Background: Management of patients with cancer is complex, multi-disciplinary, longitudinal and costly. Abandonment of treatment by patients and loss to follow up is a common scenario, especially in resource poor countries and severely compromises health outcomes. Objective: To assess the commitment to drug treatment protocol of patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma at Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya, over a 10 week period . Methods: The study design was prospective, observational, cross-sectional period prevalence study on patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with Kaposi's sarcoma. Patients with histological diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma were sequentially enrolled into the study as they attended either the Haematology or Radiotherapy clinic or during their admission in the wards. The choice of the treatment protocol was left at the discretion of the attending physician. A pretested data collection form was used to collect demographic and clinical information about the patients, including treatments prescribed and completion of follow up. Results: A total of 74 patients were enrolled into the study, 42 (56.8%) males and 32 (43.2%) females. The age ranged between 13 years to 55 years. Their treatment protocols included: Vincristine only, Vincristine plus Bleomycin, Vincristine plus Bleomycin plus Doxorubicin, Radiotherapy plus Vincristine and Radiotherapy only. Few of the patients were not assigned any antitumor treatment. Antiemetic and other conventional medicines were also prescribed when necessary. Fifty four (73%) of the patients abandoned treatment, five (6.8%) died, 15(20.3%) continued to attend clinic over the 10 week period.  There was no significant association between sex and outcome (p=0.661). Discussion: The results of this study demonstrate that abandonment of treatment is a major problem among patients on treatment for cancer in Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya. Abandonment of treatment heavily contributes to poor clinical outcome hence complicating the burden of cancer in the country. It is therefore important to develop and establish follow-up systems to improve adherence to treatment for the cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital. Key words: Abandonment of treatment, Loss to follow up, AIDS-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma


In September 1999, the then governor-general of Australia, Sir William Deane, gave a speech to the Australian Conference on Lutheran Education where he offered an apology to members of the German Australian community for the 'tragic, and often shameful, discrimination against Australians of German origin fostered during the world wars'. This article reflects on a number of issues raised by the Governor-General's statement, most importantly on our understanding of the Anzac historiography and its various narratives.


OBJECTIVE: to review the available results of clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of a fixed combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor lisinopril and the calcium antagonist amlodipine, including an analysis of the actual antihypertensive effect and organoprotective action in the russian population of patients. The main objectives of the treatment of hypertension is to achieve target blood pressure level and protection of target organs. According to the available evidence base these properties to a greater extent have only ACE inhibitors and calcium antagonists. When analyzing the results of clinical studies using a fixed combination of lisinopril and amlodipine revealed high levels of efficacy and safety in patients suffering from hypertension and related to different groups at risk of developing cardiovascular complications. CONCLUSION. The combination of lisinopril and amlodipine is a key for effective, safe control of blood pressure, organoprotection and high adherence to the treatment of patients with hypertension.


Taxation is one of the fundamental topics in property right theory, but it is rather neglected one until quite recently. Today there are fervent arguments advanced in philosophical academia on what kind of, in any, taxation is justifiable, largely owing to Liam Murphy and Thomas Nagel's The Myth of Ownership. In this controversial book, they claims that there are no such things as a morally legitimate right to pretax property or natural property rights and that taxation never infringes upon property rights because they are only institutionally created by governmental decree. Murphy and Nagel's main target is Richard Epstein's opposite libertarian or classical liberal view on tax. Epstein likens taxation to public expropriation or eminent domain and argues for proportionate income tax.Here, after concurring with Epstein's view on private property with some important qualifications, I critically examine Murphy and Nagel's statist property theory and claim that their overall egalitarianism is not argued for but merely presupposed. I conclude that estate tax is more justifiable kind of tax from the natural rights libertarian perspective than both income tax and consumption tax, which are the most common form of taxation today. I also claim this conclusion is consistent with the natural reading of the Japanese Constitution.JEL Codes: E62, G28, H24


Rapid changes in atmospheric circulation variability over the North Atlantic region and the extent of surface melting across the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) have been observed during recent decades. In this thesis, a historical climatology of extreme Greenland blocking episodes, associated with unusually strong and persistent synoptic-scale ridges, from 1958–2013 is examined within the context of anomalous anticyclonic circulation patterns over Greenland during recent years. The role of other atmospheric and oceanic features within the North Atlantic climate system, including extratropical cyclone activity and sea surface temperatures, on the evolution of extreme Greenland blocking episodes and GrIS melting is also examined. Contributions from adiabatic and diabatic sources of heating are quantified in order to determine processes associated with blocking anticyclones and precursor cyclones that can enhance GrIS melting. The long-term increase in Greenland blocking, coupled with additional factors, suggests that GrIS melting may continue to accelerate into the future. INDEX WORDS: Greenland blocking, North Atlantic cyclones, Greenland ice sheet, Arctic amplification THE IMPACT OF EXTREME GREENLAND BLOCKING EPISODES AND NORTH ATLANTIC PRECURSOR CYCLONES ON THE ACCELERATION OF SUMMER MELTING ACROSS THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET


The research is concerned with bond failures found during the manufacture of rubber-to-metal bonded bushes, the bond being formed using a polymeric adhesive intermedium and completed concurrently with the vulcanisation of the bulk rubber. Failure occurs when stresses developed as the composite parts cool after moulding act on the comparatively weak "hot" bond. Three techniques are utilized for measuring the shrinkage stress i) a finite element method which shows the distribution of the direct stresses, ii) an empirical calculation which indicates the average direct stress acting on the bond, iii) an experimental method serving as a confirmation of the theoretical approach. The main factors influencing the hot bond strength immediately after moulding are identified and include:- Rubber hardness Rubber moisture content Adhesive type (reactivity) Heat input during vulcanisation These are quantified using a specifically developed test-piece. Bush cooling characteristics are studied to allow a direct comparison of shrinkage stress with bond strength and to predict the theoretical likelihood of bond failure. The research shows that, under ideal conditions, only in a few products is the shrinkage stress sufficient to cause bond rupture. Bond failure rates are greater than the theory suggests and the main causes are identified as being due to lack of process and management control on the shop-floor. Recommendations are made as to methods required to obtain better control. A new adhesive was evaluated and introduced into the company giving potential for a 40% reduction in oond failure levels with a cost saving of £50,000 p.a.


Abstract. The "elevated heat pump" (EHP) hypothesis has been a topic of intensive research and controversy. It postulates that aerosol-induced anomalous mid- and upper-tropospheric warming in the Himalayan foothills and above the Tibetan Plateau leads to an early onset and intensification of Asian monsoon rainfall. This finding is primarily based on results from a NASA finite-volume general circulation model run with and without radiative forcing from different types of aerosols. In particular, black carbon emissions from sources in northern India and dust from Western China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Thar Desert, and the Arabian Peninsula drive the modeled anomalous heating. Since the initial discussion of the EHP hypothesis in 2006, the aerosol–monsoon relationship has been investigated using various modeling and observational techniques. The current study takes a novel observational approach to detect signatures of the "elevated heat pump" effect on convection, precipitation, and temperature for contrasting aerosol content years during the period of 2000–2012. The analysis benefits from unique high-resolution convection information inferred from Meteosat-5 observations as available through 2005. Additional data sources include temperature data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis and the European Reanalysis (ERA-Interim) precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), aerosol optical depth from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and aerosol optical properties from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) aerosol reanalysis. Anomalous upper-tropospheric warming and the early onset and intensification of the Indian monsoon were not consistently observed during the years with high loads of absorbing aerosols. Possibly, model assumptions and/or unaccounted semi-direct aerosol effects caused the disagreement between observed and hypothesized behavior.


Direct solar steam generation (DSSG) offers a promising, sustainable, and environmentally friendly solution to the energy and water crisis. In the past decades, DSSG has gained tremendous attention due to its potential applications for clean water production, desalination, wastewater treatment, and electric energy harvesting. Even though the solar–thermal conversion efficiency has approached 100% under 1 sun illumination (1 kW m−2) using various photothermal materials and systems, the optimization of the materials and system structure remains unclear because of the lack of evaluation methods in unity for the output efficiency. In this review, a few key concerns about different dimensional materials and systems that determine the characteristics of DSSG are explored. Quantitative analysis, including calculations and methods for the solar–thermal conversion efficiency, evaporation rate, and energy loss, is employed to evaluate the materials and systems from the point of view of ultimate utilization. This article focuses on the relationship between the system dimension and energy efficiency and notes opportunities for future system design and commercialization of DSSG.


This paper focuses on time, space, and identity relations in narratives of Muslim women in an Islamic student group in Colorado, who use autobiographies of how their faith developed for countering stereotypes of Islam and Muslims in post 9/11 America. In these faith development narratives, these women, who were born and raised in Islam, strive to dispel the often abstract media claims of Muslim women being oppressed by Muslim men and by Islamic doctrines, as well as being behind the times, stagnant in the past, or simply anti-modern, anti-secular, or anti-American. In narrating how they have progressed from unknowing children socialized into Islam to knowledgeable adults, the women decontextualize, and thereby idealize, Islam to stress their agency and individuality. The women resignify Islamic rituals, such as the salat (praying five times a day), sawn (fasting during Ramadan), and hijab (wearing the head scarf), by delinking them from the often criticized materialistic and pure-repetitious nature characteristic of religious rituals of the pre-modern. Instead, they project these rituals as self-disciplining and self-realizing practices very much in line with modern precepts of individuality and female emancipation. In their narratives, they reinforce the media's binary opposition between America and Islam, reducing them to caricatures of a purely secular, somewhat ignorant, state and a perfect and pure religion, respectively.


We demonstrate self-assembled double-crossover (DX) DNA crystal growth and coverage on quartz by the substrate assisted growth method. Here we introduced the novel concept of a reusability process to fabricate the DX crystals on a given substrate with a 10 nM DNA concentration, which is equal to the saturation concentration and this concentration is enough to fully cover the substrate with DX crystals. Also the DX crystals with biotinylated oligonucleotides (DXB) were constructed based on the structure of immobile crossover branched junctions. Upon streptavidin conjugation with DNA, the Raman band intensities were increased as compared to pristine DX crystals which indicate the strong bonding between the biotinylated DXB crystals and streptavidin. The DX crystals showed a relatively higher current than streptavidin conjugated DXB crystals because of the electrically insulating characteristic of streptavidin. Furthermore, the optical band gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) as well as the second band onset were determined and discussed. The HOMO–LUMO band gaps of DNA crystals, DNA crystals with biotins, and DNA crystals with biotins and streptavidin showed an inverted V-shape and the second band onsets – consistent with the electrical characteristics – revealed the increasing behavior with protein conjugation.


In the north of Ireland ice advanced northwards onto the continental shelf from inland centres of dispersion at the last glacial maximum. We constrain the timing of three subsequent events by accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating of marine microfaunas from muds at Corvish, County Donegal. Early and rapid deglaciation of the continental shelf off northwestern Ireland occurred before 17.1 k 14C years bp when marine muds formed in Trawbreaga Bay. Ice subsequently readvanced into the bay some time between 15.0 and 14.0 k 14C years bp and compressed contemporary sea stacks and beach cobbles into a ridge at Ballycrampsey. Early deglacial muds were deformed during this ice readvance and redeposited with stratigraphically inverted 14C ages between 16.0 and 15.2 k 14C years bp. The deformed mud is overlain by undeformed laminae deposited during the final deglaciation of the area after 14.1 k 14C years bp. The early deglaciation in the north at c. 17 k 14C years bp is correlative with deglaciation recorded in the Irish Sea Basin, western Ireland and northeastern Scotland, indicating a response of the entire British–Irish ice sheet to early warming of the North Atlantic Ocean that resulted in a loss of up to two-thirds of its mass. Subsequent ice-sheet readvance between 15.0 and 14.1 k 14C years bp in the north is part of a widespread response of the British–Irish ice sheet to Heinrich event 1 during the Killard Point Stadial. High relative sea levels that accompanied deglaciation at 17 k 14C years bp and again at 14.1 k 14C years bp indicate substantial loading and attendant isostatic depression by the British–Irish ice sheet.


Pairwise comparison (PC) is a well-established method to assist decision makers (DMs) in estimating their preferences. This paper considers the rationale, design, and evaluation of an open-source priority estimation tool, PriEsT, which has been developed to offer new features related to the PC method. PriEsT is able to assist DMs in interactively identifying and revising their judgments based on different consistency measures and graphical aids. When inconsistency cannot be improved due to practical limitations, PriEsT offers a wide range of Pareto-optimal solutions based on multiobjective optimization, unlike other tools that offer only a single solution. DMs have the flexibility to select any of these nondominated solutions according to their requirements. The features of PriEsT have been demonstrated and evaluated through its application to a real-world case study: the selection of the most appropriate telecom infrastructure for rural areas. This case study using PriEsT has highlighted the presence of intransitive judgments in the acquired data, and the correction of these judgments has led to a different ranking of the available alternatives.


January 1917. On the Western Front the armies of Imperial Germany, Great Britain, and France were locked in grim stalemate. Repeated attempts by both sides to achieve breakthrough in the face of machine-gun fire, barbed wire, long-range artillery, and poison gas had brought only enormous casualties.The Defeat of Imperial Germany focuses on the innovative plans created by generals on both sides in their struggles to dislodge the entrenched enemy and to restore maneuver and victory on the Western Front. In a series of vivid analyses of successive offensives, Paschall examines the problems of command and what happened when the massed soldiery sought to carry out their orders. These strategies and tactics developed by the military leadership in 1917--1918, though largely failing to shatter the deadlock, would prove successful when implemented twenty years later in World War II.The first volume in the Major Battles and Campaigns series published under the general editorship of John S.D. Eisenhower, The Defeat of Imperial Germany has been designed for the "armchair strategist." Dozens of photographs, many never before published, as well as clearly drawn theater and battlefield maps help to make this book an outstanding, challenging, and original contribution to the history of the Great War.


Increases in the numbers and sizes of predatory fishes in well established no-take marine
protected areas (MPAs) on coral reefs are well-known. However, few studies have
investigated whether adult spillover or recruitment subsidies lead to higher adult and
juvenile densities in fished areas adjacent to MPAs, compared with fished sites further
away from MPAs. Our understanding of these phenomena has been limited because most
MPA studies have been restricted to comparisons of MPAs and fished areas, and do not
consider fished areas that do not benefit from MPAs. On the Great Barrier Reef, adults of
two recreationally important coral reef fish (Plectropomus maculatus and Lutjanus
carponotatus) have been observed to increase in numbers in inshore no-take areas
("green zones"). In this thesis I made a preliminary investigation of the potential for adult
spillover and recruitment subsidies by comparing fished areas, near to and distant from
green zones. Firstly, I examined the early age and growth of juvenile fishes at the Keppel
Islands, in order to define the size of young-of-the-year (0+) and estimate settlement and
spawning periods. I used this information to estimate the densities of adults and 0+ year
fish within green zones, fished areas within 1km from green zones and at sites greater
than 5km from the nearest protected area.

The size-age relationships for the 0+ year cohorts were determined by studies of
sectioned sagittal otoliths. Juveniles were collected between October and November in
2006, and May and June in 2007. The youngest P. maculatus and L. carponotatus recruits
caught were 63 (53mm FL) and 66 days old (49mm FL) respectively, but ages extended
to 334 days (220mm FL) for P. maculatus and 345 days (183mm FL) for L.carponotatus. Juvenile growth was rapid in both species, with P. maculatus and L.
carponotatus averaging 0.96 mm d-1 and 0.72 mm d-1 respectively. The estimated PLD
of P. maculatus was 28.6 days, while L. carponotatus was 33.6 days. Based on the
observations from this study, recruitment surveys approximately two months after
spawning would be sufficient, however, in order to include additional 0+ age cohorts,
surveys would ideally take place 160 days after initial spawning.

The potential for local benefits of MPAs were examined by comparing adult and
recruit densities outside MPAs, both near to and distant from the MPA boundary. Adults
and juveniles of P. maculatus and L. carponotatus were surveyed at both the Keppel
Islands and Palm Islands, two inshore networks of no-take MPAs on the Great Barrier
Reef. Within each region, the abundance and biomass of adults and recruits were
compared for three treatments: (1) Within MPAs; (2) Nearby fished areas (< 1km from
MPA boundaries) and (3) distant fished areas (> 5km from MPA boundaries). Site
variation accounted for the majority of differences in both adult and recruits of P.
maculatus and L. carponotatus. Hence, no significant differences were found for any of
the treatments. Low densities of juveniles and patchiness in their distribution appear to
combine to make detecting recruitment subsidies extremely difficult. I suggest
refinements of the sampling technique, as well as alternative approaches to solving this
problem.


How do cells determine whether to live or die after exposure to stressors that cause misfolding of intracellular proteins? Lin et al. find that the IRE1 signaling branch of the unfolded protein response plays a key role in promoting cell survival after protein misfolding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Human cells shut off IRE1 signaling after prolonged ER protein misfolding in order to enhance cell survival. J. H. Lin, H. Li, D. Yasumura, H. R. Cohen, C. Zhang, B. Panning, K. M. Shokat, M. M. LaVail, P. Walter, IRE1 signaling affects cell fate during the unfolded protein response. Science 318, 944-949 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Information Aesthetics is an emerging sub-field of Data Visualization that aims to engage the viewers and lure them into decode the visualization. The introduction of self-organising systems can aid the creation of these visual representations through the exploration of emergent patterns. In this paper, we apply a swarm based system as a method to create emergent visualizations of data that convey meaningful information in an inciting way, exploring the boundaries between Data Visualization and Information Aesthetics. The approach is used to visually convey the consumption patterns in 729 Portuguese hypermarkets over the course of two years. The analysis of the experimental results focuses on the ability of the emergent visualizations to communicate information while engaging the viewer with organic visuals.


Noncompliance with speed limits is one of the major safety concerns in roadwork zones. Although numerous studies have attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of safety measures on speed limit compliance, many report inconsistent findings. This paper aims to review the effectiveness of four categories of roadwork zone speed control measures: Informational, Physical, Enforcement, and Educational measures. While informational measures (static signage, variable message signage) evidently have small to moderate effects on speed reduction, physical measures (rumble strips, optical speed bars) are found ineffective for transient and moving work zones. Enforcement measures (speed camera, police presence) have the greatest effects, while educational measures also have significant potential to improve public awareness of roadworker safety and to encourage slower speeds in work zones. Inadequate public understanding of roadwork risks and hazards, failure to notice signs, and poor appreciation of safety measures are the major causes of noncompliance with speed limits.


The founding of the World Trade Organization in 1995, was hailed as a new era in resolving global trade disputes, with many academicians espousing a constitutionalised vision of world trade law. The constitutional evolution of WTO law is founded, not only on the text of the WTO Covered Agreements, but is also buttressed exceedingly by precedence and norms that are generated through adjudication by the panels and the standing WTO Appellate Body. Today, as is with most mature legal systems, international lawyers and academics avidly critique WTO jurisprudence and the interpretive methodology of its adjudicators. However, there is a dearth of scholarship on the implications of WTO law interpretation on developing nations. This thesis fills this void in research by constructing a framework for analysing the jurisprudence of the WTO from the perspective of developing nations. Subsequently, it proceeds to evaluate three agreements which are important for developing nations, i.e., the DSU and due process rights, the TRIPS Agreement, and the Antidumping Agreement. To this end, the framework for analysis is termed "the development approach" to fair adjudication, which is grounded on established legal concepts of legitimacy, justice and ultimately fairness. The thesis demonstrates that a fair trading regime entails more than seemingly balanced treaty texts, but rather that adjudication of the treaties must include an approach, which recognises and accounts for the effects of interpretation on development. To this end, the adjudicators have to go beyond merely finding the literal meaning of the treaty text, but embrace an approach, which is guided by the context and purpose of WTO provisions. The analysis reveals that the adjudicators of the WTO have failed to recognise the nexus between interpretation and development and as such, have created a body of case law that harms the development ambitions of third world countries.


With increasing understanding of the importance of labor motivation in the personnel management system it is necessary to study the examples of practical implementation of personnel motivation programs that have been tested in successful companies. This work is designed to give answers to the following questions: How and what should motivate employees under the conditions of innovative business development? How is it done in Russia and around the world? What motivating programs are offered by employers today, what are their common features and fundamental differences? The main goal is to identify the best practices of motivation by using the examples of the leading foreign and Russian companies.The main conclusion – even considering the Russian specifics, one large salary is not enough in innovative conditions, therefore progressive companies introduce multifactorial motivation systems, including material and non-material components. The work is of practical value for the Russian business. The continuation of this original research can develop in two directions: "in breadth" and "in depth". In the first case a similar analysis carried out with a large sample of enterprises will reveal additional dependencies. In the second case an empirical study of the reaction to certain motivators and the ways of their implementation within a separate company is proposed.


For the great majority of its history, the written description requirement was an often-ignored relic of the patent statute. As technology advanced, the written description requirement developed teeth as a means for invalidating patent claims during litigation. Written description doctrine reached its peak in Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co., when the Federal Circuit created a significant setback for groundbreaking innovation. Ariad demonstrated that the written description doctrine lacked sufficient recognition of the fundamental policies and purposes of the patent system and that this could have serious consequences for innovation. This Note attempts to rectify the written description doctrine by reorienting the doctrine in innovation policy. To do so, I first apply an alternative version of the "prospect theory" of patents to conventional patent policy. Based on this policy calculus, I then devise a reformed hypothetical innovation test that looks outside of the "four corners" of the patent and considers the larger impact that the written description has on the patent system. Without such doctrinal reform, the written description doctrine of Ariad and its legacy risks undermining the incentives that motivate inventors to undertake cutting-edge technology.


Participation in a resistance training program results in both neural adaptations and increases in lean body mass, the latter of which is considered a slow process. The majority of previous investigations that have examined the time course associated with muscular adaptations have utilized exercise machines or singlejoint movements. Furthermore, the adaptations associated with resistance training in women are not as well understood as those for men. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a four week resistance training intervention on changes in leg lean mass in untrained, college-aged women. Thirty-five women (mean ± SD age = 21 ± 3 years; body mass = 61.9 ± 10.4 kg) with no previous lowerbody strength training experience were randomly assigned to high volume training (n = 11), low volume training (n = 10), and control (n = 14) groups. The training groups performed the barbell back squat and deadlift twice per week for four weeks. The low volume training group performed five repetitions of two sets per exercise; the high volume group performed an additional two sets per exercise. The external loads were increased progressively during each training session. The mean ± SD external loads used in this study increased from 27.9 ± 8.2 to 51.4 ± 14.0 kg for the barbell back squat and from 34.2 ± 7.7 to 60.2 ± 10.1 kg for the deadlift. Body composition analyses were performed during preand post-testing with dual Xray absorptiometry. Manufacturer provided software was used to determine the appropriate region of interest in the assessment of leg lean mass. An analysis of covariance was used to compare the post-test data, and the pre-test data were used as the covariate. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference among the adjusted post-test means. Specifically, when the pre-test scores served as the covariate, the mean leg lean mass for the high volume training group was 0.503 kg greater than that for the control group (p = 0.031, 95% CI for adjusted mean difference = 0.038 to 0.968 kg). The pre-test – posttest effect sizes for the high volume training and low volume training groups were 0.31 and 0.29, respectively. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that a four week, high-volume training program involving barbell back squats and deadlifts produced small increases in leg lean mass in previously untrained women.


Convincingly animating virtual humans has become of great interest in many fields since recent years. In computer games for example, virtual humans often are the main characters. Failing to realistically animate them may wreck all previous efforts made to provide the player with an immersion feeling. At the same time, computer generated movies have become very popular and thus have increased the demand for animation realism. Indeed, virtual humans are now the new stars in movies like Final Fantasy or Shrek, or are even used for special effects in movies like Matrix. In this context, the virtual humans animations not only need to be realistic as for computer games, but really need to be expressive as for real actors. While creating animations from scratch is still widespread, it demands artistics skills and hours if not days to produce few seconds of animation. For these reasons, there has been a growing interest for motion capture: instead of creating a motion, the idea is to reproduce the movements of a live performer. However, motion capture is not perfect and still needs improvements. Indeed, the motion capture process involves complex techniques and equipments. This often results in noisy animations which must be edited. Moreover, it is hard to exactly foresee the final motion. For example, it often happens that the director of a movie decides to change the script. The animators then have to change part or the whole animation. The aim of this thesis is then to provide animators with interactive tools helping them to easily and rapidly modify preexisting animations. We first present our Inverse Kinematics solver used to enforce kinematic constraints at each time of an animation. Afterward, we propose a motion deformation framework offering the user a way to specify prioritized constraints and to edit an initial animation so that it may be used in a new context (characters, environment,etc). Finally, we introduce a semi-automatic algorithm to extract important motion features from motion capture animation which may serve as a first guess for the animators when specifying important characteristics an initial animation should respect.


We examine an M/D/2 queue with Bernoulli schedules and a single vacation policy. We have assumed Poisson arrivals waiting in a single queue and two parallel servers who provide identical deterministic service to customers on first -come, first-served basis. We consider two models; in one we assume that after completion of a service both servers can take a vacation while in the other we assume that only one may take a vacation. The vacation periods in both models are assumed to be exponential. We obtain steady state probability generating functions of system size for various states of the servers.


Based on a wide-ranging literature review, we argue that the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure has not received adequate attention for its role in the development and maintenance of industrial clusters. This article develops expectations for how firms in an industrial cluster make use of a public, broadband ICT infrastructure, particularly in support of e-commerce applications. We further address the question of whether ICT use, by enabling stronger ties to non-cluster partners, can weaken clusters. A case study of a successful biotechnology cluster in Denmark and Sweden—the Medicon Valley—is used to explore ICT use in a knowledge-intensive cluster context. We conclude that ICT use appears to strengthen rather than weaken the Medicon Valley cluster, and that firms located within a cluster appear to gain some unique advantages from their ICT usage that are not necessarily available to firms outside the cluster.


A novel approach to toxicant detection is described, based on monitoring bacterial reactions to environmental threats. In response to such stress, various defense mechanisms are turned on by initiating gene transcription at specific DNA sites known as promoters. To follow this transcription sensitively, such promoters were genetically fused in Escherichia coli to the lux (luminescence) genes from the bacterium Vibrio fischeri. The bacteria thus engineered now produce light in response to different environmental insults; this light is easy to measure and quantify.

A wide range of promoters was utilized in this manner, to create over a dozen bacterial constructs that emit light in response to specific or general stress factors. The responses of four of these to defined chemicals and to wastewater samples are described. The threats reported by these bacteria include general and protein damage, DNA damage, and oxidative hazards (peroxides and oxygen radicals). Members of the tested panel exhibited very high sensitivity: generally, the luminescent response occurred at subtoxic doses of the stressing factor, and was evident within 20 min to 2 h after exposure.

It is proposed that these bacteria, or others constructed in a similar manner, can serve as powerful early-warning indicators of environmental pollution, as well as monitoring tools for the operation of different industrial processes, from fermentation reactors to wastewater treatment plants. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The use of emergency food aid in the UK, particularly in the form of food banks, has dramatically increased over the last decade. Research was jointly conducted by Oxfam, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), the Church of England and The Trussell Trust to examine why people are turning to food banks, how food bank use fits with their wider coping strategies, and what might be done to reduce the need that leads to food bank use. Interviews with clients at seven food banks across the UK revealed that the acute crisis that leads people to turn to food banks is often set against a background of complex, difficult lives. Experiences included ill health, bereavement, relationship breakdown, heavy caring responsibilities or job loss, as well as constantly low income. The report shows that action is needed to ensure that the safety net provided by the social security system is vital. It can help prevent life shocks becoming crises, and offer vital protection for vulnerable people. This report points to practical, measured changes in policy and practice that will help to reduce the need for food banks, and ensure vital support for people in times of crisis.


MBA programs are intensely competitive. If a student excels beyond their peers, they expect to be individually rewarded. At the same time, much of the work in an MBA program is completed in groups or teams therefore MBA students need to act cooperatively. This paper describes an experiential outdoor activity for international MBA students that highlighted the differences between competition and cooperation creating an opportunity for discussion about these different perspectives. An examination of cooperation and competition from a cross cultural perspective is also presented.


Conservation depends heavily on protected areas, and many of these must be intensively managed in order to maintain important habitats and species. However, few conservation actions can be properly described as evidence-based, and knowledge of the effects of different types of management is necessary to improve conservation success. The New Forest National Park, Hampshire, UK, has been subject to intensive management which has not been scientifically investigated. In this thesis I assess management and monitoring effectiveness within two important open habitats: valley mires and heathlands. Research aims are to determine the impact that long term management (including differences between cutting and burning) has had on heathland communities in the New Forest, uncover the effects of restoration programmes on both biotic and abiotic components of valley mires, and to identify whether the current monitoring practice through Common Standards Monitoring (CSM) can detect changes in both habitats and serve as a basis for adaptive management. Data were collected in the field for both heathland and mire habitats using space-for-time substitutions, where sites of different ages since management intervention were compared. The plant community and soil chemical properties were assessed using randomly distributed quadrats within plots set up at each site location. A total of 30 heathland plots and 60 mire plots were established. Results showed that different heathland management resulted in great differences in the vegetation community, but with few changes as sites aged following management. The block nature of both management activities resulted in relatively uniform ericaceous age-structures within individual sites, and particularly low species diversity was recorded for burnt sites. CSM in heathland habitats is was poor at detecting changes in the habitats, but attribute sub-scores did demonstrate some differences. Analyses of mire restorations showed mixed results with abiotic conditions showing almost no changes between degraded and restored areas. Some minor differences emerged in the vegetation community, such as a decrease in Carex panicea following restoration and an increase in some Sphagnum species, such as S. papillosum. This work suggests that restoration has largely failed to achieve its goals. Techniques from the established monitoring program failed to show any changes following restoration and lacked the precision that detailed quantitative surveys showed. It was highly ineffective as a tool to monitor restoration work, calling into question its widespread use for such tasks in the New Forest. Current monitoring must be improved substantially if a move to effective and adaptive management is to be achieved.


Pashto, also known as Pakhto, Pakhtu, or Pushto, is one of the official languages of Afghanistan and is also spoken in the neighbouring Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. This two-way dictionary and travel oriented phrasebook is an essential communication tool, particularly in the more remote Pashto-speaking regions. Features: romanised for English speakers; basic Pashto grammar; practical cultural information; perfect for travellers, businesspersons, and foreign aid workers.


A service robot accepting verbal commands from a human operator is likely to encounter requests that reference objects not currently represented in its knowledge base. In domestic or office settings, the construction of a complete knowledge base would be cumbersome and unlikely to succeed in most real-world deployments. The world that such a robot operates in is thus "open" in the sense that some objects that it must act on in the real world are not described in its internal representation. However, when an operator gives a command referencing an object that the robot has not yet observed (and thus not incorporated into its knowledge base), we can think of the object as being hypothetical to the robot. This paper presents a novel method for closing the robot's world model for planning purposes by introducing hypothetical objects into the robot's knowledge base, reasoning about these hypothetical objects, and acting on these hypotheses in the real world. We use our implementation of this method on a domestic service robot as an illustrative demonstration to explore how it works in practice.


Public Speaking or the ability to speak in public is one of basic competencies that must be owned by students. However, apparently, there found many students having public speaking anxiety and in high category. Regarding this problem, this study was aimed at examining the effectiveness of a group counselling with desensitization technique and emotional freedom technique in reducing students' public speaking anxiety. The implementation of those techniques were done twice in each group counselling service. Meanwhile, the research method employed was mixed anova repeated measures test design by involving 16 students having high level public anxiety chosen from 100 students by using purposive sampling. Further, the results of mixed anova repeated measure showed thatthe group counselling with systematic desensitization technique and emotional freedom technique (EFT) was proved to be effective in reducing the public speaking anxiety of students. Besides, seen from the average score and time effect, emotional freedom technique resulted higher decrease than systematic desensitization technique. For more, the more emotional freedom technique was given, the higher decrease of the public speaking anxiety of students would result.


DNA methylation or 5-methylcytosine (5mC) is an important epigenetic mark integral to appropriate genomic imprinting, X chromosome inactivation and in the silencing of developmentally important genes. There remains to be a lot unknown about how DNA methylation is programmed and reprogrammed once lost particulary in early mammalian development. In untransformed hTERTs and in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) we were able to investigate how methylation can or cannot be recovered following the removal and reintroduction of key methyltransferases, by using a range of wet-lab and bioinformatic approaches to assay methylation at individual CpG sites. Indeed, this thesis has shown that methylation, once lost is able to be recovered in nearly all of the known and putative imprints assayed in the mESCs through rescue with DNMT3A2. Not only does the de novo methyltransferase-3a assist with the recovery of methylation but it also plays a role in maintenance methylation. A reduction of methylation through a stable loss of DNMT1 in the hTERTs however highlighted enriched groups of hypomethylated genes such as the Cancer Testis Antigen (CTA) genes and the Protocadherins (PCDH) that are sentistive to this loss, and in some instances associated with polycomb marks. Interestingly a transient loss of methylation however in the same system with pharmacological 5-aza-2dC (Aza) showed not only widespread methylation, but also some gains of methylation at selected loci such as the the GPCRs known to act as oncogenes and tumour supressors. In conclusion, through examining the effects of the loss of DNA methylation in both human and mouse model systems, this thesis has successfully identified gene classes sensitive to a transient and stable loss of DNA methylation and identified where this methylation can be recovered.


We have real cause for being proud of our past and the heritage it has given us ... We have a rich past ... along with this heritage we have had thrust upon us a deep responsibility," John S. Rice said in 1959. Indeed, it was the same sense of deep responsibility that had motivated him in anticipation of 1938. That year marked the seventyfifth anniversary of the cataclysmic, three-day battle that was waged in the fields and farm lanes surrounding the seat of his native Adams County, Pennsylvania. Rice's cognizance of the importance not only of the Battle of Gettysburg but of commemorating it led the state senator to introduce legislation providing for a state battle anniversary commission; soon thereafter, by virtue of a gubernatorial appointment, Senator Rice found himself the commission's chairman. In this capacity, Rice spurred interest in remembrance; he fostered connections with local, state, and federal leaders and organizations; he coordinated the construction of a vast "tent city" and secured amenities for the attendees; he organized the proceedings and crafted the program for a "final reunion" of the Blue and Gray; he arranged for the construction of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. Finally, he accomplished each of these objectives efficiently and economically. [excerpt]


Background: The interfacial mechanics at the bone-cement or implant-cement interfaces is a critical issue for implant fixation and the filling of tissue defects created by disease. Electro spanning is a process by which fibers with sub-micron diameters can be obtained from an electrostatically driven jet of polymer solution. These fibers have a high surface area to volume ratio, which have numerous engineering applications. The present study is based on the hypothesis that the differences of the surface properties at bone/ cement interface due to incorporation of micro and sub-micron diameters fiber may have significant influence on the quality of bone/cement union.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Lakes, swamps, marshes, ponded pastures and water storage dams; estuaries, rivers, streams and springs; intertidal sand flats, mud flats and mangroves, and shallow marine areas such as seagrass beds or fringing coral reefs - can all be regarded as "wetlands". They sustain commercial and recreational fisheries, provide flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, water supply for domestic, industrial and agricultural use, and through their natural habitat values, support a variety of wildlife. However, they have also been degraded through human modification (e.g. drained, filled-in, impounded) and catchment activities (e.g. pollution).

This paradox is being addressed through a renewed commitment by the community, industry and governments to better manage these vital natural resources, such that their use is "wise" and sustainable. For example, "Waterwatch" community groups are being established throughout Australia to monitor local water quality, eco-tourism has become a major industry (e.g. the Kakadu wetlands), and both state and federal governments are developing strategies to ensure the sustainable use of wetlands. In Queensland, the government has recently released a Proposed Strategy for the Conservation and Management of Queensland's Wetlands (QDoE 1996) that will commit the state to a strategy which will: i) avoid the further loss or degradation of natural wetlands, including the biological diversity and abundance of wetland-dependent wildlife, unless overriding public interest, including necessary vector control, can be shown; ii) ensure wetland management, including appropriate wetland creation, is undertaken within the context of Integrated Catchment Management, and that use of wetlands and their products by industry and the community is ecologically sustainable; iii) develop the community awareness and appreciation of the values and benefits of wetlands, and encourage individuals to take personal responsibility for avoiding associated health risks from vectors with an aquatic stage in their lifecycle.

Together with such "wise use" policies, the efforts of local government will be crucial for improved wetland management. Through the facilitation of community initiatives and the development and implementation of regional wetland strategies which are consistent with those of natural resource management and conservation agencies, the sustainable use and conservation of wetlands will become achievable.


This research aims to know (1)  labor absorption of oil palm farmers; and (2) the productivity of oil palm farmers, (3) farmer perception, and (4) the palm plantation contribution to the regional income. The research was conducted in September 2013 until November 2013. Location of research in sub-districts of North Tambusai, Kunto Darussalam, Tandun, and Kabun in Rokan Hulu District. The method used interviews, questionnaires, and documentation. Sampling was done by purposive. Results of this research is the most of labor absorption in sub-district Kabun (4.22 HOK / ha), followed by North Tambusai (3.30 HOK / Ha), Kunto Darussalam (3.21 HOK / ha), and Tandun (2.99 HOK / Ha). The highest productivity of palm oil in sub-district Kabun (21.16 ton/ha/ year), followed by Kunto Darussalam (19.40 ton/ha/year), North Tambusai (15.76 ton/ha/ear), and Tandun (11,97 ton/ha/year). The most reason of farmers perception on palm plantation is marketing easier, followed by production facilities are supported, easy palm cultivation, the selling price and the income of farmers is high. The most farmers perception to use the income is education of children, followed by repair and extension the house, purchase of motor vehicles, and extend of palm plantations. The largest palm plantation contribution to the regional income is North Tambusai Sub-Distric, followed by Kunto Darussalam, Kabun, and Tandun.


ABSTRACT Aim: The PETACC-6 trial investigates the role of oxaliplatin in addition to preoperative chemoradiation (CRT) and adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) with capecitabine to improve disease-free survival (DFS) in locally advanced rectal cancer. Methods: Patients with rectal adenocarcinoma within 12 cm from the anal verge, T3/4 and/or node-positive, without evidence of metastatic disease, considered either resectable at the time of entry or expected to become resectable, were randomized to 5 weeks of preoperative CRT with capecitabine, followed by surgery and 6 cycles of adjuvant CT with capecitabine (standard control arm 1) or capecitabine + oxaliplatin before and after surgery (arm 2). 440 DFS events were required to have 80% power to detect an improvement in 3-year DFS from 65% to 72% (HR = 0.763), with two-sided alpha of 5% and allowing for an interim analysis for early efficacy at 200 events. Results: 1094 patients were randomized (547 in each arm). From 1081 eligible patients, 543 in arm 1 and 528 in arm 2 started preoperative treatment (3/528 patients without oxaliplatin in arm 2), and of these 77.3% and 72.6%) patients started postoperative chemotherapy within protocol. In arm 2, 11.8% patients did not receive the planned postoperative oxaliplatin. Major reasons for protocol discontinuation were progressive disease (3.9% in arm 1 vs. 3.8% in arm 2), toxicity (7.7% vs. 16.5%), surgery complication (8.7% vs. 9.1%), patient's refusal (5.9% vs. 10.8%). At planned interim analysis, the independent data monitoring committee recommended the early release of the results. At a median follow-up of 31months, 124 and 121 DFS events were observed in arm 1 and 2 (adjusted HR = 1.036, 95% CI: 0.81 -1.33, P = 0.78). 3-year DFS was 74.5% (95% CI: 70.1% - 78.3%) in arm 1 (which is higher than anticipated) vs. 73.9% (95% CI: 69.5% - 77.8%) in arm 2; conditional power under HR = 0.763 is only 7%. Less locoregional and distant failures were recorded in the experimental arm with oxaliplatin (95 in arm 2 vs. 109 in arm 1) but a higher rate of deaths without progression (26 in arm 2 vs. 15 in arm 1). Conclusions: Interim results at a median follow up of 2.6 y currently indicate no DFS-benefit for the addition of oxaliplatin to capecitabine-based CRT and adjuvant CT. However, with actually only 245 out of the required 440 events, final evaluation cannot be done before at least 2 further years follow-up. Disclosure: H.J. Schmoll: has a consultant or advisory relationship to disclose with Roche, Sanofi and Bayer; has honoraria to disclose from Roche; has research funding to disclose from Merck and Roche; K. Haustermans: has research funding to disclose from Roche; T.J. Price: has a consultant or advisory relationship to disclose with Roche; R. Hofheinz: has a consultant or advisory relationship to disclose with Roche; has honoraria and research funding to disclose from Roche; B. Brenner: has a consultant or advisory relationship to disclose with Sanofi-Aventis; has research funding to disclose from Sanofi-Aventis; J. Zalcberg: has a consultant or advisory relationship to disclose with Sanofi-Aventis and Roche; has honoraria, research funding and other remuneration to disclose from Sanofi-Aventis and Roche. M.P. Lutz: has a consultant or advisory relationship to disclose with Roche; E. Van Cutsem: has research funding to disclose from Roche and Sanofi.All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


[Abstract]: In Australia, up to 40% of the water stored in small farm dams over the summer months may be lost to evaporation. Reducing this loss using either physical or chemical covers therefore has the potential to significantly increase agricultural water use efficiency in Australia and therefore generate millions of dollars for the Australian economy.

A research project took place from 2003-2005 to investigate the performance of various different types of cover. Outcomes from the Queensland Natural Resources and Mines commissioned project included important new knowledge regarding the field performance of various different types of cover, technology to accurately assess evaporation and seepage losses and increased public awareness of the potential for evaporation reduction on water storages. Significant interest has been shown by landholders, agencies and consultancy companies in developing this further.

The project involved the development of a novel experimental method to measure and record water depth to an accuracy of ±1mm using highly accurate Pressure Sensitive Transducers (Craig et al 2005). PST units were placed at a constant 30cm height above the dam floor by a float-weight mechanism. The units were connected to dataloggers and the data was compared to weather station derived Penman-Monteith based estimates of evaporation. This enabled evaporation losses to be separated from seepage, also a very significant loss of Australian farm water.

The PST methodology confirmed that evaporation losses in small farm dams was typically 4-7mm/day in summer rising to 10mm/day when air temperatures exceeded 40° C. As a matter of interest, the analysis also revealed that Australian summer night-time evaporation due to heat advection effects could be as much as 10-20% of the total daily evaporation.

The PST analysis technique applied to covered dams revealed evaporation reduction performance figures of approximately 75% for shadecloth covered dams, up to 95% with dams covered with a properly functioning floating cover, and approximately 15 to 30% with dams covered with a cetyl alcohol based chemical monolayer (Barnes, 1993). Optimising the performance of monolayers with improved application technology is currently the focus of evaporation research efforts at NCEA.

The study has revealed that high evaporation savings are possible if physical covers are used on small farm dams less than 10ha in size. Physical covers can still be used on dams larger than 10ha in size, but may be prove economically impractical due to the high amounts of capital investment required. In the future, however, increasing cost of water may allow increasingly large sizes of dam to be covered. For the present, economic analyses have implied that chemical covers may represent the best option for evaporation control on large farm water storages.

Future research is planned commencing in June 2006 with the support of the CRC for Irrigation Futures and collaboration with CRC for Polymers and Nylex Water Solutions, producers of WaterSavr, the cetyl alcohol based chemical monolayer. A new applicator for applying the monolayer has recently been developed which relies on a compressed air system for delivery of the powder just below the water surface. The instrument was successfully demonstrated for the first time in Australia at USQ Toowoomba in the presence of David Verlee (Vice President of Business Development, Water Savr Global Solutions Inc, Richmond, Canada and Greg Phillips, Northern Regional Manager, Nylex Corporation. The applicator has been trialed at Byrock (80km south of Bourke, NSW) by Brendon Mason, Nylex Water Solutions.

The research will focus upon developing computer assisted application technology which will relies upon visualisation of the chemical coverage on the water surface. Fundamental research will be carried out on the performance of chemical monolayers in terms of their spread and resistance to breakup, microbial and UV degradation. Preliminary investigations have indicated that the performance of cetyl alcohol based monolayers may be significantly enhanced with the addition of other chemicals, for example, poly vinyl stearate. PVS is a polymer with a comb-like structure which may enhance the resistance of the monolayer to wind stress (Barnes, 1993).

The NCEA evaporation research team comprises Director Erik Schmidt, Ian Craig, Andrew Green and Michael Scobie. The project was funded by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines (NRM) through the Rural Water Use Efficiency Initiative (RWUEI). The project depended upon the cooperation of product suppliers including NetPro (shadecloth), Nylex Water Solutions (WaterSavr), Evaporation Control Systems (E-VapCap), Raftex, Ciba Speciality Chemicals, and site owners Moonrocks (St George), Cubbie Station (Dirranbandi), Renato Andreatta (Stanthorpe) and Peak Downs Shire Council (Capella).


While carbon-heteroatom cross coupling reactions have been extensively studied, many methods are specific andlimited to a set of substrates or functional groups. Reported here is a method that allows for C-O, C-N and C-S cross coupling reactions under one general methodology. We propose that an energy transfer pathway, in which an iridium photosensitizer produces an excited nickel (II) complex, is responsible for the key reductive elimination step that couples aryl halides to 1° and 2° alcohols, anilines, thiophenols, carbamates and sulfonamides.


We study the roles of traditional governance (boards, sponsors, etc.) and market governance (investors voting with their feet) in mutual funds and variable annuities. We find that market governance is less pronounced for variable annuity investors. Using a matched sample of variable annuity-mutual fund twins, we find that variable annuity investors are less sensitive to poor performance and high fees than mutual fund investors. Given the weaker role played by market governance, we then examine the role played by traditional governance in variable annuities. Variable annuity boards and sponsors add alternative investment options and replace advisors on behalf of their investors after poor performance and high fees. These traditional governance mechanisms are, however, less effective when conflicts of interest exist between variable annuity sponsors and fund advisors.


Introduction This paper introduces the SAINT (Self-Assessment and INTervention) a guided self-help intervention for the treatment of mild depression in people with intellectual disabilities Method The study used a single case experimental design and adopted quality frameworks specific to the approach to describe the participants and to standardise the study. The aim was to examine the acceptability and effectiveness of the SAINT on reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Semi structured interviews were conducted to record user experiences and were using a framework analysis approach. Attendance at sessions was also monitored. Results Nine people receiving guided self-help using the SAINT demonstrated a decrease in symptoms for both intervention phases for either depression or anxiety, with four showing a decrease in mean symptom scores in both intervention phases for both depression and anxiety. Those with a history of affective disorders and those with moderate intellectual disabilities showed improved symptom scores during both intervention phases. Summary and Conclusion The idea that the SAINT can be feasibly implemented in routine clinical practice was broadly supported with the positive outcomes relating to symptom reduction and acceptability. From the feedback received the SAINT is tolerated well by participants and viewed positively by those using it and those who have supported people in its use.


This PFC main goal is to introduce new approaches on the chromatic dispersion measurement
field, based on the big range of possibilities the setup of a general standard RF-tone
modulation chromatic modulation method provides, and to show its good performance
pointing towards a real-time on-line monitoring system for optical communication networks.
The project's objectives are defined considering two well-delimited stages.
First, we will study some standard RF-tone-addition techniques for measuring chromatic
dispersion, specifically the Modulation Phase Shift Method (MPSM) [2] and the Peucheret`s
Method [3]. We will analyze their operating principles, recognize all the variables involved in
their basic configurations and evaluate their performances under different measurement
conditions.
We will also study the implications of real-time on-line monitoring of chromatic dispersion in
optical networks. We have to consider that the test signal has to travel together with the data;
therefore, it is a priority to keep the optical carrier unaltered in the transmission and reception
procedures.
This background will help us to identify the main drawbacks of both methods which motivate
the proposal of a new improved technique based on a similar mathematical basis but with
better performance in terms of accuracy and cost trade-off.
The general features of this new approach will be exposed on a basic setup designed for a
laboratory environment, so that we can contrast it with the conventional techniques. This
method dubbed Asymmetric Modulation Bias-Controlled Method (ABCM) will focus on RF modulated signal amplitude and will take advantage of its direct relation with chromatic
dispersion.
One of the basic building blocks of these standard methods is the device that imposes the RF
pure-tone modulation to the optical signal, namely the Mach-Zehnder interferometric
modulator usually in the conventional push-pull configuration and biased at the quadrature
point. In the context of the new improved CD measurement methods, we will observe how the
Mach-Zehnder modulator Bias Voltage concept gains relevance; becoming the main variable to
be handled by the use of a dual drive Mach-Zehnder modulator in asymmetric configuration.
Finally, we will analyze this ABCM method performance while some fixed parameters (RF
Frequency, Nominal Dispersion, resolution) take different values in order to find out the
optimum operating conditions.
The problem when trying to apply the ABCM to the real-time on-line monitoring of optical
networks is that it relies in the eventual cancellation of the optical carrier which in a network
monitoring application is shared with the data and it is essential for a proper data recovery.
We must find an alternative where this optical carrier cancellation is not essential for the
monitoring function and that would be the ABCM-SC (SC for suppressed carrier)
Therefore, on a second stage, we will focus on giving this new perspective about dispersion
measurement a direct application in optical communications field. We will restructure the
ABCM into a practical dispersion monitoring system for optical communication networks. This
improved monitoring technique will be based on a proof-of-concept study (no real data
transmission considered) to evaluate the method's performance in terms of accuracy,
robustness and adaptability, building the basis for data transmission experiments in future
projects.
An important aspect to take into account will be the way we carry out the RF tone addition
procedure without altering the optical carrier (transmitted data). To accomplish this
requirement we will use a Bessel function analysis to achieve a carrier-suppressed modulation
of the RF tone, which introduces another important handling parameter: the RF Tone
Amplitude.
We will also be concerned about isolating the emitter part (where data is transmitted) from
the monitoring point (where dispersion is measured), but at the same time complementing
each other to operate in a real-time situation.
Finally, we will study the requirement of including the second RF harmonic detection together
with the first harmonic as it adjusts better to a real-time monitoring system and increases the
accuracy level in chromatic dispersion measurement.


Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic exposes underlying inequalities in our socio‐economic and health systems, such as gender‐based violence (GBV). In emergencies, particularly ones that involve quarantine, GBV often increases. Policymakers must utilize community expertise, technology and existing global guidelines to disrupt these trends in the early stages of the COVID‐19 epidemic. Gender norms and roles relegating women to the realm of care work puts them on the frontlines in an epidemic, while often excluding them from developing the response. It is critical to value women's roles in society and include their voices in the decision‐making process to avoid unintended consequences and ensure a comprehensive response that caters to the needs of the most vulnerable groups.


This thesis is a chronologically comparative study of fairy culture and belief in early modern and Victorian Scotland. Using fairy culture as a case study, I examine the adaptability of folk culture by exploring whether beliefs and legends surrounding fairies in the early modern era continued into the nineteenth and early twentieth as a single culture system, or whether the Victorian fairy revival was a distinct cultural phenomenon. Based on contextual, physical, and behavioral comparisons, this thesis argues the former; while select aspects of fairy culture developed and adapted to serve the needs and values of Victorian society, its resurgence and popularization was largely predicated on the notion that it was a remnant of the past, therefore directly linking the nineteenth century interpretation to the early modern. In each era, fairy culture serves as a window into the major tensions complicating Scottish identity formation. In the early modern era, these largely centered around witchcraft, theology, and the Reformation, while notions of cultural heritage, national mythology, and escapist fantasy dominated Victorian fairy discourse. A comparative study on fairy culture demonstrates how cultural traditions can help link vastly different time periods and complicate traditional conceptions about periodization. Ultimately, this thesis reveals how issues of class impacted the popularization and persistence of fairy culture across both eras, reflecting ongoing discussions about Scottish identity.


In a course for engineering freshmen, peer leaders facilitated optional study sessions, which implemented peer-led team learning workshops. Some leaders were paid teaching assistants, but most were undergraduate volunteers. To understand the experiences of the peer leaders, we asked them to keep weekly reflective journals. By performing a basic qualitative analysis of fourteen journals from two semesters, we developed a description of the experience of leading peer-led team learning workshops over the course of the semester. At the beginning of the semester, the leaders were apprehensive about teaching and concerned with correctly answering students' questions. As the semester progressed, the leaders were often frustrated with the difficulty of teaching, and the leaders tried new ways of encouraging student participation. At the end of the semester, the leaders reported that they increased self-confidence, developed an appreciation for intellectual diversity, and gained an increased interest in teaching.


This paper aims at providing some new theoretical support for money demand functions in monetary hyperinflation analysis given the well known failure of Cagan based inflationary finance models to produce explosive hyperinflation. An analytical approach is used to characterize the agents' preferences which are compatible with monetary hyperinflation. In the context of a MIUF model, we show that the possibility of explosive hyperinflation paths depends on a sufficient level of money essentiality in the sense of Scheinkman (1980) which is conveyed by the agents' preferences. This result emerges without any ad-hoc assumption implying the inclusion of some friction in the adjustment of some nominal variable. It suggests that monetary hyperinflation analysis under perfect foresight requires abandoning the Cagan money demand and adopting a demand for money respecting money essentiality. Theoretical support is brought to inelastic functional forms of money demand and specifically to the double-log schedule.


Abstract. Nitrogen (N) is a key component of fundamental biomolecules. Hence, its cycling and availability are central factors governing the extent of ecosystems across the Earth. In the organic-lean sediment porewaters underlying the oligotrophic ocean, where low levels of microbial activity persist despite limited organic matter delivery from overlying water, the extent and modes of nitrogen transformations have not been widely investigated. Here we use the N and oxygen (O) isotopic composition of porewater nitrate (NO3−) from a site in the oligotrophic North Atlantic (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program – IODP) to determine the extent and magnitude of microbial nitrate production (via nitrification) and consumption (via denitrification). We find that NO3- accumulates far above bottom seawater concentrations (~ 21 μM) throughout the sediment column (up to ~ 50 μM) down to the oceanic basement as deep as 90 m b.s.f. (below sea floor), reflecting the predominance of aerobic nitrification/remineralization within the deep marine sediments. Large changes in the δ15N and δ18O of nitrate, however, reveal variable influence of nitrate respiration across the three sites. We use an inverse porewater diffusion–reaction model, constrained by the N and O isotope systematics of nitrification and denitrification and the porewater NO3- isotopic composition, to estimate rates of nitrification and denitrification throughout the sediment column. Results indicate variability of reaction rates across and within the three boreholes that are generally consistent with the differential distribution of dissolved oxygen at this site, though not necessarily with the canonical view of how redox thresholds separate nitrate regeneration from dissimilative consumption spatially. That is, we provide stable isotopic evidence for expanded zones of co-occurring nitrification and denitrification. The isotope biogeochemical modeling also yielded estimates for the δ15N and δ18O of newly produced nitrate (δ15NNTR (NTR, referring to nitrification) and δ18ONTR), as well as the isotope effect for denitrification (15vDNF) (DNF, referring to denitrification), parameters with high relevance to global ocean models of N cycling. Estimated values of δ15NNTR were generally lower than previously reported δ15N values for sinking particulate organic nitrogen in this region. We suggest that these values may be, in part, related to sedimentary N2 fixation and remineralization of the newly fixed organic N. Values of δ18ONTR generally ranged between −2.8 and 0.0 ‰, consistent with recent estimates based on lab cultures of nitrifying bacteria. Notably, some δ18ONTR values were elevated, suggesting incorporation of 18O-enriched dissolved oxygen during nitrification, and possibly indicating a tight coupling of NH4+ and NO2− oxidation in this metabolically sluggish environment. Our findings indicate that the production of organic matter by in situ autotrophy (e.g., nitrification, nitrogen fixation) supplies a large fraction of the biomass and organic substrate for heterotrophy in these sediments, supplementing the small organic-matter pool derived from the overlying euphotic zone. This work sheds new light on an active nitrogen cycle operating, despite exceedingly low carbon inputs, in the deep sedimentary biosphere.


If the goal of receptive multilingualism is to be attained in the European context, new pedagogical concepts must be developed, tested and implemented. The following discussion has as its focus the learning of a new, tertiary and possibly related foreign language (FL), employing two models, Meisner's Spontaneous Learner Grammar and Hufeisen's Factor model, as a theoretical framework. It is shown how these modelshave been used to investigate tertiary language learning and how these concepts apply to improving the reception of new FLs. Two projects, DaFnE and EuroComGerm, are considered, both of which aim to help students use their knowledge of a related, previouslylearned FL in order to achieve receptive competencies in a new FL.


Why do non-state armed groups forcibly recruit civilians? To address this question I develop a conceptual framework distinguishing voluntary, coerced and forced recruitment. I then compare the recruitment tactics employed by 'Mai-Mai' militias and the RCD-Goma rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to inductively develop a theory explaining why groups with different initial economic and social endowments resort to force. This comparison draws on interviews with 41 former militia members and 11 former members of RCD-Goma. The theory suggests that forced recruitment is most likely to occur when non-state armed groups experience manpower deficits and when accountability (to local communities, government sponsors and/or the international community) is low. High levels of popular support will not necessarily prevent recourse to force under these conditions, but may mean that force is less necessary because voluntary and coerced recruits come forward to fill manpower gaps.


Aim. To develop and test the Parental PELICAN Questionnaire, an instrument to retrospectively assess parental experiences and needs during their child's end-oflife care. Background. To offer appropriate care for dying children, healthcare professionals need to understand the illness experience from the family perspective. A questionnaire specific to the end-of-life experiences and needs of parents losing a child is needed to evaluate the perceived quality of paediatric end-of-life care. Design. This is an instrument development study applying mixed methods based on recommendations for questionnaire design and validation. Method. The Parental PELICAN Questionnaire was developed in four phases between August 2012–March 2014: phase 1: item generation; phase 2: validity testing; phase 3: translation; phase 4: pilot testing. Psychometric properties were assessed after applying the Parental PELICAN Questionnaire in a sample of 224 bereaved parents in April 2014. Validity testing covered the evidence based on tests of content, internal structure and relations to other variables. Results. The Parental PELICAN Questionnaire consists of approximately 90 items in four slightly different versions accounting for particularities of the four diagnostic groups. The questionnaire's items were structured according to six quality domains described in the literature. Evidence of initial validity and reliability could be demonstrated with the involvement of healthcare professionals and bereaved parents. Conclusion. The Parental PELICAN Questionnaire holds promise as a measure to assess parental experiences and needs and is applicable to a broad range of paediatric specialties and settings. Future validation is needed to evaluate its suitability in different cultures.


Observations of responses to aseasonal water stress are reported for 124 species of native vascular plants in a 20 km2 area surveyed during the second consecutive year of below average rainfall. Both vegetative regeneration and seedling regeneration appeared to be successful means of surviving drought stress in this region. The drought affected species of the families Proteaceae and Epacridaceae more than those of other major families. There are similarities in the response of the vegetation to the two main. irregularly occurring phenomena, aseasonal drought and fire: both can affect vegetation over large areas and yet leave considerable patches within the area that are little affected. Together these two factors contribute to the production of complex and dynamic mosaic-patterns in the vegetation.


Written by a team of highly acclaimed authors, Anatomy & Physiology: From Science to Life arms readers with the knowledge and detail they'll need to move forward in their allied health careers. Instead of focusing on memorization, this book integrates text and illustrations that emphasize critical thinking, conceptual understanding, and relevant application of knowledge. It also effectively blends the use of print and media to bring the content to life. Readers will find that the material is presented in a more conceptually, relevant manner than other books in the market.


The key political message arising from the WaVE case studies is the crucial relevance ofreligion (as subject matter) and locality (as the key framework in which to operate) in thedomain of welfare provision, if this is viewed from the perspective of majority/minorityrelations in Europe. a) Concerning the former, issues related to religion are clearly on the agenda in thedomain of welfare in both majority and minority communities. The role of religionis dual: it offers considerable potential but also involves a degree of risk. Thus,greater sensitivity, know-how and information on these questions are urgentlyneeded. This relates closely to the level of action, where more attention should bepaid to religion. Thus the message from our studies is: to raise awareness byimproving the level of information (see Figure 1 below). b) Concerning the latter, locality (specifically the local) emerges as the primarycontext of action in the domain of welfare. Thus, power, resources and support, aswell as information are needed at the local level. The role of religion is also evidentin the various elements of locality. Thus the second core message from our studiesis: to increase effectiveness by improving the action (see Figure 1 below). Noting the significance of religion and locality, several interrelated improvements ininformation and action are needed in order to build social cohesion and to preventtensions or conflicts between majorities and minorities in Europe. In this process, thevalues of each community (majority/minority) and their social, economic and politicalresources should be acknowledged in both constructive and critical ways.Thus, information and action provide the main themes of our policy recommendations atEuropean, national/regional and local level. These are summarized in the cycle of socialcohesion set out in Figure 1 and in the paragraphs that follow (pp. 6-7); each recommendationis then considered in more detail.


Much of the damage caused by red palm weevil larvae to date palms, ornamental palms, and palm offshoots could be mitigated by early detection and treatment of infestations. Acoustic technology has potential to enable early detection, but the short, high-frequency sound impulses produced by red palm weevil larvae can be difficult to distinguish from certain similar sounds produced by other insects or small animals, or by wind-induced tapping noises. Considerable research has been conducted to develop instruments and signal processing software that selectively amplify insect-produced sounds and identify signal features that distinguish sounds produced by a particular target insect from those produced by other causes. Progress has been made in identifying unique spectral and temporal patterns in the sounds produced by larvae during movement and feeding activities. This report describes some of the new instrumentation and signal analyses available for early, reliable detection of red palm weevil larvae in groves and greenhouses.


Discriminative appearance features are effective for recognizing actions in a fixed view, but generalize poorly to changes in viewpoint. We present a method for viewinvariant action recognition based on sparse representations using a transferable dictionary pair. A transferable dictionary pair consists of two dictionaries that correspond to the source and target views respectively. The two dictionaries are learned simultaneously from pairs of videos taken at different views and aim to encourage each video in the pair to have the same sparse representation. Thus, the transferable dictionary pair links features between the two views that are useful for action recognition. Both unsupervised and supervised algorithms are presented for learning transferable dictionary pairs. Using the sparse representation as features, a classifier built in the source view can be directly transferred to the target view. We extend our approach to transferring an action model learned from multiple source views to one target view. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on the multi-view IXMAS data set. Our results compare favorably to the the state of the art.


Introduction Bibliometrics is a research method used in library and information science. It is a quantitative study of various aspects of literature on a topic and is used to identify the pattern of publication, authorship, and secondary journal coverage to gain insight into the dynamics of growth of knowledge in the areas under consideration. This can lead to better organization of information resources, which is essential for effective and efficient use. Bibliometrics has attained sophistication and complexity with a national, international, and interdisciplinary character. The term "bibliometrics" was coined by Pritchard in 1969. A pioneering example of a bibliometric study was statistical analysis of the literature of comparative anatomy from 1543 to 1860, done by counting book and journal titles, and grouping them by countries of origin and periods. In 1923, a study was conducted by Hulme, entitled "Statistical Analysis of the History of Science". His analysis was based on the entries in the English International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. A third study was the work of Gross and Gross reported in 1927. They counted and analyzed the citations in articles from the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and produced a list of journals deemed important to chemical education. Another prominent work was Bradford's 1934 article on the distribution of literature in lubrication research. It is an important part of the theoretical foundation of bibliometrics, "Bradford's Law of Scattering." In 1948, the great library scientist, S.R. Ranganathan, coined the term "librametry", which historically appeared first and was intended to streamline the services of librarianship. Bibliometrics is analogous to Ranganathan's librametrics, the Russian concept scientometrics, boometrics, and subdisciplines like econometrics, psychometrics, sociometrics, biometrics, technometrics, chemometrics, and climetrics, where mathematics and statistics are applied to study and solve problems in their respective fields. Scientometrics is now used for the application of quantitative methods to the history of science and overlaps with bibliometrics to a considerable extent. Need for the Study Periodicals are the indicators of literature growth in any field of knowledge. They emerge as the main channel for transmitting knowledge. Due to the escalating cost of the periodicals and lack of adequate library budgets, the selection of any particular journal for a library should be done carefully. Library authorities are forced to reduce the number of journal subscriptions. Bibliometric analysis has many applications in library and information science in identifying research trends, core journals, etc., and thereby framing subscription policies for tomorrow. These studies will be helpful for librarians in collection development. Library Philosophy and Practice Library Philosophy and Practice (LPP) describes itself as "a peer-reviewed electronic journal that publishes articles exploring the connection between library practice and the philosophy and theory behind it. These include explorations of current, past, and emerging theories of librarianship and library practice, as well as reports of successful, innovative, or experimental library procedures, methods, or projects in all areas of librarianship, set in the context of applied research." (http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP It was founded in 1998 and was published twice a year until 2007, when it began to publish a continuous annual volume. Objectives of the Study The present study has been undertaken with the objective of analyzing the following aspects. Analysis of articles * to make an analysis of articles published in LPP from 2005-2009. * to identify the number of contributions published during the period of study. * to determine the year-wise distribution of articles. * to study the authorship pattern * to find out the ranking of leading contributors * to study the subject coverage of articles. …


In this paper we describe and implement a long-range Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensor, for both temperature and strain measurements, using optical pulse coding techniques. A theoretical analysis of Simplex coding applied to BOTDA systems is presented and experimentally demonstrated for both Brillouin loss and Brillouin gain configurations. With the proposed technique, ∼7.1 dB and ∼10.3 dB of signal-to-noise ratio improvements are demonstrated in BOTDA measurements using 127-bit and 511-bit Simplex codes, respectively. This feature allows us to extend the dynamic range of the measurements, overcoming the limitations to the maximum usable optical power imposed by pump depletion and modulation instability; thus, the sensing range can be extended by several tens of kilometers while keeping meter-scale spatial resolution. Experimental results show the capabilities of optical pulse coding techniques to achieve 1 m spatial resolution over 50 km of standard single-mode fiber enabling temperature and strain resolutions equal to 2.2 °C and 44 µε, respectively.


Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic cancer arising from plasma cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous cell population in the bone marrow microenvironment. In this study, we evaluated the regulatory effects of MSCs on the invasion and drug resistance of MM cells U266 and LP-1. Bone marrow samples from MM patients and healthy subjects were collected. MSCs were extracted from bone marrow and cultured, and their phenotypes were identified by flow cytometry. The level of CXCL13 in the supernatant of cultured MSCs was detected by ELISA. The protein expression of CXCR5 (a specific receptor of CXCL13) in U266 and LP-1 cells was detected by Western blot. The effects of MSCs on the invasion of U266 and LP-1 cells and the resistance to bortezomib were assessed by Transwell and CCK-8 assay, respectively. The mRNA and protein expressions of BTK, NF-κB, BCL-2, and MDR-1 were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. CXCL13 was secreted by MSCs in the bone marrow microenvironment, and the level in MSCs from MM patients was significantly higher than that of healthy subjects. CXCR5 was expressed in both U266 and LP-1 cells. The resistance of MM cells to bortezomib was enhanced by MSCs through CXCL13 secretion. The invasion and proliferation of U266 and LP-1 cells were promoted, and the mRNA and protein expressions of BTK, NF-κB, BCL-2, and MDR-1 were upregulated by MSCs. The basic biological functions of MM cells U266 and LP-1 were affected by MSCs via the CXCL13-mediated signaling pathway. This study provides valuable experimental evidence for clinical MM therapy.


Objective: To assess the occupational hazard of unscavenged waste anesthetic gases on reproductive health (infertility, abortions, preterm delivery and congenital anomalies) in personnel working in operating rooms. Methods: The study was conducted by a questionnaire-based survey of 99 operating room personnel and 118 non exposed personnel from the general wards in Omdurman Military Hospital, Omdurman Teaching Hospital and Bahri Teaching Hospital. Controls selected by matching age, gender and job grade, 68 were eligible for analysis, 38 males & 30 females. Single personnel and those working less than five years were excluded from the study . Results: Incidence of infertility in operating room personnel was 7.35% compared to 1.47% in non-exposed health workers (relative risk RR 4.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.6-41.7). There was a higher incidence of abortion in OR personnel in the first ten years of work (43.3%) with (RR=3, (95% CI 0.8-11.93) while 14.29% in non-exposed health workers. Longer durations of exposure were associated with having fewer children (0.05). Incidence of preterm delivery was similar in both groups (10% Vs 13.3%), but higher by about two-fold the general population (5%). Incidence of congenital anomalies in offspring was similar in both groups (1.47%). Conclusion: There is a reproductive health risk of exposure to anesthetic gases. Adequate hazard control can be achieved by well-designed anesthetic equipment and high standards in scavenging and general ventilation and continuous training for good work practices. All staff working with anesthetic agents and contemplating pregnancies should limit exposure to toxic substances to the lowest level achievable.


A major problem with the current environmental regulatory regime is that it does not provide a reliable process for determining or discovering either the optimal amount of pollution or the most efficient means for achieving the selected level of pollution. This Article explains how the common law process, when coupled with competitive federalism, spontaneously leads to the discovery of better environmental policy. This analysis suggests that common law rules should be the presumptively optimal method of controlling local environmental harms. Common law processes allow for greater experimentation and innovation than do set and rigid statutory rules. Unlike rigid rules, the common law provides opportunities to adjust to changes in technology and societal preferences and to learn from experience. Part of the adjustment process is through private contracting. The common law evolves by self-correcting policy mistakes, whereas there are no such self-correcting mechanisms in centralized command-and-control regulations. Command-and-control bureaucrats and legislators are often oblivious to changes inherent in a dynamic world, but common law environmentalism and jurisdictional competition provide a dynamic process through which policy options are discovered and discarded in response to the reality of perpetual changes in technology and political preferences. The current regulatory regime is strengthened and reinforced by the common law - but making bad policy stronger is not a logical reason for championing the common law. The current regulatory regime constrains the evolution of the common law and thus limits the ability of the common law to evolve and discover better environmental policy. The benefits of common law environmentalism are likely to be even greater when coupled with devolution of authority to the states, thereby allowing greater opportunities for experimentation and learning from other jurisdictions. Many of the standard criticisms of common law environmentalism are overstated. In particular, the common law failure that motivated federal intervention is largely irrelevant to current debates about the virtue of the common law.


As the quality of mobile cameras starts to play a crucial role in modern smartphones, more and more attention is now being paid to ISP algorithms used to improve various perceptual aspects of mobile photos. In this Mobile AI challenge, the target was to develop an end-to-end deep learning-based image signal processing (ISP) pipeline that can replace classical hand-crafted ISPs and achieve nearly real-time performance on smartphone NPUs. For this, the participants were provided with a novel learned ISP dataset consisting of RAW-RGB image pairs captured with the Sony IMX586 Quad Bayer mobile sensor and a professional 102-megapixel medium format camera. The runtime of all models was evaluated on the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ platform with a dedicated AI processing unit capable of accelerating both floating-point and quantized neural networks. The proposed solutions are fully compatible with the above NPU and are capable of processing Full HD photos under 60-100 milliseconds while achieving high fidelity results. A detailed description of all models developed in this challenge is provided in this paper.


Our lives are now so dependent on electricity. Loss of electricity could cause our lives could not walk normally. Various aspects of life becomes blocked, either from our daily lives to efforts that require electrical energy. The high cost of electricity tariff barriers add to the long facing entrepreneurs. Chicken farm is one of the types of businesses that require a constant electrical energy, in case of rolling blackouts it will directly affect the production process. In addition, the location of the chicken farm that is usually placed at distant places, also very influential on the continuous supply of electrical energy. Hybrid power plant technology is the right solution to respond all these problems. The plant can harness the energy that is around us, such as wind and sunlight. Then make it a stable supply of electrical energy, constant, and environment friendly. Hybrid plant is capable of producing electrical energy 12 kWh / day while the partner needs to reach 5.31 kWh / day and a chicken farmer can save electricity cost of Rp. 173,600 / month. With the results of the application of Hybrid Generating proven to reduce production costs by utilizing renewable energy on a chicken farm village Sukonolo Malang, so that energy independence can be achieved. Keywords: Electrical energy, chicken farms, hybrid power plants.


In this study we focused on the development of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and investigated changes in the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and hydroperoxide lyase (HPL) in different tissues. We sampled grape skin at four, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 12, 14 and 16 weeks after anthesis; developing flowers when blooming at 0%, 5%, 50%, and 90%; and leaves at two and four weeks before anthesis and at two, four, six, eight, nine, and 10 weeks after anthesis. We also examined the type and fluctuation of volatile contents. ADH activity increased with the development of flowers and grape skins, which led to the increasing of types and concentration of alcohols. Low levels of 9-HPL led to low concentrations of C9 compounds. According to this paper, C6 compounds became abundant with the development of grape berries, while the activity of 13-HPL kept at a low level in the flowers and grape skins. There might have been a high level of 13-HPL activity from the end of flowering until fruit setting that we did not detect. Furthermore, similar C6 and C5 compounds were detected across all tissues, including hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenal, (Z)-2-penten-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol and 3-hexen-1-ol. Generally speaking, the concentrations of C6 and C5 compounds could be used as the criterion of maturation of the three grape tissues.