Micromixing technology has experienced rapid development in the past few years. Micromixers represent one of the essential components in integrated microfluidic systems for chemical, biological and medical applications In general, macro-scale mixing is achieved with turbulence while mixing in micro-scale is done by diffusion. This is due to low Reynolds number i.e laminar behavior of the flow in micro channels. Micro-mixer with obstacles located on the channel wall as well as waveform configurations are used to enhance mixing in the channel, so as to reduce the mixing length. Micro channels with different geometric layout and with different shapes and sizes of obstacles such as rectangular, triangular and semicircular enhance their mixing length. The triangular obstacles within the T as well as Y channel gave minimum mixing length for the same distance between the obstacles. The commercial computational fluid dynamics tool for micro-fluidics, known as Comsol multyphysics, is used to study the effect of different configuration on pressure drop as well as to study the mixing of two fluids in different configurations. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is often used to rigorously examine the influence of the shape of microchannels on mass transport phenomena in the flow field. Fabrication of micro channels is done on PDMS and Photochemical Machining. The fabrication of microfluidic by PDMS is easier and more flexible than in silicon or glass. The use of PDMS as a material reduces the time, complexity, and cost of prototyping. It is observed that mixing length required for Plain channel without obstacle is more than channel with obstacles. Because due to obstacles, turbulence is created at tip of obstacles which increases mixing rate.


Belief in the great antiquity and stability of England's constitution reached its highpoint in the early Stuart period, which also saw the beginnings of sustained New World colonization. Despite the conjunction of these events in time, historians have devoted little attention to ancient constitutionalist thought in the seventeenth-century American colonies. This essay makes a start in that direction. It begins by discussing the timing and causes of the emergence of ancient constitutionalism in Stuart England, and the uses to which the concept was put. With this background established, it then explores the rather different career of ancient constitutionalism in seventeenth-century Massachusetts. Examined in long perspective, from 1620-1740, ancient constitutionalism in England receded in importance as contemporaries came to employ a more varied repertoire of political arguments. In relative terms, the influence of ancient constitutionalism traced a downward arc. But not in Massachusetts. The Bay Colony not merely fails to match this pattern, but reverses it. Ancient constitutionalism there traced an upward arc. Largely ignored in the 1630s and 1640s, it took on a new found importance in the 1680s and 1690s. This essay explores the curious uninterest in ancient constitutionalism among the first generation of Massachusetts settlers and the political and ideological reasons why they later embraced it. Taken in broader perspective, the Massachusetts story suggests the value of studying the contrasting careers of ancient constitutionalism in the different colonies of the English transatlantic periphery. Scholars of English political history have explored the place of ancient constitutionalism in France, Scotland, Sicily, the Netherlands and other foreign lands in order to better understand its role at home. Expanding this comparative project within as well as outside of the English speaking world helps reveal the special characteristics of ancient constitutionalism in England. And it illuminates the shared commitments—and the points of difference—within the legal culture of the English Atlantic.


Nathalie Duval-Couetil is the Director of the Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, Associate Director of the Burton D. Morgan Center, and a Professor in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation at Purdue University. She is responsible for the launch and development of the university's multidisciplinary undergraduate entrepreneurship program, which involves 1800 students from all majors per year. She has established entrepreneurship capstone, global entrepreneurship, and women and leadership courses and initiatives at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Prior to her work in academia, Nathalie spent several years in the field of market research and business strategy consulting in Europe and the United States with Booz Allen and Hamilton and Data and Strategies Group. She received a BA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, an MBA from Babson College, and MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University.


Valuation for Mergers, Buyouts and Restructuring presents a comprehensive approach to corporate valuation. It treats in detail the valuation of mergers, acquisitions and leverage buyouts, and the assessment of asset restructuring options and recapitalization plans. It contains valuation procedures and examples for the different types of transactions and contractual arrangements commonly encountered in practice. It also discusses the theoretical underpinnings and the research evidence that justifies the recommended procedures. The book treats in detail the following valuation procedures: - Valuation of stand-alone companies and business units with procedures for testing assumptions and results. - Valuation of a merged firm involving the combination of two or more companies or business units, including expected price share impact, valuation of synergies, accretion-dilution analysis, and scenario analysis. - Valuation of foreign firms in developed and emerging markets and how to treat foreign exchange translation, inflation, and country risk. - Assessment of the value creation potential of business units and their restructuring options in terms of economic value added. - Structuring and valuing leveraged buyouts and the recapitalization of troubled companies. - Valuation of contingent clauses and agreements commonly included in the terms of a transaction. - Valuation of real options in mergers and acquisitions involving postponement, entry, foothold, and exit options. This document provides additional information about the contents of the book and its software.


Co-part segmentation is an important problem in computer vision for its rich applications. We propose an unsupervised learning approach for co-part segmentation from images. For the training stage, we leverage motion information embedded in videos and explicitly extract latent representations to segment meaningful object parts. More importantly, we introduce a dual procedure of part-assembly to form a closed loop with part-segmentation, enabling an effective self-supervision. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach with a host of extensive experiments, ranging from human bodies, hands, quadruped, and robot arms. We show that our approach can achieve meaningful and compact part segmentation, outperforming state-of-the-art approaches on diverse benchmarks.


Antimalarial drugs remain as one of the most powerful tools in the fight against malaria with artemisinin derivatives now standing as the cornerstone of anti-malarial drug therapy. Unfortunately, evidence of delayed in vivo parasite clearance after artemisinin treatment is accumulating on the Thai-Cambodian border and in nearby countries. A better understanding of the mechanisms of artemisinin (ART) resistance may contribute to the development and validation of new tools for the surveillance of resistance.
One promising approach to identifying candidate genetic markers of ART resistance is genetic analysis of drug-pressured mutants of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi. This experimental system has identified a number of genetic mutations in parasites artificially selected for resistance to ART derivatives. These mutations encode alterations in a de-ubiquitinating enzyme (UBP-1) and in a 26S proteasome subunit (26SPS), both involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, responsible for protein turnover through selective degradation. An additional mutation was found to have occurred in a gene encoding the "mu" chain of the AP2 adaptor protein complex, a component of the endocytic machinery.
The importance of the above mentioned markers in modulating susceptibility to different drugs in the human malaria parasite remains unclear. In that context, the hypothesis to be tested in this thesis is that the three loci implicated in ART resistance in experimentally selected in P. chabaudi will similarly modify ART response in natural parasite populations of P. falciparum.
Increased artemisinin resistance in a P. chabaudi parasite derived from a chloroquine resistant parasite after prolonged and progressive artemisinin selection was phenotypic and genetically characterized. The whole genome sequencing identified a mutation in a gene encoding the mu chain of the AP2 adaptor protein complex. To explore the genetic variability of the ap2-mu gene in P. falciparum and its associations with artemisinin in vitro responses we sequenced field isolates from Brazil, Sao Tome and Rwanda. Analysis of P. falciparum field isolates showed a weak association between a Ser160Asn mutation and in vitro dihydroartemisinin responses.
To investigate the correlation between polymorphisms in pfubp-1 and pfap2-mu and in vivo parasite susceptibility to ART we genetically characterized samples from an ACT clinical trial carried out in Kenya. Previously work done on the same ACT clinical trial samples described sub-microscopic persistent parasites on day 3 post-treatment samples. These parasites were only detected by qPCR but the children carrying these parasites had a higher transmission potential and were far more likely to go on to classical treatment failure at day 28 or day 42 post-treatment. The molecular work carried out here demonstrates that a Ser160Asn/Thr mutation in the pfap2-mu gene and an E1528D mutation in the pfubp-1 gene might be associated with in vivo responses to artemisinin derivatives.
Polymorphisms on the pfubp-1 gene and pfap2-mu genes were further studied using field isolates from an ACT clinical trial in Burkina-Faso which were also tested in vitro for their response to dihydroartemisinin and several other antimalarial drugs. Using these samples, we also investigate the genetic polymorphisms of the pf26S-protSU, another drug resistant candidate gene identified in the studies of P. chabaudi. Data revealed that polymorphisms in pfubp1 and pf26S-protSU, can modulate in vitro responses to lumefantrine. However, this work did not reveal any significant association between polymorphisms in pfubp-1 and pfap2-mu genes and in vitro artemisinin susceptibilities or treatment outcomes.
In order to validate the pfap2-mu candidate marker as an important modulator of parasite sensitivity to artemisinins and to improve understanding of the biological mechanisms of resistance to this class of drugs we further performed gene functional characterization using transfection techniques. Transgenic parasites carrying the 160Asn allele of pfap2-mu were significantly less sensitive to dihydroartemisinin using a standard in vitro test. Sensitivity to chloroquine and quinine were also reduced. Localization studies of pfap2-mu were performed by transfection of fluorescent-tagged gene construct into P. falciparum and expression of fluorescent fusion protein in parasites was observed using a confocal microscope.
The findings from this study provide the first in vivo evidence that polymorphisms in the pfap2-mu and pfubp-1 genes modulate P. falciparum responses to artemisinins. Additionally, transgenic laboratory lines of P. falciparum carrying the 160Asn mutation in pfap2-mu gene have altered in vitro responses to dihydroartemisinin, quinine and chloroquine. We therefore propose these genes should be evaluated further as potential molecular markers of artemisinin resistance.


The purpose of the article is to explore the VAT practices of mobile telecommunication service providers in South Africa. First, literature dealing with the general VAT principles in South Africa such as the VAT Act No. 89 of 1991 and that of other countries was considered, where after the Melbourne Agreement, which specifically deals with the VAT on international telecommunication services, was considered. As the provisions of the general VAT principles as portrayed in the VAT Act (89/1991) and those of the Melbourne Agreement differ, the tax managers at three major South African telecommunication service providers were interviewed to determine which principles they apply in practice. From the interviews conducted, it was clear that South African telecommunication service providers apply the principles of the Melbourne Agreement and levy VAT at 14% on international telecommunications services provided to its customers and VAT at 0% to foreign network operators for services rendered to non-residents while in South Africa. This is, however, contrary to the normal VAT principles that a service is zero-rated when a service is exported and consumed outside of South Africa and VAT levied at 14% when the service is provided to a non-resident present in South Africa at the time the service is rendered.


Real world planning applications typically involve making decisions that consumes limited resources, which requires both planning and scheduling. In this paper we propose a new approach that bridges the gap between planning and scheduling by explicitly modeling the problem in terms of resources, state variables and actions. We show that it is an intuitive way to formulate real world problems with complex constraints, and that solutions can be found by compiling the problem into a constraint satisfaction problem.


Software-defined networking (SDN) allows the smart grid to be centrally controlled and managed by decoupling the control plane from the data plane, but it also expands attack surface for attackers. Existing studies about the security of SDN-enabled smart grid (SDSG) mainly focused on static methods such as access control and identity authentication, which is vulnerable to attackers that carefully probe the system. As the attacks become more variable and complex, there is an urgent need for dynamic defense methods. In this paper, we propose a security function virtualization (SFV) based moving target defense of SDSG which makes the attack surface constantly changing. First, we design a dynamic defense mechanism by migrating virtual security function (VSF) instances as the traffic state changes. The centralized SDN controller is re-designed for global status monitoring and migration management. Moreover, we formalize the VSF instances migration problem as an integer nonlinear programming problem with multiple constraints and design a pre-migration algorithm to prevent VSF instances' resources from being exhausted. Simulation results indicate the feasibility of the proposed scheme.


In this paper we sketch a vision of future environments densely populated by smart sensors and actuators - possibly embedded in everyday objects - that, rather than simply producing streams of data, are capable of understanding and reporting, via factual assertions and arguments, about what is happening (for sensors) and about what they can make possibly happen (for actuators). These "speaking objects" form the nodes of a dense distributed computing infrastructure that can be exploited to monitor and control activities in our everyday environment. However, the nature of speaking objects will dramatically change the approaches to implementing and coordinating the activities of distributed processes. In fact, distributed coordination is likely to become associated with the capability of argumenting about situations and about the current "state of the affairs", with the aim of triggering and directing proper distributed "conversations" to collectively reach a future desirable state. Accordingly, we discuss how such a novel vision can build upon some readily available technologies, and the research challenges that it poses. Two case studies are used as exemplary scenarios.


This chapter provides a framework for considering some of the determinants and implications of readers' feelings in response to a story by Katherine Mansfield, previously featured in an empirical study of foregrounding (Miall & Kuiken 1994). In additional analyses I focus on feelings that distinguish the story's episodic structure, its narrative perspective, and phonetic patterns, and consider their effectiveness in post-predicting readers' data from the 1994 study. Finally, I examine those processes of feeling that may be distinctive to literary response (Miall & Kuiken 2001), and situate the discussion in relation to a theory of readers' feelings offered by Oatley (2002).


Background: The standard recommended insertion technique for LMA Classic™ requires the insertion of index finger into the oral cavity. Several anesthesiologists are reluctant to do this. We conducted this study to evaluate the modified technique of insertion of LMA Classic™ (not requiring insertion of fingers into the patient's mouth) against the standard index finger insertion technique. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized, comparative study was conducted on 200 consenting patients. Patients suitable for anesthetic with LMA Classic™ were randomized to standard technique group (standard insertion technique) and modified technique group (technique not requiring digital intraoral manipulation). Laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was inserted by five designated anesthesiologists. Anesthetic protocol was standardized. Time taken to achieve an effective airway, ease of insertion, glottic view obtained through LMA, and incidence of sore throat were assessed. Results: Patient characteristics and duration of surgery were comparable between the groups. Time to achieve an effective airway was comparable [18.5 (8) s with standard technique and 19.7 (10) s with modified technique; data are mean (standard deviation)]. Ease of insertion (92 easy with standard technique and 91 easy with modified technique), success rate (99% in both the groups), glottic view with fiberoptic bronchoscope, and sore throat incidence (six patients with standard technique and eight patients with modified technique) were comparable. The first attempt success rate was significantly higher with the standard technique (98 patients in the standard technique group and 91 patients in the modified technique group). Conclusions: LMA Classic™ can be inserted successfully without the need to insert index finger into patient's mouth, though the first attempt success rate is higher with the standard technique.


The Quantum Singular Value Transformation (QSVT) is a recent technique that gives a unified framework to describe most quantum algorithms discovered so far, and may lead to the development of novel quantum algorithms. In this paper we investigate the hardness of classically simulating the QSVT. A recent result by Chia, Gilyén, Li, Lin, Tang and Wang (STOC 2020) showed that the QSVT can be efficiently "dequantized" for low-rank matrices, and discussed its implication to quantum machine learning. In this work, motivated by establishing the superiority of quantum algorithms for quantum chemistry and making progress on the quantum PCP conjecture, we focus on the other main class of matrices considered in applications of the QSVT, sparse matrices. We first show how to efficiently "dequantize", with arbitrarily small constant precision, the QSVT associated with a low-degree polynomial. We apply this technique to design classical algorithms that estimate, with constant precision, the singular values of a sparse matrix. We show in particular that a central computational problem considered by quantum algorithms for quantum chemistry (estimating the ground state energy of a local Hamiltonian when given, as an additional input, a state sufficiently close to the ground state) can be solved efficiently with constant precision on a classical computer. As a complementary result, we prove that with inverse-polynomial precision, the same problem becomes BQP-complete. This gives theoretical evidence for the superiority of quantum algorithms for chemistry, and strongly suggests that said superiority stems from the improved precision achievable in the quantum setting. We also discuss how this dequantization technique may help make progress on the central quantum PCP conjecture.


The extracellular expression of high valued therapeutic proteins such as Human Epidermal Growth Factor (hEGF) from Escherichia coli has become a challenge yet give some advantages. It ensures the correct folding of recombinant hEGF (rhEGF) so the therapeutic activity and immunogenicity profile will be similar with the native hEGF. In addition, extracellular expression eliminates the host cell disruption and simplifies the purification process, although other study has shown the protein yield from E. coli extracellular expression is lower than the intracellular expression. Various factors such as codon usage, inducer concentration, induction time, and harvest time can be optimized to increase the rhEGF secretion. The aim of this research is to express rhEGF extracellularly from E. coli BL21 (DE3). The expression system was supported by optimized codon usage to E. coli codon preference, pectate lyase B (PelB) signal peptide in the pD881-PelB expression vector, and L-rhamnose as an inducer. Growth curve of E. coli was made to determine the L-rhamnose induction time. Induction was performed with 4mM L-Rhamnose at OD600 0.7. rhEGF in the soluble fraction, periplasmic extraction, and culture medium was characterized by tricine SDS-PAGE. Quantification of rhEGF concentration was performed by ELISA. The codon optimization showed that the Codon Adaptive Index (CAI) of rhEGF gene was 1, GC percentage was 50.93% and relative adapts was 100% after codon usage optimization. SDS-PAGE showed 6.2 kDa band of rhEGF band from soluble fraction, periplasmic extraction (after 18 hour induction), and culture medium. The quantification of rhHEGF by ELISA showed the rhEGF concentration was 310.8 µg/mL.


In this reflective article we discuss the potential of recent developments in virtual worlds for offering novel value propositions for the digital transformation of society and business. In particular, we consider the role of a Metaverse, understood as a globally accessible 3D virtual space and computing infrastructure—and today still a conceptual vision—as a mediator between technology trends and societal and business applications. We outline how current technology trends can be linked with high-value added application scenarios through the Metaverse as a mediating design space. Our insights project both a push effect, i.e. novel technologies fostering radical shifts in society and business, as well as a pull effect, i.e. radical ideas stimulating technology developments. Leveraging both effects for creating high-value added applications however, requires an integrated, mediating design space, which can potentially be obtained through advances of virtual worlds towards a Metaverse.


A broker acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers in the trading processes to achieve its profit as well as to satisfy buyer's requirements based on seller's offers. This paper proposes a broker-based optimal matching approach in the markets. The major contributions of this paper include (1) an abstract model of a broker agent, that is applicable to a broad range of market types, (2) predicting buyers and sellers' behavior by using Bayes' rule so that a broker can identify an appropriate allocation of items between buyers and sellers, and (3) an objective function and a set of constraints to help a broker to maximize its profit under consideration of buyer and seller's total satisfaction. Experimental results demonstrate the good performance of the proposed approach in terms of satisfying buyer's requirements and maximizing broker's profit.


ABSTRACT 'Career Academics' are principally research-led, entering academia with limited or no industrial or practical experience. UK Higher Education Institutions welcome them for their potential to attain research grant funding and publish world-leading journal papers, ultimately enhancing institutional reputation. This polemical paper problematises the Career Academic around three areas: their institutional appeal; their impact on the student experience, team dynamics and broader academic functions; and current strategic policy to employ them. We also argue that recent UK Government teaching-focused initiatives will not address needs to employ practical academics, or 'Pracademics' in predominantly vocational Construction and Engineering Education. We generate questions for policy-makers, institutions and those implementing strategy. We argue that research is key, but partial rebalancing will achieve a diverse academic skill base to achieve contextualised construction and engineering education. In wider European contexts, the paper resonates with issues of academic 'drift' and provides reflection for others on the UK context.


In this research paper, a careful attempt was made to critically analyse some documented texts using some levels of language. The texts analysed were recorded from seminars organized for ND 1 students of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. The levels of language used in the analysis include syntax and phonology. The major objective of this research paper was to bring to the fore some syntactical errors and incorrect phonological outputs with a view to correcting them.


Many patients experience sleep disturbances and a reduced quality of sleep while hospitalised. Studies have shown that a person with a disease and/or a bodily injury has an increased need for sleep. Patients' experiences of sleep should govern how sleep disturbances should be managed. It is thus necessary to focus upon and describe patients' needs and experiences. The aim of this study was to explore and describe patients' experiences of sleeping in hospital. This study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 10 consecutively included patients. The interviews were conducted between October 2010 and March 2011 and were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Collected data were analysed by qualitative content analysis. The participants reported physical and psychological experiences that had affected their sleep. Their experiences were categorised using four themes: bedside manner, physical factors, being involved and integrity. Patients considered that experiencing some degree of control, feeling involved and preserving one's integrity affect sleep during hospitalisation. Several factors have an impact on patients' sleep. It is not only physical factors but also psychological factors such as bedside manner and having the opportunity to influence and be involved. The patients' accounts provide a new perspective and open the door to changes in nursing care regarding patients' sleep.


The aim of this study was to determine the effect of imagery use by the professional football players in Turkey on their self-confidence levels. The study group comprised of 423 professional football players from 24 football clubs from different leagues in 2016-2017 season, Turkey. As data collection tools, in addition to the personal information form, "Sports Imagery Questionnaire" developed by Hall et al. (1998), adapted to Turkish by Vurgun (2010) and "Self-Confidence Scale" developed by Akin (2007) were used. Results showed a positive correlation between internal and external self-confidence and all sub-scales of imagery in the professional football players. Moreover, the cognitive general imagery, cognitive specific imagery, and motivational specific imagery predicted 21.4% of the internal self-confidence. Similarly, the cognitive general imagery and motivational specific imagery predicted 17.7% of external self-confidence for the professional football players. Finally, it was determined that the professional football players' self-confidence levels will increase as the level of imagery use increases.


THE CONCEPT OF HOLINESS IN THE PAULINE EPISTLES Jay Jongsung Kim, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004 Chairperson: Dr. John B. Polhill This dissertation has attempted to define Paul's concept of holiness and how he develops and applies the concept in his letters. This task has focused on Pauline theology, conducting an in-depth exegetical study on various Pauline epistles. All texts on holiness which occur in all thirteen Pauline epistles are examined and discussed. Chapter 1 begins with a question on how Paul, as a Pharisee, might have reevaluated the concept of holiness through the Christ event. This chapter briefly covers the history of research on the concept of holiness in Pauline epistles. Chapter 2 surveys the Old Testament concept of holiness, focusing on the word "holiness." This survey examines the conceptual meaning of the word in the nature of God and in the ritual setting, and also the common definition for the descriptive usage in persons and things. Chapter 3 examines the pharisaic concept of holiness, and compares this with the concept in the Old Testament. Chapter 4 defines the concept of divine holiness. This concept is subdivided into two aspects: the holiness of God manifested in believers (Rom 6:19-22; Eph 4:24; 1 Thess 3; 13; and 2 Thess 2: 13), and the holiness of Christ (Rom 1 :4; 1 Cor 1 :30; and Col 1 :9-22). For the in-depth exegetical study, Romans 6: 19-22 is mainly covered. Chapter 5 analyzes the concept of holiness in man. First, Paul's addressing believers and the church as 'holy ones' is discussed. Second, Paul's teaching on how God willed and made them to be holy (Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 1:2; 3:17; 6:11; 7:14; 2 Cor 7:1; Eph 1:4; 2:21; 5:25-27; 1 Thess 4:3-7; 5:23; and 2 Tim 2:21) is examined. Chapter 6 observes Paul's extensive application of the word, "holy" to things other than man or God. Paul has applied the word "holy" to the Scripture (Rom 1:2), the Law (Rom 7:12), the living sacrifice (Rom 12:1), human body and spirit (1 Cor 7:34), kiss (Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; and 1 Thess 5:26) and God's created foods (l Tim 4:4-5). Finding the descriptive meaning of the word "holy" has focused so that the common understanding of the concept may be derived for the extensive usage. Chapter 7 concludes with the summary of the concept of holiness. Further research has been suggested for possible implications in Paul's overall theological thought. This work suggests that through the Christ event, Paul has reevaluated the concept, especially from his Pharisaic understanding. For Paul, God's holiness is one of the most important of the divine attributes along with righteousness, love, and faithfulness, and he assumed this for his preaching and teaching as a foundational factor. Paul refers to either divine holiness that has been manifested to believers through Christ or the holiness accomplished in believers through divine activity. He states that believers are established without blame, salvation has been secured, and a new humanity has been created in the likeness of God. He exhorts believers to pursue a life of holiness, demonstrating and perfecting holiness as they reflect God's moral purity in their lives and hearts.


A frequent problem in the manufacturing industry today is the vibrations or chatter induced in machine tools during machining. Chatter in machine tools affect the result of machining, particularly the surface finish. Furthermore, tool life is correlated with the degree of vibration and acoustic noise introduced. The material deformation process during turning induces a broadband excitation of the machine tool and chatter or tool vibration is usually related to a low-order bending mode of, for example, the tool holder shank in external turning, the boring bar in internal turning. Frequently, the tool holder responses during continuous unstable machining have non-linear properties and exhibit advanced stochastic behaviour. Generally, the tooling structure - the interface between the cutting tool or insert and the machine tool - is the weakest link in a machining system. Active control of tool vibration, however, enables a flexible solution to selectively increase the dynamic stiffness of the tooling structure at the actual frequency of the dominating bending modes. Based on adequate controllers, tool holder shanks and boring bars with embedded actuators and vibration sensors tool vibration in turning may be reduced significantly.


PURPOSE
Surgical resection of liver-only metastases from colorectal cancer has undergone extensive evaluation and review. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to improve the likelihood of resection in disease that is not optimally resectable has not been as well studied.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with liver-only metastases from colorectal cancer deemed not optimally resectable by a surgeon with expertise in liver surgery received fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX4). Patients were periodically reassessed for resectability. Surgical response was classified as completely resectable (S-CR), partially resectable (S-PR), or unresectable (S-UR). Study design specified the accrual of 39 patients, with two or more S-CRs considered evidence of promising activity with respect to increasing the S-CR rate.

RESULTS
Forty-two of 44 patients were assessable for this analysis. Twenty-five patients (60%) had tumor reduction by serial imaging. Seventeen patients (40%) underwent surgery (S-CR, n = 14; S-PR, n = 1; and S-UR, n = 2) after a median of 6 months of chemotherapy. With a median postsurgical follow-up of 22 months (range, 13 to 32 months), 11 recurrences have occurred in the 15 S-CR and S-PR patients. Median survival time was 26 months.

CONCLUSION
Our data suggest that FOLFOX4 has a high response rate (complete response, partial response, or reduction) in patients with liver-only metastases from colorectal cancer, allowing for successful resection of disease in a portion of patients initially not judged to be optimally resectable. However, a high recurrence rate after surgery was observed, which, in 73% of patients, involved the liver. Further trials are indicated based on the promising results observed in this trial.


The City as Memory: Untimely Notes The essay focuses on the city and its essence in the context of memory. It is asserted that the true essence of a city as such cannot be completely revealed by individual sciences or by explanatory dictionaries. Therefore, 1) the Estonian word linn (city) is allowed to reveal itself with reference to its origin, and 2) the city itself is allowed to show itself as it really is, i.e. phenomenologically. Essentially, the essence of a city consists of both caring for and restricting its own residents or citizenry and the essence of the citizenry is to care for and restrict its own city. Figuratively, the relationship between a city and its citizens can be compared to that of a mother and child. Examples of this correlation, and the possibility that the correlation can change to reciprocal animosity or, instead, to love, are cited from Estonian literature (Karl Ristikivi, Oskar Luts, Bernard Kangro and others). Based on memories, the author focuses on the university town of Tartu, the city of his birth and his hometown. The city not only suffered damage during World War II, but also in the post-war years. For instance, the Soviet city authorities carelessly blew up and demolished the ruins of the Vanemuine Theatre, built in the geometric Art Nouveau style of Vienna, instead of rebuilding it with the aim of conserving it for the future. Imminent total destruction also threatened the district that provided the author shelter during his childhood and adolescent years. Luckily Soviet power itself was destroyed – ended –  before it was able to totally destroy one of its "greatest enemies" (as the author sees it) – the section of Tartu's Karlova district adjacent to Ropka. CV: Ulo Matjus is a philosopher, philologist, bibliophil, professor of history of Estonian philosophy at the University of Tartu. His main research fields include phenomenological philosophy (in the broadest sense) and being-historical thinking in Germany; scientific (commented) translation of phenomenological philosophy and being-historical thinking to Estonian; historically specific characters of mental social phenomena (metaphysics, philosophy, science, morals, religion, values etc.) in front of their modern unitedness; appearance of the historically specific character of aesthetical phenomena – especially the art – in age of the modern technology; history of Estonian book and the bibliophily.


Rural areas in much of sub-Saharan Africa access needed health care from untrained and often poorly regulated drug vendor shops with concerns over the quality of products and services provided and their public health implications. The thesis undertook to understand market relationships in a rural retail drug market in the light of the structure-conduct-performance paradigm and isolate opportunities for potential policy interventions for improved access to quality and safer medicines.
Data was collected from a sample of patent medicine vendors and drug purchasers in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, north central Nigeria, over 9 months in 2012. Information from drug vendors and drug consumers was generated through semi-structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews and systematic business transaction observations. Key state and national drug regulatory officials were also interviewed in-depth and related documentary data collected and evaluated. Data analysis focussed mainly on the relationships between market structure, provider conduct, consumer behaviour and the nature of regulation, with the aim of understanding market performance in relation to access to medicines and their rational use.
The study established that patent medicine vendors were an important source of medicines for inhabitants of the local government for ambulatory primary health care. Drug retailers were said to be a reliable source of a wide range of drugs provided at relatively more affordable prices and in a convenient way that satisfied consumer expectations. However, a number of market failures existed: low quality of treatment due to poor provider knowledge of diseases and drugs and therefore inappropriate prescription and dispensing practices. Ineffective regulation was also demonstrated by way of inappropriate and inadequate regulatory regime, occasioned by wide spread regulatory infractions.
To attain the desirable public health objective of sustained improvement in the quality of products and services obtainable at patent medicine vendor outlets, regulatory strategies must be contextually relevant, providers must be trained and offered financial and business incentives and consumers must be empowered by accessible and timely health information for informed choices against the backdrop of strengthened and better incentivized inspectorate unit in a systematically intertwined approach.


The uppermost Callovian–Middle Oxfordian Olympen Formation is part of the early syn-rift succession of Jameson Land and Traill Ø, East Greenland and was deposited in prograding shelf-edge, slope and basin-floor environments. The formation consists of: (1) coarsening-upward units of sand-rich, prograding shelf-edge wedges; (2) slope and basin-floor mudstone; and (3) lenticular elongate and sheet-like, massive sandstone bodies deposited by sedimentary density flows on the slope, base-of-slope and basin floor. Systematic spatial and temporal variations in sandstone body geometry reflect down-slope transformations of the density flows. Lenticular and down-slope elongate sandstones mainly occur randomly scattered within prograding shelf-edge sandstone and slope mudstone. They represent short-travelled, hyperconcentrated density flows, filling pre-existing gullies that formed by retrogressive slumping. Sheet-like sandstones encased in mudstone were deposited from unconfined, concentrated density flows transitional to turbidity flows at the base-of-slope and on the basin floor. The Olympen Formation provides a well-exposed example of a sand-dominated shelf-edge–slope–basin-floor dispersal system in which the down-slope transformation of sand-grade density flows and resultant sandbody geometries can be demonstrated effectively. It may serve as a useful field analogue for a poorly understood but important type of hydrocarbon reservoir.


Objectives
Vitamin K is an essential nutrient that has been implicated in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. There are two forms of vitamin K in nature. Phylloquinone (PK) is plant-based and has been well-quantified in the U.S. diet. Menaquinones (MK) are found in animal products and fermented food. However, the MK contents of food have not been well characterized. The objectives of this study were to: 1) quantify the different forms of MK (MK4 through MK13) in the beef variety meat items; and 2) determine if cooking has an effect on vitamin K content of beef variety meat items.

Methods
Raw beef heart, liver, kidney, tongue, honeycomb tripe, oxtail, bone marrow, beef rocky mountain oysters (RMO), fat composite samples and blood (total samples n = 31) were obtained from processing facilities in the U.S., to provide national representation of retail-ready beef variety meat items. All raw beef samples were cooked, and final internal temperature was 80 °C. PK and the MKs in raw and cooked beef variety meat items were quantified using mass spectrometry technology. Wilcoxon Rank Signed test was used to compare PK and MK contents of raw and cooked samples. Differences were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05.

Results
The highest concentration of any form was PK in bone marrow at 152 ± 11.9 ng/g. The fat composite samples contained between 20.9 ng/g to 63.0 ng/g of PK. Modest amounts of PK were found in liver, RMO and tripe. MKs were present in all samples analyzed with MK4, MK10, MK12 and MK13 present in the largest amount in the analyzed samples. MK4 concentrations in bone marrow and fat composite samples were 341 ± 116 and 374 ± 101 ng/g, respectively. Liver contained appreciable amounts of longer-chain MKs, primarily in the forms of MK11, MK12 and MK13, which together accounted for 95% of total vitamin K in liver. There were no significant differences in total vitamin K content between cooked and uncooked beef variety.

Conclusions
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of MK contents of U.S. beef variety meat items. The vitamin K content of beef items were not influenced by cooking (heating).

Funding Sources
Funded by the Beef Checkoff and supported by the USDA, Agricultural Research Service under Cooperative Agreement.


Current pattern-detection proposals for streaming data recognize the need to move beyond a simple regular-expression model over strictly ordered input. We continue in this direction, relaxing restrictions present in some models, removing the requirement for ordered input, and permitting stream revisions (modification of prior events). Further, recognizing that patterns of interest in modern applications may change frequently over the lifetime of a query, we support updating of a pattern specification without blocking input or restarting the operator. Our new pattern operator (called AFA) is a streaming adaptation of a non-deterministic finite automaton (NFA) where additional schema-based user-defined information, called a register, is accessible to NFA transitions during execution. AFAs support dynamic patterns, where the pattern itself can change over time. We propose clean order-agnostic pattern-detection semantics for AFAs, with new algorithms that allow a very efficient implementation, while retaining significant expressiveness and supporting native handling of out-of-order input, stream revisions, dynamic patterns, and several optimizations. Experiments on Microsoft StreamInsight show that we achieve event rates of more than 200K events/sec (up to 5x better than simpler schemes). Our dynamic patterns give up to orders-of-magnitude better throughput than solutions such as operator restart, and our other optimizations are very effective, incurring low memory and latency.


These letters to a beloved son and his family tell the poignant story of one woman's life in Nazi-occupied Prague and help explain why some Jews stayed behind. Henriette Pollatschek was 69 years old when the Nazis marched into Prague, where she and her daughter had sought refuge after fleeing their German-held homeland in northern Bohemia. Henriette's son and his family had already escaped to Switzerland and later to Cuba and the United States. At each step of the way, her family urged Henriette to join them. But in the face of what was then only a vague and, to many, unbelievable threat of danger, she was unwilling to abandon her financial independence, her accustomed way of life, and the familial objects she had gathered over a lifetime. As living conditions for Jews worsened in Nazi-occupied Prague, however, Henriette began to have second thoughts. Her letters to her son and his family in Havana reveal an increasingly desperate situation as the obstacles to escape mounted while living conditions eroded. Ultimately both Henriette and her daughter perished.Henriette Pollatschek's letters provide a detailed picture of the lives of Jews in Prague during the war years: the evictions, the food shortages, the worries about livelihood, and the increasing prohibitions and regulations, as well as the brave and cheerful attempts to maintain a normal life and bear hardships. Henriette's letters also help explain why more Jews did not escape. As Renata Polt, Henriette's granddaughter, concludes, "Who could imagine a Holocaust?" Translated, edited, and annotated by Polt and illustrated with intimate family snapshots, this book brings the horrors and dilemmas of the Holocaust alive in a moving, personal account while answering pertinent historical questions about the motives of Jews who stayed behind. Renata Polt is a free-lance writer and film critic living in Berkeley, California.


Inferred dietary preference is a major component of paleoecologies of extinct primates. Molar occlusal shape correlates with diet in living mammals, so teeth are a potentially useful structure from which to reconstruct diet in extinct taxa. We assess the efficacy of Dirichlet normal energy (DNE) calculated for molar tooth surfaces for reflecting diet. We evaluate DNE, which uses changes in normal vectors to characterize curvature, by directly comparing this metric to metrics previously used in dietary inference. We also test whether combining methods improves diet reconstructions. The study sample consisted of 146 lower (mandibular) second molars belonging to 24 euarchontan taxa. Five shape quantification metrics were calculated on each molar: DNE, shearing quotient, shearing ratio, relief index, and orientation patch count rotated (OPCR). Statistical analyses were completed for each variable to assess effects of taxon and diet. Discriminant function analysis was used to assess ability of combinations of variables to predict diet. Values differ significantly by diets for all variables, although shearing ratios and OPCR do not distinguish statistically between insectivores and folivores or omnivores and frugivores. Combined analyses were much more effective at predicting diet than any metric alone. Alone, relief index and DNE were most effective at predicting diet. OPCR was the least effective alone but is still valuable as the only quantitative measure of surface complexity. Of all methods considered, DNE was the least methodologically sensitive, and its effectiveness suggests it will be a valuable tool for dietary reconstruction.


A change in executive leadership is a significant event in the life of a firm. Our paper investigates a potentially significant consequence of a CEO turnover: a change in equity volatility. We develop several hypotheses about how CEO changes might affect stock price volatility, and test these hypotheses using a sample of 872 CEO changes over the 1979-1995 period. We find that volatility increases following a CEO turnover, even for the most frequenttype, when a CEO leaves voluntarily and is replaced by someone from inside the firm. Ourresults indicate that forced turnovers, which are expected to result in large strategy changes, increase volatility more than voluntary turnovers. Outside successions, which are expected to result in a successor CEO with less certain skill in managing the firm's operations, increase volatility more than inside turnovers. We also document a greater stock-price response to earnings announcements around CEO turnover, consistent with more informative signals of value driving the increased volatility. Controls for firm-specific characteristics indicate that the volatility changes cannot be entirely attributed to factors such as changes in firm operations, firm size, and both volatility change and performance prior to the turnover.


Background: Researchers focused on mental health of conflict-affected children are increasingly interested in the concept of resilience. Knowledge on resilience may assist in developing interventions aimed at improving positive outcomes or reducing negative outcomes, termed promotive or protective interventions. Methods: We performed a systematic review of peer-reviewed qualitative and quantitative studies focused on resilience and mental health in children and adolescents affected by armed conflict in lowand middle-income countries. Results: Altogether 53 studies were identified: 15 qualitative and mixed methods studies and 38 quantitative, mostly cross-sectional studies focused on school-aged children and adolescents. Qualitative studies identified variation across socio-cultural settings of relevant resilience outcomes, and report contextually unique processes contributing to such outcomes. Quantitative studies focused on promotive and protective factors at different socio-ecological levels (individual, family-, peer-, school-, and community-levels). Generally, promotive and protective factors showed gender-, symptom-, and phase of conflict-specific effects on mental health outcomes. Conclusions: Although limited by its predominantly cross-sectional nature and focus on protective outcomes, this body of knowledge supports a perspective of resilience as a complex dynamic process driven by timeand context-dependent variables, rather than the balance between riskand protective factors with known impacts on mental health. Given the complexity of findings in this population, we conclude that resilience-focused interventions will need to be highly tailored to specific contexts, rather than the application of a universal model that may be expected to have similar effects on mental health across contexts.


A new concept of pc is coming now that is E-Ball Concept pc. The E-Ball concept pc is a sphere shaped computer which is the smallest design among all the laptops and desktops. This computer has all the feature like a traditional computer, elements like keyboard or mouse,dvd, large screen display. E Ball is designed that pc is be placed on two stands, opens by pressing and holding the two buttons located on each side of the E-Ball pc, this pc is the latest concept technology. The E-Ball is a sphere shaped computer concept which is the smallest design among all the laptops and desktops have ever made. This PC concept features all the traditional elements like mouse, keyboard, large screen display, DVD recorder etc, all in an innovative manner. E-Ball is designed to be placed on two stands, opens by simultaneously pressing and holding the two buttons located on each side. After opening the stand and turning ON the PC, pressing the detaching mouse button will allow you to detach the optical mouse from the PC body. This concept features a laser keyboard that can be activated by pressing the particular button. E-Ball is very small, it is having only 6 inch diameter sphere. It is having 120×120mm motherboard.


This article establishes a new multiunmanned aerial vehicle (multi-UAV)-enabled mobile edge computing (MEC) system, where a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are deployed as flying edge clouds for large-scale mobile users. In this system, we need to optimize the deployment of UAVs, by considering their number and locations. At the same time, to provide good services for all mobile users, it is necessary to optimize task scheduling. Specifically, for each mobile user, we need to determine whether its task is executed locally or on a UAV (i.e., offloading decision), and how many resources should be allocated (i.e., resource allocation). This article presents a two-layer optimization method for jointly optimizing the deployment of UAVs and task scheduling, with the aim of minimizing system energy consumption. By analyzing this system, we obtain the following property: the number of UAVs should be as small as possible under the condition that all tasks can be completed. Based on this property, in the upper layer, we propose a differential evolution algorithm with an elimination operator to optimize the deployment of UAVs, in which each individual represents a UAV's location and the entire population represents an entire deployment of UAVs. During the evolution, we first determine the maximum number of UAVs. Subsequently, the elimination operator gradually reduces the number of UAVs until at least one task cannot be executed under delay constraints. This process achieves an adaptive adjustment of the number of UAVs. In the lower layer, based on the given deployment of UAVs, we transform the task scheduling into a 0-1 integer programming problem. Due to the large-scale characteristic of this 0-1 integer programming problem, we propose an efficient greedy algorithm to obtain the near-optimal solution with much less time. The effectiveness of the proposed two-layer optimization method and the established multi-UAV-enabled MEC system is demonstrated on ten instances with up to 1000 mobile users.


The MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis model is applied to synthetic policies that match key attributes of a set of cap-and-trade proposals being considered by the U.S. Congress in spring 2007. The bills fall into two groups: one specifies emissions reductions of 50% to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050; the other establishes a tightening target for emissions intensity and stipulates a time-path for a "safety valve" limit on the emission price that approximately stabilizes U.S. emissions at the 2008 level. Initial period prices are estimated between $7 and $50 per ton CO2-e with these prices rising by a factor of four by 2050. Welfare costs vary from near zero to less than 0.5% at the start, rising in the most stringent case to near 2% in 2050. If allowances were auctioned these proposals could produce revenue between $100 billion and $500 billion per year depending on the case. Outcomes from U.S. policies depend on mitigation effort abroads, and simulations are provided to illuminate terms-of-trade effects that influence the emissions prices and welfare effects, and even the environmental effectiveness, of U.S. actions. Sensitivity tests also are provided of several of key design features. Finally, the U.S. proposals, and the assumptions about effort elsewhere, are extended to 2100 to allow exploration of the potential role of these bills in the longer-term challenge of reducing climate change risk. Simulations show that the 50% to 80% targets are consistent with global goals of atmospheric stabilization at 450 to 550 ppmv CO2 but only if other nations, including the developing countries, follow suit.


The late Peter Hochachka was best known as a world leader in the field of biochemical adaptation — 'how molecules make organisms work best within their own specific environmental conditions' is the way that a Sciencereview of one of his recent books described his research area. Perhaps because a major part of his work focused on defense adaptations against limiting oxygen (where he was the unchallenged world leader for some three decades), he recognized early on the implications for areas far beyond his own disciplinary boundaries. He facilitated important and stimulating back-andforth interactions between pure and applied (mainly clinical) research fields and became one of the world's theoreticians on hypoxia defense mechanisms. Within his own university community, recognition of his awe-inspiring inter-disciplinary method led to cross appointments into the Division of Sports Medicine, the Department of Radiology, the Brain Research Center and the Prostate Center at Vancouver General Hospital. Indeed, he is probably the only scientist on earth to have written a seminal paper on the hypoxia connection in prostate cancer with co-authors that included surgeons involved in his own prostate cancer therapy! This is a quintessential example of the two-way communications between science and technology that Peter had the magic to facilitate. I was one of many young undergraduates in the early 1970s who were weaned on Peter Hochachka and George Somero's first book 'Strategies of Biochemical Adaptation '. Until reading that book, biochemistry to me was a dim and dismal affair, set in stone to memorize, in a whole host of unmemorable textbooks. Then came ' Strategies ', breathing life into a subject I had all but given up on. Suddenly, biochemistry became a dynamic subject: it was revealed how enzymes and their isoforms could be tailor-made to enable animals to cope with environmental extremes of temperature, pressure and oxygen availability. It also revealed how these enzymes could be differentially expressed in the course of one's lifetime as well as in an evolutionary time frame. These early insights in evolutionary adaptation provided a theoretical framework within which adaptational biology could grow and flourish. Hochachka's gift was to see connections that others could not, to seamlessly integrate seemingly unrelated areas into a cohesive whole. He was both theoretician and empiricist, whose stature in the scientific community is best witnessed by the breadth of those that read him. Clinicians read him to understand more about the cellular basis of renal failure, stroke and heart disease, researchers in sports medicine to see what sets the limits on elite performance, and zoologists to understand how biochemical adaptations arising through evolutionary history separate the tortoise from the hare. Peter Hochachka's laboratory was guided by the August Krogh principle where for almost every problem there is an animal upon which it can be most conveniently studied. Over the years, various aspects of metabolic adaptation to limiting O2 availability were dutifully explored with marine invertebrates, hypoxia-tolerant fishes, diving turtles, marine mammals, especially the Antarctic Weddell seal, and humans, especially high-altitude-adapted natives. Various aspects of exercise adaptations were contemporaneously explored using fishes, seals, greyhounds, thoroughbreds, llamas, hummingbirds, rats, moles, shrews and humans. The Hochachka philosophy was to adapt technology to the problem rather than to apply a single kind of technology to a variety of animals. The idea for this Review Volume arose out of a conversation I had with Peter Hochachka in the autumn of 2000. I had just read his 1999 review article entitled ' The metabolic implications of intracellular circulation ' (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA96, 12233-12239) and asked him if he felt it might be timely to produce a JEB Review Volume dedicated to this theme. He took up the challenge with his usual blend of good humour and unbridled enthusiasm. Within six months of that conversation, I received his 'Mark 1' list of prospective authors and topics under the title ' Roles of Intracellular Movement and Intracellular Structure in Metabolic Regulation '. By that time, we had also recruited our colleague Peter Lutz into the fray. With few exceptions, all of the people we initially contacted were quick to respond in the affirmative and if they did not they got a call from P.W.H. who pointed out the error of their ways! The range of authors and topics herein highlights the breadth and scope of Peter Hochachka and his vision of where the future lies in the study of metabolic regulation.


We estimate the effects of privatization on firm-level wages and employment in four transition economies. Applied to longitudinal data on manufacturing firms, our fixed effect and random trend models consistently fail to support workers' fears of job losses from privatization, and they never imply large negative effects on wages; only for domestic privatization in Hungary and Russia are small (3-5%) negative wage effects found. Privatization to foreign investors has positive estimated impacts on both employment and wages in all four countries. The negligible consequences of domestic privatization for workers result from effects on scale, productivity, and costs that are large but offsetting in Hungary and Romania, and from small effects of all types in Russia and Ukraine. The positive employment outcome under foreign ownership results from a substantial scale-expansion effect that dominates the productivity-improvement effect, and the positive wage outcome from a productivity effect that dominates the effect on cost-reduction.


Electromicrofluidic (EMF) devices are used to handle and move tiny amounts of liquids by electrical actuation, including electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) and dielectrophoresis (DEP). Monitoring the liquid characteristics in one of these devices requires suitable sensing transducers incorporated within the microfluidic structure. In the present work, we describe the incorporation of an optofluidic photonic transducer in an EMF device to monitor the refractive index of a liquid during its manipulation. The incorporated transducer consists of a responsive porous Bragg Microcavity (BM) deposited via physical vapor oblique angle deposition. Besides reporting the manufacturing procedure of the sensing-EMF device combining liquid handling and monitoring, the performance of the BM is verified by infiltrating several liquids dripped on its surface and comparing the responses with those of liquid droplets electrically moved from the delivery part of the chip to the BM location. This study proved that modified EMF devices can incorporate photonic structures to analyze very low liquid volumes (∼0.2 μL) during its handling.


Data on the re-examined-type specimens of the Early Permian Glochinomorpha stifeli Gordon 1971 (Coleoidea, Cephalopoda) gives new insight into the evolutionary origination of gladius-bearing coleoids in the Late Palaeozoic and suggests their parallel evolution with the belemnoids and phragmoteuthids. The iron-oxidized arm hooks are found in front of a gladius on an un-illustrated paratype (USNM 170614). They are dispersed in a maximum distance equal to 2.5 the gladius length from the incomplete anterior end of the rachis of the gladius. The hook height ranges from less than 1 mm to as much as 4 mm. They have a massive curved base, and a strongly curved shaft with a long thin distal part. The hooks confirm the cephalopod and the coleoid affiliation of G. stifeli that is widely rejected. The iron-oxidized gladii (preserved length is less than 20 mm) show micro-laminations and a fibrous ultrastructure; the fibre bundles are approximately 0.5 μm thick. Lack of calcium and the high content of nitrogen (up to 12% of total weight) confirm the originally non-biomineralized (apparently chitin) composition of the gladii suggested by their fibrous ultrastructure. These data lead to the conclusion that in the evolutionary history of gladius-bearing coleoids, the biomaterial (biochemical) development of the skeleton preceded its morphological transformation. This phenomenon resulted in a recombination of an advanced composition (being non-biomineralized) with archaic features (sensu morphological structure of the posterior part) in the gladius of G. stifeli. The data cast doubt on the hypothesized origination of a gladius from a phragmoteuthid pro-ostracum as well as the evolutionary origination of the gladius-bearing coleoids from pro-ostracum-bearing phragmoteuthids or belemnitids.


The Worldly and Heavenly Wisdom of 4QInstruction, by Matthew Goff. STDJ 50. Leiden: Brill, 2003. Pp. xii + 276. $113.00 (hardcover). ISBN 900413591X. Matthew Goff's book represents a watershed of sorts for both the study of 4QInstniction and the wisdom material from Qinnran. While Goff does not necessarily revolutionize our understanding of 4QInstruction, his cautious approach to both the text's fragmentary manuscripts and its frequently enigmatic vocabulary, combined with a comprehensive overview and critique of the scholarship on the text to date, results in the first study on 4QInstruction to discuss both the past and present state of scholarship on this material while simultaneously highlighting several areas in need of further study. A revised version of Goffs Ph.D. dissertation written under the supervision of John J. Collins at the University of Chicago, this well-written study is primarily concerned with "how 4QInstruction should be understood in relation to wisdom and apocalypticism" (p. 27). According to Goff, 4QInstruction's content and place within the literature of the second Temple period cannot be truly appreciated without taking into consideration both its practical advice, written in a style that is reminiscent of Proverbs and Ben Sira, and its divinely revealed knowledge, relating to the order of creation, the authority of God, and eschatological judgment. Divided into six chapters, the book begins with a brief description of the copies of 4QInstruction discovered at Qumran (1Q26, 4Q415-418, 423). This is followed by a survey of the efforts to reconstruct the overall shape of 4QInstruction, which, Goff rightly suggests, is nearly impossible due to the fragmentary nature of the manuscripts and the absence of any discernible order to the material. The remainder of the first chapter is devoted to a comprehensive and even-handed assessment of the scholarship on 4QInstruction, starting with its official publication by John Strugnell and Daniel Harrington (DJD 34), and includes discussions on the major contributions of Armin Lange, Torleif Elgvin, and Eibert Tigchelaar. Also considered in this chapter are the publications of a handful of scholars who have taken up specific topics in 4QInstruction, such as George Brooke's study on the use of Scripture in the wisdom literature from Qumran, Catherine Murphy's work on poverty and financial issues in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Collins's examination of eschatology in 4QInstruction. Chapter 2 examines the concept of revealed wisdom in 4QInstruction by focusing on raz nihtjeh, a phrase that occurs twenty times in the text and is translated by Goff as "the mystery that is to be." Goff convincingly argues that raz nihyeh, a major theme in 4QInstruction, represents a type of hidden wisdom that can be accessed only through divine revelation. Individuals who have been given access to this knowledge are able to understand the divine order of the universe from its creation and deterministic structure to its final eschatological judgment. Furthermore, comprehension of raz nihyeh was meant to inspire its recipients to live righteous and moral lives on earth, which, according to Goff, is emphasized in 4QInstruction by combining practical wisdom on various topics, such as marriage and filial piety, with the concept of raz nihyeh in order to suggest that one who has access to "the mystery that is to be" will act correctly in each case and will be blessed both on earth and in the afterlife. Chapter 3 is devoted to the so-called vision of Hagu pericope (4Q417 1 i 13-18), which divides humanity into two distinct groups of individuals: the "spiritual people" who have access to the vision of Hagu and those of the "fleshy spirit" who do not. Although the exact nature of the vision of Hagu is unclear, Goff theorizes that it is a "heavenly book in which is inscribed the judgement against the wicked" (p. 122). Goff argues that the vision of Hagu, connected with Genesis 1-3 by the authors of 4QInstruction, was used to suggest that those of the "fleshy spirit" were unable to discern between good and evil. …


Topoi research group B-4 Space – Identity – Locality focuses its research on the interconnections between knowledge, space and identities. A multiplicity of sources – texts, images, architecture and objects – are analyzed both in their historical context and for their historiographic value. Following a brief description of the projects, key concepts of knowledge, space and identity are outlined as they relate to our specific research themes. We use 'trialectics' to emphasize that knowledge, space and identity constitute and influence each other. Concrete configurations of this constantly changing interplay of factors are illustrated by two case studies – the ritual compositions from Kizzuwatna (present southern Turkey) and the coin hoard of Krepost (present Bulgaria).


In P2P file sharing, millions of peers participate in file-sharing community, with each one functioning as a server and contributing resources to the community. In this paper, we concentrate on the same data sharing in client to client system. The provider distributes the data over the P2P network wherein the users retrieve the data by using certain fragmentation schemes. The main thrust of this paper is that peers retrieve the data using fragmentation scheme according to their requirements which could effectively support in processing locality.


During the last two decades, the emergence of fresh categories within new media art has posed unprecedented challenges to museums, motivating the creation of new institutions specifically designed to house and display works of this type. Therefore, digital and Internet art have configured an interesting field for architectural research. Frequently, the architecture of these new museums has revealed utopian visions that derive from profound contradictions between the intangible world of communication technology and the conventional requirements of physical spaces. Just as in previous periods of art history, some of the most ground-breaking projects did not end up as finished buildings, either because their construction would be too expensive and technically problematic, or just because they were deliberately conceived as virtual spaces. However, and surprisingly enough, even these web-specific museums sometimes proved to be too ambitious or ahead of their time. In this scenario, and drawing on a set of emblematic projects, this paper seeks to discuss a topical question: how can museum architecture deal with the intangible, unstable and ubiquitous condition of digital art?


Abstract Background The aim of this study is to determine the palliative care needs of cancer patients and to examine the knowledge and expectations of the patients and their families about palliative care. Methods The research was conducted as a descriptive study.The sampling has formed 110 patients and 110 patients families who received a treatment between the dates of June- August 2017. The datas were collected for using socio-demographic and palliative care survey and questionnaire form, Palliative Performance Scale and Edmonton Symptom Scale. Results 80.9% of the patients have received information about the disease. 76.4% of the patients and 60% their families weren't aware of palliative/supportive care, and 49.1% of the patient/55.5% of the family have been seen worries and expectations for treatment and care. These anxieties of in the patients 46.4% can't be like former ones and 31.8% have got a pain, while the anxieties of in the patients families 43.6% were losing their patients life and 33.6% is the extension of the treatments period. 63.6% of the families had problems with maintaining their daily work. 25% of the patients defined palliative care as end-of-life care, while others patients defined it as a symptom management and supportive treatment. Expectations of 99.1% the patients and 97.3% of their families were to learn the treatment and care plan; 97.3% of the patients and 80% of the families were to be included and supported in the decisions taken; 97.3% of patients and 97.3 of the families were to be informed about cost of treatment-care; in the treatment process 77.3% of the patients / 85.5% of the families were wants to be supported psychological and, 77.3% of the patients / 50% of the families were want to be supported with receive religious and; 84.5% of the patients / 70% of the families were want to be told the diagnosis. Conclusions it has been suggested that patients and their families should be informed about the palliative care, physical, psychosocial, support from the spirutuel direction, while it is proposed to development of tools for determination of their needs and requirements. Key words: Palliative care, Supportive treatment, Cancer, Knowledge and expectation, Patient and patient family. Legal entity responsible for the study Ozlem Topkaya. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure The author has declared no conflicts of interest.


A significant gap remains between today's visual pattern recognition models and humanlevel visual cognition especially when it comes to fewshot learning and compositional reasoning of novel concepts. We introduce Bongard-HOI, a new visual reasoning benchmark that focuses on compositional learning of humanobject interactions (HOIs) from natural images. It is inspired by two desirable characteristics from the classical Bongard problems (BPs): 1) fewshot concept learning, and 2) contextdependent reasoning. We carefully curate the fewshot instances with hard negatives, where positive and negative images only disagree on action labels, making mere recognition of object categories insufficient to complete our benchmarks. We also design multiple test sets to systematically study the generalization of visual learning models, where we vary the overlap of the HOI concepts between the training and test sets of fewshot instances, from partial to no overlaps. Bongard-HOI presents a substantial challenge to today's visual recognition models. The state-of-the-art HOI detection model achieves only 62% accuracy on fewshot binary prediction while even amateur human testers on MTurk have 91% accuracy. With the Bongard-HOI benchmark, we hope to further advance research efforts in visual reasoning, especially in holistic perception-reasoning systems and better representation learning.


We report the updated classification of primary immunodeficiency diseases, compiled by the ad hoc Expert Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies. As compared to the previous edition, more than 15 novel disease entities have been added in the updated version. For each disorders, the key clinical and laboratory features are provided. This updated classification is meant to help in the diagnostic approach to patients with these diseases.


The texts written for the instruction of women in ancient China are some of the earliest examples of didactic sources aimed at a female readership to be produced anywhere in the world. The oldest surviving texts in the transmitted tradition date to the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). However, in 2010, Peking University acquired a cache of manuscripts written on bamboo, one of which, the Jiaonü (Instructions to women), predates these Han dynasty admonitions texts by several centuries. This paper provides a full translation of this important text, a discussion of the historical and cultural context in which it was produced, and examines its relationship with the later similar works in the transmitted tradition. The Jiaonü throws new light on the way in which women were educated in appropriate gender roles in ancient China.


Objective: The efficacy of atypical antipsychotics including olanzapine in acute treatment of manic episode has been established, whereas its role in maintenance treatment is not clear. Materials and Methods: Thirteen patients of bipolar disorder who were on regular treatment with mood stabilizer and subsequently relapsed into mania or depressive episode after discontinuation of olanzapine were studied for various socio-demographic and clinical factors using retrospective chart review. Results: There was no correlation found between the period of tapering olanzapine, time to recurrence of episode after discontinuation, and the dosage of olanzapine at the time of discontinuation. The predominant early signs of relapse after discontinuation of olanzapine included sleep disturbance (72.7%), lack of insight for change in behavior (72.7%), irritability (54.5%), and elevated mood (45.5%). Conclusion: Mood stabilizer alone as a maintenance therapy of bipolar disorder may be inadequate for long-term management. A low dose of olanzapine along with mood stabilizers might be useful for prevention of recurrence in bipolar disorder.


As a special education teacher working with intensive needs children and their families, I have come to understand the importance of using "parent knowledge" alongside my professional knowledge to inform my pedagogy, enabling me to authentically and meaningfully program for students. In this article, I use my storied experiences with Shirley and her mom, Nancy, to make visible how my engagement with Nancy shaped my beliefs and practices as a teacher. This article describes a "pedagogy of walking alongside," a pedagogical approach in which parent engagement is integral in all work I do with young intensive needs students.


This paper presents a computational framework for saliency maps. It employs the Earth Mover's Distance based on weighted-Histogram (EMD-wH) to measure the center-surround difference, instead of the Difference-of-Gaussian (DoG) filter used by traditional models. In addition, the model employs not only the traditional features such as colors, intensity and orientation but also the local entropy which expresses the local complexity. The major advantage of combining the local entropy map is that it can detect the salient regions which are not complex regions. Also, it uses a general framework to integrate the feature dimensions instead of summing the features directly. This model considers both local and global salient information, in contrast to the existing models that consider only one or the other. Furthermore, the "large scale bias" and "central bias" hypotheses are used in this model to select the fixation locations in the saliency map of different scales. The performance of this model is assessed by comparing their saliency maps and human fixation density. The results from this model are finally compared to those from other bottom-up models for reference.


Managing complexity is an increasing challenge in the development of embedded systems (ES). Some of the factors contributing to the increase in complexity are the growing complexity of hardware and software, and the increased pressure to deliver full-featured products with reduced time-to-market. An attractive approach to manage the software complexity, reduce time-to-market and decrease development costs lies in the adoption of component-based development that has been proven as a successful approach in other domains. Another raising challenge, due to complexity increase, in ES, is predictability, i.e., the ability to anticipate the behavior of a system at run-time. The particular predictability requirements of ES call for a development framework equipped with techniques and tools that can be applied to deal with requirements, such as timing, and resource utilization, already at early-stage of development. Modeling and formal analysis play increasingly important roles in achieving predictability, since they can help us to understand how systems function, validate the design and verify some important properties. In this thesis, we present a resource-aware framework for designing predictable component-based ES. The proposed framework consists of (i) the formally specified ProCom component model that takes into account the characteristics of control-intensive ES, and (ii) the resource-aware timed behavioral language - REMES for modeling and reasoning about components' and systems' functional and extra-functional behavior that includes relevant resource types for ES, associated analysis techniques for various resource-wise properties, and a set of associated tools. To demonstrate the potential application of our framework, we present a number of case studies, out of which one is an industrial research prototype, where ProCom and REMES are applied.


What limits, if any, should be placed on a government's efforts to spy on its citizens in the name of national security? Spying on foreigners has long been regarded as an unseemly but necessary enterprise. Spying on one's own citizens in a democracy, by contrast, has historically been subject to various forms of legal and political restraint. For most of the twentieth century these regimes were kept distinct. That position is no longer tenable. Modern threats do not respect national borders. Changes in technology make it impractical to distinguish between 'foreign' and 'local' communications. And our culture is progressively reducing the sphere of activity that citizens can reasonably expect to be kept from government eyes.The main casualty of this transformed environment will be privacy. Recent battles over privacy have been dominated by fights over warrantless electronic surveillance and CCTV; the coming years will see debates over DNA databases, data mining, and biometric identification. There will be protests and lawsuits, editorials and elections resisting these attacks on privacy. Those battles are worthy. But the war will be lost. Modern threats increasingly require that governments collect such information, governments are increasingly able to collect it, and citizens increasingly accept that they will collect it.This book proposes a move away from questions of whether governments should collect information and onto more problematic and relevant questions concerning its use. By reframing the relationship between privacy and security in the language of a social contract, mediated by a citizenry who are active participants rather than passive targets, the book offers a framework to defend freedom without sacrificing liberty.


Abstract In this paper we present and discuss recent experimental and theoretical advances concerning the redistribution process, the control of target temperature, and the effect of deuterium-tritium (D-T) aging on the optimum laser shot temperature at the Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) facility. We introduce two analytical models to provide a better understanding of thermal target behavior. On one hand the first model describes the evolution of the D-T layer temperature, which cannot be recorded experimentally. On the other hand the second model highlights the necessity for the optimum laser shot temperature (i.e., 1.5 K below the triple point) to be adapted to the aging of the target. The analytical considerations are completed with experimental results obtained with D2 taken as a reference system to investigate the properties of D-T in LMJ targets.


We consider the problem of classifying buried objects using electromagnetic induction data collected in a setting where there are errors in sensor positioning. Using a series of decay constants (or equivalently, Laplace plane poles) as features for classification, our algorithm seeks to estimate these poles and, subsequently, to determine the type of object in the sensor field of view. In many practical scenarios, a set of data is often accompanied by domain knowledge that the location of the transmitters and/or receivers is only known to within some degree of accuracy (e.g., 10 cm in the along-track direction and 5-cm cross-track). Here, we develop an approach to the extraction of information from such data sets in which the quantitative positional bound information is used in the context of a min-max optimization strategy. Specifically, we look for the parameters of interest that minimize the maximum data residual, where the maximum error is computed over ellipsoids or polyhedra of possible sensor locations defined by the bound information. Our formulation admits data collection with independent or dependent positional uncertainty values at successive nominal collection locations. Our algorithms for solving this optimization problem are validated using simulated and measured data


The situation of telecommunications systems is rapidly evolving towards a state characterized by the presence of a multitude of services integrated in a single network structure. In order to ease their integration, it is important to provide an unambiguous description of the organization, of the functionality, and of the relationships existing among services. Since it is not possible to completely foresee the situation of services in the future, the description should be modular, so that the task of adding new services to an existing environment is simplified. Formal description techniques are languages designed to handle such descriptions. Their goal is to produce correct and unambiguous specifications, understanding and modeling the system and the domain within which it operates. Their input is a set of required statements and a conceptual overview of the system. Their output is a formal representation that captures the functional behavior. On the other hand, the throughput of physical networks is constantly growing, reaching the order of Gbit/s. In the meantime, services needing high throughput, like multimedia conferencing systems are being designed, creating a need for flexible, high performance communication systems. An important feature of new high speed services is their increased need for guarantees. Therefore, the use of powerful performance modeling techniques becomes of prime importance. Their goal is to obtain some notion of how the system will perform under a given set of conditions. Performance evaluation theorists have long been using system specifications to make a heuristic model of the system and then an analysis of the model. When system specifications exist, the question arises whether a more direct path to performance analysis can be found. Our scope is to provide a methodology that fully and consistently integrates formal specification and performance evaluation. A problem is that many of the bottlenecks and impediments to smooth data flow have to do with implementation issues not directly dealt within the system specification itself. Therefore, prior to generating a performance model, the formal specification should be enhanced with the relevant non-functional information. It is essential to assure a smooth specification of the non-functional information. Thus, it is necessary to consistently add this information to the formal specification. Besides, the extended formal method should focus on conserving the semantics of the original one, and on providing a coherent extension of the semantics and syntax for the new concepts. Since all relevant required information is integrated within the formal extended representation, we provide a mapping technique that translates the extended formal representation into a performance modeling conserving the properties of the formal model. In parallel to the development of a performance model, the formal model can be validated and verified, and their implementation can be tested for conformance towards the original formal model. Finally, the performance modelling is implemented in a programming language, and then simulated. The results from simulation can be reused as inputs for the optimization of the formal specification (functional optimization) or the extended formal model (design optimization). To sum up, the goal of this work is to: Define extensions to current formal methods that allow to enhance the formal specification with performance modeling related information. Develop a method to translate the extended formal specification into a performance modeling. Develop rules and guidelines to automatically implement the performance modeling for the purpose of a performance evaluation (we use the commercial tool Opnet). Develop a consistent and coherent methodology for the integration of performance modeling and formal specification.


In this paper, we present a thought piece examining recent core policing reforms introduced in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), responding to a perceived crisis of legitimacy, for An Garda Síochána (AGS) (translated: 'The Guardian of the Peace'). Central to this process is the critical reform of the education and training of police and their relationship to the professionalisation and legitimacy of policing. In this paper, we put forward an explorative analysis of the potential link between the professional education of police and their perceived legitimacy. A literature review was carried out on the reform process, including the related elements of police education, training, professionalisation, community policing, police legitimacy, code of ethics (CoE) and police culture. We consider the espoused ambition to professionalise policing via processes including the provision of professional learning in universities and how this might be deemed to contribute (or not) to legitimacy. While no empirical research to date has been carried out on these specific reforms in the ROI, the reform recommendations had several resonances with broader examination of the themes and challenges (in particular police ethics and culture) associated with reform of democratic policing in other jurisdictions, particularly with respect to increasing professional learning and perceived police legitimacy.


The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a good model to unravel the molecular mechanisms of innate immunity and has led to some important discoveries about the sensing and signaling of microbial infections. The response of Drosophila to virus infections remains poorly characterized and appears to involve two facets. On the one hand, RNA interference involves the recognition and processing of dsRNA into small interfering RNAs by the host RNase Dicer-2 (Dcr-2), whereas, on the other hand, an inducible response controlled by the evolutionarily conserved JAK-STAT pathway contributes to the antiviral host defense. To clarify the contribution of the small interfering RNA and JAK-STAT pathways to the control of viral infections, we have compared the resistance of flies wild-type and mutant for Dcr-2 or the JAK kinase Hopscotch to infections by seven RNA or DNA viruses belonging to different families. Our results reveal a unique susceptibility of hop mutant flies to infection by Drosophila C virus and cricket paralysis virus, two members of the Dicistroviridae family, which contrasts with the susceptibility of Dcr-2 mutant flies to many viruses, including the DNA virus invertebrate iridescent virus 6. Genome-wide microarray analysis confirmed that different sets of genes were induced following infection by Drosophila C virus or by two unrelated RNA viruses, Flock House virus and Sindbis virus. Overall, our data reveal that RNA interference is an efficient antiviral mechanism, operating against a large range of viruses, including a DNA virus. By contrast, the antiviral contribution of the JAK-STAT pathway appears to be virus specific.


In this thesis we analyze the financial performance of Football clubs following an initial public offering (IPO). We conduct several analyses using time series stock data with a focus on finding evidence of long-run underperformance and IPO over/underpricing. To this end, we estimate cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) and Jensen's Alpha. We also analyze coefficients such as beta to describe the volatility and the link football clubs' stocks have to the general market. We look at historical events that may have affected the movement of stock prices and confirm this by benchmarking an index (STOXX index) compiled of a number of European football teams. Our results show that football clubs do in fact follow the clear pattern of other entities and sectors and previous research with regard to underperformance in the long run. We find that football clubs' stocks are less volatile than the general market and have a low beta. With regards to over/underpricing, we only obtain data for a few football clubs. We find small signs of underpricing but are not able to confirm that this is statistical significant due to the size of our sample.


Computed tomography imaging spectrometer (CTIS) technology is introduced and its use is discussed. An iterative method is presented for CTIS image-reconstruction in the presence of both photon noise in the image and post-detection Gaussian system noise. The new algorithm assumes the transfer matrix of the system has a particular structure. Error analysis, performance evaluation, and parallelization of the algorithm is done. Complexity analysis is performed for the proof of concept code developed. Future work is discussed relating to potential improvements to the algorithm. An intuitive explanation for the success of the new algorithm is that it reformulates the image reconstruction problem as a constrained problem such that an explicit closed form solution can be computed when the constraint is ignored. Incorporating the constraint leads to an inverse matrix problem which can be dealt with using a conjugate gradient method. A weighted iterative refinement technique is employed because the conjugate gradient solver is terminated prematurely. This dissertation makes the following contributions to the state of the art. First, our method is several orders of magnitude faster that the previous industry best (multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) and mixed-expectation reconstruction technique (MERT)). Second, error bounds are established. Third, open source proof of concept code is made available.


OBJECTIVE
Prompt initiation of antibiotic therapy improves the survival of patients with bloodstream infections (BSI). We sought to determine if the sequence of administration of the first dose of antibiotic therapy (i.e., β-lactam or vancomycin, if both cannot be administered simultaneously) impacts early mortality for patients with BSI.

METHODS
We conducted a multicenter, observational study of patients ≥13 years with BSIs to evaluate the association of the sequence of antibiotic administration with 7-day mortality using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) incorporating propensity scores. Propensity scores were generated based on: demographics, Pitt bacteremia score, ICU status, highest lactate, highest WBC count, Charlson Comorbidity index, severe immunocompromise, administration of active empiric therapy, combination therapy, and time from emergency department arrival to first antibiotic dose.

RESULTS
Of 3,376 eligible patients, 2,685 (79.5%) received a β-lactam and 691 (20.5%) received vancomycin as their initial antibiotic. In the IPTW cohort, exposed and unexposed patients were similar on all baseline variables. Administration of a β-lactam agent prior to vancomycin protected against 7-day mortality (aOR 0.48 (95% CI: 0.33-0.69)]. Similar results were observed when evaluating 48-hour mortality (aOR 0.45 [95% CI: 0.24-0.83]). Administration of vancomycin prior to a β-lactam was not associated with improved survival in the subgroup of 524 patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus BSI (aOR 0.93 [95% CI: 0.33-2.63]).

CONCLUSIONS
For ill-appearing patients likely to be experiencing a BSI, prioritizing administration of a β-lactam over vancomycin may reduce early mortality, underscoring the significant impact of a relatively simple practice change on improving patient survival.


Supramolecular polymerization, i.e., the self-assembly of polymer-like materials through the utilization of the noncovalent bond, is a developing area of research. In this paper, we report the synthesis and investigation of nucleobase-terminated (N6-anisoyl-adenine and N4-(4-tert-butylbenzoyl)cytosine) low molecular weight poly(THF) macromonomers (<2000 g mol(-1)). Even though the degree of interaction between the nucleobase derivatives is very low (<5 M(-1)) these macromonomers self-assemble in the solid state to yield materials with film and fiber-forming capability. While the mechanical properties of films of both materials show extreme temperature sensitivity, resulting in the formation of very low viscosity melts, they do behave differently, which is attributed to the nature of the self-assembly controlled by the nucleobase. A combination of FT-IR, WAXD, and rheological experiments was carried out to further investigate the nature of the self-assembly in these systems. The studies demonstrate that a combination of phase segregation between the hard nucleobase chain ends and the soft poly(THF) core combined with aromatic amide hydrogen bonding is utilized to yield the highly thermosensitive supramolecular polymeric materials. In addition, analysis of the data suggests that the rheological properties of these supramolecular materials is controlled by the disengagement rate of the nucleobase chain ends from the "hard" phase, which, if shown to be general, provides a design criteria in the development of more thermally responsive materials.