Abstract Background There has been much recent excitement about the possibility that some cases of psychosis may be wholly due to brain-reactive antibodies, with antibodies to N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and the voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC)-complex reported in a few patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Methods Participants were recruited from psychiatric services in South London, UK, from 2009 to 2011 as part of the Genetics and Psychosis study. We conducted a case–control study to examine NMDAR and VGKC-complex antibody levels and rates of antibody positivity in 96 patients presenting with FEP and 98 controls matched for age and sex. Leucine-rich glioma inactiviated-1 (LGI1) and contactin-associated protein (CASPR) antibodies were also measured. Notably, patients with suspicion of organic disease were excluded. Results VGKC-complex antibodies were found in both cases (n = 3) and controls (n = 2). NMDAR antibody positivity was seen in one case and one control. Either LGI1-Abs or CASPR2-Abs were found in three cases and three controls. Neuronal antibody staining, consistent with the above results or indicating potential novel antigens, was overall positive in four patients but also in six controls. Overall, antibody positivity was at low levels only and not higher in cases than in controls. Conclusions This case–control study of the prevalence of antibodies in FEP does not provide evidence to support the hypothesis that FEP is associated with an immune-mediated process in a subgroup of patients. Nevertheless, as other bio-clinical factors may influence the effect of such antibodies in a given individual, and patients with organic neurological disease may be misdiagnosed as FEP, the field requires more research to put these findings in context.


Low-dimensional Material: Structure-property Relationship and Applications in Energy and Environmental Engineering Hang Xiao In the past several decades, low-dimensional materials (0D materials, 1D materials and 2D materials) have attracted much interest from both the experimental and theoretical points of view. Because of the quantum confinement effect, low-dimensional materials have exhibited a kaleidoscope of fascinating phenomena and unusual physical and chemical properties, shedding light on many novel applications. Despite the enormous success has been achieved in the research of low-dimensional materials, there are three fundamental challenges of research in lowdimensional materials: 1) Develop new computational tools to accurately describe the properties of lowdimensional materials with low computational cost. 2) Predict and synthesize new low-dimensional materials with novel properties. 3) Reveal new phenomenon induced by the interaction between low-dimensional materials and the surrounding environment. In this thesis, atomistic modelling tools have been applied to address these challenges. We first developed ReaxFF parameters for phosphorus and hydrogen to give an accurate description of the chemical and mechanical properties of pristine and defected black phosphorene. ReaxFF for P/H is transferable to a wide range of phosphorus and hydrogen containing systems including bulk black phosphorus, blue phosphorene, edge-hydrogenated phosphorene, phosphorus clusters and phosphorus hydride molecules. The potential parameters were obtained by conducting global optimization with respect to a set of reference data generated by extensive ab initio calculations. We extended ReaxFF by adding a 60° correction term which significantly improved the description of phosphorus clusters. Emphasis was placed on the mechanical response of black phosphorene with different types of defects. Compared to the nonreactive SW potential of phosphorene, ReaxFF for P/H systems provides a significant improvement in describing the mechanical properties of the pristine and defected black phosphorene, as well as the thermal stability of phosphorene nanotubes. A counterintuitive phenomenon was observed that single vacancies weaken the black phosphorene more than double vacancies with higher formation energy. Our results also showed that the mechanical response of black phosphorene is more sensitive to defects in the zigzag direction than that in the armchair direction. Since ReaxFF allows straightforward extensions to the heterogeneous systems, such as oxides, nitrides, the proposed ReaxFF parameters for P/H systems also underpinned the reactive force field description of heterogeneous P systems, including Pcontaining 2D van der Waals heterostructures, oxides, etc. Based on the evolutionary algorithm driven structural search, we proposed a new stable trisulfur dinitride (S3N2) 2D crystal that is a covalent network composed solely of S-N σ bonds. S3N2 crystal is dynamically, thermally and chemically stable as confirmed by the computed phonon spectrum and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. GW calculations showed that the 2D S3N2 crystal is a wide, direct band-gap (3.92 eV) semiconductor with a small hole effective mass. The anisotropic optical response of 2D S3N2 crystal was revealed by GW-BSE calculations. Our result not only marked the prediction of the first 2D crystal composed of nitrogen and sulfur, but also underpinned potential innovations in 2D electronics, optoelectronics, etc. Inspired by the discovery of S3N2 2D crystal, we proposed a new 2D crystal, diphosphorus trisulfide (P2S3), based on the extensive evolutionary algorithm driven structural search. The 2D P2S3 crystal was confirmed to be dynamically, thermally and chemically stable by the computed phonon spectrum and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. This 2D crystalline phase of P2S3 corresponds to the global minimum in the Born-Oppenheimer surface of the phosphorus sulfide monolayers with 2:3 stoichiometry. It is a wide band gap (4.55 eV) semiconductor with P-S σ bonds. The electronic properties of P2S3 structure can be tuned by stacking into multilayer P2S3 structures, forming P2S3 nanoribbons or rolling into P2S3 nanotubes, expanding its potential applications for the emerging field of 2D electronics. Then we showed that the hydrolysis reaction is strongly affected by relative humidity. The hydrolysis of CO3 with n = 1-8 water molecules was investigated by ab initio method. For n = 15 water molecules, all the reactants follow a stepwise pathway to the transition state. For n = 6-8 water molecules, all the reactants undergo a direct proton transfer to the transition state with overall lower activation free energy. The activation free energy of the reaction is dramatically reduced from 10.4 to 2.4 kcal/mol as the number of water molecules increases from 1 to 6. Meanwhile, the degree of the hydrolysis of CO3 is significantly increased compared to the bulk water solution scenario. The incomplete hydration shells facilitate the hydrolysis of CO3 with few water molecules to be not only thermodynamically favorable but also kinetically favorable. We showed that the chemical kinetics is not likely to constrain the speed of CO2 air capture driven by the humidity-swing. Instead, the pore-diffusion of ions is expected to be the time-limiting step in the humidity driven CO2 air capture. The effect of humidity on the speed of CO2 air capture was studied by conducting CO2 absorption experiment using IER with a high ratio of CO3 to H2O molecules. Our result is able to provide valuable insights to designing efficient CO2 air-capture sorbents. Lastly, the self-assembly mechanism of one-end-open carbon nanotubes (CNTs) suspended in an aqueous solution was studied by molecular dynamics simulations. It was shown that two one-end-open CNTs with different diameters can coaxially self-assemble into a nanocapsule. The nanocapsules formed were stable in aqueous solution under ambient conditions, and the pressure inside the nanocapsule was much higher than the ambient pressure due to the van der Waals interactions between two parts of the nanocapsule. The effects of the normalized radius difference, normalized inter-tube distance and aspect ratio of the CNT pairs were systematically explored. The electric field response of nanocapsules was studied with ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, which showed that nanocapsules can be opened by applying an external electric field, due to the polarization of carbon atoms. This discovery not only shed light on a simple yet robust nanocapsule self-assembly mechanism, but also underpinned potential innovations in drug delivery, nano-reactors, etc.


Abstract In a study of predation on ground-nesting birds at South San Francisco Bay (South Bay), California, USA, we analyzed stomach contents and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to identify commonly consumed prey. We obtained the stomach contents from 206 nonnative red foxes (Vulpes vulpes regalis) collected in the South Bay area and Monterey County during 1995–2001 and from 68 feral cats (Felis silvestris) from the South Bay area during 2001–2002. We determined prey identity, biomass, and frequency, described seasonal diet trends, and derived an Index of Relative Importance. Avian species were the most frequent prey we found in the stomachs of red foxes from South Bay (61%), whereas small rodents were most frequent for red foxes from Monterey County (62%). Small rodents were the most frequent prey we found in feral cats (63%). Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures for foxes supported stomach content findings. However, isotope results indicated that cats received a majority of their energy from a source other than rodents and outside the natural system, which differed from the stomach content analysis. We demonstrated the utility of both stable isotope and stomach content analyses to establish a more complete understanding of predators' diets. This information aids natural resource managers in planning and evaluating future predator-removal programs and increases our understanding of the impacts of nonnative foxes and cats on native species.


Overview Environmental pollution poses serious challenges for China, including to its economy as well as public health. The China Story Yearbook 2015: Pollution looks at how China's Communist Party-state addresses these problems and how Chinese citizens have coped with and expressed their concerns about living with chronic, worsening pollution. This Yearbook also explores the broader ramifications of pollution in the People's Republic for culture, society law and social activism, as well as the Internet, language, thought, and approaches to history. It looks at how it affects economic and political developments, urban change, and China's regional and global posture. The Chinese Communist Party, led by 'Chairman of Everything' Xi Jinping, meanwhile, has subjected mainland society to increasingly repressive control in its new determination to rid the country of Western 'spiritual pollutants' while achieving cultural purification through 'propaganda and ideological work'.


The vertical stability of anchored concrete soldier-pile walls is highly influenced by the complexity of the interaction between the different parts of the structure, i.e., wall, anchors, and supported soil mass. The problem is analyzed using upper bound limit analysis through published solutions and proposed closed-form equations. A comparison is made between these equations and numerical limit analyses. An estimate of the theoretical minimum pile resistance required to avoid excavation collapse is presented. Published finite element elastoplastic results are used for comparison.Key words: anchored retaining wall, concrete soldier-pile walls, vertical equilibrium, finite elements, limit analysis, soil-to-wall interface shear forces.


Value chain development is adopted widely as a private sector–led approach to agricultural development that can benefit smallholders. The objective of this research is to understand how development organizations are conceptualizing and developing agricultural value chains in Ghana to include smallholders. The study is based on case studies of five programs supported by various donors. A typology is employed to categorize the intervention. Common to all the programs are interventions to encourage the development of interlinked vertical contracts between smallholders and buyers and investments to improve the operations of actors downstream. The study explores issues related to expectations, scaling up of activities to reach a significant portion of the population, technology transfer, and participatory development of value chain strategies and identifies some indicators to examine the outcomes of value chain interventions.


This book answers the most-asked questions of first, second, and third year law school students. Exam Preparation: How long should my outline be? What should I include in my outline? What secondary sources should I use? Are study groups effective? Should I swap outlines with other students? How do I prepare for open and closed book exams? And much more. Writing the Exam: What is the best way to read the exam questions? How do I schedule my time? How do I organize my answer? When do I need to assume facts? How do I impress the professor? And much more.


Eastern Denmark was an important region for the early immigration of humans into southern Scandinavia throughout the Late Glacial period. One possible explanation for this is that the landscape provided an especially favourable environment for Palaeolithic hunters. To examine this, the local and regional environment is reconstructed through the analysis of pollen and plant macrofossils from a small kettle hole and is discussed in relation to human presence in the region. The kettle hole is situated close to a Palaeolithic occupation site with artefacts belonging to the Federmesser and Bromme Cultures. The lake sediments encompass the Bølling, Allerød, Younger Dryas and the early Preboreal biostratigraphic periods. An increase in charcoal dust between c. 14,000 and 13,900 cal. BP may be related to the occupation site. This study shows that an ecotone was positioned between present-day Denmark and northern Germany during a large part of the Late Glacial period. This was especially the case during the Older Dryas and early Allerød periods, when woodland was expanding in northern Germany while the Danish area remained open. Later in the Allerød period, northern Germany seems to have been the northern limit for pine woodland. The low-lying region separating Denmark and Germany was periodically covered by the Baltic Ice Lake and this may have delayed the dispersal of plants from south to north. Areas lying between different habitats are known to have a high biodiversity and this may be why a high frequency of Palaeolithic finds is seen here. It has long been thought that tree birch grew in the Danish region from the beginning of the Late Glacial, but this study of both local and regional proxies clearly shows that the immigration of tree birch was delayed by more than 1000 years. A delay of c. 250 years between the climatic transition from GI-1a to GS-1 and the biostratigraphic transition from the Allerød to the Younger Dryas periods is also shown. The three 14 C ages available from the Danish Bromme Culture are from this transition phase when the birch woodland was becoming more open. Pollen analysis also shows the classical Younger Dryas cold separated into an early dry phase (until c. 12,100 cal. BP) and a later wetter phase. This was most likely due to a change in atmospheric circulation and variation in the extent of sea ice in the North Atlantic. The combined analysis of both pollen and plant macrofossils has led to a detailed and accurate reconstruction of the local environment and, in turn, the preconditions for human presence.


The principle of precautionary action has been presented by some of its advocates as nothing less than a monumental paradigm shift in environmental management. It is essentially a new legal response to the scientific uncertainties surrounding the capacity ofthe environment to cope with the increasing demands placed upon it. This article outlines why our knowledge of environmental processes is inadequate and addresses the rationale and content of the "precautionary principle", tracing its development from an uncontroversial espousal of commonsense to its emergence as a potentially forceful decision-making norm. It will be argued tliat although the principle has definitional and implementational shortcomings, it has the capacity to inform environmental practices systematically as the basis of a regulatory regime — not merely at the policy level.


OBJECTIVES
We examined potential nonresponse bias in a large-scale, population-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey in California and its association with the response rate.

METHODS
We used California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data and US Census data and linked the two data sets at the census tract level. We compared a broad range of neighborhood characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents to CHIS. We projected individual-level nonresponse bias using the neighborhood characteristics.

RESULTS
We found little to no substantial difference in neighborhood characteristics between respondents and nonrespondents. The response propensity of the CHIS sample was similarly distributed across these characteristics. The projected nonresponse bias appeared very small.

CONCLUSIONS
The response rate in CHIS did not result in significant nonresponse bias and did not substantially affect the level of data representativeness, and it is not valid to focus on response rates alone in determining the quality of survey data.


Political participation is higher among men than women in most parts of the world. However, earlier research has shown that this does not hold true in Scandinavia, including Sweden, where gender differences are remarkably small. This article studies the causes of the Swedish situation. A conventional hypothesis is formulated based on research from other parts of the world. It assumes that gender-equal participation in Sweden can be explained by the lack of gender differences in certain political resource and motivational factors that are often analyzed. However, this hypothesis is not supported by the data, which instead indicates a female disadvantage with regard to both resources and motivation. Two alternative hypotheses are developed and shown as empirically viable. The first assumes that women more often adhere to norms that emphasize the importance of being politically active, which promotes their participation in politics. The second focuses on collective mobilization based on interests specific to women. In line with this hypothesis, only women are shown to be members of women's organizations and hold more radical opinions on issues related to gender equality and reproduction. These factors have a positive impact on women's participation, and together they explain a noticeable amount of the male advantage with regard to conventional explanatory factors. Therefore they are important contributory causes of gender-equal participation in Sweden, although other factors, not discussed here, also contribute. Quantitative methods are used in the analyses, and the study material is the 1997 Swedish Citizenship Survey.


This paper focuses on roof-shape classification and solar potential for integrating photovoltaics (PV) on roofs. A machine-learning approach, Support Vector Machine (SVM), is used to classify the roof shapes in the city of Geneva. The impact of various roof characteristics on the solar potential is assessed and analyzed. Monthly solar irradiation on rooftops, freely accessible from www.ge.ch/sitg using GIS LiDAR data (resolution 50cm by 50cm), is used in the analysis. The SVM identifies 6 types of roof shapes correctly in 66% of cases, that is, flat, gable, hip, gambrel & mansard, cross/corner gable & hip, and complex roof. We rank the roofs based on the complexity of their shape, useful area for PV, and potential for receiving solar energy. The results show that for most roof shapes the ratio between useful roof areas and building footprint area is close to one, the main exception being gable where the ratio is 1.18, suggesting that footprint is a good measure of useful PV roof area. The flat roof has the second highest useful roof area for PV (complex roof being the highest) and the highest PV potential (in GWh). By contrast, hip roof has the lowest PV potential. Solar roof-shape classification provides basic information for designing new buildings, retrofitting interventions on the building roofs and efficient solar integration on rooftops. The results for the city of Geneva suggest that data-driven approach is very useful for roof-shape classification which can be expanded to the national scale.


We prove a local in time existence and uniqueness theorem of classical solutions of the coupled Einstein–Euler system, and therefore establish the well posedness of this system. We use the condition that the energy density might vanish or tends to zero at infinity and that the pressure is a certain function of the energy density, conditions which are used to describe simplified stellar models. In order to achieve our goals we are enforced, by the complexity of the problem, to deal with these equations in a new type of weighted Sobolev spaces of fractional order. Beside their construction, we develop tools for PDEs and techniques for hyperbolic and elliptic equations in these spaces. The well posedness is obtained in these spaces.


Plant specific surveillance programs that ideally include all relevant materials and materials combinations that are subjected to neutron irradiation during operation address the degradation due to irradiation of the reactor pressure vessel material for nuclear electric power plants. Plant specific surveillance programs are not unique to the two power plants treated in this study. The current Swedish regulatory system does, however, call for a fairly rigid approach within the surveillance program. In the Swedish case, this means that there is a plant specific predetermined inspection∕test program that has to be followed in order to verify the operability of the power plant and also to verify the operational limits with respect to pressure∕temperature effects on a repetitive basis. The two pressurized water reactor plants Ringhals 3 and 4 have in common that the weld metal used for the butt welds of the reactor pressure vessel is a high nickel type material, above the current limits of the NUREG Reg. Guide 1.99, rev. 2. In the original state, the high nickel content provides excellent fracture toughness in the unirradiated material condition and a low ductile-to-brittle transformation temperature (DBTT). It has, however, been highlighted in several studies that high nickel materials exhibit a very large DBTT shift as a consequence of irradiation, and also that the precipitates that form during the irradiation are not as easily controlled during a heat treatment to remove the irradiation damage as are the copper rich clusters. This paper will present the current state of the art regarding these effects as observed in the weld metal specimens. The paper will present the results from the Charpy V notched and fracture mechanics specimen test encapsulated in the Ringhals Units 3 and 4 surveillance programs. The results from the Ringhals Units 3 and 4 surveillance programs show that there is a need for corrective action to be taken in order to ensure 60 y of operability for the two power plants.


In optical transport networks the quality of transmission (QoT) is estimated before provisioning new connections or upgrading existing ones. Traditionally, a physical layer model (PLM) is used for QoT estimation coupled with high margins to account for the model inaccuracy and the uncertainty in the evolving physical layer conditions. Reducing the margins increases network efficiency but requires accurate QoT estimation. We present two machine learning (ML) approaches to formulate such an accurate QoT estimator. We gather physical layer feedback, by monitoring the QoT of existing connections, to understand the actual physical conditions of the network. These data are used to train either the input parameters of a PLM or a machine learning model (ML-M). The proposed ML methods account for variations and uncertainties in equipment parameters, such as fiber attenuation, dispersion, and nonlinear coefficients, or amplifier noise figure per span, which are typical in deployed networks. We evaluated the accuracy of the proposed methods under various uncertainty scenarios and compared them to QoT estimators proposed in the literature. The results indicate that our estimators yield excellent accuracy with a relatively small amount of data, outperforming other prior estimators.


Small-scale pig keeping is expanding, not only in the countryside but also in urban areas. However, at the outset the prospect of owning pigs can be frightening for the uninitiated. "Pigs for the Freezer" is aimed at the small-scale producer in a suburban or urban environment as well as smallholders who want to keep a few pigs for the first time. It guides the reader through the day-to-day routine of looking after pigs and provides essential information. Moreover, it touches on the emotional side of sending your pigs to slaughter and demonstrates how the carcasses should be butchered. Finally, the author provides a selection of delicious recipes using just about every part of the pig, including the ears.


Some Malesian species of Pouteria are described or redescribed in view of new or additional material. In some taxa a wide variability is found. It is proposed to accept Pennington's system of the Sapotaceae as final, because the century-long battle over the systematics of that family has seriously havocked its taxonomy. Presented are: additions to the descriptions of Pouteria garcinioides, P. lamii, P. obovata, and P. occidentalis, redescriptions of P. anteridifera, P. cyclopensis, P. densinervia, P. kaernbachiana, P. keyensis, P. lanatifolia, P. ledermannii, P. monticola, P. thyrsoidea, and P. vrieseana, and descriptions of the new species P. gillisonii, P. menait, P. orkor, P. pullenii, P. ridsdalei, P. wandae, and P. whitmorei. Planchonella dies-reginae P. Royen is transferred and becomes Pouteria dies-reginae (P. Royen) Vink. Palaquium komakomar P. Royen becomes a synonym of Pouteria anteridifera (Lane-Poole) Baehni, Planchonella clementis H.J. Lam of Pouteria ledermannii (K. Krause) Baehni, and Planchonella maculata P. Royen of Pouteria monticola (K. Krause) H.J. Lam. Pouteria rhopalocarpa P. Royen is transferred from sect. Pierrisideroxylon to sect. Oligotheca.


Abstract. Present day tropospheric ozone and its changes between 1850 and 2100 are considered, analysing 15 global models that participated in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP). The ensemble mean compares well against present day observations. The seasonal cycle correlates well, except for some locations in the tropical upper troposphere. Most (75 %) of the models are encompassed with a range of global mean tropospheric ozone column estimates from satellite data, but there is a suggestion of a high bias in the Northern Hemisphere and a low bias in the Southern Hemisphere, which could indicate deficiencies with the ozone precursor emissions. Compared to the present day ensemble mean tropospheric ozone burden of 337 ± 23 Tg, the ensemble mean burden for 1850 time slice is ~30% lower. Future changes were modelled using emissions and climate projections from four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Compared to 2000, the relative changes in the ensemble mean tropospheric ozone burden in 2030 (2100) for the different RCPs are: −4% (−16%) for RCP2.6, 2% (−7%) for RCP4.5, 1% (−9%) for RCP6.0, and 7% (18%) for RCP8.5. Model agreement on the magnitude of the change is greatest for larger changes. Reductions in most precursor emissions are common across the RCPs and drive ozone decreases in all but RCP8.5, where doubled methane and a 40–150% greater stratospheric influx (estimated from a subset of models) increase ozone. While models with a high ozone burden for the present day also have high ozone burdens for the other time slices, no model consistently predicts large or small ozone changes; i.e. the magnitudes of the burdens and burden changes do not appear to be related simply, and the models are sensitive to emissions and climate changes in different ways. Spatial patterns of ozone changes are well correlated across most models, but are notably different for models without time evolving stratospheric ozone concentrations. A unified approach to ozone budget specifications and a rigorous investigation of the factors that drive tropospheric ozone is recommended to help future studies attribute ozone changes and inter-model differences more clearly.


In dryland ecosystems species richness for all domains decreases with increasing aridity. Several environmental stressors (desiccation, thermal and radiation stress) in hyper-arid drylands limit the complex life forms, thus microorganisms comprise most of the standing biomass and diversity in this particular ecosystem. Interestingly, these microorganisms colonize cryptic habitats that provide shelter from harsh environmental conditions. They form unique hypolithic, cryptoendolithic and chasmoendolithic communities beneath and within rocks and soil. The microbial diversity and community structure in refugia of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, the coldest and driest dryland on Earth, has been extensively studied using 16S rRNA gene surveys. These have revealed photoautotrophic cyanobacteria dominate hypoliths and endoliths whereas Actinobacteria dominate soil communities. Despite this, very little is known about the functionality of these communities and how they respond to environmental stress. In the first part of this study, the GeoChip DNA microarray was used to interrogate carbon and nitrogen transformation pathways of chasmoendoliths, hypoliths and soil communities in a maritime-influenced location, Miers Valley. The chasmoendoliths, and hypoliths were identified as the potential primary production sites since cyanobacterial rubisco signatures were not commonly recovered from soils. Other forms of rubisco originated from Proteobacteria and archaea were identified, suggesting that chemoautotrophic pathways also contributed to carbon fixation. All communities supported diverse carbohydrate transformation pathways. However, soil communities supported significantly greater aromatic carbon utilization genes than hypoliths and chasmoendoliths, and this was related to the recalcitrant 'legacy' carbon stored in Antarctic soils. For nitrogen fixation, all communities displayed the full suite of genes involved in nitrogen transformations. Soil communities generally supported slightly higher abundance of proteobacterial nitrogenase than chasmoendoliths and hypoliths, and so soil may be more important than rock as a site for microbial nitrogen fixation. Stress response pathways were also identified, and soil communities displayed higher diversity and abundance of environmental stress response pathways compared to more cryptic rock communities. The high throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed Cyanobacteria (46%), Actinobacteria (31%), Proteobacteria (25%) and were relatively dominant in hypolithic and soil communities, and these phyla also displayed the greatest functional diversity. This suggests that the metabolic plasticity for these taxa may be an important factor in their role as keystone species in these communities. In addition, GeoChip analyses also identified possible sources of community regulation in the Dry Valleys where grazing and predation are minimal or non-existent. Widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance genes indicated that inter-specific competition may be important among these diverse communities, and phage signatures indicated a potential bottom-up control via phage lysis of microbial cells. In a metagenomic study, protein sequences involved in extracellular polymer substances (EPS) synthesis (Wzy-dependent pathway) of dryland cyanobacteria were identified by de novo sequencing on the Miseq platform, since EPS played important roles in bio-weathering, nutrient repositories and stress response. Together with other cyanobacterial EPS synthesis protein sequences, phylogenetic analyses showed that these proteins derived different environments were not correlated to their habitats, indicating these genes were highly conserved and that EPS production might be induced and regulated under specific conditions and mechanisms.


Experimental data on pressure distribution over a sinu^ soidal wavy boundary with a fixed and a moving condition, mea_ sured in a water tunnel, are presented for a number of flow - velocities. The model with the moving boundary condition is related to the situation prevailing in the steady state flow picture of a small amplitude wind-generated gravity wave in - which the water flow represents the air flow in nature, while the "fixed in space" moving wavy boundary corresponds to the nearly constant water particle velocity at the surface of the wave. The results show that the normal stress distribution - over a moving boundary differs from that over a fixed one by a phase-lag with respect to the wave shape, which varies with the ratio of flow velocity to the boundary velocity (wave celerity), as predicted by the recent theories of Miles and Ben_ jamin. These results provide an explanation for the energy - transfer from wind to wave due to normal stresses and show that those experiments performed on fixed boundary models can not be associated with the phenomena of water wave generation.


1 Introduction.- 1.1 Self-complementary and related broad-band antennas.- 1.2 Background to the emergence of the self-complementary antenna.- 1.3 Brief history of self-complementary antennas.- 2 Fundamental Theories of Complementary Structures.- 2.1 A pair of mutually dual structures.- 2.2 Symmetrical and anti-symmetrical electromagnetic fields.- 2.3 Electromagnetic fields for complementary planar structures.- 3 Impedance Relationships for Complementary Planar Structures.- 3.1 Input impedances of mutually complementary two-terminal planar structures.- 3.2 Input impedances of mutually complementary multi-element planar structures.- 3.3 Examples of complementary planar structures.- 4 Origination of Self-Complementary Planar Structures and Discovery of their Constant-Impedance Property.- 4.1 Origination of self-complementary planar structures.- 4.2 Constant-impedance property of self-complementary planar structures.- 4.3 Examples of self-complementary planar structures.- 5 Multi-Terminal Self-Complementary Planar Structures.- 5.1 Rotationally symmetric multi-terminal self-complementary planar structures.- 5.2 Single-phase excitations for rotationally symmetric multi-terminal self-complementary planar structures.- 5.3 Axially symmetric multi-terminal self-complementary planar structures.- 5.4 Axially symmetric two-port self-complementary planar structures.- 5.5 Coupling-less property between loaded unipole-notch type self-complementary planar structures.- 6 Three-Dimensional Self-Complementary Structures.- 6.1 A pair of dual structures consisting of crossed infinite planar sheets of compound perfect conductors.- 6.2 Three-dimensional complementary structures.- 6.3 Three-dimensional self-complementary structures.- 6.4 Examples of three-dimensional self-complementary structures.- 7 Stacked Self-Complementary Antennas.- 7.1 Stacking of self-complementary antennas.- 7.2 Co-planar stacked self-complementary antennas.- 7.3 Some variations of co-planar stacked self-complementary structures.- 7.4 Side-by-side stacked self-complementary antennas.- 7.5 Compound-stacked self-complementary antennas.- 8 General Considerations about Approximations and Modifications of Self-Complementary Antennas.- 8.1 Approximations and modifications for practical purposes.- 8.2 Approximation by truncation.- 8.3 Approximation by replacement with conducting rods.- 8.4 Modification by deformation.- 8.5 Modification by partial excision.- 8.6 An example of transformation from a self-complementary sheet structure to the conducting rod structure.- 9 Developmental Studies of Rotationally Symmetric Self-Complementary Antennas.- 9.1 Alternate-leaves type self-complementary antenna.- 9.2 Approximation and modification of alternate-leaves type self-complementary antennas.- 9.3 Modified four-terminal self-complementary antenna on conical surface.- 9.4 Non-constant-impedance property of incorrectly arranged log-periodic structures.- 9.5 Other developmental studies for derivatives of rotationally symmetric self-complementary structures.- 10 Developmental Studies of Axially Symmetric Self-Complementary Antennas.- 10.1 Experimental study of equally spaced unipole-notch array antenna.- 10.2 Equally spaced unipole-notch array antenna on a conical ground plane for the circularly polarized wave.- 10.3 Unipole-notch alternate array antennas stacked on both edges of an angular conducting sheet.- 10.4 Unipole-notch array antennas formed on the substrate of a printed circuit.- 11 Monopole-Slot Type Modified Self-Complementary Antennas.- 11.1 Monopole-slot type antennas derived from the three-dimensional self-complementary antenna.- 11.2 A monopole-slot antenna element as a limiting case.- 12 Conclusion.- References.- Author Index.


Alyson Calder has spent the past 12 years pursuing her interest in space and space medicine. This interest has taken her to Russia, China, and the United States where she has participated in space medicine training, research, and education. She also set up a research project in countermeasures to postspaceflight orthostatic intolerance during a space medicine rotation at Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

Alyson graduated from Aberdeen University in 2002 and is currently working as a senior house officer in cardiology at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, Scotland. She also teaches undergraduates and school pupils about space and space medicine and organised the first UK Space Medicine Day, held recently in Leicester.

I suppose I was a bit of a space geek when I was young. Seeing Helen Sharman (the first British woman astronaut) fly on a mission to the MIR space station really captured my imagination. So, when I was 13, I got in contact with the UK space school and found out they were running a trip to Moscow. At first they said I was too young to …


The majority of Americans are overweight or obese, putting them at increased risk for high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other adverse outcomes. Multiple factors contribute to this trend, including the increased availability and portion size of Highly Palatable Food (HPF), which is defined by the combination of sugar, fat, and/or salt. Food addiction theory describes a cycle of ingesting sugary food, followed by insulin and dopamine responses that lead to increased cravings for HPF. With repeated exposure to HPF, some individuals become chronic over-consumers with a strong drive for this type of reward-based eating. This study sought to characterize the relationships between Reward-based Eating Drive (RED), consumption of HPF, cravings for sugary beverages, and knowledge of sugar's effects on the brain and body in male and female high school students and faculty. Survey questions were uploaded to Surveymonkey and a link to the survey was sent to the listservs for all individuals with an email account at the high school. 176 anonymous responses were received. The results showed that reward-based eating drive was related to consumption and to cravings. For females, knowledge of sugar's effects was significantly and inversely associated with consumption of sugary food. This finding suggests that public health interventions to increase knowledge of sugar's adverse effects may be an avenue to decreasing consumption of HPF, ultimately decreasing the proportion of overweight and obese individuals, especially in young women.


In the agro pastoral areas of West Africa crop residues are a common property resource grazed by free-roaming village or transhumant livestock during the dry season. New crop management practices based on recycling of crop residues as compost or their use in conservation agriculture are promoted by research and development programs in order to improve soil fertility. These practices can potentially improve crop yields for individual farmers but can also lead to conflicts for the access of this resource, especially between non-livestock owners and livestock owners. AMBAWA (Agent-based Model of Biomass flows in Agropastoral areas) allows representing the flows of biomass between crop and livestock systems at the field, farm, and village scales in order to assess the effect of innovating management practices on farm productivity in West Africa.


This article, the most comprehensive study of judicial participation in plea negotiations since the 1970s, reveals a stunning array of new procedures that involve judges routinely in the settlement of criminal cases. Interviewing nearly 100 judges and attorneys in ten states, we found that what once were informal, disfavored interactions have quietly, without notice, transformed into highly structured, best practices for docket management. We learned of grant-funded, problem-solving sessions complete with risk assessments and real-time information on treatment options; multi-case conferences where other lawyers chime in; settlement courts located at the jail; settlement dockets with retired judges; full-blown felony mediation with defendant and victims; felony court judges serving as lower court judges, and more. We detail the reasons these innovations in managerial judging have developed so recently on the criminal side, why they thrive, and why some judges have not joined in. Contrary to common assumptions, the potential benefits of regulated involvement of the judge include more informed sentencing by judges, as well as less coercion and uncertainty for defendants facing early plea offers. Our qualitative evidence also raises intriguing hypotheses for future research.


We surveyed 45 crop species in 39 genera of 21 families to explore the incidence and morphology of endorhizal fungal associations in roots. The survey indicated that 42 of the 45 crop species examined were associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. In addition, 20 of the mycorrhizal crop species were also associated with dark septate endophyte (DSE) fungi. Twenty crops had Arum- type and 22 had intermediate type AM morphologies. AM morphology has been described for the first time in 27 crop species. Three crop species lacked AM fungal association. Myristica fragrans though lacking AM association had DSE fungal association. The extent of colonization in roots ranged from 41% to 97% for AM and -1 of soil. Twelve AM fungal spore morphotypes belonging to Acaulospora, Gigaspora , Glomus and Scutellospora were isolated from the rhizosphere soils. Although root length colonization by AM fungi was not correlated to AM fungal spore numbers, it was significantly and negatively correlated to DSE fungal colonization. The evidence presented in this paper for the first time revealed 19 crop species to be hosts for DSE fungi.


This dissertation examines contemporary politics targeting people with intellectual disabilities. Since this group first emerged, under labels such as 'idiocy' and 'mental deficiency', around the turn of the 20th century, its members have been seen as lacking the capacities necessary for citizenship and full societal belonging. For the last forty years, however, liberal democracies and international organizations have set out to include the group through policies promoting citizenship, emphasising 'self-determination', 'independence', and 'autonomous decision-making' as key ambitions. As a result, institutional care has been downscaled and replaced by socially integrated living arrangements. This is often described as a shift of paradigms in disability politics. I argue that this shift means that the same ideas of humanity, as characterised by 'reason' and 'rationality', that was once used as a yardstick to define and exclude 'intellectual disability', are now being put to work to include the group. The purpose of the thesis is to provide a theoretical understanding of what happens after the introduction of this kind of politics, in the era that I call 'post-institutionalisation'. I do so by approaching the government of this group as an instance of what Foucault called 'biopolitics', which denotes the efforts of governments to manage human life, and by drawing on Judith Butler's theorising of subjectivity.The dissertation proceeds in three analytical steps. In its first part, by focusing on how 'intellectual disability' is constituted by scientific and classificatory knowledge, I argue that this diagnosis came into being and persists for purposes of government. Rather than being a biologically rooted condition that policies respond to and target, it is a political and normative category that is made to appear as biological and natural. In this way, a firm line between 'normalcy' and 'intellectual disability' is constructed. In the second part, I examine how this group today is targeted by policies aiming for inclusion and citizenship. The result of how intellectual disability is both seen as the opposite of the norm of the 'good citizen' and as the target of citizenship inclusion, is a politics that simultaneously includes and excludes intellectual disability. Thus, rather than discarding the power exercised over people with intellectual disabilities, power has transformed into a biopolitical regime that seeks to mould members of this group to become included citizens, whilst concurrently upholding their exclusion by continued constraints. Lastly, in the third part of the study, I examine the possibilities of contesting the contemporary biopolitical regime. Here, the main argument is that a productive critique of the government of intellectual disability needs to reconsider the notion that humanity is defined by its capacities of 'reason' and 'rationality'. (Less)


Over time we have seen the development of nations, communities and modes of transport and now recognise how these changes affect the global movement of people. There has been a long running debate regarding the potential advantageous or detrimental effects which immigration may have on host communities and crime rates in areas with high immigrant concentrations. The present research was designed to look at these potential effects from the viewpoint of members of two immigrant groups in the UK, specifically Polish and Nigerian first generation immigrants. A review of relevant literature links immigrant concentrations and crime rates. Such research has most often comprised of correlational analyses whose interpretation has been controversial. Therefore, looking at the relationship between immigration and crime in a qualitative study, through the eyes of the participants, offers a useful supplement to the traditional quantitative approach. The opinions of immigrant populations have been largely neglected in previous research, yet it seems fair to explore the idea that their experiences and perceptions of crime will determine their exposure to and knowledge of it and ultimately their residential, professional and leisure decisions whilst living in the UK. The usefulness of complementing quantitative research with qualitative approaches to further explore the crime-immigration connection has sometimes been advocated by researchers in the field. Further, immigrants arrive with a wide range of religious, ethical and cultural backgrounds and varying experiences of police behaviour which will feed into their expectations and behaviour. The time and access limitations of the present study meant that it was only feasible to select two immigrant groups and practical difficulties meant that relatively few respondents were interviewed. Eleven participants were sampled using an opportunist sampling strategy. They engaged in semi-structured interviews focused on their crime-related experiences and their resulting perceptions of crime. The selection of these groups was dependent on an estimation of the most available sample. Their responses were subjected to thematic analysis. The findings tentatively suggest that immigrant movements of these groups in Huddersfield are in some respects inconsistent with theoretical expectations from previous literature. Contrary to previous research, the analysis suggests that although there were growing populations of ethnic minority groups in the town centre as a whole, the populations did not seem to congregate in the same street or even small area, as culture was not mentioned as a reason for their geographic location. Instead, the availability of housing, job opportunities and education were suggested to play a pivotal role in their geographical locations. However, in line with previous research it was found that although residency was dispersed in that members of the same ethnic group did not reside closely to one and other, each ethnic group would still create opportunities to meet as an ethnically homogenous group. In other words, participation in social groups and activities were found to be more homogenous than distribution in areas of residence. These findings are consistent with previous theories and are helpful in exploring the revealed perceptions of crime and the Criminal Justice System in the UK because each individual will have different experiences with other cultures, outside of their ethnic community. On the other hand, findings inconsistent with the theories provide a new and innovative aspect to the crime-immigration debate. It was concluded, within the limits of this very small scale study, that the practices and procedures based on the goal of managing and reducing crime should incorporate responses which consider immigrant needs. Ultimately, the findings tentatively suggest a need of further research into a wider variety of immigrant groups. No claim is here made that the perceptions and experiences of the respondents are typical of those found in other immigrant groups.


We have demonstrated a novel backwash cleaning technique of direct osmosis (DO)-high salinity (HS) for reverse osmosis (RO) fouling control in water reuse. An UF-RO pilot system was continuously (24-h) operated on site with the secondary effluent as the feed over 4 months. The RO plant was run at 75% recovery and at the membrane flux of 17 l m −2  h −1 (LMH) to simulate the full scale NEWater production when DO-HS treatment was conducted once per day and five times per week during the last two months. Permeability of RO membranes as a function of elapse time of the pilot operation was monitored and compared over different durations. Impact of DO-HS treatment on RO product quality in terms of TOC and conductivity was investigated. It was concluded that the DO-HS treatment preliminarily demonstrated a benefit to low RO fouling rate by 2.5–4 times in 30–60 days without interruption on RO operation and impact on RO product quality.


Maximization of action, social acceptance, long-lasting training, competition, and motor activity are usually mentioned among situational dimensions. Taking into account that all human actions, inclusive of the corruptive ones, have their psycho-social aspect and, according to the paradigm of interactive psychology, belong at the same time to the social and psychological reality, it might be expected that the dimensions of a competitive sport situation may be significantly decisive to the manner of formulation and realization of sport goals. In conclusions of the research the author presents that the level of inclination to corruption is significantly differentiated among particular sports and disciplines. Among the basic individual features of sports people that might promote corruptive behaviour one may mention the need of success, the desire for easy life and a fear of sports and life defeats. Any attempts of an efficient diagnosis and prevention of the phenomenon of corruption in sport besides penalization should be made with consideration of psycho-social aspects.


Abstract This article reviews the research on resilience in order to delineate its significance and potential for understanding normal development. Resilience refers to the process of, capacity for, or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances. Three resilience phenomena are reviewed: (a) good outcomes in high-risk children, (b) sustained competence in children under stress, and (c) recovery from trauma. It is concluded that human psychological development is highly buffered and that long-lasting consequences of adversity usually are associated with either organic damage or severe interference in the normative protective processes embedded in the caregiving system. Children who experience chronic adversity fare better or recover more successfully when they have a positive relationship with a competent adult, they are good learners and problem-solvers, they are engaging to other people, and they have areas of competence and perceived efficacy valued by self or society. Future studies of resilience will need to focus on processes that facilitate adaptation. Such studies have the potential to illuminate the range and self-righting properties of, constraints on, and linkages among different aspects of cognitive, emotional, and social development.


BACKGROUND:Nationally mandated information and communication technology (ICT) systems
are often locally resented and little used. This problem is sometimes framed
in behaviourist terms, depicting the intended user of technology as a
rational actor whose resistance stems from Luddism and/or ignorance, and
viewing solutions in terms of training, incentives and sanctions. The
implication is that if we get the 'rewards' and
'punishments' right, people will use technologies. Previous
research in the social sciences, notably sociotechnical systems theory,
actor–network theory and normalisation process theory, have
considered the human, social and organisational context of technology use
(and non-use). However, these have all had limitations in explaining the
particular phenomenon of resistance to nationally mandated ICT systems. OBJECTIVE:To develop a sociologically informed theory of resistance to nationally
mandated ICT systems. THEORETICAL APPROACH:We drew on Anthony Giddens' notion of expert systems (comprising
bureaucratic rules and classification systems delivered through technology)
as well as theories of professional roles and ethical practice. A defining
characteristic of expert systems is that they can produce 'action at
a distance', allowing managerial control to be exerted over local
practice. To the extent that people use them as intended, these systems
invariably 'empty out' social situations by imposing rules
and categories that are insensitive to local contingencies or the unfolding
detail of social situations. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING:Secondary analysis of data from case studies of three nationally mandated ICT
systems in the English NHS, collected over the period 2007–10. RESULTS:Our analysis focused mainly on the Choose and Book system for outpatient
referrals, introduced in 2004, which remained unpopular and little used
throughout the period of our research (i.e. 2007–13). We identified
four foci of resistance: to the policy of choice that Choose and Book
symbolised and purported to deliver; to accommodating the
technology's sociomaterial constraints; to interference with
doctors' contextual judgements; and to adjusting to the altered
social relations consequent on its use. More generally, use of the mandated
system tended to constrain practice towards a focus on (the efficiency of)
means rather than (the moral value of) ends. A similar pattern of complex
sociological reasons for resistance was also seen in the other two
technologies studied (electronic templates for chronic disease management
and the Summary Care Record), though important differences surfaced and were
explained in terms of the policy inscribed in the technology and its
material features. CONCLUSION:'Resistance' is a complex phenomenon with sociomaterial and
normative components; it is unlikely to be overcome using atheoretical
behaviourist techniques. To guide the study of resistance to ICT systems in
health care, we offer a new theoretical and empirical approach, based around
a set of questions about the policy that the technology is intended to
support; the technology's material properties; the balance between
(bureaucratic) means and (professional) ends; and the implications for
social roles, relationship and interactions. We suggest avenues for future research, including methodology (e.g. extending
the scope and scale of ethnographic research in ICT infrastracture), theory
development (e.g. relating to the complexities of multi-professional team
working) and empirical (e.g. how our findings might inform the design and
implementation of technologies that are less likely to be resisted). FUNDING:The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery
Research programme.


Research interest in Conversational artificial intelligence (ConvAI) has experienced a massive growth over the last few years and several recent advancements have enabled systems to produce rich and varied turns in conversations similar to humans. However, this apparent creativity is also creating a real challenge in the objective evaluation of such systems as authors are becoming reliant on crowd worker opinions as the primary measurement of success and, so far, few papers are reporting all that is necessary for others to compare against in their own crowd experiments. This challenge is not unique to ConvAI, but demonstrates as AI systems mature in more "human" tasks that involve creativity and variation, evaluation strategies need to mature with them.


Although much progress has been made in recent years to fully map the world ocean, only approximately 20% is adequately mapped to modern standards. Filling in the remainder must by necessity be a multimodal effort, with traditional ocean mapping technologies such as crewed survey ships with multibeam echosounders being mixed with newer systems such as uncrewed, sail-powered mapping systems. Volunteer data from any ship with an echosounder can also be used, but although there have been commercial efforts in this field, most of these systems do not contribute data into the public arena and public entities have largely avoided this field due to the complexities of costs, data processing, and uncertainty on how to handle the effort. This article describes the design of an end-to-end system for managed volunteer bathymetric collection consisting of an inexpensive (~ $\$ $ 20) wireless "Ocean of Things" data logger for NMEA0183 and NMEA2000 data, associated firmware to manage the collection, a mobile device application to offload, aggregate, and transfer the data into the cloud, and a cloud segment to process the data and submit it to an international data repository. All of the design has been released under an Open Hardware or Open Source license, allowing independent organizations to initiate data collection efforts without having to do any of the design work themselves. The goal is to provide a simple, approachable implementation, encouraging greater adoption of these ideas in hard-to-reach areas of the world with minimal effort on the part of the host organization.


This unique and original textbook offers undergraduates and interested professionals a much-needed description of how the penal system, including both prisons and alternatives to custody, is organized in eight major Western European countries.

Each chapter provides readers with a critical anatomy and empirical overview of the full range of penal sanctions used in each country and an analysis of how these sanctions are implemented. Using statistical data which are not widely available, contributors examine the nature of the penal population in relation to sentencing, to its class, gender and racial composition and to the nature of the offences for which individuals have been confined.

While highlighting several common trends in penal policy and strategy across Europe and seeking to assess to what extent these commonalities are being generated by the wider process of political integration, Western European Penal Systems also demonstrates that each of the eight countries has to an important extent its own culture of punishment which is constantly being reinterpreted and reworked.


The present volume collects a number of works that draw on some of the most relevant disciplines in Translation Studies. All the papers are written in either English or French, and have been grouped into four sections devoted to illustrate the type of interdisciplinary approach adopted in each of the areas of translation under study. The papers draw on different theoretical models and borrow various research methods from neighbouring disciplines. But they all share the common aim of gaining further insight into translation as a text product, a cognitive process, a profession and a teaching field. Works such as the volume presented here contribute to foster collaboration both at an interdisciplinary and international level. The conclusions and implications from these papers may bring us a step closer to understand not only translation and interpreting, but also other communication, cognitive and social processes involved in translating. Their shared enterprise may promote the sort of cooperation and teamwork needed to shape the different interdisciplinary inquiries into a common research agenda of the type needed to have data and results finally converging into a unified theory.


Insights gained from studying the human brain have begun to open up promising new areas of research in the behavioural and social sciences. Neuroscience-based principles have been incorporated into areas such as business management, economics and marketing, leading to the development of artificial neural networks, neuroeconomics, neuromarketing and, most recently, organizational cognitive neuroscience. Similarly, the brain has been used as a powerful metaphor for thinking about and analysing the nature of organizations. However, no existing approach to organizational analysis has taken advantage of contemporary neuroanatomical principles, thereby missing the opportunity to translate core neuroanatomical knowledge into other, non-related areas of research. In this essentially conceptual paper, we propose several ways in which neuroanatomical approaches could be used to enhance organizational theory, practice and research. We suggest that truly interdisciplinary and collaborative research between neuroanatomists and organizational analysts is likely to provide novel approaches to exploring and improving organizational performance.


Collecting cancer statistics is a dry business. Much effort, dedication, and skill have been put into developing an effective network of cancer registries around Europe. Further work to standardise the datasets and provide efficient quality control now makes the comparison of cancer survival between European countries realistic. Britain does not do well in such a comparison.1

The clearest outcome indicator for the quality of cancer care is the percentage of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. Most patients can be considered cured after this time, having actuarial survival curves exactly parallel to people of similar age and sex without cancer.2 The current analysis comes from 33 cancer registries in 17 countries. The figures cover the period 1978-89 and represent the most recent available, to allow for a five year maturation period and for the subsequent collection, analysis, and quality control. Because data come from cancer registries, they do not always cover the entire populations of all the participating countries. Within the United Kingdom data were available for the whole of Scotland and for almost half (46%) …


Abstract The temperature of the cryogenic target inside the hohlraum has been studied with a computational fluid dynamics code (FLUENT). Specific models have been developed and used for both thermal and hydrodynamic calculations. With thermal calculations only, we first have found the optimum heat flux required to counteract the effect of the laser entrance windows. This heat flux is centered on the hohlraum wall along the axis of revolution. With this heat flux, the temperature surface profiles of the capsule and the DT ice layer have been significantly reduced. Second, the sensitivity of the target temperature profiles (capsule and DT layer) relatively to capsule displacement has been determined. Thirdly, the effect of the shield extraction (shield surrounding the cryogenic structure) has been studied and has indicated that the target lifetime before the laser shot is less than 1s. Meanwhile, with hydrodynamic simulations, we have investigated the surface temperature profiles alteration due to He and H2 mixture convection within the hohlraum. In order to find out the variations between different configurations, results of these studies are given with seven significant digit outputs. Those results only indicate a trend because of the material's properties incertitude and the code approximation.


Web Services and service-oriented architectures (SOAs) represent a new paradigm for building distributed computing applications. In recent years, they have started to play a critical role in numerous e-Science and e-Commerce applications. The advantages of Web Services, such as their loosely coupled architecture and standardized interoperability, make them a desirable platform, especially for developing large-scale applications such as those based on cross-organizational service composition. However, the Web Service technology is now facing many serious issues that need to be addressed, one of the most important ones being the dependability of their composition. Web Service composition relies on individual component services and computer networks, particularly the Internet. As the component services are autonomous, prior to use their dependability is unknown. In addition to that, computer networks are inherently unreliable media: from the user's perspective, network failures may undermine the dependability of Web Services. Consequently, failures of individual component services and of the network can undermine the dependability of the entire application relying on service composition. Our research is intended to contribute to achieving higher dependability of Web Service composition. We have developed a novel solution, called WS-Mediator system, implementing resilience-explicit computing and fault tolerance mechanisms to improve the dependability of Web Service composition. It consists of a number of subsystems, called Sub-Mediators, which are deployed at various geographical locations across the Internet to monitor Web Services and dynamically generate Web Service dependability metadata in order to make resilience-explicit decisions. In addition to applying the fault tolerance mechanisms that deal with various kinds of faults during the service composition, the resilience-explicit reconfiguration mechanism dynamically selects the most dependable Web Services to achieve higher service composition dependability fault tolerance. A specific instance of the WS-Mediator architecture has been developed in the Java Web Service technology. A series of experiments with real-world Web Services, in particular in the bioinformatics domain, have been carried out using the Java WSMediator. The results of the experiments have demonstrated the applicability of the WS-Mediator approach.


Numerous measures to reduce violence against women and its global prevalence have been implemented. Despite this drive, the effectiveness of programmes devised to address the issue has been weakened by a failure to produce the necessary attitudinal change towards women. This paper is set in Venezuela and looks at domestic violence through a post-structuralist lens and trials resources from a toolkit that aims to promote positive attitudinal change amongst young people across varying ages and social classes through a participatory photography intervention. Recommendations are made for using visual communication to engage pre-adolescent and adolescent students and create a deeper analysis of myths that relativise violence. Key words: Domestic violence, Venezuela, post-structuralist, participatory photography. Language: en


ABSTRACT Previous empirical social science research on Covid-19 has mainly focused on predicting compliance with behavioural instructions in terms of demographics and socioeconomic determinants. In terms of political variables, trust in government and left-right political orientation has been a major focus of research. One aspect that so far appears to have been ignored is the attitudes of political elites and how they compare with the attitudes of those they represent. Based on a survey of local councillors and members of the public in England in the early phase of the lockdown, we can show that the UK government lockdown measures enjoyed overwhelming support among local elites as well as the general public. However, we can also find sources of lack of support and consensus even at this early stage: While younger and male members of the public, as well as members of the LGBT community, were less enthusiastic about the lockdown, opposition among the public is mainly based on "populist" attitudes that became prominent in the Brexit debate such as evaluations of immigration and scepticism about climate change. These sources of dissent could be expected to become more prominent as the pandemic unravels.


Abstract. As the application of hyperspectral images is increasing, many researchers attempt to extend existing pansharpening techniques to hyperspectral images. This paper focuses on the application of Ehlers fusion to hyperspectral image sharpening. Ehlers fusion involves two crucial algorithms: filter technique in the frequency domain and intensity transform. In this study, different filter types and intensity transform methods were analysed separately. With a combination of filter types and intensity transforms, the fusion procedure was implemented to test data sets. The spectral profiles of the pixels of the images were then used as a tool to control the quality of the fused image. Finally, the performance of Ehlers fusion is compared with Principle Component (PC) analysis, Gram-Schmidt transform (Gram-Schmidt), High-Pass Filtering in the spatial domain (HPF), and Wavelet Principal Component (Wavelet-PC) analysis using the same input data. The comparison shows that Ehlers high-pass filter fusion shows outstanding performance both on spatial enhancement and colour preservation.


This paper focuses on active sensing of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots (WMRs). Active sensing solves the following problem: given a current knowledge about the robot state and the environment, how to select the next sensing action or sequence of actions. A vehicle is moving autonomously through a static environment gathering information from sensors. The sensor data are used to generate the robot actions in order to move around a reference trajectory with preset initial starting and desired goal configurations and imposed constraints. The paper presents a method for the determination of optimal trajectories based on optimization techniques. A suitable performance criterion is formulated to characterize the uncertainty and the extraction of information from sensor data. Finally results from experiments are given.


Foreword by Michael Shannon. Foreword by Gregory Ferris. Author's Preface to the Third Edition. Preface to the Second Edition. Acknowledgments. 1. Introduction. What Is Disaster Recovery Planning? Purpose of This Book. A Working Definition of Disaster. The Time Factor in Disaster Recovery. The Need for Disaster Recovery Planning. The Auditor's View. An Imperfect Legal Mandate. Building Management Consensus for Disaster Recovery Planning. Who Should Write the Plan? A Straightforward, Project-Oriented Approach. A Note on Methodology. Endnotes. 2. Analyzing the Risk. The Purpose of Risk Analysis. Identifying and Prioritizing Assets and Functions. Collecting Input from End Users. A Criticality Spectrum. Collecting Data on Outage Costs. Identifying Threats to Assets and Functions. The Problem with Probability. A Few Compelling Statistics. Developing Plan Objectives. Endnotes. 3. Facility Protection. Water Detection. Fire Suppression. Contamination Reduction. Precombustion Detection. Power Failure. Physical Access Control. Endnotes. 4. Data Recovery Planning. The Primacy of Data. Planning for Data Recovery. Identifying the Information Asset. Classifying Criticality: Inputs and Outputs. Setting a Policy on Data Asset Identification, Classification, and Backup. Policy-based Management of Electronic Data via Software. Storage Consolidation. Tape Backup. Designing a storage Recovery Plan. Electronic Vaulting. Remote Mirroring. Mirroring Not a Panacea. Options for Records Storage. Selecting an Off-site Storage Vendor. Cost-Justify Off-site Storage. Implementing the Data Recovery Plan. Final Observations About Data Recovery Planning. Endnotes. PERSPECTIVE: EMC. PERSPECTIVE: LEGATO. PERSPECTIVE: IRON MOUNTAIN. PERSPECTIVE: NETWORK APPLIANCE. PERSPECTIVE: QUANTUM. PERSPECTIVE: STORABILITY. PERSPECTIVE: STORAGETEK. PERSPECTIVE: TEK-TOOLS. 5. Strategies for Centralized System Recovery. Developing Centralized System Backup Strategies. Cautions and Caveats. Mainframe Backup Strategies. Which Strategy Is Preferred? Selecting a Hot Site. The Bottom Line on Centralized System Recovery. Endnotes. PERSPECTIVE: HP BRS. PERSPECTIVE: SUNGARD AVAILABILITY SERVICE. 6. Strategies for Decentralized System Recovery. Distributed Client/Server Computing: The Achilles Heel of Disaster Recovery Planning. A Brief Overview of Distributed Computing. Contemporary Client/Server Applications. Preventive Measures. Proactive Measures. Planning for Recovery. Endnotes. 7. Strategies for End User Recovery. Developing an End User Recovery Strategy. Options for End User Recovery. Emerging Technology: Harnessing Remote Access Capabilities. Types of Remote Access. Considerations Regarding the Use of Remote Access for End User Recovery. Other Issues in End User Recovery. Final Thoughts on End User Recovery Strategies. Endnotes. 8. Strategies for Networking Backup. What Is Involved in Formulating a Network Recovery Strategy? Analyzing Networks: A Layered Approach. Preliminary Activities in Network Recovery Planning. Formulating Strategies for Internal Network Recovery. Backup Strategies for the Local Loop and Wide Area Network Services. Planning for the Restoral of Wide Area Voice and Data Network Links Following a User or Systems Relocation. Endnotes. PERSPECTIVE: CNT. PERSPECTIVE: SITESAFE. PERSPECTIVE: ZEROWAIT. 9 Emergency Decision Making. Designating Teams. Common Evacuation Project Functions and Teams. Common Recovery Project Functions and Teams. Relocation and Reentry Project Functions. Staffing Teams. Developing a Notification Directory. Creating the Emergency Management Flowchart. Emergency Response. Situation Assessment. Emergency Operations Center Activation. The Recovery Phase. The Relocation/Reentry Phase. Final Thoughts on Emergency Management Decision Making. Endnotes. 10. The Recovery Management Improvement. Researching Literature. Interviews and Tours. Professional DR Organizations. Professional Associations. The "Friction" of Disaster. Endnotes. 11. Plan Maintenance and Testing. Team Education. Plan Maintenance. Change Management . Managing the Results. Endnotes. 12. Conclusion. Preparing For the Unthinkable: Control The Damage. Endnotes. Glossary. Index.


Congress has available a variety of statutory and non-statutory techniques, other than the "legislative veto," that have been used to overturn Federal agency rules, prevent their enforcement, limit their impact, or hinder their promulgation. This survey of the different statutory instruments of congressional control—direct overturn of rules, modification of agency jurisdiction, limitations in authorizing and appropriating statutes, requiring inter-agency consultation, and advance notification to the Congress—discusses a variety of mechanisms that vary in their use and their specificity, range of impact, and length of effect.


Pakistan is a lower-middle income country in South Asia where forensic psychiatry is often not recognized as a distinct subspecialty of psychiatry. Although evolution toward this direction has begun, more development in this field is needed. Before Pakistan's Mental Health Ordinance of 2001, much of the mental health legislation and intitutional infrastructure pertaining to the mentally ill offender can be traced back to the Indian Lunacy Act of 1912. The past two decades have witnessed important legal developments in the role of psychiatry in Pakistan's criminal justice system. This has been seen through the devolution of health-care provision and by an extension of psychiatric service provision from the federation (federal government) to the four provinces. Despite the sparse resources allocated to psychiatry, competent yet scarce psychiatry residents are graduating from Pakistan's accredited residency programs with an interest in forensic psychiatry. The objective of this article is to reflect on the past, while examining the current state of existing forensic mental health in Pakistan. This article will also address the future trajectory of forensic psychiatry in Pakistan and supports the establishment of forensic psychiatry as a subspecialty in Pakistan.


Background: Ultrasonography of the cardiovascular system is pivotal for hemodynamic assessment. Diastolic function is evaluated with a combination of tissue Doppler (e' and a') and pulsed Doppler (E and A) measures of transmitral- and mitral valve annuli velocities. However, accurate echocardiographic evaluation in the intensive care unit or perioperative setting is contingent on relative resistance to positive pressure ventilation and changes in preload. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and positioning on echocardiographic measures of diastolic function. Methods: The study was a prospective, randomized, crossover study. Cardiac surgery patients with ejection fraction greater than 45% and averaged e' of 9 or more were included. Postoperatively, anesthetized patients were randomized into six combinations of PEEP (0, 6, 12 cm H2O) and positions (horizontal, Trendelenburg). At each combination, e' (primary endpoint), a', E, and A were obtained with transesophageal echocardiography along with left ventricular area. Image analysis was performed blinded to the protocol. Results: Thirty patients completed the study. PEEP decreased lateral e' from 6.6 ± 3.6 to 5.3 ± 3.0 cm/s (P < 0.001) in the horizontal position and from 7.4 ± 4.2 to 6.5 ± 3.3 cm/s (P < 0.001) in Trendelenburg. Similar results were found for septal e', a' bilaterally and transmitral pulsed Doppler measures, and PEEP decreased left ventricular area. E/A, E/e', and e'/a' remained unaffected by PEEP and positioning. Conclusions: When evaluating diastolic function by echocardiography, the levels of PEEP and its effect on ventricular area have to be taken into account. In addition, this study dissuades the use of E/e' for tracking changes in left ventricular filling pressures in cardiac surgery patients.


The determination of the existence and composition of homogeneous azeotropes is important both from both theoretical and practical standpoints in the analysis of phase behavior and in the synthesis and design of separation systems. We present here a new method for reliably locating any and all homogeneous azeotropes for multicomponent mixtures. The method also veriies the nonexistence of homogeneous azeotropes if none are present. The method is based on interval analysis, in particular an interval New-ton/generalized bisection algorithm that provides a mathematical and computational guarantee that all azeotropes are located. The technique is general purpose and can be applied in connection with any thermodynamic models. We illustrate the technique here in several example problems using the Wilson, NRTL, and UNIQUAC activity coeecient models.


Rock scour occurring near dam foundations due to high-velocity jets of spillways impinging into the plunge pool is a major concern regarding dam safety. Scour in fractured rock resulting from high-velocity jet impact is a complex phenomenon, which involves the three phases: water, air and rock. Since 1998, the Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH) of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) is conducting research in order to better understand the physical processes that contribute to rock scour. An innovative experimental facility, which can reproduce prototype jet velocities, was built and continuously improved. With the help of this experimental set-up, a new, completely physically based engineering model has been developed for the prediction of the ultimate scour depth of jointed rock, called Comprehensive Scour Method (CSM). The impact of high-velocity plunging jets produce highly dynamic pressures at the pool bottom, which are transferred into rock joints by transient flow governed by the propagation of pressure waves. The latter is strongly influenced by the air content in the plunge pool and the underlying rock fissures. Dr. Rafael Duarte studied for the first time the effect of active jet aeration on the scour process in fractured rock. Systematic experiments allowed assessing the response of a block in a plunge pool impacted by high-velocity jets having different amount of active aeration. He could show that the air entrained by the jet influences the pressures on the bottom by two opposed effects. On one hand, the air-water mixture reduces the apparent density of the jet and thus its momentum. The kinetic energy per unit volume reaching the pool bottom is lower and consequently the pressures are also lower compared to similar clear-water jet. On the other hand, the air bubbles reduce the shear stress of the diffusing jet in the plunge pool. The velocity decay of aerated jets is therefore less resulting in higher velocities reaching the bottom, and thus higher pressures. Which of the two effects will be stronger depends above all on the pool depth. Based on the experimental study and a comprehensive analysis of the results Dr. Duarte could enhance the Comprehensive Scour Method CSM in order to include active air entrainment at jet issuance.


Based on an understanding that a co-evolutionary systems approach relies on the conservation of the structural coupling of human beings with the biophysical world, with each other and with other species, this paper describes four practices that researchers could employ if they wished to develop a systemic, co-evolutionary praxis (theory informed practical action): (i) rapid, multi-perspective appraisal; (ii) metaphorical inquiry (iii) social learning and (iv) systemic inquiry (an approach currently being researched as an antidote to living and operating in a projectified world). The understandings on which each of the practices is built is explored.

Rapid, multi-perspective appraisal has been developed in a series of research and consultancy settings over 20 years. It is based on the assumption that when engaging with complex situations individuals only ever develop a partial appreciation (because of their traditions of understandings and the boundary judgements that are made). This practice can be used to better formulate research questions, research design, stakeholder engagement and for systemic staff induction. Metaphorical inquiry has been developed based on the understanding that human beings live in language and that all language is metaphorical. Social learning is a new paradigm for natural resources management which moves beyond information provision, consultation and stakeholder participation to address the systemic complexity associated with multiple stakeholders attempting to transform their situations. The understandings on which these practices are built have profound implications for the practices of animal scientists as we face an uncertain future under the combined influences of human induced climate change, population growth, peak oil and ecosystem collapse.


This paper introduces the concept of hierarchical cellular automata (HCA). The theory of HCA is developed over the Galois extension field GF(2(pqr..)), where each cell of the CA can store and process a symbol in the extension field GF (2(pqr..)). The hierarchical field structure of GF(2(pqr..)) is employed for design of an HCA-based test pattern generator (HCATPG). The HCATPG is ideally suited for testing very large scale integration circuits specified in hierarchical structural description. Experimental results establish the fact that the HCATPG achieves higher fault coverage than that which could be achieved with any other test structures. The concept of percentile improvement in fault coverage is introduced to have a realistic assessment of fault coverage achieved with the proposed RCATPG.


Abstract. Vertical profiles of aerosol extinction obtained with the CALIOP lidar onboard CALIPSO are used in conjunction with the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model and NOAA's HYSPLIT trajectory model to document three aerosol export events from East Asia to the Arctic in the year 2007. During each of these events CALIOP sampled the pollution plumes multiple times over periods of five to seven days. Midlatitude cyclones lifted the pollution to the free troposphere with net diabatic heating of ~5 °C day−1 and precipitation in this initial ascending stage. Rapid meridional transport to the Arctic took place at 3–7 km altitude, and was mediated by either a blocking high pressure system in the NW Pacific or a trough-ridge configuration. Once in the Arctic transport was nearly isentropic with slow subsidence and radiative cooling at a rate of 1–1.5 °C day−1. We find good agreement between modeled and observed plumes in terms of length, altitude, thickness and, within the measurement uncertainties, extinction coefficient. In one event the satellite algorithm misclassifies the aerosol layer as ice clouds as a result of the relatively high depolarization ratio (0.06), likely caused by a high dust component in the aerosol mixture. Using 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies for these three events along with eight other export events observed by CALIOP in 2007–2009, we develop a meteorological index that captures 40–60% of the variance of Asian transport events to the Arctic in winter and spring. Simulations with the GEOS-Chem model show that 6 major export events from Asia to the Arctic occur each year, on average. The maximum probability for such events is during March–June, with a secondary maximum in October–November. During these events, Asian pollution and dust aerosols account for 50–70% of the aerosol optical depth over the Siberian sector of the Arctic, compared to a mean background contribution of 33%.


The project is conceived as a meeting of domestic and gallery space, owned by the Cy Twombly Foundation in Gaeta, Italy. The articulation of the two entities is an idea deeply rooted in Twombly's domestic spaces, where the dwelling and the artwork meet, everyday causing a certain spatial ambiguity, that of the coexistence of two scales within one space. A sequence of interdependent rooms in relative scale the one to other is organized around a secluded garden. By varying measures of architectural scale – width, depth, height, pitch the rooms are brought into relationship first with each other, and then with the elements of architecture itself and the surrounding landscape that adjoins them. A cliff by the Mediterranean Sea- Cy Twombly's constant inspiration, is the site proposed for creating intimate spaces which enclose distant views of the endlessness of the sea, the sublime mountain and Cy Twombly's Mediterranean universe.


'In a Free State was conceived in 1969 as a sequence about displacement. There was to be a central novel, set in Africa, with shorter surrounding matter from other places. The shorter pieces from these varied places were intended to throw a universal light on the African material. But then, as the years passed and the world changed, and I felt myself less of an oddity as a writer, I grew to feel that the central novel was muffled and diminished by the surrounding material and I began to think that the novel should be published on its own. This is what, many years after its first publication, my publisher is doing in this edition.' V. S. Naipaul. In a Free State is set in Africa, in a place like Uganda or Rwanda, and its two main characters are English. They had once found liberation in Africa. But now Africa is going sour on them. The land is no longer safe, and at a time of tribal conflict they have to make a long drive to the safety of their compound. At the end of this drive -- the narrative tight, wonderfully constructed, the formal and precise language always instilled with violence and rage -- we know everything about the English characters, the African country, and the Idi Amin-like future awaiting it. This is one of V. S. Naipaul's greatest novels, hard but full of pity. It won the Booker Prize, in its original edition, in 1971.


Concentrations of the triazine herbicides atrazine, simazine, cyanazine, metribuzin and propazine were determined in streams draining forestry and agricultural catchments in Tasmania, Australia, between 1989 and 1992. Atrazine and simazine were used extensively by the forestry industry in a winter spraying programme, and applications of the other herbicides occurred in cropped agricultural catchments during spring and summer. Of 29 streams sampled intensively for triazines, 20 contained detectable residues. Median contaminations over all samples were 2.85, 1.05, <0.05, <0.05 and <0.05 µg L-1 for atrazine, simazine, cyanazine, metribuzin and propazine, respectively. All herbicide concentrations ranged over several orders of magnitude up to 53 mg L-1, with atrazine and simazine having significantly higher concentrations than the others. Atrazine concentrations were examined in streams draining forestry plantations for periods of up to two years. A decline in concentration was observed with time, but this was strongly influenced by rainfall events. Atrazine contamination from single spraying events persisted at a low level for up to 16 months. Contamination of Big Creek with atrazine to 22µg L-1 after aerial spraying led to an increase in stream invertebrate drift only on the day of spraying and to a short-term increase in movement of brown trout. On examination of biological effects of triazines in surface waters reported in the literature, it was concluded that the observed frequent contamination of Tasmanian streams with triazines may cause occasional minor short-term disturbance to stream communities.


Peripheral stem cells released from bone marrow (BM) are known to be incorporated into foci of neovascularization and to contribute to solid tumor development. In the present rat Walker256 tumor model, BM suppression induced by total body irradiation resulted in poor growth of the tumor with apparently poor vascularization, and BM transplantation restored tumor growth. Endothelial progenitor cells are considered to be crucial for vasculogenesis, but they are not yet well defined, and methodology for their purification has not been established. As a model to examine the significance of endothelial progenitor cells in tumor-specific vasculogenesis, we utilized an immortalized rat BM-derived endothelial cell line named TR-BME-2. Fluorescence-labeled TR-BME-2 cells injected systemically into rats were accumulated at the tumor site 4 days later. Another rat BM-derived cell line named C2-11, which does not have an endothelial profile, did not show tumor-specific accumulation. The tumor volume in rats treated with TR-BME-2 was significantly larger than that in rats treated with C2-11. Thus, our results suggest the importance of neovascularization by bone marrow-derived endothelial cells for the promotion of tumor growth.


Everyday conversations reveal the great normative preoccupations of societies, both in their themes and in their modalities. The world of work is one of the main worlds of conversation we have studied: we talk about work and we talk at work. Contemporary individuals seek to singularize themselves through work and in conversations about work: it becomes a statutory and an aesthetic experience insofar as it resonates with a way of life and a broader experience of reality.


Determination of sperm DNA fragmentation, as assessed by the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), has become an important tool for the evaluation of semen quality. The aim of the present study was to describe the biological variation of sperm DNA fragmentation in men attending an andrology clinic and to identify clinical correlates of the biological variation of sperm DNA fragmentation. For this study, two consecutive semen samples from 100 patients attending our andrology outpatient clinic were subjected to semen analysis, performed in parallel according to WHO guidelines and by SCSA. A good agreement between pairs of samples was found for SCSA-derived variables, as indicated by a significantly lower median coefficient of variation (CV) of the DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) and the high DNA stainability (HDS) compared with WHO semen parameters. In half of the men attending our andrology clinic, however, the individual biological variation of DFI and HDS, expressed as CV of two samples, exceeded 10%. Dysregulation of spermatogenesis, as seen as testicular insufficiency or varicocele, was not associated with increased variability of DFI or HDS. A backward multiple linear regression analysis, however, indicated that the biological variation of DFI may be more profound in men with characteristics of normal spermatogenesis. In conclusion, we confirm previous reports that sperm DNA fragmentation has a lower biological variability than classical semen parameters. We hypothesize that the sperm chromatin structure may be more influenced in patients with normal spermatogenesis, whereas in men with disturbed spermatogenesis, the chromatin structure may be already so impaired that the effect of unidentified factors leading to variability of sperm DNA fragmentation in time may not be as profound.


The late J. D. Bernal's lectures given to first-year students in physics at Birkbeck College, University of London, are presented here in their entirety, tracing the history of physics up to the end of the classical era at the end of 19th century, just before the discoveries of the subatom and relatively were made. In view of the prestige and profundity of the newer discoveries, Bernal felt that the classical era was being largely forgotten. In this book, he attributes a greater relevance to the work of men from the distant past than is usually given. For instance, the idea of "atom" not only retains the language of the Greek, Democritus, who first postulated it, but there is also an absolutely unbroken connection between the atom of the Greek and that of the modern physicist. Bernal felt that the historical method would be a suitable introduction to the fundamental concepts of physics, and it is hoped that the readers of the book will be able to see something of the interplay between the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject.


The term design thinking is used to refer to the study of the practices of working designers (Melles et al., 2006), the methods and processes for investigating challenges, acquiring information, analyzing knowledge, and positioning solutions in the design and planning fields (Meinel & Leifer, 2011) by combining "empathy, creativity, and rationality". Architectural theory has evolved over time, to reflect the development of new materials, new construction, new structures, new philosophies, new socio-cultural contexts, new scientific findings, and, of course, new technology. As Dorst (2011) emphasises 'Design Thinking' has been part of "the collective consciousness of design researchers since Rowe used it as the title of his 1987 book and different models have emerged since then. Nowadays, "Design Thinking" is identified as an exciting new paradigm for adopting designerly practices dealing with complex problems to build up a "conceptual framework". Architectural logic provides us with a various of approaches toward the reasoning in design exploring potential value of the design process. In this paper the author will move from the architectural process definitions to a broad descriptions of design thinking and its application in the architectural design process. Since the process of design and its logical principles look quite complex, an integral attitude has been introduced in order to elaborate multi-step process avoiding the natural paradox of the sense of a complex statement of Design Process and Design Thinking. It is on this particular aspect of the creative design that we position our work: how to design a software tool support, and even improve, creativity in the early stages of the design? We will restrict ourselves to this in a specific area, that architectural design that we describe in the next section.Dorst, K. (2011). The core of 'design thinking' and its application. Design Studies, 32(6), 521‐532.Meinel, C., & Leifer, L. (2011). Design Thinking Research. Design thinking understand ‐ improve ‐ apply (pp. 1‐12). Berlin: Springer.Melles, G., Howard, Z., & Thompson‐Whiteside, S. (2012). Teaching Design Thinking: Expanding Horizons in Design Education. Procedia ‐ Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 162‐166.