It is important to monitor and assess the physiological strain of individuals working in hot environments to avoid heat illness and performance degradation. The body core temperature (Tc) is a reliable indicator of thermal work strain. However, measuring Tc is invasive and often inconvenient and impractical for real-time monitoring of workers in high heat strain environments. Seeking a better solution, themain aim of the present studywas to investigate the Kalman filter method to enable the estimation of heat strain from non-invasive measurements (heart rate (HR) and chest skin temperature (ST)) obtained 'online' via wearable body sensors. In particular, we developed two Kalman filter models. First, an extended Kalman filter (EFK) was implemented in a cubic state space modelling framework (HR versus Tc) with a stage-wise, autoregressive exogenous model (incorporating HR and ST) as the time update model. Under the second model, the online Kalman filter (OFK) approach builds up the time update equation depending only on the initial value of Tc and the latest value of the exogenous variables. Both models were trained and validated using data from laboratoryand outfield-based heat strain profiling studies in which subjects performed a high intensity military foot march. While both the EKF and OKFmodels provided satisfactory estimates of Tc, the results showed an overall superior performance of the OKFmodel (overall root mean square error, RMSE = 0.31 C) compared to the EKF model (RMSE = 0.45 C).


There has been marked innovation and policy mobility1 on homelessness prevention since devolution. Using a five-category prevention typology (Universal, Targeted, Crisis, Emergency, Recovery) reveals how early developments in Scotland focused on Emergency Prevention - ensuring that all homeless people have an enforceable right to temporary accommodation. However, most effort has recently been expended on Crisis Prevention, whereby people at risk of homelessness within 56 days are assisted to remain or secure alternative accommodation. Legislative developments in Crisis Prevention in Wales and England have proved effective, albeit there is sometimes a gap between intentions of the law and current practice. Progress on Targeted Prevention with high-risk groups, such as those leaving prison, has been slower to develop across the UK. General homelessness risks have increased as a result of welfare reform and housing market pressures, undermining Universal Prevention. Single people sleeping rough or at risk often remain poorly protected, but there are promising policy initiatives underway, especially on Recovery Prevention


For artists, nonprofits, community organizations and small-business clients of limited means, securing intellectual property rights and getting counseling involving patent, copyright and trademark law are critical to their success and growth. These clients need expert IP and technology legal assistance, but very often cannot afford services in the legal marketplace. In addition, legal services and state bar pro bono programs have generally been ill-equipped to assist in these more specialized areas. An expanding community of IP and Technology clinics has emerged across the country to meet these needs. But while law review articles have described and examined other sectors of clinical legal education, there has not been an article to date that examines the rise and the role of such clinics. This is an important need to fill. With student and client and law firm demand for IP and Technology clinics, law schools want information about existing programs, and existing programs want information about the innovations of other clinics and collaboration opportunities. In addition, the traditional clinical community wants to ensure that these new programs build on the strengths of the original founding clinics. This survey data and article fills that need.
This article distills the results of a comprehensive survey of 70 directors of IP and Technology Clinics into themes that analyze the focus and aspirations of this new clinical community. It takes stock of what IP and Technology clinics were founded to accomplish, how and what they are teaching students, and what clients and missions drive them. It highlights some individual innovations to inspire the community to continue to grow and change. It concludes by assessing what these clinics accomplish, how they are faring on these goals and the role they may play in the future of clinical legal education and experiential learning more generally.


Imaginal disc development in Drosophila requires coordinated cellular proliferation and tissue patterning. In our studies of TGFβ superfamily signaling components, we found that a protein null mutation of Smad2, the only Activin subfamily R-Smad in the fruit fly, produces overgrown wing discs that resemble gain of function for BMP subfamily signaling. The wing discs are expanded specifically along the anterior-posterior axis, with increased proliferation in lateral regions. The morphological defect is not observed in mutants for the TGFβ receptor baboon, and epistasis tests showed that baboon is epistatic to Smad2 for disc overgrowth. Rescue experiments indicate that Baboon binding, but not canonical transcription factor activity, of Smad2 is required for normal disc growth. Smad2 mutant discs generate a P-Mad stripe that is narrower and sharper than the normal gradient, and activation targets are correspondingly expressed in narrowed domains. Repression targets of P-Mad are profoundly mis-regulated, with brinker and pentagone reporter expression eliminated in Smad2 mutants. Loss of expression requires a silencer element previously shown to be controlled by BMP signaling. Epistasis experiments show that Baboon, Mad and Schnurri are required to mediate the ectopic silencer output in the absence of Smad2. Taken together, our results show that loss of Smad2 permits promiscuous Baboon activity, which represses genes subject to control by Mad-dependent silencer elements. The absence of Brinker and Pentagone in Smad2 mutants explains the compound wing disc phenotype. Our results highlight the physiological relevance of substrate inhibition of a kinase, and reveal a novel interplay between the Activin and BMP pathways.


Bhagvat, Surya, "Clustering of twitter technology tweets and the impact of stopwords on clusters" (2011). Master's Projects. Paper 323. ABSTRACT Clustering of twitter technology tweets and the impact of stopwords on clusters Year of 2010 could be termed as the year in which Twitter became completely mainstream. Twitter, which started as a means of communicating with friends, became much more than its beginning. Now Twitter is used by companies to promote their new products, used by movie industry to promote movies. A lot of advertising and branding is now tied to Twitter and most importantly any breaking news that happens, the first place one goes and tries to find is to search it on Twitter. Be it the Mumbai attacks that happened in 2008, or the minor earthquakes that happened in Bay Area in 2010 or the twitter revolution cause of the Iran elections, most of the tech and not so tech savvy viewers were following twitter rather than any main stream news channels. In fact most of the breaking news now comes on Twitter because of the huge number of user base rather than the traditional mainstream media. The focus of this paper is clustering with the TF-IDF weighted mechanism of daily technology news tweets of prominent bloggers and news sites using Apache Mahout and to evaluate the effects of introducing and removing stop words on the quality of clustering. This project restricts itself to only tweets in the English language.


Purpose: This study elaborates on how biopharmaceutical companies interact with their stakeholders. The paper also emphasises the role of a dialogue with stakeholders as an essential element of stakeholder engagement. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article provides a multi-case study of 27 large biopharmaceutical companies that spent over 1 billion EUR on R&D annually in the period of 2017-2018. The study employs content analysis of the annual statements, CSR, sustainability and integrated reports as well as stakeholder portals run by the examined companies. The contents analysis was performed using predefined questions and processed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings: The results of the research indicate that a small number of companies developed both stakeholder engagement policies and processes. However, the degree of stakeholder involvement in the materiality determination processes should be positively assessed. Nearly half of the examined companies explained how they engaged stakeholders in determining material issues. Practical Implications: The study provides evidence that maintenance of sustainable relations with stakeholders by biopharmaceutical companies entails the necessity of a multifaceted approach based on the development of engagement policies and processes as well as stakeholder engagement activities and methods. Originality/Value: The study adopts a multi-stakeholder approach while searching for appropriate engagement methods to build a constructive dialogue with stakeholders.


The SuperDARN chain of oblique HF radars has provided an opportunity to generate a unique climatology of horizontal winds near the mesopause at a number of high lat- itude locations, via the Doppler shifted echoes from sources of ionisation in the D-region. Ablating meteor trails form the bulk of these targets, but other phenomena also contribute to the observations. Due to the poor vertical resolution of the radars, care must be taken to reduce possible biases from sporadic-E layers and Polar Mesospheric Summer echoes that can affect the effective altitude of the geophysical pa- rameters being observed. Second, there is strong theoreti- cal and observational evidence to suggest that the radars are picking up echoes from the backward looking direction that will tend to reduce the measured wind strengths. The effect is strongly frequency dependent, resulting in a 20% reduction at 12 MHz and a 50% reduction at 10 MHz. A comparison of the climatologies observed by the Super- DARN Finland radar between September 1999 and Septem- ber 2000 and that obtained from the adjacent VHF meteor radar located at Kiruna is also presented. The agreement be- tween the two instruments was very good. Extending the analysis to the SuperDARN Iceland East radar indicated that the principles outlined above could be applied successfully to the rest of the SuperDARN network.


Migraines are the third most prevalent disease in the world affecting approximately 15% of the population, or over one billion people. Each year, employers lose greater than $13 billion due to 113 million missed work days due to migraine. A great cost-burden and high incidence rate show a continued need for migraine treatment options. In choosing a treatment for a migraine attack, quick onset of action is one of the most important qualities. Common choices include the triptan class, NSAIDs, and a combination of aspirin, caffeine, and acetaminophen. In addition, there has been increased research into calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP). Due to side effect profiles, the monoclonal antibodies have been more successful than the antagonists studied. Monoclonal antibodies alone, though, have not completely eradicated migraine days per month and more research is needed.


Since the Battle of Summit Springs on July 11, 1869, a ledgerbook of over one hundred color drawings lay neglected in the archives of the Colorado Historical Society for nearly a century. The authors, working in close association with the Cheyenne nation, have produced an unprecedented look at the Dog Soldiers based on this ledgerbook. Unlike other books that interpret ledgerbook art, the authors treat the Summit Springs ledger drawings as historical documents, a history of the Dog Soldiers recorded by the warrior-artists themselves. In "Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, " the earliest of the extant Cheyenne ledgerbooks, the authors have painstakingly matched drawings with known events, such as the 1865 sack of Julesburg, Colorado, and the 1865 battles of Rush Creek, Platte River Bridge, and Tongue River in the Dakota and Montana territories. Also identified are such noted Dog Soldiers as Tall Bull, Big Crow, Whirlwind, and Wolf with Plenty of Hair.


Changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) integrity have been reported in many cancers; however, the contribution of mtDNA integrity to tumorigenesis is not well understood. We used a transgenic mouse model that is haploinsufficient for the apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (Apex1+/−) gene, which encodes the base excision repair (BER) enzyme APE1, to determine its role in protecting mtDNA from the effects of azoxymethane (AOM), a carcinogen used to induce colorectal cancer. Repair kinetics of AOM-induced mtDNA damage was evaluated using qPCR after a single AOM dose and a significant induction in mtDNA lesions in colonic crypts from both wild-type (WT) and Apex1+/−animals were observed. However, Apex1+/− mice had slower repair kinetics in addition to decreased mtDNA abundance. Tumors were also induced using multiple AOM doses, and both WT and Apex1+/−animals exhibited significant loss in mtDNA abundance. Surprisingly, no major differences in mtDNA lesions were observed in tumors from WT and Apex1+/− animals, whereas a significant increase in nuclear DNA lesions was detected in tumors from Apex1+/− mice. Finally, tumors from Apex1+/− mice displayed an increased proliferative index and histologic abnormalities. Taken together, these results demonstrate that APE1 is important for preventing changes in mtDNA integrity during AOM-induced colorectal cancer. Implications: AOM, a colorectal cancer carcinogen, generates damage to the mitochondrial genome, and the BER enzyme APE1 is required to maintain its integrity. Mol Cancer Res; 15(7); 831–41. ©2017 AACR.


The rapid dynamics of COVID-19 calls for quick and effective tracking of virus transmission chains and early detection of outbreaks, especially in the phase 2 of the pandemic, when lockdown and other restriction measures are progressively withdrawn, in order to avoid or minimize contagion resurgence. For this purpose, contact-tracing apps are being proposed for large scale adoption by many countries. A centralized approach, where data sensed by the app are all sent to a nation-wide server, raises concerns about citizens' privacy and needlessly strong digital surveillance, thus alerting us to the need to minimize personal data collection and avoiding location tracking. We advocate the conceptual advantage of a decentralized approach, where both contact and location data are collected exclusively in individual citizens' "personal data stores", to be shared separately and selectively, voluntarily, only when the citizen has tested positive for COVID-19, and with a privacy preserving level of granularity. This approach better protects the personal sphere of citizens and affords multiple benefits: it allows for detailed information gathering for infected people in a privacy-preserving fashion;and, in turn this enables both contact tracing, and, the early detection of outbreak hotspots on more finely-granulated geographic scale. Our recommendation is two-fold. First to extend existing decentralized architectures with a light touch, in order to manage the collection of location data locally on the device, and allow the user to share spatio-temporal aggregates - if and when they want, for specific aims - with health authorities, for instance. Second, we favour a longer-term pursuit of realizing a Personal Data Store vision, giving users the opportunity to contribute to collective good in the measure they want, enhancing self-awareness, and cultivating collective efforts for rebuilding society.


This collection explores the concepts and practices of masquerade as they apply to concepts and practices of war.

The contributors insist that masquerades are everyday aspects of the politics, praxis, and experiences of war, while also discovering that finding masquerades and tracing how they work with war is hardly simple. With a range of theories, innovative methodologies, and contextual binoculars, masquerade emerges as a layered and complex phenomenon. It can appear as state deception, lie, or camouflage, as in the population-centric American warfare in Iraq that was sold as good for the local people, or the hidden violence Russian military forces used on each other and on local men in Chechnya. Masquerade can also be part of a people's war logic as exemplified by the Maoist movement in India. Yet masquerade can also be understood as a normal social mask that people don to foreground an identity or belief from one's cluttered repertoire in order to gain agency. Elements of masquerade can appear in texts that proclaim seemingly unequivocal positions while simultaneously yet subtly suggesting opposing positions. Masquerades of all kinds also seem ubiquitous in fieldwork research and in resistance movements in war zones. Perhaps masquerade, though, is ultimately the denial of death lurking behind the clarion call of security, a call that bolsters war by making militarized policing normal to secure populations from terrorists. These interpretations and others comprise Masquerades of War.

This book will be of much interest to students of critical war studies, critical security, conflict studies and IR in general.


Credit default swap (CDS) spreads compensate investors for expected loss, but they also contain risk premia because of investors' aversion to default risk. We estimate CDS risk premia and default risk aversion to have been highly volatile during 2002– 2005. Both measures appear to be related to fundamental macroeconomic factors, such as the stance of monetary policy, and technical market factors, such as issuance of collateralised debt obligations.


We build on Danvy and Nielsen's first-order program transformation into continuation-passing style (CPS) to design a new CPS transformation of flow information that is simpler and more efficient than what has been presented in previous work. The key to simplicity and efficiency is that our CPS transformation constructs the flow information in one go, instead of first computing an intermediate result and then exploiting it to construct the flow information. More precisely, we show how to compute control-flow information for CPS-transformed programs from control-flow information for direct-style programs and vice-versa. As a corollary, we confirm that CPS transformation has no effect on the control-flow information obtained by constraint-based control-flow analysis. The transformation has immediate applications in assessing the effect of the CPS transformation over other analyses such as, for instance, binding-time analysis.


The use of smart technologies and social media by staff and students in and out of the classroom has implications for academic practice in post-compulsory education. Unlike previous eras of learning with technology, change is being led by the students and academics themselves and this establishes a challenge to institutions. This shift demands that we reassess our understanding of formal and informal engagement, the physical and virtual environments we use, and the people we involve. Smart Learning: teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post compulsory education observes how personal smart technology, social media, rich digital media as well as ideas about open learning work together to form a new immersive and interactive space for learning. The Smart Learning book is a product of the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) which has considered the opportunities and challenges afforded by new media in developing a forward looking Digital Age, learner-centred view of academia since 2008. MELSIG is a self-driven association fascinated and excited by thinking differently, reflectively and critically. Working informally across UK post-compulsory education around special foci, the group runs sharing and developing practice events and webinars, as well as organising collective research and writing activities about academic innovation with digital and social media. Smart Learning is made up of thought pieces, research chapters and case studies. It is punctuated with scenario vignettes, making real this new thinking about learning with personal smart devices.


The paper has examined and analyzed the domestic producer and international prices of wheat, basmati and IRRI paddy during 1996-06. The analysis has suggested deterioration in the purchasing power of these foodgrains as their annual increases fell short of the general price increase in the economy. The analyses of domestic and international prices during the study period suggest negative protection to domestic production of wheat averaging between 30-34 per cent per year, of basmati paddy varying from 12 to 20 per cent and huge transfer of resource from the producers of these crops. The comparison of domestic prices of IRRI paddy with the export parity prices, estimated at the official exchange rate, generally suggests positive protection to its domestic production averaging at 6 per cent per year. However, when export parity prices are estimated at the equilibrium exchange rate the overall picture changes to one of negative protection or implicit taxation averaging at 4 per cent per year.


Quantum walks have emerged as an interesting alternative to the usual circuit model for quantum computing. While still universal for quantum computing, the quantum walk model has very different physical requirements, which lends itself more naturally to some physical implementations, such as linear optics. Numerous authors have considered walks with one or two walkers, on one-dimensional graphs, and several experimental demonstrations have been performed. In this paper, we discuss generalizing the model of discrete time quantum walks to the case of an arbitrary number of walkers acting on arbitrary graph structures. We present a formalism that allows for the analysis of such situations, and several example scenarios for how our techniques can be applied. We consider the most important features of quantum walks—measurement, distinguishability, characterization and the distinction between classical and quantum interference. We also discuss the potential for physical implementation in the context of linear optics, which is of relevance to present-day experiments.


We present Lynx-robot, a quadruped, modular, compliant machine. It alternately features a directly actuated, single-joint spine design, or an actively supported, passive compliant, multi-joint spine configuration. Both spine configurations bend in the sagittal plane. This study aims at characterizing these two, largely different spine concepts, for a bounding gait of a robot with a three segmented, pantograph leg design. An earlier, similar-sized, bounding, quadruped robot named Bobcat with a two-segment leg design and a directly actuated, single-joint spine design serves as a comparison robot, to study and compare the effect of the leg design on speed, while keeping the spine design fixed. Both proposed spine designs (single rotatory and active and multi-joint compliant) reach moderate, self-stable speeds.


From the Publisher:
Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) offer an efficient method for finding optimal cleanup strategies for hazardous plumes contaminating groundwater by allowing hydrologists to rapidly search through millions of possible strategies to find the most inexpensive and effective containment of contaminants and aquifer restoration. ANNs also provide a faster method of developing systems that classify seismic events as being earthquakes or underground explosions.
Farid Dowla and Leah Rogers have developed a number of ANN applications for researchers and students in hydrology and seismology. This book, complete with exercises and ANN algorithms, illustrates how ANNs can be used in solving problems in environmental engineering and the geosciences, and provides the necessary tools to get started using these elegant and efficient new techniques.
Following the development of four primary ANN algorithms (backpropagation, self-organizing, radial basis functions, and hopfield networks), and a discussion of important issues in ANN formulation (generalization properties, computer generation of training sets, causes of slow training, feature extraction and preprocessing, and performance evaluation), readers are guided through a series of straightforward yet complex illustrative problems. These include groundwater remediation management, seismic discrimination between earthquakes and underground explosions, automated monitoring for acoustic and seismic sensor data, estimation of seismic sources, geospatial estimation, lithologic classification from geophysical logging, earthquake forecasting, and climate change. Each chapter contains detailed exercises often drawn from field data that use one or more of the four primary ANN algorithms presented.


OBJECTIVE: Screening for inherited thrombophilias with laboratory tests is impractical before starting women on combined oral contraceptives. As an alternative, some recommend eliciting a family history of venous thromboembolism. The validity of this approach, however, remains unclear. DATA SOURCES: We sought all published reports that correlated a family history of venous thromboembolism with any thrombophilia confirmed by laboratory test. We used sequential, overlapping computer searches including MeSH terms used for articles in PubMed, a narrative search phrase in Google Scholar, and then all "related" articles in PubMed for each article included without time or language limitations. This was supplemented by a search of www.clinicaltrials.gov. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: The search yielded 10 reports. Information was sought without success from corresponding authors of four other reports that may have had relevant data. Most reports studied atypical, high-prevalence referral populations. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Results were presented according to the MOOSE (Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology) guidelines for systematic reviews of observational studies. The patient populations varied widely, definitions of family history included first- or first- and second-degree relatives, and the thrombophilias studied differed among these reports. Hence, aggregation of results was not possible. Despite these differences, all reports consistently documented poor validity of family history for detecting thrombophilias. Sensitivity ranged from 16% to 63% and positive predictive value from 6% to 50% for the various thrombophilias studied. In no study did family history meet the benchmark for a good test (sensitivity plus specificity greater than 150%). CONCLUSION: Obtaining a family history of venous thromboembolism before starting combined oral contraceptives is not a valid means to detect a woman's risk of thrombophilia. Even in high-prevalence populations, in which the positive predictive value is increased, a positive family history of venous thromboembolism was no better than flipping a coin in predicting thrombophilia.


This article is the second chapter of a book authored by R. Kraakman, P. Davies, H. Hansmann, G. Hertig, K. Hopt, H. Kanda, and E. Rock, "The Anatomy of Corporate Law: A Comparative and Functional Approach," (Oxford University Press 2004). The book as a whole provides a functional analysis of corporate (or company) law in Europe, the U.S., and Japan. Its organization reflects the structure of corporate law across all jurisdictions, while individual chapters explore the diversity of jurisdictional approaches to the common problems of corporate law. "Agency Problems and Legal Strategies" establishes the analytical framework for the book as a whole. After further elaborating the agency problems that motivate corporate law, this chapter identifies five legal strategies that the law employs to address these problems. Describing these strategies allows us to more accurately map legal similarities and differences across jurisdictions. Some legal strategies are "regulatory" insofar as they directly constrain the actions of corporate actors: for example, a standard of behavior such as a director's duty of loyalty and care. Other legal strategies are "governance-based" insofar as they channel the distribution of power and payoffs within companies to reduce opportunism. For example, the law may accord direct decision rights to a vulnerable corporate constituency, as when it requires shareholder approval of mergers. Alternatively, the law may assign appointment rights over top managers to a vulnerable constituency, as when it accords shareholders - or in some jurisdictions, employees - the power to select corporate directors. Finally, the law may attempt to shape the incentives of managers or controlling shareholders, as when it regulates compensation or prescribes an equal treatment norm such as the rule that dividends must be paid out ratably. In addition to Chapter 2, Chapter 1 "What is Corporate Law" is available in full text on the SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=568623. The abstracts for Chapter 3: The Basic Governance Structure; Chapter 4: Creditor protection (http://ssrn.com/abstract=568823); Chapter 5: Related Party Transactions; Chapter 6: Significant Corporate Actions; Chapter 7: Control Transactions; Chapter 8: Issuers and Investor Protection; Chapter 9: Beyond the Anatomy are also/will be available on the SSRN.


This is a fascinating journey through the history of railways. From the early steam trains to the high-speed bullet trains of today, The Iron Road tells the hidden stories of railway history- the inspired engineering, blood, sweat and tears that went into the construction of the railways. Uncover the compelling tales of bold vision, invention and error, and social change behind the history of trains and railways, with famous railways such as the Transsiberian fully explored. Learn how the great railway pioneers such as George Stephenson produced the ideas and feats of engineering that created the railways and changed the world. Each exciting moment of railway history is captured, contextualised and enhanced by superb illustrations. Trains and railways of the past like the romantic Orient Express are brought to life through amazing eyewitness accounts, allowing you to see the railways through the eyes of people who were there at the time. Written by Christian Wolmar, an award-winning writer and broadcaster, The Iron Road is an exciting trip through the history of trains for any railway enthusiast.


Aims The deacetylase sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) exerts beneficial effects on lipid metabolism, but its roles in plasma LDL-cholesterol regulation and atherosclerosis are controversial. Thus, we applied the pharmacological Sirt1 activator SRT3025 in a mouse model of atherosclerosis and in hepatocyte culture. Methods and results Apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe−/−) mice were fed a high-cholesterol diet (1.25% w/w) supplemented with SRT3025 (3.18 g kg−1 diet) for 12 weeks. In vitro, the drug activated wild-type Sirt1 protein, but not the activation-resistant Sirt1 mutant; in vivo, it increased deacetylation of hepatic p65 and skeletal muscle Foxo1. SRT3025 treatment decreased plasma levels of LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol and reduced atherosclerosis. Drug treatment did not change mRNA expression of hepatic LDL receptor (Ldlr) and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (Pcsk9), but increased their protein expression indicating post-translational effects. Consistent with hepatocyte Ldlr and Pcsk9 accumulation, we found reduced plasma levels of Pcsk9 after pharmacological Sirt1 activation. In vitro administration of SRT3025 to cultured AML12 hepatocytes attenuated Pcsk9 secretion and its binding to Ldlr, thereby reducing Pcsk9-mediated Ldlr degradation and increasing Ldlr expression and LDL uptake. Co-administration of exogenous Pcsk9 with SRT3025 blunted these effects. Sirt1 activation with SRT3025 in Ldlr−/− mice reduced neither plasma Pcsk9, nor LDL-cholesterol levels, nor atherosclerosis. Conclusion We identify reduction in Pcsk9 secretion as a novel effect of Sirt1 activity and uncover Ldlr as a prerequisite for Sirt1-mediated atheroprotection in mice. Pharmacological activation of Sirt1 appears promising to be tested in patients for its effects on plasma Pcsk9, LDL-cholesterol, and atherosclerosis.


Object?ves: As we known that the internal thoracic artery (ITA) has an excellent patency rate in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, early graft failure due to occlusion and spasm is still the major problem after coronary artery bypass surgery. We examined histopathologic findings of the clipped internal thoracic artery (ITA) in patients undergoing CABG using transmission electron microscope (TEM). Methods: To investigate the histopathololojic ITA examination, 60 patients were randomly selected. The ITA was harvested in a standart fashion with the use of low voltage electrocotery and its distal end was cut prior to bifurcation and clipped. Just before the ITA anastomosis 1 mm lenght of ITA ring was cut and saved in 2.5% Glutaraldehide solution for fixation and examination of transmission electron microscope (TEM). One blinded anatomopatholog examined all specimens and described the endothelial integrity according to the score system proposed by Fischlein et al. Results: In ten cases (17.5%) different degree of histopathologic findings (endothelial cells, intercellular and intracellular organels and adventitia) were recorded The most important histopatholojic findings of ITA were as follows: endothelial vacuolisation, intimal thickening and/or intimal seperation, suben-dothelial edema, swallowing of cytoplasma and mito-condria. Conclusion: Our results showed that the endothelial pathology is high when the ITA clipped. Unfortunataly, because our study did not include the non-clipped ITA we have not concluded the comparison or statistical results. In our opinion, for absolute definition of the effects of the clipping the ITA it should be planned the comparative results between the clipped and non-clipped ITA histologic examinations.


We measured black carbon (BC) in ultrafiltered, high‐molecular weight dissolved organic matter (UDOM) in surface waters of Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean (U.S.A.) to investigate the importance of riverine and estuarine dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a source of BC to the ocean. BC was 5‐72% of UDOM‐C (27 ± 17%), which corresponds to 8.9 ± 6.5% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), with higher values in the heavily urbanized midbay region of the Delaware Estuary and lower yields in the river and coastal ocean. The spatial and seasonal distributions of BC along the salinity gradient of Delaware Bay suggest that the elevated levels of BC in surface water UDOM originate from localized sources, possibly from atmospheric deposition or release from resuspended sediments. BC in UDOM made up 4–7% of the DOC in the coastal Atlantic Ocean, revealing that river‐estuary systems are important exporters of colloidal BC to the ocean. The annual flux of BC from Delaware Bay UDOM to the Atlantic Ocean was estimated at 2.4 x 1010 g BC yr−1, supporting the hypothesis that the DOC pool is an important contributor of BC to the ocean.


The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health problem and a leading cause of chronic liver disease and the past decade has seen several significant advances in the management of persons infected with the virus.
The prevalence of HCV infection in South Africa is not known but has been estimated to be between 0.1 and 1.7 %.
Phylogenetic analysis of the HCV has revealed 6 main genotypes and most published data relate to genotypes 1, 2 and 3. Genotypes 4, 5 and 6 however represent > 20 % of HCV infections worldwide. Genotype 5 is found predominantly in South Africa where it represents up to 40 % of all HCV genotypes.
Chronic hepatitis C is an important cause of end stage liver disease and individuals with HCV-related cirrhosis have a 30 % risk of developing hepatic decompensation in 10 years and a 1 - 3 % per annum risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Male gender, infection at an advanced age, obesity, consumption of > 50 g alcohol per day and co-infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are predictive of more rapid progression to fibrosis.
This document is based largely on the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) 2009 Practice Guidelines and aims to provide clinicians with evidence based approaches to the management of HCV infection. It is recognized that reasonable physicians may deviate from the strategy and remain within acceptable standards of treatment.


Security, Development, and Violence in Afghanistan provides a unique insight into the lived realities of the international intervention in Afghanistan and highlights the diversity, relationships, and interdependence of various groups including both external actors and Afghan communities. Analysis of the international intervention in Afghanistan following the post 9/11 invasion in 2001, one of the largest and most expensive in history, tends to focus on the perspective of organisational dynamics and policies or external actors. Drawing on the author's five years of experience living, researching and working in Afghanistan, this book uses ethnographic methodologies to explore the micro-level interactions between different actors, showing how communities, local leaders, aid workers, UN officials, military and others navigated shifting security, development, and conflict dynamics.

Starting with a contextual introduction to the intervention and the key debates surrounding it, this book goes on to explore the stories of security, development, and violence as constructed through official policy discourse, and then through the lived experiences of interveners and local actors. The book weaves a compelling narrative which links local and global issues and focuses on the everyday practices, relationships and acts of resistance which take place in two provinces of Afghanistan. Finally, the author highlights what this book's findings mean both for what we know about Afghanistan and for how we understand international interventions and the everyday dynamics between actors who live and work in spaces of conflict.

Security, Development, and Violence in Afghanistan: Everyday Stories of Intervention will be of considerable interest to scholars and professionals with an interest in Afghanistan, aid work, humanitarian intervention, development studies, and peace and conflict studies.


Reach your customers with the latest Facebook marketing strategiesFacebook Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition is a detailed resource for businesses, brands, and people who are interested in promoting themselves, their goods, and their services on Facebook. Fully updated to cover new Facebook features, this new Third Edition includes guidance on Graph Search, the updated News Feed design, cover photo rules, advertising changes, updated mobile apps, and more. Examples and case studies illustrate best practices, and the book provides step-by-step guidance on creating a successful Facebook marketing campaign, from setting up a fan page to analyzing results.Facebook is considered the most fully-engaged social media platform for most marketers. With more than a billion users who comment over 3.2 billion times per day, Facebook provides a ready and willing customer base to businesses savvy enough to take advantage. Facebook Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition walks you through the creation of a customized fan page, and guides you through interacting with fans and building a community around your brand. The book explains Facebook applications and Facebook advertising, and shows you how to make Facebook come alive.Learn how to claim your presence on FacebookBuild pages to engage, retain, and sell to customersDiscover advanced Facebook marketing tacticsFind out why measuring, monitoring, and analyzing are importantCreate and curate engaging content, including photos, video, contests, and more, and watch your fan base grow. Social media marketing is a major force in the success of a business, and Facebook is at the forefront of it all. Facebook Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition provides the guidance and information you need to get in there and claim your space.


Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology represents a highly growing field of research with application systems. BCI systems typically receive unique brain signals and processes them translate them into commands to output devices which carries out desirable actions. On the same token, BCI presents an opportunity to augment existing authentication methods to address various security and privacy concerns inundating the marketplace. Although Brain Waves Control Devices as potential biometric for person identification in addressing privacy and security concerns has been extensively studied, the role of BCI in addressing security concerns using Brain Waves Control Devices is relatively in its infancy. We found that the implementation of BCI system in the context of Brain Waves Control Devices in addressing security and privacy concerns is currently at its infancy. In this paper, we also examined 20 mainstream Brain Waves Control Devices in the form of electroencephalography (EEG) in relation to its potential use with BCI to potentially address security and privacy concerns. We conclude that there is still much work that needs to be done when interpreting results from mainstream Brain Waves Control Devices in the context of BCI systems to effectively address security and privacy concerns. However, BCI offers the best possible hope and opportunity to optimises brain signals using signal processing and decoding techniques as feedback mechanisms to improve the performance of the BCI applications and realise the overarching goal of addressing privacy and security concerns.


There is a general need for a better understanding of other cultures, and we feel that widely available simulation experiences to help people interact in order to learn and understand cultures could be a very powerful tool in this regard. This approach could be particularly effective if users from across the world could create these cultural sims and allow them to be collected into an accessible global cultural experience exchange. The advances in computer game technology and readily available tools for creating environments can easily provide such playgrounds for cultural exchange; however, the largest impasse currently exists in the lack of easily accessible and usable tools for creating interactive characters— especially ones that can reflect the desired culture. The current state of the art in developing agents for simulations involves complex programming, advanced graphical building interfaces, and leveraging an information poor environment to produce canned, specialized interactions targeting usually narrowly defined scenarios with few potential outcomes. The DASSIEs (Dynamic Adaptable Super-Scalable Intelligent Entities) project aims to change this by presenting a new agent development tool and highly configurable agent core aimed for use by the common person—one that everyone would be able to use effectively. We leverage a Behaviorbased Architecture defined within Brookian-based Subsumption as a base for layered and hierarchical behavior descriptions with an agent description language that translates under its defined framework these concepts for use in simulation based agents. We present our pilot work on the CULTURE (Culture Understanding and Learning Tool Using Real-world Examples) project that provides a framework for developing cultural scenarios leveraging the agent builder and agent core from the DASSIEs Project. Results from our initial user trials, and an in-lab case study modeling the culture of a Parisian Cafe will be presented with the lessons learned from the process. For more information Please visit us on the web at http://playground.uncc.edu/ GameIntelligenceGroup/Projects/CULTURE Copyright c © 2008, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved.


The Chinese stock market has experienced an astonishing growth and unprecedented development since its inception in the early 1990s, emerged to be the world's second-largest by market value by the end of 2009. The Chinese stock market is also one of the most volatile markets, which has been called by many observers a "casino". In the recent years there are several far-reaching events that have reshaped the Chinese stock markets. The most notable events include the "dot-com bubble" in 2000, China's non-tradable shares reform in 2005 and the global financial crisis in 2008. It is noted that the "dot-com bubble" has caused the Chinese stock markets a sharp oscillation since 2000. With a short-lived bull, the Chinese stock markets experienced a nearly five years long bear market until June 2005 when the reform of non-tradable shares was implemented, which increased the liquidity and brought the markets back to a long-term bull run. Since the US sub-prime mortgage crisis the Chinese stock markets have shown extreme instability and severe volatility, which has become the major concern to the policy-makers and investors. Many existing studies have revealed that the financial time series data exhibit linear dependence in volatility, which indicates the presence of heteroskedasticity, implying the existence of volatility clustering. Although direct generalizations from the univariate GARCH models are straightforward, their applications are limited by practical issues associated with cumbersome computation and strong restrictions on parameters to guarantee positive definiteness of variance matrixes. This study intends to examine the presence of heteroskedasticity and the leverage effect in the two Chinese stock markets, and to capture the dynamics of conditional correlation between returns of China's stock markets and those of the U.S. in a bivariate VC- MGARCH framework. The results show that that the leverage effect is significant in both Shanghai and Shenzhen markets during the sample period in 2000-2008, and the conditional correlation between mainland China's and the U.S. stock markets is quite low and highly volatile. The results indicate that that uncertainty derived from time-varying relationship between Shanghai and the U.S. stock markets is more significant than that between Shenzhen and the U.S. stock markets. In addition, the Chinese stock markets are found to be highly regimes persistent, thereby reducing potential benefits induced by actively trading. These findings have important implication for investors seeking opportunity of portfolio diversification.


The following report represents the efforts of the Centre for Aquaculture and Seafood Development
(CASD) research team in characterizing marine oils to identify its potential use as biodiesel feedstock
and establish technology in the area of energy and waste management, enhance the competitiveness of
Newfoundland and Labrador's biofuels and help Canada to meet its commitment to GHG emission
building the renewable fuels.
To date, biodiesel is not readily available in Newfoundland and Labrador, and there are no biodiesel
producers operating within the province. The scope of this project is the development of an
economically viable and environmentally sustainable biodiesel production system for rural communities
in Newfoundland and Labrador and to help marine processing plants cut down their operating cost, by
diminishing the problem of fish waste disposal, and by providing alternative fuel for the operation of
feed barges, marine vessels and generators located at their remote locations.
Crude cod (Gadus morhua) liver, Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) oil
were characterized to identify their suitability for biodiesel production. Since the feedstock oils used for
biodiesel production are of diverse origin and quality, initial evaluation of the physical and chemical
composition of the feed stock oil is very essential prior to biodiesel production. Investigation of physical
properties (smell, color, physical state, moisture and specific gravity), chemical properties (pH, ash
content, acid value, iodine value, saponification value, p-anisidine value, peroxide value, TOTOX value,
free fatty acid, flash point, kinematic viscosity and refractive index) and lipid and fatty acids classification
were performed on all marine oils.
The characterized marine oils were pale yellow to orange in color and were stable at liquid state at room
temperature. The pH (6.5-6.8) values of all oils were neutral. The specific gravity (0.921-0.924 g/cm3),
water content (179-325 ppm), ash content (0.0027-0.00455%), free fatty acids (0.03-1.23%), acid (0.057-
0.771 mgKOH/g), peroxide (5.13-9.17 meq O2/kg oil) and p-anisidine (3.36-9.67) values of all oils were
within recommended limits, higher acid value in farmed salmon (2.441 mgKOH/g) and higher iodine
value (116-139.15 g I2/100 g ). A drying step had to be implemented to remove the water because it can
lead to corrosion of internal combustion engine components. Due to higher iodine value, all the oils
were drying oils except farmed salmon oil, which was semidrying oil and susceptible to become rancid,
which causes reduction of pour point of biodiesel produced in the absence of antioxidant. All three
marine oils were more likely to polymerize in the heat of the engine if used directly without
transesterification. Flash point of all marine oils was above 200°C and there is no risk of fire outbreaks in
case of accidents. Due to higher triacylglycerol (81-93%) content all the oils characterized in this study
can be as a feedstock for biodiesel production via transesterification. Cod liver oil (14.72%) was rich in
polar lipids while the farmed salmon (2.43%) and wild salmon (2.43%) were low in polar lipids. The
phospholipids (1.21-1.67%) were higher than the recommended limit of ≤10 ppm and require a
degumming process prior to biodiesel production. All the marine oils in this study have a high degree of
unsaturation and polyunsaturated fatty acids and therefore the biodiesel produced from all oils will
have less oxidation stability and result in the precipitation of the biodiesel components in a fuel feeding
system or combustion chamber. Therefore, it is essential to stabilize the oil using an antioxidant,
immediately after extraction/production to obtain a high quality biofuel.


Understanding of uncertainty in the data and models used in design simulations matures during the design process as the design progresses from vague requirements through to its full embodiment and detail. Failure to take account of uncertainty in the information that is used in and generated from simulation processes poses risks to decisions based upon these. This paper presents a classification scheme based on the extent and nature of uncertainty in the correlations between simulation predictions and the evidence for a specific performance criterion. The classification allows development of a confidence scale and associated error functions for characterizing the discrepancy between the correlations of design performance parameters and evidence, in the presence of uncertainty. Together, the confidence scale and error functions may provide a greater understanding of uncertainty and errors in simulation processes. In the context of parametric design, the approach provides a mechanism for building up greater understanding of the simulation performance across a feasible design space. A case study on the design of shrink-fits is used to illustrate the framework for handling uncertainty in a systematic and organized manner. The theoretical and practical limitations and further work will be discussed.


Following theories of social and economic identity, we use representative data containing measures of personal identity to investigate the interplay of work identity and hours of work in determining subjective wellbeing (job satisfaction, job-related anxiety and depression, and life satisfaction). We find that for a given level of hours, having a stronger work identity is associated with higher wellbeing on most measures. Working long hours is associated with lower wellbeing and working part-time is associated with higher wellbeing, but for men hours mainly affect their job-related anxiety and depression rather than reported satisfaction. The relationships between hours and wellbeing are generally strengthened when controlling for identity implying that individuals sort into jobs with work hours that match their identities. Work identity partially mitigates the adverse effects of long hours working on job satisfaction and anxiety (for women) and on life satisfaction (for men). The effects of both work hours and identity are substantial relative to benchmark effects of health on wellbeing.


From its eighteenth-century roots in exploration and trade, to the major conflicts of the First and Second World Wars, through to current roles in multinational operations with United Nations and NATO forces, Canada's navy has been an expression of Canadian nationhood and a catalyst in the complex process of national unity. In Canada's Navy: The First Century, Marc Milner argues that the history of the Royal Canadian Navy falls into three distinct periods. Until 1939, the navy was essentially a national orphan - neglected by government, spurned by Canadians, composed largely of expatriate Britons, and lacking a clearly identifiable national role. The Second World War and the postwar years saw that role defined. During the war, the navy underwent an astonishing expansion that brought together Canadian industry, government, and people to produce the third largest navy in the world by 1945. That navy made a decisive contribution to winning the war in the Atlantic, and, with the outbreak of the Cold War, went on to confirm Canada's new and important role as part of a wider western alliance in the defence of shipping in the Atlantic. Since that time, naval history has been a struggle to reconcile naval ambitions for fleet development with those of the government, and to find a national identity for the service itself. The result has been the renaissance of the last two decades, which has seen the navy re-emerge from the wreckage of unification as an independent institution and with the fleet completely rebuilt. At the end of the century, the navy is the most modern and capable of Canada's armed services, and having discarded the imperial cloak of its early years, it is now identified with the nation it serves. Milner suggests that this remarkable metamorphosis may have been brought about by the coalescing of the visions of the navy, the nation, and the state. How long this will continue remains for the next century to determine. Based on extensive archival research and interviews, Canada's Navy: The First Century is a comprehensive examination, certain to provoke discussion, of a body with a rich and fascinating history. This book will appeal not only to readers of Canadian history and naval affairs, but also to those interested in the interwoven issues of maritime politics and economics, as well as national and foreign policy, and defence and strategic studies.


Abstract Although orogenesis commonly lasts 100 million years, a maximum of three foliations are usually preserved within any outcrop. They record little of the total history due to the effects of preferential partitioning of progressive shearing along S0. Such reactivation eventually destroys or rotates multiple successive foliations into parallelism with any layering that is present. Plate motion subjects a collisional orogen to spatially partitioned, episodic, but non-stop deformation. The bulk forces operating are horizontal and intermittently vertical (associated with gravitational load due to crustal thickening) forming sub-vertical and sub-horizontal foliations. These orientations are preserved in the strain shadows of anything competent that hinders reactivation of the compositional layering. Deformation partitioning results in portions of rock remaining unaffected for many events. Gravitational collapse of over-thickened orogen cores leads to significant extrusion in orogen rims and a dominance of sub-horizontal foliations in the latter and episodically continues throughout orogenesis. Reactivation causes decrenulation and/or rotation of foliations into parallelism with S0, destroying evidence that multiple sub-vertical and sub-horizontal foliations have developed except where preserved as inclusion trails in porphyroblasts and multiply truncated foliations in mylonites. However, the same processes operate in both the cores of orogens and ductile portions of their margins.


Powerful solutions enabling interoperability must allow applications to evolve and the requirements of shared databases to change, while minimizing such changes on other integrated applications. Several approaches have been proposed to make interoperability possible by using object-oriented techniques. These approaches may generate a large number of schema versions over time, resulting in an excessive build-up of classes and underlying object instances, not all being necessarily still in use. This results in degradation of system performance due to the view maintenance and the storage overhead costs. In this paper, we address the problem of removing obsolete view schemas. We characterize four potential problems of schema consistency that could be caused by the removal of a single derived class. We demonstrate that schema version removal is sensitive to the order in which individual classes are processed, and present a formal dependency model that captures all dependencies between classes as logic clauses and manipulates them to make decisions on class deletions and non-deletions while guaranteeing the consistency of the schema. We have also developed and proven consistent a dependency graph (DG) representation of the formal model. Lastly, we present a cost model for evaluating alternative removal patterns on a DG to assure selection of the optimal solution. The proposed techniques have been implemented in our Schema View Removal (SVR) tool. Lastly, we report experimental findings for applying our techniques for consistent schema version removal on the MultiView/TSE (Transparent Schema Evolution) system.


A theoretical analysis of the fringe pattern produced by a capillary tube interferometer is presented, which is expected to be two-beam interference, and a computer program to simulate the interference fringe pattern is established. By comparing the simulated fringe pattern and the experimental fringe pattern, the refractive index of the liquid can be given when the two fringes coincide best. The results of this method are close to those of the Abbe refractometer.


The recent study investigated the effectiveness of using digital mind map on developing some creative writing and reading skills of Arabic majors' at faculty of Education. Research group were (30) male and female students. The study used the semi-experimental approach (pre-post one group design) because the study presented a new treatment which students didn't study before. Two lists of creative reading and writing skills needed to be developed were prepared. The researcher prepared then two units using digital mind map and creative reading and writing skills. The research tools were applied on the research group. Results indicated that there were significant statistic differences between means scores of the study group in favor of posttest. This assured the effectiveness of using digital mid map on developing creative reading and writing skills of Arabic majors at faculty of Education. The study recommended the necessity of applying the latest technology in teaching Arabic in different school stages.
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Citation: Sayed et.al., prepare a program in the Islamic culture based on self-regulated learning for Developing some religious concepts and tourism attitudes of Faculty of Tourism and Hotels Students. SVU-Journal of abstract 2019, Vol.1: pp9 (retrieved from the Journal of Educational Sciences; 2018, No.34; pp89)
Copyright: The SVU- Scientific research Centre (SVU-SRC). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author and source are created.


Malicious insiders present a serious threat to information systems due to privilege of access, knowledge of internal computer resources, and potential threats on the part of disgruntled employees or insiders collaborating with external cybercriminals. Researchers have extensively studied insiders' motivation to attack from the broader perspective of the deterrence theory and have explored the rationale for employees to disregard/overlook security policies from the perspective of neutralization theory. This research takes a step further: we explore the aggravating variables of insider threat using a multiple case study approach. Empirical research using black hat analysis of three case studies of insider threats suggests that, while neutralization plays an important role in insider attacks, it takes a cumulative set of aggravating factors to trigger an actual data breach. By identifying and aggregating the variables, this study presents a predictive model that can guide IS managers to proactively mitigate insider threats. Given the economic and legal ramifications of insider threats, this research has implications relevant both for both academics and security practitioners.


What defines 'Medieval India'? Can it be defined? Is the medieval a time period, a state of mind, an attitude, or a point of reference, or all of these? If it is all of these, then Medieval India certainly is an area with potential research possibilities into various aspects of medieval Indian history. Many aspects of medieval Indian history are still almost entirely unresearched, and there is much that has been re-interpreted. An attempt has, therefore, been made in this volume to outline some of the areas of concern to scholars of medieval Indian history, which will further help us understand and appreciate this fascinating era of Indian history.


'X-Cops' innovates on The X-Files formula through stylistic variation and disruption of standard narration, as previous episodes had done. This paper argues that this under-discussed episode also highlights key concerns of the series, mixing scientific rationality with tabloidism, and interrogating the concepts of 'truth' and 'reality' by combining The X-Files' usual style with COPS' reality television format. Reality television, in content and form, raises many questions about how 'truth' or 'reality' is framed and conveyed, and how we respond to it. Furthermore, mixing a 'quality' television drama with lowbrow infotainment challenges viewers to reflect on value judgements about types of television and types of knowledge.


An electrochemical system composed of two polarizable interfaces (the metallic electrode|water and water|ionic liquid interfaces), namely two-polarized-interface (TPI) technique, has been proposed to explore the ion transfer processes between water and moderately hydrophobic ionic liquids (W|mIL), typically 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (C8mimC1C1N) and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (C6mimC1C1N). Within the classic four-electrode system, it is not likely that the ion transfer information at the W|mIL interface can be obtained due to an extremely narrow polarized potential window (ppw) caused by these moderately hydrophobic ionic components. In this article, we show that TPI technique has virtually eliminated the ppw limitation based on a controlling step of concentration polarization at the electrode|water interface. With the aid of this technique, the formal ion transfer potential differences between C1C1N and Cnmim+ (n=6, 8) were accurately determined for 356mV and 420mV at a corresponding interface (W|C6mimC1C1N and W|C8mimC1C1N). Besides, this technique is used to monitor electrochemical polarization at the two W|mIL systems, which exhibits an adaptable polarizability (i.e., a conversion from a nonpolarized interface to a polarized interface). Some of the typical anion transfers at the W|C8mimC1C1N interface have also been investigated, as they are particularly important for ion extraction. The experimental results indicate that this facile TPI technique offers a general avenue to explore ion transfer in multifarious biphasic systems.


Book synopsis: Can autonomy be a means to reinforce the public relevance of art and culture? Open 23 examines this question and discusses new forms and meanings of autonomy for artistic and cultural practice.

In this time of ideological and political crises, in which people and things are increasingly thrown back on their own resources, autonomy is becoming attractive again. But how does autonomy, the wish to take matters into one's own hands and have significance independent of old structures, relate to the call for engagement and performativity? This issue, made in collaboration with Sven Lutticken, examines autonomy from the standpoints of art, art history, philosophy, political theory and cultural criticism, and attempts to escape the limitations of thinking in terms of engagement on the one hand and autonomy on the other.


We analyze the effects of analog noise on the synaptic arithmetic during multilayer perceptron training, by expanding the cost function to include noise-mediated terms. Predictions are made in the light of these calculations that suggest that fault tolerance, training quality and training trajectory should be improved by such noise-injection. Extensive simulation experiments on two distinct classification problems substantiate the claims. The results appear to be perfectly general for all training schemes where weights are adjusted incrementally, and have wide-ranging implications for all applications, particularly those involving "inaccurate" analog neural VLSI.


A challenge central to the Powder Metallurgy (PM) process is achieving consistent and uniform products. A crucial step in reaching this goal, is ensuring powder blending sufficiently homogenizes a mix. A challenge to powder and parts producers is creating a process that both achieves homogeneity and operates efficiently. C-Therm's ESP technology offers a window into the blender by measuring the thermal properties of powder during processing. Powder chemistry and density have a significant impact on the thermal properties and measuring thermal effusivity repeatedly throughout processing can indicate once a stable, homogenous blend has been achieved. The authors seek to establish the usability and accuracy of measuring effusivity by monitoring multiple blend conditions and comparing results to standard industry methods such as thief sampling.


Abstract The discovery of a new species, Cyclolampas altus new species in the upper Callovian of Burgundy (France) leads to the systematic revision of the rare echinoid genus Cyclolampas Pomel, 1883. Two morphometric approaches are used jointly to describe and quantify variations in test shape: the analysis of linear measurements and the Elliptic Fourier shape analysis. Both analyses yield congruent results that highlight the amplitude of within-species variations and quantify the part due to allometry. Along with the description of C. altus, the systematic position of species formerly assigned to the genera Pygorhytis Pomel, 1883 and Cyclolampas is amended. Previously attributed to the genus Pygorhytis, Cyclolampas castanea (Desor, 1858) is reassigned to the genus Cyclolampas on the base of new observations. Conversely, the examination of the Bajocian species Pygorhytis kiliani (Lambert, 1909) and Pygorhytis gillieroni Desor in Desor and de Loriol, 1872, which were previously assigned to Cyclolampas now supports their taxonomic reassignment to the genus Pygorhytis. Finally, the two species Cyclolampas verneuili (Cotteau, 1870) and Cyclolampas cotteaui Mintz, 1966 (nomen nudum) are considered junior synonyms of the genus type species Cyclolampas voltzii (Agassiz, 1839). The questioned origin date of the genus, estimated either to the Bajocian or to the Oxfordian, is now clearly established to be upper Callovian. These new results fit well with the overall scheme of atelostomate echinoid evolution and migration to deep-sea environments during the Middle and Upper Jurassic.


The generation of accurate and reliable unstructured 3D models for reservoir simulation remains a challenge. In this paper, new developments for grid generation, upscaling and streamline simulation for such models are described. In combination, these techniques provide a prototype workflow for the construction of unstructured simulation models. The grid generation framework described here allows for the incorporation of both geometrical constraints and grid-resolution targets. Flow adaptation of the unstructured grid (i.e., higher grid density in key regions) is accomplished through the use of single-phase flow calculations on the underlying geocellular grid, which are used to generate target grid resolution maps for the unstructured coarse model. A novel transmissibility upscaling procedure is introduced to capture the effects of fine scale heterogeneity. A new method for streamline simulation on unstructured grids is also introduced. This technique provides an efficient flow-based diagnostic for the assessment of the coarse simulation model in terms of flow response. The performance of the various components of the methodology is demonstrated through application to several example cases.


Objective: To find the frequency of osteoporosis in male patients with cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis C and its relation with Child Pugh score of liver cirrhosis in outpatient department of CMH Kohat. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital Kohat, from Dec 2012 to Jun 2013. Material and Method: A total of 94 patients (47 cases of Child Pugh B and 47 cases of Child Pugh Class C) were included in this study. DEXA scan was done for measuring bone density. Patients were grouped according to their T scores. Frequency of osteoporosis was calculated in both Child Pugh Class B patients and Class C patients and comparison was done using Chi Square test. Results: Mean age of the patients was 52.23 ± 8.46 and 55.57 ± 7.43 in Child Pugh Class-B and C class, respectively. Mean BMI in Child Pugh Class-B was 20.69 ± 3.77 and in class C it was 20.50 ± 3.99. Bone metabolic changes were found in 20 cases of Child Pugh Class-B, out of these 20 cases, 12 (25.5%) had osteopenia and 8 (17.0%) had osteoporosis. Bone metabolic changes were found in 34 cases of Child Pugh Class-C. Out of these 34 cases 22 (46.8%) had osteopenia and 12 (25.5%) had Osteoporosis. Conclusion: There is higher prevalence of osteoporosis in patients with cirrhosis. In these patients's osteoporosis must be diagnosed early and treated appropriately particularly when risk factors such as severe liver disease, low BMI and cholestasis are present.


Dynamical Cognitive Science makes available to the cognitive science community the analytical tools and techniques of dynamical systems science, adding the variables of change and time to the study of human cognition. The unifying theme is that human behavior is an "unfolding in time" whose study should be augmented by the application of time-sensitive tools from disciplines such as physics, mathematics, and economics, where change over time is of central importance. The book provides a fast-paced, comprehensive introduction to the application of dynamical systems science to the cognitive sciences. Topics include linear and nonlinear time series analysis, chaos theory, complexity theory, relaxation oscillators, and metatheoretical issues of modeling and theory building. Tools and techniques are discussed in the context of their application to basic cognitive science problems, including perception, memory, psychophysics, judgment and decision making, and consciousness. The final chapter summarizes the contemporary study of consciousness and suggests how dynamical approaches to cognitive science can help to advance our understanding of this central concept.


Developing countries reject meaningful emission targets (recent intensity caps are no exception), while many industrialized countries insist that developing countries accept them. This impasse has prevented the Kyoto Protocol from establishing a global price for greenhouse gas emissions. This paper presents a solution to this dilemma—allow countries to commit to a binding global carbon-price target. This commitment could be met by cap and trade, a carbon tax, or any combination. This would allow developing countries to accept the same carbon price as the most advanced countries instead of accepting a cap that is as low as U.S. emissions in the 1800s. And it would allow the U.S. and the E.U. to keep their cap and trade schemes. The paper defines a carbon-price target, and shows how compliance could be induced using both carrots and sticks. We also demonstrate that carbon pricing can be guaranteed to be inexpensive under a carbon-price target. A Green Fund is suggested that reinforces rather than subverts cooperation on global carbon pricing. The combined cost of a $30/ton price target and the Green Fund is only 23 cents per person per day for the United States and is negative for India. Together, these advantages should greatly increase the chance that developing countries will commit to a substantial carbon price, and this should increase the chance of cap and trade passing the U.S. Senate. Such a policy would also reduce the world oil price. For China and the United States, this savings might well cover the full cost of the proposed initial climate agreement.


Appreciation and feedback at work could barely be more popular at the moment. In particular, practical recommendations stress the effectiveness of appreciation and feedback in boosting employee motivation and performance, and provide specific suggestions on how they should be applied at work. The aim of this dissertation is to scrutinize some of the practical recommendations on appreciation and feedback in the context of existing theories and empirical results, and to put these recommendations to an empirical test.
The first part of this research focused on the practical recommendation to boost employee motivation and performance with appreciation by investigating whether the effects of appreciation are as positive as commonly assumed. We used social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity to theoretically explain why employees who feel appreciated at work will return this goodwill with increased work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey (N = 183, 53% female) and a two-wave online survey (N = 117, 68.4% female). As expected, perceived appreciation positively affected work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior, and explained unique variance over and above leader-member exchange and perceived organizational support. Positive reciprocity norms moderated the effect of perceived appreciation on work engagement. Perceived appreciation also mediated the positive effect of feedback environment on work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior. Our results imply that perceived appreciation acts as a socioemotional resource which elicits obligations to reciprocate within the employee.
The second part of this research challenged the practical recommendations that positive feedback should precede negative feedback in order to soften the blow of the negative feedback that is yet to come and that feedback should always be specific to improve performance. To make specific predictions about the effects of feedback order and feedback specificity, we developed a simple, schematic self-regulatory action cycle based on common theories of self-regulation and models of feedback processing that starts with the feedback message and ends with (potential) performance improvement. We conducted an online experiment (fictitious written feedback, N = 198, 83.3% female) and a laboratory experiment (genuine face-to-face feedback, N = 100, 49% female). The effects of feedback order were as expected: a feedback order negative-positive was perceived more negatively and led to more performance improvement than a feedback order positive-negative. Further, the effect of feedback order on performance improvement was mediated by perceived negativity. Unexpectedly, feedback specificity did not affect performance improvement. Specific feedback in the order negative-positive resulted in the highest performance improvement (interaction between feedback order and feedback specificity). Our results imply that feedback messages should start with negative feedback if the primary objective is to improve employee performance.
The third part of this research changed perspective by focusing on the effects of feedback content (i.e. if the feedback to given is positive or negative) on the feedback giver. We expected effects of feedback content on the giver's experienced effort, affect, and satisfaction because of anticipated face loss, the resulting attempts to mitigate face threats, and empathic reactions of the feedback giver. We conducted a scenario experiment (N = 172; 70% female) in which participants gave positive or negative written feedback. As expected, feedback givers perceived giving negative feedback to be more demanding, less satisfying, and experience less positive and more negative affect after giving negative feedback. Further, a follow-up study (scenario experiment, N = 113, 72% female) provided support for our theoretical assumption of anticipated face threat by showing that feedback recipients judged the feedback giver to be less warm and less competent after receiving negative feedback. These results might explain the reluctance of managers and/or colleagues to give negative feedback.
The present studies demonstrate that appreciation and feedback can indeed be effective in boosting employee motivation and performance. However, results also show that concerning feedback, it may be difficult to find a balance between the recipient's and the giver's needs. Further, these studies do not provide a final conclusion about whether practical recommendations should generally be accepted or rejected. Future research could focus on the development and dissemination of valid practical recommendations which might contribute to a sustainable improvement of working conditions.


The position of public school superintendent is one that is filled with many challenges and opportunities. A more in depth awareness of the leadership characteristics of public school superintendents enhance the understanding of this very complex role in today's society. The purpose of this study was to identify leadership characteristics of school superintendents in today's complex education environment as perceived by school superintendents and school board chairpersons in Virginia. Additionally, this study gathered and evaluated perspectives from practicing superintendents and their board chairpersons to determine similarities and differences between the perceptions of these two groups. The population selected for this study was comprised of all 132 K-12 public school superintendents in the Commonwealth of Virginia during the 2008-2009 school year. Additionally, all 132 Virginia school board chairpersons were invited to participate in the survey. A total of 101 responses were received from the survey population of Virginia school superintendents. This represented an overall survey return rate of 76.52%. A total of 70 responses were received from the survey population of Virginia school board chairpersons, representing a return rate of 53.03%. The respondents were asked to read 17 statements regarding the activities and characteristics related to the job of superintendent and answer from 1 to 4, strongly disagree to strongly agree. In addition, respondents were asked to rank in order of importance ten superintendent leadership characteristics, with the value of 1 corresponding to the most important characteristic. The perceived ratings were then rank-ordered based upon the composite mean of the ratings of each individual leadership characteristics. Superintendents and school board chairpersons agreed that personal and professional integrity, honesty, and fairness are the most essential leadership characteristics for the public school superintendent. Superintendents and school board chairpersons also agreed that effective communication with board members, division and school staffs, parents, students, and the community is essential in superintendent leadership. Both superintendents and school board chairpersons perceived visionary leader as the most important leadership characteristic, relative to all the characteristics rated. Superintendents indicated that instructional leader was the second most important characteristic, while school board chairpersons perceived this characteristic as the third most important. Superintendents rated effective school board relations as the third most important characteristic, while school board chairpersons ranked this as their fourth most important characteristic. Statistically significant differences in the perceptions of superintendents and school board chairpersons were observed for the following characteristics: professional development experience, politically astute, and team builder. Superintendents perceived professional development experience to be significantly less important than did school board chairpersons. The superintendents perceived politically astute to be significantly more important characteristic than the school board chairpersons. Finally, school board


To guide vaccine design, we assessed whether human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) b12 and b6 against the CD4 binding site (CD4bs) on HIV-1 gp120 and F240 against an immundominant epitope on gp41 could prevent vaginal transmission of simian HIV (SHIV)-162P4 to macaques. The two anti-gp120 MAbs have similar monomeric gp120-binding properties, measured in vitro, but b12 is strongly neutralizing and b6 is not. F240 is nonneutralizing. Applied vaginally at a high dose, the strongly neutralizing MAb b12 provided sterilizing immunity in seven of seven animals, b6 in zero of five animals, and F240 in two of five animals. Compared with control animals, the protection by b12 achieved statistical significance, whereas that caused by F240 did not. For two of three unprotected F240-treated animals there was a trend toward lowered viremia. The potential protective effect of F240 may relate to the relatively strong ability of this antibody to capture infectious virions. Additional passive transfer experiments also indicated that the ability of the administered anti-gp120 MAbs to neutralize the challenge virus was a critical influence on protection. Furthermore, when data from all of the experiments were combined, there was a significant increase in the number of founder viruses establishing infection in animals receiving MAb b6, compared with other nonprotected macaques. Thus, a gp120-binding, weakly neutralizing MAb to the CD4bs was, at best, completely ineffective at protection. A nonneutralizing antibody to gp41 may have a limited capacity to protect, but the results suggest that the central focus of HIV-1 vaccine research should be on the induction of potently neutralizing antibodies.


Ant-plant associations are an outstanding model to study the entangled ecological interactions that structure communities. However, most studies of plant-animal networks focus on only one type of resource that mediates these interactions (e.g, nectar or fruits), leading to a biased understanding of community structure. New approaches, however, have made possible to study several interaction types simultaneously through multilayer networks models. Here, we use this approach to ask whether the structural patterns described to date for ant-plant networks hold when multiple interactions with plant-derived food rewards are considered. We tested whether networks characterized by different resource types differ in specialization and resource partitioning among ants, and whether the identity of the core ant species is similar among resource types. We monitored ant interactions with extrafloral nectaries, flowers, and fruits, as well as trophobiont hemipterans feeding on plants, for one year, in seven rupestrian grassland (campo rupestre) sites in southeastern Brazil. We found a highly tangled ant-plant network in which plants offering different resource types are connected by a few central ant species. The multilayer network had low modularity and specialization, but ant specialization and niche overlap differed according to the type of resource used. Beyond detecting structural differences across networks, our study demonstrates empirically that the core of most central ant species is similar across them. We suggest that foraging strategies of ant species, such as massive recruitment, may determine specialization and resource partitioning in ant-plant interactions. As this core of ant species is involved in multiple ecosystem functions, it may drive the diversity and evolution of the entire campo rupestre community.


We segregate attacks into two categories – targeted and opportunistic – based on whether the attacker compromises a specific target (targeted) or a number of intermediate targets to fulfill his end goal (opportunistic). We assume that opportunistic attackers consider targets indistinguishable except for their vulnerabilities, and are interested in acquiring as many targets as possible. We therefore hypothesize that opportunistic attackers will develop attacks involving services which have the largest number of potential targets. We test this hypothesis in a limited way by correlating worm releases on P2P file sharing networks with the number of users on the networks being targeted. Our results demonstrate that this relationship exists only for variants of worms and not for new worms. We further demonstrate that the results are service specific, and that there is no general model that represents the entire file sharing vector.


The Object-Oriented (OO) paradigm has become increasingly popular in recent years. Researchers agree that, although maintenance may turn out to be easier for OO systems, it is unlikely that the maintenance burden will completely disappear. One approach to controlling software maintenance costs is the utilization of software metrics during the development phase, to help identify potential problem areas. Many new metrics have been proposed for OO systems, but only a few of them have been validated. The purpose of this research is to empirically explore the validation of three existing OO design complexity metrics and, specifically, to assess their ability to predict maintenance time. This research reports the results of validating three metrics, Interaction Level (IL), Interface Size (IS), and Operation Argument Complexity (OAC). A controlled experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of design complexity (as measured by the above metrics) on maintenance time. Each of the three metrics by itself was found to be useful in the experiment in predicting maintenance performance.


Here at last is the opportunity for New Zealand readers to discover two of Janet Frame's most cinematic novels, highly readable and compelling, just as relevant today as they were when written in the 1960s. The range of Janet Frame's vision of this country's culture and landscape is mesmerising, ranging from daylit magic realism to scathing satire on the hypocrisy of a provincial society. In STATE OF SIEGE (first published in 1966) art teacher Malfred Signal attempts to reinvent herself. She leaves her repressed past and domineering family behind, and moves from Otago to Auckland to live on a sub-tropical island. But who is knocking at the door one stormy night? This unforgettable psychological portrait was the subject of an award winning 1978 film by Vincent Ward. THE RAINBIRDS (first published in 1968) is a black comedy currently being adapted for the big screen. Godfrey Rainbird has also left his old life behind in a move from London to Dunedin. All seems to be going well until he is mistakenly pronounced dead after a car accident. When he awakes from the coma, his family and community struggle to accept not his death but his resurrection.


This paper estimates the propensity to retire and the persistence of remaining retired once the decision to retire has been made in the US labour market, using a dynamic panel probit model. The estimated income effect of higher housing wealth is virtually zero and that of financial assets wealth is positive, increasing the retirement probability. The substitution effect of earned income is negative, thus decreasing the retirement probability. The retirement decision is strongly state persistent for up to three years after the initial retirement decision and the state persistence of retirement is reinforced by wealth and earned income.


Production inkjet printers have progressed far beyond the simple barcode label they were originally designed to print. Today they can do full colour. The more advanced examples can print on plain papers without any extra cost or the use of pre-coated materials yet still produce a bright, vibrant image quality. The more advanced examples are also rated good de-inkable, which means that the paper can be recycled back into office-grade paper after it has been used.


This study focuses on the health profile of the elderly population in Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, in 2003. The study population consisted of a sample over 60 years of age (n = 523) registered with the Family Health Program and the Unified National Health System. Point and interval prevalence of disabilities and chronic non-communicable diseases and cognitive status were estimated (95%CI). The study population was predominantly female with low education; 24.8% lacked any kind of retirement pension; 43.6% presented a low level of social integration; 46.7% required some form of help for 1 to 3 routine activities; 74.9% presented 1 to 5 chronic non-communicable diseases; and 56.2% scored under 24 on a cognitive test. Some 87.0% had sought health care and 22.4% required some kind of inpatient care. The results confirmed the need for improved professional training, adequacy of health services, and effective public policy to provide qualified health care for the elderly population.


This paper presents a method for evaluating the image interaction of two object patterns of arbitrary shape in partially coherent imaging. The interaction is shown to be the interference of the eigenfunctions of the transmission cross coefficient at the image plane convolved with each of the object patterns. For two arbitrary patterns, the ith eigenfunction convolved with one object pattern interferes only with the ith eigenfunction convolved with the second object pattern. This method is useful for understanding how object feature shapes influence image interactions, and examples are simulated to evaluate the method. A method to determine constructive and destructive interference areas is also introduced.


In this paper, we present a multi-agent control method for a large-scale network system. We propose an extension of a token-based coordination technique to improve the tradeoff between two conflicting objectives of the network system: reducing the lead time and increasing throughput. In our system, CABS, information about an agent's urgency of jobs to fulfill demanded throughput and to maintain its utilization is passed from downstream agents in the network so that upstream agents can provide necessary and sufficient jobs to bottleneck agents whose loss of capacity degrades the total system performance. We empirically evaluate CABS performance using a benchmark problem of the semiconductor fabrication process, which is a good example of a large-scale network system.


[1] Improvements in modeling mineral aerosols over southwest Asia are made to the dust scheme in a regional climate model by representing subgrid variability of both wind speed and surface roughness length. The new module quantifies wind variability by using model meteorology while assuming that wind speed follows a Gaussian distribution. More specifically, wind variability is approximated by dry convective eddies within the planetary boundary layer, forced by sensible heat fluxes at the surface. Incorporating subgrid variability of wind increases aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the region by nearly 35% while reducing incoming shortwave radiation by an additional 5–10 W/m2. Likewise, the dust scheme is modified to include the variability of surface roughness length over southwest Asia. Here an empirical distribution of roughness length for each grid cell is calculated based on the USGS's 4 km resolution land cover data set. However, incorporating roughness length variability does not significantly alter dust emissions over the region due to the relatively homogeneous land cover conditions. Nevertheless, including spatial variability for wind results in aerosol optical depth values closer to observational data sets, particularly MISR, which performs better than MODIS over this region. However, RegCM3's dust model still underestimates AOD over southwest Asia. In addition to improvements made in RegCM3's dust model, this work examines the effects of mineral aerosols on the mean monthly, surface summertime climate of southwest Asia. It is shown that dust emissions reduce average summertime surface temperatures by approximately 0.5°C while attenuating shortwave incident radiation by nearly 25 W/m2. Thus, the emission of dust is an important surface process in shaping the summertime climate over southwest Asia. However, both a warm bias in surface temperatures and overestimation of incoming shortwave radiation still exist in RegCM3 and need to be further addressed.


Horror. Sadness. Protests. Military action. Conspiracy theories. From personal loss to economic upheaval to a paradigm shift in U.S. foreign relations, few events in the past 100 years have impacted American life so greatly as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This comprehensive two-volume set details every event leading up to 9/11, going back up to a decade prior to the attacks, and including all participants from any place in the world. Also covered are events since the attack that have influenced our understanding of the ordeal. With A-Z entries, descriptive sidebars, and over 40 primary documents, The 9/11 Encyclopedia is an essential source for understanding one of the blackest marks on the pages of American history.