Topological materials have been a fastest growing research topic in the recent decade. Out of the numerous new phases proposed and/or discovered, "topological insulators" (TIs) are one of the most promising materials that could lead to further advances in high-performance electronics and to applications in quantum computing. Similar to the ordinary semiconductors, TIs have a bulk gap; yet they host robust edge/surface states which are protected from non-magnetic disorder and interactions while the gap remains open. This feature is a manifestation of the non-trivial topology of TIs, the crucial feature that distinguishes them from ordinary semiconductors. Although the search for more topological materials continues, discovered TI currently are limited by practical difficulties that prevent industrialization. In this thesis, we study graphene, which is the first proposed TI candidate in the history, and its derivatives. With the intrinsic spin-orbital coupling (SOC) on graphene, one can open a topologically nontrivial band gap at the Dirac cones, although the SOC of the carbon atoms is exceedingly small for topological insulation to be observed in experiments. Many proposals exist to enhance the SOC on graphene by doping with adatoms, changing the functionality of the surface, placing graphene on top of other strong SOC materials, etc. However, few proposed TI signatures have been found experimentally. Furthermore, measuring these intrinsic SOCs through magnetoconductance is challenging due to their relatively weak signatures in transport. This work addresses the challenges in transport measurements from both analytical and numerical approaches on various graphene-based materials. Graphene's Dirac band structure and open geometry underlie its exciting prospects for engineering new physics via impurity-induced spin-orbit coupling. As a tantalizing example, previous theory works predicted a robust quantum-spin-Hall phase in graphene covered with dilute heavy adatoms such as In, Tl, and Os, although experiments to date have not detected the required enhancement of spin-orbit coupling. Motivated by these experiments, we explore the consequences of adatom-generated spin-orbit couplings on magneto-transport in graphene. We attack the problem using diagrammatic techniques and the Landauer-Buttiker transport simulation informed by microscopics, and study various coverages, chemical potentials, and disorder types. We find that the induced spin-orbit couplings can contribute to magneto-conductance differently from conventional intrinsic and Rasbha spin-orbit couplings. Our results provide a possible rationale for the absence of spin-orbit signatures in recent experiments, and also highlight a roadmap for their discovery
in future work. In addition to the adatom-dedoped graphene, we also study graphene placing on top of strong SOC substrate, WS2, by jointing theory, numerics, and experiment. We demonstrate, in experiment, a clear weak anti-localization (WAL) effect arising from induced Rashba spin–orbit coupling (SOC) in WS2-covered single-layer and bilayer graphene devices. Contrary to the uncovered region of a shared single layer graphene flake, WAL in WS2-covered graphene occurs over a wide range of carrier densities on both the electron and hole sides.


How are social policy actors in major sectors of the European economy responding to the current economic and financial crisis? This working paper summarises the plant-level responses of social policy actors to the symptoms of the current recession between October and mid January 2009. It examines how, during this period, organised labour and capital responded to the crisis in several key sectors and countries and what collective bargaining and labour market tools were available to deal with the effects of the crisis and safeguard employment. The paper provides an overview of the effects of the crisis on employees and the micro-level responses of the social partners. A summary of the various tools to which crisis-hit companies have resorted such as collective agreements at the sectoral, industry and company/plant level and legal regulations is provided. A particular focus is made on plant-level agreements on working time flexibilisation that are aimed at avoiding redundancies and labour market instruments to regulate short-time working. The working paper concludes with an overview of the scope and effects of the crisis in terms of employment and working time reduction and the highly diversive plant-level responses to the downturn.


Most methods for object class segmentation are formulated as a labelling problem over a single choice of quantisation of an image space - pixels, segments or group of segments. It is well known that each quantisation has its fair share of pros and cons; and the existence of a common optimal quantisation level suitable for all object categories is highly unlikely. Motivated by this observation, we propose a hierarchical random field model, that allows integration of features computed at different levels of the quantisation hierarchy. MAP inference in this model can be performed efficiently using powerful graph cut based move making algorithms. Our framework generalises much of the previous work based on pixels or segments. We evaluate its efficiency on some of the most challenging data-sets for object class segmentation, and show it obtains state-of-the-art results.


A theory of change to guide a practical and pragmatic approach to the acceleration in the pace of learning in basic education in the developing world, such as that envisioned in the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) research project and other global initiatives, must be based on a comprehensive and empirically adequate positive model of the politics of learning, that is, a model that actually describes the motivations and behavior of actual governments and policy makers. This paper lays out three facts about basic education in developing countries that a minimally acceptable positive political economy model of education should be capable of addressing. First, why did schooling expand so much and so uniformly across countries when it did? Second, why does governmental support for education generally (if not universally) take the form (direction production) and modality (large Weberian bureaucracies) that it does, rather than other forms and modes; alternatives that seem equally or more effective? Third, how did cross-nationally uniform political support for the expansion of schooling coexist in many countries with a politics that allowed very low learning to both arise and persist in some countries, but not others? While it is premature to posit complete answers to these questions, there are three points to be made about at least the outlines and shape of a positive model. One, neither the economist's naïve "normative as positive" (that governments did things because it was the normatively optimal action, in the sense of maximizing some measure of human well-being), nor "response to political pressure" (that governments did things because democratic pressures demanded it) hold any promise as general models. Two, Meyer's "global isomorphism" remains a strong conjecture as a causal force in both expansion and modality (e.g., Meyer, 1977; Boli, Ramirez et al., 1985; Meyer, Ramirez et al., 1992; Meyer, 1997) and, perversely perhaps, isomorphism facilitates the persistence of low learning quality (Pritchett, 2014). Three, the details of observability and contractibility in principal-agent relationships—in particular that "socialization is not third party contractible" (explained below) is an important element for understanding the joint facts of (1) large and uniform expansion, (2) direct production via Weberian bureaucracies as the dominant modality, and hence (3) the possibility of both high and low quality of learning as persistent phenomena in different countries.


Presently, there is a large need for a better understanding and extensive quantification of grid stability for different grid conditions and controller settings. This article therefore proposes and develops a novel mathematical model to study and perform sensitivity studies for the capabilities of different technologies to provide Frequency Containment Process (FCP) in different grid conditions. A detailed mathematical analytical approach for designing inertia-dependent droop-based FCP is developed and presented in this article. Impacts of different droop settings for generation technologies operating with different inertia of power system can be analyzed through this mathematical approach resulting in proper design of droop settings. In contrast to the simulation-based model, the proposed novel mathematical model allows mathematical quantification of frequency characteristics such as nadir, settling time, ROCOF, time to reach the nadir with respect to controller parameters such as gain, droop, or system parameters such as inertia, volume, of imbalance. Comparative studies between cases of frequency containment reserves (FCR) provision from conventional generators and wind turbines (WTs) are performed. Observations from these simulations are analyzed and explained with the help of an analytical approach which provides the feasible range of droop settings for different values of system inertia. The proposed mathematical approach is validated on simulated Continental Europe (CE) network. The results show that the proposed methodology can be used to design the droop for different technology providing FCP in a power system operating within a certain range of inertia.


While ciliates of the genus Stentor are known for their ability to regenerate when their cells are damaged or even fragmented, the physical and molecular mechanisms underlying this process are poorly understood. To identify genes involved in the regenerative capability of Stentor cells, RNA sequencing of individual Stentor polymorphus cell fragments was performed. After splitting a cell over the anterior-posterior axis, the posterior fragment has to regenerate the oral apparatus, while the anterior part needs to regenerate the hold fast. Altogether, differential expression analysis of both posterior and anterior S. polymorphus cell fragments for four different post-split time points revealed over 10,000 up-regulated genes throughout the regeneration process. Among these, genes involved in cell signaling, microtubule-based movement and cell cycle regulation seemed to be particularly important during cellular regeneration. We identified roughly nine times as many up-regulated genes in regenerating S. polymorphus posterior fragments as compared to anterior fragments, indicating that regeneration of the anterior oral apparatus is a complex process that involves many genes. Our analyses identified several expanded groups of genes such as dual-specific tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated kinases and MORN domain containing proteins that seemingly act as key-regulators of cellular regeneration. In agreement with earlier morphological and cell biological studies, our differential expression analyses indicate that cellular regeneration and vegetative division share many similarities.


The primary aim was to determine the general prescribing trends of antimicrobial drugs to patients whose prescriptions were dispensed by community pharmacies. A retrospective, cross-sectional drug utilization study was conducted on 2010 data of a national community pharmacy group in South Africa. A total of 660 500 patients received 1 576 593 antimicrobial products during 2010. The average age of patients was 34.23 (SD=19.92) years. Most patients were female (58.32%). Patients between 40 and 49 years received the highest average of 3.22 antimicrobial prescriptions during the year. Beta-lactams were the most often prescribed (34.56% of antimicrobial prescriptions), followed by antiviral agents (20.92%) and quinolones (11.12%). Differences were observed between females and males with respect to the prescribing frequency of different antimicrobial classes (c2=12763; d.f.=11; p < 0.0001), especially between antifungal agents and beta-lactam antibiotics. Within the beta-lactam class, penicillins accounted for 76.47% of products and cephalosporins for 23.44%. The most frequently prescribed trade name product was a generic combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. Antiviral agents were the most expensive (R195.67), followed by aminoglycosides (R188.42). Prescribing peaked during the winter months. This study provides a general overview of antimicrobial prescribing that can be used for comparative studies with other population groups, African countries and for more specific investigations.


More rigorous and detailed test procedures are desirable to determine the effect of various design modifications on the performance of fuel/cookstove combinations, and to optimize their performance. This research paper investigated the effect of a novel heterogeneous testing method to evaluate the performance of domestic solid fuel/cookstove combinations. The water-heating test (WHT) and the 'hood' method were used as the basis of the tests with additional variants of fuel load, power setting and method of ignition. The experimental cookstoves included a typical brazier (Imbaula), a new type Mozambique ceramic cookstove, the baseline Mozambique metal cookstove, and the bottom-lit down-drafting (BLDD) coal cookstove. Results showed that a heterogeneous testing method provides more representative performance data over a wide range of usage scenarios, the equivalent of providing performance curves rather than the minimum and maximum performance points provided by single tasked based methods. This novel heterogeneous testing method generates robust and diagnostic results with which to compare fuel/cookstove technologies. Cookstove designers and programme managers who wish to improve the design of existing and new cookstoves, and to promote efficient fuel/cookstove technologies based on sound laboratory tests can use the principles explored in this study.


The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) will feature the Visible-Infrared Imager-Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a 22-channel imager that will contribute to nearly half of the NPOESS environmental data records. Included on VIIRS will be the Day/Night band (DNB), a visible channel designed to image the Earth and its atmosphere in all conditions ranging from bright solar illumination, to nocturnal lunar illumination, and negligible external illumination. Drawing heritage from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) instruments orbiting since the late 1960s, the DNB will be used to detect clouds at night, understand patterns of urban development based on the emissions of cities, monitor fires, and image scenes of snow and ice at the surface of the Earth. Thanks to significant engineering improvements, the DNB will produce superior capabilities to the OLS for a number of new applications.


This study was conducted to evaluate the percentage of viable sperm in ram semen by using the MTT reduction assay. Twenty ejaculates from 5 rams were included in this study. Semen samples were diluted with skim milk-glucose diluent to obtain a concentration of 30x10 6 sperms/ml. The rates of MTT reduction were taken in microtiter plates after one hour of incubation at 37 o C using a Microplate Reader (DNM-9602) at a wave length of 550 nm. Simultaneously, split samples of the same semen were tested using the microscope and eosin-nigrosin stain. The correlation between the results of these tests was calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficients and Regression analysis. Results of the present study indicate that the values of sperm viability which calculated on the basis of MTT reduction rates were significantly (P<0.001) correlated with the results that simultaneously determined by the microscope and eosin-nigrosin stain, yielding regression coefficients of r 2 = 0.979. In conclusion, the MTT reduction test proved applicable as diagnostic tool for the quality evaluation of ovine semen. It can be used successfully in routine analysis, where practical aspects as time, costs and practicability are important.


Two classes of recurrent neural network models are compared in this report, simple recurrent networks (SRNs) and sequential cascaded networks (SCNs) which are first- and second-order networks respectively. The comparison is aimed at describing and analysing the behaviour of the networks such that the differences between them become clear. A theoretical analysis, using techniques from dynamic systems theory (DST), shows that the second-order network has more possibilities in terms of dynamical behaviours than the first-order network. It also revealed that the second order network could interpret its context with an input-dependent function in the output nodes. The experiments were based on training with backpropagation (BP) and an evolutionary algorithm (EA) on the AnBn-grammar which requires the ability to count. This analysis revealed some differences between the two training-regimes tested and also between the performance of the two types of networks. The EA was found to be far more reliable than BP in this domain. Another important finding from the experiments was that although the SCN had more possibilities than the SRN in how it could solve the problem, these were not exploited in the domain tested in this project


This book features a new perspective on a French religious diaspora. In "From a Far Country", Catharine Randall examines Huguenots and their less-known cousins the Camisards, offering a fresh perspective on the important role these French Protestants played in settling the New World. The Camisard religion was marked by more ecstatic expression than that of the Huguenots, not unlike differences between Pentecostals and Protestants. Both groups were persecuted and emigrated in large numbers, becoming participants in the broad circulation of ideas that characterized the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Atlantic world. Randall vividly portrays this French Protestant diaspora through the lives of three figures: Gabriel Bernon, who led a Huguenot exodus to Massachusetts and moved among the commercial elite; Ezechiel Carre, a Camisard who influenced Cotton Mather's theology; and Elie Neau, a Camisard-influenced writer and escaped galley slave who established North America's first school for blacks. Like other French Protestants, these men were adaptable in their religious views, a quality Randall points out as quintessentially American. In anthropological terms they acted as code shifters who manipulated multiple cultures. While this malleability ensured that French Protestant culture would not survive in externally recognizable terms in the Americas, Randall shows that the culture's impact was nonetheless considerable.


17 U.S.C. §1201(a)(1) prohibits circumventing a technological protection measure (TPM) that effectively controls access to a copyrighted work. In the name of mitigating the innocent casualties of this new ban, Congress constructed a triennial rulemaking, administered by the Register of Copyrights, to determine temporary exemptions. This paper considers the legislative history of this rulemaking, and it reports the results of a systematic content analysis of its 2000 and 2003 proceedings. Inspired by the literature on political agendas, policymaking institutions, venue shifting, and theories of delegation, we conclude that the legislative motivations for §1201 were laundered through international treaties, obscuring the anticircumvention clause's domestic origins. Further, we conclude that the exemption proceeding is constructed not to protect noninfringing users, but to limit courts' ability to exonerate them via the traditional defenses to copyright infringement. We then conduct a content analysis of the first two proceedings, conducted in 2000 and 2003. Exemption proponents generally interpret the law's intent in terms of policy goals such as fair use, whereas opponents see jurisdictional, procedural, and definitional obstacles to the granting of exemptions. The Register of Copyrights' interpretation of the law closely resembles that of opponents and, on more than one key point, she refers proponents back to Congress. We conclude that the Register has constructed a venue that is hostile to the interests of noninfringing users; in light of congressional rhetoric to the contrary, this constructs a Catch-22 for many who earnestly wish to engage in otherwise legal activities. (NOTE: This is the final version as appeared in Cardozo AELJ. For previous versions as have appeared on SSRN, please contact the author.)


Introduction Unplanned pregnancy is a community health concern. Research with South African women revealed the complexities surrounding pregnancy planning. Categorising pregnancies as either planned or unplanned is insufficient, as reducing a multidimensional concept to a dichotomous variable oversimplifies a complex matter. Methods Pregnant females, 18 years and older with a primary DSM-IV-TR (APA 2000) diagnosis of psychiatric illness, are qualified for inclusion in this quantitative descriptive study. Participants completed a structured psychiatric assessment, including the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP) during care as usual visits at two Maternal Mental Health Clinics. Results Although 37.1% termed their pregnancy unplanned when asked dichotomously, the LMUP scores revealed that 50.6% of the 170 participants fell outside the 'planned' category. Worryingly, 73.3% of the women with unplanned or ambivalent pregnancies did not use contraception. Neither the women's intention to fall pregnant nor their perception of the right timing for being pregnant could be predicted by the group (unplanned, ambivalent or planned) in which they fell; 82.6% of the unplanned group, 57.1% of the ambivalent group and 6.0% of the planned group indicated not wanting the baby. All the women in the 'planned' group agreed with their partner to have a baby. This holds true for 24.4% of the women in the other two groups. Conclusion Results revealed similar findings as other studies in terms of contraception use, pregnancy timing, pregnancy intent, desire to have a baby, partner involvement and health-promoting behaviours during pregnancy. The large size of the ambivalent category emphasises that pregnancy planning cannot be viewed in terms of two dichotomous points, but should rather be thought of as a scale or continuum.


This study sought to investigate speech development and intervention techniques in children with Down syndrome (DS) and Cerebral palsy (CP). This was carried out in Maria Magdalena Special School for Children with Mental Handicap. The study aimed at establishing the speech ability of these children at the time of the study, the varying chronological ages (CA) at which they developed speech and the intervention techniques employed to promote speech development. ~his was done by observing, analysing and interpreting the sounds, words, and sentences children with DS and CP produced. The study was prompted by readings on handicapping conditions that afflict children with DS and CP among them the inability to produce speech commensurate with their chronological age. This could only be answered by studying the nature of speech and the intervention techniques used to address the situation. Chapter two provides a review of studies in: ormal speech development in children, studies on mental and physical handicap, speech development in children with DS, speech development in children with CP, literature on speech intervention techniques and the Kiswahili morphology and syllable structure. The study used an eclectic theoretical approach with emphasis on some tenets of Cognitive Development Theory (1979), Motor Theory (1982) and the Systemic Theory (1985). The !Ievelopment of a research design in chapter three follows and paves way for the analysis and presentation of the data. A descriptive case study was conducted on children with DS and CP and their speech observed and recorded through participant observation. The teachers were also interviewed on the intervention speech techniques they use. A qualitative research design guided by three theoretical approaches was used to analyse the data. The following findings emerged: the DS and CP conditions lead to speech problems, the speech later develops due to among other things, maturity and the communication needs that emerge and that a variety of complementary intervention techniques to help correct the situation are in application in the school curriculum. Recommendations made by this study include: the need for children with DS and CP to be supported to make useful speech to communicate their basic needs, teachers to adopt relevant intervention techniques for each child's age group and class level, besides bringing into playa variety of these techniques in order to achieve maximum results in speech development.


So strong is the cultural desire for an independent and original theory of comedy that Aristotle is imagined to have penned, aside from his glancing treatments of comedy in the Poetics, a critical assessment of the genre, now lost. The symbolic absence of this presumed Aristotelian treatise speaks volumes for the near unattainability of such a critical endeavor. Comedy is at times conceptualized as a generative "umbrella" genre that subsumes other adjoining modes of literary figuration—satire, parody, romance, irony, joke, word play, farce, and stand-up—all while being routinely subject to cultural and theoretical conflation with humor, laughter, amusement, wit, and other physiological as well as intellectual triggers or responses to the comic. The generic contours of comedy are ever-expanding and helplessly slippery. Comedy embodies divergences and dualities. Its anthropological association with fertility rituals at its generic inception suggests privilege and respectability, but Plato's prejudice against comedy as fit for slaves and outcasts, together with Aristotle's identification of comedy with lowliness and ugliness, conditions the perception of the genre as relatively vulgar, inferior, and base when examined alongside its nobler counterpart, tragedy. Comedy's capacity to channel expressions for behavioral deviation in the Feasts of Fools qualifies the genre as a social subversive, but that comedy is conducive to societal stability as a safety valve for discontentedness and insurgence proves that the genre wields the potential of a social fixative. Comedy is said to be grounded on malice and superiority, but playwrights throughout the ages have used it to advance virtue. It is in and between these seemingly irreconcilable contradictions that theoretical abstractions of this elusive genre may be attempted.


Background: Breast cancer is the most common female cancer worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Breast cancer incidence in SSA is relatively low but, as survival from the disease in the region is poor, mortality rates are as high as in high income countries. Late stage at diagnosis, and delays in a woman's journey to a cancer diagnosis, are features known to contribute to poor breast cancer survival rates. There has been little focus on the factors affecting stage at diagnosis and the determinants of diagnostic delays in SSA despite previous studies highlighting the importance of early detection and treatment in breast cancer control.
Aims and Methods: The main objectives of this thesis are: (i) To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of stage at breast cancer diagnosis in SSA to examine trends over time and examine possible sources of variation across the region. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to investigate between-study heterogeneity in percentage of late-stage disease (stage III/IV) breast cancer, and meta-regression analyses were carried out to identify possible sources of variation. Percentages of Black women with late-stage breast cancer in SSA were compared with equivalent estimates for US Black and White women using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Database. (ii) To design and conduct a study, the Nigerian Integrative Epidemiology of Breast Cancer (NIBBLE) study, (iii) to investigate determinants of late stage at breast cancer diagnosis and diagnostic delays at six tertiary and secondary health facilities in Nigeria. Ordinal logistic regression was used to examine associations of socio-demographic, breast cancer awareness, health care access and clinical factors with the odds of later stage disease. Linear regression analyses were performed to examine the association of these factors with time from noticing symptoms to diagnosis (total delay), and its two main
4
components: pre-contact delay (i.e. time from symptoms to first contact with any care provider including traditional healers) and post-contact delay (i.e. time from first contact to diagnosis).
Results: (i) Systematic review: 83 studies were eligible representing 26,788 women from 17 SSA countries. There was wide variation in percentage of late stage (median 74.7%, range 30.3-100%, I2=93.3% p<0.0001). Late stage at diagnosis was notably higher in Black vs non-Black women in SSA and higher for populations from mixed (urban and rural) settings than from urban settings. The percentage of women with late stage breast cancer decreased over time but it was still higher than in US White and Black women 40 years previously. (ii) Findings from NIBBLE: 300 breast cancer patients were recruited, 67.7% with late stage (III/IV) at diagnosis. Multivariate analyses showed lower educational level (odds ratio (OR) 2.35; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04, 5.29), not believing in a cure for breast cancer (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.09, 3.01), Muslim religion (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.22, 0.94) and living in a rural area (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.05, 4.51) to be significantly associated with later stage. No associations were found between later stage and age at diagnosis, tumour grade or oestrogen receptor status. Women diagnosed in stages III/IV self-reported, on average, 36% longer total delay times than those in stages I/II. Median (IQR) for pre-, post and total delays were 2.6 (0.6, 8.3), 3.1 (0.79, 8.7) and 7.8 (3.3, 18.7) months, respectively, for all women who presented with suspicious symptoms (n=430). In fully-adjusted analyses, post-contact delays in all women with symptoms were associated with lack of a personal income (OR 1.49; 1.04, 2.00), no previous history of benign breast disease (OR 0.61; 0.42, 0.89) and having 5 or more children (OR 1.88; 95% CI 0.96, 3.67) whilst total delay was inversely associated with presentation at a secondary facility (OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.51, 0.92) and no previous history of benign breast disease (OR 0.64; 0.47, 0.88). Post-contact and total delays were both positively associated with the total number of providers visited before a diagnosis (P for
trend (Pt)=0.014 and Pt<0.001, respectively). Only 18% of all women with symptoms and 12.4% of the subset with breast cancer were diagnosed within 3 months of noticing a breast symptom.
Conclusions: Although stage at breast cancer diagnosis improved over time in SSA, it is still a common feature. This thesis identified factors amenable to intervention such as breast cancer awareness and health care access, rather than intrinsic tumour characteristics, as the main drivers of late stage at diagnosis in Nigeria. Strategies for early diagnosis of symptomatic breast cancer should be regarded as a major priority in cancer control programmes in SSA.


Gender differences in the experience ofjealousy have been the subject of research interest since the work of Freud. Recent research seems to indicate that males may be more distressed by their partners' sexual infidelity, whereas females are possibly more upset by emotional infidelity. Evolutionary psychologists believe these gender differences are the result of different adaptive problems faced by males and females over the course of evolutionary history. This view has been criticised by social psychologists and feminist theorists, who assert that gender differences in the experience ofjealousy are the result of socialisation practices and power imbalances in society. This study examined gender differences in the experience ofjealousy in a cross-cultural sample. The results provided only partial support for the evolutionary model. Strongly significant gender differences were found, but the difference was driven mostly by a large majority female dislike of emotional infidelity. Males across the sample were ambivalent, selecting sexual and emotional infidelity as approximately equally distressing. Significant cultural differences were found, suggesting that cultural factors may play a part in the experience ofjealousy.


The majority of the world's river basins remain ungauged and, therefore, the triedand-
tested empirical techniques for predicting floods and droughts cannot be
applied. An alternative approach, which is currently receiving a great deal of
attention from research hydrologists, is to develop continuous simulation models
whose parameters pertain to physical or hydrological properties of the river
basins. However, difficulties related to scale, heterogeneity and complexity of real
river basins have made a priori estimation of such parameters impossible: their
estimation has always required calibration using river flow data. Therefore,
estimating hydrological model parameters in ungauged river basins is one of the
greatest challenges currently facing research hydrologists. In this thesis research
advances towards this goal have been made at three different levels.
First, at a conceptual level, a novel method for classifying river basins according
to their physical properties is proposed. It is specifically designed for transferring
hydrological model parameters from gauged river basins, where calibration is
possible, to ungauged river basins. This approach relies on recognising that river
basins can be similar in parts of their hydrological cycle but not in others. Thus,
basins go through three independent classifications, one relative to each of the
major components of the land phase hydrological cycle: interaction of soil water /
vegetation and atmosphere; surface flow; and groundwater flow. This requires the
ability to characterise the response of the components of the hydrological cycle
independently, which leads to a second conceptual advance; rather than relying
entirely on measured river flow data, from which it is difficult to separate out the
effects of the three components, classification rules are devised on the basis of
synthetic data produced by comprehensive, distributed, physically-based models.
This thesis focuses on the surface flow component, applying the methodology to
the identification of the best classifiers for surface flow through river networks.
This required simulating river flow through a large number of Scottish river
basins, which led to more practical research advances; all available commercial
flow routing models were too cumbersome and required an impractical level of
detail to be applied in such a large study. Therefore, a new flow routing modelling
system was developed that extracts river network detail from digital databases and
numerically solves a distributed flow routing model.
Finally, on a detailed scientific level, significant insights have been made into the
relationship between river network geomorphologic structure and stream flow
response. In particular, it is shown that: a downstream hydraulic geometry
relationship exists for Scottish rivers; although channel conveyance is a key factor
in dictating network response, the features of the response hydro graph - namely
the percentage attenuation of the flood peak and the lag in time to peak - scale
linearly with both roughness and hydraulic geometry coefficients; much
publicised invariant power law scaling rules for flood peaks in fact vary as a
function of storm duration; statistical multivariate analysis of the simulated
network flow responses demonstrated the low capacity of the network descriptors
commonly used in regionalisation studies for characterising flow response. Four
variables are shown to have significantly higher classifying power than the
majority of the commonly used classifiers. Of these, two are entirely new to this
thesis.


ABSTRACT The socio-politico-economic scene in India's North-east region has guided certain aspects of the country's domestic and international policy. The Act East Policy (AEP) of the government of India aims to build relations with the countries of South-East Asia, including trade relations, for which the north-east serves as the gateway. This article seeks to analyse the relevance of the policy: How is it grounded in the complex region of north-east India? In what way can it impact the region? The article argues that the new national road infrastructure bypasses the local economy, and posits the need to link rural infrastructure—especially connectivity and local markets—with regional, national and international markets.


By reviewing some of the reinforced-concrete structures built in the early 20th century, this paper questions the geometrical aspects surrounding their design. It is well established that in the case of Robert Maillart's designs, he relied on the logic of thrust lines, as was the case for masonry bridges that were provided by funicular polygons and graphic statics. Maillart also relied on trial sketches to define the mechanical features of successive sections of the bridge and on geometrical considerations to define the line of his bridges. In the case of his stiffened arch bridges, geometrical considerations were confined to following with almost regular thickness the trajectory of the thrust line. However, for some of them and for the whole family of three-hinged arch bridges, formal and geometrical considerations applied, for which some rules are presented here, and their evolution can be seen over time. The challenge in the geometrical organization of concrete around the thrust line is to equilibrate the stresses and manage the group of possible thrust lines depending on various loading cases. A well-designed concrete geometry avoids tensile stresses, which guarantees relatively long-lasting structures. With Maillart's approach, an almost completely geometrical approach to design is encountered, since forces are also managed by geometry within the scope of graphic statics. Regular geometries and isostatic and symmetrical structures guarantee the possibility of undertaking a complete analysis using graphical approaches. However, when hyperstaticity or lateral forces are taken into account, the analysis is not as straightforward. This paper examines the extent to which the geometrical approach provides answers to these issues, with various hypotheses such as elastic analysis or a plastic lower-bound approach. The paper concludes by questioning this approach to the design of concrete structures in the early 20th century and its relative interest for structural design today.


Many invasion theories invoke resource competition as the primary mechanism of invader advantage. These include Darwin's naturalization hypothesis (DNH), which treats phylogenetic similarity as a proxy for niche overlap and competitive intensity, and the evolutionary imbalance hypothesis (EIH), which suggests the phylogenetic diversity (PD) of an introduced species' native range is an indicator of its competitive ability. Few tests of invasion theory, however, consider habitat characteristics associated with the role of competition in community assembly. In particular, plant invasions of habitats characterized by high environmental stress and disturbance levels should rarely be driven by competition. This suggests tests of EIH and DNH are habitat dependent, and their relative importance in invasiveness models should be predictable based on habitat qualities related to competitive intensity. Using a dataset of plant invasions in New Zealand (NZ) natural areas that distinguishes naturalized species according to both habitat type and community impact, we evaluated the predictive ability of factors related to EIH, DNH and covariates including year of introduction, introduction mode and life history attributes, in driving species invasiveness. We hypothesized that EIH and DNH would be more important predictors of invasiveness in forested habitats and decline in importance as communities shifted towards those more dominated by herbaceous species and/or more sparsely vegetated. We found mixed support for the role of competition linked to DNH and EIH as a driver of invasions in relation to habitat type. Native range PD was among the best predictors of invasiveness in forests, and declined in importance in more disturbed habitats, supporting EIH. In contrast, phylogenetic nearest neighbour distance (PNND) of invaders to native communities was more important in disturbed environments, suggesting competition does not drive DNH. Further, for most habitats and across all of NZ, neither PD nor PNND was as important as year of introduction or life history and growth form attributes in predicting invasiveness. Synthesis. Although both native range PD and PNND predict the invasiveness of naturalized plants in NZ, the results of our habitat‐specific models indicate that only PD is consistent with an invasion mechanism based on competitive ability. Effects of PNND were greatest in grasslands that have been extensively modified by fire and grazing, suggesting they are more likely driven by invader pre‐adaptation to modified habitat conditions. Due to the importance of matching species' traits to environmental context, invasiveness risk assessments perform better when applied to invaders of particular habitats.


Today9s comparatively warm climate has been the exception more than the rule during the last 500,000 years or more. If recent warm periods (or interglacials) are a guide, then we may soon slip into another glacial period. But
 Berger and Loutre
 argue in their Perspective that with or without human perturbations, the current warm climate may last another 50,000 years. The reason is a minimum in the eccentricity of Earth9s orbit around the Sun.


Abstract A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of spacing and nitrogen level on growth and yield of maize in Parbat from February to July, 2019. The experiment was laid out in two Factorial Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) comprising of spacing: 60×15 cm and 60×25 cm and nitrogen: 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg/ha level as treatment with three replications. "Arun-2" variety of maize was planted on clay loam and acidic soil (pH 5.3) having medium in total nitrogen (0.15%), medium in soil available phosphorus (48.1 kg/ha), medium in soil available potassium (218.8 kg/ha) and medium in organic matter content (2.92%). Result shows that yield was significantly increased with increment in N-level up to 90 kg N/ha. The grain yield (5.18 mt/ha) was significantly higher at 90 kg N/ha than at 30 and 60 kg N/ha but at par with 120 kg N/ha. Significant effect on grain yield due to spacing was observed. The grain yield (4.11 mt/ha) obtained at spacing 60×15 cm. Moreover, the highest grain yield showed that highest grain yield (4.33 mt/ha) was obtained under 90 kg N/ha plus 60×15 cm spacing. The result revealed that different spacing and nitrogen level significantly affect the plant height and leaf area index. The plant height and leaf area index were significantly high at close spacing (60×15 cm) and at 120 kg N/ha. Likewise, yield attributing characteristics like cob length, cob diameter, number of kernel/rows, number of kernel row, thousand gran weight were the highest at 90 kg/ha but as par with 120 kg/ha at close spacing (60×15 cm). This study suggested that maize production can be maximized by cultivating "Arun-2" maize fertilizing with 90 kg N/ha and maintaining 60×15 cm spacing.


It is strategic to describe and disseminate available examples of how nurses find the modus operandi to being fully integrated in their organizations, including the nurse role in determining improvements in clinical practice, management, education, and/or research. This article describes the recent experiences of Gruppo San Donato International Nursing Academy. The disruptive case shared here underlines the worth of nursing within health care organizations. The Gruppo San Donato International Nursing Academy aims to be a striking model to innovate health care delivery through the optimal utilization of the nursing workforce, uniting the areas of nursing management, nursing education, and research into a unique organizational platform.


Recently, the rapid development and application of mass spectrometry (MS)-based technologies have markedly improved the comprehensive proteomic characterization of global proteome and protein post-translational modifications (PTMs). However, the current conventional approach for global proteomic analysis is often carried out separately from PTM analysis. In our study, we developed an integrated workflow for multiplex analysis of global, glyco-, and phospho-proteomics using breast cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumor samples. Our approach included the following steps: trypsin-digested tumor samples were enriched for phosphopeptides through immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC), followed by enrichment of glycopeptides through mixed anion exchange (MAX) method, and then, the flow-through peptides were analyzed for global proteomics. Our workflow demonstrated an increase identification of peptides and associated proteins in global proteome, comparing to those using the peptides without PTM depletion. In addition to global proteome, the workflow identified phosphopeptides and glycopeptides from the PTM enrichment. We also found a subset of glycans with unique distribution profiles in the IMAC flow-through, compared with those enriched directly using the MAX method. Our integrated workflow provided an effective platform for simultaneous global proteomic and PTM analysis of biospecimens.


The current multimedia, processing and communication capabilities of mobile devices make them most suitable to act as our intermediaries with the surrounding environment. They are capable of sensing, processing, storing and communicating with the artefacts augmented with computing services (i.e. smart objects) deployed in a smart space. This paper describes a device-type, user-location and communication-means agnostic platform, namely EMI 2 lets, which fulfils a two-fold purpose: a) it transforms our mobile devices into universal remote controllers of smart objects and b) it helps us constructing smart object ecosystems, i.e. smart spaces


Elemental analysis (C, N, and P) of single cells of Dinophysis norvegica collected from the Baltic Sea was performed by use of a nuclear microprobe (NMP). For each cell, elemental maps were created and the cellular C, N, and P content was obtained. Concentrates of D. norvegica cells were collected simultaneously for measurement of particulate C, N, and P content by traditional methods for comparison. The traditional measurements of C, N, and P yielded 2.2–2.5 times higher values per cell than the ones obtained by the NMP method. Nevertheless, the averages for the elemental ratios were very similar for the traditional measurements and NMP. All the analyzed cells were deficient in both N and P, compared with the Redfield ratio. The data show that cellular nutrient status, especially cell quotas of N, can vary considerably within a population of one algal species growing under the same environmental conditions in situ.


BACKGROUND
DSM-IV specifies three ADHD subtypes; the combined, the hyperactive-impulsive and the inattentive. Little is known about the developmental relationships underlying these subtypes. The objective of this study was to describe the development of parent-reported hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms from childhood to adolescence and to study their associations with genetic factors, family risk, and later adjustment problems in early adulthood.

METHOD
Data in this study comes from 1,450 twin pairs participating in a population-based, longitudinal twin study. Developmental trajectories were defined using parent-ratings of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms at age 8-9, 13-14, and 16-17. Twin methods were used to explore genetic influences on trajectories. Family risk measures included low socioeconomic status, large family size and divorce. Self-ratings of externalizing and internalizing problems in early adulthood were used to examine adjustment problems related to the different trajectory combinations.

RESULTS
We found two hyperactivity-impulsivity trajectories (low, high/decreasing) and two inattention trajectories (low, high/increasing). Twin modeling revealed a substantial genetic component underlying both the hyperactivity-impulsivity and the inattention trajectory. Joint trajectory analyses identified four groups of adolescents with distinct developmental patterns of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention: a low/low group, a primarily hyperactive, a primarily inattentive and a combined (high/high) trajectory type. These trajectory combinations showed discriminant relations to adjustment problems in early adulthood. The hyperactive, inattentive and combined trajectory subtypes were associated with higher rates of family risk environments compared to the low/low group.

CONCLUSION
Study results showed that for those on a high trajectory, hyperactivity decreased whereas inattention increased. The combinations of these trajectories lend developmental insight into how children shift from (i) a combined to inattentive subtype, and (ii) a hyperactive-impulsive to a combined subtype. This study suggests that ADHD subtypes cannot be viewed as discrete and stable categories.


There has been a dramatic increase in jellyfish biomass over the eastern Bering Sea shelf since the early 1990s, which was previously hypothesized to have been triggered by changing climate and ocean conditions. We examine the hypothesis that the presence of these large carnivores has affected fisheries resources, either through direct predation on larval stages, or through compe- tition for zooplankton prey. In this paper, we explore the impact of this jellyfish increase on zoo- plankton and fish communities based on field data on the composition of the jellyfish community, and the abundance, size, stable isotopic signatures, and feeding habits of the principal scyphomedusae in the region. These data, together with those on zooplankton biomass, are used to estimate the ecosys- tem impacts of this increase. The center of jellyfish biomass has shifted from the SE Middle Shelf Domain in the early 1980s to the NW in the late 1990s. In recent years, the species composition of large medusae caught in trawls was dominated (>80% by number and >95% by weight) by the scyphozoan Chrysaora melanaster. Dense aggregations of this species occupied the water column in daytime between 10 and 40 m. Their food habits consisted mainly of pelagic crustaceans (euphausi- ids, copepods, amphipods), although other jellyfish and juvenile pollock were also consumed. Based on stable isotope ratios, the trophic level of this scyphozoan is equivalent to, or higher than, that of Age 0 pollock. Preliminary estimates showed that medusae have a moderate grazing impact on zoo- plankton in the area around the Pribilof Islands; C. melanaster was estimated on average to consume seasonally about one-third of the standing stock and 4.7% of the annual production of zooplankton in this region. Daily consumption of Age 0 pollock was estimated to be 2.8% of the standing stock around the Pribilof Islands during 1999. A hypothesis for the increase in jellyfishes observed in the eastern Bering Sea, based on release from competition from planktivorous forage fishes, is proposed.


The U.S. has long been indifferent to the study of foreign languages. But other countries have made language instruction a central part of education. The authors point to successful features of programs in other parts of the world that the U.S. can adopt as it begins to recognize the value of learning other languages. SEVERAL YEARS ago, an American schoolteacher named Elizabeth Clayton visited a first-grade classroom in France. (1) There she watched 6-year-olds move from French to English to Spanish "as naturally as breathing." Inspired by what she had seen, Clayton launched a French-language program for children in a Montessori preschool in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Today, the school's students learn French through songs, nursery rhymes, and creative play. The U.S. doesn't often look beyond its own borders for new ideas in education, perhaps because many Americans view their country as a global leader, always on the forefront of social innovation. But in foreign language education, other countries lead, and the U.S. lags behind. In recent years, while most U.S. schools have continued to view foreign language proficiency as nice but unnecessary--somewhat akin to playing a musical instrument--other countries have established policies and practices that make foreign languages an essential part of the school curriculum. And these policies have paid off. Today in Europe more than 50% of adults speak a second language fluently. By contrast, only about 9% of adults in the U.S. are highly proficient in a second language. (2) Attitudes about language study in U.S. schools have reflected the attitudes of society at large. In an increasingly English-speaking world, foreign languages have not seemed to matter to many Americans. Obstacles to the development of a strong language curriculum in American schools seem daunting. Currently, there is a major teacher shortage, and many school districts recruit teachers from abroad because of the limited supply of language-qualified U.S. teachers. There is also strong federal pressure for schools to focus on other priorities because of the No Child Left Behind Act. Finally, administrators feel that the limited time in the school day precludes offering a well-articulated language program. But in the past few years, globalization and world events have underscored the national need for foreign language skills, and leaders in education, government, business, and the military have called for fundamental reforms in our approach to teaching foreign languages. (3) To connect with peoples around the world--for trade, diplomacy, security, and scientific advancement--the United States needs individuals with skills in the world's diverse languages. Moreover, public support for foreign language instruction also seems to be growing. A November 2004 Roper poll indicated that nearly half of Americans believe there is "too little" foreign language instruction in the public schools, while fully half believe that insufficient funding is provided for foreign language instruction. (4) Now seems to be a good time to ask, How can the U.S. achieve the level of foreign language proficiency that other countries have attained? What is the rest of the world doing that we aren't? HOW OTHER COUNTRIES FOSTER FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY In 2000, to gain a better idea of what other countries were doing in foreign language education, the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) collected information about policies and practices in 19 countries in diverse regions of the world. (5) This exploratory study found that successful language programs shared several common features, which we describe below. An early start. In most of the countries surveyed, the majority of students are required to begin learning additional languages in the elementary grades, whereas U.S. schools typically do not even offer foreign language classes until secondary school. In Thailand, for example, English is a compulsory subject beginning in first grade, and a new policy in Morocco has students beginning French in third grade and English in fifth. …


A plain text blog is all good but video blogs are more fun and interesting. Many top bloggers now use videos to convey their messages more engagingly to their audience. By means of using video, they can explain their value proposition better, they can advertise and promote their product or service better and they can sell more convincingly. Scientific studies show that more people like to watch rather than read because of very short-lived attention span. The motion and conversation that takes place in watching videos keeps people glued to the screen, they have no choice but to watch with momentary interest. If your videos are interesting enough, your audience will stick around. If your videos are compelling enough, then its very likely theyll act upon what you ask them to do. The more interesting your blog is, then the more subscribers will opt-in. The more subscribers the blog gets, the more popular it becomes. That popularity will eventually turn into huge profits for the blog. Setting up a blog, creating videos, uploading videos and creating multiple income streams all sound very technical and intimidating. But, it really is very easy to start a video blog. Any non-techie newbie can start right away even with a very tight budget. This book is a how to guide with step by step instructions on setting up a blog, creating videos and uploading videos. You will also get tips on how to promote your vlog and how to start several income streams to generate profits. Many top online vloggers make thousands, even millions, on their vlogs. If you have the know-how and a unique kind of creativity, you too can most certainly make the same income level with your own vlog!


Early tooling results in laitance at tooled surfaces. The laitance consists of smooth, soft, and optically continuous high water-cementitious materials ratio (w/cm) paste that contains fines that bled to the surface from the cementitious materials and aggregate. The cement is extensively hydrated. Late tooling results in discontinuous, fine, chatter-marked surfaces. These discontinuities create surface shadows. Portland cement hydration is very poor due to a low w/cm. Normal tooling results in surface textures between those from early and late tooling along with cement hydration close to that associated with late tooling. In normal- and late-tooled joints, the portland cement evidences restricted hydration due to water "squeezed" from the relatively stiff surfaces, which creates a low w/cm. Significant color differences from light to dark result when joints are, respectively, struck and tooled early, normal, and late. Overall lower w/cm results because masonry units absorb some of the mix water. Wetted bricks extend curing. Affecting the time of mortar stiffening, which controls the time of tooling, is loss of water from joint surfaces and water absorbed by masonry units. The rate of water loss from joint surfaces is a function of the water retention properties of the mortar and ambient atmospheric conditions. Pigment properties of the mortar-making materials, and particularly the portland cement, plus surface textures, establish the color and color tone of joints. A primary contributor to darker surfaces is the degree of cement hydration: the poorer the hydration, the darker the color and color tone. Affecting the degree of cement hydration is the w/cm and the curing period: higher w/cm and longer curing increases hydration and lightens color. A secondary contributor to color tone is surface texture: the greater the number of surface discontinuities the darker the color tone. Cementitious materials components that generally contribute to lighter color tones include hydrated lime and the inert material in masonry cements.


Another option for managing major depressive disorder (MDD) became available in October 2008 with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) market clearance of NeuroStar TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) Therapy System. A panel of psychiatrists who have been treating patients with NeuroStar TMS Therapy in their clinics assembled for a virtual roundtable discussion regarding their experiences. In this supplement, the panel addresses the following issues: the FDA-cleared indication for use of NeuroStar TMS Therapy; logistic and staffing considerations in the outpatient setting; selecting the right patient for TMS Therapy; talking with patients and family about TMS Therapy. To give the overview a meaningful context, each panelist shares a personal account of a patient case, describing the treatment course and outcomes achieved with TMS Therapy.


Injuries at a work place comprise a substantial part of injury burden. They are an important public health problem that affects not only the person sustaining the injury but other household members that are dependent on the injured adult. Although, health workers frequently treat patients with work-related injuries, they also suffer from the same injuries. Injury rate among hospital workers is estimated to be twice that of other service industries. The cause is attributed to high levels of patient contact, as well as other variables in the health care environment. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) are common in the field of physiotherapy because the nature of job tasks is physically challenging and therapeutic procedures are often repetitive, labour intensive and involves direct contact with patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors for WRMDs among physiotherapy personnel in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola districts. The objectives were to determine the proportion of physiotherapy personnel in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola that had experienced WRMDs, the extent to which work-load is associated to the development of WRMDs among physiotherapy personnel also, to establish the extent to which job tasks are associated to the development of WRMDs among physiotherapy personnel and to identify possible measures which could be put in place to reduce occurrence of WRMDs among physiotherapy personnel. This was a cross-sectional quantitative study. Data was collected using a selfadministered semi structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 16.0. for windows. Association of factors was tested using the uncorrected Pearson's chi-square test. The cut off point for statistical significance, was set at 5%. Most of the respondents (n=82) experienced WRMDs that lasted for more than 3 days in the last 12 months to the survey. The lower back was the most frequently affected body part. Onset of symptoms was gradual for the majority and their first episode was within five years of graduation. WRMDs were common among physiotherapy personnel in Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola. Outcomes reflects similar WRMDs, work factors and coping strategies for physiotherapists elsewhere. Therefore, it underlines the importance of further research with large sample sizes to examine factors associated with WRMDs and identify work practices that contribute to injury with a view to formulating preventive strategies.


Abstract. Tunnelling below water passages is a challenging task in terms of planning, pre-investigation and construction. Fracture zones in the underlying bedrock lead to low rock quality and thus reduced stability. For natural reasons, they tend to be more frequent at water passages. Ground investigations that provide information on the subsurface are necessary prior to the construction phase, but these can be logistically difficult. Geophysics can help close the gaps between local point information by producing subsurface images. An approach that combines seismic refraction tomography and electrical resistivity tomography has been tested at the Aspo Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL). The aim was to detect fracture zones in a well-known but logistically challenging area from a measuring perspective. The presented surveys cover a water passage along part of a tunnel that connects surface facilities with an underground test laboratory. The tunnel is approximately 100 m below and 20 m east of the survey line and gives evidence for one major and several minor fracture zones. The geological and general test site conditions, e.g. with strong power line noise from the nearby nuclear power plant, are challenging for geophysical measurements. Co-located positions for seismic and ERT sensors and source positions are used on the 450 m underwater section of the 700 m profile. Because of a large transition zone that appeared in the ERT result and the missing coverage of the seismic data, fracture zones at the southern and northern parts of the underwater passage cannot be detected by separated inversion. Synthetic studies show that significant three-dimensional (3-D) artefacts occur in the ERT model that even exceed the positioning errors of underwater electrodes. The model coverage is closely connected to the resolution and can be used to display the model uncertainty by introducing thresholds to fade-out regions of medium and low resolution. A structural coupling cooperative inversion approach is able to image the northern fracture zone successfully. In addition, previously unknown sedimentary deposits with a significantly large thickness are detected in the otherwise unusually well-documented geological environment. The results significantly improve the imaging of some geologic features, which would have been undetected or misinterpreted otherwise, and combines the images by means of cluster analysis into a conceptual subsurface model.


Introduction: Correct length of the femoral tunnel is required for adequate length of graft inside the femoral canal. Length of femoral tunnel depends on mass, height, dimensions of lateral femoral condyle and amount of flexion of knee intraoperatively. Increasing weight and BMI affects the length of femoral canal since they affect positioning of limb in maximal knee flexion.Aim: To measure tunnel length in independent femoral tunnel drilling using the medial portal and to correlate the tunnel length with anthropometric data (height, weight, BMI of patient) and with width and depth of Lateral Femoral Condyle (LFC) based on MRI.Materials and Methods: The present prospective study including 40 patients were conducted. Participants were selected by a non-random convenience sampling methodology. Complete details of patients were collected by verbal communication with the patients and their attendees, clinical examination, baseline investigations, radiological investigations and surgical findings. Radiological investigations included preoperative assessment of LFC in MRI. Surgical findings were determined by measuring the femoral tunnel length after initial drilling through the medial portal using a depth gauge placed through the medial portal. SPSS version 17.0 was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 40 patients, 30 males and 10 females were included. Mean BMI was 24.22 kg/m2 with the range of 18 to 30. Mean width of LFC was 32.9 mm with range of 26.2 mm to 37.3 mm and depth of LFC was 58.79 with range of 50.7 mm to 66.2 mm. Mean femoral tunnel length was 38.4 mm with range from 32 mm to 44 mm. Conclusion: Average femoral tunnel length in Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction was 38.4 mm for assessed 40 patients. This correlated positively with height and weight of the patient. It also correlated positively with the width (p=0.027) and depth (p=0.029) of lateral femoral condyle.


The purpose of the study was to investigate impact of devolution on the administration and management of Public Community Built and Managed secondary schools at Kibaha Township. The investigation is based on objectives set and guided by research questions. Conceptual model comprise all the levels of the education administration of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MOEVT), regional and council offices, Ward and secondary school levels at which decision-making takes place in the process of implementing the devolution process.The findings reveal positive factors including service closer to the people and improved academic performance and enhanced cooperation among actors at school level and community, accessing education and enrolment expansion. The challenges include shortage of important resources such as teachers' houses, libraries, laboratories and shortage of science teachers. In conclusion, the implementation of the devolution in terms of the execution of powers, duties and responsibilities were not well articulated to actors and implementers lacked capacity building for efficiency and effectiveness in administration and management of Public Community Built and Managed Secondary Schools in Kibaha Township.The study recommends that the Government of Tanzania has to improve; the delivery of education and that should be given priorities so as to avoid Division Os, school inspection should be given priority to all secondary schools including those built and managed by the community in Tanzania. Construction of standard teachers' houses, classrooms, libraries and laboratories all equipped with chemicals required for experiments need immediate attention. Others are regular capacity building of educational actors including teachers, board members, high ranking officials at the ministries, regional and district councils and parents; Finally, leadership and management skills have to be considered for headmasters/mistresses to execute their duties competently.


Background and aims: Homocysteine (Hcy), C-reactive protein (CRP), and Lipoprotein-
associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) have been associated with a high risk of cardiovascular
disease. If casual, they are expected to provide additional tools for prevention. Utilising the unique
properties of genetic variants (randomly allocated and unmodifiable), they could be used as
unconfounded proxies of environmental exposures to investigate disease aetiology, known as
Mendelian randomisation. Herein I conduct a series of Mendelian randomisation experiments to:
(i) investigate the role of Hyc in stroke; (ii) judge causality of CRP in cardiovascular disease; (iii)
investigate the validity of Lp-PLA2 as a therapeutic target in coronary heart disease (CHD) and;
(iv) describe how the integration of cis-acting variants and their cognate proteins can be used to
dissect causal pathways.
Methods: For aim (i), I conducted synthesis research of published and unpublished studies
investigating the MTHFR/C677T variant, Hcy and stroke. For aims (ii) to (iv), a series of
prospective collaborations conducting de novo genotyping for CRP and PLA2G7 genes, were
established using European-based cardiovascular genetic studies of adults.
Results: The meta-analyses of studies on MTHFR/C677T-Hcy-Stroke to 2003, showed that
subjects with the TT genotype had on average 1.93 µmol/L higher levels of Hcy compared with
subjects with CC genotype, and an odds ratio (OR) of stroke of 1.26 (95%Cl: 1.14,1.40). An
update analyses to 2008 showed that in both MTHFR-Hcy and MTHFR-stroke associations,
studies in Asia had the largest effect, followed by Europe with intermediate effect, and lower or
negligible effect in the Americas and Australasia. Analysis on CRP, indicated that subjects
homozygous for the T-allele of CRP/+1444C>T variant despite having 0.68 mg/L higher levels of
CRP, had no increase in risk of myocardial infarction (OR of 1.01 [95CI: 0.74,1.38]). A tagging-
haplotype approach showed a gradual increase on CRP levels by haplotype, but no effect on
CHID, diabetes or stroke. Analysis of the seven PLA2G7 tagging-SNPs showed that the best
variant (rs1051931) had small to moderate effects on the Lp-PLA2 activity (up to 7% relative
differences). No genetic signal with CHD was observed for any PLA2G7 variant, despite some
comparisons including up to 8412 CHID cases. A description of the proof of principle, illustrating
how to utilise cis-acting variants and their cognate proteins to distinguish causal from non-causal
effects among correlated blood proteins was presented, using as an example 6 proteins that have
been associated with CHD risk.
Conclusions: Genetic evidence reported in this document suggested that the MTHFR effect is
more pronounced in geographic regions associated with low folate intake. Genetic studies on
CRP presented in this document indicated that CRP is unlikely to be causal in cardiovascular
disease. A genetic approach using common variants in PLA2G7 had a reduced ability to confirm
or reject Lp-PLA2 as a valid drug target. Finally, integration of cis-acting variants with their
cognate proteins seems to be an effective way of dissecting biological pathways.


Personal computer/workstation (PC/WS) clusters have come to be studied intensively in the field of parallel and distributed computing. They are considered to play an important role as a large scale computer system in the next generation, such as large server sites and/or high performance parallel computers, because of their good scalability and cost performance ratio. In the viewpoint of applications, data intensive applications including data mining and ad-hoc query processing in databases are considered very important for high performance computing, in addition to the conventional scientific calculation. Thus, investigating the feasibility of such applications on a PC cluster is meaningful. In this paper, a PC cluster connected with Storage Area Network(SAN) is built and evaluated. In the case of SAN cluster, each node can access all shared disks directly without using LAN; thus, SAN clusters achieve much better performance than LAN clusters for disk access operations. However, if a lot of nodes access the same shared disk simultaneously, application performance degrades due to I/O-bottleneck. A runtime data declustering method, in which data is declustered to several other disks dynamically during the execution of application, is proposed to resolve this problem. Parallel data mining is implemented and evaluated on the SAN-connected PC cluster. This application requires iterative scans of a shared disk, which degrade execution performance severely due to I/O-bottleneck. The runtime data declustering method is applied and characteristics of the system such as I/O and network operations are evaluated in detail. According to the results of experiments, the proposed method prevents performance degradation caused by shared disk bottleneck in SAN clusters.


A report containing the findings from a survey of 2,336 special education teachers in the state of Alabama on making and implementing decisions about accommodations. A number of areas of strength were noted in the survey responses provided by this large sample of Alabama special education teachers. The special education teachers who responded to the survey demonstrated overall knowledge of accommodations use, despite the challenging items presented to them. Nevertheless, there is an evident need for professional development on making accommodations decisions and on implementing accommodations for instruction and assessment.


Direct Current Technologies (DCTs) are remediation techniques for contaminated soil, in which an electrical field is created in the polluted medium by applying a low-voltage direct current across electrodes placed in the ground. This study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of using DCTs for the remediation of different organic contaminants from various types of fine grain soils and sediments. For this purpose, a one-dimensional experimental setup for bench scale testing was assembled and several laboratory tests were performed. The experimental setup included an electrochemical cell, two stainless steel plate electrodes, a stabilized DC generator and tanks for the pore fluid collection. Two types of soils contaminated by diesel fuel and river sediments polluted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were considered in the investigation. In the experiments, the contaminant removal was evaluated under the influence of the electric current generated by a constant potential difference (0.5-6 V/cm) for a fixed period of time. The results showed that a high efficiency of organic pollutant removal could be achieved via electrochemical methods. About 90% contaminant removal was achieved for PAHcontaminated sediments after a one month treatment, while the diesel fuel contaminated soils resulted in about 45-55% TOC removal and in 70-85% TPH removal. The main factors influencing the process seem to be the process duration and the soil mineralogy, especially the iron content of the treated medium. On the opposite, the applied voltage seems to have a limited influence on the contaminant removal efficiency, good results being achieved with specific voltages as low as 1 V/cm. The results suggest that DCTs can be effectively used for the mineralization of many organics with low energy expenditure, especially in very fine soils, like clays, which are often more difficult to treat with conventional chemical methods, because of their low permeability and high sorption capacity.


Depression and depressive symptoms have been studied both as risk factors and consequences of elder abuse, even though the most common cross-sectional design of the studies does not allow inferring cause or consequence relationships. This study estimates the proportion of older adults who screened positive for depressive symptoms among those self-reporting elder abuse and examines whether individual characteristics and/or abusive experience aspects are associated with self-reported depressive symptoms. Participants were 510 older adults self-reporting experiences of abuse in family setting enrolled in the cross-sectional victims' survey of the Aging and Violence Study. Depressive symptoms were assessed through the abbreviated version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5). Poisson regression was used to determine the prevalence ratio (PR) of screening depressive symptoms according to individual and abusive experience covariates: sex, age group, cohabitation, perceived social support, chronic diseases, functional status, violence type, perpetrator, and number of conducts. Women (PR = 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.04, 1.35]) individuals perceiving low social support level (PR = 1.36, 95% CI = [1.16, 1.60]) and with long-term illness (PR = 1.17, 95% CI = [1.02, 1.33]) were found to be associated with increased risk for screening depressive symptoms. In regard to abusive experience, only the number of abusive conducts increased the PR (PR = 1.07, 95% CI = [1.05, 1.09]). Routine screening for elder abuse should include psychological well-being assessment. Interventions toward risk alleviation for both mental health problems and elder abuse should target women perceiving low social support level and with long-term illness.


Scattering by a stack of random rough interfaces is studied. Such interfaces are common in both shallow water and deep ocean sediments due to the natural sedimentation processes. When the roughness of each interface is small, first order perturbation theory of Bass and Fuks [Wave Scattering from Statistically Rough Surfaces (Pergamon, New York, 1979)] is employed to formulate the scattered field due to such an interface. If the distances between interfaces are small compared to the acoustic wavelength and the variations of sediment properties are small, it is found that the collective scattered field due to a stack of random interfaces can be related to that due to a weak scattering volume where sound speed and density are randomly varying. Thus low‐frequency subbottom scattering due to either weak volume inhomogeneities or a stack of rough interfaces can be formulated in a unified fashion. [Work supported by ONR.]


To enhance our understanding of the variability of flower constancy, we studied the influence of foraging conditions on the level of individual constancy in two species of stingless bees, Trigona dorsalis and Oxytrigona mellicolor, using a dimorphic artificial flower patch with equal reward in both flower types. Flower constancy increased greatly when the flower types were more dissimilar, and then approached constancy levels found for European honey bees. Sugar concentration had little effect on flower constancy. The presence of nestmates enhanced flower constancy somewhat in O. mellicolor but not in T. dorsalis, probably because of species-specific differences in local enhancement. The individual variability within treatments could be explained partly by individual variation in foraging tempo, with faster foraging leading to higher flower constancy. flower constancy / foraging conditions / stingless bee


Abstract We documented the fate of 29 cohorts of propagated Barrens topminnows Fundulus julisia stocked as juveniles and adults (ntotal = 2770 fish) into 17 springheads and small ponds in middle Tennessee in 2003 and 2004. Annual mortality rates were calculated after estimating the number of individuals of each cohort remaining 1–18 mos after fish were stocked. Lighted larval fish traps were deployed at seven reintroduction sites and the Type Locale to determine whether topminnows could reproduce in the presence of the introduced-transplanted Western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis. At stocking sites harboring mosquitofish (n = 12), their density ranged from 0.4 to 66.3 mosquitofish per m2. Annual mortality of stocked Barrens topminnows ranged from 45 to 100% and 24 cohorts experienced annual mortality greater than 95%. Mortality was not related to mosquitofish density or the mean size at stocking. The robustness of Barrens topminnows did not differ in the presence or absence of mosquitofish, suggesting that interspecific competition for food was not occurring. Larval Barrens topminnows were collected at two reintroduction sites and the Type Locale, but juvenile recruits were produced only at sites lacking mosquitofish. The findings of this study, and concurrent laboratory studies, support the hypothesis that mosquitofish predation on larval Barrens topminnows was the primary mechanism in failed reintroductions and is the greatest threat to wild and reintroduced populations of this imperiled species.


The oxyanion derivatives of the chalcogens tellurium and selenium are toxic to living organisms even at very low levels. Bacteria have developed mechanisms to overcome their toxicity by methylating them. The structure of TehB from Escherichia coli has been determined in the presence of the cofactor analogues SAH (S-adenosylhomocysteine) and sinefungin (a non-hydrolysable form of S-adenosyl-L-methionine) at 1.48 Å (1 Å=0.1 nm) and 1.9 Å respectively. Interestingly, our kinetic data show that TehB does not discriminate between selenium or tellurite oxyanions, making it a very powerful detoxifying protein. Analysis of the active site has identified three conserved residues that are capable of binding and orientating the metals for nucleophilic attack: His176, Arg177 and Arg184. Mutagenesis studies revealed that the H176A and R184A mutants retained most of their activity, whereas the R177A mutant had 65% of its activity abolished. Based on the structure and kinetic data we propose an SN2 nucleophilic attack reaction mechanism. These data provide the first molecular understanding of the detoxification of chalcogens by bacteria.


Generally, energy is important to enhance countries development. Electricity demand is increasing drastically in the last few decades. Fossil fuel which is considered a common source and utilized globally has shown reduction due to the progressing energy demand. Most governments in the developing countries are giving incentives and funds to the researchers to produce energy based on renewable energy resources. This has been identified as free from environmental threats. Many efforts have been conducted worldwide to promote electricity based on renewable energy resources. European countries, Japan, USA and India are the countries which have continuously conducted research; in particular, the energy from the sea waves. The main objective of this study is to innovate new design of electricity generator using sea wave as the energy source. In order to achieve this, mathematical modeling is initially developed which represents all the related mathematical equation in the system. This thesis presents the mathematical modeling and Evolutionary Programming (EP) approach of sea wave energy for electricity generation. The study begins with the derivations of mathematical equations for each component in the electricity generation system taking the sea wave as the input of the whole system. The developed mathematical equations for each stage in the system verified, while validation is conducted in order to realize its workability. Electrical and mechanical relationships are derived to relate the workability of each component in the system for the purpose of electricity generation. Various experiments have been conducted to realize the variation of results for chosen modules which eventually can lead to the generation of electricity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach namely Evolutionary Programming (EP) is implemented to compute the optimal parameters for the developed model. Results obtained from the experiment indicated that the proposed mathematical modeling is feasible to generate electricity by using the sea wave energy.


The use of excise taxes – ad valorem and specific – as a means to control cigarettes consumption is a relatively new toolkit in many developing countries. There is a long and documented history throughout the world of governments implementing such tax schemes to generate revenues. In many instances, tobacco taxation has also been highlighted as an efficient means of mobilizing domestic resources to finance health and other important development programmes. The recent settings of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 United Nations' Agenda for Sustainable Development have further heightened the ever growing interest in tobacco taxation. More specifically, the latest Agenda intends to strengthen the country-level implementation of the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Article 6 of the FCTC recognizes price and tax measures as effective means to reduce the demand for tobacco, and the guidelines for Article 6's implementation encourage the use of taxation in comprehensive strategies for tobacco control.


Using an ongoing land conflict in Ciudad Juárez as a case study, I seek to show how maquiladora decision makers stabilize a regional development model even at times of extreme social and economic crisis. I argue that the current killings associated with drug trafficking play an ambivalent role in the reproduction of order in Juárez. At first sight, the violence is represented as a threat, unmasking as it does a regional development model as failure. Decision makers accordingly respond by doing everything possible to distance the maquiladora industry from the violence. On the one hand, this is being done by familiar means, not unlike in previous moments of crises. But on the other hand the events around Lomas del Poleo additionally assume a new quality, as maquiladorization goes hand in hand with an explicit strategy of spatial distanciation, integrating places and people that have hitherto been linked only marginally to the industry. And it is here that the narco-related violence plays different roles: As a convenient veil that allows what might be termed 'ordinary' assertions of brute force to be used under the cover of extraordinary, excessive, violence; and as a welcome excuse in moments of emergency that legitimize violent measures for the sake of a greater good.


Purpose: With FDA approval of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), a question on its room shielding is raised. According to NCRP147, standard gypsum wallboard construction is adequate to shield the walls of a conventional mammographic unit. This recommendation may not be valid for DBT which acquires data from multiple angles therefore potentially leads to larger scattered radiation. The DBT room shielding may be reconsidered. This study is to investigate if additional room shielding is necessary for DBT. Methods: Room shielding was first calculated following NCRP147 by adjusting recommended air kerma with the ratio of acquisition numbers. We assumed that comparable techniques were used for data acquisition of DBT and conventional mammography.Scattered radiations at locations inside and outside of the door were then measured with Ludlum 9DP survey meter for comparison with shielding design goal, e.g. 0.02 mGy/week. CIRS breast biopsy training phantom was used for the measurements. Two phantoms were overlapped (approximately 6 cm) to simulate a relatively large breast thickness. 150 patients/week was assumed for calculations. Results: Based on both calculation and measurements, the current room without any special shielding is adequate for conventional mammography with 4 images/patient. DBT with 30 to 34 (per patient, tomosythesis vs. combo) radiographic acquisitions requires approximately 20 mm of gypsum wallboard. Standard gypsum wallboard construction may still meet this requirement. However, DBT requires the thickness of solid wood door of approximately 170 mm according to the calculation and approximately 60mm based on the measurements, respectively, with a full occupancy factor. Most current solid wood door cannot meet this requirement. The measurement outside the door also shows high scattered radiation, approximately 0.09mGy/week, which is only acceptable for less occupied areas. Conclusions: With the increasing data acquisitions of DBT, the room shielding needs reconsideration, although both calculation and measurements are very conservative.


This report describes the investigations into the cause and treatment of metabolic bone disease (MBD) in captive native New Zealand frogs (Leiopelma spp.) and the role of fluoride in the disease. MBD was diagnosed in Leiopelma archeyi and Leiopelma hochstetteri in 2008 at three institutions: Auckland Zoo, Hamilton Zoo, and the University of Otago. Most of these frogs had originally been held at the University of Canterbury for several years (2000-2004) but some were collected directly from the wild. Radiographs on archived and live frogs showed that MBD had been present at Canterbury, but at a lower rate (3%) than in the current institutions (38-67%). Microcomputed tomography showed that the femoral diaphyses of the captive frogs at Auckland Zoo had greater bone volume, bone surface, cross-sectional thickness, and mean total cross-sectional bone perimeter, which is consistent with osteofluorosis. On histology of the same femurs, there was hyperplasia, periosteal growth, and thickening of trabeculae, which are also consistent with skeletal fluorosis. An increase in fluoride levels in the water supply preceded the rise in the incidence of the above pathology, further supporting the diagnosis of osteofluorosis. Analysis of long-standing husbandry practices showed that ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure and the dietary calcium:phosphorus ratio were deficient when compared with wild conditions-likely causing chronic underlying MBD. To prevent multifactorial MBD in captive Leiopelma, the authors recommend increasing dietary calcium by incorporating into the captive diet inherently calcium-rich invertebrates; increasing exposure to natural or artificial (UVB) light; and using defluoridated water. Addressing these three factors at Auckland Zoo reduced morbidity, bone fractures, and mortality rates.


Work on turbulent equipartitions in a plasma (i. e., attractors characterized by Lagrangian invariants) is reviewed. Although such attractors also exist in the convective zone of the Sun and in atmospheres, the primary emphasis is on turbulent transport in tokamaks. By extending the hydrodynamic concept of freezing-in to Vlasov's equation, it is explained why the magnetic field topology in a collisionless plasma is conserved even though the conventional hydrodynamic description breaks down. Arguments are presented to support the conjecture that the canonical profiles of tokamak plasma are due to an attractor with a plasma frozen into the poloidal magnetic field. In fact, the exclusion from the conventional set of frozen-in integrals of the one for the toroidal magnetic field is all what is needed. The reason for the break-down of this invariant is the poloidal noninvariancy of the magnetic field, an effect to which trapped particles are particularly sensitive. The predictions of the attractor and of two attraction basin boundaries (H- mode and transport suppression by the reversed shear) are confirmed experimentally to a reasonable accuracy.


Synapses are asymmetric intercellular junctions. Targeting of synaptic vesicles to presynaptic sites is one of the most intricate examples of polarized trafficking and selective protein accumulation. Little is known about amino acid sequences or structural determinants mediating presynaptic targeting of synaptic vesicle proteins. Mover / TPRGL / SVAP30 is a 266 amino acid protein associated with synaptic vesicles as a peripheral membrane protein. Structurally nothing is known about Mover except for the presence of a predicted HSac2 domain, phosphorylation sites and a predicted Calmodulin binding site. The regions or amino acid sequences mediating targeting of Mover to presynaptic terminals are unknown.
I found that dimerization of Mover allows the targeting of Mover to synaptic vesicles. Sites widely distributed over large parts of Mover mediate both self-interaction and presynaptic targeting of Mover. The HSac2 homology domain of Mover and the part encoded by the alternatively spliced exon 2 are required but not sufficient for targeting. Despite strong homomerization Mover does not heterodimerize with its paralogue TPRG. Mover is a novel binding partner for Ca2+/Calmodulin but this interaction does not mediate the presynaptic targeting of Mover, because a point mutated variant of Mover that still binds to Calmodulin is deficient for dimerization and targeting. Mutations introduced into the predicted phosphorylation sites had no effect on dimerization and targeting of Mover suggesting a function for phosphorylation other than targeting. Over-expression of Mover reduces the pool of recycling vesicles suggesting an inhibitory role in neurotransmitter release. A Mover knockout mouse was generated to explore the role of Mover for presynaptic function, and studies investigating synaptic vesicle recycling in cultures from these mice are underway


In 1990 a total of 780 million people out of 4 billion in the developing world are living on diets that are not sufficient to maintain a healthy life, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This implies food insecurity for every fifth person in the developing world. Insufficient food consumption is one of the primary causes of malnutrition; the other is infection and poor health. Unless explicit policies to reduce the numbers of underweight are put in place, the total number of children with protein energy malnutrition will rise, and child deaths associated with malnutrition problems will continue unabated. Increase in incomes and reduction in poverty are important, but experiences in several countries indicate that even where there is no rapid improvement in incomes, malnutrition can be reduced by explicit programs and policies that aim at improving household access to food and health services and improving child care practices such as breastfeeding and proper weaning of infants. A concerted effort to follow the examples of successful countries is needed to reduce the numbers of malnourished children in the future.


This thesis evaluates the option of modifying cirrus clouds in order to counteract part of the anthropogenic global warming, also known as cirrus seeding. The feasibility of cirrus seeding is assessed with the general circulation model ECHAM6-HAM with coupled aerosol-cloud interactions. The warming effect of cirrus clouds on climate led part of the research community to the idea of artificially decreasing their frequency and optical thickness by seeding them with ice nucleating particles. Cirrus seeding relies on the competition between two distinct cirrus formation pathways: homogeneous nucleation of soluble aerosols and heterogeneous ice crystal nucleation with the help of solid ice nucleating particles. Seeding attempts to transform optically thicker, longer lived homogeneously nucleated cirrus clouds to thinner and shorter lived heterogeneously nucleated cirrus clouds. The cirrus seeding effectiveness depends on the correct representation of cirrus clouds in climate models. We evaluated the ECHAM6-HAM model against CALIPSO satellite data and found that the model reproduces the cirrus cloud occurrence fraction and ice water content well, but overestimates their extinction. Most importantly, we found that a large fraction of cirrus clouds formed in environments with liquid water, which cannot be modified by cirrus seeding. Moreover, modelled in situ cirrus formed by heterogenous ice nucleation on dust aerosols in most of the world, limiting the cirrus geoengineering potential. Meanwhile, homogeneous cirrus were dominant only in the tropical tropopause layer and over mountain regions. Seeding cirrus clouds with ice nucleating particles of radii below 10 μm did not lead to a significant cooling effect on climate, due to radiative warming effects of increasing cirrus cloud cover and decreasing ice crystal radius, which neutralized the cooling gained by the ice crystal number decrease. However, when seeding with larger ice nucleating particles, cirrus cloud cover, ice crystal number concentration, and ice water content decreased, due to increased ice crystal sedimentation velocity, leading to a cooling of up to 0.7◦C globally. In addition, an idealized cirrus geoengineering setup with increased ice crystal sedimentation velocities at temperatures colder than -35◦C could fully counteract the temperature increase by 1.5 x CO2 concentrations. Furthermore, seeding with ice nucleating particles larger than 10 μm could counteract up to 55% of the temperature and precipitation damage caused by a 1.5 x CO2 increase, without causing negative side effects in any of the analysed regions. Thus, cirrus geoengineering was found to be, not considering its problematic engineering details and large modelling uncertainties, an attractive method to counteract part of the anthropogenic warming.