This paper describes a parallel implementation of a grand challenge problem: global atmospheric modeling. The novel contributions of our work include: (1) a detailed investigation of opportunities for parallelism in atmospheric transport based on spectral solution methods, (2) the experimental evaluation of overheads arising from load imbalances and data movement for alternative parallelization methods, and (3) the development of a parallel code that can be monitored and steered interactively based on output data visualizations and animations of program functionality or performance. Code parallelization takes advantage of the relative independence of computations at diierent levels in the earth's atmosphere, resulting in parallelism of up to 40 processors, each independently performing computations for diierent atmospheric levels and requiring few communications between diierent levels across model time steps. Next, additional parallelism is attained within each level by taking advantage of the natural parallelism ooered by the spectral computations being performed (eg., taking advantage of independently computable terms in equations). Performance measurements are performed on a 64-node KSR2 supercomputer. However, the parallel code has been ported to several shared memory parallel machines, including SGI multiprocessors.


PURPOSE
To determine whether carbonic anhydrase isozyme (CA) III is expressed in the ciliary processes and lens.

METHODS
Total RNA was isolated from rabbit ciliary epithelium and human ciliary processes and from the anterior lens of rabbit, cow, and human eyes. First-strand cDNA was synthesized, and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using oligomer primers designed to amplify CA III sequences specifically. Selected PCR products were eluted from agarose gels, cloned, and sequenced. Northern blots were performed to confirm the presence of CA III in these tissues.

RESULTS
Polymerase chain reaction products of the predicted size were generated from rabbit ciliary epithelium and from rabbit, bovine, and human lens. The sequence of the PCR product from human lens was identical to the published sequence of the corresponding region of the human CA III gene. The sequence of the PCR products from rabbit ciliary epithelium and bovine lens showed 88% and 97% identity, respectively, with the corresponding sequences for human CA III, suggesting that the PCR products corresponded to the rabbit and bovine orthologs. Northern blots confirmed the presence of CA III mRNA in the rabbit ciliary epithelium and in rabbit and bovine lens.

CONCLUSIONS
mRNA for CA III is present in the intraocular tissues of rabbits, cows, and humans. The previous detection of CA III protein in the bovine lens is confirmed, and it extended to the lenses of other species, including humans. The detection of mRNA for CA III in the ciliary epithelium is new and suggests that the ciliary epithelium contains not only isozymes II and IV but isoenzyme III as well. Although the function of CA III in the eye is unknown, it may play a role in fluid transport and homeostasis.


The excess return in the stock market is higher under Democratic than Republican presidencies: 9 percent for the value-weighted and 16 percent for the equal-weighted portfolio. The difference comes from higher real stock returns and lower real interest rates, is statistically significant, and is robust in subsamples. The difference in returns is not explained by business-cycle variables related to expected returns, and is not concentrated around election dates. There is no difference in the riskiness of the stock market across presidencies that could justify a risk premium. The difference in returns through the political cycle is therefore a puzzle.


This study aimed at explaining complaining behavior of dissatisfied customers when they are dissatisfied with banking services in Palestine in order to gain better understanding about the reasons why dissatisfied customers do or do not complain so that banks can improve their performance. The factors that affect complaining behavior are as follows: customer's lack of information as to whom they complain, perceived justice, and expected costs and efforts of complaining. The study also aimed at determining if there is a difference in customers complaining behavior due to any of their demographic and /or situational characteristics. This study was based on four main hypotheses related to the potential effects of the previously mentioned factors on the complaining behavior of dissatisfied customers. The study population included customers of commercial banks working in the West Bank. The study has come up with the following results: - Customers complaining behavior is negatively affected by lack of information as to whom they complain, perceived justice, and the expected costs and efforts of complaining. - There is a significant difference in customers complaining behavior attributed to education level, frequency of bank visits, and type of problem (source of dissatisfaction). But for the other variables (sex, age, income) no significant difference was found. The study has reached some recommendations aiming at increasing the awareness of customers as per complaints and encouraging them to voice their complaints, since these complaints are considered as a source of information to evaluate and develop banks performance.


An official inquiry has been set up into allegations that the drug manufacturer Pfizer did not obtain official approval before testing a new drug on children during a meningitis epidemic in Nigeria five years ago.

The Nigerian doctor who supervised the clinical trial has said that his office backdated an approval letter and this may have been written a year after the study had taken place.

Pfizer, whose headquarters are in New York city, has admitted that the local ethics approval given to conduct the trial may not have been properly documented: "Pfizer takes this issue very seriously and is fully cooperating with the Nigerian authorities."

In 1996 Pfizer sent …


Agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting challenges, which climate change and increasing climate variability will compound in vulnerable areas. The impacts of a changing climate on agricultural production in a world that warms by 4°C or more are likely to be severe in places. The livelihoods of many croppers and livestock keepers in Africa are associated with diversity of options. The changes in crop and livestock production that are likely to result in a 4°C+ world will diminish the options available to most smallholders. In such a world, current crop and livestock varieties and agricultural practices will often be inadequate, and food security will be more difficult to achieve because of commodity price increases and local production shortfalls. While adaptation strategies exist, considerable institutional and policy support will be needed to implement them successfully on the scale required. Even in the 2°C+ world that appears inevitable, planning for and implementing successful adaptation strategies are critical if agricultural growth in the region is to occur, food security be achieved and household livelihoods be enhanced. As part of this effort, better understanding of the critical thresholds in global and African food systems requires urgent research.


Abstract Sr and Nd isotope ratios, together with lithophile trace elements, have been measured in a representative set of igneous rocks and Lewisian gneisses from the Isle of Rum in order to unravel the petrogenesis of the felsic rocks that erupted in the early stages of Palaeogene magmatism in the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP). The Rum rhyodacites appear to be the products of large amounts of melting of Lewisian amphibolite gneiss. The Sr and Nd isotopic composition of the magmas can be explained without invoking an additional granulitic crustal component. Concentrations of the trace element Cs in the rhyodacites strongly suggests that the gneiss parent rock had experienced Cs and Rb loss prior to Palaeogene times, possibly during a Caledonian event. This depletion caused heterogeneity with respect to 87Sr/86Sr in the crustal source of silicic melts. Other igneous rock types on Rum (dacites, early gabbros) are mixtures of crustal melts and and primary mantle melts. Forward Rare Earth Element modelling shows that late stage picritic melts on Rum are close analogues for the parent melts of the Rum Layered Suite, and for the mantle melts that caused crustal anatexis of the Lewisian gneiss. These primary mantle melts have close affinities to Mid-Oceanic Ridge Basalts (MORB), whose trace element content varies from slightly depleted to slightly enriched. Crustal anatexis is a common process in the rift-to-drift evolution during continental break-up and the formation of Volcanic Rifted Margins systems. The 'early felsic–later mafic' volcanic rock associations from Rum are compared to similar associations recovered from the now-drowned seaward-dipping wedges on the shelf of SE Greenland and on the Vøring Plateau (Norwegian Sea). These three regions show geochemical differences that result from variations in the regional crustal composition and the depth at which crustal anatexis took place.


As political parties expand opportunities for intraparty participation, understanding the effects of participatory events on party actors becomes ever more important. In this study, we investigate the consequences of an intraparty referendum in a state branch of Germany's Christian Democratic Union on beliefs and attitudes of party members. We use longitudinal survey data bracketing a nonbinding issue referendum on the party's stance on same-sex marriage. Our analysis shows that the referendum had secondary effects that went beyond the referendum's primary goal of delivering an informal opinion poll to the party leadership. The experience of having a say in an important policy decision fostered members' sense of party-specific efficacy. Furthermore, the referendum provided party members with information on elite positions and stimulated leadership evaluation based on issue congruency. Altogether, involvement in intraparty decision-making promotes beliefs and behaviours among the rank and file that are relevant to uphold a vivid and empowering party life.


Introduction In recent years, many studies have shown positive effects of vitamin D on health, including various benefits to inflammation and immune response, cognitive function, protection against metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.1 Vitamin D deficiency has been closely related to the development of coronary heart disease and its mortality.2 Vitamin D involvement in mitigating the pathogenesis and progression of CHD may occur at different levels, such as by regulation of renin-angiotensin system to lower blood pressure, promotion of insulin secretion, decrease in insulin resistance, regulation of cell differentiation and proliferation, and anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerosis effects, but the specific mechanisms have not yet been fully defined.3,4


The Third Edition provides a concise yet approachable introduction to seismic theory, designed as a first course for graduate students or advanced undergraduate students. It clearly explains the fundamental concepts, emphasizing intuitive understanding over lengthy derivations, and outlines the different types of seismic waves and how they can be used to resolve Earth structure and understand earthquakes. New material and updates have been added throughout, including ambient noise methods, shear-wave splitting, back-projection, migration and velocity analysis in reflection seismology, earthquake rupture directivity, and fault weakening mechanisms. A wealth of both reworked and new examples, review questions and computer-based exercises in MATLAB/Python gives students the opportunity to apply the techniques they have learned to compute results of interest and to illustrate Earth's seismic properties. More advanced sections, which are not needed to understand the other material, are flagged so that instructors or students pressed for time can skip them.


Since 2009, Open Government Data initiatives have been launched worldwide and the concept of open data is gaining momentum. Open data are often associated with realizing ambitions, such as a more transparent and efficient government, solving societal problems and increased economic value. There has been ample literature describing the (potential) benefits of open data. However, to switch to an open data policy may pose a challenge to the business model of National Mapping & Cadastral Agencies (NMCAs), especially if they are required to generate sufficient revenue to cover a substantial part of their operating costs. This research aims to assess the effects of open data policies on the business models of NMCAs and which adaptations have been made to cope with revenue losses due to open data supply. In March and April 2017, we surveyed European NMCAs to find out which strategies NMCAs employ to be able to (re)finance operational costs and to ensure long-term sustainability of (open) data. This report provides the initial outcomes of the survey and will provide an input for a workshop on Sustainable Open Data Business Models for NMCAs, to be held 18-19 September 2017 in Delft, The Netherlands. This workshop will bring together the NMCAs to present and share their experiences of open data and discuss the research results with representatives of academia.


Reconstruction algorithms for Optical Diffuse Tomography (ODT) rely heavily on fast and accurate forward models. Arbitrary geometries and boundary conditions need to be handled rigorously since they are the only input to the inverse problem. From this perspective, Finite Element Methods (FEM) are good candidates to implement a forward model. However, these methods require to mesh the domain of interest, which is impractical on a routine basis. The other downside of the FEM is that the basis functions are often not compatible with the ones used for solving the inverse problem, which typically have less degrees of freedom. In this work, we tackle the 2D problem, and propose a forward model that uses a mesh-free discretization based on linear B-Splines. It combines the advantages of the FEM, while offering a fast and much simpler way of handling complex geometries. Another motivation for this work is that the underlying B-spline model is equally suitable for the subsequent reconstruction part of the process (solving the inverse problem). In particular, it is compatible with wavelets and multiresolution-type signal representations.


Bowel cancer is major global public health problem. In the United Kingdom, it is the third most common cancer in men and women and second major cause of cancer deaths. It has been suggested that the risk of bowel cancer deaths can be reduced by 16% through regular bowel screening. However, screening uptake remains low. This research explored factors influencing participation in the NHS bowel cancer screening programme, specifically 'the faecal occult blood test (FOBt)' in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, (NEYH) regions.

Drawing on grounded theory, (GT) a qualitative research approach enabled the development of an understanding of participants' experience of the FOBt and the processes involved in the choices they made. Twenty-six research
participants were recruited through the bowel cancer screening hub in accordance with ethical approval. Data collection was by semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Analysis was done using grounded theory techniques of constant comparative method and theoretical sampling aided by Nvivo and mind genius software.

Awareness of the FOBt prior to screening invitation was found to be low. Knowledge of bowel cancer seemed to come mostly from past personal experience and family history. Decisions to participate in the FOBt were largely influenced by three main themes: Social contexts such as demographic, cognition and cultural issues; Knowledge and awareness; and Practicalities associated with obtaining samples for FOBt. Knowledge and awareness seemed to be a key influence in participation and pivotal to social contexts and practicalities.

Screening was viewed positively by all participants particularly in relation to health protection. Within the social contexts and practicality issues, there are
facilitators and potential barriers. The interactions of social and practical contexts tend to dissuade people from participating in the FOBt. However, knowledge and awareness seem to mediate the two in such a way as to
encourage people to participate. A tentative explanatory model called "awareness-led behaviour model" was developed and appears to have commonalities with the health belief model typically used to explain health
behaviours. This study is one of the few studies to investigate factors affecting uptake of the NHSBCSP in the NEYH. The results obtained in this study are likely to have high policy and practice importance as they represent user-focused perspectives. Recommendations and implications for further research, policy, practice and education are offered in the concluding chapter.


Jie Chen and Bruce J. Dickson draw on extensive fieldwork as they explore the extent to which China's private sector supports democracy, surveying more than 2,000 entrepreneurs in five coastal provinces with over 70 percent of China's private enterprises. The authors examine who the private entrepreneurs are, how the party-state shapes this group, and what their relationship to the state is. China's entrepreneurs are closely tied to the state through political and financial relationships, and these ties shape their views toward democracy. While most entrepreneurs favor multi-candidate elections under the current one-party system, they do not support a system characterized by multi-party competition and political liberties, including the right to demonstrate. The key to regime support lies in the capitalists' political beliefs and their assessment of the government's policy performance. China's capitalists tend to be conservative and status-quo oriented, not likely to serve as agents of democratization. This is a valuable contribution not only to the debates over the prospects for democracy in China but also to understanding the process of democratization around the globe.


Mainstream US newspapers since the 1890s moved away from event-centered news of local persons and places and toward interpretative news of more distant issues, a trend called the new long journalism that continued when the press moved online. By the mid-2000s social media and web interactivity were common, and print news had not yet entered the profitability and jobs crisis-to-come. A study in 2005 replicates and extends the baseline measures of online news content. The long journalism trends continued for politics, a core topic in serving the public, and for NYTimes.com, a leader in the media and innovator online. But for breaking news topics such as accidents and for less prominent news outlets, online content moved toward shorter, less analytical coverage linked to individuals, other current happenings, and an especially local focus. The results show how journalists were experimenting at a key moment in the development of online news.


The machine reading task, where a computer reads a document and answers questions about it, is important in artificial intelligence research. Recently, many models have been proposed to address it. Word-level models, which have words as units of input and output, have proven to yield state-of-the-art results when evaluated on English datasets. However, in morphologically richer languages, many more unique words exist than in English due to highly productive prefix and suffix mechanisms. This may set back word-level models, since vocabulary sizes too big to allow for efficient computing may have to be employed. Multiple alternative input granularities have been proposed to avoid large input vocabularies, such as morphemes, character n-grams, and bytes. Bytes are advantageous as they provide a universal encoding format across languages, and allow for a small vocabulary size, which, moreover, is identical for every input language. In this work, we investigate whether bytes are suitable as input units across morphologically varied languages. To test this, we introduce two large-scale machine reading datasets in morphologically rich languages, Turkish and Russian. We implement 4 byte-level models, representing the major types of machine reading models and introduce a new seq2seq variant, called encoder-transformer-decoder. We show that, for all languages considered, there are models reading bytes outperforming the current state-of-the-art word-level baseline. Moreover, the newly introduced encoder-transformer-decoder performs best on the morphologically most involved dataset, Turkish. The large-scale Turkish and Russian machine reading datasets are released to public.


Many educational tests use testlets as a way of providing context, instead of presenting only discrete multiple-choice items, where items are grouped into testlets (Wainer & Kiely, 1987) or item bundles (Rosenbaum, 1988) marked by shared common stimulus materials. One might doubt the usual assumption of standard item response theory of local independence among items in these cases. Plausible causes of local dependence might be test takers' different levels of background knowledge necessary to understand the common passage, as a considerable amount of mental processing may be required to read and understand the stimulus, and different persons' learning experiences. Here, the local dependence can be viewed as additional dimensions other than the latent
traits. Furthermore, from the multidimensional differential item functioning (DIF) point of view, different distributions of testlet dimensions among different examinee subpopulations (race, gender, etc) could be the cognitive cause of individual differences in test performance. When testlet effect and item idiosyncratic features of individual items are both considered to be the reasons of DIF, it is interesting to investigate the phenomena of DIF amplification and cancellation resulting from the interactive effects of these two factors.

This dissertation presented a study based on a multiple-group testlet item response theory model developed by Li et al. (2006) to examine in detail different situations of DIF amplification and cancellation at the item and testlet level using testlet characteristic curve procedures with signed/ unsigned area indices and logistic regression procedure. The testlet DIF model was estimated using a hierarchical Bayesian framework with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method implemented in the computer software WINBUGS. The simulation study investigated all of the possible conditions of DIF amplification and cancellation attributed to person-testlet interaction effect and individual item characteristics. Real data analysis indicated the existence of testlet effect and its magnitudes of difference on the means and/or variance of testlet distribution between manifest groups imputed to the different contexts or natures of the passages as well as its interaction with the manifest groups of examinees such as gender or ethnicity.


The development of web-based, electronic commerce software has grown significantly in recent years. These software development applications have challenged information technol ogy departments in business organizations to implement mission critical, strategic applications for their organization. That in turn creates a significant demand for the technology personnel to support the development process. This research conducts a pilot survey of industry professionals to determine the necessary skills and training required of an undergraduate computer information systems professional seeking an entry-level position in a web-based application development environment. Respon dents were asked to provide their opinion relating to the market importance and student compe tency for a list of technical and conceptual skills relating to the development of web-based applications. The difference between the respondents' scores (market importance V5. student competency) were compared to determine whether students attained a level of competency that was equivalent to the skill's importance in the marketplace. The results of our study suggest that information systems graduates do not possess a high level of competency in several web-based development skills considered important by the marketplace. For the twenty-eight skills in cluded in the survey, fourteen of the skills showed significant differences in the respondents' scores. Specifically, the respondents believed that JAVA was the web development skill as hav ing the largest gap between the market importance and the level of competency possessed by a graduating student.


This chapter is concerned with proposing ways to make feasible the use of robots in many sectors characterized by dynamic and unstructured environments. In particular, we are interested in addressing the problem through a new approach, based on modular robotics, to allow the fast deployment of robots to solve specific tasks. A series of authors have previously proposed modular architectures, albeit mostly in laboratory settings. For this reason, their designs were usually more focused on what could be built instead of what was necessary for industrial operations. The approach presented here addresses the problem the other way around. In this line, we start by defining the industrial settings the architecture is aimed at and then extract the main features that would be required from a modular robotic architecture to operate successfully in this context. Finally, a particular heterogeneous modular robotic architecture is designed from these requirements and a laboratory implementation of it is built in order to test its capabilities and show its versatility using a set of different configurations including manipulators, climbers and walkers.


What did Vogue's first cover look like? When did film stars become part of the fashion industry? What led to the development of ready-to-wear clothing? How did the paintings of Mondrian, Dali and Warhol end up on the runway? These and other questions are answered in this eye-opening look at different aspects of the history of fashion - from Elizabeth I's "Mask of Youth," to Lady Gaga's "meat dress." Arranged by topic, the lavishly illustrated chapters explore themes such as war and the military; ready-to wear; fashion in film, art, and sports; celebrity; gay and lesbian fashion; globalization and the internet. Fashion That Changed the World digs into a multitude of social, economic and cultural factors that changed the course of fashion over the last few hundred years. Filled with colourful images - many of them full-page - and extensive essays that are both informative and engaging, this indispensable reference offers a historical snapshot of what we used to wear and why we choose the clothes that we do today.


A century before Martin Luther and the Reformation, Jan Hus confronted the official Church and helped to change the face of medieval Europe. A key figure in the history of Europe and Christianity and a catalyst for religious reform and social revolution, Jan Hus was poised between tradition and innovation. Taking a stand against the perceived corruption of the Church, his continued defiance led to his excommunication and he was ultimately burned at the stake in 1415. What role did he play in shaping Medieval Europe? And what is his legacy for today? In this important and timely book, Thomas A. Fudge explores Jan Hus, the man, his work and his legacy. Beginning his career at Prague University, this brilliant Bohemian preacher was soon catapulted by virtue of his radical and popular theology to the forefront of European affairs. This book fills a real gap in contemporary understanding of the medieval Church and offers an accessible and authoritative account of a most significant individual and his role in history. Jan Hus belongs to the pantheon of extraordinary figures from medieval religious history. His story is one of triumph and tragedy in a time of chaos and change.


Author(s): Gandara, Patricia; Orfield, Gary | Abstract: This paper reviews the research on the impact of segregation on Latino and English learner students, including new empirical research conducted in Arizona. It also reviews court decisions regarding students' rights to be integrated with their mainstream peers, and provides data on the increasing segregation of Arizona's Latino and English learner students. Given that the great majority (over 80%) of Arizona's English language learners are Spanish speakers, there is considerable overlap between ELL and Latino students. The paper also reviews the extant literature on the impact of segregation at both the school and classroom levels and pays special attention to the particularly deleterious effects of linguistic isolation for English learners. The paper concludes that the excessive segregation of Arizona's Latino and EL students is most probably harmful to these students' achievement and social and emotional development and that there are alternative strategies that the state could use to ameliorate these harms and provide a more effective education for these students.Also available at http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu


Topic models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), posit that documents are drawn from admixtures of distributions over words, known as topics. The inference problem of recovering topics from such a collection of documents drawn from admixtures, is NP-hard. Making a strong assumption called separability, [4] gave the first provable algorithm for inference. For the widely used LDA model, [6] gave a provable algorithm using clever tensor-methods. But [4, 6] do not learn topic vectors with bounded l1 error (a natural measure for probability vectors).

Our aim is to develop a model which makes intuitive and empirically supported assumptions and to design an algorithm with natural, simple components such as SVD, which provably solves the inference problem for the model with bounded l1 error. A topic in LDA and other models is essentially characterized by a group of co-occurring words. Motivated by this, we introduce topic specific Catchwords, a group of words which occur with strictly greater frequency in a topic than any other topic individually and are required to have high frequency together rather than individually. A major contribution of the paper is to show that under this more realistic assumption, which is empirically verified on real corpora, a singular value decomposition (SVD) based algorithm with a crucial pre-processing step of thresholding, can provably recover the topics from a collection of documents drawn from Dominant admixtures. Dominant admixtures are convex combination of distributions in which one distribution has a significantly higher contribution than the others. Apart from the simplicity of the algorithm, the sample complexity has near optimal dependence on w0, the lowest probability that a topic is dominant, and is better than [4]. Empirical evidence shows that on several real world corpora, both Catchwords and Dominant admixture assumptions hold and the proposed algorithm substantially outperforms the state of the art [5].


ZnO/ZnO-Al thin films were grown aiming the development of a memristor. Electrical voltage sweeps were imposed to induce dopant migration and to achieve several resistance states. A memristor behavior was observed, presenting adaptation to external electrical stimulus. Voltage sweeps occurred under the influence of violet light and in the dark, alternately, and the influence of the photon incidence on the current intensity was noticed. Throughout the alternating cycles between light and dark, less resistance was observed under illumination, but the migration of Al and O ions caused the formation of Al 2 O 3 and ZnO oxides, resulting in a gradual increase in resistance. With constant voltage, the device presented continuous modification of resistance and sensitivity to the violet light with generation of free carriers. These results bring new opportunities for using memristors as violet light sensors as well as new insights for light-controlled memristor development.


Abstract The performance of concentrative and mindfulness meditators on a test of sustained attention (Wilkins' counting test) was compared with controls. Both groups of meditators demonstrated superior performance on the test of sustained attention in comparison with controls, and long-term meditators were superior to short-term meditators. Mindfulness meditators showed superior performance in comparison with concentrative meditators when the stimulus was unexpected but there was no difference between the two types of meditators when the stimulus was expected. The results are discussed in relation to the attentional mechanisms involved in the two types of meditation and implications drawn for mental health.


In this paper we set out the welfare economics based case for imposing cartel penalties on the cartel overcharge rather than on the more conventional bases of revenue or profits (illegal gains). To do this we undertake a systematic comparison of a penalty based on the cartel overcharge with three other penalty regimes: fixed penalties; penalties based on revenue, and penalties based on profits. Our analysis is the first to compare these regimes in terms of their impact on both (i) the prices charged by those cartels that do form; and (ii) the number of stable cartels that form (deterrence). We show that the class of penalties based on profits is identical to the class of fixed penalties in all welfare-relevant respects. For the other three types of penalty we show that, for those cartels that do form, penalties based on the overcharge produce lower prices than those based on profit) while penalties based on revenue produce the highest prices. Further, in conjunction with the above result, our analysis of cartel stability (and thus deterrence), shows that penalties based on the overcharge out-perform those based on profits, which in turn out-perform those based on revenue in terms of their impact on each of the following welfare criteria: (a) average overcharge; (b) average consumer surplus; (c) average total welfare.


Given an arbitrary network of interconnected nodes, each with an initial value from a discrete set, we consider the problem of distributively disseminating these initial values under the constraint that the nodes can only process and communicate values in that set. To solve this problem, we treat the initial values as elements in a finite field and employ a linear iterative strategy, whereby at each time-step, each node in the network transmits a value that is a linear combination of its own value and the most recent transmissions of its neighbors. Our approach is an important (and non-trivial) extension of previous work on linear iterative strategies with real-valued transmissions and operations, and can find applications in networks that have communication or computational constraints. We show that if the weights for the linear iteration are chosen randomly (uniformly and independently) from a finite field of sufficiently large size, then with some nonzero probability, any node will be able to obtain the initial value of any other node. Furthermore, this can be accomplished after running the linear iteration for a finite number of time-steps (upper bounded by the number of nodes in the network). In the process of deriving our results, we develop a theory of structured observability for linear systems over finite fields.


Social capital has been poked and prodded by scores of intellectuals across a vast array of disciplines since 18th century Progressive L.J. Hanifan first coined the term (Hanifan 1916), and its resurgence in popularity over the last 30 years has fueled much contemporary discourse in the social sciences. Particularly in criminology, scores of studies conducted during this period articulate the positive and negative effects of social capital in the creation and maintenance of safe, healthy communities and civil social structures (Jacobs 1961; Coleman 1990; Putnam 2000; White N.d.). However, while conceptually social capital and the components of which it is comprised (e.g., trust, reciprocity, civic engagement) are not inherent to one locale, much of this research traditionally considers only Western perspectives grounded in U.S. or U.K. scholarship. This study was an attempt to rectify this gap by exploring the relationship between one particularly common component of social capital – trust – and public perceptions on crime in a setting seldom covered in the extant literature: South Africa. Confirmatory factor analysis and OLS regression revealed varying magnitudes of positive relationships between trust and crime perceptions the state of safety and violence in the country, as well as the quality of the government's handling of crime. Implications for these findings are discussed.


The tetrameric enzyme lactate dehydrogenase dissociates into its constituent monomeric subunits in a high ion to protein concentration ratio, in certain ionic environments when frozen, and at extreme dilution. Dissociation by dilution involves changes in tertiary conformation which inactivate the enzyme. The dissociation is strongly inhibited by homologous native proteins, but only slightly by denatured or unrelated proteins.


Many panel studies collect refreshment samples---new, randomly sampled respondents who complete the questionnaire at the same time as a subsequent wave of the panel. With appropriate modeling, these samples can be leveraged to correct inferences for biases caused by non-ignorable attrition. We present such a model when the panel includes many categorical survey variables. The model relies on a Bayesian latent pattern mixture model, in which an indicator for attrition and the survey variables are modeled jointly via a latent class model. We allow the multinomial probabilities within classes to depend on the attrition indicator, which offers additional flexibility over standard applications of latent class models. We present results of simulation studies that illustrate the benefits of this flexibility. We apply the model to correct attrition bias in an analysis of data from the 2007-2008 Associated Press/Yahoo News election panel study.


We give a detailed analysis of the Gibbs-type entropy notion and its dynamical behavior in case of time-dependent continuous probability distributions of varied origins: related to classical and quantum systems. The purpose-dependent usage of conditional Kullback-Leibler and Gibbs (Shannon) entropies is explained in case of non-equilibrium Smoluchowski processes. A very different temporal behavior of Gibbs and Kullback entropies is confronted. A specific conceptual niche is addressed, where quantum von Neumann, classical Kullback-Leibler and Gibbs entropies can be consistently introduced as information measures for the same physical system. If the dynamics of probability densities is driven by the Schrodinger picture wave-packet evolution, Gibbs-type and related Fisher information functionals appear to quantify nontrivial power transfer processes in the mean. This observation is found to extend to classical dissipative processes and supports the view that the Shannon entropy dynamics provides an insight into physically relevant non-equilibrium phenomena, which are inaccessible in terms of the Kullback-Leibler entropy and typically ignored in the literature.


Abstract. Toponymy is a crucial component for cartographic representation of geographic information. Toponyms are essential building blocks of communities and identity. Place names are instruments of meaning to be attached to spaces to convert them into places. Among their functions, place names are said to be vectors of a transgenerational communication. They lift the veil on the relationship they hold with identity. They make us better understand the population's means of expression, which will shed light on the identification they attribute to themselves. This study is an analysis of the relationship between place names and identity. It advances that place name holds more meaning than just a way to indicate a place. The nature of this investigation makes it possible for using case study as a qualitative research design. To ensure more valid conclusions, multiple data collection tools were adopted. Semi-structured interviews provide more flexibility and satisfy most of the research objectives. The other instrument used is a questionnaire for the purpose of eliciting more information from the respondents. The objective is to investigate the image displayed by the place names in use. The results point to the symbolic nature of place names in the construction of identities. In this regard, they are not mere signifiers of places and markers of destination but offer insight into the imposed identity and ideology on a landscape.


In the last years the show caves in Bohemia and Moravia were administrated by the Ministry of Culture with the status of a state assisted organization. That means that they were considered as those organizations not self-sufficient. without connections with tourism. Presently. the management of the show caves in Bohemia and Moravia is at a cross. road: to remain under the administration of the Ministry of Culture or move under the newly formed Ministry of Environment. In the latter case the cave management should change into a business organization similar to a private body. We believe that these problems can be fairly solved by the newly formed National Show Caves Association.


Energy-detection is appealing for IEEE 802.15.4a receivers as it allows to exploit the ranging capabilities and the multipath resistance of impulse-radio UWB at a reasonable complexity. IEEE 802.15.4a receivers operate with interference created by uncontrolled piconets and an uncoordinated medium access control. Prior work showed that the performance of an energy-detection based receiver is greatly degraded in such scenarios. Hence, we present an interference mitigation algorithm based on statistical interference modeling for energy-detection receivers. This combines a low complexity architecture and robustness to interference. Our performance evaluation shows that our solution decreases the packet error rate significantly.


Lignocellulosic fibers have received much more attention than ever before from the research community all over the world during the past few years because of their enormous advantages. A study on the preparation of new series of polymer composites using Pine Needles as a reinforcing material in Urea - Formaldehyde resin has been made. Mechanical properties of intimately mixed particle reinforced (Pine Needles) composites have been studied. Effects of different loading of reinforcement in terms of weight % on static mechanical properties such as tensile, compressive, flexural and wear properties have also been evaluated. The Urea-Formaldehyde resin prepared was subjected to evaluation of its optimum mechanical properties. The reinforcing of the resin with Pine Needles was accomplished in particle size of 200 micron by employing optimized resin. The present work reveals that mechanical properties of the Urea- Formaldehyde resin increases to a considerable extent when reinforced with Pine Needle Particles. Thermal (TGA/ DTA/DTG) and morphological studies (SEM) of the resin and polymer composites thus synthesized have also been studied. The results obtained suggest that Pine Needles can be a premium candidate for the reinforcement of high-performance polymer composites.


Change in trade barriers and capital flow creates opportunities for redesigning the food chain. The orange juice chain in U.S. and Brazil provides an interesting illustration of how institutional harmonization, high import tariff rates and complementary capabilities open new opportunities for strategic alliances and the re-arrangement in the FCOJ chain. This finding has the following implications. First, trade barriers are not enough to support FDI and related internationalization decisions. Second, the perspective of market integration creates a positive environment for new strategic alliances and the re-design of the food chain. And third, the existence of complementary capabilities between foreign and domestic companies is a necessary condition for this type of supply chain re-arrangement.


Climate change is believed to be one the main challenges for human society. The emission of greenhouse gases is believed to increase global warming and CO2 is one of the most important greenhouse gases emitted by humans. A proposed option for the reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere is CO2 capture and storage. CO2 storage in geological formations is considered to be an important solution for preventing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere; however, it is essential to perform it safely and securely. Success of the project is highly dependent on understanding the process at reservoir conditions. One of the suitable formations considered for CO2 storage is a saline aquifer. There are other potential geological storage possibilities including depleted oil and gas reservoirs and coal beds, but the main attraction of brine formations as suitable storage sites for CO2 is the availability and larger volumes.After injecting CO2 into the aquifer formation, it will be trapped in the reservoir by various mechanisms. Each trapping mechanism has generally a different timescale. At the beginning the structural and geological trapping mechanism dominates, which is trapping of CO2, below a sealing cap rock. During the movement of CO2 upward or along a dipping barrier, brine will be imbibed into the formation that already has CO2 inside the pores and some fraction of the CO2 will be trapped in the pore spaces. This is called residual trapping. In a long-term process, CO2 starts to be soluble in the brine and this makes a CO2-rich phase that is now dense and located on the top of the brine. As a result, the heavier saturated CO2 becomes unstable and will move into deeper parts of the reservoir and the convection mixing phenomena will be activated. This is called solubility trapping.In this research, geological, residual and solubility trapping mechanisms are studied but main focus is on the residual trapping mechanism through experimental and simulation activities. This thesis also presents numerical simulation investigations of the geological, residual and soluble trapping mechanisms involved in CO2 storage in the brine.As part of this research, 2D glass model experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effect of different parameters during CO2 injection into the reservoir and also during the imbibition process by the brine. This is done by use of proxy fluids that are chosen to represent the CO2-brine behavior at reservoir condition. Images from the 2D model setup are analyzed through an image analysis method based on red, green and blue (RGB) color concept. The results are compared with the fine scale numerical simulation results. The effect of the injection rate on both the drainage and imbibition processes is discussed. Using different fluid sets, the effect of wettability has also been studied. In connection with the 2D model experiment, relative permeability experiments with the same fluid property and porous material are carried out and the results are compared and used in the simulation study.Conceptual simulation models are constructed based on CO2 storage reservoir conditions and sensitivity analysis of the effective parameters is used to reveal the importance of them. In the study of residual trapping, the effect of wettability, dipping angle, imbibition modeling methods and grid refinement on the state of CO2 on the short- and long-terms are studied. The behavior of the CO2 after injection in different scenarios is compared and different reservoir conditions are examined. Finally, compositional simulations constructed for the purpose of studying solubility trapping mechanism and different reservoir parameters that affect it are investigated.The results of the relative permeability measurements and the 2D visual model verify that using two sets of fluids representing the CO2-brine systems in the reservoir can be a feasible method to measure the effect of different parameters in CO2 storage in the brine. Scaling the experiments by use of the dimensionless parameter shows that the designs are close to the real conditions. Relative permeability measurements show sensitivity of the residual CO2 proxy fluid volumes, saturation end points and corresponding relative permeability on both the rate and wettability. However, in the case of less water-wet systems, residual CO2 proxy trapping is more sensitive to the imbibition rate. Correlations are proposed to predict CO2 residuals based on the effect of the rate and wettability.The results of image analysis confirm that both imbibition and drainage rates affect the CO2 proxy fluid trapping saturations. It is observed that higher drainage rates created higher residual saturation, while higher imbibition rates caused lower residual saturation. Using a fluid with higher wettability, considerably lower CO2 proxy residuals are predicted. This conclusion is compared with the findings from balance readings and simulation studies and good agreement is found between them.Different simulation scenarios for conceptual models based on CO2 storage reservoir characteristics are constructed. Considering the base relative permeability model as representative of water-wet condition, the highest trapping volume is in a slightly waterwet condition and the lowest is the case of a strongly water-wet scenario.The results of the compositional modeling of the solubility trapping mechanism reveal that the CO2 state is sensitive to the reservoir permeability and to brine salinity. Higher permeability resulted in higher values of CO2 dissolved into the reservoir after the start of convection, while lower salinity values resulted in very sharp increases in the volume of CO2 dissolved in the brine. The onset time of convection for the base case simulation is higher than estimations by theoretical stability analysis, but by decreasing the grid sizes this difference is decreased. Considering capillary pressure in the modeling increased the predicted soluble CO2 in the brine considerably.


This project, the computer-aided three-dimensional modeling and visualization of geological structures and properties, was conceived in the framework of the INFOGEOL project, "Modeling of Underground Civil Engineering Works Intersecting Geologic Structures". This project is carried out by the Laboratory of Geology of the Swiss Federal lnstitute of Technology in Lausanne (GEOLEP-EPFL). The work presented here is oriented to solving problems connected with modeling geologic structures rather than civil works, which already benefit from sophisticated 3-D modeling CAD (Computer Aided Design) packages. The research had three primary goals: to determine the 3-D graphic computer situation available in the modeling and visualizing of geological structures and properties; to present a method and software that solve the major geological modeling problems; and to illustrate the benefits of 3-D modeling in solving problems in the Earth Sciences. Statement of the 3-D representation of geological objects The main characteristics of the application of the 3-D computer modeling in geology are discussed in this section. The visualization principle is based on the representation of block diagrams similar to those created by geologists since the first geological studies. The evolution of computer technology has made the construction of such models easier. In addition, computer technology has optimized the use of such models by creating tools for viewing these blocks from any angle, for separating the blocks into the objects that compose them, for slicing through the blocks in any direction, and so on. To obtain this goal of visualizing and manipulating these block diagrams, some additional constraints must be discussed : they concern the available hardware and software techniques. Because of their design, workstations are the only computers that allow efficient work in the 3-D computing domain. As such, these workstations were used in the development of our methods. From the standpoint of the methodology, the techniques used in this study are different from those of a CAD system: the aim is not to create objects as an architect does (an ab initio process), but to build objects from existing data (an interpolation process). The main problems encountered in developing the new method are : the modeling of overturned structures, such as recumbent folds; the computation of intersections between surfaces; and the volume representation of each object. In addition, the modeling process must be done with the maximum amount of data precision, which ultimately determines the quality and the validity of the model. Presentation of the method and software In the framework of this research project, a partnership has been established with Dynamic Graphics, Inc., a Californian software Company specializing in mapping and modeling of geologic data. From that arrangement, developments have allowed the production of a system that solves all the problems discussed above. In addition, the software allows the computation and visualization of the spatial distribution of geological properties, represented within their structural framework of geologic layers. A general modeling methodology is suggested in the four steps described below: Acquisition, introduction, and organization of data. Modeling of surfaces using interpolation processes. Organization of surfaces by dividing the model into fault blocks, defining a chronological sequence in each fault block, and computing the intersections between the surfaces and the fault blocks. Volume creation by filling the space between surfaces. The software can model and represent any kind of geological or civil work structure as a surface or volume, as long as suitable and usable information is available. Benefits of the three-dimensional approach Several practical examples illustrate the use of the proposed software and show that any geological domain can benefit from this modeling approach. The 3-D approach allows the greater control of geological data and how they are incorporated into a model. It encourages an in-depth look into the structural geometry and enhances the comprehension of the geologic relationships. It makes possible the testing of different interpretations and to show off eventual geometric inconsistencies. From an engineering viewpoint, such visualization makes the implementation of civil works much easier, and aids in making decisions and following the construction progress. Use of such software requires some precautions: users must have computer knowledge, must know how to understand and avoid extrapolation in areas lacking data, and must never forget that the models are only as good as the data input to the computer. Results must be considered as possible solutions and not as the exact representation of reality. The validity of an interpretation done from the model depends on such prudence. The quality of the collaboration existing between the person who develops the model and the responsible project geologist is also important in determining an accurate and reliable model. The evolution of computer software and hardware technology promises a beautiful future for 3-D graphic computing as applied to the Earth Sciences. As the method and software become incorporated throughout the geologic community, every level of geologist will be able to benefit from the advantages of 3-D modeling in order to better understand and solve problems in any geologic study.


The infrastructure necessary for training state-of-the-art models is becoming overly expensive, which makes training such models affordable only to large corporations and institutions. Recent work proposes several methods for training such models collaboratively, i.e., by pooling together hardware from many independent parties and training a shared model over the Internet. In this demonstration, we collaboratively trained a text-to-image transformer similar to OpenAI DALL-E. We invited the viewers to join the ongoing training run, showing them instructions on how to contribute using the available hardware. We explained how to address the engineering challenges associated with such a training run (slow communication, limited memory, uneven performance between devices, and security concerns) and discussed how the viewers can set up collaborative training runs themselves. Finally, we show that the resulting model generates images of reasonable quality on a number of prompts.


The aim of this research is to explore new creative outcomes of the use of emergent generative systems as material in audio and audiovisual experimental art. The portfolio includes the following compositions: Construction in Self, Construction in Zhuangzi and Construction in Kneading, the last two each comprising of three separate pieces. The mathematical systems used are the Lorenz dynamical system and the Mandelbox fractal. Through considering their potential for emergence, the aesthetic possibilities that generative systems offer in the context of experimental computational art are explored. The approach is initially investigated in the audio domain in CiS, a generative electronic music work. CiZ and CiK, the two main sets of works that comprise the portfolio, then explore the technique of "live audiovisualisation": the simultaneous sonification and visualisation of the same source of data in real-time. Aesthetic considerations of the use of data as sound and moving image and their combination is discussed with reference to research into auditory displays, experimental film and perception. The techniques used include my approach of "self-similar sonification": the presentation of data as audio at multiple time-scales, including at audio rate by means of non-standard synthesis or audification. All the works are implemented in the programming environment Max/MSP/Jitter.


The conventional open discectomy is the gold standard for treating extruded lumbar disc herniation, especially in highly migrated lumbar disc herniation. Endoscopic spine surgery is known to be very challenging and technically demanding, in particular for highly migrated disc herniation. However, several studies have reported numerous effective techniques with results approximatively equal to conventional open surgeries or mini-open surgery. In the last few years, an increased number of endoscopic spine surgical techniques have been proposed in order to overcome various issues encountered in traditional endoscopic spine surgery. Nevertheless, surgical approach selection for treating extruded lumbar disc herniation is based on aspects such as anatomical structures, availability of surgical instruments, surgeon's experience, and the disc herniation location. Advances in endoscopic visualization and instrumentation, as well as an increased demand for minimally invasive procedures, have led to the popularity of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy (PELD). PELD is a recent and advanced technique among other minimally invasive spine surgeries (MIS). It includes various kinds of surgical techniques to treat lumbar disc herniation and aims to offer a safe, less invasive surgical procedure for lumbar disc space decompression and removal of nucleus pulposus.


Background: Falls are a problem for older adults. In particular, older hospitalised adults and those recently discharged from hospital have been shown to be at an increased risk of falls compared to older adults living in the community. Falls impact negatively on the physical and psychosocial well-being of older adults. They increase the burden of care for their family, caregivers and the healthcare system. However, many falls in older adults are preventable. Cochrane reviews demonstrated many strategies were effective in preventing falls in the hospital and community settings. However, older adults were shown to have little knowledge of protective strategies they could engage in preventing falls. It is therefore apparent that many of them may not become involved in effective falls prevention activities during hospitalisation and after discharge without active education from their healthcare providers about what strategies they should be using. There is a new piece of evidence from the most recent Cochrane review that providing education to patients targeting individual risk factors can reduce their risk of falling in hospital, however, it is unclear whether education intervention is effective in reducing their risk of falling following discharge from hospital. Objectives: The objectives of the thesis were to investigate whether provision of education intervention to older adults could potentially increase the uptake of falls prevention activities, and prevent falls during hospitalisation and after discharge to the community. It explored what falls prevention education and how frequently it was being provided to older adults and their caregivers. It also investigated the barriers and facilitators to this education taking place. Methods: A research program incorporating four studies that utilised qualitative and quantitative designs was conducted. The first study was a systematic review and meta-analysis. Five health science databases were searched up to November 2012. Studies that investigated patient education as a single intervention or in a multifactorial falls prevention program in the hospital and/or post-discharge community settings were eligible for inclusion. Standard meta-analysis methods were used to assess the effectiveness of patient education compared to usual care. Primary outcomes were incidence of falls, falls-related injury and healthcare use due to falls. Secondary outcomes were mechanisms of behavioural change that may reduce the risk of falls, for example awareness of falls and falls prevention strategies. Qualitative data were analysed by critical narrative review. The second study was a qualitative study. Six participant groups of older patients (n=16), caregivers (n=8), allied health and nursing professionals (n=33), hospital doctors from acute wards (n=8), hospital doctors from subacute wards (n=10) and general practitioners (n=9) were interviewed using either semi-structured interviews or focus groups. All participants were recruited from three hospitals of Monash Health in Victoria, Australia except for general practitioners who were recruited from the community of Melbourne. Data were analysed with thematic analysis. The third study was a prospective cohort study. Data were collected from 394 older community dwellers in Victoria, Australia using a baseline survey (response rate of 61%), and 245 of these participated in a follow-up survey one year later. Survey domains were drawn from constructs of behavioural change models. Survey format consisted of yes and no responses, Likert scale and open/closed-ended responses. Quantitative data were analysed with regression analysis consistent with the categories of data. Qualitative data that were obtained from open-ended questions were coded and analysed with content analysis. The fourth study was a prospective cohort study. Data were collected from 155 older hospitalised adults prior to discharge from hospital using a baseline survey (response rate of 72%), of whom 123 participated in a three and/or six month follow-up surveys in the community. Participants were recruited from three hospitals of Monash Health in Victoria, Australia. Questionnaires captured predictive factors that may predispose older adults to fall. Data related to the proportion of older adults who could recall having discussed falls and falls prevention strategies with a health professional, content of these discussions and strategies that were recommended or undertaken to prevent falls within six months post-discharge were examined. Survey format consisted of open/closed-ended responses. Qualitative data that were obtained from open-ended questions were coded and analysed with content analysis. Results: Systematic review of falls prevention programs that contained patient education were shown to be effective in reducing fall rates amongst hospital inpatients and post-discharge populations, and in reducing the proportion of patients who became fallers in the hospital. Patient education generally increased knowledge about falls and awareness of prevention strategies in older adults. However, the uptake of strategies may be dependent on the activities being targeted.  The other studies in the research program found few older adults discussed with their healthcare providers about falls. Twenty percent of older adults in the community reported having had a discussion about falls with their general practitioners, of which 15% initiated the discussion. About 15% reported having had a discussion or having initiated a discussion about falls with other health professionals. Forty-four percent of older adults reported having had a discussion about falls with either their general practitioners and/or other health professionals within six months after discharge from the hospital. Older adults commonly reported that they were asked if they had fallen over, and the reason of fall if they did fall, with further discussion about injuries that arose from falling within six months post-discharge. Very few recalled discussing screening for risk of future falls or interventions to prevent falls. Older adults in the community reported discussing falls prevention strategies with their general practitioners and other health professionals. However, discussions held post-discharge and in the community were mostly focussed on interventions that had an absence of evidence of effectiveness in preventing falls. Moreover, most of the interventions that were undertaken had no evidence of benefit for the prevention of falls. More than half of those that were prescribed with exercises for the prevention of falls post-discharge did not do the exercises. Falls prevention information provided to older adults in the hospital was found to be typically "activity-specific". In addition, health professionals generally gave advice that was "discipline-specific" to their professional background rather than discussing with older adults about their personal risk factors of falls and giving relevant evidence-based falls prevention information. Mixed messages or potentially incorrect messages were sometimes conveyed to patients and their families due to miscommunication between hospital staff, and staff members who had different clinical considerations. Barriers to discussion about falls that were identified in hospitals included health professionals perceiving a difference in their falls prevention responsibility, time limitations, competing priorities, lack of falls prevention knowledge, lack of suitable educational resources for falls prevention, reactive approach to falls prevention, older adults' beliefs, perceptions and attitudes towards fall risks and falls prevention. Barriers to discussion about falls that were identified in the community included older adults having a low perceived risk of falls or harm from falls, not seeing their health professionals at the time of fall, and having limited time at consultation to discuss falls. Older adults in the community who had anxiety or depression, chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or having a self-reported fall in the last 12 months were more likely to have a discussion of falls with general practitioners. Older adults in the community who had a higher perception of risk of sustaining a serious injury from falling were more likely to discuss about falls with other health professionals. Information provision about falls prevention during transition from hospital to community-living seemed to be more favourable if older adults were admitted to a subacute ward during their hospital stay. Likewise, information provision during transition was more likely to occur if they had fallen, if they were referred for rehabilitation after discharge from the hospital or if they had asked about falls. Older adults in the community reported increased participation in exercises for the prevention of falls after they completed a survey that targeted evidence-based falls prevention activities. The participants reported they had an increased threat appraisal towards their perceptions about falls and personal risk of falls. They described implementation of different strategies to prevent falls after participation in the survey. Discussion: The results of the studies in the research program complemented each other and demonstrated relatively consistent findings across the studies undertaken. Current approaches to discussion about falls between older adults and their health professionals in hospitals and post-discharge to the community could be argued as being suboptimal. There was a low frequency of falls discussion between older adults and their healthcare providers. In addition, the amount of evidence-based information or advice being provided to older adults to prevent falls during the discussions was scarce. Therefore, the discussions that did take place were unlikely to assist with the prevention of future falls. (...)


Quantifying the uncertainty of Lagrangian motion can be performed by solving a large number of ordinary differential equations with random velocities, or equivalently a stochastic transport partial differential equation (PDE) for the ensemble of flow-maps. The Dynamically Orthogonal (DO) decomposition is applied as an efficient dynamical model order reduction to solve for such stochastic advection and Lagrangian transport. Its interpretation as the method that applies instantaneously the truncated SVD on the matrix discretization of the original stochastic PDE is used to obtain new numerical schemes. Fully linear, explicit central advection schemes stabilized with numerical filters are selected to ensure efficiency, accuracy, stability, and direct consistency between the original deterministic and stochastic DO advections and flow-maps. Various strategies are presented for selecting a time-stepping that accounts for the curvature of the fixed rank manifold and the error related to closely singular coefficient matrices. Efficient schemes are developed to dynamically evolve the rank of the reduced solution and to ensure the orthogonality of the basis matrix while preserving its smooth evolution over time. Finally, the new schemes are applied to quantify the uncertain Lagrangian motions of a 2D double gyre flow with random frequency and of a stochastic flow past a cylinder.


The search for origins in adoptive families has mainly played out in fantasy, imagining the history of the child and his biological parents. Today, new questions are emerging in the context of ever more frequent instances where the biological family reaches out to the adoptee on social media. At this point, the real breaks in, forcing itself on the adolescent, regardless of his inward processing of questions about his origins.


Mid-infrared (MIR) frequency comb sources enable high-speed and accurate detection of various species, since many molecules possess their fingerprints in this wavelength range. Usually, broadband radiation in this spectral region is obtained from optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), which provide high output power and broad tuning capabilities [1]. However, OpO sources require locking of the cavity to the pumping oscillator, which increases the complexity. MIR sources based on difference frequency generation (DFG) are interesting alternatives to OPOs, due to their simplicity, single-pass configuration, broad tunability, and fully passive cancellation of the carrier-envelope offset in the generated idler pulses. However, the conversion efficiency of the DFG process is usually insufficient to reach the output power levels easily achieved in OPO systems. Here, we demonstrate a widely tunable DFG source based on a mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser, with average MIR output power reaching 165 mW, which is more than in previous reports on similar DFG systems [2, 3].


Abstract. Permafrost is a widespread phenomenon in mountainous regions of the world such as the European Alps. Many important topics such as the future evolution of permafrost related to climate change and the detection of permafrost related to potential natural hazards sites are of major concern to our society. Numerical permafrost models are the only tools which allow for the projection of the future evolution of permafrost. Due to the complexity of the processes involved and the heterogeneity of Alpine terrain, models must be carefully calibrated, and results should be compared with observations at the site (borehole) scale. However, for large-scale applications, a site-specific model calibration for a multitude of grid points would be very time-consuming. To tackle this issue, this study presents a semi-automated calibration method using the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) as implemented in a 1-D soil model (CoupModel) and applies it to six permafrost sites in the Swiss Alps. We show that this semi-automated calibration method is able to accurately reproduce the main thermal condition characteristics with some limitations at sites with unique conditions such as 3-D air or water circulation, which have to be calibrated manually. The calibration obtained was used for global and regional climate model (GCM/RCM)-based long-term climate projections under the A1B climate scenario (EU-ENSEMBLES project) specifically downscaled at each borehole site. The projection shows general permafrost degradation with thawing at 10 m, even partially reaching 20 m depth by the end of the century, but with different timing among the sites and with partly considerable uncertainties due to the spread of the applied climatic forcing.


The economic impact of natural disasters on developing economies can be severe with the recovery diverting scarce funds that might otherwise be targeted at development projects and stimulating the need for international aid. In view of the likely sensitivity of low‐lying Pacific Islands to anticipated changes in climate, a 122‐year record of major flooding depths at the Rarawai Sugar Mill on the Ba River in the northwest of the Fijian Island of Viti Levu is analysed. Reconstructed largely from archived correspondence of the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, the time series comprises simple measurements of height above the Mill floor. It exhibits no statistically significant trends in either frequency or flood heights, once the latter have been adjusted for average relative sea‐level rise. This is despite persistent warming of air temperatures as characterized in other studies. There is a strong dependence of frequency (but not magnitude) upon El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase, with many more floods in La Niña phases. The analysis of this long‐term data series illustrates the difficulty of detecting a global climate change signal from hazard data, even given a consistent measurement methodology (cf HURDAT2 record of North Atlantic hurricanes) and warns of the strong dependence of any statistical significance upon choices of start and end dates of the analysis.


Growth rates of the axisymmetric mode in vertically elongated plasmas in the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV) are measured and compared with numerically calculated growth rates for the reconstructed equilibria. This comparison is made over a range of discharge parameters including elongation, triangularity and vertical position within the vacuum vessel. Growth rates increase with respect to increasing elongation, decreasing triangularity and increasing vertical distance from the top of the vacuum vessel, as expected. The agreement between the growth rates measured in the experiment and the numerically determined growth rates is excellent, in particular for the full linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, which accounts for the non-rigid motion of strongly shaped plasma cross-sections


Abstract In this paper we present a method for estimating soil pCO2 in ancient environments using the measured carbon-isotope values of pedogenic carbonates and plant-derived organic matter. The validity of soil pCO2 estimates proves to be highly dependent on the organic δ13C values used in the calculations. Organic matter should be sourced from the same paleosol profiles as sampled carbonates to yield the most reliable estimates of soil pCO2. In order to demonstrate the potential use of soil pCO2 estimates in paleoecological and paleoenvironmental studies, we compare samples from three Upper Jurassic localities. Soil pCO2 estimates, interpreted as a qualitative indicator of primary paleoproductivity, are used to rank the Late Jurassic terrestrial environments represented by the Morrison Formation in western North America, the informally named Lourinhã formation in Western Europe, and the Stanleyville Group in Central Africa. Because modern terrestrial environments show a positive correlation between primary productivity and faunal richness, a similar relationship is expected in ancient ecosystems. When the relative paleoproductivity levels inferred for each study area are compared with estimates of dinosaur generic richness, a positive correlation emerges. Both the Morrison and Lourinhã formations have high inferred productivity levels and high estimated faunal richness. In contrast, the Stanleyville Group appears to have had low primary productivity and low faunal richness. Paleoclimatic data available for each study area indicate that both productivity and faunal richness are positively linked to water availability, as observed in modern terrestrial ecosystems.


Agile software development, a paradigm that emphasizes project team autonomy and the value of responding to changes over following standardized processes, has gained prominence in the software industry. Prior investigations on the adoptions of agile paradigms for software operations and their performance implications have typically focused on isolated aspects of software development processes. In this study, we adopt a configurational perspective of software operations and assess the causal impacts of adopting an organizational policy that grants higher levels of autonomy to project teams. Building on the equifinality framework proposed in organizational studies, we posit that an organizational policy that provides higher levels of autonomy for software teams engenders performance-enhancing adaptations through agile reconfigurations of project operations. To test our hypothesis, we collaborated with a commercial software firm and collected data from a policy experiment at the firm. We examined project-level data spanning a four-year observation period during which the firm implemented a new policy that significantly reduced the hurdles for project teams to autonomously reconfigure their operations. The results support our postulation and shed light on how an organizational policy that provides greater autonomy to software


This study investigates the metalinguistic discourse of Twitter users in the French language. It is often claimed that France is a country in which standard language ideology and prescriptivism are deeply entrenched. In modern society, the internet seems to have become a popular space to share and enforce prescriptive ideas about 'correct' and 'incorrect' language. Given suggestions that the views expressed online are often more extreme than offline interactions, the internet, in this case Twitter, is a particularly interesting context for a study of metalinguistic discourse. Through analysis of a corpus of tweets, created using search terms such as orthographe and the non-standard verb form croivent, I investigate attitudes towards both usages which deviate from the prescribed norm and the speakers behind the deviations. The results show that Twitter users have clear ideas about what constitutes 'acceptable' and 'unacceptable' language, and equate non-standard usages with low intelligence and status. There has been relatively little research on contemporary prescriptivism in France and computer-mediated communication in French has also attracted little interest to date. This study uses innovative research methods to provide the first analysis of contemporary French prescriptivism in action in the online sphere.


Similarity joins have been studied as key operations in multiple application domains, e.g., record linkage, data cleaning, multimedia and video applications, and phenomena detection on sensor networks. Multiple similarity join algorithms and implementation techniques have been proposed. They range from out-of-database approaches for only in-memory and external memory data to techniques that make use of standard database operators to answer similarity joins. Unfortunately, there has not been much study on the role and implementation of similarity joins as database physical operators. In this paper, we focus on the study of similarity joins as first-class database operators. We present the definition of several similarity join operators and study the way they interact among themselves, with other standard database operators, and with other previously proposed similarity-aware operators. In particular, we present multiple transformation rules that enable similarity query optimization through the generation of equivalent similarity query execution plans. We then describe an efficient implementation of two similarity join operators, ε-Join and Join-Around, as core DBMS operators. The performance evaluation of the implemented operators in PostgreSQL shows that they have good execution time and scalability properties. The execution time of Join-Around is less than 5% of the one of the equivalent query that uses only regular operators while ε-Join's execution time is 20 to 90% of the one of its equivalent regular operators based query for the useful case of small ε (0.01% to 10% of the domain range). We also show experimentally that the proposed transformation rules can generate plans with execution times that are only 10% to 70% of the ones of the initial query plans.


Abstract The European HiPER project aims to demonstrate commercial viability of inertial fusion energy within the following two decades. This goal requires an extensive Research & Development program on materials for different applications (e.g., first wall, structural components and final optics). In this paper we will discuss our activities in the framework of HiPER to develop materials studies for the different areas of interest. The chamber first wall will have to withstand explosions of at least 100 MJ at a repetition rate of 5-10 Hz. If direct drive targets are used, a dry wall chamber operated in vacuum is preferable. In this situation the major threat for the wall stems from ions. For reasonably low chamber radius (5-10 m) new materials based on W and C are being investigated, e.g., engineered surfaces and nanostructured materials. Structural materials will be subject to high fluxes of neutrons leading to deleterious effects, such as, swelling. Low activation advanced steels as well as new nanostructured materials are being investigated. The final optics lenses will not survive the extreme ion irradiation pulses originated in the explosions. Therefore, mitigation strategies are being investigated. In addition, efforts are being carried out in understanding optimized conditions to minimize the loss of optical properties by neutron and gamma irradiation.


After the death of his father, Denis Murphy and his family settled in New Zealand in 1865, moving to Thames once the goldfield opened, mining there for several years. At Thames he was a director of one mining company and became acquainted with James Brown, who would assist him with a mining enterprise at Te Aroha 40 years later. After prospecting in the Ohinemuri district during the early 1870s, he participated in the opening rush there in 1875 and became a director of another company, but concentrated on being a storekeeper and publican. He also acquired a small farm, and was a prominent member of the community, but as the Ohinemuri goldfield declined so did his income, and he was forced into bankruptcy. Before Te Aroha was opened to mining, he a another farm at Te Aroha West, which he slowly developed while earning an income as both a carter and a contractor making drains and roads. One of his enterprises, operating a punt at the Waiorongomai landing, led to his being accused of overcharging and exploiting his position on the county council for personal gain. Prominent in the local community, he assisted its progress, especially after becoming a member of the county council. As a councillor he supported the needs of the mining industry, and, courting much controversy, campaigned to include Waiorongomai in a proposed Te Aroha borough. Murphy claimed to have prospected the district before it was opened to mining, and after its proclamation as a goldfield in 1880 helped to develop the Prospectors' Claim. Apart from some minimal involvement with Waiorongomai mining, which he strongly supported on the council (including trying to reduce the tramway charges), he was not actively involved in mining again until 1908, when, with James Brown, he worked 'Murphy's Find', close to the original discovery of 1880. Like all other mines in that portion of the field, it was unsuccessful. His private life became a matter of public interest in the 'Rotorua scandal', involving a suicide and his apparent seduction of another man's wife. Although he strongly denied the allegations made against him, his subsequent behaviour refuted his denials. During the last years of his life he suffered from miners' complaint, a consequence of his years of mining. PARENTS AND SIBLINGS


Interferometric Imaging and its Application to 4D Imaging Mrinal Sinha This thesis describes new interferometric imaging methods for migration and waveform inversion. The key idea is to use reflection events from a known reference reflector to "naturally redatum" the receivers and sources to the reference reflector. Here, "natural redatuming" is a data-driven process where the redatuming Green's functions are obtained from the data. Interferometric imaging eliminates the statics associated with the noisy overburden above the reference reflector. To mitigate the defocussing caused by overburden errors I first propose the use of interferometric least-squares migration (ILSM) to estimate the migration image. Here, a known reflector is used as the reference interface for ILSM, and the data are naturally redatumed to this reference interface before imaging. Numerical results on synthetic and field data show that ILSM can significantly reduce the defocussing artifacts in the migration image. Next, I develop a waveform tomography approach for inverting the velocity model by mitigating the velocity errors in the overburden. Unresolved velocity errors in the overburden velocity model can cause conventional full-waveform inversion to get stuck in a local minimum. To resolve this problem, I present interferometric full-waveform inversion (IFWI), where conventional waveform tomography is reformulated so a velocity model is found that minimizes the objective function with an interferometric crosscorrelogram misfit. Numerical examples show that IFWI, compared to FWI, computes a significantly more accurate velocity model in the presence of a nearsurface with unknown velocity anomalies. 5 I use IFWI and ILSM for 4D imaging where seismic data are recorded at different times over the same reservoir. To eliminate the time-varying effects of the near surface both data sets are virtually redatumed to a common reference interface before migration. This largely eliminates the overburden-induced statics errors in both data sets. Results with synthetic and field data show that ILSM and IFWI can suppress the artifacts caused by non-repeatability in time-lapse surveys. This can lead to a much more accurate characterization of the movement of fluids over time. In turn, this information can be used to optimize the extraction of resources in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations.


This flexible, unified, and portfolio-centered approach to attribution treats attribution questions that occur before the fact (ex ante) and after the fact (ex post) symmetrically. Three important aspects of an analysis of a portfolio ex ante are its predicted risk, the information ratio (which measures the potential to add value), and the transfer coefficient (which shows the manager's ability to capture that potential).The product of these three variables is the portfolio's predicted alpha. Ex post analogues of these concepts are the predicted risk, the opportunity set (which shows how well the manager could do with perfect foresight), and the realized information coefficient (which measures the correlation between the forecast and the outcome). The product of these three quantities is the return of the portfolio. The author shows how to attribute the transfer coefficient and realized information coefficient to sources in a general manner.


The paradigm tax dispute involves a taxpayer on one side and the government on the other. In that traditional dyad, only the taxpayer matters, even though the interrelatedness of taxpayers across the fiscal system means that the outcome of any one dispute often affects the interests of many other taxpayers. Yet everyone else is invisible to the legal system, without enforceable rights in the administrative or judicial structure. This article focuses attention on such invisible taxpayers and what justice for them would require. It proposes a theory of tax injury that is determined by "legal shares" and argues that conventional standing doctrine can accommodate broader taxpayer access if courts acknowledge the financial interrelatedness of taxpayers. Invisibility deprives taxpayers of both economic fairness (a traditional tax policy norm) and democratic fairness (a norm requiring tax institutions to treat people with equal respect and concern). This article explains how the Supreme Court has turned tax expenditures into invisible laws. It evaluates tax expenditures as tax law, challenging the standard scholarly approach that assumes tax expenditures should be not only economically, but also legally, equivalent to direct spending programs. Examination of invisible taxpayers and invisible laws reveals some troubling truths about the tax system. Invisibility has led to substantial injustice for real people. It has allowed unconstitutional taxation to proceed without challenge. And it has reduced the role of courts in taxation to a very narrow one, while simultaneously allowing unchecked discretion for both Congress and the Internal Revenue Service. This article explains (1) how standing doctrine denies redress to some taxpayers who suffer injustice, and (2) how tax expenditures make some harms immune from attack. It argues that both courts and administrative procedures could ameliorate these injustices.


Background. Linezolid is an effective and well-tolerated antibiotic for the treatment of Gram-positive infections, including hospital and community-acquired pneumonia and complicated and uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections. In adults linezolid treatment for ≥2 weeks has been associated with reversible hematopoietic suppression, primarily thrombocytopenia. Objective. To evaluate the occurrence of hematologic effects in children with Gram-positive infections in an open label study of linezolid vs. vancomycin. Methods. Detailed analyses of hematologic data, including reported hematologic adverse events, complete blood counts, reticulocyte index (RI) and iron studies (serum iron and transferrin saturation), were conducted in both groups at baseline and during and after treatment with the use of an intent-to-treat analysis. Results. Three hundred sixteen patients (median age, 1.65 yr) randomized 2:1 to linezolid (n = 215) or vancomycin (n = 101) were treated. Total treatment durations were similar in the vancomycin group (12.2 ± 6.4 days; median, 11.0 days) and the linezolid group (11.3 ± 5.0 days; median, 11.0 days) (P = 0.20). No significant differences were noted in drug-related hematologic events, such as thrombocytopenia (linezolid, 1.9%vs. vancomycin, 0%; P = 0.170), anemia (linezolid, 1.4%vs. vancomycin, 1.0%; P = 0.771) or neutropenia (linezolid, 0%vs. vancomycin, 0%). Hemoglobin values also were similar between treatment groups when assessed by shifts from baseline to lowest recorded value. Frequency of occurrence of any substantially abnormal value for hemoglobin (15.7%vs. 12.4%), platelets (12.9%vs. 13.4%) and neutrophils (5.9%vs. 4.3%) were similar in the linezolid and vancomycin groups. No clinically relevant changes in RI or iron studies were noted between treatment groups, and parallel increases in RI occurred with both linezolid and vancomycin. Conclusions. No significant differences in hematologic profiles between linezolid and vancomycin occurred in this pediatric population.


A new family of easily accessible and stable imidazolin-2-ylidenes has been synthesized, where the side chains are comprised of substituted naphthyl units. This generates C2-symmetric (anti) and Cs-symmetric (syn) atropisomers. The interconversion between the isomers is studied in detail both for the N-heterocyclic carbene salts and the free carbenes through variable-temperature 1H NMR spectroscopic studies; activation free energies are calculated and can be linked to the substitution pattern of the naphthyl moieties. Palladium complexes comprising the new N-heterocyclic carbenes are synthesized and preliminary data show that these compounds behave well as precatalysts in the Buchwald-Hartwig amination reaction of aryl bromides and aryl chlorides. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)


This grounded theory study explored grief and mourning processes of African American elders during the transition into widowhood. The participants were 9 African American women who had been widowed from 2-10 years. The age range of the widows was 67-98 with a mean age of 79. The couples had been married a range of 38-62 years before the husbands died. All of the husbands had experienced an anticipated death from a progressive physical illness. Each participant was interviewed twice, except the one participant who was lost to follow up. Data analysis was completed between each interview, using the methods of Glaser and Strauss (1967) and Strauss and Corbin (1990). The analysis was verified with the participants to ensure the credibility of findings. A six phase process model of the transition into widowhood emerged from the data analysis. There were clear distinctions among the phases, but the women could return temporarily to an earlier phase in the process. The core category was "Persevering" with two closely related subcategories of "Weathering the Storm" and "Overcoming Whatever Comes."


Formalizing and automating aspects of human plausible reasoning is an important challenge for the field of artificial intelligence. Practical advances, however, are hampered by the fact that most forms of plausible reasoning rely on background knowledge that is often not available in a structured form. In this paper, we first discuss how an important class of background knowledge can be induced from vector space representations that have been learned from (mostly) unstructured data. Subsequently, we advocate the use of qualitative abstractions of these vector spaces, as they are easier to obtain and manipulate, among others, while still supporting various forms of plausible reasoning.


Across two studies we aimed to measure empirically the extent of non-readership of click-through agreements (CTAs), identify the dominant beliefs about CTAs contributing to non-readership, and experimentally manipulate these beliefs to decrease automatic non-reading behavior and enhance contract efficiency. In our initial questionnaire study (Study 1), as predicted, the vast majority of participants reported not reading CTAs and the most prevalent beliefs about CTAs contributing to non-readership included: they are too long and time-consuming, they are all the same, they give one no choice but to agree, they are irrelevant, and vendors are generally reputable. Manipulating these beliefs on a simulated music website (Study 2) revealed an increase in readership. In addition, CTA comprehension and CTA rejection rates were both increased significantly by manipulating the length of the CTA. These results demonstrate support for the influence of widely held beliefs about CTAs on contract readership, provide evidence against the common "limited cognition" perspective on non-readership, and suggest that presenting CTAs in a short, readable format can increase CTA readership and comprehension as well as shopping of CTA terms.


This invaluable Dictionary provides an essential guide to the politics and economics of the African continent. Each individual entry provides clear and concise information, and entries are fully cross-referenced to enhance the book's usability. Organizations listed include contact details wherever possible. Key features * Provides authoritative up-to-date information on a region that is changing fast, and for which reliable data is often hard to locate * Each country's recent history and economy are described and analyzed in separate essays. Entries include: Apartheid, Central African Republic, Christianity, Colonialism, Development Aid, Genocide, Great Lakes, International Monetary Fund, Languages, Nelson Mandela, Mining, Tobacco, Uganda. Countries covered in this voume include: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Spanish North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla), Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.