Development of effective methods to screen binary interactions obtained by rigid‐body protein–protein docking is key for structure prediction of complexes and for elucidating physicochemical principles of protein–protein binding. We have derived empirical knowledge‐based potential functions for selecting rigid‐body docking poses. These potentials include the energetic component that provides the residues with a particular secondary structure and surface accessibility. These scoring functions have been tested on a state‐of‐art benchmark dataset and on a decoy dataset of permanent interactions. Our results were compared with a residue‐pair potential scoring function (RPScore) and an atomic‐detailed scoring function (Zrank). We have combined knowledge‐based potentials to score protein–protein poses of decoys of complexes classified either as transient or as permanent protein–protein interactions. Being defined from residue‐pair statistical potentials and not requiring of an atomic level description, our method surpassed Zrank for scoring rigid‐docking decoys where the unbound partners of an interaction have to endure conformational changes upon binding. However, when only moderate conformational changes are required (in rigid docking) or when the right conformational changes are ensured (in flexible docking), Zrank is the most successful scoring function. Finally, our study suggests that the physicochemical properties necessary for the binding are allocated on the proteins previous to its binding and with independence of the partner. This information is encoded at the residue level and could be easily incorporated in the initial grid scoring for Fast Fourier Transform rigid‐body docking methods.


Student activism has become so familiar a feature of Western politics that the silent generation of students in the 1950's and early 1960's almost seems an aberrant phenomenon. Because radical students confront social authorities demanding reforms, it is not surprising that many in positions of authority eye student radicals with certain misgivings. An apprehensive attitude therefore exists on both sides. This study of student unrest analyses the relationship between technological innovation and social cleavage in order to trace the development of the differing attitudes and value sets over a period of time. The value dichotomy can be most appropriately illustrated by surveying the literature stating the radicals position towards the contemporary university and comparing this to the conservative position. The problem then is to identify the two value systems empirically. A measurement of the belief systems of dissenting youth would find if the belief systems of the older generation differed and discover if more than one value system is represented among student activists. The scores obtained on Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale of student activists who participated in a boycott of classes at W.L.U. were compared to the scores of the faculty and administrators and a random sample of the general student population in order to obtain the composition of the groups' belief systems. A generation gap in values would appear to exist in light of these scores. i Confrontations then, appear to reflect the division in cultural norms that exist between certain alienated youth and those in authority. Until the dominant norms adjust and acconmodate the alienated sector, it would seem that modern society can expect further manifestations of generational conflict. This would especially hold true in light of much of the recent literature on student activism which suggests that the contemporary conflict may represent a different type of rebellion than the traditional son versus father situation. It seems that it is difficult to provide the sense of continuity necessary for a stable upbringing when societies are so totally committed to change.


As the number of renewable energy generation units and, consequently, solid-state based converters increases in the power grid, many power electronics concepts should be integrated into power system analysis and design. Thus, a power laboratory course with emphasis on the nexus between power electronics and power system is desired. However, the flexibility of instructors in designing a wide range of educational experiments is limited by the use of specialized educational setups. This problem can be resolved by allowing students to assemble their setups using laboratory scaled-down devices; however, implementation times can limit students to focus on the main concepts of the experiments. In particular, lacking experience with hardware description languages to develop switching patterns and control schemes for solid-state based converters further increases the implementation times. In this paper, a technique for rapidly implementing switching patterns and control schemes for power converters is proposed. This technique provides an easy-to-use laboratory allowing students to focus on reinforcing the theory learned in energy conversion, motor-drive, power electronics, and power system classes while still providing instructors with the flexibility to design a wide range of educational experiments.


Menu selection systems reduce training and memorization, simplify entry of choices, and structure the user's tasks. However, the use of menu selection is no guarantee that novices or experts will be satisfied or able to carry out their work. This article focuses on the multiple design issues in creating successful menu selection systems. These include the primary issue of semantic organization and the host of secondary issues such as response time and display rates, shortcuts for frequent users, titles, phrasing of menu items, graphic layout, and selection mechanisms. Novel approaches such as pop‐up menus and embedded menus are covered. Experimental results and design guidelines are presented. © 1986 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


The security industry comprises of diverse and multidisciplined practitioners, originating from many disciplines.   It  has been suggested  that  the  industry  has an undefined knowledge structure,  although security experts  contain a rich knowledge structure.  There  has also been  limited research mapping security expert knowledge structure, reducing the ability of tertiary educators to provide industry focused teaching and learning. The study utilized multidimensional scaling (MDS) and expert interviews to map the consensual knowledge structure of security experts in their understanding of security risk. Security risk concepts were extracted and critiqued from West Australian university courses. Linguistic analysis categorised the more utilized security risk concepts. MDS tested these concepts and presented a spatial knowledge structure [STRESS1=0.35,  α=0.64], further tested and validated by security experts [N=3]. The study presented a number of significant findings. A table of security categories, with supporting subordinate concepts was presented. The security risk consensual knowledge map suggested that  the concept threat occupied a central theme for security experts. Spatial location of security risk concepts provided an indication of conceptual relationships. Finally, the sequential structure and concept clusters provided an indication of security expert conceptual decision making.


The ability to 'smartly' ascertain and adapt to the context of a situation or scenario is known as context awareness. A significant element of context aware systems lies in the use of location based services. Location is an important contextual parameter in context aware computing, and can affect various modes of interaction between user and application. With the increased use of data services in mobile computing today, wireless security is paramount and lacking. However, the use of location parameters is also closely tied in to security issues such as security, privacy and resource usage problems on mobile clients. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between location and security and our design of LOCAS, which is a location aware adaptive security model that scales various 'profiles', or grades of security depending on resource levels. In addition, some m-Commerce and scenarios for location-based services involving security and privacy are also discussed.


AbstractIn this short paper, I shall answer the title's question first in the context of criminal law and then in the context of tort law. In that latter section, I shall also mention in passing contractual and other forms of civil liability that are strict, although they will not be my principal focus. My conclusions will be that strict liability is never proper as the basis for retributive punishment; that it is a very crude device for achieving deterrence through nonretributive penalties; and that with respect to tort liability, it is best justified as a means of defining insurance categories.


New initiatives in deliberative democracy theory allow for a broader understanding of the different rhetorical practices that influence deliberation in real life settings. This solves the "problem" rhetoricians have long had with deliberative theory: that political communication is reduced to rational deliberation, disregarding a lot of non-deliberative forms of communication that are essential for the formation of public opinion and political decisions. This article elaborates on the role of epideictic rhetoric and provides an example as to how we might benefit from combining the two theoretical traditions. Often reduced to ceremonial practice, the epideictic genre has long been overlooked in political communication research. However, epideictic rhetoric plays a crucial role in shaping collective identity and values, thereby influencing citizens' and politicians' inclinations and scope of action in future deliberation. The article is concluded by a case study of the Norwegian Prime Minster Jens Stoltenberg's address to the nation after the terrorist attack in Oslo on July 22nd 2011. By enforcing collective values such as democracy, solidarity, and openness towards other cultures the Prime Minister's speech contributed to what became one of the dominant frames through which the attack and related issues were interpreted and debated.


Objectives Manganese exposure leads to diffuse cerebral metal deposition with the highest concentration in the globus pallidus associated with increased T1-weighted MRI signal. T1 signal intensity in extra-pallidal basal ganglia (caudate and putamen) has not been studied in occupationally exposed workers. Diffusion weighted imaging is a non-invasive measure of neuronal damage and may provide a quantification of neurotoxicity associated with welding and manganese exposure. This study investigated extra-pallidal T1 basal ganglia signal intensity as a marker of manganese exposure and basal ganglia diffusion weighted imaging abnormalities as a potential marker of neurotoxicity. Methods A 3T MR case:control imaging study was performed on 18 welders and 18 age- and gender-matched controls. Basal ganglia regions of interest were identified for each subject. T1-weighted intensity indices and apparent diffusion coefficients were generated for each region. Results All regional indices were higher in welders than controls (p≤0.05). Combined basal ganglia (ρ=0.610), caudate (ρ=0.645), anterior (ρ=0.595) and posterior putamen (ρ=0.511) indices were more correlated with exposure than pallidal (ρ=0.484) index. Welder apparent diffusion coefficient values were lower than controls for globus pallidus (p=0.03) and anterior putamen (p=0.004). Conclusions Welders demonstrated elevated T1 indices throughout the basal ganglia. Combined basal ganglia, caudate and putamen indices were more correlated with exposure than pallidal index suggesting more inclusive basal ganglia sampling results in better exposure markers. Elevated indices were associated with diffusion weighted abnormalities in the pallidum and anterior putamen suggesting neurotoxicity in these regions.


Summary 1. Wind farms generate little or no pollution. However, one of their main adverse impacts is bird mortality through collisions with turbine rotors. 2. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies have been based on observations of birds before the construction of wind farms. We analysed data from 53 EIAs in relation to the actual recorded bird mortalities at 20 fully installed wind farms to determine whether this method is accurate in predicting the risk of new wind farm installations. 3. Bird data from EIAs were compared with bird collisions per turbine and year at functional postconstructed wind farms to identify any relationship between pre- and post-construction studies. 4. Significant differences in birds recorded flying among the 53 proposed wind farms were found by the EIAs. Similar results were obtained when only griffon vultures Gyps fulvus and other raptors were considered. There were significant differences in indexes, including the relative index of breeding birds close to proposed locations, among the 53 proposed wind farm sites. 5. The collision rate of birds with turbines was one of the highest ever recorded for raptors, and the griffon vulture was the most frequently killed species. Bird mortality varied among the 20 constructed wind farms. 6. No relationship between variables predicting risk from EIAs and actual recorded mortality was found. A weak relationship was found between griffon vulture and kestrel Falco sp. mortality and the numbers of these two species crossing the area. 7. Synthesis and applications. There was no clear relationship between predicted risk and the actual recorded bird mortality at wind farms. Risk assessment studies incorrectly assumed a linear relationship between frequency of observed birds and fatalities. Nevertheless, it is known that bird mortality in wind farms is related to physical characteristics around individual wind turbines. However, EIAs are usually conducted at the scale of the entire wind farm. The correlation between predicted mortality and actual mortality must be improved in future risk assessment studies by changing the scale of these studies to focus on the locations of proposed individual wind turbine sites and working on a species specific level.


Background and aims: Previous studies have shown a positive relationship between job Stressors and fatigue. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between job stressors and fatigue in nurses by emphasizing on the moderating effect of organizational support.
Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted in 2016. Participants in the study were 125 nurses in Khoramabad city who were selected randomly. Instruments for data collection were Job Stress, Fatigue and Organizational Support questionnaires. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine which of the job Stressors could be used to predict Fatigue. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to examine the moderating role of organizational support.
Results: The findings of the stepwise regression showed that only death and dying indexes (β=0.38, P<0.006) and relationship to patients and their families (β=0.24, P<0.001) among the stressors are able to predict fatigue in nurses. In addition, the results of moderation regression analysis confirmed the role of institutional support moderator (β=0.29, P<0.001) in these relationships.
Conclusions: This study revealed that higher levels of organizational support would be associated with lower levels of Fatigue, and that lower levels of organizational support would be associated with higher levels of fatigue. So, organizational support has an important role about nurses' job stressors and fatigue.


Letter from David S. Kennard from Eagle Grove, Galveston County, to his sister discussing a fire in Houston and his regiment's plans to march to Arkansas. He is not sure if he will get to go home on the way. He received a letter from John Hawthorp saying their relations were well. Also mentioned in the letter is that three or four of the boys have measles.


Simulating binary black hole BBH systems are a computationally intensive problem and it can lead to great scientific discovery. How to explore more parallelism to take advantage of the large number of computing resources of modern supercomputers is the key to achieve high performance for BBH simulations. In this paper, we propose a scalable MPM Mesh based Parallel Method which can explore both the inter- and intramesh level parallelism to improve the performance of BBH simulation. At the same time, we also leverage GPU to accelerate the performance. Different kinds of performance tests are conducted on Blue Waters. Compared with the existing method, our MPM can improve the performance from 5x speedup compared with the normalized speed of 32 MPI processes to 8x speedup. For the GPU accelerated version, our MPM can improve the performance from 12x speedup to 28x speedup. Experimental results also show that when only enough CPU computing resource or limited GPU computing resource is available, our MPM can employ two special scheduling mechanisms to achieve better performance. Furthermore, our scalable GPU acceleration MPM can achieve almost ideal weak scaling up to 2048 GPU computing nodes which enables our software to handle even larger BBH simulations efficiently.


In September 2010 the anti-immigration party, the Sweden Democrats (SD), crossed the electoral threshold to the Swedish parliament (Riksdagen) for the first time with 5.7 percent of the total votes. The aim of this article is to analyze the effect of the media exposure on fluctuations in opinion polls for political parties; i.e. the media effect. In particular to what extent this can explain the electoral fortunes of the SD. We correlate the number of articles published in the print media with the results of the SD opinion polls as well as the opinion poll results of all the other parliamentary parties during a 48 month period, from the month after the 2006 elections (October 2006) up to September 2010. Our results show that the media effect is more important for the SD compared to the other parliamentary parties, similar in size. The media effect also differs between the six newspapers put into scrutiny in this study, the leading daily Dagens Nyheter (DN) had a considerably stronger effect on the opinion fluctuations, compared to the other five newspapers. To conclude, media exposure sometimes matters, especially for 'new parties', but neither to the same degree everywhere nor at the same time. Ultimately, our findings show that the threshold of relevance does not perfectly match with the crossing of the electoral threshold to the national parliament, as suggested in the literature to explain the electoral fortunes of new anti-immigration parties prior to their entry into parliament.


This study aimed to establish the effects of various crop and land management practices in reducing production risks under variable rainfall regimes in Eastern Uganda. An approach that integrated both rainfall variability and agricultural production was used, through yield functions. The following specific objectives were addressed based on knowledge and methodological gaps identified in literature review: i) establishing the extent and pattern of variation of annual and seasonal rainfall over a 40-year period, ii) determining factors that influence farmers' decisions to adopt management practices, iii) evaluating the effect of farmer-preferred management practices on the mean and variance of crop production in variable rainfall regimes, and iv) assessing farmers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the various management practices in mitigating against rainfall variability-induced production risks. Data for this study were obtained from 315 households, 9 focus group discussions and 23 key informants drawn from Mbale, Pallisa and Sironko districts. Study results showed an increasing trend in annual and ASON rainfall, and decreasing trend for MAMJ rainfall, with ASON exhibiting higher variations than MAMJ. Farmers employed a number of crop and land management practices strategically in response to perceive seasonal variations in climatic conditions, majorly influenced by their perception of rainfall adequacy. Most of the farmer-preferred management practices showed significant positive mean impacts on yield but had different risk-reducing effects on yield. Changing sowing dates and crop varieties, soil bunds, compost manure, cover crops, crop rotation and intercropping showed significant (p~O.05) risk-reducing effects on yield. Their effects varied across agro-ecological zone, except soil bunds and compost manure whose use consistently exhibited both yield-increasing and risk-reducing effects across all the agro-ecologies. Study results have the following implications: First, the changing scenario in variability of rainfall will affect cropping patterns in the study districts thus requiring introduction of crops or varieties best suited to the patterns such as early maturing crops for MAMJ and more water tolerant crops for ASON. Second, the effectiveness of technologies in reducing production risks is location-specific thus the need to develop and disseminate location specific adaptation approaches, instead of blanket recommendations of similar adaptation measures across locations. Lastly, the need to focus not only on the technical aspects of technologies, but also the social dimensions such as perceptions of smallholder farmers of technology effectiveness, if adoption and retention of management practices is to be increased. Development and research organizations promoting adaptation options should involve farmers in technology evaluation so as to recommend the most feasible options given farmers' situations and local perceptions.


We propose a cross-classified mixed-effects location scale model for the analysis of interviewer effects in survey data. The model extends the standard two-way cross-classified random-intercept model (respondents nested in interviewers crossed with areas) by specifying the residual variance to be a function of covariates and an additional interviewer random effect. This extension provides a way to study interviewers' effects on not just the 'location' (mean) of respondents' responses, but additionally on their 'scale' (variability). It therefore allows researchers to address new questions such as: Do interviewers influence the variability of their respondents' responses in addition to their average, and if so why? In doing so, the model facilitates a more complete and flexible assessment of the factors associated with interviewer error. We illustrate this model using data from wave 3 of the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS), which we link to a range of interviewer characteristics measured in an independent survey of interviewers. By identifying both interviewer characteristics in general, but also specific interviewers who are associated with unusually high or low or homogeneous or heterogeneous responses, the model provides a way to inform improvements to survey quality.


Compensation for mutual coupling in antenna arrays by matrix multiplication is compared to the use of dummy elements. A least squares estimation of the coupling matrix is made, including co- and cross-polar coupling. We show that compensation for measurements off the phase center is important as well as a proper assumption of the ideal element pattern. We study the performance of a dual polarized patch array with respect to far-field phase error, signal-to-interference reduction, and cross-polarization level. In all aspects, the performance of the compensation method exceeds or equals the use of dummy elements.


A growing body of evidence indicates that sleep facilitates visual perceptual learning (VPL). However, how this facilitation occurs is controversial: researchers in the field are divided into two groups with two completely different views: use-dependent and learning-consolidation models. The use-dependent model assumes that sleep downscales overly increased synapses in the networks used during wakefulness, irrespective of whether learning is involved in the networks or not, and leads to the survival of only significant synapses. Downscaling is assumed to be involved in long-term depression related to slow-wave activity (SWA). The learning-consolidation model assumes that sleep affects the networks specifically related to learning by replaying activity patterns during training. The replay is assumed to be involved in long-term potentiation related to sigma activity. Although usage and learning components were not separated in previous studies, here we successfully dissociated the usage from learning components using an interference effect and tested which model is correct. There were two conditions. In a learning condition (n=12), participants were trained on one texture discrimination task (TDT), the learning of which is associated with response changes in the region of the early visual cortex that retinotopically corresponds to the trained visual field (trained region). In an interference condition (n=12), two different TDTs were serially trained so that learning should not occur due to mutual interference effects. The use-dependent model predicts increased SWA in the trained region during the post-training sleep in both conditions, whereas learning-consolidation model predicts sigma increase in the trained region during the post-training sleep only in the learning condition. Participants were trained with TDT before sleep and retested with TDT after sleep. Learning occurred only in the learning condition. EEG-source localization analysis indicated significant increase in sigma activity in the trained region during the post-training sleep. These results supports learning-consolidation model in VPL. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


World leaders have declared the G20 to be the premier forum for economic cooperation. But as its influence and policy agenda has grown, so too has the need to be able to effectively model the G20 and the implications of its policy agenda. The paper introduces the G-Cubed (G20) model: a multi-country, multi-sector, intertemporal general equilibrium model of the G20. The paper gives an overview of the model and highlights its key features through four simulated shocks, all of which relate to the G20's goal of reducing global current account imbalances: a fiscal shock (reducing the fiscal deficit in the United States), a productivity/fiscal shock (increasing infrastructure investment in Germany), a consumption shock (increasing domestic consumption in China) and the collective impact of all three shocks occurring simultaneously. The results demonstrate that, to be effective, any model of the G20 must reflect the complex trade and financial linkages between countries, the structural differences across G20 economies and the short-term rigidities observed empirically in the data, as well as a high level of disaggregation across economies, markets and sectors. The simulations show that reducing current account imbalances through these policies often comes with a real economic cost. The results also explain some of the shifts in global current account balances observed since 2007.


Applying a carefully constructed data sample of 120 Norwegian portfolio companies being backed by Norwegian Venture Capital firms, this thesis aims at answering how the degree of industry specialization in Venture Capital firms affects the performance of portfolio companies. This thesis applies three different measures of industry specialization, in which two are derived from the literature on corporate diversification. Further, the thesis also explores the effects of specialization at different industry levels. Lastly, having access to detailed accounting information on Norwegian portfolio companies allows us to analyse detailed performance measures in different time windows, by considering A) Increase in profits, B) Increase in revenues, C) Revenue growth, D) Payroll growth and E) Productivity growth. We provide evidence of a positive relationship between the industry specialization of a Venture Capital firm, and performance in portfolio companies. Considering specialization at different industry levels, we find that industry specialization has a positive effect on the performance of portfolio companies when Venture Capital firms specialize at industry section level, and have portfolios with more than 40% of the investments in the same industry section. We find that there is a positive effect from industry specialization if Venture Capital firms invest in their preferred industry section, and a negative effect of industry specialization when Venture Capital firms invest outside their preferred industry section.


For many reasons—including their inability to stand idle and do nothing

One of the surprising things about James Lind's celebrated trial of citrus fruit for scurvy was not just that he ignored the evidence from his own trial but that in clinical practice he continued to advocate treatments that he himself had found ineffective, including those containing sulphuric acid.w1 The history of medicine is replete with examples of treatments once common practice but now known not to work—or worse, cause harm. Only because the French surgeon Pare ran out of boiling oil did he discover that not cauterising gun shot wounds with it created much less pain and suffering.w2 Leeches and blood letting were used for thousands of years for almost everything. Attempts to show that they were ineffective were resisted with great passion by the medical profession.w3 More recently, we have had treatment with insulin for schizophrenia and vitamin K for myocardial infarction.1 2 In case we are all feeling too smug …


On 16 January 2013, a Sunni real estate developer opened fire at a Shi'a religious assembly in Wazirganj, a mixed neighbourhood in old Lucknow, India, killing one and injuring two. At its core, this was a business rivalry gone awry, but was soon labelled the 'Wazirganj Terror Attack' by Shi'a activists. Demonstrations were staged, politicians were arrested, and religious gatherings were invigorated. Based on 17 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this paper considers why the attack took place and why it escalated. The political economy of real estate and local politics are argued to have motivated the attack, but the attackers miscalculated and lost control of the incident. The subsequent escalation can only be understood in light of Shi'a clerical competition over new moral registers and an emerging middle class morality that replaces ethical concern for solidarity with narrow codes of 'proper' conduct. This underlines the importance of intra-group contestation to intergroup conflict, and the limits of purely instrumentalist explanations of sectarian violence.


Learning distributed representations of documents has pushed the state-of-the-art in several natural language processing tasks and was successfully applied to the field of recommender systems recently. In this paper, we propose a novel content-based recommender system based on learned representations and a generative model of user interest. Our method works as follows: First, we learn representations on a corpus of text documents. Then, we capture a user's interest as a generative model in the space of the document representations. In particular, we model the distribution of interest for each user as a Gaussian mixture model (GMM). Recommendations can be obtained directly by sampling from a user's generative model. Using Latent semantic analysis (LSA) as comparison, we compute and explore document representations on the Delicious bookmarks dataset, a standard benchmark for recommender systems. We then perform density estimation in both spaces and show that learned representations outperform LSA in terms of predictive performance.


The Mesolithic site of Nethermills Farm, Crathes, Banchory, was identified from fieldwalking that took place between 1973 and 1977 and it was excavated between 1978 and 1981 under the direction of James Kenworthy. Kenworthy interpreted the site as a 'hunter-gatherer camp' with probable evidence for a circular structure, but publication of the excavation was never completed. This paper draws on specialist work undertaken immediately after excavation, together with new analyses and radiocarbon determinations from original samples. It focuses on the results of excavation: material from the fieldwalking is briefly considered towards the end of the discussion, but detailed analysis of the lithics from fieldwalking is left for future research. A number of stratified features were excavated and recorded, together with a lithic assemblage of over 30,000 pieces, which includes many narrow blade microliths. It is not possible to uphold the interpretation that the cut features represent the remains of a specific structure but it is clear that Mesolithic activity took place here, probably comprising repeated visits over a considerable period of time. The radiocarbon determinations cover a wide spread of activity from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age – though there are no clear chronological indicators of later prehistoric activity in the finds from the site. Kenworthy chose to excavate only a tiny proportion of the site at Nethermills, which extends some 2km along the River Dee. The likelihood that stratified features may survive elsewhere makes this a Mesolithic site of considerable significance – especially when considered in the context of the many other Mesolithic sites along the River Dee, from its source to the sea.


The photoflash technique is developed and used for measuring thermal
diffusivity of various types of material, at temperature range from -77K to ambient
temperature. It uses a cheap and simple camera flash and polyvinlidene difluoride
(PVDF) film as signal generating source and detector, respectively.
The theoretical signal was derived based on the square pulse approximation
of the camera flash that replaced Dirac-6 function approximation employed in other
studies. Comparative studies on these two different approximations have been
performed on SiCIB4C composites. Although the camera flash temporal shape is
closer to square pulse, Dirac-6 function approximation is still valid for the limited case of PVDF signal that is significantly longer than camera flash pulse duration.
The square wave approximation model was further used in determining the
thermal diffusivity of superconductors, semiconductors, magnetoresistances, carbon
nanotubes, ceramics, composites, polymers and porous samples.
The thermal diffusivity for SiC/B4C composites and Sic doped with A1
decreased with increasing temperature. This suggests that thermal diffusivity is
basically influenced by phonon interaction within lattice that determines the phonon
mean free path.
In case of superconducting materials, thermal diffusivity measurements were
carried for BSCCO, doped with Samarium (Sm) at Bi, Sr and Cu sites and sintered
for 24,48 and 100hrs respectively. The results were explained in terms of electronphonon
and phonon-lattice interactions in association with the sample grain size.
The magneto-resistive of LCMO doped with Er at La site was also studied in
this study. Thermal diffusivity measurements revealed that the transition from
metallic to insulator and from insulator to semiconductor behavior in the materials,
were closely matched to the results obtained from electrical resistivity measurement
of other researchers.
The thermal diffusivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) decreased when the
temperature was increased from low to room temperature. Besides, there were also double slope phenomena in the way the thermal diffusivity changed with
composition of CNT in the range of temperature covered in the measurement.
In the case of polymers of Emeraldine Base (EB) and Emeraldine Salt (ES),
the thermal diffusivity changed with temperature as in other insulating materials.
Finally, the effect of porosity on thermal diffusivity was studied using Nickel
Copper Zinc Ferrite samples. The thermal diffusivity decreased with increasing
porosity of the sample. The results also showed that porosity has a greater effect on
thermal conductivity of the material than its thermal capacity.


This book presents an overview of what is suddenly happening within the relatively new field called computer-assisted reporting (CAR). The rapid rate at which personal computing is changing has made it a tool for journalists. And as personal computing grows, so do its applications in the media newsroom. To introduce journalists to computer-assisted reporting, this book describes how leading journalists are using personal computers for more than just writing in the news gathering process. American society has been inundated by a flood of computerized public and private records. Many records formerly kept on paper are now stored in computers. Many records that were never before kept are now retained in databases. And records that are not computerized can very easily be converted into databases. These developments have prompted journalists to become increasingly more involved with computers during the past decade. Much, if not most, news reporting now depends upon the use of computers. Knowledge of how to access and use computer databases is essential for the journalists of the future. This book focuses on the "computerization of news reporting." Not only does the personal computer of the mid-1990s assist journalists by making writing easier, it makes "reporting" more efficient. The book begins with a demonstration of methods reporters can use to get more from their computers -- data retrieval and analysis, information storage, and dissemination of that information in both processed and unprocessed forms. The book concludes with a proposal for development of computer literacy in the newsroom. This is not a "how-to" book. It is best described as a "what's happening" book because it discusses current and future developments in the use of computers for information gathering by the news media. The single most important focus is on the changing nature of news reporting in the wake of down-sizing, down-pricing, up-powering, and up-speeding of business-type desktop and portable personal computers. Numerous new approaches to reporting and research have developed in the past decade in parallel with the evolution of personal computers. With these new techniques coming to the field of reporting in the mid-1990s, there is need for a book that covers both the merger of traditional information gathering methods and the newly developing ones. This book introduces readers to the new information gathering and analytical techniques evolving with new computer-based technology.


Policymakers increasingly recognise that many of the solutions to major social challenges – from tackling climate change to improving public health – need to be much more local. Local solutions are frequently very effective, as they reflect the needs of specific communities and engage citizens in taking action. And they are often cost-effective, since they provide a conduit for the resources of citizens, charities or social enterprises to complement those of the state. Given the growing pressure on government finances, these are important benefits. But localism presents a dilemma. Government has traditionally found it difficult to support genuine local solutions while achieving national impact and scale. This report offers a solution: an approach by which central and local government can encourage widespread, high quality local responses to big challenges. The approach draws on the lessons of NESTA's Big Green Challenge – a successful programme to support communities to reduce carbon emissions.


Rapid inactivation of Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels was studied in Jurkat leukemic T lymphocytes using whole-cell patch clamp recording and [Ca2+]i measurement techniques. In the presence of 22 mM extracellular Ca2+, the Ca2+ current declined with a biexponential time course (time constants of 8-30 ms and 50-150 ms) during hyperpolarizing pulses to potentials more negative than -40 mV. Several lines of evidence suggest that the fast inactivation process is Ca2+ but not voltage dependent. First, the speed and extent of inactivation are enhanced by conditions that increase the rate of Ca2+ entry through open channels. Second, inactivation is substantially reduced when Ba2+ is present as the charge carrier. Third, inactivation is slowed by intracellular dialysis with BAPTA (12 mM), a rapid Ca2+ buffer, but not by raising the cytoplasmic concentration of EGTA, a slower chelator, from 1.2 to 12 mM. Recovery from fast inactivation is complete within 200 ms after repolarization to -12 mV. Rapid inactivation is unaffected by changes in the number of open CRAC channels or global [Ca2+]i. These results demonstrate that rapid inactivation of ICRAC results from the action of Ca2+ in close proximity to the intracellular mouths of individual channels, and that Ca2+ entry through one CRAC channel does not affect neighboring channels. A simple model for Ca2+ diffusion in the presence of a mobile buffer predicts multiple Ca2+ inactivation sites situated 3-4 nm from the intracellular mouth of the pore, consistent with a location on the CRAC channel itself.


Rapid industrialization and urbanization has been occurring in China since the introduction of the opening-up policy in 1978. The demands of building and infrastructure construction have increased rapidly, especially in the transportation and housing sectors in China. Large amounts of construction materials have been required in building construction and maintenance of the railway and road systems, especially steel and cement. Continued cement and steel production will require heavy raw material resource consumption and will emit a great deal of carbon dioxide (CO2). This study forecasts future steel and cement demand and related resource consumption and CO2 emissions for building and transportation infrastructure based on a material flow analysis of China. Furthermore, the effect of prolonging the lifetime of building and transportation infrastructure is appraised. The results indicate that building and transportation infrastructure will increase sharply through 2030. Although the demand for new construction will then decrease, steel and cement consumption will remain at a high level through 2050 because these are needed to maintain roads and railways. In addition, prolonging the lifetime of buildings and infrastructure is a useful way to avoid more raw material consumption and to mitigate CO2 emissions. However, its main effect is to decrease the demolition of buildings and reduce material use for the maintenance of roads and railways. Currently not enough countermeasures have been implemented to realize a low carbon–dematerialization society in the building and transportation construction sector. Future comprehensive efforts should include the reuse of waste construction material and a reduction in raw material consumption intensity by applying technical innovations.


Abnormal fibrosis occurs during chronic hepatic inflammations and is the principal cause of death in hepatitis C virus and schistosome infections. Hepatic fibrosis (HF) may develop either slowly or rapidly in schistosome-infected subjects. This depends, in part, on a major genetic control exerted by genes of chromosome 6q23. A gene (connective tissue growth factor [CTGF]) is located in that region that encodes a strongly fibrogenic molecule. We show that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs9402373 that lies close to CTGF is associated with severe HF (P = 2 × 10−6; odds ratio [OR] = 2.01; confidence interval of OR [CI] = 1.51–2.7) in two Chinese samples, in Sudanese, and in Brazilians infected with either Schistosoma japonicum or S. mansoni. Furthermore, SNP rs12526196, also located close to CTGF, is independently associated with severe fibrosis (P = 6 × 10−4; OR = 1.94; CI = 1.32–2.82) in the Chinese and Sudanese subjects. Both variants affect nuclear factor binding and may alter gene transcription or transcript stability. The identified variants may be valuable markers for the prediction of disease progression, and identify a critical step in the development of HF that could be a target for chemotherapy.


Analysis of cellular pathways requires concentration measurements of dynamically interacting molecules within the three-dimensional (3D) space of single living cells. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy from widefield, from confocal, and potentially from superresolution microscopes can access this information; however, these measurements are distorted by the inherent 3D blurring of optical imaging, spectral overlap of fluorophores, and detection noise. We propose a mathematical model of these processes and demonstrate, through simulation, how these distortions limit the dynamic range and sensitivity of conventional FRET microscopy. Using this model, we devise and validate a new approach (called 3D-FRET stoichiometry reconstruction, 3DFSR) for reconstructing 3D distributions of bound and free fluorescent molecules. Previous attempts to reconstruct 3D-FRET data relied on sequential spectral unmixing and deconvolution, a process that corrupts the detection statistics. We demonstrate that 3DFSR is superior to these approaches since it simultaneously models spectral mixing, optical blurring, and detection noise. To achieve the full potential of this technique, we developed an instrument capable of acquiring 3D-FRET data rapidly and sensitively from single living cells. Compared with conventional FRET microscopy, our 3D-FRET reconstruction technique and new instrumentation provides orders of magnitude gains in both sensitivity and accuracy wherein sustained high-resolution four-dimensional (x,y,z,t) imaging of molecular interactions inside living cells was achieved. These results verify previous observations that Cdc42 signaling is localized to the advancing margins of forming phagosomes in macrophages.


We report the application of a dual polarization distributed feedback (DFB) fiber laser as a strain and temperature sensor. By measurement of the absolute wavelength of one polarization as well as the polarization beat frequency, strain and temperature were determined simultaneously. The sensor has an accuracy of +3 microepsilon and +/-0.04 degrees C. Self-heating of the DFB fiber laser as a function of pump power was measured with this sensor.


The common language of bacteria and higher life forms is a lexicon of small molecules that the research community is only beginning to decipher. While many new signaling molecules have been discovered in recent years, the identification of their targets is mostly lagging. This review will focus on the latest chemical-probe based research aimed at understanding how bacteria interact chemically with mammals and plants. In general, chemical biology strategies remain under-utilized in this complex field of research, with a few key exceptions, and we hope that this review encourages others to implement these techniques in their research. Specifically, we highlight the chemical biology techniques used in recent studies, especially activity-based protein profiling, that have been applied to unravel the chemical mechanisms of interkingdom interactions.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


MINLP problems are hard constrained optimization problems, with nonlinear constraints and mixed discrete continuous variables. They can be solved using a Branch-and-Bound scheme combining several methods, such as linear programming, interval analysis, and cutting methods. Our goal is to integrate constraint programming techniques in this framework. Firstly, global constraints can be introduced to reformulate MINLP problems thus leading to clean models and more precise computations. Secondly, interval-based approximation techniques for nonlinear constraints can be improved by taking into account the integrality of variables early. These methods have been implemented in an interval solver and we present experimental results from a set of MINLP instances.


This paper addresses the behaviour of business leaders during the economic crisis in Britain during the period 2007-2010. It looks at the theory of Leadership as presented by DuBrin, other writers and researchers comparing it to what is practiced in Britain in order to see if it is the right approach. Through historical data with proper research we are able to tell the approach that these Leaders have exhibited. We also looked at the Leadership style used in other countries that have gone or are going through economic crisis like the United States. The paper looks at the leadership traits, skills and responsibilities which are ideal in dealing with crises, in particular economic crises, and investigates the best leadership styles and traits for best practice in industry in dealing with economic crisis. A study of leadership at the national crisis level, more likely a macro-management scenario, gives a clear insight to leadership practices during crises. In this case, a questionnaire was designed and distributed to individuals who have/had a part in various organisations in making crucial decision or witnessed firsthand decision making during the recent economic crisis. In designing the questionnaire, majority of the answers were given based on a scale of one to ten, the Likert Scale. The results of the research pointed to certain traits which successful crisis leaders possess and also show the presence of transactional leadership mixed with charismatic leadership during crisis.


When Congress passed the Visual Artists Rights Act ("VARA") in 1990, it introduced into our federal law concepts that had been shut out of Anglo-American intellectual property law for over 200 years. VARA gives visual artists the right of attribution, i.e., the right to have their work properly attributed to them, and the right of integrity, i.e., the right to not have their work altered or destroyed without their permission. While others have studied the history of Anglo-American copyright from the advent of the printing press, they make few references to the type of rights granted by VARA. To fill that gap, this article retraces the history of Anglo-American intellectual property law, analyzing how VARA rights fit into it. In particular, while analyzing the key Eighteenth Century English statutes and cases, this article pinpoints the moment in the evolution of Anglo-American law when the English judges effectively lopped off the branch of intellectual property law that soon after bloomed in France into the droit moral or "moral rights." The timing of this legal development (and concurrent political developments) ensured that the intellectual property laws of the new United States would contain the English emphasis on economic protection and ignore the protection for the creative process that developed soon after in France. Understanding the twists and turns of this history may help us be more vigilant to protect moral rights development as our intellectual property law evolves to once again accommodate new technologies.


The collection of 22 episodes comprises: Does Shopping Shorten Women's Lives, The Low Down on Communism, Hello Suckers, Where Was Your Son Last Night, Creeping Paralysis, Van Winkle Wakes Up, Threat from the Wilderness, The Enemy Within, Freedom isn't Free, Outside the Law, Pattern For Peace, Guilty Men, The Strongest Link of All, How to Plan a Revolution, Educate or Perish, Let's Get Busy, Who Owns Big Business M.H.R., Mission from Moscow, You Land & Mine - John Batman, Island Adventure, The Decline and Fall of Mr Quick


Metis peoples are descendants of unions between French or Scottish fur traders and First Nations women in Canada. Alberta is the only province in Canada with land-based Metis who live in self-governing communities known as Metis Settlements. University of Alberta's Faculty of Extension and four Metis Settlements partnered in a community based participatory research project aimed at increasing children's resilience through inner strength and support from peers and mentors. While working with community members, the learning needs of children were identified, prioritised, and included in a summer day-camp program for children (7 – 14 years). Pre- and post-program surveys with children used an adaption of the Youth Resiliency: Assessing Developmental Strengths Questionnaire. Results are presented using descriptive statistics and were tested for significance using the non-parametric Wilcoxon rank sum test. Positive change occurred in several areas of internal strength, including self-esteem, drug resistance, and planning and decision making. Risk factors also saw positive change, as did the area of external family support. Significant areas of positive change are encouraging given that they demonstrate success in major goals of the summer camp program. Significant areas of negative change require further analysis in order to understand the complexity of Metis youth resiliency.


Recent work of fiduciary theory has provided conceptual synthesis requisite to understanding core fiduciary principles and the structure of fiduciary liability. However, normative questions have received only sporadic attention. What values animate fiduciary law? How does, or ought, fiduciary law prove responsive to them?

Where in other areas of private law theory – notably, tort theory – pioneering scholars went directly at normative questions like these, fiduciary theory has been exceptional for the reticence shown toward them. The reticence is sensible. Fiduciary principles are the product of equity's most extended and convoluted program of supplementing surrounding law. They span several distinct forms of relationship arising in markedly different settings.

In this article, I develop a framework for analysis of the morality of fiduciary law. The framework accomplishes four things. First, it situates questions about the morality of fiduciary law within the context of the general jurisprudential literature on the nature of law and its normativity. Second, it explains the sense in which fiduciary law is normatively complex by virtue of being structurally biplanar, with general equitable principles (duty-imposing rules) overlain upon legal and equitable principles (including, notably, power-conferring rules) that define and enable legal forms of relationship characterized as fiduciary in equity. Third, it distinguishes the general morality of fiduciary duties from the special morality of fiduciary relationship types. Fourth, and finally, it provides an overview of loci of value in fiduciary relationships, canvassing considerations of general and special morality that give salience to the interests of parties, third parties and the public in rules that enable and constrain the performance of fiduciary mandates.


A complete, practical guide to the world's most popular signaling system, including SIGTRAN, GSM-MAP, and Intelligent Networks. Provides in-depth coverage of the SS7 protocols, including implementation details Covers SS7 over IP (SIGTRAN) using real-world examples Covers SS7/C7 from both a North American and European perspective, providing a broad international understanding of the technology and associated standards Explains mobile wireless concepts and signaling, including mobile application part (MAP) Provides a thorough explanation of the Intelligent Network (IN) and associated protocols (INAP/AIN)Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) is a signaling network and protocol that is used globally to bring telecommunications networks, both fixed-line and cellular, to life. SS7 has numerous applications and is at the very heart of telecommunications. Setting up phone calls, providing cellular roaming and messaging, and supplying converged voice and data services are only a few of the ways that SS7 is used in the communications network. SS7 also provides the point of interconnection between converging voice and data networks. This transition, which affects everyone who works with the data network, has bolstered the need for practical and applied information on SS7. In short, anyone who is interested in telecommunications should have a solid understanding of SS7.Signaling System No. 7 (SS7/C7): Protocol, Architecture, and Services will help you understand SS7 from several perspectives. It examines the framework and architecture of SS7, as well as how it is used to provide today's telecommunications services. It also examines each level of the SS7 protocol-all the way down to the bit level of messages. In addition, the SIGTRAN standards are discussed in detail, showing the migration from SS7 to IP and explaining how SS7 information is transported over IP.


The LHCb experiment has successfully taken data during the last three years. Here, results are presented for W, Z and low mass Drell–Yan production in the forward region at LHCb. Analyses based on data collected in 2010 and 2011 are presented. The results are generally in agreement with theoretical predictions.


In Hopwood v. Texas (1996), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the use of race in admissions illegal in the binding states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Reacting to this decision, Texas, in 1998, created a "percentage plan" guaranteeing admission to students who graduate within a specified percentile of their high school class. Florida and California, states outside the Fifth Circuit where affirmative action policies have been struck down or challenged, have followed the lead of Texas and created their own percentage admissions plans. Although the consequences of these new admission policies are still uncertain, this article provides an overview of the current policy landscape, as well as early data hinting at potential outcomes of these new policies. Under the 1998 Texas plan, any student graduating in the top io percent of his or her high school class is guaranteed admission to any state college or university. California and Florida also have adopted similar measures slated to take effect next year. California's plan will admit the top 4 percent of a high school's class to the University of California, while Florida's plan taps the top 20 percent for the state's public universities as long as a student completes a prescribed 19 academic units. Unlike Texas, both California and Florida do not guarantee admission to the institution of the student's choice, but rather one of the state's public universities. Most recently, two states, Pennsylvania and Colorado, have debated the adoption of a "percentage plan." Pennsylvania abandoned its proposal after reviewing arguments offered by opponents of such initiatives. Pennsylvania is now considering a statewide standardized test to be used in a manner similar to percentage plans. In Colorado, Senator Bob Martinez has introduced a bill that would ensure admission to any University of Colorado branch campus as long as a student ranks in the top 20 percent of his or her graduating class. Since the use of percentage plans is a relatively new approach for ensuring student diversification in higher education, little is known about the outcomes of such efforts. Only the Texas plan has been in existence for a time period sufficient enough to analyze the potential impact of using "percentages" for admitting undergraduates. The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&cM University are the two public institutions which have historically utilized selective admission standards. According to a study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin, that institution is enrolling as many minority undergraduate students today as it did prior to the Hopwood decision. In 1996, Hispanic students represented 14 percent of undergraduate students while black students accounted for 4 percent of the population. A review of 1999 enrollment figures suggests a negligible impact, with Hispanic and black students continuing to account for 14 and 4 percent of enrollment, respectively. However, Mary Frances Berry, who chairs the US. Commission on Civil Rights, warns that these numbers cannot be taken at face value.1 Berry credits UT Austin's substantial "outreach efforts" to the institution's success in maintaining campus racial diversity. The acceptance rate, Berry asserts, may better gauge the plan's impact. In 1996, 65 percent of Hispanic and 57 percent of black applicants to the University of Texas were admitted. By 1999, the number of admitted Hispanic and black students had fallen to 56 and 46 percent, respectively. The admission of white students remained steady from 1996 to 1999 at 62 percent. Berry, therefore, concludes that "...the university now rejects minority students who would have been admitted under affirmative action and who, based on past experience, would have succeeded."2 Although it is difficult to predict how "percentage plans" in Florida and California will impact enrollment patterns in these states, critics contend that class-rank admissions policies will include many under-prepared students, while excluding many academically capable students. …


Gesture- and speech-based 3D modeling offers designers a powerful and intuitive way to create 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) models. Instead of arbitrary gestures and speech commands defined by researchers, which may not be intuitive for users, such a natural user interface should be based on gesture and command set elicited from the users. We describe our ongoing research on a speech-and-gesture-based CAD modeling interface, GesCAD, implemented by combining Microsoft Kinect and Rhino, a leading CAD software. GesCAD is based on gestures and speech commands elicited from a specially designed user experiment. We conducted a preliminary user study with 6 participants to evaluate the user experience of our prototype, such as ease of use, physical comfort and satisfaction with the models created. Results show that participants found the overall experience of using GesCAD fun and the speech and gesture commands easy to remember.


Meru township area, Klang was chosen for study of the heavy metals and WQI in waste water may be released by the nearby factories. In this area, there are large proportion of the pollution may arises from the production waste during the factories processing. The objective of this study is to determine critical parameter in waste water near the factories which are pH, SS, COD, DO, BOD, and Ammoniacal Nitrogen, to ensure the waste water fulfilled the standard set by DOE Malaysia and to determine the WQI in the waste water near the factories. The concentrations of heavy metals (Hg, As, Pb, Ni and Cd) in water were investigated. Twenty five samples of water were collected from different location in Meru Township, Klang. In-situ measurements were done using hydrolab for five parameters i.e. pH, Temperature, Turbidity, Dissolved Oxygen and Ammoniacal Nitrogen. The water samples were then analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP). Water Quality Index was also calculated based on six parameters determine in the water sample. The results show that Meru Township, Klang can be considered polluted because it has the higher concentrations of BOD and COD. The results than referred and compared to the Environment Quality Act 1974 (Sewage and Industrial Effluent) Regulations 1979. Out of five metals that had been investigated, Pb, Hg and Cd concentrations are over the Limit Effluent Discharge Standard. Ni and As concentrations are below the Limit Effluent Discharge Standard. The highest concentration of metal in the water effluent is Pb 8.932 ppm followed by Cd 1.182 ppm, Ni O.lOlppm, Hg 81 ppb, and lastly As 26 ppb.


This study attempts to investigate export direction and growth of Malaysian
wooden furniture compared to five world's leading exporters, China and selected
countries from Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia). These countries were
chosen because they are of great potential of their steadily increasing export of superior
quality wooden furniture. Four categories of wooden furniture were focused on for the
analyses which were wooden furniture used in (1) office, (2) kitchen, (3) bedroom and (4)
other wooden furniture. The statistical data for import and export from 1994 - 1998 were
collected from the International Trade Center (COMTRADE). A share structural analysis
was employed to analyze the export trend whilst the export performance was examined
using constant market share (CMS) approach.
In 1998, Malaysia ranked fifth and seventh in the world ranking of wooden
furniture export leaders for office and other wooden furniture, respectively. The United
States (US), Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) were among the largest
destination for Malaysian wooden furniture. In contrast, most of the exports of wooden


The optical properties of a novel type of open waveguiding structure for surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) are experimentally investigated. The waveguide consists of a strip-like region of a gold surface confined by a periodic sequence of dielectric ridges forming a Bragg-type reflector. This bandgap structure resembles the plasmonic analogue of an antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) for SPPs, providing direct access to the guided plasmonic field. The main structural parameters are evaluated by numerical modeling using the finite element and finite-difference time-domain methods. We investigate field distributions of the plasmonic modes in the antiresonant Bragg-reflector waveguides with varied numbers of dielectric ridges and demonstrate a large mode-area single-mode performance at a telecom wavelength of 1550 nm. Furthermore, for an excitation wavelength of 974 nm, it is shown that different low-order modes can be selectively excited using multiple laser beams with variable phase relation. Selective excitation of single longitudinal and transversal modes of the waveguide is realized by coherent two-beam excitation. Possible sensing applications of these large-mode open waveguides are discussed.


Socialism Triumphs adorned the roof of the office equipment factory (BWS) in the Thuringian town of Sömmerda until 1990. The factory became a driving economic force in the GDR. The city, called "the capital of computers," represents a unique case of urban development and governmental support, showcasing the state's anticipated unity of economic and social policy. This article explores the everyday lives of women working in the factory (1946 and 1991) and examines the state-sanctioned women's policies, how they were implemented and how women perceived these policies and the officially accomplished emancipation of men and women. Sömmerda had roughly 23,000 inhabitants in the 1980s of which 13,000 (nearly half of them women) worked in the BWS. This research relies on archival records and personal accounts by women who worked in the factory. These records shed light on and question the actually accomplished equality of the sexes that was so imperative in socialist state rhetoric.


The purpose of the present paper is to study the flutter instability and forced response of a nonrotating helicopter blade model with a NACA-0012 airfoil and a pitch freeplay structural nonlinearity. In this paper, three typical combinations of linear and nonlinear structure with a linear and nonlinear (ONERA) aerodynamic model are considered. Characteristic results are used to display the limit cycle oscillation and chaotic behavior of both the flutter instability and forced response for all three cases. The effects of various initial disturbance amplitudes on the forced response behavior are discussed. Comparisons of the results for the three cases are helpful in understanding physically the nonlinear aeroelasticity phenomena and chaotic oscillations.


The multifaceted nature of decentralization, democracy, and development renders relationships among them ambivalent and conditional. It is certainly possible to decentralize in ways that foster local democracy and improvements in socioeconomic well-being. The empirical record, however, is mixed, and not only because the phenomena of interest have multiple dimensions and are open to interpretation. Whatever its form, decentralization is inherently political. In the African context, the extent and form of decentralization has been influenced by international support, the challenges of extending state authority in relatively young multi-ethnic states, and, increasingly, electoral considerations.
 By the 1980s, the broad consensus in the constructive developmental role of a strong central state that had characterized the immediate postwar period gave way to a growing perception of statist approaches as impeding democracy and, especially, development. For some, decentralization implied an expansion of popular participation that promised greater sensitivity to local knowledge and more responsiveness to local concerns. Others saw decentralization as part of a broader agenda of scaling back the central state, reducing its role, its size, and its costs. Yet others saw decentralization as part of a strategy of achieving sustainable natural resource management or political stability in post-conflict societies. By the early 1990s, a wide variety of international organizations were promoting decentralization and providing both financial and technical support for decentralization reforms.
 In the African context, political decisions about whether and how to decentralize reflect the continued salience of ethno-regional identities and non-state authorities, especially traditional or customary leaders. Incumbents may decentralize because they hope to consolidate their political position by crowding out or co-opting rivals, depoliticizing conflicts, or deflecting blame to subnational actors. Indeed, reforms made in the name of decentralization often strengthen the political center, at least over the short to medium term. Whether it attempts to co-opt or sideline them, decentralization interacts with and may reinforce the salience of ethno-regional identities and traditional authorities. To the extent that democracy presumes the equality of all citizens, regardless of ascribed status or identity, the reinforcement of ethno-regional identities and unelected authorities threatens democracy.
 The international spread of decentralization reforms coincided with the increasing prevalence of multiparty elections. In countries that hold elections, electoral considerations inevitably influence political interests in decentralization. Central government incumbents may view decentralization as a way to keep voters happy by improving access to and the quality of public services, as a form of political insurance, or as strengthening rivals. Whether incumbents and challengers view decentralization as a threat or an opportunity depends on not only the form of decentralization under consideration, but also their estimations of their competitiveness in elections at various levels (national, regional, local) and the interaction between the spatial distribution of electoral support and the electoral system. Electoral dynamics and considerations also influence the implementation and consequences of decentralization, perhaps especially when political rivals control different levels of government. Whether decentralization promotes democracy and development hinges on not only the form of decentralization, but also how broader political dynamics condition decentralization in practice.


This article seeks to reconcile a fundamental normative tension that underlies most international reconstruction efforts in war-torn societies: on the one hand, substantial outside interference in the domestic affairs of such societies may seem desirable to secure political stability, set up inclusive governance structures, and protect basic human rights; on the other hand, such interference is inherently paternalistic—and thus problematic—since it limits the policy options and broader freedom of maneuver of domestic political actors. I argue that for paternalistic interference in foreign countries to be justified, it needs to be strictly proportional to domestic impediments to self-government and basic rights protection. Based on this claim, I model different degrees of interference that are admissible at particular stages of the postwar reconstruction process. Extrapolating from John Rawls's Law of Peoples, I suggest that full-scale international trusteeship can be justified only so long as conditions on the ground remain "outlaw"—that is, so long as security remains volatile and basic rights, including the right to life, are systematically threatened. Once basic security has been reestablished, a lower degree of interference continues to be justified, until new domestic governance structures become entirely self-sustaining. During this second phase of postwar reconstruction, external actors ideally ought to share responsibility for law-enforcement and administration with domestic authorities, which implies in practice that domestic and international officials should jointly approve all major decisions. I discuss various approximations of such shared responsibility in recent international peace operations and speculate about how best to ensure a timely transition toward full domestic ownership.


SUMMARY: A study of the spermiogenesis and spermatozoa of Helicolenus dactylopterus was conducted. Females of this species have the capacity to store sperm within their ovaries, and male gametes have a considerable cytoplasmic mass surrounding their heads to survive the long period of intraovarian sperm storage. Our observations show that early spermatids are round-shaped cells and have a spherical nucleus with diffuse chromatin. The nuclear volume decreases as a result of progressive chromatin condensation during spermiogenesis, causing the nucleus to take on a U-shape. Flagellar insertion is not central to the nucleus but consistently occurs at an oblique angle towards one side of it. The flagellum is inserted into the nuclear fossa, without subsequent nuclear rotation. In mature spermatozoa, the flagellum is adjacent to the nucleus. A comparison of the spermatozoa in the testicular lobules and those in the intraovarian storage structures suggests that the increase in volume of the cytoplasmic mass may occur in the posterior region of the testis, in the testicular duct. Spermatozoa enter the ovary in groups that reach the ovarian lumen and are surrounded by the ovarian epithelium for storage in sperm storage crypts.


A radio echo-sounding profile of about 1200 km length was flown by the Alfred-Wegener Institute between the Kohnen and Dome Fuji deep drilling sites, providing a continuous record of internal ice layers which links both sites. Assuming these layers are isochronous surfaces, they provide an internal check on independently derived datings for both drilling sites. Here we use these internal layers to infer average accumulation rates. This is done both for the Holocene as for the last glacial period for the time intervals which separate the individual layers. Internal reflection horizons can be traced to about half the ice thickness and have a maximum age of ca. 70 ka BP. We use a high-resolution higher-order flow model of Dronning Maud Land nested into a 3D thermomechanical model of the Antarctic ice sheet to reconstruct the flow history over the last few glacial cycles. A Lagrangian back-tracing algorithm provides the times of deposition of the layers along the profile for a forward experiment with a prescribed accumulation history. We then apply an inverse method to find the accumulation history which best fits the observed layer architecture. The model predicts no basal melting at Kohnen station, but gives evidence of basal melting at the Dome Fuji drill site. We further investigate the strain history around Dome Fuji to estimate the effect of normal stresses on the derived age-depth profile.


British Prime Minister Theresa May first proposed a "bold and ambitious free trade agreement" (FTA) to govern future trade arrangements between the European Union and the United Kingdom in a speech on January 17, 2017. More recently, on September 22, 2017, the prime minister suggested that the negotiators could do better than an "advanced free trade agreement," such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada, but offered little indication as to what form such an arrangement might take.
Is it possible for the United Kingdom to achieve a new trade relationship to replace continued membership in the EU's Single Market and/or Customs Union, which currently provides unrestricted trade? An FTA is probably the only legally feasible form of preferential trade relationship that would generally permit the duty-free, quota-free exchange of goods between the United Kingdom and the member states of the European Union. None of the other options are feasible, given the prime minister's priorities: complete UK control over immigration from the other members of the European Union; operation under the United Kingdom's own regulatory framework rather than under regulations and directives imposed by the European Union; the flexibility to conclude trade agreements with third countries; and avoidance of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
If despite May's expressed hopes that an FTA becomes the best route forward, given these constraints, this article suggests that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in particular, NAFTA's customs regulations and its rules of origin, provide useful lessons for the UK (and EU) negotiators.


Although it has always been assumed that chemical mimicry and camouflage play a major role in the penetration of ant societies by social parasites, this paper provides the first direct evidence for such a mechanism between the larvae of the parasitic butterfly Maculinea rebeli and its ant host Myrmica schencki. In the wild, freshly moulted fourth–instar caterpillars, which have no previous contact with ants, appear to be recognized as ant larvae by foraging Myrmica workers, which return them to their nest brood chambers. Three hypotheses concerning the mechanism controlling this behaviour were tested: (i) the caterpillars produce surface chemicals that allow them to be treated as ant larvae; (ii) mimetic compounds would include hydrocarbons similar to those employed by Myrmica to recognize conspecifics and brood; and (iii) the caterpillar–s secretions would more closely mimic the profile of their main host in the wild, M. schencki, than that of other species of Myrmica. Results of behavioural bioassays and chemical analyses confirmed all three hypotheses, and explained the high degree of host specificity found in this type of highly specialized myrmecophile. Furthermore, although caterpillars biosynthesized many of the recognition pheromones of their host species (chemical mimicry), they later acquired additional hydrocarbons within the ant nest (chemical camouflage), making them near–perfect mimics of their individual host colony–s odour.


Abstract. Everything happens somewhere. Thus, location plays an important role in data journalism. As interactive websites have become the standard medium for telling journalistic stories, web mapping and multimedia frameworks are often integrated to tell them in an audio-visually appealing way. Often, these integrated frameworks are developed by GIS or web mapping companies in order to reach new target groups such as journalists. In this study, we investigated different approaches for integrating web maps and multimedia presentations in a journalistic story. We first defined the most important criteria for a well-suited multimedia presentation of spatial journalistic content. We also identified the most relevant platforms for presenting spatial journalistic content, based on popularity and completeness. Finally, we built a sample story to show how web maps and multimedia elements can be used to represent spatial journalistic content. We built this story with the two most suitable frameworks and evaluated the story with experts and according to our criteria.


The principal component analysis (PCA) is a valuable tool in multivariate statistics, and it is an effective method for fault detection in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and other related applications. However, its online implementation requires the computation of eigendecomposition (ED) or singular value decomposition. To reduce the arithmetic complexity, we propose an efficient fault detection approach using the subspace tracking concept. In particular, two new robust subspace tracking algorithms are developed, namely, the robust orthonormal projection approximation subspace tracking (OPAST) with rank-1 modification and the robust OPAST with deflation. Both methods rely on robust M-estimate-based recursive covariance estimate to improve the robustness against the effect of faulty samples, and they offer different tradeoff between fault detection accuracy and arithmetic complexity. Since only the ED in the major subspace is computed, their arithmetic complexities are much lower than those of other conventional PCA-based algorithms. Furthermore, we propose new robust T 2 score and SPE detection criteria with recursive update formulas to improve the robustness over their conventional counterparts and to facilitate online implementation for the proposed robust subspace ED and tracking algorithms. Computer simulation and experimental results on WSN data show that the proposed fault detection approach, which combines the aforementioned robust subspace tracking algorithms with the robust detection criteria, is able to achieve better performance than other conventional approaches. Hence, it serves as an attractive alternative to other conventional approaches to fault detection in WSNs and other related applications because of its low complexity, efficient recursive implementation, and good performance.


Screen capture tools are increasingly used to enhance learning in higher education, and the use of such tools to provide feedback to students has been enthusiastically supported by some, with early studies indicating its potential in terms of richness, in-depth explanation and its personal style for building tutor-student relationships. Despite this support, however, and the availability of increasingly user friendly software, to date there does not seem to have been a major take up of the screencast delivery mode of feedback in Higher Education. This article summarises earlier research and presents findings from a small-scale interview study of academic staff in a northern UK university. These findings relate to key barriers to technology uptake, principally the time to learn issue, along with institutional constraints, but they also point to factors relating to the nature of feedback itself within a dominant research-led university culture.


The preliminary results of a prospective study of motorcycle crashes are reported. Motorcyclists were recruited from three major trauma centres in Sydney and through motorcycle organisations. The main sample criteria were that the cyclist crashed, and that they hit their head while wearing a helmet. Injury and non-injury cases were collected. Case sampling occurred over a period of 18 months. The response rate through hospitals was approximately 14 per cent for those meeting the selection criteria. All motorcyclists were interviewed and the helmets were examined. Characteristics such as environment (road type), vehicle (vehicle damage and interaction) and human factors were recorded. The location of helmet impacts and patterns of helmet damage were recorded. Injuries were documented and rated according to severity. The relationships between the crash characteristics, helmet use and injury are discussed.


Abstract According to the European Blanket Programme two blanket concepts, the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) and a Helium Cooled Lithium Lead (HCLL) will be tested in ITER. During 2004 the test blanket modules (TBM) of both concepts were redesigned with the goal to use as much as possible similar design options and fabrication techniques for both types in order to reduce the European effort for TBM development. The result is a robust TBM box being able to withstand 8 MPa internal pressure in case of in-box LOCA; the TBM box consists of First wall (FW), caps, stiffening grid and manifolds. The box is filled with typically 18 and 24 breeding units (BU), for HCPB and HCLL respectively. A breeding unit has about 200 mm in poloidal and toroidal direction and about 400 mm in radial direction; the design is adapted to contain and cooling ceramic breeder/beryllium pebble beds for the HCPB and eutectic Lithium-Lead for the HCLL. The use of a new material, EUROFER, and the innovative design of these Helium Cooled components call for a large qualification programme before the installation in ITER; availability and safety of ITER should not be jeopardised by a failure of these components. Fabrication technologies especially in the welding processes (diffusion welding, EB, TIG, LASER) need to be tested in the manufacturing of large mock-ups; an extensive out-of-pile programme in Helium facility should be foreseen for the verification of the concept from basic helium cooling functions (uniformity of flow in parallel channels, heat transfer coefficient in FW, etc.) up to the verification of large portions of the TBM design under relevant ITER loading. In ITER the TBM will have the main objective to collect information that will contribute to the final design of DEMO blankets. A strategy has been proposed in 2001 that leads to the tests in ITER 4 different Test Blanket Modules (TBM's) type during the first 10 years of ITER operation. For the new HCPB design this strategy is confirmed with some additional possibilities taking into account the modular design of the breeding zone.


Pressure ulcers are still among the most costly, yet preventable injuries and they have a high prevalence and incidence in acute and long-term care. This age-old problem is commonly referred to as decubitus ulcers, bed sores or pressure ulcers. The aim of this article is to define what pressure ulcers are and to discuss the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. Risk assessment plays an important role in the prevention of pressure ulcers. This article will also provide the professional nurse with tools for this assessment.


Dramatic events in human prehistory, such as the spread of agriculture to Europe from Anatolia and the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age (LNBA) migration from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, can be investigated using patterns of genetic variation among the people that lived in those times. In particular, studies of differing female and male demographic histories on the basis of ancient genomes can provide information about complexities of social structures and cultural interactions in prehistoric populations. We use a mechanistic admixture model to compare the sex-specifically-inherited X chromosome to the autosomes in 20 early Neolithic and 16 LNBA human remains. Contrary to previous hypotheses suggested by the patrilocality of many agricultural populations, we find no evidence of sex-biased admixture during the migration that spread farming across Europe during the early Neolithic. For later migrations from the Pontic steppe during the LNBA, however, we estimate a dramatic male bias, with ~5-14 migrating males for every migrating female. We find evidence of ongoing, primarily male, migration from the steppe to central Europe over a period of multiple generations, with a level of sex bias that excludes a pulse migration during a single generation. The contrasting patterns of sex-specific migration during these two migrations suggest a view of differing cultural histories in which the Neolithic transition was driven by mass migration of both males and females in roughly equal numbers, perhaps whole families, whereas the later Bronze Age migration and cultural shift were instead driven by male migration, potentially connected to new technology and conquest.


We present a method, GALS (Gradient Analysis by Least Squares) for estimating the gradient of a physical field from multi-spacecraft observations. To obtain the best possible spatial resolution, the gradient is estimated in the frame of reference where structures in the field are essentially locally stationary. The estimates are refined iteratively by a least squares method. We show that GALS is not very sensitive to the spacecraft configuration and resolves structures much smaller than the characteristic size of the spacecraft distribution. Furthermore, GALS requires little user input. GALS has been tested on synthetic magnetic field data and data from the Cluster FGM instrument. GALS will also be useful for other types of data. The results indicate that GALS is robust and superior to the curlometer method for estimating the current from magnetic field measurements.


In the last decade, social media has evolved as one of the leading platform to create, share, or exchange information; it is commonly used as a way for individuals to maintain social connections. In this online digital world, people use to post texts or pictures to express their views socially and create user-user engagement through discussions and conversations. Thus, social media has established itself to bear signals relating to human behavior. One can easily design user characteristic network by scraping through someone's social media profiles. In this paper, we investigate the potential of social media in characterizing and understanding predominant drunk texters from the perspective of their social, psychological and linguistic behavior as evident from the content generated by them. Our research aims to analyze the behavior of drunk texters on social media and to contrast this with non-drunk texters. We use Twitter social media to obtain the set of drunk texters and non-drunk texters and show that we can classify users into these two respective sets using various psycholinguistic features with an overall average accuracy of 96.78% with very high precision and recall. Note that such an automatic classification can have far-reaching impact – (i) on health research related to addiction prevention and control, and (ii) in eliminating abusive and vulgar contents from Twitter, borne by the tweets of drunk texters.


Background: Hyperacusis is the difference in dB between a normal threshold of audibility for a stimulus and the dB level at which that stimulus becomes intolerably loud. Some persons with autism exhibit symptoms of hyperacusis possibly attributable to phobias to auditory stimuli. Desensitization procedures have been used as a treatment for phobias and appear a promising treatment for patients with autism and hyperacusis. Methods: Our participant was a 26 year old male previously diagnosed Asperger's syndrome who presented with hyperacusis to low-pitched voices and a concomitant vocal disorder manifesting mainly as high vocal pitch. Despite not fully accepting treatment goals he agreed to treatment in our clinic. A systematic auditory desensitization program was employed to treat hyperacusis, including use of recorded male voices, musical instruments, and environmental sounds. In addition, a modified vocal re-education therapy program was also employed which included instruction on easy onset of phonation, biofeedback, ergonomic progressive imagery relaxation techniques and home exercises to reduce vocal hyperfunction and promote phonatorily efficient breath-stream management. Results: Initial, 7 month, and 13 month hyperacusis measures and voice evaluations were conducted. Hyperacusis evaluations showed our participant's hyperacusis for lower-frequency tones improved by up to 30 dB bilaterally and his hyperacusis for running speech improved 40 dB improved in the right ear and 35 dB in the left ear. His vocal pitch, measured as fundamental vocal frequency, improved from 404.471Hz to 280.78Hz. Conclusions: Our systematic auditory desensitization program decreased our participant's hyperacusis and our modified vocal re-education therapy (VRT) program lowered his vocal pitch. However, the results did not generalize beyond the clinic. The latter may be attributable to our participant's unwillingness to fully accept treatment goals, which may serve as a caveat to future clinicians to consider prognosis prior to making treatment decisions.


Formal methods are a useful tool for increasing the confidence in the correctness of computer programs with respect to their specifications. Formal methods allow designers to model specifications and these formal models can then be reasoned about in a rigourous way. Formal methods for sequential processes are well-understood, however formal methods for concurrent programs are more difficult, because of the interference which may arise when programs run concurrently. Rely-guarantee reasoning is a well-established formal method for modelling concurrent programs. Rely-guarantee conditions offer a tractable and compositional approach to reasoning about concurrent programs, by allowing designers to reason about the interference inherent in concurrent systems. While useful, there are certain weaknesses in rely-guarantee conditions. In particular, the requirement for rely-guarantee conditions to describe whole-state updates can make large specifications unwieldy. Similarly, it can be difficult to describe problems which exhibit distinct phases of execution. The main contribution of this thesis is to show ways in which these two weaknesses of rely-guarantee reasoning can be addressed. In turn, this enhances the usability of rely-guarantee conditions. Atomicity refinement is a potentially useful tool for simplifying the development of concurrent programs. The central idea is that designers can record (possibly unrealistic) atomicity assumptions about the eventual implementation of a program. This fiction of atomicity simplifies the design process by avoiding the difficult issue of interference. It is then necessary to identify ways in which this atomicity can be relaxed and concurrent execution introduced. This thesis also argues that the choice of data representation plays an important role in achieving atomicity refinement. In addition, this thesis presents an argument that rely-guarantee conditions and VDM offer a potentially fruitful approach to atomicity refinement. Specifically, rely-conditions can be used to represent assumptions about atomicity and the refinement rules of VDM allow different data representations to be introduced. To this end, a more usable approach to rely-guarantee reasoning would benefit the search for a usable form of atomicity refinement. All of these points are illustrated with a novel development of Simpson's Four-Slot, a mechanism for asynchronous communication between processes.


Abstract:
 Modern estimates of species-level diversity in the recent Mollusca range from 34,000 to 120,000 described species, with total diversity including undescribed species often cited as 200,000. Most estimates are unverifiable, not being based on reproducible methods. Ultimately the best way to gauge diversity is explicit enumeration: actual listing of known species. Comprehensive lists of species are valued as a basis for systematic revisions and for comparing diversity across taxa, but it is less appreciated that they also provide a means for statistical sampling of biodiversity databases. I assessed the completeness of molluscan species listings in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) by comparing it to a standardized inventory of the species represented in the Malacology collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). Random samples of names were scored for presence or absence in WoRMS, with standard errors calculated from the binomial distribution. The WoRMS database has about 1,200 duplicate or extraneous listings for mollusk species and is missing about 1,300 (3%). Overall marine molluscan diversity is estimated at 43,600 ± 900 species, where 900 is a 95% confidence interval. The validity of this confidence interval depends on the WoRMS database and the ANSP collection not having correlated weaknesses. Lack of relatively complete species databases prevents similar assessments for terrestrial and freshwater mollusks, but, using less rigorous methods, I estimate that there are 70,000 to 76,000 described species of recent Mollusca. The low end of this estimate, 70,000 species, is similar to the number of recent chordate species, 69,000, so it is possible that the Mollusca are not the second most diverse phylum of animals in terms of recognized recent species. Naming rates for chordate are currently higher than for mollusk, 750 versus 600 species per year, although the Mollusca are regarded as having higher undescribed diversity. The Mollusca have long been considered the most species-rich marine phylum, but the estimate of 43,600 is substantially below the 56,000 species of Arthropoda listed in WoRMS. Globally, the ratio of marine gastropod to marine bivalve species in WoRMS is 4:1, which is higher than in any regional fauna, suggesting that gastropods have smaller geographic ranges on average than bivalves. The main remaining gaps in WoRMS are among opisthobranchs (8% missing) and Indo-Pacific marine mollusks (6%). The most diverse molluscan genus in WoRMS is Turbonilla, with more than 1,000 species listed as accepted.


Overexpression of the matrix metalloproteinase matrilysin (matrix metalloproteinase-7) in the mouse mammary gland promotes mammary hyperplasia and accelerates the onset of oncogene-induced mammary tumors. In cell culture models, acute exposure of cells coexpressing Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) to matrilysin induces apoptosis, whereas chronic exposure to matrilysin selects for apoptosis-resistant cells. We now demonstrate that matrilysin promotes resistance to apoptosis in vivo. Matrilysin expression increased apoptosis in the involuting mammary gland of mice that had undergone a single pregnancy and lactation cycle. Premature basement membrane disruption was detected in matrilysin-expressing mice, which could account for the increase in apoptosis. However, multiparous mice, in which the involuting mammary epithelial cells have been repeatedly exposed to matrilysin, show a significant decrease in apoptosis. Mammary tissue from multiparous matrilysin-expressing mice showed decreased FasL expression, suggesting that loss of FasL is at least one mechanism of matrilysin-induced resistance to apoptosis. We propose that matrilysin promotes mammary tumor formation by enhancing the selection of cells that are resistant to apoptosis.