Some Agile software teams struggle to colocate their members so the software developers and testers can be near each other at work. The Parametric development team members had the luxury of sitting together in the IT department from the beginning, but sought even greater flexibility and efficiencies. We took the bold step of colocating some development teams with the end-users of the software they write. We had lofty goals for the experiment and some specific expectations, but ended up with some unexpected results, as well. This paper serves as a case study and a retrospective on our effort. It discusses our reasons for moving the teams, as well as the lessons we learned and the changes made to our process. The colocation experiment caused our development organization re-examine its best practices and processes. We would like to share our findings with other teams and organizations.


It is surely a significant manifestation of the permanence of the soul's quest for God that the Western world, at a time when human values, principles, and ideals are being questioned and rejected, has turned to an interest in the age-old practice of the East - the quest for inner peace and tranquility as found in the profoundly moving experience of contemplation after the method of Zen Buddhism. In this deeply sympathetic study, the author compares the principles and the practices of Zen with the traditional concepts, aims, and results of Christian mysticism. His object is, first, ecumenical - to explore the bases of Zen and Christian mysticism, so that Buddhist and Christian can communicate; second, to rethink the basic concepts of Catholic mystical theology in the light of the Zen experience; and last, to encourage more people to contemplative prayer.


Student learning activities that are less conducive, passive in asking questions and answering questions from problems raised by teachers, difficult to express ideas or ideas of problem solving and the learning process provided, and have not been oriented to develop students' critical thinking skills.The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility, find out the increase in students' critical thinking skills, and to find out students' responses to the application of RPG maker MV based mobile learning applications in the learning ecosystem. The research method used is Quasi-Experimental, the design used in this study is Quasi-Experimental Design with Randomized Control-Group Pretest-Postest. The data obtained in this study consisted of qualitative data, namely the results of observations of student activities during learning and student questionnaire responses to the application of mobile learning applications based on RPG maker MV, and quantitative data namely the results of students' critical thinking abilities. The results showed (1) the implementation of the RPG maker MV based mobile learning application has moderate criteria, (2) the application of the RPG maker MV based mobile learning application can improve students 'critical thinking skills, (3) students' responses to the use of RPG maker based learning mobile applications MV in ecosystem learning has very good criteria.


Current microlensing surveys are sensitive to free-floating planets down to Earth-mass objects. All published microlensing events attributed to unbound planets were identified based on their short timescale (below 2 d), but lacked an angular Einstein radius measurement (and hence lacked a significant constraint on the lens mass). Here we present the discovery of a Neptune-mass free-floating planet candidate in the ultrashort ($t_{\rm E}=0.320\pm0.003$ d) microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-1540. The event exhibited strong finite source effects, which allowed us to measure its angular Einstein radius of $\theta_{\rm E}=9.2\pm0.5$ uas. There remains, however, a degeneracy between the lens mass and distance. The combination of the source proper motion and source-lens relative proper motion measurements favors a Neptune-mass lens located in the Galactic disk. However, we cannot rule out that the lens is a Saturn-mass object belonging to the bulge population. We exclude stellar companions up to 15 au. Owing to the relatively large relative lens-source proper motion, any stellar companions should be detectable using the high-resolution imaging in the relatively near future.


In the Franciscan Complex exposed in the California Coast and Diablo ranges (representing depths of up to 30 km in a Mesozoic to Early Tertiary accretionary prism), differences in porosity, permeability, and rheology impacted geometries and scales of fluid mobility and the deep entrainment of pore water (chemically evolved seawater). Carbon and O isotope compositions of abundant, texturally diverse CaCO3 veins (most veins with σ13CVPDB = -11.0 to -3.0‰, σ18OVSMOW = +12.0 to +18.5‰) are in part consistent with control of fluid isotopic compositions by relatively local-scale exchange with large volumes of metaclastic host-rocks. Although this apparent local-scale equilibration, observed for some veins, complicates assessment of external sources for the fluids that produced these veins, many veins with elevated σ18O (relative to calculated rock-buffered values) could reflect up-dip flow of H2O released at greater depths and previously equilibrated with similar lithologies at higher temperatures (and sluggish reequilibration of the rocks with these externally derived fluids). In the Coastal Belt, differences in vein σ13C in adjacent coherent graywacke and shaley mélange zones may be due to preferential infiltration of the more permeable mélange zones by deeply derived CH4-bearing fluids, perhaps in part during exhumation and cooling. A number of variations in vein isotopic composition in individual exposures can be attributed to vein formation over a range of increasing T during underthrusting, then decreasing T during exhumation, and related to varying rheology (affecting permeability) within intercalated highly disrupted shales, sandstone-shale sequences (with interbedding at mm to cm scales), and more massive metagraywacke. Calculated fluid σ18O for veins in the Franciscan units peak metamorphosed at lower temperatures (Coastal Belt) spans the range of fluids venting in active accretionary prisms and producing forearc serpentinite seamounts (mostly 0 ± 3‰). In general, higher flux of aqueous fluid from depth in accretionary prisms, preventing reequilibration with rocks along its path, should favor expulsion of fluid with σ18O higher than that of seawater that could be traced in fluids along fault structures at shallower levels. Salinities of fluid inclusions in vein quartz are mostly lower than that of seawater, consistent with delivery of "fresher" aqueous fluids toward the surface along structural heterogeneities. Recent work on volatile and trace element contents of the Coast and Diablo ranges exposures of the Franciscan Complex indicates significant loss of structurally bound H2O (i.e., not pore water) due to clay-to-mica transitions, but at shallower levels than those for peak metamorphism of all units studied here (i.e., at <5 km). Much of the fluid flux through these rocks involved fluids liberated at greater depths, precipitating calcite and quartz along down-T, down-P paths, and mobilizing trace elements (e.g., B, Cs, perhaps also K, Rb, As, and Sb) liberated at higher temperatures. Calcite cement in the Coastal Belt (representing very shallow offscraping, likely to <5 km) is absent in higher-grade rocks representing deeper subduction of similar rocks, consistent with significant loss of carbonate cement during decarbonation reactions at 5-10 km depths (evidenced by significant depletions in Ca and Sr in the higher-grade rocks; Sadofsky and Bebout, 2003).


Dutch greenhouse horticulture puts a lot of effort in reduction of energy demand. Using (multiple) thermal screens, mainly during night, is the most common way to reduce heat losses in practice. In winter, even during daytime, transparent screens are closed, which saves energy, but results in significant reduction of light at plant level. For additional saving a substantial increment of greenhouse insulation is needed. Double covering materials can reach very high insulation levels, resulting in energy savings of 50% compared to the use of single glass with screens. Drawback of insulating glass panels are high investment and problems with snow accumulation in Northern latitudes. A new greenhouse concept with a new type of covering material has recently been developed. The insulating cover consists of a combination of a high transparent glass panel in combination with a high transparent and durable plastic film (F-Clean). The insulation properties are flexible. By blowing warm air through the split, possible snow accumulation is expected to be avoided. The new greenhouse concept has a new roofing structure including a different type of ventilation for a Venlo greenhouse. In a feasibility study, different combinations of different types of glass with different types of F-Clean have been investigated at Wageningen UR LightLab. Different model calculations have been carried out to study the effects on greenhouse climate and energy consumption. The results of a feasibility study with the search for the best combination of glass and plastic film in terms of transmissivity and light diffusing properties as well as the calculated energy savings of the total greenhouse concept are presented. In summer 2014, this concept was built on a scale of 500 m2 at the research station of Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture in Bleiswijk. The first results of a tomato experiment, using new crop growing strategies are presented.


Michael Jordan supposedly justified his decision to stay out of politics by noting that Republicans buy sneakers too. In the social media era, the name of the game for celebrities is engagement with fans. So why then do celebrities risk talking about politics on social media, which is likely to antagonize a portion of their fan base? With this question in mind, we analyze approximately 220,000 tweets from 83 celebrities who chose to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign to assess whether there is a cost—defined in terms of engagement on Twitter—for celebrities who discuss presidential candidates. We also examine whether celebrities behave similarly to other campaign surrogates in being more likely to take on the "attack dog" role by going negative more often than going positive. More specifically, we document how often celebrities of distinct political preferences tweet about Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton, and we show that followers of opinionated celebrities do not withhold engagement when entertainers become politically mobilized and do indeed often go negative. Interestingly, in some cases political content from celebrities actually turns out to be more popular than typical lifestyle tweets.


This experimental study was to examine the effect of the antioxidant drug "U-74389G", on rat model and particularly in a uterus ischemia reperfusion (IR) protocol. The beneficial effect or non-effectiveness of that molecule were studied pathologically using uterus inflammation (UI) lesions.40 rats of mean weight 231.875 gr were used in the study. UI lesions were evaluated 60 min after reperfusion (groups A and C) and 120 min after reperfusion with administration of the drug U-74389G in groups C and D.


Background: The myrtle ( Myrtus communis ) is a common shrub widespread in the Mediterranean Basin. Its fruit and leaves exhibit antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal properties, and are used for their content of essential oils and for their medicinal properties, but most commonly as an ingredient in locally made liquor. The uncontrolled exploitation of natural stands has reduced both the species' geographical coverage and the size of individual populations. The selection of genotypes for controlled cultivation requires a characterization of the genetic diversity present both within and between populations. Results: Genotypic variation was evaluated using ISSR profiling and genetic diversity characterized using standard population genetics approaches. Two major clusters were identified: one capturing all the candidate cultivars selected from various Sardinian localities, and the other wild individuals collected from Asinara, Corsica and Surigheddu. A moderate level of gene flow between the Sardinian and Corsican populations was identified. Discriminant analysis of principal components revealed a level of separation among the wild populations, confirming the population structure identified by the clustering methods. Conclusions: The wild accessions were well differentiated from the candidate cultivars. The level of genetic variability was high. The genetic data were compatible with the notion that myrtle has a mixed pollination system, including both out-pollination by insects and self-pollination. The candidate cultivars are suggested to represent an appropriate basis for directed breeding.


To shorten the breeding cycle in spinach, the effect of photoperiod after bolting on the expression of gynomonoecy was investigated by employing selfed-progeny of a gynomonoecious spinach plant. Seedlings were induced to bolt by an initial exposure to 16-h photoperiod under 140 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD and 20°C in a growth chamber for 3 weeks after sowing. When transferred to an 8-h photoperiod of the same PPFD, flower stalk elongation and flowering were severely inhibited; the frequency of gynomonoecious plants decreased to about a half of those under 12- and 16-h photoperiods. Under the short-day treatment, a few nodes with hermaphroditic flowers developed; the frequency of hermaphroditic flowers on gynomonoecious plants was 30, 39, and 63% under 8-, 12-, and 16-h photoperiod, respectively. Even when the light intensity under the 8-h photoperiod was doubled, the flower stalks elongated little, while 46% of the plants did not flower. When 8-h photoperiod under 280 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD was extended to 16-h, by using an incandescent lamp with an intensity of 10 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, the seedlings produced flower stalks that were longer than those grown under 16-h photoperiod and 140 μmol·m−2·s−1 PPFD, and all plants flowered. There was no difference in the frequency of gynomonoecious plants and hermaphroditic flowers in both 16-h photoperiodic regimes. Extending the photoperiod to 24-h (constant light) from 8-h photoperiod at 280 μmol·m−2·s−1 with incandescent lights promoted flower stalk elongation more than did that by extending it to 16-h. However, the frequency of hermaphroditic flowers was almost the same in both the 16- and 24-h photoperiodic regimes. Thus, the expression of gynomonoecy after bolting in spinach was inhibited strongly under a short photoperiod and was promoted significantly by extending the photoperiod to 16-h, but extending the photoperiod to 24-h had no further effect. Therefore, it is important to extend the photoperiod to around 16-h for an efficient production of self-fertilized seeds in gynomonoecious spinach plants during the season with short photoperiods.


These selected mathematical writings cover the years when the foundations were laid for the theory of numbers, analytic geometry, and the calculus.Originally published in 1986.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Despite its potential to accelerate academic progress in psychological science, public data sharing remains relatively uncommon. In order to discover the perceived barriers to public data sharing and possible means for lowering them, we conducted a survey, which elicited responses from 600 authors of articles in psychology. The results confirmed that data are shared only infrequently. Perceived barriers included respondents' belief that sharing is not a common practice in their fields, their preference to share data only upon request, their perception that sharing requires extra work, and their lack of training in sharing data. Our survey suggests that strong encouragement from institutions, journals, and funders will be particularly effective in overcoming these barriers, in combination with educational materials that demonstrate where and how data can be shared effectively.


Diabetes mellitus, type 2 is a growing epidemic in the United States and the world. The purpose of this study was to compare (a) interventions performed by the health care provider; (b) provider compliance with standards of care and recommended guidelines; and, (c) differences in the subsequent HbA1c in persons with type 2 diabetes who receive POC HbA1c testing with those who do not receive POC testing. Reports were obtained from the electronic medical records system showing those who had POC HbA1c's and another showing non-POC HbA1c. Data collected included (1) the intervention trigger, of an HbA1c greater than 8.0%. LDL greater than or equal to 100 mg/dL, BMI greater than or equal to 27 and/or BP greater than or equal to 130/80, (2) interventions initiated, and (3) the method of intervention. The results showed that there was a statistically significant higher rate of compliance to standards of care of those in Clinic X in comparison to those in Clinic Y. (x 2 (1,N=45)=5.148, p=0.03.). There was no statistical significance between the POC group (M=0.86;SD=2.16) and the non-POC group (M=-0.9;SD=1.02);t(1.92)p=0.61 however, there was a clinically significant drop in HbA1c in Clinic X of nearly one percentage point. In conclusion, POC HbA1c testing increases provider compliance in addressing diabetes and its complications. Providers addressed elevation in HbA1c, LDL, BP and BMI at a higher rate in those who received POC testing than in those who did not. Additionally, the rate of improvement in the HbA1c in those who received the POC testing was clinically significant, showing a decrease in potential microvascular complications of 25% as well as a potential decrease in macrovascular disease. Those who did not receive POC testing showed no decrease in risk at all. POC testing has been identified as an important tool in improving diabetes outcomes and is found through this study to be superior compared to outside testing.


A genuine concern for human dignity fosters a public culture of human rights. A concern for  dignity contributes to equality, justice and respect in civil life. But how about dignity at home? The life people live privately in their intimate relationships, within their families, is mostly withheld from public debate. Though the relationships between men and women, parents and children are evidently unequal in power and vulnerability, and thereby susceptible for abuse, they are hardly subject of public evaluation. What about dignity at home? Families are thought to be places where human dignity feels 'at home'. The image of home as a 'safe haven' however, is heavily disputed by the facts. Domestic violence is widespread. Home is a paradoxical environment: it is the place where new generations are nurtured and educated in human values, and where respect and love is practised. At the same time it is the place where the dignity of especially women and children is often contested and violated. There is no other place where people are living together so intimately, and so vulnerable. This hidden side of dignity was the theme of the conference "Dignity at home and in public" that the Protestant Theological University organised together with the Faculty of Theology of the Stellenbosch University, October 25- 26, 2010 at Kampen University, the Netherlands. A selection of the contributions are gathered in this volume. By engaging in intense, personal North-South and South-North dialogues around themes as the family in the Reformed tradition, vulnerability and autonomy, domestic violence, cultural shifts in the relationships between generations, and end of life decisions, the conference continued a five-year long partnership between the two theological faculties around the theme of human dignity. This volume explores from a variety of vantage points the way in which violence threatens people's human dignity in our respective contexts of South Africa and the Netherlands. We have come to realise that violence is never just private but is public as well; violence threatens the home, but as evident in the case of South Africa, and increasingly also in the Netherlands, also impacts the society at large.


Background and aims - The Gnetales include the extant genera Gnetum, Ephedra and Welwitschia. They are usually functionally dioecious, but male cones often have sterile (but pollination drop-producing) ovules in addition to male units. There are, however, exceptions, i.e. most species of Ephedra and African species of Gnetum. Furthermore, the literature contains conflicting information on the Asian Gnetum cuspidatum. One study states that sterile ovules are present in this species; another that they are absent. The latter also claims that male cones secrete nectar instead, which is interesting because nectar has only been suggested to be present in four gymnosperm species. Here we aim to elucidate whether or not sterile ovules are present in male cones of G. cuspidatum and related taxa, evaluate evidence for nectar being present in gymnosperms and discuss implications for pollination biology. Methods - Male cones from relevant taxa were examined using a dissecting microscope and scanning electron microscopy. Key results - Sterile ovules are present in G. cuspidatum and the related G. macrostachyum, G. microcarpum, G. diminutum and G. loerzingii, but they are minute, hidden among hairs, and easily overlooked. No indications of nectar or nectaries were found and their presence in Asian species of Gnetum is questioned. Conclusions - Insect pollination is probably ancestral in the Gnetales. Like most species of Gnetum, members of the G. cuspidatum group have sterile ovules in male cones, and they can thus attract pollinators to both male and female plants using sweet pollination drops. Although it is possible that these species, in addition, produce extraovular reward for pollinators, we find no such evidence. Instead, it seems plausible that pollination drops have been mistaken for (extraovular) nectar. However, African species of Gnetum have unisexual male cones. Have they developed another means of pollinator reward in male plants or are they wind-pollinated as are their ephedran analogues?


The article analyzes general medicine Russian tongue INTERNET resources that might be used in practical and self-educational activity of endocrinology doctors. Such resources are used by the doctors not as intensively as special field web-resources. Thereafter complex resources contain significant amount of information which may turn out to be helpful for endocrinologists


Background Ample studies have shown the effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for anxiety disorders. These studies recruited their participants mainly from the community and, to a lesser extent, from within routine care services. Little is known about whether different recruitment strategies lead to different treatment effects. Objective This meta-analysis compared clinical results obtained in trials with recruitment from the community versus results obtained in trials with clinical service recruitment and explored factors that may mediate differences in treatment outcome. Methods We included randomized controlled trials in which the clinical effects of iCBT for anxiety disorders were compared with a control condition (waitlist controls or face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy). We classified trials as open recruitment trials (recruitment from the community) or clinical service recruitment trials (recruitment through outpatient clinics). Pooled effect sizes based on measures examining anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and quality of life were computed for each type of trial. Subgroup analyses examined whether clinical results from open recruitment trials differed from those obtained in clinical service recruitment trials. Additional analyses explored which demographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors contributed to differences in effect sizes of open recruitment versus clinical service recruitment trials. Results We included 42 studies with 53 comparisons (43 open recruitment comparisons and 10 clinical recruitment comparisons). Analyses of anxiety measures revealed, first, that iCBT open recruitment studies with waitlist control comparators showed a significantly higher effect size for decrease in anxiety symptoms than did those with clinical recruitment (Q=10.09; P=.001). This association between recruitment method and effect size was no longer significant in a multivariate metaregression with treatment adherence and exclusion of patients with depressive symptoms entered as additional predictors of effect size. Second, effect size for decrease in anxiety symptoms did not differ significantly between clinical recruitment and open recruitment studies with face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy comparators. The effects of open recruitment trials and clinical recruitment trials did not differ significantly for the secondary outcomes, compared with face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy and waitlist controls. Conclusions iCBT was effective in samples recruited in clinical practice, but effect sizes were smaller than those found in trials with an open recruitment method for studies with waitlist control comparators. Hence, for patients with anxiety disorders in routine care, the impact of iCBT may not be as positive as for study participants recruited from the community. The difference between open recruitment trials and clinical service recruitment trials might be partly explained by patients' greater therapy adherence in open recruitment trials and the stricter exclusion of patients with severe depressive symptoms in these studies. Since most trials in this meta-analysis applied an open recruitment method, more studies with routine care populations are needed to further validate these findings.


In 2010 a Composite Analysis (CA) of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Savannah River Site (SRS) was completed [1]. This investigation evaluated the dose impact of the anticipated SRS End State residual sources of radionuclides to offsite members of the public. Doses were assessed at the locations where SRS site streams discharge into the Savannah River at the perimeter of the SRS. Although the model developed to perform this computation indicated that the dose constraint of 0.3 mSv/yr (30 mrem/yr), associated with CA, was not approached at the Points of Assessment (POAs), a significant contribution to the total computed dose was derived from the radionuclides (primarily Cs-137) bound-up in the soil and sediment of the drainage corridors of several SRS streams. DOE's Low Level Waste Federal Review Group (LFRG) reviewed the 2010 CA and identified several items to be addressed in the SRS Maintenance Program. One of the items recognized Cs-137 in the Lower Three Runs (LTR) Integrator Operable Unit (IOU), as a significant CA dose driver. The item made the recommendation that SRS update the estimated radionuclide inventory, including Cs-137, in the LTR IOU. That initial work has been completed and its radionuclide inventory refined [2]. There are five additional streams at SRS and the next phase of the response to the LFRG concern was to obtain a more accurate inventory and distribution of radionuclides in three of those streams, Fourmile Branch (FMB), Pen Branch (PB) and Steel Creek (SC). Each of these streams is designated as an IOU, which are defined for the purpose of this investigation as the surface water bodies and associated wetlands, including the channel sediment, floodplain sed/soil, and related biota. If present, radionuclides associated with IOUs are adsorbed to the streambed sediment and soils of the shallow floodplains that lie immediately adjacent to stream channels. The scope of this effort included the evaluation of any previous sampling and analysis data that had been collected for various SRS investigations, as well as the additional streambed and floodplain sampling and analysis data acquired more recently as part of the ongoing SRS IOU program, and associated specifically with the FMB, PB, and SC IOUs. Samples have been acquired along the waterways, within the stream channels themselves and in the adjacent floodplain zones. While Cs-137 is the most significant and abundant radionuclide associated with the SRS waterways, it is not the only radionuclide, hence work was conducted to evaluate all radionuclides present.


Ncode: an Open Source Bilingual N-gram SMT Toolkit This paper describes Ncode, an open source statistical machine translation (SMT) toolkit for translation models estimated as n-gram language models of bilingual units (tuples). This toolkit includes tools for extracting tuples, estimating models and performing translation. It can be easily coupled to several other open source toolkits to yield a complete SMT pipeline. In this article, we review the main features of the toolkit and explain how to build a translation engine with Ncode. We also report a short comparison with the widely known Moses system. Results show that Ncode outperforms Moses in terms of memory requirements and translation speed. Ncode also achieves slightly higher accuracy results.


Having restored their independence, the Republic of Belarus and the Baltic states turned to get into the similar conditions, when economy restructuring and drastic transformations are required, including independent customs policy conducting. Nowadays these countries have different foreign trade indicators' values, and they are participants to different European integration structures (Belarus is a member of the Eurasian Economic Community, while the Baltic states have recently become members of the European Union (EU)). Authors of the article analyze customs tariff and non tariff measures, technical and technological customs development, customs control in Belarus and Baltic states as well participation of the above-mentioned countries in the economic integration process. The comparative analysis of the customs policy results, which are based on the similar conditions, will let to define the efficiency degree of one or another customs policy type for a country with transitive economy. The research objective is to define customs policy specific features in Belarus and the Baltic states, and to compare customs policy effectiveness at the macroeconomic level with the help of the basic statistical indicators on the foreign trade turnover. The research methods are synthesis and analysis, deduction, induction, comparative analysis, statistical method and several others.


The origins of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos remain a mystery despite extensive searches for their sources. We present constraints from seven years of IceCube Neutrino Observatory muon data on the neutrino flux coming from the Galactic plane. This flux is expected from cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar medium or near localized sources. Two methods were developed to test for a spatially extended flux from the entire plane, both of which are maximum likelihood fits but with different signal and background modeling techniques. We consider three templates for Galactic neutrino emission based primarily on gamma-ray observations and models that cover a wide range of possibilities. Based on these templates and in the benchmark case of an unbroken E − 2.5 power-law energy spectrum, we set 90% confidence level upper limits, constraining the possible Galactic contribution to the diffuse neutrino flux to be relatively small, less than 14% of the flux reported in Aartsen et al. above 1 TeV. A stacking method is also used to test catalogs of known high-energy Galactic gamma-ray sources.


This paper describes a study funded by the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and undertaken during 2010 – 2011 with the aim of improving capacity to assess coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise by building on existing tools including the Smartline national coastal geomorphic map dataset and the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) previously developed in the USA. We assume that wave climate is most commonly the primary driver determining the physical behaviour of erodible shores, and further assume that past shoreline responses to wave climate will be a useful predictor of future response under conditions of rising mean sea level. We recognise that other factors such as tidal processes and regional variability in sea-level rise are also important factors governing shoreline response to sea-level rise, and seek to identify coastal environments in which these are equally or more important controls on shoreline response. Seventeen erodible shoreline study sites in both open and sheltered coastal environments were selected in Tasmania, the NSW coast, at Darwin, and in South Australia. Shoreline change histories on multi-decadal time scales at each site since the 1940s were mapped and quantified from time series ortho-rectified historic air photos. Swell and/or local fetch wave climates were modelled for each study site using SWAN and GREMO software respectively. The historic behaviour of each site was compared with wave climate modelling to determine the degree to which wave climate can explain observed shoreline behaviour at each site. Physically meaningful and statistically significant relationships between shoreline behaviour and modelled wave climate indices have been identified at some sites, whilst results from some other sites have demonstrated that factors other than wave climate appear to dominate shoreline behaviour in those cases. The outcomes of this study will contribute to the development of indices of physical coastal sensitivity that are conceptually similar to but more reflective of actual coastal processes than the CVI, and will identify further work needed to understand the behaviour of shores dominated by processes other than wave climate.


We have used a kinoform to increase the beam-power utilization in an excimer-laser-machining experiment. The kinoform creates the pattern to be machined. Thus less power is wasted on the blocking parts of a shadow mask. To achieve as smooth an intensity profile as possible, the kinoform was also used together with a microlens-array beam homogenizer. We discuss the intensity distributions of the patterns created by the kinoform with and without the beam homogenizer as well as the design of the kinoform and the homogenizer, with emphasis on the relation to the coherence properties of the laser beam.


This research had been carried out to identify the effect of starches which are one of the most important value added food ingredient used in numerous food industries, on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of tomato paste. In this study four types of starches including potato starch, rice starch, yam starch, and corn starch with 4% along with preservatives potassium meta bi sulfite(K2O5 S2) (0.1) percent and sodium benzoate (0.1) percent were added in tomato paste to determine their effect on physicochemical and sensory attributes of tomato paste. Starch added tomato paste samples were stored at ambient temperature for three months. The samples were analyzed for their Physico-Chemical parameters with an intervals of fifteen days. The total soluble solids (TSS) and percent acidity of stored tomato paste has been increased during storage. Whereas ascorbic acid and pH was decreased. Starches influenced moisture content during the entire storage period. Results of sensory evaluation reveled that sample having potato starch and corn starch remained acceptable even after for three months of storage.


Online social network advertising platforms, such as that provided by LinkedIn, generally allow marketers to specify targeting options so that their ads appear to a desired demographic. Audience Expansion is a technique developed at LinkedIn to simplify targeting and identify new audiences with similar attributes to the original target audience. We developed two methods to achieve Audience Expansion: campaign-agnostic expansion and campaign-aware expansion. In this paper, we describe the details of these methods, present in-depth analysis of their trade-offs, and demonstrate a hybrid strategy that possesses the combined strength of both methods. Through large scale online experiments, we show the effectiveness of the proposed approach, and as a result, the benefits it brings to the whole marketplace including both LinkedIn and advertisers. The achieved benefits can be characterized as: 1) simplified targeting process and increased reach for advertisers, and 2) better utilization of LinkedIn's ads inventory and higher and more efficient market participation.


The aim of this study was to investigate a possible link between cellular telephone use and risks for various diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). We conducted a large nationwide cohort study of 420 095 persons whose first cellular telephone subscription was between 1982 and 1995, who were followed through 2003 for hospital contacts for a diagnosis of a CNS disorder. Standardized hospitalization ratios (SHRs) were derived by dividing the number of hospital contacts in the cohort by the number expected in the Danish population. The SHRs were increased by 10–20% for migraine and vertigo. No associations were seen for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy in women. SHRs decreased by 30–40% were observed for dementia (Alzheimer disease, vascular and other dementia), Parkinson disease and epilepsy among men. In analyses restricted to subscribers of 10 years or more, the SHRs remained similarly increased for migraine and vertigo and similarly decreased for Alzheimer disease and other dementia and epilepsy (in men); the other SHRs were close to unity. In conclusion, the excesses of migraine and vertigo observed in this first study on cellular telephones and CNS disease deserve further attention. An interplay of a healthy cohort effect and reversed causation bias due to prodromal symptoms impedes detection of a possible association with dementia and Parkinson disease. Identification of the factors that result in a healthy cohort might be of interest for elucidation of the etiology of these diseases.


A robotic harness optimizing gravity-dependent gait interactions enables natural locomotion across activities of daily living in people with spinal cord injury or stroke. Greater gait with gravity Often taken for granted, gravity—the force that keeps you on the ground—becomes a notable challenge during rehabilitation from injury. Mignardot et al. "harnessed" gravity to test whether upward and forward forces, applied to the torso via a robotic body weight supportive device, assist with locomotion. Patients recovering from stroke or spinal cord injury demonstrated improved gait performance with the robotic harness. An important component of the gravity-assistive approach is an algorithm that adjusts the forces provided by the robotic harness according to the patient's needs. Patients unable to walk without assistance (nonambulatory) were able to walk naturally with the harness, whereas ambulatory patients exhibited improved skilled locomotion such as balance, limb coordination, foot placement, and steering. A clinical trial using this robot-assistive rehabilitation approach for patients with spinal cord injury is currently under way. Gait recovery after neurological disorders requires remastering the interplay between body mechanics and gravitational forces. Despite the importance of gravity-dependent gait interactions and active participation for promoting this learning, these essential components of gait rehabilitation have received comparatively little attention. To address these issues, we developed an adaptive algorithm that personalizes multidirectional forces applied to the trunk based on patient-specific motor deficits. Implementation of this algorithm in a robotic interface reestablished gait dynamics during highly participative locomotion within a large and safe environment. This multidirectional gravity-assist enabled natural walking in nonambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury or stroke and enhanced skilled locomotor control in the less-impaired subjects. A 1-hour training session with multidirectional gravity-assist improved locomotor performance tested without robotic assistance immediately after training, whereas walking the same distance on a treadmill did not ameliorate gait. These results highlight the importance of precise trunk support to deliver gait rehabilitation protocols and establish a practical framework to apply these concepts in clinical routine.


Western expansion reevaluated as continental U.S. colonialism. Modern western Oregon was a crucial site of imperial competition in North America during the formative decades of the United States. In this book, Gray Whaley examines relations among newcomers and between newcomers and Native peoples - focusing on political sovereignty, religion, trade, sexuality, and the land - from initial encounters to Oregon's statehood. He emphasizes Native perspectives, using the Chinook word Illahee (homeland) to refer to the indigenous world he examines. Whaley argues that the process of Oregon's founding is best understood as a contest between the British empire and a nascent American one, with Oregon's Native people and their lands at the heart of the conflict. He identifies race, republicanism, liberal economics, and violence as the key ideological and practical components of American settler-colonialism. Native people faced capriciousness, demographic collapse, and attempted genocide, but they fought to preserve Illahee even as external forces caused the collapse of their world. Whaley's analysis compellingly challenges standard accounts of the quintessential antebellum "Promised Land."


Warfarin dosing is correlated with polymorphisms in vitamin K epoxide reductase complex 1 (VKORC1) and the cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) genes. Recently, the FDA revised warfarin labeling to raise physician awareness about these genetic effects. Randomized clinical trials are underway to test genetically based dosing algorithms. It is thus important to determine whether common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in other gene(s) have a large effect on warfarin dosing. A retrospective genome-wide association study was designed to identify polymorphisms that could explain a large fraction of the dose variance. White patients from an index warfarin population (n = 181) and 2 independent replication patient populations (n = 374) were studied. From the approximately 550 000 polymorphisms tested, the most significant independent effect was associated with VKORC1 polymorphisms (P = 6.2 x 10(-13)) in the index patients. CYP2C9 (rs1057910 CYP2C9*3) and rs4917639) was associated with dose at moderate significance levels (P approximately 10(-4)). Replication polymorphisms (355 SNPs) from the index study did not show any significant effects in the replication patient sets. We conclude that common SNPs with large effects on warfarin dose are unlikely to be discovered outside of the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genes. Randomized clinical trials that account for these 2 genes should therefore produce results that are definitive and broadly applicable.


During space missions astronauts suffer from cardiovascular deconditioning, when they are exposed to microgravity conditions. Until now, no specific drugs are available for effective countermeasures, since the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. Endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) play crucial roles in a variety of cardiovascular functions, many of which are regulated via P2 receptors. However, their function in ECs and SMCs under microgravity condition is still unknown. In this study, ECs and SMCs were isolated from bovine aorta and differentiated from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), respectively. Subsequently, the cells were verified based on specific markers. An altered P2 receptor expression pattern was detected during the commitment of hMSC towards ECs and SMCs. The administration of natural and artificial P2 receptor agonists and antagonists directly affected the differentiation process. By using EC growth medium as conditioned medium, a vessel cell model was created to culture SMCs and vice versa. Within this study, we were able to show for the first time that the expression of some P2 receptors were altered in ECs and SMCs grown for 24h under simulated microgravity conditions. On the other hand, in some P2 receptor expressions such as P2X7 conditioned medium compensated this change.
In conclusion, our data show that P2 receptors play an important functional role in hMSC differentiation towards ECs and SMCs. Since some P2 receptor artificial ligands are already used as drugs for patients with cardiovascular diseases, it is reasonable to assume that in the future they might be promising candidates for treating cardiovascular deconditioning.


Ideas travel faster than light is an ongoing collaboration between artists working in India, Spain, the UK and the US.

The project has two parts. In the first part nine artists based in London/Bilbao/LA were invited to submit proposals for new works together with instructions of how to make them and nine artists based in Delhi and Mumbai were invited to produce them according to their interpretation and understanding. The works were exhibited at the NIV Art Centre (Delhi) as a collaboration between the paired artists. The instructions were gathered in a publication accompanied by a text written by Mathew Poole. The second part of the project will swap directions and the artists who wrote the instructions in the first part will now make the work and vice versa. The works will be exhibited in London in 2017 alongside a substantial publication.

The main idea of the project came up as a practical solution to the problem of how to transport works across long distances on a small budget. This became a matrix of ideas and things grew in response to the possibilities offered by that condition and situation. Since ideas have a level of materiality different to objects that occupy a physical space, they can be lighter cheaper and freer to move.

Ideas travel faster than light facilitates the transporting of ideas while extending them and re-contextualizing them in a new context. The process of writing instructions for new works in one place then making them in another, roots their origin in between locations while activating a chain of events that embodies them of a history and a life after, reproducing the mesmerizing relation of intimacy between the maker and its object. This has a strong sociological element since from the moment an artwork is transported from one country to another, mediated and re-interpreted by a different mindset, questions of intention and interpretation come to the surface. It is also an emotional journey. The works become emotional merchandise that instigates an exchange of emotions and languages of expression. Their life is outside any one person's control. This autonomy of life interests me.


A computer simulation is used to examine the effects that various control methods have on the performance of semiactive dampers in controlling the dynamics of a single suspension (quarter car) model. The level of dynamic control of this model has a direct bearing on the ride comfort and vehicle handling, when the single suspension is interpreted as a partial model of a vehicle. The dynamic results obtained when using two alternative semiactive control methods are compared to the results obtained when using the more conventional control methods of passive damping, Skyhook control, and Hybrid control. The conventional control methods results confirm that the semiactive damper possesses a number of benefits when compared to passive damping. In addition, the alternative control methods, which are Displacement Skyhook and Displacement Hybrid, do not show benefits that are superior to passive damping or the conventional semiactive control methods. In support of the conclusions of this report, sufficient detail of the mathematical and numerical model is provided in the event that one should wish to recreate the results presented here. Next, the simulation results of each of the five control methods are presented individually. Several of the responses used in the results chapters are the transmissibility plots for the sprung and unsprung body displacement, the frequency spectrum of acceleration, and the frequency spectrum of the rattle space. In addition, the system response to a step input is calculated and, lastly, time traces are calculated, one at a time, for system excitations at the sprung and unsprung mass natural frequencies. The key dynamic measures studied are settling times, displacements, accelerations, and jerks. The responses just listed are then used in a comparison study between each of the presented control methods.


Tarakhel v Switzerland is the latest Grand Chamber ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on Dublin returns. Its contribution to human rights protection is to reassert well-established principles, quite minimal ones the authors would suggest, which prevent states from returning asylum-seekers where there are substantial grounds to believe there is a real risk of inhuman and degrading treatment. The contribution of the case is to reject erroneous approaches which developed under both ECHR and EU law, in particular in the wake of the NS/ME3 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as to the significance of the reference to 'systemic deficiencies', and what sorts of evidence was required to rebut the presumption of safety accorded to Dublin states. The Tarakhel judgment of the ECtHR has put an end to that uncertainty. The ECtHR holds that there is no additional requirement of 'systemic deficiencies'. Instead, we find reasserted the duty to do 'thorough and individualised' assessment, and suspend removal if there are substantial grounds to believe there is a real risk of inhuman and degrading treatment. In addition, we argue for a fundamental rethink of the Dublin Regulation. Moving away from coercion in the allocation of responsibility for refugee claims is imperative.


Anthologies of eighteenth-century verse have tended to confirm traditional notions of the period as one of untroubled elegance, urbanity, and decorum. Offering over 550 poems and extracts by more than 250 poets, The New Oxford Book of Eighteenth-Century Verse presents a truer picture of this age as a much less stable and decorous time. This extraordinarily comprehensive volume includes not only a generous selection of verse by such renowned poets as Swift, Pope, Johnson, Gray, Smart, Goldsmith, Cowper, Blake, and Burns, but also a large number of poems by lesser-known and previously ignored poets. Intermixing the familiar styles and preoccupations of "polite" taste with much less familiar verse from all social levels, it reveals the willingness of the century's poets to respond graphically, humorously, or unconventionally to all aspects of rural and urban life. Topics range from golf and hypnotism to amorous adventure and marital discord, from growing sensitivity to natural beauty to fear of the effects of the Industrial Revolution, and from the anguish of poverty and unemployment to animated political exchanges in the wake of the French Revolution. Taken together, these poems reveal that both unpredictability and familiarity played as significant a role as Augustan reason played in the world of eighteenth-century poetry. The anthology also includes a helpful introduction, notes, and a glossary.


In this study, we show that superoxide production is carried out within intracellular compartments of human neutrophils and not at the plasma membrane following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate. Oxidant production was not observed in unstimulated cells. Stimulated cells exhibited superoxide production in two distinct types of intracellular organelles. Initially, activity was detected in slender rod-shaped granules and in spherical or elliptical granules. The oxidant-producing granules fused directly with the plasma membrane or fused to form larger intracellular vesicles which then became associated with the plasma membrane. Longer periods of stimulation with PMA resulted in a decrease in the number of vesicles containing oxidant reaction product only, and an increase in structures containing both the oxidant-reaction product and ferritin particles; the latter was used herein as a marker for endocytosis. Thus a complex pattern of intracellular vesicular trafficking occurs in stimulated neutrophils. Alkaline phosphatase activity, a marker enzyme for a type of intracellular neutrophil granule was co-localized in the oxidant reaction-positive intracellular compartments. The time course of up-regulation of alkaline phosphatase activity to the cell surface parallelled the release of superoxide from stimulated cells. Results from this study demonstrate for the first time cytochemical and morphological evidence that superoxide is released from stimulated neutrophils through exocytosis of an oxidant-producing intracellular granule.


Study of atmospheric ice accretion on a
non-rotating vertical circular cylindrical object was carried out at dry and
wet ice conditions. Both numerical and experimental techniques were used during
this study. 3D numerical study was carried out using computational fluid
dynamics based approach, whereas experimental study was carried out at Cryospheric
Environmental Simulator 'CES' in Shinjo, Japan. A good agreement was found
between experimental and numerical results. The dimensions of the cylindrical
object used to measure the atmospheric ice load on structures along this study,
were selected as per the ISO12494 standard. Results provide useful information
about ice growth and intensity along circular cylindrical objects at different
atmospheric temperatures. This research work also provides a useful base for
further investigation of atmospheric ice accretion on structures particularly
circular power network cables, & tower masts installed in the cold regions.


Epilepsy is a chronic neurological brain disorder causing the affected to have seizures.Looking at EEG recordings, an expert is able to identify epileptic activity and diagnosepatients with epilepsy. This process is time consuming and calls for automatization. Theautomation process is done through feature extraction and classification. The featureextraction finds features of the signal and the classification uses the features to classify thesignal as epileptic or not. The accuracy of the classification varies depending on both whichfeatures is chosen to represent each signal and which classification method is used. Onepopular method for classification of data is the SVM. This report tests and analyses six featureextraction methods with a linear SVM to see which method resulted in best classificationperformance when classifying epileptic EEG data. The results showed that two differentmethods resulted in classification accuracies significantly higher than the rest. The waveletbased method for feature extraction got a classification accuracy of 98.83% and the Hjorthfeatures method got a classification accuracy of 97.42%. However the results of these twomethods was too similar to be considered significantly different and therefore no conclusioncould be drawn of which was the best.


This paper examines the residential demand for electricity in Nigeria as a function of real gross domestic product per capita, price of electricity, and price of a substitute between 1970 to 2007. The bounds testing approach used to cointegration within an autoregressive distributed framework, suggested by Pesaran et al. (2001). In the long run, we found that income and the price of substitute emerges as the main determinant of electricity demand in Nigeria, while electricity price is insignificant. The relationship among the variables is stable and significant.


Bromus tectorum L. (downy brome or cheatgrass) has been called the most dominant invasive plant species in the western United States. It is a barrier to restoration efforts in degraded lands and a serious weed problem for small grain growers. Investigating ecological interactions that play a mechanistic role in its success is a necessary step towards developing effective ecologically-based management strategies for B. tectorum. We investigated how biotic and abiotic factors impact interactions between B. tectorum and desired vegetation, with implications for restoration of lands dominated by B. tectorum and management of B. tectorum in small-grain cropping systems. Our research objectives were; 1) appraise the impact of relative size and soil nitrogen (N) availability on interactions between B. tectorum and Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh) A. Love (bluebunch wheatgrass), a species important in rangeland revegetation, and, 2) determine the impacts of Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), resource availability, and neighborhood characteristics on B. tectorum performance in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system. Objective 1 was carried out in a greenhouse experiment with two trials, following an addition series factorial design with four density treatments for each species, three P. spicata size cohort treatments, and two N treatments. Regression analysis indicated that giving P. spicata an initial size advantage over B. tectorum increased its ability to both suppress and avoid suppression by B. tectorum. We also observed that while N availability increased productivity of both species, it did not change their competitive relationship. Objective 2 was explored in two trials of a field experiment using a split-plot design with N availability assigned to main plots, WSMV inoculation assigned to subplots, B. tectorum proximity to the nearest wheat row as a predictor, and neighborhood characteristics as covariates. Regression analysis indicated that in low and high N environments (compared to the recommended N rate), distance from row influenced individual B. tectorum biomass only in disease-free environments, suggesting that healthy wheat suppressed B. tectorum that was closest to the row. Wheat inoculated with WSMV did not suppress B. tectorum. In an intermediate N environment, increased distance from row increased B. tectorum performance only with WSMV inoculation.


Metal supply consists of primary material from a mining operation and secondary material, which is composed of new and old scrap. Recycling, which is the use of secondary material, can contribute significantly to metal production, sometimes accounting for more than 50 percent of raw material supply. From 2001 to 2011, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists studied 26 metals to ascertain the status and magnitude of their recycling industries. The results were published in chapters A–Z of USGS Circular 1196, entitled, "Flow Studies for Recycling Metal Commodities in the United States." These metals were aluminum (chapter W), antimony (Q), beryllium (P), cadmium (O), chromium (C), cobalt (M), columbium (niobium) (I), copper (X), germanium (V), gold (A), iron and steel (G), lead (F), magnesium (E), manganese (H), mercury (U), molybdenum (L), nickel (Z), platinum (B), selenium (T), silver (N), tantalum (J), tin (K), titanium (Y), tungsten (R), vanadium (S), and zinc (D). Each metal commodity was assigned to a single year: chapters A–M have recycling data for 1998; chapters N–R and U–W have data for 2000, and chapters S, T, and X–Z have data for 2004. This 27th chapter of Circular 1196 is called AA; it includes salient data from each study described in chapters A–Z, along with an analysis of overall trends of metals recycling in the United States during 1998 through 2004 and additional upto-date reviews of selected metal recycling industries from 1991 through 2008. In the United States for these metals in 1998, 2000, and 2004 (each metal commodity assigned to a single year), 84 million metric tons (Mt) of old scrap was generated. Unrecovered old scrap totaled 43 Mt (about 51 percent of old scrap generated, OSG), old scrap consumed was 38 Mt (about 45 percent of OSG), and net old scrap exports were 3.3 Mt (about 4 percent of OSG). Therefore, there was significant potential for increased recovery from scrap. The total old scrap supply was 88 Mt, and the overall new-to-old-scrap ratio was 36:64. On a weighted-average basis, the recycling rate overall for these metals was 40 percent, and the estimated efficiency of recovery was 63 percent. New scrap consumed was 21 Mt. The United States was a net exporter of most scrap metals, and the net exports of 3.3 Mt were valued at $2 billion in constant 1998 dollars. Metals show a wide range of recycling rates, recycling efficiency, and new-to-old-scrap ratios. Recycling rates cluster in the range from 15 to 45 percent, whereas efficiencies are fairly evenly distributed over a range from 7 to 97 percent.


The paper presents the
results of the investigations into the indoor climate and energy efficiency of
ventilation devices in residential buildings and nursing homes. The indoor
climate studies discussed in the article were conducted in a nursing home where
room ventilation is based on Meltem Air Handling Units (AHU). Similar studies
have been carried out in apartment buildings where CO2 levels in
bedrooms were compared before and after renovating the ventilation with Meltem
AHU and installing exhaust fans in the bathroom/WC and kitchen. Tenants
evaluate the use of Meltem AHU in apartments very positively. The article
presents the efficiency results of Meltem AHU with different external air
temperatures conducted in apartments in real-life situations. The study shows
that skilful renovation of ventilation in old apartment buildings enables to
achieve good indoor climate and energy saving at the same time.


The Great Depression of the 1930s turned the lives of ordinary Americans upside down, leaving an indelible mark on the nation's psyche. The Great Depression: America in the 1930s is award-winning historian T. H. Watkins's lively political, economic, and cultural account of this age of hardship and hope. This companion volume to the public television series The Great Depression tells the story of a decade of disaster, challenge, and change. It begins with the most devastating economic crash in modern history and recounts an epic narrative of human suffering, social turmoil, and a political revolution that transformed the outline of American life and government - from unprecedented federal programs such as Social Security, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and massive public works projects to local grass-roots movements whose energies helped forge a new relationship between citizens and their government, citizens and their presidents. During this great era a new kind of hope was born, one that would not only help lead the way out of the despair of the depression but would live on to inspire postwar crusades for civil rights, women's rights, environmentalism, and other social movements. Illustrated with more than 150 photographs, documents, and posters - many of them published here for the first time - The Great Depression stands as the essential chronicle of a decade that shaped America's consciousness and character forever in an age not unlike our own.


Increasingly, governments are turning to nongovernemental actors to carry out environmental protection goals. This has been particularly prevalent in the realm of land conservation. Government programs often draw upon the power of nonprofit conservation organizations known as land trusts to monitor, manage, and enforce land protection goals. Reliance on land trusts has created both philosophical and practical conundrums. These concerns also stem in part from the chief land protection tool used by land trusts: conservation easements. This article examines these concerns by a close look at the role of land trusts and conservation easements in the Forest Legacy Program. Administered by the U.S. Forest Service, the Forest Legacy Program seeks to slow conversion of private forestlands to nonforest uses. Conservation easements form a key element of the Program, but their use is complicated. In creating the Program, Congress seemed to both want to encourage the involvement of land trusts and to curb their reach. The Program draws upon the power of private organizations, and increasingly calls upon land trusts to carry out the duty of protecting forestlands and yet stops short of enabling these organizations to receive Program funds or to enforce conservation easements purchased with Program funds. Thus, in the FLP, Congress inches toward privatization of forestland conservation, but holds back. This stance is bewildering. If Congress was concerned with the involvement of land trusts in forestland conservation, it seems to give them too much power. If Congress wanted to encourage greater land trust involvement, it seems to stop too short.


The primary aim of this thesis is to enlarge our understanding of severe or clinical burnout through an extensive study on the actual functioning in daily life of burned-out individuals. Burnout is a fairly recent but common work-related health problem. About 20% of employees suffers from mild burnout symptoms and an additional 4% from severe symptoms. The main cause of burnout is chronic stress at work, which induces a process of psychological erosion. The result is a state of severe exhaustion, with a co-occurring cynical attitude towards work and the belief that one's professional accomplishments have failed. Burnout research has concentrated on milder expressions of the syndrome in relatively healthy employees who are still working. Yet, when burnout symptoms have emerged, they seem resistant to change and the risk of sick leave increases. It is, therefore, surprising that the most severe cases on extended sick leave have been neglected in burnout research. Consequently, the exact characteristics of clinical burnout are still badly understood. This thesis seeks to extend our understanding of the symptoms of clinically burned-out employees and to enhance diagnostic clarity. To obtain a detailed account of patients' symptoms we employed an electronic diary according to the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) instead of using the common retrospective questionnaires. ESM provides more reliable and detailed information in the natural context of burned-out individuals. The current thesis showed that clinical burnout is characterized by continuous severe fatigue that is not relieved by sleep and is, at least partially, maintained by sleep disturbances. Though depressive mood is common in clinical burnout, we found new evidence that depression does not seem to complicate the syndrome and that burnout and depression are distinct syndromes. The severity of exhaustion is reflected in the physiology of the body, namely somewhat lower cortisol levels at awakening. Nevertheless, full recovery from clinical burnout is possible in the long-run: Within 10 months after sick leave 37% of our clinically burned-out employees showed recovery of complaints and had fully resumed work. These findings are, likely, highly reliable, considering that we used ESM for symptom assessment, and that the method was well accepted and adhered to by the exhausted patients. The current thesis evidently demonstrates the advantages of ESM above questionnaires, i.e. a higher reliability of measurements and the possibility of within-person studies. As for clinical practice, our results point out that persistent disturbed sleep and neglect of regular periods of recovery constitute important early warning signs of burnout development in employees who are at work. In addition, the treatment of sleep problems in burned-out individuals on extended leave of absence seems of primary importance, since they constitute a risk factor for prolonged sick leave and exhaustion. Furthermore, patient education should incorporate that full recovery from clinical burnout lies within reach of many individuals. The current thesis was only a first step, and hopes to inspire research on clinical burnout with the purpose to enhance empirical knowledge and improve clinical practice.


The paper discusses a multicast mechanism using propagation trees. It guarantees the total ordering (including causal ordering) of messages in multiple groups. The mechanism introduces a concept of meta-groups (a subset of a multicast group) and organizes meta-groups into propagation trees. Compared with the existing propagation tree mechanisms, this mechanism has the following advantages: 1) Greater parallelism. Messages can be sent to destinations by using broadcast networks. 2) Less message cost and less latency time. It takes less network communication to multicast a message and less time to have the message delivered to all the destinations. 3) More flexibility to dynamic membership changes and higher reliability for message propagation. It does not need to restructure propagation trees when there is a change in membership, and a site failure does not stop the message propagation to its descendants in the tree. >


CD47 is involved in neurite differentiation in cultured neurons, but the function of CD47 in brain development is largely unknown. We determined that CD47 mRNA was robustly expressed in the developing cerebellum, especially in granule cells. CD47 protein was mainly expressed in the inner layer of the external granule layer (EGL), molecular layer, and internal granule layer (IGL), where granule cells individually become postmitotic and migrate, leading to neurite fasciculation. At postnatal day 8 (P8), CD47 knockout mice exhibited an increased number of proliferating granule cells in the EGL, whereas the CD47 agonist peptide 4N1K increased the number of postmitotic cells in primary granule cells. Knocking out the CD47 gene and anti‐CD47 antibody impaired the radial migration of granule cells from the EGL to the IGL individually in mice and slice cultures. In primary granule cells, knocking out CD47 reduced the number of axonal collaterals and dendritic branches; by contrast, overexpressing CD47 or 4N1K treatment increased the axonal length and numbers of axonal collaterals and dendritic branches. Furthermore, the length of the fissure between Lobules VI and VII was decreased in CD47 knockout mice at P21 and at 14 wk after birth. Lastly, CD47 knockout mice exhibited increased social interaction at P21 and depressive‐like behaviors at 10 wk after birth. Our study revealed that the cell adhesion molecule CD47 participates in multiple phases of granule cell development, including proliferation, migration, and neurite differentiation implying that aberrations of CD47 are risk factors that cause abnormalities in cerebellar development and atypical behaviors.© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 75: 463–484, 2015


This thesis uses Deleuzian cybernetics to advance upon post-modern accounts of the
contemporary image economy. It begins with the hypothesis that the schizophrenic
behaviours of late capitalism have induced an irreparable crisis in the inherited `specular
economy' (Irigaray). This is manifested as the breakdown of the laws of generalised
equivalence between truth, value and meaning and the end of a stable signifier-signified
relationship - theorised as the escape of reality into 'hyperreality', or the world become
simulation according to Baudrillard.
It will expose the insufficiency of post-modern accounts which theorise this crisis in
representation via methods which fail to escape their own always already representational
terms and it will then rigorously follow through the implications of an image economy
which is constituted by simulations which are `genuinely' sourceless, which do not
imitate a prior reality but which rather synthesise forces and relations. To escape the
closed loop of representationalism, it will divert attention away from the signifier and
will concentrate on the sub-representational power of images to re-engineer reality and to
re-invent the limits of the body. Using the theory and practice of Deleuze, Spinoza,
Bergson, Benjamin and Virilio, it will treat images as planes of corporeal becoming - as
material entities, virtual avatars, possessional states and conductors of pre-personal affect.
Post-modem accounts which cite the overwhelming predominance of images sit
uncomfortably with the theories of French anti-ocularcentrism - accessed here via
Irigaray and Lyotard - which mark the demise of vision and its attached representational
order. This paradox requires that a new perceptual relation be mapped - figured here as
entirely corporeal, as tactile and synesthetic (Mcluhan) and therefore immersive. Both
'affect' and 'intensity', as modes of pre-personal perception, will be treated as tactile
interactions for these responses to images demand that a body be always 'in touch' with
its environment, always anorganically altering its perceptual capacities by rules of
feedback. It will be argued that in this reality studio, the body no longer perceives via a
specular light source, solid form and assumed phallocentric meaning.
The proposed synthesis between cybernetic imaging technologies, immanent perceptual
criteria and the ever-changing state of the body requires an engagement with the female
since she bears a privileged relation to this scenario. In the specular economy, women
have been assumed, like faithful images, to secondarily reproduce an underlying,
phallocentric truth. However, it will be shown that just as images can work nonrepresentationally,
so too can female bodies; on the one hand appearing representational
but on the other conducting radically subversive effects. Where bodies and images are
such simulatory becomings it will be shown how the female is neither representationally
ordered (social constructivism) nor essentially defined (biological reductivism) but is
rather cybernetically engineered. Throughout, her privileged access to the virtual realm
beyond language will be used to substantiate the major claim of this thesis that cybernetic
simulation is more concerned with the material alteration of an environment rather than
with the implementation of linguistic obligation.


Pit latrine linings for emergency sanitation facilities require different performance criteria from those for pits used in longer-term development work. Various international initiatives are currently under way to develop new methods of supporting the pits used for latrines in emergencies, but before a solution can be found, the problem needs to be defined. Current field guidance lacks the level of detail required by humanitarian workers to construct durable pits in a timely manner. Consultations with international humanitarian field staff and UK-based geotechnical engineers were used in this research project to identify design, construction, and operational requirements of emergency pit-lining systems. However, rather than closely defined performance requirements, the study identified a wide range of criteria that need to be considered and clear distinctions between emergency and longer-term solutions. Latrines constructed in the initial stages of emergencies are likely to be communal, with long rectangu...


Wind energy expansion is worldwide followed by various limitations, i.e. land availability, the NIMBY (not in my backyard) attitude, interference on birds migration routes and so on. This undeniable expansion is pushing wind farms near populated areas throughout the years, where noise regulation is more stringent. That demands solutions for the wind turbine (WT) industry, in order to produce quieter WT units. Focusing in the subject of airfoil noise prediction, it can help the assessment and design of quieter wind turbine blades. Considering the airfoil noise as a composition of many sound sources, and in light of the fact that the main noise production mechanisms are the airfoil self-noise and the turbulent inflow (TI) noise, this work is concentrated on the latter. TI noise is classified as an interaction noise, produced by the turbulent inflow, incident on the airfoil leading edge (LE). Theoretical and semi-empirical methods for the TI noise prediction are already available, based on Amiet's broadband noise theory. Analysis of many TI noise prediction methods is provided by this work in the literature review, as well as the turbulence energy spectrum modeling. This is then followed by comparison of the most reliable TI noise methodologies, qualitatively and quantitatively, with the error estimation, compared to the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings solution for computational aeroacoustics. Basis for integration of airfoil inflow noise prediction into a wind turbine noise prediction code is the final goal of this work.


We give a method for proactively identifying small, plausible shifts in distribution which lead to large differences in model performance. These shifts are defined via parametric changes in the causal mechanisms of observed variables, where constraints on parameters yield a"robustness set"of plausible distributions and a corresponding worst-case loss over the set. While the loss under an individual parametric shift can be estimated via reweighting techniques such as importance sampling, the resulting worst-case optimization problem is non-convex, and the estimate may suffer from large variance. For small shifts, however, we can construct a local second-order approximation to the loss under shift and cast the problem of finding a worst-case shift as a particular non-convex quadratic optimization problem, for which efficient algorithms are available. We demonstrate that this second-order approximation can be estimated directly for shifts in conditional exponential family models, and we bound the approximation error. We apply our approach to a computer vision task (classifying gender from images), revealing sensitivity to shifts in non-causal attributes.


Was Franco sympathetic to Nazi Germany? Why didn't Spain enter World War II? In what ways did Spain collaborate with the Third Reich? How much did Spain assist Jewish refugees? This is the first book in any language to answer these intriguing questions. Stanley Payne, a leading historian of modern Spain, explores the full range of Franco's relationship with Hitler, from 1936 to the fall of the Reich in 1945. But as Payne brilliantly shows, relations between these two dictators were not only a matter of realpolitik. These two titanic egos engaged in an extraordinary tragicomic drama often verging on the dark absurdity of a Beckett or Ionesco play. Whereas Payne investigates the evolving relationship of the two regimes up to the conclusion of World War II, his principal concern is the enigma of Spain's unique position during the war, as a semi-fascist country struggling to maintain a tortured neutrality. Why Spain did not enter the war as a German ally, joining with Hitler to seize Gibraltar and close the Mediterranean to the British navy, is at the center of Payne's narrative. Franco's only personal meeting with Hitler, in 1940 to discuss precisely this, is recounted here in groundbreaking detail that also sheds significant new light on the Spanish government's vacillating policy toward Jewish refugees, on the Holocaust, and on Spain's German connection throughout the duration of the war.


Oceanic reanalyses are powerful products to reconstruct the historical 3D-state of the ocean and related circulation. At present a challenge is to have oceanic reanalyses covering the whole 20th century. This study describes the exercise of comparing available datasets to force Mediterranean Sea and global oceanic reanalyses from 1901 to present. In particular, we compared available atmospheric reanalyses with a set of experiments performed with an atmospheric general circulation model where sea surface temperature (SST) and sea-ice concen- tration are prescribed. These types of experiments have the advantage of covering long time records, at least for the period for which global SST is available, and they can be performed at relatively high horizontal resolutions, a very important requisite for regional oceanic re- analyses. However, they are limited by the intrinsic model biases in representing the mean atmospheric state and its variability. In this study, we show that, within some limits, the atmospheric model performance in representing the basic variables needed for the bulk-formulae to force oceanic data assimilation systems can be comparable to the differences among available atmospheric reanalyses. In the case of the Mediterranean Sea the high horizontal resolution of the set of SST-prescribed experiments combined with their good performance in rep- resenting the surface winds in the area made them the most appropriate atmospheric forcing. On the other hand, in the case of the global ocean, atmospheric reanalyses have been proven to be still preferable due to the better representation of spatial and temporal variability of surface winds and radiative fluxes. Because of their intrinsic limitations AMIP experiments cannot provide atmospheric fields alterna- tive to atmospheric reanalyses. Nevertheless, here we show how in the specific case of the Mediterranean Sea, they can be of use, if not preferable, to available atmospheric reanalyses.


Over the last century, crosstalk between archaeologists and botanists had focused on the identification of plants remnants, such as charcoal or seeds found in archaeological inventory. Here we demonstrate how botany can play a fundamental role in identifying ancient landscape by using current vegetation. Identifying the loci of ancient human activity is the initial step of any archaeological study, enabling analyses such as settlement patterns, economic structures and land use, as well as devising excavations strategy. While mounds (tells) are standing out of their surroundings and are easily detected, other sites are hidden underground, and require various methods for detection. The cost and intensity of these methods vary, but most are time-consuming, require a team of specialists, and show somewhat limited success, leading archaeologists to seek new methods of site detection. Here, we describe a study of vegetational parameters at Tel 'Eton (Israel), located in a semi-arid climatic region, where vegetation is mostly herbaceous, mainly comprised of annual plants. We compared above ground biomass, species richness and species composition among four plots in Tel 'Eton and its surrounding. Two plots were located where ancient settlement found in a previous study, one on top of the mound and one below, where a "lower city" was previously identified. The other two plots were located in similar topographies, namely one on a hill and the other below, but in never-settled areas. While above ground biomass was similar between settled and not-settled plots, species richness was significantly higher in settled plots (40 and 32 species in settled plots, versus 28 and 9 species in non-settled) and species composition was significantly different between them. Our results demonstrate that loci of buried remains of human activity significantly differ from non-settled ones, hence providing the basis for an above ground indirect method of identification of human remains. We propose that floristic sampling of ground-level vegetation may allow archaeologists to identify buried sites, and hence increase the validity of various types of archaeological analyses, such as creating maps of settlements, which rely on the identification of sites without excavating them.


Forming regular textures of an arbitrary size on smooth solid surfaces is the challenge of future technology to produce new types of optical gratings, optical filters, antireflective surface coatings, selective solar absorbers, data storage, and microelectronics. Here we present a novel approach to form such sophisticated textures:  controlling the growth of particle arrays on smooth and wettable solid surfaces. The obtained centimeter-size polycrystalline monolayer films consist of closely packed fine particles. Coloring of the monolayer which arises from the light diffraction, interference, and scattering exclusively inherent in textured films shows the size of the differently oriented crystal domains building the film. The results show that the higher the particle monodispersity, the lower the particle volume fraction, and the higher the environmental humidity, the larger the size of the forming domains.


In the last decades, considerable efforts have been made to eradicate trafficking in human beings. In this context, the role of "demand" has gained prominence in public and political debates. The term originates from economics. This article therefore rehearses economic understandings of demand and the key terms to which it relates: supply, price and market. This understanding is then used to reflect on the way the idea of demand and related concepts are used within discussions of trafficking. These reflections include qualitative content analysis of the use of terms in the context of migration, prostitution and labor policy. The analysis shows that in anti-trafficking debates, market contexts are referred to. Demand is often used in the sense of "the willingness and ability to purchase a good or service," but actors exercising and factors influencing this demand are often also called "the demand." In these debates demand is also used for coercive relations, although this is not compatible with the understandings indicated above. Three cases of empirical economic studies on trafficking in human beings with widely diverging results are analyzed. As they all use demand and supply in their theoretical argumentation they all seem to deal with the same issue. However, because they situate their analysis in different reference markets and policy contexts, it is not simply that they do not measure the same issue differently, but in fact these studies observe agents on different markets that deserve separate attention. These terminological ambiguities relating demand as it is currently used within trafficking hampers progress in generating understanding of the mechanisms that lead to criminal forms of exploitation. It is suggested to use demand only in a market context when it is possible to specify who wants to buy what. "Demand for trafficking" or for "demand for exploitation" should be avoided. JEL codes: F22; J16; O15


STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Composite resins are still outperformed by amalgams in the clinical practice with secondary caries and fractures being their most common failures. A material that suffers less polymerization shrinkage might improve the clinical performance of composite resins.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinical performance of a low-shrink silorane-based composite resin (Filtek LS Low Shrink Posterior Restorative, 3M ESPE, St. Paul, MN, USA) in comparison with a methacrylate-based composite resin (Tetric EvoCeram, Ivoclar Vivadent, Schaan, Principality of Liechtenstein) over time.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Candidates in need of Class II composite resin restorations participated in this randomized controlled clinical trial. Those were 25 female and six male subjects with average age of 44.3 ± 12.7 years. Participants received 82 restorations, being 54 in premolars and 28 in molars. Procedures, which included the restoration of primary caries lesions or replacement of failing restorations, were done using modified preparations with no bevels or additional retention. Restorations were placed using Filtek LS (and dedicated self-etch adhesive) or Tetric EvoCeram (with AdheSE, Ivoclar Vivadent), following manufacturers' instructions. Incremental placement technique was applied and the restorations were immediately finished. Follow-up evaluations occurred at six, 12, 24, and 36 months and were done using the Fédération Dentaire Internationale criteria. Statistical analysis was performed using generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS
The recall rate at 36 months was 89%. All interaction terms were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS
Filtek LS performs as well as Tetric EvoCeram performs in the clinical setting at 36 months.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The silorane-based composite resin Filtek LS and the conventional methacrylate-based composite resin Tetric EvoCeram performed similarly well in posterior restorations over at least 36 months of clinical service.


Introduction: Depression is a major cause of morbidity worldwide. Depression as a medical illness, the person feels with sadness, discomfort and lack of self-confidence. It can also be a sign of medical problem. According to the census survey 2006 of elderly in Egypt, ageing 60 years and more, constitutes 6% of total population. The depression risk factors increase with ageing. Aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of depressional status among elderly living in geriatric homes and those attending the outpatient clinics to detect the underlying associated factors of depression. Methods and Subject: Descriptive a cross-sectional study to compare the depressional status and the associated factors among the elderly residents of in institution and the elderly patients attending the outpatient clinics at Damanhur National Medical Institute of El-Behaira Governorate, Egypt. It also looked into associated factors for elderly depression, using socio-demographic characteristics and associated medical questionnaires. The sample size was 100 elderly aged 60 years and above, half of the study sample participants were from geriatric homes and another half from outpatients attending the outpatient clinics. Results: The study postulates that depression is common in institutional settings. The age groups more than 65 years were 2.1 fold higher among institutionalized residents than non-institutionalized participants. Among the socio-demographic factors only having no children and monthly income showed significant differences between the groups of the two studied settings. The most common associated chronic diseases with depression, were diabetes alone, hypertension alone and both diabetes and hypertension combined, with a significance of (P = 0.04). Both suggested and indicated depression collectively, accounted 90% of the depressed participants of in institution versus 74% for those outpatient individuals. Conclusion: depression among elderly is one of the most public health problems. The depressive symptoms are high among Egyptian elderly population especially those over 65 years and with chronic diseases, and inadequacy of monthly income, as well as among those live alone or having no children. Evaluating sub threshold depressive symptoms as suggested depression among institutionalized residents will help in better treatment and adjusting better lifestyle for elderly at care homes.


Title of Document: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SYSTEMS: ASSESSING THE CRITICAL FACTORS AND BENEFITS Mehmet Omer Tatari, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Directed By: A. James Clark Chair Professor, Mirosław J. Skibniewski, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Attaining higher levels of system integration is seen as the primary goal of enterprise information systems in construction (CEIS). Increased system integration resulting from CEIS implementation is expected to lead to numerous benefits. These benefits encompass information technology infrastructure as well as strategic, operational, organizational, and managerial aspects of the firm. By adopting CEIS, firms seek tangible and intangible benefits such as cost reduction, improved productivity, enhanced efficiency, and business growth. However, with the challenge of integrating various business functions within the firm, certain factors become critical for achieving higher levels of integration. Despite ample research on integrated IT systems, there are very few works in the construction field that empirically analyze the critical factors impacting the level of integration and the benefits thereof. This study seeks to address these gaps in the literature and analyzes the impact of critical factors on levels of integration and the ensuing benefits through a systematic and rigorous research design. The conceptual framework in this study draws heavily upon the theory of IT integration infrastructures, while also modifying and expanding it. This study quantifies the critical success factors that impact CEIS integration and the ensuing benefits. Furthermore, it analyzes the effects of system integration on CEIS induced benefits. It also investigates the impact of CEIS strategy on CEIS induced benefits, and identifies the relationship between CEIS strategy and system integration. Finally, it assesses the effects of CEIS induced benefits on user satisfaction and provides a CEIS implementation guide map for construction firms. The study uses multiple regression analysis and ANOVA to test these relationships. EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SYSTEMS: ASSESSING THE CRITICAL FACTORS AND BENEFITS


The sequencing of modern and ancient genomes from around the world has revolutionised our understanding of human history and evolution1,2. However, the general problem of how best to characterise the full complexity of ancestral relationships from the totality of human genomic variation remains unsolved. Patterns of variation in each data set are typically analysed independently, and often using parametric models or data reduction techniques that cannot capture the full complexity of human ancestry3,4. Moreover, variation in sequencing technology5,6, data quality7 and in silico processing8,9, coupled with complexities of data scale10, limit the ability to integrate data sources. Here, we introduce a non-parametric approach to inferring human genealogical history that overcomes many of these challenges and enables us to build the largest genealogy of both modern and ancient humans yet constructed. The genealogy provides a lossless and compact representation of multiple datasets, addresses the challenges of missing and erroneous data, and benefits from using ancient samples to constrain and date relationships. Using simulations and empirical analyses, we demonstrate the power of the method to recover relationships between individuals and populations, as well as to identify descendants of ancient samples. Finally, we show how applying a simple non-parametric estimator of ancestor geographical location to the inferred genealogy recapitulates key events in human history. Our results demonstrate that whole-genome genealogies are a powerful means of synthesising genetic data and provide rich insights into human evolution.


A conventional laser irradiation method is applied to fabricate carbon nanodots (C-dots). By uniformly dispersing the C-dots into N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solution, white-light amplified spontaneous emission can be observed from the mixture under laser excitation at 266 nm. Peak wavelength and linewidth of the emission spectra are found to be around 450 and 120 nm respectively. It is verified that the presence of NMP enhances the emission efficiency of C-dots over the broad emission spectrum. This is because the excitation energy, which is not absorbed by the C-dots, is captured by the NMP and is subsequently transferred to the C-dots. Optical gain per peak power of the mixture at ~450 nm is found to be ~64 cm–1MW–1, which is about 39% higher than that without the use of NMP.