OSCAR is the Office of Student Scholarship, Creative Activities, and Research located in the Johnson Center room 246. The office facilitates projects between students and mentors in which students have the opportunity to experience research, scholarly, and creative projects from inception through execution to dissemination, embedded in classes, as independent projects, or as part of a team of researchers. OSCAR runs several programs, including the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, the Undergraduate Student Travel Fund, the Research Assistant Program, and the Summer Impact Grants. We offer student workshops on poster writing, proposal writing, and summer opportunities, and regularly consult with faculty and students on developing research and creative projects. Our goal is to work with students and mentors from every discipline, in every college at Mason, and we are always looking for new directions and new opportunities for students and mentors. This poster will serve as a catalyst for ongoing discussions of how to facilitate student projects, new directions in undergraduate research, scholarly, and creative activities, and the forging of new partnerships on campus. What are your ideas of how OSCAR can expand opportunities for students in your discipline? How can we network to most effectively facilitate these opportunities? How can we include digital learning and resources in our programs? How can OSCAR connect more effectively to other experiential learning programs on campus?


This paper presents a chronology of the development of the Chinese rural health system and its responses to environment-related health problems. During the early years of the People's Republic, the health system was very successful in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases through environmental improvements. Since the transition to a market economy, environment-related preventive programmes have been given less priority and a variety of new environment-related health problems and risks have emerged. More recently, the Chinese government has made strong commitments to improve the performance of the health system and increase access by all. Its focus has been on strengthening medical care and developing new forms of health finance. It has paid little attention to environment-related problems. However, as the pace of health reform accelerates, it will be important to ensure that it take environment-related problems into account.


Refrigeration systems can undergo many faults that could negatively affect their operation and performance. This paper describes a modeling process to simulate the fault impacts on the operation of a commercial walk-in freezer using semi-empirical models. These models often require less modeling effort than full forward models and could be used in scenarios where detailed information is missing, such as in field-measured systems. An important characteristic of a typical walk-in refrigeration system is the existence of a liquid-line receiver after the condenser, which significantly changes the behavior of the cycle, in comparison to a receiver-less system. Component models described in this paper consist of: a compressor, two heat exchangers, pipelines, receiver, and thermostatic expansion valve. The semi-empirical component models are partially based on physics, and partially based on some empirical coefficients. They are able to predict several dependent variables, including mass flow rates, heat transfer rates, power consumption, and pressures. In this paper, the individual component models are presented and trained with a limited set of faulted and fault-free experimental data. The faults are: heat exchanger fouling, liquid-line restriction, and compressor valve leakage. The results show that models for major components, such as compressor and heat exchangers, give good predictions for some of the most important performance indices. Modeling challenges and future research are outlined.


Background HIV-1 molecular epidemiology amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) in sub-Saharan Africa remains not well characterized. We aimed to determine HIV-1 subtype distribution, transmission clusters and transmitted drug resistance (TDR) in acute and early infected MSM from Coastal Kenya. Methods Analysis of HIV-1 partial pol sequences from MSM recruited 2005–2017 and sampled within six months of the estimated date of infection. Volunteers were classified as men who have sex with men exclusively (MSME) or with both men and women (MSMW). HIV-1 subtype and transmission clusters were determined by maximum-likelihood phylogenetics. TDR mutations were determined using the Stanford HIV drug resistance database. Results Of the 97 volunteers, majority (69%) were MSMW; 74%, 16%, 9% and 1% had HIV-1 subtypes A1, D, C or G, respectively. Overall, 65% formed transmission clusters, with substantial mixing between MSME and MSMW. Majority of volunteer sequences were either not linked to any reference sequence (56%) or clustered exclusively with sequences of Kenyan origin (19%). Eight (8% [95% CI: 4–16]) had at least one TDR mutation against nucleoside (n = 2 [2%]) and/or non-nucleoside (n = 7 [7%]) reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The most prevalent TDR mutation was K103N (n = 5), with sequences forming transmission clusters of two and three taxa each. There were no significant differences in HIV-1 subtype distribution and TDR between MSME and MSMW. Conclusions This HIV-1 MSM epidemic was predominantly sub-subtype A1, of Kenyan origin, with many transmission clusters and having intermediate level of TDR. Targeted HIV-1 prevention, early identification and care interventions are warranted to break the transmission cycle amongst MSM from Coastal Kenya.


Case-based learning (CBL) is a constructivist pedagogy in which students read hypothetical accounts of real world situations and consider how they would respond if facing similar challenges. In physical education teacher education, research has shown that CBL has the potential to promote critical thinking, contribute to students' cognitive growth and affect students' value orientations. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' (PSTs') impressions of and experiences with CBL. Occupational socialization theory and the shared inquiry cycle guided the use of case studies. Nineteen PSTs (6 female, 13 male) enrolled in a third-year seminar course at a large American university took part in this investigation. The PSTs read and responded to 10 unique case studies and engaged in reflection and group discussions. Data were collected from interviews, course documents and non-participant observations. Qualitative analysis revealed that the PSTs demonstrated cognitive growth as evidenced by their consideration of multiple sources of knowledge, engagement with the CBL and focusing on future teaching situations. The findings of this research suggest that CBL may provide a method for instructors to introduce new ideas and allow PSTs to consider them along with their own pre-conceived notions.


In data mining the goal is to develop methods for discovering previously unknown regularities from databases. The resulting models are interpreted and evaluated by domain experts, but some model evaluation criterion is needed also for the model construction process. The optimal choice would be to use the same criterion as the human experts, but this is usually impossible as the experts are not capable of expressing their evaluation criteria formally. On the other hand, it seems reasonable to assume that any model possessing the capability of making good predictions also captures some structure of the reality. For this reason, in predictive data mining the search for good models is guided by the expected predictive error of the models. In this paper we describe the Bayesian approach to predictive data mining in the finite mixture modeling framework. The finite mixture model family is a natural choice for domains where the data exhibits a clustering structure. In many real world domains this seems to be the case, as is demonstrated by our experimental results on a set of public domain databases.


Most studies of offshoring rely on a 'proportionality assumption' where every sector is assumed to import each material and service input in the same proportion as its economy-wide use. We assess the bias resulting from this assumption. Since Germany collects imported inputs directly, we are able to compare the direct and proxy measures, where the proxy is constructed with the proportionality assumption. The proxy fails to accurately capture the variation in services offshoring intensity because - as a result of the proportionality assumption - it is strongly influenced by the variation in demand for domestic inputs. Estimation of the effect of offshoring on labour demand for 35 manufacturing sectors in Germany over 1995-2006 shows that the direct and proxy-based measures of services offshoring give very different results. The implication goes beyond the case of Germany: researchers must be cautious about drawing policy conclusions from estimates using the proxy of offshoring.


The United States of America (US) has founded its patent policy on the basis that stronger patent protection engenders more innovation (US Patent Principle). The US Patent Principle overemphasises private rights at the expense of social benefit. Patent systems are intended to promote innovation and the public interest. However, the expansion of the US Patent Principle and US patent policy has had a negative effect on global innovation and development.

 The US Patent Principle contradicts the principles of trade liberalisation. Trade liberalisation has been a central feature of international trade and law since the end of World War Two (WWII), largely due to the influence ofthe US, which has been the main advocate of trade liberalisation principles. The trade liberalisation doctrines condemn policies that encompass "beggar-thy-neighbour" protectionist policies, because of the detrimental effects such policies had on the global economy between the end of World War I (WWI) and WWII. A beggar-thy-neighbour policy is an economic strategy adopted by one country to enhance domestic welfare which can only be realised at the expense of other countries.

This article discusses the beggar-thy-neighbour effect of US patent policy domestically and international. In general the US domestic patent regime is effectively a beggar-thy-neighbour policy, because it benefits domestic inventors and large US multinational corporations at the expense of other foreign inventors. The US-led harmonisation of global patent law is also a beggar-thy-neighbour policy, in that at the expense of the developing nations it principally enhances the welfare of the profits of large multinational corporations, most of which are headquartered in the U.S.


Given a particular update request to a WWW system, users are faced with the navigation problem of finding the correct form to accomplish the update request. In a large system, such as SAP with about 10,000 relations for the standard installation, users are faced with a sea of thousands of forms to navigate. For familiar tasks, users have various aids, such as personal tool bars, but for more complex tasks, users are forced to search or navigate for the correct form, or forward the update request to a specialist with the expertise to handle the request. In this later case, the execution of the request may be delayed since the specialist may be unavailable, or have other priorities. Also, typically the user and specialist engaged in a time consuming clarification dialog to extract additional information required to complete the request. In this paper we study the problem of building an assistant for the navigation problem for web forms. This assistant can be deployed either directly to a user, or to specialist that receives a stream of requests from users. In the former case the assistant helps the user navigate to the right form. In the latter case, the assistant cuts ambiguous communication between the user and specialist. We present experimental results from behavioral experiments and machine learning that demonstrate the usefulness of our assistant.


This thesis discusses the history of the street fashion styles and its accompanying cultures that are to be found on the streets of Japan, focusing on the two most wellknown places in Tokyo, namely Harajuku and Shibuya, as well as examining if the economic turmoil in Japan in the 1990s had any effect on the Japanese street fashion. The thesis also discusses youth cultures, not only those in Japan, but also in NorthAmerica, Europe, and elsewhere in the world; as well as discussing the theories that exist on the relation of fashion and economy of the Western world, namely in NorthAmerica and Europe. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the possible causes of why and how the Japanese street fashion scene came to be into what it is known for today: colorful, demiurgic, and most of all, seemingly outlandish to the viewer; whilst using Japanese society and culture as a reference. Moreover, the history of certain street fashion styles of Tokyo is to be examined in this thesis. The first chapter examines and discusses youth and subcultures in the world, mentioning few examples of the various subcultures that existed, as well as introducing the Japanese school uniforms and the culture behind them. The second chapter addresses how both fashion and economy influence each other, and how the fashion in Japan was before its economic crisis in 1991. The third chapter discusses how the street fashion in Japan gained attention from around the globe and its spread on the internet, and finally the fourth chapter addresses the Japanese street fashion as it is in the presentday at the time when this thesis is written.


Abstract The shale-dominated hemipelagic succession exposed in the southwestern part of the Prague Synform preserves the most complete Ludfordian graptolite record so far encountered from peri-Gondwanan Europe. Four graptolite biozones – the Neocucullograptus inexpectatus, Nc. kozlowskii, Pseudomonoclimacis latilobus–Slovinograptus balticus and Pristiograptus fragmentalis biozones – are recognized in the middle and late Ludfordian, between the Bohemograptus tenuis Biozone and the base of the Pridoli Series. Conodont occurrences are restricted to scattered limestone beds, but enable tentative integration of the graptolite and conodont biozonal schemes. Particular attention was paid to faunal and sedimentary changes and the carbon isotope record across the middle Ludfordian Kozlowskii extinction Event. The Kozlowskii Event caused the almost simultaneous extinction of graptolites with ventrally curved rhabdosomes. The genera Bohemograptus, Polonograptus and Neocucullograptus, along with Pseudomonoclimacis dalejensis, disappeared from the fossil record. The offshore conodont fauna recorded in the section was not strongly affected and similarly the pelagic orthocerids and nektonic Ceratiocaris passed unaffected through the extinction interval. The abundant and widespread pelagic myodocopid ostracod Entomis, however, became extinct. The late Ludfordian graptolite recovery gave origin to a novel fauna of Pridoli type from taxa that emerged or just reappeared above the Kozlowskii crisis. In Všeradice and elsewhere in the Prague Synform, the recovery, manifested by the appearance of Pseudomonoclimacis latilobus and Slovinograptus balticus, closely postdates the end of the isotope excursion but pre-dates the first appearance of the conodont index 'Ozarkodina' snajdri. Here the graptolite recovery was delayed relative to the recovery of the benthic fauna. A canalized intraformational limestone conglomerate corresponds with a gap in the sedimentary record above the Kozlowskii extinction and just below the graptolite recovery. The benthic faunas from the conglomerate matrix and pebbles permit correlation with the shallower part of the basin indicating a distinct fall in sea-level. The present data demonstrate the coincidence of the graptolite crisis with benthic faunal change and eustatic fall in sea-level manifested by facies change and the carbon isotope excursion. Polonograptus chlupaci sp. nov., from the Nc. kozlowskii Biozone, is described and several other graptolite taxa are redescribed.


A cross-sectional transmission electron microscope investigation of dose dependence and annealing behavior of microstructures in helium-implanted silicon carbide is presented. Specimens of silicon carbide (4H-SiC) were mainly implanted with 30-keV-He ions at intermediate temperatures of 500 and 873 K to doses ranging from 5x10(15) to 2x10(17) cm(-2), and subsequently annealed at temperatures up to 1173 K. For comparison other specimens were implanted at 293 K up to 5x10(15) cm(-2) and subsequently annealed. Three dose regimes of microstructural evolution were found, each of them exhibiting quite different annealing behavior. No cavities were found at the low dose range below 3.5x10(16) cm(-2). At intermediate doses of (3.5-5)x10(16) cm(-2), a low density of planar clusters of bubbles located in the basal plane was found in a well defined region around the damage peak on annealing above 973 K. After implantation to the high dose of 10(17) cm(-2), a high density of bubbles in alignment in the basal plane was formed, and remained stable during the subsequent annealing at temperatures up to 1173 K. The difference in annealing behavior suggests that helium is trapped with different energies for the three dose regimes. There appears to be a threshold dose for the formation of the bubble clusters of approximately 5x10(15) cm(-2) for implantation at room temperature. This increases to a value between 2x10(16) and 5x10(16) cm(-2) for implantation at 500 and 873 K, respectively. Such a temperature dependence is consistent with that of effective damage production, indicating a certain level of damage is necessary for the formation of bubble clusters. The formation of planar clusters of bubbles at the intermediate doses is ascribed to an Ostwald ripening (OR) process through the dissociation of the simple He/vacancy clusters and metastable bubbles and the formation of planar cavities of helium on annealing above 973 K. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.


The intercarrier interference (ICI) matrix for the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems usually has a fairly large dimension and changes over time for mobile communications. In this paper, we design the modified maximum-length shift-register sequences and propose a new distributive allocation scheme together with a linear interpolation for both pilot-aided and non-pilot-aided ICI vector estimates; this new method can combat the realistic non-circulant ICI matrix problem, where almost all other existing schemes could not perform effectively. Monte Carlo experiments show the significant advantages of our new ICI matrix estimator especially when the signal-to-noise ratio is larger than 15 dB


Ten years ago, Christina Lamb reported on the war the Afghan people were fighting against the Soviet Union. Now, back in Afghanistan, she has written an extraordinary memoir of her love affair with the country and its people. Long haunted by her experiences in Afghanistan, Lamb returned there after last year's attack on the World Trade Centre to find out what had become of the people and places that had marked her life as a young graduate.This time seeing the land through the eyes of a mother and experienced foreign correspondent, Lamb's journey brings her in touch with the people no one else is writing about: the abandoned victims of almost a quarter century of war. 'Of all books about Afghanistan, Christina Lamb's is the most revealing and rewarding...a personal, perceptive and moving account of bravery in the face of staggering difficulties.' Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times 'As an account of how Afghanistan got into its present state, and of the making of the grotesque regime of the Taliban, this book could not possibly be bettered. Brilliant.' Matthew Leeming, Spectator 'Lamb's book combines a love of Afghanistan with a fearless search for the human stories behind the past twenty-three years of war...Her book is not only a necessary education for the Western reader in the political warring that generated the torture, murder and poverty, but also a stirring lament for the country of ruins that was once better known for its poetry and mosques.' James Hopkin, The Times


Open approaches have the potential to enhance research, learning, and knowledge exchange on a global scale. Examples in higher education and research now go beyond open source software, open access to research, and open educational resources, to initiatives with open infrastructure and open processes (such as open systems and open peer review). Open developments are gaining momentum from both bottom-up movements and top-down forces. Despite similar goals and evident connections, the various open approaches are typically pursued by separate communities, with relatively few efforts to think and work holistically, and potential benefits are not being realized. This session will review the range and state of open activities in the higher education arena, explore common factors for the different open domains, and define potential benefits for individuals and institutions of adopting a more integrated approach to policy and practice. It will conclude by discussing the opportunities and challenges presented by the open agenda for key stakeholder groups (including students, faculty, administrators, and information specialists), encouraging participants to share ideas about the roles they could play and practical steps they might take to promote and advance openness.


Your friendly guide to getting a job in coding Getting a Coding Job For Dummies explains how a coder works in (or out of) an organization, the key skills any job requires, the basics of the technologies a coding pro will encounter, and how to find formal or informal ways to build your skills. Plus, it paints a picture of the world a coder lives in, outlines how to build a resume to land a coding job, and so much more. Coding is one of the most in-demand skills in today's job market, yet there seems to be an ongoing deficit of candidates qualified to take these jobs. Getting a Coding Job For Dummies provides a road map for students, post-grads, career switchers, and anyone else interested in starting a career in coding. Inside this friendly guide, you'll find the steps needed to learn the hard and soft skills of codingand the world of programming at large. Along the way, you'll set a clear career path based on your goals and discover the resources that can best help you build your coding skills to make you a suitable job candidate. Covers the breadth of job opportunities as a coder Includes tips on educational resources for coders and ways to build a positive reputation Shows you how to research potential employers and impress interviewers Offers access to online video, articles, and sample resume templates If you're interested in pursuing a job in coding, but don't know the best way to get there, Getting a Coding Job For Dummies is your compass!


Time-of-flight depth imaging and transient imaging are two imaging modalities that have recently received a lot of interest. Despite much research, existing hardware systems are limited either in terms of temporal resolution or are prohibitively expensive. Arrays of Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) promise to fill this gap by providing higher temporal resolution at an affordable cost. Unfortunately SPAD arrays are to date only available in relatively small resolutions. In this work we aim to overcome the spatial resolution limit of SPAD arrays by employing a compressive sensing camera design. Using a DMD and custom optics, we achieve an image resolution of up to 800×400 on SPAD Arrays of resolution 64×32. Using our new data fitting model for the time histograms, we suppress the noise while abstracting the phase and amplitude information, so as to realize a temporal resolution of a few tens of picoseconds.


This paper distributed by  many   religious conflictsthat has happened in Indonesia .  So ,to prevent and resolve the issue, the Government has established regulations and legislation about  religious believiers protection even since the beginning of the founding the nation. However, the reality show us that religous conflict is still not over. Thus, author aim to describe and analyze NU criticism to  religious believiers protection laws in Indonesia as well as how the solution offered especially on Bahtsul Masail Muktamar NU 33 th at 2015. On NU persfective, there are some things abaut religious believiers protection laws: (1) regulations and legislation about  religious believiers protection are scattering on many legistlation or regulation on under the act, so it does not focus  talking about religious believiers protection only. (2) many legislation and regulation is not enough to be a foundation of nation to execute every religious conflict. (3) LITBANG reseach has proven there are seven factor that cause religious conflict. (4) some of regulations under the legislation judged is not have a strong position, because it is not included in hierarchy of legislation. Therefore, all these problems, on   NU perspe c ti ve   proves that more existence of operacional and aplicable legislation are absolutely needed.


The problem addressed is the distributed reconfiguration of a system of hexagonal metamorphic robots (modules) from an initial straight chain to a goal configuration that satisfies a simple admissibility condition. Our reconfiguration strategy depends on finding a contiguous path of cells that spans the goal configuration and over which modules can move concurrently without collision or deadlock, called an admissible substrate path. A subset of modules first occupy the admissible substrate path, which is then traversed by other modules to fill in the remainder of the goal. We present a two-phase reconfiguration strategy, beginning with a centralized preprocessing phase that finds and heuristically ranks all admissible substrate paths in the goal configuration, according to which path is likely to result in fast parallel reconfiguration. We prove the correctness of our path-finding algorithm and demonstrate its effectiveness through simulation. The second phase of reconfiguration is accomplished by a deterministic, distributed algorithm that uses little or no intermodule message passing.


Semimetal bismuth (Bi) is an emerging non-noble metal-based plasmonic metal, which has demonstrated exceptional behavior as a unique plasmonic photocatalyst/cocatalyst. In the present work, Bi nanoparticles were uniformly deposited on the well-known TiO2 particles (Degussa, P25) with mixed phases of anatase and rutile by a facile eco-friendly synthesis at room temperature. The Bi-deposited TiO2 nanocomposites demonstrated highly enhanced photocatalytic performance for removal of ppb-level NO in air under visible-light irradiation (λ > 420 nm). The improved photocatalytic capability was found to be crucially dependent on the catalyst architecture: Bi nanoparticles with a diameter (dBi) of 5–8 nm deposited on the surface of TiO2 particles acted as active sites for visible-light-driven electron and hole separation. The enhanced charge separation was well supported by photoluminescence, photocurrent generation and Bode-phase spectra. Significantly, the exceptionally high visible-light photocatalytic capability of the optimized Bi–Ti-50 sample (the mass ratio of Bi to TiO2 is 50%) was also superior to that of universally known non-metal-doped TiO2. The photocatalysis was enhanced through SPR-mediated activation of the Bi particles by visible light followed by consecutive electron transfer in Bi/rutile/anatase interfaces, as supported by the action spectra. The electrons produced from the plasmonic activation of Bi particles could transfer to the conduction band of rutile and then to adjacent anatase TiO2 because of the high potential difference between Bi and rutile TiO2. Also, the free electrons could transfer from Bi to the conduction band of anatase and then to rutile TiO2 owing to the high mass ratio of anatase phase in P25 resulting in the direct contact of the Bi nanoparticles and anatase TiO2. A new photocatalysis mechanism of Bi-deposited TiO2 nanocomposites was proposed on the basis of active species trapping. The catalyst architecture elucidated here for promoted plasmonic photocatalysis would be beneficial for the design and development of more effective visible-light-driven photocatalysts for environmental remediation and could open a new avenue for utilization of low-cost Bi nanoparticles as a substitute for noble metals to promote the utilization efficiency of solar energy.


Regarding images medias are showing, Indians, even in the South, are "white". The gap between these images and reality is so deep, that a strong feeling of "self hate" has grown among the youngest. In response to this massive whitening campaign, a reaction is now coming from the South and Dravidians are organising themselves as the "black power" of India. It is not a secret that in India it is better being « fair and lovely » than « brown and ugly ». But the craving for white skin is not only a question of beauty; it is also a matter of domination and self-determination. The whiteness issue takes place at multiple levels in India. Love of white/light skin is firmly rooted in ancient classifications such as class, castes, but also in the North/South distinction. The North/South distinction is particularly interesting because, not only is it one of the key drivers of whitening products' consumption dynamics in India, but it is also a way to question "states and ethnic identities". How do Indians see themselves and their skin tone? How does skin tone establish your position in society and your state belonging? Do South Indians use whintening products to look like North Indians? Why do North Indians want to be even whiter if they already are the dominant group? Who are they attempting to look like? How does skin tone affect the construction of one's identity in India? These are some of the questions we will attempt answer in this paper.


Kaolin is used in many consumer products and as a functional additive and process enabler in manufacturing. It is typically extracted from open-pit mines that range from small to very large scale (tens to hundreds of thousands of dry metric tons produced per year). Ore processing consists of removing impurities, engineering particle size and shape, and enhancing certain properties through thermal and chemical treatment. In addition to the technical aspects of mining and processing, the social, environmental, and economic impacts of kaolin production are managed at each stage of the mining life cycle. Discussed herein are aspects of the history of kaolin mining, the classification of kaolin mines, the processing of kaolin, and the life cycle of mining.


Summary Organizational commitment and burnout were related to interpersonal relationships of nurses in a small general hospital. Regular communication contacts among personnel were differentiated as supervisor or coworker contact, and these categories were further differentiated into pleasant and unpleasant contacts. The results were consistent with a view of burnout in which emotional exhaustion leads to greater depersonalization which subsequently leads to diminished personal accomplishment. Interpersonal contact with personnel in the organization was related to the development of burnout at each stage. Patterns of pleasant and unpleasant contacts with supervisors and coworkers were related to the three aspects of burnout in a distinct manner. High burnout was related to diminished organizational commitment, which was also related to aspects of the interpersonal environment of the organization. The results are discussed in the context of a comprehensive approach to psychological adjustment to a worksetting.


Monte Carlo approaches to radiation transport have several attractive properties such as simplicity of implementation, high accuracy, and good parallel scaling. Moreover, Monte Carlo methods can handle complicated geometries and are relatively easy to extend to multiple spatial dimensions, which makes them potentially interesting in modeling complex multi-dimensional astrophysical phenomena such as core-collapse supernovae. The aim of this paper is to explore Monte Carlo methods for modeling neutrino transport in core-collapse supernovae. We generalize the Implicit Monte Carlo photon transport scheme of Fleck & Cummings and gray discrete-diffusion scheme of Densmore et al. to energy-, time-, and velocity-dependent neutrino transport. Using our 1D spherically-symmetric implementation, we show that, similar to the photon transport case, the implicit scheme enables significantly larger timesteps compared with explicit time discretization, without sacrificing accuracy, while the discrete-diffusion method leads to significant speed-ups at high optical depth. Our results suggest that a combination of spectral, velocity-dependent, Implicit Monte Carlo and discrete-diffusion Monte Carlo methods represents a robust approach for use in neutrino transport calculations in core-collapse supernovae. Our velocity-dependent scheme can easily be adapted to photon transport.


How much will our budget be cut be this year? This question has loomed ominously over regulatory agencies for over three decades. After the 2016 presidential election, it now stands front and center in federal policy, with the Trump administration pledging over $50 billion in cuts. Yet very little is known about the fundamental relationship between regulatory agencies' budgets and the social welfare outcomes they are charged to produce. Indeed, the question is scarcely studied in scholarship from law, economics, or political science.
This article lays the groundwork for a new field of theoretical and empirical research, using what we call the "regulatory production function," to understand the marginal effects of changes in regulatory agency budgets (both reductions and increases) on the levels of benefits they produce. Our proposed theoretical framework and empirical findings have important implications across the regulatory state on the relationship between agency funding and outcomes for public health, safety, and welfare agencies. This model of the regulatory state informs agency-scale decisions regarding institutional design and instrument choice as well as the broader set of decisions regarding the balance of federalism and reliance on private governance as a supplement to public authority.
Part I describes relevant scholarship on the broad topic of regulatory agency resources and outcomes, showing a paucity of theoretical and empirical analysis of the question. Using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental quality as a case study, Part II develops a conceptual model of a regulatory production function for thinking more clearly about linkages between agency funding and regulatory outcomes. Using this model, Part III turns to generating hypotheses that could explain why EPA funding levels may or may not have a strong effect on environmental quality. Part IV uses regression analyses to test whether there is a statistically significant relationship between agency funding and air pollution. In the face of significant data and modeling constraints, we found none. Part V then explores the important research questions that emerge from the study and proposes a research agenda going forward. Much as the tools of cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment have transformed the study of policy choice and legal design, development of the regulatory production function model and the data needed to study it will allow scholars to examine fundamental questions of the regulatory state.


We analyze the venture capitalist's decision on the timing of the IPO, the offer price and the fraction of shares he sells in the course of the IPO. A venture capitalist may decide to take a company public or to liquidate it after one or two financing periods. A longer venture capitalist's participation in a firm (later IPO) may increase its value while also increasing costs for the venture capitalist. Due to his active involvement, the venture capitalist knows the type of firm and the kind of project he finances before potential new investors do. This information asymmetry is resolved at the end of the second period. Under certain assumptions about the parameters and the structure of the model, we obtain a single equilibrium in which highquality firms separate from low-quality firms. The latter are liquidated after the first period, while the former go public either after having been financed by the venture capitalist for two periods or after one financing period using a lock-up. Whether a strategy of one or two financing periods is chosen depends on the consulting intensity of the project and / or on the experience of the venture capitalist. In the separating equilibrium, the offer price corresponds to the true value of the firm.


Still the top-selling software suite for Mac users, Microsoft Office has been improved and enhanced to take advantage of the latest Mac OS X features. You'll find lots of new features in Office 2008 for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, but not a page of printed instructions to guide you through the changes. Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual gives you the friendly, thorough introduction you need, whether you're a beginner who can't do more than point and click, or a power user who's ready to tackle a few advanced techniques. To cover Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage, this guide gives you four superb books in one -- a separate section each for program! You can manage your day and create professional-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in no time. Office 2008 has been redesigned so that the windows, toolbars, and icons blend in better with your other Mac applications. But there are still plenty of oddities. That's why this Missing Manual isn't shy about pointing out which features are gems in the rough -- and which are duds. With it, you'll learn how to: * Navigate the new user interface with its bigger and more graphic toolbars * Use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage separately or together * Keep track of appointments and manage daily priorities with the My Day feature * Create newsletters, flyers, brochures, and more with Word's Publishing Layout View * Build financial documents like budgets and invoices with Excel's Ledger Sheets * Get quick access to all document templates and graphics with the Elements Gallery * Organize all of your Office projects using Entourage's Project Center * Scan or import digital camera images directly into any of the programs * Customize each program with power-user techniques With Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, you get objective and entertaining instruction to help you tap into all of the features of this powerful suite, so you can get more done in less time.


My dissertation is situated in the field of computer science education research, specifically, the learning and teaching of programming. This is a critical area to be studied, since, primarily, learning to program is difficult, but also, the need for programming knowledge and skills is growing, now more than ever. This research is particularly focused on how to support a student's acquisition of program construction skills through worked examples, one of the best practices for acquiring cognitive skills in STEM areas.

While learning from examples is superior to problem-solving for novices, it is not recommended for intermediate learners with sufficient knowledge, who require more attention to problem-solving. Thus, it is critical for example-based learning environments to adapt the amount and type of assistance given to the student's needs. This important matter has only recently received attention in a few select STEM areas and is still unexplored in the programming domain. The learning technologies used in programming courses mostly focus on supporting student problem-solving activities and, with few exceptions, examples are mostly absent or presented in a static, non-engaging form.

To fill existing gaps in the area of learning from programming examples, my dissertation explores a new genre of worked examples that are both adaptive and engaging, to support students in the acquisition of program construction skills. My research examines how to personalize the generation of examples and how to determine the best sequence of examples and problems, based on the student's evolving level of knowledge. It also includes a series of studies created to assess the effectiveness of the proposed technologies and, more broadly, to investigate the role of worked examples in the process of acquiring programming skills.

Results of our studies show the positive impact that examples have on student engagement, problem-solving, and learning. Adaptive technologies were also found to be beneficial: The adaptive generation of examples had a positive impact on learning and problem-solving performance. The adaptive sequencing of examples and problems engaged students more persistently in activities, resulting in some positive effects on learning.


Background Military training is a stressful and unusual event. It may predispose individuals towards mental health problems. The stress of military training has been shown to result in depressive symptoms that can potentially influence the combat ability of a soldier. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among recruits during military training in Northern Pakistan and analyse the associated socio-demographic factors. Subjects and method The study was carried out at the Mujahid Force Center, Bhimber, in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in the North of Pakistan. This is one of the training institutes of the Pakistan Army. The sample population comprised of 313 adult men undergoing military training at Bhimber AJK. General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) was used to screen for any psychiatric illness, and those with a score >4 were administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to record the presence and severity of depressive symptoms. Age, service type (general duty soldier, cook or clerk), education, level of family income, marital status, tobacco smoking, use of naswar (tobacco based substance), worrying about future and social support status were correlated with depressive symptoms to evaluate the association of these factors with depression in the study population. Results Out of 313 recruits screened with GHQ-12, 232 were found to have a score of 4 or more as an indicator of the presence of psychiatric morbidity, and had the BDI administered. Of these 232 recruits, 31.5% had no depressive symptoms, 41.4% had mild, 17.7% had moderate and 9.5% had severe depressive symptoms. With logistic regression, we found significant correlation among depressive symptoms and level of family income, worrying about future and lack of social support. Conclusions Prevalence of depressive symptoms was high among recruits. Special attention should be paid to recruits from low socioeconomic background and those who lack social support and who worry about the future.


Process Intensification: Engineering for Efficiency, Sustainability and Flexibility is the first book to provide a practical working guide to understanding process intensification (PI) and developing successful PI solutions and applications in chemical process, civil, environmental, energy, pharmaceutical, biological, and biochemical systems. Process intensification is a chemical and process design approach that leads to substantially smaller, cleaner, safer, and more energy efficient process technology. It improves process flexibility, product quality, speed to market and inherent safety, with a reduced environmental footprint. This book represents a valuable resource for engineers working with leading-edge process technologies, and those involved research and development of chemical, process, environmental, pharmaceutical, and bioscience systems. No other reference covers both the technology and application of PI, addressing fundamentals, industry applications, and including a development and implementation guide. It covers hot and high growth topics, including emission prevention, sustainable design, and pinch analysis. World-class authors: Colin Ramshaw pioneered PI at ICI and is widely credited as the father of the technology.


Myopia has become such an epidemic that the World Health Organization describes it as a key risk factor for ocular pathologies that can lead to blindness. As eyecare professionals and public health authorities respond to the crisis, this article offers a strategic approach with effective mechanisms for myopia control. This approach is based on three pillars of intervention: managing the environments of young people with myopia, managing their ametropia and peripheral defocus, and treating anomalies in binocular vision.


Media priming refers to the residual, often unintended consequences of media use on subsequent perceptions, judgments, and behavior. Previous research showed that the media can prime behavior that is in line with the primed traits or concepts (assimilation). However, assimilation is expected to be less likely and priming may even yield reverse effects (contrast) when recipients have a dissimilarity testing mindset. Based on previous research on narrative comprehension and experience as well as research on media priming, a short-term influence of stories on cognitive performance is predicted. In an experimental study, participants (N = 81) read a story about a stupid soccer hooligan. As expected, participants who read the story without a special processing instruction performed worse in a knowledge test than a control group who read an unrelated text. Participants with a reading goal instruction to find dissimilarities between the self and the main protagonist performed better than participants who read the story without this instruction. The effects of reported self-activation and story length were further considered. Future inquiries with narratives as primes and contrast effects in media effects research are discussed.


Context. The analysis of the full-sky Planck polarization data at 850 μm revealed unexpected properties of the E- and B-mode power spectra of dust emission in the interstellar medium (ISM). The positive cross-correlations over a wide range of angular scales between the total dust intensity, T, and both E and (most of all) B modes has raised new questions about the physical mechanisms that affect dust polarization, such as the Galactic magnetic field structure. This is key both to better understanding ISM dynamics and to accurately describing Galactic foregrounds to the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In particular, in the quest to find primordial B modes of the CMB, the observed positive cross-correlation between T and B for interstellar dust requires further investigation towards parity-violating processes in the ISM.
Aims. In this theoretical paper we investigate the possibility that the observed cross-correlations in the dust polarization power spectra, and specifically the one between T and B, can be related to a parity-odd quantity in the ISM such as the magnetic helicity.
Methods. We produce synthetic dust polarization data, derived from 3D analytical toy models of density structures and helical magnetic fields, to compare with the E and B modes of observations. We present several models. The first is an ideal fully helical isotropic case, such as the Arnold-Beltrami-Childress field. Second, following the nowadays favored interpretation of the T–E signal in terms of the observed alignment between the magnetic field morphology and the filamentary density structure of the diffuse ISM, we design models for helical magnetic fields wrapped around cylindrical interstellar filaments. Lastly, focusing on the observed T–B correlation, we propose a new line of interpretation of the Planck observations advocating the presence of a large-scale helical component of the Galactic magnetic field in the solar neighborhood.
Results. Our analysis shows that: I) the sign of magnetic helicity does not affect E and B modes for isotropic magnetic-field configurations; II) helical magnetic fields threading interstellar filaments cannot reproduce the Planck results; and III) a weak helical left-handed magnetic field structure in the solar neighborhood may explain the T–B correlation seen in the Planck data. Such a magnetic-field configuration would also account for the observed large-scale T–E correlation.
Conclusions. This work suggests a new perspective for the interpretation of the dust polarization power spectra that supports the imprint of a large-scale structure of the Galactic magnetic field in the solar neighborhood.


The present study investigated college student's attitudes toward UFO's. The sample consisted of 269 college students at a "deep south" university randomly selected after being stratified for gender and race. The instrument consisted of a Likert-type, three-point scale with `agree', `neutral', and `disagree' options containing 18 statements dealing with UFO issues. While the expectation was that the student population would have different attitudes toward UFO's because of the conservative nature of the region, the results actually showed that the college student's attitudes towards UFO's were largely the same as those of the general population. Attitudes are often studied to determine what behaviors will follow and it is generally understood that correlations between attitudes and behaviors are not good. However, in considering the relationship between attitude and behavior, Andrich and Styles (1998) found in their studies that "behavior statements were at systematically different locations from attitude statements on the same continuum". They concluded that "their relationship was easily understood as consistent even though they implied a low correlation between attitude and behavior." Biasco (1989, 1991, 1992) believes that college students attitudes largely parrot those of the general public. Because of the interest in UFO's, Biasco sought to confirm or deny this viewpoint. According to a study done by the Third Millennium (1994), a non-partisan organization, nearly twice as many young adults believe that UFO's exist as believe social security will exist by the time they retire (46%--28%). Troy Zimmer's (1984) study of 475 college students who sighted UFO's indicated that undergraduates who sighted UFO's were pretty much the same as non-sighters and showed no significant difference on several social psychological correlates like cultural alienation, malevolent World view and personal well-being, with the exception that sighters were slightly more likely to believe in the occult. Shostak and Kutzik (1996) found that the attitudes of the current generation of college students (aged 18-29 called `baby busters') toward life in general are rooted in realism and practicality, especially those from middle-class backgrounds. For example, during a campus worker strike, the researchers found that most of the students felt loyalty toward neither group and were singularly concerned with returning normalcy to their campus and completing their degree programs. Unlike their predecessors a generation ago, they were less interested in political or ideological issues and were instead focused on getting with their education and entering a job market. Method Participants The sample in the study consisted of 269 college students, which was roughly 4% of the total student body at the University of West Florida. The study was stratified along two variables, gender and race, to insure a proportionate representation from the student population from each of these categories, thereby improving the quality of the sample and the generalizability of the results. Of the subjects who participated in the survey, 112 were males and 157 were females with 82.5% of the sample being white, 6.7% being black, and 10.8% in the `other' category representing the races of American Indian, Asian, and Hispanic. Eighty of the respondents in the study were aged 19-21, with 33.5% aged 22-25, 28.6% aged 26-40; 7.1% were 41 or, and only 1.1% were aged 18 or below. Sixty-five percent of the respondents in the study were single while 28% were married and 5% were divorced with 2% separated. The religious preferences of the respondents were varied, with 1% being Jewish, 19% Protestant, 20% Catholic, 20% Baptist, and 40% being of `other' religions and indicating no religious preference. Despite the impression that the "Bible Belt" is predominantly conservative, the study showed that the largest percentage of the college students surveyed, 38%, saw themselves as `moderate' while 21% said they were `conservative' and only 33% held themselves out as `liberal'. …


Data augmentation is rapidly gaining attention in machine learning. Synthetic data can be generated by simple transformations or through the data distribution. In the latter case, the main challenge is to estimate the label associated to new synthetic patterns. This paper studies the effect of generating synthetic data by convex combination of patterns and the use of these as unsupervised information in a semi-supervised learning framework with support vector machines, avoiding thus the need to label synthetic examples. We perform experiments on a total of 53 binary classification datasets. Our results show that this type of data over-sampling supports the well-known cluster assumption in semi-supervised learning, showing outstanding results for small high-dimensional datasets and imbalanced learning problems.


Abstract The comparative prognostic importance of latest plasma HIV RNA levels (viral loads) and CD4+ cell counts among patients prescribed highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has not been well characterized. Method: We assessed the prognostic value of latest CD4+ cell counts and latest viral loads for progression to AIDS or death and explored their interaction among 432 HIV-infected persons with advanced HIV who were prescribed a protease inhibitor (PI) as their first HAART regimen. Results: Pre-HAART median CD4+ cell count and viral load were 41 cells/mm3 and 126,331 copies/mL, respectively. After 12 months of HAART, the median CD4+ cell count was 154 cells/mm3; 39% of patients had a viral load of 400 copies/mL or lower. Over a median follow-up of 33 months, 109 (25%) of the 432 patients experienced an AIDS event or died. The hazard ratio for AIDS or death for those with latest CD4+ cell count <50 cells/mm3 versus ≥200 cells/mm3 was 13.9 (95% CI 6.5 to 29.7) without adjustment for latest viral load measurements and 9.5 (95% CI 4.0 to 22.5) after adjustment for latest viral load. In contrast, the hazard ratio for AIDS or death for those with viral load ≥100,000 versus <400 copies/mL was 4.2 (95% CI 2.3 to 7.7) without adjustment for latest CD4+ level and 1.2 (95% CI 0.6 to 2.4) with adjustment for latest CD4+ cell count. Conclusion: We conclude that when latest CD4+ cell count and viral load are considered separately, both are significantly related to AIDS or death; when these markers are jointly considered, the association of viral load with AIDS or death is substantially diminished. Latest CD4+ levels are more strongly related to AIDS or death than latest viral load levels in patients on HAART.


What is a good method to specify and derive imperative programs? This paper argues that a new form of functional programming fits the bill: where variable functions can be updated at specified points in their domain.Traditional algebraic specification and functional programming are a powerful pair of tools for specifying and implementing domains of discourse and operations on them. Recent work on evolving algebras has introduced the function update in algebraic specifications, and has applied it with good success in the modelling of reactive systems. We show that similar concepts allow one to derive efficient programs in a systematic way from functional specifications. The final outcome of such a derivation can be made as efficient as a traditional imperative program with pointers, but can still be reasoned about at a high level.Variable functions can also play an important role in the structuring of large systems. They can subsume object-oriented programming languages, without incurring the latter's problems with pointer aliasing and modularity.


Based on the increasing demand for resources to enhance self--‐esteem, the Toolbox System (TS) is a framework of tools devised to foster the development of self--‐awareness and other--‐awareness in its users. This thesis presents my research on and conceptualisation of the TS. It proposes the use of Semiotics and recursion as tools to manage concepts of awareness. The use of Semiotics involves, but is not limited to, the analysis of texts such as photos, videos, artworks, and the like. This creates a context that allows the users to engage in inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning. The aim is for users to gain clarity about their values and convictions, using tools to evaluate worldviews and establish meaning. This triggers a process of cultivation, which can potentially lead to self--‐actualisation and the development of empathy. The process of cultivation refers to Simmel's thoughts on culture. For the purposes of the thesis, cultivation is considered key in the development of the individual's sense of identity and purpose, thus impacting culture. The tools that could be included in the TS are not limited. While the TS uses semiotic concepts and techniques, the toolbox may contain other tools from various disciplines. The thesis refers to tool samples drawn from theories and research on individual needs, values and motivation, and self--‐perception among others. Although referring to various disciplines, the TS is designed to introduce the use of Semiotics in the area of self--‐development, making a significant contribution to both fields.


Background: There is increasing interest in naltrexone, an opiate antagonist, in the treatment of opiate addicts. The effects of naltrexone are often compromised by a lack of compliance and drop-out. The effects of this compound are probably more favorable when combined with a psychosocial intervention such as the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA). Aim: To explore the effects of a combination therapy (naltrexone plus CRA treatment) and the predictive value of sociodemographic and psychopathologic characteristics. Method: Using a before-and-after design, heroine addicts (n = 24) receiving a combined naltrexone plus CRA treatment are compared with a group (n = 20) on methadone maintenance therapy (reference group). Results: Over a period of 6 months, 58% (14/24) did not relapse, after 1 year at least 55% (12/22) still met the initial goal of continuous abstinence. At baseline, the treatment group and the reference group were similar on nearly all variables except for the number of times clients were arrested. Within the treatment group, a comparison was made between the continuous abstinent and those who relapsed into frequent opioid use. Differences were significant in the cluster-B personality disorders and in polydrug users. Conclusion: The combination of naltrexone plus intensive CRA in an outpatient setting appears to be promising. A high score on cluster-B and polydrug use is associated with relapse.


The construction of a new automatic retardation meter with an ADP polarization modulator and some results obtained with the apparatus are reported. An ADP solid Kerr cell which is subjected to an alternating voltage is inserted in an optical system which measures birefringence, and the retardation of a test piece is modulated. The modulated signal is amplified and fed to a servomotor, which controls the retardation compensation to get extinction. The retardation of the test piece is obtained from the amount of compensation. A practical apparatus, which is suited to study the characteristics of fibers, is made, and the effects of heat treatment and recrystallization of some synthetic fibers are measured.


Whether a syllable is perceived as stressed or not and whether the stress is strong or weak are hot issues in speech prosody research and speech recognition. A focus of the stress study is on the investigation of the acoustic factors which contribute to the perception of stress level. This study examined all possible acoustic/physiological cues to stress based on data from Annotated Chinese Speech Corpus and proposed that times of vibration of vocal folds (TVVF) reflects stress level best.
It is traditionally held that pitch and duration are the most important acoustic parameters to stress. But for Chinese which is a tone language and features special strong-weak pattern in prosody, these two parameters might not be the best ones to represent stress degree. This paper proposed that TVVF, reflected as the number of wave pulses of the vocalic part of a syllable, is the ideal parameter to stress level. Since number of pulses is the integral of pitch and duration (Pulse=?f(pitch)dt), TVVF can embody the effect of stress on both pitch and duration. The analyses revealed that TVVF is most correlated with the grades of stress. Therefore, it can be a more effective parameter indicating stress level.


Understanding the relationship between urban locations is an essential task in urban planning and transportation management. Although prior works have focused on studying urban locations by aggregating location-based properties, our scheme preserves the mutual influence between urban locations and mobility behavior, and thereby enables situation-aware exploration of urban regions. By leveraging word embedding techniques, we encode urban locations with a vectorized representation while retaining situational awareness. Specifically, we design a spatial embedding algorithm that is precomputed by incorporating the interactions between urban locations and moving objects. To explore our proposed technique, we have designed and implemented a web-based visual exploration system that supports the comprehensive analysis of human mobility, location functionality, and traffic assessment by leveraging the proposed visual representation. The case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.


Purpose - This study provides an analysis of the possibility of companies in Indonesia to adopt integrated reporting (IR). This is undertaken by comparing the degree of conformity between current reporting disclosures with that of the IR framework. Design/methodology/approach - A mixed-method approach is employed, which entailed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques to access data. For the quantitative analysis, a total of 64 companies are chosen, which represent companies with significant market capitalization included in the LQ45 index (an index for the 45 most liquid stocks) in 2016 and the non-LQ45 by publishing a sustainability report. These companies are selected on the basis of high levels of disclosure compared with other companies and serve as an appropriate benchmark for other listed companies. The level of disclosure conformity is employed using 39 principle disclosure indices and 76 content disclosure indices based on the IR framework. For the qualitative analysis, interviews were conducted with nine interviewees that are considered as experts in the field of IR. The interviews are conducted to assist in providing explanations for the findings. Findings - The results indicate that approximately 60% of companies (mostly in the banking, finance and mining industries) have an adequate degree of conformity, reflecting their higher probability of voluntary compliance to apply the IR framework. However, the principles of conciseness and connectivity of information provide significant challenges for Indonesian firms when they will consider implementation. Further analysis using in-depth interviews with experts showed that several factors from various perspectives should be considered in shifting to IR. Originality/value - This study provides empirical evidence on the current reporting landscape of Indonesian firms. Scant research is available on the possible adoption of IR in emerging markets such as Indonesia. Hence, this project raises further possible explanations for the challenges and pressures faced by Indonesian firms in an era of changing stakeholder expectations.


The ideal textbook for non-science majors, this lively and engaging introduction encourages students to ask questions, assess data critically and think like a scientist. Building on the success of the previous editions, Dinosaurs has been reorganised and extensively rewritten in response to instructor and student feedback. It continues to make science accessible and relevant through its clear explanations and extensive illustrations. Updated to reflect recent fossil discoveries and to include new taxa, the text guides students through the dinosaur groups, emphasising scientific concepts rather than presenting endless facts. It is grounded in the common language of modern evolutionary biology - phylogenetic systematics - so that students examine dinosaurs as professional paleontologists do. The key emerging theme of feathered dinosaurs, and the many implications of feathers, have been integrated throughout the book, highlighted by the inclusion of stunning new photographs in this beautifully illustrated text, now in full colour throughout.


A modified evanescent-wave fiber-optic fluorometer capable of simultaneous signal enhancement and suppression of stray excitation light is examined. Such a capability is achieved by adjusting the shape of a fluorophore sample droplet and regulating the distance separating the exit of the illuminating fiber and an uncladded segment of the receiving fiber, set perpendicular to each other. The effects of sample attenuation and inhomogeneity are also analyzed and evidenced by associated experiments.


Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Technology: DESIGN
in the Faculty of Informatics and Design
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009


This thesis investigates the potential of energy harvesting through fluid-elastic galloping through studying the energy transfer between the body and the fluid. This was carried out by numerically integrating a previously derived Quasi-Steady State (QSS), and via Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of the fluid-structure system. A review of the literature identifies a need for new scaling parameters to better represent fluid-elastic galloping. New governing non-dimensional parameters for galloping namely, the combined mass-stiffness, Π₁ and the combined mass-damping Π₂ are formulated using natural time scales of the linearised QSS model. These new dimensionless groups provide a far better collapse of the predicted power output from the galloping of a square cross section in comparison with the classical parameters, regardless of whether the data comes from the QSS or DNS models. These time scales also provide a linear estimate of the frequency of the system, which is shown to match the frequency measured during the DNS simulations while Π₁ > 10. A comparison between the quasi-steady state and direct numerical simulation data, reveals that the quasi-steady state model provides a good approximation of the power output at high Π₁ . However, the QSS approximation deviates from the DNS predictions at low values of Π₁ because the QSS model does not model vortex shedding which becomes more significant as Π₁ decreases. However, the QSS model provides a reasonable prediction of the value of Π₂ at which maximum power is produced. Both the error in predicted maximum power between the QSS and the DNS models and the relative power of the vortex shedding are quantified and scale approximately to 1/√Π₁ . A semi-empirical search for an optimal body cross section for the extraction of energy is also presented. A hybrid rectangular/triangular body is used, to deliberately test the hypothesis that inhibition of the reattachment of the shear layers can promote large forces, velocities, and therefore energy extraction. It is shown that two features control the energy extraction: the proximity of the shear layer to the body; the velocity of the flow in the shear layers. Both can be controlled by the amount of tapering of the afterbody, and a balance needs to be found between the two to optimize the geometry for energy extraction. Comparison of results from the QSS and DNS models shows similar trends of maximum power being increased as the body becomes more tapered. However, the difference between the QSS and DNS models increases exponentially as the tapering is increased. Inspection of time averaged flow-field data show that the flow in the true fluid-structure situation is not quasi-static, violating the primary assumption of the QSS model. However, the QSS model still provides a reasonable initial qualitative approximation to design galloping energy harvesting systems.


The purpose of the present study are first to analyze the differences in customer
product preferences between Minangkabau and Chinese customers of Bank Nagari.
Second, to determine factors affecting the use of Bank Nagari products among
Minangkabau and Chinese customers. Third, to determine the Minangkabau and
Chinese consumption models. The sample size amount 216 customers consisted of
Minangkabau would amount to 162 persons and Chinese would amount to 54
persons. Systematic sampling is applied in this study as it often yields sampling error
which is smaller. Data analysis technique is use consisted of factor analysis, cluster
analysis, and logistic regression.
Results of this study indicate the characteristics of Minangkabau customers are
divided to three which are sociable (60%), supportable (30%) and friendly (10%).
Similarly, there are also three types of Chinese customers namely supportable (60%),
sociable (23%) and friendly (17%). The Minangkabau customers can be concluded as
having social characteristics that seek for sympathy and reassurance, dependable.
excited, institutes values of fun and enjoyment in life as well as warm relationships
with others. These social signal are influenced by cultural values, which have been
cultivated in the Minangkabau society. Conversely, Chinese customers assist and
coalesce with one another to reach a common target. Such nature observed among the
Chinese customers are not found in the Minangkabau customers.
The result of logistics regression test for credit and saving products show partial
significance at probability level of .050 and result of Hosmer and Lemershow
Goodnes-of-Fit test show total significance at .050. Test result of ANOVA indicates
that there is ethnic difference in the consumption of financial products. Thus, from
the ethnic graph plot there are differences of the consumption pattern of credit and
saving products. This means that Minangkabau customer have been using bank
products optimally. On the contraly the plot graph of the ethnic Chinese usage of
product is very strange. This means that Chinese customers only use credit products
to support business activities. Cultural factor, saving and credit perception very much
determine the consumption of ethnic Minangkabau and Chinese.
The result of factor analysis indicates that there are three dimensions of saving
products and three dimensions of credit products. The dimensions for saving products
are labelled SSERVQUAL- I (certain time, sympathy and reassurance, dependability,
saving service, accurate records, prompt service, willingness to help consumers,
prompt response to consumer request, trusted employees, and safe feeling),
4
SSERVQUAL-2 (politeness, best interest at heart. convenient hours, up-to-date
equipment and technology, visual appeal, well dressed and neat appearance and
service type), and SSERVQUAL-3 (consumer information, adequate support,
individual attention, personal attention and consumer needs). Whereas, the
dimensions of credit products are labelled CSERVQUAL-I (certain time, sympathy
and reassurance, dependability, credit senlice. accurate records, prompt service,
willinpess to help consumers, prompt response to consumer request, trusted
employees, safe feeling, and politeness). CSERVQUAL-2 (best interest at heart,
convenient hours, up-to-date equipment and technology, visual appeal, well dressed
and neat appearance and service type), and CSERVQUAL-3 (consumer information.
adequate support, individual attention, personal attention and consumer needs).
The findings of the study can be used by Regional Development Banks, Bankers and
financial customers. It hopes to facilitate Regional Development Bank, in attaining
optimal profit. Bankers would be able to offer optimal service to its customer. This
will encourage customers to use banking products and services and provide
alternatives to customers in the use of banking services. The study could also be used
in identifying and developing relevant policies in helping the traders (especially small
traders) managing credit and savings.


Plastic materials have experienced a spectacular rate of growth in recent decades, consequently, production of plastics, and likewise their consumption, has increased markedly since 1950. Moreover, they are lightweight and durable, as well as can be moulded into a variety of products that can be manufactured in many different types of plastic and in a wide range of applications. Inevitably, continually increasing amounts of used plastic are originating daily, resulting in a plastic waste problem.
The final objective of this research is to achieve a good overview of currently plastic waste situation in order to propose several improvement strategies for favouring the reduction and utilization of this type of waste. Definitely, contribute to sustainable development and protection of natural resources through proposals of recovery and reduction of plastic waste disposed in landfills.
In order to improve the reduction and recovery rates of plastic waste, it is important to implement the 4Rs strategy in waste management, or waste hierarchy, a sequence of actions in the order of decreasing environmental desirability, including reduce, reuse, recycle materials and recover energy, with prevention as the most favoured option and disposal in a landfill as the least desirable management strategy.
For this reason, many measures in order to reduce the volume of plastic waste generation are proposed, that is, actions to be implemented before product end-of-life, during pre-consumption and consumption. Finally, some proposals to increase the utilization of recovered plastic and to improve plastic waste treatments are proposed, that is, actions to be implemented after product end-of-life or post-consumption. In addition to this, current applications of recycled plastic waste and future research are reported.


After years of searching through dusty museum collections and royal stores across India, acclaimed designer Ritu Kumar has uncovered many of the last surviving examples of traditional royal clothing. Her book is a celebration of this rich legacy of textiles and craftsmanship. This in-depth study of the evolution of Indian royal costume spans the centuries from the first representations of clothing in ancient India, through the reign of the Mughal emperors and the days of the British Raj, to Indian independence and royalty in the present day. The author covers both men's and women's garments, Hindu and Muslim styles, and documents the evolution of European-Indian fashions. This sumptuous volume is illustrated with a variety of material, much of which has never been published before - ranging from archive photographs, miniatures, royal portraits and cinema stills, to detailed images of garments and textiles from as far back as the seventeenth century. A separate section explains in detail the techniques behind the traditional crafts of weaving, dyeing, printing and embroidery, with sketches and patterns illustrating a variety of garments. Specially commissioned photographs of members of royalty wearing their traditional clothes emphasise the colour, shape, ornament and texture of these stunning costumes. This royal family album is supplemented by stories of royal India told to the author by the last Rajmatas who still remember the splendours of courtly life.


Corn (Zea mays L.) has become an important crop used in rotation with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the mid-South region of the USA, but there has been little research on cultural practices for corn in this cropping system. The objective of this study was to determine if starter fertilizer has beneficial effects on corn growth and grain yield at different planting dates. Starter fertilizer and planting date effects were evaluated for corn in field experiments on a Commerce silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, nonacid, thermic Aeric Fluvaquent) for 3 yr (1991 through 1993). Six hybrids were evaluated with two starter fertilizer treatments at four planting dates. Starter treatments were (i) ammonium polyphosphate (11-37-0 N-P-K) applied in-furrow and (ii)s a control with no starter fertilizer. Planting dates were mid-March, early April, mid-April and late April or early May. Yield response to planting date was not consistent across years; in two of three years, however, planting later than early April decreased yield. The starter fertilizer increased grain yield in two of the three years. Yield response to starter fertilizer was not consistent across years, hybrids, or planting dates. The planting date x starter interaction for yield was significant in two of three years and the hybrid x starter interaction for yield was significant in one of three years. Starter fertilizer increased early-season plant height by 2 to 36% and increased grain yield across planting dates from 0.5 to 1.4 Mg ha -1 in 1991 and 0.4 to 1.0 Mg ha -1 in 1993. There was no yield response to starter in 1992. Application of starter fertilizer, averaged across hybrids and years, reduced harvest grain moisture 5% and days to silking by 3 to 5 d. In this mid-South study, in-furrow N-P starter fertilizer increased early-season corn plant height and grain yield and decreased the number of days to silking of corn rotated with cotton.


The present study was focused on the analysis of agronomical, nutritional, physicochemical, and antioxidant properties of six genetically different quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) genotypes cultivated in three distinctive geographical zones of Chile. Ancovinto and Cancosa genotypes from the northern Altiplano (19 oS), Cahuil and Faro from the central region (34 oS), and Regalona and Villarica from the southern region (39 oS) are representative of high genetic differentiation among the pooled samples, in particular between Altiplano and the central-southern groups. A Common-Garden Assay at 30 oS showed significant differences among seed origins in all morphometric parameters and also in yields. Altiplano genotypes had larger panicule length but no seed production. A significant influence of the different quinoa genotypes on chemical composition and functional properties was also observed. Protein concentration ranged from 11.13 to 16.18 g.100 g-1 d.m., while total dietary fiber content ranged from 8.07-12.08 g.100 g-1 d.m., and both were the highest in Villarrica ecotype. An adequate balance of essential amino acids was also observed. Sucrose was the predominant sugar in all genotypes. Antioxidant activity was high in all genotypes, and it was highest in Faro genotype (79.58% inhibition).


Objective To determine if the risk of game-related concussion differs for Pee Wee (11–12 years) ice hockey players in the season following a national policy change disallowing body checking (2013/2014) when compared to a season (2011/2012) when body checking was allowed. Design Historical cohort study. Setting Community ice hockey rinks. Participants Pee Wee players were recruited from 59 teams in all divisions of play in Alberta (n=883) in 2011/12 prior to the rule change and from 73 teams in 2013/14 following the rule change (n=617). Assessment of risk factors Pee Wee ice hockey players before and after a national body checking policy change. Outcome measures Suspected concussions were identified by a team therapist/safety designate and referred to a sport medicine physician. Concussions were included if they met the Zurich 2013 Consensus definition of concussion. Main results There were 104 game-related concussions (IR=2.79/1000 game-hours) in Alberta prior to the rule change and 24 concussions (IR=1.08/1000 game-hours) after. Based on a multivariable Poisson regression model adjusting for player size, age, body checking attitudes, previous injury, level of play, and position, accounting for clustering by team, the rate of concussion declined following the policy change [IRR=0.34 (95% CI; 0.21 – 0.56)]. Overall, a physician diagnosed 67.3% and 79.1% of suspected game concussions in 2011/2012 and 2013/2014, respectively. Conclusions Introduction of the national policy change disallowing body checking in Pee Wee resulted in a 66% reduction in the Alberta Pee Wee ice hockey concussion rate. These findings have important implications for youth ice hockey policy. Competing interests None.


In this article, the photophysical characterisation in solution of a series of hexahydroquinoline derivatives is described using UV-Vis absorption and steady-state fluorescence emission spectroscopies. The compounds were obtained from one-pot four component synthesis via Hantzsch reaction using microwave irradiation. These compounds present absorption maxima located at around 350 nm and fluorescence emission maxima in the UV-violet-blue region. The Lippert–Mataga correlation indicates an ICT character in the excited state for the studied compounds since a linear relation of the fluorescence maxima versus the solvent polarity function was found. Theoretical calculations were also performed in order to study the geometry and charge distribution of these compounds in their ground and excited electronic states. No significant changes in absorption and emission maximum wavelength were found by changing the solvent or substituent groups attached to the hexahydroquinoline structure.


Recently we have seen a fundamental shift in the news regarding Brazilian multinational companies: as long as during the 2000s their successful expansion into global markets was celebrated, today their involvement in the widespread corruption scandal, originating from the kickback scheme (via systematic overpricing of contracts) from Petrobras is on a daily basis in the newspapers. The paper aims to analyse the going global strategy of Brazilian firms, with special emphasis on the home country push factors. After a general panorama on the numbers and main players, we look at the main driving forces behind the international expansion strategy (incl. government policies to support the internationalization of Brazilian MNEs), as well as the various obstacles Brazilian companies have faced on their dumpy road towards the global markets. Then we look at the main destinations of Brazil's outward FDI, and analyse their localization strategies, with a special focus on the role of Europe (more specifically the Eastern Central European region). We provide some preliminary findings on the Brazilian companies present in the ECE region especially in Hungary), while also try to reveal some region specific driving forces and obstacles that might lie beyond the numbers.


Cloud computing opportunities have presented service options for users that are both economical and flexible to use requirements. However, the risk analysis for the user identifies vulnerabilities for intellectual property ownership and vulnerabilities for the identification of rightful property owners when cloud services are used. It is common for image owners to embed watermarks and other security mechanisms into their property so that the rightful ownership may be identified. In this paper we present a design that overcomes many of the current limitations in cloud watermarking uses; and propose a schema that places responsibility on the cloud provider to have a robust information protection program. Such a design solution lays out an information security architecture that enhances utility for cloud services and gives better options for users to securely place properties in the cloud. The Design Science methodology is used to build the artefact and answer the research question: How can rightful ownership be protected in the Cloud?


Abstract The oxygen fugacity in the interior of the Earth is largely controlled by iron-bearing minerals. Recent studies have reported various iron oxides with chemical compositions between FeO and Fe3O4 above ~10 GPa. However, the stabilities of these high-pressure iron oxides remain mostly uninvestigated. In this study, we performed in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements in a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (DAC) to determine the phase relations in both Fe5O6 and Fe4O5 bulk compositions to 61 GPa and to 2720 K. The results show that Fe5O6 is a high-temperature phase stable above 1600 K and ~10 GPa, while FeO + Fe4O5 are formed at relatively low temperatures. We observed the decomposition of Fe5O6 into 2FeO + Fe3O4 above 38 GPa and the decomposition of Fe4O5 into FeO + h-Fe3O4 at a similar pressure range. The coexistence of FeO and Fe3O4 indicates that none of the recently discovered compounds between FeO and Fe3O4 (i.e., Fe5O6, Fe9O11, Fe4O5, and Fe7O9) are formed beyond ~40 GPa at 1800 K, corresponding to conditions in the shallow lower mantle. Additionally, as some superdeep diamonds have genetic links with these high-pressure iron oxides, our results give constraints on pressure and temperature conditions of their formation.


Epilithic diatom communities in high-altitude streams in the Polish part of Sudety Mountains were studied in the years 2004-2006 to assess water quality and ecological status. In the Polish river typology, these water bodies have been separated as the type 3: the Sudety stream characterized by a small catchment area (< 100 km 2 ), V- or U-shaped valley, high velocity of flow, significant channel slope and a bed composed of boulders, stones and cobbles. The stream sections under study are located in Karkonosze Mountains and in Snieznik Massif and have been chosen following the European Union's recommendations for reference sites. The Karkonosze streams possess slightly acidic or neutral waters, with very poor electrolyte content, low total hardness and low total P content. Streams in Snieznik Massif have alkaline waters, with poor or medium electrolyte content, higher total hardness and higher total P content. Altogether 184 diatom taxa were determined. Species diversity ranged from poor (8-9 taxa) to moderately rich (82 taxa). The most abundant were Diatoma mesodon, Eunotia exigua, Achnanthidium minutissimum, Fragilaria capucina var. rumpens, Encvonema minutum, Fragilariforma virescens, Gomphonema gracile and Tabellaria flocculosa. Three diatom indices were applied in order to assess water quality: the Trophic Index (TI), the Saprobic Index (SI) and the Index of Pollution Sensibility (IPS). The TI values varied from 0.53 to 1.83 and in majority of the streams indicated ultraoligotrophic or oligotrophic waters. The SI values changed from 1.09 to 1.55 and indicated none (oligosaprobic) or slight (oligo-β-mesosaprobic) organic pollution. The IPS values were usually not lower than 17.7 and indicated waters of low trophy and unpolluted or imperceptibly polluted. Most of the streams studied may serve as reference sites for the Polish type 3 of running waters, i.e. the stream of Sudety Mts.


Conflicting methodologies are used to define certain countermovement vertical jump (CMVJ) phases, which limits identification of performance-enhancing factors (e.g., rate of force development).

PURPOSE
We (a) utilized a joint power approach to define CMVJ phases that accurately describe body weight unloading (i.e., unweighting) and eccentric (i.e., braking) actions, which were combined with the robustly-defined concentric (i.e., propulsion) phase, and (b) determined whether the phases can be identified using only ground reaction force (GRF) data.

METHODS
Twenty-one men performed eight maximal CMVJs while kinematic and GRF data were obtained. Hip, knee, and ankle joint powers were calculated using inverse dynamics. The net sum of the joint powers (JPSUM) was calculated to define phases by the preeminence of negative (i.e., net eccentric actions) or positive (i.e., net concentric actions) power where appropriate. Unloading, eccentric, and concentric phases were identified using JPSUM and linked to GRF and center of mass (COM) velocity features.

RESULTS
Bland & Altman plots of the bias and 95% confidence intervals for the limits of agreement (LOA), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), and coefficients of variation (CV) indicated precise agreement for detecting the unloading (bias: 0.060 s; LOA: -0.110 to 0.229 s) and eccentric (bias: 0.012 s; LOA: -0.010 to 0.040 s) phases with moderate (ICC: 0.578; CV: 40.72%) and excellent (ICC: 0.993; CV: 2.18%) reliability, respectively. The eccentric phase should be divided into yielding (eccentric actions while accelerating downward) and braking (eccentric actions while decelerating downward) sub-phases for detailed assessments.

CONCLUSION
CMVJ phases defined by combining joint and COM mechanics can be detected using only force platform data, enabling functionally relevant CMVJ assessments using instrumentation commonly available to practitioners.


Heat shock proteins (HSP) are highly conserved proteins with various identities and intracellular functions. Most HSP are cell stress proteins, meaning that their intracellular transcription is up regulated upon noxious stimuli such as heat, hypoxia and inflammation. As intracellular chaperones they protect other intracellular proteins from denaturation under these circumstances. When cells are damaged, HSP are also found in the extracellular fluid, due to secretion and leakage from cells. Interestingly, HSP are important antigens for the immune system, capable of inducing both innate and adaptive immune responses. Although HSP were originally categorized as danger signals for the immune system, evidence on regulatory effects of class II presentation of HSP-peptides on T cells has accumulated. The experimental work presented in this thesis is aimed at studying T cell responses to peptides of HSP in the human immune system, with focus on autoimmune diseases. Three HSP families are discussed in this thesis: dnaJ (HSP40), HSP60 and HSP70.

DnaJ. We present the first phase II clinical trial on mucosal tolerance induction with the HSP-peptide dnaJp1 in RA. Daily oral administration of peptide dnaJp1 resulted in a decrease in disease activity, without major side effects. We found a change in T cell responses to the peptide after 168 days of therapy with a significant decrease in TNFα production of CD4+ T cells and a non-significant increase in IL10. A higher gene expression of immune tolerance molecules in PBMC after incubation with dnaJp1 before initiation of the trial correlated with a better clinical response.

HSP60. We found that CD4+ T cells from synovial fluid of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients respond to the self-HSP60-peptide p2. Interestingly, these responses were only apparent when CD4+CD25+ T cells were depleted from the culture. When CD4+CD25- synovial T cells were cultured with peptide p2, CD25 was up regulated on the cell surface and the resulting CD25high cells were functionally suppressive in vitro, suggesting an immune regulating effect.

HSP70. We performed a literature search for HSP70-peptides eluted from HLA on human APC. We detected proliferation and cytokine production by healthy donor CD4+ T cells towards a selection of these naturally presented HSP70 peptides. This demonstrated that HSP70-specific T cells are present in the peripheral blood of healthy donors. We then turned to a tissue where HSP70 has a well-defined crucial function in the protection of its cells: the muscle. We showed that the presence of extracellular HSP70 is increased in the muscle of patients with the inflammatory myopathy Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM). We found that one of the selected HSP70 peptides (H443) induced TNFα, IFNγ and IL17 production by peripheral blood T cells from JDM patients.


This paper describes a mobile augmented reality system intended for in situ reconstructions of archaeological sites. The evolution of the system from proof of concept to something approaching a satisfactory ergonomic design is described, as are the various approaches to achieving real-time rendering performance from the accompanying software. Finally, some comments are made concerning the accuracy of such systems.


In this paper we study how roles can be added to patterns modelling relationships in Object Oriented programming, and which new relationship patterns can be introduced using roles. Relationships can be introduced in programming languages either by reducing them to attributes of the objects which participate in the relationship, or by modelling the relationship itself as a class whose instances have the participants of the relationships among their attributes. However, even if roles have been recognized as an essential component of relationships, also in modelling languages like UML, they have not been introduced in Object Oriented programming when it is necessary to model relationships. Introducing roles allows to add attributes and behaviors to the participants in the relationship, rather than to the relationship itself, and to distinguish natural types as classes participating in the relationships from the roles the participants acquire in the relationships. In this paper we show how the role model proposed in powerJava can be used to endow relationships with roles, both in the relationship as attribute and in the relationship object pattern. Finally, since these patterns have different advantages and limitations, we propose a third pattern based on roles which benefits from the advantages of the two previous patterns when modelling relationships.


The Hani App project contributes to the visual arts by exploring transitions between traditional culture and digital media to create new artefacts. This research is a collaboration with The Global Sound Movement.
Audiences can interact in a unique way with GSM sampled sounds from the drums of the Hani Tribe in China to create an embroidery pattern which celebrates their rhythms and traditional costume designs.
 "Can gamification be used as an interactive and transformative tool for artistic expression to engage learning, encourage appreciation and to illustrate traditional, historical and cultural related experience?"
Advertising designer Elliot Harris' animated film of 2002, 'Burberry- Rain' identifies the 4-dimensional properties of Burberry fabric. In 2013 Sophia George developed a game based on 'The Strawberry Thief' which re-vitalized the art of William Morris. The Hani App moves beyond re-vitalization of a design to involve interaction with sound and illustration of traditional crafts, exploring the use of digital tools to create unique artefacts.
This acknowledges and records ideas and objects which may otherwise be lost or forgotten.
'The Art of Computer Game Design.' (Crawford, C. 1997)
'Play, Games and Gamification in Contemporary Art Museums.' (Romualdo, S. 2013)
'Gamification in the Arts'. (Bouchard, A. 2014)
An exploratory, prototyping methodology was used in this project, allowing for a flexible development style. Sprite Designs were created in Adobe Photoshop and implemented into the App using Scirra's Construct 2 game engine. The imagery was based on GSM's photos and sampled sounds. The work is available to the public as an interactive App on the GSM website, also in the GSM South China Exhibitions and as a video on Vimeo with images of artefacts on Twitter


The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of Saanen doe goats' birth types on milk yields,lactation length, dry period, days open and kidding interval at PT Fajar Taurus. This research employeda case study method using secondary data of production and reproduction of Saanen doe goats. Datawas analysed using Microsoft Excel program and Kruskal Wallis test. The results showed percentages ofSaanen doe goats with single, twinning and triplets birth are 47.94%, 39.73% and 12.33% respectively.Milk yields for single birth was 1,14±0,43 litres/goat/day, lactation length of 286.43±119.73 days, dryperiod of 68.89±18.57 days, days open of 205.31±117.67 days, and kidding interval of 355.31±117.67days. Milk yields for twinning birth was 1.32±0.49 litres/goat/day, lactation length of 270±219.43 days,dry period of 69.10±17.52 days, days open of 189.10±227.22 days, and kidding interval of 339.10±227.22days. Meanwhile, milk yields for triplets birth was 0.93±0.40 litres/goat/day, lactation length of360±228.97 days, dry period of 66.67±23.78 days, days open of 276.67±240.38 days, and kidding intervalof 426.67±240.38 days. There is nonsignificant effect of birth types on milk yields, lactation length, daysopen and kidding interval in Saanen doe goats (P>0.05). However, birth types were found to have asignificant effect on dry period (P<0.05).


Abstract. Svalbard is a heavily glacier-covered archipelago in the Arctic. Dickson Land (DL), in the central part of the largest island, Spitsbergen, is relatively arid and, as a result, glaciers there are relatively small and restricted mostly to valleys and cirques. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of glacier changes in DL based on inventories compiled from topographic maps and digital elevation models for the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum, the 1960s, 1990, and 2009/2011. Total glacier area has decreased by  ∼ 38 % since the LIA maximum, and front retreat increased over the study period. Recently, most of the local glaciers have been consistently thinning in all elevation bands, in contrast to larger Svalbard ice masses which remain closer to balance. The mean 1990–2009/2011 geodetic mass balance of glaciers in DL is among the most negative from the Svalbard regional means known from the literature.