To plan for future mobile learning two military educational schools conducted a study of
current mobile device ownership and use by their students. Survey results show that a majority of students say they would use mobile learning if it
were available, with a higher fraction of students interested in mobile learning the younger
the student body, which suggests demand for mobile learning will continue to grow in
the future. The results seem to align with general higher education institutions, with younger students
showing increasing use of mobile devices and interest in accessing online learning
materials. Besides e-mail and web browsing on their mobile devices, students want to be able to
access course management systems; sync course calendars across their devices;
access course reading materials; and use mobile applications that support class work
and provide remote access to class lectures.


The silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET or MOS transistor) did not become significant commercially until two decades after the 1948 announcement of the invention of the transistor by Bell Laboratories. The underlying concept of the MOSFET-modulation of conductivity in a semiconductor triode structure by a transverse electric field-first appeared in a 1928 patent application. It was confirmed experimentally in 1948. However early devices were not practical due to surface problems. Although these were solved at Bell Laboratories in 1958, Bell remained committed to earlier transistor technology. Development of the 'other transistor' was first pursued elsewhere. It was finally the needs of computers and the opportunities created by integrated circuits that made the silicon MOSFET the basic element of late 20th-century digital electronics.


This thesis reports on four years of research with the aim to contribute to the implementation of low-energy office buildings with high quality of indoor environment and good total economy. Focus has been on the design decisions made in the early stages of the building design process. The objective is to contribute to a development where simulations of building energy performance and indoor environment is used for generating an input to the overall building design process prior to any actual form giving of the building. This input should be considered as one of several similar inputs from other building design disciplines (structural, fire, architecture etc.) to the integrated building design process. The research therefore revolves around the hypothesis that parametric analyses on the energy performance, indoor environment and total economy of rooms with respect to geometry and characteristics of building elements and services can be used to generate a useful input to the early stage of an integrated building design process. To pursue a corroboration of this hypothesis, a method for making informed decisions when establishing the input to the overall building design process is proposed. The method relies on the use of building simulation to illustrate how design parameters will affect the energy performance and the quality of the indoor environment prior to any actual design decision. The method is made operational in a simple building simulation tool capable of performing integrated performance predictions of energy consumption, thermal indoor environment, indoor air quality, and daylight levels. The tool has been tested extensively throughout the four year period of this project. The feedback from these tests has been used to develop the operability and usability of the tool. The end result is a tool which, with minor reservations, has proved to be operational and useful in the design of low-energy office buildings with good indoor environment. The conducted research is reported in the main body of this thesis and in three papers for scientific journals. An abstract of these is given in the following. Article I The early stages of building design include a number of decisions which have a strong influence on the performance of the building throughout the rest of the process. It is therefore important that designers are aware of the consequences of these design decisions. This paper presents a method for making informed decisions in the early stages of building design to fulfil performance requirements with regard to energy consumption and indoor environment. The method is operationalised in a program that utilises a simple simulation program to make performance predictions of user-defined parameter variations. The program then presents the output in a way that enables designers to make informed decisions. The method and the program reduce the need for design iterations, reducing time consumption and construction costs, to obtain the intended energy performance and indoor environment. Paper published in Energy and Buildings 42 (7) (2010), 1113-1119. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.02.002 Article II A method for simulating predictive control of building systems operation in the design stage is presented. The predictive control method uses building simulation based on weather forecasts to predict whether there is a future heating or cooling requirement. This information enables the thermal control systems of the building to respond proactively to keep the operational temperature within the thermal comfort range with the minimum use of energy. The method is assuming perfect weather prediction and building modelling because of the design situation. The method is implemented in an existing building simulation tool. A test case featuring an office located in Copenhagen, Denmark, shows that the suggested method reduces the energy required for heating and ventilation compared to more conventional control systems, while improving thermal comfort for building occupants. The method furthermore automates the configuration of buildings systems operation. This eliminates time consuming manual configuration of building systems operation when using building simulation for parametric analyses in the design phase. Applied Energy 88 (2011) 4597–4606. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.05.053 Article III Increasing requirements for energy performance in new buildings mean the cost of incorporating energy-saving in buildings is also increasing. Building designers thus need to be aware of the long-term cost-effectiveness of potential energy-conserving measures. This paper presents a simplified and transparent economic optimisation method to find an initial design proposal near the economical optimum. The aim is to provide an expedient starting point for the building design process and more detailed economic optimisation. The method uses the energy frame concept to express the constraints of the optimisation problem, which is then solved by minimising the costs of conserving energy in all the individual energy-saving measures. A case example illustrates how the method enables designers to establish a qualified estimate of an economically optimal solution. Such an estimate gives a good starting point for the iterative design process and a more detailed economic optimisation. Furthermore, the method explicitly illustrates the economic efficiency of the individual building elements and services enabling the identification of potentials for further product development. Paper published in Renewable Energy 38(1) (2012) 173-180. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.07.019 Report 1 A reoccurring issue in relation to building simulation is the desire to be able to evaluate the performance of complex fenestration systems (CFS). This report describes a method for predicting the daylight performance of CFS such as daylight redirecting devices, novel solar blinds and advanced glazing materials. costs, to obtain the intended energy performance and indoor environment. Paper published in Energy and Buildings 42 (7) (2010), 1113-1119. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.02.002 Article II A method for simulating predictive control of building systems operation in the design stage is presented. The predictive control method uses building simulation based on weather forecasts to predict whether there is a future heating or cooling requirement. This information enables the thermal control systems of the building to respond proactively to keep the operational temperature within the thermal comfort range with the minimum use of energy. The method is assuming perfect weather prediction and building modelling because of the design situation. The method is implemented in an existing building simulation tool. A test case featuring an office located in Copenhagen, Denmark, shows that the suggested method reduces the energy required for heating and ventilation compared to more conventional control systems, while improving thermal comfort for building occupants. The method furthermore automates the configuration of buildings systems operation. This eliminates time consuming manual configuration of building systems operation when using building simulation for parametric analyses in the design phase. Applied Energy 88 (2011) 4597–4606. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.05.053 Article III Increasing requirements for energy performance in new buildings mean the cost of incorporating energy-saving in buildings is also increasing. Building designers thus need to be aware of the long-term cost-effectiveness of potential energy-conserving measures. This paper presents a simplified and transparent economic optimisation method to find an initial design proposal near the economical optimum. The aim is to provide an expedient starting point for the building design process and more detailed economic optimisation. The method uses the energy frame concept to express the constraints of the optimisation problem, which is then solved by minimising the costs of conserving energy in all the individual energy-saving measures. A case example illustrates how the method enables designers to establish a qualified estimate of an economically optimal solution. Such an estimate gives a good starting point for the iterative design process and a more detailed economic optimisation. Furthermore, the method explicitly illustrates the economic efficiency of the individual building elements and services enabling the identification of potentials for further product development. Paper published in Renewable Energy 38(1) (2012) 173-180. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.07.019 Report 1 A reoccurring issue in relation to building simulation is the desire to be able to evaluate the performance of complex fenestration systems (CFS). This report describes a method for predicting the daylight performance of CFS such as daylight redirecting devices, novel solar blinds and advanced glazing materials.


Objective: The P50 is thought to resect a sensory gating mechanism and prevent information overload in humans. Failure to inhibit the P50 auditory event evoked response can occur in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients. The aims of the present study were to examine the inhibition of the P50 auditory event evoked potential and the effects of methyphenidate administration on P50 parameters in children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD.

Methods: Twenty-two drug-free subjects, aged 9-14, who were diagnosed with ADHD (the combined type) according to the DSM-IV criteria, and 18 mentally and physically healthy subjects, aged 9-12, were included in the study. First, P50 parameters were measured in drug-free ADHD subjects and healthy controls. Following this measurement, 10 mg of methylphenidate was administered to the ADHD group. The P50 measurement was repeated 1 hour following methylphenidate administration in the ADHD subjects. The healthy control group was not re-examined.

Results: A significant difference was found in P50 test latency, test amplitude, and P50 ratio values between the ADHD group and healthy controls. Significant differences were also found in conditioning latency, test latency, test amplitude, and P50 ratio values between before and after methyphenidate administration in the ADHD group.

Conclusions: The results of the present study point out an association between P50 and ADHD and they also show that methyphenidate administration increases the P50 suppression level. Since, this is the first study evaluating sensory gating in children and adolescents with ADHD, it should be considered as a preliminary study. Further studies with large study samples are warranted.


From Eden to Byron Bay the New South Wales coast is more than 2000 kilometres long, with 130 estuaries, 100 coastal lakes and a rich history. This, the first history written of the New South Wales coast, traces our relationship with this stretch of land and sea starting millennia ago when Aboriginal people feasted on shellfish and perfected the art of building bark canoes, to our present obsession with the beach as a place to live or holiday. Leading us through the European fascination with marine life, the attempts to establish a whaling industry, the fear of seaborne invasion which led to the creation of a navy of our own in 1911 through to the rise of our unstoppable enthusiasm for surfing and fishing, Ian Hoskins argues that our current enthralment with the coast began more recently than we might think.


Faith communities aspire to be places of healing, hope, and healthy relationships that bring life to every member. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families, finding a place of belonging within such a community can have great importance. In this qualitative study, we explored the experiences of belonging among 25 parents who were involved in a local church and had a son or daughter with IDD. We present 10 dimensions of belonging that reflect a trajectory of deepening relationship—beginning with being present and culminating in being loved. We discuss implications of this framework for cultivating inclusive communities and offer recommendations for future research at the intersection of faith and disability.


Why do revolutions happen? Why are they so difficult to anticipate? Some of the most instructive answers point to three factors: (1) preference falsification on the part of rebels or revolutionaries; (2) diverse thresholds for revolutionary activity; and (3) social interactions that do or do not trigger the relevant thresholds. Under conditions of actual or perceived injustice or oppression, true preferences and thresholds are probably impossible to observe; social interactions are impossible to anticipate. Even if we could observe (1) and (2), the challenge of anticipating (3) would make it essentially impossible to foresee revolutions. For all their differences, and with appropriate qualifications, the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the fall of Communism, and the Arab Spring were unanticipated largely for these reasons. And in light of (1), (2), and (3), it is hazardous to think that the success of successful revolutions is essentially inevitable. (The same is true for the failure of unsuccessful revolutions.) History is only run once, so we will never know, but small or serendipitous factors might have initiated (or stopped) a revolutionary cascade. The #MeToo movement can be seen as such a cascade, marked by (1), (2), and (3). For that movement, as for successful revolutions, we might be able to point to some factors as necessary conditions, but hindsight is hazardous. It is also important to note that in revolutions, as in #MeToo, preferences and beliefs are not merely revealed; they are also transformed. Revolutionary activity, large or small, puts issues about preference falsification, experience falsification, and adaptive preferences in a new light.


Knowledge management has become a challenging issue for almost all the e-Government based applications. One of the main issues for E-Government activities is to manage the great amount of available data efficiently. The presence of a huge amount of information, in fact, is typical of bureaucratic processes, like the ones pertaining to public administrations. Such information is often recorded on paper or on different digital files and its management is very expensive, both in terms of space used for storing and in terms of time spent in searching for the documents of interest. Furthermore, the manual management of these documents is absolutely not error-free. In order to efficiently access the information embedded in very large document repositories, techniques for semantic document management are required. They ensure a large and intense process of dematerialization and aim at eliminating or at least reducing, the amount of paper documents. E-Government based applications need proper data models for information content characterization, in order to automatically transformunstructured (or sometimes semi-structured) documents into formally structured records, suitable for machine processing. Furthermore a way for presenting information contained in documents, depending on access policies and available technologies has to be provided. Finally different kinds of media elements, contained in digital documents, have to be managed. Indeed, nowadays, almost all the novel bureaucratic processes are characterized by both text and multimedia data (e. g. audio, still images, sometimes videos), which need to be properly handled, stored and distributed. In this thesis, we present a novel model of digital documents for improving the dematerialization effectiveness, that constitutes the starting point for an information system able to manage documents streams efficiently. This model takes into account E-Government applications needs like as the respect of provisions in force and the adaptability to evolving technologies. At the best of our knowledge, the proposed model is one of the first attempts to give a single and unified characterization for the management of multimedia documents, pertaining to a bureaucratic domain as the E-Government one, on which a system of semantic procedures are defined for the transformation of the non structured documents (pertaining to specialized domain) into structured data. Furthermore, architecture for the management of the document whole life cycle has been proposed, which provides advanced functionalities for semantic processing, such as giving formal structure to document informative content, information extraction, semantic retrieval, indexing, storage, presentation, together with long-term preservation.


Communication patterns in nature were studied in order to address the challenge of effectively communicating sustainability messages. Fourteen patterns were found in nature and translated into user-friendly guidelines called Guidelines for Effective Communication of Sustainability Messages. These Guidelines were given to sustainability experts and peers for overall feedback and insights. Their responses showed that these Guidelines could be used to improve communication of sustainability messages by using them as a checklist and a design tool when designing messages and methods for communicating sustainability. Using these Guidelines as a tool within the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) could also help people better understand today's sustainability challenges and the need for adopting a strategic approach used within the FSSD.


Abstract Background Health care–associated infections (HAIs) are a socio-technical problem. We evaluated the impact of a social change intervention on health care personnel (HCP), called "positive deviance" (PD), on patient safety culture related to infection prevention among HCP. Methods This observational study was done in 6 medical wards at an 800-bed public academic hospital in the United States. Three of these wards were randomly assigned to receive PD intervention on HCP. After a retrospective 6-month baseline period, PD was implemented over 9 months, followed by 9 months of follow-up. Patient safety culture and social networks among HCP were surveyed at 6, 15, and 24 months. Rates of HAI were measured among patients. Results The measured patient safety culture was steady over time at 69% aggregate percent positive responses in wards with PD vs decline from 79% to 75% in wards without PD (F statistic 10.55; P = .005). Social network maps suggested that nurses, charge nurses, medical assistants, ward managers, and ward clerks play a key role in preventing infections. Fitted time series of monthly HAI rates showed a decrease from 4.8 to 2.8 per 1000 patient-days (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1 to 3.5) in wards without PD, and 5.0 to 2.1 per 1000 patient-days (95% CI, –0.4 to 4.5) in wards with PD. Conclusions A positive deviance approach appeared to have a significant impact on patient safety culture among HCP who received the intervention. Social network analysis identified HCP who are likely to help disseminate infection prevention information. Systemwide interventions independent of PD resulted in HAI reduction in both intervention and control wards.


Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) marked its 50th anniversary by launching a digital repository to permanently preserve the university ' s digital records of archival value. Simultaneously, the records management program launched a digital readiness project to educate departments about how to create digital records that will stand the test of time. This case study focuses on the training component of the project and details how the university is addressing knowledge gaps among records creators around digital records issues by creating training materials that are openly licensed and may be freely reused. Open educational resources or "OERs" are part of a wider open access movement in education. OERs can be created to address digital records issues and then shared with other institutions that are facing similar challenges in training their users on how to create and maintain good digital records. This article explains the efforts of one university to prepare records creators for a future of digital records preservation.


Abstract Objective To estimate the differential impact of obesity on prevalence and medical costs overall and for three major obesity-related complications (diabetes, dyslipidemia, and their joint occurrence) over the life cycle. Methods The impact of obesity on age-specific medical costs and diagnosed prevalence was estimated using econometric analyses of the 2001–03 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data. Obesity was measured using body mass index. Results Obesity increases the risks for diabetes and dyslipidemia at all ages. Obesity also increases per person medical costs and the magnitude of the increase is greater at older ages. Although obese individuals represent 49% of the population with diabetes, they are responsible for 56% of total diabetes costs. They also represent 34% of the population with dyslipidemia yet are responsible for 52% of total dyslipidemia costs. Conclusions These results highlight the potential savings over the life cycle resulting from effective interventions that target obesity and/or its comorbid disorders. Targeting individuals with both obesity and comorbidities is particularly important given the high medical costs associated with this subset of the obese population. Effective strategies that improve the comorbidity profile of these individuals may have the best chance of showing a positive financial return.


3523 Background: Phase III trials show inconsistent effects when anti-EGFR drugs are added to cytotoxic therapy in aCRC. Benefits, when present, are confined to patients (pts) determined retrospectively to have KRAS wild-type (wt) tumours. PICCOLO is a multicentre randomized controlled trial, amended in June 2008 to include prospective KRAS testing, to evaluate the addition of panitumumab (Pan) to single-agent irinotecan (Ir) as second- or subsequent-line therapy for KRAS-wt aCRC.

METHODS
Eligible pts had: measurable aCRC progressing during/after ≥1 prior regimen with fluoropyrimidines ± other drugs; no prior Ir; WHO PS 0-2. Until June '08, pts were allocated 1:1:1 to Ir, IrPan or Ir/ciclosporin, with retrospective KRAS analysis. Thereafter, KRAS was tested prospectively (by pyrosequencing of c.12-13 and 61) and pts with KRAS-wt were allocated 1:1 to Ir (Ir 350 mg/m2 [300 mg/m2 if ≥70 yrs or PS2], q3w) or IrPan (same Ir plus Pan 9 mg/kg, q3w). Primary analysis is ITT overall survival (OS) in KRAS-wt pts not pretreated with anti-EGFR therapy (80% power, HR 0.70, α=0.05, 2-sided). Secondary endpoints include % progression-free at 12 wks, PFS, RR, toxicity and QL. Planned molecular subgroups include BRAF, NRAS, KRAS c.146 and PIK3CA.

RESULTS
460 KRAS-wt pts were recruited to the primary analysis (324 after June '08, KRAS-tested prospectively); median age 63 yrs; 94% PS0-1; 95% had received prior oxaliplatin. With 312 events and median follow-up of survivors 10.2 mo, OS was not improved: median IrPan = 10.4 mo, Ir = 10.5 mo, HR 0.91 (95%CI [0.73, 1.14], p=0.44), but trended towards improved survival after 12 mo. Planned subgroup analysis shows worse survival, and disbenefit with Pan in BRAF-mut pts (n=63, HR=1.87, [95%CI 1.07, 3.27]); conversely, KRAS/BRAF-wt pts show a stronger but still non-significant trend towards benefit (n=348, HR=0.86 [0.66, 1.11]).

CONCLUSIONS
PICCOLO did not meet its primary endpoint of improved OS with panitumumab in KRAS-wt aCRC, but a trend was seen towards survival benefit after 12 months, especially in KRAS/BRAF-wt pts. Conversely, pts with BRAF-mut tumours had significant disbenefit with Pan. Full results, including PFS and planned molecular subgroups, will be presented.


Cocaine suppression of histone methylation in the nucleus accumbens mediates the drug's ability to enhance reward. Long-lasting behavioral syndromes associated with chronic cocaine exposure may result from dysregulation of the global transcriptional machinery. Maze et al. observed that histone lysine methylation in the nucleus accumbens plays a critical role in mediating the regulation of gene expression in response to repeated cocaine self-administration. Chronic cocaine was linked to overall reductions in dimethylation of lysine 9 of histone 3 (H3K9) in this brain region. Repressing H3K9 after chronic cocaine administration facilitated reward-related changes in behavior. The authors identified the methyltransferase G9a as an essential mediator and an important regulator of dendritic spine plasticity. Down-regulation of G9a was linked to the transcription factor ΔFosB. I. Maze, H. E. Covington III, D. M. Dietz, Q. LaPlant, W. Renthal, S. J. Russo, M. Mechanic, E. Mouzon, R. L. Neve, S. J. Haggarty, Y. Ren, S. C. Sampath, Y. L. Hurd, P. Greengard, A. Tarakhovsky, A. Schaefer, E. J. Nestler, Essential role of the histone methyltransferase G9a in cocaine-induced plasticity. Science 327, 213–216 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (indels) constitute important sources of genetic variation which provide insight into disease origins and differences in drug responses. The analysis of such genetic variation relies upon the generation of allele-specific products, typically by enzymatic extension or alternatively by the hybridization of DNA probes. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) has been widely used as a read-out tool. We developed a distinct enzyme-free, dynamic chemistry-based method of producing allele-specific products for genotyping. In a blind trial, peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes and aldehyde-modified nucleobases were employed to genotype twelve cystic fibrosis patients for two mutations (one SNP and one indel) linked to this disease. MALDI-TOF MS reported the resulting allele-specific products. Enzyme-free dynamic chemistry permitted the genotyping of twelve individuals for the ΔF508 (indel) and G551D (SNP) mutations. No false positives or negatives were observed, and analysis could be performed in both singleplex and duplex formats. Dynamic chemistry provides a distinct method of allele discrimination with certain advantages over those reported previously. Although PCR amplification is required, the analysis stage is performed without enzymes, and there is no need for the stringent optimization and control of conditions associated with hybridization-based methods of allele discrimination.


Given the rapid growth in online coursework within higher education, it is important to establish and validate quality standards for these courses. While many online learning quality rubrics do exist, thus far there has been little empirical evidence establishing a clear link between specific aspects of course quality and concrete, studentlevel course outcomes. In the current study, the authors develop an online course quality rubric that comprises four areas, and they explore the relationship between each quality area and student end-of-semester performance in 23 online courses at two community colleges. The results indicate that the quality of interpersonal interaction within a course relates positively and significantly to student grades. Additional analyses based on course observation and interview data suggest that frequent and effective student–instructor interaction creates an online environment that encourages students to commit themselves to the course and perform stronger academically.


High quality factor (Q approximately 3.4 x 10(6)) microdisk resonators are demonstrated in a Si(3)N(4) on SiO(2) platform at 652-660 nm with integrated in-plane coupling waveguides. Critical coupling to several radial modes is demonstrated using a rib-like structure with a thin Si(3)N(4) layer at the air-substrate interface to improve the coupling.


A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warning. By Michael S. Northcott. Maryknofl, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2007. 285 pp. $20.00 (paper). Michael Northcott s timely book adds to a growing body of literature on the subject of religion and ecology by addressing the ethics of global warming from a Christian perspective. Filled with data and facts about the science of climate? change, global economic systems, and the dire predictions of ecological collapse by climate scientists, Northcott deltly identifies a defining issue of our day and offers a powerful critique as well as a thoughtful solution to the problem, rooted in the concept of Christian stewardship. Global wanning, he argues, is a message from the planet and clear evidence that our global economic svstem is on a collision course with Earth's biophysical limits. The author compares our situation to that of ancient Israel, using Jeremiah as a model to show the consequences of the imperial refusal of biopoli tical limits, which led Israel into ecological collapse and exile. The implications for us are clear. Northcott argues further that the historical roots oi this problem are to be found in the Enlightenment drive to emancipate humanity from the authority of the church and the constraints of nature through the sovereign tv of reason over divine revelation and the autonomy of the individual. The result has been the Newtonian view of the cosmos as mechanism and a "moral climate" based on social contracts and exchange values between autonomous "reasoning sovereigns." This has led to another major problem for Northcott: the disconnection of making una mumming and the decoupling of the human economy from the economy of the planet. This has in turn led to a culture oi hype icon su m ? ti on and waste, justified by our "neoliberal, free-market global empire" (to use Northcott s terminology) usually called "globalization" and often justified as economically beneficial. Northcott aptly and insightfully identifies this as a theological problem: what Augustine called concupiscence, or the lust of the unsatisfied heart. To this he adds idolatry, or worship of created artifacts in place of God and the human refusal to be creature, which he rightly sees as a contemporary malady. Idolatry Ls as much of a threat now as it was for ancient Israel. The solution Northcott proposes is to rediscover the Earth as God's creation, the "theater of Gods glory." This would better predispose us to seeing the moral and spiritual aspects of phenomena like global warming, and would compel us to act more prudently and mindfully in relation to the environment. …


Abstract The occurrence of maximum flooding events with marine affinity in terrestrial settings is critical in sequence stratigraphy, in that it sets firm isochrons that enable correlations between coeval marine and nonmarine realms. This paper focuses on the variable and frequency-dependent correlative patterns of the Bithynia Marlstones of the SE Volterra Basin (Italy), a lensoid body of shallow lacustrine strata that contains evidence of episodic marine incursion. Sedimentologic analyses depicted three associations of respectively profundal, marginal lacustrine, and distributary system facies. The rhythmic occurrence of prominent limestone beds with marine affinity and the up-dip absence of subaerial unconformities together allow a pragmatic genetic sequence stratigraphic approach. A two-fold sequence stratigraphic hierarchy is developed. A set of limestones with marine affinity that can be correlated throughout the lensoid body bound four low-frequency sequences thought to have been generated by regional high-amplitude base-level fluctuations. These low-frequency sequences are composed of less arealy extensive high-frequency sequences, generated in response to localized low-amplitude base level perturbations. Both low-frequency and high-frequency sequences are structured in lower progradational and upper retrogradational systems tracts, and are in most cases characterized by asymmetric development. Asymmetry is expressed by thinner progradational and thicker retrogradational systems tracts, as well as by thicker retrogradational and thinner retrogradational systems tracts. This thickness asymmetry, likely induced by differential interplays of subsidence and sediment supply on an inherited topography, is interpreted as symptomatic of complex interactions between regional and local base-level oscillations. In the Bithynia Marlstones depositional system, the lacustrine facies distribution and respective architecture were mostly unrelated to the low-frequency base-level trend, but rather appear to be significantly correlated with the high-frequency trend. The latter largely affected the Bithynia Marlstones deposition, ultimately forcing the rhythmic alternation between hydrologically balanced and underfilled lacustrine phases in the high-frequency sequences.


From the palaces of Austria to the mirrored halls of Versailles, Marie Antoinette led a charmed life. She was born into royalty in 1755 and married the future king of France at age 15. By 21 she ascended to the throne and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of masquerade balls, sky-high wigs, and extravagant food. But her taste for excess ruffled many feathers. The poor people of France blamed Marie Antoinette for their poverty. Her spending helped incite the French Revolution. And after much public outcry, in 1793 she quite literally lost her head because of it. Whether she was blameless or guilty is debatable, but Marie Antoinette remains woven into the fabric of history and popular culture. Series Overview: A series of illustrated biographies for young readers featuring significant historical figures, including artists, scientists, and world leaders.


Europe's woes mark a new chapter in the longstanding theory/history nexus in European studies. The euro crisis has brought integration theory back onto the scholarly agenda and highlighted the value of neo-functionalism – and more precisely its key 'spillover' mechanism – as a framework for interpreting current politico-institutional dynamics in the European Union. We are, however, at a particular point of the neo-functionalist narration, in which the transition from low to high political integration has opened a phase of political fluidity that makes ideas and political leadership crucial in determining the future course of integration. In this phase, the positive scheme of neo-functionalism and the normative one of federalism come together, bringing the intellectual trajectory begun after WWII to full circle. Whether this new encounter will result in further integration depends primarily on the content of new federalist ideas, the emergence of an effective European leadership, and the presence of a favourable international environment. For all three factors, the record so far has been mixed at best.


The thesis describes a new method for measuring the viscosity of liquids in a pressure vessel capable of reaching 14 000 bar, and results are presented for six liquids at 30°C, up to viscosities of 3000 P.

The technique is based on the well-tried principle of a cylindrical sinker falling in a viscometer tube. It departs from earlier systems in that the sinker is retrieved electromagnetically rather than by rotating the whole pressure vessel, and the sinker is held by a semi-permanent magnet before a fall time measurement is made. The sinkers do not have guiding pins, but rely on self-centering forces to ensure concentric fall. Another novel aspect is that a sinker with a central hole to produce faster fall times has been introduced for the first time. An analysis for such a sinker is presented, and when the diameter of the hole is mathematically reduced to zero, the equation of motion for the solid sinker is obtained. The solution for the solid cylinder is compared with earlier approximate analyses. The whole cycle of operation - retrieval, holding, releasing, sinker detection, and recording is remotely controlled and entirely automated.

With unguided falling weights it is essential that the viscometer tube is aligned vertically. The effects of non-vertical alignment are assessed both experimentally and theoretically. An original analysis is presented to explain the rather surprising finding that when a viscometer tube is inclined from the vertical, the sinker falls much more quickly. The agreement between experiment and theory is to within one per cent.

From the analysis of sinker motion, appropriate allowances for the change in sinker and viscometer tube dimensions under pressure are calculated; these are substantially linear with pressure. The viscometer was calibrated at atmospheric pressure with a variety of liquids whose viscosities were ascertained with calibrated suspended-level viscometers. Excellent linearity over three decades of viscosity was found for both sinkers. A careful analysis of errors shows that the absolute accuracy of measurement is to within ±1.8 per cent.

The fall time of the sinker is also a function of the buoyancy of the test liquid. Therefore a knowledge of the liquid density is required, both at atmospheric pressure and at elevated pressures. The linear differential transformer method for density measurement formed the basis of a new apparatus designed to fit into the high pressure vessel. Up to pressures of 5 kbar measurements are estimated to be within ±0.14 per cent, and above this pressure uncertainty could be as high as 0.25 per cent.

The last chapter deals with empirical and semi-theoretical viscosity-pressure equations. Two significant contributions are offered. The first is a new interpretation of the free volume equation in which physically realistic values of the limiting specific volume, vo, are derived by applying viscosity and density data to the equation iso-barically, not isothermally as most have done in the past. This led to a further simplification of the free volume equation to a two constant equation.

The second contribution is a purely empirical equation which describes the variation of viscosity as a function of pressure: ln(η/ηo)t = A(eBP - e-KP) where no is the viscosity at atmospheric pressure, and A, B and K are constants. This 'double-exponential' equation is shown to describe data to within experimental error for viscosities which vary by as much as four decades with pressure. It also describes the different curvatures which the logarithm of viscosity exhibits when plotted as a function of pressure: concave towards the pressure axis, convex, straight line, or concave and then convex. The many other equations in existence cannot describe this variety of behaviour.


Air Handling Unit (AHU), as a system for space heating and cooling is one of the most relevant causes of energy consumption in both residential and tertiary sector buildings. As the energy efficiency of AHU is closely linked to the climate conditions, a special attention should be given about varying yearly climate conditions in different geographical locations. This paper presents an approach for calculating the energy efficiency by using the Psychrometric diagram which has been divided into five zones based on different functions of AHU; for each zone outside climatic has a particular status with yearly weight that is corresponds for specific AHU's operation. To achieve this, different combination of outdoor climatic parameters (Dry and wet bulb temperature and humidity ratio) has been considered as varieties for defining zones. Sum of AHU's energy consumption in different zones based on related weighting factor will result in the total annual consumption of energy.


In Denicol et al., Phys. Rev. D 85, 114047 (2012), the equations of motion of relativistic dissipative fluid dynamics were derived from the relativistic Boltzmann equation. These equations contain a multitude of terms of second order in Knudsen number, in inverse Reynolds number, or their product. Terms of second order in Knudsen number give rise to non-hyperbolic (and thus acausal) behavior and must be neglected in (numerical) solutions of relativistic dissipative fluid dynamics. The coefficients of the terms which are of the order of the product of Knudsen and inverse Reynolds numbers have been explicitly computed in the above reference, in the limit of a massless Boltzmann gas. Terms of second order in inverse Reynolds number arise from the collision term in the Boltzmann equation, upon expansion to second order in deviations from the single-particle distribution function in local thermodynamical equilibrium. In this work, we compute these second-order terms for a massless Boltzmann gas with constant scattering cross section. Consequently, we assess their relative importance in comparison to the terms which are of the order of the product of Knudsen and inverse Reynolds numbers.


We present an algorithm for path planning on complex terrain in the presence of observers, and define several metrics related to path planning to evaluate the quality of various terrain compression strategies.
The path-planning algorithm simulates a smugglers and border guards scenario. First, we place observers on a terrain so as to optimize their visible coverage area. Next, we compute a path that a smuggler would take to minimize detection by an observer, path length, and uphill movement. The smuggler is allowed the full range of Euclidean motion on the 2-dimensional plane, unlike alternate path planning schemes that strictly avoid obstacles. We use two runs of the A* algorithm to efficiently compute this path.
Our path-planning routine is used to evaluate the quality of terrain compression on the smugglers and border guards scenario.
We also present an extension of the ODETLAP compression method to include slope equations, rather than using elevation data only, to specifically target the compression of terrain slopes.
Effective terrain compression strategies have become even more crucial with limited bandwidth capacity and the increasing size of elevation datasets. We introduce new application-specific error metrics for evaluating lossy terrain compression. The target terrain applications are the optimal placement of observers on a landscape and the navigation through the terrain by smugglers. The error metrics compare the observer visibility and the cost of the optimal smuggler's route on the reconstructed terrain to the original terrain.


The article is a critical interpretation of selected musical ideas of the Czech composer Alois Haba. Alois Haba (21 June 1893, Vizovice–18 November 1973, Prague) entered Czech musical culture at a time when the "lived inheritance of folklore" had come to be recognized as something of genuine potential value for high culture. Some passages in Haba's music have an undeniable similarity with Eastern Moravian melodic types, but Haba does not falsify folklore or demean himself by trying for the required "folky" effect, that is, the admixture of the "folk" remains something more essential than contrived. Although regional roots play an important role in Haba's music, the composer never imitates or parodies folk music. As one of the most radical representatives of the Central European aesthetic avant-garde between the wars, Haba expressed his individual style by drawing on the well-springs in the sense of his own lived experience of folklore but then reformulating this inspiration at the most universal levels – microtonality, athematism, and modality.


Abstract ARIES-CS is a 1000 MW(electric) compact stellarator conceptual fusion power plant design. This power plant design contains many innovative features to improve the physics, engineering, and safety performance of the stellarator concept. ARIES-CS utilizes a dual-cooled lead lithium blanket that employs low-activation ferritic steel as a structural material, with the first wall cooled by helium and the breeding zone self-cooled by flowing lead lithium. In this paper we examine the safety and environmental performance of ARIES-CS by reporting radiological inventories, decay heat, and radioactive waste management options and by examining the response of ARIES-CS to accident conditions. These accidents include conventional loss of coolant and loss of flow events, an ex-vessel loss of coolant event, and an in-vessel loss of coolant with bypass event that mobilizes in-vessel radioactive inventories (e.g., tritium and erosion dust from plasma-facing components). Our analyses demonstrate that the decay heat can be safely removed from ARIES-CS and the facility can meet the no-evacuation requirement.


Synthesizing larger texture images from a smaller exemplar is an important task in graphics and vision. The conventional CNNs, recently adopted for synthesis, require to train and test on the same set of images and fail to generalize to unseen images. This is mainly because those CNNs fully rely on convolutional and upsampling layers that operate locally and not suitable for a task as global as texture synthesis. In this work, inspired by the repetitive nature of texture patterns, we find that texture synthesis can be viewed as (local) upsampling in the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) domain. However, FFT of natural images exhibits high dynamic range and lacks local correlations. Therefore, to train CNNs we design a framework to perform FFT upsampling in feature space using deformable convolutions. Such design allows our framework to generalize to unseen images, and synthesize textures in a single pass. Extensive evaluations confirm that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance both quantitatively and qualitatively.


Three-dimensional (3-D) video has recently emerged to offer an immersive multimedia experience that can not be offered by two-dimensional (2-D) video applications. Currently, both industry and academia are focused on delivering 3-D video services to wireless communication systems. Modern video communication systems currently adopt cooperative communication and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) as they are an attractive solution to combat fading in wireless communication systems and achieve high data-rates. However, this strong motivation to transmit the video signals over wireless systems faces many
challenges. These are mainly channel bandwidth limitations, variations of signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR) in wireless channels, and the impairments in the physical layer such as time varying phase noise (PHN), and carrier frequency offset (CFO). In response to these challenges, this thesis seeks to develop efficient 3-D video transmission methods and signal processing algorithms that can overcome the effects of error-prone wireless channels and impairments in the physical layer.

In the first part of the thesis, an efficient unequal error protection (UEP) scheme, called video packet partitioning, and a new 3-D video transceiver structure are proposed. The proposed video transceiver uses switching operations between various UEP schemes based on the packet partitioning to achieve a trade- off between system complexity and performance. Experimental results show that
the proposed system achieves significantly high video quality at different SNRs with the lowest possible bandwidth and system complexity compared to direct transmission schemes.

The second part of the thesis proposes a new approach to joint source-channel coding (JSCC) that simultaneously assigns source code rates, the number of high and low priority packets, and channel code rates for the application, network, and physical layers, respectively. The proposed JSCC algorithm takes into account the rate budget constraint and the available instantaneous SNR of the best relay selection in cooperative systems. Experimental results show that the proposed JSCC algorithm outperforms existing algorithms in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR).

In the third part of the thesis, a computationally efficient training based approach for joint channel, CFO, and PHN estimation in OFDM systems is pro- posed. The proposed estimator is based on an expectation conditional maximization (ECM) algorithm. To compare the
estimation accuracy of the proposed estimator, the hybrid Cram´er-Rao lower bound (HCRB) of hybrid parameters of interest is derived. Next, to detect the signal in the presence of PHN, an iterative receiver based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for joint data detection and PHN mitigation is proposed. It is demonstrated by numerical simulations that, compared to existing algorithms, the
performance of the proposed ECM-based estimator in terms of the mean square error (MSE) is closer to the derived HCRB and outperforms the existing estimation algorithms at moderate-to-high SNRs. Finally, this study extends the research on joint channel, PHN, and CFO estimation one step
forward from OFDM systems to cooperative OFDM systems. An iterative algorithm based on the ECM in cooperative OFDM networks in the presence of unknown channel gains, PHNs and CFOs is applied. Moreover, the HCRB for the joint estimation problem in both decode-and-forward (DF) and
amplify-and-forward (AF) relay systems is presented. An iterative algorithm based on the EKF for data detection and tracking the unknown time-varying PHN throughout the OFDM data packet is also used. For more efficient 3-D video transmission, the estimation algorithms and UEP schemes based packet portioning were combined to achieve a more robust video bit stream in the presence of PHNs. Applying this combination, simulation results demonstrate that promising bit-error-rate (BER) and PSNR performance can be achieved at the destination at different SNRs and PHN variance.

The proposed schemes and algorithms offer solutions for existing problems in the techniques for applications to 3-D video transmission.


Although exclusion is commonly thought of as a form of relational or social aggression, it often reflects attempts at maintaining friendships, drawing group boundaries, and optimizing group functioning and can thus also be considered an inevitable feature of normative social interactions. This study examines the narrative accounts and judgments of children's own experiences with peer exclusion. Eighty-four participants, aged 7, 12, and 17, provided one narrative account of a time when they had been excluded (victim) and one of a time when they had excluded someone else (perpetrator). Narratives differed in several expected ways, depending on the perspective from which they were told. Nevertheless, from both perspectives, participants referred to the reasons underlying the exclusion. Notably, also, from both perspectives, participants seldom referred to the victim's emotions. Significant age differences in types of exclusionary behaviors, perpetrator's role, and evaluations suggest age-related changes in the meanings of exclusion, with adolescents becoming increasingly attuned to the complexities and inevitability of exclusion. No significant gender differences were observed. Overall, this study provided insight into how the multifaceted nature of exclusion gets played out in children's real-life experiences.


While most industries are being held increasingly responsible for engaging in socially responsible business practices and contributing to public interest efforts, professional sports are likely held to an even higher standard of what is traditionally considered corporate social responsibility (CSR). Professional sports are intricately embedded in their communities, arguably more dependent on consumer and government support, with greater influence on culture and more power to improve community well-being. These facts lead to the expectation that professional sports will contribute more to society than just exciting exhibitions. As this expectation is relatively new, the parameters of social responsibility in sports (SRS) is not well defined. Most professional leagues and teams in the United States are participating in efforts to improve their communities, the well-being of their employees, and promote safety and integrity within their competitions. But neither the motivations behind these efforts nor the outcomes have been well characterized. This examination draws on original research to describe how SRS differs from typical CSR. It will then identify some key legal mechanisms through which socially responsible efforts in sports are carried out, and the importance of a leadership culture that embraces SRS. Finally, it will explain the value of authentic social responsibility efforts, both to the community and to the implementing sport organization, which calls for investments in SRS initiatives that are strategically tailored to the organization's identity and are held accountable for meeting the needs of the community.


Predicting grasp success is useful for avoiding failures in many robotic applications. Based on reasoning in wrench space, we address the question of how well analytic grasp success prediction works if tactile feedback is incorporated. Tactile information can alleviate contact placement uncertainties and facilitates contact modeling. We introduce a wrench-based classifier and evaluate it on a large set of real grasps. The key finding of this work is that exploiting tactile information allows wrench-based reasoning to perform on a level with existing methods based on learning or simulation. Different from these methods, the suggested approach has no need for training data, requires little modeling effort and is computationally efficient. Furthermore, our method affords task generalization by considering the capabilities of the grasping device and expected disturbance forces/moments in a physically meaningful way.


Economic growth and development take priority in a country's economic and social objectives. When examining historical periods, there are central points in economic and social activities for reasons such as geopolitical status and geographic characteristics. Regional imbalances are a significant socio-economic problem that is apparent in many countries. Development agencies implemented by many developed or developing countries aim to eliminate regional imbalances. Turkey and Romania have different regional development levels. However, both countries face the problem of regional development differences. The EU Regional Policy, through the approach of a regional development agency, can help to close the gap between regions in both countries. The legislative framework of regional development was established by Regional Development Law No. 151 in 1998 after first carrying out an analysis of the regional disparities in Romania. RDAs entered the Turkish legal system with Law No. 5449 concerning the establishment, coordination, and tasks of development agencies in 2006. In this study, we explain both countries' RDA experiences within the organizational structures and the development of agencies following a theoretical approach.


Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors show great potential for therapeutic gene delivery for monogenic diseases, including hemophilia. Major limitations of this approach are the inability to persist in dividing cells and the restrictive packaging capacity of AAV. Gene targeting, the ability to make site-directed changes to the genome, has been a powerful tool for genetic discovery. Until recently, the low efficiency of targeting has rendered it unlikely to be of therapeutic value for most genetic diseases. Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are engineered proteins capable of site-directed DNA cleavage, known to increase the efficiency of gene targeting. Our lab has previously demonstrated in vivo gene targeting of the liver using AAV to deliver ZFNs and therapeutic donor in neonatal mice, where the rapid proliferation of hepatocytes may promote genome editing through homology directed repair (HDR). It was unknown whether the success of this approach could be replicated in adult mice (with predominantly quiescent hepatocytes, unlikely to be amenable to HDR). We hypothesized that in the absence of HDR, the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway may promote gene targeting in adult mice. Indeed, homology independent vector integration was sufficient to drive robust expression of clotting factor IX, deficient in hemophilia B, and correct the disease phenotype in mice treated as adults. This approach was adapted to create a general platform for liver-directed protein replacement therapy. Using ZFNs targeting the mouse albumin locus, we achieved long-term therapeutic expression of human factors VIII and IX in mouse models of hemophilia A and B as well as four different therapeutic enzymes deficient in lysosomal storage disorders. To test our hypothesis that in vivo genome editing relies on different DNA repair mechanisms in neonatal and adult mice, we applied multiple techniques including a novel reporter construct, southern blot, comparisons of donors with and without arms of homology, and a mouse model of NHEJ deficiency. These data indicate HDR is the primary mechanism of genome editing in neonatal mouse livers, and dispensable for therapeutically relevant levels of genome editing in adult mice. These results have implications in designing safer and more efficacious genome editing therapies. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Cell & Molecular Biology First Advisor Katherine A. High


Introduction With increasing demand for colonoscopy in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP) in England, there is a need for effective non-colonoscopic approaches to surveillance. We have undertaken a study to compare the sensitivity and specificity of a faecal immunochemical test for haemoglobin (FIT) annually for three years with colonoscopy surveillance, in patients diagnosed with intermediate-risk adenomas following a positive faecal occult blood test in the BCSP. Methods Participants are invited to complete a FIT (OC-SENSOR, Eiken Chemical Co. Ltd.) annually while awaiting their first surveillance colonoscopy. Those testing positive (>40 µg Hb/g faeces) are invited to have their three-year colonoscopy brought forward, while those testing negative are sent another FIT a year later until they have completed three rounds of testing. We aim to determine the sensitivity of FIT in detecting colorectal cancer or advanced adenomas (≥10 mm, or with tubulovillous or villous histology, or with high-grade dysplasia), using colonoscopy as the reference standard. Results We invited 8009 people to participate in the study, of whom 5840 (72.9%) consented. The positivity rate in Round 1 was 5.8% (336/5840). To date, 265/303 (87.5%) have had an early colonoscopy: 62/265 (23.4%) had advanced adenomas and five (1.9%) had cancer. 33/336 (9.8%) declined an early colonoscopy. To date, in Round 2 we have invited 2800 patients who tested FIT negative in Round 1: 2560 (91.4%) completed a second FIT and 115/2560 (4.5%) tested positive. 85/106 (80.2%) have received an early colonoscopy: 13/85 (15.3%) had advanced adenomas and two (2.4%) had cancer. 9/115 (7.8%) declined an early colonoscopy. A total of 2445 participants had negative FIT tests in Rounds 1 and 2 and will be invited to complete a final FIT, prior to their surveillance colonoscopy. Satisfaction with the study was high among those who completed a questionnaire, with 95.4% (4177/4378) of FIT-negative and 91% (203/223) of FIT-positive participants in Round 1 stating that they would complete another kit in future. Conclusion Compliance with the study was high, and the majority of participants reported that they would use FIT again. Almost a quarter (23.4%) of patients in Round 1 who had an early colonoscopy had advanced adenomas, falling to 15.3% in Round 2. Round 2 is ongoing, with Round 3 starting in January 2014. Disclosure of Interest None Declared.


The ATLAS detector is used to search for excited leptons in the electromagnetic radiative decay channel ' (cid:1) ! '(cid:1) . Results are presented based on the analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2 : 05 fb (cid:2) 1 . No evidence for excited leptons is found, and limits are set on the compositeness scale (cid:1) as a function of the excited lepton mass m ' (cid:1) . In the special case where (cid:1) ¼ m ' (cid:1) , excited electron and muon masses below 1.87 TeV and 1.75 TeV are excluded at 95% C.L., respectively.


Preface. Chapter 1: Creative Product and System Design. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 What is Design? 1.3 What is a Creative Design? 1.4 Innovation versus Invention. 1.5 Globalization. 1.6 Teamwork. 1.7 That's Not My Job. 1.8 Project Scheduling and Management. References. Homework. Part 1: Creativity and Design. Chapter 2: Creative Mind. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Whole-Brain Thinking. 2.3 Creativity. 2.4 What Makes an Individual Creative? References. Additional Reading. Chapter 3: Reclaiming Your Creativity. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Mental Barriers. 3.3 Types of Mental Barriers. 3.4 False Assumptions and Nonexistent Limitations. 3.5 Typical Solutions. 3.6 Making Things More Difficult Than They are: Being Overwhelmed. 3.7 Incomplete or Partial Information. 3.8 Information and Sensory Saturation. 3.9 Associative Thinking. 3.10 Misunderstandings. 3.11 Inability to Communicate Properly. 3.12 Emotions-, Culture-, and Environment-Related Barriers. 3.13 Fear of ... (You add the noun as you wish). 3.14 Orderly vs. Chaotic Analysis vs. Synthesis. 3.15 Falling in Love With an Idea. 3.16 Improper Methods of Solution. 3.17 Overabundance of Resources. 3.18 Solutions and Related Mental Barriers for the Above-Mentioned Puzzles. References. Design Projects. Homework. Chapter 4: Creative Problem Solving Techniques. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Brainstorming. 4.3 The 6-3-5 Method. 4.4 Morphological Attribute Lists (Menu Matrix). 4.5 List of Alternative Actions. 4.6 Analogy (Case-Based Reasoning) Method. 4.7 Random Attributes. 4.8 SCAMPER Method. 4.9 Create Your Own Slogans. 4.10 Asking Questions. 4.11 Incubation. 4.12 Synectics. 4.13 TRIZ. References. Homework. Chapter 5: The Design Process. 5.1 Initial Benchmarking: A Design Project. 5.2 The Iterative Design Process. 5.3 Finding a Need or a Challenge. 5.4 Accepting the Challenge. 5.5 Initial Study: Analysis of the Requirements of a Design. 5.6 Quality Function Deployment (QFD), House of Quality. 5.7 Specifications and Design Requirements: Development of a Problem Statement. 5.8 Generation of Ideas. 5.9 Analysis and Selection of Ideas. 5.10 Analysis, Detail Design, and Planning of the Converged Solution. 5.11 Realization of the Ideas. 5.12 Assessment against Problem Statement and Verification. 5.13 Iterations. References. Homework. Chapter 6: Imagination, Visualization, Graphical Representations and Communication. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Imagination. 6.3 Drawing. 6.4 Engineering Drawings. 6.5 Realistic Drawings. 6.6 Perspectives and Location of Objects. 6.7 Determining Depth in Perspectives: Scale Factors. 6.8 Drawing Perspectives. 6.9 Sketching. 6.10 Put-it-in-the-Box Technique. 6.12 Answers. References. Homework. PART 2: THE DESIGN ENVIRONMENT. Chapter 7: Design Considerations, Decisions, and Consequences. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Cost. 7.3 Size. 7.4 Weight. 7.5 Material Selection. 7.6 Methods of Fabrication. 7.7 Physical and Structural Standards. 7.8 Functional Standards and Expectations. 7.9 Performance. 7.10 Efficiency. 7.11 Reliability. 7.12 Company Image and Mission. 7.13 Quality. 7.14 Serviceability. 7.15 Styling, Shape, Aesthetics, and Packaging. 7.16 Safety. 7.17 Human Factors. 7.18 Environmental Effects (On the Design and Caused by the Design). 7.19 Disposability. 7.20 Sustainability. 7.21 Assembly/Disassembly. 7.22 Life Expectancy. 7.23 Ethical Issues. 7.24 Patents and Other Intellectual Property. 7.25 Legal Matters. References. Homework. Chapter 8: Human Factors in Design. 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 Human-Machine Interface. 8.3 Anthropometric Data. 8.4 The Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource (CAESAR) Project. 8.5 Basic Applications of the Anthropometric Data. 8.6 Software-Based Application of the Anthropometric Data. 8.7 Inside-Out versus Outside-In Design. 8.8 Deficiencies and Shortcomings of Anthropometric Data. 8.9 What Can Be Done. 8.10 Left-Handed versus Right-Handed Users. 8.11 Sensory Information Exchange. 8.12 Human-Machine Interface. 8.13 Physical and Psychological Characteristics of Humans. 8.14 Visual Characteristics of Humans. 8.15 Auditory Characteristics of Humans. 8.16 Temperature and Humidity. 8.17 Acceleration Capabilities and Limitations. 8.18 Psychological Factors. 8.19 Human Factors and Safety. 8.20 Occupational Injuries. 8.21 Human Factors and Maintainability. References. Homework. Chapter 9: Aesthetics of Design. 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 Aesthetic Elements of Design. 9.3 Form and Function Relationship. 9.4 Lines. 9.5 Color. 9.6 Harmony, Unity. 9.7 Variety. 9.8 Balance. 9.9 Proportion. 9.10 Composition. 9.11 Style. 9.12 Art and Technology: A Reciprocal Relationship. References. Homework. Chapter 10: Material Properties, Selection, and Processing. 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Material Properties. 10.3 Types of Materials. 10.4 Metals, Alloys. 10.5 Woods. 10.6 Plastics, Polymers, and Synthetic Materials. 10.7 Other Materials. 10.8 Material Selection. 10.9 Material Processing and Manufacturing. 10.10 Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA). 10.11 Design for Disassembly (DFD). 10.12 Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and Computer Integrated (CTM). 10.13 Rapid Prototyping. 10.14 Lean Production. References. Homework. Chapter 11: Economics of Design. 11.1 Introduction. 11.2 Value of a Product or System. 11.3 Global Economics Models. 11.4 Costs, Revenues, and Profits. 11.5 Cost Breakdown of Products and Systems. 11.6 Product Life Span. 11.7 Engineering Economy. References. Homework. Chapter 12: Quality in Design. 12.1 Introduction. 12.2 Definition of Quality. 12.3 Historical Background. 12.4 Statistical Quality Control. 12.5 Tolerances. 12.6 What is Quality? 12.7 The Concept of Zero Defects. 12.8 Deming's Principles. 12.9 Taguchi Methods. 12.10 Design of Experiments 12.11 Six-Sigma 12.12 Lean Production. References. Homework. Chapter 13: Design and Product Liability. 13.1 Introduction. 13.2 Product Liability: History and Background. 13.3 The Legal System of the United States. 13.4 Major Administrative Laws Related to Product Liability. 13.5 Some Basic Definitions of Terms. 13.6 Basic Theories of Product Liability Law. 13.7 Who May Be Held Liable. 13.8 Origins of Products Defects and Liability. 13.9 The Unreasonably Dangerous Product. 13.10 Reducing Product Liability Risk. 13.11 Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). 13.12 Code of Ethics for Engineers. 13.13 Standards and Codes. 13.14 What Protection Does the Designer Have? References. Homework. Chapter 14: Intellectual Property Protection: Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights. 14.1 Introduction. 14.2 Patents. 14.3 What is a Patent? 14.4 Utility Patents. 14.5 Requirements for Utility Patents. 14.6 To Patent or not to Patent: That is the Question. 14.7 Process of Patenting. 14.8 Claims. 14.9 Application and Maintenance Fees. 14.10 Inference and Diligence. 14.11 Provisional Patent Application. 14.12 Infringement of Patents. 14.13 Patent Marking and Patent Pending. 14.14 International Patents. 14.15 Documentation and Record Keeping. 14.16 Licenses and Assignments. 14.17 Sample Patent. 14.18 Confidential Disclosure Statement. 14.19 Most Numerous Recent Patent Holders in the United States. 14.20 Bayh-Dole Act. 14.21 Design Patents. 14.22 Copyrights. 14.23 Trademarks. References. Homework, Chapter 15: Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 15.1 Introduction. 15.2 Innovation in a Global Business World. 15.3 Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneur. 15.4 The Entrepreneurial Bridge. 15.5 Risks and Rewards. 15.6 Motivations and Objectives. 15.7 Should You Start a Business? 15.8 Market Research. 15.9 Business Plan. 15.10 Development of a Business Plan. 15.11 Presenting your Business Plan. 15.12 Legal Structure of a Business. 15.13 Financing your Entrepreneurship. 15.14 Execution of a Business Plan. 15.15 End Game Planning. References. PART 3: DESIGN ANALYSIS. Chapter 16: Design Analysis of Machine Components. 16.1 Introduction. 16.2 Loads: Forces, Moments. 16.3 Free-Body Diagrams. 16.4 Stresses, Strains, Material Strengths. 16.5 Stress Analysis. 16.6 Stress vs. Strength: Safety Factors. 16.7 Design for Strength vs. Design for Strain. 16.8 Stress Concentrations. 16.9 Fatigue Analysis. 16.10 Selection of Power Sources and Actuators. 16.11 Selection of Actuators. 16.12 Design Project. References. Homework. Index.


Objective: To assess the risk and risk factors for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalisation and determinants of the severity of RSV disease in children with heart disease. Methods: By using a database on RSV tests in Denmark all children with RSV diagnosed with heart disease in Denmark from January 1996 to April 2003 were identified. For each case child one control child matched for age and centre was drawn from the population of children with heart disease. Clinical information was obtained through a review of all records. Results: Data were obtained on 313 pairs. Median age at admission was 280 days (range 15–2379). In the multivariate analysis predictors of RSV hospitalisation were Down syndrome (odds ratio (OR) 3.24, 95% CI 1.80 to 5.80), cardiomyopathy (OR 5.84, 95% CI 1.26 to 27.16) and haemodynamically significant heart disease (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.26). During RSV hospitalisation predictors of the need for respiratory support (supplemental oxygen, nasal continuous positive airway pressure or mechanical ventilation) were young age (relative risk (RR) 0.47, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.67 per additional year of age) and cardiac decompensation (RR 1.81, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.23). The incidence rate of RSV hospitalisation among children with any heart disease aged 0–23 months was 5.65 per 100 child-years. Conclusion: In children with heart disease risk factors for RSV admission are Down syndrome, cardiomyopathy and haemodynamically significant heart disease. Young age and cardiac decompensation are associated with a more severe course of RSV disease.


This paper argues that Heidegger's deconstruction of metaphysics lends itself to an environmental ethic of non-violent 'dwelling'. I trace the instrumental mode of 'being-in-the-world' to the beginning of Western metaphysics in ancient Greece. The root of the problem is the technological understanding of things as objects and truth as objectivity. Heidegger indicates a more primordial understanding of truth as 'event'. For Heidegger, the emergence of a non-instrumental way of life depends upon the extent to which the technological 'framing' of nature nature is clearly perceived. I suggest that while Heidegger's post-foundational ethic does indeed envision a non-instrumental relation to nature, it remains unclear how such an alternative way of life may be politically achieved.


The thermal properties of amorphous and crystalline phases in chalcogenide phase change materials (PCM) play a key role in device performance for non-volatile random-access memory. Here, we report the nanothermal morphology of amorphous and crystalline phases in laser pulsed GeTe and Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films by scanning thermal microscopy (SThM). By SThM measurements and quantitative finite element analysis simulations of two film thicknesses, the PCM thermal conductivities and thermal boundary conductances between the PCM and SThM probe are independently estimated for the amorphous and crystalline phase of each stoichiometry.


This intriguing book examines the small woven and wrought works artist Sheila Hicks has produced for the past fifty years. With their distinctive colors, thoughtful compositions, and narrative, these miniature creations reveal the emergence and continuity of the artist's approach to her work. Internationally recognized for her mastery of a textile vocabulary of extremely different scales--sculpture, tapestry, site specific commissions for public spaces, environments of recuperated clothing and uniforms, and more--Hicks has thoughtfully crafted miniatures throughout her nomadic career. The palm-sized works present a record of her remarkable and personal journeys. Focusing on some one hundred miniatures from public and private collections, the book demonstrates the breadth of Hicks's concerns: her persistent inquiry into the mysteries of color, her playful yet reverential subversions of weaving traditions, her surprising range of materials, and her exploration of new technology. From initial experiments based on pre-Columbian weaving structures to a 2005 sculptural project using ninety colors of synthetic filaments, these small works offer a unique opportunity to access and examine the artist's conceptual and technical forays. The volume includes informative essays by Arthur C. Danto, Joan Simon, and Nina Stritzler-Levine as well as illustrations of the artist's working tools, related drawings, photographs, and chronology.


Closed supply chain is a superior form of management model of chain supply and an effective means of improving the modernization of agro-product circulation. Based on the research results of the current literatures on supply chain risk and agro-product supply chain, related subjects of the agro-product closed supply chain involving production, management and consumption are studied and analyzed and the primary risking factors in the supply chain system are classified as environmental risk, system risk, information risk, management risk and quality risk . Risk of agro-product closed supply chain is evaluated by using the method of furry comprehensive evaluation and the values are acquired. The result shows that risk of agro-product closed supply chain is moderate with relatively high risk, which basically accords with the present actual situations. It can be seen from the index weights of various levels that the key first-level indices influencing the risks are system risk, information risk, quality and safety risk and the key second-level are the coordinating and controlling ability of core enterprises, the implementation of information traceability and the construction of quality safety system. Therefore, risk of agro-product closed supply chain should be reduced by taking prevention and controlling measures mainly from these aspects.


A mapping between one frame from an image sequence and the preceding or following frame can be represented as a displacement vector field. In most situations, the mere gray value variations do not provide sufficient information in order to estimate such a displacement vector field. Supplementary constraints are necessary, for example the postulate that a displacement vector field varies smoothly as a function of the image position. Taken as a general requirement, this creates difficulties at gray value transitions which correspond to occluding contours. Nagel therefore introduced the ``oriented smoothness'' requirement which restricts variations of the displacement vector field only in directions with small or no variation of gray values. This contribution reports results of an investigation about how such an ``oriented smoothness'' constraint may be formulated and evaluated.


This study investigated the relationship between reading and writing in
terms of the performance, perception and strategy use of university ESL
students. The subjects of the study were students of English language
from the Faculty of Education at Sudan University of Science and
Technology. The subjects attempted two reading tests and two writing
tests to provide indicators of their performance that potentially reflected the
reading and writing connection. They also responded to a structured
questionnaire that investigated their perceptions about the connection
between what they read and what they wrote to shed light on their
affective responses towards the connection deemed important to foster
language growth.
From the subjects, 12 students were chosen based on the good
readerlwriter and poor readerlwriter criterion and were asked to recall in
writing two reading texts. They were also interviewed to investigate ESL
learner strategy use in making this connection.
The findings of the study showed that there was a relatively high degree of
correlation between the students' reading and writing performance (r=O
.741; p = .000). The findings also showed that the relationship between
reading performance and writing performance differed according to the
learners' levels of language proficiency which supports the bidirectional
hypothesis.
On the whole, the participants also showed positive attitudes towards
integrating reading and writing skills. In response to the questionnaire, the
students reported making connection between what they read and what
they wrote by making notes/summary of what they had read, developing
topics of their reading into paragraphs and using the main ideas of their
reading texts to help them in their writing activities. However, the findings
also showed that the culture of 'always-practising' good strategies appears
to be underdeveloped among Sudanese tertiary students. Therefore, it is
argued that further effort is needed on the part of instruction to help
students improve the use of good reading and writing strategies.
The analysis of the recall protocols also revealed that good writers recall
better compared to good readers. Therefore, good writers are better
readers in terms of recall compared to good readers. Accordingly, it is
argued on the basis of the recall efforts that a good writer is more likely a
better reader compared to a good reader being a better writer which
further supports the results of the reading and writing performance tests as
well as the analysis of the students' responses to the questionnaire.
Furthermore, the students' interviews showed that all the interviewees
practised some common strategies when reading and writing. Goodlpoor
readers and goodlpoor writers prepared themselves for reading by
checking the title and pictures first. However, good readers, poor readers
and poor writers seemed to have similar plans for reading, whereas good
writers had a clearer plan to approach reading (skimming for main ideas,
scanning for details or reading the introduction first, among possible often
strategies). There were however also no clear techniques used by the
interviewees to generate ideas for their writing.
The research shows a close connection between the constructs of reading
and writing. It supports the contention that writing is generally the better
indicator of reading ability. The findings point to work that can be done to
nurture greater success in reading and writing abilities and to exploit the
connections for the benefits of ESL language students.


This book argues the case for a society organized by private property, individual rights, and voluntary co-operation, with little or no government. David Friedman's standpoint, known as 'anarcho-capitalism', has attracted a growing following as a desirable social ideal since the first edition of The Machinery of Freedom appeared in 1971. This new edition is thoroughly revised and includes much new material, exploring fresh applications of the author's libertarian principles. Among topics covered: how the U.S. would benefit from unrestricted immigration; why prohibition of drugs is inconsistent with a free society; why the welfare state mainly takes from the poor to help the not-so-poor; how police protection, law courts, and new laws could all be provided privately; what life was really like under the anarchist legal system of medieval Iceland; why non-intervention is the best foreign policy; why no simple moral rules can generate acceptable social policies -- and why these policies must be derived in part from the new discipline of economic analysis of law.


As part of our research program assessing the use of liquid hog manure (LHM) to control root-lesion nematodes, Pratylenchus penetrans, a series of acute toxicity tests was conducted to: (i) examine if non-ionized forms of volatile fatty acids (VFA) are responsible for the mortality of P. penetrans exposed to LHM under acidic conditions, (ii) determine if Caenorhabditis elegans can be a surrogate for P. penetrans in screening tests by comparing their sensitivities to VFA, (iii) characterize the nematicidal effect of individual VFA in LHM to P. penetrans, and (iv) determine whether individual VFA in LHM interact in their toxicity to P. penetrans. LHM was significantly (P 0.05) more toxic to P. penetrans than a mixture of its main VFA components at concentrations of 5% and 10% (vol. VFA or LHM /vol. in buffer). Pratylenchus penetrans was more sensitive to acetic acid than C. elegans, whereas the sensitivity of both nematode species to n-caproic acid was similar. Individual VFA vary in their lethality to P. penetrans. n-valeric acid was the most toxic (LC95= 6.8 mM), while isobutyric acid was the least toxic (LC95 = 45.7 mM). Individual VFA did not interact in their toxicity to P. penetrans, and their effects were considered additive. VFA account for the majority of the lethal effect of LHM to P. penetrans under acidic conditions. Caenorhabditis elegans cannot be used as a surrogate to P. penetrans in toxicity studies using VFA. The efficacy of LHM to control P. penetrans can be evaluated by assessing its VFA content prior to application, and this evaluation is facilitated by the fact that the interaction of individual VFA appears to be simply additive.


Names and name-binding are useful concepts in the theory and practice of formal systems. In this thesis we study them in the context of dependent type theory. We propose a novel dependent type theory with primitives for the explicit handling of names. As the main application, we consider programming and reasoning with abstract syntax involving variable binders. Gabbay and Pitts have shown that Fraenkel Mostowski (FM) set theory models a notion of name using which informal work with names and binding can be made precise. They have given a number of useful constructions for working with names and binding, such as a syntax-independent notion of freshness that formalises when two objects do not share names, and a freshness quantifier that simplifies working with names and binding. Related to FM set theory, a number of systems for working with names have been given, among them are the first-order Nominal Logic, the higher-order logic FM-HOL, the Theory of Contexts as well as the programming language FreshML. In this thesis we study how dependent type theory can be extended with primitives for working with names and binding. Our choice of primitives is different from that in FM set theory. In FM set theory the fundamental primitive for working with names is swapping. All other concepts such as α-equivalence classes and binding are constructed from it. For dependent type theory, however, this approach of constructing everything from swapping is not ideal, since it requires us to make strong assumptions on the type theory. For instance, the construction of α-equivalence classes from swapping appears to require quotient types. Our approach is to treat constructions such as α-equivalence classes and name-binding directly, turning them into primitives of the type theory. To do this, it is convenient to take freshness rather than swapping as the fundamental primitive. Based on the close correspondence between type theories and categories, we approach the design of the dependent type theory by studying the categorical structure underlying FM set theory. We start from a monoidal structure capturing freshness. By analogy with the definition of simple dependent sums Σ and products Π from the cartesian product, we define monoidal dependent sums Σ∗ and products Π∗ from the monoidal structure. For the type of names N, we have an isomorphism ΣN ∼= ΠN generalising the freshness quantifier. We show that this structure includes α-equivalence classes, name binding, unique choice of fresh names as well as the freshness quantifier. In addition to the set theoretic model corresponding to FM set theory, we also give a realizability model of this structure. The semantic structure leads us to a bunched type theory having both a dependent additive context structure and a non-dependent multiplicative context structure. This type theory generalises the simply-typed αλ -calculus of O'Hearn and Pym in the additive direction. It includes novel monoidal products Π∗ and sums Σ∗ as well as hidden-name types H for working with names and binding. We give examples for the use of the type theory for programming and reasoning with abstract syntax involving binders. We show that abstract syntax can be handled both in the style of FM set theory and in the style of Weak Higher Order Abstract Syntax. Moreover, these two styles of working with abstract syntax can be mixed, which has interesting applications such as the derivation of a term for the unique choice of new names.


Abstract. Alkyl and multifunctional organic nitrates, molecules of the chemical form RONO2, are products of chain terminating reactions in the tropospheric HOx and NOx catalytic cycles and thereby impact ozone formation locally. Many of the molecules in the class have lifetimes that are long enough that they can be transported over large distances. If the RONO2 then decompose to deliver NOx to remote regions they affect ozone production rates in locations distant from the original NOx source. While measurements of total RONO2 (ΣANs) and small straight chain alkyl nitrates are routine, measurements of the specific multifunctional RONO2 molecules that are believed to dominate the total have rarely been reported and never reported in coincidence with ambient ΣANs measurements. Here we describe observations obtained during the BEARPEX 2009 experiment including ΣANs and a suite of multifunctional nitrates including isoprene derived hydroxynitrates, oxidation products of those nitrates, 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) derived hydroxynitrates, and monoterpene nitrates. At the BEARPEX field site, the sum of the individual biogenically derived nitrates account for two-thirds of the ΣANs, confirming predictions of the importance of biogenic nitrates to the NOy budget. Isoprene derived nitrates, transported to the site, are a much larger fraction of the ΣANs at the site than the nitrates derived from the locally emitted MBO. Evidence for additional nitrates, possibly from nocturnal chemistry of isoprene and α-pinene, is presented.


As a semiconductor, zinc oxide (ZnO) has better UV absorbing properties compared to other semiconductor materials, and therefore, it has better dye degrading abilities. However, ZnO tends to agglomerate, which lead to poor degradation compared to the other semiconductors. In this study, to overcome the agglomeration of ZnO, silica (SiO2) was combined with ZnO. The composite was tested for its photocatalytic activity. The ZnO/SiO2 photocatalyst was fabricated on a glass plate. In order to investigate the addition of SiO2 on ZnO, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used. The result of the XRD analysis demonstrates similar peak results with ZnO XRD data from ICSD 157132 with a hexagonal structure. The results indicate that the ZnO structure did not change after the addition of SiO2, while SEM-EDS results showed that SiO2 was supported on ZnO with 8% composition. The optimal composition was found to be ZnO/SiO2 95/5, as indicated by high degradation activity, which can degrade up to 89% methylene blue.


ABSTRACT Red spruce (Picea rubens) is a long-lived tree species that thrives in cool, moist environs. Its ability to adapt to rapidly changing climate is uncertain. In the southern Appalachian Mountains, red spruce reaches its greatest abundance at high elevations, but can also occur across a range of mid and lower elevations, suggesting the possibility of a correlation between genetic variation and habitat. To assess clinal phenotypic variation in functional traits related to climate adaptation, we collected seed from 82 maternal sib families located along replicated elevational gradients in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN (GSMNP) and Mount Mitchell State Park, NC (MMSP). The percentage of filled seeds and seed mass increased with elevation, indicating that successful pollination and seed development was greatest at the highest elevations. Seedlings sourced from GSMNP displayed a strong relationship between elevation and bud set when grown under common garden conditions. High elevation families set bud as many as 10 days earlier than low elevation families, indicating adaptation to local climate. Across parks, no effect of elevation was noted for bud flush. Our results demonstrate that red spruce in the southern Appalachian Mountains displays clinal variation in bud set that may reflect local adaptation to climate, although this varied between the two parks sampled. We suggest that genetic adaption of red spruce to different climate regimes, at both local and broad spatial scales, is in need of more intensive study, and should be carefully considered when selecting seed sources for restoration.


Sentencing mitigation or sentencing videos are a form of visual legal advocacy that is produced on behalf of defendants for use in the sentencing phases of criminal cases (from charging to clemency). The videos are typically short (5 to 10 minutes or so) nonfiction films that explore a defendant's background, character, and family situation with the aim of raising factual and moral issues that support the argument for a shorter or more lenient sentence. Very few examples of mitigation videos are in the public domain and available for viewing. This article provides a complete analysis of the constituent elements of these videos, particularly their narrative structure. It raises strategic considerations that are pertinent to the decision to use a video during the sentencing process and explores questions of image ethics that can arise when a defendant's children and parents are enlisted as video witnesses. Finally and most importantly, it addresses the hearsay challenges that not only present obstacles to the admission of sentencing videos in formal sentencing proceedings, but also impact the weight they are accorded in general.


Despite being a leading cause of advanced liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) has no effective medical therapies. The circulating proteome, which comprises proteins secreted by different cells and tissues in the context of normal physiological function or in the setting of disease and illness, represents an attractive target for uncovering novel biology related to the pathogenesis of ALD. In this work, we used the aptamer-based SomaScan proteomics platform to quantify the relative concentration of over 1300 proteins in a well-characterized cohort of patients with the spectrum of ALD. We found a distinct circulating proteomic signature that correlated with ALD severity, including over 600 proteins that differed significantly between ALD stages, many of which have not previously been associated with ALD to our knowledge. Notably, certain proteins that were markedly dysregulated in patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis were also altered, to a lesser degree, in patients with subclinical ALD and may represent early biomarkers for disease progression. Taken together, our work highlights the vast and distinct changes in the circulating proteome across the wide spectrum of ALD, identifies potentially novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and provides a proteomic resource atlas for ALD researchers and clinicians.


View or save district type results in Microsoft Excel | PDF A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z - A - NAME DISTRICT TYP


Delayed open access (OA) refers to scholarly articles in subscription journals made available openly on the web directly through the publisher at the expiry of a set embargo period. Although a substantial number of journals have practiced delayed OA since they started publishing e-versions, empirical studies concerning OA have often overlooked this body of literature. This study provides comprehensive quantitative measurements by identifying delayed OA journals and collecting data concerning their publication volumes, embargo lengths, and citation rates. Altogether, 492 journals were identified, publishing a combined total of 111,312 articles in 2011; 77.8% of these articles were made OA within 12 months from publication, with 85.4% becoming available within 24 months. A journal impact factor analysis revealed that delayed OA journals have citation rates on average twice as high as those of closed subscription journals and three times as high as immediate OA journals. Overall, the results demonstrate that delayed OA journals constitute an important segment of the openly available scholarly journal literature, both by their sheer article volume and by including a substantial proportion of high-impact journals.


Background and Objectives Appropriate use criteria (AUC) was developed to improve the quality of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, these criteria should consider the current practice pattern in the country where they are being applied. Materials and Methods The algorithm for the Korean PCI practice pattern (KP3) was developed by modifying the United States-derived AUC in expert consensus meetings. KP3 class A was defined as any strategy with evidence from randomized trials that was more conservative for PCI than medical therapy or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Class C was defined as any strategy with less evidence from randomized trials and more aggressive for PCI than medical therapy or CABG. Class B was defined as a strategy that was partly class A and partly class C. We applied the KP3 classification system to the Korean PCI registry. Results The KP3 class A was noted in 67.7% of patients, class B in 28.8%, and class C in 3.5%. The median proportion of class C cases per center was 2.0%. The distribution of KP3 classes varied significantly depending on clinical and angiographic characteristics. The proportion of KP3 class C cases per center was not significantly dependent on PCI volume, but rather on the percentage of ACS cases in each center. Conclusion We report the current PCI practice pattern by applying the new KP3 classification in a nationwide PCI registry. The results should be interpreted carefully with due regard for the complex relationships between the determining variables and the healthcare system in Korea.


Software product management and pricing are key success factors for any organization providing software, be it a software company or an organization responsible for software in a company that belongs to a different industry. After defining the term "software product" and looking at the business and organizational sides, the core elements of software product management and pricing are discussed. Recommendations are given on how to deal with these elements depending on different types of organizations and products in order to achieve the long-term success.


In Japanese the term Karaoke means, literally, empty orchestra. One definition disparagingly describes it as the social sensation from Japan where sufficiently inebriated people embarrass themselves in public by singing along to a music track with the lyrics displayed on a TV screen. In recent years the world has been witnessing a massive worldwide karaoke explosion. In "Karaoke", Zhou Xun and Francesca Tarocco address the complexity of this social craze, exploring its emergence in post-war Japan, its development and spread across the world to become a phenomenon that constantly evolved to keep pace with changes in technology and culture. Drawing on extensive research and travels around the world, the authors chart the varied manifestations of karaoke, from karaoke taxis in Bangkok to nude karaoke in Toronto, to the role of karaoke in prostitution. Extensive personal anecdotes reveal the dramatic range of social experiences made possible by karaoke and how the obsession with performance and song has touched politics, history and pop culture throughout global society. Karaoke bars are at the heart of rich escapist fantasies, and the authors in readable fashion and using vibrant illustrations document this unpredictable fantasy world and the people who inhabit it. A fascinating and highly informative read, "Karaoke" will delight all those who have had the courage to take the mike and front the empty orchestra.