Although the establishment of reserves is central to marine conservation, previous criteria for the selection of appropriate areas has often been based on historical, aesthetic or logistic factors, resulting in a network of marine reserves that may not effectively meet conservation objec- tives. Since the dispersal of larvae plays an integral role in determining whether reserves can sustain themselves, whether they can exchange larvae with other protected sites, or whether they can supplement surrounding exploited areas, effective reserve design requires consideration of the pro- cesses that may affect larval dispersal. Plankton tows were conducted monthly for 12 mo in a semi- enclosed marine reserve with long water retention time, in bays with low water retention, and along open coastline, to establish whether larval retention plays an important role in limiting dispersal and creating discrete communities. Significant spatial and temporal differences in larval assemblages were found, with the semi-enclosed reserve, bay, and coast areas showing consistent differences throughout the year. An ANOVA carried out on 11 species identified as differentiating between these areas supported the hypothesis that limited larval exchange was occurring between reserve and non- reserve areas, despite potentially large dispersal distances. Designating bays as reserve areas may provide a means of protecting various species with both long and short dispersal distances, but this must be balanced against the reduced likelihood of closed populations to recover from local catastro- phes and the possibility of limited genetic differentiation and inbreeding.


The Bonn Challenge, launched in September 2011 and extended by the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests, is an enormous opportunity to improve environmental and social outcomes globally, nationally and sub-nationally. To capture and provide evidence of advances, partnership opportunities, needs and bottlenecks, IUCN initiated the development of the Bonn Challenge Barometer. The results of the application of the Barometer tool will be captured in a series of reports, beginning with the 2017 Spotlight Report (and will be profiled on www.InfoFLR.org). This report describes the process for the development of the Bonn Challenge Barometer and the underlying concepts and initiatives. It includes five case studies of progress on FLR, in Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico (Quintana Roo), Rwanda and the United States.


Between 1931 and 1941, General Jiang Jieshi (commonly referred to as "Chiang Kai-Shek" in the West) and the Chinese Nationalists—the Guomindang—battled internal rivals, as well as Japanese military forces, for control of China. Even though Jiang Jieshi was able to consolidate most of the aviation assets inside China under his command, the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy possessed large numbers of domestically produced aircraft and the well-trained aircrew needed to operate them. While the Chinese Nationalist armies could offset Japanese ground forces with superior numbers and strategic defense-in-depth, the Chinese Air Force was completely unprepared for extended operations against Japanese fighters and bombers. In an effort to close this aviation gap with the Japanese, the Chinese Nationalists employed a wide variety of European and American aviation advisors to improve the effectiveness of the Chinese Air Force. In the mid-1930s, Italian aviation advisors conducted basic flight training and assembled kit-built aircraft for the Chinese Air Force. Great Britain also sold a large number of civilian and military aircraft to various Chinese leaders during the early 1930s. However, the majority of aviation assistance came from two nations—the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviet Union dispatched Red Army aviation advisory units to aid the Guomindang after the signing of the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1937 and the subsequent departure of German military advisors in 1938. American flyers, such as John Jouett and Claire Chennault, were hired by Generalissimo Jiang Jieshi to provide advanced flight training for the Chinese Air Force and to lobby the United States government for military aid during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Due to diplomatic developments, and with the exception of a small number of Soviet and American flight instructors, almost all foreign training and logistical support for the Chinese Air Force had ceased by the end of 1940. When the Soviet Union, Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany signed a Non-Aggression Pact in 1939, the Soviet Union agreed to end all direct combat operations against Japanese forces in China, Mongolia and Manchuria by July 1939. In desperation, Chinese and American leaders agreed to fund, equip and deploy a small number of civilian "volunteers" that would fly fighter aircraft in direct support of Jiang Jieshi and his Nationalist forces. This group was officially called the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) but was later nicknamed "The Flying Tigers." While small groups of Soviet and American advisors would remain in the employ of the Chinese Air Force throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Chinese Air Force would cease to present any kind of organized threat to Japanese military forces after the departure of Soviet combat squadrons and the arrival of the AVG.


Increasingly, hybridity, i.e., the combination of contrasting and conflicting elements within organizations, is seen as a way to create innovation and synergy in dealing with complex societal questions, leading to more sustainable development. Much research on the subject deals with the phenomenon of social enterprise, but hybridity also takes place in other, more traditional organizational settings. For example, many governments have created hybrid organizations by embracing new public management (NPM) as a way to overcome the perceived shortcomings of traditional, hierarchical forms of public administration, such as inefficiency and the lack of an entrepreneurial spirit. Here, hybridity is often not so much seen as a way to increase sustainability but rather as a way to cut cost and to increase the quality of service provision. This article adds the sustainability dimension to this discussion through a deductive approach, reinterpreting the results from a study on the effects of the hybridity of three municipal waste management organizations in the Netherlands. The main conclusions are that hybridity leads to a more professional management style but also to more attention on output than on outcome. The article discusses what this means in terms of pursuing sustainability and sustainable development.


State of Illinois make no guarantee, expressed or implied, regarding the correctness of the interpretations presented in this document and accept no liability for the consequences of decisions made by others on the basis of the information presented here. The geologic interpretations are based on data that may vary with respect to accuracy of geographic location, the type and quantity of data available at each location, and the scientific and technical qualifications of the data sources. Maps or cross sections in this document are not meant to be enlarged.


Building Portals, Intranets, and Corporate Web Sites Using Microsoft Servers is the practical guide to designing, developing, and implementing Web portals using Microsoft servers and the .NET Framework. James J. Townsend provides portal development teams with a working developer's overview of the concepts, technologies, and products used in building successful corporate portals. Readers learn how to create a portal architecture based on Microsoft .NET and integrate multiple server technologies and components to create a powerful portal solution.After introducing basic concepts in portal development, Townsend describes the Microsoft portal strategy and the importance of Web services to .NET. Readers become familiar with the .NET portal framework and the roles of Microsoft's SQL Server, Commerce Server (MCS), SharePoint Portal Server, BizTalk Server, Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, Content Management Server (MCMS), and related technologies. Key topic coverage includes security feature integration, personalization, content management, enterprise application integration (EAI), collaboration features, providing full search capability, and achieving scalability. A companion Web site features all the source code used in examples throughout the book.This book provides practical development advice in answer to questions commonly faced by portal developers, such as: When does it make sense to develop or deploy a Web service? Page 87 Is there a straightforward way to mitigate almost all potential security risks? Page 197 How do you get the most out of personalization? Page 266 How can you measure the return on investment for content management? Page 269 Which is the best online conferencing solution for your organization? Page 403 When and how should you scale up and/or out? Page 446Building Portals, Intranets, and Corporate Web Sites Using Microsoft Servers shows you how to choose and integrate the right products and build the best portal for your organization.


Gastric biopsy ssampling could affect accuracy of Helicobacter pylori clarithromycin resistance assessment due to coexistence of susceptible and resistant strains ( i.e . heteroresistance) either in same gastric site (intraniche) or in two different gastric sites (interniche). This study aimed to assess differences in the H. pylori clarithromycin resistance prevalence in relation to the gastric biopsy sampling by using Taqman-real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The study enrolled 137 patients. Primary clarithromycin resistance was observed in 15 isolates exclusively in antrum, in 7 cases exclusively in gastric body, and in 3 patients in both gastric sites. The overall prevalence of clarithromycin resistance was 13.1% by using exclusively antral biopsies, and 18.2% by using biopsies from both gastric sites. Moreover, intra-niche heteroresistance was observed in 19 (76%) out of 25 patients harbouring resistant strains. Our data found a heterogeneous distribution of resistant H. pylori strains in the stomach. Similarly to culture, gastric biopsies from both antrum and gastric body are needed to increase the accuracy of PCR-based methods for clarithromycin resistance assessment.


Silver nanostructures with different morphology and crystal structure are successfully synthesized using poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) molecules with different molecular weight (MW) in the polyol process. Multitwinned nanorods and single-crystalline nanohexapods are obtained using PVP-H (MW ≈ 1 300 000) and PVP-L (MW ≈ 30 000), respectively. The nanorods and the nanohexapods both have face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structures but with different lattice constants, i.e., a = 4.0862 A for the nanorods and a = 9.6193 A for the nanohexapods. The growth mechanism for the Ag nanostructures is studied in details. The control on the shape and the crystal structure is attributed to the different capping modes for the PVP-directed Ag nanocrystal growth.


Recent and long‐term accumulation rates of carbon (C), using 210Pb‐ and 14C‐dating, were examined in 23 ombrotrophic peatlands in eastern Canada, where average 1990–1996 atmospheric wet nitrogen (N) deposition ranged from 0.3 to 0.8 g N m−2 yr−1. The average recent rate of C accumulation (RERCA) over the past 150 years was 73 ± 17 (SD) g C m−2 yr−1, ranging from 40 to 117 g C m−2 yr−1. The difference in RERCA between hummocks (78 g C m−2 yr−1) and hollows (65 g C m−2 yr−1) was significant. Increased RERCA over the past 50 years was found in hummocks and hollows in regions of higher N deposition and related to both elevated N deposition and growing degree‐days above +5°C. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between N deposition alone and present‐day C accumulation in both hummocks and hollows (R2 = 0.28 and 0.38, respectively). Recent N accumulation was significantly larger in high N deposition regions. The total average aboveground vegetation biomass of hollows and hummocks did not differ significantly with N deposition. However, a significantly larger vascular plant leaf biomass was found in both hollows and hummocks of the high N deposition class than in the low N deposition class (>0.6 and <0.4 g m−2 yr−1, respectively). The average long‐term apparent rate of C accumulation (LORCA) at 15 sites was 19 ± 8 (SD) g C m−2 yr−1, with no significant difference due to age of peat inception, latitude, or continentality.


This thesis presents findings and analysis arising from semi-structured qualitative interviews with nine minor-attracted men (i.e. men who are primarily attracted to children and/or adolescents) in Canada. The central research question is "how do minor-attracted people understand and manage their stigmatized identities?" I situated the participants' experiences within a broader social context by reviewing relevant academic literature, laws, and dominant cultural attitudes. Utilizing a symbolic-interactionist approach, and drawing on Goffman's concept of "stigma," this thesis illustrates the unique challenges facing minor-attracted people. The study reveals that minor-attracted people become aware of their sexuality at an early age, experience stress caused by real or perceived societal rejection, and encounter both positive and negative reactions upon disclosing their identities. The conclusion underscores the need for a new approach to dealing with minor-attraction in contemporary Western society. I offer eight recommendations for instituting a strategy which incorporates empathy, education, and anti-discrimination measures.


4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the state of the art wireless mobile broadband technology. It makes use of the OFDM technology to offer high speed and provides the system resources both in time and frequency domain. A scheduling algorithm running on the base station holds the allocation of these resources. In this paper, the performance of existing downlink scheduling algorithms has been investigated in two ways. First, the performance of the algorithms has been investigated in terms of throughput and fairness metrics. Second, a new quality of service-aware (QoS-aware) fairness criterion, which accepts that the system is fair if it can provide the users with the network traffic speeds that they demand, has been proposed and evaluated. In addition, a novel QoS-aware downlink-scheduling algorithm, which increases the QoS-aware fairness and overall throughput of the edge users, has been proposed.


At one western, land-grant university, a student teaching exit survey given spring 2016 suggested that teacher candidates were falsifying data on their final student teaching projects—teacher work samples. An intrinsic case study on pre-service teacher integrity framed by Parker Palmer's work, Courage to Teach, was undertaken over 13 weeks of interactive, online journaling and followed by face-to-face discussions when the candidates had completed their experiences. Five female pre-service teachers revealed several elements that these candidates experienced as crucial during their student teaching experiences in order to maintain integrity to whom they were as individuals and whom they were becoming as educators. Themes arising during the study included vulnerability/comfort (confidence), challenge/courage, isolation/community, imbalance/balance, and labor/calling. Results had ramifications not only for needs of teacher candidates during student teaching but also for teacher educators needing to examine their own integrity as university instructors of the next generation of this nation's educators.


Land transformation in the KarkloofCatchment (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) between 1944 and 1999 was examined. No research had previously been undertaken to quantify and obtain an understanding of these changes and their effect on the landscape . The study provides a valuable spatial and descriptive database, which could assist in future planning and in an improved management of the catchment. Land category maps and associated databases for 1944 and 1999 were produced by interpreting 1944 and 1996 aerial photographs and using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Land management changes were establishedprimarily by interviews with land-owners . Property ownership and extent were ascertained and mapped in GIS by utilising and adapting existing GIS databases, by interviews with land-owners, and by undertaking title deed searches and by analysis of property Grant outlines and diagrams. Natural grasslands have decreased significantly, being lost mostly to exotic afforestation and marginally to commercial cultivation. Forest and woodland have increased marginally, as has exotic vegetation. Subsistence cultivation has been reduced significantlywith very little being undertaken in 1999. Farm dams have increased in number and size. Extraction of indigenous timber from the KarkloofForest has ceased. Soil erosion, which was detremined by summing the surface area of soil erosion gullies (bare soil area) , has decreased. Property numbers have increased , whilst property sizes have decreased. Ownership has moved away from the predominantly 'Private Individual' ownership category towards 'Private Companies and Trusts' and towards large corporate companies. Reduction in farm size has contnbuted to maximisation of land use, which has often impacted negatively on natural resources. Land-owners are however becoming more environmentally conscious. More sustainable farming methods are being practised. Catchment management bodies have been established. Traditional land use types such as agriculture are slowly declining, whilst recreational, residential and tourism ventures are on the increase. Demand for land and its products will continue to increase and more pressure will be exerted on natural resources. Ways to live with nature, sensitively balancing development against the environment will need to be found. Recommendations have been made regarding the further application of the study, particularly the GIS database, catchment management bodies and integrated catchment management, property size and land use types. Various conservation recommendations are also given.


Recent research discussed the development of image processing tools as a part of the quality control framework in manufacturing environments. This research could be divided into two image-based fault detection approaches: 1) MVS; and 2) MVS and control charts. Despite the intensive research in both groups, there is a disconnect between research and the actual needs on the shop-floor. This disconnect is mainly attributed to the following:  The literature for the first category has mainly focused on improving fault detection accuracy through the use of special setups without considering its impact on the manufacturing process. Therefore, many of these methods have not been utilized by industry, and these tools lack the capability of using images already present on the shop floor.  The studies presented on the second category have been mainly developed in isolation. In addition, most of these studies have focused more on introducing the concept of utilizing control charts on image data rather than tackling specific industry problems. In this thesis, these limitations are investigated and are disseminated to the research community through two different journal papers. In the first paper, it was shown that a face-recognition tool could be successfully used to detect faults in real-time in stamped processes, where the changes in image lighting conditions and part location were allowed to emulate actual manufacturing environments. On the other hand, the second paper reviewed the literature on image-based control charts and suggested recommendations for future research.


Social presence in the online learning environment is best developed when the instructor is the facilitator of knowledge and the students are the seekers of knowledge. Strategies for consciously developing social presence among learners are provided. This chapter includes the Online Steps to Complex Cognition, an educational model that displays five successive stages of the online learning process and how social presence can be heightened at each stage. Positive levels of social presence allow students to engage in critical discourse and promote learning as they intellectually and socially engage and build a level of mutual trust and respect with their teachers and with other learners.


Taekwondo has evolved from a traditional martial art into a modern-day Olympic combat sport. Despite this transition, knowledge of the physiological demands of this combat sport is in its infancy. This thesis investigates the physiological demands of competitive Taekwondo using experienced male international Taekwondo competitors.

Physiological measures and activity profile information were initially collected in championship Taekwondo competition to determine the fundamental physiological demands of this combat sport. The activity profile of championship Taekwondo combat elicited near-maximal heart rate (HR) responses and high blood lactate concentrations. The activity levels and physiological responses (e.g. HR and blood lactate) increased significantly between round 1 and 3 of combat. These data collectively suggest that the activity pattern of Taekwondo combat imposes high aerobic and anaerobic demands on the competitors, and these energetic requirements are increased as the rounds progress. The activity profile in championship combat was also modulated by a competitor's weight division. Most notably, the data highlighted a predominance of fighting activity for heavy weights, and longer preparatory actions and less frequent fighting exchanges for feather weights.

A Taekwondo competition simulation was devised and implemented to examine the physiological and hormonal responses to Taekwondo combat in simulated and championship settings. The championship Taekwondo combats elevated the physiological (e.g. HR, plasma lactate, glucose and glycerol) and hormonal responses (e.g. plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline) in comparison to simulated combats performed in a controlled setting. These divergent responses were evident even though both combat settings exhibited comparable activity profiles. This suggests that the contrasting physiological and hormonal responses were mediated by the stress responses to fighting in championship events.

The physiological and hormonal responses to performing successive Taekwondo combats were examined during a simulated championship event. Performing four combats in an ecologically valid competition time-structure modulated the physiological and hormonal responses to combat and perturbed homeostasis between the combats. Most notably, the successive combats resulted in reduced plasma noradrenaline and lactate responses to combat and increased HR responses earlier in combat. These responses may reflect a change in the activity of the competitors' and/or altered metabolic function in favour of an increased reliance on aerobic metabolism and diminished anaerobic energy yield as the combats are repeated. Importantly, the HR and plasma concentrations II of glycerol, NEFA and lactate remained elevated above baseline levels between a number of the repeated combats. This suggests that the recovery processes were often incomplete between the combats.

The collective findings of these investigations demonstrate that Taekwondo is an intermittent combat sport that elicits high demands upon both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. The physiological requirements of Taekwondo combat may be regulated by a multitude of competition factors including a competitor's weight division, the round of combat and performing successive combats with different recovery intervals. Taekwondo combat also activates the sympathetic-adrenal-medulla promoting the release of stress hormones (catecholamines) into the circulation. The stress-hormonal responses are mediated by the specific combat environment and the requirement to perform repeated combats within a single day. These original findings may serve as a valuable ergonomic framework to prepare competitors' for the specific requirements of Taekwondo competition.


Several nations are actively seeking to achieve human space exploration beyond the Earth's orbit and the need to improve current surgical treatment during spaceflight is critical. Starting with the concept of telemedicine for space flight in the 1970s, terrestrial telesurgery has advanced over the last 30-40 years to telerobotic surgery and telementoring spanning continents, creating the testing ground for medical care in space missions. Telerobotic surgery has been advantageous for not only providing telepresence to surgeons and closing geographical distances but also for minimally invasive surgeries, which are a necessity in weightlessness. Numerous experiments have been conducted by aeronautical space programs resulting in improved techniques for telesurgery in extreme conditions, such as underwater laboratories and zero-gravity models created by parabolic aircraft flights. There are challenges for telesurgery over astronomical distances in overcoming signal latency, the time lapse between moments when the surgeon moves the controls and the robot response. The dependence on camera images for surgical navigation requires advanced visualization techniques to help human controllers familiarize with extreme operative environments. This study provides an analysis of the current research in achieving improved data transfer from space flights and providing possible solutions to improve the quality of telesurgery.


This paper presents the CLUSTERING ALGORITHMS' REFEREE PACKAGE or CARP, an open source GNU GPL-licensed C package for evaluating clustering algorithms. Calibrating performance of such algorithms is important and CARP addresses this need by generating datasets of different clustering complexity and by assessing the performance of the concerned algorithm in terms of its ability to classify each dataset relative to the true grouping. This paper briefly describes the software and its capabilities.


Specific antibodies to a protein P1 Mr approximately equal to 63,000) from Chinese hamster ovary cells, which is affected in mutants resistant to the microtubule inhibitor, podophyllotoxin, and behaves like a microtubule-related protein by certain criteria [14], have been raised. The antibody reacts specifically with the P1 protein in one- and two-dimensional immunoblots, and a cross-reacting protein of similar molecular mass and electrophoretic mobility is also found in cells from various vertebrate and invertebrate species. The observed similarity in the peptide maps of the cross-reacting protein from human, mouse, Chinese hamster and chicken cells indicates that the structure of this protein should be highly conserved. However, no P1-antibody cross-reacting protein was observed in plants (corn, mung), fungus (Neurospora crassa), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium). Immunofluorescence studies with the P1-antibody show that, in interphase cells of various cross-reacting species, it bound specifically to mitochondria which were associated and distributed on and along the length of microtubules. Similar association and codistribution of mitochondria and microtubules were not observed in mitotic cells. Some implications of the mitochondrial localization of the protein P1 and the observed association between microtubules and mitochondria are discussed.


LINGFIELD SCRIBES CONTRIBUTE

The Lindisfarne Gospels book is normally housed in the British Library, but this summer it was on display at Durham University as the focus of a celebration of the creative, artistic and spiritual heritage of the North East. (More information at http://www.lindisfarnegospels.com)

In connection with this The International Research Centre for Calligraphy at the University of Sunderland launched 'Letters after Lindisfarne'. They invited members of regional calligraphy groups to contribute to a one-off book, not a stylistic or a textual replica but as a contemporary response to the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Each contribution is on a single sheet of paper, to be folded giving two adjacent pages of size 342x248mm, the metric equivalent of a Lindisfarne Gospels page.

Participants were given, via their groups, a limited list of 'springboard' words from a modern translation of the New Testament and invited to work with them in whatever way they wished. Suggested starting points were:

1. Write out the biblical passage from which the word comes.

2. Choose a non-biblical piece of poetry or prose containing the word.

3. Write a factual text inspired by one aspect of a word, eg start, boat or mountain.

4. Create an abstract piece around a single word.


Objective: This work focus is analysis of the physical and calibration conditions of the sphygmomanometers used at the Itajuba school hospital. Method: A quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study was performed with data collection of all aneroid and mercury sphygmomanometers from the institution, excluding those that were not in use or not belonging to the School Hospital. The analyzed variables were: Identification, Gauge, Clamp, Pear, Deflation valve, Air exhaust, Measured pressure measurements and Calibration. Results: Of the final sample of 76 sphygmomanometers, were unbalanced 76 sphygmomanometers, of which 56 (73, 7%) were of the aneroid type, 12 (15.8%) of the wall, 6 (7.9%) of the mobile column and 2 (2.6%) of mercury column, of the marks was predominant sphygmomanometers of the mark 1 , With 30 (41.7%). Most of the analyzed sphygmomanometers had a serial number of 98.7% and a number of Inmetro 75%. A clamp-type relationship with calibration prevalence was found, with velcro clamps being 6 times more likely to be calibrated than clamp-type. Conclusion: The analysis was satisfactory in relation to the quality, calibration and general state of the apparatus, with new analyzes necessary for other variable variables to obtain a good blood pressure measurement.


Local governments rely heavily on sales tax revenue. We use national bankruptcies of big-box retail chains to study sudden plausibly exogenous revenue shortfalls. Treated localities respond by reducing spending on law enforcement and administrative services. We further study how cities with different degrees of autonomy vary in their response. Cities in home rule states react more swiftly by raising taxes or issuing bonds. A regression discontinuity analysis of cities in Illinois emphasizes that this effect of local autonomy is causal. Home rule cities do not abuse their discretion: their bond ratings are more likely to be strong.


After World War I, the German admirals were shocked to discover that the Royal Navy had had an immense advantage--they had penetrated the secret German radio codes. Confronted with this fact, the Germans determined that any future codes would need to be so complex that breaking them would, theoretically, be impossible. The result was the famous Enigma machine, whose settings were altered so frequently and variables so great that the Germans believed capture of a machine by the enemy would not compromise Enigma for long. But the British proved them wrong. They managed to obtain the machine and determine the method of setting the code, giving the Allies a critical tactical advantage. As the author points out, this intelligence triumph was particularly important during the Battle of the Atlantic, when Hitler's U-boat wolf-packs were wreaking havoc on the convoy lifelines to the British Isles. Without the decoded Enigma messages, the Allies' narrow victory would likely have turned to defeat. This skillful analysis of Enigma's development and its role during U-boat operations includes details of Allied boardings of U-boats from which Enigma machines could have been captured. It is one of the greatest espionage stories in the history of naval warfare.


We present Graph-$Q$-SAT, a branching heuristic for a Boolean SAT solver trained with value-based reinforcement learning (RL) using Graph Neural Networks for function approximation. Solvers using Graph-$Q$-SAT are complete SAT solvers that either provide a satisfying assignment or proof of unsatisfiability, which is required for many SAT applications. The branching heuristics commonly used in SAT solvers make poor decisions during their warm-up period, whereas Graph-$Q$-SAT is trained to examine the structure of the particular problem instance to make better decisions early in the search. Training Graph-$Q$-SAT is data efficient and does not require elaborate dataset preparation or feature engineering. We train Graph-$Q$-SAT using RL interfacing with MiniSat solver and show that Graph-$Q$-SAT can reduce the number of iterations required to solve SAT problems by 2-3X. Furthermore, it generalizes to unsatisfiable SAT instances, as well as to problems with 5X more variables than it was trained on. We show that for larger problems, reductions in the number of iterations lead to wall clock time reductions, the ultimate goal when designing heuristics. We also show positive zero-shot transfer behavior when testing Graph-$Q$-SAT on a task family different from that used for training. While more work is needed to apply Graph-$Q$-SAT to reduce wall clock time in modern SAT solving settings, it is a compelling proof-of-concept showing that RL equipped with Graph Neural Networks can learn a generalizable branching heuristic for SAT search.


Summary Statement Professional development opportunities are not readily accessible for most simulation educators, who may only connect with simulation experts at periodic and costly conferences. Virtual communities of practice consist of individuals with a shared passion who communicate via virtual media to advance their own learning and that of others. A nascent virtual community of practice is developing online for healthcare simulation on social media platforms. Simulation educators should consider engaging on these platforms for their own benefit and to help develop healthcare simulation educators around the world. Herein, we describe this developing virtual community of practice and offer guidance to assist educators to engage, learn, and contribute to the growth of the community.


Object replacement strategies are considered as key performance factors of a web proxy caching application. Several algorithms have been proposed, analyzed and simulated during the last decade, in order to decide upon the champion one. In this paper, we recommend the methodology of Data Envelopment Analysis as a powerful tool, with a complementary activity to that of trace driven simulation, which is able to discover the set of the `good-enough' replacement strategies - i.e. strategies that exhibit good results for the basic performance metrics - under a variety of simulated workloads.


Jane Addams has been studied almost to exhaustion. Scores of articles and dissertations attest to the importance of her place in American history and society. Her papers, as well as any documents linked to her, however tenuously, were catalogued as part of the Jane Addams Papers Project and are on microfilm at universities across the world. In the past three years alone, two excellent and substantial biographies of Addams2 have been published. It seems reasonable to conclude that in the realm of Addams scholarship, the celebrated words in Ecdesiastes ring true: "There is nothing new under the sun." Or is there? This article presents some surprising new evidence of Addams's significant involvement in the early stages of charity organization development in Chicago during the latter part of the 19th century. Specifically, it attempts to draw the attention of researchers to several historical documents that do not appear to be part of the existing literature on Addams. These documents are important, not only because they signify that the Addams research project is not complete, but also because they recast a small but significant part of the Addams narrative. In what follows, the new data, the questions they raise, and their implications for Addams scholarship and Chicago history are discussed. This article requires a basic knowledge of charity organization, so some background is in order. Most people know that America experienced unprecedented social upheaval at the end of the nineteenth century. Massive immigration, in part a response to increased demand for workers, caused city populations to explode. The city of Chicago, for example, saw a two-fold increase in its population just between 1880 and 1890.3 American manufacturing grew at an amazing rate and, with a growing reliance on the factory system, workers were increasingly vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the market. Economic downturns were devastating to workers, who were paid poorly to begin with and had few of the employment protections found in today's workplace. Local governments at the town and municipal level provided limited "outdoor"(in-home) and "indoor" (poorhouse) relief, but the brunt of the burden was carried by private institutions such as churches and relief societies, with limited coordination by State Boards of Charity. These institutions simply did not possess the capacity to respond adequately to the needs of the day, and what response they did provide did not seem to be particularly effective. The result in the early 1870s was a proliferation of charitable entities, part of the birth of "modern American philanthropy."4 The charity organization movement was a central part of this new wave of charity provision. The existing literature holds that the first charitable organization appeared in Buffalo, New York in 1877. It was founded by S. Humphreys Gurteen, an Englishman who literally"wrote the book" on charitable organization activity by publishing the first handbook of charitable organization in the United States. Between 1877 and 1900 there was a proliferation of charitable organizations across the United States, starting in the larger cities and then moving to smaller population centers. The charitable organization "movement," as it came to be called, was in part a reaction to the widespread belief that "outdoor relief" had failed to alleviate poverty. Inspired by the Manchester school of political economy, Malthusianism, and Social Darwinism, the principles of scientific philanthropy provided the charitable organization with a new approach to the problem of poverty. The charitable organization had strong practical and philosophical ties to business.. One movement leader summarized the philosophical link quite succinctly, pointing out that the "same wisdom which has given this generation its wonderful industrial capacity will preside over the administration of charity."5 The boards of most charitable organizations included prominent members of the important elements of the economy, including banking, steel, textiles, and railroads. …


We present a framework to identify and evaluate marginal tax reforms when merit good arguments and environmental concerns are given explicit consideration. It is applied to the Norwegian indirect tax system for 1999. The analysis shows that the reform passed in Parliament in November 2000 had a clear redistributive profile: a lowering of the VAT rate on food items and the introduction of a VAT on services benefits households in the lowest seven deciles while the upper three deciles got worse off. But we also argue that the aggregate demand responses triggered an increase in greenhouse gasses. Next, we show that if the 2000 reform had been complemented with tax rates rate changes on other products, it could have made every decile better off. Finally, we present socially optimal reforms, under different weights on inequality and the environment.


Benzene is an important pollutant with carcinogenic potential. The main sources of benzene exposure include its unabated industrial use, gasoline vapors, emissions from engines and tobacco smoke. Environmental and occupational exposure of benzene has been associated with serious health hazards. Analysis of benzene is therefore important for the monitoring of environmental quality. The metabolites of benzene, especially S-phenyl mercapturic acid (S-PMA) and trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) have been used as sensitive biomarkers of benzene exposure. Estimation of un-metabolized benzene in urine has also been suggested as a more reliable indicator of its exposure. This review describes various chromatographic methods for the estimation of benzene and its metabolites in different environmental and biological samples.


The SAGE Course Companion on Organization Theory is an accessible introduction to a challenging subject area. This book helps readers to extend their understanding of theories and make the connection between them and organizational practice. It will enhance their thinking skills in line with course requirements and provides support on how to revise for exams and prepare for and write assessed pieces. Readers are encouraged not only to think like a organizational theorist but also to think about the subject critically.

Designed to compliment existing textbooks for the course, the companion provides:

- Easy access to the key themes in Organizational Theory

- Helpful summaries of the approaches taken by the main course textbooks

- Sample questions and answers, with common themes that must always be addressed

- Short vignettes and a case study that runs throughout the chapters

- Guidance on the essential study skills required to pass the course

- `Taking It Further' sections that suggest how readers can extend their thinking beyond the `received wisdom'

The SAGE Course Companion in Organizational Theory is much more than a revision guide for undergraduates; it is an essential tool that will help readers take their course understanding to new levels and help them achieve success in their undergraduate course.


It's an appropriate time to consider the legacy of judicial review. Only rarely do deeply entrenched doctrines and practices like judicial review become plausible candidates for rethinking. Yet two contradictory trends have restored this basic question to the intellectual agenda. On the one hand, judicial review has gained new vigor in European legal systems, (1) and the Rehnquist Court is currently in an aggressive phase. (2) On the other hand, prominent American jurists such as Mike Klarman, Richard Posner, and Mark Tushnet, and including Jeremy Waldron as an honorary American, have recently questioned judicial review root-and-branch (3)--a significant development given that even ten years ago a thoroughgoing opposition to judicial review was the mark of a crank. Judicial review is making gains abroad while losing a measure of intellectual respectability at home. Is judicial review desirable? I shall supply a three-part answer to that question. First, normative analysis of judicial review is necessarily a consequentialist exercise in institutional choice. The question we'd like to answer is whether paramount authority to interpret the Constitution should be lodged in the judiciary or in the lawmaking process. (4) Nonconsequentialist commitments, for example a commitment to "democracy," usually prove too abstract to cut between institutional options of this sort. Second, however, institutional-choice questions of this magnitude are excessively information-demanding. The information necessary to make the assessment is unobtainable, or at best excessively costly to obtain; the scale of the questions is too large; the interaction between institutions is too dynamic and complex; and the possibility of unintended consequences from any choice of institutional arrangement is too great. Third, the combination of the first two points creates the dilemma of institutional choice: we can't assess judicial review without answering questions that we lack the information to answer. The upshot is that, as I've argued elsewhere, institutional choice over questions of this magnitude must inevitably fall back upon a weak repertoire of techniques for practical reasoning under conditions of profound uncertainty. (5) I will apply some of those techniques to the question of judicial review, but they butt up against the region where consequentialism runs out of steam. In that region large-scale institutional reforms like abolishing judicial review require a leap of faith, and I'll conclude with a bit of positive theorizing about what causes us to take such leaps on the infrequent occasions that we do so. Start by assuming that we can costlessly obtain full information about the determinants of the institutional-choice question. Because we need some fixed starting points from which to reason, I will assume that the only issue at stake is whether Marbury v. Madison (6) should be overruled, leaving in place all other constitutional provisions and doctrines that regulate relations between the judiciary and other branches of government. For expository clarity I'll exclude intermediate institutional forms like Robert Bork's proposal that Congress be empowered to override constitutional decisions by a majority vote of each House. (7) I will assume that the only options under consideration are full judicial supremacy, on the one hand, and political-branch supremacy, on the other. Now this procedure is mildly unrealistic--obviously various doctrines of standing, justiciability, and deference moderate the current regime--but it helps to isolate the relevant considerations. With full information, the principal determinants of the institutional choice question are the agency costs of judicial review, its moral hazard effects, the optimal rate of legal change, and the transition costs of switching from a Marbury regime to a political-supremacy regime. Each of these considerations, however, implicates a tangle of subsidiary questions, and I hope it will become clear that the information needed for fully specified institutional choice far exceeds our present intellectual resources. …


4/13/10 1 Crack Bridging. Lecture 2 Lecture 1 (http://imechanica.org/node/7948) introduced the crack bridging model. The model is also known as the cohesive-zone model, the Barenblatt model, or the Dugdale model. The model consists of two main ingredients: • The process of separation of the body is modeled by a traction-separation curve; • The process of deformation in the body is modeled by a field theory, such as the linear elastic theory. For a body of a given configuration and traction-separation curve, the model results in a boundary-value problem. A large number of such boundary-value problems have been solved. These problems can also be solved by commercial finite element software, such as ABAQUS. The limited time in this course will only allow us to describe a few examples. Lecture 1 focused on small-scale bridging, when the body contains a preexisting crack, and the size of the bridging zone is much smaller than the characteristic length of the body (e.g., the length of the crack and of the ligament). Under the small-scale bridging condition, the external boundary conditions of the body can be represented by a single parameter, the energy release rate. Consequently, the Griffith (1921) approach—as extended by Irwin, Orowan, Rivlin and Thomas in 1950s—can be used to determine the fracture energy. Once determined, the fracture energy of a material can be used to predict the failure of bodies of the same material but different configurations. This lecture is devoted to large-scale bridging. When the size of the bridging zone is comparable to, or even larger than, the characteristic length of a body, the external boundary conditions cannot be represented by the energy release rate alone. The Griffith approach fails. The crack-bridging model, however, applies under the large-scale bridging conditions. Within the crack-bridging model, the traction-separation curve characterizes the resistance of a material to fracture. The tractionseparation curve can be determined by a combination of computation and experimental measurement. Once determined, the traction-separation curve of a material can be used to predict failure of specimens of the same material but different configurations.


I In The Light in Troy, Thomas M. Greene takes as his subject "the literary uses of imitatio during the Renaissance, but emphasizes as well that these "uses" extended beyond the literary to many other areas of educational, aesthetic, artistic, and political expression. (1) We do not know why imitatio, known as mimesis to the Greeks, became so pervasive, nor do we know why it eventually faded in significance, but we do know that it remained in Ben Jonson's time a central concern for theorists and artists alike. (2) For example, the significance of imitatio may be seen most clearly in a play like Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman (first performed December 1609 or January 1610); from start to finish it is, after all, a play about imitation, and it is difficult to believe Jonson does not intend to offer a critique of imitatio via this problem play. On the one hand, he is in keeping with the dominant precept of his age. On the other hand, he intentionally and paradoxically uses that precept as avenue and obstacle to understanding. Jonson's critique of imitatio is given its vitality by means of his understanding of the Renaissance concept of secrecy. By combining imitatio and secrecy, Jonson at once acknowledges his debt to Aristotle and Sidney and yet, as artist and theorist, avoids relying too heavily upon them. (3) Jonson, of course, recognizes and appreciates what Aristotle and Sidney meant by imitation, but the manner in which he practices that art exhibits his independence from both, and therefore his interest in originality. After all, in Discoveries he contends that one must remain vigilant regarding the dangers of imitation: Nothing is more ridiculous than to make an author a dictator, as the Schools have done Aristotle. The damage is infinite knowledge receives by it; for to many things a man should owe but a temporary belief, and a suspension of his own judgement, not an absolute resignation of himself, or a perpetual captivity. Let Aristotle and others have their dues, but if we can make farther discoveries of truth and fitness than they, why are we envied? Let us beware, while we strive to add, we do not diminish, or deface; we may improve, but not augment. (4) Jonson strikes a balance between a recognized poetics and one's own attempt at "discoveries" strikes a balance, that is, between what Greene calls the "opposition originality/imitation" (5) While Jonson acknowledges that one might learn from, add to, or improve upon Aristotle, he departs from Aristotle where he practices the art of imitation in Epicoene by presenting a patently false "speaking picture." Though the Latin term imitatio was dominant during the Renaissance, Jonson prefers the Greek mimesis; further, Jonson is not as interested in relying upon Juan Luis Vives or Roger Ascham, two of the better- known theorists regarding imitation, as he is in relying upon Aristotle. In the Poetics, Aristotle defines mimesis as the imitation of three different types of human action, or praxis: the imitation of thinking (as in dialogue and soliloquy), the imitation of physical actions leading to a specific result, and the imitation of genre and form. The first two types constitute the formal causes of poetry. But Renaissance humanists also believed that because it imitates rhetorical models, the third type of imitation could be considered rhetorical imitatio, the final cause of poetry. In The Defense of Poesy, Sidney alludes to both the formal and the final causes of poetry: "Poesy therefore is an art of imitation, for so Aristotle termeth it in the word mimesis--that is to say, a representing, counterfeiting, or figuring forth--to speak metaphorically, a speaking picture--with this end, to teach and delight" (6) Like Sidney, Jonson believes that mimesis can be an aid to, or adjunct of, rhetoric, and therefore that the causes of poetry can be both formal and final. Although he differentiates between "poesy. …


The kinetics of enzyme-catalysed reactions can be analysed in terms of steady state models if the substrate concentrations are more than an order of magnitude higher than the enzyme level. Such analysis yields Michaelis constants, maximum velocities and useful information on reaction mechanisms. Thus when there are two or more substrates, the number of terms in the denominator of the rate equation tells the type of mechanism. A sequential mechanism has a constant term plus ones in the concentration of each substrate and one including both concentrations. A ping pong mechanism has no constant term in the denominator. An ordered sequential mechanism where the binding of the first substrate is at equilibrium lacks a denominator term in the concentration of the second substrate. Other types of steady state studies include the use of inhibitors, determination of pH profiles and the effect of isotopic substitutions on the rates.

Key Concepts:

As long as substrate concentrations are more than an order of magnitude greater than the enzyme level, the reaction will be in a steady state.

Steady state rate equations are simple ratios of a numerator that is a function of substrate concentrations and a maximum velocity divided by a denominator that represents the distribution of the enzyme among all possible forms that are present in the steady state.

Steady state kinetic studies enable one to distinguish kinetic mechanisms and can also give information on rate limiting steps and in favorable cases, chemical mechanism.

Keywords:

enzyme kinetics;
steady state;
initial velocities;
rate equations;
kinetic constants


Florida is at war with coastal problems, Waves and tides threaten to wipe out its priceless heritage of sandy tropical beaches on two seas. Many communities have suffered enormous losses because of beach erosion in the last few years. The annual loss of land is approximately 300 to 500 acres. Man-made fills in bays and waterways are detrimental to inlets and channels. Practically all of these fill operations have been carried out without any previous hydrographic or hydrological surveys. This paper explains the nature and extent of these problems in Florida and gives recommendations for solving them.


Introduction Due to perceived risk of anaphylaxis, home treatment with omalizumab has been limited. Within the UK, most centres administer omalizumab in a hospital setting. However, the reported prevalence of anaphylaxis is low and in December 2018 home treatment became licensed. A home treatment pathway was previously reported by one UK centre, and this update describes three UK centres' experience of home omalizumab treatment. Methods The medical records of omalizumab patients were retrospectively reviewed. Results A total of 137 adult patients have received home omalizumab treatment; home treatment duration 0–44 months. There was no increase in adverse effects seen in patients treated at home. There were no reported adherence issues and no reduction in efficacy. Patients report they prefer home treatment due to increased flexibility and reduced impact on daily life/work. Conclusion Home treatment with omalizumab is a safe and effective alternative to hospital administration.


This article presents an ethnographic study of watermelon cultivators in the Russian Far East and how they approach and respond to climatic risk. For watermelon cultivators, the spatial boundaries of climatic risk are perceived as the baseline condition for the watermelon market, in which cultivators compete with each other by dealing with uncertainties caused by weather changes. While the market is linked to the spatial boundaries of climatic risk, this connection is only meaningful when there are weather changes that differently affect individuals within the boundary; weather changes that affect individual performance in the competitive watermelon market is perceived according to a recursive and cyclic timescale, rather than a linear one as discussed by most theories of the Anthropocene.


As best-selling author John Gray pointed out, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. There are obvious differences between women and men in anatomy, physiology, hormones, and metabolism. So why do most running books take a one-size-fits-all approach to training? Finally, here's one that doesn't.
 Running for Women provides comprehensive information on training female runners based on their cardiovascular, hormonal, metabolic, muscular, and anatomical characteristics. In this authoritative guide, authors Jason Karp and Carolyn Smith answer the questions and tackle the topics women need to know:
 • The impact of the menstrual cycle on hydration, body temperature, metabolism, and muscle function
 • The most effective workouts for endurance, speed and strength, lactate threshold, and VO2max
 • How and when to train during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause
 • Preventing knee injuries, stress fractures, and other common running-related injuries
 • Avoiding the risks of the female athlete triad disordered eating, osteoporosis, and menstrual irregularities
 • How to use sex differences to your advantage
 Based on the latest research on estrogen, metabolism, and other sex-specific performance factors, Running for Women will change the way you fuel, train, and compete. If you are serious about running, this is one guide you must own.


We introduce a novel approach to face models, which exploits the use of Partial Differential Equations (PDE) to generate the 3D face. This addresses some common problems of existing face models. The PDE face benefits from seamless merging of surface patches by using only a relatively small number of parameters based on boundary curves. The PDE face also provides users with a great degree of freedom to individualise the 3D face by adjusting a set of facial boundary curves. Furthermore, we introduce a uv-mesh texture mapping method. By associating the texels of the texture map with the vertices of the uv mesh in the PDE face, the new texture mapping method eliminates the 3D-to-2D association routine in texture mapping. Any specific PDE face can be textured without the need for the facial expression in the texture map to match exactly that of the 3D face model.


In saccade-countermanding tasks, fixation neurons in the frontal eye fields or superior colliculus have high activity during fixation period, sending inhibition to the (build-up) movement neurons. Upon fixation offset and a simultaneous presentation of a Go signal or target, the movement neurons, with response fields where the target lies, exhibit ramping activity. If this ramping activity reaches a certain threshold, a saccade will be made toward the target. However, when a Stop signal appears briefly after target onset, the reactivation of the fixation neurons may suppress the activity of the movement neurons before it reaches threshold, thus producing successful suppression of saccade. The time between onset of the Go and Stop signals is called the stop-signal delay, which is varied by the experimentalists.In this work, we construct a biologically realistic model of saccade-countermanding tasks. The model consists of a population of movement neurons and a population of fixation neurons. Using phase-plane analysis, we show, under certain sets of network parameters, that even if the stop signal occurs before the movement neuronal activity reaches threshold, a saccade can still subsequently occur. We further investigate how inhibitory control of saccades optimizes reward rate, and how this depends on the stop-signal delay, the probability of target presentation, and the probability of having a stop signal within a block of trials.


Spurred by recent observations of 24 μm emission within wind-blown bubbles (WBBs), we study the role that dust can play in such environments and build an approximate model of a particular WBB, "N49." First, we model the observations with a dusty WBB, and then ask whether dust could survive within N49 to its present age (estimated to be 5 × 105 to 106 yr). We find that dust sputtering and especially dust–gas friction would imply relatively short timescales (t ∼ 104 yr) for dust survival in the wind-shocked region of the bubble. To explain the 24 μm emission, we postulate that the grains are replenished within the WBB by destruction of embedded, dense cloudlets of interstellar medium gas that have been overrun by the expanding WBB. We calculate the ablation timescales for cloudlets within N49 and find approximate parameters for the embedded cloudlets that can replenish the dust; the parameters for the cloudlets are roughly similar to those observed in other nebula. Such dust will have an important effect on the bubble: including simple dust cooling in a WBB model for N49, we find that the luminosity is higher by approximately a factor of 6 at a bubble age of about 104 yr. At ages of 107 yr, the energy contained in the bubble is lower by about a factor of 8 if dust is included; if dust must be replenished within the bubble, the associated accompanying gas mass will also be very important to WBB cooling and evolution. While more detailed models are certainly called for, this work illustrates the possible strong importance of dust in WBBs, and is a first step toward models of dusty WBBs.


Cellular senescence is an end point of a signal transduction programme leading to irreversible cell cycle arresst accompanied by characteristic alterations to cell morphology, biochemical properties and gene expression profile. This phenotype can be triggered by a variety of stimuli including telomere shortening, DNA damage or activated oncogenes. Senescence is now recognised as a tumour suppressor mechanism mediated by p53 and pRB pathways which act to prevent the proliferatio of cells that are at risk of tumourigenic transformation.
RUNX1 is a transcription factor essential for definitive hematopoiesis and is frequently targeted in human leukaemias by chromosomal rearrangements. RUNX1 has been also demonstrated to act as a dominant oncogene in mice and the ectopic expression of RUNX1 in murine embryonic fibroblasts has been shown to cause senescence.
The central aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of senescence induction by RUNX1 and its fusion derived leukaemogenic oncoproteins in primary fibroblasts.
My work showed that RUNX1 induces a strong senescence-like response in murine and human primary fibroblasts that requires intact DNA binding, CBFB interaction and C-terminal transcriptional activation/repression domains. However, surprising differences were found between the major RUNX1 fusion oncoprotein derivatives. The N-terminal fusion protein TEL-RUNX1 fails to induce senescence despite retention of a virtually full-lenght RUNX1 moiety, while the senescence-inducing potential is exaggerated in the truncated C-terminal fusion protein RUNX1-ETO (AML1-ETO). The potential to drive senescence is retained by the deletion mutant RUNX1-ETO[]469 which lacks critical corepressor binding sites suggesting that the repression of target genes may be a primary mechanism implicated in RUNX1-ETO induced senescence. Interestingly, CBFB-MYH11 fusion oncoprotein that affects RUNX1 indirectly by targeting CBFB cn also induce senescence when ectopically expressed in human primary cells. The RUNX1 and RUNX1-ETO induced senescent phenotypes differ from archetypal H-Ras [superscript v12] as arrest occurs without a preliminary phase of proliferation and the arrested cells lack prominent foci of DNA strand breaks and chromatin condensation. Notably however, RUNX1 and RUNX1-ETO display differences in their potency and the extent of engagement of p53 and Rb effector pathways. RUNX1-ETO is highly dependent on p53 function and unlike RUNX1 drives senescence in cells lacking intact p16Ink4a. RUNX1-ETO appears to exert its unique effects through potent induction of reactive oxygen species and p38MAPK phosphorylation. These findings illustrate the heterogeneous manifestations of senescence-like growth arrest and elucidate the distinctive biology and oncogenic properies of RUNX1 and its fusion derivatives.


This paper investigates the interaction between dynamics and infrared radiation in the cloud-topped marine boundary layer. A two dimensional Boussinesq moist model with a numerical technique (Fourier-Chebyshev spectral tau method) and resolution (10m) sufficient to simulate cloud top processes has been used. With the spectral tau method and the fourth-order Runge-Kutta time integration scheme, great computational efficiency are realized even with high model accuracy.
Measurements suggest that the cloud-top radiative cooling is likely to exhibitsignificant horizontal as well as vertical variability which is principally governed by the variability of cloud liquid water. To investigate the impact of infrared cooling on boundary layer dynamics, numerical experiments on marine boundary layer convection under various idealized radiative forcings are performed. The results indicate that the dynamics of the cloud-topped marine boundary layer do not depend on the horizontal and the vertical distribution of the cooling so long as the cooling is confined to the turbulent boundary layer. The sensitivity of stratocumulus-topped boundary layer dynamics to the infrared cooling appears to be primarily in the vertical placement of the cooling relative to the turbulent cloud top region. This is due to the fact that the turbulent dynamical mixing time scale is smaller than the radiation build up time scale. Before radiation can cool a local region appreciably to influence the dynamics, the circulation inside the boundary layer has already transported the cloudy parcel out of the radiative cooling zone. Since the theory of radiation does not support the existence of infrared cooling in the capping inversion (zero cloud fraction or non-turbulent region), the spatial variability of cloud-top cooling needs to be considered only when the radiation build up time scale is comparable to the turbulent mixing time scale.


USDA and Cooperative Extension Service forecasts of hog prices are directly tested for incremental value vis-a-vis futures-based forecasts in a forecast encompassing framework. At horizons less than six months, the lean hog futures-based forecast is found to be more accurate than both the USDA and Extension Service forecasts, and the difference in forecasting performance is statistically significant. Not only are the agency forecasts less accurate, but neither the USDA nor the Extension Service forecasts add incremental information relative to the futures forecast. The results suggest that extension forecasters may want to refocus forecasting efforts on basis relationships, longer forecast horizons, or commodities without active futures markets.


Abstract 22 representative antibiotics, including 8 quinolones (QNs), 9 sulfonamides (SAs), and 5 macrolides (MCs) were selected to investigate their occurrence and removal efficiencies in a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and their distribution in the receiving water of the Chaobai River in Beijing, China. Water quality monitoring was performed in an integrated way at different selected points in the WWTP to explore the potential mechanism of antibiotics removal during wastewater treatment. Water quality of the Chaobai River was also analyzed to examine environmental distribution in a river ecosystem. The results showed that within all the 22 compounds examined, 10 antibiotics were quantified in wastewater influent, 10 in effluent, and 7 in river. Sulfadiazine (SDZ, 396 ng/L) and Sulfamethazine (SMZ, 382 ng/L) were the dominating antibiotics in the influent. Both the conventional treatment and advanced Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) system was important for the removal of antibiotics from the wastewater. And the concentrations of selected antibiotics were ranged from 0-41.8 ng/L in the effluent-receiving river. Despite the fact that the concentrations were reduced more than 50% compared to effluent concentrations, WWTP discharge was still regarded as a dominant point-source input of antibiotics into the Chaobai River.


The methodological design, characteristics and fieldwork stage of a multilevel research study on the impact of the environmental characteristics on mental health in an autochthonous and immigrant population are described in this paper. Individual data were obtained using a core questionnaire 40 minutes length from home interviews of Spanish and Ecuadorian adults from September 2006 to January 2007. A random sample of 1186 people aged 18-55, with equal distribution of gender and nationality was obtained from Civil Registers of 33 areas (municipalities or neighbourhoods) of Madrid, Alicante, Almeria and Murcia, chosen by ethnic density and socioeconomic criteria. Previously, a pilot study was carried out. Socioeconomic indicators of neighbourhoods and selected communities were obtained from Municipal Registers and other secondary sources. Finally, 1144 people were interviewed (96%). Each person was contacted at home at two different times. The global response rate was 61%, higher among Ecuadorians (69%), who presented more problems of localisation (34%). Analyzing methods and fieldwork process the conclusion is that sample strategies for this type of population studies should be evaluated using feasibility criteria given time and money constraints, against the need to obtain representative samples of the target populations. There were serious shortcomings in the availability of social integration indicators at the neighbourhood level.


Prompt removal of cells that die by programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is a key mechanism by which this intentional cell death response does not lead to inflammation. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a membrane lipid that is exposed on the surface of apoptotic cells, where it is believed to be a key signal for the recognition of such dying cells by phagocytosing cells. Two groups report the identification of proteins that bind PS and appear to be important for recognition and phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. Park et al. identified brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1)--a seven-transmembrane-domain protein with an extended extracellular region containing thrombospondin repeats (TSR) and an RGD domain--in a yeast two-hybrid screen for proteins that interacted with Rac and its guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GNEF), the EMLO and Dock180 complex, which are part of the signaling cascade that triggers the changes in the actin cytoskeleton associated with phagocytosis. Forced expression of BAI1 in nonphagocytic cells or in macrophages enhanced uptake of apoptotic thymocytes or beads mimicking apoptotic cells. (BAI1 was detected in untransfected human monocytes and macrophages, macrophage cell lines, spleen, and bone marrow.) Annexin V, which binds PS, prevented BAI1-stimulated phagocytosis of apoptotic cells, as did exposure of the cells to a BAI1 fragment containing the RGD and TSR domains, but not one lacking the TSR domain. The BAI1 TSR domain fragment also blocked phagocytosis of labeled beads when co-injected into the peritoneum of mice. Depletion of BAI1 in primary mouse astrocytes decreased phagocytosis of the beads or apoptotic thymocytes. Miyanishi et al. screened a panel of antibodies against mouse peritoneal macrophages and found that an antibody that recognized T cell immunoglobulin- and mucin-domain-containing molecule 4 (Tim4) inhibited PS-dependent engulfment of apoptotic cells. Tim4 mRNA was detected in peritoneal cells, spleen, lymph nodes, and salivary glands, and forced expression of Tim4, which has a single transmembrane domain, in nonphagocytic cells promoted the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells. Injection of the antibody that recognized Tim4 in mice followed by treatment to induce apoptosis in the thymus resulted in impaired phagocytosis of the apoptotic cells and the development of autoantibodies. A fusion protein between the Tim4 extracellular domain and the Fc domain of antibody receptors (Tim4-Fc) bound to apoptotic cells or to PS spots on nitrocellulose filters. Fusion proteins containing the Tim4 or Tim1 IgV domain bound to microtiter plates coated in PS. However, the same domains of the Tim2 and Tim3 family members showed no such binding, nor did the full-length proteins promote apoptotic cell phagocytosis when overexpressed. Exosomes, which are membrane fragments released from cells that may mediate cell communication, also have PS on the surface, and cells expressing either Tim4 or Tim1 bound exosome-like vesicles (based on gold-labeling and electron microscopy). PS appeared to promote heterophilic and homophilic interactions between Tim4 and Tim1. The authors suggest that Tim1 and Tim4 may serve as PS receptors involved in recognition of both apoptotic cells and exosomes. D. Park, A.-C. Tosello-Trampont, M. R. Elliott, M. Lu, L. B. Haney, Z. Ma, A. L. Klibanov, J. W. Mandell, K. S. Ravichandran, BAI1 is an engulfment receptor for apoptotic cells upstream of the ELMO/Dock180/Rac module. Nature 450, 430-434 (2007). [PubMed] M. Miyanishi, K. Tada, M. Koike, Y. Uchiyama, T. Kitamura, S. Nagata, Identification of Tim4 as a phosphatidylserine receptor. Nature 450, 435-439 (2007). [PubMed]


We examine the relationship between casinos and crime using county-level data for the United States between 1977 and 1996. Casinos were nonexistent outside Nevada before 1978, and expanded to many other states during our sample period. Most factors that reduce crime occur before or shortly after a casino opens, whereas those that increase crime, including problem and pathological gambling, occur over time. The results suggest that the effect on crime is low shortly after a casino opens, and grows over time. Roughly 8 of crime in casino counties in 1996 was attributable to casinos, costing the average adult 75 per year.


This essay offers a new way of understanding a pivotal moment in the history of U.S. environmentalism: the time surrounding the first celebration of Earth Day in 1970. By exploring a wide array of visual images produced during this period and paying particular attention to pictures of people wearing gas masks, the comic strip character Pogo, and the figure of the Ecological Indian, the article examines the complex relationship between the mass media and multiple forms of environmentalism. These images personalized the sense of risk and responsibility by presenting all Americans as equally vulnerable to pollution and equally to blame for environmental degradation. When placed in dialogue with both mainstream and subaltern environmental movements as well as with public policy, the images reveal a paradox embedded in the environmental politics of the era: the state expanded its environmental regulatory agenda, even as the visual media repeatedly emphasized individual responsibility for the environmental crisis. This essay explains how these seemingly opposing trends actually reinforced one another and how they bequeathed a problematic legacy to U.S. environmentalism. Ultimately, the media, mainstream environmental groups, and public policy all failed to consider the links between social inequality and the disproportionate experience of risk among racialized minorities. Across these different fields, subaltern perspectives were submerged, drowned out by the repeated insistence upon universal danger and culpability. Earth Day, often described as a moment of origins for modern environmentalism, thus helped frame and validate a particular conception of the movement as a cause that promised to unite the nation but that lacked a social edge.


This short paper describes our five submissions to the 2012 edition of the MIREX Symbolic Melodic Similarity task. All five submissions rely on a geometric model that represents melodies as spline curves in the pitch-time plane. The similarity between two melodies is then computed with a sequence alignment algorithm between sequences of spline spans: the more similar the shape of the curves, the more similar the melodies they represent. As in MIREX 2010 and 2011, our systems ranked first for all effectiveness measures used. However, this year there was only one competing system, so we employ this report mainly to describe and compare results within our systems.


In the rat several paradigms of grafting of adrenal medulla into the striatum were studied following the induction of a parkinsonian model, using a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of the substantia nigra . Direct autologous grafting of adrenal medulla into the caudate-putamen complex, a radiofrequency lesion of the striatum alone, and a radiofrequency lesion followed by delayed grafting of adrenal medulla were compared by analyzing rotational behavior. Direct grafting of adrenal medulla produced an overall reduction in apomorphine induced turning behavior by 43.5% when compared with controls. Radiofrequency lesioning of the striatum without graft showed the best improvement over control animals with a 92% reduction in the total number of rotations induced by apomorphine. Delayed grafting into the caudate lesion cavity also produced a dramatic reduction in motor asymmetry but did not improve the behavioral outcome over that of the lesion alone. Animals receiving only radiofrequency lesions exhibited a band of increased tyrosine hydroxylase like immunoreactivity bordering the lesion cavity. Graft survival was limited in the nonlesioned animals but appeared enhanced in the animals whose striatum was previously lesioned. Lesion location within the striatum influenced the behavioral outcome. Large reductions in apomorphine-induced rotations could result from small lesions of the dorso-lateral striatum. These findings indicate that selective destruction of the caudate-putamen complex without tissue transplantation produces a dramatic reduction in the motor asymmetry of 6-OHDA treated rats. Suggested explanations for the decrease in induced rotational behavior with radiofrequency lesions include a decrease in the number of striatal dopamine receptors following cell destruction and lesioninduced recovery of host dopaminergic afferents. Striatal damage in critical areas can reverse some of the motor behavior associated with the 6-OHDA model and needs to be considered when evaluating the effects of neural grafting in this model.


Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL) methods are known for their effectiveness in solving classification and regression problems involving multimodal data. Many MKL approaches use linear combination of base kernels, resulting in somewhat limited feature representations. Several non-linear MKL formulations were proposed recently. They provide much higher dimensional feature spaces, and, therefore, richer representations. However, these methods often lead to nonconvex optimization and to intractable number of optimization parameters. In this paper, we propose a new non-linear MKL method that utilizes nuclear norm regularization and leads to convex optimization problem. The proposed Nuclear-norm-Constrained MKL (NuC-MKL) algorithm converges faster, and requires smaller number of calls to an SVM solver, as compared to other competing methods. Moreover, the number of the model support vectors in our approach is usually much smaller, as compared to other methods. This suggests that our algorithm is more resilient to overfitting. We test our algorithm on several known benchmarks, and show that it equals or outperforms the state-ofthe-art MKL methods on all these data sets.


The herbal system of medicine, popularly known as Phytotherapy, is rapidly developing as an independent subject. Specialties subjects like Medicinal botany or Pharmaceutical botany, Medicinal Phytochemistry, Ethno pharmacology and Phytopharmacotherapy are emerging. Several studies have reported growing popularity of herbal medicine. There is increased awareness about herbal medicine among masses. Authorities including Central Council of Indian Medicine (C.C.I.M.) and department of Ayurveda, Yunani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) in India, American Herbal Product Association (A.H.P.A.) in America, German Commission in Germany, Therapeutic Goods Administration (T.G.A.) in Australia and European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) in U.K. are playing pivotal role in establishing scientific basis of herbal medicine.


We propose a framework using contrastive learning as a pre-training task to perform image classification in the presence of noisy labels. Recent strategies, such as pseudo-labeling, sample selection with Gaussian Mixture models, and weighted supervised contrastive learning have, been combined into a fine-tuning phase following the pre-training. In this paper, we provide an extensive empirical study showing that a preliminary contrastive learning step brings a significant gain in performance when using different loss functions: non robust, robust, and early-learning regularized. Our experiments performed on standard benchmarks and real-world datasets demonstrate that: (i) the contrastive pre-training increases the robustness of any loss function to noisy labels and (ii) the additional fine-tuning phase can further improve accuracy, but at the cost of additional complexity.


Abstract The article explores threats related to illicit trafficking of radioactive materials and dual-use goods applicable in state level nuclear programs, actualizing the global trends for the Baltic region. The article points to Eastern Europe's changing risk profile in this respect, as increasing penetration of Russian criminal groups inside Ukraine and the destabilized situations in neighboring countries create an environment where the risk of nuclear smuggling is on the rise. Criminal entities can be seen forming new bonds, with trafficking routes intersecting and zones of influence shifting - consequently, an unusual level of criminal involvement in nuclear smuggling is observed, alongside a geographic shift of smuggling patterns. In addition, states seeking materials and technologies for their military programs have taken a notable interest in this region as a way of circumventing international transit regulations. The article looks at the likely implications of these new nuclear smuggling trends for the security of the Baltic states. It suggests that Lithuania may soon be facing a relatively new threat, and one that it is ill-prepared to counter. The article discusses the risk factors and indicators to watch before that risk becomes reality, and offers ways for Lithuania to contribute to addressing these increasingly acute problems on a regional level.


A validated stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of Eprosartan and hydrochlorothiazide in tablet dosage forms. Chromatographic separation was performed on HPLC system of waters Model 2997 using X Bridge Shield RP18 (150 x 3.0 mm i.d., 3.5 µm particle size) column with a mixture of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min (gradient mode) with UV detection at 235 nm. The combinationof drugs was subjected to stress conditions such as acidic, alkaline, oxidation photolytic and thermal degradations and the method was validated as per ICH guidelines.


Text-to-image person retrieval aims to identify the target person based on a given textual description query. The primary challenge is to learn the mapping of visual and textual modalities into a common latent space. Prior works have attempted to address this challenge by leveraging separately pre-trained unimodal models to extract visual and textual features. However, these approaches lack the necessary underlying alignment capabilities required to match multimodal data effectively. Besides, these works use prior information to explore explicit part alignments, which may lead to the distortion of intra-modality information. To alleviate these issues, we present IRRA: a cross-modal Implicit Relation Reasoning and Aligning framework that learns relations between local visual-textual tokens and enhances global image-text matching without requiring additional prior supervision. Specifically, we first design an Implicit Relation Reasoning module in a masked language modeling paradigm. This achieves cross-modal interaction by integrating the visual cues into the textual tokens with a cross-modal multimodal interaction encoder. Secondly, to globally align the visual and textual embeddings, Similarity Distribution Matching is proposed to minimize the KL divergence between image-text similarity distributions and the normalized label matching distributions. The proposed method achieves new state-of-the-art results on all three public datasets, with a notable margin of about 3%-9% for Rank-1 accuracy compared to prior methods.


Aims: The aim of this study is to explore the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of aqueous extract from aerial parts of Inula helenium (L.) against human U-87 MG glioma cell line. Materials and Methods: The 3'-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide and lactate dehydrogenase assays were used to study antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities against U-87 MG cell after 48 h exposure. In addition, to assess the oxidative effects, total antioxidant capacity and total oxidant status levels were also measured. Results: Finally, the aqueous extracts displayed antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities at high concentrations tested, particularly at 200 μg/ml, without causing to oxidative stress. Conclusion: The results strengthen the evidence that I. helenium could be considered a natural resource of potential antitumor agents for brain cancer. In addition, this study is expected to expand the existing information on the anticancer activity of I. helenium and to assist in a more focused design of further research as chemotherapeutic agents.


Research and technological development processes increasingly entail inter-organisational collaboration for the access and integration of external complementary knowledge, especially within emergent technological innovation systems and small developing countries. Collaborative efforts aggregate capabilities of individual actors into system-level innovation capacity, fostering technological and innovation outcomes from both individual organisations and the technological system as a whole.

Significant understanding of these interactive processes has been achieved by previous research on innovation systems, inter-organisational collaboration and networks, and studies of interdisciplinary scientific research. Nevertheless, further knowledge is required on how and why organisations may differ in their ability to collaboratively exploit potential complementarities. Consequently, this thesis examines institutional and organisational factors that influence the actual extent of knowledge integration achieved by public research organisations through collaborative research endeavours, within the agri-biotechnology innovation system in Uruguay.

The research followed a mixed empirical method. Exploratory interviews with members of public R&D groups and firms were conducted in order to reach a preliminary understanding of the main forces affecting collaboration and knowledge integration. Quantitative indicators of the degree of knowledge-integration achieved by R&D groups' collaborative links were designed and computed using data gathered through a survey of R&D group members. Indicators were also developed to statistically assess how the extent of collaborative knowledge-integration achieved by an R&D group is influenced by system-level incentive institutions, by the absorptive and relational capacities of the group, and by the compliance of the group with local scientific assessment and reward mechanisms.

This thesis makes various theoretical contributions and draws relevant policy implications. The results show that members of R&D groups may exert differing levels of influence on knowledge-integration. Specifically, postgraduate students were found to play a relevant bridging role, enhancing the ability of the group to access knowledge from complementary disciplines. The study also found consistent evidence of a negative relation between an R&D group's compliance with local scientific incentives, and the group's ability to collaboratively integrate complementary knowledge-assets. Therefore, formal incentive institutions are presumably affecting the exploitation of potential synergies among local knowledge resources and hence the learning and innovation capabilities and the cohesion of the entire agri-biotechnology innovation system. As a methodological contribution, this thesis develops novel indicators to assess the degree of inter-organisational complementarity that go beyond those used in previous research.


Abstract Distributed control systems now-a-days are consisting of more and more heterogeneous processing nodes. Standards are making it easier to use processors, networks, operating systems etc. of varying nature. This freedom of choice is quite beneficial as long as the control applications perform according to the functional and non-functional specifications. Non-functional requirements especially that related to satisfaction of certain temporal deadlines are quite important in control applications since they often consist of a number of real-time components. Therefore, when heterogeneous processing elements are used deployment of the software components appears to be a problematic task. This article presents a methodology to combat this problem using explanation based learning.


A large literature on urban politics documents the connection between metropolitan fragmentation and inequality. This article situates the United States comparatively to explore the structural features of local governance that underpin this connection. Examining five metropolitan areas in North America and Europe, the article identifies two distinct dimensions of fragmentation: (a) fragmentation through jurisdictional proliferation (dividing regions into increasing numbers of governments) and (b) fragmentation through resource hoarding (via exclusion, municipal parochialism, and fiscal competition). This research reveals how distinctive the United States is in the ways it combines institutional arrangements that facilitate metropolitan fragmentation (through jurisdictional proliferation) and those that reward such fragmentation (through resource-hoarding opportunities). Non-US cases furnish examples of policies that reduce jurisdictional proliferation or remove resource-hoarding opportunities. Mitigating the inequality-inducing effects of fragmentation is possible, but policies must be designed with an identification of the specific aspects of local governance structures that fuel inequality in the first place.


This paper describes the Ph.D. research project "Tangible Signals" which is currently in its initial phase. This project investigates the dynamic physical representation and haptic feedback control of computer music and sound data using motorized and augmented objects. The research focuses on artistic and performative contributions that this approach offers. Special attention is given to the collaboration with visually impaired people, as they are very limited in the use of exclusively GUI-based interaction. On the following pages the background of the project will be described and methods, research questions and work progress will be presented.


There is almost a complete consensus in the international literature that Brexit will have a negative effect on the UK economy both in the short and long run. The UK is one of Ireland's closest economic partners and little is known about the potential macroeconomic impact that Brexit could have on the Irish economy. In this paper, we use the new COre Structural MOdel of the Irish economy (COSMO) to attempt to quantify the medium- to long-run impact of Brexit on the Irish economy under a series of alternative scenarios. These scenarios are intended to cover a range of potential agreements between the UK and the EU. We find that the level of Irish output is permanently below what it otherwise would have been in the absence of Brexit.


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This thesis addresses the traumata associated with Poland's frontier changes in 1945, within a collective memory paradigm. These events include expulsions from German territories incorporated into Poland, and population transfers between Poland and the USSR. The thesis addresses two components: a central trauma complex, and the resulting collective memory discourse. Being a matter of historical record, the statistical details and chronology of these events are seldom contested, although they have often been instrumentalised by various stakeholders. Instead, the relevant collective memory discourse has focused on the production of broad, often exculpatory, narrative frameworks designed to explain a set of largely accepted facts. Accordingly, my thesis is primarily focused on this collective memory discourse.

 As an active phase, dominated by stakeholders with a high level of emotional investment in the narration and memorialisation of the relevant events, this collective memory discourse is currently undergoing a transition to the domain of History as a scholarly pursuit. This transition is best symbolised by the fact that, as of 2016, for the first time since 1945, all restrictions on the acquisition of agricultural land and forests in Poland's former German territories, by Germans, will be lifted. Thus, for surviving expellees, the right of return, in conjunction with the potential to purchase any formerly held real estate and landholdings, will become a de jure reality, marking the end of the region's long postwar period. Arguably, therefore, one can now engage, at a retrospective, analytical level, with the relevant collective memory discourse without being drawn into it.

 In order to navigate this complex discourse, I have developed a number of analytical and conceptual tools, which I hope may prove useful beyond this project. In this sense, this thesis can be viewed as a proof of concept. Chief among these tools are a novel working definition of collective memory as a discrete phase in the historification and mythologizing of traumatic events, and a three-level model designed for the consistent analysis of narrative texts, artefacts and cultural productions. By tracing the relevant collective memory discourse through a number of 4 disparate fields, including political myth-making, historiography, toponymic practice, cartography and literature, I have been able to test these analytical and conceptual tools to breaking point, often benefiting from the resulting heuristic gain wherever lived complexity defies simplistic analytic idealisation.

 To ensure a focused exposition of the theoretical framework and the sources analysed, this thesis is primarily centred upon Lower Silesia and the following broad research questions: what geo-socio-political power dynamics resulted in Poland's postwar frontier changes and the associated traumata, and how were they justified at the time? How have historians reacted over time to Poland's postwar frontier changes, and the humanitarian consequences, as well as to contemporary framework narratives relating to these events? How has the toponymic re-inscription of Poland's former German territories influenced the relevant collective memory discourse, and to what extent have cartographic representations of postwar Poland been influenced by changing geo-political configurations? How have the prevailing socio-political conditions in postwar Germany and Poland constrained literary contributions to the relevant collective memory discourse? And, finally, in what ways, has literature contributed in turn, to the relevant collective memory discourse and the establishment of hegemonic historical narratives?

 This thesis presents a number of specific findings, the most significant of which is that political contingencies can result in a surprising deflection of collective memory discourse into seemingly unrelated fields, and can trigger a ripple effect, which has the ability to globalise collective memory discourse under certain circumstances. Similarly, my analysis of shared topoi in the works of German and Polish historians and literary authors demonstrates that, far from generating its own framework of reference based on specific traumatic events, collective memory discourse is exquisitely sensitive to broader socio-political narratives. In addition, I contend that mainstream historical narratives tend to simplify, for example, through the imposition of a chronology on multidirectional memories, and by focusing on homogenizing accounts of the collective at the expense of 5 individual narratives. In contrast, literature and local cultural performances often resist such simplification, thus preserving complexity. Viewed in this light, the pursuit of Cultural and Literary Studies addresses a clear problem within, and usefully augments, traditional historical scholarship. By carefully analysing a subset of Polish and German literature, historiography and cultural artefacts produced in response to the traumatic events in question, my thesis seeks to trace the transition from highly localised stakeholder-led collective memory discourses to hegemonic historical narratives developed and maintained in the service of broader geo-political agendas.