DLTS, ODLTS and DLOS have been used to characterise the main deep level trapping centres in some II-VI semiconductors; these were single crystal CdS, (ZnCd)S, CdSe, CdTe and ZnS, and polycrystalline CdS films. Undoped, single crystal CdS contained four electron traps as detected by DLTS, at 0.29eV, 0.41eV, 0.61eV and 0.74eV below the conduction band (CB). The first two were observed in all samples and were due to native defects. The two states of highest energy were found only in material that had been annealed in S or Cd vapours. The 0.61ev level could be photoinduced by illumination at photon energies greater than about 1eV. It decayed in the dark with an activation energy of 0.25eV. The 0.61eV and 0.74eV centres were associated with electrically active extended defects (subgrain boundaries Such samples had dislocation densities of about 10(^10) cm(^-2). Copper was found to be a residual impurity in CdS. It produced two deep hole traps resulting from a crystal field splitting of the Cu d(^9) state. They were detected by ODLTS and DLOS and were found at 0.35eV and 1.lev above the valence band (VB).Introduction of the isoelectronic impurity tellurium into CdS induced a hole repulsive centre at 0.21eV above the VB. This is thought to be an inportant radiative recombination centre. The main electron trap in CdS at 0.41eV was found to shift to higher energy with incorporation of Zn. Replacement of 20% of the Cd with Zn shifted the energy to 0.63eV. The level appeared fixed to the VB and had a similar functional dependence on composition as the band gap. The activation energies of the copper centres observed in CdS remained unchanged with incorporation of Zn up to the composition (^Zn)0.45 (^cd)0.55(^s) showed that the crystal field splitting was constant and that these levels were also pinned to the VB. During the fabrication process of the (ZnCd)S/Cu(_2)S solar cell, a deep level was induced at about 1.2eV below the CB. This is thought to be a recombination centre and one of the contributory factors to the reduction observed in the current collection efficiency of these devices. Polycrystalline CdS films were prepared by silk screen printing (SP) and evaporation. The SP films were annealed at various times and temperatures to improve the crystallinity of the layers. At 640C for 1hr, deep states at 0.16eV and 0.48eV were detected. The levels disappeared when annealed at 670C-700C and a new level was observed at 0.13eV. CdS/Cu(_2)S heterojunctions were prepared on the material sintered at 670C; this induced a further trapping level at 1.1eV and one that was poorly resolved. Copper diffused into the CdS during the fabrication of the device so the states associated with copper were detected at 0.35eV and 1.1eV, The evaporated CdS layers showed that the defect signature was sensitive to the type of substrate. Using Ag instead of the usual SnO(_x), deep states were induced at 0.48eV and 0.98eV below the CB. These Ag-associated impurity centres prevent the indiffusion of Cu during the optimising heat treatment of the CdS/Cu(_2)S heterojunction. This maintains the stoichicmetry of the Cu(_2)S layer, thereby, preventing degradation of the devices. CdSe and copper doped CdSe were found to contain several important defect centres: a native sensitising centre (0.64eV from the VB), a class I recombination centre (0.9eV from the CB), a copper impurity centre (0.2eV from the CB) and two native defects (0.16eVand 0.45eV from the CB). n-type CdTe grown by the Piper-Polich technique contained6 electron traps at 0.15eV, 0.21eV, 0.40eV, 0.47eV, 0.53eV and 0.63eV. Their presence was shown to be dependent upon the method of growth of the crystal by comparing with material grown by other techniques. One or more of these states were thought to be due to extended defects or Te precipitates. Low resistivity ZnS contained two deep electron traps at 0.25eV and O.50eV as detected by DLTS. In addition DLOS showed the presence of four further states at 1.25eV, 1.37eV, 1.89eV and 2.19eV below the CB. The first two are thought to be the strong luminescence centres observed by other workers.


We intend to analyse the intermittency spectra of current helicity in solar active regions. We made a pixel-by-pixel comparison of current helicity maps derived from three different instruments, namely by Helioseismic and Magnetc Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO/HMI), Spectro-Polarimeter on board the Hinode, and Solar Magnetic Field Telescope at the Huairou Solar Observing Station, China (HSOS/SMFT). The comparison showed an excellent correlation between the maps derived from the spaceborne instruments and moderate correlation between the maps derived from SDO/HMI and HSOS/SMFT vector magnetograms. The results suggest that the obtained maps characterize real spatial distribution of current helicity over an active region. To analyse the multifractality and intermittency of current helicity, we traditionally use the high-order structure function and flatness function approach. The slope of a flatness function within some range of scales - the flatness exponent - is a measure of the degree of intermittency. We used SDO/HMI vector magnetograms to calculate the flatness exponent variations of current helicity of three active regions: NOAA 11158, 12494, and 12673. The flatness exponents were determined within the scale range of 2-10 Mm. All three regions exhibited emergence of a new magnetic flux during the observational interval. Interestingly, the flatness exponent increased rapidly 12-20 hours before the emergence of a new flux and restored its previous value by the beginning of the emergence. We suppose that this behaviour can be explained by subphotospheric fragmentation or distortion of the existed current system by emerging magnetic flux. During the imperturbable development of active region, the flatness exponent of current helicity remains relatively low and the intermittency range shifts toward higher values up to 20-40 Mm.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To identify symptom clusters in older adult breast cancer survivors (ages 65-97 years) and examine whether symptom clusters are related to demographic, health, and quality-of-life variables.

DESIGN
Factor analysis to identify possible symptom clusters. The resulting clusters then were correlated with quality-of-life measures.

SETTING
Phone interviews between the participants and a trained research nurse.

SAMPLE
192 breast cancer survivors (X age = 70).

METHODS
This was a secondary data analysis of the baseline measures of demographics, health history, symptom bother, and physical, mental, and existential dimensions of quality of life. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted as well as multiple indicator multiple cause modeling and partial correlation analyses to assess the relationships among clusters and demographic, health history, and quality-of-life measures.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Self-reported symptom bother, demographics such as age and education level, health history, and quality of life.

FINDINGS
Seven clinically distinct symptom clusters tapping 36 different symptoms in older adult breast cancer survivors were found. These symptom clusters were significantly related to multiple dimensions of quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS
Older adult breast cancer survivors experience multiple concurrent symptoms that appear to cluster. Identifying symptom clusters helps to elucidate possible intersymptom relationships which may lead to the design of more effective symptom management interventions for older adult breast cancer survivors.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Older adult breast cancer survivors should be assessed for a wide variety of symptoms if clinicians hope to identify and understand intersymptom relationships. Such assessment would enable more comprehensive symptom management.


While numerous studies have documented the modest (though reliable) link between household income and well-being, we examined the accuracy of laypeople's intuitions about this relationship by asking people from across the income spectrum to report their own happiness and to predict the happiness of others (Study 1) and themselves (Study 2) at different income levels. Data from two national surveys revealed that while laypeople's predictions were relatively accurate at higher levels of income, they greatly overestimated the impact of income on life satisfaction at lower income levels, expecting low household income to be coupled with very low life satisfaction. Thus, people may work hard to maintain or increase their income in part because they overestimate the hedonic costs of earning low levels of income.


Abstract This artist's writing discusses Project Amoreiras, developed by the Poéticas Digitais Group. The proposal is an urban intervention involving art, technology and environment, configured as an interactive installation of mulberry trees on the Paulista Avenue (São Paulo, Brazil). The article highlights its poetic and technological elements as critical positioning on pollution in the metropolitan environment, the processes of autonomy and artificial learning, the emergent behavior of the trees, the application of John Conway's neighborhood principles to the project as well as the positive reception of the proposal by the pedestrians during the exhibition.


Memory is an issue that stimulates debates among theorists in many fields of knowledge, who consider it under different prisms. The reflections I aim to share in this paper come from a specific reality: the initiatives towards the preservation of faculty personal archives at the University of Sao Paulo, repositories of not only their creators' individual memory, but of the university itself and, by extension, of significant part of Brazilian scientific life. First, I examine the nature of recordkeeping in such archives, showing how it challenges traditional archival theory paradigms. After that, I explore the relation between archives and memory, debating its commercial and symbolic values by crossing contributions from Sociology of Science, History and Archival Science, three generally inarticulate disciplines in theoretical debate despite their intimate and necessary bond. Finally, I discuss the crucial role played by such archives in documenting teaching and research processes, borrowing the notion of scientific field formulated by Pierre Bourdieu and extending it to university working environment, pointing out questions on the creation of memorial policies towards the preservation of faculty personal archives and the access to their records.


The problem of accurately measuring the similarity between graphs is at the core of many applications in a variety of disciplines. Graph kernels have recently emerged as a promising approach to this problem. There are now many kernels, each focusing on different structural aspects of graphs. Here, we present GraKeL, a library that unifies several graph kernels into a common framework. The library is written in Python and adheres to the scikit-learn interface. It is simple to use and can be naturally combined with scikit-learn's modules to build a complete machine learning pipeline for tasks such as graph classification and clustering. The code is BSD licensed and is available at: this https URL .


The hygroscopic properties play a vital role for the direct and indirect effects of aerosols on climate, as well as the health effects of particulate matter (PM) by modifying the deposition pattern of inhaled particles in the humid human respiratory tract. Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (H-TDMA) instruments have been used in field campaigns in various environments globally over the last 25 yr to determine the water uptake on submicrometre particles at subsaturated conditions. These investigations have yielded valuable and comprehensive information regarding the particle hygroscopic properties of the atmospheric aerosol, including state of mixing. These properties determine the equilibrium particle size at ambient relative humidities and have successfully been used to calculate the activation of particles at water vapour supersaturation. This paper summarizes the existing published H-TDMA results on the sizeresolved submicrometre aerosol particle hygroscopic properties obtained from ground-based measurements at multiple marine, rural, urban and free tropospheric measurement sites. The data is classified into groups of hygroscopic growth indicating the external mixture, and providing clues to the sources and processes controlling the aerosol. An evaluation is given on how different chemical and physical properties affect the hygroscopic growth.


'The story of the first all-out struggle in Asia between Communism and the West, vividly told in an exciting and engrossing book' Sunday Express Only three short years after the end of the Japanese occupation, war came again to Malaya. The Chinese-backed guerrillas called it the War of the Running Dogs - their contemptuous term for those in Malaya who remained loyal to the British. The British Government referred to this bloody and costly struggle as the 'Malayan Emergency'. Yet it was a war that lasted twelve years and cost thousands of lives. By the time it was over Malaya had obtained its independence - but on British, not on Chinese or Communist terms. Here is the war as it was. Here are the planters and their wives on their remote rubber estates, the policemen, the generals and the soldiers, the Malays, Chinese and Indians of a polyglot country, all fighting an astute, ruthless, and well organized enemy.


This essay turns to two familiar figures in the transgender archive—Lou Sullivan and Jack Bee Garland—to think about the potentials of trans/crip conjunctions. The author offers a recuperative reading of Sullivan's biography of Garland, From Female to Male: The Life of Jack Bee Garland, as not an impaired (but useful) work of historical recovery but an aesthetic object marked indelibly by Garland's cripped transmasculinity. More specifically, it attends to a period during which Garland used the "disability con" as a technology that scrambled the codes of gender, race, and class and, in so doing, allowed them to live—briefly in life, but indefinitely in the archive—a publicly nonbinary life. Garland's narrative, therefore, offers a compelling model of trans agency and authority that leans into, rather than flees from, the potentially disqualifying lumping together of disability/transgender.


Bouldering is a growing recreational activity, frequently occurring in fragile wilderness areas. As bouldering use increases, so too does the potential for ecological and social impacts. Leave No Trace–based educational strategies are the most prominent form of indirect management used to influence wilderness visitor behaviors. Given the growth of bouldering in wilderness and the lack of understanding regarding boulderers' perceptions of minimum impact practices, the purpose of this study was to examine boulderers' attitudes and perceptions of Leave No Trace in Rocky Mountain National Park. Results suggest that boulderers' attitudes generally align with Leave No Trace recommended practices, although attitudes are less congruent with practices that are perceived as limiting to safety, access, and maintaining bouldering opportunities in the park. Findings indicate that global perceptions of Leave No Trace are positive and that educational communication strategies that target specific bouldering behaviors could minimize ecological and social impacts associated with bouldering. Results provide wilderness managers with baseline attitudinal data, which can be reevaluated in the future and monitored in conjunction with ecological data, after educational communication and outreach strategies have been deployed.


Using a comparative approach, we investigated the ability of dwarf goats and sheep to use direct and indirect information about the location of a food reward in an object-choice task. Subjects had to choose between two cups with only one covering a reward. Before making a choice, subjects received information about the baited (direct information) or non-baited cup (indirect information). Both goats and sheep were able to use direct information (presence of food) in the object choice task. After controlling for local enhancement, we found that goats rather than sheep were able to use indirect information (i.e., the absence of food) to find a reward. The actual test setup could not clarify whether individual goats were able to inferentially reason about the content of the baited cup when only shown the content of the non-baited cup or if they simply avoided the empty cup in that situation. As browsing species, feral and wild goats exhibit highly selective feeding behaviour compared to the rather unselective grazing sheep. The potential influence of this species-specific foraging flexibility of goats and sheep for using direct and indirect information to find a food reward is discussed in relation to a higher aversion to losses in food acquisition in goats compared to sheep.


As part of a multicenter clinical trial (Lung Health Study), methacholine inhalation challenge testing was performed in 5,877 current cigarette smokers, ages 35 to 59 yr (mean 48.5 +/- 6.8 yr), with borderline to moderate airflow limitation (FEV1/FVC ratio 63.0 +/- 5.5). The test was successfully completed in 96.4% of subjects, of whom 63% were male and 95.9% were white. Symptomatic reactions to methacholine were rarely severe enough to require evaluation by a trial physician. Nonspecific airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was defined as a greater than or equal to 20% decline in FEV1 from the post-diluent control value after inhalation of less than or equal to 25 mg/ml methacholine. AHR was noted in a significantly higher percentage of women (85.1%) than men (58.9%). Moreover, nearly twice as many women as men (46.6 and 23.9%, respectively) responded to less than or equal to 5 mg/ml of methacholine. In both men and women, baseline degree of airways obstruction and clinical center were strongly associated with AHR (p less than 0.001), whereas age was not. Additional associations with AHR were analyzed in men and women separately using logistic regression after adjustment for baseline lung function, age, and center-to-center differences. In men, AHR was significantly related to symptoms of wheeze, chronic cough and/or sputum, and a history of asthma or hay fever (p less than 0.004), but not to current or lifetime tobacco use. By contrast, among women, AHR was not significantly associated with chronic cough and/or phlegm (p greater than 0.05) or a past history of asthma or hay fever (p greater than 0.1) and was only weakly related to wheeze and current asthma (p = 0.04), as well as to cigarette pack-years (p = 0.044). These results indicate that most continuing smokers with functional evidence of early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have nonspecific AHR that is strongly related to gender and baseline lung function and, to a lesser extent, to respiratory symptoms. The reason for the striking effect of gender on AHR in early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is unclear but cannot be attributed to male-female differences in age, cigarette use, presence of asthma, or baseline degree of airflow obstruction.


Tau is natively an unfolded protein that promotes the assembly and the stability of the
axonal microtubules in the central nervous system. Increased formation of Tau protein
aggregates has been causatively implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases called
tauopathies. In the present study, we used the Drosophila melanogaster system to express
the longest isoform of human Tau (2N4R) in the nervous system of adult flies, recreating
the main features of the human pathology. Herein, this Tau-mediated neurodegeneration
model was used as a platform to perform genetic screenings to identify putative modifiers
of Tau toxicity. Our strategy exploited the modulation of genes considered as risk factors of
Alzheimer's disease (AD), Frontotemporal Dementias and other neurodegenerative
diseases by RNA interference in vivo. This approach allowed us to identify a new gene
which participates in the neuronal response against Tau induced neurotoxicity in
Drosophila: D-Reep1, homologue of human REEP1 gene (h-Reep1). D-Reep1 knockout flies
showed no apparent phenotypes in physiological growing and developmental conditions,
however, they showed peculiar sensitivity to stress conditions. In addition, D-Reep1
knockout enhanced the neurodegeneration mediated by Tau expression in Drosophila eyes.
On the contrary, the overexpression of UAS-D-Reep1 and UAS-h-Reep1 abolished the
typical rough eye phenotype induced by the presence of Tau. The Co-expression of D-Reep1
in Tau backgrounds did not alter the phosphorylation pattern of this protein while, the
presence of D-Reep1 seemed to prevent the formation of Tau aggregates in vivo. Thus, the
data support the idea that D-Reep1 exerts a protective role on Tau induced toxicity which is
independent of its phosphorylation status. In this work, I analysed the mechanisms behind
the neuroprotective role of D-Reep1 and, in particular, I found that REEP1 is involved in the
regulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) through the PERK-ATF4 cascade within
the ER. By the activation of this pathway, the neurotoxic aggregates of Tau are removed
from Drosophila neuronal tissues rescuing the normal characteristics of the affected
tissues. Evidences also suggest that the activation of autophagy was behind the removal of
Tau aggregates, providing new molecular information about the physiological role of D
Reep1 in the nervous system.


Some studies of 1941–1942 indicated that adaptation under red light was faster than in darkness. A recent (May 26, 1952) research report originating from the Naval Air Station at Pensacola seems to show a facilitative effect of red light on dark adaptation and has renewed interest in this problem. Some of the earlier data purporting to show this effect, additional material previously unpublished, and also new studies made at Yale by the method of simultaneous differential monocular adaptation are here presented and discussed. Adaptation goggles were used for 25 min under illumination of 8 mL. The filter over one eye was a glass disk made of Corning No. 2403, deep red, 3.5 percent photopic transmission, over the other eye an opaque cardboard disk which excluded all light. Dark-adaptation thresholds (Hecht-Schlaer adaptometer) violet light (Corning 5513), measured alternately on the two eyes showed for 16 college student subjects lower values, i.e., increased light sensitiveness for the eyes adapted in darkness. In the period 6 min after removing the goggles the mean threshold difference between results for red and opaque procedures in the first test was −0.153 log μμL, <P=0.01; in the second test with the goggles reversed on the two eyes the mean difference favoring the opaque side was −0.182 log I, μμL, <P=0.01. The earlier and later results are not easily harmonized. The author argues in favor of the monocular method as an appropriate one for the study of this problem.


The design of glycogen phosphorylase (GP) inhibitors targeting the catalytic site of the enzyme is a promising strategy for a better control of hyperglycaemia in the context of type 2 diabetes. Glucopyranosylidene-spiro-heterocycles have been demonstrated as potent GP inhibitors, and more specifically spiro-oxathiazoles. A new synthetic route has now been elaborated through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of an aryl nitrile oxide to a glucono-thionolactone affording in one step the spiro-oxathiazole moiety. The thionolactone was obtained from the thermal rearrangement of a thiosulfinate precursor according to Fairbanks' protocols, although with a revisited outcome and also rationalised with DFT calculations. The 2-naphthyl substituted glucose-based spiro-oxathiazole 5h, identified as one of the most potent GP inhibitors (Ki = 160 nM against RMGPb) could be produced on the gram-scale from this strategy. Further evaluation in vitro using rat and human hepatocytes demonstrated that compound 5h is a anti-hyperglycaemic drug candidates performing slightly better than DAB used as a positive control. Investigation in Zucker fa/fa rat model in acute and subchronic assays further confirmed the potency of compound 5h since it lowered blood glucose levels by ∼36% at 30 mg kg-1 and ∼43% at 60 mg kg-1. The present study is one of the few in vivo investigations for glucose-based GP inhibitors and provides data in animal models for such drug candidates.


The Enduring Legacies ReservationBased Project, now in its third year, supports Native American college students of a number of Pacific Northwest tribes. This paper addresses the pedagogical and elearning strategies applied to the culturally sensitive curricular redesigns for English Composition 1 and 2 (which involve essay writing and research writing respectively). These are foundational and required courses for a number of degree programs and certificates. The curricular redesigns for both courses address issues of cultural sensitivity, learner focus, and strategy, and apply concepts of universal design for more effective learning for a wide range of learners. With the redesigns now in place for a year for the EC1 course and one quarter for EC2, some early findings have emerged as well.


ABSTRACT Carbonate substrates prepared from conch shells and inorganic cleaved calcite were planted both at and below the sediment-water interface in a back barrier sound of North Carolina, within a mudbank of Florida Bay, and along a barrier reef transect in Belize. SEM examination of plastic casts of microboring networks formed the primary basis of study, supplemented by light microscopy of isolated endolithic organisms and TEM examination of doubly embedded material. A diverse assemblage of endolithic forms was detected in substrates planted at the sediment-water interface. In contrast, a less diverse and distinctly different assemblage of endolithic forms was found within substrates planted as much as 160 cm below the sediment-water interface. This is the first known report of such activity within buried marine sediments. The most abundant subsurface endoliths were two coccoid forms, separated on the basis of size, surficial texture, and morphology. Each type had several growth variants believed to be stages of binary, cellular fission. Other endolithic forms detected include a filamentous, irregular, polygonal network, an irregular, flattened mass, and a regular, crenulate, flattened disc. TEM examination of one of the coccoid forms suggests a p ocaryotic blue-green algal or bacterial origin. The affinities of the other forms are unknown, but resemble endolithic traces attributed to fungi, bacteria, and Actinomycetes. The regular discoids and irregular flattened masses are found only in association with the filamentous form and may be reproductive bodies. Subsurface endoliths appear to be restricted to finer-grained, reducing sediments, and may be utilizing the more abundant interstitial nutrient supply as well as, or instead of, organic matrices within the mollusk substrates. Endolithic activity within buried marine carbonate sediments has important consequences in that it broadens the environmental conditions under which microborings may form, suggests that endolithic heterotrophs may significantly affect the surrounding microenvironment within sediments, and may result in porosity development during early sediment burial.


The Supreme Court's recent decision in United States v. Windsor striking down a crucial section of the Defense of Marriage Act means that validly married same-sex couples are now entitled to the federal benefits associated with marriage. Subsequent decisions by various administrative agencies have construed entitlement to such benefits broadly, so that even couples whose marriage is not recognized in their state of residence can claim several important benefits, including the right to sponsor their spouses into the country for immigration purposes, and the right to file joint income tax returns.These rights, though, have not been extended to couples who are in civil unions. Even though civil unions were created as a way for same-sex couples to approximate marriage at the state level, it now appears that those in civil unions will not be able to gain the federal benefits of marriage. Thus, it is likely that states that currently recognize civil unions will soon switch to full marriage equality, and it is likely that no states will be added to the civil union roster.But the civil union has been transformed into something different in three states (Illinois, Colorado, and Hawaii), because the right to enter into these unions has been extended to opposite-sex couples, as well. Since those in opposite-sex relationships chose civil unions over marriage, it is likely that these states will continue to allow the civil union option for both opposite- and same-sex couples. This Essay explores what the continuing presence of civil unions in a few states is likely to mean in the ongoing national discussion about the structure and legal support for various types of families.


Background: In order to identify Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) as soon as possible, we need validated screening instruments that can be used for the early identification of motor coordination delays. The aim of this study was to establish the suitability of the Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (Little DCDQ) for the identification of DCD in a selected group of 3–5-year-old South African children (N = 53). Method: Both reliability and validity of the Little DCDQ were assessed. Test items of the Little DCDQ, completed by the parents, were compared against the standardised Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2, in a group of 53 children aged 3–5 years. Results: Correlations of r = 0.3 were established between two of the test items and good internal consistency (Chronbach's Alpha, r =  > 0.8) was established. The Little DCDQ showed poor sensitivity (57.14%), but reasonable specificity (81.25%). Conclusion: These results indicate that the Little DCDQ has potential as a screening instrument to detect possible DCD, but a few adjustments need to be considered.


The design of very large wind turbines is a complex task which requires the development of dedicated tools and techniques. In this chapter, we present a system-level design procedure based on the combination of multi-body numerical models of the turbine and a multilevel optimization scheme. The overall design aims at the minimization of the cost of energy (COE) through the optimization of all the characteristics of the turbine, and the procedure automatically manages all the simulations required to compute relevant loads and displacements. This unique setup allows the designer to conduct trade-off studies in a highly realistic virtual environment and is an ideal test bench for advanced research studies in which it is important to assess the economic impact of specific design choices. Examples of such studies include the impact of stall-induced vibrations on fatigue, the development of active/passive control laws for large rotors, and the complete definition of 10–20 MW reference turbines.


In this paper we study grating-induced plasmon–plasmon coupling in photorefractive layered media using a weak-coupling approximation. The method used is applicable to general layered structures that support both plasmonic and optical modes, such as photorefractive liquid crystal cells. The approximate equations are accurate when compared to S matrix approaches and capture the plasmon propagation at the surface of the device along with the optical modes guided by the layered geometry underneath. Analysis of the resulting model provides insight into the effect of the control parameters in this device and the means to optimize the diffraction efficiency. For example, by considering the case in which the plasmon is spectrally separated from the guided modes it is possible to determine the optimum gold thickness and grating strength required to obtain the strongest possible diffraction.


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This study compared the vocabularies created by various domain experts and the source documents selected by them to create the vocabulary. The results indicate that there is similarity among the vocabularies created and the source documents selected. Also, the relationship between the overlap scores of vocabularies created and overlap scores of source documents selected was tested and it was observed that no significant relation exists between them. In addition, the variability of the overlap scores of the vocabularies generated automatically to the variability of the overlap scores of those produced manually by domain experts was evaluated. The results suggested that these vocabularies are significantly different from each other.


Knowledge sharing in public services has not yet received much attention in the research literature. This paper investigates knowledge sharing in one public service context and identifies factors that influence the readiness of an organization to share knowledge effectively. Using participant observation, document analysis, interviews n=30 and a survey n=132, data are presented to highlight antecedents to effective knowledge sharing in healthcare service delivery. Through factor analysis and regression modeling, we have isolated six factors that are significant predictors of effective knowledge sharing. Our research is broadly consistent with previous findings that an innovative culture, a capacity to learn from failure and good information quality are strong predictors of successful knowledge sharing. However, we also identify factors associated with change management, and a predisposition to confront performance indicators, that significantly influence the knowledge sharing process. While we argue that our six-factor model may be equally relevant to private sector firms, we suggest that the peculiar nature of the public sector environment poses unique challenges for healthcare managers who seek to develop a knowledge sharing capability.


Objective – To determine the effects over time of a 3-credit semester-long undergraduate information literacy course on student perception and use of the library web portal.

Design – Mixed methods, including a longitudinal survey and in-person interviews.

Setting – Information literacy course at a comprehensive public research institution in the northeastern United States of America.

Subjects – Undergraduates at all levels enrolled in a 3-credit general elective information literacy course titled "The Internet and Information Access."
Methods – A longitudinal survey was conducted by administering a questionnaire to students at three different points in time: prior to instruction, near the end of the course (after receiving instruction on the library portal), and three months after the course ended, during the academic year 2011-2012. The survey was created by borrowing questions from several existing instruments. It was tested and refined through pre-pilot and pilot studies conducted in the 2010-2011 academic year, for which results are reported. Participation was voluntary, though students were incentivized to participate through extra credit for completing the pre- and post-instruction questionnaire, and a monetary reward for completing the follow-up questionnaire. Interviews were conducted with a subset of 14 participants at a fourth point in time.

Main Results – 239 of the 376 (63.6%) students enrolled in the course completed the pre- and post-instruction questionnaire. Fewer than half of those participants (111 or 30% of students enrolled) completed the follow-up questionnaire. Participants were primarily sophomores and juniors (32% each), with approximately one-quarter (26%) freshman, and only 10% seniors. Student majors were concentrated in the social sciences (62%), with fewer students from science and technology (13%), business (13%), and the humanities (9%). The 14 participants interviewed were drawn from both high- and low-use students.

Overall, the course had a positive effect on students' perception of usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEOU), as well as usage of the library portal. This included significant positive changes in perceived ease of use and information quality in the short-term (from pre-instruction to post-instruction). The results were mixed for perceived usefulness and system quality. Though there was mixed long-term impact on usage, the course does not appear to have had a long-term effect on PU and PEOU. The interview participants were asked questions to explore why and how they used the library portal, and revealed that both high- and low-use students used the library portal for similar reasons: to find information for research papers or projects, to search the library catalogue for books, and in response to a mandate or encouragement from instructors.

Conclusion – The study supports the theory that an information literacy course could change student perception and use of the library portal in the short-term. Replicating this design in other settings could provide a systematic approach for assessing whether information literacy courses address learning outcomes over time. A longitudinal approach could be useful for comparing proficiency and information behaviors of those who take information literacy courses with those who do not.


Objective: To determine the effectiveness of moxifloxacin as fourth drug in the management of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Methodology: This hospital based comparative clinical trial was done as pilot study from January 2016 to December 2017. The study was carried out on 43 patients with TBM. Moxifloxacin based regimen (group I) versus standard treat - ment for tuberculous meningitis (group II) were compared. Computer software, SPSS version 21.0, was used for data entry and analysis. Statis¬tical significance was considered at p value <0.05. Results: Out of 43 patients, there were 15 (34.9%) males and 28 (65.1%) females. Age of the patients ranged from 13 to 80 years (mean 31.418 ±18.62 years). Fe - ver, headache, vomiting and altered level of consciousness was present in 38 (88.4%); neck stiffness in 39 (90.69%) and neurological deficit was present in 18 (41.9%) patients. Leptomeningeal enhancement was the most frequent radio - logical finding found in 13 (30.2%) patients. Overall Improvement occured in 38 (88.37%) of patients. In group I, 21/22 (95.45%) patients and in group II, 17/21 (80.95%) patients improved, (p value 0. 158). Till 3rd day of commencement of treatment, 11/21 (52.38%) patients recovered in group I while 02/17 (11.76%) patients recovered in group II. Conclusion: Moxifloxacin based regimen was associated with an early recovery (within 03 days of commencement of treatment) in a significant number of patients with TBM.


ModellingSpace is an open learning environment, particularly suitable for science education, which permits building of models by collaborating partners in various educational settings. This paper describes the main features of the ModellingSpace environment and in particular issues related with coordination and communication during problem solving. A number of evaluation studies of ModellingSpace, which have been recently contacted are also reported here. Through these studies the effectiveness and the limitations of the proposed architecture are identified and discussed.


An initial tranche of results from day-to-day use of a robotic system for setting up 100 nl-scale vapour-diffusion sitting-drop protein crystallizations has been surveyed. The database of over 50 unrelated samples represents a snapshot of projects currently at the stage of crystallization trials in Oxford research groups and as such encompasses a broad range of proteins. The results indicate that the nanolitre-scale methodology consistently identifies more crystallization conditions than traditional hand-pipetting-style methods; however, in a number of cases successful scale-up is then problematic. Crystals grown in the initial 100 nl-scale drops have in the majority of cases allowed useful characterization of x-ray diffraction, either in-house or at synchrotron beamlines. For a significant number of projects, full x-ray diffraction data sets have been collected to 3 A resolution or better (either in-house or at the synchrotron) from crystals grown at the 100 nl scale. To date, five structures have been determined by molecular replacement directly from such data and a further three from scale-up of conditions established at the nanolitre scale.


This paper uses a difference-in-difference style estimation strategy to test separately the impact of competition from public sector and private sector hospitals on the efficiency of public hospitals. Our identification strategy takes advantage of the phased introduction of a recent set of substantive reforms introduced in the English NHS from 2006 onwards. These reforms forced public sector health care providers to compete with other public hospitals and eventually to face competition from existing private sector providers for care delivered to publicly funded patients. In this study, we measure efficiency using hospitals' average length of stay (LOS) for patients undergoing elective surgery. For a more nuanced assessment of efficiency, we break LOS down into its two key components: the time from patients' admission to the hospital until their surgery and the time from their surgery until their discharge. Here, pre-surgery LOS serves as a proxy for hospitals' lean efficiency. Our results suggest that competition between public providers prompted public hospitals to improve their productivity by decreasing their pre-surgery, overall and post-surgery length of stay. In contrast, competition from private hospitals did not spur public providers to improve their performance and instead left incumbent public providers with a more costly case mix of patients and led to increases in postsurgical LOS.


The rapid developments in the sensor and its related technology have made automation possible in many processes in diverse fields. Also sensor-based fault diagnosis and quality improvements have been made possible. These tasks depend highly on the sensor network for the accurate measurements. The two major problems that affect the reliability of the sensor system/network are sensor failures and sensor anomalies. The usage of redundant sensors offers some tolerance against these two problems. Hence the redundancy analysis of the sensor system is essential in order to clearly know the robustness of the system against these two problems. The degree of sensor redundancy defined in this thesis is closely tied with the fault-tolerance of the sensor network and can be viewed as a parameter related to the effectiveness of the sensor system design. In this thesis, an efficient algorithm to determine the degree of sensor redundancy for linear sensor systems is developed. First the redundancy structure is linked with the matroid structure, developed from the design matrix, using the matroid theory. The matroid problem equivalent to the degree of sensor redundancy is developed and the mathematical formulation for it is established. The solution is obtained by solving a series of  1-norm minimization problems. For many problems tested, the proposed algorithm is more efficient than other known alternatives such as basic exhaustive search and bound and decomposition method. The proposed algorithm is tested on problem instances from the literature and wide range of simulated problems. The results show that the algorithm determines the degree of redundancy more accurately when the design matrix is dense than when it is sparse. The algorithm provided accurate results for most problems in relatively short computation times.


We miss the significance of the advent of the Euro for European political, economic, and social order if we ignore its identity dimension. Money has always been a symbolic marker in nation-building efforts and is strongly related to collective national identities. This article makes two interrelated causal claims. On the one hand, the introduction of Euro bills and coins has already begun to affect Euroland citizens' identification with the EU and Europe in general. The Euro makes Europe real and reifies it as a political order, since it provides a visible link from Brussels to the daily lives of the citizens. On the other hand, existing collective identities pertaining to the nation- state explain to a large degree how comfortable people feel using and dealing with the Euro. The variation in attitudes between the Italian enthusiasm for the Euro, the German ambivalence about it, and the widespread British opposition can be accounted for by the differences in collective understandings and identification patterns with the nation-state and Europe. In sum, the causal arrows from the Euro to collective identities run both ways.


A straight-tube cooler type heat exchanger had been in service for about ten years serving a coal pulverizer in Georgia. Non-potable cooling water from a local lake passed through the inner surfaces of the copper tubing and was cooling the hot oil that surrounded the outer diametral surfaces. Several of the heat exchangers used in the same application at the plant had experienced a severe reduction in efficiency in the past few years. One heat exchanger reportedly experienced some form of leakage following discovery of oil contaminating the cooling water. This heat exchanger was the subject of a failure investigation to determine the cause and location of the leaks. Corrosion products primarily contained copper oxide, as would be expected from a copper tubing. The product also exhibited the presence of a significant amount of iron oxides. Metallographic cross sectioning of the tubes and microscopic analysis revealed several large and small well rounded corrosion pits present at the inner diametral surfaces. The cause of corrosion was attributed to corrosive waters that were not only corroding the copper, but were corroding steel pipes upstream from the tubing.


We present a novel method for the generation of synchronized short pulses at high repetition rates from Er-doped silica fiber lasers. The method employs coupling of an optical pulse train to a passively mode-locked fiber laser. The injected signal repetition rate is slightly detuned from the modal spacing of the fiber laser, such that a subset of the latter modes is injection locked, yielding a high-repetition-rate pulse train. By injecting a 2-GHz train of relatively broad optical pulses at an average power of 100 μW, we achieved a train of 6-ps pulses at rates of 40 GHz from the harmonically locked fiber laser.


We present a novel approach to automatically find spatial configurations of local features occurring frequently on instances of a given object class, and rarely on the background. The approach is based on computationally efficient data mining techniques and can find frequent configurations among tens of thousands of candidates within seconds. Based on the mined configurations we develop a method to select features which have high probability of lying on previously unseen instances of the object class. The technique is meant as an intermediate processing layer to filter the large amount of clutter features returned by low- level feature extraction, and hence to facilitate the tasks of higher-level processing stages such as object detection.


This small-scale project involved a team of staff from the Centre for Labour Market Studies. An action research approach was used to develop new learning resources to support student's understanding of how to approach an assignment question. The objective of this project was to have a set of online resources that can take students through the steps of critically analysing an assignment question, understanding what it is asking them to do, then proceeding on to creating an effective assignment plan they can submit to tutors for formative feedback. Prior to this project being undertaken, all study skills and course materials at CLMS were provided in a primarily paper-based format. Some CLMS students also attend face-to-face workshops at twice-yearly optional teaching days, in a limited range of locations worldwide, or sought advice on a one-to-one basis. This project aims to create additional, supplementary resources that make use of new technologies to provide an alternative, interactive learning tool. The online assignment tutorial takes students through a number of steps in order to build a firm basis for critical understanding and action. It should be noted that the tutorial is accessible to all distance learners across the CLMS courses (Undergraduate, MSc, DSocSci) and is designed in a format that supports a wide range of learning styles.


AbstractThe recent increase in the number of narrative studies in the human sciences is marked by great diversity in methods and theoretical perspectives. Researchers offer different answers to many questions, from what constitutes a narrative and how different genres may be specified to the aims and functions of storytell-ing. To clarify differences among approaches, a typology of models is proposed that focuses on which of three alternative problems are defined as the central task for narrative research: reference and the relation between temporal order-ings of events and their narrative representation; textual coherence and struc-ture, and how these are achieved through narrative strategies; and psychological, cultural, and social contexts and functions of narratives. Within each of these general categories, subclasses are distinguished in terms of the specific ways in which the central problem is addressed. Exemplars of each model are presented and related studies are cited. This comparative analysis demonstrates the depth, strength, and diversity of current research on narra-tive. It is suggested that further development of the field would benefit from more inclusive research strategies that combine what have been separate lines of inquiry.
(Narrative Analyses; Types and Functions; Social Sciences; Educa-tion; Psychology


Polarization bit interleaving of return-to-zero (RZ) pulses doubles spectral efficiency with reduced pulse-to-pulse interaction. We report transmission of sixteen 25-Gbit/s polarization-bit-interleaved RZ differential binary phase-shift-keyed (DBPSK) dense-WDM (DWDM) signals with 25-GHz channel spacing over 400 km of SMF-28 fiber link. The EDFA-based link has an amplifier spacing of 100 km with an average loss of 25 dB between erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) and a maximum span loss of up to 30 dB. A transmission penalty of 1.5 dB after 400 km was obtained. Compared with one polarization, a net penalty of 0.6 dB after 400 km was obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first transmission test of multichannel polarization-bit-interleaved RZ-DBPSK signals operating at 25 Gbit/s with a spectral efficiency of 0.8 bit/s/Hz.


The grid generator amatos(http://www-m3.mathematik.tu-muenchen.de/m3/software/amatos/index.html)was developped to make adaptive mesh generation available for dynamictime dependent flow problems as arising in climate simulations.The philosophy of amatos is to hide away all nontrivial tasksconcerning mesh generation and adaption from the applicationprogrammer. The complete mesh generation process can be controlled byapprox. 20 Fortran 90 subroutines of the application programminginterface (GRID API), which also provides additional variables, datastructures and constants.The generic field of application for amatos is atmosphere and oceancirculation modelling with semi-Lagrangian convectionschemes. The time stepping scheme, however, is not part of amatos. Thesemi-Lagrangian background is merely reflected by the choice ofservice routines (e.g., for interpolation) implemented in the GRID API,which may be extended for further needs.At the time being, amatos provides*) a F90-interface based on modular software techniques,*) mesh adaption (i.e., refinement and coarsening corresponding to a givenerror criterion) of planar, spherical or volume grids with triangular ortetrahedral elements,*) adaptivity by hierarchical data structures (refinement by bisectionmethod),*) support of arbitrary FEM basis functions (to be defined by the user,linearand quadratic functions are preinstalled),*) fast mesh partitioning by a space filling curve (SFC) approach (forparallelization by domain decomposition and as cache efficient numberingfor local calculations),*) service routines e.g., for interpolation including a mass conservingscheme,*) shared memory parallelisation with OpenMP.To demonstrate the application of amatos, we want to give a shortinsight into two projects.1. The simulation of tracer transport and mixing in the arcticstratosphere shows the power of adaptivity allowing a high localresolution of small-scale phenomena, without exhausting limitedcomputing resources. The grid is refined locally and dynamically atthose regions of the computational domain, where small scale phenomenaare active. (Collaboration with AWI Potsdam)2. The modelling of dynamics of large-scale atmospheric circulationstructures with a spherical shallow water model is a project inprogress. In this presentation, we want to focus on the technicalaspect of how to parallelize a model with an adaptive grid, whosecomputational domain has to be redistributed among the processorsafter each adaption. Here, the SFC shows to be a very elegant andefficient approach. (Collaboration with AWI Potsdam, funded in therange of the german DEKLIM research program).


Adjudicative competence, more commonly referred to as competence to stand trial, is a highly undertheorized area of law. Though it is well established that, to be competent, a criminal defendant must have a rational as well as factual understanding of her situation, the meaning of such rational understanding has gone largely undefined. Given the large number of criminal prosecutions in which competence is at issue, the doctrine's instability stands in stark contrast to its importance. This Article argues that adjudicative competence, properly understood, asks whether a criminal defendant has capacity to participate meaningfully in the host of decisions potentially required of her. Further, sound assessment of such capacity requires attention to both the cognitive and emotional influences on rational decision-making in situations of personal relevance and risk. The role of emotion has been neglected, both in traditional accounts of decision-making and in assessments of adjudicative competence, and merits particular attention. This Article explores two examples of potentially competence-threatening emotional dysfunction - severe psychiatric mood disorder and organic brain damage - either of which may interfere unreasonably with decision-relevant emotional perception, processing, and expression. Existing legal theory and forensic testing methods, which reflect a predominantly cognitive approach, do not account adequately for such dysfunction. Shifting the adjudicative competence inquiry away from a general search for rationality and toward a more finely-grained examination of the cognitive and emotional influences on rational decision-making processes offers our best hope for giving meaning to rational understanding.


The Union government notified the Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules on 21 August 2015, without much publicity. The proposal to introduce cash transfers instead of foodgrains in the Public Distribution System (PDS), via the National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA), is ill-conceived and, if implemented, will be harmful to food security in the country. Concerns abound in relation to a programme of cash for food replacing the current PDS. These include denial of assured minimum foodgrains to the poor, enhanced vulnerability to inflation, inadequate access to banks, and decreased public procurement at minimum support prices. In a context where leakages in PDS are steadily declining and the NFSA offers greater coverage (and hence lower targeting errors), what is required is an expansion of a strengthened PDS rather than dismantling it. Moreover, as FAO (2015) discusses, many researchers remain unconvinced that cash transfers would bring about drastic reductions in leakages in welfare programmes, as there is nothing intrinsic to cash transfers which renders them less vulnerable to leakages: irregularities are already found to be high in existing cash transfer programmes.


Major news media and think tanks have written and broadcast repeatedly about efforts to prevent nuclear war in South Asia, but relatively little attention has been paid to containment should a conflict between India and Pakistan break out. Even a limited nuclear exchange in South Asia would kill millions and have adverse environmental effects far beyond the region. Because India and Pakistan have ties to the world's major nuclear powers, such an exchange also has the potential to expand into worldwide nuclear war. A US-led effort to engage the major nuclear powers in bilateral or multilateral no-first-use pledges would decrease the likelihood that a conflict between India and Pakistan could spin out of control. Beyond South Asia, a no-first-use policy would help the United States implement its nonproliferation agenda, promote stability between nuclear weapons states, and deemphasize the role of nuclear weapons in defense policy, saving the United States money and increasing world security.


Evidence of non-s-wave superconductivity from normal tunneling experiments in bulk tunneling junctions of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ is presented. The I-V and dI/dV characteristics of bulk superconducting tunneling junctions of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ have been measured at 77.0K and clear deviation from s-wave superconducting behavior has been observed. The result agrees with d-wave symmetry, and interpreting the data in this way, the magnitude of the superconducting energy gap, 2Δ, is found to be (0.038 ± 0.002) eV. Comparing this energy gap with T c (2Δ/k B T c = 5.735), indicates that these high-T c superconductors are strongly correlated materials, which in contrast with BCS-superconductors are believed to be weakly correlated.


Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF, also known as Scatter Factor) is a powerful mitogen or motility factor in different cells, acting through the tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the MET protooncogene. Endothelial cells express the MET gene and expose at the cell surface the mature protein (p190MET) made of a 50 kD (alpha) subunit disulfide linked to a 145-kD (beta) subunit. HGF binding to endothelial cells identifies two sites with different affinities. The higher affinity binding site (Kd = 0.35 nM) corresponds to the p190MET receptor. Sub- nanomolar concentrations of HGF, but not of a recombinant inactive precursor, stimulate the receptor kinase activity, cell proliferation and motility. HGF induces repairs of a wound in endothelial cell monolayer. HGF stimulates the scatter of endothelial cells grown on three-dimensional collagen gels, inducing an elongated phenotype. In the rabbit cornea, highly purified HGF promotes neovascularization at sub-nanomolar concentrations. HGF lacks activities related to hemostasis-thrombosis, inflammation and endothelial cells accessory functions. These data show that HGF is an in vivo potent angiogenic factor and in vitro induces endothelial cells to proliferate and migrate.


We investigate the impact of peripheral cyano functionalization of the previously well-studied 2H-tetraphenylporphyrin (2HTPP) by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT). The adsorption behavior of 2H-tetrakis(p-cyano)-phenylporphyrin (2HTCNPP) is studied at room temperature and at 80 K on Cu(111) and Ag(111). Interestingly, the cyano-functionalized porphyrins tend to form isolated 1D chains on Cu(111), in particular after mild annealing at 350 K. The individual 2HTCNPPs as well as the formed chains are oriented along the main crystallographic directions of the Cu(111) substrate due to a strongly attractive and site-specific interaction between the iminic nitrogens of the 2HTCNPP and Cu substrate atoms. The linking within the 1D molecular chains is realized by Cu adatoms as evidenced by comparison of STM and DFT. In contrast, on Ag(111) the molecules assemble into 2D supramolecular layers with long-range order and a square unit cell, stabilized by molecule−molecule interactions. The orientation of the molecules with respect to the unit cell lattice vectors leads to organizational chirality. By codeposition of cobalt, the porphyrin molecules are metalated at room temperature. We did not observe any evidence for metal−organic network formation on Ag(111), even after varying the deposition parameters or the order of metal and porphyrin deposition. Our study shows that cyano functionalization of porphyrins can give rise to novel and unique self-assembled structures like 1D molecular chains without any cross-connections via adatom linking.


All of our current understanding of fossil charcoal structure comes from observations of modern wood charcoal produced in furnaces. These charcoals consistently show cell wall homogenization after prolonged heating (>325°C) and this is therefore considered to be a key identifying feature of fossil charcoal. Yet furnaces are unable to replicate the full combustion processes that occur during a wildfire. Here, for the first time, we have studied the microscopic structural evolution of charcoal produced using calorimetry, wherein the wood is ignited under controlled conditions and the heat release rate and other parameters measured, and the resulting charcoal studied using reflected light microscopy. We show that homogenization of cell walls is actually only a short‐lived phase of charcoal formation that occurs during the early heating stages as the pyrolysis front traverses through the wood. Cell wall homogenization is then rapidly overprinted by the thinning, distortion and breakdown of cell walls, and a notable visual increase in reflectance. Our preliminary study therefore suggests that we need to first improve our understanding of charcoal formation in order to better understand the fossil record of wildfires.


The use of Guided Waves (GW) is a potentially attractive solution to inspect large composite structures from a limited number of transducers thanks to the capability of these waves to propagate over large distances. However, the multimodal and dispersive nature of GW, combined with the anisotropic nature of composite materials makes it difficult to analyze and interpret the signals. Predicting the response of a guided wave SHM system in industrial configuration with complex geometries is therefore very difficult, which is a serious impediment for the development of such technology. We present here, illustrated with examples, the current capabilities of the guided wave module of the simulation software CIVA 11and the developments in progress at CEA that will be integrated into future versions of CIVA GW for SHM of composite structures. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/325


In nature, the interior of a cell hosts a remarkable network of organelles and subcellular compartments in which many biochemical reactions take place. From membrane-based assemblies (such as the mitochondrion, Golgi apparatus, vesicles, and peroxisomes) to non-membrane-enclosed ribosomes, the compartmentalization of enzymes, substrates, and cofactors within a confined environment allows the cell to gain excellent spatial and temporal control over biochemical pathways [1-3]. This organization leads to a significant enhancement in substrate turnover and catalytic efficiency. As a consequence, there is much interest in the field of nanotechnology to develop enzyme nanoreactors that mimic the natural organization of cells and organelles. This involves, however, two key challenges, (1) the precise arrangement of enzymes in space and time and (2) mimicking of the molecular crowding effects imposed by the confined environment. While recent advances using top-down nanolithography approaches provide significant spatial and temporal control, it is increasingly evident that the confined environment plays a crucial role in optimizing catalytic efficiency [4]. For these reasons, much effort focused toward the development of enzyme nanoreactors, in which the enzymes are either tethered to the exterior of a nanosized assembly or encapsulated inside. While there are several examples of enzyme nanoreactors based on biosynthetic assemblies such as nanoparticles, nanopores, polymersomes, and vesicles [5, 6], such assemblies are often highly concentration dependent, display limited substrate selectivity, and have difficulties to precisely control the positioning of enzymes [7]. In recent years, much attention has turned toward protein-based assemblies, particularly viruses, as alternative building blocks for the assembly of model nanoreactors [7-12].


Purpose. To make recommendations for the use of doxorubicin-based chemotherapy in patients with soft-tissue sarcoma. Patients. The recommendations apply to patients with symptomatic unresectable locally advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma who are candidates for palliative chemotherapy. Methods. A systematic review of the published literature was combined with a consensus process around the interpretation of the evidence in the context of conventional practice to develop an evidence-based practice guideline. Results. Eight randomized trials comparing doxorubicin-based combination versus doxorubicin single-agent chemotherapy were reviewed. Response rates and overall survival were evaluated using pooled statistical analysis.The pooled response data in 2281 patients showed a slight trend favouring the combination therapy, although this did not reach statistical significance (odds ratio (OR), 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.60–1.05; p=0.10). Survival data could only be abstracted from six studies involving 2097 patients, and showed no significant advantage for combination therapy (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.67–1.06; p=0.13). Data on adverse effects could not be combined in a meta-analysis; however nausea, vomiting and myelosuppression were consistently more severe with combination chemotherapy than with single-agent chemotherapy. Discussion. Single-agent doxorubicin is an appropriate first-line chemotherapy option for advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma. Some doxorubicin-based combination chemotherapy regimens, given in conventional doses, produce only marginal increases in response rates, at the expense of increased adverse effects, and with no improvements in overall survival. Future randomized clinical trials should compare new regimens, whose activity has been established in single-arm studies, with single-agent doxorubicin, and include quality of life as an outcome measure.


This feasibility study investigated teachers' assessment of Move-Into-Learning (MIL), an eight-week school-based Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), designed to reduce stress and improve behavior in at-risk elementary students. MIL was implemented with two classrooms of third-grade students (n = 41) in a low income, urban neighborhood using a pretest to posttest single group design. One of the two classrooms (n = 20) completed a two-month follow-up measure examining sustainability of results. The program included mindfulness meditation, yoga movement with breathing exercises, and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) exercises that invited students to express themselves in the written and visual arts. MIL was evaluated via semi-structured teacher interviews and the Connors' Behavior Rating Scale. Pre/post intervention showed significant improvement in behaviors, such as hyperactivity (t[1,39 = 3.1; p = 0.002), and highly significant differences in the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder index (t[1,39] = 5.42; p < 0.001) and cognitive/inattentiveness (t[1,39] = 5.56; p < 0.001) subscales. Teacher interview data supported these findings suggesting MIL as a feasible and acceptable MBI that can be implemented in a third-grade classroom.


Excavations of surface deposits at Tullyallen Quarry 1.5km north-west of Drogheda revealed a formation of glaciomarine deposits at 29.4 to 40.0m O.D. between two till formations. The glaciomarine deposits contain a cold water fauna of mollusca, crustacea, ostracoda, foraminifera, hydrozoa, and also sparse remains of land plants and marine algae. The upper till formation was deposited by ice from the Irish Sea Basin which moved in a south-westerly direction across the site. The lower till formation was deposited by ice from the Irish midlands, which moved eastwards and south-eastwards towards the Irish Sea Basin. These deposits overlie a variety of residual deposits that are sealed in solution pipes and fissures within the karstic surface of the Lower Carboniferous limestones. The glaciomarine and glacial deposits are considered to belong to the Munsterian Cold Stage of the Pleistocene Period; the residual deposits being older.


Given the importance of using resources efficiently in the competition for survival, it is reasonable to think that natural evolution has discovered efficient cortical coding strategies for representing natural visual information. Sparse representations have intrinsic advantages in terms of fault-tolerance and low-power consumption potential, and can therefore be attractive for robot sensorimotor control with powerful dispositions for decision-making. Inspired by the mammalian brain and its visual ventral pathway, we present in this paper a hierarchical sparse coding network architecture that extracts visual features for use in sensorimotor control. Testing with natural images demonstrates that this sparse coding facilitates processing and learning in subsequent layers. Previous studies have shown how the responses of complex cells could be sparsely represented by a higher-order neural layer. Here we extend sparse coding in each network layer, showing that detailed modeling of earlier stages in the visual pathway enhances the characteristics of the receptive fields developed in subsequent stages. The yield network is more dynamic with richer and more biologically plausible input and output representation.


Modulation of gene expression via nucleic acid sequence-specific intervention represents a new paradigm for drug discovery and development. Ribozymes are small RNA structures capable of cleaving RNA target molecules in a catalytic fashion. A 2'-O-allyl-modified hammerhead ribozyme designed to cleave the messenger RNA of cytochrome P-450 3A2 was administered to rats via 0.25 mg intravenous injections to investigate the disposition of this compound. The chemically modified ribozyme binds to serum albumin and can be displaced by phosphorothioate oligonucleotides. A biphasic plasma clearance with a distribution half-life of 12 min and an elimination half-life of 6.5 h was observed. A volume of distribution of 2.1 l/kg indicates perfusion into tissues well beyond the vascular system. The chemically modified ribozyme can be detected intact in the plasma up to 48 h after injection. Metabolic degradation of the chemically modified ribozyme occurs at unmodified ribonucleotides, leaving the 2'-O-allyl-modified sites intact. Recovery of intact chemically modified ribozyme was 1.9% of the administered dose at 12 h along with significant metabolites. The renal clearance of the intact ribozyme is an average 34.3 ml/h. The tissue distribution of the chemically modified ribozyme at 48 h is primarily to kidney and liver but the only detected material is a single 27-mer metabolite that has been cut in the unmodified GAAA region. The brain concentration of the prominent 27-mer metabolite is greater than that observed in the lung or spleen. Examination of tissues reveals no morphological evidence of toxicity. These data strongly support the potential utility of synthetic, 2'-O-allyl-modified hammerhead ribozymes as therapeutic agents in vivo.


This article explores the changing role of government internal auditors in light of the increased emphasis on accountability. Specifically, it will review the problem of attesting to the veracity of a government entity's financial statements by auditors who are employees of that entity. The capability of these auditors to provide a reliable financial audit opinion rests upon their ability to work independently. This independence problem will be examined in the context of the Air Force Audit Agency (AFAA). The AFAA is the internal auditing function for all U.S. Air Force activities throughout the world. It examines operational, planning and now financial reporting for the Air Force and its various components. The responsibility for auditing the stewardship statements of the various departments of the federal government is assigned to the departmental inspectors general (IG) under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. The IGs are permitted to outsource this audit work. Some IGs have passed the responsibility to various audit agencies throughout the federal government (the U.S. Department of Defense IG asks the individual service audit agencies to perform this audit), while others have hired independent public accountants on behalf of the auditees, who pay for the audit. These audits are to be conducted according to the professional standards established by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). These standards can be viewed in two distinct categories: general standards and specific standards for reporting and field work. The general standards include independence, competence and due diligence. These are interrelated concepts: the "lack of one-diligence, for example-- presupposes a lack of competence. An auditor who is not independent is probably incapable of performing an audit with sufficient due diligence."1 The following discussion focuses on the independence of the auditor-- not the remaining general standards or the specific standards, even though they are just as essential as independence to the conduct of any audit. In the recent past, the issue of auditor independence has received significant attention from the internal auditing and public accounting professions. The Problem with Independence For many years both government accountants and external accountants have struggled with what constitutes independence. The second general standard requires an auditor be independent so that those who rely on the auditor's opinion know that that opinion has not been biased in any way.2 Therefore, the impartiality that the auditor has in judging the fairness of the financial statements serves not only the client organization but also those who deal with the client--creditors, investors and others who may depend on the independent auditor's report. It is the perceptions of the creditors, investors and others that determine if the auditor has achieved the appearance of independence. Since this independence in appearance is critical to the practice of public accounting, auditors must not have any interest, financial or otherwise, in the client and must not be obligated to the client beyond providing the services for which the auditor was hired. One independence problem arises because government internal auditors must perform their own department's financial statement audit. The increase in responsibilities and scope of audit work has been significant. These additional audit tasks also increase the technical demands on organizational auditors, as the audits are primarily financial in focus and require the examination of substantial financial systems. This increased emphasis on the financial audit will be the focal point for those who question any organization's ability to perform the attestation function on their own financial statements. This aspect of the additional responsibilities may not have been fully examined by Congress. …


An examination of the relationship between yield and maturity in the money market. The expectations theory suggests that the yield curve should be a good predictor of future spot interest rates. A substantial body of research in recent years has tested this implication of the theory and discussed possible reasons for the lack of support for the theory from these tests. This paper provides a review of this literature.


This tutorial white-paper illustrates practical aspects of FIR filter design and fixed-point implementation along with the algorithms available in the Filter Design Toolbox and the Signal Processing Toolboxfor this purpose. The emphasis is mostly on lowpass filters, but many of the results apply to other filter types as well. The tutorial focuses on practical aspects of filter design and implementation, and on the advantages and disadvantages of the different design algorithms. The theory behind the design algorithms is avoided except when needed to motivate them.


Heart patients constantly for opportunities monitoring is possible via their health state at home Telemedicine applications means. The fact is, today, portable and a preliminary household received a diagnosis used to allow an easy-toequipment Heart conditions. In this paper, the authors present an initial ECG estimation system founded on web-serviceoriented architecture to supervise the heart wellbeing of cardiac patients. An ECG sensor has the task to come by, status, and sample the heart electric impulses, while a personal digital aide (PDA) performs the diagnosis according to the measurement doubt and, in case of a critical situation, calls the health employees. The scheme has two removable and updatable remember mechanisms: the first mechanism stores a patient's clinical and personal data, and another memory device stores data on metrological measurement system. To provide an approximate system intelligent patient-Adaptive planning expert personalized personal facts and figures and oversight identified by the use of clinical history of persevering. In the event of a distortion in the presence of Emergency service calls for the system to process this way, personal data and information, the persevering chronicled measurement plan to configure the same computing algorithm as a reference by choosing fit best ECG form adapts. Estimate the parameters, performance and further uncertainty data store, Bunny by the proposed system for Web pages send a faulty diagnosis to reduce the occurrence of ultimate reliability of clinical response are used to specify read. Also, at the request of doctor ECG webpage send SMS on the plot. Keywords— Biomedical equipment, electrocardiography, fault tolerance, measurement, measurement uncertainty, medical


Media Distortions is about the power behind the production of deviant media categories. It shows the politics behind categories we take for granted such as spam and noise, and what it means to our broader understanding of, and engagement with media. The book synthesizes media theory, sound studies, science and technology studies (STS), feminist technoscience, and software studies into a new composition to explore media power. Media Distortions argues that using sound as a conceptual framework is more useful due to its ability to cross boundaries and strategically move between multiple spaces—which is essential for multi-layered mediated spaces. Drawing on repositories of legal, technical and archival sources, the book amplifies three stories about the construction and negotiation of the 'deviant' in media. The book starts in the early 20th century with Bell Telephone's production of noise, tuning into the training of their telephone operators and their involvement with the Noise Abatement Commission in New York City. The next story jumps several decades to the early 2000s focusing on web metric standardization in the European Union and shows how the digital advertising industry constructed web-cookies as legitimate communication while making spam illegal. The final story focuses on the recent decade and the way Facebook filters out antisocial behaviors to engineer a sociality that produces more value. These stories show how deviant categories re-draw boundaries between human and non-human, public and private spaces, and importantly, social and antisocial.


On-site wastewater treatment systems (OWS) are a potentially significant non-point source of nutrients to groundwater and surface waters, and are extensively used in coastal North Carolina. The goal of this study was to determine the treatment efficiency of four OWS in reducing total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations before discharge to groundwater and/or adjacent surface water. Piezometers were installed for groundwater sample collection and nutrient analysis at four separate residences that use OWS. Septic tank effluent, groundwater, and surface water samples (from an adjacent stream) were collected four times during 2012 for TDN and DOC analysis and pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen measurements. Treatment efficiencies from the tank to the groundwater beneath the drainfields ranged from 33 to 95% for TDN and 45 to 82% for DOC, although dilution accounted for most of the concentration reductions. There was a significant positive correlation between nitrate concentration and separation distance from trench bottom to water table and a significant negative correlation between DOC concentration and separation distance. The TDN and DOC transport (>15 m) from two OWS with groundwater saturated drainfield trenches was significant.


Motivation is considered as a key feature in the success of language learning and has great effect on the efficiency and productivity of English language teaching. And a lot of considerable researches and investigations have been done on Chinese college students' motivation to learn English. Most researches like to value instrumental aspects as the major type for college students' learning English in Chinese context while integrative motivation is often neglected. In this study, 300 college students are employed to further explore students' instrumental motivation and integrative motivation and the data analysis of the study somehow shows difference from others, supporting that college students do have expectation and strong integrative motivation toward English language learning and recommendations are offered to the teachers to develop college students' integrative motivation in English language teaching, suggesting focusing on cultural education in particular.


This is the introductory essay in an electronically published roundtable sponsored by the Vanderbilt Law Review on the Supreme Court's forthcoming consideration of Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a case raising important separation of powers questions and thought by some to foreshadow overruling or limiting of such precedents as Humphrey's Executor v. United States (sustaining independent regulatory commissions) and Morrison v. Olson (sustaining the independent counsel). The PCAOB is an unusual independent government authority appointed by the Commissioners of the SEC and subject to its oversight; PCAOB members are only by the Commission, and only for one of several defined causes. This essay is intended to "set the table" for competing essays by other scholars, that will appear in November.


Implementation of tax planning through tax lawdengan exploiting loopholes in tax regulations one of which is exempted from the tax object is the payment of zakat on the amil zakat or amil zakat institutions established or endorsed by the government. Zakat is part of the pillar of Islam is the third pillar. For the Islamic ummah zakat law it must be done.Manajemen company has done tax planning in minimizing the tax burden.How that has been used by companies through depreciation of assets and financing the procurement of goods using leasing or leasing services.Namun companies have never applied zakat payments As a tax savings. The purpose of this study to know the tax planning through the implementation of zakat as an effort to minimize the agency tax burden. Types of data used in this study are qualitative and quantitative data.Data in this study are taken directly in the form of data about corporate organizational structure, employee data, company history and tax planning system that has been applied company. The data analysis technique used in this research is qualitative descriptive by analyzing fiscal reconciliation in order to calculate the Corporate Income Tax by applying the company before applying the tax planning through the payment of zakat, calculating the amount of zakat, calculating the Income Tax after applying the tax planning through zakat payment, Comparing the Income Taxes owed before After applying the tax planning through the payment of zakat. From the research result, it is concluded that the income tax burden payable by the company in 2016 before doing the implementation of tax planning through the payment of zakat amounting to Rp 282.355.625, - while after implementing the zakat of Rp 275.449.750, - the difference of Rp 6.905.875, - And tax payable prior to the fiscal reconciliation of Rp 275,096,375,-. There is a difference of Rp 353,375, - so the researcher recommends to apply zakat payment to amil zalcat or amil zalcat institution which has been legalized by the government because it has been legalized by taxation and paying zakat besides being able to clean the property is also a mandatory command of Allah SWT We carry out according to His word in the Al-Qur'an.


How mating affects male lifespan is poorly understood. Using single worm lifespan assays, we discovered that males live significantly shorter after mating in both androdioecious (male and hermaphroditic) and gonochoristic (male and female) Caenorhabditis. Germline-dependent shrinking, glycogen loss, and ectopic expression of vitellogenins contribute to male post-mating lifespan reduction, which is conserved between the sexes. In addition to mating-induced lifespan decrease, worms are subject to killing by male pheromone-dependent toxicity. C. elegans males are the most sensitive, whereas C. remanei are immune, suggesting that males in androdioecious and gonochoristic species utilize male pheromone differently as a toxin or a chemical messenger. Our study reveals two mechanisms involved in male lifespan regulation: germline-dependent shrinking and death is the result of an unavoidable cost of reproduction and is evolutionarily conserved, whereas male pheromone-mediated killing provides a novel mechanism to cull the male population and ensure a return to the self-reproduction mode in androdioecious species. Our work highlights the importance of understanding the shared vs. sex- and species-specific mechanisms that regulate lifespan.


A careful examination of Palestinian service work in Israeli settlements and of everyday settler-Palestinian contact demonstrates how these encounters play a key role in normalizing the presence and dominance of settlers in the occupied West Bank. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at a settlement supermarket, this article shows that Palestinians are called upon to perform customer service in a setting where they are not only subjugated but are also coerced to help create the ultranationalist climate of their occupiers9 holidays. In addition to being compelled to normalize Israeli dominance, Palestinian workers are also the object of a seemingly contradictory orientation, one that favors not having Palestinians around at all. The article thus weighs in on the broader contemporary significance of Palestinian labor for the settler-colonial logics of Zionism.


A smeared crack model, based on non-linear fracture mechanics, was developed which allows for either linear or bilinear softening and assumes shear retention dependent on the strain normal to a crack. A mesh objectivity verification study proves that the proposed crack modelling method is mesh objective. The crack model and its computational procedure is verified for a benchmark concrete gravity dam model and an existing concrete gravity dam by comparing the results with those of numerical investigations obtained by other researchers. Furthermore, an existing concrete gravity dam in South Africa is analysed and evaluated with regard to dam safety in terms of the maximum overflow level. A higher imminent failure flood is predicted in the analysis than that obtained by classical strength-based methods. The study proves the usefulness and applicability of the proposed crack model and implementation procedure in predicting crack response and evaluating the safety of concrete gravity dams. A sensitivity study on the material fracture properties and fracture parameters is included for the purpose of investigating the uncertainties often encountered in this type of analysis. The influence of the fracture properties and parameters on the cracking response and the overall structural behaviour is discussed.


Make no mistake: Dr Torrey is on the side of the patient. He is enraged by the plight of the seriously mentally ill in the postinstitutional era, and he takes aim at a troika of villains—deinstitutionalization, the civil liberties bar, and the antipsychiatry movement. These 20th-century forces have conspired to relegate citizens with mental illness to a deplorable state of neglect that puts us all at risk. The Insanity Offense threads a needle of making us fear the violent mentally ill without stigmatizing them as a group.


Research suggests that in-store crowding can lower customers' spending, thus limiting overall benefits of high store frequentation. Here, we propose that this negative effect can be mitigated by adjusting store ambiance, specifically by using certain types of in-store music. To test this idea, we conducted a longitudinal field experiment in which we manipulated in-store music tempo and measured social density in six European retail stores. Analyzing over 40,000 individual shopping baskets, we found that social density had an inverted u-shape effect on customer spending. This effect was moderated by in-store music tempo, such that fast music strongly increased spending under high-density conditions. The increase in shopping basket value was driven by customers buying more items rather than buying items that were more expensive. Fast music thus alleviated negative effects of social density. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and describe how practitioners can use in-store music to counter negative effects of high customer density.


We present a thermodynamic approach in modeling the evolution of the universe based on a theory that space consists of energy quanta and is the cosmic fluid component of the universe. It provides an insight on the nature of dark energy and dark matter, as well as a rationale for the accelerated expansion of the universe. The universe started from an atomic size volume of an ideal gas at very high temperature and pressure. Upon expansion and cooling, phase transitions occurred resulting in the formation of fundamental particles, and matter. These nucleate and grow into stars, galaxies, and clusters with the aid of gravity. From the cooling curve of the universe we constructed a thermodynamic phase diagram of cosmic composition, from which we obtained a correlation between dark energy and the energy of space. Using Friedmann's equations, our model fits well the WMAP data on cosmic composition with an equation of state parameter, w = −0.7. The dominance of dark energy started at 7.25 × 109 years, in good agreement with BOSS measurements. The expansion of space is attributed to Quintessence associated with a quantum space field. Dark Matter is identified as a plasma form of matter similar to that which existed during the photon epoch, prior to recombination. The thermodynamics of expansion of the universe was adiabatic and decelerating during the first 7 billion years after the Big Bang; it became non-adiabatic and accelerating thereafter. The latter maybe due to an influx of energy from a source outside the universe, if it is open. If it is closed, thermodynamics requires that the pressure of space be negative. Said pressure would cause the accelerated expansion of the universe in accordance with the theory of General Relativity, and the law of conservation of energy. We provide a mechanism to explain this. The acceleration should not be interpreted as due to a repulsive form of gravity. Our Quantum Space model fits well the behavior of the observable universe.


An important goal for the generative and developmental systems (GDS) community is to show that GDS approaches can compete with more mainstream approaches in machine learning (ML). One popular ML domain is RoboCup and its subtasks (e.g. Keepaway). This paper shows how a GDS approach called HyperNEAT competes with the best results to date in Keepaway. Furthermore, a significant advantage of GDS is shown to be in transfer learning. For example, playing Keepaway should contribute to learning the full game of soccer. Previous approaches to transfer have focused on transforming the original representation to fit the new task. In contrast, this paper explores transfer with a representation designed to be the same even across different tasks. A bird's eye view (BEV) representation is introduced that can represent different tasks on the same two-dimensional map. Yet the problem is that a raw two-dimensional map is high-dimensional and unstructured. The problem is addressed naturally by indirect encoding, which compresses the representation in HyperNEAT by exploiting its geometry. The result is that the BEV learns a Keepaway policy that transfers from two different training domains without further learning or manipulation. The results in this paper thus show the power of GDS versus other ML methods.


Concepts like per-process namespaces and bind mounts have enriched the Linux R © VFS for a couple of years now. Various solutions have attempted to use these features for customized mount setups in a virtualized environment and for setting up mirrored mount trees to support versioned filesystems. But more than often, the isolated nature of perprocess namespaces and the static nature of bind mount have restricted their use. Consequently a new VFS enhancement called shared subtree was introduced in the Linux 2.6.15 kernel. This enhancement makes per-process namespaces and bind mounts dynamic in nature and provides a crucial building block for various solutions. In this paper we describe shared subtree semantics and their application in real life. We also discuss the design and implementation details of the feature.


Background: Orthopedic implant removal following open reduction internal fixation of a fracture is a common procedure, especially in the foot and ankle. The purpose of this study was to evaluate functional change after the removal of symptomatic implants following ankle fracture open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) using the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA) outcome score. We hypothesized that implant removal after ankle fracture would result in improved functional outcomes. Methods: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data on patients with a closed ankle fracture between 2013 and 2016 was performed. Inclusion criteria were skeletal maturity, symptomatic ankle implants and completion of the SMFA questionnaire prior to and 6 months after removal. Exclusion criteria were development of a nonunion, prior or current infection, peripheral neuropathy or ongoing litigation surrounding the surgery. The primary outcome was change in SMFA score from baseline to follow-up using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Additional logistic regression models evaluated the effects of age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, and patient American Society of Anesthesiologists scores. Results: The study population consisted of 43 patients. There was a statistically significant improvement in function, represented by a decrease in SMFA scores from baseline to the 6-month follow-up period (∆ = −4.1 [95% confidence interval, −7.0, −1.3]; P = .003). Secondary outcome measures of the bother index and daily activities domain also demonstrated significant improvements (P = .005 and P = .002, respectively). Additional logistical regression models identified no significant effects by assessed covariates for change in SMFA scores. Conclusion: Patients with symptomatic implants following ankle fracture ORIF had a statistically significant improvement in function following implant removal. There appears to be value in removing implants from the ankle in patients who report discomfort during daily activities. Further investigation into the specific indications for implant removal and the impact of injury and fracture pattern on outcomes is warranted. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.