Models that predict brain responses to stimuli provide one measure of understanding of a sensory system, and have many potential applications in science and engineering. Deep artificial neural networks have emerged as the leading such predictive models of the visual system, but are less explored in audition. Prior work provided examples of audio-trained neural networks that produced good predictions of auditory cortical fMRI responses and exhibited correspondence between model stages and brain regions, but left it unclear whether these results generalize to other neural network models, and thus how to further improve models in this domain. We evaluated model-brain correspondence for publicly available audio neural network models along with in-house models trained on four different tasks. Most tested models out-predicted previous filter-bank models of auditory cortex, and exhibited systematic model-brain correspondence: middle stages best predicted primary auditory cortex while deep stages best predicted non-primary cortex. However, some state-of-the-art models produced substantially worse brain predictions. Models trained to recognize speech in background noise produced better brain predictions than models trained to recognize speech in quiet, potentially because hearing in noise imposes constraints on biological auditory representations. The training task influenced the prediction quality for specific cortical tuning properties, with best overall predictions resulting from models trained on multiple tasks. The results generally support the promise of deep neural networks as models of audition, though they also indicate that current models do not explain auditory cortical responses in their entirety.


[1] We present a two-dimensional model for sedimentation of well-mixed weak plumes, accounting for lateral spreading of the cloud, downwind advection, increase of volumetric flux in the rising stage, and particle transport during fallout. The 17 June 1996 subplinian eruption of Ruapehu produced a bent-over plume that rose to a height of 8.5 km in a wind field with an average velocity of 24 m s−1 and generated a narrow deposit on land extending up to 200 km from vent. The sedimentation from the Ruapehu plume was dominated by coarse ash, with all the blocks and most of the lapilli falling while the plume was still rising. Particles with diameter <125 μm show three accumulation maxima, one coincident with a secondary maximum in the total tephra deposit about 150 km from the vent. Numerical modeling shows that the plume started spreading horizontally beyond about 30 km from vent. Investigations also show that Fickian diffusion can be a good approximation to the crosswind spreading of both "vigorous" and "low-energy" weak plumes, but a wide range of diffusion coefficients is to be expected, with the largest values necessary to describe the most vigorous weak plumes such as Ruapehu. One-dimensional and two-dimensional simulations show that tephra sedimentation must have been subvertical. This feature, also supported by direct observations, can be the result of the turbulence structure of the local wind field and convective instabilities, which could also have played an important role in the generation of the pronounced sinuosity shown by the Ruapehu deposit.


Mass dispensing for medical prophylaxis and treatment of the general population requires rapid establishment of a network of dispensing sites and health facilities that are flexible, scalable and sustainable. In this article, we describe a systems approach to analyse mass dispensing of countermeasures, and present a set of powerful modelling and computational tools to assist in strategic and operational planning. Facility location models are used to determine the number of dispensing sites required. Our models account for variable population densities, the maximum distance individuals should have to travel, the types of private and public facilities available and the availability of critical staff to man the point-of-dispensing facilities (PODs). Large-scale simulation is employed to model the stochastic service and dynamic flow behaviour within PODs; and optimisation is interwoven to determine appropriate staffing levels for efficient operations logistics. A cost?effective mass dispensing network for anthrax prophylaxis involving a metropolitan area with over 5 million people is presented. The study reveals that: (1) the sharing of labour resources across counties and districts is important; (2) the most cost?effective dispensing plan across a region involves a multi-modality strategy, consisting of a combination of drive-through, walk-through and closed PODs, each operating at a throughput rate depending on the surrounding population density, facility type and labour availability; (3) the optimal combination of POD modalities changes according to various facility capacity restrictions, as well as the availability of critical public health personnel; (4) an increase in the number of PODs in operation does not necessarily increase the total number of core public health personnel needed; (5) optimal staffing is non-linear with respect to throughput; thus, the optimal staffing and throughput cannot simply be estimated using an average estimate; (6) there exists an 'optimal' capacity for each POD location, depending on the population, that provides the most effective staffing needs. The study also reveals that such computationally sophisticated decision support tools are invaluable to emergency managers. The tools provide flexibility to quickly analyse design strategies and decisions, and can generate a feasible regional dispensing plan based on the best estimates and analysis available, and then allow for reconfiguration of various PODs as the event unfolds. The type of disaster being confronted (e.g. biological attack, infectious disease outbreak or natural disaster) also dictates different design considerations with respect to the dispensing clinic, facility locations, dispensing and backup strategies, and level of security protection.


The industry-standard guide to networked audiovisual systems Published with InfoComm International, Networked AV Systems discusses the essential information AV and IT professionals need to know when working with network-driven equipment and processes. Each chapter features diagrams, photos, notes, chapter reviews, and end-of-chapter questions with in-depth explanations. In accordance with InfoComm's performance standards for the AV industry as they relate to networking, this book serves as both an on-the-job reference and a study tool for the Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) exams. Networked AV Systems covers: Network classifications, topologies, architectures, and standards Layers of a network Bandwidth, encoding, and transport Network building blocks Designing a network for AV systems Ethernet and AVB Network addressing Subnetting: networking AV devices together Protocols, ports, and documenting AV devices Audio and video streaming Digital signage Conferencing Secure remote management and monitoring Service level agreements Network security Troubleshooting networked systems


Polyspecific associations are commonly observed in social animals, including primates, and have been interpreted as adaptations either to improve access to resources or to provide protection against predators. Mixed‐species associations between Wied's marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii) and golden‐headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) have been documented, and are unique among Atlantic forest primates. Both species are endemic to southern Bahia where part of the forest has been converted into cacao agroforests, which have been subjected to management intensification. Tree density and canopy connectivity decrease in more intensively managed agroforests, potentially increasing predation risk and the frequency of mixed‐species groups between these primates. Here, we test this hypothesis using a standardized, large spatial‐scale data set obtained from camera‐trapping in 30 sites across an agroforestry landscape mosaic. As expected, the frequency of mixed‐species groups increased in more intensively managed agroforests, but only relative to the total number of records of tamarins. Our results highlight that the benefits of mixed‐species groups can be asymmetrical among species and variable across the landscape. They corroborate that predation avoidance is an important advantage of mixed‐species groups in callitrichids, especially for conspicuous species living in smaller groups, such as the tamarin. Despite the importance of agroforests to conservation, our results indicate that management intensification can increase predation risk for species of conservation concern. To maintain the conservation value of agroforests, management practices should be planned to avoid any loss of canopy connectivity, taking into account the biodiversity vs. productivity trade‐off associated with shade management.


The first part of the title of this article purposefully recalls Walter Benjamin's interpretation of 'love at last sight' in connection with Charles Baudelaire's famous poem entitled 'To a Passerby' in his famous book 'The Flowers of Evil'. The poem was written about a lost chance of love. Within the title of this article it is used in relation to the concept of peace. The other part of the title contains Andrew Herscher's concept of 'warchitecture', which is used to describe destroyed or semi destroyed pieces of architecture in political conflict zones. The paper intendeds to represent another face of warchitecture, which has nothing to do with physical destruction. By making value judgements regarding examples of architectural aesthetics, which exist within a long-term conflict zone—Jerusalem; Mosche Safdie's David Village and Santiago Calatrava's Bridge of Strings will be discussed. Peacefully they may stand in their appearance, they express a 'nonbeing peace' when analyzed in relation to their context. Accordingly, this paper questions both buildings' attempts to peace and harmony when discrimination is taking place against Palestinians in Jerusalem. By articulating the relationship between the representation of 'nonbeing' and the destruction of buildings' 'warchitecture' during wars, the paper shows that neglect can be another tool of destruction towards Palestinians and their culture.


Increasing carbon dioxide emissions have given rise to global warming. Therefore, the need to reduce these emissions is being widely discussed. Decreasing energy consumption by efficient energy use is required to directly influence carbon dioxide emissions. Recently, energy consumption in the civilian sector is rising in Japan. To address this problem, the introduction of a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) is effective because it enables the control of power consumption and an economical energy use. Controlled heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is an essential function to be implemented in HEMS. HVAC control systems are now commercial and several HEMS experiments with HVAC control have been conducted in Japan. However, only few experiments have been conducted in cold districts because peak energy consumption predominantly occurs in summer. Nevertheless, from a carbon dioxide emissions reduction viewpoint, in such districts, the use of kerosene fan heaters, which are popular, becomes a dominant source of emissions around the year, but particularly in winter. In this study, we constructed a HEMS at 16 houses in a cold district, with the collecting function of environmental conditions, heating appliances status, the amount electric/oil energy consumption, and with the control function of HVAC systems. In particular, specially designed fully-controlled and monitored kerosene fan heaters are introduced. To confirm the effectiveness of the proposed HEMS, an energy saving experiment was conducted in which the use of kerosene fan heaters was controlled on the basis of the acquired environmental information, without degrading the room comfort. A reduction in carbon dioxide emissions was monitored along with the comfort level. This is the first experiment which integrates kerosene fan heaters into HEMS. This study demonstrated the ability of autonomous heater control to reduce the burden of residents and the usefulness of HEMS in Japan's cold district.


Rapid development of extremely-low voltage high current MOSFETs allows reversing common design principles to explore new applications, such as battery powered traction drives. This enables the usage of multi-phase single-turn stator windings which can achieve a copper fill factor close to one. This paper briefly describes the proposed 2V, 1.1kW MOSFET commutated 13-phase permanent magnet DC motor and presents the efficiency and resistive loss measurements of the first prototype. The motor was successfully run with drive currents up to 520 A. Most of the obtained losses were resistive contact losses due to the flexible winding connections, less than 6% are dedicated to the MOSFETs. The results show that such a high current drive system is feasible and has great potential for further improvements, which is supported by the rapid development of extremely-low voltage high current semiconductors.


Light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins (LHCI) associated with photosystem I (PSI) and the genes encoding these proteins have been characterized in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, extending previous studies of the PSII-LHCII [Teramoto et al. (2001) Plant Cell Physiol. 42: 849]. In order to assign LHCI proteins in the thylakoid membranes, the PSI-LHCI supercomplex that retains all of the major LHCI proteins was purified. Seven distinct LHCI proteins were resolved from the purified supercomplex by a high-resolution SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and their N-terminal amino acid sequences were determined. One LHCI protein (band e) was newly found, although the other six LHCI proteins corresponded to those previously reported. Genomic clones encoding these seven LHCI proteins were newly isolated and the nucleotide sequences were determined. A comprehensive characterization of all members of Lhc gene family in this alga revealed that LHCI proteins are more highly diverged than LHCII, suggesting functional differentiation of the protein components in LHCI. Neighbor joining trees were constructed for LHC proteins from C. reinhardtii and those of Arabidopsis thaliana or Galdieria sulphuraria to assess evolutionary relationships. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that (1). green algal LHCI and LHCII proteins are more closely related to one another than to LHCI proteins in red algae, (2). green algae and higher plants possess seven common lineages of LHC proteins, and (3). Type I and III LHCI proteins are conserved between green algae and higher plants, while Type II and IV are not. These findings are discussed in the context of evolution of multiple diverse antenna complexes.


The controversy regarding the ill effects of electromagnetic fields began in 1979 when Nancy Wertheimer and Ed Leeper claimed to have found a connection between childhood leukemia and power lines. In 1997, a group of researchers led by Martha Linet, M. D., attempted to provide evidence that there was no link between cancer and electromagnetic fields. The study showed that the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia did not escalate with increasing electromagnetic field levels in the children's homes. When compared to the Earth's static magnetic field of 0.5 Gauss, these fields were extremely small. Within the past decade, magnets have been used to treat various medical conditions including arthritis and migraines. Magnetotherapy is the term coined for this alternative approach to medicine which requires placing medical magnets on painful areas to reduce soreness and accelerate healing. The actual mechanism by which, and to what extent, magnets affect the body is unclear. Recent experiments involving Xenopus embryos indicate that huge magnetic fields of approximately 17 Tesla 1 can change the second and third cleavage planes of development. These planes will orient, vertically or horizontally, to the direction of the applied magnetic field (Denegre, et. al. 1998). The potential effects of magnetic fields on the growth of human fibroblast cells were investigated in this study. Cell cultures were split and the new cultures were exposed to a one-TesIa magnetic field for approximately thirty-six hours during their growth phase. Half of the exposed cultures were counted for proliferation rate and the remainder of the cultures were analyzed for patterns of growth. An F test indicated that there was no significant difference in the growth rates between experimental and control cultures. A Chi square test was used to examine whether cells aligned themselves with the magnetic field during growth. The statistics showed that the data for the control and experimental groups were both significantly different from a random pattern. Since both the control and experimental groups had significant results, it can be concluded that the growth patterns of fibroblasts from the experimental group were no different than those in the control group. The results of this study indicate that magnets do not appear to have an effect on fibroblast growth rates or patterns. This work supports the contention that the reports of positive responses to 1 One Tesla is equivalent to 10,000 Gauss.


We report the case of a patient with adrenal disease with achalasia and alacrima, which appear to be part of a widespread defect in adrenal and nervous system function.

A 21-year-old white woman at age 6 had had hypoglycaemia, hyperpigmentation, low plasma cortisol level (30 nmol/L; normal, 200 to 600), and a lack of cortisol response to cosyntropin. Alacrima had been noted since infancy but there were no other abnormal neurologic features. A roentgenogram of the chest at age 9 showed bilateral pulmonary opacities presumed due to aspiration; these have persisted. Nocturnal cough, vomiting of undigested food, and recurrent chest...


Platalea ajaja (Linnaeus, 1758) belongs to the Threskiornithidae (ibises and spoonbills), Threskiornitoidea, Ciconiiformes. The Threkiornithidae are currently divided into two groups: Threskiornithinae (ibises and allies), which have curved bills used to probe into the mud, and Plataleinae that have specialized flat bill shapes. The goal of the present work was to describe the cranial osteology of P. ajaja (Plataleinae) and compare it with other species of the family Threskiornithidae. Other species pertaining to the order Ciconiiformes were also considered for analyses and comparison with the former one. The results showed that P. ajaja presents many distinct characteristics from others species of the same family as: the shape of the upper jaw, dorsoventrally flattend, larger on the maxillar surface, taking a characteristic shape of a spoon; a conspicuous frontonasal suture; a short supraorbital process of the lacrimal bone; a conspicuous and sharp lateral process of the paraesphenoid bone; the nares are short with an oval shape; a short retroarticular process of the mandible; a short projection of the parasphenoid bone; a dorsoventrally flattened mandible. The characteristics shared between P. ajaja and other Threskiornithidae are: frontal and lacrimal bones not fused; well developed lacrimal bone, zigomatic and paroccipital processes; occipital fonticuli present; nares located in a ridge of the premaxillar bone; reduced maxillar bone; a conspicuous and laterally flattened vomer. However, it is necessary more osteological studies with other species of the same family and a phylogenetic analysis of the group for better understanding of the relationships among the Threskiornithidae.


This playbook recommends where investments in information and communications technology (ICT) should be made in order to support achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The playbook demonstrates how ICT can support and accelerate progress toward the SDGs. It assists organizations within each development sector in planning their use of ICT to enhance and strengthen the contributions they make to a better future for all people.


The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the efficacy of an alkaline mineral supplement as a means of sup- pressing disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and to check whether any change occurs in the circulating beta-endorphin concentration. Thirty-seven patients with moderately active RA of at least two years duration, who were receiving stable pharmacological treatment, participated in a 12-week study. All patients were randomly allocated to a supplemented group (30g of an alkaline mineral supplement daily) or to an unsupplemented group. Their usual diet and medication was maintained. Disease activity, pain, and health-associated status were recorded (DAS 28 - Disease Activity Score 28, VAS - visual analogue scale for pain, HAQ - Health Assessment Questionnaire). Plasma immunoreactive en- dorphin (ir-EP) was measured in the study groups and also in healthy subjects. DAS 28 and VAS decreased in the sup- plemented group, whereas there was no change in these parameters during the trial in the control group. The functions (HAQ) of the supplemented patients improved. The ir-EP levels increased in both groups but to a higher degree in the supplemented group. During the trial, medication (NSAIDs and steroids) could be reduced in the supplemented group only. Conclusion: This study suggests that an alkaline supplement may improve function and pain in rheumatoid arthritis and may represent an easy and safe addition to the usual treatment of RA patients.


Introduction
Connective tissue dysplasia (CTD) is a condition in which there is a disruption to the formation of connective tissue in the embryonic and/or postnatal periods.
The study reports on the clinical manifestations of cerebral venous insufficiency in children with CTD and examines the most common features for the timely prevention of complications of the course of the disease. We aimed to better characterize the common features of venous insufficiency symptoms of connective tissue disorders in children.
Methods
We examined 60 children with signs of CTD and 40 healthy controls in the age group of 10 to 16 years. The inclusion criteria consisted of venous complaints, symptoms and signs of CTD. Children with hereditary CTD, acquired deformations, trauma or other medical and psychiatric disorders were excluded.
Results
The CTD group, higher levels of total aesthesia (CTD: 45.9 ± 2.89; control: 25.9 ± 3.5) and physical fatigue (CTD: 43.4 ± 3.76; control: 24.9 ± 2.3). The CTD group also scored higher on the CESD depression scale compared to controls (CTD 26.4 ± 2.3; control: 12.3 ± 4.5).
Conclusions
Patients with severe CTD require closer attention as early as adolescence. Signs of chronic cerebral venous insufficiency combined with reduced background mood can be predictors of an earlier development of cerebrovascular disease in this group of patients.


Prepare for Exam 70-414and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of advanced server design, planning, and implementation. Designed for experienced, MCSA-certified professionals ready to advance their statusExam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the MCSE level. Optimize your exam-prep by focusing on the expertise needed to: Manage and Maintain a Server Infrastructure Plan and Implement a Highly Available Enterprise Infrastructure Plan and Implement a Server Virtualization Infrastructure Design and Implement Identity and Access Solutions


Our bodies are the medium through which we experience the world around us, so human-computer interaction can highly benefit from the richness of body movements and postures as an input modality. In recent years, the widespread availability of inertial measurement units and depth sensors led to the development of a plethora of applications for the body in human-computer interaction. However, the main focus of these works has been on using the upper body for explicit input. This thesis investigates the research space of full-body human-computer interaction through three propositions. The first proposition is that there is more to be inferred by natural users' movements and postures, such as the quality of activities and psychological states. We develop this proposition in two domains. First, we explore how to support users in performing weight lifting activities. We propose a system that classifies different ways of performing the same activity; an object-oriented model-based framework for formally specifying activities; and a system that automatically extracts an activity model by demonstration. Second, we explore how to automatically capture nonverbal cues for affective computing. We developed a system that annotates motion and gaze data according to the Body Action and Posture coding system. We show that quality analysis can add another layer of information to activity recognition, and that systems that support the communication of quality information should strive to support how we implicitly communicate movement through nonverbal communication. Further, we argue that working at a higher level of abstraction, affect recognition systems can more directly translate findings from other areas into their algorithms, but also contribute new knowledge to these fields. The second proposition is that the lower limbs can provide an effective means of interacting with computers beyond assistive technology To address the problem of the dispersed literature on the topic, we conducted a comprehensive survey on the lower body in HCI, under the lenses of users, systems and interactions. To address the lack of a fundamental understanding of foot-based interactions, we conducted a series of studies that quantitatively characterises several aspects of foot-based interaction, including Fitts's Law performance models, the effects of movement direction, foot dominance and visual feedback, and the overhead incurred by using the feet together with the hand. To enable all these studies, we developed a foot tracker based on a Kinect mounted under the desk. We show that the lower body can be used as a valuable complementary modality for computing input. Our third proposition is that by treating body movements as multiple modalities, rather than a single one, we can enable novel user experiences. We develop this proposition in the domain of 3D user interfaces, as it requires input with multiple degrees of freedom and offers a rich set of complex tasks. We propose an approach for tracking the whole body up close, by splitting the sensing of different body parts across multiple sensors. Our setup allows tracking gaze, head, mid-air gestures, multi-touch gestures, and foot movements. We investigate specific applications for multimodal combinations in the domain of 3DUI, specifically how gaze and mid-air gestures can be combined to improve selection and manipulation tasks; how the feet can support the canonical 3DUI tasks; and how a multimodal sensing platform can inspire new 3D game mechanics. We show that the combination of multiple modalities can lead to enhanced task performance, that offloading certain tasks to alternative modalities not only frees the hands, but also allows simultaneous control of multiple degrees of freedom, and that by sensing different modalities separately, we achieve a more detailed and precise full body tracking.


Knowledge management (KM) has rapidly risen to become a popular concept amongst its advocates. Critics claim it is simply old wine in new bottle. It is being touted as one of the significant by-products of an information and knowledge revolution, which may be historically unsurpassed in the comprehensiveness of its impacts on all aspects of human endeavours. Critics say the more things change the more they remain the same.After many centuries of philosophical and economical dialectics, the hitherto accepted role of landed property as a critical factor of production is increasingly being challenged. Nevertheless, it remains a significant variable to the success of many business units and indeed all nations. Hence, any concept, which seeks to impact on the productivity of businesses, must not only impact on the social actors within such organisation but also impact on its structures and processes.An extensive review of literature, by this writer, revealed scant research into the role of these phenomena in project-based sectors and nothing published on property investment and development businesses. Hence, the aim of this research was to determine if commercial property investors are practicing KM in any form and if it leads to any significant change in their investment returns or contribute to the achievement of other corporate goals.It commenced with a brief examination of the philosophical debate on the epistemology and ontology of knowledge. The study established the existing range of expositions on the distinctions between data, information, knowledge, KM and Intellectual Capital Management. Included is a detailed review of KM models and the constraints of outcome measurement. The interplay between organisational culture and employee mindset was considered in addition to the effects of physical workspace on KM. The study followed this with a concise review of the nature of the property industry, the characteristics of commercial property investment, the criteria that impact on investment returns and current drivers of change.Based on initial predilection towards positivism, the Researcher conducted a general survey within the chosen scope of the northwest region of England. Analysis of the returns confirmed that only 11.1% of private commercial property companies are proactively implementing KM, whilst others are still at a lower end of a spectrum that see them implementing information management strategies and traditional estate management practices only.Having purged the research of the initial cognitive predispositions, a reasoned transition from positivistic orthodoxy to a phenomenological paradigm was made and a case study secured amongst the few organisations implementing this practice. The research continued steadily with methodological triangulation as a means of studying the dynamics in the case. An electronic survey of all 179 employees was conducted, followed by additional interviewing of 22 employees and directors. Also data was collected to facilitate secondary analysis of ten years statutory accounts and the previously conducted survey of over 412 customers of the case studied.The study concluded that the management practices in Bruntwood Estates Ltd (a private commercial property investment company) align with the characteristics of the KM phenomena and contributes positively to both its intellectual capital and financial capital. The impacts and shortcomings of the implementation of these practices were elicited as a prelude to the formulation of models that could serve as innovative tools to other players and researchers in the commercial property industry.


Trade Policy in Developing Countries is aimed at academics, graduate students and professional, policy-oriented economists. It is the first work in the field to analyze trade policy in an integrated theoretical framework based on optimizing dynamic models that pay careful attention to the structural features of developing country economies. Following a thorough critique of the debate on inward- vs. outward-oriented trade regimes, Buffie examines the main issues of concern to less developed countries in the areas of optimal commercial policy, trade liberalization and direct foreign investment. In addition to many new and important results, the book contains systematic reviews of the empirical evidence and three expositional chapters that show the reader how to use the technical machinery of economic theory to construct and manipulate multi-sector dynamic general equilibrium models.


Recent studies of semantic memory have focused on dissociating the neural bases of two foundational components of human thought: taxonomic categories, which group similar objects like dogs and seals based on features, and thematic categories, which group dissimilar objects like dogs and leashes based on events. While there is emerging consensus that taxonomic concepts are represented in the anterior temporal lobe, there is disagreement over whether thematic concepts are represented in the angular gyrus (AG). We previously found AG sensitivity to both kinds of concepts; however, some accounts suggest that such activity reflects inhibition of irrelevant information rather than thematic activation. To test these possibilities, an fMRI experiment investigated both types of conceptual relations in the AG during two semantic judgment tasks. Each task trained participants to give negative responses (inhibition) or positive responses (activation) to word pairs based on taxonomic and thematic criteria of relatedness. Results showed AG engagement during both negative judgments and thematic judgments, but not during positive judgments about taxonomic pairs. Together, the results suggest that activity in the AG reflects functions that include both thematic (but not taxonomic) processing and inhibiting irrelevant semantic information.


During the past two years, the world has experienced its most severe slump since the Great Depression in the 1930s. The Nordic countries have been hit harder than most other countries. Due to its sharpness and depth, the current global financial and economic crisis has initiated a wide debate on the supposed self-correcting properties of the market economy, on the need for more effective regulation and supervision of financial markets, and on the role of macroeconomic stabilization policies. It has led to a re-evaluation of the role of monetary and fiscal policy. It calls into question the virtues of unfettered globalization, underlining the need for global institutions and cooperation. It throws new light on the costs and benefits of the welfare state and its risk- sharing mechanisms. The crisis is opening up a broad agenda of essential policy issues for renewed consideration. This is a report on the global financial and economic crisis from the point of view of small open economies with particular reference to the Nordic economies. The report discusses a number of important questions: Why were the Nordic countries hit hard by a crisis, which apparently had little if anything to do with the stability of their own financial systems or with their competitiveness in global markets? What have the Nordics done and what could they do to alleviate the domestic consequences of the crisis? What are the lessons of the crisis with regard to monetary policy and the different choices of monetary regime across the Nordic region? Is there need and scope for expansionary fiscal policy in small open economies even though fiscal multipliers may be small and large budget deficits may threaten public debt sustainability? How can fiscal consolidation and a resumption of economic growth best be reconciled? Should the Nordic countries reconsider their outward-looking growth model in view of a more unstable global economy? Is the Nordic socio-economic model an asset or a liability in the light of the crisis? The report offers an in-depth analysis of the macroeconomic issues faced by small open economies in a turbulent world economy. It outlines the main elements of the policies that should guide the Nordic countries in their search for less vulnerability and more resilience.


The changes in match demands when a team is promoted from the English Championship League (ECL) to the English Premier League (EPL) remain unknown. To date, estimates of between-league differences are made using different teams. This study explores differences in physical and technical performance of players who competed in the ECL and then the EPL following promotion. Although total distance covered over the season was the only measure to significantly differ (p= 0.0001) between the ECL and EPL, the 3% increase in total distance in the EPL was deemed practically non-significant. In the EPL, players had an extra 57 ± 6 hours (p = 0.0002) between matches, yet this had little affect on total, sprint and high intensity distances. In summary, higher league standard may not require greater physical capacity and developing a tactical strategy to suit the ability of players that is sustainable across leagues is important.


Associated to any finite simple graph Γ is the chromatic polynomial PΓ(q) whose complex zeros are called the chromatic zeros of Γ. A hierarchical lattice is a sequence of finite simple graphs {Γn}∞n-0 built recursively using a substitution rule expressed in terms of a generating graph. For each n, let μn denote the probability measure that assigns a Dirac measure to each chromatic zero of Γn. Under a mild hypothesis on the generating graph, we prove that the sequence μn converges to some measure μ as n tends to infinity. We call μ the limiting measure of chromatic zeros associated to {Γn}∞n-0. In the case of the Diamond Hierarchical Lattice we prove that the support of μ has Hausdorff dimension two.The main techniques used come from holomorphic dynamics and more specifically the theories of activity/bifurcation currents and arithmetic dynamics. We prove anew equidistribution theorem that can be used to relate the chromatic zeros of ahierarchical lattice to the activity current of a particular marked point. We expect that this equidistribution theorem will have several other applications, and describe one such example in statistical mechanics about the Lee-Yang-Fisher zeros for the Cayley Tree.


This study is focused on the importance of performance measurement in projects. Projects are considered as temporary organizations with specific goals and objectives. Generally, power plant projects are considered as high-tech and largescale projects and construction of them require a great amount of financial resource, human resource, materials and equipment. Also, they are considered as one of the strategic infrastructures of a country and any delay in these kinds of projects results in huge cost overrun as well as negative social and economic impacts. So, it is important to use a robust performance measurement system to help project managers to manage them effectively to achieve goals and objectives of projects. In this study, by using literature, a conceptual model of performance measurement was developed and then by using the company vision, the KRAs of the project were identified. Also, according to the project contract, the long-term and short term objectives were identified. To assess the performance of process and systems a set of KPIs identified.


This study sought to identify factors that parents and teachers described as impacting on their interactions. Previous research indicated that student performance levels increase when parents and teachers work together; however, in practice, there are underlying tensions. The key findings revealed that the nature of parent-teacher interactions was either collaborative or noncollaborative; several activities underpinned these practices; and positive or less than satisfactory outcomes were afforded to students. Furthermore, parents and teachers had similar preferences on what practices made their interactions collaborative; however, they had different views (preferences) on what constituted non-collaborative practices. The findings from this research have implications not only for teachers and school leaders, but also for universities and pre-service teachers. This study recommends professional learning opportunities for teachers and pre-service teachers examining these collaborative and non-collaborative


Timber harvesting has always been a major business cost component for forest owners and or forest management companies. One major development in improving harvesting efficiency was the recognition that using independent contractors captured both the innovation skills as well as the motivation to improve productive effectiveness for those managing operations. Since the 1960's most developed countries extensively use a contractual based harvesting workforce. What combines the forest manager and the harvesting contractor financially, through a contract, is the logging rate. In an idealized open market system the logging rate would be determined by supply and demand of services. However, a true open market system is rarely used to set harvesting rates. This paper discusses what constitutes a harvesting rate and reviews three different methodologies that can be used to develop them. Information was captured through interviews with company representatives in the USA and New Zealand, as well as reviewing relevant literature.


Quality assessment of light field images poses new questions and challenges, due to the enriched nature of the content and the possibilities it offers at the rendering step. Image-based rendering is conventionally used to showcase the increased capabilities of light field contents on traditional 2D screens. However, the range of possibilities for rendering parameters is virtually endless, which poses the problem of what rendered images should be used when performing visual quality assessments, as well as how to properly present them to subjects during quality evaluations. Single-image assessment has been used in the past to conduct subjective quality evaluations. Since this type of assessment generates a large number of stimuli to be evaluated, which increases the complexity, length, and cost of the test, it is fundamental to analyze whether the added strain on the evaluation procedure is compensated by statistically relevant results. In this paper, we analyze the results of a subjective evaluation campaign that used single-image assessment by means of statistical tools, to understand whether the advantages of evaluating light field contents through separately rendered images counterbalance the increase in complexity. In particular, we test whether different types of rendering lead to statistically different ratings, and if testing a variety of rendering parameters through single-image assessment is advisable. Results provide useful guidelines to designs more efficient subjective quality assessment for light field contents.


Article history: Received 25 March 2008 Revised 22 September 2008 Accepted 23 September 2008 Available online 4 October 2008 Is social capital a substitute or a complement to formal institutions for achieving economic growth? A number of recent micro studies suggest that interpersonal trust has its greatest impact on economic performancewhen court institutions are relatively weak. The conventional wisdom from most macro studies, however, is that social capital is unconditionally good for growth. On the basis of themicro evidence, we outline an investment game between a producer and a lender in an incomplete-contracts setting. A key insight is that social capital will have the greatest effect on the total surplus from the game at lower levels of institutional strength and that the effect of social capital vanishes when institutions are very strong. When we bring this prediction to an empirical cross-country growth regression, it is shown that the marginal effect of social capital (in the form of interpersonal trust) decreases with institutional strength. Our results imply that a one standard deviation rise in social capital in weakly institutionalized Nigeria should increase economic growth by 1.8 percentage points, whereas the same increase in social capital only increases growth by 0.3 percentage points in strongly institutionalized Canada. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: O17 O43 O57


Over the centuries, interest in the Arctic and the commercial and strategic potential of its sea lanes and natural resources has been persistent, from the fur trading empires of Rupert's Land and Russian America to our own time – but climatic conditions prevented the region's full potential from being achieved before now, holding back its development, and limiting its contribution to the world economy, making it neither a rimland or a heartland but something that more closely resembles what geopolitical theorist Mackinder called Lenaland – named for the isolated Lena river valley in Russia and which captured the unique geostrategic insularity of the Far North, which made it possible for the Cold War's two armed and often hostile superpowers to come face to face along their long ice curtain with very little risk of war, in great contract to the Central Front in the once-divided Germany where a million men stood armed and ready for war for a generation. This long isolation, that dates back before the dawn of man and accounts for the region's unique fauna like the polar bear and beluga whale, blending into an environment defined by ice and snow for millennia. What defined the region's biological evolution also shaped its geopolitical stability, and limited mankind's otherwise heavy footprint. But all this now looks to be changing, or least the prospect of such a change has tipped from the implausible to the possible – as a result of the rapid warming of the Arctic climate and the measurably accelerated summer ice melts, putting the region in play strategically for the first time since the Cold War's end.


Of all the preconditions to realising universal suffrage of Hong Kong's Chief Executive in 2017, the most challenging is getting two-thirds of the 70 legislators to agree on a reform proposal. On 31 August 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress made this challenge even more difficult by imposing restrictive and controlling conditions on the nomination process. The decision sparked unprecedented protests and acts of civil disobedience on the streets of Hong Kong in September and October 2014. Legislators have until the middle of 2015 to determine whether they can agree with the central and local governments on a single reform proposal. This paper assesses the arguments for and against reform, within the constraints of the Standing Committee's decision. It argues in favour of reform so long as there are sufficient reassurances and measures to regain the trust of the Hong Kong people. The complete reform proposal will need to have sufficient safeguards and counter-balances to ensure that the central government does not control both the nomination and election results. All stakeholders need to take positive steps to make for more favourable reform conditions.


Joseph Cornell is one of the most significant American artists of the 20th century. His work is highly visible in the world's most prestigious galleries, including the Tate Modern and MOMA. His famous boxes and his collage work have been admired and widely studied.

However, Cornell also produced an extraordinary body of film work, a serious contribution to 20th-century avant-garde cinema, and this has been much less examined.

In this book, Michael Piggott makes the case for the significance of Joseph Cornell's films. This is an important contribution to our knowledge of 20th-century culture for scholars and students of film and art history and American studies and for all those interested in pop culture, celebrity and fandom.


When the inner (cytoplasm) potential grows up beyond zero potential (in the external liquid), positive ions cannot flow anymore into the cytoplasm. So effective knowledge of excitation was not provided by the conventional Hodgkin Huxley model. This paper first presents a model and analysis of a depletion layer formed at the boundary between positive and negative (p – n) zones. This paper then gives an advanced model of activity, which structure is composed of three zone separated by two junctions induced dynamically in cytoplasm for input stimulation. This paper then gives equivalent circuit of "activity" with input and surround passive circuit. This model are commonly applied to dual modes of excitation of positive and negative potential generations, and also applied to output signals with pulse and plateau for the first and the second messengers. Key-Words: Neuron, Activity, Electrophysical model, Zone and depletion layer, Liquid junction, Positive / Negative potentials, Pulse and plateau.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the application of quality function deployment (QFD) in a Housing Association (HA) located in the UK. Facing the problem of improving a company's performance, practitioners and academics have fashioned and applied a variety of models, theories and techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

The research questions were developed from a review of the quality and process improvement literature and tested using evidence from field-based, action research within a UK HA company. The case study provides insight to the benefits and challenges arising from the application of QFD.

Findings

The results provided insight to the benefits and challenges arising from the application of a specific tool, QFD. The primary findings were: QFD can be successfully adapted, applied and utilised within the challenging environment of social housing and other sectors, such as professional services; the model can be modified to use most processes/sub-processes; it must include both external and internal requirements and, to be useful, use more detailed process parameters appropriately.

Practical implications

The conclusions drawn add to ongoing commentaries on aspects of quality improvement, especially the application of QFD within the service sector. The authors develop questions for future research regarding improvement projects.

Originality/value

The conclusion proposes that the implementation of QFD should have a positive impact upon a company; if approached in the right manner. It provides a useful mechanism for developing evidence-based strategy of operational change, control and improvement. The research proposes questions for future research into aspects of operational quality and efficiency.


Akingbola K, Rogers SE, Baluch A. Change Management in Nonprofit Organizations : Theory and Practice. Palgrave MacMillan; 2019 Nonprofit organizations are arguably in a perpetual state of change. Nonprofits must constantly scan, analyze, and adapt to the implications of the changing needs of clients, the community, funders, and government policy. Hence, the core competencies and capabilities of nonprofits must include how to effectively manage change. The knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees, volunteers, and managers must include the competencies required to formulate and implement strategies to manage planned and unplanned change. This book brings to the forefront the challenges and opportunities of change by combining insights from practice, research, and theories of change management to examine nonprofits. It incorporates interdisciplinary perspectives to examine the dimensions, determinants, and outcomes of change in nonprofits. It offers managers, researchers, and students case examples on how to develop, implement, and manage change in the context of nonprofits. Readers will better understand the dimensions of change that are unique to nonprofits and how these should be integrated into strategy and day-to-day operations, including reflection for both the change agent and the change recipient. https://login.smhslibresources.health.wa.gov.au/login?url=https://ebookcentral.proquest.co m/lib/semhs/detail.action?docID=5742865


The paper analyses the causes of the current crisis of the global financial system, with particular emphasis on the systemic elements that turned the crisis of subprime mortgage-backed securities in the United States, a small part of the overall system, into a worldwide crisis. The first half of the paper explains the role of mortgage securitization as a mechanism for allocating risks from real estate investments and discusses what has gone wrong and why in the implementation of this mechanism in the United States. The second half of the paper discusses the incidence of systemic risk in the crisis. Two elements of systemic risk are identified. First, there was excessive maturity transformation through conduits and structured-investment vehicles (SIVs); when this broke down in August 2007, the overhang of asset-backed securities that had been held by these vehicles put significant additional downward pressure on securities prices. Second, as the financial system adjusted to the recognition of delinquencies and defaults in US mortgages and to the breakdown of maturity transformation of conduits and SIVs, the interplay of market malfunctioning or even breakdown, fair value accounting and the insufficiency of equity capital at financial institutions, and, finally, systemic effects of prudential regulation created a detrimental downward spiral in the overall financial system. The paper argues that these developments have not only been caused by identifiably faulty decisions, but also by flaws in financial system architecture. In thinking about regulatory reform, one must therefore go beyond considerations of individual incentives and supervision and pay attention to issues of systemic interdependence and transparency.


Soils contain tremendous microbial phylogenetic and functional diversity. Recent advances in the application of molecular methods into microbial ecology have provided a new appreciation of the extent of soil-borne microbial diversity, but our understanding of the forces that shape and maintain this tremendous source of biodiversity still remain rudimentary. The overall aim of the work presented in this thesis was to increase our understanding of the forces that allow for the tremendous amount of diversity to be maintained in soil microbial communities. Specifically, the aim of this research was to elucidate the role of soil habitat connectivity, as determined by soil structure and hydration status on microbial resource competition and habitat utilization, the structure and diversity of complex bacterial and fungal communities and specific microbial groups with different life-history strategies, bacterial:fungal ratios and colonization potential of bacteria with different motility mechanisms. In order to allow for specific examination of habitat properties and microbial interactions and community dynamics, the work presented in this thesis relied on the development and application of a sand microcosm system, which allows for the independent manipulation of specific soil parameters. This system was applied to study resource competition between filamentous and non-filamentous bacteria, the diversity and community structure of complex bacterial and fungal communities as impacted by soil connectivity and bacterial motility in a soil-like environment. In an experiment designed to examine the effect of connectivity on the growth dynamics of filamentous versus non-filamentous bacteria, it was demonstrated that filamentous bacteria have a relative competitive advantage over non-filamentous bacteria in poorly connected soils, a result that was attributed to their ability to bridge air-gaps and thus explore new micro-habitats. Similar to filamentous bacteria, the fungal hyphal growth form provides fungi with a relative advantage over most bacteria in poorly connected soils, as demonstrated by tracking bacterial and fungal PLFAs in a community-level experiment. High-throughput sequence analysis of ribosomal RNA genes of bacterial and fungal communities revealed a contrasting effect of habitat connectivity on bacteria and fungi. While decreased habitat connectivity facilitated the maintenance of higher bacterial diversity and richness, fungal communities exhibited the opposite trend with greater diversity and richness in well-connected soils. Pore size generally had a greater impact than matric potential in structuring the microbial. Lastly, in an examination of bacterial motility, it was demonstrated that habitat pore size, matric potential and nutrient availability differentially impact the mobility of different bacterial species. Also, only a small fraction of the total bacterial species present in a natural soil community was able to expand rapidly through a soil-like sand microcosm system. In total, this thesis demonstrates that habitat connectivity, as determined by pore geometry and hydration status, has a great impact on microbial interactions and plays an important role in structuring bacterial and fungal communities in soil.


Introduction This study evaluated if the probability of postpartum depression (PPD) increases with an upward gradient of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy and whether substance use by any member of the couple modifies this relationship. Methods The sample comprised 811 randomly selected mothers of children under five months old attending primary health services of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2) gauged physical IPV, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) assessed PPD. A hierarchical logistic regression model was employed to deal with confounding. Specific interaction terms between physical IPV and alcohol misuse or use of illicit drugs were also tested. Results Physical IPV during pregnancy was reported by 37.8% of respondents and 24.3% were presumably depressed (EPDS score ≥12). Interaction between physical IPV and partners' alcohol misuse was statistically significant (p value=0.026). Although there was a significant rise of PPD with just one act of physical IPV in the absence of a partners' alcohol misuse, mounting acts did not have any further influence. Conversely, when partners misused alcohol, the probability progressively and steeply increased from two acts onwards, reaching almost sevenfold by six cumulative physical IPV events as opposed to none. Discussion Results reinforce the relevance of physical IPV as a risk factor to PPD. They also suggest that context matters, partners' alcohol misuse acting as an important effect modifier. These evidences justify tailored preventive, screening and intervention procedures for IPV and alcohol misuse during pregnancy and the postpartum period.


Many expert, or knowledge-based, systems have been constructed in the domain of ecology, several of which are concerned with habitat evaluation. However, these systems have been geared to solving particular problems, with little regard paid to the underlying relationships that exist within a biological system. The implementation of problem-solving methods with little regard to understanding the more primary knowledge of a problem area is referred to in the literature as 'shallow', whilst the representation and utilisation of knowledge of a more fundamental kind is termed 'deep'. This thesis contains the details of a body of research exploring issues that arise from the refinement of traditional expert systems methodologies and theory via the incorporation of depth, along with enhancements in the sophistication of the methods of reasoning (and subsequent effects on the mechanisms of communication between human and computer), and the handling of uncertainty. The approach used to address this research incorporates two distinct aspects. Firstly, the literature of 'depth', expert systems in ecology, uncertainty, and control of reasoning and related user interface issues are critically reviewed, and where inadequacies exist, proposals for improvements are made. Secondly, practical work has taken place involving the construction of two knowledge based systems, one 'traditional', and the other a second generation system. Both systems are primarily geared to the problem of evaluating a pond site with respect to its suitability for the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). This research indicates that it is possible to build a second-generation knowledge-based system in the domain of ecology, and that construction of the second generation system required a magnitude of effort similar to the firstgeneration system. In addition, it shows that, despite using different architectures and reasoning strategies, such systems may be judged as equally acceptable by endusers, and of similar accuracy in their conclusions. The research also offers guidance concerning the organisation and utilisation of deep knowledge within an expert systems framework, in both ecology and in other domains that have a similar concept-rich nature.


Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990) rose from the ranks of chorus girl to become one of Hollywood's most talented leading women-and America's highest paid woman in the mid-1940s. Shuttled among foster homes as a child, she took a number of low-wage jobs while she determinedly made the connections that landed her in successful Broadway productions. Stanwyck then acted in a stream of high-quality films from the 1930s through the 1950s. Directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra treasured her particular magic. A four-time Academy Award nominee, winner of three Emmys and a Golden Globe, she was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy. Dan Callahan considers both Stanwyck's life and her art, exploring her seminal collaborations with Capra in such great films as Ladies of Leisure, The Miracle Woman, and The Bitter Tea of General Yen; her Pre-Code movies Night Nurse and Baby Face; and her classic roles in Stella Dallas, Remember the Night, The Lady Eve, and Double Indemnity. After making more than eighty films in Hollywood, she revived her career by turning to television, where her role in the 1960s series The Big Valley renewed her immense popularity. Callahan examines Stanwyck's career in relation to the directors she worked with and the genres she worked in, leading up to her late-career triumphs in two films directed by Douglas Sirk, All I Desire and There's Always Tomorrow, and two outrageous westerns, The Furies and Forty Guns. The book positions Stanwyck where she belongs-at the very top of her profession-and offers a close, sympathetic reading of her performances in all their range and complexity.


ABSTRACT Populations of the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes are genetically structured into a small number of major clonal groups, some of which have been implicated in multiple outbreaks. The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate an optimized multilocus variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) subtyping scheme for strain discrimination and clonal group identification. We evaluated 18 VNTR loci and combined the 11 best ones into two multiplexed PCR assays (MLVA-11). A collection of 255 isolates representing the diversity of clonal groups within phylogenetic lineages I and II, including representatives of epidemic clones, were analyzed by MLVA-11, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). MLVA-11 had less discriminatory power than PFGE, except for some clones, and was unable to distinguish some epidemiologically unrelated isolates. Yet it distinguished all major MLST clones and therefore constitutes a rapid method to identify epidemiologically relevant clonal groups. Given its high reproducibility and high throughput, MLVA represents a very attractive first-line screening method to alleviate the PFGE workload in outbreak investigations and listeriosis surveillance.


Over the course of twenty-five years, from 1952 to 1977, Paul Scott published eleven novels that deal with Imperial England. Building on firsthand experience of the Raj while stationed in India during World War II, on subsequent visits to India, and on research of primary documents as well as histories, Scott dedicated himself to unraveling the enigma of those two conflicting yet related ideologies-patriarchal imperialism and liberal humanism-that mark the Raj experience. Yet Scott's Raj Quartet has been criticized for hearkening back to the rhetoric of Commonwealth literature and reromanticizing the "white man's burden." His vehicle, so the accusation goes, is his rape script that unifies the sequence of the four novels. However, a careful examination of his depiction of sexual and racial violence reveals that Scott's use of rape and buggery is far from stereotypical, and his purpose more complex than a nostalgic longing for irretrievable grandeur. Salman Rushdie, Jenny Sharpe, and M. Keith Booker(1) see Scott as fueling the rise of Raj revisionism in the 1970s and 80s, when conservative members of Parliament like Enoch Powell advocated severe limits on immigration from former colonies. For Booker, Scott's novels show a degree of longing for bygone days (p. 120). This "Raj nostalgia," Sharpe argues, marks "a mourning for the loss of empire that masquerades as self-criticism, a resurrection of the civilizing mission from its ashes" (p. 144). Does Scott in fact help to generate "the artistic counterpart to the rise of conservative ideologies in modern Britain" (Rushdie, p. 130)? Certainly it is apost hoc fallacy to suggest that Scott (who died in 1978) actually cashed in on the movie boom of the 1980s, when David Lean filmed Gandhi and Granada Television produced The Jewel in the Crown. Scott published his first novel, Johnnie Sahib, in 1952. Six of the eight novels published before the first volume of the Quartet in 1964 deal with the British imperial experience in some way, twenty to thirty years before such projects were popular or profitable. Not only does Scott's attention and his writing pre-date any renewed interest in the Raj, his novels were themselves marginalized by the artistic, cultural, and political mood of the 1950s and 60s. The reason, he believed, was "a kind of MIASMA ... an infectious or noxious emanation"(2) that enveloped the English during the post-war years after Indian Independence in 1947. They wanted only to forget that imperial experience, to put it and the moral quandary it represented behind them. As Scott points out, "when things are going badly, British insularity quickly promotes a passionate belief in the efficacy of everybody looking after his own" (Muse, p. 94), which helps explain the reactionary, conservative caps on immigration into England from the former colonies of the empire. But the subject that the English didn't want to face was for Scott precisely the subject they needed to face if they were to achieve the self-knowledge necessary to break out of such insular blindness. He believed that "India ... [is] the place where the British came to the end of themselves as they were" (p. 48) and so entered into "territorial fragmentation and dangerous racial memory" (p. 31). According to Scott, the 1950s and 60s were a period of disenchantment, and age of an "uncharitable" and restive culture "because our old reforming impulses bore fruits that turned out sour" (p. 37). A fissure developed between their self-image and their reality: "Free and broad of speech, mean of heart. Radical in protestation, reactionary in performance. Active in thought, lazy in habit. Satirical in style, pedagogic in manner. Tolerant on the surface, violently disposed underneath." The English were "alive enough to know that they are not living, but pondering, seeking new definitions of almost every aspect of human exchange." The reception of Scott's novels bears out this perception of post-war England. …


Abstract Academic study of the relationships between geography and religion constitutes a long-established subfield of cultural geography. The tradition is particularly strong in the United States where the seminal work of the Berkeley School stimulated a wealth of research on mapping the religious landscapes of North America. Religion has received far less attention within British human geography, due, in part, to the marginal position of religion within cultural geography and, in particular, to the absence of reliable, comprehensive data on religious affiliation. The present research overcomes these ideological and methodological obstacles to advance knowledge of the geography of religion in the United Kingdom. Employing data from the latest Census of Population, embedded within an established tradition of mapping geographies of religion, the research provides detailed analysis of the geography of religious affiliation in Scotland at the advent of the twenty-first century.


Medical equipment is implemented in highly complex hospital
environments, such as operating rooms, in hospitals around the world. In
operating rooms (ORs), technological equipment is used for surgical activities
and activities in support of surgeries. The implementation of government
policies in hospitals has resulted in varying implementation activities for
(medical) equipment. These result in varying lead times and success rates. An
integral and holistic protocol for implementation does not yet exist. In this
study, we introduce a protocol for the implementation of (medical) equipment in ORs
that consists of implementation factors and implementation activities.
Factors and activities are based on data from a systematic literature review and
an explorative survey among surgical support staff on factors for the successful
implementation of technological and (medical) equipment in ORs. The protocol
consists of five factors and related implementation activities: the establishment
of a project plan, organisational preparation, technological preparation,
maintenance, and training.


Member 2 of the late Precambrian to Lower Cambrian Chapel Island Formation of southeast Newfoundland was primarily deposited in storm-influenced, nearshore and shelf environments along a fine-grained coastline. Deposition took place within or adjacent to a deltaic system that supplied abundant silts and clays. Thin-bedded graded sandstone beds, hummocky cross-stratified beds, and a variety of very thin conglomerate units contain evidence for deposition by storm currents. Sedimentological and stratigraphic evidence is used to reconstruct the relative paleobathymetric position of the three major facies in member 2. The Gutter Cast Facies is a shallow-subtidal deposit characterized by very thin sandstone laminae and abundant pot and gutter casts. The Siltstone-Dominated Facies contains more laterally extensive thin-bedded sandstones and fewer erosional features, and was deposited in the inner shelf. The Sandstone-Dominated Facies consists of thin to medium, graded and hummocky cross-stratified sandstone beds deposited in a more distal shelf setting, but above storm wave base. The facies model and set of proximality trends developed for member 2 deposits may be applicable to other storm-influenced fine-grained shorelines. In this model, the shallow subtidal is a zone of throughput with high-velocity, sediment-laden flows eroding deep narrow scours (gutter casts) and depositing very little sand outside of these scours. As the storm-generated flows move into deeper water they decelerate, resulting in less erosion of the sea floor and depositing thicker and more continuous sand beds (Siltstone-Dominated Facies). Further from shore, bed thickness reaches a maximum (Sandstone-Dominated Facies) and hummocky crossstratification is abundant. Even more distally, bed thickness decreases again (represented by thinly laminated siltstones of the overlying member 3). Analysis of sedimentary structures and paleocurrent data suggests deposition by storm currents that transported sediment nearly perpendicular to shore.


Several in vitro methods using both human and animal tissues have been developed to study hepatic metabolism and placental transfer. The pressure to minimize animal studies has increased during the past few decades due to the public opinion and ethical considerations. However, these methods need further evaluation of their predictive power when applied in vivo. The aim of this work was to produce new information of the metabolism and transplacental passage of several anticonvulsants as well as to evaluate the usefulness of the placental perfusion method and several in vitro methods for analyzing metabolism in the prediction of clinical pharmacokinetics. Carbamazepine (CBZ) metabolism was studied using human and mouse liver microsomes, human hepatocytes, human liver slices and yeast cells expressing recombinant enzymes. All test systems predicted well the major metabolite carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide (CBZ-E). Also, minor metabolites were produced in slightly variable amounts in all systems except cells with recombinant enzymes. All human liver systems demonstrated that CYP3A4 is the principal CBZ metabolising enzyme. However, our results on CBZ-treated mice suggested that the metabolism of CBZ to CBZ-E is mainly mediated by CYP1A1 in C57/BL6 mice. Autoinduction of CBZ metabolism was seen in hepatocytes and in incubations using microsomes from CBZ-treated mice. Human liver and mouse liver microsomes metabolized oxcarbazepine (OCBZ) mainly to its active metabolite, 10-hydroxy-10,11dihydro-carbamazepine (10-OH-CBZ). Also, 10,11-trans-dihydroxy-10,11-dihydro-carbamazepine (10,11-D) and an unknown metabolite were detected. Placental transfer of lamotrigine (LTG) and diazepam (DZP) was considerable in the human placental perfusion system, indicating marked fetal exposure in vivo. The OCBZ, 10-OH-CBZ and 10,11-D analyzed from maternal venous and cord blood also suggested significant fetal exposure. The placental perfusion system predicts well the transplacental passage of LTG and OCBZ and its major metabolite. However, in vivo cord blood concentrations of DZP are higher than maternal concentrations. Placental perfusion studies did not predict this. Still, even with its limitations, the human placental perfusion method provides information that can be used to evaluate the risk factors associated with drug use during pregnancy because understanding of specific transport characteristics is a good basis for rational risk assessment. In conclusion, all of the tested in vitro systems were useful in the prediction of at least some aspects of in vivo pharmacokinetics and metabolism, but validation and refinement are still essential, as is also the need to keep in mind the limitations characteristic of each in vitro method.


- Filling is a task carried out by a machine that packages liquid products such as cold drinks or water .Traditional methods of bottle filling involved placing bottles onto a conveyor and filling only one bottle at a time. This method is time consuming and expensive. Our paper aims at filling and capping bottles simultaneously. The filling and capping operation takes place in a synchronized manner. It also includes a user-defined volume selection menu through which the user can input the desired volume to be filled in the bottles. The entire system is more flexible and time saving. The filling and capping operations are controlled using a Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC'S). This is because PLC's are very flexible, cost effective, space efficient and reduces complexity. By programming the PLC we control the entire system. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) is used to monitor the process.


Aim: There is no universal grading system for age-related cataracts. 'Lens Opacities Classification System III' (LOCS III), the current gold standard, requires lengthy training, is not time or costeffective and can have poor patient cooperation. These challenges are compounded in resource poor settings. In this study, we explore the OQUAL™ grid as a potential lens grading system compared to the gold standard to overcome these constraints. Method: Pensioners aged over 49 years in Mekelle, Ethiopia were offered a free eye examination and involved in the study if a cataractous lens was present. The degree of crystalline lens opacity was graded using LOCS III and the OQUAL™ grid. Bland-Altman plots were constructed to investigate agreement between both methods of cataract assessment. Results: Bland-Altman plots demonstrated good agreement between both both methods for pure nuclear sclerotic (NS) cataracts. There was weak agreement between both methods for other lens opacity with no systematic bias. A significant association with visual acuity was demonstrated with both OQUAL™ (Chi2=79.0 p=0.019) and a composite LOCS score (Chi2=73.7 p=0.004). Conclusion: This study confirms the OQUAL™ method bears comparison with LOCS III in predicting visual acuity and good agreement exists between the methods when assessing pure NS cataracts which are regarded as difficult to diagnose and grade. The OQUAL™ system detects severe cataracts with worse visual acuities, it is portable, simple, objective, cheap and requires a shorter training period than LOCS III. This allows for large-scale screening, case-finding or research to be conducted in a time and cost effective manner as OQUAL™ can be utilized by a technician on a largescale.


The Centrality-Lethality Hypothesis states that proteins with a higher degree centrality are more likely to be lethal, i.e. proteins in- volved in more interactions are more likely to cause death when knocked off. This proposition gave rise to several new investigations in which stronger associations were obtained for other centrality measures. Most of this previous work focused on the well known protein-interaction net- work of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In a recent study, however, it was found that degree and betweenness of lethal proteins is significantly above av- erage across 20 different protein-interaction networks. Closeness cen- trality, on the other hand, did not perform as well. We replicate this study and show that the reported results are due largely to a misapplication of closeness to disconnected networks. A more suit- able variant actually turns out to be a better predictor than betweenness and degree in most of the networks. Worse, we find that despite the dif- ferent theoretical explanations they offer, the performance ranking of centrality indices varies across networks and depends on the somewhat arbitrary derivation of binary network data from unreliable measure- ments. Our results suggest that the celebrated hypothesis is not sup- ported by data.


Background: Diabetic neuropathy is one of the major complications reported widely in type 2 diabetes. It affects all the sensory, autonomic and motor systems including auditory pathway.
Objectives: Present study is focused on functional analysis of auditory pathway by Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) and with Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) in type 2 diabetes. To compare the same in healthy individuals with euglycaemia.
Materials and methods: This is a cross sectional study, ten type 2 diabetic subjects were recruited as test group, age and sex matched ten healthy subjects were selected as control group. Inter wave peak latencies with BAER and pure tone averages with PTA for both the ears were recorded in test and control groups. Unpaired "t" test was carried out to compare the data, p value <0.05 is considered as significant.
Results: Right ear stimulus threshold in controls and test groups are 14.9 ± 2.04 & 30.9 ± 11.43 (p=0.01) respectively and for left ear, 18.9 ± 7.48 & 30.6 ± 4.0 (p=0.01) respectively. Wave I-III inter peak latencies of BAER for right ear in control and test groups are 1.79 ± 0.15 & 2.20 ± 0.30 (p=0.02) respectively and for left ear, 1.79 ± 0.12 & 2.25 ± 0.40 (p=0.04) respectively.
Conclusion: The present study concludes that in type 2 diabetes inter wave peak latencies and pure tone averages were higher when compared with controls.


Reservoir fluids are usually saturated with water at reservoir conditions and may form gas hydrates in transfer lines, which potentially may plug the system. For long subsea pipelines, methanol injection is the practical means for preventing hydrate formation and for decomposing blockages. For efficient and economical pipeline design and operation, phase boundaries, phase fractions and distribution of water and methanol among the equilibrium phases of the system must be accurately known. The system comprising reservoir fluids, water and methanol demonstrates a complex multiphase behaviour and currently no quantitatively adequate description for it has been detailed in the open literature. The problem is addressed in this thesis by a consistent application of classical equilibrium thermodynamics. At ordinary operating conditions any combination of as many as six phases can be potentially present. For the description of the vapour and all liquid phases, we use one cubic equation of state with nonconventional mixing rules developed as part of this work. Classical thermodynamics together with the cell theory of van der Waals and Platteeuw were employed for the development of a general model for the calculation of heat capacities of gas hydrates. A consistent methodology has also been developed for obtaining the potential parameters of the cell model. Thereafter, application of the model demonstrates that for nearly spherical guest molecules the classical cell theory is a strictly valid description of gas hydrates. However, complex guest molecules distort the hydrate lattice, resulting in variation of the numerical values of certain parameters of the model. This work presents an efficient algorithm for the solution of the problem of the identity of the equilibrium phases in multiphase systems where gas hydrates are potentially present. The algorithm is based on the alternative use of two equivalent forms of the Gibbs tangent plane criterion and it is believed to be more appropriate for systems involving gas hydrate equilibria than previous methods. Application of the proposed algorithm in several regions of the phase diagram of both binary and multicomponent systems shows that it can be used


Exposure to ultraviolet
radiation (UVR) has been shown to cause cellular damage in cyanobacteria. In
response to UVR exposure, some cyanobacteria produce scytonemin, an
indole-alkaloid sunscreen capable of absorbing long-wavelength UVA radiation.
Previous genomic and transcriptomic analyses have determined that the
production of scytonemin is controlled by a two-component regulatory system
(TCRS), encoded by Npun_F1277 and Npun_F1278 in the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133. This TCRS
is thought to not only regulate scytonemin biosynthesis, but also other
responses to light and UVR stimuli. To better understand the functionality of
the sensor kinase (SK) Npun_F1277 and to determine if it could activate
alternative UVR protection pathways, the SK was expressed in Escherichia coli. The first objective of
this study was to observe and quantify the level of fitness conferred to E. coli expressing Npun_F1277 from N. punctiforme (strain SKE) when exposed to white light, UVA, and UVB stress. Results
from these experiments do not indicate that expression of the N. punctiforme
SK conferred an advantage to E. coli under white light, UVA, or UVB
stress based on growth alone. Therefore, the second objective was to study the
expression of regulatory genes, such as response regulators, in E. coli
that are homologs to those associated with the SK Npun_F1277 in N. punctiforme
using quantitative-PCR. Expression of the selected genes was measured
following exposure to white light and UVA after 30 and 60 minutes as well as
UVB after 15 and 30 minutes. Comparison of SKE to empty-vector (EV) control
cells exposed to the same stress showed that there were significant changes in
the expression of important regulatory genes (e.g. recA, spoT, relA) in
the SKE strain. Moreover, when comparing SKE cells exposed to the same
conditions above to unstressed SKE cells, a similar result was seen for SKE
cells exposed to UVA and UVB as was found in the studies comparing SKE to EV
cells. These results suggest that the SK Npun_F1277 may play a role in multiple
defense mechanisms of N. punctiforme
in addition to initiation of the scytonemin biosynthesis pathway.


Using the article by Muradian et al. (2013) as entry point, I develop a broader framework for the conditions needed to allow PES to emerge and function. It is argued that PES are designed as instruments with clear goals, and will function without markets, economic valuation, or commoditized services. As a highly adaptive management tool, PES are particularly suited for achieving equitable and flexible conservation outcomes. However, PES do require a payment culture and good organization from service users, a trustful negotiation climate, and well-defined landor resource-tenure regimes for providers. These demanding preconditions may explain why PES implementation, while promising in many cases, has only spread slowly in low-income countries.


The Civil Code, in comparison with the Code of 1964, expanded and detailed regulation of civil relationships in the Republic of Lithuania. Law on obligations and one of its main institutes, law on contracts, have not avoided material changes as well. Practical importance of law on contracts is undisputed in the contemporary market economy. Therefore, it's very relevant that the novels of law on contracts, which are established in the Civil Code, were understood and interpreted correctly. Section XVIII of the Book 6 of the Civil Code regulates grounds and order of termination of contracts and following the principles of international commercial contracts prepared by UNIDROIT on 1994, introduces a term "fundamental breach of a contract", a concept that is new in the Lithuanian civil system. This article attempts to reveal the content of a concept "fundamental breach of a contract" that is established in the Article 6.217 of the Code by pointing out the meaning of each of its criteria as well as to denominate a possible new criterion that would reveal that concept. In the author's opinion, a concept "non-performance of a contract" used in the Article 6.217 of the CC should be interpreted extensively, i.e. in compliance with Article 6.205, as meaning a nonperformance of any obligation under a contract, including improper performance as well as performance behind time. When interpreting criteria set forth in paragraph 2 of the Article 6.217 of the CC, one should not regard a fact of "breach" of a contractual obligation as a necessary typical characteristic of all criteria provided for in this Article. Fundamental breach of a contract (non-performance) is a typical example of a evaluative norm; therefore, it has no particular and defined content. Only examples of application of this norm, which were provided in the article, may be prescribed. The author makes a conclusion that the particular content of a fundamental breach of a contract will depend on a particular factual situation. Referring to the legislative history of the criteria established in the Article 6.217 of the CC as well as to the interests, which they defend, while deciding whether a contract has been validly terminated on the grounds of the Article 6.217 of the CC, the author suggests compulsory evaluation of only two criteria the one of which is in the subparagraph 5 of the paragraph 2 of the Article 6.217 of the CC and another is the very first criteria provided in the subparagraphs 1 of the paragraph 2 of the Article 6.217 of the CC. Considering that a phrase "intentionally or due to a gross negligence", which is used in the subparagraph 3 of the paragraph 2 of the Article 6.217 of the CC that repeats the Article 7.3.1 (2) (c) of UNIDROIT Principles, contradicts a provision in Principles that provides for requirement of performance of an obligation without regard to a party's fault, the author also suggests the following reformulation of the said criterion: "whether a principle of good faith has been materially violated". According to the article's author, such formulation should eliminate the established contradiction without lessening the former regulatory scope of the norm.


In Australia, there is an emerging tendency among SMEs towards the adoption of cloud computing. However, there are limited studies investigating the factors that influence cloud computing adoption within Australian SMEs. To fill the research vacuum, we developed a research model based on the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework, and our prior exploratory study to investigate the determinants that influence the adoption of cloud computing. An organizational-level survey was conducted across Australia to collect data from technology decision makers in SMEs. Data collected from 203 firms are used to test the related hypotheses. This study contributes a statistically validated model of the influential determinants of cloud computing adoption. Data analysis indicates that Technological Factors (cost savings, relative advantages, compatibility, and trialability), Organizational Factors (firm size, top management support, innovativeness of the firm, and IS knowledge), and Environmental Factors (market scope and external computing support) were found to be determinants of the adoption of cloud computing services. Benefits of the findings are twofold. First, they provide knowledge about cloud computing determinants in the Australian marketplace. Second, they provide policy planners and SMEs' decision makers with insights and directions for successful adoption of cloud computing technology.


The purpose of this study was to analyze Teaching Factory (Tefa) Financing Planning, Tefa Financing Implementation, Tefa Financing Evaluation at SMK Negeri 7 Semarang. This research method uses descriptive-qualitative methods. After the data is obtained and analyzed, the results show that SMK Negeri 7 Semarang uses the budget for the benefit of the school, namely by implementing eight education standards. The final step is for schools together with related parties to carry out a budget evaluation. Tefa management is the main point covering planning, organizing, implementing, and evaluating. Tefa developed is integrated with the production unit for the implementation of student practices. Education financing is the amount of money generated and spent for various educational purposes. There are seven concepts related to Tefa education financing, namely (1) cost objects, (2) cost management information, (3) financing, (4) finance, (5) budget, (6) costs,


Ecosystems of European mountain lakes may harbour relict populations of boreal aquatic species, including cryptic lineages not easily recognised using traditional taxonomic methods. As a previous genetic study revealed the presence of the cryptic cladoceran species Daphnia lacustris in the area, we explored the species diversity of the Daphnia longispina group (Crustacea: Cladocera: Anomopoda) in lakes of the Tatra Mountains (Central Europe: Slovakia - Poland). Daphnia populations representing various morphotypes from sixteen mountain lakes were analyzed by DNA methods, including restriction fragment length polymorphism of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-RFLP) and sequencing of the mitochondrial 12S rDNA gene. Altogether, three Daphnia species of the D. longispina group were found in the region: D. longispina, D. galeata, and D. lacustris; we detected neither their syntopic occurrence nor interspecific hybrids. D. lacustris was found in two neighbouring lakes in the Polish High Tatras (Nizni Toporowy Staw and Wyzni Toporowy Staw); these may represent relict populations, since the closest known extant populations of this species are found in Fennoscandia. Morphologically highly variable populations of D. longispina formed the majority (69 %) of the analysed populations. Relatively high divergence of 12S rDNA haplotypes from various lakes suggests multiple colonisations of the Tatra Mountain region by this species. Similarly, each of the three recorded D. galeata populations is probably of different origin. In addition, we found that the species replacement in one lake, from either D. lacustris or D. longispina to D. galeata, was associated with anthropogenically mediated environmental changes (fish stock increase, eutrophication).


Public administration studies have not adequately discussed governance challenges for small local governments. Given that more than 10% of villages have, unprecedentedly, voted on dissolution in New York over the past 10 years, this article exclusively and comprehensively investigates how well villages are faring in New York. Using a representative survey of village governments, coupled with a rich secondary data set, it finds institutional and political tensions between villages and their underlying town(s). It also suggests intergovernmental fiscal factors have threatened the organizational and fiscal health of some village governments. In addition, villages have extensively established service-sharing mechanisms with town(s) to mitigate fiscal stress. The majority of village officials remain skeptical about dissolution as an effective approach to cost savings.


Experimentally, it is observed that the diffraction pattern of nonoverlapping grains contains a light-depletion region near the origin. This region, which shows up as a black ring, occurs because of the enforced quasiperiodicity that results when many grains in a confined space are prohibited to overlap. A simple quantitative model that describes this observation is presented. The model, based on the pulse-jitter phenomenon in communication theory, avoids the usual complications inherent in mathematically describing nonoverlapping grains.


PURPOSE: To describe the incidence, etiologies and follow-up of patients with paralytic strabismus. METHODS: Retrospective study of 519 strabismic patients with isolated III, IV or VI cranial nerve palsy of 11,000 charts of the Ocular Motility Section of the Department of Ophthalmology of "Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas Santa Casa de Sao Paulo", Brazil, between January 1980 and October 2004. This study analyzed: the injured cranial nerve, affected eye, sex distribution, etiology and follow-up. RESULTS: It was found that 17.1% of the cases were congenital and 82.9% acquired. The VI cranial nerve was the most frequently affected (49.7%). The incidence was higher in males (58.1%). Traumatism was the most common cause of III (43.0%), IV (52.4%) and VI (48.8%) nerve palsy. Surgery was performed in the three groups: third nerve (42.9%), fourth nerve (73.2%) and sixth nerve (43.2%). CONCLUSIONS:The sixth cranial nerve was the most frequently affected and the most common cause was traumatism, the same as observed in the literature.


On August 12, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held in Florida v. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services that Congress exceeded its power under the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause by requiring individuals to purchase health insurance as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In reaching its holding, the Eleventh Circuit rejected the Government's argument that the individual mandate is a necessary and proper means for implementing its larger regulation of health insurance markets. Yet, this Comment argues that the Eleventh Circuit's exacting review of Congress's findings and underlying policy judgments, if adopted by the Supreme Court, may significantly constrain Congress's power to craft a novel solution to a complex regulatory challenge.


In this guest column, the medieval historian Caroline Walker Bynum uses her recent experiences as a hospital volunteer advocate for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in New York City to meditate on the progressive politics of her younger days in the 1960s, on her current doubts about the efficacy of political action, and on the virtue of silent listening.


Despite local folklore, Chicago is not always a city that works. No longer the "Hog Butcher for the World," the Windy City has, in recent decades, pursued economic growth at all costs - to the detriment of many of its citizens. This book describes the social, economic, and political costs of the growth ideology and examines the populist response that promises an alternative Chicago. Tracing the city's uneven economic development since World War II, the authors demonstrate how unchecked growth in favor of private enterprise has resulted in severe poverty, unemployment, crime, reduced tax revenues and property values, a decline in municipal services, and racial, ethnic, and class divisiveness. And yet proponents of Daley-style machine politics and the notion of the city as a growth machine still assert that the future of the city depends exclusively on its ability to grow. The victory of Harold Washington is the most visible symbol of the movement toward an alternative Chicago. Naming different priorities and using more participatory tactics, this challenge to the politics of growth promotes development that is responsive to social need, not just market signals. Author note: Gregory D. Squires is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Larry Bennett is Associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at DePaul University. Kathleen McCourt is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Loyola University of Chicago. Philip Nyden is Associate Professor of Sociology at Loyola University of Chicago.


Molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum mechanical calculations of the Cerulean green fluorescent protein (a variant of enhanced cyan fluorescent protein ECFP) at pH 5.0 and 8.0 are presented, addressing two questions arising from experimental results (Malo et al., Biochemistry 2007;46:9865–9873): the origin of the blue shift of absorption spectrum when the pH is decreased from 8.0 to 5.0, and the lateral chain orientation of the key residue Asp148. We demonstrate that the blue shift is reproduced assuming that a rotation around the single bond of the exocyclic ring of the chromophore takes place when the pH changes from 5.0 to 8.0. We find that Asp148 is protonated and inside the barrel at pH 5.0 in agreement with crystallographic data. However, the hydrogen bond pattern of Asp148 is different in simulations of the solvated protein and in the crystal structure. This difference is explained by a partial closing of the cleft between strands 6 and 7 in MD simulations. This study provides also a structure at pH 8.0: the Asp148 carboxylate group is exposed to the solvent and the chromophore is stabilized in the trans conformation by a tighter hydrogen bond network. This work gives some insight into the relationship between the pH and the chromophore conformation and suggests an interpretation of the very similar fluorescent properties of ECFP and ECFP/H148D. Proteins 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.