The Effects of Open Educational Resource Adoption on Measures of Post-Secondary Student Success Thomas Jared Robinson Educational Inquiry, Measurement, and Evaluation, BYU Doctor of Philosophy The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the adoption of Open Educational Resources had a significant effect on student learning outcomes in seven courses taught at seven post-secondary institutions. The use of open educational resources (OER) is increasing in the United States. Initiatives focusing on expanding the use of OER as a replacement for traditional textbooks at the post-secondary level include OpenStax, Project Kaleidoscope, Open Course Library, and others. While researchers have begun to explore OER, few have sought to evaluate the quality of OER as a function of student academic success. In this dissertation, I examined measures of student success in seven courses at seven different early-adopters of Project Kaleidoscope where faculty members chose to adopt OER to replace traditional textbooks. The sample for this study consisted of students using open textbooks in courses at seven Project Kaleidoscope post-secondary institutions, as well as a control group of students at those same institutions who used traditional textbooks in sections of the same courses. I used an ex-postfacto quasi-experimental design, in which I compared students using OER to students using traditional textbooks in comparable courses. In order to control for the threat of selection bias, I used propensity score matching (PSM) to match treatment and control groups on a set of demographic variables. After creating matched treatment and control groups, I used multiple regression and logistic regression to examine whether textbook selection predicts a measurable difference in student achievement after accounting for relevant covariates. I found that students using open textbooks earned, on average, lower grades than students who used traditional textbooks, after controlling for student-level and course-level covariates. Further analysis revealed that this negative differential was isolated to students in business and psychology classes. I also found that students who used open textbooks enrolled in more credits than students using traditional textbooks, controlling for relevant covariates. Because of the finding of a variation in textbook effect from course to course, future studies may seek to understand the effects of particular OER adoption instances rather than the global effect of OER adoption.


Holographic displays are ideal imaging technologies because they allow objects to be reconstructed three-dimensionally to any desired distance without an accommodation convergence conflict. Therefore, unlike traditional two-dimensional displays, measurement of the image quality of a holographic display is based on an image reconstructed in three-dimensional space. In this paper, we propose a 3D MTF measurement method as a quantitative evaluation method for the image quality of holographic displays. We show the experimental result of our tabletop holographic display by exploiting the proposed method.


Diabetes is a risk factor that increases the occurrence and severity of cardiovascular events. Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of mortality of 75% of patients with diabetes >40 years old. Sesamin, the bioactive compound extracted from Sesamum indicum, is a natural compound that has diverse beneficial effects on hypoglycemia and reducing cholesterol. The aim of this study is to investigate sesamin effects to diabetes-inducing cardiac hypertrophy. In the present study bioinformatics analysis demonstrated cardiac hypertrophy signaling may be the most important pathway for upregulating genes in sesamin-treated groups. To verify the bioinformatics prediction, sesamin was used as the main bioactive compound to attenuate the impact of diabetes induced by streptozotocin (STZ) on cardiac function in a rat model. The results revealed that oral administration of sesamin for 4 weeks (100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) marginally improved blood glucose levels, body weight and significantly ameliorated the effects on heart rate and blood pressure in rats with type 1 diabetes relative to control rats. The QT interval of sesamin was also reduced relative to the control group. The findings indicated that sesamin has potential cardioprotective effects in the STZ-induced diabetes model. This suggested that this can be used as a novel treatment for patients with diabetes with cardiac dysfunction complication.


Whereas [3H]thymidine ([3H]TdR) and [3H]leucine ([3H]leu) are commonly used to measure bacterial production, their stability during ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure has been questioned. Because these molecules prove invaluable in studies examining UVR effects on bacterial production, molecule integrity during and after exposure to UVR is critical. The stability of both radiolabeled and non‐radiolabeled leucine and thymidine stability was examined after UVR exposure. Solutions of [3H]TdR and [3H]leu were prepared in deionized water, 0.2 µm‐filtered estuarine and marine waters followed by sunlight exposure for 4 h centered around solar noon. Incorporation of each irradiated substrate by bacterioplankton was then determined in Pensacola Bay and Gulf of Mexico waters and compared with incorporation using nonirradiated replicate [3H]TdR and [3H]leu solutions. Differences in [3H]TdR incorporation rates for irradiated versus nonirradiated compounds were of marginal statistical difference when irradiated in seawater but not in distilled water whereas no statistical differences were observed for [3H]leu. However, nonradiolabeled samples analyzed after solar exposure using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed no significant difference for irradiated samples versus dark controls. Therefore, UVR exposure has no effect on compound integrity. Furthermore, there is no reason to discontinue use or question results obtained by employing [3H]TdR or [3H]leu during simultaneous exposure and incubation experiments measuring bacterial production. This type of incubation can lead to a more realistic view of the cumulative effect of UVR on bacterial production over the day rather than short incubations performed in the dark following exposure to sunlight.


The cluster and grid-computing paradigm offers support for large scale, widely distributed, highperformance
computational systems. Several of such architectures and frameworks have been
developed aimed at primarily large parallel computations in support of scientific, engineering
calculations and problem solving. With the emergence of the "service-oriented" business pattern for
low-cost e-business, and increasing users' need for high-volumes of multi-media contents and
applications, we argue that the rapidly maturing grid technology will offer commercial opportunities
for the development of a range of systems, infrastructures and services to support high-utilisation and
availability of global computing and data resources for widely distributed enterprises. However, before
this becomes a reality much research work is required to address a number of well documented grid
issues including; ubiquity, high-assurance, flexibility, ease of use and alignment with emerging
industrial standards. In this paper we argue for the potential of new distributed systems, aimed at ebusiness
and commercial enterprises, leveraging the strands of research from cluster computing, grid
computing, agent systems and data description languages. Based on an on-going research work, which
focuses on high-assurance composable systems engineering, this paper will outline a service-oriented
approach and associated agent description languages, which are used to facilitate the construction and
management of ad-hoc federated software services.


Energy is a precious resource and as electronic devices (e.g., tablets, smart phones, Internet-connected appliances) and electric cars become ubiquitous, the demand for energy will continue to increase. To meet this demand and enable the integration of renewable resources, electrical distribution networks are beginning to adopt smart-grid technologies by providing bidirectional communication between the distribution grid and the electric meter. The question of how appliances within the home will interface with the smart-grid is still an open question. We propose to use wireless sensor networks as a platform to enable detailed household monitoring, demand response, load scheduling, occupancy-based control, intelligent lighting, and other general-purpose control strategies. In this vision, the smart-grid interface is a single input to the building control system which consists of a wide variety of other sensors and supports many applications that greatly extend the capabilities of the smart-grid. To explore this concept we have: developed efficient and accurate energy disaggregation algorithms, developed reliable multicast and broadcast network protocols, evaluated 10 strategies for energy savings, designed a WSN-based building monitoring and control platform, and evaluated this approach in both offices and a residential home.


Investments in drug development for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have not led to the availability of a treatment to cure or halt the progression of the disease. This study aimed to provide insights into the current lack of an effective therapy against AD by exploring the evolution of research paths in the scientific domains corresponding to fundamental, preclinical and clinical research from the identification of the disease in 1906 up to 2016. More specifically, the influence of the amyloid cascade hypothesis and use of animal models in the evolution of drug development for AD were explored. We used bibliometric analysis for the identification of research paths taken over time, including main path analysis, direct citation analysis and co-word analysis. The results show that the amyloid cascade hypothesis has played an important role in the evolution of research paths in the drug development process of AD. The preclinical domain and to a lesser extent the clinical domain, were found to be increasingly involved in the study of interventions modulating amyloid-beta related neurotoxicity over time in line with the fundamental domain predominantly focussing on amyloid-beta as the primary cause of AD. The results open up a discussion about lock-in, i.e. that decreasing options in the fundamental domain results in less room for manoeuvre in the preclinical and clinical domain.


Nanosecond pulsed discharges have attracted the attention of engine manufacturers due to the possibility of attaining distributed ignition sites that accelerate burn rates while resulting in very little electrode erosion . Multidimensional modeling tools currently capture the electrical structure of such discharges accurately, but resolving the chemical structure remains a challenging problem owing to the disparity of time-scales in streamer propagation (nanoseconds) and ignition phenomena (microseconds). The purpose of this study is to extend multidimensional results towards resolving the chemical structure in the wake of streamers (or the afterglow) by using a batch reactor model. This can afford the use of very detailed chemical kinetic information. The full non-equilibrium nature of the electrons is taken into account, along with fast gas heating, shock wave propagation, and thermal diffusion. The results shed light on ignition phenomena brought about by such discharges.


Weather can have a profound effect on energy consumption; especially extremes of hot and cold temperatures. These variations in particular drive residential and commercial energy demand because space heating and cooling is such an important component. Traditional approaches are customized to the specific geography of interest. Energy regulators use a measure of divergence from normal temperatures to estimate peaks in demand when planning future capacity, or to strip out short term weather effects to identify underlying growth trends. Energy traders marry weather forecasts to demand data to identify potential price peaks and troughs. What unites these analyses is that they tend to be either local or short term in nature; or both. However, the customization of methodology to a particular geography renders comparisons of the effects of weather between countries invalid.Targets for improving energy productivity and benchmarking of performance towards meeting such targets between countries requires a consistent global database, both spatially and temporally. To date, no such database has been available to policymakers. KAPSARC has worked with the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC) to create a database covering 147 countries over a period of several decades, based on consistent methodologies such that the impacts of local climate on energy consumption can be analyzed.Differences in the energy productivity of countries are comprised of several factors. These include the industrial structure of the economy, efficiency of equipment and processes, availability of water and differences in weather, among other factors. Differentiating between the factors that are controllable (including economic structure and efficiency) and uncontrollable (including weather and access to water), allows policy to be focused in the areas that it can achieve the most beneficial impact. The CMCC-KAPSARC Weather Normalization Database is one of the tools now available to policymakers to separate the signal from the noise in guiding policies aimed at improving the energy productivity of their economies.


Word embeddings are a key component of high-performing natural language processing (NLP) systems, but it remains a challenge to learn good representations for novel words on the fly, i.e., for words that did not occur in the training data. The general problem setting is that word embeddings are induced on an unlabeled training corpus and then a model is trained that embeds novel words into this induced embedding space. Currently, two approaches for learning embeddings of novel words exist: (i) learning an embedding from the novel word's surface-form (e.g., subword n-grams) and (ii) learning an embedding from the context in which it occurs. In this paper, we propose an architecture that leverages both sources of information – surface-form and context – and show that it results in large increases in embedding quality. Our architecture obtains state-of-the-art results on the Definitional Nonce and Contextual Rare Words datasets. As input, we only require an embedding set and an unlabeled corpus for training our architecture to produce embeddings appropriate for the induced embedding space. Thus, our model can easily be integrated into any existing NLP system and enhance its capability to handle novel words.


The effects of marijuana are mediated by cannabinoid receptors on neurons in the brain, and a causal relation between marijuana use during pregnancy and permanent cognitive deficits in the offspring has been identified. Berghuis et al. now define the molecular hierarchy that controls marijuana actions within single neurons and show that activation of cannabinoid receptors by their natural ligands controls the establishment of functional connections between neurons in the brain. These findings define the cellular context through which prenatal marijuana use perturbs brain development. P. Berghuis, A. M. Rajnicek, Y. M. Morozov, R. A. Ross, J. Mulder, G. M. Urbán, K. Monory, G. Marsicano, M. Matteoli, A. Canty, A. J. Irving, I. Katona, Y. Yanagawa, P. Rakic, B. Lutz, K. Mackie, T. Harkany, Hardwiring the brain: Endocannabinoids shape neuronal connectivity. Science 316, 1212-1216 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This essay considers the release of the Abu Ghraib photographs in the context of psychoanalytic trauma theory involving repetition, memory, temporality and narrative formation. The American response to the photographs, especially from military investigators, revealed their urgent investigative need to 'plot' and temporalise the event on an axis of idiosyncratic mistakes in judgement. The response among many Iraqis, however, was to encode the event as a repetition, a latent cultural memory in a longe durée of traumatic historical encounters between the Middle East and the 'West'. Psychoanalysis as a critical method is useful in examining the relation between repetition and memory and the compulsion to 'bind' the energy of individual and historical trauma by narrating, sequencing and organising. The challenge presented to the US Abu Ghraib inquiry team – and also to this study – is a uniquely digital one: an over-abundance of photographs in the form of digital media encoded with metadata. The military investigation's response was to time-stamp images to frame the plot sequence, followed by the clicking of the 'Save As …' button: a mnemonic act of re-naming, categorising, hyperlinking and culturally archiving the digital images in accordance with their role in the plot.


I defend an account of when and why anger is morally virtuous or vicious. Anger often manifests what we care about; a sports fan gets angry when her favorite team loses because she cares about the team doing well. Anger, I argue, is made morally virtuous or vicious by the underlying care or concern. Anger is virtuous when it manifests moral concern and vicious when it manifests moral indifference or ill will. In defending this view, I reject two common views about anger and moral character. First, I respond to several arguments that attempt to show that all anger is vicious. Then I respond to the view that some anger is required to be a virtuous person. Anger, on my view, can be morally virtuous but is not a necessary condition for being a virtuous person. This best accommodates not only morally irrelevant failures to get angry but also allows for emotional variation among virtuous people.


Due to the high uncertainty surrounding cases of property loss emanating from the 1998–1999 war in Kosovo, deciding restitution claims requires a certain level of trust in the reliability of the documents produced by parties, and the legality of documents has to be re-assessed by the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) itself. By following the trajectory of files – the material repositories of the judicialisation process – through the institution, this paper looks at the institutional strategies put in place to manage documents in order to mitigate doubt, and to create a legal basis of 'reasonable certainty'. Drawing on ethnographic material from the KPA, this paper argues that it is by looking at how files are made, at their trajectory, that we can begin to understand how the institution knows, and what it chooses to remember. It focuses on 'moments of reification' in the judicialisation process in order to highlight both the ways in which 'reasonable certainty' is constructed along the way, and the limits of the technocratic enterprise itself.


Clinicians use many terms including undulating myokymia, neuromyotonia, Isaacs' syndrome and Cramp-Fasciculation Syndrome to describe the motor manifestations of generalized peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (PNH). Our previous findings in a selected group of patients with undulating myokymia or neuromyotonia, and EMG doublet or multiplet ('myokymic') motor unit discharges, indicated that an autoantibody-mediated potassium channelopathy was likely to be the cause of their disorder. This prompted us to search for a common pathogenesis in a wider spectrum of PNH syndromes. We studied the clinical, autoimmune and electrophysiological features of 60 patients presenting with acquired PNH. Patients were grouped according to an EMG criterion: the presence (group A, n = 42) or absence (group B, n = 18) of doublet or multiplet myokymic motor unit discharges. The average ages of onset in the two groups were 45 and 48 years respectively. The relative frequency and topography of the clinical features were similar in both groups. Serum voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) antibodies were detected using a (125)I-alpha-dendrotoxin immunoprecipitation assay in 38% of group A and in 28% of group B. Autoimmune disease and other autoantibodies were present in both groups more frequently than would be expected by chance (59 and 28%, respectively)-particularly myasthenia gravis and acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies. The neurological disorder in both groups could occur as a paraneoplastic condition. Thymoma was detected in 19 and 11%, respectively, and lung cancer in 10 and 6%, respectively. An axonal neuropathy was present in six (14%) of group A and in one (6%) of group B patients. Thus, despite the discrete EMG distinction, both groups share clinical features often associated with autoimmune-related diseases, which can occur as paraneoplastic disorders and, importantly, have an increased frequency of VGKC antibodies. We conclude that autoimmunity, and specifically VGKC antibodies in many cases, are strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of both groups, and that the EMG features reflect quantitative rather than qualitative differences between the diverse clinical syndromes. These findings also have relevance for disease management. A classification is proposed that distinguishes immune-mediated PNH (irrespective of whether VGKC antibodies are detectable by standard assays) from non-immune forms of PNH that include toxins, anterior horn cell degeneration in motor neurone disease and genetic disorders.


Thanks to the contribution of leading experts in cosmetology, the first editions of the Handbook were successful and received excellent reviews. The editors appreciate the excellent author contributions.
The first edition, published in 2001, reviewed the multiple facets of the cosmetic field including the physiology of cosmetics targets and the safety, legal and regulatory context worldwide. It gave a broad overview of cosmetic ingredients, vehicles and finished products, and described the main methodologies used for microbiology, safety and efficacy testing. In the second edition (2006), we examined the future of cosmetology by the addition of chapters related to new ingredients, new delivery systems and new testing methodologies, but also by asking the previous authors to update their chapter with their speculation about the future in their field of expertise. To make the information more accessible, chapters were significantly reorganized.
Cosmetic science is a fast moving area. Furthermore, rapid and extensive changes in the worldwide regulatory context of cosmetics, increasing constraints and limitations in the choice of cosmetic ingredients and regular pressure from the media force the cosmetic formulator to think differently about his products. For all those reasons and due to more and more demanding and educated consumers asking for additional benefits from their cosmetic products, we have been asked to initiate the third edition of the Handbook.
Several chapters, from previous authors, are key in Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology and have been updated with the latest developments in the given field. However, it is the intention of the editors to give this version a new and important dimension that will complement the previous editions; a focus on the mechanism of interaction of the products or ingredients with their target.
Today, cosmetic products are of a high quality. If we want to further improve their quality, this will inevitably pass through an even better understanding of how those products or ingredients work to improve the appearance, protect their target or help maintain its natural functions. So, with the outstanding evolution of instruments to investigate in depth the skin or the hair, great progress is made daily in the understanding of the mechanisms of action of cosmetics. This understanding has been extensively covered in the third edition, which
concentrates on skin, nail and hair cosmetics.
In the third edition, emphasis has been given to:
l Skin types, their relationship with age, sex, ethnic differences and the concept of sensitive skin.
l New bioengineering techniques for studying hydration of the skin – such as skin capacitance imaging and confocal raman spectroscopy – and for investigating skin friction and wettability.
l New developments in the description of skin aging and anti-aging treatments.
l In vitro skin tests using 3D reconstructed skin models.
l Specifically targeted cosmetics (decorative products, cooling and revulsive ingredients) and new forms such as oral cosmetics.
l An overview of the regulatory context for cosmetic preparations in the USA and in Europe, and of important ethical considerations in human testing.
l Finally, and controversially, the values and limitations of bioengineering measurements for the substantiation of efficacy claims.
The editors are grateful not only to the authors who contributed to previous editions and updated their chapters for the third edition, but also to the new authors who openly shared their "know how" in key areas.
Finally, we would like to invite readers' comments, criticisms and suggestions for improvements in order to ensure the continuous improvement of the Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology.
Andre´ O. Barel
Marc Paye
Howard I. Maibach


This work is focused on the development of a geometrical multiscale framework for modeling the human cardiovascular system. This approach is designed to deal with different geometrical and mathematical models at the same time, without any preliminary hypotheses on the layout of the general multiscale problem. This flexibility allows to set up a complete arterial tree model of the circulatory system, assembling first a network of one-dimensional models, described by non-linear hyperbolic equations, and then replacing some elements with more detailed (and expensive) three-dimensional models, where the Navier-Stokes equations are coupled with structural models through fluid-structure interaction algorithms. The coupling between models of different scale and type is addressed imposing the conservation equations in terms of averaged/integrated quantities (i.e., the flow rate and the normal component of the traction vector); in particular, three coupling strategies have been explored for the fluid problem. In all the cases, these strategies lead to small non-linear interface problems, which are solved using classical iterative algorithms.


Abstract Our framework formally explains some of the recent curious events surrounding deregulation of the British local bus industry. The winner-takes-all nature of this market induces competitive providers to engage in predatory or preemptive behavior in scheduling and pricing. Unlike previous works, we explicitly model consumers' responses to firms' schedule announcements. We show that the market is unstable if demand is uncoordinated, but stable otherwise. Our results highlight the important role played by demand-coordinating mechanisms in local bus markets and our results suggest that pure-strategy Nash equilibria exist in models a-la-Hotelling (1929) whenever demand is effectively coordinated.


Infrared spectroscopy is a convenient tool for determining the molecular conformations of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, as well as for identifying unknown chemical compounds. Previously, we have shown that infrared spectroscopy may be used to characterize the conformation of an abnormal protein found in pathologic specimens of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. The technique described in that paper is of limited general utility, however, because it requires that the abnormal protein deposit constitute the vast majority of the tissue specimen examined by infrared spectroscopy. In addition, it requires that the specimen be mounted on a relatively expensive CaF2 crystal. Since it is customary in diagnostic pathology to retain such mounted specimens in perpetuity, a new crystal would be required for each specimen, resulting in relatively high sample preparation costs. The recent availability of high-optical-quality infrared microscopes eliminates the requirement that the abnormal material of interest constitute most of the specimen to be examined. In this note we describe a method for preparing samples which drastically reduces the cost of preparing a permanent specimen while, at the same time, making it somewhat easier to acquire optimal spectra.


INTRODUCTION: To achieve the desired aesthetics of leaping in dance it is necessary that these movements are performed equally well from either leg. However, these leaps may naturally be better performed from the dominant leg than the non-dominant leg. A lack of relevant experimental evidence precludes an assessment of this idea. PURPOSE: To determine whether a dancer executes a leap from her dominant leg better than from her non-dominant leg. METHODS: Ten experienced college aged dancers, (20 ± 1.0 yr, 62.3 ± 8.3 kg, 1.67 ± 0.1 m), performed six trials of a stationary leap off of a force plate. Limb dominance in each participant was determined. Trials were filmed using a digital camera operating at 60 Hz. The right and left hip, knee, and ankle were digitized to determine knee angle. Maximum knee flexion in the plie, prior to take-off, was identified. Vertical velocity of the center of mass was computed using the force-time record. Mean differences in maximum knee flexion and take-off velocity between dominant and non-dominant leg jumps were evaluated using paired t-tests. An alpha level of 0.05 was used to assess significance. RESULTS: Maximum knee flexion was not significantly different between the dominant (73.2 ± 5.4 degrees) and non-dominant (73.2 ± 5.4 degrees) leg jumps, respectively (t(10) = .002, p=.999). Furthermore, take-off velocity for the dominant (2.25 ± 0.30 m/s) and non-dominant (2.09 ± 0.29 m/s) leg jumps was not significantly different (t(10) = 1.295, p=.228). CONCLUSION: This suggests that experienced dancers have acquired the ability to perform leaps equally well of off both legs.


The study of spatial and temporal crime patterns is important for both academic understanding of crime-generating processes and for policies aimed at reducing crime. However, studying crime and place is often made more difficult by restrictions on access to appropriate crime data. This means understanding of many spatio-temporal crime patterns are limited to data from a single geographic setting, and there are few attempts at replication. This article introduces the Crime Open Database (code), a database of 16 million offenses from 10 of the largest United States cities over 11 years and more than 60 offense types. Open crime data were obtained from each city, having been published in multiple incompatible formats. The data were processed to harmonize geographic co-ordinates, dates and times, offense categories and location types, as well as adding census and other geographic identifiers. The resulting database allows the wider study of spatio-temporal patterns of crime across multiple US cities, allowing greater understanding of variations in the relationships between crime and place across different settings, as well as facilitating replication of research.


Honor recognizes contributions to the advancement of women leaders in academic medicine Elizabeth Travis, Ph.D., associate vice president for Women Faculty Programs and professor in the Departments ofExperimental Radiation Oncology and Pulmonary Medicineat The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, has received the 2009 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Women in Medicine Leadership Development Award. The honor was presented today during a luncheon at the AAMC annual meeting in Boston. This distinction recognizes organizations and individuals who encourage academic women leaders through professional development and individual accomplishments, as well as create an environment conducive to their success. Travis is one of 17 people to receive this honor since 1993. "I have really enjoyed working with Dr. Travis over the past two years and admire her dedication to promote the careers of women faculty at M. D. Anderson," saidRaymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., provost and executive vice president at M. D. Anderson. "She works very hard on multiple fronts to support and advance the careers of our faculty in a number of ways." After earning a doctorate in experimental radiation from the Medical University of South Carolina, Travis completed post-graduate training at the Mount Vernon Hospital Gray Laboratory in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. She returned to the United States and served at the National Cancer Institute in 1979, and joined M. D. Anderson faculty in 1982 as associate professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Experimental Radiotherapy. She was appointed professor in 1988. In 1997, she was named the Mattie Allen Fair Professor in Cancer Research - a position she still holds today. In 2003, Travis received a joint appointment as professor in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine. Her advocacy for the advancement of women began in the early 1990s, when Travis helped establish M. D. Anderson's Women and Faculty Administrators Organization, a group committed to pursuing gender equity for women and minority faculty members. Her leadership for female faculty began eight years later, when she served as director for Women Faculty Initiatives in 1998. She was named advisor to the vice president for institutional diversity on women's issues from 2000 to 2001, then associate vice president for academic affairs in 2004. Travis has served in her current role since 2006. "It's a great honor to be recognized for my contributions to improve the careers of women in cancer research and medicine," Travis said. "Although we've made great strides to further advance this group, I will continue to pursue my vision for an organization committed to developing women physicians and scientists who will emerge as strong leaders in this field and examples for future generations." As head of Women Faculty Programs at M. D. Anderson, Travis has developed programs to bring high-profile leaders to the institution, mentored numerous women faculty, and identified opportunities to nominate women for awards outside and within the institution. To improve retention of women faculty, Travis spearheaded a policy change that extends the tenure clock for faculty members who are affected by a debilitating illness or expecting or adopting a child. She also established an annual salary review process to ensure equal compensation for women and minorities. To inspire future generations of women scientists, Travis created the book,Legends and Legacies: Personal Journeys of Women Physicians and Scientists at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Published in 2008, it features the personal journeys of 26 women faculty while in pursuit of their careers. Also, Travis established and secured an endowment for the Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award that recognizes an individual for his or her contributions to the advancement of women in cancer science and medicine; the inaugural award was presented this year. Over her career, Travis has served on more than 65 M. D. Anderson committees, received numerous awards that recognize her contributions to cancer research and authored more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. She is a member of eight professional societies and was recently appointed to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and named chair of the AACR Women in Cancer Research Council. "Dr. Travis has been a strong advocate for the advancement of women in academic medicine, both at M. D. Anderson and nationally," said Margaret Kripke, Ph.D., special advisor to the provost at M. D. Anderson. "I can think of no one who has brought more energy and dedication to promoting career opportunities for women in academic medicine and provided more enduring contributions."


Background and Aim: Colonic stenting is a novel and
privileged therapeutic option for malignant obstructions
of the large bowel, especially as a bridging procedure to
elective surgery. The aim of this retrospective study was to
compare the efficacy of the traditional surgical approach
with stent placement in the management of obstructing
colorectal tumours. Patients and Methods: Thirty-three
patients with malignant colonic obstruction were retrospectively
studied. Of them, 17 underwent a diversion colostomy
(group I), while 16 were treated with SEMS (group II). Early
outcome, late outcome and duration of hospitalisation were
evaluated. For statistical analysis chi-square and Student.s
t-test were used (statistical significance level P<0.05).
Results: One death in each group occurred within the first
3 days following colonic decompression. One case of pulmonary
embolism (group I) and one case of asymptomatic
colonic perforation (group II) were the only early morbid
situations complicating decompressing interventions.
Elective surgery was finally performed on 10 patients in
group I and in 9 patients in group II. One case of early
local recurrence after tumor resection was observed in the
stenting group. The cumulated mortality rate was estimated
at 6.9% and 9.1 % and cumulated morbidity rate at 20.7%
and 9.1% for the two groups respectively. The mean time of
hospitalization was significantly longer in the colostomy group. Conclusions: SEMS are effective for the temporary
treatment of malignant occlusions of the large bowel and
particularly advantageous not only because of their
technical simplicity but also good tolerance and quality of
life which they offer epecially in cases of locally or distally
extended disease.


Using existing classification results for the 7- and 8-cycles in the pancake graph, we determine the number of permutations that require 4 pancake flips (prefix reversals) to be sorted. A similar characterization of the 8-cycles in the burnt pancake graph, due to the authors, is used to derive a formula for the number of signed permutations requiring 4 (burnt) pancake flips to be sorted. We furthermore provide an analogous characterization of the 9-cycles in the burnt pancake graph. Finally we present numerical evidence that polynomial formulae exist giving the number of signed permutations that require $k$ flips to be sorted, with $5\leq k\leq9$.


We propose and evaluate antichain algorithms to solve the universality and language inclusion problems for nondeterministic Büchi automata, and the emptiness problem for alternating Büchi automata. To obtain those algorithms, we establish the existence of simulation pre-orders that can be exploited to efficiently evaluate fixed points on the automata defined during the complementation step (that we keep implicit in our approach). We evaluate the performance of the algorithm to check the universality of Büchi automata using the random automaton model recently proposed by Tabakov and Vardi. We show that on the difficult instances of this probabilistic model, our algorithm outperforms the standard ones by several orders of magnitude.


This paper addressed student perceptions and opinion of the problem based learning method, as well as the empirically collected data on students' learning outcomes on a Biomedical Engineering course, i.e. Management and Clinical Engineering. Pure lecture delivery with absence of practical intervention was deemed insufficient to provide appropriate means to achieve the course objectives. Therefore, a Mock Company assignment was introduced in this course as a problem based learning application aimed to aid the achievement of the program outcome while improving the attainment of the course objectives. The students were divided into groups to form individual mock company. Each mock company formed their organization post for each member, and came up with a business plan for a new project to be presented for fund approval by the panels, made up of the course instructors and invited lecturers from the clinical engineering industry and hospital practitioners. The company discussion progress and performance were monitored by the instructors through the formal university e- learning platform throughout the semester with occasional response and suggestions. The panels identified the expected lack of business and management knowledge but this was counteracted by the reasonably successful business plan produced independently by all companies' At the end of the semester, through questionnaires, 69.6% of the 56 students agreed that this mock company assignment was useful in achieving the course objectives and should be conducted in the following years. Students who performed weakly in this assignment also demonstrated lower performance in all evaluations including by traditional means (p = 0.01), although there were no direct associations amongst the problem-based and the traditional evaluations (r < 0.66). The students' responses also reflected their readiness to perform more independent learning approaches, despite them expressing the lack of clear scope and guideline, which is the nature of a problem-based learning experience.


Most studies of environmental regimes focus on the use of power, the pursuit of rational self-interest, and the influence of scientific knowledge. Lasse Ringius focuses instead on the influence of public ideas and policy entrepreneurs. He shows how transnational coalitions of policy entrepreneurs can build environmental regimes and how global environmental nongovernmental organizations can act as catalysts for regime change.This is the first book-length empirical study of the formation of the global ocean dumping regime in 1972 and its subsequent development, which culminated in the 1993 global ban on the dumping of low-level radioactive waste at sea. Ringius describes the structure within which global ocean dumping policy, particularly policy with regard to the disposal of radioactive waste, is embedded. He also examines the political construction of ocean dumping as a global environmental problem, the role of persuasion and communication in an international setting, and the formation of international public opinion. He does not argue that the influence of ideas alone explains how regimes develop, but claims that it is necessary to understand how actors, interests, and ideas together influence regimes and international environmental policy.


Compressed sensing (CS) is an emerging technique that exploits the properties of a sparse or compressible signal to efficiently and faithfully capture it with a sampling rate far below the Nyquist rate. The primary goal of compressed sensing is to achieve the best signal recovery with the least number of samples. To this end, two research directions have been receiving increasing attention: customizing the measurement matrix to the signal of interest and optimizing the reconstruction algorithm. In this thesis, contributions in both directions are made in the Bayesian setting for compressed sensing. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the approximate message passing (AMP) schemes, a new class of recovery algorithm that takes advantage of the statistical properties of the CS problem. First of all, a complete sample distortion (SD) framework is presented to fundamentally quantify the reconstruction performance for a certain pair of measurement matrix and recovery scheme. In the SD setting, the non-optimality region of the homogeneous Gaussian matrix is identified and the novel zeroing matrix is proposed with an improved performance. With the SD framework, the optimal sample allocation strategy for the block diagonal measurement matrix are derived for the wavelet representation of natural images. Extensive simulations validate the optimality of the proposed measurement matrix design. Motivated by the zeroing matrix, we extend the seeded matrix design in the CS literature to the novel modulated matrix structure. The major advantage of the modulated matrix over the seeded matrix lies in the simplicity of its state evolution dynamics. Together with the AMP based algorithm, the modulated matrix possesses a 1-D performance prediction system, with which we can optimize the matrix configuration. We then focus on a special modulated matrix form, designated as the two block matrix, which can also be seen as a generalization of the zeroing matrix. The effectiveness of the two block matrix is demonstrated through both sparse and compressible signals. The underlining reason for the improved performance is presented through the analysis of the state evolution dynamics. The final contribution of the thesis explores improving the reconstruction algorithm. By taking the signal prior into account, the Bayesian optimal AMP (BAMP) algorithm is demonstrated to dramatically improve the reconstruction quality. The key insight for its success is that it utilizes the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimator for the CS denoising. However, the prerequisite of the prior information makes it often impractical. A novel SURE-AMP algorithm is proposed to address the dilemma. The critical feature of SURE-AMP is that the Stein's unbiased risk estimate (SURE) based parametric least square estimator is used to replace the MMSE estimator. Given the optimization of the SURE estimator only involves the noisy data, it eliminates the need for the signal prior, thus can accommodate more general sparse models. Declaration of originality I declare that this thesis was composed by myself and that the work contained therein is my own, except where explicitly stated otherwise in the text. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification.


This volume deals with the relation between pragmatics and the philosophy of mind. Unlike most of the books written on the subject, it does not defend the view that a specific form of dependence holds between language and thought, to the exclusion of all other possible relations. Taking pragmatics in its original sense of "that part of semiotics that is concerned with the users of a semiotic system", the book analyses the nature of the mental processes and states mirrored in language use. Drawing on results from cognitive psychology, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, linguistics, etc., a unified view of the mental dimension in the use of language, both as an instrument of communication and as an instrument of thought, is offered. After offering a tour d'horizon of the relationship between language and mind, this volume deals with the way thought is manifested in language.


Purpose The aim of this prospective, noncomparative, observational case series was to evaluate changes to meibomian gland morphology in patients undergoing S-1 chemotherapy with the use of noninvasive meibography and analytical software. Methods Patients aged ≥20 years and undergoing S-1 chemotherapy were included. Ophthalmologic examinations were performed before S-1 administration (Pre) and at 1, 3, and 6 months afterward (1M, 3M, and 6M, respectively). Meibography images were analyzed using analytical software. The ratio of the total meibomian gland area relative to the whole measurement area (meibomian gland area ratio [MGAR]) and the rate of change to the MGAR (MGAR at Pre, 1M, 3M, or 6M)/(MGAR at Pre) × 100 were calculated. Results In total, 28 eyelids of seven men (mean age, 68.9 ± 6.3 years) were studied. The mean MGAR of the upper and lower eyelids significantly decreased at 3M (P = 0.0246 and P = 0.00892, respectively) and 6M (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001, respectively). There was a significant negative correlation between the cumulative dose of S-1 and the rate of change to the MGAR of the upper (P < 0.0001, r = −0.77) and lower (P < 0.0001, r = −0.785) eyelids. However, there was no other significant difference. Conclusions The meibomian gland area decreased after S-1 administration with significant correlations between the rate of change to the MGAR and the mean cumulative dose of S-1. Translational Relevance Systemic S-1 administration decreased the MGAR in a dose-dependent manner; thus, clinicians should pay more attention to morphologic changes to the meibomian glands during early treatment with S-1.


The National Benchmark Test Project (NBTP) was commissioned by Higher Education South Africa in 2005 to assess the academic proficiency of prospective students. The competencies assessed include quantitative literacy using the NBTP QL test. This instrument is a criterion-referenced multiple-choice test developed collaboratively by South African academics and provides complementary information to that provided by the norm-referenced school-leaving examination. In this paper we outline the theoretical framework that provides the foundation for the NBTP QL test and describe the test construct. In the QL test specifications, there are three dimensions specified for each item: the competencies (reasoning and behaviour) that are required to answer the item correctly, the main mathematical and statistical ideas the item addresses, and a characterisation of the level of cognitive processing the item calls for. The results are reported using benchmarks which place students' scores into proficiency bands which indicate the extent to which curricula should be responsive to their level of preparedness. We discuss the extent to which the NBTP QL test is succeeding in contributing to meeting the goals of the NBT project. The test is intended to provide institutions with information that will assist with admissions and placement decisions, but the QL test scores are not used uniformly for these purposes across the higher education sector. The NBTP QL test results show that the majority of students are severely underprepared for the QL demands of higher education and that a comprehensive systemic response requiring curriculum change at many levels is required.


This study identified biased test items through differential item functioning analysis using four contingency table approaches: Chi-Square, Distracter Response Analysis, Logistic Regression, and Mantel-Haenszel Statistic. The study made use of test scores of 200 junior high school students. One hundred students came from a public school, and the other 100 were private school examinees. One hundred students were males and 100 were females. Basing from their English II grades, 95 students were classified as low ability and 105 as high ability students. A researcher-constructed and validated Chemistry Achievement Test was used as research instrument. The results from the four methods used were compared, and it was found that school type, gender, and English ability bias exists. There was a high degree of agreement between the Logistic Regression and the Mantel-Haenszel Statistic in identifying biased test items.


This document from the archive, along with various others from the 1960s and 1970s, was stamped 'for private circulation'. After some debate, staff of the Development and Population Studies programmes (University of KwaZulu-Natal) have taken the decision to digitise and make them available for the following reasons. Firstly it is normal practise to release once-confidential documents into the public domain after a long period of time. Secondly, the documents are not raw research material but rather finished research reports.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Children with shunted hydrocephalus have been undergoing surveillance neuroimaging, generally in the form of head CT, for evaluation of ventricular size. As the life expectancy of these children has improved due to better shunt technology and medical care, risks related to the ionizing radiation incurred during multiple head CT examinations that they are expected to undergo throughout their lifetime have become a concern. The purpose of this study is to estimate the LAR of developing fatal cancer due to head CT for ventricular size assessment in children with shunted hydrocephalus and to assess the impact of instituting a rapid brain MR imaging protocol in reducing radiation exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of medical records yielded 182 patients who underwent neuroimaging for assessment of ventricular size. Available neuroimaging studies (head CT and rapid brain MR) were counted and annual neuroimaging frequency was calculated. It was assumed that these patients undergo a similar number of neuroimaging studies annually through 20 years of age. A risk estimate was calculated based on the BEIR VII report and effective doses obtained using the International Commission on Radiologic Protection Report 103 organ weighting factors. RESULTS: The mean annual neuroimaging study frequency was 2.1. Based on the average age of 1.89 years, it was assumed neuroimaging surveillance commences in the second year of life. LAR was calculated assuming that a patient undergoes neuroimaging in the form of head CT at this frequency (2/year) through 20 years of age. Assuming 2 scans are performed per year and the low-dose head CT protocol is used, approximately 1 excess lifetime fatal cancer would be generated per 230 patients; with standard head CT, there would be 1 excess lifetime fatal cancer per 97 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Children with shunted hydrocephalus are at increased risk of developing fatal cancer if they are to undergo surveillance using head CT. Implementation of a rapid brain MR imaging protocol with no radiation detriment will reduce this risk.


Due to the short path length of alpha particles in air, a detector that can be used at a distance from any potential radiological contamination reduces the time and hazard that traditional alpha detection methods incur. This would reduce costs and protect personnel in nuclear power generation and decommissioning activities, where alpha detection is crucial to full characterisation and contamination detection. Stand-off alpha detection could potentially be achieved by the detection of alpha-induced radioluminescence, especially in the ultraviolet C (UVC) wavelength range (180–280 nm) where natural and artificial background lighting is less likely to interfere with detection. However, such a detector would also have to be effective in the field, potentially in the presence of other radiation sources that could mask the UVC signal. This work exposed a UVC sensor, the UVTRON (Hamamatsu, Japan) and associated electronics (driver circuit, microprocessor) to sources of beta and gamma radiation in order to assess its response to both of these types of radiation, as may be found in the field where a mixed radiation environment is likely. It has been found that the UVTRON is affected by both gamma and beta radiation of a magnitude that would mask any UVC signal being detected. 152Eu generated 0.01 pulses per second per Bq through beta and gamma interactions, compared to 210Po, which generates 4.72 × 10−8 cps per Bq from UVC radioluminescence, at 20 mm separation. This work showed that UVTRON itself is more susceptible to this radiation than the associated electronics. The results of this work have implications for the use of the UVTRON as a sensor in a stand-off detection system, highlighting the necessity for shielding from both potential gamma and beta radiation in any detector design.


Summary Over a 9-day period in February 1995, 16 newborn babies (age range 2–11 days) and 3 infants (24, 47 and 180 days of age) in a neonatal nursery ward developed diarrhoea accompanied by pyrexia and weight loss. Known enteropathogens were not detected in their stools but Escherichia coli displaying aggregative adherence to HEp-2 cells (enteroaggregative E. coli) were found in 12 (63%) ill infants and in none of 5 well neonates (P = 0·02). The illness lasted 3–9 days (mean 5·2) in 16 babies, whereas in 3 neonates it showed a protracted course of 18–20 days. The source of infection and the mode of transmission remained unclear. The outbreak isolates manifested properties common in this new group of diarrhoeagenic E. coli: mannose-resistant haemagglutination, haemolysis on blood agar, and clump formation in liquid culture medium. They belonged to the O4 E. coli serogroup and expressed multiple antibiotic resistance.


The spectrally constrained diffuse optical tomography (DOT) method relies on incorporating spectral prior information directly into the image reconstruction algorithm, thereby correlating the underlying optical properties across multiple wavelengths. Although this method has been shown to provide a solution that is stable, the use of conventional Tikhonov-type regularization techniques can lead to additional crosstalk between parameters, particularly in linear, single-step dynamic imaging applications. This is due mainly to the suboptimal regularization of the spectral Jacobian matrix, which smoothes not only the image-data space, but also the spectral mapping space. In this work a novel regularization technique based on the singular value decomposition (SVD) is presented that preserves the spectral prior information while regularizing the Jacobian matrix, leading to dramatically reduced crosstalk between the recovered parameters. Using simulated data, images of changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentrations are reconstructed via the SVD-based approach and compared with images reconstructed by using non-spectral and conventional spectral methods. In a 2D, two wavelength example, it is shown that the proposed approach provides a 98% reduction in crosstalk between recovered parameters as compared with conventional spectral reconstruction algorithms, and 60% as compared with non-spectrally constrained algorithms. Using a subject specific multilayered model of the human head, a noiseless dynamic simulation of cortical activation is performed to further demonstrate such improvement in crosstalk. However, with the addition of realistic noise in the data, both non-spectral and proposed algorithms perform similarly, indicating that the use of spectrally constrained reconstruction algorithms in dynamic DOT may be limited by the contrast of the signal as well as the noise characteristics of the system.


In this paper, we study how globalization impacts on the structure and governance patterns of value chains and on the resilience of local clusters. We study the value chains related to two Basque (Spain) companies in the wind energy industry, Iberdrola and Gamesa, and the local cluster to which they belong. We find that firms within the cluster have different types of relationships with lead companies depending on their competences and the complexity of their products. As a consequence, firms also present different potential for growth and/or resilience: some have the capacity to internationalize their operations and/or shift to the offshore wind market, others are vulnerable to competition from providers in the emerging countries. Against this context, we discuss how the cluster responds to these challenges and the role of policy.


Abstract The information era has begun to create major shifts in educational systems, including those in undergraduate medical and graduate psychiatric training programmes. Despite these changes, teaching and learning in formal educational settings remains predominately the product of the intersection between educator, learners, assessment and context. This article reviews intrinsic and external forces influencing each of these elements, such as intergenerational differences in teaching and learning styles, education technologies as they relate to delivery and maintenance of curricula, competency frameworks of assessment, and individual learning and teaching development plans. Maintaining a focus on the relationship between these factors and re-conceptualizing psychiatric education and formal medical education systems in general as a mutual two-way learning exchange between participants will promote careers of lifelong learning.


The novel corona virus (COVID-19) has slowed down a lot of human activities in the world. A lockdown for a period of 2 months, due to the pandemic, was enough to cause a drop of 7% of the anthropogonic CO2 in the atmosphere. In addition to the world in general, the excess of the anthropogonic CO2 emission in the atmosphere has always been a threat to the oceans as well. Oceans play a key role to buffer the greenhouse effect, but in the process, it becomes warmer, more acidic, and less oxygenated. While there have already been investigations done on the effect of pandemic on atmosphere, the question what happens to oceans during the pandemic remains unanswered. The aim of this paper is to study the pandemic's effect and the resultant reduction in CO2 emissions on the productivity of the global oceans. Often Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Particulate organic and inorganic carbon (PIC:POC) and sea surface temperature(SST), are used to indicate the productivity of oceans. Herein, satellite-derived estimates of the aforementioned parameters are used. Based on these estimates, a drop in Chl-a (0.5 mgm-3) is observed off Alaska, North Europe,South China and Southeast USA during the pandemic. CO2 reduction of 123 MtCO2 during the pandemic in China might have caused reduction in mean Chl-a by around 5% (2.5 to 1.6 mgm-3). Reduction of Chl-a during the pandemic is mostly associated with the reduction of PIC:POC. The pandemic demonstrates noticeable effect on Chl-a and/or SST. A cooling response of 0.5 oC in mean SST is observed over most of the coastal areas, especially off Alaska,north Indian ocean and eastern Pacific. The decrease in the CO2 emissions in India by 30% during the pandemic translates into a drop of mean SST in the north Indian ocean by 5% (from 29.95 to 28.46 oC). All these suggest that maintaining global activities as sustainable as the pandemic period, can help to recover the oceans.


This article builds on my previous work on K-12 bullying and bullying in college and universities. Much like school bullying, workplace bullying, including violence and harassment, disrupts individuals and the companies for which they work. Currently, companies, policymakers and academics around the world struggle with the best approach for addressing this inappropriate behavior. In a recent article, Professor David Yamada invited academics and practitioners to consider how therapeutic jurisprudence may impact the problem of workplace bullying. Accepting Professor Yamada's invitation to join in this dialogue, I urge companies and policymakers that seek guidance on this issue to look to forward-thinking schools and juvenile justice systems that incorporate restorative principles and practices. These institutions report positive results and less problem behavior after using restorative practices. Companies likewise can benefit from using restorative practices when addressing bullying. This article documents the prevalence of workplace bullying and the human and capital costs of such behavior. The article then briefly describes the concept of restorative practices and analyzes the benefits and opportunities the approach would have in the context of workplace bullying. The final section of the article explores potential roadblocks to implementing restorative practices in the workplace and concludes by offering concrete ideas on future steps companies and policymakers should take to implement restorative practices.


Abstract For much of the last third of the 20th century, the diversity of funnel-eared bats (family Natalidae) was underestimated. Although as many as four genera and 11 species were recognized by the mid 20th century, by the 1980s the family was traditionally listed as comprising a single genus of four or five species. In the past decade, the taxonomy of Natalidae has been updated by the discovery of new extant and fossil taxa, the rediscovery of taxa thought to be extinct, and the revalidation of old synonyms at the genus and species levels on the basis of new morphological and molecular evidence. Here, I provide a complete taxonomic revision of Natalidae based on the examination of all taxa described thus far within the family. Thirteen species are recognized here, including an extinct form. New diagnoses, descriptions, and illustrations are provided for each species, including summaries of published information on their natural history, discussions of their conservation status, and an illustrated identification key. The Natalidae appears to be an adaptively diverse clade of bats with distinct ecomorphs in terms of food acquisition, food processing, and mating systems.


Creative writing as a postgraduate discourse occupies a liminal space in Australian universities. A poor relation of a poor relation, it is marginal in the university environment as a whole and there are internal tensions regarding creative writing's disciplinary place within humanities/English departments. Further, there is no consensus on what constitutes a postgraduate creative writing exegesis, which comprises up to half the award. In the absence of adequate definition a space opens up that can be used to probe the grey areas of our discipline. Postgraduate writers are uniquely placed to influence the terms of future discussions on creative writing pedagogy by using the space of the creative writing exegesis to question its necessity and function, and to explore more general questions of creativity and assessment. But at the same time as postgraduates have this opportunity, it is important to realise that the terms of higher degree assessment influence the nature of the writing produced within them. The two assessable parts are in dialogue not just with each other but also with our interpretation of our obligations as postgraduates. Therefore, there is the need for a co-operative, imaginative approach to postgraduate discourse, where the possibilities and potentials of the exegesis are encouraged to unfold, particularly using the in-between status that defines the discipline's liminality.


This photovoice facilitator's manual is a product developed to help research facilitators design and implement a comprehensive photovoice research project in collaboration with community stakeholders. Photovoice is a popular technique used for community-based participatory research (1). Photovoice uses a combination of photography and critical group discussions to engage participants as experts in the analysis of research topics and then use this knowledge for social action. This manual was developed after nine months of design and implementation of a photovoice project entitled "From Snapshot to Civic Action Photovoice Project," which was conducted in Columbia, South Carolina during the summer and fall of 2010. This manual includes information on how to design, plan and implement a photovoice project, as well as helpful tips and resource documents that could be used as examples for other photovoice projects. This manual is intended to be used by academic or community researchers attempting to utilizethe photovoice technique as a way to engage communities in community-based participatoryresearch. It was designed to help researchers think through all aspects of a photovoice project design to promote successful implementation. This manual is designed to be generalizable and applicable to any community setting or population with any research topic. Researchers will benefit from this manual's thorough discussion of each step of a photovoice project from design and implementation to analysis and dissemination of findings. The potential audiences for this manual include academic as well as non-academic research facilitators who are new to the photovoice process, or those who have experience with photovoice but would like to refine their process.


The article examines the factors affecting the basis for corn and soybeans using several time-series techniques to account for potential structural breaks, seasonality, residual serial correlation and structural breaks, as well as potential endogeneity and nonstationarity. The spatio-temporal empirical framework is based on storage and trade theories which assume the relationship between nondelivery location's spot price and futures price of a storable commodity depends on opportunity cost of capital, warehousing costs, a convenience yield and shipping costs. The interest rate effect is strong for both crops with shipping costs also affecting soybean basis and own inventory levels positively correlated with corn basis. The effect of the wedge between the price of carrying physical grain and the maximum storage rate on basis is positive for both crops. The empirical results, which are robust to multiple estimators, provide stronger evidence of a structural break for the soybean basis than for the corn basis.


Carriage rate of HIV infection among ABO and rhesus blood groups was conducted on one thousand five hundred and twenty subjects randomly selected from fifteen health institu-tions in Adamawa State. Prior to the enrollment of the subjects in the study, ethical ap-proval of the health institutions was obtained and the informed consent of the subjects sought. One thousand and thirty apparently healthy subjects were enrolled as test group while another 490 known subjects were enrolled as control group. 5ml of blood sample was collected from each subject, out which 3ml was put in plain container to extract serum needed for HIV serotyping, while the remaining 2ml was put in EDTA container for blood grouping. Analysis of ABO blood group system showed a higher distribution (50.6%) of group O and the lowest (11.7%) of group AB individuals. Statistical analysis however showed no significant difference in the distribution of ABO blood groups in the state (P>0.05). The overall prevalence of HIV infection was 12.6%. Statistically, there was signifi-cant difference in the prevalence of HIV sero-types in the state (P<0.05). Also, Blood group AB recorded the highest rate of HIV-2 infection (71.4%) and the least prevalence of HIV-1 (7.1%) whereas seroprevalence of HIV sero-type was significantly higher among rhesus D positive subjects than their rhesus D negative counterparts (P<0.05).


Voyager 1 recently crossed the termination shock at the edge of our heliosphere. In contrast to the expectations of essentially all prior models, however, Voyager 1 did not observe the source of Anomalous Cosmic Rays (ACRs) as had been widely anticipated. We show here that the dearth of higher energy particles near the nose of the heliosphere is a natural consequence of the magnetic geometry in the region ahead of a flattened shock. Particle energization happens primarily back along the flanks of the shock where the injection energy is lower and where the magnetic field has had progressively longer connection times to accelerate particles. In addition to explaining the most baffling aspects of the Voyager 1 observations, this paradigm makes explicit predictions about what should be observed when Voyager 2 reaches the termination shock, significantly further back from its nose.


Mutations in the gene GJB2 encoding the gap-junction protein connexin 26 (Cx26), in particular, and in GJB6 coding for connexin 30 (Cx30) are the most common cause of autosomal recessive sensorineural hearing loss in many world populations. Variants of GJB2 are also associated with dominant forms of both nonsyndromic and syndromic deafness. A complex picture of the roles of gap junctions in cochlear physiology has emerged. Rather than being mere conduits for the circulation of potassium ions in the inner ear, gap junctions have been implicated in the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis and in intercellular signalling among nonsensory cells. Studies of mutant channels and mouse models for connexin-related deafness have provided valuable insights into the heterogeneous mechanisms by which connexin mutations may cause cochlear dysfunction. Despite recent advances it is still not fully understood what roles gap junctions play in the inner ear and how connexin mutations cause deafness.

Key Concepts:

GJB2 and GJB6 have been mapped to the DFNB1 locus, which accounts for up to 50% of all cases of autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss.

Molecular genetic tests for DFNB1 should include DNA sequencing of the GJB2 exons and mutation analysis for GJB6 deletions.

The identification of factors underlying the phenotypic variability of connexin-related hearing loss may improve clinical diagnosis and genetic counselling.

A better understanding of the role of gap-junctional communication in the inner ear and the structure–function relationships of connexin proteins is required for the development of mechanism-based treatments of connexin-associated hearing loss.

Keywords:

gap junction;
connexin;
inner ear;
cochlea;
hearing loss;
deafness


The Awkward Age(1899), written at a time when female emancipation and the double standard were subjects of fierce debate, is the most remarkable example of James's dramatic method. The novel traces the experiences of 18-year-old Nanda Brookenham, exposed to corruption in the salon of her youthful, 'modern' mother, who, in maintaining a circle where talk is shockingly sophisticated, 'must sacrifice either her daughter or...her intellectual habits'. Does Nanda reach maturity and self-knowledge in the lively company of handsome, genial Vanderbank, whom she loves, and of ugly, intelligent, parvenu Mitchy, who loves her? Or is she a symbol of sterile idealism, as she clings to old Mr Longdon, with his memories of Nanda's grandmother, and of an aristocracy once untouched by money-troubles and dubious French novels? A sense of suppressed violence lurks behind this powerful story of virginal innocence and its importance in the marriage market.


The synchronization in financial markets has increased during the rise of global markets. Nevertheless, global shocks provoke high levels of returns synchronization that jeopardize market stability. Using correlation-based networks, regressions, and VAR models, we measure and estimate the effect of global synchronization on the world equity markets of North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania between July 2001 and April 2020. We find that our measure of global stock synchronization is dynamic over time, its minimums coincide with significant financial shocks, and it shrinks to its minimum levels, indicating that the returns of global markets are moving in a synchronized way. Also, it is a significant and positive factor of regional synchronization. Regional markets react heterogeneously to global synchronization shocks suggesting both local and global factors are sources of synchronization. Our work helps market participants who need to measure, monitor, and manage the synchronization of returns in a parsimonious, dynamic, and empirically tractable way. Our evidence highlights the necessity of including synchronization as a risk factor to assess the decision-making criteria of a broad range of market participants ranging from regulators to investors. To policy-makers, governments, and central banks, our work is a call to incorporate events of high global synchronization into the radar of hazards of the whole market stability.


This paper discusses the value of context in theory development in information systems IS research. We examine how prior research has incorporated context in theorizing and develop a framework to classify existing approaches to contextualization. In addition, we expound on a decomposition approach to contextualization and put forth a set of guidelines for developing context-specific models. We illustrate the application of the guidelines by constructing and comparing various context-specific variations of the technology acceptance model TAM---i.e., the decomposed TAM that incorporates interaction effects between context-specific factors, the extended TAM with context-specific antecedents, and the integrated TAM that incorporates mediated moderation and moderated mediation effects of context-specific factors. We tested the models on 972 individuals in two technology usage contexts: a digital library and an agile Web portal. The results show that the decomposed TAM provides a better understanding of the contexts by revealing the direct and interaction effects of context-specific factors on behavioral intention that are not mediated by the TAM constructs of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This work contributes to the ongoing discussion about the importance of context in theory development and provides guidance for context-specific theorizing in IS research.


The Clifford+T quantum gate library has attracted much interest in the design of quantum circuits, particularly since the contained operations can be implemented in a fault-tolerant manner. Since fault tolerant implementations of the T gate have very high latency, synthesis and optimization are aiming at minimizing the number of T stages, referred to as the T-depth. In this paper, we present an approach to map mixed polarity multiple controlled Toffoli gates into Clifford+T quantum circuits. Our approach is based on the multiple control Toffoli mapping algorithms proposed by Barenco et al., which are given T-depth optimized Clifford+T translations. Experiments show that our approach leads to a significant T-depth reduction of 54% on average.


Manifestilaadne artikkel "Tehnikapööre ja luulekääne: tule jumal appi" kuulutab uute jumalate kohalesaabumist autori isiklike kogemuste varal. Kogunenud teadmisi ja aimdusi tõlgendatakse Heideggeri-järgses mõtiskluses, mis ühelt poolt lähtub filosoofi post-metafüüsilisest luulekesksest süsteemist, teisalt aga kasvab sellest kriitiliselt üle.

"A Technical Turn and Poetic Declination: God help us" is a post-Heideggerian contemplation with a touch of personal manifest[ation]. It takes his post-metaphysical poetry-driven system as its point of departure for a free, idiosyncratic interpretation, yet simultaneously critically challenges it. Graphically, Heidegger's theoretical vision – not so self-evident in the whole heideggeriana – is depicted as a four-step decline of epochs of subsequent worldviews: mythological, religious, humanistic (i.e., modern), and technological (post-modern). The important question is: What comes next? Heidegger assumes that the post-technological era (in a sense, post-post-modernism) must involve some return of the gods in a vague fading form; however, he does not yet recognize its arrival. He has not personally experienced it, he only speculates and hopes for the best.
Five theses are postulated upon this concept. First, technological supremacy should not be  demonized since a new worldview might emerge from the inner way technology surfaces. Second, art should not deny the technological manner of revelation, given its importance. Third, Heidegger's speculation about a new god who will manifest itself in a hint could not originate from his actual encounter with god. Fourth, he speaks of a possible turn within the technology-induced world yet still hopes to restore the ancient quadrangle of mortals, immortals, earth, and sky, which does not represent any transcending change. Five, new gods can grow out of human beings themselves, being very close to them. This can stem from a reflective feedback mechanism, a morally grounded mirroring power human beings possess. Epiphanic happenings originate from human minds and deeds but return to them from the outside and, thus, can't be deliberately created and controlled. Subsequently, individual insights can merge to unite larger groups into social patterns: a new, fully scientific religion can emerge.
A marvelous example to consider is recorded in the documentary about recently deceased Catholic priest Vello Salo: Vello Salo. Igapäevaelu müstika. Film vanaks saamise ilust (Vello Salo: The Mystery of Everyday Life: A Film on the Beauty of Ageing, 2018). Director Jaan Tootsen manages to address one instance of divine feedback, which may provide unique value to theology and phenomenological philosophy. At the request of a sister of the Pirita Convent, Salo screwed a portable sculpture of Christ onto a wooden cross. Although the priest saw that he had failed to turn the screw in fully, he was certain it would hold. Nevertheless, in the middle of mass, the statue of Christ jumped to the floor right in front of the congregation and Salo among them. The psychological origin of this event can be sought from his internal conflict. The film depicts a grumpy old man on the verge of death who actively protests being old and insults everyone around him; and yet, it represents the act of a servant of God who has preached the salvation of heaven his whole life to feel more at peace with death's approach. This moral dilemma resulted in a disgraceful "punishment," attributable not to some God in the clouds, but rather traceably to Salo himself: he chastises himself through this instructive, albeit impersonally mediated act. This event was based entirely on himself, his pre- or unconsciousness, yet was not consciously actualized. This was an objectified moral reflection from an external environment. We can admit, however, that Father Salo was a happy person, who, by the end of his life, had managed to become the humble "donkey of Christ" he had always dreamed of being. This, then, proves to be an unprecedented, representative, and theological tool of study.
These kinds of reflective events have long interested the author of this article, having experienced them several times in his own conscious life. It is important to note, however, that one should not paranoically interpret or project non-existent meanings. Even if moral punishment seems to be the influence behind these cases, their broader meaning remains favorable to human beings in that they act as divine precautions. It is possible, then, to be a convinced atheist, but still acknowledge the phenomenon, which ancient people frequently had reason to call divine. Such divinity is very close to man, originating directly from within himself, not from an abstract and hypostatic distance. The new gods that Heidegger still has not met are apparently just so: coming together, step-by-step, and not escaping from us.


The space-time variations in water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) over the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) regions are investigated using six years of observations from the Aura-MLS to understand the ASM role in transporting water vapor to the tropical stratosphere. While some previous studies indicated that the ASM plays a role in dehydrating the lower stratosphere, the present investigations revealed that the ASM region plays an active role in hydrating rather than dehydrating the tropical lower stratosphere. The analysis also shows that only during the month of August (ASM) is moist air pumped into the lower stratosphere over the two key geographical locations (India and Western Pacific). The air parcel from the tropical tropopause takes approximately 10 12 months to reach the mid-stratosphere with an ascent rate of 2.8 × 10-4 m s-1. Thus it is envisaged that the present results will have important implications in understanding the exchange processes across the tropopause and its role in stratosphere chemistry.


The application of DNA sequencing to studies of the New Zealand biota is illustrated by investigations into the evolutionary relationships of skinks in the genus Leiolopisma. DNA sequences from a region of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene were determined for 20 taxa by use of the polymerase chain reaction. A vertebrate secondary structure model for this part of the gene was developed using comparative sequence analysis and calculations of RNA folding energies. Approximately one third of the molecule does not vary between the vertebrates examined, and there are similar patterns of sequence variability among the vertebrates. The secondary structure model was subsequently used to assist phylogenetic analyses of the skink sequence data set. Analyses of the mitochondrial DNA sequence information, using newly developed and more sophisticated algorithms, did not produce a fully resolved phylogenetic tree for all the skinks, though relationships between some taxa are less ambiguous. The lack of resolution does not appear to be due to limitations in the analytical methods, nor to the patterns of nucleotide substitutions in the skink 12S rRNA sequences. The skink sequence data set is unusual in that most of the taXa have similar numbers of nucleotide substitutions when compared to each other. These results are interpreted as reflecting a rapid divergence of the Leiolopisma group of skinks. Simulation studies support this interpretation. Three hypotheses are presented to account for the patterns of sequence differences between the skinks. One proposes a Gondwanan divergence of the Leiolopisma group, about 80 million years ago. Under this hypothesis the distribution of the skinks on islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans can be explained, in part, by continental drift. A second hypothesis suggests that New Zealand Leioiopisma are derived from a Miocene (15-25 million years ago) evolutionary radiation in New Zealand. This hypothesis however is inconsistent with observations of the sequence similarities between Mauritian, Australian, and New Zealand skinks. A third hypothesis, proposing several independent colonizations of New Zealand by Leioiopisma, is also not as well supported by the available sequence data. However, a close relationship between the l2S rRNA sequences of one New Zealand species L. inJrapunctatum and the Australian Lamprophoiis guichenoti suggests that at least two skink immigrations to, or emigrations from, New Zealand may have occurred. Predictions of the three hypotheses and strategies to test them are discussed. Some of the conclusions derived from analyses of the mitochondrial DNA sequences conflict with those obtained from allozyme information, though there are points of agreement. Comparison of the allozyme and sequence data do also revealed a case of hybridization between two sympatric species, L. n. polychroma and L. maccanni, at a site in Southland. Analyses of both data sets indicate that the morphological similarity of Leioiopisma species obscLI!es a large amount of genetic diversity, and the evolutionary histories of New Zealand Leiolopisma are older and more complex than previously considered. Further genetical and ecological studies of Leioiopisma are required, but this thesis emphasizes both the suitability and necessity of molecular genetic approaches for evolutionary investigations in New Zealand.


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A Clos-network switch architecture is attractive because of its scalability. Previously proposed implementable dispatching schemes from the first stage to the second stage, such as random dispatching (RD), are not able to achieve high throughput unless the internal bandwidth is expanded. This paper presents two round-robin-based dispatching schemes to overcome the throughput limitation of the RD scheme. First, we introduce a concurrent round-robin dispatching (CRRD) scheme for the Clos-network switch. The CRRD scheme provides high switch throughput without expanding internal bandwidth. CRRD implementation is very simple because only simple round-robin arbiters are adopted. We show via simulation that CRRD achieves 100% throughput under uniform traffic. When the offered load reaches 1.0, the pointers of round-robin arbiters at the first- and second-stage modules are completely desynchronized and contention is avoided. Second, we introduce a concurrent master-slave round-robin dispatching (CMSD) scheme as an improved version of CRRD to make it more scalable. CMSD uses hierarchical round-robin arbitration. We show that CMSD preserves the advantages of CRRD, reduces the scheduling time by 30% or more when arbitration time is significant and has a dramatically reduced number of crosspoints of the interconnection wires between round-robin arbiters in the dispatching scheduler with a ratio of 1/√N, where N is the switch size. This makes CMSD easier to implement than CRRD when the switch size becomes large.


Abstract Acrylamide (AA) has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by IARC. AA is generated in carbohydrate-rich foodstuff upon heating and its discovery in a variety of fried foods has raised public health concerns since oral consumption of AA could be an additional risk factor for cancer. Glycidamide (GA), formed via epoxidation, presumably by cytochrome P450 2E1, is considered the ultimate genotoxic agent playing a central role in AA carcinogenesis. Previous studies done by our group reported a strong correlation between GA-induction of Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCE) and GA-DNA adducts, suggesting the possible involvement of Base Excision Repair (BER) and Homologous Recombination Repair (HRR) pathways in AA/GA induced DNA damage. Presently there is a lot of information concerning the mechanisms of genotoxicity of AA and GA in mammalian cells, however this is not the case for the role of AA and GA in gene expression. In view of this, we studied gene expression in non-malignant mammary cell line (MCF10A) and in isolated human lymphocytes using a high-throughput technique, the RT2 Profiler PCR arrays: Human DNA Damage Signaling Pathway. In our experimental protocol we exposed MCF10A cells to AA and GA (10 μM) for 1, 2 and 24 h periods. Moreover, to discern the possible differences of cultured cell lines and isolated lymphocytes, we exposed isolated lymphocytes from two healthy donors to GA (10 μM) for a period of 2 h. A value of p ≤0.05, and a fold change greater than 1.1 and lower than -1.1, were considered to be significant in gene expression dysregulation. Concerning MCF10A cell line, the results obtained in 24h exposure showed that neither AA nor GA influenced the expression of the genes considered when compared to respective non-treated controls. However, for 1 h exposure it was observed that of the 84 studied genes, only GADD45A was up-regulated and GTSE1 was down-regulated for both compounds. On the other hand, MRE11A was only up-regulated in GA exposure. In what respect to 2 h exposure, of all the genes studied, 7 were significantly up-regulated (DMC1, GADD45G, MPG, RAD9A, XRCC3, XPA and XRCC6) and 2 down-regulated (GTF2H1 and GTSE1) for AA exposure and 16 were up-regulated (AIFM1, ATRX, DMC1, GADD45G, MNAT1, MPG, PMS2L3, RAD18, RAD51, RAD51L1, RAD9A, TREX1, XPA, XPC, XRCC3 and XRCC6) and 1 down-regulated (GTSE1) for GA exposure. The results obtained regarding the study done with isolated lymphocytes exposed to GA (10 μM) for a 2 h period showed that GA up-regulated 1 gene for each donor, RAD51 for donor 1 and UNG for donor 2. However, when individuals were pooled, no statistical significance results were observed, what may be related to the importance of inter-individual variability in gene expression. In fact, several Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP's) can modulate the level of DNA damage induced by AA and GA, and for that reason, this variability should be taking into account. The overall results obtained from the genes identified in this methodology are in general associated with DNA repair, specifically with BER and HRR, but also with apoptosis. In the future, Western blots should be performed in order to analyze the protein levels associated with representative genes identified and further studies should be conducted in human lymphocytes concerning other exposure periods, to account for variations in reaction between cell lines and isolated human lymphocytes. Moreover the number of donors should be increased to ascertain the possible effect of inter-individual variations in our study. Citation Format: Marta Pingarilho, João P. Lima, Célia Martins, José Rueff, Jorge F. Gaspar. Gene expression induced by acrylamide and glycidamide in mammalian cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr 82.


Earlier work on scheduling by autonomous systems has demonstrated that schedules in the form of simple temporal networks, with intervals of values for possible event-times, can be made "dispatchable", i.e. executable incrementally in real time with guarantees against failure due to unfortunate event-time selections. In this work we show how the property of dispatchability can be extended to networks that include constraints for consumable resources. We first determine conditions under which a component of the network composed of resource constraints associated with a single sequence of activities that use a resource ("bout") will support dispatchability. Then we show how to handle interactions between resource and temporal subnetworks to insure dispatchability and how to handle sequences of bouts interspersed with resource release. The results demonstrate that flexible handling of resource use can be safely extended to the execution layer to provide more effective deployment of consumable resources.


Navigating social systems efficiently is critical to our species. Humans appear endowed with a cognitive system that has formed to meet the unique challenges that emerge for highly social species. Bullshitting, communication characterised by an intent to be convincing or impressive without concern for truth, is ubiquitous within human societies. Across two studies (N = 1,017), we assess participants' ability to produce satisfying and seemingly accurate bullshit as an honest signal of their intelligence. We find that bullshit ability is associated with an individual's intelligence and individuals capable of producing more satisfying bullshit are judged by second-hand observers to be more intelligent. We interpret these results as adding evidence for intelligence being geared towards the navigation of social systems. The ability to produce satisfying bullshit may serve to assist individuals in negotiating their social world, both as an energetically efficient strategy for impressing others and as an honest signal of intelligence.


Laboratory experiments showed that cyprids of Balanus balanoides settled readily only when offered surfaces which bore settled barnacles of their own species, or the cemented bases left on surfaces from which these barnacles had been removed. Without such surfaces they proved to be capable of postponing setting for at least 2 weeks, and they chose such surfaces in preference to similar surfaces which bore related species. Cyprids of B. crenatus and Elminius modestus were also capable of making this choice.

Setting usually occurred in the immediate vicinity of barnacles or bases, but some cyprids crawled short distances away during their final reconnaissances. When they encountered barnacles attached to glass, they were stimulated to proceed with setting, but they swam away from this unfavourably smooth surface and settled on bare stones nearby.

Fragments from various parts of the body, placed upon surfaces which had never borne barnacles, made these somewhat more favourable for setting. Since attached bases alone produced a strong reaction, the cyprids probably respond to contact between their groping antennules and some substance in the cuticle. They did not settle readily when prevented from making contact with adults by a barrier of bolting silk, or with bases by a thin film of nitrocellulose; chemosensory perception of a water-soluble substance, emanating from settled barnacles, is therefore unlikely to be involved.

The power of the bases to induce setting was retained after heating to over 200° C, but not after heating to 275° C, when charring occurred. It withstood prolonged washing in water, heating with fat solvents and dilute acids, and treatment in the cold with caustic alkalis, concentrated acids, pepsin, formaldehyde, benzoquinone, sodium sulphide, phenol, urea, and diazonium solution. It was destroyed in the cold by sodium hypochlorite, which was observed to dissolve the bases, and also by hot concentrated acids and alkalis. The chemical properties of the active substance are thus entirely consistent with those of quinone-tanned proteins, which are known to form the epicuticle and attachment cement.

A field experiment showed that similar behaviour occurs under natural conditions. It leads cyprids to suitable habitats and it facilitates breeding.


This paper compares the career effects of overseas and domestic PhD training for scientists working in an emerging economy, South Africa. Variations in scientific achievements of South African academics may arise because those who attend "better" PhD programmes receive better training, but it may also be because good students select into good universities. We examine selection and training effects for four tiers of South African and two tiers of foreign universities. Those who received PhDs from universities in industrialized countries tend to be more productive than those whose PhDs were locally granted, but universities from industrialized countries do not necessarily provide better training than local universities. Pure selection effects contribute to career outcomes nearly as much as training effects. When looking at training in isolation, PhDs from top South African universities produce a similar quantity and quality research output to those from leading universities in the developed world.