For the case study area of the upper Aare River catchment in Switzerland with large mountain glaciers, where a complex storage hydropower scheme is located, the impact of climate change on runoff was simulated. Future runoff was assessed for the ongoing century using the semi-distributed conceptual hydrological modeling approach "Routing System". Glacier mass balance and runoff were computed in hourly time steps for precipitation and temperature distributions. The model was calibrated using ice volume changes and daily runoff at five gauging stations in the catchment area. The scenarios for future climatic conditions up to 2099 were developed from historical temperature and precipitation data series. The herein presented C2SM-ETHZ scenario, neglecting any global greenhouse gas reduction in future, predicts an almost complete de-glacierization of the upper Aare River basin until the end of the century. Runoff from glacier melt will initially slightly increase, followed by a decrease due to important ice mass losses. Total runoff will decrease by 2% until 2050 and by 18% until 2099. Significant decrease of runoff related to glacier melt must be considered for future hydropower management.


Objective: Cross sectional studies in the United States often find a significant positive association between levels of household firearm ownership and suicide rates. This study investigates whether the association can be explained by differences in levels of mental health. Methods: The relationship between household handgun ownership and overall suicide rates across United States regions after accounting for two mental health variables—lifetime prevalence of major depression and serious suicidal thoughts—were examined. Analyses also add another control variable (urbanization, education, unemployment, or alcohol consumption). Data on mental health variables come from the National Comorbidity Study, conducted in the early 1990s. Data on household handgun ownership come from the General Social Surveys. Results: Across the nine regions for the early 1990s (n = 9), household handgun ownership rates are positively correlated with the suicide rate (r = 0.59) and are not correlated with either the lifetime prevalence of major depression or suicidal thoughts. After controlling for major depression and suicidal thoughts (and any of the four additional control variables), handgun ownership rates remain significantly associated with the overall suicide rate. Conclusions: In United States regions with higher levels of household handgun ownership, there are higher suicide rates. This relationship cannot be explained by differences in the prevalence of two mental health indicators—lifetime rates of either major depression or suicidal thoughts.


Extreme value models are typically used to describe the distribution of rare events. Generally, an asymptotically motivated extreme value model is used to approximate the tail of some population distribution. One of the key challenges, with even the simplest application of extreme value models, is to determine the "threshold" above which (if interested in the upper tail), the asymptotically motivated model provides a reliable approximation to the tail of the population distribution. The threshold choice is essentially a balance between the usual bias versus variance tradeoff. Practitioners should choose as high a threshold as possible,such that the asymptotic approximation is reliable, i.e. little bias, but not so high that there is insufficient data to reliably estimate the model parameters, i.e. increasing variance. Traditionally, graphical diagnostics evaluating various properties of the model fit have been used to determine the threshold. Once chosen via these diagnostics, the threshold is treated as a fixed quantity, hence the uncertainty associated with its estimation is not accounted for. A plethora of recent articles have proposed various extreme value mixture models for threshold estimation and quantifying the corresponding uncertainty. Further, the subjectivity of threshold estimation is removed as the mixture models typically treat the threshold as a parameter, so it can be objectively estimated using standard inference tools, avoiding the aforementioned graphical diagnostics. These mixture models are typically easy to automate for application to multiple data sets, or in forecasting situations, for which various adhoc adaptations have had to be made in the past to overcome the threshold estimation problem. The drawback with most of the mixture models currently in the literature is the prior specification of a parametric model for the bulk of the distribution, which can be sensitive to model misspecification. In particular, misspecification of the bulk model's lower tail behaviour can have a large impact on the bulk fit and therefore on the upper tail fit, which is a serious concern. Non-parametric and semi-parametric alternatives have very recently been proposed, but these tend to suffer from complicated computational aspects in the inference or challenges with interpretation of the final estimated tail behaviour. This thesis focusses on developing a flexible extremal mixture model which splices together the usual extreme value model for the upper tail behavior, with the threshold as a parameter, and the "bulk" of the distribution below the threshold captured by a non-parametric kernel density estimator. This representation avoids the need to specify a-priori a particular parametric model for the bulk distribution, and only really requires the trivial assumption of a smooth density which is realistic in most applications. This model overcomes sensitivity to the specification of the bulk distribution (and in particular its lower tail). Inference for all the parameters, including the threshold and the kernel bandwidth, is carried out in a Bayesian paradigm, potentially allowing sources of expert information to be included, which can help with the inherent sparsity of extremal sample information. A simulation study is used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed mixture model. A known problem with kernel density estimators used in the original extremal mixture model proposed, is that they suffer from edge effects if the (lower) tail does not decay away to zero at the boundary. Various adaptations have been proposed in the nonparametric density estimation literature, which have been used within this thesis to extend the extreme value mixture model to overcome this issue, i.e. producing a boundary corrected kernel density estimator for the bulk distribution component of my extremal mixture model. An alternative approach of replacing both the upper and lower tails by extremal tail models is also shown to resolve the boundary correction issue, and also have the secondary benefits of: • robustness of standard kernel bandwidth estimators against outliers in the tail; • consistent estimator of the bandwidth for heavy tailed populations. This research further extends the novel mixture model to describe non-stationary features. Extension of the other mixture models seen in the literature to model non-stationarity appears rather complex, as they require specification of not only how the usual threshold and point process parameters vary over time or space but also those of the bulk distribution component of the models. The benefit of this particular mixture model is that the nonstationarity in the threshold and point process parameters can be modeled in the usual way(s), with the only other parameter being the kernel bandwidth where it is safe in most applications to assume that it does not vary or will typically vary very slowly. The non-stationary mixture also automatically accounts for the uncertainty associated with estimation of the parameters of the time-varying threshold, which no other non-stationary extremal model in the literature has achieved thus far. Results from simulations and an application using Bayesian inference are given to assess the performance of the model. Further, a goal of this research is to contribute to the refinement of our understanding of "normal ranges" for high frequency physiological measurements from pre-term babies. Clinicians take various physiological measurements from premature babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) for assessing the condition of the neonate. These measurements include oxygen saturation, pulse rates and respiration rates. It is known that there are deficiencies in our knowledge of "normal ranges", hence refinement of ranges essentially requires reliable estimation of relatively high quantiles (e.g. 95% or 99%). Models proposed within this thesis are applied to pulse rates and/or oxygen saturation levels of neonates in Christchurch Women's Hospital, New Zealand. A further application of the stationary extremal mixture model is for assessing the risk of certain temperature levels with cores of Magnox nuclear reactors, combining predictions from a detailed statistical model for temperature prediction and extremal modelling of the residuals for assessing the remaining uncertainty.


Hamiltionian chain is a generalisation of hamiltonian cycles for hypergraphs. Among the several possible ways of generalisations this is probably the most strong one, it requires the strongest structure. Since there are many interesting questions about hamiltonian cycles in graphs, we can try to answer these questions for hypergraphs, too. In the present article we give a survey on results about such questions.


This project proposes to model the activities and roles of a visiting Research Fellow and an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) with the intention of applying the key educational features and strategies to the online environment. Where feasible, the aim is to replicate the role of a Research Fellow online by enlisting the services of well-known artists to contribute their expertise and creative input to the teaching activities of a University School of Art. The primary purpose is to support and enhance the delivery of quality learning outcomes for the Curtin BA (Art) Online degree. The project also presents an opportunity to establish wider contact with audiences that have an interest in interacting with an online AIR site to access or contribute research materials and participate in the available creative activities. Of equal importance, the project represents an example of how Curtin is able to form unique collaborations between divergent areas of interest. In this instance, the partnership combines the expertise of the Faculty of Built Environment (BEAD), the School of Art and Design, and the Learning Support Network (LSN). The project will support the enhancement of several established Teaching and Learning programmes, namely: • the on-campus Teaching and Learning programmes at the Curtin campus at Bentley in Western Australia • the online Bachelor of Arts (Art) degree delivered through Open Learning Australia (OLA) • the Biennale of Electronic Arts (BEAP) 2004 conference programme.


This volume offers a wide-ranging examination of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-8), featuring fresh regional and international perspectives derived from recently available new archival material. Three decades ago Iran and Iraq became embroiled in a devastating eight-year war which served to re-define the international relations of the Gulf region. The Iran-Iraq War stands as an anomaly in the Cold War era: it was the only significant conflict in which the interests of the United States and Soviet Union unwittingly aligned, with both superpowers ultimately supporting the Iraqi regime. The Iran-Iraq War re-assesses not only the superpower role in the conflict, but also the war's regional and wider international dimensions by bringing to the fore fresh evidence and new perspectives from a variety of sources. It focuses on a number of themes including the economic dimensions of the war and the roles played by a variety of powers, including the Gulf States, Turkey, France, the Soviet Union and the United States. The contributions to the volume serve to underline that the Iran-Iraq war was a defining conflict, shaping the perspectives of the key protagonists for a generation to come. This book will be of much interest to students of international and Cold War history, Middle Eastern politics, foreign policy, and IR in general.


Background: Since the 1970s, Norway has experienced a significant increase in population diversity. In 2001, a patient-list system, also referred to as the General Practitioner (GP) Scheme (Norwegian: Fastlegeordning), was introduced to ensure access to primary health care for the entire population. At the time of its introduction, the scheme, which was designed for a homogenous population, was intended to improve the quality of GP services. By facilitating stability and continuity in the doctor-patient relationship, the scheme aimed to ensure equitable access to, and use of, secondary health care. Despite the intention to facilitate stable doctor-patient relationships, employees in health care facilities report that many immigrants use the emergency room rather than GP services. Equity in health care is the absence of systematic disparities in health care. Since the provision of equitable health services is a priority in Norway, this study aimed to investigate the possible motives for immigrants' choice of service provider and to propose measures to increase the uptake of GP services by this group.Purpose and approach: The aim of the article is to examine newly arrived immigrants' experiences with primary health care. The article attempts to shed light on why immigrants seek medical help at the emergency room and not from their assigned GPs in non-life-threatening situations.Methods and materials: We adopted an exploratory approach in order to investigate both the motives and experiences of diverse groups of immigrants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Oslo GPs and 13 immigrant representatives, all living in Oslo. To illustrate patterns on a large scale, we adopted a quantitative approach based on data from health authorities' registers of consultations. 1,935,000 primary health care consultations conducted in the Greater Oslo area over a two-year period were included in the regression analyses.Results and interpretation: The study shows a varied pattern of use of GP services among the diverse groups of foreign-born residents. Results suggest that immigrants are more likely to use emergency-room services during the first few years after arrival. Results also indicate that information about the patient-list system does not always reach newly arrived immigrants. Contrary to general understanding, non-visible immigrants (when considering factors such as skin color and clothing) diverge the most from the pattern of the majority. Immigrants originating from European countries, such as Sweden and Poland, use the emergency room most frequently. From the qualitative aspects of the study, we have also found that primary health care services are not perceived as equitable.Conclusion: Recently arrived immigrants' utilization of primary health care services shows an unfavorable pattern. The choice of primary health care service providers is dependent on the individual's preferences, expectations, experiences and/or actual obstacles. The observed utilization of services provided at emergency rooms is one more reason for monitoring and increasing tolerance and cultural sensitivity in primary health care.


Although various attempts have been made at providing the blind with substitute visual perception, no existing method provides useful colour perception of the environment. This paper describes a substitute vision system which provides perception of the three-dimensional profile and colour of the surrounding environment via haptic sensations alone. This is aimed at allowing visually-impaired people to avoid obstacles and navigate the environment by recognising landmarks by their colour and profile. The prototype system uses stereo video cameras to capture colour images of the environment from which a disparity depth map can be calculated. The depth map is sampled into ten range readings, which are communicated to the user via electro-neural pulses in their fingers. The intensity of the pulses is directly proportional to the distance sampled in the corresponding depth map region. Also, the pulse frequency is determined by the predominate colour in that region. Thus by imagining the fingers are extended in the forward direction, the user can feel the distance to objects and their colour based on the approximate direction pointed by each finger. This paper focuses on describing the method employed in achieving 3D colour perception via haptic stimulation and how this form of perception can be used to navigate familiar environments.


Mangroves are found throughout the tropics, providing critical ecosystem goods and services to coastal communities and supporting rich biodiversity. Globally, mangroves are being rapidly degraded and deforested at rates exceeding loss in many tropical inland forests. Madagascar contains around 2% of the global distribution, >20% of which has been deforested since 1990, primarily from over-harvest for forest products and conversion for agriculture and aquaculture. While historically not prominent, mangrove loss in Madagascar's Mahajamba Bay is increasing. Here, we focus on Mahajamba Bay, presenting long-term dynamics calculated using United States Geological Survey (USGS) national-level mangrove maps contextualized with socio-economic research and ground observations, and the results of contemporary (circa 2011) mapping of dominant mangrove types. The analysis of the USGS data indicated 1050 hectares (3.8%) lost from 2000 to 2010, which socio-economic research suggests is increasingly driven by commercial timber extraction. Contemporary mapping results permitted stratified sampling based on spectrally distinct and ecologically meaningful mangrove types, allowing for the first-ever vegetation carbon stock estimates for Mahajamba Bay. The overall mean carbon stock across all mangrove classes was estimated to be 100.97 ± 10.49 Mg C ha−1. High stature closed-canopy mangroves had the highest average carbon stock estimate (i.e., 166.82 ± 15.28 Mg C ha−1). These estimates are comparable to other published values in Madagascar and elsewhere in the Western Indian Ocean and demonstrate the ecological variability of Mahajamba Bay's mangroves and their value towards climate change mitigation.


Typical port scanning approaches do not achieve a full coverage of all devices connected to the Internet as not all devices are directly reachable via a public (IPv4) address: due to IP address space exhaustion, firewalls, and many other reasons, an end-to-end connectivity is not achieved in today's Internet anymore. Especially Network Address Translation (NAT) is widely deployed in practice and it has the side effect of "hiding" devices from being scanned. Some protocols, however, require end-to-end connectivity to function properly and hence several methods were developed in the past to enable crossing network borders. In this paper, we explore how an attacker can take advantage of such application-layer middlebox protocols to access devices located behind these gateways. More specifically, we investigate different methods for identifying such devices by using only legitimate protocol features. We categorize the available protocols into two classes: First, there are persistent protocols that are typically port-forwarding based. Such protocols are used to allow local network devices to open and forward external ports to them. Second, there are non-persistent protocols that are typically proxybased to route packets between network edges, such as HTTP and SOCKS proxies. We perform a comprehensive, Internet-wide analysis to obtain an accurate overview of how prevalent and widespread such protocols are in practice. Our results indicate that hundreds of thousands of hosts are vulnerable for different types of attacks, e. g., we detect over 400,000 hosts that are likely vulnerable for attacks involving the UPnP IGD protocol. More worrisome, we find empirical evidence that attackers are already actively exploiting such protocols in the wild to access devices located behind NAT gateways. Amongst other findings, we discover that at least 24 % of all open Internet proxies are misconfigured to allow accessing hosts on non-routable addresses.


—Perhentian Islands Marine Park is home to foraging and nesting Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) and Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) but little information is available other than nesting trends and hatching success. We used photographic identification (photo-ID) methods to identify individuals and to determine their sex ratios, habitat use, and site fidelity. We collected 1,826 sightings between 2009 and 2015 from conservation projects (998 in-water sightings, 184 nesting sightings) and members of the public (639 in-water sightings, five nesting sightings), and used NaturePatternMatch (NPM) software and manual visual matching to identify individuals. We identified 120 (minimum) to 131 (maximum) individual Green Turtles, including a maximum of 17 males, 58 females and 56 turtles of unknown sex from both in-water and nesting beach sightings. We identified 20 (minimum) to 23 (maximum) individual Hawksbills of unknown sex from in-water sightings. Green Turtles were sighted most frequently at seagrass beds and Hawksbills only among coral reefs. We resighted 47 Greens and eight Hawksbills between one and 144 times (mean = 23.1 times). Nesting Greens also showed strong site fidelity, although the nesting home range for some individuals included different beaches on adjacent islands within approximately 30 km. We identified boat-related injuries in eight turtles and mortalities of two turtles. Our study suggests that photographs from conservation projects and members of the public were appropriate for photo-ID to provide information on the turtle populations in the Perhentian Islands Marine Park.


The etiology of chronic back pain is often unknown but can include failed spinal surgery. Pain can often be of mixed type and it is important to evaluate pain mechanisms. Comorbid factors often contribute to pain chronicity. Multimodal treatment, including opioid rotation where indicated, may offer a successful management approach. Other rehabilitative procedures such as physiotherapy, exercise therapy, and good sleep hygiene may have a profound impact on patient quality of life. Spinal cord stimulation may be an effective option for some patients with failed spinal surgery syndrome. A case of severe low back pain after surgery in a 45-year-old man is presented to illustrate this. This report is adapted from paineurope 2013; Issue 4, ©Haymarket Medical Publications Ltd., and is presented with permission. paineurope is provided as a service to pain management by Mundipharma International, Ltd., and is distributed free of charge to health care professionals in Europe. Archival issues can be accessed via the Web site: http://www.paineurope.com, at which European health professionals can register online to receive copies of the quarterly publication.


Four recent decisions in the federal courts of appeals have combined the evidentiary doctrine of forfeiture by wrongdoing with imputed substantive criminal liability among conspirators under Pinkerton v. United States. According to this augmented rule— called the "Cherry rule" after the Tenth Circuit opinion that first enunciated it—a witness's out-of-court statement is admissible against a defendant if a co-conspirator wrongfully silenced the witness in a manner that was within the scope and in furtherance of the conspiracy, and was reasonably foreseeable. This expansion of the forfeiture by wrongdoing doctrine is inconsistent with the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause for two reasons: it was not contemplated at early common law and it leads to forfeiture of the confrontation right based only on a pretrial determination of guilt. In addition, even if the Cherry rule were compatible with the Confrontation Clause, due process constrains its application short of Pinkerton's logical extent. Courts should reject or limit the Cherry rule accordingly.


We present observations of the recently discovered supernova 2008iz in M 82 with the VLBI High Sensitivity Array at 22 GHz, the Very Large Array at frequencies of 1.4, 4.8, 8.4, 22 and 43 GHz, and the Chandra X-ray observatory. The supernova was clearly detected in two VLBI images separated by 11 months. The source shows a ring-like morphology and expands with a velocity of ∼23 000 km s−1. The most likely explosion date is in mid-February 2008. The measured expansion speed is a factor of ∼2 higher than expected under the assumption that synchrotron self-absorption dominates the light curve at the peak, indicating that this absorption mechanism may not be important for the radio emission. We find no evidence for an asymmetric explosion. The VLA spectrum shows a broken power law, indicating that the source was still optically thick at 1.4 GHz in April 2009. Finally, we report upper limits on the X-ray emission from SN 2008iz and a second radio transient recently discovered by MERLIN observations.


Purpose: Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) comprise multiple distinct biological groups with different prognoses. For example, patients with epithelial-like (EL) tumors have a better prognosis and exhibit greater sensitivity to inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway than patients with mesenchymal-like (ML) tumors. Here we test the hypothesis that EL NSCLCs can be distinguished from ML NSCLCs on the basis of global DNA methylation patterns. Experimental Design: To determine whether phenotypic subsets of NSCLC can be defined based on their DNA methylation patterns, we combined microfluidics-based gene expression analysis and genome-wide methylation profiling. We derived robust classifiers for both gene expression and methylation in cell lines and tested these classifiers in surgically resected NSCLC tumors. We validate our approach using quantitative RT-PCR and methylation specific PCR in formalin-fixed biopsies from NSCLC patients who went on to fail front-line chemotherapy. Results: We show that patterns of methylation divide NSCLCs into EL and ML subsets as defined by gene expression and that these signatures are similarly correlated in NSCLC cell lines and tumors. We show that DNA methylation differences predict EL or ML phenotypes NSCLC cell lines, surgically resected tumors, and formalin-fixed biopsies from NSCLC patients who went on to fail front-line chemotherapy. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that patterns of DNA methylation can divide non-small lung cancers into two phenotypically distinct subtypes of tumors and provide proof of principle that differences in DNA methylation can be used as a platform for predictive biomarker discovery and development. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1732. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1732


This report presents an investigation of the possibilities to implement voice over IP (VoIP) in Sony Ericsson cellular phones. The results from this investigation show that it is partially possible to implement such a solution. The best option for doing so is to make use of the support for the Session Initiation Protocol and the Real-time Transport Protocol offered by the architecture. Another goal is to evaluate if Bluetooth is able to handle the requirements needed for the solution. The whole concept is proven by implementing a prototype. Measurements on this prototype show that Bluetooth will be able to handle the requirements of most IP-based voice communication, i.e., in respect to latency and bandwidth.


This paper presents an assessment of the vertical efficiency in descent at four major European airports using best local practice for each flow as a reference. The motivation is to assess the potential for short term improvements through an increased adherence to these best practices. The assessment relies on the analysis of the vertical deviation to best descent profiles of each airport, in relation to the additional flight time as a proxy for the level of congestion. It focusses on the 50NM area around each airport and relies on six months of data from 2018 during day-time operations over more than 200 000 flights in total. The assessment reveals a triple relative inefficiency. Firstly, descent profiles significantly lower than best practices: the median vertical deviation for 10 minutes flight time exceeds 2300ft. Secondly, a degradation of descent profiles with the level of congestion: the median vertical deviation for 10 minutes flight time increases by 800ft per 1 minute additional time. Thirdly, a variability of descent profiles for a same level of congestion: the vertical deviation span (90% containment) for 10 minutes flight time is 2000ft or more for a same additional time. The four airports have different deviations on their common range of additional time (between 1600ft and 2100ft in 0-5min range), even more pronounced when considering deviations above and below FL70 with a ratio above/below ranging from 1.2 to 5.8. Further work will involve the identification of the causes of large vertical deviations and possible ways to reinforce adherence to best descent profiles.


This study provides the comprehensive analysis of changes in mean and extreme temperature indices of India to assist the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and to add information for the global comparisons, using a high‐resolution daily gridded temperature data set (1° × 1°) during 1971–2005. In addition to the indices recommended by the World Meteorological Organization/CLIVAR Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices, few more indices having social and agricultural implication are investigated at the seasonal and annual scales, utilizing widely adopted statistical methodologies in climate research. The results show, in general, a robust signal of warming, broadly consistent with what has been observed and predicted in other parts of the world in the context of global warming. The frequency and intensity of warm extremes, especially representing the daily minimum temperature, have increased with simultaneous decreases in cold extremes in large parts of the country, but the spatial distribution of the trend magnitude reflects the complex natural climatic settings of India and its possible interaction with the anthropogenic forcing. Seasonal analysis reveals a faster warming in day and night temperatures in winter affecting the major wheat crop. In summer, however, both human and ecosystems appear to be more vulnerable to the increasing tendency of the heatwave occurrences, particularly during night‐time, since the 1990s. The relationship with the large‐scale natural climatic modes indicates that the warming indices tend to increase in the year following the El Niño events as evident from the correlation with the NINO3.4 index, with a relatively higher association in the monsoon season. Moreover, the concurrent correspondence of the summer heatwaves with the north Indian Ocean sea surface temperature suggests a degree of predictability of the heat stress episode.


The T cell antigen receptor (TCR) initiates signals by interacting with cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) through a 17-residue sequence motif [called the antigen recognition activation motif (ARAM)] that is contained in the TCR zeta and CD3 chains. TCR stimulation induces the tyrosine phosphorylation of several cellular substrates, including the ARAMs. Lck kinase activity is required for phosphorylation of two conserved tyrosine residues in an ARAM. This phosphorylation leads to the recruitment of a second cytoplasmic PTK, ZAP-70, through both of the ZAP-70 Src homology 2 domains and its phosphorylation. Thus, TCR signal transduction is initiated by the sequential interaction of two PTKs with TCR ARAMs.


Abstract Pseudomonas fluorescens WCR 417r induces systemic resistance in radish roots challenged byFusarium oxysporum f. sp. raphani and, incidentally, in carnation stems challenged by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. dianthi. The induced systemic resistance is not associated with accumulation of pathogenesis–related proteins (PRs) or, at least in case of radish, with increased peroxidase activity. We tested whether the induced systemic resistance might be associated with changes in the host cell wall composition. Cell wall degradation, using pyrolysis mass spectrometry, was demonstrated on fungal infection in carnation and probably in radish as well. Lignin was found to be demethoxylated, oxidized and depolymerized. In carnation both syringyl and guaiacyl lignin were broken down. In radish root probably mainly syringyl lignin was degraded. Cellulose and hemicellulose were degraded in carnation and possibly in radish. Bacterization with P. fluorescens WCS 417r prior to fungal infection reduced such cell wall degradation, consistent with its resistance inducing action. In the case of the radish roots it seems very improbable that this reduction is a necessary component of the induced fungal resistance. For carnation it remains to be investigated.


In the time-dependent society of today, those with limited ability to manage time will show a heightened dependence on others and more need for support, exacerbating their vulnerability. Children with developmental disorders e.g. intellectual disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorders are reported to have problems in time perception, time orientation or time management, in this chapter all related to the suggested overarching concept: time processing ability (TPA). The aim of this short communication is to present a currently developed innovative assessment of TPA and its relation to daily time management (TM) in children with and without developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities. The new assessment of TPA; Kit for assessing Time processing ability (KaTid) for children was based on current knowledge of information processing in children with cognitive disabilities e.g. using iconic symbols and concrete concepts. Using modern test statistics (Rasch analysis), the evaluation of the KaTid and a related Parent scale for estimating the daily TM presented acceptable psychometric properties. The results indicate that the items in KaTid, initially defined as time perception, time orientation and time management, all empirically support a potential uni-dimensional construct, TPA. In this TPA construct, time perception, time orientation and time management can be seen as different levels of complexity rather than as separate constructs. The Parent scale of daily TM also demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. There is a relation between the parents' ratings of a child's daily TM and TPA in children with developmental disabilities. Thus TPA seems to be a factor related to children's daily TM that needs to be taken into consideration when planning and evaluating interventions designed to facilitate everyday functioning for children with ID. This is a step towards providing evidence-based instruments that, together with other information, can help the professional in structuring the intervention planning process for children with difficulties in daily TM.


The functional nature of computer software underlies two propositions that were, until recently, fairly well settled in intellectual property law: first, that software, like other utilitarian articles, may qualify for patent protection; and second, that the scope of copyright protection for software is comparatively limited. Both propositions have become considerably shakier as a result of recent court decisions. Following Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014), the lower courts have invalidated many software patents as unprotectable subject matter. Meanwhile, Oracle America v. Google Inc., 750 F.3d 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2014) extended far more expansive copyright protection to functional software components than precedent suggested. The result of these developments has been a new period of uncertainty regarding the existence and scope of intellectual property protection for computer software.

The root of the problem lies in Congress's relative inattention to the question of what legal regime (if any) should govern the creation of computer software. Congress extended copyright protection to software largely without grappling with the consequences of applying a body of law designed to promote creative expression to functional, useful code. Meanwhile, Congress has spoken only obliquely to the question whether software warrants patent protection. The turmoil in the courts reflects a general lack of legislative guidance. This Article asks whether the time is ripe for remedial legislation and suggests some questions that ought to guide congressional inquiry.


Intrinsic self-sensing concrete (ISSC) refers to a structural material that can monitor itself without the need of embedded, attached or remote sensors. By measuring electrical resistance of the ISSC, the stress, strain, crack and damage can be in situ monitored. Compared with conventional structural materials which require additional sensors for monitoring or detection, the ISSC is advantageous in its high sensitivity, good mechanical property, natural compatibility, identical lifespan with concrete and easy installation and maintenance. The ISSC can be used for structural health monitoring, traffic detection and border/military security. In this paper, the ISSC with single filler (including microscale fillers and nanoscale fillers) and hybrid fillers are introduced.


Without new innovations, present rates of increase in yields of food crops globally are inadequate to meet the projected rising food demand for 2050 and beyond. A prevailing response of crops to rising [CO2] is an increase in leaf area. This is especially marked in soybean, the world's fourth largest food crop in terms of seed production, and the most important vegetable protein source. Is this increase in leaf area beneficial, with respect to increasing yield, or is it detrimental? It is shown from theory and experiment using open‐air whole‐season elevation of atmospheric [CO2] that it is detrimental not only under future conditions of elevated [CO2] but also under today's [CO2]. A mechanistic biophysical and biochemical model of canopy carbon exchange and microclimate (MLCan) was parameterized for a modern US Midwest soybean cultivar. Model simulations showed that soybean crops grown under current and elevated (550 [ppm]) [CO2] overinvest in leaves, and this is predicted to decrease productivity and seed yield 8% and 10%, respectively. This prediction was tested in replicated field trials in which a proportion of emerging leaves was removed prior to expansion, so lowering investment in leaves. The experiment was conducted under open‐air conditions for current and future elevated [CO2] within the Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment facility (SoyFACE) in central Illinois. This treatment resulted in a statistically significant 8% yield increase. This is the first direct proof that a modern crop cultivar produces more leaf than is optimal for yield under today's and future [CO2] and that reducing leaf area would give higher yields. Breeding or bioengineering for lower leaf area could, therefore, contribute very significantly to meeting future demand for staple food crops given that an 8% yield increase across the USA alone would amount to 6.5 million metric tons annually.


ABSTRACT Capsule: During 1928–2016, initiation of egg-laying advanced in two wader species, remained unchanged in one, and was delayed in one species. The changes across years and variation among species can be explained by climatic variables and differences in migratory strategies. Aims: To document possible changes in initiation of egg-laying in common Danish wader species since the early part of the 20th century and seek possible correlations between egg-laying, timing of arrival and environmental factors. Methods: Annual records of the first eggs and chicks found on the scientific reserve of Tipperne in western Denmark 1928–2016 were analysed using linear regression to determine patterns in timing of egg-laying, pre-breeding length and influence of climate factors. Results: Two short/medium-distance migrant wader species, Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus and Common Redshank Tringa totanus advanced breeding initiation by about one week, with winter North Atlantic oscillation Index and spring temperature as important predictors. By contrast, two long-distance migrants, Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa and Ruff Calidris pugnax, did not advance egg-laying, and Ruff actually delaying it. As a result, the pre-laying period was significantly prolonged in both Black-tailed Godwit (21 days) and Ruff (52 days), while there was no significant change for Common Redshank. Conclusion: Long-distance migrants are able to adjust spring arrival but unlike short/medium-distance migrants, do not necessarily adjust breeding initiation.


Abstract Because of widespread tremolite and chrysotile minerals in Palaeozoic-Mesozoic metamorphic and Triassic ophiolitic units, respectively, in the Eskişehir region, Turkey, there is significant potential for development of cases of mesothelioma. Such occurrences in the Eskişehir region show a positive correlation with the concentration and dimension of tremolite crystals compared with those of chrysotile crystals. A detailed assessment of the mineralogy, geochemistry and genesis of these materials has not been carried out to date; the present study was undertaken to fill that gap. The sharp diagnostic basal reflections at 8.14 Å, 3.09 Å and at 7.30 Å, 3.63 Å, well defined fibrous crystallinity, and ideal differential thermal analysis-thermal gravimetric and Raman curves suggest the development of well crystallized fibrous/acicular tremolite and chrysotile with the average structural formulae of: (Na0.07K0.03)(Ca1.68Mg0.18Mn0.01)(Fe0.42Mg4.55Ti0.01)(Si7.60Al0.24Fe0.16)O22(OH)2, and (Mg5.55Fe0.41 Mn0.006)(Si3.79Al0.13)O10(OH)8, respectively. Enrichment of light rare earth elements relative to medium rare earth elements and heavy rare earth elements in tremolite compared to that of chrysotile which exhibits no anomaly and negative anomalies for Ba, Sr, Ce, Nb, Y and Zr in the tremolite samples and chrysotile, are responses to the fiactionation of feldspar, glaucophane, pyroxene and olivine under the high temperatures of hydrothermal-alteration processes during serpentinization and the high-pressure conditions of metamorphism. Based on H and O isotope data, the tremolite and chrysotile are thought to have developed from tectonically controlled magmatic and meteoric hydrothermal systems and the formation temperatures of the tremolite are higher than those of chrysotile.


Rural financing is one of the critical factors to promote productivity and ensure an improved social and economic development for a country like Kenya, whose population of about 80% is rural-based and dominantly depending on agriculture. Like in many other developing countries, access to financial services in most parts of Kenya, particularly the rural areas, is very limited. The specific objective of the study was to assess the role o f Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) in facilitating rural financing; it analyzed the type of financial services and products offered by the SACCOS and assessed the extent to which SACCOS are effective in facilitating rural financing. Data were collected through questionnaires. The study used a sample size of 35 respondents, which comprised SACCOs members and SACCOs board members. In data presentation, tables, charts, percentages and graphs were used. The study found that a majority of SACCOs offers Credit and saving facilities only while money transfer, insurance and deposit products are not offered. A number of SACCOs were found experiencing poor management, low membership, and a low level o f knowledge on the part of members. The study concluded that if SACCOs are managed sustainably, they can play a critical role in facilitating rural financing. The researcher further recommended that in order to improve sustainability and ensure provision o f knowledge for best practices, the government should put in place reliable mechanisms to the SACCOs.


In this paper, we examine the price dynamics of online art auctions of Modern Indian Art using Functional Data Analysis. The purpose here is not just to understand what determines the final prices of art objects but also the price movement during the entire auction. We identify several factors such as artist characteristics (established or emerging artist; prior sales history), art characteristics (size; painting medium - canvas or paper), competition characteristics (current no. of bidders; current no. of bids) and auction design characteristics (opening bid; position of the lot in the auction) that explain the dynamics of price movement in an online art auction. We find that the effects on price vary over the duration of the auction, with some of these effects being stronger at the beginning of the auction (such as the opening bid and historical prices realized). In some cases, the rate of change in prices (velocity) increases at the end of the auction (for canvas paintings and paintings by established artists). Our analysis suggests that the opening bid is positively related to online auction price levels of art at the beginning of the auction but its effect declines towards the end of the auction. The order in which the lots appear in an art auction is negatively related to the current price level with this relationship decreasing towards the end of the auction. This implies that lots that appear earlier have higher current prices during the early part of the auction but that effect diminishes by the end of the auction. Established artists show a positive relationship with the price level at the beginning of the auction. Reputation or popularity of the artists and their investment potential as assessed by previous history of sales are positively related to the price levels at the beginning of the auction. The medium (canvas or paper) of the painting did not show any relationship with art auction price levels, but the size of the painting was negatively related to the current price during the early part of the auction. Important implications for auction design are drawn from the analysis.


This book contains a selection of short activities organized around six themes which reflect the content covered in young learner English exams and the curriculum in most primary mainstream classrooms: Animals, Journeys, Fantasy and adventure, The world around us, Healthy bodies, and About me. Activities are organized by topic and by level to make it easy to find appropriate activities for students. They encourage meaningful language use and real communication appropriate to primary learners. Each activity also contains guidance and information on preparation, procedure, language focus, skills focus and thinking focus. Activities can be used flexibly in any order at any point in a teaching programme. In addition, the design of the activities allows teachers to adapt and apply the ideas to other themes. This book is suitable for both novice and experienced teachers who need a resource of enjoyable and motivating activities for the young learner classroom.


Aim To determine the profile of traumatic cervical spine fractures with respect to the epidemiology, clinical presentation, types of fractures, conservative and surgical intervention, short-term post-intervention (i.e. post-conservative and post-surgical) complications and short-term post-surgical rehabilitation of patients presenting at the Spinal Unit of King George V Hospital over a 12-week period. Methods Patients who presented to the King George V Hospital Spinal Unit from surrounding hospitals with traumatic cervical spine fractures were evaluated by the medical staff. Data concerning the epidemiology, clinical presentation, types of fractures, conservative and surgical intervention, short-term post-intervention (i.e. post-conservative and postsurgical) complications and short-term post-surgical rehabilitation data were recorded by the researcher. A p-value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Appropriate statistical tests were applied to the hypothesis-testing objectives. These involved the Pearson's Chi Square Tests for categorical variables or Fisher's Exact Tests as appropriate where sample sizes were small. Paired t-tests were done to compare preand- post-surgical Frankel grading and Norton Pressure Sore Assessment scores. Results The number of patients who presented to the Spinal Unit over a 12-week period was 20, of this number 17 were males, three were females and all were black. Eleven patients were treated surgically while nine patients were treated conservatively. The most frequent aetiology of cervical spine fractures was motor vehicle accidents (n = 10) followed by falls (n = 9). The most common co-existing medical conditions were smoking (n = 7), HIV (n = 5), alcohol abuse (n = 3) and obesity (n = 3). The most frequent locations of cervical spine fractures were C2 (n = 6), C1 (n = 4) and the posterior column of C6 (n = 3), while dislocations occurred primarily at the C5-C6 levels (n = 5) of the lower cervical spine. Odontoid fractures (n = 6), Jefferson's fractures (n = 4) and unilateral facet dislocations (n = 6) were the most common fractures and dislocations v observed. Head injuries (n = 4) and lower limb fractures (n = 3) were the most common extra-spinal fractures. All subjects who sustained head injuries also had associated C1 or C2 fractures. Neurological complications most frequently involved the upper limb where loss of motor function (n = 8) and weakness (n = 4) were observed. The majority of the patients (n = 8) reported a Frankel Grading of E. There were no significant associations between types of fracture and gender with the exception of fracture/dislocation observed in two females. There was a statistically significant difference in the NPSA score (p = 0.004). Conservative care utilized included soft collar (n = 6), cones calipers (n = 6), physiotherapy (n = 4), Minerva jacket (n = 4) and SOMI (sterno-occipital mandibular immobilization) brace (n = 1) while surgical intervention included anterior decompression (n = 8), anterior fusion (n = 8), allograft strut (n = 8), discectomy (n = 8), anterior cervical plating (n = 8), anterior screw fixation (n = 2), a transoral approach (n = 1) and a corpectomy (n = 1). The short-term post-conservative care complications observed in this study were an occipital pressure sore (n = 1), severe discomfort (n = 1) as well as severe neck pain (n = 1), while the short-term post-surgical complications were severe neck pain (n = 2), oral thrush (n = 1), pneumonia (n = 1), odynophagia (n = 1) and hoarseness (n = 1). Of the 11 patients who underwent cervical spine surgery, ten were sent for physiotherapy and one for occupational therapy. No significant associations were seen between the type of cervical spine fracture and the age of the subject. There was a significant association between fracture/dislocation and the female gender (p = 0.016). There was significant negative association between odontoid fracture and: anterior decompression, anterior fusion, allograft strut, discectomy and anterior cervical plating (p = 0.006). Conclusion The results of this study reflect the presentation and management of cervical spine fractures at a referral spinal unit of a public hospital in KwaZulu Natal. The impact of HIV and other co-existing medical conditions were not determined due to the small sample size in this study. Further epidemiological studies are required to be conducted in the Spinal Units of all South African public hospitals in order to confirm or refute the observation of this study.


Groups that created more correct ideas (correct contributions or CCs) might be more likely to solve a problem, and students' recent actions (micro-time context) might aid CC creation. 80 high school students worked in groups of 4 on an algebra problem. Groups with higher mathematics grades or more CCs were more likely to solve the problem. Dynamic multilevel analysis statistically identified watersheds (breakpoints) that divided each group's conversation into distinct time periods with many CCs versus few CCs, and modeled the groups' 2,951 conversation turns. Wrong contributions, correct evaluations of one another's ideas, justifications, and polite disagreements increased the likelihood of a CC. In contrast, questions, rude disagreements, and agreements reduced it. Justifications had the largest effects, whereas the effects of correct evaluations lasted 3 speaker turns. Some effects differed across groups or time periods. In groups that solved the problem, justifications were more likely to yield CCs, and questions were more likely to elicit explanations. Meanwhile, the effects of agreements and correct evaluations on CCs differed across time periods. Applied to practice, teachers can encourage students to evaluate others' ideas carefully and politely, express and justify their own ideas, and explain their answers to group members' questions.


Wireless industrial networks differ in many respects from other types of wireless networks. In particular, since many applications impose tight real-time and reliability requirements at the same time, and packet sizes tend to be small. In this paper we design a simple and practically implementable protocol in which relaying and packet combining work together to improve the probability that packets are delivered within a prescribed deadline over fading channels. The results indicate that such a combination can be fruitfully employed in wireless industrial networks.


This short column is part of the annual Tax Notes issue that highlights noteworthy law review articles published during the previous year. In this piece, I identify articles relating to estate and gift tax taxation that practitioners likely will find of interest, not withstanding Chief Justice Roberts' view that academics don't publish work that is of "much help to the bar." The articles reviewed (in alphabetical order by author's last name) are: (1) Martin D. Begleiter, "Son of the Trust Code - the Iowa Trust Code after Ten Years;" (2) Frances H. Foster, "Should Pets Inherit?"; (3) Thomas P. Gallanis, "The New Direction of American Trust Law;" (4) Wendy C. Gerzog, "The New Super-Charged PAT (Power of Appointment) Trust;" (5) Victoria J. Haneman, "Changing the Estate Planning Malpractice Landscape: Applying the Constructive Trust to Cure Testamentary Mistake;" (6) Adam J. Hirsch, "Freedom of Testation/Freedom of Contract;" (7) Kristine S. Knaplund, "The New Uniform Probate Code's Surprising Gender Inequities;" (8) Kristine S. Knaplund, "Synthetic Cells, Synthetic Life, and Inheritance;" (9) Carla Spivack, "Let's Get Serious: Spousal Abuse Should Bar Inheritance;" (10) Lee-ford Tritt, "The Limitations of an Economic Agency Cost Theory of Trust Law."


The paper makes two central claims: the first is that irony a prototypical and perhaps exemplar category, there are some types of irony that are more central than others. The second claim is that irony is processed and produced largely subconsciously and that its meaning is indeterminate. Implications for the theory of irony and irony processing are examined. Furthermore, the existence of canned or idiomatic irony facilitates automatic/subconscious processing. This paper assumes a number of facts about irony, which are discussed at length elsewhere. I also assume, without further discussion, the model of irony I presented in Attardo (2000), which can be summarized as follows: an ironical situation is a sextuple (S, H, C, u, p, p).


Abstract. Determining and characterizing soil organic matter (SOM) cheaply and reliably can help to support decisions concerning sustainable land management and climate policy. Glomalin, a glycoprotein produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, was recommended as a promising indicator of SOM quality. But extracting glomalin from and determining glomalin in soils using classical chemical methods is too complicated and time consuming and therefore limits the use of this parameter in large scale surveys. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a very rapid, non-destructive analytical technique that can be used to determine many constituents of soil organic matter. Representative sets of 84 different soil samples from arable land and grasslands and 75 forest soils were used to develop reliable NIRS calibration models for glomalin. One calibration model was developed for samples with a low content of glomalin (arable land and grasslands), the second for soils with a high content of glomalin (forest soils), and the third calibration model for all combined soil samples. Calibrations were validated and optimized by leave-one-sample-out-cross-validation (LOSOCV) and by the external validation using eight soil samples (arable land and grassland), and six soil samples (forest soils) not included in the calibration models. Two different calibration models were recommended. One model for arable and grassland soils and the second for forest soils. No statistically significant differences were found between the reference and the NIRS method for both calibration models. The parameters of the NIRS calibration model (RMSECV = 0,70 and R = 0,90 for soils from arable land and grasslands and RMSECV = 3,8 and R = 0,94 for forest soils) proved that glomalin can be determined directly in air-dried soils by NIRS with adequate trueness and precision.


A new semi-supervised ensemble algorithm called XGBOD (Extreme Gradient Boosting Outlier Detection) is proposed, described and demonstrated for the enhanced detection of outliers from normal observations in various practical datasets. The proposed framework combines the strengths of both supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods by creating a hybrid approach that exploits each of their individual performance capabilities in outlier detection. XGBOD uses multiple unsupervised outlier mining algorithms to extract useful representations from the underlying data that augment the predictive capabilities of an embedded supervised classifier on an improved feature space. The novel approach is shown to provide superior performance in comparison to competing individual detectors, the full ensemble and two existing representation learning based algorithms across seven outlier datasets.


— The usual method of river flow diversion involves construction of tunnels and cofferdams. Given the fact that the cost of diversion works could be as high as 10-20% of the total dam construction cost, due attention should be paid to optimum design of the diversion works. The cost of diversion works depends, on factors, such as: the tunnel dimensions and the intended tunneling support measures during and after excavation; quality and characterizes of the rock through which the tunnel should be excavated; the dimensions of the upstream (and downstream) cofferdams; and the magnitude of river flood the system is designed to divert. In this paper by use of the cost of unit prices for tunnel excavation, tunnel lining, tunnel support (rock bolt + shotcrete) and cofferdam fill the cost function was determined. The function is then minimized by the aid of PSO Algorithm (particle swarm optimization). It is found that the optimum diameter and the total diversion cost are directly related to the river flood discharge (Q). It has also shown that in addition to optimum diameter design discharge (Q), river length, tunnel length, is mainly a function of the ratios (not the absolute values) of the unit prices and does not depend on the overall price levels in the respective country. The results of optimization use in some of the case study lead us to significant changes in the cost. of the of the other works; and for most of the these two to the project the


Free-space optical (FSO) classical communication links can provide high data rates vital for successfully serving the world's exponentially growing demand for bandwidth, while FSO quantum key distribution (QKD) links allow information-theoretic rather than computational secure communication between two parties. Unlike fiber-optic classical communication and QKD links, FSO links can do so with minimal up-front investments in infrastructure. Setting aside absorption and scattering losses along the propagation path, optical links with a terrestrial terminal will still experience the deleterious effects of clear-weather turbulence, namely beam spread, beam wander, angle-of-arrival spread, and scintillation, which leads to low end-to-end power transfer from the transmitter to receiver. Decreases in the power transfer result in lower communication rates and may result in no secure-key rate for the loss-sensitive QKD communication protocols. Adaptive optics holds the best promise for mitigating, if not completely compensating for, these turbulence-induced degradations. Nevertheless, despite adaptive optics being a richly developed field, theoretical studies of adaptive optics systems have not fully exploited the reciprocal nature of propagation through atmospheric turbulence. It is known that applying ideal, fullwave adaptive optics at both the transmitter and receiver of a free-space optical link can guarantee scintillation-free power transmission when operation is deep in the near-field power transfer regime. Buoyed by the advent of enabling technologies like scalable Mach-Zehnder interferometer arrays and coherent receiver arrays, this thesis: (1) introduces both a full-wave and phase-only bidirectional adaptive optics (BDAO) protocol; (2) assesses the ergodic performances of FSO classical and QKD communication links utilizing these BDAO systems using both theoretical performance bounds as well as turbulence simulation results; and (3) provides an initial study of the noise and time-dynamics the BDAO protocol can tolerate while still achieving near-optimal classical communication or QKD rates. Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey H. Shapiro Title: Julius A. Stratton Professor of Electrical Engineering


When using electrodynamic vibration exciters to excite structures, the actual force applied to the structure under test is the reaction force between the exciter and the structure. The magnitude and phase of the reaction force is dependent upon the characteristics of the structure and exciter. Therefore the quality of the reaction force i.e. the force applied on the structure depends on the relationship between the exciter and structure under test. Looking at the signal from the force transducer when exciting a structure with a sine wave, the signal will appear harmonically distorted within the regions of the resonance frequencies. This phenomenon is easily observed when performing tests on lightly damped structures. The harmonic distortion is a result of nonlinearities produced by the shaker when undergoing large amplitude vibrations, at resonances. When dealing with non-linear structures, it is of great importance to be able to keep a constant force level as well as a non-distorted sine wave in order to get reliable results within the regions of the resonance frequencies. This paper presents theoretical methods that can be used to create a non-distorted sinusoidal excitation signal with constant force level.


Positing a dynamic relationship between print culture and social experience, Bronwen Wilson's The World in Venice focuses on the printed image during a century of profound transformation. City views, costume illustrations, events, and portraits of locals and foreigners are brought together to show how printmakers responded to an expanding image of the world in Renaissance Venice, and how, in turn, prints influenced the ways in which individuals thought about themselves. Woodcuts and engravings of cities and inhabitants of Europe, and those of distant lands, initiated a sudden and pervasive experience with alterity that redefined the relations of Europeans to the world. By condensing the world into pictures, print enabled a radically novel and vicarious experience of others. Wilson explores the overlapping and evolving relations between space, vision, print, and identity, and engages with current scholarly debates concerning ethnicities, gender and geography, copies and originals, travel, nationhood, fashion, urban life, visuality, and the body. Venice was one of the largest cities in Renaissance Europe, a trading crossroads, and a centre of print. The World in Venice shows how Venetian identity came to be envisioned within the growing global context that print constructed for it.


Water quality standards associated with dredging have become more stringent, requiring better monitoring and prediction. Here, we describe the dynamics and development of plumes generated during two dredging cycles and how they vary with respect to time and distance from the dredging activity. Backscatter signals were measured using a boat-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and total suspended solid concentrations (TSS) were determined from water samples. Results show that background TSS ranged from 7 to 9 mg l-1 whilst dredging plumes exhibited a vertical gradient of TSS ranging from 9 to 15 mg l-1 near the surface (0-2 m), and 24 to 70 mg l-1 near the bottom (10-12 m). ADCP transects conducted during and after dredging showed that the plume dissipated from the dredged area within 1 hour. Final transects (around 1 hour after the dredging ended), revealed backscatter signals ranging from background levels to around 1.2 times greater than the background. Based on TSS concentrations and time for plume dispersion, previous studies indicated that a plume with duration of 1 to 2 hours and TSS concentration around 70 mg l-1 is below the threshold for causing serious impacts to the biota; therefore, only minor effects can be expected for the two dredging plumes monitored.


Residents of underdeveloped countries who belong to ethnic, racial, sexual, and political minorities usually endure relatively ineffective political voices. More than any other world population segment, these marginalized people are vulnerable to, and suffer from, compromised health and life expectancies. Their immense human tolls have spawned severe global humanitarian, economic, social, political, and security dilemmas contrary to the strategic interests of the United States. Despite recognition of these devastating harms here and abroad, the president as de facto primary U.S. foreign policymaker continues to formulate foreign health policy in an insular policy-making environment. The insularity enables the president to design policy without broad input, transparency, or public scrutiny. This Article suggests the alteration of the presidential policy-making apparatus. It proposes a concrete structure to facilitate a voice for politically marginalized minorities and to enhance public accountability and transparency in presidential foreign health policy-making, thereby collaterally imbuing the process with a new legitimacy.


An accurate biomarker for the follow-up of women positive for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) DNA may improve the efficiency of cervical cancer prevention. Previously, we analyzed all 113 HPV16 CpGs in cervical cytology samples and discovered differential methylation at different stages of premalignancy. In the current study, we identified a methylation biomarker consisting of a panel of 12 HPV16 CpG sites in the E5, L2, and L1 open reading frames, and tested whether it fulfilled three necessary conditions of a prospective biomarker. A total of 33 cytology samples from North American and West African women with all grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and invasive cervical cancer (ICC) were analyzed by using DNA bisulfite sequencing. The results showed (i) a highly significant trend for increasing HPV16 biomarker methylation with increasing histologic severity (P < 0.0001), (ii) 100% sensitivity for ICC over a wide range of methylation cutoff scores; 80% detection of CIN3 at cutoff scores up to 39% methylation, and (iii) substantially lower detection of CIN2, from 0% to 71%, depending on the cutoff score. Our results support the prognostic potential of the HPV16 methylation biomarker for the triage to colposcopy of women with HPV16-positive screening tests and, eventually, for the management of women with HPV16-positive CIN2. Cancer Prev Res; 7(5); 526–33. ©2014 AACR.


Meetings are important business and social activities. However, research suggests that meetings engulf as much as 60 per cent of the time we spend at work. Despite their necessity and the costs involved, many meetings are organized by individuals who have other full-time responsibilities and lack the formal training and experience to ensure their successful planning and execution. How to Manage Meetings provides much-needed guidance on how to get meetings right. Readers should be able to reap the rewards from appropriate preparation, maximizing participation, understanding group dynamics, effective chairing, and how to follow up effectively after a meeting has taken place. This fully revised second edition includes new content on electronic and virtual meetings, a new chapter on improving a group's thinking and additional guidance on how best to prepare for a meeting from the perspective of three key roles: Chair, Administrator and Participant.


We analyse four years of transaction data for euro-area sovereign bonds traded on the MTS electronic platforms. In order to measure the informational content of trading activity, we estimate the permanent price response to trades. We not only find strong evidence of information asymmetry in sovereign bond markets, but also show the relevance of information asymmetry in explaining the cross-sectional variations of bond yields across a wide range of bond maturities and countries. Our results confirm that trades of more recently issued bonds and longer maturity bonds have a greater permanent effect on prices. We compare the price impact of trades for bonds across different maturity categories and find that trades of French and German bonds have the highest long-term price impact in the short maturity class, whereas trades of German bonds have the highest permanent price impact in the long maturity class. More importantly, we study the cross-section of bond yields and find that after controlling for conventional factors, investors demand higher yields for bonds with larger permanent trading impact. Interestingly, when investors face increased market uncertainty, they require even higher compensation for information asymmetry.


Understanding the role of leadership in virtual world teams may help shed light on how to manage synchronous and highly interdependent work activities. Based upon leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, we propose that the relationship between a leader and a team member (LMX) influences 1) the degree to which a team member is allocated resources by the leader (empowerment and group assignments), 2) the degree to which a team member develops relational resources with the team (trust, obligation, norms, and identification), and 3) the extent to which a team member receives or develops resources results in higher levels of individual performance. Our findings from a longitudinal field study of one large virtual world team in the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) EverQuest suggest that the leader member relationship does impact members' allocation and development of resources, and that it's not just the quantity of members' resources, but also the type of member resources, that has a direct influence on performance. Our findings also indicate that the influence of the leader-member relationship on member performance is fully mediated by the allocation and development of resources. Surprisingly, there was no relationship between LMX, trust, and performance, which suggests that trust may not be as vital in virtual teams where everyone's actions are visible. Lastly, the findings suggest that building relational capital to facilitate the transformation from self to collective interest may be an effective leadership tactic when managing large virtual teams or social collectives.


A blind noise variance algorithm that recovers the variance of noise in two steps is proposed. The sample variances are computed for square cells tessellating the noise image. Several tessellations are applied with the size of the cells increasing fourfold for consecutive tessellations. The four smallest sample variance values are retained for each tessellation and combined through an outlier analysis into one estimate. The different tessellations thus yield a variance estimate sequence. The value of the noise variance is determined from this variance estimate sequence. The blind noise variance algorithm is applied to 500 noisy 256*256 images. In 98% of the cases, the relative estimation error was less than 0.2 with an average error of 0.06. Application of the algorithm to differently sized images is also discussed. >


The Great Recession has focused renewed attention on the role of household leverage in the business cycle. Household debt overhang and the ensuing process of deleveraging are often cited as factors holding back economic recovery. This paper studies the relationship between household debt and economic performance during the Great Depression in the U.S. on the state level. Using a newly compiled dataset, I present evidence that debt overhang in the household sector acted as a severe drag on economic recovery in the 1930s. States with higher initial debt-to-income ratios recovered considerably slower. These findings point toward a close link between the accumulation of debt and the severity and duration of recessions.


INTRODUCTION
Knee arthroscopy is associated with variable amount of postoperative pain. In an attempt to improve postoperative analgesia, intra-articular injection of local anaesthetic in combination with other agent have been studied. However, the best combination is not known.

AIM
To compare the analgesic efficacy of intra-articular injection of morphine and dexmedetomidine when added with levobupivacaine in arthroscopic knee surgeries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seventy eight patients, scheduled to undergo elective arthroscopic procedure under spinal anaesthesia were recruited for the study. All the patients received 18 ml of 0.25% levobupivacaine however in addition to this Group M patients received 8 mg (2 ml) morphine, Group D patients received 100μg (2 ml) of dexmedetomidine while Group C patients received 2 ml of isotonic saline intra-articularly. Postoperatively the intensity of pain was assessed using Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). Rescue analgesia was given at NRS ≥ 4. The duration of analgesia and total diclofenac consumption was noted.

RESULTS
The mean duration of analgesia was longest in Group M (576.20±67.09 minutes) followed by Group D (460.93±38.95 minutes) and Group C (370.27±58.80 minutes) statistically this difference was found to be highly significant (p-value < 0.001). Total consumption of diclofenac in 24 hours was found lowest in group M (86.25±27.48 mg) followed by group D (110.87±44.48 mg) and group C (141.35±44.13 mg) this difference was found to be highly significant (p-value < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
Morphine when added with levobupivacaine in patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery improves the quality and prolongs the duration of postoperative analgesia.


Many species occur across environmental gradients and it is expected that these species will exhibit some signals of adaptation as heterogeneous environments and localized gene flow may facilitate local adaptation. While riparian zones can cross climate gradients, many of which are being impacted by climate change, they also create microclimates for the vegetation, reducing environmental heterogeneity. Species with differing distributions in these environments provide an opportunity to investigate the importance of genetic connectivity in influencing signals of adaptation over relatively short geographical distance. Association analysis with genomic data was used to compare signals of selection to climate variables in two species that have differing distributions along a river traversing a climate gradient. Results demonstrate links between connectivity, standing genetic variation, and the development of signals of selection. In the restricted species, the combination of high gene flow in the middle and lower catchment and occurrence in a microclimate created along riverbanks likely mitigated the development of selection to most climatic variables. In contrast the more widely distributed species with low gene flow showed a stronger signal of selection. Together these results strengthen our knowledge of the drivers and scale of adaptation and reinforce the importance of connectivity across a landscape to maintain adaptive potential of plant species.


A young woman returns to northern Quebec, to the remote island of her childhood, with her lover and her two friends to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her father. Flooded with memories, she begins to realise that going home means entering not only another place but another time. As the wild island exerts its elemental hold and she is submerged in the language of the wilderness, she sees that what she is really looking for is her own past. (And, one might add, her own future)


The purpose of this study is to examine prospective teachers' TPACK self-efficacy and variables affecting their training to integrate technology in education according to their subject areas. The survey research, a quantitative research method, was used in the study. The sample of the study is composed of senior prospective teachers (n=3553) from 19 different departments of 18 state universities in Turkey. The departments were gathered into nine subject areas by taking into consideration the criteria of prospective teachers' subject areas. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskall-Wallis H tests were used for the comparisons of the groups . The results of the study show that TPACK is perceived differently according to the subject areas. Prospective teachers think that teacher educators do not sufficiently exhibit technology integration behaviors in their lessons and participants think that they somewhat have authentic experiences in using technology in education. While both scores of TPACK self-efficacy and variables affecting prospective teachers' training to integrate technology in education are higher in favor of Foreign Languages subject area; prospective teachers in Mathematics and Turkish language have lower scores than other subject areas in the study. As a result, the self-efficacy of prospective teachers' technology integration significantly differentiates.


Objective This study examined predictors of medication administration hassles reported by intergenerational dementia family caregivers. Methods A sample of 53 women who aided a cognitively impaired older adult with healthcare and who identified as inter-generational caregivers provided self-report medication management and psychosocial data. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that six independent variables hypothesized for this model, the total number of prescription medications managed by caregivers, educational attainment, care-recipient functional impairment, care-recipient cognitive impairment, caregiver depressive symptomatology, and self-reported feelings of preparedness for the caregiving role together significantly predicted caregiver medication administration hassles scores F(1, 48) = 4.90, p = .032, and accounted for approximately 25% of the variance of self-reported hassles (adjusted R2 = .247). Discussion Future interventions may reduce medication-related hassles by providing psychoeducation about healthcare, medication management, and strategies for coping with care-related stressors and depressed mood.


Get ready to harness the amazing capabilities of Anime Studio 6, an easy-to-use but powerful 2D animation software package. ANIME STUDIO 6: THE OFFICIAL GUIDE shows budding and professional animators alike how to use all the unique and powerful features of the newest version including complete coverage of the vector-based graphics; layers; bone-based systems; animating keyframes; particles, motion blur, and other effects; and how to export animations to YouTube or Facebook. The accompanying DVD features professional animation samples, all project files and final examples from the tutorials in the book, and a 30-day trial version of Anime Studio 6 Pro.


This paper makes use of the Cape Area Panel study (CAPS), a longitudinal study of youth and their families in metropolitan Cape Town in order to broaden the empirical body of evidence of the causal impact of parental death on children's schooling in South Africa in two dimensions. First, analysis of CAPS allows us to examine the extent to which results may generalize across geographically and socioeconomically distinct areas. Second, CAPS allows for an explicit exploration of whether the causal impact lessens as time since the parental death lengthens. Evidence from the CAPS is consistent with that from a large demographic surveillance site in rural KwaZulu-Natal in supporting the findings that mother's deaths have a causal impact on children's schooling outcomes and that there is no evidence of a causal effect of paternal loss on schooling for African children. The loss of a father has a significant negative impact on the education of coloured children but a significant amount of this impact is driven by socioeconomic status. We exploit the longitudinal data to investigate the extent to which orphan disadvantage precedes parental death and whether orphans begin to recover in the period following a parent's death or whether they continue to fall behind. We find no evidence of orphan recovery in the period following their parent's death and results suggest that negative impacts increase with the time since the parent died. The longer-run impact of parental death in childhood is also evident in an analysis of the completion of secondary schooling by early adulthood. These results suggest that parental death will reduce the ultimate human capital attainment of the child.


The development of the Internet led to the development of various communication medium such as website and social networking system. Physical limitations and constraints of conventional media to deliver information quickly and efficiently can be overcome with the advent of digital media technology. Limitations of space and time can link easily when new media technologies are used to improve the information delivery system. This study focuses on the perception of the usefulness and easy of use the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) website among international students. Quantitative research method with questionnaires was conducted on 200 international students at UKM. The study found that international students agreed that usefulness and ease of use of the website will affects user satisfaction and acceptance. Website also helped them to get information, interact and increase their knowledge of the university. This study has implications on the importance of websites even nowadays, there are a variety of new media and social media as a platform for disseminating information to the stakeholders of the university. An in-depth study should be carried out using in-depth interview or focus group approach to understand the experience of international students when using the university's website.


African oil exporters have been hard hit by the sustained decline in international oil prices. African oil importers are seeing dramatically lower oil import bills, but most have economies that are not energy-intensive enough to benefit greatly from the oil price change. For the continent as a whole, growth forecasts have been revised downwards, as the benefits of cheaper oil are being offset by costs associated with reduced demand for African exports of other primary commodities, especially metals and minerals. These developments highlight the continuing vulnerability of African countries to adverse terms-of-trade shocks and to the costs associated with lack of progress in structural transformation and trade diversification away from primary commodities, oil included. The poor growth outlook for Africa clearly shows that success in diversifying trade partners, though it has been highly beneficial and growth-enhancing, does not eliminate the risks associated with commodity-dependent development models.


Interoperability and system integration are central problems that limit the effective use of health information systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness of health service delivery. There is currently no proven technology that provides a general solution in low and middle income countries where the challenges are especially acute. Engineering health information systems in low resource environments have several challenges that include poor infrastructure, skills shortages, fragmented and piecemeal applications deployed and managed by multiple organisations as well as low levels of resourcing. An important element of modern solutions to these problems is a health information exchange that enable disparate systems to share health information. It is a challenging task to develop systems as complex as health information exchanges that will have wide applicability in low and middle income countries. This work takes a case study approach and uses the development of a health information exchange in Rwanda as the case study. This research reports on the design, implementation and analysis of an architecture, the Health Information Mediator, that is a central component of a health information exchange. While such architectures have been used successfully in high income countries their efficacy has not been demonstrated in low and middle income countries. The Rwandan case study was used to understand and identify the challenges and requirements for health information exchange in low and middle income countries. These requirements were used to derive a set of key concerns for the architecture that were then used to drive its design. Novel features of the architecture include: the ability to mediate messages at both the service provider and service consumer interfaces; support for multiple internal representations of messages to facilitate the adoption of new and evolving standards; and the provision of a general method for mediating health information exchange transactions agnostic of the type of transactions. The architecture is shown to satisfy the key concerns and was validated by implementing and deploying a reference application, the OpenHIM, within the Rwandan health information exchange. The architecture is also analysed using the Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method. It has also been successfully implemented in other low and middle income countries with relatively minor configuration changes which demonstrates the architectures generalizability.


The Easter Island Province (EIP) encompasses Easter Island (EI) and Salas y Gomez Island (SGI), which are located in the eastern boundary of the south Pacific subtropical gyre. This province is one of the most oligotrophic region in the world ocean with a high degree of endemism and distinguished by having the clearest waters in the world. Issues related to the biophysical coupling that sustains biological production in this region are still poorly understood. Satellite data compiled over a ten year period was used to characterize the spatial and temporal chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) variability around the EIP and determine the relationship between Chl-a and several physical forcing. Results shows a clear Chl-a annual cycle around the EIP, with maximum concentration during the austral winter. Chl-a spatial distribution shows a strong zonal dipole over EI that divides the island into two zones: southeast and northwest. Due to its small size and low elevation of SGI, it does not generate a significant local effect in Chl-a concentration, but a Chl-a increase is observed southeast of this island (~2 km) associated to a seamount. The mean geostrophic current in the EIP flows eastward, associated with the southeastern boundary of the subtropical gyre. However, recurrent mesoscale eddies traveling northwestward and produce large surface current variability with periods of high velocities in opposite direction. In the spring, wakes of high Chl-a concentration can be observed over EI, associated with the generation and detachment of submesoscale eddies from EI, which could have important biological implications during periods of low regional biological production.


In 2006-2008, I found new localities of Anastrophyllum donnianum and A. saxicola in the Slovakian Tatras (Western Carpathians). These liverwort species had not been reported from Slovakia since 1888, and were classified as extinct. Both are found in this part of Europe in isolated localities in mountains, at the southern limit of their European distribution. Anastrophyllum donnianum is rare in Europe.


Over the past twelve years, Monroe Community College (MCC), in Rochester, NY, has administered three surveys to non-successful online students to ask about their perceptions of online learning and to learn about student perceived barriers in the online environment. For these surveys, non-successful students were defined as those students who received a grade of F or W in an MCC online course. Typically, these particular students do not share their perceptions of online learning with the college because they rarely participate in end of the year student satisfaction surveys. Thus, their perceptions are often invisible and unknown to institutions. In the MCC surveys, students were asked to: share their perspectives on why they felt that were not successful in their online class; comment on their expectations for online classes; and share the advice that they would give to a student who was considering taking an online MCC class. The students' responses to these questions were fairly consistent over the course of time that the surveys were conducted, 2000-2001, 2005-2006, and 2009-2010. The combined responses for the three surveys indicated that the number one reason why students felt that they were not successful in their online course was because they "got behind and couldn't catch up." Although online student satisfaction surveys provide insights into the perceptions of online students, the voluntary respondents to these surveys are those students who typically did well in the course. A review of the results of the responses from unsuccessful online students broadens the scope of the voice of the students and brings to the forefront the perspectives of students who were not successful. These data can help to inform the types of student services support that unsuccessful online MCC students feel are needed.