The Autonomous and Autonomic Systems initiative has as its vision the creation of self-directed and self-managing systems to address today's concerns of complexity and total cost of ownership while meeting tomorrow's needs for pervasive and ubiquitous computation and communication. This talk reports on research and development, with examples from a deployed Biometric Identification and Tracking System, utilizing the biological metaphor of the autonomic nervous system to computing and communications, in which computer-based systems self-regulate by using automatic reactions to defend, optimize and heal.BIO: Roy Sterritt currently is a Faculty member at the University of Ulster and Researcher within the Computer Science Research Institute (CSRI) and the Centre for Software Process Technologies (CSPT). Prior to this, he spent several years with IBM at North Harbour and IBM Hursley Park, U.K., as a Software Engineer developing intelligent distributed applications to support project management, risk assessment and mobile computing. He then returned to the University of Ulster to research automated and intelligent approaches to the development and testing of fault management telecommunications systems in a series of collaborative projects with Nortel Networks. Sterritt is the author of over 130 technical papers on Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, and Autonomic Computing & Communications and has been active within the research community on program and organizing committees and a visiting researcher at British Telecom and NASA. He is also a Vice-Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Engineering of Computer Based Systems (ECBS) and Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Autonomous and Autonomic Systems.For more information please visit http://www.infc.ulst.ac.uk/staff/r.sterritt


One of the most widely publicized cases of our time is that of Amanda Knox, the college student from West Seattle who was convicted of murdering her British roommate in Italy and served four years in prison before being acquitted and released. Retried in absentia, she was convicted again, only to be exonerated by the Italian Supreme Court, which handed down its final opinion in September, 2015. Throughout its eight-year duration, the case garnered worldwide attention, in part because of the pretty, photogenic defendant and the drug-fueled sex game that the prosecutor adduced as the motive for the crime. Interest in the case spiked again with the release of a Netflix original documentary, Amanda Knox, in the fall of 2016.
While the Amanda Knox case has been remarkable for its ability to fascinate an international audience, it is not altogether unique. Rather, it is emblematic of broader themes and a broader problem−that of human beings' prejudice against "strangeness" and our desperation for a hasty assessment of guilt or innocence‒qualities that can bleed into a legal system to the detriment of the quest for truth.
In this Article, I explore the Amanda Knox case in the context of our defective ability to judge. In Part One, I use the conceit of a "What Not to Do" list to highlight the role played by Amanda's "strangeness" in bringing about her arrest and two convictions. In Part Two, I re-examine the usual rationale for Amanda's behavior and suggest that a better explanation lies in her age and developmental stage. In Part Three, I shift from the interpreted to the interpreters, arguing that the latter were powerfully affected by the Madonna/whore complex and cultural differences between Perugia and Seattle. In Part Four, I analyze the impact of the Italian legal system, with its deep roots in the inquisitorial paradigm and its limited adversarial reforms.
This Article is based not only on scholarly research but also on my four sojourns in Italy, where I retraced Amanda's footsteps and discussed the case with numerous legal experts. I had the opportunity to interview Amanda herself after she was free in Seattle.


This paper establishes that the Caloric Suitability Index (CSI) dominates the commonly used measure of agricultural suitability in the examination of the effect of land productivity on comparative economic development. The analysis demonstrates that the agricultural suitability index does not capture the large variation in the potential caloric yield across equally suitable land, reflecting the fact that land suitable for agriculture is not necessarily suitable for the most caloric-intensive crops. Hence, in light of the instrumental role played by caloric yield in sustaining and supporting population growth, and given importance of pre-industrial population density for the subsequent course of economic development, the Caloric Suitability Index dominates the conventional measure in capturing the effect of land productivity on pre-colonial population density and the subsequent course of economic development.


BACKGROUND
Matriptase, a type II transmembrane serine protease is involved in angiogenesis, degradation of extracellular matrix and in progression of some epithelial cancers. The purpose of the present study was to examine matriptase expression and evaluate its clinicopathological significance in endometrial cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Matriptase expression was examined in normal endometrium (n=20), endometrial hyperplasia (n=11) and endometrial cancer (n=65) samples. The distribution of cases that scored positive for each of the biological parameters examined was correlated with matriptase expression status obtained by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS
Matriptase was found to be significantly overexpressed in endometrial cancer as compared with normal endometrium and endometrial hyperplasia. Interestingly, matriptase expression is associated with stage (p=0.010), grade (p=0.021), depth of myometrial invasion (p=0.004), cervical involvement (p=0.021), lymph node metastasis (p=0.009), LVS involvement (p=0.041) and peritoneal cytology (p=0.045). The high matriptase expression was a significant predictor for poor prognosis when compared with low matriptase expression (Disease-free survival rate; p=0.032, Overall survival rate; p=0.011).

CONCLUSION
High matriptase expression in endometrial cancer may be associated with poor prognosis.


In the contemporary society children develop special abilities to ask questions, to doubt, and to wonder, that enhances development of their symbolic thinking that in turn help them in the learning process. This article includes analysis of the link between symbolic thinking and the child's process of learning. The inquiry is guided by the themes developed by children in poetry as a way of expressing their understanding of the world. It is illustrated by the poems published in the newsletters of the Canadian prairies' elementary schools in Winnipeg. The studies are supported by a review of the research showing that development of symbolic thinking is crucial in helping children to learn. It is asserted that the questions asked by children in their poems guide us to their future and ours. In the research of Moore (1981), it is emphasized that "young children come to school as essentially poetic human beings". She stated, "Many years ago I became aware that poetry is a natural language of young children. All children seem to be born poets" (p. 30). Wituckie (1970), who also analyzed poetry in the elementary school, asserted that poetry is necessary at school. It develops a child's imagination and abilities to express feelings and beauty. Poems may stimulate our imagination and creativity. According to Wituckie(1970) poetry is a new, imaginative way of seeing, and her belief in poetry is likewise a belief in children - young people who bring so much to poetry and can take so much from it. (p.64) I can fly (by Olga 9) I can fly like birds up high Above my head. I love they wings and the colour of the sky. Here and there the birds are every where And when I fly I sing certain lullaby. In the literature we found a very strong assertion that language is the prime symbolic medium. This is supported by Deri (1983), Gardner (1979), Olson (1991), and Schmidt (1973). According to Olson (1991), language is used for representing the world; it makes it possible to reflect on and to become aware of the world (p.265). Piaget (1962) stressed that at about the age of 2 the child discovers the symbolic nature of language when he/she figures out that everything has a name. Yet, there are different approaches to language acquisition and the thinking process. Chomsky's (1980) theory (innatism) is opposed to that of Piaget (generative) or social psychologists such as Henle (1965) and Vygotsky (1962). For example, Chomsky believed that linguistic structures are hereditary and the role of culture and knowledge is not a basic one. As Chomsky (1986) stated," The problem, then, is to determine the innate endowment that serves to bridge the gap between experience and knowledge attained-or cognitive systems attained.[.....] We are thus in a good position to ascertain the nature of the biological endowment that constitutes the human "language faculty", the innate component of mind/brain that yields knowledge of language when presented with linguistic experience and that converts experience to a system of knowledge" (p. XXVI). For Piaget, language is a product of progressive construction of thoughts that reach deeper than the linguistic verbal reality. As language is only a particular form of the symbolic function and as the individual symbol is certainly simpler than the collective sign, it is permissible to conclude that thought precedes language and that language confines itself to profoundly transforming thought by helping it to attain its forms of equilibrium by means of a more advanced schematization and a more mobile abstraction (p.92)..[....] ... As Piaget (1968) emphasized. "There are no innate structures: every structure presupposes a construction" (p. 150). Henle (1965) stressed the social character of language as an historical phenomenon. He reasoned that to learn a language a person must form the concepts expressed by it or in it. …


Abstract This article distills insights for the scholarship of deterrence by examining the 1983 nuclear crisis – the moment of maximum danger of the late Cold War. Important contributions notwithstanding, our understanding of this episode still has caveats, and a significant pool of theoretical lessons for strategic studies remain to be learned. Utilizing newly available sources, this article suggests an alternative interpretation of Soviet and US conduct. It argues that the then US deterrence strategy almost produced Soviet nuclear overreaction by nearly turning a NATO exercise into a prelude to a preventive Soviet attack. Building on historical findings, this article offers insights about a mechanism for deterrence effectiveness evaluation, recommends establishing a structure responsible for this endeavor, and introduces a new theoretical term to the strategic studies lexicon – a 'culminating point of deterrence'.


Frozen mammals of the Ice Age, preserved for millennia in the tundra, have been a source of fascination and mystery since their first discovery over two centuries ago. These mummies, their ecology, and their preservation are the subject of this compelling book by paleontologist Dale Guthrie. The 1979 find of a frozen, extinct steppe bison in an Alaskan gold mine allowed him to undertake the first scientific excavation of an Ice Age mummy in North America and to test theories about these enigmatic frozen fauna. The 36,000-year-old bison mummy, coated with blue mineral crystals, was dubbed "Blue Babe." Guthrie conveys the excitement of its excavation and shows how he made use of evidence from living animals, other Pleistocene mummies, Paleolithic art, and geological data. With photographs and scoresof detailed drawings, he takes the reader through the excavation and subsequent detective work, analyzing the animal's carcass and its surroundings, the circumstances of its death, its appearance in life, the landscape it inhabited, and the processes of preservation by freezing. His examination shows that Blue Babe died in early winter, falling prey to lions that inhabited the Arctic during the Pleistocene era. Guthrie uses information gleaned from his study of Blue Babe to provide a broad picture of bison evolutionary history and ecology, including speculations on the interactions of bison and Ice Age peoples. His description of the Mammoth Steppe as a cold, dry, grassy plain is based on an entirely new way of reading the fossil record."


Melt inclusions in igneous minerals can provide constraints on magma compositions, especially for planetary samples where mass is severely limited. Small inclusions (<15 μm diameter) are more abundant than large ones, but have been used little from concern that they did not entrap average magma, but are rich in melt of a diffusional layer against the host mineral. We compared bulk compositions and calculated original compositions of small and large melt inclusions in the Martian basalt meteorite (shergottite) Tissint. Small and large melt inclusions are consistent with the same line of igneous differentiation, have the same abundance ratios for incompatible elements (P, Ti, Al, K, Na), and are consistent with derivation from the bulk composition of Tissint (inferred to represent its parent melt composition). For Tissint, then, small melt inclusions show no evidence of entrapping diffusional boundary layers, and appear to have entrapped bulk magma. Thus, its small inclusions can be as useful as larger ones; this may be so for other planetary samples, and thus provides an additional tool for investigating planetary magmas.


Sustainable development is a multifaceted concept that has drawn on a number of disciplines including economics, ecology, ethics, sociology and political science. Sustainable development links the welfare of generations with the capacity of the biosphere to sustain life and has a policy focus. Sustainable development is not a fixed state but rather a process of change in which resource exploitation, the direction of investment, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are made consistent with the future as well as present needs. Practical policy analysis needs to be guided by specific objectives analysed within a consistent and coherent framework. In the absence of an operational framework the policy analyst is left with an indeterminate model to work with. This vacuum can lower the quality of advice, increase reliance on ad hoc decision-making and potentially impact economic growth and the welfare of current and future New Zealanders. This report does not consider the range of policy instruments that could be used in achieving sustainable development outcomes. A framework for economic-environment integration is proposed. The specific framework is shown to depend on "the problem". It is not a mechanistic process and careful attention has to be given to grafting a rigorous model for analysis. Three case studies illustrate how economic-environment integration can be achieved. Specific frameworks can be developed for the purpose of empirical analysis and hypothesis testing. Three themes for future research are described. One theme is empirical and suggests a study of existing rules and mechanisms vis-a-vis sustainable development. Another broad theme is directed at obtaining a better understanding of sustainable development within the context of an open-economy dependent on key natural resources for economic growth. Finally, there is a need to develop a range of indicators for policy analysis.


Summary We investigated whether Cas9‐mediated mutagenesis of starch‐branching enzymes (SBEs) in tetraploid potatoes could generate tuber starches with a range of distinct properties. Constructs containing the Cas9 gene and sgRNAs targeting SBE1,SBE2 or both genes were introduced by Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation or by PEG‐mediated delivery into protoplasts. Outcomes included lines with mutations in all or only some of the homoeoalleles of SBE genes and lines in which homoeoalleles carried several different mutations. DNA delivery into protoplasts resulted in mutants with no detectable Cas9 gene, suggesting the absence of foreign DNA. Selected mutants with starch granule abnormalities had reductions in tuber SBE1 and/or SBE2 protein that were broadly in line with expectations from genotype analysis. Strong reduction in both SBE isoforms created an extreme starch phenotype, as reported previously for low‐SBE potato tubers. HPLC‐SEC and 1H NMR revealed a decrease in short amylopectin chains, an increase in long chains and a large reduction in branching frequency relative to wild‐type starch. Mutants with strong reductions in SBE2 protein alone had near‐normal amylopectin chain‐length distributions and only small reductions in branching frequency. However, starch granule initiation was enormously increased: cells contained many granules of <4 μm and granules with multiple hila. Thus, large reductions in both SBEs reduce amylopectin branching during granule growth, whereas reduction in SBE2 alone primarily affects numbers of starch granule initiations. Our results demonstrate that Cas9‐mediated mutagenesis of SBE genes has the potential to generate new, potentially valuable starch properties without integration of foreign DNA into the genome.


Editor's Note: This book includes coverage of the new Kindle Fire HD models introduced in September 2012.Finally ... a quick, easy reference to using your Kindle Fire -- to the max! Amazon's Kindle Fire is the handiest tablet available, and is your portal to an infinite universe of education and entertainment. This valuable reference book explains how to quickly set up your Kindle, navigate the touch-screen, buy, rent or stream video, and browse the world's largest library of digital books. About the author: Steve Weber is founding publisher of KindleBuffet.com, a showcase for five-star Kindle books currently available free (you may never have to pay for books again!).This reference guide demystifies the Kindle and explains in plain English how to master the Kindle basics, plus secret tips, tricks and shortcuts you won't find elsewhere. Each section includes clearly written step-by-step instructions, illustrated with screenshots and menus just like you'll see on your own Kindle screen. You'll see how to: Change your Kindle's setting just the way you want. Charge your Kindle's battery properly and prolong its life. Enjoy an infinite supply of the best books, music and video from Amazon, iTunes or virtually any other source. Use personal and office documents, including word processing files, PDFs, and spreadsheets. Chuck your laptop and PDA, and do everything you want on your Kindle! The easy way to harvest your own content and get it onto your Kindle Fire, including gems you didn't buy at Amazon. How to download free games and educational apps, plus free bonuses from Amazon's Android App Store or other sources. How to download, organize and read your favorite books, magazines and newspapers on the Kindle Fire. How to get current and archived editions of the world's most popular newspapers, magazines and websites streamed to your Kindle--updated constantly, with no fees whatsoever! Use Amazon's free "Cloud" service for unlimited storage of your digital content. Purchase or rent thousands of movies and TV shows, and how to find a gold mine of free video. Find the best free content in the world, downloadable to your Kindle. (You might never have to pay for books, movies or music again--ever!) Use Amazon Prime to stream movies using your home's Internet service. Use your Kindle to send and receive email from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, and virtually any other service. Surf the Web at daredevil speeds using Kindle's built-in Silk Web browser. Show off your own photos and videos on your Kindle, no matter which camera you used. About the author: ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Steve Weber has been writing about Amazon for nearly a decade. He is the founding publisher of KindleBuffet.com, a website and newsletter that features the best free Kindle eBooks currently being offered as free promotions.


A method of extracting year references for a textual information retrieval method called the thematic chronological-table search method is explained in this paper. This search method generates an index by extracting and collecting year references from a text collection. The resulting index and a full-text index are used for searching sentences that contain year references and search words. The results are displayed in the form of a chronological table with hyperlinks to the original text. Seven forms of year or century references are extracted and normalized using string matching patterns. The extraction error rate is reduced by using both local and non-local contexts. If the lower two digits of a Gregorian year, which matches a form, occurs, it is normalized by supplementing the upper digits using the non-local context. This method has been applied to a Japanese encyclopedia. An evaluation shows the precision of extraction to be higher than 99% in most cases.


Recent work suggests that convolutional neural networks of different architectures learn to classify images in the same order. To understand this phenomenon, we revisit the over-parametrized deep linear network model. Our analysis reveals that, when the hidden layers are wide enough, the convergence rate of this model's parameters is exponentially faster along the directions of the larger principal components of the data, at a rate governed by the corresponding singular values. We term this convergence pattern the Principal Components bias (PC-bias). Empirically, we show how the PC-bias streamlines the order of learning of both linear and non-linear networks, more prominently at earlier stages of learning. We then compare our results to the simplicity bias, showing that both biases can be seen independently, and affect the order of learning in different ways. Finally, we discuss how the PC-bias may explain some benefits of early stopping and its connection to PCA, and why deep networks converge more slowly with random labels.


The process of the transformation, reconciliation, development and reconstruction of South African society had not been finalised when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Amnesty Committee reached the end of their mandates in 1998 and 2003 respectively. The reality is that apart from those people whose applications for amnesty have failed, there are also those who simply choose not to participate in the proceedings, as well as those who could not participate due to the limitations in the scope of the TRC. It is therefore imperative to implement measures to address "unfinished business," which should be approached in such a manner that they complement and build upon the work of the TRC. This book focuses on successive measures in the form of prosecutions and on the implementation of additional measures in the form of Presidential pardons in the aftermath of the TRC's amnesty scheme. The main objective of this book is to examine the manner in which the post-TRC phase in South Africa has unfolded and to answer the question of whether or not South Africa's post-TRC initiatives are in compliance with both national and international law. The aim of presenting the South African model, although context specific, is to contribute to a better understanding of legal challenges a society in transition faces in the aftermath of initial measures in the form of amnesty. This will provide guidance to future societies in transition and reduce the likelihood of repeating avoidable errors - errors that transitional societies can hardly afford to make.


Two of the most talked-about crimes of the year, the ILoveYou computer worm and the denial of service attacks on Yahoo, eBay, and ETrade, suggest that a new form of crime is emerging: cybercrime. Thousands of these crimes occur each year, and the results are often catastrophic; in terms of economic damage, the ILoveYou worm may have been the most devastating crime in history, causing more than $11 billion in losses. This paper asks how cybercrime is best deterred. It identifies five constraints on crime - legal sanctions, monetary perpetration cost, social norms, architecture, and physical risks - and explains how each of these constraints may be reduced by committing crime in cyberspace. The ease of cybercrime risks negative substitution effects, as offenders move away from realspace and look towards the Net. Because cybercrime requires fewer resources and less investment to cause a given level of harm, the law might want to use approaches that differ somewhat from those in realspace. In part, this is so because computers provide a cheaper means to perpetrate crime. Criminal law must be concerned not only with punishing crime ex post, but with creating ex ante barriers to inexpensive ways of carrying out criminal activity. For example, if computers serve as substitutes for conspirators, then law might develop doctrines that treat computers as quasi-conspirators and establish inchoate liability. Some government barriers, however, will create dead-weight losses. For example, encryption has the potential to further massive terrorism (which leads many in the law enforcement community to advocate its criminalization) but also the potential to facilitate greater security in communication and encourage freedom (which leads many others to push for unfettered access to the technology). To help solve such problems, the paper advocates the use of sentencing enhancements as tools that surgically target bad acts. Sentencing enhancements have received relatively little attention in the academic literature; this Article attempts to fill that gap. Cyberspace also adds additional parties to the traditional perpetrator-victim scenario of crime. In particular, much cybercrime is carried out through the use of Internet Service Providers. Law should impose modest responsibilities on third parties because doing so promotes cost deterrence and capitalizes on what Reinier Kraakman has called gatekeeper liability. Third parties can develop ways to make crime more expensive, and may be able to do so in ways that the government cannot always directly accomplish, such as cost effective regulation of the architecture of the Net. The same logic sometimes applies to victims of cybercrime; law can develop mechanisms to encourage optimal victim behavior as well. Burden-shifting must not, however, sacrifice the value of interconnectivity and network effects.


Cellubrevin is a member of the synaptobrevin/VAMP family of SNAREs, which has a broad tissue distribution. In fibroblastic cells it is concentrated in the vesicles which recycle transferrin receptors but its role in membrane trafficking and fusion remains to be demonstrated. Cellubrevin, like the synaptic vesicle proteins synaptobrevins I and II, can be cleaved by tetanus toxin, a metallo-endoprotease which blocks neurotransmitter release. However, nonneuronal cells are unaffected by the toxin due to lack of cell surface receptors for its heavy chain. To determine whether cellubrevin cleavage impairs exocytosis of recycling vesicles, we tested the effect of tetanus toxin light chain on the release of preinternalized transferrin from streptolysin-O-perforated CHO cells. The release was found to be temperature and ATP dependent as well as NEM sensitive. Addition of tetanus toxin light chain, but not of a proteolytically inactive form of the toxin, resulted in a partial inhibition of transferrin release which correlated with the toxin-mediated cleavage of cellubrevin. The residual release of transferrin occurring after complete cellubrevin degradation was still ATP dependent. Our results indicate that cellubrevin plays an important role in the constitutive exocytosis of vesicles which recycle plasmalemma receptors. The incomplete inhibition of transferrin release produced by the toxin suggests the existence of a cellubrevin-independent exocytotic mechanism, which may involve tetanus toxin-insensitive proteins of the synaptobrevin/VAMP family.


We propose the task of disambiguating symbolic expressions in informal STEM documents in the form of LaTeX files - that is, determining their precise semantics and abstract syntax tree - as a neural machine translation task. We discuss the distinct challenges involved and present a dataset with roughly 33,000 entries. We evaluated several baseline models on this dataset, which failed to yield even syntactically valid LaTeX before overfitting. Consequently, we describe a methodology using a transformer language model pre-trained on sources obtained from arxiv.org, which yields promising results despite the small size of the dataset. We evaluate our model using a plurality of dedicated techniques, taking the syntax and semantics of symbolic expressions into account.


Entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) values and image quality parameters were measured and compared for two biplane angiography x-ray systems dedicated to paediatric interventional cardiology, one equipped with image intensifiers (II) and the other one with dynamic flat detectors (FDs). Polymethyl methacrylate phantoms of different thicknesses, ranging from 8 to 16 cm, and a Leeds TOR 18-FG test object were used. The parameters of the image quality evaluated were noise, signal-difference-to-noise ratio (SdNR), high contrast spatial resolution (HCSR) and three figures of merit combining entrance doses and signal-to-noise ratios or HCSR. The comparisons showed a better behaviour of the II-based system in the low contrast region over the whole interval of thicknesses. The FD-based system showed a better performance in HCSR. The FD system evaluated would need around two times more dose than the II system evaluated to reach a given value of SdNR; moreover, a better spatial resolution was measured (and perceived in conventional monitors) for the system equipped with flat detectors. According to the results of this paper, the use of dynamic FD systems does not lead to an automatic reduction in ESAK or to an automatic improvement in image quality by comparison with II systems. Any improvement also depends on the setting of the x-ray systems and it should still be possible to refine these settings for some of the dynamic FDs used in paediatric cardiology.


Arctic Sea Ice Classification and Soil Moisture Estimation Using Microwave Sensors David Brian Lindell Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, BYU Master of Science Spaceborne microwave sensors are capable of estimating various properties of many geophysical phenomena, including the age and extent of Arctic sea ice and the relative soil moisture over land. The measurement and classification of such geophysical phenomena are used to refine climate models, localize and predict drought, and better understand the water cycle. Data from the active Ku-band scatterometers, the Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT), and the Oceansat-2 Scatterometer (OSCAT), are here used to classify areas of first-year and multiyear Arctic sea ice using a temporally adaptive threshold on reported radar backscatter values. The result is a 15-year data record of daily ice classification images. An additional ice age data record is produced using the C-band Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) with an alternate classification methodology based on Bayesian decision theory. The ASCAT/SSMIS classification methodology results in a record which is generally consistent with the QuikSCAT and OSCAT classifications, which conclude in 2014. With multiple ASCAT and SSMIS sensors still operational, the ASCAT/SSMIS ice classifications can continue to be produced into the future. In addition to ice classification, ASCAT is used to estimate the relative surface soil moisture at high-resolution (4.45 × 4.45 km per pixel). The soil moisture estimates are obtained using enhanced resolution image reconstruction techniques and an altered version of the Water Retrieval Package (WARP) algorithm. The high-resolution soil moisture estimates are shown to agree well with the existing lower resolution WARP products while also revealing finer details.


Unitary event analysis is a new method for detecting episodes of synchronized neural activity (Riehle, Grun, Diesmann, & Aertsen, 1997). It detects time intervals that contain coincident firing at higher rates than would be expected if the neurons fired as independent inhomogeneous Poisson processes; all coincidences in such intervals are called unitary events (UEs). Changes in the frequency of UEs that are correlated with behavioral states may indicate synchronization of neural firing that mediates or represents the behavioral state. We show that UE analysis is subject to severe limitations due to the underlying discrete statistics of the number of coincident events. These limitations are particularly stringent for low (010 spikes/s) firing rates. Under these conditions, the frequency of UEs is a random variable with a large variation relative to its mean. The relative variation decreases with increasing firing rate, and we compute the lowest firing rate, at which the 95 confidence interval around the mean frequency of UEs excludes zero. This random variation in UE frequency makes interpretation of changes in UEs problematic for neurons with low firing rates. As a typical example, when analyzing 150 trials of an experiment using an averaging window 100 ms wide and a 5ms coincidence window, firing rates should be greater than 7 spikes per second.


This study aimed to investigate the micro deep drawability of the Zn–22Al alloy at room temperature in which it shows superplastic properties. To this goal, first the two-step equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) process was carried out to obtain an ultra-fine-grained structure (UFG). Upon achieving the grain size of 200 nm, the formability of the alloy at room temperature and at a high strain rate was investigated both experimentally and numerically. Micro deep drawing experiments were performed at different deep drawing ratios (1.66, 1.84, 2.0, and 2.25) and for different sheet thicknesses (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 mm). The finite element model of the micro deep drawing was also established to assess and compare the thickness variation in deep drawn parts. Results showed that the superplastic Zn–22Al alloy has a great potential in microforming applications. It was also noted that the limiting drawing ratio can be obtained as high as 2.25 in the room temperature condition.


By using first-principle molecular dynamics within density functional theory, we study the structural properties of amorphous GeSe2 at a temperature T of 300 K. For each property, a statistical average is obtained from six independent partial averages taken on temporal trajectories, each one lasting 12 ps. Each trajectory stems from an initial configuration of the liquid phase at T=1100 K and is generated by extensive annealing at T=300 K. Overall, our level of theory provides a picture of this prototypical disordered network-forming glass that is quantitatively consistent with neutron diffraction data. Very satisfactory agreement with experiments is obtained for the pair correlation functions g(GeSe)(r) and g(SeSe)(r) in terms of peak intensities and positions. This holds true also for the amount of Se-Se homopolar bonds and the Ge-Se and Se-Se coordination numbers. Conversely, the g(GeGe)(r) pair correlation function is much less structured around the main peak position and the concentration of Ge-Ge homopolar bonds is lower than in the experiment. The network organizes itself through the predominant presence of GeSe4 tetrahedra. However, other coordinations occur in non-negligible proportions for both Ge and Se. Total and partial structure factors reproduce very well the experimental patterns for wave numbers k larger than 2 A(-1). For smaller k values, the largest difference between theory and experiment is exhibited by the S-GeGe(k) structure factor, showing a FSDP of lower intensity in the simulation. In agreement with experimental results, a sizeable feature is found at the FSDP location in the Bhatia-Thornton concentration-concentration structure factor S-CC(k).


External, buccal and chondrocranial morphology, bone development and ecology of the tadpoles of Ramanella obscura , a narrow-mouthed frog species endemic to Sri Lanka is described. The tadpoles have a dorsoventrally flattend body, keratinous ridge on lower lip, a postnarial ridge that extends anteriorly between narial papillae and an expanded fenestrated sheet of cartilage associated with the larval otic process and processus lateralis posterior. But they do not possess a medial preglottal papilla in ventral buccal floor as in Microhyla . At Gosner stage 25, there is no bone development; but by stage 35, exoccipitals, parasphenoid, frontoparietals and prootics are developed. By stage 40, in addition to the bones at stage 35, nasals are formed. The tadpoles are tree-hole or small-ground-pool dwellers that feed on particulate matter and infusoria both in the substratum and the water column, for which they have morphological adaptations. No other anuran tadpoles were observed in syntopy with R. obscura tadpoles. Key words : Chondrocranium; buccal morphology; tadpole ecology; endemic; Sri Lanka DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/cjsbs.v40i2.3927 CJSBS 2011; 40(2): 109-120


The alkaline-earth silicate fibres are a new generation of man-made insulation materials. The materials are amorphous on manufacture and have been shown to be soluble in physiological solutions and to be cleared from the lung in animal exposure trials.This reported study provides a thorough investigations of the devitrification behaviour of Superwool X-607 (Morgan Materials Technology), and two further compositions, code names A2 and B3.Thermal exposures were made within the region extending from 700 to 1250°C and 10 minutes to 3240 hours in clean furnace environments. The devitrified microstructures and products were identified using X-ray powder diffraction and analytical electron microscopy. Details are provided of the development of specimen preparation techniques to enable fibre cross-sections to be analyzed in the TEM.The devitrification products are presented as a function of exposure temperature and time for all 3 compositions. The amorphous glass separated into a silica-rich phase and an alkaline-earth silicate rich phase and the development of these amorphous phases is presented and discussed. The subsequent devitrification of these separated phases into associated silica crystalline phases and alkaline-earth silicate crystalline phases, and, in each case, the subsequent phases and transformations with increasing thermal exposure are also presented and discussed.For the crystalline silica phases, the following unusual transformation situation was identified in all 3 compositions: amorphous silica → alpha-quartz → alpha-cristobalite → tridymite. In comparison with established understanding of silica phase transformations, the following anomalies were identified and explained: a) the formation of quartz as the primary crystalline silica phase at temperatures ≥1000°C, and b) the subsequent formation of alpha-cristobalite, the low-temperature form, other than B-cristobalite, the high-temperature form, which was the only silica phase identified in the devitrified aluminosilicate fibres.For the alkaline-earth silicate phases, two forms of wollastonite solid solution were characterised. The low-temperature form, containing more Mg[2+], transforms to the high-temperature form and diopside at temperatures above 900°C. The low-temperature anomaly, ie the formation of the immature high-temperature form below 900°C is possibly due to a secondary phase separation. Pseudowollastonite was found to be metastable in the investigated temperature region. It is suggested that the detailed transformation process among these alkaline-earth silicate phases has been identified for the first time.This thesis also includes a detailed review of published studies concerning this materials systems as well as recommendations for further work.


Author(s): Burt, Z; Ray, I | Abstract: Urban water systems in Asia and Africa mostly provide intermittent rather than continuous water supplies; such systems compromise water quality and inconvenience the user. Starting in 2008, an upgrade to continuous (24/7) water services was provided for 10% of the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad, India, through a process of privatisation and formalisation. The goals were to improve water quality, free consumers from collecting and storing water, and reduce non-revenue (i.e. unpaid for) water. Drawing on household surveys (n = 1986) conducted in 2010-2011 in the 24/7 zones, as well as on a range of interviews, we find that, even with 'formal' 24/7 water service, most consumers continue the supposedly 'informal' practices of in-home storage and water use without payment of bills. We argue that multiple unaccounted-for factors-including a history of distrust between the consumer and the utility, seemingly small infrastructural details, resistance to higher tariffs, and valuing convenience above water quality-have kept these informal practices embedded within the formalised delivery system. Our research contributes to understanding why formalisation may only partially supplant informal practices even when the formal system is functional and reliable.


OBJECTIVES
The COLEP trial in Bangladesh showed a 57% reduction in leprosy incidence among contacts of newly diagnosed patients in the first 2 years after chemoprophylaxis with single dose rifampicin (SDR). We assessed the impact of this intervention after 6 years and identified characteristics of the leprosy index patients predicting the effectiveness of this intervention.

DESIGN
The cohort of 1037 patients and their 28 092 contacts that participated in the randomised placebo controlled field trial with single dose rifampicin was followed for 6 years. The leprosy status of contacts was established at 2, 4 and 6 years after the intervention. We assessed the association between characteristics of the index leprosy patients and the development of clinical leprosy among their contacts using logistic regression.

RESULTS
The protective effect of SDR was seen only in the first 2 years, with no additional effect after 4 and 6 years. However, the total impact of the intervention was still statistically significant (P = 0.025) after 6 years and no excess cases were observed in the SDR arm at a later stage. The intervention prevented leprosy in contacts that actually received SDR, but did not offer protection to members of the same contact group who did not take chemoprophylaxis. The intervention was most effective in contact groups of female index patients, an enhanced effect was also observed in contact groups of patients belonging to a cluster of two or more leprosy patients at intake as well.

CONCLUSION
These easy to recognise patient characteristics indicate a possible enhanced risk of transmission of Mycobacterium leprae to contacts in the vicinity of patients and are useful for deciding about preventive measures, such as early detection or chemoprophylaxis.


In a series of interviews from 1964-1965, Mai Rutledge Smith details her time at Winthrop as a student and the wife of Winthrop's first President, David Bancroft Johnson. Smith recalls the receptions held at the President's House and the efforts of President Johnson to expand Winthrop. Smith recounts details of the interesting people Winthrop has hosted over the years and the lasting impressions they made on her. Included in this interview are more personal details of Smith's family, their personalities, and her impressions of President Johnson's mother, Margaret Nance. The interview concludes with Smith comparing Old Winthrop to the new. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.


The present study describes a new species of myxosporean, Ellipsomyxa ariusi sp. nov., infecting the gallbladder of the threadfin sea catfish Arius arius (Hamilton, 1822). E. ariusi sp. nov. is characterized by bivalvular, ellipsoid or elongate-oval myxospores with smooth spore valves and a straight suture, arranged at an angle to the longitudinal spore axis. Mature myxospores measured 10.1 ± 0.8 µm in length, 6.8 ± 0.5 µm in width and 7.7 ± 0.7 µm in thickness. Polar capsules are equal in size and oval to pyriform in shape. They are positioned at an angle to the longitudinal myxospore axis and open in opposite directions. Polar capsules measured 2.8 ± 0.3 µm in length and 2.5 ± 0.4 µm in width; polar filaments formed 4-5 coils, and extended to 32.2 ± 2.1 µm in length. Monosporic and disporic plasmodial stages attached to the wall of gallbladder. Molecular analysis of the type specimen generated a 1703 bp partial SSU rDNA sequence (MN892546), which was identical to the isolates from 3 other locations. In phylogenetic analyses, genus Ellipsomyxa appeared monophyletic and E. ariusi sp. nov. occupied an independent position in maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference trees with high bootstrap values. The overall prevalence of infection was 54.8% and multiway ANOVA revealed that it varied significantly with location, year, season, sex and size of the fish host. Histopathological changes associated with E. ariusi sp. nov. infection included swelling, vacuolation and detachment of epithelial layer, reduced mucus production and altered consistency and colour of bile. Based on the morphologic, morphometric and molecular differences with known species of Ellipsomyxa, and considering differences in host and geographic locations, the present species is treated as new and the name Ellipsomyxa ariusi sp. nov. is proposed.


For nearly two years, the two of us have had a running discussion of the costs and benefits of automatic stays in bankruptcy for qualified financial contracts (QFCs) such as derivatives and repurchase agreements, particularly those held by systemically important major dealer banks. Under current U.S. bankruptcy law, these contracts are exempted from the automatic stay. The advantages and disadvantages of this treatment have been a matter of significant debate for the past decade, particularly since the 2008 crisis. After some background on QFCs and automatic stays, we provide our joint analysis of the costs and benefits of stays on the QFCs, with a focus on systemically important financial institutions, including the special case of central market utilities. Following this, we state our respective policy conclusions. Briefly speaking, we both believe that repos (and certain closely related QFCs) that are backed by liquid securities should be exempt from automatic stays, or receive an effectively similar treatment. Repos backed by illiquid assets, on the other hand, should not be given this safe harbor. We both believe that derivatives that have not been centrally cleared should be subject to automatic stays. One of us believes that stays should also apply to cleared derivatives. The other author favors an exemption of cleared derivatives from stays, except in the case of a failure of a regulated central clearing party.


Will Kymlicka, Politics in the Vernacular.- Nationalism, Multiculturalism, and Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 240 pages. $65.00 cloth; $18.95 paper. Bikhu Parekh, Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory. New York: Palgrave, 2000. xii + 344 pages. $45.00 cloth; $19.95 paper. I. In a volume focused on adoption it may seem odd to be reviewing books that make no explicit mention of children, much less adoption. The books discussed here, Will Kymlicka's (2001) Politics in the Vernacular: Nationalism, Multiculturalism, and Citizenship, and Bikhu Parekh's (2000) Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory, are recent additions to the debate over multiculturalism. Growing out of both communitarian and post-colonial critiques of liberalism over the past 30 years, this debate has developed a number of distinct strands. For purposes here, however, it may be characterized as a discussion around the broad issue of whether and to what extent cultural groups may demand legal recognition, protection, and accommodation for what might be loosely termed "cultural rights." The debate has gained prominence in the past two decades as aboriginal groups and a number of disadvantaged cultural minorities have worked to secure recognition and respect for cultural identities and cultural practices in both domestic and international human rights arenas. Every contemporary nation-state is grappling with the problem of creating stability in plural societies. Each must come to terms with the need to create conditions under which diverse groups can participate and flourish while ensuring that the whole has sufficient unity and commonality to endure as a social and political unit. With this end in mind, both Kymlicka and Parekh seek to develop a political theory of multiculturalism that envisions a politics attentive to the fact of cultural difference. Both are centrally concerned with the capacity of modern nationstates to move from assimilationist to more genuinely plural and inclusive practices. Kynlicka approaches the issue as a liberal; his book is chiefly concerned with convincing his (largely liberal) critics that recognizing group rights and group identities is not only consistent with, but furthers, such primary liberal values as individual autonomy, and that this liberal multicultural framework enhances democratic practices in general. Parekh, on the other hand, worries that an expressly liberal theory cannot be genuinely multicultural because it will always devalue nonliberal cultures. His effort, therefore, is to introduce a dialogic model of multiculturalism that will protect the integrity and existence of both liberal and nonliberal cultural groups within a given national community. Both books, in essence, argue for reconstructing nation-states along looser, less culturally homogeneous axes. Focused as the books are on the meta-questions of nationbuilding, this debate may appear to have little bearing on issues arising out of regulating the family, particularly adoption. However, in the multiculturalism debate writ large, children, although rarely acknowledged, figure prominently. Many of the rights sought are critically tied to children, to whom distinct ways of seeing, speaking, and belonging must be passed if a cultural group is to maintain its integrity and cohesion. For many disadvantaged groups, the task is not only to protect a set of existing cultural understandings but also to revive cultural understandings that have been displaced or obliterated by dominant cultures. In addition, for groups whose members have been scattered and (more or less) assimilated into a dominant culture, there may be a strong imperative to gather the diaspora of a community. The questions surrounding the recognition of cultural identity and securing that identity with legally cognizable rights are thus grounded in more fundamental questions about how the boundaries of individual and communal belonging are imagined in theory and effected in law and public policy. …


The past decade has seen a drive to give all pupils the opportunity to study a Modern Foreign Language (MFL) in schools in England, making the teaching and learning of foreign languages part of the primary school curriculum. The Languages for All: Languages for Life (DfES, 2002) policy was introduced through the National Languages Strategy with an objective to increase the nation's language capability. Raising the educational standard for all pupils is another government initiative with a strong emphasis on inclusion. As the Languages for All policy stresses the importance and benefits of language learning, and inclusion suggests equality and provision for all, this study examines the inclusion of all key stage 2 pupils in foreign language learning and describes perceptions and experiences of pupils, particularly those identified as having special educational needs (SEN) in their performances and negotiations in learning French. As a small scale, qualitative and ethnographically informed, this research is based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews with pupils, teachers of French, teaching assistants and parents. This study draws upon Nussbaum's capabilities approach and Bourdieu's concepts as theoretical foundations to analyse the 'inclusive' French classroom. As the capabilities approach takes people as ends not means, and goes beyond a focus on resources, it lends itself to critical thinking on issues around inclusion in education. In this context, this researcher investigates the experiences of pupils who struggle with foreign language learning because of their abilities or disabilities, and frames the discussion around the capabilities approach. The study also focuses on motivation and identity in foreign language learning, and draws upon Bourdieu's concepts of capital, habitus and field to analyse how the participants make sense of and respond to their own circumstances in relation to their performances in the language learning process. This research thus considers Bourdieu's concepts for a deeper understanding of issues of inequality in learning French and takes up Nussbaum's insight that pupils may differ in what learning French means to them, and it is not how they differ, but the difference between their capability to choose and achieve what they value that should matter. The findings indicate that although, initially, the French classroom appears 'inclusive' due to the provision and practices of inclusion, a closer look shows it to be exclusionary. In addition, responses from the participants on the usefulness and benefits of foreign language learning are contradictory to the objectives of the Languages for All policy, illustrating the complexity of the 'inclusive' MFL classroom. This research concludes that structural and interpersonal practices of inclusion contribute to the disguising of exclusion in a classroom deemed 'inclusive'. Implications are that an understanding and consideration of other aspect of life such as well-being, interests, needs and values should form a necessary part of the language policy.


In order to support ageing in place for elderly people, technologies and services for home environments need to be developed. An intervention mechanism is proposed in this paper in a smart home environment to provide reminders to assist elderly inhabitants to complete activities of daily living (ADL). The situation of multiple inhabitants in a single smart environment is addressed. A probabilistic learning approach is proposed to characterise inhabitants' behavioural patterns, learned from summary activities collected during a period. Activity reasoning can then be carried out given partially observed low-level sensor information. Decision support is used to monitor inhabitants' activities and thus to assist the completion of tasks if necessary. Personalised reminders at various levels of detail can be delivered based on individual need and preference. Appropriate thresholds are learned to be used to ensure delivery of predictions for which confidence is high, to avoid confusing inhabitants with incorrect reminders. The potential of our approach to support assistive living and home-health monitoring of elder patients is demonstrated.


Abstract: In this Essay, the role of social media in progressive political change is examined in the context of the Arab Spring uprisings. The concept of social media is explained, and Clay Shirky's arguments for and Malcolm Gladwell's arguments against the importance of social media in revolutions are analyzed. An account of the Arab Spring (to date) is then given, including the apparent role of social media. Evgeny Morozov's arguments are then outlined, including his contentions that social media and the Internet can be tools of oppression rather than emancipation, and spreaders of hate and propaganda rather than tolerance and democracy. The United States' policy on Internet freedom is also critiqued. Finally, the role, responsibility, and accountability of social media companies in facilitating revolution are discussed.IntroductionIn early 2011, revolutionary fervor spread across the Arab world. Unarmed and largely peaceful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt overthrew long-standing dictators, and unprecedented protests arose in most other Arab States. Violent protests erupted in Libya, sparking a civil war be- tween the government and armed rebels. With the aid of an interna- tional coalition, the rebels overthrew longtime Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011. At the time of writing, the future of the uprisings in Yemen and Syria remains uncertain. Protests spread be- yond the Arab world to States as diverse as Uganda,1 Israel,2 and Spain.3 The role of social media in these uprisings has been lauded, and the term 'Twitter Revolutions" has become ubiquitous.Does social media really deserve the plaudits it has received? After all, popular revolutions overthrew brutal governments long before the advent of Web 2.0: Iranians overthrew the Shah in 1979, Filipinos over- threw President Marcos in 1986, Communist bloc States in Eastern Eu- rope crumbled one by one in 1989, and huge demonstrations precipi- tated the fall of Indonesia's President Suharto in 1998. Vast numbers of Westerners are engaged with social media; is it possible that we are nar- cissistically trying to inject ourselves into the picture? In this Essay, I will examine the phenomenon of social media and its role in promoting and prompting progressive political change, particularly in autocratic States.I. What is Social Media?Social media is defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content."4 "Web 2.0" refers to Internet platforms that allow for interactive partici- pation by users.5 "User generated content" is the name for all of the ways in which people may use social media.6 The Organization for Eco- nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) specifies three criteria for content to be classified as "user generated:" (1) it should be avail- able on a publicly accessible website or on a social networking site that is available to a select group, (2) it entails a minimum amount of crea- tive effort, and (3) it is "created outside of professional routines and practices."7 Although purely commercial websites are excluded under this definition, interactive blogs run by firms are included because the conversation generated therein extends beyond the purely commercial. Emails and text messages are also excluded from the definition because they are not available via websites or social networks. Nevertheless, mass texting (or mass emailing) operates in a manner similar to social net- working sites by facilitating the immediate distribution of information, including information from social media sites, to a large audience in a form that is easily re-transmittable.There are different types of social media: collaborative projects, virtual worlds,8 blogs, content communities, and social networking.9 Collaborative projects involve people working together to create con- tent; Wikipedia is the most famous example of these. …


Purpose: Combination therapy with an α-1-adrenergic blocker and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is) has shown improvements in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) with negligible side effects. Nonetheless, decisive advantages in symptom improvement were insufficient, and there were no clinical differences between long- or short-acting PDE5Is in combination with combination medication. Methods: To review the studies on α-1-adrenergic blocker monotherapy and combination therapy with long vs. short-acting PDE5Is in their use in LUTS and erectile dysfunction (ED). A search of the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed databases was conducted from 2000 to 2014 using combinations of the relevant terms. Among the 323 relevant references discovered, 10 were selected for meta-analysis. The data showed that 616 men received combination therapy (PDE5Is with α-1-adrenergic blockers) or α-1-adrenergic blocker monotherapy. Results: Meta-analysis of the combination therapy showed it was more effective than α-blockers in improving symptoms, with a mean International Prostrate Symptom Score change difference of –1.93 while those of the long- vs. short-acting PDE5I were –2.12 vs. –1.70. Compared to maximum flow rate (Qmax) value with monotherapy, the Qmax increased more with the combination therapy (mean difference of 0.71) while change values were 0.14 and 1.13 for the long- and short-acting PDE5Is, respectively. Residual urine decreased more with the combination therapy than it did with α-1-adrenergic blocker monotherapy with a mean difference of –7.09 while the mean residual urine change values for long- vs. short-acting PDE5Is were –18.83 vs. –5.93. The International Index of Erectile Function value increased by 3.99, 2.85, and 4.85 following combination therapy, and therapy with long- and short-acting PDE5Is. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggests that PDE5Is can significantly improve LUTS in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia/ED. Furthermore, combination PDE5I and α-1-adrenergic blocker could be a more effective treatment than α-1-adrenergic blocker monotherapy, and the differences between long and short-acting agents were minimal.


This article reviews the state of regulatory takings law after Palazzolo, with particular attention to controls on environmentally sensitive land. Part II briefly examines regulatory takings law prior to Palazzolo, first discussing development of the two-prong takings test currently used by the Court and then analyzing how the issue of notice of restrictions had been handled prior to Palazzolo. Part III then examines Palazzolo itself, focusing primarily on the central issue of notice. It demonstrates how the Palazzolo Court rejected a notice preclusion rule, predicated on two rationales: (1) regulations that are takings when enacted cannot become valid by the mere passage of time; and (2) rejection of a notice rule was necessary to protect a prior owner's right to transfer. These rationales suggest the rights of a purchaser of land taken with notice of a regulation are derived from constitutional claims of predecessors, and must be analyzed from that perspective. Parts IV and V examine the status of regulatory taking claims after Palazzolo. Part IV discusses the Lucas categorical taking standard in light of Palazzolo. Palazzolo affirms the more extreme nature of this type of taking, with the focus on remaining economic potential rather than on lost development opportunities. Thus, courts should find a taking only in very rare circumstances. This part also demonstrates that concerns voiced by some that rejection of a notice rule will permit landowners to "strategically manufacture" Lucas type claims, are unfounded. Finally, Part V explores the status of Penn Central takings after Palazzolo. After briefly discussing the Penn Central standard, the section examines three basic regulatory scenarios reflecting development potential at the time of investment and at the time of regulation: (1) where there is low development potential both when the property is acquired and regulated; (2) where there is low development potential when property is acquired, but the development potential of the land, along with its value, rises significantly prior to regulation; and (3) where someone purchases property at a price reflecting permitted development opportunities, which is then down-zoned resulting in substantial economic loss. This article argues that takings under Penn Central should never occur under the first scenario and only rarely under the second. Even the third scenario, which presents the strongest case for a taking under Penn Central, will usually not rise to the level of an unconstitutional taking. In such situations the Court has noted that landowners must anticipate newly enacted restrictions that will diminish land values, which necessarily form the reasonableness of any investment-backed expectations landowners have. For that reason, courts have typically required diminution in value of a property far exceeding fifty percent, and closer to ninety percent, before takings are found.


A celebration of the timeless act of reading - as seen through the lens of one of the world's most beloved photographers Young or old, rich or poor, engaged in the sacred or the secular, people everywhere read. This homage to the beauty and seductiveness of reading brings together a collection of photographs taken by Steve McCurry over his nearly four decades of travel and is introduced by award-winning writer, Paul Theroux. McCurry's mesmerizing images of the universal human act of reading are an acknowledgement of - and a tribute to - the overwhelming power of the written word.


ARTIST TALK
with Lydia Balke, Martin Eder, Bernhard Martin and Dawn Mellor
moderated by Bettina Steinbrugge

There is hardly any other art genre as heavily confronted with contradictions, prejudices and cliches as painting. Year after year, its end is proclaimed, while every three years its new energy is celebrated, and in the midst of all discussions, paintings achieve record-breaking prices at international art fairs and auctions, as if nothing ever happened. It seems like painting has become an anachronism of itself. In our fast moving and accumulative world, painting positions itself diametrically, for its process of updating requires long periods of time, dialogues with history, and feedback loops.

With the exhibition Malerei, bose (Painting, evil), the Kunstverein in Hamburg initiates a critical debate on painting's subversive potential. The exhibition focuses on artworks using the medium's manifold inscriptions to challenge aesthetical and moral concepts, using exaggeration, overload, kitsch, irony and violence, as well as a playful treatment of preconceptions. At first appearance these paintings may seem enticing, but on second sight they reveal an abyss. Some in large scale, others hardly bigger than a sheet of paper, either playful or serious, they all have one thing in common: they speak a distinct language which may offend the beholder.

This exhibition seeks to contrast the recent tendency of survey exhibitions circling around painting itself. Questions about what the medium is or still can be are dominant, instead of analyzing its actual contents. Lately, the theoretical discourse and exhibitions have created the impression as if there are deep insecurities in coping with the medium. The representation of contemporary painting seems to be stuck in a crisis – at least in context of institutional exhibitions.

There lies a special potential for subversion in painting as the most accessible art genre. As opposed to an installation, for example, a painting is not assumed to be complicated, per se. A picture is easily ascertainable for the human eye, as it does not require much movement in space and corresponds with our optical perception. Therefore the information supplied can be processed promptly. Based on this familiarity, we develop faith. We trust in not being attacked, startled or offended by painting.

And precisely that confidence provides ideal circumstances for the exhibited artist to create tension. The prematurely and inconsiderately developed faith of the spectator is consequently broken, undermined and frustrated. Thus, the artworks in the exhibition earn the adjective "evil" by ambushing us with their content. But evil has no quality in itself. It appears as a categorical attribution when we have absolutely no chance to sympathize with our vis-a-vis. However, the question is whether this objection is necessarily justified by a categorical moral instance. Aren't we obliged to question our thinking, our acting and our ideas when confronted with the maximum divergence from everything we consider as "good"? In this moment of hesitation, the painting reveals its power. The artworks shown in the exhibition Malerei, bose (Painting, evil) compel us to questions our morals and beliefs. It becomes clear that all prevalent normative attributions and inscriptions reflect only our cultural convictions, which are highly debatable.


This paper proposes a general framework of space-time-frequency codes (STFCs) for multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) ultra-wide band (UWB) communications systems. A great similarity between the STFC MB-OFDM UWB systems and conventional wireless complex orthogonal space-time block code (CO STBC) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems is discovered. This allows us to quantify the pairwise error probability (PEP) of the proposed system and derive the general decoding method for the implemented STFCs. Based on the theoretical analysis results of PEP, we can further quantify the diversity order and coding gain of MB-OFDM UWB systems, and derive the design criteria for STFCs, namely diversity gain criterion and coding gain criterion. The maximum achievable diversity order is found to be the product of the number of transmit antennas, the number of receive antennas, and the FFT size. We also show that all STFCs constructed based on the conventional CO STBCs can satisfy the diversity gain criterion. Various baseband simulation results are shown for the Alamouti code and a code of order 8. Simulation results indicate the significant improvement achieved in the proposed STFC MB-OFDM UWB systems, compared to the conventional MB-OFDM UWB ones.


Abstract Source-to-sink system analysis, a cutting-edge topic in the field of earth science, encompasses the whole system, from erosion and transportation to sediment accumulation on the earth's surface, and involves multidisciplinary collaboration. This current analysis, based on high-precision 3D seismic data, well logs, and other drilling data, using quantitative characterization of the source-to-sink elements, documents that Archean-Proterozoic migmatitic granite, Cambrian-Ordovician carbonate and clastic rocks, and Mesozoic volcaniclastic rocks are developed in the Shaleitian uplift from south to north across large relief differences (up to 2300 m). The relief and size of the catchment in the source area were calculated by denudation recovery, time-depth conversion and high-resolution interpretation on seismic data. Three types of sediment-transporting channel system and 20 catchment areas ( 2094 km 2 ) were documented around the edges of the uplift: paleovalley channels, fault-controlled channels, and fault-transfer channels. The Paleogene sink is dominated by near-source coarse-grained depositional systems, with the lithofacies characteristics of low lake level (sand rich), lake transgressive (mud rich), and uplift period (sand rich). Three types of boundary conditions developed in the region of the Shaleitian uplift: fault-related steep-slopes (single or multiple), fault ramps, and slope patterns. The bedrock composition, catchment area, channel systems, and fault-border patterns in the Shaleitian uplift jointly controlled the types and scales of sedimentary sandbodies. The south Shaleitian tectonic zone functioned as a high-efficiency coupling system in which reservoir sandbodies were developed (extensive length distance, with well-sorted and round-grained sediments, but weak physical properties). The coupling system for the southwest and west Shaleitian tectonic zones is subordinate (near source and sand rich, sand and mud interbedded, and weak physical properties). The coupling system of the northeast Shaleitian tectonic zone is lowest in efficiency (relatively mud rich).


This paper aims to analyze the QoS performance of two main technology mechanisms, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Differentiated Services (DS). The introduction of both mechanisms to support throughput and delay sensitive real-time media traffic will have an impact on critical applications with respect to QoS and traffic engineering. MPLS is a traffic forwarding mechanism that allows traffic to use multiple paths and DS is a mechanism that provides for aggregate traffic to be classified and conditioned at the edge of the network routers. The two modeled techniques and their performance will be evaluated with respect to their end-to-end delay. The QoS will be incorporated in both the MPLS and DS mechanisms while preserving the efficiencies of the backbone structure of the Internet, and also the performance is compared with the existing IP routing algorithms.


There are few approaches available for the precise and sensitive quantification of proteins. Clinical chemists have relied on immunoassays, but these have significant limitations. Immuno-based strategies require access to antibodies and when these are not available, development time, cost and complexity can be substantial. Further, antibody specificity can limit assay performance. For example, antibodies may not deliver sufficient selectivity to allow independent quantification of all biologically relevant protein variants.Recent attention has been focussed on mass spectrometric approaches, most notably peptide centric strategies. These begin with sequence specific enzymatic cleavage of proteins to peptides, and subsequent proteotypic peptide quantification, usually by multiple reaction monitoring performed on a triple quadropole mass spectrometer. This approach eliminates the requirement for antibodies and consequently, assay development time is reduced markedly. Nevertheless, the requirement for enzyme-specific proteolysis can itself compromise assay performance parameters, especially specificity.A third option for protein quantification is MALDI mass analysis of intact proteins. However this strategy must be combined with reproducible and efficient sample clean-up, ideally incorporating some sort of target protein concentration. For example, immuno-based isolation strategies combined with MALDI allow rapid, sensitive and isoform specific quantification. To demonstrate the utility of these approaches we have determined serum amyloid A (SAA) in human plasma samples collected from several groups of subjects where there is reportedly a marked elevation in the levels of this acute phase reactant.Figure 1 (top) shows the average MALDI mass spectrum of all samples following immune-affinity clean-up of SAA. Significant heterogeneity in SAA is evident and arises because of genetic variability, truncations and other non-enzymatic and enzymatic modifications. This heterogeneity confounds attempts to precisely and accurately measure SAA(s) either by ELISA, or without special attention to the selection of the proteolytic peptides, by peptide centric approaches.


The purpose of this study was (a) to describe the snatch technique in terms of kinematic and external and internal kinetic parameters, and (b) to compare the results for athletes of different groups and weight categories. By means of three-dimensional film analysis and measurements of ground reaction forces during the 1985 World Championships in Sweden, it was possible to analyze the spatial movements and to calculate joint moments of force in each leg. Concerning the kinematics, a snatch technique starting with a strong pull toward the lifter could be established. The most interesting kinetic results are that the knee joint moments are relatively small (one third of the hip joint moments of force) and do not correlate very well with the total load. The best lifters seem able to limit the knee joint moment by precise control of the knee position with respect to the ground reaction force. Altogether, the results concerning the internal kinetic parameters question the logic of the classical division of the ...


A reduced cancer risk associated with fruit and vegetable phytochemicals initially dictated chemopreventive approaches focused on specific green variety consumption or even single nutrient supplementations. However, these strategies not only failed to provide any health benefits but gave rise to detrimental effects. In parallel, public-health chemoprevention programmes were developed in the USA and Europe to increase whole vegetable consumption. Among these, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sponsored plan "5 to 9 a day for a better health" was one of the most popular. This campaign promoted wide food choice through the consumption of at least 5 to 9 servings a day of colourful fruits and vegetables.
In this study the effects of the diet suggested by NCI on transcription, translation and catalytic activity of both xenobiotic metabolizing (XME) and antioxidant enzymes were studied in the animal model. In fact, the boost of both antioxidant defences and "good" phase-II together with down-regulation of "bad" phase-I XMEs is still considered one of the most widely-used strategies of cancer control.
Six male Sprague Dawley rats for each treatment group were used. According to the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, a serving of fruit, vegetables and leafy greens corresponds to 150, 250 and 50 g, respectively, in a 70 kg man. Proportionally, rats received one or five servings of lyophilized onion, tomato, peach, black grape or lettuce – for white, red, yellow, violet or green diet, respectively - or five servings of each green ("5 a day" diet) by oral gavage daily for 10 consecutive days. Liver subcellular fractions were tested for various cytochrome P450 (CYP) linked-monooxygenases, phase-II supported XMEs such as glutathione S-transferase (GST) and UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UDPGT) as well as for some antioxidant enzymes. Hepatic transcriptional and translational effects were evaluated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analysis, respectively. dROMs test was used to measure plasmatic oxidative stress. Routine haematochemical parameters were also monitored.
While the five servings administration didn't significantly vary XME catalytic activity, the lower dose caused a complex pattern of CYP inactivation with lettuce exerting particularly strong effects (a loss of up to 43% and 45% for CYP content and CYP2B1/2-linked XME, respectively; P<0.01). "5 a day" supplementation produced the most pronounced modulations (a loss of up to 60% for CYP2E1-linked XME and a reduction of CYP content of 54%; P<0.01). Testosterone hydroxylase activity confirmed these results. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis revealed that the "5 a day" diet XMEs inactivations were a result of both a transcriptional and a translational effect while lettuce didn't exert such effects. All administrations brought out none or fewer modulation of phase-II supported XMEs. Apart from "5 a day" supplementation and the single serving of lettuce, which strongly induced DT- diaphorase (an increase of up to 141 and 171%, respectively; P<0.01), antioxidant enzymes were not significantly changed. RT-PCR analysis confirmed DT-diaphorase induction brought about by the administration of both "5 a day" diet and a single serving of lettuce. Furthermore, it unmasked a similar result for heme-oxygenase. dROMs test provided insight into a condition of high systemic oxidative stress as a consequence of animal diet supplementation with "5 a day" diet and a single serving of lettuce (an increase of up to 600% and 900%, respectively; P<0.01). Haematochemical parameters were mildly affected by such dietary manipulations.
According to the classical chemopreventive theory, these results could be of particular relevance. In fact, even if antioxidant enzymes were only mildly affected, the phase-I inactivating ability of these vegetables would be a worthy strategy to cancer control. However, the recorded systemic considerable amount of reactive oxygen species and the complexity of these enzymes and their functions suggest caution in the widespread use of vegan/vegetarian diets as human chemopreventive strategies. In fact, recent literature rather suggests that only diets rich in fruits and vegetables and poor in certain types of fat, together with moderate caloric intake, could be associated with reduced cancer risk.


Financial anomalies have been studied in the United States. Recent evidence suggests that financial anomalies have diminished in the United States and possibly in non-US portfolios. Have the anomalies changed, or are they persistent? Have historical and earnings forecasting data been a consistent, and highly statistically significant, source of excess returns? The authors test many financial anomalies of the 1980s and 1990s and report that several models and strategies continue to produce statistically significant excess returns. The authors test a large set in US and non-US markets over the past 25 years. They report that many of these fundamentals, earnings forecasts, revisions, and breadth and momentum strategies maintained their statistical significance during the 1996–2020 time period. Moreover, the earnings forecasting model and robust regression estimated composite model excess returns are greater in non-US and global markets than in US markets. TOPICS: Security analysis and valuation, global markets, statistical methods, performance measurement Key Findings ▪ The authors verify the continuity of financial anomalies in the post-publication period. ▪ The authors use composite modeling methodology to estimate expected returns. ▪ The authors use robust regression to address the outliers and issues in the data.


In this study, a non-Newtonian, transient, isothermal, mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model is proposed for helical gear contacts. The model accounts for nonelliptical contacts subject to spatially varying sliding and rolling velocity fields that are not aligned with any principal axis of the contact region, which is the case for helical gear contacts. The time-varying changes pertaining to key contact parameters and relative motion of roughness profiles on mating tooth surfaces are captured simultaneously to follow the contact from the root to the tip of a tooth while accounting for the transient effect due to relative motions of the roughness profiles. Actual tooth load distributions, contact kinematics, and compliances of helical gear contacts are provided to this model by an existing helical gear load distribution model. Measured three-dimensional roughness profiles covering the entire meshing zone are incorporated in the analyses to investigate its impact on the EHL conditions as well as mechanical power loss. Results of a parametric sensitivity study are presented to demonstrate the influence of operating conditions and surface roughness on the EHL behavior and the resultant gear mesh mechanical power loss of an example helical gear pair. The accuracy of the proposed mixed-EHL model is assessed by comparing the mechanical power loss predictions to available experimental results.


In contemporary scientific research, standard-making and standardization are key processes for the sharing and reuse of data. The goals of this paper are twofold: 1) to stress that collaboration is crucial to standard-making, and 2) to urge recognition of metadata standardization as part of the scientific process. To achieve these goals, a participatory framework for developing and implementing scientific metadata standards is presented. We highlight the need for ongoing, open dialogue within and among research communities at multiple levels. Using the Long Term Ecological Research network adoption of the Ecological Metadata Language as a case example in the natural sciences, we illustrate how a participatory framework addresses the need for active coordination of the evolution of scientific metadata standards. The participatory framework is contrasted with a hierarchical framework to underscore how the development of scientific standards is a dynamic and continuing process. The roles played by 'best practices' and 'working standards' are identified in relation to the process of standardization.


This paper analyses the visual frames of refugees and migrants that predominate in the media agenda of the main Western European countries, based on the study of the four levels of visual framing proposed by Rodríguez and Dimitrova [1]. The main objective is to identify the typology of symbolic frames that are most frequently transmitted in Western European media during the Mediterranean migration crisis, as well as the elements and attributes of denotative and stylistic nature that make up each of these frames. To this end, content analysis has been used as a methodological frame. The resulting findings offer a global vision of the visual treatment that the main European media are doing about the crisis, and how they mainly represent refugees and migrants. The analysis focuses on the four main and major news frames on displaced persons: normalization, victimization, burden and threat. The findings indicate that a typology of visual frames that represent the refugee and/or migrant as a victim, sufferer and in need, predominates in all media and countries. However, it has been found that the two frames of the most negative tendency, those that represent those subjects as a possible burden and/or threat to Western societies, surpass the other two frames in frequency. On the other hand, the denotative elements that contain each one of the symbolic frames are compared to know how they are constructed or what attributes conform in a specific way a type of framing or representation. In this regard, it has been found that displaced children and women tend to appear more frequently in normalization and victimization frames, while men and young people or adults appear more frequently in the burden and threat frames, usually in large groups of people that seems to be a mass, and showing religious elements and symbols.


Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention? To the curious incident of the investment in the market. The agent did nothing in the market. That was the curious incident. (with apologies to Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle.) In this paper we study an optimal timing problem for the sale of a non-traded real asset. We solve this problem for a risk-averse manager under two scenarios: firstly when the manager has access to no other investment opportunities, and secondly when he may also invest in a continuously traded financial asset. We construct the model such that the financial asset has zero risk premium and thus represents a fair gamble, and such that it is uncorrelated with the real asset, so that it is not useful for hedging. In the absence of the real asset, the manager would not include the financial asset in his optimal portfolio. Although the problem is designed such that naive intuition would imply that the optimal strategy is the same irrespective of whether the manager is allowed to invest in the financial asset or not, curiously we find that for certain parameter values this is not the case. Access to the fair gamble improves the manager's expected utility in some situations, and reduces the probability that the real asset is ever sold. Our work has implications for modeling of portfolio choice problems since seemingly extraneous assets can impact on optimal behavior.


The present work simulates and predicts the fatigue crack growth in the friction stir welded (FSW) joint of the 2024-T351 Al alloy. The simulation is used to estimate the fatigue life of this welded joint. The study is based on finite element method (FEM) and in the framework of Fracture Analysis Code for two-dimensional (FRANC2D/L), developed by Fracture Group of Cornell University. Fatigue crack behavior through the FSW joint is investigated under Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) using the Paris' model. The work concentrated on a stable crack propagation regime, the obtained fatigue life shows good agreement with experimental and analytical results. The present work incorporates a few different types of loading which are 1) the cyclic fatigue loading for the case of R= 0.1, 2) the longitudinal tensile residual stress, 3) the crack closure concept and 4) the residual stress relaxation phenomenon. In the current work the stress intensity factor is calculated by applying displacement correlation technique, which is based on calculating the displacement field around the crack tip. The maximum circumferential tensile stress method was used to predict the fatigue crack direction. In fact FRANC2D/L does not have the capacity to consider different Paris' constants for FSW zones and it predicts the crack propagation through the welded zones by considering the same values of Paris' constants. This work presents a strategy to investigate the crack growth based on the corresponding Paris' constants for each FSW zone. The numerical results are validated with the previous experimental and analytical work, which show a good agreement of 88% and 97%.


Commentators argue, with good reason, that flood risk polices are soft on retreat. We Americans are more interested in fortifying our castles or building them higher than in moving out of harm's way. And that is despite warnings of rising seas and stronger storms associated with climate change. But the impulse to stay put may be eroding. In particular, the practices and policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are gradually encouraging retreat over other alternatives. As one example, FEMA's current Mitigation Best Practice Database, the agency's new National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), now contemplates retreat mechanisms. For a while, Congress, too, beat the drums of retreat. The Biggert-Waters Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12), promised to remove important insurance subsidies for flood-prone homes, forcing some residents to consider relocation as a cost-saving option. Two years later, in response to public backlash, Congress repealed the law's strongest retreat-based incentives. Congress is expected to reform the insurance program once again by 2017.In this article, we consider retreat as a strategy of hazard-risk reduction, with reference to the developments in FEMA practice and legislation listed above. As the effects of climate increase the risks of floods and other extreme events, we also see FEMA's evolving retreat strategies as an important part of the nation's climate adaptation efforts. Unfortunately, initiatives like the new NDRF and Congress's insurance reforms are developing piecemeal, with blind spots large enough to drive a tornado through. We believe that policy makers would do better to have a set of principles to guide them when considering and implementing strategies that are intended or will have the effect of encouraging retreat. In particular, we think that Congress could have avoided the embarrassing failure of BW-12 if lawmakers had more fully recognized the complex issues at stake in retreat-based policies. One aim of our analysis is to suggest what a successful reform of the NFIP might look like, setting the foundation for more detailed conversations about flood insurance as the 2017 deadline approaches.


PROTECTION FROM AORTIC ANEURYSM BY BMAL1 DELETION FROM SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a devastating condition that occurs primarily among older people with high mortality when a rupture occurs. Currently there is no proven pharmacological therapy for AAA due to poor understanding of the underlying pathogenesis. The brain and muscle transcription factor ARNT-like (Bmal1), which is known to regulate circadian rhythm, has been implicated in vascular pathologies including atherosclerosis and vascular remodeling, but its role in AAA has not been explored. Vascular smooth muscle is a central player in aneurysm formation and development because it is critical in all three aortic aneurysm hallmark processes including (a) degradation of elastin and extracellular matrix protein, (b) loss of medium layer smooth muscle cells, and (c) intense inflammatory cell infiltration. Here we report that smooth muscle-selective deletion of brain and muscle Arntlike protein-1 (Bmal1) potently protected mice from AAA induced by mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) agonist deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) or Angiotensin II (ANG II) in the presence of high salt. Bmal1 was upregulated by DOCA-salt in the aorta. Moreover, deletion of Bmal1 in smooth muscle selectively upregulated tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 4 (TIMP4) and also abolished DOCA-salt-induced elastin degradation and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation. Mechanistically, Bmal1, when bound to TIMP4 promoter, suppressed the transcription of the promoter. Taken together, these results reveal an important but previously unexplored role of smooth muscle Bmal1 in DOCA plus salt-induced AAA. We suggest that TIMP4 constitutes a novel therapeutic target for AAA treatment.


This article discusses the idea that overt ver'ialization helps to develop children's self-regulated learning of cognitive skills. Verbalization man enhance children's attention to task relevant features. As a type of relearsal, verbalization may improve coding, storage, ,nd retention of material, and thereby facilitate subsequent retriecl and use. Verbalization can help children maintain a positive task outlook and cope with difficulties. Because verbalization makes salient a systematic approach for improving learning and children's ability to apply it, verbalization also can raise self-efficacy (perceived capabilities). Research is summarized that assesses the effects on children's learning due to verbalizing information to be remembered, modeled actions, and strategies. Future research needs to explore maintenance and generalization of systematic approaches to learning, verbalization of task-specific and general statements, and uses of verbaliz.tion in classrooms.


Metallurgists operating Knelson Concentrators (KC) often rely on manufacturers recommendations for selecting operating parameters, such as fluidising water flow rate and cycle time. Recent studies have shown that these parameters are not only dependent on the machine parameters but also on the feed characteristics, such as size distribution of the gold and gangue particles and the composition of its constituent minerals. It is known that a particle entering a KC initially traverses a circular path within the bowl. For a particle to maintain a given orbit, the required centripetal force must be supplied by external means. It has been argued that this centripetal force which is dependent on the mass of the particle, its radial position and the rotational speed of the bowl, is provided by the fluid drag force created by inwardly moving fluidising water and the Bagnold's force created by the particle/particle collisions. Depending on the fluidising water flow rate, one of two situations can occur where the porosity of the bed increases or decreases which influences the amount of material retained within the bowl. The amount of material of a given size and density retained in the bowl is thus dependent on the extent of the centripetal force provided. Based on the above concept, a criterion that can be used to predict the amount of material recovered in the bowl has been derived and validated by experimental data. It may also be construed that this criterion demarcates the transition of the bed from a packed-bed state to a fluidised state. By identifying the transition values for the different constituent mineral particles in the feed, it is possible to estimate the optimal fluidising water flow rate that would maximise gold recovery while minimising gangue recovery. In addition, the kinetics of gangue displacement by incoming heavy mineral particles were also studied using synthetic mineral mixtures. The experimental data suggests that this process follows first order kinetics and that the build-up of heavy mineral reaches a maximum. A model has been proposed to predict the optimal batch cycle time for a KC in terms of the feed characteristics and machine operating parameters.


The nested distance, also process distance, provides a quantitative measure of distance for stochastic processes. It is the crucial and determining distance for stochastic optimization problems. In this paper we demonstrate first that the empirical measure, which is built from observed sample paths, does not converge in nested distance to its underlying distribution. We show that smoothing convolutions, which are appropriately adapted from classical density estimation using kernels, can be employed to modify the empirical measure in order to obtain stochastic processes, which converge in nested distance to the underlying process. We employ the results to estimate transition probabilities at each time moment. Finally we construct processes with discrete sample space from observed empirical paths, which approximate well the original stochastic process as they converge in nested distance.


Since 2002, USDA's Rural Business and Industry (B&I) Loan Guarantee program has increased its emphasis on farm-related business activities associated with renewable energy, local/regional food, and value-added agriculture. Other new programs and program modifications also have focused on these and other farm activities and related industries, including the use of farm and ranch natural resources. This trend represents a relatively new direction for USDA's Rural Development programs, which have historically focused on nonfarm-related business. This report improves our understanding of the farm and farmer characteristics that may influence farm operator involvement in development-related activities, specifically by focusing on five farm activities: organic farming, value-added agriculture, direct marketing, agritourism, and energy/electricity production. The findings are based on descriptive data from USDA's 2007 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and estimates from logit models used to identify statistically significant factors associated with involvement in certain farm activities.