This study provides empirically verified findings on the relevance of the Upper Basic Education Curriculum to life experience of learners. It was guided by two specific research objectives,which were:
1.To specify and analyse the elements of the current Upper Basic Education Curriculum
and justify their relevance to the life experiences of learners
2.To state what could be done to make the Upper Basic Education Curriculum relevant to
the life experience of learners The research was conducted in eight schools of Lusaka district. The sample of the study consisted
of fifty nine teachers, thirty two learners, eight head teachers, twenty parents/guardians and ten out-of-school youths.Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from teachers and learners while interview guides were used to gather qualitative data from head teachers, parents/guardians and out-ofschool
youths. Quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science
(SPSS) and Excel whereas qualitative data was analysed by the use of categorization of themes.Among the findings of the study was that only 7 of the 17 academic subjects offered at the Upper Basic School (English, Mathematics, History, Geography, Environmental Science, Civic Education and Religious Education) were considered to be relevant by research participants.
Another finding was that all the 9 practical subjects and all the Co-Curricular Activities were considered to be relevant.
In the light of all the findings from the study, the following recommendations were made:
i.The Ministry of Education should comprehensively review the Upper Basic School Curriculum and come up with one which is more relevant to the life experiences of the learners.
ii.The Ministry of Education should ensure that Co-Curricular Activities are allocated
enough time on the school time tables as the other learning areas.
iii.The Ministry of Education should ensure that the required equipment and facilities are provided to facilitate implementation of all curriculum subjects.
iv.The Ministry of Education should ensure that specialised teachers in all subjects are sent to all schools in the country in order to effectively deliver the curriculum.
v.The Examinations Council of Zambia should make Physical Education examinable.
vi.The Ministry of Education should reduce the number of subjects each learner is required to take in order for each subject to be given adequate time and for learners to gain more in their studies.
vii.The Ministry should localize some aspects of the curriculum in order for learners to acquire some local skills in practical subjects.


Yellow Music is the first history of the emergence of Chinese popular music and urban media culture in early-twentieth-century China. Andrew F. Jones focuses on the affinities between "yellow" or "pornographic" music—as critics derisively referred to the "decadent" fusion of American jazz, Hollywood film music, and Chinese folk forms—and the anticolonial mass music that challenged its commercial and ideological dominance. Jones radically revises previous understandings of race, politics, popular culture, and technology in the making of modern Chinese culture.

The personal and professional histories of three musicians are central to Jones's discussions of shifting gender roles, class inequality, the politics of national salvation, and emerging media technologies: the American jazz musician Buck Clayton; Li Jinhui, the creator of "yellow music"; and leftist Nie Er, a former student of Li's whose musical idiom grew out of virulent opposition to this Sinified jazz. As he analyzes global media cultures in the postcolonial world, Jones avoids the parochialism of media studies in the West. He teaches us to hear not only the American influence on Chinese popular music but the Chinese influence on American music as well; in so doing, he illuminates the ways in which both cultures were implicated in the unfolding of colonial modernity in the twentieth century.


Heart failure (HF) is a chronic condition requiring continuous self-care. Health literacy is increasingly recognized as a key factor of self-care behaviors in patients with chronic diseases. Recently, frailty in chronic diseases has also been associated with self-care behaviors. However, relationships among health literacy, frailty, and self-care in the HF population are not well understood. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to identify the impact of health literacy and frailty on self-care behaviors in patients with HF. Data were collected from 281 adults attending a cardiovascular outpatient clinic in Korea. Health literacy, frailty, and self-care behaviors were measured using Korean-validated instruments. The mean scores of health literacy and self-care behaviors were 8.89 (±3.44) and 31.49 (±5.38), respectively. The prevalence of frailty was around 26.3%. Health literacy was significantly associated with frailty and self-care behaviors. In a hierarchical linear regression analysis, health literacy was a significant determinant of self-care behaviors after adjusting for confounding variables, but frailty was not. Educational level was also a significant predictor of self-care behaviors. Our main findings showed that health literacy can facilitate improvements in HF self-care behaviors. Healthcare professionals should assess patients' health literacy and educational backgrounds when designing self-management programs.


It has been previously shown that for sufficiently large pools of patient-donor pairs, (almost) efficient kidney exchange can be achieved by using at most 3-way cycles, i.e. by using cycles among no more than 3 patient-donor pairs. However, as kidney exchange has grown in practice, cycles among n>3 pairs have proved useful, and long chains initiated by non-directed, altruistic donors have proven to be very effective. We explore why this is the case, both empirically and theoretically. We provide an analytical model of exchange when there are many highly sensitized patients, and show that large cycles of exchange or long chains can significantly increase efficiency when the opportunities for exchange are sparse. As very large cycles of exchange cannot be used in practice, long non-simultaneous chains initiated by non-directed donors significantly increase efficiency in patient pools of the size and composition that presently exist. Most importantly, long chains benefit highly sensitized patients without harming low-sensitized patients.


The objective of this paper is to describe a method of implementing multi-period twoand multi-stage Stochastic Programming (SP) models with exogenous uncertainty that is modeling-platform and programming-language independent. The proposed implementation approach generates an implicit extensive form of the SP model in contrast to an explicit formulation, which explicitly accounts for the sequence of decisions, thus introducing redundant variables and constraints in the model. The efficiency of the proposed implementation approach with respect to memory usage, thus problem size, is achieved with the introduction of three sets of auxiliary parameters in the mathematical formulation of the deterministic equivalent stochastic program. The three parameters capture the non-anticipativity condition, the mapping between scenarios and stages, and the structure of the scenario tree in terms of ancestor nodes without explicitly modeling each node individually. A real-world multi-product, multi-period network planning optimization model is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed implementation approach.


Thyroid cancer derived from follicular epithelial cells is the most common endocrine malignancy in man. An increased incidence of predominantly papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) was found in children exposed to radiation after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Therefore, in this study, the goal was to establish a mouse model of thyroid carcinogenesis, based on a standardized histological classification scheme for the murine thyroid tumors, and complemented by molecular genetic analyses.
In previous studies, radioiodine (I131, 111 kBq) was injected into iodine deficient fed mothers of various mouse strains (F1-hybrids and backcrosses of C57/BL6, C3H, BALB/c, and JF1). The first injection was applied during gestation and the second during lactation. The necropsy tissue was submitted for the analysis in this study.
A set of 365 thyroid glands (203 irradiated and 162 control mice) was histological examined following the current WHO classification of human thyroid tumors (2004) for comparative purposes. The irradiated mice showed 24 % of cases with simple hyperplasia (SH), 20 % with nodular hyperplasia (NH), 7 % with follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA), and 5 % with follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) whereas in the control group only 3 % SH, 3 % of NH, 1 % of FTA, and 1 % of FTC were observed. Interestingly, no PTC was diagnosed in the mice, which is the most frequent irradiation-related type of thyroid cancer in human. Therefore, the histological type of the radiation-associated thyroid tumors in mice differs from that in human. However, some cases of murine FTC presented PTC-like biological behavior. In addition to the significant increase of hyperplasias in irradiated mice, most of the FTC (82 %) arose amongst a background of hyperplastic nodules. Therefore, a progression from NH to FTC, based on genetic instability, cannot be ruled out.
The following molecular methods were used: PCR- (polymerase chain reaction-) based loss of heterozygosity (LOH), comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), and fluorescence-in-situ-hybridization (FISH). Since the CGH-study in mice using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE) is not yet established, an important part of the study was dedicated to evaluate this methodology.
The LOH-study was performed with thyroid gland tissue from 40 mice (seven normal thyroid glands, 12 SH, 10 NH, 10 FTA, and one FTC) using 36 microsatellites for nine different loci. With the exception of an LOH with a single microsatellite on chromosome 14 in 40 % of NH, LOH was found in 75 % of the irradiated male mice with H6F1-background on chromosomes 4, 5, 6, 11, 14, and / or 19. This suggests the existence of a mouse strain specific genetic predisposition, which influence on the genetic stability. One of the FTA (an atypical FTA) was highly suspicious for a deletion of the tumorsuppressorgene Rb1 (supported by intragenic FISH-analysis), which could play an important role in the thyroid carcinogenesis.
For the CGH-study, thyroid tissue derived from 21 different mice (F2-hybrids) was analyzed (two normal thyroid glands, one SH, 12 NH, two FTA, and eight FTC). In 46 % of the hyperplasias, small chromosomal gains and losses located on different chromosomes were observed; suggesting that there exists a genetic instability, which may lead eventually to malignant progression. Regional polyploidies on chromosomes 4 and 5 were demonstrated in one of the FTAs, which could be a hint for the location of oncogenes. Taken together, in FTA development there is a broad spectrum of genetic alteration, and by inference mechanisms. In contrast, the FTC exhibited a significant increase of specific aneuploidies, mainly deletions of the chromosomes 4 (88 %), 9 (50 %), and 14 (38 %). Identical alterations of chromosomes 4 and 9 were also observed in the one case of an FTC from a non-irradiated mouse. These data indicate that irradiation, most probably, increases the frequency of genetic changes, but does not change the type of genetic alterations, which play a crucial role in thyroid carcinogenesis in mice.
A better understanding of molecular genetics involved in thyroid tumorigenesis in standardized mouse models may give insight into the pathogenesis of the various tumor types. Together with the results from human pathology and in vitro studies, this may lead to a better knowledge about the molecular pathways with diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic relevance. The results of this study demonstrate a morphological and genetical difference between human (PTC) and murine (FTC) radiation-associated thyroid tumors, but a strong similarity to the human follicular tumors. Therefore, this mouse model serves as a good model of carcinogenetic mechanisms, tumor induction, and progression in the human follicular tumors FTA and FTC, resulting from the cooperative effect of radioiodine exposition and iodine deficiency.


Baseball has long been considered America's game. From images of Kevin Costner playing catch with his father to political thinkers like George Will authoring entire books about it, baseball has always been embedded in America's national psyche. "Pride and patriotism,"� one author mused required that the game be truly American and unsullied by English influence: thus the American baseball mythos was created. It was not always this way, however, as the game of baseball started among the elite social clubs of New York City and subsequently trickled down to the masses. Thorstein Veblen once said that only the leisure class and delinquents played sports. It was these leisurely and delinquent masses that expanded the game, forcing the innovations that created baseball as we know it today. Salaried players, commercialized contests, and even styles of play were all the products of the lower classes, especially immigrants participating in America's game. German and Irish immigrants changed the game to the extent that the Knickerbockers never would have thought possible, but by 1902 when Major League Baseball was formed, it was an American institution with participation by all classes. Researchers have previously recognized the African-American component to baseball's innovation and that Irish and other immigrant stars dominated the game and contributed to its development by the end of the nineteenth century, but the actual impact of immigrants and lower class ethnic players has never been fully articulated. Immigrants were not just contributors, but were essential to the professional and commercial development of baseball in the 19th century by both their alteration of the commercial and professional structures that defined the game.


Abstract Community Orientated and Opportunity Learning (COOL) Music was a 12-month collaborative project between researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University and practitioners at the Edinburgh-based social enterprise Heavy Sound. The project began in October 2017 and involved 16 sessions of participatory music making with 32 'hard-to-reach' young people (aged 12–17) aimed at increasing confidence and self-esteem and improving social skills. Using COOL Music as a case study, this article explores some of the challenges faced by community-based arts organisations tasked with delivering such interventions, contrasting COOL Music's small-scale, targeted, community-based approach with prevailing top-down music interventions in Scotland. We argue that such programmes are particularly suitable in engaging those at the margins of society, reaching them on their own terms through music that resonates with their own lived experience. However, we acknowledge the short-term and transitory nature of such projects may prove problematic for some hard-to-reach groups who require more stability in their lives and may also lead to staff fatigue and burnout. We call for further research in these areas, and greater policy attention to be paid to the sustainability of such projects.


It has long been understood by disaster researchers that both the general public and organizational actors tend to believe in various disaster myths. Notions that disasters are accompanied by looting, social disorganization, and deviant behavior are examples of such myths. Research shows that the mass media play a significant role in promulgating erroneous beliefs about disaster behavior. Following Hurricane Katrina, the response of disaster victims was framed by the media in ways that greatly exaggerated the incidence and severity of looting and lawlessness. Media reports initially employed a "civil unrest" frame and later characterized victim behavior as equivalent to urban warfare. The media emphasis on lawlessness and the need for strict social control both reflects and reinforces political discourse calling for a greater role for the military in disaster management. Such policy positions are indicators of the strength of militarism as an ideology in the United States.


Diffusion of items occurs in social networks due to spreading of items through word of mouth and exogenous factors. These items may be news, products, videos, advertisements or contagious viruses. Previous research has studied diffusion process at both the macro and micro levels. The former models the number of item adopters in the diffusion process while the latter determines which individuals adopt item. In this paper, we establish a general probabilistic framework, which can be used to derive macro-level diffusion models, including the well known Bass Model (BM). Using this framework, we develop several other models considering the social network's degree distribution coupled with the assumption of linear influence by neighboring adopters in the diffusion process. Through some evaluation on synthetic data, this paper shows that degree distribution actually changes during the diffusion process. We therefore introduce a multi-stage diffusion model to cope with variable degree distribution. By conducting experiments on both synthetic and real datasets, we show that our proposed diffusion models can recover the diffusion parameters from the observed diffusion data, which allows us to model diffusion with high accuracy.


Katherine Magyarody, "'Sacred Ties of Brotherhood': The Social Mediation of Imperial Ideology in The Last of the Mohicans and Canadian Crusoes " (pp. 315–342) This essay analyzes narrative patterns of colonist-indigenous relations within Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) and two Robinsonade texts, James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (1826) and Catharine Parr Traill's Canadian Crusoes (1852). Within the latter texts, the multiplication of Crusoe into "castaway" groups allows for an investigation of the social collateral of reaffirming racial hierarchies via settlers' allegiance to indigenous individuals while destroying larger indigenous communities. In The Last of the Mohicans , the hybrid Cora Munroe and the Mohican Uncas's love for her threatens the established pattern of homosocial interracial friendship; their deaths reaffirm racial boundaries. Conversely, by depicting a "coterie" of Scotch, French-Canadian, hybrid, and Mohawk members, Canadian Crusoes self-consciously rewrites the tragedy of Cooper's novel so that sororal love enables cross-cultural marriage. Nevertheless, Traill's proleptic descriptions of Canadian settlement mark her narrative as an alternate history that diverges from the progressive alienation of Native communities.


For all the attention globalization has received in recent years, little consensus has emerged concerning how best to understand it. For some, it is the happy product of free and rational choices; for others, it is the unfortunate outcome of impersonal forces beyond our control. It is in turn celebrated for the opportunities it affords and criticized for the inequalities in wealth and power it generates. David Singh Grewal's remarkable and ambitious book draws on several centuries of political and social thought to show how globalization is best understood in terms of a power inherent in social relations, which he calls network power. Using this framework, he demonstrates how our standards of social coordination both gain in value the more they are used and undermine the viability of alternative forms of cooperation. A wide range of examples are discussed, from the spread of English and the gold standard to the success of Microsoft and the operation of the World Trade Organization, to illustrate how global standards arise and falter. The idea of network power supplies a coherent set of terms and concepts--applicable to individuals, businesses, and countries alike--through which we can describe the processes of globalization as both free and forced. The result is a sophisticated and novel account of how globalization, and politics, work.


The revolts known collectively as the Arab Spring are largely reactions of alienated populations to the closed economic and political systems that prevail in the Middle East. Revolutions in individual countries have differed because of the differing status of the military, sectarian divisions, and mineral wealth. The prospect of peaceful political change reduces the appeal of extremist ideologies, but extremists still could make inroads to the extent that high popular hopes are dashed. Democracy will need a long time to take root in Arab political cultures.


The rapidly changing landscape of medical knowledge and guidelines requires health professionals to have immediate access to current, reliable clinical resources. Access to evidence is instrumental in reducing diagnostic errors and generating better health outcomes. UpToDate, a leading evidence-based clinical resource is used extensively in the USA and other regions of the world and has been linked to lower mortality and length of stay in US hospitals. In 2009, the Global Health Delivery Project collaborated with UpToDate to provide free subscriptions to qualifying health workers in resource-limited settings. We evaluated the provision of UpToDate access to health workers by analysing their usage patterns. Since 2009, ∼2000 individual physicians and healthcare institutions from 116 countries have received free access to UpToDate through our programme. During 2013–2014, users logged into UpToDate ∼150 000 times; 61% of users logged in at least weekly; users in Africa were responsible for 54% of the total usage. Search patterns reflected local epidemiology with 'clinical manifestations of malaria' as the top search in Africa, and 'management of hepatitis B' as the top search in Asia. Our programme demonstrates that there are barriers to evidence-based clinical knowledge in resource-limited settings we can help remove. Some assumed barriers to its expansion (poor internet connectivity, lack of training and infrastructure) might pose less of a burden than subscription fees.


The Canary Current (CC) is characterised by strong disruption of its flow by the Canaries Archipelago, which extends across the prevailing flow. In the Coastal Transition Zone (CTZ) downstream of the islands, a region of high mesoscale activity connects the eutrophic waters of the NW Africa coastal upwelling (UW) system with the oligotrophic open ocean waters of the eastern subtropical North Atlantic gyre (ESNA). We studied the distribution of particulate (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and carbon remineralization rates in the 0 to 1000 m water column of this transitional region to assess its role in horizontal and vertical export of organic matter. The epipelagic waters (0 to 200 m) of the CTZ are characterised by higher mean surface integrated concentrations of POC (0.8 ± 0.4 mol C m -2 ) and DOC (17 ± 7 mol C m -2 ), and by higher community respiration (R >100 mmol C m -2 d -1 ) than the ESNA or UW waters. Integrated R was much lower (7 ± 3 mmol C m -2 d -1 ) in the mesopelagic zone (200 to 1000 m), indicating that most of the organic mat- ter was respired in the upper 200 m, with little being transported downwards. Nevertheless, peaks in DOC and R were observed at 300 to 600 m depth, coinciding with the depth of the deep scattering layer. These relative maxima were particularly important in the case of DOC, reaching concentra- tions comparable to surface waters (> 80 µM). In spite of this, DOC contributed only 26.5% to the apparent oxygen utilisation (AOU) in the mesopelagic zone. Correlations between R and particulate- and dissolved organic matter suggest that respiration was mainly supported by particulate material at surface and deep waters. We compared plankton metabolic balances along the UW, CTZ and ESNA. Our analyses show that during summer time, and probably during most of the year, the ESNA and CTZ behave as net heterotrophic regions. In spite of a relatively high primary production (P) favoured by mesoscale activity in the CTZ, plankton R clearly exceeds P as result of the excess carbon advected from the coastal UW. However, a significant amount of non-respired carbon must be trans- ported from the CTZ to the open ocean to account for part of the surface metabolic imbalance between P and R reported for the ESNA.


Background: Tracheal intubation is an essential skill for anaesthetists and other disciplines that require emergency establishment of a secure airway. Early attempts in patients often meet with failure. Existing publications focus mainly on trainees in emergency settings and highlight the role of experience in success; most recommend prior simulation training. Common factors identified as contributing to difficulty have been difficult airways, emergencies and rapid sequence induction. Early intubation skill development in patients with anticipated straightforward airways in a controlled environment has received little attention. Objectives: This qualitative observational study aimed to identify common difficulties associated with a supervised intubation process by inexperienced personnel in the relatively stress-free conditions of elective surgical procedures in the operating theatre. Methods: Following institutional and ethical approval, participants, supervisors, anaesthetic assistants and patients consented to observation and video-recording of supervised intubations in a Durban teaching hospital. Anonymity and confidentiality were assured. Contemporaneous observations were recorded in theatre, and video-recordings were subsequently reviewed for content. Errors, and interactions between supervisor, assistant and participant, and associated outcomes, were identified. Results: Twenty participants (medical interns and medical, paramedical and nursing students) performing 72 intubations were observed. All participants had prior training using manikins or simulators. There were 61 successful intubations and 11 unsuccessful attempts. Factors associated with failure included unfamiliarity with airway, equipment or process. Process errors included inadequate head positioning, laryngoscope handling and tracheal tube manipulation. Anaesthetic assistants contributed to difficulties in some cases. Supervisor support was either verbal, physical or both. Less experienced supervisors tended to intervene earlier. There was a significant trend for success associated with the reported number of prior successful intubations. A successful intubation within the study was, however, no guarantee of subsequent success. Conclusion: Despite prior simulation training, many participants demonstrated lack of familiarity with the airway, intubation process and equipment. While improved simulation training might partly address these issues, supervision of early clinical intubation attempts needs to be redirected from the process of intubation itself to the process of intubation skills acquisition. A first step would be to ensure that all supervisors and assistants are trained for the latter goal, anticipating common errors and providing standardised conditions for success. The use of video-recording of the events is an invaluable aid to observation and interpretation, and is recommended as an adjunct to further studies of mechanical skills transfer.


INTRODUCTION
Children with urolithiasis are associated with considerable morbidity and commonly associated with metabolic abnormalities. By treating these abnormalities stone formation is prevented.

OBJECTIVES
To study the metabolic risk factors of urolithiasis in children and compare them with literature.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In open, prospective and observational study, 75 children were evaluated from August 2010 to June 2014. In all patients' dietary history, water intake and results of laboratory findings were recorded. All urine samples obtained from patients were without dietary restrictions. Reference paediatric 24 hour urinary parameter was used according to western literature.

RESULTS
We investigated 75 patients with urolithiasis. Low urine volume was found in 49 patients which is comparable with previous studies indicating simple intervention as to increase water intake. Low calcium intake was found in 44 patients suggesting that low calcium intake is associated with higher incidence of urolithiasis due to increased intestinal oxalate absorption. Hypocalcaemia was found in 32 patients and 24 hour urinary abnormality was found in only 16 patients'. Both these finding does not support previous literature. Stone analysis finding does not correlate with urinary finding.

CONCLUSIONS
Low urine volume secondary to low water intake is predominant finding. Hypocalcaemia is major metabolic abnormality in contradiction to western literature. There are no nomograms for urinary excretion of Calcium, uric acid, oxalate and citrate in Indian children. Keeping the optimum blood calcium level & increased fluid intake can prevent stone formation in children.


iSCSI is emerging as an end-to-end protocol for transporting storage I/O block data over IP networks. By exploiting the ubiquitous Internet infrastructure, iSCSI greatly facilitates remote storage, remote backup, and data mirroring. This article evaluates the performance of two typical iSCSI storage subsystems by measuring and analyzing block-level I/O access performance and file-level access performance. In the file-level performance study, we compare file access performance in an NAS scheme with that in an iSCSI-based SAN scheme. Our test results show that Gigabit Ethernet-based iSCSI can reach very high bandwidth, close to that of a direct FC disk access in block I/O access. However, when the iSCSI traverses through longer distance, throughput relies heavily on the available bandwidth between the initiator and the target. On the other hand, the file-level performance shows that iSCSI-based file access (SAN scheme) provides higher performance than using NFS protocol in Linux and SMB protocol in Windows (NAS scheme). However, the advantage of using iSCSI-based file accesses decreases as the file size increases. The obtained experimental results shed some light on the performance of applications based on iSCSI storage.


Observations made near the Celtic Sea shelf edge are used to investigate the interaction between wind-generated near-inertial oscillations and the semidiurnal internal tide. Linear, baroclinic energy fluxes within the near-inertial (f) and semidiurnal (M2) wave bands are calculated from measurements of velocity and density structure at two moorings located 40 km from the internal tidal generation zone. Over the 2 week deployment period, the semidiurnal tide drove 28–48 W m−1 of energy directly on-shelf. Little spring-neap variability could be detected. Horizontal near-inertial energy fluxes were an order of magnitude weaker, but nonlinear interaction between the vertical shear of inertial oscillations and the vertical velocity associated with the semidiurnal internal tide led to a 25–43% increase in positive on-shelf energy flux. The phase relationship between f and M2 determines whether this nonlinear interaction enhances or dampens the linear tidal component of the flux, and introduces a 2 day counter-clockwise beating to the energy transport. Two very clear contrasting regimes of (a) tidally and (b) inertially driven shear and energy flux are captured in the observations.


This paper investigates the dynamic structural behavior of woven-fabric reinforced composites with high matrix–fabric volume fraction as applied in the construction of crash or security barriers typified by the Inflatable Offshore Fender Barrier Structure (IOFBS). Dynamic analysis of the IOFBS comprising of over 98% of the composite under impact loading was carried out using the finite element method employing the Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) formulation. The barriers were inflated to 6 kPa and 7 kPa initial pneumatic fluid pressures and subjected to crash loadings from a high velocity vessel. The enclosed fluid of the structure was modeled based on the Shomate equation and fluid behavior of water on which the structure floats was modeled using Us-Up Hugoniot equation of state. The barriers' membrane stresses distributions, deformations, internal fluid pressure surge and volume variations of the structures after impact as well as vessel's degree of instability and deceleration after impact for different initial inflation pressures were computed and studied. The developed models and numerical results obtained are useful in assessing the performance of the composite as used in the IOFBS and similar structures and in improving the design of the structure.


A new agnathan-dominated biota found near Louisburgh, Co. Mayo in the west of Ireland is correlated with post-Llandovery biotas of the Midland Valley of Scotland (MVS). It is argued that this biotic similarity implies a 500 km elongate aquatic connection between the two areas. An alternative hypothesis, that the fault-bounded Irish outcrop is a displaced terrane, originally in closer contiguity with the MVS inliers is rejected. This results from a detailed structural analysis of the bounding fault (Emlagh Thrust), which constrains the post-Llandovery strike-slip motion to less than 25 km.


absent identification to date of less- differentiated multipotent progenitor cells within distal lung epithelium, which can give rise to either or both alveolar epithelial type II (AT2) and type I (AT1) cells, the accepted paradigm is that AT2 cells serve as progenitors for normal alveolar epithelial maintenance and repair following injury (1, 8). This concept is based on early studies of thymidine incorporation and serial morphological assessment following oxidant lung injury, which demonstrated early appearance of label in AT2 cells followed by later appearance in AT1 cells, leading to the conclusions that 1) AT2 cells are capable of self-renewal as well as differentiation into AT1 cells and 2) AT1 cells do not proliferate and are likely terminally differentiated. A limitation of these studies is that only cells that were proliferating were labeled, thereby not ruling out the possibilities of AT1 to AT2 cell transdifferentiation, transition between either cell type and less differentiated progenitors, and/or acquisition of a (myo)fibroblast phenotype through epithelial-mesenchymal transition without an intervening cell division (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1.

Alveolar epithelial cell plasticity in lung repair. The currently accepted paradigm is that, following injury, alveolar epithelial type II (AT2) cells proliferate and both self-renew and serve as precursors for replacement of AT1 cells (1). A less-differentiated ...

Similar to this paradigm in vivo, AT2 cells in primary culture in vitro transdifferentiate over time to an AT1 cell-like phenotype (6, 7). However, in marked contrast to the earlier in vivo results, these AT1-like cells can, under certain conditions, reacquire AT2 cell-like features, indicating that AT1 cells in vitro can exhibit phenotypic plasticity (2, 3, 4, 5). For example, culture of AT1-like cells with keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) or on contracted collagen gels reveals reexpression of surfactant proteins, loss of expression of AT1 cell markers, and reacquisition of morphological features of AT2 cells (2, 4, 5). Furthermore, although AT1-like cells manifest little proliferation at baseline, exposure to growth factors such as KGF induces significant increases in cell number (4).

These early in vitro studies demonstrating alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) phenotypic plasticity are now supported by additional in vitro data in a recent article in which Gonzalez et al. (9a) demonstrate that freshly isolated AT1 cells can proliferate and express phenotypic markers characteristic of other cell types under appropriate culture conditions. AT1 cells grown on fibronectin in the presence of 20% fetal bovine serum without added growth factors (conditions that did not support AT2 cell proliferation) exhibited a sixfold increase in cell number before becoming contact inhibited at confluence. Approximately one-half of the cells expressed the proliferation marker Ki67, consistent with proliferative capacity. AT1 cells cultured on Matrigel expressed surfactant protein C and CC10, markers of the AT2 and Clara cell phenotypes, respectively, supporting the possibility of phenotypic plasticity in vitro. When plated at very low density, ∼50% of AT1 cells formed colonies. Together with the observation that AT1 cells may express octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct-4), a marker of pluripotency in embryonic stem (ES) cells, these findings led Gonzalez et al. to suggest, in addition to phenotypic plasticity and proliferative capacity, a possible progenitor function for AT1 cells.

This interesting report from Gonzalez et al. (9a) provides potentially important additional insights into AEC biology that, if recapitulated in vivo, will help alter currently accepted paradigms of normal maintenance and response to injury of alveolar epithelium. As such, interpretation and extension of these findings calls for careful consideration. For example, although Gonzalez et al. suggest that AT1 cells are capable of proliferation under the culture conditions used, expansion of the number of AT1 cells was not observed until after day 4 in culture. While perhaps unlikely given the purity of the starting populations as well as results of clonal analysis and Ki67 labeling, this delay is consistent with the possibility that, under these specific experimental conditions, a subpopulation of either less-differentiated precursor cells or RTI40-expressing cells with proliferative capacity expand after several days in culture. Serial examination of cells in culture to confirm that the early Ki67-positive cells continue to express AT1 cell markers (e.g., RTI40 and/or AQP5) will help address that possibility. Confirmation of AT1 cell plasticity in vitro also requires further evaluation of phenotype, including morphology and plasticity in clonally expanded populations.

A major limiting factor to identification of stem/progenitor cell population(s) within the alveolar epithelium has been the lack of surface markers to identify a stem cell phenotype or assays to evaluate "stemness" such as exist in the hematopoietic system (19). Bronchoalveolar stem cells, which exhibit coexpression of AT2 cell and Clara cell markers, have been suggested as possible progenitors for both proximal and distal lung epithelial cells (10). However, recent studies suggest a limited role, if any, for these cells as progenitors of distal epithelium (15, 17), and the most likely paradigm remains that AT2 cells serve as primary progenitors for maintenance and repair of the distal lung epithelium. In the current study, Gonzalez et al. (9a) demonstrate that isolated AT1 cells express Oct-4, leading to the suggestion of progenitor function for AT1 cells. Oct-4, a member of the POU family of transcription factors, represents a nuclear protein that has been suggested to function as a regulator of pluripotency in ES cells (14). The Oct-4 gene encodes two alternatively spliced isoforms (Oct-4A and Oct-4B) that differ in their NH2-terminal regions, and it is the Oct-4A isoform that is responsible for its function. However, several recent publications have suggested caution in interpretation of results of Oct-4 expression in somatic stem cells with regard to inferring pluripotency. First, accurate detection of Oct-4 is technically challenging, even with use of complementary techniques (13). Several Oct-4 retropseudogenes have been described that can confound interpretation of RT-PCR results, and it has been suggested that the most appropriate way to confirm expression of Oct-4 is to sequence the amplified PCR product to exclude false positives based on detection of a pseudogene. Evaluation of downstream targets of Oct-4 (e.g., fibroblast growth factor-4 and the transcription factor Rex-1) might also support the presence of active Oct-4 rather than a pseudogene. Western blotting may be similarly difficult to interpret, since discrimination of Oct-4A and Oct-4B isoforms based on size may be difficult. Inclusion of a competing peptide, as well as use of isotype controls, has been suggested for definitive identification of the active Oct-4A isoform. By immunostaining, only the nuclear form of Oct-4 is regarded as specific for Oct-4A, and it has been shown that the intracellular distribution of Oct-4 differs depending on the antibody used, raising questions about antibody specificity (21). Furthermore, although a number of recent studies have detected Oct-4 in somatic stem cells (particularly in vitro), questions remain regarding functional relevance of these findings in vivo and specificity of Oct-4 as an adequate marker of pluripotency in vitro (12). In this regard, conditional deletion of Oct-4 in somatic tissues of adult mice did not affect their regenerative capacity following injury, suggesting that Oct-4 is not essential for somatic stem/progenitor cell function (11). Last, demonstration of Oct-4 in adult human differentiated cells has further challenged its role as a stem cell marker, leading to the suggestion that presence of Oct-4 alone is insufficient evidence for pluripotency (20). Gonzalez et al. (9a) address some of these confounding issues by designing RT-PCR primers specific for Oct-4A and performing concurrent evaluations using Western blotting and immunofluorescence. However, potential pseudogenes were not excluded, immunostaining was predominantly but not exclusively nuclear, and identification of downstream targets of Oct-4 was not evaluated. While the data presented by Gonzalez et al. are clearly provocative, additional functional studies and evaluation of other stem cell markers in vitro and in vivo will be required to specifically attribute stem/progenitor capacity to AT1 cells.

Definitive determination that AT1 cells can give rise to AT2 or other cell types will require lineage tracing experiments in vivo in which AT1 cells are permanently labeled using Cre-lox approaches (16). This approach has facilitated analysis in tracheal/bronchial epithelium and allowed insights into the role(s) of certain cell types as progenitors (17). Approaches to lineage tagging of AT2 cells have been available for some time, but lack of appropriate promoters has delayed lineage tagging of AT1 cells. Recent characterization of several promoters unique to AT1 cells in the alveolar epithelium should permit advances in tracing AT1 cell fate and potential progenitor cell identification (9, 18). Notwithstanding these limitations, the studies by Gonzalez et al. (9a) reinforce challenges (5) to the long-held paradigm of AT1 cells as a terminally differentiated cell type (1, 8) and suggest the need for further investigation of the proliferative, plasticity, progenitor, and lineage characteristics of AT1 cells. If validated in vivo, these findings could have transformative implications for our understanding of maintenance of the alveolar epithelium and its repair following injury.


Deriving event storylines is an effective summarization method to succinctly organize extensive information, which can significantly alleviate the pain of information overload. The critical challenge is the lack of widely recognized definition of storyline metric. Prior studies have developed various approaches based on different assumptions about users' interests. These works can extract interesting patterns, but their assumptions do not guarantee that the derived patterns will match users' preference. On the other hand, their exclusiveness of single modality source misses cross-modality information. This paper proposes a method, multimodal imitation learning via Generative Adversarial Networks(MIL-GAN), to directly model users' interests as reflected by various data. In particular, the proposed model addresses the critical challenge by imitating users' demonstrated storylines. Our proposed model is designed to learn the reward patterns given user-provided storylines and then applies the learned policy to unseen data. The proposed approach is demonstrated to be capable of acquiring the user's implicit intent and outperforming competing methods by a substantial margin with a user study.


Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods have been used in many fields (physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science) for simulation, inference, and optimization. The essence of these methods is to simulate a Markov chain whose state X follows a target probability X ∼ π(X). In many applications, π(X) is defined on a graph G whose vertices represent elements in the system and whose edges represent the connectivity of the elements. X is a vector of variables on the vertices which often take discrete values called labels or colors. Designing rapid mixing Markov chain is a challenging task when the variables in the graph are strongly coupled. Methods, like the single-site Gibbs sampler, often experience long waiting time. A well-celebrated algorithm for sampling on graphs is the Swendsen-Wang (1987) (SW) method. The SWmethod finds a cluster of vertices as a connected component after turning off some edges probabilistically, and flips the color of the cluster as a whole. It is shown to mix rapidly under certain conditions. Unfortunately, the SW method is only applicable to the Ising/Potts models and slow down critically in the presence of "external fields" i.e. likelihood in Bayesian inference.In this paper, we present a general cluster sampling method which achieves the following objectives. Firstly, it extends the SW algorithm to general Bayesian inference on graphs. Especially we focus a number of image analysis problems where the graph sizes are in the order of O(103) — O(106) with O(1) connectivity. Secondly, the edge probability for clustering the vertices are discriminative probabilities computed from data. Empirically such data driven clustering leads to much improved efficiency. Thirdly, we present a generalized Gibbs sampler which samples the color of a cluster according to a conditional probability (like the Gibbs sampler) weighted by a product of edge probabilities. Fourthly, we design the algorithm to work on multi-grid and multi-level graphs. The algorithm is tested on typical problems in image analysis, such as image segmentation and motion analysis, In our experiments, the algorithm is O(102) orders faster than the single-site Gibbs sampler. In the literature, there are several ways for interpreting the SW-method which leads to various analyses or generalizations, including random cluster model (RCM), data augmentation, slice sampling, and partial decoupling. We take a different route by interpreting SW as a Metropolis-Hastings step with auxiliary variables for proposing the moves or we can view it as a generalized hit-and-run method.


The performance of a previously developed simple analytical equation of state for pure athermal fluids is tested for fluids consisting of hard diatomic molecules. The chemical potential is obtained from thermodynamic integration of the equation of state. Results are compared with existing simulation data and those obtained from other commonly used equations of state, for the fluids considered.


Drought is a global phenomenon and is a common characteristic of extreme climate. It is widely considered as the world's costliest natural disaster since their effects are especially devastating to the agricultural and social economy. Effective water resource infrastructure and management is required for the mitigation of drought, and this requires drought risk assessment. Essential characteristics of drought are severity, average intensity and duration, which are highly correlated. Copulas are multivariate uniform distribution functions with uniform marginals, which provide a flexible approach to model their relationship. For an extreme drought event to be modelled, the upper-tail dependence must be investigated. The construction of an alternative copula form is introduced through a transformation called a distortion, to allow for more versatile modelling of tail dependence. Data from a rainfall district in New South Wales is considered and the Gumbel-Hougaard copula and distorted Frank copulas are fitted to the drought characteristics. Goodness-of-fit and upper tail correlations of these copulas are analysed and discussed. Finally, conditional annual drought recurrence intervals are calculated and compared for these fitted copulas.


In A tyPICAl HIgH SCHool World History course, the teacher must teach thousands of years of human history in one year, thus making it the most comprehensive history course offered in school. given the extended content requirements in a World History course, individual topics are given little time before the class must "move on" to the next topic. It should be of no surprise that teaching a unit about medieval Europe offers students little opportunity to engage with content, other than "name that Monarch" and a brief overview of feudalism. the "cover the content" approach to teaching World History requires students to be passive learners of the curriculum. For the unfortunate students involved in this type of learning environment, the World History experience is underwhelming and boring. Effectively teaching World History requires that teachers foster a learning environment that is challenging, interactive, engaging, meaningful, and relevant for the learner. Infusing a game activity into the curriculum offers a way to create a highly interactive and engaging learning environment while supporting meaningful content acquisition. the purpose of this article is to help educators explore the strategy of using the game of chess in the World History classroom. More specifically, it provides educators with a classroomtested lesson activity for teaching medieval European society content using the game of chess by providing background information on the history of chess, a rationale for including chess in the classroom, and step-by-step procedures to infuse this activity when the topic of feudalism is covered.


In recent years, the need for semantic segmentation has arisen across several different applications and environments. However, the expense and redundancy of annotation often limits the quantity of labels available for training in any domain, while deployment is easier if a single model works well across domains. In this paper, we pose the novel problem of universal semi-supervised semantic segmentation and propose a solution framework, to meet the dual needs of lower annotation and deployment costs. In contrast to counterpoints such as fine tuning, joint training or unsupervised domain adaptation, universal semi-supervised segmentation ensures that across all domains: (i) a single model is deployed, (ii) unlabeled data is used, (iii) performance is improved, (iv) only a few labels are needed and (v) label spaces may differ. To address this, we minimize supervised as well as within and cross-domain unsupervised losses, introducing a novel feature alignment objective based on pixel-aware entropy regularization for the latter. We demonstrate quantitative advantages over other approaches on several combinations of segmentation datasets across different geographies (Germany, England, India) and environments (outdoors, indoors), as well as qualitative insights on the aligned representations.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of various employment characteristics on the health of Canadian caregiver-employees (CEs), who are working full-time in the labor market while also providing informal/family care to adults.

Design/methodology/approach
Framed with Pearlin et al.'s (1990) stress model and using data from Statistic Canada's General Social Survey Cycle 26 (2012), several work-related variables for caregivers were considered, including the availability of various forms of caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs), and a series of work interferences (WIs) experienced as a result of the caregiving role.

Findings
This study provides evidence for the value of CFWPs in all workplaces. Counter-intuitively, family and other forms of support were found to negatively relate to both physical and mental health.

Originality/value
This suggests that CFWPs will not only have an impact on CEs' physical health outcomes, but will likely decrease the effect of the WIs experienced.


Natural language interfaces for visualizations have emerged as a promising new way of interacting with data and performing analytics. Many of these systems have fundamental limitations. Most return minimally interactive visualizations in response to queries and often require experts to perform modeling for a set of predicted user queries before the systems are effective. Eviza provides a natural language interface for an interactive query dialog with an existing visualization rather than starting from a blank sheet and asking closed-ended questions that return a single text answer or static visualization. The system employs a probabilistic grammar based approach with predefined rules that are dynamically updated based on the data from the visualization, as opposed to computationally intensive deep learning or knowledge based approaches. The result of an interaction is a change to the view (e.g., filtering, navigation, selection) providing graphical answers and ambiguity widgets to handle ambiguous queries and system defaults. There is also rich domain awareness of time, space, and quantitative reasoning built in, and linking into existing knowledge bases for additional semantics. Eviza also supports pragmatics and exploring multi-modal interactions to help enhance the expressiveness of how users can ask questions about their data during the flow of visual analysis.


of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sustainable Restoration of Mine Sites by Baiq Dewi Krisnayanti A sustainable approach to restoration of the post-mining landscape involves creating conditions where a viable growth medium can be established with the minimal amount of fertiliser inputs over a period of time. Ideally, this growth medium should comprise a combination of minerals, organic matter, and biological components with have the capacity to retain and release nutrients over time. When combined with a re-vegetation scheme appropriate to the biogeographic area, a self-sustaining ecosystem can be established. Regulatory requirements for mine restoration typically require the use of topsoil, which is often in limited supply. However, overburden is commonly present in vast quantities and has the potential to be used as a restoration substrate with appropriate amendments. There are significant gaps in our understanding of factors relating to the use and amendment of overburden as a growing medium. The main objective of this study was to investigate and quantify the effects of inorganic and organic amendments and weathering on nutrient availability and plant growth in topsoil and overburden material obtained from the OceanaGold Globe Progress mine at Reefton, New Zealand. A series of glasshouse experiments were carried out on topsoil, fresh overburden and mullock (old waste rock) amended with biosolids, green manure, sawdust, lime and mineral fertiliser nutrients (nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)). Results demonstrated that 300 kg N ha was sufficient to overcome N deficiency in topsoil, while 100 kg P ha was required to overcome P deficiency. Addition of biosolids to topsoil and overburden increased plant biomass production, without increasing heavy metal concentrations. Amendment of overburden significantly affected weathering rates by accelerating the formation of secondary minerals. In particular, lupin green manure accelerated the formation of organic iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) organic complexes, resulting from the decomposition of the green manure and release of Fe from primary minerals. Results revealed that wineberry and red beech required 200 kg N ha for optimum growth. Overall, the findings of this research identified key parameters for effective utilisation


The goal of university instructional physical activity programs (IPAPs) is to provide quality instruction through best practices to encourage college students to lead healthy and physically active lifestyles. As IPAPs have continued to decline due to enrollment and budgetary concerns, the importance of quality and sustainability has become particularly paramount. Furthermore, it is imperative to the existence of IPAPs that we strive to learn and share with each other in order to independently survive, but more essentially to flourish collectively, as we are better together. In our varied experience, while some IPAPs face unique challenges, many obstacles are common, regardless of institution size and composition. This paper will offer the perspectives of four strikingly different colleges and universities in their quest to navigate challenges in delivery, maintain and support quality instruction, and advocate for IPAPs.


This article aims to highlight the conventional semiotic processes linking sound to image in audiovisuals. Examples drawn from contemporary cinema apply the sound dimension as a field of experimentation, attempting to find what can be defined as the 'intrinsic iconic properties' of sound. The article's focus is on the continuum between realism and anti-realism in the audiovisual sound/image relation, as well as on the association/dissociation between sound and image as a terrain for unusual narrative possibilities. The fashion for using the sound dimension in audiovisuals further underlines its constructed and artificial character, as it constantly searches for a relationship with an 'authentic reality'.


We show demodulation and demultiplexing of multi-channel WDM differential phase-shift-keying (DPSK) signals operating simultaneously at 10 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s using a 1x4 wavelength selective switch. We achieve error-free performance for four channels equally spaced by 100 GHz propagated over an 85 km dispersion-compensated link. We study the advantages and limitations of this new DPSK demodulator compared with the conventional delay-line interferometer.


The nature of the organic. On the scientific significance of Aristotelian biology. The core thesis of the paper is that the constitution of biological science begins with a conceptual innovation with far-reaching consequences with effect up to the present: by conceiving the parts of living beings as organs (that is, as tools), Aristotle laid the foundation stone for a functional explanation of animate nature. Comparative anatomy is thus transformed from a merely descriptive to an explanatory theory. The point of the discussion is above all that a functional explanation must not be confused with the sort of teleology according to which the function of an organ is understood as the cause of its existence. The first section outlines the theoretical motives that Aristotle adduces in arguing for biology (against contemporary contempt for biological research). The second step addresses the significance of the parts of animals in Aristotle's larger collection of zoological material, the Historia animalium. The third section demonstrates how in the major explanatory work De partibus animalium the term organon takes on the status of a key methodological concept. Finally, the fourth section discusses the significance of the Aristotelian determination of the organic with respect to current discourses in natural science.


Background: Childbirth preparation classes can reduce pregnant women's anxiety and fear for their childbirth. However, to evaluate women's feedback and their satisfaction with these classes, there is a need for a standard instrument that is suitable for Iranian context. This study is aimed to translate and conduct a psychometric analysis of the Satisfaction with the Childbirth Education Class Questionnaire (SCECQ) for Iranian population. Methods: The questionnaire was translated from English into Persian through the forward-backward translation method. The cluster sampling method was employed to select 205 pregnant women with gestational age of 35-37 weeks from all health complexes of Tabriz, Iran. The face, content, and construct validity of the research instrument were assessed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were measured to evaluate the overall reliability of the questionnaire.Results: The impact scores of all items were above 1.5. The content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) of the questionnaire were 0.88 and 0.94, respectively. The convergent construct validity of the whole questionnaire and those of its three subscales were confirmed through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The factor loadings of no items were below 0.3, and the X2⁄df ratio was smaller than 5. The overall model validity was confirmed by having the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) smaller than 0.08. Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were 0.93 and 0.96, respectively, indicating the acceptable reliability of the questionnaire.Conclusion: The Persian version of this questionnaire, entitled SCECQ is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring Iranian women's satisfaction with childbirth education classes.


A city girl at heart, I have had a love-hate relationship with suburbia for over 20 years. It began in 1979 when, over a period of many months, I photographed the lawns, gardens, and homes of Parma, Ohio, a western suburb of Cleveland and the epitome of middle Americana. To those who live on the East Side, the West Side is a cultural wasteland of cookie-cutter houses, meatball shrubs, bland lawns, and decorative clichés. So when I set out with my camera, it was as on safari to a strange and distant land. What I found were cookie-cutter houses, meatball shrubs, decorative clichés, patterns of light and shadow, geometric perfection, and quirky expressions of faith, love, and individuality. This was no modern gated community where a large question mark painted on a garage door would be against the rules. The result of the expedition was the series, Parma Piece, subsequently exhibited at the New Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Cleveland Art Museum. But Parma Piece was only part of the story. Suburbia is where the American Dream lives, and those who dwell there dream the Big Dream. Just as they (or their parents) fled to America in search of freedom and prosperity, they, in turn, fled the dirt, noise, chaos, and racial strife of the city in search of the quiet, order, cleanliness, and safety of the suburbs. For the vast majority, however, prosperity only went so far while they held fast to the notion that if they worked hard, invested, and saved, they, too, could live in European-style palaces with manicured gardens, a status that was unattainable under European political/economic systems. For the time being, however, a bungalow nested inside a row of identical bungalows would have to do. And while the palaces and sculpted gardens of Versailles were out of reach, they had their little plots of earth on which to plant their shrubs and weedless grass shaped and trimmed to unearthly standards of perfection. Instead of monumental statues, they had rocks and swans and flamingos and little boys carrying fishing poles. Their homes would be their castles, of sorts, and they would dream ... Using digital tools, I am able to re-visualize that dream, to begin to imagine Versailles from their individual efforts. Touring Suburbia represents an attempt to recapture a dream once glimpsed.


The cave sediments in the galleries near the entrance of the Han-sur-Lesse cave constitute a sedimentary record of the palaeoenvironmental evolution during the end of the Pleistocene, tardi-glacial transition and the Holocene. Lithostratigraphic study and granulometric analysis of three sections (the section of the 'Galeries des Potirons', the section of the 'Cave a Vin', the section of the 'Galerie des Petites Fontaines') enable to reconstruct the hydrological evolution of those galleries at the end of the last glacial period. This reconstruction is dated by uranium-series disequilibrium datings on speleothems and 14C datings on charcoals.


The provision of adequate, good or quality housing for the population has always been a major challenge and task for most nations in the world particularly the developing countries. As such various measures have been undertaken towards this end. However, the major constraint or problem in this respect has always been in defining the criteria for quality housing and establishing the standards of quality housing particularly with respect to the parameters in the determination of quality as some of the parameters are subjective and contextual such as psychological, cultural and environmental aspects. This paper is aimed at discussing the concept of quality housing and establishing the parameters and theoretical framework which can be used by researchers, town planners, architects, policy makers and others in the formulation of criteria / guidelines for the planning and design of quality housing.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the following questions: What factors leads to success in mathematics, and how can these success factors and qualities be described? Will the teacher's education and pedagogical praxis have an impact on good learning results? We report results from a case-control association study on among high achievement classes in mathematics in Norway. The data were collected from matched pairs of schools, paired on the basis of location and socioeconomic status. The questionnaire was first distributed to teachers in 38 Norwegian secondary schools at grade 9, which have had repeated success in the annual KappAbel competition in mathematics. Subsequently, 38 teachers at schools without success were contacted, and answered the same questionnaire. The main findings of the study are the following: The formal academic competence of the teacher is the best predictor for good results. Moreover, the pedagogical profile is reason oriented, where students are challenged to evaluate and substantiate their arguments, and spreadsheet is used for exploration and computation.


Abstract. Continuous records of the atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4, and N2O are necessary input data for transient climate simulations, and their associated radiative forcing represents important components in analyses of climate sensitivity and feedbacks. Since the available data from ice cores are discontinuous and partly ambiguous, a well-documented decision process during data compilation followed by some interpolating post-processing is necessary to obtain those desired time series. Here, we document our best possible data compilation of published ice core records and recent measurements on firn air and atmospheric samples spanning the interval from the penultimate glacial maximum ( ∼  156 kyr BP) to the beginning of the year 2016 CE. We use the most recent age scales for the ice core data and apply a smoothing spline method to translate the discrete and irregularly spaced data points into continuous time series. These splines are then used to compute the radiative forcing for each GHG using well-established, simple formulations. We compile only a Southern Hemisphere record of CH4 and discuss how much larger a Northern Hemisphere or global CH4 record might have been due to its interpolar difference. The uncertainties of the individual data points are considered in the spline procedure. Based on the given data resolution, time-dependent cutoff periods of the spline, defining the degree of smoothing, are prescribed, ranging from 5000 years for the less resolved older parts of the records to 4 years for the densely sampled recent years. The computed splines seamlessly describe the GHG evolution on orbital and millennial timescales for glacial and glacial–interglacial variations and on centennial and decadal timescales for anthropogenic times. Data connected with this paper, including raw data and final splines, are available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.871273 .


Conventional wisdom dictates that Ukraine's political crises can be traced to the linguistic differences and divided political loyalties that have long fractured the country. However, this theory obscures the true significance of Ukraine's recent civic revolution and the conflict's crucial international dimension. The 2013-14 Ukrainian revolution presented authoritarian powers in Russia with both a democratic and a geopolitical challenge. In reality, political conflict in Ukraine is reflective of global discord, stemming from differing views on state power, civil society, and democracy. Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know® is an updated edition of Serhy Yekelchyk's 2015 publication, The Conflict in Ukraine. It addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians. The book explains how independent Ukraine fell victim to crony capitalism, how its people rebelled twice in the last two decades in the name of democracy and against corruption, and why Russia reacted so aggressively to the strivings of Ukrainians. Additionally, it looks at what we know about alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, the factors behind the stunning electoral victory of the political novice Volodymyr Zelensky, and the ways in which the events leading to the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump have changed the Russia-Ukraine-US relationship. This volume is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the forces that have shaped contemporary politics in this increasingly important part of Europe, as well as the international background of the impeachment proceedings in the US


Evaluation is an important part of our educational system. Ultimate goal of it is the evaluation of all-round development of students. For this, Summative written examination and Project work play an important role. Summative Evaluation takes
 place when the teaching-learning process is over. It generally takes place at the end of a terra of year. The purpose of S.E. is to determine whether the pupil has completed a particular course of studies successfully. Summative evaluation typically
 comes at the end of a course of instruction. It is designed to determine the extent in which the instructional objectives have been achieved and is used primarily for assigning course-grades or certifying pupil mastery of the intended learning
 outcomes. Projective methods are those method in which we provide the subject relatively indefinite and unstructured material and then allow students to build structure of the material in anyway according to the subject project, his feelings,
 attitude etc. Project Work is a learning experience which aims to provide students the opportunity to synthesise knowledge from various areas of learning and it critically and creatively applies to real life situations.


A new class of imaging systems that do not require the use of lenses or similar optical devices is introduced and theoretically investigated. In particular, it is demonstrated that, if an arbitrary plane object is illuminated by an appropriate spherical wave front (generated from a monochromatic point source), then a magnified image of the object intensity distribution can be observed in any transversal plane along the light-propagation direction within the far-field (Fraunhofer) diffraction region. The phenomenon is based on the fact that, under certain conditions, the spherical wave front can modify the energy's angular spectrum of the field distribution in the object plane such that this spectrum replicates the spatial intensity distribution of the object.


Traditionally, evolutionary computing techniques have been applied in the area of data mining either to optimize the parameters of data mining algorithms or to discover knowledge or patterns in the data, i.e., to directly solve the target data mining problem. This book proposes a different goal for evolutionary algorithms in data mining: to automate the design of a data mining algorithm, rather than just optimize its parameters. The authors first offer introductory overviews on data mining, focusing on rule induction methods, and on evolutionary algorithms, focusing on genetic programming. They then examine the conventional use of evolutionary algorithms to discover classification rules or related types of knowledge structures in the data, before moving to the more ambitious objective of their research, the design of a new genetic programming system for automating the design of full rule induction algorithms. They analyze computational results from their automatically designed algorithms, which show that the machine-designed rule induction algorithms are competitive when compared with state-of-the-art human-designed algorithms. Finally the authors examine future research directions. This book will be useful for researchers and practitioners in the areas of data mining and evolutionary computation.


In the United States, policy has increasingly shifted toward economic incentives and liability attenuation for promoting cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites, but little is known about the effectiveness of such policies. These policies include, among others, state Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCPs), which were established in the United States in the 1990s and, to date, have been implemented in nearly every state. This article focuses on 116 Baltimore properties that were enrolled and participated in the Maryland VCP from its inception in 1997 to the end of 2006 and examines what type of properties tend to participate in these programs, how these properties compare with other eligible but nonparticipating sites, and what the redevelopment potential of VCP properties and implications is toward open-space conversion. We find that most applicants (66 percent) actually requested a No Further Requirements Determination directly, rather than proposing cleanup. Nevertheless, the VCP led to the identification and environmental assessment of 1,175 acres of contaminated land in the city of Baltimore alone. In Baltimore, VCP properties tend to be industrial, located in areas zoned as industrial, and away from residential neighborhoods. In more recent years, larger properties have increasingly enrolled in the program. Most participating sites are reused as industrial or commercial properties. In contrast with Alberini (2007), these findings suggest that, in Baltimore, pressure for residential development has not driven VCP participation to date. Based on differences in zoning requirements, the VCP may reduce demand for potentially contaminating activities on pristine land by as much as 1,238 to 6,444 acres, in Baltimore alone.


textabstractThe Partnerships Resource Centre (PrC) distributed a survey in the autumn of 2013 to all applicants of the Sustainable Water Fund (FDW) & the Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV) in order to gain a better understanding of the application procedure experience.
The survey explored the applicants' perspectives on the motives of organizations to apply for the facilities, the way they experienced the procedure, and suggestions for improvements. This report provides a concise overview of the main findings and conclusions of this study.


In our post-Cartesian times we can assume that human abilities are integrated abilities and that body, mind, language and emotion interact. We can finally open up the 'black box' and observe how the brain works, at least to some extent. 'New Science' has been developed on the basis of consilience or the unity of knowledge of the natural and social sciences and the humanities. The challenge is to describe how human beings address the complexity of life, which includes the issue of how we can move others by moving ourselves. The chapter starts from human beings and their abilities, which are determined by human nature, the environment and culture. On a sociobiological basis it proposes a holistic approach that aims to explain how human beings act and react in ever-changing surroundings. Different theses on the relationship between the individual and the species are discussed, resulting in the view of human beings as social individuals who need to go beyond the shared mind and to interact in dialogue. The Mixed Game Model is introduced as a holistic model that starts from the natural object and derives methodology from it. The object is the complex human ability of 'competence-in-performance', which requires an adequate methodology based on Principles of Probability. A few authentic examples are analysed in order to illustrate how different human abilities interact in language use, especially the abilities of speaking, thinking, having emotions and perceiving, and to show how they enable us to move others by moving ourselves. Keywords: emotions; integration; consilience; sociobiology; holism; the Mixed Game Model; competence-in-performance


Energy production is vital to the Australian economy, but the carbon tax policy introduced in July 2012 has triggered substantial fear in the energy sectors. By employing a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and an environmentally-extended Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), this paper simulates the effects of the Australian carbon tax on the energy sectors. The modelling results show that all energy sectors will be affected negatively but to different degrees. The brown coal sector will be hit most with a 25.74% decrease in output, a 52.94% decrease in employment and an 89.37% decrease in capital price. The coal-fired electricity generators will reduce their output by 8.57% (for black-coal) and 18.54% (for brown-coal). On the other hand, generators using oil, gas or renewable resources, will increase their output significantly. The energy sectors will contribute predominantly to emission reduction but they will have to bear the most of the total carbon tax burden.


NACHEVA, I., M. DONEVA, Y. TODOROV, P. METODIEVA, D. MITEVA, K. DIMOV and Tsv. TSVETKOV, 2014. Innovative technologies for creation of probiotic foods. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 20: 830-833 Lyophilized probiotic products have been developed by high technology methods for nutrition prophylaxis and healthy nutrition to ensure a maximum working capacity and wellbeing of each individual. In their composition are included natural sources of essential bioelements and physiologically active substances – a complex of probiotic lactic acid bacteria, oligosaccharides, antioxidants, vitamins and others. Their fine consistency and chemical composition create a possibility for rhythmical introduction in the organism of nutritious mixtures with adequate content of plastic substances and energy. Their proved healthy effect makes them suitable to be included in combined nutrition diets for ensuring of better quality of life in terms of the effective prevention and improvement of the health status of the population


In this work, we have tried to describe a set of adjectives which includes a large majority of those adjectives semantically termed psychological, by making use of the following syntactic relation:(Qu P)0 N1-e Ad) [(Qu P)0 be Adj Prep N1]= N1 (Qu P)0-fo Adj N1be Adj Prep (Qu P)0]We discuss most particularly: the construction in which the complement clause can be replaced by a noun phrase, possibly containing the reflexive pronoun caki; the construction with a double N-i, the one described most frequently in the literary tradition; and finally two related verbal constructions of the following type:N1 (Qu P)0-Acc Adf-6 Vop [N1 V(find) (Qu P)0 Adj°]= (Qu P)0 N1-Acc Adj1-ke Vop [(Qu P)0 V(make) N1 Adj1]Our formal criterion characterizes about 150 psychological adjectives that have a certain semantic and syntactic homogeneity : they all express "a feeling activated by the Qu P and felt by the Nhum". However, we observe another set of adjectives semantically close to the first which nevertheless do not accept the complement clause construction with -lo: we term them evaluative adjectives. One of the major differences between these two classes is the absence of causativity in the complement clause of the evaluative adjectives.The study of psychological adjectives should be extended by other studies, in particular studies of psychological verbs that have no morphological relationship to adjectives, and which are defined in turn by appropriate formal criteria.


Oxy-combustion is a promising technology for capturing CO2 from coal based power plants. In a coal based oxy-combustion power plant coal is combusted with high purity oxygen in order to produce steam for power production. The flue gas from this combustion consists mainly of H2O and CO2, but it will also be polluted with other components due to in-leakage of air, impurities in the coal, excess oxygen in the combustion and diluted oxygen supply. The main separation processes in such a power plant takes place in an air separation unit (ASU) where oxygen is separated from nitrogen, and in the compression and purification unit (CPU) where the CO2 in the flue gas is separated from the H2O and the other pollutants and compressed for transportation and storage. The introduction of these two units causes an efficiency penalty to the power plant. In this master thesis it is studied if and how heat integration of low temperature heat can decrease the efficiency penalty related to the ASU and CPU. The base case power plant is a coal based oxy-combustion power plant with a 567MW net power output and a thermal efficiency 31,32%. The heat sources considered are the heat which is removed by intercoolers in the compressors in the ASU and CPU, and waste heat from the flue gas exiting the steam generator. It is also studied if lifting the temperature level of the compression heat by compressing adiabatically will increase the potential for heat integration. Three main cases are considered for integration; integrating compression heat and waste heat from the flue gas with the feedwater system in the steam cycle of the power plant, integrating compression heat or flue gas heat to increase preheat of the recycled flue gas and oxygen entering the combustion, and integrating waste heat from the flue gas with a CO2 Rankine Cycle. It was found that integration of compression heat with the feedwater can increase the thermal efficiency of the power plant by 1,19% if the compressors are operated with intercooling and 1,49% if adiabatic compression is utilized. If the flue gas heat is also integrated, the efficiency increases by 1,72% with intercooled compression and 1,96% with adiabatic compression. Utilizing flue gas heat to preheat the recycled flue gas and oxygen can give efficiency increases in the region of 0,3-0,7%. The same applies if compression heat is utilized for this preheating. Since the temperature level of the recycled flue gas and oxygen is low, it is not necessary to compress adiabatically. If the waste heat in the flue gas is integrated with a CO2 Rankine cycle, efficiency improvements in the region of 0,47 to 0,51% can be obtained. The integration projects discussed in this report will increase the complexity of the system and may increase equipment costs. It is necessary to do a more detailed analysis of the heat exchanger networks required to reach the energy targets and heat exchanger surface area requirements in order to properly estimate the costs and choose the optimal configuration for integration. However it is recommended that future studies focus on the use of adiabatic compression heat as it has been shown to give significant increases in efficiency. Whether or not to include the flue gas in the integration depends on whether or not it is cost-efficient to introduce corrosion resistant heat exchangers to cool it below the acidic dew point.


We prove an identity conjectured by Adin and Roichman involving the descent set of $\lambda$-unimodal cyclic permutations. These permutations appear in the character formulas for certain representations of the symmetric group and these formulas are usually proven algebraically. Here, we give a combinatorial proof for one such formula and discuss the consequences for the distribution of the descent set on cyclic permutations.


Problem statement: An understanding of factors influencing entrepreneurial education in Iran's applied-scientific educational centers for agriculture is crucial for creating the new opportunities for students and encouraging them to involve in entrepreneurial activity. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it determined the key factors that influence entrepreneurial education in Iran's applied-scientific educational centers for agriculture. Second, the study examined relationship of these factors with developing entrepreneurial education. Approach: The research in terms of nature is a kind of quantitative research and in terms of goal is applied research, in terms of controlling the variables is descriptive and correlation kind, which has been carried out in a survey way. Statistical population of the study consisted of 19255 students for applied-scientific education in agriculture in Iran. Based on the classification of the Ministry of Agriculture which has divided these centers into five regions, sample taking has been conducted using stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Sample size for the students is 355 people using Cochran formula. Considering the entire size of the sample, some 291 questionnaires have been returned. Results: The results of the ordinal factor analysis showed the classification of the factors into five latent variables. The variables were classified into managerial, economical, social, technical and regulatory. The basic idea of factor analysis was to found a set of latent variables that contain the same information. The classic factor analysis assumed that, both observed and the latent variables were continuous variables. But, in practice, the observed variables were often ordinal. Spearman coefficient showed that there was relationship between economical, social, technical, regulatory and managerial factors and perception of students about entrepreneurial education. Conclusion: Entrepreneurial education had a tremendous potential to help in the employment status of students in Iran's applied-scientific educational centers for agriculture. These centers had the opportunity to play a major role in the development of entrepreneurial education. The development of entrepreneurial education results in creating more jobs and employment sustainability could be achieved over time. Therefore, certain special factors in developing entrepreneurial education among students in these centers should be identified and need to be carefully examined. Innovative strategies need to be developed that cater specifically the entrepreneurship educational needs of students. Applied-scientific educational centers for agriculture in Iran need to provide practical training in entrepreneurship to their students, to make them more aware of the benefits of entrepreneurship and to address the factors that impact on developing entrepreneurial education in the centers.


The doctrine of separability in international contracts often leads to requests for a court or arbitral tribunal to consider challenges to both the existence and validity of a choice of forum clause prior to hearing party positions on the existence and validity of the remainder of the contract. What is not always clear, however, is what law governs the consideration of choice of forum issues. This inquiry contains at least two important parts: whose law is to govern the determination, and which law (general contract law, procedural law, law on dispute resolution, etc.) is to be applied. This chapter considers the provisions of each the New York Arbitration Convention, the Brussels I Regulation, and the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements that are applicable to the questions of consent to and validity of choice of forum agreements. Each has different language, without clear distinction to why the language differences exist. The doctrines of separability and competence-competence usually are involved in the determination of what law governs the existence and validity of choice of forum agreements. The existence of a choice of forum agreement and its validity are distinctly different questions, and require consideration beyond the law of jurisdiction or arbitration in order insure that a party to a dispute is not subjected to a forum that would not otherwise have jurisdiction over that party and to whose jurisdiction that party has not consented.


Recent studies suggest a troubling decline in the abundance of red oak species (Quercus spp., Section Erythrobalanus) in bottomland forests of the southeastern United States. We assessed red oak advance regeneration and associated tree species in relation to light availability in a 77-year-old oak-dominated stand 5 years after late rotation thinning. Residual basal areas across four thinning treatments ranged between 48 and 69 square feet per acre and were compared to an unthinned control (108 square feet per acre). Available understory light was significantly greater in the most intensive treatment (48 square feet per acre) compared to the unthinned control. Red oak advance regeneration was significantly taller in thinned areas. For the tallest height class (48+ inches), the control area contained only 44 red oak seedlings per acre, while the highest thinning intensity treatment contained more than six times the number of large red oaks (272 red oak seedlings per acre). Relative height of red oak seedlings (the tallest red oak as a proportion on the tallest non-oak seedling) did not differ among treatments. Higher intensity late rotation thinning regimes appeared to be beneficial to increasing red oak advance regeneration vigor, which may aid their progress into the overstory canopy level upon a harvest release. Further monitoring through harvest is needed. Late rotation thinning may provide managers an effective means for enhancing the regeneration of red oak species in future regeneration treatments.


A criterion is introduced for testing whether a beam retains its beam-like form after it propagates any particular distance through the turbulent atmosphere. The criterion applies to monochromatic as well as to partially coherent beams and is illustrated by examples.


Abstract Cross-disciplinary research (multi-/interdisciplinarity) is incentivized by funding agencies to foster research outcomes addressing complex societal challenges. This study focuses on the link between cross-disciplinary research and its uptake in a broad set of policy-related documents. Using the new policy-oriented database Overton, matched to Scopus, logistic regression was used in assessing this relationship in publications from FP7- and H2020-supported projects. Cross-disciplinary research was captured through two lenses at the paper level, namely from the disciplinary diversity of contributing authors (DDA) and of cited references (DDR). DDA increased the likelihood that publications were cited in policy documents, with DDR possibly making a contribution, but only when publications result from the work of few authors. Citations to publications captured by Overton were found to originate in scientific advice documents, rather than in legislative or executive records. Our approach enables testing in a general way the assumption underlying many funding programs, namely that cross-disciplinary research will increase the policy relevance of research outcomes. Findings suggest that research assessments could benefit from measuring uptake in policy-related literature, following additional characterization of the Overton database; of the science-policy interactions it captures; and of the contribution of these interactions within the larger policymaking process.


Red mud, the main waste generated in aluminum and alumina production by the Bayer process, is considered hazardous due to its high pH, according to the Brazilian standard NBR 10004/2004, and worldwide generation of this waste exceeds 117 million tons/year. In this work, non-calcined red mud was used, thus requiring less energy and time and reducing costs, which is the ideal condition for reusing wastes. Mortars containing 30 wt. (%) of cement substituted by red mud showed higher strength of hardened products. The pozzolanic activity index was evaluated based on physical and mechanical parameters (Brazilian NBR 5751 and NBR 5752 standards) and on a chemical analysis (European EN 196-5 standard). A comparison of the reference mixture (without red mud) and the results obtained with red mud confirm the potential of non-calcined red mud for use a as pozzolanic additive in cementitious materials. The setting time (according to the MERCOSUL NM 65 standard) tends to increase but workability remains almost unchanged.


Traditional lignin pyrolysis generates a bio-oil with a complex mixture of alkyl-functionalized guaiacol and syringol monomers that have limited utility to completely replace phenol in resins. In this work, formate assisted fast pyrolysis (FAsP) of lignin yielded a bio-oil consisting of alkylated phenol compounds, due to deoxyhydrogenation, that was used to synthesize phenol/formaldehyde resins. A solvent extraction method was developed to concentrate the phenolics in the extract to yield a phenol rich monomer mixture. Phenolic resins were synthesized using phenol (phenol resin), FAsP bio-oil (oil resin), and an extract mimic (mimic resin) that was prepared to resemble the extract after further purification. All three phenolic sources could synthesize novolac resins with reactive sites remaining for subsequent resin curing. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis of the three resins revealed similar thermal and decomposition behavior of phenol and the mimic resins, while the oil resin was less stable. Resins were cured with hexamethylenetetramine and the mimic resin demonstrated improved curing energies compared to the oil resin. The adhesive strength of the mimic resin was found to be superior to that of the oil resins. These results confirmed that extracting a mixture of substituted aromatics from FAsP bio-oil could synthesize resins with properties similar to those from phenol and improved over the parent bio-oil. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 133, 44827.


The advent of smart metering is set to revolutionize many aspects of the relationship between water utilities and their customers. Smart-metered data supports enhanced customer interaction, enables linking to social media and paves the way for dynamic tariffs (prices that change over time). For dynamic pricing, metering must have sufficiently high frequency and enable billing users individually; smart metering enables this. Dynamic tariffs aim to either reduce demand or shift it in time and can be designed for revenue neutrality with the wider aim of increasing economic, social or environmental benefits. Two dynamic water pricing schemes are described here: scarcity and peak pricing. Scarcity pricing reduces demand by setting prices nearer to the marginal economic value of water, which is closely related to water scarcity in the basin which varies over time. Scarcity pricing aims to send users a signal of water's value in connection with its scarcity to promote more efficient water use. Peak pricing uses demand displacement tariffs, sometimes combined with demand reduction tariffs, to lower and maybe shift the peak demand to off-peak hours. The aim is to reduce leakage and decrease future network expansion and maintenance costs while potentially lower pumping energy costs. The proposed analysis estimates the potential economic and engineering benefits of dynamic tariff designs. These benefits are assessed for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom and its 15 million inhabitants. Scarcity pricing is implemented by equating the marginal value of residential demands with the estimates of the marginal economic values of environmental flows derived from tourism, property values, etc. Over the 85-year historical period, scarcity pricing during droughts resulted in a 70% reduction in environmental flow shortage volumes whilst residential prices rose above twice the base rate only 3% of the time. The net present value of estimated savings from peak pricing was evaluated approximately at £30 million for each of the initial percentage points in peak usage reduction. The talk also discusses the wider implications, challenges and benefits of dynamic pricing, and its potential links to customer interaction, social media, and to the SmartH2O project more generally.