Abstract. The primary background for the present study was a project to assist the authorities in Thailand with development of plans for how to deal with the future tsunami risk in both short and long term perspectives, in the wake of the devastating 26 December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami. The study is focussed on defining and analyzing a number of possible future earthquake scenarios (magnitudes 8.5, 8.0 and 7.5) with associated return periods, each one accompanied by specific tsunami modelling. Along the most affected part of the western coast of Thailand, the 2004 tsunami wave caused a maximum water level ranging from 5 to 15 m above mean sea level. These levels and their spatial distributions have been confirmed by detailed numerical simulations. The applied earthquake source is developed based on available seismological and geodetic inversions, and the simulation using the source as initial condition agree well with sea level records and run-up observations. A conclusion from the study is that another megathrust earthquake generating a tsunami affecting the coastline of western Thailand is not likely to occur again for several hundred years. This is in part based on the assumption that the Southern Andaman Microplate Boundary near the Simeulue Islands constitutes a geologic barrier that will prohibit significant rupture across it, and in part on the decreasing subduction rates north of the Banda Ache region. It is also concluded that the largest credible earthquake to be prepared for along the part of the Sunda-Andaman arc that could affect Thailand, is within the next 50–100 years an earthquake of magnitude 8.5, which is expected to occur with more spatial and temporal irregularity than the megathrust events. Numerical simulations have shown such earthquakes to cause tsunamis with maximum water levels up to 1.5–2.0 m along the western coast of Thailand, possibly 2.5–3.0 m on a high tide. However, in a longer time perspective (say more than 50–100 years) the potentials for earthquakes of similar magnitude and consequences as the 2004 event will become gradually larger and eventually posing an unacceptable societal risk. These conclusions apply only to Thailand, since the effects of an M 8.5 earthquake in the same region could be worse for north-western Sumatra, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, maybe even for Sri Lanka and parts of the Indian coastline. Moreover, further south along the Sunda arc the potentials for large ruptures are now much higher than for the region that ruptured on 26 December 2004.


Within multi-disciplinary global health interventions, anthropologists find themselves
navigating complex relationships of power. In this article, I offer a critical reflection
on this negotiated terrain, drawing on my experience as an embedded ethnographer in a
four-year adolescent sexual and reproductive health research intervention in Latin America. I
critique the notion that the transformative potential of ethnographic work in global health remains
unfulfilled. I then go on to argue that an anthropological practice grounded in iterative,
inter-subjective and self-reflexive work has the potential to create 'disturbances' in the status
quo of day-to-day global health practice, which can in turn destabilise some of the problematic
hubristic assumptions of health reforms.


T follicular helper–like cells and IL-21 are drivers of skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis. Scleroderma's little helpers Scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis, is a devastating disease involving multi-organ fibrosis. Taylor et al. examined immune cells from patients and in the skin of a graft-versus-host disease–based mouse model to elucidate the key players in this disease. They observed that a subset of T follicular helper–like cells expressing inducible costimulator (ICOS) correlated with disease scores. Blocking these cells with anti-ICOS or anti–IL-21, an important T follicular helper cell cytokine, ameliorated disease in the mouse model. Targeting these not-so-helpful T cells could dampen dermal fibrosis and bring relief to scleroderma patients. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a debilitating inflammatory and fibrotic disease that affects the skin and internal organs. Although the pathophysiology of SSc remains poorly characterized, mononuclear cells, mainly macrophages and T cells, have been implicated in inflammation and fibrosis. Inducible costimulator (ICOS), which is expressed on a subset of memory T helper (TH) and T follicular helper (TFH) cells, has been shown to be increased in SSc and associated with disease pathology. However, the identity of the relevant ICOS+ T cells and their contribution to inflammation and fibrosis in SSc are still unknown. We show that CD4+ ICOS-expressing T cells with a TFH-like phenotype infiltrate the skin of patients with SSc and are correlated with dermal fibrosis and clinical disease status. ICOS+ TFH-like cells were found to be increased in the skin of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)–SSc mice and contributed to dermal fibrosis via an interleukin-21– and matrix metalloproteinase 12–dependent mechanism. Administration of an anti-ICOS antibody to GVHD-SSc mice prevented the expansion of ICOS+ TFH-like cells and inhibited inflammation and dermal fibrosis. Interleukin-21 neutralization in GVHD-SSc mice blocked disease pathogenesis by reducing skin fibrosis. These results identify ICOS+ TFH-like profibrotic cells as key drivers of fibrosis in a GVHD-SSc model and suggest that inhibition of these cells could offer therapeutic benefit for SSc.


ClBEtC(Et):CRSiMe2Cl (I; R = Me, CH2:CMe) reacts with Na2Se to give the title compds. II (X = Se). I (R = Me) reacts with Na2Se2 to give II (X = Se, R = Me) and the six membered heterocycle (Me2SiSe)3. II (X = Se, R = Me) was also formed along with cyclophosphines by the reaction of II ( X = PhP, R = Me) with Se. The same reaction with S gave II ( X = S, R = Me) along with cyclophosphines. II (X = Se, R = Me) reacts with MeOH to give II ( X = OMe) whereas with acetylacetone, II (X = O) along with cyclic borate complex C5H7O2B(Et)SeSiMe2CMe:CHEt was obtained. Some 1:1 adducts were prepd. by the reaction of II (X = Se; R = Me, CH2: CMe) with AlCl3, pyridine, and Me3P. Photochem. or thermal reaction of II (X = Se; R = Me, CH2:CMe) with Fe(CO)5, Ru3(CO)12, (cyclododecatriene)nickel, [(h5-C5H5)Co(C2H4)2] gave complexes of the type III or IV. The crystal structure of III (R = Me) was detd.


Nucleoside transporters are essential components for the hyperproliferative capabilities of brain cancer cells. These transporters play important roles to increase nucleoside metabolism which is necessary for higher levels of DNA and RNA synthesis. The goal here is to use a series of metal containing nucleoside (MCN) analogues as novel chemical agents to study how nucleosides are imported into cells. In addition, we expect that these MCNs will ultimately function as therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents for brain cancer. Concentrative nucleoside transporters (CNTs) and equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) represent the two classes of transporters that allow MCNs to travel in (and out) of brain cancer cells. This study focuses on cyclometalated iridium nucleosides, designated Ir(III)-PPY, Ir(III)-BZQ, and Ir(III)-PBO, that were tested on a glioblastoma brain cancer cell line, U87. The therapeutic activities of these MCNs were tested against U87 glioblastomas using several biochemical methods. Cell viability experiments demonstrate that all compounds induce cell death in a timeand dose-dependent manner. Ir(III)-BZQ was identified as the most potent MCN, exhibiting an effective concentration (EC50) of 10 μM after 48 hours of exposure. ix The collective photophysical properties of these fluorescent MCNs were also used to visualize their intracellular distribution throughout localized regions of the cell. Fluorescent microscope images reveal the accumulation of Ir(III)-BZQ in the cytosol after 4 hours of exposure while significant nuclear localization is detected at longer times (~24 hours). This timing corresponds with the onset of cell death and provides insight into the mechanism of action of these MCNs. In addition, the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of Ir(III)-BZQ is significantly reduced when U87 cells are pretreated with the natural nucleoside, adenosine. Collectively, the ability to measure the uptake of MCNs coupled with their anti-cancer activities define these novel nucleoside analogues as "theranostic agents" – compounds that possess both therapeutic and diagnostic activities.


This article discusses patterns in mental health of young Australians from age 19 through 25 and explores changes in mental health over these years. Data are derived from five waves of the Australian Life Patterns longitudinal study. The outcome variable in focus was self-reported mental health. Analyses were conducted in two steps using linear mixed models with both fixed and random effects. The analysis shows a negative linear trend in mental health status. The mental health of women was worse than that of men though a negative trend was found in both men and women. Though high socio-economic status (SES) individuals reported best mental health compared to their mid and low-SES peers, a negative trend was identified for them as well as for mid-SES participants. There is weak support for a negative trend among those of low-SES backgrounds. The study adds to evidence that there is a negative trend in mental health in young Australians but that this trend is not uniform across all young people. In light of this we argue the need for further research that analyses patterns of poor mental health in relation to social systems and institutions.


Ultrasonography is a safe, inexpensive and wide-spread diagnostic tool capable of producing real-time non-invasive images without significant biological effects. However, the propagation of higher energy, intensity and frequency ultrasound waves through living tissues can induce thermal, mechanical and chemical effects useful for a variety of therapeutic applications. With the recent development of clinically approved High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) systems, therapeutic ultrasound is now a medical reality. Indeed, HIFU has been used for the thermal ablation of pathological lesions; localized, minimally invasive ultrasound-mediated drug delivery through the transient formation of pores on cell membranes; the temporary disruption of skin and the blood brain barrier; the ultrasound induced break-down of blood clots; and the targeted release of drugs using ultrasound and temperature sensitive drug carriers. This review seeks to engage the pharmaceutical research community by providing an overview on the biological effects of ultrasound as well as highlighting important therapeutic applications, current deficiencies and future directions.


Attempts have been made to better understand the mummification processes associated with the pre-Inca culture known as the Chiribaya. The ancient Chiribaya used various textile wrappings that likely enhanced wicking of fluids out of the body thus increasing the potential for mummification. Here we examine the tomb environment itself as a probable factor in the potential mummification of human remains. To reveal more about the Chiribaya mummification process, we replicated the physical characteristics of a Chiribaya tomb in the Sonoran Desert and monitored the intra-tomb environmental changes while occupied by a swine analogue. Two identical tombs were constructed using concrete fence block measuring 152.4 by 91.4 centimeters (5 by 3 feet) and 91.4 centimeters (3 feet) deep. Tomb caps were constructed from frame mounted concrete backer board. Two data loggers for temperature and relative humidity were placed within each of the tombs. A freshly deceased 68 kilogram (150 pound) swine was wrapped in wool fabric to allow for wicking of body fluids and placed in the experimental tomb. Capped PVC access ports were introduced into the experimental tomb allowing for periodic endoscopic access. Both tombs were buried at a depth of approximately 76.2 centimeters (30 inches). The experimental tomb was monitored endoscopically to collect visual data on the condition of the swine analogue. The tombs remained buried for 95 days. The stage of decomposition was determined by the physical findings of the swine upon excavation and compared to literature reports of decomposition rates in the Sonoran Desert. Based on our observational and endoscopic data, overall mummification did not occur; however, some mummification was seen on the right jowl and the gravity dependent low pelvic region upon exhumation. This visual data allowed us to directly observe the intra-tomb processes and is correlated with data-logger information from both tombs providing us a better understanding of the associated intra-tomb environmental variations. Further, the experiment demonstrates the taphonomic impact of these artificial subterranean environments on rate of decomposition and offers insight as to how the Chiribaya tombs encouraged mummification.


Individual's work values define his/her career purposefulness. Individual's chosen work values allow foreseeing what activity context and career model is important for him/her, seeking to successfully realize oneself in professional activity. Planning his/her professional career an individual is searching for the activity sphere, which could conform not only to his/her personal features, but also to his/her value orientations. Work values important for the individual allow realizing if they form conditions for planning modern career (successfully solve constantly changing activity problems and to correspond to always new raised requirements for a person in the organisation or in labour market), the realisation of which in today's constantly changing labour market and social context becomes more and more problematic. Empiric research was carried out seeking to discover the work (activity) value structure. The research instrument was created by the authors of the research. Two hundred sixty five first-year students from three Lithuanian universities participated in the research. These are the main higher education institutions, preparing teachers in Lithuania. The obtained results show that work value structure of the first year students studying in social and humanitarian science programmes can be expressed by 6 main factors: responsible activity values, active work values, harmony values, reward values, activity style values, and social status values. Also, the main differences were ascertained between female and male work value structure. Responsible activity values, active work values and harmony values were much more important for female than male students.


How much child molestation occurs in our society and how much is homosexual? Random-probability samples in Los Angeles, Denver, Omaha, Louisville, and Washington, DC yielded 4,340 adults who answered an extensive questionnaire regarding sexual attitudes, activities, and experiences. Results indicate that perhaps 16% of both boys and girls claim sexual relations with an adult before the age of 16; if only experiences with men are counted about 5% of boys and 15% of girls claim sexual involvements. Sexual contacts with adults before respondents were aged 13 were claimed by 9% of boys and 7% of girls; if only experiences with men are counted, only 3% of boys claimed molestation. Considering only children's claims of sex with men, about a third were homosexual molestations. About 1% of females claimed some sexual involvement with their fathers and a like number with stepfathers. The latter were considerably more apt to be considered "serious." About 1% of elementary pupils and 3% of secondary pupils claimed sexual advances by teachers and about a third of these advances resulted in physical sexual contact. Bisexuals or homosexuals claimed much more frequent sexual contact with caretakers, and homosexuality was disproportionately implicated in sexual events under caretakers' charge. No generational differences in rate of claims of sexual molestation were found.


The recovery of pharmaceuticals from blood plasma is often expensive, limited, and is subject to contamination. The objective of this feasibility study is to present recovery designs and the most significant parameters affecting manufacturing costs of human Serum Albumin (hSA), human Protein C (hPC), and Factor VIII (FVIII) from the milk of transgenic livestock. All the processes presented are based on chromatography columns to achieve separation. The sensitivity of the manufacturing cost of the protein to various parameters are illustrated graphically and discussed, along with the cost distribution percentages for each type of process. It was found that manufacturing costs decrease with superficial velocity, expression levels, column yields, column capacities, and scale of production increases with all other parameters remaining constant. However the estimated cost decreases tend to level out at higher values of the parameters. Finally a judicious choice of separation scheme, such as Fall-Through (FT) versus Direct Adsorption (DA) for hSA production, can decrease the protein cost by as much as 38%, due to savings from wash and elution buffers. The costs associated with the production of hSA (DA process), hSA (FT process), hPC, and FVIII are 3.56, 2.20, 129, and 11,780 $/gr respectively. By means of the optimization of manufacturing parameters to reduce costs, key areas of emphasis for process development were identified.


Abstract Porphyritic natrocarbonatite lavas erupted from the Oldoinyo Lengai volcano (Tanzania) on 17 October 1995 and 15-19 December 1995 differ from previously studied lavas in that they preserve textures indicative of groundmass carbonate-carbonate immiscibility. The immiscible fractions are considered to involve: a Na-K-Ca-CO2-Cl-rich, F-bearing fluid crystallizing gregoryite, sodian sylvite, potassium neighborite as well as a complex Ba-rich carbonate; and a Na-rich, Cl-poor carbonate liquid approximating to a nyerereite-gregoryite cotectic composition. Compositional data are given for potassium neighborite, this mineral being the first recognized occurrence of a fluorine-based perovskite group mineral in a magmatic environment. New compositional data are also given for a previously recognized potassium iron sulphide which indicate that this phase is probably a solid solution between the ternary sulphides, KFe3S4, K2Fe3S4, and KFe2S3. Textural and paragenetic data are interpreted to suggest that these recent lavas are more evolved than previously investigated Oldoinyo Lengai lavas and that natrocarbonatite is a highly evolved rather than a primitive magma.


Abstract This study compares East Asians' evaluations of task and maintenance inputs in reward allocation decisions and examines the effects that inequity in various types of inputs and rewards have on fairness judgements. Based on a sample of 587 employees from various organizations in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, we find that Hong Kong Chinese and South Korean employees are more likely to want their organizations and supervisors to emphasize maintenance inputs, while Japanese employees value task inputs in reward allocation. Results also show that there are significant country differences in fairness judgements associated with various types of inputs. For example, the positive relationship between pay level and perceived fairness of pay is significantly stronger when task contributions are high rather than low among Japanese employees but not among Hong Kong and South Korean employees. The concept of independent self-construal (similar to individualism at the societal level) seems to provide an adequate account of the country differences in choice of input preferences but not fairness judgements.


With the introduction of welding as joining method, the welding technology was applied as major joining technique in hi-tech industries to the welding of steels for manufacturing of different structures like pressure vessels and aerospace applications.Mostly high strength low alloy steels in thin cylindrical shell form are being used for  aerospace structures due to high strength and low weight ratio. Despite being high strength and light weight by numerous advantages, the welding of thin walled structure of high strength low alloy steel (also known as HSLA Steel) comes also with a major problems of weld induced imperfections due to high temperatures like residual stresses and distortions with shortening of weld strength and it is a still major challenge for the welding professionals due to the complex nature of the
welding phenomenon despite many innovations in welding
technology. The most of the weld induced imperfections are the result of transient temperature distributions and subsequent cooling of the welds followed by transient and residual stress fields.Where as, the reliability of thin-walled structures used for any aerospace or pressure vessel application is on the prime importance every time for safe operational.Usually, thin walled cylindrical structures contain two types of weld as longitudinal and circumferential. The major design and industry constraints are weld strength and cost competitive. Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) or TIG process is mostly applied due to the excellent weld strength and cost competitiveness.The main aim of this research work is to analyze and experimentally investigate the TIG welding parameters for purpose of minimizing residual stresses and distortion with the requirements of maximizing of weld strength of thin walled structures of HSLA steel respectively. To achieve the aforementioned targets, the
following strategy was applied keeping in view the complex phenomena of welding, time and cost of extensive
experimentations involved.Weld experiments were subdivided into linear and circumferential welding.Initially for linear welding, TIG welding parameters were analyzed to determine their significance on thin plates of HSLA steel of different thicknesses (3 to 5 mm) by following design of experiments (DOE) with employing 2-level full factorial and response surface method (RSM) designs to have response (weld strength,
distortion residual stress). Whereas for circumferential welding, a hybrid numerical simulation and experimental based analysis approach was employed to model and predict TIG welding process to investigate the transient temperature distributions, transient/residual stress fields and distortion for circumferentially welded thin-walled cylinders of HSLA steel.The simulations strategy was developed and implemented by using commercial available general purpose finite element software ANSYS®
enhanced with subroutines. First thermal analysis was completed followed by a separate mechanical analysis based on the thermal history. From the three dimensional FE model developed for TIG welding process of circumferential welding, a series of virtual welding experiments based on statistical designs (DOE) were
performed for response (residual stresses and distortion) with different thicknesses by using full factorial and RSM as applied for linear welding.The effects of following six parameters, four numeric and two categorical: welding current, welding voltage, welding speed, sheet/cylinder thickness and trailing (Ar) & weld type (linear and circumferential) were investigated upon following three performance measures: weld strength, residual stresses and distortions for different thicknesses of material of HSLA steel. The experimental
results were analyzed using ANOVA and significance of effects of all the tested parameters upon performance measures was determined.Empirical models for weld strength, distortion and residual stresses, in terms of significant parameters, were also developed and numerical optimization was performed according to the desirability for the maximization of weld strength and minimization
of distortion residual stresses. All the statistical analyses were performed by using commercial available statistical software Design-Expert® and MINITAB From the results of post-experimental analyses, it was noticed that the effects of welding current, welding voltage and welding speed upon weld strength, residual stresses and distortion are extremely significant, while the effect of trailing and weld type is also considerably significant with respect to material thicknesses. The residual stresses are highly sensitive to heat input (weld temperatures). The residual stresses and distortion in circumferential welding are low as compared to linear welding for the same welding parameters and material thickness respectively. The vital recommendation, in this regard, is to use the parameters of welding resulting low input heat (low current, low voltage and high speed) with application of trailing with respect to material
thicknesses for the maximum weld strength and minimum residual stresses and distortion in thin walled structures of HSLA steel.For the trade-off among aforementioned opposing targets and for prediction of values of performance measures at different settings
of TIG welding parameters, the expert system tool, employing fuzzy reasoning mechanism, was utilized. Initially, an expert system was developed for the optimization of parameters according to objectives
of maximization and/or minimization of weld strength, distortion and residual stresses.The expert system also provided the predicted values of various performance measures based upon the finalized values of the welding parameters. The analyses, simulations, experimental and ANOVA results were utilized for the making of fuzzy
rule-base.The fuzzy rule-base was adjusted for maximum accuracy by employing the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. In the next stage, a machine learning (ML) technique was utilized for creation of a expert system, named as EXWeldHSLASteel, that can: self-retrieve and self-store the experimental data; automatically
develop fuzzy sets for numeric variables involved; automatically generate rules for optimization and prediction rule-bases; resolve the conflict among contradictory rules; and automatically update the
interface of expert system according to newly introduced TIG welding process variables. The algorithms for these constituents were coded using a pointer-enabled language in C++. The coding involves a data structure named as doubly linked list, which provide the means for fast and efficient processing.The presented expert system is used
for deciding the values of important welding process parameters as per objective before the start of actual welding process on shop floor. The user should be absolutely clear about the nature and requirements of any given TIG welding process, e.g., the setting parameters, fixed parameters, and geometric parameters etc. The
expert system developed in the domain of welding for optimizing welding process of thin walled HSLA steel structure possesses all capabilities to adapt effectively to the unpredictable and continuously changing industrial environment of mechanical fabrication and manufacturing and to serve the newly emerging field of knowledge management by transforming individual (expert) knowledge into organizational knowledge i.e. implicit to explicit
knowledge


The influence of friends in shaping students' educational expectations has received considerable theoretical and empirical attention in past research. However, few studies have directly tackled the methodological problems associated with estimating such influence effects. In particular, the separation of selection effects—with students selecting friends with similar educational expectations—from influence effects has remained elusive. In this study, we therefore investigate whether friend influence persists once we account for selection effects and other confounding network-related processes. In addition, we quantify the contribution of selection and influence to the similarity of educational expectations among friends. We rely on two-wave longitudinal data on 1,821 German secondary school students in 77 classrooms and multilevel random-coefficients stochastic actor-oriented models for the coevolution of networks and behaviour. Our results demonstrate that both selection and influence contribute to expectation-based similarity and that selection effects are substantial. This shows that without explicitly accounting for selection, estimates of friend influence effects are likely to be biased.


Imitation Learning, while applied successfully on many large real-world problems, is typically addressed as a standard supervised learning problem, where it is assumed the training and testing data are i.i.d.. This is not true in imitation learning as the learned policy influences the future test inputs (states) upon which it will be tested. We show that this leads to compounding errors and a regret bound that grows quadratically in the time horizon of the task. We propose two alternative algorithms for imitation learning where training occurs over several episodes of interaction. These two approaches share in common that the learner's policy is slowly modified from executing the expert's policy to the learned policy. We show that this leads to stronger performance guarantees and demonstrate the improved performance on two challenging problems: training a learner to play 1) a 3D racing game (Super Tux Kart) and 2) Mario Bros.; given input images from the games and corresponding actions taken by a human expert and near-optimal planner respectively.


A probabilistic model based on the horseshoe prior is proposed for learning dependencies in the process of identifying relevant features for prediction. Exact inference is intractable in this model. However, expectation propagation offers an approximate alternative. Because the process of estimating feature selection dependencies may suffer from over-fitting in the model proposed, additional data from a multi-task learning scenario are considered for induction. The same model can be used in this setting with few modifications. Furthermore, the assumptions made are less restrictive than in other multi-task methods: The different tasks must share feature selection dependencies, but can have different relevant features and model coefficients. Experiments with real and synthetic data show that this model performs better than other multi-task alternatives from the literature. The experiments also show that the model is able to induce suitable feature selection dependencies for the problems considered, only from the training data.


Control of access to content has become a vital aspect of many business models for modern broadcasting and on-line services. Using the example of digital broadcasting, the author reveals the resulting challenges for competition, broadcasting, and telecommunications. "Controlling Access to Content" explores the relationship between electronic access control, freedom of expression and functioning competition. It scrutinizes the interplay between law and technique, and the ways in which broadcasting, telecommunications, and general competition law are inevitably interconnected. European law has widely harmonised the way conditional access is regulated in the Member States of the European Union. The author comments in detail on the relevant rules in European Court of Justice and the European Commission in its function as watchdog of European competition law. The relevant provisions in European broadcasting law, such as the right to short reporting and the so-called list of important events, are discussed extensively, as are the conditions that overrule the free-TV culture that was the essence of traditional broadcasting law. The broad and systematic screening of the existing regulatory framework makes this book an essential resource for all those who are concerned with the electronic control of access to content. With its in-depth analysis and explicit conclusions, "Controlling Access to Content" amply supplies the crucial understanding of this complex field that policy makers, regulators, and academics require. It investigates the implications of electronic access control, digitalization, and convergence for broadcasting, as well as the effects of the regulatory framework on innovation, competition, and consumer access to content. It demonstrates clearly at which points the chosen approach could backfire and generate undesirable side effects, and what lessons can be learned from the pay-TV case for other digital service sectors. Using many examples, the author explains for lawyers, consumer and industry representatives the main lines of the regulatory framework that apply to access-controlled broadcasting, how their interests are affected, and what changes the future might bring.


Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are two retroviruses that are deadly to the domestic cat (Felis catus) and important to the conservation of the threatened wild felids worldwide. Differences in the frequencies of occurrence and the existence of varying related viruses among felid species have incited the search for understanding the relationships among hosts and viruses into individual and population levels. Felids infected can die of related diseases or cope with the infection but not show pathognomonic or overt clinical signs. As the home range for eight species of neotropic felids and the home to hundreds of felids in captivity, Brazil has the challenge of improving its diagnostic capacity for feline retroviruses and initiating long term studies as part of a monitoring program.


TSONEV, S., E. G. TODOROVSKA and N. K. CHRISTOV, 2015. A versatile fluorescence-based multiplexing assay for combined genotyping of SSR and insertion-deletion polymorphism (IDP) markers on capillary electrophoresis systems. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 21: 843–850 During the last decade the number of the IDP markers and their utilization in laboratory practice are constantly growing. Their combination with SSR markers can facilitate saturation of genetic maps. The main disadvantage of both types of markers is the low degree of automation. Although, SSR and IDP markers share similar properties and way of detection, information on multiplexing both types of markers in a single PCR reaction has not been described. Therefore, the present study aimed at increased throughput of the PCR marker assays on a capillary sequencer by simultaneous amplification and fluorescent labeling of SSRs and redundant set of IDP markers in a single closed tube format. Ninety six co-dominant markers, with allele sizes suitable for multiplexing with SSRs, were selected from a public set of 1229 maize IDP markers. Twenty seven of them were polymorphic between the parental lines of a double-haploid population derived from F1 cross of a mutant maize inbred with its progenitor line. Seventeen of the polymorphic IDPs together with nineteen SSRs were used to develop a versatile fluorescence-based multiplexing assay for combined genotyping on capillary electrophoresis systems. Both IDP and SSR markers were successfully co-amplified and fluorescently labeled in 11 multiplex PCR reactions that included up to 4 primer pairs. The robustness of the method was validated by genotyping and map construction in the DH mapping population. The proposed multiplexing method will provide advantages for enrichment of target regions in fine mapping and map-based cloning projects as well as in marker assisted selection. With the increased availability of genome information and genome sequences of multiple varieties, the method could be successfully applied in other model and crop plant species.


Sport is an area in which the number of available computing devices is growing rapidly. However, HCI has so far devoted rather little attention to the sports domain. This workshop aims to form a community around sports by gathering existing activity in the HCI domain, thus starting a discussion on what HCI can contribute to the sports domain, as well as what HCI can gain from studying sports.


Leucine activates Sirt1 signaling and markedly potentiates the effects of other activators on sirtuin signaling and downstream effects, including insulin signaling. PDE5 inhibition increases NO‐cGMP signaling, converging with sirtuins on PGC‐1 and mitochondrial biogenesis and thereby modulating insulin sensitivity. We confirmed this synergy in vitro, demonstrating synergy between leucine (0.5 mM) and two PDE5 inhibitors, sildenafil and the natural flavonol icariin (0.1‐10 nM) on aerobic metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis and insulin sensitivity in myotubes and adipocytes. Effects on insulin sensitivity and glycemic control were then assessed in diet‐induced obese mice. High fat diet (HFD) for six weeks induced pronounced fasting and post‐prandial hyperglycemia and insulin resistance which was not significantly affected by addition of leucine (24 g/kg) or icariin to the diet. However, adding icariin at a level that produces no independent effect (25 mg/kg diet) to the high leucine HFD for 6 weeks reduced fasting glucose (38%, p<0.002), insulin (37%, p<0.05) and area under the glucose tolerance curve (20%, p<0.01). In addition, glucose response to an insulin challenge was impaired by HFD and fully restored by addition of leucine+icariin. These robust improvements in glycemic control and insulin sensitivity indicate therapeutic potential for this combination.


The paper develops a critical analysis of deliberative approaches to global governance. After first defining global governance and with a minimalist conception of deliberation in mind, the paper outlines three paradigmatic approaches: liberal, cosmopolitan, and critical. The possibilities and problems of each approach are examined and a common concern with the scope for "deliberative reflection" in global governance is addressed. It is argued that each approach, to varying degrees, foregrounds the currently underdetermined state of knowledge about global governance, its key institutions, agents, and practices. In doing so, the question " What is global governance?" is retained as an important and reflective element of ongoing deliberative practices. It is suggested that this constitutes the distinctive and vital insight of deliberative approaches to global governance.


During the Second World War, Australia maintained a super-secret organisation, the Diplomatic (or `D') Special Section, dedicated to breaking Japanese diplomatic codes. The Section has remained officially secret as successive Australian Governments have consistently refused to admit that Australia ever intercepted diplomatic communications, even in war-time. This book recounts the history of the Special Section and describes its code-breaking activities. It was a small but very select organisation, whose `technical' members came from the worlds of Classics and Mathematics. It concentrated on lower-grade Japanese diplomatic codes and cyphers, such as J-19 (FUJI), LA and GEAM. However, towards the end of the war it also worked on some Soviet messages, evidently contributing to the effort to track down intelligence leakages from Australia to the Soviet Union. This volume has been produced primarily as a result of painstaking efforts by David Sissons, who served in the Section for a brief period in 1945. From the 1980s through to his death in 2006, Sissons devoted much of his time as an academic in the Department of International Relations at ANU to compiling as much information as possible about the history and activities of the Section through correspondence with his former colleagues and through locating a report on Japanese diplomatic codes and cyphers which had been written by members of the Section in 1946. Selections of this correspondence, along with the 1946 report, are reproduced in this volume. They comprise a unique historical record, immensely useful to scholars and practitioners concerned with the science of cryptography as well as historians of the cryptological aspects of the war in the Pacific.


Pelagic oxyclines, the transition zone between oxygen rich surface waters and oxygen depleted deep waters, are a common characteristic of eutrophic lakes during summer stratification. They can have tremendous effects on the biodiversity and the ecosystem functioning of lakes and, to add insult to injury, are expected to become more frequent and more pronounced as climate warming progresses. On these grounds, this thesis endeavors to advance the understanding of formation, persistence, and consequences of pelagic oxyclines: We test, whether the formation of metalimnetic oxygen minima is intrinsically tied to a locally enhanced oxygen consuming process, investigate the relative importance of vertical physical oxygen transport and biochemical oxygen consumption for the persistence of pelagic oxyclines, and finally assess their potential consequences for whole lake cycling. To pursue these objectives, the present thesis nearly exclusively resorts to in situ measurements. Field campaigns were conducted at three lakes in Germany featuring different types of oxyclines and resolved either a short (hours to days) or a long (weeks to months) time scale. Measurements comprised temperature, current velocity, and concentrations of oxygen and reduced substances in high temporal and vertical resolution. Additionally, vertical transport was estimated by applying the eddy correlation technique within the pelagic region for the first time. The thesis revealed, that the formation of metalimnetic oxygen minima does not necessarily depend on locally enhanced oxygen depletion, but can solely result from gradients and curvatures of oxygen concentration and depletion and their relative position to each other. Physical oxygen transport was found to be relevant for oxycline persistence when it considerably postponed anoxia on a long time scale. However, its influence on oxygen dynamics was minor on short time scales, although mixing and transport were highly variable. Biochemical consumption always dominated the fate of oxygen in pelagic oxyclines. It was primarily determined by the oxidative breakdown of organic matter originating from the epilimnion, whereas in meromictic lakes, the oxidation of reduced substances dominated. Beyond that, the results of the thesis emphasize that pelagic oxyclines can be a hotspot of mineralization and, hence, short-circuit carbon and nutrient cycling in the upper part of the water column. Overall, the present thesis highlights the importance of considering physical transport as well as biochemical cycling in future studies.


We present several quantum algorithms for performing nearest-neighbor learning. At the core of our algorithms are fast and coherent quantum methods for computing distance metrics such as the inner product and Euclidean distance. We prove upper bounds on the number of queries to the input data required to compute these metrics. In the worst case, our quantum algorithms lead to polynomial reductions in query complexity relative to the corresponding classical algorithm. In certain cases, we show exponential or even super-exponential reductions over the classical analog. We study the performance of our quantum nearest-neighbor algorithms on several real-world binary classification tasks and find that the classification accuracy is competitive with classical methods.


Using data from Eurobarometer Surveys 2001–2011 we examine trends and correlates of childlessness intentions and ideals across Europe over the past decade. We distinguish childlessness as a personal preference (personal ideal number of children is zero) from intended childlessness (intention to have no children) as these reflect somewhat different dimensions of childlessness as a conscious decision. We find that, on average, childlessness as a personal preference is relatively rare in Europe, although in some western European countries a sizeable proportion of young adults express a desire to have no children. Intentional childlessness is slightly more common than ideal childlessness is, since about 11% of currently childless young adults aged 18 to 40 years in Europe intend to have no children. We analyse factors related to childlessness intentions and ideals on the individual and country levels. A weaker individual socioeconomic position influences the intention to remain childless through various channels, such as unemployment or low socioeconomic status. Associations between individual's social position and ideal childlessness are less clear. Results also indicate that macro-economic conditions do not have a direct impact on intentional childlessness, whereas a higher prevalence of traditional family values in a country is related to a lower likelihood of individuals considering childlessness to be their ideal family form.


In Part I of this article, US President, Barack Obama, is reported as saying to his inner circle that their objective in Afghanistan is not to build a Jeffersonian democracy. Part II is about the idea that a more Jeffersonian architecture of rural republicanism in tune with Afghan traditions is a remedy to limits of the Hobbesian analysis of cases like Afghanistan in Part I. Anomic spaces where policing and justice do not work are vacuums that can attract tyrannical forms of law and order, such as the rule of the Taliban. Peace with justice cannot prevail in the aftermath of such an occupation without a reliance on both local community justice and state justice that are mutually constitutive. Supporting checks on abuse of power through balancing local and national institutions that deliver justice is a more sustainable peace-building project than regime change and top-down re-engineering of successor regimes.


The applications of surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators, (DBD), have known a considerable interest recently in the field of flow control. In general, such actuators consist of two electrodes separated by an insulation covering the lower electrode entirely, while the upper electrode remains exposed to the flow. This actuator is driven either by a high frequency AC-voltage or by fast rising voltage pulses. In the former case, a sinusoidal voltage of several kilovolts with frequencies of a few hundred to several thousand Hertz is applied to the electrodes. The actuator generates a body force tangentially to the surface which provides a variety of possibilities to manipulate or to create flows. Inside an existing mean flow, the actuator can be used to impart momentum into a boundary layer and to alter the velocity, the turbulence distribution or to control the transition from laminar to turbulent. The amplitude of the force, created by the plasma actuator can be altered by varying the driving voltage. In the case of the fast rising voltage pulse (FRP) driven DBD actuators, pulses with an amplitude of several kilovolts and with a rise/decay time (from 10%-90% max. voltage) of a few nanoseconds are applied. The wall jet's velocities of these actuators are quite low, and the actuator acts as an equivalent additional energy source. A weak compression wave is generated at the edge of the flow/air-exposed electrode which prevails whatever the flow regime, and seems to be the predominant mechanism of these FRP actuators. A major part of the experimental work up to now using surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuators was carried out in flow speeds up to 30 m/s, mostly with actuators driven by AC-voltage. The main identified mechanism of successful control with such actuators at such low speeds is the induced ionic wind effect, which can attain velocities limited to a few meters per second, hence influencing mainly only very low speed flows [8]. With increasing flow speed, however, this influence becomes insufficient and the actuator's control capacity generated by these AC-driven DBD has not yet achieved expectations [2]. Recently, DBD actuators driven by nanosecond pulsed FRP-DBD have been successfully used to reattach leading edge separation in high speed flows [1]. Even though this is not a phenomenon frequently encountered under realistic flight conditions these findings encouraged to investigate possible effects of FRP-DBD on shock buffet, which is a problem pertaining to transonic cruise flight conditions, and is of interest in compressor design. In order to evaluate whether FRP-DBD actuators have beneficial effects on the aerodynamic performance in high subsonic flows and in particular in mitigating shock buffeting phenomena, a series of experimental investigations has been carried out in the CIRA PT-1 transonic wind tunnel. The flow speed was varied between M=0.4 and M=0.85 at angles of attack from -2° to 8° and Reynolds numbers between Re=1.7∙106 and Re=2.5∙106. Tests were performed on a constant wing span model of a BAC 3-11 supercritical airfoil, with 11% of maximum thickness, able to reach shock buffet conditions at Mach numbers in the range (M=0.75-0.88), at low angles of attack (0-5°) and Reynolds number about 2 - 3 million, [3].[4]. During the tests, steady and unsteady pressure measurements were acquired to obtain quantitative measurements. This paper provides a short description of the experimental setup, presents the main results regarding the effect of the plasma presence on the aerodynamic performance and on the shock buffet phenomenon.


Between June 1988 and January 1980, 67 patients with pathologic stage III non-small cell lung cancer were randomized to receive either preoperative mitomycin, vinblastine, and cisplatin (MVP) chemotherapy (cisplatin 120 mg/m2, and mitomycin, 8 mg/m2 day 1 + 29, and vinblastine, 4.5 mg/m2 on day 1, 15, 22, and 29 and 2.0 mg/m2 day 8), or preoperative radiotherapy (44 Gy in 22 fractions to the primary tumor and mediastinum). The purpose of this study was to identify a treatment approach that showed sufficient effectiveness and acceptable toxicity to warrant testing by prospective randomized trial against "standard" nonsurgical treatment. All patients had surgical staging of the mediastinum and had either unresectable N2 disease or T4 disease with proximal extension of disease along the pulmonary artery. Response to preoperative therapy was evaluated 8 weeks after beginning treatment and patients with complete or partial radiographic response were to undergo surgical exploration and resection if possible. Fifty-seven patients were eligible and evaluable for response. Of the 67 total patients, 3 were unavailable for follow-up, 4 were ineligible, 1 was canceled, and 2 refused all treatment after having been randomized. Of the eligible and evaluable patients, 49 had stage IIIA and 8 had stage IIIB disease. Randomization was to MVP in 26 cases and to radiotherapy (XRT) in 31. Radiographic response to treatment was virtually identical for the two approaches, with 29 of the 57 evaluable patients achieving objective responses. In patients achieving radiographic response, 24 underwent surgical exploration and 20 underwent resection, of which 18 were complete. The mediastinum was free of tumor in seven patients but only two pathologic complete responses were seen (one each to XRT and MVP). In addition, ten nonresponders underwent surgery; seven underwent resection. Median survival for the entire group is 12 months, with a 27% actuarial survival at 4 years. Two patients died of treatment toxicity during preoperative therapy. Overall toxicity included 2 preoperative toxic deaths and 6 postoperative deaths in 34 patients who underwent surgical exploration (3 each with XRT and MVP) due to adult respiratory distress syndrome (3), myocardial infarction (1), pulmonary edema (1), and esophageal fistula (1), for an overall death rate 8 of 57 (14%) and a perioperative death rate in surgically explored patients of 6/34 (18%). These preoperative regimens, in the population studied herein, were of modest efficacy and substantial toxicity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


We report a core-pumped all-normal dispersion mode-locked Nd-doped fiber laser at 910 and 935 nm. The pulse is compressed to 198 fs, and the pulse energy is 1.3 nJ. The slope efficiency is more than 14%. This laser is tested as the optical source for the two-photon fluorescence imaging of pollen.


The issue of translator training has become one of FIT's principal concerns, as it touches fundamental aspects of the future of the field of translation generally, and of LSP translation in particular. Quality assurance in connection with translation studies is not something that is built up over night. I have long been concerned with the problem of how to integrate into the students' workload texts which not just reflect but rather challenge the different kinds of requirements demanded by their future employers. The POSI project — PraxisOrientierte Studieninhalte fur die Ausbildung von Ubersetzern und Dolmetschern – is approaching the same problem from a different angle, namely by focusing on the market's need for qualified translators, and defining qualified as including not just the actual translating abilities, but indeed abilities to manage the entire translation process with all its extra-textual aspects. Theoretically I lean on Christiane Nord and the functionalist model of translation in my didactic approach to translator training.The article is two sided: a)it is a report on a three-year research project involving the introduction of real external translation assignments into the curriculum of LSP translation studies, and b) it is a didactic reflection on this kind of practical orientation, on what we are able to achieve, how and why it is so vital to enlarge the scope of teaching translation in this direction.


Raster graphic ampelometric software was not exclusively developed for the estimation of leaf area, but also for the characterization of grapevine (Viti vinifera L.) leaves. The software was written in C++ programming language, using the C++ Builder 2007 for Windows 95-XP and Linux operation systems. It handles desktop-scanned images. On the image analysed with the GRA.LE.D., the user has to determine 11 points. These points are then connected and the distances between them calculated. The GRA.LE.D. software supports standard ampelometric measurements such as leaf area, angles between the veins and lengths of the veins. These measurements are recorded by the software and exported into plain ASCII text files for single or multiple samples. Twenty-two biometric data points of each leaf are identified by the GRA.LE.D. It presents the opportunity to statistically analyse experimental data, allows comparison of cultivars and enables graphic reconstruction of leaves using the Microsoft Excel Chart Wizard. The GRA. LE.D. was thoroughly calibrated and compared to other widely used instruments and methods such as photo-gravimetry, LiCor Li3100, WinDIAS2.0 and ImageTool. By comparison, the GRA.LE.D. presented the most accurate measurements of leaf area, but the LiCor Li3100 and the WinDIAS2.0 were faster, while the photo-gravimetric method proved to be the most time-consuming. The WinDIAS2.0 instrument was the least reliable. The GRA.LE.D. is uncomplicated, user-friendly, accurate, consistent, reliable and has wide practical application.


Traditional asset allocations such as the 60/40 portfolio of stocks/bonds are not as well diversified as many investors believe since almost all the portfolio's returns are driven by the stock component. This paper examines a novel approach to strategic allocation by combining stocks with low betas and high dividend yield. Our "beta-yield" portfolio exploits the beta anomaly (low beta stocks have higher risk-adjusted returns than high-beta stocks) and the hedging property of high dividend yield stocks in declining markets. We use bootstrap simulations to analyze the long-term performance of the beta-yield portfolio and find that it outperforms 60/40, 70/30, and 80/20 stock/bond portfolios in terms of shortfall risk, Omega ratio, and Prospect Theory utility. The results hold even with relatively high loss-aversion, and when the beta-yield strategy is assumed to have counterfactually low average returns.


We examined the utility of δ18O2 measurements in estimating gross primary production (P), community respiration (R), and net metabolism (P : R) through diel cycles in a productive agricultural stream located in the midwestern U.S.A. Large diel swings in O2 (±200 µmol L−1) were accompanied by large diel variation in δ18O2 (±10‰). Simultaneous gas transfer measurements and laboratory‐derived isotopic fractionation factors for O2 during respiration (αr) were used in conjunction with the diel monitoring of O2 and δ18O2 to calculate P, R, and P :R using three independent isotope‐based methods. These estimates were compared to each other and against the traditional "open‐channel diel O2‐change" technique that lacked δ18O2. A principal advantage of the δ18O2 measurements was quantification of diel variation in R, which increased by up to 30% during the day, and the diel pattern in R was variable and not necessarily predictable from assumed temperature effects on R. The P, R, and P :R estimates calculated using the isotope‐based approaches showed high sensitivity to the assumed system fractionation factor (αr). The optimum modeled ar values (0.986‐0.989) were roughly consistent with the laboratory‐derived values, but larger (i.e., less fractionation) than αr values typically reported for enzyme‐limited respiration in open water environments. Because of large diel variation in O2, P :R could not be estimated by directly applying the typical steady‐state solution to the O2 and 18O‐O2 mass balance equations in the absence of gas transfer data. Instead, our results indicate that a modified steady‐state solution (the daily mean value approach) could be used with time‐averaged O2 and δ18O2 measurements to calculate P :R independent of gas transfer. This approach was applicable under specifically defined, net heterotrophic conditions. The diel cycle of increasing daytime R and decreasing nighttime R was only partially explained by temperature variation, but could be consistent with the diel production/consumption of labile dissolved organic carbon from photosynthesis.


BACKGROUND
The mechanisms linking falls and depression are still unknown. The aim of the study is to examine the association between depression and antidepressants, with indoor and outdoor falls, and to investigate how antidepressants mediate this relationship.

METHODS
The study included 763 men and women aged 70 and older with baseline measures for depression and antidepressant use are captured with prospective data on falls from the "Maintenance of Balance, Independent Living, Intellect and Zest in the Elderly" (MOBILIZE) Boston study, which is a population-based longitudinal study (from 2005 to 2009).

RESULTS
Overall, the rate of falls was 26 falls/100 person-years. Seventeen percent of participants had clinically significant depressive symptoms (CSDS), and 12% used antidepressants. CSDS increased the risk of indoor and outdoor falls (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2-2.3, p < .01; IRR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.2-2.2, p < .01). Antidepressant use increased the risk of outdoor falls by 70% and partially mediated the association between CSDS and outdoor falls (IRR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2-2.5, p < .05). There was no relationship between antidepressant use and indoor falls. Similar results were observed when depression was considered as a continuous variable.

CONCLUSIONS
Depression increased the risk of indoor and outdoor falls. Antidepressant use among older adults with CSDS increased the risk of outdoor, but not indoor falls. Clinicians should carefully consider the role of antidepressants among older adults with CSDS and their potential increase for the risk of outdoor falls.


The role of multi-disciplinary Global Professional Service Firms (GPSFs) in the architecture of international tax abuse has been very little studied. Although it has been known that some of these firms operate in many of the world's secrecy jurisdictions the scale of their activity in these, and other, locations has been little understood. Nor has their own representations of their tax services been appropriately considered. This working paper seeks to redress this deficiency. We locate the activities of these firms in the broader context of their activities around the globe, since it is the boast of many of them that they operate in more than 140 jurisdictions, worldwide. The research has revealed the opacity of the data surrounding these firms, and the unusual nature of their ownership structures. Financial reports of these firms are not available for most jurisdictions in which they work, whilst common control through ownership structures rarely crosses national boundaries. Using global directories of the firms as indication of presence in a location and the number of employees by jurisdiction as an indication of scale, our research indicates the disproportionate activity of particular GPSFs firms, namely the 'Big Four' accountancy firms, providing tax based services in secrecy jurisdictions. This suggests that they are major suppliers of offshore financial services. We consider the evolution of these GPSFs since the 1990s, suggesting they have been conscious participants in this activity but that their behaviour has adapted over time to reflect prevailing taxation mores to preserve the reputations of those supplying these services. As we show, these mores are reflected in their own presentation of their services as promoted on their web sites, which have changed significantly over time to reflect this fact, with little evidence that there has been any real underlying change in behaviour. As a result we suggest that these firms display a form of adaptive behaviour worthy of further study.


Early infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Europe were detected in travelers from Wuhan, China, in January 2020. In 1 tour group, 5 of 30 members were ill; 3 cases were laboratory confirmed. In addition, a healthcare worker was infected. This event documents early importation and subsequent spread of the virus in Europe.


Shifting focus from income to capability deprivation signifies an important milestone toward accurately measuring poverty. I operationalize capability deprivation in the United States and compare poverty measurement outcomes among various capability approaches and between capability and income spaces. Of the three capability approaches examined, the factor score absolute approach suggests a greater extent of poverty and more comprehensive demographic profiles of the poor. Additionally, I find that using the capability space may further attenuate the extent of poverty over those using the income space and alter somewhat the stereotypical profiles of the poor.


Adult entertainment's status as protected First Amendment speech has resulted in a confusing series of U.S. Supreme Court cases evaluating the zoning of adult businesses. Cases discussing the requirement that municipalities provide alternative avenues of communication for adult businesses have raised many questions as to how rural and residential municipalities may satisfy this obligation. This Note identifies three solutions that would help frame this inquiry. First, state or county legislative bodies should adopt countywide or statewide location restricdons on adult businesses. Second, courts should employ a regional analysis of the alternative avenues requirement when evaluating adultentertainment zoning restrictions. Third, courts should undertake a supply-and-demand analysis when assessing what constitutes sufficient alternative avenues of communication, Adoption of these solutions would help to ensure that the First Amendment obligations of rural and residential municipalities reflect the unique burdens of such municipalities while maintaining appropriate protection for free speech.


A considerable amount of current research on teaching and teacher education focuses on teacher collaboration. Teacher collaboration is presumed to be a powerful learning environment for teachers' professional development. However, empirical research about how teachers actually learn in collaborative settings is lacking. In this study, learning activities were explored in relation to reported changes in cognition and/or behaviour of six teachers that participated in collaborative groups. These six teachers were interviewed after group meetings and also asked to report learning experiences in a digital logbook six times during a period of one year. Qualitative analyses of both data sources resulted in seven configurations of (successions of) learning activities and reported changes in cognition and/or behaviour. A closer look at these configurations showed that (successions of) learning activities in collaborative settings resulted mostly in reported changes in cognition. These reported changes in cognition often concerned confirmation of own ideas or teaching methods. The high number of confirmations of own ideas or teaching methods may be explained by the reform context in which these teachers work. Teachers who are experimenting with new teaching methods can feel insecure about these newly acquired methods and, therefore, seek confirmation from their colleagues.


Abstract This paper investigates the
 status that the genre of fable acquires when it is employed in
 literature. In particular, it surveys Horace9s treatment
 of fables in the Satires and
 Epistles and the carefully controlled
 circumstances in which zoomorphic language is allowed to
 emerge during the banquet at Trimalchio9s in
 Petronius9 Satyrica . The analysis of the
 distribution of fables in Horace shows that for the Roman
 literary public the act of speaking through fables bore in
 itself a negative connotation, so much that the moral
 discourse of the satirist needed at first to provide
 additional justification in order to incorporate them: from
 vindication of ingenuitas and shifts in
 narrative voice, to use of rhetorical misnomers and eventually
 of philosophical frankness. Petronius9 text, in turn,
 suggests that what is wrong with fable is precisely its being
 reminiscent of a servile past. During the dinner at
 Trimalchio9s allusions to recognizable fable plots and
 zoomorphic language are allowed to surface only during a
 momentary absence of the host. This circumstance suggests that
 fable is not just another literary genre among the many genres
 abused in Trimalchio9s house: for both the host and his
 freedmen guests fables are an uncomfortable reminder of an
 enduring past inscribed in their language.


Value-at-Risk, despite being adopted as the standard risk measure in finance, but suffers severe objections from a practical point of vue, due to a lack of convexity, and since it does not reward diversification (which is an essential feature in portfolio optimization). Furthermore, it is also known as having poor behavior in risk estimation (which has been justified to impose the use of parametric models, but which induces then model errors). The aim of this paper is to chose in favour or against the use of VaR but to add some more information to this discussion, especially from the estimation point of view. Here we propose a simple method not only to estimate the optimal allocation based on a Value-at-Risk minimization constraint, but also to derive - empirical - confidence intervals based on the fact that the underlying distribution is unkown, and can be estimated based on past observations.


Abstract. This paper has investigated the extensive implementation of distinct types of pipes in the Water Distribution System (WDS) and evaluated the impacts of particular leachable organic chemicals and bacteriological issues. Besides, the paper inspects significant parameters of water quality as the population of Rajshahi City, Bangladesh relies on water provided via pipes for drinking and other domestic purposes. This study aims to assess the quality of physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters of supplied drinking water through lines in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) by Rajshahi Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (RWASA). Therefore, the study managed a total of sixteen physical, chemical, and microbiological parameters to analyse them in the laboratory. The experimental results showed that pH and hardness of all samples were within the allowable limit as per Bangladesh Drinking Water Standards (BDWSs) and World Health Organization (WHO). All models contained an extreme level of iron and manganese. They also included a negligible amount of arsenic. The experiment detected lesser Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Residual Chlorine (Residual Cl), and the undesirable odour in about 90 % samples. All samples contained Total Coliform (TC) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. A few samples contained a significant amount of turbidity, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Electrical Conductivity (EC). The authors developed a statistical analysis by SPSS software to co-relate the parameters. This study recommends the presence of such bacteria, iron, and manganese in the pipeline.


Boosting angiogenesis is a crucial process to enhance tissue growth in tissue engineering (TE). Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) has been identified as an angiogenic factor, but its involvement in angiogenesis in an arteriovenous loop-based TE chamber developed by the laboratory is unclear. In this study, the authors first examined the effects of HDGF on angiogenic responses in endothelial cells and in a corneal model of neovascularization, and then characterized the expression of HDGF in the TE chamber. HDGF (1–500 ng/mL) induced concentration-dependent angiogenic responses in human endothelial cells in vitro (proliferation, migration, and tube formation). Local application of HDGF stimulated neovascularization in a rat model of corneal angiogenesis. In the TE chamber, there was an increase in blood vessel volume from day 3 to day 14. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that HDGF is highly expressed in the neovessels in the chamber. Peak expression of HDGF (day 3) coincided with the infiltration of inflammatory cells, and the mRNA level of endogenous HDGF correlated with that of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). In vitro, TNFα stimulated HDGF expression in endothelial cells. The data suggest that HDGF may be involved in angiogenic responses in the TE chamber and the proinflammatory cytokine TNFα may have a pivotal role in stimulating HDGF expression. Enhancing HDGF signaling may be a new approach to extend vascularization for TE.


A prototype automated system has been developed, which is capable of acquiring accurate kinetic reaction profiles from heterogeneous reactions. The device is capable of monitoring the composition and concentration of either the dissolved components (solution phase) or slurry (solid and solution phases) in parallel. This prototype was used to study the diastereo- and enantioselectivity of the aldol reaction between 4-tert-butyl cyclohexanone and p-nitrobenzaldehyde, catalyzed by either pyrrolidine or L-proline. With both catalysts, the observed high diastereoselectivity involves an interplay between solution phase reaction/epimerization and crystallization. These observations were possible due to the facile method of tandem solution and slurry analysis.


The sounding rocket principle of equivalence measurement uses a set of four laser gauges operating in Fabry-Perot cavities to determine the relative acceleration of two test masses that are chemically different. One end of each cavity is a flat mirror on a test mass. Because the test masses are unconstrained and thus expected to rotate slightly during measurement, and because the distance measurements are made at the sub-picometer level, it is essential to have real-time alignment of the beam entering the cavity. However, the cavity must be used in reflection and space is limited. We show that Anderson's alignment method can be used in reflection, but that it requires that the Fabry-Perot cavity have mirrors with significantly unequal reflectivities.


The objective of this study was to explore smoking triggers and obstacles to cessation, and intervention experiences among nine 19-28 year old smokers who participated in a 3-month coaching-administered Motivational Interviewing (MI) intervention. In addition to qualitative methods, quantitative trends regarding self-efficacy, self-esteem, cigarette dependency, and average daily cigarettes use were assessed via a repeated measures design. Participants engaged in 9 sessions with a certified coach over 3-months. In-depth interviews and previously validated quantitative assessments were conducted at baseline, 1, 3, and 6-months. Qualitatively, stress and social situations were primary smoking triggers. Cessation obstacles were a sense of personal identify as a smoker and feeling controlled by cigarettes. Through the intervention participants reportedly gained: personal insights related and unrelated to smoking; helpful ways to cope with smoking challenges; and heightened awareness about other choices. Quantitatively, all constructs' trends supported qualitative findings. The application of motivational interviewing using coaching tools is valuable for reducing smoking, and for providing smokers' with insights about their behaviours, their triggers, and what they need to be and stay smoke-free. Additional research with a larger sample over a longer time is warranted.


Background Clopidogrel antiplatelet effects differ according to genotypes ABCB1 and CYP2C19, establishing normal, intermediate and slow metabolizers. The intermediate and slow metabolizers and poor transporters are responsible for the poor response to the antiplatelet drug. Purpose To determine the prevalence of CYP2C19 and ABCB1 genetic polymorphism in the normal Andalusian population (control) and compare it with other populations as a step to implement this determination in clinical practise. Materials and Methods We genotyped 100 controls from the Andalusian DNA bank for CYP2C19 * 2 (rs4244285), CYP2C19 * 3 (rs4986893) and ABCB1 (rs1045642) using TaqMan probes and allelic discrimination technique. Statistical analysis for allelic and genotypic distributions was calculated by chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, when necessary, using the Statcalc software packages. Results Genotype frequencies CYP2C19 (*2) in the Andalusian population: *1/*1: 73%, *1/*2: 25%, *2/*2: 2%, and CYP2C19 * 3: none; the same results as in HapMap (NW European ancestry) population. ABCB1: Andalusian population: CC 36%, CT 44%, TT 20%; HapMap population CC 27%, CT 50%, TT 23%. Allelic frequencies: NW European ancestry HapMap CYP2C19 * 2: G is 85% and A is 15%, the same as our Andalusian control results. ABCB1: HapMap C allele frequency is 45% and the T is 55%, and our frequencies are 57% C and 43% T. Having made the genotype study, 59% of the controls were sensitive to clopidogrel and 41% resistant to it. Conclusions Frequencies for CYP2C19 * 2 and * 3 were similar to those reported in other studies. The frequencies for ABCB1 differed slightly It is necessary to perform this type of study in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention, to ensure effective treatment as it is documented that clopidogrel is not an effective drug in polymorphisms with allele CYP2C19 * 2 (*1/*2 and *2/*2) and/or ABCB1 TT. No conflict of interest.


Convex programming involves a convex set F ⊆ Rn and a convex cost function c : F → R. The goal of convex programming is to find a point in F which minimizes c. In online convex programming, the convex set is known in advance, but in each step of some repeated optimization problem, one must select a point in F before seeing the cost function for that step. This can be used to model factory production, farm production, and many other industrial optimization problems where one is unaware of the value of the items produced until they have already been constructed. We introduce an algorithm for this domain. We also apply this algorithm to repeated games, and show that it is really a generalization of infinitesimal gradient ascent, and the results here imply that generalized infinitesimal gradient ascent (GIGA) is universally consistent.


Identifying cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotypes that are less sensitive to cool temperatures may improve productivity in areas where late-spring cold fronts are common. Our objectives were to compare commercially available genotypes for relative cold tolerance and to determine whether seedling growth response to cool temperature in a controlled environment was a valid predictor of field performance. Four genotypes, 'DPL 20 (early maturity), 'DPL 50' (mid), 'DPL 5690' (late), and'DPL Acala 90' (late), were studied. Cotyledon area, root and shoot length, and root and shoot fresh weight were measured after 4-d-old seedlings were exposed to temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30°C for 6 d. The four genotypes were also evaluated in the field in 1991 and 1992 by planting in mid-April, early-May, and mid-May near Florence, SC. Root length was the only seedling trait for which the temperature response was genotype dependent. Root length of DPL 5690 and DPL Acala 90 was the same at all assay temperatures (mean = 4.3 cm). For DPL 20, root length was 9.3 cm at 15 and 20°C, 11.8 cm at 25°C, and 14.3 cm at 30°C. DPL 50 root length was 8.7 cm at 30°C and averaged 6.4 cm at the other three temperature treatments. In the field, when DPL 20 emerged faster than the two late-maturity genotypes at planting dates that were followed by cold temperatures, it had lower lint yield. The results suggest that measuring the amount of seedling root length inhibition (rather than relative growth differences) caused by suboptimal temperatures may be useful for determining cold sensitivity in cotton.


Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has been applied to the study of second language acquisition to possibly account for the nonlinear development and variability found within second language development. Characteristics of a dynamic system that make it compatible with examining the developmental trajectory of second language acquisition include the presence of subsystems, variability, and the dependence on internal cognitive and external social and environmental resources (De Bot, Lowie, & Verspoor, 2007; Van Geert, 2008). Using a CDST perspective, this study looked at the use of the preposition in within the written communication of a native speaker of English and a non-native speaker. Three methods of data analysis-targetlike use analysis, form-function analysis, and metaphor analysis-were employed to track how the use and function of the preposition in varied over time. Results indicate that an individual's literal and conceptual engagement with and production of a language develops over time in a non-linear manner.


Online e-tailers face return rates of up to 50%, sharply reducing profits. They pursue two classes of mitigation-actions: First, proactive returns management controls the number of returns by adjusting, e.g., retail price, restocking fee, and hassle costs. This makes returns less attractive, yet also discourages purchases. Second, salvaging generates additional revenue. It weakens returns' negative impact by reselling them at original retail price in the primary market, at a discount in the secondary market, or to the manufacturer at wholesale price. Recognizing the importance of salvaging, we analyze the impact of non-zero salvage values on retail price, restocking fee, and profit under competition. In case consumers can return and exchange their purchase and salvage values are below production cost, a higher salvage value does not necessarily increase profit due to competitive pressure on prices, profits may decline in the salvage value. Counter-intuitively, there is a salvage value from which further increasing it actually reduces profit. Not being aware of this dynamic and simply striving for the highest salvage value endangers a firm's profitability. To the contrary, for salvage values above production cost, salvaging decreases restocking fee and retail price while increasing profit. Here, restocking fees should be zero. While this runs counter to current academic thinking, various e-tailers capitalize salvage values as high as the original retail price. Implementing our findings results in more consumer-friendly procedures for returns and higher profits, creating a win-win situation for consumers and retailers.


Systems evaluations are an important part of empirical research in computer science. Such evaluations encompass the systematic assessment of the run-time characteristics of systems based on one or several parameters. Considering all possible parameter settings is often a very tedious and time-consuming task with many manual activities, or at least the manual creation of evaluation scripts. Ideally, the thorough evaluation of a complete evaluation space can be fully automated. This includes the set-up of the evaluation, its execution, and the subsequent analysis of the results. In this paper, we introduce Chronos, a system for the automation of the entire evaluation workflow.While Chronos has originally been built for database systems evaluations, its generic approach also allows its usage in other domains. We show how Chronos can be deployed for a concrete database evaluation, the comparative performance analysis of different storage engines in MongoDB.


OBJECTIVE: To analyze maxillary molar displacement by applying three different angulations to the outer bow of cervical-pull headgear, using the finite element method (FEM). METHODS: Maxilla, teeth set up in Class II malocclusion and equipment were modeled through variational formulation and their values represented in X, Y, Z coordinates. Simulations were performed using a PC computer and ANSYS software version 8.1. Each outer bow model reproduced force lines that ran above (ACR) (1), below (BCR) (2) and through the center of resistance (CR) (3) of the maxillary permanent molars of each Class II model. Evaluation was limited to the initial movement of molars submitted to an extraoral force of 4 Newtons. RESULTS: The initial distal movement of the molars, using as reference the mesial surface of the tube, was higher in the crown of the BCR model (0.47x10-6) as well as in the root of the ACR (0.32x10-6) model, causing the crown to tip distally and mesially, respectively. On the CR model, the points on the crown (0.15 x10-6) and root (0.12 x10-6) moved distally in a balanced manner, which resulted in bodily movement. In occlusal view, the crowns on all models showed a tendency towards initial distal rotation, but on the CR model this movement was very small. In the vertical direction (Z), all models displayed extrusive movement (BCR 0.18 x10-6; CR 0.62 x10-6; ACR 0.72x10-6). CONCLUSIONS: Computer simulations of cervical-pull headgear use disclosed the presence of extrusive and distal movement, distal crown and root tipping, or bodily movement.


Abstract Population monitoring is important for conservation management but difficult to achieve for rare, cryptic species. Reliable information about the Critically Endangered Scottish wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris is lacking because of difficulties in morphological and genetic identification, resulting from extensive hybridization with feral domestic cats Felis catus. We carried out camera-trap surveys in the Cairngorms National Park, UK, to examine the feasibility of camera trapping, combined with a pelage identification method, to monitor Scottish wildcats. Camera trapping detected individually identifiable wildcats. Of 13 individual wild-living cats, four scored as wildcats based on pelage characters and the rest were wildcat × domestic cat hybrids. Spatially explicit capture–recapture density estimation methods generated a density of wild-living cats (wildcats and hybrids) of 68.17 ± SE 9.47 per 100 km2. The impact of reducing trapping-grid size, camera-trap numbers and survey length on density estimates was investigated using spatially explicit capture–recapture models. Our findings indicate camera trapping is more effective for monitoring wildcats than other methods currently used and capture success could be increased by using bait, placing camera stations ⩽ 1.5 km apart, increasing the number of camera stations, and surveying for 60–70 days. This study shows that camera trapping is effective for confirming the presence of the wildcat in potential target areas for conservation management.


Abstract The semantic annotation of texts with senses from a computational lexicon is a complex and often subjective task. As a matter of fact, the fine granularity of the WordNet sense inventory [Fellbaum, Christiane (ed.). 1998. WordNet: An Electronic Lexical Database MIT Press], a de facto standard within the research community, is one of the main causes of a low inter-tagger agreement ranging between 70% and 80% and the disappointing performance of automated fine-grained disambiguation systems (around 65% state of the art in the Senseval-3 English all-words task). In order to improve the performance of both manual and automated sense taggers, either we change the sense inventory (e.g. adopting a new dictionary or clustering WordNet senses) or we aim at resolving the disagreements between annotators by dealing with the fineness of sense distinctions. The former approach is not viable in the short term, as wide-coverage resources are not publicly available and no large-scale reliable clustering of WordNet senses has been released to date. The latter approach requires the ability to distinguish between subtle or misleading sense distinctions. In this paper, we propose the use of structural semantic interconnections – a specific kind of lexical chains – for the adjudication of disagreed sense assignments to words in context. The approach relies on the exploitation of the lexicon structure as a support to smooth possible divergencies between sense annotators and foster coherent choices. We perform a twofold experimental evaluation of the approach applied to manual annotations from the SemCor corpus, and automatic annotations from the Senseval-3 English all-words competition. Both sets of experiments and results are entirely novel: structural adjudication allows to improve the state-of-the-art performance in all-words disambiguation by 3.3 points (achieving a 68.5% F1-score) and attains figures around 80% precision and 60% recall in the adjudication of disagreements from human annotators.


This book examines the performance of mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry in Europe and introduces a new approach for assessing the phenomenon by considering the various strategies underlying consolidation activity – namely, the initial activities of the banks involved and the geographical dimension of their transactions. The results show that the economic and financial performance of a banking M&A depends on its underlying strategy, which is defined on the basis of the bank's initial activities and its geographical reach. The optimal combination of these two factors – defining the optimal underlying strategy – could be a critical factor for the success or failure of an M&A.


When record men first traveled from Chicago or invited musicians to studios in New York, these entrepreneurs had no conception how their technology would change the dynamics of what constituted a musical performance. 78 Blues: Folksongs and Phonographs in the American South covers a revolution in artist performance and audience perception through close examination of hundreds of key "hillbilly" and "race" records released between the 1920s and World War II. In the postwar period, regional strains recorded on pioneering 78 r.p.m. discs exploded into urban blues and R&B, honky-tonk and western swing, gospel, soul, and rock 'n' roll. These old-time records preserve the work of some of America's greatest musical geniuses such as Jimmie Rodgers, Robert Johnson, Charlie Poole, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. They are also crucial mile markers in the course of American popular music and the growth of the modern recording industry. When these records first circulated, the very notion of recorded music was still a novelty. All music had been created live and tied to particular, intimate occasions. How were listeners to understand an impersonal technology like the phonograph record as a musical event? How could they reconcile firsthand interactions and traditional customs with technological innovations and mass media? The records themselves, several hundred of which are explored fully in this book, offer answers in scores of spoken commentaries and skits, in song lyrics and monologues, or other more subtle means.


What makes a source-channel communication system optimal? It is shown that in order to achieve an optimal cost-distortion tradeoff, the source and the channel have to be matched in a probabilistic sense. The match (or lack of it) involves the source distribution, the distortion measure, the channel conditional distribution, and the channel input cost function. Closed-form necessary and sufficient expressions relating the above entities are given. This generalizes both the separation-based approach as well as the two well-known examples of optimal uncoded communication. The condition of probabilistic matching is extended to certain nonergodic and multiuser scenarios. This leads to a result on optimal single-source broadcast communication.


Abstract Drawing from extensive fieldwork in east Madagascar, this article examines the role of Pentecostal churches in assuaging gendered suffering among middle-aged women who have become vulnerable to social exclusion. It focuses particularly on two techniques that women use to manage their relationships with husbands and children: cultivated passivity and the creation of a relationship with Jesus through prayer and small acts of exchange. It argues that conversion and the practice of Pentecostal Christianity helps women less by changing their husband's behavior than by offering them an alternative source of authority and a new set of practices through which to build valued personhood.


Extratropical cyclones give rise to much of the precipitation over California. Observed California winter precipitation is highly correlated to a metric of extratropical cyclone activity over the Eastern Pacific. The lack of precipitation over the recent winters is coincident with consecutive winters of much below average cyclone activity. Analysis of variability in cyclone activity and California precipitation simulated by models participating in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 indicates that most models can simulate the relationship between cyclone activity and precipitation well. Examination of projected change suggests (1) no evidence of a long‐term downward trend in California region cyclone activity within the examined scenarios and (2) that the intermodel spread in California precipitation projection can be largely explained by the spread in the projection of extratropical cyclone activity. This highlights the need to further understand physical mechanisms for the variation in projection of cyclone activity in this region.


This paper features an analysis of volatility spillover effects from Australia's major trading partners, namely, China, Japan, Korea and the United States, for a period running from 1st January 2004 to 30th June 2014. This captures the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). These markets are represented by the following major indices: The Shanghai composite and the Hangseng. (in the case of China, as both China and Hong Kong appear in Australian trade statistics), the S&P500 index, the Nikkei225 and the Kospi index. We apply the Diebold and Yilmaz (2009) Spillover Index, constructed in a VAR framework, to assess spillovers across these markets in returns and in volatilities. The analysis confirms that the US and Hong Kong markets have the greatest influence on the Australian one. We then move to a GARCH framework to apply further analysis and apply a tri-variate Cholesky-GARCH model to explore the effects from the US and Chinese market, as represented by the Hang Seng Index. We further explore three sample sub-periods, Pre-GFC 2004/1/1/ until 2007/07/08/, GFC 2007/08/09 until 2010/05/07 and Post-GFC 2010/05/10 until 2014/06/20 and analyse the behaviour of time-varying conditional correlations in these sub-periods. The GARCH analysis re-affirms the strong influence of the Hang Seng Index and the S&P500 Index.


The aim of this thesis is to further the use of parallel computers, in particular distributed memory systems, by proving strategies for parallelisation and developing the core component of tools to aid scalar software porting. The ported code must not only efficiently exploit available parallel processing speed and distributed memory, but also enable existing users of the scalar code to use the parallel version with identical inputs and allow maintenance to be performed by the scalar code author in conjunction with the parallel code.

The data partition strategy has been used to parallelise an in-house solidification modelling code where all requirements for the parallel software were successfully met. To confirm the success of this parallelisation strategy, a much sterner test was used, parallelising the HARWELL-FLOW3D fluid flow package. The performance results of the parallel version clearly vindicate the conclusions of the first example. Speedup efficiencies of around 80 percent have been achieved on fifty processors for sizable models. In both these tests, the alterations to the code were fairly minor, maintaining the structure and style of the original scalar code which can easily be recognised by its original author.

The alterations made to these codes indicated the potential for parallelising tools since the alterations were fairly minor and usually mechanical in nature. The current generation of parallelising compilers rely heavily on heuristic guidance in parallel code generation and other decisions that may be better made by a human. As a result, the code they produce will almost certainly be inferior to manually produced code. Also, in order not to sacrifice parallel code quality when using tools, the scalar code analysis to identify inherent parallelism in a application code, as used in parallelising compilers, has been extended to eliminate dependencies conservatively assumed, since these dependencies can greatly inhibit parallelisation.

Extra information has been extracted both from control flow and from processing symbolic information. The tests devised to utilise this information enable the non-existence of a significant number of previously assumed dependencies to be proved. In some cases, the number of true dependencies has been more than halved.

The dependence graph produced is of sufficient quality to greatly aid the parallelisation, with user interaction and interpretation, parallelism detection and code transformation validity being less inhibited by assumed dependencies. The use of tools rather than the black box approach removes the handicaps associated with using heuristic methods, if any relevant heuristic methods exist.