Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder caused by mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) (1). A hallmark of the disease is a defect in chloride conductance, particularly in serous gland cells and respiratory epithelial cells. Depletion of the periciliary liquid layer, partly due to a defect in ciliary transport, has pleiotropic consequences with respect to local host defenses against bacterial infection, especially by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2). The surface fluid, covering airway epithelia in CF, has been shown to have deficient bactericidal activity. Because the defect reverses when the NaCl concentration is decreased, it is hypothesized that the high salt concentration in CF pulmonary secretions could inactivate antimicrobial molecules of the innate immune system, such as defensins, surfactant proteins, lysozyme, and, perhaps, mannose-binding lectin (MBL) (3–5). A small difference in either the function or level of 1 or more molecules of innate immunity could influence the host's ability to control pathogenic bacteria. Despite having an intense inflammatory response and an intact adaptive immune response, most CF patients eventually become chronically colonized with P. aeruginosa, considered to be causally related to the steady deterioration in pulmonary function. Of particular clinical concern is colonization by Burkholderia cepacia, which leads to severe, recurrent pulmonary problems (6).

In this issue of the JCI, Garred et al. have shown that common genetic variations in the mannose-binding lectin gene (MBL2) are associated with increased disease severity and a higher risk of infection by B. cepacia in patients with CF (7). The presence of MBL variant alleles is also associated with poor prognosis and early death. The wild-type human MBL is synthesized in the liver as an acute-phase serum protein, and occupies a central position in the innate immune system. MBL is capable of opsonizing pathogenic microorganisms and, in turn, activating the complement system (8, 9). Although the role of MBL in the lung is not well understood, it is possible that MBL is an important member of pulmonary host defenses and contributes to the initial response by invading organisms. Furthermore, MBL could directly or indirectly influence the influx or clearing of neutrophils in the respiratory lumen. In the setting of CF, it was reasonable to consider that the effect of an MBL variant could be magnified against the background of CF lung disease. Common polymorphisms in both the regulatory and structural regions of the gene result in marked variation in circulating levels of MBL (10, 11). Thus, it is not surprising that the authors correlated levels of MBL, lung function, and median survival with different genotypes of MBL2. This study provides strong evidence supporting the hypothesis that perturbations of innate immunity contribute to the pathogenesis of lung disease in CF.

The clinical importance of genetic variants of MBL to both infectious and inflammatory disorders has been demonstrated in previous association studies (9). The current study, along with several others, suggests that the impact of MBL deficiency might be magnified in individuals with either a chronic infection or an underlying disruption of immune function. Previous examples include the association of variant MBL alleles with susceptibility to HIV infection and progression of AIDS; with systemic lupus erythematosus; and with chronic hepatitis B infection (12–14). The risk for developing autoimmune complications of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a rare primary immune deficiency, is increased in individuals with variant alleles of MBL (15). In CGD, a variant genotype of the FcγRIIa receptor (another key component in innate immunity) was also associated with autoimmunity. Results such as these suggest that association studies can now help to identify secondary genes that modify outcome in primary genetic disorders. The identification of a collection of modifying genotypes could lead to a more refined understanding of a specific disease. Understanding the role of modifying genes has considerable potential for determining risk profiles that might impact therapeutic decisions. By subclassifying diseases, according to secondary genetic risk factors, therapy could be adapted to individual needs. Indeed, the current study raises the possibility that recombinant or purified MBL may be of benefit to at least a subset of CF patients.

Because the associated phenotype of a common polymorphism in innate immunity is often subtle, studying common genetic variants in the normal host may be exceedingly difficult. More than 35% of the general population has at least 1 structural variant allele of MBL2 (9–11). Even within a disease population such as CF, the overall distribution of the variant allele does not differ from healthy controls. However, when variant alleles are examined closely within a population of CF patients, clear relationships are observed between variant genotypes and deleterious outcome. In general, disease populations, such as those in which major defects in host defenses are observed, may greatly enhance our ability to observe the consequences of subtle genetic variations in innate immunity. Armed with an expanding number of immunologically important polymorphisms, genetic association studies should proceed with an eye toward understanding immunological pathways in vivo.

Until recently, the ability to perform genetic association studies has been limited by the paucity of known polymorphisms. However, advances in high-throughput sequence analysis and DNA chip arrays have begun to generate a larger and more comprehensive set of genetic reagents for understanding the relationship between genetics and disease (16, 17). As the Human Genome Project progresses toward completion early in the next millennium, a catalog of known genes and their variations in sequence has already begun to take shape (18). Types of DNA sequence variations include insertions, deletions, variable numbers of repeat sequences, and, the most common, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Although the project is still far from complete, estimates of the number of SNPs vary between 1 in 300 to 1 in 1200 bp (19). While the final frequency will not be known for some time, the rich diversity in the human genome promises to provide a valuable resource for understanding individual differences in disease expression.

To this end, the National Cancer Institute's Genetic Annotation Initiative (20), a publicly available resource, has launched a program to resequence and identify SNPs within several thousand candidate genes. In the near future, it will be possible to systematically study the contribution of candidate polymorphisms selected from a catalog of genes, many of which had previously exhibited 1 or more biological or clinical associations. Pursuing this path, further investigation of CF pulmonary disease could well identify candidate genes encoding proteins that influence apoptosis, proinflammatory cytokines, myeloid-specific proteins, surfactant proteins, collectins, or the Th1/Th2 cytokines to the detriment of the patient.

Genetic annotation studies offer a new way to view the dynamic relationship between genes and their products in vivo. Identifying and cataloging physiologically important SNPs, however, is only part of the challenge. Meaningful association studies require high-quality, detailed epidemiological data. Furthermore, sophisticated informatics will be needed to handle the volume of data and provide a resource for the daunting challenge of statistically analyzing sets of genes for their effect on different outcomes. Positive association between 1 or more genotypes and different outcomes will need to be validated in a series of studies. Assessing risk and applying the conclusions to clinical decision making will require careful consideration of complex ethical questions as well.

Using the candidate gene approach, Garred et al. have identified a modifying gene in CF, namely variants of MBL2, and at the same time have provided further evidence that the pathogenesis of CF is related to perturbations in innate immunity. Before we can test all CF patients at this locus and confidently tailor therapy according to MBL2 variant genotypes, there is much work to be done. The study must be confirmed in other populations of CF patients. The findings of this genetic annotation study should stimulate other investigators to examine the biological role of MBL in pulmonary host defenses. Moreover, the authors have shown that a genetic disease like CF is not as simple as originally envisioned. The cloning of the CFTR was a major milestone in understanding the molecular basis of CF, but dissecting the pathogenesis of CF has proved far more complicated (1). Even among patients with the most common CFTR mutation, ΔF508, the course of lung disease differs markedly (21). The challenge remains to select appropriate candidate SNPs in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the pathogenesis of a disease as complex as CF.


This is a study of Phonation-type differences in Gujarati, using the approach of Prosodic analysis. The observer's own pronunciation is used as the basis for this analysis. A phonological analysis of Gujarati in these terms has not been attempted before. The presentation of this thesis is made in three main parts. The introduction refers to the general background of the language, its origin, its literary beginnings and previous studies of the language. The writing system of the language presents an outline of orthographic patterns which it may be useful to compare with the phonetic forms. Notes on the phonetic notation have been given to provide values for the broad reading transcription of the examples. Section 1:- This deals with the phonetic basis of the analysis in broad terms. Chapters one and two are concerned with the description of vowel and consonant sounds. Chapter two also refers to symbols which are used in the thesis when a narrow transcription of examples is required. Sounds are described in three places in the word, initial, medial and final; and examples have been given. Chapter three outlines different syllable patterns of the language and gives tables to show different possibilities of consonant groups. Chapter four deals with previous work done in the field of general phonetics with regard to different types of phonation in Gujarati which is frequently instanced as a language showing special characteristics of 'breathy' or 'murmur' articulation or, to use Catford's recent (1977) terminology, 'whispery voice' and 'ligamental voice' articulations. This chapter serves as a link between the phonetic and phonological. aspects of the problem. Section 2:- This deals principally with the phonological statement of phonation differences in Gujarati word structures, and to apply the principles of prosodic analysis to the statement of the systems. Chapter five gives the phonological statements on phonation types which are broadly grouped as (a) 'clear' phonation type and (b) 'breathy' phonation type. It also serves as a basis for the sort of analysis which will be given in the following two chapters. Chapter six, on word prosodies, deals with the main characteristic features of the phonological word, which has been studied as a maximum unit in the thesis. In Chapter seven the phonetic exponents of the two prosodies sire related to the syllable as a whole and syllable-initial and syllable-final. In conclusion the usefulness of this approach has been indicated. Chapter eight contains a limited amount of instrumental support for the prosodic analysis. Appendices follow which contain the text of words used as examples, spectograms, aerometer readings, and a taped sample of the observer's pronunciation.


Purpose: The main purpose of the article was to determine the impact of organizational culture on the effectiveness of management of agricultural cooperatives. Cooperative movement is an important element, significantly influencing the development of rural areas and agriculture. Among scientists and practitioners, the condition of the Polish cooperative movement raises concerns about its future in confrontation with modern agriculture in highly developed countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methods used in the study include literature analysis and critique, participant observation, comparisons, case studies, induction and deduction, synthesis. The main research tool was the OCAI (Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument) questionnaire by K.S Cameron and E. Quinn, based on the competing value model. 133 entities located in various regions of Poland from various cooperative industries were deliberately selected for the study. These were dairy cooperatives, beekeeping horticulture and groups of agricultural producers. The research sample accounted for 20% of each type of cooperative. The questionnaires were addressed to these industries because they were able to adapt to the new challenges related to the transformation of the Polish economy after 1990. Practical Implications: The conducted research shows that the autocratic style of management dominates in the studied cooperatives. On the other hand, the measure of success is the development of human resources, greater involvement of members and teamwork. Meanwhile, the autocratic style of managing human capital and the lack of involvement of members in the results of these entities' activities cause these entities to drop out of the market and lack interest in this form of business. On the other hand, agricultural cooperatives in developed countries in Europe and the world successfully compete with capital companies. Originality/value: To improve the functioning of these entities and stop the downward trend, it is necessary to change the way of management and the legal and organizational modification of these entities. The creation of new styles and management models in the surveyed entities and modification of the law is the added value of the research undertaken.


A number of banks in developed countries argue that the new capital requirements under Basel III are too stringent and that implementing the proposed regulation would require raising large amounts of capital, with adverse consequences on credit and the cost of finance. In contrast, many emerging market economies claim that their systems are adequately capitalized and that they have no problems with implementing the new capital requirements. This paper conducts a detailed calculation of capital held by the banks in four Latin American countries — known as the Andean countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru — and assesses the potential effects of full compliance with the capital requirements under Basel III. The conclusions are positive and show that while capital would decline somewhat in these countries after they make adjustments to comply with the new definition of capital under Basel III, they would still meet the Basel III recommendations on capital requirements. More importantly, these countries would hold Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted-asset ratios significantly above the 8.5 percent requirement under Basel III. That is, not only the quantity, but also the quality of capital is adequate in the countries under study. While encouraging, these results should not be taken as a panacea since the new regulations are only effective if coupled with appropriate risk management and supervision mechanisms to control the build-up of excessive risk-taking by banks. Further research into these areas is needed for a complete assessment of the strength of banks in the Andean countries.


Abstract. An important prerequisite for the simulation-based assessment of energy systems at urban scale is the availability of high-quality, well-formatted and semantically structured data. Unfortunately, best practices and state-of-the-art approaches for urban data modelling are hardly applied in the context of energy-related simulations, such that data management and data access often become tedious and cumbersome tasks. This paper presents the so-called Simulation Package, i.e., a data model extending the 3D City Database for CityGML, and its derived data access layer, both aiming to bridge this gap between semantic 3D city modelling and simulation in the context of urban energy systems. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated with the help of a concrete example, where the proposed extension has been implemented and integrated into a simulation toolchain. The aim is that the availability of a common, shared data model and the proof-of-concept implementation will contribute and foster adoption and further improvement in the future.


The automatic recognition of human actions in video is of great interest in many applications such as automated surveillance, content-based video summarization, video search, and indexing. The problem is challenging due to a wide range of variations among the motion pattern of a given action such as walking across different subjects and the low variations among similar motions such as running and jogging. This thesis has three contributions in a discriminative bottom-up framework to improve the multi-resolution analysis and classification of the motion patterns in video for better recognition of human actions. The first contribution is the introduction of a novel approach for a robust local motion feature detection in video. To this end, four different multi-resolution temporally causal and asymmetric filters of log Gaussian, scale-derivative Gaussian, Poisson, and asymmetric sinc are introduced. The performance of these filters is compared with the widely used multi-resolution Gabor filter in a common framework for detection of local salient motions. The features obtained from the asymmetric filtering are more precise and more robust under geometric deformations such as view change or affine transformations. Moreover, they provide higher classification accuracy when they are used with a standard bag-of-words representation of actions and a single discriminative classifier. The experimental results show that the asymmetric sinc performs the best. The Poisson and the scale-derivative Gaussian perform better than log Gaussian and that better than the symmetric temporal Gabor filter. The second contribution is the introduction of an efficient action representation. As the salient features at different spatial and temporal scales characterize different motion information, a multi-resolution action signature is developed for a more discriminative video representation. The third contribution is on the classification of different human actions. To this end, an ensemble of classifiers in a multiple classifier systems (MCS) framework with a parallel topology is utilized. This framework can fully benefit from the multi-resolution characteristics of the motion patterns in the human actions. The classification combination concept of the MCS has been then extended to address two problems in the configuration setting of a recognition framework, namely the choice of distance metric for comparing the action representations and the size of the codebook by which an action is represented. This implication of MCS at multiple stages of the recognition pipeline provides a multi-stage MCS framework which outperforms the existing methods which use a single classifier. Based on the experimental results of the local feature detection and the action classification, the multi-stage MCS framework, which uses the multi-scale features obtained from the temporal asymmetric sinc filtering, is recommended for the task of human action recognition in video.


Korea's capital market reforms gathered momentum when the IMF program it adopted following the Asian Currency Crisis came to an end in 2001. The reforms (e.g., the establishment of Korea Exchange through the integration of the country's three existing exchanges, measures to promote the exchange-traded derivative market, and the enactment of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act) have had a certain degree of success, leading, for example, to the expansion of Korea's capital markets and greater participation by overseas investors. Nevertheless, some critics say that Korea's capital markets lack dynamism as a result, for example, of an absence of competition among the exchanges and an excessive degree of concentration in the chaebol. There has also been some concern about the country's rapidly aging population, the strength of the currency, falling property prices, and a perceived decline in the ability of the country's banks and companies to weather hard times. It will therefore be interesting to see how the new government tries to restructure the economy and revitalize its markets.


Different time scales of climate change and their differential perception in society are discussed. A historical examination of natural climate changes during the past millennium suggests that short-term changes, especially crucial changes, trigger a significant response in and by society. Shortterm changes correspond to the 'time horizon of everyday life', that is, to a time scale from days and weeks to a few years. The currently anticipated anthropogenic climate changes, however, are expected to occur on a longer time scale. They require a response by society not on the basis of primary experience but on the basis of scientifically constructed scenarios and the ways in which such information is represented in the modern media, for example. Socio-economic impact research relies on concepts that are based on the premise of perfectly informed actors for the development of optim.al adaptation strategies. In contrast to such a conception, we develop the concept of a 'social construct of climate' as decisive for the public perception of scientific knowledge about climate and for public policy on climate change. The concept is illustrated using a number of examples.


Base station deployment in cellular networks is one of the most fundamental problems in network design. This paper proposes a novel method for the cell planning problem for the fourth generation 4G-LTE cellular networks using meta heuristic algorithms. In this approach, we aim to satisfy both coverage and cell capacity constraints simultaneously by formulating a practical optimization problem. We start by performing a typical coverage and capacity dimensioning to identify the initial required number of base stations. Afterwards, we implement a Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm or a recently- proposed Grey Wolf Optimizer to find the optimal base station locations that satisfy both problem constraints in the area of interest which can be divided into several subareas with different user densities. Subsequently, an iterative approach is executed to eliminate eventual redundant base stations. We have also performed Monte Carlo simulations to study the performance of the proposed scheme and computed the average number of users in outage. Results show that our proposed approach respects in all cases the desired network quality of services even for large-scale dimension problems.


In today's competitive market providing products only in low cost and high quality is not enough.  Environmental concern in manufacturing is also an important issue now. To attract investors and customers organizations need to practice environmental manufacturing. This study is focused to present the relationships between some specific environmental manufacturing practices and their relative specific competitive outcomes in the important and vast industry of garment's knitting sector in Bangladesh. Although there are several studies on the impact of environmental practices on the organizations outcomes but they are less construable due to many limitations. This study explores the environmental manufacturing practices under two categories pollution prevention and product stewardship and shows their relative competitive outcomes and establishes the relation between them. Based on the surveys and research it is found that some competitive outcomes are positively affected by some of the practices. These findings are believed to motivate the companies to turn towards the green manufacturing.


The political economy literature has gathered compelling evidence that labour market risks shape political preferences. Accordingly, insecurity fuels support for redistribution and left parties. This article analyses this argument for temporary workers, a so far neglected risk category which has increased dramatically in the past two decades. Temporary workers also have been in the focus of recent insider-outsider debates. Some authors in this line of research have argued that temporary work leads to political disenchantment , for example, non-instrumental responses such as vote abstention or protest voting. This contradicts risk-based explanations of political preferences. The article discusses both theoretical perspectives and derives conflicting hypotheses for the empirical analysis of temporary workers' policy and party preferences. The review reveals considerable ambiguity regarding the questions which parties temporary workers can be expected to support and what the underlying motives for party choice are. Synthesising arguments from both perspectives, the article proposes an alternative argument according to which temporary workers are expected to support the new left that is, green and other left-libertarian parties. It is argued that this party family combines redistributive policies with outsider-friendly policy design. Using individual-level data from the European Social Survey for 15 European countries, the article supports this argument by showing that temporary, compared to permanent, workers exhibit higher demand for redistribution and stronger support for the new left. Neither the risk-based nor the insider-outsider explanations receive full support. In particular, no signs of political disenchantment of temporary workers can be found. Thus, the findings challenge central claims of the insider-outsider literature.


An international bottom trawl survey (the MEDITS programme) has been carried out every year in the Mediterranean since 1994. During each survey, about 1000 hauls are done by a fleet of 8 to 11 vessels from 10 to 800 m depth, applying a unique standardized sampling protocol. This study analyses the trajectory and the performances of the sampling gear used for this survey, from records obtained during the surveys aboard some vessels in different geographical sub-areas and at different depth levels. Two kinds of sensors have been used, one to characterize a posteriori the vertical trajectory of the trawl from the beginning of shooting to the end of hauling (830 hauls), the other to describe in real time the stabilization of the trawl at its beginning (16 hauls) and its geometry during the tow (840 hauls). The results show the variability extent of these parameters linked with vessel, area, depth and period, illustrating their impact on the swept area estimates used for biological assessments. The results strongly suggest the inforcement of a quality strategy combining the use of rigourous sampling protocols and systematic controlling of the main parameters characterizing the trawl performance during routine surveys.


The interactions between microbial and chemical contents of cloud water were investigated. First, we observe that the bulk cloud water solution provides a substantial environment where bacteria can develop significantly. Then, a total number of 60 microbial strains originating from seven distinct samples of cloud water and affiliated to various taxonomic groups were examined for their ability to degrade some of the main atmospheric carboxylic compounds: formate, acetate, lactate, succinate, as well as formaldehyde and methanol. Biodegradation tests show that all these compounds can be transformed when used as single carbonaceous substrates, with activities depending on both the strain and the compound. The highest capacities of biodegradation are observed towards formaldehyde, formate and acetate, which are also the more concentrated compounds typically measured in cloud water. Hence, analyses by 1 H NMR permitted to establish for instance that compounds like pyruvate or fumarate can be produced and released in the media in relation to the transformation of lactate or succinate. In addition, utilization of 13 C labelled formaldehyde showed that it can be transformed through many metabolic pathways, similar to those induced by photochemistry and leading to the production of formate and/or methanol. These results suggest that microorganisms of cloud water can have various behaviours towards the chemical compounds present in the atmosphere: they can represent either a sink or source for organic carbon, and may have to be considered as actors of cloud chemistry.


Disaster recovery is significantly affected by funding availability. The timeliness and quality of recovery activities are not only impacted by the extent of the funding but also the mechanisms with which funding is prioritised, allocated and delivered. This research addresses the impact of funding mechanisms on the effectiveness and efficiency of post-disaster demolition and debris management programmes. A qualitative assessment of the impacts on recovery of different funding sources and mechanisms was carried out, using the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake as well as other recent international events as case studies. The impacts assessed include: timeliness, completeness, environmental, economic and social impacts. Of the case studies investigated, the Canterbury Earthquake was the only disaster response to rely solely on a privatised approach to insurance for debris management. Due to the low level of resident displacement and low level of hazard in the waste, this was a satisfactory approach, though not ideal. This approach has led to greater organisational complexity and delays. For many other events, the potential community wide impacts caused by the prolonged presence of disaster debris means that publicly funded and centrally facilitated programmes appear to be the most common and effective method of managing disaster waste.


BACKGROUND
Families with a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often utilize a variety of professional services. The provision of these services has many potential benefits for families; however, these services also place demands on parents, particularly mothers, to access, navigate and participate. Little is known about how involvement with these services and service systems influences the psychological wellbeing of mothers of children diagnosed with ASD. We examined the relationship between professional services and psychological wellbeing for mothers of children diagnosed with ASD.

METHODS
Mothers (n = 119) of children (mean child age 10.1 years; range 2-24 years) diagnosed with ASD anonymously completed a comprehensive survey. The survey included data related to maternal psychological wellbeing, professional services received and perceptions of these services, and child, mother and household characteristics.

RESULTS
Regression analyses revealed that maternal psychological wellbeing was positively associated with the perceived continuity of services, and negatively associated with the number of professionals involved. Child and maternal age, and household income were also statistically significant predictors of maternal psychological wellbeing.

CONCLUSIONS
The study findings draw attention to the potentially negative impact of systems-level challenges, especially fragmentation of services, on maternal psychological wellbeing, despite positive front-line services. In particular, our data suggest that psychological wellbeing among mothers of children with ASD may vary more as a function of service system variables than practitioner-level or child-level variables.


In this paper, we propose a provably optimal technique for minimizing intersymbol interference (ISI) in multimode fiber (MMF) systems using adaptive optics via convex optimization. We use a spatial light modulator (SLM) to shape the spatial profile of light launched into an MMF. We derive an expression for the system impulse response in terms of the SLM reflectance and the field patterns of the MMF principal modes (PMs). Finding optimal SLM settings to minimize ISI, subject to physical constraints, is posed as an optimization problem. We observe that our problem can be cast as a second-order cone program, which is a convex optimization problem. Its global solution can, therefore, be found with minimal computational complexity, and can be implemented using fast, low-complexity adaptive algorithms. We include simulation results, which show that this technique opens up an eye pattern originally closed due to ISI. We also see that, contrary to what one might expect, the optimal SLM settings do not completely suppress higher order PMs.


In the last few years. while a lot of research effort has been s p t on autonomous vehicle navigation, primarily focused on on-road vehicles, off-road path plann ing still presents new challenges. Path planning for an autonomous ground vehicle over a large horizon in an un str ctured environment when high-resolution a-priori information is available, is still very much an ope n problem due to the computations involved. Localization and control of an autonomous vehicle and how the cont rol algorithms interact with the path planner is a complex task. The first part of this research details the d ev lopment of a path decision support tool for off-road application implementing a novel hierarchical pa th planning framework and verification in a simulation environment. To mimic real world issues, like communic ation delay, sensor noise, modeling error, etc., it was important that we validate the framework in a real envi ronment. In the second part of the research, development of a scaled autonomous car as part of a real experim ental environment is discussed which provides a compromise between cost as well as implementation complex ities compared to a full-scale car. The third part of the research, explains the development of a vehiclein-loop (VIL) environment with demo examples to illustrate the utility of such a platform. Our proposed path planning algorithm mitigates the challen ge of high computational cost to find the optimal path over a large scale high-resolution map. A globa l path planner runs in a centralized server and uses Dynamic Programming (DP) with coarse information to cr eate an optimal cost grid. A local path planner utilizes Model Predictive Control (MPC), running on-board , using the cost map along with high-resolution information (available via various sensors as well as V2V co mmunication) to generate the local optimal path. Such an approach ensures the MPC follows a global optimal pat h while being locally optimal. A central server efficiently creates and updates route critical infor mation available via vehicle-to-infrastructure(V2X) communication while using the same to update the prescribed global cost grid. For localization of the scaled car, a three-axis inertial me asurement unit (IMU), wheel encoders, a global positioning system (GPS) unit and a mono-camera are m ounted. Drift in IMU is one of the major issues ii which we addressed in this research besides developing a low -level controller which helped in implementing the MPC in a constrained computational environment. Using a camera and tire edge detection algorithm we have developed an online steering angle measurement pack age as well as a steering angle estimation algorithm to be utilized in case of low computational resour ces. We wanted to study the impact of connectivity on a fleet of vehi cl s running in off-road terrain. It is costly as well as time consuming to run all real vehicles. A lso some scenarios are difficult to recreate in real but need a simulation environment. So we have develop ed a vehicle-in-loop (VIL) platform using a VIL simulator, a central server and the real scaled car to com bine the advantages of both real and simulation environment. As a demo example to illustrate the utility of V IL platform, we have simulated an animal crossing scenario and analyze how our obstacle avoidance al gorithms performs under different conditions. In the future it will help us to analyze the impact of connectivi ty on platoons moving in off-road terrain. For the vehicle-in-loop environment, we have used JavaScript Obje ct Notation (JSON) data format for information exchange using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for implementi ng Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and MySQL server for Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communicatio n.


Success in science depends nowadays on effective communication in English. This workbook is specifically designed to give under- and post-graduates confidence in writing scientific English. Examples and exercises show how to avoid common errors and how to rephrase and improve scientific texts. The generation of a model manuscript enables the reader to recognise how scientific English is constructed and how to follow the conventions of scientific writing. Guidelines for structuring written work and vocabulary lists will encourage young scientists to develop a concise and mature style.
The workbook is accessible to students of many fields, including those of the natural and technical sciences, medicine, psychology and economics.


In less than a decade, alternative dispute resolution-ADR-has grown from a bravely-voiced hope to a congeries of practices animated by the desire to resolve legal battles outside the courtroom.' ADR offers a way-station, or a series of them, between the probity of the adversary system and the flexibility of private negotiations.2 Though not without an ideology, ADR has never had a unified theory to explain what it accomplishes and how it works. But enough experience has accumulated by now to permit a search for a more analytical understanding of ADR and the lessons it might teach.


The potential and serious effects of anthropogenic climate change are often communicated through the soundbitethatanthropogenic climate changewill producemoreextreme weather.This soundbitehas become popular with scientists and the media to get the public and governments to act against further increases in global temperature and their associated effects through the communication of scary scenarios, what the authors term ''atmosfear.'' Underlying atmosfear's appeal, however, are four premises. First, atmosfear re- duces the complexity of climate change to an identifiable target in the form of anthropogenically forced weather extremes. Second, anthropogenically driven weather extremes mandate a responsibility to act to protect the planet and society from harmful and increased risk. Third, achieving these ethical goals is pred-icated on emissions policies. Fourth, the end result of these policies—a nonanthropogenic climate—is as- sumed to be more benign than an anthropogenically influenced one. Atmosfear oversimplifies and misstates the true state of the science and policy concerns in three ways. First, weather extremes are only one of the predictedeffectsofclimatechangeandarebestaddressedbymeasuresotherthanemissionpolicies.Second,a preindustrial climate may remain a policy goal, but it is unachievable in reality. Third, the damages caused by any anthropogenically driven extremes may be overshadowed by the damages caused by increased exposure and vulnerability to the future risk. In reality, recent increases in damages and losses due to extreme weather events are due to societal factors. Thus, invoking atmosfear through such approaches as attribution science is not an effective means of either stimulating or legitimizing climate policies.


We present a novel real-time method for geometric displacement mapping on arbitrary 2-manifold triangle meshes. It is independent of the surface resolution and allows very fine geometric details to be added. We first compute a local surface parameterization using barycentric particle tracing and a constrained mass-spring system. This system satisfies the hard constraint of keeping all mass points on the surface. We propose a novel, entangled spring topology that is regularly 6-connected and has a chromatic number of 2. Therefore, the system can be efficiently solved on the GPU using a Gauss-Seidel solver. To render the displaced surface, we introduce a new GPU technique to cut out a surface patch at sub-pixel precision. The displacement mesh is then smoothly blended into the resulting opening. We show that our method overcomes common problems of displacement mapping such as limited resolution of the base surface and the need for a low-distortion global parameterization.


Abstract. A method for predicting volatility and polarity based on chromatographic information was developed and applied to the smog chamber ozonolysis of the sesquiterpene longifolene. The products were collected and analyzed using a GC × GC Thermal Desorption Aerosol Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (2D-TAG) and a quadrupole Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS). All the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was produced within the first half hour of the experiment. However, the oxidation level of the organic aerosol, as inferred from the fraction of ion m/z 44, suggested continued evolution of the SOA over the subsequent hours. Measurements of speciated organic compounds using 2D-TAG confirm that the composition of the particles changed over the course of the experiment. Nearly 200 oxidation products (thought to be mostly ketones and acids) were observed with 2D-TAG, but most could not be identified definitively due to a lack of standards and the absence of likely sesquiterpene oxidation products in available mass spectral databases. To categorize the observed products, the vapor pressure and oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) of observed compounds were estimated based on their two-dimensional chromatographic retention times relative to those of known standards, establishing a retention time correlation (RTC) method for using 2D-TAG to better constrain important modelling parameters. The product distribution continuously evolved in volatility and oxygenation during 5 h of oxidation. Using peak area as the best available proxy for mass, we conclude that the product mixture includes many non-negligible products; the most abundant 3 compounds accounted for only half of the total observed peak area and 80 % of peak area was spread across 15 compounds. The data provide evidence for three conclusions: (1) 2D-TAG provides valuable volatility and oxygenation information even in the absence of definitive species identification, (2) complex particle-phase chemistry causes continued evolution of particle composition after new particles formation, and (3) minor products contribute significantly to SOA from the ozonolysis of longifolene.


Abstract Objective This historical cohort study investigated how a shift toward a more conservative approach of awaiting spontaneous closure of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants has affected neonatal outcomes and resource utilization. Methods We retrospectively studied very low birth weight infants diagnosed with a PDA by echocardiogram (ECHO) in 2006–2008 (era 1), when medical or surgical PDA management was emphasized, to those born in 2010–2012 (era 2) when conservative PDA management was encouraged. Multiple regression analyses adjusted for gestational age were performed to assess differences in clinical outcomes and resource utilization between eras. Results More infants in era 2 (35/89, 39%) compared with era 1 (22/120, 18%) had conservative PDA management (p < 0.01). Despite no difference in surgical ligation rate, infants in era 2 had ligation later (median 24 vs. 8 days, p < 0.0001). There was no difference in clinical outcomes between eras, while number of ECHOs per patient was the only resource measure that increased in era 2 (median 3 vs. 2 ECHOs, p = 0.003). Conclusion In an era of more conservative PDA management, no increase in adverse clinical outcomes or significant change in resource utilization was found. Conservative PDA management may be a safe alternative for preterm infants.


C-O-H fluids are released by dehydration, partial melting and/or decarbonation of the slab and transferred to the mantle, where they interact with the surrounding rocks, prompting the growth of carbonates, hydrous minerals and C polymorphs. In the pure C-O-H system, C-saturated fluid speciation is a function of the oxygen chemical potential. Therefore, in natural systems, the fluid speciation can be imposed by the redox state of the rock-forming phases. Alternatively, C-O-H fluids may control the bulk oxidation state of the rock system by redox reactions with the mineral phases. We selected three case studies of garnet-bearing ultramafic rocks (Ulten zone, Italy; Sulu, China; Bardane, Norway), which record metasomatic processes driven by C-O-H fluids at the interface between a subducting slab and the overlying mantle wedge. All these rocks contain carbonates (dolomite-only at P , 1.9 GPa at 900 � C, magnesite-only at P. 2.4 GPa at 900 � C, dolomite þ magnesite in between) and hydrous phases (amphibole, phlogopite) equilibrated at some stages in the garnet stability field. The f O2 values, estimated by analysing the Fe 3þ content (skiagite mole fraction) in garnet, indicate that the Ulten and Sulu peridotites record high oxygen fugacities (FMQ to FMQþ2) and a retrograde path with decreasing P and T. The f O2 values obtained for the Bardane garnet websterites, which record a prograde path with increasing T and P, are up to � 2 log units lower than the FMQ. When combined with data for subduction-zone systems (arc lavas and their mantle sources), the studied ultramafic rocks define a trend of decreasing f O2 with increasing pressure. The Bardane websterites contain C-polymorphs in polyphase inclusions, which precipitated from entrapped metasomatic fluids at ultrahigh pressures. The calculated C-O-H fluid phase in equilibrium with the solid phases consists of mixtures of H2O and CO2. Semi-quantitative estimates for the Ulten and Sulu peridotites, in which C-polymorphs have not been found, and petrographic constraints for the Ulten peridotites indicate that the C-O-H component of the fluid could consist of H2OþCO2.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate the reasons and influential factors behind teachers' attitudes, use or non-use of information and communication technology (ICT) resources in vocabulary instruction in Iranian High School context. To have a better understanding of the effects of Integrating ICT resources into vocabulary instruction in Iranian High School Context with the use or non-use of (ICT) resources, the teachers' attitudes, perception and motivations were tested through various types of questionnaires and interviews as well as a comparison between the results obtained from immediate and delayed posttests of the students whose teachers integrated ICT resources with those whose teachers took the ordinary rout of teaching. the immediate and delayed posttests of sixty students whose teachers showed willingness to integrating ICT resources into vocabulary instruction were compared with those of sixty other students whose teachers took the traditional procedures of teaching vocabulary. Inferential and statistical description of their finals revealed that the former outperformed the latter. It was also revealed that females were more successful than their male counterparts, even with the same background knowledge. The findings further showed that after taking part in computer in-service training, almost all the teachers became interested in integrating ICT resources in their classes. The findings also illustrated the importance of teachers' vision of technology itself, their readiness to use ICT resources, their experience with it, the importance of in-service training, their level of computer skill and competence, the cultural environment surrounding them, and the introduction of ICT to schools and English institutes which could result in shaping their attitudes, perceptions and motivation toward computer technology.


This dissertation presents the kinematics study on two cases of parallel locomotion mechanisms. A parallel locomotion mechanism can be defined as "a mechanism with parallel configuration and discrete contact with respect to the ground which renders a platform the ability to move". The first case is a tripedal robot and the second case is an actuated spoke wheel robot. The kinematics study on these two mobile robots mainly includes mobility, inverse and forward kinematics, instantaneous kinematics, singularity and so on. The tripedal robot STriDER (Self-excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot) is expected to walk utilizing its built-in passive dynamics, but in its triple stance phase, the kinematic configuration of the robot behaves like an in-parallel manipulator. The locomotion of this novel walking robot and its unique tripedal gait are discussed, followed by the definitions of its coordinate frames. Geometric methods are adopted for the forward and inverse displacement analysis in its triple stance phase. Simulations are presented to validate both the inverse and the forward displacement solutions. The instantaneous kinematics and singularity analysis are developed respectively. Based on the screw theory, the Jacobian matrices are assembled. Using Grassmann Line Geometry, each row of the Jacobian matrices is interpreted as a line in 3D space and the analytical conditions of the linear dependency cases are identified, which corresponds to the forward singular configurations of the robot. The actuated spoke wheel robot IMPASS (Intelligent Mobility Platform with Active Spoke System) is investigated as the second case. It is revealed that this robot has multiple modes of locomotion on the ground and it is able to change its topology by changing the contact scheme of its spokes with the ground. This robot is treated as a mechanism with variable topologies and Modified Grübler-Kutzbach criterion and Grassmann Line Geometry are adopted to identify the degrees of freedom (DOF) for each case of its topological structures. The characteristic DOF are then verified through the testing on the robot prototype. The forward and inverse kinematics is investigated for two cases of its topologies. In order to improve the computation efficiency of the inverse kinematics formulation, virtual serial manipulator models are constructed. The effectiveness of the virtual serial manipulator models has been validated with numerical simulations. In conclusion, kinematics analyses have been successfully performed on the two parallel locomotion mechanisms. The results are utilized to control the robots' motions in specific configurations. The foundation has been laid for the future development of the robot prototypes and the future research on dynamics, control, intelligence and so on.


The magnificent country houses built in Britain between 1890 and 1939 were the last monuments to a vanishing age. Many of these great mammoths of domestic architecture were unsuited to the changes in economic and social priorities that followed the two world wars, and rapidly became extinct. Those that survive, however, provide tangible evidence of the life and death of an extraordinarily prosperous age. Originally published in 1980, long out of print and now thoroughly revised and reillustrated, this book recounts the architectural and social history of the era, describing the clients, the architects, the styles and accoutrements of the country houses. The people who could afford them - the Carnegies, the Astors, the Leverhulmes - had grown rich by exploiting the new economic opportunities of the age, and the houses they built in the years before the First World War reflect the desire for two contrasting ways of life. The social country house was the setting for the opulent world associated with Edward VII. The romantic country house was simpler, more genuinely rural, for those who wanted to be in closer contact with the countryside and the vanishing rural crafts, or who wanted an idyll of the past that did not suggest the world of the motor car. These traditions lost coherence after the war, and the period ended with a number of spectacular, and often eccentric, houses. Some of the most remarkable were those that not only replicated the look of old buildings, but used genuinely old materials and even incorporated whole Tudor buildings moved from other places. Clive Aslet writes of the immense changes in the way country houses of this period were lived in and used. The shortage of servants, aggravated by the First World War, spurred numerous developments in the technology of the country house - vacuum cleaners, washing machines, telephones and central heating were called upon to replace the army of servants who never returned from the trenches or the factories. Interior decorators, becoming increasingly in vogue, developed the style Louis Seize into the last word in Edwardian chic. Gardens came to be seen as integral to the concept of the country house and reconciled formal planning with informal planting. This fascinating world, so popularly depicted in Downton Abbey, can now be viewed from a new perspective. The Edwardian Country House will enlighten and entertain all those interested in glimpsing the lost life style of another age.


During the last two decades, four manuscripts have surfaced, all purportedly of sixteenth- to eighteenth-century origin and each describing historical episodes of the contact between the Maya and Spaniards. Although some of them received scholarly attention and have been used as authentic sources of Maya history and culture, their identification as modern fakes can be established beyond a reasonable doubt. The texts show characteristics identical to the Spanish translation of Sylvanus G. Morley's The Ancient Maya (1947), and they possess specific information and illustrative material (i.e., Mayan hieroglyphs) that were drawn from this work, indicating that these manuscripts were created between 1950 and 1965.


This anthology invites readers to revisit Ashis Nandy's thought and to participate in the open-ended, intellectual adventure of his work. The essays included do not merely reflect his long-term political and moral concerns but are also a continuous intellectual challenge to us. In this book, as in his entire intellectual life, the two pivots of his work have remained the political psychology of violence and the cultural psychology of knowledge. Trained to explore the complexities of human subjectivity, he has continued to explore the extremes of human destructiveness and human creativity and to use knowledge as a therapeutic intervention in society and politics. This collection, introduced by Gustavo Esteva and Madhu S. Prakash, gives the reader a comprehensive introduction to the democratic, post-secular sensitivities that shape Nandy's approach to transformative politics and his non-hierarchical, anti-technocratic ideas of people's knowledge.


One of the health related topics, which is consistently receiving attention in recent years, is antibiotic misuse. Interestingly, there is a high-profile report claiming that antibiotic consumption could trigger obesity risk in children. The exhaustive study was undertaken by Schwartz and his team considering 163,820 children between the ages of 3 and 18, wherein they examined body mass index and antibiotic use in the earlier years of life.An association between an average weight gain of approximately 1.4 kg at the age of 15 years and antibiotic consumption in the early age has been found.1 The striking feature of the study was that antibiotic use at any age in children contributes to weight gain during the later age. The medical literature has much to say in this context, whereas the biomedical literature is scarce in portraying the association between antibiotics and obesity, although antibiotics account for the majority of the medications prescribed to children. This incited us to present this note. Unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise are the main reasons for getting obese. Should, therefore, health care professionals consider the antibiotic-obesity link as a medical issue? Given the answer yes' would leave us with a false impression on the present paper. Everyday our health problems are facing threats from new links. In the best interests of public health, it is the duty of health care professionals to welcome new insight with open minds. One such is the deadly link between antibiotics and obesity in children Read More. . .


Nuclear tests carried out by Pakistan in May 1998 had a distinctive impact on the evolution of the exchange rate. This case describes what happened to the exchange rate before and after the nuclear tests and focuses on the overall impact of Pakistan's transition from a hostile relationship with the US in the post-Cold War era to becoming an ally of the US in the war on terror. This case can be used to study the concepts of real and nominal exchange rates, the linkage between exchange rate policy and external balance, how exchange rate can be used as a tool to control the economy and the impact on the economic situation of sustaining a particular exchange rate.


Section I. GIS and Data Sharing, 1. GIS as a Communication Process: Experiences from the Milwaukee COMPASS Project, 2. Inter-Jurisdictional Law Enforcement Data Sharing Issues: The Benefits of the use of Geo-Spatial Technologies and the Barriers to more Widespread Cooperation, Section II. Data Issues in Crime Studies, 3. Garbage In, Garbage Out: Geocoding Accuracy and the Spatial Analysis of Crime, 4. Disaggregating the Journey to Homicide, 5. Constructing Geographic Areas for Homicide Rate Analysis in Small Populations, Section III. Geographic Profiling, 6. Geographic Profiling for Serial Crime Investigation, 7. Single Incident Geographical Profiling, 8. Geographic Profiling and Spatial Analysis of Serial Homicides, Section IV. Crime Monitoring and Tracking, 9. Geographic Surveillance of Crime Frequencies in Small Areas, 10. Application of Tracking Signals to Detect Time Series Pattern Changes in Crime Mapping Systems, 11. Integrating GIS, GPS and MIS on the Web: Crime Trax in Florida, Section V. New Methods and Technologies, 12. Simulating Crime Events and Crime Patterns in a RA/CA Model Lin Liu, Xuguang Wang, John Eck, Jun Liang, University of Cincinnati, USA 13. Integrating Geographic Information Systems and Maximal Covering Models to Determine Optimal Police Patrol Areas, 14. Web GIS for Mapping Community Crime Rates: Approaches and Challenges, 15. Identifying "Hot Link" Between Crime and Crime-Related Locations, 16. Remote Sensing and Spatial Statistics as Tools in Crime Analysis, Section VI. Crime and Community Characteristics, 17. The Routine Activities of Youth and Neighborhood Violence: Spatial Modeling of Place, Time and Crime, 18. Measuring Crime in and around Public Housing Using GIS


ABSTRACT We report on tetrapod (Reptilia, Amphibia, Mammalia, Aves) vertebrates recovered during excavations at Tron Bon Lei rockshelter on the south coast of Alor Island, eastern Indonesia. These include both archaeological specimens recovered from a 1 m² test pit dating from ∼21 kya cal BP to the late Holocene, and a modern eastern barn owl deposit recovered nearby. To discern between the depositional processes that accumulated the small numbers of micro- and macrovertebrate remains from the archaeological deposits, the taphonomic signature of the natural assemblage was quantified and compared to the archaeological record. The taphonomic data indicates that the tetrapod archaeofaunal remains are a combination of barn owl predation of microfauna and human predation of larger fauna. This approach provides new information on human-tetrapod interactions on Alor in Wallacea during the late Quaternary, including an apparent increase in cave site use and hunting intensity during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, sea turtle butchery and probable transport, and extinctions of previously unknown giant to large rat species.


Given an noisy or sampled snapshot of a network, like a contact-network or the blogosphere, in which an infection (or meme/virus) has been spreading for some time, what are the best nodes to immunize (vaccinate)? Manipulating graphs via node removal by itself is an important problem in multiple different domains like epidemiology, public health and social media. Moreover, it is important to account for uncertainty as typically surveillance data on who is infected is limited or the data is sampled. Efficient algorithms for such a problem can help public-health experts take more informed decisions. In this paper, we study the problem of designing vaccine-distribution algorithms under an uncertain environment, with known information consisting of confirmed cases as well as a probability distribution of unknown cases. We formulate the NP-Hard Uncertain Data-Aware Vaccination problem, and design multiple efficient algorithms for factorizable distributions (including a novel sub-quadratic algorithm) which naturally take into account the uncertainty, while providing robust solutions. Finally, we show the effectiveness and scalability of our methods via extensive experiments on real datasets, including large epidemiological and social networks.


We present an updated model of light and charge yields from nuclear recoils in liquid xenon with a simultaneously constrained parameter set. A global analysis is performed using measurements of electron and photon yields compiled from all available historical data, as well as measurements of the ratio of the two. These data sweep over energies from 1 - 300 keV and external applied electric fields from 0 - 4060 V/cm. The model is constrained by constructing global cost functions and using a simulated annealing algorithm and a Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach to optimize and find confidence intervals on all free parameters in the model. This analysis contrasts with previous work in that we do not unnecessarily exclude data sets nor impose artificially conservative assumptions, do not use spline functions, and reduce the number of parameters used in NEST v0.98. We report our results and the calculated best-fit charge and light yields. These quantities are crucial to understanding the response of liquid xenon detectors in the energy regime important for rare event searches such as the direct detection of dark matter particles.


Sequential position readout from a microfabricated array of eight cantilever-type sensors  silicon technology! is demonstrated. In comparison with single sensors we find that mechanical disturbances from noise, such as from vibrations, turbulent gas flow, or abrupt pressure changes, can be effectively removed in array sensors by recording difference signals with respect to reference cantilevers. We demonstrate that chemically specific responses can be extracted in a noisy environment using a sensor to detect specific chemical interactions and an uncoated cantilever as reference.


In this study, certain aspects of psittacine beak and feather disease and budgerigar fledgling disease were investigated to gather information about the distribution and the clinical manifestation of the diseases in patients of the "Klinik fur Vogel der LMU Munchen". Furthermore different organ samples were compared for their reliability of routine post mortem PCR-diagnoses of peracute PBFD in young african grey parrots.
Regarding intra vitam detection of the aetiological agents of both diseases (BFDV and BFPyV), following observations were made: while in birds with physiological plumage, DNA of neither virus could be detected (BFDV: n = 79; BFPyV: n = 47), birds with feather disorders were regularly BFDV (18.2 %) and BFPyV (10.7 %) positive. In psittacines with feathering disorders an BFPyV-infection was only seen in
budgerigars. The six affected budgerigars show acute loss of flight and tail feathers.
In two birds a concurrent infection of BFPyV and BFDV could be detected and in one of the two birds a deformation of feathers could be seen. Characteristic feather disorders, as discribed for chronic PBFD, like constriction in feather sheats, remaining feather sleeves, discolouration as well as hemorrhages in the feather shaft, were only present in nine of the 24 BFDV-positive birds. The clinical signs of the remaining 15 BFDV-infected birds were only feather loss and feather picking. In contrast to BFPyV-infection, which could only be detected in budgerigars, the BFDV positive
birds belong to different species of the order Psittaciformes. The testing of intra vitam samples showed, that in four of the BFDV-positive birds viral DNA could
not be detected in all samples tested (2 x cloacal swab, 1 x blood, 1 x blood and cloacal swab). To increase the reliability of intra vitam diagnosis all three samples
should be taken for virus detection.
Within the group of birds presented for necropsy, the share of BFDV- and BFPyVpositive birds was even higher (25.5 % and 21.9 %) as in birds with feather disorders. In these birds a BFPyV-infection could be demonstrated in samples of seven birds of different species under the age of one year. Besides one budgerigar, who died of a streptococcus septicemia, all 13 BFDV-positive birds, who died with physiological plumage, were young african grey parrots.
By testing DNA dilutions of different organ samples (skin-with-feather, spleen, bursa of Fabricius and liver) of young grey parrots suffering from peracute PBFD, an
infection could be proven in 29 of 34 birds. In positive birds viral DNA of BFDV could be detected in all organ samples except for three single samples (2 x bursa of
Fabricius and 1 x liver). But using undiluted isolated DNA, a great part of the spleen- (19 of 28) and bursa of Fabricius-samples (13 of 25) and a smaller part of liver- (6 of 28) and skin-with-feather-samples (3 of 29) gave a negative result Because of the high number of false negative PCR-tests the labarotories need to establish reliable internal controls PCR-diagnostic.
Both viral infections appear regularly in our patients: in birds with feather disorders, as well as in young birds suffering from a lethal infection.


The term 'defectiveness' refers to gaps in inflectional paradigms — specifically, gaps which do not appear to follow from natural restrictions imposed by meaning or function. The Latin noun for 'change' is a textbook example: bizarrely, it lacks nominative and dative singular forms, and has no genitive plural. The fact that inflectional paradigms may have such anomalous gaps in them has been known since at least the days of the classical grammarians, but now as then, we understand little about them. And though the existence of defective paradigms is indisputable, few people could name more than a handful of examples. The project A Typology of Defectiveness, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, completed in February 2009, has aimed to expand our empirical knowledge of this intriguing phenomenon and to clarify its significance for the study of language. This website hosts two complementary databases. The Typological Database examines the different types of defective paradigms according to various typological parameters, while the 100-language Survey looks for plausible examples within a controlled sample, in order to gain a picture of how prevalent defectiveness actually is in the languages of the world.


Paramyxoviruses include a number of important human pathogens, including measles virus, mumps virus, and the human parainfluenza viruses (hPIV) 1-4, as well as several animal pathogens, such as Sendai virus, Nipah virus and Hendra virus. The creation of effective drugs and vaccines against this family of viruses would play an important role in decreasing the prevalence of these viruses and contributing to the health of both humans and animals worldwide. The purpose of this work was to determine how the fusion (F) protein is regulated with a focus on the heptad repeat B (HRB) region of the F protein located in the ectodomain, directly adjacent to the transmembrane domain. This region has been suggested to play important roles in the initiation of fusion (Gravel 2003) as well as in the formation of the final hairpin structure that drives fusion (Russell 2001). My investigation of the HRB region of the parainfluenza fusion (F) protein has been to characterize the structure of this domain in the pre-fusion form of the F protein in order to better understand the role it plays in fusion. An understanding of how F protein conformational changes are regulated may lead to the creation of more effective therapies against paramyxoviruses in general. A crystal structure obtained from the pre-fusion PIV5 F protein (Yin 2006) reveals that the HRB domain is in a triple stranded coiled coil conformation. However, in order to obtain the structure, a trimerization domain was used for structure stabilization. It is not known if the trimerization domain influenced the resulting crystal structure. My research has investigated the structure of the HRB region by creating mutations in both the pre-fusion hPIV3 F protein and peptides derived from the HRB region. Although much work still remains, preliminary results are consistent with the HRB region of the hPIV3 F protein forming a triple stranded coiled coil in the pre-fusion conformation.


In the present study, we investigated the nature of any cross-modal associations between colors and odors. In Experiment 1, we show that participants consistently match certain odors to specific colors when asked to explicitly select from among different colors the one that best matched a given odor. In Experiment 2, we investigated the robustness of these cross-modal associations using a cross-modal variant of the implicit association test (IAT). Participants made speeded discrimination responses to a random sequence of odors (strawberry vs. spearmint) and color patches (pink vs. turquoise). On the basis of the results of Experiment 1, the assignment of these targets onto the two response keys was manipulated in order to generate compatible (e.g., responding to the pink color and to the strawberry odor with the same response key) and incompatible (e.g., responding to the pink color and to the spearmint odor with the same response key) blocks of trials. The results showed that participants responded more rapidly and accurately to odor-color pairings having a stronger association than to those having a weaker (or no) association. These results suggest that odor-color associations can be both systematic and robust. The paradigm developed here provides a novel cross-modal extension of the IAT to probe the nature of color-odor associations.


In recent decades Judith Butler's Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) has become required reading for feminist audiences. The book focuses on the heterosexism inherent in feminism and also criticizes the lesbian orientation that dominated the identity policy debates of the 1980s. In the 1999 preface to the second edition of Gender Trouble Butler writes that she could not have imagined that the book would reach such a broad audience, neither could she foresee that it would be described as a provocative intervention in feminist theory and be adopted as a key queer theoretical text. She says that her twofold aim was to make the feminist movement more democratic and inclusive. Of the many possible interpretations of Gender Trouble, this article highlights three aspects of particular contemporary importance: the idea of gender as performance; the performative-theatrical character of gender; and the attempt to understand someone who calls herself/himself, and actually is, a human being. Opening a new book by Butler or studying one of her articles has never failed to stimulate new ideas. Reading her work is a learning process in which one discovers new perspectives and thereby comes to see the horizon somewhat altered.


Hamilton's essay begins with a reflection on food and society. He writes of the effect of modernization and industry on the relationship America has with food. What once was a centerpiece of our economic independence, family life, and health is now merely an afterthought. Quality and trust in local suppliers has been largely replaced by efficiency and low prices. Yet, Hamilton argues, the tide is beginning to change. No longer do Americans want to jeopardize the environment and rural economies just to get a cheap product. Instead, he is optimistic that we will call for a revolution in our food system -- our food democracy -- that will promote quality, healthy foods that are safer for the environment and that foster relationships between farmers and communities. The term "food democracy" was chosen by Hamilton because what he writes about goes beyond organic farming or buying local. He writes about choosing human value oriented food production over high volume, "efficiency" production. He writes, "the medium is food, but the theme is democracy." For him, "the lens of democracy brings into view and into focus the real values driving the progressive changes in America's food system." These values weigh satisfaction and sustainability, information and involvement as equally as efficiency and price and profits and productivity. Those that control the food market are businesses and large institutions; they are "Big Food." The power has to go back to consumers, and Hamilton sees information as the root of this movement; it is through knowledge, he says, that people will be able to make the changes necessary for Americans to get more out of our food system. This commitment to change is where the democracy part functions. The actors -- farmers, merchants, food processors, consumers, restaurant owners, grocers, chefs -- are the "food democrats" who must be involved in change. The word "democracy" comes from Greek words meaning "people" and "rule." How, then, do we make the people rule our food system? There are four essential pieces in the creation of a food democracy. The first is citizen participation; all actors in the food system must have a voice, and the contributions and concerns of each group must be considered. Second, informed choices are necessary. Questions, information, and knowledge about how food is produced are key. Third, a number of choices must be available to citizens. Although there are currently many types of food to choose from, most of the food is produced in the same faceless, industrial manner. Fourth, participation in food democracy must happen at the local as well as the national levels. One's food choices should be geared toward protection and development of the community, whether this means buying from farmer's markets or eating at locally owned restaurants. Hamilton urges consumers and other "food democrats" to consider what they want out of the food system. He reminds us that every time we eat or buy food, we are "taking sides" in this struggle. Whether or not we want to be involved, we are. We must send the message that we care more about production methods, environmental impact of production, humane treatment of animals, and fair prices for farmers than for cheapness and volume.


The Architect's Apprentice is a dazzling and intricate tale from Elif Shafak, bestselling author of The Bastard of Istanbul. 'There were six of us: the master, the apprentices and the white elephant. We built everything together...' Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie. So begins an epic adventure that will see young Jahan rise from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan's court. Along the way he will meet deceitful courtiers and false friends, gypsies, animal tamers, and the beautiful, mischievous Princess Mihrimah. He will journey on Chota's back to the furthest corners of the Sultan's kingdom and back again. And one day he will catch the eye of the royal architect, Sinan, a chance encounter destined to change Jahan's fortunes forever. Filled with all the colour of the Ottoman Empire, when Istanbul was the teeming centre of civilisation, The Architect's Apprentice is a magical, sweeping tale of one boy and his elephant caught up in a world of wonder and danger. "A gorgeous picture of a city teeming with secrets, intrigue and romance." (The Times). "Shafak's most ambitious novel yet her best - generous and imaginative." (Independent). "Exuberant, epic and comic, fantastical and realistic...like all good stories it conveys deeper meanings about human experience." (Financial Times). "Fascinating. A vigorous evocation of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power." (Sunday Times). "Intricate, multi-layered, resplendent, vividly evoked, beautifully written." (Observer). "Sumptuous, absorbing, moving." (Independent on Sunday).


During the last two decades there has been widespread evidence of change in specific aspects of employing organizations, employment and employment related institutions. Changing Forms of Employment looks at the underlying trends which generate pressures towards a fundamental reshaping of social institutions in three ways: changes in the organization of production, particularly those associated with the growth of service dominated economics; the effects of technological change, particularly those associated with Information Technology; the erosion of the 'male breadwinner' (or single earner) model of employment and household. These trends have resulted in strains and ruptures in the organization and regulation of employment, and related institutions including trade unions, employers, and households. The task of the next decade is to both reconstruct relationships, and to renew institutions.


Being light, cheap, breathable and foldable, paper is emerging as a new type of substrate for flexible thermoelectric films. Several techniques including soaking and magnetron sputtering have been developed to coat inorganic semiconductors onto paper substrate, but the flexibility and thermoelectric performance of the resulting films are still far from satisfactory. This work implements a novel glass-fiber-aided cold-press method for achieving flexible n-type Ag2Te nanowire (NW) films on copy-paper substrate. A greatly enhanced electrical conductivity has been realized in Ag2Te NWs film due to the disappearance of grain boundaries under compression to 30 MPa. As a consequence, the largest power factor (PF) value of up to 192 μW (mK2)−1 at 195 °C surpasses the performance of paper based thermoelectric films reported previously. Moreover, the PF value only decreases by 20% after 500 bending cycles, suggesting the good flexibility of the copy-paper supported Ag2Te NWs films. A thermoelectric module containing 10 pieces of series-connected Ag2Te films is fabricated using this glass-fiber-aided cold-press method. With ΔT increasing from 20 K to 80 K, the open-circuit voltage of module continually increases from about 11 mV to 60 mV. This measurement of open-circuit voltage has been repeated 10 times to confirm the stability of paper-supported Ag2Te thermoelectric module. The glass-fiber-aided cold-press method in this study provides an effective access to high-performance, flexible and solvent-processable inorganic thermoelectric films on copy-paper substrate.


The article describes the peculiarities of the process of students' adaptation to studying at a higher education institution, emphasizes the relevance of this problem in the context of the issue of training highly qualified specialists capable of effective work in the specialty at the level of world standards, ready for continuous professional improvement and personal development. The paper emphasized that the period of adaptation is a particularly important stage of studying at a higher education institution. It is particularly relevant when higher education students adapt to the content and nature of the educational process, in the period of adoption of norms and requirements of the new social environment, inclusion in the system of interpersonal relations, formation of a system of personal orientations, values, necessary for professional activity. The relationship between students' academic success and their level of adaptation to studying at a higher education institution has been identified. The results of an experimental study are presented, where the main factors of adaptation of higher education students, affecting their activity and academic success, are identified. Among these factors, the authors singled out magnitude of educational and extracurricular workload, working capacity during the school day and week, health condition, manifestation of various signs of fatigue, self-efficacy, motivation to learning, relationships with classmates and teachers, social frustration. The researchers stressed that the first-year students' adaptation period is different, depending on their individual and psychological characteristics, the level of readiness to study at a higher education institution, the correct choice of the future profession. On the basis of the results of the experimental study, the ways and directions of successful students' adaptation are determined, which foresees, first of all, the reduction of the impact of maladaptation factors on higher education students, increase in their resistance to these factors and strengthening of those factors that are favorable to them.


Third-harmonic-generation experiments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were recently reported by Linford

 et al. [
Appl. Opt.21,
3633 (
1982)]. Here the theory pertaining to these experiments is discussed in detail. The Livermore results are shown to be in accordance with calculations using the harmonic-generation code mixer, whose predictions of highly efficient frequency tripling were first confirmed experimentally at the University of Rochester using the Type II/Type II polarization-mismatch configuration. The Livermore experiments confirm the advantages of this configuration.


Carbon-based supercapacitors with high power densities suffer from relatively low energy densities. Nitrogen-doped hierarchical micro/mesoporous carbon nets were successfully fabricated via supramolecular assemblies of block copolymer P123 with the assistance of dicyandiamide and TiO2. The as-obtained carbon nets have a large specific surface area of approximately 2144 m2 g−1, high-level nitrogen doping with a nitrogen content of approximately 8.25 wt%, and a hierarchical porous network composed of micropores and mesopores. The hierarchical porous carbon nets exhibit high specific capacitance (537.3 F g−1 and 306.3 F cm−3 at 0.5 A g−1 in a 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte) and outstanding cycling stability (approximately 98.8% of their capacitance was retained after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g−1). The symmetric supercapacitor based on these hierarchical porous carbon nets could deliver a maximum energy density up to 22.6 W h kg−1. The improved electrochemical performance of these carbon nets stems from both high surface area and the hierarchical micro/mesoporous structure, which provides an accessible pathway for electrolyte transport. In addition, the incorporation of nitrogen dopants into the carbon was intended to further enhance the capacitance performance. This research provides a facile and effective method to obtain micro/mesoporous carbon with a high surface area and doping level of heteroatoms for high-performance supercapacitors.


Transformation of South African cities displays symptoms that are characteristic of urban transformation in peripheral economies yet they have distinct features that are unique only to post-apartheid urban societies. This creates a very complex urban transformation process that defies any single interpretation or descriptive analysis of urban transformation in peripheral economies. In recent years post-apartheid cities have experienced transformation at several layers driven by different stakeholders applying a combination of forces to effect desired changes. The common objective of city transformation is, at least at a rhetoric level to achieve sustainability and social justice. The desire to achieve social justice is expressed in programmes driven by ideological and political commitments to eliminate all spatial elements of racial segregation in cities. State regulations and Urban Governance strategies are the main instruments used to achieve Social Justice. The commitment to achieve sustainability is expressed in the commitment to accelerate the implementation of pro-poor programmes for poverty reduction through economic growth and development. The overall sustainability of Cities is the main focus of these activities. However in the context of urban transformation driven by market forces in peripheral regions a new form of social spatial segregation is emerging in South African cities. Whilst the new socio-spatial segregation reinforces racial based spatial segregation the emerging trend is driven by market economy albeit along racial lines. The purpose in this paper is to review the resulting spatial reorganisation of South African cities and reflect on the resulting new spatial patterns. New patterns of city structure are emerging reflecting inherent contradictions, competition and power positions of stakeholders operating within sustainability and social justice framework to achieve desired goals. The paper concludes by highlighting the position and dilemmas of the voiceless, marginalised poor communities in this contested urban social space.


We report the first case of a simultaneous pancreas and renal transplantation, in Australia, in a 45 year old male with long standing human immunodeficiency virus infection, type 1 diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy requiring haemodialysis. This patient experienced previous virological failure and subsequent resistance to most nucleoside and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. However, using novel combinations of anti-retroviral agents, along with careful monitoring, successful outcomes were achieved during the peri and post transplantation period, with excellent pancreas and renal graft function at one year.


In this study, the cohort processes to the recent decline of the Japanese fertility rate to a historical low are analyzed in terms of lifetime measures of first marriage and birth by birth order. The measures include timing and prevalence indices of those life events estimated and projected with empirically adjusted Coale-McNeil model for the cohorts born in 1935-1970. The results indicate three distinct cohort phases to the lowest fertility in the society;(1) simple delay in marriages and birth due to compositional changes such as prevalence of high educational attainment in cohorts born in 1952 and after, (2) followed by the diffusion of never marrying caused by the further postponement among cohorts born in and after 1959, and (3) finally continuing diffusion of never-marrying at an accelerating pace caused by intentional retreat among cohorts born in and after 1965. These results suggest a general process to the lowest low fertility.


This article provides empirical evidence on the effects of Chinese resource demand on the resource-rich natural resource supplier using the example of Australia. A structural VAR model is used to examine the effects of Chinese resource demand, commodity prices and foreign output on the macroeconomy with a formally specified mining and resource export sector. The key findings of the article are that shocks to Chinese demand and commodity prices result in a sustained increase in commodity prices and mining investment and a positive impact on the resource sector. However, these shocks eventually lead to lower real domestic output with factors of production moving out of the nonresource sectors and into the resource sector, resulting in a fall in nonresource sector output which is not fully offset by the rise in resource sector output. The results also indicate some market power by the natural resource supplier.


This paper presents findings from an interdisciplinary research effort studying community resilience in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder is a progressive region with a history of environmental leadership. The area is currently in the process of recovering from major flooding and has launched several new initiatives related to building longterm resilience to natural disasters and other stressors. In our research, we consider the stakeholders involved in building local resilience as well as the different and often contradictory framings of the concept. This study takes a phenomenological and inductive approach to understanding resilience. In contrast to more reductionist frameworks that are frequently offered, we argue that this allows for greater understanding of the polyvocal and emergent qualities of resilience.


Bio‐equivalents (e.g., 17β‐estradiol or dioxin equivalents) are commonly employed to quantify the in vitro effects of complex human or environmental samples. However, there is no generally accepted data analysis strategy for estimating and reporting bio‐equivalents. Therefore, the aims of the present study are to 1) identify common mathematical models for the derivation of bio‐equivalents from the literature, 2) assess the ability of those models to correctly predict bio‐equivalents, and 3) propose measures to reduce uncertainty in their calculation and reporting. We compiled a database of 234 publications that report bio‐equivalents. From the database, we extracted 3 data analysis strategies commonly used to estimate bio‐equivalents. These models are based on linear or nonlinear interpolation, and the comparison of effect concentrations (ECX). To assess their accuracy, we employed simulated data sets in different scenarios. The results indicate that all models lead to a considerable misestimation of bio‐equivalents if certain mathematical assumptions (e.g., goodness of fit, parallelism of dose–response curves) are violated. However, nonlinear interpolation is most suitable to predict bio‐equivalents from single‐point estimates. Regardless of the model, subsequent linear extrapolation of bio‐equivalents generates additional inaccuracy if the prerequisite of parallel dose–response curves is not met. When all these factors are taken into consideration, it becomes clear that data analysis introduces considerable uncertainty in the derived bio‐equivalents. To improve accuracy and transparency of bio‐equivalents, we propose a novel data analysis strategy and a checklist for reporting Minimum Information about Bio‐equivalent ESTimates (MIBEST). Environ Toxicol Chem 2013;32:1906–1917. © 2013 SETAC


We present three linear algorithms for as many formulations of the problem of finding motifs with gaps. The three versions of the problem are distinct in that they assume different constraints on the size of the gaps. The outline of the algorithm is always the same, although this is adapted each time to the specific problem, while maintaining a linear time complexity with respect to the input size. The approach we suggest is based on a re-writing of the text that uses a new alphabet made of labels representing words of the original input text. The computational complexity of the algorithm allows the use of it also to find long motifs. The algorithm is in fact general enough that it could be applied to several variants of the problem other than those suggested in this paper.


In this paper we examine the role of intergenerational transfers in the wealth accumulation of Italian households. Received transfers represent an important share of the net wealth held by households. Direct estimates referring to 2002 range from 30 to 55 per cent, depending on the inclusion of the income stream produced by transferred assets. This share has shown a tendency to increase over the last decade. In a lifetime perspective, the ratio of transfers received over the whole life span to the total amount of resources, both computed at the age of 15, is on average equal to 4.6 per cent, a significant share considering the size of the denominator. Transfers are very concentrated, more than income and wealth, even when considered in a lifetime perspective. Households receiving transfers show higher levels of lifetime income, consumption, net wealth and given transfers than non-recipient households. Richer households receive larger transfers but, as a proportion of their current wealth holdings, transfers are greater for poorer households than richer ones. These results cannot be interpreted as an equalising effect of transfers, because people tend to react to transfers, changing their saving and consumption behaviour. The correlation between transfers (received or expected over the whole life span) and lifetime income is positive. Again, richer households receive greater inheritances and other wealth transfers than poorer households; as a proportion of their lifetime income, transfers are greater for poorer households than richer ones. This result is likely to be due to the much more important role played by family background variables than bequests as factors of transmission of inequality of lifetime resources. Finally, we find a positive relationship between left-to-children bequests and received-from-parents inheritances; this relationship holds even after controlling for lifetime resources, suggesting the importance of the role of family traditions.


In August 2017, an outbreak of six listeriosis cases in Denmark was traced to cold-smoked salmon, using epidemiological investigations and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analyses. Exchange of genome sequences allowed identification in France of a food isolate from a salmon-derived product and a human isolate from 2016 within the same cgMLST cluster as the Danish isolates (L2-SL8-ST8-CT771). The salmon product came from a third European Union country. WGS can rapidly link human cases and food isolates across Europe.


This demonstration paper presents StreamSide, an open-source toolkit for annotating multiple kinds of meaning representations. StreamSide supports frame-based annotation schemes e.g., Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) and frameless annotation schemes e.g., Widely Interpretable Semantic Representation (WISeR). Moreover, it supports both sentence-level and document-level annotation by allowing annotators to create multi-rooted graphs for input text. It can open and automatically convert between several types of input formats including plain text, Penman notation, and its own JSON format enabling richer annotation. It features reference frames for AMR predicate argument structures, and also concept-to-text alignment. StreamSide is released under the Apache 2.0 license, and is completely open-source so that it can be customized to annotate enriched meaning representations in different languages (e.g., Uniform Meaning Representations). All StreamSide resources are publicly distributed through our open source project at: https://github.com/emorynlp/StreamSide.


Glycoprotein B (gB) of herpes simplex virus type 1 is an envelope protein that is essential for viral growth. We previously reported the isolation of two gB-null viruses, which form gB-free virions in nonpermissive cells. In the present study, these gB-free virions were shown to bind to the cell surface at the same rate as the wild-type virus. They failed, however, to form plaques and to synthesize virus-specific proteins upon infection. Their plating efficiency was significantly enhanced by treatment with polyethylene glycol, a membrane fusion agent. Therefore, gB is required in a stage after viral attachment but before the expression of the virus-specific proteins. A gB-null syncytial virus was isolated, which contained a gB defect and a syncytial mutation in another genetic locus. It caused complete fusion of gB-transformed cells but no fusion on untransformed cells, indicating the essential role of gB in virus-induced cell fusion. Mutations located at two independent sites in the cytoplasmic domain of gB were transferred to viral DNA and shown to confer a syncytial phenotype to the virus. A transient-expression assay was developed to determine the ability of a set of plasmids containing addition and nonsense mutations in the gB gene to complement the cell-fusion defect in the gB-null syncytial virus. Mutations in plasmids, including those located in the extracytoplasmic domain of gB, were identified that reduced the fusion activity of gB. Therefore, gB contains different functional regions responsible for fusion induction and its inhibition.


Pisiferas of Binga (Congo), Ekona (Cameroon) and URT origins were progeny tested with Deli, African and African x Deli duras in two trials. The widely used AVROS pisiferas were included as controls. In the first trial, the DxP progenies of an AVROS pisifera gave the highest fruit bunch and oil yields. Two Ekona and one Binga pisifera gave DxP progenies with estimated oil equivalent yields, or EOE (palm oil yield plus 60% of the kernel yield) within 10% of, and not significantly lower than AVROS. The other Binga and all the URT pisiferas tested gave poorer DxP progenies, with generally lower fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield or bunch oil content or both. In the poorer environment of the second trial, the four best pisiferas were two from Ekona and one each from Binga and URT. For vegetative growth, URT DxP were the smallest - short with fewer and shorter fronds of small leaf area. The Ekona DxP progenies were the opposite with longer fronds of larger leaf and petiole cross-sectional areas. Although the latter produced similar numbers of fronds in both trials, their rankings by pisiferas differed considerably. The AVROS DxPs were the tallest palms, confirming widespread observation of this characteristic of AVROS. The DxP of the different Binga pisiferas differed considerably for height, trunk diameter, rachis length, petiole cross-sectional and leaf areas but not for frond production for which they were the highest. This intra origin variation was also observed, albeit to a lesser extent, in all the origins but for different traits. The DxP of Ekona pisiferas produced the most dry matter, whether vegetative or reproductive, those of URT the least while those of Binga varied considerably. Though both the Ekona and AVROS DxP progenies had similar leaf areas, the former with their large petioles had more dry matter supporting it. The progenies of URT pisiferas were low and those of Binga average for leaf area index and leaf area ratio.