Contemporary robots perform energy intensive tasks -- e.g. manipulation and locomotion -- making the development of energy autonomous robots challenging. Since plants are primary energy producers in natural ecosystems, we took plants as a source of inspiration for designing our robotics platform. This led us to investigate energy autonomy in robots through employing solar panels. As plants move slowly compared to other large terrestrial organisms, it is expected that plant-inspired robots can enable robotic applications such as long-term monitoring and exploration where energy consumption could be minimized. Since it is difficult to manually design robotic systems that adheres to full energy autonomy, we utilize evolutionary algorithms to automate the design and evaluation of energy harvesting robots. We demonstrate how artificial evolution can lead to the design and control of a modular plant-like robot. Robotic phenotypes were acquired through implementing an evolutionary algorithm, a generative encoding and modular building blocks in a simulation environment. The generative encoding is based on a context sensitive Lindemayer-System (L-System) and the evolutionary algorithm is used to optimize compositions of heterogeneous modular building blocks in the simulation environment. Phenotypes that evolved from the simulation environment are in turn transferred to a physical robot platform. The robotics platform consists of five different types of modules: (1) a base module; (2) a cube module; (3) servo modules; and (4,5) two types of solar panel modules that are used to harvest energy. The control system for the platform is initially evolved in the simulation environment and afterwards transferred to an actual physical robot. A few experiments were done showing the relationship between energy cost and the amount of light tracking that evolved in the simulation. The reconfigurable modular robots are eventually used to harvest light with the possibility to be reconfigured based on the needs of the designer, the type of usable modules and/or the optimal configuration derived from the simulation environment. Long term energy autonomy has not been tested in this robotics platform. However, we think our robotics platform can serve as a stepping stone towards full energy autonomy in modular robots.


Predictions of the solubility of flavonoids in a large variety of ionic liquids (ILs) with over 1800 available structures were examined based on COSMO-RS computation. The results show that the solubilities of flavonoids are strongly anion-dependent. Experimental measurement of the solubilities of esculin and rutin in 12 ILs with varying anions and cations show that predicted and experimental results generally have a good agreement. Based on the sound physical basis of COSMO-RS, the solubility changes of flavonoids were quantitatively associated with solvation interactions and structural characteristics of ILs. COSMO-RS derived parameters, i.e. misfit, H-bonding and van der Waals interaction energy, are shown to be capable of characterizing the complicated multiple interactions in the IL system effectively. H-bonding interaction is the most dominant interaction for ILs (followed by misfit and van der Waals interactions) to determine the solubility of flavonoids, and the anionic part has greater effect on the overall H-bonding capability of the IL. Based on basicity of anions, ILs were categorized into 3 groups, corresponding to the classification of the solubility of flavonoid. COSMO sigma-moment descriptors, which roughly denote the characteristic properties of the ILs, might be of general value to have a fast estimation for the solubilities of flavonoids as well as those compounds with massive moieties as H-bonding donors. The results obtained in this work may be important for achieving an improved understanding of IL solvations and the tailoring of the desired structures of ILs used as the media for efficient enzymatic esterification of flavonoids.


Although there is a large literature on face recognition, less is known about the process of face matching, i.e., deciding whether two photographs depict the same person. The research described here examines viewers' strategies for matching faces, and addresses the issue of which parts of a face are important for this task.

Consistent with previous research, several eye-tracking experiments demonstrated a bias to the eye region when looking at faces. In some studies, there was a scanning strategy whereby only one eye on each face was viewed (the left eye on the right face and the right eye on the left face). However, viewing patterns and matching performance could be influenced by manipulating the way the face pair was presented: through face inversion, changing the distance between the two faces and varying the layout.

There was a strong bias to look at the face on the left first, and then to look at the face on the right. A left visual field bias for individual faces has been found in a number of previous studies, but this is the first time it has been reported using pairs of faces in a matching task. The bias to look first at the item on the left was also found when trying to match pairs of similar line drawings of objects and therefore is not specific to face stimuli.

Finally, the experiments in this thesis suggest that the way face pairs are presented can influence viewers' accuracy on a matching task, as well as the way in which these faces are viewed. This suggests that the layout of face pairs for matching might be important in real world settings, such as the attempt to identify criminals from security cameras.


Recently, online social networking sites have exploded in popularity. Numerous sites are dedicated to finding and maintaining contacts and to locating and sharing different types of content. Online social networks represent a new kind of information network that differs significantly from existing networks like the Web. For example, in the Web, hyperlinks between content form a graph that is used to organize, navigate, and rank information. The properties of the Web graph have been studied extensively, and have lead to useful algorithms such as PageRank. In contrast, few links exist between content in online social networks and instead, the links exist between content and users, and between users themselves. However, little is known in the research community about the properties of online social network graphs at scale, the factors that shape their structure, or the ways they can be leveraged in information systems.
In this thesis, we use novel measurement techniques to study online social networks at scale, and use the resulting insights to design innovative new information systems. First, we examine the structure and growth patterns of online social networks, focusing on how users are connecting to one another. We conduct the first large-scale measurement study of multiple online social networks at scale, capturing information about over 50 million users and 400 million links. Our analysis identifies a common structure across multiple networks, characterizes the underlying processes that are shaping the network structure, and exposes the rich community structure.
Second, we leverage our understanding of the properties of online social networks to design new information systems. Specifically, we build two distinct applications that leverage different properties of online social networks. We present and evaluate Ostra, a novel system for preventing unwanted communication that leverages the difficulty in establishing and maintaining relationships in social networks. We also present, deploy, and evaluate PeerSpective, a system for enhancing Web search using the natural community, structure in social networks. Each of these systems has been evaluated on data from real online social networks or in a deployment with real users.


This thesis introduces Intelligent Fitness Functions and Partial Fitness Functions both
of which can improve the performance of a genetic algorithm which is limited to a fixed
run time.
An Intelligent Fitness Function is defined as a fitness function with a memory. The
memory is used to store information about individuals so that duplicate individuals do
not need to have their fitness tested. Different types of memory (long and short term)
and different storage strategies (fitness based, time base and frequency based) have been
tested. The results show that an intelligent fitness function, with a time based long term
memory improves the efficiency of a genetic algorithm the most.
A Partial Fitness Function is defined as a fitness function that only partially tests
the fitness of an individual at each generation. Thus only promising individuals get fully
tested. Using a partial fitness function gives the genetic algorithm more evolutionary
steps in the same length of time as a genetic algorithm using a normal fitness function.
The results show that a genetic algorithm using a partial fitness function can achieve
higher fitness levels than a genetic algorithm using a normal fitness function.
Finally a genetic algorithm designed to solve a substitution cipher is compared to one equipped with an intelligent fitness function and another equipped with a partial
fitness function. The genetic algorithm with the intelligent fitness function and the
genetic algorithm with the partial fitness function both show a significant improvement
over the genetic algorithm with a conventional fitness function.


We consider a group of mobile users, within proximity of each other, who are interested in watching the same online video. The common practice today is that each user downloads the video independently on her mobile device using her own cellular connection, which wastes access bandwidth and may also lead to poor video quality. We propose a novel cooperative system where each mobile device uses simultaneously two network interfaces: (i) cellular to connect to the video server and download parts of the video and (ii) WiFi to connect locally to all other devices in the group to exchange those parts. Devices cooperate to efficiently utilize all network resources and to adapt to varying wireless network conditions. In the local WiFi network, we exploit overhearing, which we further combine with network coding. The end result is savings in cellular bandwidth and improved user experience. We follow a complete approach, from theory to practice. First, we formulate the problem using a network utility maximization (NUM) framework, decompose the problem, and provide a distributed solution. Then, based on the structure of the NUM solution, we design a system called MicroCast, and we implement a prototype as an Android application. We provide both simulation results of the NUM solution and experimental evaluation. We demonstrate that the proposed approach brings significant performance benefits (namely, faster download on the order of the group size) without battery penalty.


Purpose Mechanisms governing the cellular interactions with well-defined nanotopography are not well described in vivo. This is partly due to the difficulty in isolating a particular effect of nanotopography from other surface properties. This study employed colloidal lithography for nanofabrication on titanium implants in combination with an in vivo sampling procedure and different analytical techniques. The aim was to elucidate the effect of well-defined nanotopography on the molecular, cellular, and structural events of osseointegration. Materials and methods Titanium implants were nanopatterned (Nano) with semispherical protrusions using colloidal lithography. Implants, with and without nanotopography, were implanted in rat tibia and retrieved after 3, 6, and 28 days. Retrieved implants were evaluated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, histology, immunohistochemistry, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Results Surface characterization showed that the nanotopography was well defined in terms of shape (semispherical), size (79±6 nm), and distribution (31±2 particles/µm2). EDS showed similar levels of titanium, oxygen, and carbon for test and control implants, confirming similar chemistry. The molecular analysis of the retrieved implants revealed that the expression levels of the inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, and the osteoclastic marker, CatK, were reduced in cells adherent to the Nano implants. This was consistent with the observation of less CD163-positive macrophages in the tissue surrounding the Nano implant. Furthermore, periostin immunostaining was frequently detected around the Nano implant, indicating higher osteogenic activity. This was supported by the EDS analysis of the retrieved implants showing higher content of calcium and phosphate on the Nano implants. Conclusion The results show that Nano implants elicit less periimplant macrophage infiltration and downregulate the early expression of inflammatory (TNF-α) and osteoclastic (CatK) genes. Immunostaining and elemental analyses show higher osteogenic activity at the Nano implant. It is concluded that an implant with the present range of well-defined nanocues attenuates the inflammatory response while enhancing mineralization during osseointegration.


OBJECTIVE
To compare β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and glucose concentrations measured with a dual-purpose point-of-care (POC) meter designed for use in humans and a laboratory biochemical analyzer (LBA) to determine whether the POC meter would be reliable for on-farm measurement of blood glucose and BHB concentrations in sheep in various environmental conditions and nutritional states.

ANIMALS
36 pregnant mixed-breed ewes involved in a maternal feed restriction study.

PROCEDURES
Blood samples were collected from each sheep at multiple points throughout gestation and lactation to allow for tracking of gradually increasing metabolic hardship. Whole blood glucose and BHB concentrations were measured with the POC meter and compared with serum results obtained with an LBA.

RESULTS
464 samples were collected. Whole blood BHB concentrations measured with the POC meter compared well with LBA results, and error grid analysis showed the POC values were acceptable. Whole blood glucose concentrations measured with the POC meter had more variation, compared with LBA values, over the glucose ranges evaluated. Results of error grid analysis of POC-measured glucose concentrations were not acceptable, indicating errors likely to result in needless treatment with glucose or other supplemental energy sources in normoglycemic sheep.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The POC meter was user-friendly and performed well across a wide range of conditions. The meter was adequate for detection of pregnancy toxemia in sheep via whole blood BHB concentration. Results should be interpreted with caution when the POC meter is used to measure blood glucose concentrations.


This paper presents a novel approach for providing automated trading agents to a population, focusing on bilateral negotiation with unenforceable agreements. A new type of agents, called semicooperative (SC) agents is proposed for this environment. When these agents negotiate with each other they reach a pareto-optimal solution that is mutually beneficial. Through extensive experiments we demonstrate the superiority of providing such agents for humans over supplying equilibrium agents or letting people design their own agents. These results are based on our observation that most people do not modify SC agents even though they are not in equilibrium. Our findings introduce a new factor -human response to provided agents - that should be taken into consideration when developing agents that are provided to a population.


With the progress of medical care in recent years, the prognosis of intractable diseases of childhood onset has markedly improved. Young adults with special health care needs require continuous medical support throughout their lifetimes. To provide them with optimal health care services, a smooth transition from the pediatric medical system to the adult one is essential. However, in Japan many adult health providers are not sufficiently prepared to care for these patients, due both to limited opportunities to gain up-to-date medical knowledge on transitional health care and a lack of familiarity with the medical treatment of childhood-onset chronic diseases. In this review, we discuss current issues in transitional health care in Japan from an internist's viewpoint.


Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice. Surgical ablation is a therapeutic procedure that creates lines of conduction block to interrupt the maintenance of AF. However, surgical AF ablation procedures are largely based on empirical considerations, and may not be optimized. In this study, based on a detailed human atrial model with fiber orientation, eight AF surgical ablation procedures, including the clinical gold standard Cox-Maze III, incomplete Maze-III, mini-Maze, and 5 modified Maze-Ⅲ procedures, were simulated and evaluated. The simulation results indicated the importance of the ablation line from the connection of superior and inferior vena cava to the atrial septum, and also showed that, in comparison with the clinical standard Maze-Ⅲ procedure, our modified Maze-Ⅲ procedures with fewer ablation lines achieved similar ablation effectiveness. In conclusion, this preliminary simulation study has demonstrated that current surgical AF ablation procedure is not optimal and a refinement could be suggested. It also suggests that computational heart modeling and simulation is an important tool to evaluate AF treatment strategies.


In Turkey, potential of renewable energy for both heating and cooling systems remains mostly untapped. Turkey's energy demand is met to a great extent by imported energy sources which constitutes a substantial economic burden for Turkey. The main types of supporting financial mechanisms are limited to feed-in tariff for electricity production. The first aim of this paper is, to analyze current best practice policy design and harmonization of support schemes for renewable heating technologies in European countries. Secondly, the paper proposes a two steps model to develop support mechanisms for renewable heating technologies in Turkey. The paper analyzed the impacts of different policy harmonization options in the field of renewable energy heating and cooling, taking into account various determinants such as survey of current best-available RE policies in Europe, available national RE potential, data on different regional characteristics of Turkey, accompanying regulations, laws and implementation measures, support policies with regard to domestic RE technologies. Based on the bottom-up modeling, the scheme shows that a harmonized use of different inputs would generate a comprehensive policy instruments, such as subsides, regulations and local targets. Keywords: Renewable energy, Energy economics, Renewable heating technologies, Policy design, Global warming JEL Classifications: Q20; Q28; Q48; Q58


Sunn hemp (Crotolaria juncea) is a fast growing tropical legume that can accumulate large amounts of biomass and N in a relatively short period of time during the summer in the southeast US. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of using this legume as an N source for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). A field study was conducted in 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. Treatments were summer legume [sunn hemp, cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), and summer fallow] and fertilizer N rate applied to cotton (0, 45, 90, and 135 kg N ha-1). The summer legumes were planted in mid-summer (July) and cotton was planted the following spring (May). Sunn hemp N accumulation at the first freeze in the fall was 204 kg ha-1 in 2004 and 98 kg ha-1 in 2006. Cowpeas accumulated 57 kg ha-1 in 2004 and 87 kg ha-1 in 2006. Soil NO3-N was higher in the surface 90 cm following sunn hemp than either cowpeas or summer fallow during the winter in both years. Shortly after cotton planting in May, however; there was no difference among the three summer legume treatments in soil NO3-N. Nitrogen concentrations of uppermost fully expanded leaves were greater in cotton following the legumes than following summer fallow at seven of nine weekly sampling dates in 2005, but there were no differences in 2007. In 2005, seedcotton yield following cowpeas and summer fallow increased with N rate, but seedcotton yield following sunn hemp was not significantly affected by fertilizer N. Drought conditions in 2007 limited cotton yield, and yield decreased with increasing N rates due to the severe stress conditions. Sunn hemp has the potential for providing substantial biomass and N for cropping systems on the low organic matter soils of the southeast US. Further research is needed on the fate of the N in the residues during the winter for cotton rotations.


The blockbuster merger between AOL and Time Warner, in the twilight of the dot-com boom, is now characterized as perhaps the worst business combination ever. Shareholders lost over $200 billion in value; the deal's architects were forced out in disgrace; and the surviving executives jettisoned the AOL name as if to wipe clean our collective memory. Despite the merger's seismic effects, relatively little has been written about its potential legal ramifications. In this article, I suggest that the collapse of AOL Time Warner is a cautionary tale for those who would advocate greater adherence to the norm of shareholder primacy. Before the merger, AOL and Time Warner represented opposite poles on the shareholder primacy scale. AOL's leadership took shareholder primacy to heart; in fact, the goal of maximizing share price took on an almost religious fervor. At Time Warner, by contrast, there was a long history of sublimating shareholder concerns to protect the company, its culture, and its executive cadre. The failure of the merger between these two opposites, ending in the ultimate ascendancy of Time Warner executives, is instructive. Those who advocate for a norm of shareholder wealth maximization must contend with the sins of such a normative structure, as AOL (circa 2000) amply manifested: overly generous stock option grants, a zealous focus on meeting Wall Street targets, a willingness to bend or even break accounting rules, and a resulting cavalcade of phony numbers and empty promises. These sins are what doomed the new company to failure. Although the Time Warner approach also has its pathologies, the AOL Time Warner debacle should force shareholder primacists to at least recognize the dangers that the primacy norm may engender, and may counsel for a more nuanced approach to corporate governance principles.


In natural language generation the grammatical component has to be systematically interfaced to the other components of the system, for example, the planning component. Grammatical formalisms can be studied with respect to their suitability for generation. The tree adjoining grammar (TAG) formalism has been previously studied in terms of incremental generation. In this paper, the TAG formalism has been investigated from the point of view of its ability to handle word-order variation in the context of generation. Word-order cannot be treated as a last minute adjustment of a structure; this position is not satisfactory cognitively or computationally. The grammatical framework has to be able to deal with the word-order phenomena in a way such that it can be systematically interfaced to the other components of the generation system.


Large doses of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (7,12-DMBA) caused the death of rats within 1 day. A small amount of any of 5 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons or of an aromatic amine given before the highly toxic dose of 7,12-DMBA resulted in survival for more than 2 months and the specific atrophy of testis which follows 7,12-DMBA was largely prevented. Among the protective aromatics is 7,12-DMBA itself; a small dose of 7,12-DMBA given in advance induced protection of life against an otherwise lethal dose of 7,12-DMBA but only in a proportion of the animals, and testis was not protected from injury. The highly efficient inducers of protection were condensed aromatics composed of 4 or 5 rings. Protection of life against toxicity of big doses of 7,12-DMBA by pretreatment with small doses of aromatics required time (ca. 5 to 8 hours) for its induction. Ethionine given a few minutes after a highly efficient inducer of protection, 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC), abolished induction of protection; ethionine given 8 hours after 3-MC exerted no influence on its protective effect. A lethal dose of 7,12-DMBA resulted in a considerable reduction in incorporation of tritium in DNA from tritiated thymidine while at the same time synthesis of menadione reductase was induced in liver. A small dose of 3-MC given prior to 7,12-DMBA was advantageous in partially protecting DNA synthesis.


integrity of 3.81 in. in the high category. Third of the average yield motif, indicating that the motive of information has an average rating of the most high. So note that the motive of information is the most dominant motif of women in the watch Cinta Fitri on SCTV.Television is one of the mass media of the most widely used by Indonesian people to access information and entertainment. Soap opera that is one product of the television industry is currently the star in the hours that are considered Prime Time. The phenomenon Sinetron Cinta Fitri example which is always the "Queen of Rating". In the soap opera Cinta Fitri aired season 1, the event turned out to occupy the top rated work at various private television stations in Indonesia. Success of acquisition ratings also remain attached, at the time of delivery Cinta Fitri Season 2. In Cinta Fitri Season 3, nicknamed "Queen of Ratings" was also still surviving. This proves that sinetron Cinta Fitri indeed be a lot of soap operas watched by the public. The formulation of the problem in this research is what is dominating the women's motives RW 5 Village residents Bandung Malang Rejosari watch Cinta Fitri in on SCTV? The aim of this
research is to know what the motive that dominates women's watch Cinta Fitri on SCTV.
Motif watch is all the driving, the reasons or impulses in human beings, causing interested in watching something impressions or programs that draw attention to note further and deeper, so they get the information interesting and actual (Dictionary of Indonesian). In this study, the motif
includes information Motive, Motive Motive Entertainment and Social Integration. While the theories used are the Uses and Gratification theory (utility and satisfaction). This theory is a theory that (assume) that people have needs and desires can be met with (one way) using
(subscribe, read, watch or listen to) media.
The research method is survey with quantitative approach. This type of research is descriptive research. Based on existing approaches, this study used quantitative descriptive research approach. Type or types of research aims to make a systematic description, factual, and accurate about the facts and the properties of a population or a particular object. The population in this study was women aged 1845 years in Region 5 Sub Bandungrejosari RW Breadfruit Malang District. Determination of the number of samples using the formula Taro Yamane and samples
obtained as many as 68 people responder. Technique collecting data using questionnaires and documentation. The data is displayed through a simple tabulation of the results in the form of percentages, frequency tables contain two columns of the frequency and percentage of each
category. Analysis of the data used is to use a central tendency with the mean shape. This is to determine the average value of each category investigated motive.
Based on the analysis of data that has been conducted, researchers found that of the three motifs (Motif Information, Motive Entertainment, and Motives of Social Integration) used as reference in this research note that all three motifs has an average score that high. The average value of 3.91 for Information motif into the high category. The average value of 3.87 for the entertainment motive into the high category. And the average value of the motive of social


The MPLS Generic Associated Channel (G-ACh) provides an auxiliary
logical data channel associated with a Label Switched Path (LSP), a
pseudowire, or a section (link) over which a variety of protocols may
flow. These protocols are commonly used to provide Operations,
Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) mechanisms associated with the
primary data channel. This document specifies simple procedures by
which an endpoint of an LSP, pseudowire, or section may inform the
other endpoints of its capabilities and configuration parameters, or
other application-specific information. This information may then be
used by the receiver to validate or adjust its local configuration,
and by the network operator for diagnostic purposes.


In this work, we exposed an MIS capacitor with porous platinum as gate material to different concentrations of CO and NH3. Its capacitance and typical reaction products (water, CO2 and NO) were monitored at high and low oxygen concentration and different gate bias voltages. We found that the gate bias influences the switch-point of the binary CO response usually seen when either changing the temperature at constant gas concentrations or the CO/O2 ratio at constant temperature. For NH3, the sensor response as well as product reaction rates increase with bias voltages up to 6 V. A capacitance overshoot is observed when switching on or off either gas at low gate bias, suggesting increasing oxygen surface coverage with decreasing gate bias.


The huge and ever increasing amount of text generated by Twitter users everyday embeds a wealth of information, in particular, about themes that become suddenly relevant to many users as well as about the sentiment polarity that users tend to associate with these themes. In this paper, we exploit both these opportunities and propose a method for: (i) detecting novel popular themes, i.e. events, (ii) summarizing these events by means of a concise yet meaningful representation, and (iii) assessing the prevalent sentiment polarity associated with each event, i.e., positive vs. negative. Our method is fully unsupervised and requires only a precompiled topic description in the form of set of potentially relevant keywords that might appear in the events of interest. We validate our proposal on a real corpus of about 8,000,000 tweets, by detecting, classifying and summarizing events related to three wide topics associated with tech-related brands.


This working paper identifies agricultural activities and value chains in Ghana whose expansion is most effective at generating economic growth, reducing national and rural poverty, creating jobs, and improving nutrition by diversifying diets. The Rural Investment and Policy Analysis (RIAPA) model of the Ghanaian economy is used to estimate how increasing production in different agricultural sectors leads to changes in national and household outcomes.1 RIAPA captures linkages between sectors and rural-urban economies, as well as changes throughout the agriculture-food system (AFS).


June 4th, 2013 marks the formal launch of the third generation of the Equator Principles (EP III) and the tenth anniversary of the EPs – enough reasons for evaluating the EPs initiative from an economic ethics and business ethics perspectives. In particular, this essay deals with the following questions: What are the EPs and where are they going? What has been achieved so far by the EPs? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the EPs? Which necessary reform steps need to be adopted in order to further strengthen the EPs framework? Can the EPs be regarded as a role-model in the field of sustainable finance and CSR? The paper is structured as follows: The first chapter defines the term EPs and introduces the keywords related to the EPs framework. The second chapter gives a brief overview of the history of the EPs. The third chapter discusses the Equator Principles Association, the governing, administering, and managing institution behind the EPs. The fourth chapter summarizes the main features and characteristics of the newly released third generation of the EPs. The fifth chapter critically evaluates the EP III from an economic ethics and business ethics perspectives. The paper concludes with a summary of the main findings.


We present an analytical model of the self- and cross-phase-modulation-induced modulation instabilities in nonlinear, dispersive, homogeneously broadened, unsaturable fiber amplifiers. The rigorous treatment of the gain dispersion and of the gain-induced, near-resonance refractive-index dispersion permits description of the general case of arbitrary detuning between the laser frequency and the resonance and arbitrary bandwidth of the amplifying transition. Simple closed-form expressions are obtained for the combined gain coefficients and, in the self-phase-modulation-induced case only, for the integrated gain. A qualitatively new modulation-instability regime of an isolated wave in the normal group-velocity-dispersion region is described.


In this thesis I use ALMA observations to map the distribution and kinematics of molecular gas in the brightest cluster galaxies of three galaxy clusters: 2A0335+096, RXJ0821+0752, and RXCJ1504-0248. The goal is to understand how the coldest gas in clusters is formed, identify any long-lived structures that could fuel sustained black hole accretion, and explore star formation in cluster environments. I use the J = 1 → 0 and J = 3→ 2 rotational transitions of carbon monoxide (CO) as tracers of the total molecular gas distribution. The two transitions provide different resolutions and fields of view. The molecular gas in all three central galaxies are complex and disturbed. None show evidence for rotationally-supported nuclear structures, such as a disk or ring, that would be expected from either a merger origin or long-lived cooling flow. Instead, the molecular gas is either clumpy with no clear velocity structure or extends away from the galactic center in filaments that are several kiloparsecs long. The molecular filaments are coincident with nebular and bright X-ray emission, suggesting that they have condensed out of the hot intracluster medium. They are also generally associated with cavities in the X-ray emission inflated by the active galactic nucleus (AGN), suggesting that AGN feedback has stimulated the formation of molecular gas. The narrow velocity gradients along the filaments are only consistent with freefall if the filament is situated close to the plane of the sky. This is a common feature in brightest cluster galaxies. Since ram pressure is ineffective at slowing dense molecular clouds, the filaments must either be pinned to the hot atmosphere by magnetic fields or have condensed in-situ relatively recently. In RXCJ1504-0248 I combine the ALMA analysis with spatially-resolved ultraviolet emission tracing young stars. The central gas falls on the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation, while the filament has elevated star formation surface densities. The ongoing consumption of a finite fuel supply by star formation, or spatial variations in the CO-to-H2 conversion factor, may be diminishing the molecular gas surface density to produce this effect. Despite their drastic differences in morphology and environment, the molecular gas in clusters is still converted into stars following the same relation as in spirals and starbursts. I have also detected the J = 3→ 2 transition from CO, an optically thin isotopologue of CO, in RXJ0821.0+0752. This enables a measurement of the conversion between CO intensity and molecular column density for the first time in a galaxy cluster. The CO-to-H2 conversion factor in RXJ0821+0752 is half of the Galactic value. If this value applies to other clusters, then it would alleviate the high coupling efficiencies required for molecular filaments to be uplifted by X-ray cavities. This analysis also provides reassurance that the molecular gas masses measured in BCGs are unlikely to be overwhelmingly biased by adopting the Galactic conversion factor.


Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors are among the most widely used gene transfer systems in basic and pre-clinical research and have been employed in more than 160 clinical trials. AAV vectors are commonly produced in producer cell lines like HEK293 by co-transfection with a so-called vector plasmid and one (in this work) or two so-called helper plasmids. The vector plasmid contains the transgene cassette of interest (TEC) flanked by AAV's inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) which serve as packaging signals, whereas the helper plasmid provides the required AAV and helper virus functions in trans. A pivotal aspect of AAV vectorology is the manufacturing of AAV vectors free from impurities arising during the production process. These impurities include AAV vector preparations that contain capsids containing prokaryotic sequences, e.g. antibiotic resistance genes originating from the producer plasmids.
In the first part of the thesis we aimed at improving the safety of AAV vectors. As we found that encapsidated prokaryotic sequences (using the ampicillin resistance gene as indicator) cannot be re-moved by standard purification methods we investigated whether the producer plasmids could be replaced by Minicircles (MCs). MCs are circular DNA constructs which contain no functional or coding prokaryotic sequences; they only consist of the TEC and a short sequence required for production and purification. MC counterparts of a vector plasmid encoding for enhanced green fluorescent (eGFP) protein and a helper plasmid encoding for AAV serotype 2 (AAV2) and helper Adenovirus (Ad) genes were designed and produced by PlasmidFactory (Bielefeld, Germany). Using all four possible combinations of plasmid and MCs, single-stranded AAV2 vectors (ssAAV) and self-complementary AAV vectors (scAAV) were produced and characterized for vector quantity, quality and functionality. The analyses showed that plasmids can be replaced by MCs without decreasing the efficiency of vector production and vector quality. MC-derived scAAV vector preparations even exceeded plasmid-derived preparations, as they displayed up to 30-fold improved transduction efficiencies. Using MCs as tools, we found that the vector plasmid is the main source of encapsidated prokaryotic sequences. Remarkably, we found that plasmid-derived scAAV vector preparations contained a much higher relative amount of prokaryotic sequences (up to 26.1 %, relative to TEC) compared to ssAAV vector preparations (up to 2.9 %). By replacing both plasmids by MCs the amount of functional prokaryotic sequences could be decreased to below the limit of quantification. Additional analyses for DNA impurities other than prokaryotic sequences showed that scAAV vectors generally contained a higher amount of non-vector DNA (e.g. adenoviral sequences) than ssAAV vectors. For both, ssAAV and scAAV vector preparations, MC-derived vectors tended to contain lower amounts of foreign DNA. None of the vectors tested could be shown to induce immunogenicity. In summary we could demonstrate that the quality of AAV vector preparations could be significantly improved by replacing producer plasmids by MCs.
Upon transduction of a target tissue, AAV vector genomes predominantly remain in an episomal state, as duplex DNA circles or concatemers. These episomal forms mediate long-term transgene expression in terminally differentiated cells, but are lost in proliferating cells due to cell division. Therefore, in the second part of the thesis, in cooperation with Claudia Hagedorn and Hans J. Lipps (University Witten/Herdecke) an AAV vector genome was equipped with an autonomous replication element (Scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR)). AAV-S/MAR encoding for eGFP and a blasticidin resistance gene and a control vector with the same TEC but lacking the S/MAR element (AAV-ΔS/MAR) were produced and transduced into highly proliferative HeLa cells. Antibiotic pressure was employed to select for cells stably maintaining the vector genome. AAV-S/MAR transduced cells yielded a higher number of colonies than AAV-ΔS/MAR-transduced cells. Colonies derived from each vector transduction were picked and cultured further. They remained eGFP-positive (up to 70 days, maximum cultivation period) even in the absence of antibiotic selection pressure. Interestingly, the mitotic stability of both AAV-S/MAR and control vector AAV-ΔS/MAR was found to be a result of episomal maintenance of the vector genome. This finding indicates that, under specific conditions such as the mild selection pressure we employed, "common" AAV vectors persist episomally. Thus, the S/MAR element increases the establishment frequency of stable episomes, but is not a prerequisite.


The Coastal Batholith of central Chile preserves structures that record the concentration, migration, transportation, and emplacement of magma during the progressive construction of a sheeted dike complex. This sheeted dike complex is divided into three main structural-geographic domains. The northwestern domain contains an abundance of deformed microgranitoid enclaves that host features that facilitated the concentration of melt during crystallization. The formation of interconnected dilational sites produced an array of lecocratic zones that may have formed larger dike networks that facilitated the transportation of melt-rich magma producing new magmatic units of similar mineralogy. The central domain is characterized by the presence of two tonalitic units that contain enclave swarms distinguished by their general packing arrangement and degree of elongation. Differences in the fabric architecture of these enclave swarms are displayed by two separate three-dimensional fabric analyses using the Rf/φ method, which indicates an abrupt transition from low-distortion oblate fabrics to more distorted prolate geometries. These changes are compared to the statistical alignment of feldspar phenocrysts that indicate general flattening in both units with a higher degree of alignment within the XZ fabric plane for the younger tonalite. The third (southeastern) domain is distinguished by meter-scale, compositionally and texturally diverse sheeted dikes intercalated with biotite-rich migmatite screens of the host gneiss along the pluton margin. The need to process large quantities of fabric data from central Chile presented the opportunity to establish a comprehensive method for the quantification of three-dimensional rock fabrics following the Rf/φ and Fry methods. In order to test the utility of this procedure, a three-dimensional synthetic model of known strain shape, magnitude, and orientation was processed. The results of this assessment indicate that the procedure accurately calculated the expected state of strain within a small margin of error. Finally, a natural example is presented to test the method's ability to quantify the fabrics of deformed rocks. This example is a "lineation much greater than foliation" (L>>S) metagranite augen gneiss from the Coastal Batholith of central Chile. This analysis resulted in calculated fabric ellipsoids from both the Rf/φ and Fry methods that clearly display significantly prolate geometries at moderate distortions. The development of the three-dimensional rock fabric quantification procedure highlighted the need to teach analytical strain techniques in three-dimensions. To allow for this application, an interactive R script (FRY3D) was created specifically to aid in the instruction and visualization of three-dimensional strain calculation at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels. This tutorial was presented to a structural geology course of 20 students at the undergraduate level with a two part semi-quantitative concept assessment before and after the presentation. The results of this assessment indicate a positive increase in student's understanding of three-dimensional finite strain. Finally, a simple examination of analytical error associated with the Panozzo projection technique for strain analysis is presented and indicates relationships among population size, strain magnitude, and initial fabric. My results suggest that this method is most robust when applied to sections containing greater than approximately 125 lines. Moreover, the magnitude-dependent error indicates that the method may be better suited for rocks deformed at low to moderate strains. I recommend an adaption to the initial conditional assumptions for this method that lines exhibit an initial radial symmetry when recentered to a common point.


Furfural is a byproduct of biomass hydrolysis and novel means of utilizing this platform chemical are at the forefront of biofuel research. This project investigated many of the various and viable means of catalytic upgrading of furfural to other value-added chemicals, before ultimately exploring the conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over a copper catalyst on a magnesium oxide support. Reasonable reaction conditions, mechanisms, and catalysts for the conversion of furfural to various products and platform chemicals exist, but no circumstance represents an obviously preferred method. The objective of this research project was to design and conduct experiments that characterize this catalyst and qualify its applicability for the selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. The catalyst was explored in terms of its conversion of furfural, selectivity to furfuryl alcohol, BET-surface area, reaction rate, and performance over time. It was found that the catalyst performs very well for the first five hours of reaction time with furfural conversion averaging 94% with selectivity of furfuryl alcohol around 75%. But, issues arose beyond the first few hours and the reaction rate dropped by as much as 75% over 26 hours as the catalyst deactivated. There was also a reaction of furfural on the surface of the catalyst led to plugging of the reactor after approximately 20 hours. This project is very relevant to the field of chemical engineering and biofuel research. As biofuel production increases, so will the production of furfural, and finding ways to utilize this chemical in both an economical and environmentally friendly manner will greatly impact the growth and relevance of biofuels in the upcoming years.


ABSTRACTSand and dust storms (hereafter, "sandstorms") not only damage the ecological environment in northern and northwestern China but also influence the economic and social development of the affected regions and constitute a threat to human health. This study focuses on monitoring sandstorms and analyzing the sandstorm migration process in northern and northwestern China. These sandstorms are characterized by their high frequency occurrences, strong dust intensity, long durations and highly destructive effects. The dry climate conditions and low degree of vegetation coverage in this region increase the difficulty of sandstorm monitoring. This paper proposes a remote sensing monitoring method for sandstorms in northern and northwestern China based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and the radiation characteristics of the research region and of the sandstorms. A strong sandstorm that occurred on April 23–25, 2014, is analyzed to illustrate the proposed monitoring method. Information on the sandstorm is validated and analyzed through visual interpretation and comparison with Meteorological Information Comprehensive Analysis and Process System (MICAPS) ground measurements. The spatial distribution of the sandstorm is highly consistent with the true-color MODIS data. The comparison of the results of the remote sensing monitoring of the sandstorm with the MICAPS measurements yields a high coincidence rate of 96.3%. Additionally, the migration process of the sandstorm can be clearly recognized in 6 MODIS images captured during the 3-day sandstorm. Based on the above results, we conclude that the proposed method can be used for dynamic remote sensing monitoring of sandstorms in northern and northwestern China.


Patients with diabetes with coronary microvascular disease (CMD) exhibit higher cardiac mortality than patients without CMD. However, the molecular mechanism by which diabetes promotes CMD is poorly understood. RNA-binding protein human antigen R (HuR) is a key regulator of mRNA stability and translation; therefore, we investigated the role of HuR in the development of CMD in mice with type 2 diabetes. Diabetic mice exhibited decreases in coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR; a determinant of coronary microvascular function) and capillary density in the left ventricle. HuR levels in cardiac endothelial cells (CECs) were significantly lower in diabetic mice and patients with diabetes than the controls. Endothelial-specific HuR-KO mice also displayed significant reductions in CFVR and capillary density. By examining mRNA levels of 92 genes associated with endothelial function, we found that HuR, Cx40, and Nox4 levels were decreased in CECs from diabetic and HuR-KO mice compared with control mice. Cx40 expression and HuR binding to Cx40 mRNA were downregulated in CECs from diabetic mice. Cx40-KO mice exhibited decreased CFVR and capillary density, whereas endothelium-specific Cx40 overexpression increased capillary density and improved CFVR in diabetic mice. These data suggest that decreased HuR contributes to the development of CMD in diabetes through downregulation of gap junction protein Cx40 in CECs.


Environmental destruction is seen a matter of worldwide concern but as a Third World problem. Ecology and Equity explores the most ecologically complex country in the world. India's peoples range from technocrats to hunter-gathers and its environments from dense forest to wasteland. The bookanalyses the use and abuse of nature on the sub-continent to reveal the interconnections of social and environmental conflict on the global scale. The authors argue that the root of this conflict is competition within different social groups and between different economic interests for natural resources. Radical both in its critique of the causes of crisis in India and in its proposals for ecological reform, Ecology and Equity is essential reading for all concerned for the Third World's in the world.


On behalf of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) conducted testing and data recovery investigations at the Little Paint site (41KM226), a prehistoric multicomponent site in the US 377 right-of-way along the South Llano River in Kimble County, Texas. While the site revealed Archaic and Late Prehistoric components, the earlier components were stratigraphically intermixed. Consequently, data recovery focused almost entirely on a discrete Toyah component, which, based on earlier test excavations conducted in August and September 2006, had previously been determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and as a State Archeological Landmark. SWCA performed the investigations under Texas Antiquities Permits 4184 and 4318. Kevin A. Miller served as Principal Investigator. The excavations recovered approximately 102 m2 of a stratigraphically-discrete Toyah component consisting of rock-lined hearths, Perdiz points, Cliffton points, a bird-bone bead, bone-tempered ceramics, bifaces, scrapers (notably end scrapers on blade-flakes), various informal lithic tools, drills, awls, debitage, and faunal remains. Based on the assemblage, the site is interpreted as a Toyah basecamp as indicated by a diversity of tool forms and site furniture. The component has good integrity, is vertically and horizontally discrete, and contains a substantial amount of archaeological materials. The suite of 16 radiometric dates indicates intermittent Toyah occupations between 240 and 570 years ago, a time range that is generally consistent with recognized span of the Toyah assemblage. The archaeological assemblage and site structure, however, suggests a possible single Toyah occupation. While not a focal point of the data recovery investigations, the excavations also recovered mixed Archaic components below the Toyah component. Artifacts include diagnostic point styles that indicate Late Archaic to early Late Prehistoric occupations, representing 1,000 to 2,000 years of the regional cultural chronology compressed within a thin stratum. Based on the findings, the depositional conditions below the Toyah component, as was previously determined by the testing data, were found to be generally not conducive to the formation of stratigraphic separation of the successive occupations. This compression resulted in intermixing of components and poor integrity. Below the mixed Archaic zone, deeply buried Middle to Early Archaic deposits were identified. These retained a better potential for significant isolable strata, but these deeper deposits were beyond the project impacts and therefore were not the subject of mitigative efforts. The deeper deposits are preserved by avoidance. As previously determined and further substantiated by the data recovery investigations, the Little Paint site, because of the Toyah component and perhaps earlier deposits, is eligible for National Register of Historic Places listing under Criterion D, 36 CFR 60.4, and eligible for State Archeological Landmark designation under Criteria 1 and 2 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Antiquities Code of Texas, 13 TAC 26.8. The excavations have mitigated the adverse effects of the US 377 bridge replacement by recovering the vast majority of the Toyah component within the area of potential effect of the roadway undertaking. No further archaeological work is recommended. Portions of the site outside of the right-of-way have not been fully evaluated. The artifacts and records from the project are curated at the Center for Archaeological Studies, Texas State University.


The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of 8-OH-DPAT, 5-HT1A receptor agonist and NAN-190, 5-HT1A receptor antagonist on anxiety-related behavior in the adult gonadectomized (GDX) male rats. Moreover, another goal of this work was to investigate whether the combination of 8-OH-DPAT or NAN-190 plus testosterone propionate (TP) could affect anxiety-like behavior more than TP alone in the adult GDX rats. Two weeks after gonadectomy, GDX rats were subjected by treatments with the solvent, TP (0.5 mg/kg, s.c.), 8-OH-DPAT (0.05 mg/kg, s.c.), NAN-190 (0.1 mg/ kg, i.p.), 8-OH-DPAT in a combination with TP or NAN-190 in a combination with TP during 14 days. Experimental groups of GDX rats and control group of intact males were then tested in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and the open field test. 8-OH-DPAT treatment failed to modify anxiety-like behavior of GDX rats in the EPM as compared to the GDX rats given with oil solvent. NAN-190 injected alone or in combination with TP to GDX rats resulted in a significant anxiolyticlike effect as compared to the GDX given with oil solvent or TP application. Our data indicate that the combination of NAN-190 and TP is more effective than TP alone in GDX rats inducing a more profound anxiolytic-like effect in the EPM. Thus, the results of this study suggest that effects of 5-HT1A receptor agonist/antagonist can modify anxiety level in opposite direction in male rats after gonadectomy.


Twenty-five years ago, Frank Easterbrook published his essay The Limits of Antitrust, in which he argued for a set of filters that government enforcement authorities and judges could use to test the propriety of a given action under the antitrust laws. That essay aptly exposed serious concerns about expansive use of antitrust laws, especially at the behest of lagging competitors of the enforcement target, contributing to a movement toward less ambitious use of antitrust law in the United States. More recently, changes in academic theories coupled with developments in the law outside the United States have set the stage for a reversal of the forces aligned with Judge Easterbrook's arguments. This article identifies reasons for supporting a more limited deployment of antitrust (competition) law, describes ways in which law in the United States has evolved toward greater congruence with that approach, and explores the forces that are now pulling the law in the opposite direction. Critically, the increased availability of alternative enforcement regimes with relatively low jurisdictional thresholds has created forum-shopping incentives for complainants. At the same time, antitrust regulators frequently will have incentives to behave in ways that encourage forum-shopping. This behavior will threaten to undermine results in line with Judge Easterbrook's work, creating special risks to competition in markets with a dominant firm.


About 29 percent of teenagers are bullied at school in the Caribbean. Victims of bullying are more lonely, sleep less, and have fewer friends than do their nonbullied peers. Although victims of bullying eat more frequently at fast food restaurants, they also experience more periods of hunger than do nonbullied children. Acting out with the goal of being considered a "cool" teenager does not work; even if adolescents frequently smoke cigarettes, bullies may still intimidate and harass them. The opposite is true for virgins. Good parenting can, however, make a difference in preventing a child from being a victim of bullying. Growing international evidence has shown that school-based programs can reduce the prevalence of bullying and that bullying has long-term negative consequences into adult life (for both bullies and victims).


Abstract. The warming trend of the last decades is now so strong that it is discernible in local temperature observations. This opens the possibility to compare the trend to the warming predicted by comprehensive climate models (GCMs), which up to now could not be verified directly to observations on a local scale, because the signal-to-noise ratio was too low. The observed temperature trend in western Europe over the last decades appears much stronger than simulated by state-of-the-art GCMs. The difference is very unlikely due to random fluctuations, either in fast weather processes or in decadal climate fluctuations. In winter and spring, changes in atmospheric circulation are important; in spring and summer changes in soil moisture and cloud cover. A misrepresentation of the North Atlantic Current affects trends along the coast. Many of these processes ontinue to affect trends in projections for the 21st century. This implies that climate predictions for western Europe probably underestimate the effects of anthropogenic climate change.


Interactive visual analysis has many advantages, but an important disadvantage is that analysis processes and workflows cannot be easily stored and reused. This is in contrast to code‐based analysis workflows, which can simply be run on updated datasets, and adapted when necessary. In this paper, we introduce methods to capture workflows in interactive visualization systems for different interactions such as selections, filters, categorizing/grouping, labeling, and aggregation. These workflows can then be applied to updated datasets, making interactive visualization sessions reusable. We demonstrate this specification using an interactive visualization system that tracks interaction provenance, and allows generating workflows from the recorded actions. The system can then be used to compare different versions of datasets and apply workflows to them. Finally, we introduce a Python library that can load workflows and apply it to updated datasets directly in a computational notebook, providing a seamless bridge between computational workflows and interactive visualization tools.


During the past several years, biofuels in rich countries have come to be regarded as an important option for reducing consumption of petroleum, which is a main policy goal as a result of recent high oil prices, energy security concerns, and global climate change. The use and development of alternative sources of energy are increasingly encouraged in western countries, and private and public sources of financial support for biofuels development have increased greatly. For African countries, this is leading to growing interest from western and Asian private investors in biofuels projects, as well as growing support from development partners for incorporating biofuels into government policies and development plans. For African countries which are non-oil producers, biofuel production has the potential to provide a substitute for costly oil imports which are one of the major uses of foreign exchange and sources of inflation in African economies, and to provide a new source of agricultural income in rural areas. Tanzania is one of the African countries which have seen a rapid increase in biofuel production and investment proposals during the past several years. The purpose of this report is to describe existing patterns of biofuel development and crop cultivation in Tanzanian rural areas in order to improve the understanding of how these various potential threats and opportunities from biofuels expansion are playing out in reality.


We study power control in multicell CDMA wireless networks as a team optimization problem where each mobile attains at the minimum its individual fixed target SIR level and beyond that optimizes its transmission power level according to its individual preferences. We derive conditions under which the power control problem admits a unique feasible solution. Using a Lagrangian relaxation approach similar to [10] we obtain two decentralized dynamic power control algorithms: primal and dual power update, and establish their global stability utilizing both classical Lyapunov theory and the passivity framework [14]. We show that the robustness results of passivity studies [8, 9] as well as most of the stability and robustness analyses in the literature [10] are applicable to the power control problem considered. In addition, some of the basic principles of call admission control are investigated from the perspective of the model adopted in this paper. We illustrate the proposed power control schemes through simulations.


ABSTRACT During postembryonic development of Caenorhabditis elegans, the heterochronic gene lin-14 controls the timing of developmental events in diverse cell types. Three alternativelin-14 transcripts are predicted to encode isoforms of a novel nuclear protein that differ in their amino-terminal domains. In this paper, we report that the alternative amino-terminal domains of LIN-14 are dispensable and that a carboxy-terminal region within exons 9 to 13 is necessary and sufficient for in vivo LIN-14 function. A transgene capable of expressing only one of the three alternativelin-14 gene products rescues a lin-14 null mutation and is developmentally regulated by lin-4. This shows that the deployment of alternative lin-14 gene products is not critical for the ability of LIN-14 to regulate downstream genes in diverse cell types or for the in vivo regulation of LIN-14 level by lin-4. The carboxy-terminal region of LIN-14 contains an unusual expanded nuclear localization domain which is essential for LIN-14 function. These results support the view that LIN-14 controls developmental timing in C. elegans by regulating gene expression in the nucleus.


In recent years, private foundations have gained considerable relevance in global health due to their increasing presence in both financing and policy-making. Despite this, the question of how these actors make decisions on their funding priorities is under researched. The aim of this study is to understand and assess the relative importance of different factors in foundations' decision-making. This question is important not only for actors in the global health arena, but for foundations that are under increasing pressure to be legitimate, effective and accountable players.
This is a qualitative research study on the decision-making of foundations investing in global health. It applies a multiple case study methodology in the study of three foundations: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Wellcome Trust. In-depth interviews with forty-six informants represented the main method for data collection. A qualitative thematic content analysis has been applied to both documentary sources and interviewees' accounts.
A strategic management approach has been used to de-construct the decision-making process into strategic planning and grant-making. As a first area of inquiry, this study sought to understand how foundations' origins, governance structure and funding ethos are relevant in influencing their decision-making behavior. Second, this study sought to assess the relative importance of different factors (e.g., private partnerships or foundations' networks) in influencing foundations' decisions.
Findings suggest influence is an overt objective of foundations' strategies. Leaders and networks are extremely important in both strategic planning and grant-making. By discussing findings through the perspective of major strategic management schools of thought, the study provides an in-depth understanding of foundations' strategic planning and grant-making processes and recommendations to increase accountability, legitimacy and effectiveness. The analysis also introduces a re-conceptualization of foundations' decision-making, and offers implications on the role of philanthropy in global health.


Substantial interannual to decadal variability is observed in the properties of Subtropical Mode Water of the North Atlantic. In this study the response of mode water to stochastic atmospheric forcing is investigated in a numerical model. In a series of experiments the response is studied to diierent components of stochas-tic atmospheric forcing, such as wind stress, fresh water ux and heat ux. The numerical model consists of an isopycnal ocean model with explicit mixed layer physics. The stochastic forcing is superimposed on the climatological forcing. The stochastic forcing function has an idealized form, but the amplitude, the spatial and the temporal variability are based on observations. When a stochastic heat ux is applied, an atmospheric anomaly model is coupled to the ocean model. The geometry of the model is idealized and mimics the subtropical gyre of the North Atlantic. The stochastic wind stress forcing excites an internal mode in the mode water layer of the model. The response is characterized by the propagation of baroclinic waves. The spectrum of the response to stochastic fresh water ux is red. In the coupled model the stochastic heat ux forcing generates variability characterized by a dipole pattern in the mode water. The spectrum of the response is red and dominates the response to the stochastic wind stress and fresh water ux. The response is damped by an atmospheric feedback that consists of anomalous heat uxes, depending on the SST anomalies generated by the stochastic forcing itself. Only stochastic heat ux forcing can generate mode water variability of the observed amplitude. A preferred time scale in mode water variability should be contained in the forcing itself or it may result from modes that could not be simulated by the present model.


The national herd is predominantly composed by Nelore breed (Bos indicus), being extremely important for beef cattle, even though, it have limitations as aggressive temperament compared to populations of Bos taurus origin. The temperament (TEMP) can be defined as the perception and reaction of the animals when they feel fear or are managed by man. More reactive cattle have lower weight gain, produce beef of lower quality, are more susceptible to diseases and have low reproductive performance. The objective of this research was to obtain the components of (co) variances and genetic parameters of TEMP in order to provide subsidies to farmers and technicians on its use in animal breeding programs. For the TEMP trait, the database used was from the Nelore breeding program – Nelore Qualitas. Data was recorded from 2000 to 2009, on 20 farms across six Brazilian states, on 48,879 males and females ranging in age from 450 to 599 days. TEMP trait was performed by visual scores, in 1-5 scale, where higher scores means less reactive animals. The genetic parameters were estimated with univariate animal model and Bayesian inference, using the program GIBBS2F90. The statistical model included fixed effects of contemporary group, age at measurement as a linear covariate, and random effects of additive genetic and residual. The data set included 455 sires, 28,111 dams and 3,153 contemporary groups defined as animals born in same herd-year, sex, and weaning and post-weaning management groups. Pedigree data included all animals in an observation where their relatives up to nine generations back were added, which included 190,127 animals. One independent chain was run 500,000, with the first 20,000 rounds discarded as the burn-in period and 20 rounds as the time interval, thus resulting in 24,000 rounds. The burn-in period was based on subjective evaluation of plots of values from the Gibbs chain. Flat prior distributions were used for variance components. The posterior estimate of genetic parameters showed convergence using Raftery and Lewis tests. The mean posterior heritability estimated was 0.16 ± 0.01 for TEMP trait. The means estimated were not different from the median and mode estimate, suggesting symmetry in the measure of central tendency. These moderate heritability estimates of TEMP suggest that response to selection and genetic gain can be achieved by selection.


Today space trusses are designed using linear elastic theory, and the load carrying capacity of the truss is considered to be limited by the failure of a new critical members. Because of high redundancy, and due to practical constraints in selecting member sizes, only a portion of the member strength is used. Attempts have been made to utilize the remaining strength of the members by providing a means of transferring load from critical compression members to the understressed members. However because of the brittle buckling characteristics of compression elements, when they fall in the economic range of slenderness, postbuckling reserve capacity of compression members cannot be developed. Load transfer must thus be made before compression members reach their capacity. One part of this study is concerned with the modification of space truss behaviour by introducing nonlinearity in the chord members prior to attaining their maximum load. The amount of nonlinearity required to increase the load capacity of the truss by an economically justifiable amount has been studied, and the feasibility of the proposed system was confirmed by tests on the elements and on an assembled full scale truss. As an alternative, transfer of load from critical chord elements to the understressed chord elements can be achieved by the selective removal of internal bracing members. A means to determine the optimum selection of diagonals to be removed has been established. The above techniques were applied to four space trusses which were similar in size and proportions, but which varied in their support conditions and the distribution of member sizes. It was further considered whether the combination of the two techniques, of nonlinear chord behaviour and diagonal removal, could further improve the capacity, or whether each, when optimum, leads to the same load carrying capacity.


Aim The aim of this study is to illuminate primary health care (PHC) nurses' experiences of physical activity referrals (PARs). Background Despite extensive knowledge about the substantial health effects physical activities can produce, fewer and fewer people in our modern society regularly engage in physical activity. Within health care and, particularly, within the PHC arena, nurses meet people on a daily basis who need help to engage in a healthier lifestyle. The possibility of issuing written prescriptions for physical activities, often referred to as PARs, has been introduced as a tool to support such lifestyles. However, even though PHC nurses can prescribe physical activities, studies investigating their experience in this type of nursing intervention are rare. Methods For this study, 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with PHC nurses, and the transcribed texts were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. Findings Two categories – PARs, an important nursing intervention, and PARs, the necessity of organisational support – reflected the nurses' experiences in using PARs. Conclusion Our findings suggest that viewing the PAR as a complex intervention, with all that this entails, might be one approach to increasing the number of PARs being issued. Simpler systems, more time and the potential for testing the effectiveness of follow-ups could be possible ways of achieving this.


Visual categorization of complex, natural stimuli has been studied for some time in human and nonhuman primates. Recent interest in the rodent as a model for visual perception, including higher-level functional specialization, leads to the question of how rodents would perform on a categorization task using natural stimuli. To answer this question, rats were trained in a two-alternative forced choice task to discriminate movies containing rats from movies containing other objects and from scrambled movies (ordinate-level categorization). Subsequently, transfer to novel, previously unseen stimuli was tested, followed by a series of control probes. The results show that the animals are capable of acquiring a decision rule by abstracting common features from natural movies to generalize categorization to new stimuli. Control probes demonstrate that they did not use single low-level features, such as motion energy or (local) luminance. Significant generalization was even present with stationary snapshots from untrained movies. The variability within and between training and test stimuli, the complexity of natural movies, and the control experiments and analyses all suggest that a more high-level rule based on more complex stimulus features than local luminance-based cues was used to classify the novel stimuli. In conclusion, natural stimuli can be used to probe ordinate-level categorization in rats.


Intake of supplements such as vitamins and minerals is widespread in athletes. The aim of the study was the investigation of the influence of intake of vitamins and minerals before an ultra-endurance triathlon and its effect on race performance in a descriptive field study. Participants of the "Triple Iron Triathlon Germany 2006" in Lensahn, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, were contacted by a newsletter six weeks before the race by the organizer and received a questionnaire to fill in their intake of vitamins and minerals. Questionnaires were self-administered and not administered by trained personnel. During this race the athletes had to cover 11.4 km swimming, 540 km cycling and 126.6 km running within 58 hours. The athletes were divided into two categories: successful finishers with intake of vitamins and minerals and successful finishers without intake prior to the race. Race performance (total running time in h) of athletes with intake and athletes without intake of these substances was compared. In the four-week period prior to the race,
nine athletes (53 %) ingested vitamins and eight athletes (47 %) minerals. Athletes with intake of vitamins
(44.7 ± 7.0 h versus 50.4 ± 4.4h; p>0.05) and minerals (45.3 ± 7.2 versus 49.3 ± 5.4 h, p>0.05) finished the
race not faster than athletes without intake of vitamins and minerals. In the "Triple Iron Triathlon Germany 2006" in Lensahn, Germany, no influence on race performance was observed concerning the regular intake of vitamins and minerals in the last four weeks before the race.


Alice and Bob are mutually untrusting curators who possess separate databases containing information about a set of respondents. This data is to be sanitized and published to enable accurate statistical analysis, while retaining the privacy of the individual respondents in the databases. Further, an adversary who looks at the published data must not even be able to compute statistical measures on it. Only an authorized researcher should be able to compute marginal and joint statistics. This work is an attempt toward providing a theoretical formulation of privacy and utility for problems of this type. Privacy of the individual respondents is formulated using ϵ-differential privacy. Privacy of the marginal and joint statistics on the distributed databases is formulated using a new model called δ-distributional ϵ-differential privacy. Finally, a constructive scheme based on randomized response is presented as an example mechanism that satisfies the formulated privacy requirements.


In this project we use the idea of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which is storage and information recuperation method. This method use devices called tags RFID for the identification. This RFID tags incorporate antennas to let to receive and to respond radiofrequency requests from a RFID transmitter-receiver. The fundamental purpose of the RFID technology is to transmit the identity of an object by means of radio waves. Essentially what we want to do is an antenna based sensing, which means use the antennas properties like a sensor. The proposal is a technique for using the changes in the response of the 2.4 GHz antenna as a sensing mechanism. We use the Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform (WISP), which is a computational sensing and programmable platform without battery designed to investigate in improving sensor RFID applications. WISP can operate using power transmitted from a (UHF) RFID reader located at long range and also communicate data in a single response packet. The objective of this project lies in analyzing the performance of a microwave antenna acting as occupancy sensor. How to determine when an object is positioned above the antenna has many applications in our society. One of the utilities is the detection of parking spaces available in the street, but there are so many others. To achieve these goals we first will make some voltage measurements of what is capture by the antenna by placing an envelope detector after it and then we will simulate its behavior with ADS and HFSS simulation. We will also use the MSP430 microchip to read the DC voltage after the antenna and finally we will create an application with the Microsoft Visual Studio to plot the results graphically and finally we draw our conclusions. Analyzing the results we can say that we have reached satisfactory conclusions.


The study we carried out enabled us to extract some conclusions, which are contrasted with the results obtained. First, in the field of mobile applications, permissions and tracers are almost always present. Android, as far as PlayStore permissions are concerned, is the main entity concerning this domain. Under the pretext of guaranteeing an optimal functioning of the applications, these permissions can sometimes hide some very dangerous tracing means for the users. Google, a major player in tracing and a major power in the storage of information of net users, is behind most tracers. Trackers have two main missions. On the one hand, they allow the application to work, like Facebook's trackers that are used to log into the application or Google's trackers that allow either to trace crashes or to analyze how the application is used. On the other hand, they allow you to manage the advertising that appears in the application, which can be targeted or not. Regarding tracking in emails, we find stakeholders quite present: Google, Xiti and Iroquois. Even if they are most often used in the context of hearing measurements, they are present in public service emails. Finally with websites, Google is very present in government websites. We find common actors for applications and emails such as GAFAM or Xiti. Most of the cookies present are for audience measurement and advertising display which is often targeted.


In recent years, economic growth has been regarded as a self-evident good, with political debate focussed on the best means to achieve it. But there are now signs that this shared assumption is weakening. Anger at 'greedy' bankers and their 'obscene' bonuses has given way to a deeper dissatisfaction with an economic system geared overwhelmingly to the accumulation of wealth. Huge income disparities and an ever-growing gap between the richest and the rest has brought us to one of those rare moments when the underlying assumptions of society, are changing. In "How Much is Enough?" Robert and Edward Skidelsky argue that wealth is not an end in itself but a means to the achievement and maintenance of a 'good life', and that our economy should be organised to reflect this fact. The book includes a definition of the 'good life', discusses the relevance of 'Happiness Studies' and the environmental impact of our ever-growing need to consume. In doing so, it offers an escape from the trap of excessive specialization and a way to reinvigorate the idea of economics as a 'moral science'. It concludes by offering a radical new model for income redistribution - and a consideration of what human beings might really want from their lives.


The purpose of this study was to bring transit-oriented development planning together with affordable housing planning through the development of an implementable Model Housing Transportation Plan. The plan, with input from local, regional and federal planning, housing and transit agencies and other stakeholders, is unique to the site for which it was developed; however, it is intended to serve as an illustrative model for planning professionals, community advocates and community-based organizations in other jurisdictions with similar contexts. It endeavors to advance the nation's understanding of the need for affordable housing near transit and to promote strategies and tools to empower stakeholders to implement housing transportation station area plans that benefit the entire region. And finally, it seeks to demonstrate how federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing (HUD) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) can work together to support local and regional efforts to develop coordinated housing and transportation plans.


The Superconducting Integrated Receiver (SIR) comprises in one chip a planar antenna integrated with an SIS mixer, a superconducting Flux Flow Oscillator (FFO) acting as Local Oscillator (LO) and a second SIS harmonic mixer (HM) for FFO phase locking. Free-running FFO linewidth well below 10 MHz is required to ensure phase-locked operation of an SIR. Comprehensive experimental study of the Nb-AlOx-Nb FFO linewidth and other main parameters has been carried out in order to achieve this goal. Essential dependence of the FFO linewidth on its width and idle region dimension has been found. It makes possible an optimization of the FFO design and selection of the best FFO parameters for practical operation of the SIR.


WFD classification at Helgoland (German Bight, North Sea) identified seven variables allowing comparison with historical pristine conditions. These were:, Abundance and spatial spread of (1) dense Fucus associations, (2) Mytilus edulis associations and (3) Ulva associations, (4) Development of the sublittoral kelp belt, (5) Sublittoral algal depth limits, (6) Floristic diversity and (7) Amount of rare species. The class limits were set assuming population development according to a logistic model thereby cutting classes off at the 90, 70, 30 and 10% level relative to the pristine conditions. Although floristic diversity and rare species are good indicators for changes they are not fully monitorable during one season. The change of subtidal depth limits of various seaweed species revealed a consistent trend. Water clarity (Secci-depths) increased during recent years at Helgoland by 1-2 m and the flora reacted by species-specific increase of depth limits. Thus, only following a set of species will show the trend reliably. As perennial dense fucoid associations are considered to be of structural importance at pristine temperate coasts and dense Ulva or ephemeral algal or Mytilus associations may show degradation due to eutrophication, a spatial mapping approach was used to classify these variables. Combination of a digital elevation model with a geo-referenced map and mapped polygons of degraded versus dense Fucus serratus associations, Mytilus and Ulva fields allowed spatial quantification of the variables and comparison with a calculated historical situation. The extent of Ulva and other ephemeral green algae could only be monitored by using spatial data (polygons and grid percentage cover data), but classification is still insecure. Comparative line transect data did not satisfactorily show abundance of ephemeral green algae. Some persistent Ulva fields seem to be a product of continuous mechanical disturbance and thereby might not be indicative for a degraded situation.


This article is a contribution to the symposium "Hyperpartisanship and the Law," sponsored by the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy. The article considers the implications of direct election of United States Senators via partisan elections for the Constitution. As originally designed, the Senate was elected by state legislatures and the Framers anticipated (naively perhaps) that the Senate would be comprised of men chosen on the basis of distinction and ability rather than partisan allegiances. That system was changed in 1913 with the enactment of the Seventeenth Amendment, which adopted direct election of Senators. This article asks whether the Constitution would look different if the Framers had anticipated that Senators eventually would be elected by direct election as opposed to indirect election.In particular, I focus on the distinctive powers given to the Senate within the federal constitutional structure and the reasons articulated for why those powers were given to the Senate: the power to try impeachments, to confirm nominees, and to ratify treaties, as well as the role of the Senate in the system of bicameralism and federalism. Although it is impossible to know for sure what the Framers would have done had they anticipated direct election in partisan elections I argue that it is likely that they would not have given the power to try impeachments to the Senate in the form that they did, it is reasonable that they might have changed the system of nomination and confirmation, and is likely that they would have retained the Senate's major role in treaty confirmation. Although direct election dramatically diluted the value of bicameralism, it is likely that they would have retained a bicameral structure for most matters anyway. Finally, it is extremely likely that had they anticipated that Senators would be directly elected they would have built in additional explicit constitutional safeguards for the protection of federalism.


Purpose To test the hypothesis that genes known to cause clinical syndromes featuring myopia also harbor polymorphisms contributing to nonsyndromic refractive errors. Methods Clinical phenotypes and syndromes that have refractive errors as a recognized feature were identified using the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database. One hundred fifty-four unique causative genes were identified, of which 119 were specifically linked with myopia and 114 represented syndromic myopia (i.e., myopia and at least one other clinical feature). Myopia was the only refractive error listed for 98 genes and hyperopia and the only refractive error noted for 28 genes, with the remaining 28 genes linked to phenotypes with multiple forms of refractive error. Pathway analysis was carried out to find biological processes overrepresented within these sets of genes. Genetic variants located within 50 kb of the 119 myopia-related genes were evaluated for involvement in refractive error by analysis of summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted by the CREAM Consortium and 23andMe, using both single-marker and gene-based tests. Results Pathway analysis identified several biological processes already implicated in refractive error development through prior GWAS analyses and animal studies, including extracellular matrix remodeling, focal adhesion, and axon guidance, supporting the research hypothesis. Novel pathways also implicated in myopia development included mannosylation, glycosylation, lens development, gliogenesis, and Schwann cell differentiation. Hyperopia was found to be linked to a different pattern of biological processes, mostly related to organogenesis. Comparison with GWAS findings further confirmed that syndromic myopia genes were enriched for genetic variants that influence refractive errors in the general population. Gene-based analyses implicated 21 novel candidate myopia genes (ADAMTS18, ADAMTS2, ADAMTSL4, AGK, ALDH18A1, ASXL1, COL4A1, COL9A2, ERBB3, FBN1, GJA1, GNPTG, IFIH1, KIF11, LTBP2, OCA2, POLR3B, POMT1, PTPN11, TFAP2A, ZNF469). Conclusions Common genetic variants within or nearby genes that cause syndromic myopia are enriched for variants that cause nonsyndromic, common myopia. Analysis of syndromic forms of refractive errors can provide new insights into the etiology of myopia and additional potential targets for therapeutic interventions.


These days 1989 isn't what it used to be. Not so long ago the wildfire revolutions that swept across Eastern Europe during that momentous year were routinely celebrated as the grand victory of liberal democracy over Soviet-style communism. However, recent developments in Poland, Hungary and elsewhere on the continent which in various ways all invoked 1989, either as inspiration or negative foil, behove us to reconsider the effects of that fateful year in Central Europe from a different perspective. The rise of xenophobia, resurgent populist politics on both the Radical Right and the Left, as well as the spread of 'illiberal democracy' across Europe, the US and elsewhere have predictably generated great alarm. Plenty of commentary on the comeback of authoritarian anti-liberalism in Central Europe has claimed that we are witnessing a kind of 'return of the repressed,' a dangerous repudiation of the golden principles of 1989 three decades after the uprisings. But construing recent developments in Central Europe as simply an anti-1989 backlash does not get us very far, not least because the unrest of 1989 carried within it the seeds of illiberalism as well. With distance, the inheritance of the 'revolutionary autumn' appears more mixed and precarious, and much harder to classify than it once was. Like all revolutions, 1989 brought in its train a mixed bag of dreams and disappointments, stark ruptures and stubborn continuities, and this article revisits some of the grey and even darker tones of the inheritance.


We apply a genetic algorithm whose genotypes represent simple grammars to search for families of compare-exchange networks that are merging networks. The grammars are restricted to be of a simple form based on prior knowledge about the search domain. Finding merging networks in this fashion leads to the discovery of networks that also sort if the data is cycled through them a small number of times. Random network and grammar generation results show that the problem is difficult and suggest some conjectures about how the genetic algorithm is operating for this problem. The genetic algorithm finds the best-known network of the kind for which we search, and further finds a novel, slightly suboptimal network that turns out to be an interesting combination of ideas from known, theoretically derived networks.


Over the last few decades, survey research has witnessed a number of developments that have affected the quality of data that emerge using this methodology. Using the total survey error (TSE) approach as a point of departure, this article documents chronic challenges to data quality. With the aim of facilitating assessments of data quality, this article then turns to best practices in the disclosure of survey findings based on probability and nonprobability samples. Finally, (p)reviewing the use of technology and social media, it provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges for survey research today.


Water loss is a phenomenon frequently observed within water distribution systems (WDSs), that is considerably worsened by an excessive pressure throughout the network. As an alternative option to pipe replacement, the use of pumps working as turbines, throttle control valves (TCVs), or pressure reduction valves (PRVs) can be used to reduce leakage. For a preassigned number of these devices, their positions and settings can be chosen to minimize the water losses in the network or to minimise the costs associated with the leakage. On the other hand, for a preassigned reduction in leakage, the number, the position and the setting of valves could be optimized in order to minimize their installation and maintenance costs. Based on these observations, a procedure for the optimal choice of the number, position and setting of PRVs is devised. The procedure is aimed at reducing the whole cost associated with water loss in urban WDSs, due to the background leakage from joints, and the purchase, installation and maintaining of the PRVs themselves. The effectiveness of the procedure, which is based on the physical modelling of leakage from pipe joints as well as on the use of a genetic algorithm, is proven using a small but realistic example.


ABSTRACT By looking into the case of Palestine, this article has two goals: the first is to provide philosophical scaffolding to the theme of resistance in settler colonial theory, and in so doing to argue that resistance need to be regarded as part of the structure in settler social formations. Secondly, the article rereads 'the logic of elimination' upon which settler colonialism is founded in order to suggest that as a settler colonial project Zionism historically evolved via a process of 'double elimination' – of indigenous life and of shared life. The aim of this article is then to fold the second conclusion into the first: alongside with indigenous resistance, shared life need be conceived as part of the structural struggle against settler colonialism. The article has three sections. In the first section, the state of the art in the field of settler colonial studies is presented in order to identify strengths and weaknesses. The second section offers a conceptualisation of the idea/practice of resistance by drawing from Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's works. The last section reframes the logic of elimination concluding with a political vision that expands on the notion of resistance.


Listeners posses a remarkable ability to attend to one of two speakers speaking at the same time (simultaneous speakers). The present research studied the role of speech rhythm involved in this process. In two experiments with the Coordinate Measure Response Corpus, listeners were asked to attend to one of two simultaneous speakers. In Experiment I native and French accented speakers of English were paired and in Experiment II resynthesized speakers with assumed durational syllable characteristics of native English and nonnative English (spoken be French) were paired. English and French native listeners took part in the experiments. Results from both experiments revealed that both English and French listener groups were better at attending to native English speakers (Experiment I) or to speakers who had English durational syllable characteristics (Experiment II). We argued that rhythmic durational differences between the speakers can enhance speaker segregation ability of listeners.


Abstract. Four gas analysers capable of measuring nitrous oxide (N2O) concentration at a response time necessary for eddy covariance flux measurements were operated from spring until winter 2011 over a field cultivated with reed canary grass (RCG, Phalaris arundinacea, L.), a perennial bioenergy crop in eastern Finland. The instruments were TGA100A (Campbell Scientific Inc.), CW-TILDAS-CS (Aerodyne Research Inc.), N2O / CO-23d (Los Gatos Research Inc.) and QC-TILDAS-76-CS (Aerodyne Research Inc.). The period with high emissions, lasting for about 2 weeks after fertilization in late May, was characterized by an up to 2 orders of magnitude higher emission, whereas during the rest of the campaign the N2O fluxes were small, from 0.01 to 1 nmol m−2 s−1. Two instruments, CW-TILDAS-CS and N2O / CO-23d, determined the N2O exchange with minor systematic difference throughout the campaign, when operated simultaneously. TGA100A produced the cumulatively highest N2O estimates (with 29% higher values during the period when all instruments were operational). QC-TILDAS-76-CS obtained 36% lower fluxes than CW-TILDAS-CS during the first period, including the emission episode, whereas the correspondence with other instruments during the rest of the campaign was good. The reasons for systematic differences were not identified, suggesting further need for detailed evaluation of instrument performance under field conditions with emphasis on stability, calibration and any other factors that can systematically affect the accuracy of flux measurements. The instrument CW-TILDAS-CS was characterized by the lowest noise level (with a standard deviation of around 0.12 ppb at 10 Hz sampling rate) as compared to N2O / CO-23d and QC-TILDAS-76-CS (around 0.50 ppb) and TGA100A (around 2 ppb). We identified that for all instruments except CW-TILDAS-CS the random error due to instrumental noise was an important source of uncertainty at the 30 min averaging level and the total stochastic error was frequently of the same magnitude as the fluxes when N2O exchange was small at the measurement site. Both instruments based on continuous-wave quantum cascade laser, CW-TILDAS-CS and N2O / CO-23d, were able to determine the same sample of low N2O fluxes with a high mutual coefficient of determination at the 30 min averaging level and with minor systematic difference over the observation period of several months. This enables us to conclude that the new-generation instrumentation is capable of measuring small N2O exchange with high precision and accuracy at sites with low fluxes.