BACKGROUND
Occupational tuberculosis (TB) in hospital-based health care workers is reported regularly, but TB in community-based health care researchers has not often been addressed.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate TB incidence in health care researchers in a high TB and human immunodeficiency virus prevalent setting in the Western Cape, South Africa. The health care researchers were employed at the Desmond Tutu TB Centre, Stellenbosch University.

METHODS
A retrospective analysis was performed of routine information concerning employees at the Desmond Tutu TB Centre. The Centre has office-based and community-based employees.

RESULTS
Of 180 researchers included in the analysis, 11 TB cases were identified over 250.4 person-years (py) of follow-up. All cases were identified among community-based researchers. TB incidence was 4.39 per 100 py (95%CI 2.45-7.93). The standardised TB morbidity ratio was 2.47 (95%CI 1.25-4.32), which exceeded the standard population rate by 147%.

CONCLUSIONS
TB incidence in South Africa was 948 per 100,000 population per year in 2007; in the communities where the researchers worked, it was 1875/100,000. Community-based researchers in the study population have a 2.34 times higher TB incidence than the community. It is the responsibility of principal investigators to implement occupational health and infection control guidelines to protect researchers.


Over the past several years, U.S. homebuyers have increasingly favored fixed-rate mortgages over adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). Indeed, ARMs have dropped to less than 10 percent of all residential mortgage originations, a near-record low. One might speculate that the decline in the ARM share has been driven by ?one-off? factors relating to the financial crisis. However, a statistical analysis suggests that recent trends can largely be explained by the same factors that have historically shaped mortgage choice?most notably, the term structure of interest rates and its effects on the relative price of different types of mortgages. Supply-side factors, in particular a rise in the share of mortgages eligible to be securitized by the housing government-sponsored enterprises, also play a role in the low current ARM share.


The purpose of this article is to understand the academic landscape on collaboration in design, its characteristics and related concepts for promoting collaboration within in the project based production systems. We aim to answer to the following three questions: How to define collaboration in design and why individuals need to collaborate during design? What characterizes effective collaboration in design? Which concepts support the development of collaboration in design? For shedding light on this subject, a literature review is conducted and applicability to Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry and project delivery are discussed. In this study, it was found that collaboration is a complex phenomenon, which explains the diversity of views and many complimentary concepts in organizational and design literature. Collaboration requires the management of material and knowledge boundaries, in order to develop common goals, processes and product. Lean construction concepts, methods and tools have helped the teams to develop collaborative design and construction practices.


Landscape carbon (C) flux estimates help assess the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to buffer further increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Advances in remote sensing have led to coarse‐scale estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP; e.g., MODIS 17), yet efforts to develop spatial respiration products are lacking. Here we demonstrate a method to predict growing season soil respiration at a regional scale in a mixed subalpine ecosystem. We related field measurements (n = 396) of growing season soil respiration mostly from subalpine forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains ecoregion to a suite of biophysical predictors using a Random Forest model (30‐m pixel size). We found that Landsat Enhanced Vegetation Index, growing season aridity index, temperature, precipitation, elevation, and slope aspect explained spatiotemporal variability in soil respiration. Our model had a psuedo‐r2 of 0.45 and root‐mean‐square error of roughly one quarter of the mean value of respiration. Predicted growing season soil respiration across the region was remarkably consistent across 2004, 2005, and 2006 (150‐day sums of 542.8, 544.3, and 536.5 g C/m2, respectively). Yet we observed substantial variability in spatial patterns of soil respiration predictions that varied among years, suggesting that our method is sensitive to changes in respiration drivers. Mean predicted growing season soil respiration was 73% of MODIS GPP, while predicted soil respiration was generally within 20% of nocturnal net ecosystem exchange from nearby eddy covariance towers. Thus, geospatial and remotely sensed data sets can be used to estimate soil respiration at landscape scales.


Dataflow systems provide fault tolerance by combining checkpointing and lineage but leave it up to a data scientist to decide on when and how to checkpoint. This leads to job plans that are inefficient during failure-free execution or recovery, e.g., if a data scientist forgets to checkpoint expensive operators that need to be re-executed after a failure. In this work, we aim to (1) increase efficiency of checkpointing transparently to the data scientist and (2) automate placement of checkpoints and other fault tolerance mechanism. First, we show how to reduce checkpoint size for machine learning algorithms using qpoints, a compressed representation of the algorithms' parameters. Qpoints enable the algorithms to run faster by spending less time on checkpointing. Second, we show how to place checkpoints optimally for a given cluster without user intervention using smartpoints, our framework for building fault tolerance optimizers. Smartpoints free data scientists from making tedious decisions about fault tolerance while retaining reasonable performance guarantees in case of failure.


"Since the early 1980s, almost all African governments have embarked on economic reform programs to reduce state intervention in the economy and to allow markets to play a larger role. In the agricultural sector these programs were designed to eliminate price controls on agricultural commodities, disband or privatize state farms and state-owned enterprises, reduce the heavy taxation of agricultural exports, phase out subsidies on fertilizer and other inputs, and allow greater competition in agricultural markets. These measures have been highly controversial. Proponents argue that the reforms have improved market efficiency, reduced budget deficits, stimulated export production, and increased the share of the final price received by farmers. Opponents argue that the reforms have destabilized agricultural prices, widened the income distribution gap, and reduced access to low-cost inputs. Reforming Agricultural Markets in Africa by Mylene Kherallah, Christopher Delgado, Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Nicholas Minot, and Michael Johnson, published by The Johns Hopkins University Press for IFPRI, reviews the experience of the last 20 years. It evaluates the degree to which the reforms have actually been implemented, their impact on agricultural production and prices, and the net effect on the well-being of African households." Author's Introduction.


A large global database for over 9000 Archean to Holocene pelites in numerous basins has been developed to evaluate diagenetically unaltered and altered compositions. The mineralogy and geochemistry of Quaternary muds and ancient mudstones provide first-order controls on diagenetic potassium metasomatism in pelites. Clay mineralogy of Quaternary muds is dominated by smectite and kaolinite with minor detrital mica and illite. Thus, K2O is < 4%, K/Al is < 0.25, and K/Rb is < 220 in most Quaternary muds. With diagenetic alteration of clays to illite–smectite and illite, K2O content increases to 4–8% and K/Al rises to 0.2–0.5 or more. In extreme potassium metasomatism, authigenic K-feldspar develops. Sources of potassium are internal to shale–sandstone units wherein detrital K-feldspar is dissolved during diagenesis, providing K for clay illitization in closed-system (isochemical) alteration as in some Gulf Coast and North Sea Basin cases. Potassium in amounts greater than that available from closed-system alteration is provided from extraformational circulating brines in open-system diagenesis. K/Rb, with diagenesis, varies according to whether the metasomatizing fluid was relatively poor in Rb (seawater derived brines) or richer in Rb as in many hydrothermal waters. Diagenetic fluids may originate from seawater, or meteoric water enriched in cations by water–rock interactions along their subsurface migration paths and/or by dissolution of evaporites. Potassium metasomatizing fluids penetrate low-permeability pelites through faults, fractures, and microfractures and by diffusion in the mineral matrix.

Typically, K-metasomatism, possibly with Pb, Zn, Cu, Ba, and F mineralization, occurs long after sediment deposition and burial at temperatures of 50° to 150°C+, related to tectonic activity and fluid movement. Different modes of metasomatism are recognized and correlated with geological setting. In the passive-margin Gulf Coast Tertiary basin, open-system K-metasomatism, where present, is limited to areas adjacent to steeply dipping growth faults which act as conduits for episodic pulses of altering fluids migrated upward from deeper basin sources. In contrast, widespread pervasive open-system K-metasomatism produced by continuous long-term gravity, advective, and diffusive flow of brine from the late Paleozoic Appalachian–Ouachita–Wichita Mountains highland to altered earlier Paleozoic shales plus sandstones, bentonites, and carbonates in the Illinois and Anadarko–Ardmore foreland basins. This mode of K-alteration following major mountain-building events is characteristic of many Precambrian and Paleozoic collision orogens and associated foreland basins. Another mode is in rift basins with no external drainage in which indigenous waters are evaporated to brines. These brines cause albitization of K-feldspar to yield potassium for illitization of detrital clays.


Moscow Calling, by Angus Roxburgh. Edinburgh: Birlinn.  2017. ISBN 978-1-78027-492-8 SCOTTISH journalist Angus Roxburgh's account of his life as a correspondent in the Russian capital struck a chord with me immediately, for his infatuation with Russia began with listening to shortwave broadcasts from Radio Moscow.


3D printing is capturing the imagination of makers, futurists, and scientists everywhere. It is already changing industry, as well as the capabilities of DIY makers. How does 3D printing work? Have we entered a new industrial revolution? What is the future of 3D printing, and how will it impact our lives? This Hot Science – Cool Talks event is part of Natural Sciences Week, and produced in collaboration with the Natural Sciences Council.


A systematic study of kinetics and thermodynamics of Si (111) surface nitridation under ammonia exposure is presented. The appeared silicon nitride (8 × 8) structure is found to be a metastable phase. Experimental evidences of graphene-like nature of the silicon nitride (8 × 8) structure are presented. Interlayer spacings in the (SiN) 2 (AlN) 4 structure on the Si (111) surface are found equal to 3.3 Å in SiN and 2.86 Å in AlN. These interlayer spacings correspond to weak van der Waals interaction between layers. In contrast to the widely accepted model of a surface structure (8 × 8) as monolayer of β -Si 3 N 4 on Si (111) surface, we propose a new graphene-like Si 3 N 4 (g-Si 3 N 3 and/or g-Si 3 N 4 ) model for the (8 × 8) structure. It is revealed that the deposition of Al atoms on top of a highly ordered (8 × 8) structure results in graphene-like AlN (g-AlN) layers formation. The g-AlN lattice constant of 3.08 Å is found in a good agreement with the ab initio calculations. A transformation of the g-AlN to the bulk-like wurtzite AlN is analyzed.


A Case Study of Rural Community Colleges' Transition to Entrepreneurship by James D. Genandt MA, Emporia State University, 1988 BA, Huron College, 1978 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University May 2017 Abstract The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using WoolcockThe traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using Woolcock and Narayan's conceptualization of social capital, the purpose of this case study of 4 community colleges in a Midwest state was to identify specific entrepreneurship strategies rural community colleges use relative to economic development. The data were collected via email and telephone interviews with 11 employees connected to leadership and/or economic development from the 4 community colleges. Interview data were transcribed, inductively coded, and subjected to thematic analysis according to job duties of the respondents. Findings from this study indicate that key factors in improving entrepreneurial capacity include a need to strengthen leadership development, and enhance regional social capital through synergy networks linked to economic development efforts involving the rural college. These findings are similar to the Rural Community College Initiative that was funded by the Ford Foundation. The implications for social change stemming from this study include advocating entrepreneurship through social capital and shared vision via rural community colleges to stabilize and strengthen those regions, with the potential creating more vibrant economies for rural communities. A Case Study of Rural Community Colleges' Transition to Entrepreneurship by James D. Genandt MA, Emporia State University, 1988 BA, Huron College, 1978 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration


The objective is to determine the effect of a moderate intensity exercise programme on the behaviour of children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Thirteen ADHD children ( 5 - 1 3 years old, 10 boys and 3 girls) participated in a 5-week exercise programme (5 days a week, 60 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes at 50 - 75% of maximal heart rate). Six ADHD children ( 5 - 1 3 years old, 3 boys and 3 girls) acted as non-exercising controls. A modified Conner's Parent Rating Scale was used to rate the children's behaviour 1 week before, after 3 weeks of exercise, and immediately: after the 5-week period.


Abstract. A singular evolutive extended Kalman (SEEK) filter is used to assimilate real in situ data in a water column marine ecosystem model. The biogeochemistry of the ecosystem is described by the European Regional Sea Ecosystem Model (ERSEM), while the physical forcing is described by the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). In the SEEK filter, the error statistics are parameterized by means of a suitable basis of empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs). The purpose of this contribution is to track the possibility of using data assimilation techniques for state estimation in marine ecosystem models. In the experiments, real oxygen and nitrate data are used and the results evaluated against independent chlorophyll data. These data were collected from an offshore station at three different depths for the needs of the MFSPP project. The assimilation results show a continuous decrease in the estimation error and a clear improvement in the model behavior. Key words. Oceanography: general (ocean prediction; numerical modelling) – Oceanography: biological and chemical (ecosystems and ecology)


To understand the factors that shape inactivity, this research focused on identifying barriers to physical activity among female inactive adolescents (aged 13-17 years) of Indian and Polish origin living in Mississauga, Ontario. In 2008, 10 focus groups sessions were held with Indian (n=42) and Polish (n=45) inactive female adolescents. The focus group questions were designed to identify barriers to physical activity common to Indian and Polish female adolescents but also culturally-specific barriers. The results revealed three shared barriers: time constraints, perceived incompetence, and inaccessibility (economic and geographic). Also, there were culturally-specific barriers to physical activity. Among Polish participants, these barriers related to cultural commitments, whereas Indian participants identified concerns over skin exposure, traditional gender roles, and discrimination. Recommendations will be disseminated to local community partners to provide evidence that will inform programs related to increasing rates of physical activity in the City of Mississauga.


We report on a new IRAF task called finesky that removes higher order sky residuals in NICMOS images by creating a masked median image of the observed sky. This median sky image is thereafter subtracted from the science images. A residual signal after image processing using the calibration software calnica may be present due to reference files that do not sufficiently match the conditions of the observations. This includes a slight mismatch in the dark current or the flat-field corrections. The task described here can also used to create sky flat-field images.


We have developed a sparse phase-stepping (SPS) method for x-ray Talbot-Lau interferometry, which first constructs a SPS intensity pattern of fewer images than the conventional phase-stepping (PS) method and then fills the data gap with neighboring pixels for phase retrieval. The SPS method is highly beneficial in practice since the fundamental difference in spatial resolution between the SPS and PS methods becomes negligible due to the blur caused by an interferometer. The concept of the SPS method has been proved by the experiment using a small effective source size. Furthermore, the experiment using a large effective source size has verified that in practical situations the SPS method can reduce the required number of images for phase retrieval and still offer the retrieved images with as high a spatial resolution as the PS method.


Parkinson's disease is a brain disease in which, in particular, a degeneration of neurons in the
substantia nigra compacta occurs. The substantia nigra compacta is a brain region that is connected
to the striatum, the main input area of the basal ganglia. A novel treatment method for Parkinson's
disease is deep brain stimulation (DBS). An electrode which continuously emits high-frequency
stimuli is placed within the subthalamic nucleus (STN), a sub-area of the basal ganglia. It is important
that the stimulation electrode is positioned properly within the STN, otherwise side effects may
occur. An improvement of the placement of the electrode may be done by means of an
electrophysiological map. To be able to use a map for localization, it is necessary to find unique
spatial electrophysiological properties within the area. In these electrophysiological signals, one can
distinguish the high frequency single unit activity and the low frequency local field potentials (LFPs).
In this research, we examined the potential of evoked LFPs in creating a map of the STN. We have
done this by using a rat experiment.
Previous research showed a relationship between the evoked LFPs and synchronous synaptic activity
induced by postsynaptic neuronal populations. Therefore, we stimulated postsynaptic neuronal
populations of the STN, the motor cortex and cingulate gyrus, and simultaneously measured the
electrophysiological signals within the STN. The motor cortex was stimulated with two different
intensities (300μA and 600 μA) while the cingulate gyrus was only stimulated with one intensity (600
μA). Through systematic measurements with a multi-channel electrode, it has been possible to
measure the evoked LFPs within a 3D grid of 320 measurement points. The measured LFPs are used
to reconstruct the ionic current flows within the extracellular medium induced by the evoked
synaptic activity. We describe the ionic currents by the current source density (CSD), which we
calculated with the inverse current source density method.
The evoked activity within the rat STN after motor cortex stimulation resulted in a promising spatial
and temporal behavior of the CSD distribution. However, the evoked activity after cingulate gyrus
stimulation did not show this promising behavior. The evoked CSD after motor cortex stimulation
shows a local sink around 10 ms post stimulation and a local source around 32 ms post stimulation.
In addition, the source is located laterally to the sink. The displacement of the source in respect to
the sink suggests that they are not caused by the same synaptic contacts. We believe the sink is
evoked through the excitatory mono-synaptic pathway and the source by the inhibitory poly-synaptic
pathway. The two stimulation intensities have a different effect on the source and sink. Namely, the
strength of the sink was less affected by the reduction of stimulation intensity. This suggests that
they are caused by different mechanisms and/or different neuronal populations.
Due to the local behavior of the motor cortex evoked CSD distribution, we believe that in the future,
the evoked CSD might be used as an electrophysiological map during DBS electrode placing.


Pipelines are extensively used engineering structures which convey fluid from one place to another. Most of the time, pipelines are placed underground and are encumbered by soil weight and traffic loads. Corrosion of pipe material is the most common form of pipeline deterioration and should be considered in both the strength and serviceability analysis of pipes. The study in this research focuses on concrete pipes in sewage systems (concrete sewers). This research firstly investigates how to involve the effect of corrosion as a time dependent process of deterioration in the structural and failure analysis of this type of pipe. Then three probabilistic time dependent reliability analysis methods including the first passage probability theory, the gamma distributed degradation model and the Monte Carlo simulation technique are discussed and developed. Sensitivity analysis indexes which can be used to identify the most important parameters that affect pipe failure are also discussed. The reliability analysis methods developed in this paper contribute as rational tools for decision makers with regard to the strengthening and rehabilitation of existing pipelines. The results can be used to obtain a cost-effective strategy for the management of the sewer system.


Three‐dimensional microstructures are fabricated utilizing direct laser writing combined with a non‐radical step polymerization based on multiphoton‐induced Diels–Alder chemistry of o‐quinodimethanes and maleimides. Woodpile photonic crystals with a total of five axial periods and a rod spacing of down to 500 nm are fabricated. The structures are characterized via scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam milling. In addition, corresponding photonic stop bands are investigated via light microscopy as well as transmission and reflection spectroscopy. The Diels–Alder based network formation during direct laser writing is verified via infrared spectroscopy. Spatially resolved surface patterning of covalently bonded functional molecules on fabricated structures is demonstrated by employing the direct laser writing setup and a bromine containing maleimide. The successful surface modification is verified via time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry.


Defining business requirement is a critical activity in determining what functionality the enabling technology solution needs to deliver. Customer Centric Project Management (CCPM) is the continuous re-examination, evolution and definition of the stakeholders' business requirements. The aim of t his research and impact analysis was to examine all the changes in the organization that make it viable. The objective was to explore the application of academic methodology, identify sine qua non components in operational environments and by extension inspire future reflections, future research to pro-actively prevent one or the most problematic aspects that fail projects . Findings and conclusions are primarily based on empirical evidence from observing the behaviour of CCPM applied to actual projects/cases, current literature and interviews with senior project managers. The focus of interest was on the impacts on business stakeholders, developers, the methodology, business analysts, organizational executives and on a promising framework for a solution. To make the methodology work, the findings point to the imperative to engage stakeholders, assign needed accountability, use business analysts, involve executives and allow the PM to govern the project.


In this work we are investigating reactive avoidance techniques which can be used on board of a small quadcopter and which do not require absolute localization. We propose a local map representation which can be updated with proprioceptive sensors. The local map is centred around the robot and uses spherical coordinates to represent a point cloud. The local map is updated using a depth sensor, the Inertial Measurement Unit and a registration algorithm. We propose an extension of the Dynamic Window Approach to compute a velocity vector based on the current local map. We propose to use an OctoMap structure to compute a 2-pass A∗ which provide a path which is converted to a velocity vector. Both approaches are reactive as they only make use of local information. The algorithms were evaluated in a simulator which offers a realistic environment, both in terms of control and sensors. The results obtained were also validated by running the algorithms on a real platform.


One century after its discovery, the Columns Tomb of Kumbi Saleh (Mauritania) remains an archaeological riddle. Since 1914, six field programs have been successively carried out at the medieval urban site of Kumbi Saleh, which now is commonly identified as Ghana. The latter was the famous capital city of the medieval West African state, which controlled the gold mines of West Africa and was involved in the gold trade with North Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. However, interpretation of the tomb, the largest structure from the necropolis, is still an issue as its dating itself has never been firmly established. As a consequence, scholars have usually referred to an unsatisfactory timeframe spanning 1000 years. The study of this monument was recently resumed, motivated by the rediscovery of bones collected in the tomb in 1914 and stored at the Musée de 1'Homme (Paris, France). AMS radiocarbon dating of the bone and tooth apatite fraction of three skulls demonstrates that the three individuals occupying the main vault of the tomb died between the end of the 11th century and the 12th century, precisely at the time of expansion of the Muslim Almoravid movement south of Sahara.


Only 15–20% of obese individuals with severe insulin resistance develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In healthy individuals, β-cell compensation ensures that enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) balances the degree of insulin resistance. However, individuals predisposed to T2DM are unable to secrete the increased insulin required to compensate for insulin resistance in order to maintain glucose and lipid homeostasis. It is unclear why certain insulin-resistant individuals compensate with enhanced islet function and β-cell hyperplasia and remain healthy, while others develop β-cell failure characterized by insulin secretory defects coupled with relative loss of β-cell mass. In this issue of Diabetes, Halperin et al. (1) highlight the potential importance for β-cell dysfunction and T2DM of insulin resistance in the islet itself. Their observations provide novel insights into the battery of insults that can adversely impact β-cell function.

The endocrine pancreas contains ∼1 million islets of Langerhans that comprise 2–3% of total pancreatic mass. Major cell types include β-cells that secrete insulin and glucagon-secreting α-cells. The integrated secretory responses of islet cells exceed those of segregated islet cell lines, indicating that interactions between individual islet cells are required for normal secretory function (2–5). The actions of individual cells comprising the islet may also be modulated by responses to their own secretions.

Insulin exerts its effects in target cells through binding to and activating its cell surface receptors. This is followed by an intricate and complex web of signaling pathways beginning with tyrosine phosphorylation of intracellular substrates including the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins (Fig. 1). The finding that both the insulin receptor (IR) and the IRS proteins are expressed in rodent β-cells (6,7) and that all downstream elements belonging to the IR signaling pathway are expressed in human pancreatic β-cells (8) led to the prospect of a potential role …


Abstract Conservation of the imperiled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) at the regional level (i.e., Georgia, USA) will require knowledge of the species historic and contemporary distribution, activity patterns, and habitat preferences. To address these needs, we compiled 170 records of spotted turtles in Georgia from 1892 to 2014, including 89 museum records, 80 records based on credible observations or photos, and 1 literature record. There are recent (1995–2014) records for 79 locations in 31 counties, with 29 of these occurring on 14 conservation lands. Our results demonstrate that the spotted turtle ranges throughout much of the Coastal Plain of Georgia including the Flint River and Withlacoochee River drainages of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Half of the records for which habitat could be classified (62 of 124 records, 50%) were associated with blackwater creek swamps or seepage slope swamps. Remarkably, all but 4 Georgia spotted turtle records with body size data (i.e., 150 of 154; 97%) were based on adult turtles. The majority of Georgia records with the date included were from the late winter–spring (134 of 160 records, 84%, February–May). Likewise, the majority of observations were turtles found on roads (94 of 170 records; 55%), the majority of which (63; 67%) were alive. For the spotted turtle in Georgia, we recommend 1) continued protection and state-listing status, and 2) initiating long-term mark–recapture efforts to estimate population sizes and demographics and evaluate population trends.


The considerable decrease of the solid flow off in the sea coastal zone and the intensification of the abrasion impact on the shore determined the increase of the coastal protection activity on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. This, on its part contributed to the disturbance of the nearshore transport of sediments which disturbed the total equilibrium state of the existing beaches. On the basis of a tachometric registration of accumulative areas, with and without erected hydrotechnical constructions, an analysis is made in the present report of the general conditions of some more typical beaches of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. On the basis of a comparative analysis the trends of their development within the last few years have been reported.


Along with the noted similarities that have prompted much important study in the development of the theory of phrase structure and movement, nouns and verbs (and their projections) exhibit remarkable differences. These differences have often been neglected or otherwise discredited in favor of the similarities that have been a target for novel proposals regarding the internal structures of noun phrases and clauses. This paper tries to pin down the locus of the differences, and identifies the fundamental difference between noun phrases and clauses as the fact that noun phrases (nominal expressions) have a singlelayered internal structure having a single phase and are completed (or "closed") in terms of licensing of internal elements, whereas clauses have a double-layered internal structure with two internal phases one of which ( v P) is not completed (or "open") in the sense that outside probes (namely, C and C-T) play a role in determining the inner workings of v P. The paper argues in a preliminary form that from this fundamental difference (which itself seems to be rooted in considerations of the C-I interface, i.e., clauses are propositions while nominal expressions are typically arguments), various syntactic differences between the two classes of categories, particularly those with respect to A-movement and A'-movement, naturally follow.


Focusing on Asian and Middle Eastern contexts, Sexuality in Muslim Contexts: Restrictions and Resistance presents a collection of chapters that explore past and current discourses on sexuality, sexual diversity and sexual rights. In particular, the book examines the various ways in which patriarchal constructions of sexuality inform women's experiences and expressions. As reflected in the title of the book, the contributors, in varying ways, analyse and critique the structural religio-political mechanisms that police women's sexuality as well as render visible the innovative spaces emerging for the contestation and re-mapping of women's diverse sexualities in selected Muslim contexts.


The Japanese prototype fast breeder reactor Monju restarted its system startup test in May 2010 after a 14-year interruption. In the first stage of the test, reactor physics parameters have been measured at a zero power level. The present paper describes the evaluation of the criticality data. The best-estimate value and its uncertainty are evaluated as accurately as possible, following the guidelines recommended by the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project. The restart core contains 1.5 wt% of 241Am, which is three times more than the previous test. To extract the influence of the 241Am accumulation on calculation accuracy, criticality data obtained in the previous test are evaluated at the same level of detail. The calculation accuracy is investigated with four major nuclear data libraries. It is confirmed that the accuracy is within 0.3% Δk/k, a 2σ value of experimental uncertainty, with JENDL-3.3, JENDL-4.0, and ENDF/B-VII.0. The reactivity change due to the 241Pu decay can be simulated within an accuracy of 1% with JENDL-4.0 and JEFF-3.1.


Fuzzy fault trees provide a powerful and computationally efficient technique for developing fuzzy probabilities based on independent inputs. The probability of any event that can be described in terms of a sequence of independent unions, intersections, and complements may be calculated by a fuzzy fault tree. Unfortunately, fuzzy fault trees do not provide a complete theory: many events of substantial practical interest cannot be described only by independent operations. Thus, the standard fuzzy extension (based on fuzzy fault trees) is not complete since not all events are assigned a fuzzy probability. Other complete extensions have been proposed, but these extensions are not consistent with the calculations from fuzzy fault trees. We propose a new extension of crisp probability theory. Our model is based on n independent inputs, each with a fuzzy probability. The elements of our sample space describe exactly which of the n input events did and did not occur. Our extension is complete since a fuzzy probability is assigned to every subset of the sample space. Our extension is also consistent with all calculations that can be arranged as a fault tree. Our approach allows the reliability analyst to develop complete and consistent fuzzy reliability models from existing crisp reliability models. This allows a comprehensive analysis of the system. Computational algorithms are provided both to extend existing models and develop new models. The technique is demonstrated on a reliability model of a three-stage industrial process.


The present research was aimed at comparison and distinction between various deltaic subenvironments from Pennsylvanian deposits of the Arkoma Basin, Arkansas. Detailed facies analysis of deltaic deposits reveal significant variation in sedimentary characteristics between different subenvironments. A multi-pronged approach, including documentation of measured sections and gamma ray profiles in the field and subsequent laboratory analysis of samples, was undertaken. The Atoka Formation deltaic deposits have been established primarily as representing fluvially-dominated deltas. Interdistributary bay fill deposits are splintery shales with abundant siderite nodules. Crevasse splay sandstone units are ripple cross laminated and coarsen and thicken upward to a maximum of 60cm thick beds. Distributary channel deposits have sharp erosive bases and are composed of either an active or a passive fill. Active fill is characterized by large scale cross-bedding while passive fill is predominantly parallely laminated. Distributary mouth bar deposits show coarsening and thickening-upward sequences with tabular beds grading upward into more lenticular beds with occasional well developed cross-bedding. Delta front deposits are heterolithic with ripple cross-laminations and intense bioturbation. Prodelta deposits are predominantly shales with laterally persistent silty laminations that occasionally form starved ripples. R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission. Zoophycos ichnofacies are well represented in distributary mouth bar and delta front deposits. Skolithos-Cruziana ichnofacies are represented in delta front and interdistributary bayfill deposits, the latter with the unique presence of Conostichus. Amorphous non-structured dominated kerogen assemblages are present in all the subenvironments suggesting long transport possibly by fluvial effluence. Lycospora spp. dominated palynomorphs suggest coal-forming, swampy vegetation in the lower deltaic plain. Anisotropy of isothermal remanent magnetization (IRMA) analysis was conducted which revealed systematic variations in magnetic grain long axis (K^ax) alignment Distributary mouth bar deposits show flow normal, while delta front and crevasse splay deposits show flow parallel Kn«r orientations. Distributary mouth bar deposits have 19% and delta front and crevasse splay deposits have 8% and 13% anisotropies, respectively, associated with sedimentary fabrics. The Atoka Formation deltaic deposits have been placed within a sequence stratigraphic framework. The composite section of the Atoka Formation reveals retrogradational, progradational, and aggradational parasequence stacking patterns deposited in a transgressive to highstand systems tract R eproduced with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.


This survey attempts to provide a comprehensive and structured overview of the existing research for the problem of detecting anomalies in discrete/symbolic sequences. The objective is to provide a global understanding of the sequence anomaly detection problem and how existing techniques relate to each other. The key contribution of this survey is the classification of the existing research into three distinct categories, based on the problem formulation that they are trying to solve. These problem formulations are: 1) identifying anomalous sequences with respect to a database of normal sequences; 2) identifying an anomalous subsequence within a long sequence; and 3) identifying a pattern in a sequence whose frequency of occurrence is anomalous. We show how each of these problem formulations is characteristically distinct from each other and discuss their relevance in various application domains. We review techniques from many disparate and disconnected application domains that address each of these formulations. Within each problem formulation, we group techniques into categories based on the nature of the underlying algorithm. For each category, we provide a basic anomaly detection technique, and show how the existing techniques are variants of the basic technique. This approach shows how different techniques within a category are related or different from each other. Our categorization reveals new variants and combinations that have not been investigated before for anomaly detection. We also provide a discussion of relative strengths and weaknesses of different techniques. We show how techniques developed for one problem formulation can be adapted to solve a different formulation, thereby providing several novel adaptations to solve the different problem formulations. We also highlight the applicability of the techniques that handle discrete sequences to other related areas such as online anomaly detection and time series anomaly detection.


Drawing from an ongoing evaluation of three major restorative justice schemes in England and Wales, the article employs a dramaturgical perspective to examine a number of process issues that arise when restorative justice processes are deployed within a criminal justice context. They include the rôle and identity of restorative justice facilitators, the locations for restorative justice encounters and associated matters relating to the values of privacy, openness and accountability.


The absorption of visible light by silver nanoparticles in two-dimensional arrays is investigated using a finite difference time domain algorithm. The results of the calculations show that for all shapes considered, spheres and triangular and rectangular prisms, there is reduced absorption when the particles become more densely packed within the array. The effect is seen to be more pronounced for rectangular and triangular prisms. Investigation of the electromagnetic field very close to the tip of the prism shows that the intensity is very sensitive to the separation between the nanoparticles, with the electric field increasing significantly as the spacing between the particles reduces.


This essay contextualises and investigates critically the connections between the design of player agency and formations of gender within the Gothic video game. In order to help locate a general rather than specialist reader, it begins with a short account of the scope of the Gothic in video games and demonstrates how certain formal qualities of games shape the way that the Gothic is articulated. From this foundation, the essay goes on to argue that the conditions of player agency within many (but by no means all) video games drains power from the more radical and subversive gender formations often found more generally within Gothic fiction (in for instance Dracula [1897]or The Old Dark House [1932]). This thesis is supported by Gothic video game examples such as Clive Barker's Undying, Typing of the Dead, Resident Evil, Plants vs. Zombies, Left 4 Dead. However, here the argument turns to place greater emphasis on the analysis of games where a more subtle, ambiguous or subversive approach to player agency is taken; where alternative methods and contextualising representations are deployed by game designers to create models of player agency that do not, through the usual trope of mastery, align with dominant notions of masculinity or a phallic economy. Examples include the use of masquerade and ambiguity in Castlevania, cosmic horror and webs of conspiracy within The Secret World, and agency had through an excess of rationalism in American McGee's Alice.
This essay builds on existing critical writing that identifies power and, crucially, powerlessness as characteristic of the Gothic, and where that axis of power is correlated with a structural understanding of sex, sexual relations and gender (as in Sedgwick for example). Representation is considered, but our focus is mainly on the role of the player in the thick of the Gothic game text and the gendered, contextual economy of the power (or powerlessness) that they are afforded. To flesh that out a little more, within the confines of an abstract: within the context of most media, the audience's experience of power and powerlessness is mediated; shout as we might, there is nothing we can do to save the hapless girl who with a relentless inevitability wanders into the terrible place oblivious to the signs of imperilment that noisily excites the audience. Games are different. Players are afforded agency (although it may be taken away or limited too). Some Gothic game designers are finding innovative ways of playing with and subverting the conventional, gendered plotting of power. It is therefore the principle aim of this essay to show how.


EPONs are a low cost, high speed solution to the bottleneck problem of broadband access networks. To support point-to-point and shared LAN emulation, EPONs use the multi-point control protocol (MPCP), which uses logical link identification (LLID) forframe tagging and filtering between the OLT and ONUs. In this paper, ONU-based multicast or multiple shared LAN emulation for IPTV services is proposed using logical group identification (LGID). Using ONUbased VLAN services, EPONs can support separate and secure connections between providers and subscribers in a simple manner. Also, differentiated IPTV channel packages can be delivered through EPONs by implementing ONU-based VLAN and IGMP snooping mechanisms.


We evaluate local effects on strain seismograms for a Rayleigh wave observed at Matsushiro Seismological Observatory, Japan Meteorological Agency, central Japan, by applying a method proposed in a previous report (Okamoto et al. 2007). The method involves examination of polarization angles, local phase velocity, and accuracy of velocity seismograms. The results are as follows: 1) Polarization angles of observed strain seismograms agree with expected ones from those of velocity seismograms also observed at Matsushiro; 2) Local phase velocity estimated by comparison between strain and velocity seismograms is 54% larger than the theoretical value calculated from the PREM velocity model; 3) Velocity spectra observed at Matsushiro have almost the same amplitude as an average of those at F-net observation stations near Matsushiro. These results indicate that both EW and NS component strain seismograms observed at Matsushiro have been reduced by 35% in amplitude for a Rayleigh wave due to local heterogeneity. The local effects on a Rayleigh wave are quite different from that on a Love wave obtained in the previous report.


This special issue is aimed at collecting together recent developments in the field of natural product analysis. This issue covers methodologies and applications as diverse as secondary metabolite identification to the detection of metals in food stuffs. The chemistry of natural products has gained prominence not only due to the on-going search for new bioactive substances but also in related areas such as food chemistry and chemical ecology.

We feel that this special issue represents some of the wide ranging research currently performed in this diverse area and this is exemplified by the affiliations of the authors of the papers included which is made up of chemists, biochemists, biologists, physicists, toxicologists, physiologists, pharmaceutists, and geochemists. What all of these researchers have in common, despite their wide ranging backgrounds, is the need to make use of the powerful techniques of analytical chemistry to analyze natural compounds in complex matrices. Thus, this special issue is dedicated to all the readers that would like to apply analytical chemistry for natural products analysis.

This issue presents ten papers, which describe either a specific analytical method for specific types of natural products, the use of natural compounds to aid analytical developments, or modern techniques for the analysis of metals in food stuffs and food quality control (a growing area of interest).

The article by L. de S. Ferreira et al. describes the use of hyphenated techniques to determine fatty acids in a species of seaweed from the Fernando de Noronha archipelago. In addition, a second paper has used SRTXRF analysis as a technique to determine several inorganic species within the same archipelago. Both papers contribute to an increased understanding of adsorption and accumulation of such natural elements by algae in that specific area.

V. S. A. Devi and V. K. Reddy's paper presents a methodology for spectrophotometric determination of iron(II) and cobalt(II) using 2-hydroxi-1-naphthaldehyde-p-hydroxybenzoichydrazone which can then be applied for the analyses of biological and water samples that contain these metals.

The paper by G. C. Lopes et al. reports the preliminary estimation of the stability of the dried extract from the bark of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. ("Mutamba"). Thermogravimetry analysis along with HPLC were used in the study. The results can be used as a chemical marker in the quality control of dried extracts of G. ulmifolia.

The study by M. F. Zampa et al. is the first report of the antimicrobial peptide from the skin of the Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis frog and its incorporation into nanostructured layered films in conjunction with nickel-tetrasulfonated phthalocyanines. The film was used as a biosensor to detect dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

S. B. A. Barros et al. demonstrate the exploitation of the polyelectrolytic behavior of natural cashew gum (Anacardium occidentale L.), found in northeast Brazil, as a component of a nanocomposite electrode. The performance of the electrodes was evaluated by the determination of dopamine.

The paper by H. Tanaka et al. presents matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry for the confirmation of the hapten number in synthesized antigens. Two unique applications using MAb, Eastern blotting, and knockout extract have been introduced in this paper. The Eastern blotting method has great potential applications for the wide range of natural products.

The article of S. R. de Moraes et al. highlights the use of Lippia sidoides Cham. (also known as alecrim pimenta), native to northeastern Brazil and northern Minas Gerais, and their essential oils. The oxygenated monoterpene 1,8-cineole was the major constituent, followed by isoborneol and bornyl acetate. The chemical composition of essential oils described in this paper differs from that described in the literature for L. sidoides found in its native environment.

The paper of M. J. Kato et al. demonstrates the GC-MS monitoring of the major secondary metabolites and fatty acids occurring in the seeds of Virola surinamensis, during germination and seedling development. The authors conclude that the germination of V. surinamensis seeds and the seedling development are processes in which both fatty acids and secondary metabolites (lignans, isoflavonoids and juruenolides) are equally consumed in the seeds indicating their potential physiological role as energy and carbon sources.

The article of P. J. Gates and N. P. Lopes describes the application of negative ion chip-based nanospray tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of flavonoid aglycones. The methodology is tested by the analysis of a crude green tea extract, where the expected flavonoids were readily identified.

Norberto P. Lopes

Ernani Pinto

Michael Niehues

Paul J. Gates

Ricardo Vessecchi


We present a novel neural learning architecture for regression data analysis. It combines, at the high level, a self-organizing map (SOM) structure, and, at the low level, a multilayer perceptron at each unit of the SOM structure. The goal is to build a clusterwise regression model, that is, a model recognizing several clusters in the data, where the dependence between predictors and response is variable (typically within some parametric range) from cluster to cluster. The proposed algorithm, called SOMwise Regression, follows closely in the spirit of the standard SOM learning algorithm and has performed satisfactorily on various test problems.


It is assumed that the world is getting more and more interconnected and that the business world is becoming increasingly global. To what extend this evolution will influence values and practices in organizations and leadership, are an interesting question. Trust is, whether it is inter personalor in regard to organizational work practice, important in areas where individuals have responsibility and need to perform in a reliable way. Trust is in most safety literature assumed to be beneficial for safety, and distrust detrimental. These assumptions make intuitive sense, but have been challenged in research in association with trust and safety performance. Conchie and Donald's (2007) Trust model is valuable in understanding trust and safety. Transformational leadership style is believed to have the most affective results in developing trust. In regards with safety culture, research has found that a transactional leadership style also may a positive effect. The objective of this study was to examine and understand cultural similarities and differences related to trust and leadership and its anticipated influence on organisational safety performance. A comparative study of safety and organizational culture has been performed on the UK and Norwegian Continental Shelves within two phases. The main project uses a combined methodological approach. While data gathered in the first phase are of a quantitative character (survey data 2007), second phase data consists of qualitative data (focus group interviews and key informant interview). The quantitative data comprises a questionnaire survey which included Seawell employees working within well services in UK and Norway completed in 2007. The aim of phase two in general is to achieve a deeper understanding of the quantitative findings in phase one. In my study I've made a selection of relevant issues from the main projects and my main goal has been to examine the relations between trust, leadership, safety and culture. My research questions are: 1) How may cultural aspects influence on the perception of trust, safety and leadership? 2) How is trust related to safety? 3) Are leadership styles different across shelves, and how may this influence trust and safety aspects? My data is of a qualitative character and was collected through focus group interviews and a key informant interview in UK and in Norway. A meaning coalescing method (Kvale, 1997) was used to reduce and analyse the qualitative data. The overall results showed an organization with high compliance towards safety and high trust in workmate and management commitment to safety. Cultural aspects were found to influence on the perception of trust, safety and leadership. The trust the UK informants expressed towards their supervisors appeared to be of a different kind than the trust Norwegian informants expressed towards their leaders. Cultural differences related to Power Distance and Assertiveness may be an explaining factor when understanding these differences. In relation to trust and safety both countries appear to have a general agreement about both the upsides and downsides to trust, and the importance of functional trust and functional distrust in relation to safety. The leadership style most suitable to increase trust and distrust seem to be a combination of both transformational and transactional leadership styles. In addition, contextual and cultural differences should be taken into consideration when further improvement of the organizational safety performance is to be developed.


Even though we have seen an exponential growth in the number of Web sites and the number of users, little is known about Web usage at the level of the individual. This paper aims to overcome this lack of knowledge on individual usage patterns. Based on previous findings on saturation of Web usage, we use data from 1995-1998 on residential Web usage conducted as part of the HomeNet project to examine if groups of Web users differ in loyalty to Web sites. We also measure the stickiness of the most popular Web sites in the HomeNet sample. The results help us to understand how one should think of Internet usage and have important implications for Internet marketing and strategy.


In their recent paper "Anti-Herding Regulation," forthcoming in the Harvard Business Review, Ian Ayres and Joshua Mitts argue that many well-intentioned public policy regulations potentially harm rather than help situations. That is, because they seek to pool — or herd — groups of people, treating them as equal, they miss or mask important differences among the regulated, thus magnifying systematic risk. Anti-herding regulation, on the other hand, can produce socially beneficial information, in their words steering "both private and public actors toward better evidence-based outcomes." Left to their own, or with various carrot-and-stick incentives, some groups, anyway, would instead fare better if allowed to separate or diverge.Typically and for separation of powers considerations, courts and the court process conduct a structurally different role from administrative agencies. However, when the legislature or a higher court devises a presumption that regulates conduct, judges are not as free to use their discretion in interpreting the law as they usually are, particularly as they would be with an opened-ended goal like deciding custody "in the best interests of the child." What child custody statutes with presumptions do is to assume that the road to the "best interests" of each child is the same: that is, that a single solution will prove to be best for all children. In the law and economics framework of Ayres and Mitts, the statutes promote a "pooling" rather than a "separating" equilibrium.In purely financial or commercial settings, this sort of forcing may not be inappropriate, and may in fact be constitutionally necessary. However, with very few exceptions, whole groups of children cannot be forced into similar parenting situations as long as parents are acting within the quite broad variance given to "fitness." It is this type of pooling that may in fact threaten systematic risk for those children least likely to have resources to cope with them — those whose parents cannot get along even to the extent of co-parenting well, or where there are the barriers to trust posed by such conditions as substance abuse, mental illness, or coercive-control intimate partner violence, or even where the parents struggled to maintain a viable financial life when living in a single household, now divided into two.Presumptions in child custody are naturally disfavored by three groups — the judges who lose their discretion and seemingly a part of their "raison d'etre" (though deciding contested custody cases is difficult and uncomfortable), the helping professionals who otherwise would assist in making determinations based on "best interests," and whatever group is disfavored by the particular way the presumption is set. Custody rules, including the ones examined here, are generally set with a great deal of advocacy but without a great deal of empirical research behind them, and are rarely tested carefully to see whether justice to the individual affected children is being served. This paper presents an initial foray into such a test, looking at the effect of a strong child shared custody presumption on the behavior of parents and judges during and within five years of the original custody proceeding. There are limitations to this empirical approach: most of the cases do not provide close glimpses into what the parents were thinking at any given point in time, what arrangements judges would have ordered absent the presumption, or what professionals such as custody evaluators would have done differently. Even with these limitations, the empirical picture is a mixed one: some couples do fine with shared custody, and are able to adjust over time without result to acrimonious processes. Their children are presumably better for the frequent and meaningful contact with both the parents. The successes must be weighed against another group of cases where, at best, shared parenting seems to take place at the price of considerable parental conflict and continued litigation. The emerging factual pattern seems to fit within Ayres and Mitts' prescription for a separating equilibrium, while the presumption, bolstered by strong community support for shared parenting, pushes for a pooling equilibrium highlighted by equally shared custody. Particularly troublesome (and unstable) are cases involving indications of domestic violence and/or substance abuse as well as those from the lower half of family incomes and the increasing number of unmarried couples affected by custody and child support orders.


We are interested in the security of the MPLS Transport Profile (MPLS-TP), in the context of smart-grid communication networks. The security guidelines of the MPLS-TP standards are written in a complex and indirect way, which led us to pose as hypothesis that vendor solutions might not implement them satisfactorily. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the Cisco implementation of two MPLS-TP OAM (Operations, Administration, and Maintenance) protocols: bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD), used to detect failures in label-switched paths (LSPs) and protection state coordination (PSC), used to coordinate protection switching. Critical smart grid applications, such as protection and control, rely on the protection switching feature controlled by BFD and PSC. We did find security issues with this implementation. We implemented a testbed with eight nodes that run the MPLS-TP enabled Cisco IOS; we demonstrated that an attacker who has access to only one cable (for two attacks) or two cables (for one attack) is able to harm the network at several points (e.g., disabling both working and protection LSPs). This occurred in spite of us implementing the security guidelines that are available from Cisco for IOS and MPLS-TP. The attacks use forged BFD or PSC messages, which induce a label-edge router (LER) into believing false information about an LSP. In one attack, the LER disables the operational LSP; in another attack, the LER continues to believe that a physically destroyed LSP is up and running; in yet another attack, both operational and backup LSPs are brought down. Our findings suggest that the MPLS-TP standard should be more explicit when it comes to security. For example, to thwart the attacks revealed here, it should mandate either hop by hop authentication (such as MACSec) at every node, or an ad-hoc authentication mechanism for BFD and PSC.


This book edited by R. Chaves and D. Demoustier gives an international overview of the interaction between the social economy and public policy in two languages: English and French. It results from a working group under the auspices of the International Scientific Commission "Social and Cooperative Economy" at the International Center of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC). The book addresses a hot topic. For one thing, it provides the reader with rich insights about a form of economy that promises some resilience in a time of financial crisis. Second, it takes stock of the different regulatory social economy (SE) environments found internationally. Over the last few years, many countries have indeed adopted national laws on the SE. The crucial question now is: where do these new laws fit into public policy overall or how should they? In some way, this emerging international institutionalization process suggests that the social economy is compatible with the public and the private economy. This process assumes that society needs intermediary groups between the individual and the state and the individual and the market. The authors show that broader recognition of an organized social economy in public policies overall is preconditioned on its visibility and image in the public eye. The social economy suffers indeed from fragmentation into different sectors, into multiple platforms and federations, and into various legal forms. Moreover, the social economy intersects with other concepts such as nonprofit organizations, third sector (services), solidary economy, social enterprise, etc. As a result, the CIRIEC seeks a common denominator for the field. The book's key virtue is to show that despite the diversity of national approaches, we can really speak of institutional recognition of the SE and the concurrent emergence of specific new public policies. This is very important and can be considered as an asset against the backdrop of a pervasive financial crisis


Rational filters are extended to multichannel signal process- ing and applied to image interpolation. Two commonly used decimation schemes are considered: a rectangular grid and a quincunx grid. For each decimation lattice, we propose a number of adaptive resampling algorithms based on the vector rational filter (VRF). These algorithms exhibit desirable properties such as edge and detail preservation and accurate chromaticity estimation. In these approaches, color image pix- els are considered as three-component vectors in the color space. Therefore, the inherent correlation that exists between the different color components is not ignored. This leads to better image quality compared to that obtained by componentwise or marginal processing. Extensive simulations show that multichannel image processing with the proposed algorithms (VRFL) and (VRFd) based on l p-norm and directional pro- cessing, respectively; significantly outperform linear and some nonlinear techniques, e.g., vector FIR median hybrid filters (VFMH). Some images interpolated using VRFL and VRFd are presented for qualitative compari- son. These images are free from blockiness and jaggedness, confirming the quantitative results. © 1999 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. (S0091-3286(99)00105-1)


NK cells are lymphocytes of the innate immune system and play a crucial role in tumor
immune surveillance, in beneficial graft versus tumor effects upon hematopoietic stem
cell transplantations (HSCT) and thereby as effectors in cellular immunotherapies. NK
cells are regulated by inhibitory receptors mostly binding to HLA molecules and
activating receptors like CD16, NKG2D and NKp30. Aim of this work was to contribute to
the molecular understanding of the insufficient control of tumor cells through NK cells.
This was examined on the basis of leukemic cell lines with myeloid or lymphatic origin,
since these cells, according to their origin, are recognized and killed very differently by
donor NK cells upon stem cell transplantation. In this study we could show that the
cytotoxic receptor NKp30 contributes decisively to a better lysis of myeloid leukemic cell
lines compared to lymphatic leukemic cell lines. Thus, exosomes expressing ligands for
NKp30 can help to overcome the resistance of lymphatic leukemia cells against NK cell
recognition and killing. Additionally an increased inhibitory signaling via HLA molecules
on lymphatic cell lines prevents a more efficient lysis.
Moreover, it was shown in the setting of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) that patients´ NK cells
in contrast to healthy NK cells are not able to lyse Hodgkin cell lines. Soluble factors in
the patients´ sera were identified to be responsible for that. Of note, patient sera also
suppressed cytotoxic activity of NK cells from healthy donors by downregulation of
activating receptors. Results indicate that the soluble ligands MICA for NKG2D and
BAT3 for NKp30 play an important role. While these ligands trigger cytotoxicity in their
membrane bound form, as soluble factors they have inhibitory impact and can
downregulate NK cell receptors. Indeed, NK cell derived from HL patients showed a
lower expression level of NKG2D than healthy NK cells. After therapy and clearance of
the tumor, serum levels of these soluble ligands were comparable to healthy donors
again.
Furthermore, NK cells in HL patients were successfully reactivated in vivo and ex vivo
with a bispecific antibody construct. This construct stimulated NK cells via CD16 and
binds CD30 as an antigen on target cells. Thereby, a very efficient lysis of Hodgkin
target cells was achieved in experiments.
Taken together, the data indicate that the increased expression of tumor associated
ligands for NKG2D and NKp30 in the serum of HL patients influences the phenotype and
the function of HL NK cells and hence contributes to a tumor immune evasion. However,
the inhibition of NK cells is reversible and can be overcome with therapeutical bispecific
antibodies.
Thus, NK cells seem to be a promising approach for cellular based immunotherapies as
an alternative to standard therapies.


Effect of substrate conditions, including material type, thickness and radius of substrate, on thermal-shocking stresses of plasma spraying Sm2Zr2O7/ NiCrCoAlY TBCs was analyzed through finite element method. Results show that radial stresses decrease with time increasing, and they decrease with the increasing of distance from center to edge along radius. However, axial residual stresses increse abruptly at the edge of specimen. All residual stresses increse with incresing of thermal expansion coefficient of substrate. Radial stresses increase with substrate thickness increasing, however, they are not effectd by substrate thickness if it is great than 20mm.and axial residual stresses and shear stresses are not effected by the substrate thickness. The maximum values of axial stresses and shear stresses were not effected by sustrate radius. and values of radial stresses remian invariable when substrate radius is over 18mm.


This thesis examines the dynamic relationship between realism and experimentalism in the 1940s and mid-century fiction of James Hanley and Patrick Hamilton. It is argued that the work of both writers during this period, although it might utilise realist forms and techniques, is not characterised by reversion to a traditional and outmoded model of novel writing that predates modernism, but rather, is engaged in a productive and sometimes tense dialogue with the gestures, manners and experiments of the avant-garde. In so doing, Hanley and Hamilton are read as key exemplars of a varied and adventurous literary moment that has been frequently overlooked within the broad narrative of twentieth century British fiction.
It is argued that these works complicate the vocabulary of literary realism by suggesting the novel as a hybrid form: an aesthetic which privileges fidelity to a contemporary ―real‖, especially the conditions of wartime and post-war and the shifting configurations of social and economic relations, even as it simultaneously projects a deep estrangement or satirical detachment from a sense of unified reality. Whilst registering the manifest differences between the two writers, the thesis explores their fiction's varying reactions towards and absorption of avant-garde idioms, such as the surrealist and expressionist, and analyses the affective qualities of that ―heightening‖ of language in the construction of their realist narratives. All the novels discussed, in a series of close readings, possess a stylistic or tonal singularity that tangibly frames their narratives, a process of divergence that contests and reconceptualises the concept and aims of literary realism. In historicising this phase of literary change, the thesis draws on the work of various cultural theorists and historians and elaborates the interpretive framework in which the literary 40s and the fiction of Hanley and Hamilton can be recast.


Abstract A technique has been proposed to increase the efficiency of hydrogen production from water by gamma-ray radiolysis as an effective use of radioactive waste. This is possible by putting special metal structures into water to enhance the conversion of mega-electron-volt-range gamma rays to low-energy electrons, which escape from metal into water. The experimental results showed that hydrogen production could be significantly enhanced by carefully controlling the thickness of metal components and the proximity with adjacent metal components. A honeycomb-like structure composed of stainless steel tubes was confirmed to provide the best performance for hydrogen production. These experimental results successfully demonstrated that the modification of metal structure can control the energy and the number of electrons escaping from the metal and actually leads to enhancement of hydrogen production in water.


After theoretical discovery of quantized magnetic vortices in type II superconductors by Abrikosov, which received 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics, vortex pinning has been an important topic of research for high critical current densities in applied magnetic fields desired for a variety of applications in electric and electronic devices and systems. The small vortex core size in high temperature superconductors (HTSs), of a few nanometers, has prompted an intensive research in development of nanoscale artificial pinning centers (APCs) in so-called HTS nanocomposites. Exciting results of much enhanced in-field critical current densities and pinning force densities have been achieved. This talk intends to highlight the progress made recently in HTS nanocomposites towards controllable generation of APCs with desired morphologies, dimension, concentration, and pinning efficiency for targeted applications. The future research in HTS nanocomposites to meet the need of practical applications will also be discussed.


Deaf anthropology is a field that exists in conversation with but is not reducible to the interdisciplinary field of deaf studies. Deaf anthropology is predicated upon a commitment to understanding deafnesses across time and space while holding on to "deaf" as a category that does something socially, politically, morally, and methodologically. In doing so, deaf anthropology moves beyond compartmentalizing the body, the senses, and disciplinary boundaries. We analyze the close relationship between anthropology writ large and deaf studies: Deaf studies scholars have found analytics and categories from anthropology, such as the concept of culture, to be productive in analyzing deaf peoples' experiences and the sociocultural meanings of deafness. As we note, however, scholarship on deaf peoples' experiences is increasingly variegated. This review is arranged into four overlapping sections titled Socialities and Similitudes; Mobilities, Spaces, and Networks; Modalities and the Sensorium; and Technologies and Futures.


Small and strained lactams (pentapeptides, tetrapeptides or seven-membered bislactams) are a naturally abundant but synthetically elusive class of compounds. These cyclic peptides are used in varying fields such as material sciences or as organic catalysts. The main use of small cyclic peptides, however, can be found in pharmaceutical research. Their rigid structure often enhances biological receptor binding. Due to ring strain, 7-15 membered cyclic peptides are extremely difficult to synthesise. The research in this thesis has been directed towards the design of auxiliaries in an effort to develop a general method for auxiliary-mediated cyclisation of highly constrained cyclic peptides. Three classes of auxiliaries will be discussed in this Thesis: N-terminal auxiliaries, internal auxiliaries and C-terminal auxiliaries. These auxiliaries mediate cyclisation via initial formation of a larger cyclic intermediate, reducing the strain of the ring and thus facilitating initial cyclisation. Subsequent ring contraction and auxiliary removal yields a cyclic peptide of the desired ring size.


This study investigates students' views of science and technology, taking into consideration both internal and external factors. The article reports on the perceptions of 3,503 Italian students, focussing mainly on individual interests, scholastic experiences and their opinions concerning science and technology. A further analysis deals with the degree to which young people may consider following a career in scientific sectors. Findings show that although wider interests would tend to support future decisions, students appear to nurture ambivalent attitudes towards scientific careers. It is suggested that with respect to different levels of personal achievement in scientific careers various factors may have influenced the initial orientation. Such factors include the academic qualifications held by the students' parents and the presence of science laboratories at the schools they have attended. These variables moreover only appear to affect a student's intention to seek admission to a science faculty. In the presence of an intention to embark on a scientific career following graduation certain significant elements come into play, such as their participation in scientific events, the chance to come into direct contact with researchers and their confidence in scientific studies. If a student presents a desire to become a scientist, the degree of confidence that is felt with respect to this particular sphere also becomes significant. The pleasure in studying science subjects is the most influential variable, but its effect is reduced over the three stages of the envisaged or planned path.


Background The optimal intensity of continuous renal-replacement therapy remains unclear. We conducted a multicenter, randomized trial to compare the effect of this therapy, delivered at two different levels of intensity, on 90-day mortality among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury. Methods We randomly assigned critically ill adults with acute kidney injury to continuous renal-replacement therapy in the form of postdilution continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration with an effluent flow of either 40 ml per kilogram of body weight per hour (higher intensity) or 25 ml per kilogram per hour (lower intensity). The primary outcome measure was death within 90 days after randomization. Results Of the 1508 enrolled patients, 747 were randomly assigned to higher-intensity therapy, and 761 to lower-intensity therapy with continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration. Data on primary outcomes were available for 1464 patients (97.1%): 721 in the higher-intensity group and 743 in the lower-intensity group. The two study groups had similar baseline characteristics and received the study treatment for an average of 6.3 and 5.9 days, respectively (P = 0.35). At 90 days after randomization, 322 deaths had occurred in the higher-intensity group and 332 deaths in the lower-intensity group, for a mortality of 44.7% in each group (odds ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81 to 1.23; P = 0.99). At 90 days, 6.8% of survivors in the higher-intensity group (27 of 399), as compared with 4.4% of survivors in the lower-intensity group (18 of 411), were still receiving renal-replacement therapy (odds ratio, 1.59; 95% CI, 0.86 to 2.92; P = 0.14). Hypophosphatemia was more common in the higher-intensity group than in the lower-intensity group (65% vs. 54%, P<0.001). Conclusions In critically ill patients with acute kidney injury, treatment with higher-intensity continuous renal-replacement therapy did not reduce mortality at 90 days. (ClinicalTrials. gov number, NCT00221013.)


Hierarchically ordered macro-mesoporous Pt films have been synthesized on gold microwires by filling the void space of a colloidal crystal template with mesoporous Pt through electrodepositing the metal in the presence of self-assembled surfactant molecules, followed by a dissolution of the template. The network of interconnected macro- and mesopores in the homogeneous films was characterized using microscopy (SEM, TEM) and electrochemical techniques. The active surface areas of the porous wires increased by more than three orders of magnitude compared to nonporous samples. These high surface-to-volume ratios resulted in a high electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation.


We survey elliptic curve implementations from several vantage points. We perform internet-wide scans for TLS on a large number of ports, as well as SSH and IPsec to measure elliptic curve support and implementation behaviors, and collect passive measurements of client curve support for TLS. We also perform active measurements to estimate server vulnerability to known attacks against elliptic curve implementations, including support for weak curves, invalid curve attacks, and curve twist attacks. We estimate that 1.53% of HTTPS hosts, 0.04% of SSH hosts, and 4.04% of IKEv2 hosts that support elliptic curves do not perform curve validity checks as specified in elliptic curve standards. We describe how such vulnerabilities could be used to construct an elliptic curve parameter downgrade attack called CurveSwap for TLS, and observe that there do not appear to be combinations of weak behaviors we examined enabling a feasible CurveSwap attack in the wild. We also analyze source code for elliptic curve implementations, and find that a number of libraries fail to perform point validation for JSON Web Encryption, and find a flaw in the Java and NSS multiplication algorithms.


The goal of vision is object recognition. Recent research has shown that the human visual system creates a surface description of a scene, including depth and orientation information at all points in a scene as a first step before creating an object centered description. This description is referred to as a 2 1/2 D sketch. Machine vision systems presently do not have the capability of creating this 2 1/2 D sketch from visual information alone, especially for curved surface objects. By using tactile data in cooperation with vision, a method is proposed for creating a surfacc description of an object. This surface description uses bicubic surface patches as a primitive. Once a surface sketch is created with bicubic surface patches the next steps in the hierarchy of processing arc feasible, including a transformation to a full 3D object centered description.


Nd-doped Y3GaxAl(5-x)O12 (YGAG) materials are investigated for their usefulness as compositionally tuned laser materials. An analysis of line-center wavelength, line broadening, and line strength with Ga concentration is conducted to assess the feasibility of constructing a compositionally tuned 0.94-μm laser. Spectroscopic results on this analysis are presented. A laser rod of Nd:Y3Ga1.35Al3.65O12 was made to lase at 0.94465 μm and its performance characterized. This represents the first such laser demonstration on the 4F3/2→4I9/2 laser transition in Nd:YGAG. Improved optical quality and the use of compositional variations of the YGAG structure is expected to improve the laser performance as these materials are more fully developed.


The present work examines the goals of life female and male argentinian adolescents have: they are aged 17 to 19, attending classes at school, living in the North, centre and the South of the country. This article refers to the importance of understanding adolescence as a process of autonomy in the present time. The aim is to investigate the characteristics of students' goals aforesaid loaded in 3687 protocols; to establish category of analisys, to define from theoretic framework and to illustrate the tipology to find. Also, to consider these articulated conditions, and to mention some subclases. From this point of view , we are considering the goals as the product of the individual activity. The fellow being a member of his community, the fellow that "thinks about himself", that yields according to specific ways to relate in his context. Moreover, these meanings link in one temporary- historical plot and they join to grow motivational patrons that incise into their life projects.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this investigation was to determine family physicians' and gynecologists' attitudes toward and understanding of the Bethesda System, a new cervical cytology classification and reporting system.

METHODS
A convenience sample of 159 family physicians and gynecologists completed a questionnaire that assessed attitudes, knowledge, and opinions about the Bethesda System.

RESULTS
Compared with family physicians, gynecologists thought the Bethesda System was more likely to cause patient management problems (p < 0.001) and preferred not to combine viral cytologic effects with mild dysplasia when reporting a low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (p < 0.004). However, increased understanding of the system by physicians correlated with greater preference for the Bethesda System (p < 0.02). In this exploratory study, family physicians, rather than gynecologists, were more inclined to use the Bethesda System and perceived it as a means to reduce clinical evaluation and patient management problems. Gynecologists reported a fuller understanding of the Bethesda System, yet they were more critical of the cytology categorizations. Within each specialty, greater understanding of the Bethesda System led to its wider acceptance.


Abstract This study investigates the Late Aptian–earliest Albian platform carbonates of the Benicàssim area (Maestrat Basin, Spain) in order to assess the relationship between bed-parallel stylolites and the flow of diagenetic fluids during dolomitization and subsequent hydrothermal alteration. Dolostones and burial dolomite and calcite cements were studied by a combination of field geology and standard petrographic and isotope analysis. Field data indicate that dolostones are closely associated with seismic-scale synsedimentary faults, preferentially replace grain-dominated facies and typically show wavy dolomitizing fronts that mostly correspond to bed-parallel stylolites. The dolostones are corroded and contain bed-parallel pores that are filled with hydrothermal saddle dolomite and blocky calcite cements. This late calcite cement frequently engulfs clasts of the host dolostones, suggesting that hydraulic brecciation likely associated with overpressured fluid occurred. Results indicate that stylolites play a key role in the distribution of dolostones and subsequent hydrothermal mineralization. During the replacement stage, stylolites acted as baffles for the dolomitzing fluids controlling lateral fluid flow and resulting in the stratabound dolostone distribution. During the post-dolomitization stage, stylolites became preferred pathways for overpressured hydrothermal corrosive and mineralizing fluids that likely came from the underlying basement, and increased bed-parallel stylolitic porosity and probably also permeability.


Abstract This article traces the recent history of border closures in Turkey and Morocco and their impact on human mobility at the two ends of the Mediterranean. Border closures in the Mediterranean have produced new spaces where borders are often fenced, immigration securitized, and border crossings and those facilitating border crossings criminalized. Here, bordering practices are conceptualized as physical bordering practices, border controls, and legal measures. Turkey and Morocco constitute comparable cases for an analysis of border closures insofar as they utilize similar mechanisms of closure, despite having quite different outcomes in terms of numbers. The article's findings are based on fieldwork conducted at both locations between 2012 and 2014, as well as on analysis of Frontex Risk Assessment Reports from 2010 to 2016. The first part of the article reflects on the concepts of border closure and securitization, together with their implications, and draws for its argument on critical security studies and critical border studies. The second part of the article is an overview of controls over mobility exercised in the Mediterranean from the 1990s onward. Then, in the third and fourth parts, we turn to the particular cases—respectively, Turkey and Morocco—in order to discuss their processes of border closure and the various implications thereof. Through analysis of the two country cases, we show that border closures are neither linear nor irreversible.


The paper investigates the effects of domestic vs. external debt on money demand using US data from 1966Q1 to 2011Q1 period. The cointegration analysis reveals that there is no long-term equilibrium between external debt and money demand, suggesting the US government fails to effectively convert the proceeds from public debt into increased perceived private wealth. On the other hand, the existence of a long run positive correction between domestic debt and money demand implies that domestic bondholders view interest income as extra wealth, without fully discount future tax liabilities.


Since the emergence of the first fully automatic machine translation (MT) systems over fifty years ago, the use of MT has increased dramatically. Consequently, the evaluation
of MT systems is crucial for all stakeholders. However, the human evaluation of MT output is expensive and time-consuming, often relying on subjective quality judgements
and requiring human `reference translations' against which the output is compared. As a result, interest in more recent years has turned towards automated evaluation methods, which aim to produce scores that reflect human quality judgements.

As the majority of published automated evaluation methods still require human `reference translations' for comparison, the goal of this research is to investigate the
potential of a method that requires access only to the translation. Based on detailed corpus analyses, the primary aim is to devise methods for the automated detection of
particular error types in French-English MT output from competing systems and to explore correlations between automated error counts and human judgements of a translation as a whole.

First, a French-English corpus designed specifically for MT evaluation was compiled. A sample of MT output from the corpus was then evaluated by humans to provide judgements against which automated scores would ultimately be compared. A datadriven fluency error classification scheme was subsequently developed to enable the consistent manual annotation of errors found in the English MT output, without access to the original French text. These annotations were then used to guide the selection of
error categories for automated error detection, and to facilitate the analysis of particular error types in context so that appropriate methods could be devised. Manual annotations were further used to evaluate the accuracy of each automated approach. Finally, error
detection algorithms were tested on English MT output from German, Italian and Spanish to determine the extent to which methods would need to be adapted for use with other language pairs.


This article addresses the lack of work on media and crime in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), using an example of a factual television crime report. The existing research in media studies and criminology points to the way that the media misrepresents crime by distorting public understandings and backgrounding structural issues, such as poverty, which are related to crime thereby legitimising a criminal justice system that serves the interests of the powerful in society. Using social actor and transitivity analysis, this article shows how multimodal CDA can make an important contribution as it reveals the more subtle linguistic strategies and visual representations by which this process is accomplished, showing how each plays a part in the recontextualisation of social practice. This programme backgrounds which crimes are committed but foregrounds mental states and the neutrality of policing.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) plays a critical role in adipocytes differentiation and insulin sensitivity and is also related to regulation of inflammation and cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to investigate the PPAR-gamma agonist-induced apoptosis and effects of PPAR-gamma agonist on Fas-mediated apoptosis in a human colon cancer cell line.

METHODS
Cell survival and apoptosis of HT-29 cells were measured by trypan blue exclusion method and FACScan after treatment with 15d-PGJ2, ciglitazone and IgM anti-Fas antibody (CH11), respectively or simultaneously. Also, activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8 was analyzed to assess the effects of PPAR-gamma and Fas on apoptosis signaling pathways.

RESULTS
CH11 induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells. 15d-PGJ2 or ciglitazone alone did not induce apoptosis, but combined stimulation with CH11 synergistically induced apoptosis. Also, 15d-PGJ2 alone did not activate caspase-3, but CH11 and 15d-PGJ2 synergistically activated caspase-3. CH11 activated procaspase-8, but 15d-PGJ2 did not.

CONCLUSIONS
PPAR-gamma was not an enough condition to induce apoptosis of HT-29 cells. Apoptosis was induced by high dose Fas, and was enhanced with PPAR-gamma agonist. PPAR-gamma agonist seems to enhance Fas-mediated apoptosis by affecting the way between caspase-8 and caspase-3. Further research is needed to use PPAR-gamma agonists as chemopreventive and therapeutic agent for colon cancer and to find the pathways of PPAR-gamma on apoptotic cascade of colon cancer cells.


Finite element exterior calculus is an approach to the design and understanding of finite element discretizations for a wide variety of systems of partial differential equations. This approach brings to bear tools from differential geometry, algebraic topology, and homological algebra to develop discretizations which are compatible with the geometric, topological, and algebraic structures which underlie well-posedness of the PDE problem being solved. In the finite element exterior calculus, many finite element spaces are revealed as spaces of piecewise polynomial differential forms. These connect to each other in discrete subcomplexes of elliptic differential complexes, and are also related to the continuous elliptic complex through projections which commute with the complex differential. Applications are made to the finite element discretization of a variety of problems, including the Hodge Laplacian, Maxwell's equations, the equations of elasticity, and elliptic eigenvalue problems, and also to preconditioners.


A gene is a macromolecule which codes for the structure of a protein. Lehninger (1967) points out, "The ascent from simple self-assembling systems such as oligomeric proteins and enzyme complexes to the level of supramolecular organization of subcellular organelles is a very steep one. In making it we cross a boundary to a level of organization at which the self-assembly principle doubtless operates in microscopic regions, but cannot account for the biogenesis of the organelle," (p. 91). The ascent from gene to behavior is precarious indeed.


The environmental policies and concerns of local, state, and federal governments have failed to protect their citizens. More particularly, the nation's environmental agenda neglects to account for the urban environmental problems of people of color. This Essay first considers how environmental injustice and racism has impacted the West Harlem community. It next considers some of the particular health implications, such as lead poisoning and asthma, in the Harlem community. The needs of all communities of color and poverty are considered. The response of West Harlem Environmental Action to these needs is examined. Finally, the Essay concludes by briefly examining some of the obstacles to change and recognizing the need for alliances to continue to progress in the pursuit of environmental justice.