The objective of the study is to derive a method by which one can analyze how the probability of damage made by pine weevils on seedlings treated with insecticides depends on the probability of damage on untreated control seedlings, called feeding pressure. Because the probabilities vary from stand to stand and from block to block, the analysis is done using a generalized linear mixed model. The dependency of probability of damage on the feeding pressure cannot be properly analyzed using observed relative frequency of damage of control seedlings as a covariate, but it can be analyzed using a bivariate model. One equation describes damage of control seedlings and another equation damage of treated seedlings. The random stand and block effects of different equations are correlated. For a given probability of stand level control seedling damage, the random stand effect for control seedlings can be computed using a link function, then random stand effects for treated seedlings can be predicted using the best linear predictor from the random effect for control seedlings. Using an inverse link the prediction can again be presented in the probability scale which is of interest to the user. Using these three steps the probability of damage of treated seedlings can be predicted from the control damage probability. The probability of damage of treated seedlings can also be predicted from the observed relative frequency of damaged control seedlings using simulation. The complementary log-log link was used for control seedlings and the log-log link for treated seedlings.


Abdel-Fattah M. Abdel–Rahman & R. Doig write: Stern & Manton (1987) produced a tectonic model for the evolution of the Sinai basement dependent on their claim that there is no reliable evidence for ages older than about 670 Ma; a claim challenged by Shimron (1988). One of the arguments in this discussion centred on a 4-point Rb–Sr isochron age of 881 ± 58 Ma for a gabbro–diorite–tonalite (D–T) suite, published by us in 1987 and criticized by Stem & Manton (1988). We first comment on this and then discuss their 1987 tectonic model. Specific comments with which we wish to take issue were: (1) that our sample localities were widely scattered and represent different intrusive bodies; (2) that the D–T suite is closely associated with trondhjemites of 516 ± 7 Ma age; (3) that the age of the D–T suite is suspect because it is based on 4 points with a limited range of Rb/Sr ratios. With regard to point (l), the suite covers a large area (>100 km2) and extends beyond the map area of our 1987 paper. It has been intruded by younger magmatic complexes (Dokhan volcanic rocks, calc-alkaline granites and trond-jhemites) giving discontinuous exposures of the older rocks. These exposures do not form two different intrusions, as incorrectly assumed by Stern & Manton, but all exhibit the same mineralogical and geochemical features as well as textural and field characteristics. The widely spaced sampling was designed to give the best representation of this extensive unit. Our reply


This publication contains presentations from the workshop "Identity and Pluralism" held at Linkoping University in Sweden in June 2008.¨The first article by Reevany Bustami, Ellisha Nasruddin and Sarmila Md Sum offers a critique of the 'diversity and inclusion' discussions in the present CSR discourse. In doing so, it seeks to expand the parameters of diversity to include the broader community as well as the supply chain networks within which companies exist. It also examines the issues of diversity and pluralism within the context of multi religious and multi ethnic Malaysian society as well as the continuing debates of affirmative action originated from Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP).In their essay on pluralism in Malaysian higher education Ellisha Nasruddin, Reevany Bustami and Ng Sen Fa discuss: 1) key future trends/alternatives within higher education and their cross-impacts; 2) how these trends/alternatives may create undesirable or desirable impact on ethnic pluralism; and 3) roadmap(s) for transformation within higher education vis-a-vis ethnic pluralism.What is the role of Christian churches in Malaysia? Goran Wiking discusses the isolationist characteristics inherent in some Malaysian churches and denominations. Secondly, a brief analysis of the phenomenon is attempted: is this a genuine or just a perceived impediment to national integration? Are there in fact indicators to the contrary, whereby a certain degree of ethnic isolation can serve to strengthen identity and foster more wholesome members of the society at large?Goran Collste discusses one aspect of Malaysian political pluralism; the policy of affirmative action. Affirmative action is favouring Malays and to be Muslim is one of the requirements for being beneficiary of affirmative action. He points at some problems for the policy of affirmative action in a time with increased religious tensions and an increased emphasis on religious affiliation as identity marker.What are the conditions for a real dialogue between members of different ethnic and religious groups? Peter Gan argues that openness to transformation by the other is not strictly speaking an ethic of reducing the other to the self. Rather, it is an orientation that is predicated upon a symmetric self-other relation. In exploring this form of openness, the author attempts to unravel the intricacies embedded within the dialogic process which permeates interethnic, particularly interreligious relations.The concept "secular state" is nowadays often used in both everyday discourse and scholarly debate. Often it comes with normative connotations; that the democratic state should be secular. However, the exact meaning of the concept is not clear. In his essay Marcus Agnafors examines different meanings of the concept "secular state". He also discusses some arguments commonly presented in support of the idea that the state should, in some sense, be secular.Finally, Anne-Christine Hornborg's essay deals with the struggle for identity by an Indian tribe in Canada. She discusses the impact of the so called residential school on contemporary Mi'kmaq life worlds and identities, drawing on interviews from fieldworks conducted in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.


Robert Pinsky. Democracy, Culture, and the Voice of Poetry. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. 96 pp. $14.95 This short book is not Robert Pinsky's first venture into criticism. In 1976 he published an important manifesto-like study, The Situation of Poetry, which argued the merits of the "discursive" poetics practiced by Cunningham, Bidart, Ammons, and others and exposed the limitations of bardic, epiphanic, and surrealist styles of poets like BIy, Merwin, and Strand. His collection of essays, Poetry and the World (1988), featured readings of American and British poetry from Freneau to Heaney and included provocative chapters on "Responsibilities of the Poet" and "American Poetry and American Life." Insofar as this new book presents a major American poet's discussion of the idea of "culture," it invites comparisons with Ezra Pound's Guide to Kulchur (1938) and T.S. Eliot's Notes towards the Definition of Culture (1949). What makes Pinsky's book different is its somewhat modest argumentative scope. Rather than offering an iconoclastic revision of the cultural curriculum (Pound) or ruminating on the relationship between culture and class (Eliot), Pinsky limits himself to exploring linkages between culture, democracy, and what he calls "the voice of poetry" in the United States. These linkages, he argues, are real, strong, and very much in need of discussion especially at a time when poetry is said to exist on the margins of American culture. Pinsky claims that American culture is unique primarily because it encompasses elements of flux and ambiguity, change and adaptation, motion and contradiction. Early in the book he identifies two anxieties evoked in the American mind by the idea of culture. On the one hand, he says, culture brings to mind a nightmare of undifferentiation, a loss of cultural diversity comparable to the loss of biodiversity.[...] The vision of destruction by an all-consuming dominant culture reminds us of the etymological link between 'culture' and the 'colon : the one who cultivates or scratches the soil, the colonialist. In this sense, culture is seen as a mechanism of standardization, homogeneity, and uniformity. At its best it is a negation of difference, individuality, nuance. At its worst it is an instrument of ideological control. This notion of culture brings to mind an inherently American phenomenon: the idea of a mass culture, which breeds sameness, conformity, and complacency. On the other hand, according to Pinsky, the term "culture" also causes anxiety of an opposite kind: the coming apart of civic fabrics through fragmentation, ranging from the tremendous, paranoid brutalities of ethnic cleansing and ruthless terrorism to petty division of mass culture into niches.[...] In this disturbing area, the etymological ghost is culture's relation to 'cult,' a word denoting arcane forms of worship: the perceived sinister difference of strangers, its ultimate evolution a zeal for extermination. Here culture is identified not as a monopolizing force, but as an impulse toward multiplicity and particularism, which threatens society with radical differentiation and eventual disintegration. My culture is not your culture. My language is not your language. Culture, in this sense, denotes bottomless uniqueness, endless difference, and irreversible dissolution of common values. This dual understanding of the word "culture," encompassing the elements of both colon and cult, frames Pinsky's discussion of poetry's place in American democracy. To what extent does a poet speak in and to America and thereby participate in the formation of American culture? Does he or she have a "voice" in the society that sees culture either as mass consensus or unbridled anarchy? Pinsky answers these questions by way of Alexis de Tocqueville. In Democracy in America Tocqueville argues that instead of seeking inspiration in old myths, legends, rituals, and traditions, American poets would turn to exploring their own inner lives, and their own inner selves, vis-a-vis nature and God. …


The concept of value is manifold. Something judged good, proper, and desirable in human life is judged as valuable. Being valuable may have economic connotations of worth—to do with the degree to which desirable objects may bring material benefits. In this article, I concentrate on the Tariana, a representative of the Vaupés River Basin linguistic area in the far corner of northwest Brazilian Amazonia. I focus on how the value of language as the mark of identity is expressed in Tariana. I then turn to the expression of meanings to do with evaluation ("good, proper, as it should be" versus "bad, adverse, other," or "correct" versus "incorrect"), with a special focus on the danger of otherness, as an exponent of a pan-Amazonian perspective on the condition of alterity. The rampant degree of language loss contributes to additional tensions between the traditional value of language knowledge and the modern situation. The concept of monetary worth came into the society, and the language, through the introduction of market economy within the last two or three decades. At the end, the findings are put within the perspective of Amazonian languages and cultures in general.


Should certain negative results cause music theory to abandon its dependence on perception studies for the corroboration of its key principles? Recent experiments in music perception that have failed to confirm certain important principles of music theory are reviewed from the perspective of musical communities. A musical community is defined to be those listeners for whom a given musical perception is real and useful. It is argued that (1) the significance of experimental results should be interpreted not only according to traditional criteria of statistical significance but also according to the status of relevant musical communities; (2) a perceptual object that is real for only a small minority of listeners may yet be deemed significant if that minority performs some crucial activity in the musical culture; (3) important perceptual objects can be explicitly taught by advanced musical communities; (4) although this perspective calls into question the objectivity of theoretical principles, music theory must continue to incorporate the results of experiments in music perception.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) include large-scale sensor nodes that are densely distributed over a geographical region that is completely randomized for monitoring, identifying, and analyzing physical events. The crucial challenge in wireless sensor networks is the very high dependence of the sensor nodes on limited battery power to exchange information wirelessly as well as the non-rechargeable battery of the wireless sensor nodes, which makes the management and monitoring of these nodes in terms of abnormal changes very difficult. These anomalies appear under faults, including hardware, software, anomalies, and attacks by raiders, all of which affect the comprehensiveness of the data collected by wireless sensor networks. Hence, a crucial contraption should be taken to detect the early faults in the network, despite the limitations of the sensor nodes. Machine learning methods include solutions that can be used to detect the sensor node faults in the network. The purpose of this study is to use several classification methods to compute the fault detection accuracy with different densities under two scenarios in regions of interest such as MB-FLEACH, one-class support vector machine (SVM), fuzzy one-class, or a combination of SVM and FCS-MBFLEACH methods. It should be noted that in the study so far, no super cluster head (SCH) selection has been performed to detect node faults in the network. The simulation outcomes demonstrate that the FCS-MBFLEACH method has the best performance in terms of the accuracy of fault detection, false-positive rate (FPR), average remaining energy, and network lifetime compared to other classification methods.


Objective To evaluate how often sample size calculations and methods of statistical analysis are pre-specified or changed in randomised trials. Design Retrospective cohort study. Data source Protocols and journal publications of published randomised parallel group trials initially approved in 1994-5 by the scientific-ethics committees for Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, Denmark (n=70). Main outcome measure Proportion of protocols and publications that did not provide key information about sample size calculations and statistical methods; proportion of trials with discrepancies between information presented in the protocol and the publication. Results Only 11/62 trials described existing sample size calculations fully and consistently in both the protocol and the publication. The method of handling protocol deviations was described in 37 protocols and 43 publications. The method of handling missing data was described in 16 protocols and 49 publications. 39/49 protocols and 42/43 publications reported the statistical test used to analyse primary outcome measures. Unacknowledged discrepancies between protocols and publications were found for sample size calculations (18/34 trials), methods of handling protocol deviations (19/43) and missing data (39/49), primary outcome analyses (25/42), subgroup analyses (25/25), and adjusted analyses (23/28). Interim analyses were described in 13 protocols but mentioned in only five corresponding publications. Conclusion When reported in publications, sample size calculations and statistical methods were often explicitly discrepant with the protocol or not pre-specified. Such amendments were rarely acknowledged in the trial publication. The reliability of trial reports cannot be assessed without having access to the full protocols.


The aim of this research is to identify factors affecting girls negative attitudes towards physics and suggests pedagogical approaches that can help secondary physics teachers to engage girls in physics. In this study we used survey method and standardized questionnaire and try to find factors that affect girls negative attitude towards physics study. The sample consists of 47 grade K-12 girls. We try to find possible reasons for their disengagement about physics study. In order to increase girls participation in physics related careers we try to change teachers attitude about girls engagement with physics and equipping teachers with effective pedagogical strategies to address the problem should become one of the top priorities of physics education community. This paper highlighted research literature on the reason for girls' disengagement from physics and suggested research based pedagogies that help teaching to address this problem.


Hocking (2009) identified that a more comprehensive understanding of occupation has to be developed in order to further understand the interdependent relationship between occupation, health and well-being. Entwistle (2009) identified that developing understanding is distinguishable from having factual knowledge of a subject. Understanding is ... being able to provide a convincing explanation and to adapt ideas flexibly for use in varying and in novel contexts ... (Entwistle, 2009, p. 50). Newton (2012) identified that understanding cannot be transmitted rather students have to be enabled to construct their own understanding. This can be supported by ... engaging the learner with the topic in ways that are likely to produce appropriate inferences, order and harmony amongst the mental elements. (Newton, 2012, p. 34). However, there are a number of challenges faced by educators who aim to develop students' understanding. Challenges include occupation's complex and multifaceted nature, the interchangeable use of terminology within professional literature, and definitions focused on what occupations give rather than on what occupation is (Wilcock, 1993 Russell, 2008). This paper presents initial findings of a PhD study focused on a critical investigation of a newly developed 'occupation' teaching tool. The study is informed by a grounded theory approach and uses semi-structured observations to critically investigate the impact of the teaching tool on student learning and development of their understanding. Ethical approval was sought and gained from one U.K. HEI for this element of the study. Initial findings indicate the use of the teaching tool positively facilitates development of students' understanding of the concept of occupation by providing a physical model of the concept. Use of a physical tool provides visual identification of the multiple dimensions of occupation and assists students in constructing an understanding of the complex dynamic nature of occupation.


Two studies examined the association of particular sentiments and political identities with Jewish-Israeli students' responses to a generic plan to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and to narrower proposals for cooperative undertakings. Three composites—hatred/anger, compassion/empathy (reverse-coded), and guilt/shame (reverse-coded), and also a global composite combining these three sets of sentiments, were generally associated with negative responses to those plans and negative attributions about the wisdom and patriotism of supporters of those plans. Most of the associations between the global sentiments composite and the relevant responses continued to be statistically significant even after controlling for participants' political identity. The interaction between the relevant sentiments and the putative authorship of one of the proposals was also investigated. Issues of generalizability, replicability, robustness, and of the relevance of mediational analysis, as well as implications for conflict resolution and potential directions for future research are addressed in a concluding discussion.


The flight emission calculator quantifies the direct and indirect CO2-equivalent emissions per passenger for a given flight distance. The estimated emissions represent an average value for the distance between a given pair of origin and destination airports. The quantification is based on the most recent international statistics on passenger and cargo loads and aircraft type usage. The estimated emissions per passenger represent the amount of CO2 equivalents to be reduced in myclimate carbon offset projects.


Implementation intentions, 'if-then' plans where 'if's are contextual cues and 'then's are specific goal-related behaviours, hold much promise as an effective behaviour change technique to support habit formation. Nevertheless, they have been underused in digital behaviour change interventions. To address this gap, we outline a novel design of an implementation intention intervention that exploits the context-aware functionality of smartphones to extend the scope of these goal constructs. The results of a probe study and qualitative data from an elicitation survey are presented, from which we derive a set of key design recommendations and pointers for future research.


Sport-talk radio has been recognized, along with other forms of sports media, as a masculine space where women's value as athletes and fans is diminished. Little is known, however, about the gendered dynamics of sport-talk-radio production. This study used a survey of programming directors from across the United States to explore issues around the employment of women and coverage of women's sport by local stations. Results suggest that many stations do not employ any women, although more than half do. Still, leadership positions belong primarily to men. Programming directors see little value in women's sport for their listeners and make decisions that reinforce their vision of an audience that also sees little value in women's sport. Using a feminist lens, the authors speculate on the impact that women in positions of power could have on programming if their representation moved beyond token status, while acknowledging the realities of the sport-media workplace.


'Extraordinary Undercurrents: Australian Cinema, Genre and the Everyday' investigates how the critical uptake of genre-based cinema has been incorporated into the cultural and industrial rubric of Australian national cinema. The thesis offers, in part, a revaluation of theoretically under-emphasized texts (as well as texts that have been the subject of much higher levels of scrutiny), in order to establish recurrent threads within Australian cinema. In doing this, the thesis offers new and original knowledge in the form of developing a perspective for a revised critical and theoretical analysis of genre cinema within Australian cinema, challenging the presumption of the kinds of texts that can be seen as articulating the nation. The groups of films examined herein form nodes through which a network of important and divergent ideas about nation, national identity and social organization come together in the form of narrative and thematic undercurrents.

These (generally malevolent) undercurrents are articulated in the filmic representation of a range of conventional personal, social and cultural dichotomies, and of particular interest are the events, characters and narratives in which the everyday is confronted by the abstract, abject and uncanny. The undercurrents I identify are shown as the textual sites in which transgression - both inside and outside the frame - and intertextuality are collocated, representing the convergence of material which simultaneously operates outside of genres, while reinforcing textual similarity. The undercurrents I identify provide a theoretical direction in analysing interaction between national cinema, culture and identity.


The current structure of the European securities market is in need of radical change. Developed in such a way that it reflects different national needs and preferences, the securities market seems ill-adapted to face the needs of a truly European capital market. The purpose of the present paper is to provide an overview of the securities settlement industry in Europe, to compare the cost structure of the different bodies and to discuss further liberalisation.


Not solitude and solidarity, not solitude or solidarity, but solitude-solidarity will be the new adventure chanted by new poets. (Leo Bronstein, 1953) In the following pages I will present a reading of the intellectual lives of two cognitive scientists, a Singaporean-born, Chinese-American, Lan Gen-Bah (who in recent years has often presented herself simply by the initials LGB), and her mother, the late Chiang Mo-Jo. It is my hope that these personal topographies may reveal certain performative tendencies embedded in the 'cultures of science'.


Background: Dementia is highly prevalent in older age, accounts for a significant proportion of age-related disability, and is one of the most expensive disorders affecting older Australians. T2DM affects about 85% of all people with diabetes and occurs more commonly in older age. T2DM increases the risk of vascular dementia and Alzheimer's dementia (AD) although there may be substantial overlap of the two pathologies. The underlying pathways between T2DM and dementia may involve neurodegeneration, vascular disease, or both, with several common intermediary mechanisms. Aims & methods: The broad aim of this thesis was to study the disease pathways that underlie the association between T2DM and dementia. The majority of the research presented was conducted within the Cognition and Type 2 Diabetes in Older Tasmanians (CDOT) study. A further study was conducted in a second sample, derived from the United States' Alzheimer's disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Results: The main novel results of my thesis are summarised below: 1. Brain atrophy is a key mediator of T2DM-related cognitive impairment and the regional distribution of brain atrophy seen in T2DM appears similar to that seen in early AD. 2. Tissue advanced glycation is associated with brain atrophy in T2DM (and in those without T2DM) and may partially mediate the association between T2DM and brain atrophy. 3. T2DM is associated with excess production of CSF phosphorylated tau, and this partially mediates the association between T2DM and reduced cortical thickness, providing the first in-vivo evidence mechanistically linking T2DM with neurodegenerative AD-type pathology. 4. Retinal vascular architecture and retinopathy (subclinical markers of small cerebral vessel disease) were not associated with MRI biomarkers of T2DM-related brain disease, raising speculation about the relative importance of vascular pathways leading to brain disease in people with T2DM receiving good glycaemic and vascular risk control. Conclusions: Brain atrophy is a key mediator of diabetes-related cognitive impairment and mechanisms similar to that seen in AD may play a role in T2DM-related cognitive impairment. These findings do not exclude the possibility that cerebrovascular disease or other non-AD-type processes contribute to T2DM-related cognitive impairment. A greater understanding of the mechanisms linking T2DM and dementia may facilitate development of new avenues for treatment of dementia.


Partnerships and participation seem to be the order of the day. Yet, for many community organisations, this way of ordering the social policy space is contradictory, creating practice tensions that increase the complexity of local service systems. Such changes impact community organisations in a politics that needs to be made visible if they are to be able to act in the interests of their members and service users. We therefore outline the social policy space currently constituted by four major discourses: neo-liberalism, managerialism, new paternalism and network governance as they intersect and interact chaotically, reshaping participation and partnerships between government, community service organisations and local communities. We then examine how policy as a technology or set of mechanisms is discursively creating contradictions and practice tensions within which community organisations engage for social justice.


In the UK, the Environmental Protection Act requires land to be determined as contaminated if it contains concentrations of substances such that there is significant risk of significant harm to certain defined receptors. A key step in assessing the possibility of significant harm is the comparison of measured soil concentrations of potentially harmful substances with appropriate assessment levels considered to represent tolerable levels of risk. Guidance on making the comparison using statistical techniques was issued in 2008 by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) and Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE) (the CL:AIRE–CIEH method). When making decisions on the basis of a finite number of measurements from a very large amount of soil, there is always the possibility of error. It has become apparent that the CL:AIRE–CIEH approach does not necessarily control the likelihood of determining that land is not contaminated when in fact it is contaminated, and this is more likely when using the Chebyshev test. Although there are methods to control such likelihood, there is no clear basis for the necessary specifications. The difficulties can be obviated by making a determination of contamination at 50% probability, which is consistent with the statutory guidance. Alternatively, a different approach may be taken to decision-making.


Biofuels and other forms of bioenergy have received increased attention in recent times: They have partly been acclaimed as an instrument to contribute to rural development, energy security and to fight global warming but have been increasingly come under attack for their potential to contribute to rising food prices. It has thus become clear that bioenergy cannot be evaluated independently of the rest of the economy and that national and international feedback effects are important. In this paper we describe how the CGE model DART is extended to include first-generation biofuel production technologies. DART can now be used to assess the efficiency of combined climate and bioenergy policies. As a first example the effects of a 10% biofuel target in the EU are analyzed. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


Artemia franciscana was fed for seven days with 11.7, 23.4 and 46.8 mg l-1. d-1 (ash-free dry weight) of Nannochloropsis oculata and Chlorella capsulata, to evaluate the food value of these two microalgae. Survival was similar, close to or greater than 90% in all cases, but there were significant differences in growth beginning on the third day. The final ash-free dry weight of A. franciscana fed with N. oculata was seven times greater than with C. capsulata and the respective developmental stages were between instar 14 and 16 and from 8 to 9. Food ingestion was similar with the two diets, but the mean gross growth efficiencies were 80% with N. oculata and 7% with C. capsulata, indicating a poor assimilation of C. capsulata. Therefore, C. capsulata cannot be considered as a suitable diet for A. franciscana, because the amount of energy obtained is not sufficient to sustain normal growth.International Journal of Life Sciences 10 (1) : 2016; 35-39


This article traces the process by which people in the United States embraced the Continental Divide as a geographic feature of North America in the late 1860s. Building on recent work in environmental history, Civil War memory, geography, and the history of nationalism, the essay explains how accurate mapping alone did not reveal the Continental Divide. Instead, the divide's conceptualization also depended on Americans' history of thinking about the Rockies as a political boundary, southern secession, and the building of the transcontinental railroad. Many Americans found in that railroad's construction solace for a nation recovering from the Civil War, and they cast themselves as conquering nature to unite the nation. Railroad boosters and passengers consecrated the Continental Divide as a symbol of national unity and an icon of obstacles overcome. In a nation trying to overcome its sectional division between North and South, aspirations for reunification formed a foundation for emphasizing the continent's most prominent feature that separates East and West.


Objectives : Prior studies of US data from the 1990s have shown that economic growth is associated with higher all cause mortality. This paper updates prior findings to more recent data on US infant mortality for blacks and whites. Methods : We analyzed data from 50 US states from 1999 to 2008 using state fixed-effects regression models stratified to identify the racially disparate impact of each state's economic performance on infant mortality, controlling for state policy-related variables, reflecting population,% black, % on TANF, % on Medicaid, and alcohol consumption. Results : Economic recessions are significantly associated with lower post-neonatal mortality for white infants, but not black infants. Each 1% decrement a state's gross state product, would be associated with an approximately 2.3 fewer infant deaths (95% CI: -0.294-4.894) in an average state with 64,000 total births. Results were robust to the inclusion of state trends, national trends, state fixed effects, lagged gross state product, and the inclusion of measures of unemployment and state policy variables. Conclusions : This study in combination with studies from the 1990s reflects growing evidence that economic growth in the US can be harmful to child health. Policy makers need to be informed and mindful about the "side effects" of economic growth on health.


In the past, when people were comparing religions, they tended to focus on the differences between them. That tended to emphasize the distance between religions. More recently, we have come to understand that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--the so-called Abrahamic religious heritage--have common roots and many common elements. Thus, we are nowadays looking also at the similarities and common elements of these religions. Here are a few major ones: 1. Belief about God. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions; they believe that there is only one God. Jews and Muslims greatly stress the oneness and unity of God. The affirmation of the oneness of God by Christians is sometimes misunderstood, because Christians believe that the one God is triune (the Holy Trinity). However, this is not a denial of monotheism but an affirmation of the complexity of the Divine Being. All three faiths believe that this God is the origin and source of all that exists. God cares about the entire creation and desires the well-being of all. God is just and has provided basic rules for our guidance so that we might be good and righteous, according to God's intention. God is also merciful; by God's grace we are given strength to be more like what we ought to be. 2. Understanding Human Beings. The three faiths believe that human beings are the highest creatures on earth. God created us full of mystery, which means we have potential for continuous growth, both as a species and as individuals. We are capable of both good and evil. When we grow in goodness, righteousness, and love, we become more like what God intended human goodness to be. When we abuse our freedom and do harm to other people, ourselves, and the environment, we are going against God's plans, as we become evil-doers. Each person is able, with God's help, to turn away from evil, to repent, and to do good. We owe God our devotion, glorification, and obedience. 3. The Future. No matter how difficult the past and present may be, the three religions are hopeful about the future. Evil and suffering cannot ultimately prevail God has provided a condition (or state of being) for which our three religions have different names, but we agree on the term "Paradise." This future will bring about God's unchallenged rule and unconditional bliss for all who live with God. 4. Divine-Human Encounter. The three Abrahamic religions believe that God and human beings can and should communicate with each other. God communicates to people by revelation, one of the most important of which is revelation through prophets. Their revelations are recorded in the Holy Scriptures of each religion. While the Holy Scriptures of the three religions are not identical, the younger two religions acknowledge God's truth as found in their predecessors, and they encourage respect for all the Holy Books. While each of the three religions does not focus on merely one set of writings, the key scripture of Judaism is the Torah; the key scripture of Christianity is the Bible, which consists of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament; and the key scripture of Islam is the Qur'an. It is the duty of people to read or listen to God's Holy Writings and to respond with prayer, praise, and an appropriate acceptance of God's commandments for how we live. 5. God's Guidance. God did not leave us without guidelines for behavior but provided us with sound basic rules to live by, as well as a rational mind to learn how and when to apply those rules to our everyday life. All three religions, for example, abhor murder, the arbitrary killing of innocent people. Similarly, God wants us to tell the truth and not to take from others what rightfully belongs to them. We are to respect the dignity of every person and to help especially those who are not capable of helping themselves, such as widows, orphans, and the poor. …


In this paper we review mobile location-based games for learning. These games are played in physical space, but at the same time, they are supported by actions and events in an interconnected virtual space. Learning in these games is related to issues like the narrative structure, space and game rules and content that define the virtual game space. First, we introduce the theoretical and empirical considerations of mobile location based games, and then we discuss an analytical framework of their main characteristics through typical examples. In particular, we focus on their narrative structure, the interaction modes that they afford, their use of physical space as prop for action, the way this is linked to virtual space and the possible learning impact the game activities have. Finally we conclude with an outline of future trends and possibilities that these kinds of playful activities can have on learning, especially outside school, like in environmental studies and visits in museums and other sites of cultural and historical value.


In this monograph, the impact of cooperation on the performance of wireless cellular systems is studied from an information-theoretic standpoint, focusing on simple formulations typically referred to as Wynertype models. Following ongoing research and standardization efforts, the text covers two main classes of cooperation strategies. The first class is cooperation at the base station (BS) level, which is also known as Multi-Cell Processing (MCP), network Multiple-Input MultipleOutput (MIMO), or Coordinated Multi-Point transmission/reception (CoMP). With MCP, cooperative decoding, for the uplink, or encoding, for the downlink, is enabled at the BSs. MCP is made possible by the presence of an architecture of, typically wired, backhaul links connecting individual BSs to a central processor (CP) or to one another. The second class of cooperative strategies allows cooperation in the form of relaying for conveying data between Mobile Stations (MSs) and BSs in either the uplink or the downlink. Relaying can be enabled by two possible architectures. A first option is to deploy dedicated Relay Stations (RSs) that are tasked with forwarding uplink or downlink traffic. The second option is for the MSs to act as RSs for other MSs. MCP is first studied under ideal conditions on the backhaul links, namely by assuming that all BSs are connected to a CP with unlimitedcapacity links. Both Gaussian (nonfading) and flat-fading channels are analyzed, for the uplink and the downlink, and analytical insights are drawn into the performance advantages of MCP in different relevant operating regimes. Performance comparison is performed with standard Single-Cell Processing (SCP) techniques, whereby each BS decodes, in the uplink, or encodes, in the downlink, independently, as implemented with different spatial reuse factors. Then, practical constraints on the backhaul architecture enabling MCP are introduced. Specifically, three common settings are studied. In the first, all the BSs are connected to a CP via finite-capacity links. In the second, only BSs in adjacent cells are connected via (finite-capacity) backhaul links. In the third, only a subset of BSs is connected to a CP for joint encoding/decoding (clustered cooperation). Achievable rates for the three settings are studied and compared for both the uplink and the downlink. The performance advantages of relaying are analyzed for cellular systems with dedicated RSs and with cooperative MSs. Different techniques are reviewed that require varying degrees of information about system parameters at the MSs, RSs, and BSs. Performance is investigated with both MCP and SCP, revealing a profound interplay between cooperation at the BS level and relaying. Finally, various open problems are pointed out.


Is there an NP function that, when given a satisfiable formula as input, outputs one satisfying assignment uniquely? That is, can a nondeterministic function cull just one satisfying assignment from a possibly exponentially large collection of assignments? We show that if there is such a nondeterministic function, then the polynomial hierarchy collapses to $\zppnp$ (and thus, in particular, to $\npnp$). As the existence of such a function is known to be equivalent to the statement ``every NP function has an NP refinement with unique outputs," our result provides the strongest evidence yet that NP functions cannot be refined. We prove our result via a result of independent interest. We say that a set $A$ is NPSV-selective (NPMV-selective) if there is a 2-ary partial NP function with unique values (a 2-ary partial NP function) that decides which of its inputs (if any) is ``more likely'' to belong to $A$; this is a nondeterministic analog of the recursion-theoretic notion of the semi-recursive sets and the extant complexity-theoretic notion of P-selectivity. Our hierarchy collapse result follows by combining %%foo the easy observation that every set in NP is NPMV-selective with the following result: If $A \in \np$ is NPSV-selective, then $A \in (\np\cap\conp)/\poly$. Relatedly, we prove that if $A \in \np$ is NPSV-selective, then $A$ is Low$_2$. We prove that the polynomial hierarchy collapses even further, namely to NP, if all coNP sets are NPMV-selective. This follows from a more general result we prove: Every self-reducible NPMV-selective set is in NP\@.


In this paper we examine a technique by which fault tolerance can be embedded into a feedforward network leading to a network tolerant to the loss of a node and its associated weights. The fault tolerance problem for a feedforward network is formulated as a constrained minimax optimization problem. Two different methods are used to solve it. In the first method, the constrained minimax optimization problem is converted to a sequence of unconstrained least-squares optimization problems, whose solutions converge to the solution of the original minimax problem. An efficient gradient-based minimization technique, specially tailored for nonlinear least-squares optimization, is then applied to perform the unconstrained minimization at each step of the sequence. Several modifications are made to the basic algorithm to improve its speed of convergence. In the second method a different approach is used to convert the problem to a single unconstrained minimization problem whose solution very nearly equals that of the original minimax problem. Networks synthesized using these methods, though not always fault tolerant, exhibit an acceptable degree of partial fault tolerance.


The following is a complete flowchart for Erie problems. Although it differs from past efforts in many respects, perhaps the most important difference is that it accommodates all the jurisdictional contexts in which Erie problems can arise in federal court, not just diversity jurisdiction. My hope is that this flowchart will help demystify Erie, by showing that Erie problems are, by and large, standard choice-of-law problems, much like those faced by state courts.


Background: The history of reading, writing, and the dissemination of technology is one of epochal change, and each transition – indeed the history of the book – is marked by hybridity. In the mature years of print, publishers, librarians, and scholars had clearly defined and segregated roles. In the digital realm, the boundaries have broken down. Just now we have hybridity of form and of roles in the implementation of new reading environments. Analysis: This article provides: 1) an overview of e-reading environments; 2) a survey of the Dynamic Table of Contexts interface; and 3) a report on the hybrid production process of a particular online text, Regenerations. Conclusion and implications: Regenerations could only have emerged from a collaboration among a digital infrastructure project, research project, university press, and digital humanities tool suite.


Nowadays, scientists and practitioners unify modern regional development under the term "smart," what brings technologies and creation of a new knowledge in a front of economic activities. Small municipalities as participants of the process have been studied seldom. Moreover, a huge part of the literature on smart development mostly pays attention to such key elements, which have limited capabilities in small municipalities (e.g. development of high technologies, patent activities, sustainability etc.). Thus, involvement of small municipalities into the process of smart development may be slowed-up, due to their insufficient knowledge and experience. This paper offers a literature review on scientific findings and practical guides about smart development with aim to show how small municipalities could develop "smartly" in bigger extent. The research results highlight scientifically proved cornerstones of smart development and provide analysis of successful experience how small municipalities can apply it in a practice.


HRISTOVA, L., E. DAMYANOVA, Z. DOICHINOVA and V. KAPCHINA-TOTEVA, 2013. Effect of 6-benzylaminopurine on micropropagation of Artemisia chamaemelifolia Vill. (Asteraceae). Bulg. J. Agri. Sci., Supplement 2, 19: 57–60 The infl uence of different concentrations (0.1–1.0 mg.L –1 ) of the cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) on the in vitro propagation of the endangered aromatic plant Artemisia chamaemelifolia Vill. (Asteraceae) was examined. The increase of concentration stimulated the formation of shoots but shortened their length. The middle concentrations of 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 mg.L -1 BA gave the highest number of shoots but they also appeared to promote negative effects like vitrifi cation and necrosis more than the other variants. Although there was no clear trend, all variants had higher fresh weight and formed much more primary callus than the control explants grown on Murashige & Skoog medium with Gambourg vitamins. Over 50 % of the explants gave rise to more than 10 new shoots per explant at concentrations of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.9 mg.L –1 BA. All concentrations of BA suppressed root formation and manifested different extent of vitrifi cation. This is the fi rst report on the infl uence of BA on the micropropagation and growth of Artemisia chamaemelifolia Vill. The results obtained are standpoint for further biotechnological application for biomass and valuable metabolite production.


Background The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) provides an incentive for practices to establish a cancer register and conduct a review with cancer patients within 6 months of diagnosis, but implementation is unknown. Aim To describe: (1) implementation of the QOF cancer care review; (2) patients' experiences of primary care over the first 3 years following a cancer diagnosis; (3) patients' views on optimal care; and (4) the views of primary care professionals regarding their cancer care. Design of study Qualitative study using thematic analysis and a framework approach. Setting Six general practices in the Thames Valley area. Method Semi-structured interviews with cancer patients and focus groups with primary care teams. Results Thirty-eight adults with 12 different cancer types were interviewed. Seventy-one primary care team members took part in focus groups. Most cancer care reviews are conducted opportunistically. Thirty-five patients had had a review; only two could recall this. Patients saw acknowledgement of their diagnosis and provision of general support as important and not always adequately provided. An active approach and specific review appointment would legitimise the raising of concerns. Primary care teams considered cancer care to be part of their role. GPs emphasised the importance of being able to respond to individual patients' needs and closer links with secondary care to facilitate a more involved role. Conclusion Patients and primary care teams believe primary care has an important role to play in cancer care. Cancer care reviews in their current format are not helpful, with considerable scope for improving practice in this area. An invitation to attend a specific appointment at the end of active treatment may aid transition from secondary care and improve satisfaction with follow-up in primary care.


Aims. The main goal of this work is to measure rotation periods of the M-type dwarf stars being observed by the CARMENES exoplanet survey to help distinguish radial-velocity signals produced by magnetic activity from those produced by exoplanets. Rotation periods are also fundamental for a detailed study of the relation between activity and rotation in late-type stars.
Methods. We look for significant periodic signals in 622 photometric time series of 337 bright, nearby M dwarfs obtained by long-time baseline, automated surveys (MEarth, ASAS, SuperWASP, NSVS, Catalina, ASAS-SN, K2, and HATNet) and for 20 stars which we obtained with four 0.2–0.8 m telescopes at high geographical latitudes.
Results. We present 142 rotation periods (73 new) from 0.12 d to 133 d and ten long-term activity cycles (six new) from 3.0 a to 11.5 a. We compare our determinations with those in the existing literature; we investigate the distribution of Prot in the CARMENES input catalogue, the amplitude of photometric variability, and their relation to v sini and pEW(Hα); and we identify three very active stars with new rotation periods between 0.34 d and 23.6 d.


Ginning factories discharge large amounts of cotton dust, which leads to decreased pulmonary function in the exposed subjects. An attempt was made to study the pulmonary functions of women laborers employed in ginning factory located in Tirupur, a textile based city in Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu, India. The women were subjected to spirometric analysis and chest X-ray examinations. Occupational lung disorders that included byssinosis, chronic bronchitis and occupational asthma were studied in these women by assessing their pulmonary function tests, clinical symptoms, age and duration of exposure to cotton dust. Standard normal distribution, Chi-square analysis and multiple correlation analysis were the statistical methods applied in this study. Significant occupational acute and chronic pulmonary changes were observed in these women. Both age and duration of exposure together had a significant impact on their pulmonary function as per the results of the multiple correlation statistical analysis. There was a significant distribution of women with pulmonary impairment in all the sections of the ginning factory. Some recommendations were also suggested for controlling the occupational lung diseases caused by cotton dust.


The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of grade level and gender on the amount of time early adolescents spent on selected compositional processes (exploration, repetition, development, and silence). This study serves as an exte nsion of the Kratus (1989) study that examined the compositional processes used by 7, 9, and 11-year-olds. For this study, 30 students in grades 6, 7, and 8 were given 10 minutes to compose a piece of music on an electronic keyboard. Following the composition time, students were asked to play their compositions two times in a row. The time spent on the compositional processes of exploration, development, repetition, and silence was analyzed quantitatively by the researcher a nd two independent judges. Analysis showed no significant relationships between grade lev el and the use of compositional processes. No gender differences were found, and all students in grades 6-8 were able create a composition to some degree. Although no significant main effects were observed, analysis of the mean time spent on the process of development indicates that a trend may exist in which older students spend more time developing ideas than younger students.


Microenvironmental expansion of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is induced by treatment with parathyroid hormone (PTH) or activation of the PTH receptor (PTH1R) in osteoblastic cells; however, the osteoblastic subset mediating this action of PTH is unknown. Osteocytes are terminally differentiated osteoblasts embedded in mineralized bone matrix but are connected with the BM. Activation of PTH1R in osteocytes increases osteoblastic number and bone mass. To establish whether osteocyte-mediated PTH1R signaling expands HSCs, we studied mice expressing a constitutively active PTH1R in osteocytes (TG mice). Osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and trabecular bone were increased in TG mice without changes in BM phenotypic HSCs or HSC function. TG mice had progressively increased trabecular bone but decreased HSC function. In severely affected TG mice, phenotypic HSCs were decreased in the BM but increased in the spleen. TG osteocytes had no increase in signals associated with microenvironmental HSC support, and the spindle-shaped osteoblastic cells that increased with PTH treatment were not present in TG bones. These findings demonstrate that activation of PTH1R signaling in osteocytes does not expand BM HSCs, which are instead decreased in TG mice. Therefore, osteocytes do not mediate the HSC expansion induced by PTH1R signaling. Further, osteoblastic expansion is not sufficient to increase HSCs.


Quasi-experimental research designs, like experimental designs, test causal hypotheses. Quasi-experimental designs identify a comparison group that is as similar as possible to the intervention group in terms of baseline (pre-intervention) characteristics. The comparison group captures what would have been the outcomes if the programme/policy had not been implemented (i.e., the counterfactual). The key difference between an experimental and quasi-experimental design is that the latter lacks random assignment.


Within the framework of 3D resistive magnetohydrodynamic, we simulate the formation of a plasma jet with the morphology, upward velocity up to 130 km s−1, and time-scale formation between 60 and 90 s after beginning of simulation, similar to those expected for type II spicules. Initial results of this simulation were published in paper by, e.g. Gonzalez-Aviles et al. (2018), and present paper is devoted to the analysis of transverse displacements and rotational-type motion of the jet. Our results suggest that 3D magnetic reconnection may be responsible for the formation of the jet in paper by Gonzalez-Aviles et al. (2018). In this paper, by calculating times series of the velocity components vx and vy in different points near to the jet for various heights we find transverse oscillations in agreement with spicule observations. We also obtain a time-distance plot of the temperature in a cross-cut at the plane x = 0.1 Mm and find significant transverse displacements of the jet. By analysing temperature isosurfaces of 104 K with the distribution of vx, we find that if the line-of-sight (LOS) is approximately perpendicular to the jet axis then there is both motion towards and away from the observer across the width of the jet. This red–blue shift pattern of the jet is caused by rotational motion, initially clockwise and anti-clockwise afterwards, which could be interpreted as torsional motion and may generate torsional Alfven waves in the corona region. From a nearly vertical perspective of the jet the LOS velocity component shows a central blue-shift region surrounded by red-shifted plasma.


The TNFR family member OX40 (CD134) is critical for optimal clonal expansion and survival of T cells. However, the intracellular targets of OX40 in CD8 T cells are not fully understood. Here we show that A1, a Bcl-2 family protein, is regulated by OX40 in effector CD8 T cells. In contrast to wild-type T cells, OX40-deficient CD8 T cells failed to maintain A1 expression driven by antigen. Conversely, enforced OX40 stimulation promoted A1 expression. In both situations, the expression of A1 directly correlated with CD8 T cell survival. In addition, exogenous expression of A1 in OX40-deficient CD8 T cells reversed their survival defect in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, forced expression of A1 in CD8 T cells from OX40-deficient mice restored the ability of these T cells to suppress tumor growth in a murine model. These results indicate that OX40 signals regulate CD8 T cell survival at least in part through maintaining expression of the anti-apoptotic molecule A1, and provide new insight into the mechanism by which OX40 may impact anti-tumor immunity.


Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided to uphold the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) in 2003, public libraries accepting federal E-rate funds have been required to install technology protection measures on computers with Internet access. Many libraries use Internet filters to fulfill this requirement. Using research by Nancy Willard, which disclosed affiliations between Internet filtering companies and religious organizations, it was found that at least 15.9% of Indiana public libraries used filters with connections to conservative religious groups in 2005. Ethical implications of this research are discussed and recommendations for balancing First Amendment rights with a financial need for CIPA compliance are included.


In A Forgetful Nation , the renowned postcolonialism scholar Ali Behdad turns his attention to the United States. Offering a timely critique of immigration and nationalism, Behdad takes on an idea central to American national mythology: that the United States is "a nation of immigrants," welcoming and generous to foreigners. He argues that Americans' treatment of immigrants and foreigners has long fluctuated between hospitality and hostility, and that this deep-seated ambivalence is fundamental to the construction of national identity. Building on the insights of Freud, Nietzsche, Foucault, and Derrida, he develops a theory of the historical amnesia that enables the United States to disavow a past and present built on the exclusion of others.

Behdad shows how political, cultural, and legal texts have articulated American anxiety about immigration from the Federalist period to the present day. He reads texts both well-known—J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer , Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America , and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass —and lesser-known—such as the writings of nineteenth-century nativists and of public health officials at Ellis Island. In the process, he highlights what is obscured by narratives and texts celebrating the United States as an open-armed haven for everyone: the country's violent beginnings, including its conquest of Native Americans, brutal exploitation of enslaved Africans, and colonialist annexation of French and Mexican territories; a recurring and fierce strand of nativism; the need for a docile labor force; and the harsh discipline meted out to immigrant "aliens" today, particularly along the Mexican border.


Lately, built-in self-test (BIST) has been of great importance in the manufacture of very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits. Most BIST schemes compress the test response into a compact signature using space and/or time compaction. A fundamental problem associated with response compaction is error masking or aliasing. In this paper, an alternative zero-aliasing test response evaluation scheme for BIST is presented. The main conceptual ingredient utilized to build the proposed scheme is the application of the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm (BMA). The BMA provides a general solution for synthesizing the shortest linear feedback shift register (LFSR) capable of generating a given finite sequence. Basically, on the BIST design stage and considering the fault-free test response sequence, the BMA is used to synthesize an LFSR capable of generating this sequence in an economical way. The BIST testing stage consists in comparing the obtained test response sequence of the circuit under test (CUT) with the fault-free test response sequence generated by the LFSR previously designed. This way, a testing of the CUT can be made. It is observed that there is no aliasing using the proposed scheme. The key to make this scheme attractive is to keep the LFSR length as small as possible. Based on it, two derived schemes, called Simple-LFSR and Multi-LFSR, are shown to try to solve this problem. Experimental results are shown for some ISCAS85 benchmarks.


The second edition of the Twenty First Century Science resources has been developed in partnership with OCR, the University of York Science Education Group and the Nuffield Foundation. They have been fully updated to match the new 2011 specifications. The second edition builds on the success of this hugely popular suite of resources. With extensive feedback from schools and teachers using the resources, the new suite provides ideal support for the 2011 specifications. There is now more help with exam preparation and assessment throughout the course and more differentiation to aid learning for all abilities. There is greater customisability using the latest digital support and it's packed with new scientific contexts reflecting the latest research and ideas. The GCSE Separate Sciences Workbook can be used to help consolidate students' learning through engaging activities. It's flexible as it can be used both at home and in the classroom, and is packed with activities that support the Student Book. The content is engaging and lively, ensuring up-to-date science is blended with engaging topic themes.


This thesis conducts a conceptual analysis of the proportionality of non-consensual adoptions in England and Wales. It does so by examining the English legislation and case law on adoption and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). This thesis considers and applies rights from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to determine when non-consensual adoption may be regarded as a necessary and proportionate interference with children's and parents' rights.
The proportionality principle requires the domestic courts and the ECtHR to strike a balance between the various rights and interests of children and parents while taking into account children's welfare. The final strand of the proportionality principle identifies whether the State measure is the least restrictive measure available to satisfy the State's objective. This strand is not applied in all non-consensual adoption cases heard by the domestic courts or the ECtHR. However, this thesis argues it is essential to identify whether less restrictive alternatives exist as these measures may prove equally effective in protecting children's welfare when compared with adoption, and may also protect children's and parents' rights.
This thesis makes a conceptual contribution to the academic scholarship on non-consensual adoption law by identifying how the UNCRC, the ECHR, the best interests principle and ECtHR jurisprudence can be applied so as to provide optimal protection for children's and parents' rights in adoption cases. This thesis concludes that judicial reasoning in the courts should routinely consider UNCRC rights and the effectiveness of less restrictive alternatives. Furthermore, it argues that there is a positive obligation under ECHR Article 8 to provide State assistance in circumstances where children can safely be raised by their parents, which is not yet recognised in English case law.


Vascular disease is a major source of morbidity and mortality in Western society, with stroke and heart attacks accounting for about one third of deaths in North America. The carotid artery, and in particular the carotid bifurcation, is recognized as a common source of stroke-causing emboli that travel up into the brain, thereby blocking local blood flow. This has led to an emphasis on diagnostic techniques for assessing stroke risk due to carotid artery disease. Doppler ultrasound (DUS) techniques, in particular, uniquely enable visualization of flow patterns and characterization of various flow parameters. To improve our understanding of how blood-flow velocity patterns are modified as a result of disease in the carotid artery, basic research is typically carried out in physiologically realistic vascular models. In this paper, we review the progress that has been made in the development of ultrasound-compatible vascular models, as well as demonstrate the capabilities of DUS to quantify velocity patterns, turbulence, and recirculation. Ultrasound-compatible flow systems have been developed to mimic the geometry and hemodynamics of the carotid artery, under normal conditions and at various stages of narrowing due to atherosclerosis. These in vitro systems provide a controlled environment for developing new diagnostic techniques and for investigating and characterizing blood flow using DUS. Example data are shown from vessels with both eccentric and concentric stenoses, and in stenosed vessels that have been altered by the introduction of medical devices (stents) or additional roughness (ulceration). These results demonstrate the capacity for conventional clinical Doppler ultrasound devices to provide precise measurements of blood velocity from small sample volumes within a vessel, in order to build up detailed flow maps near and downstream of vascular disease or interventional device.


This paper describes the successful national program initiated by the South African government to produce disease-free African buffalo so as to ensure the sustainability of this species due to threats from diseases. Buffalo are known carriers of foot-and-mouth disease, bovine tuberculosis, Corridor disease and brucellosis. A long-term program involving multiphase testing and a breeding scheme for buffalo is described where, after 10 years, a sustainable number of buffalo herds are now available that are free of these four diseases. A large portion of the success was attributable to the use of dairy cows as foster parents with the five-stage quarantine process proving highly effective in maintaining the "disease-free" status of both the calves and the foster cows. The projects proved the successfulness of breeding with African buffalo in a commercial system that was unique to African buffalo and maintained the "wildness" of the animals so that they could effectively be released back into the wild with minimal, if any, behavioral problems.


Abstract Surgical repair of fractures and luxations of the cranial cervical vertebrae can be complicated by vertebral venous plexus hemorrhage following fracture fragment manipulation and realignment. Severe hemorrhage is potentially life threatening and may preclude definitive surgical fixation if it cannot be acceptably controlled and interferes with fixation technique. This report describes this scenario and a surgical strategy in two dogs with fractures of the second cervical vertebra. The surgical technique to limit hemorrhage included the insertion of the pins into the vertebrae, placement of collagen fleece, and autogenous cancellous bone graft over the fracture site, and while the polymethylmethacrylate cement was still within the liquid phase, axial traction was employed. The long-term outcome was considered excellent with both dogs able to ambulate unassisted and free from signs of pain. Although it is uncommon, severe vertebral venous plexus hemorrhage can occur during cervical vertebrae fracture repair. This technique provides a means to achieve internal fixation while concurrently limiting hemorrhage.


Induced abortion may be desired during a normal or abnormal pregnancy. The methods of induced abortion differ between species mainly because of different sources for progesterone production during pregnancy between species and within a species according to different stages of gestation. In cows and buffaloes, pregnancy can be effectively terminated from 5 to 150 days by administration of luteolytic doses of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PG). From 150 days onwards and till term bovine and bubaline pregnancies can be safely terminated by administration of a combination of PG and dexamethasone. During the last month of pregnancy in these two species, pregnancy can be successfully terminated by using either a PG or dexamethasone. In goats pregnancy can be terminated during the entire gestation by administration of luteolytic doses of prostaglandins. In sheep pregnancies up to 55 days can be terminated by administration of 100 µg cloprostenol or 10-12 mg of dinoprost. From day 55 onward the termination of sheep pregnancies requires the administration of single or multiple injections of dexamethasone. Early pregnancy (day 5-34) termination in the mare can be achieved by physical methods or administration of PG. The same treatment is effective in terminating pregnancies between day 35-120 but repeated injections are required and because the endometrial cups continue to exist for a couple of days after pregnancy termination, mares do not return to estrus for prolonged periods. The termination of equine pregnancy after 4 months is difficult till term. The results of administration of PG or corticosteroids is suboptimal and manual disruption of the fetus after dilation of the cervix with PGE2 creams is more reliable method of pregnancy termination.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to determine objective and subjective quantification of habitual physical activity (HPA) and sedentary time in ambulatory and nonambulatory adults with cerebral palsy (CP).

METHODS
We recruited a clinical sample of adults with CP (N = 42; 21 women; mean (SD) age, 33.5 (12.3) yr; Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) distribution: level I (n = 5), level II (n = 9), level III (n = 10), level IV (n = 11), and level V (n = 7). Objective measures of HPA and sedentary time were obtained by using ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers at both hip and wrist sites. Three previously established cut-point values distinguishing light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were evaluated across GMFCS levels. The concurrent validity of the self-report Physical Activity Recall Assessment for People with Spinal Cord Injury (PARA-SCI) was assessed for LPA and MVPA intensities in GMFCS levels II-V.

RESULTS
Participants showed little reluctance to wearing accelerometers; one participant reported discomfort. Nonambulatory adults (GMFCS levels IV-V) differed from ambulatory adults (GMFCS levels I-III) for recorded activity counts (hip and wrist sites), minutes of MVPA with each cut-point value, and breaks from sedentary time (all P < 0.05). For the same measures, adults in GMFCS level III also differed from GMFCS level I (all P < 0.05). The PARA-SCI correlated significantly with accelerometer-derived minutes of MVPA per day (r = 0.396; P = 0.014) and per hour of monitoring time (r = 0.356; P = 0.027).

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings support the use of accelerometers to objectively measure HPA and sedentary behavior in adults with CP across the severity spectrum, regardless of cut-point implementation. The PARA-SCI is a valid tool to capture subjectively reported patterns of MVPA in adults with CP who are GMFCS levels II-V.


This dissertation critically reviews chilangizo in the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA) and assesses its impact on Chewa society. Christian History has shown that the Christian attitude towards traditional customs and practices surrounding life cycle rituals has ranged from negative and hostile to positive and acceptance, resulting in offering alternative 'Christian' rituals. The issue of chilangizo and chinamwali have been a real pastoral and missiological problem to the Baptist Convention churches because of the churches' failure to understand the meaning of the traditional rites in the light of the mother tongue Scriptures. This study aims at guiding the Church in Malawi and in Africa to engage with more openness with the cultural issues. This should assist BACOMA to thoroughly understand this cultural phenomenon and the meanings associated with all aspects of the rites. Studying the Scriptures to understand how they reinterpret chinamwali and its associated meanings should lead BACOMA churches into an interactive process of discussion, reflection, teaching and action. This study is therefore an attempt to begin this process and make recommendations for BACOMA. After the introductory chapter, the second chapter gives a survey of the 'religious itinerary' of the Chewa pre-Christian life and thought. The third chapter traces the emergence of BACOMA churches within the American Southern Baptists' religious and Western cultural contexts on one hand, and the African context on the other. The fourth chapter gives a phenomenological description and analysis of chinamwali. It also shows the socio-religious significance of chinamwali within the Chewa culture. The fifth chapter surveys the historical context of chilangizo as the Christian response to the traditional rite. It then analyses the Baptist chilangizo liturgy and its contents. The sixth chapter gives the phenomenological description and analysis of chilangizo at the grassroots level. It also assesses its impact and makes recommendations towards an improved rite. In view of the assessment and recommendations made in chapter six, the final chapter allows the Chewa Scriptures to re-interpret the rite and its meanings. It also presents a proposed Christian chinamwali that maintains the traditional ritual frame and dynamism. The proposal leaves room for creativity and improvement by the individual congregations.


Models of the seismic velocity structure of the crust in the seismically active northern Canadian Cordillera remain poorly constrained, despite their importance in the accurate location and characterization of regional earthquakes. On 29 August 2014, a moderate earthquake with magnitude 5.0, which generated high-quality Rayleigh wave data, occurred in the Northwest Territories, Canada, ∼100 km to the east of the Cordilleran Deformation Front. We carefully selected 23 seismic stations that recorded the Rayleigh waves and divided them into 13 groups according to the azimuth angle between the earthquake and the stations; these groups mostly sample the Cordillera. In each group, we measured Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion, which we inverted for one-dimensional shear-wave velocity models of the crust. We thus obtained 13 models that consistently show low seismic velocities with respect to reference models, with a slow upper and lower crust surrounding a relatively fast mid crustal layer. The average of...


Why would a State Government department teach units for a university? The Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia (CALM) has forged a partnership with the University of Notre Dame Australia to deliver a number of tertiary units in environmental management. The 'Ecotourism and Heritage Management' and 'Recreation Planning and Management' units provide education and training for undergraduate students, CALM staff and other professional development students from local government, other government agencies such as Kings Park and Whiteman Park, private businesses and individuals. The units are designed to involve and assist local government in developing community education programmes about, for and in the environment. The Ecotourism and Heritage Management unit established the annual 'Footloose in Freo' activities program in which student guides lead interpretive activities for the general public within the City of Fremantle. In 1998 participants in the Recreation Planning and Management unit prepared designs for recreation facilities within the City of Melville's Piney Lakes Reserve. All participants receive a Certificate of Competency in both of these nationally accredited courses and the students get credits towards their university degrees. In addition to providing practical education for the environment, these units provide students with the opportunity to interact with professionals and vice versa, leading to a healthy exchange of ideas, energy and experience. Interaction with local government and the public enables CALM and the university to contribute to a sense of community with active participation within it by these four sectors of the community. Working together, CALM, the University of Notre Dame Australia, local governments and the community create a synergy where effective environmental education is achieved and which generates hope for the future.


Abstract Psephophorus polygonus Meyer, 1847, the first fossil leatherback turtle to be named, was described on the basis of shell ossicles from the middle Miocene (MN6–7/8?) of Slovakia. The whereabouts of this material is uncertain but a slab on display at the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien is considered the neotype. We rediscovered further type locality ossicles in four European institutions, re-evaluated their gross morphology and described for the first time their microstructure by comparing them with Dermochelys coriacea, the only living dermochelyid turtle. The gross morphology is congruent with that already described for P. polygonus, but with two significant exceptions: the ridged ossicles of P. polygonus may have a distinctly concave ventral surface as well as a tectiform shape in cross-section. They do not develop the external keel typical of many ossicles of D. coriacea. Both ridged and non-ridged ossicles of P. polygonus are characterized by compact diploe structures with an internal cortex consisting of a coarse fibrous meshwork, whereas the proportionately thinner ossicles of D. coriacea tend to lose the internal cortex, and thus their diploe, during ontogeny. The ossicles of both P. polygonus and D. coriacea differ from those of other lineages of amniotes whose carapace is composed of polygonal ossicles or platelets, in having growth centres situated at the plate centres just interior to the external bone surface and not within the cancellous core or closer to the internal compact layer. The new diagnosis of P. polygonus allows us to preliminarily re-evaluate the taxonomy of some of the Psephophorus-like species. Despite some macro- and micromorphological differences, it seems likely that Psephophorus was as cosmopolitan as extant Dermochelys and had a broadly similar ecology, with a possible difference concerning the dive depth.


Unconventional computing is an area of research in which novel materials and paradigms are utilised to implement computation and data storage. This includes attempts to embed computation into biological systems, which could allow the observation and modification of living processes. This thesis explores the storage and computational capabilities of a biocompatible light-sensitive (photochromic) molecular switch (NitroBIPS) that has the potential to be embedded into both natural and synthetic biological systems. To achieve this, NitroBIPS was embedded in a (PDMS) polymer matrix and an optomechanical setup was built in order to expose the sample to optical stimulation and record fluorescent emission. NitroBIPS has two stable forms - one fluorescent and one non-fluorescent - and can be switched between the two via illumination with ultraviolet or visible light. By exposing NitroBIPS samples to specific stimulus pulse sequences and recording the intensity of fluorescence emission, data could be stored in registers and logic gates and circuits implemented. In addition, by moving the area of illumination, sub-regions of the sample could be addressed. This enabled parallel registers, Turing machine tapes and elementary cellular automata to be implemented. It has been demonstrated, therefore, that photochromic molecular memory can be used to implement conventional universal computation in an unconventional manner. Furthermore, because registers, Turing machine tapes, logic gates, logic circuits and elementary cellular automata all utilise the same samples and same hardware, it has been shown that photochromic computational devices can be dynamically repurposed. NitroBIPS and related molecules have been shown elsewhere to be capable of modifying many biological processes. This includes inhibiting protein binding, perturbing lipid membranes and binding to DNA in a manner that is dependent on the molecule's form. The implementation of universal computation demonstrated in this thesis could, therefore, be used in combination with these biological manipulations as key components within synthetic biology systems or in order to monitor and control natural biological processes.


Industrial systems at where gas-liquid flow is extensively used generally have complex geometries including singularities like expansion, contraction, bends and orifices. Thus two-phase flow characteristics, such as pressure drop, through these singularities should be identified in order to be used to design these systems. In this study, pressure drop of air-water flow through horizontal channel having smooth expansion is investigated experimentally. Internal diameter of the channel expands from 40 mm to 50 mm. Hence area ratio ( �) of the singularity is calculated to be 0.64. Flow rate for water is constant at 3 l/s while that for air is taken as 30, 50 and 60 l/min. In the experiments, effects of volumetric void fraction and injector type on two-phase pressure drop are examined. Flow under consideration is also modeled via commercial software, GAMBIT (v. 2.3.16) and ANSYS (v. 12). Experimental results are then compared with those obtained by the numerical simulation.


The paper shows how and why Home-Based Internet Businesses are drivers of variety. This paper argues, by means of five theoretical perspectives, that because of the variety HBIBs generate, they contribute to the economy over and above their direct and indirect contributions in terms of revenue and employment. A multiple case study approach is employed studying the best practices of eight HBIBs. It is found that HBIBs generate variety because of the unique way in which they operate, and because of the reasons why they are started. How HBIBs operate can be captured in the acronym SMILES: Speed, Multiple income, Inexpensive, LEan, and Smart. They are founded (amongst other motives) for reasons of autonomy, freedom and independence. Both aspects - the how and why - of HBIBs are conducive to the creation of variety as they facilitate trial-and-error commercialization of authentic ideas. Five theoretical perspectives posit that variety is important for the industry and the economy: evolutionary theory, strategic management, organic urban planning, opportunity recognition, and the knowledge economy. The findings are discussed in the context of each perspective.


Biochemical, histopathological, histochemical and bioenergetic parameters were
studied to determine their suitability as biological markers for hydrogen sulphide toxicity
detection using the river catfish Mystus nemurus (C&V) exposed to H2S in laboratory
experiments as well as those caught from the wild. In the laboratory, the toxic effects of
H2S to M nemurus juveniles were determined by using a flow-through bioassay
technique.
The 96-h LC₅₀ value of unionized H₂S was 3.20 µg/L, and 0.003 µg/L unionized
H₂S was recommended as the safety level for M nemurus juveniles under tropical
environmental condition. Sulphaemoglobin and thiosulphate concentrations significantly
increased (p<0.01) with increasing hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) concentrations and exposure
time. However, H₂S reduced the oxygen carrying capacity of haemoglobin by reducing
oxyhaemoglobin. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) specific activities significantly
increased (p<0.01) in fish exposed to H₂S higher than 30% of LC₅₀. Gill lesions such as epithelial separation, club-shaped lamellae and
interlamellar fusion were observed at different concentrations of H2S. The evidence
of neurotoxicity was elucidated by necrosis and damaged mitochondria in fish brain
tissue. Sulphur accumulation in gills progressively increased with the increase of H₂S
concentrations and exposure time.
The liver-somatic index (LSI) and growth rate significantly decreased (p<0.05)
with increased concentrations of H₂S and exposure time. Fulton's condition factor
failed to predict (p>0.1) stress effects in fish exposed less than six weeks to H₂S.
However, RNA-DNA ratios showed high correlations with H2S concentrations from
the second (r²= 0.83; p<0.01) to sixth week (r²=0.98;p<0.01) of exposure.
Thiosulphate and sulphaemoglobin showed positive correlations with H₂S
concentrations (r²= 0.79; p<0.01 and r²= 0.89; p<0.01 respectively). Sulphur
accumulation in gills was positively correlated with thiosulphate and sulphaemoglobin
concentrations in blood (r²= 0.74; p<0.01), indicating that these compounds resulted
from H2S exposure. In addition, H2S levels in water were directly correlated with
GST activities and sulphaemoglobin concentrations. However, H2S concentrations
showed an inverse relationship with oxyhaemoglobin concentrations.
The field study supported the laboratory findings for two indicators;
thiosulphate and sulphur accumulation, were potential biological markers for H₂S
toxicity. Other markers such as Fulton' s condition factor, liver-somatic index, growth
rate, RNA-DNA ratio, histopathology and histochemistry did not reflect specific toxic
effect, although they can be used to indicate the general health condition of fish
exposed to H₂S. Among all the indicators, thiosulphate was found to be the simplest
and fastest biological marker for detecting H₂S toxicity.


The goal of this dissertation is to take generalizations made in a variety of phonological and morphological theories and account for them in a piece-based syntactic theory of morphology. The theories discussed are Cyclic phonology, Lexical Phonology (and Stratal Optimality Theory), Prosodic Hierarchy Theories, and Syntactic Spell-Out Only theories. Phonological and morphological generalizations from these theories include the cyclic/non-cyclic distinction of phonological blocks and morphemes, ``grammatical'' words and phonological words (their equivalence and apparent mismatches), incorporation of clitics into word level phonology, morpheme-sensitive phonological processes, and the relationship between syntactic spell-out phases and phonological domains. I present a framework within the theory of Distributed Morphology (Halle and Marantz 1993, et seq.) in which I account for these generalizations in several ways. I relate as much phonological structure to morphosyntactic structure as possible. However, there are several phonological phenomena which cannot be accounted for by syntactic structure alone. To account for these phenomena, I propose that the syntax feeds information in chunks to PF (cyclic spell-out) but that the morphology and phonology may operate on that information, creating mismatches between syntactic structure and phonological domains. For the cyclic/non-cyclic distinction of phonology, there are mismatches between syntactic spell-out domains and phonological interactions at the subword level. I propose a ``phonocyclic buffer'' into which phonologically cyclic exponents are added and over which the cyclic phonology is calculated. This is illustrated with data from yer lowering and yer deletion in Slovak and Polish, English stress and derivational affixes, and Spanish depalatalization. For the relationship between ``grammatical'' words and phonological/prosodic words, I propose an interface function relating morphosyntactic words (M-Words; non-minimal complex heads of the syntax) and phonological words. The basic relationship is illustrated with data from English voicing assimilation and German devoicing. I argue against two types of apparent mismatches between M-Words and phonological words, such as those proposed for Japanese ``Aoyagi'' prefixes, Vietnamese interleaving word order, Plains Cree polysynthetic verbs, and Spanish compounds. I find some of these apparent mismatches can be handled elsewhere in the phonological system, while others are examples of complex syntactic structure (but not of mismatches between syntactic and phonological structure). I also present an operation which can create phonological words out of non-M-Word configurations, dubbed Stray Terminal Grouping. This is illustrated with data from Bilua, Standard English, and African American Vernacular English. Regarding the behavior of clitics (independent syntactic pieces which are phonological dependent on a host), I find that their behavior is not predetermined or memorized, but is dependent on the morphosyntactic context in which they are derived. I show cases from Turkish, Maltese, and Makassarese in which morphemes variably behave like clitics or affixes depending on their context. I argue that this variable behavior may be determined either by syntactic or morphological operations. Finally, I investigate two types of morpheme-sensitive phonological processes, morphophonological rules and morpheme/morpheme readjustments, illustrated with data from Slavic derived imperfect raising, German umlaut, and Kashaya decrement and palatalization. I argue that these processes are underlyingly phonological in nature, but are activated by morphological diacritics. This activation can happen during two different stages of linearization; Morpheme/morpheme readjustments occur at the level of subword concatenation while This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1136 morphophonological rules occur at the level of subword chaining. This division accounts for the difference in locality conditions between the two types of processes. The conclusion of this dissertation is that we can account for these phonological generalizations in a piecebased syntactic framework, but not by syntax alone. Rather, it must be a combination of syntactic, morphological, and phonological operations which combine to create the phonological output. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Linguistics First Advisor David Embick


The birefringence of the atmosphere under the onset of a wind speed gradient has been studied near flat ground. Some characteristics and performances of the ellipsometer are given. The setup of the experiment is described; the results show that a birefringent effect is measurable. The numerical value of β = Δn/G is in good agreement with a previous experiment, but to an improved accuracy.


European Union (EU) regional policy has played a great role in the transition economies of Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). However, the effective implementation of EU regional policy requires that local and regional governance systems in Member States are compatible with EU practice and regulatory norms (e.g. partnership) emphasising the importance of the well-performing sub-national government. The article discusses Estonian local governments' absorption capacity problems in the EU Structural Funds by investigating the main factors restricting them from using the aid. The article is based on a survey among Estonian local governments conducted in 2005. This survey was also supported by meetings of the representatives of three Estonian counties – Laane-Viru, Parnu and Jogeva – and the City of Tartu. The results show that Estonian local governments regard Structural Funds as one of the most important instruments in their socio-economic development while the capacity to absorb the funds is limited due to the low administrative and financial capacity of the local government level.


The undertaken project "Impact of Bt and non-Bt cotton on insect biodiversity" was carried out for two cotton seasons, 2006-07, which included the survey and experimentations. The survey study was conducted to know the farmers' perception of insect pests and pest management practices in Bt cotton. The experimentations were consisted the field and laboratory experiments. The field experiments were conducted to determine the impact of transgenic Bt cotton on the target and non-target insect community in replicated field trails under sprayed and unsprayed conditions, in comparisons with its parent non-Bt conventional cotton. The laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of Bt toxin on the biological traits (larval mortality, larval development time and pupal weight) of Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera exigua by feeding larvae on the leaves and flower-bolls of Bt and non-Bt cotton. The results revealed that transgenic Bt cotton (IR-FH-901), containing Cry1Ac proved to be highly effective against specific lepidopterous pests and the susceptibility of target pests was in the order of american bollworm> spotted bollworm> pink bollworm >armyworm. The pooled data of all observations showed significantly lower population of bollworm complex (american, spotted and pink bollworms) in Bt cotton. Bt cotton proved not to be so effective against armyworm but some sub-lethal effects have been observed in term of increased larval development time and reduction in pupal weight. It was not effective against sucking insect pests and average 3-4 insecticide applications were used to control these pests in sprayed plots of Bt and non-Bt cotton. The diversities of non-target insect community and sub communities (pests, beneficials, pollinators and visitors) as measured by Shannon-Weaver diversity index showed no significant differences in species abundance, richness, diversity and evenness in the unsprayed Bt and non-Bt cotton during two successive years. But the differences were found between sprayed and unsprayed plots. The higher diversity indices in insecticide treated plots suggest that insecticide sprays had a significant impact in eliminating the rare species and hence increased the diversity due to higher evenness among the species. The reduced insecticide use in Bt cotton increased the stability of rare species and have a positive impact on beneficial insect community. The seed treatment in transgenic Bt cotton proved to be very effective in controlling sucking insect pests complex during early stages of crop. Although, Bt cotton significantly reduced the use of insecticides against bollworms, but farmers still relied heavily on the chemicals to control these pests, as they were not sure of its effectiveness against target pests, because, they were easily convinced by the commercial advertisements of pesticide companies. The results revealed that the judicious use of insecticides in Bt cotton at economic threshold level was provided the salubrious conditions for beneficial insects conservation. The efficacy of Bt insecticidal protein in different plant parts was in the order of leaves>flower-bolls. The increased larval population in Bt cotton at later stages of crop indicated spatial and temporal variation of Cry1Ac toxin expression. The studies highlight that researchers, technology providers and administrators should ensure the effective and highest level of Bt toxin expression in appropriate plant parts at the requisite time, particularly late in the season.


Within the last two decades, the use of the term laboratory or 'lab', as it is often abbreviated to, has become widespread in both the profession and
in education. 'Spacelab', 'Arch LAB', 'Laboratory of Architecture' – these are but some of the names given to architectural practices today. Also, no self-respecting academic institution today lacks a 'research laboratory' or 'lab' of some kind, often set up in parallel to the conventional studio, but sometimes also as a substitute for it. In a more recent development, the laboratory has also been adopted as a place for exploring architectural themes through writing, as exemplified by the 'Writing Labs' set up at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. This development that has seen the laboratory become the very paradigm of conceptualizations of practice and research in architecture revolves, I argue, around a renewed interest in the notion of experiment and the spaces of experimentation. The question I want to raise in this article concerns the role of the laboratory as a metaphor in constructing spaces for writerly experimentation. For, outside the domain of science, how can a laboratory be understood as anything other than a (mere) metaphor?


We present a robust anisotropic dense disparity estimation algorithm which employs perceptual maximum variation modeling. Edge-preserving dense disparity vectors are estimated using a coarse-to-fine diffusive method on iteratively filtered images, i.e. the scale-space. While an energy-minimization framework adjusts local disparity, the edges are efficiently preserved by anisotropic disparity-field diffusion. However, the localization at weak image edges which have small brightness variations is fundamentally difficult. In this paper, perceptual maximum variation modeling prevents the delocalization flow over edges, e.g. over-diffusion and back-diffusion, computed by evaluating small variations. We perform disparity-field diffusion on a perceptually optimized color space, which combines the small differences in both brightness and chromaticity. Additionally a consistency constraint is employed in the modeling to avoid the influence of global color distributions and to enhance important edges as the human vision system does. The experimental results show the excellent localization performance preserving the disparity discontinuity of each object.