A model package including a watershed model, an atmospheric loading model, a hydrodynamic model, and a eutrophication model are used to evaluate the benefit of nutrient and solids load controls on the Virginia tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay. Quantities examined include nutrients, solids, chlorophyll, anoxic volume, mesozooplankton, benthos, light attenuation, and submerged aquatic vegetation. Nutrient load controls are beneficial in reducing chlorophyll concentration and anoxic volume but produce no major benefits for zooplankton and benthos. Load controls benefit aquatic vegetation biomass, but more extensive solids controls are required to restore widespread SAV distribution.


When the California Aqueduct was completed, it brought high quality water from northern California to replace poor quality local well water, which usually contained high levels of boron and salts and made much of the area unsuitable for many crops.
New experimental and commercial plant-ags of a variety of crops are continuing to le made to determine whether production, locality and economics warrant more extenive plantings. Grapes are one of the crops receiving wide interest.
This study indicates that suitability of the area for grapes is strongly related to a relocation in soil boron, which accumulated in roils during irrigation or was present from natural causes. Boron can be removed by bleaching, although copious amounts of good duality water are needed to remove it. However, good irrigation practices with the new rater supply can be expected to reduce.iron to acceptable levels within a few years 3rd all crops in well-drained soils. Soil and land analysis can be used to evaluate the rogress in reclamation and to determine coil suitability for planting.


Fanning the Flames examines the worlds of fans in the exuberant and commercialized popular culture of contemporary Japan. The works collected here profile denizens of all-night rap clubs; sumo stable patrons; passionate fan clubs of a professional baseball team; enthusiasts of traditional rakugo storytelling; a club of middle-aged female fans of a popular music star; youthful followers of Japan's longest-running rock band; vinyl record collectors; and a thriving community of girls and women who produce and devour amateur comics. Grounded in close, often extended fieldwork with the fans themselves, each case study is an effort to understand both the personal pleasures and political economies of fandoms. The contributors explore the many ways that fans in and of Japanese mass culture actively search for intimacy and identity amid the powerful corporate structures that produce the leisure and entertainment of today's Japan.


The main aim of this study is to develop a forensic accounting system that will help in reducing financial statement fraud through not only its predictive properties; but also, the recommended forensic accounting procedures and policies which the accounting profession should adopt.
This study through a neo-empiricist inductive approach, that is premised on an objective collection of qualitative empirical data, has developed a forensic accounting system by exploring the perception of Accounting Academics, Forensic Accountants, External Auditors and Finance Directors using a purposive sampling method.
The findings revealed that the training of professional accountants', particularly external auditors, in forensic accounting skills, ethics, principles and procedures can increase their fraud detection capabilities which can, in turn, increase the chances of fraud detection in the financial statements and equally serve as a fraud deterrence mechanism.
The main output from this study was developed into a model called the "Forensic Accounting system". This model has three elements; Audit Concerns, Education, Accounting Standards and Regulations. These three elements are not mutually exclusive, but one element can be addressed per time. This new system stipulates that in order to reduce financial statement fraud, audit concerns (agency concern, role and responsibility of auditors, management responsibility and odd agency situation) need to be addressed. Of importance in the audit concerns element is the mandate of the auditors. The mandate of external auditors needs to include the detection of fraud in the financial statement.
Once the audit concerns have been addressed how auditors are educated will need to change. The changes that are required are some elements of forensic accounting to be incorporated into the curriculum and professional development of auditors. The last element of the new system is the accounting standard and regulations. Those grey areas that allow for the manipulation of the financial statements will need to be closed down by the standard setters. Two key issues here are the concept of materiality and auditors' responsibility.
This study has implication for standard setters on the need to make accounting and auditing standards fit for purpose to complement the corporate governance codes. Higher education and professional bodies should work along the changes in accounting standards and integrate some elements of forensic accounting into the education curriculum of professional accountants in order to increase their chances


Social inclusion of recent immigrants is a challenge in many countries for both immigrants and the host communities. To harness the potential of social, situated and opportunistic mobile interactions for the social inclusion of immigrants in a host country, we have developed an Incidental Learning Framework. This supports the design and evaluation of MApp, a suite of smartphone tools and services for recent immigrants. Developed within the European Union's MASELTOV project (http://www.maseltov.eu), the MApp delivers language learning activities, image-to-text translation, context-aware and interest-based recommendations, local information, game-based cultural learning and social support to immigrants in cities. Preliminary field trials in Vienna, Madrid and London have highlighted issues of mobile literacy, affordability, ethics and privacy challenges, as well as insights into motivations and possible measures of success. Incidental learning implemented on a smartphone app has implications for the relationship between formal and informal learning; new systems of learner support by other immigrants, mentors and volunteers; the design of learning materials that combine immediate assistance with longer term learner development; and potential conflicts between technological affordances, e.g. context awareness and learner tracking, and user preferences among vulnerable groups such as recent immigrants.


Paediatrics is a popular specialty with medical students who enjoy its variety, fun and multi-professional working. This enthusiasm is often not reflected in applications to specialty training and in many countries, paediatrics is less popular than medicine, surgery and family medicine.1 More worryingly, paediatric training programmes are finding it increasingly difficult to retain doctors, with a consequent increase in rota gaps. In the UK, for example, applications to commence paediatric training were down 11.5% in 2016 compared with the number of applications filed in 2015.2 Here, we identify some strategies for improving paediatric training which may help to alleviate this problem.

Medical student experience is very important when choosing a specialty.3 The child health placement is an ideal opportunity to capture student enthusiasm and promote paediatrics as an appealing specialty choice.4 Many medical schools have moved to vertically integrated courses which focus on longer clerkships, giving the chance to follow patients for several months. This promotes earlier definitive career choices and increases preparedness for specialty training.5 Programmes such as these increase exposure to child health early in the medical course, which may encourage students to undertake paediatric special study modules or electives, thereby encouraging them to select paediatrics as a career.6

Students need support during their early encounters with children and families as this can be daunting and may deter interested students from pursuing a career in child health.7 It is imperative that students are encouraged to give meaningful feedback on their placements and that changes are implemented in response. In some countries, students interested in paediatrics are encouraged to select additional courses which may nurture this interest.8

Box 1 offers some suggestions for engaging medical students in child health. Box 1
### Suggestions for ways of engaging medical students in child health …


This paper presents some analytical techniques to help policymakers gauge the technical and fiscal feasibility of development targets. While each of the techniques discussed below has deficiencies, taken together they have proven very useful in providing a sense of realism to target setting. The paper begins with a review of issues involved in target setting. It then presents three methods for assessing the technical viability of development targets, gradually moving from low data- and skill-intensive to more demanding tools. Next, the paper discusses two broad sets of techniques for estimating the cost and fiscal feasibility of reaching specific targets, as well as a number of issues to be considered when gauging a country's capacity to implement the related program. The paper ends with some concluding remarks. This unpublished version of the paper in Spanish was translated from an English version published in the World Bank's Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook.


Magnetic stripes parallel to mid-ocean ridges are one of the most signifi cant consequences of seafl oor spreading, and have played an essential role in the establishment of the plate tectonics theory and the determination of seafl oor spreading rates. Similar magnetic anomaly patterns have not been well documented subaerially in continental rifts transitioning into seafl oor spreading centers. Here, using high-resolution magnetic data that were collected across the Tendaho Graben in the Afar Depression, Ethiopia, we document one of the fi rst examples of subaerial magnetic lineations similar in pattern and amplitude to those that characterize seafl oor spreading centers. The ~50-km-wide graben is the southernmost structural and geomorphological expression of the on-land continuation of the Red Sea propagator, which is taken to represent the Arabian-Nubian plate boundary within Afar. The graben is bounded by northwest-trending border faults, with the footwalls dominated by ca. 1.7 Ma basalts and the downthrown blocks constituting progressively younger basalts toward the center of the graben, reaching ca. 35 ka. The Tendaho magnetic fi eld is characterized by an ~10-km-wide linear negative magnetic anomaly that corresponds to a normal-polarity zone that is fl anked by two parallel, ~20-km-wide linear positive magnetic anomalies of reversed polarity. This work shows that magnetic stripes can be developed in transitional continental rifts before the development of oceanic spreading centers. The common assumption that magnetic stripes can be used to date the onset of seafl oor spreading may need to be re-evaluated in light of the evidence provided here.


Metadata is data about data. It is considered an ideal and a very useful solution in describing/managing resources on the Internet. Especially, in the digital library field, metadata plays an important role for integrating digital resources and offering information service. However, from users standpoint, information service offered nowadays by any digital library is unable to satisfy their diversified needs, such as, knowledge information, individualization information, reusable and sharable information. A metadata model based on a new concept is required.

As an extension of our previous research issue, we proposed the concept of Structured Digital Object (SDO is an abbreviation). SDOs are used for reorganizing/restructuring existing digital resources, because SDO set is structured data about data, this paper call it metadata. Using the metadata model based-concept of SDO, restructure various existing resources in existing digital libraries, form the so-called "Global Digital Library". The Global Digital Library can adopt Web Services for information services. It can solve not only interoperability problems among heterogeneous resources, heterogeneous systems and operating systems, but also can meet individual user need to different granularities information. We also used Topic Maps to associate SDOs with information resources that can be located in existing digital libraries or the global digital library. Furthermore, because all the metadata is described by XML, achieve reusing, sharing information.

In the paper, we give some demonstrations to approve the points described above.


The present investigation was conducted to study the oxidation kinetics of nickel-based superalloy 263, used in the manufacture of rings for aircraft engines. For carrying out this study, we first conducted microstructural characterization of the pieces using the techniques of optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Subsequently, using the thermogravimetric analysis, the kinetic oxidation of the metal was performed in a temperature range between 700 and 1000°C, using atmospheres of O 2 . The results of the micrographs show the formation of a protective oxide film on the surface of the material in different oxidizing agents. Finally, it was found that the kinet ics of high-temperature oxidation of the superalloy C-263 obeys the parabolic rate law.


This thesis is an experimental study of the single/geminate contrasts in Iraqi Colloquial Arabic (I. C. Arabic).It falls into two major parts.

Part One is the theoretical part of this study. It
comprises two Chapters. Chapter One explains the linguistic
significance of gemination in Arabic and sheds some light
on the historical background of the phonetic studies
initiated by the old Arab grammarians. The syllable
structure and the stress patterns both in Classical Arabic
and in I. C. Arabic are dealt with. Recent theoretical and
experimental studies on Arabic gemination are reviewed.
Chapter Two presents a general survey of the literature.
The distinctions between long, double and geminate consonants are clarified. Theoretical and experimental studies on gemination in languages other than Arabic are also reviewed.

Part Two is the experimental part of this study. It
comprises five chapters. Chapter Three is an initial
investigation that illustrates the acoustic characteristics
of single and geminate consonants used in isolated words as
well as in contextual utterances. Chapter Four is a
synthetic investigation of geminate consonants carried out
with the help of a microcomputer. It investigates the roles
played by the segmental durations in the perception of
single versus geminate consonants in I. C. Arabic. The theory of 'categorical perception' is then discussed in relation to our data. Chapter Five provides a palatographic evidence of the distinctions between geminate consonants and their single counterparts. It also reviews earlier palatographic studies and discusses the main advantages of the technique of palatography, both static and dynamic, in phonetic research. Chapter Six represents the major experimental work in this study. It investigates the articulatory, aerodynamic and acoustic aspects of the geminate/non-geminate consonants in I. C. Arabic. Two experiments are included in this chapter; the pilot experiment and the main experiment.Because a considerable number of variables are involved in the two experiments, the results have been subjected to statistical treatment, including the statistical test of the 'analysis of variance'. Chapter Seven is the final chapter in this thesis. It begins with the conclusions one can derive from this study and ends with our suggestions for further investigations.

The major conclusions that can be drawn from this study are the following:

1. duration is the overriding factor in distinguishing
a geminate from a single consonant both perceptually
and productively;

2. there is little or no evidence for 'rearticulation'
in the production of geminate consonants; and

3. no compensatory adjustment in vowel duration was
observed in vowels preceding the two types ofconsonant
in word-medial position.


Computer users have access to computer security information from many different sources, but few people receive explicit computer security training. Despite this lack of formal education, users regularly make many important security decisions, such as "Should I click on this potentially shady link?" or "Should I enter my password into this form?" For these decisions, much knowledge comes from incidental and informal learning. To better understand differences in the security-related information available to users for such learning, we compared three informal sources of computer security information: news articles, web pages containing computer security advice, and stories about the experiences of friends and family. Using a Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic model, we found that security information from peers usually focuses on who conducts attacks, information containing expertise focuses instead on how attacks are conducted, and information from the news focuses on the consequences of attacks. These differences may prevent users from understanding the persistence and frequency of seemingly mundane threats (viruses, phishing), or from associating protective measures with the generalized threats the users are concerned about (hackers). Our findings highlight the potential for sources of informal security education to create patterns in user knowledge that affect their ability to make good security decisions.


This small-scale study explores the impact on counsellors of working with clients who have experienced spiritual abuse. Participants were five counsellors who have worked with spiritually abused clients. They were interviewed and the data analysed using a bricolage of heuristic and interpretative phenomenological analysis. The data indicate that counsellors experience symptoms of visceral traumatization and secondary traumatic stress disorder characterized by feelings of anger, outrage, sadness, grief, powerlessness, cynicism, helplessness, frustration, disassociation, needing to justify or vindicate God and protect the spiritual community—rather than the abuser—and wariness of leadership of spiritual communities. However, working with clients who were spiritually abused deepened and strengthened the counsellors' relationship with God in a profound way. The research also highlights the need for greater awareness to be had of spirituality and spiritual abuse in supervision and training courses.


Machine learning algorithms are increasingly used in large-scale industrial settings. Here, the operational cost during test-time has to be taken into account when an algorithm is designed. This operational cost is affected by the average running time and the computation time required for feature extraction. When a diverse set of features is used, the latter can vary drastically. In this paper we propose an algorithm that constructs a cascade of classifiers which explicitly trades-off operational cost and classifier accuracy while accounting for on-demand feature extraction costs. Different from previous work, our algorithm reoptimizes trained classifiers and allows expensive features to be scheduled at any stage within the cascade to minimize overall cost. Experiments on actual web-search ranking data sets demonstrate that our framework leads to drastic test-time improvements.


Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global health crisis, which has been fueled by the sustained use of certain classes of antimicrobials, including fluoroquinolones. While the genetic mutations responsible for decreased fluoroquinolone (ciprofloxacin) susceptibility are known, the implications of ciprofloxacin exposure on bacterial growth, survival, and interactions with host cells are not well described. Aiming to understand the influence of inhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin in vitro, we subjected three clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to differing concentrations of ciprofloxacin, dependent on their MICs, and assessed the impact on bacterial growth, morphology, and transcription. We further investigated the differential morphology and transcription that occurred following ciprofloxacin exposure and measured the ability of ciprofloxacin-treated bacteria to invade and replicate in host cells. We found that ciprofloxacin-exposed S. Typhimurium is able to recover from inhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin and that the drug induces specific morphological and transcriptional signatures associated with the bacterial SOS response, DNA repair, and intracellular survival. In addition, ciprofloxacin-treated S. Typhimurium has increased capacity for intracellular replication in comparison to that of untreated organisms. These data suggest that S. Typhimurium undergoes an adaptive response under ciprofloxacin perturbation that promotes cellular survival, a consequence that may justify more measured use of ciprofloxacin for Salmonella infections. The combination of multiple experimental approaches provides new insights into the collateral effects that ciprofloxacin and other antimicrobials have on invasive bacterial pathogens. IMPORTANCE Antimicrobial resistance is a critical concern in global health. In particular, there is rising resistance to fluoroquinolones, such as ciprofloxacin, a first-line antimicrobial for many Gram-negative pathogens. We investigated the adaptive response of clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to ciprofloxacin, finding that the bacteria adapt in short timespans to high concentrations of ciprofloxacin in a way that promotes intracellular survival during early infection. Importantly, by studying three clinically relevant isolates, we were able to show that individual isolates respond differently to ciprofloxacin and that for each isolate, there was a heterogeneous response under ciprofloxacin treatment. The heterogeneity that arises from ciprofloxacin exposure may drive survival and proliferation of Salmonella during treatment and lead to drug resistance.


It is uncontroversial to hold that speech is more than mere words. Speech is images, iconography, logos, and illustrations. Speech is wearing black armbands in school to protest a war, or burning an American flag to demonstrate against public policy. Speech can offend. One needs look no further than the reaction to cartoonists by religious fundamentalists: the offense of cartoons can be so deep that it moves individuals to commit murder.When that speech is undertaken as part of commerce it does not magically lose any political, social or religious dimension it had when in a non-commercial context. Cartoons issued bearing the image of the Prophet as part of a commercial magazine are surely a political statement deserving of protection. The situation is the same if an organization adopts a logo that is derisive to a particular political or religious ideology – that publication is making a protected, expressive statement through its branding.However, when it comes to obtaining a trademark on such a brand, speech receives significantly less protection than it does in other areas of law. The ongoing efforts to cancel the Redskins' trademark are illustrative of the struggle a registrant of a controversial mark faces in light of lesser constitutional protections. First used by the football club in 1933, the Redskins have undergone multiple challenges to the use of their mark since 1992. The Redskins enjoyed initial success by relying upon a laches defense: the challengers had simply waited too long to challenge the controversial mark. However, in June 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") decided that this defense no longer applied. In order to prove that their mark was not disparaging, the Redskins were forced to undergo a historical and cultural analysis in order to determine the extent of the mark's offensiveness. Losing that argument, the Redskins turned to a last ditch effort: argue that the First Amendment really can protect offensive speech, even in the context of the Lanham Act. I call it a last ditch effort because, even though Pro Football rightly argues that the Lanham Act attempts to unconstitutionally regulate the substantive content of speech, and that it also burdens disfavored speech that is nonetheless protected under the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit has to date not seemed at all concerned with the First Amendment implications of the Lanham Act.Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act – the federal statute governing the registration of trademarks – places a prohibition on the registration of "scandalous," "immoral" or "disparaging" marks. In support of this prohibition, the Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO"), together with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB") and the Federal Circuit, have characterized the benefit granted by the Lanham Act as merely "procedural" and not "substantive." Further, by preventing registration of "immoral" or "disparaging" marks, the Federal Circuit believes that there is no actual harm suffered – said registrant remains free to utilize the mark in commerce, albeit without the protection of federal law. However, this position propounded by the TTAB and reinforced by the Federal Circuit misses a very important dimension of the issue. The Lanham Act essentially creates a federally backed market in trademarks – one in which nonparticipants can be severely penalized by being unable to effectively compete on the national stage. To have an unprotected mark, one that any other entity is free to exercise as part of its commercial or noncommercial presence, can mean a total lack of identity. Further, the Lanham Act grants a number of benefits that taken together create a significant basis for investment on the part of individuals. Thus, to be denied federal registration of a trademark is not so insignificant a thing as the Federal Circuit would have us believe. Surely the denied registrants can continue to "speak," but their voice is significantly muffled.This paper argues that the practice of silencing "immoral," "scandalous," and "disparaging" trademarks is unconstitutional, from at least two perspectives. First, the Unconstitutional Conditions doctrine prevents the Lanham Act from discriminating against "immoral" or "disparaging" trademarks. In essence, since trademarks constitute "intertwined speech" – that is an inextricable mixture of commercial and noncommercial speech – Congress's limitation of that speech as a condition for the benefit of federal registration is unconstitutional. Second, trademarks may constitute a public forum such that the government would be restricted from viewpoint discrimination. This paper concludes by recommending a variety of ways that the §2(a) can be reframed to correct the constitutional deficiencies it poses to the Lanham Act.


With the growing concern over the environment, new industries and research areas have been developed to identify, monitor, regulate, and legislate environmental interactions as well as to determine and repair existing environmental damage. For both the expert and the newcomer, a quick, convenient, and comprehensive source is needed to answer questions on the rapidly increasing amount of environmental information. The Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation (EEAR) responds to this need by providing the reader with an in-depth examination of the environmental analysis and remediation fields in a single eight-volume reference source.


To ensure the data integrity of the outsourced data Proof-of-Retrievability (POR) schemes has been proposed wherein storage server must prove to a verifier that all of a client's data are stored correctly. Existing PoR schemes have computational complexities and allow only private verification. We focus on designing a scheme that achieves both public verifiability and constant communication cost simultaneously,and releases the data owners from the burden of staying online.In our proposed scheme, the message exchanged between the prover and verifier is composed of a constant number of group elements. We combine techniques such as constant size polynomial commitment and homomorphic linear authenticators.The Computational Diffie-Hellman Problem, the Strong Diffie-Hellman assumption and the Bilinear Strong Diffie-Hellman assumption is used to prove the security of our POR Scheme.


We solve the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints of General Relativity for two black-holes with nearly extremal spins or ultra-relativistic boosts in the puncture formalism. We use a non-conformally-flat ansatz with an attenuated superposition of two conformally Kerr or Lorentz-boosted-Schwarzschild 3-metrics and their corresponding extrinsic curvatures. We compare evolutions of these data with the standard Bowen-York conformally-flat ansatz (technically limited to intrinsic spins $S/M_{\text{ADM}}^2 = 0.928$ and boosts $P/M_{\text{ADM}} = 0.897$), finding an order of magnitude smaller burst of spurious radiation. As a case study, we evolve two equal-mass black-holes from rest with an initial separation of $d = 12M$ and spins $S_i/m_i^2 = 0.99$, compute the waveforms produced by the collision, the energy radiated, and the recoil of the final remnant black-hole. We find that the black-hole trajectories curve at closer separation, which leads to the radiation of angular momentum. We also study orbiting (nonspinning) black-hole binaries and binaries with the two black-holes boosted towards each other at relativistic speeds. These non-spinning data also show a substantial reduction in the non-physical initial burst of radiation which leads to cleaner waveforms. Finally, we study different choices of the initial lapse and lapse evolution equation in the moving punctures approach to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the simulations.


ZSM-5 catalysts with different morphologies were synthesized and evaluated for the catalytic conversion of furan in a fixed bed reactor to provide insights into the rational design of zeolite catalysts for catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP). The effects of mesoporosity and morphology of ZSM-5 catalysts on the production of aromatics and olefins as well as catalyst deactivation were investigated. The results suggest that increasing mesoporosity and decreasing crystallite size can increase furan conversion and affect selectivity to products. Improved selectivities to benzene, toluene, xylene and olefins were achieved with mesoporous ZSM-5 and 100 nm ZSM-5 compared to 800 nm ZSM-5. Coke formation on zeolite catalysts during the reaction of furan was also largely reduced (up to 65%) by introducing mesoporosity. It was observed that coke is mainly formed and accumulated inside the micropores of ZSM-5 catalysts rather than on the external surface or within the mesopores. Characterization of mass transport in the coked zeolite samples using cyclohexane as a probe molecule suggested that coke blocks micropores, leading to a decrease in micropore volume during the catalyst deactivation process. However, due to the three-dimensional pore structure of ZSM-5, the mass transport properties of mesoporous ZSM-5 do not exhibit an apparent change. Catalyst deactivation was mainly due to the coverage of active sites by coke, rather than the blockage of the transport pathways by coke.


Abstract Maternal cytoplasmic inheritance may cause an upward bias in heritability estimates from daughter on dam regression. Inaccurate evaluations of bulls or dams of future sires would result if such estimates were used in genetic evaluation. Expected genetic selection differential for bulls would be overestimated, but genetic gain would be little affected by incorrect heritability estimates. Genetic evaluations of dams of sires would be less accurate when incorrect heritability estimates are used, but actual selection differentials would be only slightly less than optimum. If cytoplasmic effects were ignored during selection, less genetic improvement would seem to be the result. However, expected genetic gain would be only slightly increased if selection considered both nuclear and cytoplasmic components of inheritance rather than nuclear inheritance only. Reasons for both results are that selection for cytoplasmic effects can be done directly only through dams of cows for which selection is not very intense and that overestimates of heritability have little effect on genetic selection differentials as compared to using correct estimates of heritability. Expected genetic gain, if based on overestimates of heritability, however, will be considerably greater than can be realized.


A single piece of meteorite fell on Kamargaon village in the state of Assam in India on November 13, 2015. Based on mineralogical, chemical, and oxygen isotope data, Kamargaon is classified as an L‐chondrite. Homogeneous olivine (Fa: 25 ± 0.7) and low‐Ca pyroxene (Fs: 21 ± 0.4) compositions with percent mean deviation of <2, further suggest that Kamargaon is a coarsely equilibrated, petrologic type 6 chondrite. Kamargaon is thermally metamorphosed with an estimated peak metamorphic temperature of ~800 °C as determined by two‐pyroxene thermometry. Shock metamorphism studies suggest that this meteorite include portions of different shock stages, e.g., S3 and S4 (Stöffler et al. ); however, local presence of quenched metal‐sulfide melt within shock veins/pockets suggest disequilibrium melting and relatively higher shock stage of up to S5 (Bennett and McSween ). Based on noble gas isotopes, the cosmic‐ray exposure age is estimated as 7.03 ± 1.60 Ma and nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N = 18‰) also correspond well with the L‐chondrite group. The He‐U, Th, and K‐Ar yield younger ages (170 ± 25 Ma 684 ± 93, respectively) and are discordant. A loss of He during the resetting event is implied by the lower He‐U and Th age. Elemental ratios of trapped Ar, Kr, and Xe can be explained through the presence of a normal Q noble gas component. Relatively low activity of 26Al (39 dpm/kg) and the absence of 60Co activity suggest a likely low shielding depth and envisage a small preatmospheric size of the meteoroid (<10 cm in radius). The Kr isotopic ratios (82Kr/84Kr) further argue that the meteorite was derived from a shallow depth.


This qualitative ethnographic case study, adopted a socio-cultural theoretical perspective and interpretive qualitative analysis techniques, to investigate five mentoring relationships from five mentors and mentees involved in the innovative Cooperative-Reflective mentoring model of teacher professional learning in mentoring relationships at the University of Education, Winneba, (UEW), Ghana. This model is underpinned by the concepts of collegiality, reciprocity of learning, collaborative activities and critical reflection by the mentoring dyad. The data were collected from interviews, observations and document analysis. Trustworthiness of the study was ensured through the multiple sources of data, peer review, member checks, as well as the description of themes in the participants' own words. The study revealed that although the involvement of classroom teachers in the professional training of student teachers is a novelty in teacher education in Ghana, and a great departure from the old teaching practice, the programme has some conceptual and implementation challenges. First, the old conception of a hierarchical relationship between mentor and mentee persists contrary to the concepts of collegiality, collaboration, reciprocity and critical reflection. This is attributable, partly, to the inherent power of the mentor and, partly, to the professional culture of the teaching profession. Second, the collegial relationships which are to result in this mentoring relationship model are theoretically well intended but practically problematic because of the social structure of the Ghanaian society and the professional culture of the teaching profession in Ghana. Again, reciprocity of learning through critical reflection by both mentor and mentee in this model of teacher professional learning concept also appears to have been theoretically well intended but practically problematic because of the same reasons for forging collegial relationships. This seemingly lack of sensitivity to the socio-cultural and professional contexts in which the model is being implemented is a major setback to the arguably innovative move towards school-based teacher training and the greater involvement of practising teachers in the professional training and development of student teachers as well as in the life-long learning of practising teachers. We, therefore, propose a reconceptualisation of the mentoring model to take into account the socio-cultural and professional contexts within the context of implementation since theoretical positions alone cannot provide sufficient basis or framework for the development of a mentoring programme. It is the interaction between particular mentors and particular mentees in their particular contexts that determines the type of relationship to be established and the type of professional learning that will result.


The pollen record from the Upper Valdarno contributes to the documentation of the main palaeonvironmental changes in one of the best known basins of the Northern Apennines where lacustrine and fluvial sediments deposited since 3.3 Ma. During the Piacenzian the lacustrine system (CSBb of the Castelnuovo dei Sabbioni Synthem) was characterized by the expansion of swamp formations where humid, subtropical to warm temperate forest taxa largely spread. Such assemblages suffer a major decrease under the effect of a gradual cooling since about 2.8 Ma, as testified by the spread of altitudinal coniferous taxa. However, repeated resurgences of subtropical forest taxa have been recorded in the overlain fluvio-deltaic sandy deposits (CSBc), from 2.7 Ma onwards. The first notable expansion of a dry-climate vegetation type consisting of mostly treeless open herbaceous vegetation has been observed in the lower portion of VRC fluvio-lacustrine deposits (Montevarchi Synthem); in fact, the major pulse of Artemisia in the aeolian sands of Rena Bianca is associated to the first glacial cycles that occurred after 2.6 Ma and the tectonic phase that involves the CSB lacustrine deposits.Both climate and tectonics strongly interplay driving the changes in the structure and floral composition of wetlands associated to successive depositional environments. Since 2.6 Ma swamps notably change in structure, with a large reduction of subtropical taxa especially Ta xodium/Glyptostrobus type and the progressive expansion of warm temperate forest taxa. At the same time, marshes expanded with plants able to resist in dynamic environments affected by river action. The palynological documentation of the glacial/interglacial cycles (G/I) younger than 1.7 Ma becomes ever more discontinuous when the effects of tectonics and climate (including the associated interactions) promote successive erosional processes during the emplacement of the lower portion of UFFa (ciottolami di Laterina, Auctt.; Torrente Ciuffenna Synthem). The age of the latter still controversial could fall within an interval of time including the Mid-Pleistocene transition.


The transient heat conduction and thermal effects in pulse end-pumped fiber laser are modeled and analytically solved. For the arbitrary temporal shape of pump pulse, a three-dimensional (3D) temperature expression is derived via an integral transform method, and the thermal stress field is deduced through solving the Navier displacement equations. The results show that pulse shape has an important influence on the peak thermal stress and transient phase shift induced by heating of the fiber. Reasonable design for pulse duration and period can reduce thermal effects and optimize the performance of high-power fiber laser.


Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been widely applied in data mining as a supervised classification technique. The accuracy of this model is mainly provided by its high tolerance to noisy data as well as its ability to classify patterns on which they have not been trained. Moreover, the performance to ANN based models mainly depends both on the ANN parameters and on the quality of input variables. Whereas, an exhaustive search on either appropriate parameters or predictive inputs is very computationally expansive. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid model based on genetic algorithms and artificial neural networks. Our evolutionary classifier is capable of selecting the best set of predictive variables, then, searching for the best neural network classifier and improving classification and generalization accuracies. The designated model was applied to the problem of bankruptcy forecasting, experiments have shown very promising results for the bankruptcy prediction in terms of predictive accuracy and adaptability.


The transition for geological survey organisations from mapping geology in two to three dimensions, requires a fundamental reconsideration of mapping methodologies, data management and dissemination. In times of reduced resourcing, geological surveys need to be more open to keep pace with the continuously evolving understanding of the subsurface, which is driven by the acquisition of new data and new scientific insight. As a national survey it needs to be able to create and maintain authoritative models nationally and convey uncertainty, particularly where data is sparse, clustered or of varying quality, and it needs to be sufficiently flexible to allow the generation of outputs at a wide range of resolutions.
To resolve these challenges, the British Geological Survey is developing infrastructure that allows geologists to make interpretations (via cross sections and maps) that are used to generate 3D geological models. These interpretations are stored centrally and can be edited progressively as more data becomes available. Because of the need for continuous updates, 3D models are not stored, but are generated on demand from the interpretations as required. The BGS envisages that the task of updating the models will be significant, for this reason, it is envisaged that the geoscience community will work with our models to generate interpretations, which will then feed into our database, continuously improving geological understanding. Checking and approval is likely to become a key task for the geological survey to ensure that the traditional standards of mapping are upheld.


Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensors based on plasmonic nanoparticles are sensitive to changes in local refractive index, so that they are used for affinity-based chemical sensing and biosensing. Conventional LSPR sensors are generally based on transmission of light through the sensor and a sample solution, which could be colored or turbid. In this study, we develop backward-scattering-based LSPR sensors that can be applied to colored or turbid sample solutions. Au nanospheres (100 nm diameter) and Au nanoshells (25 nm thick) with SiO_2 cores (80 nm diameter) are used as plasmonic nanoparticles and immobilized on a glass substrate. The refractive index sensitivities of the Au nanospheres and nanoshells are 128 and 278 nm RIU^−1, respectively, which are in good agreement with simulated values and the values for conventional transmission-based LSPR sensors. The Au nanoshells require a lower amount of Au for the same scattering intensity in comparison with the Au nanospheres. The backward-scattcring-based LSPR sensing is possible with the Au nanospheres and nanoshells even in coffee as a colored and turbid sample.


This work is focused on designing and implementing a real-time video-based face identification system with low memory and computational requirements and high recognition rates. Since pro le features are stronger and, therefore, better when characterising faces than frontal faces, the system will detect and identify not only pure frontal but also pro le faces. This property of pro le faces will help to improve face recognition rates depending on the strategy for fusion of results used. Also, dimensionality reduction techniques will be studied and tested in order to nd the fastest and most efective one. Modi cation in k Nearest Neighbor classi er will be carried out to add a penalisation factor in function
of the distance, increasing classi cation results and strictness.
In order to nd which are the best options for reducing computational requirements in
a face identi cation system several simulations will be performed. Among many others, simulations will look for optimal values of the k parameter in k Nearest Neighbor, the number of transformed coe cients kept in a feature vector or the minimum size of face images and will test dimensionality reduction in images, variation of the number of models or fusion of results.
Finally, this work will show how a real-time system can be implemented in an ordinary
computer obtaining successful results whether it be in real-time, adverse or controlled conditions environments.


ABSTRACT The rise of anti-Islamic PEGIDA (Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes) is one of the latest sustained episodes of radical right mobilisation in Western Europe outside the electoral arena. This study provides a first comparative analysis of PEGIDA beyond Germany and its core region of Saxony. Combining protest event analysis with online data and network analysis, we identify why PEGIDA mustered low-scale support in some countries and failed in others. Focusing on Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland the study reveals the pivotal importance of the organisers' agency and their relations to other radical right players. Unlike the sui generis case in Dresden, the PEGIDA label has become a rallying point appropriated by pre-established radical right activists using it for their own mobilisation efforts. Furthermore, the analysis reveals the significance of protest policing, in the form of state bans, for the fate of PEGIDA beyond Germany. Finally, it demonstrates the importance of online spheres as channels for dissemination of radical right world-views and the interplay of offline and online mobilisation.


Culvert replacements are commonly undertaken to restore aquatic organism passage and stream hydrologic and geomorphic conditions, but their effects on ecosystem processes are rarely quantified. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of two culvert replacement designs on stream ecosystem processes. The stream simulation design, where culverts accommodate bankfull width and streambeds are reconstructed through the culvert, was compared with the bankfull and backwater design, where streambeds were left to fill naturally, as well as to non‐replaced culverts. We predicted that stream simulation culverts would best preserve water velocity and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) retention within the culvert relative to upstream reaches, and that both replaced culvert styles would exhibit rates closer to upstream reaches than non‐replaced culverts. In addition, we predicted that ecosystem processes (CPOM retention, transient storage and nutrient uptake) would be similar in reaches upstream and downstream of both replaced culvert styles, because both designs are constructed to maintain stream slopes and bankfull widths through the structure. We found that stream simulation design better maintained CPOM retention through culverts compared with non‐replaced and bankfull and backwater design culverts, but observed no differences in ecosystem processes between reaches located upstream or downstream of replaced culverts. Although the stream simulation design requires additional streambed construction relative to the bankfull and backwater design, this step may lead to additional improvement if maintaining ecological conditions through the culvert is an important restoration goal. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Evil may be said to be shadowy, mysterious, covert, and associated with night, darkness, secrecy. It is a force acting to destroy the integrity, happiness and welfare of a normala society. It is at once the cause and the explanation of misfortune, of the wretchedness of human existence, and of our own individual wrongdoing. That, at any rate, is substantially the western Christianity (and pre--Christian) view. Yet the different societies have opted for very different sets of explanations, which have themselves evolved in radically contrasting ways. There are societies, for example, in which there is no concept of evil. The Anthropology of Evil discusses the problem in the context of different societies and religions-- Christian , Confucian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim for example. It also provides unusual perspectives on questions such as the nature of innocence, the root of evil, the notion of individual malevolence and even whether God is evil. Much has bee written on evil, notably by historians, theologians and philosophers but very little by anthropologists: this book shows how distinctive and revealing their contribution can be.


Recently, organic based microcavities became a focal point in the boundary photonic research due to the special features of the organic active molecules whose properties may be easily modulated. By using the thermal evaporation we realized double and triple coupled-microcavity structures containing one or more active layers of light emitting  organic molecules. The resonators are tuned at the same wavelength and coupled by low reflectivity mirrors. In particular we grew an asymmetric double system with only one  active organic layer embedded in one microcavity. The reflectivity measurements show that the coupling between the two resonator results in a splitting of the optical modes. The photoluminescence spectra display a double wavelength emission. The comparison of the diagonalized effective Hamiltonian with the observed resonances further confirms the strong coupling between the two cavities. A quantum statistical approach for interacting quantum systems in the strong coupling regime reproduces with very good agreement the experimental results. The triple structure has been designed to improve the coupling among the resonators. The device shows three emission peaks at different wavelength and represents a very interesting start up to realize white organic based LEDs and ultrafast optical amplifiers.


Heparan sulfates (HS) are linear polysaccharides with complex modification patterns, which are covalently bound via conserved attachment sites to core proteins to form heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs). HSPGs regulate many aspects of the development and function of the nervous system, including cell migration, morphology, and network connectivity. HSPGs function as cofactors for multiple signaling pathways, including the Wnt-signaling molecules and their Frizzled receptors. To investigate the functional interactions among the HSPG and Wnt networks, we conducted genetic analyses of each, and also between these networks using five cellular migrations in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that HSPG core proteins act genetically in a combinatorial fashion dependent on the cellular contexts. Double mutant analyses reveal distinct redundancies among HSPGs for different migration events, and different cellular migrations require distinct heparan sulfate modification patterns. Our studies reveal that the transmembrane HSPG SDN-1/Syndecan functions within the migrating cell to promote cellular migrations, while the GPI-linked LON-2/Glypican functions cell nonautonomously to establish the final cellular position. Genetic analyses with the Wnt-signaling system show that (1) a given HSPG can act with different Wnts and Frizzled receptors, and that (2) a given Wnt/Frizzled pair acts with different HSPGs in a context-dependent manner. Lastly, we find that distinct HSPG and Wnt/Frizzled combinations serve separate functions to promote cellular migration and establish position of specific neurons. Our studies suggest that HSPGs use structurally diverse glycans in coordination with Wnt-signaling pathways to control multiple cellular behaviors, including cellular and axonal migrations and, cellular positioning.


Background: Pakistan is considered a low prevalence but future high risk country for human immunodeficiency virus infection. The objective of this study was to find out the risk factors for transmission of HIV infection.
 Material & Methods: This descriptive study was carried out from February 2008 to July 2011 at Anti Retroviral Centre, Kohat. All 65 HIV positive patients were interviewed after informed consent.
 Results: A total of 65 patients suffering from HIV/AIDS were interviewed; 47(72%) males and 18(28%) females. The mean age was 41 years. Five males and 3 females were unmarried; the rest 57 were married. Regarding education, 2 patients were having primary and one middle level education, the rest were uneducated. Regarding transmission, 40(61.54% had heterosexual transmission, 4(6.20%) were of mother to child transmission, one had history of dental procedure before contracting infection while 4 had a previous history of blood transfusion. No homosexual or transgender transmission was reported. Out of 40 heterosexual transmissions; 24 were from sex workers, 15 from husband to wife and one from wife to husband. Regarding addiction, 21(32.3%) using oral snuff addiction, 2(3.1%) hashish, 2(3.1%) smokers, 2(3.1%) were injection drug users and the rest had no addiction. Out of 65 cases, 57(87.7%) did not have history of sexually transmitted infections, whereas 8(12.3%) had no such history.
 Conclusion: Heterosexuality is the most common mode of transmission and sex with a sex worker is the most common risk factor for HIV/AIDS transmission in our set-up, while mother to child and injectable drug abuse are the next common risk factor.


COVID-19 rapidly spread across the world in an unprecedented outbreak with a massive number of infected and fatalities. The pandemic was heavily discussed and searched on the internet, which generated big amounts of data related to it. This led to the possibility of attempting to forecast coronavirus indicators using the internet data. For this study, Google Trends statistics for 124 selected search terms related to pandemic were used in an attempt to find which keywords had the best Spearman correlations with a lag, as well as a forecasting model. It was found that keywords related to coronavirus testing among some others, such as "I have contracted covid", had high correlations (0.7) with few weeks of lag (4 weeks). Besides that, the ARIMAX model using those keywords had promising results in predicting the increase or decrease of epidemiological indicators, although it was not able to predict their exact values. Thus, we found that Google Trends data may be useful for predicting outbreaks of coronavirus a few weeks before they happen, and may be used as an auxiliary tool in monitoring and forecasting the disease in Brazil.


Electrofuels, fuels produced from electricity, water, and carbon or nitrogen, are of interest as substitutes for fossil fuels in all energy and chemical sectors. This paper focuses on electrofuels for transportation, where some can be used in existing vehicle/vessel/aircraft fleets and fueling infrastructure. The aim of this study is to review publications on electrofuels and summarize costs and environmental performance. A special case, denoted as bio-electrofuels, involves hydrogen supplementing existing biomethane production (e.g. anaerobic digestion) to generate additional or different fuels. We use costs, identified in the literature, to calculate harmonized production costs for a range of electrofuels and bio-electrofuels. Results from the harmonized calculations show that bio-electrofuels generally have lower costs than electrofuels produced using captured carbon. Lowest costs are found for liquefied bio-electro-methane, bio-electro-methanol, and bio-electro-dimethyl ether. The highest cost is for electro-jet fuel. All analyzed fuels have the potential for long-term production costs in the range 90–160 € MWh−1. Dominant factors impacting production costs are electrolyzer and electricity costs, the latter connected to capacity factors (CFs) and cost for hydrogen storage. Electrofuel production costs also depend on regional conditions for renewable electricity generation, which are analyzed in sensitivity analyses using corresponding CFs in four European regions. Results show a production cost range for electro-methanol of 76–118 € MWh−1 depending on scenario and region assuming an electrolyzer CAPEX of 300–450 € kWelec −1 and CFs of 45%–65%. Lowest production costs are found in regions with good conditions for renewable electricity, such as Ireland and western Spain. The choice of system boundary has a large impact on the environmental assessments. The literature is not consistent regarding the environmental impact from different CO2 sources. The literature, however, points to the fact that renewable energy sources are required to achieve low global warming impact over the electrofuel life cycle.


Abstract. We present an extensive data set of simultaneous temperature and wind measurements in the Arctic middle atmosphere. It consists of more than 300 h of Doppler Rayleigh lidar observations obtained during three January seasons (2012, 2014, and 2015) and covers the altitude range from 30 km up to about 85 km. The data set reveals large year-to-year variations in monthly mean temperatures and winds, which in 2012 are affected by a sudden stratospheric warming. The temporal evolution of winds and temperatures after that warming are studied over a period of 2 weeks, showing an elevated stratopause and the reformation of the polar vortex. The monthly mean temperatures and winds are compared to data extracted from the Integrated Forecast System of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Horizontal Wind Model (HWM07). Lidar and ECMWF data show good agreement of mean zonal and meridional winds below  ≈ 55 km altitude, but we also find mean temperature, zonal wind, and meridional wind differences of up to 20 K, 20 m s−1, and 5 m s−1, respectively. Differences between lidar observations and HWM07 data are up to 30 m s−1. From the fluctuations of temperatures and winds within single nights we extract the potential and kinetic gravity wave energy density (GWED) per unit mass. It shows that the kinetic GWED is typically 5 to 10 times larger than the potential GWED, the total GWED increases with altitude with a scale height of  ≈ 16 km. Since temporal fluctuations of winds and temperatures are underestimated in ECMWF, the total GWED is underestimated as well by a factor of 3–10 above 50 km altitude. Similarly, we estimate the energy density per unit mass for large-scale waves (LWED) from the fluctuations of nightly mean temperatures and winds. The total LWED is roughly constant with altitude. The ratio of kinetic to potential LWED varies with altitude over 2 orders of magnitude. LWEDs from ECMWF data show results similar to the lidar data. From the comparison of GWED and LWED, it follows that large-scale waves carry about 2 to 5 times more energy than gravity waves.


This paper outlines the outcome of a socioeconomics (SE) and incentives work group during the "Management of the Future Internet" seminar, held in Dagstuhl, Germany. This covers an indication of key questions and issues, which are classified as important for next steps in network management. Furthermore, the process of dealing with aspects of "Socio-economic Management" is discussed, which determines a hybrid and innovative approach besides traditional network management approaches. This determines a network management in which control is delegated via socio-economic means and to a certain extent to the user and provider with the goal to maximize the overall social welfare and the networks technical efficiency at the same time. This is refined by a set of SE-driven management mechanisms, the discussion of abstract user/network interfaces (stakeholder relations), and an example case for managing overlay traffic in such a network management system. Finally, based on a set of ideal SE requirements derived from the analysis of existing approaches, a set of preliminary conclusions is drawn.


What influences have shaped air power since human flight became a reality more than a hundred years ago? Global Air Power provides insight into the evolution of air power theory and practice by examining the experience of six of the world's largest air forces—those of the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, Russia, India, and China—and of representative smaller air forces in Pacific Asia, Latin America, and continental Europe. The chapters, written by highly regarded scholars and military leaders, explore how various nations have integrated air power into their armed forces and how they have applied air power in both regular and irregular warfare and in peacetime operations. They cover the organizational, professional, and doctrinal issues that air forces confronted in the past, the lessons learned from victory and defeat, and emerging challenges and opportunities. Further, Global Air Powersupplements the traditional military perspective with examinations of the ideological, economic, and cultural factors that give air forces their distinctive characters. Chapters show how the interplay among these internal factors, together with external challenges, determines the structure, role, and effectiveness of air forces. Together, these chapters illuminate universal trends as well as similarities and differences among the world's air forces. Its combination of military history and sociopolitical analysis makes Global Air Power especially valuable to a broad range of historians, air power specialists, and general readers interested in national defense and international relations.


Nearly eight years after 9/11, senior US leadership is redefining the "war on terrorism" as a global counterinsurgency effort, one that requires both kinetic force and indirect, "smart power" collaboration by civilian agencies. "The Department of Defense has taken on many of these burdens that might have been assumed by civilian agencies in the past," said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. "Forced by circumstances, our brave men and women in uniform have stepped up to the task, with field artillerymen and tankers building schools and mentoring city councils--usually in a language they don't speak.... But it is no replacement for the real thing, civilian involvement and expertise." (1) Although the requirement for interagency cooperation is a neartruism of US national security policy today, finding the appropriate role for the Department of Defense (DOD) remains a key challenge. This article examines one aspect of activities that potentially overlap with other government departments, DOD's growing involvement in the "battle of ideas." (2) Much consternation exists in the foreign policy community regarding DOD's expansion into missions traditionally performed by civilian agencies. (3) A small but critical example of this growth involves DOD's efforts to use the Internet to "craft a positive perception" abroad, while attacking the ideological underpinnings of terrorism. (4) In mid 2007, the Department of Defense issued policies authorizing commanders to engage foreign audiences via online interactive methods, such as texting, blogging, e-mail, and regionally focused Web sites. (5) The guidance was in direct response to long-standing complaints from the ten regional and functional Combatant Commanders that a terrorist could post videos of a beheading or other form of extremist propaganda, unhindered by policy considerations, whereas US commanders had to navigate "legal" hurdles to get psychological operations (PSYOP) videos and themes approved. (6) A key issue is whether these online activities, while critical to overall American strategic communication efforts, are properly characterized as "military missions," that make use of DOD funding. DOD's communication activities are increasingly separated in time and space from a kinetic mission; are directed at broad, cross-regional audiences; and, on their face, appear more like a public diplomacy campaign than a military program. (7) It would be unfair to fault DOD for its involvement in such hybrid activities. The Department is arguably filling a need where resource-strapped civilian agencies might be falling short. PSYOP are a key aspect of counterinsurgency efforts. As former participants in and now observers of DOD's expanding communication portfolio, the authors are particularly aware of the argument that the US government needs to respond in real time to extremist propaganda in order to thwart violent extremism and lessen the need for military intervention. Yet DOD's expansion into the field of interactive communication is troubling on two counts. First, once the Department no longer labels its communication measures as PSYOR it potentially subverts its own statutory authorities to conduct such programs. The Department has limited authorities to engage foreign audiences, and PSYOP are the principal authorized mechanism to do so. In legal terms, in order to justify the use of appropriated funds, DOD activities are required to support a DOD-specific mission and not conflict with the responsibility of another agency. (8) Once DOD stops calling interactive communication activities PSYOP and undertakes functions similar to those of another department, the "military mission" becomes less defined. Second, DOD may be encroaching upon the Department of State's mission to engage foreign audiences. The two departments' missions, while overlapping, are distinct. DOD's mission is one of influence; the State Department's mission is one of relationship-building and dialogue. …


Bitumen is a complex viscoelastic material used as a binder in applications ranging from road paving to waterproof membranes for roofing [1]. In such applications, bitumen is often blended with a polymer in order to improve its elasticity. The resulting polymer modified bitumens (PMBs) also generally show improvements in thermal and fatigue cracking resistance, and temperature susceptibility [2, 3]. A wide range of polymers have been used in PMBs, including thermoplastic elastomers, thermoplastics and thermosets [1], but among the most successful are styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) block copolymers, in which the polystyrene blocks provide cohesive strength and the rubbery polybutadiene blocks provide elasticity [3]. Because SBS is relatively expensive, the possibility of mixing bitumen with other polymers remains of interest [2-4] and metallocene-catalyzed linear low density polyethylenes (m-LLDPE) have recently been discussed as a possible alternative, combining low cost and elasticity with improved storage stability compared with conventional polyolefins [5, 6]. In the present study, PE/octene and PE/butene based m-LLDPE copolymers with different melt flow indices, glass transition temperatures, melting temperatures and degrees of crystallinity have been used to modify a roofing grade gel bitumen. The morphology, the thermal behaviour and the viscoelastic properties of the PMBs have been studied in the composition range 5 to 50 wt% m-LLDPE. In the case of the butenebased copolymer, fluorescence microscopy indicated a continuous m-LLDPE-rich phase matrix containing discrete asphaltene-rich domains at all polymer contents, although at 5 wt% of the octene-based copolymer; the continuous phase remained asphaltene-rich, and there was some evidence for phase inversion, the discrete m-LLDPE-rich domains containing additional asphaltene-rich domains. It follows that the melt rheological response of the PMBs was dominated by the m-LLDPE, but the excellent flow characteristics of this latter resulted in relatively modest increases in shear viscosity compared to those obtained with equivalent concentrations of SBS. Significant swelling by the maltene-rich components of bitumen led to a decrease of the melting point of both types of m-LLDPE, although the degree of crystallinity relative to the polymer content increased somewhat at low m-LLDPE concentrations. Time temperature superposition was used to provide an indication of the dynamic viscoelastic response in shear over a wide range of frequencies. The pure bitumen exhibited liquid-like behaviour over the entire temperature and frequency range investigated, the loss modulus, G'', generally being significantly higher than the storage modulus, G'. However, whereas blending with the relatively crystalline octene-based m- LLDPE resulted in more elastic behaviour (G' greater than G'') the less crystalline butene-based m-LLDPE showed a crossover in G' and G'' for all the concentrations investigated. The crossover frequency was found to shift towards lower frequencies as the m-LLDPE content increased, suggesting it to be possible to fine tune the viscoelastic response, depending on the required end-properties. In view of the relative stability of the PMB microstructures referred to above, these results confirm the promise of m-LLDPE as additives to gel bitumen, and suggest there to be considerable flexibility in the range of m-LLDPE contents that may be envisaged, without compromising processing requirements. The consequences for applicative properties will be discussed.


In this article it is argued that there are barriers to effective and non-discriminatory practice when mentoring overseas nurses within the National Health Service (NHS) and the care home sector. These include a lack of awareness about how cultural differences affect mentoring and learning for overseas nurses during their period of supervised practice prior to registration with the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council. These barriers may demonstrate a lack of effective teaching of ethical practice in the context of cultural diversity in health care. This argument is supported by empirical data from a national study. Interviews were undertaken with 93 overseas nurses and 24 national and 13 local managers and mentors from six research sites involving UK health care employers in the NHS and independent sectors in different regions of the UK. The data collected showed that overseas nurses are discriminated against in their learning by poor mentoring practices; equally, from these data, it appears that mentors are ill-equipped by existing mentor preparation programmes to mentor overseas-trained nurses from culturally diverse backgrounds. Recommendations are made for improving mentoring programmes to address mentors' ability to facilitate learning in a culturally diverse workplace and thereby improve overseas nurses' experiences of their supervised practice.


Structures 3', CIVL456 an elective subject offered by the Department of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering is basically composed of two main topics for matrix structural analysis: Matrix (Stiffness and Flexibility) analysis methods and the Finite Element method. These methods are used for the analysis of two and three dimensional trusses, rigidly jointed frameworks and plates. The subject also briefly covers the analysis of non-linear structures and the solution of Eigen value problems. The subject is covered in a fourteen week session in which there are three contact hours in each week. Typically in each week there is a two hour lecture and a one hour tutorial or a computer laboratory session. This journal article is available in Overview University of Wollongong Teaching & Learning Journal: http://ro.uow.edu.au/overview/ vol5/iss1/13 Use of computer programs in teaching structural analysis


In recent years there has been an extraordinary growth of large-scale data processing and related technologies in both, industry and academic communities. This trend is mostly driven by the need to explore the increasingly large amounts of information that global companies and communities are able to gather, and has lead the introduction of new tools and models, most of which are designed around the idea of handling huge amounts of data.

A good example of this trend towards improved large-scale data processing is MapReduce, a programming model intended to ease the development of massively parallel applications, and which has been widely adopted to process large datasets thanks to its simplicity. While the MapReduce model was originally used primarily for batch data processing in large static clusters, nowadays it is mostly deployed along with other kinds of workloads in shared environments in which multiple users may be submitting concurrent jobs with completely different priorities and needs: from small, almost interactive, executions, to very long applications that take hours to complete. Scheduling and selecting tasks for execution is extremely relevant in MapReduce environments since it governs a job's opportunity to make progress and determines its performance. However, only basic primitives to prioritize between jobs are available at the moment, constantly causing either under or over-provisioning, as the amount of resources needed to complete a particular job are not obvious a priori.

This thesis aims to address both, the lack of management capabilities and the increased complexity of the environments in which MapReduce is executed. To that end, new models and techniques are introduced in order to improve the scheduling of MapReduce in the presence of different constraints found in real-world scenarios, such as completion time goals, data locality, hardware heterogeneity, or availability of resources. The focus is on improving the integration of MapReduce with the computing infrastructures in which it usually runs, allowing alternative techniques for dynamic management and provisioning of resources. More specifically, it is focused in three scenarios that are incremental in its scope. First, it studies the prospects of using high-level performance criteria to manage and drive the performance of MapReduce applications, taking advantage of the fact that MapReduce is executed in controlled environments in which the status of the cluster is known. Second, it examines the feasibility and benefits of making the MapReduce runtime more aware of the underlying hardware and the characteristics of applications. And finally, it also considers the interaction between MapReduce and other kinds of workloads, proposing new techniques to handle these increasingly complex environments.

Following these three items described above, this thesis contributes to the management of MapReduce workloads by 1) proposing a performance model for MapReduce workloads and a scheduling algorithm that leverages the proposed model and is able to adapt depending on the various needs of its users in the presence of completion time constraints; 2) proposing a new resource model for MapReduce and a placement algorithm aware of the underlying hardware as well as the characteristics of the applications, capable of improving cluster utilization while still being guided by job performance metrics; and 3) proposing a model for shared environments in which MapReduce is executed along with other kinds of workloads such as transactional applications, and a scheduler aware of these workloads and its expected demand of resources, capable of improving resource utilization across machines while observing completion time goals.


American sentencing laws are rigid, harsh, and often unjust. Mass incarceration is a tragedy and a national embarrassment. Laws enacted in the 1980s and 1990s that mandated lengthy prison terms are the primary causes. The challenges are to undo mass incarceration, repeal or fundamentally overhaul the laws that caused it, and rebuild American sentencing systems. American legislators have not yet seriously addressed the subject. Hundreds of minor changes have recently been enacted, but they nibble at the edges—creating narrow exceptions to harsh laws for first offenders, narrowing criteria for probation and parole revocation, and establishing new treatment and "reentry" programs. These changes are important to individuals they affect but will not reverse mass incarceration or prevent individual injustices. Meaningful change will occur only when the mandatory minimum, three-strikes, life without parole, truth in sentencing, and comparable laws that required prison terms of historically unprecedented severity are repealed and new laws authorizing the release of large numbers of current prisoners are enacted and implemented. Whether these things happen will determine whether mass incarceration and wholesale injustices are much different in 2025 than they were in 2017.


Abstract. Long-term high-quality aerosol particulate matter (PM) concentration measurements have been conducted in southern Finland at Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations (SMEAR II, Hyytiala) with different, yet comparable measurement equipment since 1995. In this paper, the mass concentrations measured between 2005 and 2017 using three different independent methods: i.e. 1. the cascade impactor, 2. Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) and Aerosol Particle Sizer (APS) and 3. Synchronized Hybrid Ambient Real-time Particulate Monitor (SHARP) are compared and analysed. First, the mass concentrations of the different size classes, i.e. PM1 (PM within sub-micrometer particle diameter size range), PM2.5 (sub-2.5 µm) and PM10 (sub-10 µm), are reported. These data were further cross-compared through a bivariate fitting method. The comparison revealed an excellent equivalence among the three methods with slopes approaching unity and reasonable intercepts (≤ 1 µg m−3). An analysis of the seasonal variability of PM concentrations revealed that the mass concentrations were generally highest in summer in different size classes. The mean mass concentrations were 5.3, 5.4, and 6.5 µg m−3 for PM1, PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. The 2nd highest loadings were attained in spring, which were ca. 80–88 % of those in summer. The lowest loadings were measured in autumn and winter, when the mass concentrations were ca. 74–78 % of those in summer. Temperature had strong influence on the measured concentrations. While the high late spring and summertime temperatures promote secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and pollen emissions, the lowest wintertime temperatures enhance the need of residential heating processes yielding anthropogenic aerosol emissions (e.g. from traffic/industry/wood burning). The wintertime concentrations can also be expected to be influenced by boundary layer dynamics, which keep the PM emissions concentrated near Earth surface especially in winter. It is noteworthy that the mass concentrations were lower than those reported prior to 2005 (at SMEAR II). The descending trend (~−0.1–0.2 µg m3 y−1) was clearly visible here for all PM size classes in spring, summer and winter, while the trend in autumn remained statistically insignificant. This might have resulted at least partly from more stringent EU air quality legislation.


OBJECTIVE: Exercise
videogames are increasingly popular as
individuals seek to increase their activity.
This study assessed the interaction of
exercise self-efficacy (ESE) levels and
perceived task demands of a virtual game
on exercise and physiological reactions.
Perceived task demands were manipulated
by changing parameters of the
participant's avatar in the exergame.
METHODOLOGY: An experimental
design was used with 89 female
undergraduate students (Mean
age=18.74+1.05, 18 to 21 years) who were
randomly assigned to the high task
demand condition (avatar weight
remaining constant) or low task demand
condition (avatar losing weight). Prior to
the biking task, the Exercise Self-Efficacy
scale was used to measure ESE.
Participants biked on a stationary bike
while immersed in a virtual environment
with an avatar and were told the avatar
would slim if they cycled fast enough. Only
half of participants' avatars actually
slimmed (high task demand
manipulation). During biking,
cardiovascular measures were assessed
using a Biopac MP150 system with an
Impedance Cardiograph and CNAP
Monitor 500. One week after completion of
the study, participants reported amount of
exercise completed in the last week (in 15
minute increments) via the Physical
Activity Questionnaire. Moderated
regressions and moderated mediation
models were used to examine the
interaction of ESE levels, experimental
condition and cardiovascular reactivity on
amount of strenuous physical activity.
RESULTS: Individuals with high ESE
showed similar results in both task
demand conditions with physiological
reactivity patterns indicative of threat.
Individuals with low ESE with a static
avatar completed less exercise than those
with low ESE with a slimming avatar.
CONCLUSION: Results confirm that
individuals with low ESE are particularly
vulnerable to exercise demands.


This paper reexamines current understanding of the political economy of protection. To date, work has centered on determinants of the height of protection and its form - tariffs, quantitative restrictions, and voluntary export restraints. It is argued that examining the structure of protection misses one important piece of evidence - why import-competing industries tend to be more highly protected than industries producing exportables. When the question is cast in this light, a number of new insights emerge, including the importance of earlier protective measures in influencing current protectionist pressures. "Identity bias", whereby political decisions can be asymmetric between winners and losers, depending on whose identity is known, is introduced.


Much attention has been paid lately to corporate inversions, in which U.S.-based multinational corporations move their parent companies to countries where taxes are lower. Past attempts to curtail such tax avoidance have had some success, but companies always find a way around the new rules. Would lowering tax rates in the U.S. help?


This extraordinary book is both a richly textured portrait of New Haven, Connecticut, and the story of the rise and fall of American cities. Douglas Rae depicts the reasons for urban decline, explains why government spending has failed to restore urban vitality, and offers suggestions to enhance city life in the future. "A terrific read, moving seductively from the minutiae of neighborhood history to grand global forces."--Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone "An extraordinarily detailed study of New Haven, tracing the city's rise in the early part of the 20th century and its fall in the second half--an almost archetypal tale of the American city."--Edward Rothstein, New York Times "For anyone with the slightest interest in cities, this book is that rare combination: a must-read volume that you can't put down."--Planning Magazine "[Rae] has provided the blueprint for the next generation of thinkers and city dwellers who debate the future of urban America...A tour de force of research."--Paul Bass, New Haven Advocate


The Second Law of thermodynamics is known to be an essential guide for the improvement of energy conversion systems. Throughout the years it has been applied to various engineering methods in particular in methods based on exergy [1] including the 2nd Law, thermoeconomics and exergoeconomics. It has also been used in graphically attractive energy integration techniques such as pinch technology and its derivatives. Apart from economic considerations, the emissions and the overall life cycle impacts have become of growing importance, exceeding the scope of pure thermodynamics. The latter point is related to the fact that there is no direct link between the entropy of local pollutants and their impacts on health. An appropriate combination between thermodynamics and advanced optimisation techniques allows to overcome the inherent limits of thermodynamic approaches and provides meaningful results on real systems. Examples of thermoeconomic, extended exergy analysis and environomic optimisation problems including Life cycle considerations are also considered. Drying processes, power plants, fuel cell systems and storage systems are dealt with.


The hypothesis that increasing nutrient supply increases the biomass of autotrophs pro- portionately more than the biomass of heterotrophs was tested by increasing (0, 1-, 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16- fold over the background loading of 5 mmol N m -2 d -1 , 1.6 mmol Si m -2 d -1 , and 0.25 mmol P m -2 d -1 ) the addition of nutrients to large (33 000 l) mesocosm units enclosing an oligotrophic coastal Mediter- ranean planktonic community. Autotrophic plankton biomass increased 50-fold along the range of nutrient inputs, whereas heterotrophic biomass increased only 10-fold. Heterotrophic biomass in- creased as the 1 ⁄5 power of the increase in the biomass of autotrophs, implying that the ratio of hetero- troph to autotroph biomass (HB/AB ratio) declined rapidly as the biomass of autotrophs increases with increasing nutrient inputs. The biomass distribution within the community shifted from an 'inverted pyramid' distribution, involving greater biomass of heterotrophs than that of autotrophs, at low nutrient inputs, to the conventional 'upward' pyramid pattern, where the biomass of autotrophs exceeds that of consumers, at the highest nutrient inputs. This shift stabilized after 4 d, and the pyra- mids remained quite constant for the rest of the experiment. The experimental test presented sup- ports the hypothesis that the relative biomass distribution between heterotrophs and autotrophs is regulated by nutrient supply.


Rapamycin treatment of a mouse model for a human laminopathy improves cardiac and muscle function, suggesting a therapy for human patients. Rapping Down mTORC1 Aids Ailing Muscles Rapamycin—a bacterial product discovered in soil samples from the eponymous Rapa Nui, or Easter Island—is a markedly versatile drug. Clinically, it is used to prevent organ transplant rejection, treat cancer, and improve angioplasty outcomes; it also increases life span in organisms ranging from yeast to mice. Now, Ramos and colleagues show its potential for treating muscle disease caused by mutations in LMNA. LMNA encodes A-type lamins, intermediate filament proteins that form the nuclear lamina, a layer just under the nuclear membrane. Different LMNA mutations cause distinct diseases, but reduced A-type lamin function is generally linked to skeletal muscle dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy, in which the heart is enlarged and weakened. Mice that lack Lmna likewise develop these conditions, dying young of heart problems. Ramos et al. speculated that signaling pathways involved in muscle remodeling, such as that for the kinase mTOR—the mammalian target of rapamycin—might be dysregulated in Lmna−/− mice, contributing to their problems. mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) senses information about energy, nutrients, and stress; in response, it regulates cellular processes such as protein synthesis and autophagy (in which cellular components are degraded to reallocate nutrients). The authors found that mTORC1 signaling was hyperactivated in skeletal and heart muscle in Lmna−/− mice. Furthermore, the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin decreased mTORC1 signaling, improved skeletal and cardiac muscle function, and increased the life span of these mice. Lmna−/− mice also exhibited defective autophagy, which could be improved by rapamycin. In addition, previous work showed abnormal aggregation of desmin, which normally forms filaments that are important for muscle structure, in these mice. Rapamycin decreased these aggregates. This study indicates that hyperactive mTORC1 signaling helps to create the phenotypes of Lmna−/− mice. There are no effective treatments for the related conditions in humans; this work—and related findings reported by Choi et al. in this issue—indicate that rapamycin-related compounds might serve such a role. Mutations in LMNA, the gene that encodes A-type lamins, cause multiple diseases including dystrophies of the skeletal muscle and fat, dilated cardiomyopathy, and progeria-like syndromes (collectively termed laminopathies). Reduced A-type lamin function, however, is most commonly associated with skeletal muscle dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy rather than lipodystrophy or progeria. The mechanisms underlying these diseases are only beginning to be unraveled. We report that mice deficient in Lmna, which corresponds to the human gene LMNA, have enhanced mTORC1 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1) signaling specifically in tissues linked to pathology, namely, cardiac and skeletal muscle. Pharmacologic reversal of elevated mTORC1 signaling by rapamycin improves cardiac and skeletal muscle function and enhances survival in mice lacking A-type lamins. At the cellular level, rapamycin decreases the number of myocytes with abnormal desmin accumulation and decreases the amount of desmin in both muscle and cardiac tissue of Lmna−/− mice. In addition, inhibition of mTORC1 signaling with rapamycin improves defective autophagic-mediated degradation in Lmna−/− mice. Together, these findings point to aberrant mTORC1 signaling as a mechanistic component of laminopathies associated with reduced A-type lamin function and offer a potential therapeutic approach, namely, the use of rapamycin-related mTORC1 inhibitors.


Abstract The aim of this paper is to discuss the methodologies in compiling the satellite accounts for meeting activities and to present the economic importance of meeting activities using the Danish regional economic model. Meeting activities, with a total expenditure of DKK 20.8 billion, make a significant contribution to the economy. It is estimated that Denmark held nearly 188,000 meetings in 2010, which were attended by a total of 6.9 million delegates. The meeting sectors have created a direct turnover of DKK 11.4 billion recorded as expenditure by meeting organisers and DKK 9.4 billion spent by delegates. It is estimated, through the Danish regional economic model, that meeting activities directly created 25,800 full-time equivalent jobs and DKK 8.5 billion of gross value added (GVA). When including indirect effects, meeting activities generated a total of 38,000 full-time equivalent jobs and DKK 15.3 billion of GVA. Direct government revenues are estimated at DKK 5.4 billion, half of which is from personal and corporate income taxes and the other half from value-added taxes. Total government revenues are estimated to be DKK 7.8 billion.


Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) constitute an important class of asset-backed securities. Most major banks use CDOs as portfolio management tools for achieving regulatory capital relief, economic risk transfer and funding. On the other side, banks and other financial institutions invest in CDO tranches with a risk/return profile matching their risk appetite and investment policies. For both sides (risk selling and risk buying) of a CDO transaction, sound mathematical tools are required for an evaluation of the deal. In this paper, we investigate some techniques for CDO modelling, paying special attention to approaches based on semi-analytic approximations.


In the age of globalisation, the transiency of individuals has been increasing. Consequently, some regional communities face the risk of collapse and disappearance. Particularly in Japan, centralisation in and around global cities such as Tokyo has accelerated the decline of regional communities. Given this current clime, residents of regional areas would benefit from building ties with outsiders in order to keep their communities strong. Certain individuals could take on the role of coordinator, who can work to bridge the gap between the residents and outsiders. The role of the coordinator, however, is not yet clear. This study introduces a case study of the art project Hanarart ( はならぁと) which involves residents and outside artists in regional areas of Nara, Japan. Part of the art project intends to renovate and reuse the machiya buildings in Japanese traditional style, with the help of site-specific contemporary art that will fit well with the machiya style. In the art project, outside artists prepare their artworks in the abandoned buildings, which are managed by the residents. During the first stage of the project, residents and artists did not communicate well due to either their indifference or ignorance toward each other's interests. In the next stage, however, assigned coordinators promoted communication between the residents and artists for the sake of contemporary art. Through the process of trial and error, the project resulted in contributing to the community in a number of ways. The renovated and repurposed machiya buildings helped to develop communication among the various individuals, which led to the building of IJAPS, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1–22, 2017 Coordinators Bridge Residents and Artists 2 culturally creative areas. These areas have proved inspiring for regional community members with the involvement of various outsiders in community activities.


Simulation Learning is a frequent practice to conduct nearreal, immersive and engaging training sessions. AI Planning and Scheduling systems are used to automatically create and supervise learning sessions; to this end, they need to manage a large amount of knowledge about the simulated situation, the learning objectives, the participants' behaviour, etc. In this paper, we explain how Linked Data and Semantic Web technologies can help the creation and management of knowledge bases for Simulation Learning. We also present our experience in building such a knowledge base in the context of Crisis Management Training.


Infrastructure is an umbrella term used for many activities, as it plays vital role for industrial and overall economic activities. The study examines the historical trends of GDP, infrastructure and investment in Pakistan. The study investigates the empirical impacts of infrastructure on domestic investment from 1975 to 2013. Variables included in the study are gross fixed capital formation, telephone lines, length of roads, inflation, GDP and interest rate; and the ARDL model is applied for estimation of empirical results. These results found the impact of infrastructure on domestic investment which has positive and significant effect. However, telephone lines variable remain insignificant during long-run, while it is significant in the short-run. The study also finds positive and significant relation between the domestic investment and GDP. The impact of interest rate and inflation is negative and significant during short-run on domestic investment but, the impact of inflation remains insignificant during long-run. The findings suggest that special attention should be paid towards infrastructure along with other variables, while formulating investment policies.


Herd literature suggests that people tend to discount their own beliefs and imitate others when making adoption decisions and that the resulting adoption decisions are fragile and can be easily reversed during the post-adoptive stage. This helps explain why the adoption of a number of new technologies--from Amazon's Kindle, to Apple's iPod, iPhone, and iPad, to various types of Web 2.0 technologies--appears to have adoption patterns similar to those of new fashion trends (i. e., an initial en masse acquisition followed by subsequent abandonment). It is important to understand these phenomena because they are strongly related to the staying power of technology. From a herd behavior perspective, this study proposes two new concepts, namely discounting one's own information and imitating others, to describe herd behavior in technology adoption. A research model is developed to describe the conditions under which herd behavior in technology adoption occurs, how it impacts technology adoption decision making, and how it influences post-adoptive system use. A longitudinal study is conducted to examine the research model. Findings from this research suggest that the discounting of one's own beliefs and the imitating of others when adopting a new technology are provoked primarily by the observation of prior adoptions and perceptions of uncertainty regarding the adoption of new technology. Herd behavior has a significant influence on user technology adoption; however, it does not necessarily lead to the collapse of the user base, as predicted in the herd literature. Instead, imitation can help reduce post-adoption regret and thus serve as a legitimate strategy for choosing a good enough technology, which may or may not be the best option to enhance job performance. People tend to adjust their beliefs when herding and also to revive their discounted initial beliefs to modify their beliefs about the technology at the post-adoptive stage. Findings from this study have significant research and practical implications.


A silicon nitride (SiNx) membrane diffractive optical element (DOE) designed to exhibit beam-splitting and focusing behavior at visible wavelengths has been fabricated and tested. Since the fabrication process is based on silicon micromachining technology, the DOE is easily integrated with a laser diode chip and a photodiode chip on a silicon substrate to function as the hologram-laser-photodiode unit for use in the pickup head of a CD or DVD system. The SiNx film is deposited with low-pressure chemical-vapor deposition and the free-standing membrane is formed by KOH etching. The transmissive DOE showed a high diffraction efficiency (>20% for a binary-phase-level element). The experimental evaluation was in good agreement with the designed and modeled predictions.