Asian/Pacific Islander American Women is the first collection devoted to the historical study of A/PI women's diverse experiences in America. Covering a broad terrain from pre-large scale Asian emigration and Hawaii in its pre-Western contact period to the continental United States, the Philippines, and Guam at the end of the twentieth century, the text views women as historical subjects actively negotiating complex hierarchies of power. The volume presents new findings about a range of groups, including recent immigrants to the U.S. and understudied communities. Comprised of original new work, it includes chapters on women who are Cambodian, Chamorro, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Native Hawaiian, South Asian, and Vietnamese Americans. It addresses a wide range of women's experiences-as immigrants, military brides, refugees, American born, lesbians, workers, mothers, beauty contestants, and community activists. There are also pieces on historiography and methodology, and bibliographic and video documentary resources. This groundbreaking anthology is an important addition to the scholarship in Asian/Pacific American studies, ethnic studies, American studies, women's studies, and U.S. history, and is a valuable resource for scholars and students. Contributors include: Xiaolan Bao, Sucheng Chan, Catherine Ceniza Choy, Vivian Loyola Dames, Jennifer Gee, Madhulika S. Khandelwal, Lili M. Kim, Nancy In Kyung Kim, Erika Lee, Shirley Jennifer Lim, Valerie Matsumoto, Sucheta Mazumdar, Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor, Trinity A. Ordona, Rhacel Salazar Parrenas, Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman, Charlene Tung, Kathleen Uno, Linda Trinh Vo, Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Ji-Yeon Yuh, and Judy Yung.


Pre-mRNA splicing is an essential process in eukaryotic cells where the transcribed intronic sequences are removed, prior to translation into protein. PRPF31 is a ubiquitously expressed splicing factor, which aids in the assembly of the macromolecular spliceosome. Mutations in PRPF31 cause autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP), a form of retinal degeneration that causes progressive visual impairment. Interestingly, mutations in PRPF31 are non-penetrant, with some mutation carriers being phenotypically unaffected. In this review, the gene organisation, protein structure and biological function of PRPF31 are discussed, and the mechanisms of non-penetrance in PRPF31-associated adRP are discussed.


Arachis pintoi / grass mixtures: an alternative for sustainable land use in livestock systems. Arachis pintoi is a tropical legume adapted to medium/low fertility acid soils, grows well at elevations between 0 to 1800 m.a.s.l, prefers rainfall ranging from 2000 to 3500 mm, distribuited at least in 8 months. A. pintoi is shade tolerant, compatible with many grasses, and has several morphological and physiological mechanisms which allow it to persist, even under intense defoliation. Due to its high nutritional value and ability to fix athmospheric N2, A. pintoi not only contributes to improve diet quality in grass/legume mixtures, but also to increase growth rate and CP content of the associated grass. Moreover, in this type of pastures nutrient cycling efficiency is enhanced, and many physycal, fertility and biological soil parameters associated to sustainability tend to be improved. Animal production parameters obtained for grass/A. pintoi mixtures are promising. Criollo x Jersey crossbred cows fed only Arachis / african stargrass pastures, managed with a stocking rate (SR) of 2.4 cows- /ha produced 10.8 kg milk/day, whereas the corresponding milk yield for african stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis) pastures, fertilized with 100 kg N/ha/ year was only 9.5 kg/ day. Regarding to beef production, the highest yields (937 kg LWG/ha/year) were obtained in the humid tropics, when A. pintoi/B. brizantha pastures were managed with a SR of 6.0 steers/ha.


In this study the authors examined Internet-mediated qualitative data collection methods among a sample of children with chronic health conditions. Specifically, focus groups via Internet technology were contrasted to traditional face-to-face focus groups. Internet focus groups consisted of asynchronous text-based chat rooms lasting a total of one week in duration. Participants comprised 23 children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or cystic fibrosis, who were assigned to either an Internet or face-to-face focus group. Focus group analysis and follow-up participant interviews identified a range of content outcomes and processes as well as participant experiences and preferences. Findings yielded differences in terms of the volume and nature of online and face-to-face data, and participants' affinity to focus group modality appeared to reflect differences in participant expectations for social engagement and interaction. This study identifies both benefits and limitations of asynchronous, text-based online focus groups. Implications and recommendations are discussed.


White light interferometry is a time consuming operation even on modern architectures. To overcome the high power consumption and size of traditional desktop computers an embedded approach containing the hybrid architecture Zynq will be presented. This architecture contains a dual core ARM and programmable logic provided by an FPGA. FPGAs offer massively parallel logic gates and DSP-slices to parallelise certain tasks. Another important part is the internal memory BRAM. The presented approach aims to speedup calculation time of the ARM processor by utilization of this BRAM. It is well known that memory transfers consume a lot of time. To speed the transfers up, the bottlenecks have to be identified. In this paper it will be illustrated how to easily access an FPGA BRAM from a running operating system and the possible speedup will be analysed and estimated.


Introduction Incorporation of branch vessels into intracranial aneurysms represents a potential limitation to endovascular treatment, since these arteries may supply eloquent brain territory. While neck remodeling with balloons and stents have allowed treatment of complex anatomic configurations, incorporated small perforators may not be as reliably protected with these techniques. In such cases, surgical clipping may be a better alternative to maintain branch vessel patency while allowing obliteration of the fundus. Clinical consequences of perforator vessel occlusion during endovascular or open surgery are often unpredictable. Possible outcomes range from no symptoms to devastating neurologic deficits. Pharmacologic functional testing has been widely utilized to assess operative risks for brain/spinal cord vascular malformations and epilepsy but limited data are available on superselective testing for aneurysm treatment. Objective We report a case where intra-aneurysmal functional testing allowed successful endovascular treatment of a previously clipped, recurrent proximal middle cerebral aneurysm that incorporated a large lateral lenticulostriate artery into the fundus. Our goal is to discuss endovascular technique and possible clinical symptoms resulting from perforator occlusion. We also review cerebrovascular functional testing for intracranial aneurysms. Methods A standard microcatheter was used to access the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm under minimal conscious sedation. Functional testing was completed by slowly injecting sodium amobarbital into the aneurysm fundus and incorporated lenticulostriate vessel. Serial neurologic examinations identified no new deficits and we proceeded with endovascular coiling. For comparison and review, we searched the current literature via standard online resources for functional testing of intracranial aneurysms and perforating artery occlusive syndromes. Results Successful coiling of the MCA aneurysm was performed after unremarkable intra-aneurysmal testing. Complete obliteration of the aneurysm was achieved. A small infarct was seen on follow-up CT at the right caudate head but the patient developed no associated neurologic deficit. He was discharged home the next day and remains asymptomatic. If symptomatic, lenticulostriate occlusions may result in hemiparesis, sensory deficit, speech changes, confusion, neglect and seizure. There are published cases of supraselective testing before parent vessel occlusion for distal intracranial aneurysms but no reports describe targeted intra-aneurysmal testing of an incorporated perforator. Conclusion We report a unique case of successful superselective pharmacologic testing of a lenticulostriate vessel originating directly from an intracranial aneurysm. Microcatheter directed intra-aneurysmal functional testing reliably predicted an asymptomatic small basal ganglia infarct, allowing safe endovascular treatment in our patient. This procedure should be considered for complex intracranial aneurysms with uncertain treatment outcome due to perforator vessels arising from the fundus.Abstract E-026 Figure 1


Neuromorphic and brain-based robotics have enormous potential for furthering our understanding of the brain. By embodying models of the brain on robotic platforms, researchers can investigate the roots of biological intelligence and work towards the development of truly intelligent machines. This book provides a broad introduction to this groundbreaking area for researchers from a wide range of fields, from engineering to neuroscience. Case studies explore how robots are being used in current research, including a whisker system that allows a robot to sense its environment and neurally inspired navigation systems that show impressive mapping results. Looking to the future, several chapters consider the development of cognitive, or even conscious robots that display the adaptability and intelligence of biological organisms. Finally, the ethical implications of intelligent robots are explored, from morality and Asimov's three laws to the question of whether robots have rights.


We examine the impacts of alternative cap-and-trade allowance allocation designs in a model of the US economy where price-regulated electric utilities generate 30 percent of total CO2 emissions. Our empirical model embeds a generator-level description of electricity production—comprising all 16,891 electricity generators in the contiguous US—in a multiregion multi-sector general equilibrium framework that features regulated monopolies and imperfectly competitive wholesale electricity markets. The model recognizes the considerable heterogeneity among households incorporating all 15,588 households from the Consumer and Expenditure Survey as individual agents in the model. Depending on the stringency of the policy, we find that distributing emission permits freely to regulated utilities increases the welfare cost of the policy by 40-80 percent relative to an auction if electricity rates do not reflect the opportunity costs of permits. Despite an implicit subsidy to electricity prices, efficiency costs are disproportionately borne by households in the lowest income deciles.


Over 1,600 genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in the Populus trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray) genome were identified based on sequence homology, annotated, and grouped into families of glycosyltransferases, glycoside hydrolases, carbohydrate esterases, polysaccharide lyases, and expansins. Poplar (Populus spp.) had approximately 1.6 times more CAZyme genes than Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Whereas most families were proportionally increased, xylan and pectin-related families were underrepresented and the GT1 family of secondary metabolite-glycosylating enzymes was overrepresented in poplar. CAZyme gene expression in poplar was analyzed using a collection of 100,000 expressed sequence tags from 17 different tissues and compared to microarray data for poplar and Arabidopsis. Expression of genes involved in pectin and hemicellulose metabolism was detected in all tissues, indicating a constant maintenance of transcripts encoding enzymes remodeling the cell wall matrix. The most abundant transcripts encoded sucrose synthases that were specifically expressed in wood-forming tissues along with cellulose synthase and homologs of KORRIGAN and ELP1. Woody tissues were the richest source of various other CAZyme transcripts, demonstrating the importance of this group of enzymes for xylogenesis. In contrast, there was little expression of genes related to starch metabolism during wood formation, consistent with the preferential flux of carbon to cell wall biosynthesis. Seasonally dormant meristems of poplar showed a high prevalence of transcripts related to starch metabolism and surprisingly retained transcripts of some cell wall synthesis enzymes. The data showed profound changes in CAZyme transcriptomes in different poplar tissues and pointed to some key differences in CAZyme genes and their regulation between herbaceous and woody plants.


The pathology of multiple sclerosis is located in the central nervous system, therefore cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an attractive biofluid for biomarker research for proteins related to the early stages of this disease. In this study, the CSF proteome of patients with a clinically isolated syndrome of demyelination (CIS, a first attack of multiple sclerosis) is compared to the CSF proteome of control patients to identify differentially abundant proteins. CSF samples of 47 CIS patients and 45 control subjects are enzymatically digested and subsequently measured by LC‐MS/MS (LTQ‐Orbitrap). Following mass spectrometry differential abundances of the identified proteins between groups are investigated. A total of 3159 peptides are identified, relating to 485 proteins. One protein is significantly more abundant in CSF of CIS patients than in controls: Ig kappa chain C region. In contrast, 35 proteins are significantly lower in CIS patients than controls, most of them with functions in nervous system development and function, such as amyloid‐like protein 1 (validated by ELISA in an independent sample set (p < 0.01)), contactin 1, contactin 2 and neuronal cell adhesion molecule. A remarkably lower abundance of neuro‐axonal proteins is observed in patients with a first demyelinating event compared to controls.


We report a case of 72-year-old woman who was hospitalized with vaginal bleeding and abdominal pain. Magnetic resonance imaging showed tumor both in endometrial cavity and ovaries with multiple distant metastasis. Her serum alpha-fetoprotein level was >54000 ng/mL. Total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, total omentectomy, appendectomy, bilateral pelvic and paraaortic lymph node dissection, a 20 cm ileal resection with ileal anastomosis, metastasectomy were performed and peritoneal washing was obtained. The pathologic diagnosis was endometrial hepatoid adenocarcinoma. Because of her poor medical condition, she received only palliative chemotherapy. After two days of 5-fluorouracil she died within 2 months. Hepatoid adenocarcinomas are extrahepatic neoplasms that exhibit features of hepatocellular carcinoma. It was first reported as gastric neoplasm but is seen in many different organs and its frequency is increasing. To date only 11 cases of hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the endometrium were reported. It has a poor prognosis and there isn't an effective treatment yet.


We have studied nonaxisymmetric standing accretion shock instabilities, or SASI, using three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical simulations. This is an extension of our previous study of axisymmetric SASI. We have prepared a spherically symmetric and steady accretion flow through a standing shock wave onto a proto-neutron star, taking into account a realistic equation of state and neutrino heating and cooling. This unperturbed model is meant to represent approximately the typical postbounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. We then added a small perturbation (~1%) to the radial velocity and computed the ensuing evolutions. Both axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric perturbations have been imposed. We have applied mode analysis to the nonspherical deformation of the shock surface, using spherical harmonics. We have found that (1) the growth rates of SASI are degenerate with respect to the azimuthal index m of the spherical harmonics Ylm, just as expected for a spherically symmetric background; (2) nonlinear mode couplings produce only m = 0 modes for axisymmetric perturbations, whereas m≠ 0 modes are also generated in the nonaxisymmetric cases, according to the selection rule for quadratic couplings; (3) the nonlinear saturation level of each mode is lower in general for 3D than for 2D, because a larger number of modes contribute to turbulence in 3D; (4) low-l modes are dominant in the nonlinear phase; (5) equipartition is nearly established among different m modes in the nonlinear phase; (6) spectra with respect to l obey power laws with a slope slightly steeper for 3D; and (7) although these features are common to the models with and without a shock revival at the end of the simulation, the dominance of low- l modes is more remarkable in the models with a shock revival.


The objective of the research presented in this dissertation is to detect misbehavior in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) and to identify the responsible attackers or faulty nodes in order to exclude them from active network participation. Vehicles and roadside units use wireless ad hoc communication in VANETs to increase traffic safety and efficiency by exchanging cooperative awareness information and event-based messages. Considering both presence and status of vehicles moving in a defined range drivers can be notified instantly about upcoming potentially dangerous situations such as a sudden braking action of a vehicle driving in front or the tail end of a traffic jam ahead. VANET nodes frequently broadcast mobility-related information (i.e. absolute values for position, time, heading, and speed) within a communication range of several hundred meters to establish a cooperative awareness of single-hop neighbors. Due to the ad hoc communication between network nodes traffic safety applications become feasible that have low latency requirements.

The protection against external attackers in VANETs is provided by applying cryptographic methods. Only registered nodes of the VANET are equipped with valid keys that are certified by a trusted certificate authority. Internal attackers who possess appropriate hardware, software, and valid certificates must be considered as a dangerous threat. Attackers who either extract valid keys and certificates from a communication unit or install a malware on VANET devices on board of vehicles or on roadside units are able to send bogus messages that are accepted by unsuspecting vehicles. We demonstrate that the processing of fake information may affect the safety and efficiency of the overall traffic in the attackers' single or multi-hop communication range.

Most existing solutions in the context of misbehavior detection in VANETs are based on data-centric plausibility and consistency checks. We propose in this dissertation new methods and frameworks to evaluate the behavior of VANET nodes based on cooperatively exchanged location-related information. Most existing solutions are only tested within simulations. In contrast we analyzed the applicability of misbehavior detection in VANETs under real conditions. Long-term experiments in outdoor field operational tests and dedicated trials with test vehicles revealed new insights with respect to misbehavior detection and attacker identification which are presented in this dissertation. Based on this knowledge a novel strategy has been developed that consists of three main contributions: local misbehavior detection, local short-term identification of potential attackers, and central long-term identification of attackers.

The concept for local misbehavior detection on VANET nodes is based on different information sources such as received packets or sensor measurements to perform data consistency and data plausibility checks. In case of detected inconsistencies or implausible movement characteristics the suspicious node is observed and its trustworthiness is locally evaluated.

The contributions for local short-term identification of potential attackers consider explicitly the frequent change of neighbor node identifiers as stipulated by European standards and international industrial regulations. Based on test results gained from a large field operational test a concept for the local misbehavior evaluation of neighbor nodes is proposed. The resulting node trustworthiness is further used to generate misbehavior reports that are transmitted to a central evaluation authority. Consequently, the central authority is informed about suspicious nodes and hence potential attackers of the VANET.

The third main contribution is the processing of misbehavior reports for central long-term identification of attackers. If sufficient evidence is reported by a significant number of independent VANET nodes the central misbehavior evaluation authority is authorized to request information whether different pseudonymous IDs contained in related misbehavior reports belong to the same suspicious node. This process is supported by the central certificate authorities which ensure the consideration of drivers' privacy while processing critical information. After the assessment of the reported suspects the central misbehavior evaluation authority is able to identify the attacker and exclude his or her from active participation in any VANET communication.

Based on the knowledge gained from our practical experiments with test vehicles we developed an effective concept to enable the secure and reliable long-term operation of VANETs. Attackers and faulty nodes can reactively be excluded from the network after independent network nodes have locally detected their misbehavior and a central authority has identified the offenders. This approach is more effective in terms of long-term attacker exclusion and minimization of false-positive detections compared to related approaches that are only deployed on VANET nodes. Consequently, the proposed concept will help to minimize the motivation of potential attackers to aim on VANETs. Due to the detection of abnormal node behavior even novel attack methods that may emerge in the future should be effectively counteracted by applying these concepts.


Abstract. The global carbon cycle is an important component of the Earth system and it interacts with the hydrology, energy and nutrient cycles as well as ecosystem dynamics. A better understanding of the global carbon cycle is required for improved projections of climate change including corresponding changes in water and food resources and for the verification of measures to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. An improved understanding of the carbon cycle can be achieved by data assimilation systems, which integrate observations relevant to the carbon cycle into coupled carbon, water, energy and nutrient models. Hence, the ingredients for such systems are a carbon cycle model, an algorithm for the assimilation and systematic and well error-characterised observations relevant to the carbon cycle. Relevant observations for assimilation include various in situ measurements in the atmosphere (e.g. concentrations of CO2 and other gases) and on land (e.g. fluxes of carbon water and energy, carbon stocks) as well as remote sensing observations (e.g. atmospheric composition, vegetation and surface properties). We briefly review the different existing data assimilation techniques and contrast them to model benchmarking and evaluation efforts (which also rely on observations). A common requirement for all assimilation techniques is a full description of the observational data properties. Uncertainty estimates of the observations are as important as the observations themselves because they similarly determine the outcome of such assimilation systems. Hence, this article reviews the requirements of data assimilation systems on observations and provides a non-exhaustive overview of current observations and their uncertainties for use in terrestrial carbon cycle data assimilation. We report on progress since the review of model-data synthesis in terrestrial carbon observations by Raupach et al.(2005), emphasising the rapid advance in relevant space-based observations.


This paper presents a methodology for the synthesis of multi-degree of freedom mechanisms using genetic algorithms. A Five-Bar mechanism is a 2-DOF system which requires two inputs to fully describe the output motion. In a hybrid mechanism, one of these inputs is supplied by a constant velocity (CV) motor and one is supplied by a programmable servo motor. Such configurations can have considerable savings in power consumption, when the armature inertia of the servo motor is low when compared to the load inertia. In the presented synthesis of such mechanisms the two inputs required are provided by the CV input and the desired position of the end effector. The genetic algorithm is used to search for the optimum link lengths and ground point positions to minimise a multi-criteria objective function. The criteria which contribute to the objective function value are the error between the actual path of the end effector and the desired path, the mobility of the mechanism, and the RMS value of the servo motor displacements.


Summary Widespread coral reef decline, including decline in reef fish populations upon which many coastal human populations depend, have led to phase-shifts from the coral-dominated systems, found desirable by humans, to algal-dominated systems that provide less ecosystem services, and the loss of functionally important species. Marine resource managers are challenged with providing strategies that can mitigate or prevent such phase shifts and losses and promote the sustainable use of marine resources. Additionally, managers need to take into account the impacts of these strategies on the socioeconomic conditions of the many resource users. To respond to these challenges scientists, managers and policy makers have advocated for an ecosystem-based approach instead of the traditional focus on individual (economically important) species. Ecosystem-based management includes the various dynamic processes that influence an ecosystem, such as hydrology, ecology, biogeochemistry, and human activities. The management strategy evaluation (MSE) tool commonly used in single species stock assessments for evaluating socioeconomic and ecological tradeoffs of alternative management strategies, has now become more widely applied in multi-species or ecosystem assessments. Ecosystem modelling can include more of the key dynamic processes that drive ecosystems and by using that in an MSE framework provides a better understanding of the socio-ecological consequences of management options and quantifies these tradeoffs. In this thesis, I review the use of minimal, intermediate and complex coral reef ecosystem models for their suitability of MSE applications. I conclude that complex models can integrate the myriad dynamic processes that govern coral reef ecosystems and are most suitable for MSE, but that minimal and intermediate models are needed to provide the relationships relevant to these dynamics. The main objective of this thesis was to develop a complex model and quantify the effects of watershed management and fishery regulations on coral reef ecosystem services against a backdrop of climate change impacts. For this model development, I selected the Atlantis ecosystem model framework and applied it to a case study of the coral reef ecosystems around Guam to evaluate the performance of alternative management strategies against identified ecosystem metrics. Following the step-wise approach recommended for Integrated Ecosystem Assessments, I started with a workshop involving local stakeholders (including resource managers and other coral reef users) to identify the (1) overarching goal of coral reef management, (2) ecological indicators of reef status, and (3) socioeconomic indicators of reef users. Using an Ecopath model I identified additional ecosystem indicators of fishing impacts that could also be used as performance metrics in the ecosystem modelling of alternative strategies. Published relationships for key coral reef dynamics were used to apply the Atlantis framework to coral reef ecosystems. I then developed and parameterized the Guam Atlantis model including 42 functional species groups and the system impacts of eutrophication, sedimentation, fishing and ocean warming and acidification. I validated the model simulations of no local or global stressors, a 'control run', following common guidelines for Atlantis development and I validated the added dynamics with published and empirical data or with expert judgement. Due to the absence of time series, model skill assessment was difficult but I could compare biomass of included fish groups after a 1985–2015 simulation with observational data in 2011. These results showed that the model is biased and overestimates various fish groups. However, because the origin of the bias is unknown, rectifying the bias at this point was not possible. Despite this, based on the model validations I concluded that the model was 'scenario ready' and suitable for use as a basis of relative comparisons of management strategies, allowing for evaluations to be conducted in an internally consistent context. I applied the model to evaluate the relative performance of management strategies against a set of criteria based on the overall goals identified by local resource managers. These included: (1) improved water quality, (2) increased reef resilience, (3) enhanced fish biomass, and (4) similar or improved fishery landings. Comparing tradeoffs across the selected scenarios showed that each scenario performed 'best' for at least one of the performance indicators. The integrated 'full regulation' scenario (size and bag limits, marine preserves and no land-based sources of pollution) outperformed other scenarios with two thirds of the performance metrics approaching the criteria at the cost of reef-fish landings. When the effects of climate change were taken into account, the selected scenarios performed fairly equally, but none could prevent a collapse in coral biomass by mid-century under a business-as-usual greenhouse gas emission scenario. To get a better understanding of how these same management scenarios influence the economically important tourism sector and the socially important reef-fishing sector, I coupled the Guam Atlantis model to two human behavior models, one representing divers and the other fishers. Ecosystem modelling also allows for the comparison of cumulative impacts. Assessments of individual and cumulative impacts of three stressors to reef ecosystems: land-based sources of pollution, fishing and climate change, showed that, to-date, fishing has had the most negative influence on ecosystem metrics that represent reef status, resilience and functioning, and climate change will have the most negative effect in the future most noticeably on the benthic community structure. Cumulative simulations generally showed that the actual effect was slightly less than could be expected based on the sum of their individual effects, keeping in mind that the actual effect size was negative. With this model now developed, it provides a tool for assessing and quantifying a range of questions in support for EBM for coral reef ecosystems.


A configuration point consists of the position and orientation of a rigid body which are fully described by the position of the frame's origin and the orientation of its axes, relative to the reference frame. We describe an algorithm to robustly predict futuristic configurations of a moving target in a time-varying environment. We use the Kalman filter for tracking and motion prediction purposes because it is a very effective and useful estimator. It implements a predictor-corrector type estimator that is optimal in the sense that it minimizes the estimated error covariance. The target motion is unconstrained. The proposed algorithm may be viewed as a seed for a range of applications, one of which is robot motion planning in a time-changing environment. A significant feature of the proposed algorithm (when compared to similar ones) is its ability to embark the prediction process from the first time step; no need to wait for few time steps as in the autoregressive-based systems. Simulation results supports our claims and demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model.


The aim of this document is to provide an extended description and application guide of methods belonging to the so-called Numerical Electromagnetic Analysis (NEA) applied to the calculation of electromagnetic transients in power systems. As known, the accurate computation of electromagnetic transients is a fundamental requirement of several studies in the area of power systems. Lightning and switching studies are, for instance, typical subjects where the accuracy of transient's computation has a direct influence to the proper sizing of components like insulators and breakers. Traditional approaches adopted since now were based on the combination of circuit and transmission lines theories. These approaches, analytically and numerically validated by numerous contributions to the literature, rely on specific assumptions that are inherently relaxed by NEA methods. Indeed, NEA methods mostly rely on the numerical solution of the full-wave Maxwell's equations and, in this respect, the assessment of their accuracy, as well as the description of the various numerical methodologies, have motivated the preparation of this Technical Brochure. In this context, this guide will first discuss the general aspects and limitations associated to classical circuit and transmission lines theories. In particular, the guide will make reference to the modelling approaches used to represent the most typical power system components, like transmission lines, grounding systems, towers etc., within EMTP-like simulation tools (Electromagnetic Transient Program). A first comparison with the most typical NEA methods is presented in order to discuss the main differences and better support the contents of this guide. Then, the guide focuses on the analytical formulation of the most used NEA methods like, the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD), the Transmission Line Matrix 'TLM', the Finite-Element Method in Time Domain (FEMTD), the Method of Moment (MoM) and the Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) method. A further remark refers to the comparative analysis of NEA vs EMTP-like simulation approaches. Such an assessment, addressed in this document in various sections, aims at stressing the advantages and drawbacks of both methods. Indeed, NEA methods, although characterized, in general, by better accuracies, result into non-negligible computation times that require the availability of specific computation environments. Such a characteristic is due to the inherent numerical complexity of NEA solvers that require the treatment of large amount of data that, additionally, have an influence on the results accuracy. To this end, the last part of the guide refers to the benchmarking of the various NEA methods by means of typical test cases. In this respect, the members of the Cigre WG C4.501 agreed to include a specific section of the brochure aimed at providing the NEA-computed electromagnetic transients with reference to the most typical test cases like: (i) lightning surge calculation in substations, (ii) influence of grounding on lightning surge calculation in substations, (iii) surge voltages on overhead lines, (iv) lightning-induced surges on distribution lines, (v) LEMP and induced surges calculation in overhead lines above a lossy ground and (vi) simulations of very fast transients (VTFs) in GIS. Additionally, as NEA methods represent power tools for the computation of parameters of power systems components, the guide has also provided benchmarking examples for the following assessments: (a.) surge characteristics of transmission towers, (b.) surge characteristics of grounding electrodes, vertical grounding rods, horizontal grounding electrode and complex grounding configurations, (c.) influence of grounding on surge propagation in overhead transmission lines, (d.) propagation characteristics of PLC signals along power coaxial cables, (e.) lightning surge characteristics of wind-turbine towers.


Fourier- and Hartley-related transforms are realized in a family of interferometers. The implementation of these interferometers as image correlators is investigated theoretically and experimentally with both coherent and spatially incoherent illumination. Several correlators that can be used for pattern recognition are studied and demonstrated experimentally as special cases.


INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it examines the approach to foreign aid being used in South Sudan, which reflects the new thinking in providing assistance to post-conflict countries. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) adopted the extensive empirical work by Collier, Hoeffler, and Soderbom (1) in its policy and program guide to economic growth in post-conflict countries. (2) Second, by building upon this new approach the paper suggests how foreign aid can mitigate the risk of violent conflict recurring in the newly independent South Sudan. It explores strategies for growth and development by encouraging the private sector to take the lead in addressing key impediments to business development, trade, and investment. It concludes with some observations of future challenges for South Sudan. (3) Sixty years of development experience demonstrate there are multiple paths to growth and development, all of which have records of success or failure under certain circumstances. From the 1950s through the early 1980s, foreign aid emphasized overcoming market failures through active government interventions and balanced growth, with focus shifting to the basic needs and redistribution with growth approaches of the 1970s. (4) Reaction to failed and excessive government interventions led to critical scrutiny and comparison between market and government failures. Critics pointed to the pervasive government failures in addressing basic needs and redistribution without growth, most notably in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Yet there were also successes, particularly in countries such as Japan and the East Asian Tigers. Between 1980s and 1990s, development strategies shifted to promote market liberalization, privatization, and stabilization. This shift gave rise to the structural adjustment and market fundamentalism as approaches to development with renewed emphasis on growth. (5) It produced development successes, particularly in the economic growth and rising standards of living in China. India, Brazil, and other emerging economies. However, the successes of many of these countries were not primarily attributable to market fundamentalism along the line of the structural adjustment programs advocated by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and U.S. Treasury. (6) Rather, these countries successfully combined market-based approaches with active government interventions and socioeconomic development policies. Market fundamentalism as an approach had its share of unequivocal failures in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia; arguably the largest of all was the global financial crisis and the Great Recession of 2007-2008 that originated in the developed world and affected both developed and developing countries. (7) For the first time since the 1970s, a significant number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have experienced high rates of economic growth. According to the IMF's regional economic outlook report, the economies of twenty of the SSA countries grew at an annual average of more than 6 percent during 2004-2008 and more than 4 percent in 29 more nations. (8) The growth pattern is consistent across a wide variety of national traits: low income and middle income: resource rich and resource poor; and coastal as well as landlocked. The region, though adversely affected by the 2007-2009 global economic and financial crises, has recovered. It is expected to grow at the annual average of more than 5 percent in the near future. Major factors that have contributed to the emerging pattern of high and sustained growth are: pro-growth macroeconomic stability; improved economic governance; and a decline in the number of violent conflicts. Foreign aid has played a major role not only in ending conflicts but also in post-conflict recovery. Most of the recent foreign aid debate that attracted headline attention tended to focus on aid effectiveness at the ultimate level of per capita economic growth and poverty reduction, with less emphasis on the role of foreign aid in assisting recipient countries in removing impediments to the path toward these ultimate goals. …


Dementia is characterized by progressive deterioration of cognitive functions. It places a burden on caregivers and on society,and has been established as one of the major challenges of the present time. A retrospective study of 350 home care patients in Qatar found 50 with dementia for which it assessed various risk factors, co-morbities and the psychosocial burden on the care givers. It was found that the two major types of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Vascular dementia had equal occurrence amongst home care patients in Qatar, with hypertension and atherosclerosis being the major contributing factors; a family history of dementia played only a minor role. Depression was the main co-morbidity in the patients. The care givers, mostly female, showed no significant psychosocial burden.


There are controversies whether learning of conditioned eyeblink responses primarily takes place within the cerebellar cortex, the interposed nuclei, or both. It has also been suggested that the cerebellar cortex may be important during early stages of learning, and that there is a shift to the cerebellar nuclei during later stages. As yet, human studies have provided little to resolve this question. In the present study, we established a setup that allows ultra-high-field 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the cerebellar cortex and interposed cerebellar nuclei simultaneously during delay eyeblink conditioning in humans. Event-related fMRI signals increased concomitantly in the cerebellar cortex and nuclei during early acquisition of conditioned eyeblink responses in 20 healthy human subjects. ANOVAs with repeated-measures showed significant effects of time across five blocks of 20 conditioning trials in the cortex and nuclei (p < 0.05, permutation corrected). Activations were most pronounced in, but not limited to, lobules VI and interposed nuclei. Increased activations were most prominent at the first time the maximum number of conditioned responses was achieved. Our data are consistent with a simultaneous and synergistic two-site model of learning during acquisition of classically conditioned eyeblinks. Because increased MRI signal reflects synaptic activity, concomitantly increased signals in the cerebellar nuclei and cortex are consistent with findings of learning related potentiation at the mossy fiber to nuclear cell synapse and mossy fiber to granule cell synapse. Activity related to the expression of conditioned responses, however, cannot be excluded.


China launched an unprecedented wind farm construction boom a decade ago to expand renewable energy's share of its primary energy by exploiting its considerable wind energy resources. On the surface these efforts appeared to yield great success, with China's wind generating capacity growing more than 100-fold in less than 10 years. But close examination of its aggressive top-down approach to the promotion of renewable energy reveals that China has fallen far short of its ambitious goals. Turbines were quickly installed—but many of them were not connected to the power grid. After some turbines were connected, the state-owned enterprises that operate the national grid often refused to accept energy from them. These problems led to inefficiencies that are without precedent in the Western world. The authors find that although its installed wind energy capacity is 75 percent larger than that of the United States, China produces 14 percent less wind energy than the United States. Even in a political system with a strong centralized government, China's push for renewable power faltered in the face of entrenched interests, weak incentives, and conflicting policy priorities.


For more than 20 years, the United States and the European Union have engaged in often-contentious negotiations over access to government procurement. The EU is dissatisfied with the level of procurement that the US has opened under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and, as a consequence, it does not give the US its most comprehensive coverage. The US has been constrained in responding to the EU's requests for greater access, especially to state procurement, by both its federal structure of government and by domestic purchasing requirements. At the current time, neither party has proposed a way to break the impasse.

This paper reviews the current state of affairs between the US and the EU on government procurement, examining the procurement that they open to one another and the procurement that they withhold. It then proposes a strategy for the two sides to use the TTIP negotiations to move forward. This strategy includes both steps to expand their current commitments in the TTIP, as well as to develop a longer-term approach by making the TTIP a 'living agreement'. This strategy suggests that the EU and the US could find a way to expand their access to government procurement contracts and at least partially defuse the issue.


Although the emerging 3D integration technology can significantly reduce interconnect delay, chip area, and power dissipation in nanometer technologies, its impact on overall system performance is still poorly understood due to the lack of tools and systematic flows to evaluate 3D microarchitectural designs. The contribution of this paper is the development of MEVA-3D, an automated physical design and architecture performance estimation flow for 3D architectural evaluation which includes 3D floorplanning, routing, interconnect pipelining and automated thermal via insertion, and associated die size, performance, and thermal modeling capabilities. We apply this flow to a simple, out-of-order superscalar microprocessor to evaluate the performance and thermal behavior in 2D and 3D designs, and demonstrate the value of MEVA-3D in providing quantitative evaluation results to guide 3D architecture designs. In particular, we show that it is feasible to manage thermal challenges with a combination of thermal vias and double-sided heat sinks, and report modest system performance gains in 3D designs for these simple test examples


The analysis for mode effects in the CATI/CAPI Overlap Study has relied heavily on the two sample t-test. This test is popular because it is easily interpretable and fairly robust to the assumption of normality. The latter assumption is, however, difficult to verify with complex survey data. Moreover, the variance estimate used in the parametric analysis is not distributed as a Chi-Squared random variable. Therefore, we apply a variety of nonparametric methods to split panel data from the Basic CPS and Parallel Survey, and show a comparison of the results to the normal theory based results.


A sensitive assay is developed to assess the existence of an iodide channel in a fraction of solubilized membrane proteins. This step is critical when considering various procedures for purification of this channel. Sodium cholate is used as a detergent as it does not denature the iodide channel. A simple and rapid method involving gel-filtration chromatography is used simultaneously to remove the detergent and to adjust the buffer composition, before protein insertion into liposomes. The presence of an iodide channel is investigated by measuring the iodide conductance of these proteoliposomes at 4 degrees C. An outward iodide gradient is set up across the proteoliposomal membrane by anion-exchange chromatography, allowing uptake of radiolabelled iodide. This uptake is conductive as it is abolished by valinomycin in the presence of potassium. It is specifically mediated by a thyroid plasma-membrane protein inserted into liposomes, as its denaturation before insertion totally abolished uptake. It was observed only within a well-defined fraction of thyroid membrane proteins collected by size-exclusion chromatography (molecular mass between 100 and 200 kDa). Furthermore, it was not observed with other membrane proteins such as ileal brush-border-membrane proteins or bacteriorhodopsin. Like many anion channels, this conductance was also inhibited by N-phenylanthranilic acid. Optimization of the assay is described, validating the measurement of conductive iodide uptake at 30 s by proteoliposomes reconstituted in a ratio of 10 micrograms of protein to 90 micrograms of lipid, with an outward iodide gradient (KI 15 mM inside and 1 microM outside). This assay provides a test of the biological activity of the iodide channel at each step of the purification; it can be applied to any anionic channel.


Introduction: Carbapenems belong to the Beta Lactam group of antimicrobial agents. They are often used as "lastline agents" or "antibiotics of last resort" in critically ill patients. Carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae may be due to various reasons but Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase (KPC) enzyme production is the commonest. Phenotypic as well as genotypic methods can be used to detect Carbapenemases. Among the phenotypic tests, Modified Hodge Test (MHT) is relatively easy to perform. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of carbapenem resistance among Enterobacteriaceae isolates and calculate the sensitivity of MHT as an indicator of KPC production. Materials and Methods: All Enterobacteriaceae isolates from clinical samples were included in this study and were screened for Carbapenem resistance. 45 randomly chosen Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates were subjected to MHT and blaKPC gene detection by PCR. Results: 2035 Enterobacteriaceae isolates were tested and 5.2% were found to be resistant to Imipenem, 22.9 % were resistant to Meropenem and 4.42 % were resistant to both Imipenem and Meropenem. The sensitivity of MHT was calculated to be 90% and specificity was calculated to be 60%


Nontransparent contact fingers on the sun-facing side of solar cells represent optically dead regions which reduce the energy conversion per area. We consider two approaches for guiding the incident light around the contacts onto the active area. The first approach uses graded-index metamaterials designed by two-dimensional Schwarz–Christoffel conformal maps, and the second uses freeform surfaces designed by one-dimensional coordinate transformations of a point to an interval. We provide proof-of-principle demonstrators using direct laser writing of polymer structures on silicon wafers with opaque contacts. Freeform surfaces are amenable to mass fabrication and allow for complete recovery of the shadowing effect for all relevant incidence angles.


The objective of this work was to study the associations between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and clinical vertebral and nonvertebral fractures. Data from a large population‐based public health database in Spain, Sistema d'Informació per al Desenvolupament de l'Investigació en Atenció Primària (SIDIAP), were used in this parallel cohort study. All participants registered in SIDIAP on January 1, 2006, were screened to identify those with a diagnosis of AS. Five age‐matched, gender‐matched, and general practice surgery–matched controls were selected for each patient with AS. All participants were followed until December 31, 2011, transfer out date, or death date. Fractures during this time were classified as vertebral or nonvertebral. Adjustment was made for potential confounders (tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and use of oral steroids). Of 4,920,353 eligible patients in SIDIAP, 6474 AS patients with matched controls (n = 32,346) were available. A higher proportion of patients with AS versus controls had clinical vertebral (0.86% versus 0.41%) and nonvertebral (3.4% versus 2.7%) fractures. Adjusted Cox regression models showed an increased risk of clinical vertebral (hazard ratio [HR] 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39 to 2.68; p < 0.001) and nonvertebral (HR 1.19; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.39; p = 0.03) fractures among patients with AS. However, the observed increased risks were apparent only in those not on regular nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). There were no interactions with inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, or previous back pain. Patients with AS are at increased risk of vertebral and nonvertebral clinical fractures, independently of various risk factors. Regular use of NSAIDs appears to eliminate the excess fracture risk related to AS, but the mechanisms involved are unknown. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research


The deployment and use of IPsec has consistently increased in recent years. IPsec is a protocol that allows, besides other things, secure branch offices connectivity and secure VPN access for road warriors. The limitations of IPsec are much better understood today, and efforts to improve IPsec are still underway. One aspect of improvement is the integration of IPsec with other functions and protocols of the network. Quality of Service (QoS) is one example. QoS is used to prioritize demanding traffic like Voice over IP, network control messages, and traffic for other mission-critical systems. QoS can be used to mitigate risks of DoS attacks, ill-behaving hosts, and other attacks by separating traffic classes and treating packets according to the respective class. In order to facilitate all the advantages QoS can offer, an IPsec implementation must not only be superficially changed, but needs thorough modifications or, even better, should be designed with QoS support as an objective. The current IPsec standard does hardly offer any guidance to do this. In this paper, we detail our QoS-capable IPsec and compare it with a widely-used regular IPsec implementation. Furthermore, we show that these QoS extensions prove to be valuable, even in difficult scenarios, e.g. using host CPUs for packet processing.


: The debate concerning the legitimacy of awarding reparations for historical injustices focuses on the issue of finding a proper moral justification for granting reparations to the descendants of the victims of injustices which took place in the remote past. Regarding the case of Romanian communism as a more recent injustice, and analyzing the moral problems entailed by this historical lapse, within this paper I argue that overcoming such a legacy cannot be carried out, as in the case of historical injustices situated more remotely in time, through the means of selective reparations, such as restitutions or compensations. For, even though they are justified from the perspective of rectificatory justice, selective reparations do not fulfill the requirements of social justice. Rather, I argue that the fall of the Romanian communist regime should have been followed by an equal distribution of all properties illegitimately seized by the state, to all adult Romanian citizens at that time, in order to attain the imperative of equal distribution of property among all citizens. The equal distribution thesis is the only way through which the Romanian society could have complied, at that moment of political and social renewal, with the requirements of justice. I also aim at explaining why other principles of justice, which either have or could have been implemented, cannot be properly justified. Finally, I analyze two main objections which could be invoked against my thesis, namely the economic efficiency objection and the legal realist objection.


Fungal infection is one of the existing diseases in Indonesia. The most common fungal infections are the candidiasis and cryptococcosis disease which is caused by Candida sp. and Cryptococcus sp. fungi respectively. Propolis is known to have antifungal properties to Candida sp. and Cryptococcus sp. However, the compounds contained in propolis differs according to its source; the bee that produces it, and its environment, differentiating also its antifungal potential. The aim of this study is to determine the potential of Indonesian propolis, specifically from Tetragonula biroi bee as an antifungal agent in hopes to discover its ability as candidiasis and cryptococcosis drugs. The propolis used in the study was Indonesian propolis produced by Tetragonula biroi bee. The antifungal potential of Indonesian propolis was discovered by observing its antifungal activity to a few species of Candida and Cryptococcus and determining its content. Two types of Indonesian propolis, smooth and rough propolis in the form of ethanol extract propolis (EEP) were tested on Candida albicans, C. krusei, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and Cryptococcus neoformans with the disc diffusion method. Ethanolic extract of Indonesian propolis is further tested with LC-MS/MS analysis. The content of Indonesian propolis itself in the form of polyphenol and flavonoid is discovered with the help of UV-Vis Spectrometry where it was discovered that smooth propolis has higher phenolic and flavonoid level at 18.32% and 17.45% respectively. Ethanolic extract of Indonesian propolis is further tested with LC-MS/MS procedure which results in the founding of three antifungal compounds. Adhyperforin was found in both rough and smooth propolis, and deoxypodophyllotoxin, as well as kurarinone, was found only in smooth propolis. Based on our study, Indonesian propolis is proven to have antifungal potential though its effectivity differs from one species of fungi to another where on Candida albicans, C. krusei, C.tropicalis, and Candida glabrata, rough propolis shows the higher diameter of inhibition.


The object of this study is to examine the 'monetary instrument 1 problem, at both theoretical and empirical levels, using a framework in which 'domestic 1 and 'external 1 monetary policy are analysed concurrently. Our theoretical analysis generalises and extends some of the propositions on the stabilising properties of alternative financial policies in the case of a small open economy, subject to both internal and external shocks.

An econometric model of the -U.K. economy is built to test these propositions. To get our results, we make use of an optimal control framework which employs an objective function depicting the desires of the policy makers, to yield optimal paths for the target variables as well as the policy variables. Most of the results are of the open-loop deterministic type, although we also approximate a closed-loop stochastic system by perturbing the system with certain shocks and optimizing again.

Among the pegging regimens considered, the one involving targets for foreign reserves and the monetary aggregate seems to be preferable. However, the analysis also reveals that the policy makers should not adhere to the optimal rule, but should allow the paths of the intermediate targets to alter in response to new information as it becomes available. Since the quantitative results are model specific, the study should be regarded as demonstrating a methodology for the design of policy, rather than as offering actual policy guidance.


Background Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the most common diseases presenting to gastroenterology clinics. Acupuncture is widely used as a complementary and alternative treatment for patients with GORD. Objective To explore the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of GORD. Methods Four English and four Chinese databases were searched through June 2016. Randomised controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of manual acupuncture or electroacupuncture (MA/EA) for GORD versus or as an adjunct to Western medicine (WM) were selected. Data extraction and quality evaluation were performed by two authors independently and RevMan 5.2.0 was used to analyse data. Results A total of 12 trials involving 1235 patients were included. Meta-analyses demonstrated that patients receiving MA/EA combined with WM had a superior global symptom improvement compared with those receiving WM alone (relative risk (RR) 1.17, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.26; p=0.03; six studies) with no significant heterogeneity (I2=0%, p=0.41). Recurrence rates of those receiving MA/EA alone were lower than those receiving WM (RR 0.42,95% CI 0.29 to 0.61; p<0.001; three studies) with low heterogeneity (I2=7%, p=0.34), while global symptom improvement (six studies) and symptom scores (three studies) were similar (both p>0.05). Descriptive analyses suggested that acupuncture also improves quality of life in patients with GORD. Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that acupuncture is an effective and safe treatment for GORD. However, due to the small sample size and poor methodological quality of the included trials, further studies are required to validate our conclusions. Trial registration number PROSPERO Systematic review registration no. CRD42016041916.


We report on a study that used observations, conversations, and formal interviews to explore literacy instruction in 24 lower-primary classrooms in coastal Kenya. Specifically, we report the ways literacy instruction is delivered and how that delivery aligns with practices understood to promote reading acquisition. We find (1) prioritization of developing oral language skills over teaching the relationships between sounds and symbols, (2) enablers to literacy instruction that are the result of teachers' efforts, and (3) constraints to successful literacy instruction as perceived by the teachers. We identify challenges and opportunities to improve literacy instruction in English and Swahili.


We link survey data on Danish people's perceived income positions and fairness views on inequality within various reference groups to administrative records on their reference groups, income histories, and life events. People are, on average, well-informed about the income levels of their reference groups. Yet, lower-ranked respondents in all groups tend to overestimate their own position among others because they believe others' incomes are lower than they actually are, whereas the opposite holds true for higher-ranked respondents. Misperceptions of positions in reference groups relate to proximity to other individuals, transparency norms, and visible signals of income. People view inequalities within their co-workers and education groups as significantly more unfair than overall inequality, yet underestimate inequality the most exactly within these groups. Views on the fairness of inequalities are strongly correlated with an individual's current position, move with shocks like unemployment or promotions, and change when experimentally informing people about their actual positions. However, the higher perceived unfairness of income differences within co-workers and education groups stays unchanged. The theoretical framework shows that this can have important implications for redistribution policy.


The present article aims to explore the instability and the dynamic nature, which characterizes the linguistic repertoires of highly-qualified transmigrants. The central questions under scrutiny are: What are the roles and functions of the languages involved in the communication in international workplace settings? How are the roles and functions being distributed among these languages? And how are they being rearranged over time? In order to contribute to the answer of these questions we will examine the role different languages play in the process of international career construction of Russian-speaking professionals during their stay in Germany. The functions and the values of languages involved will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the attitudes and representations of the participants of the study.


A key feature of 'TESOL Quarterly', a leading journal in the world of TESOL/applied linguistics, is its 'Forum' section which invites 'responses and rebuttals' from readers to any of its articles. These 'responses or rebuttals' form the focus of this research. In the interchanges between readers reacting to earlier research articles in TESOL Quarterly and authors responding to the said reaction I – examine the texts for evidence of genre-driven structure, whether shared between both 'reaction' and 'response' sections, or peculiar to each section, and attempt to determine the precise nature of the intended communicative purpose in particular and the implications for academic debate in general. The intended contribution of this thesis is to provide an analysis of how authors of research articles and their critics pursue their efforts beyond the research article which precipitated these exchanges in order to be recognized by their discourse community as, in the terminology of Swales (1981:51), 'Primary Knowers'. Awareness of any principled generic process identified in this thesis may be of significance to practitioners in the applied linguistics community in their quest to establish academic reputation and in their pursuit of professional development. These findings may also be of use in triggering productive community discussion as a result of the questions they raise concerning the present nature of academic debate. Looking beyond the construction and status of the texts themselves, I inquire into the kind of ideational and social organization such exchanges keep in place and examine an alternative view of interaction. This study breaks new ground in two major ways. To the best of my knowledge, it is the first exploration of a bipartite, intertextual structure laying claim to genre status. Secondly, in its recourse to the comments of the writers' themselves rather than relying exclusively on the evidence of their texts, as is the case with most studies of genre, this thesis offers an expanded opportunity to discuss perhaps the most interesting aspects of genre analysis – the light it throws on social ends and the role of genre in determining the nature of current academic debate as it here emerges.


This research project is a comprehensive study of how supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) can be used to improve the performance of concrete mixtures. This report summarizes the findings of the Laboratory Study on Concrete phase of this work. The earlier "paste and mortar phase" of this work considered several sources of each type of SCM (fly ash, slag, and silica fume) so that the material variability issues could be addressed. Several different sources of portland cement and blended cement were also used in the experimental program. This phase of the research used an experimental matrix of 48 different mortar and concrete mixtures, which were identified in the earlier work as potential ternary mixtures that could benefit department of transportation (DOT) goals for long-lasting transportation bridges and pavements. This report contains test results from durability testing on mortar and concrete containing ternary cementitious materials and standard coarse and fine aggregates. Limited testing was also conducted on select mixtures for performance in hot and cold climates, to determine the potential to design ternary mixtures in adverse conditions.


Law, Standards, and Ethics in the Practice of Psychology (3rd Edition), David R. Evans, Toronto, Ontario: Carswell, 2011, 581 Pages (ISBN 978-0-7798-3834-9, CAN $101)Reviewed by PIERRE L.-J. RITCHIEDOl: 10.1037/a0032673Beginning with the first edition, this text has been the best single source for thoughtful information on the ethical, legal, and regulatory framework for the practice of psychology in Canada. As did the second edition, the latest iteration provides timely updates on essential topics as well as selected additional information and commentary. This book belongs to the relatively uncommon group of texts that serve as the "go-to" source for both generalists and specialists. Although especially useful for students preparing for a career in one of the branches of applied psychology and early career psychologists working on postgraduation requirements set by the regulatory system, it is a valuable resource throughout a psychologist's career path.Although Evans is the central author, with overall responsibility for the book's conceptualisation, organisation and selection of topics, the third edition again benefits from the specific expertise of other psychologists as well as lawyers. They capture both subject matter knowledge as well as an appreciation of "how it works" in particular jurisdictions. The book is organized in 15 chapters, each with its own references and some with appendixes. The latter typically provide useful tools. For example, the chapter on Dual Relationships has an appendix offering a "Framework for Ethical Decision Making and Risk-Benefit Worksheet." The chapter on Informed Consent provides "Guidelines for Providing Information to Incapable Persons," and the chapter on Client Information and Records includes an appendix on "Handling Clinical Records."The book's utility and contributions are best illustrated through selected highlights. In addition to a user-friendly nicely elaborated Table of Contents, there is also a very useful Table of Cases containing in a single place the jurisprudence cited in the book. Evans wrote the preface and an introductory chapter that provides both an historic perspective and also addresses current issues in most Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan). In addition, a few topics deemed especially pertinent to professional practice are included in this initial overview: complaints, quality assurance and risk management, statutory law and client well-being, and components of professional practice. Beyond the value of the information presented, the real value added for this chapter is the observations, thinking, and analysis of a senior colleague who experienced the profession's evolution over the past 40 years.Evans has his own clear sense of where we come from and how the psychologist's world in the early 21st century is different than the one he first knew. Although this can provide grist for debate on the "correct" interpretation and understanding of issues, it is part of what makes these aspects of the book intellectually stimulating. Given the book's purpose to provide a substantial amount of factual information, it is important to note that the commentary, analysis, and opinion components do not limit or distort presentation of basic subject matter, either by Evans or other authors.The next four chapters address the current regulation of psychology in specific provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario. These are written by experts in the governance and regulation of the profession in the respective provinces (e.g., Registrars and others with recognised knowledge and experience together with a lawyer coauthor for Ontario). As a result, they provide well-informed, timely, and useful information. For those looking for more than "how it is done" in their own province, taken together they provide a valuable snap-shot of the state of psychology as a regulated profession in Canada. …


ABSTRACT For 30 years, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has routinely been applied to the cereal grains for the purpose of rapidly measuring concentrations of constituents such as protein and moisture. The research described herein examined the ability of NIR reflectance spectroscopy on harvested wheat to determine weather-related, quality-determining properties that occurred during plant development. Twenty commercial cultivars or advanced breeding lines of hard red winter and hard white wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were grown in 10 geographical locations under prevailing natural conditions of the U.S. Great Plains. Diffuse reflectance spectra (1,100–2,498 nm) of ground wheat from these samples were modeled by partial least squares one (PLS1) and multiple linear regression algorithms for the following properties: SDS sedimentation volume, amount of time during grain fill in which the temperature or relative humidity exceeded or was less than a threshold level (i.e., >30, >32, >35, 80%, <40% rh). ...


The aim of this work is to review the literature on full truck load transportation service procurement and identify the gaps from the points of view of researchers and practitioners. Full truck load procurement is particularly considered for review since it is encountered more in freight movement than others forms and also it has many challenges. A framework is developed to have a systematic review of literature and the findings are discussed in detail. Some key findings include the simplistic assumption of demand pattern, less focus on nonprice variables, a limited number of case studies, a lesser consideration of sustainability aspects and the lack of detailed studies on emerging economies. Keywords— Transportation service; full truck load; procurement; review


Planar microscale ionization devices that operate in atmospheric air have been developed out of highly graphitic polycrystalline diamond (HGPD). The devices have been fabricated on both silicon and quartz substrates with electrode gaps ranging from 5 to 20 µm. Experiments show that the HGPD devices operate in the pre-breakdown regime where a field-emission mode enables appreciable ionization current without the occurrence of sparks or breakdown. The devices are compared to prior experiments that used HGPD thin films and these new, on-chip devices operate at similar current magnitudes of 100 nA–5 µA. For comparison, titanium planar ionization devices have also been fabricated and tested. However, these devices were unable to operate at any appreciable current without the formation of spark discharges. These results suggest that HGPD is a good candidate material for integrated, on-chip ionization devices for applications including miniature mass spectrometry, gas sensing and microscale electrohydrodynamics.


Biomedical simulation is an effective educational complement for healthcare training, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. It enables knowledge, skills and attitudes to be acquired in a safe, educationally orientated and efficient manner. In this context, simulation provides skills and experience that facilitate the transfer of cognitive, psychomotor and proper communication competences, thus changing behavior and attitudes, and ultimately improving patient safety. Beyond the impact on individual and team performance, simulation provides an opportunity to study organizational failures and improve system performance. Over the last decades, simulation in healthcare had a slow but steady growth, with a visible maturation in the last ten years. The simulation community must continue to provide the core leadership in developing standards. There is a need for strategies and policy development to ensure its coordinated and cost-effective implementation, applied to patient safety. This paper reviews the evolutionary movements of biomedical simulation, including a review of the Portuguese initiatives and nationwide programs. For leveling knowledge and standardize terminology, basic but essential concepts in clinical simulation, together with some considerations on assessment, validation and reliability are presented. The final sections discuss the current challenges and future initiatives and strategies, crucial for the integration of simulation programs in the greater movement toward patient safety.


Objective Oral immunotherapies have become a standard treatment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Direct comparison of their effect on relapse and disability is needed. Methods We identified all patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis treated with teriflunomide, dimethyl fumarate or fingolimod, with minimum 3-month treatment persistence and disability follow-up in the global MSBase cohort study. Patients were matched using propensity scores. Three pairwise analyses compared annualised relapse rates and hazards of disability accumulation, disability improvement and treatment discontinuation (analysed with negative binomial models and weighted conditional survival models, with pairwise censoring). Results The eligible cohorts consisted of 614 (teriflunomide), 782 (dimethyl fumarate) or 2332 (fingolimod) patients, followed over the median of 2.5 years. Annualised relapse rates were lower on fingolimod compared with teriflunomide (0.18 vs 0.24; p=0.05) and dimethyl fumarate (0.20 vs 0.26; p=0.01) and similar on dimethyl fumarate and teriflunomide (0.19 vs 0.22; p=0.55). No differences in disability accumulation (p≥0.59) or improvement (p≥0.14) were found between the therapies. In patients with ≥3-month treatment persistence, subsequent discontinuations were less likely on fingolimod than teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate (p<0.001). Discontinuation rates on teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate were similar (p=0.68). Conclusion The effect of fingolimod on relapse frequency was superior to teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate. The effect of the three oral therapies on disability outcomes was similar during the initial 2.5 years on treatment. Persistence on fingolimod was superior to the two comparator drugs.


Abstract Background In December 2020, Israel began a mass vaccination campaign against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by administering the BNT162b2 vaccine, which led to a sharp curtailing of the outbreak. After a period with almost no cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, a resurgent Covid-19 outbreak began in mid-June 2021. Possible reasons for the resurgence were reduced vaccine effectiveness against the delta (B.1.617.2) variant and waning immunity. The extent of waning immunity of the vaccine against the delta variant in Israel is unclear. Methods We used data on confirmed infection and severe disease collected from an Israeli national database for the period of July 11 to 31, 2021, for all Israeli residents who had been fully vaccinated before June 2021. We used a Poisson regression model to compare rates of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe Covid-19 among persons vaccinated during different time periods, with stratification according to age group and with adjustment for possible confounding factors. Results Among persons 60 years of age or older, the rate of infection in the July 11–31 period was higher among persons who became fully vaccinated in January 2021 (when they were first eligible) than among those fully vaccinated 2 months later, in March (rate ratio, 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3 to 2.0). Among persons 40 to 59 years of age, the rate ratio for infection among those fully vaccinated in February (when they were first eligible), as compared with 2 months later, in April, was 1.7 (95% CI, 1.4 to 2.1). Among persons 16 to 39 years of age, the rate ratio for infection among those fully vaccinated in March (when they were first eligible), as compared with 2 months later, in May, was 1.6 (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.0). The rate ratio for severe disease among persons fully vaccinated in the month when they were first eligible, as compared with those fully vaccinated in March, was 1.8 (95% CI, 1.1 to 2.9) among persons 60 years of age or older and 2.2 (95% CI, 0.6 to 7.7) among those 40 to 59 years of age; owing to small numbers, the rate ratio could not be calculated among persons 16 to 39 years of age. Conclusions These findings indicate that immunity against the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 waned in all age groups a few months after receipt of the second dose of vaccine.


Nucleostemin, a protein found in the nucleoli of highly proliferative cells (such as stem cells and some cancer cell lines), may help regulate cell proliferation. Tsai and McKay, who previously identified nucleostemin, have now investigated the mechanisms whereby it is targeted to the nucleolus. The authors used fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and inverse FRAP (iFRAP) to show that nucleostemin tagged with green fluorescent protein shuttled rapidly and bidirectionally between the nucleolus and the nucleoplasm of cultured CHO and U2 OS cells. Mutation of a GTP-binding motif (G1) that blocked the ability of nucleostemin to bind GTP also blocked its nucleolar localization, as did deletion of an N-terminal basic (B) domain. FRAP, together with further mutational analysis, indicated that GTP binding relieved the inhibitory action of a domain between G1 and the C terminal on nucleolar localization of the B domain and was required for long-term retention of nucleostemin in the nucleus. Further, decreasing the concentration of intracellular GTP shortened the residence time of nucleostemin in the nucleolus and reduced its nucleolar localization. Thus the authors propose that nucleolar residence of nucleostemin involves a cycle driven by its GTP-binding status and suggest that this provides a mechanism to rapidly and reversibly regulate the transition of stem cells between resting and proliferating states. Misteli provides context on the research in a Comment, emphasizing the importance of investigating the relation between cell signaling and the regulation of subnuclear localization of proteins. R. Y. L. Tsai, R. D. G. McKay, A multistep, GTP-driven mechanism controlling the dynamic cycling of nucleostemin. J. Cell Biol. 168, 179-184 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text] T. Misteli, Going in GTP cycles in the nucleolus. J. Cell Biol. 168, 177-178 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Quantum mechanical effects of single particles can affect the collective plasmon behaviors substantially. In this work, the quantum control of plasmon excitation and propagation in graphene is demonstrated by adopting the variable quantum transmission of carriers at Heaviside potential steps as a tuning knob. First, the plasmon reflection is revealed to be tunable within a broad range by varying the ratio γ between the carrier energy and potential height, which originates from the quantum mechanical effect of carrier propagation at potential steps. Moreover, the plasmon excitation by free-space photos can be regulated from fully suppressed to fully launched in graphene potential wells also through adjusting γ, which defines the degrees of the carrier confinement in the potential wells. These discovered quantum plasmon effects offer a unified quantum-mechanical solution toward ultimate control of both plasmon launching and propagating, which are indispensable processes in building plasmon circuitry.


Employers in today's competitive and challenging global world prefer employees who possess "soft skills" in addition to "hard skills" because they make an impact and create a good impression in the workplace. This study examined employment readiness of the University of Botswana (UB) students who took the Advanced Communication Skills (GEC 213) course in 2013. It also explored their perceptions on the importance of these skills. A triangulation approach was used involving a survey and interview to explore issues pertinent to the study questions. Ninety (90) students enrolled for the GEC 213 course completed a questionnaire and six (6) were interviewed face to face. The study found that the students regarded the skills taught in GEC 213 as very important and that more students should be enrolled in this course. The study suggests the infusion of these skills in other courses in the University, and that workshops should be conducted for all the other teaching staff on how to infuse communication and other soft skills in their courses. The study therefore recommends more research to get the views of employers regarding the readiness of the UB graduates for employment and for using soft skills. It also recommends a study comparing the perceptions of the employees with those of the University of Botswana students with regard to the students' readiness for employment.


Austerity is at the center of political debates today. Its defenders praise it as a panacea that will prepare the ground for future growth and stability. Critics insist it will precipitate a vicious cycle of economic decline, possibly leading to political collapse. But the notion that abstinence from consumption brings benefits to states, societies, or individuals is hardly new. This book puts the debates of our own day in perspective by exploring the long history of austerity--a popular idea that lives on despite a track record of dismal failure. Florian Schui shows that arguments in favor of austerity were--and are today--mainly based on moral and political considerations, rather than on economic analysis. Unexpectedly, it is the critics of austerity who have framed their arguments in the language of economics. Schui finds that austerity has failed intellectually and in economic terms every time it has been attempted. He examines thinkers who have influenced our ideas about abstinence from Aristotle through such modern economic thinkers as Smith, Marx, Veblen, Weber, Hayek, and Keynes, as well as the motives behind specific twentieth-century austerity efforts. The persistence of the concept cannot be explained from an economic perspective, Schui concludes, but only from the persuasive appeal of the moral and political ideas linked to it.


Abstract. We report an investigation of the effects of increases in pCO2 on the survival, growth and molecular physiology of the neritic amphipod Gammarus locusta which has a cosmopolitan distribution in estuaries. Amphipods were reared from juvenile to mature adult in laboratory microcosms at three different levels of pH in nominal range 8.1–7.6. Growth rate was estimated from weekly measures of body length. At sexual maturity the amphipods were sacrificed and assayed for changes in the expression of genes coding for a heat shock protein (hsp70 gene) and the metabolic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapdh gene). The data show that the growth and survival of this species is not significantly impacted by a decrease in sea water pH of up to 0.5 units. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that there was no significant effect of growth in acidified sea water on the sustained expression of the hsp70 gene. There was a consistent and significant increase in the expression of the gapdh gene at a pH of ~7.5 which, when combined with observations from other workers, suggests that metabolic changes may occur in response to acidification. It is concluded that sensitive assays of tissue physiology and molecular biology should be routinely employed in future studies of the impacts of sea water acidification as subtle effects on the physiology and metabolism of coastal marine species may be overlooked in conventional gross "end-point" studies of organism growth or mortality.


This paper explores the anytime performance of search-based algorithms for solving the Marginal MAP task over graphical models. The current state of the art for solving this challenging task is based on best-first search exploring the AND/OR graph with the guidance of heuristics based on mini-bucket and variational cost-shifting principles. Yet, those schemes are uncompromising in that they solve the problem exactly, or not at all, and often suffer from memory problems. In this work, we explore the well known principle of weighted search for converting best-first search solvers into anytime schemes. The weighted best-first search schemes report a solution early in the process by using inadmissible heuristics, and subsequently improve the solution. While it was demonstrated recently that weighted schemes can yield effective anytime behavior for pure MAP tasks, Marginal MAP is far more challenging (e.g., a conditional sum must be evaluated for every solution). Yet, in an extensive empirical analysis we show that weighted schemes are indeed highly effective for Marginal MAP yielding the most competitive schemes to date for this task.


Temperature changes during ENSO cause mass mortalities of adult Cancer setosus, but the effects on larvae are still unknown. We present first results on the influence of temperature on survival, development and biochemical composition of larvae of the hairy crab, Cancer setosus, from a population off the northern Chilean coast. In rearing experiments conducted at four different temperatures (12, 16, 20, 22 °C), zoeal development was only completed at 16 and 20 °C, after 78 and 36 days, respectively. Instar duration was negatively correlated with temperature. A multiple linear model relating larval body mass (in carbon) to temperature and developmental time suggests that successful larval development is possible within a narrow temperature range only. The biochemical composition, measured as carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen (C, H, N) content, show in general the typical oscillating changes during the moult cycle of brachyuran crab larvae. However, at high (22 °C) and low (16 °C) temperatures, CHN values show deviations from the typical pattern, indicating threshold temperatures for larval activity and survival of the Antofagasta population. Results indicate that larvae are much more vulnerable to temperature changes than adult C. setosus.


In this paper, a short background of the Jarque and McKenzie (1M) test for nonnormality is given, and the small sample properties of the test is examined in view of robustness, size and power. The investigation has been performed using Monte Carlo simulations where factors like, e.g., the number of equations, nominal sizes, degrees of freedom, have been varied. Generally, the 1M test has shown to have good power properties. The estimated size due to the asymptotic distribution is not very encouraging though. The slow rate of convergence to its asymptotic distribution suggests that empirical critical values should be used in small samples. In addition, the experiment shows that the properties of the 1M test may be disastrous when the disturbances are autocorrelated. Moreover, the simulations show that the distribution of the regressors may also have a substantial impact on the test, and that homogenised OLS residuals should be used when testing for non-normality in small samples.


Modern password guessing attacks adopt sophisticated probabilistic techniques that allow for orders of magnitude less guesses to succeed compared to brute force. Unfortunately, best practices and password strength evaluators failed to keep up: they are generally based on heuristic rules designed to defend against obsolete brute force attacks. Many passwords can only be guessed with significant effort, and motivated attackers may be willing to invest resources to obtain valuable passwords. However, it is eminently impractical for the defender to simulate expensive attacks against each user to accurately characterize their password strength. This paper proposes a novel method to estimate the number of guesses needed to find a password using modern attacks. The proposed method requires little resources, applies to a wide set of probabilistic models, and is characterised by highly desirable convergence properties. The experiments demonstrate the scalability and generality of the proposal. In particular, the experimental analysis reports evaluations on a wide range of password strengths, and of state-of-the-art attacks on very large datasets, including attacks that would have been prohibitively expensive to handle with existing simulation-based approaches.


In this paper, we estimate a VAR model to present an empirical finding that an unexpected rise in the federal funds rate decreases the ratio of sales to stocks available for sales, while it increases finished goods inventories. In addition, dynamic responses of these variables reach their peaks several quarters after a monetary shock. In order to understand the observed relationship between monetary policy and finished goods inventories, we allow for the accumulation of finished goods inventories in an optimizing sticky price model, where prices are set in a staggered fashion. In our model, holding finished inventories helps firms to generate more sales at given their prices. We then show that the model can generate the observed relationship between monetary shocks and finished goods inventories. Furthermore, we find that allowing for inventory holdings leads to a Phillips curve equation, which makes the inflation rate depend on the expected present-value of future marginal cost as well as the current periodicals marginal cost and the expected rate of future inflation.


Social epidemiologists insist fundamental social conditions play a large role in the health problems of the American urban poor, but these well-intentioned scholars and practitioners do not necessarily appreciate how greatly law is intertwined with those social conditions. Law helps create and maintain the urban poor's shabby and unhealthy physical environment, and law also facilitates behaviors among the urban poor that can result in chronic health conditions. Then, too, law shapes and configures the very poverty that consigns the urban poor to the inner city with its limited social capital and political clout. Overall, law creates and perpetuates the health problems of the urban poor more than it eliminates or ameliorates them. Social epidemiologists and others concerned with improving the urban poor's health might therefore approach law as a foe more than a friend.


Climate change is already making people hungry, and the use of fossil fuels is largely to blame, representing the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions globally. On current trends, the world will be 4–6oC hotter by the end of the century, exceeding 2oC within the lifetimes of most people reading this report. This could put up to 400 million people in some of the poorest countries at risk of severe food and water shortages by the middle of the century. This paper shows how, despite some steps in the right direction to tackle climate change, a 'toxic triangle' of political inertia, financial short-termism and vested fossil fuel interests is blocking the transition that is needed. To help break this, governments must commit to phase out fossil fuel emissions by early in the second half of this century, with rich countries leading the way.