Born in the 19th century, comics is a visual medium used to express ideas via images, often combined with text or visual information. It is an art form that uses images deployed in sequence for graphic storytelling (sequential art), spread worldwide initially using newspapers, books and magazines. Nowadays, the development of the new technologies and the World Wide Web is giving birth to a new form of paperless comics that takes advantage of the virtual world freedom. However, traditional comics still represent an important cultural heritage in many countries. They have not yet received the same level of attention as music, cinema or literature about their adaptation to the digital format. Using information technologies with digitized comic books would facilitate the exploration of digital libraries, accelerate their translation, allow augmented reading, speech playback for the visually impaired etc. Heritage museums such as the CIBDI (French acronym for International City of Comic books and Images), the Kyoto International Manga Museum and The Digital Comic Museum have already digitized several thousands of comic albums that some are now in the public domain. Despite the growing market place of digital comics, few research has been carried out to take advantage of the added value provided by these new media. A particularity of documents is their dependence on the type of document that often requires specific processing. The challenge of document analysis systems is to propose generic solutions for specific problems. The design process of comics is so specific that their automated analysis may be seen as a niche research field within document analysis, at the intersection of complex background, semi-structured and mixed content documents. Being at the intersection of several fields combines their difficulties. In this thesis, we review, highlight and illustrate the challenges related to comic book image analysis in order to provide a good overview about the last research progress in this field and the current issues. In order to cover the widest possible scope of study, we propose three different approaches for comic book image analysis. The three approaches aim to provide an automatic description of the image content. Different levels of description are discussed, from spacial positions (low level) to semantic information (high level). The first approach describes the image in an intuitive way, from simple to complex elements using previously extracted elements to guide further processing. Simple elements such as panel, text and balloon regions are extracted first, followed by balloon tails and comic character positions from the direction indicated by the tails. The second approach addresses independent information extraction to recover the main drawback of the first approach: error propagation. This second method is composed by several specific extractors for each type of content, independent from each other. Those extractors can be used in parallel, without needing previous information which cancels the error propagation effect. Extra processing such as balloon type classification and text recognition are also covered. The third approach introduces a knowledge-driven system that combines low and high level processing to build a scalable system for comics image understanding. This approach is intended to improve the overall precision of content extraction methods. We built an expert system composed by an inference engine and two models, one for comics domain and another one for image processing, stored in an ontology. The first model embeds the knowledge about comic books and the second models the image processing related part. These two models allow consistency analysis of extracted information and inference of the relationships between all the extracted elements such as the reading order, the type of text (e.g. spoken, onomatopoeic, illustrative) and the relations between speech balloons and speaking characters. The expert system combines the benefits of the two first approaches and enables high level semantic description such as the reading order, the semantic of the balloon shapes, the relations between the speech balloons and their speakers, and the interaction between the comic characters. Apart from that, in this thesis we have provided the first public comic book image dataset and ground truth to the community along with an overall experimental comparison of all the proposed methods and some of the state-of-the-art methods


Cultures of adherent and non-adherent bovine blood mononuclear cells were infected with bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 10. Production of BTV proteins in mononuclear cell cultures was detected by immune precipitation of viral proteins from [35S]methionine-labelled extracts of these cells, by immunofluorescence staining of cells using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to BTV proteins VP7 and NS2, and by flow cytometry with MAbs to VP2, VP7, NS1 and NS2. BTV-infected cells were most numerous in cultures of adherent mononuclear cells; infected cells were initially identified as monocytes on the basis of their morphology, and size and scatter characteristics as determined by analysis with a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). The majority of adherent mononuclear cells with these scatter characteristics were confirmed to be monocytes by FACS analysis with a MAb specific for bovine monocytes. Identification of BTV-infected adherent mononuclear cells as monocytes was further established by double immunofluorescent labelling, as infected adherent cells reacted with the MAb specific for bovine monocytes, and with another MAb specific for class II antigen. Infection of adherent mononuclear cells was also confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, as BTV virions and tubules were present in lysates of cultures of BTV-infected adherent mononuclear cells and within the cytoplasm of adherent cells. In contrast, BTV proteins were detected in few cells identified as lymphocytes on the basis of their scatter characteristics, and mean fluorescence of such cells was considerably less than that of BTV-infected monocytes. Viraemia persisted until 35 days after inoculation of a colostrum-deprived calf inoculated with BTV. Virus was isolated from blood mononuclear cells at 1 week after infection of the calf, but not thereafter. BTV infection of blood mononuclear cells was demonstrated until 9 days after inoculation by indirect immunofluorescence staining of mononuclear cells. In contrast, virus was consistently isolated from erythrocyte-enriched preparations throughout viraemia in titres comparable to those in whole blood. These results indicate that although bovine monocytes are readily infected in vitro with this strain of BTV serotype 10, infection of blood monocytes is unlikely to be responsible for the prolonged viraemia that consistently occurs in BTV-infected cattle.


In this dazzling multidisciplinary tour of Mexico City, Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo focuses on the period from 1880 to 1940, the decisive decades that shaped the city into what it is today. Through a kaleidoscope of expository forms, "I Speak of the City" connects the realms of literature, architecture, music, popular language, art, and public health to investigate the city in a variety of contexts: as a living history textbook, as an expression of the state, as a modernist capital, as a laboratory, and even as language. Tenorio-Trillo's formal imagination allows the reader to revel in the free-flowing richness of his narratives, opening startling new vistas onto the urban experience. From art to city planning, from epidemiology to poetry, this book challenges the conventional wisdom about both Mexico City and the turn-of-the-century world to which it belonged. And by engaging directly with the rise of modernism and the cultural experiences of such personalities as Hart Crane, Mina Loy, and Diego Rivera, "I Speak of the City" will find an enthusiastic audience across the disciplines.


Abstract. Understanding the errors caused by spatial-scale transformation in Earth observations and simulations requires a rigorous definition of scale. These errors are also an important component of representativeness errors in data assimilation. Several relevant studies have been conducted, but the theory of the scale associated with representativeness errors is still not well developed. We addressed these problems by reformulating the data assimilation framework using measure theory and stochastic calculus. First, measure theory is used to propose that the spatial scale is a Lebesgue measure with respect to the observation footprint or model unit, and the Lebesgue integration by substitution is used to describe the scale transformation. Second, a scale-dependent geophysical variable is defined to consider the heterogeneities and dynamic processes. Finally, the structures of the scale-dependent errors are studied in the Bayesian framework of data assimilation based on stochastic calculus. All the results were presented on the condition that the scale is one-dimensional, and the variations in these errors depend on the differences between scales. This new formulation provides a more general framework to understand the representativeness error in a non-linear and stochastic sense and is a promising way to address the spatial-scale issue.


This paper studies the optimal inflation rate in a simple New Keynesian model with occasionally-binding collateral constraints that intermediate-good firms face on hiring labor. For empirically-relevant degrees of price rigidity, the optimal long-run annual inflation rate is in the range of half a percent to 2 percent, depending on whether it is TFP risk or markup risk or both that is the source of uncertainty in the economy. The shadow value on the collateral constraint is akin to an endogenous cost-push shock. Differently from usual cost-push shocks, however, this shock is asymmetric as it takes non-negative values only. Inflation is positive when the collateral constraint is binding and it is zero when it does not. Since the mean of this asymmetric endogenous cost-push shock is positive, inflation is also positive on average. In addition, a binding collateral constraint resembles a time-varying tax on labor, which the monetary authority can smooth by setting a positive inflation rate. More generally, the basic result is related to standard Ramsey theory in that optimal policy smoothes distortions over time. Empirical evidence suggests that nominal wages in the U.S. are downwardly rigid. This paper studies the optimal long-run inflation rate in a labor search and matching framework under the presence of Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity (DNWR). In this environment, optimal monetary policy targets a positive inflation rate; the annual long-run inflation rate for the U.S. is around 2 percent. Positive inflation " greases the wheels " of the labor market by facilitating real wage adjustments, and hence it eases job creation and prevents excessive increase in unemployment following recessionary shocks. These findings are related to standard Ramsey theory of " wedge smoothing " ; by following a positive-inflation policy under sticky prices, the monetary authority manages to reduce the volatility and the size of the intertemporal distortion significantly. The intertemporal wedge is completely smoothed when prices are fully flexible. Since the optimal long-run inflation rate predicted by this study is considerably higher than in otherwise neoclassical labor markets, the nature of the labor market in which DNWR is studied can be relevant for policy recommendations. This paper studies strict monetary policy rules in a small open economy with Inflation Targeting, incomplete pass-through and rigid nominal wages. The paper shows that, when nominal wages are fully flexible and pass-through is low to moderate, the monetary authority should target the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rather than the …


Photodynamics calculations of a ClF molecule in solid Ar are compared to experimental results and a new interpretation is given for the observed femtosecond-pump–probe signal modulation. We analyze the round-trip and depolarization times for the excited state wave-packet motion and discuss the incorporation of lattice cage motions that partially explain the time dependence of the measured signal. Librational eigenstates and eigenenergies are calculated by solving the rotational Schrodinger equation in the previously computed [T. Kiljunen, M. Bargheer, M. Guhr and N. Schwentner, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2004, 6, 2185–2197] octahedral potentials that hinder free molecular rotation in the solids. The obtained level structure is compared to infrared-spectroscopic results. We comment on the correspondence between temperature effects in the classical dynamics of the nuclei and the quantum mechanical probability distributions. We find the combinative treatment of different simulation temperatures congruous for interpreting the experimental results at cryogenic conditions.


This paper describes the syntax and semantics of reciprocity in the Central dialect of Rotokas, a non-Austronesian (Papuan) language spoken in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. In Central Rotokas, there are three main reciprocal construction types, which differ formally according to where the reflexive/reciprocal marker (ora-) occurs in the clause: on the verb, on a pronominal argument or adjunct, or on a body part noun. The choice of construction type is determined by two considerations: the valency of the verb (i.e., whether it has one or two core arguments) and whether the reciprocal action is performed on a body part. The construction types are compatible with a wide range of the logical subtypes of reciprocity (strong, melee, chaining, etc.).


pH-sensitive colon targeted microspheres loaded with dicyclomine hydrochloride were prepared using both emulsion crosslinking and solvent evaporation techniques to retard the release of dicyclomine in the upper gastrointestinal tract and to deliver it directly to colon. Several factors were used to evaluate the product, Eudragit RS100-coated chitosan-based microspheres, such as production yield, entrapment efficiency, and cumulative drug release. Three factorial central composite design was applied to examine the effect of the independent variables, concentrations of chitosan, Tween 80, and Eudragit RS100 on the physicochemical properties of the microspheres. Design-Expert software was used to design fifteen formulations during this study and the quadratic model was best fitted with the response data. In vitro dissolution studies proved that the release of dicyclomine hydrochloride from the microspheres fits Korsmeyer-Peppas model. F1, F10 and F12 exhibited best patterns of dicyclomine hydrochloride release with negligible drug release at pH 1.2, and maximum drug release at pH 7.4, indicating their ability to target the colon.


A dispersive Raman spectrometer was used with three different excitation sources (Argon-ion, He-Ne, and Diode lasers operating at 514.5 nm, 633 nm, and 782 nm, resp.). The system was employed to a variety of Raman active compounds. Many of the compounds exhibit very strong fluorescence while being excited with a laser emitting at UV-VIS region, hereby imposing severe limitation to the detection efficiency of the particular Raman system. The Raman system with variable excitation laser sources provided us with a desired flexibility toward the suppression of unwanted fluorescence signal. With this Raman system, we could detect and specify the different vibrational modes of various hazardous organic compounds and some typical dyes (both fluorescent and nonfluorescent). We then compared those results with the ones reported in literature and found the deviation within the range of ±2 cm−1, which indicates reasonable accuracy and usability of the Raman system. Then, the surface enhancement technique of Raman spectrum was employed to the present system. To this end, we used chemically prepared colloidal suspension of silver nanoparticles as substrate and Rhodamine 6G as probe. We could observe significant enhancement of Raman signal from Rhodamine 6G using the colloidal solution of silver nanoparticles the average magnitude of which is estimated to be 103.


The field of compressed sensing has shown that a sparse but otherwise arbitrary vector can be recovered exactly from a small number of randomly constructed linear projections (or samples). The question addressed in this paper is whether an even smaller number of samples is sufficient when there exists prior knowledge about the distribution of the unknown vector, or when only partial recovery is needed. An information-theoretic lower bound with connections to free probability theory and an upper bound corresponding to a computationally simple thresholding estimator are derived. It is shown that in certain cases (e.g. discrete valued vectors or large distortions) the number of samples can be decreased. Interestingly though, it is also shown that in many cases no reduction is possible.


This article addresses whether the expansion of the doctrine of issue preclusion in the federal criminal area should mirror the expansion of the doctrine in the federal civil area. The article examines the general requirements of issue preclusion and the evolution of issue preclusion in both the civil and criminal context. Next, this article examines the current status of offensive and defensive issue preclusion when the first suit is civil and the second suit is criminal, the first suit is criminal and the second suit is civil, and where both the first and second action is criminal. The article then analyzes whether the approach taken by the courts in the civil area should be applied to the criminal area, and the appropriate parameters of that approach. Finally, the article concludes that although the courts should allow the government to use offensive collateral estoppel in criminal cases, the courts must be vigilant in ensuring that there is no prejudice.


Rogue narratives represent figures who are, on the one hand, economically and political dispossessed, and on the other, free from constrains of religious morality, social mores and the law. Social marginality allows these figures in texts like The English Rogue (1665), to transform their rootlessness into instantiations of political economy, especially the notion of a market which scripts and codes value onto contentless things through exchange and circulation. As a figure that has no private property to speak of, the rogue's use of his own body in acts of consumption and exchange reveals a complex early-modern understanding of the links between the sex-gender economy and political economy.


Range hood use during residential cooking is essential to maintaining good indoor air quality. However, widespread use will impact the energy demand of the U.S. housing stock. This article describes a modeling study to determine site energy, source energy, and consumer costs for comprehensive range hood use. To estimate the energy impacts for all 113 million homes in the United States, we extrapolated from the simulation of a representative weighted sample of 50,000 virtual homes developed from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey database. A physics-based simulation model that considered fan energy, energy to condition additional incoming air, and the effect on home heating and cooling due to exhausting the heat from cooking was applied to each home. Range hoods performing at a level common to range hoods currently in U.S. homes would require 19–33 TWh (69–120 PJ) of site energy, 31–53 TWh (110–190 PJ) of source energy; and would cost consumers $1.2 to $2.1 billion (US$/2010) annually in the U.S. housing stock. The average household would spend less than $15 annually. Reducing required airflow (e.g., with designs that promote better pollutant capture and have more energy saving potential, on average, than improving fan efficiency).


Since 1993, all new gasoline-engine automobiles in the United Kingdom have been supplied with three-way vehicle exhaust catalytic converters (VECs) containing platinum, palladium, and rhodium, to comply with European Commission Stage I limits on emissions of regulated pollutants: carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen. We conducted a physical and economic evaluation of the environmental and health benefits from a reduction in emissions through this mandated environmental technology against the costs, with reference to urban areas in Great Britain. We made both an ex post assessment--based on available data to 1998--and an ex ante assessment--projected to 2005, the year when full penetration of VECs into the fleet is expected. Substantial health benefits in excess of the costs of VECs were indicated: By 1998 the estimated net societal health benefits were approximately 500 million British pounds, and by 2005 they were estimated to rise to as much as 2 billion British pounds. We also found through environmental surveys that although lead in road dust has fallen by 50% in urban areas, platinum accumulations near roads have risen significantly, up to 90-fold higher than natural background levels. This rapid accumulation of platinum suggests further monitoring is warranted, although as yet there is no evidence of adverse health effects.


For the last 20 years, the international development debate has been dominated by two trends that seem at first to be heading in a similar direction. However, under closer scrutiny they differ with respect to their focus and underlying philosophies. These are on the one hand the agenda of reducing poverty in developing countries in its various dimensions (lack of income, education, water, political participation etc.) that found their expression in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On the other hand, there is the idea of sustainability that became popular at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and that at the Rio+20 summit in 2012 generated a parallel concept to the MDGs: the so called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two independent UN working groups will soon be created: One to discuss whether there should be a new global development agenda after the term of the MDGs ends in 2015, and what such an agenda should entail; the other is to compile a list of possible SDGs. This raises the question what happens if these separate processes actually result in two differing sets of goals, and if it might still be possible to merge the poverty and sustainability agendas. Both agendas have a lot in common, but in contrast to the MDGs, the proponents of SDGs see poverty as merely one of a number of global issues to be addressed, which again makes those in favour of the MDGs afraid that poverty reduction will become secondary in an SDG agenda as just one item among many others. On the other hand, the pro-SDG side criticises the MDGs for having a too narrow concept of development and giving immediate results preference over socially, economically and ecologically sustainable ones. Both are valid concerns, and thus it is important to find a solution that takes them both into account, while still satisfying the interests of countries around the world. In this case it is helpful to highlight a rather technical aspect: The majority of the MDGs refer to improvements in the wellbeing of individuals, they are thus final goals of human development (education, health, access to water) to be measured at the micro-level. The SDG agenda also involves such goals (clean air, biodiversity), but also ones that refer to the preservation or establishment of global public goods (limiting climate change, financial stability) that can thus only be measured through macroindicators. The latter are not objectives, but preconditions for sustainable development that for reasons of consistency should not enter into one agenda with final goals. Some of these are already addressed by MDG 8 (among them a fair financial and world trade system). If one were to create two separate but mutually referring agendas for the future beyond 2015 – one concentrating on human development, the other on global public goods – it might be possible to address the most serious concerns of the proponents of either pure MDGs or pure SDGs.


We propose and successfully test against new cosmological simulations a novel analytical description of the physical processes associated with the origin of cored dark matter density profiles. In the simulations, the potential in the central kiloparsec changes on sub-dynamical time-scales over the redshift interval 4 > z > 2, as repeated, energetic feedback generates large underdense bubbles of expanding gas from centrally concentrated bursts of star formation. The model demonstrates how fluctuations in the central potential irreversibly transfer energy into collisionless particles, thus generating a dark matter core. A supply of gas undergoing collapse and rapid expansion is therefore the essential ingredient. The framework, based on a novel impulsive approximation, breaks with the reliance on adiabatic approximations which are inappropriate in the rapidly changing limit. It shows that both outflows and galactic fountains can give rise to cusp flattening, even when only a few per cent of the baryons form stars. Dwarf galaxies maintain their core to the present time. The model suggests that constant density dark matter cores will be generated in systems of a wide mass range if central starbursts or active galactic nucleus phases are sufficiently frequent and energetic.


Using CPS data for 1977–2002, the author investigates the extent to which the threat of union organization increases nonunion wages and reduces the union/nonunion wage differential. The results are mixed. Estimates employing the predicted probability of union membership as a measure of the union threat show no important link between the union threat and either nonunion wages or the union wage gap. Estimates focusing on two states' introduction of right-to-work laws, which arguably affect the threat of union organization independently of changes in labor demand, show that in one state the law was associated with a statistically significant drop in nonunion wages. Finally, an analysis of wage data for three industries that underwent deregulation—another natural experiment in which labor demand changes are unlikely to have been a complicating factor—yields stronger evidence of threat effects on nonunion wages than do either of the other two analyses.


BACKGROUND: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are considered a high-risk group for HIV. As condom use prevents HIV transmission, a study of factors associated with condom use with occasional partners (CUWOP) among MSM was undertaken.
METHODS: Case-control study with 866 participants was nested in a cross-sectional survey among MSM conducted in 2007. Controls were
those who used a condom during the most recent sexual contact with an occasional partner, and cases – those who did not. Independent variables included socio-demographic characteristics, other risky behaviors, HIV knowledge and sources of information. Bivariate analysis used chi-square test and multivariate – binary logistic regression.
RESULTS: Better knowledge and use of harm reduction services (HRS) was associated with safer behaviors. Those respondents, who were unaware whether HIV testing was available to them, had a greater risk of unprotected sex: OR = 2.344(95%CI 1.09-5.00) as well as those who were unclear about the quality of condoms they get from
HRS. Among those not covered by HRS, older MSM and those who have multiple commercial partners are at higher risk of unprotected sex. Among those attending HRS, a major barrier to use condoms is
their perception as diminishing sensitivity: OR=4.143 (95%CI 1.305-13.152).The dose-dependent association was found with frequency of alcohol consumption – unsafe sexual contacts were more likely in daily alcohol users compared to those who used alcohol on a monthly basis: OR=2.264 (95%CI 1.041-4.923).
DISCUSSION: Low CUWOP is typical for those MSMs who practice other risky behaviors including frequent alcohol use, contacts with multiple commercial sex partners and non-use of HRS which include
provision of information, condoms and testing. Thus HIV prevention depends not only on the fact whether preventive services are provided but whether they are used by the target group.


Accurate assessments of rebound velocity of a projectile in impact events for ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are important since the rebound velocity affects the degree of resultant impact damage in both CMC targets and projectiles. A series of in-depth characterizations of coefficients of restitution (COR), which is defined as rebound velocity divided by impact velocity of a projectile, was made using various types of gas-turbine grade ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) in conjunction with dynamic imaging and data-acquisition systems. Both the impact aspects and the coefficients of restitution were characterized as a function of impact velocities ranging from 150 m/s to Mach 1 and were analyzed with respect to materials' key properties. An important experimental observation was that regardless of types of CMCs employed, the corresponding CORs at an impact velocity of 350 m/s (i.e., Mach 1) yielded consistently the same value close to 0.1-0.2. The temperature effect in COR was found to be minor to 1100oC as assessed with the specialty SiC/SiCs, also independent of environmental barrier coatings. The coefficients of restitution were also determined in other materials systems such as advanced monolithic ceramics and some metallic materials in an attempt to construct an overall COR map in response to related foreign object damage (FOD) events.


Nutrient and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) distributions were determined in July 1999 in the northern Benguela upwelling and Angola-Benguela front area. Highest silicate and phosphate surface concentrations of up to 30 µM and 3.7 µM, respectively, were determined in recently upwelled waters between 19°S and 21°S off Namibia. Nitrate, on the other hand, exhibited there a local minimum, which indicates an advanced bloom of non-siliceous phytoplankton. Nitrate and DOC concentrations increased with distance from the upwelling centre (up to 15 µM and 720 µM, respectively), probably due to mineralisation of phytoplankton-derived organic compounds, whereas silicate strongly decreased. Growth of siliceous phytoplankton, which covered their nitrogen requirements by nutrient recycling within the photic layer, probably caused this pattern in aged waters surround the upwelling. Contrary to primary production in the upwelling centre, this phytoplankton growth was therefore not "new production". Primary production was presumably limited by nitrate in recently upwelled waters and by silicate in aged waters. Phosphate was probably not limiting, indicated by low N/P ratios in surface waters (<10) and low surface depletion. Regeneration of silicate and phosphate was evident in source waters of upwelling in ~100 m depth. Silicate increased exponentially from off- to onshore by the factor ~10, phosphate increased by ~30%. Regenerated silicate was ~25 µM, phosphate ~0.5 µM. Nitrate was not regenerated and oscillated apparently randomly between 11 µM and 24 µM at 100 m depth. Ammonium and nitrite increased exponentially from off- to onshore, indicating mineralisation of nitrogenous compounds, but contributed only 3% to dissolved inorganic nitrogen on average. In the front area no evidence for nutrient trapping was found. The lack of nitrogen regeneration and strongly decreasing N/P and N/Si ratios shoreward are evidences for considerable nitrogen losses off Namibia. Denitrification, which is favoured by the oxygen deficit in source waters, is the probable reason for these losses. Since denitrification was disregarded in the past, the productivity of northern Benguela and its role as carbon sink has presumably been overestimated.


There is some evidence to suggest that nitriding of alloy steels, in particular high speed tool steels, under carefully controlled conditions might sharply increase rolling contact fatigue resistance. However, the subsurface shear stresses developed in aerospace bearing applications tend to occur at depths greater than the usual case depths currently produced by nitriding. Additionally, case development must be limited with certain materials due to case spalling and may not always be sufficient to achieve the current theoretical depths necessary to ensure that peak stresses occur within the case. It was the aim of' this work to establish suitable to overcome this problem by plasma nitriding. To assist this development a study has been made of prior hardening treatment, case development, residual stress and case cracking tendency. M2 in the underhardened, undertempered and fully hardened and tempered conditions all responded similarly to plasma nitriding - maximum surface hardening being achieved by plasma nitriding at 450°C. Case development varied linearly with increasing treatment temperature and also with the square root of the treatment time. Maximum surface hardness of M5O and Tl steels was achieved by plasma nitriding in 15% nitrogen/85% hydrogen and varied logarithmically with atmosphere nitrogen content. The case-cracking contact stress varied linearly with nitriding temperature for M2. Tl and M5O supported higher stresses after nitriding in low nitrogen plasma atmospheres. Unidirectional bending fatigue of M2 has been improved up to three times the strength of the fully hardened and tempered condition by plasma nitriding for 16hrs at 400°C. Fatigue strengths of Tl and M5O have been improved by up to 30% by plasma nitriding for 16hrs at 450°C in a 75% hydrogen/25% nitrogen atmosphere.


Title of dissertation: ANALYSIS OF REPEATED MEASURES IN THE PRESENCE OF MISSING OBSERVATIONS DUE TO DROPOUT Jing Li, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Dissertation directed by: Professor Paul J. Smith Department of Mathematics Dr. Yi Tsong U.S. Food and Drug Administration Incomplete data is common in both observational studies and clinical trials. Ignoring missing data may produce seriously biased estimators and could lead to misleading results. During the last three decades, a vast amount of work has been done in this area. The approaches can be classified into the following main categories: imputation methods, likelihood-based methods and inverse probability weighting methods. Longitudinal and crossover studies with repeated measures are particularly subject to missing observations. Various methods, including generalized estimating equations (GEE) (Liang and Zeger, 1986), weighted GEE (WGEE) (Robins, Rotnitzky and Zhao, 1995) and multiple imputations, have been proposed to cope with missing data in longitudinal studies. However, very few researchers have explored the missing data issue in crossover studies. In addition to reviewing and critiquing the methods dealing with missing observations in general and in repeated measures, in this dissertation, we propose a new weighting approach for GEE to estimate the regression parameters in crossover studies. The proposed method provides consistent and asymptotically normally distributed estimators. Simulation and asymptotic efficiency results indicate that the proposed estimators are more efficient than both regular GEE and WGEE. Applications of the proposed method are illustrated with real data. ANALYSIS OF REPEATED MEASURES IN THE PRESENCE OF MISSING OBSERVATIONS DUE TO DROPOUT


Abstract Objective To estimate the absolute wealth of households using data from demographic and health surveys. Methods We developed a new metric, the absolute wealth estimate, based on the rank of each surveyed household according to its material assets and the assumed shape of the distribution of wealth among surveyed households. Using data from 156 demographic and health surveys in 66 countries, we calculated absolute wealth estimates for households. We validated the method by comparing the proportion of households defined as poor using our estimates with published World Bank poverty headcounts. We also compared the accuracy of absolute versus relative wealth estimates for the prediction of anthropometric measures. Findings The median absolute wealth estimates of 1 403 186 households were 2056 international dollars per capita (interquartile range: 723–6103). The proportion of poor households based on absolute wealth estimates were strongly correlated with World Bank estimates of populations living on less than 2.00 United States dollars per capita per day (R2 = 0.84). Absolute wealth estimates were better predictors of anthropometric measures than relative wealth indexes. Conclusion Absolute wealth estimates provide new opportunities for comparative research to assess the effects of economic resources on health and human capital, as well as the long-term health consequences of economic change and inequality.


Terrorism prevention has become the top priority among law enforcement and homeland security officials. To date, however, little empirical research has been conducted that directly compares the characteristics of successful terrorist attacks to failed and foiled terrorism incidents. To address this limitation in prior research, the current study examines the impact of opportunity, group structure, and temporally patterned precursor activities on far-right terrorism outcomes in the United States using data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS). Our findings partially support expectations that attractive and vulnerable targets, loners, conventional weaponry, and relatively fewer precursor activities are significantly associated with successful incidents.


Toxotes kimberleyensis n.sp. is described from 22 specimens, 52.5-126.3 mm SL, collected from freshwater streams in the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. It was previously identified as Toxotes oligolepis Bleeker, a poorly known species from Indonesia. However, re-examination of Bleeker's type specimen indicates significant differences between the two species relating to the length of the dorsal spines, and lateral-line scale count. A key to the seven species of Toxotes is provided.


Background: Reproductive Health and Family planning is critical for the women's health and their families, and according to the World Health Organization, the right of having reproductive health services including family planning is identified as one of the targets of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Objectives: This study aimed to explore the utilization of reproductive health services, together with having opinions and satisfaction of the target group regarding these services. Subjects and method: A client satisfaction and knowledge assessment questionnaire was used through health facility exit face to face with a total of 265 women at governmental health facilities in Basrah Results: The study showed that only 27% of the interviewed respondents were completely satisfied with the service they received and among those who were not satisfied, crowding of the health facility was the main cause of non satisfaction. 34% of the respondents were found to have an unmet need for a reproductive health service at the public health facility level. The study also showed that 16% of the respondents found to be using a contraceptive method of which 51% were from the private source. Conclusion: The study showed that the majority of the women aged (15-49) years living in Basrah were not aware of the availability of specific reproductive health services including breast and cervical cancer detection, postnatal care (PNC), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STDs), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), infertility management, gender based violence and youth health services..


Recent years have witnessed major changes in the global location of economic activity, with the emerging economies assuming greater shares relative to the advanced economies. These developments have led many authors to refer to the idea of the global factory. But little attention has been given to who has control over the geographically dispersed activities—or, to put it another way, about the governance of the global factory. Have the changes in the global location of economic activity come about primarily through the growth of locally owned firms in the emerging economies, or through increased FDI by MNEs from the advanced economies, or through the proliferation of outsourcing arrangements coordinated by firms in the advanced economies? These control/governance issues have profound implications for the capture of the profits/rents earned in global value chains, and hence for the global distribution of income. This paper explores these issues, and considers who has benefited most from the contemporary phase of globalization.


Secreted noggin protein regulates bone morphogenetic protein activity during development. In mice, a complete loss of noggin protein leads to multiple malformations including joint fusion, whereas mice heterozygous for Nog loss-of-function mutations are normal. In humans, heterozygous NOG missense mutations have been found in patients with two autosomal dominant disorders of joint development, multiple synostosis syndrome (SYNS1) and a milder disorder proximal symphalangism (SYM1). This study investigated the effect of one SYNS1 and two SYM1 disease-causing missense mutations on the structure and function of noggin. The SYNS1 mutation abolished, and the SYM1 mutations reduced, the secretion of functional noggin dimers in transiently transfected COS-7 cells. Coexpression of mutant noggin with wild-type noggin, to resemble the heterozygous state, did not interfere with wild-type noggin secretion. These data indicate that the human disease-causing mutations are hypomorphic alleles that reduce secretion of functional dimeric noggin. Therefore, we conclude that noggin has both species-specific and joint-specific dosage-dependent roles during joint formation. Surprisingly, in contrast to the COS-7 cell studies, the SYNS1 mutant was able to form dimers in Xenopus laevis oocytes. This finding indicates that there also exist species-specific differences in the ability to process mutant noggin polypeptides.


In this study we present a model of in vitro cell killing through type II Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for simulation of the molecular interactions leading to cell death in time domain in the presence of oxygen transport within a spherical cell. By coupling the molecular kinetics to cell killing we develop a modeling method of PDT cytotoxicity caused by singlet oxygen and obtain the cell survival ratio as a function of light fluence or initial photosensitizer concentration with different photon density or irradiance of incident light and other parameters of oxygen transport. A systems biology model is developed to account for the detailed molecular pathways induced by PDT treatment leading to cell killing. We derive a mathematical model of cell decision making through a binary cell fate decision scheme on cell death or survival during and after PDT treatment and we employ a rate distortion theory as the logical design for this decision making proccess to understand the biochemical processing of information by a cell. Rate distortion theory is also used to design a time dependent Blahut-Arimoto algorithm of three variables where the input is a stimulus vector composed of the time dependent concentrations of three PDT induced signaling molecules and the output reflects a cell fate decision. The concentrations of molecules involved in the biochemical processes are determined by a group of rate equations which produce the probability of cell survival or death as the output of cell decision. The modeling of the cell decision strategy allows quantitative assessment of the cell survival probability as a function of multiple parameters and coefficients used in the model which can be modified to account for heterogeneous cell response to PDT or other killing or therapeutic agents. The numerical results show that the present model of type II PDT yields a powerful tool to quantify various processes underlying PDT at the molecular and cellular levels and to interpret experimental results of in vitro cell studies. Finally following an alternative approach the cell survival probability is modeled as a predator - prey equation where predators are cell death signaling molecules and prey is the cell survival. The two models can be compared to each other as well as directly to the experimental results of measured molecular concentrations and cell survival ratios for optimization of models to gain insights on in vitro cell studies of PDT.


Conceptual modelling is the process of abstracting a model from a real or proposed system into a conceptual model. An explicit conceptual model representation allows the model to be communicated and analysed by the stakeholders involved in a simulation project. A good representation that can be understood by all stakeholders is especially essential when the project involves different stakeholders. The three commonly used paradigms in business applications are discrete-event simulation, agent-based simulation, and system dynamics. While the conceptual model representations in discrete-event simulation and system dynamics have been dominated by process-flow and stock-and-flow diagrams, respectively, research into the conceptual model representation in agent-based simulation is relatively new. Many existing representation methods for agent-based simulation models are less friendly to business users. This chapter advocates the use of Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) diagrams for the agent-based simulation conceptual model representation in the context of business applications. This chapter also demonstrates how the proposed BPMN representation and other methods such as Petri Nets, DEVS, and UML are used to represent the well-known SugarScape model.


Eros manifests itself in multiple ways: as tragic eros and philosophical eros, as love, sexuality, seduction, care, desire, and friendship. Eros both defines us as beings and dislocates our existence. It breaks down our certitudes about selfhood and otherness, familiarity and strangeness. This volume gathers together contributions toward a phenomenological understanding of eros. The first part examines eros in relation to ancient philosophy and religion, the second part examines eros in relation to modern phenomenology. The analyses presented show how the question of eros brings us to the core of philosophy. Questions of time, desire, embodiment, intersubjectivity, and perception are all implicated in the phenomenology of eros.


Language formed the ideological foundation of many national movements in Central and Eastern Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The decision on whether a people spoke a language or a dialect was not based on arguments about linguistic proximity or distance, but rather on political definitions of who constituted the ethno-linguistic nation. This led to languages being combined or split in accordance with nation-building projects. Often overlooked is the impact of this politicisation of language on sub-national and regional dialects, which are today not accorded the status languages. This paper focuses on the case study of Latgalian, which is used as a means of everyday communication by 150,000-200,000 people in eastern Latvia. It is officially classified as a 'historical variety' and 'dialect' of Latvian, but linguists have made the case for it being a separate language. The debate over the distance and proximity of languages/dialects is especially pronounced in this 'peripheral' (from the perspective of Riga) and highly multi-ethnic region that borders Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia. To read or download this article, please follow this link:  http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1469476/ DOI:  10.14324/111.2057-2212.019


In this paper, we examine in-store logistics processes for handling dairy products, from the incoming dock to the shelves of supermarkets and hypermarkets. The efficient execution of the in-store logistics related to such fast-moving, sensitive and essential items is challenging, and crucial for grocery retailers' sales, profits and image. In our empirical study we survey in-store logistics processes in 202 grocery supermarkets and hypermarkets belonging to a major retail chain in central Europe. Using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) and simulation, we facilitate process benchmarking. In particular, we identify ways of improving in-store logistics processes by showing the performance impacts of different managerial strategies and tactics. The DEA results indicate different efficiency levels for different store formats; the hybrid store format of the small hypermarket exhibits a comparatively worse performance in the analyzed execution of in-store logistics processes. The process simulation analysis reveals that the strategic and tactical design of in-store logistics processes (such as store locations/layouts, capacity management, reorder time, order period and safety stock factors) lead to substantial service performance improvements (such as higher on-shelf availability combined with reduced inventory obsolescence costs). The results also show marginal improvements in the performance figures when delivery delays and damage to products are reduced. The core contributions of this paper are to provide insights into the nature of in-store logistics processes in different store formats and to suggest a multi-analysis approach to make the performance of in-store logistics processes measureable, comparable and, consequently, manageable.


The dementia population has accumulated to 47 million people, creating an $818 billion global expense. Approximately 20% of people 65 and older are living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a pre-dementia stage of Alzheimer's disease. Cognitive intervention strategies have the potential to reduce the prevalence of dementia due to their ability to slow the conversion to dementia. Speech-language pathologists are uniquely positioned to identify and treat cognitive impairments. If intervention strategies could delay the onset of dementia by five years, there could be a 57% decrease in the dementia population. A single group, pre/post-test design was used. Thirty-six elders at-risk for cognitive decline participated. Eight weeks of group-based, cognitive-linguistic intervention was administered, implementing language stimulation, social engagement, and person-centered memory strategies. Measures of verbal episodic memory, linguistic comprehension and expression, mental status, and visuospatial skills were administered pre- and post-intervention. Data was analyzed using paired samples t-tests. Significant differences were found of assessment measures of linguistic comprehension, linguistic expression, and visuospatial construction following the intervention. Results nearing significance were found on assessment measures of verbal episodic memory. These results support the hypothesis that group-based, cognitive-linguistic intervention programs have the potential to improve cognition and language. Additional research is merited.


Salicylic acid and related compounds are produced by plants as part of their defence systems against pathogen attack and environmental stress. First identified in myrtle and willow, the medical use of salicylate-rich preparations as anti-inflammatory and antipyretic treatments may date back to the third millennium BC. It is now known that salicylates are widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom, and they are therefore present in plant products of dietary relevance. In the UK, major food sources are tomato-based sauces, fruit and fruit juice, tea, wine, and herbs and spices. In mammalian cells, salicylic acid demonstrates several bioactivities that are potentially disease-preventative, including the inhibition of production of potentially neoplastic prostaglandins, which arise from the COX-2 mediated catalysis of arachidonic acid. Moreover, it appears to be readily absorbed from the food matrix. This has led some to suggestions that the recognised effects of consuming fruit and vegetables on lowering the risk of several diseases may be due, in part, to salicylates in plant-based foods. However, published estimates of daily salicylic acid intake vary markedly, ranging from 0.4 to 200 mg day(-1), so it is unclear whether the Western diet can provide sufficient salicylates to exert a disease-preventative activity. Some ethnic cuisines that are associated with lowered disease risk may contain considerably more salicylic acid than is obtainable from a Western diet. However known protective effects of acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin™) may have lead to an over-emphasis on the importance of dietary salicylates compared with other bioactive plant phenolics in the diet.


Build and manage data integration solutions with expert guidance from the Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) team. See best practices in action and dive deep into the SSIS engine, SSISDB catalog, and security features. Using the developer enhancements in SQL Server 2012 and the flexible SSIS toolset, youll handle complex data integration scenarios more efficientlyand acquire the skills you need to build comprehensive solutions. Discover how to:Use SSIS to extract, transform, and load data from multiple data sources Apply best practices to optimize package and project configuration and deployment Manage security settings in the SSISDB catalog and control package access Work with SSIS data quality features to profile, cleanse, and increase reliability Monitor, troubleshoot, and tune SSIS solutions with advanced features such as detailed views and data taps Load data incrementally to capture an easily consumable stream of insert, update, and delete activity


Purpose: Between 30%–40% of patients with prostate cancer experience disease recurrence following radical prostatectomy. Existing clinical models for recurrence risk prediction do not account for population-based variation in the tumor phenotype, despite recent evidence suggesting the presence of a unique, more aggressive prostate cancer phenotype in African American (AA) patients. We investigated the capacity of digitally measured, population-specific phenotypes of the intratumoral stroma to create improved models for prediction of recurrence following radical prostatectomy. Experimental Design: This study included 334 radical prostatectomy patients subdivided into training (VT, n = 127), validation 1 (V1, n = 62), and validation 2 (V2, n = 145). Hematoxylin and eosin–stained slides from resected prostates were digitized, and 242 quantitative descriptors of the intratumoral stroma were calculated using a computational algorithm. Machine learning and elastic net Cox regression models were constructed using VT to predict biochemical recurrence-free survival based on these features. Performance of these models was assessed using V1 and V2, both overall and in population-specific cohorts. Results: An AA-specific, automated stromal signature, AAstro, was prognostic of recurrence risk in both independent validation datasets [V1,AA: AUC = 0.87, HR = 4.71 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.65–13.4), P = 0.003; V2,AA: AUC = 0.77, HR = 5.7 (95% CI, 1.48–21.90), P = 0.01]. AAstro outperformed clinical standard Kattan and CAPRA-S nomograms, and the underlying stromal descriptors were strongly associated with IHC measurements of specific tumor biomarker expression levels. Conclusions: Our results suggest that considering population-specific information and stromal morphology has the potential to substantially improve accuracy of prognosis and risk stratification in AA patients with prostate cancer.


Detection engines capable of inspecting packet payloads for application-layer network information are urgently required. The most important technology for fast payload inspection is an efficient multipattern matching algorithm, which performs exact string matching between packets and a large set of predefined patterns. This paper proposes a novel Enhanced Hierarchical Multipattern Matching Algorithm (EHMA) for packet inspection. Based on the occurrence frequency of grams, a small set of the most frequent grams is discovered and used in the EHMA. EHMA is a two-tier and cluster-wise matching algorithm, which significantly reduces the amount of external memory accesses and the capacity of memory. Using a skippable scan strategy, EHMA speeds up the scanning process. Furthermore, independent of parallel and special functions, EHMA is very simple and therefore practical for both software and hardware implementations. Simulation results reveal that EHMA significantly improves the matching performance. The speed of EHMA is about O.89-1,161 times faster than that of current matching algorithms. Even under real-life intense attack, EHMA still performs well.


Abstract We examined if ECG-based features are discrimi-native towards drowsiness. Twenty-five volunteers (19–32 years) completed 7×40 minutes of monotonous overnight driving simulation, designed to induce drowsiness. ECG (512 s-1) was recorded continuously; subjective ratings of drowsiness on the Karolinska sleepiness scale (KSS) were polled every five minutes. ECG recordings were divided into 5-min segments, each associated with the mean of one self- and two observer-KSS ratings. Those mean KSS values were binarized to obtain two classes not drowsy and drowsy. The Q-, R- and T-waves in the recordings were detected; R-peak positions were manually reviewed; the Q- and T-detection method was tested against the manual annotations of Physio-net's QT database. Power spectral densities of RR intervals (RR-PSD) and quantiles of the empirical distribution of heart-rate corrected QTc intervals were estimated. Support-vector machines and random-holdout cross-validation were used for the estimation of the classification error. Using either RR-PSD or QTc features yielded mean test errors of 79.3 ± 0.3 % and 82.7 ± 0.5 %, respectively. Merging RR and QTc features improved the accuracy to 88.3 ± 0.2 %. QTc intervals of the class drowsy were generally prolonged com-pared to not drowsy. Our findings indicate that the inclusion of QT intervals contribute to the discrimination of driver sleepiness.


This book is intended for an introductory course in digital logic design, which is a basic course in most Electrical and Computer Engineering programs. The authors provide a desirable balance between classical and modern design approaches. Basic concepts are introduced using simple logic circuits, which are designed by using both manual techniques and modern CAD-tool-based methods. Having established the fundamental concepts, more complex, realistic circuits are then designed with the CAD tools. The IEEE standard VHDL language is an integral part of design techniques used throughout the book. Altera's advanced Max plus II CAD systmem (on CD-ROM0 and a series of step-by-step tutorials are included.


The mission of the Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, formerly known as the International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, is to publish original, high-quality research papers in the field of services and manufacturing management. All aspects in this field including the interface between engineering and management, the design and analysis of service and manufacturing systems as well as operational planning and decision support are covered. The journal seeks papers that have a clear focus on the applicability in the real business world including all kinds of services and manufacturing industries, e.g. in logistics, transportation, health care, manufacturing-based services, production planning and control, and supply chain management. Flexibility should be understood in its widest sense as a system's ability to respond to changes in the environment through improved decision making and business development procedures and enabling IT solutions.


In this paper we examine how monetary policy should respond to nominal exchange rates in a New Keynesian open economy model that allows for a non-trivial role for sterilised intervention. The paper develops the argument against the backdrop of the evolving policy-making environment of Asian economies. Sterilised intervention can be a potent tool that offers policymakers an additional degree of freedom in maximising global welfare. We show that the gains to sterilised intervention are greater when goods market integration is low and exchange rate pass-through is high. However, increased financial internationalisation reduces the effectiveness of sterilised intervention, as the international policy trilemma becomes more relevant. Unsterilised intervention may also have a role to play, although the potential welfare gains from this are generally smaller. Most central banks in Asia have actively used sterilised foreign exchange intervention as a policy tool to smooth exchange rates. But, over time, declining exchange rate pass-through and the increasing international integration of financial and goods markets will tend to reduce the efficacy of sterilised intervention. Given the limited effectiveness of unsterilised intervention, our model implies that the role of exchange rate movements in the optimal setting of monetary policy in Asia is decreasing.


Economic strengthening (ES) approaches are increasingly applied in resource-poor environments, including in humanitarian crisis settings, in order to achieve a wide variety of socio-economic goals. At the same time, randomized control trial (RCT) methodology has become more prevalent in evaluations of ES and other microeconomic interventions. This review is a systematic research synthesis of randomized impact evaluations of NGO-implemented interventions in low-income countries that work to build income and/or economic assets either of the caregiver, the household, or the individual child, adolescent, or youth, where the evaluation looked at any child-level or youth-level outcomes. The papers evaluate interventions that work to build household or individual income and/or assets, such as conditional and unconditional cash and asset transfers, savings, and training. We find a wide variety of direct and indirect interventions that can potentially affect children. Most of the statistically significant findings from these studies are good for children across a range of outcome measures; however among the studies included here, there is no discernible pattern of any particular intervention category (skills training, savings, etc.) being more effective than any other at achieving better outcomes for children. In many outcome categories, researchers could find no short-term impact on children from ES programming at all. Unintended negative effects for children were found in over 20 per cent of the studies in our document set. By focusing on RCT evaluations of non-governmental programmes, we provide information about the highest quality evaluations of interventions that may be feasible to implement for programmers interested in this topic.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to take a student-centred perspective to understanding the range of ways that students respond to receiving information about their learning behaviours presented on a dashboard. It identifies four principles to inform the design of dashboards which support learner agency and empowerment, features which Prinsloo and Slade (2016) suggest are central to ethical adoption of learning analytics.

Design/methodology/approach
The study involved semi-structured interviews with 24 final-year undergraduates to explore the students' response to receiving dashboards that showed the students' achievement and other learning behaviours.

Findings
The paper identifies four principles that should be used when designing and adopting learner dashboards to support student agency and empowerment.

Research limitations/implications
The study was based on a small sample of undergraduate students from the final year from one academic school. The data are based on students' self-reporting.

Practical implications
The paper suggests that these four principles are guiding tenets for the design and implementation of learner dashboards in higher education. The four principles are: designs that are customisable by students; foregrounds students sense making; enables students to identify actionable insights; and dashboards are embedded into educational processes.

Originality/value
The paper's originality is that it illuminates student-centred principles of learner dashboard design and adoption.


Background Patients with anorexia nervosa restricting type (AN-R) often develop bulimic symptoms and crossover to AN-binge eating/purging type (AN-BP), or to bulimia nervosa (BN). We have reported earlier that genetic variants of an orexigenic peptide ghrelin are associated with BN. Here, the relationship between a ghrelin gene variant and the rate of change from AN-R to other phenotypes of eating disorders (EDs) was investigated. Methods Participants were 165 patients with ED, initially diagnosed as AN-R. The dates of their AN-R onset and changes in diagnosis to other subtypes of ED were investigated retrospectively. Ghrelin gene 3056 T→C SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) was genotyped. Probability and hazard ratios were analyzed using life table analysis and Cox's proportional hazard regression model, in which the starting point was the time of AN-R onset and the outcome events were the time of (i) onset of binge eating, that is, when patients changed to binge eating AN and BN and (ii) recovery of normal weight, that is, when patients changed to BN or remission. Results Patients with the TT genotype at 3056 T→C had a higher probability and hazard ratio for recovery of normal weight. The ghrelin SNP was not related with the onset of binge eating. Conclusion The 3056 T→C SNP of the ghrelin gene is related to the probability and the rate of recovery of normal body weight from restricting-type AN.


Summary
The notion that many tropical tree species form annual growth rings has triggered research on their growth and its environmental drivers over long periods of time. More recently even, a large number of studies have also analysed the natural abundance of stable isotopes in tropical tree rings. The rapid developments in this young field call for a review. Here we focus on stable isotopes of carbon (13C), oxygen (18O) and nitrogen (15N).
We start by explaining how environmental and physiological effects define the isotopic composition of wood in tropical trees. Abundance of 13C is mainly driven by water, light and nutrient availability. 18O values are chiefly determined by those of rainwater and additionally by rooting depth and factors determining leaf water evaporation. 15N levels are determined by the 15N signature of nitrogen uptake, which in turn depends in complex ways on various processes in the nitrogen cycle.
We then discuss methodological aspects of isotopes studies in tropical tree rings. An important requirement is that rings are reliably dated. A key methodological concern is furthermore that temporal changes in isotopic values can be confounded by tree-size driven changes, which can be avoided by sampling from a fixed diameter range or accounted for statistically.
Next, 50 studies are reviewed that measured stable isotopes of C, O and/or N in tree rings of a total of 85 tropical tree species. Temporal variation in both δ13C and δ18O was correlated to precipitation and ENSO variability. Seasonality in δ13C and δ18O was successfully used for delimiting visually non-distinct annual rings. Tropical tree responses to increasing atmospheric [CO2] were effectively quantified using δ13C as a measure of intrinsic water use efficiency. And finally, anthropogenic changes in the nitrogen cycle in tropical forests have been inferred from δ15N.
We conclude with methodological and ecophysiological recommendations for isotope studies in tropical tree rings. Future perspectives include the analysis of intramolecular isotopic distributions of isotopes in glucose that can advance our understanding of environmental effects on tropical tree physiology. Finally, we recommend that tropical tree ring isotope data are deposited in open-access databases.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


We report linear dispersion compensation, soliton pulse formation, soliton compression, and ultra-broad supercontinuum generation in a holey fiber with anomalous dispersion at wavelengths above 800nm. The holey fiber was seeded with ultrashort pulses from a diode pumped, Ytterbium (Yb)-doped fiber source operating at 1.06 microm. The results highlight the compatibility of the rapidly developing holey fiber technology with short pulse Yb-doped fiber lasers for wide application.


Silicon Valley is built on social capital, but it is social capital of a fundamentally different type from the concept of "deep civic engagement" that has come to dominate development theory and to influence policy. Social capital in Silicon Valley is best understood as performance-based trust. It emerges among economic and institutional actors in the pursuit of objectives related specifically to innovation and commercialization. In Silicon Valley, the sequence runs from performance to trust, not from community to trust as the civic engagement theorists would have it. Silicon Valley is an open society—open to ideas, to institutions, and especially to people. Community-based trust implies a closed society. The openness of Silicon Valley to foreigners is one of the region's most valuable assets; it has also been the best social capital investment for the home countries.


Indian sprinter Dutee Chand made headlines and history when she successfully challenged the validity of an international rule of athletics that disqualified her from competition because of the "masculine" level of naturally occurring testosterone in her body. The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Chand's favor demonstrates that the International Association of Athletics Federations, despite being the duly authorized regulator of international athletics competition, does not operate unconstrained in policing the boundaries of sex and gender, particularly when it does so in a discriminatory manner. Rather, a number of accountability principles and mechanisms of so-called "global administrative law" must be satisfied to justify any rule for dividing elite athletes into binary sex categories. This paper considers the particular administrative law requirements that, pursuant to the landmark decision in Chand's case, must characterize the development, implementation, and review of international sporting rules, particularly those that discriminate on the basis of sex or gender. In doing so, it illustrates that global administrative law has an important role to play in protecting and promoting gender equality in sport.


Todays society is becoming increasingly more likely to resist the lawful actions of law enforcement officers. It is critical for officers to have the necessary defensive tactics (DT) skills to successfully overcome resistance in an efficient, safe, and legal manner. The answer to achieving these results is NOT in teaching thousands of possible responses to an infinite number of potential attacks. The answer is to first use a Risk Management approach and identify the most common and dangerous attacks on officers. Next, a successful DT program must stress core concepts, proper body mechanics, natural instinctive movement, and proven principles of survival. Advanced Concepts in Defensive Tactics: A Survival Guide for Law Enforcement presents the instruction of Master Police Instructor Chuck Joyner. Developed during his tenure as a FBI use of force instructor, and expanded by his lifelong dedication to the martial arts, Joyners Survival Sciences DT program relies on adhering to advanced concepts rather than memorizing countless techniques. Based on extensive research and actual street experience, this manual: Focuses on defensive tactics that are easily taught, understood, and applied by officers regardless of their size, strength, or athletic ability Covers hand-to-hand tactics, groundwork, weapon retention/weapon disarming, handcuffing, and the survival mindset Explains the necessary integration of hands-on DT techniques with common law enforcement secondary weapons (e.g., baton, pepper spray, TASER) Introduces a new use of force model (Dynamic Resistance-Repsonse Model) which correctly depicts the dynamic encounter between an officer and a resistor by first focusing on the level of resistance by the subject Offers practical solutions reducing officer, department, and municipality liability Provides password access to the authors supplemental training videos online Chuck Joyner, a recognized expert in the use of force, lectures throughout the United States and internationally on myriad law enforcement topics. Mr. Joyner holds several FBI instructor certifications in force-related training, has earned black belts in four martial arts, and was awarded master rank in two styles. He was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame as instructor of the year in 2006. Mr. Joyner was employed by the CIA from 1983 to 1987, and has worked as a Special Agent with the FBI since 1987.


HIV-1 directly activates human plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) by upregulating the expression of costimulatory and MHC molecules and maturation markers, increasing T cell stimulatory activity, and inducing the production of type I interferons and TNF-alpha. A consequence of this activation is the bystander maturation of myeloid DCs and overall enhancement of antigen-presenting function. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) of pDC activation by HIV-1. Here we demonstrate by in vitro studies that IFN-alpha production by pDC in response to HIV-1 requires at least 2 interactions between the cell and virus. Initially, envelope-CD4 interactions mediate endocytosis of HIV-1, as demonstrated through the use of inhibitors of binding, fusion, endocytosis, and endosomal acidification. Subsequently, endosomally delivered viral nucleic acids, particularly RNA, stimulate pDCs through TLRs, as activation is reproduced with purified genomic RNA but not viral RNA packaging-deficient HIV-1 and blocked with different inhibitory TLR ligands. Finally, by using genetic complementation, we show that TLR7 is the likely primary target. Viral RNA rather than DNA in early retrotranscripts appears to be the active factor in HIV-1 that induces IFN-alpha secretion by pDCs. Since the decline in pDCs in chronic HIV-1 infection is associated with high viral loads and opportunistic infections, exploiting this natural adjuvant activity of HIV-1 RNA might be useful in the development of vaccines for the prevention of AIDS.


BACKGROUND
Classification of fractures of the greater tuberosity has shown poor reliability, in part as a result of an inability to assess fracture displacement accurately. We used fluoroscopic images of prepositioned osteotomized greater tuberosity fragments in cadavers to determine the accuracy of radiographic interpretation, the interobserver reliability, and the effect that radiographs might have on surgical decision-making.

METHODS
Twelve osteotomies of the greater tuberosity (three each with 2, 5, 10, and 15 mm of displacement) were created in whole-body cadavers. Six fluoroscopic images (anteroposterior views in external and internal rotation, anteroposterior views in neutral rotation with 15 degrees of cephalic and 15 degrees of caudal tilt, a lateral outlet view, and an axillary view) were made after each osteotomy. Four experienced orthopaedic surgeons measured displacement in millimeters on seventy-two randomized images. Four views in sequence (the anteroposterior view in internal rotation and the outlet view together, then the axillary view, and then the anteroposterior view in external rotation) of each osteotomy pattern were then viewed, and each surgeon was asked whether surgery would be indicated on the basis of each set of images.

RESULTS
No one fluoroscopic view was significantly more accurate than another. There was a trend toward increased accuracy of imaging of minimally displaced (</=5 mm) tuberosity fragments with the anteroposterior view in external rotation. When viewed sequentially, the anteroposterior view in external rotation, evaluated last, altered treatment in nine of forty-eight situations. There was substantial agreement (kappa = 0.71) among the surgeons with respect to their recommendations for treatment of the displaced greater tuberosities after they had inspected the four images.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
To our knowledge, we are the first to examine the accuracy and reliability of interpreting images of known displacements of the greater tuberosity. Multiple radiographic views are needed to evaluate displacement of the greater tuberosity appropriately. The anteroposterior view in external rotation can profile the greater tuberosity and help demonstrate small displacements. Treatment decisions should be consistent between surgeons when multiple views are used.


Prey have evolved a number of defenses against predation, and predators have developed means of countering these protective measures. Monarch caterpillars, Danaus plexippus, for example, feed on milkweed plants in the genus Asclepias and sequester cardenolides as an anti-predator defense. However, some predators are able to consume this otherwise unpalatable prey. The observation of a Chinese mantid, Tenodera sinensis, consuming the body tissue of a monarch caterpillar while 'gutting' the prey (i.e., removing the gut and associated internal organs) without any apparent ill-effects prompted this research. In a series of behavioral trials we explored how adult T. sinensis handle and consume toxic (D. plexippus) and non-toxic (Ostrinia nubilalis and Galleria mellonella) caterpillars. In addition, we analyzed differences in the carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio and cardenolide content of monarch tissue consumed or discarded by mantids. We found that mantids gutted monarchs while wholly consuming non-toxic species. As expected, monarch gut tissue had a higher C:N ratio than non-gut tissue, confirming the presence of plant material. Although there were more cardenolide peaks in monarch body versus gut tissue, total cardenolide concentration and polarity index did not differ. Although T. sinensis treated toxic prey differently than non-toxic prey, gutting did not decrease the mantid's total cardenolide intake. Since other predators consume monarch caterpillars whole, this behavior may be rooted in species-specific vulnerability to particular cardenolides or simply reflect a preference for high-N tissues. To further investigate the gutting behavior of the mantid, we conducted a second series of behavioral trials in which mantids were offered cardenolidecontaining and cardenolide-free D. plexippus caterpillars and butterflies. In addition, we fed mantids starved and unstarved D. plexippus caterpillars from each cardenolide treatment and non-toxic Ostrinia nubilalis caterpillars. These trials were coupled with elemental analysis of the C:N ratios in gut and body tissues of both D. plexippus caterpillars and corn borers. We found that cardenolides did not affect mantid behavior: mantids gutted both cardenolide-containing and cardenolide-free caterpillars. In contrast, mantids consumed both O. nubilalis and starved D. plexippus caterpillars entirely. Danaus plexippus body tissue has a lower C:N ratio than their gut contents, while O. nubilalis have similar ratios. It is possible that the gutting behavior is in response to non-cardenolide secondary plant compound and/or an ability to regulate nutrient uptake. The results of this second experiment suggest that while cardenolides are not driving the post-capture prey processing by mantids, it is likely driven by a sophisticated assessment of resource quality. From our first two experiments, it is clear that the Chinese mantid is able to consume cardenolide-containing monarch caterpillars without immediate adverse effects. Despite discarding the caterpillars' gut contents, mantids still ingest cardenolides sequestered in monarch body tissue. Although mantids do not exhibit immediate adverse reactions when consuming monarch biomass, it is possible that there are long-term fitness costs associated with cardenolide consumption. We tested the hypothesis that monarch caterpillar consumption negatively affects mantid growth and reproductive condition. We assigned lab-reared mantids to one of four toxicity groups that differed in the number of monarch caterpillars offered to adult mantids over a 15-day period. Monarch consumption did not reduce mantid fecundity; all treatment groups produced similar numbers of eggs. However, mantids in the hightoxicity group produced eggs that were 42% longer on average and devoted 75% more of their biomass toward egg production than those in the control group. This increase in reproductive condition is probably driven by other factors such as mantid size, prey nutritional value and/or diet mixing. Despite consuming similar amounts of prey biomass during the experiment, mantids in the high-toxicity group gained more biomass and were larger than mantids in the other groups. These results, combined with our previous research suggest that the Chinese mantid is able to incorporate monarch prey into its diet without acute or chronic ill-effects.


Bloodmeal can be decoloured using peracetic acid resulting in a material with a pale-yellow colour which only needs sodium dodecyl sulphate, water and triethylene glycol to extrude into a semi-transparent bioplastic. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using Synchrotron light was used to investigate the effect of peracetic acid treatment at various concentrations on the spatial distribution of secondary structures within particles of bloodmeal. Oxidation caused aggregation of helical structures into sheets and acetic acid suppressed sheet formation. Decolouring with peracetic acid led to particles with a higher degree of disorder at the outer edges and higher proportions of ordered structures at the core, consistent with the expected diffusion controlled heterogeneous phase decolouring reaction. The degradation of stabilizing intra- and intermolecular interactions and the presence of acetate ions results in increased chain mobility and greater amorphous content in the material, as evidenced by reduction in Tg and greater enthalpy of relaxation with increasing PAA concentration.


Markedly minimizing the platinum (Pt) loading and increasing its mass activity are significant to drive down the cost of H2 production from water splitting. Herein, a novel electrocatalyst, Pt nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on Ni/nitrogen-doped graphene nanotubes (Pt/Ni@NGNTs), was designed and its exceptional catalytic performance towards hydrogen evolution reaction was demonstrated. Ni@NGNTs itself showed poor catalytic activity. Unexpectedly, when employed as a support, it increased the mass activity of the Pt metal by 30.1 times in an acidic electrolyte and 15.3 times in an alkaline electrolyte relative to that of commercial 20 wt% Pt/C. Moreover, the durability of Pt/Ni@NGNTs reached up to 50 h. Impressively, Pt NPs preferentially distributed around the protective graphene shells of the enclosed metal Ni, due to the enriched electron density and structural defects induced by Ni and N dopants. The electronic interactions between Pt and Ni@NGNTs tuned the electronic properties and greatly boosted catalytic performances of the anchored Pt NPs. The present catalyst shows significant potential for the synthesis of low cost, high performance Pt-based catalysts.


This paper investigates Germany's vulnerability to the ongoing Euroland crisis. In 2010-11, Germany experienced a strong rebound from the global financial crisis of 2008-09. The Euroland crisis then meant record low interest rates and a depressed euro that boosted German extra-area exports. But the crisis that started in Euroland's so-called periphery has meanwhile reached the core. With pro-euro sentiments dwindling fast across the European Union (EU), the future of the euro remains uncertain no matter what European Central Bank President Mario Draghi may promise. Germany's "safe haven" status may turn out to be a double-edged sword. In case of a euro breakup, swift appreciation of the new deutschmark would abruptly worsen German competitiveness and the German economy would crater as a result. Additional wealth losses on Germany's international investment position would also loom. Appreciating Germany's own vulnerability to the euro crisis should help the German authorities to understand that their policy prescriptions are anything but in Germany's own best interest, which is also good for the authorities in euro partner countries to recognize. Germany is bound to catch up with the reality that it is very vulnerable to the enormous wreckage and unnecessary hardship German-style policies are causing across Europe. The EU, most likely under French leadership, will have to convince Germany to embark on a fundamental policy course change, or else call an ugly end to the euro disaster.


Do school systems under central government control provide equal education to all students? Although direct control can enforce uniform standards, measures, and teacher qualifications, large bureaucracies tend to rely on a small set of simple, objective, and easily verified characteristics that can blind them to local realities. Using data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the authors compare public and private schools in 34 countries. They find that public schools systems in countries with strong governments have more equality than their private counterparts, but the situation is reversed in weaker states. When government is weak, centralized control can project only the illusion of equality while actually producing more inequality than "uncontrolled" local schools under bottom-up control.


Previous investigations providing psychological tests for identifying the adult, habitual criminal have neglected the concrete-abstract facets of cognition. The present study explores the usefulness of the concrete-abstract dimension for such a purpose by means of the Kahn Test of Symbol Arrangement (the K.T.S.A.), and a Symbolization Test for Criminals (the S.T.C.), which was constructed by the author. Two selected groups were employed; an incarcerated 'criminal recidivists' group and a control group of 'non- criminals' from a vocational rehabilitation centre. The groups were matched for social-class and level of education. Controls as a group, however, were significantly older and scored higher on intelligence (p<.0l). Product moment correlations and analysis of co-variance indicated that the performance of both groups on these tests was independent of age and intelligence (measured by the AH4 part II). The results showed that controls scored significantly higher (more abstract responses) than criminals, on both tests. The criminals displayed a typical pattern of more concrete and repetitive types of symbolizations and fewer abstract responses. This has led to the formulation of typical K.T.S.A. and S.T.C. criminal 'Symbol-Pattern' which identified correctly 72% and 77% of all participants, respectively (chi-square, p < .001). A combined K.T.S.A + S.T.C. score elicited the best classification (80% correct identifications, chi-square, p < .001).).The results were interpreted in terms of the hypothesis that criminality is associated with an "arrested cognitive (and emotional) development on the decriminalization process", i.e. the process of socialisation. Future refinements of the S.T.C. were also discussed.


Background Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi or Ling Zhi) is one of the most famous Traditional Chinese Medicines and has been widely used in the treatment of various human diseases in Asia countries. It is also a fungus with strong wood degradation ability with potential in bioenergy production. However, genes, pathways and mechanisms of these functions are still unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings The genome of G. lucidum was sequenced and assembled into a 39.9 megabases (Mb) draft genome, which encoded 12,080 protein-coding genes and ∼83% of them were similar to public sequences. We performed comprehensive annotation for G. lucidum genes and made comparisons with genes in other fungi genomes. Genes in the biosynthesis of the main G. lucidum active ingredients, ganoderic acids (GAs), were characterized. Among the GAs synthases, we identified a fusion gene, the N and C terminal of which are homologous to two different enzymes. Moreover, the fusion gene was only found in basidiomycetes. As a white rot fungus with wood degradation ability, abundant carbohydrate-active enzymes and ligninolytic enzymes were identified in the G. lucidum genome and were compared with other fungi. Conclusions/Significance The genome sequence and well annotation of G. lucidum will provide new insights in function analyses including its medicinal mechanism. The characterization of genes in the triterpene biosynthesis and wood degradation will facilitate bio-engineering research in the production of its active ingredients and bioenergy.


Short sea shipping is an important part of regional transport networks in many parts of the world, and efficient container shipping is vital for trade and industry in Northern Europe. The purpose of this paper is to define a container shipping concept, the Short Sea Shuttle concept, and to analyse the conditions under which the concept is competitive in a north-eastern European setting. The Short Sea Shuttle concept resembles feeder shipping, but it requires a higher degree of functional inland connections and fixed and stable schedules as well as high reliability and departure frequency. As such, it contains features of dryport systems with rail shuttles. Workshops and interviews with industrial stakeholders have re-vealed that a high punctuality is particularly important as it allows the transfer of cargo to sea, which currently is transported by other modes.


ABSTRACT Cambodia's mountainous northeastern province of Ratanakiri, which only twenty years ago was home to mainly indigenous minority groups largely focused on subsistence production, has undergone rapid ecological, social, and economic transformation. Deforestation and land alienation in the context of large-scale plantation agriculture, land speculation, and smallholder cash cropping have led to concerns that indigenous communities are being alienated from their land and not benefitting from economic changes. This has resulted in a significant number of NGO and government programs that attempt to protect and "empower" indigenous people, particularly women. This article examines a one-year research project which explored the relationship between indigenous women and land change in two indigenous villages. It discusses how indigenous women as well as Khmer and landless Cham immigrants have dealt with the commoditization of land and labor. It focuses on the differentiated way capitalist relations have pushed men, women, landless laborers, and increasingly wealthy landowners on increasingly divergent life trajectories. Compelled by donors to focus on gender and indigenous women as an object of governance, the NGO that directed this project struggled to keep up with the realities of capitalist relations on the ground.


This paper is based on a presentation given at the 10th International Conference on Practice Teaching and Field Education in Health and Social Work in April 2014. Occupational Therapy student non-traditional placements are an important element of developing autonomous practitioner skills. This paper considers the changes which have led to an increase in the use of non-traditional placements, and the significance of their basis in the third sector for a profession with origins in social justice and reform in the light of present health and social inequalities. It considers the advantages these placements bring to students and their universities, but also argues that the benefits to all stakeholders, including third sector organisations and their clients are critically reviewed.


The aim of the paper is to investigate the linear and nonlinear causality between a set of alternative tax burden ratios and economic growth in 23 OECD countries. To that end, the linear causality approach of Toda– Yamamoto (1995) and the nonparametric causality method of Kyrtsou and Labys (2006) are applied to annual data spanning from 1970 to 2014. Results obtained from the nonlinear causality test tend to reject the neutrality hypothesis for the tax structure–growth relationship in 19 of the 23 OECD countries. In the majority of the countries under investigation, the evidence is in line with the growth hypothesis where causality running from economic growth to tax burden ratios was detected in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, and Norway. The opposite causality running from tax structure to economic growth was found in Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden. In contrast, the neutrality hypothesis was supported in Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, and the USA, whereas the feedback hypothesis was supported in Turkey and the UK. Additional robustness checks show that when the signs of variations are taken into account, there is an asymmetric causality running from positive tax burden shocks to positive per capita GDP shocks for Belgium, France, and Turkey. Overall, our findings suggest that policy implications of the tax structure-economic growth relationships should be interpreted with caution, taking into account the test-dependent and country-specific results.


An enduring testament and prophecy. "Chicago Sun-Times" Mr. Artur Sammler, Holocaust survivor, intellectual, and occasional lecturer at Columbia University in 1960s New York City, is a registrar of madness, a refined and civilized being caught among people crazy with the promises of the future (moon landings, endless possibilities). His Cyclopean gaze reflects on the degradations of city life while looking deep into the sufferings of the human soul. Sorry for all and sore at heart, he observes how greater luxury and leisure have only led to more human suffering. To Mr. Sammler who by the end of this ferociously unsentimental novel has found the compassionate consciousness necessary to bridge the gap between himself and his fellow beings a good life is one in which a person does what is required of him. To know and to meet the terms of the contract was as true a life as one could live. At its heart, this novel is quintessential Bellow: moral, urbane, sublimely humane. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by Stanley Crouch. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators."


"I can't believe that!" said Alice, "Can't you?" the Queen said, in a pitying tone. "Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes." Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things." "I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."1


Upon the discharge of a patient the medical officer in charge shall give notification of such discharge to the appropriate health officer of the State, Territory, or other jurisdiction in which the discharged patient is to reside. The notification shall also set forth the clinical findings and other essential facts necessary to be known by the health officer relative to such discharged patient.


How is virtuality represented in fiction, and what does that say about our anticipations and fears about what the virtual is and will be? This text, a poetics of virtuality, explores fictional representations of virtuality, primarily in movies and literature, but also in media productions done by the author. The aim is to study the dream of virtuality. What are we promised? What do we anticipate? What do we fear? This is why the study has focused on fictional virtualities, where the storyteller is somewhat free to represent the virtual, and let cultural ideas emerge, untethered by the technical constraints that govern real-life virtuality technology.
The study has two methodological approaches. One is the analysis of a large number of fictional narrative texts representing virtuality, primarily movies but also a few novels and short stories. The other is the study of the author's own work producing media products involving virtuality. The chosen research design utilizes the author's position as both an academic and a computer graphic artist. The studied fictional narratives have been analyzed using semiotics, a method to study signs and sign production. A self- and auto-ethnographic approach has been used to observe the author's media productions.
The contribution of this study is a deep and detailed understanding of how virtuality is represented in fiction, presented as a poetics of virtuality. Seven topologies of virtuality are presented: #surrealism, #containment, #engineered space, #artificial light, #immateriality, #control, and #virtual artificial intelligence.
In summary, the results show that:
It was advantageous to combine film studies with auto-ethnographic observations, but also highly time consuming
Fictional representations of virtuality are largely based on real-life technology, especially older computer technology
Fictional representations of virtuality are quite highly constrained by production circumstances and storytelling requirements
Volumetric displays are highly anticipated, but the need to use augmented reality to implement the vision might surprise us
Virtuality is often thought of as being in opposition to the real and the natural; it is also often thought of as being a lesser copy of the actual
A major theme is breaking out of the virtual, and this falsely promises that there can be an escape from the virtual, and from technology.