Deep water‐filled sinkholes, cenotes, are common in the northern Yucatan Peninsula. At least five of these cenotes are deep enough to extend through a freshwater lens of meteoric origin in which δ18O and δD follow the trend δD = 8.11 × δ18O + 10.4. Below this freshwater lies saline water that originated as seawater and has retained its seawater isotopic identity. Deep cenotes, characterized by input of variable amounts of organic debris from tropical vegetation and by poor circulation below the fresh‐/saltwater interface, provide excellent water columns in which to study sulfur redox phenomena. Measurements include O, H, and S isotope composition, conductivity, sulfur speciation, and pH from two cenotes (Ucil, 98 m deep, and Xcolac, 125 m deep). Strong 34S enrichment of sulfate and 34S depletion of sulfide indicate anaerobic bacterial reduction of sulfate. A shift in the isotopic composition of sulfur in Xcolac from a seawater value of +21.0‰ (CDT) to +41.8‰ indicates conversion of sulfate to isotopically light sulfide. Mass balance calculations indicate that escape of isotopically light sulfur from the system is a slow process. At 80 m in Xcolac, a difference in sulfur isotope composition between sulfate and sulfide (△34S) of 63.2‰ is observed and could be the result of multiple sulfate reduction reactions. Higher in the water column, sulfide oxidation occurs, probably the result of bacterially mediated sulfide oxidation processes. A deep observation well (lacking organic matter input) shows only a slight deviation in sulfur isotope composition of sulfate from seawater values.


This paper is focused on the computational analysis of collective discourse, a collective behavior seen in nonexpert content contributions in online social media. We collect and analyze a wide range of real-world collective discourse datasets from movie user reviews to microblogs and news headlines to scientic citations. We show that all these datasets exhibit diversity of perspective, a property seen in other collective systems and a criterion in wise crowds. Our experiments also conrm that the network of dierent perspective co-occurrences exhibits the small-world property with high clustering of dierent perspectives. Finally, we show that non-expert contributions in collective discourse can be used to answer simple questions that are otherwise hard to answer.


Extending Quantum Memory Practical applications in quantum communication and quantum computation require the building blocks—quantum bits and quantum memory—to be sufficiently robust and long-lived to allow for manipulation and storage (see the Perspective by Boehme and McCarney). Steger et al. (p. 1280) demonstrate that the nuclear spins of 31P impurities in an almost isotopically pure sample of 28Si can have a coherence time of as long as 192 seconds at a temperature of ∼1.7 K. In diamond at room temperature, Maurer et al. (p. 1283) show that a spin-based qubit system comprised of an isotopic impurity (13C) in the vicinity of a color defect (a nitrogen-vacancy center) could be manipulated to have a coherence time exceeding one second. Such lifetimes promise to make spin-based architectures feasible building blocks for quantum information science. An almost isotopically pure sample of 28Si provides a vacuumlike environment for 31P qubits. A quantum computer requires systems that are isolated from their environment, but can be integrated into devices, and whose states can be measured with high accuracy. Nuclear spins in solids promise long coherence lifetimes, but they are difficult to initialize into known states and to detect with high sensitivity. We show how the distinctive optical properties of enriched 28Si enable the use of hyperfine-resolved optical transitions, as previously applied to great effect for isolated atoms and ions in vacuum. Together with efficient Auger photoionization, these resolved hyperfine transitions permit rapid nuclear hyperpolarization and electrical spin-readout. We combine these techniques to detect nuclear magnetic resonance from dilute 31P in the purest available sample of 28Si, at concentrations inaccessible to conventional measurements, measuring a solid-state coherence time of over 180 seconds.


The objective of this paper is to synthesize information from successful city-wide bus system reforms in three world cities, London (Europe), Sao Paulo (Latin America) and Seoul (Asia). All reviewed systems improved system wide ridership, significantly improved conditions for commuters and produced other positive externalities such as reducing air pollution and improving traffic safety. The reforms were undertaken amidst varying political, economic and social contexts. The main focus of the reviews was to identify the common elements in successful reform processes in an attempt to assist planners and decision makers implementing city-wide bus system reforms. Individual case studies were prepared for each city and are presented in separate documents. The reviews are based on material available on the internet. The following seven aspects or commonalties stood out as the key factors for implementing successful bus system reforms across the three cities. 1. Strong Political Leadership in the Decision Making process 2. Strong local technical institution developing demand based route planning 3. Implementing bus Priority and/or building segregated infrastructure for buses 4. Use of Technology 5. Innovations in contracting and tendering processes 6. Need for managed subsidies to improve quality of service 7. System Performance Monitoring and User Feedback The paper is divided in three sections. The first section provides a short description and indicator information about the performance of bus systems in each city. The second section examines each of the seven commonalties for each system. The final section summarizes the learning from the three systems.


Abstract:  Pastoralists and their livestock share much of the habitat of the snow leopard (Uncia uncia) across south and central Asia. The levels of livestock predation by the snow leopard and other carnivores are high, and retaliatory killing by the herders is a direct threat to carnivore populations. Depletion of wild prey by poaching and competition from livestock also poses an indirect threat to the region's carnivores. Conservationists working in these underdeveloped areas that face serious economic damage from livestock losses have turned to incentive programs to motivate local communities to protect carnivores. We describe a pilot incentive program in India that aims to offset losses due to livestock predation and to enhance wild prey density by creating livestock‐free areas on common land. We also describe how income generation from handicrafts in Mongolia is helping curtail poaching and retaliatory killing of snow leopards. However, initiatives to offset the costs of living with carnivores and to make conservation beneficial to affected people have thus far been small, isolated, and heavily subsidized. Making these initiatives more comprehensive, expanding their coverage, and internalizing their costs are future challenges for the conservation of large carnivores such as the snow leopard.


The most important question addresed in this study was whether there is any difference in student learning between a motion group and a non-motion group. The interactive video courseware is currently a part of the curriculum in this district. It was used in its original form with the contrast group. For the
experimental group one unit of the courseware was modified to remove the motion video and replace it with photorealistic graphics that served as the non-motion part of the study. Covariates were selected to compensate for any differences in the two groups. A pretest and posttest was administered to both groups. Analysis of the posttest scores indicated that there was no difference in learning if motion in the presentation was the only variable.


Solar energy as one type of the renewable energy becomes more and more popular which has led to increase the photovoltaic (PV) installations recently. One of the PV installations is the power conditioning system which is to convert the maximum available power output of the PV modules to the utility grid. Single-phase microinverters are commonly used to integrate the power to utility grid in modular power conditioning system. In the two-stage microinverter, each PV module is connected with a power converter which can transfer higher output power due to the tracking maximum power point (MPP) capability. However, it also has the disadvantages of lower power conversion efficiency due to the increased number of power electronics converters. The primary objective of this thesis is to develop a high-efficiency microconverter to increase the output power capability of the modular power conditioning systems. A topology with hybrid modes of operation are proposed to achieve wide-input regulation while achieving high efficiency. Two operating modes are introduced in details. Under high-input conditions, the converter acts like a buck converter, whereas the converter behaves as a boost converter under low-input conditions. The converter operates as the series resonant converter with normal-input voltage to achieve the highest efficiency. With this topology, the converter can achieve zero-voltage switching (ZVS) and/or zerocurrent switching (ZCS) of the primary side MOSFETs, ZCS and/or ZVS of the secondary iii side MOSFETs and ZCS of output diodes under all operational conditions. The experimental results based on a 300 W prototype are given with 98.1% of peak power stage efficiency and 97.6% of weighted California Energy Commission (CEC) efficiency including all auxiliary and control power under the normal-input voltage condition.


We investigate the localized surface plasmon (LSP) effect by Al nanorings on the AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structure emitting at 365 nm. For this experiment, first, the size of Al nanorings is optimized to maximize the energy transfer (or coupling) between the LSP and MQW using the silica nanospheres. Then, the Al nanorings with an outer diameter of 385 nm, which exhibit a strong absorption peak in the near-ultraviolet region, are applied to the top surface of the AlGaN/GaN MQW. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the MQW structure with Al nanorings increased by 227% at 365 nm compared to that without Al nanorings. This improvement is mainly attributed to an enhanced radiative recombination rate in the MQWs through the energy-matched LSPs by the temperature-dependent PL and time-resolved PL analyses. The radiative lifetime was about two times shorter than that of the structure without Al nanorings at room temperature. In addition, the measured PL efficiency at room temperature of the structure with Al nanorings was 33%, while that of the structure without Al nanorings was 19%, implying that LSP-QW coupling together with the nanoring array pattern itself played important roles in the enhancement.


We report on a field study aimed at understanding the challenges facing inclusive education practices for children with visual impairments (VIs). We interviewed 25 practitioners and observed seven teaching sessions at three support services and mainstream schools that include children with VIs. A thematic analysis of the data highlighted the need to develop incidental learning opportunities; to break the phenomenon of the "teaching assistant bubble"; and to support a maker culture prominent amongst practitioners. Our findings offer insights into areas where technology-enhanced learning tools could be introduced to address the challenges of including children with VIs in mainstream schools.


This paper presents a fundamental investigation of the use of conventional Rankine Cycle, Trilateral Flash Cycle, and wet vapour Rankine Cycle system for the generation of power from Enhanced Geothermal Systems. The paper considers ideal Carnot, Trilateral and Quadlateral cycles, and compares the ideal cases of maximum rate of power production with maximum total electricity delivery. These results illustrate the relative advantages of different power plant systems, and provide insight into the operational requirements of power generation equipment for enhanced geothermal systems. A more detailed analysis is then performed for a recuperated Organic Rankine Cycle. This analysis allows a direct comparison between the ideal and practical cycles, showing maximum cycle efficiencies of around half the ideal Quadlateral Cycle case, and demonstrates some of the challenges associated with designing a system to operate over a wide range of heat source conditions.


The relationship between tourism and sustainability is complex, with considerable attention paid to ecotourism's potential to positively contribute to sustainability. One way forward could be through using tourist experiences, especially those focusing on interpretation, to activate or change sustainability relevant values, beliefs, attitudes and actions both at places visited and elsewhere. This paper reports on research conducted with passengers on expedition cruises that explored links between aspects of the overall experience including the interpretation provided, tourist perceptions of the benefits of these experiences and their awareness of sustainability values linked. An adapted mean-ends analysis technique was used and found a consistent pattern of relationships between features of interpretive experience, activation of values and intentions to adopt responsible behaviours beyond the cruise. Responses highlighted the importance of staff expertise and dedication, the ability of interpretive staff to provide security, to assist people to make personal connections and to elicit participant trust. A Value Model of Interpretation (VMI) was developed, integrating theories of effective interpretive practice and connecting interpretation to the activation of sustainability values. The VMI offers new areas for guides to consider, shifting the focus from the transmission of information and towards the facilitation of mindfulness and reflective engagement.


Feminist Security Studies (FSS) is quickly becoming a recognized area of research. Recent articles in Security Studies (Sjoberg 2009) and International Security (Hudson et al. 2008/9) specifically address the contributions of FSS to the field of security studies, a network of scholars working in FSS is regularly represented at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, and the terminology has been used in many recent publications (e.g. Hansen 2009; Shepherd 2010; Sjoberg and Martin 2010; Wibben 2009, 2011). Given the proliferation of feminist security scholarship, which is based on a variety of feminisms, feminist scholars should begin to debate the content and scope of their research. Not only is there now enough material to do so, but there also are some real differences in feminist scholarship—and these differences matter.


Indirect spectrophotometric method for trace determination of thiosulphate has been developed. The method is based on decrease in absorbance of ferric salicylate complex solution by thiosulphate. Up to 5 ppm of thiosulphate can be determined with a standard deviation of 0.046 ppm.


Coral reefs are one of the world's most biologically diverse and productive ecosystems. However, these valuable resources are highly threatened by human activities. Satellite remotely sensed observations enhance our understanding of coral reefs and some of the threats facing them by providing global spatial and time-series data on reef habitats and the environmental conditions influencing them in near-real time. This review highlights many of the ways in which satellites are currently used to monitor coral reefs and their threats, and provides a look toward future needs and capabilities.


Cochlear implants (CI) are in the midst of the great success stories of the modern medicine and is the most successful of all neural prostheses developed to date in terms of restoration of function in people profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing, and by the time, the number of the candidates of CI is rising and the age of the surgery in the kids reducing to 12–18 months. By the time, outstanding progression in CI development has been made but more rooms remain still for improvements. Objective: the purpose of this thesis project is to present a broad overview on human's hearing story; the structural anatomy of the normal hearing system and a deaf ear, the recent cochlear implantation process from its A to Z as the new and only treatment for deafness, to assess the existent complications and difficulties in this pathology, and finally to propose a comprehensive solution (Platform) to reach the highest outcomes from this surgery for each candidate of CI. In this case, the vital goal is: (i) To create a new international agency of professionals, who are in exchange while working in their country of origin, "give their professionalism" for users who need to start a rehabilitation process in their native language (foreigners residing abroad). (ii) To establish an international healthcare service platform of telemedicine, for continuity assistance. (iii) To create, among different specialists, a network of training and experiential exchanges to unify rehabilitation protocols, despite the linguistic differences. Results: As a result of this activity, we consider some of the determinants of success in cochlear Implantation such as: The patients' hearing story before implantation (being post-lingual, pre-lingual, current age, age of loosing hearing, time of using CI, ability of learning, how intensive they do training, the health and structure of their cochlea-number of nerve (spiral ganglion) cells that they have and also Intelligence and communicativeness of patient. So the goal is to prepare the best situation for patients to have their rehabilitation after surgery in it's best way, because it's not just about the device, it's mostly about their brain to adopt itself to this new hearing system, analyzing the result of current situation in Italy, we clarified the complexity and importance of the process after CI surgery (Rehabilitation), beyond the surgery and the fact that there is a serious lack of public information about this issue all around the world. Finally, a potential approach to face this issue is proposed. Conclusions: Although it is unavoidable to place such a platform in a process to accelerate and improve the whole procedure, it is not possible to replace it with regular face-to-face sessions. Patients better to include this remote usage of platform in case of emergency or additional option to their regular mapping and rehabilitation.


In Missouri, we are fortunate to have a strong network of professional folklorists that we rely upon to serve on panels, to conduct evaluations and to advise us with new projects. Dr. Wolford, who earned his PhD in Folklore at Indiana University, is a key member of that network. An urban anthropologist, Wolford teaches folklore, oral history and anthropology courses at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has recently retired from the Missouri Historical Society.


Purpose

The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study was conducted at Green Mountain College (GMC), an environmental liberal arts school in Poultney, VT; 55 students participated in focus group interviews.

Findings

Students articulate that the most valuable gains that manifest at GMA are a variety of new capacities for science literacy, anthropological appreciation, the triple bottom line, a sense of place, systems, empathic decision-making and reasoning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical techniques supporting self-sufficiency. Prompting these emergent outcomes was a philosophy of practice at Green Mountain College, which included place-based techniques, empowerment, personalization, community ecology and charting polarity. Many students described their seeming metamorphosis as uncomfortable, and some felt isolated from the outside paradigm.

Research limitations/implications

A key implication of the study's findings is that in a holistic setting, the line between the informal and formal curriculum are significantly blurred and what is implicitly communicated through university practices and values is what most transforms the students' explicit understanding of sustainability.

Practical implications

Sustainability education is far more than technique, far more than what a lone instructor can manifest in students. While the persistence of individual faculty members is important, this evidence suggests that the fertile conditions for transformation may be more fruitful when faculty members work together with a collective sense of responsibility and a well-articulated paradigm.

Originality/value

The advantage of the present study is that it examines the perceived impact of a focus on sustainability across curricula and school by considering the educational environment as a whole. The experiences of students from many different majors who are involved in a holistic, sustainability-infused curriculum at a university with a history of successful post-graduation job placements in the sustainability field are explored here.


Pattern identification issues are commonly used in public health practice to identify disease clusters and tendencies towards clustering. The basic building blocks or units for such patterns may be individuals or geographical units, but the key factor is the association between units in terms of time, space or other complex links. A range of methods has been developed for cluster detection but these methods are not designed to handle complex pattern searching. This paper describes early work in developing a novel method of tackling this problem, using graph theoretical techniques developed for computational chemistry. A modified version of the maximum common subgraph isomorphism method was used to search and retrieve enumeration districts (EDs) using 27 user-defined patterns from a set of 106 EDs. The results were then checked manually to ensure that all the appropriate and no additional patterns and EDs were retrieved. The program successfully retrieved all the relevant patterns and EDs and did not retrieve any patterns not specified by the query patterns. This study demonstrates the applicability of using graph theory for identifying and retrieving patterns in public health datasets.


Background A recognised research-to-practice gap exists in the field of sports injury prevention and safety promotion. The role of key organisations in increasing the relevancy, accessibility, and legitimacy of injury prevention and safety promotion research knowledge for sport settings remains under-explored. Objective This study sought to provide new insight into the knowledge translation activities undertaken by a set of key organisations that work to 'bridge the gap' between research and practice in sport settings. Design Semi-structured face-to-face interviews about organisational processes of knowledge translation were undertaken with representatives from five key organisations. Setting The National Guidance for Australian Football Partnerships and Safety (NoGAPS) project provided a clear and purposeful context for this study. Participants The participants in this study were the self-nominated representatives from the following NoGAPS partnership organisations: 1) Australian Football League, 2) Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, 3) JLT Sport as a division of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Australia Pty Ltd, 4) Sport and Recreation Victoria, and 5) Sports Medicine Australia. Main Outcome Measurements A qualitative descriptive methodology was used to analyse participants' descriptions of knowledge translation activities undertaken at their respective organisations. Results Several knowledge translation processes and considerations emerged around three key themes: 1) identifying a need for knowledge translation, 2) developing and disseminating resources, and 3) barriers and enablers to knowledge translation. Conclusions This study provides new insight into knowledge translation processes that key organisations undertake when developing and disseminating injury prevention and safety promotion resources for sport settings. The role these organisations play in increasing the relevancy, accessibility, and legitimacy of research knowledge through the development of useful injury prevention and safety promotion resources is key to influencing policy and practice in sport settings.


Current multimedia design processes suffer from the excessively large time spent on testing new IP-blocks with references based on large video encoders specifications (usually several thousands lines of code). The appropriate testing of a single IP-block may require the conversion of the overall encoder from software to hardware, which is difficult to complete in the short time required by the competition-driven reduced time-to-market demanded for the adoption of a new video coding standard. This paper presents a new design flow to accelerate the conformance testing of an IP-block using the H.264/AVC software reference model. An example block of the simplified 8 × 8 transformation and quantization, which is adopted in FRExt, is provided as a case study demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach.


A novel cavity-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) to rectangular waveguide transition having a 2.5D geometry compatible with micromachining fabrication technique is presented. This transition makes use of a short-circuited pin (as opposed to a suspended probe) in conjunction with resonant sections of CPW line over the broad wall of a reduced height waveguide segment to facilitate impedance matching. Although the bandwidth of this transition is smaller than the standard suspended probe transitions, its fabrication at submillimeter-wave and terahertz bands is rather straightforward and does not require assembly of many small parts with very high precision. The design procedure starts from an equivalent circuit model which is then fine-tuned using a full-wave approach. A silicon micromachining process for the fabrication of the proposed transition is presented. To validate the design and demonstrate the feasibility of the fabrication process, a prototype transition operating at 240 GHz is fabricated and tested. It is shown that a back-to-back transition prototype at 240 GHz provides less than 1 dB of insertion loss over more that 17% fractional bandwidth. It is also shown that the measured S-parameters of the back-to-back transition are in good agreement with the simulation results. The microfabrication process and associated tolerances allows for scaling the dimensions and frequency of operation to THz frequencies.


Global path planning is a challenging problem arisen in many fields of research. It is of particular interest to construction planning community facing the requirements of trustworthiness and feasibility of project schedules. Correct schedules must avoid any conflicting situations at project sites and assure the existence of collision-free paths for installed construction elements and deployed equipment. To validate schedules against potential spatio-temporal conflicts, emerging 4D modeling technologies, collision detection and motion planning methods can be applied. Ultimately it would enable detecting and anticipating problems at earlier planning phases and reducing risks and waste at the final construction phases.Unfortunately, path planning algorithms have relatively high complexity that extremely grows with the input data volume. Most reports have concluded that the algorithms work well in simple 2D environments, but require much larger computation resources in large-scale dynamic 3D environments that makes the stated validation problem highly intractable for construction applications. Being oriented on exact or approximate metric representations, traditional local path planning methods have significant limitations in the case of large-scale environments. Their inability to use overall a priory information on the whole environment creates another shortcoming in global planning. Topological schemas try to overcome these drawbacks by representing the original environment by means of route graphs. Topological schemas scale better than metric ones, but being resistant to geometric representation errors may yield incorrect or suboptimal solutions.In the paper we propose an effective method leveraging global and local path planning strategies and combining metric and topological schemas. Due to original criteria for extracting a topology from metric information, the method is applicable to complex indoor/outdoor environments and can be used for spatio-temporal validation of construction project schedules. Conducted experiments proved the feasibility and effectiveness of the method presented.


SUMMARY The world's attention has focused on Zimbabwe as the country has moved from the turmoil of the 2008 elections to a tentative democratic transition under the current Inclusive Government. The country's newly elected local authorities and an apparent interest in decentralization have been largely ignored in the process, however. This essay thus provides an extensive, survey‐based examination of local governance in Zimbabwe as of 2009. Four areas are discussed. First, with the growth of the political opposition to the ruling regime, local governance has also suffered from the deep polarization among all the country's institutions. The inexperience of the new local councilors vis‐a‐vis local administration officials also holds significant ramifications. Second, although local officials believe that public participation in decision‐making is strong, citizen involvement is actually quite weak. Third, reeling from the country's 2008 economic crisis, local authorities were operating as best as they could on minimal income and barely functioning in many areas. Financial transfers ended long ago; revenue generation remains poor. Finally, this essay captures the poor state of public services. Achievement of a national democratic consensus, decentralization that actually promotes democratic local governance and strengthening once‐strong local institutional capacity will determine the future progress of local governance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper is devoted to the explanation of selected bureaus' behavior patterns in the soviet type of totalitarian dictatorships with the command economic model. It is a proven fact that the plan figures in the soviet economy were fabricated as a consequence of intrigues and secret negotiations between different interested parties. Generally, bureaus, as rational agents that minimize risk and maximize slack, should have been interested in reducing the plan figures, nevertheless, they strived to increase them. As examples, mass repression under dictatorships and overexpenditure of an administrative leverage at elections in non-democratic and quasi- democratic countries can be observed. In the article we develop a simple model of coordination between principal (dictator) and his agents (bureaus), which explain the mentioned paradoxical situation.


Recently, CD133 has been used extensively as a marker for identification of stem cells from human normal and malignant tissues. Human normal CD 133+ stem cells are capable of multilineage in vitro and in vivo differentiation providing a novel source of stem cells for regenerative therapy, whereas, malignant CD133+ stem cells are a potential therapeutic target for anti-cancer treatment. This PhD thesis investigated the neural differentiation of human adult bone marrow and foetal liver CD133+ stem cells; explored the presence of CD133 and embryonic stem cell marker Oct-4 positive stem cells in adult human normal and malignant tissues, including normal brain tissues, normal and malignant bone marrow stem cells; and evaluated the anti-acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) effect of 5 novel synthetic ajoene compounds using drug-resistant
AML cell line for overcoming drug resistance in elderly AML patients.
A novel serum-free culture system for inducing neural differentiation of human adult bone marrow and foetal liver CD 133+ stem cells in vitro was demonstrated. Following only two weeks' culture of selected bone marrow CD 133+ cells in serum-free medium supplemented by 50% human astrocyte conditioned medium and other cytokines, 25.5% of bone marrow CD 133+ stem cells differentiated into neural (17.8%) and glial (7.7%) cells. After three weeks' culture of selected foetal liver CD133+ cells in serum-free medium supplemented by several cytokines without astrocyte conditioned medium, only 10.8% of these stem cells differentiated into neural and glial cells. These neural differentiated cells expressed mature neural and glial markers including NF-h, NF-m, NSF and GFAP, and exhibited mature neural morphologies. The astrocyte conditioned
medium was the essential ingredient in all effective serum-free culture conditions suggesting it may contain other more potent neural/glial inducing factors. The serumfree culture system is clinically relevant and provides a vehicle for generating neural cells from adult human bone marrow CD 133+ stem cells for the treatment of patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
CD 1 33-isoform 2 (CD 133-2) and embryonic stem cell marker Oct-4 expression was revealed in three adult human normal and malignant tissues and cells, including normal brain (substantia nigra and striatum), normal and malignant CD34+ marrow stem cells. There was no expression of CD133-isoform I (CD133-1) in these tissues. The very small population of CD133-2 and Oct-4 positive stem cells in adult human normal substantia nigra and striatum may represent the embryonic remnants and provide a potential source of adult neural stem cells that may be induced to undergo neural diffeentiation for the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson's disease. The substantial expression of Oct-4 in adult human normal and drug-resistant myeloid leukaemia KG1a marrow stem cells demonstrates that, alongside CD133, Oct-4
is a novel cancer stem cell marker suggesting the CD 133-2 and Oct-4 positive KGIa cells are the most likely targets in disease development and are novel therapeutic targets for effective treatment of AML.
Novel synthetic ajoene compounds were shown to significantly inhibit growth, induce apoptosis plus necrosis, and reduce Bcl-2 expression in human drug-resistant CD34+ AML KG 1 a cells, both alone and in combination with low dose (1 jxM) cytarabine. E/Zbenzyl was the most potent growth inhibition compound,. whereas, Z-ajoene was the most cytotoxic compound. Low dose cytarabine-induced cytotoxicity was significantly enhanced by the five novel compounds in the following order: Z-ajoene > E-ajoene > Ephthalimide> E/Z-benzyl > Z-pthalimide. The combination of Z-ajoene and low dose
cytarabine provides a promising combination therapy for elderly AML patients to overcome drug resistance.
This PhD thesis provides the basis for appropriate identification and clinical application of stem cells from adult human normal tissues (brain and bone marrow) and foetal liver for autologous transplantation for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, and also the identification of cancer stem cells in human AML
marrow stem cells indicating novel therapeutic targets for anti-cancer treatment. Moreover, it demonstrates significant anti-cancer effect of 5 novel synthetic ajoene compounds in drug-resistant AML cells highlighting their potential for overcoming drug resistance in elderly patients with AML.


With the growth of its economy. Taiwan has also become more of a business travel destination. In 1994, the Taiwan's government and the tourism industry have made great efforts in promoting the tourism trade. In addition, hotel capacity and airline accessibility into Taiwan have increased. These factors have generated new opportunities and competition in Taiwan's travel industry. Business travel is indeed a controllable expense, but efficient corporate travel management requires companies to do research in the marketplace, to negotiate effectively with travel suppliers, to plan their travel arrangements carefully, and to organize the payment reports and reimbursement. The Corporate Travel Index in Taiwan is a useful resource to provide specific information to help organizations plan their business travel more effectively. This 1995 edition of Corporate Travel Index determines the average daily costs in terms of lodging, meals and car rentals in Taiwan's five main cities: Taipei. Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. In addition, this study provides information on domestic and international airfares which were not included in 1993. The hotel rates were obtained from three sources: American Airlines SABRE reservation system, Hotel Taiwan 1994, and Taiwan Hotel andRestaurant Guide, 1994-1995. Food rates were gathered mainly from the latter publication. Car rental rates were collected by calling car rental firms using the 1995 Taiwan yellow pages. Domestic airfares were received by checking airlines' fare tables; international airfares were collected through the SABRE reservation system. Main The 1995 Corporate Travel Index in Taiwan departure cities were restricted to those departed from the U.S. and Canada. After current prices were determined, the difference between 1993 and 1995 was analyzed. In U.S. dollars, the 1995 CTI has estimated that the average total daily per diem in Taiwan is $222.16, which includes $104.86 for hotel, $39.46 for food, and $77.48 for car rental. In general, the average daily per diem declined by 4.11%, or $9.51, from 1993 to 1995. When viewed separately, figures reveal a 9.28% decline in hotel costs, 1.08% drop in meal costs, and 2.09% rise in car rental rates. This study also estimated that a round trip, business class air ticket from the U.S. or Canada to Taiwan is $2,160.15. An average domestic air ticket in Taiwan costs $45. Some factors contributed to the decrease in price changes. One of the main factors is the currency exchange rate that has devalued the Taiwan dollar. Taiwan's travel market has remained highly competitive during these past two years. Higher competition in the hotel industry, more business travelers drawn by Taiwan's booming economy, use of different survey size and sample, and promotions of the visa-free stay adopted by Taiwan's government are all important elements which explain the findings of the 1995 Corporate Travel Index in Taiwan.


The traditional view holds that professional interpreters should be transparent, invisible, passive, neutral, and detached, a view reiterated and reinforced in the prescribed interpreters' codes of conduct of national and international professional organizations. Such an idealized role construct, however, is from time to time deconstructed in real-life face-to-face interpreting events. In this paper, face-to-face interpreting is seen as a three-way communicative event in which the interpreter is a co-constructor of the interaction and can therefore be a powerful figure. From the perspective of interpreting as a socially-situated activity, the paper adopts Michel Foucault's concept of power, defining it not as the traditionally dominating force to monopolize, control, or rule, but as a kind of strategy, disposition, maneuver, tactic, or technique, functioning in a network of relations. Although interpreters often lack institutional power, they may be equipped with power within the exchange as a result of their bilingual and bicultural expertise. They may exercise this power by adopting various verbal and non-verbal strategies to negotiate, coordinate, check, and balance power relations. This can be specifically manifested in interpreters' social action as co-interlocutors, empowerment figures, or in the adoption of a non-neutral stance. Examples are cited from authentic interpreting events to analyze interpreters' power-at-work, focusing on their verbal and non-verbal behaviors, in particular, their positioning and gaze.


Stress is part of everyday life. And while acute and short periods of stress can help to overcome challenges, exposure to chronic - and especially uncontrollable - stress can lead to maladaption of the organism, which can ultimately increase the risk of disease. However, vulnerability to stress and vulnerability to risk increases are strongly dependent on the individual. The molecular underpinnings of this vulnerability and resilience are still largely unknown. Therefore, the present thesis aims at identifying novel molecules involved in modulating individual stress vulnerability in the brain of male mice. In a first step, we investigated long-term gene expression changes in the hippocampus of male mice that underwent chronic social stress. Adolescent male CD1 mice were subjected to 7 weeks of chronic social stress and were investigated after 5 weeks of recovery via an unbiased whole-genome approach utilising microarray technology. Here, we did not find strong differences caused by the stress exposure, possibly because not all animals were affected by the stress exposure. Nevertheless, we identified Iffo1 as a gene that seems to be affected by at least acute stress and might also be involved in the long-term effect of chronic stress exposure. In the next step, we classified the animals from the same paradigm into stress-vulnerable and stress-resilient individuals based on their corticosterone levels after recovery. Animals which still showed elevated levels of corticosterone 5 weeks after stress were defined as vulnerable, while animals in which levels returned to baseline comparable to controls were termed stress resilient. With an additional whole-genome experiment, we were able to show distinct patterns of gene expression between the groups, including genes like Arc, Gria1 and Gria2. In addition, we also investigated differences in peripheral lymphocytes, which showed regulation in genes like Hsp90b1 or SLA. When we compared the expression profiles between brain and peripheral blood, we showed that stress-vulnerable and stress-resilient animals show different patterns of correlations. In the final part of the thesis, we decreased the expression of Arc, one of the genes we found overrepresented in vulnerable individuals, in the hippocampal formation of male mice via AAV-mediated shRNA knockdown. As we performed the modulation of Arc before the stress exposure, we were able to investigate the causal influence of Arc expression on stress exposure. Animals that were subjected to 3 weeks of chronic social defeat, showed an increase in anxiety-related behaviour, impairment in spatial memory, an increase in social behaviour and did not differ in depression-like behaviour. Concomitant with the behavioural alterations, stressed animals showed alterations in multiple physiological parameters, like increased adrenal glands or corticosterone response. Intriguingly, we were able to prevent most of the behavioural, but not the physiological, changes with the Arc knockdown. This strongly suggests that Arc is at least partly causally involved in the molecular machinery that underlies stress vulnerability. As Arc is a downstream molecule in multiple pathways already connected to stress vulnerability or stress in general, it might be that Arc actually is one of the major molecular factors that translate the effects of these pathways.


ISPs are increasingly reluctant to collect and store raw network traces because they can be used to compromise their customers' privacy. Anonymization techniques mitigate this concern by protecting sensitive information. Trace anonymization can be performed offline (at a later time) or online (at collection time). Offline anonymization suffers from privacy problems because raw traces must be stored on disk - until the traces are deleted, there is the potential for accidental leaks or exposure by subpoenas. Online anonymization drastically reduces privacy risks but complicates software engineering efforts because trace processing and anonymization must be performed at line speed. This paper presents Bunker, a network tracing system that combines the software development benefits of offline anonymization with the privacy benefits of online anonymization. Bunker uses virtualization, encryption, and restricted I/O interfaces to protect the raw network traces and the tracing software, exporting only an anonymized trace. We present the design and implementation of Bunker, evaluate its security properties, and show its ease of use for developing a complex network tracing application.


ABSTRACT Bizet's Carmen entered Spain's cultural consciousness when it was first staged in Madrid in the 1887–8 season. A public battle for the performance rights in the autumn of 1887 led to competing productions at major theatres: the first in a new Spanish translation at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, and the second in the fully-sung Italian version at the Teatro Real. This article explores the Spanish encounter with Carmen during this season, from the political machinations of the lawsuit, to the opening nights and the extended critical debates that greeted the two premières. The Spanish adaptation is compared with the original French version and mapped against the native musico-theatrical tradition of the zarzuela, which had long purveyed constructions of 'Spanishness' for local consumption. Contemporary debates about national identity and its theatrical and musical representations underscore the varied critical responses to Carmen, which was embraced by Madrid opera audiences.


This article builds upon the work of the philosopher Alasdair McIntyre to suggest that a practice-based approach is not only a valid method for teaching values but indeed essential. Such an approach is also urged by the recent critique of American legal education published by the Carnegie Foundation and validated by extensive social science research on moral development. The Four Component Model of moral behavior developed by James Rest and applied to professional education by Muriel Bebeau is then applied to an example taken from the author's law school course on professional responsibility, in which he uses written and audiovisual documentary materials in combination with simulation exercises, drawing from the well-known "Baby Jessica" adoption case. The article was an invited contribution to a special issue on the Values of Common Law Education of the Law Teacher: the International Journal of Legal Education, which is the official journal of the Association of Law Teachers (United Kingdom).


Background Inappropriate child feeding and caring practices are a major cause of malnutrition. To date, no studies have examined concordance and discordance of child feeding and preventive behavior and their predictors in developing countries. Methods We used baseline data generated from A 2-year-longitudinal agriculture-nutrition panel survey conducted from February 9 to April 9, 2014, in nine districts encompassing 20 randomly selected counties in Oromiya Region and Southern Nation, Nationality and Peoples Region in Ethiopia. Households were recruited using the Expanded Program on Immunization sampling method. A total of 623 children under the age of 5 years and their respective caregivers were included in the analyses. Generalized estimating equations were used to account for clustered observations. Results Concordance of poor child feeding and preventive behavior was observed in 45.1% of the children, while 45.5% of the children were suffering from discordance of poor child feeding and preventive behavior. Concordance and discordance of poor child feeding and preventive behavior had almost different predictors. Concordance of poor child feeding and preventive behavior was significantly associated with the age of the caretaker of ≥40 years (odds ratio (OR)=2.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04, 4.41), low household dietary diversity (OR=3.69; 95% CI: 1.93, 7.04), medium household dietary diversity (OR=2.17; 95% CI: 1.17, 4.00), severe household food insecurity (OR=1.72; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.93), and increase with increasing child age. Conclusion A substantial number of children in the southwest of rural Ethiopia are exposed to both poor child feeding and preventive behavior. Low household dietary diversity and extreme food insecurity household were predictors of concordance of poor child feeding and poor preventive behavior and provide useful entry points for comprehensive interventions to address child feeding and caring in the area.


Open digital scholarship is significant for facilitating public access to and engagement with research, and as a foundation for growing digital scholarly infrastructure around the world today and in the future. But the path to adopting open, digital scholarship on a national—never mind international—scale is challenged by several real, pragmatic issues. In this article we consider these issues as well as proactive strategies for the realization of robust, inclusive, publicly engaged, open scholarship in digital form. We draw on the INKE Partnership's central goal of fostering open social scholarship (academic practice that enables the creation, dissemination, and engagement of open research by specialists and non-specialists in accessible and significant ways). In doing so, we look to pursue more open, and more social, scholarly activities through knowledge mobilization, community training, public engagement, and policy recommendations in order to understand and address challenges facing digital scholarly communication. We then provide tangible details, outlining how the INKE Partnership puts open social scholarship theory into practice, with an eye to a more open and engaged future.


By the 1880s, farmers had begun organizing and protesting, laying the blame for their economic struggles at the feet of industrialists and railroads. Organizations like the Grange began as ways for farmers to cooperate and support one another, but quickly expanded into politics. By the 1890s, farmers were joining with industrial workers to create the People's Party or "Populist" Party, which briefly became a force in American politics. In this chapter we'll learn about the ways farmers organized and advocated for themselves, and we'll analyze why North Carolina's populist experience was unique.


Abstract. This paper reports the successive occurrence of Ptychagnostus sinicus Lu, 1957 and Ptychagnostus atavus (Tullberg, 1880) from the lower part of the Machari Formation, Yeongwol Group, Korea. Morphometric approaches of using the landmark and principal component analyses make it possible to differentiate P. sinicus from P. atavus with clarity: pygidia of P. sinicus have a relatively narrow M1, a transverse F2, and a weakly developed M2 tubercle, whereas those of P. atavus are characterized by a broadly arching M1, a chevron-shaped F2, and a prominent M2 tubercle. Recognition of P. atavus, for the first time in Korea, allows the determination of the base of the Drumian Stage in Korea and aids correlation with other parts of the world.


The feeding value of a mixture of 30:70 wet distillers grains:wheat straw or 20:20:60 wet distillers grains:beet pulp:wheat straw (DM) for late gestation beef cows was estimated. In Experiment 1, cows limit fed distillers grains and wheat straw gained as much weight and body condition as cows limit fed alfalfa hay. In Experiment 2, cows fed wet distillers grains and wheat straw or wet distillers grains, beet pulp, and wheat straw gained more weight and improved body condition compared with cows fed alfalfa hay. The results of these experiments indicate cows in late gestation will maintain body condition when limit fed by-products and crop residues to meet their energy requirements.


Few figures in American political history are as reviled as Andrew Johnson, the seventeenth president of the United States. Taking office after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he clashed constantly with Congress during the tumultuous early years of Reconstruction. He opposed federally-mandated black suffrage and the Fourteenth Amendment and vetoed the Freedmen s Bureau and Civil Rights bills. In this new book, Paul H. Bergeron, a respected Johnson scholar, brings a new perspective on this often vilified figure. Previous books have judged Johnson out of the context of his times or through a partisan lens. But this volume based on Bergeron s work as the editor of The Papers of Andrew Johnson takes a more balanced approach to Johnson and his career. Admiring Johnson's unswerving devotion to the Union, Lincoln appointed him as military governor of Tennessee, a post, Bergeron argues, that enhanced Johnson's executive experience and his national stature. While governor, Johnson implemented the emancipation of slaves in the state and laid the foundation for a new civilian government. Bergeron also notes that Johnson developed a close connection with the president which eventually resulted in his vice-presidential candidacy. In many respects, therefore, Johnson's Civil War years served as preparation for his presidency. Bergeron moves beyond simplistic arguments based on Johnson s racism to place his presidency within the politics of the day. Putting aside earlier analyses of the conflict between Johnson and the Republican Radicals as ideological disputes, Bergeron discusses these battles as a political power struggle. In doing so, he does not deny Johnson s racism but provides a more nuanced and effective perspective on the issues as Johnson tried to pursue the politics of the possible. Bergeron interprets Johnson as a strong-willed, decisive, fearless, authoritarian leader in the tradition of Andrew Jackson. While never excusing Johnson s inflexibility and extreme racism, Bergeron makes the case that, in proper context, Johnson can be seen at times as a surprisingly effective commander-in-chief one whose approach to the problems of reestablishing the Union was defensible and consistent. With its fresh insight on the man and his times, Andrew Johnson s Civil War and Reconstruction is indispensable reading for students and scholars of the U.S. presidency and the Civil War and Reconstruction periods."


Papillomaviruses are believed to play an important role in the development of genital carcinoma. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) has been proposed as a cofactor. Here we show that HSV-1 interferes with the expression of human papillomavirus (HPV-18) genes in HeLa cells by reducing the amount of papillomaviral mRNA. By 7 h after HSV-1 infection, expression was reduced by a factor of 50. Experiments with the HSV-1 mutant tsK, with cycloheximide and with u.v.-irradiated virus indicated that the reduction was not due to newly made immediate early, early or late HSV-1 gene products but rather to a component of the virion. Replication of the HSV-1 is therefore not required for the reduction of the HPV-18 mRNA. The HSV-1 strain 17+, which has only a very weak virion host shutoff function, still specifically decreased the level of the papillomaviral mRNA suggesting that either the decrease is due to a new HSV-1 function or that the HPV-18 mRNA is especially sensitive to the low residual host shutoff activity of strain 17+. Experiments with the virus 17(41-), in which the host shutoff function is inactivated by a mutation in the UL41 gene, showed clearly that it is the host shutoff function which is responsible. The papillomaviral mRNA therefore appears to be hypersensitive to the herpesvirus host shutoff function.


The late nineteenth century was a propitious time for British composers. But while the demand from music publishers for their works grew substantially, the copyright and royalty terms were such that even successful composers could not achieve the levels of earnings enjoyed by other creative artists such as authors, painters and dramatists. However, in the early twentieth century, new sources of earnings emerged, notably performing fees, broadcasting fees and royalties from record sales. Unlike other leading contemporary British composers, who also held prestigious, salaried positions, Elgar was, by his own volition, a freelance composer who relied entirely on the precarious earnings from his works, supplemented by conducting fees and a brief tenure at Birmingham University. As a result, although Elgar achieved fame, status and recognition in his lifetime, both nationally and internationally, his earnings did not match the standard of living to which he aspired. This lack of money, exacerbated by too much expenditure, was a constant source of worry, complaint and frustration to Elgar, even though he had become a beneficiary from the new sources of income in the twentieth century. Elgar's Earnings investigates whether Elgar's complaints about a lack of money can be justified by the facts. Drawing on hitherto neglected primary sources, especially the Novello Business Archive, John Drysdale examines the relatively poor terms offered by music publishers to composers of serious music in general and Elgar in particular and explores the reasons why successful painters and authors, such as G. B. Shaw, could obtain much better terms. This comparative analysis enriches our understanding of the economic and social forces at work in nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain and shows how Elgar, despite his insecure financial position, helped to establish the profession of the English composer, to the lasting benefit of future generations. JOHN DRYSDALE is a musicologist and former investment banker.


We present full vector-field characterization of amplitude, phase, and polarization controlled femtosecond laser pulses in the ultraviolet (UV) with a method termed DFG-XTURTLE. It combines the recently developed technique of tomographic ultrafast retrieval of transverse light E-fields (TURTLE) with the well-established cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (XFROG) amplitude and phase retrieval algorithm. Three individual linear projections at 0°, 45°, and 90° of the vector-shaped field in the UV are frequency mixed with a well-characterized reference field at 800 nm and the generated frequency-resolved difference-frequency cross correlations in the visible are analyzed with a standard XFROG algorithm. The TURTLE search algorithm then establishes the full vector field of the UV pulses by finding the correct phase relationship between the 0° and 90° projections to reconstruct the projection at 45°. To retrieve the interpulse phase of temporally well-separated pulses, additional spectra must be taken. The handedness of shaped pulses can also be assigned with additional measurements.


Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) transports cholesteryl esters, triglycerides, and phospholipids between different lipoprotein fractions in blood plasma. The inhibition of CETP has been shown to be a sound strategy to prevent and treat the development of coronary heart disease. We employed molecular dynamics simulations to unravel the mechanisms associated with the CETP-mediated lipid exchange. To this end we used both atomistic and coarse-grained models whose results were consistent with each other. We found CETP to bind to the surface of high density lipoprotein (HDL) -like lipid droplets through its charged and tryptophan residues. Upon binding, CETP rapidly (in about 10 ns) induced the formation of a small hydrophobic patch to the phospholipid surface of the droplet, opening a route from the core of the lipid droplet to the binding pocket of CETP. This was followed by a conformational change of helix X of CETP to an open state, in which we found the accessibility of cholesteryl esters to the C-terminal tunnel opening of CETP to increase. Furthermore, in the absence of helix X, cholesteryl esters rapidly diffused into CETP through the C-terminal opening. The results provide compelling evidence that helix X acts as a lid which conducts lipid exchange by alternating the open and closed states. The findings have potential for the design of novel molecular agents to inhibit the activity of CETP.


Noma and noma neonatorum are rare gangrenous diseases that result in mutilating loss of tissue in the oronasal region. Noma usually occurs in patients between the ages of 2 and 5 years who are malnourished, have suffered a precedent illness, or are in some way immunodeficient, or all of the above. The gangrenous slough is thought to be caused by a mixed infection of oral bacterial pathogens. The disease may be fatal when it occurs in a severely debilitated patient. Noma neonatorum produces somewhat similar appearing lesions in the neonate. The infectious organism is usually Pseudomonas and the disease is generally accompanied by a life-threatening pseudomonal sepsis. Both diseases are rare in North America. Patients with noma and noma neonatorum were treated at the Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, WA. We present these cases and a literature review.


Two days after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a Harris poll conducted for Time/CNN reported that nearly two out of three Americans believed that the United States should "declare war." (1) A StrategyOne survey also conducted two days after the attacks found eighty-one percent of Americans in favor of such action, with only eight percent opposed. (2) That same day, nine members of Congress announced their support for a formal declaration of war. (3) The idea was quickly embraced in newspapers, (4) and even by Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz. (5) In fact, as a constitutional matter, the President needed no approval from Congress to use lethal force in response to the terrorist attacks. Even the War Powers Resolution recognizes the independent constitutional power of the President to send U.S. forces into combat without legislative approval in response to an attack on the United States or its armed forces. (6) But as a political matter, getting Congress on record by statute in support of an effective response was very important. Congress provided support for the President's response in the form of a joint resolution, providing in part: [T]he President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons. (7) During the debate, concern was expressed about not giving the President a "blank check," (8) as Congress did in enacting the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August, 1964. (9) This argument undercut the cherished myth that Congress was not a full partner in committing the United States to war in Indochina and ignored the reality that "declarations of war" were by their nature "blank checks." To allay such concerns, language of the resolution seemed carefully designed to provide an "out" for legislators if the campaign went badly, as it would not be difficult to argue that any presidential action that later proved unpopular with voters was not "appropriate" and was thus unauthorized by Congress. In the end, however, even Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden acknowledged that the resolution passed by Congress was "the constitutional equivalent of a declaration of war." (10) As a matter of constitutional law, Senator Biden was exactly fight; a joint resolution authorizing the President to use military force fully satisfies any requirement for legislative approval under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution. (11) But such statements betray a fundamental misconception of the relative roles of Congress and the President in the commitment and use of U.S. armed forces abroad and of the nature of war in the current international context. As a matter of international law, a formal declaration of war is an anachronistic irrelevancy. This misconception is the result of debates over the past three decades in which the historical understanding and development of war powers was neglected. Given the revived public interest in these issues, this is an opportune time to clarify the meaning of Congress's power to "declare war." I. THE CONSTITUTIONAL ALLOCATION OF POWERS RELATED TO THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE The debate over the constitutional separation of powers concerning the use of armed force abroad during the past three decades has been remarkably unimpressive. Few commentators have taken the time to look seriously at the historical aspect of the problem, and some act as if the 1972-73 War Powers Resolution debates were an issue of first impression. Throughout most of our history, both Congress and the President understood that decisions regarding foreign affairs were different from domestic issues and were the province of the executive except in areas where the Constitution had made a clear exception. …


Customer loyalty has been investigated in years, and its importance to corporate is understood by managers. The purpose of this paper is to find out what kinds of specific and concrete operational factors have an important impact on Chinese mobile telecom customer loyalty. Firstly, a model was established to represent the relationship between customer loyalty and its influencing factors (customer satisfaction, perceived quality, customer value, switching cost and corporate image). 11 specific and concrete operational factors were found according to Chinese mobile telecom industry which were never been studied by the pre-researchers. Secondly, a survey of questionnaire has been conducted which help to found out that the 9 factors (call quality, coverage of area, SMS quality, the convenience and reliability of Inquiring phone fee system, service quality of service center and hotline, rating price of given quality, customer's worry of troubles after change cell phone number, social responsibility, advertisements about corporate image) have an important impact on customer loyalty on Chinese mobile telecom industry. Thirdly, separating these 9 factors into 3 groups through investigate the performance of customer loyalty in China Mobile. At last, some recommendations were given to China Mobile


Predators at black-fronted tern (Chlidonias albostriatus) nests on the Wairau braided riverbed in Marlborough, New Zealand, were identified using (1) mtDNA analysis of 438 swabs from shell remains, nest contents, and carcass remains, and (2) digital video surveillance of 85 nests. DNA analysis suggested harriers (Circus approximans) were the main predator of tern eggs (171 of 192 shell samples containing predator DNA). Cats (Felis catus) and stoats (Mustela erminea) were the probable predators of the majority of adult terns killed (9 and 8 respectively, of swabs from 19 carcasses). Video results were broadly, though not entirely, consistent with the DNA results, and showed that harriers were the main predator of eggs (9 of 19 videoed predation events), followed by Southern black-backed gulls (Larus dominicanus dominicanus; 3/19); hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus occidentalis; 2/19), ship rats (Rattus rattus; 2/19), pied oystercatchers (Haematopus finschi; 2/19) and stoats (1/19). DNA was analysed from nine of the 19 videoed nests but the only predator DNA obtained was from harriers (four nests). Sixty-four percent of depredated nests (683/1063) contained no eggshell remains at the next monitoring visit after predation. DNA analysis of nest material from 71 of these empty nests yielded only one predator result; video footage was therefore essential to identify the cause of 12 empty nests at 19 videoed nest predations. Terns removed the depredated egg remains from eight nests; black- backed gulls consumed eggs at three nests; and a stoat carried the eggs away from one nest. Hedgehog DNA was not found on shell remains from nests with videoed hedgehog predations. Analysing DNA from eggshell and carcass remains is a valuable new tool in wildlife research and management because it can identify predator species and indicate their relative importance. However, our results show that predator species are not equally detectable using this technique, leading to biases in the DNA results. This 'detectability bias' needs to be further quantified, and recognised when interpreting DNA results.


Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement covers the design and implementation of ground improvement techniques as applicable to soft clays. This particular subject poses major geotechnical challenges in civil engineering. Not only civil engineers, but planners, architects, consultants and contractors are now aware what soft soils are and the risks associated with development of such areas.

The book is designed as a reference and useful tool for those in the industry, both to consultants and contractors. It also benefits researchers and academics working on ground improvement of soft soils, and serves as an excellent overview for postgraduates. University lecturers are beginning to incorporate more ground improvement topics into their curricula, and this text would be ideal for short courses for practicing engineers. It includes several examples to assist a newcomer to carry out preliminary designs.

The three authors, each with dozens of years of experience, have witnessed and participated in the rapid evolvement of ground improvement in soft soils. In addition, top-tier professionals who deal with soft clays and ground improvement on a daily basis have contributed, providing their expertise in dealing with real-world problems and practical solutions.


Using phonotactics information in spoken word recognition processes: Evidence from Chinese Michael C. W. Yip Department of Psychological Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education Abstract: The present study attests the research question of whether native Chinese listeners are constrained by phonotactics information in the spoken word recognition processes using the word-spotting experiment. In the linguistic structure of Chinese, there are no legal consonant clusters occurred within each individual Chinese word, and this kind of phonotactics information of words may most likely cue native Chinese listeners the possible locations of word boundaries in the continuous Chinese speech. The results observed from the word-spotting experiment supported this prediction. Along with other relevant studies, we argue that phonotactics is one of the useful sources of information in the cognitive processes of spoken word recognition in Chinese.


Perceptual listening tests are commonplace in audio research and a vital form of evaluation. While a large number of tools exist to run such tests, many feature just one test type, are platform dependent, run on proprietary software, or require considerable configuration and programming. Using Web Audio, the Web Audio Evaluation Tool (WAET) addresses these concerns by having one toolbox which can be configured to run many different tests, perform it through a web browser and without needing proprietary software or computer programming knowledge. In this paper the role of the Web Audio API in giving WAET key functionalities are shown. The paper also highlights less common features, available to web based tools, such as easy remote testing environment and in-browser analytics.


Abstract Objective: This retrospective study evaluated iron chelating therapy (ICT) discontinuation and costs in Sickle cell disease (SCD) Medicaid recipients using healthcare claims from 2006–2010. Methods: Patients with ≥1 SCD diagnosis claim, ≥2 claims for deferoxamine (DFO) or deferosirox (DFX), and continuous enrollment ≥6 months prior to and 18 months following ICT initiation were included. Outcomes included treatment discontinuation, persistence (i.e., refill gaps ≥6 weeks), and total healthcare costs. Results: The average age among 404 SCD patients meeting study inclusion criteria was 18.7 (±11.0) years, with 45.8% being males and 66.7% being Blacks. Switches or combinations from DFO at index occurred in 124 (74.7%) patients compared to 10 (4.2%) with DFX at index. The Cox regression model that assessed long-term medication persistence indicated a 1.30-times higher likelihood of treatment discontinuation with DFO compared to DFX (95% CI: 1.06–1.61). Some 19.7% of patient remained on DFX relative to 4.8% on DFO. Both inpatient and total costs were similar in DFX and DFO treatment groups. Following 1 year of treatment, 37.4% remained on DFX compared to 15.7% on DFO. Meaningful differences in treatment discontinuation between the two treatment groups did not occur until 220+ days during the study period. At 18-months, treatment discontinuation rates were high in both groups; 95% for DFO and 80% for DFX. Conclusion: This study of SCD Medicaid patients found more therapeutic switches from DFO to DFX and a higher medication persistency rate with DFX than DFO. The conclusions are limited by the study's retrospective nature, which depends on multivariate statistics to account for patient heterogeneity and risk factors.


As part of my thesis on cultural displacement and interaction in Australian immigration literature, I intend here to focus on the translation of a past elsewhere as it figures in Eva Sallis' Hiam. I will discuss how the migration writers translate a source culture to an English-speaking target audience. While translators are usually seen as cultural mediators, I see that position taken by migration writers who translate worlds as well as words. My aim is to discuss how discursive translation takes place in this migratory text. What different discursive strategies are being employed? I want to focus on story-telling as one way for migration writers to translate a linguistic / discursive / cultural Other. The stories, which are filtered through a cultural heritage discourse, are not only told in order to 'educate' the listener/reader in another culture, but are also attempts at preserving the memory of a past elsewhere.


The economic and environmental benefits secured through the increased integration of
photovoltaic (PV) technology into the built environment are undeniable and provide
the principal motivation for this research.
Present delays in the technology transfer of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)
can be attributed to the following; material cost, performance guarantee, increased installation complexity and unfamiliar technology.
It is well understood that the temperature of a PV material receiving solar irradiation,
will increase with solar intensity, while reducing in electrical efficiency. It therefore
makes economic sense to minimise the increase in PV material temperature and
maximise electrical energy yield. Through the addition of a convecting fluid, flowing over the surface of heated PV
material, heat transfer will be induced. With the added benefit of warm air capture
from an integrated photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) collector, the economic benefits are
increased. But, to ensure maximum utilisation of both thermal and electrical energy
production, a significantly more complex control system has to be employed than that
for a PV system on its own. Modelling the energy flows within a multifunctional PVT building facade presents a
problem of considerable complexity. Previous work in this area has centred on
performing finite element analysis of the system in order to find solutions to complex
algorithms. It requires considerable computational power to perform these calculations
and often the results produced are much more detailed than required.
Within this thesis, a fully operational PVT facade model is presented, giving the
potential for improved multifunctional facade design.
This new model has been developed into a software program for use within the
TRNSYS environment. By using the TRNSYS software, a detailed building model has
been created and integrated with the new PVT facade model. Simulations were then
undertaken to evaluate the energy transfers between internal and external environments
and the electrical and thermal energy capturing capabilities of the facade. Simulated
results have been evaluated against experimental data taken from a fully operational
PVT facade.
The results conclude that the presented model simulates the energy flows around,
through and within the facade (radiative, conductive, convective and electrical) very
well. Performance enhancing development work is due to take place on the operational
facade analysed in this work, very soon. This new facade model will be used as a tool
to evaluate the proposed changes to the building prior to this development work being
undertaken.


Sporadic sodium (Na-s) layers, occurring in roughly the same height range as ionospheric sporadic-E layers, were first detected by lidar some 30 yr ago. Nas layers have a typical thickness of a few hundred meters to a few km, with peak atom concentrations several times that of the background layer. Despite a great deal of excellent work over the past decades, the source of Nas layers is still not altogether clear, partly as a result of our incomplete knowledge of Nas layer characteristics. In this paper we concentrate on some typical case studies chosen from the similar to 127 h of sporadic sodium layer observations made at a time resolution of 1.5 s at Yanqing (115.97 degrees E, 40.47 degrees N), Beijing, China. This is a much better time resolution than what has been employed in most earlier measurements. The results show that the Nas layer peak heights are dispersed at slightly different although adjacent heights. When averaged over several minutes, as has been the case with most earlier measurements, the height scatter results in an apparent layer thickness of a few km. We conclude, therefore, that these dispersed peaks at different but adjacent heights constitute the 5 min Nas layer. Similar to the observations of sporadic-E-ion (Es) layers and meteor rate, we observe quasi-periodic fluctuations on a timescale on the order of several minutes in the peak height and the peak density of sporadic layers, which is a universal feature but concealed by the lower temporal resolution previously adopted. Spatially localized multiple scatterers and multiple thin layers with similar apparent movement in Nas layers are also found. We discuss the possible formation mechanism by the direct deposition of large swarms of micrometeoroids and demonstrate a typical example of meteor trails evolving into a Nas layer, which suggests that this mechanism might indeed occur.


Ilya Metchnikoff and Paul Ehrlich were awarded the Nobel price in 1908. Since then, numerous studies have unraveled a multitude of mechanistically different immune responses to intruding microorganisms. However, in the vast majority of these studies, the underlying infectious agents have appeared in the planktonic state. Accordingly, much less is known about the immune responses to the presence of biofilm-based infections (which is probably also due to the relatively short period of time in which the immune response to biofilms has been studied). Nevertheless, more recent in vivo and in vitro studies have revealed both innate as well as adaptive immune responses to biofilms. On the other hand, measures launched by biofilm bacteria to achieve protection against the various immune responses have also been demonstrated. Whether particular immune responses to biofilm infections exist remains to be firmly established. However, because biofilm infections are often persistent (or chronic), an odd situation appears with the simultaneous activation of both arms of the host immune response, neither of which can eliminate the biofilm pathogen, but instead, in synergy, causes collateral tissue damage. Although the present review on the immune system vs. biofilm bacteria is focused on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (mainly because this is the most thoroughly studied), many of the same mechanisms are also seen with biofilm infections generated by other microorganisms.


Although several authors have speculated that rhythmic entrainment induces positive affect (e.g. Juslin & VastfjaIˆll, 2008; Clayton et al. 2004), so far there is no direct experimental evidence to support this claim. Therefore, the experiment hereby reported aimed to test the hypothesis that moving in time with music induces pleasantness and that this effect interacts with the level of syncopation of the music. Six short rhythmic musical stimuli with three levels of syncopation (low, medium, high), were presented to 77 participants, who were divided into two groups: one was asked to move along with the pulse of the music (by tapping with one foot), and the other was asked to listen without moving. The changes in the participants' affective state were measured by using two techniques: self-report scales of pleasantness and arousal, and an indirect technique consisting of asking participants to evaluate the level of pleasantness expressed by emotionally ambiguous facial expressions –The perceived pleasantness works as an indicator of the observer's own affective state (Niedenthal et al., 2000)-. It was predicted that: 1) intermediate levels of syncopation would be associated with the most pleasantness, and that 2) these effects would be larger in the "˜tapping' condition. The results revealed that even though the data from the indirect technique showed a trend in the predicted direction, there was a great amount of within-subjects variability which made these results unreliable. The data from self-reports supported the first prediction –participants experienced slightly higher levels of positive affect when tapping along to stimuli with a medium level of syncopation-; but not the second prediction –participants in the "˜tapping' condition did not experience more pleasantness nor unpleasantness than the participants in the "˜stationary' condition. No significant differences were found in any of the measures of arousal. These findings suggest that the effect of musical entrainment on the induction of pleasantness is primarily the result of the expectations aroused by syncopated rhythms, not by the movements made by the listener. References Clayton, M., Sager, R., & Will, U. (2004). In time with the music: The concept of entrainment and its significance for ethnomusicology. ESEM CounterPoint, 1, 1–45. Juslin, P. N., & VaIˆstfjaIˆll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: the need to consider underlying mechanisms. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(5), 559–75; discussion 575–621. doi:10.1017/S0140525X08005293 Niedenthal, P. M., Halberstadt, J. B., & Margolin, J. (2000). Emotional state and the detection of change in facial expression of emotion. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30(May 1999), 211–223.


The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ("NCLB") conditions the states' receipt of federal education funds on, among other things, the creation of testing schemes for elementary school students and the posting of test results. Although NCLB threatens the states' constitutional power to set education policy, two provisions of the law could potentially alleviate this threat: (1) an "unfunded mandates" provision prohibiting federal officers from requiring the states to spend funds not provided by NCLB, and (2) a provision allowing the U.S. Secretary of Education (the "Secretary") to waive provisions of NCLB at a state's request. These provisions, however, have not circumscribed the federal government's role to the satisfaction of some states, prompting Connecticut, a state whose own policies conflict with NCLB's testing requirements, to file the first state NCLB lawsuit against the federal government. This Note argues that Connecticut's claims that the Secretary's administration of these two provisions violates the Spending Clause are valid. This Note then focuses on the Spending Clause's prohibition of conditions that require a state to violate any other provision of the Constitution, arguing that NCLB, as it is currently administered by the Secretary, may force Connecticut and other states to violate the Equal Protection Clause.


Nature continues to produce a great wealth of natural molecules endowed with cyto- toxic activity toward a large panel of tumor cells. Some of these molecules are used in chemotherapy, and others have shown great anti-tumor and anti-metastatic potential in preclinical trials. This review discusses some examples of these molecules that have been studied in our laboratory and others. We report a differential cytotoxic activity of some monoterpenes (carvacrol, tymol, carveol, carvone, and isopulegol) against a panel of tumor cell lines. The carvacrol was the most cytotoxic molecule both in vitro and in vivo as demonstrated by preclinical studies using the DBA2/P815 mice model. On the other hand, polyphenols were also studied with respect to their cytotoxic effects. Interestingly, these compounds showed a prominent cytotoxic activity toward a panel of cancer cells with differential molecular mechanisms. In addition, we report a very strong antitumor efficacy of artemisinin, a sesquiterpen lactone from Artemisia annua , together with an antimetastatic potential as demonstrated by preclinical experiments. Furthermore, some of the molecular mechanisms involved in these effects are described.


Food waste is a severe economic and social problem. Restaurants contribute significantly to food waste because they face the classic trade-off between speed of service and leftover inventory, which is particularly crucial in the context of quick service restaurants (QSRs). To offer a high speed of service, QSRs pre-cook most of their food, but they can hold it only for a short time. To effectively manage this trade-off, QSRs have become increasingly reliant on demand forecasts. However, online food-delivery platforms that connect restaurants, riders/drivers, and consumers are growing in popularity, and it is unclear how the growth of food-delivery platforms impacts the ability of restaurants to accurately forecast their demand. We empirically investigate the impact of food-delivery platforms on the demand forecast error in QSRs and analyze the underlying mechanism. We find that as customers become increasingly dependent on food-delivery platforms, QSR demand becomes harder to forecast. We also find that the majority of the increase in overall forecast error is due to an increase in the error associated with the demand pattern and a smaller portion is due to error in forecasting demand amplitude. Based on our results, we offer suggestions for QSRs on how to manage their relationship with food-delivery platforms to decrease their forecast error and increase operational effciency.


When firms from developed markets acquire firms in emerging markets, marketcapitalization-weighted monthly joint returns show a statistically significant increase of 1.8%. Panel data estimations suggest that the value gains from cross-border M&A transactions stem from the transfer of majority control from emerging-market targets to developed market acquirers—joint returns range from 5.8% to 7.8% when majority control is acquired. Announcement returns for acquirer and target firms estimate the distribution of gains and show a statistically significant increase of 2.4% and 6.9%, respectively. The evidence suggests that the stock market anticipates significant value creation from cross-border transactions that involve emerging-market targets leading to substantial gains for shareholders of both acquirer and target firms.


In most research on Life Satisfaction (LS), it is assumed that the covariates of high and low LS are the same for everyone, or at least everyone in the West. In this paper, analysing data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, with a limited replication based on Australian panel data, we estimate models of alternative 'recipes' for LS. There appear to be at least four distinct 'recipes', which are primarily based on the values of different population sub-sets. These values are: altruistic values, family values, materialistic values and religious values. By a 'recipe' for LS we mean a linked set of values, behavioural choices and domain satisfactions, which appear to be held together by a person's values, and which prove to have substantial effects on LS. Our German and Australian evidence indicates that individuals who follow recipes based on altruistic, family or religious values record above average long term LS, whereas the materialistic values 'recipe' is associated with below average LS.


In this paper, the family of newly constructed codes, named 2-D perfect difference codes, is proposed to suppress the phase-induced intensity noise (PIIN) in noncoherent spatial/spectral optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) systems. A novel spatial/spectral transceiver structure employing the new codes to eliminate the multiuser interference (MUI) by using the MUI cancellation property of the new codes is also presented. Compared with the systems employing modified quadratic congruence codes (MQC codes) and maximal-area matrices codes (M-matrices codes), numerical results verify that our proposed system can more effectively suppress the PIIN and eliminate MUI. Hence, the number of simultaneous users and total transmission rate increase significantly.


LogEx is a learning environment that supports students in rewriting propositional logical formulae, using standard equivalences. We organized a pilot study to prepare a large scale evaluation of the learning environment. In this paper we describe this study, together with the outcomes, which teach us valuable lessons for the large scale evaluation.


Scattering effects in images, including those related to haze, fog and appearance of clouds, are fundamentally dictated by microphysical characteristics of the scatterers. This work defines and derives recovery of these characteristics, in a three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous medium. Recovery is based on a novel tomography approach. Multi-view (multi-angular) and multi-spectral data are linked to the underlying microphysics using 3D radiative transfer, accounting for multiple-scattering. Despite the nonlinearity of the tomography model, inversion is enabled using a few approximations that we describe. As a case study, we focus on passive remote sensing of the atmosphere, where scatterer retrieval can benefit modeling and forecasting of weather, climate and pollution.


Background. The use of endovascular techniques in military trauma has increased over time. We present a case of stent-graft placement in a far-forward medical treatment facility (MTF).
Methods. A 27 year-old male sustained a blast injury to his upper extremities. He was admitted to a Role 2 MTF 7 hours post-injury. On presentation, he was hemodynamically stable, with multiple closed fractures of both hands, a partial amputation of the right forearm, and the absence of right upper-extremity pulses. Plain radiographs revealed two metallic fragments overlying the right humerus head.
The patient underwent a completion below-elbow amputation and right brachial artery exploration. Following the insertion of an arterial sheath, a multipurpose 5-Fr catheter was used to obtain a single-shot angiogram, which demonstrated a traumatic sub-total occlusion of the axillary artery.
Using a combination of gentle catheter-wire manipulation and serial radiography, the lesion was traversed and access to normal subclavian artery obtained. A Fluency®Stent Graft (6x100 mm) was then deployed, followed by a completion angiogram, which demonstrated the restoration of extremity perfusion.
Results.The patient was evacuated to the next echelon of care on day 5 with good perfusion of the extremity. CT-angiography on day 30 demonstrated thrombotic occlusion of the stent-graft; however, the extremity was viable and further revascularization was not clinically indicated. He was discharged on day 78 following conversion to internal osteosynthesis.
Conclusion.Endovascular revascularization of extremity trauma is possible in an austere environment, although techniques need to be refined to support a reduced logistical footprint.


Background: Aronia berries have many potential effects on health, including an antioxidant effect, effect for antimutagenesis, hepatoprotection and cardioprotection, an antidiabetic effect and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Previous human studies have shown that aronia juice may be useful for treatment of obesity disorders. Objective: To reveal relationship between beneficial effect and the gene expression change by aronia berries, we analyzed mice livers using RNA sequencing and RT-qPCR. Method: At 28 days after starting a normal diet, a high fat diet and a high-fat diet containing 10% freeze-dried aronia berries, serum was obtained from veins of mice after isoflurane anesthesia, and liver tissues were isolated and weighed. Triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were measured and total RNAs were extracted. cDNA libraries were prepared according to Illumina protocols and sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq2500 to perform 100 paired-end sequencing. RNA-sequence reads mapping was performed using a DNA nexus. Gene expression analysis was performed. The liver tissue specimens were fixed and embedded in paraffin. After 5-mm-thick paraffin sections had been cut, they were stained with hematoxylin-eosin using the standard procedure and also with Sirius Red. Results: In this study, we found that mild fibrosis induced by a high-fat diet was reduced in livers of mice fed a high-fat diet containing aronia berries. RNA sequencing and RT-qPCR analyses revealed that gene expression levels of Igfbp1 and Gadd45g were increased in livers from mice fed a high-fat diet containing aronia berries. Furthermore, results of an enzyme-linked immunoassay showed that a secreted protein levels of FABP1 and FABP4 were reduced in serum from mice fed a high-fat diet containing aronia berries. The results suggest that aronia berries have beneficial effects on mild fibrosis in liver. Conclusion: Aronia berries have a beneficial effect on liver fibrosis. The recovery from liver fibrosis is associated with expression levels of Gadd45g and Igfbp1 in the liver. The beneficial effects of aronia berries on liver fibrosis reduce the risk of liver cancer diseases and insulin resistance, resulting in reduction of serum FABP1 and FABP4 levels. Keywords: aronia; fibrosis; liver; Igfbp1; Gadd45g


We study the problem of model selection in batch policy optimization: given a fixed, partial-feedback dataset and $M$ model classes, learn a policy with performance that is competitive with the policy derived from the best model class. We formalize the problem in the contextual bandit setting with linear model classes by identifying three sources of error that any model selection algorithm should optimally trade-off in order to be competitive: (1) approximation error, (2) statistical complexity, and (3) coverage. The first two sources are common in model selection for supervised learning, where optimally trading-off these properties is well-studied. In contrast, the third source is unique to batch policy optimization and is due to dataset shift inherent to the setting. We first show that no batch policy optimization algorithm can achieve a guarantee addressing all three simultaneously, revealing a stark contrast between difficulties in batch policy optimization and the positive results available in supervised learning. Despite this negative result, we show that relaxing any one of the three error sources enables the design of algorithms achieving near-oracle inequalities for the remaining two. We conclude with experiments demonstrating the efficacy of these algorithms.


Alice Chik, City University of Hong Kong The relationship between digital game play and second language (L2) learning is a particularly tricky issue in East Asia. Though there is an emerging presence of Chinese online games, many more young people are playing the Englishor Japanese-language versions of the most popular commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) video games. In other words, most Chinese gamers are playing L2 digital games in their leisure time. Informed by research on out-of-class L2 learning, this paper discusses findings from an exploratory study investigating L2 gaming and learning practices in young people's everyday lives. Drawing on rich data from gaming sessions, stimulated recall, focus group discussion, individual interviews and online discussion forums, this paper argues that gamers exercise autonomy by managing their gameplay both as leisure and learning practices in different dimensions (location, formality, locus of control, pedagogy and trajectory). At the same time, gameplay-as-learning practices are supported by wider communities of digital gamers who take on roles as language teachers and advisers. The paper suggests that activities in these dimensions mediated learning autonomously and from community, and discusses the research and pedagogical implications for L2 gaming and learning.


Several contributions, in this century, revolve around the role which pragmatic plays in the perception and understanding of a humorous language. Pragmatically, linguists are interested in the way humor is communicated in conversations of our daily life and in the function of humorous communication like; irony, pun, teasing and joking. Only, recently, humor has gained its importance pragmatically when some authors and linguists took a few preliminary steps back in the eighties, by looking respectively at the unsaid concerning humor, the construction of comic witticism from a Grecian perspective, and the sociopragmatics of language use in jokes. The present study is intended to show how a selected literary extract can be subjected to a linguistic and a pragmatic analysis by applying the implicature theory of Grice (1975) and the incongruity theory of Kant (1790) by depending on pun as a basic mechanism to create humorous situations consciously and unconsciously. The researchers of the present study aim to investigate how pun can sometimes create intentional and unintentional humor and to differentiate between the creation of intentional humor, produced by smart characters, and unintentional humor, produced by naïve characters.