EVALUATION OF COAGULATION STUDIES DRAWN FROM HEPARINIZED ARTERIAL LINES By Lois J. Van Donselaar Drawing blood from indwelling heparinized arterial catheters is a common procedure in critical care units. The accuracy of coagulation studies drawn from heparinized arterial lines has been a source of controversy and divergent results of research studies. The discarding of blood to provide an uncontaminated specimen is a concern as a source of infection for health care workers. This study evaluates the accuracy of aPTT results drawn from the LabSite pressure tubing system which provides a closed system that eliminates blood discard. Blood was obtained from radial artery catheters connected to the Lab-Site system and compared to specimens obtained simultaneously, by venipuncture. The paired t-test indicated no significant difference between the arterial and venous samples. The Pearson product moment correlation of 0.619 indicated good correlation between arterial and venous values. The mean difference between the arterial and venous aPTT results was 1.49 seconds with S.D. of 3.925. The researcher concluded that accurate aPTT results can be obtained from heparinized arterial lines when specific procedures are followed.


The use of low cost local mineral substrates and nutrient solutions with the suitable chemical composition may be the alternative to maximize the production potential of cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The objective of this study was to evaluate substrates from the area of the State of Nayarit, Mexico in combination with nutritional solutions, on growth, nutritional content and cherry tomato production. The experimental design was completely randomized with two-factor arrangement. The factors were pumice and tezontle substrates and Steiner and Castellanos nutrient solutions, which originated four treatments with 11 repetitions where one of them was a plant with two stems. The variables plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, dry aerial part biomass, dry root biomass, fruit production per plant, soil plant analysis development (SPAD) units and leaf nutrient content (N, P and K) were determined. The results showed that Steiner nutritive solution increased fruit production and also growth evaluated in plant height, stem diameter and dry root biomass. The nutritional content of N, P and K was higher with Castellanos solution. In the pumice substrate, fruit production, plant growth and nutrient content were higher in relation to tezontle plants. The study concluded that pumice substrate in combination with Steiner nutritive solution was the most viable for cherry tomato, since it favored plant growth and fruit production.


DIMITROV, R., 2013. Ultrasonographic features of prostate gland in the domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 170-173 The prostate gland of ten sexually mature, healthy male white New Zealand rabbits at the age of 12 months, weighing 2.8 - 3.0 kg, was studied by ultrasonography. Following anesthesia, the urinary bladder was filled with physiological saline. The three glandular parts were observed only on the sagittal ultrasonographic plane. The proprostate and paraprostate parts were visualized as a solid, homogenous structure with a relatively higher echogenicity, as compared with the more caudally situated prostate part. On the transversal ultrasonographic plane, the whole prostate gland was seen as a solid, ovoid, heterogeneous and entirely hyperechoic structure. The sagittal and transversal ultrasonographic images of the postmortally extirpated prostate glands immersed in an isotonic liquid medium corresponded completely to the glandular findings observed in vivo. The results of our investigations motivated us to propose the use of the prepubic ultrasonography, with a filled urinary bladder, as a useful method for visualization of the rabbit prostate gland.


The spatial extent of lateral interaction was determined for nonoverlapping equal-energy stimuli in a metacontrast design with targets and masks of constant separation but varying width. The weighting functions derived from these data are wholly negative. Unlike previous estimates of spatial extent in metacontrast, based on experiments in which the separation between target and mask was varied, our weighting functions subtend only about 10′ of visual angle, for both monoptic and dichoptic observations. However, the weighting functions resemble those derived from a wide variety of other psychophysical procedures such as sensitization. The differences of estimates of weighting functions are interpreted in terms of two spatial-lateral-interaction systems. One of these systems may depend critically on the proximity of stimuli; the independence of the spatial extent of the system from target size suggests the involvement of an edge mechanism.


Network screening, a process for an effective and efficient management of road safety programs, relies on crash prediction techniques to quantify the relative risks of given sites. The two most commonly used statistical approaches arecross-sectional model-based approach and Empirical Bayesian (EB) approach as they are known for reducing regression-to-mean bias problem of a simple crash history-based method. Meanwhile, relatively the EB approach is known to be a robust technique as it accounts for a site-specific risk level while still incorporating the risk estimates obtained from a cross-sectional model. Common to both the approaches is they are relatively convenient to apply and easy to interpret due to a defined mathematical equation used to relate crashes and the potential explanatory variables. However, pre-specification of such relations are challenging as the true cause-effects are not known. One approach is to use trial and error process to select for the final relation. Nonetheless, potential misspecification may still remain which consequently could result in an inaccurate list of crash hotspots in a network screening process. As an alternative to model-based approach, this study applies kernel regression (KR), which is a data-driven nonparametric method. In addition, the KR method is extended in a similar framework of EB approach to account for site-specific risk levels. All these techniques when applied in a case study using crash data from Highway 401 of Ontario, Canada showed that some deviations exist between the methods, particularly when applied in the ranking of sites in a network screening process.


Simple enantioselective synthesis of 6,6-disubstituted pentafulvenes bearing chiral pendant hydroxy groups are attained by cascade reactivity using commercially available proline-based organocatalysts. Condensation of cyclopentadiene with the acetyl function of a 1,2-formylacetophenone, followed by cyclization of a resulting fulvene-stabilized carbanion with the formyl group, generates bicyclic chiral alcohols with initial er values up to 94:6. Exceptional enantio-enrichment of the resultant alcohols results upon crystallization-even near racemic samples spontaneously de-racemize. This enables new families of substituted cyclopentadienes that are both enantiomerically and diastereomerically pure to be rapidly attained.


Exploration is one of the core challenges in reinforcement learning. A common formulation of curiosity-driven exploration uses the difference between the real future and the future predicted by a learned model. However, predicting the future is an inherently difficult task which can be ill-posed in the face of stochasticity. In this paper, we introduce an alternative form of curiosity that rewards novel associations between different senses. Our approach exploits multiple modalities to provide a stronger signal for more efficient exploration. Our method is inspired by the fact that, for humans, both sight and sound play a critical role in exploration. We present results on several Atari environments and Habitat (a photorealistic navigation simulator), showing the benefits of using an audio-visual association model for intrinsically guiding learning agents in the absence of external rewards. For videos and code, see this https URL.


While it is generally agreed that the concept of homology refers to individuated traits that have been inherited from common ancestry, we still lack an adequate account of trait individuation or inheritance. Here I propose that we utilize a counterfactual criterion of causation to link each trait with a developmental-causal (DC) gene. A DC gene is made up of the genetic information (which might or might not be physically contiguous in the genome) that is needed for the production of the organismic attributes that comprise the trait. I argue that individuated traits—phenes—correspond to organismic features that are caused by DC genes. Using such an approach, we can define a DC map, which shows the relations between each pair of phenes and provides a succinct summary of genotype-phenotype relationships and phenotypic complexity. Phenes in parents and offspring are judged to be homologous if their DC genes are composed of orthologous genetic factors. When comparing more distantly related organisms, traits are homologous when linked by a chain of parent-offspring homologs along the path of ancestry that links the two organisms. There are three possible ways to deal with the potential for multiple equivalent DC genes: maximal, minimal, and consensus homology. Whereas maximal homology has limited utility, the other two approaches have value and can help to guide research at the intersection of evolution and development.


The successful regeneration of damaged or injured tissues is strictly dependent upon the ability to control angiogenesis. The formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones is mainly regulated by the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a mitogen specific for endothelial cells. A number of therapeutic approaches are being pursued to control this process in pathological conditions, including the use of synthetic peptides which have shown their capacity to either promote or inhibit angiogenesis. However, their lack of stability and short half-lives have strictly limited their clinical applications. To address these limitations, here, both anti- and pro- angiogenic peptide sequences (WHLPFKC and YIGSR) were synthesised at the uppermost branching generation of poly-ɛ-lysine dendrons.


Despite significant scientific and medical discoveries, the genetics of novel infectious diseases like COVID-19 remains far from understanding. SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded RNA respiratory virus that causes COVID-19 by binding to the ACE2 receptor in the lung and other organs. Understanding its clinical presentation and metabolomic and genetic profile will lead to the discovery of diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers, which may lead to more effective medical therapy. It is important to investigate correlations and overlap between reported diagnoses of a patient with COVID-19 in clinical data with identified germline and somatic mutations, and highly expressed genes from genomics data analysis. Timely model clinical, genomics and metabolomics data to find statistical patterns across millions of features to identify underlying biological pathways, modifiable risk factors and actionable information that supports early detection and prevention of COVID-19, and development of new therapies for better patient care. Next, ensuring security reconcile noise, need to build and train machine learning prognostic models to find actionable information that supports early detection and prevention of COVID-19. Based on the myriad data, applying appropriate machine learning algorithms to stratify patients, understand scenarios, optimise decision-making, identify high-risk rare variants (including ACE2, TMPRSS2) and making medically relevant predictions. Innovative and intelligent solutions are required to improve the traditional symptom-driven practice, and allow earlier interventions using predictive diagnostics and tailor better personalised treatments, when confronted with the challenges of pandemic situations.


The current study denotes the prediction of activity coefficients of fifteen natural phenols (tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, caffeic, cinnamic, p-coumaric, ferulic, gallic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-hydroxyphenyl acetic, protocatechuic, rosmarinic, sinapic, syringic, and vanillic acid) in seven solvents (water, ethanol, methanol, acetone, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and diethyl ether), and three extraction temperatures (298.15, 313.15, and 333.15 K), using the universal functional-group activity coefficient model. Solvents were classified for their ability to dissolve phenols and were compared with experimental data of the literature in order to observe if the solvent extraction of phenols in practice matches with the authors' theoretical approach. Results indicated the superiority of alcohols and acetone for the recovery of phenols in line with experimental data of previous studies. Furthermore, activity coefficients' values were found to increase with the increase of temperature. This study provided a knowledge base for the selection of the most appropriate solvents for a given phenolic compound.


Mobile robots gained lots of attention in the last decades. Because of its flexibility and increased capabilities of automation, mobile robots are used in many applications: from domotic, to search and rescue missions, to agriculture, environment protection and many more.
The main capability of mobile robots to accomplish a mission is the mobility in the work environment. To move in a certain environment the robots should achieve: guidance, navigation and control.
This thesis focuses on guidance and control of mobile robots, with application to certain classes of robots: Vertical Take Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (VTOL UAV) and Differential Wheel robots (DWR).
The contribution of this thesis is on modeling and control of the two classes of robots, and on novel strategies of combined control and motion planning for kinodynamic systems.
A new approach to model a class of multi-propeller VTOL is proposed, with the aim of generating a general model for a system as a composition of elementary modules such as actuators and payloads.
Two control law for VTOL vehicles and DWR are proposed. The goal of the first is to generate a simple yet powerful control to globally asymptotically stabilize a VTOL for acrobatic maneuvers. The second is a simple saturated input control law for trajectory tracking of a DWR model in 2D.
About planning, a novel approach to generate non-feasible trajectories for robots that still guarantees a correct path for kinodynamic planning is proposed. The goal is to reduce the runtime of planners to be used in real-time and realistic scenario. Moreover an innovative framework for mobile robots motion planning with the use of Discrete Event Systems theory is introduced.
The two proposed approaches allow to build a global, robust, real-time, quasi-optimal, kinodynamic planner suitable for replanning.


Preventing Infant Obesity - It's Never too Soon to Start
Obesity in early childhood tracks to later childhood, with associated risks for adverse outcomes such as heart disease evident as early as age 3. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10.4% of US children aged 2-5 years are obese (BMI for age ≥ 95th percentile). Remarkably, the rate for infants under age 2 is estimated to be even higher at 12.5%. Although an Expert Committee recently declined to recommend energy restriction as a means to reduce weight in infants, it is nevertheless true that overweight status in infancy carries its own co-morbidities.


This article outlines findings from a collaborative project with two partner organisations that focused on the initial and diagnostic assessment practice used by an Adult and Community Learning provider in the north-east of England. The findings highlight the need for change with regard to how initial assessment is conducted, and, as a result of this, we make suggestions as to how providers can ensure assessment is appropriate. The researchers found that the assessment tool used for diagnostic purposes is less important than the process of assessment. This action research explored learners' experience of assessment and makes recommendations for further changes to the assessment process.


Trichotillomania is characterized by repetitive hair pulling resulting in significant hair loss, distress, and social and/or occupational impairment. Co-occurring disorders are common among those with trichotillomania. Stress, emotional dysregulation, positive and negative reinforcement, and genetics have been explored as factors in the etiology of the disorder. Furthermore, animal models have been developed for investigating the possible development of trichotillomania, while brain imaging studies have provided evidence that several brain regions may be involved in trichotillomania. Psychological and pharmacological treatment data are incomplete, but behavioral therapy, N‑acetyl cysteine and olanzapine may be helpful for individuals with trichotillomania.


The transcription factors Sox1 and Pax6 are expressed sequentially during early mouse embryonic neurogenesis. Sox1 expression starts upon formation of neuroectoderm, whereas Pax6 is subsequently expressed in radial glial cells, the latter giving rise to most neurons of the cerebral cortex. Here we used mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to study the role of Sox1 and Pax6 in regulating differentiation of neural progenitors. For this purpose, we investigated the effect of overexpression and knockdown of Sox1 and Pax6, using three differentiation protocols. We show that (a) expression of Sox1 or Pax6 in uncommitted ES cells favored neuroectodermal lineage choice; (b) continuous Sox1 expression maintained cells at the neuroepithelial stage and prevented expression of Pax6 and other radial glial cell markers; (c) Sox1 knockdown facilitated exit from the progenitor stage, whereas Pax6 knockdown decreased formation of radial glia; (d) forced Pax6 expression in neuroepithelial cells triggered their differentiation into radial glia and neurons; and (e) Pax6 expression induced cell migration, a feature typical of radial glia‐derived early neurons. We conclude that Sox1 enhances neuroectodermal commitment and maintenance but blocks further differentiation. In contrast, Pax6 is involved in the progression of neuroectoderm toward radial glia. STEM CELLS 2009;27:49–58


It is believed that secondary school students often define design problems in the design coursework superficially due to various reasons such as lack of exposure, inexperience and the lack of research skills. Questioning techniques have long been associated with the development of critical thinking. Based on this context and assumption, the current study aimed to explore the use of questioning techniques to enable pre-tertiary students to improve their understanding of design problems by using questions to critique their thinking and decision-making processes and in turn, generate more effective design solutions. A qualitative approach is adopted in this study to identify the trajectories of students during design problem identification and clarification process. Using student design journals as a form of record for action and thoughts, they are analysed and supplemented by hearing survey with the teacher-in-charge. From the study, the following points can be concluded: 1) questions can be a useful tool to facilitate a better understanding of the design problem. 2) The process of identification and clarification of design problem is important in the development of critical thinking skills and social-emotional skills of the students. 3) It is important that students are given time and opportunity to find out the problems by themselves. 4) Teachers can be important role models as students may pick up questioning techniques from teacherstudent discussions. 5) Departmental reviews and built-in professional development time for weekly reviews on teaching and learning strategies are necessary for the continual improvement D&T education.


Industrial effluents containing heavy metals may consider a major source of contamination causes serious environmental problems. Decontamination of heavy metals from wastewater has been a challenged for a long time. A number of methods have been developed for removal of toxic metal ions from wastewaters such as precipitation, evaporation, electroplating, ion exchange, membrane processes, etc. However, these conventional technologies are providing expensive due to nonregenerable materials used, high cost and generation of toxic sludge. Biosorption is a process which represents a biotechnological innovation as well as a cost effective excellent tool for removing heavy metals from aqueous solutions. It represents a typical technique for using economical alternate biological materials for the purpose. Today, biosorption is one of the main components of environmental and bioresource technology. Application of microorganisms (specifically bacteria, algae, yeasts and fungi) as biosorbents for heavy metal removal have received growing interest due to high surface to volume ratio; large availability, rapid kinetics of adsorption and desorption and low cost. The aim of the present study is to review the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions using various materials of biological origin such as fungi, algae, yeast and bacterial biomass. This review discuss the significance of heavy metal removal from waste streams and provides brief overview of potential of biosorbents and biosorption technology, highlights the undelaying features of biosorption and the operation conditions such as pH, dose required, initial concentration, temperature, and treatment performance. Also sorption isotherms, sorption kinetics as well as models used to characterize biosorbent sorption are reviewed. KeywordsBiosorption; Adsorption; Heavy Metals; Wastewater; Fungi; Bacteria; Algae; Yeast


Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine details the whole scope of scientific knowledge in the medieval period in more than 300 A to Z entries. This resource discusses the research, application of knowledge, cultural and technology exchanges, experimentation, and achievements in the many disciplines related to science and technology. Coverage includes inventions, discoveries, concepts, places and fields of study, regions, and significant contributors to various fields of science. There are also entries on South-Central and East Asian science. This reference work provides an examination of medieval scientific tradition as well as an appreciation for the relationship between medieval science and the traditions it supplanted and those that replaced it. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages website.


Abstract In piezoelectric applications, especially when the devices are used as actuators, the piezoelectric materials are driven under large signals which cause a nonlinear behavior. One way to model the nonlinearities is by functional dependencies of the material parameters on the electric field strength or the mechanical strain, respectively. The focus lies in the inverse problem, namely the identification of the parameter curves by appropriate measurements of charge signals over time. The problem is assumed to be ill-posed, since in general measured data are contaminated with noise. The solution process requires regularizing methods where modified Landweber iterations are in the focus. Implementations of modified Landweber iterations, namely the steepest descent and minimal error method can be shown to perform much faster than classical Landweber iterations due to the flexible handling of the relaxation parameter. In our application, parameter curve identification in nonlinear piezoelectricity, the sought-for quantities require to be discretized. Therefore, an iterative multilevel algorithm as proposed by Scherzer [Numer.Math.: 579–600, 1998] is investigated where the iterations begin with coarse discretizations of the parameter curves profitting from the inherent regularization property of coarse discretization. At an advanced state of the iterations the algorithm switches according to an inner discrepancy principle to finer levels of discretization. By this, a sufficient smooth resolution of the sought-for quantities can be achieved. Convergence results and the regularizing property of such an iterative multilevel algorithm are proven. Numerical identification results are presented at the end of this article.


Freshwater scarcity is a critical challenge, with social, economic, political and environmental consequences. Water crises in Australia have already led to severe restrictions being applied in cities, drought ravaging farmlands, and the near-terminal decline of some rivers and wetlands.
A Water Story provides an account of Australian water management practices, set against important historical precedents and the contemporary experience of other countries. It describes the nature and distribution of the country's natural water resources, management of these resources by Indigenous Australians, the development of urban water supply, and support for pastoral activities and agricultural irrigation, with the aid of case studies and anecdotes. This is followed by discussion of the environmental consequences and current challenges of water management, including food supply, energy and climate change, along with options for ensuring sustainable, adequate high-quality water supplies for a growing population.
A Water Story is an important resource for water professionals and those with an interest in water and the environment and related issues, as well as students and the wider community.


We assess the optimality of investments in power grid innovation, under both technological options of Super and Smart Grids, using the WITCH model in the version that includes Super-Grids. Super Grids allow producing and trading of electricity generated by large scale concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in highly productive areas that are connected to the demand centres through High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables. We extend the model to include also Smart-Grids that allow: i) to increase the share of renewable power manageable by the power network, ii) to reduce the costs of customer relationships via Smart Meters; iii) residential consumer to generate electricity via micro-photovoltaic plants, and iv) residential consumer to generate virtual electricity via consumption management. We find that it becomes optimal to invest in grid innovation, in order to start gaining the management benefits and taking advantage of consumer generating opportunities (of electricity and "nega-watts"), starting in 2010 and to exploit the increased possible penetration of renewable energy sources from 2035. Long-distance CSP generation becomes optimal only from 2040, and trade from 2050; but it reaches very high shares in the second half of the century, especially when penetration limits are imposed on nuclear power and on carbon capture and storage operations (CCS). On the whole, climate policy costs can be reduced by large percentages, up to 48%, 34%, 24% for the USA, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, respectively, with respect to corresponding scenarios without the grid innovation via Super and Smart Grid option and with limits on nuclear power, CCS, and CSP import. The analysis is then extended to compare these options considering, at least qualitatively, the differentiated impacts on the environment, technology, organization, society, local and national economies and geopolitics.


Starting from the time-harmonic Maxwell's equations in cylindrical coordinates, we derive and solve the finite-difference (FD) eigenvalue equations for determining vector modes of axially symmetric resonator structures such as disks, rings, spheres and toroids. Contrary to the most existing implementations, our FD scheme is readily adapted for both eigenmode and eigenfrequency calculations. An excellent match of the FD solutions with the analytically calculated mode indices of a microsphere resonator provides a numerical confirmation of the mode-solver accuracy. The comparison of the presented FD technique with the finite-element method highlights the relative strengths of both techniques and advances the FD mode-solver as an important tool for cylindrical resonator design.


Abstract The aim of this paper is to show how the incorporation of metaphoric and poetic ways of thinking into the evaluation of a leadership development programme both captured the imagination of the employees and benefited the core business of a manufacturing production plant. Qualitative data evaluating the effectiveness of a substantial leadership programme were presented back to all members of a manufacturing plant (executive and non-executive) in the form of composite narratives over an eighteen-month period. Recommendations were derived from the text of the narrative and were progressively implemented. Such was the positive response to the written narratives that senior management asked the researchers to present the narratives in the form of a 'live' performance. Evaluation through qualitative methodology lends itself to an imaginative interpretation and presentation. Although qualitative and quantitative data tend to be regarded as complementary in applied research, it was management's decision to employ only a qualitative process in this instance. The decision was fortuitous, given that the leadership development programme was initially judged to be a failure, as it triggered a subsequent imaginative engagement that turned a failure into a success.


Seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum Jol.) extract-based cytokinins (SWEC) have been used to improve turfgrass stress tolerance, but optimum dosages for improving creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) heat tolerance are lacking. This study was designed to examine effects of SWEC at various dosages on creeping bentgrass heat tolerance and to compare their effects to a trans-zeatin riboside (t-ZR)-standard in a growth chamber. The SWEC and t-ZR were applied to the foliage of 'L-93' creeping bentgrass four times (14-d interval) at 1, 10, and 100 μM. After the second application, the grass was subjected to heat stress for 49 d at 35/25°C (day/ night) in the initial experiment or 38/28°C (day/ night) in the second experiment. The SWEC and t-ZR treatments at 10 and 100 μM alleviated the decline of turfgrass quality and chlorophyll content. They also increased leaf t-ZR content and nitrate reductase (NR) activity, relative to the control, especially under 38/28°C (day/night). These data indicate that improvements under heat stress may be associated with an increase in plant t-ZR levels and NR activity due to SWEC or t-ZR application. Results suggest that repeated foliar application of SWEC at 10 μM may be an effective approach for improving turfgrass performance and heat stress tolerance.


This is a psychosocial research project investigating 'national identity' amongst middle class Jewish-Israelis in Britain. Its aim is to map key contents and highlight social categories that subjects draw on in their construction of 'national identity' and to study how they negotiate these categories and contents when narrating a story of 'who they are' as Israelis in Britain.
The first part of the thesis provides historical and theoretical background to the study of national identities, with a focus on Jewish-Israeli identity in the context of Zionism. An empirical study is then presented, in which twelve Israelis living in London were interviewed in depth about their views on Israeli national identity, what it meant personally to them to be 'an Israeli', and what it meant to be 'an Israeli in London'. Interviews were transcribed and a critical narrative approach was used to analyze the resulting texts, taking account of reflexive interview processes as well as exploring links with the broader cultural and political context.
The findings reveal the elasticity and fluidity of 'Israeli identity'. Subjects drew on a shared cultural reservoir - Zionist images, preconceptions and signifiers - to describe their personalized experience of belonging to or alienation from an acceptable notion of 'Israeliness' while living abroad.
'Israeli identity' was constructed against stereotypical images of 'the others' which, at times, applied racist discourse. Subjects constructed 'Israeliness' differently depending on the context they referred to (e.g. Israeli or British society). Each context had its distinct 'others'. Within the British context Israeliness was constructed against the images of 'the local Jews', the 'English' and the 'local Arabs and Muslims'.
Constructing an Israeli identity was also influenced by the social position that subjects were implicated in, in relation to their class, ethnicity, gender, or occupation. This also shaped their experience of dislocation in Britain.
Most of the participants conformed with a mainstream perspective on Israeli nationalism and refrained from criticizing it. This was interpreted as a discourse reflecting their privileged socio-cultural position in Israel and their commitment to a Zionist ethos which condemns emigration. Such a portrayal of Israeliness both initiated and contributed to a sense of unsettledness characteristic of this middle-class group. Subjects moved back and forth between two identificatory positions ('Ha'aretz' and 'Israel') as their points of identification constantly changed. The research contributes to the analysis of nationalism phenomena and associated concepts such as diaspora and belonging among a middle class group of migrants. It outlines cultural, material and political forces that sustain nationalism yet also demonstrates ways through which subjects negotiate or resist the discourses and social categories offered to them for the construction of a 'national identity'.


Pulmonary embolism (PE) remains one of the leading causes of cardiovascular mortality. The safety and efficacy of thrombolytic therapy using tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) for acute PE in clinical practice remain unclear. We describe a case of life-threatening submassive PE causing extreme refractory hypoxaemia, where thrombolysis was successfully administered. Current consensus suggests that patients with features of hemodynamic instability as a result of an acute PE, that is, massive PE, should receive thrombolysis. Patients, not in shock however, but with evidence of right-ventricular (RV) dysfunction echocardiographically, that is, submassive PE may also benefit. Serum troponin and brain-type natriuretic peptide have been suggested as biomarkers of RV injury that may identify a subset of submassive PE patients who may particularly benefit from thrombolytic therapy. The clinical response of this patient to thrombolysis is important, as it may identify a subgroup of patients with submassive PE who warrant this intervention.


Nowadays,. Computer Vision is becoming a very important research topic because of its great applicability and usefulness in many and heterogeneous areas such as medical or bio-medical, astronomy, industrial,or educational sectors, as well as in entertainment industry or even in our every day life.Despite this variety of application areas, a great number of Computer Vision based applications integrates at some point of their processing pipeline. The identification, extraction and matching of some type local features across images. Local features are well suited to image recognition and matching because of robustness against noise and geometric or photometric transformations, providing concise representations of objects in the image. Several interest point detectors and local feature descriptors, as well as strategies and algorithms for matching them, have been presented since in the last decade. Though a lot of progress has been done in this field, the problem of matching points across different images is far to be fully solved..This thesis aims to contribute to the field of local image feature extraction and matching by giving useful insight of state-of-the-art, serving as a supplement to existing comparative studies about interest point extraction, feature description and matching, as well as by contributing with some new approaches regarding this technologies, such as a new local image descriptor based on the trace transform. We also contribute to the field by providing the scientific community with a verified and well designed tool and image data sets, that allow comparing results obtained from different approaches regarding interest point extraction, feature descriptor or descriptor matching.


Within the tropics, the species richness of tree communities is strongly and positively associated with precipitation. Previous research has suggested that this macroecological pattern is driven by the negative effect of water-stress on the physiological processes of most tree species. This process implies that the range limits of taxa are defined by their ability to occur under dry conditions, and thus in terms of species distributions it predicts a nested pattern of taxa distribution from wet to dry areas. However, this 'dry-tolerance' hypothesis has yet to be adequately tested at large spatial and taxonomic scales. Here, using a dataset of 531 inventory plots of closed canopy forest distributed across the Western Neotropics we investigated how precipitation, evaluated both as mean annual precipitation and as the maximum climatological water deficit, influences the distribution of tropical tree species, genera and families. We find that the distributions of tree taxa are indeed nested along precipitation gradients in the western Neotropics. Taxa tolerant to seasonal drought are disproportionally widespread across the precipitation gradient, with most reaching even the wettest climates sampled; however, most taxa analysed are restricted to wet areas. Our results suggest that the 'dry tolerance' hypothesis has broad applicability in the world's most species-rich forests. In addition, the large number of species restricted to wetter conditions strongly indicates that an increased frequency of drought could severely threaten biodiversity in this region. Overall, this study establishes a baseline for exploring how tropical forest tree composition may change in response to current and future environmental changes in this region.


Over the past 30 years or so I have been constructing Physics Models and writing about them as can be seen on my web sites at www.valdostamuseum.com/hamsmith/
www.tony5m17h.net/ and on viXra - list at vixra.org/author/frank_dodd_tony_smith_jr
Due to experimental observations and my learning new techniques over those 30 years my Physics Models have been in a state of evolving flux - for example, 30 years ago their basis was the Lie Algebra Spin(8), then to contain vectors and spinors it was F4, then to contain the geometry of bounded complex domains it was E6, then Real Clifford Algebras were used to describe evolution from a Void Empty Set o, then Periodicity showed the importance of Cl(8) and tensor product Cl(8)xCl(8) = Cl(16), then E8 emerged from Cl(16) to give the structure of a realistic local E8 Lagrangian, then completion of the union of all tensor products of Cl(16) local structures produced a realistic Algebraic Quantum Field Theory (AQFT). Since my works over those 30 years have been written from various points of view it is not easy to navigate among them. This paper is being written from a single point of view (that of May 2014) in the hope that it might be easier for readers to navigate. Although the nice math of my Cl(16)-E8 model is necessary, it is not sufficient. The Cl(16)-E8 model must be consistent with experimental observations. As of now, given that most calculations are tree-level, the model is substantially so consistent. An interesting test over the 2015-2016 time frame will be whether or not the LHC sees two additional Higgs mass states with cross section about 20% of that of a full Standard Model Higgs. V2 adds details about Cl(Cl(1,3)) and Cl(16). V3 revises and expands about transition to Quaternion structure at end of inflation.V4 adds details about Quantum Consciousness and E8. V5 adds more about E8 Lagrangian structure. V6 revises Root Vectors for Standard Model and for Gravity-Dark Energy. V7 adds detail and revises Root Vectors for SpaceTime and First-Generation Fermion Particles and AntiParticles. V8 adds more about emergence of AQFT from Completion of Union of Tensor Products of Local Lagrangian Cl(16). V9 adds more about the 3-state Higgs-Tquark System. V10 (vA) adds chapter on 600-cell geometry. V11 (vB) and V12 (vC) revise and expand chapter on 600-cell geometry. V13 (vD) clarifies Planck mass and adds Ghost material. V14 (vE) shows relationship between SU(2) weak force and Chiral projective twistor CP3. V15 (vF) revises some graphics and adds comparison with Garrett Lisi E8 model. V16 (vG) adds about second shell of E8 lattice, Dixon XY product, and Leech lattice, and about Mendel Sachs calculation of muon and Tquark masses.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
It is unknown to what extent magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) in white matter of the brain changes during myelination. The goal of this study was to measure the age-dependent changes of MTC in different regions of the pediatric brain and to evaluate their relation to T2 relaxation times.

METHODS
Seventy children aged 1 week to 80 months without evidence of organic brain disease underwent MR imaging of the brain. A double-echo spin-echo (SE) sequence and an SE sequence with and without an off-resonance pulse were performed in the axial orientation. Using paired images, we calculated MTC ratios in 13 predefined regions of the brain and compared them with the T2 relaxation times measured in the same areas. Regression analysis was performed for both parameters to evaluate age dependency.

RESULTS
MTC in white matter increased during myelination from a range of 13% to 19% to a range of 34% to 37%. At the same time, T2 relaxation times decreased from a range of 115 to 160 milliseconds to a range of 60 to 70 milliseconds after myelination. For both MTC and T2 relaxation times, age dependency could be expressed by a monoexponential function.

CONCLUSION
A strong positive correlation exists between MTC ratios and the degree of myelination in the pediatric brain, and an inverse correlation exists between MTC and T2 relaxation times. Fast proton relaxation within macromolecules in the myelinated white matter and subsequent MT may be the most important reason for the decreasing T2 relaxation time of white matter during brain myelination.


Component-Based Software Development (CBSD) is an approach that has many benefits, such as improving application developer productivity, reducing costs and complexity by reusing of existing codes. Programming within this approach is like assembly (i.e. composing software out of prefabricated components) rather than development, which reduces skill requirements, and allows expertise focuses on domain problems. The foundation of any CBSD methodology is its underlying component model, which defines what components are, how they can be constructed, and specifies the standards and conventions that are needed to enable composition of independently developed component. The current component models do not support composition in both design and deployment phase. They also focus on the specification and packaging of components but provide almost no support for the easy composition of components. Component in these models uses either direct or indirect message passing as connection schemes, which leads to tightly coupling (i.e. components mix computation with control). It is conclude that this research has proposed an effective way for component composition which provides loosely coupling between composed components. For system maintenance and evolution, this decoupling should make it simpler to manage changes in the components, and also changes in the connector separately. This research has resulted in the proposed of mediator connector which is similar to a communication hub. It initiates method calls and manages the returns, and also provides total loosely coupling between components and also itself. Mediator connector is a framework and can be reused without any modification. The components composition using mediator connector belongs to the deployment phase. Our approach is based on interactions between components as a subset of behavior in a system. In order to minimize coupling between components and mediator connector, we have designed and developed an XML-based language, called Component Interaction Markup Language (CIML), where components as well as their interactions are described in a CIML document which are used by mediator connector. For evaluation of mediator connector in order to measure the loosely coupling it provides, four case studies have been tested. To measure coupling we applied Coupling Between Object (CBO) software metric. The result shows that mediator connector provides totally loosely coupling between software components composing in the deployment phase.


In this paper we evaluate the potential of ENVISAT–Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) fused images for land-cover mapping and vegetation status assessment in heterogeneous landscapes. A series of MERIS fused images (15 spectral bands; 25 m pixel size) is created using the linear mixing model and a Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image acquired over the Netherlands. First, the fused images are classified to produce a map of the eight main land-cover types of the Netherlands. Subsequently, the maps are validated using the Dutch land-cover/land-use database as a reference. Then, the fused image with the highest overall classification accuracy is selected as the best fused image. Finally, the best fused image is used to compute three vegetation indices: the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and two indices specifically designed to monitor vegetation status using MERIS data: the MERIS terrestrial chlorophyll index (MTCI) and the MERIS global vegetation index (MGVI). Results indicate that the selected data fusion approach is able to downscale MERIS data to a Landsat-like spatial resolution. The spectral information in the fused images originates fully from MERIS and is not influenced by the TM data. Classification results for the TM and for the best fused image are similar and, when comparing spectrally similar images (i.e. TM with no short-wave infrared bands), the results of the fused image outperform those of TM. With respect to the vegetation indices, a good correlation was found between the NDVI computed from TM and from the best fused image (in spite of the spectral differences between these two sensors). In addition, results show the potential of using MERIS vegetation indices computed from fused images to monitor individual fields. This is not possible using the original MERIS full resolution image. Therefore, we conclude that MERIS–TM fused images are very useful to map heterogeneous landscapes.


We report a three-dimensional time-resolved tomographic imaging technique for localizing protein-protein interaction and protein conformational changes in turbid media based on Förster resonant energy-transfer read out using fluorescence lifetime. This application of "tomoFRET" employs an inverse scattering algorithm utilizing the diffusion approximation to the radiative-transfer equation applied to a large tomographic data set of time-gated images. The approach is demonstrated by imaging a highly scattering cylindrical phantom within which are two thin wells containing cytosol preparations of HEK293 cells expressing TN-L15, a cytosolic genetically encoded calcium Förster resonant energy-transfer sensor. A 10 mM calcium chloride solution was added to one of the wells, inducing a protein conformation change upon binding to TN-L15, resulting in Förster resonant energy transfer and a corresponding decrease in the donor fluorescence lifetime. We successfully reconstruct spatially resolved maps of the resulting fluorescence lifetime distribution as well as of the quantum efficiency, absorption, and scattering coefficients.


The Egyptian military's unconstitutional removal of President Mohamed Morsi has reignited a debate regarding the theory of the 'democratic coup'. Though coups are almost invariably condemned, many political observers and a few scholars have recently argued that coups can act as catalysts for democratisation. This paper empirically assesses the democratic coup hypothesis for Africa. Multivariate analyses from 1952 to 2012 suggest that coups statistically improve a country's democratisation prospects. Extensions of the model show that coups appear to be likely precursors for democratisation in staunchly authoritarian regimes, have become less likely to end democracy over time, and their positive influence has strengthened since the end of the Cold War. As of 2012, countries that have experienced a recent coup are expected to be four times more likely to witness a democratic transition than those that have remained coup-free.


Nutritional qualities of lupin suggest bread rich in lupin has the potential to provide a number of health benefits. Mixing of lupin flour to wheat has major effects on bread properties including the extractability of proteins that is crucial to define the ultimate attributes of food. Present study investigated the lupin and wheat proteome dynamics as affected by the baking of lupin–wheat bread by using 2-D electrophoresis and direct mass spectrometry. Many of the proteins from both lupin and wheat remained unchanged in baked lupin–wheat bread, while the others were incorporated into the bread matrix and could not be extracted. Most of the alpha-conglutins could be readily extracted from the lupin–wheat bread even at milder extraction. In contrast, most of the beta- conglutins lost extractability. The structural attribute that correlates with this difference in behaviour is the greater in thermal stability of alpha-conglutins relative to Beta- conglutins. Most of the beta and gamma conglutins showed relatively higher peptide sequence coverage of corresponding matched proteins compare to alpha conglutin due to lack of information regarding this group of protein in the database.


The objective of this work was to analyze the proximate and fatty acid composition of the dorsal and ventral muscles of wild pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) captured from a Brazilian Amazonian lake. Dorsal and ventral muscles were dissected out, freeze-dried, vacuum-packed, and had the proximate and fatty acid composition analyzed. Ash, total proteins, and lipids were inversely proportional to moisture and had higher levels in the ventral muscles. Twenty-seven fatty acids were quantified in both muscles without significant differences between them, except for the heneicosylic, palmitoleic, γ-linolenic, and dihomo-γ-linolenic acids. Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were predominant in both muscles. The eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids were quantitatively similar: 9.25 (dorsal) to 10.14 (ventral) and 8.50 (dorsal) to 10.63 (ventral) mg g-1 of total lipids, respectively. The EPA+DHA content of the dorsal and ventral muscles were 113.25 and 165.78 mg 100 g-1, respectively. The ratios of polyunsaturated/saturated (0.54 and 0.59 for the dorsal and ventral muscles, respectively), n-3/n-6 (0.20 and 0.21), and hypocholesterolemic/ hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (1.41 and 1.45) ratios, as well as the atherogenicity (0.59 and 0.53) and thrombogenicity (1.02 and 0.94) indices, indicate that pirarucu muscle is a good dietary source of EPA+DHA, and its nutritional lipid quality can be beneficial for human health.


Abstract. The aim of this paper is to share our experiences and thoughts about a project course in geoinformatics. The course has been organised annually since 2017. We hope that this article provides ideas about when new project-based courses are designed or existing ones are renewed. We wanted to increase students' motivation by providing assignments from companies or other organisations as well as cooperation with them. Working with real clients makes the project work much more interesting than projects without a real-life connection. We provide topics from various fields of geoinformatics, such as geoinformation technology, geodesy, photogrammetry, laser scanning and remote sensing. The students worked in small groups that were supported by an advisor and a facilitator. The advisor helps with substance and the facilitator assists with reflection and improving working process, i.e. not only to complete the task but also to learn about capabilities for project work, self-directive teamwork and learning to learn (meta learning). To sum up, during the course students increase their knowledge and expertise on geoinformatics, learn skills for client-centered project work and learn how to support their learning through self- and peer-reflection. In other words, the course aims to develop skills that are useful throughout the students' forthcoming careers.


Autoregressive networks can achieve promising performance in many sequence modeling tasks with short-range dependence. However, when handling high-dimensional inputs and outputs, the massive amount of parameters in the network leads to expensive computational cost and low learning efficiency. The problem can be alleviated slightly by introducing one more narrow hidden layer to the network, but the sample size required to achieve a certain training error is still substantial. To address this challenge, we rearrange the weight matrices of a linear autoregressive network into a tensor form, and then make use of Tucker decomposition to represent low-rank structures. This leads to a novel compact autoregressive network, called Tucker AutoRegressive (TAR) net. Interestingly, the TAR net can be applied to sequences with long-range dependence since the dimension along the sequential order is reduced. Theoretical studies show that the TAR net improves the learning efficiency, and requires much fewer samples for model training. Experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the promising performance of the proposed compact network.


Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways frequently characterized by an excessive Th2 adaptive immune response. Activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-7, a single-stranded viral RNA receptor that is highly expressed in the airways, triggers a rapid innate immune response and favors a subsequent Th1 response. Because of this role in pulmonary immunoregulation, TLR7 has gained considerable interest as a therapeutic target in asthma. Synthetic TLR7 ligands, including the imidazoquinolines imiquimod (R837) and resiquimod (R848), and 8-hydroxyadenine derivatives have been developed for other clinical indications. TLR7 activation prevents ovalbumin-induced airway hyperreactivity, eosinophilic inflammation, goblet cell hyperplasia and airway remodeling in murine models of asthma. TLR7 activation also inhibits viral replication in the lung and prevents virus-induced airway hyperreactivity. Furthermore, it has recently been shown that stimulating TLR7 rapidly relaxes airway smooth muscle, dilating the airways. This bronchodilating effect, which occurs in seconds to minutes and depends on rapid production of nitric oxide, indicates that TLR7 can signal via previously unrecognized pathways. The effects of decreasing the allergic Th2 response, acting as an immediate bronchodilator, and promoting an antiviral immune environment, make TLR7 an attractive drug target. We examine the current understanding of TLR7 as a therapeutic target and its translation to asthma treatment in humans.


In vertebrate olfactory neurons, odor molecules stimulate the opening of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGs). The resulting influx of Ca2+ ions also triggers a negative-feedback mechanism in which channel activity is inhibited when bound to a Ca2+-calmodulin (CaM) complex. This mechanism promotes olfactory adaptation and allows animals to evaluate the odor environment continually. Two groups have determined that two of the channel's three subunits are required for odor adaptation. Munger et al. show that channels from mice lacking the CNGA4 subunit exhibited slower Ca2+-CaM-mediated inhibition. Bradley et al. have used a heterologous expression system to show that both the CNGA4 and CNGB1b subunits facilitate Ca2+-CaM binding to the open state of channel. S. D. Munger, A. P. Lane, H. Zhong, T. Leinders-Zufall, K.-W. Yau, F. Zufall, R. R. Reed, Central role of the CNGA4 channel subunit in Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent odor adaptation. Science 294, 2172-2175 (2001). [Online Journal] J. Bradley, D. Reuter, S. Frings, Facilitation of calmodulin-mediated odor adaptation by cAMP-gated channel subunits. Science 294, 2176-2178 (2001). [Online Journal]


Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is an important pathogen in horses that causes severe diseases such as pneumonia and abortion. Furthermore, it is a zoonotic agent, and contact with horses is a known risk factor. In this study, we investigated the working hypothesis that the zoonotic potential varies among S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains in association with differences in M-like protein-mediated binding of host plasma proteins. ABSTRACT Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is an important pathogen in horses that causes severe diseases such as pneumonia and abortion. Furthermore, it is a zoonotic agent, and contact with horses is a known risk factor. In this study, we investigated the working hypothesis that the zoonotic potential varies among S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains in association with differences in M-like protein-mediated binding of host plasma proteins. We demonstrate via in-frame deletion mutagenesis of two different S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains that the M-like protein SzM is crucial for the binding of fibrinogen to the bacterial surface and for survival in equine and human blood. S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates of equine and human origins were compared with regard to SzM sequences and binding of equine and human fibrinogens. The N-terminal 216 amino acids of the mature SzM were found to exhibit a high degree of diversity, but the majority of human isolates grouped in three distinct SzM clusters. Plasma protein absorption assays and flow cytometry analysis revealed that pronounced binding of human fibrinogen is a common phenotype of human S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates but much less so in equine S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates. Furthermore, binding of human fibrinogen is associated with specific SzM types. These results suggest that SzM-mediated binding of human fibrinogen is an important virulence mechanism of zoonotic S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates.


The hydrolase Notum inhibits Wnt signaling to specify regeneration of head structures in planaria. Much is known about the establishment of body axes in embryos, but the establishment of polarity in regenerating tissues is less well understood. Planaria exhibit remarkable regenerative abilities, including the ability to regenerate missing heads or tails, or both simultaneously, in the correct orientation with respect to the main body axis. Wnt signaling promotes tail formation, whereas inhibitors of Wnt signaling promote head formation. Expression of wnt1 is induced at both anterior and posterior wounds, yet only posterior-facing wounds regrow a tail. Petersen and Reddien report that Wnt signaling in anterior-facing wounds is repressed by Notum, an α/β-hydrolase that inhibits Wnt signaling in fruit flies by cleaving the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors required for glypicans to promote Wnt signaling. notum was expressed in anterior-facing but not posterior-facing wounds at any location along the anteroposterior axis, both when the cut resulted in tissue amputation and when an incision was made without removing tissue. When two cuts perpendicular to the anteroposterior axis were located near one another, notum was expressed more robustly in the more posterior of the two anterior-facing wound edges, suggesting that the presence of a posterior-facing wound repressed notum expression in the other anterior-facing wound. Reducing notum expression by RNA interference (RNAi) blocked the ability to regenerate heads but not the ability to regenerate tails. Regenerated anterior tissue in notum RNAi-treated planaria exhibited tail characteristics, including posterior gut morphology and the absence of photoreceptors and cephalic ganglia. Expression of wntP-2, which requires the activity of Wnt1 and the Wnt signaling effector β-catenin, was increased at posterior-facing but not anterior-facing wounds. Genetics experiments indicated that notum expression depended upon Wnt1 and β-catenin, and Notum acted as a feedback inhibitor of Wnt signaling. The factors that inhibit notum expression at posterior-facing wounds have not been identified. The function of Notum has not been elucidated outside of the fruit fly, but the conservation of Notum from sea anemones to humans and the prevalence of Wnt signaling in regeneration across species suggest that Notum may play a more general role in determining regeneration polarity. A Perspective by Slack considers these results within the broader context of tissue regeneration and discusses new findings from an accompanying paper by Wagner et al. that demonstrates the pluripotent nature of neoblasts, the planarian equivalent of adult stem cells. C. P. Petersen, P. W. Reddien, Polarized notum activation at wounds inhibits Wnt function to promote planarian head regeneration. Science 332, 852–855 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text] D. E. Wagner, I. E. Wang, P. W. Reddien, Clonogenic neoblasts are pluripotent adult stem cells that underlie planarian regeneration. Science 332, 811–816 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text] J. M. W. Slack, Planarian pluripotency. Science 332, 799–800 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Since the 1960s the relationship between Blacks and Jews has been a contentious one. While others have attempted to explain or repair the break-up of the Jewish alliance on civil rights, Seth Forman here sets out to determine what Jewish thinking on the subject of Black Americans reveals about Jewish identity in the U.S. Why did American Jews get involved in Black causes in the first place? What did they have to gain from it? And what does that tell us about American Jews? In an extremely provocative analysis, Forman argues that the commitment of American Jews to liberalism, and their historic definition of themselves as victims, has caused them to behave in ways that were defined as good for Blacks, but which in essence were contrary to Jewish interests. They have not been able to dissociate their needs--religious, spiritual, communal, political--from those of African Americans, and have therefore acted in ways which have threatened their own cultural vitality. Avoiding the focus on Black victimization and white racism that often infuses work on Blacks and Jews, Forman emphasizes the complexities inherent in one distinct white ethnic group's involvement in America's racial dilemma.


Bolivia is an unusual high-altitude country created by imperial conquests and native adaptations, and it remains today the most Indian of the American republics, yet it fully participates in the world economy. It has also seen the most social and economic mobility of Indian and mestizo populations in Latin America. These are among the themes analyzed in this historical survey. In its first Spanish edition, Herbert S. Klein's A Concise History of Bolivia won immediate acceptance within Bolivia as the new standard history of this important nation. Surveying Bolivia's economic, social, cultural, and political evolution from the arrival of early man in the Andes to the present, this current version brings the history of this society up to the present day, covering the fundamental changes that have occurred since the National Revolution of 1952 and the return of democracy in 1982. These changes have included the introduction of universal education and the rise of the mestizos and Indian populations to political power for the first time in national history. Containing an updated bibliography, A Concise History of Bolivia remains an essential text for courses in Latin American history and politics. This second edition brings this story through the first administration of the first self-proclaimed Indian president in national history and the major changes that the government of Evo Morales has introduced in Bolivia's society, politics, and economy.


The desire to understand how the brain generates and patterns behavior has driven rapid methodological innovation to quantify and model natural animal behavior. This has led to important advances in deep learning-based markerless pose estimation that have been enabled in part by the success of deep learning for computer vision applications. Here we present SLEAP (Social LEAP Estimates Animal Poses), a framework for multi-animal pose tracking via deep learning. This system is capable of simultaneously tracking any number of animals during social interactions and across a variety of experimental conditions. SLEAP implements several complementary approaches for dealing with the problems inherent in moving from single-to multi-animal pose tracking, including configurable neural network architectures, inference techniques, and tracking algorithms, enabling easy specialization and tuning for particular experimental conditions or performance requirements. We report results on multiple datasets of socially interacting animals (flies, bees, and mice) and describe how dataset-specific properties can be leveraged to determine the best configuration of SLEAP models. Using a high accuracy model (<2.8 px error on 95% of points), we were able to track two animals from full size 1024 × 1024 pixel frames at up to 320 FPS. The SLEAP framework comes with a sophisticated graphical user interface, multi-platform support, Colab-based GPU-free training and inference, and complete tutorials available, in addition to the datasets, at sleap.ai.


Abstract. Time of flight (ToF) range cameras illuminate the scene with an amplitude-modulated continuous wave light source and measure the returning modulation envelopes: phase and amplitude. The phase change of the modulation envelope encodes the distance travelled. This technology suffers from measurement errors caused by multiple propagation paths from the light source to the receiving pixel. The multiple paths can be represented as the summation of a direct return, which is the return from the shortest path length, and a global return, which includes all other returns. We develop the use of a sinusoidal pattern from which a closed form solution for the direct and global returns can be computed in nine frames with the constraint that the global return is a spatially lower frequency than the illuminated pattern. In a demonstration on a scene constructed to have strong multipath interference, we find the direct return is not significantly different from the ground truth in 33/136  pixels tested; where for the full-field measurement, it is significantly different for every pixel tested. The variance in the estimated direct phase and amplitude increases by a factor of eight compared with the standard time of flight range camera technique.


For a Better Life, Close the Gaps!We all want to make a difference. But just as you need to put on your own oxygen mask before helping other passengers on an airplane, getting your own life together is the first step to making a positive impact in the world. Franklin Covey cofounder Hyrum Smith shows that what stops us are gaps between where we are and where we want to be. The first is the Beliefs Gap, between what we believe to be true and what is actually true. The second is the Values Gap, between what we value most in life and what we actually spend our life doing. The third is the Time Gap, between what we plan to do each day and what we actually get done. Smith offers a practical blueprint that we all can use to recognize and close each of these three gaps and illustrates how it can be done through inspiring true stories. The 3 Gaps provides the concepts and the tools needed to establish a solid foundation from which you can help make the world a better place.


A female engineering student walked into her first lab class. One of the male students said: "The cookery class is in another room." A professor was always willing to drop everything to talk with a colleague. But when one of his research assistants contacted him, he would say to come back later. A student wanted to do a survey and commented to a mathematician friend: "I think I'll seek advice from some sociologists." The mathematician responded: "What would they know about it?" Snobbery is a sense of superiority or exclusiveness, often expressed with condescending comments or actions that reject others. Snobbery is found throughout societies. Some people look down on those with less money or who live in a low-status suburb or who don't speak with the right accent. Then there is snobbery about countries, films, food, manners and knowledge. "Don't tell me you listen to country music!"


Abstract. The data from ground based experiments conducted during the 2005 SpreadFEx campaign in Brazil are used, with the help of theoretical model calculations, to investigate the precursor conditions, and especially, the role of gravity waves, in the instability initiation leading to equatorial spread F development. Data from a digisonde and a 30 MHz coherent back-scatter radar operated at an equatorial site, Sao Luis (dip angle: 2.7°) and from a digisonde operated at another equatorial site (dip angle: −11.5°) are analyzed during selected days representative of differing precursor conditions of the evening prereversal vertical drift, F layer bottom-side density gradients and density perturbations due to gravity waves. It is found that radar irregularity plumes indicative of topside bubbles, can be generated for precursor vertical drift velocities exceeding 30 m/s even when the precursor GW induced density oscillations are marginally detectable by the digisonde. For drift velocities ≤20 m/s the presence of precursor gravity waves of detectable intensity is found to be a necessary condition for spread F instability initiation. Theoretical model calculations show that the zonal polarization electric field in an instability development, even as judged from its linear growth phase, can be significantly enhanced under the action of perturbation winds from gravity waves. Comparison of the observational results with the theoretical model calculations provides evidence for gravity wave seeding of equatorial spread F.


In this paper, we provide empirical evidence for the influence of income taxes on the choice of residence of taxpayers at the local level. The fact that Swiss communities can individually set tax multipliers thereby shifting the progressive tax scheme which is fixed at the cantonal (state) level enables us to study the effect of differences in income taxation on individuals' choice of location within an economically and culturally homogeneous region. Using panel IV regressions covering the years 1991-2003 and 171 communities in the Swiss canton of Zurich and spatial error regressions for the 171 communities in 2003, we find substantial evidence for income sorting.


Rates of unionization in the United States today are at historic lows and are unlikely to rebound. However, there is one sector in which organized labor is growing in strength: government. This has severe implications for the future of public finances for state and local governments across the nation, and for the nature of organized labor itself. High rates of unionization in the public sector have led to very high labor costs in the form of generous collective bargaining contracts. Now state and local governments are under increasing financial pressure, as a worsening national economy has led to decreased revenues for states and municipalities — many of which remain locked into the generous contracts negotiated in more flush times. Thus, as businesses retrench, governments find themselves in a financial straitjacket. In addition, as government unions grow stronger relative to private-sector unions, their prevalence erodes the moderating influence of the market on the demands that unions make of employers.Now, as an economic downturn threatens state and local government revenues, officials who want to keep their fiscal situations under control would do well to look skeptically at public-sector bargaining — especially since the existing political checks on it have proven ineffective. Public officials should eschew public-sector bargaining when possible, or at the very least, seek to limit its scope.As keepers of the public purse, legislators and local council members have an obligation to protect taxpayers' interests. By granting monopoly power to labor unions over the supply of government labor, elected officials undermine their duty to taxpayers, because this puts unions in a privileged position to extract political goods in the form of high pay and benefits that are much higher than anything comparable in the private sector.This paper shows how the unionization of government employees creates a powerful, permanent constituency for bigger government — one that is motivated, well-funded, and organized. It also makes some recommendations as to how to check this constituency's growing power — an effort that promises to be an uphill struggle.


Lithium oxygen batteries were studied in situ by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Crystalline Li2O2 was shown to form reversibly on a plain carbon cathode under normal cycling conditions. However, if the cell was polarized to induce electrolyte decomposition before the oxygen reduction reaction was initiated, LiOH was found to cycle reversibly on the cathode instead. A mechanism linking the LiOH production to the electrolyte decomposition was proposed.


Can we teach ethics, and if we can how should we do it? Do we want our students to know moral theory or act morally? This paper assumes that the objective of 'teaching ethics' is to cultivate the possibility for moral conduct in the everyday world of institutional life. As teachers we know how to teach moral theory but how do we encourage our students to act morally. To attempt an answer I will present some ideas from the work of Levinas and Derrida. With Levinas I will argue that ethics happens in the singularity of the face of the Other before me 'here and now'. Ethics matter in my everyday contact with the Other that confronts me and claims my response. But what about all other Others simultaneously present? What about justice for all other Others? With Levinas and Derrida I will attempt to articulate the notion of 'caring justice'. In caring justice I want to show how the demands of ethics (the singular) and the demands of justice (all other Others) can become the impossible possibility for a "justice where there is no distinction between those close and those far off, but in which there also remains the impossibility of passing by the closest." Furthermore, I want to argue for the need of Aristotle's notion of ethics as a habit-caring justice as the cultivation of moral character by doing. Finally, to demonstrate what I mean I discuss a singular case of intellectual property right. In this 'case' I try to show how caring justice can help us not to teach ethics, but do it--almost


Teaching across Cultures: Building Pedagogical Relationships in Diverse Contexts captures the tensions and the transformational potentials of teaching across multiple cultural contexts. The book evolved from cumulative self-studies that examined one teacher educator's teaching practice, the cultural impact on that practice, and how she facilitated transformative teaching and learning. While every act of teaching occurs across cultures such as institutional culture, invisible cultures, classroom cultures, among others, educators who teach in cross-cultural settings have to navigate the unique complexities of cross-cultural teaching. Successful teaching in cross-cultural contexts can be facilitated through responsive pedagogy, building relationships, and teaching in the third space. These transformational approaches not only help to identify and close the perpetual gaps in teaching and learning, but they also position effective teaching within a pedagogical common ground that values student voices, facilitates pedagogical flexibility, and uses diversity as a teaching tool. In a world of ubiquitous and interactive learning environments, both the physical and virtual spaces play a vital role in teaching and teacher-student relationships. The book points to the necessity of teacher educators' learning through diverse professional networks, and more importantly, through self-study. It is only through this introspective examination of one's teaching and students' learning as well as taking an ontological attitude toward teaching, can educators achieve success in diverse contexts.


The fracture and fatigue properties of particle reinforced matrix composites are greatly influenced by stress concentration around the reinforcements as the failure of a structural member often initiates at regions of high stress concentration. Determining stress concentration has been the focus of number of researchers for quite some time in order to better understand the failure mechanics of structural members. The first part of the study investigates the stress concentration around a spheroidal particle that is embedded in a large elastic matrix and subjected to dynamic loading. Interaction between neighboring particles is ignored. The results are therefore valid for composites with low volume fractions. The problem is studied by extending a hybrid technique that was previously developed for axisymmetric loading. In the hybrid technique, a fictitious spherical boundary enclosing the particle is drawn. The fictitious boundary divides the entire region into interior and exterior regions. The interior region is modeled through an assemblage of conventional finite elements while the exterior region is represented by spherical wave functions. Coupling of the solutions for the interior and exterior regions is achieved by imposing the continuity of displacements and tractions along the common boundary B. This leads to a set of linear equations that enables the displacements and stresses at any point to be determined. It is found that the stress concentrations within the matrix at the matrix-particle interface are dependent on the frequency of the dynamic excitation, aspect ratio of the particle and the material properties of both matrix and a particle. The study reveals that the dynamic stress concentration can reach much higher values than the static case. A second part of the study involved investigating the potential of using an interphase layer to reduce stress concentrations under a dynamic loading in Mg matrix surrounding a SiC particle. An interphase layer was applied between the particle and the matrix and the contact between them was assumed to be perfect. Both constant property materials and functionally graded materials were considered for the interphase. A constant property interphase was modelled as a single layer while a functionally graded interphase was divided into a number of sublayers and each sublayer was treated as having constant material properties. Numerical results reveal that the interphase layer made of a constant property material shows better stress concentration reduction than that made of functionally graded materials. An interphase layer with low values of both shear modulus and Poisson's ratio is necessary for a significant stress concentration reduction. Studies were focused on reducing the concentration that occurs over a range of frequencies. The third part of the study investigates the size effects as the particle size reduces to nanometers. This part of the study was inspired by the current interest in nanomaterials. For instance, a quantum dot that is embedded in the matrix of a composite could introduce stress concentrations under dynamic loading. This is studied here by using the surface/interface theory of elasticity. It is found that the stress concentration values are significantly dependent on the elastic properties of the surface/interface and the frequency of excitation.


The active Pisia Fault Zone is exposed close to the crest of a rotated carbonate fault-block that forms part of the southern margin to the Gulf of Corinth half-graben in central Greece. The crest of the fault-block lies above sea-level whilst in the hanging-wall a marine basin exists. As a result, the diagenetic and structural characteristics of the fault zone record complex fluid involvement. Both early phreatic carbonate syn-kinematic cements (characterized by drusy fabrics, baroque dolomites and crack-seal textures) and late vadose carbonate syn-kinematic cements (characterized by flowstones containing cave-collapse debris) exist in the uplifted footwall to the fault. Downward percolation of vadose meteoric waters and the upwelling of pore waters with elevated temperatures produced the diagenetic features observed within the fault zone. The co-existence of early phreatic and late vadose cements within the fault zone is related to footwall uplift across the water-table and subsequent erosional unroofing. The present-day elevation of phreatic cements to c. 650m above current sea-level, provides a minimum estimate of footwall uplift along the fault. The wider implication is that temporal changes in deformation and fluid flow may typify fault-block evolution.


High-molecular-weight kininogen (HK) is an abundant plasma protein that plays a central role in activation of the kallikrein-kinin system. Cleavage of HK by plasma kallikrein results in release of the nonapeptide bradykinin (BK), leaving behind cleaved high-molecular-weight kininogen (HKa). Previous studies have demonstrated that HKa induces apoptosis of proliferating endothelial cells and inhibits angiogenesis in vivo, activities mediated primarily through its domain 5. However, the mechanisms by which these effects occur are not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that HKa induces apoptosis of endothelial cells cultured on gelatin, vitronectin, fibronectin, or laminin but not collagen type I or IV. The ability of HKa to induce endothelial-cell apoptosis is dependent on the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and associated with depletion of glutathione and peroxidation of endothelial-cell lipids, effects that occur only in cells cultured on matrix proteins permissive for HKa-induced apoptosis. Finally, the ability of HKa to induce endothelial-cell apoptosis is blocked by the addition of reduced glutathione or N-acetylcysteine. These studies demonstrate a unique role for oxidant stress in mediating the activity of an antiangiogenic polypeptide and highlight the importance of the extracellular matrix in regulating endothelial-cell survival.


The performance of peristaltic pumps is mainly governed by their tubing or hose materials. Research and development in this area is therefore very important for peristaltic pump manufacturers to keep in front of the competition and to open up new applications to enable further market penetration. Another aspect of this is of course price; performance and cost have to be in balance. As an approach to fabricate a new tube material, the field of negative Poisson's ratio (or: auxetic) materials is explored. The combined deformations of tensile, compression and shear in a peristaltic pump tube may well benefit from the specific characteristics of auxetic materials. Materials can be designed to keep their dimensions constant in directions perpendicular to an applied load. This is referred to as "auxetic balancing". Finite element modelling shows that lowering the Poisson's ratio will rapidly decrease the maximum stresses in the cross-section of an occluded tube. Optimum values for the Poisson's ratio are found to be between −0.1 and +0.1, preferentially being 0. The re-entrant honeycomb structure is selected for initial trials, but manufacturing of this structure at the desired dimension proved to be too difficult at this time. Instead, electrospun nanofibre membranes are selected as the reinforcement structure. A liquid silicone elastomer is used as the matrix material. Key characteristics for the new material are derived from baseline test results on existing tubing. Laminates are manufactured from electrospun nylon6 nanofibre membranes coated with a liquid silicone rubber. Compression moulding is used to cure the nylon6-silicone rubber laminate, to give two effects: it ensures impregnation of the membrane and the compression deforms the nanofibre structure in such a way that it will become auxetic through-the-thickness. Flat sheet laminates of 2 mm thickness are manufactured with 14 layers of reinforcement. A reinforcing effect and substantial lowering of the through-the-thickness Poisson's ratio is observed for the laminates at low strains. At higher strains (>50%) the effect of the reinforcement diminishes and the Poisson's ratio of the laminate and pure silicone rubber equalises. Finally, tubular laminates are manufactured and the resulting tubes are tested in a peristaltic pump with some promising results (>1 million occlusions before failure). Tube performance is not yet at the required level, but with further optimisation of the laminating process, mould design and (post-)curing large steps forward can be made.


Emotion dysregulation is an oft-cited and potentially valuable explanation for panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. However, theoretical accounts conflict regarding whether panic disorder is associated with deficient or excessive emotion regulation, and these contradictory predictions have not been resolved by extant, primarily self-report-based studies. The present study (1) attempted to clarify the functioning of emotion regulation in panic disorder and (2) examined a putative mechanism for emotion regulatory dysfunction, effortful control. In a sample of 38 individuals with panic disorder and 37 controls, we gauged participants' ability to voluntarily regulate emotional responding to unpredictable threat of shock using physiological indices of negative emotion (startle eye-blink reflex and corrugator activity). We also assessed performance on 3 behavioral measures of effortful control; the degree to which these measures were disrupted in a threatening context; and whether effortful control abilities were associated with emotion regulatory ability. Individuals with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD/A) demonstrated an enhanced ability to voluntarily suppress both startle and corrugator responding to threat relative to controls and panic disorder without agoraphobia (PD/NA). Individuals with PD/NA showed poorer attentional control compared to controls and PD/A. All 3 measures of effortful control were positively correlated with startle suppression ability, and path analyses revealed indirect effects of PD/NA on emotion regulatory ability via attentional control. The results implicate excessive suppression of negative emotion in the maintenance of PD/A and add to a growing literature linking non-emotional effortful cognitive abilities to emotion regulation and psychopathology.


Since 1974 the world has experienced a "third wave" of democratization. Ensuring that these new democracies consolidate is critical to both global prosperity and peace. Unfortunately, the academic literature that might help policy-makers shape appropriate foreign assistance programs remains underdeveloped, in that it lacks strong behavioral foundations, or explanations of why people act the way they do. This paper argues that the process of democratic consolidation requires a transition from clientelistic to contractual exchange relationships. Without that transition, efforts to promote democratic consolidation are unlikely to succeed.


Over the last decade we have witnessed the rapid proliferation of large-scale complex networks, spanning many social, information and technological domains. While many of the tasks which users of such networks face are essentially global and involve the network as a whole, the size of these networks is huge and the information available to users is only local. In this dissertation we show that even when faced with stringent locality constraints, one can still effectively solve prominent algorithmic problems on such networks. In the first part of the dissertation we present a natural algorithmic framework designed to model the behaviour of an external agent trying to solve a network optimization problem with limited access to the network data. Our study focuses on local information algorithms --sequential algorithms where the network topology is initially unknown and is revealed only within a local neighborhood of vertices that have been irrevocably added to the output set. We address both network coverage problems as well as network search problems. Our results include local information algorithms for coverage problems whose performance closely match the best possible even when information about network structure is unrestricted. We also demonstrate a sharp threshold on the level of visibility required: at a certain visibility level it is possible to design algorithms that nearly match the best approximation possible even with full access to the network structure, but with any less information it is impossible to achieve a reasonable approximation. For preferential attachment networks, we obtain polylogarithmic approximations to the problem of finding the smallest subgraph that connects a subset of nodes and the problem of finding the highest-degree nodes. This is achieved by addressing a decade-old open question of BollobAis and Riordan on locally finding the root in a preferential attachment process. In the second part of the dissertation we focus on designing highly time efficient local algorithms for central mining problems on complex networks that have been in the focus of the research community over a decade: finding a small set of influential nodes in the network, and fast ranking of nodes. Among our results is an essentially runtime-optimal local algorithm for the influence maximization problem in the standard independent cascades model of information diffusion and an essentially runtime-optimal local algorithm for the problem of returning all nodes with PageRank bigger than a given threshold. Our work demonstrates that locality is powerful enough to allow efficient solutions to many central algorithmic problems on complex networks. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Computer and Information Science This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/737 First Advisor Michael Kearns Second Advisor Sanjeev Khanna


The past two decades were characterized by high and persistent youth unemployment rates in Macedonia; this is despite the many active workfare policies addressed to the youth population. Thus, this paper contributes to the literature by investigating the impact that a longer unemployment spell has had on the labour market mismatch of young Macedonian job-seekers. The empirical analysis builds on different econometric model approaches based on the Schoolto-Work Transition Survey (SWTS) conducted by the ILO in 2012. Our results clearly suggest that longer unemployment spells lead to higher mismatches, but that such effects are heterogeneous across educational attainment groups of low, middle and highly educated young job seekers


One of the factors that distinguish the city from other human settlements is the physical dimension that always absorbs significant attention of managers, urban planners, residents and visitors and quality of it has an important role in quality of resident's life. The lack of program and immethodical development, especially in big cities, caused current physical quality failed to meet the needs of residents and many criticisms has risen about this subject; Ahvaz city is an example for this matter. The objective of this research is to investigate and analysis of physical space of Ahvaz city and also capabilities and weaknesses of that space for providing residents' requirements. Research method is descriptive-analytical with qualitative approach. The article was written in holistic scale and relies on the theory of main structure of city. In order to reach the objectives of the research, after primary reviews, three hypotheses developed: 1. diversity is the most important capability of physical space of Ahvaz city, 2.lack of inconsistency is the most important weakness of it and 3.the physical space of the city has conformity with modernism more than other schools. Then, required data about literature of subject gathered from library studies and by selecting a set of criteria from reviewed criteria, using survey observation and library data, some examples of capabilities and shortages of Ahvaz physical space investigated. The result shows the diversity is the most important capability of the physical space of Ahvaz and environmental factors, inconsistency and the lack of universality in the city are the most important problems of physical space of it. In total, the identity of city is strong and it is weak in environmental criteria and also in discipline. Physical components of city have relative conformity with modernism school.


The majority of the electricity supplied in Tasmania, Australia, is produced by hydropower.
Hydro Tasmania, the power generation utility, operates 29 hydropower stations incorporating
170 km of open channels. These open channels are susceptible to extensive biofilm growth
dominated by the freshwater diatoms Gomphonema tarraleahae and Tabellaria flocculosa,
which form a gelatinous biofilm several millimetres thick and cause reductions in flow capacity
of up to 10%.
This thesis presents results of a multidisciplinary study on the effects of freshwater biofilms on
hydropower canal capacity and turbulent boundary layer structure. The extent to which the
surface roughness affects the structure of the turbulent boundary layer was critically examined,
in the context of the wall similarity hypothesis.
A recirculating water tunnel, equipped with a floating element force balance and a twodimensional
Laser Doppler Velocimetry system, was used to obtain detailed measurements on
test plates covered with flow-conditioned freshwater biofilms. Total drag measurements, mean
velocity profiles and turbulent Reynolds stresses were compared for smooth, sandgrain and
biofouled test plates. An artificial biofilm was developed to study the motion of algae streamers
under flow conditions. Each test surface was mapped using digital close-range photogrammetry
to provide a three-dimensional surface model. A logarithmic relationship was found between the
roughness function and the maximum peak-to-valley height from the photogrammetry
measurements for the low-form gelatinous biofilms.
Seven methods for determining the wall shear stress were investigated; however, none of the
methods examined were entirely satisfactory. A method which can be used for both smooth and
rough surfaces with reasonable measurement uncertainty is needed to allow objective
comparison of the structure of smooth and rough wall turbulent boundary layers.
The presence of biofouling caused a significant increase in the local skin friction coefficient and
overall drag coefficient with increases in skin friction of up to 210% measured over smooth plate
values. Results for low-form gelatinous biofilms provided support for the wall similarity
hypothesis. The biofilms modified the structure of the turbulent boundary layer in the near-wall
region. Velocity defect profiles, Reynolds stress profiles and quadrant analyses showed good
agreement for different test plate surfaces in the outer region of the boundary layer. The results
for an artificial filamentous biofilm were less conclusive, and may not support wall similarity.


Although the German ethical dative mir is an inflected form of the personal pronoun ich, it has been classified as a modal particle – an analysis which is supported by the syntactic and semantic properties of the ethical dative mir. Syntactically the ethical dative cannot be fronted or coordinated; neither can it receive main stress. Semantically it can be neither focused nor be in the scope of an operator, and it is not part of the propositional content of the sentence in which it occurs. In this paper, I provide an alternative account to explain its syntactic and semantic properties without treating a personal pronoun as a modal particle. Following the theory of conventional implicatures developed by Christopher Potts (2005), the ethical dative can be analysed as an expression of type 〈t, t〉 that yields a second proposition of type t, which is independent from the proposition to which it is applied. This second proposition is defined by the conventionalized meaning of the ethical dative and expresses – though not propositionally articulated – that the speaker has some personal interest in the hearer's execution of the action requested. With this semantics for the ethical dative in mind, one can explain its syntactic properties without postulating a modal particle mir.


This article describes and presents examples of some techniques for the representation and interactive design of surfaces based on a parametric surface representation that user v-spline curves. These v-spline curves, similar in mathematical structure to v-splines, were developed as a more computationally efficient alternative to splines in tension. Although splines in tension can be modified to allow tension to be applied at each control point, the procedure is computationally expensive. The v-spline curve, however, uses more computationally tractable piecewise cubic curves segments, resulting in curves that are just as smoothly joined as those of a standard cubic spline. After presenting a review of v-splines and some new properties, this article extends their application to a rectangular grid of control points. Three techniques and some application examples are presented.