Small double-stranded interfering RNAs move between cells and can direct DNA methylation. Long-distance movement of RNA interference (RNAi)–derived signals in plants plays an important role in development and in defense against viral attack. The nature of the signals that spread from cell to cell is not known, although evidence suggests that they are nucleic acids of some sort (see the Perspective by Martienssen). Molnar et al. and Dunoyer et al. now show that in Arabidopsis, both exogenous and endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), rather than their long double-stranded precursor RNAs, are the molecules that transfer information between plant cells. A viral protein that counters RNAi though sequestering siRNAs blocked spreading of a transgene RNAi silencing signal. Furthermore, siRNA-processing enzymes were required in the source, and not the recipient, cells for spreading, and bombardment of plants with double-stranded siRNAs directly showed siRNA spread between cells. Endogenous siRNAs also spread between tissues and were capable of directing DNA methylation of target sequences in distant tissues. A. Molnar, C. W. Melnyk, A. Bassett, T. J. Hardcastle, R. Dunn, D. C. Baulcombe, Small silencing RNAs in plants are mobile and direct epigenetic modification in recipient cells. Science 328, 872–875 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text] P. Dunoyer, G. Schott, C. Himber, D. Meyer, A. Takeda, J. C. Carrington, O. Voinnet, Small RNA duplexes function as mobile silencing signals between plant cells. Science 328, 912–916 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text] R. Martienssen, Small RNA makes its move. Science 328, 834–835 (2010). [Summary] [Full Text]


Objective: Analyse the degree to which psychometric properties are preserved in the Nursing Activities Score through assessments of instrument reliability and validity. Method: Assessments of instrument adaptation and validation that measures the workload of nursing in Intensive Care Units and that covers more than 80% of nursing activities, estimating the daily allocation of patients to the nursing staff according to the patients' care needs. The instrument's reliability was assessed in six intensive care units located in two hospitals in Santiago, Chile. Results: The mean nursing activities score was 70.86%. For exploratory factor analysis, items without variability were excluded (2, 3, 15, 16 and 18). The least squares factor extraction method was used, executed inthe Factor software, and it resulted in one factor explaining 12.8% of total instrument variance. The proposed factor structure grouped items in one factor; however, items 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 19, 20, 22 and 23 did not present adequate communality. The calculated value for the Kuder-Richardson formula was 0.886. The Nursing Activities Score instrument was highly and positively correlated with the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (r= 0.601), used as an external validation criterion. Conclusion: Due to theoretical and practical relevancy, as well as conceptual connections of the items selected during the content validation process, we recommend that these items are not eliminated from the Nursing Activities Score instrument. Additional validation studies should beconducted in other populations.


The modulational instability and discrete matter wave solitons in dipolar BEC, loaded into a deep optical lattice, are investigated analytically and numerically. The process of modulational instability of nonlinear plane matter waves in a dipolar nonlinear lattice is studied and the regions of instability are established. The existence and stability of bulk discrete solitons are analyzed analytically and confirmed by numerical simulations. In a marked contrast with the usual DNLS behavior (no dipolar interactions), we found a region where the two fundamental modes are simultaneously unstable allowing enhanced mobility across the lattice for large norm values. To study the existence and properties of surface discrete solitons, an analysis of the dimer configuration is performed. The properties of symmetric and antisymmetric modes including the stability diagrams and bifurcations are investigated in closed form. For the case of a bulk medium, properties of fundamental on-site and inter-site localized modes are analyzed. On-site and inter-site surface localized modes are studied finding that they do not exist when nonlocal interactions predominate with respect to local ones.


The enhancement of human traits has received academic attention for decades, but only recently has moral enhancement using biomedical means – moral bioenhancement (MB) – entered the discussion. After explaining why we ought to take the possibility of MB seriously, the paper considers the shape and content of moral improvement, addressing at some length a challenge presented by reasonable moral pluralism. The discussion then proceeds to this question: Assuming MB were safe, effective, and universally available, would it be morally desirable? In particular, would it pose an unacceptable threat to human freedom? After defending a negative answer to the latter question – which requires an investigation into the nature and value of human freedom – and arguing that there is nothing inherently wrong with MB, the paper closes with reflections on what we should value in moral behaviour.


This article examines alternative sites of accountability for torture carried out in the war on terror, where the Obama Administration refused to engage in official accountability. It is concerned with a less examined feature of civil society's efforts at seeking accountability: the publication of key documents from the war on terror as books. I focus on two, one based on a congressional report on torture and the other on the diary of a current Guantanamo Bay detainee. I argue that through publishing these already existing texts as books, civil society actors helped amplify, circulate, and make more permanent evidence of post-9.11 torture. In doing so they contributed to the creation of a 'counterpublic', reforming what is publicly thinkable about the torture policies of the Bush Administration, and achieved a form of 'memory-justice', morally grounding past crimes in the present and taking responsibility as a political community for righting past wrongs.


Applications in paleontological research are far from being limited to taxonomic collection and identification. Nor is such research limited to working solely on fossil data. Actualistic paleontology is the study of modern or recent organisms and processes to better understand those of the past. The bulk of this body of research falls under the category of actualistic paleontology, and examines geochronological methods and error biases in dating biological specimens ranging in age from modern to thousands of years old. Although such methods are arguably not perfect, error rates of ± a few hundred to few thousand years can be extremely important when considering ecological relationships among both Holocene taxa and time-averaged paleocommunities, but quite diminished when considering implications on more traditional dating techniques for ancient strata. Regardless, understanding implications of time resolution is important in analyses of and comparisons between any biological dataset. The following chapters are united by quantitative and statistical management of data with varying levels of temporal resolution, and represent four manuscripts that either are in press or soon to be submitted for publication.


We develop category theory within Univalent Foundations, which is a foundational system for mathematics based on a homotopical interpretation of dependent type theory. In this system, we propose a definition of 'category' for which equality and equivalence of categories agree. Such categories satisfy a version of the univalence axiom, saying that the type of isomorphisms between any two objects is equivalent to the identity type between these objects; we call them 'saturated' or 'univalent' categories. Moreover, we show that any category is weakly equivalent to a univalent one in a universal way. In homotopical and higher-categorical semantics, this construction corresponds to a truncated version of the Rezk completion for Segal spaces, and also to the stack completion of a prestack.


The first book on foster care written from foster mothers' perspectives, They're All My Children voices the often painful experiences of contemporary U.S. foster mothers as they struggle to mother and care-work in the face of exploitative social relations with the state. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, Wozniak, herself a former foster mother and an anthropologist, presents and analyzes women's personal stories about fostering to reflect on the larger socio-cultural context of American family life namely, how we think about kinship, identity, and work. Foster mothers construct enduring kinship relationships with children, and often with the children's biological families. These relationships enhance children's chances to growth and thrive and in turn extend women's kin relationships into often distant and disparate communities. Wozniak also highlights the economic side of fostering to show how foster mothers are both mothers and workers; foster children are both providers and provided for, adored sentimental children and economic figures. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, Wozniak argues that we have not gone far enough in understanding the experiences of these women whose life work lies outside the usual boundaries. Nor have child welfare gone far enough in revising the theories upon which child welfare policies are based. Foster mothers and their experiences challenge the patriarchal, nuclear family ideals upon which foster care programs are based, a challenge that They're All My Children takes forward.


Computer games usually take one of two approaches to presenting game information to players. A game might offer information naturalistically, as part of the game's imaginary universe; or it might augment the world of the game with overlays, symbols, and menus. In this book, Kristine Jrgensen investigates both kinds of gameworld interfaces. She shows that although the naturalistic approach may appear more integral to the imaginary world of the game, both the invisible and visible interfaces effectively present information that players need in order to interact with the game and its rules. The symbolic, less naturalistic approach would seem to conflict with the idea of a coherent, autonomous fictional universe; but, Jrgensen argues, gameworlds are not governed by the pursuit of fictional coherence but by the logics of game mechanics. This is characteristic of gameworlds and distinguishes them from other traditional fictional worlds. Jrgensen investigates gameworld interfaces from the perspectives of both game designers and players. She draws on interviews with the design teams of Harmonix Music (producer of Rock Band and other music games) and Turbine Inc. (producer of such massively multiplayer online games as Lord of the Rings Online), many hours of gameplay, and extensive interviews and observations of players. The player studies focus on four games representing different genres: Crysis, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberian Wars, The Sims 2, and Diablo 2. Finally, she presents a theory of game user interfaces and considers the implications of this theory for game design.


Shadowbanning is a light censorship technique used by social media platforms to limit the reach of potentially objectionable content without deleting it altogether. Such content does not go directly against community standards so that it, or the accounts in question, would be outright removed. Rather, these are borderline cases – often ones involving visual displays of nudity and sex. As the deplatforming of sex in social media has accelerated in the aftermath of the 2018 FOSTA/SESTA legislation, sex workers, strippers and pole dancers in particular have been affected by account deletions and/or shadowbanning, with platforms demoting, instead of promoting, their content. Examining the stakes involved in the shadowbanning of sex, we focus specifically on the double standards at play allowing for 'sexy' content posted by or featuring celebrities to thrive while marginalizing or weeding out posts by those affiliated with sex work. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 3 March 2021 Accepted 25 August 2021


This paper describes a synthesis of findings pertaining to rehabilitation of concrete T-beam bridges with externally bonded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites from a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 3 (PennDOT D3) project, with the purpose of answering common questions of concern mainly by state DOT engineers and officials. A method for selecting applicable candidate bridges for suitability of repair with externally bonded FRP composites is described. Three levels of repair are identified, Level 1 (contract), Level 2 (contract/department force), and Level 3 (department force). From this classification, a candidate bridge was selected for a contract repair project. Field and laboratory testing of existing bridge materials is described. Prerepair tests included ultrasonic pulse velocity and rebound hammer on beam concrete, compressive strength tests on deck concrete cores, carbonation tests for both beam and deck concrete, scanning electron microscope–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) analyses for beam and deck concrete, and tension tests of the extracted reinforcing steel. Structural analysis was on the basis of AASHTO specifications. Finite-element (FE) modeling was performed to determine existing capacity, and the FE model was calibrated by testing of the bridge by using applied truck-loads. The FRP design was based on strengthening the bridge to sustain an HS-20 AASHTO truck loading. The FRP-repair system was designed on the basis of current American Concrete Institute design guidelines. Repair work and post construction load testing were completed. Supporting full-scale lab studies were conducted to evaluate the most effective concrete substrate repair method and FRP strengthening scheme for laboratory damaged concrete beams by accelerated corrosion, to assure better long-term performance under static and fatigue loads. Results from the rehabilitated bridge and supporting testing were used to develop draft PennDOT design standards and construction specifications and to apply lessons learned to the design and constructability of nearly 1,000 concrete T-beam bridges in Pennsylvania.


Neonatal jaundice can represent a benign physiologic process or be the harbinger of serious illness with associated severe neurotoxicity. The neurological manifestations of kernicterus, a condition resulting from the deposition of unconjugated bilirubin in the central nervous system, are rarely seen in modern neonatal care, but jaundice, which reflects elevated serum bilirubin levels, is one of the most common findings in the neonatal period.1 More than half of all term infants will develop some neonatal jaundice and at least 6% will have a serum bilirubin concentration above 12.9 mg/dL.2 The appropriate treatment of hyperbilirubinemia is currently a topic of much debate in pediatrics, particularly treatment of full term infants without risk factors for hemolytic disease.3,4


Humans occupy a material environment that is constantly changing. Yet British archaeologists of the twentieth century have overlooked this fact in their search for past systems of order and pattern. Inert materials were treated as distinct from past societies, and as the outcomes of social ideas and processes. As a result materials were variously characterised as stable entities such as artefact categories, styles or symbols in an attempt to comprehend them. In this book Andrew Jones argues that, on the contrary, materials are vital, mutable and creative and archaeologists need to attend to the changing character of materials if they are to understand how past people and materials intersected to produce prehistoric societies. Rather than considering materials and societies as given, he argues that we need to understand how these entities are performed. He discusses various aspects of materials including their scale, colour, fragmentation and assembly in a wide-ranging discussion that covers the pottery, metalwork, rock art, passage tombs, barrows, causewayed enclosures and settlements of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain and Ireland


The election of President Obama prompted many Americans to declare that the United States had entered into a 'post-racial' era in which racial bias no longer existed and African-Americans are treated equally. However, racial bias did not cease before or after the election of an African-American president. In fact, empirical evidence shows that African-Americans continue to be treated unequally because of racial bias in decisions regarding bankruptcy, residential zoning, mortgage lending, apartment rental, and housing rental. One of the most poignant examples of the continuation of racial bias in a "post-racial" era was a Cincinnati landlord's posting of a "White Only" sign by a pool in the summer of 2011.The persistence of racial bias in a "post-racial" era is also evident in the health care system, where the unequal treatment of African-Americans because of their race is the main cause of the continuation of racial disparities in health care. Unequal treatment of African-Americans in health care is nothing new.In 2002, the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine Study, ("IOM study") Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, noted that some health care providers, such as physicians, were influenced by a patient's race, which, in turn, is a barrier to African-Americans' access to health care. Not only has this racial bias prevented African-Americans from accessing health care services, it has caused African-Americans to have poor health outcomes. The IOM study also found evidence of poorer quality of care for minority patients in studies of cancer treatment, treatment of cardiovascular disease, and rates of referral for clinical tests, diabetes management, pain management, and other areas of care. Ten years after the publication of this sweeping study, access to health care remains unequal and, as a result, racial bias continues to drive racial disparities in health care. Racial bias in health care operates on three different levels: interpersonal, institutional, and structural.Interpersonal bias is the conscious (explicit) and/or unconscious (implicit) use of prejudice in interactions between individuals. Interpersonal bias is best illustrated by physicians' treatment decisions based on racial prejudice, which results in the unequal treatment of African-Americans. According to Rene Bowser's seminal article, Racial Profiling in Health Care: An Institutional Analysis of Medical Treatment Disparities, these racial disparities in treatment often lead to racial disparities in mortality rates between African-Americans and Caucasians. Institutional bias operates through organizational structures within institutions, which "establish separate and independent barriers" to health care services. According to Professor Brietta Clark, institutional bias is best demonstrated by hospital closures in African-American communities. Finally, operating at a societal level, structural bias exists in the organizational structure of society, which "privile[ges] some groups...[while] denying others access to the resources of society," which includes health care. An example of structural bias is the provision of health care based primarily on ability to pay, rather than on the needs of the patient. Unfortunately, the government often ignores the significance of institutional and interpersonal biases in causing racial disparities in health care, and by extension, overall health, even though such biases are among the causes identified in numerous government reports, initiatives, and empirical research studies conducted over the past decade. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Patient Protection Act or the Act) exemplifies the government's failure to acknowledge the interconnectedness of racial bias and racial disparities. Although the Patient Protection Act explicitly mentions disparities in health care and provides several mandates to address these disparities, it fails to acknowledge or target the root causes of racial disparities — racial bias. Therefore, this Article argues that the Patient Protection Act will not fully equalize access to health care for minorities. In fact, the Act may exacerbate the existing problem of racial disparities because it proposes individual and community based solutions that will not put an end to interpersonal, institutional, and structural racial bias, which cause racial disparities in health care. The debate surrounding the Patient Protection Act has rarely focused on issues related to racial disparities. My article begins to fill this void. Part II provides a brief historical context for the Patient Protection Act by discussing previous legislation that addressed racial disparities in health care and governmental action to measure and eradicate racial disparities. Part III then reviews the root cause of racial disparities — racial bias — as evidenced by empirical data. Next, Part IV examines specific sections of the Patient Protection Act, which address racial disparities, and discusses the strengths and weakness of the Act. Finally, Part V suggests some solutions.


We describe the fi rst putative microbial trace fossils hosted in meteorite impact glass.
We conducted optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,
and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy on postimpact tubular features hosted in
impact glasses from the Ries impact structure (Germany). The morphologies of the tubules
are inconsistent with known mineralogical crystallization mechanisms, and combined with
evidence of organic molecules suggest that these tubules cannot be formed through purely
abiotic processes. The simplest and most consistent explanation of the data is that biological
activity played a role in the formation of the tubular textures in the Ries glasses, likely during
postimpact hydrothermal activity. As impact glass is a ubiquitous substrate on rocky bodies
throughout the Solar System and likely common on the early Earth, the preservation of
biological activity in impact glass has signifi cant astrobiological implications for life on early
Earth as well as for the search for life on other planets


The rapid expansion of the data economy raises serious questions about who "owns" data, and what data "ownership" entails. In most jurisdictions, data that are kept confidential can be protected as confidential information. However, such data are vulnerable to exposure through hacking or leaking by third parties. In many instances, significant stores of data cannot be kept confidential, and protection must be sought elsewhere. Copyright law has long treated facts as being in the public domain, but will provide protection for compilations of facts that meet the threshold for "originality." Such protection is considered to be "thin," as it does not extend to the underlying facts, applying only to their original selection or arrangement. In the European Union, database rights offer a more robust protection for compilations of data, but they also fall short when it comes to protecting the facts that make up such compilations. Debates over ownership rights in data have been heating up. In Europe, policy makers have raised the possibility of creating sui generis ownership rights in data. In Canada, a recent court decision has raised the interesting question of whether facts and data should be treated differently in copyright law, offering a far more robust protection for data than for facts. In addition to these developments, Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation also appears to vest certain rights in data subjects through the newly introduced concept of data portability. If data are capable of ownership, either through a sui generis right or copyright law, this raises important questions about how to strike a balance between the rights of data "owners" and the public interest in access to and reuse of data. This paper will explore the legal bases for claims of ownership of data, the extent of the public interest in access to and use of data, and the areas in which public policy development is required to address the changing needs of the data economy and society.


Learning contents adaptation has been a subject of interest in the research area of the adaptive hypermedia systems. Defining which variables and which standards can be considered to model adaptive content delivery processes is one of the main challenges in pedagogical design over e-learning environments. In this paper some specifications, architectures and technologies that can be used in contents adaptation processes considering characteristics of the context are described and a proposal to integrate some of these characteristics in the design of units of learning using adaptation conditions in a structure of IMS-Learning Design (IMS-LD) is presented. The key contribution of this work is the generation of instructional designs considering the context, which can be used in Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and diverse mobile devices.


Abstract During the period of 1992 to 1994, ten belt transects, each consisting of a series of contiguous 10 × 10 m (100 m2) quadrats, were established and sampled at seven study sites in southwestern Virginia and eastern central West Virginia. Each transect extended from a red spruce-dominated community through the ecotone and into the adjacent hardwood community. In 2004 and 2005, these same transects were resampled in order to assess changes that had occurred. As a general trend, red spruce either maintained its ecological status or increased in number in all size classes, with noticeable expansion into the hardwood community at some study sites.


Biodynamic agriculture is a unique organic farming system that utilizes, in addition to the common tools of organic agriculture, specific fermented herbal preparations as compost additives and field sprays. The objective of this work was to determine whether biodynamic compost or field spray preparations affect the soil biological community in the short term, beyond the effects of organic management. Four fertilizer options: (i) composted dairy manure and bedding (organic fertilization), (ii) the same material composted with biodynamic compost preparations, (iii) mineral fertilizers, and (iv) no fertilizer were investigated with and without the biodynamic field spray preparations. Both biodynamic and nonbiodynamic composts increased soil microbial biomass, respiration, dehydrogenase activity, soil C mineralized in 10 d (MinC), earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) population and biomass, and metabolic quotient of respiration per unit biomass (qCO 2 ) by the second year of study. No significant differences were found between soils fertilized with biodynamic vs. nonbiodynamic compost. Use of biodynamic field sprays was associated with more MinC and minor differences in soil microbial fatty acid profiles in the first year of study. There were no other observed effects of the biodynamic preparations. Organically and biodynamically managed soils had similar microbial status and were more biotically active than soils that did not receive organic fertilization. Organic management enhanced soil biological activity, but additional use of the biodynamic preparations did not significantly affect the soil biotic parameters tested.


This paper presents an innovative access control system, based on human detection and path analysis, to reduce false automatic door system actions while increasing the added values for security applications. The proposed system can first identify a person from the scene, and track his trajectory to predict his intention for accessing the entrance, and finally activate the door accordingly. The experimental results show that the proposed system has the advantages of high precision, safety, reliability, and can be responsive to demands, while preserving the benefits of being low cost and high added value.


The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has spread worldwide causing unprecedented disruptions in the economies. These unparalleled changes in economic conditions made clear the urgent need to depart from traditional statistics to inform policy responses. Hence, the interest in tracking economic activity in a timely manner has led economic agents to rely on high-frequency data as traditional statistics are released with a lag and available at a lower frequency. Naturally, taking on board such a novel data involves addressing some of the complexities of highfrequency data (e.g. marked seasonal patterns or calendar effects). Herein, we propose a daily economic indicator (DEI), which can be used to assess the behavior of economic activity during the lockdown period in Portugal. The indicator points to a sudden and sharp drop of economic activity around mid-March 2020, when the highest level of alert due to the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 12. It declined further after the declaration of the State of Emergency in the entire Portuguese territory in March 18, reflecting the lockdown of several economic activities. The DEI also points to an unprecedented decline of economic activity in the first half of April, with some very mild signs of recovery at the end of the month.


Targeted advertising has transformed the marketing trend for any business by creating new opportunities for advertisers to reach prospective customers by delivering them personalised ads using an infrastructure of a variety of intermediary entities and technologies. The advertising and analytics companies collect, aggregate, process and trade a rich amount of user's personal data, which has prompted serious privacy concerns among individuals and organisations. This article presents a detailed survey of privacy risks including the information flow between advertising platform and ad/analytics networks, the profiling process, the advertising sources and criteria, the measurement analysis of targeted advertising based on user's interests and profiling context and ads delivery process in both in-app and in-browser targeted ads. We provide detailed discussion of challenges in preserving user privacy that includes privacy threats posed by the advertising and analytics companies, how private information is extracted and exchanged among various advertising entities, privacy threats from third-party tracking, re-identification of private information and associated privacy risks, in addition to, overview data and tracking sharing technologies. Following, we present various techniques for preserving user privacy and a comprehensive analysis of various proposals founded on those techniques and compare them based on the underlying architectures, the privacy mechanisms and the deployment scenarios. Finally we discuss some potential research challenges and open research issues.


Recent advances in quantum computational science promise substantial improvements in the speed with which certain classes of problems can be computed. Various algorithms that utilize the distinctively non-classical characteristics of quantum mechanics have been formulated to take advantage of this promising new approach to computation. One such algorithm was formulated by David Deutsch and Richard Jozsa. By measuring the output of a quantum network that implements this algorithm, it is possible to determine with N – 1 measurements certain global properties of a function f(x), where N is the number of network inputs. Classically, it may not be possible to determine these same properties without evaluating f(x) a number of times that rises exponentially as N increases. Hitherto, the potential power of this algorithm has been explored in the context of qubits, the quantum computational analogue of classical bits. However, just as one can conceive of classical computation in the context of non-binary logic, such as ternary or quaternary logic, so also can one conceive of corresponding higher-order quantum computational equivalents. This thesis investigates the behaviour of the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm in the context of these higher-order quantum computational forms of logic and explores potential applications for this algorithm. An important conclusion reached is that, not only can the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm's known computational advantages be formulated in more general terms, but also a new algorithmic property is revealed with potential practical applications.


Background Diatoms are unicellular algae responsible for approximately 20% of global carbon fixation. Their evolution by secondary endocytobiosis resulted in a complex cellular structure and metabolism compared to algae with primary plastids. Methodology/Principal Findings The whole genome sequence of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum has recently been completed. We identified and annotated genes for enzymes involved in carbohydrate pathways based on extensive EST support and comparison to the whole genome sequence of a second diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana. Protein localization to mitochondria was predicted based on identified similarities to mitochondrial localization motifs in other eukaryotes, whereas protein localization to plastids was based on the presence of signal peptide motifs in combination with plastid localization motifs previously shown to be required in diatoms. We identified genes potentially involved in a C4-like photosynthesis in P. tricornutum and, on the basis of sequence-based putative localization of relevant proteins, discuss possible differences in carbon concentrating mechanisms and CO2 fixation between the two diatoms. We also identified genes encoding enzymes involved in photorespiration with one interesting exception: glycerate kinase was not found in either P. tricornutum or T. pseudonana. Various Calvin cycle enzymes were found in up to five different isoforms, distributed between plastids, mitochondria and the cytosol. Diatoms store energy either as lipids or as chrysolaminaran (a β-1,3-glucan) outside of the plastids. We identified various β-glucanases and large membrane-bound glucan synthases. Interestingly most of the glucanases appear to contain C-terminal anchor domains that may attach the enzymes to membranes. Conclusions/Significance Here we present a detailed synthesis of carbohydrate metabolism in diatoms based on the genome sequences of Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum. This model provides novel insights into acquisition of dissolved inorganic carbon and primary metabolic pathways of carbon in two different diatoms, which is of significance for an improved understanding of global carbon cycles.


Airborne silica dust (quartz) is common in coal mines and represents a respiratory hazard that can lead to silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease. With an eye toward developing a portable monitoring device for rapid analysis of silica dust, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was used to quantify quartz in coal dust samples collected on filter media. Pure silica (Min-U-Sil™ 5), Georgia kaolin, and Pittsburgh-4 and Illinois-6 coal dusts were deposited separately and at multiple mass loadings onto 37-mm polyvinylchloride (PVC) filters. LIBS-generated silicon emission was monitored at 288.16 nm, and non-silica contributions to that signal from kaolinite were removed by simultaneously detecting aluminum. Measurements of the four samples were used to calculate limits of detection (LOD) for silicon and aluminum of approximately 0.08 lg/cm2 and 0.05 μg/cm2, respectively (corresponding to 0.16 μg/cm2 and 0. 20 μg/cm2 for silica and kaolinite, respectively). Relative errors of prediction are around 10%. Results demonstrate that LIBS can dependably quantify silica on filter samples of coal dust and confirm that accurate quantification can be achieved for very lightly loaded samples, which supports the potential application of LIBS for rapid, in-field monitoring.


This study is conducted to assess the level of customer satisfaction in Islamic banks from the context of Bangladesh.  In the process, 300 questionnaires were distributed, and 236 were returned completed.  The results of the questionnaire analysis reveal that there is significant relationship between three of the independent variables, namely- tangible products, personnel service quality and level of commitment to customer satisfaction.  In contrast, level of compassion does not have a significant relationship with customer satisfaction.  The analyses further reveal that the respondents were satisfied with the overall Islamic Banks' infrastructure operating in Bangladesh, and most of the respondents did not have intentions to switch to the conventional counterparts.  However, the main reason for the account holders to switch to Islamic banks is because they wanted to deal with Shahriah compliant banking.  The analyses also indicate that a significant percentage of the respondents have accounts with both Islamic banks and conventional banks.  The study has suggested that Islamic Banks should enhance Shahriah compliant framework to generate more income, experience speedy growth, and remain sustainable in the long run.


IMPORTANCE
Individuals with schizophrenia can encode item-specific information to support familiarity-based recognition but are disproportionately impaired encoding interitem relationships (relational encoding) and recollecting information. The Relational and Item-Specific Encoding (RiSE) paradigm has been used to disentangle these encoding and retrieval processes, which may depend on specific medial temporal lobe (MTL) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) subregions. Functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging during RiSE task performance could help to specify dysfunctional neural circuits in schizophrenia that can be targeted for interventions to improve memory and functioning in the illness.

OBJECTIVES
To use fMRI to test the hypothesis that schizophrenia disproportionately affects MTL and PFC subregions during relational encoding and retrieval relative to item-specific memory processes, and to use fMRI results from healthy individuals serving as controls to establish neural construct validity for RiSE.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This multisite, case-control, cross-sectional fMRI study was conducted between November 1, 2010, and May 30, 2012, at 5 Cognitive Neuroscience Test Reliability and Clinical Applications for Schizophrenia sites. The final sample included 52 outpatients with clinically stable schizophrenia and 57 demographically matched healthy control participants. Data analysis was performed between February 1, 2013, and May 30, 2014.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Behavioral performance speed and accuracy (d') on item recognition and associative recognition tasks. Voxelwise statistical parametric maps for a priori MTL and PFC regions of interest to test activation differences between relational and item-specific memory during encoding and retrieval.

RESULTS
Item recognition was disproportionately impaired in patients with schizophrenia relative to healthy control participants following relational encoding (F1,107 = 4.7; P = .03). The differential deficit was accompanied by reduced dorsolateral PFC activation during relational encoding in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy control participants (z > 2.3; P < .05 corrected). Retrieval success (hits > misses) was associated with hippocampal activation in healthy control participants during relational item recognition and associative recognition conditions, and hippocampal activation was specifically reduced in schizophrenia for recognition of relational but not item-specific information (z > 2.3; P < .05 corrected).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
In this unique, multisite fMRI study, results in the healthy control group supported RiSE construct validity by revealing expected memory effects in PFC and MTL subregions during encoding and retrieval. Comparison of schizophrenic and healthy control participants revealed disproportionate memory deficits in schizophrenia for relational vs item-specific information, accompanied by regionally and functionally specific deficits in dorsolateral PFC and hippocampal activation.


In modern society, the impact of nighttime artificial lighting on the human sleep/wake cycle (the circadian rhythm), has long been an important issue. In augmented reality, such health hazards should be prevented if we are to become a society that wears optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMDs) on a daily basis. We present CircadianVisor, an OST display system that controls circadian performance. Our system combines an OST-HMD with a liquid crystal (LC) shutter and a spectrometer to control the circadian illuminance (CIL, biolux) of light incident on the user's eyes. To prevent the CIL at the eyes from exceeding the threshold, correct for the displayed image based on RGB values, and adjust the transmittance of the LC visor to pass through the environment light based on spectral measurements, we build a proof-of-concept system to evaluate the feasibility of the system's CIL control and test it with a spectrometer installed at the user's viewpoint. The evaluation shows that the CIL at the user's viewpoint can be kept below the threshold.


This article argues that gangs, clans, mafias and insurgencies are, like states, forms of governance. This insight is applied to the case of Somali piracy and the article explores whether protectors of piracy were clearly distinct from pirates; and to what extent protectors coordinated their activities across the Somali coastland. It is shown that clan elders and Islamist militias facilitated piracy by protecting hijacked ships in their anchorages and resolving conflicts within and between pirate groups. Protection arrangements operated across clans, as illustrated by the free movement of hijacked ships along the coastline and the absence of re-hijacking after ransoms were paid. Piracy protection can be thought of as part of a continuum of protection arrangements that goes from mafias to legitimate states. The article concludes by highlighting the implications of the findings for the debate on state-building and organised crime.


Ecological research uses data collection techniques that are prone to substantial and unique types of measurement error to address scientific questions about species abundance and distribution. These data collection schemes include a number of survey methods in which unmarked individuals are counted, or determined to be present, at spatially- referenced sites. Examples include site occupancy sampling, repeated counts, distance sampling, removal sampling, and double observer sampling. To appropriately analyze these data, hierarchical models have been developed to separately model explanatory variables of both a latent abundance or occurrence process and a conditional detection process. Because these models have a straightforward interpretation paralleling mechanisms under which the data arose, they have recently gained immense popularity. The common hierarchical structure of these models is well-suited for a unified modeling interface. The R package unmarked provides such a unified modeling framework, including tools for data exploration, model fitting, model criticism, post-hoc analysis, and model comparison.


We present existence and local uniqueness theorems for a system of partial differential equations modeling field-effect nano-sensors. The system consists of the Poisson(-Boltzmann) equation and the drift-diffusion equations coupled with a homogenized boundary layer. The existence proof is based on the Leray-Schauder fixed-point theorem and a maximum principle is used to obtain a-priori estimates for the electric potential, the electron density, and the hole density. Local uniqueness around the equilibrium state is obtained from the implicit-function theorem. Due to the multiscale problem inherent in field-effect biosensors, a homogenized equation for the potential with interface conditions at a surface is used. These interface conditions depend on the surfacecharge density and the dipole-moment density in the boundary layer and still admit existence and local uniqueness of the solution when certain conditions are satisfied. Due to the geometry and the boundary conditions of the physical system, the three-dimensional case must be considered in simulations. Therefore a finite-volume discretization of the 3d self-consistent model was implemented to allow comparison of simulation and measurement. Special considerations regarding the implementation of the interface conditions are discussed so that there is no computational penalty when compared to the problem without interface conditions. Numerical simulation results are presented and very good quantitative agreement with current-voltage characteristics from experimental data of biosensors is found.


Background Effective health communication is important for informed decision-making, yet little is known about the range of information sources used by persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), the perceived trust in those information sources, or how this might vary according to patient characteristics. Objective We aimed to investigate the sources of health information used by persons with MS, their preferences for the source of health information, and levels of trust in those information sources. We also aimed to evaluate how these findings varied according to participant characteristics. Methods In 2011, participants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry were asked about their sources of health information using selected questions adapted from the 2007 Health Information National Trends (HINTS) survey. Results Of 12,974 eligible participants, 66.18% (8586/12,974) completed the questionnaire. Mass media sources, rather than interpersonal information sources, were the first sources used by 83.22% (5953/7153) of participants for general health topics and by 68.31% (5026/7357) of participants for MS concerns. Specifically, the Internet was the first source of health information for general health issues (5332/7267, 73.40%) and MS (4369/7376, 59.23%). In a logistic regression model, younger age, less disability, and higher annual income were independently associated with increased odds of use of mass media rather than interpersonal sources of information first. The most trusted information source was a physician, with 97.94% (8318/8493) reporting that they trusted a physician some or a lot. Information sought included treatment for MS (4470/5663, 78.93%), general information about MS (3378/5405, 62.50%), paying for medical care (1096/4282, 25.59%), where to get medical care (787/4282, 18.38%), and supports for coping with MS (2775/5031, 55.16%). Nearly 40% (2998/7521) of participants had concerns about the quality of the information they gathered. Conclusions Although physicians remain the most trusted source of health information for people with MS, the Internet is the first source of health information for most of them. This has important implications for the dissemination of health information.


The present work aimed to apply mutagenesis and inter-specific protoplast fusion techniques of two locally isolated Hypocrea and Trichoderma to enhancement their biocontrol abilities against some important plant fungal pathogens which cause damping-off diseases that attacking different crops. The mutants were selected after EMS/UV treatment of Trichoderma isolates. The obtained protoplasts were fused by polyethylene glycol, and six fusants were selected for further studies. The phylogeny of the parental strains was carried out using sequence of ITS region. The BLAST of the obtained sequence was identified these isolates as H. koningii and T. asperellum. The fused protoplasts of the two mutant strains have been regenerated on PDA medium supplemented with the two fungicides. Most of the fusants exhibited fast mycelial growth on PDA as compared to parent strains. The obtained results indicated that partial or incomplete genetic recombination may be possible during nuclear and cytoplasmic protoplast fusion. Most of the fusants have shown powerful antagonistic activity against the grapevine pathogens as Pythium ultimum and Fusarium roseum as shown in dual culture and observed by SEM technique. Results of the present study demonstrated the scope and significance of the protoplast fusion technique, which can be used to develop superior hybrid strains of filamentous fungi that absent sexual stages in Trichoderma enhance biological control activity.


The Upper Cretaceous chalk of the Danish Basin has been interpreted as a major contourite complex on the basis of high-resolution seismic data. The sea floor had a pronounced topography with kilometre-wide ridges and valleys up to almost 200 m deep, interpreted to have been formed by contour-parallel bottom currents. Only few ancient contourite systems have been recognized, mainly based on sedimentary facies and only rarely on architecture and morphology. Two cored boreholes, 345 and 443.3 m deep through the Danish chalk contourite complex, offer a unique possibility to compare seismic and sedimentary facies. The contourite chalk is completely bioturbated except for thin intraclast conglomerates and a few thin levels, showing possible primary lamination. In terms of lithology and trace fossils the contourite chalk is similar to horizontally bedded pelagic chalk uninfluenced by bottom currents. Published contourite models cannot normally be used for the chalk because of the very fine grain size, generally complete bioturbation, and lack of any vertical trends in grain size on a millimetre to centimetre scale. It is thus only rarely possible to document the influence of bottom currents on the basis of facies analysis alone and this can be inferred only by architectural analysis of seismic-scale outcrops.


We present elemental abundances of 118 stars (28 of which are known extrasolar planetary host stars) observed as part of the Anglo-Australian Planet Search. Abundances of O, Mg, Cr, Y, Zr, Ba, Nd, and Eu (along with previously published abundances for C and Si) are presented. This study is one of the first to specifically examine planetary host stars for the heavy elements produced by neutron capture reactions. We find that the abundances in host stars are chemically different from both the standard solar abundances and the abundances in non-host stars in all elements studied, with enrichments over non-host stars ranging from 0.06 dex (for O) to 0.11 dex (for Cr and Y). Such abundance trends are in agreement with other previous studies of field stars and lead us to conclude that the chemical anomalies observed in planetary host stars are the result of normal galactic chemical evolution processes. Based on this observation, we conclude that the observed chemical traits of planetary host stars are primordial in origin, coming from the original nebula and not from a "pollution" process occurring during or after formation, and that planet formation occurs naturally with the evolution of stellar material.


Medical yoga is defined as the use of yoga practices for the prevention and treatment of medical conditions. Beyond the physical elements of yoga, which are important and effective for strengthening the body, medical yoga also incorporates appropriate breathing techniques, mindfulness, and meditation in order to achieve the maximum benefits. Multiple studies have shown that yoga can positively impact the body in many ways, including helping to regulate blood glucose levels, improve musculoskeletal ailments and keeping the cardiovascular system in tune. It also has been shown to have important psychological benefits, as the practice of yoga can help to increase mental energy and positive feelings, and decrease negative feelings of aggressiveness, depression and anxiety.


Nowadays, speed trap method has been used in most Malaysian states and overseas for reducing road accident rate. Measurement of vehicle speed for the purposes of law enforcement is currently achieved by radar based methods. Radar is one of devices being used by the police enforcer in Malaysia. It is also commonly used abroad where they are fitted in a patrol car. For the past few years, speed trap system in overseas using radar that can be fitted in either the patrol car or at certain fixed location has experienced an interesting development. However, the radar set and other devices that are available in the market today are too expensive. Furthermore, it needs the police enforcer to trap the speed and take picture of targeted speeding vehicle, and storing that information for law enforcement purpose manually.

The main objective of this project is to develop a software system for radar control unit which works together with radar device that can be used by the police enforcer either in the patrol car or placing it at the specific location. The development of the software system in this thesis is focused which that to enable the police enforcer to use the radar device at operating frequencies of X-band (10.525 GHz), K-band (24.15 GHz), and Ka-band (35.5 GHz), and video camera, to set speed limit, measure and trap the speed, snap the speeding vehicle, and send the information to the base station or a certain destination to be checked automatically once the speed over limit vehicle is detected.

Two main sets of hardware have been considered which are localised and centralised equipments. The localised equipments consist of Doppler radar device, radar control unit, camera and laptop PC as client for use in patrol car or at certain fixed location. The radar control unit for stationary mode operation is built by using 8-bit microcontroller. The centralised equipments consist of a computer as a server, a data display, and a printer machine. All information will be displayed and printed by a printer machine.

The software for radar control unit is developed to act as a 'brain' where it is created by using assembly language programming to control the whole operation of that radar control unit. A version of application software is also built by using Visual Basic programming software to work together with the developed radar control unit, radar device and camera to enable the laptop PC linking with centre equipment, local and centre database for receiving and sending information processes over a transmission control protocol (TCP/IP) network or Internet. Several specific components of object model (COM/ActiveX) software to fulfil that purpose were used. This software system application is also built to enable laptop PC receiving information from radar control unit, checking the vehicle speed, capturing the speeding car image, and sending and saving it into the database automatically when vehicle's speed is over the speed limit is detected. This software also covers data display and homepage update to display data. Data update is provided for any PC which is connected to the Internet. The software has been tested with the hardware. From the running test, it shows that the software system has trapped the speed and captured the image of speeding vehicle over the speed limit automatically. Thus, the test result has fulfilled this thesis objective and this software system is successfully built and developed.


Community-centered collaboration is an important backbone in current language documentation and conservation activities (Yamada 2007; Penfield et al. 2008; Dwyer 2010). Reasons for taking this approach include: (1) documentation efforts can be made sensitive to actual needs/wishes of the community and thus more responsible and ethical; (2) bringing in different views, ideas, and expertise makes documentation richer, thus more rewarding.

However, since socio-political situations in language communities vary widely in different parts of the world, there are cases where the collaborative documentation model cannot easily be applied. Ikema, a dialect of Miyako, an endangered Ryukyuan language in Japan, is a good example. Specifically, we have experienced difficulty in getting a sense of what the community wants for their own language. Two issues involved here are:

a) Although speakers are generally aware of the decline of their traditional language, they do not have a clear sense of or are not particularly interested in examining its current state, nor do they know what they want to do for their language.
b) People in the community vary in their attitude toward the traditional language so much that it is rather difficult to identify the needs of the "community" as a whole.

There are many factors at work in creating this situation, but two are most notable and obviously related:
a) lack of a strong desire to establish their identity separate from mainstream Japanese society;
b) a lack of desire to establish that the traditional language constitutes a separate (structurally and culturally independent) system

This situation is hardly unique among Ryukyuan languages, nor does it seem unusual elsewhere in the world (Ladefoged 1992).

If we were to accept that we may not always be able to identify the needs and desires of the community, how can we be sensitive to them? Should we "educate" the community about language endangerment issues and foster "their" desire to care about their own language? Does the community want that? Do we know what represents "community needs"? Who is the "community"? How do we "listen to the community" when the community doesn't appear to have a consensus about what they would like?

There are not simple answers to these questions, but we feel that they are important questions that require explicit attention and discussion. We hope this presentation will create an opportunity for exchanging ideas and exploring possibilities concerning how we want to proceed from here on.


Many mayfly species have synchronous univoltine life histories over broad geographic ranges, but the life-history adaptations underlying their seasonality remain unidentified. We investigated whether simple adaptations in the response of development rate to temperature might account for the observed phenology of adult emergence and the 1- and 2-year life histories of eight mayfly species studied in Piedmont streams of eastern North America between 34°N and 50°N latitude. We present a model consisting of two sequential life-history stages. Development rate in each stage is a linear function of streamwater temperature above a lower threshold but, in the first stage, a developmental quiescence occurs whenever a maximal temperature is exceeded. The five model parameters are assumed not to vary with latitude. Using daily field temperatures, the model simulated several successive generations beginning from an arbitrary day of the year. With parameters fitted from the field data, the model could reproduce both the univoltine life history and the latitudinal variation in the timing of adult emergence for six species. For two additional species, the model reproduced a northward transition to a semivoltine life history. The simulations suggest that nearly all development occurs in spring and autumn during periods of roughly equivalent thermal regime at all latitudes.


I was contacted from the Swedish organization for After Market Sales within the Sunds Defibrator corporation. The reason for this is the need for a well-founded management decision on computer support for order entry activities for worldwide sales of spare parts and refiner segments. I was asked to accomplish a review of the situation starting from a Swedish and North American point of view. The focus will be on emphasizing some consequences of the strategic use of application packages in the present status and for a next generation in a near future


Plants of the genus Swertia (Gentianaceae) have been used in traditional medicine for many years. These herbs taste extremely bitter and have been mainly used for the treatment of hepatic, choleric and inflammatory diseases such as hepatitis, cholecystitis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, dysentery, scabies, spasm, pain and neurastenia.
In this genus, many components such as iridoids, xanthones, flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds and so on have been isolated and their biological activities investigated. They were described as antidepressant, antipsychotic, antidiabetic and hepatoprotective. It is also reported that xanthones and xanthone glycosides are most active compounds.
Because of these biological abilities and in our course to a better knowledge of endemic plants of Flora Iranica, Swertia longifolia (Boiss.) that grows in the northern parts of Iran was studied.
Dried and milled aerial parts of plant were continuously extracted in a soxhlet apparatus with petroleum ether (bp. 60-80) and then with ethanol. Ethanolic extract after concentration was poured into aqueous acetic acid 4% and filtered. The clarified acidic aqueous solution was subsequently extracted with chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-buthanol. N-buthanol extract was chromatographed over Sephadex LH-20 and eluted with methanol. The main fractions were chromatographed on Silica and then C18.
This process yielded 7 components. They were identified as 1 iridoid glycoside, 1 secoiridoid glycoside, 2 xanthones and 2 xanthone glycosides by means of their UV, MS, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR data.
Since there are xanthones and xanthone glycosides in Swertia longifolia, it is expected that this plant has interesting pharmacological activities.


A well-recognized limitation of kernel learning is the requirement to handle a kernel matrix, whose size is quadratic in the number of training examples. Many methods have been proposed to reduce this computational cost, mostly by using a subset of the kernel matrix entries, or some form of low-rank matrix approximation, or a random projection method. In this paper, we study lower bounds on the error attainable by such methods as a function of the number of entries observed in the kernel matrix or the rank of an approximate kernel matrix. We show that there are kernel learning problems where no such method will lead to non-trivial computational savings. Our results also quantify how the problem difficulty depends on parameters such as the nature of the loss function, the regularization parameter, the norm of the desired predictor, and the kernel matrix rank. Our results also suggest cases where more efficient kernel learning might be possible.


Creativity and innovation drive competitiveness in the 21st century enterprises. Dynamic hyper-intensive competitive markets demand widespread innovations from all employees in most global enterprises. Leaders influence and set the contextual environments under which their employees express creativity. This paper will examine how different lea- dership models relate with individual creativity. It is noted that the mindful consciousness of individuals, including their leaders, play significant roles in the individuals' creativity. This exploratory research study first defines creativity and individual creativity, and then examines the five different orientations of leaders' influences on the individuals' creativity. In conclusion, selected managerial and educational implications are suggested.


In general, all the keypad based authentication system having several possibilities of password guessing by means of shoulder movements. Shoulder-surfing is an attack on password authentication that has traditionally been hard to defeat. This problem has come up with a new solution. Devising a user authentication scheme based on personal identification numbers that is both secure and practically usable is a challenging problem. The greatest difficulty lies with the susceptibility of the entry process to direct observational attacks, such as human shoulder-surfing and camerabased recording. password entry mechanism is widely used for authenticating a user. It is a popular scheme because it nicely balances the usability and security aspects of a system. However, if this scheme is to be used in a public system then the scheme may suffer from shoulder surfing attack. In this attack, an unauthorized user can fully or partially observe the login session. Even the activities of the login session can be recorded which the attacker can use it later to get the actual password. In this paper, we propose an intelligent user interface, known as Color Pass to resist the shoulder surfing attack so that any genuine user can enter the session without disclosing the actual password. The Color Pass is based on a partially observable attacker model. The experimental analysis shows that the Color Pass interface is safe and easy to use even for novice users.


The paradigm of stimulus equivalence has been widely studied, with different populations. Several studies have investigated the variables that can influence the formation and maintenance of equivalent stimulus classes. Regarding to formation, some authors point that the structure of train CaN and the arrangement "simple to complex" can facilitate this formation. Regarding to maintenance, some authors propose, for example, that classes with higher number of stimuli are more stable and are easier to be remembered over time. Despite the diversity of populations studied with procedures derived from the paradigm of stimulus equivalence, there is still a lack of studies with the elderly population. In order to enlarge the knowledge about the generality of the phenomenon of formation and maintenance of equivalent classes stimulus, this study proposed to investigate the formation of equivalent classes of different sizes and the role of this size in the maintenance of the classes with participants between 60 and 75 years. The procedure of matching-to-sample was used to teach three classes of equivalent stimuli composed of three or six stimulus (Condition 1 and Condition 2). The experimental procedure consisted of a training phase of baseline relations and testing of emerging relations, and six weeks after the first phase, a test was done with the emerging and learned relations to check the maintenance of classes formed. All participants showed the emergence of classes of equivalent stimulus. Three participants showed immediate emergency and five delayed emergency. All the participants who went through Condition 1 had percentages of correct responses below 90% in the test done after six weeks, while participants who underwent Condition 2 had hit percentages above 90%. Since most participants from Condition 2 showed accuracy right in the beginning of the test, it was not possible to evaluate the recovery of the relations throughout the test made six weeks later. This performance showed that the size of the class may be a relevant variant that influences the stability of the class over time, since the participants in the condition that trained with larger classes had better results on this test. This paper presents contributions to the studies of stimulus equivalence, since studies with this population are rare, and to understanding the factors involved in the formation and maintenance of stimulus equivalence. Key-words: elderly, stimulus equivalence, formation of stimulus equivalence classes, maintenance of stimulus equivalence classes.


The Alto Molise area belongs to the Apennine orogenic belt, which has been developing since the Late Cretaceous as a result of the Europe–Africa collision. This area is characterized by the complex superposition of different palaeogeographic domains that developed during the Mesozoic along the passive southern margin of Tethys Ocean. These domains have been subdivided into four main structural units; from shallowest to deepest they are: the Sannio pelagic basin, the Latium-Abruzzi carbonate platform, the Molise pelagic basin and the Apulia carbonate platform Units. Until the present study, the tectonic relationship among these units was thought to have been mainly determined by Early Messinian to Late Pliocene thrusting. This paper reports the results of a new geometric and kinematic analysis of the Alto Molise area. This new interpretation of the Alto Molise structural style indicates that strike-slip tectonics played a primary role during post-Pliocene times, greatly modifying the previous Alto Molise thrust structures. Two main tectonic events are recorded, consisting of the Pliocene thrusting of the Molise domain onto the Apulia platform followed by the post-Pliocene disruption and rotation of the pre-existing compressional structures by N–S-oriented, high-angle, right-lateral strike-slip faults. These faults are manifest in the Apulia platform as narrow shear zones, but propagate towards the surface into wider belts of strike-slip and oblique-slip deformation. We have compared our results with published structural, palaeomagnetic and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data from the Central Apennines. This comparison suggests that the superposition of the younger strike-slip tectonic deformation on the older fold and thrust structures in the Alto Molise area is consistent with block-rotation of a segmented orogen, applied to the whole Apennine system.


Title of Thesis: Adsorption and Desorption of Chromium on Clayey Soils Ker-Shu Tan, Master of Science in Civil/Environmental Engineering Thesis directed by: Dr. Hsin-Neng Hsieh Associate Professor of civil / Environmental Engineering Chromium residue waste was produced during sixties in the chromium production process. It was used as construction fill. Problems associated with chromium waste sites include structure distress and surface and groundwater contamination. The purpose of this study was to investigate the adsorption and desorption of chromium on soil. In order to achieve this purpose, experiments were conducted to study the effect of pH, type of chromium compound, and type of soil on adsorption and desorption. Experiments were performed on kaolinite, bentonite and sand. In our study, it was found that sand had almost no adsorption for chromium. Kaoiinite had less adsorption capacity compared with bentonite, which was consistent with the cation exchange capacity. Adsorption of chromium was related to the amount of the soil presented. It was found in this study that the amount of chromium adsorbed was proportional to the the concentration of chromium added to the soil. Trivalent chromium was highly attached to the soil, whereas hexavalent chromium was poorly adsorbed. From our study, it seemed the sorption mechanisms were two: the sorption of water causing the chromium being adsorbed and the physical sorption between soil and chromium. The physical adsorption were caused by van der Waals force and ion exchange attraction force. It was found that clay would expand when there was a change of pH, or the change of the concentration of the chemical presented. Swelling property made it very difficult to separate the bentonite from supernatant. pH definitely had an impact on chromium adsorption. It was found that when the pH reached 4.5 to 5.0, trivalent chromium precipitated. Adsorption of trivalent chromiun increased as the pH also increased. In the contrast, hexavalent chromium had a higher adsorption capacity at lower pH values. Several desorption processes were performed in this study. Pure water could remove chromium which was adsorbed due to van der Waals force. Other processes performed included oxidization of trivalent chromium to hexavalent chromium, change of pH. The above techniques could be oxidized trivalent chromium to hexavalent chromium, and change of pH, should be able to separate the chromium which was adsorbed dui:, to ion exchange from clay. EDTA can also be used to extract chromium from soil. Adsorption and Desorption of Chromium on Clayey Soils


Study Objectives
Objective sleep impairments in insomnia disorder (ID) are insufficiently understood. The present study evaluated whether whole-night sleep stage dynamics derived from polysomnography (PSG) differ between people with ID and matched controls and whether sleep stage dynamic features discriminate them better than conventional sleep parameters.

Methods
Eighty-eight participants aged 21-70 years, including 46 with ID and 42 age- and sex-matched controls without sleep complaints, were recruited through www.sleepregistry.nl and completed two nights of laboratory PSG. Data of 100 people with ID and 100 age- and sex-matched controls from a previously reported study were used to validate the generalizability of findings. The second night was used to obtain, in addition to conventional sleep parameters, probabilities of transitions between stages and bout duration distributions of each stage. Group differences were evaluated with nonparametric tests.

Results
People with ID showed higher empirical probabilities to transition from stage N2 to the lighter sleep stage N1 or wakefulness and a faster decaying stage N2 bout survival function. The increased transition probability from stage N2 to stage N1 discriminated people with ID better than any of their deviations in conventional sleep parameters, including less total sleep time, less sleep efficiency, more stage N1, and more wake after sleep onset. Moreover, adding this transition probability significantly improved the discriminating power of a multiple logistic regression model based on conventional sleep parameters.

Conclusions
Quantification of sleep stage dynamics revealed a particular vulnerability of stage N2 in insomnia. The feature characterizes insomnia better than-and independently of-any conventional sleep parameter.


For any finite group $G$, a natural question to ask is the order of the smallest possible automorphism group for a Cayley graph on $G$. A particular Cayley graph whose automorphism group has this order is referred to as an MRR (Most Rigid Representation), and its Cayley index is a numerical indicator of this value. Study of GRRs showed that with the exception of two infinite families and seven individual groups, every group admits a Cayley graph whose MRR is a GRR, so that the Cayley index is 1. The full answer to the question of finding the smallest possible Cayley index for a Cayley graph on a fixed group was almost completed in previous work, but the precise answers for some finite groups and one infinite family of groups were left open. We fill in the remaining gaps to completely answer this question.


Abstract The pearceite-polybasite group of minerals, general formula [M6T2S7][Ag9CuS4] with M = Ag, Cu; and T = As, Sb, show a crystal structure which can be described as the succession, along the c axis, of two pseudo-layer modules: a [M6T2S7]2- A module layer and a [Ag9CuS4]2+ B module layer. Copper is present in one structural position of the B module layer and replaces Ag in the only fully occupied M position of the A module layer. When the Cu content is >4.00 a.p.f.u., the structural position of the A module layer becomes Cu-dominant and, consequently, the mineral deserves its own name. In this paper we report the crystal-chemical characterization of two Cu-rich members exhibiting the 111 unitcell type (corresponding to the Tac polytype). One sample (space group P3̅m1, a 7.3218(8), c 11.8877(13) Å , V 551.90(10) Å3, Z = 1) having As >Sb and with the structural position of the A module layer dominated by Cu, has been named cupropearceite and the other sample (space group P3̅m1, a 7.3277(3), c 11.7752(6) Å , V 547.56(8) Å3, Z = 1) having Sb >As has been named cupropolybasite. Both the new minerals and mineral names have been approved by the IMA-CNMNC.


The y-name syndrome is a wide-spread conception in Swedish society about men with names that end with a y, such as Ronny, Conny and Jonny. Y-names are taken as signals of low socioeconomic status, including criminality. To the best of our knowledge, the subject has, as of yet, not been examined empirically. First, this thesis explores whether or not the y-name syndrome is evidence-based by examining the relationship between y-names and socioeconomic status in 26 municipalities, and the prevalence of y-names among men who are, or have been in the custody of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. We find that the y-name syndrome is empirically grounded; men with y-names are more likely to live in municipalities characterized by indicators of low socioeconomic status and are overrepresented among criminals. Second, we explore if people with y-names are discriminated against in the labor market. This is investigated by looking at the ceteris paribus effect of a y-name on how 864 Swedish adults rated an employment résumé. The test found no conclusive evidence of discrimination.


In our 2005 monograph Kengo Kuma: Selected Works, celebrated architect Kengo Kuma boldly declared that his ultimate aim was to "erase architecture" so that his buildings became one with their surroundings. In recent years he has pursued this goal by focusing primarily on imaginative and unexpected use of materials, creating hypnotizing surfaces that evoke subtle visual sensations by highlighting their materiality. Only by pushing a material to the limits of its capabilities does Kuma believe their true nature can be revealed. Ingenious and yet deceptively simple, this realization represented a major turning point in his desire to give his architecture a presence beyond the merely eye-catching or sculptural. Material Immaterial: The New Work of Kengo Kuma presents more than thirty of the architect's recent works, including high-profile commissions such as the Suntory Museum in Tokyo and the Ondo Civic Center in Kure; the exquisite Lotus House in Zushi; large-scale urban developments like Sanlitun Village South in Beijing; as well as tea pavilions and installations that have exhibited in the United States, England, Italy, South Korea, China, Germany, and France, many of them never before published. The book also includes an extended essay on the evolution of the architects work, from the founding of Kengo Kuma and Associates in 1990 to the present. An accompanying exhibit--the first retrospective of the architect's work, also titled Material Immaterial--displayed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in late 2008 and will travel to locales around the world over the next two years.


Construction of a regional flood frequency curve is based, as a rule, on fitting this curve to representative quantiles. In a regional sample of floods the probability of extreme values corresponding to return periods, that exceed the record lengths, is much larger than that of individual series, used to determine the representative quantiles. The probabilities of exceedance of regional extremes can be calculated straightforward in case of independent data, applying the theory of order statistics. For regionally dependent data one can define an equivalent number of independent regional series and then utilize the theory for independent data. This approach is exemplified with flood data from Norway.


Renewable energy concepts are able to sustainably satisfy the world energy demand without any restrictions for the following generations. In these concepts the wind energy and wave/ocean current energy are important factors as the description and the prognosis of waves and currents is a complex issue, especially offshore. For the estimation of the average annual wind speed and thus the energy production of offshore windfarms, it is imperative to know the exact wind conditions at each project site. Suitable prognosis methods are either missing so far, or not accurate enough, or at beta stage. The only possibility to achieve exact information about the offshore conditions is a metocean station consisting of wind and wave sensors. These met stations can be lattice masts mounted on monopiles or buoys equipped with meteorological sensors, both in combination with wave sensors to include all important parameters. Though conventional metocean stations are far more common, established and are measuring data of high quality, cheaper and more flexible solutions such as the likes of floating light detection and ranging are about to be used during the operation of wind farms. This article explains currently used methods of offshore measurements with respect to wind and wave and compares it with reanalysis data. This data has advantages in comparison to measurements from conventional metocean stations, but cannot be used independently. This article proves that using solely reanalysis data is not possible, that measurements offshore are still necessary and that its operation helps in improving the performance of offshore wind farms.


Cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) is an immunostimulatory second messenger produced by cGAS that activates STING. Soluble cGAMP acts as an adjuvant when administered with antigens. cGAMP is also incorporated into enveloped virus particles during budding. We hypothesised that inclusion of the adjuvant cGAMP within viral vaccine vectors would promote adaptive immunity against vector antigens. We immunised mice with virus-like particles (VLPs) containing the HIV-1 Gag protein and VSV-G. Inclusion of cGAMP within these VLPs augmented splenic VLP-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses. It also increased VLP- and VSV-G-specific serum antibody titres and enhanced in vitro virus neutralisation. The superior antibody response was accompanied by increased numbers of T follicular helper cells in draining lymph nodes. Vaccination with cGAMP-loaded VLPs containing haemagglutinin induced high titres of influenza A virus neutralising antibodies and conferred protection following subsequent influenza A virus challenge. Together, these results show that incorporating cGAMP into VLPs enhances their immunogenicity, making cGAMP-VLPs an attractive platform for novel vaccination strategies. Short summary cGAMP is an innate immune signalling molecule that can be transmitted between cells by inclusion in enveloped virions. This study demonstrates enhanced immunogenicity of HIV-derived virus-like particles containing cGAMP. Viral vectors loaded with cGAMP may thus be potent vaccines.


In this groundbreaking work, Stephen M. Bainbridge and M. Todd Henderson change the conversation about corporate governance by examining the origins, roles, and performance of boards with a simple question in mind: why does the law require governance to be delivered through individual board members? While tracing the development of boards from quasi-political bodies through the current 'monitoring' role, the authors find the reasons for this requirement to be wanting. Instead, they propose that corporations be permitted to hire other business associations - known as 'Board Service Providers' or BSPs - to provide governance services. Just as corporations hire law firms, accounting firms, and consulting firms, so too should they be permitted to hire governance firms, a small change that will dramatically increase board accountability and enable governance to be delivered more efficiently. Outsourcing the Board should be read by academics, policymakers, and those within the corporations that will benefit from this change.


Increased expression of α-synuclein and point mutations in its amino acid sequence play a causative role in familial forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition, circumstances affecting the level of α-synuclein expression significantly increase the risk of developing sporadic PD. This is further corroborated by the abundance of α-synuclein in protein aggregates called Lewy bodies (LBs), a histological hallmark of the disease. Aging constitutes the most prominent risk factor in the pathogenesis of PD and other synucleinopathies. Protective stress response and repair pathways gradually decline over time, a process likely to contribute to the appearance of neurodegenerative disease. Studies in lower organisms, such as the yeast and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, have highlighted the role of the evolutionarily conserved transcription factor FoxO3a in the aging process, increasing life span and reducing molecular processes that possibly underlie neurodegeneration in higher organisms. This transcription factor is mainly controlled by insulin/Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling (IIS) and impacts a broad range of disease-related responses involving neuronal apoptosis and adaptation to stress. We have hypothesized that FoxO3a activity may regulate the response of dopaminergic neurons to PD-related stress such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and α-synuclein proteotoxicity. To address this question, AAV2/6 vectors encoding various forms of FoxO3a were used to modulate the activity of this transcription factor in the adult rat substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). We determined a viral dose where expression of the wild-type form of FoxO3a did not impair the survival of nigral neurons and their striatal projections. In contrast, a constitutively active FoxO3a mutant (FoxOm), with an Akt-independent nuclear import, led to a significant loss of dopaminergic cell bodies, consistent with the pro-apoptotic activity of FoxO3a. Expression of a dominant-negative competitor composed of the FoxO DNA-binding domain (FoxODBD) did not significantly impair the survival of nigral neurons. However, at a high viral dose, FoxO inhibition led to neuronal accumulation of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), an indicator of chronic oxidative stress, and to a loss of neurons positive for dopaminergic markers. Altogether, these results confirm in nigral neurons the critical role of FoxO3a activity at the intersection between apoptotic response and neuronal resistance to oxidative stress. Next, we hypothesized that FoxO3a may regulate the response of dopaminergic neurons to α-synuclein proteotoxicity. To investigate the effect of FoxO3a on α-synuclein accumulation, we co-injected AAV2/6 vectors modulating FoxO3a activity with a wild-type human α-synuclein vector. When compared to control and FoxOm, both wild-type FoxO3a and FoxODBD significantly reduced the α-synuclein-induced loss of neurons positive for dopaminergic markers. Importantly, the injection of vectors activating FoxO3a (wild-type and FoxOm) led to an overall reduction in soluble α-synuclein monomeric forms, concomitant with the formation of dense proteinase K-resistant aggregates found in the neuronal cell soma. With the dominant negative FoxODBD, we observed an accumulation of α-synuclein, with a diffuse distribution of proteinase K-resistant immunoreactivity in both axon and neuronal soma. These data point to FoxO3a as an important regulator of neuronal survival in the SNpc, which can oppose α-synuclein accumulation and proteotoxicity. The role of FoxO3a in α-synuclein toxicity may provide some clues about the role of the aging process in PD neurodegeneration.


This paper investigates contemporary Chinese defence thinking from the point of view of its strategic culture. Such an undertaking is timely in view of heightened threat perceptions about a militarily strengthening China. While this paper does not concern itself with addressing such suspicions directly, it hopes to contribute to informed discussion by refocussing the issue onto a larger historical and philosophical screen. An identification of the PRC's traditional strategic thinking in the form of people's war and its philosophical antecedents may not at first appear relevant to contemporary China's security needs. It is the premise of this paper, however, that nothing can ever be attempted to be known about China's intentions and actions without such a survey. Consequently, this paper endeavours to show how the past may still be seen to serve the current era in terms of cultural-philosophical orientation. Chinese Strategic Culture: The Heritage from the Past(1)


The Granta Book of the African Short Story introduces a group of African writers described by its editor, Helon Habila, as 'the post-nationalist generation'. Introducing a diverse and dazzling collection from all over the continent - from Morocco to Zimbabwe, Uganda to Kenya - Habila has focused on younger, newer writers, interspersed with some of their older, more established peers, to give a fascinating picture of a new and more liberated Africa. Disdaining the narrowly nationalist and political preoccupations of previous generations, these writers are characterized by their engagement with the wider world and the opportunities offered by the internet, the end of apartheid, the end of civil wars and dictatorships, and the possibilities of free movement around the world. Many of them live outside Africa. Their work is inspired by travel and exile. They are liberated, global and expansive. As Dambudzo Marechera wrote: "If you write for a particular nation, or tribe, then f*** you." These are the stories of a new Africa, punchy, self-confident and defiant. Includes stories by: Rachida El Charni; Henrietta Rose-Innes; George Makana Clarke; Ivan Vladislavik; Mansoura Ez Eldin; Rogerio Mandjate; Aminatta Forna; Igoni Barrett; Patrice Nganang; Leila Aboulela; Petina Gappah; Ala Al-Aswany; Doreen Baingana; EC Osondu


An archaelogical study of the faunal remains at the Mapungubwe iron age sites in South Africa and the study aimed to reconstruct the economic activities, diet and cultural use of bone at Mapungubwe as well as establish a workable system of analysis which could be applied to other iron age sites. The study examined the economy and animal husbandry and found evidence of the presence of domestic cattle, sheep, goats and dogs. Bone and ivory were used extensively as raw materials and were studied in detail. The clay animal figurines produced provided information on animal types. Evidence of the relationship between Man and animals was examined against the wider background of information on the iron age in Africa. It is suggested that it was a cultural capital, or a high social prestige settlement which opens the way to a better understanding of the economic basis of the area north of the Soutpansberg between 800-1200 A.D. Appendix III Plant species, faunal material, animal species, bone samples, canids, bone tools, ivory, animal figurines


The two-Stokes generation of a Q-switched microchip laser with intracavity stimulated Raman scattering frequency conversion and multiwave mixing has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The dependences of the output power and the pulse repetition rate of the Nd:LaSc3(BO4)3 (Nd:LSB)-Cr:YAG-BaWO4 microchip laser on the pump power have been experimentally obtained and the shapes of the fundamental, first Stokes, and second Stokes pulses have been recorded. The effect of the intracavity multiwave mixing on the characteristics of the both Stokes pulses and their shapes has been analyzed. The modeling of the output parameters and the calculated pulse shapes agree well with the obtained experimental results.


Uncertainty estimation and ensembling methods go hand-in-hand. Uncertainty estimation is one of the main benchmarks for assessment of ensembling performance. At the same time, deep learning ensembles have provided state-of-the-art results in uncertainty estimation. In this work, we focus on in-domain uncertainty for image classification. We explore the standards for its quantification and point out pitfalls of existing metrics. Avoiding these pitfalls, we perform a broad study of different ensembling techniques. To provide more insight in the broad comparison, we introduce the deep ensemble equivalent (DEE) and show that many sophisticated ensembling techniques are equivalent to an ensemble of very few independently trained networks in terms of the test log-likelihood.


This study investigates how spatial configurations of English fricatives change for Japanese learners in advanced, intermediate and pre-intermediate levels, in comparison to that of native speakers. The perceptual representations obtained from Multidimensional Scaling analysis on similarity judgements showed clear sibilance/nonsibilance division for advanced and intermediate learners, but place of articulation feature was not observed. The perceptual configuration of pre-intermediate level students showed strong L1 phonological influence. The results show that the spatial modelling of similarity data can provide an alternative to the conventional approaches to cross language perception.


"The New Black" is Darian Leader's compassionate and illuminating exploration of melancholy. What happens when we lose someone we love? A death, a separation or the break-up of a relationship are some of the hardest times we have to live through. We may fall into a nightmare of depression, lose the will to live and see no hope for the future. What matters at this crucial point is whether or not we are able to mourn. In this important and groundbreaking book, acclaimed psychoanalyst and writer Darian Leader urges us to look beyond the catch-all concept of depression to explore the deeper, unconscious ways in which we respond to the experience of loss. In so doing, we can loosen the grip it may have upon our lives. "His orthodox, psychoanalytical approach, produces an unpredictable, occasionally brilliant book. The "New Black" is a mixture of Freudian text, clinical assessments and Leader's own brand of gentle wisdom". ("Herald"). "Compelling and important ...an engrossing and wise book". (Hanif Kureishi). "There are many self-help books on the market ..."The New Black" is a book that might actually help". ("Independent"). Darian Leader is a psychoanalyst practising in London and a member of the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research and of the College of Psychoanalysts - UK. He is the author of "The New Black", "Strictly Bipolar", "Why do women write more letters than they post?", "Promises lovers make when it gets late", "Freud's Footnotes" and "Stealing the Mona Lisa", and co-author, with David Corfield, of "Why Do People Get Ill?" He is Honorary Visiting Professor in the School of Human and Life Sciences, Roehampton University.


ABSTRACT Project Re•Vision uses disability arts to disrupt stereotypical understandings of disability and difference that create barriers to healthcare. In this paper, we examine how digital stories produced through Re•Vision disrupt biopedagogies by working as body-becoming pedagogies to create non-didactic possibilities for living in/with difference. We engage in meaning making about eight stories made by women and trans people living with disabilities and differences, with our interpretations guided by the following considerations: what these stories 'teach' about new ways of living with disability; how these stories resist neoliberalism through their production of new possibilities for living; how digital stories wrestle with representing disability in a culture in which disabled bodies are on display or hidden away; how vulnerability and receptivity become 'conditions of possibility' for the embodiments represented in digital stories; and how curatorial practice allows disability-identified artists to explore possibilities of 'looking back' at ableist gazes.


Cavitation bubbles could also be called as inertial bubbles because of their oscillation due to the pressure difference between inside and outside. After the passage of an underwater shock wave, the violent collapses of the bubbles are induced and could produce stronger mechanical and biochemical actions so that the marine bacteria around them are inactivated by those productions. In the present study, cavitation inertial bubbles are observed behind multiple waves in a narrow water chamber after an electric discharge is triggered and then interacts with underwater reflected shock waves from the water chamber. The sterilization effects of only these oscillating bubbles and cavitation-shock interaction are investigated by bio-experiments of marine Vibrio sp. The results show that a high sterilization is obtained in the case of the cavitation-shock interaction. Furthermore, the chemical action of free radicals mainly contributes to inactivating the marine bacteria. The generation of the hydroxyl (OH) radicals is clarified by measuring the concentration of H2O2. Subsequently, we focus on a theoretical analysis of the generation condition of the OH radicals by a bubble dynamic model consisting of an oscillation model and an impact model. Finally, the theoretical estimation by the bubble dynamic model is discussed under the conditions of the present experiments. As a result, there is a possibility of effective sterilization by the cavitation-shock interaction without the supply of air microbubbles.


The overall aim of this dissertation was to study the public's preferences for forest regeneration fellings and field afforestations, as well as to find out the relations of these preferences to landscape management instructions, to ecological healthiness, and to the contemporary theories for predicting landscape preferences. This dissertation includes four case studies in Finland, each based on the visualization of management options and surveys. Guidelines for improving the visual quality of forest regeneration and field afforestation are given based on the case studies. The results show that forest regeneration can be connected to positive images and memories when the regeneration area is small and some time has passed since the felling. Preferences may not depend only on the management alternative itself but also on the viewing distance, viewing point, and the scene in which the management options are implemented. The current Finnish forest landscape management guidelines as well as the ecological healthiness of the studied options are to a large extent compatible with the public's preferences. However, there are some discrepancies. For example, the landscape management instructions as well as ecological hypotheses suggest that the retention trees need to be left in groups, whereas people usually prefer individually located retention trees to those trees in groups. Information and psycho-evolutionary theories provide some possible explanations for people's preferences for forest regeneration and field afforestation, but the results cannot be consistently explained by these theories. The preferences of the different stakeholder groups were very similar. However, the preference ratings of the groups that make their living from forest – forest owners and forest professionals – slightly differed from those of the others. These results provide support for the assumptions that preferences are largely consistent at least within one nation, but that knowledge and a reference group may also influence preferences.