plausible solution to the problem of how teacher professional learning may keep up with globalisation, appears to be a need for teachers to take charge of their professional learning and to move away from positions of dependency and passivity to a position of active agency.


The T-3279G mutation in Phenobarbital Responsive Enhancer Modulein (PBREM), TA-insertion in the TATA box, creating the A(TA)7TAA motif instead of the A(TA)6TAA, and G211A mutation in coding exon 1, particularly in Asians, of human UGT1A1 (UDP-glucoronosyltransferase) gene are the three common polymorphisms of Gilbert's syndrome. This article employed dot blot hybridization to detect the T-3279G, A(TA)6/7TAA and G211A mutation of UGT1A1 gene in 15 patients. In the dot blot hybridization assay, PCR products were denatured and spotted on positively charged nylon membranes instead of acrylamide-modified slides. Then three pairs of probes were labeled by digoxigenin and hybridized with the spotted array. After hybridization, the signal was visualized using TMB color development solution and all possible polymorphisms of the T-3279G, A(TA)6/7TAA and G211A in 15 Chinese patients with hyperbilirubinemia were successfully identified. The results of 15 samples by dotblot hybridization were consistent with the sequencing results. The data showed that dot blot hybridization assay is a quick and low cost method to detect UGT1A1 gene polymorphisms and helpful to diagnosis of Gilbert's syndrome.


Underwater swimming robots permit remote access to over 70% of the Earth's surface that is covered in water for a variety of scientific, environmental, tactical, or industrial purposes. Many practical applications for robots in this setting include sensing, monitoring, exploration, reconnaissance, or inspection tasks. In the interest of expanding this activity and opportunity within aquatic environments, this letter describes the development of a swimming robot characterized by simple, robust, and scalable design. The robot, named RoboScallop, is inspired by the locomotion of bivalve scallops, utilizing two articulating rigid shell components and a soft elastic membrane to produce water jet propulsion. A single-DoF, reciprocating crank mechanism enclosed within the shell housing of the robot is used to generate pulsating thrust, and the performance of this novel swimming method is evaluated by characterization of the robot jet force and swimming speed. This is the first time jet propulsion is demonstrated for a robot swimming in normal, Newtonian fluid using a bivalve morphology. We found the metrics of the robot to be comparable to its biological counterpart, but free from metabolic limitations which prevent sustained free swimming in living species. Leveraging this locomotion principle may provide unique benefits over other existing underwater propulsion techniques, including robustness, scalability, resistance to entanglement, and possible implicit water treatment capabilities, to drive the further development of a new class of self-contained, hybrid-stiffness underwater robots.


ABSTRACT Since the 1970s, sexuality research has focused on a multitude of factors precipitating and influencing sexuality discrimination. However, the unique social positioning of bisexual individuals is notably absent in comparison to discussions of discrimination experienced by lesbians and gay men. This research examined bisexual discrimination at an institution in Western Canada, and among larger online communities predominantly accessed in North America. An online questionnaire measured 306 participants' negative attitudes toward bisexual men and bisexuality. Results indicated that levels of bisexual discrimination for most participants were influenced by altering the content of an article that participants read before completing a measure of bisexual discrimination. Biphobia scores remained relatively stable among bisexual participants regardless of gender, whereas scores were revealed to be more variable among straight participants. By illustrating the contrasting ways in which individuals perceive information about bisexual people, the findings of this study suggest a new understanding of bisexual discrimination that differs from the existing literature.


Empirical evidence suggests that choices are affected by the amount of time available to the decision maker. Time pressure or a cooling-off period (mandatory delay of choice) changes how choices are determined. Yet, few models are able to account for the role of available time on decisions. This paper proposes a dual-self model in which a fast and a slow self bargain to decide: the longer is the decision process, the higher is the bargaining power of the slow self when deciding. A large variety of behaviors observed under time pressure or cooling-off can be explained by our model. Quantitative predictions concerning the effect of nudging through time manipulation are also provided. We characterize the model imposing testable conditions on revealed preferences combined with non-choice data.


In this first paper in a series, we present 1298 low-redshift (z ≲ 0.2) optical spectra of 582 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed from 1989 to 2008 as part of the Berkeley Supernova Ia Program (BSNIP). 584 spectra of 199 SNe Ia have well-calibrated light curves with measured distance moduli, and many of the spectra have been corrected for host-galaxy contamination. Most of the data were obtained using the Kast double spectrograph mounted on the Shane 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory and have a typical wavelength range of 3300–10 400 A, roughly twice as wide as spectra from most previously published data sets. We present our observing and reduction procedures, and we describe the resulting SN Database, which will be an online, public, searchable data base containing all of our fully reduced spectra and companion photometry. In addition, we discuss our spectral classification scheme (using the SuperNova IDentification code, snid; Blondin & Tonry), utilizing our newly constructed set of snid spectral templates. These templates allow us to accurately classify our entire data set, and by doing so we are able to reclassify a handful of objects as bona fide SNe Ia and a few other objects as members of some of the peculiar SN Ia subtypes. In fact, our data set includes spectra of nearly 90 spectroscopically peculiar SNe Ia. We also present spectroscopic host-galaxy redshifts of some SNe Ia where these values were previously unknown. The sheer size of the BSNIP data set and the consistency of our observation and reduction methods make this sample unique among all other published SN Ia data sets and complementary in many ways to the large, low-redshift SN Ia spectra presented by Matheson et al. and Blondin et al. In other BSNIP papers in this series, we use these data to examine the relationships between spectroscopic characteristics and various observables such as photometric and host-galaxy properties.


We identify a form of gender-based governmental discrimination that directly affects billions of women on a daily basis: the setting of import tariffs for gendered goods. These tax rates, which can differ across otherwise identical gender-specific products, often impose direct penalties on women as consumers. Comparing nearly 200,000 paired tariff rates on men's and women's apparel products in 167 countries between 1995 and 2015, we find that women suffer a tax penalty that varies systematically across countries. We demonstrate that in democracies, women's presence in the legislature is associated with decreased import tax penalties on women's goods. This finding is buttressed by a comparison of democracies and non-democracies and analyses of the implementation of legislative gender quotas. Our work highlights a previously unacknowledged government policy that penalizes women and also provides powerful evidence that descriptive representation can have a substantial, direct impact on discriminatory policies.


Background. Clinical communication skills (CCS) are fundamental to good-quality healthcare and health outcomes, but remain problematic for healthcare students – in particular in the multilingual, multicultural South African context. As CCS can be taught, the importance of CCS training in healthcare programmes, as the basis of clinical practice, is well known. Objectives. To suggest practical, student-informed directives for CCS training, we explored current challenges of undergraduate healthcare students and their CCS training. Methods. The research was conducted in two phases. A mixed-methods approach was followed in phase 1, including a questionnaire survey ( n =38) and semi-structured interviews ( n =19), among third-year physiotherapy students. A quantitative questionnaire survey was conducted in phase 2 among final-year allied healthcare students ( n =105). Results. Results from phase 1 indicated that students found it difficult to communicate with other members of the healthcare team (64%) and with patients' families (82%). Students indicated that language barriers influenced their treatment of patients negatively. In phase 2 of the research, only 43% of students indicated previous exposure to CCS training, and they supported the inclusion of specific CCS training methods throughout their undergraduate education. Conclusions. CCS training directives, which are specifically focused on patient, family, interdisciplinary and written communication and enhancement of the student voice in the training, are suggested for inclusion in undergraduate healthcare programmes.


Presenilin-1 (PS1) is a core component of γ-secretase that is involved in neurodegeneration. We have previously shown that PS1 interacts with a mitogen-activated protein kinase [(MAPK) jun-NH2-terminal-kinase], and another MAPK (p38) is activated by ethanol withdrawal (EW), abrupt termination from chronic ethanol exposure. EW is excitotoxic in nature, induces glutamate upregulation, and provokes neuronal damage. Here, we explored a potential mechanistic pathway involving glutamate, p38 (p38α isozyme), and PS1 that may mediate EW-induced excitotoxic stress. We used the prefrontal cortex of male rats withdrawn from a chronic ethanol diet. Additionally, we used ethanol-withdrawn HT22 cells (mouse hippocampal) treated with the inhibitor of glutamate receptors [dizocilpine (MK-801)], p38α (SB203580; 4-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl)-1H-imidazol-5-yl]pyridine), or γ-secretase [N-[N- (3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-l-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT)] during EW. Separately, ethanol-free HT22 cells were exposed to glutamate with or without SB203580 or DAPT. Protein levels, mRNA levels, and cell viability were assessed using immunoblotting, qualitative polymerase chain reaction, and calcein assay, respectively. The prefrontal cortex of ethanol-withdrawn rats or HT22 cells showed an increase in PS1 and p38α, which was attenuated by MK-801 and SB203580, but mimicked by glutamate treatment to ethanol-free HT22 cells. DAPT attenuated the toxic effect of EW or glutamate on HT22 cells. These results suggest that PS1 expression is triggered by glutamate through p38α, contributing to the excitotoxic stimulus of EW.


Abstract Objective. Gum chewing may relieve stress, although this hypothesis has not been proven. Heart-rate variability (HRV) is commonly used to measure stress levels. However, it is not known if gum chewing modulates HRV under acute stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of gum chewing on HRV under acute stress. Materials and methods: A cross-over study involving 47 non-smoking healthy subjects, aged 22–27 years, was carried out. The subjects received a stress procedure with gum chewing (GS group) and without gum chewing (S group). Additionally, the other 20 subjects were allocated to the gum chewing without stress group (G group). The GS and S groups were exposed to noise for 5 min (75 dBA) as stress. Before and after stress exposure/gum chewing, participants completed the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-s) and a single Stress Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) measurement. HRV measurement was performed before and during stress/gum chewing for 5 min. Results. After the stress procedure, VAS score significantly increased in the GS and S groups. During the stress procedure, the GS group showed a significantly lower level of high frequency (HF) and higher levels of low frequency (LF) and LF/HF than the S group. However, there were no significant differences in the scores of the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-s) and VAS between the two stress groups. Conclusions. These findings suggest that gum chewing modulates HRV, but may not relieve acute stress caused by noise.


We present a critical review of the literature on how children exposed to flexible-word-order languages, especially Turkish, acquire word-order variation. We highlight two traditions of psycholinguistic research assuming different theoretical and methodological approaches, namely language-as-product and language-as-action views. While the former studies the underlying mechanisms of using word order as a structural cue in interpreting thematic roles, the latter focuses on how it is used to convey information structure embedded in communication and action. The review reveals that these seemingly independent views complement each other to better account for (i) how children come to interpret argument roles when the word order is not fixed and (ii) how they comprehend/use word-order variation as a pragmatic tool in communication.


Management of rural territories is regulated by legal acts and territorial planning documents. The article analyzes processes of farms land tenure formation and changes of farming lands and forests area. Purchase of land from the State and private persons is an important activity for increasing area of farms tenure during land reform. The article also describes regulations of Western Europe legal acts, related to land purchase. Formation of competitive land tenures is a public interest, which meets constitutional requirements for rational use of land resources in Lithuania. There are proposals in the article for legal acts amendments, to ensure that agriculture land would be acquired by subjects, which performs agriculture activity. Moreover, land tenures should be compact, which allows conditions for more efficient farming. Problems of preservation of natural resources for rational farming lands and forests are also discussed in the article. It was determined, that during 1990-2012 area of farming lands reduced by 21.6 %, area of forests increased by 8.3 % in Lithuania. Proposals for stabilization of farming lands area reduction are offered in the article. It is recommended that farming lands and forest area proportion should be determined by preparing complex territorial planning documents. Permissions for converting farming lands and forests to other use should be issued only according to these planning documents. Laws must more strictly regulate farming lands use and conversion for up-building and other non agricultural use. Legal protection of farming lands should be the same as protection of forest land.


A major problem of modern corporate governance is how to reconcile making corporate managers more accountable to shareholders with ensuring that managers respond to society's needs. Managerial agency costs and the existence of markets for social responsibility argue against drastically reducing managers' accountability to shareholders. But it is still not clear precisely where to draw the line between accountability and responsibility. This article's main contribution is showing how resolving this issue turns on analyzing the available options for making managers accountable to shareholders. The logistics of modern corporate governance, particularly including the inherent weakness of fiduciary duties, shareholder voting and the market for corporate control, significantly free managers from shareholder control regardless of whether society demands this freedom. Social responsibility's importance to corporate governance ultimately depends on whether high-powered partnership-type accountability mechanisms such as mandatory distributions and cash-out rights are feasible in public corporations given the double corporate tax and business arguments for locking capital in the firm.


The Nordic countries are often noted for their high level of gender equality. The media sector is no exception and it is true that almost 50 percent of Swedish journalists are female. However, female presence at the senior level of media organizations remains much lower. This article analyses the Swedish media elite from a gender perspective. It is based on a survey study among all top-level managers (the Swedish national institutional elites) in seven different social fields and interprets the results by drawing upon Bourdieu's theories on habitus, capital and field and Toril Moi's 'appropriation' of Bourdieu (in the essay 'Appropriating Bourdieu', in What is a Woman? And Other Essays). Differences and similarities between men and women in the media elite are identified and analysed, including differences regarding social background and the amount and type of capital they have accumulated when reaching the top. The main conclusion is that the acquisition of social capital is of major significance to counterbalance the negative capital of femaleness in reaching a senior management position in the media.


I. INTRODUCTION Japanese antitrust law is a matter of remarkably keen interest in the United States. It has been a subject of Presidential summit meetings, (1) Congressional hearings, (2) official reports, (3) and considerable commentary. (4) On balance, this public discussion has been critical. Journalists, academics, and public officials frequently disparage Japan's competition law regime as weak, ineffectual, halfhearted and otherwise inadequate when measured against the standards set by its U.S. counterpart. (5) Specifically, critics fault Japanese antitrust for, among other things, inadequate sanctions, (6) ineffective private remedies, (7) insufficient enforcement, (8) discounting the interests of foreign firms, (9) and allowing Japanese companies to maintain private exclusionary practices that are thought to insulate Japanese markets from vigorous competition. (10) So serious are its concerns regarding Japanese antitrust, the U.S. government has officially identified the "weakness" of Japan's competition policy as a significant trade barrier (11) and exerted considerable pressure on Japan to remake their antitrust law and enforcement regime to resemble more closely that of the United States. (12) Against this contentious backdrop, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (13) (JFTC) recently issued its first major policy statement on antitrust enforcement concerning technology licensing in a decade, the Guidelines for Patent and Know-how Licensing Agreements Under the Antimonopoly Act ("new Guidelines" or "1999 Guidelines"). (14) Because of the nature of the Japanese legal system, the issuance of new enforcement guidelines can be an event of some consequence. In Japan, where there is very little private antitrust litigation (15) and no state enforcement, (16) the JFTC institutes the overwhelming majority of Japanese antitrust cases. With an effective monopoly on enforcement in a legal system that generates very few court cases applying antitrust rules, (17) the Commission's enforcement guidelines play a central role in both interpreting the law and signaling its likely direction. (18) The new licensing Guidelines are also noteworthy because they address an area of economic activity--technology licensing--that has received relatively little attention in the ongoing U.S. debate over Japanese antitrust. (19) Moreover, the new Guidelines appear at a time of growing international recognition of the importance of intellectual property in national economies and international trade. (20) This Article offers a critical examination of Japanese technology licensing antitrust law and enforcement policy. What emerges from this study is a complex picture of law and enforcement policy that is consistent with some aspects of the familiar critique of Japanese antitrust, but quite inconsistent with others. The principal conclusions of the paper are as follows: First, Japanese technology licensing antitrust policy is a work in progress that has undergone substantial change and development since its emergence in the late 1960s. Over the last thirty years it has evolved significantly: (a) away from overtly favoring licensees over licensors and toward greater neutrality; (b) away from favoring Japanese firms over foreign firms and, again, toward greater neutrality; and (c) away from summary condemnation of licensing restraints, and toward case-by-case analysis of competitive effects. Second, although there are differences between current U.S. and Japanese competition law, the new JFTC licensing Guidelines articulate an approach to technology licensing that is fundamentally consistent with that of the U.S. antitrust enforcement agencies. Third, perhaps the most enduring doctrinal contrast between Japanese and U.S. technology licensing antitrust lies in their differing approaches to asymmetries of bargaining power in licensing relationships. While U.S. antitrust is by no means indifferent to such concerns, the willingness to use antitrust law as a means of compensating for asymmetries of bargaining power in licensing transactions is a significantly more prominent aspect of Japanese competition law and enforcement policy. …


We present the highlights of the 1996-1998 Taiwan IMAGES program, describing the objectives and some of the preliminary results from the third cruise in the western Pacific and the South China Sea (IMAGES llIIMDI06 - IPIllS Cruise). This cruise was successfully completed in June, 1997, with the cooperation of scientists from six countries. Specifically, we introduce the primary goals of the studies conducted in the South China Sea, which were mainly proposed and designed by scientists from Taiwan to further enhance our understanding of Quaternary variability in the East Asia mon soon, the Kuroshio Current, and the western Pacific warm pool systems. We also briefly describe the cores obtained from the South China Sea dur ing this cruise and the preliminary scientific results drawn from shipboard measurements of the cores.


Landslides are natural phenomenon involving failure of slope materials varying from small insignificant to huge catastrophic movements important routes of northern part of the country linking Pakistan with China and Azad Kashmir are very frequently disrupted because of landslides . These strategic routes remain closed for hours and some times for days due to landsliding phenomenon, which constitute one of the most expensive geologic hazards in Pakistan. The study regarding slope assessment was initiated along murree- Muzaffarabad road but extended later on to include the other important routes as well, like karakonum Highway and Mi motorway.

Detailed geological mapping was carried out different scales, emphasizing the role of litho logy in slope stability inventory map were prepared to identify stability conditions of slopes in different areas (Fig.2a-c). A broad categorization of slopes was initially made as , "unstable � and potentially unstable based on geological and geotechnical .The critical areas termed unstable or potentially unstable were considered for qualitative and quantitative evaluation. On the basis of these evaluations eifferent relationships were established as:

i) Relation of lithologhy and structure with landslides.

ii) Earthquake activity and slope movements.

iii) Precipitation (during monsoon) and number of landslides.

iv) Type of landslide and its frequency in different climatic and litho logic conditions.

v) Geometry of slopes (inclination) versus stability.

vi) Vegetation and its effects.

Wherever suitable the relevant data have been presented in the form of tables , graphs, plots and other illustrations, for analysis of slopes parameters like slopes geometry, moisture condition, rock mass strength, density, consistency and C, I¦ characteristics of materials have been used. On the basis of quantitative evaluation appropriate landslide warning and monitoring systems have been exercised and suggested. Different prevailing remedial measures to control landslides were critically studied for their effectiveness and in the light of these more suitable and economic methods are suggested.

The significance and role of different government and non government organizations has been highlighted at the end. Keeping in view the varying conditions in different parts of the country, relevant findings as influence of lithology, structure and reduction in strength on saturation etc. on landsliding phenomenon have been presented. The appropriate recommendations regarding slope protection are also suggested.


Celibacy is not separated from life. It is a way of life. Both engagement in celibacy and a disdain for it in any way raise the questions: what celibacy is needed for? Why does one engage in it or not? The answers will show what people think about the Church, it's teaching, the engagement in celibacy and how firm faith is. A person dedicated to any mission does it till the end or fails. The same is with observance of celibacy. The Church having desire to maintain the consecration of clergy and devotion to God, has established punishments in case the celibacy is not observed. However, the main concern of the Church is not to punish the guilty, but to bring him back to his way of life and proper to the clergy.