Abstract. We present the results of total column measurements of CO, C 2 H 6 and fine-mode aerosol optical depth (AOD) during the "Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites" (BORTAS-B) campaign over eastern Canada. Ground-based observations, using Fourier transform spectrometers (FTSs) and sun photometers, were carried out in July and August 2011. These measurements were taken in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is an ideal location to monitor the outflow of boreal fires from North America, and also in Toronto, Ontario. Measurements of fine-mode AOD enhancements were highly correlated with enhancements in coincident trace gas (CO and C 2 H 6 ) observations between 19 and 21 July 2011, which is typical for a smoke plume event. In this paper, we focus on the identification of the origin and the transport of this smoke plume. We use back trajectories calculated by the Canadian Meteorological Centre as well as FLEXPART forward trajectories to demonstrate that the enhanced CO, C 2 H 6 and fine-mode AOD seen near Halifax and Toronto originated from forest fires in northwestern Ontario that occurred between 17 and 19 July 2011. In addition, total column measurements of CO from the satellite-borne Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) have been used to trace the smoke plume and to confirm the origin of the CO enhancement. Furthermore, the enhancement ratio – that is, in this case equivalent to the emission ratio (ER C 2 H 6 /CO ) – was estimated from these ground-based observations. These C 2 H 6 emission results from boreal fires in northwestern Ontario agree well with C 2 H 6 emission measurements from other boreal regions, and are relatively high compared to fires from other geographical regions. The ground-based CO and C 2 H 6 observations were compared with outputs from the 3-D global chemical transport model GEOS-Chem, using the Fire Locating And Modeling of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) inventory. Agreement within the stated measurement uncertainty (~3% for CO and ~8% for C 2 H 6 ) was found for the magnitude of the enhancement of the CO and C 2 H 6 total columns between the measured and modelled results. However, there is a small shift in time (of approximately 6 h) of arrival of the plume over Halifax between the results.


The presence of phenomena of salt water intrusion in aquifers located in coastal urbanized areas, especially depended on the use of groundwater, is a widespread problem in the world. The study deals with the large coastal belt of the Municipality of Naples(southern Italy), located between the volcanic areas of the Somma-Vesuvius (East) and the Phlegrean Fields (West). Three different coastal sectors were analysed: the plain of Bagnoli-Fuorigrotta (BF), the area of Mount Echia (E) and the area of Eastern Naples (EN). Acquired chemical data allowed of the identification of three different groundwater chemical features and the prevalent absence of sea water contamination, mainly due to the low use of these waters. The study highlighted the chief role of the presence of faults in this volcanic area, favouring the upwelling of gases (prevalently CO2). These gases increase the groundwater reactivity causing, in the Mount Echia sector, the presence of sulphurous mineral waters and, in the Bagnoli-Fuorigrotta sector, determining the alteration of the natural relationship between freshwater and saltwater. Moreover, in the Eastern Naples sector, the occurrence of lenses of peat, which play an important hydrogeologic role as aquiclude, can determine reducing condition in the aquifers, with high concentrations in Fe and Mn.


For the first time a purely Lagrangian transport algorithm is applied in a fully coupled chemistry-climate model (CCM). We use the numerically non-diffusive Lagrangian scheme ATTILA instead of the operational semi-Lagrangian scheme for the transport of water vapour, cloud water and chemical trace species in the CCM E39C. The new model version including the Lagrangian scheme is referred to as E39C-A. The implications of the Lagrangian transport scheme for stratospheric model dynamics and tracer distributions in E39C-A are evaluated by comparison with observations and results of the previous model version E39C. We found in a previous paper that several deficiencies in stratospheric dynamics in E39C originate from a pronounced modelled wet bias and an associated cold bias in the extra-tropical lowermost stratosphere. Contrary to the semi-Lagrangian scheme ATTILA shows a largely reduced meridional transport of water vapour from the tropical upper troposphere into the extratropical lowermost stratosphere. The reduction of the moisture and temperature bias in E39C-A leads to a significant advancement of stratospheric dynamics in terms of the mean state as well as annual and interannual variability. In this study we show that as a consequence of both, the favourable numerical characteristics of the Lagrangian transport scheme and the improved model dynamics, E39C-A generally shows more realistic distributions of chemical trace species: Compared to E39C high stratospheric chlorine (Cly) concentrations extend further downward. Therefore E39C-A realistically covers the altitude of maximum ozone depletion in the stratosphere. The location of the ozonopause, i.e. the transition from low tropospheric to high stratospheric ozone values, is also clearly improved in E39C-A. Not only the spatial distribution but also the temporal evolution of stratospheric Cly in the past is realistically reproduced in E39C-A which is an important step towards a more reliable projection of future changes, especially of stratospheric ozone. Despite a large number of improvements there are still remaining model deficiencies like a general overestimation of total column ozone.


This essay begins the exploration of two contemporary and related film trends: the recent popular enthusiasm over the previously arty documentary film and the mandatory filming of custodial interrogations and confessions. The history and criticism of documentary film, indeed contemporary movie-going, understands the documentary genre as political and social advocacy (recent examples are Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11 and Errol Morris's Fog of War). Judges, advocates, and legislatures, however, assume that films of custodial interrogations and confessions reveal a truth and lack a distorting point of view. As this Article explains, the trend at law, although aimed at furthering venerable criminal justice principles, holds a fairly naive view of film's indexical relationship to the lived world and abjures consideration of the contemporary trend in cinema. Understanding the documentary as truth-revealing is a mistake, a mistake which can frustrate (if not undermine) the criminal justice goals of the legislation. Whatever may explain the convergence of filmmaking in the precinct house and a penchant for mainstream documentary movie-going, the trends are shaping contemporary expectations about film in contradictory ways. Investigating these trends together exposes competing norms regarding film as a legal tool and as a knowledge producing discourse. It also situates the criminal justice trend in the context of a long history of filmmaking and critical spectatorship. In light of the growing use of film as a policing mechanism, better understanding of film as both an art and a legal tool is in order.


Electrodewatering consists on the application of both pressure (mechanical effect) and
electrical current (electrokinetic phenomena) to colloidal systems, such as municipal sludge, in
order to achieve higher solid content (also designated by dryness). The influence of metal cations
and its salts on the electrodewatering characteristics was systematically studied for municipal
sludge and for two potential synthetic sludges, one composed of kaolin and the other of kaolin
plus xanthan gum. The effect of the size, charge and concentration of the metal cations were
studied in the three types of sludge. The effect of pH was also briefly addressed. The results were
explained by the selective adsorption of metal cations to the surface of the dispersed particles.
The adsorption was studied by ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma with Atomic Emission
Spectrometer) metal analysis. This project was performed in collaboration with Ovivo.
The first type of synthetic sludge was prepared by mixing kaolin powder with an
electrolyte, where the nature of the salt and its concentration (from 0.0 to 0.2 M) were varied. In
the presence of deionized water, the dryness of the sludge increases by 20%, from 62 to 74%. In
general, the addition of salts of monovalent cations, such as MCl, where M=Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and
Rb⁺, causes an increase of the amount of water extracted from the sludge as long as the salt
concentration is below 0.1 M. In the case of CsCl, the amount of water extracted decreases
constantly with an increase in concentration. At the same concentration, the volume of water
extracted is highest for cations with the largest hydrated radius: Li⁺> Na⁺ > K⁺ > Rb⁺ > Cs⁺.
This series represents the opposite trend observed for the relative adsorption affinity of cations
for the surface of the kaolin: Li⁺ < Na⁺ < K⁺ < Rb⁺ < Cs⁺. Therefore, electrodewatering is
favored in the presence of poorly adsorbed metal cations as a direct result of improvement of the
electromigration. Moreover, for concentration in the range 0.0 to 0.2M, a charge increase on the
cation of the chloride salts (NaCl, CaCl₂ et CeCl₃) results in a decrease in the volume of
extracted water: Na⁺> Ca² ⁺> Ce³⁺, The adsorption of these cations to the kaolin surface is more
significant for the cations with the highest charge: Na⁺ < Ca²⁺ < Ce³⁺. Once again, the
electrodewatering is favored in presence of cations that do not adsorb to the kaolin surface. The electrodewatering of kaolin is also dependent on the pH that should be between 2
and 7. As a consequence, the addition of different sodium salts (NaCl, NaNO₃, NaClO₃, Na₂SO₄,
NaHCO₃, NaOH, Na₂CO₃) causes a decrease of the extracted water if the pH of the electrolyte is
higher than 8, which is the case of NaHCO₃, NaOH and Na₂CO₃.. In general, the extracted water
decreases in the series: Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, ClO₃⁻> SO₄²⁻>> HCO₃⁻ >> OH⁻, CO₃²⁻.
The energy spent in the electrodewatering process of kaolin mixed with deionized water
is 0.9±0.1 kWh per kilogram of extracted water. However, 96% of the water is extracted in the
first 10 minutes of electrodewatering with an energy consumption of 0.20±0.02 kWh/kg of
extracted water, which corresponds roughly to 20% of the energy spent in the 60-minute
experiments. Furthermore, the addition of the electrolyte solutions to kaolin causes an increase in
the energy consumption. As an example, the addition of LiCl 0.2 M to kaolin leads to an increase
of extracted water from 6.9 g without any salt to 8.0 g. At the same time the energy consumed is
1.1 and 2.1 kWh per kilogram of extracted water for the ten- and sixty-minute experiment,
respectively. Therefore, the composition of sludge and the operation time are both crucial for the
energy performance.
The electrodewatering properties of kaolin are changed upon addition of a small amounts
of xanthan gum (4.4 wt%). For example, a sludge composed of kaolin plus xanthan gum does not
dewater by the application of pressure alone, which is the opposite of what happens with the
kaolin sludge. The xanthan gum is helping to disperse the kaolin particles in solution, making the
dewatering more difficult. Moreover, the total water extracted from kaolin plus xanthan gum
sludge is 2.7 g, which is 2.6 times less water when compared to the water extracted from the
kaolin sludge (7.2 g).
All the salts of monovalent cations (MCl, with M=Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, and Cs⁺) have a
similar effect on electrodewatering of kaolin plus xanthan gum sludge (Li⁺=Na⁺=K⁺=Rb⁺=Cs⁺)
when compared at the same concentration. On the other hand, an increase of the charge of the
metal cation results in an increase of extracted water: Na⁺ < Ca²⁺ < Ce³⁺. In this case, the amount
of extracted water increases with an increase of the concentration of added salt (from 0 to 0.2
M). The final dryness is 74.2% when CeCl3 0.2 M is added, compared to 66.2% with deionized
water. The presence of cations that adsorb strongly to the surface of the kaolin, such as Ce³⁺., facilitates the aggregation of the kaolin and xanthan gum particles, which results in an increase
of electrodewatering.
The replacement of chloride ion in NaCl was also studied. The amount of extracted water
decreases in the series: Cl⁻ > NO₃⁻ > ClO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ >> HCO₃⁻ > CO₃²⁻ > OH⁻. The
electrodewatering of kaolin plus xanthan gum is favored by more acidic pH's. The water lost by
evaporation, as a result of the increase in temperature during the drying process, may represent
more than 20% of the total extracted water. The energy consumed per kilogram of water
extracted is 2.9±0.1 kWh in the presence of deionized water.
The electrodewatering properties of municipal sludge from La Prairie, Quebec, were
studied. This sludge has an initial dryness of 14.3%. Upon electrodewatering, the dryness of the
sludge practically doubles (final dryness of 26±3%) and the initial volume is reduced by half.
Twenty percent of the total extracted water is lost by evaporation. The energy consumed in the
process is 0.29 kWh per kilogram of extracted water, which represents about four times less
energy when compared to a thermal drying method.
All monovalent cations have a similar effect on the electrodewatering of municipal
sludge: Li⁺=Na⁺=K⁺=Rb⁺=Cs⁺. Furthermore, the +2 and +3 cations are more efficient in the
dewatering of municipal sludge than +1 cations: Ce³⁺, Ca²⁺ > Na⁺. A bell shape curve is obtained
for the dependency of extracted water with the amount of added metal cation. The highest
dewatering is achieved at 4.4-7.5, 2.2-4.4, and 1.5-4.4 mmol of added, NaCl, CaCl₂ and CeCl₃,
respectively. For example, the final dryness of the sludge reaches 42% upon addition of 4.4
mmol of NaCl. This represents a three times increase in dryness relative to the initial value. In
these conditions, the volume of the sludge is reduced by 70%. For the optimal concentrations, the
energy consumed per kilogram of extracted water is 0.32, 0.36-0.43 and 0.33-0.39 kWh for Na⁺,
Ca²⁺ and Ce³⁺, respectively, values that are close to the one observed with deionized water. The
energy consumption is still less than the case of thermal drying. Thus, electrodewatering of
municipal sludge is an attractive method to treat municipal sludge residues and in fact the
process may be successfully optimized by the addition of metal cations prior to treatment.
Kaolin plus xanthan gum sludge and municipal sludge behave similarly in
electrodewatering. The synthetic sludge is a useful tool that can be used in the understanding of
the fundamental phenomena taking place in electrodewatering.


The large species of the genus Staurophlebia are confined to the neotropics and some to the Amazon-basin in particular. One of these species, Staurophlebia gigantula, was described as new by Martin (1909) after three males and two females present in the De Selys Longchamps collection and probably collected by H. W. Bates in the Amazonas district. With a photograph of the right wing pair of a male, a drawing of the male appendices in dorsal and lateral view and a figure in colour of a male specimen, the species seemed well fixed. It was the second species of Staurophlebia described, and for 50 years it was known from its types only. During my first expedition into the interior of Surinam in 1939, I found near the Brazilian border a species of Staurophlebia not belonging to the common S. reticulata (Burm.). At first it was thought to be S. gigantula, but later it proved to be a new species, which was then, under the name S. wayana, described by me as new in my revision of the genus (Geijskes, 1959). On 10 March 1957 Dr. J. Racenis of Caracas collected in San Juan de Manapiare, Amazonas, Venezuela, a male specimen of a Staurophlebia, which he sent me for comparison with my S. wayana. A careful examination showed that this species was not the same as mine, differing in the yellow occipital triangle, the shorter second segment of the antenna and in some peculiarities of the appendices. It could be S. gigantula, had the appendix inferior been shorter. Within the series of six species of the genus, S. gigantula is characterized by the short male appendix inferior, which, measured from the figure of the appendices given in the original description, reaches only ⅓ of the


This paper shows how the application of simple statistical methods can reveal to students important insights from climate data. While the popular press is filled with contradictory opinions about climate science, teachers can encourage students to use introductory-level statistics to analyze data for themselves on this important issue in public policy. Two detailed examples demonstrate how climate data can be a useful tool in teaching introductory statistics. The first example addresses the very important topic of the rate of decline of Arctic sea ice. Many climate scientists believe that Arctic sea ice melt is accelerating. The simple data analyses of this paper are meant to encourage students to examine the evidence themselves. The second example compares two possible explanations for the rise in global temperature over the last three decades: changes in the intensity of sunlight or changes in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. In addition to the specific data sources for these examples, the paper lists reliable on-line catalogues of climate science databases for constructing other examples.


Millions of cameras at edge are being deployed to power a variety of different deep learning applications. However, the frames captured by these cameras are not always pristine - they can be distorted due to lighting issues, sensor noise, compression etc. Such distortions not only deteriorate visual quality, they impact the accuracy of deep learning applications that process such video streams. In this work, we introduce AQuA, to protect application accuracy against such distorted frames by scoring the level of distortion in the frames. It takes into account the analytical quality of frames, not the visual quality, by learning a novel metric, classifier opinion score, and uses a lightweight, CNN-based, object-independent feature extractor. AQuA accurately scores distortion levels of frames and generalizes to multiple different deep learning applications. When used for filtering poor quality frames at edge, it reduces high-confidence errors for analytics applications by 17%. Through filtering, and due to its low overhead (14ms), AQuA can also reduce computation time and average bandwidth usage by 25%.


Abstract:Shared admirations belong to the "weak links" that, according to Gabriel Tarde, enhance the cohesion of a given community, what induces that their disappearance may reveal a new sociocultural configuration. The fate of Jacques Delille, whose poems were highly praised at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but widely despised a few decades later and eventually almost forgotten, is a striking instance of un- celebrity that invites to question the dynamics of the collective devaluation of a once canonical writer, as well as the tools and documents that may help to historicize and understand this process. Combining a close reading of the literary critics and a distant reading of the textbooks who took part in the downfall of his fame over the nineteenth century, this paper retraces an implacable mechanism of mediatic erasure, and considers the possibility of proposing a general model for "active forgetting," based on the case of Delille. (In French)


This study proposed a method for developing regional curves based solely on hydraulic modeling. Regional curves relate bankfull channel geometry and discharge to drainage area and are typically used to design channel reaches in natural stream systems at locations where stream modifications are required. Such modifications may result from the following projects highway improvement, bank stabilization, flood control, etc. There are simply situations where modifications must be made to reaches of natural streams in order to accommodate improved drainage structures or to address flooding, scour or erosion problems. Tributaries of the Marais des Cygne River in Johnson County, KS were used for this study. The watershed for the region studied is predominantly rural and, thus, has many natural reaches. Moreover, detailed terrain data was available for the portion of the Marais des Cygne River considered in this study – with 1-ft contour interval data along the stream corridors. HEC-RAS modeling was used at eight sites or stream reaches within the area studied. Each of the eight stream reaches were judged to be natural based of aerial photography. A HEC-RAS model was developed for each site at a riffle location. Each model used the downstream normal depth boundary condition and contained from 4 to 9 cross sections developed using HEC GeoRAS. The bankfull elevation was estimated for every cross section based on the elevation where the flow appeared from the cross section plot to spill out into one or both of the overbanks. Trial and error was used for each model to determine the discharge (bankfull flow) that produced the minimum sum of squares of the differences between the computed water surface elevation and the assumed bankfull elevation for all modeled cross sections. The bankfull flow channel geometry parameters were then determined for each cross section and average values were related to drainage basin area via regional curves. The drainage basin areas used were from the recent Johnson County flood study of the Marais des Cygne River. Amy Dietz Special Project Fall 2009 4 Local Applications of Fluvial Geomorphology


This is the third in O'Reilly's series of landmark Perl tutorials, which started with Learning Perl, the bestselling introduction that taught you the basics of Perl syntax, and Intermediate Perl, which taught you how to create re-usable Perl software. Mastering Perl pulls everything together to show you how to bend Perl to your will. It convey's Perl's special models and programming idioms. This book isn't a collection of clever tricks, but a way of thinking about Perl programming so you can integrate the real-life problems of debugging, maintenance, configuration, and other tasks you encounter as a working programmer. The book explains how to: Use advanced regular expressions, including global matches, lookarounds, readable regexes, and regex debuggingAvoid common programing problems with secure programming techniquesProfile and benchmark Perl to find out where to focus your improvementsWrangle Perl code to make it more presentable and readableSee how Perl keeps track of package variables and how you can use that for some powerful tricksDefine subroutines on the fly and turn the tables on normal procedural programming.Modify and jury rig modules to fix code without editing the original sourceLet your users configure your programs without touching the codeLearn how you can detect errors Perl doesn't report, and how to tell users about themLet your Perl program talk back to you by using Log4perlStore data for later use in another program, a later run of the same program, or to send them over a networkWrite programs as modules to get the benefit of Perl's distribution and testing tools Appendices include "brian's Guide to Solving Any Perl Problem" to improve your troubleshooting skills, as well as suggested reading to continue your Perl education. Mastering Perl starts you on your path to becoming the person with the answers, and, failing that, the person who knows how to find the answers or discover the problem.


Social Media is changing the way people find information, share knowledge and communicate with each other. The important factor contributing to the growth of these technologies is the ability to easily produce "user-generated content". Blogs, Twitter, Wikipedia, Flickr and YouTube are just a few examples of Web 2.0 tools that are drastically changing the Internet landscape today. These platforms allow users to produce and annotate content and more importantly, empower them to share information with their social network. Friends can in turn, comment and interact with the producer of the original content and also with each other. Such social interactions foster communities in online, social media systems. User-generated content and the social graph are thus the two essential elements of any social media system.
Given the vast amount of user-generated content being produced each day and the easy access to the social graph, how can we analyze the structure and content of social media data to understand the nature of online communication and collaboration in social applications? This thesis presents a systematic study of the social media landscape through the combined analysis of its special properties, structure and content.
First, we have developed a framework for analyzing social media content effectively. The BlogVox opinion retrieval system is a large scale blog indexing and content analysis engine. For a given query term, the system retrieves and ranks blog posts expressing sentiments (either positive or negative) towards the query terms. Further, we have developed a framework to index and semantically analyze syndicated1 feeds from news websites. We use a sophisticated natural language processing system, OntoSem [163], to semantically analyze news stories and build a rich fact repository of knowledge extracted from real-time feeds. It enables other applications to benefit from such deep semantic analysis by exporting the text meaning representations in Semantic Web language, OWL.
Secondly, we describe novel algorithms that utilize the special structure and properties of social graphs to detect communities in social media. Communities are an essential element of social media systems and detecting their structure and membership is critical in several real-world applications. Many algorithms for community detection are computationally expensive and generally, do not scale well for large networks. In this work we present an approach that benefits from the scale-free distribution of node degrees to extract communities efficiently. Social media sites frequently allow users to provide additional meta-data about the shared resources, usually in the form of tags or folksonomies . We have developed a new community detection algorithm that can combine information from tags and the structural information obtained from the graphs to effectively detect communities. We demonstrate how structure and content analysis in social media can benefit from the availability of rich meta-data and special properties.
Finally, we study social media systems from the user perspective. In the first study we present an analysis of how a large population of users subscribes and organizes the blog feeds that they read. This study has revealed interesting properties and characteristics of the way we consume information. We are the first to present an approach to what is now known as the "feed distillation" task, which involves finding relevant feeds for a given query term. Based on our understanding of feed subscription patterns we have built a prototype system that provides recommendations for new feeds to subscribe and measures the readership-based influence of blogs in different topics.
We are also the first to measure the usage and nature of communities in a relatively new phenomena called Microblogging. Microblogging is a new form of communication in which users can describe their current status in short posts distributed by instant messages, mobile phones, email or the Web. In this study, we present our observations of the microblogging phenomena and user intentions by studying the content, topological and geographical properties of such communities. We find that microblogging provides users with a more immediate form of communication to talk about their daily activities and to seek or share information.
The course of this research has highlighted several challenges that processing social media data presents. This class of problems requires us to re-think our approach to text mining, community and graph analysis. Comprehensive understanding of social media systems allows us to validate theories from social sciences and psychology, but on a scale much larger than ever imagined. Ultimately this leads to a better understanding of how we communicate and interact with each other today and in future.
1RSS/ATOM


Background and Aim: Insomnia is a common problem in general population . It is associated with negative consequences on daily living. Insomnia is an under recognized disease, and patients may seek treatment very late, which may lead to chronicity of the disorder and aggravation of its adverse consequences. Determination of the barriers to insomnia treatment may be helpful for early diagnosis and designing treatment plans for this disorder. The aim of study was to determine the barriers to insomnia treatment from patients' views. Material and Method : This qualitative study was performed by using conventional content analysis. Our participants were selected by purposive sampling with insomnia who had referred to Sleep Disorders Research Center of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences from April to October 2015. Data collection was performed by semi- structure interview. The interviews were recorded by an audio tape recorder, and transcribed. Then, they were analyzed by qualitative methods. Results: Barriers to the treatment of insomnia included three main categories: "overlooking insomnia", "worries about insomnia treatment", and "janus faced nature of insomnia treatment". The subjects in the category of "overlooking insomnia" had lack of beliefs' about insomnia as an illness which should be treated. The patients in the second category, "worries about insomnia treatment", described their concerns about the treatment of insomnia. The subjects in the category of" janu faced nature of insomnia treatment" explained the inappropriate pattern of insomnia treatment in the study population. Conclusion : According to the results, patients' views about insomnia, their worries about treatment, and the current pattern of insomnia treatment were the main barriers to the insomnia treatment. Barriers to the treatment of insomnia should be taken into consideration for the future treatment programs.


Gene targeting in primary somatic cells is inefficient compared with embryonic stem cells. This is because of a slow rate of cell proliferation, fewer cells in S-phase at a given time point under normal culture conditions, and low rate of homologous recombination. Homologous recombination occurs mainly in late S-phase and increase in gene targeting efficiency has been reported in S-phase synchronized cells in bovine and rhesus macaque fetal fibroblasts. In this study we tested several growth factors: platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), tumor necrosis factor a (TNFα), epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1), insulin-like growth factor 1 (ILGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor II (ILGF-II) individually and in various combinations to see the effect on cell proliferation rate. Each experimental set consisted of 3 replicates. TGFβ1-, ILGF1-, ILGFII-, and FGF-treated cells grew very slowly compared with untreated cells. However, a combination of 3 growth factors: PDGF (15 ng mL-1), EGF (50 ng mL-1) and TNFa (100 pg mL-1), herein referred to as the cocktail, accelerated cell proliferation rate and reduced cell cycle length on average from 24.5 ± 0.2 to 20.4 ± 0.5 h with no significant change in number of cells in S-phase. Further, cells grown in the presence of the cocktail showed changes in morphology. The cells became spindle-shaped and occupied less surface area per cell compared with untreated cells. Importantly, cocktail-treated cells maintained a normal karyotype without any chromosomal abnormality. Thymidine has been used successfully to block various cell types in S-phase but it failed to synchronize these cells in S-phase in the concentration range of 2 to 10 mM for 24 to 48 h. However, serum starvation (0.2% fetal bovine serum) for 48 h blocked the cell proliferation rate effectively and synchronized cells in G0 phase (80-82% cells). After releasing from the block, cells were grown in the absence or presence of cocktail and cell cycle analysis was done at different time points by flow cytometry. Each time point was repeated 3 times. We observed the maximum number of cells in S-phase at 22 to 23 h (61.33% ± 7.77 in cocktail-treated cells v. 41.7% ± 3.28 in untreated cells). In summary, the cocktail-treated cells showed changes in cell morphology, higher proliferation rate, reduction in cell cycle length by 16.7%, and maximum percentage of cells in S-phase following serum starvation but maintained normal karyotypes. This high proliferation rate, reduction in cell cycle length, and maximum number of cells in S-phase should be very helpful in increasing the efficiency of gene-targeting in pig fetal fibroblasts.


Abstract. In recent years, the use of radiographic inspection with cosmic-ray muons has spread into multiple research and industrial fields. This technique is based on the high-penetration power of cosmogenic muons. Specifically, it allows the resolution of internal density structures of large-scale geological objects through precise measurements of the muon absorption rate. So far, in many previous works, this muon absorption rate has been considered to depend solely on the density of traversed material (under the assumption of a standard rock) but the variation in chemical composition has not been taken seriously into account. However, from our experience with muon tomography in Alpine environments, we find that this assumption causes a substantial bias in the muon flux calculation, particularly where the target consists of high {Z2∕A} rocks (like basalts and limestones) and where the material thickness exceeds 300 m. In this paper, we derive an energy loss equation for different minerals and we additionally derive a related equation for mineral assemblages that can be used for any rock type on which mineralogical data are available. Thus, for muon tomography experiments in which high {Z2∕A} rock thicknesses can be expected, it is advisable to plan an accompanying geological field campaign to determine a realistic rock model.


Stem cells are self-renewing cells which produce differentiating offspring during development and tissue homeostasis. Appropriate regulation of stem cell division is highly important to ensure maintenance of the stem cell and prevent overproliferation and tumor formation. A widely used model in stem cell research is the Drosophila neural stem cell, which divides asymmetrically. Hereby, the underlying polarity network is highly conserved.
In this study I investigate the role of Domino, the Drosophila homolog of mammalian p400, in Drosophila larval neural stem cells. Domino is the ATPase subunit of the Tip60 chromatin remodeling complex, which is conserved in eucaryotes. Like its homolog p400 and several members of the Tip60 complex, Domino has been implicated in the maintenance of stem cells in Drosophila and mammals. Several transcription factors have been described to interact with the Tip60 complex in mammalian stem cells, including the cell cycle regulator Myc. However, the exact mechanism of Tip60 complex function in stem cells and how the interaction with the various transcription factors regulates stem cell behaviour has not been fully unraveled.
Knockdown studies of domino and other Tip60 members revealed that the Tip60 complex in a specific subunit composition is required to maintain Drosophila neural stem cells. Systematic analyses of potential Tip60 complex cofactors moreover reveal a role for Myc in Drosophila neural stem cell self-renewal. Subsequent investigations show that the Myc/Tip60 network ensures appropriate asymmetric neural stem cell division and prevents Prospero dependent premature differentiation.
Using next generation sequencing I found that Domino regulates the expression of genes which regulate neuroblast fate. Further analyses reveal a role of the Tip60 complex in histone modification in Drosophila neural stem cells. Taken together, this suggests that as in mammals Myc recruits the Tip60 complex to target promoters for the regulation of gene expression. Remarkably, the proto-oncogene p53 and the p21 homolog Dacapo, a p53-responsive gene and cell cycle regulator, were found to be regulated by Domino. This points to the p53-pathway as a potential novel target of the Myc/Tip60 network in stem cells.
The function of Myc and the Tip60 complex in Drosophila neural stem cells is remarkably similar to the role of the Myc/Tip60 pathway in mammalian pluripotent stem cells. Thus, the gene regulatory network for stem cell self-renewal in Drosophila is highly conserved. Therefore, this study contributes to the general understanding of how Myc and the Tip60 complex maintain the stem cell state.


Suspended sediment samples taken from the water column in the high energy Western English Channel and its Western Approaches contain size-sorted benthic foraminiferal tests, <200 μm in diameter, derived from the continental shelf sediments. Similar associations of small tests are found in estuaries where the indigenous living assemblages are totally different. Net transport from the shelf to the estuaries is therefore inferred to have taken place. Tests <200 μm in size are probably equivalent to quartz spheres of silt size and they indicate the net transport path for this size grade. An attempt has been made to quantify the transport budget and, in spite of the paucity of data, an order of magnitude estimate has proved to be possible.


The Internet has become a minefield of crime, fakes, and terror perpetuated by anonymous users on a global scale. The security burden of protecting organizations is becoming increasingly difficult and costly, and this burden cannot be lessened under the current Internet protocol. In order to fundamentally solve these side effects, the Council of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) has adopted a grand vision of an ICT-Enabled Bright Society (in short, the Bright ICT Initiative). With the goal of preventing undesirable activities on the Internet, diverse issues can be investigated using a bottom-up perspective. Scholars are beginning to examine the concept and various approaches with the support of the AIS conferences and the information system journals. However, a unique approach and fundamental solution must be identified in order to drastically eliminate the negative side effects of these adverse online activities. In order to achieve this, four principles are proposed that will provide the foundation of the framework for a new and safer Internet platform, the Bright Internet, while protecting users' privacy at an appropriate level. The proposed principles are origin responsibility, deliverer responsibility, rule-based digital search warrants, and traceable anonymity. This endeavor requires the investigation of technologies, policies, and international agreements on which new business models can be created.


The state of Assam in northeastern India has an excellent sub-tropical climate for the development of fresh water fish culture in a variety of aquatic bodies. Aquaculture not only plays an important role in nutrition but also in the rural economy of the State. A pilot project conducted with a group of resource poor tribal farmers revealed that a production of about 1 800 kg/ha/yr could be achieved from small seasonal homestead ponds through integrated use of locally available biological resources. This implies an excellent opportunity for improving the rural economy through the development of small-scale fish culture enterprises. In this project, a greater emphasis was placed on improving the knowledge and skills of the farmers and their farming practices so that in the future they would be in a position to expand their activities with financial assistance made available locally. Aquaculture being a new activity in the area, this pilot project was only a start in acquainting the farmers with the practice and potential of aquaculture.


Zero-shot learning (ZSL) aims to recognize unseen object classes without any training samples, which can be regarded as a form of transfer learning from seen classes to unseen ones. This is made possible by learning a projection between a feature space and a semantic space (e.g. attribute space). Key to ZSL is thus to learn a projection function that is robust against the often large domain gap between the seen and unseen classes. In this paper, we propose a novel ZSL model termed domain-invariant projection learning (DIPL). Our model has two novel components: (1) A domain-invariant feature self-reconstruction task is introduced to the seen/unseen class data, resulting in a simple linear formulation that casts ZSL into a min-min optimization problem. Solving the problem is non-trivial, and a novel iterative algorithm is formulated as the solver, with rigorous theoretic algorithm analysis provided. (2) To further align the two domains via the learned projection, shared semantic structure among seen and unseen classes is explored via forming superclasses in the semantic space. Extensive experiments show that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art alternatives by significant margins.


This paper reports on the design and testing of an adequate framework for conducting regional multiplier studies in areas experiencing rapid population growth. It puts forward the demometric approach, one that applies econometric methods to the analysis of demoeconomic growth. Two alternative models are proposed here. The first is an aggregate model presenting a demometric revision of the traditional economic-base model. The second model, an enlarged version of the first, is characterized by a breakdown of economic activities into nine major sectors. Both models are fitted to data for the rapidly growing metropolitan area of Tucson, Arizona, USA. They are then used to derive tentative impact and dynamic multipliers which substantiate the role of households as consumers and suppliers of labor in the development of the Tucson Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). The major finding is that, for the same level of resources, the second model yields better policy implications than the modified (and therefore also than the traditional) economic-base model.


It is true that vocabulary is central to language teaching as well as learning and is of paramount importance to a language learner. This article attempts to find out and compare the effects of the two vocabulary teaching methods on Reading ability of 60 students studying at Islamic Azad University of Tonekabon, Iran. Experimental group received implicit vocabulary teaching while Control Group instructed through explicit vocabulary teaching. During the online lessons different explicit vocabulary presentation techniques used including mind-mapping, Persian equivalents, and English synonyms as well as definitions. Subsequently, the teacher utilized an inferred method for teaching vocabulary implicitly which means students were supposed to guess the words from the passages by using context clues. The results of T-tests and ANCOVA for the comparison of the effect of implicit and explicit instruction on reading comprehension through online sessions indicated that there was no significant difference in the two methods at .05 level of significance. The results of this study have several important implications for the classroom practice and make a strong case for explicit vocabulary instruction.


As multi-core architectures scale in size, on-chip networks (NoC) have become the main communication architecture, replacing dedicated interconnections and shared buses. NoC architectures have to deliver good latency-throughput performance in the face of very tight power and area budgets. Live power measurement is necessary for both hardware and software designer, but it requires too much time for simulation, especially for embedded systems. The major contribution of this paper is to present a simple method for rapidly estimating power consumption and find the hotspots in the network-on-chip(NoC) at two different resolutions. In addition to the low-level cycle-accurate simulation, we also build a high-level NoC simulation platform for multi-core SoCs, called TLM-PVT level. The platform, implemented by SystemC, allows early exploration of the performance and power consumption of NoC, which is able to handle arbitrary topologies and routing schemes. In the experiments, we compare the implemented high-level simulation platform with cycle-accurate simulator. The results show that the TLM-PVT simulator gives a high simulation speedup factor with a negligible performance estimation error margin.


This paper aimed at examining local peoples' perceptions on climate variability and change and strategies adopted in combating the impacts of the changes in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area of Katsina State. A total of 242 questionnaires were administered to households' heads in the eleven wards of the Local Government Area. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentage and mean scores were used in data analysis. The result revealed that majority of the local people have a very good knowledge of climate variability and change in terms of higher temperature, higher rainfall intensity and variability, and the occurrence of extreme weather events such as flood and drought. Findings also revealed that community disobeying God, deforestation, bush burning, combustion of fossil fuel and pollution were the major causes of climate variability and change as perceived by the respondents. The most significant impacts of climate variability and change as perceived by the local people were decline in crop yields, decline in forest resources, water shortages and decrease in soil fertility. These impacts have resulted to rural-urban migration in the area. Sustainable adaptation strategies adopted by the local people are water harvesting, the use of fertilizer/animals dung to improve crop yield, irrigation agriculture, planting of crop varieties and drought resistant crops. It is recommended that strategies for combating impacts of climate variability and change should take into account the traditional and religious beliefs of the people; and there is need to educate the local people to appreciate the scientific basis of climate variability and change.


Previous studies have suggested that the Artificial Neural Network (NN) trip distribution models were unable to calibrate and generalize work trip numbers with the same level accuracy as the Doubly-Constrained Gravity models (DGCM). This study presents some new NN model forms aimed at overcoming these problems trained by using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. A further modification was applied to the model, namely transforming the input data nonlinearly by using logistic functions (Sigmoid) in order to improve the testing/generalization of NN models. This resulted in better performance of NN models, where the average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) is statistically lower than the DCGM indicating the NN models could have higher generalization ability than DCGM.


A generational clash of enormous scope is emerging within our institutions; the criticisms to the university advanced 15 years ago were "waiting ideas'': waiting for the new Web and for a new generation of students able to effectively put in question the old model of university. The university in the globalized and the interconnected knowledge society reached a turning point; we are at a crossroads between stagnation and renewal, between atrophy and renaissance. At present, however, there are very interesting facts going on worldwide; in some prestigious universities a new idea of global education is starting from the bottom; many universities are tearing down their ivory towers and are using the Internet, the most powerful platform in history to make their contents available in the Web. Lately, in the United States as well as in Europe, the "Knowledge Alliances" and the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are emerging. Unfortunately, The MOOCs show several shortcomings that are linked to their pedagogical-didactic models, to the courses evaluation systems as well as to the organizational models of the virtual structures meant to carry on the educational activities by using the MOOCs. Today we have to make a critical appreciation of the MOOCs in order to put them into a proper historical and cultural setting. Sharing the contents of different universities of the world can certainly represent a significant step towards renewal, however, in the universities, a true change can take place through the establishment of consortia among the various universities of the world and the technological enterprises linked to innovation that cooperate in the joint production of contents in the learning environments of the Internet.


"The study of the history of mathematics 2016". August 29~September 1, 2016. edited by Shigeru Jochi. The papers presented in this volume of RIMS Kokyuroku Bessatsu are in final form and refereed.


Developing a visual hierarchy in map displays that is congruent with thematic levels of relevance is a fundamental cartographic design task. Cartographers employ a set of visual variables (e.g., size, color hue, color value, orientation, etc.) for 2-D, static maps to systematically match levels of thematically relevant information to a perceptual hierarchy based on figure–ground relationships. In this article, we empirically investigate the relationship of thematic relevance and perceptual salience in static weather map displays. We are particularly interested in how novices' viewing patterns are modified when thematically relevant items are made perceptually more salient through design. In essence, we are asking whether perceptually salient elements draw novice viewers' attention to thematically relevant information, whether or not users have domain knowledge. In a factorial experiment, we ask novice participants to evaluate the wind direction in weather maps before and after training all participants on meteorological principles. Our empirical results suggest that display design (i.e., saliency) does not influence the accuracy of response, whether participants have prior knowledge or not (i.e., training). Analysis of the eye-movement patterns, however, suggests that display design does affect viewing behavior and response time. These findings provide rare empirical evidence for generally accepted design practices within the cartographic community (e.g., the effects of visual variables). We chose weather map displays as one typical example of commonly used maps for our study, but the methods employed are generic enough to be applicable to any spatial display (static or interactive) that might be produced by GIScientists, cartographers, geographic information system (GIS) practitioners, and others.


Value models are increasingly discussed today as a means to frontload conceptual design activities in engineering design, with the final goal of reducing cost and rework associated with sub-optimal decisions made from a system perspective. However, there is no shared agreement in the research community about what a value model exactly is, how many types of value models are there, their input–output relationships and their usage along the engineering design process timeline. Emerging from five case studies conducted in the aerospace and in the construction equipment industry, this paper describes how to tailor the development of value models in the engineering design process. The initial descriptive study findings are summarized in the form of seven lessons learned that shall be taken into account when designing value models for design decision support. From these lessons, the paper proposes a six-step framework that considers the need to update the nature and definition of value models as far as new information becomes available, moving from initial estimations based on expert judgment to detailed quantitative analysis.


The implementation of the women, peace and security resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) faces ongoing challenges. National action plans (NAPs) have been developed as a means to address the implementation gap, with 40 such NAPs developed by UN member states to date. NAPs aim to enable states' commitments under the various UNSC resolutions to become the actions they take in both domestic and foreign policy. Stand-alone NAPs offer significant opportunity to advance the national implementation of the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda. They also present risks, however, most notably in terms of how strategic provisions of the various WPS resolutions are translated into actions in an action plan. Successful implementation of the WPS agenda is thus not just contingent on the adoption of an NAP, but the proper implementation of that NAP. This policy brief provides an overview of the key opportunities and constraints presented by NAPs and the action planning process itself, and concludes with a range of recommendations for enhancing the development and implementation of NAPs for the overall fulfilment of the WPS agenda.


Using groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), this study empirically demonstrated the correlation between crop storage and economic competitiveness of producers, captured from the degree of market integration and producer shares of the prices paid by consumers, among others. Secondary data covering 1963–1997 were used and complemented with primary data. Results from analysis of market integration showed delayed information flow among groundnut and cowpea markets, especially the latter. This suggests the absence of perfect competition and negatively affects participation of smallholder farmers in profitable marketing of groundnut and cowpea, especially during the lean season. The Harris' inverse margins from estimated equations indicated that cowpea traders, more than groundnut traders, colluded in pricing, implicating price determination outside the market forces. The attack by weevils [Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius)] and bruchids limits farmers' success in storing cowpea, creating monopoly for traders with better storage facilities coupled with chemical treatments to reduce such attacks. Price spread estimations showed that groundnut unlike cowpea farmers enjoyed a larger share of consumers' payments. The study concludes with recommendations on the need to intensify efforts in effective storage of agricultural commodities at the farm-level, as a way of improving the welfare of farm families without necessarily expanding the land area under cultivation.

 Key words: Grains legumes storage, market competitiveness, pricing practices, farmer benefits, Ghana.


We focus on the European Quarter in Brussels as a political place and the spatial context of European Union (EU) policy making. In addition to the EU institutions, the political place consists of a political agglomeration of various kinds of actors, from EU bureaucrats and politicians to a variety of stakeholders and lobbyists from all over the EU, who are permanently present in the Brussels neighbourhood. We present, firstly, the EU Quarter as a fixed setting for policy making with a relatively constant physical, locational and functional shape, and a specific sense of place as the EU bubble. Secondly, we emphasise the fragmentation and fluidity that portray it as a place divided into various political assemblages that make the place an assemblage of assemblages consisting of smaller and constantly evolving sub-processes. Thirdly, we aim to demonstrate the mobile and geographically distributed nature of EU policy making, and thus the dispersal of the political places where it takes place. This generates mobility of different kinds, which include not only the circulation of political ideas and people between different sites of the EU political system, but also the monthly migration of the Parliament and related lobbyists to Strasbourg. We believe that these three aspects of political place help the understanding of the situated but simultaneously spatially dispersed and mobile nature of EU policy making, and the study of the political places in other urban contexts.


In this work, we developed a both stable and time-dependent exciton diffusion model including singlet and triplet exciton coupled with a modified Poisson & drift-diffusion solver to demonstrate the mechanism of triplet-triplet fusion (TTF) OLEDs. Using this modified simulator, we can demonstrate the characteristics of OLEDs including current-voltage curve, quantum efficiency performance, time-resolved electroluminescence spectrum, and electric profile…etc. Also, this solver can be used to explain the mechanism of hyper-TTF OLEDs, and analysis the loss from different exciton mechanism. Furthermore, we can do further optimization for TTF-OLEDs to achieve an internal quantum efficiency increasing of 23% (from 29% to 36%).


Purpose: Clinical stage I (CSI) nonseminoma (NS) is a disease limited to the testis without metastases. One treatment strategy after orchiectomy is adjuvant chemotherapy. Little is known about the outcome of patients who experience relapse after such treatment. Patients and methods: Data from 51 patients with CSI NS who experienced a relapse after adjuvant bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) from 18 centers/11 countries were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Primary outcomes were overall and progression-free survivals calculated from day 1 of treatment at first relapse. Secondary outcomes were time to, stage at, and treatment of relapse and rate of subsequent relapses. Results: Median time to relapse was 13 months, with the earliest relapse 2 months after start of adjuvant treatment and the latest after 25 years. With a median follow-up of 96 months, the 5-year PFS was 67% (95% CI, 54% to 82%) and the 5-year OS was 81% (95% CI, 70% to 94%). Overall, 19 (37%) of 51 relapses occurred later than 2 years. Late relapses were associated with a significantly higher risk of death from NS (hazard ratio, 1.10 per year; P = .01). Treatment upon relapse was diverse: the majority of patients received a combination of chemotherapy and surgery. Twenty-nine percent of patients experienced a subsequent relapse. At last follow-up, 41 patients (80%) were alive and disease-free, eight (16%) had died of progressive disease, and one patient (2%) each had died from therapy-related or other causes. Conclusion: Outcomes of patients with relapse after adjuvant BEP seem better compared with patients who experience relapse after treatment of metastatic disease but worse compared with those who have de-novo metastatic disease. We found a substantial rate of late and subsequent relapses. There seem to be three patterns of relapse with different outcomes: pure teratoma, early viable NS relapse (< 2 years), and late viable NS relapse (> 2 years).


Abstract Objectives: To compare the feasibility of mass screening by flexible sigmoidoscopy with screening by faecal occult blood testing (Haemoccult) and both tests combined. Design: Patients were randomised to screening by flexible sigmoidoscopy, faecal blood testing, or both tests. The flexible sigmoidoscopy examinations were performed by a general practitioner. Setting: General practice. Subjects: 3744 patients aged 50-75 years. Main outcome measures: Uptake, positive results, detection of neoplasia, complications, and recall for diagnostic colonoscopy. Results: Uptake was significantly higher in the flexible sigmoidoscopy group (46.6%) than in the faecal blood test group (31.6%; P<0.001) or than in the group having both tests (30.1%; P<0.001). Telephone reminders increased uptake of sigmoidoscopy to 61.8%. In total, 1116 sigmoidoscopy examinations were performed without major complication. Polyps were found in 19.3% (95% confidence interval 17.0% to 21.6%) but only 6.8% (5.3% to 8.3%) had adenomas and 2.4% (1.5% to 3.3%) "high risk" adenomas. Cancer was detected in four subjects. The faecal blood test yielded positive results in 0.8% (0.2% to 1.4%) but missed at least one cancer and 30 cases of adenoma which were found by sigmoidoscopy in the combined group. Use of histological criteria—shown elsewhere to correlate with future risk of colorectal cancer —to select "positive" patients could reduce recall for diagnostic colonoscopy from about 20% to less than 5%. Conclusions: Some of the predicted obstacles to screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy are surmountable. Clear evidence relating to efficacy will be obtained only from a randomised controlled trial.


Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 unable to synthesize the iron-sequestering compound, enterochelin, from 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate have been isolated and divided into three classes on the basis of tests for enzymatic complementation. The genes affected (designated entD, entE, and entF) have been mapped by cotransduction and are located at about minute 14 on the E. coli genome. They were found to be closely linked to other genes (entA, entB, and entC) concerned with enterochelin biosynthesis and a gene (fep) concerned with the uptake of the iron-enterochelin complex. No detectable diffusible intermediate in the formation of enterochelin from 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate was formed by cell extracts of mutants carrying mutations in the entD, entE, or entF genes.


Verbs can be introduced (merged) in either a lexical VP or a functional head, the latter position giving rise to restructuring contexts. We argue that there are two clitic positions in Italian restructured clauses: one associated with the (restructured) lexical verb and the other a clausal clitic position located in the functional domain. While restructuring can be recursive, clitics appear either on the restructured infinitive (no clitic climbing) or in the functional domain of the highest verb (full clitic climbing). There is no clitic climbing to an intermediate restructuring verb. We argue that only the lowest restructured verb makes a position for clitics available and that this position is the same as that of infinitive-final [e]. Finally, we show that the functional lexical dichotomy is too sharp and that a variety of verb classes must be admitted, whose properties correlate with the point in the structure in which they are merged.


Research on learning processes in an entrepreneurial context is still in an early stage. Only recently, researchers' attention has shifted on the cognitive processes that take place as opportunities are explored, solutions are developed, and their potential risk and returns are gradually made sense of. In this paper we report findings from a comparative study of factors that promote or hinder the learning process that underlies the successful production and application of new technological and market knowledge in entrepreneurial ventures. Our research was based on an in-depth study of two development projects ran within the same entrepreneurial firm at about the same time. The adoption of a rich, qualitative method for data collection and analysis helped us to explore the process of entrepreneurial learning and the underlying social and cognitive dynamics that influence the successful development of a new technology. Evidence from our study points at the self-reinforcing effect on the commitment of the entrepreneur - and on the consequent allocation of time, attention and resources - of prior related knowledge, perceived incentives and the degree of control on the process. The emerging framework extends previous literature on knowledge creation and technology development in entrepreneurial ventures, as it tries to unpack the underlying process of entrepreneurial learning.


Monte Carlo sampling in high-dimensional, low-sample settings is important in many machine learning tasks. We improve current methods for sampling in Euclidean spaces by avoiding independence, and instead consider ways to couple samples. We show fundamental connections to optimal transport theory, leading to novel sampling algorithms, and providing new theoretical grounding for existing strategies. We compare our new strategies against prior methods for improving sample efficiency, including QMC, by studying discrepancy. We explore our findings empirically, and observe benefits of our sampling schemes for reinforcement learning and generative modelling.


A Saharan dust event was observed in a rural area in the Maurienne Valley (French Alps) in summer 2000. Detailed data on PM 10 , particle numbers, and aerosol chemistry (ionic species and Elemental Carbon (EC) and Organic Carbon (OC)) are presented. The comparative evolutions of particle numbers and chemistry (calcium, sodium, and sulfate) show that the overall period included two episodes of dust particles with very distinct chemistry, followed by an episode with a large increase of the concentrations of species with an anthropogenic origin. The overall data set does not indicate large interactions between the dust particles and compounds from anthropogenic origin (sulfate, nitrate) or with organic carbon, all of these species showing very low concentrations. Simplistic calculations indicate that these concentrations are consistent with our current knowledge of adsorption processes of gases on mineral dust in a clean air mass.


Increasing evidence suggests that pluripotency is a metabolically specialised state. In mouse, inner cell mass (ICM) cells and ICM-derived pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) critically depend on catabolising the amino acid threonine, while human PSCs require leucine, lysine, methionine or tryptophan. However, little is known about the specific amino acid requirements of putative pluripotent cells in bovine. We selectively depleted candidate essential amino acids (EAAs) from individually cultured bovine embryos to study their role in blastocyst development. Depleting one (-T, -M), two (-MT, -CM, -CT, -IL, -IK, -KL) or three (-CMT, -IKL) EAAs from chemically defined protein-free culture medium did not affect the morula-to-blastocyst transition from day five (D5) to D8 in vitro. By contrast, removing six (-CIKLMT, -FHRYVW), nine (+CMT, +IKL), eleven EAAs (+T, +M) or all twelve EAAs increasingly impaired blastocyst development. As no clear candidate emerged from this targeted screen, we focussed on threonine dehydrogenase (TDH), which catalyses threonine catabolism. TDH mRNA and protein was present at similar levels in trophectoderm (TE) and ICM but absent from several adult somatic tissues. We then treated morulae with an inhibitor (Qc1) that blocks TDH from catabolising threonine. Continuous exposure to Qc1 reduced total and high-quality blastocyst development from 37% to 26% and 18% to 8%, respectively (P<0.005). This was accompanied by ∼2-fold decrease in ICM, TE and total cell numbers (P<0.005), which was due to increased autophagy (P<0.05). At the same time, ICM-(NANOG) and TE-restricted (KRT8) genes were up-and down-regulated, respectively (P<0.05). In summary, bovine blastocyst viability depended on TDH-mediated threonine catabolism. However, ICM and TE cells did not metabolically differ in this regard, highlighting species-specific connections between metabolism and pluripotency regulation in mouse vs cattle.


The paper examines the various electronic resources in University of Lagos, use and impact of electronic resources on productivity of end users.A questionnaire survey was used for data collection, and 82 out of a 100 were returned.The analysis of data collected covered awareness of electronic resources use of, impact of use of electronic resources on the academic productivity of respondents and problems faced by researchers while using electronic resources. The study found that the e-mail and Internet are the most used of the e-resources. There was a general indication that respondents did not receive adequate training in the use of electronic resources. Inadequate infrastructure is a major factor that hinders users from using electronic resources. The paper provides suggestions for further improvement of use of electronic resources in order reap the benefits of the innovation in the University of Lagos.


This research explores family succession in which the successors were unexpected. We present six cases studies of children who initially pursued careers outside the family firm but who later decided to return and successfully take over the small family business. Our outcomes explain why they decided to return, the conditions that they set for succeeding their fathers, and the way they approached the management of the family firm. We show that the success they experienced in their professional careers far from the family business positioned them as legitimate leaders. They made a deliberate personal choice to succeed, negotiating the conditions, and this put them on the same level as their predecessors. These successors act as entrepreneurs, they are proactive, take risks, detect new business opportunities and do not hesitate to innovate. The changes that they implement are possible thanks to the support of their predecessors who avoids the destabilization of the organization.


The post-WWI Iranian intelligentsia developed a critical approach to European civilization by articulating a vernacular modernity, a modernity that was grounded in the spiritual rejuvenation of Iran and Islam. In 1924, for instance, Murtiza Mushfiq Kazimi proposed that Iran needed a 'clerical modernity' (tajadud-i akhund). A year later Habib Allah Pur-i Riza suggested that what was needed was a 'sacred revolution' (inqilab-i muqaddas) with 'thinkers like Luther and Calvin'. Criticizing westernization as 'borrowed civilization'3 in 1926, Tuti Maraghah'i instead called for the development of a distinctly Iranian civilization that that could harmonize the antagonistic relations of the European-mannered intelligentsia and the Muslim clerisy. Husayn Kazimzadah likewise called for an 'intellectual and religious revolution', a revolution for 'the purging of superstitions and superfluities' from Shi'ism. Kazimzadah argued that the material progress of the West should be synthesized with the spirituality of the East. He thus prescribed a synthetic modernity that sought the concordance of 'science with religion, materiality with spirituality, life with action, and action with nobility'. Reconfiguring the role of Islam in comprehension of modernity, in this scenario '[a] modern person must be religious and religious person must be modern.'5 These ideas informed Ahmad Kasravi (1890-1946) who viewed the notion of 'European superiority' as a deceptive device for the promotion of colonialism and capitalism. In his Ethos (Ayin), which was published in 1932, Kasravi offered a comprehensive critique of European civilization and the mimetic project of 'Europism' (urupayigarayi), a futurist project that viewed the present of the West as the future of the Rest. Believing that 'Europe faced a dreadful future', Kasravi called for the purging of the 'malady of Europism' and for returning to the noble values that were trampled upon by the Iranian enthusiasts of European ways. In this counter-European project, religion was to play a pivotal role as the foundation for a compassionate, rational and ethical life, which was viewed as an alternative path of progress and development that could detour the social and economic problems of Europe.6 With varying degrees of sophistication, similar ideas were articulated by the Indian Muhammad Iqbal (1875-1938) and Abu al-'Ala Mawdudi (1903-1979) and the Egyptian Rashid Riza (1865-1935) and Hasan al-Banna (1906-1949).


Defence reform has been a major component of Bosnia's stabilisation and nation-building. Though true for many cases of post-conflict transition, it is especially so for Bosnia, which arguably has the most complex state structure in Europe. Ten years on from the start of Bosnia's defence-reform process, Destination NATO records and reviews the Bosnian experience of defence reform. The monograph offers policy-makers, practitioners and academics knowledge of the specific case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and makes these insights relevant to defence-reform efforts in other contexts. The research is based on original sources and an extensive set of interviews and talks with key individuals including ambassadors, ministers and civil servants, and other senior national and international actors, in addition to discussions with several hundred politicians at local levels, students and NGO representatives. The authors also use their first-hand knowledge and insights to complement the documentation, interviews and discussions.


Shenzhen is a modern city of China's reform and opening-up policy, the development of urban morphology has been established on the administration of the Chinese government. This city`s planning paradigm is primarily affected by the spatial structure and human behavior. The subjective urban agglomeration center is divided into several groups and centers. In comparisons of this effect, the city development law has better to be neglected. With the continuous development of the internet, extensive data technology has been introduced in China. Data mining and data analysis has become important tools in municipal research. Data mining has been utilized to improve data cleaning such as receiving business data, traffic data and population data. Prior to data mining, government data were collected by traditional means, then were analyzed using city-relationship research, delaying the timeliness of urban development, especially for the contemporary city. Data update speed is very fast and based on the Internet. The city's point of interest (POI) in the excavation serves as data source affecting the city design, while satellite remote sensing is used as a reference object, city analysis is conducted in both directions, the administrative paradigm of government is broken and urban research is restored. Therefore, the use of data mining in urban analysis is very important. The satellite remote sensing data of the Shenzhen city in July 2018 were measured by the satellite Modis sensor and can be utilized to perform land surface temperature inversion, and analyze city heat island distribution of Shenzhen. This article acquired and classified the data from Shenzhen by using Data crawler technology. Data of Shenzhen heat island and interest points were simulated and analyzed in the GIS platform to discover the main features of functional equivalent distribution influence. Shenzhen is located in the east-west area of China. The city's main streets are also determined according to the direction of city development. Therefore, it is determined that the functional area of the city is also distributed in the east-west direction. The urban heat island can express the heat map according to the functional urban area. Regional POI has correspondence. The research result clearly explains that the distribution of the urban heat island and the distribution of urban POIs are one-to-one correspondence. Urban heat island is primarily influenced by the properties of the underlying surface, avoiding the impact of urban climate. Using urban POIs as analysis object, the distribution of municipal POIs and population aggregation are closely connected, so that the distribution of the population corresponded with the distribution of the urban heat island. Keywords—POI, satellite remote sensing, the population distribution, urban heat island thermal map. Wang Yang is with the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, PhD Candidate, China (phone: 13419636399; e-mail: email@example.com).


Experience learning made easyand quickly teach yourself how to stay organized and stay connected using Outlook 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pacebuilding and practicing the skills you need, just when you them! Includes downloadable practice files and a companion eBook.Set up your email and social media accounts Send, search, filter, and organize messages Manage one or more calendars, and share your schedule Help protect your inbox and outbox Create and track tasks, to-do lists, and appointments


Literary studies, especially intertextual approaches, are relevant for exploring how scriptures are constructed and interpreted. Reading 1 Peter intertextually reveals the thoughtful way that Peter selected suitable, relevant, and applicable Old Testament scripture to encourage faithfulness for his audience. Peter draws from Isaiah 40 in 1 Peter 1:24-25 to preach comfort; Isaiah 40 is one of the hallmark Old Testament chapters focused on comfort. 1 Peter 2:2-3 quotes from Psalm 34 which is a hymn dedicated to the salvation that God's servants experience when they faithfully turn to Him during times of distress and persecution. And when 1 Peter 1:16 invites people to be holy, that call is grounded in the meaning and significance of a portion of the ancient Israelite Holiness Code, Leviticus 19. In summary, Peter demonstrates his scriptural mastery by dipping his pen into some of the most appropriate Old Testament passages available to support his message of faith and encouragement to his audience.


Neoteny is one way of achieving paedomorphosis, where somatic development is slowed down, but sexual maturity stays on ancestral time-course, resulting in a sexually mature descendant adult that is relatively juvenile with respect to its immediate ancestor. The neoteny thus interferes on many aspects of the biology of the dog, giving rise to many canine breeds differing in physical and behavioral characteristics. Dogs with brachycephalic or dolichocephalic morphology are considered less trainable than mesomorphic breeds. Brachycephalic breeds are considered neotenic because the development of the muzzle is blocked at a very early stage with respect to the final result of the wolf. The aim of the research was to determine whether there is a difference between brachycephalic and dolichocephalic breeds with regard to the motivation to cooperate with the owner. For the research have been used 17 dogs, divided into 2 groups (brachycephalic and dolichocephalic). The two groups of dogs were subjected to two behavioral tests. The first consisted in the recovery of food from a container fitted with a cap, while the second was to recover the food tied to a rope and positioned in a wire mesh cage. Statistical analysis of the data showed a significant difference between the dogs of group 1 and group 2. The dogs in group 2 turn a greater number of glances to the owner in test 1 (Z = 2.39, p = 0.017) and in test 2 (Z = 2.39, p = 0.017). Regarding the latency of the gaze, a statistically significant difference is detectable in test 1 where the dogs of group 1 take more time to turn the gaze to the owner (Z = 2.26, p = 0.024) than those of group 2. Instead a statistically significant difference with respect to the latency of the look in the second test between the two groups of animals (Z = 1.88, p = 0.060) does not exist. The results of the present study seem to support the hypothesis that brachycephalic dogs show a different behavior compared with dolichocephalic ones; they in fact turn a lower number of glances to the owner and have a longer latency to look him when unable to complete the task. The dog trainability seems, therefore, to be affected by the morphological selection conducted in the past on different breeds. However, given the small number of subjects tested, further researches will need to provide new evidence to support the hypothesis that the brachycephalic dogs are less trainable than dolichocephalic, at least with regard to the execution of specific tasks.


Note: As a TTT-published classroom teacher, Curtis Funkhouser will participate in a session at ITEA's Louisville Conference titled, "Writing for The Technology Teacher." Make plans to attend this session, scheduled for Friday, March 27th at 3:00pm in room L6 of the Kentucky International Convention Center. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Introduction Egg-crash projects are used by educators across the country every school year because students embrace them. Remember the excitement you felt the first time you personally designed and tested a project? The egg-crash project at Mars Middle School provides many students with this experience, all under the proverbial umbrella of the approaching climax of definite success or certain failure. There is no gray area. You can't argue with a broken egg. For this activity, students work in groups to design a vehicle that will withstand a high-speed frontal impact crash. They are given a strict time frame and budget to follow. To ensure that everyone is safe, we test the vehicles on a guided track with a concrete block at one end. The unit requires students to work in groups and have tasks divided among the individuals. The following are typical group assignments: team leader, secretary (a person to take notes through the engineering design process), treasurer, and a person to sketch/draw. Obviously, these tasks can be adjusted. The instructor plays the role of facilitator and banker to ensure that the groups remain on task and to allow the instructor to provide ideas when roadblocks occur. I use The History Channel's Modern Marvels Series: Car Crashes video to introduce the unit. This is a great hook to pull in the students' interest and get them thinking about why the unit is important. The video shows actual and simulated car crashes conducted by manufacturers who continually research vehicle safety. Cross-Curricula Areas Having students purchase materials and holding them accountable for their checking account is an aspect that I incorporate in many projects. I play the role of the banker to whom students must write out checks. I keep a running tally of checking accounts to verify that the groups' balances are correct. Groups cannot return materials once purchased and must maintain a ledger that holds them accountable for their costs. Journaling is another important aspect of this unit. Journaling is often a process of reflection and provides students with a time to review and improve their projects. Students will usually ask, "Why do I need to write in tech ed?" My response is to ask the class probing questions such as, "Why do you need to write in your language arts classes?" This discussion almost always leads into a time to reflect, and most students recognize the connection between reflection and design evaluation. After further discussion, students begin to see the similarities between technology education and language arts. This unit naturally blends Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as the students see firsthand the connection between STEM elements. For example, students will learn how important it is to measure correctly while constructing their vehicles. If a group makes its vehicle too small, it won't fit into the design parameters and therefore it cannot be tested. Another example of integration would be the application of technology with science to reduce the effects of inertia on the crash vehicles. The students need to design a bumper and restraint system to lessen the impact of the crash. The students are not permitted to create a braking device to slow the vehicle down. Mass, gravity, inertia, friction, and energy are all science principles incorporated in this activity. The theory behind integrating curriculum is to guide students into making the natural connections between different curricula. Having students apply the skills and objectives from different classes on a common project aids in their learning by helping them make natural connections. …


This paper described a prediction system called BSES (Boss Scenario Evaluation System), which can evaluate control scenarios in real time, predicting their effects in terms of various measures of effectiveness. The system is case-based, i.e. it uses either synthetic or real-life examples of the effect of control scenarios under different circumstances. It determines the similarity of the current situation to different examples in the case-base using fuzzy logic, and uses agent-technology to predict the effects of the different measures for small sub-networks and to combine these predictions afterwards. The test results illustrate the workings of the system, and show that the system can provide the operator with real-time predictions. It is shown that the method is applicable to generalise the data it uses.


When working with a neural network, it is advantageous to let it extract as much information as possible from the environment. We also want the network to perform better at this task. One way of achieving this is to make the perceptions of the network dependent on its current knowledge. This means that the network should be able to find structures in structures or to make categories of categories. This paper is an attempt to accomplish these goals by crafting the units to be feature correlators rather than feature detectors. A central component in the proposed construction is the use of spontaneous (or background) activity of the units as an important influence on the process.


Abstract Background: Nurses have a moral duty to maintain the confidentiality of patients' information. Challenges to maintaining confidentiality often arise because of competing moral claims of the patient, his/her family members and doctors. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive and contextual study was conducted to explore and describe the views of student nurses regarding the disclosure of patients' information. Sampling to select 17 student nurses in their final year of nursing training was adopted purposefully. Data were collected by means of focus group and individual interviews, and then analysed using the Tesch descriptive analysis method. Results: Two themes emerged from analysis of the data, reflecting the participants' views regarding the disclosure of confidential patient information. The themes were: maintaining the confidentiality of patients' information, and factors influencing the disclosure of information. Conclusions: The findings indicate that student nurses are aware of the challenges inherent in practice, where patients' confidentiality might sometimes be compromised.


The arterial barore ex system is an important negative feedback system that controls arterial pressure (AP) within a normal range during daily activities. We have analyzed this system in anesthetized animals. Several issues need to be considered: the presence of physiological and measurement noises that interfere with the system identi cation, the closed-loop nature of the arterial barore ex system, the existence of parallel feedback systems that may modify the system responses, and the presence of nonlinear responses. We opened the negative feedback loop by surgically isolating the carotid sinus baroreceptor regions from the systemic circulation. We eliminated the effects from parallel feedback systems by sectioning the aortic depressor and vagal nerves. We used a white noise approach to estimate the system characteristics under contamination of physiological and measurement noises. The arterial barore ex system may be divided into the neural and peripheral arc subsystems. The neural arc represents the relationship between pressure inputs and efferent sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), which may be regarded as a controller subsystem. The peripheral arc represents the relationship between SNA and AP, which may be regarded as a plant subsystem. The neural arc reveals derivative characteristics whereas the peripheral arc reveals low-pass characteristics. Numerical simulations based on the analytical results indicate that the neural arc compensates for the slow peripheral arc to optimize the arterial barore ex system in achieving both stability and quickness. Impairment of arterial barore ex function is associated with cardiovascular diseases, and arti cial activation of the arterial barore ex system could be a device-based treatment for cardiovascular diseases associated with sympathetic hyperactivity. To improve the efcacy of such device-based therapy, we may need to understand the interactions between stimulated and non-stimulated barore ex systems. Although static sigmoidal nonlinearity of the arterial barore ex with threshold and saturation phenomena is well documented, dynamic nonlinearities are less understood. Further efforts are warranted to fully understand arterial barore ex function and to apply the knowledge to the medical eld.


In sub-Saharan Africa women have disproportionately higher HIV prevalence than men. This is in spite of the wide availability of HIV information, condoms and HIV testing services. UNAIDS has proposed that due to women's fear of stigma and rejection by their partners, women are not able to seek HIV testing and other HIV services. In order to inform targeted programming for women it is important to examine to what extent women in Africa have attained HIV information and positive attitudes and whether these have been transformed into preventive behavior and ultimately reduction in HIV risk. In addition, it is vital to delineate the influence of socio demographic characteristics on the behavior change pathway of women. We analyzed cross-sectional data from demographic health surveys (DHS) conducted between 2010 and 2014 in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and Malawi. The data showed that only 48% had comprehensive knowledge and that younger, rural, unmarried and poorer women were more likely to have low levels of HIV knowledge compared to older, urban, married and richer women respectively. The data also showed that while 75% of the respondents supported refusal of sex and 85% supported demand of condom use with a husband in case of suspected extra-marital sex women with certain characteristicsyounger, less educated, poorer womenwere less supportive of, and likely less motivated to undertake, sexual negotiation. The analysis also shows that 71% of the respondents had ever been tested for HIV but again women with certain characteristicsyounger, rural, less educated, unmarried and poorerhad significantly lower odds of having ever been tested for HIV. We therefore, recommend that national HIV/AIDS programs undertake to examine barriers hindering younger, rural, less educated, unmarried and poorer women from accessing comprehensive HIV information, gender empowerment interventions, female and male condom supplies as well as HIV testing services. Specific strategies tailored to women of these characteristics should be developed and rolled out targeting these women.


Summary form only given. Plasma acceleration to supersonic velocities occurs both in space and laboratory plasmas. For a laboratory plasma accelerator, it is desirable that the plasma flow be stable, continuous and controllable. Yet, both experiments and numerical simulations of the Hall thruster exhibit in many cases an oscillatory behavior of the accelerated plasma. Steady flows rarely exist, a fact that is a serious restriction on the flexible use of the accelerator and an obstacle in the quest for an accelerator of variable thrust. Employing a simple model, we show that the acceleration of the plasma to supersonic velocities as a steady flow occurs only when certain relations between the flow parameters are satisfied. The desirable smooth steady acceleration in which the sonic transition occurs inside the accelerator is therefore an exception rather than the rule. We demonstrate that point by a comparison of the plasma acceleration to the acceleration of a gas to supersonic velocities at a Laval nozzle. We then demonstrate that by forcing an abrupt sonic transition, via the introduction of a discontinuity at the plasma flow (here by placing a floating electrode inside the channel), we enlarge the regime of parameters where a smooth sonic transition occurs. Moreover, the formation of a large electric field at the plane of the abrupt sonic transition provides a more efficient acceleration.


January, 1719. A man sits at a table, writing. Nearly sixty, Daniel Defoe is troubled with gout and 'the stone', burdened with a large family and debts, mired in political controversy and legal threats. But for the moment he is preoccupied by a younger man on a barren shore - Robinson Crusoe. Several miles south another old man, Robert Knox, sits bent over a heavy volume - the only book he has written, published nearly forty years before. The large folio is now worn and tattered, crammed with extra pages covered in notes and emendations. A leaner copy of Knox's book is also on the shelf in Defoe's library, perhaps even open on the table as he writes. The title page distils its contents: 'An Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon in the East Indies: Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity of the Author and diverse other Englishmen now Living there and of the Author's Miraculous Escape. Illustrated with Figures and a Map of the Island. By Robert Knox, a Captive there near Twenty Years'. Knox's Historical Relation was a best-seller when it was published in 1681, just a year after he escaped from Ceylon and returned to England. But by 1719, despite Knox's efforts to have a revised edition published, it has long been out of print. If Defoe had died in 1718, the year before he wrote Robinson Crusoe, few of us would have heard of him. He is principally remembered for this book and its hero. They have a life of their own: in the years since it was published, Crusoe has been abridged, imitated, parodied, dramatized, turned into opera, pantomime, comic books and cartoons, made into a string of films, adapted for reality television and translated into every written language. Where did Crusoe come from? And what is the secret of his endurance? Crusoe explores the intertwined lives of two real men: Daniel Defoe and Robert Knox and the character and book that emerged from their peculiar conjunction. It is the biography of a book and its hero, the story of Defoe, the man who wrote Robinson Crusoe, and of Robert Knox, the man who was Crusoe.


Development of individuals, social groups and societies is considered under the influence of two opposite and interrelated types of social interactions: (a) support of, and (b) counteraction and inhibition of learning, instruction, education and development. The latter type of social interaction is illustrated by an advanced strategic behavior, which we term, Trojan horse teaching. In this type of counteractive behavior, a teacher, ostensibly helping his or her rival to learn something, really teaches the rival useless or disadvantageous things. This interaction is an object of interdisciplinary research related to the theory of human capital, the theory of agency, knowledge management, the theory of conflict, and to social and educational psychology. Economic reasons for Trojan horse teaching (THT) have been considered. It has been shown that THT can be interpreted in the context of moral hazard, which relates to attempts to influence the human capital of others by using strategic disorientation in teaching. The concepts of perfect teaching/learning technologies, and a qualitative model of competitive relations between teachers and learners, have been introduced. Results of experiential studies, including the administration of a survey concerning people's beliefs about teaching with evil intent, and a set of experiments with participation of adults and children, have been described. The studies show that the metaphoric rule to give a rod, not a fish, often declared in education, can be understood and applied in different ways, depending on a person's attitude to another person and the competition between them. The significance of strategic thinking and of the independent exploratory activity for the protection from THT is underlined. Both negative and positive effects of counteraction to development, and some possible trends, have been discussed.


firstname.lastname@example.com Academy is a project supported by the ERASMUS+ Programme aiming at creating a Knowledge Alliance between Academy and Industry to widespread the use of MOOCs/ Open Educational Resources (OERs) by trainers to develop the soft e-leadership skills required by the labour market in the digital age.During the research phase, 9 partners from 7 EU countries have developed efforts to better understand the:i. Which are the main skills that a Leader must act in order to be effectively driving the change, innovating societal practices, establishing new business model, helping to attract, develop and manage talents (thus being a E-Leader)?ii. Which are the main skill gaps that managers, today and to be (students) show/declare, that need to be filled up?iii.  Can these skills be trained anchoring learning processes to web based tools and technologies? Which are the most effective technology based solutions for training e-leadership skills? And which are the main issues underpinning the design of effective  teaching  strategies and process?iv.  Are trainers/teachers prepared to run this training? Have they already embedded these skills in their training programs?The research activities focused in 6 skill clusters: Digital basic skills, e-communication / team working / entrepreneurship & innovation / reputation / lifelong learning and involved 3 target groups: Students, Managers, Trainers reaching more than 1800 people in 6 countries.The Research Reports distils the main insights coming from the research and need analysis results, with a specific focus on one hand on the theoretical side, namely the  new e-leadership paradigm and related soft skill set according to labour market needs.