The Kyoto Protocol has failed: horizontally because it failed to secure commitments from important players; vertically because of the lack of delivery of outcomes among those who did accede to it. The Asia‐Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate represents a useful way forward, both as a non‐treaty agreement that contains a promising non‐binding sectoral approach to minimizing emissions by seven parties accounting for more than half global emissions, and as an exercise in 'minilateralism' where understanding can develop among the key players. It has provided an important building block upon which to build other initiatives, such as the Major Economies Meeting of the US Bush administration and now the Major Economies Forum of the Obama administration. These arenas with 17 members offer opportunities not possible in full multilateral arenas such as Framework Convention on Climate Change, where sheer numbers simply slow processes and help produce lowest common denominator responses. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Uniparental inheritance of Chlamydomonas chloroplast genes is thought to involve modification of maternal (mt+) chloroplast genomes to protect against a nuclease that is activated after gamete fusion. The mating-type limited mtl-1 mutant strain of Chlamydomonas monoica is unable to protect mt(+)-derived chloroplast DNA. Zygotes homozygous for mtl-1 lose all chloroplast DNA and fail to germinate. We have selected for suppression of this zygote-specific lethality, and have obtained 20 mutant strains that produce viable homozygotes despite the continued presence of the mtl-1 allele. Genetic analysis indicates that the suppressor mutations are all recessive alleles at a single locus (sup-1) which is unlinked to mtl-1. Crosses between sup-1 strains carrying distinctive chloroplast antibiotic resistance markers also show predominantly biparental chloroplast gene transmission. Chloroplast nucleoids of both parental origins (stained with the DNA-specific fluorochrome, DAPI) are retained in the zygotes homozygous for sup-1. The data are compatible with the idea that the sup-1 (suppressor of uniparental inheritance) locus may encode a chloroplast DNA nuclease that is expressed from both parental genomes.


Based on transnational France-Asia approaches, this book studies Asian cultures once steeped in French civilisation but free of a colonial mode in order to highlight the transliterary examples of cultural transfer. This book is a pioneering study of the Francophone phenomenon within the context of cultures categorised as non-Francophone. Espousing a transcultural approach, Francophonie and the Orient examines the emergence of French heritage in the Far-East, the various forms of its manifestation, and the modes of its identification. Several thematic signposts guide the diverse pathways of the research. Firstly, the question is posed as to whether colonisation is the ultimate coat of arms for entry into Francophonie? Secondly, the book raises issues relative to Asian Francophone works: the emergence of literatures with French expression from Asian countries historically free of French domination. Finally, the study reconfigures the Asian Francophone heritage with new paradigms (transnational/global studies), which redefine the frontiers of Francophonie in Asia.


The safety of water delivery and water quality in the South to North Water Transfer Project of China is important to northern China. Water quality data, flow data and data on factors that influence water quality were collected from 25 May to 26 August, 2013. These data were used to forecast water quality and calculate the relative error when using a genetic algorithm optimized general regression neural network (GA-GRNN) model as well as conventional general regression neural network (GRNN) and genetic algorithm optimized back propagation (GA-BP) models. The GA-GRNN method requires few network parameters and has good network stability, a high learning speed and strong approximation ability. The overall forecasted result of GA-GRNN is the best of three models, of which the root mean square error (RMSE) of every index is nearly the least among three models. The results reveal that the GA-GRNN model is efficient for water quality prediction under normal conditions and it can be used to ensure the security of water delivery and water quality in the South to North Water Transfer Project.


The climate is affected by water vapor within the hydrological cycle as it is one of the most variable greenhouse gases (Elliot u. a., 1995). If the atmospheric temperature increases, then the atmospheric water vapor increases, too, as the atmosphere is able to store more water vapor with higher atmospheric temperature. The atmospheric feedback effect generates vice versa higher temperatur in the atmosphere due to higher water vapor content. Furthermore atmospheric water vapor transports energy in form of latent heat. Moreover decrease and increase of water vapor facilitates clouding. All these characteristics make water vapor to one of the most important indicator for a possible global warming (IPCC, 2007). Water vapor is an important indicator for development of ice mass balance in Antarctica beside its direct meteorological relevance. Out of this reason it gives also a hint for a possible sea level rise (Bromwich und Parish, 1998). Water vapor can occur as precipitation in the atmosphere due to condensation. The level of precipitation influences furthermore the development of the Antarctic ice shield because of accumulation of fallen precipitation. In addition Antarctica exerts with its low temperatures a huge influence on the global climate (King und Turner, 1997). The ice shield reflects the incoming insolation and avoids a conversion of this radiation towards heat radiation. Antarctica is very sensible in relation to climate changes because of this ice-albedo-effect in comparison to other regions (Oerlemans und Bintanja, 1995). Hence it is possible to detect global climate changes and estimate their impacts with help of long- and shortterm developments of atmospheric water vapor in Antarctica. Radiosondes are often used to detect atmospheric parameter (Kraus, 2001). It is very difficult to use radiosondes in Antarctica or in Polar Regions because of the extreme climate conditions. For this reason most scientific stations which use radiosondes are located at the Antarctic coast because of the moderate conditions comparing to the Antarctic continent. Additionally the temporal resolution is limited. Most stations only do one or two radiosonde measurements per day because of the high costs for one sonde. The high logical and financial efforts are common obstacles for using many meteorological measurement systems in extreme climate regions like Antarctica. GPS can be used in many ways besides positioning. Determination of atmospheric parameters to get information about the neutral or ionospheric part is one possibility (Bevis u. a., 1992). GPS is an approved method in temperate zones to get meteorological information (Schueler, 2001), but it has had its limits in arid regions in the past. It is necessary to take a closer look at the field of applications (like Polar Regions) for GPS-processing actually, because of new developments basically in software. GPS could be a serious alternative to established procedures like radiosondes because of its independence towards daytime and weather. Furthermore it can be installed as a remote system which needs a minimum of support. GPS-data of 12 Antarctic GPS-stations were analysed for the years 2000 and 2001 to test the suitability of this method for Antarctica. The fact that many GPS-stations are installed on the Antarctic ice-shield was also taken into account. These stations move with the velocity of this shield towards the coast. Precipitable water vapour values for each atmosphere were estimated out of these GPS-information with the help of atmospheric temperature and pressure. The precipitable water vapour values out of GPS-measurements were compared with radiosonde launches at six stations to make an examination of quality. The meteorological situation is stated in chapter 3 after the introduction. It is possible to get the estimated water vapor time series in a meteorological context by the description of temperature, air pressure and water vapor of the Antarctic atmosphere. The basics of the Global Positioning System are described in chapter 4 in order to be able to reconstruct following processing steps and to point out all possibilities of attaining tropospheric parameters out of the configuration of this system. Radiosonde measurements and further systems to get the atmospheric water vapor are presented in chapter 5. The accuracy of the GPS-based values is also estimated beside the conversion of the zenit total delays into atmospheric water vapor values. Individual error sources are clarified in chapter 6 regarding the estimation of atmospheric water vapor. Solutions for their minimization are determined. The estimation of the coordinate reference frame is described also apart from the suitable strategie to get correct tropospheric values. At least the range of accuracy of coordinates and velocities are specified. The results of the GPS-based water vapor estimation in Antarctica are analysed in chapter 7. These results are also sorted into a meteorological context. The GPS-based water vapor values are finally validated with radiosonde measurements of 6 stations in chapter 8, in order to test the suitability of these GPS-values. Finally GPS is evaluated, if it is usable as a meteorological sensor in Antarctica. The future of the system regarding the estimation of atmospheric water vapor under extreme climate conditions is prognosticated.
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-diss000118346


Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) has recently been proposed as an alternative to frequency and time based multiple access methods for the next generation high-speed optical fiber networks. This is because such system offers a large bandwidth. Based on the vast amount of bandwidth, OCDMA system has received much attention in fiber optic Local Area Network where the traffic is typically bursty. However, Conventional OCDMA system is known to be severely influenced by the Multiple Access Interference (MAI) caused by other simultaneous users in the system. In addition, dynamic threshold in the conventional OCDMA is difficult to achieve. To overcome these problems, we study Optical Parallel Interference Cancellation (OPIC) particularly for the lowest threshold value in order to obtain a better performance in OCDMA. The results are compared to the other threshold values and also to the conventional OCDMA system using simulation software. The results reveal that the OPIC system is effective when we set the threshold of the desired user to the lowest value, i.e. Th=1. Furthermore, a significant improvement in the throughput is achieved when using the minimum threshold value.


Organizational innovation plays a very important role in the process of Taiwan's economic miracle. In order to survive, the business organizations have to continually make drastic innovations in today's business environment. This study aimed to explore the impacts from information culture and employee satisfaction on the organizational innovation; as well as the interferences between leadership style and different cultures and employee satisfaction. A questionnaire survey was applied to domestic workers and semi-structured interviews to 5 field directors in technology, financial, manufacturing, service and other industries was also performed. Through descriptive statistics, factor analysis, regression analysis, single-variable variance analysis (ANOVA), our conclusions are: there is an impact on organizational innovation from information culture and job satisfaction; on the other hand, the compassion from different leadership style and institutional regulations play as moderating variables that interfere with the information cultural and job satisfaction. It eventually affects the organizational innovation.


Many people today have an iPhone, iPad or iPod. Not many would realize that valuable information is stored on these devices. When a crime occurs, an iOS Device could hold key information to help solve said crime that criminals are not aware are present on the device. This can include GPS information as well as application history on the device itself. The project I wish to do and complete is to create a class where students can learn the about iOS Forensics. Student will be able to learn the basics of an iDevice, as well as how to work with forensics tools to acquire the information in an efficient manner. The class will also introduce forensic tools that can be used with iOS Devices. These tools can include Open Source and Commercial forensic tools. This class will be offered to both Graduates and Undergraduates at Governors State University. It will act as a beginner's class, for individuals who want to learn more and have an interest in iOS Forensics.


This article looks at some poems by Polish Australian writer Andrzej Chciuk (1920-1978). Chciuk migrated to Australia from France in 1951, having escaped Nazi-occupied Poland as a twenty-year-old in 1940. In Australia he worked as a schoolteacher in Melbourne while continuing to write poetry and fiction in Polish. His work was published in prestigious Polish emigré outlets like the Paris-based journal Kultura and in Australia with sponsorship from the Polish migrant community; to date no English translations of it have appeared. My article focuses on a sequence of poems in his 1961 Pamiętnik poetycki (Poetic Memoir) called 'Tamta Ziemia' (That Other Land), about the cities and towns of Chciuk's childhood: Lwów, Borysław and his hometown of Drohobycz. When the author was growing up these towns were in eastern Poland; by the time of his writing, in the 1950s, however, they had become part of Soviet Ukraine, and were thus doubly removed from his life in Australia. He wrote as a displaced person whose childhood home had itself been displaced. Hence the powerful note of longing that pervades his 'poetic memoir'. Through a reading of some passages in my English translation, I hope to convey something of Chciuk's lively poetic voice, and to show that he deserves admission to discussions of twentieth-century transnational Australian literature.


Many Koreans not only feel strongly motivated to study English but they also enthusiastically pursue learning the language, and yet when real contact situations arise in which English could be used, many Koreans remain unwilling to do so. Better understanding this phenomenon could benefit not only Koreans but also other groups of people who see great value in learning a language but undercut their own efforts by avoiding opportunities to use it. Through a series of interviews leading to a large quantitative study, this research investigates some underlying factors which influence Korean learners' decision over whether to use English in a particular situation. The main findings suggest that the quality and quantity of previous contact with the non-Korean world, for example through travel and friendship, along with the presence and relative status of other Koreans at the communication event, significantly influence language use. These results generally support the theories of the Contact Hypothesis (CH) and Willingness to Communicate (WTC). These disparate theories, together in the Korean context, suggest a need for greater focus on L2 friendship and L 1 status issues in language learning.


Subcarpathian Rus' is a region in former Czechoslo-vakia and Hungary, and the Jews who lived in this area comprised a unique community. Until the Holocaust, Sub-carpathian Jews lived peacefully among other local groups. They owned and worked their own land as small-scale farmers and lumberjacks and were known for their Orthodox piety. The cities of Uzhhorod, Mukachevo, and Sighet were major centers of Hasidism.This is the first major scholarly history of Subcarpathian Jewry. The Carpathian Disapora traces the fascinating story of these Jews through three regimes: The Habsburg Empire before World War I; Czechoslovakia during the interwar years; and Hungary during World War II and the Holocaust. The book includes maps, tables, and a photographic essay of community life.


We review recent studies of the impacts of disturbance on the fauna of the jarrah forest, south-western Australia. In particular, we examine five case studies that provide alternative approaches to researching disturbance impacts. Assessing site-based studies of patterns of fire regimes lead us to argue that point measures of frequency are inadequate to understand scale and pattern across landscapes. Rather, extrapolating from site-based data to draw conclusions on landscape-scale changes may obscure fine-scale heterogeneity in disturbance, which is critical to the conservation of biodiversity. We review species-based studies and conclude that assessments of demographic trends are more effective than surveys in determining impacts, and providing early warning of declines because they highlight threatening processes. Furthermore, risk analysis, when critical aspects of the biology of participating species are weakly known, may lead to misclassification of species and poor decisions on conservation priorities. The review of recent impact studies of logging on jarrah forest fauna demonstrates that logging interacts with predation by foxes to threaten arboreal mammals. Hence, measures to protect threatened vertebrates benefit many species. However, while concentrating on proximate causes of fauna decline produces immediate conservation gains, long-term conservation requires an understanding of both proximate and ultimate causes and their interaction. We urge the acquisition of reliable, site-based demographic data that allows predictive modelling for species, and hence testing of alternative hypotheses regarding impact, distribution and decline. We also seek the integration of data and approaches to enable landscape-scale patterns to be discerned and interpreted for effective conservation planning.


Background Among approximately 163.5 million foreign-born persons admitted to the United States annually, only 500,000 immigrants and refugees are required to undergo overseas tuberculosis (TB) screening. It is unclear what extent of the unscreened nonimmigrant visitors contributes to the burden of foreign-born TB in the United States. Methodology/Principal Findings We defined foreign-born persons within 1 year after arrival in the United States as "newly arrived", and utilized data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and World Health Organization to estimate the incidence of TB among newly arrived foreign-born persons in the United States. During 2001 through 2008, 11,500 TB incident cases, including 291 multidrug-resistant TB incident cases, were estimated to occur among 20,989,738 person-years for the 1,479,542,654 newly arrived foreign-born persons in the United States. Of the 11,500 estimated TB incident cases, 41.6% (4,783) occurred among immigrants and refugees, 36.6% (4,211) among students/exchange visitors and temporary workers, 13.8% (1,589) among tourists and business travelers, and 7.3% (834) among Canadian and Mexican nonimmigrant visitors without an I-94 form (e.g., arrival-departure record). The top 3 newly arrived foreign-born populations with the largest estimated TB incident cases per 100,000 admissions were immigrants and refugees from high-incidence countries (e.g., 2008 WHO-estimated TB incidence rate of ≥100 cases/100,000 population/year; 235.8 cases/100,000 admissions, 95% confidence interval [CI], 228.3 to 243.3), students/exchange visitors and temporary workers from high-incidence countries (60.9 cases/100,000 admissions, 95% CI, 58.5 to 63.3), and immigrants and refugees from medium-incidence countries (e.g., 2008 WHO-estimated TB incidence rate of 15–99 cases/100,000 population/year; 55.2 cases/100,000 admissions, 95% CI, 51.6 to 58.8). Conclusions/Significance Newly arrived nonimmigrant visitors contribute substantially to the burden of foreign-born TB in the United States. To achieve the goals of TB elimination, direct investment in global TB control and strategies to target nonimmigrant visitors should be considered.


The historic preservation field, enabled by advances in technology, has demonstrated an increased interest in digitizing cultural heritage sites and historic structures. Increases in software capabilities as well as greater affordability has fostered augmented use of digital documentation technologies for architectural heritage applications. Literature establishes four prominent categories of digital documentation tools for preservation: laser scanning, photogrammetry, multimedia geographic information systems (GIS) and three-dimensional modeling. Thoroughly explored through published case studies, the documentation techniques for recording heritage are most often integrated. Scholarly literature does not provide a parallel comparison of the four technologies. A comparative analysis of the four techniques, as presented in this thesis, makes it possible for cities to understand the most applicable technique for their preservation objectives. The thesis analyzes four cases studies that employ applications of the technologies: New Orleans Laser Scanning, University of Maryland Photogrammetry, Historic Columbia Maps Project and the Virtual Historic Savannah Project. Following this, the thesis undertakes a trial of each documentation technology – laser scanning, photogrammetry, multimedia GIS and threedimensional modeling – utilizing a block on Church Street between Queen and Chalmers streets within the Charleston Historic District. The apparent outcomes of each of the four techniques is analyzed according to a series of parameters including: audience, application, efficacy in recordation, refinement, expertise required, manageability of the product, labor intensity and necessary institutional capacity. A concluding matrix quantifies the capability of each of the technologies in terms of the parameters. This method furnishes a parallel comparison of the techniques and their efficacy in architectural heritage documentation within mid-sized cities.


This paper shows that the conjunction of several live philosophical and scientific hypotheses – including the holographic principle and multiverse theory in quantum physics, and eternalism and mind-body dualism in philosophy – jointly imply an audacious new theory of free will. This new theory, "Libertarian Compatibilism", holds that the physical world is an eternally existing array of two-dimensional information – a vast number of possible pasts, presents, and futures – and the mind a nonphysical entity or set of properties that "read" that physical information off to subjective conscious awareness (in much the same way that a song written on an ordinary compact-disc is only played when read by an outside medium, i.e. a CD-player). According to this theory, every possible physical "timeline" in the multiverse may be fully physically deterministic or physically-causally closed but each person's consciousness still entirely free to choose, ex nihilo, outside of the physical order, which physically-closed timeline is experienced by conscious observers. Although Libertarian Compatibilism is admittedly fantastic, I show that it not only follows from several live scientific and philosophical hypotheses, I also show that it (A) is a far more explanatorily powerful model of quantum mechanics than more traditional interpretations (e.g. the Copenhagen, Everett, and Bohmian interpretations), (B) makes determinate, testable empirical predictions in quantum theory, and finally, (C) predicts and explains the very existence of a number of philosophical debates and positions in the philosophy of mind, time, personal identity, and free will. First, I show that whereas traditional interpretations of quantum mechanics are all philosophically problematic and roughly as ontologically "extravagant" as Libertarian Compatibilism – in that they all posit "unseen" processes – Libertarian Compatibilism is nearly identical in structure to the only working simulation that human beings have ever constructed capable of reproducing (and so explaining) every single general feature of quantum mechanics we perceive: namely, massive-multiplayer-online-roleplaying videogames (or MMORPGs). Although I am not the first to suggest that our world is akin to a computer simulation, I show that existing MMORPGs (online simulations we have already created) actually reproduce every general feature of quantum mechanics within their simulated-world reference-frames. Second, I show that existing MMORPGs also replicate (and so explain) many philosophical problems we face in the philosophy of mind, time, personal identity, and free will – all while conforming to the Libertarian Compatibilist model of reality.I conclude, as such, that as fantastic and metaphysically extravagant as Libertarian Compatibilism may initially seem, it may well be true. It explains a number of features of our reality that no other physical or metaphysical theory does.


A growing literature shows how insights from behavioral economics can be successfully adopted in simple interventions through SMS or other types of low-cost communications. In this short, note we provide concrete basic guidelines to design behaviorally informed messages, based on theory and our own experience. We provide examples applied to parenting interventions.


WORKPLACE AGGRESSION BEHAVIORS, ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE, AND INTENTION TO LEAVE AMONG U.S. TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKERS Workplace aggression behavior is a global phenomenon that casts a dark shadow on many of today's organizations, both public and private. As it frequently leads to violence, workplace aggression behaviors, which include harassment and bullying, have become a growing concern in the United States (Bandow & Hunter, 2007). Employees subjected to workplace aggression report a wide range of physical, psychological, and social complaints that prevent them from effectively performing their jobs (Fox & Spector, 2005). Employees who perceive feelings of injustice may experience decreased loyalty to their organizations (Tyler & Lind, 1992). Several researchers have examined aggression; however, little is known about the relationship among workplace aggression behaviors, organizational justice (procedural, distributive, interpersonal, and informational), and intention to leave. This study examines the fundamental theoretical literature and empirical studies related to workplace aggression behaviors, organizational justice, and intention to leave among U.S. telecommunications workers. In examining the relationship among workplace aggression, organizational justice, and intention to leave, practices in the fields of psychology, organizational behavior, economics, ethics, and human resources were utilized. A theoretical framework based on Buss's (1961) three dichotomies of aggression behaviors (physical-verbal, active-passive, and direct-indirect), were used as a foundation for this dissertation. Three research questions, four hypotheses, and seven sub-hypotheses were developed for this nonexperimental, quantitative study to examine the relationships among workplace aggression behaviors, employee demographics and work profiles, organizational justice, and intention to leave. A total of 1,654 surveys were randomly sent by Zoomerang Market Tools to an accessible population of management and non-management telecommunications employees located throughout the United States. Out of 242 completed surveys, 241 were usable. The response rate was 14.6%. The final data-producing sample closely represented the distribution of the telecommunications sectors (wireline, wireless, cable, and satellite) of the target population and provided support for external validity of the study so that findings could be generalized across sectors. Furthermore, this study used an exploratory (comparative) and explanatory (correlational) survey to answer the research questions and test hypotheses. Exploratory data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and coefficient alpha were used to examine the psychometric qualities of the scales. To answer the research questions, descriptive statistics were used. Additionally, to answer the exploratory (comparative) research questions, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Chi Square analysis were performed. Finally, to test the research hypotheses, stepwise (forward) hierarchical multiple regression were used to find the best explanatory models for respective hypotheses. This research examined the factors which exacerbate intention to leave and also identified areas for future scholarly study. Findings were not as expected. Of the telecommunications workers sampled for this study, 1 in 5 employees or 21% reported frequent experiences with workplace aggression behaviors. Results were inconsistent with Matthiesen and Einarsen's (2007) and Namie and Namie's (2000) research that reported approximately one in ten individuals were victims of workplace bullying. Distributive Justice and Informational Justice were significant explanatory variables of Intention to Leave for employees in the Satellite Telecommunications sector than any of the other sectors. Future studies utilizing this study's model to examine increased Workplace Aggression, Organizational Justice, and Intention to Leave among the Satellite Telecommunications sector is recommended. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page


monts for college entrunce, the committee has added :\lrs.. Gnskell's "Cranford." It Is named in tbe group of books from which selectlon may he made for rending. In bt~ preparation of this text the editor of the tann & Compall)' stnndard English elnsslcs ed1tion has omlenvored to rostrlct bls work to such aunotatton and such «ommour as arc esseutlal to the intelligent re<.Hlin~ of these delig-htful and captivating' sketches. 80 graeeful uud <It>1ic'atc a musterptece ought not to be encruubered with too (llllhornte Interpretnttve or er-ltlcal machinen', "Crn nfm'd" is a hook to he rend with pteusuro: and it is upon this t lu-m-y tha t the edition has uoeu pl:t'pnr.C'll. All HI'I.!'........ I!".' III f'ot-tu.t tion. hiogT;lpliit'ill awl historlcn l. i...: :-llppliell ill tilt.' introduction.


Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but aggressive tumor that originates in the pleura, is diagnosed in advanced stages and has a poor prognosis. Accurate diagnosis of MPM is often difficult and complex, and the gold standard diagnosis test is based on qualitative analysis of markers in pleural tissue by immunohistochemical staining. Therefore, it is necessary to develop quantitative and non-subjective alternative diagnostic tools. MicroRNAs are non-coding RNAs that regulate essential cellular mechanisms at the post-transcriptional level. Recent evidence indicates that miRNA expression in tissue and body fluids is aberrant in various tumors, revealing miRNAs as promising diagnostic biomarkers. This review summarizes evidence regarding secreted and tissue miRNAs as biomarkers of MPM and the biological characteristics associated with their potential diagnostic value. In addition to studies regarding miRNAs with potential diagnostic value for MPM, studies that aimed to identify the miRNAs involved in molecular mechanisms associated with MPM development are described with an emphasis on relevant aspects of the experimental designs that may influence the accuracy, consistency and real diagnostic value of currently reported data.


This thesis considers the factors involved in the determination of egg quality and fecundity in farmed stocks of rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri R) • Measurements of egg quality, ie. percentage survivals of eggs and fry, from the production batches of eggs of seven fish farms, showed mean survivals of 70% to eying but levels of only 35% to 4.5g fry (approx. 130 days post-fertilisation). Under optimum conditions survivals may reach 85% suggesting that husbandry methods exert significant influences on egg quality. Chemical analyses of the protein, fat, vitellogenin, ash, amino acids, free fatty acid and mineral levels of eggs of varying quality and from parents of different strains showed compositional differences even between individuals of the same stock. However, none of these differences were correlated with egg quality. Egg size showed similar variations but, again under hatchery conditions there was no correlation with differences in egg quality. The only factor which has been shown to exert a significant influence on egg quality is the time of stripping after ovulation. At 1 0°C eggs should be removed from gravid females within ten days of ovulation to achieve optimum egg and fry survival. Studies of egg production from approximately 10,000 broodstock revealed that total fecundity and egg size increased and relative fecundity decreased with increasing fish size. In general, most fish appeared to produce a constant volume of eggs. This is consistent with a hypothesis that egg size can only be increased by parallel reductions in fecundity. Feeding broodstock at half-ration (0.35% body weight day- 1 ) did not affect egg quality but reduced total fecundity and egg size and increased relative fecundity when compared with eggs produced by fish on full-ration. Comparisons of regressions of total fecundity against fish weight for three strains using ANOCO revealed that one strain was significantly more fecund than two other strains considered. Trout of the same strain maintained on different farms behaved similarly suggesting there was some reproducibility of strain characteristics.


A novel sample clean-up technique, water-compatible, molecularly imprinted, solid-phase extraction (MISPE), combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), was developed and validated for selective extraction and determination of lacosamide in rat plasma. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized using methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker, chloroform as a porogen, and lacosamide as a template. Its efficacy as a selective sorbent in solid-phase extraction of lacosamide and the effects of various porogenic solvents, pH, crosslinker, and amount of monomer were studied and optimized. The recovery was >98% with a detection limit of 0.03 μg mL−1 over a linear range of 0.1–100 μg mL−1.


Patient: Female, 45-year-old Final Diagnosis: Hypothyroidism Symptoms: Dysarthria • dyspnea Medication:— Clinical Procedure: Pericardial drainage Specialty: Cardiology Objective: Rare disease Background: Thyroid function is closely related to the cardiovascular system. Pericardial effusion is a well-known complication of hypothyroidism. It is common for massive pericardial effusion to progress to tamponed heart with hypotension, but not high blood pressure. Case Report: A 46-year-old woman presented to the hospital with dysarthria and left-side weakness of the upper limb which had started 30 minutes before her arrival at the hospital. The patient showed hypertensive emergency (213/124 mmHg) with intracerebral hemorrhage. Further evaluation for high blood pressure and transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated the presence of a large amount of pericardial effusion, and urgent pericardiocentesis was performed. The laboratory examination showed elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone and decreased free thyroxine level, leading to a diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism. The administration of current medications was maintained, including thyroid hormone replacement and anti-hypertensive drugs. Conclusions: A rare case of profound hypothyroidism presenting with hypertensive crisis and massive pericardial effusion is described in this report.


Objective:To examine the reliability, validity, responsiveness, and minimal important difference of the 4-m gait speed test in acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors. Design:Secondary analyses of data from two longitudinal follow-up studies of acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability, construct validity (convergent, discriminant, and known group), predictive validity, and responsiveness were examined. The minimal important difference was estimated using anchor- and distribution-based approaches. Setting:A national multicenter prospective study (ARDSNet Long-Term Outcome Study) and a multisite prospective study in Baltimore, MD (Improving Care of Acute Lung Injury Patients). Patients:Acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors with 4-m gait speed assessment up to 60 months after acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDSNet Long-Term Outcome Study, n = 184; Improving Care of Acute Lung Injury Patients, n = 122). Interventions:Not applicable. Measurements and Main Results:Four-meter gait speed was assessed at 6- and 12-month follow-up (ARDSNet Long-Term Outcome Study) and 36-, 48-, and 60-month follow-up (Improving Care of Acute Lung Injury Patients). Excellent test-retest (intraclass correlation, 0.89–0.99 across studies and follow-up) and inter-rater (intraclass correlation, 0.97) reliability were found. Convergent validity was supported by moderate-to-strong correlations (69% of 32 > 0.40) with other physical function measures. Discriminant validity was supported by weak correlations (86% of 28 < 0.30) with mental health measures. Survivors with impaired versus nonimpaired measures of muscle strength and pulmonary function had significantly slower 4-m gait speed (all but one p < 0.05). Furthermore, 4-m gait speed significantly predicted future hospitalization and health-related quality of life. Gait speed changes were consistent with reported changes in function, supporting responsiveness. The estimated 4-m gait speed minimal important difference was 0.03–0.06 m/s. Conclusions:The 4-m gait speed is a reliable, valid, and responsive measure of physical function in acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors. The estimated minimal important difference will facilitate sample size calculations for clinical studies evaluating the 4-m gait speed test in acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors.


Large planned photometric surveys will discover hundreds of thousands of supernovae (SNe), outstripping the resources available for spectroscopic follow-up and necessitating the development of purely photometric methods to exploit these events for cosmological study. We present a light curve fitting technique for type Ia supernova (SN Ia) photometric redshift (photo-z) estimation in which the redshift is determined simultaneously with the other fit parameters. We implement this "lcfit+z" technique within the frameworks of the mlcs2k2 and saltii light curve fit methods and determine the precision on the redshift and distance modulus. This method is applied to a spectroscopically confirmed sample of 296 SNe Ia from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) SN Survey and 37 publicly available SNe Ia from the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). We have also applied the method to a large suite of realistic simulated light curves for existing and planned surveys, including the SDSS, SNLS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. When intrinsic SN color fluctuations are included, the photo-z precision for the simulation is consistent with that in the data. Finally, we compare the lcfit+z photo-z precision with previous results using color-based SN photo-z estimates.


Respiration assays are routinely used for investigating microbial metabolic activity in soil, but usually after a period of "conditioning" whereby dry soil is rewetted and incubated for a period of days. We showed that rewetting and incubation of soil with or without amendments cause changes in microbial populations that are dependent on the type of amendment. As these amendments resulted in altered basal respiration levels and SIR profiles, they call into question the suitability of soil conditioning as pretreatment for soil microbial analyses. When testing soils from an experiment involving various amendments we have found that different substances can inhibit, rather than stimulate, respiration following rewetting. We suggest further investigation of "CO2 burst inhibition" for the purpose of developing a method that does not require naturally dry or air dried soil to undergo conditioning prior to a SIR assay.


This study assesses the survival of Phytophthora ramorum in the root ball of Rhododendron container plants as well as in different rootless forest substrates and a horticultural potting medium. Following inoculation of the root balls, the aboveground plant parts stayed symptomless, whilst the pathogen could be recovered with a novel non-destructive baiting assay from the root balls until at least 8 months post-inoculation. Plating of surface-sterilized roots and direct microscopic analysis confirmed the presence of P. ramorum in the roots. Phytophthora ramorum could also be baited from the root balls of symptomless Rhododendron plants from commercial nurseries, even 2 years after acquisition. Survival of P. ramorum in rootless media was assessed after burying disks of infected leaf material below the soil surface in columns filled with four different undisturbed forest substrates or a potting medium, and incubated at an outdoor quarantine facility. Phytophthora ramorum could be recovered at least 33 months after burial from all substrates, with a significant increase in recovery after the winter period. These data suggest the possibility for long-term symptomless presence of P. ramorum in root balls of commercial Rhododendron plants as well as survival in potting medium and different forest substrates under western European climate conditions. Symptomless presence in root balls can contribute to latent spread of this pathogen between nurseries. The novel baiting test, being non-destructive, simple and applicable to a relatively large number of plants, can offer a valuable tool to test plants for the presence of Phytophthora species in root balls.


After years on the back burner of public policy, global warming is suddenly being taken seriously. The steady drumbeat of news stories about shrinking glaciers, migrating maple trees, and stranded polar bears is finally registering with people. The news media pay less attention to global-warming skeptics than before. The Weather Channel has regular reports and a special website (http://climate.weather.com) devoted to news about climate change. And Al Gore won an Oscar for his documentary film on the subject.


This essay has examined the effects that new issues had on the four Swedish football clubs that are organized as sport limited companies. The difference between a limited company and a sporting limited company is that the clubs always have majority ownership by the 51% rule. Previous research on sport limited companies and on new issues has been associated with the agent theory and the pecking order theory in order to explain the effects.The thesis is a qualitative study with an inductive approach, where the interviews have been selected as the method of collecting data. Through the years the clubs have performed new issues several times. The study says that the clubs perform a new issue for two reasons, either for investment purposes or because they have a poor economy and must collect liquid assets. Another difference between a sport limited company and a limited company is that sport limited companies do not measure the classic key figures, only the subscription rate and equity.If a new issue is implemented at the right time, it can have positive effects in the short and long term for sport limited companies.


Gastric emptying was measured using a gamma camera in 22 patients with anorexia nervosa, in 10 patients of normal or high weight with bulimia nervosa and in 10 controls. Patients with anorexia nervosa were tested (1) while underweight and selecting their own diet (10 patients); (2) underweight, but receiving an adequate diet on an inpatient unit (refeeding diet) (12 patients); and (3) under refeeding diet conditions after weight gain (eight patients). Three meals, each labelled with technetium 99m-sulphur colloid, 3.7 MBq were used: (1) a mixed solid meal containing labelled poached egg; (2) 200 ml d-glucose solution, 0.5 kcal/ml, and (3) 200 ml physiological saline. Only gastric emptying rates of the solid meal and glucose solution were significantly delayed. Gastric emptying of saline was normal. The gastric disturbance was confined to patients with anorexia nervosa selecting their own diet. Patients receiving adequate nutrition on the ward had normal gastric emptying and weight gain in this group had no significant effect on emptying. Slow emptying was observed in patients who maintained a low weight solely by food restriction as well as in patients whose anorexia nervosa was complicated by episodes of bulimia. Thus, slow gastric emptying occurred when the quantity of food reaching the duodenum was sufficiently reduced to result in severe weight loss. Moreover, abnormal gastric emptying was seen only after the two meals that contained calories and were hypertonic to plasma, either of which properties could mediate the disturbance. Gastric emptying in bulimia nervosa was normal. Slow gastric emptying could exacerbate undereating in starving patients with anorexia nervosa by enhancing satiety.


A Telegraph Top 10 Diet Book, Pure White and Deadly by John Yudkin is a must-read for those concerned with how much sugar we consume every day. Sugar. It's killing us. Why do we eat so much of it? What are its hidden dangers? In 1972, when British scientist John Yudkin first proved that sugar was bad for our health, he was ignored by the majority of the medical profession and rubbished by the food industry. We should have heeded his warning. Today, 1 in 4 adults in the UK are overweight. There is an epidemic of obese six month olds around the globe. Sugar consumption has tripled since World War II. Using everyday language and a range of scientific evidence, Professor Yudkin explores the ins and out of sugar, from the different types - is brown sugar really better than white? - to how it is hidden inside our everyday foods, and how it is damaging our health. Brought up-to-date by childhood obesity expert Dr Robert Lustig M.D., his classic expose on the hidden dangers of sugar is essential reading for anyone interested in their health, the health of their children and the health of modern society. "[A] valiant ...attempt to warn us against our lust for sucrose". (British Medical Journal). "A medical classic". (London Metropolitan University). "Arguably the leading nutritionist of his time". (Guardian). "Worldwide, around 180million tonnes of refined sugar is produced each year and the UK market alone is worth nearly GBP1billion. Little wonder that no one listened to eminent nutritionist Professor John Yudkin when he called sugar 'pure, white and deadly' back in 1972 and quite rightly warned of the links between excessive consumption and heart disease". (Catherine Collins, Principal Dietician, St George's Hospital). John Yudkin (8 August 1910 - 12 July 1995) was a British physiologist and nutritionist, whose books include This Slimming Business, Eat Well, Slim Well and This Nutrition Business. He became internationally famous with his book Pure, White and Deadly, first published in 1972, and was one of the first scientists to claim that sugar was a major cause of obesity and heart disease. Robert H. Lustig, M.D. has spent the past sixteen years treating childhood obesity and studying the effects of sugar on the central nervous system and metabolism. He is the Director of the UCSF Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Program and also a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society. His YouTube video lecture Sugar: The Bitter Truth has received over two million hits, he recently appeared on the BBC 2 documentary The Men Who Made Us Fat and his book Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease is being published in Autumn 2012.


Detailed analysis of the causes of mortality improvement provides insights into longevity risk: the likelihood of liabilities for annuity portfolios being significantly higher than expected. The past few decades have seen unprecedented levels of high mortality improvement. This has largely been driven by reductions in premature mortality from cardiovascular disease, resulting from better lifestyle practices and widespread preventative medical treatments. RMS has developed structural models of longevity risk that provide projections of how causes of improvement might play out into the future, and through stochastic generation of multiple scenarios, define the probability structure for extreme liability outcomes. These models provide insights beyond those obtained from conventional statistical projections from historical mortality experience. Cause-of-improvement modeling shows, for example, that mortality improvement is unlikely to quickly revert to long-term rates seen historically, contrary to standard assumptions in the marketplace. It shows that longevity tail risk—the potential for extreme scenarios of shock liability increases—are shaped by potential early medical breakthroughs in CVD or cancer treatments. Different segments of the portfolio are driving different amounts of the risk, with higher socioeconomic groups experiencing higher effects of the causes of improvement. The analytics reveal that mortality and longevity risk are more highly correlated than generally assumed. Because mortality improvement is driven by factors such as healthcare resourcing and investment in medical research and development that are related to economic conditions, longevity risk is not just neutral to market risk, it is negatively correlated.


The objective of present study was to evaluate the effect of processing methods and sintering condition on matrix formation and subsequent drug release from wax matrix tablets for controlled release. Ketorolac tromethamine and compritol were processed with appropriate diluent using either dry blending, spray drying, partial melt granulation or melt granulation.The tablets were then sintered at 80°. The sintered tablets were characterized by their physical parameters and in vitro dissolution tests. The micro-morphology and wettability of the tablets was also investigated. It was evident that different processing methods for identical formulation significant impact the release profile of drug. Sintering further retarded drug release and its effect was related to the manufacturing processes. Scanning electron microscopy showed that heat treatment redistributed the wax and formed a film-like structure covering drug and excipient particle. The contact angle of tablets made by dry blending, spray drying and partial melt granulation methods increased after sintering, while that of tablets made by melt granulation remained constant. Drug release from the wax tablets with or without heat treatment was best described by the Higuchi equation. Different processing methods produced different matrix structures that resulted in different drug release rates. Sintering retarded drug release mainly by decreasing the porosity of the matrix. Contact angle measurement and SEM analysis indicated that heat treatment caused the wax to melt, redistribute, coat the drug and diluents and form a network structure. Differential scanning calorimetry studies ruled out the occurrence of solid solution of the drug during sintering condition.


Abstract This dissertation explores intervention practices for children and young persons with developmental disabilities. It focuses especially health and medically related services provided by the local children habilitation centres (CHC: s), where everyday services are carried out by interprofessional teams of habilitation specialists. The objective was to critically examine the CHC as a human service organization. How did professionals describe their work and the methods of treatment that they made use of? How could their conceptions be explained ? The purpose was also to explore whether and in what way the recently introduced training method of conductive education (CE) has influenced the habilitation work at the CHC: s. The qualitative study was carried out inspired by a social constructionist perspective of the phenomenon of habilitation. Organizational theory and in particular neo-institutional organizational theory offered an analytical instrument. The empirical material consisted of observations of the ongoing habilitation work: interviews with professionals (25 interviewees); 13 interviews with key informants involved in the discussion about conductive education; observations and interviews with staff and families at training centres for CE. Closely studied, the main tasks of the CHC: s reveal important dilemmas and ambiguities. Three (main) themes have been used to structure the problems: 1) Frames of interpretation of the assignment; 2) Issues of influence; 3) Issues of competence and occupational qualification. In CHC: s, the opaque meaning of the habilitation concept can be used to handle the tension between the social and the medical logics and traditions, it can be a tool to claim jurisdiction for the habilitation experts; it can enlarge the areas of discretion for them and strengthen the legitimacy of the organization. When CE is offered as a complement/ alternative to habilitation services, this is an incitement for the habilitation organization to stress the qualities of the habilitation model. Gate-keeping and doing boundary work within the organization and in relation to the outer world are also important issues that are brought up by the interviewees. (Less)


Vehicle radar has significant importance in autonomous vehicles and modern intelligent transportation network applications. The range and velocity estimation with high precision are one of the challenging tasks in this modern era. This work proposes some valuable improvements in the context of radar signal processing, emphasizes the range and Doppler estimation of moving targets which help to estimate the surroundings efficiently. At first, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform is used for data transmission and radar processing while target parameters are efficiently estimated. In the previous research, authors used the approximations for velocity estimation of moving targets while this paper suggests the improvement in Doppler measurement by analyzing the frequencies of all the subcarriers of received echo with extended FFT and the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation algorithm. Moreover, cramer-rao lower bound (CRLB) is utilized to analyze the performance of the estimator. For practical analysis, MR3003 automotive radar is used which follows the frequency division multiplexing (FMCW) signal to detect and analyze the targets. In another context i.e. For some scenarios, the radar sensor leads to the false detection while camera output could not work in harsh weather. To overcome this problem, the amalgamation of both the sensors are used to extract the precise information. In order to perform this task, a deep learning algorithm includes a convolutional neural network (CNN) is implemented for detection and identification of vehicles in an optical video which further accumulates with the MR3003 radar image to identify the moving targets in both scenarios. Furthermore, the performance of the radar algorithms is analyzed in MATLAB while CNN is implemented in python. Theoretical study and experimental results reveal that the derived methods can attain the velocity accuracy and achieve a high resolutionvelocity estimation of moving targets. Keywords— Range and Doppler estimations, Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, maximum likelihood, data fusion, convolutional neural network, vehicle radar.


A must-have resource for anyone preparing for the version 2.0 of the CBAP examAs organizations look to streamline their production models, the need for qualified and certified business analysts is growing. The Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP) certification is the only certification for this growing field and this study guide is an essential step towards preparation for the CBAP exam. With this resource, you?ll benefit from coverage of both the CBAP as well as the CCBA (Certification in Competency in Business Analysis) exam. Each chapter covers the Business Analysis standards and best practices and includes a list of exam topics covered, followed by in-depth discusses of those objectives. Real-world, hands-on scenarios help take the learning process a step further. Covers Version 2 of the Business Analyst Body of Knowledge (BABOK)Offers invaluable preparation for both the CBAP and CCBA examsIncludes a list of exam topics and presents detailed discussions of each objectiveFeatures real-world scenarios, best practices, key terms, and a wide range of helpful topics that will prepare you for taking the examsShares practice exam questions, topic summaries, and exam tips and tricks, all aimed at providing a solid foundation for achieving exam successThis valuable study guide provides you with the preparation you need to confidently take the CBAP and CCBA exams.


Within the standard scheme for probe-corrected spherical data-processing, it has been found that for an efficient computational implementation it is necessary to restrict the characteristics of the probe pattern such that it contains only azimuthal modes for which μ = ±1 [1, 2, 3]. This first-order pattern restriction does not however extend to placing a limit on the polar index mode content and therefore leaves the directivity of the probe unconstrained. Clearly, when using this widely utilized approach, errors will be present within the calculated probe-corrected test antenna spherical mode coefficients for cases where the probe is considered to have purely modes for which μ = ±1 and where the probe actually exhibits higher order mode structure. A number of analysis [4, 5, 6, 7, 8] and simulations [9, 10, 11, 12] can be found documented within the open literature that estimate the effect of using a probe with higher order modes. The following study is a further attempt to develop guidelines for the azimuthal and polar properties of the probe pattern and the measurement configuration that can be utilized to reduce the effect of higher order spherical modes to acceptable levels. Included in this study are the cases when an Open Ended Waveguide (OEWG) is simulated at a series of measurement distances, a Quad Ridged Horn Probe (QRHP) with very large higher order modes is also simulated, the AUT is offset from the origin of the measurement sphere and the AUT is simulated with its main beam along the equator rather than along the pole. These new simulation cases provide additional guidelines when selecting a probe for spherical near-field measurements and answer some questions that have been raised about generalizing past results.


Whilst there is a growing body of research which discusses the use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) (otherwise known as "drones") to transport medical supplies, almost all reported cases employ short range aircraft. The purpose of this paper is to consider the advantages and challenges inherent in the use of long endurance remotely piloted aircraft systems (LE-RPAS) aircraft to support the provision of medical supplies to remote locations – specifically "medical maggots" used in maggot debridement therapy (MDT) wound care.,After introducing both MDT and the LE-RPAS technology, the paper first reports on the outcomes of a case study involving 11 semi-structured interviews with individuals who either have experience and expertise in the use of LE-RPAS or in the provision of healthcare to remote communities in Western Australia. The insights gained from this case study are then synthesised to assess the feasibility of LE-RPAS assisted delivery of medical maggots to those living in such geographically challenging locations.,No insuperable challenges to the concept of using LE-RPAS to transport medical maggots were uncovered during this research – rather, those who contributed to the investigations from across the spectrum from operators to users, were highly supportive of the overall concept.,The paper offers an assessment of the feasibility of the use of LE-RPAS to transport medical maggots. In doing so, it highlights a number of infrastructure and organisational challenges that would need to be overcome to operationalise this concept. Whilst the particular context of the paper relates to the provision of medical support to a remote location of a developed country, the core benefits and challenges that are exposed relate equally to the use of LE-RPAS in a post-disaster response. To this end, the paper offers a high-level route map to support the implementation of the concept.,The paper proposes a novel approach to the efficient and effective provision of medical care to remote Australian communities which, in particular, reduces the need to travel significant distances to obtain treatment. In doing so, it emphasises the importance in gaining acceptance of both the use of MDT and also the operation of RPAS noting that these have previously been employed in a military, as distinct from humanitarian, context.,The paper demonstrates how the use of LE-RPAS to support remote communities offers the potential to deliver healthcare at reduced cost compared to conventional approaches. The paper also underlines the potential benefits of the use of MDT to address the growing wound burdens in remote communities. Finally, the paper expands on the existing discussion of the use of RPAS to include its capability to act as the delivery mechanism for medical maggots.


Background and Objectives: Epilepsy is considered one of the most prevalent causes of morbidity in children. The aim of this study is to determine how epilepsy impacts the lives of children with epilepsy and their families. Methods: A translated version of the "Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Scale" (IPES) questionnaire was completed by the 80 mothers of children with epilepsy, recruited at three hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia This is a validated self-administered questionnaire used to assess the impact of epilepsy on the lives of the child and family, as well as the quality of life (QoL) of the child. Results: The mean age of children epilepsy was 6.32 years (SD = 3.22). The mean IPES score was 6.28 (SD = 8.42) and the mean child's QoL was 2.85 (SD= 0.83). 87.5% of the mothers rated their child's QoL as low. IPES score was significantly associated with cause of seizure (β=0.259; 95%-CI= 0.263 - 10.334; p = 0.039). Child's QoL was significantly associated with frequency of seizure (β=0.251; 95%-CI= 0.016 - 0.568; p= 0.039) and child's nationality (β=-0.270; 95%-CI -0.252, -0.013; p= 0.031). Conclusions: Pediatric epilepsy may have a greater impact on the lives of the child and the family when it is not comorbid with cerebral palsy. Quality of life tends to be lower for non-Saudi children, and children with more frequent seizures. Therefore, these groups may need more support in managing the impact that epilepsy has on their daily functioning and quality of life.


GENEVA – Gunvor Group Ltd ("Gunvor") today released its full year 2013 results, ending 31 December 2013. For the year, Gunvor's EBITDA increased by 25% to US $719 mil., up from US $575 million the year prior. This represents an average 28% increase in EBITDA year-on-year for the last three years. Net profit for 2013 also increased year-on-year to US $308 million, up from US $301 million in 2012. It was impacted by depreciation and some exceptional items related to acquisitions. These results came on revenue of US $91 billion, which was a slight decrease from US $93 billion the year prior, demonstrating an improvement in trading margins. Overall trading volumes were flat at 131 million MT compared with 130 million MT the year prior. "Gunvor's results are based on its global trading activity, underscoring that our diversification strategy continues to be successful even in a tough trading environment," said CEO Torbjorn Tornqvist. "Gunvor's strategy will continue in full, including in how we diversify into new products, new geographies and new investments. Our cash position remains strong, more than at any point in our company's history, and first quarter results already indicate an improvement in underlying trading activity." Gunvor sources crude and products from more than 35 countries, with less than 20 percent of trade flows originating from Russia. Gunvor Group is one of the world's largest independent commodities trading houses by turnover, creating logistics solutions that safely and efficiently move physical energy from where it is sourced and stored to where it is demanded most. With strategic investments in energy infrastructure—refineries, pipelines, storage, terminals, mining and upstream— Gunvor further generates sustainable value across the global supply chain for its customers. More information can be found at www.gunvorgroup.com or on Twitter: @Gunvor.


Religion plays an important role in the lives of many Americans, but there is relatively little study by economists of the implications of religiosity for economic outcomes. This likely reflects the enormous difficulty inherent in separating the causal effects of religiosity from other factors that are correlated with outcomes. In this paper, I propose a potential solution to this long standing problem, by noting that a major determinant of religious participation is religious market density, or the share of the population in an area which is of an individual's religion. I make use of the fact that exogenous predictions of market density can be formed based on area ancestral mix. That is, I relate religious participation and economic outcomes to the correlation of the religious preference of one's own heritage with the religious preference of other heritages that share one's area. I use the General Social Survey (GSS) to model the impact of market density on church attendance, and micro-data from the 1990 Census to model the impact on economic outcomes. I find that a higher market density leads to a significantly increased level of religious participation, and as well to better outcomes according to several key economic indicators: higher levels of education and income, lower levels of welfare receipt and disability, higher levels of marriage, and lower levels of divorce.


Accepted: 25.01.2013 The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of computer animation technique on academic achievement of students in the 'Solar System and Beyond' unit lectured as part of the Science and Technology course of the seventh grade in primary education. The sample of the study consists of 60 students attending to the 7th grade of primary school under two different classes during the 2011-2012 academic year. While the lectures in the class designated as the experiment group were given with computer animation technique, in the class designated as the control group Powerpoint presentations and videos were utilized along with the traditional teaching methods. According to the findings, it was determined that computer animation technique is more effective than traditional teaching methods in terms of enhancing students' achievement. It was also determined in the study that, the Powerpoint presentations and related videos used together with the traditional teaching methods provided to the control group significantly help the students to increase their academic achievement.


Semantics in Business Systems begins with a description of what semantics are and how they affect business systems. It examines four main aspects of the application of semantics to systems, specifically: How do we infer meaning from unstructured information, how do application systems make meaning as they operate, how do practitioners uncover meaning in business settings, and how do we understand and communicate what we have deduced? This book illustrates how this applies to the future of application system development, especially how it informs and affects Web services and business rule- based approaches, and how semantics will play out with XML and the semantic Web. The book also contains a quick reference guide to related terms and technologies. It is part of Morgan Kaufmann's series of Savvy Manager's Guides. * Presents an easy and enjoyable introduction to semantics in the context of business IT systems.* Articulates the business value of semantics, while providing relevant introductory technical background.* Describes the semantic underpinnings of data modeling, business rules, enterprise integration, and Web services.* Contains a handy quick-reference guide to technologies and terminology. * For more information, links, and discussions, go to www.savvymanagers.com.


The population growth, urbanization, and income growth that fuelled the increase in meat and milk consumption during the last two decades are expected to continue in the future, creating a veritable "Livestock Revolution". This revolution presents new and expanding market opportunities for smallholder livestock producers. Inappropriate policies and misallocation of investment resources could, however, skew the distribution of the benefits and opportunities away from those smallholders who would potentially gain the most from this revolution. In this context, a search for policies designed to enhance the benefits to smallholders seems appropriate. This study provides an empirical basis for identifying options to increase the participation of smallholders in livestock markets in the Philippines. We present a model of household entry into markets where smallholders make decisions about participation (whether to sell quantities of products) and supply (how much of the various quantities to sell). The theory is implemented using probit and Tobit techniques that exploit Gibbs-sampling and data-augmentation. Application to a sample of Philippine smallholders reveals important insights about the competing influences of transactions costs, labour mobility, capital formation and credit use on the market participation and supply decisions. The offsetting impacts of conflicting factors complicate the roles for policy in the context of expanding the density of participation in the study site.


This paper presents an evaluation of a range of cache features applied to an asynchronous, dual-ported copy-back cache. The design has been optimised for the AMULET3 asynchronous microprocessor core, but the techniques developed are much more widely applicable. It is shown that using a copy-back cache with a victim cache would gives a noticeable performance improvement on the existing fabrication technology and that the benefits will increase with increasing cache/memory speed disparity. The design presented provides the processor with a unified, dual-ported view of its memory subsystem using multiple interleaved blocks each with separate line-buffers.


In Indonesia, national broadcasting in the 21st century has been characterized by increasing Muslim normativity across the spectrum of commercial programming, along with sectarian clashes that have further marginalized religious minorities. This article investigates the case of a small, regional television station in one of the country's Christian-majority provinces to explore the ways that such minorities have exploited a relaxation of broadcast regulations to form distinctive and insular micromediascapes within the larger field of Indonesian media culture. I suggest the need for a more graduated articulation of Arjun Appadurai's "mediascape" concept that foregrounds the import of local, small-scale production and broadcasting, particularly to marginalized groups. Based on an ethnographic study in Manado, North Sulawesi, I argue that local TV has risen to the foreground of the province's public culture in a manner that mobilizes its religious, ethnic, and historical identity narratives to reterritorialize audiences and reify the region's distinction from the state. [Christianity, Indonesia, Islam, media, television]


It is demonstrated that fullerenes, prepared via the standard method (an arc between graphite electrodes in a partial pressure of helium), on heating to high temperatures release 4He and 3He. The amount corresponds to one 4He for every 880,000 fullerene molecules. The 3He/4He isotopic ratio is that of tank helium rather than that of atmospheric helium. These results convincingly show that the helium is inside and that there is no exchange with the atmosphere. The amount found corresponds with a prediction from a simple model based on the expected volume of the cavity. In addition, the temperature dependence for the release of helium implies a barrier about 80 kilocalories per mole. This is much lower than the barrier expected from theory for helium passing through one of the rings in the intact structure. Amechanism involving reversibly breaking one or more bonds to temporarily open a "window" in the cage is proposed. A predicted consequence of this mechanism is the incorporation of other gases while the "window" is open. This was demonstrated through the incorporation of 3He and neon by heating fullerene in their presence.


Systematic monitoring of ecologically significant species – predatory mollusc Rapana venosa Valenciennes, 1846 populations – is an important part of the Black Sea monitoring. The study of the role of R. venosa in contemporary marine ecosystem is of considerable interest. In June-September 2015-2016 the study of consorting relations of rapana was conducted in situ with a parallel sampling by diver. In the course of research new information about the interaction of R. venosa with the fish fauna has been obtained. Of particular importance for fishes is the presence of rapana in the sandy bottom zone, where there are no natural shelters, and food resources are limited. The most important for the fish is the presence on the rapana shells of algal fouling and epiphyton. The shells of invader – R. venosa – and its fouling create additional opportunities for the survival of some fish fauna representatives juveniles of the Black Sea. The data obtained extend the concepts of ecological role of mollusc – invader R. venosa, as well as the ecology and ethology of several fish species.


Aerobic granular sludge-based reactors represent an attractive alternative to conventional activated sludge systems. Compared to activated sludge, the use of aerobic granular sludge reactors is advantageous because (i) considerably less area is required for construction, (ii) less energy is required to operate the system and (iii) growth yield of granular sludge biomass is lower, hence surplus biomass is reduced. One type of aerobic granular sludge reactors is the sequencing batch bubble column reactor. In sequencing batch bubble column reactors the alternation of anaerobic an aerobic periods is (among others) an important parameter for the formation of aerobic granules. The granules developed in such systems can have high biomass concentration, good settling properties, and high organic matter removal efficiencies. Desirable microbial processes that may develop within the granules are those of phosphorus removal and nitrification. In addition, and depending on bulk oxygen concentrations and granule size, denitrification may also occur in the granules core. Hence, sequencing batch reactors operated with granular sludge have the potential to achieve organic matter and nutrient removal in a single compact system. Development of aerobic granular sludge has been mainly studied using acetate as main energy and carbon source and at reactor temperatures of 20°C. However, some industrial streams may have higher temperatures and often contain, besides acetate, other volatile fatty acids as main components (or contaminants). Reports indicate that, in activated sludge systems, the presence of propionate in the wastewater may favor the proliferation of the microorganisms responsible for phosphate removal. The question remains on whether aerobic granular sludge can be developed with other carbon sources as main components (e.g. propionate) or at higher temperatures and if so, what are the physical and metabolic (or microbiological) properties of such sludge. Therefore we explored these issues in the present study. The development of aerobic granular sludge was investigated in sequencing batch bubble column reactors at temperatures of 20 and 30-35°C as well as with different carbon sources in the feed. Preliminary results show that aerobic granular sludge can be formed at higher temperatures but with different predominant microbial populations carrying out different microbial processes. Phosphate removal was only observed at 20°C whereas nitrification was occurring at higher temperatures.


A B S T R A C T This paper addresses the scheduling of machines, an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) and two robots in a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) formed in three loop layouts, with objectives to minimize the makespan, mean flow time and mean tardiness. The scheduling optimization is carried out using Sheep Flock Heredity Algorithm (SFHA) and Artificial Immune System (AIS) algorithm. AGV is used for carrying jobs between the Load/Unload station and the machines. The robots are used for loading and unloading the jobs in the machines, and also used for transferring jobs between the machines. The algorithms are applied for test problems taken from the literature and the results obtained using the two algorithms are compared. The results indicate that SFHA performs better than AIS for this problem.


Macrobrachium Bate, 1868 is the most speciose genus of the family Palaemonidae. Among these, the neotropical species Macrobrachium amazonicum (Heller, 1862) is considered as particularly successful, showing an extremely wide range of distribution (ca 4.000 km across). Populations assigned to this species live in estuaries along the northern and northeastern coasts of South America as well as in fresh water habitats in the Amazon, Orinoco and Parana-Paraguay river basins. Following recent comparative studies that showed differential ecological, reproductive, developmental and physiological traits in geographically separated populations from the Amazon delta and the Pantanal region, Brazil, we examined the morphology and morphometry of adult shrimps from these two regions. Based on significant differences, we conclude that the Pantanal population constitutes a new species, which is described here as Macrobrachium pantanalense. The main morphological differences between M. amazonicum and the new species have been found on the second pereiopod and on the telson of both males and females, moreover in the maximum size of females vs. males.


Impaired gut barrier function plays an important role in the development of many diseases such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, and in HIV infection. Dietary fibres have been shown to improve intestinal barrier function through their fermentation products, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and the effects of individual SCFAs have been studied. Here, different SCFA mixtures representing possible compositions from fibre fermentation products were studied for protective and reparative effects on intestinal barrier function. The effect of fermentation products from four dietary fibres, i.e. resistant starch, fructooligosaccharides, and sorghum and corn arabinoxylan (varying in their branched structure) on barrier function was positively correlated with their SCFA concentration. Pure SCFA mixtures of various concentrations and compositions were tested using a Caco-2 cell model. SCFAs at a moderate concentration (40-80 mM) improved barrier function without causing damage to the monolayer. In a 40 mM SCFA mixture, the butyrate proportion at 20% and 50% showed both a protective and a reparative effect on the monolayer to disrupting agents (LPS/TNF-α) applied simultaneously or prior to the SCFA mixtures. Relating this result to dietary fibre selection, slow fermenting fibres that deliver appropriate concentrations of SCFAs to the epithelium with a high proportion of butyrate may improve barrier function.


This report, by the co-chairs of the T20 process during Germany's G20 Presidency, presents 20 key policy recommendations for G20 policy-makers and stakeholders. The policy recommendations are formulated concisely to be easily accessible to those seeking a short summary of the main conclusions. Readers who are interested in the detailed recommendations are referred to the Policy Briefs in the G20 Insights Platform (www.g20-insights.org). This report includes only a selection of policy recommendations that have been chosen for their novelty, ease of implementation and relevance to the G20 during the German Presidency. The G20 Insights Platform contains the full range of T20 policy recommendations.


Advocates of rational choice theory in political science have been perceived by their critics as attempting to establish an intellectual hegemony in contemporary social science, to the detriment of alternative methods of research. The debate has gained a nonacademic audience, hitting the pages of the New York Times and the New Republic. In the academy, the antagonists have expressed their views in books, journal articles, and at professional conferences.Mark I. Lichbach addresses the question of the place of rational choice theory in the social sciences in general and in political science in particular. He presents a typology of the antagonists as either rationalist, culturalist, or structuralist and offers an insightful examination of the debate. He reveals that the rationalist bid for hegemony and synthesis is rooted in the weaknesses, not the strengths, of rationalist thought. He concludes that the various theoretical camps are unlikely to accept the claimed superiority of the rationalist approach but that this opposition is of value in itself to the social sciences, which requires multiple perspectives to remain healthy.With its penetrating examination of the assumptions and basic arguments of each of the sides to this debate, this book cuts through the partisan rhetoric and provides an essential roadmap for the future of the discipline.Mark I. Lichbach is Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland.


Objective: To examine moderators and predictors of response to behavior therapy for tics in children and adults with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders. Methods: Data from 2 10-week, multisite studies (1 in children and 1 in adults; total n = 248) comparing comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT) to psychoeducation and supportive therapy (PST) were combined for moderator analyses. Participants (177 male, 71 female) had a mean age of 21.5 ± 13.9 years (range 9–69). Demographic and clinical characteristics, baseline tic-suppressing medication, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders were tested as potential moderators for CBIT vs PST or predictors of outcome regardless of treatment assignment. Main outcomes measures were the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale Total Tic score and the Clinical Global Impression–Improvement score assessed by masked evaluators. Results: The presence of tic medication significantly moderated response to CBIT vs PST (p = 0.01). Participants showed tic reduction after CBIT regardless of tic medication status, but only participants receiving tic medication showed reduction of tics after PST. Co-occurring psychiatric disorders, age, sex, family functioning, tic characteristics, and treatment expectancy did not moderate response. Across both treatments, greater tic severity (p = 0.005) and positive participant expectancy (p = 0.01) predicted greater tic improvement. Anxiety disorders (p = 0.042) and premonitory urge severity (p = 0.005) predicted lower tic reduction. Conclusions: Presence of co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or anxiety disorders did not moderate response to CBIT. Although participants on tic medication showed improvement after CBIT, the difference between CBIT and PST was greater for participants who were not on tic-suppressing medication. ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: The child and adult CBIT studies are listed on clinical trials.gov (NCT00218777 and NCT00231985, respectively). Classification of evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that CBIT is effective in reducing tic severity across subgroups of patients with chronic tic disorders, although the difference between treatments was smaller for participants on tic-suppressing medications, suggesting reduced efficacy in this subgroup.


Men's mate values are defined based on three broad categories— good genes, good providers, both of which are selected early across the animal kingdom, and good fathers that represent the last pedigree of primate evolution and may have contributed to the human development of modernity and gender equality. Women select long-term mates based on these 3 mate values, and women's mate preference over them depends on the prevailing ecological conditions. Based on 4 samples comprising a total of 1,257 Chinese women, we found that women in general and those with high socioeconomic status in particular (Study 1), as well as women in cities compared with rural women (Study 2), preferred good-father over good-provider and good-genes attributes in long-term relationships. Similar results were obtained in an experimental study (n 123) where, under good economic compared to poor economic and control conditions, women prioritized good-father over good-provider and good-genes attributes. These findings indicate that in modern-day economies, in which a woman spends the same amount of time and energy on education and employment and acquires approximately the same amount of resources and same extent of safety and disease protection as men, her mate preference is likely to center on good-father attributes, as her reproductive success depends on a helper at the nest increasingly more than other mate contributions.


It is widely acknowledged that exploratory search tasks require more search support than currently provided on most commercial Information Retrieval (IR) systems. As a result, richer modes of interaction, and more functional IR systems are being developed. But these next generation IR systems come at a cost: they can place a large cognitive load on the user during interaction, and hamper progress. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between search tasks and search interfaces, and try to understand when system support is most effective for search tasks. We present a user study comprising known-item and exploratory search tasks and different interfaces that provide varying levels of system support. A quantitative and qualitative data analysis was conducted on the users' performances, preferences, and search behaviours. Our findings suggest that a relationship exists between the level of system support and search tasks, and that system support is most effective when it is enabling search activities appropriate to the task


Over the ocean, the SAR and ASAR instruments onboard ESA's ERS and ENVISAT satellites are operated in wave mode whenever no other operation is requested. In wave mode, SAR collects data to form small images of 10 km x 5 km size every 200 or 100 km along the satellite's orbit. Ocean wave parameters can be retrieved from these SAR/ASAR wave mode data over the global ocean with high quality. The wave parameters can be used for validation of numerical wave model forecasts and hindcasts, assimilation of models, observations and forecast of extreme ocean weather, as well as for global wave climate analysis.
The main focus of the thesis is ocean wave information retrieval from SAR and ASAR wave mode data. This includes validation of published schemes for retrieving two-dimensional ocean wave spectra and development of the new empirical algorithm CWAVE_ENV for the retrieval of integral wave parameters directly from ASAR wave mode data without using other input as the first guess.
Three months of ASAR wave mode data acquired globally from December 2006 to February 2007 are used to validate the algorithms of the nonlinear PARSA (Partition Rescaling and Shift Algorithm) and the quasi-linear WVW (used by ESA for Level 2 ASAR Wave Mode Wave Spectra) by comparing them to collocated in situ buoy measurements and numerical wave model results. The PARSA algorithm needs the SAR look cross spectra and first guess spectra from numerical wave model as input. The algorithm can yield the full two-dimensional ocean wave spectrum and the retrieved integral wave parameters agree with buoy measurements with a bias of only 0.09 m and a scatter index of 21%. The comparison with the forecast wave model of DWD is even better with a bias of -0.01 m and a scatter index of 16%.
The quasi-linear ESA algorithm WVW has the advantage of not needing any priori. However, the retrieved wave spectra are limited to the domain of long wavelengths, mainly swell. Therefore the significant wave height (SWH) integrated from the WVW spectra has a higher bias of -0.19 m and a larger scatter index of 36% when compared to in situ buoy measurements. Furthermore, the underestimation of SWH increases with sea state. Around 25% ASAR wave mode cross spectra cannot be converted successfully by using the algorithm, probably because of the low signal to noise ratio.
Based on the empirical algorithm CWAVE_ERS developed for reprocessed ERS-2 SAR wave mode data, the CWAVE_ENV algorithm is proposed in this thesis and implemented for the ASAR wave mode data. Using the same three months ASAR wave mode data and the collocated dataset, the empirical algorithm is validated. Validation, particularly compared to independent datasets, i.e., in situ buoy measurements and radar altimeters, proves that reliable and accurate sea state measurements can be achieved. The bias is only 0.06 m and the scatter index 24%, compared to the buoy measurements over deep water. The respective bias is -0.11 m and -0.13 m and the scatter index 13% and 17% when compared to the crossover measurements of the spaceborne radar altimeters on GFO and JASON, respectively.
For a full year dataset, from June 2006 to May 2007, ASAR wave mode data were processed using the CWAVE_ENV algorithm leading to a global sea state analysis. Global 10-year returned extreme SWH is estimated to be 23.4 m using a lognormal probability density function (pdf) as the best fit for high sea state. Seasonal and annual maps for SWH, mean wave period, and wave steepness are compiled. In the winter season, the fetch-limit effects of the North Atlantic lead to high wave build up continuously from west to east, causing the gradual growth of swell.
Compared to the results of reanalyzed wave model ERA-40 during 1971 - 2000, the annual mean wave height derived from ASAR wave mode data shows a similar pattern of high waves in the North Pacific, North Atlantic and the Southern Hemisphere. However, in the Northwestern Indian, a much stronger monsoon signal is observed in the ASAR results than the model results. With respect to the mean wave period, extreme swell is observed in the open sea south of Australia, which is around 1 s higher than the model results for the mean value.
The SAR wave mode data are useful for global wave studies, while in the coastal regions, SAR data with higher resolution as well as larger coverage are required for investigating spatial changes of sea state. Wave refraction and diffraction around the Terceira island (located in the North Atlantic) is analyzed using the new high resolution TerraSAR-X data. Variations of wave height, peak wavelength and wave direction in the coastal wave processes are identified using the two-dimensional SAR image spectra.


Surface deformations were observed in Bolvadin, located in the province of Afyon (western Turkey) in the last decade which occurred without any destructive earthquakes. In this study, ground deformation of the Bolvadin region is analyzed by means of multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique with Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Sentinel-1 data acquired in ascending and descending orbits between October 2014 and October 2018 are processed with the Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) and Stanford Method for Persistent Scatterers (StaMPS) open source software tools. Deformation velocity maps and line-of-sight (LOS) displacement time series are produced and compared with geology, groundwater level and the water surface area of Eber Lake nearby. Deformation velocity maps reveal significant subsidence in most of the town and surrounding regions, which is confirmed by field observations that show severe damage to the settlements and infrastructure of the town. The most severe subsidence is observed to be in the southern part of Bolvadin with rates up to 35 mm/year, which is characterized by the presence of soft alluvial deposits. Composed of slope debris/talus and conglomerate, the northeastern part of the deforming region experiences a relatively lower rate of subsidence. A strong correlation between LOS displacement time series and groundwater level exists both in the short and long term. Moreover, short term variations in LOS displacement time series also show high similarity with seasonal variations in the water surface area of Eber Lake located a few km southeast of the town. We conclude that the primary cause of subsidence is most probably the overexploitation of groundwater and hydrological changes because of (1) the strong correlation of subsidence with lithological units, (2) the similarity between deformation rate and groundwater level changes, (3) the correspondence of seasonal variations in water surface area and short-term deformation rate oscillations, and (4) the absence of InSAR velocity contrast across the active faults.


Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is a technique that applies electrical currents to nervous tissue in order to actively induce muscle contraction. Recent research has shown that FES provides a promising treatment to restore functional tasks due to paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, head injury, and stroke, to mention a few. Therefore, the overarching goal of this research work is to develop FES controllers to enable patients with movement-disorder to control their limbs in a desired manner and, in particular, to aid Parkinson's patients to suppress hand tremor. In our effort to develop strategies for muscle stimulation control, we first implement a model-based control technique assuming that all the states are measurable. The Hill-type muscle model coupled with a simplified 2DoF model of the arm is used to study the performance of our proposed adaptive sliding mode controller for simulation purpose. However, in the more practical situations, human limb dynamics are extremely complicate and it is inadequate to use model based controllers, especially considering there are still technical limitations that allow in vivo measurements of muscle activity. To tackle these challenges, we have developed output feedback adaptive control approaches for a class of unknown multi-input multi-output systems. Such control strategies are first developed for linear systems, and then extended to the nonlinear case. The proposed controllers, supported by experimental results, require minimum knowledge of the system dynamics and avoid many restrictive assumptions typically found in the literature. Therefore, we expect that the results introduced in this dissertation can provide a solution for a wide class of nonlinear uncertain systems, with focus on practical issues such as partial state measurement and the presence of mismatched uncertainties.


The genus Corynebacterium belongs to the taxonomic class Actinobacteria representing the high G+C branch of gram-positive bacteria. Among the most prominent members of this genus is Corynebacterium glutamicum, which is used by the biotechnological industry for the fermentative production of l-amino acids. Because of its industrial importance, C. glutamicum is one of the best-studied gram-positive bacteria and an emerging model for the suborder Corynebacterineae. Over the past years, the transcriptional regulation of gene expression was intensively studied in C. glutamicum to gain insights into the regulatory gene composition and the architecture of the transcriptional regulatory network. Therefore, we have achieved considerable improvements in understanding the regulatory roles of the various transcription regulators and the topology of the gene-regulatory network. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the regulatory gene repertoire and the reconstruction of the transcriptional regulatory network. We describe the functional classification of the detected transcription regulators and their interactions in the gene-regulatory network. Moreover, we provide an overview of the molecular features of transcription regulators and their regulons to integrate these data into the gene-regulatory network and to unravel the flow of information from the environment toward the gene level.


Recent studies suggest that high-frequency words may benefit speech segmentation (Bortfeld, Morgan, Golinkoff, & Rathbun, 2005) and grammatical categorisation (Monaghan, Christiansen, & Chater, 2007). To date, these tasks have been examined separately, but not together. We familiarised adults with continuous speech comprising repetitions of target words, and compared learning to a language in which targets appeared alongside high-frequency marker words. Marker words reliably preceded targets, and distinguished them into two otherwise unidentifiable categories. Participants completed a 2AFC segmentation test, and a similarity judgement categorisation test. We tested transfer to a wordpicture mapping task, where words from each category were used either consistently or inconsistently to label actions/objects. Participants segmented the speech successfully, but only demonstrated effective categorisation when speech contained high-frequency marker words. The advantage of marker words extended to the early stages of the transfer task. Findings indicate the same high-frequency words may assist speech segmentation and grammatical categorisation