High frequency deep brain stimulation of the thalamus can help ameliorate severe essential tremor. Here we explore how the efficacy, efficiency and selectivity of thalamic deep brain stimulation might be improved in this condition. We started from the hypothesis that the effects of electrical stimulation on essential tremor may be phase dependent, and that, in particular, there are tremor phases at which stimuli preferentially lead to a reduction in the amplitude of tremor. The latter could be exploited to improve deep brain stimulation, particularly if tremor suppression could be reinforced by cumulative effects. Accordingly, we stimulated 10 patients with essential tremor and thalamic electrodes, while recording tremor amplitude and phase. Stimulation near the postural tremor frequency entrained tremor. Tremor amplitude was also modulated depending on the phase at which stimulation pulses were delivered in the tremor cycle. Stimuli in one half of the tremor cycle reduced median tremor amplitude by ∼10%, while those in the opposite half of the tremor cycle increased tremor amplitude by a similar amount. At optimal phase alignment tremor suppression reached 27%. Moreover, tremor amplitude showed a non-linear increase in the degree of suppression with successive stimuli; tremor suppression was increased threefold if a stimulus was preceded by four stimuli with a similar phase relationship with respect to the tremor, suggesting cumulative, possibly plastic, effects. The present results pave the way for a stimulation system that tracks tremor phase to control when deep brain stimulation pulses are delivered to treat essential tremor. This would allow treatment effects to be maximized by focussing stimulation on the optimal phase for suppression and by ensuring that this is repeated over many cycles so as to harness cumulative effects. Such a system might potentially achieve tremor control with far less power demand and greater specificity than current high frequency stimulation approaches, and may lower the risk for tolerance and rebound.


The move toward online course facilitation in tertiary education has the intent of providing education at any time in any place to any person. However, the advent of blended learning and e-learning innovations has ostracised, marginalised or ignored those who cannot afford or who are unable to access the latest hardware and software to take advantage of these opportunities. The Web 2.0 age is an era of assumptions: assumptions of participation, literacy and democracy. Yet such inferences are based on the need for high-speed Internet connections, and the latest computers are standard requirements. Those without the ability to access these necessities are being indirectly marginalised by the universities, which is particularly ironic in an era of 'widening participation'. This article reveals a few tears in the fabric of wiki-enabled democratic education. The authors argue that there is a community of students that are subjected to what Bourdieu termed symbolic violence. Digitisation in tertiary education is reinforcing what it has always been through its history – a haven of the wealthy and the advantaged.


Under fasting conditions, the liver burns fats and produces glucose through gluconeogenesis. Insulin, released after a meal, activates signaling pathways that inhibit fatty-acid oxidation and gluconeogenesis. In type 2 diabetes, and prediabetic insulin resistance, the response to insulin is blunted so that gluconeogenesis is maintained after a meal although inhibition of fatty acid oxidation still takes place (see Montminy and Koo). Insulin signaling leads to the phosphorylation and nuclear exclusion of the gluconeogenesis-promoting transcription factor Foxo1. Now Wolfrum et al. have investigated the role of Foxa2, a second transcription factor whose activity is inhibited through insulin signaling. Immunoblot and immunohistochemical analysis indicated that the phosphorylation and nuclear localization of Foxa2 were more sensitive than that of Foxo1 to feeding or insulin. Moreover, in hyperinsulinemic mouse models of insulin resistance, Foxa2 was in the cytoplasm in both fed and starved mice. Experiments in which insulin-receptor substrate-1 or -2 (IRS-1 or -2) was silenced with short interfering RNA in HepG2 cells indicated that insulin signaling through either IRS-1 or IRS-2 led to phosphorylation and nuclear exclusion of Foxa-2, whereas Foxo1 was a target of signaling only through IRS-2. Diabetic or insulin-resistant mice expressing a phosphorylation-resistant constitutively active Foxa2 mutant in their livers had decreased plasma glucose and insulin concentrations, decreased liver triglyceride content, weight loss, and increased insulin sensitivity. Consistent changes in the expression of enzymes involved in lipid metabolism and glycolysis were also observed. Thus, the sensitivity of Foxa2 to insulin signaling even in insulin-resistant conditions may enable the continued inhibition of fatty acid oxidation and thus the accumulation of liver triglycerides. C. Wolfrum, E. Asilmaz, E. Luca, J. M. Friedman, M. Stoffel, Foxa2 regulates lipid metabolism and ketogenesis in the liver during fasting and in diabetes. Nature 432, 1027-1031 (2004). [PubMed] M. Montminy, S.-H. Koo, Outfoxing insulin resistance? Nature 432, 958-959 (2004). [PubMed]


Abstract. Flood protection is one of the practical methods in damage reduction. Although it not possible to be completely protected from flood disaster but major part of damages can be reduced by mitigation plans. In this paper, the optimum flood mitigation master plan is determined by economic evaluation in trading off between the construction costs and expected value of damage reduction as the benefits. Size of the certain mitigation alternative is also be obtained by risk analysis by accepting possibility of flood overtopping. Different flood mitigation alternatives are investigated from various aspects in the Dez and Karun river floodplain areas as a case study in south west of IRAN. The results show that detention dam and flood diversion are the best alternatives of flood mitigation methods as well as enforcing the flood control purpose of upstream multipurpose reservoirs. Dyke and levees are not mostly justifiable because of negative impact on down stream by enhancing routed flood peak discharge magnitude and flood damages as well.


Quantum-dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) exhibit a bias-dependent shift in their spectral response. In this paper, a novel signal-processing technique is developed that exploits this bias-dependent spectral diversity to synthesize measurements that are tuned to a wide range of user-specified spectra. The technique is based on two steps: The desired spectral response is first optimally approximated by a weighted superposition of a family of bias-controlled spectra of the QDIP, corresponding to a preselected set of biases. Second, multiple measurements are taken of the object to be probed, one for each of the prescribed biases, which are subsequently combined linearly with the same weights. The technique is demonstrated to produce a unimodal response that has a tunable FWHM (down to Δλ~0.5 μm) for each center wavelength in the range 3–8 μm, which is an improvement by a factor of 4 over the spectral resolution of the raw QDIP.


The basic idea of the finite element beam propagation method (FE-BPM) is described. It is applied to calculate the fundamental mode of a channel plasmonic polariton (CPP) waveguide to confirm its validity. Both the field distribution and the effective index of the fundamental mode are given by the method. The convergence speed shows the advantage and stability of this method. Then a plasmonic waveguide with a dielectric strip deposited on a metal substrate is investigated, and the group velocity is negative for the fundamental mode of this kind of waveguide. The numerical result shows that the power flow direction is reverse to that of phase velocity.


Background: Recent research shows that social media offer unprecedented opportunities for communications with stakeholders in public health and other industries. Purpose: This study examines the manner in which U.S. local health departments (LHDs) use Facebook. Public health program themes discussed on Facebook profiles of LHDs were analyzed and ranked by the frequency of mentions on Facebook. Methods: LHDs included in the study were those indicating use of Facebook in the 2010 National Profile of Local Health Departments. Using the list from the profile study, the primary data from LHDs' public Facebook profiles were collected over a period of 4 months. A content analysis of the active Facebook profiles was performed; this identified themes that were discussed in the Facebook posts by LHDs and also determined the level of maintenance of LHDs' Facebook profile. Results: Nineteen public health themes were identified that were being discussed by LHDs. Different levels of maintenance of Facebook profiles was also noted. Implications: Social media can make a potential difference in providing the essential public health services of informing, educating, and empowering people about health issues, and mobilize community partnerships.


The thermal histories of mylonitic rocks from the footwall of the northern Snake Range decollement (NSRD), Nevada, were calculated using multiple diffusion domain analyses of potassium feldspar Arrhenius data and 40Ar/39Ar age spectra in order to characterize the cooling (exhumation) history of these mylonitic rocks and thereby constrain the origin and movement history of the NSRD. The calculated thermal histories, along with reported apatite fission track ages, indicate the three following episodes of rapid cooling (10–55°C/m.y.) related to extensional denudation: (1) middle Eocene (48–41 Ma), (2) late Oligocene (30–26 Ma), and (3) early Miocene (20–16 Ma). The first episode of rapid cooling may be related to the earliest period of normal faulting in east central Nevada and initiation of slip along the NSRD. The second episode signals a pulse of slip along the NSRD, and the third episode marks the cessation of lower plate mylonitic deformation and the onset of the major pulse of uplift and rotation of lower plate rocks from beneath the NSRD and/or younger east dipping normal faults. The thermal history data provide evidence for a temperature difference across the range within the same structural horizon; the northwestern flank of the range dropped below 300°C by 46 Ma and reached 115°C by 20 Ma, whereas lower plate rocks in the eastern parts of the range were at temperatures above 300°C until 19 Ma. If isotherms were subhorizontal, these relations suggest that either lower plate units had an eastward dip prior to the onset of Tertiary mylonitic deformation or that layering dipped eastward as a result of top-to-the-east shear within an east dipping shear zone. Either case results in differential cooling (uplift) of lower plate rocks from beneath the NSRD. A temperature-distance-age graph, constructed based upon the calculated thermal histories, shows differential uplift and rotation of moderately to steeply east dipping lower plate units from beneath the NSRD. Furthermore, this reconstruction shows that the dip of lower plate units increases and then decreases in time and space. This reconstruction implies that the NSRD initiated at moderate to steep angles that shallowed at depth, listric style, into a shallow dipping shear zone. These reconstructions provide a spectacular example of the rolling hinge/isostatic rebound model.


Predicted spectral linewidths have been computed as a function of the laser and physical parameters of a pulsed high-gain three-level multimode self-terminating laser. In particular, the values of the parameters that yield minimum widths have been obtained because of their applications in the fields of holography and lidar. The model previously developed by the author for the cuprous chloride laser and the approximate parametric values found are used as a basis for these computations, since this laser combines visible radiation, high average power, and intrinsically narrow hyperfine lines. It is found that a temporal minimum width occurs prior to termination of the laser pulse for all parameter combinations. This temporal minimum width increases with increased temperature and Cu density, decreases with increased electron-excitation pumping rate from the ground to the upper excited state, and is virtually independent of the homogeneous FWHM. Quantitative relations between the coherence length and the spectral linewidth are derived for several waveforms.


Beach litter contamination has been reported internationally as a major coastal issue needing evaluation for management strategies. The extent of contamination by litter has been assessed throughout a 12-month field investigation at Cassino beach, a long and wide sandy beach of great ecological importance and a major resort area of the southern Brazilian coast. This has been the first systematic study on the subject, and followed the IOC/FAO/ UNEP (1989) methodological guidelines. Further to the results identifying the most contaminated areas and times of the year and characterising the major components and likely sources of the litter collected, this study provides for estimations on the litter accumulated over Cassino beach on a global perspective, and refers to existing and future management perspectives. Although the main problem appeared to be waste left by beach-goers during summer, results also suggest that year-round inputs from other sources should not be neglected, and point to the need for prevention and control measures under an integrated approach to management.


Since the late 1970s, scholars have explored Athenian eye cups within the presumed context of the symposion, privileging a hypothetical Athenian viewer and themes of masking and play. Such emphases, however, neglect chronology and distribution, which reveal the complexity of the pottery trade during the late sixth and the fifth centuries B.C.E. Although many eye cups have been found in Athens—namely on the Acropolis and mainly from late in the series—the majority come from funerary, sanctuary, and domestic contexts to the west and east. Most of the earliest, largest, and highest-quality examples were exported to Etruria, where the symposion as the Athenians knew it did not exist. Workshops and traders were clearly aware of their audiences at home and abroad and shifted production and distribution of vases to suit. The Etruscan consumers of eye cups made conscious choices regarding their purchase and use. Tomb assemblages from Vulci and elsewhere reveal their multivalent significance: they are emblematic of banqueting in life and death, apotropaic entities, likely with ritual uses. Rather than being signs of hellenization in a foreign culture, Athenian eye cups—like all Greek vases—were brought into Etruria, then integrated, manipulated, and even transformed to suit local needs and beliefs.


Aggregations of the ground-nesting bee Halictus rubicundus were found at several locations across the UK. The phenology, social organisation, nest architecture and foraging behaviour of this bee were described for the largest of these aggregations (Invergowrie, Scotland). This site was unusual in having an extremely high brood mortality due to the impact of an anthomyiid fly. Nest parasitism was found to be directly density-dependent and it lead to a marked decline in nest numbers over the period of this study, indicating the possible forthcoming extinction of the aggregation. The other sites contained smaller nesting aggregations and the level of parasitism was considerably less. There was a marked variation in size across UK populations and this was explained by a temperature rather than a latitudinal cline. There was no evidence from field or laboratory studies to suggest that this species is endothermic; H. rubicundus is purely a behavioural thermoregulator. The effect of size upon various rates of heat exchange were examined in the laboratory for both sexes, and related to behaviours observed at the nest-site. Thus the microclimatic windows for different activities were established. The abundance of flying individuals at the nest-site was highly predictable from ambient temperature and light intensity; with predictions during a single day being more accurate than those combining several days throughout the season. Furthermore the usefulness of standard operative temperatures in predicting flight activity was assessed. The thoracic temperature of both sexes depended on the prevailing ambient temperature and also on the size of the individual while either basking or flying. Body temperatures increased with both ambient temperature and head width. However when both these predictors were combined into a single model, then size was only a strong predictor at lower temperatures. These findings were used to explain many of the behavioural patterns observed at Invergowrie. The nest site selection behaviour of females was examined both within and across sites. H. rubicundus was able to utilise a range of edaphic and microclimatic conditions when choosing a site to excavate a nest. There were some factors with broad tolerances such as slope and hardness, and others with much narrower limits such as aspect, soil humidity and particle composition. The thermal advantages of having a warm nest meant that the most suitable areas were those with a southern aspect and a slope which maximised the absorption of solar radiation. Limited areas of substrate with the most desirable characteristics resulted in gregarious nesting ('limited substrate' hypothesis). There was a preference for softer soils, that were easier to dig, within a site with a low overall density; but in much denser aggregations problems of maintaining the structural integrity of a nest lead to the favouring of harder soils. The tendency to nest in close proximity to the natal nest (philopatry) complemented the 'limited substrate' hypothesis in producing an aggregation of nests. The spatial distributions of nests within aggregations were examined using nearest neighbour distance analyses; at low densities, microscale variation in substrate quality produced clumped patterns, whereas at high densities the risk of adjacent nests collapsing into one another forced nest spacing to be more regular. Findings concerning temperature dependence of nesting and foraging activities, and broader environmental controls on nest-site selection, are considered in relation to key aspects of bee biology: the origins and function of social behaviours, the conservation of, or provision of, nest-sites, and the utility of solitary bees as crop pollinators. Table of


The search for Dark Matter (DM) has great potential to reveal physics beyond the Standard Model. As such, searches for evidence of DM particles are being carried out using a wide range of techniques, such as direct searches for DM particles, searches for DM produced with colliders, and indirect searches for the Standard Model annihilation products of DM. Dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are excellent targets for indirect Dark Matter searches due to their relatively high DM content and negligible expected astrophysical background. A collaboration was formed to maximise the sensitivity of DM searches towards dSphs by combining for the first time dSph data from three imaging air Cherenkov telescope (IACT) arrays: HESS, MAGIC, and VERITAS; the Fermi-LAT satellite, and the water Cherenkov detector HAWC. Due to the diverse nature of the instruments involved, each experiment will analyse their individual datasets from multiple targets and then the results will be combined at the likelihood level. For consistency of the likelihoods across the five experiments, a common approach is used to treat the astrophysical factor (J-Factor) for each target and an agreed set of annihilation channels are considered. We also agree on a com- mon statistical approach and treatment of instrumental systematic uncertainties. The results are presented in terms of constraints on the velocity-weighted cross section for DM self-annihilation as a function of the DM particle mass.


The objective of this work is to simulate vapour compression refrigeration systems through a modular approach by means of an object-oriented numerical tool called NEST. For this purpose, the global system is modeled as a collection of different elements which are linked between them. Each element represents a specific part of the system (e.g. heat exchanger, compressor, expansion device, tube, cavity, wall, etc.) and can be independently solved for given boundary conditions. The global resolution procedure is carried out by solving all the elements iteratively, transferring information between them, until a converged solution is reached. The system is easily modified by adding, subtracting or substituting any of its elements. This feature gives great flexibility to the model, not only because the configuration of the system can be clearly altered, but also because the numerical model of any element can be easily replaced allowing different levels of simulation. In this work the object-oriented methodology together with the elements description and their resolution procedures are presented. The model is validated against experimental data obtained from a refrigeration cycle working with isobutane. In addition to this, an illustrative case is presented in order to show the system capabilities.


Understanding conditions at both global and local scales during the greenhouse climate of the Eocene Epoch is critical for making accurate predictions in our rapidly warming world. Despite the wealth of proxy data and modeling studies, fundamental aspects of the climate system still remain uncertain. For example, accurate austral high‐latitude temperatures are necessary to understand the evolution of temperatures during the lead‐up to Antarctic glaciation and determine the meridional temperature gradient during greenhouse warmth, yet records are few and disparate. Here we present seasonally resolved temperature and precipitation data from the latest Lutetian (~42 Ma) from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. Oxygen isotopes from bivalves indicate a mean temperature of 13.1 °C and a seasonal range of 8.0 °C, slightly (<1 °C) more seasonal than modeled temperatures from high‐obliquity simulations. Carbon isotopes from driftwood suggest that summer accounts for just over half of annual precipitation. When compared with other austral high‐latitude records, the data are consistent with a zonally heterogeneous middle Eocene Southern Ocean. Similar longitudinal variability is observed in the modern boreal high latitudes, where landmasses subdivide the ocean, subjecting basins to their own distinct circulation patterns and coastal processes. With closed Drake and Tasman passages, the middle Eocene Southern Ocean would also have been noncontiguous, resulting in larger variability of sea surface temperatures along individual zonal bands than today. This interpretation resolves inconsistencies among existing high‐austral proxy records and suggests that the large seasonal range of temperatures may be indicative of regional‐scale circulation patterns along the peninsula not captured by low‐resolution climate simulations.


Wine is an ancient and popular alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes. Different yeasts and bacteria strains produce different styles of wines. Over time, the inoculation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains to produce wine has been the common practice in the wine industry, and the other species of yeasts have been considered undesirable for the alcoholic fermentation. However, in the last decades, the use of wild or indigenous yeasts and lactic acid bacteria strains has significantly increased. Wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria are interesting microorganisms that contribute to differentiate the wine character of a region. The production of wines by spontaneous or inoculated fermentations by selected wild microorganisms may be an interesting tool to improve the quality of wines. This chapter summarizes relevant aspects of these microorganisms related to this scientific field.


The Mediterranean offers a unique opportunity to study the driving forces of tectonic deformation within a complex mobile belt. Lithospheric dynamics are affected by slab rollback and collision of two large, slowly moving plates, forcing fragments of continental and oceanic lithosphere to interact. This paper reviews the rich and growing set of constraints from geological reconstructions, geodetic data, and crustal and upper mantle heterogeneity imaged by structural seismology. We proceed to discuss a conceptual and quantitative framework for the causes of surface deformation. Exploring existing and newly developed tectonic and numerical geodynamic models, we illustrate the role of mantle convection on surface geology. A coherent picture emerges which can be outlined by two, almost symmetric, upper mantle convection cells. The downwellings are found in the center of the Mediterranean and are associated with the descent of the Tyrrhenian and the Hellenic slabs. During plate convergence, these slabs migrated backward with respect to the Eurasian upper plate, inducing a return flow of the asthenosphere from the back‐arc regions toward the subduction zones. This flow can be found at large distance from the subduction zones and is at present expressed in two upwellings beneath Anatolia and eastern Iberia. This convection system provides an explanation for the general pattern of seismic anisotropy in the Mediterranean, first‐order Anatolia, and Adria microplate kinematics and may contribute to the high elevation of scarcely deformed areas such as Anatolia and eastern Iberia. More generally, the Mediterranean is an illustration of how upper mantle, small‐scale convection leads to intraplate deformation and complex plate boundary reconfiguration at the westernmost terminus of the Tethyan collision.


Propofol is a widely used intravenous anaesthetic which requires close patient monitoring that involves blood extraction methods. Polymers with high affinity for propofol were computationally designed and their binding affinity tested. A diethylaminoethyl methacrylate based molecularly imprinted polymer was optimised in solid-phase extraction experiments showing no cross-reactivity to injections of urea, glucose, alfentanil and morphine. These polymers were initially integrated with screen-printed electrodes by photopolymerisation and used to detect propofol amperometrically, before modification to include conductive carbon to create better communication between the recognition sites of the polymer and the electrode. The sensors exhibited excellent linearity across the relevant clinical range with a detection limit of 4.19 µM measured in the presence of highly electroactive interferents such as uric acid and ascorbic acid. The mode of operation of the sensor reported herein differs significantly from the current state of the art and opens new opportunity towards the integration of synthetic receptors as electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care applications.


This research evaluates the interaction of new alternative insurance designs, forward pricing tools and the government revenue protection program while assuming a government loan program is in place. A numerical analysis is conducted using a revenue simulation model that incorporates futures prices, basis, and yield variability. Three crop insurance designs at 75 percent of yield guarantee are evaluated. Optimal futures and at-the-money put option hedge ratios are derived for expected utility maximizing of soybean producers. Sensitivity to loan rate levels are examined. Our results suggest that loan programs profoundly alter the optimal producer strategy.


In November 2014, President Obama announced a significant turn in U.S. immigration policy: that immigration officials would decline to pursue deportation of unlawful immigrants who were parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who met certain other criteria. Although the proposed program, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), never took effect, it provides a fascinating lens for exploring what limits, if any, the Constitution imposes on the executive branch's decision not to enforce the law — on its exercise of administrative "enforcement discretion." Article II of Constitution obligates the President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." The Faithful Execution Clause frames two aspects of the debate over the scope of administrative enforcement discretion. First, one can view the clause as discretion-granting: in conferring or recognizing the President's power to "execute[" the law, the clause seemingly embeds some flexibility to decide when and how to exercise that power. Second, one can view the clause as discretion-limiting: the clause calls for the President not merely to ensure that the laws be executed, but that they be "faithfully" executed. When the Obama administration announced its DAPA initiative, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a lengthy opinion that developed and applied a framework for determining when an exercise of enforcement authority breaches the Executive's constitutional obligations of faithful execution. That framework embeds certain immigration-specific elements, but its potential relevance transcends the immigration context. It is worth asking, then, both what the Faithful Execution Clause means and whether the OLC framework properly measures and constrains the scope of administrative enforcement discretion. The Faithful Execution Clause, this Article argues, has not and likely will not prove decisive in disputes in court over the scope of administrative enforcement discretion. That is not, however, because the Faithful Execution Clause does not constrain executive conduct. The clause demands that the President ensure that his subordinates act in good faith in enforcing the law. Whether the clause itself imposes a duty of good faith on the President's subordinates is a complicated question. Even if it does not impose such a duty, the clause necessarily requires that the President have the tools to do so. This understanding of the Faithful Execution Clause calls into question certain aspects of OLC's framework for evaluating exercises of administrative enforcement discretion. The Faithful Execution Clause, this Article argues, demands that the executive branch impose greater constraints on that discretion than the OLC framework recognizes.


Interactions between surface water and groundwater impact both the quality and quantity of water resources. This dissertation is focused on the interactions between surface water in streams and groundwater in hyporheic zones and shallow fluvial aquifers, and how human beings influence these interactions and are influenced by them. The three chapters of this dissertation span scales from cm to km and locations from Upstate New York to the Peruvian Andes, but are united by the goal to improve the scientific understanding of groundwater-surface water interactions (GWSWI) using novel techniques, in order to improve the outcomes of human activities for people and ecosystems. Heat is a useful tracer for quantifying GWSWI, but analyzing large amounts of raw thermal data has many challenges. Chapter 1 presents a computer program named VFLUX for processing raw temperature time series and calculating vertical water flux in shallow subsurface-water systems. The workflow synthesizes several recent advancements in signal processing, and adds new techniques for calculating flux rates with large numbers of temperature records from high-resolution sensor profiles. The program includes functions for quantitatively evaluating the ideal spacing between sensor pairs, and for performing error and sensitivity analyses for the heat transport model due to thermal parameter uncertainty. The new method is demonstrated by processing two field temperature time series datasets collected using discrete temperature sensors and a high-resolution DTS profile. The analyses of field data show vertical flux rates significantly decreasing with depth at high-spatial resolution as the sensor profiles penetrate shallow, curved hyporheic flow paths, patterns which may have been obscured without the unique analytical abilities of VFLUX. Natural channel design restoration projects in streams often include the construction of cross-vanes, which are stone, dam-like structures that span the active channel, and are often thought to increase local hyporheic exchange. In Chapter 2, vertical hyporheic exchange flux (HEF) and redox-sensitive solutes were measured in the streambed around 4 cross-vanes with different morphologies. Observed patterns of HEF and redox conditions are not dominated by a single, downstream-directed hyporheic flow cell beneath cross-vanes. Instead, spatial patterns of moderate (<0.4 md) upwelling and downwelling are distributed in smaller cells around pool and riffle bed forms upstream and downstream of structures. Patterns of biogeochemical cycling are controlled by dissolved oxygen concentrations and resulting redox conditions, and are also oriented around secondary bedforms. Total hyporheic exchange volumes are ~0.4% of stream discharge in restored reaches of 45-55 m. Results show that shallow hyporheic flow and associated biogeochemical cycling near cross-vanes is primarily controlled by secondary bed forms created or augmented by the cross-vane, rather than by the cross-vane itself. This study suggests that cross-vane restoration structures benefit the stream ecosystem by creating heterogeneous patches of varying HEF and redox conditions in the hyporheic zone, rather than by processing large amounts of nutrients to alter in-stream water chemistry. Melting tropical glaciers supply approximately half of dry season stream discharge in glacierized valleys of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. The remainder of streamflow originates as groundwater stored in alpine meadows, moraines and talus slopes. A better understanding of the dynamics of alpine groundwater, including sources and contributions to streamflow and GWSWI, is important for making accurate estimates of glacial inputs to the hydrologic budget, and for our ability to make predictions about future water resources as glaciers retreat. The field study described in Chapter 3 focused on two high-elevation meadows in valleys of the Blanca. Tracer measurements of stream and spring discharge and groundwater-surface water exchange were combined with synoptic sampling of water isotopic and geochemical composition, in order to characterize and quantify contributions to streamflow from different geomorphic features. In a valley headwaters study site, groundwater supplied approximately half of stream discharge from the meadow, with most originating in a debris fan adjacent to the meadow and little from the meadow itself (6%); however, in at a mid-valley study site, where meadows are extensive, local groundwater has a large impact on stream flow and chemistry through large net discharge and fractional hydrologic turnover. Quantifying groundwater-surface water interactions to improve the outcomes of human activities by Ryan P. Gordon B.A. Williams College, 2005 A dissertation, submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Earth Sciences. Syracuse University December 2013 Copyright © 2013 Ryan P. Gordon. All Rights Reserved.


Tailored nonmagnetic semiconductor-metal hybrid structures exhibit a large magnetoresistance effect in a homogeneous magnetic field. This is the so-called extraordinary magnetoresistance effect. Here, we study numerically the magnetoresistance of such hybrid structures in the inhomogeneous field of a magnetic dot. Surprisingly, the four-point resistance R versus magnetic field B changes its symmetry if compared to the case of a homogeneous field and is strongly dependent on the position of the local magnetic field. Interestingly, the active device area is not defined by the voltage probe separation, but by the positioning of voltage probes and current leads. We find a magnetoresistance effect as large as 18% although only 1 ∕ 60 of the device area is subject to a small magnetic field of ± 50 mT . These results are promising for sensing magnetic-field distributions in the nanoscale regime such as the stray fields of magnetic recording media.


Empirical research studies of finance students' language use have investigated students' performance in finance courses and the effect of class attendance on students' performance.Similarly, research on accounting students' texts has been directed at readability of accounting narratives and lexical choices. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) based research in multimodal communication and representation has been confined to school and workplace contexts. Whereas multimodal communication investigations in tertiary contexts has been conducted across the fields of mathematics, science and computing, and nursing, business courses have not been explored. The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study designed to investigate the key multimodal academic literacy and numeracy practices of ten international Master of Commerce Accounting students enrolled at an Australian university. Specifically, it aims to provide an account of the salient textual and the logical patterns through the analysis of cohesive devices in a key topic in the Principles of Finance course, namely capital budgeting techniques and management reports. This study is pertinent as most international ESL/EFL students' enrolments in Australia and elsewhere is in business programs. This study is underpinned by Halliday's ( 1985 ) Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach to language and Halliday and Hasan's ( 1976 ) cohesion analysis scheme. The study employs a Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) for the analysis of cohesive devices in the participants' multimodal texts. Lexical cohesion formed the largest percentage of use, and in particular repetition of the same lexical items, followed by reference.The findings contribute to the description of the meaning-making processes in these multimodal artefacts. They provide a potential research tool for similar investigations across a broad range of educational settings. Implications of the findings for finance students and educators are finally presented.


The inter-company relationships are affected significantly by the information flows activated by the various players. The fact that a large number of relationships can be essentially ascribed to the sharing of part of the financial risk highlights the crucial role of financial communication. Financial communication can be an intangible asset of primary importance for corporate development. The achievement of such a goal requires the revision of rules and conduct to obtain messages in true accordance with proper financial corporate principles of truthfulness, clarity, and especially, transparency. Transparency is an essential requirement for the continuous refining of the convergence between management and information content, and the clarity of the documents periodically transmitted outside. Transparency should facilitate the establishment of a unitary, consistent system of conduct and messages focused on corporate financial dynamics.


The authors investigate the potential of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to expand health insurance coverage. They examine how many currently uninsured people might be encouraged to buy coverage through HSAs, and what the impacts of such actions might be on the group and nongroup health insurance markets. Their main conclusions: HSAs are not likely to be an important contributor to expanding coverage among uninsured people because most of them do not face high-enough marginal tax rates to benefit substantially from the tax deductibility of HSA contributions. Meanwhile, HSAs could potentially destabilize the small-group market. To the extent that they encourage well-compensated healthy workers to abandon job-based coverage--a result that is more likely if current HSA provisions are combined with proposed premium deductibility--HSAs could undermine the entire structure of job-based coverage among small firms.


I wonder why They are so shortsighted As not to realize That every time They keep any worker, man or woman, White, yellow, or black, OUT of a UNION, They are forcing a worker To be a SCAB, To be used AGAINST THEM? --from "The Negro Worker" These lines of verse, published in The Messenger in July 1919, make a point about strikes that is frequently disregarded in the hundreds of pages of fiction by social realists who addressed the major labor struggles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: "[A]ny worker / man or woman, / White, yellow, or black" could be a strikebreaker. In the West, for example, railroad and mining company managers used workers from countries such as China, Italy, Greece, Japan, and Mexico to break strikes, fully aware that these immigrants would have no allegiance to the ethnic groups who had thrown down their tools in protest. Surprisingly, strikebreaking even crossed class lines as upper and middle class male college students also took on the role of strikebreaker to express their antagonism toward workers. (1) The variety of sources of strikebreakers is not fully reflected in the fictional response to the strike. In some of the most significant radical fiction of the early twentieth century, black workers--more than any other group--are curiously cast in the villainous role of "scab." In the span of a few decades, these literary depictions ranged from collective racist stereotypes to sympathetic psychological portraits of the pressures faced by the African American laborer. Ample evidence of friction between whites and blacks can be found in some of the U.S. labor movement's key strikes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. (2) The use of black troops offers the earliest examples. Black soldiers were used against striking miners in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 1892 and 1899, because African Americans "were believed much less likely than white troops to fraternize with the strikers" (Norwood, Strikebreaking and Intimidation, 85). In addition, black troops guarded trains and railroad property during the Pullman Strike of 1894. Regarding African American civilians, the Knights of Labor and the newly developing American Federation of Labor (AFL) successfully attracted African American workers, and examples of interracial unity both in the workplace and during strikes can be found. But as the lines from "The Negro Worker" also imply, some unions excluded black members. If blacks were welcomed as members, they faced discriminatory policies under a second-class status. Blacks were denied work on union projects despite membership, or they were denied better jobs despite seniority. Unions failed to protect blacks from racial hostility, and blacks charged union leaders with ignoring their complaints of discrimination. The development of segregated locals was another sign of trouble. Before the Civil War, Frederick Douglass wrote in favor of labor unity between African American and white workers; however, when he realized that labor was doing little to lessen racial animosity, he came out in favor of blacks taking the jobs of strikers: "Colored men can feel under no obligation to hold out in a 'strike' with the whites, as the latter have never recognized them" (qtd. in Foner, Organized Labor, 7). As America's industrial revolution picked up steam, this issue came into greater prominence in most mass production industries in cities in the North. Racism fueled an African American labor force ready and willing to break strikes. One of the earliest and most significant fictional treatments of African American strikebreakers is found in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906). The labor struggle in the canonical novel is based on the unsuccessful stockyard strike by thousands of packinghouse workers and mechanical tradesmen of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen in Chicago in 1904. African Americans had been used as strikebreakers in the meat packing industry at least as early as 1894, in response to a sympathy strike by packing and slaughterhouse workers who supported Eugene Debs and the American Railway Union during the Pullman Strike. …


The major aim of the PATHWAYS Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme is to stimulate innovative, interdisciplinary, and comparative research of productive youth development. Participating institutions include the UCL Institute of Education in London, the Universities of Helsinki, Jena, Tubingen, Stockhom, University of California, Irvine and Michigan State University. The mission of the programme is to promote the next generation developmental scientists and to facilitate a better understanding and discourse with different stake holders about how to equip young people for mastering the challenges of growing up in a changing social context.
PATHWAYS Fellows in collaboration with their mentors investigate the antecedents, processes, and long-term outcomes of youth transitions, as well as the factors and processes promoting human competences, especially among young people deemed to be at-risk.
Training and mentoring is provided to the Fellows to enhance understanding of diverse approaches to the study of productive youth development and to engage in constructive debates with colleagues from different disciplines. The Programme helps to foster international and interdisciplinary research and exchange of ideas. It enables the Fellows to gain up-to-date skills for addressing research and policy questions that require combined approaches and a synergy of ideas.
A 'Virtual Institute Approach' has been adopted, not limiting activities to one physical location, but pooling the expertise of several partner institutions that are connected by shared research interests, projects and existing collaborations. The administrative core is based at the Institute of Education at the University of London, but many of the PATHWAYS' activities occur at the participating sites. There are regular joint workshops and conferences, bringing together scholars from around the globe, facilitating international networking and exchange.


Japan consists of 4 main islands named Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, which, together with numerous smaller islands scattered around, are so aligned as to form a slightly bent arc off the eastern fringe of the Asiatic Continent. (See Fig. 1.) The dominant geographies of these islands are represented by relatively high mountains located in the center and narrow strips of plane lands lying along the coastlines. It is in these coastal planes that the cores of the Japanese industrial and other economical activities are deployed with swarming population. The entire area of Japan is approximately 320,000 km2 and the surrounding coastlines are 14,560 km long. Traditionally the economy of Japan depended heavily on agriculture and fishery, which necessitated active reclamation works around the estuarine lowlands as well as establishment of small fishery ports in great numbers at various parts of Japan. The growth of her economical potency came to cast floodlight on the importance of marine transportation, and the commercial ports came to thrive at numerous estuary harbors. The land extension works along the coast line are even flourishing today, but they are aimed at creating the sites for modern industries. It should be emphasized that Japan has been utilizing the coastal areas to an utmost extent for survival as well as prosperity, and further that this trend is destined to persist also in the future in order to keep pace with her economical development.


The multilateral economic system contains a major shortcoming. Although governments have committed themselves to a rule-based multilateral trade policy regime in the World Trade Organization (WTO), private companies that operate in the global marketplace face no such multilateral disciplines. Certainly, most industrialized nations have created their own set of antitrust laws. Furthermore, a series of well-functioning bilateral and regional mutual assistance agreements has been concluded both to facilitate competition enforcement in transnational cases and to avoid the drawbacks of the extraterritorial application of antitrust legislation. Still, on a multilateral level, it has been impossible to agree on a coherent framework for competition rules. Strangely, international competition policy has received attention only from a relatively small group of specialized antitrust practitioners. As a structural factor determining the margin of maneuver of internationally active private companies on the global market, the international dimension of competition policy deserves a higher place on the agenda of all those interested in international public policy and political economy. Competition Policy Competition or antitrust policy serves many purposes. [1] First, by preventing the economy from being dominated by a few large conglomerates, antitrust policy is a tool that ensures the plurality of economic and--ultimately--political life. Second, competition law is set up to protect consumers against abuses of market dominance and against price-increasing and choice-reducing agreements between companies. Third, weak or absent competition poses a problem for the efficiency of resource allocation in the economy. Fourth, competition policy helps to modernize the economy by stimulating companies to constantly innovate in light of the latest technological discoveries. Finally, the strict enforcement of competition policy helps to keep markets open for competitors, whether national or foreign. Today, more than eighty countries have enacted competition legislation, and another twenty countries are considering adopting antitrust laws. [2] Although I do not intend to provide an assessment of the current intellectual debates on antitrust policy, it might be useful to briefly introduce the most well-known examples of competition enforcement. [3] In the United States, antitrust law was already well established at the end of the nineteenth century as a tool to fight the formation of industrial conglomerates. [4] The Sherman Act of 1890--which still forms the basis of U.S. antitrust law--prohibits agreements in restraint of trade and monopolization, attempted monopolization, and conspiracies to monopolize. In 1914, Congress adopted the Clayton Act as a means to protect opportunities for small business. The act notably prohibits price discrimination and tie-in sales and exclusive dealing contracts. Furthermore, the Clayton Act forms the starting point of U.S. merger control. It prohibits acquisitions, mergers, or joint ventures that may substantially reduce competition. Convinced that the concentration of German industries in the 1930s had been an important element in the creation and persistence of Hitler's Nazi regime, the United States insisted after World War II on the establishment of a strict anticartel policy in the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany, in turn, proved instrumental in bringing the antitrust concept into the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which established the European Community (EC). [5] The EC treaty prohibits agreements or concerted practices between companies that may affect trade between the member states and restrict competition. Examples are agreements between companies intended to fix purchase or selling prices. A company's abuse of its dominant position is also prohibited. Large mergers may not be put into effect without EC approval and are prohibited if they create or strengthen a dominant position on the internal market or a substantial part of it. …


Recent events have confirmed the concerns that many within the aviation industry have held about the viability of the low cost business model for long-haul operations. This paper begins by reviewing the operating cost differences between low cost carriers (LCC) and legacy airlines in different regions of the world. This is followed by a summary of the various cost advantages of low cost carriers operating in short-haul markets. The main focus of the work, however, is a cost simulation involving the use of a Boeing 767-300 by both a LCC and a legacy carrier under varying operating assumptions. The research demonstrates that in none of the cases cited is the LCC cost advantage greater than 10%.


Frederick Mote, one of the twentieth century's most prominent Sinologists, has written a historian's memoir that uses observation and personal experiences to understand the intellectual and social transformation of China. Mote's thought-provoking narrative distills his reflections on modern China and details change in Chinese historical studies in the twentieth century. Mote assesses the work of historians prior to 1950 and the domination of China by the Communist Chinese, hints at the direction of Chinese historical studies in the post-1950s era, and explores the continuous change in the ways Chinese history has been understood among the Chinese themselves and within the field. Language training in the Army Specialized Training Program and subsequent wartime service with the Office of Strategic Services serendipitously drew Mote into the study of China, the immense discipline to which he devoted his life. Previously unpublished material in the text, appendices, and addenda document such diverse encounters as the destruction of a Catholic mission by the Communists, Sino-Japanese relations in China in the aftermath of World War II, the growth of East Asian Studies at Princeton University, and a 1974 delegation visit to China. Evaluating Chinese ideas and attitudes toward revolution, modernization, and war, Mote measures the weight and meaning of Chinese historical study.


Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) refers to a range of clinical conditions extending from ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) to non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and unstable angina. The incidence of ACS became highly common worldwide in patients with coronary arteries disease, especially in patients with other risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) represents a valid treatment option in patients with ACS.
Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the one-year outcomes in patients with ACS undergoing PCI in the Near East region, assess their pharmacological treatments, and to compare the data obtained with the international guidelines.
Methods: This prospective, regional, multicenter, observational study enrolled 162 ACS patients who underwent PCI. The study composed of four visits. Patients were followed up on a span of one year and data regarding risk factors, medical history, medication, antiplatelet treatment, the incidence of hospitalization, and incidences of Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE), were collected.
Results: A total of 162 patients were enrolled in this study. Ten patients (7.1%) experienced cardiovascular event within the one year post the PCI procedure. Two patients (1.4%) experienced early stent thrombosis within 30 days of stent implantation. Twelve patients (8.5%) were hospitalized as a result of medical or cardiovascular condition post PCI procedure. The most commonly prescribed postoperative treatments were statins and anti-platelets. Death was experienced in one patient, and the cause of death was unrelated to any cardiovascular disease.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of PCI procedures in restoring the blood flow in Jordanian patients with ACS. A low number of patients experienced post-procedure hospitalization (8.5%) during the follow-up period. More studies need to be performed to obtain more representative data on patients with ACS in the Near East.


The concept of sustainable tourism emerged as a reaction to the impacts of tourism development. This paper shows the relevance of sustainable tourism to tourism decline and the rising interest in de-growth. Mixed-methods research in the Isle of Man, UK, was carried out by analysing 355 postal questionnaires sent to randomly selected island households, and conducting 32 in-depth personal interviews. The research revealed a series of negative environmental and social consequences of tourism decline in a small island. Such consequences are found to occur despite successful local diversification into other industries, notably offshore finance. Consequences of decline are revealed as tangible, e.g. facilities closure, and as less tangible, e.g. a sense of rejection by off-islanders, and have led to an increasing sense amongst residents of isolation and loss of local attractiveness. Results suggest tourism decline, de-growth and economic replacement require sustainable management in order to facilitate change. Measures such as urban and rural landscape protection, may reduce adverse effects of decline. A re-assessment of the application of the principles of sustainable tourism in the context of decline, rather than development, is needed.


Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) acquired an important role in the international economy after the Second World War. Theoretical studies on FDI have led to a better understanding of the economic mechanism and the behavior of economic agents, both at micro and macro level allowing the opening of new areas of study in economic theory. To understand foreign direct investment must first understand the basic motivations that cause a firm to invest abroad rather than export or outsource production to national firms. The purpose of this study is to identify the main trends in FDI theory and highlight how these theories were developed, the motivations that led to the need for new approaches to enrich economic theory of FDI. Although several researchers have tried to explain the phenomenon of FDI, we cannot say there is a generally accepted theory, every new evidence adding some new elements and criticism to the previous ones.


Abstract. Vibrational Raman scattering from nitrogen is commonly used in aerosol lidars for evaluation of particle backscattering (β) and extinction (α) coefficients. However, at mid-visible wavelengths, particularly in the daytime, previous measurements have possessed low signal-to-noise ratio. Also, vibrational scattering is characterized by a significant frequency shift of the Raman component, so for the calculation of α and β information about the extinction Angstrom exponent is needed. Simulation results presented in this study demonstrate that ambiguity in the choice of Angstrom exponent can be the a significant source of uncertainty in the calculation of backscattering coefficients when optically thick aerosol layers are considered. Both of these issues are addressed by the use of pure-rotational Raman (RR) scattering, which is characterized by a higher cross section compared to nitrogen vibrational scattering, and by a much smaller frequency shift, which essentially removes the sensitivity to changes in the Angstrom exponent. We describe a practical implementation of rotational Raman measurements in an existing Mie–Raman lidar to obtain aerosol extinction and backscattering at 532 nm. A 2.3 nm width interference filter was used to select a spectral range characterized by low temperature sensitivity within the anti-Stokes branch of the RR spectrum. Simulations demonstrate that the temperature dependence of the scattering cross section does not exceed 1.5 % in the 230–300 K range, making correction for this dependence quite easy. With this upgrade, the NASA GSFC multiwavelength Raman lidar has demonstrated useful α532 measurements and was used for regular observations. Examples of lidar measurements and inversion of optical data to the particle microphysics are given.


The effects of stocking density on performance, proximate composition and pigmentation of cultured Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) were studied. Results indicated that specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of fish were significantly (p 0.05) effects were evident in the hepatosomatic index (HSI) of fish. These performance parameters of fish correlated inversely with stocking density at 40, 50 and 75 kg/m³ (r = -0.9522 for SGR, -0.9696 for FCR, -0.9886 for PER, and -0.9059 for HSI). Although SGR, FCR and PER of fish from different stocking densities varied significantly (p<0.05), their final weights did not. -- Results also indicated that while the moisture content decreased, protein and lipid content increased as fish grew; the mineral content remained relatively unchanged over this period. Analyses indicated that moisture, protein and lipid content varied significantly (p<0.05) among density groups while ash content did not. Regression analysis showed that moisture and ash content were directly related to stocking density (r = 0.9440 and 0.9994, respectively), whereas protein and lipid content were not (r = -0.5394 and -0.7030, respectively). -- The total amino acid content of fish varied significantly (p<0.05) according to stocking density and sampling dates. Aspartic acid, glutamic acid, leucine and lysine were the most abundant amino acids present, whereas hydroxyproline was the least abundant. The free amino acid content of the fish also varied significantly (p<0.05) and inversely with stocking density (r = -0.9441) and sampling dates. The major free amino acids were anserine, taurine, glycine and alanine. -- Lipid fatty acid composition of charr flesh was relatively unchanged over the course of the experiments. Among density groups, fatty acid contents of fish flesh were also relatively similar. Unsaturated fatty acids were the dominant fatty acids, accounting for up to 75% of the total lipids. Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids correlated inversely with stocking density (r = -0.9914 and -0.9963, respectively), whereas polyunsaturated fatty acids correlated directly with stocking density (r = 0.9984). -- The Hunter L*. a*, b* values varied significantly (p<0.05) among density groups. For belly skin, these colour parameters decreased with increasing stocking density. No correlation was observed between the total carotenoid contents of fish skin and these colour parameters. On the other hand, the Hunter L* values of fillets and homogenized tissues were inversely correlated with their carotenoid contents (r = -0.9245 to -0.9844, respectively), whereas their Hunter a* and b* values were directly correlated with total carotenoid contents (r = 0.9040 to 0.9824 for a* values and 0.9527 to 0.9924 for b* values, respectively). -- The content of carotenoid pigments in flesh and skin of charr increased with duration of feeding on pigmented diets. After 11 to 16 weeks of feeding on a canthaxanthin-pigmented diet, fish flesh attained the required level of carotenoids (3-4 mg/kg wet tissue) considered sufficient for providing a satisfactory colour impression. However, stocking density did not correlate with flesh carotenoid concentration (r = -0.6034). Canthaxanthin, echinenone, 4'-hydroxyechinenone, lutein and its esters, isocryptoxanthin and β-carotene were identified in different organs of charr. Canthaxanthin was the main carotenoid in charr flesh, whereas β-carotene, lutein esters and 4'-hydroxyechinenone, and echinenone were the dominant carotenoids in charr skin, gonads and liver, respectively. Canthaxanthin was not detected in the liver of fish. Therefore, dietary carotenoids may be deposited in different organs as such or may undergo reductive changes.


The work reported in this thesis is concerned with
investigations into the technical feasibility of using
thermoplastic films, or foils as integral, non-porous, in-mould
coatings for articles manufactured from polyester Sheet
Moulding Compound (SMC).
Circular flat plaques were moulded with three SMCs, including
one which did not contain zinc stearate, and nine thermoplastic
foils including polycarbonate, a polycarbonate/polybutylene
terephthalate blend, and Nylon 6.6. All the moulded plaques had
some bubbles and blisters on their coated surfaces but the
number and distribution of these varied according to the choice
of SMC and thermoplastic. [Continues.]


ABSTRACT Laser ablation is recently suggested as a most effective and reliable technique for depigmentation of melanin hyperpigmented gingiva. To date, different lasers have been used for gingival depigmentation (CO2, diode, Nd:YAG, Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers). The use of Er:YAG laser for depigmentation of melanin hyperpigmented gingiva has gained increasing importance in recent years. The purpose of this study was to report removal of gingival melanin pigmentation using an Er:YAG laser in a literature review. The main outcomes, such as improvement of signs (clinical parameters of bleeding, erythema, swelling and wound healing), symptoms (pain) and melanin recurrence/repigmentation were measured. The literature demonstrated that depigmentation of gingival melanin pigmentation can be performed safely and effectively by Er:YAG laser resulting in healing and an esthetically significant improvement of gingival discoloration. Thus, Er:YAG laser seems to be safe and useful in melanin depigmentation procedure. However, the main issue in giving the final conclusion of the optimal Er:YAG laser use in melanin depigmentation is that, to date, studies are offering completely discrepant Er:YAG laser procedure protocols (complex settings of laser parameters), and different criteria for the assessment of depigmentation and repigmentation (recurrence), thus hampering the comparison of the results. Therefore, further studies are necessary to give an optimal recommendation on the use of Er:YAG laser in gingival melanin hyperpigmentation.


This paper, written as a chapter for a Handbook of International Economics, reviews developments in the theory of international monetary economics from the late 1960's through the early 1980's. Following a review of the operation of the monetary mechanism of balance of payments adjustment in the context of the Mundell-Fleming model, the paper reviews the more modern analysis of the dynamics of balance of payments adjustment under fixed exchange rates and of exchange rate determination under flexible exchange rates. Beginning with a simple exposition of the monetary mechanism, the model is then extended to incorporate sluggish wage and output adjustments, endogenous monetary policy and sterilization operations, multiplicity of tradable and nontradable goods, large countries, capital mobility and portfolio balance. The review then turns to an exposition of exchange rate theory, starting with the monetary approach to exchange rate determination. Issues discussed in this context include purchasing power parities, nontraded goods, the real exchange rate, currency substitution and the interaction between real and monetary factors in effecting exchange rates.The paper proceeds with a presentation of a more general framework that views the question of exchange rate determination as part of the general theory of the determination of asset prices, and which highlights the unique role of expectations. The general framework is then applied to characterize the interaction between the balance of payments and the equilibrium real exchange rate.The paper concludes with a brief discussion of some empirical issues of exchange rate analysis.


This report investigates the relation of the Spatial Configuration with the orientation performance
of the individual in urban Navigation. Spatial Orientation is defined as a function of the mind
involving 'awareness of place' in the environment, and is a key aspect of Navigation in terms of
maintaining a sense of where the subject is relative to its goal as it is moving. The aim of this thesis
is to shed light on Spatial Orientation performance and how it is linked to spatial and syntactic
properties of space. This topic is intrinsic in the Space Syntax theory due its fundamental relation
between spatiality and human activity.

The research method used was a set of questionnaires done in London specifically in Covent
Garden and Soho areas, asking people to point to five Landmarks and North. The results were
overlaid with spatial analysis and compared through directions diagrams and statistical data
analysis. The findings show relations between the Spatial Configuration and the given Landmarks
directions with grid angularity, grid visibility and familiarity with the place.

The discussion is developed through the research findings and theories of spatial Navigation,
Wayfinding and spatial cognition, putting forward varied interpretations related with the research
topic and the selected areas. The report concludes that the Spatial Orientation in Soho and
Covent Garden is determined by Spatial Configuration of the place and related with the grid
structure. Furthermore, it is argued that the Navigation System in Central London is based in Path
Integration rather than Landmark recognition and it is dependant on the familiarity of the subject
with the Space of Navigation.


This essay explores writing practices in a fan community having to give life to a story deprived of an "official" version: the television series Earth 2. I argue that fan fiction writing for this prematurely canceled series exhibits peculiar features in comparison to fan writing for established series: for example, temporality, choice of protagonists, character pairings, and challenges to the original conception(s) of the series. Writing fan fiction for a canceled series is not about creating alternatives to an existing story, but about filling in gaps; it brings to light the ways in which fan fiction deals with closure. I take as a case study Earth 2, a series aired by NBC in the United States in 1994–95, whose first and only season ended in a cliffhanger episode hinting that a mysterious ailment had struck the main and most popular character. Shortly afterward, a significant number of Earth 2 Web sites, online conventions, and especially fan stories started developing; they explored what could have happened next and bore nostalgic but combative mottoes and titles such as "May the Journey Continue." I explore the specific features of Earth 2 fan fiction production and sharing by analyzing the main Earth 2 fan fiction archives on the Web and the responses to my email interviews of fan writers. Exemplars of the Earth 2 case are compared to those of other science fiction TV series, both prematurely canceled ( Firefly, Space: Above and Beyond ) and long-lived ( Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 ).


Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) can be called the missing greenhouse gas: It is a synthetic chemical produced in industrial quantities; it is not included in the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases or in national reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and there are no observations documenting its atmospheric abundance. Current publications report a long lifetime of 740 yr and a global warming potential (GWP), which in the Kyoto basket is second only to SF6. We re‐examine the atmospheric chemistry of NF3 and calculate a shorter lifetime of 550 yr, but still far beyond any societal time frames. With 2008 production equivalent to 67 million metric tons of CO2, NF3 has a potential greenhouse impact larger than that of the industrialized nations' emissions of PFCs or SF6, or even that of the world's largest coal‐fired power plants. If released, annual production would increase the lower atmospheric abundance by 0.4 ppt, and it is urgent to document NF3 emissions through atmospheric observations.


Complex systems are designed using the model-based design paradigm in which mathematical models of systems are created and checked against specifications. Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are complex systems in which the physical environment is sensed and controlled by computational or cyber elements possibly distributed over communication networks. Various aspects of CPS design such as physical dynamics, software, control, and communication networking must interoperate correctly for correct functioning of the systems. Modeling formalisms, analysis techniques and tools for designing these different aspects have evolved ind ependently, and remain dissimilar and disparate. There is no unifying formalism in which one can model all these aspects equally well. Therefore, model-based design of CPS must make use of a collection of models in several different formalisms and use respective analysis methods and tools together to ensure correct system design. To enable doing this in a formal manner, this thesis develops a framework for multi-model verification of cyber-physical systems based on behavioral semantics.
Heterogeneity arising from the different interacting aspects of CPS design must be addressed in order to enable system-level verification. In current practice, there is no principled approach that deals with this modeling heterogeneity within a formal framework. We develop behavioral semantics to address heterogeneity in a general yet formal manner. Our framework makes no assumptions about the specifics of any particular formalism, therefore it readily supports various formalisms, techniques and tools. Models can be analyzed independently in isolation, supporting separation of concerns. Mappings across heterogeneous semantic domains enable associations between analysis results. Interdependencies across different models and specifications can be formally represented as constraints over parameters and verification can be carried out in a semantically consistent manner. Composition of analysis results is supported both hierarchically across different levels of abstraction and structurally into interacting component models at a given level of abstraction. The theoretical concepts developed in the thesis are illustrated using a case study on the hierarchical heterogeneous verification of an automotive intersection collision avoidance system.


Important problems have been frequently encountered in connection with the insurance covers of projects in the Arab Gulf Area. An attempt to investigate such problems and recommend solutions thereto is given in this thesis. The investigation started by a study of the economic and the legal background, the legal liabilities of the parties to the construction project and the insurance market background and practices in the area. Analysis of the insurance requirement contract conditions forms used in the ambiguities, shortfalls etc. therein, lack of insurance awareness, resulted ance covers asked for and led to most clauses in the main area, revealed many which, in addition to in inadequate insurproblems encountered. Investigation of 453 losses showed that in many claims, inadequate covers asked for and obtained resulted in amounts claimed being either much reduced or wholly repudiated. Delays in settlements following disputes were therefore frequent. In some cases significant losses occurred, seriously affecting contractors with limited means, as the losses were totally or partially not covered under the CAR policies they asked for. Analysis of 1573 CAR/EAR policies showed the present low adequacy of cover. A system adopted in some cases, for checking CAR policies, improved their protection level, to the benefit of contractors, principals and insurers. To assist engineersf accountants etc., who are not insurance experts but deal with CAR policies, an index has been formulated in the thesis to measure adequacy of cover thereunder. A limited random sample survey among contractors, employers and consulting engineers showed that they think the index would be very useful and they welcomed the idea. The study confirmed that insurers are losing a sizable portion of the market left uninsured whether totally or partially. If properly arranged, these additional covers would widen insurers' market base and protect employers and contractors at relatively small cost. To remedy the position, recommendations are given in the thesis for a suggested new wording of the insurance requirement clauses in the contract conditions. The new wording seeks clarity and adequate protection for contractors and employers without departing from normal insurance practices. Other recommendations given suggested implementing some practical steps for improvement, including the use of the aforementioned index to initiate better understanding and increased demand for more adequate construction insurance covers.


The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases include scrapie in sheep, mad cow disease, and variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans. The agent of all of these diseases is thought to be a self-replicating protein or prion. In a report of a recent meeting on prion diseases,
 Priola, Chesebro, and Caughey
 discuss the latest developments in this often contentious field of research.


OBJECTIVE
To understand reasons why California has lower Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) scores than the rest of the country, including differing patterns of CAHPS scores between Medicare Advantage (MA) and fee-for-service, effects of additional demographic characteristics of beneficiaries, and variation across MA plans within California.

STUDY DESIGN/DATA COLLECTION
Using 2008 CAHPS survey data for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries and MA members, we compared mean case mix adjusted Medicare CAHPS scores for California and the remainder of the nation.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
California fee-for-service Medicare had lower scores than non-California fee-for-service on 11 of 14 CAHPS measures; California MA had lower scores only for physician services measures and higher scores for other measures. Adding race/ethnicity and urbanity to risk adjustment improved California standing for all measures in both MA and fee-for-service. Within the MA plans, one large plan accounted for the positive performance in California MA; other California plans performed below national averages.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the mix of fee-for-service and MA enrollees, demographic characteristics of populations, and plan-specific factors can all play a role in observed regional variations. Anticipating value-based payments, further study of successful MA plans could generate lessons for enhancing patient experience for the Medicare population.


In this paper, we define an ad hoc network where multiple sources transmit packets to one destination as Converge-Cast network. We will study the capacity delay tradeoffs assuming that n wireless nodes are deployed in a unit square. For each session (the session is a dataflow from k different source nodes to 1 destination node), k nodes are randomly selected as active sources and each transmits one packet to a particular destination node, which is also randomly selected. We first consider the stationary case, where capacity is mainly discussed and delay is entirely dependent on the average number of hops. We find that the per-node capacity is Θ (1/√(n log n)) (given nonnegative functions f(n) and g(n): f(n) = O(g(n)) means there exist positive constants c and m such that f(n) ≤ cg(n) for all n ≥ m; f(n)= Ω (g(n)) means there exist positive constants c and m such that f(n) ≥ cg(n) for all n ≥ m; f(n) = Θ (g(n)) means that both f(n) = Ω (g(n)) and f(n) = O(g(n)) hold), which is the same as that of unicast, presented in (Gupta and Kumar, 2000). Then, node mobility is introduced to increase network capacity, for which our study is performed in two steps. The first step is to establish the delay in single-session transmission. We find that the delay is Θ (n log k) under 1-hop strategy, and Θ (n log k/m) under 2-hop redundant strategy, where m denotes the number of replicas for each packet. The second step is to find delay and capacity in multisession transmission. We reveal that the per-node capacity and delay for 2-hop nonredundancy strategy are Θ (1) and Θ (n log k), respectively. The optimal delay is Θ (√(n log k)+k) with redundancy, corresponding to a capacity of Θ (√((1/n log k) + (k/n log k)). Therefore, we obtain that the capacity delay tradeoff satisfies delay/rate ≥ Θ (n log k) for both strategies.


Normally, the balance between the production and degradation of cellular proteins is necessary for the cell to exist. One of the most important pathways by which the largest number of cytosolic and misfolded proteins is degraded is the autophagy-lysosome pathway. A defect in this process may result in accumulation and aggregation of proteins leading to cellular toxicity and subsequently neurodegenerative diseases. Previous work by Anderson (2003) with a truncated presenillin 1 construct, in HEK293 cell line showed structural changes in the cell in the early stages of autophagy. However, it seems that the autophagic process had failed to clear the presenilin-1 aggregates as would be expected in the normal state and appeared to lead to cell death. The work presented in this thesis primarily attempts to investigate, in term of subcellular localization, the influence of truncated PS1, expressed in HEK293 cells, on selected autophagy regulators (mTOR, raptor and LC3 proteins) and subsequently on the autophagy process. To investigate this, many different commercial antibodies were characterized against whole cell lysates from three different cell lines (NRK, MCF-7 and HEK293) using western blotting to obtain specific antibodies for mTOR, raptor and LC3. Then, the selected antibodies were used in dual label immunocytochemistry with mitochondrial antibody and wheat germ agglutinin (as a Golgi marker) to determine the subcellular localizations of mTOR, raptor and LC3 in non-autophagic HEK293 cells. To study the behaviour of the proteins of interest during autophagy of untransfected cells, HEK293 cells were rapamycin treated or serum starved. To compare the observed results with the behaviour of the proteins after the transfection, a truncated PS1-GFP construct was transiently transfected into HEK293 cells. Also, the subcellular localizations of the proteins were determined by dual label ICC.The data obtained suggests that in non-autophagic HEK293 cells, mTOR appears to be localized to mitochondria, raptor to the cytoplasm and LC3 to Golgi apparatus. Rapamycin treatment and serum starvation have the same influence on the behaviour of these proteins. In both cases, mTOR remained localized to mitochondria (no effect), raptor protein partially moved from the cytoplasm to the perinuclear area (similar to mitochondrial distribution) and some of the LC3 protein diffused to the cytoplasm, while most of it remained localized to the Golgi apparatus. Following the transfection, the observable data suggest that interactions between truncated PS1 and mTOR, raptor and LC3 might be occurring. It seems that truncated PS1 has no influence on the subcellular localizations of mTOR and raptor proteins (similar to mitochondrial distribution). However, in the case of LC3 protein, it seems that the protein has partially moved from the Golgi apparatus to interact with truncated PS1 in a new subcellular localization which is similar to the subcellular localizations of mTOR and raptor. The suggested interactions between truncated PS1 and mTOR, raptor and LC3 may dysregulate mTOR signalling pathway, prevent recruitment of mTOR substrates by raptor or block the fusion between autophagosomes and lysosomes via LC3. The results of this thesis indicate that further investigations into the interactions between PS1 and the proteins of interest especially LC3 are warranted.


Schools are increasingly seen as having a promising role to play in reducing adverse health and wellness outcomes among young people. This paper uses a collaborative action research approach to examine the effects of one school's efforts to change its students' eating habits by implementing a 'junk-food free campus.' By engaging school administrators and students in a six-month process of joint research design and analysis, the author found that students understood but did not necessarily support the policy. Despite students' uneven support of the policy, however, there was some evidence that some students were developing healthier eating habits. Moreover, student researchers reported developing greater perspective and respect for the policy as a result of studying it.


Objective: Previous studies have reported that risky driving is associated with deployment and combat exposure in military populations, but there is limited research on risky driving among soldiers in the National Guard and Reserves, a group increasingly deployed to active international conflicts. The goal of this analysis was to assess the prevalence of risky driving and its demographic, mental health, and deployment-related correlates among members of the Ohio Army National Guard (OHARNG). Methods: The study group comprised 2,616 eligible OHARNG soldiers enlisted as of June 2008, or who enlisted between June 2008 and February 2009. The main outcome of interest was the prevalence of risky driving behavior assessed using six questions: "How often do you use seat belts when you drive or ride in a car?"; "In the past 30 days, how many times have you driven when you've had perhaps too much to drink?"; "In the past year, have you ever become impatient with a slow driver in the fast lane and passed them on the right?"; "In the past year have you crossed an intersection knowing that the traffic lights have already changed from yellow to red?"; "In the past year have you disregarded speed limits late at night or early in the morning?"; and "In the past year have you underestimated the speed of an oncoming vehicle when attempting to pass a vehicle in your own lane?" We fit multiple logistic regression models and derived the adjusted prevalence of risky driving behavior for soldiers with mental health conditions, deployment experience, exposure to combat or trauma, and psychosocial stressors or supports. Results: The prevalence of risky driving was higher in soldiers with a history of mental health conditions, deployment to a conflict area, deployment-related traumatic events, and combat or post-combat stressors. In contrast, the prevalence of risky driving was lower for soldiers who reported high levels of psychosocial support. Conclusions: Efforts to mitigate risky driving in military populations may be more effective if they incorporate both targeted messages to remediate dangerous learned driving behaviors and psychosocial interventions to build resilience and address underlying stressors and mental health symptoms.


Key environmental issues, such as biodiversity and climate change, have in recent years become more pressing than ever. Where the critical papers in the early 1990s explained the difficulties of cooperation in tackling transboundary environmental problems, later works have analyzed the various alternatives, and increased our understanding of various institutional designs and negotiation protocols' impact on the success of cooperation. This collection brings together the most important articles on the game theoretic analysis of international environmental cooperation to both confront the cooperative and non-cooperative approaches to this, and demonstrate the diversity of methods used to analyze international environmental agreements.


This chapter explores the nature, status and role of knowledge, expertise and epistemology in the context of law & development. Placing a particular emphasis on the way that prior perceptions of the functions of the state influence the conceptualization of development policies, the chapter formulates a critique of approaches to development programs that export 'learned lessons' from state change and state transformation into development contexts without paying due regard to the differences in socio-economic and legal governance structures on the ground. The chapter argues against a number of existing positions with regard to the approach to be taken vis-a-vis legal and economic assistance in developing countries, including those that too simply assume a gap between 'modern' and 'traditional' conceptions of societal governance. Furthermore, the chapter critically engages with approaches that seek to import a particular, 'Western' conception of the rule of law to developing countries without taking into account the complex trajectory marking the evolution of political and legal governance from the colonial to post-colonial stage. Knowledge as a governance instrument becomes a crucial variable in this regard as it allows for a more adequate study of the way in which choices are made between different bodies of theories and information governing the development policy. The chapter furthermore juxtaposes law & development with the increasingly important research and policy field of transitional justice in order to highlight the overlaps between both fields.


OBJECT
Epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is effective at treating refractory pain. The failure modes of the implanted hardware, however, have not been well studied. A better understanding of this could aid in improving the current procedure or designing future devices.

METHODS
The authors reviewed electronic charts and operative reports of 289 patients who had undergone SCS implantation between 1998 and 2002 at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Data were collected on demographics, type of hardware, date of implantation procedure, indication for treatment, time to failure, and failure mode. Data were then analyzed to identify significant differences. A total of 577 procedures were performed, 43.5% of which involved revision or removal of SCS hardware. The most common indication was complex regional pain syndrome 1, and this was followed by failed-back surgery syndrome. The median number of procedures per patient was two. Approximately 80% of all leads were the percutaneous type. The majority (62%) of leads were placed in the thoracic region, and 33.5% of all leads required revision. Poor pain relief coverage was the most common indication for revision. Surgically implanted leads broke twice as often as percutaneous leads. In 46% of the patients, hardware revision was required, and multiple revisions were necessary in 22.5%. Three-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in failure mode rates according to location (cervical compared with thoracic, p = 0.037) and failure modes (p = 0.019). Laminotomy leads tended to break and migrate sooner than percutaneous leads. Thoracic leads became infected sooner than cervical leads.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this analysis of SCS hardware failures may be used as a basis for refining surgical technique and designing the next generation of SCS hardware.


2-D QSAR of triterpenoid saponin analogues with nematicidal activity performed by using three methods: Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Partial Least Square (PLS) and Principle Component Regression (PCR). The overall degree of prediction of descriptor was found to be around 100% in all three models: MLR, PLS PCR. But, result of Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis showed significant predictive power and reliability as compared to other two methods. The correlation coefficient r2-0.8684 indicates 86.84% correlation between activities and molecular descriptors of training set compound. Cross validated regression coefficient q2-0.82071 meaning that the prediction accuracy of QSAR is 82.07%. slogP descriptor having 100% positive correlation with the activity. This descriptor signifies log of the octanol/water partition coefficient (including implicit hydrogens). This property is an atomic contribution model that calculates logP from the given structure; i.e., the correct protonation state. Carboxyl group at position C-28 of aglycone is most responsible for nematicidal activity.


Illustrating the relevance of linear approximation in a variety of fields, Numerical Linear Approximation in C presents a unique collection of linear approximation algorithms that can be used to analyze, model, and compress discrete data. Developed by the lead author, the algorithms have been successfully applied to several engineering projects at the National Research Council of Canada. Basing most of the algorithms on linear programming techniques, the book begins with an introductory section that covers applications, the simplex method, and matrices. The next three parts focus on various L1, Chebyshev, and least squares approximations, including one-sided, bounded variables, and piecewise. The final section presents the solution of underdetermined systems of consistent linear equations that are subject to different constraints on the elements of the unknown solution vector. Except in the preliminary section, all chapters include the C functions of the algorithms, along with drivers that contain numerous test case examples and results. The accompanying CD-ROM also provides the algorithms written in C code as well as the test drivers. To use the software, it is not required to understand the theory behind each function.


This study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between spatial memory and Symptoms of Neuroticism in men and women visitors of a flower garden. The participants were chosen by an available sampling method among people who visited flower garden, located in Isfahan, Iran in October 2016. Subjects (woman=36, man=24) were asked to specify approximate locations of eight sites in the flower Garden on the incomplete map of flower garden after visiting the garden. Then, the subjects filled a demographic questionnaire and a short form of Eysenck introversion-extraversion questionnaire. The results showed that the means of spatial memory in men are significantly more than those of women (F= 11.46, p<0.05) and also, neuroticism in men is significantly less than that in women (F=7.22, P<0.05). Furthermore, positive relationship between age and spatial memory (r= 0.41, p<0.01) and negative relationship between neuroticism and spatial memory have been discovered (r= -0.59, p<0.01). According to the results, it can be concluded that neuroticism avoids paying attention to the environment and it causes memory function slump.


We studied regeneration distance of rat sciatic nerve, with the sensory pinch reflex test and immunocytochemical staining for neurofilaments, four to 21 days after transsection, repair, and enclosure of the repair site in either a non-absorbable silicone tube or an absorbable polyglycolic acid (PGA) tube. The size of both tube-types was carefully selected so that they did not compress the repaired nerve. The opposite nerve was repaired and not inserted in a tube (control). The regeneration distances in repaired nerves enclosed in silicone tube were significantly longer than the control side at all time points, a result not seen when PGA tube was used. The number of proliferating non-neuronal cells (incorporation of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)) was studied just proximal to the site of nerve repair after six days. Numerous stained cells were seen, but there where no significant differences between the groups. We conclude that outgrowth of sensory axons after transsection and repair of rat sciatic nerve with sutures can be increased by enclosing the site of repair in a silicone tube but not in a PGA tube. The effect is probably not related to the number of proliferative non-neuronal cells.


We analyze equilibrium leverage dynamics in a dynamic tradeoff model when the firm is unable to commit to a leverage policy ex ante. We develop a methodology to characterize equilibrium equity and debt prices in a general jump-diffusion framework, and apply our approach to the standard Leland (1998) setting. Absent commitment, the leverage ratchet effect (Admati et al. 2015) distorts capital structure decisions, leading shareholders to take on debt gradually over time and never voluntarily reduce debt. On the other hand, countervailing effects of asset growth and debt maturity cause leverage to mean-revert towards a long run target. In equilibrium, bond investors anticipate future leverage increases and require significant credit spreads even when the distance to default is large. As a result, the tax benefits of future debt increases are fully dissipated, and equilibrium equity values match those in a model where the firm commits not to issue new debt. In our model, leverage is dependent on the full history of the firm's earnings. Despite the absence of transactions costs, an increase in profitability causes leverage to decline in the short-run, but the rate of new debt issuance endogenously increases so that leverage ultimately mean-reverts. The target level of leverage, and the speed of adjustment depends critically on debt maturity; nonetheless, in equilibrium shareholders are indifferent toward the debt maturity structure.


Refractory metal silicides and nitride-based ceramics combine two properties that may lead to substantial reductions in aircraft fuel consumption : compared to the most advanced nickel-based superalloys presently used in aeronautical turbines, they can withstand higher temperatures and may have lower densities. Niobium silicide-based alloys and silicon nitride / molybdenum disilicide composites are currently being developed for turbine hot section components for both aircraft engines and land-based turbines. This paper presents the processing techniques, the microstructural features and the mechanical and physical properties at low and high temperatures as well as the oxidation behaviour of these materials. Prospects in composition optimisation, manufacturing processes and control of the microstructure for further improvements are discussed.


The number of culinary mss preserved indicates an extensive interest in food and cooking in the Middle Ages. Food also appears in other texts, though rarely defined clearly: 'all of the best' is a common expression. However, in Joinville's The Life of Saint Louis, eating is presented as both social interaction and as a deliberate exclusion from a social context. Food and eating also serve as a reminder of time of year in a different climate, and as an example of the exotic and different world of Outremer. This paper looks at the various meanings conveyed in Joinville's text through food and eating.