Concept FE models of the vehicle structure are often used to optimize it in terms of static and dynamic stiffness, as they are parametric and computationally inexpensive. On the other hand they introduce modeling errors with respect to their detailed FE equivalents due to the simplifications made. Even worse, the link between the concept and the detailed FE model can be sometimes lost after optimization.The aim of this paper is to present and validate an alternative optimization approach that uses the detailed FE model of the vehicle body-in-white instead of its concept representation. Structural modifications of this model were applied in two different ways — by local joint modifications and by using mesh morphing techniques. The first choice was motivated by the strong influence of the structural joints on the global vehicle performance. For this type of modification the plate thicknesses of the most influent car body joints were changed. In the second case the overall car dimensions were modified.The drawback of using detailed FE models of the vehicle body is that they can be times bigger than their concept counterparts and can thus require considerably more time for structural analysis. To make the approach proposed in this work a feasible alternative for optimization in the concept phase response surface models were introduced. With them the global static and dynamic performance of the body-in-white was represented by means of approximating polynomials. Optimization on such mathematical models is fast, so the choice of the optimization algorithm is not limited only among local-search strategies.In the current study Genetic Algorithm was used to increase the chances for finding better design alternatives. Two different optimization problems were defined and solved. Their final solutions were presented and compared in terms of structural modifications and resulting responses. The approach in this paper can be successfully used in the concept phase as it is fast and reliable and at the same time it avoids the problems typical for concept models.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


1.5 MW Ion Cyclotron Wave Heating system was developed, the transmitter and the antenna both have their ground loops, which will severely perturb the system's normal operation. To avoid perturbation, a DC break was designed. The S parameter and the VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio) of incident port were calculated; the thermal effect caused by conductor loss and dielectric loss was analyzed.


ABSTRACT To construct the ITER with high safety and acceptability, it is very important to grasp the removal behavior of tritium happened to leak in the room, the final confinement barrier. In order to obtain data on tritium removal behavior from atmosphere in a room under the various conditions (humidity, ventilation flow rate), intentional tritium release experiments have been carried out with the Caisson Assembly for Tritium Safety Study (CATS) which consists of 12 m3 gas-tight box (Caisson) for the study of tritium behavior in large space. Effect of adding water vapor has also investigated for effective removal. When the tritiated water existed in the released tritium, residual contamination on the wall of the Caisson was detected under the various ventilation flow rate and it was found that it depended on the initial humidity in the Caisson. On the other hand, when the water vapor was added into the Caisson after found the residual contamination, the residual contamination was removed quickly on the wall of the Caisson. The adding water vapor into the Caisson, it was effective for the tritium removal. Analytical work have also progressed and analyzed tritium removal behavior became to be in good agreement with the experimental results by considering the adsorption and desorption reaction rate of tritiated water on the wall.


[EN] Programmed in Tcl (v.8). It is an ASCII file that becomes self-executable when the Tcl interpreter is available on the system. This interpreter can be freely downloaded from Internet (best with the ActiveTcl package, http://www.activestate.com/activetcl/downloads).


Trypanosoma cruzi is incapable of synthesizing putrescine or cadaverine de novo, and, therefore, salvage of polyamines from the host milieu is an obligatory nutritional function for the parasite. A high-affinity diamine transporter (TcPOT1) from T. cruzi has been identified previously that recognizes both putrescine and cadaverine as ligands. In order to assess the functional role of TcPOT1 in intact parasites, a Δtcpot1 null mutant was constructed by targeted gene replacement and characterized. The Δtcpot1 mutant lacked high-affinity putrescine-cadaverine transport capability but retained the capacity to transport diamines via a non-saturable, low-affinity mechanism. Transport of spermidine and arginine was not impacted by the Δtcpot1 lesion. The Δtcpot1 cell line exhibited a significant but not total defect in its ability to subsist in Vero cells, although initial infection rates were not affected by the lesion. These findings reveal that TcPOT1 is the sole high-affinity diamine permease in T. cruzi, that genetic obliteration of TcPOT1 impairs the ability of the parasite to maintain a robust infection in mammalian cells, and that a secondary low-affinity uptake mechanism for this key parasite nutrient is operative but insufficient for optimal infection.


This book provides an overview of the rapidly growing and developing field of nanotechnology, focusing on key essentials, and structured around a robust anatomy of the subject. The newcomer to nanotechnology, who may well have a strong background in one of the traditional disciplines such as physics, mechanical or electrical engineering, chemistry or biology, or who may have been working in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, is confronted with a bewildering range of information. This book brings together the principles, theory and practice of nanotechnology, giving a broad yet authoritative introduction to the possibilities and limitations of this exciting field. Succinct chapter summaries allow readers to grasp quickly the concepts discussed and gain an overview of the field. This book discusses design and manufacture, and applications and their impact in a wide range of nanotechnology areas. This is an ideal introduction for businesses and potential investors in nanotechnology.


The Self programming language, which distills object-oriented computation down to a simple story based on copying prototypes to create objects, inheriting from objects to share their contents, and passing messages to invoke methods, is discussed. It is shown that Self's uniform application of the object-message paradigm gives programmers unusual flexibility. Unconventional optimizations can bring its peak performance to within a factor of two of optimized C's performance. Overviews of Self and its message passing performance are presented.<<ETX>>


The Mre11‐Rad50 complex is highly conserved, yet the mechanisms by which Rad50 ATP‐driven states regulate the sensing, processing and signaling of DNA double‐strand breaks are largely unknown. Here we design structure‐based mutations in Pyrococcus furiosus Rad50 to alter protein core plasticity and residues undergoing ATP‐driven movements within the catalytic domains. With this strategy we identify Rad50 separation‐of‐function mutants that either promote or destabilize the ATP‐bound state. Crystal structures, X‐ray scattering, biochemical assays, and functional analyses of mutant PfRad50 complexes show that the ATP‐induced 'closed' conformation promotes DNA end binding and end tethering, while hydrolysis‐induced opening is essential for DNA resection. Reducing the stability of the ATP‐bound state impairs DNA repair and Tel1 (ATM) checkpoint signaling in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, double‐strand break resection in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and ATM activation by human Mre11‐Rad50‐Nbs1 in vitro, supporting the generality of the P. furiosus Rad50 structure‐based mutational analyses. These collective results suggest that ATP‐dependent Rad50 conformations switch the Mre11‐Rad50 complex between DNA tethering, ATM signaling, and 5′ strand resection, revealing molecular mechanisms regulating responses to DNA double‐strand breaks.


Solar radiation--or radiant energy emitted by the Sun--is the dominant, direct energy input into Earth's atmosphere and climate. In my astronomy class, I assign students (in grades 11 and 12) a problem-based laboratory activity in which they evaluate the causality of changes on the solar surface in regard to climate change and warming in Earth's environment. Students use graphing calculators and real-time data from the internet to research the possible effects of sunspot activity on ocean temperatures in the Atlantic. Sunspots are relatively cool areas of magnetic disturbance on the Sun's surface that appear as dark blotches contrasted against the rest of the photosphere (Figure 1). For this activity, I use the 5E constructivist instructional model--Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate (Bybee 1997)--to analyze a false hypothesis linking sea-surface temperature to the Sun. Engage To generate interest in the global warming issue, students are engaged with the ideas of British economist William Jevons (1835-1882), who hypothesized that sunspots directly affect economic prosperity. Jevons reasoned that sunspots might have an effect on solar energy, in turn affecting the weather on Earth, which in turn, affects crops. These crop changes would then result in economic changes because agricultural production contributes significantly to the national economy--fluctuations in farm output, prices, and incomes could cause instability in overall business activity. Global warming due to sunspot activity could also lead to drought, which may lead to crop failure, which might depress the economy by causing famine and starvation. Although Jevons' thinking was incorrect, I deliberately omit alternative explanations. I suggest to students that astronomers could count the number of sunspots as a possible proxy for measuring the magnitude of solar energy output. More sunspots might mean more radiation was being made at the solar interior by fusion--resulting in more magnetic disturbances, or sunspots. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Continuing with this (flawed) logic, I propose that when the sunspot count--and consequently solar energy--rises, Earth's ocean temperature should also rise. If the hydrosphere covers approximately 70% of Earth with water, then the majority of the surface should respond with a temperature change. Conversely, as the sunspot count falls, so too should the water temperature. After students are presented with this (faulty) logic, they are asked to provide proof of Jevons' ideas by plotting monthly sunspot numbers versus time over a 16-year period (or 192 months) on a graphing calculator, and, in a second graph, sea-surface temperature versus time over the same period. Students compare the two graphs to determine whether their data analysis identifies a relationship between the Sun and Earth's temperature. Explore Students explore sunspot data directly on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website (see "On the web" at the end of the article). Monthly sunspot numbers are prepared by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), the nation's official source of space weather alerts and warnings. The SWPC continually monitors and forecasts Earth's space environment; provides accurate, reliable, and useful solar-terrestrial information; conducts and leads research and development programs to understand the environment and to improve services; advises policymakers and planners; plays a leadership role in the space weather community; and fosters a space weather services industry. The recent solar indices (preliminary) of observed monthly mean values provide recent solar indices running from January 1991 to the present. Figure 2 displays the figures from 1991. (Note: An instructor's guide for using graphing calculators to analyze sunspot numbers can be downloaded in PDF format from NASA's Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) website [see "On the web"]. …


The use of eye movements to interact with computers offers opportunities for people with impaired motor ability to overcome the difficulties they often face using hand-held input devices. Computer games have become a major form of entertainment, and also provide opportunities for social interaction in multi-player environments. Games are also being used increasingly in education to motivate and engage young people. It is important that young people with motor impairments are able to benefit from, and enjoy, them.

This thesis describes a program of research conducted over a 20-year period starting in the early 1990's that has investigated interaction techniques based on gaze position intended for use by people with motor impairments. The work investigates how to make standard software applications accessible by gaze, so that no particular modification to the application is needed. The work divides into 3 phases. In the first phase, ways of using gaze to interact with the graphical user interfaces of office applications were investigated, designed around the limitations of gaze interaction. Of these, overcoming the inherent inaccuracies of pointing by gaze at on-screen targets was particularly important. In the second phase, the focus shifted from office applications towards immersive games and on-line virtual worlds. Different means of using gaze position and patterns of eye movements, or gaze gestures, to issue commands were studied. Most of the testing and evaluation studies in this, like the first, used participants without motor-impairments. The third phase of the work then studied the applicability of the research findings thus far to groups of people with motor impairments, and in particular,the means of adapting the interaction techniques to individual abilities.

In summary, the research has shown that collections of specialised gaze-based interaction techniques can be built as an effective means of completing the tasks in specific types of games and how these can be adapted to the differing abilities of individuals with motor impairments.


The intravenous anesthetic propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) has been used for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia in operating rooms and for sedation in intensive care units. Although there is no widely accepted definition of propofol infusion syndrome (PRIS), PRIS is defined as the development of metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, hyperkalemia, hepatomegaly, renal failure, arrhythmia, and progressive cardiac failure. In vitro evidence suggests that PRIS is related to the impaired mitochondrial function. There are indications that preexisting mitochondrial disorders predispose to PRIS. However, the precise molecular mechanisms, including mitochondrial defects and a metabolic conversion by propofol, are largely unknown as yet. To elucidate the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of PRIS, we investigated the effects of propofol on the cellular metabolic mode and cell death. We demonstrated that clinically relevant concentrations of propofol, used within a clinically relevant exposure time, suppressed the mitochondrial function, caused the generation of reactive oxygen species, and induced a metabolic switch, from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis, by targeting complexes I and III of mitochondria. The data also indicated that a predisposition to mitochondrial dysfunction, caused by a genetic mutation or pharmacological suppression of the electron transport chain by biguanides such as metformin and phenformin, promoted the cell death and caspase activation induced by propofol.


Abstract This paper examines the role of cross-listings in the digital token marketplace ecosystem. Using a unique set of publicly available and hand-collected data from 3625 tokens traded in 108 marketplaces, we find significant increases in price, trading volume, network growth and on-chain activity around the date of a token's first cross-listing. Tokens earn a 16% crypto-market adjusted return in the two weeks around the cross-listing date. Daily network growth triples on the day of cross-listing. Using the uniquely heterogeneous characteristics of token marketplaces, we identify specific value-creation channels. We provide the first evidence supporting value creation through network externalities proposed by recent token-valuation models. Consistent with equity cross-listing theory, we find higher returns for cross-listings that reduce market segmentation and improve information production. Our reported findings have significant policy implications in terms of more transparent regulations to reduce financial misconduct in the digital marketplace.


The reference monetary value of the man.sievert is a pragmatic decision-aiding technique to "take into account economic and societal factors" associated with the optimisation principle and to help decide whether a protection option is "reasonable" or not. EDF has adopted a system of reference monetary values in 1992, updated it in 2002, and was considering a new update. In 2019 and 2020, a designated EDF-CEPN working group investigated the elements (through survey, literature and feedback analysis) that might support a change and in which direction. A simplified system, based on one single reference monetary value of the man.sievert, has been proposed. The value takes into account the most recent recommendations from ICRP and French State administration and uses the state-of-the-art methodology in calculating the Value of Statistical Life and has been adjusted with an aversion risk factor considering the EDF radiation protection policy. The new reference value is 4,500 €/man.mSv. An upper value of 7,000 €/man.mSv can be used if the project presents radiation protection benefits (positive externalities) in addition to a reduction in collective dose. The Radiation Protection Manager makes the decision on which value should be selected, and the Radiation Protection Service, in collaboration with the other services, integrates the value in the optimization analysis, bearing in mind that the output will guide the decision (and not determine it) bringing also objectivity and transparency.


: In this theme section we explore why and when states knowingly re-frain from recording people and their activities. States are not simply in pursuit of enhanced "legibility"; at times they also need to be able to "look away." In ex-plaining strategies of nonrecording, our focus is on how subjects negotiate with state recording agencies, how nonrecording relieves state agents from the burden of accountability, how the discretionary power of individual state agents aff ects (non)recording in unanticipated ways, and how states may project an illusion of vigorous recording internationally while actually engaging in deliberate nonrecording. Presenting case studies from China, Greece, the Netherlands, India, and Romania, we show that strategies of nonrecording are fl exible, selective, and aimed at certain populations—and that both citizens and noncitizens can be singled out for nonr ecording or derecording. In analyzing this state-produced social oblivion, divergences between national and local levels are of crucial signifi cance.


Predictable tuning of gene expression is essential for engineering genetic circuits and for optimising enzyme levels in metabolic engineering projects. In bacteria, gene expression can be tuned at the stage of transcription, by exchanging the promoter, or at stage of translation by altering the ribosome binding site sequence. In eukaryotes, however, only promoter exchange is regularly used, as the tools to modulate translation are lacking. Working in S. cerevisiae yeast, we here describe how hairpin RNA structures inserted into the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of mRNAs can be used to tune expression levels by altering the efficiency of translation initiation. We demonstrate a direct link between the calculated free energy of folding in the 5'UTR and protein abundance, and show that this enables rational design of hairpin libraries that give predicted expression outputs. Our approach is modular, working with different promoters and protein coding sequences, and it outperforms promoter mutation as a way to predictably generate a library where a protein is induced to express at a range of different levels. With this tool, computational RNA sequence design can be used to predictably fine-tune protein production, providing a new way to modulate gene expression in eukaryotes.


Children with special needs can present challenges to caregivers and families. Challenges may occur with daily routines such as mealtime routines, dressing routines, and play routines. These challenges may affect families in many ways and add increased stress to the child's caregivers. Early Intervention (EI) service providers across the state of Iowa are changing their model of service delivery to address the daily challenges in families with special needs children and to comply with Part C regulations of IDEA. This model is known as Family Guided Routines Based Intervention (FGRBI). This project had two purposes, to examine whether FGRBI helped to increase caregiver satisfaction with caregiver-child routines and whether it helped to reduce caregiver stress. A case-study design was used with three caregivers over a 9-week period. Each caregiver identified three family-specific routines to target along with two routines that were the same for all families in the study. Each caregiver-rated their overall satisfaction with the five routines pre-and post-intervention on the Family Routines Rating Scale. Each caregiver also completed the PSI-4SF pre-and post to examine caregiver stress. In addition to addressing caregiver outcomes, practitioner efficacy in learning and implementing a new model of practice, FGRBI was examined. This study had positive effects on caregiver satisfaction with targeted routines. This study also indicates that caregiver stress is an important aspect to consider in EI services. Key insights into strengths and challenges of utilizing and implementing FGRBI from the OT lens were also determined. Thus, EI occupational therapists can address caregiver stress as part of their services to meet the needs of children and families enrolled in Part C services. ADDRESSING CAREGIVER OUTCOMES iv Table of


This study looks into the dynamics of fantasy in the so-called telepantasya or pantaserye, particularly in how it uses the concept of space. It shows how the worlds of reality and fantasy are differentiated in these locally-produced television series. Encantadia and Majika on GMA 7, and Super Inggo and Da Adventures of Pedro Penduko on ABS-CBN 2 are analyzed for this purpose. An in-depth analysis of these shows leads the writer to conclude that there are many elements of "fantastic narratives" adapted from the West, particularly the dichotomy between reality and fantasy. This dichotomy is not found in Philippine mythology, where the "mysterious" (kababalaghan) coexists with and impinges on the real.


Ethiopia's food economy is transforming fast. To better understand this ongoing process, we analyze changes in food consumption that have happened over the period between 1996 and 2011, relying on four rounds of nationally representative household data. The main findings are as follows: First, the share of food in overall expenditures is declining. Second, quantities consumed per capita are increasing. Third, the relative importance of cereals is on the decline. Fourth, there are large differences in the cereal basket of households between rural and urban areas, indicating the importance of increasing urbanization on the food economy. Fifth, cereals – and in particular maize – remain the largest source of calories in the food basket. Sixth, there is a relative shift in consumption to more expensive foods. Seventh, purchased foods are seemingly becoming more important. Finally, there are strong differences in food consumption by income level, but all levels exhibit changes over time. This diet transformation has important implications for the food security debate and for agricultural and food policy in the country.


The Australian Capital Territory is a treasure trove for naturalists, despite being without a coastline, without rainforest or without deserts. A wealth of biodiversity is found there, due to the close proximity of three major habitat types: the great western woodland grassy plains bump up against the inland edge of the coastal hinterland mountain forests, while the whole south-eastern Australian Alps system reaches its northern limit in the Brindabella Ranges. Each of these habitats has its own rich suite of plants and animals, so a great diversity of life can be found within an hour's drive of Parliament House.

A Bush Capital Year introduces the fauna, flora, habitats and reserves of the Australian Capital Territory and includes the most recent research available. It also emphasises often unappreciated or even unrecognised urban wildlife.

For each month of the year there are 10 stories which discuss either a species or a group of species, such as mosses and mountain grasshoppers. While never anthropomorphic, many of the stories are written from the organism's point of view, while others are from that of an observer. Beautiful paintings complement the text and allow better visualisation of the stories and the subjects.

2011 Whitley Award Commendation for Regional Natural History.


The root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita , is one of the most important pest on many crops, such as coffee, pepper, vegetables, etc. Firstly, the root-knot nematode populations were collected on corn in Krong Nang (Dak Lak province) and analyzed in comparision with other root-knot nematodes on morphology, ITS sequencing and specific primers. The results confirmed that the corn root-knot nematode population is M. incognita species. The study also added variations of different M. incognita populations on different host plants in the morphological characteristics. PCR product with specific primers for M. incognita is 1000 bp. The genetic diversity based on ITS-rDNA sequencing the M. incognita populations, and between populations of M. incognita , M. javanica and M. arenaria were very low. Citation: Le Thi Mai Linh, Nguyen Thi Duyen, Nguyen Huu Tien, Trinh Quang Phap, 2017. First record of Meloidogyne incognita on maize ( Zea mays L.) in western highland, Vietnam. Tap chi Sinh hoc, 39(1): 15-23. DOI:  10.15625/0866-7160/v39n1. 7229. *Corresponding author: email@example.com. Received 3 October 2015 , accepted 20 March 2017


Told with a hard-edged purity that brings to mind Cormac McCarthy and Denis Johnson, American Son is the story of two Filipino brothers adrift in contemporary California. The older brother, Tomas, fashions himself into a Mexican gangster and breeds pricey attack dogs, which he trains in German and sells to Hollywood celebrities. The narrator is younger brother Gabe, who tries to avoid the tar pit of Tomas's waywardness, yet moves ever closer to embracing it. Their mother, who moved to America to escape the caste system of Manila and is now divorced from their American father, struggles to keep her sons in line while working two dead-end jobs. When Gabe runs away, he brings shame and unforeseen consequences to the family. Full of the ache of being caught in a violent and alienating world, American Son is a debut novel that captures the underbelly of the modern immigrant experience.


The possibility to minimize volatility of the systematic risk while maximizing returns, is the use of an optimized buy long/sell short strategy that takes into account, that the market model is kinky. The equation of the market model – including a beta plus for increasing markets and a beta minus for descending markets – seems to be more qualified for this reason. The following approach shows the derivation of equations for an optimal configuration of a mix of stocks. These equations and some examples and figures of optimized portfolios – including some tests of significance – support strategies for investments in leveraged portfolios also. The approach seems to modify the meaning of "nondiversifiable-risk" of the market risk.


Autobiographical texts are rare in the Sephardi world. Gabriel Arie's writings provide a special perspective on the political, economic, and cultural changes undergone by the Eastern Sephardi community in the decades before its dissolution, in regions where it had been constituted since the expulsion from Spain in 1492. His history is a fascinating memoir of the Sephardi and Levantine bourgeoisie of the time. For his entire life, Arie-teacher, historian, community leader, and businessman-was caught between East and West. Born in a small provincial town in Ottoman Bulgaria in 1863, he witnessed the disappearance of a social and political order that had lasted for centuries and its replacement by new ideas and new ways of life, which would irreversibly transform Jewish existence. A Sephardi Life in Southeastern Europe publishes in full the autobiography (covering the years 1863-1906) and journal (1906-39) of Gabriel Arie, along with selections from his letters to the Alliance Israelite Universelle. An introduction by Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue analyzes his life and examines the general and the Jewish contexts of the Levant at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries.


Coming from one of Africa's most experienced diplomats, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah's call for a EU backed security framework in the Sahel constitutes an important signal. As the author notes, the EU and its member states have vested interests in the region's stability, including countering the establishment of terrorist safe havens, drug trafficking, organised crime, unchecked migration and safeguarding access to strategic resources. As a response to these challenges the EU adopted a "Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel" in early 2011. But despite a number of operations (in Mali and Niger and support to the Malian elections) the strategy lacks political clout and engagement – with the exception of France – by EU states remains lacklustre.


The growing use of outsourcing and the breaking up of various production functions affecting both intra-firm and inter-firm transactions and resulting in strong de-agglomeration pressures are taking place in the international economy. These processes, combined with inherent characteristics of small economies – and generally leading to weaknesses in their innovation system –, have become the key challenge for many small economies. The study looks at the case of Estonia, a Baltic economy in the North-East of Europe, and provides an analysis of the firm-level datasets of the 30 largest companies, both overall as well as manufacturing only. The findings suggest that the role of the largest companies in the economy is both important and increasing; that the number of those who apply advanced business models and who are connected with the local science, technology and innovation community remains limited; and that business models built around cost advantages are most severely challenged.


This work arose form my research to find people's personal frequencies and to improve the effectiveness of therapy with music by tuning prominent notes in the music to match these frequencies.

These are early results and must be considered tentative, until confirmed with more subjects and under better controlled conditions.

In my work in Attune to Health, applying music in a high tech way for therapy, I originally used the methods of Applied Kinesiology to assess relative muscle tone, in response to music to assess whether the music seemed to be suitable therapeutically. Then almost accidentally. and to my surprise I found that, muscle tone was very strong at certain narrowly defined frequencies, and conversely very weak at slightly off these frequencies. In fact the frequency had to be correct to within 0.1% which corresponds to about 1/60 th of a semitone. This tiny difference of pitch cannot be heard – it would need to be about 10 times that to be easily discernable under ordinary conditions – and yet certain muscles in the body have this large response.

I then found there is not just one frequency for a person but at least 11 and that these are spaced in a regular geometric pattern which is not related in any way to (at least Western) musical intervals.

Some very different pieces of music appear to show the same frequencies for a person, however, when correctly "tuned in" the relative strength of other muscles, e.g. individual fingers, appear to vary with the emotional affect of the music

There is also a time dependent effect. If one applies a slightly "wrong" frequency, 1/60th of a semitone too low, for say 2 minutes, the relevant muscle shows weak and it remains weak for perhaps 20 seconds after the "correct" frequency is applied. However if one instead of applying the 'correct' frequency, one applies one 1/60th of a semitone too high, the muscle goes strong within about 2 seconds; Naturally one must not leave this "wrong frequency" on for more than 10 seconds or so because it would cause the muscles to go weak.


This paper analyzes reactions and evaluations of 70 participants, native and non-native speakers of English to 32 errors written by learners of English as a second language, ESL. It investigates the effect of the academic attainment of ESL teachers on the evaluation of ESL error seriousness. The educational attainment of teachers, both native and non-native, include the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. Participants in the study include 34 non-native Palestinian ESL teachers, 26 English native speaking ESL teachers, and 10 English native speakers who are not teachers. Errors in this study are taken from compositions written by Arab-Palestinian students. Eight error categories including prepositions, concord, word order, plural, pronouns, spelling, vocabulary, and verb form are used. Four correct sentences are also included. All participants for the study had to underline errors and evaluate them by indicating the points from 0-5 they would deduct for each error; 5 indicates very serious errors; 0 is for error-free sentences; "1" is for errors which can easily be excused; "2", "3", and "4" are means to show intermediate degrees of seriousness. Results of the study show that the three academic groups differ in their evaluation of errors. Whereas the Ph.D. groups are the most lenient, the M.A. groups are the least tolerant. The non-teachers are the most tolerant of all groups.


Self-supervised learning has become increasingly important to leverage the abundance of unlabeled data available on platforms like YouTube. Whereas most existing approaches learn low-level representations, we propose a joint visual-linguistic model to learn high-level features without any explicit supervision. In particular, inspired by its recent success in language modeling, we build upon the BERT model to learn bidirectional joint distributions over sequences of visual and linguistic tokens, derived from vector quantization of video data and off-the-shelf speech recognition outputs, respectively. We use VideoBERT in numerous tasks, including action classification and video captioning. We show that it can be applied directly to open-vocabulary classification, and confirm that large amounts of training data and cross-modal information are critical to performance. Furthermore, we outperform the state-of-the-art on video captioning, and quantitative results verify that the model learns high-level semantic features.


Abstract. The number of vehicles in China has been increasing rapidly. We evaluate the impact of current and possible future vehicle emissions from China on Asian air quality. We modify the Regional Emission Inventory in Asia (REAS) for China's road transport sector in 2000 using updated Chinese data for the number of vehicles, annual mileage, and emission factors. We develop two scenarios for 2020: a scenario where emission factors remain the same as they were in 2000 (No-Policy, NoPol), and a scenario where Euro 3 vehicle emission standards are applied to all vehicles (except motorcycles and rural vehicles). The Euro 3 scenario is an approximation of what may be the case in 2020 as, starting in 2008, all new vehicles in China (except motorcycles) were required to meet the Euro 3 emission standards. Using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem), we examine the regional air quality response to China's vehicle emissions in 2000 and in 2020 for the NoPol and Euro 3 scenarios. We evaluate the 2000 model results with observations in Japan, China, Korea, and Russia. Under NoPol in 2020, emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), black carbon (BC), and organic carbon (OC) from China's vehicles more than double compared to the 2000 baseline. If all vehicles meet the Euro 3 regulations in 2020, however, these emissions are reduced by more than 50% relative to NoPol. The implementation of stringent vehicle emission standards leads to a large, simultaneous reduction of the surface ozone (O3) mixing ratios and particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. In the Euro 3 scenario, surface O3 is reduced by more than 10 ppbv and surface PM2.5 is reduced by more than 10 μg m−3 relative to NoPol in Northeast China in all seasons. In spring, surface O3 mixing ratios and PM2.5 concentrations in neighboring countries are also reduced by more than 3 ppbv and 1 μg m−3, respectively. We find that effective regulation of China's road transport sector will be of significant benefit for air quality both within China and across East Asia as well.


In recent years, interest on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has risen significantly in both the academic and business communities. This is confirmed by the growing number of conferences, journal publications, special issues and websites dedicated to the topic. Within this context, this paper reviews the existing literature related to decision-support tools and performance measurement for SSCM. A narrative literature review is carried out to capture qualitative evidence, while a systematic literature review is performed using classic bibliometric techniques to analyse the relevant body of knowledge identified in 384 papers published from 2000 to 2013. The key conclusions include: the evidence of a research field that is growing, the call for establishing the scope of current research, i.e. the need for integrated performance frameworks with new generation decision-support tools incorporating triple bottom line (TBL) approach for managing sustainable supply chains. There is a need to identify a wide range of specific industry-related TBL metrics and indexes, and assess their usefulness through empirical research and case-base analysis. We need mixed methods to thoroughly analyse and investigate sustainable aspects of the product life cycle across the supply chains, through empirical evidence, building and/or testing theory from and in practice.


We show that the dressed-atom approach provides a quantitative understanding of the main features of radiative dipole forces (mean value, fluctuations, velocity dependence) in the high-intensity limit where perturbative treatments are no longer valid. In an inhomogeneous laser beam, the energies of the dressed states vary in space, and this gives rise to dressed-state-dependent forces. Spontaneous transitions between dressed states lead to a multivalued instantaneous force fluctuating around a mean value. The velocity dependence of the mean force is related to the modification, induced by the atomic motion, of the population balance between the different dressed states. The corresponding modification of the atomic energy is associated with a change of the fluorescence spectrum emitted by the atom. The particular case of atomic motion in a standing wave is investigated, and two regimes are identified in which the mean dipole force averaged over a wavelength exhibits a simple velocity dependence. The large values of this force achievable with reasonable laser powers are pointed out with view to slowing down atoms with dipole


The cysteine-rich proteins of Arabidopsis egg and central cells enable fusion with just one sperm each. Double fertilization is a defining feature of flowering plants and involves two nonmotile male gametes (sperm cells) and two female gametes (egg cell and central cell). Both fertilization events are necessary for reproductive success. It is not clear how flowering plants ensure the reliable and on-time fusion of the two pairs of gametes while preventing polyspermy. Sprunck et al. (see the Perspective by Snell) now show that gamete interactions in Arabidopsis depend on small cysteine-rich EC1 proteins that accumulate in storage vesicles of the egg cell and that are released during sperm-egg interaction. EC1 peptides trigger the delivery of a fusogen to the sperm cell surface. An intercellular link connects the two sperm cells throughout the gamete fusion process and could play a role in preventing the spontaneous fusion of activated sperm cells. S. Sprunck, S. Rademacher, F. Vogler, J. Gheyselinck, U. Grossniklaus, T. Dresselhaus, Egg cell–secreted EC1 triggers sperm cell activation during double fertilization. Science 338, 1093–1096 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text] W. J. Snell, Plant gametes do fertilization with a twist. Science 338, 1038–1039 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The main aim of the LifeLong Learning in London for All (L4All) project was to support lifelong learners in the London region, providing them with access to information and resources that facilitates their progression from Secondary Education, through to Further Education (FE) and on into Higher Education. In order to achieve this aim, the main objective of the project was to develop and evaluate a system that allows learners to access information and resources registered with the system by their providers, to plan their own learning pathways, to share experiences with their peers, and to maintain and reflect on their learning throughout life. The functionality of the system would be accessed by a Web Portal and would be provided, as much as possible, by existing JISC-funded tools and services compliant with the JISC E-Learning Framework and service-oriented architecture.


The research work which has been reported in this thesis is associated with the design of an energy absorbing device. The device as well as being capable to absorb high amount of energy, possess all the necessary properties of a structural member. Most energy absorbing devices have not the necessary conditions to be used as a structural members. Their problems have been demonstrated in chapter 1 and chapter 3 of the this thesis. In order to overcome these problems an alternative kind of energy absorbing device, has been proposed. The inversion of tubes has been proposed as the basic of the work. This is a wellknown energy-absorbing principle and has been widely used in industry and many mechanical engineering cases as the basic of design. However, the device has some disadvantages and these required improvement. The following steps have been taken to improve the energy absorbing characteristics: 1- Normally the energy absorbing capacity of the device is limited due to buckling. This problem has been improved by including an adhesive within the device. 2- The second problem in this energy-absorbing device is that its elastic stiffness is very low and this is unacceptable for a structural member. The elastic stiffness has been improved by forming a stiff shell at the top of the tube. 3- The device undergoes a significant change in length during the energy absorbing process and if it is not compensated in some way, the device will be useless in the subsequent cycles of vibration. A special mechanism has been installed in the device to solve this problem. This enables the deformation to be compensated after the absorption process. Two major applications for the device have been considered to be studied in the thesis: First because of its special response at high speed loading, it has been installed in a simply supported framework. The middle member of this framework has been replaced by the energy absorbing device and the behaviour of the framework has been analysed under an explosive load. In order to determine the advantages of the installation of this device in a framework, this framework has also been analysed without the inclusion of the device. The comparison of these results showed that when the framework is equipped with the absorber, a great reduction in the forces and strains of the members of the framework have been achieved. The framework has become 2.5 times stronger, when just one device was used in the frame. In the second application of the device, its behaviour has been studied as an absorber of a first soft story method. The first soft story is one of the ideas which has been presented for the isolation of buildings from earthquake effects, however, no proper absorber has been suggested to be used in this method. This device has an excellent performance in this regard, because of its shortening ability and its compact form along with its high energy absorbing capacity. Two energy absorbing devices were inserted in the braces of a single degree freedom structure and subjected to a high rate base acceleration. For a comparison, the behaviour of the frame, when it was not equipped with the devices, was also analysed. The results indicated that by the inclusion of the absorber, the acceleration has been decreased more than three times. The forces in the members were also three times less than the frame without the device. Finally, the behaviour of a multi story building has been examined when it was equipped with two energy absorbing device in the braces of the first floor. The results showed that a great reduction in the accelerations, velocities and also the forces and moments has been achieved, as was the case in the previous example. By using this absorber in the braces, the accelerations and velocities were four times less than the case which the frame did not include any absorber. In simple words, this energy absorber is similar to the dampers, which are used in the vehicles to reduce vibrations, but with this difference that the dampers in the car are active all the time while this damper is activated only when a high rate loading is applied.


Thyroid carcinomas are the most common endocrine tumors in humans, with a globally increasing incidence. Differentiated tumors, such as papillary (PTC) and follicular (FTC) thyroid cancers, are often curable with surgical resection and radiotherapy, whereas undifferentiated (anaplastic) thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is invariably lethal, due to the high invasiveness and insensitivity to radioiodine or chemotherapeutic treatment. Little is known about the molecular events that lead from the highly curable differentiated tumors to the very aggressive ATC. Through, a cDNA microarray analysis on different thyroid tumors we have isolated Twist1 as a gene upregulated in ATC. Twist1 is a highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that plays an important role in the development and progression of human cancer. Twist1 has been associated with epithelial-tomesenchymal transition (EMT) a key step during embryonic morphogenesis and in the progression of primary tumors toward metastasis. In this dissertation, we have shown that approximately 50% of ATCs upregulate Twist1 with respect to normal thyroids as well as to poorly- and well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas. Knockdown of Twist1 by RNA interference in ATC cells reduced cell migration and invasion and increased sensitivity to apoptosis. The ectopic expression of Twist1 in thyroid cells induced resistance to apoptosis and increased cell migration and invasion. To understand the molecular mechanisms through which Twist1 exert is biological effects in thyroid cancer cells, we have performed a microarray analysis of thyroid cancer cells ectopically expressing Twist1 in comparison to vector control cells. We have identified a set of 20 genes involved in migration, invasion and apoptosis; expression levels of these genes changed upon Twist1 overexpression or knockdown. Silencing of 5 of the 20 target genes reduced viability of thyroid cancer cells overexpressing Twist1. Thus, our data suggest that Twist1 plays a key role in determining malignant features of the anaplastic phenotype and identifies a set of Twist1 target genes that could be used as molecular target for the therapy of ATC.


Method: The purpose of this research is applied research and based on the method of data collection, there is a descriptive (non-experimental) survey. The main tool for collecting data is the check list. The reliability of the check list was 0.854 by Cronbach's alpha, which indicates the reliability of the check list and the validity of the check list was confirmed through content validity and structural validity. The statistical population consists of 31 provincial portals affiliated with public libraries. RESULTS: The results of the research indicate that the quality of the system of the portal of public libraries has been lower than expected and the quality of the information portal of the public libraries institution has been higher than expected and also the quality of the public libraries portal services has been lower than expected. Conclusion: What is called the public libraries portal is a website and, of course, these news websites are very up-to-date and active in the field of news. And somehow they can be called news websites. Of course, according to the research findings of some provinces (such as East Azarbaijan province and Ardebil), they can be used as a template by providing scientific and educational materials and applying attractive design.


Magnetic beads (MB) have now proven to be a powerful tool in both research and biomedical applications. They are available in a wide range of sizes (from nm to several µm) and their surface can be modified with molecules having biological specificities and functions. The large choice of functionalization developed over the last few years covers non-specific interactions such as ionic or hydrophobic ones, as well as group-specific interactions, like immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and, finally, specific interactions such as antigen-antibody recognition. In microfluidics, where the goals are faster reaction time and reduced sample consumption, MB offer many advantages. Firstly, compared to an open microchannel or an empty capillary, a packed bed of beads increases the specific surface available for molecule binding. The diffusion pathway is thus significantly reduced, improving interactions between molecules. Moreover, in comparison to classical beads, they are easily manipulated by electromagnets or permanent magnets. For these reasons, in this work they were chosen to act as a solid support in a view of performing immunoassays. As the literature often focuses mainly either on the applications or on very advanced studies that are not accessible to a non-specialist, it was difficult to find information on the magnetic aspects such as the kind of magnets, their number, their size or their arrangement. First, a background study was dedicated to the understanding of some basic magnetic aspects. The effect of the magnet shape or the size on the magnetic induction and the magnetic force was explored theoretically. Numerical simulations showed the strength and location of the magnetic forces versus three simple magnet configurations: two magnets in attraction/repulsion or a single magnet and the results were corroborated by microscopical visualizations. With this knowledge, it was then possible to enhance the magnetic force. Indeed, if the magnetic force produced is too weak, magnetic beads are unpredictably lost, resulting in poorly reproducible results. Concretely, a new magnet configuration using ring magnets, which are disks drilled along their magnetization axis, was studied to increase the magnetic force in a capillary, giving the opportunity to work at higher flow rates and consequently decrease the experimental time. This configuration also makes possible the formation of a chain of magnets alternating with non-magnetic spacers like a string of pearls, increasing in a controllable manner the surface available for molecule binding. Adsorption is a fundamental process in immunoassays. As antibodies are expensive reagents and as diagnostic tests should be as least invasive as possible for the patient, volumes should be reduced to their minimum. It is thus essential to optimize adsorption by choosing the right experimental parameters. In order to help the experimenter, an abacus representation was proposed showing, for a given surface coverage, the required binding time versus the flow velocity in a microchannel with known dimensions. Then, the question of knowing if the amount of analyte adsorbed is increased with a surface divided into small patches relative to a continuous surface for an equal total length was raised. Then, the question of the amount of beads trapped was handled as it also relates to the sensitivity of the technique. In a capillary, the number of magnetic beads possibly trapped is limited, particularly in small diameter capillaries, e.g. 25 µm, as the capillary is rapidly blocked as the plug size increases. In this work, a simple bubble cell was used as a very convenient magnetic bead trap where a large amount of beads can be spatially immobilized without inducing a strong pressure drop, as it is the case when magnetic beads are trapped in a standard capillary. Finally, a sandwich-type immunoassay using magnetic beads was developed for total IgE quantification in serum using the Gravi™-Cell device from DiagnoSwiss. After the determination of the optimal conditions, the method was successfully applied to the measurement of total IgE in a patient serum sample with a concentration in the same range as those determined previously by two other methods.


More recent concerns have been raised about the biological effects of all different weak magnetic fields (MFs) with the development of electric device era and information era. The biological effects due to weak MFs just like a hypomagnetic field (HMF) or near-null magnetic field is a very important subject for aerospace traveling and space station living. A large number of studies on the biological effects of other weak MFs have been carried out. The biological effects of different weak MFs can be negative or positive. Many mechanisms to explain the bioeffects of weak MFs have been given. Are there possible common mechanisms of the different biological effects in different weak MFs ? It's unbelievable and sound impossible at first sight that different bioeffects of different weak MFs have common mechanisms. But possible common mechanisms can exist. In this study, the author proposes the relations between the singlet yield of the radical pair and the weak MFs are the possible common mechanisms. Giving one possible common mechanism of bioeffects of all different weak MFs including impulsed ones is the first to the author's known. Here, the weak MFs are ones that cannot produce thermal bioeffects not only limited below 1mT.


Diseases of marine organisms, and corals in particular, have been reported with increas- ing frequency over the past 3 decades. Although little is known about resistance to disease in corals, a potential mechanism of defense is the production of antimicrobial compounds that protect corals from microbial pathogens. We assessed the antibacterial activity of crude aqueous extracts from 3 common Hawaiian reef corals, Montipora capitata, Porites lobata, and Pocillopora meandrina, against 9 strains of bacteria. The bacteria selected included known coral pathogens, potential marine pathogens found in human waste, and bacteria previously identified from the surfaces of Hawaiian corals. Extracts from all 3 coral species exhibited high levels of antibacterial activity. Overall, 54.3% of assays resulted in bacterial growth inhibition. In addition, 9.9% of extracts stimulated the growth of certain bacteria. Although levels of overall antibacterial activity did not differ significantly among coral species (ranging from 40.7% of assays for P. meandrina to 63.0% of assays for M. capitata), the 3 species exhibited a high degree of selectivity as demonstrated by significant variability in their effects toward specific bacteria. Extracts also exhibited intraspecific variability, both within and between sites, and significant site-by-species interactions were observed against 6 of 9 bacterial strains. In M. capitata, healthy corals had significantly higher levels of antibacterial activity than those affected by Montipora White Syndrome, and affected tissues had significantly higher levels of antibacterial activity than unaffected tissues. Variability in antibacterial activity of Hawaiian corals may, in part, explain differential susceptibility to disease at the colony, species, or population level.


We describe in this paper the recent advances in spectral nodal methods applied to diffusion problems in Cartesian geometry for neutron multiplying systems. In particular, we present a constant spectral nodal method for two-energy group X,Y geometry applied to neutron diffusion eigenvalue problems. We consider an arbitrary rectangular spatial grid defined on a two-dimensional rectangular domain and we use a transverse integration procedure to transform the two-dimensional problem into two 'one-dimensional' problems wherein the transverse leakage terms are approximated by constants. As a result, we obtain the transverse-integrated constant nodal diffusion equations that we discretise using the spectral nodal method. The discretised balance diffusion equations together with appropriate auxiliary equations, continuity and boundary conditions form the two-energy group X,Y geometry spectral constant nodal diffusion equations. The auxiliary equations have parameters that are to be determined such that the analytical general solutions of the transverse-integrated constant nodal diffusion equations are preserved. We show numerical results to illustrate the method's accuracy for coarse-mesh calculations in homogeneous and heterogeneous domains.


The auditory attention skills of alterting, orienting, and executive control were assessed using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques. Initially, an auditory analgue of the visual attention network test (ANT) (FAN, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002) was created and tested alongside the visual ANT in a group of 40 healthy subjects. The results from this study showed similarities between auditory and visual spatial orienting. An fMRI study was conducted to investigate whether the similar behavioural measures of auditory and visual executive control were the result of common cortical mechanisms. The results were consistent with a supramodal anterior network involved in conflict monitoring and resolution. Auditory orienting of attention was investigated through a series of behavioural experiments. The first investigated listeners' ability to benefit from cues to location, to pitch, and to both location and pitch, in a vowel-identification task. Subjects were able to benefit from all three types of cues but did not gain additive benefit from being cued to both location and pitch, suggesting that attention was being directed to an auditory object comprising both features. The following seven experiments investigated auditory spatial orienting in non-spatial tasks. These experiments revealed a robust exogenous (automatic) auditory orienting effect, which was relatively insensitive to task differences. However, endogenous (voluntary) auditory orienting effects were small and highly variable across subjects. It is hypothesised that differences between auditory and visual spatial orienting reflect the relative importance of spatial information in the two modalities, and differences in the neural coding of auditory and visual spatial information.


Hail is the costliest atmospheric hazard in Switzerland, causing substantial damage to agriculture, cars and buildings every year. In this study, a 12‐year statistic of objectively identified cold fronts and a radar‐based hail statistic are combined to investigate the co‐occurrence of cold fronts and hail in Switzerland. In a first step, an automated front identification scheme, which has previously been designed for and applied to global reanalysis data, is modified for a high‐resolution regional analysis data set. This front detection method is then adapted, tested and applied to the Consortium for Small Scale Modelling (COSMO) analysis data for the extended hail season (May to September) in the years 2002–2013. The resulting cold front statistic is presented and discussed. In a second step, the frequency of cold fronts is linked to a high‐resolution radar‐based hail statistic to determine the relative fraction of hail initiation events in pre‐frontal environments. Up to 45% of all detected hail events in north‐eastern and southern Switzerland form in pre‐frontal zones. Similar fractions are identified upstream of the Jura and the Black Forest mountains. The percentage of front‐related hail formation is highest in regions where hail is statistically less frequent, with the exception of southern Switzerland. Furthermore, it is shown that fronts create wind‐sheared environments, which are favourable for hail cells.


Phosphatidylinositol 3 -kinase (PI3k) is implicated in a wide array of biological and pathophysiological responses. Thus, inhibiting molecules involved in its signal transduction pathway is a possible means of treating cancer. Our previous studies demonstrated that LY294002, a potent and selective PI3k inhibitor, decreases growth of ovarian carcinoma and ascites formation in an athymic mouse xenogeneic transplant model of ovarian cancer. However, the dose of LY294002 used to decrease tumor growth resulted in significant dermatological toxicity. We demonstrate herein that introduction of an active catalytic subunit of PI3k into an ovarian cancer cell line, and thus activation of the PI3k/AKT pathway, confers resistance to the effects of paclitaxel, one of the major drugs used in ovarian cancer therapy. The resistance to paclitaxel can be reversed in vitro by inhibition of PI3k. Therefore, we evaluated whether combined therapy with paclitaxel and LY294002 would result in increased efficacy and allow utilization of doses of LY294002 that do not induce dermatological toxicity. Two weeks after i.p. inoculation with OVCAR-3 ovarian cancer cells, mice were treated i.p. with LY294002 plus paclitaxel, each three times weekly on alternate days, for 4 weeks. Tumor burden in the LY294002 paclitaxel, LY 294002 alone, and paclitaxel alone groups was reduced by 80% (P < 0.01), 38% (P < 0.05), and 51% (P < 0.05), respectively, compared with controls. Virtually no ascites developed in the combined treatment group; mean volume of ascites in the controls was 3.7 ml. Treatment with LY294002 alone reduced ascites by 70% (P < 0.01), whereas paclitaxel alone reduced ascites slightly but not significantly. No dermatological lesions or weight loss were observed in any treatment group. In vivo and in vitro morphological studies demonstrated that inhibition of PI3k enhanced paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in the human ovarian cancers. Our data suggest that a combination of a PI3k inhibitor and conventional chemotherapy may provide an effective approach to inhibiting tumor growth and ascites production in ovarian cancer with acceptable side effects.


This study uses a generalized additive mixed-effects regression model to predict lexical differences in Tuscan dialects with respect to standard Italian. We used lexical information for 170 concepts used by 2,060 speakers in 213 locations in Tuscany. In our model, geographical position was found to be an important predictor, with locations more distant from Florence having lexical forms more likely to differ from standard Italian. In addition, the geographical pattern varied significantly for low- versus high-frequency concepts and older versus younger speakers. Younger speakers generally used variants more likely to match the standard language. Several other factors emerged as significant. Male speakers as well as farmers were more likely to use lexical forms different from standard Italian. In contrast, higher-educated speakers used lexical forms more likely to match the standard. The model also indicates that lexical variants used in smaller communities are more likely to differ from standard Italian. The impact of community size, however, varied from concept to concept. For a majority of concepts, lexical variants used in smaller communities are more likely to differ from the standard Italian form. For a minority of concepts, however, lexical variants used in larger communities are more likely to differ from standard Italian. Similarly, the effect of the other community- and speaker-related predictors varied per concept. These results clearly show that the model succeeds in teasing apart different forces influencing the dialect landscape and helps us to shed light on the complex interaction between the standard Italian language and the Tuscan dialectal varieties. In addition, this study illustrates the potential of generalized additive mixed-effects regression modeling applied to dialect data.


The lack of better performing native fish species for aquaculture led the government of Malawi to import the exotic common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) from Israel in 1976. Growth trials at Domasi and Kasinthula Experimental Stations had shown that common carp grew faster and to a larger size than the indigenous fish species. The government decided to distribute the fish to farmers for grow-out. Barely five years into common carp distribution to farmers, the government reversed its policy and banned the use of the species in aquaculture. The government not only became unpopular but also lost the confidence of the farmers who had begun to see positive impacts of common carp to their livelihoods. The farmers are as unconvinced today as they were before with the reasons behind the banning of common carp. This paper explores the background to common carp farming in Malawi, why the fish was later banned, and the impacts of the fish's ban on the status of Malawi's aquaculture. The paper further highlights the farmers' call for a return of common carp to Malawi's aquaculture and the research needed to be undertaken to inform government's policy for the development of a sustainable aquaculture industry in Malawi.

 Key words: Aquaculture, common carp, fish introduction, exotic fish, Malawi.


To verify whether a program uses resources in a valid manner is vital for program correctness. A number of solutions have been proposed to ensure such a property for resource usage. But most of them are sophisticated to use for resource bugs detection in practice and do not concern about the issue that an opened resource should be used. This open-but-not-used problem can cause resource starvation in some case as well. In particular, resources of smartphones are not only scarce but also energy-hungry. The misuse of resources could not only cause the system to run out of resources but also lead to a shorter battery life. That is the so-call energy leak problem. Aiming to provide a lightweight method and to detect as many resource bugs as possible, we propose a statetaint analysis in this paper. First, take the open-but-not-used problem into account, we specify the appropriate usage of resources as resource protocols. Then we propose a taint-like analysis which takes resource protocols as a guide to detect resource bugs. As an application, we enrich the resource usage protocols by taking into account energy leaks and use the refined protocols to guide the analysis for energy leak detection. We implement the analysis as a prototype tool called statedroid. Using this tool, we conduct experiments on several real Android applications and find several energy leaks.


Constrained fitting for airfoil curvature smoothing (CFACS) is a splinebased method of interpolating airfoil surface coordinates (and, concomitantly, airfoil thicknesses) between specified discrete design points so as to obtain smoothing of surface-curvature profiles in addition to basic smoothing of surfaces. CFACS was developed in recognition of the fact that the performance of a transonic airfoil is directly related to both the curvature profile and the smoothness of the airfoil surface. Older methods of interpolation of airfoil surfaces involve various compromises between smoothing of surfaces and exact fitting of surfaces to specified discrete design points. While some of the older methods take curvature profiles into account, they nevertheless sometimes yield unfavorable results, including curvature oscillations near end points and substantial deviations from desired leading-edge shapes. In CFACS as in most of the older methods, one seeks a compromise between smoothing and exact fitting. Unlike in the older methods, the airfoil surface is modified as little as possible from its original specified form and, instead, is smoothed in such a way that the curvature profile becomes a smooth fit of the curvature profile of the original airfoil specification. CFACS involves a combination of rigorous mathematical modeling and knowledge-based heuristics. Rigorous mathematical formulation provides assurance of removal of undesirable curvature oscillations with minimum modification of the airfoil geometry. Knowledge-based heuristics bridge the gap between theory and designers best practices. In CFACS, one of the measures of the deviation of an airfoil surface from smoothness is the sum of squares of the jumps in the third derivatives of a cubicspline interpolation of the airfoil data. This measure is incorporated into a formulation for minimizing an overall deviation- from-smoothness measure of the airfoil data within a specified fitting error tolerance. CFACS has been extensively tested on a number of supercritical airfoil data sets generated by inverse design and optimization computer programs. All of the smoothing results show that CFACS is able to generate unbiased smooth fits of curvature profiles, trading small modifications of geometry for increasing curvature smoothness by eliminating curvature oscillations and bumps (see figure).


At the heart of a global crisis over news media credibility and trust is Britain's so-called Hackgate scandal involving the widespread allegations of phone-hacking and corruption against the now defunct Rupert Murdoch tabloid newspaper News Of The World. Major inquiries on media ethics, professionalism and accountability have been examining the state of the press in New Zealand, Britain and Australia. The Murdoch media empire has stretched into the South Pacific with the sale of one major title being forced by political pressure. The role of news media in global South nations and the declining credibility of some sectors of the developed world's Fourth Estate also pose challenges for the future of democracy. Truth, censorship, ethics and corporate integrity are increasingly critical media issues in the digital age for a region faced with coups, conflicts and human rights violations, such as in Fiji and West Papua. In this monograph, Professor David Robie reflects on the challenges in the context of the political economy of the media and journalism education in the Asia-Pacific region. He also engages with emerging disciplines such as deliberative journalism, peace journalism, human rights journalism, and revisits notions of critical development journalism and citizen journalism.


Judges and jurists view copyright infringement as a singular legal wrong, a.k.a. the tort of copyright infringement. In recent years, commentators have expressed mounting concern about the judicial test for this tort. Courts have no unified method for determining whether two works are substantially similar. The fair use doctrine is so unpredictable that some find it nothing more than the "right to hire a lawyer." And while some judges treat infringement as a property tort, like trespass or conversion, others think of it as an economic tort, like unfair competition. Scholars therefore find the test for infringement – copyright's "infringement analysis" - to be inconsistent and incoherent. This Article provides a revised positive theory of copyright that clarifies the infringement test. The Article argues that copyright infringement is not one singular tort, but a group of torts. Using an analytic jurisprudential method, the Article "unbundles" infringement into five "copy-torts" called consumer copying, competitor copying, expressive privacy invasion, artistic reputation injury, and breach of creative control. Because copyright infringement is not one tort there cannot be one single infringement test. Instead, copyright's basic infringement analysis mutates doctrinally and theoretically to provide a unique legal test for each of the copy-torts. The variation in the infringement analysis is not necessarily inconsistent or incoherent, but enables courts to test for the different copy-torts. Understanding the different copy-torts will therefore make the infringement analysis more predictable. Not only will practitioners better foresee how courts will apply the test to their cases, but also judges are provided with a guide to applying the correct legal standards in infringement actions. To make the analysis even more predictable, the Article proposes a method of adjudicating hard cases that will help courts conceptually separate the copy-torts, thus ensuring they apply the correct legal tests in the future.


The detailed mathematical study of the recent paper by Sajjadi, Hunt and Drullion (2014) is pre- sented. The mathematical developement considered by them, for unsteady growing monochro- matic waves is also extended to Stokes waves. The present contribution also demonstrates agree- ment with the pioneering work of Belcher and Hunt (1993) which is valid in the limit of the complex part of the wave phase speed \c_i \downarrow 0. It is further shown that the energy-transfer parameter and the surface shear stress for a Stokes wave reverts to a monochromatic wave when the second harmonic is excluded. Furthermore, the present theory can be used to estimate the amount of energy transferred to each component of nonlinear surface waves on deep water from a turbulent shear flow blowing over it. Finally, it is demonstrated that in the presence of turbulent eddy viscosity the Miles (1957) critical layer does not play an important role. Thus, it is concluded that in the limit of zero growth rate the effect of the wave growth arises from the elevated critical layer by finite turbulent diffusivity, so that the perturbed flow and the drag force is determined by the asymmetric and sheltering flow in the surface shear layer and its matched interaction with the upper region.


The Hartmann test is a well-known technique for testing large telescope mirrors. The Hartmann technique samples the wave front under analysis by use of a screen of uniformly spaced array of holes located at the pupil plane. The traditional technique used to gather quantitative data requires the measurement of the centroid of these holes as imaged near the paraxial focus. The deviation from its unaberrated uniform position is proportional to the slope of the wave-front asphericity. The centroid estimation is normally done manually with the aid of a microscope or a densitometer; however, newer automatic fringe-processing techniques that use the synchronous detection technique or the Fourier phase-estimation method may also be used. Here we propose a new technique based on a regularized phase-tracking (RPT) system to detect the transverse aberration in Hartmanngrams in a direct way. That is, it takes the dotted pattern of the Hartmanngram as input, and as output the RPT system gives the unwrapped transverse ray aberration in just one step. Our RPT is compared with the synchronous and the Fourier methods, which may be regarded as its closest competitors.


The analytical methods of isolation and description of the resonance components of partial modes in scattering problems of acoustic, elastic, and electromagnetic waves are set forth. The results of these methods' applications are presented and their effectiveness is discussed. For some particular cases the exactness of the results obtained can be estimated as well. The following methods are considered: gradient of the phase, utilization of impedance type intermediate backgrounds, Argand diagram method, and pole evaluation on the frequency complex plane for a fixed mode order. The methods can be even used for rather complicated situations: for very narrow and rather broad resonances, near the point of intersection of the dispersion curves of phase velocities, and for very close situated resonances. The illustrative examples are given for the problems of scattering of bodies of spherical and cylindrical shape. The resonances are isolated for waves of different physical nature: diffracted (Franz type), normal (Lamb type), shear, Rayleigh type, and whispering gallery. With the properly computed modal resonances one can immediately obtain the dispersion curves of the phase and group velocities of every wave, and construct the acoustic spectrogram of the scatterer. Jointly with the well‐known experimental methods, the described ones form the basis for ultrasonic spectroscopy.


This article focuses on the experience of the Internet user with regard to purchasing goods and services. A self-administered survey, hosted on a dedicated website, was used as a data collection method and 1005 responses were received. It was found that the period of Internet usage significantly influenced the decision to purchase via the Internet. Another finding was that the period of Internet usage significantly influenced whether those shopping on the Internet searched for, or considered searching for, product and service information online prior to purchasing from non-Internet-based sellers.


This document defines the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), an
authentication framework which supports multiple authentication
methods. EAP typically runs directly over data link layers such as
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) or IEEE 802, without requiring IP. EAP
provides its own support for duplicate elimination and retransmission,
but is reliant on lower layer ordering guarantees. Fragmentation is
not supported within EAP itself; however, individual EAP methods may
support this. This document obsoletes RFC 2284. A summary of the
changes between this document and RFC 2284 is available in Appendix A.
[STANDARDS-TRACK]


A dilute solution of potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate induces oviposition in artificial eggs by the egg parasitoids Trichogramma pretiosum and T. minutum. The ability to obtain large numbers of eggs through the use of this inexpensive solution is a major advance toward the development of diets and the large-scale production of Trichogramma spp. in vitro.


In Crypto 1997, Goldreich, Goldwasser and Halevi (GGH) proposed a lattice analogue of McEliece public key cryptosystem, which security is related to the hardness of approximating the closest vector problem (CVP) in a lattice. Furthermore, they also described how to use the same principle of their encryption scheme to provide a signature scheme. Practically, this cryptosystem uses the euclidean norm, l2- norm, which has been used in many algorithms based on lattice theory. Nonetheless, many drawbacks have been studied and these could lead to cryptanalysis of the scheme. In this paper, we present a novel method of reducing a vector under the l∞-norm and propose a digital signature scheme based on it. Our scheme takes advantage of the l∞-norm to increase the resistance of the GGH scheme and to decrease the signature length. Furthermore, after some other improvements, we obtain a very efficient signature scheme, that trades the security level, speed and space.


What is law as minor jurisprudence? Existing scholarship around the concept of minor jurisprudence associates it with processes that start something, found something, or stand outside something and, further, with processes that conceal or erase. To seek to clarify the meaning and effect of the phrase '"law as" ... minor jurisprudence', I consider cases of mistake that, as legal speech acts, transform a state of affairs. In Part I, I use JL Austin's theory about speech acts to analyse how speech can be mistaken and how such mistakes may transform states of affairs, using cases of encounters between Indigenous, settler, and international legal orders. In Part II, I survey the debut of the Trump administration as a possible site of minor jurisprudence. Informed by this study of mistakes that help make minor jurisprudence, my investigation suggests that: 1) minor jurisprudence requires major jurisprudence to be cognizable; 2) little intrinsic to the concept of minor jurisprudence offers normative guidance; and 3) the idea of law as minor jurisprudence may be a mistake. If 'law as' is understood as a practice of legal knowledge, what matters is the process of drawing the line between major and minor, not the minor itself. This journal article is available in Law Text Culture: http://ro.uow.edu.au/ltc/vol21/iss1/13 276 0000LLaw Text Culture Vol 21 2017 Law as Minor Jurisprudence:


Renewable energy generation, and distributed solar generation in particular, has made considerable progress over the last few years. The sector has benefited from a flexible tax policy and incentives regime, which have helped develop the sector to be an important part of the energy portfolio mix for utilities and distributed generation. The sector faces considerable hurdles going forward as policy schemes are set to expire that could affect capital availability from traditional sources, as tax and other incentives expire. A need for alternative capital sources is key to the long-term growth of the sector. Solar-structured transactions, within a capital markets securitization approach, can help increase the penetration of solar energy. In this article, the author provides an introduction to solar finance, explains the components in a solar power purchase agreement (PPA), develops an investment thesis for solar transactions, discusses the challenges in developing a new market, outlines key risk issues of concern to rating agencies, discusses new solar-financing models, and explains the basics of solar securitization, including the rationale, the credit process, and the structures. A liquid, transparent, and standardized process for solar PPA securitization (and solar leases) will benefit all stakeholders by providing transparency, broader appeal to investors, lower costs, and wider access to capital, resulting in broader adoption of solar energy by consumers and commercial customers.


Sums, or amalgamations, of two abelian ordered groups with a subgroup amalgamated are constructed in two ways. These constructions are used to investigate the structure of the class of all amalgamations with the given groups and subgroup fixed, where the class is partially ordered in a natural way. In particular, necessary and sufficient conditions are found for there to be (a) exactly one amalgamation, up to equivalence, and (b) exactly one minimal amalgamation, up to equivalence.


This study investigates the low-frequency components of observed monthly river flow from a large number of small catchments in Europe. The low-frequency components, defined as fluctuations on time scales longer than one year, were analysed both with respect to their dominant space-time patterns as well as their contribution to the variance of monthly runoff. The analysis of observed streamflow and corresponding time series of precipitation and temperature, showed that the fraction of low-frequency variance of runoff is on average larger than, and not correlated to, the fraction of lowfrequency variance of precipitation and temperature. However, it is correlated with mean climatic conditions and is on average lowest in catchments with significant influence of snow. Furthermore, it increases (decreases) under drier (wetter) conditions – indicating that the average degree of catchment wetness may be a primary control of low-frequency runoff dynamics. The fraction of low-frequency variance of runoff is consistently lower in responsive catchments, with a high variability of daily runoff. The dominant space-time patterns of low-frequency runoff in Europe, identified using nonlinear dimension reduction, revealed that low-frequency runoff can be described with three modes, explaining together 80.6 % of the variance. The dominant mode has opposing centres of simultaneous variations in northern and southern Europe. The secondary mode features a west-east pattern and the third mode has its centre of influence in central Europe. All modes are closely related to the space-time patterns extracted from time series of precipitation and temperature. Correspondence to: L. Gudmundsson (email@example.com) In summary, it is shown that the dynamics of lowfrequency runoff follows well known continental-scale atmospheric features, whereas the proportion of variance attributed to low-frequency fluctuations is controlled by catchment processes and varies with mean climatic conditions. The results may have implications for interpreting the impact of changes in temperature and precipitation on river-flow dynamics.


Voltage unbalance (VU) emission assessment is an integral part in the VU management process where loads are allocated a portion of the unbalance absorption capacity of the power system. The International Electrotechnical Commission Report IEC/TR 61000-3-13:2008 prescribes a VU emission allocation methodology establishing the fact that the VU can arise at the point of common connection (PCC) due to both upstream network unbalance and load unbalance. Although this is the case for emission allocation, approaches for post connection emission assessment do not exist except for cases where the load is the only contributor to the VU at the PCC. Such assessment methods require separation of the post connection VU emission level into its constituent parts. In developing suitable methodologies for this purpose, the pre- and post-connection data requirements need to be given due consideration to ensure that such data can be easily established. This paper presents systematic, theoretical bases which can be used to assess the individual VU emission contributions made by the upstream source, asymmetrical line and the load for a radial power system. The methodology covers different load configurations including induction motors. Assessments obtained employing the theoretical bases on the study system were verified by using unbalanced load flow analysis in MATLAB and using DIgSILENT PowerFactory software.


The goal of external beam radiotherapy is to provide precise dose localisation in the treatment volume of the target with minimal damage to the surrounding normal tissues. Ion beams, such as protons and carbon ions, provide excellent dose distributions due primarily to their finite range, allowing a significant reduction of undesired exposure to normal tissues. Careful treatment planning is required for the given type and localisation of the tumour to be treated in order to maximise the treatment efficiency and minimise the dose to the normal tissues. Radiation exposure in the out-of-field volumes arises from secondary neutrons and photons, particle fragments, and photons from activated materials. These unavoidable doses should be considered from the standpoint of radiological protection of the patient. Radiological protection of medical staff at ion beam therapy facilities requires special attention. Appropriate management and control are required for the therapy equipment and also for the air in the treatment room which can be activated by the particle beam and its secondaries. Radiological protection and safety management should always be in conformity with regulatory requirements. The current regulations for occupational exposures in photon radiotherapy are applicable to ion beam radiotherapy with protons or carbon ions. Ion beam radiotherapy requires, however, a more complex treatment system than conventional radiotherapy, and appropriate training of the staff and suitable quality assurance programme are recommended to avoid possible accidental exposure to the patient, to minimise unnecessary doses to normal tissues and to minimise radiation exposure of staff.


Intelligence alliances are often highly secretive and consequently poorly understood. Some argue that no secret services are friends with one another and point to the large amount of recent economic espionage by supposed allies. Others claim that clandestine agencies cooperate too closely and cannot be trusted by the states that employ them. The attacks of September 11 blurred the boundaries between friends and enemies even more, as Western agencies have now teamed up with unlikely partners in order to pursue a vigorous war on terrorism. The campaign in Afghanistan, however, reminds us of the importance of intelligence alliances and shows that the real priority is finding a robust doctrine that allows some regulation of the diverse friendships required by the war. Far from constituting a world of unyielding competition, intelligence alliances can teach would-be practitioners of liberal institutionalism about structures that radiate trust, order, and devotion to the public good. Intelligence alliances are among the most closely guarded secrets of clandestine agencies. Inside large alliances, these organizations behave remarkably like states, with their own treaties, embassies, and emissaries. Such intelligence groupings are more common than most realize, and most Western agencies enjoy treaty relations with dozens of foreign equivalents, setting out rights, permissions, and, most importantly, their l)lace in the hierarchy of intelligence powers. The United States is at the top of this hierarchy, not only by virtue of its vast intelligence spending--over US$30 billion per year--but also because of its position as a global intelligence alliance manager. Perspectives on the inner workings of intelligence alliances differ sharply. Some argue that clandestine agencies pursue national interests ruthlessly against friends and enemies alike. This secret statecraft school of thought is typified by the much-quoted adage: "There are no friendly secret services, only the secret services of friendly states." Conversely, others argue that agencies of different states operate together like an international brotherhood, and that this clandestine kinship means they often owe more allegiance to each other than to the stares they purport to serve. Whatever our perspective, the events of the last decade have created turbulence in the realm of intelligence alliances. The end of the Cold War left established allies with seemingly less need to cooperate after their common enemies had disappeared. Globalization and the quickening pace of technological change gave developed states more incentive to spy on each other in search of high-tech gains. Public discussions of intelligence alliances have tended to focus upon the low politics of economic espionage between established allies, something that comes close to commercial theft. But the importance of this aspect has been exaggerated. In the last decade, real cooperation over issues such as nuclear proliferation has become increasingly important. Today, it is the war on terrorism and the exponential growth of US intelligence and military activities that pose urgent questions for the West. If the 20th century was characterized primarily by war, then the 21st century might well be one marked by terror. Terrorist organizations and the clandestine agencies of Western states operate in similar ways. In this new landscape of silent warfare, clandestine agencies may cease to be a supporting arm of defense and diplomacy, instead becoming themselves the cutting edge of foreign policy. As these agencies increasingly pursue global issues, intelligence alliances will become yet more important. What kinds of intelligence alliances will be needed in this new landscape and how will they be managed? Hidden Partnerships Established allies fight over policy-related intelligence, corroding trust and undermining possibilities for high-level policy convergence. …


Imatinib's efficacy is mediated by directly inhibiting Kit and by indirectly relieving immunosuppression. Imatinib mesylate (imatinib, also known as Gleevec) is an effective therapy for about 80% of patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Because most GISTs contain activating mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase Kit, these therapeutic effects have been attributed to imatinib's inhibition of Kit-driven signals within tumor cells. Using transgenic GIST mice heterozygous for a gene encoding an activated form of Kit (KitV558/+), Balachandran et al. found that imatinib's efficacy not only was due to its ability to inhibit Kit but also required its ability to alleviate local immunosuppression. Imatinib treatment, but not treatment with vehicle alone, induced an increase in the number, activation (abundance of CD69), and cytolytic capacity (abundance of granzyme B) of CD8+ T cells within GISTs, whereas it decreased, through apoptosis, the number of intratumoral regulatory T (Treg) cells. Moreover, the ability of imatinib to reduce tumor weight and volume was lessened, but not completely abolished, in GIST mice depleted of CD8+ T cells through intraperitoneal injections of a CD8-specific antibody. The enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (Ido) metabolizes tryptophan into molecules that stimulate the immunosuppressive potential of Treg cells, and Ido mRNA and protein amounts were lower in tumors derived from imatinib-treated versus vehicle-treated GIST mice. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of Ido had therapeutic effects similar to those of treatment of GISTs with imatinab. Conversely, treatment of GIST mice with imatinib plus immunosuppressive tryptophan metabolites diminished imatinib's ability to reduce tumor weight. Similar to the tumors of GIST mice, imatinib-sensitive human GIST samples also contained an increased ratio of intratumoral CD8+ T cells to Treg cells compared with that in imatinib-resistant or untreated GISTs. Finally, imatinib treatment together with antibody-mediated blockade of CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4), which can lead to an accumulation of effector cytokine-producing CD8+ T cells, was more effective in reducing the volume of mouse GISTs than either treatment alone. Together, the results suggest that combining anticancer drugs with immunotherapy may provide a better overall treatment for some types of cancer (see also commentary by Zitvogel and Kroemer). V. P. Balachandran, M. J. Cavnar, S. Zeng, Z. M. Bamboat, L. M. Ocuin, H. Obaid, E. C. Sorenson, R. Popow, C. Ariyan, F. Rossi, P. Besmer, T. Guo, C. R. Antonescu, T. Taguchi, J. Yuan, J. D. Wolchok, J. P. Allison, R. P. DeMatteo, Imatinib potentiates antitumor T cell responses in gastrointestinal stromal tumor through the inhibition of Ido. Nat. Med. 17, 1094–1100 (2011). [PubMed] L. Zitvogel, G. Kroemer, Anticancer effects of imatinib via immunostimulation. Nat. Med. 17, 1050–1051 (2011). [PubMed]