Reconciling conservation and livelihoods is a concern wherever forests are important in local people's lives. We plead for engaging these people in survey activities to clarify what is important to them, as a first step in conservation planning. This will help to address their priorities and gain their guidance and support for interventions. This paper presents the results of such a survey with the community of Kwerba in Mamberamo, a remote and little known part of Indonesian Papua. Views and priorities were explored through interviews, scoring exercises, community mapping and a field survey. Whereas small gardens provided most staple food, culture and livelihoods were linked to the forest. People scored primary forest highest for nearly all use categories. Primary forest was particularly highly valued as a source of construction materials, ornaments and rituals, and as a hunting place. We developed a list of the overall most important plants and animals. Many natural resources were used, but few were commercially exploited. The community had rules to control access to certain areas and resources. Taboos to restrict access to sacred places were also maintained. Our evaluation identified opportunities to achieve conservation outcomes jointly with the Kwerba people. In follow-up activities, the community presented local government with a land-use plan for their territory. The government recognized the value of our approach and requested training to implement it more widely in the region.


Environmental stress leading to a decrease in growth may be compensated for later in ontogeny by a growth plastic response. Such response could be also transmitted to the next generation, which is called transgenerational plasticity. In this study, two Plantago species were used to test whether compensation for biomass loss after disturbance is driven by maternal effects (ME) due to nutrients and disturbance, i.e. by the form of transgenerational plasticity. Additionally, we tested whether ME could contribute to a different performance of progeny having different disturbance histories. We also tested whether ME are adaptive and whether they differ between related species. The degree of (over)compensation for biomass loss was affected by ME. Maternal effects resulted in different performance of disturbed over undisturbed progeny in relation to nutrient status of the progeny environment along with disturbance and nutrients experienced by mothers. Progeny of P. lanceolata grew more leaf biomass when grown in the same nutrient conditions as experienced by their mothers suggesting that maternal effects might be adaptive. Although overall, there was a consistent role of ME in biomass compensation after disturbance among the two species, there were also some species-specific effects. We conclude that compensation for biomass loss is driven both by maternal effects and by progeny environment. This may lead to the different success of regenerative strategies in environments with contrasting nutrient levels. The different role of ME even between related species may contribute to ecological diversity among species.


In European limnetic systems, the most relevant endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) of steroid type are the natural and synthetic hormones, phytosterols, pesticides, biocides and other chemicals produced by the plastic industry. Their presence in aquatic ecosystems represents a potentially adverse environmental and public health impact. Furthermore, this is a warning signal that the current handling of pharmaceuticals needs to be further improved. Nowadays, it has become clear that EDCs have specific disturb ing effects on the neuroendocrine system of invertebrate and vertebrate aquatic animals, particularly gastropods. Among a latter, pond snail ( Lymnaea stagnalis ) has been used as the first aquatic non-arthropod test organism in studying the effect of EDCs because they are sensitive to various anthropogenic steroids, like progestogens. Investigating a variety of reproductive endpoints of Lymnaea , such as fecundity, oocyte production, egg mass production, the quality of egg masses, the shell size in development and after egg-laying, the time window of cell division in the offspring, the metabolite content of single-cell zygotes and egg albumen has concluded that progestogen contaminations in water are detrimental for reproduction and early stage development of Lymnaea . This chapter is an attempt to show whether Lymnaea reproduction , despite many altering reproductive endpoints, is a suitable model for environmental risk assessment or not.


In recent decades, American state and local highway officials have built wide streets and roads designed primarily to accommodate high-speed automobile traffic. However, such high-speed streets are more dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists than streets with slower traffic, and thus fail to adequately accommodate nondrivers. Government officials design streets for high-speed traffic partially because of their fear of tort liability. An influential street engineering manual, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' Green Book, has generally favored the construction of such high-speed streets, and transportation planners fear that if they fail to follow the Green Book's recommendations, they are more likely to be held negligent if a speeding driver is injured on a street designed for relatively slow traffic. This article argues that such fears are no longer well-founded, for two reasons. First, American tort law gives transportation planners ample discretion to consider the interests of nondrivers. Second, the Green Book itself has become more sensitive to those interests in recent years.


When resources are short, growing organisms face an existential choice: should you ignore the shortage and hope for better times soon, or scale back and live within your limited means? And if you do scale back, will there be any payoff later in life? For animals, these choices are played out hormonally, with environmental fluctuations leading to internal rearrangements in endocrine signal and response throughout the growing body.

In mammals, two principal hormones—growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)—promote growth. Remarkably, inhibiting one or both of these two not only retards growth, but also extends lifespan, not just in lab animals, but possibly also in people: mutations that reduce the function of the IGF-1 receptor have recently been discovered in centenarians (who are also short). Growth occurs throughout the body, and receptors for IGF-1 are found in every organ on virtually every cell. But Laurent Kappeler et al. now show that it is the IGF-1 receptors in the brain that set the pattern for growth and lifespan.

The authors were led to the brain by the hierarchy of the endocrine system itself. While the pituitary gland, which sits just beneath the cranium, is often called the "master gland," it is really more of a first mate, taking its orders directly from the brain's hypothalamus. The hypothalamus controls differentiation and daily function of the pituitary, sending it instructions in the form of "releasing hormones," including growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH). The pituitary, in turn, releases its own corresponding hormones into the blood stream, including growth hormone, which travels to the liver, triggering the production of IGF-1. Collectively, this cascade is known as the "somatotropic axis," and the authors reasoned that if the axis is ultimately controlled from the brain, then its ability to respond to resource fluctuations might be found there as well.

To test this, they selectively knocked out IGF-1 receptors in the brains of mice, leaving peripheral receptors (including those in the pituitary) alone. While homozygous knockouts—missing both gene copies, and producing no brain receptors—had significant developmental defects, the heterozygotes, which had one normal and one missing copy, were healthy and behaved normally. But by 20 days after birth, the knockout mice lagged in growth, and by 90 days, had fallen behind by 10% in body weight and 5% in length compared with their normal littermates.

Despite normal levels of IGF-1 receptors on the pituitary, the size of the gland was reduced, and its ability to produce GH was correspondingly smaller. In the hypothalamus, production of GHRH was diminished, although somatostatin, a hormone with opposite effects, continued to be produced normally. While most organs were smaller than normal, fat tissue was increased, likely as a consequence of reduced GH. The effects of IGF-1 receptor knockout did not extend to other hormonal control axes—both gonadal and thyroidal functions remained normal, emphasizing the specificity of reduced IGF-1 stimulation.

Mean lifespan was also increased in the knockout mice, by about 10%. The effect on lifespan was curious, however. While the mean was extended, the maximum was not—more knockout mice lived longer, but the oldest knockout mouse lived no longer than the oldest normal mouse. The increased mean lifespan can be explained by low peripheral GH and IGF-I, which is itself a consequence of reduced central IGF sensitivity, in keeping with previous studies that have shown that reduced peripheral IGF-I and GH extend lifespan. The reason for the second effect (unchanged maximum lifespan) is unclear and will require more investigation.

These results suggest that IGF-1 feedback onto the hypothalamus during development plays a key role in determining the set-point of the somatotropic axis throughout life. While previous experiments have implicated IGF-1 suppression in lifespan extension, this study shows that central, rather than peripheral, suppression is sufficient to trigger the effect. Longer lifespan can also be the consequence of caloric restriction, and these results may indicate one mechanism that mediates that phenomenon. They also open the door to a multitude of experiments to further explore the interplay of environment and endocrine control in setting the trajectory of metabolism, growth, and longevity.

Somatoliberin produced by the developing hypothalamus (the red label represents hypothalamic somatoliberin, or GHRH) has an impact on late life mortality and lifespan in the mouse.


We describe a method for analysing the temporal structure of a discourse which takes into account the effects of tense, aspect, temporal adverbials and rhetorical structure and which minimises unnecessary ambiguity in the temporal structure. It is part of a discourse grammar implemented in Carpenter's ALE formalism. The method for building up the temporal structure of the discourse combines constraints and prefernces: we use constraints to reduce the number of possible structures, exploiting the HPSG type hierarchy and unification for this purpose; and we apply preferences to choose between the remaining options using a temporal centering mechanism. We end by recommending that an underspecified representation of the structure using these techniques be used to avoid generating the temporal/rhetorical structure until higher-level information can be used to disambiguate.


The Vieuxtemps, a fiddle named after a previous owner and crafted by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Antonio Guarneri, who, along with Antonio Stradivari, is widely considered the best violinmaker ever to have lived, is a superior instrument, a piece of 18th century art, a potential investment, a legend. It9s also the subject of scientific study. A team of violinmakers and scientists has put the Vieuxtemps and three other famous violins through tests including computed tomography scans and acoustic measurements. They hope to pinpoint traits that distinguish a great violin from a good one or a Stradivarius from a Guarneri. The project also highlights an emerging trend within violinmaking. For decades, the instrument has fascinated a small community of scientists and engineers. Now, even as the scientific experts age and retire, some leading violinmakers are adopting their conceptual tools and experimental methods and taking a decidedly more scientific approach to their centuries-old craft.


A theory concerning the relation between the root-mean-square (rms) roughness of a plane surface and its specular reflectance at normal incidence has been reported previously for the case when the roughness is small compared to the wavelength of light. In the present paper the theory is extended with certain restrictions to shorter wavelengths. The inadequacy of parameters such as the rms roughness, the rms slope, and the autocovariance length for describing the reflectance in the shorter wavelength region is discussed. Particular attention is given to the problem of determining the distribution of heights of the surface irregularities from reflectance measurements at normal incidence. It is shown that for many surfaces, designated as normal surfaces, this distribution may be readily determined. Simple models for both normal and abnormal surfaces are used to illustrate the behavior of the reflectance in both cases and the consequent precautions necessary to obtain accurate height distributions. The role of the phase change due to roughness in determining the height distribution is also discussed.


Summary Th e spreading of urban sewage sludge is a constant cause of controversy, in particular as this practice is known to supply amounts of potentially toxic trace metals to the soil, particularly cadmium. In order to clarify some parts of this debate, this article presents a synthesis of the results of many studies carried out in France on the impact of sewage sludge spreading: old experiments as well as more recent trials. Th is paper deals mainly with cadmium but sometimes some interesting results relating to other trace metals are reported. Presented data are relative to: i) the soil quality such as total trace metal contents and results of partial extraction aimed at determining the most phytoavailable fractions; ii) the composition of cereal grain, chiefl y wheat. Depending upon the period, the experiments were completely diff erent as far as the tonnages of sludge applied and the quantities of cadmium involved. Th ree categories of trials stand out: 1) During the 1970s and 80s, sludges with a high trace metal content, especially cadmium, were spread at one experimental farm on sandy soils and in the Vexin area on silty topsoils. In all cases, a notable long-lasting impact was found on the total Cd content of the topsoil and the composition of cereal grains. Th e quantities of applied Cd were very high, from 3,600 g ha-1 to 641,000 g ha-1. 2) Sludges containing high amounts of industrial Ca were spread on acid soils in the Limoges region for more than 20 years. Increases of the cadmium content in the topsoil were only measured in fi elds where the cadmium input was the highest, of 300 to 600 g per ha. A clear increase in the Cd content of cereal grains has been noted as well. 3) During the 1990s and 2000s, numerous experiments with sewage sludge applications compatible with the French regulations were implemented. Local authorities launched many, relatively light, experiments in diverse areas and on diverse soil types. Research institutions carried out other, more exacting, trials. Th e quantities of Cd input varied from 0.6 to 270 g ha-1. In these cases, no impact was measurable on the composition of cereal grains.


Abstract
The relationship between trade unions and the environment is widely regarded as tense and difficult, yet in recent years the environment has become an important new campaigning issue for UK trade unions. Historically, union antagonism towards the environment has been exaggerated but the relationship was not close. UK unions have supported environmental initiatives since the 1970s, although these have been inconsistently implemented. Ideological and class-based differences between the trade union and environmental movements exist, but have been overstated, while the political opportunity structure was not conducive to cooperation between unions and environmental groups until the 1990s. Union decline followed by modernisation in the 1990s altered the labour- environmentalist relationship by changing the content and conduct of trade unionism and employee relations alike; creating new spaces within which more diverse union memberships could articulate novel bargaining and organising agendas (within a revised approach to employee relations) and enhancing unions' porosity to social dialogue in order to facilitate their rehabilitation to the UK's social, political and economic policymaking arenas. Union environmental policies and activism reveal the influence of both membership interests and ideology and unions' search for practical applications for a nascent green (bargaining) agenda. Nevertheless, although the TUC has identified the environment as a strategic concern, relatively few of its members are consistently implementing a green agenda, despite evidence that it is popular with both members and activists. Unions' contemporary environmental activism appears largely unrelated to union size, membership trend or finances and relatively immune to sectoral and employee relations specificities. Union headquarters' support for the development of a unionised green function and pro-environmental attitudes are, however, important. Unions remain to be convinced of the agenda's efficacy as a vehicle for recruiting new members and activists, but more optimistic regarding its ability to enhance their influence with employers. However, case study evidence suggests that a technocentric and conservative workplace greening agenda has limited use either as a recruitment tool or as a vehicle to promote collectivism and its ability to recruit new activists merely reflects extant branch capabilities. Further, although workplace greening is associated with favourable environmental policy and policymaking outcomes and processes it does not appear to generate any pro-union shift in relative bargaining power.


Getting to Gender Equality in Electricity Infrastructure: Lessons from Electricity Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Projects examines the social and gender footprint of large-scale electricity generation, transmission, and distribution projects to establish a foundation on which further research and replication of good practices can be built. The main impact pathways analyzed are access to land and labor markets, along with social sustainability considerations, including health and education. The study adopted this approach because, according to the World Development Report 2012, gender equality in access to land and labor markets matters for women's agency and empowerment. In addition, the study considers the role of the energy utilities and businesses to better understand the roles of various stakeholder. The study's mixed-methods research approach comprises critical in-country qualitative and quantitative field research, along with extensive literature and portfolio reviews. Qualitative analyses of several projects distinguished by their project type, energy source, and geographical representativeness were conducted to better understand how infrastructure construction can change the lives of local people. The World Bank Group (WBG) portfolio review provides guidance on how to operationalize good practices and lessons learned to move the energy-gender agenda forward. The study's primary audiences are energy task teams and social and gender specialists of the WBG and other leading development agencies, along with energy practitioners seeking better ways to address the gender aspects of energy infrastructure projects throughout the project and lending cycles.


Introduction Although tobacco is the leading preventable cause of the death among adults in India, the general public including tobacco users has little awareness about possible consequences of tobacco use. One way of bringing more awareness is to place more information on tobacco products in the form of pictorial warnings. Strong pictorial warnings were mandated by the Indian government but were diluted later on. The question that needs to be investigated whether general public in India needs pictorial warnings on tobacco products and how the warnings would look like? Material and Method A survey of 712 individuals was conducted in Mumbai and Thane. A structured questionnaire was designed and data were collected by trained field investigators. The questionnaire contains several questions on awareness of health warnings on tobacco products, opinion on strength of the warnings and on delays in implementing warnings. Results Among 712 respondents, 89.9% were aware about health warning messages on cigarettes pack. 88.5% of people were strongly agreed for strengthening the pictorial health warnings. Strong pictorial health warnings would make 23.2% male tobacco users thinking to quit smoking and 33.1% never tobacco users will think twice before starting smoking. Conclusion Positive response was shown by general population for implementation of pictorial warnings on tobacco products. Majority of the people were strongly agreed for strong pictorial warnings which were diluted by government notifications in year 2008.


We present a study of the effects of inelastic scattering on the transport properties of various nanoscale devices, namely H$_2$ molecules sandwiched between Pt contacts, and a spin-valve made by an organic molecule attached to model half-metal ferromagnetic current/voltage probes. In both cases we use a tight-binding Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Hamiltonian and the inelastic effects are treated with a multi-channel method, including Pauli exclusion principle. In the case of the H$_2$ molecule, we find that inelastic backscattering is responsible for the drop of the differential conductance at biases larger than the excitation energy of the lower of the molecular phonon modes. In the case of the spin-valve, we investigate the different spin-currents and the magnetoresistance as a function of the position of the Fermi level with respect to the spin-polarized band edges. In general inelastic scattering reduces the spin-polarization of the current and consequently the magnetoresistance.


This thesis presents a modification of existing entropy-based splitting criteria for classification and regression trees. Trees are typically grown using splitting criteria that choose optimal splits without taking future splits into account. This thesis examines localised splitting criteria that are based on local averaging in regression trees or local proportions in classification trees. The use of a localised criterion is motivated by the fact that future splits result in leaves that contain local observations, and hence local deviances provide a better approximation of the deviance of the fully grown tree. While most recent research has focussed on tree-averaging techniques that are aimed at taking a moderately successful splitting criterion and improving its predictive power, this thesis concentrates on improving the splitting criterion.

Use of a localised splitting criterion captures local structures and enables later splits to capitalise on the placement of earlier splits when growing a tree. Using the localised splitting criterion results in much simpler trees for pure interaction data (data with no main effects) and can produce trees with fewer errors and lower residual mean deviances than those produced using a global splitting criterion when applied to real data sets with strong interaction effects.

The superiority of the localised splitting criterion can persist when multiple trees are grown and averaged using simple methods. Although a single tree grown using the localised splitting criterion can outperform tree averaging using the global criterion, generally improvements in predictive performance are achieved by utilising the localised splitting criterion's property of detecting local discontinuities and averaging over sets of trees grown by placing splits where the deviance is locally minimal. Predictive performance improves further when the degree of localisation of the splitting criterion is randomly selected and weighted randomisation is used with locally minimal deviances to produce sets of trees to average over. Although state of the art methods quickly average very large numbers of trees, thus making the performance of the splitting criterion less critical, predictive performance when the localised criterion is used in bagging indicates that different splitting methods warrant investigation.

The localised splitting criterion is most useful for growing one tree or a small number of trees to examine structure in the data. Structurally different trees can be obtained by simply splitting the data where the localised splitting criterion is locally optimal.


A novel potentiometric and voltammetric sensor based on an ionophore (E)-3-(((2-((2 aminoethyl)amino)ethyl)imino)methyl)-4H-chromen-4-one (ICU) has been developed for the detection of Cu(II). The influence of variables including the amount of ionophore, plasticizers, anion excluder sodium tetraphenylborate (NaTPB) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the performance of the potentiometric sensor was studied. Under optimized conditions, the sensor has a wide linear range of concentration (1.0 × 10−7–1.0 × 10−1 mol L−1) and a low detection limit of 1.0 × 10−7 mol L−1 for Cu(II) ions with a stable response in a working pH range of 4.0–7.0. This electrode was also used as an indicator electrode in the potentiometric titration of Cu(II) ions with EDTA. ICU is a promising molecule with potential as a voltammetric sensor for Cu(II) species in DMSO medium in a concentration range of 2.5 × 10−6 mol L−1 to 4.3 × 10−4 mol L−1 and with a low detection limit of 9.3 × 10−9 mol L−1. Scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectra was used to confirm the interaction between Cu(II) ions and the ionophore on the surface of the electrode. The proposed ionophore is highly selective for Cu(II) ions over a number of metal ions. It was successfully applied for the determination of Cu(II) ions in different real life samples from daily use items. Theoretical calculations also support the complexation behavior of Cu(II) with ICU.


Chlamydial infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide, showing no decreasing trends in the incidence the last years. As a result, it presents a major burden of disease that impacts negatively people's sexual and reproductive health and may result in adverse perinatal outcomes. The aim of the chapter is to offer today's practitioners trustworthy guidance on the latest data in chlamydial infection. Thorough, up-to-date content on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, prognosis and outcomes of infected infants, is presented. Data in children and adolescents that differ from infants, are also discussed. The chapter is organized consistently in order to help readers find information quickly and easily and thus, provide direct, optimal and evidence-based care to every pediatric patient.


We demonstrate visualization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in water with fluorescent microscopy by using fluorescent dye background conditions that display a reversal contrast.We could observe CNTs under a constant excitation light for more than ten minutes. We have developed novel chip system to supply fluorescence dye with appropriate concentration. The salt reaching method has been applied to PDMS (poly-dimethyl siloxane) in order to obtain porous structures. We have found that this porous structure provides homogeneous concentration of fluorescence dye by putting it in water and found out porous-PDMS support with larger porous gives a higher and steady concentration. The fine control of the concentration of the fluorescence dye in the microchannel has been achieved with a controlled speed of flow and mixture by means of a micro magnetic stirrer. Dielectrophoretic force was used for CNTs deposition onto electrodes that consist of transparent conductive film. It was confirmed that the proposed microfluidic system controls the concentration of fluorescent dye for a long term observation in water and is useful to apply CNTs to several biological application fields.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of a standardized exercise test to exhaustion in horses on leukocyte function ex vivo.

ANIMALS
6 Thoroughbred geldings.

PROCEDURES
Blood samples were obtained from each horse before exercise; at exhaustion (termed failure); and at 2, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours after exercise to evaluate hematologic changes, rate of leukocyte apoptosis, and leukocyte production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) ex vivo. To assess leukocyte function, leukocyte ROS production in response to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan, zymosan, and phorbol myristate acetate was evaluated. Apoptosis was evaluated via assessment of caspase activity in leukocyte lysates.

RESULTS
In response to lipopolysaccharide, production of ROS by leukocytes was significantly increased at 2 hours and remained increased (albeit not significantly) at 6 hours after exercise, compared with the preexercise value. In the absence of any stimulus, leukocyte ROS production was significantly increased at 6 and 24 hours after exercise. In contrast, ROS production in response to phorbol myristate acetate was significantly decreased at 6, 24, and 72 hours after exercise. Leukocyte ROS production induced by zymosan or peptidoglycan was not altered by exercise. Leukocytosis was evident for 24 hours after exercise, and neutrophilia was detected during the first 6 hours. A significant increase in the rate of leukocyte apoptosis was detected at failure and 72 hours after exercise.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results indicated that strenuous exercise undertaken by horses causes alterations in innate immune system functions, some of which persist for as long as 72 hours after exercise.


Truck-drone delivery systems have the potential to improve how
the logistics industry approaches the "last mile problem". For the purposes of
this study, the "last mile" refers to the portion of the journey between the
last transportation hub and the individual customer that will consume the product.
Drones can deliver packages directly, without the need for an underlying
transportation network but are limited by their range and payload capacity. Studies
have developed multiple truck-drone configurations, each with different
approaches to leverage the benefits and mitigate the limitations of drones.
Existing research has also established the drone's reduction to package
delivery time over the traditional truck only model. Two key model factors that
have not been considered in previous research are the distribution of package
demand, and the distribution of package weight. This study analyzes the drone's
impact to the energy efficiency of a package delivery system, which has taken a
backseat to minimizing delivery time. Demand distribution dictates the travel
distances required for package delivery, as well as the proportion of delivery
locations that are in range for drone delivery. Package weight determines the
energy consumption of a delivery and further restricts the proportion of drone
eligible packages. The major contributions of this study are the development of
a truck-drone tandem mathematical model which minimizes energy consumption, the
construction of a population-based package demand distribution, a realistic package
weight distribution, and a genetic algorithm used to solve the mathematical
model developed for problems that are too computationally expensive to be
solved optimally using an exact method. Results show that drones can only have
a significant impact to energy efficiency in package delivery systems if
implemented under the right conditions. Using truck-drone tandem systems in areas
with lower package demand density affords the drone the potential for larger
energy savings as larger portions of the truck distance can be replaced.
Further, the lower density translates to greater differences between the
road-restricted driving distance and the flying distance between delivery points.
Finally, energy savings are highly dependent on the underlying package weight
distribution of the system. A heavier average package weight increases the
energy consumption of the system, but more importantly the portion of packages
above the drone's payload capacity severely limit the savings afforded by the
incorporation of drones.


People counting has many applications in smart buildings. For example, adjusting HVAC systems based on the number of occupants in each room can save a significant amount of energy. In addition, security and safety of the building can be managed by determining the number and location of occupants. Different technologies and sensing platforms have proposed for accurate and efficient people counting. However, these solutions are expensive, hard to deploy, or privacy invasive. We investigate the possibility of placing an 8×8 IR array sensor at the doorways and counting the number of people inside rooms. Our solution is real-time, inexpensive, privacy preserving with much less deployment constraints compared to its competitors. The proposed solution deals with realistic and dynamic changes in the sensing environment by leveraging a combination of Otsus thresholding and modeling thermal noise distribution. We evaluated our solution via several controlled and uncontrolled real-world environments. The results show an average of 93% accuracy in estimating the number of occupants in rooms.


The relationship between initial population density of Globodera pallida and yield was examined for five genotypes of potato at four different experimental sites; two in Scotland and two in England. The experiments at each site were conducted in two stages. The experimental area was first manipulated using resistant and susceptible potato cultivars to give plots with different nematode population densities to act as the initial populations (Pi) for the second stage. The main experiment was conducted using a range of host genotypes that differed in their tolerance and susceptibility. The utility of an inverse linear model relating yield to initial population density was confirmed as were differences in cultivar tolerance. Site differences in yield loss were also observed. It was found that the model could be modified to include the partitioning of genotype and site effects. The implications of this in terms of developing further models to predict yield loss and nematode population dynamics are discussed.


The objectives of the Consulting Assistance on Economic Reform (CAER II) project are to contribute to broad-based and sustainable economic growth and to improve the policy reform content of USAID assistance activities that aim to strengthen markets in recipient countries. Services are provided by the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) and its subcontractors. It is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and Research, Center for Economic Growth and Agricultural Development, Office of Emerging Markets through Contracts PCE-C-00-95-00015-00 and PCE-Q-00-95-00016-00.


This paper describes a new multi-layer complex liquid-cooled Si mirror with 3 cooling ducts in Archimedes spirals. Utilizing the ANSYS program, the structure of the mirror is optimized and the thermal deformation model of the mirror is simulated. The simulation results show that the mirror has the following advantages: very small amount of surface deformation, uniform distribution of temperature and surface deformation, and fast surface shape restoration. The results of the experiments of thermal deformation and the surface restoration are accurately mapped to the simulation results.


We propose a simple scheme to construct composition-dependent interatomic potentials for multicomponent systems that, when superposed onto the potentials for the pure elements, can reproduce not only the heat of mixing of the solid solution in the entire concentration range but also the energetics of a wider range of configurations including intermetallic phases. We show that an expansion in cluster interactions provides a way to systematically increase the accuracy of the model, and that it is straightforward to generalise this procedure to multicomponent systems. Concentration-dependent interatomic potentials can be built upon almost any type of potential for the pure elements including embedded atom method (EAM), modified EAM, bond-order, and Stillinger–Weber type potentials. In general, composition-dependent N-body terms in the total energy lead to explicit (N + 1)-body forces, which potentially render them computationally expensive. We present an algorithm that overcomes this problem and that can speed up the calculation of the forces for composition-dependent pair potentials in such a way as to make them computationally comparable in efficiency and scaling behaviour to standard EAM potentials. We also discuss the implementation in Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, we exemplarily review the composition-dependent EAM model for the Fe–Cr system.


From gut to brain

It has taken nearly 2000 years to appreciate that a common dietary protein introduced to the human diet relatively late in evolutionary terms (some 10 000 years ago), can produce human disease not only of the gut but also the skin and the nervous system. The protean neurological manifestations of gluten sensitivity can occur without gut involvement and neurologists must therefore become familiar with the common neurological presentations and means of diagnosis of this disease.

" . . .the stomach being the digestive organ, labours in digestion, when diarrhoea seizes the patient . . .and if in addition, the patient's general system be debilitated by atrophy of the body, the coeliac disease of a chronic nature is formed".1

This extract is from the book on chronic diseases by Aretaeus the Cappadocian, one of the most distinguished ancient Greek doctors of the first century AD. This chapter, entitled "on the coeliac diathesis", was the first description of coeliac disease (from the greek word κ⊝ιλιακη meaning abdominal). Aretaeus' books were first published in Latin in 1500 and the new Latin word coeliac was used to translate κ⊝ιλιακη. Coeliac disease (CD) remained obscure until 1887 when Samuel Gee gave a lecture entitled On the coeliac affection 2 at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London. In it he acknowledged Areteaus' contribution and went on to give an accurate description of CD based on his own clinical observations.

With clinical manifestations primarily confined to the gastrointestinal tract or attributable to malabsorption, it was logical to assume that the target organ and hence the key to the pathogenesis of this disease was the gut. The first report of neurological manifestations associated with CD was by Carnegie Brown in 1908.3 In his book entitled Sprue and its treatment …


What many educationists, reading authorities, and other experts claim that research shows casts doubt on the entire enterprise of learning and teaching. When various current theories maintain that reading is misreading, that representation is an illusion, that all signifying is only self-referential, and that attempts to instruct are acts of oppression- it seems time for counterstatement. In this book, Ann Berthoff has posed three questions that frame the book's structure and whose answers frame her counterstatement: Is teaching still possible? Is learning still possible? Is reading still possible? The answer is yes, if we make interpretation central. These essays take as their point of departure the idea that we learn by representing our recognitions, interpreting those representations, and interpreting the interpretations. That capacity for making meaning by interpreting signs is what C. S. Peirce called "the sense of learning." For those who claim an interest in the value of literacy, or who find they are being held accountable for fostering it, these essays can offer aid and comfort, fresh perspectives, and down-to-earth argument.


Abstract. The influence of halogen oxidation on the variabilities of ozone (O3) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within the Arctic and sub-Arctic atmospheric boundary layer was investigated using field measurements from multiple campaigns conducted in March and April 2008 as part of the POLARCAT project. For the ship-based measurements, a high degree of correlation (r = 0.98 for 544 data points collected north of 68° N) was observed between the acetylene to benzene ratio, used as a marker for chlorine and bromine oxidation, and O3 signifying the vast influence of halogen oxidation throughout the ice-free regions of the North Atlantic. Concurrent airborne and ground-based measurements in the Alaskan Arctic substantiated this correlation and were used to demonstrate that halogen oxidation influenced O3 variability throughout the Arctic boundary layer during these springtime studies. Measurements aboard the R/V Knorr in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans provided a unique view of the transport of O3-poor air masses from the Arctic Basin to latitudes as far south as 52° N. FLEXPART, a Lagrangian transport model, was used to quantitatively determine the exposure of air masses encountered by the ship to first-year ice (FYI), multi-year ice (MYI), and total ICE (FYI+MYI). O3 anti-correlated with the modeled total ICE tracer (r = −0.86) indicating that up to 73% of the O3 variability measured in the Arctic marine boundary layer could be related to sea ice exposure.


This report is part of a project to characterize cotton gin emissions from the standpoint of stack sampling. In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized and published a more stringent standard for particulate matter with nominal diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5). This created an urgent need to collect additional cotton gin emissions data to address current regulatory issues, because current EPA AP-42 cotton gin PM2.5 emission factors did not exist. The objective of this study was the development of PM2.5 emission factors for cotton gin master trash systems based on the EPAapproved stack sampling methodology, Method 201A. The project plan included sampling seven cotton gins across the Cotton Belt. Five of the seven gins had master trash systems. In terms of capacity, the five gins were typical of the industry, averaging 37.1 bales/h during testing. Some test runs were excluded from the test averages because they failed to meet EPA Method 201A test criteria. Also, other test runs, included in the analyses, had cotton lint fibers that collected in the ≤ 10 μm and/or ≤ 2.5 μm samples. This larger lint material can impact the reported emissions data, but EPA Method 201A does not suggest methods to account for these anomalies. Average measured master trash system PM2.5 emission factor based on the five tests (13 total test runs) was 0.0042 kg/227-kg bale (0.0093 lb/500-lb bale). The master trash system average emission factors for PM10 and total particulate were 0.036 kg/bale (0.080 lb/bale) and 0.143 kg/bale (0.314 lb/bale), respectively. The master trash system PM2.5 emission rate from test averages ranged from 0.081 to 0.33 kg/h (0.18-0.73 lb/h). System average PM10 emission factors were higher and system average total particulate emission factors were lower than those currently published in EPA AP-42. The ratios of master trash system PM2.5 to total particulate, PM2.5 to PM10, and PM10 to total particulate were 2.9, 11.5, and 25.5%, respectively.


We studied a total of 24 genera and 41 species of modern benthic foraminifers with colored shells from 49 samples col-lected from the Gökçeada region, southwestern Bozcaada, eastern Mitilini in the northeast Aegean Sea and from different points along the shores of southwest Antalya. d(104) reflection and MgCO3 content of shell calcite vary between 2.979-3.035 Å and 0.33-19.00 mole%, respectively. Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios of whole shells range between 2.95-51.51 and 1.45-10.44 [mmol/mol]. These values are normal-ized to maximum and minimum concentrations in chemical analyses from whole shells and shell surfaces in colored and colorless foraminifers. Enrichments in metallic elements seem to be related to absorption depending on qualitative and quantitative measurements of shell structures, although variations are also related to mineralogical composition of shells. Hypothetically ions transferred with hot waters from active faults on the sea-floor and/or the ions transported with cold water runoff from land may cause abnormal enrichment of some metals within foraminifer shells and/or secondary metabolic enrichment of foraminifer shells during life.


This is a post study on security situation and business activities in Kogi state. Previous study showed that the security situation in Kogi state has become a major challenge for investors, and could pose a threat for its economy with implication for investment and job losses. However, findings from this study reveals that a high percentage of respondents agreed that for some months now their towns are becoming safe. However, a reasonable number of respondents felt that the fear of insecurity is still making investment unattractive to some business people in their towns and some business enterprises that closed down in their towns have still not re-opened. Though physical security measures have been heightened in towns as agreed by a high percentage of respondents but no new infrastructure has been put in place to create the enabling environment for business to thrive again. This study argues for the need to overhaul existing infrastructure as well as provide some new ones. As such, government should increase and improve power generation capacity to ensure that electricity is regularly supplied to every nook and cranny of the state.


There are specific phorbol ester receptors on cardiac myocytes which may be identical with the calcium/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C). Incubation of enzymatically dissociated rat cardiac myocytes with biologically active phorbol esters (such as 4 beta-phorbol-12, 13-dibutyrate and 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate) leads to a time- and concentration-dependent loss of beta-adrenergic receptors detectable with the hydrophilic ligand [3H]-CGP-12177. This loss is attributable to a reduction in both maximal beta-receptor numbers and their affinities. The synthetic diacylglycerol, 1-oleyl-2-acetyldiglycerol, which is known to activate protein kinase C, also induces desensitization of beta-receptors. Both phorbol dibutyrate and 1-oleyl-2-acetyldiglycerol have additive effects to isoproterenol, suggesting a separate site of action in promoting beta-receptor desensitization. The effects of phorbol dibutyrate and 1-oleyl-2-acetyldiglycerol are prevented by colchicine (but not its inactive analog, trimethylcolchicinic acid), indicating a microtubule dependence. The loss of membrane-bound beta-receptors after phorbol dibutyrate- or 1-oleyl-2-acetyldiglycerol preincubation is accompanied by an increase in beta-receptors associated with a cytosol-derived vesicular fraction devoid of plasma membrane markers, a finding consistent with an internalization process. These results suggest that protein kinase C activation by diacylglycerols derived from receptor-linked phosphoinositide hydrolysis may be a novel mechanism of cardiac beta-receptor desensitization.


This study investigates the influence of the adhesive (epoxy resin) thickness and the dispersions of non-functionalized carbon based nanostructures (carbon nanotubes CNT) on mechanical properties of single-lap bonded joints. To achieve this goal, three CNT concentrations (0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% m/m); and three different bondline thicknesses (0.05 mm, 0.15 mm and 0.40 mm) were evaluated. The mechanical properties were measured using the apparent shear tensile test, based on ASTM D5868. The results showed that the addition of 1.0 wt% CNTs improved the interface strength, leading to an increase on delaminated areas in failure region up to 55.36% and also improving the peak force up to 13.85%. Decrease in adhesive thickness from 0.40 mm to 0.05 mm promoted a stress redistribution inside adhesive layer improving the peak force up to 13.91%. CNT seems to promote changes in failure modes, light fiber tear (LFT) failure significantly increases up to 45.96%, indicating that interface strength between adhesive and adherent was improved.


In the introduction to Minima Moralia (1951) Theodor Adorno reflects on the dubious choice to set out from the (bourgeois) subjective experience. Adorno defends his enterprise, arguing (with and against Hegel) that what is disappearing is historically essential. Today the subject is the obvious point of departure not only for aphoristic philosophy, but also for literature and art in general, and even academic research. Autobiographical fiction has become so frequent that it is hard to find counterexamples. In a trivial sense the subject has obviously all but dissolved, as Adorno feared it would. If there is still a need to defend it is thus debatable. In the theoretical discourse of today, the discussion is normally centred on processes of subjectivation, performativity, storytelling, recognition etc. In a way this can be seen as a consequence of postmodern thinking: the subject is no longer a 'natural', self-evident entity, but something constructed, something we are free to 'do'. On the other hand there is a tendency that this constructed subjectivity becomes as natural, positive, simple and good-natured as any 'pre-postmodern' subjectivity. The question is, in other words, if we in reality have come any further than Adorno; if our historical situation really differs from his. How then should we understand subjectivity today, in a literary context? In my paper I will discuss this in relation to the theories of Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Judith Butler, Slavoj Zizek and Jacques Ranciere. In the beginning of The Ticklish Subject Slavoj Zizek remarks that the Cartesian subject is a spectre that all philosophical schools are combating today – somehow this is an ironic indication of the vitality of the Cartesian subject. To a certain extent I believe Zizek is right; on the other hand the need to rethink the form of subjectivity Adorno (or Descartes) presupposes seems obvious. In a way I think this is what Ranciere does when he focuses 'an interval for political subjectivization' between man and citizen, rather than a fixed individual subject. These questions are both aesthetically and politically relevant. F x one could ask if the amount of autofiction published during the last decade is an expression of the dissolved subject, or on the contrary of a kind of hyper-individualism. Or do those options in reality amount to the same powerlessness?


Animals (metazoans) include some of the most complex living organisms on Earth, with regard to their multicellularity, numbers of differentiated cell types, and lifecycles. The metazoan extracellular matrix (ECM) is well-known to have major roles in the development of tissues during embryogenesis and in maintaining homoeostasis throughout life, yet insight into the ECM proteins which may have contributed to the transition from unicellular eukaryotes to multicellular animals remains sparse. Recent phylogenetic studies place either ctenophores or poriferans as the closest modern relatives of the earliest emerging metazoans. Here, we review the literature and representative genomic and transcriptomic databases for evidence of ECM and ECM-affiliated components known to be conserved in bilaterians, that are also present in ctenophores and/or poriferans. Whereas an extensive set of related proteins are identifiable in poriferans, there is a strikingly lack of conservation in ctenophores. From this perspective, much remains to be learnt about the composition of ctenophore mesoglea. The principal ECM-related proteins conserved between ctenophores, poriferans, and bilaterians include collagen IV, laminin-like proteins, thrombospondin superfamily members, integrins, membrane-associated proteoglycans, and tissue transglutaminase. These are candidates for a putative ancestral ECM that may have contributed to the emergence of the metazoans.


In the past decade, high-performance computing (HPC) platforms like clusters and computational grids have been widely used to solve challenging and rigorous engineering tasks in industry and scientific applications. Due to extremely high energy cost, reducing energy consumption has become a major concern in designing economical and environmentally friendly HPC infrastructures for many applications. In this dissertation, we first describe a general architecture for building energy-efficient HPC infrastructures, where energy-efficient techniques can be incorporated in each layer of the proposed architecture. Next, we developed an array of energy-efficient scheduling as well as energy-aware load balancing algorithms for high-performance clusters, computational grids, and large-scale storage systems. The primary goal of this dissertation research is to minimize energy consumption while maintaining reasonably high performance by incorporating energy-aware resource management techniques to HPC platforms. We have conducted extensive simulation experiments using both synthetic and real world applications to quantitatively evaluate both energy efficiency and performance of our proposed energy-efficient scheduling and load balancing strategies. Experimental results show that our approaches can reduce energy dissipation in HPC platforms without significantly degrading system performance.


The practice of German companies to indulge in forum shopping in England to achieve beneficial treatment under English insolvency proceedings has encouraged the German Government to make significant changes to German insolvency laws by introducing new legislation in the form of the Law for the Further Facilitation of the Rehabilitation of Companies ("Gesetz zur weiteren Erleichterung der Sanierung von Unternehmen" "ESUG" ). The Act states that the impetus for the reform was the move of German companies to England which started a general discussion of "Germany, as a restructuring jurisdiction" ("Sanierungsstandort Deutschland"). Such forum shopping activities increased the awareness of the perceived weaknesses of the German system.

This research looks at forum shopping from a Darwinian perspective. Germany and England as Member States of the European Union compete with each other as movement of capital to another Member State has a negative effect on the country's economy. A reputation as a "bad restructuring jurisdiction" has an impact on the choice of business location and could act as a disincentive to company incorporations in Germany. Freedom of establishment allows companies to choose a regime which fulfils their needs, the Member States have to be motivated to attract companies and be willing to adapt to changes to keep up with business demands. In particular it should be borne in mind that forum shopping is not a one-dimensional activity and in itself constitutes an element of investment. The quality of a country's legal restructuring framework has an impact on a company's choice of business location in the first place and its willingness to invest and hence to attract debt financing.

Taking the example of Germany and England, it is argued that forum shopping activities foster the development, improvement, reform and revision of existing laws. This thesis argues that Insolvency Darwinism results in a global alignment and convergence of insolvency systems so that the jurisdictions within the EU imitate each other with their rescue-friendliness. This competition for the "best insolvency regime" results in a more perfect insolvency landscape. The alignment with more rescue-friendly insolvency regimes is preferred to avoid unwanted forum shopping activities, whereas a "fettered Darwinian approach" of partially imitating another system will fail to deliver the desired result.

This thesis critically examines whether Germany has achieved its aim of establishing a "culture of second chance" in changing the Insolvency Code ("Insolvenzordnung") introduced by the ESUG. Chapter one serves to explain why forum shopping functions as a driver of insolvency law perfection, using a "Darwinian approach" and Darwin's core thesis of "natural selection" to explain the competition of jurisdictions in insolvency law. Chapters two and three give an overview of the developments of the rescue culture in Germany and England. Chapters four to eight compare and contrast the different key areas in Germany and England, examining the situation in Germany before and after the introduction of the ESUG. Specific focus is put on the question of whether the changes introduced by the ESUG were driven by forum shopping activities and whether these changes led in fact to a more "perfect" insolvency regime, in the sense as examined in chapter one. Chapter nine is dedicated to the conclusion.


Large aggregations reaching over 400 individuals of adult Idia moths were observed and photographed inside two hollow trees in different localities in north central Florida between 2010 and 2018. A species of litter moth similar to Glossy Black Idia, Idia lubricalis (Erebidae), formed what appeared to be monospecific diurnal roosts consisting of both males and females. While this moth's caterpillars are known to be detritivores, no signs of immature stages or byproducts of larval feeding were found. The uniform orientation of the moths away from the entrance, fluctuation in their numbers, the higher concentration of the moths near the entrance, and the fact that aggregations were found throughout the summer regardless of the weather, suggest that they are formed on the daily basis perhaps using sex pheromones as cues. No mating was observed despite repeated observations at different times of the day, ranging from dawn to dusk. Hence, the exact function(s) of the observed behavior that is akin to the diurnal roosting of bats is yet to be determined.


As two of the leading MVC web frameworks for Python, Django and TurboGears allow you to develop and launch sites in a fraction of the time compared to traditional techniques and they provide greater stability, scalability, and management than alternatives. Packed with examples, this book will help you discover a new methodology for designing, coding, testing, and deploying rich web applications. A team of expert authors shows you the power of MVC frameworks and the capabilities of the TurboGears and Django packages. The Django chapters show you how to automate production of common web development tasks, portal creation, and content management, so you can focus on higher-level application issues and design. The TurboGears chapters illustrate how to rapidly create modern, highly interactive Web 2.0 applications. For both frameworks, you'll create useful applications that exemplify common Web 2.0 design paradigms and their solutions. Ultimately, you'll leverage your Python skills using Django and TurboGears and go from novice to RIA expert. What you will learn from this book * How you can use frameworks to save you time and frustration in the development cycle * The elements, differences, and similarities of the TurboGears and Django frameworks * Advanced capabilities of both frameworks and how they easily solve issues common to web applications * Approaches to simplifying your client side JavaScript(r) with MochiKit, a Pythonic JavaScript library * How to pair TurboGears with Flash for even more possibilities Who this book is for This book is for Python developers who want to learn rapid Web 2.0 development techniques using frameworks and incorporating a model-view-controller architecture. Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.


Networks provide a 'skeleton' for the spread of contagions, like, information, ideas, behaviors and diseases. Many times networks over which contagions diffuse are unobserved and need to be inferred. Here we apply survival theory to develop general additive and multiplicative risk models under which the network inference problems can be solved efficiently by exploiting their convexity. Our additive risk model generalizes several existing network inference models. We show all these models are particular cases of our more general model. Our multiplicative model allows for modeling scenarios in which a node can either increase or decrease the risk of activation of another node, in contrast with previous approaches, which consider only positive risk increments. We evaluate the performance of our network inference algorithms on large synthetic and real cascade datasets, and show that our models are able to predict the length and duration of cascades in real data.


❚ Received: November 25, 2015 Accepted: June 17, 2016 ❚ Correspondence: Fiammetta Monacelli, Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (DIMI), viale Benedetto XV 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy Tel./ Fax +39 010 3537545 E-mail: email@example.com. IgG4-related systemic disease (IgG4-RSD) is an emerging autoimmune disorder that may affect several organs, with signs of organ fibrosis, storiform masses for hystopathological plasmacellular infiltration and plasmatic elevation of IgG4. This clinical condition frequently occurs in the sixth decade and may be considered an autoimmunity of the elderly; the disease may have a smouldering course with frequent misdiagnosis for the co-occurrence of comorbidity and clinical complexity. The present case report describes the clinical case of an 81 years old woman admitted to the geriatric ward for remittent fever and functional decline. The past clinical history reported an isolated CT scan suggestive of retroperitoneal fibrosis of unknown origin with and a drug regimen that included chronic corticosteroids (prednisone 5 mg oad). The in hospital diagnostic workout demonstrated the presence of a thoracic aneurysm. Several possible diagnoses among inflammatory, autoimmune (connective tissue disease, vasculitis, sarcoidosis, amyloidosis), infectious (mycotic) or neoplastic conditions were ruled out, as well as any drug association with higher risk of retroperitoneal fibrosis. Thus, the clinical hypothesis of an IgG4 chronic periaortitis was formulated due to the co-occurrence of all the three major components: the presence of a retroperitoneal fibrosis, IgG4 related abdominal aortitis and peryaneurysmal fibrosis. Patient's comorbidity did not allow performing the histological analysis. The present clinical case is original and adds knowledge to the 76 cases of thoracic aortitis due to IgG4 systemic disease out of the 3482 cases of disease reported so far. Further clinical investigation is needed to provide a homogeneous diagnostic workout for tailored early therapeutic intervention on the single geriatric patient. Moreover, a growing awareness of the disease is needed, especially in geriatrics, to providing a better standard of care and to improving the disease clinical knowledge and management.


Abstract. Fast technological developments in photogrammetry and remote sensing areas demand quick and steady changes in the education programme and its realization. The university teachers and assistants are faced with ensuring the learning materials, data and software for practical lessons, as well as project proposals for student's team work and bachelor or master thesis. In this paper the emerging topics that already have a considerable impact in the practice are treated mostly from the educational aspect. These relatively new topics that are considered in this paper are unmanned aerial systems for spatial data collection, terrestrial and aerial laser scanning, mobile mapping systems, and novelties in satellite remote sensing. The focus is given to practical implementation of these topics into the teaching and learning programme of Geodesy and Geoinformation at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, and experiences gained by the authors so far. Together with the technological advances, the teaching approaches must be modernized as well. Classical approaches of teaching, where a lecturer gives lecture ex cathedra and students are only listeners, are not effective enough. The didactics science of teaching has developed and proved in the practice many useful approaches that can better motivate students for more active learning. We can use different methods of team work like pro et contra debate, buzzing groups, press conference, moderated discussion etc. An experimental study on active teaching methods in the class of students of the Master programme of Geodesy and Geoinformation has been made and the results are presented. After using some new teaching methods in the class, the students were asked to answer two types of a questionnaire. First questionnaire was the standard form developed by Noel Entwistle, an educational psychologist who developed the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI) for identifying deep and surface approaches to learning. The second questionnaire was developed for our purpose to get the feedback from students on active teaching and learning methods. Although this investigation has been done only for one class of master programme students, the results are encouraging and we could extract some recommendations for the future.


P-type ATPases from the P4 subfamily (P4-ATPases) are energy-dependent transporters, which are thought to establish lipid asymmetry in eukaryotic cell membranes. Together with their Cdc50 accessory subunits, P4-ATPases couple ATP hydrolysis to lipid transport from the exoplasmic to the cytoplasmic leaflet of plasma membranes, late Golgi membranes, and endosomes. To gain insights into the structure and function of these important membrane pumps, robust protocols for expression and purification are required. In this report, we present a procedure for high-yield co-expression of a yeast flippase, the Drs2p-Cdc50p complex. After recovery of yeast membranes expressing both proteins, efficient purification was achieved in a single step by affinity chromatography on streptavidin beads, yielding ∼1–2 mg purified Drs2p-Cdc50p complex per liter of culture. Importantly, the procedure enabled us to recover a fraction that mainly contained a 1∶1 complex, which was assessed by size-exclusion chromatography and mass spectrometry. The functional properties of the purified complex were examined, including the dependence of its catalytic cycle on specific lipids. The dephosphorylation rate was stimulated in the simultaneous presence of the transported substrate, phosphatidylserine (PS), and the regulatory lipid phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P), a phosphoinositide that plays critical roles in membrane trafficking events from the trans-Golgi network (TGN). Likewise, overall ATP hydrolysis by the complex was critically dependent on the simultaneous presence of PI4P and PS. We also identified a prominent role for PI4P in stabilization of the Drs2p-Cdc50p complex towards temperature- or C12E8-induced irreversible inactivation. These results indicate that the Drs2p-Cdc50p complex remains functional after affinity purification and that PI4P as a cofactor tightly controls its stability and catalytic activity. This work offers appealing perspectives for detailed structural and functional characterization of the Drs2p-Cdc50p lipid transport mechanism.


In this dissertation we present new results regarding optimality of block designs with limited resources. The dissertation is organized as follows. The first chapter outlines the theory of optimal block design. The second chapter shows new work in optimal minimally connected block designs with spatial correlation structure. The third chapter details the discovery of the optimal incomplete designs with two blocks. The fourth chapter does the same for the optimal binary incomplete designs with three blocks. The fifth chapter summarizes the techniques used and new results found and lists possible future research topics.


Floods are a serious hazard to life and property. The traditional probability statistical method is acceptable in analysing the flood risk but requires a large sample size of hydrological data. This paper puts forward a composite method based on artificial neural network (ANN) and information diffusion method (IDM) for flood analysis. Information diffusion theory helps to extract as much useful information as possible from the sample and thus improves the accuracy of system recognition. Meanwhile, an artificial neural network model, back-propagation (BP) neural network, is used to map the multi-dimensional space of a disaster situation to a one-dimensional disaster space and to enable resolution of the grade of flood disaster loss. These techniques all contribute to a reasonable prediction of natural disaster risk. As an example, application of the method is verified in a flood risk analysis in China, and the risks of different flood grades are determined. Our model yielded very good results and suggests that the methodology is effective and practical, with the potentiality to be used to forecast flood risk for use in flood risk management. It is also hoped that by conducting such analyses lessons can be learned so that the impact of natural disasters such as floods can be mitigated in the future. Keywords: artificial neural network, information diffusion, flood, risk analysis, assessment


Abstract Objective Inadequately treated pain and distress elicited by medical procedures can put children at higher risk of acute and chronic biopsychosocial sequelae. Children can benefit from hypnotherapy, a psychologically tailored intervention, as an adjunct to pharmacological agents to address the multiple components of pain and distress. Despite providing evidence on the effectiveness and potential superiority of hypnotherapy to other psychological interventions, research on hypnotherapy for pediatric procedural pain and distress has been predominantly limited to oncology and needle procedures. Plus, there is a lack of reporting of intervention manuals, factors influencing hypnotic responding, pain unpleasantness outcomes, theoretical frameworks, adverse events, as well as barriers and facilitators to the feasibility of delivering the intervention and study procedures. The proposed review aims to map the range and nature of the evidence on hypnotherapy for procedural pain and distress in children to identify gaps in literature and areas requiring further investigation. Methods This review will follow the Arksey and O'Malley (2005) methodology and incorporate additional scoping review recommendations by the Joanna Briggs Institute and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses. Relevant studies will be identified through searching published literature databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus and Web of Science) and grey literature in addition to hand-searching of reference lists and key journals. Two authors will independently screen titles and abstracts of search results followed by full-texts review against eligibility criteria. Conclusion Findings are anticipated to guide future research and inform the development of tailored hypnotic interventions in children.


In the recent past, the field of optofluidics has thrived from the immense efforts of researchers from diverse communities. The concept of optofluidics combines optics and microfluidics to exploit novel properties and functionalities. In the very beginning, the unique properties of liquid, such as mobility, fungibility and deformability, initiated the motivation to develop optical elements or functions using fluid interfaces. Later on, the advancements of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and microfluidic technologies enabled the realization of optofluidic components through the precise manipulation of fluids at microscale thus making it possible to streamline complex fabrication processes. The optofluidic system aims to fully integrate optical functions on a single chip instead of using external bulky optics, which can consequently lower the cost of system, downsize the system and make it promising for point-of-care diagnosis. This perspective gives an overview of the recent developments in the field of optofluidics. Firstly, the fundamental optofluidic components will be discussed and are categorized according to their basic working mechanisms, followed by the discussions on the functional instrumentations of the optofluidic components, as well as the current commercialization aspects of optofluidics. The paper concludes with the critical challenges that might hamper the transformation of optofluidic technologies from lab-based procedures to practical usages and commercialization.


Empirical studies on the trade-environment nexus that use panel data face two simultaneous challenges. One is associated with the potential presence of unobserved cross-country heterogeneity, while the other is due to the use of aggregate data. In this paper, we apply both the dynamic fixed effects and iterative empirical Bayes estimators to show first that when country heterogeneity is accurately accounted for in the estimation, it is possible to obtain significant impacts of trade variables on the environment, even though we use aggregate data. Second, using both the empirical Bayes parameter estimates and indicators of stringency of environmental regulations, we show that at low levels of stringency, the probability of having pollution-intensive foreign direct investments (FDIs) increases with a decrease in stringency. However, at high levels of regulatory stringency, more stringent regulations may lead to more pollution-intensive FDIs. This implies that pollution havens may exist only if environmental regulations are very lax or nonexistent.


[Extract] Computer Systems is an American multinational computer manufacturer which began its operations in California in the mid-1960s. Initially concentrating on mini-computers, the range of computers produced has been extended, and the corporation has moved into the related areas of office automation, data processing and computer-aided engineering. Computer Systems has a Far East regional office in Japan and manufacturing facilities
in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan. The
Singapore operation, representing a US$70 million investment, is one part of a vertically integrated multinational corporation (MNC). Competition world-wide has meant a recent "trimming" operation with a workforce cutback of about 8 per cent in the United States and the Far East, though Singapore has not been affected.


Title of Document: LOW DIMENSIONAL DESCRIPTION OF PEDESTRIAN-INDUCED INSTABILITY OF THE MILLENNIUM BRIDGE Mahmoud M. Gad Abdulrehem, Master of Science, 2008 Directed By: Professor Edward Ott, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department When it opened to pedestrian traffic in the year 2000, London's Millennium Bridge exhibited an unwanted, large, side-to-side oscillation which was apparently due to a resonance between the stepping frequency of walkers and one of the bridge modes. Models for this event, and similar events on other bridges, have been proposed. The model most directly addressing the synchronization mechanism of individual walkers and the resulting global response of the bridge-pedestrian system is one developed by Eckhardt et al. This model treats individual walkers with a phase oscillator description and is inherently high dimensional with system dimensionality (N+2), where N is the number of walkers. In this thesis we use a method proposed by Ott and Antonsen to reduce the Eckhardt et al. model to a low dimensional dynamical system, and we employ this reduced description to study the global dynamics of the bridge-pedestrian interaction. More generally, this treatment serves as an interesting example of the possibility of low dimensional macroscopic behavior in large systems of coupled oscillators. LOW DIMENSIONAL DESCRIPTION OF PEDESTRIAN-INDUCED INSTABILITY OF THE MILLENNIUM BRIDGE


In rapid changes and developments that are a daily occurrence, a need to change educational activities and practical prescriptions to suit all circumstances to the major challenges to be faced are compulsory and the institutions of higher education are forced to modify their educational activities and practical prescriptions to suit all circumstances in the present and future, of particular concern and priority to the major challenges to be faced. This is a permanent contact with all sectors that are interrelated with the profession and to alert appropriate investigative processes and target new services arising from the development of traditional exercise increasingly renewed but always with due respect for the ethical commitment. This paper aims to review the interrelated subjects in the era of public accounting ant its background comes as well.


During the 1960s, intervention in Africa by both the UNO and former colonial powers such as France was imposed on Africans. After half a century, Pan-Africanists have started to challenge, sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully, the dominant powers in global governance. Pan-Africanism has been the political driver for these counter-hegemonic attempts. Today African agency seeks to negotiate interventions in Africa to ensure they are at least partly by Africans and with Africans instead of external intervention in Africa. There was complex dynamics between the AU, ECOWAS, NATO, the Arab League, and France during interventions in the civil wars in Cote D'Ivoire, Libya, and Mali. This paper argues that when the Pan-African agenda diverged from NATO preferences, South Africa and other African Union members faced major challenges in asserting African agency. When there was consensus between western and Pan-African actors, the African Union took the leading role.


The transformation of national segmented financial markets into integrated parts of the global financial markets involves complex cross-border and cross-sectoral integration in which capital movements and financial services are key determinants. The corporate sector plays a major role in this process.
The national financial market is a part of the national financial system. The basic function of the financial system is to transfer loanable funds from lenders (savins-surplus units) to borrowers (savings deficit units). In a situation where there are "well-functioning" financial markets, both lenders and borrowers in the markets made better off as a result of the existence of the markets, because lenders can indirectly invest in productive opportunities and get a return on their investment, and borrowers can undertake the investment. The flow of funds can be direct finance, as opposed to indirect finance whereby lenders channel their funds to ultimate borrowers via financial intermediaries. In this second case, savers may make deposit in saving of commercial banks, or they may buy secondary financial instruments issued by financial institutions.


This paper focuses on examining the response of a large turret-moored FPSO or FLNG vessel in squall conditions and presents a novel and statistically robust response-based approach for the derivation of squall governed design loads. Turret mooring arrangements are typically used as a permanent mooring for FPSO and FLNG vessels, usually in deeper waters and in remote areas where storage capacity is required. The weather-vaning capability makes this type of mooring suitable for many types of environment; however, in tropical environments where metocean conditions are otherwise relatively benign, squalls can dominate aspects of design. Squalls are mesoscale convective systems that cause rapid increases in wind speed and are often associated with large changes in wind direction Squalls are highly variable in both their wind speed and direction profiles and typically uncorrelated with the wave and current conditions; hence the impact of squalls can be difficult to predict and a statistically robust industry standard design approach does not currently exist. Where squall events are the design drivers for mooring arrangements they require particular focus due to the industry's imperfect knowledge of squall intensity and frequency coupled with the particularly high inter-annual variation of squalls at most locations. To understand the design criteria for a squall environment the horizontal motions of the turret-moored system are modelled using a simplified time-domain approach, which makes considerable simplifying assumptions. This significantly reduces computational time, allowing the analysis to be conducted efficiently for a large range of both squall conditions and associated environmental (wave and current) conditions, including by season and direction. An extreme value analysis approach is then applied to all of the maximum values of the desired response for all combinations of squall and associated conditions, by selecting a number of bootstrap resamples, each the size of the number of squall events. The bootstrap resamples are selected on the probability of occurrence of the associated conditions. A generalised Pareto model can be automatically fitted to all bootstrap resamples and for every return period a user defined number of simulations is performed to estimate the most probable or percentile estimates of the desired return period. Finally, a back calculation of the transient design conditions at the desired return period can then be made and applied into the standard design process. This ensures statistically robust design conditions for squall design loads and deriving a few statistically robust design squalls and associated conditions minimises later analysis. Importantly the approach allows the users to propagate the remaining uncertainty estimates into subsequent robustness analyses. © Copyright 2017 ASME.


Take years off your keepsake photos or enhance the current ones with Photoshop CS3's powerful tools and the expert techniques and tips you'll find in this comprehensive guide. Using step-by-step instructions and over 500 pages of full-color examples, this book shows you how to clone, blend layers, add contrast, reduce glare, soften wrinkles, rescue torn photos, and more. From portraits to landscapes to architectural masterpieces, fine-tune your favorites with this expert guide.


A miniature spiral diversity antenna system operating at 1.85 GHz is proposed. Two 10 times 6.25 mm antennas were placed at two corners of a printed circuit board at a height of 7 mm from the ground plane. Each antenna achieves nearly 7% bandwidth within 6 dB return loss. The mutual coupling between the two antennas is less than 10 dB. The proposed diversity antenna scheme exhibits high overall gain performance in all three principal planes compared to a single antenna solution. Computed specific absorption rate (SAR) data against a specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) phantom and a hand model show that the diversity antenna system induces low SAR compared to a single antenna.


We investigate unimodular random networks. Our motivations include their characterization via reversibility of an associated random walk and their similarities to unimodular quasi-transitive graphs. We extend various theorems concerning random walks, percolation, spanning forests, and amenability from the known context of unimodular quasi-transitive graphs to the more general context of unimodular random networks. We give properties of a trace associated to unimodular random networks with applications to stochastic comparison of continuous-time random walk.


Public value research was initiated more than 20 years ago (Moore 1995). It resonated around the globe and has been labeled "the next big thing" (Talbot 2008). However, the integration of public value measures into existing schemes of performances measurement (controlling data) is still lacking. This study provides a link between public value data and controlling data. For the first time, this relationship is explored empirically. Based on data from Germany's Federal Labor Agency (FLA) and interviews with employers in 2012 and 2014, the authors find significant expected and unexpected relationships between public value and controlling data. Expected positive relationships exist between the absolute data on public value and controlling data, an unexpected inverted U-shape relationship manifests itself for the relative change in the controlling data. There is no significant correlation between the public value creation at both points in time. Furthermore, public value assessments seem to predict employers' attitudes towards the FLA. The article discusses how to further integrate public value data in performance management in the public sector.


Metal matrix composites with multiscale hierarchical structure and laminated structure have been developed to provide a novel route to achieve high strength, toughness and ductility. In this chapter, a lot of scientific research has been carried out in the preparation, processing, properties and application of metal matrix composite. Many toughening mechanisms and fracture behavior of composites with multiscale hierarchical structure and laminated structure are overviewed. It is revealed that elastic property and yield strength of laminated composites follow the "rule of average." However, the estimation of fracture elongation and fracture toughness is complex, which is inconsistent with the "rule of average." The fracture elongation of laminated composites is related to the layer thickness size, interface, gradient structure, strain hardening exponent, strain rate parameter and tunnel crack, which are accompanied with crack deflection, crack blunting, crack bridging, stress redistribution, local stress deformation, interfacial delamination crack and so on. The concept of laminated composites can be extended by applying different combination of individual layer, and provides theoretical as well as experimental fundamentals on strengthening and toughening of metal matrix composites.


Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have gained significant interest as nanovectors for combined imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors. Delivered systemically, GNPs preferentially accumulate at the tumor site via the enhanced permeability and retention effect, and when irradiated with near infrared light, produce sufficient heat to treat tumor tissue. The efficacy of this process strongly depends on the targeting ability of the GNPs, which is a function of the particle's geometric properties (eg, size) and dosing strategy (eg, number and amount of injections). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of GNP type and dosing strategy on in vivo tumor targeting. Specifically, we investigated the in vivo tumor-targeting efficiency of pegylated gold nanoshells (GNSs) and gold nanorods (GNRs) for single and multiple dosing. We used Swiss nu/nu mice with a subcutaneous tumor xenograft model that received intravenous administration for a single and multiple doses of GNS and GNR. We performed neutron activation analysis to quantify the gold present in the tumor and liver. We performed histology to determine if there was acute toxicity as a result of multiple dosing. Neutron activation analysis results showed that the smaller GNRs accumulated in higher concentrations in the tumor compared to the larger GNSs. We observed a significant increase in GNS and GNR accumulation in the liver for higher doses. However, multiple doses increased targeting efficiency with minimal effect beyond three doses of GNPs. These results suggest a significant effect of particle type and multiple doses on increasing particle accumulation and on tumor targeting ability.


Between 2004 and 2016, we elicited individuals' subjective expectations of stock market returns in a Dutch internet panel at bi-annual intervals. In this paper, we develop a panel data model with a finite mixture of expectation types who differ in how they use past stock market returns to form current stock market expectations. The model allows for rounding in the probabilistic responses and for observed and unobserved heterogeneity at several levels. We estimate the type distribution in the population and find evidence for considerable heterogeneity in expectation types and meaningful variation over time, in particular during the financial crisis of 2008s09.


This paper traces the historical antecedants of the 1982 Merger Guidelines SSNIP (small but significant and non-transitory increase in price) approach to market definition. Surveying the prior literature, it recognizes that the person believed to have proposed the approach was Morris Adelman. The author claims a second-mover slot for his testimony in a 1972 brewing merger case, the IBM case, and the Marathon-Mobil case of 1981, along with a 1980 restatement of market definition principles in his industrial organization textbook. Intermediate contributions are also surveyed.


Abstract This paper addresses both 'student engagement' in contemporary universities, and student 'disengagement' – where the latter is often seen as a failure of performance, or absence of will. In a bold move, the paper asks whether students should be engaged in their university education, and whether there is value in forms of disengagement. It finds an original way in which student disengagement can be understood by drawing on the writings of Stanley Cavell – on the philosophical appeal to what we say, our search for criteria, and on ideas of acknowledgement and avoidance in his work on Shakespearian tragedy. It shows what is at stake in our attunement with, and dissent from, criteria, and how such dissent can be educative. The paper considers the film 'Stella Dallas', in which Stella's aversion to, her disengagement from, her culture's criteria, is not a passive withdrawal, but rather the finding of voice, her education as a grownup. The paper concludes that disengagement, understood as aversion, dissent and refusal of voice, is not to be seen always as a lack of action or of care, but as the opposite: the active voicing of what we will, or will not, consent to in our education.


This article deals with the issue of entry into an industry where firms share a collective reputation. First, we show that free entry is not socially optimal; there is a need for regulation through the imposition of a minimum quality standard. Second, we argue that a minimum quality standard can induce firms to enter the market. Contrary to conventional wisdom, a minimum quality standard should not always be considered as a barrier to entry.


The formation of complexes between polyacrylamide which contains a glycine end group and BSA have been studied in neutral water. Water soluble or insoluble complexes are formed when divalent copper ions were added to these solutions. Contacts between protein and polyelectrolyte were achieved via chelate formation in which the copper ion is attached at the center. The solubility of the polycomplexes depends on the protein/polymer ratio. Starting with very low protein concentrations in the system, phase separation takes place. After a critical ratio of the protein/polymer was achieved the mixture exhibited water solubility. The kinetics of the formation of ternary complexes were studied. It was shown that water insoluble complexes are nonequilibrium complexes. A hypothetical structural model for the formation of soluble and insoluble ternary polycomplexes is proposed.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a cancer that starts in lymphocytes. The main treatment for NHL is chemotherapy and radiation. Today immunotherapy is a promising therapeutic approach in the treatment of a variety cancers which is high specific unlike previous methods. Antibodies do not penetrate effectively into tumore tissues because of their large size. Whereas the small size of nanobodies (Camelid single-domain antibodies) allow them to efficiently enter into tissues and bind to the epitopes. Human CD20 over expression in the B-cell lymphoma makes this antigen as a validated target for immunotherapy. One major problem in production of full length CD20 is aggregation and misfolding. Therefore, production of a polypeptide is easer and favorable comparing to that of a full length transmembrane protein CD20. Correspondence: Mojtaba Tahmoorespur, PhD. Department of Animal Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Mashhad, Iran Tel:+98 9151159911 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com Methods: The fragment consisting of human CD20 extra membrane loop and hinge and Fc of camelid IgG was constructed. Then it was facilitated by HindIII and XhoI restriction enzyme sites and fused to the 6t His tag for purifiction. The stop codon was engineered in the terminal sequence. The engineered coding sequence was synthesized by Generay Company and then inserted into the pcDNA3.1 (+) vector to obtain recombinant expression vector. The accuracy of ligation reaction was confirmed by colony PCR, sequencing and digestion. Results: The colony PCR result showed 1132 kb fragment. The results of digestion and sequencing showed that the protein was what we had hoped to acquire. Conclusion: We have obtained the recombinant expression vector inorder to express in mammalian cell which can be used to produce novel anti-human CD20 monoclonal antibody in future.


The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of four dietary levels of L-threonine (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 g/kg) with or without Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) on performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal morphology and immune system of broiler chickens. A total of 360 1-d-old male broiler chicks were randomly allocated to eight treatments with three replicates of 15 birds. The experiment was done at 0 to 3 weeks (as starter phase) and 3 to 6 weeks (as grower phase). Growth performance traits including weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were recorded at the end of each week. At the end of the experiment eight birds per treatment were killed and carcass analysis was done. Sampling for blood evaluation was done on 7, 28 and 42 days of age. Results of this study indicated that use of SC did not affect feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio in chicks in contrast with the L-threonine. Use of L-threonine improved feed conversion ratio and gain of birds. Carcass traits were not influenced by dietary L-threonine and SC supplements. Use of L-threonine increased the intestinal morphology parameters such as crypt depth and villi height and width in both jejunum and ileum segments. On the other hand, villi height and width and crypt depth increased in both jejunum and ileum segments when dietary L-threonine increased. Effect of SC supplement on intestinal morphology was not significant. Results of CBC (cell blood counts) parameters, such as white blood cells, red blood cells, haematocrit and haemoglobin showed that these parameters were not affected by dietary treatments. Furthermore, the immune response (antibody titre) against Newcastle disease was not affected by SC on both 26 and 42 days of age. However, use of L-threonine influenced the chicks' immune response at 42 days of age. Our results have shown that the supplementation of L-threonine as a source of dietary-threonine in combination with SC improved growth performance and intestinal morphology traits in broilers.


Satellite observations are used to deduce the relationship between cloud water and precipitation water for low-latitude shallow marine clouds. The specific sensors that facilitate the analysis are the collocatedCloudSat profiling radar and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The separation of the cloud water and precipitation water signals relies on the relative insensitivity of MODIS to the presence of precipitation water in conjunction with estimates of the path-integrated attenuation of the CloudSat radar beam while explicitly accounting for the effect of precipitation water on the observed MODIS optical depth. Variations in the precipitation water path are shown to be associated with both the cloud water path and the cloud effective radius, suggesting both macrophysical and microphysical controls on the production of precipitation water. The method outlined here is used to place broad bounds on the mean relationship between the precipitation water path and the cloud water path in shallow marine clouds, given certain clearly stated assumptions. The ratio of precipitation water to cloud water is shown to increase from zero at low cloud water path values to roughly 0.5 at 500 g m 22 of cloud water. The retrieval results further show that the median influence of precipitation on the observed optical depth increases monotonically with optical depth varying between 1% and 5% at 500 g m 22 of cloud water with the source of the uncertainty deriving from the assumption of the nature of the precipitation drop size distribution.