This paper explores the consequences of acknowledging that we are the dead walking with the dead. I argue that if we take the view that life frames death, rather than the view that death frames life, then we must refigure our living as ethical creatures. Using Aristotle's notion that we become virtuous by practising virtue, I argue that happiness, thought of in terms of ethical living, should temper our attitude to death as the inevitable end we must all encounter. Acknowledgement of our dying and our death enhances the ethical imperative to live virtuously and to promote human flourishing. I adopt a Buddhist reading of death and dying to interpret the Aristotelian perspective.


I remember lots of things about living in an Aboriginal community; hundreds of images, voices and feelings make a pastiche of such experience. If I focus on a single image I am always enchanted by the images that follow, these images released and thrown into movement by one moment of stationary thought. Memories slowing down, speeding away, through their difference and repetition. Most especially I remember first meeting the Ululla mob, but, oddly enough other memories must be described to get you there, and to convey a certain context, feeling, a certain freedom to what I am trying to say.


Abstract During the last decades, there has been an increasing interest in the analysis of a potentially dangerous phenomenon for the public health: pseudoscience. It can be defined as the set of false knowledge that attempts to resemble science even though it is not. Nowadays there are many who opt for these therapies not scientifically endorsed to solve their health problems. This situation is increased for risk patients or chronic diseases, who come to this type of therapies as a last resort. In these cases, the choice between science and pseudoscience can become a matter of life or death. Through qualitative and quantitative research techniques, we analyze the reasons why patients choose pseudoscience instead of conventional and scientific medicine. The data obtained from this research reveal that in extreme situations patients value most the human contact with the therapist that the validity of the therapy itself. This factor, coupled with the precariousness of the health system, generates a dynamic in which pseudosciences gain ground over scientific medicine. According to the experts interviewed, this phenomenon is increasing and may represent a danger to public health. This research reveals the possible causes and consequences of this phenomenon from the point of view of more than 60 professionals of the Spanish scientific community and 30 patients who have used both disciplines. The results obtained indicate that this situation is intensified due to the inaction of the competent institutions and the lack of regulation.


We consider a network of devices, such as generators, fixed loads, deferrable loads, and storage devices, each with its own dynamic constraints and objective, connected by lossy capacitated lines. The problem is to minimize the total network objective subject to the device and line constraints, over a given time horizon. This is a large optimization problem, with variables for consumption or generation in each time period for each device. In this paper we develop a decentralized method for solving this problem. The method is iterative: At each step, each device exchanges simple messages with its neighbors in the network and then solves its own optimization problem, minimizing its own objective function, augmented by a term determined by the messages it has received. We show that this message passing method converges to a solution when the device objective and constraints are convex. The method is completely decentralized, and needs no global coordination other than synchronizing iterations; the problems to be solved by each device can typically be solved extremely efficiently and in parallel. The method is fast enough that even a serial implementation can solve substantial problems in reasonable time frames. We report results for several numerical experiments, demonstrating the method's speed and scaling, including the solution of a problem instance with over 30 million variables in 52 minutes for a serial implementation; with decentralized computing, the solve time would be less than one second.


Right to life is a core human right, but workers' lives seem to be dreadfully cheap in Bangladesh. This is so because the government appears to be complacent by offering a small amount of money to the families of victims of fires at garment factories and collapses of factory buildings. Previously, at least 1,000 workers have been killed in garment factories alone in Bangladesh from 1990 to 2012, ironically, all went unpunished. Recently, the devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions Ltd. which killed 112 in November 2012 and, just a few months apart, the horrifying collapse of Rana Plaza which housed five garment factories causing death of 1,129 workers have wounded the conscience of humankind all.over the world and have locally created public outcry for the exemplary punishment of the culprits to prevent further deaths at work. This article examines the Bangladeshi health and safety legislation to find criminal liabilities of the entity and its executives for the casualties of the unprecedented fire at Tazreen. It reveals that, though they all may be held liable under the legislation, the law needs to be amended to provide greater clarity of safety duties and increase penalties.


The end of the Civil War raised many questions, one being how to piece back together the violently torn apart Union. With such an unprecedented war in American history, the exact course of how to do so was unknown. Would the country survive through Reconstruction, and how would sectional reconciliation be achieved? An even larger question was who to blame for the four long years of violence. In the minds of many northerners, that man was Jefferson Davis. Davis had not only led the secessionist movement, but was a traitor to the Union. By analyzing the calls for and against Jefferson Davis's trial and execution, the fear and uncertainty over the Union's future that existed in 1865 and years after depicted the conflicting and paradoxical ways to heal a nation.


Despite widespread efforts to implement climate services, there is almost no literature that systematically analyzes users' needs. This paper addresses this gap by applying a decision analysis perspective to identify what kind of mean sea level rise (SLR) information is needed for local coastal adaptation decisions. We first characterize these decisions, then identify suitable decision analysis approaches and the sea level information required, and finally discuss if and how these information needs can be met given the state of the art of sea level science. We find that four types of information are needed: (i) probabilistic predictions for short‐term decisions when users are uncertainty tolerant; (ii) high‐end and low‐end SLR scenarios chosen for different levels of uncertainty tolerance; (iii) upper bounds of SLR for users with a low uncertainty tolerance; and (iv) learning scenarios derived from estimating what knowledge will plausibly emerge about SLR over time. Probabilistic predictions can only be attained for the near term (i.e., 2030–2050) before SLR significantly diverges between low and high emission scenarios, for locations for which modes of climate variability are well understood and the vertical land movement contribution to local sea levels is small. Meaningful SLR upper bounds cannot be defined unambiguously from a physical perspective. Low‐ to high‐end scenarios for different levels of uncertainty tolerance and learning scenarios can be produced, but this involves both expert and user judgments. The decision analysis procedure elaborated here can be applied to other types of climate information that are required for mitigation and adaptation purposes.


VLSI systems are commonly specified using sequential executable functional specifications, but implemented in a highly concurrent manner. Alhough the methods to transform between the sequential specification and concurrent implementation have been well-studied, there are still substantial difficulties in verifying that the concurrent implementation corresponds to the sequential specification after low-level optimization. The majority of methods for doing this verification have focused on strong semantic models for reasoning about systems and their specifications, but these models can add significant unnecessary complexity. In this paper, we explore a weak but effective method for reasoning about implementation relations. We show how a sequential embedding of a concurrent program can be generated, and how that embedding can be used to dramatically reduce the reachable state space of the verification problem while maintaining the semantic model of interest.


We develop a model of electoral accountability with mainstream and alternative media. In addition to regular high- and low-competence types, the incumbent may be an aspiring autocrat who controls the mainstream media and will subvert democracy if retained in office. A truthful alternative media can help voters identify and remove these subversive types while reelecting competent leaders. A malicious alternative media, in contrast, spreads false accusations about the incumbent and demotivates policy effort. If the alternative media is very likely to be malicious and hence is unreliable, voters ignore it and use only the mainstream media to hold regular incumbents accountable, leaving aspiring autocrats to win reelection via propaganda that portrays them as effective policy makers. When the alternative media's reliability is intermediate, voters heed its warnings about subversive incumbents, but the prospect of being falsely accused demotivates effort by regular incumbents and electoral accountability breaks down.


We consider the class of optimization problems arising from computationally intensive l1-regularized M-estimators, where the function or gradient values are very expensive to compute. A particular instance of interest is the l1-regularized MLE for learning Conditional Random Fields (CRFs), which are a popular class of statistical models for varied structured prediction problems such as sequence labeling, alignment, and classification with label taxonomy. l1-regularized MLEs for CRFs are particularly expensive to optimize since computing the gradient values requires an expensive inference step. In this work, we propose the use of a carefully constructed proximal quasi-Newton algorithm for such computationally intensive M-estimation problems, where we employ an aggressive active set selection technique. In a key contribution of the paper, we show that the proximal quasi-Newton method is provably super-linearly convergent, even in the absence of strong convexity, by leveraging a restricted variant of strong convexity. In our experiments, the proposed algorithm converges considerably faster than current state-of-the-art on the problems of sequence labeling and hierarchical classification.


The best neural architecture for a given machine learning problem depends on many factors: not only the complexity and structure of the dataset, but also on resource constraints including latency, compute, energy consumption, etc. Neural architecture search (NAS) for tabular datasets is an important but under-explored problem. Previous NAS algorithms designed for image search spaces incorporate resource constraints directly into the reinforcement learning (RL) rewards. However, for NAS on tabular datasets, this protocol often discovers suboptimal architectures. This paper develops TabNAS, a new and more effective approach to handle resource constraints in tabular NAS using an RL controller motivated by the idea of rejection sampling. TabNAS immediately discards any architecture that violates the resource constraints without training or learning from that architecture. TabNAS uses a Monte-Carlo-based correction to the RL policy gradient update to account for this extra filtering step. Results on several tabular datasets demonstrate the superiority of TabNAS over previous reward-shaping methods: it finds better models that obey the constraints.


This paper deals with detection of inter-coil short circuits in coils of the salient poles synchronous generator excitement winding on the basis of the analysis of the magnetic field in the machine. Applying FEM to the generator model, magnetic field wave forms in the machine, on the points of interests, under both, faultless and faulty conditions were calculated. When results were compared, changes in wave forms caused by the analyzed fault were identified. On the model, magnetic inductions and magnetic fields were calculated on the points accessible for measuring with Hall' s sensors and measuring coils in the actual machine. The gold of this paper is a contribution in the field of identification of faults and failures in rotating machines, or, in other words, improvement of monitoring systems in charge of rotating machine condition monitoring.


This article investigates on the concept of space, its production, use, and change processes, and uncovers the interrelations between social and spatial practices. Based on Lefebvre's concept of the Right to the City, the article discussed two main spatial rights: the right to the oeuvre and the right to appropriation. To justify these spatial rights on the ground of legal rights, a comparison method is used in this article and three main legal documents is set against each other. These documents are the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 'World Charter for the Right to the City' and the 'European Declaration of Urban Rights'. As a result of this comparison, 22 universal norms are identified. These norms and the awareness regarding them and their ethical and legal background can empower social/spatial activism and be used for performing and evaluating spatial practices.


Context. The north-west photo-dissociation region (PDR) in the reflection nebula NGC 7023 displays a complex structure. Filament-like condensations at the edge of the cloud can be traced via the emission of the main cooling lines, offering a great opportunity to study the link between the morphology and energetics of these regions.Aims. We study the spatial variation of the far-infrared fine-structure lines of [C ii] (158 μm) and [O i] (63 and 145 μm). These lines trace the local gas conditions across the PDR. We also compare their emission with molecular tracers including rotational and ro-vibrational lines of H2 and high-rotational lines of CO.Methods. We used observations from the Herschel/PACS instrument to map the spatial distribution of these fine-structure lines. The observed region covers a square area of about 110″ × 110″ with an angular resolution that varies from 4′′ to 11′′. We compared this emission with ground-based and Spitzer observations of H2 lines, Herschel/SPIRE observations of CO lines, and Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 μm images that trace the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We used a PDR code to model the [O i]145 μm line and infer the physical conditions in the region.Results. The [C ii] (158 μm) and [O i] (63 and 145 μm) lines arise from the warm cloud surface where the PDR is located and the gas is warm, cooling the region. We find that although the relative contribution to the cooling budget over the observed region is dominated by [O i]63 μm (>30%), H2 contributes significantly in the PDR (~35%), as does [C ii]158 μm outside the PDR (30%). Other species contribute little to the cooling ([O i]145 μm 9%, and CO 4%). Enhanced emission of these far-infrared atomic lines trace the presence of condensations, where high-excitation CO rotational lines and dust emission in the submillimetre are detected as well. The [O i] maps resolve these condensations into two structures and show that the peak of [O i] is slightly displaced from the molecular H2 emission. The size of these structures is about 8″ (0.015 pc) and in surface cover about 9% of the PDR emission. We have tested whether the density profile and peak densities that were derived in previous studies to model the dust and molecular emission can predict the [O i]145 μm emission. We find that the model with a peak density of 106 cm-3, and 2 × 104−5 cm-3 in the oxygen emitting region predicts an [O i]145 μm line that is only 30% lower than the observed emission. Finally, we did not detect emission from [N ii]122 μm, suggesting that the cavity is mostly filled with non-ionised gas.


The alkaline-earth stannates having the general chemical formula MSnO₃ ( M =
Ca, Sr and Ba) have been projected as potential electronic ceramics such as
thermally stable capacitors, humidity sensor, carbon dioxide sensor. There is no
reliable technical information on the effect of substitutional doping on MSnO₃
system that appears to exist in the published literature. In view of the information
gaps in the reported research, vigorous and systematic investigation has been
carried out on two systems; SrSnO₃ and Mg₂SnO₄.


Population aged 60 and over is growing faster. Ageing-caused changes, such as physical or cognitive decline, could affect people's quality of life, resulting in injuries, mental health or the lack of physical activity. Sensor-based human activity recognition (HAR) has become one of the most promising assistive technologies for older people's daily life. Literature in HAR suggests that each sensor modality has its strengths and limitations and single sensor modalities may not cope with complex situations in practice. This research aims to design and implement a hybrid sensory HAR system to provide more comprehensive, practical and accurate surveillance for older people to assist them living independently. This reseach: 1) designs and develops a hybrid HAR system which provides a spatio- temporal surveillance system for older people by combining the wrist-worn sensors and the room-mounted ambient sensors (passive infrared); the wearable data are used to recognize the defined specific daily activities, and the ambient information is used to infer the occupant's room-level daily routine; 2): proposes a unique and effective data fusion method to hybridize the two-source sensory data, in which the captured room-level location information from the ambient sensors is also utilized to trigger the sub classification models pretrained by room-assigned wearable data; 3): implements augmented features which are extracted from the attitude angles of the wearable device and explores the contribution of the new features to HAR; 4:) proposes a feature selection (FS) method in the view of kernel canonical correlation analysis (KCCA) to maximize the relevance between the feature candidate and the target class labels and simultaneously minimizes the joint redundancy between the already selected features and the feature candidate, named mRMJR-KCCA; 5:) demonstrates all the proposed methods above with the ground-truth data collected from recruited participants in home settings. The proposed system has three function modes: 1) the pure wearable sensing mode (the whole classification model) which can identify all the defined specific daily activities together and function alone when the ambient sensing fails; 2) the pure ambient sensing mode which can deliver the occupant's room-level daily routine without wearable sensing; and 3) the data fusion mode (room-based sub classification mode) which provides a more comprehensive and accurate surveillance HAR when both the wearable sensing and ambient sensing function properly. The research also applies the mutual information (MI)-based FS methods for feature selection, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) for classification. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid sensory system improves the recognition accuracy to 98.96% after applying data fusion using Random Forest (RF) classification and mRMJR-KCCA feature selection. Furthermore, the improved results are achieved with a much smaller number of features compared with the scenario of recognizing all the defined activities using wearable data alone. The research work conducted in the thesis is unique, which is not directly compared with others since there are few other similar existing works in terms of the proposed data fusion method and the introduced new feature set.


We have determined experimentally the magnitude of the difference in the splay and bend flexoelectric coefficients, |e 1 − e 3|, of an oxadiazole bent-core liquid crystal by measuring the critical voltage for the formation of flexodomains together with their wave number. The coefficient |e 1 − e 3| is found to be a factor of 2–3 times higher than in most conventional calamitic nematic liquid crystals, varying from 8 pCm−1 to 20 pCm−1 across the ∼60 K—wide nematic regime. We have also calculated the individual flexoelectric coefficients e 1 and e 3, with the dipolar and quadrupolar contributions of the bent-core liquid crystal by combining density functional theory calculations with a molecular field approach and atomistic modelling. Interestingly, the magnitude of the bend flexoelectric coefficient is found to be rather small, in contrast to common expectations for bent-core molecules. The calculations are in excellent agreement with the experimental values, offering an insight into how molecular parameters contribute to the flexoelectric coefficients and illustrating a huge potential for the prediction of flexoelectric behaviour in bent-core liquid crystals.


Currently, the default size of Internet packets is set at a legacy value of 1500 bytes, since Ethernet was the dominant connection technology. Increasing this size, and thus using larger frames, brings several advantages such as less header overhead and CPU processing. However, the transmission of larger frames also raises several issues impacting data transmission, such as packet loss. With the increase in performance gained from recent wireless technology advances, solutions, such as Frame Aggregation, begin to exploit this increased bandwidth. However, the legacy value is still the dominant one. This paper evaluates the feasibility of increasing the Maximum Transfer Unit for a more efficient data transfer and bandwidth consumption in wireless 802.11n networks. We focus particularly in the experimental implementation and evaluation of the usage of Jumbo-Frames between an Access Point and the connected nodes, featuring a modified kernel that allows the usage of larger payloads, via enhancements to the existing wireless kernel modules. Network performance parameters including bandwidth usage, delay and packet losses are used to assess the benefits and drawbacks of the usage of Jumbo Frames in the wireless medium. Obtained results show that a more efficient medium usage can be achieved by increasing the payload size, when compared with standardized aggregation mechanisms. In addition, the measured packet losses decrease due to a considerable reduction on the number of packets sent for the same bandwidth consumption. To conclude, we perform an evaluation of the proposed enhancement in wireless video streaming scenarios and evaluate the performance gains that such module enables.


Digital technology is becoming an indispensable and crucial component of our lives, society and the environment. We present a framework for computing in the context of problems facing the planet. The framework has a number of goals: an optimal digital infrastructure, sensing and optimizing with a global world model, reliably predicting and reacting to our environment and providing digital alternatives to physical activities. This paper describes our vision in which data centres can scale power consumption in line with performance, run closer to the wire with reduced redundancy and behave as a 'virtual battery' dynamically using spare, or otherwise unusable, generation capacity from renewable sources. On a broader scale, we consider how global sensing might allow us to optimize our daily activities and lives. We highlight the issues and dilemmas inherent in the deployment of global sensing infrastructure and work towards our challenge of a personal energy meter as a tool for informing decisions and providing impetus for reducing the ecological footprint of our society.


This paper presents the two lossless auxiliary inductors-assisted voltage source type half bridge (single ended push pull: SEPP) series resonant high frequency inverter for induction heated fixing roller in copy and printing machines. The simple high-frequency inverter treated here can completely achieve stable zero current soft switching (ZCS) commutation for wide its output power regulation ranges and load variations under its constant high frequency pulse density modulation (PDM) scheme. Its transient and steady state operating principle is originally described and discussed for a constant high-frequency PDM control strategy under a stable ZCS operation commutation, together with its output effective power regulation characteristics-based on the high frequency PDM strategy. The experimental operating performances of this voltage source SEPP ZCS-PDM series resonant high frequency inverter using IGBTs are illustrated as compared with computer simulation results and experimental ones. Its power losses analysis and actual efficiency are evaluated and discussed on the basis of simulation and experimental results. The feasible effectiveness of this high frequency inverter appliance implemented here is proved from the practical point of view.


In a retrospective study, the authors evaluated the initial and follow-up radiographs and ventilation perfusion (V/Q) scans of 12 boys and girls with lobar emphysema who were treated conservatively and were followed up for a median of 3 years (range, 6 months to 12 years). All 12 boys and girls underwent anteroposterior and lateral chest radiography at admission and at varying intervals thereafter. Ten patients underwent V/Q lung scanning; six of these procedures were performed within 4 weeks of initial radiography. Six patients underwent follow-up V/Q scanning. Thoracic computed tomography was performed in four patients at admission. In all 12 cases gradual improvement in symptoms was paralleled by improvements in serial chest radiographs and, in six cases, by improvements in V/Q scans. The affected lobe appeared to be less hyperinflated on follow-up radiographs. For those children who showed functional improvement, ventilation improved more than perfusion, as demonstrated on the V/Q scans. At initial radiography the adjacent "collapsed" lobe was seen to function well, suggesting that it was only compressed.


We previously proposed an automatic construction method of image transformations. In this method, we approximate an unknown image transformation by a series of several known image filters, and a genetic algorithm optimizes their combination to meet the processing purpose presented by sets of original and target images. In this paper, we propose an extended method named "automatic construction of tree-structural image transformations (ACTIT)". In this new method, a tree whose interior nodes are image filters and leaf ones are input images approximates the transformation. The structures of the trees are optimized using genetic programming. ACTIT finds practical filter combinations that are too complicated to be designed by hand. It is applied to various kinds of image processing tasks. We show examples of its application and verify its validity.


The supraspinatus tendon is an important structure of the rotator cuff. Subacromial impingement is a common reason for shoulder pain. Despite extensive scientific work in this field, the cause of impingement syndrome is still not fully understood. The general aim of the present thesis was to generate new knowledge with respect to pathogenesis and treatment of impingement syndrome. A combination of animal and clinical studies were performed. Different methods were used such as histology, immunohistochemistry, development and assessment of a novel measuring device and clinical and radiological assessment. Thirty rats were injected with triamcinolone or saline into the subacromial bursa. After five corticosteroid injections, we found focal inflammation, degradation and fragmentation of collagen bundles in the supraspinatus tendon, whereas the control specimens were normal (p=0.035). Subacromial bursitis was induced by injections of carrageenan into the subacromial space (n=28). Fibrocartilaginous metaplasia and bony metaplasia were found in the supraspinatus tendon. Even in specimens with no histologic changes of the collagen bundles the staining for fibronectin was significantly increased. The distance between the anterolateral acromion and the supraspinatus tendon was measured in patients with impingement syndrome intraoperatively (n=30) and in controls (instability, n=15). The mean value of the subacromial distance in controls was 16 mm, the 95% mean confidence limits between 14 and 18 mm. The mean value in the group of patients with impingement syndrome was 8 mm before and 16 mm after the decompression. Fifty patients were reviewed after arthroscopic subacromial decompression. Twenty-five showed calcific deposits in the rotator cuff on radiographs preoperatively. In 13 patients the calcific deposits totally disappeared postoperatively. In another six patients the calcifications had decreased in size. Four patients still showed calcifications, which were 5 mm or greater in size. The postoperative results measured by the Constant score were almost identical in the calcific and the non-calcific groups. Tillander 010916 8 Human surgical supraspinatus tendon specimens were studied from patients with impingement (n=16), ruptured supraspinatus tendons (n=7) and controls (n=10). Degradation of tendinous tissue and fibrin were found only in some specimens from ruptures. The difference in fibronectin staining was significant between controls and patients with a rupture (p=0.002). Fibrosis and thinning of fascicles seemed to be a more non-specific finding, appearing in control, impingement and rupture specimens. In conclusion, subacromial corticosteroid injections may cause rupture of the supraspinatus tendon. Metaplasia of the supraspinatus tendon may play a role in the pathogenesis of impingement and rupture of the supraspinatus tendon. The subacromial distance can be measured intraoperatively and was shown to be lower in patients with impingement than in patients with instability. Calcifications disappear or decrease in size after arthroscopic subacromial decompression and do not seem to influence the postoperative outcome in patients with impingement. Degradation of tendon tissue, fibrin and fibronectin appear to be signs of tendon degeneration, whereas fibrosis and thinning of fascicles were found also in controls.


The high Mr (~55 kDa) thioredoxin reductases (TR) characteristic of higher eukaryotes are members of the glutathione reductase (GR) family of pyridine nucleotide disulfide oxidoreductases. These homodimeric enzymes catalyze the reduction of a cognate disulfide substrate. During the enzymatic cycle, reducing equivalents pass from NADPH to the conserved active site disulfide via an enzyme-bound FAD and then to the cognate substrate. TRs are unique in the family as electrons are then transferred to the Cterminal active site of the adjacent molecule as part of a 16 amino acid extension (in place of the cognate GR substrate GSSG), prior to transfer to the substrate thioredoxin. Each electron transfer step occurs via thiol-disulfide exchange in a multi-step process mediated by a conserved catalytic acid/base. Mammalian TRs require selenocysteine (Sec) incorporated into the Gly-Cys-Sec-Gly-OH (GCUG) C-terminal tetrapeptide motif, while the TR from Drosophila melanogaster (DmTR) does not, and instead contains a Ser-Cys-Cys-Ser-OH (SCCS) tetrapeptide motif indicating that Sec is not universally necessary to catalyze the reduction of thioredoxin. This project has achieved three major objectives; 1) development of a semisynthetic method for production of mouse mitochondrial TR (mTR3) for structurefunction studies, 2) establishment of a new method to study the mechanism of TR by using tetrapeptides in the oxidized form equivalent to the C-terminal active sites as substrates for the truncated forms of both enzymes, 3) determination of the crystal structure of DmTR. The results show that the structure of DmTR explains the biochemical data and has developed a new testable hypothesis in the field for the requirement of Sec in mammalian TR. We demonstrate that the tetrapeptides tested in Aim 2 were all better substrates for DmTR. The data also shows a far greater dependence on Sec for mTR3 than DmTR, which is in agreement with that observed for the collection full-length mutants produced for each enzyme in Aim 1. As this method of investigation is more analogous to the other enzymes of the GR family, the structures of the tetrapeptides determined by NMR spectroscopy were oriented in the active site of the both enzymes using the diglutathione bound in the structure of GR as template. DmTR appears to have a more open active site than observed in the known structure of mTR3. Residues from the helical face of the FAD-domain proximal to the FAD-associated active site are less bulky in DmTR to accommodate the hydroxyls of the serines. This is likely to make the enzyme more amenable for the conformational switching of the SCCS peptide necessary to protonate the leaving group cysteine by the proposed catalytic acid/base. In contrast, mTR3 shows a more restricted interface by incorporating bulkier residues at the interface in conjunction with the smaller Gly residues of the C-terminal sequence GCUG. The tetrapeptides display a conformational preference not suitable for protonation of the first leaving group in mTR3.


We report on a holographic probing technique that allows for measurement of free-electron distribution with fine spatial detail. Plasma is generated by focusing a femtosecond pulse in air. We also demonstrate the capability of the holographic technique of capturing the time evolution of the plasma-generation process.


This article describes the development, implementation, and appraisal of clinical practice guidelines. It also explores ways of increasing their use in nursing. Clinical practice guidelines are "systematically developed statements to assist practitioner decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances." Guidelines can be used to reduce inappropriate variations in practice and to promote the delivery of high quality, evidence-based health care. They may also provide a mechanism by which healthcare professionals can be made accountable for clinical activities. Although most of the development and evaluation of clinical guidelines has occurred in the field of medicine, nurses are becoming more interested in the use of guidelines as one means of facilitating evidence-based practice.


Background Compliance with and attitudes towards injury prevention programs, like 'The11' (from FIFA), can influence the effectiveness of such programs. Objective The aim of this study is to monitor the use of the 'The11' during practice sessions in one season and to determine opinions of coaches and players concerning this program. Design This study is part of a cluster-randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 'The11'. Setting First class amateur teams from one district in the Netherlands participated in this study. They all had practice sessions 2–3 times a week. Participants Male players aged 18–40 years were eligible for inclusion in the study. 10 teams, including 212 players, participated and were followed for one season (September 2009–June 2010). Intervention The participating teams were instructed to perform 'The11', during each practice session throughout the season. Main outcome measurements Compliance of all players was registered each session by the coaches. At the end of the season coaches as well as players were asked to fill in a questionnaire to assess their attitudes towards 'The11' and injury prevention in general. Results Preliminary results show that teams completed 'The11' in 81% of all practice sessions and players in 84% of the sessions they attended. All the coaches (n=12) stated that including injury prevention in the practice sessions is important. 53% of the players returned their questionnaire (n=110). Of them 54.8% was moderately to highly motivate to perform 'The11' during each practice session. On average a third of the players mentioned every exercise as 'boring'. Coaches and players believed that 'bench', 'sideways bench' and 'hamstrings' are the most important three (from 10) exercises to prevent soccer injuries. Conclusion More extensive results of this study are expected in February 2011. Also the correlations between compliance, attitudes and injuries can be presented in Monaco.


This volume documents interesting approaches, techniques, and practical scientific considerations associated with mine site remediation. It also highlights how various federal, state, and local agencies and organizations are trying to bring the best science possible to bear on this serious problem. Some chapters focus on specific methods for characterization, particular contaminant issues, and impacts from the release of hazardous substances from mine and mill sites. Others describe successful response actions, technologies, or practical approaches for addressing contaminant releases to the environment.


The data presented in this publication are total area, tea production by producer category, and export and import by country of destination and country of origin. The information is compiled from the Plantation Estate Survei which is conducted monthly and annually. The export and import statistics are compiled from the Directorate General of Customs, the Directorate General of Estate Crops, and the International Tea Committee (ITC) Publication.


The common mistakes of cross-validation (CV) for the development of chemometric models for Raman based biological applications were investigated. We focused on two common mistakes: the first mistake occurs when splitting the dataset into training and validation datasets improperly; and the second mistake is regarding the wrong position of a dimension reduction procedure with respect to the CV loop. For the first mistake, we split the dataset either randomly or each technical replicate was used as one fold of the CV and we compared the results. To check the second mistake, we employed two dimension reduction methods including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares regression (PLS). These dimension reduction models were constructed either once for the whole training data outside the CV loop or rebuilt inside the CV loop for each iteration. We based our study on a benchmark dataset of Raman spectra of three cell types, which included nine technical replicates respectively. Two binary classification models were constructed with a two-layer CV. For the external CV, each replicate was used once as the independent testing dataset. The other replicates were used for the internal CV, where different methods of data splitting and different positions of the dimension reduction were studied. The conclusions include two points. The first point is related to the reliability of the model evaluation by the internal CV, illustrated by the differences between the testing accuracies from the external CV and the validation accuracies from the internal CV. It was demonstrated that the dataset should be split at the highest hierarchical level, which means the biological/technical replicate in this manuscript. Meanwhile, the dimension reduction should be redone for each iteration of the internal CV loop. The second point is the optimization of the performance of the internal CV, benchmarked by the prediction accuracy of the optimized model on the testing dataset. Comparable results were observed for different methods of data splitting and positions of dimension reduction in the internal CV. This means if the internal CV is used for optimizing the model parameters, the two mistakes are less influential in contrast to the model evaluation.


A.D. Mikhailov, V.S. Barakhov, L.A. Spiridonova, eds. M. Gor'kii i R.Rollan: Perepiska. 191S1936. Arkhiv Gor'kogo, Vol. XV. Moscow: Nasledie, 1996. 543 pp. Illustrations. Indices. This publication of the correspondence between Gorky and Rolland is part of a growing literature on Gorky inspired by glasnost revelations. Romain Rolland (1866-1944), a French author, playwright and biographer, and Maxim Gorky (1868-1936), a Russian writer, publicist and public figure, were friends. The correspondence they conducted for a period of twenty years shows their concerns and ideas in a crucial period in the history of Russia and the West. Compiled, translated and edited by members of the A.M. Gork'ii Institute of World Literature, the collection under review contains 216 letters written between 1916 and Gorky's death in 1936. As the editors explain, Rolland left express instructions that the letters be published fifty years following his 1935 visit to the Soviet Union. Rolland was obviously concerned that some of Gorky's letters would be considered not "politically correct," and would endanger Gorky's position in his country. The same instructions applied to the Moscow Diary which Rolland wrote after returning from the Soviet Union. Its Russian translation was published in 1988. The letters were taken from originals held at the Gorky Archive in Moscow, the National Library in Paris, and the Public Library in the Department of Nevres, France. Some of the correspondence became previously available in the multivolume edition of Gorky's works, but the letters were censored and the commentaries brief. In France, an edition of the collection appeared in 1991, edited by the Rolland scholar Jean Perus, and entitled Correspondance entre Romain Rolland et Maxime Gorki, in the series Cahiers Romain Rolland, Cahier 28. While acknowledging the cooperation and the help of the late Jean Perus, the editors of the Russian edition consider their work to be more complete. Indeed their annotations constitute one third of their work. There is much that is new in the letters published here for the first time. Of interest are Gorky' s views on the Revolution following his departure from the Soviet State in 1921. One might say that these are written in the vein of articles published in his newspaper Novaia zhizn' (New Life), in 1917, 1918. However, when addressing Rolland, he is more candid and shares his bitternes and disappointment with the course the Revolution was taking. He also writes about his alienation from his native land: "I am a man without a fatherland" (p. 87). And, when in 1924 the news reached Gorky that Krupskaia, Lenin's wife, ordered the removal from libraries of so called "forbidden books"-including well known Western and Russian philosophers, historians, writers (among them L. Tolstoy) and labelling them as counter-revolutionary-he denounced her actions in rather strong terms going as far as considering her mentally unbalanced (sic). …


To evaluate growth and enterotoxin production of Staphylococcus aureus in raw milk caciotta, an Italian soft cheese, experimental cheesemaking trials were carried out with and without a commercial starter. Two different inocula of selected enterotoxin-producing S. aureus strains were tested: high (mean value 5.03 log CFU/mL of milk) and low (mean value 3.22 log CFU/mL of milk). Uninoculated cheeses with milk containing 2.15 log CFU/mL mean value of coagulase-positive staphylococci were also examined. With higher inocul a coagulase-positive staphylococci counts reached 7.57 log CFU/g without starter and had significantly higher values after the acidification phase than those with starter (below 6.5 log CFU/g). Using an enzyme immunoassay, enterotoxins were detected in cheeses both without and with starter, but the latter showed significantly lower photometrical absorbance values than the former. In low inoculum and uninoculated cheeses without starter, coagulase-positive staphylococci maximum values were between 5 and 6 log CFU/g, without enterotoxin production. To enhance the safety of this cheese it is fundamental to strictly prevent coagulase-positive staphylococci contamination and multiplication, particularly at the primary production level, and to correctly acidify the curd by starter cultures, which can substantially limit total coagulase-positive staphylococci increase.


Abstract Providing glow discharge polymer (GDP) coatings is a key step in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) target production. Typical target delivery quantities may require several GDP coating runs consisting of up to 80 mandrels per batch. This work undertakes research and development to create a new configuration for the GDP coating apparatus that will enable batch sizes into the hundreds or thousands. This will reduce costs associated with target production and make delivery of ICF targets more efficient. In addition, there is a synergy between this work and Inertial Fusion s'Energy (IFE's) need for half a million targets per day for energy production, as well as future commercial applications. Recently we have demonstrated the capability to meet the NIF CH surface standard, confirmed via statistical sampling, in a 400 capsule batch coated with 10 μm of GDP, a key benchmark for successful coatings.


The pursuit of higher education is a time of transition marked by a set of unexpected sociocultural, environmental challenges with their increased academic loads. The fields of engineering, design/fine arts and medicine have become mainstream and every 5th student is taking one of these courses as their specialization in under graduation in India. With exceeding demands to excel in academics this age group is vulnerable to academic stress and may force to adopt maladaptive coping strategies/methods to deal with their daily academic demands. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic stress, academic procrastination and its impact on self-regulation pattern of the students as they progress from 1st year to 4th year. Perception of Academic Stress Scale (18 item scale), The Academic Procrastination Scale (25 item scale), and Self-regulation Questionnaire (63 item scale) was used. A total of 430 undergraduate students from 3 different fields of study - namely 141 Design/ Fine Arts Students i.e., 71 of 2nd year students and 70 of 4th year students, 140 of Engineering Students i.e., 70 of 2nd year students and 70 of 4th year students and 149 of Medical Students i.e., 79 of 2nd year students and 70 of 4th year students participated in this study. The statistical tests (Viz. Correlation, ANOVA and regression) have been used to analyse the data using SPSS 16.0. Using correlation analysis, results revealed that there was a significant relationship between academic stress, academic procrastination and selfregulation between the 2nd years and 4th years of design, medical and engineering students. By using ANOVA, it is found that there is a significant difference in the levels of self-regulation and its dimensions: receiving, searching, implementing, assessing, and dimensions of academic stress: academic expectations, faculty work and examinations, student's academic self-perception in 4th year students based on the branch. There is a significant difference in the levels of faculty work and examination in the 2nd year based on the branch of academic stress, academic procrastination and self-regulation and subscales between 2nd and 4th years. Academic stress is negatively correlated with academic procrastination. Academic stress is positively correlated to self-regulation and academic procrastination is negatively correlated to self-regulation. In this study, the main predictors of "academic procrastination" are "academic stress" and "self-regulation." The sample of the study reveals that there are different environmental demands which make significant changes in one's levels of academic stress, academic procrastination and self-regulation of these traditional and contemporary disciplines.


The spatial distribution of matter in clusters of galaxies is mainly determined by the dominant dark matter component; however, physical processes involving baryonic matter are able to modify it significantly. We analyse a set of 500 pc resolution cosmological simulations of a cluster of galaxies with mass comparable to Virgo, performed with the AMR code ramses. We compare the mass density profiles of the dark, stellar and gaseous matter components of the cluster that result from different assumptions for the subgrid baryonic physics and galaxy formation processes. First, the prediction of a gravity-only N-body simulation is compared to that of a hydrodynamical simulation with standard galaxy formation recipes, and then all results are compared to a hydrodynamical simulation which includes thermal active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback from supermassive black holes (SMBHs). We find the usual effects of overcooling and adiabatic contraction in the run with standard galaxy formation physics, but very different results are found when implementing SMBHs and AGN feedback. Star formation is strongly quenched, producing lower stellar densities throughout the cluster, and much less cold gas is available for star formation at low redshifts. At redshift z= 0 we find a flat density core of radius 10 kpc in both the dark and stellar matter density profiles. We speculate on the possible formation mechanisms able to produce such cores and we conclude that they can be produced through the coupling of different processes: (I) dynamical friction from the decay of black hole orbits during galaxy mergers; (II) AGN-driven gas outflows producing fluctuations of the gravitational potential causing the removal of collisionless matter from the central region of the cluster; (III) adiabatic expansion in response to the slow expulsion of gas from the central region of the cluster during the quiescent mode of AGN activity.


In literature, different fixatives have been used to stop microphytobenthic photosynthetic activity estimated using the 14C technique, and different concentrations of HCl have been used to remove the excess labeled bicarbonate. To standardize these two steps of the 14C method, we designed a series of experiments using sublittoral muddy sediments colonized by microphytobenthos. The first aim was to identify which fixative among formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and HCl was most effective in arresting photosynthetic activity. Formaldehyde increases cell membrane permeability leading to a loss of assimilated carbon because an underestimate of disintegrations per minute (DPM) of up to 64% was obtained when compared with HCl values. Glutaraldehyde led to an overestimate of DPM due to its autofluorescence. We propose that the best way to stop photosynthetic activity is by using HCl. The second aim of the article was to define which HCl concentration from 0.1N to 5N was sufficient to remove the excess labeled bicarbonate. The residual inorganic 14C led to an overestimate of DPM values when mild acids were added. None of the acid treatments completely removed the inorganic labeled carbon because of the sediment matrix effect. However, a further pH decrease, caused by too strong acid normalities, could digest the organic carbon pool. Besides dark estimates, blank production estimates should be assessed before each primary production experiment to consider the sediment matrix effect.


This Issue Brief examines the possible consequences of Russia's annexation of Crimea on Moldova and its national minorities. It further reflects on the factors that hinder greater integration of persons belonging to minorities, and the expression of minority identity in Moldova/Transnistria. The Issue Brief argues there are two indirect consequences of the annexation of Crimea by Russia. First, the annexation deepens the polarization between the pro-Russia and pro-EU camps in Moldova, which manifests itself in multiple ruptures within Moldovan society. Second, such a polarization furthers a tendency to marginalize (non-Russian) minorities, which implies a reduction of the spaces for the articulation of minority concerns and the expression of minority identity.


Background Flow diversion is an important tool for treatment of cerebral aneurysms, particularly large and giant aneurysms. The Surpass flow diverter is a new system under evaluation in the USA. Objective To report our initial experience of 20 cases with the Surpass flow diverter to demonstrate its basic properties, the required triaxial delivery platform, and the methodologies used to deploy it during treatment of large internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms Methods Twenty patients with ICA aneurysms ≥10 mm with ≥4 mm neck treated as part of the Surpass IntraCranial Aneurysm Embolization System Pivotal Trial (the SCENT trial; Stryker) were included. Details of patient demographics, aneurysm characteristics, and technical procedures were collected. Results Twenty patients (mean age 63.3±1.3 years; range 51–72) with 20 unruptured aneurysms (mean size 13.4±0.9 mm; range 10–21 mm) were treated. For proximal access, 60% of cases had aortic arch ≥grade II, 55% had significant cervical ICA tortuosity, and 60% had cavernous ICA ≥grade II. The Surpass device was implanted in 19/20 (95%) cases. Of 19 cases, a single device was used in 18 cases (95%) and 2 devices in only 1 case (5%). Balloon angioplasty was performed in 8/19 cases (42%). Complete aneurysm neck coverage and adequate vessel wall apposition was obtained in all 19 cases. Conclusions Surpass is a next-generation flow diverter with unique device-specific and delivery-specific features compared with clinically available endoluminal flow diverters. Our initial experience demonstrates a favorable technical profile in treatment of large and giant ICA aneurysms. Trial registration number NCT01716117.


The READ Scale (Reference Effort Assessment Data) is a six-point scale tool for recording qualitative statistics by placing an emphasis on recording effort, knowledge, skills, and teaching used by staff during a reference transaction. Institutional research grants enabled the authors to conduct a national study of the READ Scale at 14 diverse academic libraries in spring of 2007 and test its viability as a tool for recording reference statistics. The study data were collected from 170 individuals and 24 service points with over 22,000 transactions analyzed. There was a 52 percent return rate of an online survey of participants, with more than 80 percent of respondents indicating they would recommend or adopt the Scale for recording reference transactions. The authors suggest that the READ Scale has the potential to transform how reference statistics are gathered, interpreted, and valued. This paper presents the findings of a nationwide study testing the Scale in spring 2007 and suggests practical approaches for using READ Scale data.


By Moayyedeh Mandegar Locomotive diesel exhaust emissions are a significant contributor to air pollution throughout the US. The objective of this study was to profile locomotive diesel emissions in the rail yard located in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The pollutants of interest included diesel particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. A TSI Dusttrak DRX Aerosol Monitor 8533 was utilized to concurrently measure size-segregated mass fraction concentrations corresponding to PM1, PM2.5, Respirable, PM10 and Total PM size fractions. A Zefon Bio Pump was utilized along with The Allergenco-D IAQ air sampling cassettes in order to determine the shape of the DPM. None of the results of this monitoring yielded concentration above Environmental Protection Agency National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). However, the concentrations of the particulate matter increased with the increase in the number of the train idling or crossing the sampling location. MONITORING DIESEL EMISSIONS FROM LOCOMOTIVES AT THE RAIL YARD IN SAINT JOSEPH, MISSOURI DIESEL PARTICULATE MATTER, SULFUR DIOXIDE, AND NITROGEN DIOXIDE by Moayyedeh Mandegar A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Environmental, Physical, and Applied Sciences, Safety Sciences University of Central Missouri August, 2012


This article argues that the implementation of video visitation in correctional facilities is a mechanism of control used to enact punitive measures for regulating mothers who act outside the dominant paradigms of motherhood. Because prisons were designed to surveil and mothers have historically been surveilled by institutions, incarcerated mothers are often overlooked when we discuss the surveillance methods used to keep institutionalized motherhood intact. This article builds on existing scholarship characterizing surveillance technology's role in criminalizing poor mothers of color, and considers the ways in which surveillance technology is used to normalize these mothers during their incarceration. Applying a Foucauldian framework, this article explores how adapting Video Visitation (VV)—a Skype-like video chat program—enables correctional facilities to extend the role of "watcher" and expand the panoptic gaze, which prompts mother-to-mother surveillance and intensifies self-surveillance. The article concludes by drawing attention to VV's structure and its ability to expand correctional facilities' surveillance to the children of incarcerated mothers.


We survey the use of weighted finite-state transducers (WFSTs) in speech recognition. We show that WFSTs provide a common and natural representation for hidden Markov models (HMMs), context-dependency, pronunciation dictionaries, grammars, and alternative recognition outputs. Furthermore, general transducer operations combine these representations flexibly and efficiently. Weighted determinization and minimization algorithms optimize their time and space requirements, and a weight pushing algorithm distributes the weights along the paths of a weighted transducer optimally for speech recognition. As an example, we describe a North American Business News (NAB) recognition system built using these techniques that combines the HMMs, full cross-word triphones, a lexicon of 40 000 words, and a large trigram grammar into a single weighted transducer that is only somewhat larger than the trigram word grammar and that runs NAB in real-time on a very simple decoder. In another example, we show that the same techniques can be used to optimize lattices for second-pass recognition. In a third example, we show how general automata operations can be used to assemble lattices from different recognizers to improve recognition performance.


A lack of standard datasets and evaluation metrics has prevented the field of paraphrasing from making the kind of rapid progress enjoyed by the machine translation community over the last 15 years. We address both problems by presenting a novel data collection framework that produces highly parallel text data relatively inexpensively and on a large scale. The highly parallel nature of this data allows us to use simple n-gram comparisons to measure both the semantic adequacy and lexical dissimilarity of paraphrase candidates. In addition to being simple and efficient to compute, experiments show that these metrics correlate highly with human judgments.


BACKGROUND
Opioid drugs have been used for many years to relieve pain. Transdermal fentanyl offers one option for delivering and maintaining pain relief in patients with moderate or severe cancer pain.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the analgesic efficacy of transdermal fentanyl for relief of cancer pain, and to assess the adverse events associated with the use of transdermal fentanyl for relief of cancer pain.

SEARCH METHODS
The following databases were searched: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2013, Issue 4 of 12); MEDLINE (1966 to May 2013); EMBASE (1974 to May 2013; CANCERLIT (PubMED) (November 2012); and ClinicalTrials.gov (May 2013).

SELECTION CRITERIA
Published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using placebo or active comparators reporting on the analgesic effect of transdermal fentanyl in adults and children with cancer pain. Studies with fewer than 10 participants were excluded.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data were extracted independently by two review authors. We extracted any available data on the number or proportion of patients with 'no worse than mild pain' or treatment success (very satisfied, or very good or excellent on patient global impression scales), together with information about adverse events and withdrawals.

MAIN RESULTS
We identified nine studies meeting the inclusion criteria, including a Turkish study that is awaiting formal translation. There were 1244 participants randomised in classically designed RCTs, of whom 1197 had evaluable data, and 138 patients enrolled in an enriched enrolment, randomised withdrawal (EERW) trial. Overall, 600 participants were treated with transdermal fentanyl patches, 382 with various formulations of morphine, 36 with methadone, and 221 with paracetamol plus codeine. There were major sources of potential bias, including lack of blinding, small size, high levels of attrition, and inconsistent reporting.We could not compare data in a meaningful analysis regarding adverse events such as nausea, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, and confusion. These events may have been attributable to the underlying disease process.There were insufficient comparable data for meta-analysis to be undertaken or to produce numbers needed to treat (NNT) for the analgesic effect. In seven studies with 461 participants reporting pain intensity results after about two weeks, the mean or median pain scores were on the borderline of mild and moderate pain. Most participants would have had no worse than mild pain on treatment. Another reported that 77% of participants using transdermal fentanyl had an undefined successful outcome. Fewer participants experienced constipation with transdermal fentanyl (28%) than with oral morphine (46%), giving a risk ratio of 0.61 (95% CI 0.47 to 0.78); the NNT to prevent constipation was 5.5 (95% CI 3.8 to 10).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The randomised trial literature for effectiveness of transdermal fentanyl is limited, but it is an important medicine. Most studies recruited fewer than 100 participants and did not provide data appropriate for meta-analysis. Only a few reported how many patients had good pain relief but, where data were reported, a majority had no worse than mild pain within a reasonably short time period. The evidence pointed to a useful and significant reduction in complaints about constipation for transdermal fentanyl compared with oral morphine.


Abstract Structural interventions represent a potentially powerful approach to HIV prevention among female sex workers (FSW) that focus on changing the social context of risk rather than individual behavior. Community-led structural interventions (CLSI) represent a particular form of structural interventions whereby the collective energy of FSW is directed toward action to address the contextual factors that promote their risk. Among these different contextual factors that may be the target of CLSI, are social norms that stigmatize FSW and their work. Drawing from ethnographic data collected as part of an ongoing analysis of the implementation and impact of a CLSI in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, we present a case study of the challenges and opportunities faced by a CLSI seeking to confront stigmatization of FSW through its interactions with a government-sponsored AIDS education program targeted to the general public. The government program promoted slogans that stigmatized FSW by attributing HIV/AIDS to them. Through participation in the program, the CLSI was complicit in promoting this same stigmatization. Yet it also used participation in the program as an opportunity to raise awareness among FSW of the CLSI and to mobilize FSW. In addition, the CLSI organized an alternative public rally, outside of but parallel to the government program, where they reframed FSW not as the carriers of HIV but as public health workers combating it. With this case study, we suggest that CLSI for HIV prevention among FSW are implemented in a context of inequality that constrains their actions, but they can still employ strategies that have the potential to transform that context.


This paper focuses on one specific aspect of the Developmentally Moderated Transfer Hypothesis (Pienemann et al. 2005), namely the role of the L2 in L3 acquisition. The research presented in this paper was prompted by the L2 transfer hypothesis put forward by Bohnacker (2006) and Bardel and Falk (2007). According to this hypothesis, learners transfer features from the L2 to the L3, but not from the L1 to the L3. This proposal is partly in conflict with the Developmentally Moderated Transfer Hypothesis which predicts that learners transfer features from the L1 or the L2 to the new language when they are developmentally ready to acquire the features to be transferred, but not before.The articles by Bohnacker (2006) and Bardel and Falk (2007) are attempted rebuttals of Hakansson, et al.'s (2002) work on L1 transfer and aspects of the underlying theory: Processability Theory (Pienemann 1998). The article by Hakansson, et al. presented empirical evidence showing that Swedish learners of L2 German do not transfer V2 at the initial state although both are V2 languages. Bohnacker (2006) and Bardel and Falk (2007) claim that the non-transfer of V2 is due to the influence of the L2. They further claim to have shown in their own study that the initial L3 word order is determined by the L2, irrespective of the structure of the L1 and independently from constraints on processability.In their response to Bohnacker (2006), Pienemann and Hakansson (2007) demonstrated that Bohnacker's informants had reached an advanced level of acquisition and that this set of data was not suitable to test hypotheses about transfer in the initial state.In this paper we review the study by Bardel and Falk (2007) and present the gist of an extensive replication of this study. We show that Bardel and Falk's study is based on a very limited database and on theoretical concepts that lack validity, in particular the notion of a "strongest L2" which is crucial to Bardel and Falk's approach.Our replication study shows that the initial L3 word order and the initial position of negation is neither determined by the L1 nor by the L2 and that it can be predicted on the basis of processability.


Introduction: Sport is often seen as an activity that requires participants to primarily learn physical, technical and tactical skills. In the last two decades, however, there has been a growing awareness that social skills/behaviors also play a role in the development of athletes. Various scholars have conducted literature reviews to find evidence for the impact of sport on the social development of participants. These reviews have produced ambiguous and inconclusive conclusions about this impact. Little attention has been paid to what those working with young people in sport and physical education (PE) think is important in this social domain and how they address such social dimensions in their daily practices. The central research question guiding this dissertation is: How do coaches and PE teachers address the social domain in their work with young people? I used a social constructivist framework that incorporates various theoretical notions. Five chapters (2,3,4,5,6) contributed to answer the main research question. Methods: Processes of social constructions or how coaches and PE teachers address 'the social' can therefore best be explored through qualitative methodologies. Qualitative methods enable researchers to capture how individuals think and feel and why they choose to behave the way they do. Specifically, the use of qualitative methods enables researchers who wish to describe and explain 'the social' in sport and PE to do so from the perspective of participants. Results: In chapter 2 athletes described how their coaches tried to control their behaviour in practices and matches. The data showed how these athletes were disciplined or socialized to develop specific dispositions, situated in a discourse of performance. The coaches in chapter 3 prioritized and legitimized their choices regarding 'the social' by using a performance discourse that interacted with their claim of expertise. Chapter 4 presented a study of a course specifically designed to meet the stated needs of coaches while chapter 5 describes how these coaches transformed some of their ways of thinking and doing. In chapter 6 is examined how PE teachers interpret and try to implement the mandate to integrate social development of their pupils into their PE classes. Each of them made sense of and implemented this goal in their own way. Discussion: Most of the coaches and PE teachers involved in these studies paid little systematic attention to the personal development of their athletes/students. The PE teachers did give attention to the social development of their students but did so on an individual basis. The coaches seemed to be primarily focused on disciplining their athletes into obedience and into prioritizing winning. There was therefore little evidence in these studies that participation in youth sport is a place that systematically helps young people to develop personal social skills and behavior.The coaches in this dissertation are mainly driven by the discourse of performance and expertise, and create a context where athletes are disciplined into certain behaviors that may not always be in their best interest.


The paper presents results from a study carried out on two FET processes, to demonstrate the enhanced prediction capabilities of the general-purpose FET model COBRA [I], to predict the intermodulation distortion (IMD) characteristics of micro-wave and mm-wave FETs, in comparison with other traditional large-signal models. The first, second and third order derivatives of the COBRA I/V model function are analysed and compared with the corresponding functions for the Statz-Raytheon and a modified Materka model. For the COBRA model case, these derivatives are shown to be continuous over the entire bias plane and in agreement with experimental results previously presented in literature for similar devices and extracted from harmonic measurements. In the case of the other two models, the high-order derivatives are described less accurately, especially around critical bias regions such as knee, pinch-off or soft breakdown. A sequence of two-tone (IMD) large-signal test results are presented for the case of a 0.2um PHEMT process designed for mm-wave applications, and operating in four different bias conditions. The results prove the advantages of the COBRA model in comparison with the other two in predicting high order IM products.


This research has been sponsored by the Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It introduces a system and the algorithms for Pedestrian Navigation using a combination of sensors. The main objective is to localise a pedestrian anywhere and at any moment. The equipments utilised to fulfill this requirement are a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver and inertial sensors, which are attached to the person and as such need to be portable. An overview of Pedestrian Navigation constitutes the first part of the document. This new domain is examined from four different views: applications, tools (or sensors), architecture of the system and finally environment in which the pedestrian is travelling. As part of this process, the "state of the art" situation is presented. The approach followed in order to aid pedestrian to navigate is based on the Dead Reckoning technique coupled with GNSS. Consequently, the resolution of the travelled "distance" is separated from the resolution of the orientation of the walk. For the computation of the distance, a new technique based upon accelerometers and GNSS has been developed and demonstrated. The accelerometers are not used as a classical pedometer (counter of the number of steps) and the technique is not based on the double integration to obtain successively speed and distance. Instead, signal processing allows, considering individual parameters, the walking speed to be obtained directly from the signal of the accelerometers. This process, as well as the manner to determine the individual parameters, is presented in detail. The development of the algorithms is based on research performed in both the navigation and the medical domains (mainly in physiology). The computation of the orientation is more classical. It is based on the measurements made by a gyroscope and a GNSS receiver. The particularity of this study is the use of a single gyroscope to determine the orientation of the walk instead of three for the classical technique of inertial navigation. The influence of body movement on the gyroscope output has been deeply examined to determine the most appropriate way to process the signal of the gyroscope. The feasibility of the use of a single gyro, in the context of pedestrian navigation, is demonstrated. The potential added value for introducing a magnetic compass in the system is also evaluated. Finally a centralised Kalman filter has been designed and tested to merge all the sensors outputs, to combine the distance and the orientation, to integrate the Dead Reckoning solution and the GNSS solutions and to estimate all the parameters in a close to real-time process. The efficiency of this filter is demonstrated through different tests.


This study discusses choice behavior using a voting model in which voters can obtain information from a finite number $r$ of previous voters. Voters vote for a candidate with a probability proportional to the previous vote ratio, which is visible to the voters. We obtain Pitman sampling formula as the equilibrium distribution of $r$ votes. We present the model as a process of making posts on a bulletin board system, this http URL, where users can choose one of many threads to create a post. We explore how this choice depends on the last $r$ posts and the distribution of $r$ posts across threads. We conclude that the posting process is described by our voting model for a small $r$, which might correspond to the time horizon of users' response.


The aim of this study is to derive a theoretically justifiable hypothesis on the second-order factor structure of the Leadership Behaviour Inventory (LBI). The available empirical evidence on the validity of the measurement and structural models underlying the Performance Index (PI) together with the positive results on the LBI, allows the opportunity to proceed with the task of explicating and evaluating a comprehensive leadership-organizational unit performance structural model. Before this can be undertaken, however, a good fitting second-order factor structure for the LBI needs to be developed. The second-order factor structure proposed by Avolio, Bass and Jung (1999) for the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) is adapted, applied to the LBI and tested empirically. The results suggests a reasonable to mediocre fitting model that clearly outperforms the independence model, however, fails to satisfactory capture the complexity of the processes which underlie the LBI.


Three studies examined whether a social norm message (SNM) to Girl Scouts who had completed an energy conservation program would impact behavior and attitudes. Studies 1 and 2 were conducted with girls recently completing the program, study 3 was conducted with girls completing the program one year earlier. Results suggest that the SNM may impact postprogram energy conservation for participants already dedicated to conservation (study 1), but only when introduced soon after the program ends (study 3). While outcomes are suggestive, this is the first study we know of regarding the impact of SNM on adolescents' energy conservation.


The scope for this work was to develop rapid assays for enumerating microorganisms on gels, and to test whether fouling of gel surfaces is principally different from that of solid substrata. For this purpose, a standard set of different gels were selected, based on biocompatibility, polymer charge and gel strength. Bacterial adhesion to gels could be conveniently enumerated by first staining with SYBR Green I nucleic acid gel strain. Images were then collected using a confocal scanning laser microscope, followed by image analysis to determine the percent coverage of bacteria. Diatom adhesion could be qualified using a fluorescence scanner recording the fluorescent chlorophyll, showing a clear correlation between average fluorescence signals and cell density determined by counting. This method was successfully tested on glass, gels, a painted surface and an antifouling coated surface.Adhesion of the marine bacterium Pseudomonas sp. NCIMB 2021on gels decreased at higher shear rates. At low shear rates, adhesion varied significantly between different gels in the following descending order: alginate > agarose > chitosan > PVA-SbQ. Lowest cell coverage at all shear rates was recorded on the most hydrophobic gel, PVA-SbQ. Earlier work has shown that this organism adhere better to solid hydrophobic than solid hydrophilic surfaces. Thus, other properties than the surface free energy may be more important for bacterial adhesion to the gels. The marine diatom Amphora coffeaeformis was applied in the different adhesion arrays under different shear conditions. At high shear, cells adhered better to highly ionic polymer gels alginate and chitosan than to the low charge polymer gels agarose and PVA-SbQ. At very low shear, A. coeffeaeformis developed a film even on agarose equivalent to that on the charged polymer gels. Adhesion to PVA-SbQ remained low at all shear rates. As observed for solid substrate, low charge density led to reduced attachment. Settlement of Balanus amphitrite cypris larvae was tested at different polymer concentrations of the hydrogels. All gels inhibited cypris settlement compared to solid polystyrene controls. Gels consisting of 2.5% PVA-SbQ or 0.5% agarose showed the most promising antifouling properties. In all gel experiments, most of the non-settled larvae were able to settle when transferred and offered a suitable solid substratum. Results indicated that the gel strength was an important factor for cyprid settlement on gels, while the surface wettability seemed to be of minor importance.A few preliminary field experiments were carried out. These tests suggested that marine bacterial biofilm development is more readily on glass than on a PVA-SbQ gel surface, in accordance with monoculture lab experiments. However, similar amounts of photosynthetic organisms adhered to gels of agorose, alginate, chitosan and PVA-SbQ tested in an outdoor seawater basin during spring bloom. Finally, barnacle settlement was delayed on PVA-SbQ gels exposed in the open sea. After incubation for a full summer season, even those gels became as covered with marine fouling organisms as any other non-toxic surface. In conclusion, no universal antifouling effects of hydrogels were found. However, this work suggests that both adhesion of a bacterium and settlement of barnacle cypris larvae on gel surfaces may be principally different from solid substrata. Diatom adhesion, on the other hand, was lower on gels with a low charge density, as observed for solid substrata. In general, the most hydrophobic gel, PVA-SbQ, was the least attractive surface for all three organisms.


The most productive (`star') bioscientists possessed intellectual human capital of extraordinary scientific and pecuniary value for some 10-15 yrs after Cohen & Boyer's 1973 founding discovery for biotechnology. This extraordinary value was due to the union of still scarce knowledge of the new research techniques and genius to apply these techniques in valuable ways. As in other sciences, star bioscientists were particularly protective of their ideas in the early years of the revolution, tending to collaborate more within their own institution which slowed diffusion to other scientists. Therefore, close, bench-level working ties between stars and firm scientists were needed to accomplish commercialization of the breakthroughs. Where and when the star scientists were actively producing academic publications is a key determinant of where and when commercial firms began to use biotechnology. The extent of collaboration by a firm's scientists with stars is a powerful predictor of its success: for each 9 articles co-authored by an academic star and firm scientists about 3 more products in development, 1 more on the market and 1550 more employees are estimated. Such collaboration with firms, or employment, also results in significantly higher rates of citation to articles written with the firm. The U.S. scientific and economic infrastructure has been quite effective in fostering and commercializing the bioscientific revolution. To provide an indication of international competitiveness, we estimate stars' distribution, commercial involvement and migration across the top 10 countries in bioscience. These results let us inside the black box to see how scientific breakthroughs become economic growth and consider the implications for policy.


The rapidly increasing number of cores available in multicore processors does not necessarily lead directly to a commensurate increase in performance: programs written in conventional languages, such as C, need careful restructuring, preferably automatically, before the benefits can be observed in improved run-times. Even then, much depends upon the intrinsic capacity of the original program for concurrent execution. Using software techniques to parallelize the sequential application can raise the level of gain from multicore systems. Parallel programming is not an easy job for the user, who has to deal with many issues such as dependencies, synchronization, load balancing, and race conditions. For this reason the role of automatically parallelizing compilers and techniques for the extraction of several threads from single-threaded programs, without programmer intervention, is becoming more important and may help to deliver better utilization of modern hardware. One parallelizing technique that has been shown to be an effective for the parallelization of applications that have irregular control flow and complex memory access patterns is Decoupled Software Pipeline (DSWP). This transformation partitions the loop body into a set of stages, ensuring that critical path dependencies are kept local to a stage. Each stage becomes a thread and data is passed between threads using inter-core communication. The success of DSWP depends on being able to extract the relatively fine-grain parallelism that is present in many applications. Another technique which offers potential gains in parallelizing general purpose applications is slicing. Program slicing transforms large programs into several smaller ones that execute independently, each consisting of only statements relevant to the computation of certain, socalled, (program) points. This dissertation explores the possibility of performance benefits arising from a secondary transformation of DSWP stages by slicing. To that end a new combination method called DSWP/Slice is presented. Our observation is that individual DSWP stages can be parallelized by slicing, leading to an improvement in performance of the longest duration DSWP stages. In particular, this approach can be applicable in cases where DOALL is not. In consequence better load balancing can be achieved between the DSWP stages. Moreover, we introduce an automatic implementation of the combination method using Low Level Virtual Machine (LLVM) compiler framework. This combination is particularly effective when the whole long stage comprises a function body. More than one slice extracted from a function body can speed up its execution time and also increases the scalability of DSWP. An evaluation of this technique on six programs with a range of dependence patterns leads to considerable performance gains on a core-i7 870 machine with 4-cores/8-threads. The results are obtained from an automatic implementation that shows the proposed method can give a factor of up to 1.8 speed up compared with the original sequential code.


Kang et al. uncovered an intriguing new mechanism whereby G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) may signal to the nucleus to regulate gene transcription. The β-arrestins (βarrs), cytosolic proteins that are recruited to the plasma membrane to terminate GPCR signaling by promoting receptor desensitization and endocytosis, also act as scaffolding proteins in various cell signaling pathways (see Beaulieu and Caron). Kang et al. found that stimulation of the δ-opioid GPCR (DOR) in HEK293 cells transfected with DOR promoted nuclear accumulation of fluorescently labeled or HA-tagged βarr1. After microarray analysis revealed that βarr1 knockdown inhibited expression of p27 (which encodes a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor) and the transcription factor c-fos, the authors combined siRNA knockdown, βarr1 expression in mouse embryo fibroblasts or overexpression in HeLa cells, and pharmacological analysis to show that DOR stimulation acted through βarr1 to increase the abundance of p27 mRNA and protein. A mutant form of βarr1 that did not accumulate in the nucleus lacked these effects. Nuclear βarr1 participated in a complex with the transcription factor CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein) and recruited the histone acetyltransferase p300 to the promoter regions of c-fos and p27, enhancing the acetylation of histone H4. Similar effects on nuclear accumulation of βarr1, p27 transcription, and H4 acetylation at the p27 promoter were seen in human SK neuroblastoma cells that expressed endogenous DOR, and intracerebroventricular injection of a DOR agonist stimulated transcription of hippocampal p27 and H4 acetylation at the p27 promoter. Thus, the authors propose that stimulation of the DOR promotes translocation of βarr1 to the nucleus, where it recruits p300 to the promoters of target genes, stimulating local histone H4 acetylation and thereby gene transcription. J. Kang, Y. Shi, B. Xiang, B. Qu, W. Su, M. Zhu, M. Zhang, G. Bao, F. Wang, X. Zhang, R. Yang, F. Fan, X. Chen, G. Pei, L. Ma, A nuclear function of β-arrestin1 in GPCR signaling: Regulation of histone acetylation and gene transcription. Cell 123, 833-847 (2005). [PubMed] J.-M. Beaulieu, M. G. Caron, β-arrestin goes nuclear. Cell 123, 755-757 (2005). [PubMed]


Europe is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, in which tourism occupies a significant place among the most relevant economic activities, and this applies to the Republic of Croatia as well. Based on this study, the authors intended to encourage and support the creation of an effective tourism policy in Croatia that would be based on the profiling of certain target groups. Another objective was to compare the results obtained from the customer analysis with the market analysis of the tourism industry in Croatia. The objective is to adapt the current tourist offer according to the identified needs and expectations of a particular tourist group in order to increase the attractiveness of Croatia as a tourist destination and motivate greater attendance of the targeted tourist groups. The current research was oriented towards the Russian market as the target group. Therefore, the authors wanted to encourage a discussion on how to attract more Russian guests. Consequently, the intention of the research was a detailed analysis of Russian tourists, in order to gain a better understanding of their travelling motives and tendencies. Furthermore, attention was paid to the expectations of Russian customers and to compare them with the Croatian tourist offer, and to determine whether there is a possibility for an overlap. The method used to obtain the information required was a survey conducted among Russian citizens about their travelling habits. The research was carried out on the basis of 166 participants of different age, gender, profession and income group. The sampling and distribution of the survey took place between May and July 2016. The results provided from the research indicate that Croatian tourism has certain unrealized potential considering the popularization of Croatia as a tourist destination, and there is a capacity for increasing the revenues within the group of Russian tourists. Such a conclusion is based on the fact that the Croatian tourist offer and the preferences of the Russian guests are compatible, i.e. they overlap in many aspects. The results demonstrate that beautiful nature, cultural and historical heritage as well as the sun and sea, play a leading role in attracting more Russian tourists. It is precisely these elements that form the three pillars of the Croatian tourist offer. On the other hand, the profiling revealed that the most desirable destinations for the Russian guests are Italy and Spain, both of which provide the same main tourist attractions as Croatia. Therefore, the focus of the strategic ideas given in the paper shifted to other tourism segments, such as type of accommodation, sales channels, travel motives, additional offer and seasonality etc., in order to gain advantage in the Russian market, the Mediterranean region and tourism in general. The purpose of the research is to serve as a foundation for analysing the attractiveness of the other tourist destinations in the Russian market, as well as to be a general basis for a more detailed profiling of the various specific target groups of the Russian and other tourist groups. Maja Martinovic is with the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, Jordanovac, 110, Zagreb, Croatia (phone: 00385-99-229-7379, e-mail: email@example.com). Valentina Zarkovic is Sales Associate at Bluesun Hotels & Resorts, Sunce koncern d.d., Zagreb, Croatia (e-mail: email@example.com). Hrvoje Maljak is with Zagreb School of Economics and Management, Jordanovac, 110, Zagreb, Croatia (phone: 00385-98-550-520, e-mail: email@example.com). Keywords—Croatia, Russian market, target groups, tourism, tourist destination.


PERSONALITY TRAITS AND DECEPTION DETECTION ABILITY AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH PRIMARY PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS by Megan O. Malmstrom Because psychopaths are exceptionally good at deceiving others, researchers have proposed that this population of individuals may be more likely than the average person to detect deception. However, previous research has provided mixed results on the ability of individuals with psychopathic traits to detect deception at a greater level than chance. The inconclusive results on this topic have warranted future research on examining sex differences and personality traits that are attributed to individuals with psychopathy that may aid their ability to detect deception at a higher level than others. The current study tested 133 San Jose State University undergraduates by having them indicate whether individuals in 10 different video clips were lying or telling the truth. Participants' psychopathic tendencies were measured using the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (LSRP) and their personality traits were measured using the Big Five Inventory (BFI). A Fisher's r to z transformation was conducted to test Hypothesis 1, that sex would moderate the relationship between deception detection accuracy and primary psychopathic traits. However, our analyses revealed no moderating effect by sex. A one-tailed bivariate correlation was also performed to test Hypothesis 2, which stated that low scores on the BFI for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness would be correlated with higher deception detection accuracy. No significant relationships were found. However, non-significant results displayed non-linear relationships between Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and detection accuracy.


BACKGROUND The Papanicolaou (Pap) test is one screening strategy used to prevent cervical cancer in developed countries. The p16/Ki-67 immunocytochemistry is a triage test performed on Pap smears in women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) or low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to review studies investigating the diagnostic performance of p16/Ki-67 dual stain for triage of women with abnormal Pap tests. DESIGN We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies. SETTINGS We followed the protocol of systematic review of diagnostic accuracy studies. PATIENTS AND METHODS We searched PubMed, The Cochrane Library, BioMed Central, and ClinicalTrials.gov for relevant studies. We included research that assessed the accuracy of p16/Ki-67 dual stain and high risk human papillomavirus testing for triage of abnormal Pap smears. Review articles and studies that provided insufficient data to construct 2×2 tables were excluded. Data synthesis was conducted using a random-effects model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS In seven studies encompassing 2628 patients, the pooled sensitivity and specificity of p16/Ki-67 for triage of abnormal Pap smear results were 0.91 (95% CI, 0.89 to 0.93) and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.66), respectively. No study used a case-control design. A subgroup analysis involving liquid-based cytology showed a sensitivity of 0.91 (95%CI, 0.89 to 0.93) and specificity of 0.64 (95%CI, 0.61 to 0.66). CONCLUSIONS Our meta-analysis of p16/Ki-67 dual stain studies showed that the test achieved high sensitivity and moderate specificity for p16/Ki-67 immunocytochemistry for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and cervical cancer. We suggest that p16/Ki-67 dual stain might be a reliable ancillary method identifying high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in women with abnormal Pap tests. LIMITATIONS No study in the meta-analysis examined the accuracy of the p16/Ki-67 dual stain for interpretation of glandular neoplasms.


The spectra of enhanced hyper-Raman scattering (Hyper RS) by symmetrical molecules studied in the literature are analyzed on the basis of the dipole–quadrupole theory of surface-enhanced Hyper RS of light and the concept of the existence of a strong quadrupole interaction of light with the molecules. It is shown that the theory predicts the appearance of forbidden lines in the enhanced Hyper-RS spectra (in molecules with sufficiently high symmetry), caused by totally symmetric vibrations and transforming according to a single irreducible representation. A consideration of the experimental spectra of phenazine, pyrazine, and pyridine confirmed the existence of the indicated forbidden lines and made it possible to explain the features of the spectra of these molecules. A critique is presented of the theoretical analysis of the enhanced Hyper-RS spectra of trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene and crystal violet carried out by other authors.


An LED optical element is proposed as an alternative to cold-cathode fluorescent lamps. The optical element generates two symmetric uniformly illuminated line segments on the diffuse reflector. The illuminated segments then act as secondary linear light sources. The calculation of the optical element is reduced to the integration of the system of two explicit ordinary differential equations. The results of the simulation of an illumination system module consisting of a set of optical elements generating a set of line segments on the surface of the diffuse reflector are presented. The elements are located directly on the surface of the reflector. The simulation results demonstrate the uniform illumination of a rectangular area at a distance of 30-40 mm from the light source plane. The lighting efficiency of the designed system exceeds 83%.


This paper introduces a new approximate solution of the optimal nonlinear filter suitable for nonlinear oceanic and atmospheric data assimilation problems. The method is based on a local linearization in a low-rank kernel representation of the state's probability density function. In the resulting low-rank kernel particle Kalman (LRKPK) filter, the standard (weight type) particle filter correction is complemented by a Kalman-type correction for each particle using the covariance matrix of the kernel mixture. The LRKPK filter's solution is then obtained as the weighted average of several low-rank square root Kalman filters operating in parallel. The Kalman-type correction reduces the risk of ensemble degeneracy, which enables the filter to efficiently operate with fewer particles than the particle filter. Combined with the low-rank approximation, it allows the implementation of the LRKPK filter with high-dimensional oceanic and atmospheric systems. The new filter is described and its relevance demonstrated through applications with the simple Lorenz model and a realistic configuration of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) in the Mediterranean Sea.


In this paper I will describe and interpret some data from Southern Quechua and Southern Aymara spoken texts recorded during traditional divinatory sessions. This analysis is aimed to show that divination can be considered as an example of how ritual speech, often described as a phenomenon based on fixed sequences, is characterized by variable elements too, being the relationship between a particular "context of situation" and the divinatory speech event very strong. In particular, the analysis focuses on a specific kind of speech acts, which seem to be built with the help of morphological devices that are normally used to indicate the source of information in the Quechua and Aymara language families. The same devices are used with a specific performative function in the context of divination: To "officialise" the message of the oracle and to oppose this to the speech acts of the diviner.