Zucchini plants, with symptoms including twisted petioles, necrotic leaves, crown-rot and internal fruit-rot, were found in Bundaberg, Australia at a commercial field for the first time during late autumn 2016, resulting in direct yield losses of 70 to 80%. Three Pseudomonas syringae strains that isolated from symptomatic leaf (KL004-k1), crown (77-4C) and fruit (KFR003-1) were characterised and their pathogenicity evaluated on pumpkin, rockmelon, squash and zucchini. Biochemical assays showed typical results for P. syringae. The three isolates differed, however, in that two produced fluorescent pigment (KFR003-1 and 77-4C) whilst the third, KL004-k1, was non-florescent. Multi-locus sequence analysis classified the isolates to phylogroup 2b. The SNP analysis of core genome from the Australian and closely related international isolates of P. syringae showed two separate clusters. The Australian isolates were clustered based on fluorescent phenotype. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated all three isolates moved systemically within the inoculated plants and induced necrotic leaf symptoms in zucchini plants. Their identities were confirmed with specific PCR assays for P. syringae and phylogroup 2. Pathogenicity experiments also showed the Eva variety of zucchini was more susceptible than Rosa for all three isolates. Isolate KL004-k1 was more virulent than 77-4C on pumpkin, rockmelon, squash and zucchini. This study expands the knowledge of P. syringae isolates that infect cucurbits and provides useful information for growers about the relative susceptibility of a range of cucurbit species.


Periodically-driven (Floquet) quantum systems are ubiquitous in science and technology. For example, when a laser illuminates a material or an AC voltage is applied to a device, the system is well-described by a time-periodic Hamiltonian. In recent years, periodic driving has been proposed, not just as a tool to excite and probe devices, but actually as a mechanism of engineering new phases of matter, some of which have no equilibrium analog. However, with this promise comes a serious problem. Intuitively, if energy is injected into and distributed throughout a system, it is no surprise that it tends to heat up indefinitely to infinite temperature. In this thesis, we study the mechanisms of heating, i.e. the process of thermalization, in Floquet systems and propose methods to control them. Specifically, for non-interacting Floquet systems that are coupled to external bosonic and fermionic baths (e.g. laser-driven electrons in a semiconductor that interact with phonons and an external lead), we classify the relevant scattering processes that contribute to cooling/heating in the Floquet bands and suggest methods to suppress heating via bandwidth-restrictions on the baths. We find that is possible, with appropriate dissipative engineering, to stabilize a controlled incompressible nonequilibrium steady-state resembling a ground state - a state we term the "Floquet insulator." We extend this analysis to include short-range interactions that contribute additional heating processes and show, under the same framework, that heating can be controlled with dissipation. In the process, we develop a simple effective model for the Floquet band densities that captures the essence of all the Floquet scattering processes and that is useful for ballparking experimentally-relevant estimates of heating. Next, we turn our attention to strongly-interacting closed Floquet systems and study how heating emerges through a proliferation of resonances. We find a novel integrable point governing the strong-interaction limit of the Floquet system and examine the breakdown of integrability via the proliferation of resonances. We observe two distinct scaling regimes, attributed to non-thermal and thermal behavior, and discover a power-law scaling of the crossover between them as a function of system size. The lingering ergodicity-breaking effects of the conserved quantities in the vicinity (in parameter space) of the integrable point at finite size is a phenomena we term "near-integrability." These results suggest that small quantum systems, which are accessible currently in many platforms (e.g. trapped ions, cold atoms, superconducting devices), intrinsically host non-thermal states that one may be able to utilize to avoid heating. Furthermore, our results suggest a "dual" interpretation, in the thermodynamic limit, that a periodically-driven system exhibits prethermalization as a power-law in interaction strength.


Abstract Objectives: To investigate knowledge of and practices regarding bottle-feeding preparation, as well as the nutrient content and microbial safety of bottles that are prepared by mothers and caregivers for infants aged 0-24 months. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey. Setting: Urban township, Mangaung, outside Bloemfontein. Subjects: A sample of 189 mothers or caregivers of healthy infants aged 0-24 months, who were exclusively formula fed or mixed fed with breast milk and infant formula or cow's milk, were randomly selected in a household survey. Outcome measures: An interviewer-administered questionnaire and/or observed practices were used for data collection. Bottle-feed samples were also collected and analysed for nutrient and microbial content. Results: Mother and caregiver knowledge on infant feeding was poor. An acceptable method for preparing a bottle feed in five steps was evaluated. Only 4.2% of the total sample applied all five steps. A total of 84.5% (n = 160) of all the collected feeds was contaminated with E coli. A lower level of maternal education was associated with a greater likelihood of feed contamination. The predominant source of bottle-feeding preparation information was clinic staff (28%). Conclusion: The findings were indicative of a lack of knowledge, and possibly resource limitations, to facilitate safe bottle-feeding practices. Acknowledgement of clinic staff as a source of infant-feeding information highlights the role of healthcare workers as facilitators of appropriate infant-feeding practices.


Following his victory over Spartan forces at the battle of Sphakteria in 425 B.C.E. (Thuc. 4.28–40), the demagogue Cleon dedicated several captured Spartan shields in Athens. This same dedication of shields plays a major role in the comic debate for the favor of Demos in Aristophanes' Knights (lines 843–59), produced a year after Cleon's triumph. Common opinion holds that the dedication of shields referred to in Knights is the same that Pausanias (1.15.5) saw inside the Stoa Poikile during his tour of the Athenian Agora. There is no reason, however, to believe that Cleon hung all 120 of his Spartiate shields in the Painted Stoa. Indeed, the archaeological context of the famous shield from Pylos excavated in the agora demonstrates that not all of Cleon's shields were seen by Pausanias in the Stoa Poikile. A set of unusual cuttings on the Nike temple bastion is perhaps relevant here. Since 1908 these cuttings have been interpreted as the fastening points for a dedication of shields. While perfectly suited for this purpose, the form of the cuttings on the Nike bastion is unlike that of cuttings used for dedicated shields known in the archaeological record. Here, it is significant that Aristophanes (Knights 848–49) specifies that Cleon hung his dedicated shields in an unusual manner, namely, with their handles still attached. Considering both the specific language and context of the comedy and how closely Cleon and his victory were associated with the completion of the Temple of Athena Nike, it is possible that strangely hung shields on the Nike temple bastion and Cleon's strangely hung shields described by Aristophanes are one and the same.


Voltage fluctuations in batteries form a major challenge the telecommunication towers face. These fluctuations mostly occur due to poor management and the lack of a battery voltage level monitoring system. The current paper presents a battery voltage-level monitoring system to be used in telecommunication towers. The proposed solution is incorporated with a centralized mobile application dashboard for accessing the live data of the installed battery, integrated with voltage-level, current, temperature, fire, and gas sensors. An Arduino Uno microcontroller board is used to process and analyze the collected data from the sensors. The Global Service Message (GSM) module is used to monitor and store data to the cloud. Users are alerted in the case of low voltage, fire, and increase in harmful gases in the tower through Short Message Service (SMS). The experiment was conducted at Ngorongoro and Manyara telecommunication towers. The developed system can be used in accessing battery information remotely while allowing real-time continuous monitoring of battery usage. The proposed battery voltage-level monitoring system contributes to the elimination of battery hazards in towers. Therefore, the proposed battery voltage level monitoring system can be adopted by telecommunication tower engineers for the reduction of voltage fluctuation risks.


ABSTRACT This article argues that by understanding Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) state-building processes we are able to understand how ISIS has developed while also developing a united citizenship body built from people in Iraq and Syria and those making hijra. The fragmentation of Iraq and Syria resulted in conditions that would prove conducive to the group's expansion and identifying these conditions is imperative to understanding Sunni extremism in the Middle East. The article argues that ISIS builds citizenship in two ways: first, by developing asabiyya—group feeling—among Sunni and second, by securitizing the Shi'a threat. Identifying and engaging with the concepts of sovereignty and citizenship helps to develop much stronger policy responses.


The goal of the project is to further the positivist discourse of design by ascertaining whether ethnographic analysis contributes to the design process. To this end, the project provides 1) a culturally appropriate conceptual fishing boat design and 2) an industrial design case study.

This project identifies mechanistic and non-mechanistic design elements and presents the results of thematic analysis. This project develops a 40 GRT (gross register ton), Malaysian Class B fishing boat design based primarily upon ethnographic study of stakeholders, which includes fishermen, boat builders, designers and owners. The design concept is evaluated by fishermen regarding perceived performance as a fishing boat, aesthetics, safety, and comfort. The concept boat is compared with the visual stereotype of a traditional Malaysian fishing boat and a Western style, deck forward design. The conceptual design is evaluated with a creative product analysis matrix (CPAM) followed by a questionnaire based evaluation by fishermen.

This project is intended for students and practitioners of industrial design interested in culturally appropriate design. It provides insights into design methodology and ethnographic methods for developing an understanding of indigenous design sensitivities of a client or end user. This study provides an example of product development that integrates the designer's creativity with the stakeholders' requirements and material culture. This project also demonstrates the technique of superimposing photographs via computer aided design (CAD) drawings to develop a visual stereotype. Moreover, this project demonstrates the benefit of employing visual models in charcoal and clay in ethnographic fieldwork.


Ninety-seven percent of federal defendants plead guilty, and they rely on prosecutors for much of the information about the government's case on which the decision to plead is based. Although federal prosecutors routinely turn over most necessary discovery to the defense, the law does not require them to turn over any discovery before the guilty plea. This can lead to innocent defendants pleading guilty and to guilty defendants pleading guilty without information that could have affected the agreed-upon sentence.This article argues that the lack of a judicially enforceable pre-plea discovery regime flouts structural protections that due process is supposed to provide. Defendants who plead not guilty and go to trial get a jury to adjudicate guilt and a judge to preside over the proceedings and pronounce sentence. The judge and jury hear an adversarial presentation of the evidence, and the judge at sentencing can consider an even broader spectrum of information about the defendant and the crime. But defendants who plead guilty effectively act as their own judge and jury. Unfortunately, because prosecutors are not required to provide any pre-plea discovery, the defendant who pleads guilty may not have nearly as much information as the judge and jury would have had at trial and sentencing.The Supreme Court has employed a balancing test to determine whether a particular procedure comports with due process. This article proposes tailoring that test to the pre-plea discovery context. The proposed test would ask (1) whether the defense is getting sufficient information before the guilty plea to promote accurate sorting of the innocent from the guilty and reasonably informed and consistent sentencing; (2) whether there are there clear rules that allow judges, before a guilty plea, to regulate prosecutors' decision not to disclose; and (3) whether the production of pre-plea discovery in a given case imposes undue costs on society.One hopeful development is that several district courts, pursuant to Congressionally-granted authority, have promulgated local rules for pre-plea discovery. Although the Constitution does not require it, I argue that Congress should adopt several of these time-tested rules to give both clear standards to prosecutors and authority to judges to enforce liberal pre-plea discovery.


: Activation of M1 macrophages in the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) following several external or endogenous factors viz inflammatory stimuli, oxidative stress and cytokines are known. However, any direct role of oxidative stress in causing M1 polarization in NASH has been unclear. We hypothesized that CYP2E1-mediated oxidative stress causes M1 polarization in experimental NASH and NO donor administration inhibits CYP2E1 mediated inflammation with concomitant attenuation of M1 polarization. Since CYP2E1 takes center stage in these studies we use a toxin model of NASH which uses a ligand and a substrate of CYP2E1 for inducing NASH. Subsequently we use a methionine and choline deficient diet induced rodent NASH model where CYP2E1 role in disease progression has been shown. Results show that CYP2E1 causes M1 polarization bias that includes a significant increase in IL-1 β and IL-12 in both models of NASH while CYP2E1 null mice or diallyl sulfide administration prevented it. Administration of GdCl 3 , a macrophage toxin attenuated both the initial M1 response and subsequent M2 response showing the observed increase in cytokine levels is primarily from macrophages. Based on the evidence of an adaptive NO increase, NO donor administration in vivo, that mechanistically inhibited CYP2E1 catalyzed oxidative stress during the entire study in NASH abrogated M1 polarization and NASH progression. The results obtained show the association of CYP2E1 in M1 polarization and that inhibition of CYP2E1 catalyzed oxidative stress by NO donor (DETA NONOate) can be a promising therapeutic strategy in NASH.


Abstract. One of the most striking examples of plant-pollinator co-adaptation is between the heliconias Heliconia bihai and H. caribaea, and the Lesser Antillean hummingbird - the purple-throated carib Eulampis jugularis. To date, the purple-throated carib is the only reported pollinator of these heliconias on the islands of St. Lucia and Dominica. Here, we show that the pollination of H. bihai and H. caribaea in the Lesser Antilles is more complex than previously hypothesized, locally involving several hummingbird species, specifically the green-throated carib Eulampis holosericeus, rufous-breasted hermit Glaucis hirsuta, blue-headed hummingbird Cyanophaia bicolor, and the antillean crested hummingbird Orthorhyncus cristatus. Hopefully, our observations will stimulate research into whether H. bihai and H. caribaea show local co-adaptation toward hummingbird pollinators other than the purple-throated carib. This would further verify the co-adaptation hypothesis between heliconias and Lesser Antillean hummingbirds, although, depending on locality, more hummingbird species have to be added as mutualistic partners.


This study describes an original multicriteria approach for classifying/ordering the quality of services given by companies using the measurement of customer satisfaction rate. Based on the combination of an MCDM methodology (ELECTRE III Method), with Quality tools statistical methods, this methodology presents special features which incorporates a scientific treatment into the subjectivity present in the procedure of evaluating the customer satisfaction rate - which differs from the other methods used in this context. This study also presents the results of an experiment to identify the difficulties found in the implementation of the methodology.


Small satellite missions are becoming increasingly complex as scientists and engineers propose to utilize them to accomplish more ambitious science and technology goals. Small satellites such as CubeSats are challenging to design because they have limited resources, coupled subsystems, and must operate in dynamic environments. Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a key practice to advance systems engineering that can benefit CubeSat missions. MBSE creates a system model that helps integrate other discipline specific engineering models and simulations. The system level model is initiated at the start of a project and evolves throughout development. It provides a cohesive and consistent source of system requirements, design, analysis, and verification. This paper describes an integrated, executable MBSE representation of the Radio Aurora Explorer (RAX) CubeSat mission. The purpose of the RAX mission is to study the formation of magnetic field-aligned electron density irregularities in the Earth's ionosphere, which are known to disrupt tracking and communication between Earth and orbiting spacecraft. The RAX CubeSat model describes the configuration and properties for various systems and subsystems, and is capable of executing behavior and parametric models for analyzing subsystem functions and states of the spacecraft. It is comprised of a SysML model created with MagicDraw®, a set of analytical models developed in MATLAB®, and a high fidelity space system simulation model created in STK®. ModelCenter was used to integrate the analytical and simulation models. The integrated analyses were linked to the SysML model using MBSE Analyzer, a bridge between SysML tools and ModelCenter. Behavioral models were executed for a representative RAX mission to study energy state and data collection capabilities. This work was undertaken to demonstrate the power, scalability, and utility of MBSE tools and methods that are available to help meet the challenge of designing spacecraft missions of ever-increasing complexity. The RAX CubeSat model will be made available to the academic community for further study and potential extension for more complex missions.


Here, we describe the bone histology of juvenile specimens of the basal sauropodomorph Mussaurus patagonicus and interpret its significance in terms of the early growth dynamics of this taxon. Thin sections from three juvenile specimens (femur length, 111–120 mm) of Mussaurus were analysed. The sampled bones consist of multiple postcranial elements collected from the Late Triassic Laguna Colorada Formation (El Tranquilo Group, Patagonia). The cortical bone is composed of fibrolamellar bone tissue. Vascularisation is commonly laminar or plexiform in the long bones. Growth marks are absent in all the examined samples. The 'epiphyses' of long bones are all formed by well-developed hypertrophied calcified cartilage. The predominance of woven-fibred bone matrix in cortical bones indicates a fast growth rate in the individuals examined. Moreover, given the existence of growth marks in adult specimens of Mussaurus, as in other sauropodomorphs, and assuming that the first lines of arrested growth was formed during the first year of life, the absence of growth marks in all the bones suggest that the specimens died before reaching their first year of life. Compared with the African taxon Massospondylus carinatus (another basal sauropodomorph for which the bone histology has been previously studied), it appears that Mussaurus had a higher early growth rate than Massospondylus.


In developing countries, the study of intellectual disability has enormous knowledge gaps, especially in the areas of intervention, utilization of services and legislation. This article provides information not only for aiding in the potential development of sexuality in individuals with intellectual disability, but also for fostering their social integration. In Mexico and the region, in order to develop educational interventions for promoting sexual health, it is necessary to consider the following priorities: a) mental health professionals should have the knowledge or receive training for carrying out a sexual education and counseling program; b) educational interventions for subjects with intellectual disability should be adapted for the different stages of life (childhood, adolescence and adulthood); c) during childhood, educational intervention should emphasize the concept of public and private conducts; d) in adolescence, intervention should consider the actual mental age and not the chronological age of the subjects receiving intervention; e) the expression of sexuality in the adult with intellectual disability depends on the early incorporation of factors for promoting social inclusion; f) for educational interventions to be successful, it is fundamental that sexual educators and counselors, in addition to working with the clients, also work with their parents and other close family members; g) intervention programs should establish development objectives for developing in persons with intellectual disability a positive attitude towards sexuality and the improvement in self-esteem; h) in subjects with intellectual disability, their linguistic comprehension level should be taken into consideration and techniques for open discussion and non-inductive education should be used; i) social integration programs should address the needs of developing countries and their individuals, since it is not feasible to import external programs due to differences in infrastructure and the absence of public policies for promoting development; j) full sexuality in subjects with intellectual disability should be fostered in a comprehensive manner within an independent living program; k) in Mexico and the region, public policies should be instituted for administering independent living programs for people with intellectual disability and should lead to social, familial and economic power for the purpose of being productive. Thus, people with mental deficiency in developing countries can aspire to being integrated into social and work life and to appropriately expressing their sexuality.


This analysis extends previous work on green insurance by proposing a mechanism that offers a stronger adoption incentive and is applicable to heterogeneous populations and non-binary adoption decisions. Endogenous learning about the new technology is incorporated, and empirically calibrated simulation results are presented for the case of reduced-phosphorus dairy diets. Results show that the mechanism has a significant impact on behavior and may incur no net cost for the regulator when an insurance premium is charged. Conditions under which a green payment mechanism may be preferable to green insurance also are discussed.


The interaction of the signaling molecule Wnt with its receptor triggers accumulation of a lipid regulator, which stimulates phosphorylation of the receptor and cellular responses. Wnt glycoproteins act as important signaling molecules in a range of processes from development to cancer. Pan et al. describe a missing link in the mechanism by which Wnt binding to its receptors initiates biochemical signaling within cells. They identified phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase type I (PIP5KI) in a screen for components required for Wnt signaling in human cells. After activation, the Wnt receptor LRP6 becomes phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues, and PIP5KI was required for this event. The Wnt signaling component disheveled, a scaffold protein, interacted with PIP5KI, and disheveled and the Wnt receptor protein frizzled were required for Wnt-dependent formation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns (4,5)P2]. Accumulation of PtdIns (4,5)P2 appeared to be necessary for the aggregation of LRP6 and its consequent phosphorylation. W. Pan, S.-C. Choi, H. Wang, Y. Qin, L. Volpicelli-Daley, L. Swan, L. Lucast, C. Khoo, X. Zhang, L. Li, C. S. Abrams, S. Y. Sokol, D. Wu , Wnt3a-mediated formation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate regulates LRP6 phosphorylation. Science 321, 1350-1353 (2008). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Complex networks theory allows researchers to deal with systems characterised by uncertainty and unpredictability. It also enables investigating interactions between transport networks and their topology. Recently it has been used to analyse socio-economic processes in urban, regional, and environmental planning. In the light of these advances, the aim of this paper is to present the results of the application of complex networks theory techniques to the characterisation of topological, traffic and spatial properties of commuters' systems in insular Italy.


This thesis represents a laboratory-based experimental study into the rate of loading effect on the mechanical behaviour of an unsaturated pyroclastic soil. The study includes equipment design and laboratory testing which are addressed to analyze the rate of loading influence by means of equip-ment modification and suction controlled triaxial tests.

The studied material, characterized by its very low density, is typical of the area around Naples where natural slopes are covered by loose silty sands of pyroclastic erupted by Vesuvius and by other volcanoes. The analyzed soil is a volcanic ash constituted by non plastic silty sand with pres-ence of pumices.

The equipment design component of this research consists of the development of specialized de-vices: triaxial apparatusses and suctions probes.Two similar triaxial apparatuses capable of testing unsaturated samples under suction-controlled condition (USPv2) were developed. The main new feature of the USPv2 is the inclusion of a double drainage system to shorten the testing time. As two are the devices constructed, preliminary evaluation tests were performed on similar samples under similar stress conditions to assess the repeatability of tests independently of the apparatus used. On the other hand, two different types of high capacity tensiometers were developed. One of them is an integral strain-gauged tensiometer and the other one a commercial-transducer based ten-siometer. Both of them include solutions allowing the easy substitution of their parts. For each ten-siometer, a saturation process and a saturation system were designed; the main condition for these tasks was the application of relative low pre-pressurization pressure (800 kPa). To evaluate the per-formance of the tensiometers free evaporation tests, prolonged high suction measurements and pres-sure reversals tests were carried out. Based on the tests results, the commercial-transducer based probe was selected to be used with the USPv2 triaxial apparatus in order to monitor pore-water pressure during suction-controlled isotropic compression tests.

The laboratory-testing program of this study includes three series of tests. Isotropic compression (first serie) and deviator stage (second serie) at different stress-rate and strain-rate, respectively, were performed using the triaxial apparatus USPv2. During isotropic compression stages the load-ing rates of 2, 8, 32, 128 kPa/h have been applied under several constant suction values (i.e. 0, 15, 45 and 300 kPa). The drained deviator stages were carried out at the same suctions levels under strain rates of 0.25 and 2.50 %/h. In order to study the effect of loading rate on pore-water pressure variations, a third serie of test was conducted. Suction-controlled isotropic compression tests with pore-water pressure measurement were carried out by means the USPv2 triaxial apparatus used in combination with the commercial-transducer based tensiometer.

The capacity to apply both fluid pressures to the top and the bottom of the sample significantly shortens the equalization stage. During isotropic compression stage, as the loading rate is increased the rigidity of the soil also increase, however, a loading rate value was identified from which no dif-ference was observed. The study also suggests that the excess pore-water pressure generated during isotropic loading process, that may reduce the suction value, is less significant than the creep phe-nomena for the pyroclastic soil studied. For the deformation velocities studied on deviator stage, non effect was observed on the soil behaviour. Finally, the control of pore-air pressure and pore-water pressure by both sample sides, accompanied by a short testing program addressed to deter-mine rational testing rates, reduce a lot the testing time.


The exercise of market power by broiler processing firms (integrators) is plausible because local markets for growers are concentrated and because growers face hold-up risks arising from substantial investments in specific assets set against limited integrator purchase commitments. This article explores the links between local integrator concentration and grower compensation under production contracts using data from the 2006 broiler version of the USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Results of this study, which account for characteristics of the operation and specific features of the production contract, suggest that greater integrator concentration results in a small but economically meaningful reduction in grower compensation.


ABSTRACT The first discovered and sequenced hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome and the first in vivo infectious HCV clones originated from the HCV prototype strains HCV-1 and H77, respectively, both widely used in research of this important human pathogen. In the present study, we developed efficient infectious cell culture systems for these genotype 1a strains by using the HCV-1/SF9_A and H77C in vivo infectious clones. We initially adapted a genome with the HCV-1 5′UTR-NS5A (where UTR stands for untranslated region) and the JFH1 NS5B-3′UTR (5-5A recombinant), including the genotype 2a-derived mutations F1464L/A1672S/D2979G (LSG), to grow efficiently in Huh7.5 cells, thus identifying the E2 mutation S399F. The combination of LSG/S399F and reported TNcc(1a)-adaptive mutations A1226G/Q1773H/N1927T/Y2981F/F2994S promoted adaptation of the full-length HCV-1 clone. An HCV-1 recombinant with 17 mutations (HCV1cc) replicated efficiently in Huh7.5 cells and produced supernatant infectivity titers of 104.0 focus-forming units (FFU)/ml. Eight of these mutations were identified from passaged HCV-1 viruses, and the A970T/I1312V/C2419R/A2919T mutations were essential for infectious particle production. Using CD81-deficient Huh7 cells, we further demonstrated the importance of A970T/I1312V/A2919T or A970T/C2419R/A2919T for virus assembly and that the I1312V/C2419R combination played a major role in virus release. Using a similar approach, we found that NS5B mutation F2994R, identified here from culture-adapted full-length TN viruses and a common NS3 helicase mutation (S1368P) derived from viable H77C and HCV-1 5-5A recombinants, initiated replication and culture adaptation of H77C containing LSG and TNcc(1a)-adaptive mutations. An H77C recombinant harboring 19 mutations (H77Ccc) replicated and spread efficiently after transfection and subsequent infection of naive Huh7.5 cells, reaching titers of 103.5 and 104.4 FFU/ml, respectively. IMPORTANCE Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was discovered in 1989 with the cloning of the prototype strain HCV-1 genome. In 1997, two molecular clones of H77, the other HCV prototype strain, were shown to be infectious in chimpanzees, but not in vitro. HCV research was hampered by a lack of infectious cell culture systems, which became available only in 2005 with the discovery of JFH1 (genotype 2a), a genome that could establish infection in Huh7.5 cells. Recently, we developed in vitro infectious clones for genotype 1a (TN), 2a (J6), and 2b (J8, DH8, and DH10) strains by identifying key adaptive mutations. Globally, genotype 1 is the most prevalent. Studies using HCV-1 and H77 prototype sequences have generated important knowledge on HCV. Thus, the in vitro infectious clones developed here for these 1a strains will be of particular value in advancing HCV research. Moreover, our findings open new avenues for the culture adaptation of HCV isolates of different genotypes.


Objective: We aimed to investigate the feasibility of live-performed music therapy for extremely and very preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and their parents, starting the 1st−2nd week after birth. They may benefit from live-performed music therapy as comforting non-pharmacological intervention. Study Design: We included infants born before 30 weeks' gestation in a single center NICU study. Live-performed music therapy was provided three times per week, tailored to the infant's medical condition. Parents were actively involved. Feasibility was determined as a combination of participation, drop-out, overstimulation (based on COMFORT-Neo scores), and evaluations of the intervention by parents and nurses (using a questionnaire on perceived effects on the parent, their infant and the NICU sound environment). Results: We included 18 infants (90% participation rate), with a gestational age of median 27 weeks (IQR 26–28 weeks), 61% males. One infant (5.6%) dropped-out. Differences of COMFORT-Neo scores during and after sessions compared with before sessions were non-significant; overstimulation by music therapy did not occur. Parents reported high satisfaction (highest score possible of 7) with the interventions and reported improvements in both infant and their own respiratory rates. Nurses also reported high satisfaction with the intervention and perceived a quieter NICU sound environment during and after sessions. Conclusion: Live-performed music therapy for extremely and very preterm infants is feasible and well-tolerated, and is experienced as an added value to developmental care. Future studies should assess both short-term and long-term effects, to determine whether this intervention should be part of routine care at the NICU and whether it is most beneficial to start shortly after birth.


This paper derives from our joint interest in understanding how scientific mobility affects developing countries. Many authors have addressed the topic previously, both from an economic and from a sociological perspective. However, recent literature evinces dissatisfaction with both analytical frameworks and the framing of public policies addressing the brain drain problematic. This paper is a contribution to understanding the historical and theoretical foundations of the "brain drain" debate. We aim to improve conceptual clarity regarding the itinerancy of human beings and the mobilization of human capital. We develop a critical review of the economics of the brain drain, highlighting the work of some key early thinkers and pointing out the way in which subsequent work has taken up selected aspects of their approaches leaving other challenges aside. We then consider the diaspora networks literature, which is characterized as taking a "connectionist" approach to the brain drain. We identify two fundamental problems: the sidelining of complementarity and context dependency as basic properties of human capital; and a failure to adequately disentangle the concepts of human resources for science and technology (HRST) and human capital in academic and policy discourse about the brain drain.


Authors must provide a brief abstract of 100200 words. Focus Points Please provide three to six learning objectives that begin with an action verb and specify what the reader should know after reading the article. Learning Objectives Authors are required provide 3-5 learning objectives, which begin with an action verb and specify what the reader should know after reading the article. See the following examples: Upon the completion of this lecture the participants will be able to: • List four causes of aplastic anemia • Give an example of the effect of a strong alkali reacting with human tissue • Calculate the amount of AIV fluid necessary to replenish a dehydrated patient Needs Assessment Please provide a brief summary outlining the educational needs and reasons for reading the article. It should address a deficit or gap in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or behavior among the expected readers about the main topic of the article. It should justify the reasons for focusinqon the given topic and offering it as a CME activity. Reasons would include recurrent discussions with colleagues about the topic, new therapy or treatment techniques, new data published, "hot topic" in the field, clinical trials in progress, etc. The Needs Assessment should be 35-50 words. Figures/Tables Please provide original figures and/or tables if content is amenable to it. References Please use American Medical Association style. References should be superscripted in text, then numbered, and comprehensive in list. For example: 1. Jones J. Necrotizing Candida esophagitis. JAMA. 1980:244:2190-2191. 2. Stryer L. Biochemistry. 2nd ed. San Francisco, Calif: WH Freeman Co: 1980:559-596. 3. Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study. Valproate protocal. Available at: http://adcs.ucsd.edu/VP_Protocol.htm. Accessed October 15,2003. Continuing Medical Education Authors must submit six multiple-choice questions (three Type A and three Type K), with answers. Copyright Materials are accepted for exclusive publication in CNS Spectrums and become the property of CNS Spectrums. Permission to reproduce material must be obtained from the publisher. Disclosure of Commercial and Non-Commercial Interests Authors must include a statement about all forms of support, including grant and pharmaceutical support, affiliations, and honoraria received for past and present material. Such information may, at the editor's discretion, be shared with reviewers. If the article is accepted for publication, the editors will consult with the authors as to whether this information should be included in the published paper. Submission Checklist d Original manuscript plus one copy, with cover letter on author's letterhead • Copies of permission letters to reproduce previously published and unpublished material • A brief abstract of the article • Six CME multiple-choice questions with answers O Three to six focus points that dictate the main focus of the manuscript in bulleted format • Three to six learning objectives, which begin with an action verb and specify what the reader should know after reading the article • Disk labeled with the word processing program, title of paper, and lead author's name • Names and affiliations of 3-5 potential peer reviewers CNS Spectr 743 October 2006 Clinical Updates in Neuropsychiatry


In this study conducted in 2019 in Bursa conditions, the effects of cutting irrigation water 4 (S1), 8 (S2), 12 (S3) and 16 (S4) days before harvest on tomato yield and quality were investigated in this study conducted on tomato paste Heinz-1015 variety. The experiment was carried out in 3 replications according to the randomized complete block design. The amount of seasonal irrigation water applied to the experimental treatments varied between 317 - 377 mm, the highest evapotranspiration (ET) was determined from S1 with 512 mm and the lowest ET was determined from S4 with 474 mm. The highest yield values were realized in S1 and S2 and the yield values decreased as the last irrigation was cut before harvest increased. The water productivity and irrigation water productivity values of tomatoes varied between 13.1-21.6 kg m-3 and 19.6-30.3 kg m-3, respectively, the highest values were determined in S2 and the lowest in S4 treatment. The highest Brix value in tomato fruits was measured at S4 with 6.53 and it was determined that Brix values decreased as irrigation was done close to harvest. The highest fruit hardness values were 1.13 kg and 0.99 kg from S4 and S3 treatments, respectively. L, a, b, C and h values for fruit color parameters were found to vary between 36.93-37.60, 36.37-38.40, 25.73-26.90, 44.33-46.30, 33.93-36.00, respectively. It is concluded that processing tomato is sensitive to the amount of irrigation water and time of cessation of irrigation before harvest, and if the last irrigation application is cut eight days before harvest, it leads to an improvement in quality parameters without a significant decrease in yield.


We investigate the performance of Neyman-Pearson detection of a stationary Gaussian process in noise, using a large wireless sensor network (WSN). In our model, each sensor compresses its observation sequence using a linear precoder and a final decision is taken by a fusion center (FC) based on the compressed information. Two families of precoders are studied: random i.i.d. precoders and orthogonal precoders. We analyse their performance under a regime where both the number of sensors k and the number of samples n per sensor tend to infinity at the same rate, that is, k/n→ c ∈ [0,1]. Contributions are as follows. 1) Using results from random matrix theory and large Toeplitz matrices, we prove that, when the above families of precoders are used, the miss probability of the Neyman-Pearson detector converges exponentially to zero. Closed form expressions of the corresponding error exponents are derived. 2) In particular, we propose a practical orthogonal precoding strategy, the Principal Frequencies Strategy (PFS), which achieves the best error exponent among all orthogonal strategies, and which requires very little signaling overhead between the central processor and the nodes of the network. 3) When the PFS is used, a simplified low-complexity testing procedure can be implemented at the FC. We show that the proposed suboptimal test enjoys the same error exponent as the Neyman-Pearson test, which indicates a similar asymptotic behavior of the performance. We illustrate our findings by numerical experiments on several examples.


Tobacco use is a significant contributor to the cancer burden, which is preventable. It relates to around a quarter to two-third of cancers in males and up to half in females. For planning and effective implementation of anti-tobacco programmes, the knowledge of burden of tobacco-related cancers (TRCs) is essential. This paper assesses and projects the burden of TRCs in India and its States for the period 2015-2025 by using the data of National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Cancer incidence rates generated by Population-Based Cancer Registries under the NCRP and population of India and its States as projected by the Registrar General of India formed the sources of data for this study. The best possible assessment of incidence rates was made for the States and Union Territories using the limited data available. The regression method was applied to assess the trend and project the rates for the study period. Overall burden of TRCs in India was estimated at about 365 thousand in 2015 and projected to increase to 506 thousand by 2025, an increase of more than one-third. A sizeable portion of this burden is due to tobacco use in men. Analysis showed regional diversity in the burden of diverse types of TRCs. There is an urgent need to initiate focused tobacco prevention measures to combat this threat.


Copper slag (CS) and cement by-pass dust (CBPD) are by-products of the production of copper and cement, respectively. In the Sultanate of Oman, large quantities of copper slag (60,000 tons/year) and cement by-pass dust (25,000 tons/year) are produced every year, most of which is not effectively utilized and disposed on-site without any reuse. The main objective of this research is to investigate the potential use of copper slag and cement by-pass dust in concrete as partial replacements for Portland cement. The physical and chemical properties of both slag and cement by-pass dust were determined. Mortar samples were prepared using different proportions of slag, cement by-pass dust and lime, which was used as an activating material. Proportions up to 15% of Portland cement replacement were used. In addition, a control mixture containing 100% Portland cement was prepared for comparison. Results obtained indicated that the increase in the proportions of copper slag and cement by-pass dust alone resulted in a decrease in the compressive strength of mortars compared with the control mix. The highest compressive strength was achieved in samples containing 5% CBPD + 95% cement, which was 41.7 MPa after 90 days. The optimum copper slag and cement by-pass dust to be used is 5%. In addition, it was determined that using cement bypass dust as an activating material will work better than using lime. Additional studies should investigate the strength and durability when copper slag and cement by-pass dust are used in concrete mixes.


Permaculture is an approach to sustainable living that is spreading throughout the world. Using nature as a model, permaculture is primarily a design system. Its principles can enable us to provide for our needs for food, water, shelter, energy and community in ways that are healthy for both people and the environment. The Basics of Permaculture Design, first published in Australia in 1996, is an excellent introduction to the principles of permaculture, including design processes and the tools needed for developing sustainable gardens, farms, and larger communities. Packed with useful tips, clear illustrations and a wealth of experience, The Basics of Permaculture Design guides you through designs for gardens, urban and rural properties; water harvesting systems; animal systems; permaculture in small spaces like balconies and patios; and farms, schools and ecovillages. There is even a chapter about appropriate technology, covering photovoltaic; wind and hydro-power; pumping water; and cooking devices such as hayboxes and solar food dryers. This is a both a DIY guide for the enthusiast and a useful reference for permaculture designers.


When he first coined the term 'hyper-comics' in his 1970 essay 'No More Teacher's Dirty Looks,' Ted Nelson envisioned 'comic strip' images connected via hyperlinks for educational purposes (2003, 316). However, while Internet technologies have allowed for various narrative and artistic actualizations of Nelson's futurist prognostications, educational hypercomics remain largely understudied. This paper returns to Nelson's original themes by comparing interface designs and institutional origins of two educational hypercomics: Factoring with Mr. Yang and Mosley the Alien, a comics lecture series on algebraic factoring and The Secret in the Cellar, an annotated webcomic fictionalization of forensic anthropological field work. This analysis will show how sociocultural contexts created by institutional stakeholders give shape to multimodal designs of pedagogical discourse, in order to further knowledge of the evolving practices and processes of integrating comics into e-learning.


The problem of the Bogomil sect which was founded in the 10th century is not important exclusively from the point of view of the history of Bulgaria, or else generally of the Byzantine Orient. The fact that the Bogomils contributed in a significant way to the creation of the Cathar heresy which constituted a serious threat to the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, is the reason why this problem is important also from the point of view of the history of Western Europe.
Both Bogomils and Cathars have been frequently referred to in the sources as adherents of Manichaeism. Therefore, the main goal of the present article is to verify the legitimacy of this type of assertions, by analyzing the origin of the most characteristic and at the same time, the most "Manichaean" element of the Bogumil doctrine, namely its theology. In the article, the author confronts the existing theories in this respect with the testimony of the sources, whereas a comparative analysis of the theological doctrines of the three fundamental varieties of Bogomilism with the teachings of their potential initiators is legitimized by historical testimonies, that point out to the possibility of actual contacts between them.


This collection contains approximately 225 landscape sketches by English muralist and ceramist Camille Solon. Items in the collection include re-worked pencil sketches of rural locations and landscapes in Britain and northern California, where he lived most of his adult years. Despite his extensive work at San Simeon, this collection contains only one pencil sketch from the Hearst estate. A few watercolors and some conté crayon sketches with ink are also included in the collection. Donated in 2001.


It is shown that the evidence asserted in the Comment [arXiv:1205.6418] on the chemical composition data published by Carpinteri et al. [Strain 47 (Suppl. 2), 282 (2011)]-that the data "cannot be the result of independent measurements as claimed by the authors" -may be not necessarily true. A simpler fact could explain the identical assay values found for some of the chemical components, without this implying the asserted impossible correlations. The simpler reason does not invalidate the published numerical data, being related only to incorrect notation. On the other hand, it is out the scope of the present comment implying any evaluation about the physical validity of the data or about the conclusions drawn in the original paper.


The multimer resolution system (mrs) of the broad-host-range plasmid RP4 has been exploited to develop a general method that permits the precise excision of chromosomal segments in a variety of gram-negative bacteria. The procedure is based on the site-specific recombination between two directly repeated 140-bp resolution (res) sequences of RP4 effected by the plasmid-borne resolvase encoded by the parA gene. The efficiency and accuracy of the mrs system to delete portions of chromosomal DNA flanked by res sites was monitored with hybrid mini-Tn5 transposons in which various colored (beta-galactosidase and catechol 2,3 dioxygenase) or luminescent (Vibrio harveyi luciferase) phenotypic markers associated to res sequences were inserted in the chromosome of the target bacteria and exposed in vivo to the product of the parA gene. The high frequencies of marker excision obtained with different configurations of the parA expression system suggested that just a few molecules of the resolvase are required to achieve the site-specific recombination event. Transient expression of parA from a plasmid unable to replicate in the target bacterium was instrumental to effect differential deletions within complex hybrid transposons inserted in the chromosome of Pseudomonas putida. This strategy permits the stable inheritance of heterologous DNA segments virtually devoid of the sequences used initially to select their insertion.


A damaged material or a material with non perfect atomic geometry, dislocations or cracks, exhibits two types of characteristic responses to acoustic excitations. First is the fast nonlinear dynamics response that is present as long as the material is excited. As soon as the excitation stops the response disappear. Second is the Slow Dynamics, which detects alterations of the material properties. The properties are affected by, for example, a mechanical pulse, changes in temperature, pressure or humidity. When the cause of alteration stops the material is recovering towards its equilibrium state. This recovering can exist over a long period of time, much longer than the vibration from a mechanical pulse. The techniques used here, both the fast and Slow Dynamics, have been used for NonDestructive Testing to detect damage in objects. All of them are suitable for this purpose, but for different material and geometry different techniques can be advantageous. They offer the possibility to use relatively low frequencies which is advantageous because attenuation and diffraction effects are smaller for low frequencies. Therefore large and multi-layered complete objects can be investigated. Sometimes the position of the damage is required, but it is in general difficult to limit the geometrical extent of low-frequency acoustic waves. A technique is presented that constrains the wave field to a localized trapped mode so that damage can be located. The existence of trapped modes is shown using an open resonator concept and the localization is shown to be successful. The problem with intermittent and changing amplitudes, even when very small, is that the material is really never at equilibrium, or even at steady state. The measurement signal influences the outcome. The material is affected by its strain history and its constantly changing state, the fast and Slow Dynamics are hard to separate. A measurement technique keeping the internal strain constant has been used to minimize the influence of Slow Dynamics allowing observations of only nonlinearity. The influence of temperature is also studied with this technique.


Abstract Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have many scientific, military and commercial applications. Typical AUV development requires critical system design and many costly underwater trials during which system specifications can be validated. Modelling and simulation provide a cost-effective method for carrying out preliminary component or system testing and verification. Controller area network (CAN) was originally developed by Bosch for use in automobiles has become an international standard. Although CAN was developed as a vehicle network standard, the majority of CAN applications exist outside of the automotive industry. One of the great advantages of CAN-bus architecture is the modularity. This paper introduces a PC-based CAN-bus experimental platform for AUV system simulation and performance evaluation. The implementation and consideration on the hardware-in-the-loop experimental platform are presented. The genetic algorithm (GA) scheduling approach is introduced in realizing CAN-bus real-time periodic message transmission. The mathematical models of the AUV are introduced in real-time mathematical simulation. The related timing analysis and simulation results are given and they showed the applicability and availability of the experimental platform.


1. Intracellular electrolytes, and erythrocyte membrane adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity, was studied in twenty patients after renal transplantation. 2. The mean ouabain-sensitive ATPase activity in the erythrocyte membranes of the transplant patients was 122 nmol of inorganic phosphorus (Pi) h-1 mg of tissue-1 (SEM 14), compared with 62 nmol of Pi h-1 mg of tissue-1 (SEM 8) in a group of paired, healthy controls. 3. The increase in ouabain-sensitive ATPase was most marked in the 4 months after transplantation. However, a significant increase in ouabain-sensitive ATPase persisted for more than 8 months after transplantation. 4. This increase in ouabain-sensitive ATPase was associated with a decrease in intracellular sodium in the erythrocytes of the transplant patients.


Pasteurella multocida is a Gram-negative commensal bacterium which resides in the upper respiratory tract of mammals and birds. The organism is responsible for a variety of economically important diseases in a wide range of domestic animal species. It causes fowl cholera of poultry, haemorrhagic septicaemia of cattle and water buffalo, atrophic rhinitis of pigs, and pneumonia of cattle, sheep and pigs. In the present study, P. multocida isolates were selected based on an established framework of evolutionary relationships among 123 isolates of P. multocida based on the concatenated partial sequences (3990 bp) of seven housekeeping enzyme genes (Davies et al., unpublished; http://pubmlst.org/pmultocida_multihost). The isolates were recovered from different host species (cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry) and were associated with different diseases. The isolates represented various capsular serotypes, outer membrane protein (OMP)-types, 16S rRNA types, and sequence types.
Phylogenetic trees based on the concatenated partial sequences (3990 bp) of the seven housekeeping enzyme genes, complete sequences (22,371 bp) of fifteen housekeeping enzyme genes and the core genome were almost identical in their topographies. The trees represented eight major groups or clusters of isolates and these clusters could also be defined, to varying degrees, by the host species of origin and/or disease syndrome. The pattern of clustering of isolates associated with different host species also demonstrated that transmission of P. multocida has occurred between different host species. Such host-switching could play an important role in generating diversity within P. multocida. Comparative nucleotide sequence analysis of genes encoding the predicted outer membrane proteins of different functions was carried out in 40 isolates of P. multocida to investigate nucleotide diversity and to assess the roles horizontal DNA transfer and recombination in the evolution and diversification of P. multocida. Comparative nucleotide sequence analysis provided clear evidence that horizontal DNA transfer and recombination (both intragenic and assortative) have occurred within the genes encoding P. multocida OMPs. However, it was also demonstrated that this varied from gene-to-gene.
Four functional groups of OMPs were predicted based on the prediction analyses and these functions include outer membrane biogenesis and integrity (12
VIII
proteins), transport and receptor (25 proteins), adherence (7 proteins) and enzymatic activity (9 proteins). Thirty five OMPs were analysed in this study in detail. The results showed limited levels of nucleotide and amino acid sequence variation was found within the genes encoding selected proteins with the exception of OmpA and OmpH1. However, there was evidence of gene exchange (assortative recombination) between isolates from different host species and divergent genetic lineages. High levels of nucleotide and amino acid sequence variation was found within two major surface-exposed proteins, OmpA and OmpH1. The results indicated that the ompA and ompH1 genes have undergone extensive horizontal DNA transfer, intragenic and assortative recombination. Variation in OmpA and OmpH1 occurred predominantly in the surface-exposed loop regions. There was strong evidence that natural selection is driving diversification of the hypervariable extracellular loop regions in both proteins. The diversity and molecular evolutionary relationships of ompA were further investigated in a larger selection of 74 P. multocida isolates. Sequence analysis of the 26 different ompA-type alleles revealed that the P. multocida ompA gene has undergone multiple horizontal gene transfer and recombination events because complex mosaic structures were found between ompA alleles.
The diversity of temperate bacteriophages was examined in 47 P. multocida isolates. Phage particles were induced with mitomycin C and characterised morphologically by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The phage particles were morphologically diverse and represented both the Siphoviridae and Myoviridae families. Both Siphoviridae and Myoviridae phage types were induced in certain isolates indicating that a single host may harbour multiple prophages. Moreover, phage DNA was successfully isolated from 18 P. multocida isolates. Bacteriophage DNA from isolates PM86, PM172, PM486, PM934 and PM954 showed the presence of two bands of different molecular size. Although these phages had a distinct Myoviridae-type morphology, they possessed an unusually small capsid as identified by TEM. Taken together, these results suggest the presence of phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs), in these P. multocida strains. To date, PICIs have not been described in P. multocida. Genetic diversity of temperate bacteriophages was assessed by restriction endonuclease (RE) analysis and 10 different RE types (A to J) were identified. Plaque assay appeared to be
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less sensitive than TEM for detection of temperate bacteriophages. Only 11 (38%) P. multocida phages produced signs of infection against indicator strains.
Nucleotide sequence analysis of phage genomic DNA from the same isolates demonstrated that both λ-like and Mu-like phages are induced in the same isolates of P. multocida. The results also showed that more than one λ-like and Mu-like phage is induced in the majority of isolates. Annotation of the sequenced phages resulted in five different Mu-like phages, one phage-inducible chromosomal island and seven λ-like phages. Further bacterial genome analyses identified additional intact prophages within the genomes of 40 isolates. From one to five intact prophages and prophage-like elements were identified within the genomes of P. multocida strains. The annotated phage genomes were analysed since phages are known to carry virulence factors, including genes encoding OMPs and various toxins, and also mediate horizontal DNA transfer. Nucleotide sequence analysis of λ-like phage genomes induced in toxigenic porcine isolates, PM684 and PM848 of capsular types A and D, demonstrated the presence of the toxA gene which encodes the P. multocida toxin (PMT). Moreover, genomic analysis identified additional intact λ-like prophages containing toxA within the bacterial genomes of the porcine toxigenic isolates PM918, PM926, PM40 and PM696 as well as in ovine isolates of capsular type D. No genes encoding OMPs were found to be carried by any of the bacteriophages. Overall, it was concluded that strains of P. multocida recovered from different host species carry a diverse range of bacteriophages. The presence of two bands of different molecular size of phage DNA from isolates PM86, PM172, PM486, PM934 and PM954; together with the identification of small capsids by TEM, suggest that these elements represent PICIs. Interestingly, Southern blot hybridisation of phage DNA in these isolates confirmed induction of both Mu-like phages and PICIs for the first time in P. multocida.
This study represents the first comparative genomic analysis of the genes encoding the outer membrane proteome of P. multocida; it also represents the first detailed characterisation of the temperate bacteriophage content of a large number of P. multocida isolates recovered from different host species (cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry) and various disease syndromes. The study has, for the first time, identified PICIs in P. multocida.


This paper examines a model in which demand is uncertain and production must occur before demand is known for sure. By investing resources in information gathering activity, demand can be forecast. The paper investigates the relationship between the incentive to plan and market structure and conduct. Competition leads to too little planning, while monopoly leads to too high a price relative to the social optimum. A dominant firm with a competitive fringe turns out to be better. than either pure competition or monopoly. One interesting result is that the optimal production strategy of the dominant firm is to produce even when price is below marginal cost. Although such a production policy resembles that associated with "predatory pricing" (a practice which is thought to be socially undesirable), society would be harmed by prohibition of such a policy.


The possibility that a deep mantle plume manifests Pliocene and Quaternary volcanism and potential elevated heat flux in West Antarctica has been studied for more than 30 years. Recent seismic images support the plume hypothesis as the cause of Marie Byrd Land (MBL) volcanism and geophysical structure. Mantle plumes may more than double the geothermal heat flux above nominal continental values. A dearth of in situ ice sheet basal data exists that samples the heat flux. Consequently, we examine a realistic distribution of heat flux associated with a possible late Cenozoic mantle plume in West Antarctica and explore its impact on thermal and melt conditions at the ice sheet base. We use a simple analytical mantle plume parameterization to produce geothermal heat flux at the base of the ice sheet. The three‐dimensional ice flow model includes an enthalpy framework and full‐Stokes stress balance. As both the putative plume location and extent are uncertain, we perform broadly scoped experiments to characterize the impact of the plume on geothermal heat flux and ice sheet basal conditions. The experiments show that mantle plumes have an important local impact on the ice sheet, with basal melting rates reaching several centimeters per year directly above the hotspot. In order to be consistent with observations of basal hydrology in MBL, the upper bound on the plume‐derived geothermal heat flux is 150 mW/m2. In contrast, the active lake system of the lower part of Whillans Ice Stream suggests a widespread anomalous mantle heat flux, linked to a rift source.


This poster session showcases ten examples of expertise development in everyday domains of personal relevance and consequence to learners. The collection of cases highlighted in the posters stem from ethnographic research studies investigating learning from socio-cultural-historical perspectives. In each poster, authors describe their ethnographic project, explicate a case of expertise development, and detail the specific learning processes, practices, and pathways associated with that expertise development. Implications for understanding personally relevant and consequential learning for the design of effective learning environments in K-12 STEM classrooms and beyond will be discussed. Discussion will also include plans for the design and implementation of a data repository, which will house a broad set of learning cases, such as those detailed in this poster session, with the goals of supporting collaborative theoretical synthesizing related to diverse learning-related phenomena and helping researchers and educators understand the details of learning as it socially occurs in meaningful ways.


The article questions the two dominant views on media aesthetics – one takes the empiricist stance, and the other pushes forwards a media-technological a priori – in order to posit a third view. This view is transcendental empiricism, which one can trace in the work of Gilbert Simondon and Gilles Deleuze. This article demonstrates this argument with the example of digital objects – the new form of industrial objects composed of data and metadata – and proposes to investigate their aesthetics by articulating three logical operators – induction, deduction and transduction – as correlations to the three views mentioned above.


Development scholars and practitioners today see progressive access to information and transparency policies as necessary preconditions for improved effectiveness of international development aid and the legitimacy of modern international financial institutions. This chapter examines the evolution of access to information and broader open data policies in international development institutions. Drawing from the case of the World Bank as a "first mover," this chapter examines the complex internal processes and factors that shape the adoption and implementation of access to information policy reforms. While challenges to achieving robust information disclosure and open data policies across all multilateral and bilateral aid agencies persist, transparency is now a benchmark for good governance in global development finance and the proverbial genie that cannot be put back in the bottle.


Ignition characteristics of AN-F-32 and two AN-F-58a fuels were studied in a single can-type turbojet combustor under air-flow conditions representing engine speeds of 1600, 2500, and 4000 rpm, altitudes from sea level to 30,000 feet, ambient temperatures at sea level from 90 degrees to minus 36 degrees F, and flight Mach numbers of 0 and 0.6. Critical fuel-flow rates for ignition increased with increase in preignition engine speed, with increase in altitude, or with decrease in sea-level ambient temperature. This flow rate appears to increase in a direct relation to decrease in fuel volatility as indicated by the 10-percent-evaporated temperature.


This research attempts to increase the academic understanding as well as the managerial practices of the financial services marketing positioning in the crossnational field. In order to achieve this objective the research developed a conceptual framework of the small business' bank selection criteria and tested it on the small business banks' customers in two culturally different countries (Egypt and UK). This proposed framework was developed based on deduction, derived from the literature on positioning, branding and selection criteria, and induction, derived from two waves of exploratory pilot interviews in both countries.
The research is divided into three main parts. The first part introduces the literature review, where the issues of positioning, branding and bank selection criteria were emphasised, ending with developing the proposed framework for small business' bank selection criteria. The second part deals with the empirical study, where the research design was explained and justified, the research hypotheses were developed, a multiface comparison between Egypt and the UK was presented, and finally the methodology adapted in this research was explained. This depends on the "mixed methods approach, dominant-less dominant design", i.e. depending on the qualitative methodology (in-depth interviews) in developing the "derived Etics view" as well as the research hypotheses, while the main part of the research is depending on quantitative methodology (sample survey based on structured questionnaire in both countries). The third part presents the data analysis in three chapters, while the first one deals with the descriptive and methodological issues, the second and third present the findings and the hypotheses testing results.
The main results of this research emphasis that the bank selection decision could be better understood by the suggested conceptual framework. There are a lot of interfaces between the segmentation, positioning, branding, service quality, interactions, pre- and post purchase criteria, and a lot of integrated work is needed in order to gain a competitive advantage. Finally in general similar marketing positioning strategies could be adopted in the two studied countries on the banks' small business customers, as similar clusters of small business customers were identified. The adopted positioning strategy needs some minor adaptations in each country in order to get the desired objectives and work more effectively.


Contrary to a decade ago, clinical development in ulcerative colitis (UC) has become highly active with multiple promising innovative assets currently in early and late phase clinical studies. The anti-integrin α4β7 monoclonal antibody vedolizumab has been leading this wave, and has received marketing authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) based on an excellent efficacy and safety record.

One of the targets that had raised high hopes several years ago was interleukin 13 (IL-13), together with IL-4 and IL-5 the signature cytokine of a T helper 2 (Th2) immune response. As such, its blockade was hypothesised as a brilliant therapeutic strategy in diseases such as allergic asthma and UC. However, in this issue of Gut , results from a trial with anrukinzumab in active UC are reported,1 which, together with results of a trial with tralokinumab reported in the January issue,2 crush enthusiasm for anti-IL-13 blockade as a therapeutic strategy in UC.

Anrukinzumab is a humanised IgG1 antibody, which binds IL-13 and inhibits IL-13's binding to the IL-4Rα chain, part of the IL-13 receptor complex, while it does not block binding of IL-13 to IL-13Rα1 or α2 chains. In a randomised, double-blind, phase IIa study conducted in 38 centres in 10 countries, a total of 84 patients (out of 152 screened) were randomised to three doses (200 mg, 400 mg and 600 mg) anrukinzumab or placebo, with five doses of study medication administered over a 14-week treatment period.1 As a first in a UC trial, fold-change from baseline faecal calprotectin at week 14 was chosen as the primary end point—which turned out not to be significantly different for the three treatment …


Results of a series of two-dimensional numerical experiments of mantle flow, melting, and melt migration under a spreading center are reported. The model predicts the distribution of melt in the subridge mantle, the width over which most melt is delivered to the crust, and the thickness of crust. The sources of buoyancy considered are thermal expansion, compositional variation caused by melt extraction, and the phase change of solid to melt. We infer that the steady state average viscosity of the mantle below a ridge cannot be much less than about 1019 Pa s. For a lower average viscosity, thermal convection causes rapid cooling of a large region under a ridge, raising the viscosity. Results imply that transient increases in mantle temperature should lead to larger increases in the oceanic crustal thickness for slow spreading ridges than for fast spreading ridges. We assume that the viscosity is proportional to exp (-ϕ/ϕ0), where ϕ is melt fraction. We parameterize the permeability in terms of the reference velocity for percolation of the melt vr, where the relative velocity of melt to solid is vr ϕ. Analytic approximations are used to extrapolate the model results to large values of permeability and small values of ϕ0. If vr is less than 1 m/yr, then more melt would be retained in the subridge mantle than is estimated from analysis of topography and gravity data at fast spreading centers. For vr greater than about 100 m/yr, so little melt would be retained in the mantle that it is difficult to explain the gravity data and the low shear wave velocity structure close to the East Pacific Rise estimated from seismic surface waves. Buoyancy effects can lead to a region of mantle upwelling and melting that is as narrow as the observed zone of oceanic crustal accretion. For most melt to be added to the crust within a few kilometers of a fast spreading center requires that ϕ0 be less than 0.015 if vr equals 1 m/yr and less than 0.003 if vr is 100 m/yr.


The main economic functions of the futures market are to provide price discovery and
risk management facilities. It is well known that the futures market can function well
only when the futures prices provide accurate price forecast to subsequent cash prices.
The greater the degree of price forecast accuracy, the greater the effectiveness of the
futures market in terms of performing its economic functions. If the market is not
efficient, effective transmission of information from one market to another will be
impaired, thus the value of the futures market in price discovery and hedging.
The creation of the crude palm oil (CPO) futures market in Malaysia was to fulfil the
need for an efficient pricing and hedging mechanism for Malaysia's palm oil.
Therefore, the extent to which CPO futures market has served as an efficient center of
price discovery and risk management, has been the focus of considerable research. In
general, debate has centered around the extent of which futures market provide price
leadership to cash market and the ability of futures market to predict subsequent spot debate has centered around the extent of which futures market provide price leadership
to cash market and the ability of futures market to predict subsequent spot price in
accurate way. Empirical evidence has shown that CPO futures prices performed
relatively better compared to other forecasting models. However, no comparison is made
in forecast accuracy of CPO futures with expert opinion. This approach is unique in the
sense that it examines the relative efficiency of ex ante forecasts rather then ex post.
The objectives of this study are: firstly, to evaluate the forecast accuracy of the CPO
futures market relative to expert prediction. Secondly, to test the relationship between
the futures, forward and cash prices, to examine whether these price series have the
same properties and relationship in the long-run.
AGS and the Johansen's cointegrations techniques were used to analyze the forecast
accuracy and log-run relationship over, 1st, tld, 3rd and 4th month spreads offutures and
forward prices. The analyzed sample data consists of the daily end-of-month trading
prices of the futures, cash, and forward prices for the period from January 1 989 to
December 1 999.
The findings of this study suggested that the forward forecast accuracy price was
superior to the futures. It implies that the forward prices which represent expert
prediction of cash price, contain more information for price discovery than CPO futures
prices in the one month and two months horizons. This finding indicated that the CPO of
futures market is relatively less efficient. Hence, the use of futures prices for short-term
price forecasting may be more biased than relying on expert forecasts.


BACKGROUND: The access and utilization of maternal health care services by disabled and Dalit women in Nepal has not been well studied, and yet disparities in these may result in poor health outcomes. Co-existence of caste and disability may lead Dalit women with disability to further exclusion and marginalization, preventing them to access basic human rights and opportunities such as maternal health care services. It is therefore important to understand disabled and Dalit women's access and utilization of health care service and the effect of intersectionality between their caste status and disability in the use of services. Previous efforts have focused on disability, gender and caste separately, but few studies have attempted to understand the inter-relationship between them or where they co-exist. This study explored this complex relationship and the multiple perspectives of Dalit women with and without disability about their access and utilization of maternal health care services with the assumption that all of these factors interacting together lead to exclusion and marginalization preventing their access and utilization of services. The study objectives were: (i) to compare and determine maternal health care service access and utilization patterns among disabled and non-disabled, Dalit and non-Dalit women in the Rupandehi district; (ii) to understand the attitude and behaviours of society and maternal health care providers towards disability; and (iii) to identify inhibiting and enabling factors for disabled and Dalit women with regards to access and utilization of maternal health care service. METHODS: The study employed a mixed methods design combining quantitative and qualitative components of data collection and analysis. Quantitative data was obtained from survey questionnaires administered to women between aged 15 - 49 years and also of their health care providers. A total 354 women, of which 79 were disabled (18 disabled Dalit and 61 disabled non-Dalit) and 275 non-disabled (133 non-disabled Dalit and 142 non-disabled non-Dalit) participated in the survey. While qualitative data was gathered from 37 in-depth interviews, six focus group discussions with women (disabled and non-disabled; Dalit and non-Dalit), and six key informant interviews with activists, community leaders and policy makers. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analysis with a logistic regression model and theme content analysis was applied to the qualitative data. RESULTS: The study found inequitable utilization of maternal health care services, with disabled women having lower utilization of ANC one (83.5% vs 96.7%, P 0.05). Rather it found that maternal health care services are not easily or equitably accessible to all social groups, preventing full utilization for disabled. Societal and health care providers' attitudes towards disability were often found to be negative, although there were positive and negative user experiences and perceptions of provider's attitude and behaviours. A further finding of the study was that the health care needs of disabled women are invisible at the policy level, which appeared to translate into unsuitable health care settings and ill-prepared health care providers to cater for them. Women from all social groups encountered a number of barriers to access, relating to personal, socio-cultural, and policy or system factors; however, disabled women faced additional barriers. Women with disabilities from all social groups faced physical, attitudinal, socio-cultural and policy related issues, including a lack of knowledge and skills among providers were critical barriers for women with disabilities; whereas having positive providers, a favourable family environment, as well as education and information, were enabling factors for disabled women's access and utilization of care. Women with disabilities from all social groups also have higher levels of fear and perceived risks associated with pregnancy and delivery. This is primarily linked to worries about delivery complications associated with their disability and also that the baby would inherit their disability. The study did not find any compounding effect of caste and disability in access and utilization of maternal health care services. CONCLUSION: Improving equity and maternal health care access and utilization for disabled and other marginalised women requires that policy and existing traditional strategies be re-examined, re-developed and implemented through a human rights-based lens, with programme interventions focused on addressing persistent negative attitudes and socio-cultural barriers. Women's education, social status, decision-making power and access to resources are critical factors associated with health care access and utilization among all groups of women. Significantly, women with disabilities, no matter what their social group, faced greater barriers than non-disabled women. Therefore, in order to increase access and utilization of maternal health care services across the population, holistic approaches including multi-sectoral interventions should be adopted.


Get up to speed on the nuances of NoSQL databases and what theymean for your organization This easy to read guide to NoSQL databases provides the type ofno-nonsense overview and analysis that you need to learn, includingwhat NoSQL is and which database is right for you. Featuringspecific evaluation criteria for NoSQL databases, along with a lookinto the pros and cons of the most popular options, NoSQL ForDummies provides the fastest and easiest way to dive into thedetails of this incredible technology. You'll gain an understandingof how to use NoSQL databases for mission-critical enterprisearchitectures and projects, and real-world examples reinforce theprimary points to create an action-oriented resource for ITpros. If you're planning a big data project or platform, you probablyalready know you need to select a NoSQL database to complete yourarchitecture. But with options flooding the market and updates andadd-ons coming at a rapid pace, determining what you require now,and in the future, can be a tall task. This is where NoSQL ForDummies comes in! * Learn the basic tenets of NoSQL databases and why they havecome to the forefront as data has outpaced the capabilities ofrelational databases * Discover major players among NoSQL databases, includingCassandra, MongoDB, MarkLogic, Neo4J, and others * Get an in-depth look at the benefits and disadvantages of thewide variety of NoSQL database options * Explore the needs of your organization as they relate to thecapabilities of specific NoSQL databases Big data and Hadoop get all the attention, but when it comesdown to it, NoSQL databases are the engines that power many bigdata analytics initiatives. With NoSQL For Dummies, you'llgo beyond relational databases to ramp up your enterprise's dataarchitecture in no time.


Background: Repositories of scholarly articles should provide authoritative information about the materials they distribute and should distribute those materials in keeping with pertinent laws. To do so, it is important to have accurate information about the versions of articles in a collection. Analysis: This article presents a simple statistical model to classify articles as author manuscripts or versions of record, with parameters trained on a collection of articles that have been hand-annotated for version. The algorithm achieves about 94 percent accuracy on average (cross-validated). Conclusion and implications: The average pairwise annotator agreement among a group of experts was 94 percent, showing that the method developed in this article displays performance competitive with human experts.


A team of Unitec volunteers worked with Habitat for Humanity (HfH) in Samoa in early 2010, rebuilding fale (traditional houses) alongside the villagers, using collaborative techniques derived from Samoan cultural customs. Experience at the time indicated that the Unitec's team acknowledgement of the villagers' existing knowledge of both traditional and modern carpentry skills encouraged a high level of local participation in the building process. This impression was later tested through research in 2012 that found that the buildings were still in good condition and that the villagers had been satisfied with the overall process employed by the group. The study used a qualitative approach, involving interviews and observations, and was analysed with the application of two research frameworks – the Kestle Model (Kestle et al. 2008) and 'Talking to the Buildings' (Potangaroa, 2008). In addition, information was sought about the potential value of trade training skills and qualifications that some villagers had gained. Findings showed that 'value generation', 'knowledge integration', 'process integration' and 'timely decision-making' had overall been positive from the villagers' perspective due, in the main, to the cultural approach taken by the group. The villagers did, however, consider that they had not had sufficient input into the initial planning process, although the matai (village chiefs) had been consulted by the Samoan Government and HfH before the rebuilding project started. This paper concludes with a recommendation that disaster management organisations integrate local cultures as a fundamental aspect from the initial planning of any project, from implementation through to its completion.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the attitudes of technicians and contractors of small HVAC firms in regard to how they view relationship marketing activities. A survey was utilized to gauge their perceptions regarding relational marketing activities deemed necessary to develop long-term relationships with residential customers. In this regard, a customer process model was used to delineate relational tasks required during pre-sale, sales, and post-sale interactions. Research findings showed that certain activities were evaluated as being more important than others. Furthermore, differences were found between how service technicians and contractors viewed the relative importance of relational tasks deemed important to their industry. The implications of the results should be especially interesting to small HVAC contractors contemplating how to remain competitive in today's marketplace. These contractors and their service technicians are trained to be product experts. Yet, it has been suggested that they extend their focus to marketing tasks to improve firm profitability via the development of long-term, mutually-beneficial customer relationships. An analysis of the perceptions of relational activities from both technician and contractor viewpoints is a first step in grasping what soft skills need to be developed through coaching, motivating and training. This study suggests that both contractors and technicians both are in need of understanding the value of being customer focused, and not just product focused. INTRODUCTION The execution of a well developed marketing process is crucial to the success and continued existence of all firms operating in the current marketplace. Typically, an integral part of this process has involved the hiring and training of a sales staff responsible for finding and convincing customers to engage in mutually-beneficial exchanges. Yet, current advancements in marketing thought have shown a paradigm shift away from the facilitation of exchanges with increased focus on customer relationships. The American Marketing Association has even changed its definition of the term "marketing" to put greater emphasis on this notion. A recent issue of Marketing News presented the new definition of marketing as--"an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders." Placing emphasis on customer relationships is not new a myriad of companies that have employed related strategies over the years in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Toyota entered the upscale automobile market in the mid 1980s when it began marketing its Lexus automobiles in such a manner. The Lexus division of this firm combined high-quality products with value-added services to set itself apart from other automakers. The exemplary execution of Lexus' customer relationship strategy has allowed the firm to build and retain a loyal customer base. Central to building a loyal following has been their focus on firm-customer interactions. Liljander and Strandvik (1995) used the term episode to denote any buyer/seller interaction with a specific beginning and end. In the case of Lexus, each interaction that a customer had with any of their employees during pre-sale, sales, or post-sales encounters would be considered an episode which formed the foundation for an ongoing relationship. Lexus' sales representatives are deemed integral to providing pre-sale product, financing, and service information, in addition to forging buyer/seller relationships during the sale by performing tasks such as demonstrating how to properly use and care for car components. Sales representatives also contacted customers after the sale to ensure customers are satisfied and not experiencing any problems. However, it is Lexus' service technician personnel that interact with customers the majority of time after a sale, and these post-sale interactions have been found to be crucial to the development of long-term customer relationships. …


Supply chain management is one of the newest and most fashionable managerial concepts to be sponsored by those organisations responsible for setting the change agenda in the construction sector. Its success elsewhere, its promise of productivity improvement and 'best practice' pedigree form the basis of arguments for its adoption in the construction sector. There are a number of assumptions that underpin this argument that are largely ignored by the promoters of such change and the construction management research community. Most notably, the transferability and utility of supply chain management in the context of organisations competing in the construction sector. However, it is argued
in this thesis that these arguments fail to engage with the recursive relationship between context and practice. Managerial practice does not exist in a vacuum. The research therefore sets out to test the theory of supply chain management in the construction sector. In doing so, the research approach is informed by and draws on contextual approaches that are highly sensitive to the recursive relationship between context and practice. A multiple case study research strategy was chosen that sought to provide explanations for how practitioners make sense of supply chain
management in the context of their organisations and forms the basis of
theory testing. These explanations also provided a wealth of empirical
evidence to test the assumptions that underpin calls for change in the
construction sector. It is concluded that supply chain management does
not make sense in the construction sector and that calls for its adoption lacked intellectual rigour and were indeed acontextual.


This thesis is the first book-length treatment of the poems in George Oppen's Discrete Series (1934), providing a counterbalance to critical readings of Oppen's work which have to date focused on work published after his return to poetry (i.e. from 1962 onwards). It is a philosophical presentation of the work which argues that the poems are themselves philosophical presentations of objects, and by those objects and that presentation, of the historical circumstances of those objects and the poems themselves.

Its method is Adornian in three senses: first, it holds that literature is not only subject-matter for a (sub)subset of philosophy but a potential mode of participation within it; second, the philosophical writing with which the thesis puts the poems into dialogue is not a single authorship nor strictly aesthetic, but a broad range of writings by Kant, Hegel, Marx and Nietzsche (with a special emphasis on Hegel); and third, continual recourse is made to Adorno's own writings on art and objecthood.

After a brief account of the pre-history of Objectivism, of Oppen's connection with Ezra Pound, and the circumstances of the work's production and appearance, the poems are analysed in depth alongside more thoroughly institutionally validated works by, among others, Pound and T.S. Eliot. The main focus of these readings is on the physical objects represented: their nature, type, consistency, and the fact and manner of their presentation. These objects are characterised by their resolute materiality – their distinctive hardness and their uniform impenetrable surfaces. These properties are analysed from literary-historical, historical and philosophical perspectives, i.e. in the contexts of modernist hardness and its precursors; industrial production and the individual; and the causes and consequences, in thought, of the experience of bare materiality that the poems present.

Finally it considers how the poems, as well as registering a particular mode of object experience, themselves seek to produce it.


Current preoccupations with the body have led to a growing interest in the intersections between religion, literature and the history of medicine, and, more specifically, how they converge within a given culture. This collection of essays explores the ways in which aspects of medieval culture were predicated upon an interaction between medical and religious discourses, particularly those inflected by contemporary gendered ideologies. The essays interrogate this convergence broadly in a number of different ways: textually, conceptually, historically, socially and culturally. They argue for an inextricable relationship between the physical and spiritual in accounts of health, illness and disability, and demonstrate how medical, religious and gender discourses were integrated in medieval culture. Naoe Kukita Yoshikawa is Professor of English in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Shizuoka University. Contributors: Louise M. Bishop, Elma Brenner, Joy Hawkins, Roberta Magnani, Takami Matsuda, Liz Herbert McAvoy, Irina Metzler, Denis Renevey, Patricia Skinner, Juliette Vuille, Diane Watt, Naoe Kukita Yoshikawa.


OF DISSERTATION PRIVACY PRESERVING DISTRIBUTED DATA MINING Privacy preserving distributed data mining aims to design secure protocols which allow multiple parties to conduct collaborative data mining while protecting the data privacy. My research focuses on the design and implementation of privacy preserving two-party protocols based on homomorphic encryption. I present new results in this area, including new secure protocols for basic operations and two fundamental privacy preserving data mining protocols. I propose a number of secure protocols for basic operations in the additive secretsharing scheme based on homomorphic encryption. I derive a basic relationship between a secret number and its shares, with which we develop e cient secure comparison and secure division with public divisor protocols. I also design a secure inverse square root protocol based on Newton's iterative method and hence propose a solution for the secure square root problem. In addition, we propose a secure exponential protocol based on Taylor series expansions. All these protocols are implemented using secure multiplication and can be used to develop privacy preserving distributed data mining protocols. In particular, I develop e cient privacy preserving protocols for two fundamental data mining tasks: multiple linear regression and EM clustering. Both protocols work for arbitrarily partitioned datasets. The two-party privacy preserving linear regression protocol is provably secure in the semi-honest model, and the EM clustering protocol discloses only the number of iterations. I provide a proof-of-concept implementation of these protocols in C++, based on the Paillier cryptosystem.


This paper reports what we believe to be the first record of allogromiid foraminifers from coastal Indian waters. Two species from the Vellar Estuary on the east coast of India south of Madras are described and placed in a new genus Vellaria. The foraminifers live at or near the sediment-water interface and are characterised by the development of a flared, conical or trumpet-shaped apertural structure which apparently serves to attach the test to small sand grains. Allogromiids are delicate and inconspicuous organisms which may be more widespread in esturine and brackish water settings than is currently realised.