Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) is a mosquito-transmitted parasitic disease caused by the filarial nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. In 1997, the 50th World Health Assembly approved a resolution calling for the elimination of LF as a public health problem (WHA50.29). This was deemed achievable with a regime of annual Mass Drug Administrations (MDAs) and, where appropriate, vector control for a minimum of four to six years. The Pacific counterpart was named the Pacific Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (PacELF). In the Pacific, countries which have reached the threshold of < 0.1% circulating filarial antigen (CFA) prevalence in children entered surveillance mode until 2012, whereas countries with persistent transmission planned further MDAs. Successful elimination of LF requires:

1) Accurate identification of residual foci of transmission (in countries with persistent transmission);

2) Comprehensive surveillance strategies to detect and combat potential resurgence (in countries entering surveillance mode); and,

3) Culturally appropriate education campaigns to encourage MDA compliance, as systematic non-compliers become reservoirs of infection.

It is crucial to apply sensitive diagnostic tools which are capable of identifying these areas of residual endemnicity or resurgence early. This phase of low prevalence poses particular challenges: "hot spots" may be scattered and ill-defined and the diagnostic tools measuring microfilaraemia (Mf) and CFA that were successful in the earlier phase of the programme may no longer be adequate because of issues with sensitivity, the requirement for larger sampling sizes, and lag phases before Mf or CFA are detectable in newly infected persons. The addition of antibody serology as a complementary diagnostic tool would provide an earlier warning system, since children born after the interruption of transmission would be antibody negative.

In order to incorporate serology into the LF programme, use of a standardised commercial assay must be used, such as the Filariasis Cellabs Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (CELISA). Although the Filariasis CELISA has been manufactured since 2006, it is yet to be investigated for its potential use in large scale sampling. It was the aim of this research to determine:

1) The efficacy of the Filariasis CELISA antibody assay;

2) Its usefulness as a potential diagnostic tool for the inclusion into the LF programme; and,

3) Its role in future surveillance work.
This was achieved by validating the Filariasis CELISA for field applicability, assessing its efficacy for identifying areas of residual endemnicity, and investigating the spatial relationships between exposed and infected individuals. In addition, during the progression of the thesis, data became available concerning MDA compliance in Samoa. MDA compliance is also crucial for successful elimination of LF since systematic non-compliers remain as potential reservoirs of infection.

The Filariasis CELISA was easily applicable for field work using whole blood dried onto filter paper. Filter paper sampling had a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 77%, when compared to plasma samples. Five thousand four hundred and ninety-eight filter paper samples were assayed from four LF endemic South Pacific countries (Tuvalu, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Samoa). Antibody prevalence rates correlated with cessation of LF transmission in Tonga and Vanuatu, both of which have entered surveillance mode, and ongoing transmission in Samoa and Tuvalu. Most importantly, use of CFA prevalence in children alone, the current World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation, missed vital residual areas of endemic foci in Samoa, as observed by high antibody prevalence in children and Mf positive individuals. This observation required further investigation with an in-depth epidemiological study.

In Samoa, five villages were chosen for prevalence surveys, including Siufaga, which was originally believed to be LF-free. Results showed that the reservoir of infection was the older males and that there was a correlation between transmission (Mf/CFA positivity) and exposure in children. Crucially, ongoing transmission was occurring in Siufaga, as demonstrated by an overall CFA prevalence exceeding 1% and high antibody prevalence in children. CFA testing of children alone would not have identified Siufaga as an area of residual endemnicity.

Accurate identification of residual foci of transmission is challenging in areas where Aedes polynesiensis is endemic, such as Samoa, since no geographical clustering of infection has been demonstrated. Results from the aforementioned epidemiological study were spatially linked to household of residence (community based analyses) and/or primary school (school based analyses) of attendance. "Community based" analyses revealed significant spatial clusters of households with infected individuals and a relationship to antibody positive children when they were included in the spatial analysis. Similar results were observed for "school based" analyses. These promising findings are the first evidence of spatial clustering of LF in a day-biting Ae. polynesiensis endemic area. In addition, these results are the first evidence of dual clustering of Mf/CFA individuals with exposed children.

In Samoa, MDA non-compliance of infected individuals may contribute to persistent transmission. Exploring why these individuals are non-compliant is of paramount importance to the LF programme. Individuals testing positive for LF and children aged 7 – 10 years were asked to participate in a questionnaire designed to ascertain: 1) level of LF knowledge, (2) compliance, and (3) a number of risk factors. For the infected individuals, there was a significant association between MDA compliance and knowledge of LF and, for the children, this association also extended to use of mosquito protection. This exploratory study highlights the need for restructuring current educational campaigns, and their deliverance, to appropriately target children and the systematically non-compliant infected individuals. In addition, the study highlights the necessity to instigate qualitative studies to explore cultural and religious beliefs; a strong driver of compliance.

The overall findings fill critical gaps in knowledge for the elimination of LF namely:

1) Incorporation of antibody serology should be a priority because:

a. Certain areas of residual transmission will not be detected using Mf or CFA diagnostic testing alone; and,

b. Surveillance requires a diagnostic test capable of detecting resurgence early so that action can be timely.

2) In Samoa:

a. Identification of spatial clustering has a significant impact on the LF programme in terms of targeted treatment, re-introduction of vector control campaigns and aiding health personnel to locate potential Mf positive cases;

b. Previously declared "LF-free" villages may have residual transmission; and,

c. New health education campaigns are a necessity for targeting non-compliant individuals.

The addition of antibody serology into the repertoire of LF diagnostic tools holds huge promise for identifying areas of residual endemnicity and in future surveillance and control of LF.


Different from Visual Question Answering task that requires to answer only one question about an image, Visual Dialogue involves multiple questions which cover a broad range of visual content that could be related to any objects, relationships or semantics. The key challenge in Visual Dialogue task is thus to learn a more comprehensive and semantic-rich image representation which may have adaptive attentions on the image for variant questions. In this research, we propose a novel model to depict an image from both visual and semantic perspectives. Specifically, the visual view helps capture the appearance-level information, including objects and their relationships, while the semantic view enables the agent to understand high-level visual semantics from the whole image to the local regions. Futhermore, on top of such multi-view image features, we propose a feature selection framework which is able to adaptively capture question-relevant information hierarchically in fine-grained level. The proposed method achieved state-of-the-art results on benchmark Visual Dialogue datasets. More importantly, we can tell which modality (visual or semantic) has more contribution in answering the current question by visualizing the gate values. It gives us insights in understanding of human cognition in Visual Dialogue.


The increasingly international scope of some economic activities is correlated with closer integration of national and international legal arrangements. With the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), international scrutiny of national compliance with international trade obligations has become markedly more legalized. WTO panels review actions of WTO member states and issue decisions that are effectively binding upon the parties to the dispute. Among other things, these panels conduct direct reviews of some national administrative actions. This article examines the experience in WTO practice with a special standard of review - inserted at the behest of the United States and similar in wording to the Chevron standard used in U.S. administrative law - for panels to apply in assessing whether national anti-dumping measures conform to WTO obligations. I find that the special standard of review has had essentially no effect upon the review of national anti-dumping actions by the WTO. A canvass of the possible explanations for this outcome (e.g., hostility by WTO panelists to national trade restricting actions) is inconclusive, as is a review of the serious normative arguments for and against the WTO practice. I then add a geopolitical perspective to the analysis - specifically, the asymmetrically important position of the United States in the international trading system. I conclude that, as a dynamic matter, the WTO's disregard of the special standard of review will likely induce a response by the United States that produces "deadweight" losses to the trading system as a whole. Thus, regardless of one's view of anti-dumping laws, the WTO's disregard of the negotiated standard of review may be undesirable. This analysis reveals the limitations in transposing features of a national legal system to the very different institutional context of an international legal system and thus also suggests the potential for WTO governance problems well beyond review of anti-dumping laws.


Virtual screening against the active site of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme identified 3-ethyl-5-methyl-7- phenylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (1) as a potential inhibitor. Biological evaluation revealed 1 possesses a moderate level of anti-inflammatory activity in the paw induced edema rat model (60% edema inhibition at a dose of 10 mg/kg). Docking studies highlighted the possibility of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions between 1 and the COX-2 acrive site. Using an approach based on molecular modeling-guided lead optimisation, new pyridopyrimidine analogues were designed. The designed pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-1,4-dione derivatives were synthesized from the corresponding 6-aminouracil derivatives in a one-step simple reaction with very good to excellent yields. Anti-inflammatory results showed that some drivatives are more potent than indomethacin (relative potency of 105%, 106% and 109%). The ulecerogenic effect of selected derivatives was examined in vivo reavealing greater gastric safety than indomethacin and highlighting possible COX-2 selectivity for these compounds.


Data degradation by radio frequency interferences (RFI) is one of the major challenges that SMOS and other interferometers radiometers missions have to face. Although a great number of the illegal emitters were turned off since the mission was launched, not all of the sources were completely removed. Moreover, the data obtained previously is already corrupted by these RFI. Thus, the recovery of brightness temperature from corrupted data by image restoration techniques is of major interest. In this work we propose a variational approach to recover a super-resolved, denoised brightness temperature map based on two spatial components: an image u that models the brightness temperature and an image o modeling the RFI. The approach is totally new to our knowledge, in the sense that it is directly and exclusively based on the visibilities (L1a data), and thus can also be considered as an alternative to other brightness temperature recovery methods.


OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate a scoring system for managing snakebites in South Africa (SA).

METHODS
We studied all snakebite admissions to a regional hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, SA. The primary outcome was an active treatment intervention (ATI) defined as antivenom treatment or any surgical procedure. The development cohort consisted of 879 patients with snakebite who presented to the Ngwelezane Hospital Emergency Department from December 2008 to December 2013. Factors predictive of ATI and the optimal cut-off score for predicting an ATI were identified. These factors were then used to develop a standard scoring system.  The score was then tested prospectively for accuracy in a new validation cohort consisting of 100 patients admitted for snakebite to our unit from 1 December 2014 to 31 March 2015. Accuracy of the score was determined.

RESULTS
Of 879 snakebite admissions, 146 in the development cohort and 40 of 100 in the development validation cohort reached the primary endpoint of an ATI. Six risk predictors for ATI were identified from the development cohort: age <14 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.13), delay to admission >7 hours (OR 4.63), white cell count >10 × 109/L (OR 3.15), platelets <92 × 109/L (OR 2.35), haemoglobin <7.1 g/dL (OR 5.68), international normalised ratio >1.2 (OR 2.25).  Each risk predictor was assigned a score of 1; receiver operating characteristic curve analysis returned a value of >4 out of 6 as the optimal cut-off for prediction of an ATI (area under the curve 0.804; 95% confidence interval 0.758 - 0.84). Testing of the score on the validation cohort produced a specificity of 96.6% and a sensitivity of 22.5%. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 81.8% and 65.2%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Our results show that the identified score is a useful adjunct to clinical assessment in managing snakebite. Its value is greatest when used in those patients who fall in the mild to moderate clinical category. Until our severity score has been validated (or modified) for use across SA, we propose to name it the Zululand Severity Score; a true SA Severity Score may follow.


At the centre of the philosophical tradition of Armenia is a thinker who in the Western tradition carries the
Latin names 'David Armenius philosophus' or 'David invincibilis'. Today, international philosophical-historical research is
increasingly concerned with the enigmatic corpus of the works that have been handed down under the name of David. The
historical-critical exploration of early Armenian philosophy and its specific achievements, as well as its intense relationship to
late antique Byzantine thought, were, however, initiated by important scholars of Western Europe at the beginning of the 19th
century. Before this time, there were few reliable references to 'David' in Western European research literature. It was the
orientalist Carl Friedrich Neumann (1798–1870) who brought about the turnaround. He studied in Heidelberg with Creuzer and Hegel,
learned the Armenian language from the Mechitarists in Venice, and found inspiration in Paris. Then he examined the available
Armenian and Greek sources of the Corpus Davidis and collected his findings in a monograph in 1829. Neumann's deeply philosophical
mind is clearly revealed in this treatise, entitled Mémoire sur la vie et les ouvrages de David. With great certitude, he
traced down the pieces of information from David's writings, as well as from the related ancient Armenian sources, which had great
relevance for further research. These findings included communications on the biography of David and his own works, as well as on
Aristotle, late antique Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism. Almost inevitably, Neumann also fell victim to errors, which, however,
does not diminish his importance as a pioneer of research into late antique Armenian philosophy. Neumann put David on the map for
Western scholars, thus prompting a wider interest in the hitherto isolated Armenian philosophical thought for the first time.


Automatic reconstruction of fragmented objects is of great interest in archaeology, where artefacts are often found in a fractured state. In this paper, we focus on the problem of automatically agglomerating clusters of fragments from previously determined pairwise matches. Common to any automated cluster agglomeration technique is the challenge of error accumulation, making it increasingly difficult to discern false from true matches as the assembly grows. Many assembly algorithms therefore introduce a global relaxation phase to distribute alignment errors evenly across the cluster, minimising major inconsistencies. Nevertheless, error accumulation limits the problem size automated assembly systems can handle in practice. In this paper we show how two careful modifications of the traditional relaxation scheme help lift this limit considerably. In contrast to previous work, we integrate global relaxation earlier, in the search phase of the assembly process. In addition, we do not fix connections between assembled fragments, but rather leave them flexible throughout the assembly. By modifying two representative assembly algorithms, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. Using the example of a challenging fresco dataset, we show that these modifications achieve larger reconstruction sizes than traditional strategies.


The dairy sub-sector in Kenya accounts for 14% of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) and 3.5% of the national GDP. The sub-sector is mainly made up of small scale dairy farmers who are scattered in high and medium potential areas of the country (USAID report, 2008). These small scale farmers account for approximately 75% of the milk produced which is currently estimated to be more than four billion liters (FAO stat, 2011). Most of this milk is informally marketed and paid for based on quantity. Public health concerns have been raised on the quality of this milk and considering that consumers were found willing to pay more for improved milk safety and quality attributes, the safety and quality of the milk produced by small scale dairy farmers who are the predominant players in the dairy industry has to be guaranteed in order to enable them retain and access convectional markets. This study was conducted in Limuru and Eldoret to determine the quality of milk produced by small scale farmers and their perceptions on a quality based milk payment system.
The study design was cross sectional where 297 individual and 10 bulk milk samples were systematically sampled and 252 questionnaires administered at the household level for both study areas. Direct and indirect bacteriological analysis was done using the total count, coliform count, titratable acidity and resazurin tests. Compositional analysis was done by testing for the fat content, solids not fat (SNF), density, protein and added water using a milk analyzer (Lactoscan).
A questionnaire on farmer practices was administered at the household level to assess knowledge on milk hygiene aspects and perceptions on quality based milk payment system. The results
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obtained from the assessment of the bacteriological and compositional quality were judged against the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS) bench marks.
Of the milk samples collected in Limuru, 78% and 91% were of good quality based on total counts (≤ 2 million cfu/ml) and coliform counts (≤ 50,000 cfu/ml) respectively. From Eldoret, 78% and 92% of the milk samples were of good quality based on the same benchmarks for total and coliform counts, respectively. Analysis using the resazurin test indicated that 77% and 83% of the samples from Eldoret and Limuru respectively had readings ranging from 4-6 on the Lovibond comparator indicating that the milk was of good acceptable quality. Eighty percent of the samples from Limuru were found to have acidity levels within the acceptable range of 0.16±0.02 and therefore judged to be of good quality for the titratable acidity test.
The compositional analysis results from Limuru showed that the average pH was 6.63, fat 3.8%, density 1.027 g/ml, protein 3.1%, freezing point -0.541o C, added water 3.42% and solids not fat 8.2%. The average pH, fat and the freezing point were within the recommended ranges while the SNF, protein and density were below the recommended ranges. Added water was above the limit set indicating presence of adulteration.
The compositional analysis for Eldoret samples showed that the average pH was 6.64, fat was 4.28%, density was 1.028, protein was 3.64%, freezing point was -0.556, added water was 1.88% and solids not fat was 9.23%. The average pH, fat, density, protein and freezing point were within the recommended levels while added water was above the limit due to adulteration.
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A correlation analysis between the direct and indirect bacteriological tests showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the resazurin test and the total count(r = 0.70; p<0.05 and r =0.25; p<0.05) and coliform count (r = 0.55; p<0.05 and r =0.23; p<0.05) in both study areas.
Results from the questionnaire survey revealed that most farmers (84 % in Limuru and 98% in Eldoret) would accept a system of payment on quality provided there was appropriate incentive. Most farmers (82%) were also found to be adhering to recommended dairy hygiene practices such as washing the milk cans with hot water and soap. Regression analysis at a significance level of 5% showed that none of the independent variables investigated contributed significantly to the quality of the milk.
The overall milk quality from both study areas could be termed as acceptable based on the KeBS benchmarks. This could have been related to good dairy farmer practices that were observed such as hand washing, timely removal of manure, proper cleaning of milk cans and use of recommended bedding material. Continued application of these practices would help in improvement of the quality of milk and decrease losses due to rejected milk.
The study concludes that it is possible to introduce a system of milk payment on quality where the resazurin test can be introduced as a screening test for the bacteriological quality at the milk collection centre level. It is recommended that a pilot study be conducted to test the applicability of such a system


Selection, opportunity and learning have been proposed as possible mechanisms linking adolescents' offending to that of their peers. This study tests competing hypotheses derived from these theoretical accounts, focusing on the so far unresolved question of the context specificity of peer effects. I investigate whether offending behaviour by the peer group of adolescents shown in one context is related only to adolescents' own offending in the same context or also to offending in other contexts. Using data from the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime and applying random intercepts logistic regression models, I find evidence for context-specific peer effects of theft in different contexts. Peers' self-reported theft in any context is related to adolescents' self-reported theft in the same context but, with one exception, not to adolescents' theft in other contexts. These results support learning as an important mechanism explaining peer similarity in offending, possibly alongside opportunity, while contradicting selection as an alternative explanation. Theoretically, the article argues for complementing learning theories with situational theories of action to obtain a more comprehensive picture of what adolescents learn from their peer group.


As a supplement to traditional textbooks on research methods in organizational psychology and other social sciences, this book provides a series of outlines, discussion questions, and activities for classroom use. Because much real-world research is done in organizational contexts, survey applications are emphasized. The book is written from a Christian point of view, enabling and encouraging students to integrate biblical concepts concerning ethics and purpose into their research practices. This third edition incorporates changes in APA formatting based on the Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.


Urban canopy cover is important to mitigate the impact of climate change. Yet, existing quantification of urban greenery is either manual and not scalable, or use traditional computer vision methods that are inaccurate. We train deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) on datasets used for self-driving cars to estimate urban greenery instead, and find that our semantic segmentation and direct end-to-end estimation method are more accurate and scalable, reducing mean absolute error of estimating the Green View Index (GVI) metric from 10.1% to 4.67%. With the revised DCNN methods, the Treepedia project was able to scale and analyze canopy cover in 22 cities internationally, sparking interest and action in public policy and research fields.


Internet of Things (IoT) applications, systems and services are subject to law. We argue that for the IoT to develop lawfully, there must be technical mechanisms that allow the enforcement of specified policy, such that systems align with legal realities. The audit of policy enforcement must assist the apportionment of liability, demonstrate compliance with regulation, and indicate whether policy correctly captures legal responsibilities. As both systems and obligations evolve dynamically, this cycle must be continuously maintained. This poses a huge challenge given the global scale of the IoT vision. The IoT entails dynamically creating new services through managed and flexible data exchange. Data management is complex in this dynamic environment, given the need to both control and share information, often across federated domains of administration. We see middleware playing a key role in managing the IoT. Our vision is for a middleware-enforced, unified policy model that applies end-to-end, throughout the IoT. This is because policy cannot be bound to things, applications, or administrative domains, since functionality is the result of composition, with dynamically formed chains of data flows. We have investigated the use of Information Flow Control (IFC) to manage and audit data flows in cloud computing; a domain where trust can be well-founded, regulations are more mature and associated responsibilities clearer. We feel that IFC has great potential in the broader IoT context. However, the sheer scale and the dynamic, federated nature of the IoT pose a number of significant research challenges.


This article assesses the use of proscription powers as a tool for countering terrorism, using the United Kingdom as a case study. The article begins with a brief overview of the United Kingdom's current proscription regime. It then situates this in historical context, noting the significant recent increase in proscribed groups and the predominance of 'Islamist' organisations therein. The article then critiques proscription on four principal grounds. First, in terms of the challenges of identifying and designating proscribed groups. Second, we highlight the considerable domestic and transnational politicking that surrounds proscription decisions. Third, we assess the normative importance of protecting scope for political resistance and freedoms of expression and organisation. And, fourth, we question the efficacy of proscription as a counter-terrorism tool. The article concludes by arguing that proscription's place in contemporary security politics should be heavily safeguarded given these challenges, before pointing to specific policy recommendations to this end.


This paper presents a case study of how livestock policies are made and implemented in a national context, and how they can be improved to better serve the interests of the poor. The government estimates that nearly 85 percent of Burkinabe households rely upon livestock for some portion of their income. Furthermore, livestock accounts for approximately 25 percent of the country's exports. Socially, livestock provides a way for young adults to learn the responsibilities of adulthood, a method for family members to fulfill social obligations, and a means for women to support their families. Considering its social and economic significance, livestock must take center stage in efforts to improve Burkinabe livelihoods. The study used the key informant method supplemented with official documents, newspaper sources and recently published research on the livestock sector. Interviews helped reveal policymakers' concerns, whereas field trips allowed the researcher to talk to farmers and learn their perspectives from the bottom. Newspapers and published research analyzed various political, institutional and technical aspects of policymaking in the sector. The author highlights three potential constraints - weak livestock producer organizations, poor animal health service provision, and commercial weaknesses - on the potential contribution of the livestock sector to improving poor people's livelihoods and recommends strategic actions for overcoming each of them.


For the classes S andK of (normalized) univalent and convex analytic functions, respectively, a number of authors conjectured interesting extensions of certain known distortion inequalities in terms of a fractional derivative operator. While examining and investigating the validity of these conjectures, many subsequent works considered various generalizations of the distortion inequalities relevant to each of these conjectures. The main object of this paper is to give a direct proof of one of the known facts that these conjectures are false. Several further distortion inequalities involving fractional derivatives are also presented.


In this paper we introduce our haiku generator, which, in contrast to other systems, is not restricted to limited classic vocabulary sets and preserves a classic style without becoming too random and abstract because it performs a semantic integrity check using the Internet. Moreover, it is able to analyze blog entry input and, by using nouns and adjectives for web-mining, to stay on topic and still preserve kigo, traditional seasonal words used in Japanese poetry. The haiku generator utilizes grammar templates automatically generated from poems written by Japanese poets and a lexicon of 2,473 kigo words from an online haiku repository. In addition to generating haiku poems, it can output them vocally together with related sound effects and images retrieved from the WWW. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed system generates high-quality haikus and that using content-related input and multimedia-rich output is effective for increasing users' satisfaction. We have performed impression evaluation experiments and confirmed that our method is especially useful for generating haikus with higher depth and sound-sharpness, which are two very important categories in professional evaluation of Japanese poetry. Next, haikus generated using the proposed method were evaluated by blog authors and blog readers and again, the proposed method outperformed the baseline. We also measured how the presence or absence of multimedia output influenced the evaluation. While using both vocal output and an image achieved higher scores than text alone, there were cases in which some combinations of effects were evaluated higher than all the effects used together. With our original approach to generating poetry, we wish to show the importance of new media and possibilities that are arising from the utilization of the "wisdom of (web-)crowds" in order to achieve higher standards for AI-generated art.


This research investigated the potential of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) technology as an assistive teaching tool for construction safety and similar courses that require hands-on training. The most significant advantage of VR technology is creating real-life experiences without exposing the students to the dangers of a jobsite. Earlier studies recognized the need to develop customized VR content for construction safety courses that incorporates specific OSHA standards; hence, this study was conducted with a focus on this objective. After in-depth discussion with two construction firms, the research team identified three most needed areas for safety training namely confined space safety, scaffolding safety, and jobsite clean-up safety. A conceptual framework for VR content design, execution, and method of delivery was designed. Then a storyboard was created for each identified area to graphically depict the concept and workflow for the VR programing. Unity® gaming engine was used as the developing platform and VR modules were created for Oculus Go® head mounted display. Each module contained demonstration of the hazards and mitigation methods based on the OSHA standards. Questionnaire survey and SWOT analysis are used as tools to collect feedback and assessment data from undergraduate and graduate students and industry experts. The survey results indicate that the VR based safety education can play a positive role in improving students' understanding, knowledge retention, and interest in the subject matter. It can help construction firms to conduct enhanced safety training without the need for physical mockups. The paper explains the strategies and lessons learned as well as provides directions for future research.


More than 80 percent of the population in Ethiopia lives in rural areas and their main source of income is agriculture. Agriculture accounts for 45 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 85 percent of the labour force.Export of agricultural products constitutes 86 percent of the total foreign exchange earnings. The country has taken different measures to diversify and increase the contribution of the export sector to economic growth such as; export trade duty incentive scheme, export credit guarantee scheme and foreign exchange retention scheme to those wholly engaged in supplying their products to foreign markets. Despite the incentives taken by the country, the export sector has depended on a few agricultural products mainly coffee, oil seeds and pulses which are characterized by fluctuations in quantity, price and have low competitiveness on the world market. The objective of the study was to assess the trend and impact of agricultural (coffee, oilseed and pulses) exports on economic growth of Ethiopia over the last forty years by looking at: the existence of long run relationship between agricultural export and economic growth; the speed of adjustment in the long run and the existence of causality between the agricultural export and economic growth. The analysis was done using co-integration model, Error correction model and Granger causality model.The findings of the study showed that Coffee export and oilseeds export have a positive and significant relationship with economic growth. While, pulses export was found to have negative and insignificant effect on economic growth in short run and positive but insignificant in the long run. On the other hand the causality relationship found that there is bi-directional relationship between coffee export, oilseed export and economic growth whereas unidirectional relationship was found between pulses export and economic growth. Based on the findings, it is recommended that policies aimed at increasing the productivity and quality of these cash crops should be implemented. Also additional value should be added to them before exporting. Correspondingly, there is also a need to devote resources on the production of non-export goods in order to increase exports since they have bi-directional relationship. When this is done, it will lead to a higher rate of economic growth in Ethiopia.


If the fitness effects of amino acid mutations are conditional on genetic background, then mutations can have different effects depending on the sequential order in which they occur during evolutionary transitions in protein function. A key question concerns the fraction of possible mutational pathways connecting alternative functional states that involve transient reductions in fitness. Here we examine the functional effects of multiple amino acid substitutions that contributed to an evolutionary transition in the oxygenation properties of avian hemoglobin (Hb). The set of causative changes included mutations at intradimer interfaces of the Hb tetramer. Replacements at such sites may be especially likely to have epistatic effects on Hb function since residues at intersubunit interfaces are enmeshed in networks of salt bridges and hydrogen bonds between like and unlike subunits; mutational reconfigurations of these atomic contacts can affect allosteric transitions in quaternary structure and the propensity for tetramer–dimer dissociation. We used ancestral protein resurrection in conjunction with a combinatorial protein engineering approach to synthesize genotypes representing the complete set of mutational intermediates in all possible forward pathways that connect functionally distinct ancestral and descendent genotypes. The experiments revealed that 1/2 of all possible forward pathways included mutational intermediates with aberrant functional properties because particular combinations of mutations promoted tetramer–dimer dissociation. The subset of mutational pathways with unstable intermediates may be selectively inaccessible, representing evolutionary roads not taken. The experimental results also demonstrate how epistasis for particular functional properties of proteins may be mediated indirectly by mutational effects on quaternary structural stability.


The quantum holographic model described provides mathematically founded specifications in terms of physical laws for the nature of information, knowledge, qualia, intelligence, the self and consciousness. It explains how a brain/mind, its neurons, dendrites, synapses, etc may be postulated to work, so as to explain the well known binding problem. It sheds light on the fact that brains can be so much more versatile, competent, and efficient than their digital information processing counterparts, in relation to perception, cognition, language and intelligence. Further, it provides a methodology, by means of which to predict the information processing morphology and signal dynamics of such brains, i.e. their neuroinformatics on various scales, so as to be validatable against the experimental facts of neurophysiology, neuropsychology, etc. The paper begins with an explanation of general scientific principles and concepts associated with the model, and supporting evidence is described. It ends with a proposal by means of which it can be further experimentally validated. This proposal concerns predicting the existence and the properties of microtubules internal to the axon of the neuron. Such a prediction provides an independent confirmation of the long held, but still controversial hypothesis of Hameroff and Penrose, that such axonal microtubules are a quantum mechanism fundamental to consciousness in higher organisms, such as humans.


State estimation problems without absolute position measurements routinely arise in navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles,
autonomous ground vehicles, etc., whose proper operation relies on
accurate state estimates and reliable covariances.
Unaware of absolute positions, these problems have immanent unobservable directions.
Traditional causal estimators, however, usually gain spurious information
on the unobservable directions, leading to over-confident covariance inconsistent with actual estimator errors.
The consistency problem of fixed-lag smoothers (FLSs)
has only been attacked by the first estimate Jacobian (FEJ) technique because
of the complexity to analyze their observability property.
But the FEJ has several drawbacks hampering its wide adoption.
To ensure the consistency of a FLS, this paper introduces the right invariant
error formulation into the FLS framework. To our knowledge,
we are the first to analyze the observability of a FLS with the right invariant error.
Our main contributions are twofold.
As the first novelty, to bypass the complexity of analysis with the classic
observability matrix, we show that observability analysis of FLSs can be done equivalently on the linearized system.
Second, we prove that the inconsistency issue in the traditional FLS can be
elegantly solved by the right invariant error formulation without artificially correcting Jacobians.
By applying the proposed FLS to the monocular visual inertial
simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem,
we confirm that the method consistently
estimates covariance similarly to a batch smoother in simulation and that our method achieved comparable accuracy as traditional FLSs on real data.


Many geologic studies have inferred that the California continental margin in the vicinity of the western Mojave Desert was tectonically disrupted after emplacement of the Cretaceous Cordilleran batholith and prior to Neogene displacements on the San Andreas fault system. The causes of this regional deformation, however, are poorly understood. Located along the northern margin of this disrupted region at the southern end of the comparatively little deformed Sierra Nevada batholith, the eastern Tehachapi Mountains are ideally situated to study the possible mechanisms of this disruption. In view of this, the geology and structure of the eastern Tehachapi Mountains were investigated using geologic field mapping at scales of 1:6,000 through 1:24,000, detailed petrographic studies, and structural and kinematic analysis of deformation fabrics and structures in the field and in the lab. The study area is divided by a generally N trending shallowly SE dipping ductile-cataclastic fault zone called the Blackburn Canyon fault into the eastern Tehachapi gneiss complex in the footwall and the Oak Creek Pass complex in the hangingwall.

The eastern Tehachapi gneiss complex is composed of two different sequences of metasedimentary rocks that have been intruded by three generations of plutonic rocks. The Brite Valley group metasedimentary rocks consist largely of pelites and graphitic quartzite with subordinate marble. The Antelope Canyon group metasedimentary rocks consist of a lower section composed mostly of thinly laminated dirty quartzite overlain by an upper section of marble. The earliest intrusive rocks in the area (group I orthogneisses) are lithologically diverse and include granite augen gneiss, garnetiferous hornblende diorite gneiss, and hornblende biotite quartz diorite gneiss. Both groups of paragneiss and the group I orthogneisses are intruded by group II plutons of the Tehachapi Intrusive Complex. The Tehachapi Intrusive Complex is composed of comagmatic gabbro, quartz diorite, and tonalite and it is inferred to be continuous with the large ~100 Ma Bear Valley Springs tonalite pluton exposed to the west. The group III intrusives are small bodies and thin sheets of leucocratic biotite granite which intrude all of the other lithologies.

The rocks in the gneiss complex have had a complex deformational history. The metasedimentary rocks are folded into map-scale N to NW trending SW vergent isoclinal F1 folds. Later (?) intrusion of the group I orthogneisses was accompanied (?) and followed by amphibolite facies metamorphism and the localized formation of NE trending shallow plunging open to tight F2 folds. During (?) and after intrusion of the ~100 (?) Ma Tehachapi Intrusive Complex the gneiss complex was metamorphosed at amphibolite facies and deformed by map-scale open to tight NW trending SW vergent F3 folds. After much of the F3 folding the basement rocks in the Tehachapi Valley area appear to have been folded into a regional dextral-sense convex-west F4 oroclinal fold. In the later stages of F4 folding part of the southwest limb of the Tehachapi Valley orocline is inferred to have been transposed into a NW trending shallow NE dipping noncoaxial ductile shear zone called the eastern Tehachapi shear zone. The shear zone has a structural thickness of ~1 km, top to the S-SW shear sense, and most shearing appears to have occurred during greenschist facies retrograde metamorphism. The shear zone appears to continue to the north across Tehachapi Valley where it is inferred to merge with the steeply E dipping dextral-slip proto-Kern Canyon fault. Motion on the shear zone is inferred to have ended at about the time when the Late Cretaceous (?) group III leucogranites intruded. Following shear zone activity rocks in the gneiss complex locally were folded in gentle NE trending subhorizontal F5 folds. Late top to the NE shearing in the upper structural levels of the gneiss complex suggests that a normal fault may be concealed beneath the alluvium of Tehachapi Valley.

The lithologies and deformation history of the Oak Creek Pass complex are very different from the eastern Tehachapi gneiss complex. The Oak Creek Pass complex is composed mostly of granodioritic plutonic rocks (group IV intrusives) which commonly are cataclastically deformed and metamorphosed at greenschist and lower grade. Arkosic sandstones and conglomerates of the Late Cretaceous (?)-Eocene (?) Witnet Formation locally are unconformable above the granodiorite. Emplacement of the Oak Creek Pass complex above the eastern Tehachapi gneiss complex along the Blackburn Canyon fault took place after most of the activity along the eastern Tehachapi shear zone. Shear sense along the Blackburn Canyon fault is top to the S or SE. The Oak Creek Pass complex is divided into a number of structural plates by low-angle (?) ductile-cataclastic fault zones one of which is the NE trending Mendiburu Canyon fault. Synclinal F6 folding of the Witnet Formation and NW vergent overthrusting of the Witnet Formation by granitic rocks along the Mendiburu Canyon fault are interpreted to postdate motion along the Blackburn Canyon fault. Deformation of the Witnet Formation is inferred to be pre-Miocene in age based on correlation with a similar deformation across Tehachapi Valley.

The Brite Valley group metasedimentary rocks are suggested to correlate with the western facies of the Triassic-Jurassic age Kings sequence and the Antelope Canyon group rocks may correlate with the eastern facies of the Kings sequence or possibly with Late Proterozoic-Cambrian age rocks of the miogeocline. Juxtaposition of the two groups of metasedimentary rocks may have been along a cryptic structure that was active prior to intrusion of some of the group I plutons which are inferred to be mid-Cretaceous in age. Formation of the NE trending F2 folds between ~117 Ma and ~100 Ma is suggested to have resulted from the local reorientation of the regional stress field in the vicinity of a weak strike-slip (?) fault such that the direction of maximum compressive stress during the deformation was oriented subparralel to the trend of the Sierra Nevada batholith. The F3 folds, F4 folds, and the eastern Tehachapi shear zone are interpreted to have formed more or less sequentially during a protracted period of contractional deformation in the middle to lower crust of the southern Sierra Nevada batholith from ~100 Ma to ~80 Ma. Top to the S-SW motion along the shear zone may reflect the and underthrusting of Rand schist beneath the batholith at lower structural levels during low-angle Laramide subduction.

The Blackburn Canyon fault and a number of other previously identified low-angle faults in the southern Sierra Nevada region are suggested to be extensional faults along which part of the southern Sierra Nevada batholith was unroofed. The source region for the out of place Oak Creek Pass complex and other inferred allochthonous rocks is suggested to be the area in the Sierra Nevada east of the proto-Kern Canyon fault and south of South Fork Valley. Exposures of Witnet Formation may be the remnants of a synextensional sedimentary deposit that accumulated in a supradetachment basin. This inferred extensional exhumation of the southeastern Sierra Nevada may have begun as early as ~85-90 Ma and ended at ~80 Ma or later based on data from previous studies in the region. Thus, contractional deformation in the middle crust of the southern Sierra Nevada region may have been coeval with upper crustal extensional deformation in Late Cretaceous time.

Correlation of the Cretaceous structural histories of the eastern Tehachapi gneiss complex and the northern Salinian block in the Coast Ranges of central California supports previous suggestions that the two areas may have evolved in close proximity to one another. The relative westward offset of the Salinian block from the Sierra Nevada prior to the Neogene may in part be the result of Late Cretaceous-early Cenozoic (?) westward extrusion of wedges of middle to lower crust bounded by thrust faults below and E dipping extensional faults above in a manner analogous to recent models for deformation in the Himalayas. The upper plate rocks of the Blackburn Canyon fault appear to be rotated about 90° clockwise relative to their inferred source region and the F4 folds in the Tehachapi area appear to have dextral vergence. The vergence of the folding and the sense of rotation both are consistent with Late Cretaceous dextral-oblique convergence indicated by plate motion models and with the presence of Late Cretaceous synbatholithic dextral transpressional and strike-slip shear zones in the Sierra Nevada to the north.


Dynamics of a semiconductor laser subject to moderate optical feedback operating in the low-frequency fluctuation regime is numerically investigated. Multimode Lang-Kobayashi (LK) equations show that the low-frequency intensity dropout including the total intensity and sub-modes intensity is accompanied by sudden dropout simultaneously, which is in good agreement with experimental observation. The power fluctuation is quite annoying in practical applications, therefore it becomes important to study the mechanism of power fluctuation. It is also shown that many factors, such as spontaneous emission noise and feedback parameter, may influence power fluctuation larger than previously expected.


Land use and climate changes both affect terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we used three combinations of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Representative Concentration Pathways (SSP1xRCP26, SSP3xRCP60, and SSP5xRCP85) as input to three dynamic global vegetation models to assess the impacts and associated uncertainty on several ecosystem functions: terrestrial carbon storage and fluxes, evapotranspiration, surface albedo, and runoff. We also performed sensitivity simulations in which we kept either land use or climate (including atmospheric CO2) constant from year 2015 on to calculate the isolated land use versus climate effects. By the 2080–2099 period, carbon storage increases by up to 87 ± 47 Gt (SSP1xRCP26) compared to present day, with large spatial variance across scenarios and models. Most of the carbon uptake is attributed to drivers beyond future land use and climate change, particularly the lagged effects of historic environmental changes. Future climate change typically increases carbon stocks in vegetation but not soils, while future land use change causes carbon losses, even for net agricultural abandonment (SSP1xRCP26). Evapotranspiration changes are highly variable across scenarios, and models do not agree on the magnitude or even sign of change of the individual effects. A calculated decrease in January and July surface albedo (up to −0.021 ± 0.007 and −0.004 ± 0.004 for SSP5xRCP85) and increase in runoff (+67 ± 6 mm/year) is largely driven by climate change. Overall, our results show that future land use and climate change will both have substantial impacts on ecosystem functioning. However, future changes can often not be fully explained by these two drivers and legacy effects have to be considered.


Abstract Short sleep duration has been shown to be associated with elevated body mass index (BMI) in many epidemiological studies. Several pathways could link sleep deprivation to weight gain and obesity, including increased food intake, decreased energy expenditure, and changes in levels of appetite-regulating hormones, such as leptin and ghrelin. A relatively new factor that is contributing to sleep deprivation is the use of multimedia (e.g. television viewing, computer, and internet), which may aggravate sedentary behavior and increase caloric intake. In addition, shift-work, long working hours, and increased time commuting to and from work have also been hypothesized to favor weight gain and obesity-related metabolic disorders, because of their strong link to shorter sleep times. This article reviews the epidemiological, biological, and behavioral evidence linking sleep debt and obesity.


This title includes three beloved novels by Edith Wharton, in a couture-inspired Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition designed by a fashion illustrator for Alexander McQueen. This edition celebrates the 150th anniversary of Edith Wharton's birth in 2012. "The House of Mirth": Nineteen year old Lily Bart is in need of a rich husband to safeguard her place in the social elite. Unwilling to marry without both love and money, Lily becomes vulnerable to gossip. Wharton charts the course of Lily's life, providing a wider picture of a society in transition; a changing New York where old manners, morals and family attitudes are being replaced by the view that an individual is an expendable commodity. "The Custom of the Country": Mr and Mrs Spragg are hoping to forge an entree into society and arrange a suitably ambitious match for their only daughter. Wharton's story of Undine Spragg affords us a detailed glimpse of the interior decor of upper-class America and its nouveau riche. Through a heroine who is as vain and spoiled as she is fascinating, Wharton conveys a vision of social behaviour that is both informed and disenchanted. "The Age of Innocence": When the Countess Ellen Olenska flees Europe and her brutish husband, her rebellious independence stirs the educated sensitivity of Newland Archer, already engaged to the Countess' cousin May Welland. As the drama unfolds, Edith Wharton's sharp ironic wit and Jamesian mastery of form create a disturbingly accurate picture of men and women caught in a society that denies humanity while desperately defending "civilisation".


Parachutes are used to recover atmospheric measuring instruments and they are mainly made from polyamide 6-6 woven fabric. The objective is to identify modifications of mechanical and physicochemical properties of parachute along his lifespan. For this study, a decommissioned parachute has been characterized and compared to a non-used fabric. Results analysis showed a degradation of mechanical properties (tensile strength and tear) and a greater intake of moisture which alter the flight behavior. This is believed to be caused by the change in crystallinity content. The global fabric analysis showed that storage conditions have a significant impact on degradation.


Understanding the political economic drivers of energy planning in the Brazilian Amazon is critical since the forest is increasingly vulnerable to destruction and related, increased poverty. This research investigates how political economy affects biomass and hydroelectricity development in that region. It focuses on political economy as characterized by: 1) the needs and agenda of local communities, 2) economic interests and politics at the national level, and 3) international social actors and financial interests.Findings advance our understanding of the political economy of renewable energy by first, focusing on a critical global resource, and second, by implementing a multi-scalar framework that also considers impacts and drivers of climate change.


The historical eruptive activity at Colima Volcano has been characterized by Strombolian and Merapi type eruptions and Vulcanian explosions associated with dome growth, which have ended in a Plinian eruption about every 100 years. The situation now prevailing at Colima Volcano is similar to that which preceded these explosive eruptions, when a dome fills the crater. This study proposes seven scenarios for the ash-fall from a Plinian eruption, based on historical eruptive activity, isopach thickness from the 1913 Plinian eruption, land use, socioeconomic data, and a 15-year statistical wind study realized with daily radiosonde data grouped according to four altitudinal levels: 4,000-9,000 (I); 9,000-14,000 (II); 14,000-17,000 (III) and 17,000-28,000 (IV) m a.s.l., based on common wind speeds and directions. We have integrated the wind distribution at level IV and estimated the ash dispersion for a Plinian eruption. From January to March, the main impact would be towards the northeast, in April and in October, towards the east, in May, towards the north-northeast or north-northwest, from June to August, towards the northwest, in September, towards the west, and in November and December, towards the west-southwest. The fallout would damage the coniferous forests of the Colima National Park, two lagoons and three lakes. More than 30 million people living in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Leon and Colima would suffer eye, respiratory and skin problems. The proximal areas, such as Ciudad Guzman, would be subject to roof collapsing and communication problems. The agricultural and livestock sectors would suffer severe financial losses. The Queseria sugar mill, the Atenquique paper mill, and the cement plants in Zapotiltic would halt work due to chimney obstruction and machinery abrasion. Four thermoelectric plants, twenty airports and four commercial ports would be affected if the eruption occurs in summer.


Time goes rapidly and competition is getting tougher. It demands employees to give high performance in order to exceed work standard determined by the company. work system innovation in banking companies provide stimuli for employees both from basic employees to management level to always be active in and have advantages in understanding the job desk. Extra ordinary behavior, which is usually called. Organizational Citizenship Behavior, is expected to change mindset where employees do not only master one ability, but several abilities or skills beyond their job description. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of Distributive and Procedural Justice on OCB through Job satisfaction. This research is descriptive and verivicative analysis. Descriptive research was conducted to obtain a description of Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice, Job satisfaction, and OCB. While verivicative research is done to know the relationship between variables through the calculation - statistical calculation. The method used is survey method. While the sampling technique is Saturated / Census Samples with 65 respondents. Data analysis in this study using the analysis of PLS (Partial Least Square) and found that the Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice has a significant influence on Job Satisfaction that impact on OCB. There are several researchers who have researched OCB from a human resource point of view. Contribution of this research is to help managers to formulate strategies and policy implementation related to the proper management of Human Resources And create new Human Resources with all the best ability to play an extra role in doing the job.


The conservative government that came to power in Sweden in 2006 has initiated major market-oriented reforms in the health sector. Its first health care policy bill changed the health legislation to make it possible to sell/transfer public hospitals to commercial providers while maintaining public funding. Far-reaching market-oriented primary health care reforms are also initiated, for example in Stockholm County. They are typically presented as "free choice models" in which "the money follows the patient." The actual and likely effects of these reforms in terms of access and quality of care are discussed in this article. One main finding is that existing social inequities in geographic access to care not only are reinforced but also become very difficult to change by democratic political decisions. Furthermore, dynamic market forces will gradually reduce the quality of care in low-income areas while both access and quality of care will be even better in high-income areas. Public funds are thus transferred from people living in low-income areas to people living in high-income areas, even though the need for good health services is much greater in the low-income areas. Certain policy options for reversing the inverse law of care are also presented.


Over last 40 years, the video games have experienced a quick speed in their development and they have already become one of the most popular life styles of the modern entertainment. Therefore, video game platforms as distributors of video games have enjoyed a great risk these years. China with the world largest population which dedicate to a huge market where there are unlimited profits for those video game platform companies to enter into. This dissertation is mainly aiming to using entry strategy planning theory to explain and explore the entry strategies for game platform companies to enter into Chinese market. Firstly, it explored the reasons for game platform companies to enter into China and the Chinese environment for international video game platforms. Secondly, it has discussed the strategies international video game platform companies have planned according to the literature reviewed and analysis. Thirdly, it generated the recommendations for the new international video game platform companies who want to enter into China.


Abstract The Regime of Visible, in the form of a pocket map, introduces two ways of exploring Cannerberg, a small hill situated between Maastricht, the Netherlands, and Kanne, Belgium. One side of the map traces the ownership of land by mapping cadaster parcels and their corresponding buildings and underground tunnel structures. The other side traces varied sources from the history and geology of Caestert plateau with a focus on Cannerberg. From Neolithic times, continuous mining of flint nodules and later limestone created a complex network of underground tunnels around Maastricht, popularly called "the caves." Flint nodules were used to make tools and weapons, and to build fire. For centuries, up until industrialization, limestone was extracted by hand and used in building infrastructure in the Limburg province. By the time of industrialization, underground mining in Cannerberg had already been exhausted. The maze of underground corridors left behind was regularly used by local farmers until WWII, when German troops re-purposed Cannerberg into a storage and assembly facility for V-1 rockets. A few years after WWII, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) rented out the same "cave" and used it as the headquarters for war operations during the Cold War. In 1992 the NATO headquarters shut down. The same year, the Treaty of the European Union was ratified in Maastricht, its twelve signatures memorialized in Cannerberg's "cave." The Regime of Visible collapses the narratives of property and history through the superposition of Cannerberg's storylines. The Regime of Visible is part of long-term research on the Caestert plateau history, and it functions as an introductory work to "Portrait of the Mountain," an upcoming video essay.


Public Opinion Formation in Convergence Culture: As an external advisor to the Democracy Unit at the Ministry of Integration and Equality I have a general interest in e-democracy and is continuously updated/participate in discussions especially in the Swedish context. My own research work currently revolves around public opinion formation in convergence culture. Increasing digitalisation and globalisation transform society in many different ways. One of the most interesting changes is the new form of accessibility to the public sphere. Mass media has traditionally acted as gatekeepers concerning which issues to put on the agenda and how they should be framed. This is challenged when media become more global and digital. When more people publish themselves and their concerns on the Internet, mass media, citizens and organizations find them selves navigating in a new symbolic environment with a radically different architecture. This environment, where new and old media collide, constitute what Jenkins (2004, 2006) defines as Convergence Culture. This is characterised by the coming together of separate phenomena (Silverstone 2007: 20), such as for example news site audiences participating in the content and context production of news (Domingo et al. 2008; Greer & Mensing 2006), and the meeting of organised journalism and social media through linking practices on the Internet. How important are these new arena for public opinion formation? How is public opinion moulded here, and how do these arena intersect with old media practices on old media arenas? Traditionally researchers within journalism focus on media, public relations on organisations, audience researchers on users as recipients of information, and within citizenship studies the focus is on the possibilities of exercising rights and duties. All these traditions have observed the influence of Internet and its possibilities, but done so within their own research traditions. However, each of these mentioned traditions are unsatisfactory for understanding the opinion moulding process today in convergence society, where mass media, social media, organizations and citizenship practices coincide and function together.


Viral infections are known to hijack the transcription and translation of the host cell. However, the extent to which viral proteins coordinate these perturbations remains unclear. Here we used a model system, the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and systematically analyzed the transcriptome and interactome of key effectors oncoviral proteins Tax and HBZ. We showed that Tax and HBZ target distinct but also common transcription factors. Unexpectedly, we also uncovered a large set of interactions with RNA-binding proteins, including the U2 auxiliary factor large subunit (U2AF2), a key cellular regulator of pre-mRNA splicing. We discovered that Tax and HBZ perturb the splicing landscape by altering cassette exons in opposing manners, with Tax inducing exon inclusion while HBZ induces exon exclusion. Among Tax- and HBZ-dependent splicing changes, we identify events that are also altered in Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) samples from two independent patient cohorts, and in well-known cancer census genes. Our interactome mapping approach, applicable to other viral oncogenes, has identified spliceosome perturbation as a novel mechanism coordinated by Tax and HBZ to reprogram the transcriptome.


Clinical features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) as an unstable and dysregulated control over behavior, emotion, and cognition as well as clinical descriptions of temporary disturbances of perception and cognition led to the question of neuropsychological deficits. Although neuropsychological investigations of BPD did not provide a consistent constellation of findings, some evidence is available for a non-domain-specific impairment in multiple domains of memory, attention, visuo-spatial abilities and executive functioning (Fertuck et al., 2006). The clinical features of BPD and neuropsychological findings have been repeatedly discussed as reflecting prefrontal and temporo-limbic dysfunctions. Neuroimaging research provides support for alterations within these brain areas with respect to structure and function (Schmahl & Bremner, 2006). Although often reported neuropsychological outcomes have been repeatedly interpreted as reflecting prefrontal and temporo-limbic brain dysfunctions, these interpretations have to be preliminary since little is known about neurophysiological correlates of basic neuropsychological functions in BPD. With regard to the current state of research, it was considered that further neuropsychological research could benefit by considering three major principles: (i) The investigation of basic neuropsychological functions by the use of brain imaging methods, (ii) the inclusion of neuropsychological tasks with regard to emotional relevant stimuli and affect-laden processing, and (iii) the use of neuropsychological test that consider everyday demands. With regard to these considerations, the studies presented in this thesis aimed at the comprehensive investigation of verbal memory functioning in BPD.
The first study examined the neural correlates of verbal memory retrieval in BPD compared with non-psychiatric control subjects. Some prior neuropsychological findings argued for verbal memory malfunctioning in BPD. Furthermore, brain-imaging findings support alterations in prefrontal and limbic brain areas of BPD patients. Since these brain areas have been suggested to be crucial in both, episodic (memory for events and the surrounding context) and semantic memory (memory for facts / knowledge) retrieval (Cabeza & Nyberg, 2000; Markowitsch, 2005), these brain alterations may indicate general deteriorations in memory-related brain circuits. In an fMRI experiment, regional blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals were assessed during two experimental conditions of interest (episodic retrieval: 24-hour delayed recall of a wordlist; semantic retrieval: completing a lexical fluency task) and a low level baseline (listening to MRI noise) in 18 female right-handed BPD patients and 18 non-psychiatric control subjects matched with respect to sex, age, and education. It was hypothesized that BPD patients would show increased regional BOLD responses in prefrontal and limbic brain areas during both memory retrieval conditions. Although BPD patients and control subjects showed comparable performances in verbal episodic and semantic retrieval, important group differences in regional brain activation became evident. During the retrieval of episodic information, BPD patients showed patterns of increased task-specific regional BOLD responses as compared to controls in the posterior cingulate cortex (BA 23, 31) bilaterally, in the left middle (BA 21) and superior temporal (BA 22) gyri, in the right inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45) and in the right angular gyrus (BA 39). Further, control subjects compared with BPD patients did not show areas with increased BOLD responses. During the retrieval of semantic information, BPD patients as compared with control subjects showed areas of task-specific BOLD responses with respect to the right posterior cingulate cortex (BA 31), right fusiform gyrus (BA 37), left postcentral gyrus (BA 1,2,3) and the left anterior cingulate cortex (BA 24). Again, no areas of increased task-specific BOLD responses of control subjects compared with BPD patients could be found. Despite similar neuropsychological performances of BPD patients and control subjects in episodic and semantic memory tasks the day prior to scanning, the BPD patients showed, as hypothesized, patterns of increased brain activation. However, against the hypotheses, increased regional brain activation was not only evident in prefrontal and limbic brain areas but included further parietal areas. The increased regional brain suggests that BPD patients need to recruit additional cortical resources in order to successfully retrieve information. Thus, increased activation of BPD patients during retrieval might serve as compensation ("cognitive reserve capacity") to perform on a high level comparable to controls. Therefore, increased activation might indicate additional networks for adequate retrieval needed by BPD patients, i.e. increased effort, attention, working memory, or emotional control. However, it has to be noted that the results of the brain imaging study are limited to female patients with BPD since no male were included.
Study II examined the neuropsychology of verbal memory functioning in BPD. Most neuropsychological tests used neutral stimulus material to analyze verbal memory functioning whereas everyday requirements often include a variety of emotional relevant stimuli. Further, only few studies used verbal working memory tasks, which demand the control, and inhibition of interference as required in everyday demands. Limited evidence is available suggesting that BPD patients might show a reduced inhibition of emotionally relevant interference during memory tasks (Korfine & Hooley, 2000). For a closer investigation of the impact of interference on memory performance of BPD patients, a verbal learning/interference task was developed (Beblo, Mensebach et al., 2006). This task includes besides a learning condition without interference, conditions which utilize the presentation of additional stimuli of neutral and negative valence for interference purposes. With respect to the verbal/learning interference task, an interaction effect of learning condition (without interference, neutral valenced interference, negative valenced interference) and group (BPD patients, control subjects) on memory performance was expected. BPD patients were expected to show a decreased memory performance compared with control subjects if learning includes the control and inhibition of emotional negative interference, whereas their memory performance was expected to be comparable with control subjects regarding the learning conditions with neutral valenced interference and without interference. Besides the experimental verbal learning/interference task additional standard verbal memory tests covering verbal working memory, delayed memory and semantic memory were applied to control for possible impairment of the BPD patients with regard to standard conditions. 32 (21 females, 11 male) patients with BPD and 35 (23 females, 12 males) non-psychiatric control subjects matched with respect to sex, age, and intelligence took part. The results showed the hypothesized constellation of findings. Whereas memory performance of BPD patients were comparable with the control subjects regarding the learning conditions without interference and with neutral interference, BPD patients showed a significant decrease of memory performance as compared to control subjects in the condition with interference of negative valence. No group differences were found in the further neuropsychological tests, which were applied covering verbal working, delayed and semantic memory performance. These results suggest no general impairment of verbal memory functions in BPD. However, BPD may be characterized by a selective impairment of interference control and inhibition in BPD regarding emotional negative stimuli during learning.
The investigation of memory functioning with brain imaging method as well the inclusion of conditions, which require interference control and inhibition, can be characterized as helpful in the understanding of neuropsychological functions in BPD. The present findings may lead to the conclusion that verbal memory functioning is less severe than once thought. Furthermore, the efforts of the present studies made an important contribution to a more concrete determination of possible mechanisms that are impaired during the processing of memory tasks in BPD.
In sum, the present studies yielded three major findings: Verbal memory dysfunctions of BPD patients may be less severe impaired than once thought. The use of standard neuropsychological tests suggested no general impaired verbal memory functioning in BPD. However, BPD patients may use additional brain resources during the retrieval of verbal memory contents to perform on a level comparable to control subjects. Further, BPD patients show a reduced control for interference and inhibition during learning. More specifically, the reduced interference control and inhibition during verbal learning was restricted to emotionally relevant stimuli.


Neural networks are prone to adversarial attacks. In general, such attacks deteriorate the quality of the input by either slightly modifying most of its pixels, or by occluding it with a patch. In this paper, we propose a method that keeps the image unchanged and only adds an adversarial framing on the border of the image. We show empirically that our method is able to successfully attack state-of-theart methods on both image and video classification problems. Notably, the proposed method results in a universal attack which is very fast at test time. Source code can be found at github.com/zajaczajac/adv_framing.


Milestones in sparse signal reconstruction and compressive sensing can be understood in a probabilistic Bayesian context, fusing underdetermined measurements with knowledge about low-level signal properties in the posterior distribution, which is maximized for point estimation. We review recent progress to advance beyond this setting. If the posterior is used as a distribution to be integrated over instead of merely an optimization criterion, sparse estimators with better properties may be obtained, and applications beyond point reconstruction from fixed data can be served. We describe novel variational relaxations of Bayesian integration, characterized as well as posterior maximization, which can be solved robustly for very large models by algorithms unifying convex reconstruction and Bayesian graphical model technology. They excel in difficult real-world imaging problems where posterior maximization performance is often unsatisfactory.


Purpose: The Dukes stage is used to stratify colorectal cancer patients into groups of different prognosis and need of adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, ∼80% of patients with Dukes stage C colorectal cancer receive cytotoxic therapy without any expected benefit, for such patients would either not relapse without adjuvant therapy or they would inevitably do so because of tumor resistance to the available regimens. On the other hand, as 20% of Dukes stage B patients would relapse after surgery, adjuvant therapy could improve their survival. Improvement of the Dukes stage predictive accuracy is necessary to better assign patients for adjuvant therapies, especially nowadays when antiangiogenic agents are being incorporated in the clinical practice. Patients and Methods: In this study, we examined the prognostic role of Dukes staging system in parallel with three vasculature-related variables (vascular invasion, tumor angiogenic activity, and vascular survival ability) in a series of 130 stage B/C patients with colorectal cancer treated with surgery alone (without adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy). Results: Inclusion of vasculature-related variables in the Dukes staging system significantly improved the prognostic categorization of patients, identifying subgroups of B-stage and C-stage patients with an up to 40% and 60% 5-year survival difference, respectively. Conclusions: Preliminary results show that the prognostic value of Dukes staging system is significantly improved after taking into account vasculature-related variables, which may be useful in stratifying patients for adjuvant therapies, highlighting also subgroups that may benefit the most from antiangiogenic agents.


Solomon the elephant's life is about to be upturned. For two years he has been in Lisbon, brought from the Portuguese colonies in India. Now King Dom Joao III wishes to make him a wedding gift for the Hapsburg archduke, Maximilian. It's a nice idea, since it avoids the Portuguese king offending his Lutheran cousin with an overtly Catholic present. But it means the poor pachyderm must travel from Lisbon to Vienna on foot - the only option when transporting a large animal such a long way. So begins a journey that will take the stalwart Solomon across the dusty plains of Castile, over the sea to Genoa and up to northern Italy where, like Hannibal's elephants before him, he must cross the snowy Alps. Accompanying him is his quiet keeper, Subhro, who watches while - at every place they stop - people try to turn Solomon into something he is not. From worker of holy miracles to umbrella stand, the unassuming elephant suffers the many attempts of humans to impose meaning on what they don't understand. Saramago's latest novel is an enchanting mix of fact (an Indian elephant really did make this journey in 1551), fable and fantasy. Filled with wonderful landscapes and local colour, peppered with witty reflection on human failings and achievements, it is, in the end, about the journey of life itself.


Research suggests non-experts associate different content with the terms "global warming" and "climate change." We test this claim with Twitter content using supervised learning software to categorize tweets by topic and explore differences between content using "global warming" and "climate change" between 1 January 2012 and 31 March 2014. Twitter data were combined with temperature records to observe the extent to which temperature was associated with Twitter discussions. We then used two case studies to examine the relationship between extreme temperature events and Twitter content. Our findings underscore the importance of considering climate change communication on social media. Abstract


88 IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE ∕ J U N E 2 0 1 9 n this issue, our community addressed advantageous, and disadvantageous, utilization of capacity in society. We assessed constraints that limit capacity. We addressed underutilization of capacity. We explored the potential for adjustments to throughput, with the hopes of improving capacity. As populations increase, the volume of man and materials increases [1]. Demand can exceed capacity. This is evidenced when cars (with increased capacity) encroach on pedestrian spaces and thereby reduce people flow on sidewalks. Capacity becomes constrained. As our colleagues debated the usability [2] and sustainability [3] of driverless cars and/or railway systems, we contemplate such societal constraints to capacity as traffic congestion, and aging infrastructure. We identify underutilized capacity; automobiles designed to transport multiple people, are often utilized by only one. We pondered the impact of autonomous vehicles on human capacity, if wasted driving time is converted into hands-free work productivity. Authors also showed us how to advance capacity sustainably across cities through more strategic organization and management of mobility as-a-service (MaaS). Our colleagues also explored nudging, dynamic consent, cyber arms, and predictive policing. We were exposed to flaws in the non-physical throughput of information processing. We wrestle with nudging; information flow is manipulated. With dynamic consent, we feel the benefit of removing unnecessary constraints through real-time consent, yet also the risks associated with circumventing necessary regulatory countermeasures. We recognize constraints caused by expanding gaps and ambiguity in the legal environment relative to cyber arms. We were also cautioned to better design throughput with an Ethics of Care approach to better understand computational techniques of predictive policing, so as to avoid underlying bias in the data relative to certain populations. In the battle against cancer, authors presented comprehensive methodology to reduce such capacity constraints as time-consuming and resource-demanding computations for more effective personalized cancer treatments. Their incremental approach to capacity management when processing data is methodology likely to make the difference between life and death. Everyday life requires movement up, down, and across capacity in our world [1]. Our community came together brilliantly, taking into account this movement in both the physical and non-physical spheres. Our community assessed well the utilization of technology, to help society better align capacity to demand.


The Computer together with the LABVIEW software can be used as automatic data acquisition system. The electronic balance with RS232 port is used for measuring the force exerted by the magnetic field strength. Knowledge of how to use DAQ PCI 6025E card combined with opto isolator chip RS307-064 are useful to amplifier 5V TTL signal from computer to 12V and make two stepper motors works with a step resolution of 0.08 mm and 0.009mm respectively. This project deals with the development of a computer interfacing technique for the study of magnetic forces of superconductor and permanent magnet, using the above system, which has been developed. It consists of two parts: the setting up of that automated experimental rig uses computer, together with the LABVIEW software, the electronic balance and the stepper motor and finally measuring the levitation force for the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2-xCdxCu3O10 system (where x=0.00(pure), x=0.02, x=0.05, x=0.07 and x=0.1) and magnetic forces for NdFeB permanent magnet. Graph of magnetic force as a function of distance were obtained. The magnetic force between two permanent magnets, NdFeB of different shapes and configurations were also studied. The Interactive LABVIEW Programming were developed so as to enable the calculation of either the repulsive or attractive forces between two cylindrical permanent magnets and the data are compared with the results obtained via experiment. Hysteresis loop were obtained for superconductor system, however it was not observed in the permanent magnet system. This phenomenon occurred in superconductor because it allows partial flux penetration in the vortex state, which are absents in the permanent magnet system. Magnetic forces for two permanent magnets obey the inverse square law of the distance between the two magnets, however it failed to describe the variation of levitation force as a function of distance for all superconductor samples. It was observed that the levitation force displayed exponential behavior, . The system that has been developed can be used as an affective teaching aid as it incorporates the interactive component.

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The Uvs Nuur Basin (1,068,853 ha), is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, important for migrating birds, waterfowl and seabirds. The site is made up of twelve protected areas representing the major biomes of eastern Eurasia. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds and the desert is home to a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled polecat. The mountains are an important refuge for the globally endangered snow leopard, mountain sheep (argali) and the Asiatic ibex. © UNESCO


There is only one of two possibilities: (i) either dark matter exists or dark matter does not exist. We consider one single conjecture, valid in both cases. If it doesn't exist, then huge quantum electromagnetic interactions might account for the galaxy rotation curve. If it exists, then there might be a "dark charge" associated with dark matter. The dark charge would then be governed by an alternative "dark electromagnetic" theory, which can be totally independent or perhaps a generalization of the ordinary electromagnetism. This proposal is highly speculative and it needs both mathematical and experimental further investigation in order to be proved or disproved.


Historically, nursing education has recognized that writing enhances critical thinking, the basis of the clinical reasoning process. The online learning recently adopted by Nursing involves considerable writing, which may enhance critical thinking more than face-to-face courses. In the study reported here, the critical thinking and writing experiences of 34 registered nurses in an online course at an Ontario university were considered from several perspectives: perception of writing competence; demonstration of levels and kinds of critical thinking; and demonstration of writing competence. Although the participants' perceptions of their writing competence increased significantly, these results were not reflected in their levels of writing competence when compared to that of younger nurse-learners and students in an Arts course at the university. The study did not demonstrate that online writing results in different levels of critical thinking; it did, however, suggest a connection between and among online writing, different kinds of critical thinking, and assignment design.


Constitutional pragmatism is under-theorized and frequently misconceived. Most constitutional interpretation discussions focus on originalism or some form of "living constitutionalism." The irony is that the U.S. Supreme Court's failure to adopt any single foundational constitutional theory makes pragmatism the best descriptive characterization of the Court, as Mark Tushnet has suggested. Yet, Judge Posner, Daniel Farber, and Justice Breyer certainly do not agree on what pragmatism means. This symposium paper illuminates this poor step-child in constitutional theory by providing a typology of a dozen strands of constitutional pragmatism. The paper looks at U.S. Supreme Court cases and some historical events to support this framework. For example, certain types of constitutional pragmatism do not rule out the use of fundamental moral principles in constitutional interpretation, nor are these approaches all about consequences. The paper also shows how the U.S. Revolution, and some other successful constitutional revolutions, required surprisingly pragmatic influences.


We present an experimental study of the two-dimensional S=1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet Cu(pz)(2)(ClO4)(2) (pz denotes pyrazine-C4H4N2) using specific-heat measurements, neutron diffraction, and cold-neutron spectroscopy. The magnetic field dependence of the magnetic ordering temperature was determined from specific-heat measurements for fields perpendicular and parallel to the square-lattice planes, showing identical field-temperature phase diagrams. This suggest that spin anisotropies in Cu(pz)(2)(ClO4)(2) are small. The ordered antiferromagnetic structure is a collinear arrangement with the magnetic moments along either the crystallographic b or c axis. The estimated ordered magnetic moment at zero field is m(0)=0.47 (5)mu(B) and thus much smaller than the available single-ion magnetic moment. This is evidence for strong quantum fluctuations in the ordered magnetic phase of Cu(pz)(2)(ClO4)(2). Magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the square-lattice planes lead to an increase in the antiferromagnetically ordered moment to m(0)=0.93 (5)mu(B) at mu H-0= 13.5 T evidence that magnetic fields quench quantum fluctuations. Neutron spectroscopy reveals the presence of a gapped spin excitations at the antiferromagnetic zone center and it can be explained with a slightly anisotropic nearest-neighbor exchange coupling described by J(xy)(1)= 1.563 (13) meV and J(z)(1) = 0.9979(2)J(1)(xy).


Fractal models for the soil water retention curve have largely ignored hysteresis. Such models generally require that all pores be connected to the atmosphere via a network of similar‐sized or larger pores. In random mass fractals and natural porous media, however, not all pores of a given size class empty during drainage due to incomplete pore connectivity and/or the presence of surrounding smaller pores. A modification of Rieu and Sposito's (1991a) prefractal water retention equation is proposed to accommodate this hysteresis during monotonic drying. The resulting expression is identical in form to the empirical Brooks and Corey (1964) model and contains three physically‐based parameters: the proportion of nondraining pores (Pd), the scale factor (b), and the apparent fractal dimension of the primary drainage curve (Dd), which is related to the underlying mass fractal dimension (D) of the porous medium by Dd = D + [log(Pd)]/[log(b)]. Model testing consisted of fitting the modified equation to previously published water retention data for 30 randomized Sierpinski carpets and seven soils. Error sums of squares ranged from 0.001 to 0.093 for the carpets, and from 0.015 to 0.047 for the soils. In contrast, the unmodified Rieu and Sposito (1991a) equation performed very poorly. Best fit estimates of Dd ranged from 0.295… to 1.640… for the two‐dimensional carpets, and from 2.467… to 2.902… for the three‐dimensional soils. Prediction of D, based on estimates of Dd derived from the primary drainage curve, will require additional research on how to obtain Pd and b. Based on the analytical approach outlined here, it should also be possible to model the primary wetting curve, thus providing a more complete fractal description of soil water hysteresis.


The Gulf of Taranto in southern Italy provides an excellent case where, it is possible to document the importance of normal faults in displacing terraced deposits. The study area is located at the front of the southern Apennines, that is a fold-and-thrust belt developed following the closure of the Mesozoic Tethys Ocean, and the deformation of the Adriatic passive margin during Tertiary and Quaternary times. The outer, eastern parts of the belt were structured in recent, i.e. up to Middle Pleistocene times. The front of the chain is partially sealed by Pliocene-Pleistocene foredeep deposits, which represent the infill of the Bradanic trough. The upper portion of the middle Pleistocene succession consists of marine sands and conglomerates that in the previous literature have been arranged in several orders of terraces. Analysis of aerial photographs and geomorphological mapping has shown the occurrence of prominent geomorphic lineaments, which appear to control the local drainage pattern. Some of these structures coincide with the map trace of normal faults that produce vertical offsets of the marine terrace surfaces in the order of ca. 10 m each. Most of the fault escarpments can be traced for up to 3-4 kilometres, and laterally reduce their elevation and terminate. Scarp height is comprised between 2 and 10 meters, although some faults are locally observed to produce displacements up to 50 m. Their mean trend ranges from ENE-WSW to N-S and defines an arcuate pattern that mimics the present coastline. An accurate geomorphological, sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis has been carried out in a selected area of the Bradanic trough (Pisticci transect) to investigate in detail the relationships between normal faults and the development of the terraces. This analysis allowed 5 facies associations to be recognised, related to the upper and lower beachface and to the neritic clays which represent the substratum of the terraces. More importantly, we observed that all the terraced deposits in the Pisticci transect could be referred to a single sedimentary body displaced by faults. The terraced deposits are related to an event of beach progradation, of Middle Pleistocene age, which has been documented in other areas of the Italian peninsula. These results outline an intimate relationship between the arcuate trend of the recognised fault set and the present coastline pattern. The development of the normal faults can be related to large-scale gravitational processes developed after the general tilting of the Bradanic trough towards the SE. The development of normal faults could be related to gravity tectonics connected to a shallow-dipping detachment horizon. These large-scale movements involve the southern part of the Bradanic trough. They appear related to a gravitational collapse towards the SE of the continental escarpment generated by the general tilting of the Bradanic trough. In addition, and more important, the recognition of recent extensional faulting and tectonic instability in the Taranto Gulf has a relevant implication for a matter of social security. In November 2003, the area of Scanzano Ionico was proposed as a site for nuclear waste deposit. The discovery of recent extensional faults undermine the generalised assumption of a long-lasting tectonic quiescence in the Taranto Gulf, and suggests that the entire investigated area may not be suitable for nuclear waste storage.