Most of the earth's mantle is made up of high-pressure silicate minerals that contain octahedrally coordinated silicon (SiVI), but many thermodynamically important details of cation site ordering remain unknown. Silicon-29 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is potentially very useful for determining short-range structure. A systematic study of silicon-29 chemical shifts for SiVI has revealed empirical correlations between shift and structure that are useful in understanding several new calcium silicates. The observed ordering state of a number of high-pressure magnesium silicates is consistent with the results of previous x-ray diffraction studies


Our phenomenological experience of what we see around us is of an accurate representation. However, such information is widely distributed in the brain so necessitates that some form of co-ordination of this information takes place to enable a coherent view of the world. The most prominently researched theory is Feature Integration Theory (Treisman, 1993). This proposes that accurate binding is dependent on the current spatial distribution of attention. Individual objects compete for attention via activity in a master map of locations with competition being modulated by grouping processes. When attention is distributed, features are randomly selected and a bound object can be perceived to be located at any position within the attentional window. However, there is evidence to suggest that in distributed attention, coarse location information is available and two alternative proposals have been put forward. The first suggests that it is the information from a unitary feature that can determine the perceived location of a bound object (Tsal & Lavie, 1988) and the second proposes that the information from all contributing features is averaged to provide the location information (Ashby et al, 1996). One way to determine which model best represents feature integration is to investigate the contribution each feature makes to the perceived location of a bound object by using the illusory conjunction paradigm in which an object is formed when the visual system binds together individual features from items located in different parts of the display.

Results indicated that in briefly presented displays, perception can be subject to tritan-like shifts in colour space. No support for spatial averaging or for the random rule was found. Rather, there was a strong indication that the perceived location of illusory objects was sourced from a single feature supporting the unitary rule.


This paper describes the tectonic evolution of the Col del Lis-Trana Deformation Zone (LTZ), a N-S striking structure located in the internal sector of the northern Cottian Alps, in the hanging-wall of the first-order discontinuity (the Canavese Line) and representing the eastern border of the Alpine wedge. The detailed geological mapping and structural analysis of the two tectonometamorphic Units cropping out in the area has allowed the activity of the LTZ to be defined, related to two late- to post-metamorphic deformation phases (D4 and D5). This activity strongly modified the pre-existing syn-metamorphic structural setting, resulting from three main deformation phases (D1, D2 and D3). The LTZ is defined by i ) the clockwise rotation at the macroscale both of syn-metamorphic structural elements and of lithological contacts from E-W to N-S strike directions, and by ii ) the structural association of faults, cleavages and folds, mainly related to the reactivation of the pre-existing syn-metamorphic anisotropies. The D4 phase is characterized by the development of N-S major faults and by NNW-SSE and NNE-SSW minor faults, linked in a through-going shear zone with dextral shearing and minor reversal component, whereas the D5 phase is associated with the activity of E-W faults and with the reactivation of the D4-related structures mainly characterized by normal and sinistral-normal movements. The kinematic analysis of the D4-related structures yields a sub-horizontal NE-SW shortening direction, comparable with the regional shortening that affected the Western Alps during the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene and which caused the dextral movements along the Canavese Line. The extensional regime related to the D5 event is interpreted as the effect of the uplift with the subsequent isostatic re-adjustment of the alpine wedge. Since the LTZ is a very persistent structure (more than 20 km in length) it may be reasonably considered as a deep-rooted shear zone, which could reach 7–10 km of depth. Based on these assumptions the LTZ may be interpreted as a sub-parallel structure of the postulated southern prolongation of the Canavese Line, both representing steep fault strands of a regional dextral transpressive flower structure that bounds the alpine wedge on the internal side.


Motivated by the fiscal imbalances in the EU countries in the recent period, this paper analyzes the effect of national fiscal rules adoption on fiscal discipline. Using a careful definition of national fiscal rules combined with a novel measure of fiscal discipline (the Global Financial Performance Index—GFPI), propensity score matching estimations that account for potential endogeneity reveal that fiscal rules significantly improve the GFPI. However, this favorable effect dramatically depends upon the type of fiscal rule and different structural factors. These two features, together with alternative measures of fiscal discipline, are found to be key ingredients that should be taken into account when assessing the effects of fiscal rules on fiscal discipline.


Since its first publication, Hugh Thomas' "The Spanish Civil War" has become established as the definitive one-volume history of a conflict that continues to provoke intense controversy today. What was it that roused left-wing sympathizers from all over the world to fight against Franco between 1936 and 1939? Why did the British and US governments refuse to intervene? And why did the Republican cause collapse so violently? Now revised and updated, Hugh Thomas' classic account presents the most objective and unbiased analysis of a passionate struggle where fascism and democracy, communism and Catholicism were at stake - and which was as much an international war as a Spanish one. "Remarkable ...a definitive account". ("Sunday Times"). "A prodigy of a book ...about the most heroic and pitiful story of the twentieth century". (Michael Foot). "His masterwork". ("Independent"). "A full, vivid and deeply serious treatment of a great subject". ("The New York Times Book Review"). Hugh Thomas is the author of, among other books, "The Spanish Civil War" (1962), which won the Somerset Maugham Award, "Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom" (1971), "An Unfinished History of the World" (1979), and the first volume of his Spanish Empire trilogy, "Rivers of Gold" (2003).


Network tra c processing is necessary in order to develop active components in the infrastructure of the network, such as routers, or passive applications, such as network intrusion detection systems. However, in today's high-speed network links this has become a very challenging task in terms of computational resources. Custom hardware appliances that can handle high packet rates are rather expensive and o er limited programmability. This work presents the design and implementation of a high-performance software packet processing system using high-speed network interfaces, multicore processors and many-core graphics hardware. The massive parallelism of modern graphics chips is exploited for e cient packet processing, which e ectively frees cycles on the main processor. The development of the system focuses on high-throughput data movement techniques, memory access optimizations, domain speci c data structures and the con guration of a large set of parameters that enables high processing rates. The evaluation of the system has shown that it can passively process real-world tra c at 18 Gbps, with latency in the order of few milliseconds. In active mode, where packets are forwarded, the system can achieve a 13.5 Gbps rate. There is an up to 15 times increase in throughput when compared to traditional approaches.


Abstract This article presents five principles of learning, derived from cognitive theory and supported by empirical results in cognitive psychology. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, each of these principles is transformed into a practical guideline and exemplified in a real teaching context. It is argued that this approach of putting cognitive theory into practice can offer several benefits to statistics education: A means for explaining and understanding why reform efforts work; a set of guidelines that can help instructors make well-informed design decisions when implementing these reforms; and a framework for generating new and effective instructional innovations.


This book offers a unique survey of legal practices and ideas relating to international relations in the Ancient Near East between 2500 and 330 BCE.


Background Mortality in the first months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a significant clinical problem in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, no post-mortem study has investigated the causes of mortality in these patients. Methods HIV-positive adults who died as in-patients at a Johannesburg academic hospital underwent chart-review and ultrasound-guided needle autopsy for histological and microbiological examination of lung, liver, spleen, kidney, bone marrow, lymph node, skin and cerebrospinal fluid. A clinico-pathologic committee considered all available data and adjudicated immediate and contributing causes of death. Results Thirty-nine adults were enrolled: 14 pre-ART, 15 early-ART (7–90 days), and 10 late-ART (>90 days). Needle sampling yielded adequate specimen in 100% of kidney, skin, heart and cerebrospinal fluid samples, 97% of livers and lungs, 92% of bone marrows, 87% of spleens and 68% of lymph nodes. Mycobacterial infections were implicated in 69% of deaths (26 of 27 of these due to M. tuberculosis), bacterial infections in 33%, fungal infections in 21%, neoplasm in 26%, and non-infectious organ failure in 26%. Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) was implicated in 73% of early-ART deaths. Post-mortem investigations revealed previously undiagnosed causes of death in 49% of cases. Multiple pathologies were common with 62% of subjects with mycobacterial infection also having at least one other infectious or neoplastic cause of death. Conclusions Needle biopsy was efficient and yielded excellent pathology. The large majority of deaths in all three groups were caused by M. tuberculosis suggesting an urgent need for improved diagnosis and expedited treatment prior to and throughout the course of antiretroviral therapy. Complex, unrecognized co-morbidities pose an additional challenge.


ABSTRACT We propose to estimate the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition by a single-equation model augmented with interactions between the group membership and other predictors. The relative importance of predictors on the discriminatory wage gap is examined by the interaction coefficients, which may lead to very different conclusions than the usual percentage calculations using the detailed decomposition method. Comparisons are made between the traditional interpretations and those suggested here using wage data from Finland. The decomposition analysis suggests that the discriminatory male-female wage gap is largely related to work experience, while our preferred model points to the importance of family gap and working industry.


This paper describes the construction of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for the Mexican economy for year 2008. It presents the methodology and data sources used, assumptions made, criteria adopted to disaggregate the SAM's accounts and the main results obtained. The Mexico SAM was built as the main data base for the calibration of a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model, used to investigate the quantitative effects of climate change on the Mexican economy, with emphasis on analyzing its distributional impacts. Since the effects of climate change are mainly transmitted to the economy through the agricultural sector and since impacts on agriculture differ across regions, the Mexico SAM presents a significant disaggregation in the accounts referred to the agricultural activities and to income distribution, redistribution and income spending across households and regions. The final disaggregated SAM is quite large and is included in the accompanying spreadsheet file.


Besides abundant oleosin, three minor proteins, Sop 1, 2, and 3, are present in sesame (Sesamum indicum) oil bodies. The gene encoding Sop1, named caleosin for its calcium-binding capacity, has recently been cloned. In this study, Sop2 gene was obtained by immunoscreening, and it was subsequently confirmed by amino acid partial sequencing and immunological recognition of its overexpressed protein in Escherichia coli. Immunological cross recognition implies that Sop2 exists in seed oil bodies of diverse species. Along with oleosin and caleosin genes, Sop2 gene was transcribed in maturing seeds where oil bodies are actively assembled. Sequence analysis reveals that Sop2, tentatively named steroleosin, possesses a hydrophobic anchoring segment preceding a soluble domain homologous to sterol-binding dehydrogenases/reductases involved in signal transduction in diverse organisms. Three-dimensional structure of the soluble domain was predicted via homology modeling. The structure forms a seven-stranded parallel beta-sheet with the active site, S-(12X)-Y-(3X)-K, between an NADPH and a sterol-binding subdomain. Sterol-coupling dehydrogenase activity was demonstrated in the overexpressed soluble domain of steroleosin as well as in purified oil bodies. Southern hybridization suggests that one steroleosin gene and certain homologous genes may be present in the sesame genome. Comparably, eight hypothetical steroleosin-like proteins are present in the Arabidopsis genome with a conserved NADPH-binding subdomain, but a divergent sterol-binding subdomain. It is indicated that steroleosin-like proteins may represent a class of dehydrogenases/reductases that are involved in plant signal transduction regulated by various sterols.


We address the paradox that financial innovations aimed at risk-sharing appear to have made the world riskier. Financial innovations facilitate hedging idiosyncratic risks among agents; however, aggregate risks can be hedged only with liquid assets. When risk-sharing is primitive, agents self-hedge and hold more liquid assets; this buffers aggregate risks, resulting in few correlated failures compared to when there is greater risk sharing. We apply this insight to build a model of a clearinghouse to show that as risk-sharing improves, aggregate liquidity falls but correlated failures rise. Public liquidity injections, for example, in the form of a lender-of-last-resort can reduce this systemic risk ex post, but induce lower ex-ante levels of private liquidity, which can in turn aggravate welfare costs from such injections.


Introduction The availability, access to and provision of legal information is one of the key elements in transition from a closed dictatorship to a democracy. A democratic nation relies on efficient and effective judicial system. Broady-Preston and Williams (2004) note that vitally, information plays a key role in organisational/judicial efficiency, enabling firms to differentiate themselves from the competition, and improve their competitive advantage. By streamlining information provision to lawyers, time, and therefore cost savings, could be passed onto clients, achieving increased customer benefits. According to Okello-Obura, (1998) legal information can be defined as the requirement or right established by law, which resides in all electronics and written records. Legal information consists of laws and rules, case law and legal literature. The history of legal information or literacy in Uganda can be traced right from the colonial days when Uganda was under the imperial rule of Britain. Britain issued four African orders in council for most of her African protectorates in 1894. These orders in council established a system of governance that among other things established a legal system. In Uganda the major order in council was the 1902 one which introduced a dual legal system. This system, as Harvey (1975) states, allowed the native institutions based on customary law to exist only with the colonial legal system. This in essence created avenues for the production of judicial resources. With the development in information sector and economy, many legal materials are now being produced calling for their identification, access to for efficient and effective/judicial services delivery. It is on that basis that this study was instituted to address among others the objectives in Section 1.3. Contextual Background Lawyers can be defined as knowledge workers. They are professionals who have gained knowledge through formal education (explicit) and through learning on the job (tacit) (Gottschalk and Karlsen, 2009). The system of legal literacy though it had started, its scope was narrow, its appeal limited and its effect minimal. This was brought about by inter alia, the syllabus of the school. It taught the penal code, civil procedure ordinance, constitutional and administrative law, evidence ordinance, Uganda land law, construction law, law of tort and statutory interpretation. Its weakest point was the requirement upon the student to master Roman law, legal history among other things. This formal legal training was later to be solidified and expanded by the establishment of the Faculty of Law of Makerere University and the Law Development Centre located in Kampala, Uganda. The Faculty of Law Makerere University trains the students in formal system of law awarding at the end of the course Bachelors Degree of Laws. It also awards a Masters Degree of Legal laws. The Law Development Centre on the other hand awards a Diploma of Legal laws among other awards. Section 2 (1)(a) of the LDC Act provides for LDC to organize and conduct courses of instructions for the acquisition of legal knowledge, professional skills and experience by persons intending to practice as attorneys in the subjects which shall have been determined by the law council under the provisions of any law in force. LDC is mandated to organize courses for various personnel involved in administration of justice, assist in law reform, research, publications of law reports and other materials to promote better knowledge of law and provision of legal Aid and advice to indigent litigants and accused persons. Over the years this formal institution has carried on its mandate in producing among other things local attorneys who are currently in practice both in furthering legal information/literacy and culture. There are other private institutions involved in the provision of legal knowledge. For instance Uganda Christian University (UCU) located in Mukono in Uganda is credited for producing practicing lawyers under its Faculty of Law. …


To the Editor: Epidemiologic research has to struggle with the necessity of extensive data collection despite limited financial resources. High numbers of participants and detailed questionnaires, which are often not designed for automatic data capture, are typical. Double entry of data, in combination with subsequent or simultaneous data comparison and creation of a final dataset, is state-of-the-art in clinical trials and has been recommended for epidemiologic studies. However, double data entry substantially increases costs compared with single data entry. Our Medline search could not identify reports assessing the data quality achieved by single versus double data entry in epidemiologic studies under real conditions. Therefore, we investigated the amount and sources of error occurring during single data entry and the potential improvement by double data entry, within the context of an ongoing multicenter environmental cohort study. We compared 2 databases resulting from single data entry with the reference dataset (created by double entry, followed by comparison and correction of errors), using all records for August through October 2003. We defined a data entry error as a deviation between the single entry databases and the reference database in a character or digit of any database field. We took into account the type of questionnaire (interview, self-administered) and type of variable (closed questions: dichotomous, categorical; open questions: continuous, text field). To calculate the error rate, we divided the number of observed deviations by the total number of database fields. In addition, we investigated the reasons for errors in a random sample of about 10% of all observed discrepancies. Overall, the observed error rates varied between 0.54% and 0.72% (Table). The error rates of open plain text fields were higher (ranging from 1.2% to 2.1%) than for open continuous variables (0.2%–0.8%) or closed dichotomous variables (0.4%–0.5%). Most of the errors (72%) originated from interpretation problems by the data entry staff. These arose mostly from additional handwritten comments of the fieldworkers or study participants, or from incorrect questionnaire completion such as multiple ticks in questions where only one tick was allowed. Classic mistakes, such as shifting in input line or mistyping, led to only 28% of the observed errors. Quality assurance measures, such as training of fieldworkers (eg, standardized interview performance) and data entry staff (eg, specifications on how to handle frequent problems), as well as monitoring of the completed questionnaires, contribute to lower error rates in data entry. In our study with adequately trained and experienced staff, the overall error rate of single data entry was only slightly higher than 0.5%. Under these conditions, double data entry would only marginally enhance data quality, but would increase time and costs of data entry substantially. Not only twice the time for entering the data has to be taken into account, but also the time necessary for programming the comparisons of databases, working through the documentation to explore deviations, and performing the corrections. Expressed in monetary terms, double data entry increases cost by a factor of about 2.5 in comparison with single data entry. Although software programs can integrate the comparison of data in the second data entry, these software solutions are costly and time-consuming. In conclusion, in times of increasingly limited financial resources, it may be worthwhile to consider single data entry with concomitant quality control as an option to enhance cost-effective


In the present study, the effect of a hydrofoil trailing edge shape on the wake dynamic and its interaction with the mechanical structure is investigated. This would help better describe the physical reasons for vibration reduction when using oblique and Donaldson trailing edges in comparison to a truncated trailing edge and subsequently allow its further optimization. Thus, hydrofoils with oblique and Donaldson trailing edges are tested in a high-speed cavitation tunnel at zero angle of attack and high Reynolds numbers, ReL = 5·105 – 3·106. The truncated trailing edge hydrofoil is selected as reference. A velocity survey is performed via Laser Doppler Velocimetery, LDV, and Particle Image Velocimetry, PIV. Proper-Orthogonal-Decomposition, POD, is used to extract coherent structures from PIV data. In addition, flow induced vibration measurements and high-speed visualizations are performed. Finally, the effects of a tripped boundary layer transition on the wake are investigated and compared with the natural boundary layer transition. Vortex-induced vibration is found to decrease significantly for oblique and Donaldson trailing edges in comparison to the truncated case, specially under lock-off condition. However, minimum vibration corresponds to the Donaldson trailing edge. The high-speed videos clearly show that for three tested hydrofoils the alternate vortices clearly detach from suction and pressure sides of the trailing edge. However, for the oblique and Donaldson trailing edges the location of the lower vortex detachment is obviously shifted upstream with respect to the upper one. As a result, when the upper vortex rolls up, it coincides with the passage of the lower vortex, leading to their collision. This strong interaction leads to a redistribution of the vorticity, which does not concentrate within the core of Karman vortices any more. However, the spatial phase shift between the separation point of the upper and the lower vortices is different in the case of oblique and Donaldson trailing edges due to the being free the separation point on the Donaldson curve. LDV phase-locked averaging under lock-in condition is performed for truncated, oblique and Donaldson trailing edges. The truncated trailing edge exhibits a symmetric wake. However, in the case of the oblique and Donaldson trailing edges, an asymmetric thickening of the downward near wake is observed. The stream wise velocity fluctuation shows two peaks of different amplitudes. In the case of the truncated trailing edge, the upper and lower vortices have the same core diameter, contrary to the oblique trailing edge, where a larger vortex core diameter is found for the lower vortex. In the case of Donaldson trailing edge, the LDV phase-locked averaging is performed for the tripped transition where the vibration amplitude is high enough to perform the phase-locked average. The measurements show the passage of one vortex after the collision in the near wake contrary to the oblique one. However, the passage of two vortices corresponding to the upper and lower vortex is found far from the Donaldson trailing edge. LDV measurements show that the collision of the vortices for the oblique trailing edge, observed under lock-in conditions, also prevails for the lock-off condition in the case of oblique and Donaldson trailing edges. The velocity profile comparison at the vortex formation length for three trailing edges shows that in the case of the Donaldson trailing edge, the wake width increases significantly in comparison to two other trailing edges. Moreover, the minimum stream wise and transverse velocity fluctuation profiles obtained for the three trailing edges correspond to the Donaldson trailing edge. The strong similarity of results obtained for lock-in and lock-off conditions indicates that the collision between upper and lower vortices, clearly observed under lock-in, also occurs for lock-off condition. A thicker boundary layer with laminar-to-turbulent transition occurring further upstream is observed for the pressure side of the Donaldson trailing edge in comparison with the suction side. In contrast to the truncated trailing edge, both sides have a similar boundary layer structure and a similar transition location. Moreover, a thicker boundary layer is found for the Donaldson trailing edge in comparison to the truncated case. The collision between upper and lower vortices is also observed in the case of a tripped transition. However, the vortices are shed with a larger core diameter, greater strength, and lower frequency than for the natural transition. These investigations let us believe that the collision between upper and lower vortices and the resulting vorticity redistribution is the main reason for the vibration reduction obtained with oblique and Donaldson trailing edges. This result opens the way for more effective hydrofoil geometry optimization for further reduction of flow induced vibration.


Aim: Bacteriocins are considered as promising alternatives to antibiotics against infections. In this study, the plantaricins (Pln) A, E, F, J and K were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Materials & methods: The effects on membrane integrity were studied using liposomes and viable bacteria, respectively. Results: We show that PlnEF and PlnJK caused rapid and significant lysis of S. epidermidis, and induced lysis of liposomes. The PlnEF and PlnJK displayed similar mechanisms by targeting and disrupting the bacterial cell membrane. Interestingly, Pln enhanced the effects of different antibiotics by 30- to 500-fold. Conclusion: This study shows that Pln in combination with low concentrations of antibiotics is efficient against S. epidermidis and may be developed as potential treatment of infections.


A prevailing urban phenomenon of the 21st century is that more people than ever before are living in informal settlements. As residents of informal settlements, the majority of shack dwellers can be considered socially, economically and politically marginalised citizens. The combination of poverty, marginalisation, and precarious living conditions has in many cases given rise to a vicious cycle. In this cycle, shack dwellers lack an effective voice and are unable to participate in political decision-making processes that affect their lives, leading to deepening deprivation and marginalisation. To break this cycle, the development of a genuine political voice of shack dwellers is essential. However, the process of developing a political voice in shack dwellers has only received scant academic attention and is poorly understood.
One aspect of this process is the role of information communication technologies (ICTs) in enabling political voice. This has received some attention and has become a salient topic in academic study and development policy. Despite growing adoption of certain ICT tools by marginalised individuals, there is little evidence of their meaningful use for political voice. Access to ICTs is not the same as meaningful use of ICTs for political voice. Only a few studies have examined the issue of meaningful use of ICTs for political voice.
This dissertation explores the factors influencing the processes by which marginalised individuals are able to develop a political voice, with a particular focus on the role of two increasingly ubiquitous ICTs – mobile phones and internet. A qualitative case study of a shack dweller grassroots organisation in South Africa (Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM)) is used to explore different types of political voice. The case study looks at the circumstances under which members of AbM are able to develop individual and collective forms of political expression, and the role that the use of ICTs play in this development.
Data collected from semi-structured interviews and participant observation for this study suggests that, individual differences in combination with entrenched traditions and social structures based on patronage may undermine the development and or expression of political voice. However, active engagement in a grassroots organisation was found to be useful to overcome these limitations and for some individuals to develop their political voices. AbM members were able to engage in collective processes which led to the development of social bonds, trust, self-confidence, and critical reflection.
Both the internet and mobile phones were found to play an important role in the development of political voice of AbM members. However, interaction between the use of ICTs and the development of a political voice is complex. In many instances the technology has enabled mobilization, as well as given individuals a feeling of security. Where this has happened, the appropriation and re-purposing of ICTs to fit the needs of AbM members has come about as a result of attaching meaning to these technologies, which did not exist before AbM. ICTs can facilitate the development of political voice, in particular by facilitating collective processes (e.g. mobilization), channelling support and trust, as well as raising self-confidence. Yet, as the case of AbM demonstrates, ICTs have not operated as a political equalizer within AbM. The use of ICTs for political voice might have even created new barriers for the development of political voice of some members.
This dissertation brings together disparate stands of literature dealing with ICTs, political voice, social movements, empowerment, community psychology, and participation to conceptualise the development of a political voice. Moreover, a framework is devised to analyse the nature and the process of this development in marginalised individuals, as well as the role played by ICTs in this process.
This dissertation aims to bring an understanding of the complex relationship between ICTs and political voice of marginalised individuals. An understanding of the process can provide important inputs to devise more effective design and implementation of policies and projects aimed at increasing political participation of an ever-growing population of disenfranchised and marginalised people living in informal settlements.


This thesis describes investigations made of the two nonlinear optical processes of Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) and Four-wave Mixing (FWM), carried out both in simple gases, when they were performed in various guided and unguided configurations, and in liquids, when they were performed in an unguided arrangement. To make a detailed comparison between experiment and theory a well defined pump beam is required. The development and operation of a laser capable of producing such a beam, an excimer pumped dye laser, is described in the initial part of this thesis. This laser was then used for an unguided SRS experiment to provide results such as tuning range and SRS threshold pump power, against which the performance of the guided configuration can be compared. The properties of hollow, cylindrical capillaries are then described along with theoretical expressions for SRS and FWM. Both numerical and analytical solutions are presented and the conversion efficiencies for the Stokes components are worked out for several configurations. A detailed analysis of parametric processes in guided and unguided cells is made and the experimental results compared with the predictions based in the numerical model and calculations for the phase match angle. In the final part of the thesis several arrangements to reach high Raman conversion efficiency in liquids and gases are discussed and the main conclusion is that the use of a waveguide in a Raman oscillator-amplifier configuration can provide good conversion efficiency for high order Stokes components and an improvement in the spatial characteristics of the generated beam.


The PI3K-Akt-mTOR, Wnt/β-catenin and apoptosis signaling pathways have been shown to be involved in genesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of this study was to elucidate whether combination of Gelam honey and ginger might have chemopreventive properties in HT29 colon cancer cells by modulating the mTOR, Wnt/β-catenin and apoptosis signaling pathways. Treatment with Gelam honey and ginger reduced the viability of the HT29 cells dose dependently with IC50 values of 88 mg/ml and 2.15 mg/ml respectively, their while the combined treatment of 2 mg/ml of ginger with 31 mg/ml of Gelam honey inhibited growth of most HT29 cells. Gelam honey, ginger and combination induced apoptosis in a dose dependent manner with the combined treatment exhibiting the highest apoptosis rate. The combined treatment downregulated the gene expressions of Akt, mTOR, Raptor, Rictor, β-catenin, Gsk3β, Tcf4 and cyclin D1 while cytochrome C and caspase 3 genes were shown to be upregulated. In conclusion, the combination of Gelam honey and ginger may serve as a potential therapy in the treatment of colorectal cancer through inhibiton of mTOR, Wnt/β catenin signaling pathways and induction of apoptosis pathway.


This article addresses the idea of 'failure' of young black males with respect to schooling. Perceptions of black masculinity are often linked to 'underperformance' in the context of school academic achievement. This article addresses how young black men, by great personal effort, recover from school 'failure'. It explores how young black men, despite negative school experiences, see possibilities for their future and how they seek to transform school 'failure' into personal and educational 'success'. Low attainment combined with permanent/temporary exclusion from school does not necessarily deter young black men from pursuing their education. This low attainment is used by some to make a renewed attempt at educational progression in a different post-school learning environment. Yosso's concept of 'community cultural wealth' provides an understanding of how different forms of capital are accessed by young black men to form a 'turnaround narrative'. This article considers the complex ways in which young black males work to transform their negative school experience. Their narratives reveal a determination to succeed and the ways in which cultivation of this determination by the family, organisational/community agents promotes a sense of possibility. However, it remains to be seen how, in the UK, the cuts to vital local services and support will impact on this sense of possibility.


We demonstrate the high-repetition rate acousto-optic Q-switching of a dual-rod Nd:YVO4 laser. Two thermally bonded composite YVO4-Nd:YVO4-YVO4 rod crystals were used as the gain medium to reduce the serious thermal effect. The pump mode and its influence on the laser mode were analyzed, and the effective pump radius was controlled by tuning the spectrum of laser diodes with adjustment on the temperature of laser diodes. Three different configurations of cavity optics were designed and the output performance using these cavities was investigated. In Q-switching operation, 73.2 W TEM00 mode average power at 650 kHz was obtained. The stable Q-switching range was from 80 kHz to 650 kHz with the pulse duration increasing from 17.5 ns to 80 ns. In CW operation, 78 W TEM00 mode and 93 W multi-mode output power was achieved with different cavity designs, corresponding to the optical-optical efficiency of 46.5% and 52.2% respectively.


Abstract Introduction: Chronic orofacial pain (COFP) is distressing and disabling to sufferers and can be costly to patients, health services and society. Frequently, no underlying medical pathology can be found to account for the condition. Despite this, patients are treated according to a biomedical model, often by mechanistic and invasive procedures, which tend to be unsuccessful and not evidence based. Evidence suggests that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based management may produce improved outcomes for patients. However, published studies can tell us little about which intervention components are effective, or recommend an optimum way for these components to be applied. Aim: To develop an evidence based intervention for the management of COFP that is feasible and acceptable to patients and practitioners. Method: The Medical Research Council?s guidelines for developing complex interventions were used as a framework for the research. Evidence from multiple sources was synthesised to produce the draft components of an intervention to manage COFP. An exploratory trial investigated preliminary outcomes, acceptability, feasibility and explored parameters for a full scale randomised control trial. Results: The intervention was acceptable to participants and could be feasibly implemented. No conclusions could be drawn relating to the effectiveness of the intervention. Participants were not affected at baseline for a number of outcomes, which implies that cut off points should be introduced into the inclusion and exclusion criteria of any future studies. Conclusion: The study produced an intervention which is acceptable and feasible to participants, however it is not known if it is effective. A number of recommendations are made for progression to a larger, definitive trial.


This study, using the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS), examined the relationship between the mechanical condition of heavy trucks and crash involvement. Two specific hypotheses were tested. First, trucks with defects and out-of-service (OOS) conditions were statistically more likely to be in the role of precipitating a crash than trucks with no defects or OOS conditions. Second, defects in specific systems, such as the brake system, were associated with crash roles in which those systems were primary mechanisms for avoiding the crash and physical mechanisms that link the vehicle defect with the crash role. Postcrash inspections showed that the condition of the trucks in the LTCCS was poor. Almost 55% of the vehicles had one or more mechanical violations. Almost 30% had at least one OOS condition. Of mechanical systems, violations in the brake system (36% of all) and the lighting system (19%) were the most frequent. Both driver and vehicle factors were found to contribute to crashes. A brake OOS condition increased the odds of the truck's being assigned the critical reason (a variable identifying the precipitating vehicle) by 1.8 times. Both hours of service violations and log OOS violations increased the odds by a larger amount—2.0 and 2.2 times respectively. In rear-end and cross-paths crashes, brake violations, especially violations related to adjustment, increased the odds of the truck's being the striking vehicle by 1.8 times.


The sudden and unexpected death of an often young and otherwise healthy person with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) due to a ventricular arrhythmia is a tragic but preventable occurrence. Wider availability of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a reliable and effective therapy that can detect and successfully terminate a spontaneous sustained ventricular arrhythmia, remains one of the most important additions to the therapeutic armamentarium of clinicians who care for patients with HCM in the past 25 years or so and is recommended for those individuals deemed at highest risk.1

Although initially thought to be a disease of the young with high mortality, HCM is now widely recognised as having a relatively benign clinical course for the majority of patients, but remains the most common cause of sudden death in younger patients (age <25 years) and athletes.2 Importantly, however, sudden death also occurs in older individuals perhaps due to a change in risk profile such as the development of coronary disease and in 3–5% of patients without identifiable risk factors.3

A major hurdle in the selection of individuals who might benefit from ICD therapy is not only the low incident rate of sudden death, especially in the general (non-referral) community, but the enormous heterogeneity of the phenotype.4 5 As a result of these difficulties, and despite decades of research, no wholly reliable or accurate means of identifying individuals most at risk of sudden cardiac arrest currently exists.6 Despite the lack of an individualised risk score or a sensitive and specific marker of risk, general agreement exists that ICD implantation should be recommended in individuals who present with sudden cardiac arrest or a sustained ventricular arrhythmia, and those with one or more 'high risk' trait(s): a close family history of cardiac arrest due to HCM, massive left ventricular hypertrophy, cardiogenic …


Stress induces the proteolysis of the receptor tyrosine kinase EphB2 in the amygdala to promote anxiety. Fear conditions individuals to remember and respond to danger; however, in some individuals, stress and trauma induce a generalized state of anxiety. In response to stress, neurons undergo remodeling, involving interactions between these cells and the extracellular matrix, which are facilitated by extracellular proteases. Noting that the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases modulate neuronal plasticity and are subject to cleavage by extracellular proteases, Attwood et al. investigated a role for Ephs in responding to stress. Immunohistochemical analysis of mouse brains showed that EphB2 and the serine protease neuropsin were abundant and colocalized in the amygdala, which processes memory and emotion. Experiments in a neuroblastoma cell line showed that EphB2, but not other Ephs, was cleaved by neuropsin to release an extracellular fragment of the receptor. EphB2 associates with the NMDA receptor, and coimmunoprecipitation assays showed that restraint stress reduced the amount of EphB2 that colocalized with the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor in the amygdala of wild-type, but not neuropsin-deficient, mice. Disruption of the EphB2-NR1 interaction resulted in the increased abundance of the protein Fkbp51, which promotes glucocorticoid receptor signaling. Whole-cell recordings in neurons from the basal amygdala showed that NMDA currents were lower in neuropsin-deficient mice than in wild-type mice. In addition, early long-term potentiation was impaired in neuropsin-deficient mice. Whereas stress increased the state of anxiety of wild-type mice, as measured by their responses in a maze test, neuropsin-deficient mice exhibited anxiety only after receiving injections of neuropsin. Together, these data suggest a mechanism whereby stress induces the cleavage of EphB2 by neuropsin, which results in enhanced NMDA receptor currents, the generation of Fkbp51, and the development of anxiety. B. K. Attwood, J.-M. Bourgognon, S. Patel, M. Mucha, E. Schiavon, A. E. Skrzypiec, K. W. Young, S. Shiosaka, M. Korostynski, M. Piechota, R. Przewlocki, R. Pawlak, Neuropsin cleaves EphB2 in the amygdala to control anxiety. Nature 473, 372–375 (2011). [PubMed]


Fieldwork was carried out among the Hindu Gaddis and their associated castes, chiefly in Kangra and to a lesser extent in Chamba (Himachal Pradesh, India), Two main topics are examined. The place of transhumant pastoralism in the Gaddis' economy and in relation to their social organisation is described at length for the first time. Though the Gaddis are renowned as shepherds in Himachal Pradesh, the proportion who hold flocks of sheep and goats fluctuates greatly from village to village. My data stem from living in the Gaddi shepherding village par excellence. I explore the relationship between pastoralism, agriculture and wage labour, and I conclude that numbers of Gaddi-owned migratory livestock have fallen in recent decades. The primary topic, however, is marriage and the internal structure of the caste. I start by looking at an unusual case of women who never marry, and then move on to analyse the complex relationship between isogamy and hypergamy in the region, with particular reference to the structure of the caste. The working out of egalitarian principles in marriage in the northern half of the Indian subcontinent has not received the attention devoted to the more dominant tendency towards hierarchy. But while this study of the Gaddis' isogamy is a contribution to a neglected field, it does not foster any simple dichotomy between Himalayan Hindus and north India generally. On the contrary, the perspective chosen helps towards the better incorporation of Himalayan Hindu societies within models of marriage and kinship in north India generally.


Abstract. We report results from two pairs of chemistry-climate model simulations using the same climate model but different chemical perturbations. In each pair of experiments an ozone change was triggered by a simple change in the chemistry. One pair of model experiments looked at the impact of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and the other pair at the impact of short-lived halogenated species on composition and circulation. The model response is complex with both positive and negative changes in ozone concentration, depending on location. These changes result from coupling between composition, temperature and circulation. Even though the causes of the modelled ozone changes are different, the high latitude Southern Hemisphere response in the lower stratosphere is similar. In both pairs of experiments the high-latitude circulation changes, as evidenced by N 2 O differences, are suggesting a slightly longer-lasting/stronger stratospheric descent in runs with higher ozone destruction (a manifestation of a seasonal shift in the circulation). We contrast the idealised model behaviour with interannual variability in ozone and N 2 O as observed by the MIPAS instrument on ENVISAT, highlighting similarities of the modelled climate equilibrium changes to the year 2006–2007 in observations. We conclude that the climate system can respond quite sensitively in its seasonal evolution to small chemical perturbations, that circulation adjustments seen in the model can occur in reality, and that coupled chemistry-climate models allow a better assessment of future ozone and climate change than recent CMIP-type models with prescribed ozone fields.


The measurement of time is central to intelligent behavior. We know that both animals and artificial agents can successfully use temporal dependencies to select actions. In artificial agents, little work has directly addressed (1) which architectural components are necessary for successful development of this ability, (2) how this timing ability comes to be represented in the units and actions of the agent, and (3) whether the resulting behavior of the system converges on solutions similar to those of biology. Here we studied interval timing abilities in deep reinforcement learning agents trained end-to-end on an interval reproduction paradigm inspired by experimental literature on mechanisms of timing. We characterize the strategies developed by recurrent and feedforward agents, which both succeed at temporal reproduction using distinct mechanisms, some of which bear specific and intriguing similarities to biological systems. These findings advance our understanding of how agents come to represent time, and they highlight the value of experimentally inspired approaches to characterizing agent abilities.


Gideon Haigh scrutinises the way we have turned CEOs into tin gods. Is moral outrage the appropriate response to the collapses of Enron or HIH or are we all implicated in a crazy system? Haigh argues that the attempt to create great entrepreneurs of the caste of CEOs by giving them shares is doomed to failure and inherently absurd. In a tough-minded, vigorous demolition job on the culture that produced the cult of the CEO, Haigh writes a mini-history of business and shows how the classic traditions of capitalism are mocked by the managerialism of the present.


Background and purpose The use of Onyx has become the mainstream for the treatment of cranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) and arteriovenous malformations, but the reported success for type I spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (sDAVFs) remains limited. We review our experience with Onyx and report its limitations in the treatment of spinal AVFs. Materials and methods We retrospectively reviewed the Interventional Neuroradiology Procedure database at Washington University for cases of sDAVF embolization. Radiology reports were reviewed for fistula classification, treatment technique, and initial and follow-up results. Angiographic images were reviewed to confirm diagnosis, treatment, and penetration of embolisate into the draining vein. Results With the use of Onyx, sDAVFs were obliterated in six of seven patients at the time of treatment. Follow-up angiography confirmed sDAVF obliteration in two patients, and recurrence in two cases. Two patients had no follow-up. One patient not cured at the time of treatment was treated surgically. Of the nine total treatments, Onyx successfully crossed the nidus into the draining vein in only four cases. Successful venous embolization was facilitated with positioning of the microcatheter to less than 5 mm from the nidus in three of the four cases. The use of n-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) resulted in venous penetration in eight of 10 cases, and short term follow-up cure in seven of 10 patients. Conclusions Our experience with Onyx for type I sDAVF embolization has been tempered by difficulty in achieving venous penetration and, consequently, a high rate of recurrence. For management of these fistulas, we favor NBCA or surgical treatment.


ABSTRACT Over two semesters short essay prompts were developed for use with the Graphical Interface for Knowledge Structure (GIKS), an automated essay scoring system. Participants were students in an undergraduate-level online introductory statistics course. The GIKS compares students' writing samples with an expert's to produce keyword occurrence and links in common scores which can be used to construct a visual representation of an individual's knowledge structure. Each semester, students responded to the same two essay prompts during the first and last week of the course. All responses were scored by the GIKS and two instructors. Evidence for the validity of scores obtained using the GIKS was provided through the use of correlations with instructors' scores and final exam scores. Changes in scores from the beginning to end of the course were examined. Suggestions for writing open-ended prompts that work well with computer-automated scoring systems are given as well as suggestions for using the GIKS as a formative learning activity as opposed to summative assessment.


Steady two-dimensional natural convection in fluid filled cavities is numerically investigated. The channel is heated from below and cooled from the top with insulated side walls and the inclination angle is varied. The field equations for a Newtonian Boussinesq fluid are solved numerically for three cavity height based Rayleigh numbers, Ra = 104, 105 and 106, and several aspect ratios. The calculations are in excellent agreement with previously published benchmark results. The effect of the inclination of the cavity to the horizontal with the angle varying from 0° to 180° and the effect of the startup conditions on the flow pattern, temperature distribution and the heat transfer rates have been investigated. Flow admits different configurations at different angles as the angle of inclination is increased depending on the initial conditions. Regardless of the initial conditions Nusselt number Nu exhibits discontinuities triggered by gradual transition from multiple cell to a single cell configuration. The critical angle of inclination at which the discontinuity occurs is strongly influenced by the assumed startup field. The hysteresis effect previously reported is not always present when the calculations are reversed from 90° to 0°. A comprehensive study of the flow structure, the Nu variation with varying angle of inclination, the effect of the initial conditions and the hysteresis effect are presented.


The distribution and biological features of anglerfish ( Lophius piscatorius and L. budegassa ) in the Mediterranean Sea were analysed from trawl surveys data (MEDITS project, years 1994-1999). The above-mentioned species were widely distributed in the Mediterranean, but differences in abundance were found according to geographic sectors and depths. Most of the collected specimens belonged to the first length cohorts and length distributions also differed at macro-area levels. Mean sizes at female sexual maturity were estimated at 68.5 cm and 66.2 cm total length, respectively for L. piscatorius and L. budegassa .


The current broad-species concept applied to Streblus pendulinus (Endl.) F.Muell. is regarded as not useful taxonomically, and so the narrower, original circumscription is applied here to refer only to the plants restricted to Norfolk Island. The plants previously referred to as S. pendulinus in the Mariana Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, south-western and southern Pacific, and Hawai′i are treated as the widespread S. brunonianus (Endl.) F.Muell. Comparative morphological characters for distinguishing these two species are discussed.


The present work is aimed at assessing the water quality index (WQI) for the groundwater of Tiruchengode Taluk, Tamilnadu, India. It has been determined by collecting groundwater samples and subjecting the samples to a comprehensive physicochemical analysis. For calculating the WQI, the following 11 parameters have been considered viz , pH, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, chloride, nitrate, sulphate, total dissolved solids, fluoride, alkalinity and dissolved oxygen. The results of analysis have been used to suggest models for predicting water quality. The analysis reveals that the groundwater of the area needs some degree of treatment before consumption and it also needs to be protected from the perils of contamination.


Background Current guidelines for the conduct of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) are mainly applicable to facility-based interventions in high-income settings. Differences in the unit of analysis and the high cost of data collection can make these guidelines challenging to follow within public health trials in low- and middle- income settings. Objective This paper reflects on the challenges experienced within our own work and proposes solutions that may be useful to others attempting to collect, analyse, and compare cost data between public health research sites in low- and middle-income countries. Design We describe the generally accepted methods (norms) for collecting and analysing cost data in a single-site trial from the provider perspective. We then describe our own experience applying these methods within eight comparable cluster randomised, controlled, trials. We describe the strategies used to maximise adherence to the norm, highlight ways in which we deviated from the norm, and reflect on the learning and limitations that resulted. Results When the expenses incurred by a number of small research sites are used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of delivering an intervention on a national scale, then deciding which expenses constitute 'start-up' costs will be a nontrivial decision that may differ among sites. Similarly, the decision to include or exclude research or monitoring and evaluation costs can have a significant impact on the findings. We separated out research costs and argued that monitoring and evaluation costs should be reported as part of the total trial cost. The human resource constraints that we experienced are also likely to be common to other trials. As we did not have an economist in each site, we collaborated with key personnel at each site who were trained to use a standardised cost collection tool. This approach both accommodated our resource constraints and served as a knowledge sharing and capacity building process within the research teams. Conclusions Given the practical reality of conducting randomised, controlled trials of public health interventions in low- and middle- income countries, it is not always possible to adhere to prescribed guidelines for the analysis of cost effectiveness. Compromises are frequently required as researchers seek a pragmatic balance between rigor and feasibility. There is no single solution to this tension but researchers are encouraged to be mindful of the limitations that accompany compromise, whilst being reassured that meaningful analyses can still be conducted with the resulting data.


Maximum potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber yields occur when
an active plant canopy is maintained until normal plant maturation.
Plaid nutrient concentrations and uptake rates play a major role in
maintaining an active plant top. The objectives of this study were to
relate the plant P concentrations to the P and dry matter balance
between tuber and total plant growth needs. Growth analysis data,
plant and leaf total P concentrations and content, and the petiole
soluble P concentrations were obtained on a 10-to 14-day sampling
interval from P fertilization treatments in replicated field studies.
The P concentration of the plant tops was significantly related to
the petiole soluble P concentration and the P concentration of the
active leaves. Total plant P uptake and dry matter production rates
were not adequate for the tuber growth rate when the total P concentrations
of the tops and active leaves were less than 2.2 g P kg-1.
Soluble P concentrations in the fourth petiole down from the growing
tip were less than 1000 and 700 mg kg-1 when P uptake and dry
matter production rates were not adequate for tuber growth, respectively.
Final tuber yields increased from 30 to 70 Mg ha-1 as the
number of growing days past tuber set increased from 10 to 60 days
for which the P concentration of the tops was above 2.2 g P kg-1.
The petiole soluble P concentration decreased during the growing
season following a semi-logarithmic relationship. This relationship
enabled the prediction of the petiole soluble P concentration for the
rest of the growing season and could be used to predict when to apply
supplemental P fertilizer.


This study explores the short-run spillover effects of popular research papers. We consider the publicity of 'Male Organ and Economic Growth: Does Size Matter?' as an exogenous shock to economics discussion paper demand, a natural experiment of a sort. In particular, we analyze how the very substantial visibility influenced the downloads of Helsinki Center of Economic Research discussion papers. Difference in differences and regression discontinuity analysis are conducted to elicit the spillover patterns. This study finds that the spillover effect to average economics paper demand is positive and statistically significant. It seems that hit papers increase the exposure of previously less downloaded papers. We find that part of the spillover effect could be attributable to Internet search engines' influence on browsing behavior. Conforming to expected patterns, papers residing on the same web page as the hit paper evidence very significant increases in downloads which also supports the spillover thesis.


Uyless Black is a widely known expert in computer networks and data
 communications. He is author of more than ten books in the communication
 technologies field, which puts him in a good position to address this topic. In
 IP Routing Protocols he starts by providing the background and concepts
 required for understanding TCP/IP technology. This is done clearly and assumes
 little prior knowledge of the area. As might be expected, he emphasizes the IP route
 discovery problem. Later he details several routing protocols.


What happened to wondrous phenomena during the European Enlightenment? A familiar answer is that the learned elites of the period, and especially those linked to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris, either ignored wonders or debunked them. Historians of science who have challenged this answer have so far paid little attention to one of the main sources of evidence usually invoked in its favor, namely the experimental reports of the chemist Charles Dufay (1698–1739). This paper considers Dufay's published articles, especially those on phosphorescence and electricity, and argues that far from disdaining wonders he valued them as a means of discovering new regularities and of correcting and confirming hypotheses. Moreover, his interest in wonders was due partly to three concerns that he shared with other members of the Academy, and especially with chemists such as Claude-Joseph Geoffroy and Jean Hellot. These concerns were the production of a large amount of empirical data, the practice of alchemy, and the need to write for an audience of non-academicians. One moral of this study is that Dufay had more in common with two of his seventeenth-century sources, Robert Boyle and Athanasius Kircher, than historians have so far supposed. Another is that the difference between lay and learned attitudes to wonders, insofar as it existed in the eighteenth century, lay not in the ejection of wonders from serious inquiry but in the shifting background of expectations against which different groups judged which facts were wondrous and which were mundane or unsurprising.


Using density-functional calculations, we examine the electronic structure of magnetite in the spinel crystal structure in order to gain insight into the nature of the Verwey transition. The calculated cohesive and magnetic properties are in agreement with experimental results. The magnetic structure is analyzed using a Stoner model as well as from calculations within the framework of the local-spin-density approximation to the density-functional theory. The calculations show a minority-spin band at the Fermi energy consisting of ${\mathit{t}}_{2\mathit{g}}$ orbitals on the Fe(B) sublattice. These results suggest a three-band spinless model Hamiltonian for the description of the Verwey transition. The hopping integrals and the electron interaction parameters entering the model Hamiltonian are calculated using the ``constrained'' density-functional theory. The calculated parameters are consistent with the electronic origin of the Verwey transition.


The role of competition in defense procurement has long been controversial due to the extraordinary demand for technological advance, the relatively small production quantities involved and the importance of learning by doing. Since the early 1980s, Defense Department policy has encouraged the use of competition in the production phase of procurement where possible, particularly for relatively simple technologies. Recent theory, however, suggests that splitting production between two bidders ("dual sourcing") produces strong incentives for collusion unless the bidders are unsure of each other's costs, e.g. for sophisticated technologies in the early phases of production. Furthermore, dual sourcing may help discipline contractors in settings where contractual incompleteness is a particular problem. For both these reasons, dual sourcing may be more valuable for complex, rather than simple, technologies. To date, however, there have been no attempts to investigate empirically how technological complexity affects the viability of competition in procurement. I explore the effects of dual sourcing using a panel dataset comprising 14 missile systems with an average of 12.5 years of production history per system. Each missile's complexity is categorized based on the nature of its guidance and control system. Simple missiles enjoy greater scale economies than complex missiles, but the learning curves for the two missile types are not significantly different. The effects of dual sourcing, though, depend importantly on the nature of the technology involved: it significantly speeds learning and interferes with scale economies for complex missiles, but has no significant effects for simple ones. Dual sourcing thus produces no apparent savings for simple missiles, but for the average complex missile dual sourcing lowers unit costs by the seventh year of dual sourcing. Whether these potential savings justify the costs of transferring technology to the second source and the possible weakening of R&D incentives remains an open question.


Modelling physical-biological interactions in the early life of fish is becoming an inte- gral part of theoretical and applied marine ecology. A workshop on 'Advancements in modelling physical-biological interactions in fish early-life history' (WKAMF) was held in April 2006 to review recent developments and identify future research directions. Here we provide an overview of the information presented at WKAMF (some of which is published in this Theme Section), discussions that took place at the workshop, and the authors' perspectives as workshop co-Chairs. The major themes identified at the workshop were the need for enhanced model validation and sensitivity methods and improved understanding of physical and biological processes. Using the appropriate level of model complexity required for each model application is important; developing quantitative consistency of model results with good quality observational data is critical. In addition, improving our prediction of physical processes, such as circulation patterns and turbulence, will advance our knowledge of fish early life, as will a better understanding of biological processes like mortality, behaviour, and energetics. The latter stage-dependent, often species-specific, processes pose partic- ular challenges, although technical advances in field and laboratory observations are likely to result in considerable progress in the near future. Finally, there is a clear requirement for interdisciplinary collaboration between modellers, field scientists and laboratory scientists. Studies receiving input from a wide range of disciplines will increase our understanding of fish early-life ecology and predic- tion of recruitment to fish populations.


Electrodeposition is a low-cost and low-temperature method for producing metal matrix composite coatings. The electrodeposition of Ni matrix/Ni-Cr-B particles is considered as the co-deposition of Ni-Cr-B particles in a Ni matrix, resulting in nanocomposite coatings that can offer good wear and corrosion resistance between other applications. For comparison, the electrodeposition of Ni films and their wear and corrosion evalu - ation were also carried out under the same conditions. Some coatings usually contain oxide or carbide particles in micrometer size and are electrodeposited in a nickel matrix; however, the use of the mechanical alloying process offers the possibility to reduce the particle size in the order of nanometers obtaining solid solutions, amorphous phases, or intermetallic compounds during the development of new alloys to be co-deposited, improving the engineering materials properties. This kind of nanocomposite can be used in industrial components with an irregular geometry exposed in aggressive envi ronments such as the energy generation and oil industry.


This paper presents a bi-modal (face and speech) authentication demonstration system that simulates the login of a user using its face and its voice. This demonstration is called BioLogin. It runs both on Linux and Windows and the Windows version is freely available for download. Bio\-Login is implemented using an open source machine learning library and its machine vision package.


Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been successfully applied to visualize the 2-dimensional distribution of various major (Mg, Mn, Fe) and trace (Cr, Co, Ni, Ir, Pt) elements in the Late Archaean Paraburdoo impact spherule layer (PB SL). As this spherule layer is highly enriched in meteoritic material, this study particularly focuses on the distribution of siderophile elements. Multi-elemental maps with a lateral resolution of 15 μm, covering surface areas of approximately 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm and multiple impact spherules, were acquired by LA-ICP-MS using two different ablation – standard (circular) and teardrop – cells. It was observed that with the teardrop cell, the elemental maps follow the mineralogy as displayed by the optical microscopy image more closely, with limited memory and washout effects in comparison to the standard cell. In order to acquire representative quantitative data, 100 μm diameter spot LA-ICP-MS analysis in a vertical transect through the SL was performed additionally. Quantification of element concentrations in the PB SL was carried out using external calibration procedures. The validity of this approach was evaluated by comparison of the averages of the determined transect spot concentrations to bulk rock geochemical data and it was found that the mean concentrations fall within the uncertainty of the bulk geochemical analysis, but the results show biases of 5.9% for Pt, 16% for Ir, 11% for Cr and 38% for Ni. In addition, the bulk rock Pt/Ir elemental ratio obtained upon transect LA-ICP-MS analysis was reported and it was observed that the slope of the regression line (1.06) and the mean value (1.23) for all data points measured with LA-ICP-MS equal the bulk rock Pt/Ir value of 1.08–1.43 measured by fire assay/solution ICP-MS for all PB SL outcrops at the Governor site.


The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans contains two major groups of muscle cells that exhibit organized sarcomeres: the body wall and pharyngeal muscles. Several additional groups of muscle cells of more limited mass and spatial distribution include the vulval muscles of hermaphrodites, the male sex muscles, the anal-intestinal muscles, and the gonadal sheath of the hermaphrodite. These muscle groups do not exhibit sarcomeres and therefore may be considered smooth. Each muscle cell has been shown to have a specific origin in embryonic cell lineages and differentiation, either embryonically or postembryonically (Sulston, J. E., and H. R. Horvitz. 1977. Dev. Biol. 56:110-156; Sulston, J. E., E. Schierenberg, J. White, and J. N. Thomson. 1983. Dev. Biol. 100:64- 119). Each muscle type exhibits a unique combination of lineage and onset of differentiation at the cellular level. Biochemically characterized monoclonal antibodies to myosin heavy chains A, B, C, and D and to paramyosin have been used in immunochemical localization experiments. Paramyosin is detected by immunofluorescence in all muscle cells. Myosin heavy chains C and D are limited to the pharyngeal muscle cells, whereas myosin heavy chains A and B are localized not only within the sarcomeres of body wall muscle cells, as reported previously, but to the smooth muscle cells of the minor groups as well. Myosin heavy chains A and B and paramyosin proteins appear to be compatible with functionally and structurally distinct muscle cell types that arise by multiple developmental pathways.


In this study, we analyze the effect of US macroeconomic announcements on European stock returns, return volatility and bid-ask spreads using intraday data. We find that certain announcements are generally more important to the European stock market than others, and that the direction of news is important for returns. We provide first evidence that a stock-individual analysis is crucial to disentangle overall market reactions from stock-specific impacts and that effects vary dramatically between stocks. The analysis of quoted spreads reveals that return volatility affects the spread size positively, and that spreads are systematically higher directly after news releases. This is followed by structurally lower spreads, indicating quickly decreasing asymmetric information in the market after announcements. Additionally, spreads tend to react to announcements even if the returns or the volatility of the underlying stock is not significantly affected. This points at the importance of the analysis of news events beyond return and volatility analyses.


This research evaluates the impact on German household labor supply of various subsidy schemes proposed to foster low-wage employment. Using data from the German Socio- Economic Panel, we estimate a discrete choice model of household labor supply. On the basis of the estimated labor supply parameters of husbands and wives, we simulate participation and hours effects of different policies raising low labor earnings at the individual and household levels. In all cases, the labor supply effect is very moderate. Subsidies to individuals promote part-time employment, in particular of second earners, while subsidies based on low household income drive the better qualified partner out of the labor market so that the total number of labor market participants even declines.


Performance appraisal has received much attention from researchers
for more than seven decades and dissatisfaction with the appraisal is a
common survey finding (Cardy, 1998). Previous research findings
mentioned dissatisfaction as one of the most common findings in many
organizations, and this issue is no exception in the Malaysian public
sector scenario. Ever since its introduction in 1993, the appraisal
system has been facing with various problems especially those related
to the implementation aspect and had aroused serious concern and
mix feelings among the public s&tor employees. Therefore, this study
attempts to investigate the employees' perceptions and views on the
underlying elements behind their negative perceptions and dissatisfaction toward performance appraisal implementation, the
implications of such perceptions on the employees work attitude and
finally soliciting their views and suggestions on enhancing the
acceptance of the appraisal system.
The finding of this study is hoped to assist the government and the
management of other public universities in Malaysia to understand
better on the complexity and specific problems associated with the
implementation of performance appraisal in the public sector especially
in the higher learning institutions. Employees' views and their needs
and criteria for an acceptable system could become a very important
milestone for the government to ponder when planning to introduce a
new appraisal system in the future. The input from this study is also
hoped to assist the government and public organizations to develop
and implement a more reliable, fair, acceptable and effective
performance appraisal system in the future.
A qualitative research method was used in the study. The primary data
for the study was obtained from the semi-structured questions used
during the in-depth interviews with the participants, while the secondary
data was obtained from various government publications, circulars and
participants own documents. It was during the interviews that the
participants' feelings and opinions toward performance appraisal were captured. The participants for the interview were sampled using
purposive and snowballing techniques. Within the interview duration
period, a total of 12 participants' responses to multiple questions
related to performance appraisal were obtained as the data was found
saturated. Their views on the issues were captured and carefully
analyzed by the researcher using qualitative technique underlined in
the literatures.
The participants in the study were purposefully selected. They
comprised of academicians with more than 10 years experience as
academician in the public university and as an appraisee. They were
purposely sampled because the researcher categorized them as
'information rich' individuals that could help provide useful and detail
information on the issues under study. Academicians were selected to
be the participant for the study because of the unique nature of their
job, they were usually the recipient of the 'imposed' system, highly
qualified professionals and whom researcher believed able to provide
critical opinion and open discussion on the issues under investigation.
The data obtained from the interviews was carefully transcribed, coded,
and analyzed using the steps recommended by the literatures. A
narrative-style of thick descriptions was used to report the research
findings.The study revealed that the academicians were dissatisfied with how
performance appraisal was implemented in the organization. They feel
that performance appraisal was not properly implemented and do not
seem to help them in any way to improve their job performance or
personal development. They perceived performance appraisal as just
another mechanism for the appraisers to reward the employees of their
choice or preference. The process and spirit of implementing a fair
appraisal was absent and appraisal is said to be conducted by
appraisers in a manner that totally deviated from the expected process
and procedures.
The weaknesses in performance appraisal implementation had
somewhat caused academicians to develop negative perceptions and
attitudes toward their job and the overall appraisal system. They were
in the opinion that not much can be done by the appraisal system to
improve their work performance as most of their suggestions and
requests for professional training and development programs were not
seriously considered by the management. There were several distinct
elements mentioned by the participants that tend to 'disturb' their full
acceptance and satisfaction of the appraisal system. Elements related
to appraiser competence and biasness, clarity of performance
standards, feedback, goal setting session, sufficiency of rewards
allocation and training were highlighted during the interviews.Appraiser competence and biasness, closed reporting system, minimal
feedback and the absence of clear goals were some of the flaws in
implementing performance appraisal which were mentioned by the
participants.
Despite the dissatisfaction with the implementation of the performance
appraisal, some academicians cited satisfaction with the incentives and
the amount of monetary and non-monetary rewards that were allocated
for excellent performers. They were glad that the government had
introduced the appraisal system to measure and reward employees
work performance. They felt that performance appraisal had managed
to let them know their level of performance and their boss perceptions
toward them through their appraisal scores. These two elements had
actually saved the system from being totally perceived as a system
with little or no benefit at all to employees.
The study again discovers that the weaknesses in implementing
performance appraisal had caused most academicians to have
negative feelings and perceptions toward the appraisal system, the
management of the organization and the program which the
government introduces. Employees' dissatisfaction and resentment
toward the system were manifested through the change in their
attitudes and behaviours toward their job and the environment. Based on the data accumulated from the interviews, most participants
expressed how performance appraisal had reduced their confidence of
the system, reduces their level of motivation, make them less concerns
of the system and eventually lead to job withdrawal and low morale.
There were some valuable suggestions put forward by the participants
on how performance appraisal acceptance and satisfaction could be
improved. They believed that employee acceptance and satisfaction
could be enhanced if the performance appraisal process is more
transparent, the goals and purpose of appraisal is clearly and well
defined, the appraisers are well-trained, rewards are sufficiently
distributed, and the instruments used be directed towards measuring
performance rather than personality traits. Having these elements
included in the process of performance appraisal would reflect the
sincerity and commitment of the management to provide employees
with a fair system of appraisal. In addition, it was proposed that a
special unit to monitor performance appraisal implementation and
process be established and should consist those who are well trained,
competent, and professional in conducting performance appraisal.
This unit is expected to monitor the implementation and finally
normalize any appraisal discrepancies that might have been committed
by the various departments in the institution. In addition, the use of
multi-sources of appraisal was suggested to further help enhance the trust, fairness, satisfaction and acceptance towards the organization
appraisal system.


359 Background: KRAS mutation has been shown to be a more effective (though negative) biomarker for selection of patients for EGFR targeted therapy in aCRC. However, positive EGFR immunohistochemistry (IHC) remains a license requirement and was an inclusion criterion in most trials to date. The MRC COIN trial recruited 2445 pts into 3 arms of oxaliplatin + fluoropyrimidine +/- cetuximab without prior EGFR assessment. This trial provides a unique opportunity to definitively examine the role of EGFR IHC as prognostic and predictive marker and potentially the evidence required to remove this assessment from the license for this drug.

METHODS
Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue was stained retrospectively for EGFR using Dako kit in a national reference lab. Results were assessed by 3 reviewers (BJ, SS, RA) using digital imaging software in a blinded fashion, then by BJ/SS providing consensus for discrepancies. EGFR scoring was assessed as a prognostic variable in association with selected patient, tumor and biochemical data. Cut off points examined for +ve vs -ve tumours, in terms of total tumour cells demonstrating membrane staining, were: 0% vs >0%; <10% vs ≥10%; <20% vs ≥20%.

RESULTS
EGFR IHC was adequately assessed for 1621 pts (66% of randomised), 22% were negative (0%) and 78% positive (>0%), balanced across arms. EGFR was not prognostic for PFS within KRAS wt pts at the standardized cut off point 0% vs >0% HR=1.11 95% CI 0.91-1.36 p=0.31 but was at <10% vs ≥10% (HR=1.27 95% CI 1.07-1.52 p=0.008) this was robust to other prognostic variables. No effect was seen for overall response or survival. There was no prognostic effect for the KRAS mutant group. In the 1065 assessable pts randomised to +/- cetuximab, no evidence of EGFR IHC as a predictive marker for response or survival outcomes was observed for the addition of cetuximab to chemotherapy (OS HR=1.11 95% CI 0.70-1.75 p=0.66; PFS HR=0.95 95% CI 0.64-1.43 p=0.82).

CONCLUSIONS
Extensive assessment of samples from this trial suggest a role for EGFR IHC as a prognostic marker in KRAS wt aCRC but refute the predictive value embedded within the licence for cetuximab used in combination with chemo in first-line therapy. [Table: see text].


The aim of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between children's physical activity and wellbeing, and if that relationship is enhanced by physical activity in nature. This study was a non-experimental retrospective multiinformant data review conducted at an outpatient pediatric psychiatric clinic in the Northeast. The theoretical framework used to guide this study was the Health Promotion Model, suggesting Advanced Practice Nursing investigate the relationship between health promoting behaviors and personal factors that support mental wellness in children and protect against mental illness. Data collected included age, sex, and exercise and wellbeing subsections of the Vermont Child Health and Behavior Questionnaire (VHBQ): Parent Reports and Self-reports for 11-21 year olds. Data from three sample groups were analyzed: parent participants (n=178, 61% male, 38% female), child participants (n=78, 51% male, 49% female), and parent-child pairs with sex determined by child (n-25, 60% male, 40% female). Physical activity was calculated using a metric for participation in sports. Two sample t tests were used to analyze children's response to the question "do you participate in sports regularly?" in relation to wellbeing scores. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to investigate correlations between 1) parent reports of their children's physical activity and wellbeing, 2) children's self-reports of physical activity and wellbeing, 3) parent reports of their children's physical and children's self-reports of physical activity, and 4) parent reports of their children's wellbeing and children's selfreports of wellbeing. Statistically significant results included positive correlations between parent reports of their children's physical activity and wellbeing item, "his/her living conditions are excellent" (r=.34, p=<0.001 for overall, r=.25, p=.002 for indoor, and r=.28, p=<0.001 for outdoor). Positive weak correlations were found between parent reports of their children's physical activity and scores on the VHBQ 10-point Worst Life/Best Life bar (r=.19, p=0.02 for overall and r=.17, p=.04 outdoor). Additionally, results showed significant strong positive correlations for all physical activities between parent reports of children's participation and children's self-report of participation (r=0.83, p=<0.001 for overall, r=0.85, p=<0.001 for indoor, and r=.67, p=0.02 for outdoor). However, only a single wellbeing item, "Compared with...most peer, [child] is less happy than they are", demonstrated statistically significant positive correlation (r=.48, p=0.03) when parent reports and self-reports of wellbeing were compared. These results underscore the need for further research. Among professions, Advanced Practice Nurses may be best equipped to fully understand the lifestyle factors that promote children's mental health. Moreover, because of their background, training and employment settings, Advanced Practice Nurses could play an important role not only in initiating well-being research studies, but also in using the resultant information to develop educational resources and policy.


Fast ions, whether produced by fusion reactions, or by ionisation of neutral beam, are expected to play a major role in the heating of burning plasmas. Therefore, the study of the fast ion's behaviour in tokamaks is important for the future burning plasma experiments such as ITER. Understanding the effect of neutral beam injection on the current profile is also important for current profile control and for achieving steady state scenarios where non-inductive current drive is necessary. Several plasma discharges have been carried out in the MAST tokamak to investigate to which extent the q-profile may be modified by neutral beam current drive (NBCD). Transp simulations of the beam deposition during steady state experiments, with off-axis NBCD, have been carried out. It has been found that an anomalous diffusion (with a diffusion coef- ficient of roughly Db ∼ 0.5 m2 /s) of the fast ion is needed to explain the significantly lower neutron rate measured than predicted by the Transp code using an assumption of classical beam deposition and collisional ther- malisation. Transp simulations show that this diffusion broadens the fast ion deposition profile and may help to avoid harmful instabilities [1]. This anomalous diffusion is suspected to be caused by fishbone instabilities, as the time of the largest discrepancy between simulated and measured neutron rates correlates well with the highest magnitude of fishbone activity. The aim of this work is to investigate, with simulations of the Hagis code, if the interaction between fast ion resulting from off-axis NBCD and fishbone instabilities may be responsible for the fast ion anomalous diffusion needed to explain the observed neutron rate.


Context: Accumulation of toxic metals in aquatic organisms is one of the most important problems facing the world today since these metals can enter the food chain and have a damaging impact on human health. Aims: This research determines the concentration of metals (cadmium [Cd], arsenic [As]) in the soft tissue of blue swimmer crab (Portunus pelagicus) from four different stations along the Asalouyeh coasts in Iran. Settings and Design: The West suburb of the Mond protected area in Bushehr Province was chosen as a control area. Samples were collected over a 3-month period during winter of 2014. Materials and Methods: Metal analysis was performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Surface water at each sampling station was measured for selected physicochemical parameters with a multiparameter meter. Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis of variance followed by Duncan test (α = 0.05) was applied to determine the differences between the groups. Results: The results showed that the mean concentration (mg/kg dry weight) of Cd in the crab was higher than As. The concentration of both metals was higher in March. The highest concentration of Cd (1.54 ± 0.07) and As (0.35 ± 0.01) in the samples was observed for station 1 which was near to industrial zone of Asalouyeh. The mean concentrations of both metals were significantly (P = 0.000) higher in the study area than in the control area. Conclusions: Results showed that P. pelagicus is a reliable biological indicator of Cd and As contamination. The concentration of Cd in the crab samples was higher than recommended levels. Therefore, it is not suitable for consumption.


The temperature differential (?T) between a body surface and the ambient
environment is one factor that influences heat loss. Organisms can affect ?T
physiologically, by controlling body surface temperature, and behaviorally, by choosing
the ambient temperature to which they are exposed. These physiological and behavioral
mechanisms of thermoregulation were investigated across seasons in a resident
community of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Sarasota Bay, Florida
region, where water temperatures range annually from 11 to 33oC. Because the dorsal fin
is a highly dynamic thermal window, temperatures of this surface were measured on
wild, free-swimming dolphins using infrared thermography. Distribution of these yearround
resident dolphins was compared across seasons to assess whether or not local
changes in distribution reflect seasonal use of microclimates. Independent, continuous
measurements of water temperature at eight locations throughout the region were used to
describe the annual thermal profile of Sarasota Bay.
To calculate ?T, water temperatures measured during thermal imaging were
subtracted from dorsal fin surface temperatures. There was a positive, linear relationship
between dorsal fin surface temperature and water temperature, as mean ?T across all
seasons was similar. Dorsal fin surface temperatures appear to be modulated in response
to environmental temperature to maintain a steady ?T at the dorsal fin skin surface across
seasons. In winter, increases in insulation, both integumentary (i.e. blubber) and vascular
(via reduced perfusion and utilization of countercurrent heat exchangers) must account
for the protection of core temperature and stability of ?T. Water temperature throughout the Sarasota Bay region changed dramatically
across seasons and, overall, these patterns were similar throughout the study area.
Temperatures tended to plateau in both winter and summer, and change continuously in
spring and fall. Overlaid on this annual pattern of temperature change were short-term,
cyclical variations in water temperature, with peak frequencies at 11 and 19 days. The
amplitudes of these cyclical changes could vary between sites, creating regional
heterogeneity in water temperatures across the study area. The amplitudes of these
cyclical changes were more pronounced in winter than in summer at all sites; thus,
temperatures within the summer were the most stable of any season.
To assess dolphin distribution, individuals were classified based on age, sex and
reproductive status. Within a season, distribution patterns appeared to be specific to
particular dolphin classes. Though not always significant, differences between these
distribution patterns were more apparent in summer, spring, and fall, and less so in
winter. Water temperatures during summer were, overall, the least variable, and in the
transitional spring and fall seasons, water temperatures across the seven measurement
sites were most similar to each other. In contrast, during winter, when water temperature
oscillations could vary by up to 6°C over a period of 10-11 days, dolphin classes were
more similar in their distributions.
The relationship between dolphin distribution and water temperature was
investigated to assess whether or not a particular dolphin class was consistently observed
in warmer or cooler water temperatures, relative to any other dolphin class. In only one
dolphin class, and in only one season, was there a significant statistical relationship.
Adult males in summer were found to be distributed in significantly cooler water temperatures than all other classes. This result is interesting, as adult males have the
smallest surface area to volume ratios across which heat dissipation may occur, in
comparison to other dolphins, and it was found in summer, when water temperatures are
warmest and most stable. Thus, water temperature may be an important factor
influencing the distribution of adult male dolphins, but other biotic and abiotic factors
likely play an important role in dolphin distribution throughout the Sarasota Bay region.


The increasing electrification of powertrains leads to increased demands for the test technology to ensure the required functions. For conventional test rigs in particular, it is necessary to have knowledge of the test technology's capabilities that can be applied in practical testing. Modelling enables early knowledge of the test rigs dynamic capabilities and the feasibility of planned testing scenarios. This paper describes the modelling of complex subsystems by experimental modelling with artificial neural networks taking transmission efficiency as an example. For data generation, the experimental design and execution is described. The generated data is pre-processed with suitable methods and optimized for the neural networks. Modelling is executed with different variants of the inputs as well as different algorithms. The variants compare and compete with each other. The most suitable variant is validated using statistical methods and other adequate techniques. The result represents reality well and enables the performance investigation of the test systems in a realistic manner.


Generating new molecules is fundamental to advancing critical applications such as drug discovery and material synthesis. Flows can generate molecules effectively by inverting the encoding process, however, existing flow models either require artifactual dequantization or specific node/edge orderings, lack desiderata such as permutation invariance, or induce discrepancy between the encoding and the decoding steps that necessitates post hoc validity correction. We circumvent these issues with novel continuous normalizing E(3)-equivariant flows, based on a system of node ODEs coupled as a graph PDE, that repeatedly reconcile locally toward globally aligned densities. Our models can be cast as message-passing temporal networks, and result in superlative performance on the tasks of density estimation and molecular generation. In particular, our generated samples achieve state-of-the-art on both the standard QM9 and ZINC250K benchmarks.


In this article, we address the climate change issue through the lens of science diplomacy. We contribute to analyzing the mechanisms by which, in the international climate regime, the issues of science intermingle with those of diplomacy. We use the term 'nexus' to designate the interactions between the dynamics of science itself and the dynamics of diplomacy. We focus on the critical role played by the IPCC in the formation of this nexus. We argue that the extent to which diplomats understand and use scientific knowledge as well as that the clashing of national interests during major negotiations can jeopardize science diplomacy effectiveness. We thus explain why the large consensus that exists among scientists about the origins and long‐term risks of climate change does not translate into a consensus among diplomats over an appropriate course of action. These findings illustrate the limits of 'science in diplomacy'.