Over the last century, the range of oak woodland ecosystems has diminished as woodlands have become more closed-canopy forests. A century of fire suppression efforts has all but eliminated the frequent ground fires necessary to maintain the open canopy characteristics of oak woodland ecosystems. Restoration efforts are underway to return some of the closed-canopy forests to a more open woodland condition. A combination of two prescribed burns followed by a noncommercial thinning treatment (largely thin-to-waste) was used on three sites in the Boston Mountains of Arkansas within the Ozark National Forest between 1999 and 2003. The development of regeneration was assessed 3 years following the thinning treatment. Relative to untreated control sites, the restoration treatment greatly enhanced the development of reproduction. Total stem density was greatest on the upper slope positions of treated sites. Oak reproduction was greatest on the upper slopes on both treated and control sites. For all species combined and oak-only reproduction, the density of stems ≥4 feet was much greater on treated sites. The rapid response of reproduction to the combined burning and thinning treatment will necessitate continued prescribed burning to maintain the open-canopy structural characteristics of oak woodlands. Almost 350 stems acre-1 of oak species are present in the ≥4-foot size class, which is likely adequate to maintain an oak presence in these ecosystems.


This thesis considers certain critical moments in the writing about art in modemity. I firstly identify key exemplars as responses to a "crisis of representation" within a broadly conceived discipline of art history in Britain. These mark significant turns in the discipline, one towards a newly invigorated Marxist social history of art in the 1980's and one towards an increasingly philosophical mode of investigating aesthetic works. Whilst the latter can be said to have most impact after the 1980's, key aspects of the actual object of study pre-date this. The exemplars in the first two parts of the thesis are the writing of the British art historian T. J. Clark, principally in respect of his critical work, writing on Manet's painting of Olympia in the article first published in the British journal Screen in 1980 and the writings on the film Hiroshima Mon Amour, a film which datesf rom 1959 and not only documented by its script writer, Marguerite Duras at the time, but subject to critical readings within film theory and testimony studies in the 1990s, drawing upon particularly modem French philosophical thought. I examine how these exemplars present the relationship between aesthetics and politics but also the extent to which the paradigms by which they think that relation can be shown to come up against their own limits. I consider the challengest hesee xemplarsp resentedto other modeso f disciplinary thinking; Clark's Marxist criticism was part of a major politicisation of the discipline of art history and the film Hiroshima Mon Amour in itself and supported by Duras's script presented a major challenge to documentary and "memorial" cinema. But I argue that they return us to thinking the political or the historical in foundational or other essentialistw ays underw hich the aesthetici s subsumed. It is by way of the philosophy of Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy and critical thinkers influenced by them that I have problematised these exemplars. Derrida and Nancy have provided an approach which whilst respecting the criticality of the tradition, shows where that criticality meets its limits and forecloses on its questioning and openness to the potential 'other' in the aesthetic and the political, out of which there emerges a responsibility to continue to think the relation between aesthetics and politics. In addition, to deepen the context through which I invoke Derrida and Nancy and to offer historical insights to inform current critical concerns within the
disciplines of art history, the thesis examines the philosophical writings of Martin Heidegger and Walter Benjamin in relation to art and politics and technology written in the 1930s. Heidegger's influence especially is fundamental to Derrida's and Nancy's thought but it is from the contrasting outcomes of Heidegger's and Benjamin's thoughts on art and technology that lessons may be drawn in respect of critical issues for contemporary politics and culture. The final chapter refers to some of these critical issues as part of a re-iteration of the contemporary importance of reading art 'otherwise' in the wake of a perceived waning of relevance of 'critical theory'.


Associated with a signal transmitted down a waveguide are multiple back and forth scatterings. These produce a delayed decaying interference trailing a sharp signal pulse. An analytical description of this phenomenon enables an estimate of its effect on an optical waveguide's information-carrying capacity. For the example of a signal-to-interference ratio of 100 in a 1-km fiber of 20-dB attenuation, a bit rate limitation occurs when the fractional backscattered power captured per unit length exceeds 1.3 dB/km.


Abstract.
 Many waterbirds reproduce seasonally in response to fluctuations in food supply. White-shouldered Ibises (Pseudibis davisoni) breed during the dry, water-drawdown season, but, unlike other waterbirds, they do not take advantage of prey concentrated in diminishing pools. To understand how this species successfully feeds and breeds at the driest time of year, we studied its habitat use and diet, and the habitat conditions that influence intake rates and prey density at waterholes. Foraging observations, prey sampling, and landscape-scale assessment of habitat availability were undertaken (at 7, 47, and 58 waterholes, respectively) over two breeding seasons. Although they rarely foraged in water, the birds used all exposed substrates, feeding on amphibians and small invertebrates. Amphibians were the most abundant prey in waterhole substrates and accounted for 81% of overall biomass intake. Both intake rates and density of amphibian prey biomass were greater in dry than in moist or saturated substrates. Intake rates and density of prey biomass changed little through the dry season, but exposed substrate extent increased by 74%. The White-shouldered Ibis's use of dry waterhole substrates to exploit seasonally concentrated prey is unusual among large waterbirds, and we suggest that its breeding season may be timed to coincide with receding water levels and increasing substrate exposure. Estimated prey requirements of a breeding pair over the nesting period were equivalent to nearly two-thirds of amphibian biomass found at large waterholes. Each pair may therefore require multiple waterholes to overcome prey depletion and breed successfully, which is consistent with the noncolonial dispersed distribution of nesting pairs.


Studies of African countries' response to HIV/AIDS and more recently to Ebola helped call into question not only individual and behavioural factors related to those conditions, but the centrality of the healthcare delivery systems themselves, particularly in the face of challenges of such magnitude. Weak, insufficient, underfunded and understaffed national health systems, compounded by international financial agencies' discouragement, if not prevention, of increasing state budgets for social sectors, are usually considered the main challenges in assuring the population's access to healthcare. In addition, and based on two years ethnographic fieldwork in central Mozambique (where in a neoliberal context, AIDS treatment is being provided through institutional arrangements comprising the state, aid agencies and international NGOs), this article suggests that access to healthcare and AIDS treatment, particularly by the poorest, can also be hindered by three factors. First, the adoption of a 'one size fits all' international AIDS treatment delivery model independent of context. Through the research of biomedical AIDS treatment services, this study brings to the fore the interplay of global health policies with the specificities of healthcare delivery at the local level, showing the importance of biomedical services' organizational culture and history. Second, the production of institutionally stigmatizing categories to label non-adherent patients. As Ian Hacking pointed out categories have consequences for the ways we conceive of others, and those categorizations influenced the ways in which those patients were thought of, talked about and were dealt with within public health units. Third, the valorization of socio-economic markers of differentiation such as the tidiness and educational level of patients. Biomedical care is a complex social process performed within particular cultural matrices and laden with values. This study seeks to make visible the role played by the valorization, if not of a single and hegemonic conception of modernity, then at least of a 'modern way of life' (associated with the urban, hygiene and education) in access to AIDS treatment in central Mozambique.


Abstract. On 1 August 1674 an active cold front moved over the Low Countries. The accompanying thunderstorms along the squall line were abnormally active, leading to large-scale damage in Europe, from northern France to the northern parts of Holland where damages were particularly severe. Using reported and pictured observations of damages and modern meteorological concepts, the reconstruction of the storm points to an exceptionally severe squall line. The orientation and the velocity of the squall line are reconstructed and shows a developed bow-echo structure. An estimate of the strength of the strongest wind gusts is ≈ 55–90 m s−1 and is based on an assessment of the damages caused by this event. A rough estimate of the return time of this event, based on observed hail size, is between 1000 and 10 000 years. This storm is compared to a more recent storm which was similar in dynamics but much less devastating. Special attention is given to the city of Utrecht which was hit hardest, and where the impact of this storm is still recognizable in the cityscape.


Across the nation, stadiums and sports centers have become an increasingly important aspect of urban redevelopment action. How do these projects affect the people in the communities surrounding new facilities? Focusing on Chicago's recent experiences, Costas Spirou and Larry Bennett examine two stadiums - the United Center and Comiskey Park - as well as the installation of lights at Wrigley Field. The authors argue that stadiums can be effective tools for urban revitalization only if community organizations and local conditions are closely involved in the planning process. The execution of these three major Chicago projects occurred over the span of just a few years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As Chicago sports franchises sought new or improved "home fields," distinctive patterns of planning and negotiation emerged, shifting the dynamics of neighborhood mobilization. Spirou and Bennett explore these projects' impacts on neighborhoods, interpreted in the larger scope of redefining Chicago as an economically dynamic global city. It's Hardly Sportin' challenges the way city officials view the effect of new and redesigned stadiums. Instead of focusing on whether stadiums contribute more money to cities than they cost, cities should give equal consideration to the effects of new sports facilities on area residents and neighborhoods. According to Spirou and Bennett, neither the United Center nor Comiskey Park fulfilled their promise of revitalizing their neighborhoods, in large part because community organizations had little formal role in planning and overseeing the projects. Wrigley Field and its neighboring communities have fared better because of the influence exercised by determined local activists, who played an key role in shaping the debate over ball park modernization in the mid-1980s and have continued to communicate neighborhood concerns to the Chicago Cubs franchise. Using Chicago as a case study, It's Hardly Sportin' suggests fresh ways cities can successfully coordinate the expansion of sports facilities with urban redevelopment.


With the proliferation of heterogeneous devices (desktop computers, personal digital assistants, phones), multimedia documents must be played under various constraints (small screens, low bandwidth). Taking these constraints into account with current document models is impossible. Hence, generic source documents must be adapted or transformed into documents compatible with the target contexts. The adaptation consists in modifying this specification of the document in a minimal way to lead it to satisfy the target profile. The profile defines constraints that must be satisfied by the document to be played. At this level, the transgressive adaptation becomes necessary when no specification model exists to satisfy this profile. We focus on the spatial dimension of a multimedia document and we provide an approach to the spatial adaptation of multimedia documents that permit to best preserve the initial document semantic by weighting the conceptual neighborhood graph and the integration of the distances relaxation.


The tonotopic organization of brainstem auditory nuclei was compared in embryonic and hatchling chickens. In embryos, neurons at any given position in these nuclei were maximally sensitive to lower frequency sounds than the best frequency after hatching. This finding indicates that neurons are maximally stimulated by sounds of different frequencies as development proceeds and supports the hypothesis that during development there is a change in the spatial encoding of frequency along the cochlea.


Background & aim: The positive effects of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on reinforcement of healthy muscle tissue metabolism pathways have been long proven. One of the side effects of diabetes is the impairment of glucose metabolism and muscle fat. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of HIIT on Retinol Binding Protein 4 (RBP) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) gene expression in skeletal muscle of rats with type II diabetes. Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats (age: 8 weeks, weighing 250 ± 20 g) were randomly divided into 5 groups (n = 12): basal, healthy control, diabetes, HIIT, diabetes and exercise group. Before the starting of the training program, all groups except the basal group and control and exercise were injected with nicotinamide streptozotocin (STZ) by peritoneal injection to induce diabetic model. The training rats were treated for 8 weeks, 5 days a week, with an intensity of 80 to 85% of maximum speed to HIIT exercises. 48 hours after the last training session, after anesthesia, soleus muscle was removed and mRNA RBP4 and mRNA AMPK were measured. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and post hoc Tukey test (P <0.05). Results: The induction of diabetes caused a significant increase in the mRNA RBP4 rate. While the reduction in this gene was significant in the diabetic exercise group and exercise group compared with the diabetic group (p=0.003). Performing a HIIT exercise significantly increased AMPK mRNA levels compared with the control group for diabetes (p=0.001). Also, the increase of this gene in the diabetic exercise group and exercise was significantly more than the diabetes group (p=0.002) Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed that the use of HIIT exercise lessens the destructive effects of diabetes by increasing the key factor in muscle cellular metabolism of AMPK (stimulating the increase of GLUT transfer) and reducing RBP, it could be effective in improving insulin resistance of the muscle cell.


This paper formulates an econometric framework for studying the impact of interventions on discrete outcomes when responses to treatment vary among observationally identical persons. Using a latent variable model that can be linked to well-posed economic models, we show how to define and interpret the average treatment effects, the average effect of treatment on the treated, the marginal treatment effect and the distribution of treatment effects for discrete outcomes. To estimate these parameters and the distribution of treatment effects, we formulate and estimate a discrete choice model with unobservables generated by a factor structure model. We apply our methods to evaluate the effect of Norwegian Vocational Rehabilitation training programs on employment outcomes for women. We find that applicants to these programs who participate in active training have a 4.6% higher employment rate than nonparticipants. When we control for the observable characteristics of applicants, we find that the average treatment effects falls to 4.1%. When we control for the unobservables characteristics of applicants, the average treatment effect falls to -1.4% and effect of treatment on the treated is -11%. We also find evidence of substantial heterogeneity in response to training.


The journal Cahiers pour l'Analyse was founded in 1966 and disappeared in the aftermath of May 1968. At the time the intellectual and publishing world was dominated by texts that were broadly characterized as "structuralist." Edited by a board of students at the prestigious École normale supérieure (Jacques-Alain Miller, François Régnault, Alain Grosrichard and Jean-Claude Milner), with the participation of Alain Badiou in its later stages, the journal accorded great importance to Jacques Lacan and to psychoanalysis in general. But it also played a role in Althusser's political and intellectual strategy a year after the publication of For Marx and Reading Capital. Cahiers pour l'Analyse represents, then, the most complete example of the politicization of structuralism on the eve of May 1968. Yet it also had a focus on political philosophers, such as Machiavelli and Rousseau, and the political writings of classical philosophers such as Hume and Descartes. The editors also favoured the philosophy of the concept (Canguilhem) over phenomenology (particularly in its Sartrean interpretation). Analyzing the content of the journal and published interviews with its authors, this article indicates how the broad aim was to restore primacy of place to philosophy at a point when it was under challenge from the social sciences.


This study investigates the speech styles used in"Selamat Datang Pagi" dialog program on "RCTI". The writer is interested to investigate the speech styles because speech style is important to use to communicate with other people. The writer applied Martin Joos? theory (1976) of speech styles, which are divided into five categories: frozen style, formal style, consultative style, casual style and intimate style as her main theory supported by Nababan (1991), Holmes (1995), Abdul Chaer and Leony Agustina (1986), Kridalaksana (1984), and Tata Bahasa Baku Indonesia (1992). In analysing the data, firstly, the writer recorded the speakers? utterances to be transcribed. Secondly, she identified the utterances used by male and female host based on the classification of speech styles whether frozen, formal, consultative, casual or intimate style. Based on the characteristics given by speech styles, the analysis where presented using tables, including the frequency of the occurrence of each speech styles. Through the analysis, the writer found that there are four speech styles produce by male and female host; they are formal, consultative, casual and intimate style. Casual style occurs mostly, followed by consultative, formal and the last intimate style. The findings of this research shows that casual style is the most frequently uses in "Selamat Datang Pagi" dialog program, which has family atmosphere. Using casual style can make male and female host more comfortable to communicate, and using this style can support male and female host?s situation become enjoyable so they can easily tell their opinion to the guests.


We construct a special class of Lorentz surfaces in the pseudo-Euclidean 4-space with neutral metric which are one-parameter systems of meridians of rotational hypersurfaces with lightlike axis and call them meridian surfaces. We give the complete classification of the meridian surfaces with constant Gauss curvature and prove that there are no meridian surfaces with parallel mean curvature vector field other than CMC surfaces lying in a hyperplane. We also classify the meridian surfaces with parallel normalized mean curvature vector field. We show that in the family of the meridian surfaces there exist Lorentz surfaces which have parallel normalized mean curvature vector field but not parallel mean curvature vector.


Hepatitis B virus polymerase plays a critical role during HBV life cycle, and polymerase/reverse transcriptase (RT) activities are critical for HBV-pol during viral replication. To investigate RT do-main of human HBV polymerase, a 5' end Polyhistidine tagged RT DNA (304-693 amino acids) of HBV-pol was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. Recombinant RT was purified in native condition employing Ni-NTA affinity column. Purified RT showed a stable reverse transcriptase ac-tivity and a much stronger DNA polymerase activity, compared to RT expressed in rabbit reticulo-cyte lysate coupled transcriptase-translation system. We present a new simplified way of obtaining active RT protein using the Escherichia coli expression and Reticulocyte lysate system. The purified RT was a stable protein and showed a low selective polymerase activity. Computer modeling results also indicated that RT domain banded to nucleotide substrate in a loose mode.


Palestinian Queers for BDS first called on the international LGBTQI community to be in solidarity with Palestinians and support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign in 2010. PQBDS argued that Israel was using gay rights and gay lives to pinkwash state-sanctioned violence against Palestinians. Since then, much has been said and written about Israel9s pinkwashing campaign and the violence it endorses and engenders. But much remains unsaid about Palestinian anticolonial-queer modes of engagement that persist despite Israel9s settler-colonial project. With specific attention to the 2012 Jadaliyya debate between Jasbir Puar and Maya Mikdashi, on the one hand, and Haneen Maikey and Heike Schotten, on the other, this article discusses various activist and scholarly responses to Israel9s pinkwashing campaign, and particularly how these responses elide Palestinian anticolonial-queer activism in different ways. Ultimately, this article asks: What becomes (in)audible as a Palestinian anticolonial-queer critique?


This paper proposes a new algorithm for MIMO cognitive radio secondary users (SU) to learn the null space of the interference channel to the primary user (PU) without burdening the PU with any knowledge or explicit cooperation with the SU. The knowledge of this null space enables the SU to transmit in the same band simultaneously with the PU by utilizing separate spatial dimensions than the PU. Specifically, the SU transmits in the null space of the interference channel to the PU. We present a new algorithm, called the one-bit null space learning algorithm (OBNSLA), in which the SU learns the PU's null space by observing a binary function that indicates whether the interference it inflicts on the PU has increased or decreased in comparison to the SU's previous transmitted signal. This function is obtained by listening to the PU transmitted signal or control channel and extracting information from it about whether the PU's signal-to-interference-plus-noise power ratio (SINR) has increased or decreased. The OBNSLA is shown to have a linear convergence rate and an asymptotic quadratic convergence rate. Finally, we derive bounds on the interference that the SU inflicts on the PU as a function of a parameter determined by the SU. This lets the SU control the maximum level of interference, which enables it to protect the PU completely blindly with minimum complexity. The asymptotic analysis and the derived bounds also apply to the recently proposed blind null space learning algorithm.


In this work we consider the inverse problem of detecting inclusions or cavities in an elastic body, using a single boundary measurement on an external boundary. We discuss the identifiability questions on shape reconstruction, presenting counterexamples for Robin boundary conditions or with additional unknown Lame parameters. Using the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) we adapt a method introduced twenty years ago by Andreas Kirsch and Rainer Kress [17] (in the context of an exterior problem in acoustic scattering) to this inverse problem in a bounded domain. We prove density results that justify the reconstruction of the solution from the Cauchy data using the MFS. We also establish some connections between this linear part of the KirschKress method and the direct MFS, through matrices of boundary layer integrals. Several numerical examples are presented, showing that with noisy data we were able to retrieve a fairly good reconstruction of the shape (or of its convex hull) with this MFS version of the Kirsch-Kress method.


On September 18, 2015, Volkswagen became embroiled in a global crisis after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publically announced Volkswagen's violation of the Clean Air Act through the installation of "defeat devices" that trick emission tests. The Volkswagen emissions scandal was covered by media around the world and news spread quickly on social media networks, such as Twitter, though a trending hashtag, #dieselgate. Through
studying Volkswagen's Twitter accounts (the Twitter account for the overall brand, a regional Twitter account and a Twitter account targeting the press), this case study analyzes Volkswagen's adoption of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory's (SCCT) rebuild and bolstering crisis response strategy on Twitter, but with little open communication through this medium. Information shared on Volkswagen's Twitter accounts was inconsistent and
Volkswagen's limited adoption of a conversational, human voice on social media affected the virality of organizational messaging. Volkswagen was progressing towards recovering its social currency on Twitter, but updates on the crisis or similar news related to the situation encourages greater hostility and apathy towards the organization.


DNA-driven biochemical reactions on a fabricated silicon chip recreate protein gradients and oscillations. Cell-free systems that reconstitute biochemical pathways have been critical for unraveling the inner workings of the cell. Karzbrun et al. created a highly miniaturized cell-free system on a silicon chip. A series of tiny linked compartments were fabricated on the chip, in which DNA-driven reactions occurred, with materials flowing into and diffusing between the compartments. The system recreated oscillating protein expression patterns and protein gradients and provides a stepping-stone to creating "artificial cells" on a chip. E. Karzbrun, A. M. Tayar, V. Noireaux, R. H. Bar-Ziv, Programmable on-chip DNA compartments as artificial cells. Science 345, 829–832 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The relationship between the labor market and international trade is a broad and complex subject that has been the focus of significant attention in recent years. Discussion and analysis in this area has covered a number of discrete issues, including the effect of shifting trade patterns on employment levels and earnings in domestic markets, the impact of wage levels and labor legislation on the location of production facilities, and the positive and negative aspects of the cross-border movement of workers, among others. The continuing importance of labor issues within the larger trade debate is highlighted by the inclusion of measures relating to labor standards and/or the cross-border movement of workers in recent bilateral and multilateral trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the U.S.–Oman Free Trade Agreement. This paper aims to provide background for future work on trade-related labor issues by describing how labor issues such as internationally recognized labor standards and the cross-border movement of workers have been addressed by international organizations, as well as in U.S. trade legislation and recent trade agreements.


When particles in a Penning trap are subject to a magnetic multipole field, those beyond a critical radius will be lost. The critical radius depends on the history by which the field is applied, and can be much smaller if the particles are injected into a preexisting multipole than if the particles are subject to a ramped multipole. Both cases are relevant to ongoing experiments designed to trap antihydrogen.


Primate surveys that aim to determine the structure of a local community and the population densities of its constituent species are essential when assessing the conservation status of primates. Such information is important to inform conservation actions and management plans. However, for many areas in the Amazon, the primate community structure is entirely unknown. This dissertation will present research on the density, group size and distribution of primates at Reserve Adolpho Ducke in Central Amazon, Brazil. The reserve is located north of Manaus and it is the most important and renowned research site in the Amazon basin. It covers an area of 10,000 hectares of primary rainforest bordering the city of Manaus. Line transect sampling was used to survey the primates with a total of 248km walked between February – May 2018. Nine transects were sampled resulting in 108 sightings of 5 different species including 16 Saguinus bicolor, 44 Sapajus apella, 14 Alouatta macconnelli, 18 Pithecia chrysocephala, and 11 Chiropotes sagulatus. All densities were estimated using DISTANCE software. The most common species with the highest density was A. macconnelli (3.16 group/km2) followed by S. apella (2.76), P. chrysocephala (1.29), S. bicolor (1.05) and C. sagulatus (0.88). This study shows that the reserve has a high density of primates throughout, despite being surrounded by the large metropolitan region of Manaus. However, due to the reserve's proximity to Manaus, it is at high risk of hunting, urban expansion and deforestation and invasive species such as domestic cats and dogs. Ongoing studies in this area are essential for the future protection of the reserve.
Finally, this study explored, how the new frontier of arboreal camera trap technology can be used to survey primates. Eleven camera traps were situated in the canopy for 91 days between January - April 2018 capturing 11,643 images and videos. 261 of these files had images and videos of detections recording five out of six primate species, Kinkajou (Potos flavus), Ingrid Squirell, (Sciuus ingrami) and three bird species. Results from this study have proposed solutions to common problems associated with arboreal camera traps. This study suggests that more cameras are required to understand the full extent of arboreal life at Reserve Adolpho Ducke but findings from this study suggest that camera traps are an essential tool when surveying primates in tropical forest ecosystems.


We build on abduction-based explanations for machine learning and develop a method for computing local explanations for neural network models in natural language processing (NLP). Our explanations comprise a subset of the words of the input text that satisfies two key features: optimality w.r.t. a user-defined cost function, such as the length of explanation, and robustness, in that they ensure prediction invariance for any bounded perturbation in the embedding space of the left-out words. We present two solution algorithms, respectively based on implicit hitting sets and maximum universal subsets, introducing a number of algorithmic improvements to speed up convergence of hard instances. We show how our method can be configured with different perturbation sets in the embedded space and used to detect bias in predictions by enforcing include/exclude constraints on biased terms, as well as to enhance existing heuristic-based NLP explanation frameworks such as Anchors. We evaluate our framework on three widely used sentiment analysis tasks and texts of up to 100 words from SST, Twitter and IMDB datasets, demonstrating the effectiveness of the derived explanations.


We discuss 3 methodological issues involved in climate-population dynamics research. Precise alternative hypotheses are the first requirement, and correlational studies are the weakest way to test the multiple working hypotheses required. Large-scale effects are difficult to investigate because of heterogeneity in environmental variables, and long-term predictions require more patience to test adequately. Multifactorial hypotheses are required for the investigation of climatic effects but these are too often vague and qualitative. Complex computer models can almost never be empirically validated and their predictions should be carefully examined. We illustrate these prob- lems with 3 case studies: snowshoe hares in Canada, desert rodents in Arizona, and red kangaroos in Australia. Correlations abound but mechanistic understanding is limited because of long causal chains and indirect effects.


The compelling personal story of human rights lawyer Yap Thiam Hien (1913-1989) brings decades of modern Indonesian history to life. No Concessions is a penetrating analysis of the trajectory of the Chinese minority in Indonesia over close to a century and the remarkable making of a civic leader. Without abandoning his ethnic roots, Yap transcended them by becoming a courageous legal defender of civil and human rights of all oppressed Indonesians, including former communists and radical Muslims.


One of the critical goals in code optimization for MPSoC architectures is to minimize the number of off-chip memory accesses. This is because such accesses can be extremely costly from both performance and power angles. While conventional data locality optimization techniques can be used for improving data access pattern of each processor independently, such techniques usually do not consider locality for shared data. This paper proposes a strategy that reduces the number of off-chip references due to shared data. It achieves this goal by restructuring a parallelized application code in such a fashion that a given data block is accessed by parallel processors within the same time frame, so that its reuse is maximized while it is in the on-chip memory space. This tends to minimize the number of off-chip references since the accesses to a given data block are clustered within a short period of time during execution. Our approach employs a polyhedral tool that helps us isolate computations that manipulate a given data block.


This article argues that interviewing is a process in which interviewees can reflect on critical decisions about their academic careers. Reflective practice is a course of action where a person ponders significant incidents in her or his life. In so doing, she or he can make critical decisions about her or his own well-being. Drawing on our experiences collecting qualitative data for ADVANCE Purdue, an NSF-funded project to increase the number and success of women faculty in STEM academic disciplines, we illustrate how interviews triggered our interviewees to think differently about accessing or interpreting promotion and tenure policies of the university. Hence, we argue that interviews can be considered as a form of reflective practice where interviewees decide to take alternative actions to enhance their well-being. In this paper, we ask: (a) How do interviews trigger new realizations among interviewees?; and (b) How do interviews act as agents of potential social change? Data are derived from semi-structured interviews with faculty members from science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and agriculture disciplines at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. We interpret the data qualitatively in the context of reflective practice.


This book, the first in the field for two decades, looks at the relationships between geography and religion. It represents a synthesis of research by geographers of many countries, mainly since the 1960s. No previous book has tackled this emerging field from such a broad, interdisciplinary perspective, and never before have such a variety of detailed case studies been pulled together in so comparative or illuminating a way. Examples and case studies have been drawn from all the major world religions and from all continents from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Major themes covered in the book include the distribution of religion and the processes by which religion and religious ideas spread through space and time. Some of the important links between religion and population are also explored. A great deal of attention is focused on the visible manifestations of religion on the cultural landscape, including landscapes of worship and of death, and the whole field of sacred space and religious pilgrimage.


We present results on the rest-frame H-band luminosity functions (LFs) of red-sequence galaxies in seven clusters at 1.0 < z < 1.3 from the Gemini Observations of Galaxies in Rich Early Environments Survey. Using deep GMOS and IRAC 3.6 μm imaging, we identify red-sequence galaxies and measure their LFs down to . By stacking the entire sample, we derive a shallow faint-end slope of and , suggesting that there is a deficit of faint red-sequence galaxies in clusters at high redshift. By comparing the stacked red-sequence LF of our sample with a sample of clusters at z ∼ 0.6, we find an evolution of the faint end of the red sequence over the ∼2.6 Gyr between the two samples, with the mean faint-end red-sequence luminosity growing by more than a factor of 2. The faint-to-luminous ratio of our sample ( ) is consistent with the trend of decreasing ratio with increasing redshift proposed in previous studies. A comparison with the field shows that the faint-to-luminous ratios in clusters are consistent with those in the field at z ∼ 1.15 and exhibit a stronger redshift dependence. Our results support the picture that the buildup of faint red-sequence galaxies occurs gradually over time and suggest that faint cluster galaxies, similar to bright cluster galaxies, already experience the quenching effect induced by the environment at z ∼ 1.15.


A methodology is presented that attempts to quantify the effects of individual variability and parameter uncertainty in a groundwater-driven health risk assessment. Two modeling approaches are considered for predicting chemical fate and transport; one based on effective parameters, the other based on heterogeneous, spatially correlated parameters. The results from each approach is linked to a stochastic exposure model to yield human health risk. The exposure model includes individual variability and the results are cumulative surfaces of risk. Cuts in this risk surface (percentiles of both variability and uncertainty) are presented, and their regulatory implications described.


A fully recycled carbon fiber reinforced maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP)-modified polypropylene (rCF/rPP) composite material has been developed and characterized. This new composite was manufactured employing papermaking principles, dispersing the recycled carbon fibers (rCF) in water, and forming them into mats. Two layers of the recycled polypropylene (rPP) films manufactured using press-forming were sandwiched between three rCF preform layers in a stack. The stack was heated and press-formed resulting in a composite plate with a nominal thickness of 1.20 mm and a fiber volume fraction of 40%. A series of tensile tests using rectangular specimens cut in four different directions (0°, 90°, ± 45°) in the composite plate were performed to confirm in-plane material isotropy. Models to predict stiffness and strength of the short fiber rCF/rPP composite were also employed and validated using experiments. The models were found to be in good agreement with experimental results. Fiber length distribution measurements were performed before (unprocessed) and after (processed) composite manufacturing to investigate the influence of processing on fiber degradation. The results revealed a significant reduction in fiber length by the press-forming operation. To model the viscoelastic and viscoplastic responses of the composite an inelastic material model was employed and characterized using a series of creep and recovery tests. From the creep tests, it was found that the time and stress dependence of viscoplastic strains follows a power law. The viscoelastic response of the composite was found to be linear in the investigated stress range. The material model was validated in constant stress rate tensile tests and the agreement was good, even close to the rupture stress.


The developers of high-performance scientific applications often work in complex computing environments that place heavy demands on program analysis tools. The developers need tools that interoperate, are portable across machine architectures, and provide source-level feedback. In this paper, we describe a tool framework, the Program Database Toolkit (PDT), that supports the development of program analysis tools meeting these requirements. PDT uses compile-time information to create a complete database of high-level program information that is structured for well-defined and uniform access by tools and applications. PDT's current applications make heavy use of advanced features of C++, in particular, templates. We describe the toolkit, focussing on its most important contribution -- its handling of templates -- as well as its use in existing applications.


The NCAA does not directly regulate lawyers but it does so indirectly by regulating the lawyer's client in a manner that has an adverse effect on the lawyer's representation of the client to the disadvantage of the client. In this regard, I am referring to the ability of a high school or college athlete to make a fully informed decision whether to sign a professional contract. NCAA rules not only place restrictions on their ability to "test the waters" but also to retain counsel and have counsel speak to, and negotiate with, club personnel on their behalf. This paper addresses the following institutional barriers to ethical behavior: (1) NCAA restrictions that prohibit an athlete from (i) having a lawyer communicate or negotiate a contract with professional club personnel on the athlete's behalf (Bylaw 18.104.22.168) and (ii) entering an agreement with a lawyer to perform such services (Bylaw 12.3.1), both of which limit a lawyer's ability to effectively represent the interests of the client; and (2) the NCAA Eligibility Center's Questionnaire sent to drafted baseball players in conjunction with the NCAA's "Unethical Conduct" rule (Bylaw 10.1), which compels a lawyer's client to divulge confidential information and communications related to the representation. An important public policy question is whether a private association should be allowed to regulate the attorney-client relationship, particularly in ways that are in direct conflict with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, when no state bar or state supreme court has given the association the power or authority to do so.


STUDY OF CONTROLLED RELEASE OF ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS FROM FUNCTIONALIZED NANOCLAYS AND POLYMER MATRICES by Jin Uk Ha This dissertation contains the results of three related novel investigations in the field of structure-property-processing relationships of pharmaceutical polymer-based products. They are: a) modification of a pharmaceutical anionic nanoclay with two different Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to produce nanohybrid API carriers intended to be used alone or in acrylic polymer matrices, b) comparison of binary systems containing the above APIs in the selected acrylic polymers in terms of their miscibilities with the polymer, but in the absence of nanoclay, and c) comparison of the polymer/API binary systems with ternary polymer/API/Clay systems. For the first study, the calcination method which can be directly applied to carbonated hydrotalcite was used and successfully achieved API intercalations. During reconsitution of the clay, the crystalline APIs in the clay interlayer was apparently transformed in an amorphous state, and as a result it showed increased apparent solubility in the simulated body fluids. The second study dealt with API-polymer miscible or immiscible systems prepared by different mixing methods. The selected APIs have low solubility at the low pH of the aqueous medium and different solubility parameters by comparison with the polymer. The Eudragit E100/ DIK-Na mixture produced by batch melt mixing showed an API solid dispersion whereas the Eudragit E100/ IND system produced an API solid solution. These different morphologies were anticipated by calculating API and polymer solubility parameters and were confirmed by several analytical methods. The miscible API-polymer system showed better apparent solubility in the aqueous media. In order to confirm the effect on apparent solubility of the different API physical states differing in particle size or crystallinity, solvent casting and twin screw extruder mixing were also compared with batch mixing. The amorphous API in the polymer matrix showed improved apparent solubility as compared to its crystalline state. This confirmed that the state of API in the polymer matrix is the most important factor to increase its apparent aqueous solubility. The third segment of this research focused on the API release from the ternary system (API/clay/polymer) produced by hot melt mixing. A novel approach in order to have a sustained API release by utilizing the nanoclays was attempted. Since the API present in the clay interspacing may experience one more step in its release by diffusion as compared to the binary system, the API from the ternary system showed a slower and more controlled release than the one from the binary system. Controlled API release from such a ternary system produced by hot melt mixing, to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported in the literature. The mechanisms of APIs release in solution from the aforementioned systems were identified by using the Korsmeyer-Peppas (Power law) and Peppas-Sahlin models. STUDY OF CONTROLLED RELEASE OF ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS FROM FUNCTIONALIZED NANOCLAYS AND POLYMER MATRICES


A fundamental component of improving health care quality is to include the patient as a participant in achieving their health goals and making decisions about their care. While many may see clinical information systems as a way to improve communication and track health information for clinicians, the role played by personal health records (PHRs) should not be overlooked in developing a modernized Integrated Health Management system. This presentation will outline the positives and negatives of sharing clinical data between providers and their patients, outline a few PHR functionalities that can support care coordination and health outcomes, and describe the components of a national strategy to support the development of PHRs. A PHR, also referred to as a patient portal, is a system that allows an individual to keep track of their health information. While access to information is important for patients, doctors may feel uncomfortable with the idea of sharing information with their patients in this manner. Alternatively, patients may worry about sharing information they would like to keep private. These concerns can often be controlled with the right policies to prevent unexpected use and sharing of the information such as: * providing data segmentation functionalities that allow patients to share only selected data with certain providers, * sharing items such as medications and test results, but not sharing other information that providers might like to keep private such as "notes". Many PHRs draw information out of an existing clinical information system maintained by the physician. If a patient sees providers over multiple systems, the information can still be difficult to track. The most effective PHR allows data from any system to be included. To increase usefulness, a PHR may also store information that the patient adds themselves and provide tools such as medication reminders. Ideally, if a patient is seeing different doctors, those doctors will have information from everyone on the care team, but this does not always happen. If the patient has access to the information, they can share it with a range of providers- improving care coordination at the point of care, where it matters most. A PHR can be useful to all members of a population, and should be considered when planning a clinical information system implementation strategy. However, because different hospitals may provide different systems, it is helpful to have a government-wide strategy. For example, in the United States the government has developed a lightweight standard technical infrastructure based on secure messaging which is being used to populate PHRs. The government also supports development of governance to outline standard policies that ensure all stakeholders can trust the information in the system. A strategy to coordinate the use of PHRs is envisioned to have potential in a number of areas, from improvements in individual health to leveraging these systems to improve research on quality and health behaviors.


Completely self-starting and stable operation of a Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser was realized in both picosecond and femtosecond regimes. The cavity has a symmetric X configuration with soft aperturing. Enhanced Kerr nonlinearity and reduced backscattering effects were thought to be key to obtaining stable self-starting self-mode-locked operation from 765 to 815 nm for the picosecond regime and from 770 to 835 nm for the femtosecond regime. The mode-locking starting time as measured by the onset of the second-harmonic signal ranged from 300 ms to 2 s, depending on cavity alignment. Preliminary data also suggest that intracavity intensity fluctuation necessary for the laser to evolve into stable mode locking could be as short as 10–40 ps.


In this paper, we show that the sum rules for generalized Hermite polynomials derived by Daboul and Mizrahi (2005 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 38 427–48) and by Graczyk and Nowak (2004 C. R. Acad. Sci., Ser. 1 338 849) can be interpreted and easily recovered using a probabilistic moment representation of these polynomials. The covariance property of the raising operator of the harmonic oscillator, which is at the origin of the identities proved in Daboul and Mizrahi and the dimension reduction effect expressed in the main result of Graczyk and Nowak are both interpreted in terms of the rotational invariance of the Gaussian distributions. As an application of these results, we uncover a probabilistic moment interpretation of two classical integrals of the Wigner function that involve the associated Laguerre polynomials.


We used a comparative approach to investigate heteroblasty in the Chatham Islands. Heteroblasty refers to abrupt changes in the morphology of leaves and shoots with plant height. Common on isolated islands such as New Caledonia and New Zealand, which once had flightless, browsing birds, heteroblasty is hypothesised to be an adaptation to deter bird browsing. The Chatham Islands are a small archipelago located 800 km off the east coast of New Zealand, which has clear floristic links to New Zealand. However, unlike New Caledonia and New Zealand, the Chathams never had flightless, browsing birds. We investigated heteroblasty on the Chatham Islands by: (1) comparing height-related changes in leaf morphology and branching architecture in several plant taxa with heteroblastic relatives on the New Zealand mainland; (2) characterising changes in leaf morphology in heteroblastic tree species endemic to the Chathams; and (3) comparing overall trends in leaf heteroblasty on the Chathams with New Caledonia and New Zealand. Reversions to homoblasty were observed in the three Chatham Island taxa with heteroblastic relatives on the New Zealand mainland. However, two endemic tree species were clearly heteroblastic; both produced dramatically larger leaves as juveniles than as adults. Inter-archipelago comparisons showed that this trend in leaf morphology is rare among heteroblastic species in New Caledonia and New Zealand. Therefore, while some of our results were consistent with the hypothesis that heteroblasty is an adaptation to avoid bird browsing, other processes also appear to have shaped the expression of heteroblasty on Chatham Island.


BACKGROUND
The role of the homeobox genes Backfoot (BFT) and caudal-related Homeobox 2 (CDX2) in the pathogenesis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unclear. The goal of this study was to investigate the mRNA expression of BFT and CDX2 in NSCLC and to determine the association with the pathogenesis and the potential as a biomarker of this disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The mRNA expression of BFT and CDX2 was analyzed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in the tumor and matching normal tissue from 23 patients with NSCLC.

RESULTS
The mRNA expression was detectable with the following frequencies in the tumor (t) and normal (n) tissues: BFT=100% (n), 100% (t); CDX2=100% (n), 100% (t). The median CDX2 mRNA expression was 0.85 (range: 0.01-15.47) in the tumor tissue and 0.045 (range: 0-1.36) in the matching normal lung tissue (p=0.001). The median BFT mRNA expression was 0.0034 (range: 0-0.35) in the tumor tissue and 0.0001 (range: 0-0.10) in the matching normal lung tissue (p=n.s.). There were no associations between the mRNA expression levels of BFT and CDX2 and clinicopathological variables.

CONCLUSION
The mRNA expression of the homeobox genes is detectable at a high frequency in the tumor and normal tissue of patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Up-regulation of CDX2 mRNA expression appears to be associated with the pathogenesis of this malignant disease. The quantification of CDX2 and BFT mRNA expression in lung tissue is a potential biomarker for the identification of patients at risk of the development of NSCLC.


Large amount of organic materials (OM), from oil palm by-products produced by
plantations in Malaysia creates potential pollutants and habitat for certain parasitic
insects and pathogen. Incorporation of these materials with phosphate rock (PR) and
earthworm through vermicomposting process would promote the dissolution and
plant availability of phosphorus (P) from PR. This study investigated the effect of oil
palm by-products and earthworms in dissolution different types of PRs for
production of vermiphosphocompost (VPC) in fulfilling the P requirement of Setaria
splendida in comparison to the using of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) in a glasshouse.
The potential of earthworm in using oil palm by-products was investigated by
surveying the population and diversity of earthworms in oil palm plantation with
different types of soils and palm tree ages. Only exotic endogeic Pontoscolex
corethrurus was found in oil palm plantation with low population (0 - 42 individual
m-2). Heterogeneity of earthworm population in oil palm plantation attributed to
food and soil physical habitat as determined by a principal component analysis
(PCA). Vermicomposting of PR mixed EFB using Eisenia fetida in the laboratory gave a higher dissolution of P with morocco PR (MPR) >gafsa PR (GPR) > togo PR
(TPR) than that of normal compost system. The corresponding values for frond were
165, 52, and 30%. This was attributed to higher humic acid content in VPC (0.07 g),
the population of bacteria, extractable Ca, and enzymes phosphomonoesterase in the
gut of earthworm. The bacteria in EFB-earthworm intestine was identified as
Pseudomonas nitroreducens, and P. citronellolis, and Cellulomonas flavigena in
frond-reared earthworm. Fresh EFB contain a significant value of total extractable
phenol (10 g GAE 100 g-1 extract) at the beginning of composting process and
decreased gradually after 4 weeks decomposition. The compound identified in fresh
EFB was 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethyl)phenol, composted and field composted EFB was 2,6-
bis(1,1-dimethyl) phenol. In contrast, there was no phenol detected in
vermicomposted EFB. The direct application of 3 types earthworms in the
glasshouse study using Setaria grass did not gave a significant difference on P
availability, total nutrients in soil, nutrient-uptake and dry matter (DM) yield of
grass. The VPC showed better growth of Setaria grass compared to EFB and
conventional compost. Setaria needed about 75 ton ha-1 VPC to achieve a maximum
DM for this experiment Inorganic fertilizer (GPR) mixed with EFB, AM and worm
enhanced Setaria grass yield (60%) compare to GPR only and by using VPC (79%).
The contribution of AM, earthworm of GPR on P uptake was varied depend on the
interaction among them. In conclusion, VPC is the best way to managing EFB. Its
nutrients content can support Setaria growth. Improvement of Setaria grass growth
and plant availability of P and other nutrients (N and K) as indicated by nutrients
uptake was obtained by mixing EFB with worm, AM, and inorganic fertilizers.


In resent years the two main design schools in Denmark (Danmarks Designskole1 and Designskolen Kolding2) undergo many changes. The overall goal for both is to obtain status as a university, and they will be evaluated in this regard in 2010. Transforming a vocational school with long handicraft traditions into a research based institution for higher education is demanding. Danmarks Designskole is in the middle of this process, many activities are initiated, both employees and students are involved, and from outside representatives from various design professions. The design process has many stakeholders with various interests and opinions. The aim it is not to design a computer system, a service or product but re-designing curriculum, work procedures, self images etc. which support educating designers of the future. This article reports on two investigations that have been carried through as part of the change processes at Danmarks Designskole. A questionnaire explore the present students reasons for wanting to become designers and their expectations to the design education and future jobs. Eight focus groups including representatives from various design professions discuss what skills and competencies that are expected from future graduates. The main issues to be discussed here are views, demands and expectations from various stakeholders and the consequences they (might) have in the process of transforming a vocational design school curriculum into a curriculum for a 'design university'. The first section gives background information about Danmarks Designskole, the initiation of the change process, and curriculum concerns. Then the research approach is described. From section 3 to section 6 the results from the investigations are discussed. First if a vocational education still is expected? Then views about if Danmarks Designskole should educate specialised designers or design generalists. Section five give examples of expectations to the design education and in section 6 profiles of graduates are discussed. Section 7 reflects on the research approaches which is followed by conclusions.


Student consumption and recall of feedback are necessary preconditions of successful formative assessment. Drawing on Sadler's (1998) definition of formative assessment as that which is intended to accelerate learning and improve performance through the providing of feedback, we examine how the mechanism of transmission may impact student retention of feedback content. We proceed from the premise that such retention is necessary for feedback to function as a component of formative assessment. Although researchers have written extensively on best practices in feedback content (e.g., Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006) and student and instructor attitudes toward electronic feedback versus handwritten feedback (e.g., Thomson, 2008), comparatively little research addresses whether the form of feedback influences student consumption and retention. Our research found that whereas students who preferred or received handwritten feedback recall more feedback (quantity), those who actually received electronic feedback recall comments more accurately (quality). We encourage instructors to working with either format to adhere to accepted standards for good feedback practice.


Background
We assessed whether relapse-free survival (RFS; time until recurrence/death) is a valid surrogate for overall survival (OS) among resected stage II-III melanoma patients through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Methods
Individual patient data (IPD) on RFS and OS were collected from 5826 patients enrolled in 11 randomized adjuvant trials comparing interferon (IFN) to observation. In addition, IPD from two studies comparing IFN and vaccination in 989 patients were included. A two-level modeling approach was used for assessing Spearman's patient-level correlation (rho) of RFS and OS and the trial-level coefficient of determination (R²) of the treatment effects on RFS and on OS. The results were validated externally in 13 adjuvant studies without available IPD. We then tested the results on the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 18071 double-blind trial comparing ipilimumab 10 mg/kg with placebo, which showed a statistically significant impact of the checkpoint inhibitor on RFS and OS. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results
With a median follow-up of seven years, 12 of 13 trials showed a consistency between the IFN vs No IFN differences regarding RFS (hazard ratio [HR]RFS = 0.88) and OS (HROS = 0.91), but the small trial, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 2696, was an outlier (HRRFS = 0.72 vs HROS = 1.11). Therefore, even if rho was high, R² was low and could not reliably be estimated. Based on the 12 trials, rho remained high (0.89), and the hazard ratios for RFS and OS were strongly correlated (R² = 0.91). The surrogate threshold effect for RFS was estimated to be 0.77. For the EORTC 18071 trial, the hazard ratio for RFS was 0.75, predicting an effect of ipilimumab on OS. This was subsequently confirmed (HROS = 0.72, 95.1% confidence interval = 0.58 to 0.88, P = .001).

Conclusions
In high-risk stage II-III melanoma, RFS appeared to be a valid surrogate end point for OS for adjuvant randomized studies assessing interferon or a checkpoint inhibitor. In future similar adjuvant studies, a hazard ratio for RFS of 0.77 or less would predict a treatment impact on OS.


Internationalism is the view that institution-building and peaceful cooperation will make peace and security prevail in a system of independent states. This book examines this controversial topic and discusses whether such a view is realistic or whether international relations are typically characterised by tension and war. Kjell Goldmann seeks to examine the plausibility of internationalism under present-day conditions. A theory of internationalism is outlined and is shown to have two dimensions: one coercive (to enforce the rules and decisions of international institutions) and one accommodative (to avoid confrontation by means of mutual understanding and compromise). Problematic features of the theory are then considered in detail: the assumption that all international cooperation tends to inhibit war, and the tension inherent in the joint pursuit of coercion and accommodation.


Abstract We present quadrupole moments of rotating neutron and strange stars calculated using standard Hartle Thorne approach. We demonstrate differences between neutron and strange star parameters connected with quadrupole moments and how this parameters could be, in the case of neutron stars, approximated almost independently on neutron star equation of state.


Future developments in energy-efficient processes and potential solutions for the energy-related environmental tasks are coupled with hydrogen-based technologies. Introductory parts of this chapter are focused on the specifics of H2 generation from biomass. Within the framework of this topic, three platforms are compared: conversion of simple sugars, cellulose, and thermochemical conversion of biomass to hydrogen-containing gaseous mixtures. Three approaches for generation of biofuels starting materials for hydrogen production are considered: the first one includes sugars and organic acids; the second one includes lignocellulose, woodchips, etc.; finally, the third approach considers the possible routes of biomass gasification. In all cases, the hydrogen needs to be separated (to be recovered) from the hydrogen-containing multicomponent gaseous mixtures of biogenic origin. Membrane-based gas separation processes are considered for H2 recovery from gaseous sources, including (1) estimation of commercial and lab-scale polymeric membranes for recovery of H2 from gaseous mixtures, containing additionally CO2, CO, N2, CH4, H2S, with calculation of standard membrane process itself; (2) membrane contactors for hydrogen recovery from H2/CO2 mixtures; (3) combined membrane/pressure-swing adsorption (PSA) systems for hydrogen recovery from gaseous mixtures of biogenic origin. It is shown that H2 recovery can be successfully realized as a combination of standard membrane method (H2 preconcentrating) and PSA (H2 conditioning). Potential of whole process (biomass treatment and H2 recovery as a fuel) requires the active generation of knowledge for development of the desired bioprocesses and highly selective membranes.


Efficient highway investment decision-making becomes increasingly important in transportation. In order to facilitate such a decision process, first issue is to estimate benefits of highway projects and utilize those values for project selection to yield optimal investment decisions. The existing methodologies for highway project evaluation are limited to probabilistic risk assessments of input factors such as construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance costs, travel demand, and discount rates that are inherited with risks. This research introduces a new approach for highway project evaluation extended from Shackle's model to explicitly address cases where those factors are under uncertainty with no definable probability distributions. Then, a generalized methodology for highway project evaluation with input factors under certainty, risk, and uncertainty is established. If an input factor is under certainty, its single value is directly used. If an input factor is under risk, the mathematical expectation of the factor based on probabilistic risk assessment can be determined. If an input factor is under uncertainty, a single-valued outcome of the factor can be estimated according to a preset decision rule in the extension of Shackle's model. The values of input factors separately determined under certainty, risk, and uncertainty can be used to compute the overall benefits of a highway project in the physical asset's one service life-cycle and in perpetuity horizon, respectively. The developed methodology offers flexibility for the decision-maker to consider any combination of input factors under certainty, risk or uncertainty and it could be applied to estimate the amount of benefits associated with sub-project benefit items (if a specific benefit item is further separable) under certainty, risk, or uncertainty in accordance with available information. For project selection, a stochastic optimization model is developed as the multi-choice multidimensional Knapsack problem with Ω-stage budget recourses. The model facilitates the selection of a subset of candidate highway projects across a multiyear period under budget uncertainty in order to achieve maximized overall project benefits. Contract-, corridor-, and deferment-based tradeoff methods are employed to assess the impacts of spatial and temporal restrictions on project selection results. An efficient solution algorithm with the computational complexity of O(N2) is developed for the proposed stochastic model. A case study using data on state highway programming in Indiana for period 1996-2006 is conducted to apply the methodology for project evaluation with input factors under certainty, risk, and uncertainty, and the stochastic model for project selection under budget uncertainty. Cross comparisons of project benefits estimated with and without uncertainty considerations are made. The overall benefits of projects selected using different tradeoff analysis methods in the stochastic model are compared. Furthermore, the respective project selection results are matched with the actual programming decisions and relatively high consistency rate is obtained. The new methodology and model can be adopted by state transportation agencies to improve the efficiency of highway investment decisions.


An electro-mechanical device that is used to protect an electric circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit is used widely and it is known as Moulded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB). This paper deals with the conceptualization of an alternate model for the mechanism used in MCCB. Forces in the mechanism are directly related to friction between the components so, if we manage to reduce the coefficient of friction between the components without affecting its function there is a scope of reducing reset forces of themechanism. The new model of sub-assembly in MCCB mechanism has a roller contact between the surfaces instead of sliding contact as compared to the existing mechanism. After calculating forces between all the components using rolling friction, it can be concluded that reset force is expected to reduce by 3-4 kilograms.


Carbon dioxide emissions, global average temperature, atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and surface ocean mixed layer acidity are extrapolated using analyses calibrated against extensive time series data for nine global regions. Extrapolation of historical trends without policy-driven limitations has China responsible for about half of global CO2 emissions by the middle of the twenty-first century. Results are presented for three possible actions taken by China to limit global average temperature increase to levels it considers to be to its advantage: (1) Help develop low-carbon energy technology broadly competitive with unbridled carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels; (2) Entice other countries to join in limiting use of what would otherwise be economically competitive fossil fuels; (3) Apply geo-engineering techniques such as stratospheric sulfur injection to limit global average temperature increase, without a major global reduction in carbon emissions. Taking into account China's expected influence and approach to limiting the impact of anthropogenic climate change allows for a narrower range of possible outcomes than for a set of scenarios that are not constrained by analysis of likely policy-driven limitations. While China could hold back on implementing geoengineering given a remarkable amount of international cooperation on limiting fossil carbon burning, an outcome where geoengineering is used to delay the perceived need to limit the atmospheric CO 2 concentration may be difficult to avoid.


In optical grooming networks, the capacity fairness issue can be resolved by utilizing a call admission control (CAC) mechanism. Existing CAC schemes are generally based on one of four different techniques, namely, static bandwidth reservation, static threshold setting, mathematical statistics, and Markov decision processing without buffer implementation (NB). However, irrespective of the technique used, a trade-off exists between the network fairness and the network throughput. In our previous work, a conditional-preemption CAC (CP-CAC) mechanism was proposed to increase the network throughput while simultaneously maintaining the fairness. However, a CP-CAC mechanism considers only the blocking probability at particular instants of preemption. This paper proposes the use of a dynamic-preemption call admission control scheme (DP-CAC) to decide whether or not to preempt existing requests based on the optimal policy derived from a Markov decision process. Similar to CP-CAC, the DP-CAC method is also based on a dynamic threshold setting concept and is implemented using a single connection buffer and an associated set of virtual indicators. The simulation results show that compared to the CP-CAC mechanism, the proposed DP-CAC further improves the network throughput without sacrificing the fairness. Additionally, the average waiting time induced by the buffer implementation for DP-CAC is just 0.23 time units shorter compared to 0.25 for CP-CAC. Finally, it is shown that the proposed method also ensures fairness in a variety of common network topologies including 6 × 6mesh-torus, NSF, and Cost239.


Mathematics is the basis of casino games, which are the bedrock of a $100 billion/year industry. Mathematics of the Big Four Casino Table Games: Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps, & Roulette takes an in-depth look at the four biggest table games in casinos: blackjack, baccarat, craps, and roulette. It guides readers through the mathematical principles that underpin these games and their different variations, providing insights that will be of huge interest to gamblers, casino managers, researchers, and students of mathematics.
Features

A valuable teaching resource, replete with exercises, for any course on gambling mathematics

Suitable for a wide audience of professionals, researchers, and students

Many practical applications for the gambling industry

Mark Bollman is Professor of Mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, and has taught 116 different courses in his career. Among these courses is "Mathematics of the Gaming Industry," where mathematics majors carefully study the math behind games of chance and travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, in order to compare theory and practice. He has also taken those ideas into Albion's Honors Program in "Great Issues in Humanities: Perspectives on Gambling," which considers gambling from literary, philosophical, and historical points of view as well as mathematically. Mark has also authored Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon, Mathematics of Keno and Lotteries, and Mathematics of Casino Carnival Games.


Applications requiring ultra high placement accuracies of 1µm to 3µm are resurfacing in several optoelectronic applications such as Arrayed Laser Print Head assemblies, P-Side Down Laser Attachment applications, and Multi-Channel Optical Communication products. An overview of the technologies, placement accuracies, and attachment methods is presented for two cases. With placement accuracies for surface mount machines typically around 40µm, 10µm for die attach machines, and 1µm for ultra high accuracy placement machines, this paper will cover the differences in measurement, material, and process controls that are required to successfully achieve ultra high placement accuracies of 3µm.


We and others have shown the utility of long sequence reads to improve genome assembly quality. In this study, we generated PacBio DNA sequence data to improve the assemblies of draft genomes for Clostridium thermocellum AD2, Clostridium thermo-cellum LQRI, and Pelosinus fermentans R7.


Abstract The upper Palaeozoic succession (Pyeongan Supergroup) in central eastern Korea is well correlated with the equivalent successions distributed in North China, suggestive of the Korean upper Palaeozoic being part of the Sino-Korean Block. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages and Sm–Nd isotope compositions of the Pyeongan Supergroup in the Samcheok coalfield of the Taebaeksan Basin were analysed. A single predominant zircon age peak at c. 1.9 Ga (> 70%) is marked in all sedimentary units, followed by varying amounts of minor late Palaeozoic grains (up to 30%). The rarity of Meso- to Neoproterozoic- and Silurian-aged zircons confirms that sediment influx from the South China and Qinling blocks was insignificant. The 2.0–1.8 Ga-dominated zircon age pattern and the Nd isotope composition (average εNd(0) = −15.5±4.0) of the Pyeongan Supergroup most closely reflect the signature of the Yeongnam Massif basements, which supports a previous hypothesis that the Pyeongan Supergroup was mostly derived from a palaeo-orogen located to the east–southeast. Relatively higher εNd(0) values (> −10.1) in the lowermost and the upper parts of the succession are closely matched by the increased occurrence of syn-depositional-aged zircons, which indicates considerable mixing of juvenile materials at c. 320 Ma and 260 Ma. Both arc-related magmatic events are interpreted to have been related to oceanic subduction, suggesting that the eastern margin of the Sino-Korean Block was an active continental margin during late Palaeozoic times.


We introduce the notion of strongly distributed structures and present a uniform approach to incremental automated reasoning on them. The approach is based on a systematic use of two logical reduction techniques: Feferman-Vaught reductions and syntactically defined translation schemes. The distributed systems are presented as logical structures A's. We propose a uniform template for methods, which allow for a certain cost evaluation of formulae of logic L over A from values of formulae over its components and values of formulae over the index structure I. Given logic L, structure A as a composition of structures Ai, i ∈ I, index structure I and formula φ of the logic to be evaluated on A, the question is: what is the reduction sequence for φ if any. We show that if we may prove preservation theorems for L as well as if A is a strongly distributed composition of its components then the corresponding reduction sequence for A may be effectively computed. We show that the approach works for many extensions of FOL but not for all. The considered extensions of FOL are suitable candidates for modeling languages for components and services, used in incremental automated reasoning, data mining, decision making, planning and scheduling. A short complexity analysis of the method is also provided.


Crash tests play a vital role in the design and development of new vehicles to ensure customer safety. The results obtained from the test programs such as the ones from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are useful for further development of vehicles pertaining to consumer safety. The new and latest oblique offset and small overlap crash tests represent more realistic configurations of the frontal car impact accidents compared to earlier version of standards. In this study, finite element (FE) models of a family sedan car impact surroundings are utilized to reconstruct the tests. The objective of this study is to utilize computational modeling and analysis techniques to assess the performance of a typical sedan car per new small overlap frontal crash test and oblique offset tests, and to compare the results with the original rigid barrier impact crash test in terms of physical intrusion of the vehicle body parts and examining the corresponding potential injuries to occupants. The validation of the models are performed to ensure model accuracy and to check for any abnormalities in the FE models. In this research, the vehicle-to-barrier and vice versa models are simulated using the LS-DYNA nonlinear code. The full frontal impact crash tests are simulated according to the NCAP protocol. The oblique offset and small offset frontal impact tests are then investigated as they represent real-world scenarios better. The data obtained from the intrusions on the vehicle's Aand Bpillars, firewall, toe pan, knee bolster and steering column are analyzed. The results from different scenarios obtained are then compared in terms of intrusion and acceleration inside the car and the analysis of intrusion and occupant injury. It is observed that the small offset crash test adds more challenge not only to the structure of the vehicle but also to the design of seat belts and airbags. This study indicates that the compliance with the offset oblique and small offset frontal impact tests provide the best occupant protection where the occupant sustains maximum Gforce especially in terms of head impact protection to the car's A-pillar.


In the late nineteenth century, if ethnologists in the United States recognized African American culture, they often perceived it as something to be overcome and left behind. At the same time, they were committed to salvaging "disappearing" Native American culture by curating objects, narrating practices, and recording languages. In Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture, Lee D. Baker examines theories of race and culture developed by American anthropologists during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth. He investigates the role that ethnologists played in creating a racial politics of culture in which Indians had a culture worthy of preservation and exhibition while African Americans did not. Baker argues that the concept of culture developed by ethnologists to understand American Indian languages and customs in the nineteenth century formed the basis of the anthropological concept of race eventually used to confront "the Negro problem" in the twentieth century. As he explores the implications of anthropology's different approaches to African Americans and Native Americans, and the field's different but overlapping theories of race and culture, Baker delves into the careers of prominent anthropologists and ethnologists, including James Mooney Jr., Frederic W. Putnam, Daniel G. Brinton, and Franz Boas. His analysis takes into account not only scientific societies, journals, museums, and universities, but also the development of sociology in the United States, African American and Native American activists and intellectuals, philanthropy, the media, and government entities from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Supreme Court. In Anthropology and the Racial Politics of Culture, Baker tells how anthropology has both responded to and helped shape ideas about race and culture in the United States, and how its ideas have been appropriated (and misappropriated) to wildly different ends.


This work presents color holographic display, which is based on a single phase only spatial light modulator (SLM). In the display entire area of the SLM is illuminated by an on-axis white light beam generated by a single large LED. The holographic display fully utilizes SLM bandwidth and has capability of full-color, full frame rate imaging of outstanding quality. This is achieved through: (i) optimal use of the source coherence volume, (ii) application of the single white light LED source, (iii) a development of a novel concept of color multiplexing technique with color filter mask in Fourier plane of the SLM, (iv) and a complex coding with improved diffraction efficiency. Within experimental part of the paper we show single color, full-color holographic 2D and 3D images generated for reconstruction depth exceeding 10 cm.


Asymmetric cell division is critical for generating daughter cells that possess distinct fates during development and in stem cell lineages. Correct orientation of the mitotic spindle with respect to the polarity axis is crucial to this process. In the one-cell stage embryo of the nematode C. elegans, polarity cues define an anterior-posterior axis, and the mitotic spindle is positioned asymmetrically towards the posterior of the embryo in response to these cues, resulting in daughter cells that differ not only in fates, but also in sizes. Although the way by which force is generated has becoming increasingly well understood, the mechanisms by which polarity cues regulate the asymmetric distribution of active cortical force generators that pull on astral microtubules to position the spindle remained unclear at the onset of my thesis. During the course of our work, we found that intracellular trafficking plays a crucial role in the distribution and levels of proteins involved in asymmetric spindle positioning. Firstly, we found that the distribution of the Gβ protein GPB-1, a negative regulator of pulling forces, varies across the cell cycle, with levels at the cell membrane being lowest during mitosis. GPB-1 transits through the endosomal network in a dynamin-, clathrin- and RAB-5-dependent manner. We also found that GPB-1 trafficking is more pronounced on the anterior side and that this asymmetry is regulated by A-P polarity cues. In addition, we demonstrate that GPB-1 depletion results in the loss of GPR-1/2 asymmetry during mitosis, and thus symmetric pulling forces during mitosis. Secondly, we found that the clathrin heavy chain modulates spindle-positioning forces as well as the cortical distribution of positive (GPR-1/2 and DHC-1) and negative (GPB-1 and LET-99) regulators of pulling forces. Although the mechanisms by which it does so remain unclear, our data suggests that clathrin plays multiple roles in the one-cell stage C. elegans embryos, including in recycling GPB-1 to the plasma membrane. Overall, our results lead us to propose that the clathrin heavy chain and the modulation of Gβγ trafficking play a critical role during asymmetric division of one-cell stage C. elegans embryos.


Background
The 2011 House of Lords Behaviour Change report concluded that 'behaviour change' must become multi-disciplinary, criticising the government's myopic commitment to 'nudge'. It emphasised that any single-approach strategy will fail to tackle the scale of problems like incommunicable disease. Given this and other calls for multi-disciplinarity , , the lack of commentary around the place of social marketing (sm) within a multi-disciplinary framework is of concern. Rather, publications tend to focus on effectivenesse.g. ; definitione.g. , ; innovation of sm approachese.g. and practitioner guidancee.g. . In response, this paper introduces Social Practice Theory (SPT) as a framework for scrutinizing sm's contribution to multi-disciplinary 'behaviour change'.

Social Practice Theory
Practice theories, which have recently regained prominence , are a type of cultural theory which consider humans as agents who act within the structures of practice. Agents 'carry' practices, which they 'perform'. Thus understanding society using SPT focuses not on the experience of the individual actor as the subject of research or intervention, but on the practice itself. Practices are deconstructed into "several elements, interconnected to one another" , and although various configurations have been proposed , , , the simplified model devised by Shove et al , (figure 1), has the most potential when considering 'behaviour change' research and intervention/policy response.

Figure 1: The Social Practice Framework

The practice of cying is used to illustrate. Required 'competences' include the skills necessary for riding a bicycle, navigation and time-management. 'Materials' include a bicycle, the road network, cycle paths and storage. 'Meanings', referring to understandings shared by the group about the practice, include a sense that cycling is not an appropriate method of commuting for 'important' people or that cyclists are intimidating . The practice comprises a combination of these elements, and changes to any element will create evolution of the practice. Such deconstruction can enable researchers to achieve a holistic understanding of a practice and also potentially, albeit in an untested way , examine the ways it might be changed to benefit society. (The approach also holds for social marketers the appeal of avoiding criticisms of political individualism as identified in recent commentary , although examining this potential is not the purpose of this paper).

The role of social marketing in multi-disciplinary 'behaviour change'
The SPT framework can help identify how sm, in combination with other approaches, might be used to change the various elements of 'problem' practices. SPT analysis of the low numbers of British utility cyclists, for example, provides a range of footholds for change, requiring multi-disciplinary solutions extending beyond sm's core competences. Sm would be suitable for changing the 'meanings' around cycling by using techniques such as branding and integrated marketing communications combined with insights into consumer behaviour to change perceptions and attitudes. (A comparable example of such an approach is the 'Truth' campaign, which changed teen perceptions towards smoking ). Analysis using SPT may also illuminate an upstream role for sm to work with local policy makers to establish policies for educational approaches such as adult cycle training. However, other approaches would be required to change 'materials'; such as urban planners for designing cycle paths, law enforcers for restricting driving speeds and engineers for providing 'desire-line' cycle bridges and cycle parking.

Conclusion
This paper does not argue that sm should be reduced to social advertising, and the panoply of marketing-based approaches used by social marketers is wholly acknowledged. Rather, it acknowledges that stand-alone sm interventions have enjoyed limited effectiveness on population-level problems (see ), and thus it is posited that social marketers should routinely consider their contribution to 'behaviour change' as part of a multi-disciplinary approach. The 3-element SPT model may provide a useful framework for analysing the potential contribution of sm by assessing which element(s) would be influenced, and for identifying essential collaborators to achieve the multi-disciplinarity that has been called for.


Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell proliferative disorder that results in considerable morbidity and mortality. As it is incurable with the current therapeutic approaches, more effective therapies based on better understanding of the pathobiology of the disease are needed. In MM, malignant plasma cells are characterized by low proliferative and apoptotic rates compared to other malignancies. The tumor suppressor gene p53, responsible for induction of cellular apoptosis in response to genotoxic stimuli, is relatively intact in most cases of myeloma. However, p53 mutations or deletion can occur late in the course of disease. Here we evaluate a novel small molecule inhibitor of the interaction between p53 and its negative regulator, MDM2, in the setting of myeloma. Methods and Results: Mi-63 was cytotoxic to several different myeloma cell lines with a median effect observed at approximately 2.5 μM in cell lines including MM1.S that express wild type p53 and between 10–15 μM in cells with mutated p53 as measured using an MTT cell viability assay. Additionally, Mi63 induced cytotoxicity in myeloma cell lines resistant to conventional agents such as Melphalan (LR50), Doxorubicin (Dox40) and Dexamethasone (MM1.R), indicating non-overlapping mechanisms. To evaluate the ability of the drug to induce cell death in the tumor microenvironment, MM cells were co-cultured with marrow stromal cells or in the presence of VEGF or IL-6, two cytokines known to be important for myeloma growth and survival. Mi63 was cytotoxic to myeloma cells under these conditions as well, at doses similar to those seen with myeloma cells alone. Mi63 was able to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in myeloma cells in a dose- and time-dependent fashion, as demonstrated by flow cytometry using Annexin/PI staining as well as cell cycle studies. Treatment of myeloma cells with Mi63 was associated with early mitochondrial membrane depolarization, inversion of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and down regulation of Mcl-1, indicating induction of mitochondrial mechanisms of cell death. Mi63 was also cytotoxic to freshly isolated primary patient myeloma cells, inducing apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In the patient cells the drug appears to have a differential effect on the CD45 positive and negative cells. Conclusion: Mi-63 has significant activity in vitro in the setting of myeloma as demonstrated by its effect on myeloma cell lines and primary patient cells. It clearly induces apoptosis in myeloma cells, with higher activity seen in cells with wild type p53. Given the lack of p53 abnormalities in most of the patients with myeloma, this drug alone or in combination is likely to have significant clinical activity. Studies combining this with various DNA damaging drugs are in progress. These studies will eventually form the framework for future clinical studies.


Synchrotron radiation (SR), which combines extremely high intensity, high collimation, tunability, and continuous energy spectrum, allows the development of advanced X-ray based techniques that are becoming a uniquely useful tool in life science research, along providing exciting opportunities in biomedical imaging and radiotherapy. This review summarize emerging techniques and their potential to greatly enhance the exploration of dynamical biological process occurring across various spatial and temporal regimes, from whole body physiology, down to the location of individual chemical species within single cells. In recent years pediatric research and clinic practice have started to profit from these new opportunities, particularly by extending the diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities of these X-ray based techniques. In diagnosis, technical advances in DEI and KES imaging modalities have been demonstrated as particularly valuable for children and women since SR allows dose minimization, with significant reductions compared to conventional approaches. However, the greatest expectations are in the field of SR based radiotherapy, increasingly studies are demonstrating SR radiotherapy provides improved chances of recovery; this is especially the case for pediatric patients. In addition, we report on the applicability of advanced X-ray microscopy techniques that offer exceptional spatial and quantitative resolution in elemental detection. These techniques, which are useful for in vitro studies, will be particularly advantageous where investigators seek deeper understanding of diseases where mismetabolism of metals, either physiological important (i.e. Cu, Zn) or outright toxic (i.e. Pb), underlies pathogenesis.


This Article considers several related points about the recent changes to the patent system and the opportunities for entrepreneurship. The concern about the adverse effect of the recent changes to patent law on innovation may be overstated. As a practical matter, the concept that patents are a necessary input to innovation is built on a model that does not account for the complex relationship between this legal system, science, and innovation. Although it can be expected that there may be some adverse impacts from these decisions, this trend opens up the opportunity for entrepreneurship. By releasing more foundational information into the public domain, there is a real possibility that innovative efforts by new firms will be encouraged. Further, innovation over the long term has positive effects on scientific investigation. In some respects, the practical necessities have led to innovation in the past and, in some instances, inspired new forms of scientific investigation. To the extent that such firms are no longer encumbered by broad, vague patent challenges, such resources can be geared toward additional research and innovative efforts.


In the last decade, it has become apparent that the grand challenge problems of this century span disciplines. In spite of this, engineering curricula are still strongly stovepiped, even within each engineering discipline, and both inertia and downward budget pressures encourage curricular conservatism. At the same time, the need is urgent to expose students to the diversity and complexity of real-world problems where there is no "best" solution. How should we help students learn across disciplines and blend disciplinary knowledge to solve problems? This paper describes a laboratory project suitable for courses in areas of control and embedded systems that weaves critical aspects of control systems design with real-time embedded systems hardware and software, and along the way incorporates additional skills and tools. The project builds on previous efforts that have used the classic "ball-in-tube" experimental platform. We have developed an extremely low-cost experimental platform that student teams assemble from simple parts (e.g., shoeboxes and muffin fans), and that uses wireless communication between the real-time platform and a personal computer that provides a human interface and analytical tools. For real-time data acquisition and control, we adopted the CLIO platform that was designed for the experiential component of MUSE (Multi-University Systems Education, www.uvm.edu/~muse), an NSF-sponsored pedagogical effort to increase the ability of students to become conversant in skills related to systems thinking. In this spirit, the work discussed herein exposes students to experimentation, modeling and design across system layers. While tackling the project, students have also become more adept at (i) architecting distributed applications that integrate embedded and desktop computing systems, (ii) data acquisition, including measurement noise and signal conditioning, (iii) actuation, including motor control, and (iv) wireless communication. We present early assessment results evaluating how effectively the project helps students build critical systems-thinking skills, and the challenges of adopting resources for fast-tracking the development of new laboratory projects.


ABSTRACT The third-term policies of the AKP (Justice and Development Party) in Turkey posed new challenges for observers: do top-down Islamization policies and the increasing pan-Islamist tone in Turkish foreign policy signify a return to Islamism or is a new amalgamation in the making? In this case, is 'post-Islamism' now dated as an analytical tool to characterize the AKP's new ideological formation or was it always a misnomer? Drawing on el-Affendi's (2008) distinction between the Medina and Damascus models and observing the new Islamic opposition to the AKP policies, its post-2011 ideological configuration will be analyzed with reference to an antinomy of Islamism vs. Muslimism. Muslimism, an extension of Damascus model, is a quest for power and seeks Muslim interests worldwide. Islamism, an heir to Medina model, may be characterized by an ethical pursuit of justice that occasionally clashes with Muslim political interests.